"Favorite Things" {July, August & September}

Precious Moments

Carly: "Mom...I love you all the way back to your toes...and I love ya more than anything."

Me sobbing when I heard my Nana had passed away..."It's okay, darlin', there, there...don't cry.  It'll be okay, I promise..." as she wipes the tears streaming down my face.

Luke:  "Mama...mama....mama....mama....bapa"

When he has done something wrong and is about to get punished, he throws himself into my arms and rests his head on my shoulder.  Buddy...I think you're sorry to be punished, not sorry for your actions. ;)

He fell off the ottoman onto his back and was experiencing pain on a more intense level than he usually does.  Brian came to his aid, picked him up and comforted him.  He began asking him what hurt, and after listing nearly all of Luke's body parts and hearing a "Yes" to each one hurting, both of us were laughing pretty hard.

Healthful Living

I always learn a new, healthy and delicious recipe when I'm with Anna.  When I stayed with her in August...she taught me that sauteing up some Kale, shredded carrot & chopped mushroom in a pan then adding eggs was the perfect breakfast. I make this fritatta-like bliss at least twice/week.  The kiddos even love it!  Even if you are a Kale skeptic...this one is worth trying & will make you feel good!

It tastes & smells better than it looks ;)

Places & Spaces

Carly getting quite excited to go to the "Bibbidi, Bobbidi, Boo" and the experience that came with the transformation into Cinderella!

The little bit of fall decor I have around the house...particularly this piece the kiddos helped me with. ;)

Growing Minds

We have spent hours adoring both Mary Poppins & Sound of Music!  Our family will BURST into song at any given moment spawned by any sort of sighted reminder of these precious films.  If we see a bee...we will sing..."When the dog bites, when the bee stings..." or if we are excited we will sing "Step in time!! Pick your knees up step in time!"  We have never been big believers of our children growing their minds by watching TV...but that philosophy changed when they were growing by learning MUSICAL THEATER! ;)

We used old crayons to make new ones...(actually this ended up being very bad and may have started a fire...you can ask if you're interested)

We practiced our colors with blocks

We went to the Science Center for a birthday party and Carly got to pet a snake! (eww)

Luke enjoyed the critters, too ;)

We played with ice cubes and learned that they melt quickly outside

"Split Thee Ice Apart" {Luke 21 Months}

If you saw a recent video of Luke I posted to Facebook, you'll know that this song; you know--the group of men cutting ice at the beginning of Disney's Frozen--is Luke's current favorite song.  We think he just likes grunting & smashing things...

I like this new & quick format of commenting on my boy. He's 21 months! Next post he's two!  Little brother is growing so fast, understanding nearly everything we say and finally spitting out some of those helpful words!

I love Lukey for...

1. The way he says, "Yes" to answer most questions...with a little hint of a German accent
2. How he quickly rests his head on our shoulders and wraps his arms around our neck on his way to time-out
3. His speedy little legs that have forced me to a running speed when trying to catch up to my little wanderer 
4. Always asking for more of whatever good toy/food/activity/etc he is having/doing
5. Copying every move of sweet big sister
6. Walking past the oven or stove and giving it a little blow just to cool it down. ;)
7. Placing his sweet 32-pound body on mine anytime I'm laying on the floor
8. Watching his very skilled left-hand throw a ball
9. Hearing him yell "Basketball!" every time we pass the courts in our neighborhood
10. Continually enjoying sweet bed time snuggles in his rocking hair.  He is still so affectionate!

Lukey-boy can still drive a mama nuts by...

1. Digging in my potted plants
2. Taking off his diaper and finding something fun in there to play with
3. Pushing, hitting and pulling on his sissy
4. Expressing his strong opinion through the likes of screaming so loud he cannot hear what I'm trying to communicate with him (he's nearly two...shouldn't he be more rational?! *wink*)
5. Throwing anything & everything out of frustration, joy or orneriness.  Seriously.
6. Refusing to allow a proper diaper change
7. That little look he gives us right before or in the midst of deliberately disobeying.  It's like he's decided, "No punishment they can give me is bad enough to prevent me from doing this..." OR "This is totally worth the punishment that will follow!"
8. Finding that water has been left out and proceeding to dump it all over the carpet...every. single. time.
9. His obsession with the dishwasher to the point that he's nearly broken it a few times
10. His crazy-good skills at making messes

Actually, the top-10 nuts list was hard to come up with! He's such a sweet little boy and we love him so dearly.  Being able to communicate on a 2-way street is such a game changer and that is what's changed the most over the last 3 months (well, that and his body that will. not. stop. growing [PTL!]).  Although he still very much struggles to get out his words in any sort of articulate manner, he is TRYING...which is an improvement on even a month ago.  He DOES understand what we say to him which only allows us to reinforce the rules, expectations, and most of all, our unconditional love for him.  I really do thank God every day for giving us a son to love. :)

"Five-Hundred-Twenty-Five-Thousand-Six-Hundred Minutes"

This jersey is a big deal.

When we had Carly, everything in life came to a screeching halt; well except for work.  We sort of developed this mentality that the sacrifice for having a healthy family (speaking in an emotional health way) simply meant giving family 100% of our non-working time.  It was so difficult for us to find the balance between family time, couple time & individual time...we just couldn't seem to do it all.  And by "we" I suppose I mean "me."  Since my poor husband has to deal with a wife who struggles with balance in the first place and then a wife who was facing post-partum depression, Brian essentially succumbed to my need for him to give up hope of any extra-curricular activities so that he was available to his family. Being the wonderful man he is, he never complained and actually agreed, reminding me that "this is the season we are in right now...and that's okay."

But oh how I envied the moms who could say yes to the occasional girls night, a quick coffee date, a morning run, a weekend get-a-way or for Heaven's sake a date night with their husband!  And I'm sure he missed golfing on any sort of regular basis, the occasional poker night, watching sports uninterrupted...and even playing video games.  But there was no way under the sun with our crazy work schedules, lack of family support (proximity-wise) and fear of not pouring enough of ourselves into our marriage or our parenting that I was going to have time for a ladies Bible Study...or that Brian would have time to join the church softball team.

Funny how seasons come and go.  In the midst of it; even something as simple as what I've described above; from the inside appears that you'll be stuck in that season for the rest of time...or at least until the smallest in the family is in high school.

But here we are, a new job for Brian that has given him an extra 10-15 hours/week that he's NOT at work, children who are no longer babies, a church down the street and a community of friends to share life with, and all of a sudden we are saying yes to things we wouldn't have dreamed saying yes to even one year ago.  Every Monday night Brian plays in a Parks & Rec Softball league.  And every Wednesday morning I attend a women's Bible Study.  How we've grown in the past 4 years: it's a big deal.

So this jersey makes my heart happy.  It represents a new season of flexibility and opportunity; at least for now.