Growing Up and 30 Days

     Today I'm feeling awfully sentimental. I look at my kids and just think "WOW." Really, I'm blown away.
     As long as I can remember, I've wanted to be a mother. Some people spend their whole lives trying to figure out "who" they are. Me, I know. I've known my whole life. I'm a mom. I was put on this Earth to raise these two amazing children. Yes, there are other things I have done, or want to do, but raising my kids is my core.
     Now onto my 30 days of Thankfulness. Every day on Facebook I've been focusing on one thing I am thankful for. It has been easy (because I have so much to be thankful for) and hard (because it is difficult to put into words just how thankful I am for what I have). But of course, posts get lost on Facebook and I want a record of this. So here goes - 
Day 1: I'm thankful for my husband. He stands by me when I need him. He works to keep a roof over our heads and food on the table. I fall in love with him more every time I see him with our children. He really is my other half. I guess I could say my better half, because he makes me a better person. Him and I together are better. 
Day 2 of Thankfulness: I am thankful for my Emmalyn. She changed my world. She is beautiful, kind, funny, loving, sweet, creative, and so very intelligent. She is an amazing big sister. She lights up a room. She is growing up way to fast but I look forward to every new adventure with her. 
Day 3 of Thankfulness: I am thankful for my Bentley boo. He is a Momma's boy through and though. He is sweet, loving, handsome, smart, and so funny. He loves his big sister and tries so hard to do everything she does. My hair obsessed, kiss my boo boos, copy cat little man just melts my heart. I have to admit, I was terrified before Bentley was born. I knew I would love him (I already did), but I was afraid I wouldn't love him like I love Emmalyn. Oh boy was I wrong. 
Day 4 of Thankfulness: I am thankful for my Mom, my brothers, and my sister. They have been by my side at all times. We may not talk every day or see each other all the time, but they still feel like "home" to me. I'm not afraid to be myself. And despite all the negative things I've done, they still love and support me. And I'm thankful for my mother's boyfriend. He is family through and through.
Day 5 of Thankfulness: Today I am thankful for my in laws. Not only my mother and father in laws, who are amazing and I don't know where Joshua and I would be today without them, but also the entire family. I didn't know when I fell in love with Josh just how awesome his family is, but I should have since he is so awesome. :) They have always made me feel like family. I've never felt like an outsider butting in. 
Day 6: I'm thankful for my Dad and step-mom and entire extended family (on all sides). 
Day 7: I'm thankful for my friends. I can always count on them. They have had my back through the good and the bad. They are family to me as well. Despite being in separate stages of life, we are still able to connect. We talk or get together and it is like no time has passed. They care about my kids just like the aunties they are. 
Day 8 of Thankfulness: I am thankful for the snow. I don't like snow or cold at all for that matter. But the look of wonder on the kids' faces when they looked out the window made it worth it. And taking the kids out and watching them play with and explore the snowy yard just gave me a new fondness for it. But I'm also thankful that our first snow melted. ;) 
Day 9 of Thankfulness: I am thankful for learning from mistakes and getting second chances to do it right. I have made a lot of mistakes, but that's ok. I believe I have learned a lot of valuable lessons. Sometimes we don't get a second chance when we make mistakes, so I consider myself very lucky. 
Day 10 of Thankfulness: I am thankful that I am able to be a full time stay at home mommy. I'm thankful to be able to fulfill my life's dream. I value every moment I get with my children. I'm thankful to be able to sit and read with them multiple times during the day. I'm thankful to be able to kiss their boo boos. I'm thankful to be able to deal with fighting and tantrums. I'm thankful to be able to watch the love between them grow each day. It isn't always easy but it is always worth it.
Day 11 of Thankfulness: I am thankful for all those who serve our country. Thank you for your sacrifices. Those who serve our country are the greatest heros.  The men and women in the Army, Navy, Air Force, etc as well as those in the police force, fire fighters, and other emergency responders. 

Day 12 of Thankfulness: I am thankful for baby powder. Poor Bentley has a history of bad rashes.  I thought we were in the clear after eliminating strawberries, but it is back. I can not pin point it to one food/type of food or his wipes. Baby powder is the only thing giving him any relief.

Day 12 of Thankfulness (part 2 - because I can): I am also thankful for spilled milk. I'm thankful for the learning going on as my children drink from a cup, and navigate their plates/food/utensils while trying to avoid a spill. I'm also thankful for the lessons spilled milk teaches us. The kids learn that it's ok to make mistakes and to keep trying. I learn to relax, it is just a spill. And also to be aware of how I approach a situation because I'm always teaching the kids how to approach life. It warms my heart to hear Emmalyn reassuring Bentley about his spilled milk. 

Day 13 of Thankfulness: I am thankful for 10 mins of quiet time before I have to get the kids up and ready to head to dance class. I'm also thankful that I was able to spend the morning sewing (got quite a bit done). I'm thankful for my pink seam ripper - much less frustrating to rip out messed up seams when I get to look at pink. And finally, I am thankful for washable glue. Despite taking place just 2 feet from me, I failed to notice my son happily "coloring" on the just cleaned, hanging to dry bathmat with a purple glue stick.

Day 14 of Thankfulness: Today I am thankful for hugs. A hug can mean anything - I love you, I'm sorry, You are not alone, I missed you, Have a good day, It's ok and more. A simple hug can change someone's whole day, or their whole outlook on things. My favorite hugs are the random ones my wonderful kids like to give out.

Day 15 of Thankfulness: I am thankful for the wonderful, sweet cashier at Walmart. Not only was she super friendly and helpful, but she gave both the kids a small sheet of stickers 

Day 16 of Thankfulness: I am thankful for Color wonder. :) I think the paints are just about as messy as regular paint (and harder to find) but I LOVE that the colors don't just mix and become that ugly brown color. I also LOVE the markers. They really are less messy than regular markers.
 
    

Orthopedics and Dance class.

Bentley had his follow up appointment yesterday. His foot is all healed. :) Of course its a growth plate fracture, so he has to go back in 3 months to check it out. The doctor doesn't have any worried about his walking as of now. He said if he isn't walking properly within the next month, then there is a concern. 
And of course, Bentley's appointment fell on a dance class day so it was a long day all around. But this week was considerably better than last. Last week we witnessed an accident on our way out the door to dance class. Thankfully it wasn't a bad accident. We live on a scary corner. There is a hill on one side that makes it impossible to see far enough. There was a tractor trailer turning right, towards that hill. Unfortunately a motorcycle came over the hill. The man on the motorcycle ditched his bike and skipped across the pavement. As a neighbor called 911, I ran out to check on the man on the motorcycle. He was unconscious, but breathing. I was able to provide him with a couple of blankets (it was raining on top of the fact that he had just been in an accident). When I left him (surrounded by many  neighbors and a nurse who happened on the scene), the man was conscious, talking, and able to move all his limbs. Thankfully one of my neighbors brought my kiddos up to her place while I was running after the blankets. But Emmalyn was quite shaken by the accident and Bentley was quite shaken by the fact that Mommy ran off to help leaving him behind. 

Emmalyn picked out her own outfit for the first week of class. However, she wasn't a fan of getting her picture taken. 

But dance class is going pretty well for Emmalyn. She has had 3 weeks and is already improving. She has a difficult time following along and that leads to her not paying attention. Some of the movements they are trying, she doesn't quite get how to do it. But we are working at home to help. And this week she paid attention as well as any of the other kids. Its a class of 3 to 5 year olds, so she is a bit on the younger side. She is also becoming a little more open with the other girls. She tends to just stand and stare at other kids instead of approaching them to join in. 
This week I brought along some toy animals to keep Bentley entertained while we waiting on Emmalyn. Several of the other girls were interested in playing with them before class started. Emmalyn easily handed over the two animals she was holding. Bentley was not a fan of sharing with strangers - esp his lion.

Goats

So much for keeping up with the blog. :) Only 3 posts in and I fell behind. And 2 of the 3 I didn't actually publish. Oops. I think I've got it figured out though. 

Bentley no longer has his cast. We go back to the doctor next week for another set of x-rays. It has been 5 weeks since he broke it and will be 6 weeks when we go. His cast came off 2 weeks ago and the doctor said it wasn't as healed as he had hoped and expected, but healed enough to remain cast free. I'm anxious about it healing well. While wearing the cast, he developed a habit of walking with his foot turned out and putting his weight on his heel. He has continued to walk like that. I don't know if it is just a habit he formed or if it is still sore. He still has a lot of trouble walking on uneven ground (when we play outside). Again, not sure if it's because he is walking the way he is or if it is because it hurts. 


 September was a big month for us. We learned all about Farms. We had a lot of fun making animal noises, playing with our tractor, and our farm. We also colored picture.

 


We also made some apple trees and some apples. I had meant to keep these activities tucked away until after we went apple picking, but I needed something to keep Bentley entertained until we got his cast on. But the kids had fun with it anyway. :) And we actually didn't end up going apple picking until this past weekend (October).  We went really late this year. Next year we'll go early I swear! 

We were able to make a trip back to Ogdensburg in September as well. It was wonderful. Josh has been quite busy at work the past few months so it was a nice relief for us all for him to have a week away from work. Of course we had to take a trip to Old McDonald's Farm in Sacket Harbor, NY. We went last year as well and it is a wonderful place. The kids love it and so do I! There are tons of animals for the kids to look at and interact with. They have a "goatville" where you can go right in the fence and play with the goats! And of course, you can buy some pop corn and feed them.

 They have a wonderful hay ride where you get to feed pigs and cows. They have a "poultry university" full of chickens, etc that you can feed, bunnies to pet, a horse barn, reindeer, sheep, a camel, and others. On top of just the animals, they had bounce houses, a miniature golf course, and corn maze. For a small extra fee, they even have pony rides and a dairy barn tour. While on the dairy barn tour, we got to see a new born calf - just minutes old. So amazing. 
And of course, the trip to Old McDonald's Farm fit perfectly into our farm unit for preschool.

Wow, Its a little rocket ship

Emmalyn is always cracking us up. She is just so full of life. Like all 3 year olds, she says some of the funniest things - and she's got some great timing! I'm hoping to blog some of the funny things her and Bentley do and say so I don't forget them.
When we were at the doctor's office, the medical assistant was talking to us about putting Bentley's cast on. When she said she would "be right back" Emmalyn came out with "Are you kidding me?" The MA stopped dead in her tracks to laugh! 
Tonight at dinner, Emmalyn was telling a story with some wild hand gestures and her sippy cup went flying. She looked down at the ground and with all the seriousness of her 3 year old self she said "Wow. Its a little rocket ship." 
And of course our little Monkey (monkey see, monkey do), Bentley threw his cup down and exclaimed "ock ip" and giggled. I'm not sure my "Don't throw your cup" was all that effective seeing as I couldn't stop laughing. 

I can't forget about little Bentley boo either. While attempting to replace the mat by the front door, he ended up deciding it was a blanket and took a "nap" on the floor. Emmalyn of course had to join in. Tonight he decided to help Daddy putting around the living room. He would go fetch the ball for Josh and then stood there so he could shoot it through his legs. When Josh wasn't paying attention, Bentley was pointing and trying to get his attention.

Baking Spree

A few months ago, I came across this on Pinterest. The cute flowers caught my attention and I've been meaning to try it out since I pinned it. However, it seems the only cookies we bake over here are chocolate chip cookies. We need to branch out. 
So I did! First off, I started by making my sugar cookie dough. I used this recipe for my cookies, but I know there are a million great recipes out there for sugar cookies. Next I pulled out all my sprinkles. I had a set of red, blue, yellow, and green, as well as a bit of pink, some pearls, and some multi colored "ice cream" sprinkles. I also pulled out some cinnamon and sugar to make some snicker doodles.

One of the test cookies - rolled in the ice cream sprinkles.

I was worried about the sprinkles melting and sticking/catching on fire (or at least getting really smokey) so I started with a test batch. I rolled 5 one inch balls and rolled them each in different sprinkles. 3 of the colored sugar, one of ice cream sprinkles, and one of the pearls. I did cut 2 of the colored sugar sprinkle cookies into flowers, but they did not turn out that cute for me and I thought the non cut cookies came out super cute anyway. 
I baked the cookies at 375 for 7 1/2-8 mins. The cookies were done, but still soft and I didn't have any problems with the sprinkles. I did not get any pictures of my test batch because my kiddos ate them all! "Mommy, can I have a cookie." "Sure" turn around to get more cookies in the over and turn back around and the two of them had eaten all 5 cookies. But they said they were good. :) 

 But I did get some pictures of the other cookies I made. 


 Cookies with the ice cream sprinkles - these were the only ones I had any trouble with sticking. But they weren't bad.

Here are my snicker doodle cookies. They happen to be one of my favorite cookies. And they are delicious! I ran out of the cinnamon sugar mix I had so I didn't make too many. I was just too lazy to mix some cinnamon and sugar together myself. ;)

The colored sugar ones. I didn't have a lot of pink or green so I ended up mixing the two together to use the last of it. I thought they might mix together and make an ugly color, but the color stayed separate, so I tried the yellow and blue mix. I'm excited to do this for Christmas and for any future parties. You can easily pick the color combos to fit your theme!

And lastly, the pearls. They look adorable! I only made a couple because it took so much of the sprinkles to cover them. In all honesty, these were not the best cookies. The sprinkles sort of taste like nothing. And they crunch weird. Cute, but not tasty!

Joshua also decided to get in on the baking action and made some peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips. Yummy! Overall we had way too many cookies.

The Beginning

I have been thinking for awhile that it was time to start blogging! I've used facebook as my primary way to communicate with family and friends what is going on in our lives.  The problem is that all those random posts are lost. So here I am! 
Where we are at now: We started a home preschool program for Emmalyn on Tuesday. Day one was a success, but we've already hit a snag. Bentley fell and broke his foot Tuesday evening. So Wednesday was spent running to doctor's, Thursday was waiting and attempting to find anything for Bentley to do to keep him off his foot, and Friday was spent running to doctors again. But now Bentley has a cast and we've got the weekend for him to adjust. Monday we can get back on track! 
 

So he is a picture of Bentley with his cast on. This was right after we got home from the doctor's office. He's still grumpy and clingy, but so much better with this on then when he had the ace bandage.Tonight we get to figure out how to give him a bath. Its water proof but will collect water in the heel so we can't submerge it. For a little man who loves bath time, it could be difficult. Lol. Look at what a sweet big sister Emmalyn is? She has been great with Bentley's "boo boo." She reminds him to be careful, distracts him when he is fussy, and is super gentle around his foot (esp when he just had the ace bandage). And with all the attention Bentley has required, she has taken it in stride.

And little Miss Emmalyn just announced "I pee peed on the potty." Loudly. Very loudly. Its been over a week accident free! I'm thinking I'll even take her to story time on Monday in big girl underwear. As much as I've been looking forward to her hitting this milestone, I'm so sad to see her growing up so quickly! And of course this stage has its own set of challenges. I think I need to learn where all the bathrooms are at all the places we go to. 

So that's where we are at. :)