Ontario Pathways...Trip 3

I am so mad at myself for not keeping up with my blog, this is supposed to be my scrapbook and well I have failed this summer. I seem to be so busy, but sometimes it's all about time management and organization. So that is my new goal. 

I am one to find out about something new and jump both feet in just to get overwhelmed and quit. So my new goal is balance. I need balance in my life and so much more now that I a am completely full-time mommy and wife. But that is another day, another post. 

So what I have been up to this summer is many, many playdates and fun times. I have found a new playdate favorite spot that has been added to our playlist...Ontario Pathways. It's such a fabulous, serene hiking trail and I love it. Last Tuesday was our third time going and the weather was perfect. And it was great to go with my family, we never get to do playdates and it made it special. 

Here are some pictures of our day. 

"Can I come over and play too?"

Cousins splashing.

Mom walking with Harley.

 

"What does this rock look like?"

"I don't know Nonnie, tell me."

 

The whole fam.

Locked In! Part 2

So where were we? Oh yes, I had just unscrewed one of the screws in the door and was about to be freed. So here we go, just.one.more.screw and we are FREE! Fingernail clippers turned screwdriver is in place and ready to go. Then the unexpected and totally frustrating, what am I going to do now? The screw head was stripped just enough that my "screwdriver" wouldn't work. Really?!? Can you be kidding me? I could see the light at the end of the tunnel and all of a sudden, darkness. Now what? 

At this point I am pretty sure I have exhausted every option and "tool". I looked out the window again to see if daddy was home. Nothing. I had no clue what time it was but I knew it was late. Ok, thinking cap. I am now Winnie the Pooh. Think. Think. Think. Still nothing. 

Frustration sets in again. Annoyed again. Maybe if I shove the comb into the door, I can jiggy behind the doorknob thingy to push it in and viola! the door would open. Wrong again. 

Giving up was now about the only option, giving up and waiting for daddy. What to do now? Read books was about it but then I remembered there were these old read a-long books with cassette tapes stashed in Chase's closet. That would be fun and I wouldn't have to "read" since I was exhausted. 

I grabbed the little bookbag they were in and decided on "Winnie Pooh and the Blustery Day." Chase didn't get it at first, you know the little bell of when to turn the page, but after a few pages though he got it and loved it. 

While we were sitting on the floor reading the book I thought I heard Brad come in the door but wasn't a 100% sure. I didn't want to yell out to him and alarm the boys especially if he wasn't home. So I just stomped one foot on the floor, our signal to come up. 

Minutes past and nothing. Ok, so it wasn't him as I thought. Back to enjoying the book with Chase. It was dark. It was late and here we were on the floor reading an animated book. And well Callen was doing his thing, really just playing and exploring. 

The book ended and I just knew it was real late and wasn't about to start another one. I needed to get the boys to bed, somehow.

"Chase honey it's time for bed. We are all going to get in your bed and maybe when daddy comes home, looks in the monitor and sees us all in your bed sleeping, he'll wonder why and come up and rescue us." 

"Ok mommy."  

Callen is so overtired that he walks over to the door trying to open it. "I know Callen mommy wants to get out too."


I pick him up and then tuck in Chase, turn off the lights and start to walk around rocking Callen and singing Rock-a-bye Baby. 


Then, what is that I heard? Is that footsteps? I think so. I stop singing.


To be continued...

Locked In! Part 1

Last Wednesday was just a typical day, well besides a fun play date with all my girlfriends but that's for another post. So a typical day, fun, naps, dinner and then church. And as always, immediately following church it was bed time.


Again, nothing out of the ordinary except that Callen was wound up after church. He was belly laughing the whole way home, either at Chase or at himself blowing bubbles. This meant that he was not ready for his normal bedtime and he needed time to wind down.


I decided to keep Callen up while I put Chase to bed. We all went up to Chase's room to read books and get jammies on. Callen was busy playing and I was over by Chase's closet, only about 8 ft from the door.


"Chase honey will you shut the door please?"


"Why mommy?"


"So your brother doesn't sneak out and fall down the stairs."


"Ok" as he is in the process of shutting the door, "I locked it mommy." Shut!


"Noooo Chase don't shut the...."


Preface: When we moved Chase to his big boy bed, goodness last March, we had to turn his door knob around so the lock was on the outside since he locked us out when it was the normal way.


The door is now shut and locked, on the outside.


This wouldn't be such a big issue except for the fact that Brad was helping Jeff farm and wouldn't be home for another hour or so. And now all three of us were locked in and who knew for how long.


But before I could figure out what I was going to do, I had to take care of business with Chase. You see, I had told him many times not to lock any doors in this house because he had locked us out of our room already. So he was punished and then it was on to business to get us out of there. 


I soon became "MacGuyver" to figure out a way to unlock the door. First thought was to take the pins out of the door because of course it would just slide out, right? Well, the first two pins came out easily and now the third, and, of course, it wouldn't budge. Now what?


I began to search the room for anything that I could use as tools, anything. My mind was going, in survival mode, more like escape mode. What I found...two wooden spoons,(hammers) a baby care kit that included fingernail scissors, (screwdriver), flip hairbrush, (pry the door open) and other random items that I thought might come in handy.


In the meantime, Callen was eating Chase's bedtime snack and drinking his milk and Chase was talking non-stop. "Mommy what are you doing? Mommy what is that? Mommy what are you going to do with that?" And on, and on, and on.


Wooden spoon..hmmmm....a hammer, yes, let's hammer out that last pin. And after many, many attempts and frustration, it finally came out. Yay! We are free! Well, at least that is what I thought until I began to try to pull the door off. Nothing. It would.not.budge.


It made sense in the beginning, until all the pins were out and I realized it was a tight fit. The door was not about to open. Now what? My oh.so.brilliant idea wasn't so brilliant after all. Super frustration.


 I decided to take a break from my amateur escape artist job to read some books. I needed to calm down and compose myself, not that I was yelling or throwing a fit, but I was getting short with Chase, probably because HE was the one who LOCKED the door.


Ok, feeling somewhat composed, the one book was a good diversion for a few minutes. Now what to do?  I can unscrew the screws on the doorknob and just take it off. Yeah, that will work. So I took the baby fingernail scissor clippers and began to unscrew the screws and it was working! It really was working. Out popped screw #1, now we just have one more and we'll be out of here...


To be continued....

For my Sis #2

For my sis

Yes, I know it has been forever but this post is for my sister. I shall return soon.

Hey B, here are some photos. These are unedited versions since for some reason Photoshop is not working so I can't edit them. Brad is going to look into the problem for me so I can get these done. I have tons more to show you but I have to use Photshop for those.

We have many great shots and you should be able to create something cute for your "Save the Date."

Enjoy!

 

Happy Birthday!

Chase do you know what today is?

"What mommy?"

It's my birthday.

"What size are you?" His question as to how old am I.

"Are we going to have cake?"

Not today. When daddy comes home we will.

"When he comes home in two days we will have cake."

Yes, honey, in two days.

Brad is traveling and told Chase when he left that he will be back in two days. So everything is in "two days". I just love listening/watching him try to grasp the concept of time. He always asks, "what's after my nap mommy?" Even if it's his bedtime, it's always his nap.

And then trying to get breakfast/lunch/dinner correct as well as yesterday, last yesterday as he calls it. It's too cute.

Even though daddy was gone, I had a great birthday. My bestie invited us over for a playdate which included mac & cheese and frosted cookies, the best kind of lunch. We're so moms.

Gracie made me a card and Katie had crepe paper up for me and a fabulous gift to make me beautiful, well enhance my beauty. Lol. So cute. We had such a great time just letting the kids play and trying to chit chat wherever we could fit in a word. It's amazing though how much "conversation" you can fit in between two 2.5 year olds playing and yelling and chasing two active nine month olds, plus making lunch, feeding them lunch, cleaning up lunch.

But we managed and it was a blast.

Only by the grace of God...

...am I saved and where I am today. The LORD is doing amazing things in my life but I know that I am only here in this time and place because of the grace of God and prayers. An old friend of mine friended me on facebook the other day, a friend from my teen years. I haven't seen or spoken with her since she graduated over 15 years ago. We were pretty close friends but even then I knew she wasn't the best influence for me but I was a teenager and wanted friends and to be "in" and she definitely was fun and crazy.

But I am so thankful that I listened to the LORD and well feared my mother and God because that is one of the only reasons I am where I am today. Of course her friendship wasn't the end of my "rebellious" teen years, but if I followed in her footsteps, I wouldn't want to know what kind of life I would have right now.

By the grace of God I have a wonderful husband of 10 1/2 years and two beautiful, healthy little boys, a great church and wonderful friends and family...but it could have been different.

After looking at her pictures I was, I don't want to be harsh, but appalled and sad. Sad that such a beautiful girl decided to take that path in life when she was certainly not raised that way.

I so believe in choosing the right friends throughout all the stages of your life and of course we all make mistakes and choices that we may regret. But that is what life is all about...choices and there are so many. Thankfully God is a forgiving God and all is in the past and forgotten. That's how I live my life, I try not to dwell on what has happened to me in the past...decisions, actions, words that I might have said or were said to me. I repented of my sins and God forgave me and wants me to grow.

I feel the same about people in my life. Can you imagine what a burden it would be if I held onto every word, action, event that happened to me in my life that caused pain. God is a forgiving God so I should forgive too. Nothing is ever worth dwelling on or to bring it up time and time again. I strive to forgive and forget. I want happiness in my life not to be miserable. I want to be an enjoyable person to be around and happy for my children. A blessing to those around me not a burden.

All this being said, that I am sad that she has chosen that life but I am by no means above her and God loves her just as much as me. We can only pray for those around us and that they make the right decisions in life albeit as hard as they may be sometimes. I can only pray for His mercy on my life everyday.

I'm missing somepin Mommy...

As Chase was getting ready for bed, one of the bedtime routines is to go potty which turns into a conversation time for him. So tonight as he was sitting on the potty because he had to go "poopy" which seems to be every night. But as he was sitting there, he was playing with his belly and discovered that he can grab the skin on his belly and make his belly button disappear. Here is the conversation that ensued...

As Chase is holding his belly to hide his belly button.

"Mommy, somepins missing."

Oh no, what's missing?

" I don't know, somepin"

I then poke at his belly, minus a belly button and he giggles. "Oh no buddy what's missing on your belly?"

"My belly nipple" proceeded by a funny look on his face as he knows this doesn't sound right.

"What's missing buddy?" As I am trying not to laugh.

"My belly nipple." Again weird face. "My belly button!" He exclaims. "I didn't come with one."

He makes me laugh so hard sometimes. Even though bedtime is not necessarily a "fun" time around here and he totally uses potty time as his major stall tactic but these potty talks are always super hilarious. I need to start video taping him.

There so funny because he is trying to so hard to come up with stuff to talk about and just gets going. They are quite the stories I hear during these Potty Talks. Hmmmm...I think I see a children's book in the works.

Happy 8 months Callen!

I feel so guilty my littlest man. You are eight months as of 1/20/11 and this is my first monthly update about you. I did start one for your seven month but never finished and well, today I am determined to finish your eight month update.

I can't believe I just said eight months, where in the world did time go? I barely remember the past eight months, they just flew by and the whole point of starting this blog was to remember the days but then I didn't have time to update or just plain tired.

But that is about to change, it's a new year, a fresh start. And well, let's start with seeing how big and fast you are growing.

My Dearest Callen,

My oh my little one, you are not so little anymore. At your last appointment about a month ago, you weighed in at 17.75 lbs. and hmm, I don't recall how tall you were, will have to check. Let's just say that you are pretty much out of 6-9 months clothes. Actually since about a month ago, you've been in 12 month sleepers and pants, the pants are a little big but just the right length. You are still in 6-9 or 9 month onesies and some shirts but even the shirts are moving to 12 month. 

You don't seem that big to me but you are long, yes, long and lean. There really isn't any baby fat on you, maybe a little chunky thigh. But your brother wasn't chunky either. I don't know what chunky babies are, well, except chunky, big newborns. 

Crawling is your new thing, it's actually kind of an army crawl. You will get up on your knees and arms and rock back and forth, which you've been doing for about a month, but then you will drop and go. Your in the living room and before I know it, there you are behind me in the toy room. 

I know I've mentioned it before but you absolutely adore and love your big brother. He is just the greatest in your eyes. When giving him a kiss, you tend to grab a handful of his hair and give a nice tug, Chase isn't thrilled. "He's pulling my hair mommy. Callen stop."  I have to continously remind him that you are a baby and don't know better, even though you laugh every time you do it. Hmmm...

You also love his toys, especially his trains. There is always one in your month throughout the day, as long as their not his favorites he doesn't mind.  We have a few baby toys out for you to chew and drool all over but your brother's toys are so much more interesting. I see a future of toy sharing already. 

 

Food tasting is exciting to you. Anything and everything seems to be the theme lately. Everyone always said you do everything by the book with the first kid and with the second it's out the door, for the most part. Well, we didn't start you on baby food until six months, which was the same time as Chase. And yes, I do have pictures.  

And the same as your brother, your first food was homemade squash, and of course you loved it. And since then you've probably had everything under the sun, ok, not really. Let's see you have about 40% bought and 60% homemade and you've enjoyed blueberries, apricot, pear, apple, prunes, bananas, peas, beans, carrots, sweet potato, squash, chicken, ham, beef, noodles, avocado, cream cheese and I'm sure some others that I have just forgotten. 

Puffs are your new favorite or these little rice cookie things I found. I usually give you a few puffs while I prepare your lunch or dinner. You love them and of course so does Chase. Every time you have them he has to have them too, usually five. "Mommy I want some puffs too. I want five puffs." And he proceeds to count them as he eats them.

 

The other day you had a sweet potato fry and hard boiled egg yolk, boy is egg yolk messy. Let's just say your tray looked yellow instead of the pearly white. But mommy was able to squish it together and help get in your mouth. Next time we will scramble it.

Oh and well, you are not allergic to peanut butter. I told you you were fast and well, your brother was eating his lunch and set his plate on the floor in the living room while we were playing UNO. Before I knew it, you had a piece of his sandwich in your mouth. Yummy. We will wait to try tree nuts. 

Since you are in teething and discovery mode, everything goes straight to your mouth. Did I say everything? Your brother's Thomas UNO cards, a big no, no; puzzle pieces, trains, planes and automobiles, legos (the big ones), blocks, slippers and anything else you find interesting on the floor. Fun. 

You still only have your two bottom teeth, you've had them forever it seems but your top two are coming in. I swear. We've been saying that for months now and we're not crazy...we can now officially see a very, teeny-tiny part of your right front tooth. Yay! Finally! 

 

And mentioning everything in your mouth, you are infatuated with my water bottle. Really since you were about five months old you've loved my water bottle and always rip it out of my hands with such fervor and start sucking away. Yes, you actually drink out of it. You figured it out quickly, I guess since you played with it so often you discovered how to suck out of it. You choked the first time not expecting something to come out of it but since then you're an old pro, even have your own straw sippy cup.

10/27/10

You've been saying da-da for awhile or more like da-da-da-da, even though you have no idea who da-da is, you do say it on command. You also say na-na, da-da and hey, it's not quite "hey" real clear but more like hhheeeeyyy. 

 

You've been sleeping pretty good, you go down between 7:30 and 8 and then wake up again usually around 4:30/5 but since your teeth have been coming in you have been getting up around 10 but then fuss yourself back to sleep. But when you wake up at 3 or 4 or 5, I just come in and feed you. 

I guess this has turned into a Callen all around update since I've been so far behind, but not anymore. You're an amazing little guy and I want to be able to look back and remember these days as they are so fleeting. But a blink of an eye....

Love, 

Mommy

The Ultimate Cup of Hot Chocolate...

What better than a huge cup of delicious homemade hot chocolate after an hours worth of playing in the snow in 10 degree weather. That is exactly what Chase enjoyed today.

My girlfriend made some delicious cocoa and gave it to everyone as little gifts at our gingerbread house party. I still had some left thankfully because I promised Chase some hot chocolate and little did I know we didn't have any until I remembered Jess's. Thanks Jess!

But with it she also made a chocolate covered spoon and then we added little marshmallows and whipped cream. Chase was in hot chocolate heaven. And on top of that, I found these adorable little snowman straws at Walmart after Christmas for only fifty cents for a bag full. 

 

 Excited about his whipped cream

  

Dropping in marshmallows

 

Getting ready to enjoy!

This just says it all.

 He enjoyed his hot chocolate for at least 30 minutes, dropping in marshmallows and some teddy grahams too. The perfect way to end a sledding day.