Previous post corrected

I can't believe I neglected to say in my post from last night that the thing I am MOST EXCITED about this week is my nephew being born!  It has not been far from my mind all weekend- I kept thinking about Bethanie, praying she would go into labor as I know she so wants to do, wondering what her final name choice would be (99% certain what it is!), speculating about how Brody will react to his little brother...  Yes, the baby is not far from my mind, but I somehow forgot to write in my blog about his arrival this week!  I'm sorry, Bethanie!  I can't wait to meet baby Park and hope and pray for you that he decides to join your little family today!

Memorial Weekend

We are home from our first weekend at the cabin for the year.  Because it was cool and rainy up north on Saturday, we decided to stay home (and were super productive!) and left early Sunday morning. It was a full house and a great time.  I posted some pictures on Facebook but left the pictures that tell the real story for the blog post. 

This weekend we played with bugs... 

...told the kids they could only drink water from the water table... 

 ...danced in the lawn... 

...sang with the trees....

....double-dared a pitbull (a nice one)....

...ran through mud....

....sat at a campfire while caterpillars landed on us from the sky... 

...and soaked in this beautiful view...

So, the million dollar question is.....how did the kids sleep?  Better than last year, which isn't saying much since last year was so terribly awful that we started making just day trips to avoid the night-time torture.  Claire didn't take a nap on Saturday (partially because Caden and Cambrie weren't napping, but then Caden (almost 5) fell asleep at 4:30PM and slept straight until 6:30AM!) and went to bed late, at 8:30PM.  Claire is an incredibly light sleeper and Max stirs in his sleep and frequently woke her.  I had her super loud noise machine in the room we were all sharing, so between that keeping me up, and also laying there awake just waiting for one of them to wake the other, I didn't get much sleep, at all.  But Claire slept from 8:30PM to just before 5:00AM with waking maybe four times, so I will consider that a success?  At least it's enough to make me want to go to the cabin again in a couple weeks when my Grandpa and Aunt come into town. (The silver lining is that she was soooo tired that she slept two of the 2 hour 15 minute car ride home today!!! Which never, ever happens.  Most peaceful cabin ride ever).

Excited for this week!  Two days of casual dress, only three days of work, a playdate with Ami and kiddos on Friday, my Grandpa coming into town on Wednesday and celebrating with a pizza party, and a trip to Washington DC on Sunday!

Oh! Before I sign off, wanted to document a couple of my favorite quotes from the weekend, to transfer to my annual book.

On the car ride up, it was silent.
Claire sneezed.
Max: Bless you, Sar.
Claire: Thank you, Maxy.
Max: Thank you.
Claire: You're welcome.
Josh and I just grinned.

This morning when Claire saw Nana she said, "Nana!  How have you been doing?".  Nana replied, "I have been just great! How have you been doing?".  Claire answered, "I have just been doing so fine!"

Friday picnic and Vehicle Day

Have I mentioned I LOVE having every other Friday off?  It's well worth the paycut.  I really enjoy getting together with friends on my Fridays off.  I have several friends from my 'mom group' that either stay home or have Fridays off and we often get together.  Josh surprised me this morning when I was reminding him he better get in the shower before he's too late for work by saying he had taken the day off!  He went to the golf course for several hours this morning and got home right after we left for our adventure so we didn't see him a lot.  

My friends and I  met at a park and enjoyed a picnic, along with pink cupcakes to celebrate Melissa's baby girl being born on June 6th.  Claire whined (almost) ALL morning and was nearly mute during our playdate (although she had tons of fun), so the peace and quiet from her was refreshing.   

Melissa (with Carson hiding her baby bump), Ashley, and Krista with our broods.  I'm excited to also go out to dinner with these ladies (minus Krista and Ashley but plus Rachel, Jody, and Dagney) on Monday night to celebrate baby girl again! 

For Vehicle Day at the park, they had an ambulance, police car, firetruck, garbage truck, two tractors, sweeper, and several more vehicles.  

Flash forward four years and this little boy will be climbing on that school bus.  

Max was in heaven.  He kept excitedly saying, "tractor!  Tractor!  Drive it! Tractor! Drive it!".  He's lucky his Papa is a farmer and he gets to sit in tractors often. 

Those eyes!  And cheeks!  And round face!  He kills me. 

Claire, on the other hand, thought it was too loud, despite none of the vehicles being on.  

She was styling, and picked out all of her accessories by herself, of course. 

Izzy is only 17 months and already in trouble with the law.  Look at her squeezing those bars and shouting.  She's got a bright future in front of her.  

Max at 18 months

My little Maxy turned 18 months on May 1st.  He is so precious at this age and he evens me out when Claire is being sassy pants!   I can't say that I can't imagine this....since I can imagine because it in fact happened...  but, I can say that it's hard to believe that when Claire was his age, I had a little newborn baby boy.  Max was born when Claire was 18 months and 1 week old.  I think back to how she was when he was first born, and I feel like she was more 'mature' or 'developed' than he is now, but maybe that's just because I like to think of him still as my little baby boy and can't imagine him as an older sibling.

At 18 months, Max:

• talks up a STORM!  He talks ALL THE TIME!  He loves to say words he knows over and over again.  He walks around saying, "Mommy.  Daddy.  Mass (max).  Kler (Claire)" and repeats it as he wanders and plays.   He has even put two or three words together.  He has said, "I see you!" and "Dad-dy coffee".  He has started to say "Help you!", which means help me but it's hard for toddlers to learn to say "help me" when we ask them "should I help you?".  I love when he says "help you"!   He's very similar to Claire at this age in that he will attempt to repeat any word you ask and isn't afraid of trying to say anything.  I just stare at his little lips, tongue, and teeth when he talks.  Some other favorites that he says include:
• Bless you (he will say "bless you" whenever he hears you sneeze, or cough, or make any sort of bodily-sounding noise) 
• Kler dop it (Claire stop it) 
• Balloon
• Josh (he sometimes calls his daddy by his first name) 
• Buzz!  Woody!  (he loves his Toy Story book and characters) 
• Blanket
• Dip it (asking to dip his food in yogurt or ketchup) 
• Shoes
• Jacket 
• Buh-bye
• Daddy go? Mommy go? Omi go?
• Whhhhyyyy?
• Lay-er! (later) 
• Love you (an absolute favorite!) 
• One of his nicknames is "Stinker Docken".  I didn't know that he actually realized this is his nickname.  Last weekend I said to him, "Maxy, you are a stinker!"  He smiled at me and said "Stin-ker Doc-ken!"
• Is a bookworm.  He loves sitting by himself and looking at books, and likes if you read him books as long as you go really really fast! 
• Is an incredible sleeper!  He goes to bed at 7:30PM.  No reading, rocking, or anything of the sort (although I would prefer to rock and cuddle him).  He just kisses Mommy, grabs his blanket and paci, and is put into his crib wide awake.  We generally don't hear a peep until 7:30-8:00AM.  We still credit the Sleep Institute for his amazing sleep habits. 
• Already likes to drink coffee! (Josh's iced vanilla coffee made at home). We have to cut him off. 
• Closely examines everything you put on his fork before he eats it. 
• Wears size 12-18 months and 18-24 months, size 5 diaper, size 5 shoe. 
• Loves his baby doll.  He often walks around carrying the doll and feeding it with a little bottle.  He pats the baby's back, puts it in a blanket, and says "nigh-nigh". 
• Loves going on walks.  He sits contentedly in the wagon or tricycle for long periods of time.
• Has 11 teeth maybe?
• Is super giggly and has a serious funny bone.  The littlest things make him go roaring, like opening new trash can bags, making silly faces, putting toys on your head.  He is my little trouble maker.  The other day he asked Claire for a drink of her "wah-wah".  She obliged and then took it back.  Then he asked for another drink of "wah-wah" and I asked her to give him one more drink.  When she handed him the cup, he grabbed it, looked at her with a smile, and ran away as fast as his little legs would let him.  
• Loves Sesame Street and ELMO!
• Is more and more similar to Claire when she was younger, in that he is reserved, timid with strangers or in public, aware of his surroundings, sensitive, sweet. 

Everyday, Ordinary

I like to capture our normal, every day life.  Our life isn't too exciting, but it's definitely busy, and it's what we live, day in and day out.  I heard the expression the other day from a fellow mother of young children that "we're in the tunnel" right now- and it's so true.  The days start early, are extraordinarily busy, with many moments where we just stop and stare and soak it all in.  The nights can be draining, and often interrupted, but are mostly laughing and hugging and smooching baby cheeks and talking all about our days, with an occasional time out (or three timeouts, within five minutes, as was the case at 5:20PM this evening).  We're in the tunnel, and we won't always be.

Tonight we took our regular evening walk around the neighborhood.  To everyone we passed, Claire cheerfully waved and said, "Hello!  Beautiful night??!"  My heart pulsed a little harder each time.  She insisted on pushing Max in the tricycle, with Max himself jerking the handlebars side to side, and Claire steering haphazardly.  "Claire, can Daddy just push and you walk with Mommy?"  "No, Josh!  You steer and I push!", she replied.  Josh sighed.  I smiled at him and said, "Before we know it, she won't even want to take walks with us".  Yep, we're in the tunnel.  But someday we'll be out, and I'll look back on these everyday, ordinary pictures, and remember the good, and have all but forgotten the bad.

So lucky to have these cracker jacks for my family.... :) 

Celebrating Mom

Today we had the perfect weather for Mother's Day.  Josh let me sleep in a bit while he and Claire played with the dollhouse in her room (starting at 6:10AM today- she slept it and it was a Mother's Day miracle!) and then went to Caribou to get me a coffee.  We worked our tushes off this morning cleaning, cooking, and preparing for a barbeque lunch at our house to celebrate my Mama's birthday, which is tomorrow.  The best part of the lunch came at the beginning, when Chris and Becky gave this planter to my Mom.  I am SO thrilled that they are having a baby and can't wait to become an Aunt again!  I already love Baby Thydean to pieces! My brother and my sister-in-law are a fantastic Uncle and Aunt to my children, and I can see how much pure joy they have when interacting with them, laughing with them, and showering them with gifts.  I can only imagine how happy they will be when doing the same with their own child. 

After the group left around 2:00PM, the kids took a late nap, and then they woke up in terribly grumpy moods (Mother's Day can't be perfect...). And by "they", I mean "Claire", but I wouldn't want to single her out or anything.   Josh weeded my garden so I can plant the vegetables this week, we took a family bike ride with the Bur.ley, had frozen pizza for dinner, and took a long walk around the neighborhood.  It was a glorious evening. 

At dinner, Claire asked if she could say a prayer.  She said, ""Dear! God! Thank you for Mommy's special day. Thank you for Mommy staying home with me and I love Mommy and thank you for Mommy protecting me from the puppy. A-MEN!" 

I remember when Mother's Day wasn't so wonderful for me...  Mother's Day in May 2008 to be exact.  It was four months and three failed cycles with infertility treatments after my miscarriage.  I wondered when I would ever be given the gift of motherhood.  It is not lost on me that today can be a very painful day for women who are aching to my Mommy's.  For the women who are waiting for a spouse so they can share their life and finally be a mother.  For the women who are waiting to be chosen by a birth mother.  For the women who have seen stark white after white after white after white pregnancy tests.  No, it's not a happy day for all women.  For some, it's a remembrance of what they long for.  And those women will be especially loved on during my prayers tonight.

Happy Mother's day to my incredible mother (a feeble attempt at describing what she means to me is here) and Happy Mother's Day to my best Mom-in-Law, who raised my husband to be the amazing man and father that he is today and who is helping shape my children into awesome young people.  

Making 5:30PM Easier (freezer cooking)

My approach to dinner has evolved over the years, for the better thankfully.  Mostly out of necessity.  Back in the early days of marriage, I would go grocery shopping and buy whatever looked good.  I would get home after work, open my pantry full of food, and have no clue what to make for dinner.

A couple years ago I realized how much extra work, thought, and expense that approach created, and I started meal planning.  Each weekend I would decide what to make for dinner the following week, and I would buy just the groceries required to make those meals.  My grocery bill went down, our food thrown away decreased, and dinner time was much more predictable.

But then I had two hungry, tired, mommy-needing toddlers clawing at my legs when I came home from work, and I no longer had 30-45 minutes to cook dinner.  I had, like, minus three.  Several of the people I follow on Facebook spoke about freezer cooking and how it saved them time in the evenings, so I thought I would give it a shot.

I did my first big batch of freezer cooking in March and made the below: 3 meals of buffalo chicken, 2 meals of tacos, 2 meals of sloppy joes, one loaf of banana bread, and 1 meal of turkey meatballs.  Instantly, I was hooked.  And tired, as I did all of these alone with the kids to tend to.

I haven't done any large batches like this again, but I do spend an hour here and there stocking up my freezer.  Some of what I have made for freezer cooking lately include:

• Lasagna (here is instructions for how to freeze.  I found that I actually didn't need to cook it any longer than when it's fresh)
• Spaghetti sauce
• Basil balsamic pork chops 
• honey lime chicken skewers
• grilled pork chops with garlic lime sauce
• More of the buffalo chicken and banana bread
• Pumpkin chocolate chip muffins (I'm pretty much obsessed with these.  They thaw so well- either take a couple out the night before, or take them out of the freezer in the morning and nuke them for 30 seconds.  Num). 

If you eat cheese (like most normal people), your options will be much greater.

There are a great deal of resources on freezer cooking.  Some of my favorite resources are:

• Money Saving Mom - she does a freezer cooking in an hour session each week. You can also search for freezer cooking on her website. She also insists that you don't need to have a chest freezer to make freezer cooking work for you.  
• Once A Month Mom- there are LOADS of recipes on this site.  The premise is that you only have to cook once a month and have enough meals to last you until the next month, but I've never done that much at a time.  There are different types of menus each month based on your eating preferences, and she even has grocery lists, printables, and more.  I found a couple of the recipes I linked to above in May's "Wholesome foods" menu.  
• Pinterest- if you follow me, I have a Board on freezer cooking.  If you simply search for freezer cooking too, you'll find lots of hits.  

I hope I inspired at least one of you to give freezer cooking a shot!  Especially for you working mothers...take my word that it makes your evening so much easier.  With my freezer meals, I can have dinner on the table in five minutes, which eases the frustration the children (and I) feel when I'm trying to cook and gives us extra time in the evening to spend together. 

If you try it, let me know how it goes!