More Food

It seems like I discuss food an awful lot on this blog. What can I say? We like to eat around here.

When I feel like cooking something outside my normal rotation I check out a blog called "My Mommy's Kitchen." It's written by a mom that has tons of recipes, complete with step-by-step instructions and pictures. And I need that kind of guidance.

Anyway, I found a recipe for strawberry yogurt popsicles and tried it out last week. They turned out really good. (Well, the second batch did). Plus, they're pretty healthy. I can remember making popsicles when I was little. For some reason there was something special about making them ourselves.

Like I said, the first batch didn't turn out great. If anyone is reading this and decides to make them, be sure to use plain yogurt and not vanilla. Also, don't use lime jello. Even if you already have lime jello. Even if you go to the store to buy strawberry jello and your 10-month-old gets a hold of the blueberries and dumps them ALL over the floor and it takes three people to clean it up and your two-year-old is screaming "Nafan spilled the blueberries! Nafan spilled the blueberries!" and all you want to do is forget the stupid jello and run out of the store and never come back. Deal with it and go get the strawberry. Totally worth it.

Here's Brooke eating my vanilla-lime concoction. Yuck.

Cry It Out

We're helping Nate learn to fall asleep on his own today. That's a nice way to say that we're putting the poor guy in his bed and letting him scream his little head off until he exhausts himself and finally gives up and falls asleep. Checking on him and patting him periodically, of course.

I hate this. I think I can actually feel my blood pressure rising. I keep reminding myself that this is not torture. He's fed, clean, dry, tired and laying in his bed. We should all be so lucky. But something about this must be horrible.

I know I need to let him cry. My doctor said so, my best friend with a child development degree said so. I did it with Brooke, so I know it works. I want him to sleep and I want to sleep. But it's still hard.

Obviously, I'm not capturing this moment with my camera, so here are a few pics of my little guy back before I scarred him for life.

This is the Day

I got off on the wrong foot today.

We're tired. The baby was up at 5:30 and went back down for his morning nap at 7:50. Brooke woke up bright and early, too.

I opened the fridge to see that our breakfast choices were salad or eggs. Eggs it is. Brooke dropped one on the floor as she "helped" me make breakfast. The floor that I scrubbed yesterday, Cinderella-style, down on my hands and knees. Sigh.

As I mentally counted the hours until naptime (6!?!) I noticed this on my egg carton:



It says, "This is the day which the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Psalms 118:24

Right there on my egg carton. Whoa...hmmmm...

What if I treat today as a gift? I know that in a few more years I will wish I had that two-year-old, dressed as Snow White over her pjs, dropping eggs on my kitchen floor. (Did I mention I had just scrubbed it???) I will remember when my grocery cart was so full of babies that I had no room for groceries. I will think of that smiling little boy, happy, healthy and raring to go in the wee hours of the morning. How great is that?

Today is a beautiful gift. And I am so glad for it.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day might be my favorite holiday. No gifts to stress about or decorations to dig out. No fancy meals to cook. You can stay home or go somewhere. It's a time to remember and honor. And to enjoy the beginning of summer.

We're having a good one.

Friday night was an impromtu BBQ with neighbors, complete with s'mores. Brooke and her buddy had a ball. Have you eaten s'mores lately? You really should.





On Saturday we got out the swimming pools for the first time this year. Bubbles and sand, too.






I earned some major mom points with the water table. Nate loves to stand and splash and Brooke works it into her little make-believe world.




Sunday was church and off to another BBQ with some really good long-time friends that we don't get to see often. We've both added baby boys to our families since we saw them last. We've missed them. It was so fun to catch up and watch our kiddos play together.

We're having fun, but we've gotten some things done, too. Scot stained the deck and we made a major dent in our this-might-require-professional-help-to-organize basement. I just wasn't inspired to grab the camera for that one.

Summertime

Summer came this week, complete with mosquitoes and humidity. I LOVE it! (I'll probably have an "It's Too Hot" post in a few weeks.)

Our roses finally decided to bloom.



When I bought this bush it was COVERED in roses. Fast-forward two weeks, and it was on the verge of death. But it perked back up and looks like it might survive my brown thumb.

We also planted some seeds so Brooke could watch them turn to flowers. It's two months later and we're still waiting. I can't remember what we planted, so not exactly sure what we're looking for here.




I told Brooke that flowers don't like to be touched and tried to keep her out of them. Naturally, she wanted to touch them every time she saw them. After a few days of that I gave up.



She's actually very gentle with them. Maybe they just need a little of her TLC.

Grandma's House

We spent the weekend in southern Missouri at Grandma's house. (We explained to Brooke that Grandma lets Papa live at her house, too.) We all had a great time, and you know I took a billion pictures!

We took the kiddos to a place called the Discovery Playhouse. Brooke and Nate both loved every minute. We started with a ride on the firetruck.



On to a little grocery shopping. Not my idea of fun, but to each her own.




Brooke loves trains. She talked to the trains while she pushed them around the little track. We sat back and watched her in her own little world. So sweet.



We also saw a bug exhibit, did some crafts, played in the sand table, played with magnets, and you name it. Brooke had a blast.

There were all kinds of things for Nate to do, too. These are some of my favorite pics:


Is it possible to catch air when crawling?






When we got home we played outside. It was so nice to be out in the warm weather. The next day we went to church and played some more before heading home.

Wait a minute! I can't talk about a trip to Grandma's house without talking desserts. Oh, the desserts. This weekend we had strawberries dipped in chocolate, shoo-fly pie and strawberry shortcake. For Brooke, eating is still a full-out sensory experience. Can you blame her?



Such a fun weekend. Thank you both!

Just Relax

The hubby came home with coffee and we have leftover chocolate cake. The baby is finally sleeping. Brooke is at the "haircut store" with Daddy getting her bangs trimmed. The TV is turned to a "mommy show" and I have a new magazine to read. Not bad for Mama.

Have a good weekend. :-)