Preschool Christmas

Today was Ethan's last day of preschool until after Christmas Break (I'd like to note that preschool Christmas break is especially long...Ethan didn't seem too thrilled when I told him how many days he had off!).

We had Ethan bring an apple pie as a Christmas present for each of his teachers. The reason behind the apple pie is that my mom would make an apple pie for all of my teachers every year. The teachers in the school all knew who had myself or one of my siblings in their class...I think there may have been some bartering for the pies. :) Anyway, I thought it would be nice to carry on the tradition and make pies for Ethan's teachers. I dropped Ethan off at school and flew home to peel and cut the apples and quick roll out the pie crust. Thankfully I made the pie crust last night. I almost ran out of time! I wanted the pies to be warm when I brought them to school...I wasn't thinking as fresh out of the oven as they ended up being, but it did make for a nice aroma wafting around the school. Maybe next year I'll put them in the oven before bringing him to school, just so I'm not so close on time! Here's the end result...



Jason wasn't too excited to hear that there were two pies leaving the house and none staying home (just the aroma to taunt us!). I think I'll be making another pie this week, especially after he sees these pictures!

Ethan's class had us come to a mini program. They sang some of the songs that they do in class, as well as some Christmas carols. It was so cute! Most of my pictures ended up being blurry because of the squirming toddler in my arms. I kept trying to get better pictures until I realized I was missing the singing. So, I enjoyed the kids singing, but that resulted in not having good pictures to share. I did get a little video (which shakes in quite a few places), but you can hear the kids singing and I think it's really cute. The parents all had a good laugh when the teacher asked the class whose birthday we were celebrating. The whole class shouted "Hannah" because it was her day to celebrate her birthday. The teacher eventually got them to understand that she was talking about singing "Happy Birthday" to Jesus. I love kids.



And last, but certainly not least in my book, is our very first school Christmas present. Ethan came home with it on Monday and couldn't wait for us to open it. I barely convinced him to wait until Jason got home for us to open it together. Jason walked in the door and we had to immediately open our present. I love having the kids' hand prints on things, so I think this present will be a favorite of mine for many years to come! They also dated it nicely and put the name of his preschool on it. Ethan even signed his name on the bottom (you just can't see it because I cut it off in the picture so you could see the angel better). Isn't it cute?

Does Santa read blogs?

I'm not sure if Santa reads blogs, so here's hoping Santa has some extra time to surf the web.

Dear Santa,
I wasn't sure how to reach you this close to Christmas, so I thought I'd try to catch you via my blog. I think that if I wrote a letter to you at your address in the North Pole it may have trouble getting to you. I'm sure that you receive a lot of mail there. Jason and I did Google your phone number, just to see if it was your direct line, but I think that your elves give out their numbers instead of yours.

I wanted to let you know that your package arrived today, just in time for Christmas. I know it was addressed to Ethan and Micah, but being a parent I had to open it and check it...for safety you know. I don't want to be on the naughty list, so I'll come clean and say that the hole in the wrapping on one of the presents really was there when I opened the box that it came in. I didn't make it that much bigger. A little tape should fix the problem easily. Although I'm tempted to check everything...you know, for safety...I promise not to unwrap and re-wrap the packages. I guess I'll just have to trust that your elves knew what they were doing. We both know that I wouldn't really be checking for safety anyway.

Santa, thanks a lot for thinking of the boys this year. Their mom and dad appreciate your love.

Janna

Top Five

Top five reasons why you shouldn't give a toddler a pudding cup and walk away...

5. Because you don't know how the pudding is getting from the cup to the mouth.
4. Because you won't want to touch the spoon to help after the toddler has been doing it himself.
3. Because you can't catch the spoon full of pudding before it clatters to the floor.
2. Because the high chair will need to be wiped in places that usually don't get messy.
1. Because you have to clean up this:

Common Courtesy

Today I made a quick stop at the store on my way to work. I wanted to be in and out quickly, so I was doing it when I didn't have the boys with me. I was all checked out, and as I took my bags off the counter, I knocked a little display box of Chapstick off the counter. Since I was turning as I pulled the bags off, they pretty much scattered in a half circle around me. So, I bent over to pick them up as I was responsible for knocking them down. I tried to pick them up quickly, since I was holding up the line. I loaded them all up, set them on the counter, and then loaded my bags into the cart. As I was walking out the door, I thought to myself "wow, maybe at least one of the 3 or 4 people that were standing and waiting for me to get out of their way could have helped me pick them up". No one even offered, though one gentleman did say "Uh-oh" when they scattered on the floor. Nice. Do me a favor, next time you see someone picking up something they knocked down, bend over and help them. Yeah, they could probably do it on their own, but maybe they'll smile when they leave the store instead of thinking how sad it is that no one has any common courtesy left. Stepping off my soapbox now.

It's all fun and games until somebody does a faceplant

Here's a glimpse into life at our house. The boys play nice together some of the time...and then as it seems to do with siblings, it can go downhill quickly. However, this night they were having fun. Even the crying at the end of the video didn't last longer than the amount of time that it took me to give Micah a hug. Sorry for the few times where it gets blurry...the camera had a hard time keeping up with the spinning children. Oh, and for interpretation, the boys kept saying "cheese" because I had the camera out.

Outnumbered

I am severely outnumbered at my house. Most of the time, being the only girl is not so bad...I'll admit I'm rather spoiled. However, lately the phrase of choice coming from the three boys has been "tickle mommy time!". I can't win that battle when it's three against one. The sad thing is that even Micah, in his own toddler phrasing, is able to declare "tickle mommy time". Somehow, they all know my ticklish spots. Ethan even likes to take my socks off so he can get to my feet better (and then he hides my socks, which is a whole different issue). I guess the fact that "tickle mommy time" fills my house with laughter makes it somewhat OK...I just wish it wasn't me being tickled all the time.

Yes, that's the correct time

To some of my girlfriends...yes, the time is correct on your blogs/websites. I was really commenting at 1:30 in the morning. I figured if I was up anyway hanging out with Micah, I might as well have fun reading blogs. :)

A great way to start the day

Some days it's hard to get going in the morning...and this morning I REALLY wanted to stay in my nice warm bed. When I heard on the radio that there was snow on the ground, I really didn't want to get up! But, of course, reality happened and I got out of bed. We hurried around to get everyone fed, dressed, teeth brushed, and hair combed so I could take Ethan to school on time. (By the way, I found my morning routine is not as fast now that we have to do coats, hats, mittens, AND boots!).

As I was dropping Ethan off at school, I had the best reminder of what my attitude should be. We walked through the hall to his classroom and could hear the first grade class singing. In their wonderful 1st grade voices, singing happily and at the top of their lungs, I heard this:

"This is the day
This is the day
That the Lord has made
That the Lord has made
We will rejoice
We will rejoice
And be glad in it
And be glad in it
This is the day that the Lord has made
We will rejoice and be glad in it
This is the day
This is the day
That the Lord has made"

It brought a smile to my face and my heart. I wanted to stand in the hallway and listen to their singing all morning (though I don't think Micah would have liked that!). Anyway, I hope just reading the song helped bring a smile to the day for you. Instead of wishing for my warm bed all day, I'm going to rejoice in the day that the Lord has made!

Catch-up

I feel like I'm in need of a little catch-up in many areas of my life right now! Obviously, I've been lacking in my posting on my blog. I'm also trying to play catch-up with my raking leaves, laundry, cleaning, baking, groceries, and just plain picking up around the house. Ever feel that way? I'm happy to say that I'm a little closer to being caught up in some areas...today I cleaned both bathrooms. Yes, on the same day. Not just surface clean either. I even wiped the baseboards! I also have washed most of the laundry (I'll admit to giving up before I got to the sheets and towels...maybe tomorrow). Now I just need to fold all of it. Ethan also helped me do some baking today, so we finally have cookies in the house again! My mom came this week and we spent an afternoon raking leaves. Five loads later we were caught up...for at least that day.

I thought I should also catch-up on posting pictures, especially since I haven't even posted Halloween pictures yet. Ethan was Superman, and Micah was a little working man. We managed to stay mostly dry by driving around to see family during most of the rain. Both of the boys had a great time trick or treating. Ethan was amazed at all the candy he had afterward. We didn't go too far, but Micah could hardly carry his bucket by the end. The last picture in the little slideshow is Micah in the van on our way home...he was exhausted!

I also thought I'd share a few pictures from all of the times we raked leaves (which were frequent this year!). The boys had a great time in the piles and didn't end up scattering the leaves too much. They are inventive, so they hauled the slide into the biggest pile of leaves and had fun sliding into the pile. All of the fun that they had made it a little more fun to rake...well, sort of.

I've been tagged

First, I'd like to say that being tagged for this one is not cool. Thanks a lot, Olivia. :) I have a lot of letters in my name! It took me quite a while to complete this! Anyway, I'll spare you the whining and just post the rules.

THE RULES:
1. You have to post these rules before you give the facts.
2. You must list one fact that is somehow relevant to your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don't have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to had.
3. At the end of your blog post, you need to choose one person for each letter of your middle name to tag.
4. Don't forget to leave a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog for the rules.

My middle name is Elizabeth.

E- Eternal life. I'm forgiven, saved, and have the promise of eternal life with my Savior. There's nothing better in life than that. Every day I'm learning more about how important that is.

L- Loves. I have a lot of loves in my life...God, Jason, my boys, my family, my friends, chocolate, reading, talking, sleeping.

I- Interesting sense of humor. I'm a bit sarcastic in my humor, some may call it a bit dry. Whatever it is, I think it's a little odd sometimes.

Z- OK, I'm stumped on this one. I've been thinking and thinking and waiting to post because I can't think of a "z" word to describe myself. So, I'm finally just giving up and saying think of one on your own for me if you really want me to add one. :)

A- Addicted to "couponing". I have a new obsession lately. I'm saving us a ton of money on groceries with my coupon addiction, but it's ridiculous sometimes. I've been know to drive to family members' houses to pick up a coupon. Before you mock me too much, know that I won't have to pay for shampoo/conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, shaving cream, pain relievers, or cereal for a very long time. Some weeks, our grocery budget is down to around $10 for the four of us because of the coupons that I use and the gift cards that I've earned.

B- Baking. I love to bake. It actually is a form of therapy for me sometimes. If you come to my house and there's no special occassion and I have baked goods everywhere, I'm probably stressed out about something (not always, but there's a good chance). It must be something in the process of putting all the ingredients together and making that yummy result (or maybe it's the dough that I love to eat). Whatever it is, I love to bake cookies, bars, pies, cheesecake...I could continue on, but now I'm craving some dough.

E- Eleven and a half. That's the amount of time that Jason and I have been together. Yes, his mouth just fell open when he read that number. We've been married for eight and a half years, and dated for three years before that. Wow, we're inching closer to the point where I've spent over half of my life with him. Sweetheart, I love you more than the day I married you. I'm praying for many more years.

T- Two kids. I have two adorable boys that keep me on my toes. I love how they love me, and how they face the world with excitement and questions. I love that I can make an ouch go away by kissing it. I love how they love life every day.

H- Hold grudges. I'll admit it. I hold grudges. I'm not going to list some of my long-standing ones, simply because I'm not too proud of them. :) My sister is reading this and laughing because she knows exactly which grudge I'm talking about. Needless to say, this is an area of life that I'm working on. I just can't help it sometimes. Some days I do better than others!

Here's where it gets difficult. I have to think of nine people to tag. Here goes...Kimberly (because I know you have spare time right now), Stacy, Beth, Kristi, and Suzanne. Now for the people who don't have blogs/websites but I know are out there...you can post in the comments or start a blog. :) Jennie, Julie, Merridith, and my mother-in-law.

Stages

We are in the toddler temper tantrum phase of life! Many little things will prompt a lay-down-freak-out-crying-kicking-screaming-arms-flailing tantrum. It's actually hard not to laugh sometimes! I made this and I'm thinking about posting this in my house just so anyone entering will be aware of how careful they need to be while at the house.



Anyone else need a copy?

Happy Birthday

Today is Jason's birthday, and it's a big one. The big 3-0. This is a big deal really only to me; he could care less that he's 30. I, however, love that he's turning 30 before me. I don't know why it's such a big deal, especially since I'll probably smack him if he makes a big deal out of my 30th. :)

We're going to celebrate quietly today. Ethan helped me make M&M cookies since Jason doesn't really like cake. I think I'll actually cook him a good dinner, maybe even with meat, potatoes, and a veggie. We're going to take Ethan to a movie tomorrow evening, and then the boys are having a sleepover at my parents so Jason and I can go out to dinner for his birthday and have a full night's sleep. That's right, I said it, a FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP. Now that is a true sign of the fact that we are aging.

So, happy birthday to my wonderful husband and an awesome father. We're thankful for the years God as given you and pray for many more celebrations to come. I love you, Jason!

Fire Safety Week

A couple of weeks ago we took the boys to our local fire station for Fire Safety Week. They have all the fire trucks opened up so the kids could see in them and climb in them. The also have a hose set up that the kids can use to spray and knock down the "fire" in the house. Ethan and Micah had a great time, and they love to wear the firefighter hats that they were given for spraying the hose. Micah liked putting on some of the firefighter gear, but Ethan wasn't too thrilled about it. I think that was mostly because the mascot was helping him put stuff on. I don't think the person in the mascot noticed Ethan's look of discomfort! At least he put everything on and kept it on long enough for a picture! We had a fun night!

Five gallons of disinfectant, please

I feel the need to disinfect my house from top to bottom. The boys are sick...again...and now I'm not feeling too well, so not much disinfecting is going to happen! They both have colds, and since they are kids and don't blow their noses, they swallow all the snot until their stomach is upset and they throw up. It's lovely, especially since they really only get upset stomachs in the middle of the night. Yes, Jason and I have become quite familiar with the hours of 2 am to 6 am. In the last two nights, I've been bathing a child at 2:00 in the morning. Not really high on my list of things to do in the middle of the night. However, I do think I got the better end of the deal last night. I was the first one to get to the child who was throwing up, so that meant that I had bath duty instead of cleaning up the bed duty. I have a wonderful husband. I won't go into any more details than that. My poor hubby is probably dry heaving just reading about this experience again. Anyone want to come live here?

Pacifier Hunt

In keeping with my recent post about Micah's love of his pacifier, I thought I would post a video of Micah on a "pacifier hunt" at bedtime. We have to check underneath his bed for any wayward pacifiers that may be under there. The other night he had himself totally under the crib while searching for one!

My disclaimer for this video...I know, I realized too late that I referred to Micah as Ethan while I was taping him. I almost didn't post the video simply because I didn't want to prompt teasing! However, it was too cute to not post it, so be nice!

New link

I've added a new link to my "blogs I love to read". Usually I don't do a whole post about a new blog I'm addicted to (mainly because I'm not going to admit to how many blogs I'm addicted to reading!). However, this one seems worth it to me, and I think it may be worth it for some of you out there. If not now, maybe someday. Anyway, today at my MOPS group, we had a woman named Karen Hossink come to speak to us. She talks about being an Irritable Mother. Specifically she talks about "confessions of an irritable mother" and how God is using the difficulties of mothering to challenge and shape her. I'm not going to type out her bio or go into great detail about her story. You can read about her on her website and blog. However, I do want to say that I have been challenged by her and encouraged by her. I didn't buy her book...but I have a friend who's going to let me borrow it to read it. I think it will be worth reading more than any fiction book I find. I guess what I'm trying to say is that despite the fact that many of the joys and fun parts of mothering get posted here by me, there are also other aspects of mothering that are harder to admit. The hard parts are real life, and those are (some of) the places where God is working in me.

Our little helper

Apparently our youngest son thought we needed a little extra help getting up in the morning. Sometime yesterday (when we weren't paying attention) he kindly set the volume on the alarm clock so that it was set to the level of "make mommy and daddy fall out of bed so they will really be awake". There's nothing like going from a deep sleep to sitting straight up in bed. Wow, what a start to the day. Note to self, get into the routine of checking the volume while turning the alarm on.

A little extra love

With Micah not feeling so well last week, we really relaxed on our "no pacifier unless you're going to bed" policy. Ok, so I really relaxed. Micah looked like he felt so crummy that it was nice to make him a little happier by letting him walk around with "pipey" in his mouth. His other "lovey" item is a diaper cloth, and those were dragged around quite frequently as well.



This is a "file" picture (from this summer) of him with as many pipeys and diaper cloths as he could hold. While I'm glad that a little extra pacifier time helped get us through last week, now our problem is getting through the tantrums that inevitably occur when we don't let him walk around with a pacifier in his mouth all the time. I'm starting to wonder if it's more difficult to break the child of the pacifier habit, or if it's more work to break mommy's habit of using it just for a little extra peace.

You know there's a toddler in your house...

-When you feel like someone should congratulate you on your ability to lay a flailing, crying, tantrum-throwing child on the floor without causing anyone in the area to get hurt.
-When you act like a parrot by repeating every noise, word, or phrase that comes out of your child's mouth.
-When you greet everyone in every store you're in because your child has either waved or said "hi" to them as you pass.
-When you know that a meal is done because food is thrown at you or being spit out of the child's mouth.
-If the most common word said by almost everyone in the house is "no".
-When you are happy because the word "truck" actually sounds like "truck".
-If you could (should) vacuum around your kitchen table three times a day becuase so many crumbs and pieces of food end up there.
-If you fear the light switches in your home will break because they are constantly being turn on...and off...and on...and off...
-If you love wet, slobbery kisses simply because they are kisses from your child.
-If you love hugs from tiny arms.
-If you stop to smell every "pretty" (aka flower) on your walk through the neighborhood.

Mission: Impossible

My mission, and since I posted it I'm accepting it, is to find the island in my kitchen sometime in the next few days (notice the vauge timeframe I've given myself). This means I will recycle the papers that need to be recycled, and put away all the other miscelaneous "stuff" that makes it look like a dumping ground. I plan to do this without simply moving all the piles to another part of my counter. :) However, I need a bit of advice...one of the piles is all of Ethan's papers and drawings from school. I can't decide what to keep and what to recycle! I know I don't need to keep it all...do I really need to save a picture of each letter that he learns and colors? I feel like I almost have to keep the picture of the butterfly, mostly because it will be funny to tell him about his parent's ignorance someday. I'm tempted to just get a big storage container and save it all...and then let him sort it out when he gets older. However, I suspect that he'll just dump most, if not all, of it. I did read an idea once about how one family took a picture of special papers and then kept it only in a digital "book". What to do!?!

Excuses, excuses

What excuse can I use for my lack of posting lately? I've been busy...I started working at my old job again...Micah's been sick with a nasty cold and has been extra clingy...writer's block...or maybe I've just been too lazy! Anyway, I'll try to play catch-up!

My birthday was a good day. I had to work in the morning, but I did get out earlier than I expected, so that meant I could spend more of the afternoon with the boys. Ethan helped my mom make a birthday cake. It was delicious, though one of my more interesting cakes since he chose blue and green frosting on the chocolate cake. His favorite colors are naturally mine! Jason and I put the boys to bed on time and then used a gift certificate to get take-out for supper. It was a delicious, peaceful dinner!

We've discovered something unique and comical about Micah. He's had a nasty cold lately, so his nose has been running constantly. The funny things is that he doesn't mind us using the nasal aspirator (the one from the hospital). He actually tries to use it on himself sometimes. He also doesn't freak out when we wipe his nose. We think it's kind of strange, but don't argue when he stands still for us! We're hoping his cold moves on soon!

I've figured out a new form of exercise. Ethan wanted to ride his bike yesterday, which is not something that he's wanted to do very often this summer. I think he's a little intimidated by the bike, so he just doesn't want to ride it. Anyway, yesterday he wanted to, so I loaded Micah into the stroller and figured I could give Ethan a few nudges, and he'd be able to ride with me following alongside. I was wrong. :) He pedaled the bike, but I pretty much pushed him the entire way. He kept randomly slamming on the brakes, so I had to get him started again. He started doing better on the straight stretches in the end. I was worn out after pushing him and pulling Micah in the stroller. I'm sure it was quite a sight for anyone who passed by us!

Ethan is loving school. He has a couple of new friends that he talks about all the time. Every morning he is excited to get ready for school and is usually standing by the door with his backpack on long before we need to leave. His class is working through the start of the alphabet, so we are starting to talk a lot at home about what letter words start with. I love to listen to the songs and rhymes that he come home with, too. We love to see him so excited about school!

Writer's block is kicking in again, so I'll have to post more later. Maybe I'll find some pictures to post of our recent activities!

Shameless

Really, do I have to say anything in my post today? By now I know you're shaking your head about my shameless plugs. There are some things that I just can't help about myself. :)

In case you forgot

My birthday is just around the corner...less than one week! That would be next Tuesday, in case you weren't sure.

It figures

So I was on the phone with Jason yesterday and suddenly the phone died and my carbon monoxide detector was beeping. Then it was quiet. What in the world?!? It was a beautiful sunny day out, not windy or anything, and our power goes out. And, I can't call Jason to tell him why I hung up on him since my "power outage phone" is in a dump somewhere. Of course, it was right at supper time, so that totally threw my dinner plans out of whack (not that they were great plans, but they still required power!). I still don't know why my power went out, but thankfully it came back on after a little over an hour...so I still had time to make dinner.

We're in trouble

Jason and I just Googled Monarch butterflies. Why? Ethan showed us a picture of a monarch butterfly that he made in school today. He announced that the butterfly that he drew was a "boy butterfly". Since everything lately for him is all about boys, we kind of rolled our eyes. We asked him, "why is this a boy butterfly?" and he told us "because the boy butterfly has spots and the girl butterfly doesn't". He then showed us the spots he put on the butterfly. So, we put him to bed and were trying to decide if there was a difference between male and female butterflies. So we did a search and found this. I think we may have trouble helping him with his homework...unless we can google it without him knowing.

Sometimes you just need a good book

So lately I've been a little...let's just say emotional. (Have you read my last few posts? I can hardly read them without more tears!) I needed a good lighthearted book, and thankfully a book that I've been anticipating came in for me this past weekend at the library. I've already finished it, and it's one where I wanted to read it as fast as I could because I loved it so much, but also wanted to read slowly just so it wouldn't be done too quickly! One of my favorite authors is Janet Evanovich, simply because her writing makes me laugh throughout the book. She has an odd sense of humor and a great imagination, which together make me sit and giggle as I read. Needless to say, Jason does tend to look at me like I'm a little odd while I'm reading her books. I try and explain the funny parts, but her humor is really only understood if you read the book and know the characters.

The book I just read is her newest from her Stephanie Plum Series, called Lean Mean Thirteen. If you need a good read that will make you laugh with a bunch of odd humor and characters, read through this series. I don't think you'll regret it!

1st Day of School

He started school this morning,
And he seemed so very small,
As I waited there beside him
In the preschool hall.

And as he took his place beside
The others in the class,
I realized how all too soon
Those first few years can pass.

Remembering, I saw him as
He first learned how to walk,
The words that we alone made out
When he began to talk.

This little boy so much absorbed
In learning how to write!
It seems as tho' he must have grown
To boy-hood overnight.

My eyes were blurred but hastily
I brushed the tears away,
Lest by some word or sign of mine
I mar his first big day.

Oh, how I longed to stay with him
And keep him by the hand,
To lead him through the places
That I couldn't understand.

And something closely kin to fear
Was mingled with my pride,
I knew he would no longer be
A baby at my side.

But as he must have his chance to live,
To work his problems out,
The privilege to grow and learn
What life is all about.

And I must share my little boy
with friends and work and play;
He's not a baby anymore--
He started school today.

author unknown

First Day Jitters

School starts on Monday and I have a case of the first day jitters. Ethan's fine, of course, he can hardly contain his excitement for school. I, on the other hand, can't stop thinking about it. How can this day be here already? How did time suddenly go from "It's a boy" to "It's time for school"? I know this is something that all moms go through, but it still doesn't make it much easier. My baby boy's world is about to drastically change. He's going from the shelter of our home out into the big world. Honestly, it scares me to not be able to control the things he learns and sees. When he's with me, I can turn off the TV and radio so he doesn't hear or see all the bad things that happen in the world. He doesn't need to know that there are things like bullies, loneliness, teasing, and bad days. He's going to figure out that there are some things in life that are just plain hard, and that he may have a difficult time learning things. He doesn't know about divorce and hate. He knows love, happiness, and play.

I am excited for him to go to school, please don't misunderstand me. How can I not be when he says things like "Do you think we'll sing songs in preschool?" and "I think I'll learn numbers that I don't know about, like 31, 32, 33...". I am happy because of his happiness, excitement, and anticipation.

I guess I'll have to stick with the only things I can do: Pray hard, and continue to teach him right and wrong whenever I have the chance. Love him unconditionally, and give him all the hugs and kisses that he'll let me dish out. I'm also going to hold his hand every chance I get, because I know that someday soon he won't let me do it anymore. Some stages in life are hard for a mom, even though they are good stages. I think the most difficult part may be that this is only preschool; just the beginning.

For added emphasis

Micah has a new thing. He's starting to say more words, but most things are referred to by one word.

"Eh"

Not really sure if that's how it should be spelled, but hopefully you get the idea. If he really wants to emphasize something, or wants us to do something, he points. Many times he'll come running from the other room, point at me, say "eh", and then run back to where he was. The translation is this: "Mom, I need your help with something, follow me". When I enter the room, he points at what he needs or wants, and says "eh" again. Translation: "I want that".

He's pretty cute when he points, and many times I can't help but laugh, but the "eh" for EVERYTHING is getting a little old. Reminder to self, kids go through phases in language development where words only make sense to them. This too shall pass, and then he'll probably talk nonstop like his brother.

Visiting Day

Today we went to Ethan's preschool classroom for visiting day. Ethan was so excited that he had a hard time sleeping this morning (which meant mommy was up with him four times between 4:30 and 6:15...not cool when the alarm went off at 6:30).

When we told him it was time to go, he practically ran out to the van and chattered the whole way about seeing his classroom and going to school. We were able to find his assigned hook where he needs to hang his backpack and then meet his teachers. They seem like great ladies. Ethan then had a chance to explore the room. The teachers have all sorts of stations set up, so Ethan wandered around and played with puzzles, race cars, and a pretend food market. He played a little with some of his classmates, but mostly he stuck pretty close to Jason and I. I think that once Jason and I are not in the classroom, he'll be a little more open to getting to know the other kids in his class (especially since their parents won't be there either!). I think he had a lot of fun, and now he's talking about going back to classroom for his first day of school on Monday. He's very excited for school!

In case you were wondering, there's no school on my birthday. That's Tuesday, September 25. :)

PS. As soon as I upload the pictures of visiting day to the computer, I'll add them to my post.

In case of a power outage

If there's a power outage at my house, don't plan on being able to contact us via the telephone. We have a phone that we could plug in that wasn't cordless, the kind that doesn't need electricity to function. Micah liked to play with the phone and carry it around and pretend to talk on it. Today he unfortunately found a new use for it. He dunked it in the toilet and swished it around a bit. I'm not too willing to try it to see if it still works. Something tells me a dunking in the toilet will make it not so useful. So, we trashed the phone and now will be unreachable if there's a power outage. At least we still have the cell.

Just so you all know...

Today is the first day in September, in case you didn't realize it by the date right above this. This means it is my birthday month, which means I will be regularly and randomly announcing that my birthday is coming soon (and since it's not until the 25th, there will be plenty of time for you to be sick of my announcements). I am not the one in the household that is turning 30! this year, so I am fine with proclaiming my day. Enjoy my annoying habit!

So good, and so easy

I have a new favorite snack to make. Since I recently, shall I say, "acquired" a large amount Cocoa Pebbles cereal, I went searching for a recipe that I could use them in. (My methods for acquiring the cereal will probably end up in a different post some other time!) This is the recipe I found:



They are called Hot Cocoa Crispy Squares. Click on the name to view the recipe, since I don't feel like typing it all out! :) I also highly recommend the Kraft Foods website that I found it on since it has a ton of great recipes. These were so simple to make, and Ethan even liked to help because he could sprinkle all the marshmallows on the top. Micah helped too, though his help came in the form of making sure there were not too many marshmallows for the top. These were generously distributed by his big brother.

I figured that since I always like hearing about good, easy recipes, that I should share this one. Kimberly had a recipe on her blog the other day that I think I'm going to have to try...mainly because it includes the words "gooey" and "drunken berries". How could that not be a good recipe? So, someday some unsuspecting soul who comes to my house will likely be my guinea pig for Gooey Butter Cake with Drunken Berries. Come on, now that you've seen the name of the recipe, you know exactly what I mean. Let me know if you try it, I'll come over and be your tester...maybe I'll bring some Hot Cocoa Crispy Squares.

Boys will be boys

Today I walked outside in time to see Ethan go flying down the hill in our backyard in the wagon. The wagon was totally out of control (at least in my opinion as a mother). So, as many moms do, I first laughed out loud at the expression of glee on his face. Then, in my best "stern mother voice" I told him not to do it again. He, of course, is not following why his mother doesn't think this is the coolest thing EVER. I'm hoping we make it through his childhood without numerous broken limbs. I'm guessing it will only take an hour or two before he's in the wagon taking the trip all over again. Is it too much to hope that he doesn't haul Micah into the wagon for any of the trips?

The excitement continues, part 2

What could be more fun than a new niece or nephew in February?

Getting a new niece or nephew in February and April!

My brother, Steve, and his wife, Jennie, recently announced that they are going to have a baby and are due in April. The funniest part came when we told Ethan that "Uncle Steve and Aunt Jennie are going to have a baby!". Ethan's response? "Way to go, Steve" with a thumb's up. A man in the making there.

I hope I have time to hold all these babies! I'll just have to drive from house to house. :)

Note to self:

When removing an egg from the egg carton, do so over the counter...not over the register on the floor.

Warning: this will be a long one!

This post is my effort at playing "catch-up" for the last month or so. I know I've done a few posts here and there, but there are lots of pictures and activities that I've been meaning to post, but just haven't had a chance to! So, you may have to scroll down a few times to get through everything! I was going to post cool picture slideshows from photobucket, but they don't seem to want to upload. I'm assuming that when the website gives me an "error with posting" message that it's a problem with the website...not the user...right? Anyway, following are our activities, pretty much in no particular order since I can't be expected to remember exact time frames! :)

Blueberry picking!




The boys and I went blueberry picking with Jason's mom and sisters. It turns out that I have two kids that are very good blueberry pickers! Ethan happily went from bush to bush to pick the big ones (readily assisted by his aunts and grandma...his aunts were really good at finding the big ones!). Micah complained if his stroller wasn't close enough to the bush for him to do his own picking. He ate some of what he picked, but a number of them actually ended up in his bucket! Also had one of those "you know you're a mom when..." moments: Micah would pick a berry, bite off half of it, then put the other half in his bucket. So what did I do? Ate the other half of the berry. Yummy, blueberries and baby spit. Quite a combo.

Fun at the park...




Jason, the boys, and I spent one Sunday evening at the park with Jason's parents. The boys had a great time running around and showing off to grandpa and grandma. Not much time for me to chat though, since I mostly followed Micah around so he wouldn't walk off the play equipment wherever there was an opening up high. I highly recommend taking a grandma and grandpa to the park...they bring dessert. :)

Picture time...courtesy of Ethan




My oldest is practicing to be a photojournalist (otherwise known as "mom, can I have the camera?" I've found it's a great way to keep him occupied in the car!). Plus, with a digital camera, I'm not wasting any film!

More play time at the lake...




My aunt and uncle are gracious enough to allow us to regularly invade their home on the lake with our children and all the "stuff" that comes with them. The boys and I picked up my mom and met my sister and her kids for some play time in the water. The older kids had something to talk about after the pontoon boat broke down and they had to get a tow back to the house. My poor mom and aunt were stuck for a while with just them and 5 kids. Thankfully the littlest kids had stayed home with Karen and I, but it made for an interesting trip! We might have a difficult time convincing Ethan to get back on the boat for another ride!

College friends...

We have some friends from college that make a point of getting together once a year to reconnect. This year we decided to have an adult's only dinner out on Friday night. We had a great time chatting and catching up without having to pause and remind kids to eat! We also learned of some new babies that will be joining the crew next year! Praise God for his faithfulness! By our gathering next year, Lord willing, we will have 11 kids under the age of 5. Whew! I'm tired thinking about it! Hopefully everyone will be able to come next year!


(L to R--Ethan, Micah, Loren, Caleb, and Joshua with Nathan missing for a nap!)



On Saturday we all met for a day at the beach. The kids played...and played...and played. Jason had to work, so everyone was great at helping me keep track of the kids on the beach. Micah went in the water a little bit, but I think the waves intimidated him some. He was thrilled to just sit with a bucket and water and a shovel. Ethan had fun digging holes and building castles. He played in the water with me and had a great time motoring around in his life jacket. It was a great day with friends!

Other highlights that I don't have pictures for...

Playing in the pool at Karen and Rod's

The boys and I were able to spend some time at my sister's house. My mom and I took the kids in the pool. I was the designated "ring finder" in the deep end. A big job when three kids are tossing rings in! I was also able to get a little cuddle time with Kathleen. She's so big already, and I wish I had taken my camera so I could post a new picture of her! The boys are looking forward to going back to swim again sometime soon. Hopefully I'll remember my camera next time!

The great outdoors...indoors

I was on mission one morning to get all my laundry done. I went to the basement to begin my first load and made a lovely discovery. The bees that were making a hive along the side of the house had entered the basement through an area where a gas line had not been properly insulated. Thankfully most of them were dead, but there were a few buzzing around that were still alive. To make matters interesting, anytime I turned on a light, the bees would buzz all around the light. Of course, the main light is directly over my washer and dryer. So, I turned on one dinky light and loaded the washer as fast as I could while trying to avoid the dead bees that were scattered on the floor. Oh, and I think I'm slightly allergic to bee stings (just swell up allergic, not hospital level allergic), so it made me pretty paranoid to be down there. I was still able to get most of my laundry done that day! Jason's now most of the way through his second bottle of bee killer and has made a valiant attempt at sealing the hole into the basement. So far he has not been stung! My next project is to vacuum up all the dead bees. I hope I can find a good vacuum to do that... :)

Wow, I think that's about all for now. :) (By the way, we do stay home sometimes) I'm sure I could think of more if I tried, but I'll save that for another post on another day!

O-R-E-O

Tonight we had some Oreo cookies for a special dessert. The boys, of course, loved them. Micah had not had an Oreo before, so it was fun to watch him mangle it. :) Ethan enjoyed copying his daddy and dunking the Oreo in his milk. I couldn't resist some pictures...then Jason took over with the camera. I told him he took pictures that only a daddy would take (you'll know which ones). Even though it's pictures only a daddy would take, it's also pictures that only a mommy would post on her blog!

Fun at the Zoo

Yesterday we visited the zoo with my girlfriend, Sandi, and her daughters. The kids have fun playing together, so it was fun for all of them to go to the zoo! We had a good time laughing at the Emu as it chased the Wallabies around. They had their own game of hide-and-go-seek going. Ethan and Maria loved running through the mist of water that they had in various areas of the zoo (at around 90 degrees, sometimes Sandi and I wandered through them too!). We also took a "trip to Africa" on a tram, and were able get up close to the giraffes. Maria fed the giraffes, something that wasn't high on Ethan's list of "things to do". I believe the conversation was:

(Ethan)"Mom, can I buy one of those biscuits?"
(me) "Are you going to want to feed it to the giraffe?"
(Ethan) "No"
(me) "Then we're not getting one because I'm not going feed the giraffe".

Overall, it was a fun day! Enjoy the pictures!

The excitement continues...

Just when I thought it was a good day when I went to meet my new niece, Kathleen, it got better! I couldn't say anything before, but I've finally been given permission! Jason's sister, Kristi and her husband, Mike, are expecting a little one. They told us on the same day we learned about Kathleen, so blessings came from every direction that day! You can read more about it here. On or around February 9, I'll be posting some more good news! I'm excited to be an aunt again, and the boys will love having a cousin on Jason's side of the family!

Cottage fun

I didn't feel like it. That's the only reason why it took me so long to put pictures up of our time at the cottage with my parents. I finally motivated myself, so I hope you enjoy the pictures!

Also, things we can do when we stay at the cottage that we can't (or won't!) do at home:
1. Play in the water ALL DAY. For Ethan, this is not an exaggeration.
2. Have our whole family sleep in one room (made if very difficult for me to sleep since I hear everything the kids do!).
3. Have a candy bar for dessert...after breakfast...AND lunch...AND dinner. Unless we have an ice cream bar, then we don't have a candy bar...at least most of the time.
4. Push grandpa into the water with his clothes on.
5. Ride on the pontoon boat and watch the sun set.
6. Go for a kayak ride in the quiet and peaceful morning.
7. Make mud pizzas.
8. Eat, eat, eat...trail mix, puppy chow, junk, junk, and more junk.

Kathleen Marjorie

Sorry for the delay in my posting of pictures! We've been busy relaxing at the lake (otherwise known as "my next post").

Here is my adorable new niece!

New niece

I'm happy to announce the birth of my niece! She was born at 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, July 10. Kathleen Marjorie is 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 19 inches long. The proud parents are my sister, Karen, and her husband, Rod. I'm planning to go see her this afternoon, so I won't have any pictures until then. We've been staying at a cottage with my parents, so I may not have opportunity to post her picture until this weekend. I'll try to post something as soon as I can!

Cherry Picking

The other day we were at the farmer's market and I noticed a sign for picking sweet cherries at one of the local orchards. I was so excited because many of the cherries in the area were frozen in one of the later freezes of the year, so I wasn't expecting to find any cherries to pick this year. So that afternoon the boys and I loaded up and headed to the orchard. It is only a little over five minutes away! When we were in the orchard I could not believe how many cherries were on the tree--or how big they were! I intended to pick a small amount for eating. However, I have this problem (and my mother will say that I get this from her), and I could not stop picking. The cherries were so big and so good! Well, now we have 10 pounds of cherries to eat. Cherries, anyone?

4th of July fun

What a busy day we had! We had tons of fun, but we were tired by the end of the day!

Jason and I started the day by walking in a parade to promote his store. Some of our family members were able to walk with us. We had a great time handing out flyers and other items from the vendors (everyone loves you when you're holding a t-shirt!). The boys hung out with my dad so Micah could get his nap and Ethan could get some play time with grandpa.

After walking in the parade, we headed home and made it in time to watch the last half of the parade by our house. (The local parade is so well loved that people had their spots staked out a week before--if you want a front row seat you have to put your blanket or chair down way ahead of time!). We sat by some of our neighbors and the boys had fun watching the parade go by. Micah's favorite was the float from a church that had their band playing (he loves to "groove"). Ethan loved the float that carried the race car...and of course the monster trucks. We also had plenty of opportunity to get some much-loved parade candy! I managed to not chew out some of the parents around us (I do NOT think it's OK to encourage your child to walk up to the parade participants and grab the candy/beads/whatever right out of their hand).


Ethan watching for the next float.


Micah loves watching everything go by!


Ethan's favorite.


Another favorite.








In the afternoon Micah was napping, so Ethan and I walked down to a local park and watched the skydiving exhibition. Then we played at the park for a while before heading home to play some more in the backyard with Jason and Micah. We also managed to take a bike ride.

It was my turn to go to fireworks this year (I stayed home the past 4 with the kids), so Ethan and I grabbed a snack and walked to the park again. Have I mentioned that I love my city because I can walk to all of the fun stuff? I wish I remembered my camera because Ethan was funny to watch as he tried to catch the fireflies. We talked and played until the fireworks started, and then enjoyed the show together. Ethan stuck it out for all of the fireworks (last year he and Jason left the park when it started because it was too loud for him). He wasn't a fan of the finale, but seemed to enjoy the fireworks otherwise. We headed home afterward, and by that point of the day, everyone was ready for bed! I hope you had an enjoyable holiday like we did!

When daddy's away, we play...mostly!

On Saturday while Jason was gone, the boys and I went to my aunt and uncle's house on the lake. Micah wasn't too sure at first, but once his body was used to the temperature of the water, he liked it much better. Ethan is a little fish. He's quite confident with his life jacket on and I had to keep calling him back to be closer to the shore. He went from jumping off the dock right to me to jumping off the dock without anyone there. He was sad when we had to leave!

Our fun ended Sunday afternoon when Ethan got sick. I'll spare the details, but I'll just say that I won't be eating Macaroni and Cheese for a while. :) I know, that was too much detail. I think it's pretty standard that while one parent is home without help from the other than a child will get sick. We couldn't even go to greet Jason at church when he came home because I was afraid Ethan would get sick in the car. Needless to say, I was happy to see Jason when he got home! Thankfully it seems that it was only at 24 bug and Ethan is back to himself. So far, no signs of illness in Micah!