The Best Present EVER

Christmas has come and gone. I can’t believe it’s all over already. Here is a picture of our Christmas tree before I made Anthony take it down. While I love Christmas, I was ready to see the tree gone. It just takes up so much room! Anyway, everyone got completely spoiled this year with remote control cars and bug books and bikes and scooters and army men and motorcycles and their own money!! I mean, what else could a little boy possibly want?? And Mama was super happy with long sleeved onesies and bathtub faucet cover and teething toys and anything else that keeps little boys busy and clothed. But the best present has GOT to be the book and recording Christian got from his uncle Jonathan. I tried to attach a video of the boys listening to it but it won’t take it. Uncle Jonathan read Make Way for Ducklings and recorded it for Christian. He even makes a dinging sound when it is time to turn the page. This has become a huge hit at our house and when we get the book and CD out we have to listen to the story at least 3 times - so they can each get a chance to hold the book. I can probably recite the book from memory.
I was also surprised and excited to get a sewing machine from my parents. I haven’t sewed in

years and I think I asked for it in a moment of insanity or something. I have to admit I was pretty nervous when I realized the implications of actually owning a machine of my own. I mean, I would be expected to actually MAKE something with it. So I got my mother and my sister to take me to the fabric store to pick out a pattern and some fabric. Which is when it become even more apparent that I was in completely over my head! For the most part I pretended to have SOME idea of what they were talking about, picked out a pattern I thought would look cute on Jens and some fabric that was on sale. After much encouragement and basically holding my hand through every step, here is my first sewing project since I was in middle school. I truly don’t think I can take credit for it since I just sewed a few straight lines and my mother did the rest, but even so - I’m proud of myself. My mom even made the little bear by herself. Isn’t it cool?! I also thought it would be cool to have little wristlets for Jens, to keep his hands warm when his shirt sleeves are a little short (not so much of a problem now that I have long-sleeved onesies!) so she whipped these up too. Aren’t they cute?! So now it’s up to me to actually make something on my own! The pressure is on.

The Great Fish Question

One of my sons turned 5 a couple of weeks ago, and we (read that I) had the great idea that we should get him a fish. Now we didn’t really have fish when we were little, more a dog or cat family, but since we don’t have room for a dog and Christian is allergic to cats, I thought we’d just get him a fish tank, throw some fish in it and he’d have a great time feeding and observing his fish. Doesn’t he look excited?!

So we got him a fish tank and 4 fish and 2 snails. Grandma K sent glow-in-the dark plants for the tank and everything! All the boys were obsessed! I even caught Anthony watching the fish swim around throughout the first couple of days. So exciting!
WELL, then the first fish died. But that was ok - there were 3 more and it probably just couldn’t make the trip from the fish store. That’s what the boys assured me. Then fish number 2 was found floating on the top of the tank. That was sad. I wondered if we should have a funeral or something. But the boys bounced back pretty well. There were still 2 fish to watch and 2 snails.
Then fish number 3 fell ill. Very ill. Turning black actually. We searched and searched the internet for an idea why our fish would turn black. - I’m pretty sure it was not just ‘turning colors’ like some people suggested. The boys watched ominously for days while the fish slowly turned more and more black. I tried to take a picture but apparently its very difficult to get a good picture of a moving fish through a fish tank. Anyway, so we changed the tank various time and used the water neutralizer that is suggested for tap water and it didn’t seem to make any difference. It was very sad. Then one of the snails died. Now things are getting a little alarming. Finally last Saturday, after much swimming around upside down and vertically, the fish died. It was traumatic! It’s like a car wreck or something - you don’t want to look but you can’t take your eyes off of it. I suppose we should have just flushed the fish much earlier but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it and Anthony was at work all day.
So now we’re down to one goldfish, who is now starting to look sick, and one snail. Oh, and the light burnt out now too. Sigh. This is NOT what I envisioned. I guess I didn’t realize how much work it would be! Or how difficult. The boys keep asking if we can buy some more fish now but I can’t go through more deaths! I don’t know… The things we go through for our children!

Holiday Fun

My friend Ashley invited Emmanuel and Christian over to do some Christmas crafts the other day with her son Jonathan. I thought it sounded like fun and they were excited. In the end she and I ended up doing most of the crafting while the boys ran around, made noise, fought and did other fun little boy things that drive their mothers crazy. Here are the crafts we made.
You can see they haven't quite figured out how to count backwards
You can see that Emmanuel covered his place mat with pictures in rows. He filled in the bottom and then left little globs of glue in rows across the top so I had to find something to fill in there. Ashley was super patient with Christian, holding the stencil for him to color in each letter of his very loooong name. And of course we (ie. me) had to make one for Wyatt!
Here’s a picture of a super cute napkin holder that Emmanuel made in school for Thanksgiving. Such a good idea!! We’re still using it. And here are super good Gingersnap cookies that I made for the boys’ teachers. Anthony brought this recipe from work and they are to die for! I’ll have to ask if I can post the recipe. The best part - no butter or milk!! I love the holiday’s!!

Holiday Parades Are Fun

So today we took part in our towns yearly Holiday Parade. Our church has a float and last year we were ‘invited’ (read strongly encouraged) to participate in it. A member of the even church bought our family sweatshirts so I took the boys as Anthony had to work. I knew nothing about this parade and found myself depositing the boys on the float to ring bells and walking the probably 2 miles in the cold, handing out candycanes. Great fun. You would think that this experience would have helped me to be more prepared this year. Never so. On the up side, Anthony got the morning off and was persuaded to accompany us. On the downside, it was probably 30 degrees (if that!) and even colder with the windchill. Needless to say - it was FREEZING. Of course, being the wonderful mother that I am, I completely forgot to have the boys put on multiple pairs of socks and was just rushing them to get their shoes on and get out the door. We did bundle Jens up in a snowsuit and a super fabulous carseat cover (thank you, Sara!) but after 40 minutes of standing out by the float even he was looking cold. The boys were frozen before our line even started moving. Here is a picture of the three of them and Emmanuel’s friend. Do you think Wyatt looks happy to be there? ;)

Do you recognize Christian's scarf, Sarah?

So at the last minute a couple of church members decided that Jens did in fact look cold and deposited him in the back of the truck that pulled the float. As there were two older gentlemen riding in the truck it was decided that I should ride along - just to make sure there were no accidents as two men tried to console a crying 4 month old while pulling a trailer full of children down the very packed streets. I felt guilty sitting in the warmth of the truck while my children rode out in the cold and my husband walked along handing out candycanes (which he swore he wouldn’t do) but as my feet began to thaw and therefore hurt, I became more and more concerned about the state of my childrens feet. Throughout the parade I had visions of small toes turning purple with frostbite and wondering how cold your toes could get before they doctors tell you ‘they must be removed’! The news story would have great - Mother rides in warm truck while children lose their toes to frostbite. When we finally returned to the fairgrounds and Anthony ran for the car, a church member was kind enough to take off Christian’s shoes and start rubbing his feet - they were ice!
Of course, we all returned home in one piece, ten toes on each child’s feet, and though little faces are beginning to show the effects of the cold wind, all were happy after being loaded up on burgers and fries. Ahh yes, good times in small town America.

Pumpkin Doughnuts

So we decided to take a page out of my sister and brother-in-law’s book and make some pumpkin doughnuts with a couple of the 12 pumpkins that are on our patio. Anthony found a recipe on this cool blog http://mennonitegirlscancook.blogspot.com/ that we used. They turned out pretty good, although Anthony felt that we should have used twice the pumpkin that the recipe calls for. Here are some pictures. They don’t look quite as picturesque as Sarah pictures but then the doughnuts didn’t look quite as perfect either.

By the end

Baby Stuff

So I decided the other day that our newborn needs a play mat for the floor. He is starting to engage more with toys and kick his feet and wave his arms around and like every proud parent I decided that he needed something fabulous to entertain him. After we had our 3rd son we moved 3 times and I got rid of every baby thing we owned. I mean, everything. The car seat, the stroller, the exersaucer, the clothes, everything. But thats ok! This is our last baby and this one will get new! Riigghhhtt. Has anyone paid any attention to how out of control the baby industry has gotten??!! It’s insane! I have 2 wonderful gift cards for Babies R Us so I went on their website to pick out my fabulous play mat. They are $70!! WHO pays $70 for a small mat with cheap toys that your infant will play with for 10 minutes a day for maybe 3 months??!! I guess they can sucker in all of those first-time parents out there who are willing and able to shower their child with all the best. But anyone who’s done it before should know better. $70!! I just can’t get over it. We should revolt or something. Start making affordable childrens toys again. I know that my son will be happier gazing at my face or that of his father or brothers than staring at dangling horses or stars so I guess I’m going to pass on the $70 mat.
But then again, I do have a lot to get done… maybe someone will lend me one…

Cloth Diapers

So I’ve decided I would really like to try cloth diapers. My sister has been doing it for 2 years now and I have to admit that when she started it I thought she was nuts. It sounded dirty and smelly and just all around yucky. A little too much ‘tree huggy’ for me! Yes, I’m ashamed to admit that was my attitude. Now that I have another little one of my own I am remembering how much garbage you have when you use regular diapers! I am feeling really bad about all of the diapers we will go through over the next couple of years. SO, I’ve begun to search for cloth diapers that I can afford. Here’s my big question - WHY can’t you find shops that sell cloth diapers?? Why do you have to buy them online?? I would like to look through all of the different kinds and pick the ones I want. It’s strange to me that Babies r us doesn’t carry a full line of them. They’re becoming so much more trendy these days. It’s so confusing and frustrating to try to sort through what you should order. Or maybe its just me. I guess I’ll have to bite the bullet and pick some out online if I want to try it.
Anyway, back to my chips instead of ice cream.