The Blount's

25 Rules for Mothers of Sons

2012-01-04T14:37:00.000-08:00

This was posted from a friend of mine today and I read this and cried. I wanted to post this to our blog so that I can always remember these things. My boys are amazing and I am a better person because of them! Jess

25 Rules for Mothers of Sons

Inspired by a Pin I've recently seen about "rules for dads with daughters," I went searching for a similar list for moms with sons. This search was mostly fruitless, so I was inspired to write my own Rules for Moms with Sons. Granted, my list will not be conclusive and may not be entirely uncontroversial. So agree, or disagree, or take with a grain of salt - but I hope to inspire other moms who are loving, and struggling, and tired, and proud, and eager to support the boys in their lives. You are the most important woman in his life, his first teacher, and the one he will look to for permission for the rest of his life. From "Can I go play with them?" to "Should I ask her to marry me?" Its a big job, but as the mumma, we're up for it.

25 Rules for Moms with Sons

Source: pre-schoolplay.blogspot.com via Tabitha on Pinterest

1. Teach him the words for how he feels.
Your son will scream out of frustration and hide out of embarrassment. He'll cry from fear and bite out of excitement. Let his body move by the emotion, but also explain to him what the emotion is and the appropriate response to that emotion for future reference. Point out other people who are feeling the same thing and compare how they are showing that emotion. Talk him through your emotions so that someday when he is grown, he will know the difference between angry and embarrassed; between disappointment and grief.

2. Be a cheerleader for his life
There is no doubt that you are the loudest person in the stands at his t-ball games. There is no doubt that he will tell you to "stop, mom" when you sing along to his garage band's lyrics. There is no doubt that he will get red-faced when you show his prom date his pictures from boy scouts. There is no doubt that he is not telling his prom date about your blog where you've been bragging about his life from his first time on the potty to the citizenship award he won in ninth grade. He will tell you to stop. He will say he's embarrassed. But he will know that there is at least one person that is always rooting for him.

3. Teach him how to do laundry
..and load the dishwasher, and iron a shirt. He may not always choose to do it. He may not ever have to do it. But someday his wife will thank you.

Source: offbeatmama.com via offbeatmama on Pinterest

4. Read to him and read with him.
Emilie Buchwald said, "Children become readers on the laps of their parents." Offer your son the opportunity to learn new things, believe in pretend places, and imagine bigger possibilities through books. Let him see you reading...reading the paper, reading novels, reading magazine articles. Help him understand that writing words down is a way to be present forever. Writers are the transcribers of history and memories. They keep a record of how we lived at that time; what we thought was interesting; how we spoke to each other; what was important. And Readers help preserve and pass along those memories.

5. Encourage him to dance.
Dance, rhythm, and music are cultural universals. No matter where you go, no matter who you meet - they have some form of the three. It doesn't have to be good. Just encourage your son that when he feels it, it's perfectly fine to go ahead and bust a move.

6. Make sure he has examples of good men who are powerful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity.
The examples of men with big muscles and a uniform (like Batman and LaMarr Woodley) will surround your son from birth. But make sure he also knows about men who kick a$s because of their brains (Albert Einstein), and their pen (Mark Twain), and their words (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.), and their determination (Team Hoyt), and their ideas (The Wright Brothers), and their integrity (Officer Frank Shankwitz), and fearlessness (Neil Armstrong), and their ability to keep their mouths closed when everyone else is screaming (Jackie Robinson).

7. Make sure he has examples of women who are beautiful because of their brains, their determination, and their integrity
The examples of traditionally beautiful women (like Daphne Blake, Princess Jasmine, and Britney Spears) will surround your son from birth. But make sure he knows about women who are beautiful from the inside out because of their brains (Madame Marie Curie), and their pen (Harper Lee), and their words (Eleanor Roosevelt), and their determination (Anne Sullivan), and their ideas (Oprah Winfrey), and their integrity (Miep Gies), and fearlessness (Ameila Earhart), and their ability to open their mouths and take a stand when everyone else is silent (Aung San Suu Kyi).

8. Be an example of a beautiful woman with brains, determination, and integrity.
You already are all of those things. If you ever fear that you are somehow incapable of doing anything - remember this: If you have done any of the following: a) grew life b) impossibly and inconceivably got it out of your body c) taken care of a newborn d) made a pain go away with a kiss e) taught someone to read f) taught a toddler to eat with a utensil g) cleaned up diarrhea without gagging h) loved a child enough to be willing to give your life for them (regardless if they are your own) or i) found a way to be strong when that child is suffering...you are a superhero. do not doubt yourself for one second. Seriously.

Source: simplymontessori.blogspot.com via Terry-Anne on Pinterest

9. Teach him to have manners
because its nice. and it will make the world a little better of a place.

Source: swagbucks.com via Adriana on Pinterest

10. Give him something to believe in
Because someday he will be afraid, or nervous, or heartbroken, or lost, or just need you, and you won't be able to be there. Give him something to turn to when it feels like he is alone, so that he knows that he will never be alone; never, never, never.

Source: theberry.com via Chris on Pinterest

11. Teach him that there are times when you need to be gentle
like with babies, and flowers, and animals, and other people's feelings.

Source: heatherbeadles.com via Heather on Pinterest

12. Let him ruin his clothes
Resolve to be cool about dirty and ruined clothes. You'll be fighting a losing battle if you get upset every time he ruins another piece of clothing. Don't waste your energy being angry about something inevitable. Boys tend to learn by destroying, jumping, spilling, falling, and making impossible messes. Dirty, ruined clothes are just par for the course.

13. Learn how to throw a football
or how to use a hockey stick, or read music, or draw panda bears (or in my case alpacas), or the names of different train engines, or learn to speak Elvish, or recognize the difference between Gryffindor and Slytherin, or the lyrics to his favorite song. Be in his life, not as an observer but as an active participant.

Source: shanna-kaye.com via Shanna-Kaye on Pinterest

14. Go outside with him
turn off the television, unplug the video games, put your cellphone on the charger, even put your camera away. Just go outside and follow him around. Watch his face, explore his world, and let him ask questions. It's like magic.

15. Let him lose
Losing sucks. Everybody isn't always a winner. Even if you want to say, "You're a winner because you tried," don't. He doesn't feel like a winner, he feels sad and crappy and disappointed. And that's a good thing, because sometimes life also sucks, no matter how hard (as moms) we try to make it not suck for our kids. This practice will do him good later when he loses again (and again, and again, and again, and again.....) Instead make sure he understands that - sometimes you win - sometimes you lose. But that doesn't mean you ever give up.

Source: None via Emma on Pinterest

16. Give him opportunities to help others
There is a big difference in giving someone the opportunity to help and forcing someone to help. Giving the opportunity lights a flame in the heart and once the help is done the flame shines brighter and asks for more opportunities. Be an example of helping others in your own actions and the way your family helps each other and helps others together.

Source: data.whicdn.com via Meagan on Pinterest

17. Remind him that practice makes perfect.
This doesn't just apply to performance-based activities (like sports and music) but also applies to everything in life. You become a better writer by writing. You become a better listener by listening. You become better speaker by speaking. Show your son this when he is just young enough to understand (that means from birth, folks - they are making sense of the world as soon as they arrive), practice trick-or-treating at your own front door before the real thing. Practice how you will walk through airport security before a trip. Practice how you order your own food from the fast food cashier. Practice, practice, practice.

18. Answer him when he asks, "Why?"
Answer him, or search for the answer together. Show him the places to look for the answers (like his dad, or grandparents, or his aunts/uncles, or his books, or valid internet searches). Pose the question to him so he can begin thinking about answers himself. Someday, when he needs to ask questions he's too embarrassed to ask you - he'll know where to go to find the right answers.

Source: 1.bp.blogspot.com via Maegan on Pinterest

19. Always carry band-aids and wipes on you.
especially the wipes.

Source: babyhold.com via Katie on Pinterest

20. Let his dad teach him how to do things
...without interrupting about how to do it the 'right way.' If you let his dad show and teach and discover with your son while he is growing up, some day down the road (after a short period of your son believing his dad knows nothing), he will come to the realization that his dad knows everything. You will always be his mother, but in his grown-up man heart and mind, his dad will know the answers. And this will be how, when your son is too busy with life to call and chat with his mom, you will stay connected to what is happening in his life. Because he will call his dad for answers, and his dad will secretly come and ask you.

Source: familyfun.go.com via Kate on Pinterest

21. Give him something to release his energy
drums, a pen, a punching bag, wide open space, water, a dog. Give him something to go crazy with - or he will use your stuff. and then you'll sorry.

Source: bleubirdvintage.typepad.com via Marybess on Pinterest

22. Build him forts
Forts have the ability to make everyday normal stuff into magic. Throw the couch cushions, a couple blankets, and some clothespins and you can transform your living room into the cave of wonders. For the rest of his life, he'll be grateful to know that everyday normal stuff has the potential to be magical.

Source: None via Tabitha on Pinterest

23. Take him to new places
Because it will make his brain and his heart open up wider, and the ideas and questions and memories will rush in.

Source: None via Anne on Pinterest

24. Kiss him
Any mother of sons will tell you that little boys are so loving and sweet. They can be harsh and wild and destructive during most of the day. But there are these moments when they are so kind and sensitive and tender. So much so that it can cause you to look around at the inward, reserved grown men in your life and think, 'what happens in between that made you lose that?' Let's try to stop the cycle by kissing them when they're loving and kissing them even more when they're wild. Kissing them when they're 2 months and kissing them when they're 16 years old. You're the mom - you can go ahead and kiss him no matter how big he gets - and make sure he knows it. p.s. (this one is just as important for dad's too).

Source: smallesthings.blogspot.com via Sherry on Pinterest

25. Be home base
You are home to him. When he learns to walk, he will wobble a few feet away from you and then come back, then wobble away a little farther and then come back. When he tries something new, he will look for your proud smile. When he learns to read, he will repeat the same book to you twenty times in a row, because you're the only one who will listen that many times. When he plays his sport, he will search for your face in the stands. When he is sick, he will call you. When he really messes up, he will call you. When he is grown and strong and tough and big and he feels like crying, he will come to you; because a man can cry in front of his mother without feeling self-conscious. Even when he grows up and has a new woman in his life and gets a new home, you are still his mother; home base, the ever constant, like the sun. Know that in your heart and everything else will fall into place.

Fall is upon us!

2011-10-11T20:01:00.000-07:00

Well we transitioned into the month of October with the stomach flu :( Not fun with children at all!! We were sick for 9 days with Hunter throwing up in my car on the way to the bus. Brayden followed suit 2 days later throwing up on me, himself and one of the dogs. Of course once they were feeling all better and I had shampooed all my carpets and bleached every surface in my house I came down with it 7 days after Hunter started. We have not had the stomach flu in this house since I was pregnant with Brayden and I can't tell you what is worse. Being pregnant with the flu or having the flu and still trying to keep up with two VERY active boys. Kids absolutely amaze me that one minute they are hovering over the toilet or your carpets and puking everything they have in them and the next minute they are laughing and playing. Now once I got sick it took everything out of me. Boy was I thankful that Sean was home this past weekend so I could take some well needed naps and get on the road to recovery.

On to a better subject....Saturday night the boys got to have their first "real" meal after being sick and they were waiting for Sean and I to finish dinner. I had put their drinks and vitamins on the table and told them they couldn't have either until dinner was on the table. They were chatting among themselves at the table and Brayden told Hunter that if he didn't take his vitamins his arms would fall off. Hunter of course asked me if this was true and I told him "No". He started laughing and said, "Mom, I told you that Brayden is the funniest one in our family!". I got the biggest kick out of this because Brayden is our little jokester. If he is in trouble he will try his hardest to make you laugh. It is one of those really hard parenting things for me to keep a straight face and continue with the punishment. Now he's in this stage of just saying funny made up things and it is hilarious.

Things are continuing on in our house in our "new" normal. Having both kids in school has really made our weeks busy. Friday is a nice day to just spend together and have down time at home and I try my hardest to keep that day free of no plans. This week we didn't have school on Monday and Hunter told me he missed his "best friend" so we had a playdate with his friend from preschool that he adores. They played for hours and were so happy to see each other and it made me very happy that we were able to do that. Both boys are still enjoying school and they were both ready to go back to school. I am learning that there are some tough questions that get asked now that Hunter is in school for so many hours and there is exposure to so many different ages of kids. Hunter is really good about asking me when we talk about school when he gets home and I am glad that he feels comfortable asking me. I am still in awe over the maturity that seems to have developed overnight.

I had a tough time when we had our first rainy day at school and Hunter told me that he walked around all by himself at recess. He wasn't sad about it and I didn't act sad for him. My heart was breaking when he was telling me but I knew I shouldn't respond emotionally about it because it is a good thing to learn to be okay with being on your own. I asked him if he was okay just walking around by himself and he said that he just didn't want to play what the other kids were playing so he just walked around. Now he has found a few friends that it sounds like he plays with on a regular basis. I know part of me feeling sad was because I took him away from all of the kids he went to preschool with and instead of there being almost 70 kindergarteners he is now with just 28 in his new school. Thankfully he is a friendly and outgoing little boy that loves his teacher and is enjoying school. I missed my first day of helping in his class because of the flu but I am looking very forward to my first day next week.

I am loving all the things we are learning in school with the apples, pumpkins and leaves! As we were driving to and from school today all the leaves are changing. With the rain and the wind everyone is wearing sweaters, raincoats and boots. I just LOVE fall! Can't wait for pumpkin patch adventures and trick or treating with my little monsters!

A few pictures from some camping we did in July and August.

Sean and I got kicked out of our bed on one of our camping trips this summer!

Oh to be a kid again....

This was just after doing the water park at Silverwood. We let them take a little nap so we could go back and do all the fun amusement rides!

Busy, busy week!

2011-09-24T18:33:00.000-07:00

This was Hunter's 3rd week of school but only his 2nd full week. He is enjoying school so much and is so excited when he gets home to tell us all that he has done. We get another recap at dinner when dad is home and he beams when he tells us all that he has done.

This was Brayden's first week of school and he did so good at school and I can tell that he is very ready for preschool. He settled in but had a hard time with me wanting to leave on Thursday. I am going to leave on Tuesday next week because I am going to start volunteering in Hunter's class in October so Brayden needs to get used to me not always being at preschool. I know he will do fine and we just love Teacher Kim so I'm not worried about him because she will take great care of him.

This week was full of meetings for school and our HOA. It was also Hunter's open house at his school and Sean made sure to be home in time to come with us. It was really fun to go and be able to see all the things that he talks about when he comes home. There were a few things that we were not sure exactly what he's been talking about but once we saw everything we figured them out. The teacher had a lot of nice things to say about Hunter and she told us that he keeps track if she misses anything during the day. This made me laugh and I told her that he is a routine kid and notices if things aren't done just so. We talked about me starting to volunteer in class next month and she said that she heard from Hunter that I make playdoh for the preschool and would I do it for her class too. Of course I said yes and then we made our way to go meet Hunter's P.E. teacher. She too told us what a joy Hunter is and that she had asked Hunter earlier if she was going to get to meet us. I am so glad that he is doing so well and that he is a pleasure for his teachers.

Hunter has been wanting to sign up for wrestling and I got some information about it. I told him that I would and that we would make a family decision once we got more info. The kids meet at the high school on M-W-F from 6-8pm and once I saw that I told Hunter that I didn't think it was a very good idea yet. He knows that he goes to bed at 7pm and that if we did wrestling he wouldn't get to bed until 8:30 or 9pm. He's been so tired and has had a few tears on Thursday mornings because of being tired and he said that maybe he can do it when he gets a little bit bigger. The maturity level that is showing lately with him and his thoughts and actions has just amazed me!

Yesterday and today I made time for some very special friends that I haven't seen for a couple of months. We got to enjoy some grown up conversation while the kids played and it was really nice catching up now that it seems like our lives are just getting busier and busier with these kiddos.

I hope that everyone enjoys the rest of the weekend! Happy Fall!!!

Football Sunday!

2011-09-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

The weather took a drastic change from high 80's to cool fall weather and lots of rain this weekend. I must say that fall is my favorite season with the cooler temps and the beautiful colors that we are graced with in the Northwest. Now the first day of fall is not until later this week but I felt like it started for our family this weekend. I love to pick up my scrapbooking in the fall and we enjoy watching Sunday football together as a family. Sean and I used to go to a lot of games since we began dating in September but that was 8 years and 2 kids ago. So now we enjoy them from the comfort and warmth of our own house :)

Last night I went and spent the evening scrapbooking at a local store while Sean and the boys baked yummy peanut butter cookies and had a boys evening in. This morning we woke up to even more rain than yesterday and we spent the morning on the couch watching the Seahawks. Now the game was pitiful without any score on the board by the Seahawks but as the pictures show I had my own game going on in my living room. The game in my living room was much more entertaining than the one on t.v. Gotta love my boys!!!

Hunter's first day of Kindergarten!

2011-09-06T22:44:00.000-07:00

Today was Hunter's first day of Kindergarten! Back when Hunter was first born I thought this day was so far in the future but it seems like just yesterday that I was holding that little bundle of a baby in my arms. Now he is so big and he was so confident today. I was a very proud mom! His teachers name is Miss Kennard and she is very friendly and outgoing and Hunter has 13 other kids in his class.
We got up this morning and had breakfast together. Then Brayden and I drove Hunter to the bus stop. We watched him get on the bus and then we drove to the school to watch him get off and walk him to class. Once we got him all set up in class is when Brayden lost it. The principal heard him crying and invited us into the library for coffee and banana bread. After a little while of visiting with the other kindergarten parents we snuck down to the class to see all the kids listening to a story and then we left to go get Brayden's haircut and do some shopping. Brayden and I had a long day of waiting for Hunter and Brayden told me a couple times how much he missed Hunter. Just a couple weeks ago Brayden told Hunter at lunch that he was going to miss him when he got on the bus. I knew that this was going to be a hard day for Brayden because his whole life he and Hunter have been together.
When it was time to go pick Hunter up from the bus stop Brayden was thrilled. I was interested to see how Hunter was feeling after a full day at school and was expecting him to be tired. Most of all I couldn't wait to see how his day was and I was hoping that he had a fun day. Hunter got off the bus and walked straight over to Brayden and wrapped his arms around him and gave him the biggest hug. There are no words for how I felt when I saw that. I just know that my heart melted. Then he gave me a big hug and I was so happy that he was happy to see us. Brayden had the biggest grin on his face and he told Hunter that he had missed him. Hunter then told us about his first day and how much fun he had. He was a little tired but for the most part all he wanted to do was play with Brayden. They spent the next hour outside playing in this beautiful weather we are having and I got to go through all the stuff sent home after the first day. I am a very happy mom and so happy that my boys are such good friends and brothers.

And June

2011-07-04T20:07:00.003-07:00

Hunter informed me that his tooth was loose. I wiggled it and sure enough it was ready to come out.

Dad pulled it.

He was a little shocked by everything but was thrilled for the tooth fairy and then informed us that the one next to it is loose.

Sean found a frog and told the kids. They came rushing out and Brayden couldn't get enough of the frog.

His little buddy.

When Hunter first touched the frog he screamed and dropped it. Then it jumped onto his boot and he screamed again. Brayden scooped it up for Hunter to hold again.

Lotus finally got a turn and she was super excited too.

These were my best dollar store purchase. The boys played like crazy all day sucking water out of a bucket and shooting each other, the dogs, me or anything else they could find.

The newest edition to our family! We are very excited for our trips this summer in our new toy.

Pics from May

2011-07-04T20:07:00.001-07:00

Hunter had an early morning baseball game and Sean was in Miami so we spent the afternoon at the annual Touch-a-Truck event. The boys were in boy heaven!

Hunter checking out an ambulance. The EMT told him that he could try on his helmet. Hunter had a million questions for them. The EMT's were pretty impressed because Hunter kept calling them doctors.

There were work trucks everywhere.

The army was there too. They showed the boys how all their tools work.

Brayden even got to honk the horn!

The fire truck had to leave on a call but we waited around for them to get back. Hunter was thrilled to be able to walk around in their truck and ask them what everything did.

In the back seat of the fire truck.

The firefighters put on the emergency gear to answer Hunter and Brayden's questions.

They even opened up the sides and back of the truck and showed the boys all the tools they have to help in an emergency. It was a pretty cool day even for me.

The Great Wolf Lodge! The boys still pretend play that they are there and they constantly tell me that they can't wait to go back.

Lotus' 12th birthday! She requested a red velvet cake and that is what she got.

Lotus riding her new bike!

This was a sweet moment. I was folding laundry and Brayden brought Hunter this book and asked him to read it to him. They sat together and read this book while I did the laundry. It was precious.

Aaaaahhh.....sweet mud!

Sean and I were planting trees on Memorial weekend and the hose sprung a leak. Dirt+water=mud and lots of play for little kids.

They had a blast but then it was time to clean off.

Some pics from the last couple months

2011-07-04T17:44:00.001-07:00

Thought I should start with the rest of the pics from April :)

We thatched the yard and the boys were very good helpers.

Pitching right on in without even being asked.

Trip to the tulips!

They found all sorts of mud puddles for their boots.

Getting some candy from the Easter bunny!

Hunter is now a pro at this Easter egg hunt

Brayden doesn't need much guidance anymore.

Sean checking out their stash.

My new garden corner. Gotta love spring!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T17:33:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful day! I spent the early part of the day in the gardens while Sean was shoveling dirt and the boys were playing. Then after lunch we decided to take a family walk down to the beach. It just doesn't get better than that! It was low tide again and all 3 kids were just in heaven. The tide was low enough and we walked quite a ways that we saw lots of sand dollars. We kept collecting the clam shells and there were so many that had both sides of the shell.

As we got further down the beach I noticed a big bulge in the sand and stepped on it. Well when I did that a bunch of water shot up. Sean looked over and quickly got down and started digging. He dug up a HUGE clam! The kids thought this was amazing and started finding holes and digging up more clams. That is one thing that I have never done and it was a lot of fun. I don't remember seeing clams that are that big and we all wondered what people do with clams that big. I know that I prefer the little clams for eating but maybe this is something I need to look into. The kids and I would have a fun time digging for clams and if we got to eat them that would be even better.

Well we walked some more and I commented to Sean how after all the digging we had 3 kids with wet sandy butts. It was a pretty funny sight. Everybody was happy and enjoying themselves and we hiked back home to run through the sprinkler. Right now Sean it putting some burgers on the barbecue and our fireworks are all set out and ready to be let off. The kids are beyond excited for the fireworks and that's all we have heard the last few days. I hope everyone has a safe and fun 4th!

Enjoying some good 'ole family time!

2011-07-02T18:33:00.001-07:00

Wow, today was BEAUTIFUL and we spent the morning time outside getting some stuff done. Then we hopped in the truck and headed into town to get some errands done. On our way into town we always pass the inlet and the boys comment on whether or not the tide is out. Well today it was out quite a bit and they could see all the sailboats laying on their sides.

When we got to the Purdy spit the boys both yelled out how low the tide was and Sean asked them if they wanted to stop. The boys have always wanted to stop whenever we see low tide here but we are always on our way somewhere and it was nice to be able to just do things at our leisure today. We stopped and walked on the beach and the boys got to see the beach covered in sand dollars. We saw china men's caps, star fish, hermit crabs and lots of seashells.

Then we were on our way to go get all the boys hair cuts, purchase some camo shorts and go visit Camping World. At Target Hunter was so mesmerized by this orange 20" big kid bike that we took it off the shelf and let him ride on it(while Sean held on). Hunter told Sean that they need to practice without training wheels so Hunter can have an orange bike. We got home and the training wheels came off and then we just enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and the boys were thrilled that they got to stop at the beach that they've always wanted to stop at.

My baby is 3 today!

2011-04-10T20:15:00.000-07:00

Wow, I am just a little behind on the posting. I have a lot to post about too, since Hunter started T-Ball and is now registered for Kindergarten. We had Lotus this last week and went on a field trip to the zoo. Brayden is now a registered preschooler on another dose of antibiotics thanks to an ear infection this week. But I will come back to that since today is my baby's 3rd birthday.

Brayden has been pretty excited knowing that his birthday was coming. When we ask him how old he's turning he tells us, "I turn 5 and be bigger, bigger and go to school". It cracks us up how he wants to be big so quickly when not too many months ago we COULD NOT tell him he was a big boy. He wanted to be the baby FOREVER, but that has now changed.

So about a month ago I asked him what he wanted for his birthday cake. In our house the cake is the big deal for our kids. They can come up with whatever they want and I will try my hardest to make it for them and if I can't I will try my hardest to find someone who can. Now a month ago Brayden told me he wanted a car and truck cake. This would be typical for him since he loves cars and trucks and I thought it would be an easy cake to make. Well, just a couple weeks ago when Sean asked him what he wanted for his cake he said he wanted a Lego cake. When I said I thought he wanted a car and truck one he said no I want a Lego cake. Back to the drawing board for me. Sean saw the panic on my face at the thought of making a Lego cake and told me he would make it for me but I told him I was going to try.

So I Googled Lego cakes and found lots of photos, tutorials, and how-to videos and got a basic concept of what I was going to do. I was not going to use fondant since it is disgusting tasting so I knew it would look homemade but he would get his Lego cake. Since Lotus was on Spring break she stayed up with me and we made the Lego cake. We made 7 different Legos and she and I had SO much fun frosting and figuring this dang cake out. The best part was when I looked over at her and could tell that she had been sampling the frosting because her lips were all blue :)

When Brayden got up this morning and I said "Happy Birthday buddy" he looked at me and said "I want to see my Lego cake" (see I told you the cake was important). I took it out of the fridge and the boys thought it was really cool. Of course that made my day and onward we went getting ready for his party. Brayden got lots of new Lego's for his birthday and Hunter and him spent the rest of the day playing quietly together.

It was a great end to a crazy week and now as I type this I am taking lots of calm deep breaths because tomorrow is the beginning of another crazy busy week. Enjoy the pics!

Me and Lotus' finished masterpiece!

Brayden and Shaylee playing with the letters

Lotus being her cute self!

So much work to blow out those candles!

The best part of the cake for the kids were the frosted marshmallows that served as the tops to the Legos.

Relaxation and then back to reality!

2011-03-09T14:40:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was what has become an annual girls trip to Ocean Shores for a weekend scrapbooking retreat. I look very forward to this weekend for many things. First, all the holidays are finally over, Thanskgiving, Christmas, my birthday and Valentines Day. The second is that I get a weekend free of laundry, dishes, meals, and kids fighting. Third I get to enjoy sitting and looking through photos of my lovely family and scrapbooking them. I love the creativity of it and that I am making memory books for my children of their childhood. I also like the camaraderie of it, I am surrounded by women that are preserving memories and talking about their families. On the way down there it was torrential downpours but I woke up on Saturday to the most beautiful hot pink sunrise. We had a great weekend but as always it goes so quickly and it was back to reality.

When I got home on Sunday the house was spotless and I laid down with Brayden and took a much needed nap. Monday was gorgeous and felt like spring, so that was a great way to start the week. I got all my stuff put away from the weekend and spent the afternoon outside with the boys washing my car and dreaming of all the planting I am going to be doing very shortly.

Now yesterday was the full swing back to reality. Brayden is feeling much better and is back to his feisty little self. He is eating like crazy and is busy as ever. Yesterday morning we dropped Hunter at preschool and Brayden wanted to play for a while. I told him he could but then we had to get to the store. I put his coat on and was watching another mom's baby cooing at something and then I saw her mouth drop open and she said "Oh no!". As I turned around I saw my innocent little boy standing next to the Fire Alarm with the white handle in the down position. As I scooped him up the fire alarm started blaring and the teacher got the kids up and to the door. I was able to tell Teacher Kim that it was us so she could notify the office as the whole school was evacuating. Now I must say this is THE MOST EMBARRASSING thing to EVER happen to me but I am sure it is not the last.

It was a sight to see the whole school standing on the grass field in the cold waiting for all the teachers to hold up their signs saying all their kids were accounted for as I held the little culprit who was embarrassed and crying. Brayden kept crying over and over how scared he was and I think he was quite embarrassed too. I asked him if he was ever going to do it again and he said no. He cried the whole way to the store and was pretty upset but I let him know that it was okay and he calmed down some but kept saying he was scared. I know that he LOVES the firefighters and that he knows thanks to Hunter that the fire alarm calls them. I told him that we will have to visit the fire department so that he can see them and that the alarm is only for if there is a real fire. When we got back to pick up Hunter, Brayden was stuck to me like glue and I apologized to Kim again and she told Brayden that she wasn't mad and that made him smile for the first time. I am glad that he already respects her as he will be with her for the next couple years. I told Sean when he called later and he asked me if Kim realizes now what she is in for next year.

But the day only got better! We went home for lunch and naps because Hunter had his first T-ball practice last night. Hunter was a little nervous because he didn't know what to expect but once we got there and he saw some familiar faces he relaxed. They practiced their throwing and running the bases and ended the evening after some racing with their friends. The last thing that had to be decided before we could go, was the team name. Now the boys were all over the names like, Red Sox, Bulldogs, Scorpions, Monkeys and one of the girls picked Panda Bears. Then it was explained that they each could vote for one and once they raised their hand for one they had to go stand by their parent. The kids started voting and when they got to the last name, Panda Bears, the only kids standing were the girls and Hunter. So our team name is officially The Panda Bears and I thought it was cute. I knew as soon as I heard that name that Hunter would vote for it. He LOVES panda bears so it is fitting but I thought Sean was going to fall over when he came home from work last night and I told him.

I explained to Sean that we just have to embrace Hunter for who he is and he is a sweet and sensitive little boy. I also reminded Sean that he likes the rough and tough boy things too. His favorite part of the day is when Sean comes home and they have alone time playing a tank game on the Wii. It is a very strategic game and Hunter loves anything in camouflage. I also reminded him that it could be worse, we could be the Unicorns or something like that :)

So we have practices a couple times a week and our game schedule will be coming out at the end of the month. I am very excited and so is Hunter. Sean and him have practiced in the front yard and we have blue spray paint base lines on the grass. Brayden wants to join in so I am sure he will be really ready in the next couple of years when it is his turn.

Hunter running the bases last night

Brayden helping me cook. He loves to be in the kitchen with me!

My little fighter, my little champ!

2011-03-01T12:41:00.000-08:00

As I sit here and type my boys are on the floor next to me playing so happily with Legos and I am listening to Brayden count. He loves to count and as of this week he is counting to 13. It is such a great sound to hear them playing together and it has been a missed sound in this house for the past couple of weeks.

The last time I posted was 11 days ago about Brayden's broken collar bone. Well it has only gotten worse, I will back up to a month ago.....

Brayden had a cough like the rest of us a month ago. It had lasted a couple of weeks and there was an outbreak of whooping cough in our school so we went in the be tested. Brayden did not like the pertussis test but it was worth it to find out is was negative. The Dr.'s told me to keep an eye on his cough and come in if there was no change or it got worse.

Then he broke his collar bone and by the next week he was running a fever. I took him in because I was concerned with a broken bone, cough and now a fever. He had done nothing for a week but lay around and that is just not my busy little guy. Well they listened to his chest and were concerned with his left side because he wasn't as active and gave us the diagnosis of pneumonia. We left to go get our antibiotic filled.

Now this was last Wednesday and by this weekend he still had a fever of 101 and we were giving him medicine for his fever and antibiotics that he hated. He would spit the antibiotics right back into my hand and I would have to bribe him with juice just to get him to take them. He wasn't eating and he wasn't sleeping. Then a horrible runny nose along with congestion that was making it hard for him to get any sleep joined in with all the other stuff. He would have none of me using the bulb syringe on his nose after the pertussis test but by Sunday he was letting me a little because he just couldn't breath.

Yesterday morning he woke up screaming because when he coughed it hurt so bad. I had told Sean we were going to the Dr.'s if he still had a fever and sure enough still 101. When we got to the Dr.'s yesterday they were swamped with patients, I never have to wait for my appointments but yesterday we waited 45 minutes. When we saw him my smart little guy Hunter asked him how many Dr.'s they had. He laughed and asked Hunter if it was because they were running behind and Hunter said, "It took you forever!" He laughed and told Hunter that he was a smart guy and then got to checking Brayden out. As soon as he lifted him he commented on how hot he was and how red both of his ears were. He listened to his breathing and then saw how red his throat was. He then sent us on our way with a couple stops to make for tests.

Our first stop was the lab for some blood work. I made Hunter sit outside the room on a chair and the lab tech. gave him some markers for the white board. Brayden was a little concerned about what was going on but he was so lethargic that it made things a little smoother. When they stuck the needle in his arm he got a little upset but I just talked to him about his body and how it makes blood and that they were going to test it to help him get better. He did really good through it and was such a champ. Then my curious child poked his head around the corner with his ears plugged because he was so concerned about his brother. I don't know if he thought plugging his ears was going to help but what he saw made him go white still he so needed to ask the technician what they were going to do with his brothers blood. The technician was very patient with Hunter and showed him all 3 vials and explained what his machines would do with it.

Then onto our second stop across town for a chest x-ray. Now this was a very hard one for me, the machine that they strapped Brayden into was extremely barbaric looking and I had been warned. Once she put him in it I told her about his broken collar bone and that I didn't think it was a good idea. She said we would try it and when she strapped it tight on him with his arms up in the air he started to scream and panic. Right then the x-ray technician that had taken his clavicle x-rays walked in and pulled him out of the machine. He told her that he had just broken his collar bone and we would do it a different way. They had to hold his arms down at his sides and he did not like it but at least I knew it wasn't hurting him. Hunter was coloring and being so good for me outside the room but when we got out there he asked Brayden if he was okay and he told me he could hear him screaming and he looked through the window to make sure we were okay. Such a protective big brother!

At the end of the day we got the call around dinner that Brayden has pneumonia on both sides, his mono test came back negative but they are sending out a more detailed one that we will get back in a couple days. His white blood cell count is elevated but not too high to suggest anything other than the pneumonia and he is very anemic. So the Dr. called in for another type of antibiotic that he is thinking will do the trick, but wants to see us back later this week.

I called Sean and was hoping he could pick up the antibiotic on the way home only to find out that his truck had broken on the way home and he had no steering. So by around 10pm last night we had the new antibiotic in Brayden and Sean's truck had been towed home with a broken steering box.

Brayden woke up once last night at around 2:30am looking for a drink of water. He had no fever and this morning after 12 hours of sleep he woke up smiling, no runny nose, no fever, asking me for a sandwich. The BEST morning we have had in many weeks. He's my tough little guy and as much as I wish he would sit still sometimes, I am so thankful that he hasn't sat still once today!

Accidents happen

2011-02-18T17:01:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night was a very eventful night for us. I was helping Sean do something on the computer and we heard Brayden smash into the wall SO hard and then scream. He is by far the toughest little guy and is usually comforted by me and then goes on with his business, but this was not one of those times. He continued to cry and when he moved he would scream. He quieted down for a second and pulled me by the hand into the family room so that I could fix his barn for him. It made me so sad that, that was all he wanted and he ended up being so hurt. We took his shirt off and could see where a bump and bruise were starting to form. He dragged me into the bathroom crying and asking for some medicine. When I gave him the medicine he pulled himself up to the sink to get a drink, which he does all the time, and he screamed. I quickly put some jeans on and started the car. While I was putting my shoes on the little turkey decided to try to climb one of the bar chairs and screamed because that hurt. I knew something was really wrong at that point.

Sean and I loaded the kids into the car and we only put Brayden's right are through the car seat because he was carrying his left and didn't want to move it. It was a long ride to urgent care but we have a new childrens express urgent care and it was such a wonderful experience. They got us in right away and the x-ray technician was there before the doctor could finish explaining everything. I took Brayden back and Sean and Hunter waited in the room for us. Brayden was as usual a curious little guy in the x-ray room and was fascinated by all the cool machines. When the technician told him he was going to take his picture Brayden said, "cheese" and we both laughed. I then explained to him that we were taking pictures of his bones and he asked if it was like the dinosaurs. I told him that it was kind of like the dinosaur bones and then he was off asking about the machines and showing me the light on the ceiling for fires. They were very impressed with how he was handling it and how curious he was about everything. I then went in to see the x-ray on the computer and as soon as it loaded I could see the break. My little 2 year old had broken his collar bone.

They gave us a sling for his arm and an ace bandage to wrap it close to his body for comfort and that is how we have been for the last 48 hours. The last 2 nights have been eventful and Brayden and I haven't gotten the best sleep but we have slept some. We went to see our doctor yesterday to make sure we are doing what we can to make him comfortable and to find out how best to help him not hurt himself. He has had to learn pretty quickly that he has to ask for help and this has been hard for him because he likes being independent and doing things for himself.

Brayden told me last night that his arm was "all better", then he told me he wanted to jump. He's my crazy, busy little daredevil and Sean and I knew this quite early with him. Hunter has been our mellower child while Brayden was in the emergency room at 1 for possible stitches and now at 2 for a broken bone. Oh boy, oh boy he is definitely all boy! Now I just wonder what the ages of 3, 4 and 5 are gonna bring with this busy guy :)

My little firefighter

2011-02-15T16:14:00.000-08:00

I already wrote a post today but it has been a while since I posted and I just needed to share these pics of Brayden being a bossy little firefighter :)

Valentines Day

2011-02-15T15:23:00.000-08:00

Valentines has never been a big celebrated holiday for me. I have always felt that the costs of flowers and cards rise and there are too many expectations of people. My feeling is that it shouldn't take a holiday to let the important person in your life know they matter. That being said, I do have two little boys who think that having a reason to celebrate anything is fun.

This was Hunter's second year doing cards at school and this year we made a huge mess making sugar cookies from scratch, which I have never done by myself. Sugar cookies have never been my favorite because I have always thought they are too dry or have no taste. If I'm going to eat a cookie I want it to be good, I've gotten a little snobby about cookies the older I get. So I searched and found a recipe that contained eggs so I thought they might be a little cake like. They were fabulous! I found that they were really yummy coming out of the oven when they were warm. They were devoured by my family and I sent some up to the neighbors so we didn't eat them all. The boys and I also made lots of crafts that day and I spent a little while before dinner scraping the glued pieces of paper off the table. We had a blast and it is how I want to spend the days leading up to Valentines from here on out.

Now as for Valentines Day, it was our neighbors birthday so we asked her what she wanted and she requested a red velvet cake. I have never made or tasted a red velvet cake and figured I would do it all in one shot. I found a recipe and got to work mixing and baking and making a huge mess. Once the mess was cleaned up and the cakes were baked I decided to start on the frosting. The frosting for this cake is now my new favorite, but it did require a little cooking. While I was cooking one part of the frosting the worst thing happened, the power went out. I hurried to finish cooking it and headed outside to start up the generator. The boys and I then finished the frosting and frosted the cake, made sandwiches for dinner and waited for everyone to get to our house.

In my mind this will be a Valentines Day to remember. It was a night spent with my wonderful family that I love so much and that loves me back. Our power was out for 9 hours but we survived and can add it to the memory books. Oh and the cake turned out beautifully and was good! But chocolate is still my favorite!!!

A beautiful day

2011-01-22T18:07:00.000-08:00

We just finished dinner and it cracks me up to listen to the boys in washing their hands. They have been playing all day together in the house and outside in the sunshine that we had today. The sun made it feel like spring today and I got out to clean windows. The sarcococcoa that I have planted along our walkway is blooming and the fragrance is wonderful. I love how it blooms right around my birthday and reminds me that spring is close. Sean worked out in the yard and was cleaning up the grass and garden beds. I took a walk around the yard to see how everything is coming alive and was pleasantly surprised to see all my spring bulbs have poked through the dirt. This was day three of this week that we have enjoyed sunshine and no rain. I have been very thankful because we have all needed to get outside. We have been riding bikes and taking walks and it has been very nice. The kids have surprised us both by riding their bikes on their own, Hunter with no help and Brayden with very little help. I am looking forward to when we can all ride our bikes together.

Family Time

2011-01-19T12:41:00.000-08:00

It has been a couple weeks since I last posted and we have just been enjoying the New Year. Sean got laid off so we have been spending a lot of time with him and enjoying every second of it.

My birthday is less than a week away and I will be turning 32. This has been a week of reflections and looking forward in life. A girl I used to work with just lost her husband this past weekend to a heart attack and they have 2 small children. I am very sad for her and what she has to go through but glad to see that she is surrounded by so many people that love her and her boys. It definitely makes you take a good look at your life and those that surround you and love you and make you a priority in their lives. I am very blessed by family and friends that make me a priority in their lives and I am so thankful to have them.

So with all that being said I am looking forward to my birthday weekend! Dinner with friends a couple nights and spending time with family during the days. I am also looking forward to my 3rd annual scrapbooking weekend at the ocean with the girls! I leave that weekend exhausted and full of junk food but thoroughly rested, relaxed and rejuvenated for my family. It is always a much needed time away from my responsibilities along with lots of fun with girlfriends!

On a very proud mommy moment, Hunter read his first book yesterday. There was some frustrations because it was in the afternoon and he had spent the morning at preschool but he was one proud little boy when he finished. He is getting so excited about going to Kindergarten and I am getting butterflies about the upcoming registration. It's crazy when I think that as we go through this year I will have a 3 year old starting preschool and a 6 year old in Kindergarten. I hate to get so ahead of myself but it just flies by and it's here. Mostly I am looking forward to signing him up for T-ball and being one of the parents huddled under an umbrella in the rain through the months of April, May and June. Then on to summer and all the fun things we can pack into it!

Well we are off to go take a walk on this beautiful winter day and we hope everyone has a great rest of their week!

My little lego builder!

Bray was being very serious about what he was drawing in his little Spongebob chair.

Playdough time!

Hunter and Brayden got some new playdough toys for Christmas and dad wanted to play too.

The boys love building with these blocks that Grandpa Jim made. Sometimes they are roads for their cars and sometimes Sean helps them build houses. They use these houses for their dogs and they work very hard to keep our dogs wagging tails away, mostly because they want to be the ones to knock them down.

Legos

2011-01-01T20:42:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year to everyone! I hope this is another great year! We have been enjoying our time with Sean this week and right now while I am writing he is reading to the boys before bed. Monday is back to work and school and our regular routines but for now we are just enjoying our time together. We had a fun New Years Eve with our neighbors and the boys let off some fireworks and we played some Just Dance 2. We rang in the New Year with the East Coast and then off to bed we went.
The boys have been enjoying their legos that they got for Christmas and we have spent much of this week staying inside from the cold and watching Hunter build his lego vehicles. Hunter had a gift card to Target that he got for his birthday and we went and he picked out a tanker truck that was 222 pieces. He built it himself with Sean turning the pages and helping to guide him if he needed it but Sean said he did it himself. He was so proud of himself that night that the next night he built his fire truck by himself. I got down and watched him build his fire truck and was amazed at his determination and was a very proud mom!

Christmas

2011-01-01T20:05:00.001-08:00

We really enjoyed Christmas this year with the kids! Lotus got to stay with us for the whole week and she got to wake up and open presents with her two very excited little brothers. Brayden was the first kid up and when I mentioned Santa he bee lined it for the tree. He really got it this year and it made it a very special Christmas for us all to be together.

There was nothing under the tree the night before, so there was a lot of excitement when they saw this!

Diving into the first few presents.

Lotus was pretty excited about her rock tumbler.

Brayden seeing his new pillow pet!

Hunter opening his!

Stocking time! Check out the fire on the t.v. :)

I got my griddle that I had wanted, thanks to my wonderful husband and kids. He got some snow gloves for playing in the snow with the kids.

and some snow pants.

They spoiled me this year and I also got my Just Dance 2 for the Wii. We had a blast dancing after dinner with the kids for 2 hours! This was a Christmas for the memory books!!!

The Birthday Boy!

2010-11-27T09:15:00.001-08:00

Hunter is officially 5 years old! It has still not completely sunk in for me yet. We had a fun day together as a family yesterday. The boys chose their breakfasts and then when they were done Hunter opened his presents. The boys went off to play with Hunter's new Spiderman toys and then in the afternoon we watched How to Train Your Dragon. It was a really great day!

Hunter is my little helpful boy who is always wanting to please. He is a great joy in our family and I love that he is such a wonderful big brother. Yesterday morning he woke me up at 4am to see if it was time to get up. I walked him back to bed and as I was walking back into my room and saw that the clock said after 4, I laid in bed and remembered that 5 years ago I was up at 4am pacing the house waiting for my contractions to get 5 minutes apart so I could wake the rest of the house up. It was one of those happy warm thoughts for me and a really good way to start the day.

Wearing his new train conductor hat!

Brayden playing and waiting patiently for Hunter to finish his breakfast.

Opening some books....

he needed to know the title of each one.

Yea!!! A Spiderman shirt!

A Spiderman guy!

I love this look. Mom you already know what it is, duh!

And to go with the Spiderman theme.....this was his most wanted toy at Target. He was thrilled to have Spidermans vehicles, and he was one happy little boy for the day!

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T21:00:00.001-08:00

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving and hope that everyone else did too. Tomorrow I will wake up and have a 5 year old and I don't think it has completely sunk in. It still amazes me how fast the last five years has gone and how it still seems like just yesterday that I was in the hospital becoming a mom for the first time. I can say that I have enjoyed every moment of the last five years and am looking very forward to this next year with him.

We have had quite the weather this week and I am happy to say we enjoyed it! We got out everyday to play in the beautiful snow and the kids had a blast. Hunter thinks that because it snowed it was Christmas and we had to explain that Thanksgiving was first. Both Brayden and Hunter had to eat the snow, roll around in it and then we made sure we went sledding in it. Here are some pictures.

Brotherly Love

2010-11-18T20:26:00.000-08:00

Today was a busy day getting lots of errands ran so we can spend the weekend at home putting our Christmas decorations up. Yes, I said it! We LOVE Christmas in this house and the kids are getting so excited. While we were on our way to Costco, Hunter told me that I had two kids and that I had him so he could grow up and be a great big brother to Brayden. He told me how he was always going to protect Brayden and love him.

These are the moments that I cherish but also reminders to me how special my boys are. There are times that I would love to have more kids but it's an inner battle. I am already giving so much of myself to these 2 precious little boys and it would be unfair to them to spread myself even thinner. I was reminded as I walked into Costco and I had a little hand in each of my hands that this is enough. I am thankful for my two sweet little boys and I am thankful for my wonderful husband who has given me such a wonderful gift to be able to stay home and be with them. The best thing is that I get to enjoy these sweet and tender moments with the boys and there is no price that can be put on that!

Hunter helped me today to remember all the things that I have to be thankful for as we move into this next week of Thanksgiving. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and I hope it is shared with friends and family!

I did say in my last post that I would try and post some pics from this summer so here are a couple from July. I took over 600 pictures in July and so I just chose 9 to upload :)

A fun filled day playing with friends for Kati's birthday!

Hunter wanted to change Brayden's diaper and dress him. I was cracking up so hard but was able to grab the camera and get a couple pics.

Chasing each other around!

On the last day of camp they put up the huge slip and slide. Hunter was in heaven and I couldn't get him off.

Visit to The Farm to see all the animals.

Brayden was determined to catch and hold this chicken. Thankfully for the chicken, she was faster than him.

But he was so happy he got to hold the baby pigs. We finally had to tell him enough because he kept picking them up. As soon as he would put one down he was off grabbing another.

Hunter really wanted to do it too, but was a little scared. When it was time for us to go I told Hunter that he would probably be upset if we left and he hadn't held one.

He mustered up the courage and grabbed one of the piglets. It was all he could talk about for the rest of the week. He told me he was glad that he decided to do it.

Raking Leaves

2010-11-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

After I posted the Halloween pics the other night I realized that I hadn't posted anything since June. We were so busy this summer doing fun things that to sit down at the computer and post pics was the last thing on my mind. Now that the days have slowed down and it is getting darker I am having more time inside to do these things. I will try to remember in the coming weeks to post some of the fun things that we did this summer.

I spent today at my Grandma's house and it was time to rake the leaves from the two big maple trees in the back yard. We worked very hard for most of the day and then at the end the boys wanted a BIG pile so they could jump in the leaves. I raked a big pile many many times so they could jump their little hearts out. I am amazed at how big they have gotten and it really hit just how much they are turning into such fun and wonderful little boys, not baby's anymore. Hunter asked on the way home tonight how much longer until it's his birthday and I told him 23 more wake ups. To him this is FOREVER but for me it will be here tomorrow. I can't believe that I am going to have a 5 year old! He is truly amazing and a complete little sponge who asks the most surprising questions and teaches me how little I really know. Brayden is stringing words together so quickly that I can barely keep up with him each day.

Here are some pics from today, it was such a beautiful day!

My little helper and his red wagon!

Trying really hard to rake a pile themselves :)

Oh the excitement of the first jump!

He is so happy after a good nap

Racing to the leaf pile

Then they decided to bury themselves in the leaves. Very happy with the pictures that I got.

Trick or Treat

2010-11-01T18:45:00.000-07:00

Brayden was so excited to go trick or treating!

Hunter was so excited to finally be able to wear his Spiderman costume. He has been eyeing it in the closet and Halloween couldn't get here fast enough!

Cinderella and the little firefighter thought that it was break time.

Elisha the cute little cheerleader!

Our last stop for candy! We were very impressed with the amount of walking the boys did and how great they were.

Brayden crashed on the way home and it wasn't even 5pm yet!

Still out, but I had to wake him for some dinner. Both boys slept like rocks last night!

Hunter didn't want to get out of his costume. He was so excited when I told him he could eat dinner in it and now it was dress up clothes. First thing this morning he stripped out of his pajamas and put it on. He got a little upset when he had to take it off to get in the bath and wanted to know if he could wear it to school tomorrow. My sweet little superhero, if only I could freeze him at this age!

Bowling

2010-06-08T16:09:00.001-07:00

We met Kati and the girls a couple weeks ago for some lunch and bowling at the new Hooters in Renton. Brayden had never been bowling before so I was a little hesitant wondering how he would be. Once he saw the bowling balls he just kept saying, "ball, ball, ball". They were so excited that they all barely ate any lunch. Once we got their cute little bowling shoes on they brought out a metal ramp for the kids to roll the ball down so that there would be some speed and we wouldn't be watching the balls roll down the lanes forever. The kids had a ball and Kati and I did too! Looking forward to the next time!

Lotus' 11th B-day

2010-06-08T16:07:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that she is already 11. When Sean and I started dating she was only 4 years old, the same age that Hunter is now. The years have flown by and we have watched her starting to turn into a young lady.

I surprised her with flip flops as her cake. She loves the cakes that I make her and I really enjoy making them for her!

Purple and green cake, two of her favorite colors.

So beautiful

She requested a polka-dot cake and when I asked what colors, she said "surprise me"

Pink and blue inside.

Her little brothers waiting for her to open her presents.

Hunter waiting for dad to make birthday waffles.

Hunter worked really hard and made sissy a birthday card. I love when they share these little moments together and I get to witness them.

A fun filled birthday!!

Evans Creek

2010-05-16T22:05:00.001-07:00

Sean's mom came and stayed the weekend with us so that Sean and I could go wheeling up at Evans Creek. This is the first place that I drove by myself and so I was feeling pretty confident. We had a beautiful day and the views were breathtaking, we even found some snow. On the last trail, I broke my steering and it was an awful noise. I ended up being winched up the rest of the trail which was a pain in the you know what! Todd, who we usually go wheeling with I have now nicknamed "MacGyver". He wracked his brain while they were pulling me up the trail as to how to get me down once we hit the road. He took a wrench and tied it with tie wire and then duct tape so I could get down the road and onto our trailer. It worked perfectly and I was able to drive Sean's Jeep home. It was a very fun day!

Sean going where the rest of us can't.

So pretty

Sean driving behind me through the snow.

Sean and Todd.

"MacGyver" under his hood fixing a hose to his lockers.

Me :-)

My steering

My poor broken Jeep

The mess inside I have to clean

All clean!

Loving the weather today!!!!!!!

2010-05-13T21:44:00.001-07:00

The weather was absolutely beautiful today! Hunter has been asking how long until summer because he wants to break out the sprinklers and the pool. He was so excited when I brought the sprinkler out and both the boys dove right in. Of course the shirts came off first and then the sandals and then the shorts. Before I new it I had two naked boys running around the yard, loving life. One of those special days to tuck into the memory banks of my children just enjoying life. Sean was not thrilled with the naked butt pictures but I told him all mom's have them of their kids and his mom reinforced this for me. He then told me that is why he doesn't like them. Oh well!

Flowers, Flowers, Flowers

2010-05-13T21:43:00.002-07:00

My gardens are coming alive and especially with this beautiful weather we have had this week!

Maricella - Rhodie

Peach Charm- Rhodie, this one has really impressed me this year!

Flaming star - Rhodie, red with yellow inside.

Spring Parade - Rhodie

Hallelujah - Rhodie

Peeping Tom - Rhodie

Ruffles - Rhodie

Midnight - Rhodie

Fantastica - Rhodie

Rhodie I rescued out of a ladies yard 3 years ago. Was pretty sickly looking but has filled in and is loaded and ready to explode any day now.

Ben Morrison - Azalea

Viburnum

Lewisia

Lewisia

Euphorbia

Jacob's Ladder

Iris

Trumpet Gentian - A new favorite of mine this year :)

Mother's Day

2010-05-13T21:43:00.001-07:00

Mother's Day was really special for me this year! This year Hunter made me a very special bracelet at school. He made it on Tuesday and wrapped it on Thursday. We usually discuss preschool at dinner but he wouldn't talk about it this week. He took Sean outside and told him what he had done at preschool for me and he told me I couldn't know because it was a "surprise". I was VERY surprised when I saw the bracelet that he had made me and the card that was attached. He melted my heart when I read that he loves that I play with him. He told me that Teacher Kim asked him why he loved me and he told her because my mommy plays with me and because she snuggles with me in bed in the mornings. He told me that he had to pick one but he wanted to tell me the other. That's why it was such a special day for me, we just hung out at home and enjoyed each other and some bubbles. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my Mother's Day.

Whitney Gardens

2010-04-27T17:27:00.001-07:00

For as long as I can remember I have never been a big fan of rhododendrons. They are our state flower but the only ones that I can remember are the standard ones from the major stores, red, pink and white. To me pretty boring plants. I have however found a love for them now. I have discovered the thousands of different colors and that there are even ones that are fragrant. It is a heavenly fragrance too and when you are surrounded by these rhodies that are taller than a 2 story house the fragrance takes you to a warm place. They are also evergreen which I have come to love and they bring color to my gardens in the spring. Over the last 3 to 4 years I have rescued a few from people's yards and brought them back to life and have not been disappointed. Whitney Gardens in Brinnon has become one of my favorite places to visit in the early spring. Usually I only go once but this year I got the pleasure of going twice and one of the times was just yesterday and it was an explosion of colors. There are 7 acres of rhodies and they are so old that it is a forest of rhodies the size of large evergreens. Each year my list of wants in this department gets longer and yesterday I ended up with plants that weren't even on my list. On my way home Sean called me and he could tell how wonderful of a day I had and he asked me if I would be happy if I could just plop my house down in the middle of their gardens. I of course told him YES! Here are a few pictures of my happy day!

A rhodie I just rescued a couple weeks ago. Don't know the name yet.

Peach Charm I got from Whitney's a couple years ago.

Legend

Legend close up

Anne's Delight

Windsong

Pinwheels

Wine Fushia

Thor which I brought home yesterday

Anna x Yaku No. 301

Jalapeno

Orange Prelude

Not sure of the name of this one

Blue Crown

Markeeta's Prize

Loderi Irene Stead, this is one that I want! Very fragrant!

Loderi Irene Stead again look how big the flowers are.

Loderi Ilam Cream another fragrant big flower

Refrain Azalea, one on my list for next year. I got the Ben Morrison and I am loving what it's going to look like. I will try to remember to post a picture when it blooms.

Seattle White Azalea, one of my purchases yesterday.

Quakress Azalea, stunning!

Ambrosia Azalea

Arneson's Gem Azalea, very large flowers for an azalea

Buttons and Bows Azalea

Cornus Dorothy. This has to be the largest dogwood flower I have ever seen.

Cornus Dorothy tree

Spiraea Mellow Yellow, a new want on my list

This tree peony was taller than me and was held up with re-bar. The flowers were as big as my head so I took a self portrait so you could see. I hope everyone enjoys!

Tulip Festival

2010-04-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

Dennell invited us to their house to go to the Tulip Festival and come stay the night. We left right after preschool and we had very beautiful weather for the tulips. We headed to Tulip Town after we picked Ireland up from school and of course I wrote down EVERY tulip as one that I just HAVE to have :) The tulips are a sure sign of spring and it makes me so excited for my gardens and what I have to look forward to. The kids were all in great moods and on good behavior. The boys loved that it had rained the day before and they found every mud puddle they could and so we had wet pants and wet shoes. Thankfully Dennell lives right down the road and we didn't have very far to go. It was a great time and it went by too fast!!

Toddler class

2010-04-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday's toddler class we painted the kids feet and had them walk on a strip of paper. It was so neat to watch and once Brayden had seen one kid do it he was all ready. I was very impressed with how well he did getting his feet painted and then he got up and walked right across it. He was smiling and really enjoying himself! It is amazing how much he is coming around to new people and getting comfortable in different environments.

Lake Chelan

2010-04-21T09:55:00.000-07:00

I joined my grandparents this past weekend in Lake Chelan at the family condo. I haven't been to the condo in many years and it was nice to get away for the weekend. While we were in Chelan, Sean took his jeep and went wheelin in Oregon with the guys. Chelan had some very warm weather this weekend and we enjoyed every moment of it. The boys swam in the indoor pool and we did a little putt-putt golf. We played on every slide we could find and then headed to the beach to throw some rocks. The boys slept very well and we took our time getting back and stopped in Leavenworth and up at Snoqualmie pass.

We ate breakfast Sat. morning up at Blueberry Hill and I loved these benches they have out front! It was a good breakfast too!

Naps after swimming and the kids were exhausted. Poor Hunter scooted himself onto the table and when I moved him back he stayed asleep.

Brayden chasing the squirrels :)

Hunter playing putt-putt

He was having a good time

Brayden found a slide

and the ducks

Breathtaking views wherever you looked

Big slide

I couldn't get him off this slide and he would come down it really fast.

Hunter went down once and wasn't too sure about it, but he enjoyed watching Brayden come flying down over and over again.

The merry-go-round.

Having cookies before we sat down to watch The Princess and the Frog

Arriving in Leavenworth

I just loved the warm day with the snow topped mountains in the background. People were riding bikes and in sandals and shorts. The weather was beautiful!

Our little monkey is 2

2010-04-21T09:27:00.000-07:00

On April 10th we celebrated Brayden's 2nd birthday! I cannot believe that 2 years has already flown by. He is quite the little character and is really coming into his personality. He is a stubborn headed little man who thinks that everything is funny. He is our little monkey because he is constantly climbing on everything and boy do I mean everything. He is always smiling or laughing at things and I get a work out every day just trying to keep up with him. We are enjoying our toddler class together and I love that we are able to do this while Hunter is off at preschool. I am really looking forward to this next year with him being 2 as they enjoy discovering everything!

Hunter is having a great time in preschool right now. They are growing seeds on a cotton ball in an egg shell. They are also growing some nasturtiums in clear plastic cups so that they can see the roots grow. Each class day the kids are in charge of watering their plants and it is amazing to see the growth of each kid as the year has progressed. They also have some caterpillars that they are watching grow their chrysalis so that then they will watch them turn into butterflies. Hunter is very fascinated with this project. He is also enjoying the play area that has been turned into a vet hospital and he tells me how he takes care of the animals. We really enjoy dinner time on school days as Hunter recounts his day for us. Just last night he told us that he loves all the cute girls, it really got us laughing.

Easter weekend

2010-04-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

We had a fun Easter weekend with the kids! On Saturday we took the boys to the civic center for the annual Easter egg hunt. It was raining so the hunting was done inside. Sean and Hunter went to the preschool room and Brayden and I went up to the toddler room. It was very hard for the toddlers to sit still in a room filled with eggs waiting for it to be time. Brayden surprised me by being very patient and waiting. A couple times he told another little boy "no, no, baby" when the little boys would touch an egg. We saw about half of Hunter's preschool class and that really made his day since it had been spring break the week before.

Sunday we got up and headed north for brunch where I hid 72 eggs for the kids to find. Then we headed south to celebrate Easter and Brayden's 2nd birthday and then it was time to head home. It was a fun and exhausting day!

Brayden playing in his new tent right before bed.

Blowing out the candles.

Bunny butt cupcakes I made for Brayden's birthday.

Angel food cake, strawberries, banana pudding and whip cream. Heaven for kids and adults.

Cousin T.J. helping Hunter find the eggs.

Once the kids got inside with their eggs, instead of asking someone to help him, Brayden figured out if he bit down on the egg it would pop open and then he could open it with his hands. Such a stubborn but very intelligent little boy.

Ooohhhh......I see it!

Hunter explaining to Brayden that they have to wait to go outside and get the eggs.

Goofy face.

Daddy and Lotie

Video of me in Walker Valley

2010-04-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

This is a video of one of my attempts at making it up this hill. I made it up the first time but didn't have my seat belt on and landed in the lap of my passenger Kati. We both were laughing hysterically and the boys couldn't figure out why once we made it up we rolled back down. I tried 5 times to make it up again and then got pulled out. It will forever be one of those moments that I can look back on and giggle!

Walker Valley

2010-04-05T18:55:00.000-07:00

On Saturday March 13th we went up to Walker Valley to do some wheelin in the Jeeps. We hadn't been there before and it was a beautiful day. We had a great time with minimal injuries!

Daddy's work

2010-04-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

The boys and I stopped off at Sean's work one day to see him and so the boys could play on the machines. Sean took them out onto one of the cranes and Brayden was a little spooked by how loud it was. Hunter on the other hand would've stayed there all day if he could.

Been a while

2010-03-18T16:03:00.000-07:00

I am sorry to say it has been a while since my last posting. We have done a lot in the last 6 weeks so I will try to condense things.

We have been enjoying preschool immensely and today Brayden and I had our first mommy/toddler class. We will be taking this class on Thursdays for the next 8 weeks while Hunter is a preschool. We just had our first field trip with preschool last week to the zoo. Unfortunately it poured the hardest of the year that day and there were storm warnings, but we toughed it out and stayed in the aquarium area. We ventured out to see the polar bears and then we went home. We were cold and wet and we all took some great naps that day! Hunter is blossoming in preschool and I am so lucky that we found this preschool since I have heard horror stories from other mom's first preschool experiences. Teacher Kim is great with the kids and Hunter and I look forward to my volunteer days in the class. Hunter can now write his name very well, he is learning the sounds of different letters and each week learns to count a little farther thanks to learning the months and the days.

Brayden is weeks away from turning 2 but has already found comfort in acting like a 2 year old. His favorite thing to say right now is "no, no" and "mom" to make sure he has my attention. He is a busy 2 year old and can now open the childproof handles on the doors. This has caused me many messes from the pantry, one of which I took a picture. I definitely remember this with Hunter, quiet time to use the bathroom is nonexistent for the next couple years because you can't leave a 2 year old out of your sight for more than 30 seconds.

Christmas

2010-02-01T17:14:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve at my dad and Wendy's house.

My niece Angelica is such a happy little girl!

The boys playing with their new trucks that grandpa made them.

Grandpa getting a kick out of the kids.

Angelica and her new purple dragon.

Brayden's red dragon.

Lotus reading her new Encyclopedia of dogs, on Christmas morning.

Sean helped Hunter dress up into his new doctor outfit.

Then it was time to dress up as a firefighter.

Christmas morning at our house with my mom, Sean's mom, sister, grandma and uncle.

Cars......

The kids playing after their afternoon naps.

Almost time for bed but Brayden pulled out his and Hunter's dragons.

Brayden's truck and cars that grandpa made.

Hunter's big rig with different trailers that grandpa made. My dad is a very talented man!

Family night at school

2010-01-19T17:43:00.001-08:00

Family night for Hunter's school was very cute. It included the 2-day class and the 3-day class. The kids had been working really hard with teacher Kim to learn the gingerbread man story. After school Hunter would tell me the story of the gingerbread man and I thought it was so cool that he was learning it but it was really special when they all read it together for us parents. Then we had a potluck dinner but the kids were anticipating all the tables that had gingerbread houses on them. They had also made gingerbread houses for any siblings that wanted to come. It was one of those times that I am thankful for just the two kids. Sean and Hunter got to work on his house while I spent time with Brayden on his. It made each kid feel special that they had the full attention of one of us and there was no fighting. Brayden and Hunter did really well building their houses and Brayden ate most of it before we left. Hunter had a masterpiece to take home with him that he was extremely proud of.

Santa Train in North Bend

2010-01-19T17:14:00.000-08:00

Since we have been going to see Thomas the Tank in Snoqualmie the past couple of years, we were notified of the Santa Train in North Bend. We decided to go with our friends Kati and Miguel and their two daughters, Kelbi and Peyton. It started snowing on our way there and the kids were really excited. It was a great way to get us all in the mood for Christmas. On the train they got everyone singing Christmas carols as we rode to Snoqualmie to see Santa. When we got off the train we went and had hot cocoa and cookies and then went to sit on Santas lap. Brayden wanted nothing to do with Santa but Hunter was so excited to tell Santa what he wanted. The kids slept on the way home from all the excitement of the day and us parents slept very well that night too.

Thanksgiving Weekend

2010-01-19T16:11:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving weekend Sean, Lotus and I went with our wheelin friends over to Elbe for some fun in the mud! We had a blast and there were a lot of injuries to everyone's jeeps and Lotus had a lot of fun.

MIA

2010-01-19T15:49:00.000-08:00

So I haven't sat down and written anything since Thanksgiving. As I type right now I am downloading almost 500 pictures from Thanksgiving weekend through yesterday. I will try to summarize our last couple months of activities as best I can. We had wonderful holidays with the kids and our extended families and have been really thankful to start a new year. I will post some pictures here in just a few minutes.
Thanks to those of you who have stopped by.
With Love,
Jess

Hunter's 4th Birthday and Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T22:25:00.001-08:00

This year Hunter's 4th birthday fell on Thanksgiving. We had a big party with his friends and some family the weekend before and then we celebrated again on Thanksgiving. He had a lot of fun with his friends at his party and can't wait for his next birthday when he turns 5. As a mom, I was a little heartbroken that these past 4 years have gone by so fast but I was also overjoyed at the same time. Hunter has become a very sweet and caring little boy who adores his friends and family. He has really grown in the past year and a half having to share everything around him with a little brother. It is such a tug of war as a parent when you leave behind a year that you look back on and see all the growth and fun you had with your child. I also know that this next year with a 4 year old is going to be such a blast, so I am holding on tight to all my greatest memories of the past year and knowing that we have just begun a whole new year with great memories to create!

Brayden checking out Hunter's birthday present on Thanksgiving.

Hunter playing with his new train!

His angel food cake that he requested for his birthday.

Thanksgiving night, Hunter told Brayden to "get on" and Brayden rode Hunter around the house for quite a while. They thought they were so funny and I couldn't believe they were still awake!

Hunter's birthday cake for his party with his friends.

Blowing out the candles.

The birthday boy and his green hair.

Lotus and Ireland

Brayden loves looking out this window

All the kids playing after cake and ice cream

Brayden is 19 months today!

2009-11-10T22:17:00.000-08:00

Brayden Matthew turned 19 months today and it has flown by so much faster than I feel like it did with Hunter. We are so busy with the two boys and our house is constantly in chaos with toys and laughter. In just a matter of weeks Hunter will be 4 years old and something has changed in both the boys recently. Before we were constantly splitting up fights between them, and of course we will continue to do that for a long time, but they have finally realized that they have a constant play buddy. Sean and I have just been sitting back at night and listening to them play together and they laugh and really enjoy each others company. Brayden really looks up to Hunter but he has a very strong mind of his own which does not let Hunter lead all their play. I am also very pleasantly surprised that for the most part Hunter is very patient with Brayden. Of course when they do fight it gets pretty heated but we are close by to break things up quickly.

It has been fun these past couple months that I get to have a couple hours a week of alone time during the morning with Brayden. We both are enjoying this time together and it's great to get to know Brayden on a one on one level without the boys having to compete for my attention. He is a very loving and very busy little boy. He has been learning a lot of new words and some of his favorites right now are, quack, car, choo-choo, and of course barking like a dog. It is special to me when we get our alone time because he is more vocal since Hunter is not around to answer for him. I had always heard that the older children answer for the younger ones but until you deal with it, it's hard to understand. He is a smart little guy and understands everything we ask of him and he has brought such joy to our household. The relationship that is forming between Hunter and him I will always enjoy watching and I will continue to encourage it with hope that they will become the best of friends.

He saw the muffin on the counter and climbed to get it. He is determined! One of the strong points of his personality that I hope we can teach him to use in a positive way.

He loves cars!!!!

We were playing this morning and he was laughing at himself.

We had this puzzle for Hunter and all kids love the animal noises.

When Sean got home from work the boys were playing with their tools and it was Brayden's turn with the electric screw driver. Brayden had the idea of how it worked and Sean helped him figure it the rest of the way out.

He was so proud and so was Hunter!

Trick or Treat

2009-11-04T15:30:00.000-08:00

Ah Halloween, my second favorite holiday after Christmas. I love seeing the imaginations come out when people dress up and am pleasantly surprised every year. I am not a huge fan of the gruesome costumes or looking for a gory Halloween. I just love that once a year people get to use their imaginations to dress up and be something else for a day. We enjoy going to the harbor in Gig Harbor where the store fronts open up from 3pm-6pm and give out candy to the kids. It is great that it is during the day because then we don't deal with bad dreams later at night. It is amazing how young kids can realize that someone dressed up during the day is not scary but you pair that with the night and darkness and they have a harder time realizing that it is all pretend.

Hunter dressed up as a crocodile this year and Brayden was a dalmation puppy. Since Halloween fell on a Saturday this year we decided to get down to the harbor early so we could beat the rush of people. We met our friends Matt and Merrilee at their house and drove down together. We got to the harbor at 2o til 3 and saw some people already started. We were very thankful to start so early and we finished up at 4:15 and there were tons of people down there by then. We headed back to Matt and Merrilee's where we ate pizza and watched movies. It was a great evening spent with friends and the best part was how much fun the kids had.

Our first stop was the espresso stand.

My little crocodile walking with David, Matt and Merrilee's son.

Brayden would not wear the hood to his costume so most people thought he was a cow. He was very interested in what was going on with everyone around him.

Matt and Merrilee's daughter Rachel, dressed as a witch, showing us the toothbrush the dentist's office was giving out.

One of the store front owner's dressed up giving out candy. Hunter was not too sure about this and Brayden clung to Sean.

Hunter and Rachel waiting for the kid dressed up as the UPS man so they could go in and get their candy.

The sea monster! He growled at us and we were watching Hunter to see what his reaction was and he stepped back but then realized that he was a crocodile and he growled back and him. We all were cracking up!

Love the adults that dressed up.

This was the most beautiful costume we saw!

One of the houses along the harbor.

It was such a beautiful day out that Hunter got too hot with his hood on. At least it stayed on for half of the trick or treating.

Brayden was looking at another puppy. One of his favorite things right now.

He did so good. It only took a couple times before he figured out to take a piece of candy and put it in his bucket. Pretty amazing!

Hunter and Rachel stopping off at the firetruck.

Brayden getting his candy from the firefighter.

Look at the large chickadee, I didn't know they grew them that big!

A guy in the store front mimicking me.....hahaha

Mrs. Doubtfire

Some more fun costumes.

Towards the end, Brayden was dragging his bucket from all his candy. Around this point he gave up and just wanted to actually eat a piece.

Tumbling

2009-11-04T15:21:00.000-08:00

Brayden has always liked standing on his head in the middle of the room but he now has a new trick. He likes to go over Sean's legs while he has them up on the coffee table. He loves to jump and fly through the air with Sean and now this. He will do it over and over and over again and so I am seriously thinking about putting him in a tumbling class. Crazy kid!

Fun with Boxes

2009-11-04T14:45:00.000-08:00

When we got home from our field trip there were two large boxes on the front door step. Hunter ran out of the car and was yelling, "mom we got packages". He loves getting stuff delivered to our house but I distracted him with lunch and since it was a school day it was nap time soon after. While the boys were napping I opened the boxes and put away all the Christmas presents and left the boxes and brown packing paper out for the boys. When they got up from their naps they went straight for the boxes and spent the rest of the day and the next couple of days playing with the boxes. One of the boxes got ruined the first day because Hunter kept dumping Brayden out of it which made Brayden laugh and he would climb back in for more. Hunter was also pretending that one of the boxes was his Jeep and the packing paper was mud that he was driving through. Once again their imaginations blow me away! Hunter never once asked me what was in the packages because he was so thrilled with the actual boxes.

Hunter's First Field Trip

2009-11-04T09:23:00.001-08:00

Last Thursday we went on our first school field trip to the pumpkin patch. Since we are with a co-op each parent drove their child and we were able to bring siblings. When we got there the kids were instructed to keep their hands to themselves and no throwing hay. We all sat down on the hay bales and the kids were read a story about Clifford's Halloween. Then they were shown different types of pumpkins including white pumpkins (which I think I need to grow next year) and gourdes. Next, half the kids went on a hay ride while the other half played in the hay maze and pirate ship and then we switched. It was a great time and even Brayden and I went on the hay ride.Then when it was time to go each child got to pick a pumpkin and then they each got a treat bag. It was a good experience for our first field trip. I can't wait for our next!

Story-time.

Elisha being a fun big sister and going through the maze with the kids.

Younger sister Johanna going through the maze dressed as Thumbelina.

Brayden going through the hay maze by himself. He definitely likes to do things his way.

The pirate ship that the kids all had a blast playing on. I think this was the hit of the day.

Brayden was determined to pick up this pumpkin. He's such a tough little guy :)

A little girl that had the best Raggedy Ann costume.

Brayden rolling around in the hay trying to decide if he was going to throw a tantrum.

Hunter and Elisha on the hay ride.

Waiting in line to pick out their pumpkins.

One of Hunter's classmates has a little brother Cameron who is only 3 months younger than Brayden. They look a lot alike and were playing together at the coloring station. I love this picture because Brayden knew that Cameron chewing on the crayon was a "no, no".

Playing in the fall leaves

2009-11-03T15:48:00.000-08:00

Last week we went to my grandparents and cleaned up the leaves that came down with the wind storm. Hunter loves the leaves so I was looking forward to what Brayden thought of them. Brayden dug right in and was helping rake the leaves and then Hunter and him started throwing leaves at each other. Brayden also liked picking up handfuls of the leaves from one pile and taking them to another pile. It was a lot of fun and there are plenty more leaves left to fall from the trees that we will get another chance to do this again. Hunter thinks that the leaf piles are the best part of fall, he hasn't figured out that Halloween is part of fall too :)

My little helper.

I was getting the "look" from both of them.

Brayden getting Hunter with the leaves!

Hunter getting Brayden!

Brayden had enough of me standing around and was telling me to put my gloves on and get back to work. If you look close in the background you can see that Hunter is armed with a bunch of leaves to get Brayden when he turns around. Boys!

Hunter jumping in the piles of leaves.

Grandpa, grandma and the boys.

Popcorn snack after the hard work and Brayden decided to feed grandma.

Pumpkin Carving

2009-10-29T22:44:00.001-07:00

This past weekend I collected my sunflower heads so that I can get the seeds for next spring. Lotus and I finished our Halloween craft project. I went to the Tacoma Holiday Show with Kati and then we finished the weekend with some pumpkin carving.

One of my sunflower heads was huge! Lotus got a kick out of this so I had to take a picture.

Lotus and I started this project about a month ago and we needed to finish them before Halloween. I was very pleased with how they turned out and it was a lot of fun!

My friend Kati just had to try one of these out at the Tacoma Holiday Show. We decided we need to get one of these next year.

Pumpkin carving time, Lotus was ready to get to this all morning.

Hunter's first year doing his own, he wasn't too sure about the slimy insides.

But he did it and once he got into it there was no holding back.

Hunter is still talking about all the "guts" of the pumpkins he just kept saying, "eeewww".

Hunter's finished pumpkin, he specifically wanted a smiling pumpkin face :) I love that he is getting his own ideas and is not afraid to voice them.

Sean getting started on his, Lotus finishing hers and Hunter was helping everybody.

I forget what I had to say to get her to smile but it was something bizarre.

Hunter helping pull the "guts" out of my pumpkin.

Lotus' finished bat.

Brayden got up from his nap and all boy that he is he dug right in.

He was very fascinated by all of this.

I loved watching him explore the leftovers of the pumpkins.

Our finished masterpieces. My owl, Hunter's happy face, Sean's Jeep and Lotus' bat. Now the countdown is on for trick or treating!

Wheelin last weekend

2009-10-25T20:32:00.000-07:00

Well Sean has been wanting us to get in to this wheeling thing as a family and we have checked into some clubs in our area that cater to families with kids. He has been talking about trading in our blue Nissan to get me a Jeep of my own and this past Thursday he did it. We were planning on going wheeling this weekend but I was just going to be a passenger and that all changed very quickly. On Friday night I was very nervous because I had just driven the Jeep for the very first time and had never driven the times we'd gone wheeling before. We got up Saturday morning at 5am and got loaded and headed to meet everyone in Buckley. We were headed for the trails at Evans Creek which I had never been to. It was a lot of fun and I was very proud of myself! My husband was proud of me and I'm pretty sure the other guys were quite shocked. I did really good for being the low Jeep on the totem pole and I enjoyed the challenges along with the mud and the beautiful scenery. It was a long day and we saw every kind of weather, sunshine, black clouds, hail, rain and even lightning struck a tree right next to us. It was a crazy fun filled day and we are already planning the next trip in November! We got back that night at 9:30pm and we were some hurting units for the next couple of days but it was well worth it! Enjoy the pics!

Pink sunrise on our way to the meeting place.

My Jeep was all clean at the beginning.

All the Jeeps on the way to the trail. Tom was in front, then Patrick, then Sean who's the tallest, then me and Todd and his girlfriend Chris were in the back taking pictures.

Some of my first mud :)

Sean testing his new axles

Sean's Jeep made the terrain look easy

My first big hill. I bounced off the rock and bent one of my wheels but I tried again and made it with Tom directing me through.

Tom got stuck in the big puddle.

Sean setting the winch up

and he's out

At the top of one of the big hills.

The view was spectacular!

Close up of the ice, it was blue, I was amazed how blue and beautiful it was!

They were all explaining to me how to get over and through this. So much fun!

Sean looking at my next obstacle on the "new" trail

I was doing so good and then I got my tire caught up on a root and off it came. The next dilemma was how to change the tire in the mud. Do we winch her back end up in the tree or do we dig down in the mud to find hard ground to put the jack?

We finally reached the end of the "new" trail and the sun was almost set. Time to head down the mountain to go home. My Jeep is no longer white and it has a few new dents :)

Back at the gas station to air up for the drive home.

The next morning Sean was out pressure washing the mud off the Jeeps.

Sean's Jeep minus its back fender flares. It got a little hairy there at the end. Til next time......

The Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

Sunday October 11th we met our friends Kati and Miguel at the Home Depot in Seattle. I left Sean with Miguel to go to the Seahawks game and I took Kati and her girls with me to go visit the pumpkin patch. We decided to go to Remlinger Farms because we hadn't taken the kids there yet. I grew up for some of my childhood in Carnation but I was blown away at how much Remlinger Farms has changed. They have a complete child sized amusement park that was decked out for the fall. We went on a train ride, roller coaster, spinning pumpkins, a huge slide and pony rides and we still didn't do everything. Brayden LOVED the roller coaster and was jumping up and down when it ended, while Hunter wasn't so sure about it. Hunter wasn't feeling too well but he toughed it out and had a good time. When the kids had had enough we headed over to pick out our pumpkins and then we went to meet the boys. It was a beautiful day, the Seahawks won and it was a great way to end the weekend!

Wonderfully crazy!

2009-10-12T14:55:00.000-07:00

Wow I can't believe that it has been 3 weeks since I posted last! Life has gotten very full and busy and we have been having lots of fun. Hunter is loving preschool and is learning a lot of fine motor skills and social skills. Brayden and I stay and watch the kids during their circle time in the morning and then we leave and have some special time together. It has been a real joy to get to have some alone time with just Brayden, he just turned 18 months this past Saturday and I can't believe we are here already. He is really starting to talk mostly in his own baby language but he understands most everything we ask him to do. The last week that Sean was in Portland, Brayden wanted to talk to Sean on the phone after Hunter did and he held a conversation with Sean and was really proud of himself when he handed me the phone. Sean of course was as shocked as I was and we got to have a proud parent moment.

Sean as of last week is working back in Washington and we are so thankful to have him back and be into our normal routine. Hunter loves being able to pick which one of us reads him his bed time story now and Brayden does a little dance by the door when Sean pulls down the driveway. It melts my heart to know how much the kids missed him and that they are as excited as I am that we see him every night.

Bath time before Hunter's first school picture day last week!

Getting ready to leave and Hunter told me he was going to help me by putting Brayden's shoes on. Brayden was really good and laid there while Hunter did it.

Out in the yard the boys were driving the car together and when the battery died they decided to go play on the slide. Hunter is a very helpful brother, he was waiting at the bottom of the slide for Brayden so he wouldn't be scared. I took this time to pull some of my wildflower seeds for next spring.

Our friends Leroy and Julie Gonzales have an annual Oktoberfest every year and this year it was fantastic weather! The kids had a blast playing and the parents got to eat great food, drink some good beer and catch up.

PRESCHOOL

2009-09-18T20:29:00.000-07:00

What a crazy week this has been! We started the week off on Monday going out on my dad's new sailboat. Then Hunter got to fish for the first time, which he thought was pretty cool but was not into touching the fish. Now Brayden was all over touching the fish and if given the opportunity would have squished the poor fish. Monday night I attended a meeting for Hunter's preschool to get the layout of the classroom and what would be expected of us parents on our volunteer days.

Tuesday was Hunter's first day of preschool and the parents got to go to the first day to help ease the kids into their routine. Hunter has 14 kids in his class and only 3 are girls. It was a lot of fun watching the kids play and get acquainted with their classroom, classmates and teacher. I am really excited for this year of preschool as I like the teacher and am looking forward to watching Hunter grow even more into who he is. His teacher encourages the kids to use their words and their manners, already after 2 days of school this week I've seen a huge improvement as Hunter was starting to make grunting noises like Brayden does. On our way to school after we dropped Brayden off at Merrilee's, Hunter asked me if I was scared. I told him "no" but asked if he was scared, he told me he wasn't. Then I asked him if he was nervous in his tummy about trying something new and he said "yes". I hadn't even thought about that because I was so excited for him, so we stopped and talked about how everyone gets nervous when they are trying something new. Once the day was over he told me he wasn't nervous anymore.

On Wednesday we got a call in the morning about going to my aunt Louise's house to help her straighten up because they are having to put their house on the market. They were having an open house this Friday and needed to get some stuff done.

Thursday morning I had some exhausted kids that I had to wake up to get ready for school. Hunter told me he was nervous again because I wasn't going to stay with him. I told him that he could show Brayden his classroom and that we would be back to pick him up shortly. Once he got into his class and the kids were sitting in circle time he jumped right on to his circle with his name and got himself situated. He told his teacher that he had a brother named Brayden and then we saw that he was comfortable so we left. Brayden and I went home to spend some time together and then later we went back to pick Hunter up. We sat in the school parking lot and watched Hunter playing on the swingset having tons of fun with all the kids. Then we went to meet the other moms and pick up Hunter. His teacher Kim told us that it was a really great day and that all the kids had a good time and everybody got along. The kids are given a choice of 5 different activities to choose from, manipulatives like legos and puzzles, creative art activities, blocks, dramatic play and sensory materials like water and sand and then they have to pick one to play in. It is a really great structure to see and I like that the kids have to make a decision as to where they want to play. Hunter told me that he played in the kitchen which is the dramatic play area and he had a lot of fun. He was really excited for their snack that day which was apples and string cheese, two of his favorite things. Then we went home and everyone took naps.

Today we went back to my aunt's house to do some pressure washing before the open house this afternoon. I was pretty wiped out by the time we got home. I was just thankful to see Sean who has been in Portland this week. Poor guy had to get up and be at work at 2 a.m. this morning because they had to close the road for some of his work, then on his way home this afternoon he got a call that he needs to be back in Portland tomorrow morning. I was not happy because I miss him but we will be at Kelbi's 5th birthday party tomorrow so he can come home and get some sleep. Then he has to go back on Monday :(

Oregon Zoo

2009-09-08T13:45:00.000-07:00

We woke up Friday morning packed the car up and checked out of our hotel. We then drove the 7 miles or so to the Oregon Zoo. This was our last fun thing to experience on this trip to Portland before we headed home. It is a really cool zoo and I think that I need to take the kids back again in the future. They have successfully bred elephants which Hunter was so excited to see the baby elephant. The newest baby elephants 1st birthday had been the weekend before so our one goal was to get to the elephants before we left. Once we entered the zoo there was marine life which sucked my kids in completely and it was hard to get them to move on to anything else. Lotus was taking pictures of everything with her phone and then we ended up at the birds. We bought a cup of nectar and the lady gave me another cup so that we could share. Hunter wanted to at first but then he dropped his because he got scared when the birds got close. Lotus was in heaven feeding the birds and one was comfortable enough to hop onto her hand to get closer to the nectar. I was so thankful to get pictures of that! We watched the sea lions getting fed, the polar bear playing with his ball, the sea otters wrestling and last but not least we all got to see the baby elephant named "Sam". We had to go through the zoo store before we left so that Lotus could spend the rest of her birthday money on some souvenirs. Even though it was Friday afternoon the drive home wasn't so bad. We got home in time to have dinner, baths and for everyone to get in bed and get some much needed rest. This was definitely my highlight of the summer and something that I think I need to plan every summer.

Oaks Amusement Park

2009-09-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

So I am a little behind on posting our Portland pics because I have really gotten busy with the boys and getting Hunter ready for preschool. Brayden has now learned how to open doors and each day finds something new to climb on. I recently as in last Thursday got a wild hair at about 5pm and moved the boys into a room together so that I could have a craft room to play in since I am feeling fall in the air. So back to our trip in Portland......

We went back to the hotel we were staying at to meet up with Sean and he told us that he had to go back to Washington for work. So we were going to go to the amusement park with him and then he would drive back to Washington while we stayed 1 more night in Portland without him. So we went to Oaks Amusement Park and the kids had a blast. It was along the river which helped with the heat that we were experiencing that day. This was Brayden's first time on any rides and Hunter loved going on the roller coaster with me. Sean and Lotus did all the bigger rides and we had a great time together as a family. Sean drove home when we were done and I went back to our room with the kids.

Waterfront Park

2009-08-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

When we were done with the aerial tram we headed over to Waterfront Park that was only 3 miles away. We were waiting to hear from Sean if he was going to be getting off early so we could go to an amusement park together. The park was beautiful and there were bums sleeping on the grass, people riding their bikes and running along the river and then on the other side was the busy downtown streets. A great place to people watch while the kids enjoyed the water. The boys were a little wary of the fountain when we got there because it was shooting water so high in the air. After a little while it changed and Lotus ventured in and after watching her for a while they both were soon in there too. Then Sean called and said he was on his way back to the hotel so we met him back there had some lunch and headed out on another adventure.........

Portland Aerial Tram

2009-08-29T22:02:00.000-07:00

We decided to head to Portland, Oregon for a few days while Sean was working down there. I got online and started searching for some fun things to do with the kids. It is never fun traveling and being stuck in a hotel room with 3 kids who all end up bored after 10 minutes. The drive down was fast and uneventful, we left at lunch time so everyone would be full and happy. Brayden took his nap while we were driving and we got to Sean's hotel room in time to unload and decide where we were going for dinner. We ended up going to T.G.I.Fridays and we went past where Sean was working along one of the freeways. The next morning we got up and started our day by heading from Beaverton to downtown Portland. As we were driving down the road Hunter yelled out "there's a bubble in the sky mommy". I asked him if he wanted to go in the bubble and he yelled "yes", Lotus thought I was kidding and when she figured out that I wasn't she was smiling from ear to ear.

I decided for my first stop with the kids to be the Portland Aerial Tram. There isn't anything exciting at either end of the tram just a lot of specialty medical offices. Sean was working up at the top when he was in Portland before he went to Wyoming. He told me that the view was beautiful and so I decided to take the kids and see what they thought. Hunter was in love with the gears and how things worked, Lotus loved the view of the city and was excited that we were going to be traveling on wires and Brayden was just happy if the other kids were happy. Hunter was thrilled that we were going in a bubble so high off the ground and that made my whole day! It was a short trip up and we found the bathrooms and then took it back down, it was a really great way to see the city views. It was cool to see another project of Sean's and Lotus and I really got a kick out of the walkway between two of the buildings that looked like it was suspended in air. It was fun playing a tourist :)

Kopachuck State Park

2009-08-24T23:08:00.003-07:00

What a beautiful day to go explore a new beach. We had some errands to run in town today so we waited until Brayden got up from his nap and we headed into Gig Harbor. The kids were really wanting to go to one of the parks close to our house but I wanted to go explore a new State Park that we hadn't been to. I have heard a lot of great things from other family's about Kopachuck State Park. I have also been told that it is a little bit of a hike down to the beach and I figured that all the kids are mobile now so we would try it. There are a ton of hiking trails all around and it is so wooded and beautiful, but what a site once you reach the beach. Today was so beautiful and mild out that with the breeze off the water it was perfect! We heard the motors of nearby boats and even watched a sea lion splashing around not far from where we were on the beach. There were people out swimming, kayaking, and a couple even had an inflatable raft out there. Lotus loved the big rocks and was flipping rocks over and collecting crabs. Hunter was just fascinated by everything and even found a sand dollar. Brayden loved the water and was enjoying throwing rocks in and giggling at the splashing. The people that were out swimming said they found a huge area that was just sand dollars and I remember people saying that it's the best place when the tide is out for collecting sand dollars. I guess we will just have to go back!

Pirate Ship

2009-08-24T23:08:00.001-07:00

One of Sean's presents came in a big cardboard box. The kids have really been in this make believe world together lately and so they decided that the cardboard box was their pirate ship. The playing pirates has gone on for the whole weekend. If they weren't playing it inside with maps of treasures and swimming up and down our hallways, they were outside on the swingset playing with that as their ship and searching for their lost treasures in the rocks. It is a really cool thing that even with the age differences that all 3 kids can play pretend together.

Sean's 33rd B-day

2009-08-24T22:08:00.001-07:00

So today is actually Sean's birthday but since he was going to be in Portland and we were going to busy all weekend, we celebrated when he got home from Portland on Friday. We had a cake after dinner and he opened his presents from the kids and we had a great time being together as a family. The kids were in great spirits and everyone was joking around and of course thrilled that we were having cake!

A Puppet Show!

2009-08-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

Last night Lotus and Hunter put on a puppet show for Brayden and I. They were working very hard on each making a puppet of themselves and then I brought out a stage and some finger puppets that I have had set aside waiting for them to get to this age. Lotus wanted to know where I come up with all of these things and I told her that I try to think ahead and be prepared for fun things like this. Now that she is sewing I told her that she could make some curtains for the front of the stage and we could put them on a dowel. Brayden and I were given tickets to attend the show and we really enjoyed all 3 performances. At the end of the performances there was some dancing and we all had a great time! Then it was off for baths, showers and bed time. A wonderful ending to a busy day!

Waterfall/Pond

2009-08-09T08:50:00.000-07:00

My grandparents both turn 80 this year and my grandma has been asking for a waterfall/pond for the past couple of years. They already have a natural rock wall so we decided to start it and see what we could do. My thought is always that we can at least try it, how hard could it be. We started by getting books at the library and looking at different pictures of what my grandma wanted. I did not realize that having the existing wall was going to be more of a crutch than helpful. We did have to try a few different things but eventually got it how we wanted. It is not exactly how she wanted it in the beginning but with each change that had to be made she liked it. It took a total of a couple months with me going there once a week so in all not too many days. I am very pleased with the end result and am glad that I now know how to build one. Last week I used the rototiller to amend the soil, added some new soil and laid sod and beauty bark. My grandparents called me yesterday to tell me that they have already had a party and everyone loved it! I'm glad that they can sit outside and hopefully enjoy for the last few weeks of summer!

Hunter's First Day of Soccer Camp

2009-08-03T16:40:00.000-07:00

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I signed Hunter up for soccer camp with our parks department for this week. They brought in Challenger Sports British Soccer Camp and I was interested to see how things would go. Hunter was really excited to do soccer and he told me that when he gets a little bigger and he's learned soccer he's going to play football. I told Sean when he called last night and he was so excited. I was just secretly hoping that Hunter would have a good first experience with soccer. Sean and I have heard different stories from parents where their kids first experience with a sport was not positive.

Our time for the 3-4 year old was from 9am-10am which was perfect but when we got there they told us that they had us and 1 other child signed up between the ages of 3-6. Since there was so little in that age group they were going to join the little kids with the big kids time between 1pm-3pm. We came home and had a snack and I laid the boys down for a little nap. We got up and had lunch and then went back to the park.

We met the coach who's name is Gary and he's a young guy, he told us that even though the 2 young boys were playing with the older kids he wanted it to be a positive experience, this of course was wonderful to hear coming from the coach. He told me and the other mom that if the boys got frustrated or burned out to let them stop and try again another day but only if they wanted. His British accent was really strong but the kids seemed to understand him and he was really patient with Hunter and the other little boy. I appreciated the fact that he spoke to them as he did the other kids and he kept calling them "gentleman". Hunter did really well listening to him and he really encouraged the kids to keep at the drills. They took water breaks and Hunter was having a great time, he was really excited to learn that he got to keep his soccer shirt and ball. After an hour of playing Hunter was exhausted and we headed home. I am looking forward to the next few days of this camp and am thrilled that Hunter enjoyed today.

I hope that when Sean gets home later this week he might get a chance to see Hunter play. Hunter would be very excited and proud to show his dad what he is learning.