Per Nana Drudy's request, here are some pics of the boys on their new bikes, and Elizabeth ,aka Boof, on her 10 month birthday.
The King of Cute reigns!
My biggest boy, Isaac, just couldn't be happier.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Bikes & Boof
Per Nana Drudy's request, here are some pics of the boys on their new bikes, and Elizabeth ,aka Boof, on her 10 month birthday.The King of Cute reigns!
My biggest boy, Isaac, just couldn't be happier.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
A Great Weekend
I know it's Tuesday, but I want to share about our awesome weekend.
Keith was off work Friday (which was awesome all by itself!), but I had to go out in the morning to buy some groceries for our picnic Saturday and buy a birthday gift for the boys' friend, Noah, who turned 5! I had a nice morning shopping with the boys. Naturally, when we were at Toys R Us the boys wanted everything! Before we checked out I took the boys over to the bikes and got a couple down for them to ride. They loved them! And they looked so adorable on them! But I wasn't going to buy them without Keith, so I put them back. Oh, you should've seen the puppy dog eyes! Isaac literally said to me, "You're not friendly with me, and you're mean because you take my bike and my toys away." I nearly dropped over dead. But we checked out and left. When we got home I told Keith about the bike drama, and he subtley (sp? is that even a word?) hinted he was going to buy the bikes when he went out to get his haircut.
We had lunch and a normal afternoon, the kids and I. Keith did go out for a haircut. While Josiah and Elizabeth were still napping, he came back, with the bikes! They had to be assembled, of course, but Isaac was thrilled to assist! It was such a joy to see him so excited about his new bike, and his Lightning McQueen helmet, too! I got the cameras out, and after a couple still shots of him standing next to his bike with his enormous helmet on, I switched to the movie camera to capture his first bike ride. Only thing is, we were in the driveway, which is slightly downhill. Isaac hadn't figured out the brakes yet, and started heading right for the street. Thankfully, I was standing at the end of the driveway, but I had to grab the bike to stop him for careening out into the street. When I did this, Isaac flipped over the handlebars, and landed face first in the grass. Thank God it was the grass! Funny thing is I caught most of it on video. Incidentally, however, Isaac did not want to get back on the bike. The whole things was more hilarious than anything. He took a little break while Keith assembled Josiah's bike.
So Keith got Josiah's bike put together, Josiah & Elizabeth woke up from their naps, Isaac got over his apprehension, and the boys rode their bikes for the rest of the evening! (With a brief intermission for dinner.) It was such a joy and a delight to watch them ride their bikes for the first time!
Friday nights have also become movie nights for Keith and me. We relaxed on the couch with a bottle of Chianti and watched part 1 of The Return of the King. We've been watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so we just have part 2 to go and we're all done with that. It's been years since I've watched them, and they are my all time favorite. I might even like them better than Gone With the Wind.
Saturday we had a family reunion picnic in South Park. The weather was fabulous, and there was a nice playground for the kids there. There's also a Game Reserve in South Park we took the kids too. One of the best parts was that Isaac met his cousin, Ping, who lives in Vienna, VA. They're about the same age, within a year. They were both bashful at first, but it didn't take long for them to warm up to one another. They were pals for the rest of the day!
On Sunday after church I took the boys to our friend Noah's 5th birthday party. After lots of playtime in the hot sun, and lots of sugar, our wonderful weekend had come to an end.
Spending lots of time with family and friends is one of my favorite things to do. I especially love with Keith and I just spend entire days at home playing with the kids.
Keith was off work Friday (which was awesome all by itself!), but I had to go out in the morning to buy some groceries for our picnic Saturday and buy a birthday gift for the boys' friend, Noah, who turned 5! I had a nice morning shopping with the boys. Naturally, when we were at Toys R Us the boys wanted everything! Before we checked out I took the boys over to the bikes and got a couple down for them to ride. They loved them! And they looked so adorable on them! But I wasn't going to buy them without Keith, so I put them back. Oh, you should've seen the puppy dog eyes! Isaac literally said to me, "You're not friendly with me, and you're mean because you take my bike and my toys away." I nearly dropped over dead. But we checked out and left. When we got home I told Keith about the bike drama, and he subtley (sp? is that even a word?) hinted he was going to buy the bikes when he went out to get his haircut.
We had lunch and a normal afternoon, the kids and I. Keith did go out for a haircut. While Josiah and Elizabeth were still napping, he came back, with the bikes! They had to be assembled, of course, but Isaac was thrilled to assist! It was such a joy to see him so excited about his new bike, and his Lightning McQueen helmet, too! I got the cameras out, and after a couple still shots of him standing next to his bike with his enormous helmet on, I switched to the movie camera to capture his first bike ride. Only thing is, we were in the driveway, which is slightly downhill. Isaac hadn't figured out the brakes yet, and started heading right for the street. Thankfully, I was standing at the end of the driveway, but I had to grab the bike to stop him for careening out into the street. When I did this, Isaac flipped over the handlebars, and landed face first in the grass. Thank God it was the grass! Funny thing is I caught most of it on video. Incidentally, however, Isaac did not want to get back on the bike. The whole things was more hilarious than anything. He took a little break while Keith assembled Josiah's bike.
So Keith got Josiah's bike put together, Josiah & Elizabeth woke up from their naps, Isaac got over his apprehension, and the boys rode their bikes for the rest of the evening! (With a brief intermission for dinner.) It was such a joy and a delight to watch them ride their bikes for the first time!
Friday nights have also become movie nights for Keith and me. We relaxed on the couch with a bottle of Chianti and watched part 1 of The Return of the King. We've been watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy, so we just have part 2 to go and we're all done with that. It's been years since I've watched them, and they are my all time favorite. I might even like them better than Gone With the Wind.
Saturday we had a family reunion picnic in South Park. The weather was fabulous, and there was a nice playground for the kids there. There's also a Game Reserve in South Park we took the kids too. One of the best parts was that Isaac met his cousin, Ping, who lives in Vienna, VA. They're about the same age, within a year. They were both bashful at first, but it didn't take long for them to warm up to one another. They were pals for the rest of the day!
On Sunday after church I took the boys to our friend Noah's 5th birthday party. After lots of playtime in the hot sun, and lots of sugar, our wonderful weekend had come to an end.
Spending lots of time with family and friends is one of my favorite things to do. I especially love with Keith and I just spend entire days at home playing with the kids.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Yesterday
Beginning this summer Keith has had every other Friday off. The 9-hr workdays really aren't that rough. It's been great! Yesterday Keith was off, so I scheduled the whole family for a sitting at JCPenney Portraits. We've had great luck with them in the past and Isaac was overdue for his 3-year picture, Josiah for his 2-year, and Elizabeth for her 9-month. In addition, we'd always talked about getting a family shot. Penney's advertised a "Road Rebel" background which included a toddler-size Harley Davidson motorcycle for a prop. I thought this would be a great way to draw Isaac and Josiah out and help them cooperate with the photographer.
Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. Our appointment was for 11:20am. The morning went great! Everyone was freshly bathed, fingernails clipped, teeth brushed. I woke up before everyone to wash and straighten my hair. We arrived at 11, plenty of time for the kids to get adjusted to the environment, only to find out that someone hadn't shown up for work at the studio and there was only 1 photographer running the whole show. She was already an hour behind.
Come hell or high water, we were getting our pictures taken! My good friend Jess' father is a photographer. I called him up and asked him if he could photograph us in an hour. It just so happened he was home alone and available! What a save! We went to the foodcourt for lunch because I had promised the boys pretzel-dogs from Auntie Anne's. Keith and I got Subway and we took off for Mr. Fesz' house.
The pictures were taken outdoors. The kids know Mr. Fesz so there was no timidity to overcome. If only Josiah were more cooperative! He's just at that 2-year-old defiance age. Oh well. I'm sure we got at least 1 good family shot, 1 of just Keith and I, and maybe one of Elizabeth. He'll have the proofs for me next week I think.
The Fesz household is in the same neighborhood as my parents, so naturally the kids wanted to go to Pappy-Ga's as soon as we got in the van. I love my parents dearly, but they don't do the heat very well so I knew all the kids would do was watch TV all afternoon. I convinced Keith it was best to keep the kids with us and just go home for nap time. That's just what we did.
It turned out to be a great afternoon. Isaac helped Keith cut the grass with his little toy lawnmower. I harvested a few tomatoes and several jalapenos from my garden. I also made some phone calls that I had been wanting to make for some time to a couple ladies from my moms group (more on that later). I finished reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, though I didn't enter it on my reading list yet. Because I skipped the chapters that didn't pertain to my children I will make my next reading list entry plural and enter it then.
When Keith was all finished with his yardwork, he made dinner! What a man! The menu included delicious grilled pork chops, toasted pine nut couscous, green beans, and corn on the cob. After dinner was cleaned up I took all the kids outside for about an hour of playtime before bed (everyone woke up very early-you know, for the portrait sitting-so I planned a slightly earlier bedtime).
After the kids were in bed my parents came over with my nephew, Damian. Keith and I played 500 bid (don't know the official name of it, but it's a card game...I think it's a lot like Euchre?) with my parents, dipped a freshly baked beer bread into a garlic infused dipping oil with fresh basil, and drank a very nice Pinotage. Damian was watching Mr. Mom on DVD in the family room. We got rid of cable two weeks ago, and to be honest, I hardly notice it's gone!
So after a frustrating morning, where all my best laid plans were laid to waste, it turned out to be a most enjoyable family day at home.
Sidenote...obviously it's tough for Keith and I to go out on many dates. What we've been doing lately is just making more of our Friday nights movie nights after the kids go to bed. We usually drink some wine and eat some kind of snack. My favorite is tortilla chips with bean dip. Having game nights are another great way to have some fun at home. Last night we waited until after the kids went to bed, but one time we invited a couple friends over who have kids and had our own little game evening while our kids played together.
About my moms group...I decided I'm not returning this fall. After much prayer and discussing it with Keith I decided that I need to simplify for a season. In addition, with Isaac being 3 1/2 years old and my intending to homeschool, if I'm involved in any kind of support group I believe I should be looking for a homeschool support group at this point in time. It was tough to get everyone ready and out the door for 10am moms group, and towards the end of the year last year people just stopped showing up. So yesterday I called the leader of the group and the friend who invited me to join the group to let them know I would not be returning. It was a blessing overall for the couple of years I was involved, but it's time to move on.
Lastly I'm going to share a yummy vegetarian recipe I made for the second time last week. It's called Quinoa and Two Bean Salad. Last week I served it with BLT wraps (simple & quick). I served once before with grilled chicken. It's a great sidedish. It's not an original recipe. I found it on www.bestlife.com Quinoa is an excellent source of protein for vegetarians and vegans as it is a plant source of all the essential amino acids. The recipe calls for serving the salad chilled, but I serve it almost immediately when cooked. When I eat the leftovers, I just warm them up to room temp.
Quinoa and Two Bean Salad
Salad Ingredients
1 1/2 cups frozen cut green beans
1 1/3 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed, well-drained (the brand I used was already rinsed & ready to use)
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, drained, rinsed
4 medium green onions, sliced
Dressing Ingredients
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
4 to 5 drops red pepper sauce
Directions
1. In 2-quart saucepan, stir together green beans, water and quinoa. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer 12 to 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat. Cool 10 minutes.
2. In medium bowl, mixed cooked quinoa mixture, cannellini beans and onions. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour or until chilled. (I didn't refrigerate mine. I dressed it and served it immediately).
3. Meanwhile, in small jar with tight-fitting lid, place dressing ingredients; shake well. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (Again, I just dressed the salad and served it. No chilling for me.)
4. Just before serving, pour dressing over salad; toss gently to coat.
Notes:
Uncooked quinoa has a bitter coating and therefore must be rinsed and drained thoroughly before cooking it.
Serve with 3 ounces of cooked fish, skinless poultry, lean meat or tofu and a piece of whole grain bread.
Servings: 6, 1-cup servings
Enjoy!
Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. Our appointment was for 11:20am. The morning went great! Everyone was freshly bathed, fingernails clipped, teeth brushed. I woke up before everyone to wash and straighten my hair. We arrived at 11, plenty of time for the kids to get adjusted to the environment, only to find out that someone hadn't shown up for work at the studio and there was only 1 photographer running the whole show. She was already an hour behind.
Come hell or high water, we were getting our pictures taken! My good friend Jess' father is a photographer. I called him up and asked him if he could photograph us in an hour. It just so happened he was home alone and available! What a save! We went to the foodcourt for lunch because I had promised the boys pretzel-dogs from Auntie Anne's. Keith and I got Subway and we took off for Mr. Fesz' house.
The pictures were taken outdoors. The kids know Mr. Fesz so there was no timidity to overcome. If only Josiah were more cooperative! He's just at that 2-year-old defiance age. Oh well. I'm sure we got at least 1 good family shot, 1 of just Keith and I, and maybe one of Elizabeth. He'll have the proofs for me next week I think.
The Fesz household is in the same neighborhood as my parents, so naturally the kids wanted to go to Pappy-Ga's as soon as we got in the van. I love my parents dearly, but they don't do the heat very well so I knew all the kids would do was watch TV all afternoon. I convinced Keith it was best to keep the kids with us and just go home for nap time. That's just what we did.
It turned out to be a great afternoon. Isaac helped Keith cut the grass with his little toy lawnmower. I harvested a few tomatoes and several jalapenos from my garden. I also made some phone calls that I had been wanting to make for some time to a couple ladies from my moms group (more on that later). I finished reading Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child, though I didn't enter it on my reading list yet. Because I skipped the chapters that didn't pertain to my children I will make my next reading list entry plural and enter it then.
When Keith was all finished with his yardwork, he made dinner! What a man! The menu included delicious grilled pork chops, toasted pine nut couscous, green beans, and corn on the cob. After dinner was cleaned up I took all the kids outside for about an hour of playtime before bed (everyone woke up very early-you know, for the portrait sitting-so I planned a slightly earlier bedtime).
After the kids were in bed my parents came over with my nephew, Damian. Keith and I played 500 bid (don't know the official name of it, but it's a card game...I think it's a lot like Euchre?) with my parents, dipped a freshly baked beer bread into a garlic infused dipping oil with fresh basil, and drank a very nice Pinotage. Damian was watching Mr. Mom on DVD in the family room. We got rid of cable two weeks ago, and to be honest, I hardly notice it's gone!
So after a frustrating morning, where all my best laid plans were laid to waste, it turned out to be a most enjoyable family day at home.
Sidenote...obviously it's tough for Keith and I to go out on many dates. What we've been doing lately is just making more of our Friday nights movie nights after the kids go to bed. We usually drink some wine and eat some kind of snack. My favorite is tortilla chips with bean dip. Having game nights are another great way to have some fun at home. Last night we waited until after the kids went to bed, but one time we invited a couple friends over who have kids and had our own little game evening while our kids played together.
About my moms group...I decided I'm not returning this fall. After much prayer and discussing it with Keith I decided that I need to simplify for a season. In addition, with Isaac being 3 1/2 years old and my intending to homeschool, if I'm involved in any kind of support group I believe I should be looking for a homeschool support group at this point in time. It was tough to get everyone ready and out the door for 10am moms group, and towards the end of the year last year people just stopped showing up. So yesterday I called the leader of the group and the friend who invited me to join the group to let them know I would not be returning. It was a blessing overall for the couple of years I was involved, but it's time to move on.
Lastly I'm going to share a yummy vegetarian recipe I made for the second time last week. It's called Quinoa and Two Bean Salad. Last week I served it with BLT wraps (simple & quick). I served once before with grilled chicken. It's a great sidedish. It's not an original recipe. I found it on www.bestlife.com Quinoa is an excellent source of protein for vegetarians and vegans as it is a plant source of all the essential amino acids. The recipe calls for serving the salad chilled, but I serve it almost immediately when cooked. When I eat the leftovers, I just warm them up to room temp.
Quinoa and Two Bean Salad
Salad Ingredients
1 1/2 cups frozen cut green beans
1 1/3 cups water
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed, well-drained (the brand I used was already rinsed & ready to use)
1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, drained, rinsed
4 medium green onions, sliced
Dressing Ingredients
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon coarse salt (kosher or sea salt)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
4 to 5 drops red pepper sauce
Directions
1. In 2-quart saucepan, stir together green beans, water and quinoa. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat; simmer 12 to 15 minutes or until water is absorbed. Remove from heat. Cool 10 minutes.
2. In medium bowl, mixed cooked quinoa mixture, cannellini beans and onions. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour or until chilled. (I didn't refrigerate mine. I dressed it and served it immediately).
3. Meanwhile, in small jar with tight-fitting lid, place dressing ingredients; shake well. Refrigerate until ready to serve. (Again, I just dressed the salad and served it. No chilling for me.)
4. Just before serving, pour dressing over salad; toss gently to coat.
Notes:
Uncooked quinoa has a bitter coating and therefore must be rinsed and drained thoroughly before cooking it.
Serve with 3 ounces of cooked fish, skinless poultry, lean meat or tofu and a piece of whole grain bread.
Servings: 6, 1-cup servings
Enjoy!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Book #14: Nutrition Therapy: Advanced Counseling Skills
I'm finally done with continuing education courses until May of next year, when my next five year cycle begins and I have to get 75 new credits. This one was excellent. I only wish I had done it about 7 years ago when I first began my job at West Penn Bariatric Surgery Center counseling morbidly obese patients.
I'm wondering if my fellow blogger at Bent Over Bookwards had her baby yet? Haven't heard from her in a while.
Elizabeth is not only crawling, but pulling herself up to standing and saying "mum-mum-mum" all day long. I did have to give her a manicure today though because she keeps clawing off my flesh every time I nurse her. Yes, she is still nursing at 9 1/2 months. There's no point in stopping now, even though at times it's quite clear she's losing interest. I am NOT going to buy formula for 2 months. We're just going to stick with breastfeeding for the first 11 months at least and then go straight to milk. Still working on the sippy cup.
Isaac is still doing pretty great with letter recognition and letter sounds. He loves when I give him little chores to do too like feeding Maggie, or letting her inside after going potty. Speaking of potty, I'm trying to get Isaac to use the big potty for #2 now. He still uses the Elmo potty for it, so from now on he only gets a mint if he poops on the big potty. He also likes to dress and undress himself now. We just have to work on buttons. Those are tough!
Josiah's newest thing is getting rid of the sippy cup. I also let him put his own chapstick on after brushing his teeth tonight. I've tried putting him in underwear, but he just wets himself and has no idea what he's done so I'm not sure if this is the best time for potty training, even though it would be awesome to only have 1 kid in diapers by the end of the year! I'll try again. Besides reading to him and teaching him songs, I can't think of anything else to teach him right now. He's very good with his colors. We can always use more work on shapes. Is he ready for numbers and letters? I do some simple sign language with the boys that they pick up on right away, but is there anything else I can do with him right now?
Now that I got that self-study course done I'm looking forward to the final novella in Francine Rivers Lineage of Grace. After that, I don't know what! I'm anxious to read something about homeschooling, but I may want to stay in the fiction realm for a while.
I'm wondering if my fellow blogger at Bent Over Bookwards had her baby yet? Haven't heard from her in a while.
Elizabeth is not only crawling, but pulling herself up to standing and saying "mum-mum-mum" all day long. I did have to give her a manicure today though because she keeps clawing off my flesh every time I nurse her. Yes, she is still nursing at 9 1/2 months. There's no point in stopping now, even though at times it's quite clear she's losing interest. I am NOT going to buy formula for 2 months. We're just going to stick with breastfeeding for the first 11 months at least and then go straight to milk. Still working on the sippy cup.
Isaac is still doing pretty great with letter recognition and letter sounds. He loves when I give him little chores to do too like feeding Maggie, or letting her inside after going potty. Speaking of potty, I'm trying to get Isaac to use the big potty for #2 now. He still uses the Elmo potty for it, so from now on he only gets a mint if he poops on the big potty. He also likes to dress and undress himself now. We just have to work on buttons. Those are tough!
Josiah's newest thing is getting rid of the sippy cup. I also let him put his own chapstick on after brushing his teeth tonight. I've tried putting him in underwear, but he just wets himself and has no idea what he's done so I'm not sure if this is the best time for potty training, even though it would be awesome to only have 1 kid in diapers by the end of the year! I'll try again. Besides reading to him and teaching him songs, I can't think of anything else to teach him right now. He's very good with his colors. We can always use more work on shapes. Is he ready for numbers and letters? I do some simple sign language with the boys that they pick up on right away, but is there anything else I can do with him right now?
Now that I got that self-study course done I'm looking forward to the final novella in Francine Rivers Lineage of Grace. After that, I don't know what! I'm anxious to read something about homeschooling, but I may want to stay in the fiction realm for a while.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Quick Update
Elizabeth is growing by leaps and bounds. She now has 4 teeth, and has 2 more coming in. She is crawling and sitting up on her own. She is also becoming more and more verbal. I'm trying to teach her to say "mum-mum-mum" but it comes out more like "va-va-va."
Isaac is taking swimming lessons at the Y, and just enjoying the hot summer days outside. Josiah got a little baby swimming pool for his 2nd birthday, which he's still not too sure about. Isaac loves it, though. Isaac also loves playing with the hose and playing in his jungle gym.
Josiah is also rapidly developing from a toddler to a little boy. His speech is getting so much better, we don't need the Jozo-to-English dictionary so much anymore. Still the king of cute, he has learned to peddle a tricycle so far this summer. He, too, loves spending these hot summer days outside.
All 3 kids still love books. In fact, we're participating in the Summer Reading Program at the Plum Library this summer, though I bet I'm the only OCD mom out there who's actually logging her 2 and 3-year-olds' books in the computer. The boys know their colors very well, but we're always working on shapes. Squares must be the hardest shape to learn, for some reason. Isaac is also learning letter recognition and letter sounds.
From Baby Einstein and Kindermusik to Third Day and the Newsboys, music is a biggie in our house, too. They have lots of little instruments like rhythm sticks, tambourine, shakers, bells, and recorders. We're going to be getting my mother's piano soon as well, just not sure where to put it yet.
I planted a vegetable garden this year. I also spread 2 yards of mushroom manure around the yard and planted some pachysandra on the side of the house. I LOVE gardening, and I've been waiting 2 years to be not-pregnant and able to do some yard work.
Signing up for Sewing 101 at Joanne Fabrics on 7/10.
Family vacation to Mackinac Island coming up soon.
Gotta go. Can't turn my attention away from my kids for a minute.
Isaac is taking swimming lessons at the Y, and just enjoying the hot summer days outside. Josiah got a little baby swimming pool for his 2nd birthday, which he's still not too sure about. Isaac loves it, though. Isaac also loves playing with the hose and playing in his jungle gym.
Josiah is also rapidly developing from a toddler to a little boy. His speech is getting so much better, we don't need the Jozo-to-English dictionary so much anymore. Still the king of cute, he has learned to peddle a tricycle so far this summer. He, too, loves spending these hot summer days outside.
All 3 kids still love books. In fact, we're participating in the Summer Reading Program at the Plum Library this summer, though I bet I'm the only OCD mom out there who's actually logging her 2 and 3-year-olds' books in the computer. The boys know their colors very well, but we're always working on shapes. Squares must be the hardest shape to learn, for some reason. Isaac is also learning letter recognition and letter sounds.
From Baby Einstein and Kindermusik to Third Day and the Newsboys, music is a biggie in our house, too. They have lots of little instruments like rhythm sticks, tambourine, shakers, bells, and recorders. We're going to be getting my mother's piano soon as well, just not sure where to put it yet.
I planted a vegetable garden this year. I also spread 2 yards of mushroom manure around the yard and planted some pachysandra on the side of the house. I LOVE gardening, and I've been waiting 2 years to be not-pregnant and able to do some yard work.
Signing up for Sewing 101 at Joanne Fabrics on 7/10.
Family vacation to Mackinac Island coming up soon.
Gotta go. Can't turn my attention away from my kids for a minute.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Can't Sleep
Ever have so many things running through you mind that you want to get done tomorrow that you can't fall asleep? That's me. Here's what I hope to do tomorrow:
1) Bathe everybody
2) Take Maggie to the groomer
3) Drop off a Pampered Chef catalog to my friend Gretchen
4) Get cash out of the ATM
5) Get propane
6) Bake an angel food cake
7) Do my abdominal exercises
8) Put Elizabeth's laundry away
9) Get my Pampered Chef order ready
10) Slice tomatoes and onions and clean lettuce for dinner (hamburgers, which is why I need propane for the grill)
Plus I know I have to call two friends from church back at some point this week-the sooner the better. My Aunt Dar and cousin Courtney may be coming over for dinner tomorrow night. Keith and I are taking dinner over to a friend's house Tue evening as they just had a baby. Wednesday is Cinco de Mayo. The menu: homemade tamales, rice and beans, chips and salsa, margheritas, and probably ice cream. I don't believe anything is planned yet for Thursday or Friday. We will hopefully be hosting a game night with some friends Saturday evening. Otherwise I hope to have a gardening weekend next weekend. Sunday being Mother's Day I will have to go to church with my mom. It's hard going back to a non-spirit-filled church but I told her I would. It will mean a lot to her I think.
Quick updates:
Elizabeth-got two bottom teeth 4/20 and rolled over, back-to-front, for the first time 4/24.
Josiah-is now in a toddler bed, though he's having some trouble figuring it out. Every morning I walk into his room to find him in bed with something that wasn't in his bed the night before. Yesterday morning I woke to him screaming and crying. Walked into his room and found him holding his rocket, which is a riding toy, trying to get it into his bed. This toy is much too big for his bed. Thankfully he still thinks I need to get him out of his bed in the morning and after naps. He is having a harder time falling asleep for naps. Josiah also loves wearing hats. I forgot I let him sleep with his orange hat one night and went into his room the next morning to find him stripped down to his diaper with his orange hat on backwards. Josiah wrote the book on cute.
Isaac-growing up way too fast. A wonderful little boy.We plan on signing him up for swim lessons starting in June.
Me-same old same old.
Keith-busy at work as always. Keith learned that his group will definitely be moving to Cranberry in November. At this point we still plan to stay in our house. I do have a feeling that Keith will not like the commute. We're kind of waiting to do any home improvements until we know for sure that we're staying here. I do not want to pour a bunch of money into this house, making it the way we want it, only to sell it and start all over in a new house.
Hope everyone is getting a good night's sleep tonight, 'cause I'm not!
1) Bathe everybody
2) Take Maggie to the groomer
3) Drop off a Pampered Chef catalog to my friend Gretchen
4) Get cash out of the ATM
5) Get propane
6) Bake an angel food cake
7) Do my abdominal exercises
8) Put Elizabeth's laundry away
9) Get my Pampered Chef order ready
10) Slice tomatoes and onions and clean lettuce for dinner (hamburgers, which is why I need propane for the grill)
Plus I know I have to call two friends from church back at some point this week-the sooner the better. My Aunt Dar and cousin Courtney may be coming over for dinner tomorrow night. Keith and I are taking dinner over to a friend's house Tue evening as they just had a baby. Wednesday is Cinco de Mayo. The menu: homemade tamales, rice and beans, chips and salsa, margheritas, and probably ice cream. I don't believe anything is planned yet for Thursday or Friday. We will hopefully be hosting a game night with some friends Saturday evening. Otherwise I hope to have a gardening weekend next weekend. Sunday being Mother's Day I will have to go to church with my mom. It's hard going back to a non-spirit-filled church but I told her I would. It will mean a lot to her I think.
Quick updates:
Elizabeth-got two bottom teeth 4/20 and rolled over, back-to-front, for the first time 4/24.
Josiah-is now in a toddler bed, though he's having some trouble figuring it out. Every morning I walk into his room to find him in bed with something that wasn't in his bed the night before. Yesterday morning I woke to him screaming and crying. Walked into his room and found him holding his rocket, which is a riding toy, trying to get it into his bed. This toy is much too big for his bed. Thankfully he still thinks I need to get him out of his bed in the morning and after naps. He is having a harder time falling asleep for naps. Josiah also loves wearing hats. I forgot I let him sleep with his orange hat one night and went into his room the next morning to find him stripped down to his diaper with his orange hat on backwards. Josiah wrote the book on cute.
Isaac-growing up way too fast. A wonderful little boy.We plan on signing him up for swim lessons starting in June.
Me-same old same old.
Keith-busy at work as always. Keith learned that his group will definitely be moving to Cranberry in November. At this point we still plan to stay in our house. I do have a feeling that Keith will not like the commute. We're kind of waiting to do any home improvements until we know for sure that we're staying here. I do not want to pour a bunch of money into this house, making it the way we want it, only to sell it and start all over in a new house.
Hope everyone is getting a good night's sleep tonight, 'cause I'm not!
Friday, April 9, 2010
A New Outlook
I'd like to begin by saying if you have a son, whether you are a mom or a dad, you must read Bringing Up Boys by Dr. James Dobson. It is essential. I daresay it is even more important for fathers to read than mothers. In addition to an insightful discussion about boys' behavior and the culture they're being brought up in today, Dobson offers much support and encouragement for the stay-at-home mom too. Bringing Up Boys also sheds light on many feminist notions that had gotten into my head by osmosis, just by being born into this generation, and on how much the deck is stacked against the white male, which both of my boys are!
I realize the last time I blogged it was a scary description of how impossible my days can be at times. That is not the legacy I want to leave though. I truly love staying home with my children and raising them, loving and nurturing them, teaching and correcting them. The work of a full-time mom and homemaker is probably among the hardest there is, but I would not trade it for the world. I believe with all my heart that I am doing what is best for my children and for my husband as well. My goal is to raise children of the highest moral character, of honor and integrity, who love the Lord and live to serve Him, who are not so concerned with their own "to-do" list that they miss the needs of the very people to their left and to their right. I desire to create a warm, loving home environment in which such lofty goals are within reach, or at least have a shot! This outlook is what I would prefer to leave my readers with. I'm not saying I'll never post about the "challenges" of my days ever again, because I know that in itself can be encouraging to other moms, just to know they're not the only ones out there going through the same thing. However, I would like my blog to be more of a ministry to other moms than a means for me to just "sound off."
My darling Elizabeth, who we've lately dubbed ebeth.boof (sounds like ebeth-dot-boof, like a web address), is grabbing at toys, putting them in her mouth, and trying to sit up on her own. She has not yet rolled over from back to front, and I blame that mostly on her being in that Pavlick harness for her first 5 months of life, but she is trying to make up for lost time. Also, after sleeping through the night for a solid 2 months or so, she just decided to start waking up through the night a couple of weeks ago. Finally, on Monday night I decided to see if she could sort of cry it out and get herself back to sleep. It worked! Albeit, it's not like she was ever wailing. She was just sort of fussing, whimpering. She slept through the night again without making a peep last night!
While still fully breastfed, she has added some purees to her repetoire (sp?): applesauce, rice cereal, carrots, and pears. I also gave her a little vanilla yogurt while she was on an antibiotic for bilateral ear infections. The antibiotics definitely affected her gut in a bad way. She also likes raspberries...blowing them, that is! She is so vocal. It seems she can mimic so many different sounds already. All in all, she is still the sweet, calm, peaceful baby she was at birth.
One of my favorite parts of the day happens at dusk. I'm sitting in the nursery rocking chair at the end of the day, rocking back and forth feeding my precious baby girl, looking out the window and watching the boughs of the pine trees in our backyard sway in the breeze. It's one of those moments that gives me the "warm fuzzies" every time. This phase of my life will be but a fleeting glimpse, gone in the blink of an eye. I hope I never forget it. It makes me cry for all of my kids to be babies again. Such a crime that we can't go back in time. I'd give anything to have baby Isaac and baby Josiah all over again. To say that they grow up too fast is a massive understatement.
Back to breastfeeding, Elizabeth is back to screaming her head off when I try to nurse her. I just can't figure it out. She's either bothered by everything I eat, or nothing. Or maybe it has nothing to do with my diet at all. She goes through this cycle of hating the breast about every other week. Josiah went through this very thing early on and I gave up and switched to bottles, but he didn't like bottles either. So I'm being stubborn and sticking to my guns this time. If she is to be my last baby I hope to nurse her for her entire first year. I've done breast and bottle before and I can tell you bottle feeding is for the birds. Nothing is more economical or convenient than breastfeeding, though I know it isn't easy, at least not for me. Isaac is the only one who never put up a fight for me when it came time to eat. Josiah and Elizabeth have both fought it for reasons I can't figure out. I've also had trouble with clogged milk ducts with all 3 kids, and even got mastitis with Isaac. Keith always reminds me if breastfeeding were easy then nobody would go through the hassle of having to wash bottles everyday, or the expense of buying formula. It worth the effort though, which is why I'm sticking with breastfeeding.
Now for my beautiful Josiah. I just can't put my finger on what makes this bouncing baby boy (who isn't such a baby anymore) so special to me. His personality is so unique. He's got the confidence of an entire NFL team, yet he's such a cuddly little momma's boy at the same time. He knows he's cute and he can work it.
He seems so advanced to me. He already knows his colors. He sings lots of songs like Happy Birthday, ABC's, Row Row Row Your Boat, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star-though he doesn't articulate them very clearly ;-). He can also count to ten. We always refer to him as a black man trapped inside of a white man's body because my boy can bust a move! You've never seen a little boy dance like my JoJo. He's recently learned how to jump too. He really gets both feet off of the ground! Best of all, now that Isaac is potty trained (I'll get to that in a second) and using big-boy cups (no more sippies) Josiah shows interest in using the potty and big boy cups too. I may have 2 out of 3 potty trained by the end of the year!
Josiah is so precious to me. He's my little Keith. He looks just like his daddy. I just started teaching him the Lord's prayer and songs like This Little Light of Mine. My heart just melts when he pulls out the little Beginner's Bible and asks me, in his little JoZo way, to read about Jesus. You've also got to see him fold his little hands to pray. There's something so mysterious about Josiah that neither Keith nor I have figured out yet, like we still don't fully know this little boy. In spite of the fact that we believe his "terrible two's" have begun, he is still a wonderful little boy. He will be 2 officially in 2 more months, and I'm planning a Handy Manny birthday for him!
Finally, my precious firstborn son, Isaac. It seems like only yesterday Isaac was a baby and now he's like 10! I'm exaggerating obviously, but he's really become a big boy in the last month or so. As I mentioned before, something finally clicked about pooping on the potty and Isaac is now fully potty-trained. We even drove to Michigan and back without a single accident. Along with pooping on the potty Isaac also has no desire to use sippy cups anymore. He is so much bigger than he was just 3 months ago. He also seems to have gotten past that "terrible two" stage of total rebellion all day everyday. He still has his moments of course, but the phase I hope has passed.
Along with all of these developments he has become a much rougher, tougher, noisier boy! Ever hear someone say something like, "Oh he's all boy." That's my Isaac. I will say that reading Bringing Up Boys has given me some peace of mind regarding some of this boy behavior. I mean, at least I have a better picture of what's normal, since I've been a girl my whole life. :-D
I realize the last time I blogged it was a scary description of how impossible my days can be at times. That is not the legacy I want to leave though. I truly love staying home with my children and raising them, loving and nurturing them, teaching and correcting them. The work of a full-time mom and homemaker is probably among the hardest there is, but I would not trade it for the world. I believe with all my heart that I am doing what is best for my children and for my husband as well. My goal is to raise children of the highest moral character, of honor and integrity, who love the Lord and live to serve Him, who are not so concerned with their own "to-do" list that they miss the needs of the very people to their left and to their right. I desire to create a warm, loving home environment in which such lofty goals are within reach, or at least have a shot! This outlook is what I would prefer to leave my readers with. I'm not saying I'll never post about the "challenges" of my days ever again, because I know that in itself can be encouraging to other moms, just to know they're not the only ones out there going through the same thing. However, I would like my blog to be more of a ministry to other moms than a means for me to just "sound off."
My darling Elizabeth, who we've lately dubbed ebeth.boof (sounds like ebeth-dot-boof, like a web address), is grabbing at toys, putting them in her mouth, and trying to sit up on her own. She has not yet rolled over from back to front, and I blame that mostly on her being in that Pavlick harness for her first 5 months of life, but she is trying to make up for lost time. Also, after sleeping through the night for a solid 2 months or so, she just decided to start waking up through the night a couple of weeks ago. Finally, on Monday night I decided to see if she could sort of cry it out and get herself back to sleep. It worked! Albeit, it's not like she was ever wailing. She was just sort of fussing, whimpering. She slept through the night again without making a peep last night!
While still fully breastfed, she has added some purees to her repetoire (sp?): applesauce, rice cereal, carrots, and pears. I also gave her a little vanilla yogurt while she was on an antibiotic for bilateral ear infections. The antibiotics definitely affected her gut in a bad way. She also likes raspberries...blowing them, that is! She is so vocal. It seems she can mimic so many different sounds already. All in all, she is still the sweet, calm, peaceful baby she was at birth.
One of my favorite parts of the day happens at dusk. I'm sitting in the nursery rocking chair at the end of the day, rocking back and forth feeding my precious baby girl, looking out the window and watching the boughs of the pine trees in our backyard sway in the breeze. It's one of those moments that gives me the "warm fuzzies" every time. This phase of my life will be but a fleeting glimpse, gone in the blink of an eye. I hope I never forget it. It makes me cry for all of my kids to be babies again. Such a crime that we can't go back in time. I'd give anything to have baby Isaac and baby Josiah all over again. To say that they grow up too fast is a massive understatement.
Back to breastfeeding, Elizabeth is back to screaming her head off when I try to nurse her. I just can't figure it out. She's either bothered by everything I eat, or nothing. Or maybe it has nothing to do with my diet at all. She goes through this cycle of hating the breast about every other week. Josiah went through this very thing early on and I gave up and switched to bottles, but he didn't like bottles either. So I'm being stubborn and sticking to my guns this time. If she is to be my last baby I hope to nurse her for her entire first year. I've done breast and bottle before and I can tell you bottle feeding is for the birds. Nothing is more economical or convenient than breastfeeding, though I know it isn't easy, at least not for me. Isaac is the only one who never put up a fight for me when it came time to eat. Josiah and Elizabeth have both fought it for reasons I can't figure out. I've also had trouble with clogged milk ducts with all 3 kids, and even got mastitis with Isaac. Keith always reminds me if breastfeeding were easy then nobody would go through the hassle of having to wash bottles everyday, or the expense of buying formula. It worth the effort though, which is why I'm sticking with breastfeeding.
Now for my beautiful Josiah. I just can't put my finger on what makes this bouncing baby boy (who isn't such a baby anymore) so special to me. His personality is so unique. He's got the confidence of an entire NFL team, yet he's such a cuddly little momma's boy at the same time. He knows he's cute and he can work it.
He seems so advanced to me. He already knows his colors. He sings lots of songs like Happy Birthday, ABC's, Row Row Row Your Boat, and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star-though he doesn't articulate them very clearly ;-). He can also count to ten. We always refer to him as a black man trapped inside of a white man's body because my boy can bust a move! You've never seen a little boy dance like my JoJo. He's recently learned how to jump too. He really gets both feet off of the ground! Best of all, now that Isaac is potty trained (I'll get to that in a second) and using big-boy cups (no more sippies) Josiah shows interest in using the potty and big boy cups too. I may have 2 out of 3 potty trained by the end of the year!
Josiah is so precious to me. He's my little Keith. He looks just like his daddy. I just started teaching him the Lord's prayer and songs like This Little Light of Mine. My heart just melts when he pulls out the little Beginner's Bible and asks me, in his little JoZo way, to read about Jesus. You've also got to see him fold his little hands to pray. There's something so mysterious about Josiah that neither Keith nor I have figured out yet, like we still don't fully know this little boy. In spite of the fact that we believe his "terrible two's" have begun, he is still a wonderful little boy. He will be 2 officially in 2 more months, and I'm planning a Handy Manny birthday for him!
Finally, my precious firstborn son, Isaac. It seems like only yesterday Isaac was a baby and now he's like 10! I'm exaggerating obviously, but he's really become a big boy in the last month or so. As I mentioned before, something finally clicked about pooping on the potty and Isaac is now fully potty-trained. We even drove to Michigan and back without a single accident. Along with pooping on the potty Isaac also has no desire to use sippy cups anymore. He is so much bigger than he was just 3 months ago. He also seems to have gotten past that "terrible two" stage of total rebellion all day everyday. He still has his moments of course, but the phase I hope has passed.
Along with all of these developments he has become a much rougher, tougher, noisier boy! Ever hear someone say something like, "Oh he's all boy." That's my Isaac. I will say that reading Bringing Up Boys has given me some peace of mind regarding some of this boy behavior. I mean, at least I have a better picture of what's normal, since I've been a girl my whole life. :-D
Isaac's latest accomplishments are becoming a master of puzzles and numbers, as well as beginning to learn his letters, letter sounds, and how to tell time. Most recently I've begun teaching him things like my phone number, our address, and where daddy works, you know, in case of certain emergencies.
Well, Keith just came home from work so I'm going to give him my full attention now. It sure is tough finding time for blogging! I hope that this blog encourages someone in some small way! I just want to conclude this blog with a quote from Bringing Up Boys, from the very last chapter entitled The Ultimate Priority.
"What will give you the greatest satisfaction as you lie there on your sickbed, thinking about the experiences of a lifetime? Will your heart thrill to the memory of honors, degrees, and professional accolades? Will fame be most highly prized, even if you manage to achieve it? Will you swell with pride over the money you've made, the books you have written, or the buildings and businesses that bear your name? I think not. Temporal successes and accomplishments will not be very gratifying in that moment of destiny. I believe the greatest sense of fulfillment as you prepare to close the final chapter will be in knowing that you lived by a consistent standard of holiness before God and that you invested yourself unselfishly in the lives of your family members and friends. Most important, knowing that you led your children to the Lord and will be with them in eternity will outrank every other achievement. All else will fade into insignificance. If that is a true representation of how you will feel when your days are growing short, why not determine to live according to that value system now, while you still have the opportunity to influence the impressionable kids who look up to you?"
I agree Dr. Dobson.
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