mangos and toes and toys, oh my!

(say that 3 times, fast - I dare you!)

MANGOS
TOYS
AND TOES

Ruby's first illness

This is my sick baby with watery eyes, a deep cough, and losing her voice. Despite the sickness she's remained a happy girl. Ruby is ALWAYS happy and smiley and adds so much to our home already.

Saturday she had a cough, then had a hard time sleeping that night from about 1 am on. So after such a rough week I threw in the towel and called for reinforcements. My dad quickly came over and took the boys for the day - even to church with them - and they stayed through the night and the next day, too.

I'm so grateful for family who are willing to help me in a time of need! Getting that little break gave me time to figure out what to do with the discipline problems here at home. We made some plans and things have been a lot better this week. Having had a classroom of 6 year olds to discipline, I know things will get easier, but it's hard to see it with my own kids! I have faith that one day I won't have to watch their every move - it's so exhausting!!!

a lack of attention

I guess Sam's finally had it with the lack of attention around here (as if he doesn't get any). All week he's been difficult and today was no exception. I didn't even want to get up this morning...at 5 am with both boys. So when they went outside with Elton to do chores I had a special prayer and scripture session because I KNEW I wouldn't make it through the day without some extra help.

Then I remembered the scripture in Doctrine and Covenants about reproving with sharpness. You know - the one that says to reprove "betimes" with sharpness if you follow it up with extra love. I opened my scriptures, not knowing where it was and after a couple random page turns I got right to it! D&C 121: 43 (but 41-42 work here, too) spoke right to my heart. I didn't want to get mad any more. And I definitely didn't want to hurt my kids. But this reiterated to me that it's okay to get mad, when needed, if I show an increase of love afterwards.

So, my day went better. I was more positive. I loved my kids all morning. I loved my kids all through lunch time. I layed down with my kids for naptime and 45 minutes later they were still bouncing off the walls.

This is where it REALLY got hard. One flat of flowers was removed from the beds twice, my couch peed on twice (that must be his magic number :), plus other various acts that caused me to cry. I went downstairs and got Elton because I was afraid I wouldn't show much love with my reproving of this behavior. He came and got him, with Sam smiling that his dad was not working, but giving him some attention. I wish I could say that helped and the day got better, but this is real life here and there's no happy ending, yet....

I'm so grateful for the guidance I received this morning! I just wish I could have followed it all day. Any ideas? What's worked for you? What do you think might work with 3 kids under 3?!!

Wednesday, June 23

Ruby's almost 2 months old now and the boys are officially 3 and 1 1/2. It was such a fun day, I thought I needed to record some of the highlights.

Wake up call at 5:30
Flowers and vegies removed from their respective gardens. All dirt dumped from pots
3 eggs found under a nesting chicken and 2 of those eggs tossed on porch by Sam
Porcelain star broken from slammed door
More flowers removed in front
Bites taken out of multiple plums, then stuck back in fruit basket by John
Bananas ransacked and smashed throughout the kitchen and all over both boys
Nap interrupted. Lasted less than an hour
Bath water spilled and covered entire floor during an afternoon bath
Fridge and kitchen floor peed on by Sam
Poop found in toilet by John
1 ibuprofen found randomly placed on a high shelf in the kitchen, then sucked on and spit out by Sam
Bites into arms, hands, and finers of a certain little brother for the first time

Then there's the daily stuff, like all the toys dumped on the floor and left out, couch cushions and pillows pulled off MANY times, the decor pulled off the walls and piano, the "no's" from a defiant 3 year old, the teasing and hitting that precursed the crying, and all the chair-pushing to investigate the counter.

I was ready to throw in the towel, but then we got to go witness a young boy be sealed to his parents for time and all eternity in the Oquirrh Mountain temple. That experience gave me back the right perspective. Sure, kids can give me a run for my money and make me want to pull every hair out of my head. But in the long run I'm sure I'll miss these days and laugh at what they did. After all, we're a family forever. Nothing's going to stop us from being apart. And while I wish I had a few moments to myself sometimes, I'm so darn glad I will get these guys with me for eternity!

loving their boots

John has started bringing me boots to put on him. Then he wants to go outside. I wish the weather were better for this! And Sam puts his boots on all by himself when he sees John with his.

I love how they love their boots!

BFF

We got this bunny from cousin Lacey late Saturday night.

It's only left Sam's care during meals and naps.

He's never been happier!

table tent

My sister sent me a photo of a cute table tent. I had never even heard of these, but think it's a fabulous idea! So I made one for my boys (I know it's a bit girlie, but the fabric is a good quality and CHEAP - I made this for around $10!)

The front door opens and attaches with velcro. I put a window in the door and 2 in the back.

Both my boys love it!

what I've been up to lately

These past few months I have tried to squeeze in time for one of the things I love - crafting - and this is what I came up with. It happens to all be sewing, but one of these days I'll get to the scrapbooks, too! My super mom made us travel bags when we were kids, so I knew Sam needed one, too, for our long drive to California. Then I thought he ought to have a smaller version for waiting rooms, church, and such.

A little girl's apron.

I know I don't have one to wear it, but I thought it'd be fun to make. See the coordinating mom's apron.

Coordinating mother's apron. I love the colors and the flower. Sorry the lighting is so bad in these photos!

Little boy's pirate apron. I've looked and looked for cute, boyish things, and finally decided that I need to make them myself. This is one of the ideas I've been excited about. Do you think it needs a pirate guy or treasure chest???

Sam's bed quilt. It was my first try at machine quilting. I learned a couple things: use the spray adhesive for quilting and start in the middle. I messed it all up and just don't have the heart to start over after how many days this took. The next one will be better :)

Sam moved from the crib to a toddler bed and didn't have blankets large enough for the bed, so I made this. Now he's in a regular twin and this doesn't fit. I guess I just can't win!

Big view of our growth chart. I wanted it out of fabric so it could easily go from place to place and be taken down when they're older (but still could be pulled out to update it and see how they've grown).

Close-up view of our growth chart. I love the bright colors and lettering.

sammy's birthday

we got to celebrate sammy's birthday while camping, during a HUGE rain & thunderstorm. with all the water that fell, I guess it was appropriate that he had a fish cake :)

here he is with his cousin, cole, playing with his new toys. thanks everyone for the great gifts - he loves them! for the first time, sam actually acts like he enjoys toys. it's nice he can entertain himself nowadays.

a "child trap"

A couple weeks ago Elton and I cleaned up the garage. About half-way through, Sam got tired so I went in and laid him down for a nap. When we were all finished I went in and saw this... which reminded me of a mouse that gets caught in a trap and tries to escape, but to no avail.

Funny, I didn't hear him scream and cry. Maybe he was just too worn out to struggle. The best I can figure out, he wandered out of his room, shut his door on the way out, and got his pants caught. Isn't it funny?!! Poor kid. I moved him to his bed and he slept well after that.

brothers

I have to admit, I like dressing my boys the same :) I also have to say, it's hard to get a good picture with 2 kids! Especially when you have a camera like mine that delays a good 3-5 seconds before it takes the picture.

It's with mixed feelings that I lay my camera to rest after a fatal error code appeared on it's screen. These are old pics, but hopefully we'll find a good camera soon and I'll be able to take more pictures. Why is it, when you don't have a camera, you find TONS of things to take pictures of?!!

muh, muh

That's what Sam calls ducks. It's the sound they make, according to him.

We got some ducklings this Spring.

Unfortunately, they were eaten last night, most likely by a fox.

In memory of their cuteness, here's a couple pics of one of them with Sam.

At first he loved having it in the bath with him. But then it got a little too close and touched him.
(don't worry, we cleaned him up real good after having a live animal in the bath with him :)

going fishing and finding a friend

Our neighbors have a pond that they are going to fill in with sand because their 1 year old grandsons now live with them. So, lucky us!, we got to have some of their fish for our own use. We took the kiddie pool away from the geese, who had taken it from Sam, and put a dozen fish inside.

I let Sam play outside yesterday since it's been so warm. Then I went in to check on John. When I came back out, this is what I saw. The fish he's holding is dead. He carried it around like a friend all afternoon (I had a hard time keeping my eyes on it to make sure he wasn't squeezing it's guts out or putting it in his mouth!) It gave me the heebie jeebies, but as long as it's safe, I figure this is what being a little boy is all about.

my little cherubs

I'm very grateful to have my two boys. They make me smile and I love them more than I can say.

I believe Valentine's day is for everyone, not just sweethearts, so here's my chance to tell YOU I love you.

Happy love day.

he's my boy

I'm the proud mother to this silly guy. not only does he have marker all over his lips and mouth, but he's got pen marks on his forehead...that's special

big brother

Sam absolutely loves John. When I pick John up, Sam follows me around and leans in to give him a kiss. If John is in his bed, Sam peeks in and watches him or tries to get in with him (thank goodness he hasn't succeeded yet!). When John is in his bouncer, Sam sits right next to him and bathes him with wet kisses while bouncing him a little harder than I'd like. Toys and things Sam outgrew now are interesting again because John uses them. He loves to chew on a paci since John does.

I love watching Sam love his baby brother. If only that would last....

Christmas morning

This year we got a white Christmas, one of my very favorite kinds. There's just something magical about newly fallen snow. I LOVE IT!

We woke up and went to the Christmas tree to see what Santa brought for Sam - a John Deere farm set and a plethora of fruit snacks in his stocking. It's hard to say which he liked better :)

Then I started some breakfast, Elton milked the cow, and we sat down to eat monkey bread/sticky buns (whatever you call it), breakfast casserole and fresh pineapple. Mmmm!!! Afterwards we went in to open presents. I felt a little bad that there were only 2 presents under the tree for Sam, but he sure was excited with what he got! He loves this little LeapFrog Fridge Farm. We tried to get him the car set, but he liked the farm better in the store. I guess he's destined to be a farm boy!

It was a wonderful, relaxing morning. I'm so grateful for this season and for all I have. Especially for the knowledge of our Savior. I hope I can remember Him throughout the year as I have thought of Him now and act upon that love I feel.

first snow day and other pics

It snowed here yesterday and at one point we had about 5 inches of snow on our back deck. Sam was very curious, but needed some prodding to actually touch it.

I bought a couple buckets for food storage, but Sam seems to enjoy them so they've stayed empty in my kitchen. Well, almost empty. :) This is his new "cheese" smile.

And I don't know if he's really ready to give up all of his baby things to John. We pulled this out for John and Sam has a hard time staying out of it. Sipping his sippy, he looks almost like a baby.

fall Saturday

This past Saturday we spent some time outdoors cleaning leaves and windows and getting Elton ready to go to NYC again. Sam got to sit in his first tree and he loved it!

We also gave him his first haircut. There aren't any pictures besides what you see because he has so little hair that we could barely see the difference. But he had hair way over his ears and hair on top that was a couple inches long. I just evened it all out and cleaned up around his ears. He wiggled a lot, but didn't mind the cutters. What a good boy :)

one project down...many to go!

I've been looking for a quiet book for Sam. After looking all over, I decided it would be cheapest to make one myself. I know kids like pictures, so I made this ABC book up out of pictures from Sam's first 15 months. So far he enjoys it!

Yeah, I know I'm missing some pages, but I'm not quite smart enough for blogger. :) Does anyone know the trick to uploading multiple photos in the order you want? I'd like to be able to move pics around to change the order they appear on a post, but can't seem to be able to do that.