Valentine's 2013

 

Marinn had to make a Valentine's Box or animal for school and so we decided to let Taurin and Shaw make one too... Can you guess who's is who's??

 Marinn specifically suggested that we not give her "Love Bug" any front teeth... Hmmm I wonder where she got that idea??

Taurin carried around her butterfly pretty much all day... Her name was Lizzie.  How do you like Taurin's all pink outfit?  I thought it was so fitting for the day.  

I didn't get a picture with Shaw and his monster guy but he had a great time suggesting all the colors and accessories for him.  He especially loved the pipe cleaners.  

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

A little taste of Christmas...

I just wanted to post two of my favorite pictures from Christmas....

The first one is from Christmas Eve when we were about to put all the kids to bed and Andrew was telling them what Christmas is all about (baby Jesus etc...).  He wanted them to be attentive and they were doing great, then in the midst of it I capture this split second of a moment where Shaw is reminding Blaize to pay attention... and well, Blaize is doing what little brothers do best.  Why the girls look like zombies?? I think they are exhausted.  **Kelly: That striped blanket in the one you gave me a few years back for Christmas, that I'm pretty sure you got at an amazing black friday sale... it is one of our favorites and is constantly being fought over**

This next one is from Christmas morning at my mom's when the whole family comes together to open presents after opening all the presents at our own houses.  I feel like this one just needs a caption.  It's my niece Tearony.

"With my mind on my money and my money on my mind!" 

Let's DO THIS!!

Tonight was our churches annual Christmas concert.  I wanted to go but was trying to figure out how to fit it in with Andrews crazy work schedule and 4 children.  I decided to just throw in the towel and pass on this years festivities.
Then this afternoon as I'm on the phone with my sister she mentions that she is going to the concert and suggest that I come along.  I express my concern that attempting an hour + concert with 4 kids doesn't really sound like something that will put me in that holiday spirit.  She suggest I pull out the secret weapon.... Candy.
I give it some thought and make the decision... let's DO THIS!

Being a mother of 4 young children I have come to realize that being a mom has A LOT to do with planning and preparation... so I made a plan.

-Gather Supplies:
     -$7 worth or candy = 1 bag of suckers, 1 bag of gummy bears, 1 bag chocolate covered raisins.
     -Large bottle of water (to wash down all that candy).
     -Blaize's sippy cup with fresh milk.
     -Wipes... lots of wipes.
     -Single stroller = to lock down the little one.
     -Hearty Bear. This is Blaize's favorite stuffed animal pal.... he just makes life a bit happier.

-The game plan:
     -Divide and conquer. Split up the children between my sisters kids who are helpful, older, and distracting and my sister.
     -Lock down Blaize in the stroller so he has limited movement.  He runs fast we don't want him taking off.
     -Distraction = let them enjoy a sucker so they think they are just hanging out eating candy when actually they are enjoying O Holy Night.

The result....

We choose a nice seat on the second row.... now some of you might be saying, "What are you thinking?!? Sit in the back!"  But sitting in the second row gives you great motivation to keep everyone obedient and quiet and it also gives you and them a great view of the show.
All the kids did fabulous.  Blaize enjoyed the large screens that always seemed to have some kind of movement playing on them that he found quite mesmerizing.  He also realized it was cool to clap and cheer on the second to last song.  Shaw enjoyed a nice comfortable lounge with his head rested on Aspyn's lap and his feet elevated on my sisters lap... such a dude.  Marinn and Taurin did so great the only time I knew they were there is when they were asking for another sucker.
Overall I would say it was a success... but when they say it takes a village to raise a child I would totally agree.  I couldn't have done it without my sister's family helping me out and helping my family enjoy the holiday festivities.

Don't think you've missed out on the Christmas concert fun because they are doing it again tomorrow night!! And guess what? Tomorrow night they offer child care ; ) ; )  (You might be asking why I just didn't go tomorrow night...well, that because I'll be there to watch your kids!  Don't worry I'm leaving the candy home.)

Some things you don't want to forget...

There are some things that you don't want to forget....

Shaw demonstrating proper thumb etiquette.


Blaize asking his sister for a hug.

Does it get any cuter than this?!?!  I love these boys!

Christmas Decorating:Memory Making

Since we don't have a mantel,  we found a new place to hang our stockings this year.  I particularly like this idea because it's about 2 feet or more higher than any of my children can reach... perfect! 

We also devised this space saving placement of our tree... that's right we put it right on top of the coffee table in the corner.  I really like this because there are no lights in this living room and it always seems dim in the evenings.  I'm considering just leaving the tree up all year so we have a nice happy glow in the living room :) 

I have such beautiful tree models. 

For the last 3 years I have video taped parts of our Christmas morning to put together a video of some highlights of Christmas.  Last year I decided to put them all on one DVD and pack it away with our Christmas decorations.  So that this year we can sit down as a family on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and watch the years past and see how everyone has grown and changed.  I didn't really plan it out to be that way but just thinking about having something like that, that we can add to every year is so exciting.  Many years down the road when all the toys have worn out and the memories have faded I will be able to give my children 10+ years of Christmas mornings. 

This year I decided to record our tree decorating, it's not crazy exciting or wild but it shows us as a family and it will be fun to add to our Christmas DVD collection.  Here's to making some memories this Christmas! 

Voting & Chicken Noodle Burritos

Election day was Tuesday and this is what Shaw has to say about that...





Then, today was rough... Shaw threw up in the car... Twice.  By dinner time he was pretty hungry having "given up" his 2 previous meals of the day.  As I was making dinner he was insisting that he was no longer sick and would like a tortilla.  I gave him a tortilla along with some chicken noodle soup which mostly consisted of noodles.  I went on having a chat with Andrew and a friend that had stopped by then looked over to see Shaw seemed to be not just eating a tortilla but a burrito?!  Upon closer inspection I discovered that he had placed his noodles inside the tortilla rolled in up and was eating what I would describe as a Chicken Noodle Burrito.  I just giggled and let him scarf the rest of it down, then finish off the can of soup as well.  I feel like I've had a glimpse into his teen years... Oh Shaw boy how I love you!

Nuts?!

 

The other day Marinn was playing a game of leap frog with Shaw and Blaize.... well, she was basically jumping over them and they were laughing.
She jumps over Blaize, then as she jumps over Shaw she doesn't quite make it high enough and totally clocks her "potty parts" (for lack of a better term) on Shaws head.  She grabs herself and says, "OH, MY NUTS!"
I laughed out loud and couldn't even bring myself to correct her because I knew I wouldn't be able to hold together a straight face.
Because there are no older boys in our family or friends I feel like I have the public school system to thank for this hilarious moment.

Vacuuming...

We were cleaning up the house today and the kids had picked up their toys but wanted to help more. Yay! Could any mom turn that down???

Taurin got to vacuum and Marinn and Shaw tackled the dishes.  

 Taurin was hilarious vacuuming... she was so concerned about holding the cord up out of the way.  Thanks to my Kirby's awesome "Drive" mode she was able to maneuver the vacuum quite well.  

Now the dishes are done, the carpet is vacuumed and the kids feel accomplished. 

"I uh O bot"

Today in the van as we were taking Marinn to school Shaw started saying a phrase over and over in a funny voice.   It went something like this....
"Ma Ma... I uh O bot Ma Ma.... Ma Ma... I uh O bot Ma Ma.... Ma Ma... I uh O bot Ma Ma.... "
I was sitting there listening trying to figure out what he was saying and when I realized I couldn't help but laugh out loud.  He was trying to say, "Momma, I'm a robot."  The girls say this on occasion and I guess he was feeling robotty in the van.  The best part was his perfect robot voice!

Chili's Coma

The other night we went to Chili's with a few friends, it was a busy night there and we waited for awhile and the kids were really hungry by the time they got their food.  

Shaw had a corn dog kids meal and 3 glasses of chocolate milk, he was a happy camper.  We were all visiting and Marinn leans over to Melissa and says, "SHHHHhhhh, Shaw is sleeping." And she looks over to see this....

 Shaw was totally out, in a Chili's coma.  This is very uncommon for any of my kids but it was soo hilarious.  How could we not take a picture??

Shortly after this we headed home and as we were walking to the car, Taurin says to Shaw, "Shaw Boy,  you looked so cute when you were sleeping in the rest-R-ant.  You looked sooo cute!"

Health Food and Fasting

As parents we try to feed our kids healthy foods, but what do we do when they don't enjoy our selections?  Do we give in to their pleas of disgust and give them the bad stuff they enjoy? 

In general my children have done pretty well eating what I serve them,  I always try to make things taste good and allow them small servings at a time so they aren't overwhelmed by new flavors.  Recently there have been many meals where my kids just don't want to eat what I'm serving and the other night at dinner I was frustrated that no one was eating and asked Andrew what I should do to solve this problem.  He had an idea that we have seen used by friends that has been effective and decided it was time to get serious.  

THE RULE: When dinner is served you have 30 minutes to eat what you are served, if you do not complete your meal dinner is over and you can continue eating what was served for dinner at breakfast the next morning.  This rule continues to all remaining meals until it is finished.  

So... I let the kids know the rule even gave them some incentive of a piece of chocolate cake for finishing their dinner.  Here were the results.

Marinn: Quickly finished her food and happily enjoyed a piece of chocolate cake. 

Shaw: Ate a few bites and was dissatisfied with the flavor.  He was served the same meal for the following breakfast and ate a few more bites,  but still didn't complete the meal.  Lunch time came and his hunger got the best of him, he quickly finished the dinner and then gladly enjoyed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  

Taurin: Ate a few bites of the dinner.  Ate a few bites the next day at breakfast and lunch.  All day she was hilarious... she kept saying she was sleepy, that she wasn't hungry, giving us puppy dog eyes and asking for hot dogs.  The funniest part was I kept finding her laying like this....

Face down in the carpet, pitiful and patiently waiting our surrender.  Dinner came and she had about 5 bites of food remaining from the dinner before.  She finally finished and was rewarded with lots of mac and cheese, a hot dog, and a cheese stick.  

Since that day, meals have been pleasant.  Everyone is gladly finishing their food and actually complimenting the chef.  

Tongue Tied

tongue-tie

   [tuhng-tahy]  Show IPA noun, verb, -tied, -ty·ing.

noun

1.

impeded motion of the tongue caused especially by shortness of the frenum, which binds it to the floor of the mouth.

So, we thought that Shaw might be a bit tongue-tied because when he sticks his tongue out it looks kind of like this... 

And also because he's 2 and still only saying one syllable words and sounds.  We took him to the pediatrician for a check up and asked about it, they said it was a possibility but not for sure so they referred us to a Speech Therapist. That appointment is scheduled for tomorrow.  A common solution to this problem is they clip the frenum to allow the tongue to move normally. 

Tonight Shaw is playing in the back yard on his scooter, he is riding the scooter holding a PVC pipe (Why, you ask? because my kids like to play with anything that's NOT a toy).  He is riding and decided to put the PVC pipe in his mouth, Andrew sees him and tells him to take it out, obviously noticing a possible danger.  Moments after telling him to take it out of his mouth the PVC hits a crack in the concrete and jabs it further into his mouth.  

(Yes, I just spent 10 min drawing this up on photoshop so everyone would understand. You're welcome.) 

Crying ensues and Andrew brings him in to assess the damage.  After dabbing the blood out of his mouth his sees that Shaw has basically clipped his own tongue.  Andrew decides it's best to take him to the Dr. just to make sure everything is good.  After a quick trip to the Dr. we are informed that Shaw did a great job and his tongue looks pretty much like it would look if they had clipped it for him.  

Let me give you the "coupon" breakdown:

Tongue tie surgery:            $300.00 + 

PVC Pipe approx.                    $0.79

Wiggle Scooter:                         Free (it was a gift)

AMOUNT SAVED:                 $299.21  (99.7% savings!!) 

*Shaw is doing fine, the Dr. said it will heal on it's own.  He came back from the appointment his happy little self.  He's such a tough kid and he sure knows how to save some moo-la! 

Powder Pancakes

I was visiting with Andrew while he was doing a few things on the computer.  Then I began to smell something baby soft and powdery... I scan the room looking for the source.  I notice Shaw is missing and give another scan across the room... I discover him in Daisy's crate happily playing with a spoon, bowl, and the baby powder.  There is a fragrant cloud drifting from the crate.  

 I open the crate to discover a lightly dusted boy with a bowl full of powder. 

 He tasted it a few times... I'm guessing he was attempting to make pancakes. 

 Daisy crate is now Baby Fresh and very clean. 

This is when I got the vacuum.  

"It wasn't me!"

Shaw is a very friendly outgoing kid... on occasion he has been know to just randomly grab the hand of passing stranger or touch someones arm.  I just think he's showing a little love :  ) and it's so cute.  

Recently on an outing to Applebee's I was loading the kids out to the car.  Shaw was walking and holding my left hand, I had the baby car seat and diaper bag in my right hand.  Needless to say my hands were full.  

As we were passing the bar area we passed a man sitting at a bar stool who's pants were pretty much like this:

As we passed by Shaw decided he was going to investigate and gave this guy a good poke in the rear... well it must have been pretty forceful because this guys turned around REALLY fast.  He looked at me and with my hand full of children I said, "It wasn't me!" 

As I looked back down at Shaw his fingers were in this shape (pictured below) pointing at the guy.  

The guy saw it too and he just started "cracking" up and turned to tell his friends... As we were exiting you could hear laughter erupting from the bar.  I was giggling to myself as I was quickly getting the kids to the car before the large gentleman at the bar decided he was upset about getting violated by my 2 year old.  Maybe there is a thing as "too friendly"? 

Shaw Boy turns 2!!!

We are still working on the fingers for forming the "2" sign.

 It's good to have sisters : )

 His new Hot Wheels trike! 

He loves pushing all the buttons that make the songs and lights go off. 

 He got a bunch of balls and was super excited! 

One of his presents from Mar Mar was this swimming suit / floaty, we tried it on him and he just hung out in it for awhile... it totally made him look like he had really been working his upper body : )

Shaw is such a boy and even at two he is such a brut, so strong but sweet at the same time.  Aww my baby boy has grown up so much! 

*I wanted to share the recipe for his cake because it turned out amazing and super easy! 

1 Box Devil's Food cake mix

1 large box chocolate pudding mix

1/2 cup approx. of sour cream

I mixed up the cake mix like directed and then added the pudding and sour cream and baked it for the time suggested on the box. In two 9" round pans. 

When assembling the cake I just put a nice layer of Cool Whip in between the 2 layers of cake. Then frosted it with a homemade chocolate cream cheese frosting that I got off of allrecipes.com

Frosting Recipe:

1 Cup Semi sweet chocolate chips

1/4 Cup whipping cream (I used canned milk because I didn't have cream)

1/4 Cup Powdered sugar

1 package of cream cheese, softened

Melt the chocolate chips and cream on double boiler until fully melted and then mix with cream cheese and powdered sugar.  I sifted the powdered sugar (suggested from the recipe site where I got this).   It turned out creamy and delicious and after frosting the cake I just put it in the freezer for about an hour or two to help the frosting thicken up a bit.  

Now cake is not in our meal plans, but I couldn't help but have a few bites of my creation.  It was heavenly... not too chocolatey or sweet.  Perfection!