This is what our 5 1/2 year old son got as an early Christmas gift.
They come in handy when one accidently runs into the van's tail light with his bicycle, requiring the purchase and installation of a new $149.00 one.
It was decided that he would be working off the "debt" by helping Daddy with some chores on the property.
He loves his new gloves.
For now!
Daddy mentioned to our daughter that the gloves would fit her too.
And I quote, "I don't like work."
Stacey
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Monday, December 7, 2009
Rite of passage
This was such a video-worthy moment.
Too bad we didn't have our video camera!
It was classic.
We had arrived around 10 AM, knowing that Santa started receiving kids at 11 AM. We needed to head up the line as we were due at a birthday party by 11:30. Once arriving, there was already a lot going on. I remembered Breakfast with Santa was that morning but had not signed us up. The kids belong to the kids' club, but we live an hour away so I had kinda forgotten about it.
I sent my husband to get in the picture line and I took the big kids for breakfast. They got several hugs from Santa, along with breakfast.
We were indeed first in line for pictures too.
As we waited for the photographer, A and L even got a little extra chat time with Santa.
As B looked on the whole time.
Happy, curious, and wiggling out of my arms the whole time.
That is all he does these days is wiggle out of my arms!
Once we were ready, the big kids took their places and I sat B on Santa's lap.
He turned and looked him squarely in the face.
Stared for several seconds.
Then WAILED!
Poor Santa. He gets such a bad wrap sometimes.
The whole thing was just priceless.
There was full-on crying from B and lots of attempts at consoling and entertaining him from everyone else. He would look at us and cry then look back at Santa just to make sure he was worth crying over then cry at us some more!! After a few attempts, we lucked out with a mid-cry plea for mercy look from B and pretty good smiles from A and L.
My husband quickly scooped him up as I paid.
The kids all did great, so I am pretty sure they are all getting what they asked for from Santa this year.
Well, except for the kitten and the puppy.
That would make Mommy cry!
Stacey
p.s. See my sweet L holding B's hand to comfort him! Ahhhh!
Too bad we didn't have our video camera!
It was classic.
We had arrived around 10 AM, knowing that Santa started receiving kids at 11 AM. We needed to head up the line as we were due at a birthday party by 11:30. Once arriving, there was already a lot going on. I remembered Breakfast with Santa was that morning but had not signed us up. The kids belong to the kids' club, but we live an hour away so I had kinda forgotten about it.
I sent my husband to get in the picture line and I took the big kids for breakfast. They got several hugs from Santa, along with breakfast.
We were indeed first in line for pictures too.
As we waited for the photographer, A and L even got a little extra chat time with Santa.
As B looked on the whole time.
Happy, curious, and wiggling out of my arms the whole time.
That is all he does these days is wiggle out of my arms!
Once we were ready, the big kids took their places and I sat B on Santa's lap.
He turned and looked him squarely in the face.
Stared for several seconds.
Then WAILED!
Poor Santa. He gets such a bad wrap sometimes.
The whole thing was just priceless.
There was full-on crying from B and lots of attempts at consoling and entertaining him from everyone else. He would look at us and cry then look back at Santa just to make sure he was worth crying over then cry at us some more!! After a few attempts, we lucked out with a mid-cry plea for mercy look from B and pretty good smiles from A and L.
My husband quickly scooped him up as I paid.
The kids all did great, so I am pretty sure they are all getting what they asked for from Santa this year.
Well, except for the kitten and the puppy.
That would make Mommy cry!
Stacey
p.s. See my sweet L holding B's hand to comfort him! Ahhhh!
Monday, November 30, 2009
Out of turkey, but here is some ketchup
A blur, I tell you.
It's all a blur!
Sorry if you don't like ketchup. Just hold your nose and pretend it is mustard!
Stacey
It's all a blur!
Sorry if you don't like ketchup. Just hold your nose and pretend it is mustard!
- The kids were out of school all last week. Of course, they loved it. It was a nice break from the hurry and scurry of our usual routine, but I sure wish instead that we would save a few of those days for when we have no breaks in February!
- The kids and I made a quick trip to Oklahoma to see family. It had been a few months since the cousins got to play together, so they had a great time. We visited with family and I saw a few local friends.
- Prior to leaving last Saturday, we saw The Christmas Carol. I did not read much about it before going, but I wish that I had. We went through a Girl Scout event, so tickets were just $2 each. Unless your child is at least 9 or 10, I would pass on this movie. Actually, I would pass on the movie anyway. I hate to say that because the animated work and 3D feature is really good, but the actual story presentation didn't work for me as at least half of the movie was creepy scary. My 5-year old was in my lap during most of the "ghost" parts.
- My mom has been here for the week which means my laundry and household cleaning is under control! Yippee! It also means that I have had the opportunity to get a few extras done around here plus run errands more easily if I needed to. Yippee!
- We ate at church again this year for Thanksgiving. Good food with no prep or clean up! That also means no leftovers, but we will survive.
- We have been using my frozen turkey portions for meals, but I have also been adding back to my freezer in other ways. I used the turkey bones to make a ton of turkey stock, made ham and beans with my ham bone, made a new batch of sweet pototoes for my baby, and tried my hand at making a batch of hummus.
- I ended up making a double portion of hummus then freezing the other chickpeas until I can work on the recipe some more. The first batch was ok, but a little dry and not the flavor I enjoy when I buy it commercially. I used olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, and garlic. I substituted the cumin for the tahini which I don't know where to buy. I am ok with my current flavor, just not the dry part.
- Yes, I participated in the commercialized craziness on Friday morning. It helped to have a fussy baby at 3 AM, so once he was back to sleep I just got ready and headed to "W" at 4 AM. I thought I was doing great getting there so early until I found out that a lot of people had been there all night shopping the specials (except for the big-ticket electronics) and just hanging out waiting for the prices to be effective starting at 5 AM. Whatever! Nice of them to let everyone know, not that I would have been there much earlier! I really just picked up a few things I needed and was over at Home Depot for what I really wanted.....my new 7' pre-lit tree for $49!! I would love a real tree every year, but my husband says no and we both dislike dealing with lights each year anyway. Maybe a small real tree one day!
- We did Christmas decorating on Friday afternoon. My decorating is even simpler than last year. The kids and I did the tree again with paperchain garland and the most-loved decorations, then I set out stockings and a few other simple decorations. I figured keeping it simple would help in a lot of ways now and when takedown occurs.
- And yes, I went to bed at 7:30 PM that night!!
- I really have most of the shopping done except for a few online purchases. My problem is dealing with organizing and wrapping everything. Since I am one to shop during the year (and after holidays) for great deals, I have to go through my stuff to remember what I have and who I need to give it to. And since my "hobby" room is a disaster, my job is more difficult right now. GOT to clean that thing!!
- I did manage to retrieve my sewing machine out from the clutter and make Christmas dresses for A and my two nieces. Just simple pillow case dresses...the ones I love to do except I always forget how much I detest the armholes!! :) I am going to make B a "cootie cover" (for shopping carts and restaurant high chairs) for Christmas and I am hoping that A and I can make some cute fleece scarves for teachers and friends before I need to put it away again.
Stacey
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
25
This is old. Everyone has already done it, but I am looking for stuff without a lot of effort this week. Since I was tagged by almost everyone I know, either by blog or by facebook, here you go!
In no particular order.....
1. I was born in Kansas.
2. I was mostly raised in Oklahoma.
3. I think I have earned my Texas stamp in my "passport" by now.
4. I love to travel and have an international wish list.
5. I traveled with my job for 2 years when I was single.
6. I have lived in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Colorado.
7. Mexico and Australia are stamped in my real passport.
8. I used to love to scuba dive.
9. I dived The Great Barrier Reef in Cairns, Australia.
10. I didn't know it was a happy place for sharks when I did it!
11. I love working with kids as an occupational therapist.
12. I always wanted to be a mother.
13. I have three great kids.
14. I am the oldest.
15. Most people will tell you that my birth order in apparent.
16. I have a brother 2 years younger and a sister 7 years younger.
17. I like my toilet paper to roll over.
18. I like my window blinds to be shut up.
19. I am a dishwasher loading snob. I believe in maximizing before running.
20. I am trying to be smarter about food choices for me and my family.
21. I fluncuate with my "green" attempts.
22. I am a big city girl who is living in a small town.
23. I appreciate slow and quiet on my own terms.
24. I have a great family and the best friends ever.
25. I get to turn forty in January!
Stacey
p.s. I tried to find my old 100 list to link here too. The one where you check the things you have done. I did it before I was real good about labeling my posts, so I might find it one day!
In no particular order.....
1. I was born in Kansas.
2. I was mostly raised in Oklahoma.
3. I think I have earned my Texas stamp in my "passport" by now.
4. I love to travel and have an international wish list.
5. I traveled with my job for 2 years when I was single.
6. I have lived in Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Alabama, Florida, Oregon, Colorado.
7. Mexico and Australia are stamped in my real passport.
8. I used to love to scuba dive.
9. I dived The Great Barrier Reef in Cairns, Australia.
10. I didn't know it was a happy place for sharks when I did it!
11. I love working with kids as an occupational therapist.
12. I always wanted to be a mother.
13. I have three great kids.
14. I am the oldest.
15. Most people will tell you that my birth order in apparent.
16. I have a brother 2 years younger and a sister 7 years younger.
17. I like my toilet paper to roll over.
18. I like my window blinds to be shut up.
19. I am a dishwasher loading snob. I believe in maximizing before running.
20. I am trying to be smarter about food choices for me and my family.
21. I fluncuate with my "green" attempts.
22. I am a big city girl who is living in a small town.
23. I appreciate slow and quiet on my own terms.
24. I have a great family and the best friends ever.
25. I get to turn forty in January!
Stacey
p.s. I tried to find my old 100 list to link here too. The one where you check the things you have done. I did it before I was real good about labeling my posts, so I might find it one day!
Monday, November 23, 2009
He may only be half a year, but he is my whole heart
Hi Everyone!
I hit the hump month! I am 6 months old and there is no stopping me now!
I have had a lot of fun this past month!
I visited my first Pumpkin Patch while the big kids were there for a birthday party. I skipped the hayride but had fun checking out all the orange pumpkins. My first Halloween was interesting. We went to a church carnival where it was loud and crazy. A and L got lots of candy but they didn't share any with me. Mommy said I was the same cute frog that L had been when he was 4 months old. I am sure that I was cuter!
I made a visit to the doctor and I now weigh 17 pounds. It must be all that good food Mommy has been letting me eat. The high chair is not my favorite place to be unless a spoonful of yummy is coming towards my mouth. So far, I have tried sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, bananas, blueberries, plums, and rice cereal. Mommy even made me my own special food with of few of those things. Lately, I like to play with the spoon and suck the food off my thumb. Sometimes I fuss at Mommy when she is not feeding me fast enough, but I stop when she does this weird talking with her hands. She calls it sign language but it just looks like fun motions to me. All I know is that when she says "more?" with her voice and her hands, I am like YES!
I graduated from my first ever baby bed, the bassinet. I was able to sneak my head over the top and that made Mommy nervous. Now, I sleep in the pack-n-play instead. They made it super cushy for a good night's rest. Too bad for Mommy and Daddy that I am not much in the mood to sleep through the night anymore! Maybe it is because of all the groovy things I can do during the day that has me tossing and turning at night.
I have joined the crawler's club. I still like to commando crawl for my quick moves, but I can officially coordinate some pretty cool moves on all four appendages as well. And I go for what I want! If it looks like it might be fun to play with or it might taste good, then I turn on my turbo crawl! A and L better watch out!
If it ever stops raining, I can still supply enough water with my drool to fill the pond! Mommy doesn't like that my chin and neck are always wet because she has to keep a bib on me or let me go naked. I like naked! Mommy keeps lots of lotion on me because of the rash under my chin.
I still love when you sing to me and I really love hand motions. I like to hold your hands and make them clap and I am really getting the hang of banging things together myself. That is if I can keep them out of my mouth long enough! I am a pretty curious kid and I am always interested in what is going on around me. I can even do a 180 twist to find it behind me! I love to laugh and Mommy says that I have an infectious giggle. You can hear it when you tickle my sides or around my chubby thighs. I usually giggle the loudest when you give me snuggle kisses on my neck! Sometimes I even giggle at my own jokes. Mommy thinks that is the funniest thing!
Mommy says that Christmas is coming soon. She told me to make a list for Santa since I will for sure be on the "Nice" list!
See you soon!
Love,
B
He thinks he is going to get to eat S'mores!
My little pumpkin!
Playin' around!
Watching brother play football
Hanging out with my little buddy at Girl Scouts. Notice who is in charge!
Melt a Momma's heart!
His "cage" as named by brother and sister!
Stacey
I hit the hump month! I am 6 months old and there is no stopping me now!
I have had a lot of fun this past month!
I visited my first Pumpkin Patch while the big kids were there for a birthday party. I skipped the hayride but had fun checking out all the orange pumpkins. My first Halloween was interesting. We went to a church carnival where it was loud and crazy. A and L got lots of candy but they didn't share any with me. Mommy said I was the same cute frog that L had been when he was 4 months old. I am sure that I was cuter!
I made a visit to the doctor and I now weigh 17 pounds. It must be all that good food Mommy has been letting me eat. The high chair is not my favorite place to be unless a spoonful of yummy is coming towards my mouth. So far, I have tried sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, bananas, blueberries, plums, and rice cereal. Mommy even made me my own special food with of few of those things. Lately, I like to play with the spoon and suck the food off my thumb. Sometimes I fuss at Mommy when she is not feeding me fast enough, but I stop when she does this weird talking with her hands. She calls it sign language but it just looks like fun motions to me. All I know is that when she says "more?" with her voice and her hands, I am like YES!
I graduated from my first ever baby bed, the bassinet. I was able to sneak my head over the top and that made Mommy nervous. Now, I sleep in the pack-n-play instead. They made it super cushy for a good night's rest. Too bad for Mommy and Daddy that I am not much in the mood to sleep through the night anymore! Maybe it is because of all the groovy things I can do during the day that has me tossing and turning at night.
I have joined the crawler's club. I still like to commando crawl for my quick moves, but I can officially coordinate some pretty cool moves on all four appendages as well. And I go for what I want! If it looks like it might be fun to play with or it might taste good, then I turn on my turbo crawl! A and L better watch out!
If it ever stops raining, I can still supply enough water with my drool to fill the pond! Mommy doesn't like that my chin and neck are always wet because she has to keep a bib on me or let me go naked. I like naked! Mommy keeps lots of lotion on me because of the rash under my chin.
I still love when you sing to me and I really love hand motions. I like to hold your hands and make them clap and I am really getting the hang of banging things together myself. That is if I can keep them out of my mouth long enough! I am a pretty curious kid and I am always interested in what is going on around me. I can even do a 180 twist to find it behind me! I love to laugh and Mommy says that I have an infectious giggle. You can hear it when you tickle my sides or around my chubby thighs. I usually giggle the loudest when you give me snuggle kisses on my neck! Sometimes I even giggle at my own jokes. Mommy thinks that is the funniest thing!
Mommy says that Christmas is coming soon. She told me to make a list for Santa since I will for sure be on the "Nice" list!
See you soon!
Love,
B
He thinks he is going to get to eat S'mores!
My little pumpkin!
Really, I love carrots. Really, I do.
Playin' around!
Practicing my own "sport"-crawling!
Stacey
Friday, November 20, 2009
Dear X and Y
I feel that I need to share with you my thoughts regarding your choice yesterday.
While I applaud yours and your husband's dedication to your jobs as teachers, I wish you had chosen your primary job as a parent yesterday. Because you chose to bring your sweet baby, who you knew was sick and contagious with bronchitis after taking her to the doctor the day before, to the childcare provider we share, your actions affected other people.
It is unfortunate that you put our babysitter in the difficult position of making the decision she made yesterday. To keep your daughter because you told her that you both HAD to be at work as it was the end of the 6 weeks. I was under the impression that as teachers you were salaried employees with sick days available. I wish she had told you no but I feel that she made the decision to keep her because she has a hard time saying no to people in need. I feel that you took advantage of her compassionate heart.
As a result, she did the right thing and informed the parents of the other two children she keeps of the circumstances. I learned of the situation approximately 10 minutes before arriving to drop B off and continue on to my job where I had clients scheduled for the day. I am a contract employee so I only get paid when I work. Although I attempted to contact 4 other people to watch B, I was unable to secure another option and was forced to cancel my clients at the last minute. I did this because my number one priority as a parent is the health and well-being of my child, and I could not in good faith allow him to stay in the home with your sick child all day.
I was forced to make the decision to lose 6 hours of wages because of your choice. Thankfully, the other mother was able to secure a relative to watch her baby so she could go to work.
I really just wanted you to know the effect your choices and actions had on others. We should not have had to make the choice to find other childcare or to miss work when our children were healthy and able to attend daycare.
I was happy to learn that you decided to stay home with your child today.
I wish you had made that choice yesterday.
Sincerely,
Stacey
** I am still debating whether or not to send an actual letter similar to this. I don't think the parents realize what they asked of our babysitter and the resulting choices that had to be made because of their actions. I know these people and don't want to harbor ill feelings towards them as I know they are kind people. However, I am afraid that if I don't say something that I won't be able to move on from these feelings.
While I applaud yours and your husband's dedication to your jobs as teachers, I wish you had chosen your primary job as a parent yesterday. Because you chose to bring your sweet baby, who you knew was sick and contagious with bronchitis after taking her to the doctor the day before, to the childcare provider we share, your actions affected other people.
It is unfortunate that you put our babysitter in the difficult position of making the decision she made yesterday. To keep your daughter because you told her that you both HAD to be at work as it was the end of the 6 weeks. I was under the impression that as teachers you were salaried employees with sick days available. I wish she had told you no but I feel that she made the decision to keep her because she has a hard time saying no to people in need. I feel that you took advantage of her compassionate heart.
As a result, she did the right thing and informed the parents of the other two children she keeps of the circumstances. I learned of the situation approximately 10 minutes before arriving to drop B off and continue on to my job where I had clients scheduled for the day. I am a contract employee so I only get paid when I work. Although I attempted to contact 4 other people to watch B, I was unable to secure another option and was forced to cancel my clients at the last minute. I did this because my number one priority as a parent is the health and well-being of my child, and I could not in good faith allow him to stay in the home with your sick child all day.
I was forced to make the decision to lose 6 hours of wages because of your choice. Thankfully, the other mother was able to secure a relative to watch her baby so she could go to work.
I really just wanted you to know the effect your choices and actions had on others. We should not have had to make the choice to find other childcare or to miss work when our children were healthy and able to attend daycare.
I was happy to learn that you decided to stay home with your child today.
I wish you had made that choice yesterday.
Sincerely,
Stacey
** I am still debating whether or not to send an actual letter similar to this. I don't think the parents realize what they asked of our babysitter and the resulting choices that had to be made because of their actions. I know these people and don't want to harbor ill feelings towards them as I know they are kind people. However, I am afraid that if I don't say something that I won't be able to move on from these feelings.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The sky is falling! The sky is falling!
Or maybe it just looks that way with all the mass food preparation that I did this weekend!
I don't know what it was that made me do it. Maybe my desire to lessen our opportunities to eat out or just save money in general. Maybe the great meat prices with Thanksgiving next week. Maybe my desire to do some sorta meal prep other than the crock pot. I love my crock pot meals, but they usually just consist of roast and fixins or a whole chicken that I do something with. I get several meals out of it either way, but I needed something new.
So, I spent a bit more at the grocery store and put together a few things this weekend. The increase in my grocery bill will probably work itself out since I won't have to shop as soon for our next round of meals.
Breakfast for my kids can be a struggle in the mornings. It is not that I don't have good stuff to offer them. It is that I don't have the "right" stuff to offer them! Interpretation: I won't let them eat sugar for breakfast!! So, I put together three packages of breakfast options other than what I usually offer. Breakfast burritos with eggs, sausage, & cheese, bb with eggs and sausage, and sausage kolaches. All frozen and can be quickly reheated in the mornings. It has really worked out well this week!
I also bought a big spiral ham which we used for a family meal then I made three packages of ham for lunch meat. I love the option of eating healthier lunch meat for a much smaller price.
THEN I cooked a big turkey!
I think I am going to change my name to Martha.
At least for this week!
As with the ham, we ate some for a family meal then I made turkey pasta alfredo the next night. Yum!! BTW, I made it with rice pasta and it was soooo good! Although I usually only make a true pasta dish once a week, I still want to try to cut down on our gluten intake. Don't worry, we are far from where I want to be, especially on Taco Night, but I have picky people I am dealing with!! :) Anyway, the rice pasta was so light and almost creamy. Hate that it costs more.
I decided to snip the rest of the turkey into bite-sized pieces and bag it for other meals. Seven family meals (even more if you count leftovers) out of one turkey is awesome!
My in-laws have an extra freezer, so I seriously think I am going to grab another turkey and ham while they are cheap for my next massive meal prep!
Stacey
ps. I was also going to share about my new found love for coconut oil and coconut milk, but I will save that for another day! (I know you can't wait, Cara!!)
I don't know what it was that made me do it. Maybe my desire to lessen our opportunities to eat out or just save money in general. Maybe the great meat prices with Thanksgiving next week. Maybe my desire to do some sorta meal prep other than the crock pot. I love my crock pot meals, but they usually just consist of roast and fixins or a whole chicken that I do something with. I get several meals out of it either way, but I needed something new.
So, I spent a bit more at the grocery store and put together a few things this weekend. The increase in my grocery bill will probably work itself out since I won't have to shop as soon for our next round of meals.
Breakfast for my kids can be a struggle in the mornings. It is not that I don't have good stuff to offer them. It is that I don't have the "right" stuff to offer them! Interpretation: I won't let them eat sugar for breakfast!! So, I put together three packages of breakfast options other than what I usually offer. Breakfast burritos with eggs, sausage, & cheese, bb with eggs and sausage, and sausage kolaches. All frozen and can be quickly reheated in the mornings. It has really worked out well this week!
I also bought a big spiral ham which we used for a family meal then I made three packages of ham for lunch meat. I love the option of eating healthier lunch meat for a much smaller price.
THEN I cooked a big turkey!
I think I am going to change my name to Martha.
At least for this week!
As with the ham, we ate some for a family meal then I made turkey pasta alfredo the next night. Yum!! BTW, I made it with rice pasta and it was soooo good! Although I usually only make a true pasta dish once a week, I still want to try to cut down on our gluten intake. Don't worry, we are far from where I want to be, especially on Taco Night, but I have picky people I am dealing with!! :) Anyway, the rice pasta was so light and almost creamy. Hate that it costs more.
I decided to snip the rest of the turkey into bite-sized pieces and bag it for other meals. Seven family meals (even more if you count leftovers) out of one turkey is awesome!
My in-laws have an extra freezer, so I seriously think I am going to grab another turkey and ham while they are cheap for my next massive meal prep!
Stacey
ps. I was also going to share about my new found love for coconut oil and coconut milk, but I will save that for another day! (I know you can't wait, Cara!!)
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