Happy Easter & 35 Years

Every seven years or so I share my birthday with Easter. It is such a fun coincidence. It means extra special celebration times with family.  And sometimes it means I get to spread my birthday out a little bit too.

Unlike many, I'm proud if my age.  I'm thankful to be celebrating another birthday in good health.  To celebrate with my steadfast husband and energetic, ever-growing, always-learning children. To touch base with friends and family farther afield that I don't get to see as often.

Highlights of the day included a fantastic birthday card written by GGirl - all by herself!  I also got a musical card that moved MMan to try out his first dance moves.  Absolutely priceless gifts for this Mama!  

It was a great day.  I am so blessed.

Happy Birthday HandyMan

Today is HandyMan's birthday.  When you're a pastor and your birthday falls on Easter Weekend, you get to spread your birthday out a little.  So, some sleeping in and cake today (that will double as dessert for lunch tomorrow) and birthday dinner of his choice will happen next week. 

Today brought a fantastic Easter program at our church for the kids:  egg hunt, story time, games, crafts, and more.  HandMan got to spend the afternoon with GGirl enjoying the activities in "dad" capacity and not tending to  official duties, which they both really enjoyed.

To my children's awesome Dad, amazing Husband and my best friend- HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Today

Sitting.  For a quick second anyway.  It's one if those days that the kids woke up wired for sound and ready to go, and I woke up with a headache and just wanted to go back to bed and call in sick.   But alas, not an option, so I suck it up and reach for the coffee.

As I'm avoiding anything that requires too much movement, I skim an email that reminds me I've committed baked goods for a meeting tomorrow.  YES! An excuse to bake.  So I skim some recipes, get MMan down for a nap and get a shower.  Between the shower and coffee I'm able to view the world with a little less throbbing.

Baking, lunch for GGirl and me, and no sooner do I settle GGirl in for some quiet time and kick my feet up does the happy chatter begin to bubble from the monitor.  MMan woke up happy, and is playing happily in his crib while I work on grocery lists and menus.

Looking at the calendar reminds me that in 5 short weeks we will be in one of our favorite places in the country.   I can't wait!

Babbling is turning into complaints.  Blog, grocery list and menu are done.  Time to get up and go. 

P.S.  I put GGirl to bed in her fleece footed jammies tonight.  I went to my corner to work and heard lots of movement in her room.  She didn't leave her room and I didn't really want to go looking for trouble.  When I went to check blankets, I noticed her jammies on the floor.  Curious, but not wanting to turn the light on, I grabbed my phone.  Set the camera, point, shoot and just shake my head at the results. :)

Egged!

Tonight as I was getting dinner ready GGirl called out from the window "Mommy, our friends from MOPs are out there doing something!"  Because a lot of my MOPs (Mothers of Preschoolers) friends had been posting on Facebook of similar happenings in their yards, I knew what was up:  We were being egged. I shooed GGirl away from the window while I went out to say "hi" to the Ninja Egging Team. 

GGirl was so excited.  She got her fleece and hat on in record time and off she went.  She was particularly thrilled with the pink egg. 

The MOPs group I attend is about thirty-five minutes away from our home.  The gals who organize it are awesome!  Especially the Ninja Leader who took on the expedition into the boonies to egg us.  I sure hope her GPS didn't bring her UP our hill!  Thanks for including us!

**The note left behind read "You've been egged!  There are 12 eggs hidden in your yard.  Enjoy the hunt, but don't be discouraged when you find the empty egg.  It us a simple reminder of Jesus' empty tomb.  He is risen!"**

9 Months Old

MMan is an active, busy, healthy 9 months old today.  He's crawling at lightening speed,  pulling up on everything that will stand still long enough for him to grab on and trying really hard to figure out walking.  His giggles are infectious and he's become a bit opinionated in recent weeks and makes his feelings known when he is not happy with a current situation.  Indignation is expressed with an angry scream and a beet red face.  Bath/shower time is still a favorite time of day and he's still a little snuggler.

Really, Kid?

Batch of frosting made to go with icecream cone cupcakes a friend made for youth night at church.

Marinara and meatballs prepped for 50 kids.

Six loads of laundry, sorted, washed, dried, folded, sorted.

Four loaves of bread made for youth night.

Bit of computer work done.

My kids fed, twice and meals cleaned up.

Kitchen swept.

Feeling pretty decent about my day.

"Mommy, you didn't clean the counter off yet."

Gee, thanks kid.

A Break In The Week

I'm not quite sure what happened to this week.  Monday's shopping and playdate merged into Tuesday's batch cooking and snow fall which slid into more batch cooking, house cleaning and snow adventures on Wednesday. 

Today brings a bit of a breather and less motivation to finish the projects of the week.  So, I play some games and blog, while GGirl makes suggestions for our menu from her cook book and MMan tries his hardest to decapitate the rubber duck- turned- teething toy.  And for a little while, everyone is happy. 

Simple Things

Some days it's the simple things that keep me sane.  We started the day with snow.  Joy.  (Can you sense the sarcasm?  It's there)

I had a quite the kitchen list to work on:  batch cooking, yogurt, cookies and baby food, to give you the macro overview.  Sometimes GGirl will be right in the middle of my kitchen projects.  By the time I made it downstairs this morning she was fixated on a pond for her rubber ducks and HandyMan obliged:  there was a big bowl of water on the counter for the ducks. 

As I headed for my projects I told GGirl I had a better pond for the ducks.  Enter the bin-o-feed-corn that came into our possession when friends had to move (Thanks Jennifer!)  Filled up a 10 x 14 container and turned her loose.

The ducks partied.  The elves and reindeer got jealous and joined in many rounds of Hide & Seek.  She talked to the menagerie non-stop for about two hours - with a few random "phone calls" mixed in. I was only addressed when she got hungry.

Worked for me!

Monday Fun-day

We had a full morning of groceries and a play date at the local Discovery Center.  MMan took it all in from the backpack while GGirl played firefighter, hair dresser, artist, and much more.  Such fun!

Sunday Sunshine: Spring Break Edition

...family
...cousins
...ScienceCenter
...ice cream
...lazy mornings
...laughter
...food

This week was kind of like my spring break.  Nobody in our house is currently enrolled in school, but it was a break from our norm.  Extended family came to visit which mean aunt/uncle/cousin time.  With that came meals that nourished the soul, not just the body. Conversation and laughter to rejuvenate our spirits.  It was a fantastic couple of days!

As icing on the cake I went to a one day Women of Faith conference with a bunch of friends that was just fun and refreshing.  What a great break from the norm!

Redirecting Exploration

MMan is completely mobile and a very efficient little crawler.  His explorations often have to be redirected away from things like power cords or dog bowls.  When he was first figuring out crawling this wasn't a problem:  we could just turn him around or "reset" him to his play area and he was fine.  Mobility was about the journey.

In the last couple of days that has changed.  He gets really ticked off when he is redirected from his destination.  This was yesterday's reaction when Mommy wouldn't let him play in the toilet.  Such a rough life being 8 months old.

Winning The Mama Lottery

On most days GGirl can't be coerced into a nap for anything.  And if she does, it rarely overlaps with MMan's rest time.  Then on the days that I babysit and there is a third little one in the mix, the odds of any two napping at the same time are slim and chances of all three is practically zip.

Today was a red letter day.  Beginning at noon, for almost an hour and a half, all three children slept peacefully.  AT. THE. SAME. TIME.

And there was a silent happy dance. And an entire mug of coffee consumed in one sitting while it was still hot!  And maybe a celebratory ladybug cupcake.  (Thanks, SitSter.)

Downright refreshing!

Sunny Sunday

It has been a challenging week.  Today as the sun is shining and the temperature is nearing 60 I am happy to sit back and remember the graces of the past week.

:: Children seem to be feeling better snd getting over their colds, ear infection and other grunge.

:: Sunny days to play outside and work in the yard.  It's never too early to water the flowers!

:: Fun projects with the GGirl and on my own.

:: Work.

:: Bills paid.

:: Car problem found before it was catastrophic.

:: Yummy soup.

:: A very sunny Saturday AND Sunday.

Why Expect Perfection...

I'm my own toughest critic.  For some reason if I try something new that I expect to be within my capabilities, I expect perfection from the start.  Such is the case with my first glass etching project. 

A friend had shown off her project.  She described it as "easy".  I figured I could do it.  Her piece was flat glass.  My pieces were curved
  She had all the "right" supplies.  I was improvising.  See a trend here?

I had fun practicing the process in 47 minutes of alone time while I caught a TV show I like.  In the end I have fun new etched wine glasses as a fun reminder to cut myself some slack. 

The Ups and Down Of Life

Preface:  Yesterday while cleaning the bathroom HandyMan came across a rubber ducky that was hosting mold and had outlived it's time in our bathtub.  We sent it discreetly to the large trash bin outside knowing that it would not be missed if attention was not drawn to its departure.

Today: After vacuuming the living room HandyMan went to empty the bag.  (Yup, he's getting lots of kudos in the cleaning department this week!)  GGirl was fascinated by this process and asked if she could go with him to put the full vacuum bag in the trash bin.  Sure, he says.  Out the front door they go.  35 seconds later they are back and GGirl is very sad.  For as she peeked over the top of the large, rolling trash bin, she saw the ducky. 

Comments heard over the next three minutes as we navigated the "crisis" had me shedding a few tears of my own I was laughing so hard. 

HandyMan muttered something about needing caskets for toys.  GGirl professed between sobs that she "just loved that ducky."  Somwhere in there a "really cool rubber ducky" got added to today's shopping list.  And GGirl announced "that [a new ducky] would make me feel so much better, and a pink dolly too." 

Hold on just a second kid.  Now you're pushing it!

Within 5 minutes most was forgotten as her watch said it was time for her to practice flips in the living room.

Learning Color Blending

I made some of my favorite Chocolate Sugar Cookies this week for friends.  When it came time to glaze them, I decided to do some color blending with GGirl.  Out came the food coloring and the wide eyed excitement of watching one color turn into another.  The impressionist rainbow cookies turned out pretty cool too!

Fighting Sleep

GGirl asks questions insessantly.  The more tired she is, the more she moves around, talks, sings snd does anything she can to keep from sleeping.  So today she's fighting a nasty cold: yucky cough and running a fever.  The works. 

Now, if I had this bug and was able, I'd be curled up in bed putting in my orders for juice and chicken soup and happy to sleep.  Heck,after the last three nights, I'd just be happy to sleep for a few hours!

Not GGirl. When instructed to nap/rest/be still, she did everything but nap/rest/be still within the confines of our little love seat.  Squirm. Talk. Sing.  Switch to the other end of the sofa and repeat.  Refuse pillow & blanket because she might get too comfortable.  Repeat squirming.  Once released from her Nap Time, the Inquisition started:  questions followed by more questions.  Followed by the fidgeting and wandering.

BUT I feed her dinner at 5:15 and have her in bed by 6:00 and she will be asleep before her head hits the pillow.  I just don't get her.

Boy, oh boy!

At 8 months old I already can't turn my back for a second.  MMan's lightening fast on all fours and curious about everything!  This is where I found him standing today.  He was down to inspect something he  thought to be edible by the time I grabbed the camera. 

Mama Denial

GGirl keeps informing me that she's a big kid.  Under numerous circumstances since her birthday she has made it known, usually very loudly and indignantly, that she is not a little kid and not a little girl. 

The voice in the back of my mind keeps saying "she's only 4, she's still a little kid/girl." 

Then there are days like today: Mama and GGirl day out for errands, lunch and haircuts.  She carries on a conversation about where we are going and what we are doing and there is a MiniMe talking away in the backseat.  I look across the table at lunch and see the big girl she us becoming.

My dad has a line that he's been using for a long time and now I use it with my girl: "You'll always be my baby girl."