Fresh start

Obviously, posting after baby #2 came has been few and far between. But here's to a fresh start. I'm changing a few things, updating here and there, and figuring out some things. Meanwhile, here's a pic of the birthday boy, who turned 1!

"What I DID do today" Wednesday

Recently (read since Justus was born) Wednesdays have seemed to be days when the "to do" list is oh so long and the "what I actually checked off the to-do list" list is, hmm, oh so short. I got into the habit, like many women, of falling into bed and thinking, "What in the world did I do today?". The thoughts went downhill from there and included words/phrases like failure, waste, wish I had done, should have done, do better tomorrow, etc. And oh how Satan would LOVE for me to continue this defeating self-talk and wallow in self-pity.

Watch out, Satan - I am going on the offensive! Instead of beating myself up at night, I am choosing to begin a weekly Wednesday post of "What I DID do today!" and remember that no matter what is on the list or what didn't make the list, the Lord is pleased with the things I did accomplish...especially all the little things that nobody sees.

I would LOVE it if you joined me on Wednesday nights...not to boast or brag about our accomplishments nor to fret about our lack of accomplishments, but to find encouragement and strength in remembering that we are working for the Lord Jesus Christ and He delights in us!

There are two ways to join. For you fellow bloggers, post a "What I DID do today" list on your blog, writing in a link to my blog. (As far as I understand, a list will come up under my post with the links to your lists....I think!) For those without a blog, just leave a comment with your list.




"What I DID do today"

- I got out of bed! - Halleluyer! : )
- fed both kids a nutritious breakfast and administered vitamins
- folded a load of laundry, attempting to instill some responsibility by teaching Bo how to "fold" and stack his own underwear, and match up his own socks
- stripped Bo's pee-soaked sheets and put new ones on, with a 2nd lesson in responsibility consisting of how to put a pillowcase on a pillow (which took much longer than anticipated...who would have thought that task is so difficult!)
- played cars
- played Hot Wheels
- washed and dried several loads of laundry
- fed a baby several times, gave him a bath, kept his diapers changed and made sure he got the sleep he needed
- fed us lunch and prayed for Haiti
- took a shower!!
- facebooked friends to schedule playdates
- answered several phone calls
- called both sets of parents - one to teach Bo to communicate gratitude for gifts received
- cooked a nutritious dinner for the fam
- washed up 2 days worth of dirty dishes
- killed lots of ants
- wrote and posted this to the blog! : )

Thank you, Jesus, for the health and strength to do these things today.

Jingle Bells?

Turn the volume up so you can hear.

LOTS of pics

Starting off...Notice the sand box has a little water in it...or a lot. The cover blew off in a storm and left our sand box more like a "lake" box. Or later on when the sun was out, I preferred to imagine it as a "beach" box. It was actually kind of therapeutic! (Note to self: when you need a pick-me-up, fill the sandbox with water and pretend you are at the beach.) These pics were taken on a day that Bo needed to get outside to burn some energy - it had been raining for several days. So I put him outside and after a while it started to drizzle...see the ripples in the water. He was fine with getting rained on, so I let him play!





Some pics of Justus in his high chair. Pretty soon, high chair pics will show messy food-covered faces.



Here is what usually happens when Justus is under the "gym" and a little fussy, and I tell Bo to entertain him for a little while!




A few cute pics from the pumpkin patch this year. We did not stay for long...I was carrying Justus in the baby bjorn and Bo was running all over the place. He was too distracted by all the pumpkins to sit still for very long for pics, so I had to snap them when I could. And I didn't tell him to sit in the middle of the pumpkins...that's something he did all on his own.





This natural light was great coming through Bo's window, so I grabbed the camera. He was playing in his room, when I heard, "Mom, I'm stuck." He was just sitting in the wagon covered up by all the blankets and stuffed animals. Too cute.






Here is Justus having some tummy time under his gym. Some good shots of the different faces he makes. And of course, with his hand in his mouth...which is a pretty constant thing these days. I think he will suck his fingers like Bo does.







We did not do anything this year for Halloween or Fall Festival or whatever you want to call it. I did however put Justus in Bo's first costume...Bam Bam from the Flintstone's. The next day, I put Bo in it just for fun. It was hilarious.





Here is our Preschool Day in the Country with church. This is where Bo caught his first fish last year. This year, we weren't so lucky.

Just pics - no time for stories!

Strawberry face.




A little late on the 3 month pics, but they're here now.






Robert's sketch. Click on the pic to see more detail.

The Letter of the Day is...

This post is mostly for the grandparents, to see the fun things that me and Bo have been doing together. But, ALL are welcome to enjoy our creations, and borrow them for your own kiddos! I say don't be impressed because most of these are not original ideas, but borrowed ones from other cool moms.

A is for...

Ark - This is actually an original idea. Pretty good, huh? It was also our first "Letter of the Week" activity, and I thought it turned out pretty well.



Apple - not an original idea. But we did add real apple seeds to our picture, which is original. I told a friend about our "Letter" activities and she brought over the book, Johnny Appleseed, for us to read. We also ate apples for snack, and had Applesauce and an Apple Cinnamon NutraGrain bar for breakfast one day. We have been working on a letter A bible verse, as well. "A friend loves at all times." Proverbs 17:17 (Thanks, Grammy!)


Anniversary - Okay, so this is not an activity for me and Bo, but it fit so I added it to the post! August 31st, 2009 marked 7 years of marriage for me and Robert. I hear year seven can be a doozy. We shall see...


These are the BEAUTIFUL flowers Robert brought home for me. And they make the house smell so good!
This is my anniversary present! I already used it to make a double recipe of spinach pie. IT - IS - SO - AWESOME! I love it, I love it, I love it.


These were not a "Letter A" activity. Just a craft we did because I had kept an egg carton and thought we could do something fun with it. The little critters used to have eyes, but they were pulled off on purpose by Bo. For some reason, anything that came home last year from CDO with googly eyes, was soon to be de-eyed. I'd love to hear the psycho-analysis of that behavior.


R is for...
This week, we have done the letter, R. Bo actually cut out the R himself (with a little assistance), which is a big deal as he has just started to use scissors.

Road

Rainbow - This activity proved to be A LOT more extensive/complicated than the simple directions implied (or maybe it was my lack of experience making homemade cookies). A rainbow cookie. But it has been fun to have a Letter R sweet treat to enjoy! This is a small sliver of our rainbow, as most of it has been eaten already.


Robert - Not really a Letter of the Week activity either, but it fits. This is Robert's canvas that is primed and ready to be sketched on and painted. As you can see, it is rather large, measuring 72 x 48 inches (or 6 ft x 4 ft). I'll try to take some pics along the way to show his progress. Here we come $50,000 art prize!


This does not go along with the theme either, but here is our new quilt and shams. It's not a great picture - I had to take it in the dark, b/c Justus was asleep in our room. I LOVE the colors, and Robert thinks it is the best cover ever b/c of how it feels and it's weight. It is truly a miracle that we found something that both of us really like - seriously, a miracle.

2-month check-up

Stats for Justus
weight: 12 lbs. 6 oz. (50%)
height: 23 in. (50%)



He got 2 shots, which he definitely did not like and let us know by screaming and turning blood red. Other than that, he did great...even christening the table!