Happy Birthday, Kidd!!

I know, normally, I write about the kids, so what's this all about?  Well, if it weren't for the birthday boy I wouldn't have the kids, so we are straying for a bit today to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the special guy in our life.  Plus, don't you get tired of hearing about the kids?  Never mind, don't answer that.  Ideally, there would be a picture of him inserted here.  He wasn't interested in posing this morning though, so you get nothing.  I know, a post all about him and not one picture of him.  You can see him on the side. 

What, you ask, do we do for our most favorite man?  Well, we start with some Birthday Cake Pancakes!

I would like to say I made them from scratch (per the Pinterest recipe), but it was 4:45 a.m., people!  I have limitations.  It still worked just fine.

 For reference, I recommend adding sprinkles to the batter, but also sprinkling some once you pour it in pan.  They bleed a bit in the batter.

 The glaze.  Same story with the sprinkles, but they don't bleed as badly.

Ready to serve.  I failed on the candle thing.  Thought we had some, but I couldn't find them.  It's okay, 38 wouldn't have fit anyway, right?

Who wouldn't want to see this face bringing a gift early on birthday morning?

Mommy, that flash is WAY too bright this early in the morning!
(totally saving this picture for blackmail later)

Now I'm awake and ready to play with the wrapping.

 Justus got to share in the pankcake breakfast in bed.  Delaney did too, but only a few bites.

  Kidd did as much damages has he could, but that was a LOT of pancake.  Note to potential birthday cake pancake makers: once that glaze sets up, you could construct buildings with that stuff!  It's like a rock.

All in all, a successful birthday surprise breakfast.  Justus was very curious about how old Daddy is today, and engaged in a lovely discussion comparing his age to that of all his friends and teachers.  He made the determination that Kidd is older than everyone!  So, sorry to Grandma, Grandpa, G-Daddy, Darla, Uncle David and Uncle Jason.  We sold y'all out as being older.  Kristin, I totally kept your secret.  ;-)

We love you and hope you have the best birthday!!

Wednesday's Winning Words

I recently came across this picture (yes, on Pinterest), and it really hit home.

I had heard, prior to having a child about this age, that 4-year olds ask "why?" a lot.  I know Justus is a curious boy, so I was beginning to think maybe we skipped the "why?" stage.  I was a bit pleased because, frankly, I worried that I wouldn't always have the answer.  I'm not that smart, nor am I that quick on my feet.  Disaster with an inquisitive and creative preschooler!  Sure, he would ask why some things happened, but not in excess.  Well, I am here to tell you that now, three months shy of 5, this child can ask "why?" just about anything is.

"Mommy, why did God make houses?"

"Mommy, why are there good guys and bad guys?"

"Mommy, why do we use blood?"  (That was an especially tricky one.)

"Mommy, why is Batman a good guy?"

"Mommy, why is there grass and trees and bushes?"

"Mommy, why is Megatron bad?"

I can't even begin to recount all the why's we've heard lately! These above probably came in the span of about 5 minutes one day.  I love that he's curious and I want to foster that, but sometimes I just don't have all the answers.  He calls me on it too.  If I say "I don't know, Justus."  He says, "But you HAVE to know." 

Really?  Why?

Craftastic turns craptastic

Late last week, I was all excited about the blog I would be able to do after my craftastic weekend!  Then, the weekend actually happened.  Don't get me wrong, it was a wonderful weekend, but we hit a few snafus.  I intended on making this cute Halloween decoration I saw on Pinterest (of course!), and a fall wreath for our front door.

Here's the Pinterst idea.  Cute, right?  Looks easy enough.

                                                         

I will say this picture is more the inspiration for ours, because due to my procrastination and therefore lack of available supplies creative differences, I made a some different selections.  And, we're off.  Supplies...check.

Eager helpers...

I said EAGER helpers...

Much better.  Check (even though the lighting is terrible).  Once we got started, after about 1 minute, Justus found a stick to play with and Delaney was high from the spraypaint fumes done being outside, so Kidd took her in. I persevered with the project adventure.

I got this far, and ran out of spraypaint.  That stuff did NOT go far.  The orange pumpkins don't look too bad because they were already orange.  It's just missing the glittery look, but the purple one intended to become black and the letters to be painted black didn't get very far.  And, of course it was Sunday, so I had a hard time locating additional supplies.
 

I did manage to find a tiny bit more of the black.

And, I went ahead and did my bows for between the pumpkins.  Yes, I actually made these bows!

Today or tomorrow, I will make another run to the HobLob for the remaining supplies and will be able to finish this...maybe before Halloween.  Once it is done, we are going to pull this thing out for Halloween every year until my kids fight over who is taking it for their own house when they grow up.  One simple project...or so I thought.

This, people, is why I dream of crafts, but never actually do them.  I don't know which is worse--the guilt of never having attempted said craft activity, or the disappointment in not being able to complete it.

Notice I didn't even get started on the "fun" fall wreath I had planned.

Stay tuned for the final result.  If I'm not too ashamed to share it.  Harumph!

Silly moments

The other day after work/school, in an attempt to keep up with my ever-expanding "to do" list, I hauled the fam out to the front yard to take pictures of Delaney for her birthday invitations (don't even get me started on how sad this makes me to even think about!).  As usual, we asked Justus to dance, sing, hop around, whatever it takes, to make Delaney smile.  He was only marginally successful, as the attraction of grass to her and opportunity to run and play to him both proved to be too great to overcome.  Nonetheless, we got a few good useable pictures for the invite.  They will be shared in a later post, I'm sure.  As we finished up, I started taking some pictures of Justus because he was being so silly, and we just don't have enough pictures of all the silly moments of everyday life.  And this boy KNOWS how to be silly!  See for yourself:

I have no explanation for this move, but I assure you, it had nothing to do with the previously mentioned showtune appreciation.

I asked him to give me his best Big Brother face.

I try to be good about snapping pics of the firsts, major milestones, life events, holidays, organized activities, etc. but I'm not the best about remembering to bring my camera along for the little moments (mostly because my camera is kind of bulky, but that's a pretty crappy excuse).  As a result, we don't take as many pictures of Justus anymore.  He's been through many of his firsts and several major milestones, been to holidays, etc.   Blogging and all the picture taking of his sister have reminded me that if I'm not careful, I'll end up with about 5 pictures of him each year:  First day of school, last day of school, halloween costume, Christmas card, and maybe a sporting event of some kind.  Not sufficient.  Must do better.  I think I'm off to a good start....

Wednesday's Winning Words

I love musicals.  Therefore, I obviously love showtunes.  Imagine my excitement when I started to realize that Justus happens to share this love with me.  Now, I know what you are thinking--Dad must be terrified that his son loves showtunes.  On the contrary, Kidd is okay with it.  For now.  In this child's short life, we have received repeated backseat requests for "One Short Day" from Wicked, "Masquerade" from Phantom of the Opera,  "Phantom of the Opera" from same, and just about any Disney song (yep, we'll count them too).  Lately, Lion King has been a big deal thanks to the release of the DVD and re-release of the movie in theaters (read as: Disney's genius method of regurgitating the new oldies). Justus has been singing Lion King songs around the house for a week or so now.

Monday, on the way to school, Justus asked if we could hear "Hakuna Matata."  Since I'd rather him walk into school singing that than the lastest Lady Gaga song he might hear over the radio, I willingly obliged.  Plus, as mentioned at the outset- I LOVE musicals, and what better way to start off a Monday morning than with a song that means "No Worries"?  We get the song going and Justus starts singing along...in the fun way any 4-year old does.  Although I'm not sure exactly what words he's singing, I happily chime in with the actual words.  It only took a few bars before Justus stops and says "Mommy, can we just listen?" 

Now, I know that I am not qualified to be a Broadway songstress, but really, am I that bad?

Heart. Break.

Putting back together the pieces of my fragile ego that was just shattered by a 4-year-old, I muster a "sure, buddy" and we *happily* listen to the stupid song that says it means "no worries."  Whatever.

I get over it by the time we arrive at school.  It is, after all, a charming song that really does put you in a good mood, even if you are prohibited from singing along.

I guess I'll just have to reserve my own sing-a-longs for when I'm alone in the car.  Maybe one day, his sister will appreciate the opportunity to duet with me...

What's Cookin'?

Just by way of update--Crock Pot Mondays are working out beautifully!!  I shared the recipe for Crock Pot Chicken Pizza from my friend Meggan, recently.  Since then, we have had some pretty great creations.

One of my all time faves (because it is beyond easy, and so very tasty) is

Shredded Chicken Tacos

Dump one bag of frozen chicken breasts in crock pot

Mix a can of diced tomatoes and a can of rotel together with a package of taco seasoning

pour mixture over chicken

cook on low for 8 hours

Warning: When you open the crockpot after it's done, it will not be pretty.  Get over it.  Taste it.  You will be glad you did.  Shred the chicken with two forks.  I get tortillas, shredded lettuce and cheese to make the tacos, or use it in a taco salad.  Awesome!

Last week, we actually had Crock Pot Tuesday, instead.  I can't now remember why.  Some scheduling issue, I'm sure.  Anyway, I made a pork loin with garlic, red wine, and soy sauce that wasn't bad.  Not on the list of the best evers, so I'm not going to waste your time with it.  Tonight, we are having chicken again--frozen with a can of cream of chicken soup, a can of cream of mushroom soup and mushrooms.  Served over rice.  It's gotta be good, right?

Just a little crock pot info for anyone who's loving theirs right now (and really, how could you not with winter coming on?)--between Facebook and Pinterest, I have been turned on to two great crock pot recipe sites that I wanted to share.  Crock Pot Girls and Skinny Crock Pot (for when you are feeling guilty).   On a funny note, I realized that Crock Pot Girls does Crock Pot Monday too.  Guess it is as fabulous of an idea as I thought it was! Enjoy!

Wednesday's Winning Words

In Justus' class at school, they are focusing on a letter each week.  As part of that, they are encouraged to come up with words that start with the special letter.  This week's letter is F.

At the dinner table the other night, I was asking Justus what words start with the letter F.  He said "fall"..."falcon"...."fink"...

Me: Wait, what was that last one?

J: "Fink"

Having been in the situation before where I thought "surely, he didn't just say that" I paused before responding with my initial thought of "How do you possibly know what a fink is?"  Perhaps the quizzical look on my face gave me away, because then he clarified on his own:

 "You know Mommy, like when you are finking (as he points to his head) about what you want to eat for dinner, or finking about what you did that made you have to sit out..."

Thus began the difficult conversation of the "th" sound.  Glad I'm not a pre-k teacher. 

In retrospect, a conversation about "F" words could have gone a lot worse.

10 months!

Without real consideration, I know that I regularly say to myself "This day cannot be over soon enough" while at work or while doing something I am not enjoying.  I am now experiencing a true case of "be careful what you wish for."  When I think about this little piece of heaven being 10 months old today, I ache for time to stand still.  It is going by so much faster than I had ever dreamed.  She is my happy place!

It has been a very busy month in many ways; and Delaney, your development is no exception:

**I don't know your height and weight because we don't go to the doctor this month, and I haven't had a chance to take the measurements myself.

**You are in a size 2, going on 3 diaper.  Once we finish this last pack of 2s, we're going full time to the 3s.  You wear all 6-12 month clothes pretty well now, and thanks to your petite nature, you can still wear the 6-9 month stuff too.  Your hair is getting quite long, just past your shoulders, but still all over the place.  So, we are having fun with pony tails and pig tails.

**You have TEETH!!  The two bottom ones have popped through, and man, are they sharp!  They are so cute.  I'm always a little surprised at how two little white things seem to change the entire landscape of a baby's face.  In my mind, it's one of the first things that starts to diminish the "babyness" of a little one.

**As mentioned and demonstrated the other day, you also now have independent mobility.  So, thanks for cleaning my floors.  Your "crawl" is precious, in that it's not really a crawl.  It's a hybrid move of using one foot and one knee with your hands to toodle yourself around.  It appears you like to create more work for yourself.  I hope you can abandon this trait before you enter your professional life.  It's not good to be "that" person.

**Although you have a mode of transportation now, you still prefer to pull up, stand, and have some grown up fingers to hold on to while practicing your walking.  You walked all the way from the kitchen to your room to get ready for bath last night.  I love that every time you pull up on my fingers, you smile.  You are clearly so proud of yourself, as you should be.

**You have proven to me that you were definitely ready for table food.  You are a champ at feeding yourself cut up veggies (favorite is green beans), fruit, pasta, deli-sliced meat, cheese, and bread.  You also LOVE your sippy cup with the straw.  No interest in the standard sippy, but the straw is pretty awesome as far as you're concerned.

**Your babbling is starting to have more variety, so I know that words are in our near future.  Can't wait to hear that little voice!

As you race toward that one-year mark, I have mixed emotions.  I adore watching you grow and discover the world around you, and I'm thrilled with each new connection you make to your surroundings.  At the same time, I want you to stay my sweet little baby that I get to rock before bed every night.  I am amazed at how much as changed in the last month!  I can't wait to see what lies ahead.

Wednesday's Winning Words

It was an unusually quiet trip to daycare this morning, and as we took the exit off the highway on to University Drive, it occurred to me just how quiet it was.  I looked back, and Delaney was just gazing at her brother and he had finished his cereal and was passing the bag back to me for his switch to fruit snacks--our morning ritual.  We hadn't spoken in at least 8-10 minutes, which is unheard of at any time Justus may be awake.  Maybe that's why I hadn't spoken either, I was just enjoying being with them in silence.  Anyway, out of nowhere, he says "Mommy...I love you." 

Melt. my. heart.

Then he continues (because, he's like me and can't help himself), "...and I will listen to you, and follow your directions, and not use my sassy mouth, and not stick my finger in my mouth or nose, and not do what you tell me not to do, and...." and off he went with all the "rules" we have to talk about on a regular basis.

It was important to me that he recounted many of the things I swear he never hears because he doesn't do them; but by far, the most special part of that car ride, and probably my day and week, was that he just said he loved me.  Unsolicited.  Just because he does and he felt like saying it.

May he never, ever be too embarassed or unwilling to share his feelings and emotions with his mom!

Blessed mobility!!!

Break out the baby gates, and watch where you step...we have a mover!  It may not be pretty (but, definitely adorable), and it's not technically a "crawl," but it is mobility!

She's been at this for a week or so and we thought it may convert into a regular crawl, but she has no interest.  She really would rather walk.  She seems to accept that hands and knees are required at this point, but she's going to use her feet if at all possible.  She is able to get pretty much anywhere she wants this way, so all is good for her.  Way to be innovative, Delaney!

Now for the babyproofing I've been putting off...