camping out

Mark and Caleb had a guys' night out last night.  Mark took Caleb to a local baseball game, and then they camped out in our tent in the backyard.  Caleb has been so excited he can barely stand it.  They had quite a successful evening.  Caleb asked to play baseball outside with Daddy this morning.  So, they are out taking down the tent, and then they will play baseball for a little while.  I'm so glad Mark wants to do special things like this with the boys.  I'm so thankful for him.
Meanwhile, Micah and I had a night in.  I thought it would be low-key, but Micah tried getting into everything about 500 times and was very naughty.  Oh well.  I had a little me-time when he went to bed and that was really nice.
So, here we are on a Saturday morning trying to figure out what to do with the day.  I'm looking forward to a girls' cooking night at the lovely Jenelle's house tonight.  I suppose I should go round up some ingredients for a peach galette.  Is it wrong to bake something when I'm not sure how to pronounce it?  I hope not.  Anyway, that's all for now.  Thanks for reading!

letting go

I took Caleb to a friend's birthday party this morning and had the hardest time leaving him there.  Don't get me wrong - the birthday boy's parents are wonderful and just about as conservative as I am:)  Oh, and did I mention that they live next door?  I just have such a hard time letting other people watch my kids, even people I trust.  He is my precious gift from God, and I treasure every day with him.  I hate that he is growing up.  What I am going to do when kindergarten rolls around?  It's enough to make me want to homeschool him just to keep him home with me.  I am struggling right now with my parenting skills and feeling inadequate anyway.  I just keep worrying about him and the future. 
Anyway, these are probably the rantings of a crazy woman.  I'm sure he's fine.  At least if I want to check up on him, I can just peek out the window...

Caleb's birthday

A couple weeks ago, we celebrated Caleb's birthday.  He wanted a Cars theme, so he got a cake with a racetrack on it and some Cars themed games.  The party went pretty well, considering they had been predicting rain and our house is under 1,000 sq. feet.  It was a beautiful, sunshine-y day.  Here are a few photos:  (Yes, that is Caleb in his Buzz Lightyear costume)

Happy Birthday to my sweet little guy!  He's a big 5-year-old now!

greatly amused

It's time for yet another peek into what I am thinking today.  I am greatly amused by several things at the moment.  Here are a few:

• Caleb just asked me if he could watch The Backyardigans:  Mission to "Menards"  (It's really Mission to Mars)
• I went to a playdate this morning where Micah sat down in a drawer of Legos and played.
• At this very playdate, a friend shared an amusing anecdote about a squirrel.
• Caleb keeps telling me that with each birthday celebration he has, he turns a year older.  He'll be 10 instead of 5 within a few days.

I guess you could say that right now I love my life, and with two little boys, it will probably only get more amusing by the minute.

what's new?

I can't quite get the hang of this whole blog thing.  I think about posting often, but I feel bad not always having pictures to go with my posts.  Oh well.  Today I'll just share what's on my mind (again).

My baby, Micah, has a double ear infection.  He was crabby and feverish all of last week, and this week he is just crabby - and clingy.  I'm trying to enjoy snuggling with him, but this also means I get nothing done around the house.  There are dirty dishes in the sink, and a floor that needs to be mopped, AND a bathroom that desperately needs cleaning. 

Caleb has been a joy lately.  He has been saying the funniest things (for example, "Mom, are spiders afraid of lava?").  Plus, we have gotten lots of positive feedback from his teachers at school.  Recently, he was very kind and helpful to a new student at school.  At home, he has been really helpful with his baby brother.  He is such a blessing.

Mark and I are going to celebrate our eighth anniversary next week.  Wow!  Eight years?!  I can't believe it's been this long.  I love when landmarks roll around and I just sit back and take stock of my life and my many blessings.  For the most part, I am exactly where I thought I would be at this point in my life.  That's a pretty good feeling.

All this to say I am definitely counting my blessings today.

contemplating

And what am I contemplating, you ask?  Well, I think in lists, so here's one of what's currently going through my brain:

• I'm so thankful that Micah took a nap, even after falling asleep in the car this morning.  He just woke up, and he sounds really happy.
• Caleb is enjoying playing a Winnie the Pooh game.  I love Winnie the Pooh.  He is so sweet.
• I'm catching up on FB and e-mail.  I'm trying to think of a cool status for my FB account, but nothing is coming to me.
• We went to a nice playdate this morning, and the boys were really well behaved.  Yay!
• I'm contemplating coming up with a list of 31 things I want to accomplish in my 31st year.  I have until December to come up with a list and cross things off of it.
• I'm really buckling down and thinking of ways to save money.  Mark's salary is going to get cut, and it won't be pretty.  I hate going back to having little to no money.
• Okay.  I have left the baby long enough.  Time for me to go get him.  I wonder if I could fit in some scrapbooking today?

Thanks for reading!

celebrating

My sweet little Micah turned one last week!  I wanted to share a few pics from the party.  The day before, he was really congested and not feeling well, but on the day of his actual birthday and his party, he felt much better.  He didn't feel well enough to smile, however.  I did not get a single picture of him smiling, nor did I get many scrapbook-worthy shots.  In fact, I haven't printed out any pictures because I'm not really sure what to put in the album.  Oh well, I'll make it work.  Here they are:

And yes, that is as messy as he got, folks.  I don't know why my boys are so neat, but they are.  He only ended up with a tiny smudge of cake on his cheek (not very entertaining, I know). 
So, Micah is officially one, and we had lots of fun celebrating!

making a list, checking it twice

I have about 5 minutes until I have to pick up Caleb from school, and Micah is starting to fuss about being in his Exersaucer.  Here is what's on my mind today:
1.  Micah is super-crabby.  He already took a nap on me and doesn't want me to put him down.
2.  Caleb has been throwing tantrums over silly things lately.
3.  I may or may not have to scrapbook during their nap/quiet time.
4.  I started out great with my eating today, then found a whole bunch of peppermint patties.
5.  This is going to be a loooong day with Mark at school until the boys' bedtime.
6.  I really want to scrap my schedule for the day and go to Archiver's.
7.  Haha...get it...SCRAP my schedule
8.  5 minutes is up - time to go get Caleb!

cardmaking

I had some fun making cards last night.  Usually "fun" and "cards" don't end up in the same sentence.  Cards are a constant source of frustration for me - they never turn out just right.  This time, however, I used one of Basic Grey's card kits.  I would totally do this again.  I found the Nook & Pantry card kit at Big Lots for $5!!  Needless to say, I was thrilled!  I came home and promptly made all 8 cards.  Here's how they turned out:

Thanks for stopping by!

enjoying bits of randomness

Here is what we've been up to lately:

Caleb is loving his new Toy Story flashlight that he got for Christmas.  Unfortunately, C has a history of breaking flashlights, and this one was no exception.  Thankfully, Daddy fixed it:)

C has a lunchbox full of "treasures" that he wants to take with him everywhere.  They include:  Lightning McQueen, play food, a Lego Hero character, and a Buzz Lightyear car.

We are counting down the days until Micah's first birthday.  I can't believe my baby will be one!  We managed to make it through baby's first year unscathed!

M's favorite thing to do right now is eat his socks.  I know I'm not supposed to let him, but it's so cute!

The other day, Micah somehow crawled into the toy basket and got stuck!  I thought it was hilarious, so I snapped a picture.

As I type this, I'm battling with C over when he can come out of his room from his afternoon playtime.  He keeps setting his clock ahead and telling me it's time to come out.  Hmmm...
Well, I only have 15 precious minutes left of alone time.  Time to go enjoy the rest of it!

in search of the perfect snowman

Oh my goodness.  I haven't made a snowman in probably 20 years, and I forgot how hard it is!  We were stir-crazy this afternoon, so Caleb and I went outside to play.  I pulled him around on the sled, and then we tried to make a snowman.  It was pathetic!  I thought if I just made a snowball and rolled it around the yard, it would grow by enormous proportions.  Ha!  I rolled that thing around for at least 10 minutes and it didn't grow at all.  And, of course, Caleb wasn't really helping much.  He didn't have a very long attention span when it came to rolling snowballs.  We finally gave up and used what we had to make a very short, squatty little snowman with a celery stalk for a nose.  It was not even 3 feet tall!  It was the saddest little snowman I have ever seen.  Oh well.  It was (kind of) a fun way to spend an afternoon with my boy.  So, if you drive by our house, slow down and pull out your binoculars, and you might see the little snowman by our front steps:)

scrapbooking 'til the cows come home

2011 has not been here very long, and I have already done way too many pages.  I am definitely learning how to do them faster with two children underfoot.  I thought I would post a few.  I had lots of fun doing these. 

reflecting on 2010

Reading everyone's blog posts about 2010 has got me thinking.  What were the highlights of my year?  Well, we had one major highlight this year.  We had our second baby boy in February!  I would have to say meeting him and introducing him to his big brother were two highlights of my year. 

Last year at this time, I was big and pregnant and thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?  I can't handle two kids!  What am I going to do?"  Well, Micah turned out to be the most content baby ever, which made my life a lot easier!  (except for the whole napping thing - we haven't quite got that down yet) 
More recently, I have loved watching them play together.  I didn't expect them to play together quite so soon, so this has been a pleasant surprise for me.  They share toys and laugh hysterically at each other.
I suppose the highlight of any year, though, is being married to Mark.  He is a wonderful guy (not just because he takes care of the kids in the early morning), and I'm blessed to be married to him.  I am looking forward to starting 2011 with my three wonderful guys.  Happy New Year!