Swimming Lessons

The season is here! Swimming lessons galore! I am managing to get all 3 in the water without too much stress. Brynn and Cannon are in the same class, and Maeve and I are together in the 'Baby and Me' class.
The weather has been cooperative! The fog usually burns off right before we have to get in, so the kids do get the warmth of the sun on them for a bit. Nothing smells more like summer than wet hair, and swimsuits that reek of chlorine!

Yes, those are my two with goggles on. Its the only way that I can get them to put their faces in the water. Hopefully by the end of the session they won't need them so much! Lucky for me, their friend Faith is in the class too, so her mommy can keep an eye on my two, while I am in the other pool!
I can't keep this one out of the water. She wants to be in our little pool anytime that she sees it!

Maybe we need to loosen the goggles? Those red marks around the eyes seem to linger a bit too long!

My little water girl! She loves it!

My Windowsill

I was washing dishes yesterday and looking out my kitchen window at the kids playing on the grass. A flood of gratitude came over me. In our last house, the kitchen sink faced a wall. A wall with no window. A wall that was horribly plain, and white. Washing dishes is so much more tolerable when there is something nice to look at!
I was also looking at my windowsill and I realized that all of the things on it have a special place in my life. Its the place in my home where things collect. Here is what I see:

A thriving houseplant (I like to think that I am getting more of a green thumb as I get older) in a pot that my sister in law gave me for Christmas one year. I remember that she was thinking I wouldn't like the pot, but I absolutely do!

The supplies for our latest pet. Maeve spilled most of the food out on the couch, but there is still enough to get us through the month. The kids picked out the fish, and I hope he is the first of many family pets! (besides the dog, of course...)

One of my favorite lotions. I got this as a shower gift, and I love it! I love the name, I love the smell, and I love the way that it moisturizes my hands! It is a gentle reminder to me after each session at the sink to take a few seconds to be kind to my hands!

This one if for my kids actually! Sadly, I am almost out of the first one, and will soon have to find a replacement. This will have to do for awhile! (Side note - sometimes I see my "manly" husband sneak a squirt of this for his rough hands. It makes me giggle!)

These are the latest flowers that the kids picked for me. I seem to always have a cup with some sort of plant in it on the sill. They are so sweet to think of me!

And last but not least, here is the item that helps my home smell good! I love this gift! It was from my sister, and every once in awhile, I will treat myself to a new oil to fragrance my home with.

So, what do you have on your windowsill? Something special? Something funny? Something that you set aside to fix later? I hope that whatever it is, you smile when you think of it!

First Crop

Our hard work is finally paying off! The first of our crop is finally here! Not that it will feed us for a long time, but it will be nice to eat something that we have put time and energy into! The kids are pretty excited!

The first tomatoes. They are living up to their name of "Big Boy"...

The spaghetti squash. I am having my doubts about this one. Doesn't it look more like a cucumber???

I think this is the start of our first honeydew melon! Fresh melon for breakfast! You can't beat that! (Except for maybe bacon....we don't have room for a pig though!)

We have 6 oranges as well. This is the first year that the tree actually has fruit! My patience is running a bit thin. I can't wait to pick an orange and eat it!

We even have lemons! Only 3 so far, but they will be good no doubt!

Handsome Hubby

What a handsome man! He recently pulled out the guitar again, and it reminded me of all the time (5 years) that we dated and he would play for me. I have great memories of him playing all my favorite songs that he would spend hours learning and perfecting! The night after my grandpa passed away, I fell asleep on his arm while he softly played guitar. That memory is absolutely precious to me! Thanks honey for being my hero, my best friend, and my husband!

Baby Shower

I helped out with a baby shower the other day for my second-cousin-in-law-by-marriage. Did you catch all that?
They are expecting their first in Oct, and we are all pretty excited for them. It was a "A,B,C" theme shower, outside in the grove at the park. The weather was hot, but not unbearable, and I think it turned out really nice!

Here was one of the table centerpieces.


Each place setting had a letter on the plate. The person sitting there had to come up with one piece of advice based on the letter that they got. It was interesting to hear multi-generational advice. There was some really great wisdom passed along!

Since it was a morning brunch, we just had carrot cake cupcakes for dessert. Yummy!

Mmmmmnnn, my favorite part was the yogurt parfaits! They were sooo good with fresh blueberries, good quality granola and simple strawberry yogurt! They looked pretty too!

Congrats Jeni and Scott! Can't wait to meet the little one!

His New Toy

Rich and I picked up this little skateboard for Cannon the other day at a garage sale. I think its made for normal size guys, but it fits him perfectly! He loves it, and has already figured out a bit about getting around on it. I am waiting for the scream and the broken arm, but hopefully that day will never come! I do insist that he wears his helmet though when he is on it. Can't let that precious brain of his suffer from a head injury....


See how small it is??? Too funny huh!

I think his "outfit" is standard issues skateboarding wear, right?

The grass is the safest place to start to learn...

No kidding....

the kids washed my floors for me on Tuesday! I was cleaning up and getting ready for company. Brynn grabbed a washcloth from the drawer got on her hands and knees and started in on some spots that I had yet to clean. Cannon saw that she was doing it, and ran to help out. They proceeded from the kitchen, to the hallway, to the entryway!
Wow. That was pretty cool!

Highs and Lows and Highs

Wow. What a day! Talk about highs and lows...
I got up early this morning to catch some quiet time in my bible before the kids got up. I love the silence of a sleeping house! The sun wasn't due to come up yet for awhile, so it was still semi-dark, which is another of my favorite times. After some bible time, I picked up the book that I am reading, and powered through another chapter. I love this book, and couldn't recommend it enough!!!

The book focuses on Titus 2:3-5. These 3 verses basically lay out a foundation of what God instructs our roles as women to be. Each chapter takes one of the "virtues" and focuses on it. This morning I was reading about "...works in the home..". It was so uplifting and encouraging for me! One quote that stuck out to me was from Dr. Francis Schaeffer, who said that just as many people had come to know Christ through his wives Cinnamon rolls, as through his preaching! I love that idea! My role as a home maker is just as important as my husbands role as the provider for our family!
I left my morning quiet time totally refreshed, charged and ready for the day. To bad today is the day that Cannon throws more fits than he ever has in his life! This boy is testing me! I feel like he is constantly pushing against the boundaries that we have set, and I know that its normal, but it doesn't make it any easier. I want to be a cheerful, joyful mother, but its pretty hard when I spend the entire day disciplining, correcting and adjusting behavior! What a bummer!
But then, Brynn, says something to me that absolutely makes my day! We are talking about "when I grow up" stuff. I told her that when I was little, I wanted to be a vet when I grew up. She said, "When I grow up, I want to get married to a firefighter, stay home and take care of my kids all day long. And, I will also want to clean my house...".
OK, so the 'clean my house' bit is pretty funny, but I am actually honored that she would want to do the same thing that I am doing. What a compliment! I have do have the best job in the whole world!

Titus 2:3-5
Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands, and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God might not be reviled.

Brushing Teeth

How fun is this????

A Good Haircut!

It was totally time for this!!!!!!
Her hair is like mine. The longer it gets, the worse it looks. We are cursed with thin hair that tends to look pretty scraggly.
To make it worse, she HATES to have me brush it, braid it, pull it back in a ponytail, or put any sort of clip in it. (Talk about the apple not falling too far from the tree, huh!)

So, we chopped it! It looks so cute, and healthy, and thick! No more crazy bed head. No more scraggly thin hair hanging down her back! No more fighting with me every Sunday morning when I insist that she at least comb it so that people know we are putting some effort into the way we look for church...
Yeah!!!!

Birthday Party Bandit

We went to a birthday party today at the park. (What a great idea, so much less clean-up!!!!)
Brynn, Cannon and Maeve all had a really great time playing on the playground, eating all the yummy food, and watching the birthday girl open her presents. They came home with a great goody bag too filled with crafts to make, jewelry to bead, and a few yummy M&M's to eat. I was putting them all down for quiet time, and Brynn decided to show me what she had collected during the party from the ground around where we were celebrating.
I thought that she might pull out a few feathers and an acorn or something....but, no. This is the extent of what she considered to be "treasures" worthy of bringing home.

All I can say is "wow".

(Yes, that is a total of 9 bottle caps, 1 plastic cap, 2 Popsicle sticks, 5 can tabs, 2 twisty ties, 1 bread package tab, 9 un-used water balloons, 1 piece of ric-rac, 1 rubber band, 1 piece of a broken toy, 1 green (huh) screw, and 1 froggy bead).

A bit late...

My friend Lisa sent this link on Mothers Day, and I just found it again in my old inbox. This made me laugh soooooo hard! I don't know where she got it, but what a great gift huh!

Happy 4th! (uh, 3rd I Mean)

We usually try to do our fireworks and family/BBQ type stuff on the 3rd of July since Rich normally opts to work 4th of July on call. This year we went to Windsor and watched the fireworks through a line of trees on the town green.
Although it was super disappointing that we couldn't actually see the all of the fireworks, it was a fun evening. There was live music, food to be shared, jumpy houses to be puked in, and lots of grass to roll around on.
Rich and I got there early to grab a good spot, but they were all taken, so we settled for the open area where people told us we definitely couldn't see the fireworks when they started. Me, always the optimist, was hoping that everyone was wrong.
They weren't.
The kids did have fun though. After we sat down, a familiar looking couple set up some chairs nearby, and then walked off to get some dinner. When my parents arrived I told them that they knew the couple that was near us, and sure enough, they did. We ended up spending the evening with a really great couple, Dave and Cherie (?). They were a lot of fun, and loved the "entertainment" that my kids provided. Cannon got a hold of my camera and took a few pics which I discovered this morning! Maybe this is his future occupation???

Cannon also survived the fireworks, which was a huge step for him. Last year he hid his head under his blanket for the entire show at Analy. It was sad how scared he was. This year he oohed and aahed, just like the rest of us. I think he felt safe since we could only occasionally see colors behind the trees. (Am I bitter? Maybe a bit...)
After the fireworks we loaded up into the car and sat in traffic for 45 minutes. In the meantime we watched a police officer plow into a parked car, and the madness that followed that. It would have been slightly funny, except that a man was actually trying to get into his car when the police officer hit him. That was pretty scary!
Other than that the night was fun, full of music, food and laughter! Happy 4th (3rd) of July!!!

A Sweet Tea Party

Brynn turned 5 yesterday! Wow. Five long years ago after being in labor for 24+ hours and pushing for 3 hours with no pain medicine, Brynn was born. (Or should I say that they doctor gave up on me and applied the suction vacuum to her sunny side up positioned head and pulled her out...) I digress.
Brynn wanted a tea party, and since you know I am all about birthdays, I had to try to accommodate her. I borrowed a toddler table from a local church, and some little chairs to go with it.
The kids loved sitting at a table that was a perfect size for them. I decorated with some random things that I found. Some flower balls left over from my cousins wedding last summer, a chandelier that I bought at a garage sale for $5, some leftover decorations given to me from another party, and bling-bling cheap girly jewelry from Oriental Trading Company.



It came together well!
I think that the kids had a good time. I didn't plan much in the way of games, because my kids seem to like free play at their parties more than structured games. I did have them build towers out of sugar cubes and see whose tower was the tallest after 1 minute for the grand prize of a lollipop. Then, whoever ate 1 sugar cube the fastest without chewing also won a lollipop. (Had to keep the boys interest as well at the girly party.)

The food was fun. PB & J sandwiches, snail rolls, ants on a log, and fruit bites, as well as Tea Party Punch, and Cupcakes for dessert.




Brynn was loving the dress that she got to wear (another leftover from last summers wedding) and all the awesome gifts that she got from her friends.

She said that her favorite gift was the MP3 player that we gave her. I am glad that she liked it. We downloaded a bunch of Dr. Seuss books, and some songs and the novel "Wind in the Willows" for her. She was pretty content to sit and listen to it during quiet time.

Then, because a birthday should always be full of special happenings, I took Brynn to her first movie in the theatre. I left in plenty of time to get there, and I figured that we could walk around the theatre, buy some popcorn, pick out good seats, and get the full theatre experience. Of course, when we got to the theatre, the birthday girl had no shoes to wear. (This is not the first time we have left the house with no shoes...) I had to race home, grab the shoes, and race back to the theatre. Thankfully there were no cops on the way, seats still left in the theatre, and we only missed the previews. Brynn's jaw dropped when she saw the size of the screen, and how big the room was. She was amazed! It was so cool that I got to share that experience with her!

For dinner we had a big family BBQ. The food was great, and I even made a pretty cool teapot cake! I was proud of myself for this one. It was really easy!

The girls put on a show for us, and like every event, it was fun to watch...

I think that Brynn had a pretty great 5th birthday. I hope that she will remember it, and think back to the fun she had with her friends and family on this day.
Happy Birthday Princess Brynn!