Dinosaur Themed Birthday Party

Again, this was over a month ago......but let's just ignore that teensy fact, mkay?

Just wanted to make sure that it was recorded for all to see that our little brother (soon to be older brother!) DID in fact, turn three.

Our girl has quite the social calendar.

The last week has been pretty busy around here.  Busy for us that is.  I know plenty of people that are much busier than we are, but either way, we've had lots going on! 

Last week, our little Peanut had her second trimester awards assembly, for which she received a certificate for Highest Honors.  She essentially got straight A's or pluses in our case.  I didn't even know they did this in Kindergarten, but apparently they do.  And while one part of me thinks it's kinda silly (I mean it is just Kindergarten), the other part of me is really proud!  Kindergarten or not, this girl has learned a TON this school year.  She is reading now, learning to tell time, learning addition and subtraction, to count by 2's, 5's, 10's--the list goes on and on.  So the fact that she is learning so much and retaining nearly all of that information is impressive.   

She also had to do a country report this week (with a fair amount of help from mom and dad-which was expected) and we had the opportunity to sit in on her little presentation.  She did well--she just needs to learn to speak up a little.  I have no idea where she gets that from!  Ahem.

Yesterday, while the little brother and daddy were both taking naps, the Peanut and I snuck (apparently this is not a word?  whatev) off to the library to pick up a book I had requested for her.  I have been reading Beverly Cleary's Ramona series to the Peanut before bed.  My mom and dad gave her a big ol' boxed set of Beverly Cleary books at Christmas. However, for whatever reason, the publisher's included all but one (!) of the Ramona books in the set. 

So I requested it from the library and it finally came.  Since it was just us (sans the 2.5 year old), we got the Peanut set up with her own library card now that she can write her own name.  Well.  That just about made her year. Yes, her year. As the librarian was entering her application in the computer, she pulled out a box from underneath the counter with these cute little crocheted library card purses that some sweet little volunteer ladies make for kids who are getting their first library cards.  Oh my. You would have thought the Peanut was just handed the moon.  Excited does not even begin to describe it.  She tried to wear the purse to bed last night, which I quickly nixed for fear of strangulation.  But then, when we got to school today to watch her give her presentation, I saw her wearing her little purse.  Apparently, she brought the library card purse to school.  Which neither her daddy or I knew about.  Nice.  I fear the teenage years already. 

Lastly, the Peanut had her spring voice recital on Monday night (Grandpa's 60th birthday! Happy Birthday, Dad!) and she sang her solo, Singing in the Rain.  Me?  I cried.  Because I am a sap like that.  She did really well though.  It's amazing to see her confidence grow on stage each time she gets up there. 

So I will end with the video of her performance.  It's kinda cute. 




 

15 or 16 Weeks Update. Close enough, right?

Thought I should give an update on this good ol' blog.  You know, since I dropped some fairly big news the last time I wrote.  I've been feeling pretty well.  I was pretty nauseous and tired there for awhile, but the nauseousness is pretty much all gone (yay for me!) and while I am still tired on occasion, I am feeling much more energetic than I was even just a month ago.    As of this writing I am 15 weeks along, which makes the graphic below entirely inaccurate.  But, close enough, right?  15.....16 weeks?  Gosh, I am already starting to sound like a three time mom. I am just too tired right now to pull up CS5 and create that photo all over again.  In my defense, I didn't even have a photo with me and the little brother between 13 and 19 weeks, so the fact that I am keeping up with a pregnancy photo every four weeks is a definite step up from last time!

According to all sorts of information on the internets, the baby is the size of an apple. Or in my case, a sack of apples.  Whichev.  Apparently, the nauseousness from a few weeks back certainly didn't inhibit my caloric intake.  As of about three weeks ago, I started testing my blood sugar again (I had gestational with the Peanut, but NOT the little brother) and since then, I've been trying to be really good.  And I've succeeded for the most part--I've had dessert at a few family functions, but I've curtailed my nightly candy intake completely.  Yes, I know. Like I really needed that!  Just know that that is a very REAL sacrifice for me and I've been doing it.  I've also been watching my overall carb intake, so hopefully my glucose test will be good like last time.   

We celebrated my sweet Hubs birthday yesterday.  The last year of his 30's.  Wow.  Because we are always on such a tight budget, we celebrated by taking the kids to a nearby park--one in the northern part of our county that we rarely, rarely visit. Our weather has been unseasonably dry and also warm--at least for this part of the country.  We packed a picnic lunch and the kids got to play for hours on the play structure and kick the soccer ball and play catch with daddy.  They even got juice boxes--a rarity.  (You should have heard them telling my parents about it later when they stopped by....juice boxes AND the park.  It was the best. day. ever.  At least they are easy to please!)   Then we came home and we all took naps (every one of us!) and for dinner we had the Daddy's birthday dinner request--grilled carne asada.  It was a really nice, relaxing day.

Finally, just a little picture I snapped of the kids a few weeks ago with my parents lab.  It's one of my new favorites!

 

Life Does Go On After Christmas

I set a goal for myself that I wanted to get another post up on this here blog by the end of January.  And here we are with just three hours to go and I am achieving said goal.

Clearly, I strive for greatness.

Most who know me in real life know that I call January "let down month."  It truly does stink.  If I had to rank the months from favorite to least favorite, January wouldn't even make the cut.  All the festivities are over, school is back in session, and while I once claimed I like love winter, I've come to realize I simply don't.  What I do love is the fall/winter season right up until real life resumes the day after Christmas break. And then?  Well, winter might as well be done.  Which is truly discouraging, since according to that thing we call an almanac, says that we have about another 10-11 weeks of winter left.

Hmph.  

Now, if we actually got a little snow, that could certainly change my perspective, but the weather here has been very, very mild and I don't see any snow in our near future.  Not that I am a meteorologist or anything.

So, here are just a few highlights from the last time I posted.....

As I mentioned awhile back, my awesome dad has been working on the top part of our "built-in" desk.  I'm getting SO excited.....it's getting so much closer to being done!

♥

At Peanut's school, we have to put in volunteer hours for each student enrolled.  Because I have a two year old and a hard working husband that works crazy hours, I didn't feel comfortable committing to things/activities at school with never knowing what the Hub's schedule would be and not knowing if I would have someone to watch the boy.  So.  I signed up to help with a fruit platter once a month for the weekly staff meetings.  It was something I could do completely from home and I could just drop off in the office.  (Side note:  I was totally hoping for the muffins portion {so much cheaper!}, but they only had need for the fruit platter, which I guess is how God wanted me to bless them, so there you have it!)

Well, despite all my ranting and raving about the month of January, ironically, out of the three fruit platters I did (September, October, and January--November and December aren't done because of the holidays), January ended up being both the prettiest and best tasting month!

♥

On New Year's Eve, I was reading the little brother's devotion to him before bed and it talked about being thankful for all the blessings from the past year.  I asked him what he was thankful for this year. I kid you not, he looked at me and whispered, "Money in my piggy bank."

ALEX P. KEATON.

I couldn't make this stuff up even if I tried.

 ♥

We've had quite a few nice days in these last few weeks and so the kids were actually able to play outside.  The Peanut was all into her chalk drawings and the little brother was semi-interested in the chalk.  What he really liked was the small piece of bubble wrap I gave him to play with that was from a package I received that afternoon.  Yes, I know you aren't supposed to give small children pieces of plastic to play with.  #momfail


Peanut also got to have fun at her school's Family Fun Night this past Friday night.  She got to eat pizza, an ice cream sandwich, popcorn, and I even threw caution to the wind and let her get an orange soda instead of water.  Plus, she got to play in three bounce houses, get a balloon flower from the balloon animal artist, play the Plinko booth, shoot in a basketball shot competition, and walk in a cupcake walk.


Obviously, she was miserable the whole time.

♥

Daddy converted the little brother's crib and now he has a "big boy" bed.  He was just a little bit excited. He shows everyone who will watch how he can climb in and out "all by my-sef."  It's pretty cute.

Except when the 6 am wake up call comes running into our room.  #thatsnotcute

♥

My aunt and uncle got the Peanut a Lego set for Christmas.  WOW.  Had I known how enthralled she would be by them, I would have got her the set myself.  We did get her a very small set as soon as she was old enough (2.5-3 years ago?) and all she did with it was use the many pieces to "cook" with in her kitchen.  You know, sauteed Lego with a wine reduction?  I was less than impressed, because I knew the pieces were all going to wind up missing.  Anyhow, fast forward several years later and she hasn't stopped playing with it since Christmas.  Plus, she had some leftover birthday money and we let her buy another set off of Amazon.  Hours upon hours of entertainment, people!

And last but not least, I was getting all stressed about getting her Valentines done.  I was thinking they had to be done this week, but I guess I could use a calendar, because I actually had about two weeks to get them done.  Peanut filled out all the Valentines and I made the little pencil arrows to go with.  Thank you, Pinterest.  Once again.  Because we all know a Valentine is just a Valentine....unless we Pinterest it, right?  Yes, I realize I am part of the problem.

Christmas Vacation

Can I just share that I've so been enjoying the Peanut's Christmas vacation?  Not only has it been nice to have her home with us (on many, many levels--but the sibling bickering????  Make. It. Stop!!!!), but it means I don't have to be such a Nazi about bedtime--which I usually am.  I usually, without fail, have the kiddos in the bath by 6:30 (6:40 if I am living fast and loose that evening) so as to have them in bed, stories read, and lights out by 7:30.  Both of them require 11-12 hours of sleep and when they wake up around 7:00-7:30 each morning, they need a firm bedtime.  And who am I kidding?  I enjoy a little quiet time to myself each night too!  Anyhow, all that said, because we can sleep in each morning with no firm obligations, it's been nice not having to be so rigid about bedtime. Not that we go crazy by any means, but 8:00 and in bed? 

No biggie. 

It's just been really, really nice.

We had a nice little quiet Christmas.  We did the thing floating around Pinterest for gifts for the kids this year and it was SO nice.  Four gifts for Christmas--something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read.  We initially decided on that mainly because of budgetary constraints, but in the end, our kids are so very blessed and they really don't need anything.  They have closets full of clothes and tons of toys to play with (thank you Grandma and Grandpa!).  The Hubs and I don't really exchange gifts (although I did get him a Charger's sweatshirt that I totally forgot about this past September!) and he did built me a coat rack for our mudroom main entry/exit through our house.  That will have a post of it's own later.  

We entertained my mom's side of the family here on Christmas Eve and then went to my Aunt and Uncle's house for Christmas dinner. While Christmas time has always been my very favorite-ist time of year, with the kids and their emotional highs and lows of the last several days (lots of excitement, lots of family time, lack of strict schedules {see above}, etc.) EVERYTHING has the potential for a big ol' meltdown.  So.  That said, I am kinda enjoying the rest of this week just being able to lay low and watch movies, eat leftover cookies and soup from Christmas Eve and just relax. 

I hope you are getting to do the same!!!


  

How I Got Hired for This Job, I'll Never Know

A few weeks ago, we got a call from Peanut's school. That's never a good thing, is it? The only times I've received phone calls from the school was either a) The Peanut was sick and I needed to come pick her up immediately or b) She had been exposed to some infectious disease {whooping cough, chicken pox, etc} and they were giving us the legally required disclosure.

Well, they called on Peanut's scheduled day off from school, so this worrier automatically assumed she had been exposed to something once again. Nice, right? I have no idea why Hubs calls me a dooms-dayer. No clue at all.

Turns out, we were being invited to a special assembly last week. She had been chosen as Student of the Month for November. Now, because it's a Christian school they choose a student based on the monthly character trait. (I was Student of the Month many moons ago {in public school} and it wasn't based on anything like that. At least that I remember. But it could have been based on being a suck-up, because that is something I excelled in for sure.)

Anyhow, back to November's character trait.  It was loving kindness. Loving kindness. Specifically referenced from Micah 6:8~

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
But to do justice, to love kindness,
And to walk humbly with your God?

Let me tell you, that was humbling. Because folks, that fine quality so did not come from me. That is her daddy through and through. I am all about what is fair, what is right (in my mind!)--what is just. I guess I have the just part down, but the problem is, I don't follow that through with the love kindness part. Ouch. But our daughter? To her teacher, she stood out among her peers in her consistent, kind and loving manner.

Wow.  This was a very much needed reminder, that that precious little Peanut of ours--she isn't ours at all.  She was a gift.  A gift entrusted to us from a very loving God.

Now I know in my heart that God is good and God is sovereign in all things.  But for goodness sakes, in my head I can't help but wonder what He was thinking in trusting someone like me to be their mama?  I am poor, poor example of Christ each and every day. #utterfailure

I am impatient and probably expect far too much from their little six and two year old selves.  As I just said, I like doing the right thing and I want them to do the right thing.  And let's face it, my little sinners don't always mind their mama.  I feel like I am banging my head against the wall on most days.  But that's probably how He feels with me, right? Because I am His little sinner.

In the end, I have to remember cling to that He will work everything for good according to His purpose.  While the loving kindness trait didn't come from me, I have a sneaking suspicion that Peanut is the way she because He knew I could learn from that.


 

The Perfectly Imperfect Gingerbread House

I am learning and really, have been learning since the Peanut was about two, that these traditions I am trying to create with them don't have to be perfect. 

Why yes, I am a very slow work-in-progress.

Anyhow, our little Christmas schedule is quickly filling and between all my DIY projects, Peanut being in school, and just living life {otherwise known as cleaning, laundry, ironing, bath time, the revolving door of sickness, etc}, there were very few days where Operation: Decorate Gingerbread House could commence. So this weekend it was.

And thank you, Grandma, for picking this up for the kids and thank you, Wilton, for placing such high expectations (for myself) of how these should turnout. (Really, their little kit is great and such a time saver, but holy smokes, do these people have children?  I think not.)

By about the third candy placed on the house and in between the little brother placing the gumdrops IN his mouth before placing them ON the house {"Me didn't eat, me just tasted" was his explanation}, I realized the picture perfect gingerbread house would not happen. Why yes, I believe I've had the conversation in my head before.  The same happened this year as well. 

But once again, just like all the other times, in the end the kids had such fun, and could. not. wait. for Daddy to get home so they could show him their artistic prowess. 

It was a great day.


 

So This Just Happened

So it was really like two weeks ago.

#bloggerfail

In my defense though, I've been kind of busy with canning and winter food preparation, so there is that. 

It only took her 8 1/2 weeks to pull it out.  This girl.  I tell you.....for the child that seems to have no fear, she definitely had some with loosing her first tooth.  She was torn between extreme excitement and paralyzing fear in getting those baby teeth out.  Apparently it's a daddy DNA thing, because not one, but two of her permanent teeth  had popped through before the baby teeth were even loose and gone.

She had her 6 month check up at the dentist and the dentist pretty much said both teeth needed to be gone. Like yesterday.  The one (pictured above) definitely should have been.  However, in her defense, the second one honestly wasn't really that loose and I think the dentist was more concerned with the fact that both permanent teeth were already coming in, so those baby teeth needed to be out.  We made the extraction appointment one week out and told her if she didn't get those teeth out, then the dentist would be taking care of it for her.  My plan was that it would motivate her to take care of it herself. 

Yeah, that didn't really work.  Actually, she did get the super loose one out the night before her appointment.  (Well, Daddy helped did it for her.)  Then, the following morning she went in and they got the second one out too.

Another milestone come and gone. 

Sigh.


 

Not Already

I knew this day was coming....but I thought I had a couple more months at least.  I mean, she hasn't even started Kindergarten yet.

That said, I should have known it wasn't very far off.  With a super early September birthday, she will be starting Kindergarten just shy of turning six years old--three days shy to be exact.

But I digress.  The little Peanut's first permanent tooth has popped through.

Note, I didn't say she lost her first tooth.  Because she hasn't.  But that permanent one?  Well, it's certainly right there behind it.  

So like any good mom who dabbles (and I use that term very loosely) in photography, I marched her straight outside to capture that fading glimmer of her baby tooth smile.

Be still my heart.  

I was seriously crying the ugly cry while she played outside quietly during her brother's nap.  It's like hard core evidence shoved in my face that she isn't my little, sweet, Peanut anymore.  I mean, she's still my sweet Peanut--my sweet, fiery Peanut to be sure.  But little?

Not as much any more.

A Tisket, A Tasket

Our little Peanut (who's getting to be not so little anymore!) had her end of school year voice recital tonight. 

She did really well.  And quite honestly, I was a teensy worried, as she had a small part of the song where she seemed to get tripped up and forget her words every so often.  But in the end--our girl rocked it.  While I know I am very biased (I am her mother after all!), please know I'm not saying she's the next Carrie Underwood by ANY means.  I was just very proud of our girl. 

Oh, and a funny little story of how Peanut's solo choice came to be.   Her instructor played A Tisket, A Tasket for Peanut at her lesson in late March and Peanut didn't seem very big on it.  Truth be told, neither was I!  Which is funny because I typically LOVE anything that is 30's and 40's--I think it was that I wasn't very familiar with the song.  I mean, I had heard it, but I didn't know it really well.  Anyhow, I digress.  I asked her teacher if there was anything else she had in mind.  So she pulled out several other songs (at least three others?) and played each of those for Peanut.  Nope, she didn't like those either.  So Peanut then told her instructor, "I would rather do the first song you played."

I guess her instructor knows Peanut better than she knows herself!

And let me tell you--this song really, really grew on me these last three months.  In the end, I ended up loving it!!!  It was a very, very sweet song.  I also love it that her instructor seems to know her students and his/her abilities so well and what each of them are capable of.  I have loved every song that Peanut has done.  Her teacher just seems to pick the songs so well for the child and their age.  It's very clear she knows what she's doing!  Which is good for this no musical talent mama!!!

And yes, while I can seem to take a semi decent photo, apparently I'm as blind as a bat when it comes to taking a video.  It's TERRIBLY out of focus, but the audio is good, so there's that. 

Uncle

So said potty training? I cried "uncle" on Thursday afternoon.  Like I said before, you sort of know what you are doing the second time around.  

Maybe I tried too soon. 

Maybe I didn't try long enough. 

Maybe he likes the idea of the potty, but he isn't ready.  

Maybe he is ready but he is stubborn and I need to be more stubborn. 

Maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe.....
 
Given the fact that he is not even two (but will be soon!) and summer has just begun, we are shelving it for now, but rest assured we will try again soon. 

That dear, sweet husband of mine has some time off at the end of June, so we are going to attempt it once again in about four weeks. 

I'll keep you posted and you keep me in your prayers!


 

I Know This May Take Longer Than I Think

The benefit to having more than one child is that you sort of know what to expect the second time around.  Key phrase being sort of.

This week I am attempting to get the Little Brother potty trained.  I know "they" say that boys always take longer, and that very well may be true, but this little guy has been asking to go in the potty for probably the last month or so.  And he will actually "go" in the potty.  Each time.  When Peanut was that age, she asked too......and she just smiled sweetly and sat there and didn't do anything.  So while we've definitely encouraged it with the Little Brother, I haven't pressed it with Peanut still being in school.

What does Peanut being in school have to do with it?   I learned the first time around {much to my surprise!!!} that it takes just as much discipline on the parent as it does on the little one.  I had to just get down to business when it came time to potty train her.  No random errand shopping, post office visits, limeade fixes in the middle of the day.  I figured out not so quickly that you just have to been done with diapers.  Put 'em underwear and you'll be cleaning up lots of messes and doing lots o' laundry for several days.  No Pull Ups....because let's face it, they are just like diapers in that your toddler won't feel wet.  And they need to feel wet.  Makes them cold and uncomfortable...makes them figure out that hey, maybe I should be telling mommy.  All this to say, that with Peanut, I stayed home and stayed put. While it took about a week....I finally had her potty trained. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I am talking about potty trained during the day.....it took about another year until she was potty trained at night.  But again, the night potty training?  Mommy and Daddy discipline as well!  Changing lots of wet sheets, but within about three weeks....she started being dry all night long.

And I know that many will argue who are you really potty training?  Me or the toddler?  Because sure, I wasn't comfortable letting her "go" completely by herself until probably about a year and half later (she was just over two when we potty trained).  It's hard for little ones to get their pants down, do their business, wipe well, get their pants done back up, and wash their hands to mommy's satisfaction.  They need some help to do all that.  And to be perfectly honest, some kids still can't do all that even at age seven!  But the way I figure, if they can tell you that they need to go, then they are ready.  So what if you're helping them with all the logistics for some time after?  You still are helping them with everything else when they are just two years old anyhow, right?  Bathing, getting dressed, meals, drinks, laundry.....obviously the list is endless! 

And even still, if all those logistics take a year (or two!) to get down....the savings on diapers alone are so worth it!  I estimate it's anywhere from $500-$1000 in savings--and for this tight budgeted family?  I'll take it!  

Plain and simple.  
 

Anyhow, all that said, I am attempting it with the Little Brother this week.  I did all my shopping, running errands, etc., and we are staying home this week.  Got him a potty seat (Peanut's was pink, of course!) and a set of training pants.  I actually already purchased some underwear for him awhile back because they had them at Costco a few months back.  So today when he woke up from his nap, the training pants (the thick cotton Gerber ones--they absorb more than underwear!) went on.  No pants/shorts, just the training pants.  And for the next four hours?  He told me probably 5-6 six times that he had to go--and he did, each time!  I only had to change him out of wet training pants twice.  That's a huge victory as far as I'm concerned because Peanut didn't go down that easy.  I changed her out of wet bottoms probably that many times in the first hour! 

But we will see....for the rest of the week, we will be at it again each day.  Hopefully we will have victory by the end of the week?   If not, I am not going to sweat it.  (Can you say second child???)  We will just try again in another month or so and do a repeat of this week.  But by the end of summer? 

Definitely hope diapers will be a distant memory!  



 

The Sandbox

I said two years ago that the money we spent on the used sandbox on craigslist was so worth it.

Well,  I'll say it again, it was SO worth it.

This is the third summer Peanut will be using it and the first for the Little Brother.  Even though the Peanut is entirely too tall for it, she still LOVES playing in it.  In fact, this little girl has an obsession with pretending to be The Pioneer Woman while "cooking" in her sandbox.  How you ask?

Well, let me tell you.  

I often have the TV on when I cook dinner.  Mostly, I like it for noise, and cooking shows are something I've always loved to watch (since I was like 10--I kid you not).  Anyhow, cooking shows are about the ONLY thing that are appropriate for children when little ears and eyes are around.  The Pioneer Woman comes on right about the time I usually am cooking dinner.  Peanut has liked watching her shows from the nearly the beginning.  To the point of referring to her little brother as Ladd (Marlboro Man) and telling me about her {Peanut's} four {imaginary} kids.  Just like PW.

Imagine that. 

Then to further solidify her obsession (my mom got her the Charlie books nearly a year ago), when I read PW was going to be in our metropolitan area this past December, we trekked out to the book signing.

For Peanut.  Really.  I honestly didn't get my cookbook signed--I didn't even bring it actually.  Peanut brought her two Charlie books and I was just trying to be considerate of PW and all the other attendees.  I was not about to have THREE books signed.  So Peanut's two books it was.  Little did I know, that others there would have like 20 books each! 

Anyhow, back to meeting PW.  My girl?  A little star struck.  This is the girl who can strike up a conversation with ANY cashier at ANY store and tell them half our life story before we walk away from the register.  To put it nicely.....there really isn't a shy bone in her body.  So when she walked up and met PW, she didn't know quite what to say at first.  At first.  Then by the time we left, according to Peanut, they were old friends.

She has, in fact, asked me during several occasions, just when exactly she will get to meet PW's kids.  'Cause you know her and PW are tight.  I've tried to explain that probably never she lives very far away, so most likely that won't ever happen.  Besides, can you say stalker?   

Her innocence makes me laugh.  Seriously.

So yes, Peanut can be out playing cooking in her sandbox for hours at a time.  And the Little Brother?  It's his favorite past time as well.  (Well, that and going to Papa's and Grama's MawMaw's--my mom isn't quite ready to let go that he can now say Grama instead of his coined phrase, MawMaw)

Upon waking up from his naps:  "San?  {Sand?}  Pway? {Play?}  Quocs? {Crocs?} aka {let's get my shoes on so I can go play in the sand. Pronto.}"  He LOVES that sand box too.

He also likes to drink the dirty sand water.  Which Hub's insists that he won't do for long--it can't taste good, therefore he'll figure it out soon enough.  But after 6 or 7 times?  I'm thinking it's more like wine and it's an acquired taste.

But that's a story for another day. 

Until then, I am loving this view out our backdoor: