Dear Son, Dear Daughter

Dear Will,

you are my beautiful boy.  you brought big change.  you taught me how to take care of a baby.  i'm sorry i didn't know more than i did before you came along.  you have forgiven me so many times, and i will never forget that. 
you helped me make friends.  you taught me to eat more fruits and veggies.  you got me outside more and more.  because of you, i know a lot about trains and trucks.
you encourage me to sing. 
you can be a talker.
you are hilarious and don't even know it.
you make people fall in love with you and you don't even try.

Dear Phoebe,

you are my special girl.  you are a doll.  you are affectionate and quiet, but very social.  you are only 1, but you smile like you know exactly what's going on.
you have been carted around since you were just a few weeks old.  you are patient, but only to a point and i can't blame you for that!
you are my dancer, my gymnast, my climber, my little mommy.  i love to watch you take care of your lamby and piggy and baby dolls.
you showed me that i give up too easily and to not do that.
sometimes you just need to be held.
you love books and you love to color.  i didn't know anyone could love to color as much as you do.
you are sweet and spunky.

crazy kids

crazy about reading (don't you love the mr. potato head glasses?)

crazy about coloring!

 crazy about building.  this was his first time playing with Lincoln Logs.

crazy about dressing up.  pre trick or treating at nana's.

today

today...

husband is back in town so that makes things easier!  and finally got an uninterrupted night of sleep for the first time since sunday night.

massive headache today.  took two rounds of tylenol to knock it out.  i miss my excedrin.  bad thing about pregnancy, no motrin and no excedrin.

will got hit at preschool today.

phoebe got one leg over the side of the crib today.  oh, give me a few more months!

my kids are so beautiful.

phoebe wants to color everyday.  she thinks it's funny to pass gas.  i did so good holding back any laughter whenever will would pass gas as a baby and toddler.  he would never react to it.  but, phoebe has always thought it was funny and i just can't hold back laughing about it now.  never thought my daughter would be more crude than my son.  it's kind of bad because sometimes the boy will let one slip, she laughs and then makes herself pass gas.

phoebe language at 19 months:

peeee mama peee - please, mama
i oh no - i don't know
wah wah - will will
ehmo - elmo, oatmeal
hee mama- here mama
hee go mama - here ya go mama
ah poo poo - i poo pooed
colo - color
mammy - lamby
bye bye
no
various animal sounds (dog, cow, cat, horse, pig, sheep)

and, oh, she can give a stern look when she says no.

she associates bed with Jesus Loves Me because that's her night night song.

songs she sings:
ABCs - almost everytime she sees letters anywhere
Jesus Loves Me
Elmo's World - la la ehmo wee

for where your treasure is...

today the boy's fever broke.  5 days of fighting a fever.

finally did a kroger run.

kroger value toilet paper - not a value.  it may be a couple dollars cheaper, but do yourself a favor and buy charmin on sale.

chewing on this today - something my friend for life posted on fb - my nearly organized. really pretty, bargain bought hoard

for where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

i have two kids  - live in America.  we live on one income and we have toys and clothes galore.  well, the kids do.  (3/4 of my clothes don't fit anymore or at least they won't for another year).  lots of hand me downs.  lots of blessings.  lots of chances to bless others.

there are children starving right now.  i know we've heard this before.

but, there are children starving right now.

i've been reminded of this a lot this year and it's not sitting well.

so, that's what elmo's been thinking about today.  da da da dahhh.  that song is so catchy!  my kids love it and i think elmo is fine, but that song is driving me bonkers.

i promised pics - here are a few.

 she loves to be outside.  "side side!"

she loves her sidewalk chalk.  gets it all over her body.  she wants to color me too.  it's not enough for her to color alone.  mommy must color (kah) with her.  sometimes i have had enough of coloring and i say no.  this doesn't go over well.  she loves her crayons and chalk.  will was nothing like that!  

cooling off in front of the a/c vent.  we had been at the park and it had been very warm that day.  she does like to sit in front of the vents though anyway.

had to get away to the mountains last weekend.  this was right before will got so sick.  or i think he had already started to get sick but was enjoying himself anyway.  who has time for a virus when you're in the mountains and there's water and paddleboats and mountain music!

he's so handsome!

glad i packed the bathing suits.  the water wasn't even very cold at all.

today

today

today will is still suffering with a double ear infection.  it acts like it is getting better and then he crashes again.  he is having problems hearing.  it is so easy to worry.  going back to the doc tomorrow morning if he is not better.

baby girl had a happy day today.  lots of smiles.  maybe we are turning a corner.  even had a sweet moment with her as she squeezed my face and said "yoh momma" and then patted her chest and said "ah bebee".

got to talk to my two best girlfriends today.  that is rare and even more rare now because they both have new babies.  both in the fourth trimester with their second child.  an exhausting time.  both sounded so calm.

september feels beautiful in georgia. 

hoping for a snowy winter to kill all these mosquitoes. 

i am 13 weeks and 5 days along.  i weigh the same as i did with baby girl at 18 weeks.  30 and pregnant.  thankful i got past the first trimester just in time to take care of a sick boy.  energy has returned but still tired.

clutter, dirty dishes, ironing.

pictures to come later.

it's late and i have to sleep now...

The Children's Museum of the Upstate

i recently went to the children's museum of the upstate with my 4 year old son and 17 month old daughter.  the kids love it.  we stayed there 3 hours (and would have stayed longer if baby hadn't needed a nap).  i was very impressed and plan to go back sometime.

we spent most of our time at the grocery store, teddy bear clinic, farm, construction site, and water area.

birthday interview with will

the last question was - what do you want to be when you grow up?  will said - an airplane driver.  he will be four in one week!

why i wear ear plugs at night

proof!  yes, lee, you do snore - big time.  but, i still love you. 
i also love how baby girl tries to imitate the sound.

lil sport soccer dynamo

this will be our fourth week at soccer camp.  will gets more and more used to it each time and seems to really enjoy it.   it doesn't hurt that his best friend is there too.
coach bill is awesome.  he is incredibly patient and does a lot of age appropriate drills and games like "hit the ground" and "bad pirate/good pirate".
 as you can see, little princess has been enjoying herself too.

inright outright upright downright happy all the time

Look to the LORD and his strength

Look to the LORD and his strength
seek his face always.
psalm 105:4

i need to paint this on my bedroom wall.

sometimes i do feel like just going around the house and painting scriptures that God has put in front of me so they'll always be in front of me.  so i won't forget!  but, then again i think hubby might not approve.

the other day i was at target with the kids and my three year old is hanging on the back of the buggy yelling, "you are the light of the world!"  awesome.

he's at the age where he has no fear of rejection and he likes to talk loud and often.  i need to teach him some more scripture - make an evangelist out of him and he wouldn't even know what was going on, but random people in target would be encouraged or convicted.  haha.

today i fed my kids mcdonalds hamburgers and frozen pizzas (with fruit on the side).  this is very out of the norm for me.  i don't think i gave will a mcdonalds hamburger until he was two.  but, anyway, i don't feel guilty because i had fun with my kids today and that's more important than stressing over all natural and no red dye 40 or high fructose corn syrup.  and hopefully we'll fit in a few more veggies and whole grains in tomorrow.

a year without cable tv

this month i celebrate 6 years of marriage with the hubs!

i'm also celebrating 1 year of no cable tv and not network tv (is that what you call it?)  our antennae picks up static and a spanish channel and that's it.  so i use vhs and dvds for the 3 year old's tv time.  the one year old has just started having a small interest in the tv.  the hubs and i use hulu on occasion and redbox.  and there's always youtube.

i do admit, i missed my cable tv after not having it for a few months.  when you're a stay at home mom, the tv can be your "friend", your adult conversation.  i missed my today show, oprah, bravo, and tlc shows.  and my three year old misses curious george and super why.  but honestly, my three year old was getting to the point where he could understand some of what they were talking about (on my shows) and that was not always good.  and the commercials were getting in sane.  if you can afford dvr, cable tv is a nice thing to have.  if you cannot afford dvr, you're going to watch 20 minutes of a show and 10 minutes of commercials.  no thank you.

time is precious when living with a 3 year old and a baby.  so this works for us.  i'm thankful my husband is okay with it.  he misses his college football in the fall, but i think that's about it.  he keeps up with the news through the internet.

i used to be a tv addict growing up and when i was in college.  one day, when i was in college, i heard someone say they didn't have a tv and they didn't know how they would even have time to watch it if they had one.  i remember thinking, what???

now, i can relate.  if i had a tv, i don't know how i would get anything else done.  and i would miss out on time with my kids too.  i already feel like i don't get to spend enough time with them, and i'm a stay at home mom.  crazy!

an update

will is in a very funny stage:

it's my favorite thing to do in the world. will
what is? me
pick my nose. will

i go to the bathroom and will follows me (of course)
do you need some privacy? will
yes. me
well, i'm just pretending to give you some privacy while i sit here with you.  will
i didn't get any privacy, but i did get a big laugh!

mommy, why did you kill that off of me? as i swat a bug off of his leg.

phoebe is a mess as well.  she loves to have fun - to dance and spin to music until she falls down. 
we have had such a time with her eating and sleeping the past two months but during the past few days we have reached some normalcy - i'm praying it continues.

victories for last week -
she ate a green bean!  and didn't spit out the skin.  and then she ate another one.
she ate a piece of watermelon
we've discovered she is not allergic to pb. thank you, Lord!
we still have a ways to go with fruit and veggies but we are a lot better than 2 months ago when she would only eat baby food, food that was pureed, and graham crackers (at 14 months old).

words she can say - sort of:

ball, eye, belly button, mouth, airplane, car, bubba, dada, mama, all done, thank you, cracker, bird, dog

what a month!

my hubby has been getting on to me about not blogging lately. but, it has been quite a month. hubby has been traveling. baby has been cutting molars. the kids have had two viruses. one that they shared with me - a stomach virus - the day before we had a flight to florida for a vacay with working hubby. wow, that plane ride with 15 month old infant in arms was rough. the 3 year old loved it! but of course, he had his own seat.

thank you, Lord for several friends and family members who have provided support to me during this past month - especially the last little bit. from watching my kids, to praying for me, and also for just talks on the phone (sometimes with loud children in the background). it kept me sane. of course, you know.

one thing i am trying to learn - 1)you can say no. 2)treat yourself a little. find your happy place - you're kids will thank you for it!

happy place includes:

long walks outside - alone or with stroller and baby - that works too - gotta get those endorphins back
screen porch time
coffee
de cluttering the house
blue hydrangeas on the kitchen table (from my front yard!)
candles
painting
music

we're getting there. the kids are trying to get over this last virus. we've been watching more tv than normal, building with Legos a lot while baby naps, serving a lot of childrens motrin, and trying to clean a very dirty house. hoping things calm down soon - looking forward to a fun summer.

before i forget, i have to write a few willisms:

menu - food looker
cashier - pay pointer
pharmacists - medicine asker
he still can't say some of his sounds, esp. when you put two consonants together. so brown brush is "frown frush".
and my favorite is when he says, "when i grow up" sounds more like "when i throw up" and he talks about growing up a lot. it really confuses some people.

Asleep on the couch in the middle of the day = sick

St. Pete's Beach, FL

The kids prefer the pool to the beach

"I'm going to be an airplane friver when I frow up!" Thank you Delta for giving him hours in the 757.

life with ages 3 and 1

sometimes i have to let him work in peace. so sometimes that means putting the Lego table up high so baby can't mess up his creations as he is creating. or putting the train set up in the guest room with a baby gate propped up against the door.

there are the fights, the tears, the frustrations with one another - and then there's this.

they really do love each other. watching them grow up together is the sweetest thing. will is not going to know what to think when she starts talking his ear off.

oh, and don't you love the hats - helmets, crowns, whatever. my kids love hats.

will these days

will at 3.75

Easter weekend on the Hooch - daddy took him to an Easter egg hunt at a park near the river. i was surprised that he wanted to get in. it was cold, and i would not consider him a water baby/boy. he still hates getting water in his face (washing his hair). but he was all about getting in the river! i love it! rivers are my favorite bodies of water and i'm so glad he likes them too.

will is doing better with brushing his own teeth and getting dressed by himself. this is very exciting to me! he still struggles with putting on socks. he is doing better with zipping, but we need to work on buttoning and snapping. if it were up to him, he would wear "soft pants" everyday - pajama pants or shorts or pants with just an elastic waist.

he is doing better with obedience.

he does well with an 8:30 bedtime.

he is always hungry! but he's happy to eat the good stuff as long as i have it available for him.

he loves preschool - at this point i wish he were going 4 mornings a week instead of 2.

sometimes the "why" questions are too much! "mommy, why is this a hill?"

some of his favorite movies are 101 dalmations (the doggie video) and the jungle book (he used to call this one "the video with the girl in underwear"). he does love cars and finding nemo but i think at this age he's able to follow the older, less stimulating disney movies.

he was still requesting the same songs before bed a couple weeks ago and they were all Christmas songs. away in a manger, the cattle are lowing, and hark the herald angels sing. when Easter was coming up i tried to introduce an Easter song to him. i sang "because he lives" a few times and now sing "amazing grace" after "away in a manger" of course.

there are so many good songs that aren't Christmas carols that i could be singing to him.

today, we told will we would go to church. lee said we would meet God there. will said, "is God there?" i said, "God is everywhere." "i will be looking for him," he said.

favorites of the week 3-25

this week will showed more kindness to phoebe than he has in all her thirteen months put together. one time he brought her baby doll to her. a few times he would hold her hand and lead her to me. gently. and for the first time i heard the words, "phoebe, come play with me!"

phoebe made someone's day at the fountain. and that someone had a camera! random, and sweet. phoebe is so social. this was a total stranger she was smiling at. see pictures above.

hubby cut the backyard grass - we've been enjoying the backyard a lot.

watched courageous - great movie about fatherhood

favorites for the week 3/18

just keep pedaling...just keep pedaling. i've watched too much Finding Nemo recently.

this was last saturday at yellow river game ranch. she loved the chickens!

curls!

here's the list for this past week!

playing at the fountain with will and phoebe

watching will write his name

lee's excitement about his class on leadership

the dogwoods have bloomed!

using a coupon from the dry cleaners for some of lee's clothes!!!

the hubby and i making decisions on our new bathroom! (now if only we could find a bathtub that we love - we don't have much space at all - our bathroom is the size of some people's walk in closets. we can only fit a 60 x 32 tub and we want a sloped back like the one we have that broke. last january! i am so ready to have my tub back!)

phoebe trying to imitate animal sounds (she loves dogs)

being outside!

and i think we've finally adjusted to the time change. (the kids are finally going to bed before 9:00 and sleeping past 7:00)

favorites for week 3/11

favorites of the week:

ella's kitchen and buddy fruits (i've been having problems getting fruits and veggies into phoebe)

will's love for the movie 101 dalmations (a.k.a. the doggie video)

will wanting to read make way for ducklings every night
phoebe pushing her baby stroller in the driveway for the first time

a friend who takes my son to monkey joe's and lunch at mcdonalds afterwards

phoebe in a sunsuit! (it was warm here in georgia! 82 degrees today)

amish country

anybody want to go visit amish country with me?
doesn't this look awesome? - lancaster quilt shopping

i really love the primitive furniture, and of course the food.

i have such a fascination with them. maybe it's the artist in me - the need to make everything. and i like simple. i'm not saying i could live like them because i could not or i would not choose to, but i am so intrigued by their lifestyle - work ethic - craft.

loving today's letters

discovered a new blog that i love

today's letters

it reminds me of so many things i love.

and inspired me to write notes to my husband again - like this one!

dear sweet beard (a.k.a. so many other names!),

i know you will read this.

you are my favorite. you are calm, but crazy. you help me with everything. you eat leftovers. you listen. we make cute babies. let's go to the mountains again soon and go on a hike and find a river and listen to some live music and smell dirt and wet leaves.

love,
me

will "reads" spot bakes a cake

this is W at 3 1/2 years old.

this age is just too cute.

a song for a book

presence - kathryn scott

just finished reading the shack. around the same time someone shared this song with me - presence. when i really stop and think how big and beautiful, simple and complex, sweet and powerful and personal God is, i am overwhelmed with something that feels like a mix of sunshine, excitement and peace.


you are just so beautiful - i love your presence, God.

she's walking

i love watching them walk when they've just learned how. awkward, stumbling, determined, and just plain funny. not to mention - cute. phoebe started walking more than crawling last friday - 11 1/2 months old. she's walking almost all the time now - even trying to run out of her room when she knows it's about to be naptime or night night.
she's walking a full month earlier than will did. she is cutting her fourth tooth right now, but at this age will had 5 teeth already. she is still learning how to use a sippy cup and at this age will was totally off the bottle. they are all so different.

phoebe's schedule at 11 1/2 months: (for future helps)

wake - 7:00 (sometimes 6:30 and sometimes 7:30, but mostly 7:00)
eat and play
nap - 10:00 (sometimes 9:45 and sometimes as late as 10:30)
generally takes 1.5 hour nap
lunch around noon and then play
this is often when i will run some errands too
nap - 3:00
bottle - 4:30 or when she wakes
supper - 6:00 or 6:30
bath by 7:30
bed around 8:00-8:15

i'm trying to get her to finish eating/drinking by 7:00 but i'm always afraid she hasn't had enough so sometimes i'll keep offering her bottle until bedtime. i'm trying to get away from that. trying to move her to eating meals with us - we're getting there. she eats some table food, but we still do a lot of babyfood. i offered her quick oats this morning and she hated it. i think i've spoiled her by always adding formula or milk to her baby cereal. she seems a lot pickier than will was and is, but will eats almost anything. i switched her to milk last weekend - no more formula and she is doing fine. i'm trying to remember to brush her 3 little teeth everyday and read to her a little more. she does enjoy looking at books. i was so much better about all of this with will when he was a baby. i can tell having an older sibling is teaching her a lot too though. even the horribly dramatic crying. oh, dear. what strong personalities in such little bodies.

toddler and preschooler books we love

these are some of our favorites. i have a 3 1/2 year old boy and a girl who is almost a year old. most of these books are my son's (and my) favorites since my little girl hasn't had much time to decide the ones she loves yet.

I Love You Through and Through

Bless Us All

Truck

Freight Train

Spot series

The Snowy Day

The Snowman - picture book by raymond briggs

The Polar Express

The Little Red Caboose

The Little House

make it simple

sometimes i forget it can be this simple:

crescent roll and little smokie pigs in a blanket (on fine china!)
canned green beans with grape tomato
canned corn heated up in the microwave

dear simplicity - i want more of you in my life!

what's cookin part I

sometimes i get in a rut in the kitchen. i have no idea what to make. it helps me to record things to remind myself of what i do.

above is a tomato basil salad. okay this is a version of my friend christina's recipe. it's not nearly as nice as hers but it's what i had on hand.

grape tomatoes
mozzarella cheese
olive oil
salt, pepper, basil

sweet potato bread.
one of my favorites.
so good right out of the oven with some butter.

1 cup baked sweet potato
1 cup self rising flour
shortening size of an egg

cut shortening into flour. mush up sweet potato with fork. add sweet potato to flour mixture and stir. bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes

when lee is gone in the evening for whatever reason this is what will and i often will eat.

fried rice!

sometimes if i have leftover ham or chicken i'll add that to it. this time i didn't so it was leftover rice, egg, bell pepper, and onion.

saute green pepper and onion in oil
fry egg
add cooked rice and egg to veggies and cook a few more minutes

this was sooo good the other night.

pan fried squash
twice baked potatoes

we had some leftover roast

cut up squash and put in ziploc with about a T or more of olive oil. sprinkle seasoned bread crumbs and shake bake. put it frying pan with a little more olive oil.

will helped me make this apple cake. i had some granny smith apples that i needed to use. i used my new (to me!) kitchenaid mixer from my sister in law ashley! love this gift!

the dough for this cake is delicious by the way. this cake was a hit.

1 cup cooking oil
2 cup sugar
3 cup flour
2 eggs
1 c. chopped nuts ( did pecans)
1 t. baking soda
2 t. vanilla
1/2. t. salt
3 - 4 c. chopped fresh apples, peeled

combine cooking oil and sugar. add beaten eggs and vanilla. measure and sift together flour. salt and soda. add dry ingredients to first mixture. stir in chopped fresh apples and nuts and combine thoroughly with above ingredients. pour into greased tube pan and bake 70 minutes or until done at 325.

will (who is 3 1/2) enjoys chopping the nuts and sifting and pouring whatever i get brave enough to allow.