Spring Dinner!!

To celebrate Spring and the nice weather that we are starting to have I made a Spring dinner!!

My kids were a little confused but also excited about dinner tonight. As soon as Jaclyn saw her dinner she started to "quack" because of the ducks, then she had the bunny talking to the rest of her food. Silly girl!! David loved his so much that after he ate his raisins and cheese he told me "I don't want to eat anymore because I want to save them, there cute" After showing him the pictures I took on my camera he then decided that he would eat the rest of his dinner. 

Tonight's dinner was a grilled cheese sandwich cut into a bunny, raisins for bunny food, cheese flowers and banana ducks! (I was going to have carrots for the bunny food but realized to late that I need to go shopping)

Spring Dinner!!

Vegetables

Vegetables: cooked, raw or steamed?

Jaclyn likes vegetables she will eat them raw, cooked or steamed. David prefers his vegetables steamed or cooked. I have a really hard time getting him to eat them raw. Our family loves raw vegetables in the summer time and with us now entering Spring I am once again wondering how I can get my son to eat raw vegetables.  My kids do eat there vegetables I would just like them to eat more. One of the things I started doing to get more vegetables into my kids is by making vegetable/fruit smoothies. 

Do your children like there vegetables? How do you prepare them? 

Vegetables

Nap Time

This is how I found Jaclyn this afternoon during nap time.

My beautiful little girl

Nap Time

Our weekend

I had an amazing weekend with my husband celebrating our anniversary. Some of our highlights from this weekend were: sleeping in (which is something I think any mother loves), I didn't cook anything (I love cooking but sometimes it is a nice break not to cook or clean up after a meal), shopping (we went into lots of cooking and decorating stores), walking, drinking Starbucks and most of all talking about our life together so far and dreaming about our future. It was a great little break from our everyday routine. 

We picked up our kids last night, David was so excited to see us that he kept giving me kisses, hugs and telling me that he loves me and that he missed me. Jaclyn was also very excited to see us and went from me to Chris giving us lots of hugs. The kids slept really well last night and were happy to be home in there beds. 

David and Jaclyn had a really good time with their grandparents, they went swimming, bike riding, played at the park, built sand castles and had lots of fun playing. I am not sure who was more tired by the end of the weekend the kids or their grandparents!! 

I think that today will be a bit of catch up well the kids have a mellow day. I have to do some laundry, vacuum and basically get back into our routine. The kids are also trying to decide what they want to do today so far today the kids have asked to do crafts, watch movies and or just hang out. We will see how our day unfolds.

Our weekend

Swimwear

One of the thing I was packing for the kids this weekend is their wetsuits with built in life-jackets. I bought them last summer for the kids. I tried them on them tonight to see if they still fit and I wanted to share the pictures I took of them last summer and tonight. 

They grow so much in a year!!

Swimwear

The last two days......

Do you ever have those days that you can't seem to get anything done that you were planning?? 

Well yesterday was one of those days for me. I was planning on cutting Davids hair, vacuuming, getting the laundry caught up and a list of other things I wanted done before the weekend!

What I didn't plan on was waking up with a headache. It was the kind of headaches that makes you want to go back to bed and sleep in a dark room all day curled up under your favorite blankets. Thankfully it wasn't a migraine, which I have suffered from in the past.

So instead of getting things done on my list or sleeping the day away the kids and I spent the day doing quiet activities. We colored, read books, watched movies, all three of us napped and in the afternoon we played lego until Chris came home. Then the four of us had a picnic dinner in our living room played for a bit before bed. I then went to bed early in hopes that I would feel better in the morning.

Well this morning I woke up feeling a lot better. We have had a busy couple of weeks and I have been more tired lately and think I needed to catch up on some much needed sleep. 

This weekend the kids are going to their grandparents for a sleepover weekend so that Chris and I can celebrate our anniversary which was last weekend. We are planning on going out for dinner, the movies and mostly just enjoying each others company! I am very excited to have a weekend alone with my husband!!

However I still need to get my list finished before we drop off our kids tomorrow. I have to pack for the kids, clean my house and catch up on laundry.....etc. 

So far today I have done a few things off my list and decided to take a break to check emails and blog. I should go now and get back to my list well the kids are having a quiet time. I will try and blog this weekend but I might just take a break from the computer to enjoy my weekend alone with my husband!!

The last two days......

Fresh Cookies!

My kids love to help in the kitchen. Almost every time I go in the kitchen to make a meal or to bake.....mostly when I am baking. They are right there wanting to help with whatever they can. They will bring in their chairs so they can reach the counter and then wait for their instructions. 

I have a Kitchen Aid which I love! So when my kids are there to help I stop the Kitchen Aid and have them add different ingredients for me. Their favorite part is to be my taste testers. When baking cookies I will put out a bowl of chocolate chips or raisins for them to test to make sure they would be right for our cookies. Then the whole time the cookies are cooking they will wait "patiently" for the cookies to be ready to test. David loves to tell me that he is testing the cookies for his dad to make sure that is daddy will like them. 

Here are some pictures of the kids testing the cookies we made together!

Fresh Cookies!

Brotherly Love

Jaclyn can be very emotional (after all she is a girl). David is usually very understanding towards her. Ever since she was a baby when she cried David would instantly want to help her in some way. Now this is not always a good thing, like when David is the one to upset her or when she is in a don't touch me mood. Most of the time it is really sweet to watch. On this particular day Jaclyn was upset because her dad had just left for work. David went up to her and brought her one of her favorite blankets, milk and a doll. He then said to her "daddy will be home soon and I am here with you and I love you!"

Brotherly Love

New Movie

I think that the kids are getting a little sick. Its either that or David is growing and Jaclyn is teething. Either way they have been more clingy and whinny lately which makes it harder for me to get things done around the house. So when my wonderful husband brought home the new Curious George movie, Curious George 2: Follow That Monkey. I was more then happy to put it on for the kids and they loved it! The first Curious George movie is a big hit in our house, every time the kids watch it they giggle and smile through the whole movie. This one was the same, David really liked that there was an elephant in it and Jaclyn loved the train.  Both the kids sat though the movie and I was able to get some stuff done this morning which was a bonus for me. Then after the movie David said to me "that was a cute movie, thanks mom".

I also enjoyed the movie and think that it will become a new favorite in our house. There are also 2 bonus episodes on the DVD for another time. 

Thanks to my thoughtful husband for bringing home a new favorite!!

New Movie

Five Years ago Today!!

Five years ago today I married my best friend!

Just the other day I was telling a friend of mine our story and I thought I would share with all of you a little about our story as well.  This June we will have known each other for 8 years. 

The year before we met I attended Capernwray Bible College in New Zealand and when I came home I felt like God was telling me to stay at the church that I was attending before (I was thinking I would look for a different church) I also really wanted to get involved with the youth ministry.  I had spent a couple of months preparing for V.B.S. (vacation bible school) for the grade 7 kids.  I had a great team and organized what I was going to be teaching. I was then told that the church had hired a youth pastor and his start date was three days before V.B.S. started. There was a meeting arranged for us to meet and re-evaluate the plans for the next week, that is when I met Chris. He was just starting his first pastorate after Bible Collage as a youth pastor at my home church.

We became friends and over the next few years we got to know each other better well hanging out with a group of our friends. Chris and I have always been comfortable talking to each other. In fact our relationship is based on communication. After two years of friendship we started to date. We were careful in how we dated because we both wanted to be sure that our relationship would be forever and we didn't want to go to fast. Actually most of our dating days were spent at Starbucks talking. We talked about everything we could think of, as I said before communication has always been an important factor for us.
After just over one year of dating we were engaged and were married nine weeks later. Yes nine weeks later, neither of us wanted to have a long engagement. We also felt like God was getting ready to move us to a new church ministry. (Chris had finished up his first church ministry a few months before we were engaged) In fact three months after we were married we moved three hours away to a new church ministry. After being there for three years we finishing up our ministry and moved so that Chris could go back to school to get his Masters degree in Theology. It has been an amazing journey so far and I look forward to where God is leading us in the future. Since we have been married we have had two amazing children! 

Chris and I decided awhile ago that for most of our anniversaries that we would be happy if we could go for a nice dinner just the two of us and that every five years take a trip together. Since this is our fifth anniversary we would have loved to go away for the weekend however since Chris has been a student for the last little while and we are still not finished with his degree that we would instead send the kids to their grandparents for the weekend and we would have a vacation at home this year. I am excited for next weekend since that is when it worked out for the kids go away and for Chris to have the time off. 

Tonight our big plans are to go to Costco and have Wok Box for dinner!! 

Five Years ago Today!!

Amazing Giveaway at Organic Girl from 3 Little Monkey!!!

I found this fantastic giveaway at Organic Girl  

The giveaway package is from 3 Little Monkeys. There are so many different items in this package such as a Applecheeks cloth diaper. I used cloth diapers and I loved them!! They also sell other cloth diapers that you can check out here. They are also giving a ergo baby carrier which looks really cool!! 3 Little Monkeys also sells other baby carriers such as slings, carriers and wraps. Some of the other items in this giveaway are 1 orange playsilk from Sarah's silks.  My kids would love to play with this playsilk!! There are also kid themed Envirosax® reusable shopping bag

 I would be so excited if I won this package, there are so many great things at this store and I always love trying new products!!

Amazing Giveaway at Organic Girl from 3 Little Monkey!!!

Turning a not so good morning into a better day!

This morning did not start off the best, the kids are whinny and clingy. My back hurts and I'm tired. 

So instead of dwelling on all these things I decided to write a list of things in my life that make me smile. 

1. my husband

2. my kids

3. my God

4. my family

5. my friends

6. reading my Bible

7. David telling silly jokes

8. Jaclyn's love for yogurt tubes

9. dance parties with my kids

10. playing with Lego (with the kids of course)

11. baking with my children

12. craft time

13. walks outside enjoying this beautiful world God gave us

14. playing at the park

15. taking pictures

16. looking at old pictures

17. having my children come up to me for a kiss or hug!

18. quilting

19. cooking and being creative in the kitchen

20. scrapbooking

21. teaching my kids new things

22. reading a good book

23. reading with my children

24. cleaning/organizing (I really do enjoy this one, I find it relaxing)

25. tea parties

26. watching my kids play together

27. talking with my kids

28. quiet time

29. blogging

30. a good cup of tea!

Wow, that made me feel a lot better.  I am now smiling and looking forward to my day, I think I will pick a few of those things to focus on today :)

Its amazing how making a list of things you enjoy makes a difference in how your day is going.

I would love to hear what makes you smile????

Turning a not so good morning into a better day!

Jaclyn's cake

As you may have noticed from the pictures I posted of Jaclyn's birthday I made her a cake. I thought I would share some more pictures of her cake.

If you are interested and want to see more pictures, I have more on my other blog.

Jaclyn's cake

Have you seen this before???

Has anyone seen a two year old do this??? 

My daughter crosses her fingers.....notice her left hand. My son never did this and I can't recall seeing other young children doing it. She does it all the time, during meals, playing, reading, just about whatever we are doing. I am not sure if she is doing it on purpose or if she just does it with out thinking about it. She has even started to do it with both hands. 

I find it strange, funny and a little concerning. 

I am starting to wonder if she is going to change the shape of her fingers if she continues to do this? 

 

Have you seen this before???

Buzz Lightyear and Cinderella

Buzz Lightyear and Cinderella are some favorite characters around here. There are mornings where David will tell me that his name is Buzz Lightyear and will only answer to Buzz Lightyear. Then there is Jaclyn who will tell me she is Tinker Bell or a Prince (which means Princess).

My kids love to have their pictures taken and about 70% of the time when I pull out my camera they go to the stairs to pose for me. Funny kids!! :)

Buzz Lightyear and Cinderella

Jaclyn 2nd Birthday

Here are a few pictures from Jaclyn's 2nd birthday party yesterday.

Jaclyn 2nd Birthday

Boys shopping Trip!!

About six weeks ago my wonderful son who is three and a half was looking for something to buy for his sister for her birthday. Well we were at the store one day he grabs my husband and tells him that he has found the perfect gift for Jaclyn. He then says to his dad "we have to buy this together because we are boys and that's what boys do they buy things for their girls". So the other day my boys went out and had a "boys shopping trip" and bought a doll playpen for David to give to his sister at her party on Saturday.

I love that my son is so thoughtful of others and want to spoil his sister on her birthday!!

Boys shopping Trip!!

Dyson giveaway......I really want to win!!!

My vacuum is starting to die on me and I have been trying to decide what to do, when I came across this fantastic giveaway that I would really love to win. 

Organic Girl is hosting a giveaway for Dyson 

 The winner will get a Dyson DC25 Animal vacuum. I would really like to win one!!

Dyson giveaway......I really want to win!!!

Can You See Me????

This is how I found my son after dinner!!

Can You See Me????

Allegra's Closet Giveaway!

I wanted to share with you all about this great giveaway I just entered at a blog I follow Preparing For Our Children's Future
The give away is for a lavender tutu I think that Jaclyn would just love to wear it and dance around in it!!
The giveaway is open until March 11, if you want to enter yourself go to Preparing For Our Children's Future

Allegra's Closet Giveaway!

My Baby is Two

Wow, I can't believe how fast the last two years has gone. Jaclyn has been such a blessing to our family and we can't imagine not having her around. As some of you may remember Jaclyn's birth was not easy for me. I wrote about it here I still remember the fear I felt in the O.R. and during the time it took the doctors to take her out and then not to hear any noise or cry from her for a few minutes was a very scary moment. I was thankful that God was in control and that he was taking care of every aspect of Jaclyn's birth.
These days you can hear my little girl talking, giggling and even crying sometime.                                        I love listening to her learn new words and try to count with her brother. She is an amazing little girl and I am looking forward to watching her grow every year!

These were taken today well the kids were playing with Jaclyn's new Winnie the Pooh toys!

My Baby is Two

Almost Two

My little girl will be two on Monday. I can't believe that two years has gone by already in some ways it feels like I just had her and in other ways I can't remember not having her around.
Here are some picture I took yesterday! We call her our little punk princess! She loves clothes and shoes and she looks great in any type of outfit we put on her. When she got dressed into this outfit she started to dance around so her skirt would spin. 

Almost Two

Picaboo Photo Book

One of the blogs I follow 24/7 MOMS. found this great Deal of the Day that I wanted to share with everyone.   I hope everyone has a chance to take advantage of this, I am excited to make my book!

Free Picaboo Photo Book

Deal of the Day - Freebie Photo book from Picaboo. ready to discover the fastest, easiest, and most fun way to create stunning custom photo books with Picaboo. All new Picaboo users 1 FREE 20 page Hardcover photo book free (you pay shipping). regularly $39.99.

Click here to claim your FREE book. ( hurry this offer may not last long)

Use coupon code AFFLGB

Picaboo Photo Book

Knock-Knock

A few weeks ago the kids were watching Little Bear.  They were telling jokes to each other on the show. 

Then on Monday David (three and a half) started to tell knock-knock jokes.

Ever since then David and Jaclyn (who will be two next week) have been going around telling the same joke.

The joke goes like this: 

knock-knock

who's there?

banana

banana who?

knock-knock

who's there?

orange

orange who?

knock-knock

who's there?

Little

Little who?

Little Bear that's who!

Then they both start laughing at each other. Our house can get loud at just about any time when we are playing but it gets so much louder when they are telling jokes together because they start to compete with each other. They will be yelling at me knock-knock over and over again. It's very funny to listen to because they get the order mixed up it just turns into knock-knock, who's there?

Tonight's dinner conversation was all about jokes again only this time when I answered who's there it was:

monsters, goblins, chairs, ground, table, toys, t.v, lego, books, food, plates, forks and just about anything else that David could think of. Meanwhile on the other side of me was Jaclyn telling her own joke, first it was a face at the door and then outside. 

I am really enjoying watching my kids develop their personalities and sense of humor. 

Well I should go now I hear a knock-knock again!

 

Knock-Knock

Thanks for your Prayers and Thoughts!

Update on baby Connor.......it sounds like everything went wonderfully. He is doing much better and has gone home with his mom. They go back in for a check up in six weeks. Thanks again for your prayers and thoughts!!

Thanks for your Prayers and Thoughts!

Please Pray

My friends son Connor is on his way into emergency surgery, he is only five months old. He was a preemie, the doctors took him out early because his head was larger than normal. He had surgery on Wednesday, they were going to put in a shunt for him but decided to try something else. This evening his mother saw some leaking from his head and was sent to emergency. Connor is on his way into surgery, I believe that they are putting in the shunt now. Please pray for Connor and his family. Please pray for wisdom in his doctors as they care for him. Thank you for all you prayers!

Please Pray