Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Our Valentine Celebration
We had a lovely Valentine's Day! For the second time, we carried out our own little V-day tradition of having heart-shaped breakfast food for dinner. Last year was French toast; this year was pink pancakes (with one attempt to make the Star Trek logo, Matt's request). After the scrumptiousness, the boys opened their gifts from Mamaw and Pappy (Matt's parents). Judah's reaction is priceless! Then we went to Kohls for some family shopping. What did Matt and I do that was special with each other? Well, that's this Sunday's Sweetheart Banquet with our church. I got a new DRESS for it (first time in three years), and we found a perfectly matching tie for Matt. I can't wait to post pictures when the festivities are over! I hope you all had a LOVEly Valentine's Day!
Friday, February 15, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
MD Primary Breakfast
Today's the big day for our state. Thought I'd have a little breakfast fun with Judah's current copycat ability and show people how hyper Elijah is getting. And Elijah even gave a kiss at the end for the viewers! (Don't miss yesterday's post if you haven't seen it yet.)
Monday, February 11, 2008
Keepin' It...COLD!
We wondered why our apartment was getting so cold last night when we've had recent success keeping it warm (after maintenance redid some weather stripping and thawed our compressor). This morning's wind chill of -1 explains the problem.
We're making a big step in this household -- potty training. We bought a potty seat for Judah last week. At first, he'd barely sit on it with the lid down. Then I think it was Friday night, he demanded to be completely naked and sat on the potty (lid up) for half an hour! He actually did tinkle a tiny bit! The next morning he again demanded to be completely naked and sat for 15 minutes (no tinkles though). The funniest part is that he won't even sit on the potty with socks on. He wants to be in JUST his birthday suit -- which does anyone else realize he'll be 2 in a month?? He is also starting the habit (fun to him) of running away and squealing in delight when you go after him. Especially when you really want him next to you for some practical purpose like getting him dressed. I caught him gazing at himself in the oven during one of these chases. And I still think he's a little top heavy. ::sigh:: Yesterday, before we left for church, he bailed AGAIN and hit his head on one of the legs of Elijah's crib. Instant egg and nasty colors. I just hope he won't end up with a vertical dent because the horizontal dent from the coffee table accident is still there when he raises his eyebrows. I'm not optimistic, but MAYBE they'll go away over time.
We recently had a family pizza/movie night. Matt saw Ratatouille several times on his galavant over the Pacific Ocean, and wanted the rest of us to see it. Judah - was - mesmerized! It is a show about cooking after all. Elijah had fun scooting backwards. He really enjoyed being under the bouncy seat and playing with the tags.
Judah is also starting to get feisty. His actions occasionally make me wonder if this is the kind of personality that Matt's mom speaks of when she tells of Matt's boyhood. The following picture is the FIRST of its kind for us. Hopefully the last.
Matt surprised me last week by coming home after half-a-day with flowers to spend the afternoon with me/the family. They are beautiful and smell so good!
Happy Monday!
We're making a big step in this household -- potty training. We bought a potty seat for Judah last week. At first, he'd barely sit on it with the lid down. Then I think it was Friday night, he demanded to be completely naked and sat on the potty (lid up) for half an hour! He actually did tinkle a tiny bit! The next morning he again demanded to be completely naked and sat for 15 minutes (no tinkles though). The funniest part is that he won't even sit on the potty with socks on. He wants to be in JUST his birthday suit -- which does anyone else realize he'll be 2 in a month?? He is also starting the habit (fun to him) of running away and squealing in delight when you go after him. Especially when you really want him next to you for some practical purpose like getting him dressed. I caught him gazing at himself in the oven during one of these chases. And I still think he's a little top heavy. ::sigh:: Yesterday, before we left for church, he bailed AGAIN and hit his head on one of the legs of Elijah's crib. Instant egg and nasty colors. I just hope he won't end up with a vertical dent because the horizontal dent from the coffee table accident is still there when he raises his eyebrows. I'm not optimistic, but MAYBE they'll go away over time.
We recently had a family pizza/movie night. Matt saw Ratatouille several times on his galavant over the Pacific Ocean, and wanted the rest of us to see it. Judah - was - mesmerized! It is a show about cooking after all. Elijah had fun scooting backwards. He really enjoyed being under the bouncy seat and playing with the tags.
Judah is also starting to get feisty. His actions occasionally make me wonder if this is the kind of personality that Matt's mom speaks of when she tells of Matt's boyhood. The following picture is the FIRST of its kind for us. Hopefully the last.
Matt surprised me last week by coming home after half-a-day with flowers to spend the afternoon with me/the family. They are beautiful and smell so good!
Happy Monday!
Friday, February 08, 2008
Good Stories
I've totally forgotten to tell you all about God's amazing provision while I was in AR for the holidays! We had an impromptu girls' day out because Hope needed a nicer coat for church. We went to this store called Belk and spent quite a bit of time just browsing around. It was a fun day! Hope found a black pea coat that was very nice and on sale. We went to the register -- and (if I'm remembering correctly) this $400 coat rang up for $11!!! All of us, including the clerk, were shocked and couldn't believe it. Of course, my aunt and I went straight back to the coats to find more like it. Out of all those coats, there was ONE left. In MY size. And I didn't have a nice heavy coat for middle-of-winter church services. We went to a different register to buy the coat for me. It rang up at $110. (Correct me on the numbers, Momma.) We explained to the clerk at that register what happened over at the other one with Hope's coat. She got VERY snippy and ugly. I was pretty shocked again. So we went back to the original register. And it rang up at $110. The manager was called over, and I think what happened was that the wrong tag had been scanned. But the manager said, "You got yourself a good deal on a coat!" because she was not going to make us return the $11 one. My mom bought both coats so I could have one with the reasoning that she was planning on spending that much on just Hope's coat. So I got a very nice black pea coat for free that only cost my mom $11. WOW! Now I just need to sew the two buttons that have fallen off back on. I assure you, though, this coat is high quality (orginally $400 means it'd better be). I just think the buttons were not sewn on as tightly as I need them to be. In this pic, it shows nicely with the scarf my older sis' knitted for me for Christmas. :-)
Judah was NOT a messy eater. He still hates to have dirty hands. He also hates toe jam. He hates Elijah's toe jam. He'll try to hand me specks that are bothering him...when I can't see anything on his fingers. Elijah? Different kid, different story. He is getting better about not smearing quite as much now.
Elijah's hair is starting to grow more on top (save for that tiny bald spot where Judah gave him a hair cut). After his bath, it gets very curly on top! Guess who he gets that from. ;-) I love his expression in the second pic. What caption would you give it? The flash on our camera distracts him from smiling and produces these kind of expressions.
Guess what! Matt got contacts! He was handsome before, but he's oh-so-handsome now. It is so wonderful to be reminded that he doesn't have just brown eyes. It's amazing how much glasses can hide the nuances of someone's eyes. They are quite green around the outside and medium brown on the inside. Very cool. And very mine.
They love to hang out together! Just today, the three of us were sitting on my bed having fun. Judah will hug and lay all over Elijah, and Elijah always tries to grab at and swat Judah...both laughing all the while.
We had an impromptu Groundhog Day Party because Nathan and Tara celebrate the small holidays. We had several people over for Tara's chocolate fondue and the movie Groundhog Day. It was lots of tasty fun -- but I managed to NOT watch the whole movie. Hey, I had to bake for the Superbowl party the next day. ;-) I might make it my goal in life to never watch Groundhog Day all the way through. I've never heard good things about that movie. And hey, once you've seen one of the "days," you've seen it all, right?
And this is what I baked for the Superbowl party. I made them once before for Paul & Tracie's wedding, only those were topped with strawberries. Since strawberries are ridiculously expensive here for the quality (and just in general), I opted to try making chocolate shapes on wax paper. I've tried it before but failed miserably. It worked this time! I made footballs, helments, NY's, and NE's. They were SO tasty! I want some more...right now. But they are long gone. :-(
Hope you enjoyed storytime!
Judah was NOT a messy eater. He still hates to have dirty hands. He also hates toe jam. He hates Elijah's toe jam. He'll try to hand me specks that are bothering him...when I can't see anything on his fingers. Elijah? Different kid, different story. He is getting better about not smearing quite as much now.
Elijah's hair is starting to grow more on top (save for that tiny bald spot where Judah gave him a hair cut). After his bath, it gets very curly on top! Guess who he gets that from. ;-) I love his expression in the second pic. What caption would you give it? The flash on our camera distracts him from smiling and produces these kind of expressions.
Guess what! Matt got contacts! He was handsome before, but he's oh-so-handsome now. It is so wonderful to be reminded that he doesn't have just brown eyes. It's amazing how much glasses can hide the nuances of someone's eyes. They are quite green around the outside and medium brown on the inside. Very cool. And very mine.
They love to hang out together! Just today, the three of us were sitting on my bed having fun. Judah will hug and lay all over Elijah, and Elijah always tries to grab at and swat Judah...both laughing all the while.
We had an impromptu Groundhog Day Party because Nathan and Tara celebrate the small holidays. We had several people over for Tara's chocolate fondue and the movie Groundhog Day. It was lots of tasty fun -- but I managed to NOT watch the whole movie. Hey, I had to bake for the Superbowl party the next day. ;-) I might make it my goal in life to never watch Groundhog Day all the way through. I've never heard good things about that movie. And hey, once you've seen one of the "days," you've seen it all, right?
And this is what I baked for the Superbowl party. I made them once before for Paul & Tracie's wedding, only those were topped with strawberries. Since strawberries are ridiculously expensive here for the quality (and just in general), I opted to try making chocolate shapes on wax paper. I've tried it before but failed miserably. It worked this time! I made footballs, helments, NY's, and NE's. They were SO tasty! I want some more...right now. But they are long gone. :-(
Hope you enjoyed storytime!
Friday, February 01, 2008
Raaaainy Days, Meltin' the Snooow Away
Might I inquire as to who else is getting copious amounts of rain today? There is such beauty to a rainy day. Relaxed, sedated, slowed pace. But these effects are only present in occasional rainy days, not weeks of rainy days (e.g. Central Coast California).
I've had lots of various thoughts building up in my brain to post about. Who knows if I'll remember them all. I shall intersperse these thoughts with photographs of my offspring. In order to conserve space, I shall upload the photographs in the small format. If you wish to view the cuteness larger, simply click to enlarge.
Tip: If you get annoyed by tangled strings from your window blinds, here is what I discovered. While the blinds are down, knot the strings together at the highest possible point. It is important to have the blinds down for this otherwise the knot will get caught in the gear mechanism when drawn up. Then, braid the strings below the knot. A cord of three strands is not easily tangled. ;-)
Fact: Just because a valance fits your window perfectly does not mean that the coordinating curtain will also fit. It's still cute though, and the boys love to look at the animals while being changed. We have darkening drapes on the way to block light, sound, heat, and cold.
Update: Elijah's newest tricks this week are sitting by himself (while supervised) and staying on hands and knees for several seconds at a time. It is so cute and scary to see both Judah and Elijah sitting together playing with toys. Two boys sitting. Not a bump on a log and a toddler. I have been having flash forwards this week of what it will be like to have two boys so close in age, everything from fighting over toys and movies to playing imaginary stories together to being best buds. ::silent awe::
Tip: If you have bibs and little socks in your home, laundry day(s) can be frustrating. Bib velcro inevitably undoes itself and sticks to your fancy undies or a nice shirt and therefore roughs up the surface when you detach it. Little socks are easy prey for washers and dryers that like to gobble up socks anyway. What to do? Put them in your lingerie bag! Not a sock is lost if you make sure each pair gets in there, and the bibs rarely if ever unfasten in the bag (and even if they do, no biggie to rip it off the bag rather than clothes).
Update: Smart + Different = Judah. Has any other mom out there looked at her young toddler and said to herself, "Who ARE you, child?" I have done that alot with Judah the past few days. He is - high energy, crazy personality, silly, moody, rapidly increasing in mental capacity. What is going ON, I ask! Still cute though. ;-)
Fact: The last bit of baby flab will NOT just go away by itself. This I have been told by media and friends. This I now find to be 100% true. ::sigh:: So here I go with baby steps to rid my body of the baby flab. Snack by snack, meal by meal. Every moment is a choice. And I did exercise and stretch today, if only for 20 mintues. Baby steps...and the slightly motivating knowledge that I am now the "biggest" female in my immediate family. A very strange and slightly depressing thought. Yeah, yeah. But I can't really use the "just had a baby" excuse much longer if at all anymore. A bigger motivation and excuse killer? I NEED more energy! And despite what Larryboy thinks, I can't get that extra energy with chocolate. :-P
Update: Elijah's check-up was yesterday. He dropped in weight to 18 lb 4 oz. He's 75% for both height and weight, 25% for head. So opposite of Judah. :-P He is in great health -- save for that silly right ear. There is no longer infection, but it still has fluid in it. One little look through the otoscope and BAM! Same meds as Judah until March 10th. I love how the nurses and other patients' moms just dote on the boys when we are there. They get so much joy and giggles out of their smiles...and Elijah's beefiness. Our nurse yesterday was so tickled by his size that she actually brought in another nurse to see! Four shots landed him 2 really cool blue camo bandaids.
Tip: Sit down to color with your kids and color a picture or card for your hubby from YOU while they color whatever they wish.
Update: Some of you know I have been having issues with the skin on my cheeks (facial, that is). I did alot of researching and have self-diagnosed myself with a mild form of eczema -- common to those with allergies/asthma (yes!) and those who live in cold climates (double yes!). My mom has been telling me for a while that I should try Cetaphil products. So I got some the other night. Oh. My. Word. After one use -- ONE use -- my cheeks did not look or feel dry. And with each passing day, they just get better and better. I really hope this does the trick long term. I was getting so frustrated with such a red, blotchy face after showering; dry skin galore after powdering; and bumpy roughness to the touch all the time. Here's to the next few weeks of testing!
Fact: Only a mom could get really excited about a child's first construction of a lego tower all by himself.
Requests: Matt and I are meeting with a real estate agent tomorrow! Pray for us that we will be sponges and soak up all the real estate and financial information we will be educated with. Pray we have a good experience mixed with much wisdom. We also may be going car shopping. I found out today from the MVA that if we get a new car, we have to pay taxes/title/registration no matter when we get it. We have been in the process of doing so for the Pilot, all the while knowing we are planning to downgrade so our monthly payment will be at a more budget friendly price (the less we spend on the car, the more we can put towards a home!). Why pay taxes/title/registration TWICE when there is a possibility of finding another car within the time it takes for the MVA to receive the info they need from Honda? Again -- much wisdom needed and perhaps even pray that God will rapidly take us to the car we need!
Trivial: LOST is back. Woot!
I hope you enjoyed this multifaceted post! Enjoy your SUPERBOWL weekend!
I've had lots of various thoughts building up in my brain to post about. Who knows if I'll remember them all. I shall intersperse these thoughts with photographs of my offspring. In order to conserve space, I shall upload the photographs in the small format. If you wish to view the cuteness larger, simply click to enlarge.
Tip: If you get annoyed by tangled strings from your window blinds, here is what I discovered. While the blinds are down, knot the strings together at the highest possible point. It is important to have the blinds down for this otherwise the knot will get caught in the gear mechanism when drawn up. Then, braid the strings below the knot. A cord of three strands is not easily tangled. ;-)
Fact: Just because a valance fits your window perfectly does not mean that the coordinating curtain will also fit. It's still cute though, and the boys love to look at the animals while being changed. We have darkening drapes on the way to block light, sound, heat, and cold.Update: Elijah's newest tricks this week are sitting by himself (while supervised) and staying on hands and knees for several seconds at a time. It is so cute and scary to see both Judah and Elijah sitting together playing with toys. Two boys sitting. Not a bump on a log and a toddler. I have been having flash forwards this week of what it will be like to have two boys so close in age, everything from fighting over toys and movies to playing imaginary stories together to being best buds. ::silent awe::
Tip: If you have bibs and little socks in your home, laundry day(s) can be frustrating. Bib velcro inevitably undoes itself and sticks to your fancy undies or a nice shirt and therefore roughs up the surface when you detach it. Little socks are easy prey for washers and dryers that like to gobble up socks anyway. What to do? Put them in your lingerie bag! Not a sock is lost if you make sure each pair gets in there, and the bibs rarely if ever unfasten in the bag (and even if they do, no biggie to rip it off the bag rather than clothes).
Update: Smart + Different = Judah. Has any other mom out there looked at her young toddler and said to herself, "Who ARE you, child?" I have done that alot with Judah the past few days. He is - high energy, crazy personality, silly, moody, rapidly increasing in mental capacity. What is going ON, I ask! Still cute though. ;-)
Fact: The last bit of baby flab will NOT just go away by itself. This I have been told by media and friends. This I now find to be 100% true. ::sigh:: So here I go with baby steps to rid my body of the baby flab. Snack by snack, meal by meal. Every moment is a choice. And I did exercise and stretch today, if only for 20 mintues. Baby steps...and the slightly motivating knowledge that I am now the "biggest" female in my immediate family. A very strange and slightly depressing thought. Yeah, yeah. But I can't really use the "just had a baby" excuse much longer if at all anymore. A bigger motivation and excuse killer? I NEED more energy! And despite what Larryboy thinks, I can't get that extra energy with chocolate. :-P
Update: Elijah's check-up was yesterday. He dropped in weight to 18 lb 4 oz. He's 75% for both height and weight, 25% for head. So opposite of Judah. :-P He is in great health -- save for that silly right ear. There is no longer infection, but it still has fluid in it. One little look through the otoscope and BAM! Same meds as Judah until March 10th. I love how the nurses and other patients' moms just dote on the boys when we are there. They get so much joy and giggles out of their smiles...and Elijah's beefiness. Our nurse yesterday was so tickled by his size that she actually brought in another nurse to see! Four shots landed him 2 really cool blue camo bandaids.
Tip: Sit down to color with your kids and color a picture or card for your hubby from YOU while they color whatever they wish.
Update: Some of you know I have been having issues with the skin on my cheeks (facial, that is). I did alot of researching and have self-diagnosed myself with a mild form of eczema -- common to those with allergies/asthma (yes!) and those who live in cold climates (double yes!). My mom has been telling me for a while that I should try Cetaphil products. So I got some the other night. Oh. My. Word. After one use -- ONE use -- my cheeks did not look or feel dry. And with each passing day, they just get better and better. I really hope this does the trick long term. I was getting so frustrated with such a red, blotchy face after showering; dry skin galore after powdering; and bumpy roughness to the touch all the time. Here's to the next few weeks of testing!
Fact: Only a mom could get really excited about a child's first construction of a lego tower all by himself.
Requests: Matt and I are meeting with a real estate agent tomorrow! Pray for us that we will be sponges and soak up all the real estate and financial information we will be educated with. Pray we have a good experience mixed with much wisdom. We also may be going car shopping. I found out today from the MVA that if we get a new car, we have to pay taxes/title/registration no matter when we get it. We have been in the process of doing so for the Pilot, all the while knowing we are planning to downgrade so our monthly payment will be at a more budget friendly price (the less we spend on the car, the more we can put towards a home!). Why pay taxes/title/registration TWICE when there is a possibility of finding another car within the time it takes for the MVA to receive the info they need from Honda? Again -- much wisdom needed and perhaps even pray that God will rapidly take us to the car we need!
Trivial: LOST is back. Woot!
I hope you enjoyed this multifaceted post! Enjoy your SUPERBOWL weekend!
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