Kid Art

I love kid art.  It's so colorful and honest.  The process is always more important than the outcome and they feel a sense of accomplishment when their works of art are finished. 

My daughter said this was a picture of me taking her and her brother to play at the mall play area on a rainy day.

My son drew the picture below on our marker board.  He is very much into Earth science and space so his drawings tend to be related to whatever he's obsessing about at the time.  Right now, he's into extreme weather.  This is his drawing of a hurricane.  He said the dot in the center was the eye of the hurricane.

Playdough and clay gives me at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted time!  On this particular day, the kids created quietly for an hour - a whole hour!!

My daughter created an Egyptian scence (see the three sarcophagai? she said the mummies were in there)...

While my son created a medieval knight scene.

My son sometimes gets frustrated if he cannot draw something he has in mind.  That's when sister comes to the rescue and draws for him.  In this picture, people are running away from the large tornado.  If you look closely, 'The Dominator' from Discovery Channel's "Storm Chasers" is following the tornado:

 

 What sort of things do your children like to create?

Raising a Vegetarian - Vitamins & Supplements

To a carnivore like myself, the thought of raising a vegetarian child seemed completely absurd.  I love nothing more than a fat steak, cooked medium-rare to perfection.  However, God gave me a son who would not touch chicken to save his life.  I used to get really out-of-sorts about my sons eating habits.  But after doing some research and learning about the nutritional needs of children, I'm over it.  It's still amusing to see the look of shock on the faces of friends and family when they learn about what my son will not eat.  My goal here is to provide some encouragement to other moms of picky eaters.  It's not the end of the world if your child doesn't eat like other children - it just means you have to be creative :o)

Even though I'm 'over it', like I said before, it is still my job as his mom to make sure my child gets the nutrients he needs.  The first thing I did was figure out what healthy foods my son DOES like.  Next, I looked at what was missing so I could fill in the nutritional gaps.  Surprisingly enough, my son is getting all the daily protein he needs from milk, nuts, yogurt and pudding (click here to find out how much protein children need at different ages).  However, I noticed that he is still lacking variety in fruits and vegetables.  Here's where I had to get creative and have him try new things.  Our two lifesavers are V8 Fusion juice and organic fruit strips (Archer Farms brand from Target).  To my surprise, he has developed a love for pancakes.  It's an added plus that he loves my pumpkin pancakes - he's getting lots of good nutrients from the pumpkin puree.

If you like to cook, I recommend Jessica Seinfeld's book, "Deceptively Delicious".  My daughter had no idea that there were beans and squash in her cheese quesadillas!

Since I don't want my son to lack key vitamins and nutrients, I decided to give him supplements (I give them to my daughter, as well).  I realize that naturalists prefer that people get their nutrients from actual food.  When my son decides to eat a larger variety of foods, I'll cut back on the supplements.  But for now, I just want to get those nutrients in his growing body!  And, there are lots of organic choices out there for those wanting to be as natural and chemical-free as possible.

Here are some of the supplements that we use - and they have been taste-approved by both of my kids!

Lil' Critters Omega-3 Gummy Fish

Hero Nutritional's Yummi Bears Gummy Vitamins - Wholefood Fruits & Veggies

Surprisingly, I chose the Great Value (generic) brand children's multi-vitamin from Wal-Mart.  It was the only kid's multi-vitamin there that had all of the key vitamins & minerals I was looking for: B12, Iron (many vegetarians run the risk of having an iron deficiency), Magnesium and Zinc (interestingly enough, a lack of magnesium and zinc can cause a child to have ADHD symptoms - read more here). 

Even though my son's palate has not expanded much over the past year, I feel that he is making progress.  Over the past month since he has turned 4, I've noticed that he eats a great volume than he did before.  Meal times have not been as much of a battle and often he has finished his plate without me having to constantly remind him to keep eating.  He likes his vitamins and looks forward to taking them and I've noticed a positive difference in his behavior (which could also be due to better sleeping habits).

I welcome your thoughts, encouragement and advice.

Here are some articles that I found helpful:
Vegetarian Diets for Children
The Vegetarian Site
Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine

Sleep

There are moms who schedule every moment of their child's day and then there are moms who have never even heard of a schedule.  Not wanting to be identified with either extreme, I've mostly floated somewhere in between the two.  However, I've noticed that the old saying is true: if you aim at nothing you'll hit it every time.  That is true for most everything in life.  And it's proven true in the matter of sleep for my children.

I've been blessed with a daughter who sleeps pretty well.  She doesn't fight us much when bedtime rolls around and she falls asleep quickly after we leave her room.  Even though she is nearly 7 years old, she will occasionally take a nap - and sometimes it's her idea! 

This is not the case with my son.  He has a very hard time settling down, falling asleep and staying asleep.  I try to get the kids in bed by 8 or 8:30 every night.  Some days they go down early and some days they may be up as late as 9:30.  But one thing stays the same: my son does not want to go to sleep and will continually come out of his room until 10 or 11 at night.  Something has to change.  And last night I spent a considerable amount of time researching sleep in children and my suspicions were confirmed.  My child needs much more sleep than he is getting and it is my job to make the necessary changes.

How much sleep does a four year old need?  Answer is about 12.5 hours, according to the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child" by Marc Weissbluth.  I read as much of the preview as I could on Amazon and found the information so helpful that I've decided to order a copy of the book for myself.  How much sleep is my child getting?  About 10 hours.  So what, it's only 2.5 difference hours, right?  Well, apparently that's enough to really exhaust a child.  My child is pretty energetic and you would not view him as being exhausted if you met him.  However, the moment he gets in the car he's out like a light - that's my first clue.  Second clue is that he especially gets wound up right before bedtime, which is another sign that your child is fatigued (strange, I know).

So what do we do?  My book isn't in yet so I'm not sure what Dr. Marc Weissbluth suggests.  But for now, I have a plan of action that includes an earlier nighttime routine and naps will again be a part of his daily routine.  From what little bit I read, naps can be crucial for helping your child get the hours of sleep he needs in a day.  I've been slack in regards to naps and now I feel I need to enforce them again - my husband agrees on this, too, especially after seeing our son crash in the car on the way to the gym in the evenings (see image above).  I must admit that I'm kind of misleading when I say my son has a nighttime routine...it's more like a chaotic "OK, kids, let's hurry up and brush teeth and get in the bed!"  And then I slather him with lavender lotion hoping it'll magically make him fall asleep.

I'd like our evening routine to look like this:

Dinner

Bath

Pajamas

Storytime

Prayers

Goodnight - no later than 8:00 PM

And then he stays in bed.  All night.  Until 7:30 AM.  Then nap time begins right after lunch.  Repeat cycle.

Another change is no more TV before bedtime.  A study titled "Television-viewing Habits and Sleep Disturbance in School Children" from the Official Journal of The Academy of Pediatrics website offers enough evidence to turn off the boob tube before bedtime (click here to read it in full).  The results of the study state:

"The television-viewing habits associated most significantly with sleep disturbance were increased daily television viewing amounts and increased television viewing at bedtime, especially in the context of having a television set in the child's bedroom. The sleep domains that appeared to be affected most consistently by television were bedtime resistance, sleep onset delay, and anxiety around sleep, followed by shortened sleep duration. The parent's threshold for defining "problem sleep behavior" in their child was also important in determining the significance of the association between sleep disturbance and television-viewing habits."

We'll still have family movie nights every now and then.  I think the key is to not have the TV on right before bedtime every night.

I'm going to try it and see what happens.  Our pediatrician may have some tips for me as well so I plan on discussing the issue with her, too, at his well check-up.

Another key issue is consistency.  I realize that there may be times when we're out late or out-of-town and this routine cannot occur.  However, I'm going to do my best to make this routine happen even when it does come time for us to go on vacation or when my kids sleep over at my parents house.  This sleep issue is super important to us so I know we'll have plenty of support when those times roll around.

I'll check in on this issue after a few weeks and will update any progress/failure that we experience.  I'm also anxious to get my "Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child" book in the mail.  You can check it out for yourself here.  

Sweet dreams :o)

Operation Buddy

This year, we went to Georgia to visit my husband's parents for our family vacation.  We all had a great visit and were fortunate to do some really fun things: swimming, Aviation Museum, World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium. We all loved spending time with Mimi and Poppy and we were sad to leave when it was time to go home.

The only unfortunate part of our trip was the constant fits from our 3 year old.  Our son can be extremely pleasant, sweet and affection one minute and then the next minute his world is falling apart because he didn't get his way.  This Jekyll/Hyde behavior was even worse while we were away - I'm sure that part of that was due to not being on his normal eating and sleeping schedule, but the reasons didn't lesson the stress of it all.  We were both at our wits end and knew that something needed to change. 

So, my husband and I put our heads together to come up with some sort of plan to help our little guy.  Here are some areas that we felt we needed to work on for our kids:

#1 - Diet

While we were driving, we happened to be listening to the John Tesh radio show.  He had a segment about how certain foods affect your mood.  He called them 'bad mood foods' and our son had been eating nothing but the whole week (chips, cookies, soda, crackers, more chips...).  I had asked God for help and seems as if John Tesh was part of that answer (who would have thought?!).

 

I did some online research and found all sorts of articles about how foods affect your mood.

"Bodies are like chemistry sets, she says. Everything you put in your body has a chemical effect, which is why food can affect your mood. It gets broken down into elements that can raise your blood sugar or drop it rapidly.", says Tatiana Morales from CBSnews.com.  So what are the bad mood foods to avoid?

(from MSN)

Feel-Bad Food Categories:

• Alcohol
• Caffeine (large doses)
• Fried Foods
• Fatty Meats
• Fatty Snack Foods
• Refined Sugars and Starches (most often in packaged foods)

Obviously, we're not feeding our son alcohol, however, most of his diet while we were on vacation had been from the other categories (except meat since he is a self-proclaimed vegetarian).  French fries, chips, cookies, candy, soda - yep, all stuff that can contribute to having a bad mood.  I realize that as his mom, I'm to blame.  I simply didn't want to battle him over food while we were on vacation.  It was easier to just give him the fries.  Here's my little guy standing by what he loves the most: chocolate bars.

So what foods should a person eat to improve his/her mood?  Not surprisingly, it's the same healthy foods that we should all be eating each day:

(from CBS)

Mood Supporters

• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Swimming fish
• Nuts
• Beans
• Non-fat dairy products
• Egg whites
• Whole grains

I mentioned that my son is an extremely picky eater so we have had to get creative (he eats no meat, no vegetables and the only fruit he'll eat is an apple).  Here is his typical daily menu:

Breakfast: 

whole grain cereal (low-sugar), milk (or chocolate milk, made with low-sugar chocolate syrup)

Lunch: 

apple slices w/ peanut butter, granola bar, cashews and V8 Fusion juice (one cup provides a full serving of fruits and veggies)

Snacks: 

goldfish, organic fruit strip (made with 100% real fruit), popcorn (no butter, very little salt), my homemade healthy chocolate chip cookies (recipe to follow in another post...), almonds or Harvest Cheddar Sunchips (a whole grain alternative to his favorite, Dorritos)

Dinner:

apple sauce, yogurt, whole grain graham crackers and milk

His menu doesn't sound like much, but it's the only healthy food that I can get him to eat.  He takes a daily multi-vitamin to help make up for what he's not getting in his diet.  His daily protein intake comes from milk and nuts.  We do allow for an occasional treat (every kid needs a treat now and then!), but it's not a part of our daily intake.  The pediatrician says that he's getting his nutrients so I won't start worrying until she does.  So far, I have to say he's doing well on his diet and the fits have been fewer and far between.  It seems to be working.

Wanna read more?  Click the links:

When Foods Make You Feel Bad

Food and Your Mood

#2 - Sleep Schedule

Luckily, my son is a great sleeper.  However, road trips and long summer days put us all off of our normal sleep schedules.  My kids get super grumpy when they are tired so we still have 'rest time' during the day.  I call it rest time for my daughter's sake - she's six years old and does not always require a nap, however, I do believe it's important for her to have some downtime during the day (I'll be honest here and let you know that the downtime is just as much for me as it is for them!).  I give her the option of playing quietly/reading books or sleeping.  More often than not, she chooses to nap. 

My son doesn't get a choice.  He must nap.  In fact, I make sure he does because if he doesn't, then he's a real pill come dinner time.  So, Buddy gets a nap each day and both kids are in bed by 8:30 (maybe a bit later on weekends).  Once they're down, they'll sleep for 10 to 12 hours.

#3 - Physical Activity

Too much TV and inactivity can often be a trigger for having a bad mood so we're limiting the boob tube and increasing activity.  I'm not making the kids run laps or anything, but they are naturally more active (and creative) when the TV is off.  To get more activity during the day, we take them to the Y, the park or the pool - or simply tell them to go play in the backyard.  More activity means a better appetite for eating the right foods and being more tired at bedtime - plus, the endorphins help, too.  

This fall, Ella will be taking ballet and Christian will either take karate or soccer.  I think they'll benefit from the physical activity, the social aspects and from the discipline of learning a new skill.

#4 - Less Whining, More Talking

Three year olds have it pretty hard at times.  They feel strong emotions, yet they do not know how to express their feelings in an acceptable way.  Often, sadness, frustration, exhaustion, anger, etc. come across the same way: whining, crying or screaming.  How can he know how to properly respond to his feelings if we do not teach him?  Both my husband and I agree that it's important for us to stay calm during his fits...this does not always happen, but it's something we're aiming for.  We have to model the right behavior before we can teach it.  Here's me having a bad day and modeling the incorrect behavior:

"You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." - Matthew 7:5 (the Bible)

My mom gave me some advice that a child psychologist gave her years ago when she was struggling with how to deal with my younger brother.  When the child throws a fit or yells about something, first get him to calm down.  Then, ask him to tell you with his words what the problem is.  State that you understand his problem, however, also tell him that it is not okay to scream, etc.  Then, tell him what the appropriate response should be and have him do it.  

For example: 

"It's okay to be disappointed when you do not get your way, however, we do not throw a fit when Mommy says it's time to pick up.  Instead, you need to say, 'Yes, Ma'am.'  and calmly pick up your toys.  Can you say that?"  

- or -

"I see that you want more goldfish.  However, you will not get your way by screaming.  Say, 'Mommy, may I have more goldfish please?'"

It seems very 'psychology class' to me, however, it's the only thing that helps (plus, it's much better than me constantly getting on to him).  The key is for me to stay calm and getting him to calm down so that he can express his feelings/desires/etc. in words.  Sometimes, I may still have to say 'no' when he asks me politely.  When that happens, I need to help him deal with the emotions that follow.  After all, the Bible says to "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." -Proverbs 22:6.  

 

In the picture above, my little guy decided he wanted to play board games while I was in the shower :o)  I asked him to pick one game to keep out and play and had him help me clean up the rest.

#5 - Structured activities

Sometimes irritability can stem from boredom.  Kids get bored and when they do, whining and irritability are sure to follow.  How do we fight this?  Not by scheduling every second of the day or by cramming in loads of activity.  Sometimes this is achieved by simply suggesting that the child play with playdough or helping the child set up his train set.  I try to always have a couple of activities in the back of my mind for when the kids start to look bored or for when they're engaging in sibling rivalry.  Lacing beads are always a favorite.

#6 - Routine

Kids thrive in having a regular routine and you as a parent do not structure a routine, they will do it for you - and most likely, you will not be thrilled with the results.   

Just think of the mom who let's her kid eat whenever he wants and go to sleep whenever he wants.  She's exhausted from bowing down to the constant demands of her child and from staying up late each night because "Johnny simply will not go to bed."  I'd like to remind that mom of who the parent is.  It's her, not the child.  The adult in the relationship is the one who is qualified to make the best decisions for the child.  If the adult knows that her child needs sleep, then she should put the child to bed with no if's, and's or but's.  If the adult knows that too many pieces of candy will hype the child up with too much sugar and not provide the nutrition that he needs, then she needs to have the fortitude to say 'no' and offer a healthy (but tasty) alternative.  Sometimes doing what is best for the child isn't always the easiest.

I'm not a stickler for keeping a tight schedule.  I simply cannot work that way.  On the other hand, I cannot stand not having any type of structure or schedule at all.  I like to call my style "structured flexibility" because I like to have a bit of wiggle room to be spontaneous.  The kids and I do have a daily routine, or rhythm, so to speak.  This helps them know what to expect each day.  Rest time is not a shock because it's something that is a part of their norm.  They know when we eat our meals and they know when it's time to ask for a snack.  My daughter LOVES to plan and must know our schedule each day.  Every night she asks what we are doing tomorrow.  She can't stand for me to tell her "I don't know".  I think she actually feels a sense of control when she knows to what to expect next. 

My son responds well to this, too.  I can usually anticipate when he'll be upset about certain situations before they arrive (such as bedtime or having to leave the park to go home).  However, if I tell him ahead of time what is going to happen, it seems to lesson the blow.  I'll give him a 5 minute warning before leaving the park or tell him early in the day that we'll have to go to the grocery store later.  He's much more willing to accept those things  when he's been given notification ahead of time.

So, is this stuff working?

We're on week 2 of Operation Buddy and so far, so good.  I'd be a liar if I told you that my son has been absolutely perfect, but I can truthfully say that I am seeing some positive results.  There may be light at the end of this 3 year old tunnel after all!  With prayer, patience, perseverance, and love, we're definitely taking steps in a positive direction.  Parenthood is definitely an adventure, but it's one worth taking :o)

I leave you with these words of encouragement:

"As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the LORD finally brought about. The LORD is full of compassion and mercy." -James 5:11

"Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." -James 1:4

"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." 

-Romans 5:2-5

God is so good!

Nake-Up Over

Ella's #1 Mother/Daughter activity is having a 'nake-up over' (a makeover).  This usually takes place after Christian has been put down for a nap.  I am always the one getting made over.  She paints my nails, puts make-up on my face, fixes my hair and dresses me up with fancy accessories.  It's so cute to hear the things she says while she "makes me beautiful like a princess".  She'll sometimes reference the Bumpits infomercial: "You just brush your hair and insert Bumpits."  When I'm all made-up, we finish our girlie time with either a tea party or a show featuring Ella's ballet moves.

I love my girlie :o)

My Little Girl Is:

 a PRINCESS, painting a picture, DRAWING FOR ME, playing with dolls, DRESING BARBIE for the ball, hugging brother, READING A STORY, playing tickle-monster with DADDY, planning her day, PLANNING MY DAY, figuring out how to get her way, EATING CHOCOLATE, chewing gum, saying PRAYERS when nighttime comes, ALWAYS SMILING, says she wants to be like me, FAIRY TALES, cherry chapstick smells, FASHIONISTA, make-overs, TELLING ME each day that

"TODAY IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

My Little Boy Is:

 ROARING dinosaur bones, BUZZ LIGHTYEAR, super heroes running fast, MR. INCREDIBLE!!!, pushing buttons, putting DVD's in the CD player, OBSESSED with Wii remotes,  CHOCOLATE PUDDING on the nose, paint on the walls, EATING ERASERS, using spatulas as a sword, BIG BEAR HUGS, giving sister sweet kisses when she's hurt, SHARK PAJAMAS ROAR!!, reading books in the crib, SCREAMING FITS when he doesn't get his way, cries at bedtime, makes me FORGET what I was going to to next, makes me FORGET the screaming fits when he hugs me and says, "Wuv You Mommy!"

Sweet boy!

My Little Girl Is: to follow....:o)

A Day in the Life

I'm so thankful that I'm able to be home with my kids - I'd miss out on moments such as these if I were still in Cubicle World:


Ella and I played with play dough the other day and I was impressed with how well her sculpting skills have developed.


This is the little girl that she made. She made it all by herself with no help from me.



"Ella, have you seen Buddy?" "No, Mommy." "Buddy! Where are you?" **silence** Then, suddenly, "Mommy! I here!" And there he is in my linen closet.


Ella has a new technique that she uses with sidewalk chalk. She calls it "smearing". "You gotta smear it like this, Mommy." She likes the way the colors blend.


After dumping the toys out of their containers, Buddy discovered that he could fit where the containers go.


Big Stuff follows us around all day wondering what we're up to. He's a good sport with the kids. Ella likes to dress him and Christian likes to climb on him. I'm glad that they include him more in their play, although, Big Stuff doesn't quite know what to think about it. He always looks at me as if to say, "Is it okay?".


Wanna know what the newest thing is in our household? It's "GARBUNZO!!!" We don't know what it means, either. All we know is that Christian started yelling it one day and it's hilarious. The picture above shows what he looks like when he yells it.


It was a lively dinner, to say the least. See their cool solar system place mats? I bought them for $1.00 each at Wal-Mart. The kids love them. Christian has even learned the names of all the planets and can recognize them by sight.

I'd better go to bed so I can be ready for another full and never-boring day with my little people.

Ella on Marraige:

Ella: "When I get married, I will cut hair and my husband is going to cut down trees." (I think she was trying to say that he would be a lumberjack...)

Me: "Will he be a man who loves Jesus?"

Ella: "Yes."

Me: "Will he be a kind man? Will you find a man who is nice to you?"

Ella: "Yes. And he will live in my world and follow all my rules!"

Lil Miss Thang

Yes, she is posing. She wanted to be sure that I got a good shot of her wings. She told me just yesterday that I was beautiful and "I want to be just like you, Mommy!". She now wants to wear her clip-on earrings everyday "like Mommy" (I wear big, dangling earrings daily). She even likes to help me "do chores" - let's pray that doesn't end! She loves to help take care of her brother. She gets sad when the dog has to get a shot at the vet. She can't stand to play alone. She loves bubble gum. Really loves it. She made a "cute little town" with her Ponyville stuff today. She draws pictures for me and hangs them on the refrigerator. She always asks me to read a story to her before bed time. Her favorite colors are pink, pink, and pink. She took her dolly (her American Girl doll) to church because "she (the doll) would be so sad" if she left her at home. She tells her brother to talk to Jesus when he's scared. She thinks she should eat at McDonald's every day. She is a planner. She likes to know what we're doing today - and the next day, and the day after that and the next day after that. She loves to dance. She wants to swim and eat popsicles every day. She can't stand it when her brother goes into her room. She adores her Daddy. She's a sweetheart. She's my gift from my Heavenly Father. She's my Ella.

Boys...

Little boys are sneaky, messy and rough. Mine especially. However, just as soon as he makes my temper flare, he'll look at me with a sweet little face and turn on his charm. I've often found myself getting on to him while trying to keep from smiling.

Here is a sampling of his antics from the past week or two:

1. Turned off my dad's computer.
2. Printed out blank sheets of paper using the scan/print function on my printer.
3. Choked on styrofoam in Hobby Lobby (given to him by his sister when my back was turned) and then vomited it up all over the scrapbooking isle.
4. Head-butted his sister.
5. Head-butted me.
6. Head-butted his dad.
7. Brought his chair from the kitchen to his bedroom multiple times so he could play with his CD player.
8. Changed CD's in his CD player.
9. Turned off the self-checkout computer at the library - right when we were scanning the last book.
10. Knocked the breath out of me after a full-body tackle.
11. Destroyed an entire load of folded laundry.
12. He found my driver's license in the scanner and shoved it under the printer (I was frantic until I found it).

The driver's license incident almost made me lose it. I kept asking him, "Did you see mommy's picture? Where did you put it?" and he would reply, "Mommy's picture - I no no ("I don't know")!" After an hour and a half of searching, I finally found it. I looked over at him and he was playing with the scanner and talking about my picture. He looked so sweet and was smiling at me - my heart melted. After previously wanting to post him for sale on craigslist.com, I just wanted to hold him and love on him! As I type, he is trying to bang the keyboard. I guess this is just how little boys are. You want to kill them one minute and the next minute they have your heart wrapped around their grubby little fingers. I laugh when I look back at all these incidents and picture his little face smiling at me.

I do so love my little guy!

Backyard Fun (and Debbie's Delicious Shrimp recipe!)

A couple months ago I asked Court to buy the kids a larger blow-up pool for the backyard and he came back with the shark pool. The kids love it. You can actually hook the sprinkler up to it and it'll spray out the top of the shark. The kids have talked me into getting in the pool a few times. It's amazing how something as simple as a shark pool can provide hours of entertainment! When Christian wants to swim, he takes off his pants and says, "Swim diaper!". Ella just strips down naked wherever she is until I tell her to please go in her room and put a swimsuit on (we're currently working on teaching her that it's not appropriate to strip down naked in front of company...).


The baby pool gets placed at the bottom of the slide and voila! Instant water park!



We keep several riding toys on the back porch. The kids like to play McDonald's drive-thru with the chiminea.


I leave you today with the most delicious shrimp I've ever had. This recipe is one my favorites and Court and I are glad that we can eat it on the Atkins Diet (I've lost 10 pounds already - yea me!). The recipe comes from Court's grandma but Debbie said she spiced it up a bit so I'm giving her the credit.

Here's whatcha do:

2 pounds of frozen shrimp, thawed and peeled
2 bottles of beer (we used the low-carb kind in keeping with our diet)
1 cup of vinegar
1 cup of water
Old Bay Seafood Seasoning
Whole mustard seed
Your favorite hot sauce

Pour beer, water and vinegar into a pot. Add as much Old Bay Seasoning and mustard seed as your little heart desires (I use a LOT). Boil. Add shrimp. Cook shrimp and add a few drops of hot sauce. Once shrimp is cooked, transfer it to the pretty dish of your choice (be sure to include some of that good juice!).

Court and I will usually eat a salad on the side or cook up some asparagus to go along with the shrimp. It's absolutely delicious! Maybe Debbie will make some when we come visit in September (hint, hint!).

Little Princess

My little princess was a little shy the first time she met the princesses at Disney. Princess Aurora and Cinderella are her favorites. By the end of our "princess lunch", Ella was beginning to warm up to them.


Here's Ella and her cousin getting autographs from Cinderella. They waited so patiently to see her!

So sweet!

Ella told me before she met Cinderella that she wanted to give her a hug. I'm glad that her dream came true!


And here is my princess dressed up as Alice from Alice in Wonderland!


Ella couldn't possibly play Alice in Wonderland without the Cheshire Cat! Christian was happy to comply.


I came across these photos today and wanted to share them :o) More thought provoking stuff to come soon. For now, I'm enjoying see my little princess learn and grow!

Love Note

I put a little love note (complete with a dinosaur and a helicopter sticker) in Christian's lunch box today for school. His teacher said that he loved it and wanted to hold it during nap time. She took this picture of him on her cell phone. It's too precious! Totally made my day :o)

Sweet Conversation

Christian: "I'm skeered!"

Me: "What are you scared of?"

Christian: "I skeered space."

Me: "You're scared of space? Why are you scared of space?"

Christian: "I skeered the sun!"

Me: "Oh, you don't have to be scared of the sun. It can't get you."

Ella: "Christian, if you're scared you just tell Jesus and he can make you better."

Me: "That's right, Ella."

Christian: "I skeered the sun!"

Ella: "If you tell Jesus that you're scared of the sun, he'll bring out the moon!"

Me: "That's sweet, Ella!"

Christian: "Talk a Jeeesus."

Random Everyday Happenings

The first time I made cookies with Court he sort of freaked out when he saw me eat some of the cookie dough ("don't you know there's raw eggs in there?" "if you eat all the dough there won't be enough for cookies" I say, "who cares!!!"). My parents are cookie dough eaters and that's just how we roll. We eat the dough because it's the best part of making cookies! My kids also share in our love of the dough.

Even brother is wearing an apron! They love to take turns pouring the ingredients and stirring the dough. I gave them each their own wooden spoon so they would feel like they were an important part in helping make a yummy treat for the family.

Yes, my son has a fro. His curly hair is getting more and more difficult to tame and I'm contemplating having his hair cut for the first time. However, I feel rather sentimental about his baby curls and will probably shed a tear or two when the time comes to cut it. Why must our babies grow up so fast?!


I love how Ella's drawings are evolving. The top picture is a drawing of two mermaids: Ariel and Prince Eric. Notice their crowns and the word "fish" spelled backwards in the upper right hand corner. The second picture is a little hard to read, but Ella spelled the word "Tuesday" as her favorite day of the week. Makes me wonder why she picked Tuesday of all days...my guess is that she wrote it on a Tuesday. The third picture is a family portrait. I am on the far left with Court by my side. The next is Christian, followed by Ella and Big Stuff. She chose to draw a clown face above Big Stuff. She saw clowns for the first time at Cirque du Soleil so that might have been her inspiration. There's also a large balloon in the upper right hand corner. You can click on the picture to view her drawings in more detail.

I love life with kids!

Preschool Graduation

My sweet little girl has graduated from preschool. Yes, I will soon be the parent of a kindergartener! To celebrate the end of the school year, the teachers threw a bon voyage luau for the 4 year old class. The Hawaiian theme turned out really cute! The kids put on a presentation and sang several songs that they had learned over the school year and they all took turns reciting bible verses and other things they had learned, such as the days of the week, months of the year, counting 1 to 20, etc. Ella recited a bible verse and the days of the week and I was so impressed by what she has learned! Her teachers were so wonderful this year and they have done such a great job preparing these kids for kindergarten! Court and I are really proud of our girlie!

Here they are singing one of their songs.

My girl has got some moves!

Christian enjoyed watching the presentation since he knew some of the songs they sang. He stood in his seat and danced!


The school director (who is also my boss) handed a "Bon Voyage" certificate to each child.


Ella's teacher's are on the left. They did such a good job with the whole presentation. And we could all tell that the kids really enjoyed themselves!


Everyone received a lei when we walked in the door. The kids in Ella's class colored the "Aloha" table signs.


My boss made these ocean cakes. She's constantly impressing us with her craft skills! For Halloween, she sewed a dress for her three year old that looked EXACTLY like the big, poofy white dress in the movie "Enchanted"!


All of the parents brought fruit to contribute to the fruit salad.


The punch was Sprite with blue food coloring with gummy sharks "swimming" in it. Too cute! Ella actually drank it, which surprised me since she doesn't really care for soft drinks.


Here's my girl with some of her friends (the little one in the front is her friend's baby sister. Ella loves babies so that's why she's holding on to her shoulders!). They were all so proud of themselves that night and they were all super sweet! I know Ella will have a blast with them during summer school. We're definitely going to miss everyone when it's time for kindergarten. They're getting so big so fast! A week after Ella's "graduation", we attended my sister's graduation from Texas A&M. My mom commented that it felt like only yesterday that she was sitting in my sister's preschool graduation! Childhood flies by so quickly. I hope I'll be wise enough to cherish each moment God gives me with my kids...and hopefully God will remind me of that even when my kids are not acting quite so pleasant :o)