Raising Cubs in a Campground

The hum of the van's engine stops. We're home again after dropping the big kids off at school. For the next 2 1/2 hours it's just me and her. My mind races with all that I could accomplish. Laundry, the never ending pile on the dining room table, blog book work, park program planning, baking.... But then I come around to the other side of the van and see this face when the sliding door opens: We both squeal in delight and reach for each other. Her feet flail. Mine carry us to the house where until her naptime we sit on the floor, giggle, play with the dog, the cat, the stray light saber (gotta start training early in this family!), and read some books until it's time to nurse. She has my heart this one with her beautiful blue eyes.

This was by far the busiest week we've had in a while. Thankfully they aren't all like this! In an effort to remember what it was like when my hands were so full I post photos from my perspective once a week. Feel free to do a post of your own and leave your link in the comments! Monday: Dentist for Sam. Learned he will most likely need teeth pulled and eventually braces. Fun times. But what a brave boy he was! Tuesday: ECFE in the morning then Dress Rehearsal for Dance.Recital. Julia smiled the whole time and didn't look nervous one bit. Elsa slept terribly and didn't want to nurse. Very strange. Wednesday: Awanas and another terrible night sleep for Elsa. Thursday: Julia's LAST day of Speech Therapy. She's come a long way thanks to Miss Emma! I was able to get a quick appointment at the clinic to rule out an ear infection - all clear. Still don't know what Elsa's deal was??? We hit a garage sale while we were out and about and picked...

One of my favorite things about my new phone is the ability to add photos to posts . We don't have wireless internet which makes it harder to sit down at the computer for any length of time during the day. Not that i'd want to anyway. The internet speeds time up...time i'd much rather be spending with my kids and husband. So here i am in bed...typjng with my thumbs a recap of this past week...or at least the parts that i took a photo of: First up, our Easter gifts. Normally it's one basket per child and that's it but this year when i had trouble getting books on time i ended up with ones that we wanted to write a personal message inside. I already shared what the Easter bunny left for the kids in a previous post but i wanted to include the pictures since i have them. The kids participated in the Sunday School Easter program at the 10am service. Proud Mama Moment. We spent a lovely afternoon at my inlaws. By the end of the day Sam was tuckered out. He...

Elsa's 40th week fell on Holy week so we went with bunny ears instead of a hat. Humor me OK?  Our newly turned 9 month old had her check up this week on the 3rd of April. She was 24 pounds, 10 ounces and 27 inches long. No wonder my arms are tired!  Her hair is really starting to fill in in the back but it's looking like we won't have another curly haired girl. Julia's curls were obvious by this length. I'm more than a little sad about this fact. I really wanted them to both have the same hair. We could have avoided the whole jealousy/grass is greener issue if it was the same. *sigh* In other news...we started solids on the 3rd. I baked a sweet potato and set her up with a few pieces at dinner time. This is the result: I was very surprised that she didn't care for them. I tried some mashed avocado later and that she liked a little better, but not much! What seemed to work the best was to let her suck the food off of my finger. I made brown rice porridge ...

We spent some time in the basement this evening because of severe weather. The kids have come a long ways from when they used to get scared when we had to prepare for severe weather. Now when we get the all clear they are bummed that we have to leave the basement where we store the cozy coupe. Once they realized they could have more fun running in the wet grass the basement was forgotten. No basement can compete with a view like this

We spent most of Elsa's 39th week on vacation. We enjoyed three nights at the Metropolis Resort in Eau Claire, WI. We had a great time and Elsa did really well. She started waking every couple of hours at night a few days before we left so she didn't spend much time in the pack-n-play we brought with but she did spend lots of quality time with Grandma Gayle.  She makes me SO nervous the way she buries her head in the mattress that I end up bringing her to bed with me so she'll sleep on her back. Somehow she's still a happy baby despite not getting a whole lot of uninterrupted sleep. She's starting to scrunch up her face like her big brother did when he was little. She'll also spit and then laugh at herself. Silly girl! She likes to repeat the sounds I make when we're riding in the van. I think it helps her not feel so alone when she can't see me. At least she can hear her mama's voice. Diaper Details: Another Flip cover by Cotton Babies. S...

Notable this week: * 3/17 Started to wave - I think . A baby wave is very similar to the sign for "milk" which we use as the sign for "nurse". Either way, it's something new... * Has an easier time rolling front to back and back to front now and does it without any encouragement. * Loves to blow raspberries. See? * 3/22 3rd tooth! (top middle) * separation anxiety at it's peak. I cannot walk away from her for a second without her crying like crazy. I naively thought it would be hard to tell when this stage hit since she's very very attached to me, but I was wrong. Sure, she doesn't like to go to other people besides Daddy but if I'm not in her sight. Her world crumbles. She even cries when I have her on the changing table and I need to bend down to put a diaper in the wash bag. I'm out of her line of sight for five seconds and the tears start. We're back to taking photos in the grass - I don't think it was this green ever...

I found this recipe on Pinterest this afternoon and decided to make some changes to accommodate what I had on hand. This is the result: Yum! and SO easy!  The best part is that it only dirties one dish and doesn't require a person to stand over a stove trying to match up finishing times for the veggies and chicken. Here's my version of Baked Chicken Fajitas: Combine in a large ziplock (I used a freezer bag to avoid breakage): 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in bite size pieces 1 green pepper, sliced 1 small/medium onion, sliced 1 can Rotel (I used mild because that's what I had on hand)  2 T olive oil Mix in a small bowl: 1T Chili Powder 2t Garlic powder 1T cumin 1/4 t salt 1T oregano Add spices to ziplock, seal, and make sure contents is well blended. (gallon size was plenty big) Marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees in a greased 9x13 glass pan. Add to flour tortillas and top with your favorite f...

A new blog to me, 100 Days of Real Food , mentioned these Silicone Ice Pop Makers and I was intrigued. I'm always on the hunt for easy, cheap, and HEALTHY 'treat' options. I ordered a set and got to work making my first batch of ice pops for the kids. I used our homemade applesauce that we make from the tree in our park so other than the canning equipment the ingredients are FREE. I scooped the applesauce into the containers and wedged them in between the wires in our freezer. They were ready by dinner time. Julia thought they were great, but Sam said they tasted like the applesauce that he doesn't like. Honesty. Gotta love that kid. It's true - he's never been a fan of the applesauce I make (no sugar added). I'm on the hunt for a good recipe to make frozen yogurt pops and then I think Sam will be hooked. I'll probably have to purchase another set so I can always have treats on hand. The bonus to these great containers is that they can be put in a ...

From our family to yours!  We had a lovely Easter this year. The kids woke us at 7:00 so we could come downstairs and find their Easter baskets. Sam and Julia were both excited about their gifts - Castle set w/ knights in the plastic eggs for Sam and a Hello Kitty Lego set in the eggs for Julia along with a matching pj set for her and a doll.  Elsa got her first cup and a stuffed ducky. (She had her first glass of water today and seemed to really enjoy it.) We had to be at church by 9:00 to take advantage of the breakfast the youth group serves on Easter Sunday. That was a stretch with all I needed to pack for our day at Grandma and Grandpas, workouts, baths, etc... but we made it and had plenty of time to change into their Easter outfits before rehearsal for the Sunday school program at 10:00 church. Church was short so Elsa only got a 30 minute nap but I soak up every second of my snuggle time with her during the services. Then it was off to Grandma and Grandpa's house....