A Baker's Dozen

Well, not the most complicated project, but I made up 13 bean bags for the kids to toss around. It was kind of a fun, quick project and the kids are enjoying them.

Easter dress-up

It's hard to get these three monkeys to cooperate for a picture. And, yes, Tim was smelling yellow flowers (both daffodils and dandelions, not sure which rubbed off on his nose).

Eggs & baskets

The egg decorating gets more fun each year as the kids get older. Here are the eggs we decorated:


And I caught Carolina a little later adding some finishing touches to just the pink & purple ones:

And here are the baskets. Just a little bit of candy and some homemade bunnies I made in a couple of afternoons recently. I just drew a pattern freehand and sewed them up.

Joseph stuff

Little Joe is doing a great job sitting up now. He loves it and so do I. He just enjoys sitting and playing and being a part of everything.

Regarding his face and the no-dairy-for-mom business: I feel like no milk/cheese for me really helped Joseph initially, but it kind of came to a stand-still. It wasn't flaring up too bad, but not getting better like I wanted it to. I've applied his medication several times this week and it really helps bring the red down. I'm still going without dairy. I'm pretty sure I was consuming way too much. We were recycling 4 empty milk jugs a week and this last week it was ONE. Okay, there was a near empty one in the fridge, but still! I figure I was drinking 2+ gallons just myself. And then I have not had any ice cream. So, this is saving us money and I actually lost a few pounds in the last ten days. That's big for me. I had not lost an ounce since Joseph was 2 weeks old (for 6 months, in other words).

My mom says he looks like Yoda. What do you think? I'm okay with that since we're Star Wars fans, I guess.

Since he's sitting so well, he's joined his siblings in the group bathtub. All three love it!



He started sticking out his tongue a couple of days ago. The first day it stayed out almost all of the time. I googled it and couldn't find any reason to worry. He's really a funny guy.

Four shirt

Tim requested another birthday shirt this year. It's sort of becoming a semi-tradition. He has a three shirt and they both have one bibs (no picture of his, sorry). I thought this came out really cute and I was worried it was a little too cute and maybe girly. I was glad when Ben said, "he's four." Meaning, he's just a little guy, no worries. He loves it!

Morning funny

Carolina, my little two-year old, has resisted her morning diaper change the last few days. This morning she tried to convince me that her current wet, soggy diaper was her favorite diaper and she wanted to keep it on. She pointed to a random zebra and how she really liked it. Ummm...I don't think so, little lady. Nice try. I'm guessing this is some sort of sign of potty-training readiness. Hopefully soon.

Star Wars mania

Timmy has caught the bug! The obsession with anything Star Wars bug. He got $50 for his birthday (part Mee-Mee and part great-grandma) and we finally let him spend some. This is the first time he's ever spent any money (usually it goes straight to the piggy bank and then to the bank account). Since the kids have all been house-bound, Timmy and I took time online to pick out just the right thing. It had to be Star Wars Lego and it had to have R2-D2. We all went out this morning for the first time since Saturday and Ben helped him build it when we got home. Tim actually did a bunch of it by himself, but there is good reason to list it age 7-12. He started looking for ways to alter it immediately after it was built.

In other news: Anybody out there have a label maker? Not sure why, but I've been wanting one for months. Staples has a Brother PT-1880 on sale for $20 through 4/4 (normally $50). I picked one up this morning with a gift card that my mom gave me for my birthday in 2008. Now what should I label? On the way to Staples, Ben asks, "so why exactly do you need a labeler?" My answer: "it will solve all of my organizational problems." :)

Birthday celebration

Rather than have a big party, we just kept it small with just the five of us this year. Everyone enjoyed themselves. No stress and lots of fun (despite the kids being sick). I knew they were coming down with something, but I thought they were feeling okay early Friday. It seems like Timmy gets sick every year around his birthday. Outside of colds, this is our first virus all winter/spring.

So our Friday went like this: I made chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast and then Ben went to work for half a day. I took the kids to their doctor appointments and we ordered pizza for lunch. After lunch, Tim blew out his candles and he opened his presents. I should have realized then that the kids were not better because no one wanted any cake and we didn't cut into to it until the next day. Timmy got 2 light sabers, one for him and another for a friend (his sister mostly) and he got the wii Diego game.




After Carolina and Joseph naps, we went down to the Baltimore Aquarium for the first time as a family. We opted to take the metro down there for fun and to save money on parking. I think next time we'll pay to park (around $20, I think). It's kind of a long walk for the little ones and we ended up walking through the red-light district, "the block," at the end of the day. Seriously scary and talk about feeling out of place. We held tight to each other and tried not to look at anything or anybody.

Now, back to the aquarium. I'm glad we went. It was the last night of the season for "Fridays after Five." I think it cost about $35 for all of us and would normally cost $74. The place was really packed and we moved through things very quickly. I'm glad we bought the dolphin show package because it gave us a chance to sit down and relax.

Doctor appointment #2

Timmy had his annual check-up on Friday too. Our pediatrician told me that my kids are really good and he said he meant it because he sees lots of kids. That makes me feel better because in my eyes they really are a wild bunch. Our pediatrician always gives them "A++" on my take home report. Tim is growing and doing pretty good. Our only concern from the appointment is that he did not pass his vision screening. 20/50. It's certainly possible that his eyes aren't that bad and he was just having trouble cooperating. We've already decided that all of our children will be near-sighted. Ben's vision is pretty terrible and my parents and all seven of us kids are near-sighted. I didn't expect my four-year to wear glasses though. Not a big deal -- life could be worse.

I'll never forget a women in a previous ward who related how people would tell her how sorry they were that her five-year old had to wear glasses. And the mom was like -- "Hello??? I'm just glad they have the ability to diagnose and treat her at this age."

Doctor appointment #1

I think of Joseph affectionately as my little runt. Like in a Charlotte's Web sort of way. At some point, I'll stop telling Ben, "Well, he was born two weeks earlier." Ben just shakes his head. According to my calculations he was. The first two kids were born 8 days after their due dates and Joseph was induced a week before his due date. Got it? For the record, I know that a full-term baby can be born anywhere from 38-42 weeks.

Anyway, he had a great doctor appointment on Friday for his six month check-up. He is 27 1/2 inches long and weighs 15 pounds 15 ounces. That puts him at 75th and 15th percentiles according to the growth charts. He's really pretty healthy. My only concern has been his skin. Specifically, his face. It is super-dry a lot, some days worse than other days. And it's only on his face. The doctor won't diagnose it as eczema, but he did give me a steroid to use sparingly. I may not use it at all. I read that dairy in a mom's diet can irritate some babies' faces, so a few days ago, I cut way back on dairy in my own diet and I think it has already made a huge improvement. I haven't had a glass of milk in 4 days! I probably drink 3 glasses a day. We're also big cheese eaters and I probably have ten pounds of cheese in the fridge. I think I'll have to cook up some cheesy dishes and just refrain from eating. I don't want it to all go to waste!

My 4-year old!

I seriously can not believe that I have a four-year old. I mean, I've been thinking of him as just-about-four for a little while, so it's not such a shocker. But he's such a big boy now. He's really matured over the last year. He can be such a big help and he can do such a nice job of listening to me (still working on that though).

Here are some favorite quotes from him:

"It's tough being a Timmy"

"I'm not playing, I'm building" (when asked to stop playing with his legos)

"She looks like a rock star" (when asked to help his sister understand why it was important for her to keep her hair clipped back)

One of my favorite things about Tim are his sweet, independent little prayers. There was a time where it was a huge struggle to get him to pray.  Now, he'll say his bedtime prayer without even being prompted.  His prayers often include thanks for: mama, daddy, timmy, carolina, joseph, mee-mee, pop-pop, aunt peggy, uncle ronald, seasons, roses to bloom, flowers to grow, christmas, and easter.

His favorites (according to him)

color: green
number: 3
toy: tractor
food: tomato soup
dessert: sherbet
movie: Cars
game: I spy...
boardgame: checkers
video game: wii star wars
song: alphabet song

audiobooks

Anyone else listen to audiobooks?  I'm looking for recommendations. I read all sorts of stuff, but especially like fiction (historical and lately post-apocalyptic stuff).  Books on CD make unpleasant tasks like mopping the floor go by tons faster.  I just finished listening to the entire "Uglies" series by Scott Westerfeld.  That was great.  I've found some books to be not so stellar.  The thing is, it's got to be a clean book.  I'm kind of a stickler for that and the 2 and 3 year old will sometimes be listening. If you're not into audiobooks, you totally should try it.  As soon as the weather warms a little, I plan on running to a book.

New perspective

So, the kids and I rarely go out without Ben. Maybe once a week. Sometimes it's the library or a friend's house or an occasional trip to Wal-Mart, but that's all that I can handle. This last Saturday, I decided to take just Carolina out for her first haircut and a trip to the library. Wow! It was so easy. She wasn't perfect, but it was no problem getting her back on track. Oh, by the way, she was great for her haircut. It was just a few inches off the back.

Later, during her nap, I took Tim out just for fun. We went to a couple of craft collectible stores in town. Not terribly exciting, but I was looking for a grandma present. Timmy was soooo good!! I asked him not to touch anything without asking and he actually listened to me. I realized that those two kids feed off each other and take advantage of their frazzled mom sometimes. I am definitely going to take them out separately again soon -- it was actually fun!

(here Tim is running with the Wii Fit. I am so ready for spring and some outdoor running! Oh, and FYI, the Wii Fit game tries to say this boy is overweight...hmmm...)

Sweet ABCs

(Original posting has the wrong video -- here it is corrected!)

So, Carolina did this back in January. It's kind of her own version of the ABCs, but it is seriously so sweet. I love to watch it (so does she!) My little girl can be seriously aggravating sometimes with her attitude, but I like to remember times like these!

(just ignore Ben asking about why we have cocoa puffs in the bathroom -- wonder which two year old was to blame?)

Bedroom frames

I saw the idea of framing pages from children's picture books last summer and really, really thought it looked cute. So, I've been on the lookout for a good picture book. I found this book for a quarter at the library. I think I should have put them in bigger frames with mattes, but I'm fairly satisfied with the outcome.

Bedroom stitching

So for the last ward Young Women in Excellence activity, I had responsibility for the "integrity" table. I wanted to complete a personal progress project and have something to display, so I created this in just a day or two. The felt flowers came store-bought via my grandma. The pink fabric was once a vintage napkin. The whole project was pretty easy.

As a side note, I was the YW secretary at the time and in January I found myself with a new calling. I'm now the enrichment counselor in the ward relief society. When the bishop called me, he told me that I was "uniquely qualified." I didn't call him on it, but seriously, how am i uniquely qualified? Then it came to me -- I LOVE ENRICHMENT. I think that's all it takes. So, I'm a little less nervous about the calling. But, if any of you wonderful sisters out there have ideas for activities, pointers, things that work or don't work in your ward, etc., please, please, please let me know!

(excuse the messy animals)

Bedroom updates

I decided to do a few semi-crafty things for Carolina and someday Joseph's room. Here's a little mobile I created while sitting on the sofa. I cut all the hearts out freehand (you can tell!) and sewed them by hand. I like these sorts of projects to do when I'm not interested in the game on TV, but I still want to spend time with Ben. This was a great project to use up some of my felt scraps. I also used an embroidery hoop (10 cents at a yard sale) and some white embroidery thread.
Warning: more craftiness soon!

(don't you just hate this carpet! someday...)