Too smart and sweet, too

Charlton and I were talking at dinner last night about a gift Grammy might be getting for Rylan, a P-I-A-N-O (keyboard). We thought we were being smart by spelling. Rylan immediately perked up.

"Are you talking about a piano?" he asked.

Charlton and I just stared at each other. We thought P-I-A-N-O spelled out does sound a lot like the word.

"Okay, Rylan." I decided on a test. "What is this word, C-O-O-K-I-E?"

"Cookie," he replied.

Charlton and I stared at each other again. How long has this kid been able to do this?

"What is this word, C-A-T?" Rylan is giggling now, because he likes all this attention from mom and dad. He says a few nonsense words and then ends with Cat.

We tried D-O-G, but the magic was over and Rylan was done showing off his skills. So maybe he isn't a 3-year old prodigy after all, but he is learning his letters and their sounds.

We were driving yesterday and he shouted, "BW." I was looking for a volkswagon unsuccessfully then realized he was pointing to some letters spray-painted on the curb on the side of the road.

We had a busy morning, running to BabiesRUs to get some new bibs, then to help clean our friend's house while she is in the hospital with a new baby. Won't that be nice for her to come home to a sparkling clean house? One of us moms watched the kids in the basement while the rest of us cleaned like crazy. It was amazing how much we accomplished in an hour of uninterrupted work.

Then we rewarded ourselves with lunch at Chick-Fil-A. It was super crowded and after several hectic moments of ordering our food, finding a table and high chair and getting two kids and all our stuff settled we could finally relax and eat. A few minutes later Rylan leaned over to me and patted my back, "Mommy, I love you. You are the best mommy of world!" So precious. I wish they would always be this easy to please!

Easter dress

My sewing machine has been humming lately. I bought this fabric early in the year and made several pillowcase dresses for Easter. After lots of trial and error, I thought this dress turned out very cute, especially with the extra touches of ricrac and the butterfly applique on the hem. I have sizes in 9-12 months and 18-24 months left. If you are interested, check out my Etsy store by clicking on the button on the right side of the page.


Easter pillowcase dress with butterfly applique.

Detail of the butterfly applique near the dress hem.

The ribbon ties.

The matching hair bow.

Everyday life: bath and bed

I was reading a photographer/mom's blog the other day and she made a suggestion to take pictures of your kids doing normal everyday things. The things you think you will always remember because you see them all the time, but of course, you eventually forget. The things that seem very ordinary and boring at the time; how they looked in their car seats or high chairs or sleeping in their beds....that will end up being treasured memories one day. I wish I was a better photographer, but I think I will still enjoy having these pictures of those unforgettable, ordinary moments. Bath and bed time are one of my favorite times at home and not just because it means I will soon get some quiet time to relax. I love kissing my sweet-smelling, freshly-bathed kids and cuddling them for bedtime stories, songs and prayers.

Rylan fresh from his bath.

Caroline with crazy hair.

The brush has won this battle with Caroline's hair.

Cuddling with her bunny.

Sleepy girl sucking her thumb and playing with her hair.

Rylan snuggling with Pooh and bear-bear.

Garden of the Gods

We usually visit Garden of the Gods when we have company and I have thought the past few times we visited that it is so close and easy,(and free), that I ought to go more often with just me and the kids. We don't need a special occasion beyond a rare warm day in late winter. It was nice to be able to take our time and just meander and spend 10 minutes examining rocks or 20 minutes playing hide and seek in the trees. I let Caroline out of the stroller and she was thrilled to be free to run, play in the dirt, and squeal at all the passing dogs. She has finally started to feel better after being on antibiotics for her 3rd ear infection since Friday. I can't even describe how nice it is to have my happy girl back. I think it has been three days since I have wiped a runny nose, which is a record for the past month at least.

There are lots of deer and rabbits that roam Garden of the Gods and leave plenty of droppings behind. At one point, Rylan discovered a pea-sized, dark brown pellet on the ground. "Look mom, a buried treasure!" he exclaimed. He held it up and showed his prize to me with great delight. "Actually, Rylan," I explained gently, "I think that is poop, deer poop."

"Oh," he looked so disappointed. "Mom, I accidentally touched it."

Oh, well, there could be worse things, I suppose.

On another note, you may have deduced my laptop is fixed. Yay! The hard drive and keyboard were replaced, so it is practically brand-new. It makes catching up on blogging and other things so much easier, although I have to admit, I was more efficient at getting other things done when the computer was gone. :-)

Caroline wouldn't look at the camera for anything today. Notice the mud on her knees. She had a matching print on her bottom by the end of our morning. I had to take her pants off before I put her in the car seat to go home. Thankfully it was really warm in the car by then.
Caroline busy exploring and too busy to bother with looking at mom.
I have never been to Garden of the Gods in winter before and seen this much snow there. It made for negotiating a lot more mud and icy spots, but was still fun. The snow looked really pretty against the red rocks and brilliant blue sky.
Rylan was cooperative for pictures today and hung out on the top of the fence rail for a few moments.

Kids Are Always On Their Phones!

Fun Days!

Caroline finds the laptop

Rylan Chows Down...as usual

Caroline and Dad



Asleep at Lunch

Long time, no write...

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything. There are a few reasons.....
#1 My laptop croaked out on me Valentines weekend. We sent it away to be repaired on Thursday. (Please hurry, HP!) Our desktop lives in our freezing cold basement and I just haven't been that motivated to write. I'll keep taking pictures and post them when our laptop is back up and running again.
#2 The kids are still sick! I know, I know how can that be possible? We haven't been to church or MOPS or playgroup in two weeks. I threw away their toothbrushes and bought new ones. I completely disinfected and bought a new filter for our humidifier. When we have gone out to essential places like Wal-mart and the grocery I have used the cart seat cover and bathed the kid's hands in sanitizer. We had one day of nice weather in between the worst of our illnesses so I took the kids to the park, thinking an outdoor place is less germy. There was one other kid at the park playing nicely in the sand with his very pregnant mom. Rylan promptly waltzes over to him and introduces himself with the nice manners I have taught him. "Hi, I am Rylan and I'm sick. I have a fever and a runny nose and an ear infection and wax in my ears." I can't believe that poor woman didn't grab her kid and run for the mountains. For the record, on that day at least, Rylan only had wax in his ears. I don't know why he felt the need to exagerate. Maybe it was sympathy for his sister. Sometimes I listen in on his pretend phone conversations and he has been sighing and saying "Yes, the kids are sick..." to Grammy or Nana or whomever he is talking to at the moment.
Rylan had a terrible cough over Valentines weekend and Charlton was up with him a lot during Saturday night. They ended up sleeping on the couch. By Thursday, Caroline was running a fever, coughing, and boycotting her naps. Friday, she woke up from her nap, ate her snack, and then cried non-stop until I put her in the car to go get pizza. Then she was miraculously happy. I admit I drove home a little more slowly than I had to, just to enjoy the peace and quiet. I had been crying along with her at one point, totally discouraged. I had hoped our "extreme quarantine" would work so I could remember what it was like enjoy being a mom to happy, healthy kids. Caroline seemed to have more energy today, but still has twin rivers running non-stop from her nose. (We have gone through three big boxes of kleenexes this month, by the way. Thank you, Sams Club.) So, the verdict is still out for MOPS on Tuesday. Our speaker will be talking about loving and disciplining your children, something I would really, really like to hear. Maybe next week..... We will be going back to the doctor on Friday for Caroline's 15 month "well" visit. Ha! That should give her just about enough time to incubate a raging ear infection, don't ya think?
#3 I now have a part-time job. Well, I haven't actually started working part-time hours yet, but I am preparing myself. My job interview was a stressful disaster of mis-communication. I won't go into all the details, but I actually missed the interview because I didn't have anyone to watch the kids. The nurse manager hired me over the phone anyway because she already knows me and we had an informal interview when I first started working at this hospital 1 1/2 years ago. I sure was thanking God for grace that day. Not surprisingly, I've had to do some extra paper work and make some phone calls to make sure everything is on track. I attend hospital orientation on March 1, and the best part is that we will have better insurance! Yay!
#4 Charlton gave me a Kitchen Aid mixer for Valentines Day and as a "thank you" for being willing to work more. I absolutely love it! It sure beats the socks off my old Sunbeam Mixmaster. I can't believe how much easier it is to make larger recipes and bread doughs. I made some cinnamon swirl bread, chocolate cake balls, and of course, Charlton's birthday cake. Now I need to find some time to exercise....
#5 I've been busy planning Charlton's birthday party which would have happened on Saturday if three out of the four guys who RSVP'd hadn't gotten sick. So, we had to cancel that morning with 5 lbs. of pork cooking in the crockpot, a huge potato casserole ready to go in the oven, and a whole birthday cake sitting on the counter. We have eaten well this weekend. Charlton wants to re-schedule the party. I am going to need a while to work up the energy to do this all over again....
#6 My sewing machine has been humming lately. I have stockpiled lots of nursing covers in a variety of patterns. Still trying to get my hands on a particular blue and brown fabric perfect for baby boys. I have also been sewing some pillow case dresses and feel like each one gets better than the last as I work on my technique. I have been playing around with fabric appliques and having fun with the zig-zag stitch. I bought some cute Debbie Mumm Easter fabric and made a dress for Caroline. I also am selling one just like it on Etsy, but felt maybe it was too plain, so I designed another version that turned out even cuter than I expected. I can't wait to post some pictures. Another reason my computer needs to be fixed fast.

I will leave you on a funny note:
Last weekend I was busy sewing and Charlton asked me if I was cooking something. "No," I responded, puzzled at why he would ask me this in the middle of the afternoon when I wasn't even in the kitchen. "Oh," he replied, "I guess it must be Caroline's diaper, then."

Thank goodness I know he loves me and my cooking...