Roles

It's been a while since I've posted!  Like 5 years!!!  Too many social media outlets are getting more political than I like, so I'm going to try this out for a while again!  I think it's a little more my speed. 

The husband and I took a trip to Washington D.C. and Maryland a few weeks ago and had such a great time.  This was a kid-free trip, which is hard for me because I LOVE being with my kids.  I enjoy talking to them, playing games with them, and like to hear about their day after school.  So many people have warned me about how fast time goes when kids are young that I have tried to make it a point to savor every moment.  So, this little four-day trip was a hard decision for me.  I didn't want to miss out on anything.  I didn't want them to miss me.  But, at every marriage retreat and any marriage-related book that I've ever read, the common theme seems to be that kid-free trips are important for marriage.  So, I went...so our marriage could continue to grow and we could get a taste of what life is like without changing a diaper, getting out of a car without unbuckling a car seat, and eat a meal without chopping up someone's food into bits.  As much as I missed my kids, I enjoyed our little trip.  And I learned a little about me.  It was relaxing and I realized that in order for Mom to stay sane, sometimes she just needs to get away and get refueled to be a better Mom.  So, my new encouragement when I see new moms is to get away once in a while.  Leave the kids with grandma or a babysitter...even if it is just for a few hours.  You'll find out that you are not only a Mom, you are a wife, a daughter, a friend.  We shouldn't let one role define us.  Think about our ultimate role model...God has so many beautiful names throughout the Bible.  Those names define His character.  Blessed Redeemer, Savior, Father, Messiah, Emmanuel.  I could go on for a while.  He doesn't get stuck on one name, one role.  He embraces them all and He desires the same out of us.  Be the best Mom ever, but also be the best of all your roles.  Your kids are watching and they want to be just like you.

Tom the Turtle Activities and Mother’s Day

Conner and I have been working on Tom the Turtle activities all week…and it’s been so much fun!  I think it’s so important for me to help my growing preschooler instead of just relying on others to teach writing,

math,

reading,

and problem solving.

Because, then I get to see the results for myself.  And they are oh so rewarding.

I use Confessions of a Homeschooler A LOT and print off all kinds of pages of activities and Conner and I work on them every week.

We don’t just work all the time, though. For Mother’s Day we got to go fishing!!  Yes, I know….that sounds like such a Father’s Day  thing to do, but we really did have a lot of fun. For some reason, the kids were more interested in the four wheelers than the fish.  *sigh* So much for those great photo moments.

Somehow, my mom ended up cooking on Mother’s Day.  Doesn’t seem very fair, does it?

She did, however, catch the biggest fish, so maybe that made up for it!

…which was almost as big as Gage!

My boys love to fish….for about ten minutes.  The biggest “boy” could fish all day if I’d let him, though!

I’d post a picture of my big catch….if I had caught any.  I told Chris I’d rather be taking pictures and capturing the moments than catching fish that I just throw back into the water.  He’s starting to think I was lying when I told him how much I loved to fish back before we got married!

Tomatoes, Cucumbers and Snapdragons, Oh my!

To save on money, we have started some plants from seeds and we now have little seedlings.  They are so cute!  I feel like I have another baby around.  Feed and water them, make sure they get out in the sun for a while, come in when it gets too cool out.  No diapers to change, though.  That’s the great part!!  Hopefully, my little plants will all make it through this cold weather we have been having and grow to be big strong plants that will feed us all through the winter.  Sweet, little things.

Aren’t they precious? 

Conner and I are so proud.

Raising Boys

What is it that is so funny about the “Banana, Banana” song?  You know the song…Mom, mom, bo, bomb, banana, fana, fo, fom, me, my, mo, mom, MOM.  Well, for little ones under four, it’s the best song in the world.  I think Conner has sang this song to every word under the sun.  Yes, even truck.  Let’s not talk about that.  He was singing one of the renditions the other night when we had the cousins over and they thought it was hilarious!  Every word is funny in that song.  And, I kind of like it for the whole rhyming lesson he’s getting from it.  No complaints here…except when we get to truck.  Yikes.

I have been couponing lately.

It’s becoming an obsession.

Someone help me.  I’m out of control.  But, I’ve started thinking.  If I’m trying so hard to save money with coupons, why not start actually making my own things that would be even cheaper to make than to buy with coupons.  So, I have begun to bake bread with the help from this one..

He’s great help, but he says that the bread that he helps with is better than the bread I make by myself.  And it’s true.  I don’t know what I do wrong.  Or maybe I should be saying, I don’t know what he adds to make it better.  Probably better off not knowing.

I’ve also started my tomato plants from seeds and we water them every day and let the sun shine on them and make sure this one…

doesn’t get into them and eat the dirt.  He’s ornery like that.

 

I’ll update you on the plants as they grow.  If you don’t hear anything for a while or see me in the store buying tomato plants when the time is right, please don’t ask.  You may crush my pride.  Either that or Gage may have dirt stuck in his teeth.  Oh, to raise two boys.  (I secretly love it!)

Cream Cheese Brownies=Yummmmm

Are you ever in a hurry and need something sweet to take to a get together?  That happened to me today.  We have a Scrap ‘n Craft at our church and realized when I got home that I have nothing to take to it!  My go-to dessert is this simple brownie that I usually have all the ingredients for.

Here’s what you need:

1 box of any kind of brownie mix w/ the ingredients to make the brownies

1 8-oz cream cheese, softened

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup sugar

Chocolate chips, optional

Mix the brownie mix as the directions on the box says and pour into a 13x9 baking pan.  Mix the cream cheese, egg and sugar in a separate bowl.  Next, drop the cream cheese mixture on top of the brownies in the pan and create a marble effect with a butter knife.  Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and throw into the oven.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes. 

These are so good and so simple to make!  Now I’m going to get ready for my scrapbook party!!

We Heart Spring

Conner and I have started doing little preschool activities just for fun…and (don’t tell him!!) keep him learning what preschoolers need to learn.  Here are some pictures of a counting exercise we did.  I put a number in the bottom of the cup from one to ten and Conner put little candy hearts (it was near Valentine’s Day) in them, appropriate to the number on the paper.  We’ve been having so much fun doing these little activities together and I love thinking or researching new things for him to do. 

We’ve absolutely loved this spring weather and soak up every moment we can spending time outside.  With the rising food costs, we are planning a pretty large garden, so we have started getting it ready.  We are planning on planting tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, corn, green peppers, potatoes, carrots (just because I think it would be fun for the boys to pull up out of the ground!), cucumbers and little pumpkins (again, for the boys for fun and maybe a little fall decorating!).  We’re also getting our flower garden ready.  The boys are so helpful right now...probably because it’s the beginning of gardening, so pulling the wagon seems new again!  I’ll take what I can get. 

I know, realistically, when it’s time to weed and hoe, all boys (including the hubby) will disappear.  A mother’s work is never done, but they are so worth every single thing I do for them.

The Perfect Day

Everyone has their idea of a perfect day, right? Mine would consist of no housework, lots of yummy cooking, scrapbooking, and playing with my family of boys.

Chris would probably have a day's worth of fishing, hunting, camping, anything outdoors that involves chiggers, mosquitos, and snakes. (yuck)

Gage is still pretty little to determine what his favorites are, but as of right now, his day would be filled with ice cream, food off fo the floor to eat, taking toys away from Conner, and endless snuggles with his favorite people who carry him all day long. Hmm....sounds like Gage gets perfect days every day. Must be nice to be a baby.

But, my Conner boy, he is not the average 3 1/2 year old. His perfect day would be this.... (and he gets to do it only a few times each year)

We wait and wait and wait for that pesky wheat (or soybeans or corn or whatever else is growing at the time) to grow just enough to be ready to cut and then when Grandpa and Uncle Kirby say it's time to combine, we have a party! Conner absolutely loves riding in that combine! (My parents probably wish I would have been like that when I was little when they HAD to take me because they were both in the fields)

"Is Uncle Kirby almost here, Mom?"

Yea! He's here!

1 combine + an Uncle Kirby to drive = one happy boy

By the way, my "yuck" on Chris' perfect day was for the critters, not the day. I don't mind the occassional fishing trip, but the animals that I know have some kind of purpose on this planet just aren't my cup of tea usually.