Wonderings and Wanderings

But the monsters...

2012-01-23T22:07:00.001-08:00

Jaden is getting really creative at trying to get others to go with HIS agenda rather than their own.

The other night I told him he could play trains for a few minutes while we finished cleaning up. He walked into the playroom and then turned around and said, "but there are monsters in my playroom."

Humoring him, I went into the playroom and looked around making comments like...

"Hmmm...I don't see any monsters under the train table."

"are there any behind the rocking chair? .... No."

"What about under the desk? Nope."

I concluded my investigation with, "It looks like the coast is clear, no monsters here!"

Jaden looked at me and, without skipping a beat, said,
"No. The monsters are really smart. They hear me talking to you and they know to stay away. But, when you leave and I'm not talking to you anymore, they come out."

Now, maybe I should be worried that my 3 year old is overly afraid of monsters and their sneakiness.

However, considering he said these things while working really hard to try to hide his smile, instead I just think he's hilariously creative!

In and Out

2012-01-21T21:58:00.001-08:00

Easy, simple, fun!
Pom Pom balls and a grape tomato container.

Working side by side

2012-01-21T21:53:00.001-08:00

This was Alivia's first time with dot markers. FUN!

Enough of a mess that I think we'll wait to introduce regular paint until it's diaper only weather on the patio!

This is what happens

2012-01-21T21:48:00.001-08:00

When you say...
"No hitting! Kisses!"

What a difference a year makes....

2011-12-12T23:14:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that this little girl...

Has already grown into this walking, babbling, giggling, playful, melt-your-heart-with-a-smile BIG girl!

Happy 1st Birthday!

A rainbow cake experiment...

YUM!"Hey, this cake eating business is messy stuff!"

Trying to decide which is more fun - the tissue paper in the package or what might be lying beneath in the bag!

The rocking horse is a HUGE hit!

(of course, within 5 minutes she has already learned to climb on forwards, backwards, and ride standing up! eeek!!!)

I think I might be going through a "my baby is growing up" crisis! I know, she's only ONE....but...how did she stop being a BABY so fast?!!?!??!?!

Halloween Fun

2011-11-01T07:20:00.001-07:00

Here are my Halloween cuties!

TRICK or TREAT!!!

After 2 weeks of insisting that he wanted to be a frog based on the fact that he had seen a frog mask we had while we were putting up Halloween decorations, Jaden would NOT wear the frog mask! But, a friend had given us a frog eyes headband and he did consent to that although I had to almost tackle him to paint his hair green! Alivia didn't really like getting dressed in her dalmation costume but, once it was on, seemed oblivious!

With a couple of big Jack-o-lanterns as parents!

It was Jaden's "job" to ring the doorbell and once Alivia heard it go off she would walk quickly up the walk towards the door. Even at 10 months she TOTALLY understood what this was about and when someone would say "Trick or Treat" she'd hold the bucket up.
Stephen's parent's neighborhood is like trick-or-treat central. I don't know HOW many hundreds of people show up. They had 4 giant bags of candy and we had brought 4 more and it ALL disappeared! Once the trick-or-treaters started showing up Jaden was so excited about giving candy to his "customers."

Every time there would be a break between trick or treaters (sometimes they were lined up the walk all the way to the street) he would see some coming down the street and do a little dance yelling "Yay...there are MORE trick or treaters coming!"

He also would comment on the costumes of the people he gave candy to and say things like "You'll like this one" as he carefully placed the candy in their bags. It was SOOOO funny! It was clear he had more fun giving the candy away than he did going door to door!

Of course, Alivia had to help!

She really wanted to EAT all the candy! Every time we'd turn around she'd be trying to knaw her way through another wrapper!

It was a SUPER fun night! And I just so happen to think that I have the most FUN kiddos ever!

Here were the decorations outside our house! I saw this cute idea in Pinterest but here's the direct link. Super easy and cute. After seeing one other house with these in our neighborhood I think next year I'll try white milk jugs instead of clear (although that would require buying a different brand of milk). Also, orange lights look really cool. Maybe next year we'll have pumpkins AND ghosts!
We also tried Ghost Jello Treats from here. I would say these take a bit of work to make really cute - but if you don't care about perfection and are okay with the below they are quite easy. Of course, Jaden wouldn't eat it! He just wanted plain jello!

The Great Pretender

2011-10-25T16:16:00.001-07:00

I've really been impressed with Jaden's pretend play lately. He's coming up with scenarios and acting them out all of the time.

Today, after lunch at Grandma H's house, Jaden went to the other room and loaded all the wooden blocks in the rolling suitcase he had brought with. Pretty soon he was talking about a fire and cooking. We all had to go sit on the couches because he declared, "the food is ready!!!!".

As we sat down he went over to a flashlight that he had set up on end, light shining to the sky, that had several blocks stacked on top of it. He grabbed a few blocks and gave some to each of us saying, "here are your strawberries. Here is your lettuce. Here is your white taco.".

After eating them, I asked for more. He replied, " I have to get some more food from the fridge (going over to the rolling suitcase) and cook it over the fire (Stacking them on the flashlight).

So, the big question is....
If blocks can be food
A suitcase can be a refrigerator
And a flashlight can be a cooking fire...
WHY did I build him a play kitchen???

Jokester

2011-10-25T15:56:00.001-07:00

So, today Jaden told Grandma H a new joke (that he learned from Mali)...

J: Knock knock
G: Who's there?
J: Banana
G: Banana who?

J: Knock knock
G: Who's there?
J: Banana
G: Banana who?

J: Knock knock
G: Who's there?
J: Banana
G: Banana who?

J: Knock knock
G: Who's there?
J: Orange
G: Orange who?
J: orange you glad I didn't say banana?

Then, he says, "wait.....I have another new joke for you."
J: knock knock
G: Who's there?
J: apple
G: apple who?
J: orange you glad I didn't say banana?

Cracks me up that kid!!!

A Hike Near Home

2011-10-24T12:35:00.000-07:00

A weekend in the mountains and the finally cooler weather inspired us to go for a hike in our local mountains the following week. Definitely less trees and more rocks here - but a unique desert kind of beauty nonetheless.

Taking a little rest

Daddy got the hard job!

Enjoying the view

having fun (and motivated by periodic snacks and races with daddy)

Alivia decided she needed to hike a bit herself

Need to Make Dinner?

2011-10-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

Need to occupy a kid or two?

Grab a strainer and some pipe cleaners and see what kind of crazy creations they can make!

This only entertained Jaden for about 5 minutes - but I think on another day he could be interested for longer.

Since that was a bit hard for Alivia's dexterity I gave her a bowl with a bunch of plastic cookie cutters - and a strainer - since her brother had one that was what she really wanted!
Just as a side note - you have to be willing to have things ALL OVER your kitchen floor for this to be an acceptable activity. But, sometimes you just have to choose - clean floor or dinner made!?!?!

A Trip to the Mountains

2011-10-07T15:43:00.000-07:00

Since it has been summer in the desert we were MORE than excited to head up to the mountains with the mariachi on a recent trip. The schedule allowed it so our family went up a day early to enjoy a little R&R with the pines.....

Of course, we had to explore the grass

Riding on Daddy's shoulders is ALWAYS the best place to be! SOOOOOO big!

I had a magnifying glass I had been saving for Jaden

to explore with on a special expedition and it was a big hit. He explored leaves, flowers, grass, trees......and said "WOAH, it's so BIG" every time he looked at something!

checking out the tree....

Alivia LOVED pinecones. Of course, just like everything, she wondered what they tasted like and tried exploring with her mouth too!

I still can't get over how ridiculous AND adorable these pigtails are!

Some friends let us borrow a baby carrier backpack and it was SO nice!

We didn't do much of a real hike but it was handy to carry

Alivia around as we did a little exploring!

We had a great day exploring but I joked with Stephen that if anyone had asked us what we did all day they might have thought we were pretty boring. He reminded me that perhaps other parents of 2 kids 3 and under might think it sounded like the perfect day as well!

We stopped by a little park/visitor's center for a short hike (aka about 2 blocks worth) and discovered a stream. Jaden had a lot of fun throwing rocks, leaves and pinecones in. We discovered that the pinecones were the most fun to watch float downstream!

Of course, you can only LOOK at a stream for so long when you're 3. So....While it was a bit cool it wasn't too bad and....who wants to try to keep a 3 year old boy OUT of the water when he really wants to explore!?!?!?

After a short nap in the backpack Alivia was ready to explore as well.

and keeping this girl away from water is near impossible!

closer...

closer....

closer.....

happiness!

Since we didn't have a change of clothes we had to get down to the diaper. It was probably a bit chilly for that but, we sure had a happy girl!

After the weekend events with the mariachi we stopped at a resort out in the mountains by a lake. Jaden got to go on his first pedal boat ride.

He thought it was fun for about 10 minutes. Then he wanted to get off of the "boring" boat and go on something a bit faster! No motor boats on this small lake though.

And, pedaling was a bit harder than I remember.

Maybe we'll wait until he can pull his own weight on the pedals before we try this again!

I sure do love this family of mine!

All that in a watercolor box

2011-09-06T22:24:00.000-07:00

All that in a watercolor box

Today I totally lost my cool....

... over a box of watercolors.

We were going to make a card (which kind of needs to be mailed by tomorrow).

Jaden wanted to paint it with watercolors.

But there was this box on the table - one he decided needed to be a "house".

So he started painting that instead.

Soon I looked over and the colors were all mixing together.

He just wanted to make black water, was the reply.

Now I know it is just a box of watercolors.

But this DRIVES ME CRAZY!

Of course there is artistic value in learning about color mixing.

Of course it is just a box of cheap paints.

Of course I do not want to be angry with my son about something so silly.

Of course I do not want to deter him from painting when it is clear he loves to.

BUT, it DRIVES ME NUTS!!!!!

WHY????

Was it about prudent use of materials?

Was it about messiness?

Was it because I wanted him to finish the card and he was focused on the box?

Here we go....

I was the kid that kept my crayons neatly in the box with their wrappers so you could always read the color.

I sharpened them carefully and would frequently reorganize them in the small boxes within the large cases so similar colors were together.

I didn't like using watercolors because there was no way to keep the yellow and orange pure without getting a new glass of water for dipping every few minutes.

I barely remember ever painting with paint yet I KNOW I never did anything like combine red and white to make pink. If I painted with pink it was because there was pink paint offered.

I was the one that enjoyed "completing" something within a given framework not just starting from scratch. Ask me to draw a bird - ok I'd work on it. Give me a blank piece of paper and tell me to draw something - it'd take me forever to have an idea.

This artistic incompetence qualifies as an area of which I DON'T want to pass my hang ups on to my kid.

Today I failed.

I flipped about the color mixing and messiness of the watercolor box.

He was seriously upset.

The tears were real, not just in protest.

He just had a great plan in mind.

He needed the "beautiful black water" to complete his house (it was the cement).

He just wanted to do something "really FUN," he said.

Was this REALLY a battle worth fighting?

Did I really need to win a clean watercolor tray and risk the cost of inhibiting my son's imagination, creativity, and joy?

So, I apologized and let him do what he wanted.

After all, who am I to squash the vision of this creative boy at the great age of 3?

And you know what...the watercolor tray isn't THAT bad.

There's only enough paint in it for about one more go anyway.

And my son brought his "beautiful black water" over for me to see with an unbelievable look of pride on his face.

Crazy that a watercolor box can make you evaluate

Your self

Your values

Your past

Your parenting

Your decision making

Whew, glad that one's over. Maybe we'll skip art tomorrow! My brain needs a break!

Bertie the Bus

2011-09-03T14:53:00.000-07:00

We received this GREAT magazine second-hand from a friend. http://www.redan.com/ThomasandFriends.htm. It has lots of great activities for learning letters and numbers. Some activities are a little harder than Jaden can really do on his own at 3 but, because it is Thomas, he is SUPER interested. I talked him through several of the pages and I was really impressed with all that he COULD do!

The magazine also comes with activities and crafts that you can make. And, the second my little guy saw the idea for making a Bertie the Bus he COULD NOT get it out of his head. This morning, while waiting for the cousins to arrive for the weekend, I could tell he was impatient. I asked him to think of 2 things that he would REALLY LOVE to do today while we waited and we could pick one of them. He could only think of one.....MAKE BERTIE THE BUS!!!!!

So, I scrounged my stash for an appropriate sized box and got out the red paint.
I thought he was going to get tired before painting the whole thing but he did a great job of sticking with it. I guess because it was Bertie!!! We made a few modifications and ended up, not with a piggy/Bertie bank like the magazine suggested - but with a Bertie whose door can open and close to put Little People in!
He's been driving it all over the house since the second I deemed it dry enough!
What a fun craft! (even if I was hesitant at first). Sometimes I just have to get over the "mess" and "work" and just have FUN!!!!

There's just something special

2011-09-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

about a little girl

in pigtails

for the very first time

Sunny and Raining

2011-08-25T21:49:00.000-07:00

No lightning in sight, so out we went to play in the rain

Jaden surprised me and ACTUALLY ran out into the rain.

Apparently it's really funny to stand where the water drips (errrr...pours)

off of our roof and let it splash you.

Splashing in puddles

Really mommy! It's the BEST!

ahhh....I have the best job ever!

Drumming with Daddy

2011-08-25T21:48:00.000-07:00

Enough said.

About 5 Seconds

2011-08-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

We went outside for a few minutes before dinner the other night.

I sat Alivia down on the patio and in about 5 seconds had THIS messy of a girl

Apparently the dog's water dish combined with the dirt they had dug up and flung onto the patio that day was just too much for a little girl to resist. Over went the water and into the mud she went!

Beans

2011-08-25T21:41:00.000-07:00

Turns out Alivia likes beans just like her brother!

Dinner Success

2011-08-25T21:40:00.001-07:00

Sorry, no pictures for this one - I was on my way out the door. But, I HAD to share

because it was EASY, DELICIOUS, and HEALTHY! Can you believe it!?!?!?

- Easy Italian Chicken (Recipe from "Fix it and Forget It")

Place 4 frozen chicken breasts in slow cooker.

Sprinkle 1 packet Italian dressing seasonings on top.

Pour in 2 cups warm water with 2 teaspoons Knorr Chicken Bouillon dissolved.

Cook on low 8 hours.

I was so surprised how tasty this chicken was. It is rare you can find a chicken dish where the flavor is all the way through the meat.

This had it. It was the sort of slow cooker chicken texture - but it was good.

-Black Bean, Corn, Tomato Salad (Recipe from "The Spectrum")

1 can black beans, drained

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

1 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp ground cumin

juice of 3 limes

zest of 1 lime

Mix all ingredients and chill.

This had such a yummy flavor and was so fresh. I thought it was going to be good when I saw the recipe and it exceeded my expectations.

- Savory Simple White Rice

Boil 2 c. water with 2 tsp. Knorr Chicken Bouillon dissolved

Add 1 c. white long grain rice.

Cover. Reduce heat.

Simmer 20 minutes

Basic but with a little flavor.

YUMMY!!!!!

The Letter O

2011-08-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

I've been working on doing learning activities with Jaden again. This week we started again with the letter O. Of course, after I planned all of the activities and printed a bunch of things, I learned that he already KNOWS the letter O! Oh well....onward we go!

Here is what we did

Glued Cheerios on Uppercase and Lowercase O outlines

Painted O shaped rings for a ring toss game (via pinterest)

basically you cut the middles out of paper plates and paint the rings. I cut some slits in a paper towel roll tube and taped it onto another paper plate for the target.

Alivia thought it was quite fun as well

Turns out, the rings also make good hats!

See!?!?

We'd yell "YEAH!!!" every time Jaden made it on the ring

Dot painted another letter O outline and then on to the next craft.

and coloring page

this one was an octopus (via pinterest)

You cut 4 cm of toilet paper roll tube, measure the same at the top of 1/2 sheet of construction paper and mark, divide the width of the paper into 8 strips for the kids to cut, glue around paper towel tube, curl tentacles around a pencil.

playing with the fridge letter game. Jaden loves this but was losing interest so I whipped up a list of 10 three letter words that have "o" in them and he set about spelling them. He only made it through about 6 but he is still going back to it days later.

Alivia enjoys the fridge game too!

Stamp painting "o"s with cut toilet paper rolls

which quickly turned into a color mixing art lesson

cool things happen when you dump paint colors together

at least until it all turns brown!

All in all, I'd say it was a successful week!

Blocks, Buckets and Brushes

2011-08-18T08:20:00.000-07:00

We did a little open ended play outside yesterday.

I filled some tubs with water and foam blocks

and gave Jaden a paintbrush. He quickly set about "washing" the garage windows. (Don't mind the mess INSIDE the window!)
So, I got him a spray bottle too.

What and easy, open ended, entertaining activity! Both kids were entertained for over 45 minutes and NOT fighting!

Happy Birthday Grandpa H

2011-08-18T08:08:00.000-07:00

Monday was Grandpa H's birthday. We had a pretty low-key celebration - just out for dinner. There were no stacks of wrapped birthday presents, no big cake, no balloons, no pinata....

I think Jaden thought, "What kind of a birthday is THIS!?!?!??!?!" But, we had a lovely dinner and a piece of cake for dessert!

AND, a cute picture with the grandkids!

A Little Fun

2011-08-18T08:01:00.000-07:00

Playing in the sandbox is still one of our favorite activities - especially now that it's not 105 outside!

This was Jaden making "chocolate milk" of which we all had to have a taste!

Alivia enjoys the sandbox too. Although, it takes her approximately 2.2 seconds to get a mouthful of sand. I think it bothers me more than it bothers her!
And, I just had to include this picture with the "new" toy brought into the house after the jumper lost it's hold on the prime real estate of the living room!

Alivia is growing TOO fast!

2011-08-12T07:21:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't been blogging frequently (WHO HAS TIME FOR THAT!?!?!?) Alivia has changed so much so fast. Here's my BIG little girl and some of her favorite things.

playing with balls (and with her signature crazy hair)

walking around exploring everything (assisted of course)

pulling herself up to play with fun toys like her favorite, the piano

a budding musician!

cruising around wherever she is

and officially beginning to crawl - in a modified silly sort of way

Getting Along

2011-08-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

So, since Alivia was born Jaden has wanted her to play with him. He often talks about how when she is bigger she will be able to do different things.

Now that she is more interested in toys and is able to move a bit to get to them, I think he is changing his tune!

The other day he got creative in trying to keep his toys away from her.

He stuffed them all in his shirt!!!!

Jaden the Comedian

2011-08-12T06:30:00.000-07:00

Jaden hardly EVER lets me take pictures of him but yesterday he seemed willing to show me his funny faces

Grumpy Face

Silly Face

Fish Face

Turtle Face

HOW? do you do an Elephant Face

Sad Face

Surprised Face

Also, Jaden has been starting to enjoy jokes. Sometimes he doesn't really understand them at first but once you explain it he'll tell the same ones over and over.

Grandma K started teaching him some knock knock jokes when she was here last.

Yesterday I taught him a new one she sent by email.

It goes like this:

Knock Knock.

Who's There?

Dinosaur Says.

Dinosaur Says Who?

Dinosaurs don't say who! They say ROAR!!!

So, we're driving in the car and I get Jaden started telling that joke. After Daddy and I laugh the following begins...

J: Knock Knock.

Daddy: Who's there?

J: Bear Says.

D: Bear Says Who?

J: (pausing to think) Bears don't say Who. They say Grrrrr!!!!

ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha

J: Knock Knock.

D: Who's there?

J: (looking out window) Cloud says.

D: Cloud says who?

J: (thinking)....awwww.....cloud's don't say who. They are just up in the sky and they don't talk!!

I can't believe my 3 year old is making up his own jokes! I'm thinking we're in for a LOT of laughs!

Catching Up - February 2011

2011-04-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

There have been so many wonderful things in our everyday life together since I last posted.

One of my dilemmas when I get behind in blogging is trying to catch up on everything I have missed. I don't think that is even remotely possible after this, my longest hiatus.

So, here's a quick summary.

February 2011

- Jaden's 3rd Birthday

blueberry pancakes with a candle for birthday breakfast

how old are you?

happy birthday Jaden

make a wish

our family

- A play kitchen built by mommy & grandpa K

in progress, getting close

Jaden finds his "unfinished" play kitchen.

We decided part of the birthday fun could be letting him help finish the assembly.

helping grandpa drill holes for the oven knobs

assembling the oven door

nailing on the back

all put together (still missing the sink)

when you're 3 you can get away with cooking a cake on the stove top burner

- Alivia's baptism

wearing her baptismal gown made from Grandma K's wedding dress

baptized by grandpa H

as good a family photo as you're going to get after church and 100 pictures already taken

- Valentines Day

window clings are our favorite type of decoration to put up these days

a heart candy sorting game

- Trip to see family in AZ

fun with keely, mali & kellan at the zoo

petting the goats

sharing the tractor with kellan

riding the train at the train park

the best frozen yogurt EVER! at Yogurtopia

March & April to come after finding some photos from Grandma's camera!

Time Flies

2011-04-26T09:25:00.000-07:00

I can't BELIEVE I haven't posted anything since February! There are a million excuses I could use - some of which include a computer that, for awhile, decided to turn itself off whenever it felt like it making any real progress on any work impossible. Another being continually "mis"placing my camera and having to remember to look for it for 3 days before finding it again (always in one of 3 places - just usually takes me 3 days to remember to look in each of them). Also, we've been trying to get our house in order and CLEAN and figure out life with two amazing kiddos. Grandma K has stayed and Daddy has been working and studying like crazy. I'm downloading pictures from my camera that have been on there since FEBRUARY so, if I get caught up in my little bit of free time today I might actually post something interesting!

One thing I've been thinking lately....

I am never one to wish time away.

I believe there is much to be enjoyed every single day of life God gives us.

I already think my kids are growing TOO fast so I don't want to hope for days to come when I want to just enjoy their smiles of today.

BUT.....

In some ways.....

I'm really, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY ready for it to be 17 days from now when all homework must be done, all classes over, and we have a daddy/hubby who doesn't have SO MUCH HOMEWORK to do anymore!

God Loves Me More Than That - Review

2011-02-24T14:57:00.001-08:00

I recently found out about a program called "blogging for books" through Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers. I figured that getting a free book and just having to write something about it on my blog and post on the publishers website couldn't be that hard and probably could be quite fun. So, in the future, you might see some more reviews here.

The first book I chose to review was a Children's Book. I figured I read a lot of those everyday anyway and fitting a longer "adult" book into my limited time probably wasn't too likely!

"God Loves Me More Than That" by Dandi Daley Mackall and illustrated by David Hohn surprised me as a GREAT book that I am so happy to have in my children's library.

The book uses great rhymes to draw little ones in and explain through captivating similes just how much God loves them. Throughout the book the message is communicated: Higher, deeper, wider, bigger, louder, softer, your whole life through - these are the ways that God loves you!

The rhymes of this book had my attention (and that of my 2 year old) from page one but, the real gems of this book are the incredible life-like illustrations on each page. We were captivated by the fanciful scenes such as a circus, deep sea diving, or outer space travel that any child would love to find themselves a part of. I especially loved that the illustrations were life-like and featured a little boy. It seems so many children's books are geared towards girls that, as the mom of a little boy, I appreciated the illustrators choice for this book.

Teaching my children that God's love for them is immense is important to me - and "God Loves Me More Than That" is a great way to reinforce this concept. We'll be reading it again soon!

*I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review

Parenting - An Exercise in Letting Go

2011-02-15T15:18:00.001-08:00

I never thought I’d be the parent that, at 5pm on my son’s birthday, would be driving to the store to pick out a cake. Not a cake that I ordered and was picking up…just going in hopes that they would have one that worked. BUT…sometimes you have a little baby, family coming from out of town, and a birthday and a baptism happening all in the same weekend and you didn’t get it done earlier.

I never thought my kid would be the one at church with crazy, uncombed looking hair. BUT…turns out that when you wet and comb hair and then get in the car seat, 9 times out of 10 it gets all messed up by the time you get where you were going.

I never thought my kid would go around in clothes that looked worn out or the wrong size. BUT…sometimes, by the time you actually get the clothes on and realize that, even though they fit last week and are now too small, there is neither enough time or energy left to change them again.

I never thought that I would be nearly overjoyed at being ONLY 3 minutes late to Sunday School – or some other appointment – rather than 10 or 15. BUT…it turns out it is pretty difficult to get two kids fed, dressed, ready, and out the door along with a reasonably decent looking me without getting up 2+ hours early in the morning. And sometimes, 2 hours early doesn’t work on 4 or 5 hours of sleep!

I never thought I’d have a list of 500 projects and lessons that I wanted to plan and do yet struggle to make even one of them happen each week. BUT…sometimes we just have more fun playing with all the things already easily at hand.

I didn’t know I’d be able to deal with crumbs and shredded cheese on the floor nearly every second of every day. BUT…it’s hard to clean them up after every single meal and sometimes you just have to deal with a little mess.

I didn’t know I’d have so much trouble allowing colors to get all mixed up during painting projects and play-do play time. BUT…freedom of creativity for a 3 year old is much more important than my OCD color separation tendencies.

Through these, and hundreds of more little lessons that happen every day, I realize that, for the good of my kids, there are several UNimportant things that I just have to let go of. Sometimes they are my expectations, sometimes they are my vision of “perfection.”

In the end, a messy floor, crazy hair, or ruined play-do are very insignificant things in life.

If I have children who are loving and respectful who know and love God…

If we are able to have fun together as a family…

If my children are learning and growing…

If my children know that their daddy and I love them unconditionally…

Then my time and my focus have been well-spent.

Letting go of those other details are worth the end result.

May God’s grace enable me to let go – and teach HIS love to my little ones!

Parenting - An Exercise in Letting Go

2011-02-15T15:18:00.000-08:00

In the end, a messy floor, crazy hair, or ruined play-do are very insignificant things in life.

If I have children who are loving and respectful who know and love God…

If we are able to have fun together as a family…

If my children are learning and growing…

If my children know that their daddy and I love them unconditionally…

Then my time and my focus have been well-spent.

Letting go of those other details are worth the end result.

May God’s grace enable me to let go – and teach HIS love to my little ones!

To Wear or Not To Wear

2011-02-08T21:51:00.000-08:00

So, for as long as I have been old enough to have an opinion about such things I have thought that elastic hair bows that people put on little girl's heads are ridiculous. I think it looks like their poor little heads are getting squeezed. I don't understand how they stay on. I think they are just a little weird looking.

Enter my new life as a mom of a girl.

We were given about 8 of these little elastic hair bows as gifts at baby showers. Each time I smiled, laughed, and said, "Oh how cute." All the while thinking, "I WILL NEVER MAKE MY LITTLE GIRL WEAR THESE."

I think there is something about HAVING a little girl that just makes a mom more "girly." Examples - I NEVER put shoes on Jaden when he was a baby. Alivia wears shoes almost every day. I also thought baby tights were ridiculous, and I have put them on Alivia at least 3 times. With a boy, outfits that match are cute, but on a little girl they are ADORABLE and effort at coordinating socks and shoes with the outfit is actually pretty fun.

So, these 8 gifted hair bows... They have resided in the drawer I open every day right next to the baby socks. A few of them also came with barrettes so I figured I would just save them the required time to be in good faith after receiving them as a gift and I would just eventually use the barrettes. BUT, there they sat, staring at me every day as I thought about how ridiculous they are.

Well, today I put Alivia in a new-to-her outfit. Not your traditional pink, but still very girly. And something about the purple hair bow called to me. I thought, "well, these silly things are so ridiculous, I wonder what they actually look like on?" (I think I may have bee inspired by the fact that Jaden woke up with the craziest hair ever and I was just in the mood for more morning laughs.)

Well, I put the bow on and.....

Well...

You be the judge.....

Without bow

With bow

What do you think?

In my opinion, fairly completely adorable either way. But, I am pretty partial to the bow today. I'm afraid my distaste for the bows has gone by the wayside. I'm now a mom of a girl. I might be becoming a girly-girl.

SO BE IT! :-)

Daddy's Boots

2011-01-14T11:34:00.000-08:00

One day, when Stephen was getting ready for a mariachi performance,

Jaden decided that he needed some mariachi boots too!

Sandbox Fun with Grandpa

2011-01-14T09:28:00.002-08:00

Sunny "winter" days in El Paso make great days for sandbox playing! This time Grandpa K got in on the fun!

Grandpa and Jaden created a "tow rope" to get the tractor out of the "mud"

VERY exciting!
I have no idea how this one turned out but I know he didn't come inside with a mouth full of sand so he must have found some cat-like reflexes and turned this around before a face plant!
TWO of my THREE favorite guys in the whole world!

Making Berry Pie

2011-01-14T09:28:00.001-08:00

Daddy LOVES pie - and prefers it to basically ALL kinds of cake. Since mommy didn't get around to making one for his birthday (what with giving BIRTH and all) we made one a few days late!

Jaden LOVES to help with anything in the kitchen so he helped to dump the ingredients together and stir!
Mmmmm.....triple berry pie. Daddy's favorite (and I think maybe Grandpa K's now too!!!)

Meeting Grandpa K

2011-01-14T09:27:00.000-08:00

Four days old is a good time to meet your grandpa that lives on the other side of the country, right?

Alivia LOVED all the cuddles she got from Grandpa K while he was here and can't WAIT for him to come back to visit!

A Pile in the Bed

2011-01-14T09:24:00.000-08:00

This is Jaden in bed just about every night!

What a lot of friends! :-)

Reading Together

2011-01-14T09:23:00.000-08:00

Slowly I'm figuring out how to be a mommy of two. So, when Jaden wanted to read a book but wanted me to put Alivia down and she still wanted to be cuddled....

I found room on my lap for two!
Hmm...maybe THIS is why our hips get wider through birth?!?!?! (I'm just sayin'!)

Coming Home

2011-01-14T09:12:00.000-08:00

After some juggling and struggling Daddy got both car seats snugly into the backseat so we bundled up and headed home about 36 hours after Alivia was born.

Jaden seems to like his upgrade to the window seat!
In general, Alivia doesn't really like riding in her car seat all that much. If we are on the interstate or steadily moving she doesn't mind too much - but stuck in traffic or at red lights and she tends to express her disapproval.

We brought a baby girl home for Daddy's birthday!
Alivia gave Jaden a present too! She must have been paying attention while in the womb when every time Jaden saw these Ladybugs in the store he wanted to take one home. What a smart baby sister!!!

I think he's in love!
First vistor - Luz.
A birthday dinner for Daddy!
Now officially a family of four!
YUMMY ice cream cake!
Alivia, all tuckered out from all this partying at only 36 hours old!
Jaden: "Can I hold him?" He is SUCH a SWEET big brother!

A beautiful little gift from God!

Alivia Grace

2011-01-08T12:31:00.000-08:00

December 12th at 4:44am we were beyond blessed to add a daughter to our family.

Alivia Grace weighed 6lb 11.1 oz and was 20.5 inches long.

She has the tiniest little hands with LONG, thin fingers and skinny, long feet!
Right after birth she got to snuggle with Mommy for an hour and a half. Then she was all wrapped up to head to the nursery for a few tests and her first bath.
Mommy and Daddy rested a little bit and when she came back to our room Daddy got some good snuggling too!
We just spent the afternoon snuggling and dozing!

Later that afternoon Grandma and Grandpa H came by for a visit.

Is that a smile?
FINALLY in our postpartum room and a more comfortable bed.
Then Grandma K came to visit.
We had a peaceful night's sleep. Alivia is a great sleeper and while she wakes up regularly to eat, she usually goes right back to sleep. Actually, the nurses and maintenance to fix our HOT room kept us up more than Alivia did!
Before we checked out to head home big brother Jaden came to visit.
He brought Alivia a present he had gone shopping for with Grandma K
CARS! I think Jaden is more excited about them than Alivia, but she'll grow into them!
Jaden was also pretty excited to see that mommy had a juice box left on her tray.

Just a few minutes into knowing each other you could already tell there was a lot of love between these siblings!

Last Outing as a Family of Three

2011-01-07T19:41:00.000-08:00

So, after waiting and waiting for a baby that I thought was going to arrive early, I was 10 days past my due date and STILL waiting! When you are waiting and waiting for a baby to arrive the time seems to DRAG on and on. But, I really was doing fine, I just had to keep planning things to do and making lists of things that I wanted to accomplish and just be happy if I DIDN'T get them done BECAUSE I was having a baby! The common phrase around our house was....."well, tomorrow, if we AREN'T having a baby we'll ________."

There was a big celebration downtown with the lighting of the Christmas Tree in the plaza, a light parade, fireworks, and a laser show and we decided that it would be a fun thing to do.

So....we went! Along with everyone else and their brother in this city!

Stephen had to park about 2 miles away after dropping us off, you couldn't even get close to the plaza, and the parade was SUPER DUPER DUPER long. But, it was fun. But, in the midst of the crowds, calling Stephen 45 minutes after he dropped us off to find out he was STILL looking for a parking place, being stuck in walking traffic so thick there was NO MOVEMENT POSSIBLE....I decided perhaps this wasn't the WISEST place for a 41 week pregnant lady to be!!!!

I guess because my husband was a Scout he often will throw surprise emergency scenarios out asking, "If _____ were to happen right now, what would you do?" so that we can think through a plan of action. An example is, when Jaden was small and we were walking through our neighborhood with our dogs and I had Jaden in a baby carrier on my front we walked past a yard with extremely large, LOUD barking, VICIOUS sounding dogs. Stephen asked, "If those dogs were to get out of their yard and run right for us, what would you do?" The idea was to figure out in advance what the best set of options to best protect us, and especially the baby would be before we needed to know it.

Well, as I was standing in the crowd, noting that I was having contractions (nothing new, but seemingly stronger than before) I started asking myself...."If I were to be in serious labor right now, what would I do?" I had a serious plan of action in mind if I needed to get past that cement barricade and through all of those people quickly!

Thankfully, that wasn't necessary. By the time Stephen finally found us, the parade finished and we watched the fireworks.
Of course, Jaden slept through half of the parade and hid his face in Stephen's shoulder because the loud fireworks scared him but, overall, we had a good time.

Then, we started our walk back to the car. Stephen and my mom kept asking me how I was doing and I was fine but, I was noticing that those contractions just kept on coming. We walked and walked and walked.... I have no idea how far it REALLY was but it was far enough. By the time we got to our car all the other cars that Stephen says had been parked along the way were gone so it kind of seemed like he just parked out in the middle of nowhere for no particular reason.

Anyway, by the time we got home, gave Jaden a bath and got ready for bed I was quite sure these contractions were really for real and not going away until we had baby in our arms. But, that's a story for another day!

Seriously Cool!

2011-01-07T19:39:00.000-08:00

Jaden and Grandma headed to the park. Grandma had sunglasses, so OF COURSE Jaden had to have his (which he has refused to wear for several months now!)

He decided he looked pretty cool!

Don't you think so!?

Christmas Stockings II

2011-01-03T11:12:00.000-08:00

Here are a few more photos of the Christmas Stocking Project.

Me working on finishing Stephen's.
Since Mommy was always working on making stockings for Daddy and Jaden, they decided that they needed to make me a stocking too!
And, after Alivia was born, they made her one too!

Aren't they cute!?!

Fun at the Outlet Mall

2010-12-21T12:37:00.000-08:00

With Grandma K here we had to do a little shopping. Of course, every time you go to anything like a mall, Jaden has his favorite spots!

The rides....
And the park!!! Grandma and Jaden had a fun time riding the motorcycle!!!

Library Story Time

2010-12-21T12:32:00.000-08:00

Recently, one of Jaden's favorite weekly activities is story time at the Library. We try to go every week but occasionally miss. When Grandma went with us we actually got some pictures of the fun!

Story time always starts with singing action songs. This is Jaden's FAVORITE part and he especially loves the days they pass out balloons and sing the "I can bounce it on my ____" song!
There are always 2-3 books on a different theme. Jaden loves books and will sit still for DOZENS of books in a row at home. But, at the library he tends to have trouble sitting and listening for the whole time.

Then, there is a craft. Often they are too hard for 2-3 year olds and I wish they would improve that since it IS CALLED "Toddler story time". But, Jaden always loves to do the crafts and enjoys getting help from mommy. We'll see how easy that works with a baby along too!

Alivia Grace

2010-12-21T11:36:00.001-08:00

Well, in case you missed the news posted elsewhere, we have a new member in our family! Alivia Grace. I'll post pictures from the last week full of joy at this new addition to our family soon, but I just had to share this picture from seconds ago as she sits next to me as I work on some last minute Christmas gifts from the computer.

Her name, Alivia, has a meaning in Spanish. Combined with her middle name, Grace, her name means "soothing grace" or "relieving grace."

We did just like the name Alivia because is sounded nice and seemed to fit this precious girl. But, we appreciated the meaning that it held as well. We are truly blessed to have the assurance that through our Savior, Jesus Christ, whose birthday we celebrate at this special time of Christmas, we are given the greatest gift - God's grace. His grace truly does relieve and soothe our souls as he wipes away our sin and sets us free from the bonds of death for a joyous life in Him!

It is our prayer as parents that both Alivia AND Jaden (and any other kiddos that may come - no promises or suggestions just yet though!) as well as all that our lives may touch will KNOW and have peace in this precious promise from God.

Christmas Stockings

2010-12-21T09:41:00.000-08:00

We all know that things are just THINGS and not really most important in life.

However, have you every had a THING that was just immensely special to you?

Maybe it was handmade for you. Maybe it carried with it a special memory. Maybe it was given to you by someone very special and your attachment to it was more about the person who gave it rather than the thing itself.

Ever since I can remember, my Christmas stocking, handmade for me by my Grandma (my dad's mom) has been something that I LOVED! She passed away when I was fairly young

(elementary school) but during summers when I would visit for a week I began to learn things like needlepoint from her.

This stocking, and a few other homemade Christmas decorations, from her have always been among my favorites at Christmastime. I remember telling my mom OFTEN that "When I get married and have my own house I get to take my Christmas stocking, sorry, but it's MINE!" ;-)

I was also determined to make matching ones for my family members (my mom and dad had some made by my Grandma that always hung with mine as well).

SO, back in 2009, with a little boy of my own already about to celebrate his 2ND Christmas, I decided it was time to get started. I tried to find pattern books that my Grandma had used and asked other family members to send pictures of stockings my Grandma had made them for ideas but....didn't have much luck. I also couldn't find any red burlap so I decided the boy's would have to be in brown. Since I didn't have a pattern, I traced around mine to get an approximate size.
Then came the hours of stitching, figuring out the designs, drawing out sample objects on graph paper....

It quickly became clear that I should have started Jaden's BEFORE October if I hoped to finish by Christmas! So, it became a goal for Christmas 2010, and Daddy's too.

Sadly, as we were traveling and I was carrying my stocking around to use for ideas while making Jaden's, I lost mine somewhere in SD. After searching and searching and never finding it I determined I was just going to have to remake it the way my Grandma did and was SO happy I had a picture (that I had taken so I could blog about the process of making Christmas stockings) that I could use to remake it exactly the same. THAT will have to be my project for Christmas 2011, along with a red stocking for our NEW family member, Alivia. Girls in red, boys in brown - that's the way the tradition will be in my family I guess!

Around Thanksgiving, with Stephen's stocking top not yet finished, and a new baby due to be born any day, I thought I was probably going to have to give up my goal of getting the stockings done. But, since the baby was a bit over a week late, Grandma K was around and let me work on stockings a little bit, and yesterday Grandma H came over to help sew them together......

THEY ARE READY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jaden was very interested in this sewing machine thing!

And, here they are!

As you can see in the picture above, my stocking was just random designs. Since I was making up the pattern for these new ones I wanted to try to do two additional things:

1) Include something special and personalized to the person I was making it for and

2) Include a religious symbol. Christmas stockings are often associated only with Santa and the more secular points of Christmas. However, since JESUS IS the reason for Christmas and I want that to be something that is clear and remembered by my family at all times in our celebrating, I wanted to include reminders of that in the stocking design.

Stephen's stocking has the trumpets and the music notes to reflect his love for and talent in music. IN keeping with the musical theme, I chose the word "Gloria" and the Angels that announced Jesus' birth as the religious symbol to appear. After a lot of thinking, I decided that the best thing to do, to reflect the reality of our world, our family, and our ministry, would be to have multicultural angels!
Since discovering trains, Jaden has LOVED them! So, even though he may grow out of them, there will always be a reminder of that early love on his Christmas stocking. Out of all the words I could have put on his stocking I chose "JOY" I guess because of the joy that he brought to my life. Truly, the "JOY" represents that which we have because Jesus came to be born and live among us to accomplish our salvation. Since we are a bilingual family (sort of - or working on it) I made sure to include the Spanish translation "Gozo." Little did I know when I chose that in 2009 that in 2010 "Gozo al Mundo / Joy to the World" from the Mariachi San Pablo Christmas CD (that Daddy sings on and wrote/arranged several things for) would quickly become one of Jaden's favorite Christmas songs! I also included the manger, star, and the gifts that the Magi brought to baby Jesus as a reminder of the REAL reason we have JOY at Christmas!
Again, I know it is not THINGS that bring true joy in life. But, I can't put into words HOW HAPPY it makes me to see these stockings and know that I get to hang them up in my house every Christmas from now on (well, until maybe my kids steal theirs to take to their homes). I hope that these little tokens of my love will be at least a fraction as special to my family members as mine from my Grandma has been to me.

And, I can't WAIT to get started on Alivia's and mine for next year!

Can I Paint?

2010-12-07T15:36:00.000-08:00

Lately, Jaden has been making the easiest requests. It makes me happy to see him noticing game/project/play materials around the house and deciding that is what he would like to do.

Last night he wanted to paint. So, I whipped up a little freehand drawing of a Christmas Tree and a Snowman on some construction paper, and away he went!

Then, he wanted Daddy to help - which was fun because Daddy is usually at work when we are doing such projects!

And, now adorning the refrigerator.......

Decorating the Tree at Church

2010-12-07T15:31:00.000-08:00

Jaden has been LOVING Christmas decorations. This Sunday he got to help the youth group hang decorations on the church Christmas tree before Christmas program practice.

With a little help from Grandma too!
Just about every meal and every night we have to include "Thank God for Christmas tree with lights" or "Christmas tree with decorations" in our prayers!

Stuck

2010-12-07T15:29:00.000-08:00

Jaden LOVES to climb on the couch....well, ANYTHING really....

But, his bopping cushions get stored back there. Recently he climbed around enough to work a hole between the two of them and now, every once in awhile - he'll get

STUCK!

Advent Calendar

2010-12-07T15:18:00.000-08:00

Grandma found this Advent Calendar for a good price and had it sent here.

Jaden was immediately interested because he has the matching Nativity Set.

Each day we take one character out of the numbered pockets and put them into the stable. We're only on day 7 and for 4 days already Jaden has recounted every step of the story with us. Each day we review. He points out each of the characters and tells us what they are. Then we ask questions like.....

Who is Mary? - "the mommy to have a baby"

What is the baby's name? - "Jesus"

Who is Joseph? - "Mary's husband." Then he started adding, "and Daddy is YOUR husband mommy. And grandpa is YOUR husband grandma!"

Who rode the donkey? - "Mary"

Where did Mary and Joseph go? - "to Beth-el-ham"

Where did they stay? - "In a stable"

The last few days have been stable animals like cows, a horse and a goat. Tomorrow is the angel and the next day is the star......so we'll get to add a few more pieces into the story.

It amazes me how much he remembers and how clearly he understands and can explain it just through our simple little 5 minute activity and prayer.

Praise God!

I want to be Mary

2010-12-07T15:07:00.000-08:00

On Sunday Jaden went to his first Sunday School Christmas Program practice.

As the teacher explained to all the students what they would be doing Jaden listened quite well. Then the teacher asked who wanted to be Mary. Of course, there was only one little girl there who really could have done it - but she had asked.

She didn't hear Jaden who, after thinking about it for a second said, "I want to be Mary."

After she talked to the little girl about being Mary she continued to ask each of the children what they wanted to be and gave them suggestions. When she got to Jaden she asked him if he wanted to be a shepherd. He said, "No, I'm going to be Mary." She tried again and asked if he wanted to be an angel instead. He said, "No, I'm going to be Mary!"

They tried to convince him that a girl had to be Mary and that he was a boy. Daddy worked to convince him that little boys could be angels or shepherds, then when they got bigger they could be a king, or maybe even Joseph.

I hear this persisted throughout the rest of the practice AND when he got home and Daddy told us Jaden was going to be a shepherd in the program Jaden said, "No, I'm going to be Mary!"

Hmmmmm.........

Puzzle Fun with Grandma

2010-12-07T15:03:00.000-08:00

Grandma and Jaden had fun putting this farm puzzle together yesterday afternoon.

This kind of puzzle is just a tad above the right skill level for Jaden. It is a bit too tricky for him to do on his own and takes almost too long for his attention span.

But, he LOVES working on it with someone special and, he is really good at figuring out where the pieces go!

Silliness

2010-12-07T14:36:00.000-08:00

Tickling mommy

kisses

hugs

and talking to baby sister

What a great way to start the day!

Decorating the Christmas Tree

2010-12-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my Christmas ornaments. Mostly the ones crocheted by my Grandma B and the ones stiched by my Grandma K.

And Jaden had a fun time helping!

Talking to Santa

2010-12-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

As we pulled out the Christmas decorations Jaden found a new best friend. But, for some reason, I guess he felt his friend needed to be cleaned a little bit.

A trumpet playing, jingle bell singing, dancing Santa Claus whose pants refuse to stop sagging!

Oh - and yes, while he was in the washing machine Jaden was telling him stories!

Christmas Tree Craft

2010-12-07T14:18:00.000-08:00

So, as we unpacked the Christmas decorations we uncovered a foam craft kit I bought last year on clearance for something like $1. Jaden was SO excited he kept asking to make it.

Totally easy, totally fun! And, we still have 2 trees left we can make!

all of the decorations are foam stickers that you just punch out. There is also glitter paint, glitter, and tinsel that you can add. Maybe we'll tackle those on the other trees.

Here you can see the star on top of the finished one in the front of the pic.

Shopping those post-holiday craft deals is DEFINITELY worth it! Even if it lives in a box in the garage for a year!!!!

My Handsome Little Man

2010-12-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

Enough said!

Ha - are you kidding? Did you REALLY think I could put up a blog post and not WRITE anything!?!??!

The story behind the suit is....

Stephen got ready for church in the morning and put on one of his new (black "Saturday" specials) sportcoats.

I asked Jaden if he wanted to wear a suit like daddy.

He was VERY excited.

When I took it out, I wasn't planning on the tie.

He saw it and said......Can I wear THAT?!!!!!!!

And there you have it. Good thing you can't really see the tennis shoes. They are the only shoes he will wear.

I'm still hoping I can convince him of something different for Christmas!

The BEST Pecan Pie EVER!!!!!!!!

2010-12-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

No joking folks. Absolutely everyone that tasted this pie agreed. Whether they were pecan pie lovers or not really a fan but wanted pie at Thanksgiving, everyone said THIS was GREAT pecan pie.

I can only take the credit for baking it. Pioneer Woman has to have the credit for making the recipe.

I did cheat and use a Pillsbury Pie Crust - but it DID NOT MATTER. This pie was SOOOOO good! I'm SOOOOOO glad I made two!

Trust me...this is now a holiday requirement for my table! I'll probably have to make 10 for Christmas to feed the whole clan....but it's happening!

Here is the recipe in case you don't follow the link above.

Pioneer Woman’s Pecan Pie

Added by Ree on August 16, 2009 in Desserts, Pies

Prep Time 15 Minutes
Cook Time 50 Minutes

Servings 12

Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

1 whole Unbaked Pie Crust (I Use "sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust" Recipe
1 cup White Sugar
3 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
½ teaspoons Salt
1 cup Corn Syrup
¾ teaspoons Vanilla
⅓ cups Melted Butter (salted)
3 whole Eggs Beaten
1 cup (heaping) Chopped Pecans

Preparation Instructions

First, whip up your pie crust using “Sylvia’s Perfect Pie Crust” found on Tasty Kitchen.

Next, mix sugar, brown sugar, salt, corn syrup, butter, eggs, and vanilla together in a bowl.

Pour chopped pecans in the bottom of the unbaked pie shell.

Pour syrup mixture over the top. Cover top and crust lightly/gently with foil. Bake pie at 350º for 30 minutes. Remove foil, then continue baking for 20 minutes, being careful not to burn the crust or pecans.

NOTE: PIE SHOULD NOT BE OVERLY JIGGLY WHEN YOU REMOVE IT FROM THE OVEN. If it shakes a lot, cover with foil and bake for an additional 20 minute or until set. Required baking time seems to vary widely with this recipe. Sometimes it takes 50 minutes; sometimes it takes 75!

Allow to cool for several hours or overnight. Serve in thin slivers.

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-12-07T13:42:00.000-08:00

We made these as cards and sent them to Gma & Gpa K in MN and Great Gma & Gpa B in SD!

I would share the link that I printed the turkey parts from but in my opinion it really wasn't worth it. I could just have drawn them just as well.

The turkey body is from a tracing of Jaden's foot and the hands are tracings of his hands. I would recommend this craft for a bit older of a kid. There were too many steps that Jaden couldn't do and he didn't want to color the feathers to make them more colorful. He also got tired of the gluing before we were finished so mommy had to finish up!

Materials Needed:

Various colors of construction paper for feathers (at least 3)

brown paper for tracing foot

scissors

pencil

cardstock or white paper for backing

Steps:

1. Have child stand on paper and help them trace their foot.

2. Help child trace their hand print on various colored sheets of construction paper.

3. Cut out pieces

4. Children can color the feathers for added effect.

5. Trace outline of turkey body (foot) on white paper as a guide. Glue handprint feathers in a fan around the outside.

6. Glue on turkey body.

7. Glue on or draw eyes, beak, wattle, feet.

8. Write message

9. Display or send to someone special.

Too Tired for Dinner

2010-12-07T09:50:00.000-08:00

I can't remember what we had been doing all day this day - but it was clear by dinner time that Jaden was ready for bed. Of course, I wanted him to eat something first. Turns out...that wasn't in the plan.

I thought he was just being silly and curling up on his chair but, when he didn't move for several minutes it was clear that he was 100% OUT.
While my son is NOT much of a sleeper (as in, he doesn't really like to go to sleep and will fight naps and early bedtimes with every silly thing he can think of), he WILL sleep anywhere when the need finally catches up with him!

Bus Station Dedication

2010-12-07T09:30:00.000-08:00

In the neighborhood near the church the city recently opened a new bus station and asked the mariachi to play for part of the dedication ceremony.I had a doctor appointment that morning so Jaden got to tag along with Daddy until I got there.
He was having a GREAT time because there were buses AND mariachi music!
It is always an amazing blessing to me that the mariachi gets to play both popular and Christian music at public events like this. What a wonderful opportunity to share the message of Jesus!
A new, clean bus was there for checking out. Jaden HAD to climb on and go for "rides" with his trains!

Pumpkin Patch Family

2010-12-07T09:22:00.000-08:00

So, finally, a Halloween picture!

We had a plan to make Jaden a Scoop the Digger costume (from Bob the Builder) but, when it came right down to it, we didn't have time. And, he decided that he wanted to be a pumpkin.

We went to the store to find a pumpkin costume and he decided that he wanted to be a glow-in-the-dark pumpkin! Then, mommy found pumpkin shirts for both her and daddy so we got to be a Pumpkin Patch!

Jaden and Daddy needed a little help with their pumpkin tummies - but mommy's was already sufficiently large!
After a night of partying at the church's Fall Festival and spending LOTS of energy jumping in the jumping balloon Jaden borrowed Daddy's pumpkin tummy for a little rest on the ride back to the car!

Trumpeter in Training

2010-12-07T09:03:00.000-08:00

This fall I have been going to a Bible study every Tuesday night. That means that Jaden has been going to mariachi practice with Stephen. One night, his water bottle that turns into a bell when he goes with me to handbell choir practice became a trumpet so he could play along!
No matter what music is playing Jaden seems to be interesting in joining in!

Paper Plate Turkeys

2010-11-18T21:21:00.000-08:00

Here is an easy, fun Thanksgiving craft for anyone with a young kiddo.

I realized how technology dependent I had become when I had several craft ideas I wanted to do but all required printing some item from the computer and my computer/printer connection was not working. So.....I took this image from a website and freehanded it onto the paper plate.

NOT COMPLICATED! Don't know why it took me 1/2 hour of messing with the printer to figure out this 30 second solution was a better idea! Of course, the idea on the web had the child color the turkey face first, cut it out, and glue it on the paper plate - all of which might have been fun steps. But....we just jumped into the painting!!!
The original idea was that the child use their fingers to print the feathers around the edge of the turkey. Finger paint is SO not Jaden's style - so we went for the brushes - which he LOVES! He wasn't too interested in the feathers though....that one is mommy's!

After taking a break he discovered the foam brushes in the supply box (didn't get it put away fast enough) and was interested in the round ones that work kind of like stamps. He LOVES stamps put on his hands - but we don't own any. The "stamping" revitalized his interest in painting and the turkeys got a bit more colorful before we were done.

Our little turkey family!

Cool Baby Cakes

2010-11-18T21:04:00.000-08:00

We've been so blessed even before the arrival of our baby girl.

The church Stephen is serving a vicarage at threw us a beautiful and sweet baby shower - best unique part - the reading of the book "I'll Love You Forever" that had EVERY mom in the room shedding tears.

Some of our dear friends threw us a baby shower full of fun games, creative decorations, YUMMY food, and LOTS of love - funniest/grossest part - a game where diapers full of "poop" (aka melted candy bars) are passed around and guests have to try to guess the most kinds of candy bar correctly. GROSS - but it is pretty funny to see everyone sniffing poopy looking baby diapers and TRYING not to make funny faces!

We hear there is another shower in the works for us at our home church that we never get to go to anymore but still have lots of friends at.

And, someone else brought us another cute baby cake.

I could share with you pictures from the showers but, let's be honest.

1. I'm just trying to catch up with some blogging before I have TWO little cuties to post about.

2. Have YOU seen even a Halloween costume blog yet??!?!?!?!??! That sort of seems like a requirement from a blogger mom of a kid, don't you think?

3. Who, besides the momma-to-be's mom really wants to look at a bunch of pics of opening presents and table decorations anyway!??!

So - here, at least, are the cool baby cakes we've gotten to eat!

From the 1st shower at our vicarage church - homemade by a member. Note - the blue cake on the right is the "big brother cake" and BOY oh BOY was Jaden super excited that he got his very own!

Shower #2 cake - I believe from Sam's - a cupcake cake. SO cute! I had not seen one like this! And, if you love frosting, THIS is the kind of cake for you! BOY do they lather it on!

Another cake made by a friend. Super cute! And SOOOOOO yummy - a bit coconut, a bit pineapple...mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Don't you love the booties?
Jaden did!
Under the frosting they were made of giant marshmallows held together with toothpicks - that surprised Stephen a bit when he went to bite off the top of one and had a WEIRD texture!!!

Thanksgiving Sequencing Game

2010-11-18T20:42:00.000-08:00

I had made this game last year for a road trip but the pieces just were thrown all over the floor.

This year, it had a bit more appeal.

Jaden wanted to match the objects by placing them on top of the demo strip. However, the magnets I got for the backs don't seem to be strong enough to go through TWO layers of cardstock with lamination. So.....I convinced him to line them up underneath. I also have a set with cornucopias and pie.

Hopefully they'll get some action this week! It's been awhile since we've played refrigerator games!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-11-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

So, a few weeks before Halloween we went to the pumpkin patch.

Jaden was SO excited about this adventure because we had been reading books about pumpkins. He couldn't stop talking about going to the pumpkin patch. In fact, a month later, he STILL hasn't stopped talking about it! He wants to go back! Maybe next year we'll have to go TWICE!

First we rode the "hayride" (with no hay) out to the field.

There were rows and rows of pumpkins, Jaden didn't know where to begin exploring.
Sitting on them helps to test them out you know.
Pumpkin preggo daddy.
It didn't take Jaden long to find HIS pumpkin

Some of these are ours, some (the big giant one) Grandma H's
Checking out the ones others had brought in from the field and decided not to take home.
Then, there was the giant "pillow" jumping balloon! I had never seen anything like this - fun - but kind of difficult for a 2 yr old! Daddy had to help him on becuase there was no way mommy was getting on a giant, inflated, bouncing floor!
Fun romping

We didn't make it into the corn maze that is also at the pumpkin patch. It was a bit too dark and we hadn't brought flashlights. But, daddy and Jaden took a few trips through the toddler sized hay bale maze by the light of cell phone. Of course, one hay bale took Jaden by surprise and knocked him over face first. Oops!

Back at home with our picks! Can you tell the guys are proud of their GIANT WHITE pumpkin!!?!?! Isn't it tough!

A few days later my hubby got some beautiful flowers for me and we had this fun fall display for weeks!
The giant white pumpkin got lovingly patted every day with words of affirmation like "this is the best pumpkin ever," "what a COOL pumpkin," etc. It currently still lives on but has moved to Grandma H's house where it awaits it's destiny under the knife. Poor pumpkin!

Cheese Muffins

2010-11-18T19:08:00.000-08:00

For the record - these were DELICIOUS! They were pretty easy and I had all of the things on hand. I'd post the recipe, but you can just click here to find it.

I didn't have colby jack so I used straight cheddar. And, like the site says, they are better warm. They don't do the greatest heated up as leftovers, but they were tolerable. But, fresh....mmm........crispyish outsides, moist yummy insides!

MMMMMMM....

YUMMY with a bowl of soup!

Big Boy Bed

2010-11-18T19:01:00.000-08:00

So, now that this is nearly 2 month old news......

Phase One of preparing for baby #2's arrival was to transform Jaden's room from "pile of outgrown clothes, odds and ends that haven't found homes in closets, and other miscellaneous junk" to actually being "Jaden's Room!"

Somewhere I had a before picture - that honestly, I would be embarrassed to post even if I could find it! (whew!) Step one was sort and pack away. Step two, THROW away. Step three....

find a BIG BOY BED!

and then decorate!

He's happy AND he sleeps in his ROOM! MOST of the night, MOST nights! ;-) Improvement for sure!

Bowling

2010-11-05T18:52:00.001-07:00

Tonight I was totally exhausted so Stephen got the idea to take Jaden bowling with Grandpa. When Jaden heard the word "bowling" he got really excited and started talking really loudly and enthusaistically about it saying:

"I'm going to throw those wrecking balls and pinch those milking bottles!!!"

Who teaches him these things anyway?

Translation:

- wrecking balls is what he decided bowling balls were called last time we went bowling and had just watched a Thomas movie involving a wrecking ball.

- pinch is the word he uses to describe almost any action that involves actual pinching, bumping, squeezing, or knocking over

- milking bottles is what he decided the bowling pins looked like the last time he went bowling. Of course, I also have no idea how he would even know what a milking bottle looks like....

Oh - and he made sure to be really excited that his cousins were going to be there ... even though they aren't! He has only been bowling with them! Hopefully Daddy and Grandpa can be just as fun!

Now I'm off to rest - or make a grocery list - or work on a Christmas stocking - or watch a TV that actually gets channels after 2 years of not - or all four. Or, maybe I'll just go to bed!

Pumpkin Decorating

2010-10-26T21:54:00.001-07:00

I have about a billion blog posts to catch up on but I figured this one couldn't and shouldn't wait!

A few weeks ago we visited a pumpkin patch. Jaden is STILL talking about it. We've also been reading some books about pumpkins. So, finally we got around to decorating ours.

I was planning on cooking the larger one and making fresh pumpkin puree to bake with....but Jaden had other ideas. From the minute I mentioned decorating our pumpkins he started talking about cutting off the top and making a scary face! SO, we just had to DO IT.

Cutting the top off Are you ready to scoop out the insides? Umm....okay!

He put his hand right in, but wasn't so impressed with the goopy-ness of it all!

Let's try it with a spoon!

Teamwork!

there's MORE in there?!?!?!?

Getting ready to draw the face - but first Jaden had to put the pencil behind his ear so he could be "Handy Manny"

Mommy's attempt at drawing the "Scary, Silly, Happy" face that Jaden said he wanted the pumpkin to have.

Luz stepped in with some superior artistic skills. Per Jaden's request - Circle eyes, triangle nose, and a mouth with three teeth

As Luz was carving Jaden started getting crazy...

....so we started on the next project - painting the little pumpkins. I have noticed at the library and a few other places that Jaden LOVES painting but I've been a bit timid to do it at home because I didn't want to clean up a huge mess. Turns out he's a very neat artist! We tried having a different brush for each color, and that lasted a little while. But, eventually they all got a bit mixed together.

What cute pumpkins!

Cheese! This one is MINE!

FUN!

Turns out Tempera paint doesn't really stay on pumpkins.....Later this evening after they were dry Jaden rubbed most of the paint off of his. Now THAT was a bigger mess than the painting in the first place! I guess maybe we'll have to paint the pumpkin again! ;-)

Fun with Beans

2010-10-06T19:56:00.000-07:00

Some days you just need a really simple and REALLY fast to organize activity.

This day Jaden was super interested in scooping things with his diggers and Muck (his new best friend - depending on the day).

So, I grabbed a cupful of dried beans, a cookie sheet, and a few small bowls.
He sure had fun scooping, moving, and dumping those "rocks!"

Playing Hostess

2010-10-06T19:41:00.000-07:00

I attend a weekly Bible Study that meets in people's homes. One week I offered to host and then realized that 16 people in one room in my house would be a bit impossible!

So, we met in the library at the mission's campus.

It was a good excuse for me to make some yummy treats though!

And have fun decorating a table for fall!

follow the links for the recipes for cake truffles and individual cheesecakes

mmmm.....GOOD fruit!

The $1 tablecloth and $1 package of silk fall leaves made for pretty decorations!

Individual Cheesecakes

2010-10-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

These are really easy and SUPER yummy!!!!

The Recipe

2 8 oz. package cream cheese softened

¾ c. sugar

2 eggs

1 Tbs. lemon juice

2 tsp. almond flavoring

1 box vanilla wafers

1 can cherry pie filling (I made mine with raspberry because we like it better! The cherries look a little cuter on the top, but the raspberry is SO good!!!)

Beat together until light and fluffy. Place one cookie in cupcake, cover with mixture ¾ full. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes. Cool, top each with 1 Tbs. cherry pie filling.

Makes 18-24.

Cake Balls......Ummm...Truffles

2010-10-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

So, I heard about such a thing as cake balls from Bakerella

Then, my cousin made some and I tasted them.

Then, my cousin claimed that they really were very easy.

So, I had an excuse to make a special treat and decided to try it out.

They were a HUGE hit - everyone that tasted them LOVED them, and thought that I must have purchased them at a store because, yes, they were pretty darn cute.

But, when they ask you what they are, and you have to say "cake balls"....ISH.

I have decided to rename them....

CAKE TRUFFLES

Caution - they are VERY rich. I prefer to eat them cold. Somehow they aren't so overwhelmingly sweet that way.

CAKE TRUFFLES

HOW TO: (simplest version imaginable)

1. Bake a box cake mix in a 9x13 pan

2. Cool cake

3. Crumble up the cake (a bit distressing after working so hard on previous cake projects to get a piece that actually stays together nicely for decorating!)

4. Stir in a can of frosting.

5. Cool mixture in refrigerator

6. Make into balls (I used a small cookie scoop to keep a more even measurement).

7. Chill balls in freezer (or fridge)

8. Dip in melted candy coating.

9. Optional - Mine looked lumpy and kind of weird so we splattered them with the opposite color candy coating and they suddenly looked very cute.

Really, the hardest part was the dipping. I found that the colder the balls and the warmer the candy coating the easier it was to be quick.

I tried using spoons to maneuver the balls and it didn't work.

Then I tried skewers. This worked most of the time but occasionally I had one fall apart on me. Funny thing about that is, many of my cake balls had a candy coating stripe into the center too!

I used a Cherry Chip cake mix and White frosting. The ones my cousin made were Funfetti cake and frosting. I read about a red velvet with cream cheese frosting. All of these sound FABULOUS.

I hear you can easily sub in your favorite cake/frosting recipe if you prefer from-scratch cakes. I'm thinking my FAVORITE homemade coconut cake and frosting with a dark chocolate shell would be DIVINE. But....that sounds like a lot of work!

THE BOTTOM LINE - I would make these again for a special occasion - but only if I had a guaranteed babysitter or a helper for the dipping stage!

Grilling

2010-10-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

Grandma K sent Jaden a cool new grill, just for fun! He had a GREAT time grilling the hot dogs and hamburgers! In the winter this one may just have to come inside with us!I think I may have a budding chef on my hands!

Straw Sorting - Gone Wild

2010-10-05T17:36:00.000-07:00

My sister in law and I found a book of great ideas of activities for preschoolers and we made up some project bags for our kids. I have yet to TOTALLY LOVE them, so maybe I'll post a review after we get through some more of them. Really, Jaden is too young for many of them still. I few more critical thinking skills and some letter knowledge and he'll be on a roll with them I'm sure.

Anyway....

In one of the bags we placed 100 straws and 50 paper clips - supposedly to build towers with. I'm not a preschooler - and I can't figure out how to do that yet. BUT, Jaden LOVES playing with the straws!

I decided to turn it into a sorting activity by color (see how I put one of each colored straw in each cup?)

Of course, that wasn't as fun. And, even moving them in and out of the cups wasn't NEARLY as fun as....
...throwing them all over the floor and pretending they are "logs" his "machines" have to build things with!

Hey, quite a mess - but for just being straws, they can keep him entertained for upwards of 30 minutes at times!

Not too bad if I say so myself!

My Little Apple - Art Project

2010-10-05T15:43:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from a Montessori preschool teacher's blog.

I set out strips of red construction paper, a small bowl with glue, a small paintbrush, and a white paper plate.

The first step was to tear the red paper strips into little pieces. (This was Jaden's favorite part!)
Then you paint a little glue onto the piece of red paper.

and stick it on the plate!
This activity did last awhile but, we didn't get around to finishing! The plate only got about 1/5 full of red and Jaden lost interest when it came to gluing on a stem and leaf.

But, I still rate this activity a hit.

I'm discovering Jaden really likes art projects - but he does NOT like to get messy. He didn't like that sometimes he would get glue on his fingers if after painting it on the red paper. I showed him how to paint the glue onto the plate and put the red pieces down - but he wasn't too big of a fan of that either. I didn't want to just give him the whole bottle of glue beca

use I still remember glue lakes from MY days in Elementary school! The Montessori blog I got this idea from recommends these tap-and-glue bottle tops. I'm going to check into getting something like that.

Materials Needed:

- strips of red construction paper

- glue

- paper plate

- green leaf and brown stem from construction paper to finish

- a method of getting the glue onto the paper (bottle or brush and bowl)

Followed by an apple for a snack!

The Evolution of the Sandbox tent

2010-10-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

Leave it to Daddy to figure out a way to play in the sandbox even when the sun is hot!

The first attempt was a hit.

The second attempt has made the sandbox a new favorite play place again.

Of course, we have to remember to take it down if it might get too windy (which sometimes means heading outside at 1am if we hear it flapping around!)

But, now that days are cooler, we can play in the sandbox even when the sun is out and strong!

Yea for sandbox fun!

Books of the week

2010-09-29T19:40:00.000-07:00

So, I don't know if this would be helpful for any other mom's of toddlers out there. But, I decided to start posting our favorite books of the week (or whenever I get around to it) as we check out new ones from the library.

With a toddler running around and a parking meter counting down from my 2 hour limit after story time and craft I find it hard to do much in the way of methodical picking out of books when we are at the library. So, we pretty much get the luck of the draw when it comes to books. Sometimes we get really terrible ones but most often I'm pleasantly surprised at the little treasures we find. It is always really interesting to see how Jaden reacts to the different books and which ones he chooses as his favorites.

Last week I thought the Monster Truck one was going to win out. But, by the end of the week, these two ended up being his "most requested."

I have seen LOTS of blogs about incorporating different activities and craft projects with the books you are reading. We're totally not there yet. We just read books! Like I said, I can't really get my brain and time around that level of planning - and I find the children's section of the library hard to find what I want in. Maybe that's because I'm wanting to look by topic when I should be looking for author - for books that have good recommendations.

If anyone has any suggestions that are easy, quick, and foolproof, I'm all ears!

Here are last week's favs.

Toot Toot Zoom

Jaden loved this one and it was pretty fun to read. I was surprised because about the middle of the week he started telling me the story at times when he thought of it - even when we didn't have the book around. He would "read" his version of the story from memory and then expand into some other silly story he made up as he went. Developmentally this was surprising to me because he had never done anything like this - and he was getting pretty creative!

Tucker's Apple Dandy Day
I chose this one because we were GOING to start learning letters this week. A - for apple! But, it didn't happen - and probably won't formally happen for a while still. But, he loved this book anyway. In fact, today my new nickname became "Tucker!" and Jaden declared that "we need pick apples and make an Apple Dandy pie!" I haven't found an apple orchard in these parts yet - but I told him that we could go to the store and buy some apples and he could help me make the pie like Tucker helped his mommy. He was pretty excited about that! I guess I better add it to my to-do list this week!

I love seeing how reading is expanding his creativity, vocabulary, and spilling over into his imaginative play! AND, it hasn't even been hard to implement! Just get some books and spend time READING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can of Worms

2010-09-24T15:53:00.001-07:00

I got this idea from this wonderful blog

Pulling "worms" out of a can with tweezers.

It was kind of tough with the tweezers and WAY too easy with the fingers. So, despite high hopes, this activity lasted about 5 minutes. But, it cost about TWO CENTS (if that) so it doesn't really matter.

I think I would try this with a younger child (18-24 months) and forget the tweezers. It all depends on your child's development AND their willingness to follow rules like "ONLY with the tweezers!"

What you Need:

- an empty plastic container with lid

- a scissors or something to cut holes in the top

- pieces of yarn with knots tied in the top

- a tweezers

Kid Friendly Paella

2010-09-24T15:41:00.001-07:00

I have gotten a LOT of great recipes from Annabel Karmel's book "First Meals"

I'm guessing I shouldn't just write out her recipe here - but I would REALLY recommend this book for anyone struggling to come up with healthy meals for kids who can be picky!

This version of "Kid Friendly Paella " had chicken, shrimp, and sausage, reice, red pepper, peas....and a YUMMY YUMMY flavor!

We've had it twice now and we WILL have it again!

Pretend Car Wash

2010-09-24T10:42:00.000-07:00

Since Jaden LOVES cars AND playing with water and bubbles I knew this activity would be a HIT when I saw it here.

We set up a pretend car wash with stations for the cars to

- get "dirty"

- be washed and scrubbed with soap

- rinsed with clean water

- dried off

It didn't turn out exactly that way in the end - but he did have fun!

Getting the cars "dirty"

Beginning to scrub them

Dipping them and scrubbing them in the soapy waterrinsing and using the rag
continuing to scrub - even in the drying position

What you need:

- some foam vehicle shapes. I cut mine out of foam sheets by making an imprint with some truck shaped cookie cutters I had.

- washable markers for getting the trucks "dirty"

- a few bowls/tubs for soapy water and rinsing water

- a few items to clean with. We used an old toothbrush, a scrubber and a washcloth

- a few towels for spills. I put one down on the table and a few down on the floor.

While I thought this activity would last for a LONG time, it only held interest less than 10 minutes. But, we played with the shapes again at bathtime and we have them for another day!

My Silly Guys

2010-09-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

The other day Jaden was diligently trying, trying, and trying to get a pencil behind his ear.

I couldn't figure out why and then I remembered that we had been at the office with Daddy earlier in the day - and he often has one tucked behind the ear.

After finding a smaller pencil and getting it behind th ear they had to go look in the mirror.

Platanos Asados - Grilled Bananas

2010-09-20T09:31:00.000-07:00

So, by request, here are the simple steps to yummy Grilled Bananas.

These could also be done on a campfire. I'm thinking they would make a super yummy camping treat!

- Place bananas in peel onto grill.

(I did mine over medium heat)

- Grill for about 10 minutes, turning halfway through.

(I'm not too sure how long they were on total. I think about 12 minutes.)

- When they are blackened and soft take bananas off of the grill.

(I had some trouble judging on this one but 2 of my 3 spilt open so I knew they were done. They look kind of scary but they have to be blackened to be soft enough)

- Split the peels open top to bottom

(Like I said, some of mine were already split)

- Smoosh the ends together to open the split kind of like you would a baked potato.

- Spoon sweet and condensed milk on top.

(I used approximately 1 Tbs for each banana)

- Sprinkle cinnamon on top.

Best eaten with spoons!

Dinner Success

2010-09-19T19:22:00.000-07:00

I LOVE it when the contents of my kitchen spill out an idea that comes together in a FAST, SIMPLE, YUMMY, and pleasantly surprising way!

Tonight's dinner plan was leftovers. Not bad. I just didn't feel like that.

So, I looked around for about 5 minutes and ended up with

Green Chile Cheeseburger Quesadillas

and

Platanos Asados (Grilled Bananas)

YUMMY!

Sorry, no pictures!

For the Green Chile Cheeseburger Quesadillas I just sprinkled some seasoning salt on some frozen mini hamburger patties. When they were cooked, but not overdone, I placed two of them on a tortilla, added some green chile strips (leftover from yesterday's meal) on top, added a slice of muenster cheese to each patty, sprinkled some shredded cheddar cheese over the top, and folded the tortilla over. I grilled the whole deal on low for about 2 mins, CAREFULLY flipped it over, and let the other side of the tortilla grill a little bit too. Stephen liked his with salsa, I ate mine plain.

For the bananas - see the link above! SUPER easy, YUMMY!!!

SUCCESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fun with Cousins

2010-09-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

After our return from Mariachi tour 3 of Jaden's cousins came to stay at Grandma's house for the weekend. We tried to help out a little bit in the entertainment department and ended up having a ton of fun!

Adventure #1 - Bowling!

Getting our bowling shoes on

Bethany strutting her stuff

Waiting for the balls to come back up

Abigail discovering the fun of the ball ramp (to help the smaller kids actually get the ball all the way down the alley)

Jaden thought it was pretty cool too

hilarious actually!

and after each roll he would sprawl out for what must have been the best view of the ball heading down to the pins (or water bottles - as he called them)

Adventure #2 - Jungle Jaks

Jungle Jaks was a cool indoor park sort of place complete with places for kids to climb, run, jump, and play.

there was the foam factory where you could send foam balls up through tubes and shoot them through the big guns in a dodgeball type war

lots of places to climb and big slides.

They also have a toddler section,

where a train lover like Jaden just hung out and played with the Thomas Train table

an art section where kids can create cool things to take home,

Bethany painting her ceramic figure

Abi & Jaden painting with stencils

This was Jaden's first time with paints. He LOVED it so I think we're going to have to figure out how to do this in a "mess controlled" way at home!

see that concentration!

a beauty parlor where you can dress up or get makeup and hair done,

Abigail the princess

Bethany choosing her makeup and "glitter tattoo"

cute!

Abigail getting her hair done

(I hear she wouldn't let her mom take it out until it all fell out over 3 days later!)

bumper boats,

and a few Wii games to play with! (we didn't get that far!)

Of course, like any good business, only certain things come WITH your entrance fee, the rest (and of course the most desirable) require purchasing additional tickets.

We had a lot of fun - and learned a few lessons along the way.

So, after me realizing that girls really are very different to reason with, engage, and encourage than boys (and older kids require a much different strategy than a 2 yr old with an amazingly long attention span)

AND a few lessons in "managing your tickets"

AND a few meltdowns over "why you can't do more of certain activities after you chose to use your tickets elsewhere"

AND discussions about "why it might not be nice to swangle your 4 year old sister out of one of her tickets so you can buy something you could have had BEFORE you used some of your tickets on something else"

we all had a lot of fun!

Mariachi San Pablo - Tour NE 2010

2010-09-13T20:10:00.001-07:00

What seems like eons ago now we went on yet another long trip of the summer with Mariachi San Pablo. This time the tour was to Nebraska. For me, one of the BEST things was that several members of my family were able to come see the group play because it was at least a LITTLE closer to home. Only one family member other than my parents had ever seen the group anywhere except our wedding! It was SO good to see all of them even though I was SO BUSY the whole time they were there I didn't get to see MUCH of them! That also means I hardly have any pictures of them because I was SO DARN BUSY the whole time they were around! They were a HUGE help in taking care of Jaden so I could run sound, helping at our sales table, and running our exhibit booth at a simultaneous convention and I dearly love and appreciate EACH of them.

Since I'm TOTALLY playing blog-catch-up still I didn't put tons of time into this slideshow - just the basics of some of our adventures.

The gist -

16 days

2600+ miles

16 performances

for 2000+ people

in interesting places like - churches, parks, nursing homes, trailer park, parking lot, state penitentary, and meat packing plant.

Here are the pics!

Customize a photo slideshow

Book We're Loving

2010-09-06T07:03:00.000-07:00

We found this book, Driving My Tractor, at the library this week.

I grabbed it since it was about a tractor (a major area of interest for Jaden right now).

It comes with a music CD. I have to say, it's been a while since I've seen a children's book that is this well done! The music is great, folk-style, and it just makes you want to dance. The artwork is also really fun, colorful, and enjoyable to look at (over and over and over again!)

We picked the book up on Wednesday afternoon. I think Jaden had it memorized by Thursday morning! It is the #1 requested bedtime book in our house and needs at least 3 readings through to count.

Jaden's even singing along and it is ADORABLE! We might just have to buy this one!

California Adventures - Part III

2010-08-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

One day in CA Jaden and I spent most of the morning at a park. It was a REALLY cool park with lots of fun things to do. I guess it was the coolness of the park, or the activity of the other kids that inspired him but he FINALLY decided to go down the slide on his own!

His OWN way, of course

The rest of our CA adventures had us visiting friends and relaxing.

Hanging out in a hammock at a friend’s house

They also had a few animals

Checking out the grape vines in their vineyard

And checking out their COOL tractors

We also visited other friends in San Francisco and got to ride the BART

These friends live in NY but just so HAPPENED to be in S.F. the same time we were nearby.

What an answer to prayer to actually be able to SEE them (even if it was WAY too short!)

I think there is no better way to take up a San Francisco sidewalk than a brigade of strollers of beautiful kiddos!
We visited a really cool park and had lots of fun sliding some more!

Splashing in the water with Jonah was REALLY fun (even if it WAS non-potable water!)

And riding the really cool carousel

Boy oh boy do I ever miss her!

And, back at Randy’s house we had a fun family over for dinner. We had a kid’s movie night and Jaden and his new buddies cuddled right up on the couch together!

What an amazing and fun trip. Somebody was tired out on the flight home!