July 30, 2009
Hot!
We've been shattering heat records here in the northwest. That being said, it is understandably too hot to sit at my computer for long periods of time and put together the long series of posts that I need to catch up on. We also have family in town this weekend. So...Look for me again, next week-when things slow down, and cool off a bit.
July 23, 2009
Playing Catch-up
I promised myself I wouldn't do it. I swore I would make an effort to keep up on the blog. I really do love writing here. And yet....Here I am again, playing catch-up on more than a weeks worth of posts. So, here we go!
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As you all have gathered from my last post, we spent last week in Utah. On Saturday the 11th, we had Buggy's birthday party (pictures to come in a later post) then within 2 hours of all the guests going home, we were on the road. My friend "K" and her little boy came with us, so that I wasn't doing it by myself with 3 kids. Her family is in Utah also.
We got to there (after stopping in Boise for the night on Saturday) Sunday evening. The kids did great on the trip down. Baby Sister really only fussed for about 30 minutes of the very last hour on the road. Couldn't have asked for more.
It was nice to have (kind of) a relaxed week visiting with family and seeing Lisa and her family. The viewing and funeral for Cindy were very nice with lots of pictures of her (I loved that part). I am very glad that I was able to be there.
The boys got a little sick near the end of the week, which kept us in and let us relax before heading home Sunday afternoon (with another overnight stop at "K's" sister's house in Boise)
The drive home was long. It was obvious that the kiddos didn't want to be in the car anymore. There was a significant increase in fussiness from the baby, and the heat combined with a broken DVD player and the anticipation of being home led to many meltdowns from the boys.
Needless to say, I am glad to be home.
Since we got home Monday evening, the days have been made up of cleaning, and laundry (lots of laundry), and dealing with two very grumpy boys. Seriously, they have been fighting and picking at each other (Buggy actually bit Beefy the other day...ARRRGH) and being rude to me...I don't know if it is just from being gone or what, but it had better end soon. Or I very may well go crazy.
It has been a long time since I have spent days on end being on the verge of tears and with my temper too close to the surface. Still being way too hormonal isn't helping either. I'm hoping as things slow down, it will get better. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
In the mean time..."Things that have made me laugh this week, even though I've wanted to cry":
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As you all have gathered from my last post, we spent last week in Utah. On Saturday the 11th, we had Buggy's birthday party (pictures to come in a later post) then within 2 hours of all the guests going home, we were on the road. My friend "K" and her little boy came with us, so that I wasn't doing it by myself with 3 kids. Her family is in Utah also.
We got to there (after stopping in Boise for the night on Saturday) Sunday evening. The kids did great on the trip down. Baby Sister really only fussed for about 30 minutes of the very last hour on the road. Couldn't have asked for more.
It was nice to have (kind of) a relaxed week visiting with family and seeing Lisa and her family. The viewing and funeral for Cindy were very nice with lots of pictures of her (I loved that part). I am very glad that I was able to be there.
The boys got a little sick near the end of the week, which kept us in and let us relax before heading home Sunday afternoon (with another overnight stop at "K's" sister's house in Boise)
The drive home was long. It was obvious that the kiddos didn't want to be in the car anymore. There was a significant increase in fussiness from the baby, and the heat combined with a broken DVD player and the anticipation of being home led to many meltdowns from the boys.
Needless to say, I am glad to be home.
Since we got home Monday evening, the days have been made up of cleaning, and laundry (lots of laundry), and dealing with two very grumpy boys. Seriously, they have been fighting and picking at each other (Buggy actually bit Beefy the other day...ARRRGH) and being rude to me...I don't know if it is just from being gone or what, but it had better end soon. Or I very may well go crazy.
It has been a long time since I have spent days on end being on the verge of tears and with my temper too close to the surface. Still being way too hormonal isn't helping either. I'm hoping as things slow down, it will get better. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
In the mean time..."Things that have made me laugh this week, even though I've wanted to cry":
- Yesterday we were at the craft store when Buggy had to use the restroom (of course). He came out grinning from ear to ear because he had on two pairs of underwear. Apparently I wasn't supervising the morning "getting dressed" routine as well as I should have been. He put on the clean pair I gave him, but didn't take off the dirty pair. Oh well, double protection, right?
- Baby Sister is so stinkin' cute right now. She is always smiling and laughing, and has been a really good sport about letting me play "dress-up" with her, trying on some of the new hand-me-downs we got while in Utah to check the fit. I've said this before, but she just has some natural ability to make me calm.
- Beefy sleeping. It is 5:56 pm, and he has needed a nap since about 11 am. He has fought and fought, and had a couple of meltdowns, and finally could fight no more. And even though it is nearly 6:00, and he has been a terror for the last two hours, and I know I am going to have to wake him up in a few minutes...I can't help but smile at how cute he is, when he's asleep.
Thank goodness for the little things that pull us through.
July 14, 2009
Cindy
I've been mulling over this post for almost a week now. In that time, it has morphed significantly, yet I still fear that my ability to put my feelings down into words is not what it needs to be right now to do them justice. Either way, I need to record how I feel.
I want to write about Cindy today. First though, let me give you background.
Cindy is the mother of my "best-friend-since-the-8th-grade", Lisa. As teenagers, Lisa and I were inseparable. We were always at one or the other's houses. We did all of the same extra-curricular activities, went on each other's family vacations, roomed together in college, and she was the Maid-of-Honor when I got married.
Obviously, I gained a close friendship with Lisa's family over the years, and they have always seemed like an extension of my own.
Her mom, Cindy has always been kind of a second mom to me. She ranks at the top of my list as one of the kindest, most generous people I know. She exemplified Christ-like service in a way that is hard to duplicate, and I am forever going to be grateful for that example.
A few weeks ago, Cindy became suddenly ill. A difficult thing, especially for someone as active and outgoing as she is. She developed a condition called ARDS, in which her lungs just couldn't do their job anymore. She passed away last Saturday, one day short of her 50th birthday.
It doesn't quite seem real at times, and then the heavy feeling on my heart sets in and it suddenly hits me again that this is truly happening.
When I got the call from Lisa, on Saturday afternoon, I packed up myself and the kids, kissed my Husband (and thanked him for being so supportive of it) and we took of in the car to be with Lisa and her family. (my husband would have come to, but was unable to take the time off from work) We are in Utah now and will probably stay through the end of the week.
I am truly grateful today for the testimony I have of God's plan. That this life isn't the end, and that families can be eternal. I couldn't imagine facing something like this without that knowledge.
Over the last few days my mind has been inundated with my memories of Cindy, a true testimony of her presence in my life. It makes me feel sad, of course, but also happy that I am able to have so many positive recollections of her life. I hope someday soon to be able to record those memories so that I won't forget them.
She was very loved and will be missed terribly. Cindy truly was an amazing woman, and I will always treasure the fact that I was able to call her my friend.
I want to write about Cindy today. First though, let me give you background.
Cindy is the mother of my "best-friend-since-the-8th-grade", Lisa. As teenagers, Lisa and I were inseparable. We were always at one or the other's houses. We did all of the same extra-curricular activities, went on each other's family vacations, roomed together in college, and she was the Maid-of-Honor when I got married.
Obviously, I gained a close friendship with Lisa's family over the years, and they have always seemed like an extension of my own.
Her mom, Cindy has always been kind of a second mom to me. She ranks at the top of my list as one of the kindest, most generous people I know. She exemplified Christ-like service in a way that is hard to duplicate, and I am forever going to be grateful for that example.
A few weeks ago, Cindy became suddenly ill. A difficult thing, especially for someone as active and outgoing as she is. She developed a condition called ARDS, in which her lungs just couldn't do their job anymore. She passed away last Saturday, one day short of her 50th birthday.
It doesn't quite seem real at times, and then the heavy feeling on my heart sets in and it suddenly hits me again that this is truly happening.
When I got the call from Lisa, on Saturday afternoon, I packed up myself and the kids, kissed my Husband (and thanked him for being so supportive of it) and we took of in the car to be with Lisa and her family. (my husband would have come to, but was unable to take the time off from work) We are in Utah now and will probably stay through the end of the week.
I am truly grateful today for the testimony I have of God's plan. That this life isn't the end, and that families can be eternal. I couldn't imagine facing something like this without that knowledge.
Over the last few days my mind has been inundated with my memories of Cindy, a true testimony of her presence in my life. It makes me feel sad, of course, but also happy that I am able to have so many positive recollections of her life. I hope someday soon to be able to record those memories so that I won't forget them.
She was very loved and will be missed terribly. Cindy truly was an amazing woman, and I will always treasure the fact that I was able to call her my friend.
July 10, 2009
Happy Birthday!
Guess Who's 5 Today....
Happy Birthday Buggy! We love you lots.
**We haven't actually got either of the boys "Birthday Pictures" taken yet. Hopefully, I'll be posting those soon.
July 4, 2009
Happy 4th of July! (Part 2)
I had to add this too. I love the Muppets. (Not just the ones that live at my house.)
(***Thanks to my sweet husband for showing me how to add youtube videos to my blog. You're the best babe!)
Happy 4th of July!
From all of us, to all of you - Have a happy and safe holiday. May we all remember today, how blessed we are to live in this nation, and have the freedoms we have.July 2, 2009
What?!?!
I can't think of anything better to name this post. I am totally caught off guard by Buggy's most recent "stage", and it is very quickly making me crazy.
Buggy has recently developed an intense phobia of wasting water. Yes, you read that correctly, wasting water.
This morning during bath time, he threw a fit over me running the water for more than about 1 minute, resulting in almost no water in the tub for them to bath in. When it came time to rinse the soap off of them, I had to run the water some more so that I could actually rinse them off. This resulted in (I'm not even kidding here) a full-on total and complete MELTDOWN. From my (almost) 5-year-old son. Because he said he was afraid that I was wasting water. We had a good LONG talk about how taking a bath was not wasting water, and that sometimes we need to let the water run so that we can use it. I thought he understood me at that point.
I guess not.
Tonight, I had to bathe Baby Sister again, because she pooped everywhere. The boys were already in bed, but the bathroom is right next to their room and they were still awake. I turned on the water, gave her a bath and was headed back to her room with her to get her dressed, when Buggy yelled at me from his room, in tears (once again, unfortunately not kidding) worried that I hadn't turned the water off, and that I was wasting water.
AAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!
He isn't afraid of water itself. He likes to play in the sprinkler, and he loves swimming. This isn't a water phobia. He truly is afraid that I am just going to go around leaving all the water sources in our house running at all times, and wasting water. Really.
When I am doing the dishes he will frequently lecture me because I am running the water. (Of course I am running the water...I'm doing the dishes. That requires water.) I'm getting frustrated just thinking about it, and really don't love that my son must suddenly think that I am completely stupid.
I don't know where this came from, but if I ever find out who/what/where he picked this up from, I will gladly give that person/company/tv channel a piece of my mind.
We are pretty "green" at our house. We recycle, a lot. We have a compost bin, and all of our appliances are high efficiency. (not even mentioning the cloth diaper thing) I am trying to teach the boys to be more environmentally friendly, but I don't know how to do it if anything they learn gets translated into "we can't take a bath for fear of wasting water".
Is my kid just crazy. I know he has a tendency to be pretty intense, but come on. I worry that he is going to need therapy just to be able to take a stinkin' bath (let alone live a normal live). I pretty much don't know what to do. I have tried to explain things rationally to him, it seems like a thousand times, but I don't know if any of it is sinking in or if we are just going to have to continue to deal with these un-real reactions to things like running water.
Has anyone else's kid(s) ever done something like this? Or, am I alone in this boat. Please, someone tell me this is normal....or tell me what I can do to make it more bearable.
Thanks for listening to (or I should say reading) me rant for a few minutes. I feel better now that I have this one out there.
Buggy has recently developed an intense phobia of wasting water. Yes, you read that correctly, wasting water.
This morning during bath time, he threw a fit over me running the water for more than about 1 minute, resulting in almost no water in the tub for them to bath in. When it came time to rinse the soap off of them, I had to run the water some more so that I could actually rinse them off. This resulted in (I'm not even kidding here) a full-on total and complete MELTDOWN. From my (almost) 5-year-old son. Because he said he was afraid that I was wasting water. We had a good LONG talk about how taking a bath was not wasting water, and that sometimes we need to let the water run so that we can use it. I thought he understood me at that point.
I guess not.
Tonight, I had to bathe Baby Sister again, because she pooped everywhere. The boys were already in bed, but the bathroom is right next to their room and they were still awake. I turned on the water, gave her a bath and was headed back to her room with her to get her dressed, when Buggy yelled at me from his room, in tears (once again, unfortunately not kidding) worried that I hadn't turned the water off, and that I was wasting water.
AAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!!!!!!!!
He isn't afraid of water itself. He likes to play in the sprinkler, and he loves swimming. This isn't a water phobia. He truly is afraid that I am just going to go around leaving all the water sources in our house running at all times, and wasting water. Really.
When I am doing the dishes he will frequently lecture me because I am running the water. (Of course I am running the water...I'm doing the dishes. That requires water.) I'm getting frustrated just thinking about it, and really don't love that my son must suddenly think that I am completely stupid.
I don't know where this came from, but if I ever find out who/what/where he picked this up from, I will gladly give that person/company/tv channel a piece of my mind.
We are pretty "green" at our house. We recycle, a lot. We have a compost bin, and all of our appliances are high efficiency. (not even mentioning the cloth diaper thing) I am trying to teach the boys to be more environmentally friendly, but I don't know how to do it if anything they learn gets translated into "we can't take a bath for fear of wasting water".
Is my kid just crazy. I know he has a tendency to be pretty intense, but come on. I worry that he is going to need therapy just to be able to take a stinkin' bath (let alone live a normal live). I pretty much don't know what to do. I have tried to explain things rationally to him, it seems like a thousand times, but I don't know if any of it is sinking in or if we are just going to have to continue to deal with these un-real reactions to things like running water.
Has anyone else's kid(s) ever done something like this? Or, am I alone in this boat. Please, someone tell me this is normal....or tell me what I can do to make it more bearable.
Thanks for listening to (or I should say reading) me rant for a few minutes. I feel better now that I have this one out there.
June 22, 2009
3 Months!
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**Warning: There are lots of pictures here. I had a hard time narrowing it down this time. Also, everyone else can ignore the numbers, they're for the benefit of the grandparents.
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Thanks for looking!
What I've Been Doing Instead of Blogging
Since Baby Sister's arrival (okay-and for a while before that too, really) I haven't been able to work on as many of my projects as I would like to. My card making has been drastically minimized and everything else gets planned but not executed as quickly as I would like.
Well, lately I've pushed myself to finish a few things, and I thought I'd share the results.
New Cards: These are my contributions for my card swap this month. Basically the same card, I just realized after I made the first one that it might be better in green instead of blue.
A Tote Bag:
I made this as a thank-you gift for my sister-in-law for hosting, and doing much of the planning for my parent's anniversary party last month. I love the beading detail on this.
Hairbows: I've been having lots of fun with these. Now that I think I have the basics figured out, I have a few more Ideas that I will share as I get them done. This is what I have finished so far.
Brown and pink polka-dot, small bows.
My personal Favorite. I love how this one turned out.
These are the ones I am keeping for Baby Sister. I'll post pictures with the dress, when I get it.
Well, this is what I have completed up to this point. I have a few more projects in the works, hopefully you will be seeing them on here sooner, rather than later.
Well, lately I've pushed myself to finish a few things, and I thought I'd share the results.
New Cards: These are my contributions for my card swap this month. Basically the same card, I just realized after I made the first one that it might be better in green instead of blue.
A Tote Bag:
I made this as a thank-you gift for my sister-in-law for hosting, and doing much of the planning for my parent's anniversary party last month. I love the beading detail on this.Hairbows: I've been having lots of fun with these. Now that I think I have the basics figured out, I have a few more Ideas that I will share as I get them done. This is what I have finished so far.
Brown and pink polka-dot, small bows.
My personal Favorite. I love how this one turned out.I also made a bunch of "4th of July" bows to go with some dresses that my mom is making for Baby Sister and 3 of my little nieces.
These are the ones I am keeping for Baby Sister. I'll post pictures with the dress, when I get it.Crazy Boys
Lots to catch up on in posting about my silly boys. First, a picture from yesterday:
Notice the sunglasses? He had to wear them to church. No amount of coaxing would get him to take them off, and I finally decided it wasn't worth the battle. He wore them through the whole 3 hours of church, and home. He fell asleep, and I tried to take them off - he woke up just long enough to tell give me an emphatic "NO!" and then went back to sleep. Funny Kid!
Next, I have to make a note of this just because I think it is kind of funny. I've been trying to buy breakfast cereals with high fiber content lately. Mostly, for myself and my husband, but the funny thing is - the kids love them. They choose them over their usual Kix and Rice Chex almost every day.
Buggy's Favorite (along with a some new pictures - for the grandparents):
Beefy's Favorite:
I love that they (for some silly, strange reason) love these cereals. It just makes me laugh.
Finally, this one: My husband and I grew up loving the Animaniacs cartoons. We have the DVDs and a music CD that we listen to in the car occasionally. The kids think they are hilarious.
Today we were driving when "the Great Wakkorotti" came on (check it out here). It is fairly disgusting, but my boys (no surprises here) LOVED IT. The car was so full of the best giggles, that I couldn't help but laugh myself (especially as Beefy was trying to imitate it, after the song was over). Boys will be boys, right?
It's a good thing that they can make me laugh, to go with all of the gray hairs that I am going to get someday because of them.
Notice the sunglasses? He had to wear them to church. No amount of coaxing would get him to take them off, and I finally decided it wasn't worth the battle. He wore them through the whole 3 hours of church, and home. He fell asleep, and I tried to take them off - he woke up just long enough to tell give me an emphatic "NO!" and then went back to sleep. Funny Kid!Next, I have to make a note of this just because I think it is kind of funny. I've been trying to buy breakfast cereals with high fiber content lately. Mostly, for myself and my husband, but the funny thing is - the kids love them. They choose them over their usual Kix and Rice Chex almost every day.
Buggy's Favorite (along with a some new pictures - for the grandparents):
Beefy's Favorite:
I love that they (for some silly, strange reason) love these cereals. It just makes me laugh.
Finally, this one: My husband and I grew up loving the Animaniacs cartoons. We have the DVDs and a music CD that we listen to in the car occasionally. The kids think they are hilarious.
Today we were driving when "the Great Wakkorotti" came on (check it out here). It is fairly disgusting, but my boys (no surprises here) LOVED IT. The car was so full of the best giggles, that I couldn't help but laugh myself (especially as Beefy was trying to imitate it, after the song was over). Boys will be boys, right?
It's a good thing that they can make me laugh, to go with all of the gray hairs that I am going to get someday because of them.
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