Home Alone

I am behind on writing blog posts, and as Brad and I enjoy one last night at home, alone, before the boys come back tomorrow, I figured it was time to write about the last time I was home alone.

In the past, when Brad has taken off somewhere for any longer, than say, a day, the boys and I headed out, too, for our own travels. In summers past when Brad has taken our youth kids on mission trips to New York and Michigan, the littles and I head to Grammy & Papa's house for our own little vacation. We do this for a couple reasons: 1) so I can have a little help with the boys, and 2) so that I'm not home alone with the boys (let's just say I'm not at all a fan of this).

This time, however, we stuck around. Drew has several obligations (the kid is four and he has more on his social calendar than I do!), including soccer, t-ball, and Fun Fridays at school, and I didn't want him to have to miss any of it. So I opted to stay here at home, alone, with the boys. By myself. Just the three of us. Yep. Just me and the kids. (What was I thinking?!?!)

So on Wednesday, June 15, we gave Dad big hugs...

...watched him pull out of the driveway...

...and waved good-bye as he headed to the General Synod Conference in Grand Rapids, MI.

Let me first tell you that I do have some pretty awesome self-proclaimed Supermom moments. Look, I stay at home with my kids (which I honestly wouldn't trade for anything) so I'm pretty much responsible for everything child related. Sometimes I even surprise myself at what I'm able to do (successfully) while filling the role of wife and mother. Being without Brad is a challenge in terms of sleeping at night (I have a very active imagination that keeps me awake) and not being able to hand over childcare when I'm at my wits end. When anticipating my time as a 'single mom', I definitely had "I can totally do this!" thoughts. There are a gazillion single parents who do this everyday, I thought. I can definitely do this for a week! But - although I am not good at asking for help - I very quickly determined that I don't have to do this all by myself. There's no need to be Supermom. Or Superwoman. Sometimes it's a smarter move to realize that it's better not to be these things, and instead, ask for help, so that I can take a super hero's nap at some point.

So that's exactly what I did. I asked some friends to help. And some friends offered. And in the end, we had a really great (albiet lonely without daddy here) week together.

In the first four hours of Brad's departure, we battled dinosaurs, had Monster truck races, Drew gave Reed "prizes", and Sonic died. If that doesn't give you a preview into our week...

In actuality, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday morning were normal days for us. We did Craft Wednesday, tot soccer on Thursday night, and Drew attended Fun Friday at school, followed by Fun Food Friday at home.

Friday at noon is when the real fun began, though! Grandma and Lauren showed up just in time to play with and entertain the boys, giving me an extra hand (or four) as well as allowing me to get a few chores done around the house.

I was able to give the boys' haircuts with Grandma's help.

Although I had thought I might try, there was no way for me to do Drew's hair without assistance. He screams bloody murder at the mere mention of the clippers, but whether it was Grandma's help or the bribe of a trip to Walmart to pick out a new car...Drew barely batted an eye! Most successful haircut yet!

They also had water fun in the backyard,

read books,

played a lot,

and went to the park, among other things.

Grandma and Lauren stayed until Sunday after church, and then headed home. And by golly, if the fun that Drew had with these two is measured by how big his fit was when they left...then it was as if he had had the absolute best time of his life! Whoa, baby! Drew has never, n.e.v.e.r., thrown a fit the likes of what he did when Grandma and Lauren left. I don't know what it was - not wanting to say good-bye, being tired, missing daddy - but he threw himself on the floor and s.c.r.e.a.m.e.d. like no other. He did (eventually) calm down enough to get in a few bites of lunch before crashing in bed for an afternoon nap.

Thankfully he woke up perky enough to send Brad Father's Day wishes via Skype!

Monday and Tuesday continued to be extra special days for the boys and I, as we had accepted invitations from a few friends to entertain us and to keep us company.

On Monday, Mrs. Bland (Drew's preschool teacher and a friend of our family) wanted to take us to a petting farm, but because it was downpouring (and once we arrived we discovered the farm wasn't open on Mondays anyway), we initiated Plan B and she treated us to Chuck E. Cheese. It was the first time there for all three of us, and after getting over the initial over-stimulation of sights and sounds, and the fear of Chuck E. and the gang...

...both boys went full boar with all the games. Pizza and salad for lunch was quite good, and the company was even better.

Monday night, then, we headed to Gay and Wally's house for dinner. Fried chicken, sweet potato fries, and broccoli were served, and then outside we went to explore and play on their two acre lot. Gay and Wally are grandparents of young children, so they had just the right toys and play equipment to keep the boys active and happy. They slept very well when we got home!

Tuesday afternoon, then, the boys went to Chris and Rich's house for the afternoon/evening. I wanted to be able to run a few errands and get a few things done (interruption free) before Brad got home that night. When Brad got home just after 7:00, it worked perfectly for us to go pick up the boys. While Drew and Reed knew that Daddy was coming home that day, I think it had slipped their minds with all the fun they were having with Chris and Rich.

Their expressions are priceless as they see Daddy for the first time in a week!

The boys and I survived. With {a lot} of help from friends, we made it through the week with no major injuries, meltdowns, or mishaps; however, I'm still trying to catch up on my sleep (reference active imagination statement above). I have a much greater appreciation for single parents, and those that have to single parent due to their spouse's employment.

All in all, we really had a great week.

But boy are we glad Daddy's home!

Cars 2

At the age of four, there isn't much that defines Drew more than his love for Lightening McQueen, Mater, and the rest of the Cars clan. He has die-cast cars, puzzles, stickers, slippers, blankets, books, and of course the movie (among other things), that keep him busy busy busy with all of his Radiator Springs pals.

You can most often find him playing with his cars, as his imagination runs wild, creating new adventures for them as they race throughout the house.

Drew is definitely Cars biggest fan.

So it only seemed appropriate for us to go see the new movie, Cars 2, when it hit theaters last Friday, June 24. And besides, I think Brad and I were as anxious to see it as Drew was! Drew's been counting down the days since we flipped to the June calendar, and when he sees the preview on TV, he asks for us to rewind it so he can watch it "just one more time."

We rounded up a sitter for Reed (poor kiddo missed out, but would you want to take a spunky, squirmy 2-year-old to the movies?...that's what I thought) and we headed out for the 2:15 show.

Waiting patiently for the movie to begin!

Yeah, baby!

Oh, Radiator Springs, how we've missed you!

We're not sure exactly what Drew's opinion is on the movie. Perhaps we didn't go at the best time of day for him (2:15 is typically the middle of quiet time, and while Drew doesn't nap every day, I think he was a little droopy). The theater was chilly, and about halfway through the movie, Drew cuddled back and forth between Brad and me. There were several moments that Brad and I laughed (at some of the adult humor that Drew wouldn't understand) and he would tell us to "Stop laughing! It isn't funny!". He definitely didn't understand the spy storyline, which is okay, but it does dominate much of the movie. We didn't see as much of the old characters or of Radiator Springs as we were hoping, and even Lightening McQueen seemed to have less of a part than we are used to. We think Drew enjoyed it, because really, Mater makes everything better; it just wasn't as understandable to a four-year-old as the first one was.

Both Brad and I walked away a bit disappointed. The sweet innocence of the first movie was somewhat abandoned in the second movie in order to generate the international spy theme that was introduced. There was violence (albiet with animated cars), fiery explosions, and in the end, when the bad guys were out to actually kill McQueen? Kinda killed my Cars mojo. On the flip side, many of the new characters were awesome (and you can bet we'll be adding those to our die-cast collection), and the moral of the story was worth tuning in for.

Our recommendation? Go see it. Take your kids. It's still fun, and the animation is sweet. Plus, as an added bonus, you get to watch a cute Toy Story short before the movie starts.

Now, how long 'til Cars 3?

Today's POTD

This morning, my parents pulled out of the driveway with the boys in tow. Away they went to vacation at Grammy & Papa's house for the remainder of this week. The windows in the van were down as they pulled into the street and I could see the faces of my sweet boys and of my devoted parents.

All of them were smiling, waving, and blowing kisses. My heart was full.

As soon as the moment had passed, I turned to Brad and said, "I should have had my camera!"

To which he said, "You have the perfect mental picture instead."

And he was right. I've carried it with me all day.

Fun Food Friday #4 {on a Monday}

With a full Friday followed by a full weekend, we didn't complete Fun Food Friday #4 last week. But thankfully we make up our own rules around here and guess what??? It's totally okay to do Fun Food Friday on a Monday! {Or any other day of the week, for that matter.} :)

The boys head out tomorrow to spend the remainder of this week at Grammy and Papa's house, so I planned on a little Fourth of July food fun before they go. I found today's idea HERE and HERE.

Star Spangled Strawberries & Marshmallows

Ingredients: strawberries, large marshmallows, while almond bark, blue and red sugar sprinkles.

The process is easy:

Dip.

Dip.

Ta-Da!

In case you missed it...

Dip in chocolate.

Dip in sprinkles.

Wa-lah!

Repeat with the marshmallows.

Super sweet snack to celebrate July 4th!

Red, white and blue berries. Delicious and nutritious.

And let me tell you what... they are gooooooooooooodddd!

Picture of the Day, Week 25

Sunday {6.19.11}

Happy Father's Day to Daddy, via Skype!

Monday {6.20.11}

So many people have helped us through this last week while Brad's been gone. Drew's preschool teacher, and a friend of ours, took the boys and I out on a morning field trip today. When the rainy weather dampened our outdoor plans, we headed over to Chuck E. Cheese instead.

Tuesday {6.21.11}

The boys spent the afternoon at Chris & Rich's house so that I could get a few things done before Brad got home tonight. Brad got home around 7, and then he and I went to pick up the boys. This was the surprise on the boys' faces when Brad came around the corner!

Wednesday {6.22.11}

Craft Wednesday #4 found us making Lightening McQueen cardboard race cars!

Thursday {6.23.11}

Drew finished his second season of Tot Soccer tonight. He was very proud to receive his medal. I think his coach was pretty proud of him, too. ;)

Friday {6.24.11}

We've been looking forward to taking Drew to see Cars 2 since we saw the first preview, and we're such suckers for McQueen and Mater, we had to go on opening day.

{To my regular blog readers: I'll write about it soon. And many other things. I have a bit of a backlog here...}

Saturday {6.25.11}

Drew will miss the last day of T-ball next Saturday (as he'll be vacationing at Grammy & Papa's house), so today was his official last day. He's done great the last five weeks; I can't wait to see what he'll do next year!

(Man, his hair grows fast, huh?!? This picture may or may not have been taken today...hmmmm) :)

Dopey

Yesterday morning, Reed woke up with this.

A swollen and really red ear.

We're pretty sure he got stung by something.

Thankfully, it didn't seem to bother him in the least.

He didn't spike a fever or play with his ear at all.

He reminded me a lot of this little guy.

:)

This morning when he woke up, much of the swelling and redness had subsided.

And then Drew accidentally hit Reed in the eye.

And now his eye is all red and bloodshot.

This likely means that tomorrow, he'll either injure his nose or his chin.

Just guessing.

Craft Wednesday #4

I have been thinking about this week's craft for several weeks now. We are anticipating the theatrical release of Cars 2 this Friday, and I thought it would be super cool if we incorporated some kind of Cars themed craft into our anticipation for the movie (because yes, we will be going to see the movie on Friday!).

I went back and forth on what we could do, and did a little searching online for ideas. After seeing several examples, I finally settled on making some cars out of cardboard boxes.

{photo courtesy of HowDoesShe.com}

And oh yes, I wanted to attempt to make one of these. Oh yes I did. But my problem is that I tend to be a bit too ambitious. Which in the end, can result in things taking a lot longer than they should, and frustration usually rears it ugly head at some point.

Maybe some day.

But not today.

After seeing a few other examples online, I whipped up my own cardboard box version of Lightening McQueen.

My model.

In the end, this ended up not giving the boys a whole lot of hands-on crafting. I had decided that, for the sake of ease (that's a driving force for me), I would pre-spray paint the boxes and pre-cut all of the materials. The boys would then help in gluing the pieces on.

Oh, I also decided to reinforce all of the cutouts with cardboard. I figured if I was going to take the time to put these together, they should be made to last past today.

The boys also helped with the "bling" process when we glitzed up McQueen's lightening bolts.

{No assembly pictures. I wanted to avoid getting hot glue or glitter on the camera. I should really hire someone to take pictures for me...}

The end result!

(The boys also were able to draw Lightening's smile.)

Ka-Chow!

Drew's is on the left; Reed's on the right.

Reed's box is smaller, so to make things more complicated, I scaled down all the pieces for his box.

Trying them on for size!

I wanted to cover the parking lot in roads outlined with sidewalk chalk, for the boys to "drive" on. It didn't happen today...maybe tomorrow.

So while this was more of a watch-mommy-glue-cardboard-together activity than it was an actual craft for the boys, they're enjoying the final product.

A few funny notes:

* Drew was pretty excited to make McQueen cars. When I told him to bring one of his cars outside for our craft, he said "Are we making Lightening cars?!?!"

* Drew ended up being quite the critic. He kept telling me we were missing things, like the Rust-eze logo on the hood and 95 on the roof. I think I convinced him that it was ok when I told him we were like Ramone, giving McQueen a fancy new paint job.

* I'm so glad the weather was nice (finally) for us to be outside for crafts. One word: glitter.

* I'm not sure if it just took too long to put the cars together or what exactly, but in the end, Drew didn't care to play with his car. Like, at all. But, just before lunch, he gives me a big hug, and in total earnest, says "Thanks for making a McQueen car for me."

Ahhhhhh. :)