Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Shopping, Swimming, Sickness and Sorting

Oh, Bro. Don would be so proud of the alliteraton wouldn't he? 

Anyways, yesterday was a busy day for us.  Blake and I dropped off Connor at Mother's Day Out and then headed over to do some shopping in hopes to find 3 things...shoes for Blake's Easter Outfit, something for Connor to wear Easter and something for me to wear Easter.  After 2 hours of shopping and 5 stores later we had only gotten me a top to wear with a skirt for Sunday and a shirt for Connor to wear Sunday as well.  If Blake and Connor were to be girls I would have been in and out of the stores in 15 minutes flat!  Why, oh why, do designers not make more for boys???  There were so many cute things for girls along with a great selection of shoes but NOTHING for boys.  I just wanted a basic vest and shirt for Connor and something similar to Stride Rites (we have 1 pair but I practically packed Blake's feet into them for his 1 year picture so I'm sure they won't fit now) for Blake.  What I need is a Children's Place.  That would have taken care of my problem but I didn't want to make a road trip out of it. 

Well, back home for lunch and a nap and then back to the church to get Connor.  Connor had a terrific day at school.  They went to a local park for an Easter Egg Hunt.  He had a great time.  Apparently all the other kids ran faster than he and grabbed more eggs than they were suppose to because according to Connor he only ended up with 5 eggs and the teachers had to get 19 other eggs from other kids for him. (All kids were to get 24 eggs).  I may need to check out this story. 

Then off to the Y for swimming lessons.  He was the only one in class yesterday so he did even more spectacular.  His teacher, Amy, has not given him the option of a float belt this year which I am tickled about.  So, he's doing even better.  Amy said he is just like she was when she was his age.  He can swim all day long under water but he just can't get the hang of it on top of the water.  But, he's getting there.  He did better with face in the water and then turning to the side to breathe.  He has 11 more lessons before the beach.  So, my goal is to always to have 2 or 3 sessions under our belt before the beach and we've accomplished that the past 3 years!!

Well, about 20 minutes into the lessons I started feeling sick.  We finally got home, I put up the gate in the bonus room and shut the door so Blake couldn't escape and I collapsed on the couch until Aaron got home about 2 hours later.  By the time he got home I was feeling pretty rough.  I did have him go ahead and pick me up some Jersey Mike's (that I'd been craving for a while now) in hopes that I'd feel like eating eventually.  I went on to bed around 6:00 just to seclude myself from everyone in case I was coming down with something.  The sick stomach feeling went away so I went ahead and ate but then the chills hit.  Aren't the chills just the most annoying thing?  Finally around 8:00 (and of course just in the middle of my very favorite show...The Biggest Loser) I fell asleep but only to be woken up about 30 minutes later to Connor informing me he was putting pajamas on.  At this point the chills were gone but the body aches had started.  YUCK!!!  I had Aaron bring up some Aleve, took that, finished the Biggest Loser and then back to sleep again.  I slept so soundly which was not expected at all and woke up feeling pretty good this morning.  What a blessing and answered prayer.  Who knows, 12 hour bug, maybe?

So on to my last s, sorting.  So, I decided I better start finding what hand-me-downs Blake had to wear for the Spring since he'll be needing them next week while he spends the week with Nana and Grandaddy.    I've gone through 2 tubs of clothes so far looking for his size and found a lot but can't seem to find all of the swimming trunks that Connor had when he was 1.  I've still got 2 or 3 more tubs to look through so maybe I'll come across them in those.  But, he'll not need the swimming trunks for 2 more months so surely I can find them by then.  Since the kids will be gone next week, I'm planning on dumping all the clothes out from all of the tubs and sorting according to size.  They use to be all sorted but they sure aren't anymore.  This should be very helpful to me and I need to get smaller sizes all sorted to hand on down to Tish for our newest little buddy arriving around July 27.

Okay, so this seems to be the longest blog ever.  But, I had tons to say.   

Monday, March 29, 2010

Chunky Legs

Have you ever heard the kid song "Smelly Feet"?  I hadn't until Connor got a kid's CD with it on there.  In fact, I googled the song and couldn't find it.  I wanted you to be able to hear it to appreciate Connor's creativity.  But, I had no luck.  Basically it says "I've got smelly feet, smelly feet, I've got really smelly feet, smelly, elly, ally, elly, iggly ally feet" (then repeat).  Well, anyways, today Connor started telling Blake he had chunky legs.  Next thing I knew he was singing "You've got chunky legs, chunky legs, you've got really chunky legs, chunky, chunky, chunky, chunky, chunky, chunky legs."  It was so funny.  Just a funny moment I had to share.  Another moment for my heart to smile!!!

Is it Monday Already?

Today has been a typical Monday for us.  Thankfully, a much easier Monday than last Monday.  I've tried to be more productive today and feel as though I have suceeded.  While Blake was down for his morning nap, Connor asked if he could go play on his swingset.  Well, of course!  Go right ahead!!  So, I decided I'd just stay in and clean downstairs so I could keep an eye on him.  It was a little chilly but he insisted he'd be fine with a coat on.  After a little while he came in to ask if he could play in the sandbox.  He's just so sweet to come and ask if he can do pretty much anything.  So, I helped him take off the cover and he played and played.  He did eventually start to get cold...or at least his hands were getting cold.  It was so nice that he could go outside and just have some great outside fun in the sun.

I think Blake is making up for only having 1 nap yesterday (which is typical for a Sunday) as I had to wake him up at 12:30 from his nap.  We finished up the afternoon with a trip to Aaron's work to do some paper shredding, drop off some toy donations at Good Will and off to Sam's to get 2 more things that I forgot on Thursday's trip.  Aaron called to say he wanted to do something fun with Connor tonight and was thinking about going to the movies.  So, putting Connor down for a nap was so super easy when he found out he was going to the movies when he woke up.  So, here I am, both kids down for a nap and a clean house.  Ahhhh, what a terrific day!

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Palm Sunday

Our church always has a very sweet service for Palm Sunday. Every year all of the kids from babies through probably elementary school march into the sanctuary waving palm branches as we sing. This year we even had someone portraying Jesus walk in with the kids. The children's choir group that I help with (4s, 5s, and kindergarten) sang a special following the march in. They did a fantastic job. You never know how things are going to go with that age group. You could have shouts out to mom and dad, waving to everyone, nose pickers (yes, that was my son the last time)...you just never know. But, they were super terrific today. What a wonderful job they did singing to God today. Here is a picture of them marching in.
Here is a picture of part of the kids doing the sign language to part of the song. What a wonderful service we had today on this Palm Sunday.

My mom and dad came in for the day to see Connor sing then back to our house for baked ziti and garlic cheese biscuits. We had a great visit with them. Both kids were worn out and are in fact still sleeping...3 hours now for Blake and 2 1/2 hours for Connor. What a wonderful Sunday at church.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Just Random Thoughts

Well, my morning started at 3:40 this morning in order to open up the Y. I worked there until 7:45, came home, got Blake dressed and fed and then prepared to go back to the Y to do a little more work. Aaron is home sick today, so I was able to leave Connor here. I told him he could watch TV and play Wii games as long as he left Aaron alone. Boy was he happy. With juice prepared for a snack, I started to get make some peanut butter crackers for him so that Aaron wouldn't have to worry with preparing a snack when Connor informed me he wanted to make them all himself. So, I left him a plate, crackers, spoon and PB out for him to make his own crackers. Aaron said he did a good job making the PB crackers.

Now, I'm waiting for Blake to get tired enough so I can put him down for a nap, and Connor and I are going to run to Sam's. I am in desperate need of several things and today seems like the perfect day to do it. I sure hope he gets tired soon because I'd like to get this trip over pretty soon before it starts raining and storming again. So, nothing really interesting today. Just a few random thoughts of my busy day.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

3-2-1 BLASTOFF!!!!

We've inherited another cool toy from the cousins. Connor got out the air pump this morning and we pumped it up. The boys are having a 'blast' playing with the space shuttle. It has also turned into a new seat for watching tv. How could your heart not smile watching these two boys play?

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

We Have a Climber on Our Hands!!

Why is it that whenever Blake hears a noise he wants to investigate he's in the bonus room...the ONLY room in the entire house that has windows that are too tall for him to see out of?

Monday, March 22, 2010

An Early Morning

Our morning started at 5:30 this morning. Why? Because Blake thought that was a great time to start his day. I put him in the bed with us thinking he'd go back to sleep but he never did. So, the two of us ended up getting up. I thought he'd surely go back to bed for an early nap, maybe 9:00. Nope, not 10:00 or even 10:30. It wasn't until 12:30 that he finally gave it up and then he still fought it. I figured he's probably sleep all afternoon. But, he slept a little less than 2 hours. Not what I had planned. I even put Connor down for a nap early so I could try to get a nap in, but that just didn't work with Blake's schedule. It's been a tough day, but we're going to make it. I'm thinking if I had my car back I'd be heading to Starbuck's or maybe even something worse...McDonald's! YIKES!

I found Blake in the rocking chair looking at a book this afternoon. Very cute. When Connor found out I was going to take a picture of him, he wanted in too. As you can tell from the picture, the boys have stayed in their PJs all day. I probably would have too, but you know me. I've got to get up and shower before I start my day or I just feel nasty all day! :)
This other picture of Blake is just so funny. I can't remember now what he was hearing outside but he wanted so bad to be able to see. Doesn't that just make your heart smile?!?!?!

Friday, March 19, 2010

Bath time


Just had to share this adoreable picture of Blake in the tub from a couple of nights ago. He received some bubble bath in his stocking from Santa that we haven't used in a while. He just loved it! Watching him have so much fun in the tub makes my heart smile!
As promised, here is a picture of my heavenly crockpot pork loin from last night along with my cheese potatoes. This recipe came from a friend at the Y. You can checkout her blog here. Basically the recipe is one can of cream of mushroom soup, one can golden mushroom soup and one can of French onion soup. Mix all the soups together and pour in the crockpot with the pork loin and cook all day.

The cheese potatoes are my mother-in-law's recipe (or actually I think she said her mom or grandmother's recipe). All you need to do for the pototes is layer sliced potatoes, salt and pepper, butter, cheese slices, and a dusting of flour. Keep layering these until you have as much as you need. This is one of those recipes where you don't measure anything, you just dump it all in. I cooked mine yesterday at 400 for about 45 minutes and then turned it down to 350 for about 30 more minutes. I think I typically just do it on 350 for about an hour and a half. But, I was a little pressed for time. Connor is not really big on potatoes, but he loved these last night. Since I had a supper meeting last night, I didn't get to have any last night (this is Aaron's plate) so I'm looking forward to my lunch today!!!!





This morning Connor decided he wanted chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. But, not just plain chocolate chip pancakes. The pancakes had to be colored with food coloring. It took a while to figure out which color to use but he finally decided on blue.




He stirred for a little while and then I finished it up.



I always make Blake's pancakes first with no chocolate chips because he makes the biggest mess every time with chocolate. Plus, I'm not really ready for him to be chowing down on sugar all the time. I don't think he realizes that he's being left out! :) He always seems to enjoy them.


Of course, Connor loved his pancakes.

Being able to cook pancakes together this morning made our hearts smile!

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Another day of smiling hearts

Not much going on today. I was asked to come back into the Y and work for a couple of hours this morning, so we'll be leaving in a little while for that. Then I was asked to attend the Y board meeting tonight at 6:00. So, not a very busy day, but a day that we don't get to stay home all day long.

Since I'll be leaving for the board meeting around supper time, I thought tonight would be a good crockpot night. Thankfully I had one more pork loin in the freezer, so I thew that in the crockpot a few minutes ago. I'll post a picture of that tomorrow along with the recipe. It is a recipe that I got from a friend from the Y. It is spectacular, and all four of us love it. In fact, before I started cooking it this morning I asked Aaron if he was tired of it yet because I think I've cooked it about 4 times in the past 4 or 5 weeks!

I've been trying to avoid the grocery store and just eat stuff out of the freezer. My freezer was so full and now it is starting to look pretty bare. So, I've been pretty successful. I haven't avoided the grocery store all together because with the two boys and Aaron we go through a ton of milk every week, my boys LOVE, LOVE their fruit and then of course bread and just odds and ends. But, no big grocery trip. In fact, I haven't done my gigantic monthly grocery shopping since January! I've just been able to run in and get a few things every week or so. But, after about another 4 days I'll have to make a huge Sam's trip to stock up on soups and meat. And, I'll have to break down and head to Wal-Mart or Kroger for other stuff too. But, I'm so glad to have gotten the freezer cleaned out.

Connor got his games and shows taken away Tuesday for being disobedient at Mother's Day Out. And, I have to say it has been very nice. He has a time limit every day, but I can see such a big difference in his attitude when he does get to play the Wii or watch TV. Can't really figure it out since he plays good games and watches good shows, but there is a difference. So, right now we've got the Contemporary Christian music TV channel on and I'm loving it!!! Connor always says the Devil won't come to our house if we have "Jesus music playing!"

I'll leave you today with a picture that I took yesterday afternoon. Connor was going down for a nap and Blake kept insisting that he was going to stay with Connor. I knew there was no way he'd actually lay down and fall asleep, which he didn't, but I did capture this precious picture that made my heart smile.

Monday, March 15, 2010

Afternoon Update and New Words


Well, it appears I'm going to have a quiet night. Aaron is off to the pool at Tech to practice his kayaking rolls. Connor asked to go, and much to my surprise, Aaron agreed to it. So, Blake and I are just hanging out together. Thanks to Aunt Joy, Blake has succeeded in dumping out ALL his 200+ foam blocks out in the floor as I type this blog and is playing with the mega phone that Uncle Mark gave Connor Christmas before last. I didn't think I ever did anything to Mark to make him mad, but evidently I did since he gave us this mega phone! HA! But, I digress.

Basically, I just wanted to update Connor's swim lessons from this afternoon. I had intentions of dropping Blake off in YPlay, taking Connor downstairs to the pool for lessons and then heading to the Wellness floor to workout. Then, I decided against this plan. I'm trying so hard to not put things in front of my kids (computer, cleaning or workouts in this case) because they grow up so fast. I don't want to be missing anything. I have started feeling guilty recently for putting other things in front of doing things with them. Now, this is not my excuse to not workout or clean or whatever, but I think watching Connor practice his swimming is very important to him, and I love to see his progress. So, I put the workout clothes up and went to the pool with him. He did so great. He never wears a float belt in class now and feels so comfortable without it.
Today they practiced swimming on their back, a new arm movement (sorry, I have no idea on the correct lingo for swimming "moves") and a new leg "frog" movement. Connor will tell you he's no good at the frog movement and can't understand that he'll eventually get it just like he has with every other swimming technique. Then he did what he said was the best part of swimming. His teacher, Willem, dropped a big, weighted letter "B" to the bottom of the pool and had him go for it. He did it over and over on the first try. I was so proud. He felt so proud of himself. He likes to point out that the girl he was in class with didn't do it as good as he did, but I'll take up for her and tell you she tried her hardest. She just couldn't get it on the first try every time like Connor was able to do. They then went on the 6 foot end and let them jump in, still no float belt.

When we went to pick up Aaron at work, Connor said he wished that Daddy hadn't had to go to work today so he could have gone to lessons. Aaron has always been able to go to his lessons, but this sesson only had Mon/Wed classes and since we have choir at church Wednesday night at 5:00, Connor had to take the 4:00 class, which means Aaron can't be there. Hearing about this made Aaron sad, so he's going to skip lunch Wednesday so he doesn't feel bad leaving early and will be able to go to Connor's last lesson on Wednesday.

So, now I thought I'd finish up this post with a list of words Blake uses now and what they mean. He is so vocal now. I think we're going to have another major talker on our hands.


Mommy, Mom (obvious)

DaDa, Daddy (again, obvious)

Nonna = Connor

Pippy = Sippy

Nana = Nana

Mamey = Blakey

Nack = Snack

Shush = juice

Nigh Nigh = Night Night

No! (VERY obvious)

Baby (obvious)
Wow! (obvious) (He says this every morning when I open up the shades in his room)

Whoa (obvious)

Maman = Amen

Let's Get Started!!

I've been throwing around the idea here lately of starting my own blog for my family and friends to see what has been going on with our family. I'm not sure if I'll be continuing this for very long or not. Guess it all depends on whether or not I feel I have enough content or interest to continue it.

Today has been a pretty relaxing day. Due to our Mazda being sick, I had to get up and ready and take Aaron to work this morning. Then back home for a little house straightening. Chiropractor appointment at 10:00 and then back home.

The boys have just played and played with each other today. They are just the best. I love watching them play with each other. Blake is now getting to the age where he has a definite personality and lets it show when Connor irritates him. Both went down for naps so easily today as they neither one slept very well last night. Connor has swimming lessons later this afternoon, I'll workout during the lessons and then to pick up Aaron from work again.

As I sit and write this very first post, "The Fabulous Life of the Mega Rich" is on in the background. I just can't help but wonder how happy some of these celebrities really are. They have so much money but do they really know happiness? Do these people really know the happiness that Jesus Christ can give them? I think about this a lot.

Well, just a few more quite minutes before I must get the boys up and ready to go to the Y.