Pretend Play

Christian is at the age right now that he loves to pretend.  Which is great because 1.  He is developing a great imagination and 2.  He is able to entertain himself for quite some time now!  The other day, he was pretending to "wait for the school bus"  so every time a car would drive past our house, he would run to the door to "catch the bus."  Very funny to me because he was counting down the days till school was over for the year, so I'm not so sure about this!

And of course, Bryleigh has to tag along and pretend also!  She is just the cutest with her little purse!

And her newest obsession....shoes of any kind!  As long as they are somebody else's shoes, she's a happy girl! 

Wearing Christian's Shoes :)

And just so I don't forget to document her funny obsessions.  She also loves buckles of any kind.  She will sit for an hour or more just playing with the buckles on her high chair, swing, car seat, etc.  She loves to snap them and will then holler for someone to unbuckle it for her!  Too funny! 

She also said "Buh-Bye" for the first time today!  She has attempted to say it in the past but this was the first time that it actually came out like she wanted it too :)

And to add to the "firsts" list,  Christian learned to peddle his bike for the first time tonight. I know he is a little late with this as he is almost 4 but he has had no desire to want to ride a bike.  So since he wasn't getting it with his big kid bike, we taught him on a tricycle and hopefully soon we will have him trained on his bigger bike!  Wish us luck! 

God Bless our Soldiers

What a great day to be thankful for such great men and women who courageously go out each and every day to risk their lives for the service of our country!  And the men and woman who have lost their lives to save ours!  Thank you and God Bless all the Soldiers and their families!

I especially want to take the time to remember my cousin, Army Spc. Matthew Grimm, who lost his life on January 15, 2007 in Mosul, Iraq of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle during combat operations.  Although we were not very close, I still remember the times that we would be together laughing and playing on holidays!  You were quiet and shy but so nice!  We sure do miss you Matt!

To Matt and all those who have lost their lives...you will always be remembered! 

Last of the First

Today was an exciting and sad day all at the same time!  Christian had his last day of his first year of Preschool!  I can't believe my little boy has already completed his first year of school!  Such a grown boy he is becoming!  I sure am proud of him.

Its amazing to see how much he has grown in 8 1/2 months!  He has done so well this year and learned so much.  He can now spell his name but we are still working on writing it. I guess that is what I get for giving him such a long name (Poor kid). It will be something we work on before he starts 4K next year.

I also had some friends come over this afternoon and shop at our garage sale and I have already made $100 so far!  And we had a lot of fun playing outside tonight on this beautiful night!

Bryleigh girl helping Daddy mow the lawn!

Phoenix and my sister in the background!

It was a busy but eventful day for us!  Now on to my 4 day weekend!  Enjoy the holiday everyone!

Perfect Teeth

Christian has his 2nd Dentist appointment today and he did GREAT!  He just watched cartoons as Kathy cleaned his teeth!  And he was so excited to get his Power Rangers tooth brush! I was so proud of our little man!  But a little bummed that I forgot the camera :(  Oh well, there will be a next time.  The hygenist said that Christian has perfect teeth :) 

And I don't have such a long post for today because my mom and I have been busy, busy getting ready for a garage sale!  As much as it is killing me to do it,  I am getting rid of all of my baby boy/girl clothes :(  (Tear)  But I did keep some of my favorites and a few of the bigger ticket items that we had from Bryleigh.  (Shhhh...Don't tell Bryan.)  But I figure even if we decide to have more children in the future, most of the clothes would probably be outdated.  So now I go back to pricing things! 

Prayers for the Tornado Victims

Today I just want to request prayers for the individuals affected by the tornado's that have ripped through many areas especially in Nekoosa.  It will be a lot of work cleaning up these areas and I just pray that everyone is safe!  My heart goes out to all! 

This is a picture taken in front of my Uncle's house and this is minor compared to other damage that was done! 


God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.---Psalm 46:1

Garage Sale Finds

Yesterday was the Port Edwards Community Garage Sales and I look forward to them every year.  I always manage to find some great deals and this year was no exception.  Bryan so kindly watched the kids so my mom and I could spend the day together! It was very quiet and nice because garage saling with 2 toddlers is not fun!  So here were my great deals for the day!

I was looking all day for a high chair that I can put at our kitchen table so Bryleigh can finally join us for dinner!  I sick of the big high chair taking up space!  So I found this really nice one for $10 at the last sale we went to! I cleaned it up and it looks brand new! 

I have wanted to get Christian a lego table since he started playing with them about 2 years ago but the one that we had gotten for him at Christian was from Fleet Farm and made very cheap so we ended up taking it back.  So I found this for a $1!  It was a great deal because after I washed all the crayon off, its great!  

And I also bought Christian many clothes but my greatest finds were these Nike jackets!  The red one is for 4T for this coming winter which was $4 and the blue one is 5T for next winter and it was $5.

So I was happy with my finds and I also had a great day spending time with my mom and niece! 

Our Little Birdies

Today was an exciting day in our household!  Our birds hatched!  Birds like to build nests by our front door and its almost a yearly tradition that we get to see little baby birds!  So we have been checking on them for several weeks now and today we saw the little fellas!  Christian and Bryleigh were so excited! 

didn't want to take any pictures of our little birds yet because I didn't want to scare mom or babies!  Mommy bird was very protective today!  So maybe when they get a bit bigger! 

Bryleigh was so excited! And so was Christian but his attention span is about 30 seconds so he was already off to play when I got the camera! 

Christian's Birdnests

Tomorrow is Christian's last turn for treat day for Preschool this year! I can't believe that my little 3 year old is almost done with his first year of Preschool! I can still remember the day that we had him!  We were so young but I wouldn't change it for the world!  Now my little man will be headed off to 4K next year!  Wow, how times fly.

Okay, enough reminiscing.  I wanted to think of something creative for Christian's treat, so my mom found this recipe for me so we made Birdnest's for Christian's class! 

This picture just doesn't do justice!

 

 

They turned out so cute and Christian loved them!  And let me tell you,  Peeps are impossible to find after Easter.  We called every store in town hoping that they still had some on clearance but no one did.  So luckily, my sister had several boxes left and she gave them to me.  So not every child gets a Peep but they do make the nests look great!

So if you are interested, here is the recipe:

(Makes 12)

4 cups chow mein noodles

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup peanut butter

Jelly beans or M&M's

Peeps (If you can find them)

Shredded Coconut

Green Food coloring

In large mixing bowl, use your hands to break noodles into smaller pieces.  In large saucepan, combine sugar and syrup.   Cook over medium heat until sugar is melted and edges begin to bubble.   Add peanut butter and stir until smooth.  Pour mixture over noodles and toss to coat.

Carefully test for temperature.  With slightly buttered hands, form mixture into tight balls using appx. 1/4 cup mixture per ball to resemble a bird's nest.  Place on waxed paper  and allow to cool completely.  

If you want the added touch, combine shredded coconut and green food coloring together and spread across bottom of pan to resemble grass.

Enjoy,  I know Christian and his classmates will! 

Latest Projects

I have been trying to keep up on bow making and some project stuff since I have brought the supplies, I want to use them.  So since I had another order, I made a couple of extra bows for my Bryleigh Girl! 

This is one of my favorites! 

And since I am running out of room to keep Bryleigh's bows in her drawer, I made a bow hanger using a hanger and some ribbon.  It will do until I can enlist the help of my friend, Jenna, who knows how to sew to make me a fancy one!  

Today has been pretty low key.  Bryan was able to get caught up on some lawn work since our yard was looking kind of like a hayfield :)  And I was finally able to record the book that the kids got about a month ago from my mom! 

And they loved it!  Christian enjoys showing Bryleigh how it works! 

Wisconsin Brain Injury Conference

On Monday and Tuesday, I had the 23rd annual Wisconsin Brain Injury Conference at the Wilderness Lodge in Wisconsin Dells.  My work paid for the conference and hotel and since its had a waterpark, I enlisted the help of my mom and brought the kids.  So I wasn't able to enjoy the waterpark at all but my mom and kids sure had fun!  She wasn't able to get any pictures in the waterpark because she definitely had her hands full, but I'm glad they enjoyed it.

And I learned a lot at the conference and met a lot of great individuals both professionals and brain injury survivors.  I have to say that my favorite presentation at the conference was the keynote speech on Day 1 given by Steven Benvenisti, an attorney in New York and it was entitled, "The Most Significant Case of my Entire Career." It was an amazing story and you can find it HERE. And as I was checking into our hotel room, he was waiting for his taxi to the airport so I was able to compliment him on how inspiring his story was.  He was a very nice person! 

For Dinner, we were able to go to Christian's favorite restaurant: Buffalo Phil's.  We discovered this restaurant last year and it's great!  I mean what little boy wouldn't love a train delivering your food!  

The train blowing bubbles at the kids!

And I just love this picture:

 The kids were enjoying the nice morning on the patio, when a duck came over and must have assumed they had food! 

It was a nice couple of days but I can tell that I was away from my office for 2 days because today was very busy for me at work! 

Tutu Cute

I completed my FIRST Tutu the other day!  And needless to say, I'm excited!  Like I have said before,  I am not a crafty person but this adorable little girl of mine makes me want to be crafty so I can keep her in bows and tutus!  So, although I have some perfecting to do, I was happy with how it turned out!  Although I did run out of tulle when I was almost finished and since I bought the first 3 yards at Hancock Fabrics and I didn't want to wait, I purchased another 2 yards at Walmart and its not quite identical.  So I figure it will be fine for Bryleigh to play in! 

And of course, our little Bryleigh girl had to model it for us!

 

We are going to be having an early night tonight because both the kids are tired from a fun couple of days in at the Wilderness Lodge Waterpark in the Dells!  And I was bummed that I couldn't join in the fun ( I was in my conference for work) but at least they had fun!  Pictures to come soon :)

Mom's are the best!!!!

What a beautiful Mother's day! I woke up to the sun shining which started off the day great!  And of course,  I can't go without saying that my mom is the greatest!  She has truly taught me everything that has made me the mom that I am today!  I love you mom! 

And I also love that I get to be called "mom"!  By these two beauties...

 And after church and an early morning nap, we met Bryan's family at the Casino for some Lunch!  It was very good!  And of course, you can't see Uncle Gimpy without sitting on his Harley!  And as you can tell, "Harley" dudes don't smile for pictures!

And I have to share the Mother's Day card that Christian made for me at school this past week!  It was so funny and sweet! 

 I also came across this prayer and I have to share:

Small Blessings

Dear Lord, it's such a hectic day
With little time to stop and pray
For life's been anything but calm
Since You called on me to be a mom
Running errands, matching socks
Building dreams with building blocks
Cooking, cleaning, and finding shoes
And other stuff that children lose
Gitting lids on bottled bugs
Wiping tears and giving hugs
A stack of last week's mail to read
So where's the quiet time I need?
Yet when I steal a minute, Lord
Just at the sink or ironing board
To ask the blessings of Your grace
I seen then, in my small one's face
That you have blessed me
All the while
And I stop to kiss
That precious smile.

It definitely is the most difficult job, I have ever had but being a Mom is the best and I wouldn't change it for the world!  

Bryan's Beats

Bryan has been talking for months about the new headphones that Dr. Dre came out with that are supposed to be amazing!  And myself, being a little behind on technology, could not understand what could be so great about these headphones but since Bryan has been working at the marsh and it was money we weren't really expecting, I told him to buy something he's been wanting!  So he came home with these the other day...

 They look like any other headphones but I really had to stop dissing on them because when I put them on, I could not believe that the sound/bass was coming from those!  Its crazy, the technology these days!  But I guess for the cost (a whopping $300.00), they better do more than just sound good :)

And I do have to say that kids also loved them! 

So my guess is that Bryan is not going to be hearing much of what I tell him for the next couple of days until the newest of these wear off :)

Sunshine is here!

Wow, today was the first day in a long time that it actually felt like Spring!  And from what I hear, its not supposed to get down past freezing anymore!  Do we believe it?  Well I hope so!  I couldn't wait to get done with work that I could go outside and play with the kids!

And play outside we did!

It was a very fun evening!  I even got the kiddos to help me pick up sticks in the yard!  We probably should have done that before the city came to pick up brush but oh well!  It was way too cold for me to do that until now! I hope everyone else enjoyed the beautiful day also! 

Poor Baby

I took Bryleigh and Christian to daycare at 7am this morning and received a call from Chris at 9am informing me that Bryleigh had a 100.1 fever.  Not even 20 minutes later I get a call that Bryleigh's fever went up to 102.  So I left work but having my 45 minute commute home, I wasn't able to get Bryleigh to the walk in clinic until 11:30am.  Poor little girl had a fever of 104.5 and that was after we had already given her Tylenol.  She was shivering but yet still so hot! 

They tested her for strep throat, checked her ears, and decided that it must be a virus and sent us home.  Although the doctor and nurses were very nice, I'm not happy with that answer.  That high of a fever makes me so nervous!  So Bryleigh finally calmed down after we got home and fell asleep on me! I hate not being able to soothe her!  She was just crying for about 1 1/2 straight :( 

So now we are at home, Christian is napping in his room and I have Bryleigh napping on the couch so I can keep my eye on her!  Hopefully she feels better soon!