Thought I Didn't Have Much to Say....

Haven't felt very inspired to write lately. Guess that means things have slowed down a little or something. Not sure. But, I did find a couple of good recipes the other day that were quick and delicious. So, I thought I would share.

This Cookie Brittle recipe was TERRIFIC!! The kids enjoyed them enormously!

And these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies were simple (made with mixes I had on-hand) and everyone in our Financial Class loved them!

I guess I was in the baking mood since it was my birthday last week. Yay me! I had a birthday! It's funny about birthdays, or maybe it's just funny to me, but Birthdays are not what you have them built up to be, are they?!? Or maybe you don't have a pre-conceived notion of what they should be like. But, I guess I do.

I kept telling Dan that Thursday was "My Special Day". And on, "My Special Day" I should be able to do whatever I wanted! He agreed, but I guess he didn't quite realize that what I wanted was for him to treat me like a Queen and jump at my every request! ha! Bad servant boy! Off with his head!

No, not really. He brought me flowers and gave me a nice card, and that was sweet and those were definitely not expected, but MUCH appreciated! But, what this Queen really wanted was a MAID!

I spent the early part of My Special Day (I took the day off of work) getting my lesson ready for our Live BIG class on Sunday, that's the class I teach at church on Sunday's for our 4 and 5 year old kids. Our Sunday lesson was on Noah, and there were a LOT of animals to punch out for the kids' take home envelopes and lots of other things to do in preparation. And I wanted to make sure I had everything planned out really well since this was such a big lesson!

Then, it was on to cleaning and preparing a crock pot meal for our dinner. But, the cleaning got as far as vacuuming and sweeping the kitchen floor and that's where it ended. I did get to fold some laundry, but it didn't even look like I made a dent in it! And that's what upsets me and makes me wish I had a maid. The unfinishedness of everything. It feels like just when I get started on something, something else comes up and I have to stop that and move on to the other. Stop and Go, Stop and Go! Ugh! That really gets under my skin!!! Well, at least it really did on My Special Day!

I just wanted to be able to fully clean the house. If I could have fully cleaned the house, I would have felt such a weight lifted off of my shoulders and that would have been such a gift!

The reason I had to stop my cleaning and laundry folding was because I had to take Grant and Wyatt to their 2 year and 6 month check-ups. And, although, I was the one who scheduled the appointment, it just irritated me to have to leave my work in the midst of getting something accomplished! FRUSTRATING!

And, you know how it goes, once you get 'em home, there is no going back to cleaning, their needs need to be tended to. And there is no going back to folding laundry because the laundry pile is a Big, Exciting, Pile of Softness that is TOO Fun to jump into and frolic around in!

Maybe they should start making clothes with sandpaper exteriors, that would definitely diminish the excitement, wouldn't it?!? Ooooh, that is one scratchy pile of clothes, no thanks, I'll go jump off the couch onto a huge pile of pillows, each time narrowly missing the fireplace bricks and sending my Mom's heart into tachycardia! Now that's what I call FUN!

Oh, if only Mom's ran the world. So many things would be different!

Fireplace Hearths would be installed with custom removable cushions that specifically fit your hearth and would leave no sticky residue from trying to use those after-market foam bumper pads.

All Moms (and maybe Dads if that's how your house works) would be enrolled in a Handy Helper Club where one day a week your kids went to another Handy Helper's house for three or four hours, while you ran around your house cleaning pop tarts out of the carpet and marker off the walls and pureed squash from the ceiling! At no cost to you because you would be swapping out time! Ahhhhh, what a relief that would be!

Emergency Feminine Products would come standard in First Aid kits, because when you're wearing light colored pants, the need to avoid an embarrassing scene feels like an emergency! And you wouldn't have to find a woman, exclusively, to help a sister out!!

An alarm would go off anytime someone got into the "off limits" snack items of your pantry. Thus, avoiding the, "I'm sorry sweetie there aren't any more fruit roll-ups left for your lunch. Who ate them all? Well, I don't know. But it wasn't me." Though, I have a pretty darn good idea who did and He pays to put a roof over our heads, so I guess we can't cut-off his hands like they do in Arab countries. But, an alarm blaring would surely signal he was flying in a no-eat zone, wouldn't it?!?

And lastly, Mom's would make sure that all sippy cups were truly "leak-free" and not just a cup with a lid! This is why my carpet looks like I am a HUGE fan of brown polka dots!!!

Oh, My Special Day didn't turn out quite as I had expected, no maid, and I definitely retired the crown. Back to life as usual. Though, I will have to throw something out there to you all. When someone asks you what you want for your birthday or anniversary, and you respond, "oh nothing really," never overlook the inexpensive gift of time, help, and a little elbow grease!

WASH YOUR HANDS!

Griffin: "Mom, smell my hand."

Me: "NO WAY!"

Griffin: "How'd you know it was in my butt?"

I'm a genius, honey.

Me: "Go wash your hands, with SOAP! And don't touch anything on your way to the bathroom Mr Poop Fingers!"

Sappy Day

Some days are just meant to be reflective. I think that's true. I think some days we are meant to just be sort of weepy and sentimental and grateful. That's what pulls us back onto the road when we've ended up in the ditch from filling our trucks up too full! We drive around with these cargo loads full of things we've got going on, speeding down the road because there is no time to waste! We have appointments we need to make, and cards we should get in the mail, and emails we need to send, and schedules that have to be kept, and sometimes, it just all dumps over. It all just "doesn't go as planned".

These are our "Heaven Sent Moments For Reflection"

Last night we had class til 8:30, didn't leave the church til almost 9:00. Got home and gave the boys a snack then off to bed by 9:20 for Grant, 9:30 for Griffin, and almost 10:00 for Wy Wy (he's a night owl!)

So, needless to say, I was not in bed til 10:00. And Dan later than I.
It was then about 1:45 when Wy Wy woke up to have his nightly bottle. I gave him his drink and went back to bed, only to be awoken at 4:20 by Grant who slammed our bedroom door shut. He proceed to whine and cry trying to get into bed with me, but not wanting my help. And then, when help was allowed I was arranging his blankie wrong and he was yelling, "Noooooo!"
It wasn't much longer, after this, that Wy Wy woke up, imagine that!
Then, I tried to get the two of them back to sleep with a diaper change for Wy Wy and a "go nigh-nigh!" for Grant.
But, no such luck.
And, I'll admit it. I was upset. I am TIRED kids! I am sleepy! You are not supposed to wake before my alarm goes off, you AREN'T!
And, so, I went to the living room with Wy Wy, sternly telling Grant to go to sleep with Daddy it was too early to be up!
I rocked Wy Wy hoping he would fall back into a slumber and listened to Grant crying, "MaaaMaaa!" from our bedroom.
Less than a minute later, Grant was in the living room dragging his blankie behind him with a sad face that said, "Thanks a lot for leaving me!"

Ugh! I'm tried kids! Tired. And my thoughts went to God, "God, what are you trying to say here? What are you saying? I only need 6 hours of sleep. 6 hours of sleep that is inevitably interrupted at least once by a small infant?! What am I supposed to be learning from this?"
I was frustrated. "Why can't I ever get any rest?!!??!"

And it was on the way to work that I heard what He was saying.

I turned on the Christian Radio Station, and I was moved to tears.

My Heaven Sent Moment For Reflection is this, God lives in me. God believes in me so, and loves me so, that he has graced me with this busy life. With THREE BEAUTIFUL BOYS, and a WONDERFUL and TALENTED husband (whom I take for granted!), and a great job, and a house to call a home, and a neighborhood to be proud of, and friends who could never be replaced. I am blessed! My gifts are HUGE! I am living the dream!

So, sometimes things are not going to go as planned. Sometimes my days are going to be fueled by the ever-blessed coffee in my cup. But even when I'm running on empty His spirit lives inside of me, and that is all I need to go on. All I need to talk down that negativity, and all I need to remind me of my blessings. I have been renewed, even without the 8 hours of sleep I so desperately wish for. It's coming Carrie, and until then, be rejuvenated in your blessings and in the positivity that surrounds you!
Can anyone tell I'm crying?!? I am such a Sap!

When it Rains it Pours!

Let's get right to it. There's a lot to see here!!

Devilishly handsome, isn't he?!?!
Wy Wy loves bouncing in his Jumperoo! And that fly he's stuffing in his mouth is becoming intimately familiar with Mr. Wy Wy's tonsils!




Grant loved the new Cars movie cars he got from the Heaths (our neighbors and friends). I layed in bed with him this day trying to get him to settle down and take a nap. Well, he stuck the Ramone car in his mouth like it was a kazoo and blew into it while humming for a good three minutes, before easing off to sleep. I couldn't resist getting a photo of poor Ramone hanging out of Grant's mouth! "No please, don't eat me!!!"

Wyatt trying Mashed Potatoes for the first time. He wanted to kiss me for giving him this heaven sent delicacy!

I took these pictures Saturday. My boys. Precious!

These are the "milestone" 6 month photos I took of Wyatt. Doesn't he look handsome in his little sweater vest? The shirt has a flaming heart on it and says, "I Love Mom" guess you're wondering who bought him that one, huh?!





And, last, I had to include this photo of Wy Wy puttering his lips. He does it all the time, and looks so adorable! Those cheeks look even chubbier when he does this! Mommie's little sweetie! I love you!

Grant is 2!!!

Okay, finally getting posted the pictures of Grant on his 2nd birthday. He had a good day. I'm pretty sure he had no idea why we were singing to him or why he got to open some presents, but there was no complaining from him about eating cake and getting gifts!

So, here are some photos to amuse you.

LOUD!!!!!

Grant's birthday was this weekend. He turned 2!! Yay!! I will have pictures to share in my next post (I, of course, do not have my camera with me to upload the pictures today, shocker!)

But, I had to take a minute to tell you all about something that made me laugh til I almost piddled myself! Seriously, too funny!!

You know how Grant is such a screamer, right?!? Well, if you haven't experienced his screaming, you're lucky. But, for all of you who have, you know he is LOUD!!!! And PERSISTANT!!! MAAAAAMMMMMAAAA!!! Is his normal "inside" voice when calling for me!

Anyway, yesterday, we were laying on the bottom bunk of the bunk beds watching the movie Cars, when Kendyl, who was over visiting and also watching the movie from the squishy confines of the bunk, got out Griffin's Flash Cards and started asking him what each letter was.

She held up a G, "What's this letter Griffin?"

"G"

"Good job!" and she put the card down.

"What's this letter Griffin?"

"Um, uh, oh D."

"Good Job!" and she puts the card down.

Well, while this was happening Grant stopped paying attention to the movie and turned and sat quietly by Kendyl's side watching as she asked Griffin his letters. When she laid the cards down, she laid them in front of Grant. So, the next thing I know, it's not only Kendyl asking Griffin what a letter is, but it's Grant, too.

"Griffin, What's this letter?"

"Ummm, hmmm...."

Grant: "Bubba. Ish-shhi-shi?" holding up the D Kendyl had laid down just before.

Kendyl: "What's this letter Griffin? It starts your last name???"

"Ummm, N? Uh, no wait, ummmmm....."

Grant: "Bubba. Bubba. BUBBBBBBBAAA!!! Ish-shhi-shi?? BUBBBBBBBAAAAA!!!"

Griffin: "What Grant?"

Grant: "Ish-shhi-shi?"

Griffin: "D. That's a D."

Grant: "Mhhhm, D. "

Kendyl: "So, Griffin, What's this letter?"

Griffin: "Oh yeah, uh, hmm, uh, V? No wait C. Uh, no....."

Grant holding up the same D card as before...

Grant: "Bubba. Bubba. BUBBBBBBAAA!!!! Bubba."

Griffin: "Uh, is it a P? No, a G, no..."

Kendyl: "C'mon Griffin you know this one. It's the first letter of your last name."

Griffin: "Oh yeah, ummmm...."

Grant still holding up the D card...

Grant: "Bubba. BUUUUUUBBBBBBBAAAA!!!! Bubba, Bubba!"

Griffin: "What Grant????"

Grant: "Bubba, Ish-shhi-shi?"

Griffin: "That's a D, Grant!"

Grant: "Mhmm, D. O-kay-ee."

This holding up of the D card continued for like 10 minutes. It was always the same, Griffin ignoring Grant, trying to answer Kendyl's flash card inquiries, and Grant laboriously trying to get Griffin to pay attention to him by SCREAMING his name just inches from his face, while holding up the very important D card!

It had me in tears! I swear my abdominal muscles hurt I was laughing so hard. And, Griffin, who was at first annoyed by Grant, was laughing as well, and was puposely avoiding answering Grant because seeing Grant get so fired up over the damn D card was hilarious! Kendyl was rolling too. We were all just cracking up over Grant and his INTENSE BUUUUUBBBBBBBAAAA!!! And then his quite calm, "Ish-shhi-shi? D. O-kay-ee." It was just gut-busting!

I never want to forget this, even though Grant's screaming drives me crazy most of the time. It can be super hilarious too! That's why I'm blogging about it now and sharing it with all of you. O-kay-ee??