Friday was Mom's birthday. We decided that instead of going to a restaurant and trying to keep all the kids contained, we would have a picnic in the park. It was a great night. The kids all were able to play together and the adults were able to talk - what a concept!
Here are a few pictures from the shin-dig...
Thomas and my nephew Maverick have become quite the little buddies. Thomas loves Maverick and always wants to play with him. I love when Maverick comes over because the two of them can play together for hours - literally. I have Maverick come over whenever I need to get something done. He is such a handy tool to have up the street!
The sugar was getting to Thomas' head because he willingly posed for this picture.
From left to right: Liam, Clara, Harley and Thomas
The Birthday Girl!
These are the cupcakes I made for the party. They were so easy and so much fun to do. I dipped a sugar cone in white chocolate and then stuck large sprinkles on them while they were drying. I then used the "grass" tip from wilton to make the fringe for the hats. Jett hovered over them from the minute I put them on the table until Mom blew out the candles.
(If you want to read the letter, click on the picture and it will enlarge)
For Mom's birthday present, Steve and I bought her a ticket to go see Rod Stewart. We took her a little over a year ago and we all loved it. We heard he was coming back into town so we bought another set of tickets. I wrote her a letter from Rod telling her about the tickets.
Happy Birthday, Mom. We all love you and are so glad you are our Mom and Grandma!
No, this post is not about my post-pregnancy waist line.
Recently, Thomas is into having muffins for breakfast. I shouldn't be eating them for breakfast because they are the fuel to the muffin top that this post is not about. However, Thomas is such a picky eater sometimes that I don't care what he eats, as long as it isn't a candy bar.
Yesterday, he woke up and came out of his room chanting his usual mantra..."Mom, I want a doughnut." He must have said this 3 or 4 times before he even saw me. I met up with him in the hallway and told him we didn't have any doughnuts, but we did have some muffins. That worked for him and I was glad I was able to get his mind on something else.
We went into the kitchen and I opened the Tupperware container containing the muffins and handed him one. He said, "Mom, can I hold the container?" I said what all other mothers who don't want to start the day off with a power struggle would say..."sure, why not." I really didn't think he would eat them all and I was going to be sitting right next to him to prevent him from doing so.
We sat together for a while and watched George, then I got busy on stuff around the house and tending to Clara. The next thing I knew, I walked by the muffin bowl and all the muffin tops had been devoured by my 3 year old. I asked him why he had only eaten the tops and he just said, "they're good, Mom." What could I do? He's right.
the aftermath
In this picture Thomas is practicing for his future career, celebrity bodyguard. I had no idea the muffins I made (okay, I'll be honest, Betty Crocker) were that sensitive to having their picture taken.
On Saturday we woke up to find a nice trail of ants leading to the jelly bean that had been inadvertently dropped under the couch. How ironic! I had just spent the previous 2 days cleaning the house. I guess it wasn't as clean as I thought. Due to that experience this was the conversation that Thomas and I had yesterday.
Thomas: Mom, why do we have ants?
Me: I have no idea?
Thomas: Why?
Me: Because Heavenly Father made them for us.
Thomas: So he just wrapped them up and gave them to us?
[di lite] n 1. joy: great enjoyment and pleasure 2. somebody or something giving joy: somebody or something that brings somebody great enjoyment and pleasure
* Our children bring us delight!
dis·cov·er
[disskúvvər] vt 1. find out about something: to find out information that was not previously known. * Thomas was excited to discover all the different things his shadow could do.
train·ing
[tráyning]n 1. acquiring of skill: the process of teaching or learning a skill
* Potty training is not fun for moms or 3 year olds.
joy
[joy]n 1. great happiness: feelings of great happiness or pleasure, especially of an elevated or spiritual kind
* Thomas and Mom experience joy when they are together.
beau·ti·ful
[byootəf'l]adj 1. pleasing to senses: very pleasing and impressive to look at, listen to, touch, smell, or taste * Clara looked beautiful in her new pink dress.
a·muse
ə myooz] vt 1. make somebody laugh: to make somebody smile or laugh or think that something is funny 2. keep somebody happily occupied: to keep somebody occupied or entertained by providing entertainment or an interesting task
* Mom was able to amuse Thomas during a fun game of hide and go seek.
re·lief
[rileef] n 1. freeing of somebody from anxiety: a release from anxiety or tension, or the feeling of release, lightness, and cheerfulness that accompanies this
* Mom, Thomas and Clara experienced great relief when Dad returned home from his first business trip to Topeka, Kansas.
Thomas, for some odd reason, has a fascination with birds. Don’t get me wrong, I think birds are cute but I don’t consider pigeons fitting into that “cute” category. Pigeons are gross, they are ugly and they give me the willies.
Not Thomas. He LOVES them, and I am not exaggerating. When we see them in a parking lot he wants to chase them down and give them a kiss and a hug. He sees them and makes the same kind of sounds adult women make when they see a really cute newborn baby. There have been many times when I have heard him squealing with delight while looking out the window because he sees a pigeon that has graced our backyard with its presence. Little does he know how gross they are.
Thomas and I have started a new tradition. Every Thursday we go to story time, Sonic and then go feed ducks at the park. It is a lot of fun and I look forward to Thursdays because it is our “special day.” Today we had gone to story time and Sonic and it was time to go find some ducks. I was going to stop and get a loaf of bread because I had forgotten some from home. However, I chose to be lazy and just grab the Gold Fish crackers from the diaper bag. I did not think the ducks would be too picky.
I decided to take him to one of the little lakes around here. We opened the door and were immediately inundated with birds. There were Ducks, Pigeons and some little black birds that kind of looked like a cross between the two. Thomas was thrilled and I was totally disgusted (just with the pigeons). The birds were clamoring for those gold fish and Thomas was having the time of his life. I kept trying to get him to throw the crackers so the birds would not get so close, but he would not have anything to do with that method. He wanted them up close. They got as close as they could without touching him. They had no fear of him whatsoever, it was as if he had become the little Pied Piper of Pigeons. Believe it or not, this outing ranked right up there with Christmas for him…maybe even higher.
Eventually he gave out all his fish and it was time to go. He got into the car and kept telling me how much fun he had and about how much he loved the little birdies. What was I doing while he was basking in this glory? Hosing him down with hand sanitizer.
Sometimes I wonder if I have any common sense at all. (I am sure Steve wonders the same thing too) Yesterday morning Clara and I were playing. She is into the cute "grab your face and squeal stage." We were sitting on the couch and she grabbed my face and started sucking on my chin. I was laughing and having a fun time with her.
She eventually grew tired of the simple game, so I put her down for a nap and took the opportunity to throw my stinky self in the shower. When I got out of the shower I took a look in the mirror and had to do a double take. How lovely! Two little hickeys from my precious girl with the suction power of a Dyson.
The picture does not do them justice, I was having a hard time getting a good shot using the self portrait method.
I found this tip on Wikipedia.
Tips In the future, get and give hickeys where they won't be easily found -- or don't get one at all! Hickeys will usually fade naturally in a couple of days to a week. There’s no sure way to get rid of one other than waiting, so be patient and try to minimize and hide its appearance as much as you can.
If someone notices your hickey, play it off. The excuse of the "curling iron burn" is common, but it doesn't work because a burn and a bruise look nothing alike. Try a different excuse, one that would cause a bruise, like you got hit with a ping-pong ball or other projectile. People probably won’t believe you, but at least it’s plausible.
How can I use wikipedia with out ending with my favorite quote on it...
"Wikipedia is the best thing out there. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject. So you know you are getting the best possible information."
I have a confession to make, when I found out I was pregnant with a girl I was a little apprehensive. I already had Thomas and I couldn't imagine how a girl could be as much fun as a boy. I only had brothers, I was comfortable with the whole boy thing.
I have since figured out that girls can be as much fun as boys. One of my new obsessions is shopping for dresses. I love Hanna Andersson dresses, however I don't like Hanna Andersson prices. A good friend of mine (if your reading this Lorelee , "Hi") who has a couple of girls turned me onto buying the goods on ebay. Jackpot!
So this little blue flower dress was my latest find. I am proud to say I only paid $6.00 for it and I love it. The only thing I didn't like was it is made out of linen, so I spent about 10 minutes ironing it before church yesterday.
I thought she looked adorable yesterday, but I kept looking at her trying to figure out who she reminded me of. There was just something about the dress and the flowers in her hair that were ringing a bell.
I racked my brain and finally figured out who it was...
This little blue dress is now my favorite and will be referred to as Mama's Frock for obvious reasons.
So today has been one of those days. I am BORED! This is the kind of boredom that we all get. You know the kind. There is laundry to be done, dishes to be unloaded, and floors to be vacuumed. I just can't get the motivation to get it done. Clara was up quite a bit last night, and I am tired!
So what do I do instead of my womanly duties? I play photo shop with my kids. Lately, Thomas has been on a photo strike. About 75% of the pictures I take look like the one above. This afternoon, we were all laying on the floor playing and I said. "Let's go play with the tri-pod and take some pictures." To my utter amazement, he agreed with me. The only condition was I had to let him take some pictures with the camera when we were done. I quickly went upstairs, threw a sheet on the floor and got the kids undressed. Here is what we accomplished.
I think Clara was just as tired as I was. She would not smile in the pictures. Usually she hams it up without any problems. She pretty much gave me the stink eye in every picture.
These look like the old 80's poses they use to do at Olan Mills. These are a little too posed for me.
I couldn't be live he let me get these pictures. He must have been delirious.
I was quite impressed with the pictures he took of Clara and me. I inherited my love of photography from my Dad, and now it looks like I have a little apprentice.
Recently, Thomas has taken up the interest in picking out his clothes and dressing himself. As you can see, he has quite the fashion sense. I let him dress how he wants to dress around the house but when we leave I try to put him in presentable clothes that semi-match.
He found the shirt he is wearing in a pile of clothes I had to give away. He had not worn this shirt for at least a year and a half, but for some reason it was just what he had been looking for to complete the ensemble.
For some reason, I am fascinated with the Amish. When I was 22 I had to opportunity to go on a church history tour with some friends. I think I was just as excited to go to "Amish Land" as anywhere else on the tour. I think the lifestyle is very interesting, and I also have quite a bit of respect for the people.
Quite a few years ago, Steve and I went to Delaware with some friends. We were staying right next to an Amish community. I was so excited to go to one of the stores they had. From what I remember, this was not your typical tourist store, it was a genuine store on Amish land. While I was there I picked up a cookbook. Inside the book there was a recipe for some rolls, I made them and they were amazing. I started making them all the time. Whenever we had a family dinner or somewhere to go, I was asked to make them. Eventually, got tired of making them and moved on to other recipes.
Recently, I pulled out the recipe and started making them again. I had forgotten how good they were. Last night we had the Sister Missionaries over for dinner, so I made them once again. They were a hit. There was only one left when Steve came home from work (the sisters needed to eat early, so he was unable to get home on time).
Here is the recipe.
Amish Rolls
2 tbsp. yeast
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup warm water
1 tsp salt
4 to 4 1/2 cups flour
Dissolve yeast and 1 tbsp sugar in 1/4 cup water, let stand for about 10 minutes. Add all the remaining ingredients except flour. Mix well. Add 2 cups four. Beat 1 minute. Gradually stir in remaining flour. Knead until smooth and elastic (or just use the kitchen aid like me). Let rise until double in bulk. Punch down; make into rolls. Let rise in pan until double in bulk. Bake at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Take them out when they are golden brown. Spread tops with butter and serve with honey butter.
What can I do? I have an adorable 3-year old. Then one day, I'm looking at him thinking about what a joy he is in life, about how my life has improved 100 times over since his birth. Then he does something with his finger, his nose and his mouth that brings me to my knees while screaming..."NO!!!"
I know I am not the first parent to deal with this issue. Heck, I taught school for 6 years. I know there are other rug rats out there that do the same thing. I remember standing at the front of the classroom teaching a lesson. Billy (name changed to protect the innocent) reaches up and picks his nose. As my stomach would turn, I would make a mental note..."don't let Billy hold your hand today."
I SO don't want Thomas to be that kid.
He is getting better, we use the code words "house rules" to remind him to stop and that seems to work. I would like to thank the episode of Curious George, Up A Tree, for that phrase. I guess because the man with the yellow hat says it to George, it is okay for us to say it to Thomas.
There is a benefit to all this though. We use to deal with asthma issues with Thomas. Up until this last year he was constantly sick with respiratory issues. He is growing out of it, just like good old Dr. D. said he would. But, maybe he is growing out of it for different reasons.
Check this out...
(if you have a weak stomach, sorry for the post and quit reading now.)
Top doc backs picking your nose and eating it
Picking your nose and eating it is one of the best ways to stay healthy, according to a top Austrian doctor.
Innsbruck-based lung specialist Prof Dr Friedrich Bischinger said people who pick their noses with their fingers were healthy, happier and probably better in tune with their bodies. He says society should adopt a new approach to nose-picking and encourage children to take it up.
Dr Bischinger said: "With the finger you can get to places you just can't reach with a handkerchief, keeping your nose far cleaner.
"And eating the dry remains of what you pull out is a great way of strengthening the body's immune system.
"Medically it makes great sense and is a perfectly natural thing to do. In terms of the immune system the nose is a filter in which a great deal of bacteria are collected, and when this mixture arrives in the intestines it works just like a medicine.
"Modern medicine is constantly trying to do the same thing through far more complicated methods, people who pick their nose and eat it get a natural boost to their immune system for free."
He pointed out that children happily pick their noses, yet by the time they have become adults they have stopped under pressure from a society that has branded it disgusting and anti social.
He said: "I would recommend a new approach where children are encouraged to pick their nose. It is a completely natural response and medically a good idea as well."
And he pointed out that if anyone was really worried about what their neighbour was thinking, they could still enjoy picking their nose in private if they still wanted to get the benefits it offered.
Maybe Thomas is destined for royalty. Check out Her Majesty and also the Italian Prime Minister.
We will now be referring to Thomas as His Royal Majesty.
This is to inform you that walNUTS are nuts. I know you claimed to not know that there were nuts in our dessert, but you can't just "guess." Next time, walk your little self back to the kitchen and ASK! I know ordering dessert would in turn give you a bigger tip, but COME ON!
"To you women of today, who are old or young, may I suggest to you that you write, that you keep journals, that you express your thoughts on paper. Writing is a great discipline. It is a tremendous education effort. It will assist you in various ways, and you will bless the lives of many--now and in the years to come, as you put on paper some of your experiences and some of your musings." --President Gordon B. Hinckley
