S Club Mama

We took the boys fishing the other night (such a beautiful time to do this). Moose had such fun - he didn't actually fish, although he "helped" cast a few times and reel in. Big A caught 4 fish...I got nothing. We even got Moose to pet the fish a few times (he didn't mind until Big A let go of one and it flopped around - freaked the poor kid out). We only stayed about 20-30 minutes until it was time to go home (i.e. Squirt got cranky). It was fun and I can't wait to do it again!

Yesterday for Sunday School, we tried Moose out in his age-appropriate room (he had been in with the 2-year-olds still). It seemed to go well; his teacher said he was good and listened to her when they needed to sit down and color or listen to the lesson. When I got there, he was playing with "Thomas" (actually Gordon but whatever, they're both blue). Happy as can be...then another boy took the train - screaming. I go over and the other teacher gives Moose back the train...happy. I tell him we're going to go sit in church - screaming. I told him he could stay and play then. I leave - screaming. I go back and we repeat (go to church - scream, me leave - scream). Once more and then Big A went in and just got him. Huge meltdown. They walk around outside for 10 minutes while Squirt and I go in to worship. Our big duo comes back in and Squirt gets squirmy (not unusual). Big A takes him out and Moose sits beside me. Then he decides he wants his cars...I forgot them at home ...

Moose wanted to go on the Zipper - "wow, look at that" he said. I told him that when he gets to ride it in 10 years, I'll go with him. So instead we bought him tickets to ride the "train." I was afraid he'd hate it and freak out so I made sure they could stop if that happened. Oh no, he loved it!! And he loved it so much the freak out happened when the train stopped. He did not want to stop. He threw a fit all the way to the van (oh yeah). But at least he had fun

As an English major, I have read my fair share of Anne Bradstreet poems. Much of what you know about her (if you learned about her in school) is true: she was a Puritan woman who lived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. She dearly loved her husband, was a sickly lady, and had a slew of children.  I received a copy of "Anne Bradstreet" by D.B. Kellogg through Book Sneeze to review. Here is what the publisher had to say about this book: Christian Encounters, a series of biographies from Thomas Nelson Publishers, highlights important lives from all ages and areas of the Church. Some are familiar faces. Others are unexpected guests. But all, through their relationships, struggles, prayers, and desires, uniquely illuminate our shared experience Anne Bradstreet is recognized as one of the most important figures in the history of American literature, yet the majority of her poetry remained private until after her death. As a Puritan wife and mother, Anne knew that shar...

When [brothers] are laughing, they're generally not killing each other.   ~Alan Alda

Although I am not running for a cause right now (maybe in the future) my friend Mariah is! She was trying to figure out her place in life, in running. Then she joined Team In Training . She is going to run the Los Angeles half Marathon in October to raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma. Isn't that awesome! Although she is injured (my knees feel ya) right now, she is trucking along in her training (doing a lot of cross training, which she hates). She has heard so many stories of people overcoming obstacles and just words of encouragement, that she feels committed to pull through. And she is such an inspiration. I wanted to share Mariah's story and her donation page . If you feel lead to donate, please do. If you can't, please be praying for her and her team. They are running for such an extraordinary thing..maybe the money they raise will help lead to a breakthrough in leukemia and lymphoma treatments.

1+1+1=1 has become a frequent stop in my home school curriculum quest. She did not invent lap books/tot books (not that I'm aware of) but she made it easy for me (and you) to make them for our own kids. I honestly have downloaded almost every printable she has for tot books. I am taking pre-school very slowly this year. Speech therapy starts this week for Moose and I'd love to potty train him before he's 4. Those are honestly my main goals. He knows shapes, numbers, letters, and colors - BUT I also don't want him to not use them and forget. That is where tot books come in to play. So I made him a Veggie Tales tot book! He loves Bob and Larry. We have a few VT videos and one VT book so he is well acquainted. I thought this was a good first attempt. I didn't have card stock yet or even the "right" folders (the ones I wanted), so I just used a normal folder (on sale due to back to school) and printer paper. one thing I like about the pockets is I can...

Check out these beauts! I was asked to do a review for CSN Stores and I came across these adorable shoes . The name says it all: Pleaser Seduce. They are the sexiest shoes I own! They are a patent hot pink 5" heel (yeah, that's right!). Here is what the website says about Pleaser: Pleaser USA, Inc., incepted in 1993, started out as an importer and distributor of urban fashion footwear. Over the years, it has evolved into a specialty footwear powerhouse serving exclusively the needs of various alternative lifestyles. At Pleaser USA, Inc., they are in constant pursuit to meet the consumers' demand for extraordinary and unconventional footwear while incorporating quality, innovation, and diversity into every aspect of its products and services. With a customer base spawning almost 50 countries; an expansive 130,000 sq ft facility; six distinctive footwear brands: PLEASER, BORDELLO, LUCIOUS, DEMONIA, DEVIOUS and FUNTASMA, which encompasses a vast collection o...

Bible Study... I'm continuing in reading "Praying the Scriptures for your Children" by Jodie Berndt. I finally got done reading another book so I'm going to solely focus on this one. Memory Verse... 1 Corinthians 10:13 "The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure." Husband Encouragement... 1. Be supportive listening to possible job prospects. 2. Help him spiff up his resume and fill out applications, if possible. 3. Don't worry about the future. I know he is concerned with me in this process so worrying doesn't help either of us. Train Them Up... 1. Tuesday is our first speech therapy with Moose. 2. Continue to work on setting limits with Squirt (don't touch movies, get down from the tv, sit down to drink). 3. Work with Moose on dressing and undressing ...

As Squirt stumbled around the living room, I jokingly asked him "have you been drinking?"  He just stumbled away...obviously intoxicated...or maybe just 13 months old. image via here Moose replied "yes, I been drinking," as he chugged his "drink" from a pretend milk carton. He followed it up with "mmmm it's real good!" Oddly enough, the milk carton is a brown bottle....are we sure that's milk?

I've been busy making lap books/tot books for Moose (will be posting about this soon). I want to do something fun for Squirt, too! He very much likes different textures (something Moose never seemed to care about). His blankies that he likes to sleep with are knitted ones; he doesn't really care for store-bought blankies (no matter how cute). So I'd like to give him a variety of textures to play with/explore. What other textiles are there? And how could I incorporate them into a little game? Any ideas on where I can find cheap material (scraps even)? I'm thinking velvet, silk, corduroy, denim, cotton...what else?

Today brought about another change in our lives. It seems as though my sweet husband will be finishing out the month in his job and then will have to find something else. And just when I was settling in on the idea of being here...forever. We've even told people who ask us how long we'd be here that: forever. Be praying for us and for his boss & his family, too. I know this will bring changes all around. We just hope God has something else in mind for us and we're still hoping to stay around this area. And heck, if you're from around here and know of a job up for grabs, let me know. The good part of this is that I think we're pretty good movers and we're really just trusting in God to provide. He hasn't let us down yet. And He always has His reasons. I do wish I knew if this was His plan - for us to move every 6-8 months. I'd just like to prepare myself haha. Anyway, that's all the details I'll share (although vague details); if you w...

After our initial meetings with the elementary education teacher and education service coordinator, we met with the speech pathologist. Then last week was our big Multidisciplinary Evaluation Team MDT and Individual Education Program meeting. In addition to the teacher (E), the ESU coordinator (L), the speech pathologist (J), and myself, there was Mr. K (school superintendent), W (special education teacher), and my hubby. Of course Squirt and Moose were ever present. Apparently, Moose did not fare so well this time around with the speech pathologist. I pretty much knew that because he had a huge meltdown and wouldn't cooperate while she was here the first time. Average scores range between 85-115; he scored a 79 (although we didn't even finish the test, so she had to say he got the last 5 incorrect just so she could score it). His strengths were understanding quantity concepts (all, one), colors, two-step directions, and use of objects. His areas of improvement were underst...

excuse the old picture in this but I just figured out how to make this a picture file

Yes, Moose has gotten a few hair cuts before, but just trims. We decided it was finally time to chop some hair off (at the end of the heat advisory, of course). Kind of sad, but he is a handsome guy either way (and the curls were mostly non-existent anyway). he's really not as mad as he looks; he could have cared less about a hair cut

I thought that I ran 8 miles so I was super pleased with this time LOL but it turns out it was only 7. Still, not a bad pace, especially when my knee started hurting (and continued to hurt) around mile 3. This morning was so gorgeous...sort of. There were pockets of air that were just cool and beautiful, followed by pockets of humidity. Weird. The sunrise was beautiful; God sure made mornings some kind of awesome! My knee did hurt this run but I pushed through; I'm glad I did. It really was a great run, no matter the pace. I'm hoping to strengthen it up in the next few weeks and praying it doesn't hurt like this during the half-marathon. I also ate a cliff bar (chocolate chip); loved it. I was glad I took it bc my stomach started hurting a few miles in (probably due to its emptiness).

"I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." - Psalm 119:11 I have not memorized one word of Scripture in a long time. Or rather, I had not. Recently I began to memorize a verse. I've started with one verse ( 2 Peter 1:9 ). I hope to know much of the Scripture in time. Why now? Memorization has always been important in Christianity. Stephen used Old Testament Scripture to rebuke those Sanhedrin who ended up stoning him. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 reminds us that "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." If ever I am asked about a passage, I want to know where it is. I want to know what it says. If ever someone wants advice from me, I want to know where to lead them. If ever I get the opportunity to share the truth about God's love, mercy, and grace, I NEED to know the place(s) to look. I als...

Aubrey is one of my oldest bloggy friends and, while on vacation, I got the chance to meet her! I didn't think it was going to happen because we didn't meet up on our way from Loveland to Canon City (darn work meetings!). However, we tried again! So on our way home, we stopped off at a park near her work so we could meet. It was so good. She is exactly how she is online: sweet, charming, and awesome! Not to mention beautiful (we did not coordinate the black tanks and cardigans but aren't we cute?). I definitely recommend that if you are vacationing near a bloggy friend, set up a meeting. It's wonderful to meet these people that you really already know.

I love that my boys, especially Moose, love music. Squirt has recently started to dance - SO much fun! Moose has really good pitch when he sings and loves guitars & drums. Squirt likes to hit things so he's a natural drummer. What a joy this is for a mama who also loves to sing.

our Colorado vacation Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants - Moose loved the "sinosaur" for whatever reason, about halfway through the game, Moose thought he needed to hold his brother Squirt REALLY missed his crib while we were gone; the crib at Embassy Suites was a close substitute this Thomas play stuff was fun...until we had to leave it Royal Gorge Railroad was so fun and just beautiful you can't beat train travel the boys liked the freedom of no car seats this was the Dinosaur Depot museum; not much to see but kids 3< are free it doesn't matter where we go, we know that Moose will revel in the different water fountains.

Good morning to you all! Today is Friday and this is my last guest poster, Erin. We became friends through MOPS and now are bloggy friends. She is really amazing so I'll stop writing and let her! 6:30 a.m. Are they SERIOUSLY awake already?! Yes, I admit this thought crosses my mind quite frequently when my two tow-headed little boys get out of bed before my mind is functioning properly. Not a great start to the day admittedly, but I'm just being honest here. And that's when I need to head to my knees. Even better, get on my knees BEFORE they get up. Children are a gift from the LORD; they are a reward from him. ~Psalm 127:3 After worshipping my Lord in the morning, I want this to be the next prayer from my lips. A reminder of just how blessed we are to have these young men. A chance to focus on the beauty of motherhood, instead of the chaos and craziness that only moms of boys can understand. An opportunity to discover alongside them the joy in simple, everyd...

My Love,  Seriously? Six years we've been together? We've been married four years? It's hard to believe that I can feel like I just met you yesterday and also feel like I've known you my whole life.   No one has ever known me the way you do. No one has ever cared for me the way you do. No one has ever pursued me like you have. No one has ever stuck with me like you have. You know all my faults and everything about my past - yet you love me. You have always loved me.   I know that so many women say "I'm the luckiest woman ever," but they are wrong. Because I am. You are the perfect husband and the perfect father. You are the perfect man: brains, brawn, and a big heart. Not to mention those awesome baking skills! How ever did I get this blessed? And our boys are so blessed, too; not many fathers even today are as hands on as you are. No "baby-sitting" here.  I thank God for you but not nearly often enough. I can't repay Him for the bless...