More Treating

It's hard to believe this is Hayden's third Trick or Treat! This year our little Punkin' turned in to an M&M - a Peanut one at that (his Nana has always called him 'Peanut'). I share with you his progression:

David has been teaching Hayden to say "Trick or Treat" for weeks now and tonight he had a blast putting it all in to action; how amazing the pure glee I felt watching his pure joy doing such. It is true that there is no love or sense of pride that measures close to that you feel as a parent.

And to add to our Trick or Treat fun...Little Miss Adelyn - green M&M:

A quick family pose...

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Thanksgiving for our wonderful neighbors who made Trick or Treat for my little man such a fun experience!

Trick or Treat

Hayden really got in to Trick or Treating this year!
Here's our home video:

Powerful Video

Will you sit still for a few minutes and watch the video below?
I encourage you to do so. Take it in and share it.

http://www.maximumreferrals.com/videos/bridge/bridge.html

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Blessings and thanksgiving for the love of Christ, that which I'm striving daily to understand.

It's Potty Time!

I'm setting the timer to remind me every hour to place Hayden on the potty to begin POTTY TRAINING!

Progress report for the first half of the day: A

• out of bed...pee pee in potty! = 2 M&M's (hey, M&M's are what worked for David, I'm told)
• 1st hour...no action/dry, clean diaper = 1 M&M
• 2nd hour...pee pee/dry, clean diaper = 2 M&Ms
• 3rd hour...no action/dry, clean diaper = 1 M&M
• 4th hour...middle of lunch...1/2 diaper poo 1/2 potty poo & potty pee pee = 4 M&Ms
• 5th hour...no action/dry, clean diaper
• Break for NAP TIME! Yippeee...a little break for both of us! ;)

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Blessings for my little guy growing up!

Inside Fun ~ Card Making

Hayden and I have been enjoying daily craft time...I share with you pictures from our recent Halloween card making extravaganza:

Hayden grabs the broom, on his own, to clean up our paper mess! Is this a boy trained right, or what?! :) Let's hope it continues past toddlerhood!

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Thanksgiving for the pure glee on Hayden's face as we do simple projects and for his sharing smiles and crafts with his sister. I am so blessed!

Highway Thoughts

Driving alone on the highway during grey rain and heavy traffic led me to a little life note: traveling slowly behind a big truck barely holding 20 miles per hour under the posted speed limit with blinding mist hitting my windshield and fog all around I just knew there was nothing but more of the same ahead...until...I took a chance, sped up a bit and passed the truck...believe it or not...the highway travel wasn't near as bad just around the truck! I thought of this as a little metaphor...when we are stuck in a little rut we sometimes can take a little push forward to find clearer moments ahead but if we don't take a chance and exert a little effort, the rut is where we will stay feeling like there is nothing better. (I hope this makes sense to you, sometimes expressing ah-ha moments is a little difficult.)

A few other things I share with you that I learned on my adventurous journey...deli cheese is WAY better than the processed, pre-packaged stuff; going out and purchasing everything you need for a project at once is a key to designing and completing a space; de-cluttering keeps space and life more simple; life-time friends are just that ~ LIFE TIME friends!

As a weekend update: David and Hayden enjoyed their time together eating out, playing, stacking firewood and carving a pumpkin. When Adelyn and I arrived home, Hayden hugged us both and even surprised me with a real kiss on the cheek. Adelyn lit up when she saw Hayden, she sure missed him too.

A few pictures from the journey:

Addy is amazed at leaves waving in the wind while we stretch for lunch; she is sitting in Hayden's big car seat for a change from her seat while we are parked.

On the highway... ...too bad you can't see the splendor of the autumn leaves.

We've been friends in good times and bad, through the chaos of grade school, the upsets of boyfriends, and the hormonal drama of being teenagers. We've shared missing teeth, boyfriends, showers, beds, clothes, secrets, vacations, Little Debbie brownies, weddings, trials and joys of motherhood...so much more than can be written. And with much thanksgiving we look forward to sharing the next 30 years of life's journey together!

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Blessings abound with the love of family and friends who share the adventure of life by my side!

Milestone Day

A big milestone of a day...Adelyn and I hit the wide open highway for a big trip to Tennessee to visit my sister (well, not biological but by common law...we've been friends for 28 years!!! WOW!) for the weekend and Hayden and David stayed at the house to do guy stuff. It's a big MILEstone of an event because I haven't traveled alone in YEARS, I've NEVER been to stay with Melissa, I've never traveled alone with child, I've only left Hayden when having Adelyn, David and Hayden have never been alone for a whole day - let alone over night or a weekend.

Anyway...I write this quick post to note that Addy and I are settled in at Melissa's beautiful, comfy home on the lake and I just checked in with the guys to know that they are doing well. It's been a BIG day for all!

Thanksgiving and multitude of blessings for our safe travels (a really rainy day on the road), a husband who provides me a safe vehicle to travel in, a husband who is a terrific father, a lifelong girlfriend and another journey in my adventure of life.

DumDum Warning

Veteran Moms and ladies with much more young child watching experience may already know this...but for others I feel very compelled to share a little DumDum sucker situation with you.

Though many children experience sucker treats much earlier, Hayden has just recently been exposed. During an afternoon a few weeks ago I allowed him to have a little DumDum. After no more than 10 minutes he returned to me with a stick. I almost dismissed the situation by taking the stick and tossing it in to the trash thinking he had properly eaten the sucker portion. Well...thankfully I took a little closer look to realize he had the other portion of the sucker stick as well as the sucker end in his mouth! While sucking he was also biting on the stick in the same spot so after a time the stick broke. Fortunately, I was able to lure the piece out of this mouth before any choking began.

Again, a danger you may already be well aware of, but I sure wasn't and I'm very thankful this experience happened to me when and where it did instead of driving down the highway innocently unaware of the potential choking tragedy that may have occurred.

Blessings and thanksgiving for another little lesson learned. I pray it opens your eyes and keeps you and your safe! ~ Do share if you have similar bewares!!!

Check Them Out

I've recently added a list of blogs I'm addicted to. I have to draw your attention to a recent post by my friend, Jamie. Click on the "Our Life 500 Miles Away" blog in my list and then look at post titled: Check These Ladies Out!. Make sure you click on the pictures so you can get a good look at the refs! I'm with Jamie, I sure hope to find some extra spunk when the age of these ladies! I don't have it now, but with grace and perfection over the years to come, it is my goal to just get out there like they are! Enjoy!

Thanksgiving for the encouragement these ladies provoke for the golden years!

Fun with Grammy and Grandpa

Hayden and I had a trip to the salon...Hayden went first and then stayed with his Grammy and Grandpa while I had my 2.5 hour sit in the beauty seat.

I just had to share pictures which capture his adorable punk hair do

as well as his pure excitement playing with Grammy and Grandpa. It was a full afternoon of fun...watching a dump truck (pictures may be seen in the main slide show), playing pass football, eating chips and SINGING with Grandpa!!! ~ He shared the mic with Adelyn when we came to pick him up.

Many blessings and much thanksgiving for fantastic grandparents. There is nothing like the bond between grandchildren and involved grandparents and Hayden is blessed (Adelyn is too but hasn't had the chance to have fun times on her own yet) to have very loving grandparents on both sides of the family!

Hold the Neti

Well, I gave the netipot a try and I couldn't stand it. In fact, I did something to think that my ear drum ruptured; all is well now but I was a bit concerned. The water pressure in your nasal cavity feels as if you are swimming and because it is a salt solution it smells like you've been in the ocean. Not being a big swimming fan, I'm sure doesn't help my lack of support for the practice. However, David has a different opinion on the whole process and is now flushing his nostrils at least twice a day and believes the claim of improved health.

Regardless of my opinion, I give thanksgiving that the netipot seems to be helping David's sinus problem.

All in a Weekend

It's Sunday evening and as wound up as Hayden is for not having a nap and cranky Ms. Adelyn is for not having a BM all day, it's wind down time at our home and as I upload pictures and recap the weekend I realize what a busy few days we have had just doing little things around the house and having no plans at all.

I share our weekend...

Friday night David and Hayden bonded with Hayden's first model building and painting.

I found it quite cute to watch them together and hilarious to see Hayden deep in thought...

...is that priceless or what?!

Saturday we went in search of and purchased a netipot for David's sinus problem. I'm sure you don't mind that I don't have pictures to prove his trying it out though it is pretty cool; using a little teapot of sorts, water goes in one nostril and out the other!

Sunday David spent the afternoon powder coating a large piece of his motorcycle. (He has been recreating his Harley - taking his originally chrome Sportster and piece by piece changing it to an almost all black, slick, old style motorcycle. To turn the pieces from chrome to black he has mastered a technique called powder coating...of course it's a very detailed process that he makes look simple. I show you now what it looked like the day he purchased it and this evening in our garage...

...I'll have to get a good picture of David and his creation when the parts are all attached and "blackened.")

To get out of the house and give David space to complete his project, paint our deck and do countless other little things around the house; Hayden, Adelyn and I visited my Mom and Dad. In less than 2 hours at Mom and Dad's, Hayden helped his Pa make concrete (Dad has come up with a very creative and natural way to restructure a retaining wall, making art out of the necessity...he gathered rocks in the woods and now is placing them perfectly to create an amazing wall ~ check it out in the picture below!),

took a 4-wheeler ride to pick up the mail, hauled hay for the dogs, dug in a huge sand pile,

rode in a wheelbarrow, found 5 deer rubs in the woods (he now knows how to show you a buck rubbing a tree and stomping it's hoof), rolled a piece of wood down the hill and swung in dad's awesome rope swing...and that's just naming off a few things!

While Hayden spent most of the afternoon outside with his Pa, Adelyn had a good time talking to her Nana and enjoying her knees...

...and I indulged in Oreo cookies until I felt as if I would puke! Oh what fun it is for all when we visit Mom and Dad!

A low-key, no-fuss, no-rush, no-structure weekend full of family time.

It's not hard to find the thanksgiving and blessings in this post...much thanksgiving for the ability to 'just be' and be together!

Sharing

Hayden is the sweetest big brother. He thinks to share coins by putting some in his sister's piggy bank while filling up his own, he's recently begun sharing toys telling her to 'hold' them and today he went to his room and came back with a pair of his new socks insisting that I put them on her so that she could be like him. I captured their sock feet to share with you...


My little blessing ~ a giving, thoughtful and most adorable Hayden!

Miss Bling

My how time is flying by!



Little Miss Adelyn is 18 weeks old and it's already been 6 weeks since we had her ears pierced! (Oh the comments we receive on her 'diamonds' sparkling. I guess they really do stand out on her thin haired head.)



Taking a minute to reflect; I find it hard to believe that, to this day, it is MY body that sustains her. God's creation plan and the natural ability to produce milk is so amazing!

Being a first time mom and breast feeder, I took the simplicity of breastfeeding for granted with Hayden. I actually had many moments of total hormonal overload and rage surges when nursing Hayden (NOTE: Hayden would nurse for an hour at a time and need to do so every hour! UGH! It was EXHAUSTING to say the least! I was never so relieved when he began to take a paci at 6 months of age.). I would fret over weaning and get overwhelmed with the thought of the process (I was SHOCKED that when I did wean Hayden, at 14 months, the process went unbelievably well! He was off after just a few days of getting in the mindset to call it quits.). This time around, I'm much more relaxed and realize just how easy it is to pick her up and go without having to worry about having enough food packed, if she will like what I've brought along and just the mess and time it takes when you get to the first food stage. ... I digress to say, Adelyn is a wonderful, content baby and easy nurser. She only feeds about 5 times during the day, more frequently of an evening and then typically only once or twice through the night hours and the sessions are only 5-8 minutes long! The Lord has truly blessed me and I am ever more thankful having been through a different cycle with Hayden!

Much thanksgiving for our little blessing, Adelyn Grace and her healthy growing!


(Love her hat? Want one for your little one? ... Let me know! We have an amazing friend who knits them!!)

The Emergence of Me

I've known the day would come...at it has...Hayden wants to do, most everything, on his own! He pats his chest and says, "ME!"

His ability to do things for himself is a great blessing and though it can be a little frustrating for both parties, a deep breath and a new look at the situation with patience really creates moments of thanksgiving as well.

Sick Days

Sick days and especially sick nights really bring you to thanksgiving for the every day healthy ones!

Hayden has been battling sinus/head cold (runny nose, watery eyes, can't breathe at night) for the past few nights and his needing his Momma and sleeplessness has proven to be quite taxing.

I continue to count my many blessings and through this time of sickness I praise the Lord that overall, my little ones are healthy and happy!

Easy Street

A girlfriend shared with me something she heard on the show Supernanny 9-1-1...the super nanny found older children still with pacis (I mean, like 4 years old) and expressed that they must be a thing of the past. She took them away and then night fell. The children were up all night screaming and the mother just about lost it. When discussing the issue the mother made comment that it was too hard, it would be easier to just give them back the pacis. The nanny responded with something to the effect of...parenting is NOT EASY...taking the paci isn't easy, but you are the MOM (parent) and it's what needs to be done!'

How often do we take the easy way out especially when we think it's just a simple matter (as a parent and just in every day life)?

The nanny's response really struck a chord with me, reminding me that I am not to be a friend to my children, I am their teacher and guider and there will be MANY situations that are easier, in the short-term, to let them have what they want...but my role is to watch for their future and know what is best for them and make sure what is best, not what is easiest, happens.

Blessings to those who stay off the easy street, even when the road gets bumpy!

The Heart of the Matter

When heart disease and high cholesterol are hereditary, can you really prevent damage and 'bypass' surgery in the near and dear golden years?

I am more serious today on the matter considering the knowledge that my cholesterol has been high for the past 14 years and hitting close to home, just as her father before her, my aunt at 51 years of age, under went bypass heart surgery. (Much praise is given to the Lord that she came through the surgery and is now on her way through the rough recovery.)

Well, even if it doesn't keep me off of the operating table, it is my prayer to adapt a regular cardio exercise program. For I know that regular exercise will strengthen my bones and soul and hopefully will establish a healthy regimen in the life of my children.

What are your cholesterol levels? Get them checked with a simple blood test!

Please share your regular exercise routine and let me know how you got started! If you don't, let's start together! Share what you will do and keep me posted on your progress!

Thanksgiving for the advancements in modern medicine and the medical team that worked on my aunt.

Perspective

A little funny to share...

Putting away groceries, I climb atop my kitchen stool to rearrange cabinets. I take a moment to look around and find myself really seeing the world around me in a different perspective. At this vertical height I feel as if I am really towering over the coffee pot, the counter feels so low at my waist, I am in total control of the world around me with this leverage.

I take another minute to think about the situation and realize...the stool only makes me ONE FOOT taller!!!!

As David walks in the room I find myself eye to eye with him. WOW! I can't believe the different perspective he has on the every day and I ponder what he would think if he took a minute to shrink down a foot to see our kitchen from my vertically challenged perspective!

I am thankful, beyond words, that I am healthy, happy and 5 feet tall!

Hey, being small has perks too, like being able to climb on just about any playground equipment and really experience the fun with my little ones! :)

Catching Up

I've been so enthralled in reading www.mommyblog.com, the blog of a perfect stranger, that I have spent all my 'alone' time soaking in her experiences as she journals (blogs) nearly EVERY day and I had 2 years to back read! I know, it sounds ridiculous and is a little odd but it's just like reading a good book but it's real life! So...I'm all up to date with her now and can get back on track with my own life. ;) shew!

Looking over my blog I have to bring to attention the inspirational quote as I clicked on my site...

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."

Boy, this line really sums up how I've been feeling lately. I can't really expand on it for it says it all in a nutshell and propels me stated as simply as it is. I now pledge to write the words on my heart and start living them, start creating!

I share with you a self-shot of me and little Addy for I just really noticed that we have the same eyes...



...I don't recall when Hayden's eyes reached their final color, but at this point they are EXACTLY like David's - DARK brown (which I must note, was the first thing I really noticed about David and was mesmerized by - they are nearly black they are so dark; a family trait that runs strong on his mother's side) with a soft grey border.

I also share with you Hayden and Adelyn's new ride! ...



...I am SO psyched to get this thing out and run the wheels off of it in our neighborhood! All in great effort to shed this post-baby middle...which I have decided is God's given boppy (boppy - you know, the nursing pillow on the market)! It's such a comfy little cushion and shelf for baby to nurse.

OK - I must sign off and get in the bed for my thanksgiving lies there awaiting me as our little blessings slumber in their own rooms!!

Hummm...

WOW ~ another big thought to take in for the day...the inspirational quote at the bottom of this page when I checked it:

"Let the wife make the husband glad to come home, and let him make her sorry to see him leave."

Now that's something to strive for...I better get busy! ;)

Measuring with Daddy

Drilling a Hole

Shooting Bow

True Love

The scripture for the day moves me...

1 John 3:18
"Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

...I'm still digesting the message and honestly shuttering the grave importance and awesome amount of responsibility this one line evokes.

Prayerfully and selflessly may this scripture now be written upon my heart and acted upon daily in my walk and talk for this is the way of the Lord.

Thanksgiving for the Word and great upholding to those who live as this scripture directs.

(Sherry, you are one who comes to my mind ~ thank you for living the Word!)

Fishing in the Backyard

Adelyn ~ Sept 2008