52 Blessing Project Week 35 ~ our GARDEN

Some people may not know that my husband's degree is actually in horticulture. As a result he really loves to garden. Our little raised garden bed here in Vegas just isn't the garden of his dreams. But regardless of it's small size, Rich has turned our little GARDEN into a family project and the kids love to work with dad in the GARDEN. I love that my kids view the GARDEN as their garden and that any time they see anything GARDEN related they think of their dad.

I also love that we do get some produce out of GARDEN, albeit small amounts. This year we had significant success with our peaches, our tomatoes, our zucchini and our spinach. We tend to experiment to see what will actually grow in this heat and poor soil, so anything we get is viewed as a success! Our GARDEN couldn't sustain us, but it's fun to grow something from seed and then eat it. This week we've gone through four loaves of zucchini bread and I've barely made a dent in our zucchini supply! I'm glad that my kids enjoy the fruits (no pun intended) of their labor.

King Putt Mini Golf

Friday night was our August activity from our Christmas list. It was Cason's choice and he chose Miniature Golf.

It turns out there is only one miniature golf course in Vegas. It's indoor, which is a good thing when it is 108 degrees out, but it's kind of hard to be too creative on an indoor course. The course is called "King Putt" and the claim to "fun" is that it's a black light course with an Egyptian theme. Luckily for us, the level of difficulty was minimal, so it turned out to be perfect for our kids.

The kids showing off their great form.

In truth, the kids seemed to enjoy the decorations as much, if not more, than the actual golfing.

We attempted to keep Jake in the stroller, which is called crowd control in our life right now. It didn't last.

Ty was happy to be with mommy. This photo shows him just prior to him losing his dinner in three forceful waves. Note where he is located and where his projectile dinner is aimed. Needless to say, I bowed out at the 14th hole with sour milk dripping down my body.





And here is my dear husband, who kept track of all three mobile children, kept track of balls for each, kept order as to who's turn it was to go first at each hole, avoided being hit by clubs being swung like baseball bats, avoided being hit by multiple stray balls that were hit like baseballs and who pushed an empty stroller through the entire course.
He is a good man!

Short & Sassy

One week before school began, Kaitlyn told me that she wanted her hair cut.

I was hesitant and made her wait an entire week to make sure she really wanted it, because I didn't want tears!

By the end of the week, she was still adamant, so last Saturday we took her to Great Clips and they cut close to 8 inches! She wanted to go shorter but I insisted that it stay at her shoulders until she got used to it.

Here it is with the flipped ends...

Here it is with it curled under...

Here it is with the ponytails. So glad we can still do ponytails!

I was worried that the shorter hair would require more work because there are less options, but most mornings last week she washed it and let it dry and it was done! Can't ask for better than that.
My hair has never behaved that cooperatively, she must get that from her dad :)

Tagged to Reality

I don't usually answer tags, mainly because I'm not very creative. But since I've been really pushy in getting Mel to create a blog, I ought to support her in her tag effort. I guess this is proof of my friendship....

So the tag is to add some reality to my blog - a list of unglamorous things that represent my life right now so that future generations know that my life is authentic.

Here we go....

1. I haven't lost a single pound since I weighed myself when Ty was 2 weeks old. That's 8 weeks of status quo during swim season!

2. Jake discovered how to climb out of his crib this week, which means we no longer have somewhere safe to contain him. Life as I knew it has ended and my house has taken on a new level of clutter. I can't keep up!

3. I've lost more sleep this week because of item #2 (how do you convince a 20 month old to go back to bed at 5 a.m. when there isn't a crib to contain him?) than what I've lost because of nursing a newborn.

4. I have zero motivation to serve in my new church calling. I'd rather be teaching anything/anyone than planning parties.

5. My laundry has been clean for 3 days and folded for 2 days, yet I can't seem to get around to actually putting it away.

6. I opened Jake's sippy this morning only to find black mold in the valve. It was really gross and it isn't the first time it's happened.

7. I'm getting my haircut tomorrow - my last haircut was in March!

8. I'm getting my eyebrows waxed tomorrow - I don't remember my last eyebrow wax!

9. I really like to have a sugar treat everyday. It may be the cause of #1, but I get ornery when Rich suggests another 30 days/No Sugar. I don't like 30 days/No Sugar honey!

10. It's the first week of school and I haven't made Kaitlyn do any homework yet. I'll be cramming with her on Monday.

11. I hate washing my face at night. I'll be 33 in two weeks and ought to have my skin as a high priority, but something happens at 10 p.m. and I'd just rather go to bed than wash my face and moisturize.

12. In the time it took for me to type this, I could have put my laundry away. In the time it took me to type this Jake has unloaded the toy closet and has eaten some toothpaste (with fluoride).

How did I do Mel?
So here's a shout out to anyone else that wants to keep it real - tag you're it!

Kindergarten Dilemma - what would you do?

Cason just completed his first "week" of kindergarten and he LOVES it. I'm still grasping the fact that he is at school all day long, and not home with me!

So I have to ask for input on a dilemma that Cason brought to me today. He told me that some of the boys in his class say "naughty" words. (Now, I'm weighing in the fact that our list of naughty words is probably lengthier than many families, as there are words that are very common that we don't allow to be said in our home) After telling me that naughty words are being said, he asked me "should I tell the teacher, because the boys said not to tell on them" What a dilemma for my sweet 5 year old boy! I'm so glad that he would come to me to ask me what to do, but I'm torn as to what to tell him.

I don't want to encourage him to tell, creating a reputation as a tattle tale and potentially targeting him to be ridiculed. Kind of the "mind your own business" approach.

But what if the words are really naughty and they should be reported? I don't want to tell him not to tell and teach him that it's okay to keep secrets or okay to say inappropriate words.

What's a mom to do? What's my Cason to do?

Reading, Writing, 'Rithmatic

New (spiderman) backpack - check

Uniform washed and pressed - check

Lunch packed with all the corners torn off so Cason can open them by himself - check

Given a father's blessing by dad - check

Discussed that it's okay to be excited and nervous at the same time - check

Mrs. Hepworth for Kindergarten - check

Mom & Dad ready to send Cason to school - still working on it

New (American Princess) backpack, bought with Kaitlyn's own money - check

Uniform washed and pressed - check

Lunch packed with the corners intack because Kaitlyn is big - check

Given a father's blessing by dad - check

Discussed that her role at school is Cason's friend and helper, not his mother - check

Mrs. Harmon for 2nd Grade - check

Kaitlyn ready to return to school - check

Never Say Never

"I would NEVER let my child play in public in nothing but their diaper!"

I've come to believe that the word NEVER is only used by non-parents or brand new parents that have yet to be placed in the very situation that they are speaking of.

My guess is that most "never" statements are taken back out of absolute desperation or when the result would be a thoroughly happy child.

It took me three children to take back my "never" statement...

It was done in desperation - his shorts, once wet, would not stay up

and it did result in absolute joy for Jake!

(Friday August 22nd 2008 - Town Square Water Fountains)

52 Blessing Project Week 34 ~ MDA

I was just asked this past week to donate money to the MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION as part of their upcoming Labor Day telethon. I gladly obliged with $25, wishing it could have been more. Later in the week I took the kids to the playground at Town Square and saw fireman carrying their boots around, doing the "fill the boot" campaign for MDA. It took me back a few year and just made me smile!

Maybe you think it's weird that I express gratitude for the MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION, but I consider MDA as one of the things in my life that shaped who I am. When I was 12 years old I was introduced to the MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY ASSOCIATION by my dear friend, Melanie, serving as a counselor at a one week summer camp for kids with MD. After that first week I was hooked. I served for the next 9 summers, as camp counselor, as camp group leader and as camp nurse. Between summer camps I volunteered at the Labor Day telethon, at roundball ruckus basketball competitions, you name it.

For those of you who don’t know much about MD, it is a disease that affects the muscles of it’s victims. The muscles atrophy and the effects can be mild or quite severe. Our camp in SLC generally hosted around 100 to 120 kids between the ages of 6 and 21. Each kid was paired up with a camp buddy to be their friend and to help them with their needs based on their disease process. The first day of camp was always very apprehensive as “normal” kids were paired up with their “campers”. After the initial pairing up we would have lunch and you would watch some kids eat with great difficulty. Sometime unsightly enough to make it difficult to eat your own meal and you would see a lot of the volunteers react to this with great fear on their faces. Fast forward to the end of the week, when we would be at the last meal and not a single head would turn in disgust. After a week of serving these campers by being their hands, their feet, etc, the volunteers had lost sight of what was on the outside and learned to love what was on the inside. That last night of camp would bring even the biggest toughest volunteer to tears at the thought of having to leave their camper and to reenter the world that was so focused on the things that didn’t matter. Summer Camp changed people. It changed me.

There is something about serving in an organization like MDA. I wasn't behind the scenes with MD simply being a disease on paper. I was working hands on with children who were fun, happy, silly, and wonderful and who just happen to have MD, though you would forget that fact as the week went on. I guess when you spend a week that close to these kids, you quickly realize that these are kids and they aren't the disease. You learn to love them more deeply in that one week than you can imagine.

It is no wonder that Jesus taught service as a means of increasing love for one another. When you serve somebody so completely, your heart opens and you love them more than you realized was possible. Now that I'm a mother, I recognize that same kind of love/service relationship with new babies. I am glad that I learned that lesson at such a young age, and that I learned it by serving others. I am grateful for my time volunteering for MDA!

Two months old...

Our Tyler is two months old today.

You've heard it all before...

"I can't believe he is already two months"

"it's going so fast"

"it seems like only yesterday he was born"

It's all true. And this mommy is wishing she knew how to keep him my baby forever.

Unfortunately he is already resisting staying a baby by making huge milestones this past month.

He started smiling and now smiles for everyone. He will stop nursing multiple times at a feeding just to pull off and give me a grin. I love it!

He is rolling over from tummy to back almost the minute you try to put him on his tummy. I can't imagine he is rolling from back to tummy, but he did get placed on his back for his nap this morning and when I went to check on him he was on his tummy...

He is sleeping like an angel. Still sleeping most of the day. Going to sleep on his own without a pacifier. And sleeping for a 7 hour stretch at night.

You can see why I'd keep him little forever. There is no need to rush a baby so precious!

I love you Ty!

and the plot thickens....

I posted last week one of Cason's thoughts about Superheroes.

Here is tonight’s addition to the superhero plot.

Cason said to me (very seriously) "mom, to be a superhero you need to be SUPER fast, SUPER strong and have a SUPER suit."

He paused and then added, "and you need a cool car and a way for people to tell you if there is trouble."

That makes sense.

What got my heartstrings, however, is that a few minutes later he told me, "mom, I know I told you there are no real superheroes but I need to be a superhero because if Jesus ever decides to give Satan a body, someone will need to “defeat” him."

Oh, my sweet boy! You are already a superhero to me!

Dream or Reality?

I had a dream last night that Jake had broken his arm.

It was very vivid and I immediately recalled it when I woke up this morning.

I'm just wondering if maybe it was a premonition of things to come.....

This is what my monkey did this morning while I was on the phone with the insurance company (seems somewhat appropriate huh?)

What is it about little boys having such an aversion to gravity?

It's the nurse in me...

I was just reminded of a funny from a couple of months back.

Kaitlyn was working on her workbook and was asking questions occasionally - I was answering them, but I was a bit distracted (that's my alibi).

At one point Kaitlyn asked "what's a colon"

My answer began to include words such as "large intestine" "rectum" and "poop", which is when Rich jumped in, glancing at Kaitlyn's workbook as he did.

His answer.... "it's two dots, one on top of another"

Oh, you mean that kind of colon?

No more tummy time....

Ten days ago I had Ty on his tummy and turned my back for just a moment, only to turn around to find him on his back. I couldn't imagine that he was already rolling over at 6 weeks and so I assumed he'd just lost his balance and the rolling was a fluke.

Obviously I was wrong. Last night I had him on his tummy (okay, I admit I have not been consistent with Ty and tummy time!) and he rolled over again. And then again. And then again. To the left, to the right.

After about a dozen rolls, I was convinced that it might not just be him losing his balance. He really has figured out how to roll and there is no more keeping him on his tummy. Which is probably okay since the tummy time is nearly nonexistent (sorry Marilyn!)

My only questions - Isn't he still too young for this milestone?

* Note the extreme speed at which he rolls :)

* Just kidding, I just couldn't get my video to upload and the still shots don't really catch the moment. So this, otherwise deleted, photo made me laugh since it caught the "action".