Sometimes we go for a walk...

...and my kids wear outfits like this...

...you know, like my old dress from when I was five, and butterfly pants and pink sparkly high tops...

...or you have butternut squash all over your face because your mom never wiped you up after dinner...

...or you sport a too tight wife beater 'cuz you're super classy...

Then this happens...
"Um mom? D go potty in my diaper."

So why the puddle you ask?

Because he's not wearing a diaper.

Then a car comes down the road so he has to run out of the way and finish peeing on the side of the road (notice the puddle following him)...

Then Emma gets ahold of the camera and Grady takes over with the stroller for awhile- please notice that they're heading straight for the neighbor's fence....

Finally, home sweet home!

The tale of the missing sandals

Grady loves his blue sandals. He wants to wear them all. the. time.

Sometimes, he'll be running around playing in the house and stop everything in order to go find his sandals.

When he can't find them, he panics.
Sometimes, we don't let him wear them, because let's face it, flip flops and 2.5 year old boys are a recipe for disaster- especially when hills are involved.

Well, tonight was one of those times when he was frantically searching for them. We couldn't find them in their typical places- under the couch, in the hall closet, in landon's room, in dad's truck.... we even called Grandma Charlene to see if he had left them at her house. But alas, the sandals were gone.

So Grady went outside without them to help his dad move the barbecue.

And he stepped on a bee.
This is him holding an icepack in his hands (for no apparent reason) and soaking his feet in a sink full of icy epsom salt water. He's not very happy (in case you couldn't tell).

Here's a picture of the sting. You probably can't see anything because, thankfully, he isn't allergic to bee stings and it didn't swell up or anything. But holding up his foot and telling me all about it distracted him from the pain for a bit.

And of course, as soon as we got the stinger out and I went into the backyard to check the barbecue, I found his missing flip flops under the tire swing.

So I guess I'm not going to think he's so ridiculous when he wants to find his sandals anymore, because looking for them for a few more minutes sure would have been better than an big fat stinger in the bottom of his foot!

Me vs. Coffeemate

It's summertime and you know what that means....

lazy schedules
swim lessons
fresh garden grown produce
amazing weather
lots of vacations
and
iced coffee drinks.

I mean, with 3 kids, there really isn't anything else (except for God's grace) that will help me through the loooooong, hot summer days with my sanity [relatively] intact.

I used to only indulge in iced coffee drinks when my husband would so kindly pick me up one on his way home from work.

Then my sister taught me how to make them at home with chilled coffee, milk, ice, and coffeemate creamer. These were good...... except for the coffeemate creamer part. That stuff is nasty, artificial and it leaves a strange film on the inside of my mouth.

So last week I set out to figure out how to make homemade coffee creamer with real, honest, no-nasty aftertaste ingredients.

Well, it wasn't as hard as I thought it might be and it is easily adaptable to any specific needs. Like, if you don't like real sugar, you could use agave nectar. Or if you don't like vanilla, you could use whatever flavoring suits you. And, obviously, any kind of milk would work here as well, the more fat content, the creamier, but I just used 1% and it tasted delish.

So far this week I've stirred it into hot coffee, iced coffee and hot tea and I haven't been disappointed yet! So, here's my unexact recipe. Go try it out and give me some feedback on if it worked for you or not!

Creamer
1. Put milk in a saucepan (3 c ? or more)

2. Add sugar (depending on how sweet you want it)

3. Turn on heat and simmer (don't boil or the milk will get that nasty skin on top) for like 20 minutes or so, stirring every once in awhile. You want the liquid to reduce out a bit and the sugar to dissolve.

4. Add vanilla extract (at least a teaspoon)

5. Cook that for another minute and then turn off the heat.

6. Cool completely. Store in the fridge.

Iced Coffee
1. pour chilled coffee into a cup, about half way up

2. add a splash (or more) of your creamer. it isn't as potent as coffeemate so you may need a little more than you would normally.

3. toss in a few ice cubes
4. top it off with milk.
5. Stir and enjoy, and make it through the rest of your day with a smile on your face :)

Last Day of Preschool

Well, today was the last day of preschool for Emma Joy. It started off okay....

(all dressed up and holding the cards she made for her teachers)

The families were all invited to come to the last few minutes of class to watch the kids sing songs. That's when it got ugly...(she was NOT going to perform, thank you very much)

...and then each kid got a certificate and a special award. Guess which kid was the only one who refused to go up to receive her award?....(standing in the back with me and kind of smiling)

...then there was a picnic. This was much better because she got to sit with her BFF Athena [the only other girl in her class who is allowed to dress herself] and eat TJ's cheese sandwich crackers for lunch....(Athena and Emma, kindred spirits in life and fashion)

It's hard to believe that this phase of her life is already over. Man, I'm gonna miss only having to drag 3 kids out the door for school 3 days a week!

Happy Preschool Graduation Emma Joy!

Growing old with someone

Today is Grandma Phyllis' 84th birthday.

A year ago, I wouldn't have thought that she'd have made it to this day. You see, since she's lived here (20 months) she's been hospitalized several times, had pneumonia once or twice, broken some bones, and been found by neighbors down the street a few times. And yet today, on her 84th birthday, aside from some dementia and a slight case of diabetes, she's totally healthy and strong.

Now some people may think we're nuts for inviting a totally dependent elderly person into our home when we already had 2 (and now 3!) kids and a crazy dog. I don't disagree. We are nuts. But in our hearts, crazy as they may be, we believe that families should take care of one another.

So we do. And I'm not gonna lie and say that it's easy. It's the hardest thing we've ever done.

But then we see Emma exhibiting compassion (something that I totally lack) and guiding Grandma to the table or giving her hugs or encouraging her. Or we see Grady checking up on Grandma and making sure she's where she's supposed to be. Or we see Grandma's face when she's sitting on the couch singing along to a Bible Songs dvd with three of her great-grandkids. And that's how we know that we're doing what we're supposed to be doing. Our lives are crazier and more hectic- yes; but they are also richer and fuller and more compassionate and less self-centered. And our kids are learning, right along with us, the importance of serving others and being hospitable and generous.

And so really, even though it's inconvenient and often unpleasant and it requires so much more of us than we would like to give, we consider it a blessing to have her in our home and are so thankful to have her as a part of our family.

Happy 84th birthday Grandma Phyllis.... and many more :)

FIVE

On Sunday, our baby girl turned 5.

Wow.
Yes, the past 5 years have gone by too fast.
Yes, we cannot believe that our itty bitty baby girl is now 5.

She's full of life. Full of questions. Full of compassion.

She's a worrier. A nurturer. An artist.She's a perfectionist. She's inquisitive. She's mature. She loves to do math (yes, really). She doesn't love to eat- still.Happy 5th Birthday to our sweet, wonderful Emma Joy!

We are SO proud of you and are very thankful that God has blessed us so greatly by giving you to us.

[And thank you to Dan Ramming for the great pics!]

"Are you really 26?"

We had a mother's day tea at Emma's preschool today. All of the mothers showed up during the last 45 minutes of class and we squeezed our post-birth hips into preschool sized chairs and pulled ourselves up to a preschool height banquet table and then had our preschoolers sit on our laps while we drank sweet tea and ate cucumber sandwiches. It was bliss. Each child filled out a questionnaire about his or her mom and we got to see how our children view us. Here's what Emma had to say about me:

My mommy's eyes are __green___.
Her hair is __black__.
I think my mommy is __26__ years old.
My mommy likes to __take a nap__.
Her favorite food is __beans__.
My mommy laughs when __"I be silly"__.
My mommy and I like to __watch tv__.

Perhaps I should spare you my thoughts about her answers. (Black hair? Really!)

Since this questionnaire was handed back to us during the tea, all of the moms got to chuckle about the answers. Some kids said that their moms liked to do laundry (yeah right!), and most of the kids said ridiculous numbers for their mom's age, like 150 or 9354. Well, the age question gave some other moms the courage to ask me what they'd been wondering for the past few years: "Are you really 26!?"

"Um, no, I'm 28 actually."

to which I received comments like:
"Ooooh, 28. I had my first kid when I was 28." [said kid is now in 8th grade so this mom is in her mid 40's]
or
"Oh, to be 28 again! I'm 44 and I'm about to be a grandma!"
or
"Oh man, my twenties were rough. My thirties were sooo much better. And so far, my forties have been very enlightening" [blah, blah, blah]


Needless to say, these conversations confirmed what I already knew but was hoping to disregard: I am by more than a decade the youngest mother in Emma's class. No exaggeration. The mothers of her friends are closer to my mom's age than they are to my age. I know that it's cool to wait to have kids later in life and all, but really, can't there be ANY moms around that are my age? Or even in their 30's!?!

To my dear friends who are not yet married and don't yet have kids: no need to fret. you haven't missed the boat. in fact, if you move to walnut creek, you'll buy yourself another 10 years before you'll even start to feel the need to procreate :)