Grandma Blue Jean's House

For Emma's Birthday my Gram bought Emma a sandbox for her to play in at her house. At first Emma was a little leary but eventually she warmed up to it and now really seems to enjoy it! Gram got it for her house because living in the city doesn't afford us the luxury of having a large yard, so her house is somewhere Emma can go to run in the grass and play. The pictures were from Emma's time at Grandma Jean's on Friday. She had so much fun! She first played on the swingset stand and when we brought her in from that she kept screaming "monkey bars, monkey bars"; it was so sad! After dinner we (by we I mean my Grandma and Jaime, heehee!)set up the sand box so Emma could dig right in (pardon the pun). While Gram and Emma played, Jaime, Calvin and I hung out on the grass. By the way, we are pretty sure Gram got the sandbox so SHE could play.

After the sandbox it was onto playing with bubbles, which does happen to be Emma's favorite past time! Aunt Jaime has a bubble machine at Gram's for Em. Emma kept running through the bubbles saying "it feels good, it feels good". So precious. I must say that watching Emma run through the bubbles and then take her wand and try to catch them is one of those moments that makes me misty eyed just thinking of. It was like time stood still and I just kept trying to take in as many details as I could so I could always remember that moment: the way the breeze was blowing Emma's curls, how her shorts were too little and her little legs just kept running, her cute little feet in her new Crocs she refuses to take off, the sound of her squeals and giggles, her smile when she would catch a bubble. I hope I can remember all of those things for the rest of my life.

Oh, and I forgot to tell you as you are probably wondering about the title of this post. Emma was feeling her pants one day and it went like this "pants, pants, jeans, jeans, Grandma Jeans". I may have already told this story but I just think it is so hilarious that she thinks Grandma Jean is Grandma Denim. When I was a little girl I had a similar word: yard. I thought a yard was where you played not a measurement. So my mom used to sell Stickers by the yard in her store and I would always call them Stickers by the Lawn...how funny kids are!

Cuppa, Cuppa

My sis-in-law bought me these pink measuring cups and spoons! Aren't they fab? They will work perfectly in my all pink kitchen! Bean and I have a sister ball that we have been doing for years. I can't believe its been years already! Anyway, the sister ball is a small silver ball with a maroon ribbon. I think it is actually for potpurri or an ornament or something but it is two halves with a hinge and a clasp so you can open it up and put small things in. Well the darn thing is so small that it is almost impossible to find anything that goes inside of it, so we've always given gift bags of things with the ball tucked inside. So this was her gift to me only it was ball-less because my gift to her was ball-less last time. And why you ask? Because silly me let Emma play with the ball and now it is gone. I cannot find the ball! How a one year old manages to lose a silver ball is beyond me but lose she did. Anyway, these are my new utensils and I love them!

MEAN MAN IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

Okay so I don't think that any of you know this man but I had to post this because it irritated me so much. Yesterday we went on a walk which was absolutely wonderful. On the way home however there was a man who had his van parked in his driveway so he was completely blocking the sidewalk. Now I understand if this happens when you are having a party or something and you are out of room to park...that's cool. But this guy could have pulled up or parked in the street...the options were endless, but instead he chose to park in the middle of the sidewalk. So as we were walking we came upon the blocked sidewalk. The man was out there with his daughter who was maybe four and she was standing on the sidewalk next to the van. From the opposite side of the van a little boy, maybe about 7 years old rides his bike around the van and accidentally knocks this little girl down. The mean dad who obviously can't park yells at the boy to get out of there and then decides he wants to yell at him, so he grabs him by the arm to stop. What a jerk! Then he is yelling at the little boy that he shouldn't even be riding his bike on the sidewalk he needs to ride on the street. So I kind of butted in and yelled at him that maybe he shouldn't be parking on the sidewalk, which you aren't supposed to do anyway. I mean none of that would have happened anyway if the man knew how to obey the rules so everyone could use the sidewalk. So anyway, this man lives on the block next to ours and you'd better believe that the next time I am walking my kids around the neighborhood and see their little four year old daughter riding her tricycle around on the sidewalk, I will suggest she ride in the street. Isn't that what he said? Shouldn't the rules apply to everyone? Because yes, I know if you are an adult you are supposed to be riding your bike in the street. Everyone knows that. But do we really expect our children to do that? Do they have to keep up with the flow of traffic as well? Should they learn the correct arm movements to signal turning? Didn't we all have to do that as children playing with our friends in bike gangs? So if you see this man please tell him he's not a very nice man. I have been worried about that poor little boy all day. He was probably scared to death and is going to ride out in the street now and get killed all because this man doesn't know how to park.

What We've Been up To

I know that some of you just tune in for the pics which is a-okay. Aunt Jan misses her great niece and nephew. So I thought I would post some pictures of us from this past weekend. I must say we are enjoying the new season so much. We have our bird feeder up to watch the birdies eat their breakfast every morning and we are loving to work in the garden! Friday night we went out to eat to Culver's...we had coupons for one free sandwich and one free icecream...BOGO coupons so we had a very nice meal for a very nice price! After dinner we went to go see Aunt Kelsey perform in a children's play, Snow White. Emma loved it!

Here I am with my sisters Lacey and Kelsey. Kelsey is holding Calvin, she was the mother in Snow White that told the story.

Saturday we went to Chi-town to visit our cousins. They have four kids that Emma just adores and loves to play with. They also had some wonderful hand-me-downs to share which are always very much appreciated.

Here's Emma on the ladder climbing on the swingset. She loved playing with her cousins!

Sunday we were terrible people that stayed home from church (shhhh!). We got home really, really late from traveling and I was feeling as though I was coming down with something. So we sat around the house and leisurely made our way through the newspaper. We also got quite a bit done around the house, including cleaning, laundry, raking and gardening, Nicholas got the screen door repaired and replaced the storm door with that, trim cut and put up in Emma's room. It was just an all around nice day. We then went down to Nick's mom and dad's and had cheeseburgers which were super yummy.
This picture was from yesterday, Monday which wasn't in the weekend but thats okay. Here is Calvin ready for our walk. Isn't he the cutest little boy? We're pretty sure his eyes are going to be hazel. Nick and I have very deep brown eyes, as does Emma. But his are staying greyish green, blue, sometimes brown. I guess we will see. But both of us have mom's with blue eyes and I know Uncle Marcy has hazel eyes, so we will have to see.

Men?

Am I making any sense? Can you read this or am I typing in tongues? Just curious. I just had one of those "talks" with Nick; you know the kind I am talking about. It went something like this:

Me: I don't mind if you go to the Cubs game I just wish you made that much of an effort for us to do things together

Him: We're together all of the time and we don't have any money

Me: We don't need money and we are always with the kids

Him: We could hang out after the kids go to bed but you blog all of the time

Me: Um, hardly ever do I blog at night and what are we going to do while hanging out, watch the Cubs?

Him: What's wrong with that?

Me: Just go and have a good time

Him: Now you're giving me a guilt trip


Do you have these conversations too? The truth is that Nick is the most unromantic person I've ever met or heard of...people should write in diatribe about him. If someone does something romantic he thinks that's stupid. Name something, anything: stupid. I guess I am just going through that I wish the guy I married would be a little romantic phase again. And no I have not seen the Notebook recently. But the sad truth is that I am pretty sure Nick could make the bed and I would melt down in tears at that being the sweetest thing ever. Do you know what I mean? Are you amening me on this stuff? I know I could do stuff too but still, he is the man and darnet sometimes ladies just need actions to back up those I love yous. He says there's no one to watch the kids and not a lot of money. But there are grandmas and Aunts and putt-putting is fairly cheap. So is sitting at the grotto (again, stupid). And its not that I couldn't call for a sitter and email him telling him what we are going to do, but its that I shouldn't have to, right? Isn't it written somewhere that every once in three years or so guys should have to sweep their wives up and make them feel fluttery? I really am not guy bashing, promise. I love Nick and I love him the way he is. Just please tell me if I am the only one who feels this way sometimes.

What does dedicated mean?

I heard Nick telling Emma the other night that she "needs to form a dedicated commitment to potty training." Hilarious.

If we were sisters...

So if you and I were sisters do you think I would be the nerdy one or the cool one? Would I be the pretty one or the one wishing she were the pretty one? Would you be the one that is smart and I am to emulate or would that be me? Never thought it before did you?

A Mom's Mantra

photo courtesy of allposters.com

"We are not called by God to do extraordinary things, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love."-Jean Vanier





I think I need to remember this every moment of every day!

I Heart Amy!

This article on momadvice.com got a big Thank you God! from me. As mean as it sounds, it is nice to know that I am not the only one that faces this type of jealousy. I know that us watching our spending and being trendy-thrifty is good for our family and blah, blah, blah. But sometimes what it boils down to is that it is just plain hard to walk past the Coach display at Macy's or to drive past Starbucks. Sometimes I want to be the fun girl with the neat stuff. But I know that the pretty fun girls are hollow inside and I don't want any part of them raising my children. I want to teach my children that its not about how pretty you are or how much crap you own but its about being kind and having a heart thats on fire for God.

Weekend Update

This is one of my favorite pictures ever!
Snoozing away-what he does every weekend!

So this weekend was fairly productive! Nick got all of the woodwork in our solarium primed and painted and it is done! All I had slated for him to do this weekend was the priming so I was impressed. Movies this weekend from the library were "An Affair to Remember" and "The Simpsons". I am assuming you know which movie was for which person. Saturday I managed to get all of the laundry done and put away...a first for me for a really long time. I have a notorious habit of doing the laundry and folding it and then letting it sit around getting wrinkled all week long. Or I have it all put away except for one load and then those clean clothes just sit around the house...not good. I also got our family calendar updated, meals planned, and I just got back from grocery shopping! I had on my to do list for today to dust and to rake outside, but I think I am doing pretty well with just keeping my sanity...after all today was the first day of my new job. I think it went well. I am just kind of lost being the new kid and not knowing what I will be doing. It is also definitely an adjustment to get up at 4:00 every morning that's for sure. But I know it is best for my family and that is what I am all about right? Just like the hokey pokey. Which Nick and I found ourselves doing around the house this weekend...and no that is not a code name for sex. We did the hokey pokey while Emma kind of laughed at us. Ah to be two parents in love. We are definitely having fun around here!

Pink Gloves and Blue Sponges

Mommy guilt. I feel it weighing constantly on my heart like a thick fog that clouds my judgement on everything I do. If I clean the house I feel the guilt for not playing with the children. While I play with the children I look around the house in its discombobulated state and feel guilt for not taking care of the house better for my husband and children. When I play with Emma during Calvin’s nap I feel guilt for not playing with Calvin more. When I play with Calvin during Emma’s nap I feel guilt that I don’t play with him more. I feel guilt that I do not have enough one on one time with Calvin and will never be as close to him as I am to Emma. I feel guilt that I don’t fret over him the way I did with Emma. I feel guilt that we do not buy him as many things as we did for Emma. I know that all of this is weird and crazy but it is my burden of Mommy Guilt and it is my cross to bear. However when I was folding laundry at 5:00 this morning before work, I had a thought cross my mind that almost seemed like a ray of hope in my cave of guilt: perhaps housecleaning is good for the kids. I know that sounds weird. I always feel bad when I am cleaning and letting Emma play on her own and Calvin just lays there giving me the evil eye for not holding him. After all cleaning doesn’t include me teaching them anything or loving on them or anything. But maybe it does. Maybe it teaches Emma how to care for her household when she is married with children. Maybe it teaches my children the value of taking care of their things and to take pride in their home. Maybe it teaches Calvin to seek a wife that will take care of his home and his children. Yes maybe just maybe cleaning does teach my children something (aside from teaching colors, as I found when Emma pulled a pair of my panties out of the dryer and said “orange”…yes honey those are orange). Crap, now I have to find a new reason to put off cleaning.

Water for Coupons

So last Sunday was the insert in the paper of all of the Proctor-Gamble coupons. I love the proctor-gamble coupons as there are tons of coupons in there…it is like Christmas in April. Anyway my mother in law passes on her coupons to me which is amazing, but I am always too lazy and I don’t get to clipping them until the following week. So while I was clipping them this weekend (I know this is long, I do have a point though, promise!) I saw a sheet in the coupons reading “each coupon you redeem gives a liter of clean water”. Intrigued I continued reading. And apparently for each coupon you redeem out of the April issue of the Proctor and Gamble brandSAVER coupon book, “Proctor and Gamble will supply a liter of filtered drinking water to someone in the developing world who desperately needs it.” Now my heart will feel warm and fuzzy while saving money at the grocery store!

Happy

So my cousin and I recently had a discussion of what do you do if you aren't happy with someone or something in your life. I am sure everyone has a different response to these questions and feel free to post your opinions. I thought I would give you some insight into my feelings on this topic. With Nick, I have always had the opinion that divorce is not an option. I think a lot of people get this notion in their head with marriage that they should be happy all of the time. I think that is a lot of crap. No one is ever happy in any thing they do all of the time. There have been a lot of times with Nick that I am not happy. Not with him or anything, just happy in life, which inadvertently coincides to being happy with Nick, seeing as how I am with him. I like to compare it to a paragraph. My paragraph, or life, is so completely full and happy. But sometimes you inevitably get a sentence that is an unhappy one. And that is okay. That is what makes the story so great. In our fast paced world where everything is made for self gratification, we can't fathom living with unhappiness. But I think that unhappiness is what makes the happiness that much sweeter.

Pizza Palooza

Gram with Cal

Yesterday we trekked over to Gram's where Jaime had the awesome idea for a pizza party! We had veggie pizza with the cream cheese "sauce" and cheese and all kinds of veggies, a traditional pizza with cheese and sausage, and an out of this world dessert pizza with a peanut buttery sauce, and apples drizzled with a caramel sauce. It was so much fun and Emma loved helping! Thanks Jaime for the wonderful ideas and the terrific day!

Weekend Recap on Tuesday because I am Slow

Emma is sporting her new gardening gear...she was tickled pink, just like her gloves!

Here's what Cal did while we worked...what a life!

So our weekend ended up being really nice! Friday evening we rented a couple of movies from the library: Superbad and the Jane Austen Book Club. Loved the later one! It was so unbelievably nice to be able to sleep in Saturday morning. Okay, sleeping in is now about 7:30 but still, it felt heavenly. We then went to the farmer's market which was a lot of fun with the kids. After we got home we worked out in the lawn, preparing our beds for planting. Emma seemed to really enjoy raking. Then I got the attic cleaned up...yeah for me. It was so bright up there I was getting a headache, but I persevered until I got done. Saturday evening we made French Dip sandwiches which were incredibly yummy. Sunday we went to church and then to my Aunt Marilyn's for lunch which was a lot of fun. Afterwards we came home and got a lot of cleaning around the house done. I love the weekends around here that are just normal, you know? No where to really go, no formal obligations to attend to. We just relaxed and enjoyed one another's company in the beautiful weather.

Happy 3 month Birthday to Calvin James!

Our Weekend

So this weekend I had set Saturday aside from about Mid-January for cleaning out the attic. It just needs organized and there are things up there just screaming to go to Goodwill. However, tomorrow is supposed to be the best day of the year so far with warm sunny written all over it. Do I want to spend the day in the attic on a bright sunny day? That would be a big no. So tomorrow is open for ideas on what we are going to do. I am thinking of maybe taking all of the rascals to Fernwood Botanical Garden. We have a coupon and I have never been there so it would be neat. Or we could go Farmer's Marketing. Or take a long walk and picnic at the park. Or garden. Or shop for the garden. Who knows really? Sunday we are going to visit my Aunt Marilyn and have a salad luncheon so that will be fun. She still hasn't met Cal yet because I am a loser and a hobbit that doesn't leave the house. So that is our weekend, how does yours look?

The Least Frugal Thing

So we finally bought it...Nick's new baby is our 50" plasma. Personally I think it is too big, but it is amazing. I guess we owe it to ourselves since we never buy anything for ourselves really. We are just waiting on the cords and mounting kit to arrive and then it will be above our mantle. I think we have officially lost out minds.

I Got the Job!

So I accepted the job! This morning as I was going to work I was crying because I just didn't want to be away from the kids so much. So I talked to my mom who calmed me down by telling me how normal and instinctual it is to want to be with your kids. I knew God wanted me to take the position but I was just having a hard time obeying. So I went in and told them I would accept the position. I then asked if there was anyway I could work 28 hours instead of 30...and she said sure! I know that sounds stupid, only two hours less, but that means I can work four days of seven hours rather than have two days where I am working eight hour days. Praise God!

I Go to The Rock!

I have been offered a promotion at work. It is a definite vertical jump for my resume and will help me down the road when I am ready to go full time. The problem is that it is more hours, only six, but more hours. My future boss that I talked to said I could even work only four days a week so my mother in law can still have a day open. I keep praying about it and keep saying "okay if she says I can work only four days I'll know" and then that happens but I still doubt. I've talked to Nick, my cousin Jaime, and my mom, and they all kind of gave me that look of "why wouldn't you take it?" and muttered "idiot" under their breath in a Napoleon Dynamite kind of way. I know what I am supposed to do and yet why am I still hesistant? Because I am scared to take the leap of faith and trust God will work it out. For 30 hours a week, four days a week, I will work 2 eight hour days and 2 seven hour days. Not so bad in the grand scheme of things and yet I am dreading this. I will have to be at work at 6 every day which seems awful now but I suppose when I am used to it, it won't be so bad. Does anyone have any advice? Sometimes I try to make my doubt in God out to be God not wanting me to do something. Please pray for me as I think I may be crazy!

Its like I'm a Real Life Woman

So last Friday I felt like a woman, and not just a mom. After work I went for a pedicure...can you believe it? It was amazing with a food mudd bath, massaging and a parafin dip. HEAVENLY! Then later that night my fav cousin and I went out for drinks to Trios, a new jazz club...how swanky are we? We had so much stinking fun munching our snazzy appetizers, and just getting caught up. Wow...there might be life with kids...who knew?