A hidden find

Jabes found his tool bench tucked in the corner today and got busy working! It was fun to see him move on to something other than cars for that moment!

Today is a day to be grateful

I'm coming to you live at 430 in the morning. Eme decided that 330 was an appropriate time to wake up. I however, do not think it is. So please excuse any grammatical errors as I'm a little groggy right now.

Here we are again, in our usual morning back bedroom. Entertaining her with whatever I can find while laying on the floor in a fog. Soon the eye rubbing starts and she's laying on me. Here's my window.

Attempt number one is not looking so promising. Then from the slits in my eyes I see my handsome husband coming to rescue me and give me a break from the dancing I've been doing to try and lull her to sleep. Or not. I hear him whisper, Js awake. Are you kidding me!!!! I pass the baby off, praying that Z doesn't get a call right this moment (he was on call for the fd) and run downstairs. To my surprise, J has curled back up and is asleep. I snuggle under the covers and figure Z will come get me if he needs me, and then I close my eyes! Ahhh.

Fast forward to now. The kids slept until after 6am and Em is taking another siesta on me as we speak. I have my black Friday newspaper sprawled out on the living room floor and I'm feeling a bit euphoric!

Today is a day of gratitude. I have so many reasons to be grateful today. Most other days I could think of many thinks I'm not the most happy about but today is a day to be thankful. I am grateful for the love that surrounds us, for friends old and new, good health, families that support us and love us unconditionally, an amazingly supportive and loving husband, and most importantly my two beautiful children. J and Em, you two inspire me to be the best person I can be. To love and live each day without looking back. You two remind me of what is important in this world. Happiness does not come from money, or expensive gifts, or fancy cars, or big houses. Happiness comes from love. When I look in to my children's eyes I find my happiness and gratitude.

So for today, I plan to focus on what does make me happy, my family. Letting go of my messy house and all the to do's. Today I will focus on my family. What about you, what are you thankful for this year?

XO

The importance of dad

Z has been crazy busy with work and fire department. His EMS training has sort of kicked our butts. He is gone two nights out of the week and on call one all while holding down a 40+ hour a week job. The guy is busy. Then there's me; his loving, adoring, hasn't showered in a few days, no make up wife who LITERALLY hands a child to him the second he walks in the door. The man hardly has time to take a breath in between shifts!

His busyness has taken it's toll on Mr. J. Mondays are a hard day at our house. Z goes back to work and J doesn't seem to adjust well. I've realized the importance of having daddy around. The two of them do special boy things together. They wrestle and tackle each other, they putz in the garage and play silly games in the backyard. I would have to say, although I don't really like to admit it, that I hear more giggles out of J when he is with dad. Last night they did another fun boy project and J was so in to it. They sat in the entry way hanging hooks and J was using daddy's tools. I was making dinner while listening to the two of them. He was so proud of himself. He'd quick run downstairs and grab another tool and come back up to help dad. It was another moment that warmed my heart. Miss Eme Lu was hanging on the gate trying to get to her daddy. The second he walks in the door she is climbing out of my arms to get to him. My children love their dad. I know most mom's would say this about their spouse but I really do believe we are so blessed to have such a wonderful dad.  And while watching the two of them interact I realized how truly important it is to have a positive male figure in your child's life. A picture of my boys!

The Great Outdoors

I know how important it is for children to explore but I'm always reminded when I walk outside with my kids. J is a very energetic little man. He jumps off of anything and everything, climbs, runs, hops, whatever he can do to burn energy. A lot of times when he is acting out or not listening I know he needs to get outside. The fresh air, all the open space to roam and explore mesh well with my child, and most children to be honest. It's so important for kids to be outside. But, with that being said winter is always tough. I admit, I get kind of lazy about going outside in the winter. Leaving the warm and toasty house to go outside in the cold MN weather and not to mention the fact that it takes so long to get everyone bundled up and outside for a whopping 15 minutes of play, it doesn't sound too enticing. Now putting my laziness aside it's good for all of us to explore the great outdoors. There is so much for them to do outside and nothing at the same time. We walk around touching the snow or ice, looking at tracks and trying to decipher which animal that could have been, breathing in the cold air, looking for icicles, sledding, snowballs, skating, sometimes we just wander without saying words but just enjoying the moments of being outside. Being outside is a beautiful, calm place for kids to be. It really seems to help center my boy and allow him the freedom he needs to feel independent. I will read this post as the temperature drops as a reminder to GO OUTSIDE!

Art In A Can

I am desperate for some organization.  The task is so big and the budget so small there is no hope that I will ever get the intervention organization I need.  So I have to do what I can to make it seem not so painful, and I'm desperate for some cuteness.  Therefore I have taken matters into my own hands.

We love arts and crafts, Ads does them every day and usually multiple times a day.  But having crayons and makers and paper and glue and stickers and glitter... have you gone crazy yet? all over our tiny apartment is about enough to make me go insane.  I relied often on my homeopathic Rescue Remedy to get me through each project {that stuff is aaahhhmazing!} but was tired of dragging it out every time she wanted to do an art project, which lets face it is always.  I needed help.

I had been saving any kind of jar or container that came through the door, driving Husband insane {it wasn't the arts and crafts but the random 136 jars I had all over the place}.  Finally after a day of playing cleanup with my daughter it struck me, why don't I make these jars cute and display all her artsy stuff in them.  It took forever for  me to realize this, but at least I got there.


 
 So I blew the dust off my piles of scrapbooking paper {I have no time to do that fancy stuff anymore} and started cutting and gluing.  And I came up with paper wrapped cans.  Sounds a bit plain doesn't it?  I actually think they turned out pretty cute and they're totally functional.  Then I really got into it and did the lids of some glass jars.  Then I got carried away and covered paperclips in pretty paper.


It was really pretty easy and I sat on the floor catching up on my tv shows from the last 2 weeks.  Rarely do I have the free time to do either of those so doing them together was a prefect way to end the weekend.

Here's the how to:

To wrap the cans, I put the paper along the top rim then I marked on the paper the bottom rim.  I then used a ruler to draw a straight line which made it the exact height of the can.  Then I wrapped the paper around and cut off any excess.  Next I slathered glue all over the can and wrapped the paper around it, overlapping the ends a bit and gluing them down.  I put rubber bands around them and let them dry overnight.

For the paperclips, I just cut scraps of paper down to size and glued them on.  So quick and easy and it totally makes them so much cuter than the black ones.  We use them in the kitchen to close any opened bag, crackers, frozen veggies, nuts.

The glass jar lids took a little bit more time. I'm not one to follow directions all that well, which is why baking isn't good for me, so I don't have exact directions here for that.  But I will tell you what I did as best as I can.  I basically traced the lid on the wrong side of the paper I wanted to use.  Then I drew another bigger circle around that one.  I cut it out leaving enough of an edge to cut the little slits to fold over the edge and into the inside of the lid {I wouldn't use these for anything that would require washing}.  This is where I cut the little slits and once I had them cut I slathered Mod Podge all over the top and sides of the lid {I only used Mod Podge because I had some leftover from years ago.  You can easily and cheaply make your own by mixing equal parts Elmer's glue and water in a jar and shaking like crazy.  This is a bit on the runny side so use less water if you want it thicker}.  Then I positioned the paper on top and started folding the cut sides over the edges and on to the inside of the lid {you may want to do this before adding the glue to make sure it's the right size}.  Do this around the entire lid and when that's done slap some Mod Podge over the top and side and let it dry.  I let mine dry for several days because I didn't want the lid to stick to the jar.   

These make perfect gifts for the holidays and people love them.  They're cute, good for the earth, and easy on the pocket book.

-J

Cars, trucks and a little flour!

I'm telling you that my son will drive his cars in ANYTHING! Dirt, mud, water, paint, flour, whatever kind of concoction we make the cars go in. The other day was no exception. My rascally muts go in to an unopened bag of flour that was ON the kitchen table. J and I saw an opportunity and ran with it.

Pancakes and smiles

Today we went to Gigi's (my grandma's) house. My children absolutely adore Gigi, as do I. She holds a special place in my heart and every time we go over there my heart smiles. She has to be THE most genuine, loving, kind, giving and appreciative person I know. Not only do my kids adore her, she adores my kids just as much. She is constantly giving them hugs and kisses, playing with them, coloring, and always offering food/treats; I mean isn't that what Grandma's are for! Today was no different. J being Mr. Picky wasn't in the mood to eat anything we offered, unless of course it was covered in chocolate and/or sugar. So when Gigi told me a story about pancakes J's ears perked up and he said "I want pancakes". Off they went, the two of them, my 3 year old son and my 80 year old Grandma almost galloping up the stairs. I sat back and played with Eme while they did their thing. J being my intense little one wanted to be right in the mix and Gigi being as patient as she is with him let him. He wanted to help do it all. And the conversation between the two of them was quite amusing. J would say things like "why do you call it syrup instead of syrup (seerup instead of surup)". Grandma saying "huh you want chocolate chips on your pancakes?" The two of them laughing at each other all over a hot skillet and a bowl of pancake batter. It's days like these that make my heart swoon a little. The happiness on my kids faces doing nothing other than being with the ones they love, is priceless. It was a wonderful day.

Behind Bars

Cribs. I love them. I hate them.

For the first three months, Ads slept next to me. In the months that followed we slowly moved her into her crib. It was one of the hardest things I've had to do, I loved having her next to me. All warm and safe, she wasn't alone in a dark room behind bars but cuddled in my nook. But at the same time she had {and still does} the worst jimmy legs ever. So I was looking forward to getting sleep without being kicked all night long.

Fast forward a year and in a few momentary laps of judgement, I tried to put her in a big girl bed {yes it happened more than once and no I didn't learn the first time}. After hours of trying to get her to go to sleep {we tried everything, seriously everything} she was back in her crib. I just couldn't take it. I couldn't handle the night battle, the screaming and crying, kicking and yelling, not to mention everything Adilyn did. That was a failure of great magnitudes and on multiple occasions. I love that crib.

Tonight she woke up crying and all I wanted to do was hug and snuggle her but couldn't because the damn bars were in the way. So I hung over the side, feet hovering a few inches off the ground and I tried to snuggle her as naturally as I could. I instantly felt her body relax and her breathing slow down. She was back asleep in less than a minute. I hate this crib.

Everyday I find myself in the mixed emotion of putting my daughter in a crib. Some days it's a blessing and I'm so glad she's still in one {like when I need 5 minutes myself and I can let down my guard knowing she's completely safe}. Other days I hate it. Loath it is a better word. I should be able to cuddle my babes without anything coming between us.

I've come to realize I'm manic when it comes to the crib. Damn crib, I love you.

-J

Camping in November

Ads loves being in a tent.  Loves it.  Strangely enough we've never been camping with her although it is a favorite summer pass time for us. So on this cold November day I decided we needed to do a little camping.  I set up the not-so-small 2person tent up in the living room. 

 She helped me set it up and was so eager to get in it when it was up she could hardly contain the squeals of enjoyment. She ran in as soon as she could requesting her bug pillow and the meow blanket {the blue striped blanket}. 

No girl can go camping without Elmo, Elmo blanket and Elmo flashlight. So that made it's way into the tent as well.

 She spent more than an hour planing in there. Reading books, dancing to music but mostly playing with her best friend, Izzy, our lab.  Listening to her giggling in delight as Izzy tried to get in the tent made me smile.

{She never made it in as Ads is a stickler for keeping the doors closed so the bugs don't get in}

 I'm all about having fun and as long as it doesn't break a major house rule, I'm game.  There isn't much I won't at least consider.  Setting up camp in our cramped living room so Ads can go camping in November didn't phase me.

-J

Lefse and Love: reconnecting over a rolling pin

Husband and I brought back an old Scandinavian holiday tradition.  We made lefse. We figured that in the last 6 years we’ve only made it once, so it was time to bring it back. Plus it was nice spending time with him seeing as we haven’t done anything together for a long time.

As a German/Irish girl I had no idea what this lefse was until he introduced me to this amazingly thin, delicious, potato tortilla.  I couldn’t believe I had never head of it considering it’s mostly potato and that’s the base of my diet.  

It’s a lengthy and delicate process, one false step and it’s all for nothing.  Ok, being a bit dramatic there, but if you rush the process it will take you longer in the end.  

  

As a duo, we each have our own job.  He rolls and I cook.  It’s a lot of fun and we enjoy it.  And a drink or two is usually involved.  

Tonight it was more than just a tradition.  It was therapy.  Since the birth of A, working opposite shifts, and exhaustion, we haven’t had much time to catch up and just talk.  Conversation came easily as he rolled and I cooked, we talked about everything and nothing, important things, things that don’t matter, we laughed, joked and simply enjoyed each other’s company.

It was nice putting the rush of life on hold and enjoying a simple night with my husband, reconnecting over a rolling pin and a hot grill. 

    

And for the first time in 13 years, I tried my hand at rolling.  Turns out I'm not too bad at it, but I'm ok sticking with the rolling, not as much pressure.  

-J 

 

      

Thieves oil

The last time I was in Madison visiting Jess she had recommended this essential oil called 'Thieves oil'. What she had learned about it was that it helped aide in immunity support and that it might be a good thing for my kids, since they seem to be sick so frequently! I have further done some research and what I came across is that Thieves Oil is a pretty amazing essential oil. We have been using Good Samaritan which has the same blend of oils in it as the thieves. I have posted a few links to view! Hopefully this will help this cold/flu season and we can all remain somewhat healthy!

http://www.livestrong.com/article/129905-thieves-essential-oil-benefits/
http://www.secretofthieves.com/
http://www.natural-aromatherapy-benefits.com/Thieves-Oil.html

Turn it around mom

Eme Lu was up at 4:45am. Not totally out of character for her but usually when she wakes up this early it's because she needs to relieve her stomach pains. Z and J were still asleep so Eme and I hunkered down in our usual early morning spot, their bedroom. I quickly filled my cup of coffee and tried to entertain her all while feeling a little delirious.

5:58am I hear J and Z. I can already tell how the day is going to go. It's far too early for him to be awake but the fact remains, he is. I am greeted by a hug and a smile, a nice start to my early morning. Fortunately Z doesn't need to go to work until 7:30 so I have some time to pawn them off so I can get a quick shower. You know how things go when you're a sahm mom, I was in there a mere 5 minutes before my 3 year old is in with me and then I hear the quick crawling on the floor and my 1 year old is standing by the shower crying to come in. Ugh, I just wanted a few solitude moments.

And then the whining begins. Anything and everything is something to whine about. They're whining, I'm whining, the dogs are whining and I certainly have not had enough coffee yet. One at a time right. I swoop Eme up and know that even though it's only 6:45 she is in need of a nap.. She's asleep. So here I am holed up in the bedroom next to a sleeping baby because in all honesty I don't quite have the energy to go out there yet. It wasn't even 7am and I could feel my frustration. I need to turn it around. The reality is I am the captain of this team and if I'm not positive then no one is. So here it goes, I'm walking out with a smile on my face, chipper and ready to greet the day! Besides it's nothing a little coffee can't cure right? A picture to remind me that the days are long but the moments within those days are wonderful.

Time to clean?

I am honestly somewhat embarrassed to even post this picture. Today while doing our morning run to target I could not find any hats for the kids. I mean J only has 6 hats to choose from and I couldn't find one. Part of the problem might be the fact that they entered the black hole, aka the van, and have yet to return to their "home" inside the house. Here's a list of other things I spotted in the van while rummaging through the mess to find a hat.

-all the hats I was searching for
- a few pairs of shoes, for the kids and me
- a pregnancy test, not mine, which I can't decide if that's better or worse
- every water bottle we own
- sour cream and a yogurt smoothie that only God knows how old
- a toothbrush
- baby dolls, books, blankets, cars, a decomposing apple.. The list goes on people!

Needless to say the van is in dyer need of a cleaning! So.. Here it is the picture. Some may look at this and think it's not bad while others may think we live in filth...

1,2 and maybe 3?

My first born is quite spirited and tests me most days, sweet as he is, he is still a challenge. My second born appeared to be this calm, easy going spirit but as she nears her first birthday I am starting to see more of the "spirit" arise in her as well. I think I might be crazy to even type these words.. I want another one. I know, anyone who knows me would argue the fact that a third probably isn't something to consider at this moment. My poor sister and mom get daily calls from me crying and asking "why me"! But even in the darkest moments with my children I stare adoringly in to their faces and the love I feel for them is so great. I am exhausted, burnt out, don't shower for days at a time, and haven't worn make up in who knows how long; yet I undeniably LOVE being a mom! Perhaps it's the fact that Eme will be one in only a couple of weeks and is no longer looking so babyish to me. Who knows what it is but right now, I've got the baby fever. The question is, how can I convince my husband to be on board?!

Sleep tease

As I'm nursing my daughter to sleep I'm thinking about what my first blog will be about. Finally, she's asleep and I put her into her crib. Suddenly her eyes pop open. I think [pray] to myself that this is a momentary wake up and she'll roll over and go back to sleep. I gently sweep her blanket back and forth over her face trying to convince her tired body to surrender to sleep so I can sit on the computer for a few uninterrupted minutes.

With her eyes getting heavy and sleep seems certain, I begin to think again about what will be my first blog. Should I write about our day at the children's museum or maybe our unique lunch. Maybe I should do something more serious like what are my most serious fears or daily frustrations. Just as I am drifting off into blogland, my daughter looks up at me and sweetly says, "hi mom."

No nap today.

A little mama in the making!

Eme loves her baby and it makes me smile watching her cuddle it. She looks like a little future mama. She reminds me so much of myself! My sweet girl.

Shaving cream and cars..

Of course J's cars need to be submerged in shaving cream!

Corn

The kids have really been enjoying the new art space and have really been enjoying having all the sensory stuff so accessible. Here they both are in the pot of corn!