Music Education

I am in heaven!  Today I found a website with literally HUNDREDS, maybe even thousands, of educational songs for kids.  They have songs from the toddler/preschool level up through middle school (maybe even some high school), in categories such as:  math, science, early childhood, holidays, seasons, special education, foreign languages, reading and language arts, social studies, general education, fine arts, and life skills.  Every one of these categories has several sub-categories with lots of songs listed under each sub-category (is that confusing?).  You can even listen to samples and read lyrics, with most of it being downloadable.  It's pretty comprehensive!   Both of my kids are very responsive to music (hmmm......  wonder where that comes from?!), so I'm pretty excited about this website!  I could EASILY spend a couple hundred dollars there!  It's called Songs for Teaching.  If you're curious/interested, go check it out.  I'm now a fan, and just had to share!

Backyard Fun!

The last little while has been PERFECT summer weather (keyword here is summer).  It's been in the mid to upper 70's, sunny, with a light ocean breeze.  The humidity isn't too bad yet, either.  Consequently, we've been outside enjoying it.  Here's a bunch of pictures from our good times:

100% boy.  He loves to dig in the gravel/dirt.

Some sort of pretend play

Could he possibly get any cuter?!

Being naughty.... Those bikes are not allowed in the house.  Good thing they're headed back outside!

Crazy kid! 

Drinking water from the faucet.  Classic!

Just threw a ball into the tree

Going down the slide on his tummy, feet first.  I love his expression - he was having a great time! 

Darren's turn!

Ker-Splash!

Wanna come over and play?! 

Father/Sons

Before Matt left (TDY), we asked the boys what they wanted to do with Daddy as their last chance to play with him for awhile.  We told them it could be ANYTHING!  Darren wanted to play trains and go to the park, and was very adament about those two things.  Joseph was just happy to tag along, but we knew he really likes to climb on and go for rides on Daddy.  So, we made it all happen, and here are a few of the pictures from those sweet, precious moments  memories:

Truly candid.  Neither was aware I had the camera yet.

Daddy makes a great airplane!

The picture couldn't capture the eruptions of laughter every time he got to "fly!"  (I held my breath)

Daddy held the spinning monkey bars still so they weren't so scary.

Look carefully, and you can see that Darren was grinning ear to ear!

    The best seat in the house!                                      

Together!

The boys really miss their Daddy...... so do I!

Hippos and Lions and TEETH! Oh MY!!

I don't know about most kids, but my kids LOVE their vitamins.  If I ever forget to give them to them, I definitely hear about it until I rectify the situation!  The vitamins they have currently are in the shape of animals; specifically, a lion, a tiger, a hippo, and an elephant.  Today, Darren asked for a lion and a hippopotamus.  I was happy to oblige.  But, before eating them, he thought they needed to have a conversation with each other.  Here's what followed:

Hippo:  Hi.  My name is hippopotamus.  Are you a lion?
Lion:  Yes, I am.  I am a lion.  I have sharp teeth.  Are you a hippopotamus?
Hippo:  Yes, I am.  I am a hippopotamus.  How are you doing today, Lion?
L:  I am good.  How are you doing today?
H:  I am doing good today.  Are you happy?
L:  I am.  I am happy.  I have sharp teeth.  Darren is going to eat me!  Darren likes me.  Does Darren like you, too?  Is Darren going to eat you, too?
H:  Yes, yes.  Darren likes me.  I'm a hippopotamus!  Darren is going to eat me, too!
L:  Oh!  OOOOHHHHHHHhhhhh!  Yeah! 

Then the creatures were captured by Darren's sharp teeth, never to be heard or seen again! 

18 Months

Joseph officially turned 18 months on February 27, and had his well baby check-up this week.  He is 33 1/4 inches long, and 27 lbs. fully clothed (minus shoes and socks).  That's the 75th percentile for height, and about the 60th for weight.  He's doing great in all other areas of development as well.  I think Joseph is going to eventually outgrow his older brother, and already eats more than Darren.  He's also fitting into clothes that Darren was wearing only a year ago!  He is growing so fast!! 

Like his brother, Joseph is physically oriented and fearless.  If you try to hold him when he does not want to be held, he is quite possibly the wiggliest kid I have ever seen.  On the flip side, when he wants to be held, he is quite the little snuggle bug, which I love and eat up every day - especially since he ALWAYS prefers Mom when he's in that mode!  He gives the BEST hugs!  He is quite good at walking backwards, running, jumping, spinning in circles, and can just about do a sommersault.  Just within the last couple of weeks, he has learned how to slide down the stairs head first on his belly - scared me to death the first couple of times he did it.  He learned that trick from Darren.  Darren has taught him several other little stunts - some good, some not so much.  But, that's what big brothers are for, right?!  For Joseph, it's all about imitating Darren.  The pictures prove it! 

I love my little Joseph sooo much, and I'm so glad that he is part of our family.  He brings so much love and laughter into our home, for which I am really grateful. 

A Brother, A Buddy, and A Couple of Beds

Every year of my childhood (to include the first couple years of college) my parents would have us sit down and write out a Christmas wish list just before the Christmas season hit.  I'm sure that's fairly typical.  Anyway, from as young as I can remember, all the way up until my parents' divorce (I was in High School), a baby sister was ALWAYS at the very top of my list.  I understood the companionship and camaraderie that comes with having a sibling of the same gender. 

Even though I never got a sister (biologically), I can now enjoy watching the deep friendship that is growing within my boys.  They are seriously best buddies!  For the most part, they are really good at playing together.  Darren is pretty good at trying to include Joseph in what he's doing, and loves to walk around the house holding his hand.  Whenever I tell the boys we're going to go somewhere or do something, Darren nearly always asks:  "Joseph too?!"  When I say yes, Darren responds with "Hooray!"  and runs to tell Joseph what's going on.  When Joseph says his prayers, he has to repeat that he's thankful for Darren at least 3 times before he's satisfied.  No one else gets that kind of mention! 

I love watching my boys interact and play together!  Here's a pic of them riding on their fire engine together.

They both crawled into Darren's bed, and pretended to sleep.

Both are in the tent, though you can't see Joseph.  D must be a pretty lucky boy to have a Thomas tent over his bed! 

Joseph became quite proficient at climbing out of his crib, so on his 18 month birthday (Saturday), we converted his crib into a toddler bed. 

Climbing in over the rails is a trick he learned from his brother. 

Checking out his "new" bed.

The first night of Joseph's new freedom, it took them both over an hour to fall asleep.  They kept playing, laughing, giggling, singing, squealing, and having a good ol' time.  Eventually, they quieted down.  We checked on them a little while later, and when Matt and I walked into their room, this is how they had fallen asleep. 

I love how my boys are such great buddies.  I hope it sticks - forever!  There's nothing like a brother to be your best buddy! 

The Beginning

Today was the beginning.  The beginning of a new week, and the official beginning of a new lifestyle.  Matt and I have set some new goals to become healthier.  Just looking at me, it's quite obvious that I have a lot of weight to lose.  Matt is required to stay in shape because of his job, and also desires to lose a few inches.  So, we're going to try to do something about it.  Now, before I say anymore, in spite of feeling somewhat hypocritical because of my current "health" status, you need to know that I personally would not ever choose to use a fad diet.  I find that many of them neglect ESSENTIAL nutrients our bodies need, are just a "quick fix," or are just not sustainable for the long term, which seems counter productive to me.  When I lose weight, I want it to STAY off!  No yo-yo here. 

Anyway, the point is that we have found a program called Live the Life, (Thank you, Matt and Dixie) that uses common sense stuff, all food groups, follows the food pyramid pretty well, no strange supplements/pills, and the food is yummy.  And it's NORMAL, healthy food!  The secret is in the specific combination of foods, exercise, portion sizes, water consumption, and keeping your body working at a steady pace - meaning you should not be hungry, but also should not be too full.  The more I learn about this program, the more I like it.  It seems practical and makes a lot of sense to me. 

We've been testing the meal plans for the last 2-3 weeks (but not near as strictly as we will be doing it now), and have really liked it.  6 small meals everyday takes some getting used to, and a lot of preparation beforehand, but so far, it's been good!  I believe we can be successful!  So far, we've eaten things like fish tacos, mexican rice bowls (my personal favorite so far - it has brown rice, chicken, black beans, corn, salsa and fat free sour cream in it.  So good!), crackers, cucumbers, and carrots w/ cottage cheese as a dip, breakfast burritos, fruit and yogurt, sweet potatoes, etc.     

The program is designed so that you should lose between 1 and 3 pounds a week, a healthy rate. So, it may be a little while before I start looking noticably different.  Now, you may notice that I've mostly talked about the food.  That's because at this point, the exercises are kicking my butt, and so I'm not particularly loving them.  However, I know they are good for me, and I really need to do it.  I hope they get easier as I get more consistent.  So, if you see me or talk to me, PLEASE ask me about it to hold me accountable - just in case I start losing motivation!  Matt and I are excited to start this program/new lifestyle, and can't wait until we can see some results!  Regardless of what happens, I am confident that this is a healthy change for our family!  Bring on the healthyness! 

Maybe when I receive the desired results, I will post before/after pictures.  MAYBE!