Latest Project

Our kitchen chairs are gradually breaking.  So, in an effort to conserve money, we found some on Craigslist for a good deal.  However, the seats were in desperate need of being re-upholstered.  They were hideous, and covered in cat hair.  GROSS!  I've never done anything like this before, so I was a little nervous about my attempt.  I went to the fabric store and picked out some upholstery I liked (plus it was on sale for 50% off - definitely a bonus!), and some clear plastic to put over top - a necessity when small children are in the home!  Anyway, I love the new fabric, but I think it looks a bit tacky with the plastic over it.  But, I'll live with it, because I don't want to redo the seats again in a couple months!  Maybe we'll end up restaining them, too.  Who knows.  They don't match our table color, but we've talked about refinishing that, too.  We'll see what happens.  For now, here's what the "new" chairs look like:

Before....

After.....

I've also been attempting to master the art of making homemade whole wheat bread - sometimes made by milling my own flour.  Here's my latest batch (which just has regular store bought wheat flour).......

Silly Boyz!

Yesterday evening, my silly boys thought it would be funny to swap clothes.  So they did - all by themselves.  I thought it was too funny to not grab a picture.... or three! 

All proud of themselves!  If D moved at ALL, we could see his belly button.

J actually walks on his toes like that.  It makes me hurt just watching him.  And, classic D - with a car in hand.  Mid-air works for a road when you have a 4 year old imagination!  

Classic J!  Thumb in the mouth, with hand down his shirt. 

I love my boys!

A Young Patriot

I have a little patriot!  Since he's been in school, he has learned the Pledge of Allegiance, and takes every opportunity to say it.  To the degree that we will be driving somewhere, and all of a sudden he starts saying it.  Sometimes I have to look around to find the flag he's looking at.  While walking, he stops, puts his hand in the general vicinity of his heart (sometimes closer to his tummy or shoulder), and has to say it.  On 9-11, he asked why all the flags were broken and not all the way up.  I had to explain in very brief, watered down terms what happened that day.  Too many details would have been too traumatic for his imaginitive, sensitive mind.  He already seems to have a great love for our country and our planet.  I'm proud of my little boy, and the patriotism he demonstrates already.  Here's a little video clip of him saying the pledge: 

What Happened To My Baby?!

This picture was just taken yesterday - the day he was born....

......And this is how I still picture him in my mind.

 

However, today when I woke up, he suddenly looked like this.....

What happened to my baby?!  He is growing sooo fast, and learning so many new things.  At the end of August, we celebrated his 2nd birthday.  He is officially 2 in EVERY. SENSE. OF. THE. WORD.  From the tantrums and the great quest for independence in EVERYTHING, to the super fun, full of life, starting to understand things, and developing his own personality.  His vocabulary is exploding and he'll periodically say a full, complete sentence.  Some of his most frequent phrases are:  "No! By Self!"  "Hiiiiiii, Mommy!"   (to Matt) "Where's Daddy, Daddy?!"  "Where's Darren?"  "Night night (or bye bye)!  I love you!"  "I try it?!"  Some of his words are much more clear than his older brother, too.  He is a master of gross motor skills.  Anything involving running, jumping, throwing, or climbing is right up his alley!  I love this kid, and he ADORES his big brother.  In his eyes, Darren can do no wrong.  I love watching them interact with each other.

For his birthday, we went on a little family outing to the zoo.  Some good friends joined us there, and the kids all had a good time.  Later that evening, we had cake and opened presents (of course).  This time it was extra special, because Grandma Deeben was able to join us via Skype.  Here are some pics from the day's festivities.......
 

Had to get a little nap in before going to the zoo!

When we got to the zoo, some random lady approached us, and gave us some giraffe food.  They weren't out when she went there, but we had much better luck.  We saw at least 7!  Joseph ate his cracker to feed the giraffe, so Daddy got a turn. 

Darren did a great job feeding him! 

Trying to kiss a bird.  These birds were so tame, we could pet them. 

Reading his new book from G&G Downing.  He loves it! 

Here is his birthday cake.  He wanted a rocket on it, and this is what I came up with.  It is not exactly my most impressive cake, but he was fascinated with it, and that's what matters.

His very favorite gift - a Toy Story book that has buttons to push.  (I've already had to hide this book a few times in order to preserve sanity). 

Couldn't decide what to play with, so why not 3 things at once?!

Enjoying some birthday bubbles from Grandma!  Both boys LOVED how much bubbles it made at a time! 

I think my little guy had a good day.  I'm so glad that he is part of our family!  I can't believe it's already been 2 years since he was born.  Happy Birthday, my sweet little Joseph!  I love you! 

Frankentoe

WARNING:  This post contains a graphic photo.  If you are EASILY squeemish, proceed with caution!

As most moms with small children know, grocery shopping with your children can easily turn into an adventure.  My last grocery trip (3 days ago) was certainly no exception - and I only had 1 child with me!  While reading labels on spaghetti sauce, Joseph must have grabbed and dropped one, because all of a sudden my toe was in pain, and there was a jar of spaghetti sauce on it.  The top corner of the lid is what hit my foot, and my toe spared the jar.  It was undamaged.  My toe, on the otherhand, was quickly turning black.  IT HURT SOOOO BAD!!  Had it not been a crowded isle, I probably would have cried.  I quickly hobbled  to grab the remaining items on my list so I could go.  By this time, my toe was THROBBING!!  I just assumed that this would be like most other times when things get dropped on my foot.  Ya know, painful for an hour or so, and then just be done and over.  No big deal.  WRONG!!  The pain got progressively worse throughout the day, Motrin wasn't touching it, and I eventually gave in and called the doctor.  He had me go to Urgent Care, and they took xrays to ensure it wasn't broken (it's not), and then drilled 2 holes in my toenail to try and relieve the pressure.  He didn't get enough drainage to really get any relief though, so I continued to suffer.  The pain was a throbbing pain with sharp twinges of pain that shot throughout my whole body every couple of minutes or so.  There is definitely some sort of nerve damage - I no longer have sharp, shooting pains, but now half of my toe is numb.  I hope it's not permanent!! 

Now, the pain is much better (though it's still VERY tender), but it looks worse.  Yesterday, a friend commented that with how ugly/creepy it looks, I should call it Frankentoe.  It stuck.  I'm back to doing most of my daily activities (very carefully) but you can bet I will only be wearing flip flops for the next while!  Who knew that a simple, not very heavy, jar of spaghetti sauce could be such a pain?!  For anyone who may be curious, here is what Frankentoe looks like:

Guess Who's 4?!

August 15th marked the 4 year anniversary of a day that changed my life forever!  I became the Mom of a very sweet, active, fun-loving little boy!  Darren brings so much sunshine and laughter to our family, is very outgoing, loves to make others laugh, and is genuinely concerned about the happiness of those around him.  In the last year, Darren has done a lot of changing/growing up.  He has left his toddleresque tendencies behind, and is acting more like a child.  For example, his attention span has lengthened, he now has the ability to sit still when asked to do so, is better at following directions, he is now a big boy (no more diapers!), no longer runs away when there's an unlocked door in front of him (only some readers will fully understand this HUGE significance), doesn't get into things too much anymore, and has just matured a LOT in general.  He's still very curious and adventurous with a passion for most vehicles.  He's currently really into trains, Herbie the Love Bug, rockets/space shuttles, Doc Hudson (from Cars), building train tracks, building roads or anything else he decides to build.  He has an incredible memory and on occasion, still recalls things from before he was even 2!   

For his birthday this year, Darren told me that he wanted a Herbie car, a big Thomas, and a big Percy that go by themselves all on his birthday cake.   Uh, that request forced me to get a little creative!  For the trains, I got him a new battery powered Thomas, gathered some tracks and a couple other trains from his collection, and called it good.  Then I found an old skool, white VW Bug, and called it a Herbie car!  Then, while on a date, Matt and I designed the basic layout of the cake and discussed how to make it work without getting anything too yucky or having it be elaborate beyond my skills.  Anyway, here is what we came up with......

The car was actually on the cake (just before going over the bridge), but we didn't put it on until just before we lit the candles, and took it off almost immediately after because he wanted to drive it on the frosting road. 

Another angle.

Darren and his friend were both totally captivated and speechless when they saw the cake with Thomas chugging around the track!  They LOVED it!!

Time for presents!  He got some great new toys, and Buzz Lightyear pajamas.

Our primary president (children's sunday school at church) paid Darren a special visit and brought him his very own birthday cake!

I took cup cakes into his school class for his birthday (his 3rd set of cake!)

I'm so glad that Darren was born into our family, and I can't imagine life without him!  I love you, Buddy! 

1st Day of School

My baby has officially started school - preschool!  School starts pretty early here (Aug. 9th), so Darren's already been in school for 2 full weeks.  Some of you know of the big internal wrestle I had trying to decide what to do for his schooling this year.  We decided on sending him to a private Christian preschool, and so far, we have been very happy with that decision.  I feel totally at peace with it.  The week before school started, his teacher came over to our house to meet Darren and got to know him a little bit.  I was pretty impressed!  Darren is the youngest kid in his class by 6 months, but is still doing well.  Of course, it took him a few days to adjust to the new routines, schedule, etc., but he's getting it.  He comes home with a gigantic smile on his face every day, and his teacher always has something positive to say about him when I pick him up!  So far, he is LOVING it!   

Here he is, already to go on his very first day of school!

Playing with one of his new friends - about 1 week into school.