S'mores

The boys and I had a fantastic day today. Seriously, it was one of those rare days when almost everything was perfect. We went to our Thursday morning Mom's Group Bible Study, came home and had lunch (and they ate it all with no complaints) and then I happened to see that The Last Mimsy was on HBO. We've never seen this movie, but it had just started and the boys seemed interested in it so we all sat down on the couch to watch. They didn't move a muscle the intire time. There were some intense scenes in it where I had to ask "You know this is all pretend and not real and just a movie, right?" and they would tell me "yes, we know." They never acted like they were scared or I would have turned it off.

So, since we had such a good day I told them that if they went straight down for nap I would have treat for them after dinner when daddy went to play poker. Well, they went to sleep immediately without any problems (yesterday it took me over an hour to get them to go to sleep).

Once daddy left for poker we got out everything to make a tent in the living room and then I pulled out the "treat", s'mores!! They thought they were in heaven. We've never made s'mores before and it was great. I had these little campfire skewers that I got at Target for $2 and we used those to roast the marshmellows over the flame of my gas stovetop. Once Wyatt, Seth and I had our s'mores (Reece refused to actually roast a marshmellow, he just wanted to eat them plain) we all got under the tent to eat them and then read books.

Jerad plays poker every other week and I think this is definitely going to be something we start doing on a regular basis when he's gone.

We only had a few burned marshmellows.

Zilker Kite Festival

At the first of March we went to the Zilker Kite Festival and had a great time. This is the 5th year that we've gone and it's always a blast. Usually we take a picnic lunch, but since it's after church and our new church is so close we decided to eat at Katz' Deli. The inside of that place is decorated like NYC, which the boys thought looked like Sesame Street. They LOVED it! The boys each got their own kites this year. Wyatt had Spiderman, Seth had Buzz Lightyear and Reece had Lightening McQueen.

Jerad flying his Shark Kite

Seth, so happy about his kite

Wyatt, with his Spiderman Kite

Seth flying his Buzz kite

Reece flying his Lightening kite

Back in Action

Our computer crashed forever ago and so I haven't been able to update the blog, but it's back up and running so things should get back to normal again soon.

For Nanny: John Ryan's New House

Without Snow
With Snow

Their Newly Remodeled Living Room

Their backporch that sits on the lake

A Day At My Parents

Just some fun pictures from an afternoon spent at my parents. Reece was sleeping inside, but Wyatt and Seth were having a lot of fun outside. It was a gorgeous day.

Finally a New Blog Header

I worked on it today and finally got a new blog header up. I hope you all like it!

Bowling for Reece's Birthday

For Reece's birthday we took him bowling. It was the first time any of the boys had been bowling and they really enjoyed it. It was easy and super low-key (just what we needed). It was just our family and our friends the Hastings.

Aunt Tamara, Reece and Mommy

Seth

Tamara helping Ty

Jerad helping Reece before we got the ramp

We got a $8 cookie cake from HEB and I wrote his name on it. It already had the super heroes on it, so that went great with the hero cape he got for his birthday.

Unplugged Project - Color

The theme for this weeks Unplugged Project was Color. I let Reece do something simple and he played with colorful wooden puzzles. However, I set about with something a little more complicated for Wyatt and Seth.
We did color arranging from lightest to darkest. I had made these a while back using paint cards that I got for free at Home Depot. I just cut them into little squares. I numbered the backs so that the boys could self check once they lined them up. We have several colors that I keep separated in little bags.


I also did this color matching game that I made from paint cards that I got at Home Depot. I cut the words off one card, but left the rest of it intact. Then on the matching card I cut little one inch squares and glued them to clothes pins. The boys have to clip the clothes pin to the color that it matches. It can be a little difficult because some of the colors on the card are so similar. They did each project and then switched and did the other one. They really liked it.

Update on Things to Do in 2009

So, I promised that I would put an update of my progress on my Things to do in 2009 List at the first of every month. It's the First, so here is my update:

For Myself:
1. Spend time in the Bible everyday---I'd like to say I've been doing this everyday, but that would be a lie. However, I've been WAY more consistent than I've been in the past, and I've made an effort to dig deeper in the scriptures and really see what God is trying to say to me and He has been faithful to speak to me. I'm working on this and pleased with how it's going.
2. Lose this last 25 lbs (I've lost 75 so far; 25 shouldn't be too difficult right?)---This one is going really well. Jerad entered a Biggest Loser competition at work and has lost 15 pounds!! So, his added interests in losing weight has been the push that I needed. I'm back on track with exercise and eating right. I lost 5 pounds in January.
3. Learn to knit---Okay, I haven't really done anything with this one yet, except look at pretty knit patterns online and that doesn't really count. I need to get moving on it.
4. Organize my house (I actually have a real plan for this one!!)---Now this is coming right along. I've completely done my laundry room and almost finished my kitchen/dining room. I'm also working on the kids playroom/schoolroom. The interesting thing here is that God gave Jerad and I promise about organizing our house. I know some people may find that strange, but we know He did. We know He has something in store for us if we will follow His command to be good stewards with what He has given us (our home) and right after we both felt very impressed of that, God sent two different people at two different times to confirm that promise to us. I love how God works like that.
5. Start a garden---Yeah, I haven't done anything with this one either.

For My Family:
1. Teach Wyatt and possibly Seth to read.---We are using the book, Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons by Siegried Engelmann. It came highly recommended by some homeschool moms that I know and it got good reviews online. It's very easy to use and the boys are really enjoying it. I'm using it with Wyatt and Seth.
2. Potty train Reece.---I haven't started this yet, but plan to within the next few months. He just turned 2, two days ago, so I'm not in that big of a rush.
3. Find Seth's passion (Wyatt's is art, but I haven't found Seth's yet).---We're working on this. Seth has started enjoying some of the art projects we're doing, but not as much as Wyatt. He does like music, but there's nothing yet that he just gravitates towards. I know we'll find it, but it's just taking a while.
4. Go on a date once a month with my husband.---Being broke doesn't lend itself to this one. We've just got to find some time and some a little extra cash, but we're going to do it.

Happy Birthday Little Man

Little man you have come a long way since January 30th 2007. You were 6 weeks early and 5lbs 12 oz., but you were strong. You struggled with your heart rate and to breath on your own, but you never struggled to eat. God answered our prayer because when Seth was in the NICU he wouldn't eat and so we prayed and prayed that you would eat and boy did you ever. You never got a feeding tube and just did so well. The nurses kept telling us that you would have to get one. They kept saying that EVERY baby in the NICU got a feeding tube, but you never did. You were a fighter and you still are two years later. You get right in the middle of fights with your two older brothers and you never back down from anything. You love football, you'll sit and watch a whole game if we let you. You love Larry Boy. You love your mamma, but you are your daddy's boy. All is right with the world when daddy is home. I've never seen you so happy as when daddy was home for vacation for three weeks over Christmas.

Opening his Super Hero Cape that I made him for his Birthday

Hot Chocolate Party

Today I told the boys that if we had a good day we would have a Hot Chocolate Party tonight. It worked out really well because Jerad had poker night so it was just me and the boys at home. We built a tent in the living room and had hot chocolate and brownies (that Mrs. Denise sent home with us from small group last night). We also read some books by the flashlight. It was sooooo much fun!

Ready for the party to get started

Inside the tent with hot chocolate and brownies

It was actually really dark in the tent, but with my flash on my camera you can't really tell

One of the books we read was Zen Shorts which included a tent, so it fit perfectly