Picture of the Day, Week 11

Sunday {3.13.11}

Today was Youth Sunday at church, and I was in charge of the "young singers choir". I was surprised to see that normally reserved and shy Drew got so into it. All for Jesus, people...all for Jesus. ;)

Monday {3.14.11}

We did some rearranging in Reed's room to make space for his big boy bed. After we got it set up, the boys were playing around in it. Drew began tucking Reed in...over and over again...by reading him stories and saying "night night, sweetie." (It took a bit for Reed to warm up to actually wanting to sleep in his new bed. He started napping in it Wednesday, and sleeping in it at night on Friday.)

Tuesday {3.15.11}

Our Luci girl. She'll be seven years old in May. She's neglected and overweight, but still tries to play every once in a while. It usually lasts about two minutes before she's exhausted and needs to rest. ;)

Wednesday {3.16.11}

Special visitors! Brent, Esther, Lewis and Lauren stopped by on their way through to Ohio for spring break. The boys had a blast playing with their cousins.

Thursday {3.17.11}

We celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a rainbow cake, a la How Does She? and Meg. And yes. It tasted just as good as it looks!

Friday {3.18.11}

More special visitors for the weekend. This time it was Jeremy, Ashley, Avery, Addy and Grammy. We headed to the Peoria Zoo this afternoon for some entertainment. Here are the boys right where they belong...alongside the lions!

Saturday {3.19.11}

Our Addy girl.

Is she gorgeous, or what?!

(This pic was taken Friday at the zoo, but this beautiful face needed to be included in this week's POTDs!)

Picture of the Day, Week 10

I used my cell phone more this week than ever before to capture our daily photos. There is certainly a convenience to it, but it also allowed me to capture a couple moments that may otherwise have gone undocumented. I'm trying to remind myself that photo quality isn't the goal. Capturing our life...that's the goal.

Sunday {3.6.11}

Brad teaches a catechism class to some of our youth on Sunday nights. It appears as though they have a pretty good time. :)

Monday {3.7.11}

Reed ran some errands with me this morning...and literally shopped 'til he dropped!

Tuesday {3.8.11}

Going on day 5 for fevers for both boys - time for a trip to the doctor! Drew was diagnosed with an ear infection, and they both may have had the flu as well. (Thankfully, by Wednesday, both fevers had subsided and the boys were on their way back to normal.)

Wednesday {3.9.11}

Look at what I found in my cereal box this morning! I'm an instant winner; a one in 1,000 instant winner!

Thursday {3.10.11}

Our baby bear turned two today!

Friday {3.11.11}

Grandma and Grandpa arrived today for the weekend, bearing gifts for the birthday boy. Among them - Cooper, a cute bear that interacts with you when you read his story.

Saturday {3.12.11}

Visits from Grandma and Grandpa usually involve a lot of eating out. (I pretty much don't need to eat until Wednesday of next week!) Today's lunch was at Denny's. We were also the beneficiaries of an anonymous random act of kindness. When we asked for the check, our waitress told us it had been taken care of. A subtle reminder that there is still a lot of good in our world.

Elmo's Throwing a Party...

...because Reed's turning TWO!

Because "Melmo" is one of the few words Reed can say, I knew that that lovable, furry, red monster would be our birthday mascot for Reed's big day. We decided not to have a formal party for the little guy, but instead will celebrate throughout the month as much of our extended family have made plans to come and visit us during the coming weeks.

Eventhough there is no big party, I still wanted to make the day special for Reed. You only turn two once, ya know! So I Googled "Elmo birthday," which brought me to Jessica's blog. Ironic, because I follow her blog (she's the one that hosts Project Life Tuesday), and as I clicked over to her Elmo party ideas, I had remembered reading about her son's Elmo party last summer.

So, all credit goes to Jessica...thanks for letting me carbon copy all your ideas! (I just love blogland!)

It was too bad that Reed's birthday fell on a Thursday...it's one of our busiest days. Preschool in the morning, speech therapy right after lunch, followed by quiet time. Brad also had some afternoon meetings today, so all celebrating had to wait until he got home. Around 4pm, our little family celebration began!

I decided to put together these Elmo foam visors as a fun little addition to Reed's birthday. In classic toddler style, he couldn't keep his paws off as I was trying to glue them together, and then once it was ready to wear, he wanted nothing to do with it. Leave it to big brother to convince him!

Opening gifts...with a lot of help from Drew.

A Black & Decker tool set for the workbench.

Kick Croquet set.

This was my favorite idea from Jessica. She used these Elmo Easter baskets as party favors. The stores are beginning to stock up on Easter goodies, so I was able to grab one for Reed, and loaded it with all things Elmo (thank you, Target Dollar Spot!). It included books, bibs, and a few new Hot Wheels.

Best buddies. (Oh, he also got a new jacket for spring. It's that green blob to the right of Reed, casually discarded without a second glance.) ;)

Birthday dinner at Culvers! (I swear I had nothing to do with this! Yes, it's my favorite and I chose it for my birthday. And Drew chose it for his birthday, too. Reed totally picked! I promise...)

Back home for Elmo cake and ice cream.

(Once again...it's so good to have a friend who has an endless supply of baking necessities and tools! Although I had Brad fooled, Elmo was made using an Elmo-shaped cake pan.)

Y.U.M!

We love you, Little Monkey!

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

TWO!

Sick Day

This has been the feeling around our house for the past several days.

So, so sad, isn't it?

Drew has had a fever of 100+ degrees since Friday morning. And because we share nothing in our house quite as well as we share germs, Reed hit 100.3 by Saturday night.

Big. Fat. BOOOOOO!!!

Besides the consistent fever (even with around the clock dosings of tylenol and ibuprofen), other symptoms include cough and lack of appetite.

Or, in Drew's case, zero appetite. In the past five days I think he has eaten a total of one and a half bananas, two spoonfuls of yogurt, four spoonfuls of pudding, three bites of toast, and one Dorito.

Thankfully, both boys have been sleeping well.

Err. Scratch that.

Both boys have been sleeping well since Saturday night.

Friday night was weird. Drew woke up several times before 2am. I even went in to sleep with him around 12:30 because he had been up so much. When he woke at 2 to go to the bathroom, he was so convinced it was morning. He couldn't understand why he couldn't go downstairs and play. At this point, I'm a zombie, having been snapped out of the precious REM cycle about 10 too many times, and trying to avoid any major meltdowns because, you know, it's 2am and Drew has gotten maybe one good hour of sleep, I tell him we can go downstairs and watch a movie.

So. 2am. Me and Drew snuggled on the couch watching Elmo.

Awesome.

I, of course, am totally convinced he'll crash once zoned out on the TV.

Oh.

My.

Stars.

By 5am, after having finished watching Elmo and Lightening McQueen, Drew is still awake. I only know this because halfway through Elmo he decided he wanted to sit in the recliner. Elmo doesn't bore him enough to sleep, so in goes Lightening. I don't even think I made it past the opening sequence of that movie and I'm out like a light. And when, after Cars was finished, he woke me up by saying, "Mom, let's watch Mater and the Ghostlight" and he was in the exact same spot with the exact same movie-trance blazoned across his face... I knew he had stayed awake that whole time.

I lovingly suggested it was time to go back upstairs to rest, and thankfully, he willingly agreed.

So, with the exception of Friday night, both boys have been sleeping well.

And it's actually been a pleasant sort of sickness. Both boys are quiet and lazy and extra cuddly. Reed has been a bit extra whiny at times, and Drew's been extra sensitive to being told "no"... but I guess I can't expect them to be sick and perfect.

When the fevers persisted on Monday, I called the doctor and got an appointment for both of them for today. Both boys actually fooled me this morning, acting almost back to normal, with the exception of their appetites. Playful, jovial, normal. To the doctor we went anyway...

...and back up to 101 degrees for Drew and 99 degrees for Reed.

The end result: a left ear infection for Drew. No strep, lungs are clear. Reed's lungs are clear as well, no strep, no ear infection.

So Drew will be on antibiotics for the next 10 days, and I'm hoping his fever will be knocked out by tomorrow so that he can go back to school on Thursday (he missed today, of course, and I told his teacher I wasn't sure if it made me more sad that he was sick or that he'd have to miss school...I love preschool!).

Reed will stay on his dosings of tylenol and ibuprofen and if his fever doesn't break by Thursday, the doctor will put him on an antibiotic to treat it. Perhaps Reed had the flu, but the window to test for it has passed and they wouldn't treat him at this point if it came back positive anyway.

Soooo....with any luck, and a few meds, they'll be back to their devilishly cute ways very very soon.

Picture of the Day, Week 9

Sunday {2.27.11}

We have been really good lately about limiting fast food dinners, but there are some nights that our schedule has us all running in different directions, it's the easiest option. Cheeseburgers all around, and then back to business!

Monday {2.28.11}

Laundry for me = fun for the boys. Reed is usually the instigator of such imaginative play. He flipped the basket and before I knew it, they were reenacting Superman's best moves.

Tuesday {3.1.11}

I love it when they love each other.

Wednesday {3.2.11}

Sippy cups are a staple of our household, but they are rarely found in the cupboard. In the sink, on the counter, jammed in the couch cushions, and at the bottom of the toy bucket are more likely places they'd be discovered.

Thursday {3.3.11}

Drew has reached the age where I feel like we can start introducing him to "chores." (I don't care for the philosophy behind that word, though, so I have some ideas on how to approach it from a "it's important we take care of our house" perspective. More on that another time.) Anyway, one of the things Drew is able to take care of is emptying the dishwasher. He requires help, of course, and what better person to come to his aid than Brad! ;)

Friday {3.4.11}

Brad and I enjoyed dinner out tonight with a couple from church who are our pastoral relations committee. We had a delicious meal at Logan's Steakhouse and a wonderful conversation. I totally spaced on taking a picture, though, so I'll come up with something to represent our night out.

Saturday {3.5.11}

Day two of 100+ degree temps for Bubba Joe. It was a day made for relaxing and being quiet - movies, video games, and a four hour nap.

When Mom's Mom Comes to Town

So I have a confession to make.

Well, maybe not so much a confession as an admission.

I don't know the difference. "Confession" makes it sound like I did something wrong. "Admission" is just telling you what I've done, right or wrong or indifferent?

Sure. Makes sense to me.

So here it is.

I admit that...

when my parents come to our house to visit, I kinda "check out" for a while. (The same can be said for when my in-laws come, and although I know they occupy the boys and help us with a lot around here, I don't want them to do too much...there's still a need to impress them.) :)

I'm still here physically. I don't leave the building or anything like that - although occasionally that would be nice. But mentally, I've dropped those "Mom" and "Wife" titles and take a day off...what my Dad used to call taking a mental health day. Thankfully, when they visit, it's a few mental health dayS!

Let me be frank... being a mom is hard. I say that with no intention of projecting a "woe is me" attitude. There is nothing else I'd rather be and nowhere else I'd rather go than to be here in my home, with my two little guys to love and raise. They bring me more JOY than my heart can hold.

But they also bring me more frustration and pain and tears and fits than one Mama can handle!

Motherhood is all those good things people say about it - it's rewarding, and joyous, and happy, and playful, and wonderful and yadda yadda yadda.

Motherhood is also exhausting.

I only have two kids. I marvel at women who have more. And work outside the home. And sleep. And still look good every day.

I don't allow myself to take a break. Truthfully, there is very little opportunity to. There's always something that needs to be done. Or should be done. Or could be done. Or would be really nice if it was done so I could cross it off my to-do list and actually feel like I got something accomplished between kissing boo-boos, changing diapers, doing crafts, preparing nourishing snacks, and playing Yahtzee, Jr ~ oh, and attempting to raise well-mannered, Jesus-loving, contributing members of society.

While I know my parents come to see their grandchildren...I know that they come to take care of me, too.

I am 31 years old. And I still need my mom and dad.

Their visits give me time...time to start (and finish) things that would normally take several hours or several days to accomplish. My dad's hands play games with the boys so I can organize my craft room. My mom's hands fold my laundry so I can learn how to operate the self-clean function on my oven. My dad's hands help the boys navigate the internet as they watch Disney online so I can fix a broken toy. My mom's hands hold books as she reads story after story after story to the boys so I can go to the bathroom by myself (it really is the little things, people).

They make it easy for me to relax.

They make it easy for me to take a break.

They make it easy for me to be "Lesley" first, for a brief while, before stepping back in to "Mom."

And when after four days, they go back home to Minnesota, I'm a little bit refreshed.

Until one throws a fit on the living room floor, the other is in time out, mac and cheese is caked to the underside of the table, the dog pees in the house, and we've run out of milk.

Ahh...motherhood.

{Mom, Dad...when are you coming back???}