YEA!!

Phew. NaBloPoMo is OVER! Well, today is the last day, but I DID IT!

I almost gave up mid month when I ran out of ideas and just didn't feel like posting, but I am glad I did not.

So here it is, my celebration post!

I won't bore you next month with a post a day, but I will try to post more often around here then I was before NaBloPoMo.

Perfect Day

It is a cold, overcast, windy day today. Which means it is the perfect day for

getting beat by a 3 year old in Candy Land



getting beat by a 3 year old in Chutes and Ladders (I'm telling you.. this kid is a natural!)



building blanket tents and watching movies in them all day.



Speaking of.. I am being called by Little Man to "come in my tent".

sorry for the cell phone pictures, some days I just don't feel like pulling out the big camera

Breath Of Heaven

It is really starting to feel like Christmas around here. It finally got cold; let’s see if it stays cold this time. I heard my all time favorite Christmas song on the radio on the way home from church this morning. You know the song, the one you can listen to over and over and over again and not get sick of it? The one you wish they would play on the radio year round?

----------



Breath Of Heaven
Amy Grant

I have traveled many moonless night
Cold and weary, with a babe inside
And I wonder what I've done
Holy Father, you have come
And chosen me now
To carry your son

I am waiting in a silent prayer
I am frightened by the load I bear
In a world as cold as stone,
Must I walk this path alone?
Be with me now
Be with me now

Breath of heaven
Hold me together
Be forever near me
Breath of heaven
Breath of heaven
Light up my darkness
Pour over me your holiness
For you are holy

Breath of heaven

Do you wonder as you watch my face
If a wiser one one should have had my place
But I offer all I am
For the mercy of your plan
Help me be strong
Help me be
Help me

Breath of heaven
Hold me together
Be forever near me
Breath of heaven
Breath of heaven
Light up my darkness
Pour over me your holiness
For you are holy

Breath of heaven
Hold me together
Be forever near me
Breath of heaven
Breath of heaven
Light up my darkness
Pour over me your holiness
For you are holy

Breath of heaven
Breath of heaven
Breath of heaven

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As a mother myself, I can remember the fear of being pregnant with my first son, and wondering if I was prepared. I could not imagine the fear knowing I was carrying the savior of the world. Would I be cut out for the job?

That is where this song is from. I love the honesty and emotion in this song. The song is sung from Mary’s perspective when she was pregnant with Jesus and traveling to Bethlehem. She is scared and wondering if she is the best for this job. She is asking God for help and wondering why she was chosen to be the mother of Jesus. It is full of raw emotion for me.

What is your favorite Christmas song?

The Mannheim Steamroller version of Sleigh Ride is a close second to Breath Of Heaven

Its Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Thanksgiving

Don't read this post if your hungry. You have been warned

Thanksgiving was a great day this year! Little Man and I got to watch a little of the Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade in the morning. He loved the parade. He was screaming all morning! “Mama, train!!” “Mama, boat!!” Sponge Bob, Elmo, Turkeys….He even saw Santa!



Little Miracle ate Daddy’s breakfast. He even stood up all by himself for a split second! Walking is just around the corner!



I got nominated to cook for hubbys family for Thanksgiving this year. I had a blast. Took over 5 hours to prep and cook it all, but it was well worth it.

Apple pie almost prepped.



Little Man helping me with the dressing. Mickey Mouse even helped.



The table was set.



Little Man made everyone placemats.



He (well, I) wrote on each one what he liked about that person. I asked him what he liked and these were his answers

“Mommy plays with colors with me”
“Mommy watches movies with me”

“Daddy tells me stories and reads books to me”
“Daddy plays Lincoln Logs with me”

“G.B. gives me hugs”
“G.B. plays with me”
(G.B. is Stephens dad)

“Grandma plays with me”
“Grandma eats pizza with me”

“I saw airplanes with David”
(David is Stephens brother who flew in from DC for Thanksgiving)

----------------------------------------------

Dinner was served at 2 pm. Guess it was more like lunch.

Turkey



Sweet potatoes



Dressing



Green bean casserole



Pies



I didn’t get a picture of the mashed potatoes, peas or the cranberry sauce. Let’s just say we had WAY too much food!

After we stuffed ourselves, we headed to the playground to work off some of the calories.



After the playground we came back home and watched some football on tv while relaxing. We even pulled out the Christmas tree and set it up, but did not decorate it yet!

It was an awesome day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope your all enjoying your family and eating too much! I ate WAY too much.

I will have pictures for you tomorrow!

Thanksgiving Prep

Today I had planned on cooking and cleaning.

One outta two ain't bad, right?

I cleaned the entire house from top to bottom then we headed to the airport to pick up Stephens younger brother. The airport wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but we didn't go in.

Once we got home I didn't much feel like cooking. I may start some tonight so I don't have to get up as early tomorrow. We shall see.

What's for dinner? We are having turkey, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, green peas (my father in law is Cuban and he says it is tradition for them to have green peas), mashed potatoes, rolls, gravy, apple pie and pumpkin pie. Just now realized we have two different potato dishes, eh, that's what the holidays are for, right? Eating too much?

This is not my first year cooking a holiday dinner but it will be my first turkey.

I hope everyone traveling has safe travels and enjoy your day tomorrow!

Thankful For My Children

Today I am thankful for my children.

We were making placemats for Thanksgiving dinner today, and Little Man had a blast coloring his “tar-key”. I asked him over and over and OVER what he was coloring just to hear him say turkey. He has the perfect southern accent when he says it. “Tar-key, tar-key, taaaarrrr-kkeeyy”

Right now, he has two throw pillows on his back and he is saying “I a butterfly”. He has an outrageous imagination. I could spend hours just watching him play with his toys and listening to him talk to them as he guides them thru their action sequence.

Little Miracle has an infectious laugh. He does not laugh too often, but when he does, the whole room lights up. He is trying so hard to walk but gets over excited and his feet can’t keep up with his mind. When I go to nurse him, he breathes fast in excitement. It’s so freaking cute.

I love my children so much. They are the light of my life. The reason I get out of bed in the morning. Yes, there are days when I want to shut them in their rooms and lock the doors and run away, but what mom doesn’t have those days? I am thankful for my babies and can not wait to see what they grow up to be.

(My bets ~ right now? Little Man will be my basketball, baseball or football player. He will be smart, but have to work hard for it. Little Miracle will be my genius. He will be tall and skinny and be somewhat of a nerd because he will be too smart for his own good)

What are you thankful for?

Thankful

Today I am over thankful for my mother.

When we lived in south Georgia, I only got to see her a handful of times a year. She missed seeing a lot of Little Man's milestones and basic growing up.

Now we live 4 miles from her.

I am beyond grateful for her.

Today I was tasked with grocery shopping for Thanksgiving. We had no plans for Thanksgiving until yesterday when my mother-in-law decided that she wanted someone to cook. Not that I mind, but I was volunteered to cook.

I called my mom and asked if she could tag along (read help me with the kids) with the grocery shopping. She is always more that willing to help me out.

Her help in the grocery store today was ... invaluable. Little Miracle was happily strapped to my chest but Little Man, becoming fiercely independent wanted to walk by himself. This lasted for a few aisles. Then he got bored and wanted to run around and play. The final straw was when he climbed into the toilet paper display and disappeared. Into the cart he went.

Little Man was either trying to get out of the cart or was trying to throw everything outside of the cart. This is where my mom is genius. My mom showed him how to stack the cans and boxes and then do what every little boy loves to do, knock them down. When that got old, she showed him how to put the brown sugar under his shirt and be Santa Clause. All from the cart. This amused him long enough for me to finish shopping and get out of the store.

When we were done with grocery shopping and finally home, she fed Little Miracle for me while I unloaded groceries, she forced me to eat lunch since I was about to skip it and she watched a movie with Little Man when he decided to skip his nap.

After Little Miracle napped we headed back out for more errands. She makes running errands with two small children so much easier. She will sit in the car while I run in and get what I need. Granted, she will do this for the short stops, if it is a longer stop, we all go in. When I get back to the car, Little Man tells me about the games they played when I was gone.

Tonight we even went over to her house while I was waiting on Stephen to get off of work. She got down on the floor and played with trains and cars and Little Man. She held Little Miracle trying to calm him down while I was working on a hair bow.

She is truly priceless to me. Today would have been a disaster if I had not had her help. I only wish I could find the words to show just how grateful I am for her. I am so glad we are living close to her again. I missed her!

"Hey Ed, I Need Doggy Food"

You know what drives me crazy? What makes me want to pull out my hair?

When someone, while talking to a child, says something like “look at that doggy” or “see the horsey?”

Doggy? Horsey? Fishy? (ok, I know fishy is a word, when used in “that smells fishy” but not “look at the fishy”)

Are those even English words? When was the last time you were out buying dog food and said “Hey Ed, I need doggy food”? Or do you say “lets go ride the horsey” when you are with adults?

Baby talk. Drives. Me. CRAZY.

Do you know why this drives me crazy?

A child learns best by watching what goes on around them, and copying behavior. If I am going to teach a child to speak, I would like to teach them the correct words. I wonder how many kindergarten teachers have to correct this pattern. I cringe when I hear a 6 year old talking about doggies.

So next time you are talking to children, please watch your words, and don’t baby down the talk. Talk to children like you would an adult.

Little Mans Christmas Wish List

Little Man is super excited for Christmas this year! He has seen Santa at the mall twice and reminds me daily what he wants!

Dinosaur Train toys

Toy Story toys

And trains.

Such a simple boy. I love it!

Can you all please say a prayer for my sister in law? She broke her hip yesterday and is in ICU because her blood pressure is super low. They can't give her pain medicine because her pressure is too low. Thanks!!

Writers Block?

I’m staring at the blinking curser on my screen and nothing is coming to mind. I had a billion ideas when I decided to do NaBloPoMo and most of them I just don’t feel like writing about right now. I can’t seem to get focused on my blog this month. I guess my brain has been everywhere else but here.

I did really well for the first few weeks, but this last week has been tough. I have posts in my head about politics, food, my babies… but my fingers just don’t want to work with my brain and get them down on paper, er... the computer. Especially the politics one. I have started writing it a billion times, and I end up deleting the entire thing. I have different opinions on most political subjects and I know I will end up pissing off some people because of my views, and I just don’t feel like pissing off more people in my life right now.

Hopefully I can snap out of my writers block in the next few days and get back to posting great posts. Heck, I may even bite the bullet and write the political one. But for now, my spring cleaning continues and my laundry is calling.

National Blog Posting Month

Phew.

Half way thru the month and so far, I am keeping up.

I am quickly running out of ideas though.

And time.

My boys have decided to take on opposite nap schedules. When one is getting up, the other is going down. Doesn't allow me to get much done but it does allow me to spend quality one on one time with each of my boys.

And I love getting that!

Little Miracle just nursed to sleep, and I hear Little Man getting up, time to get back to work!

Spring Cleaning

Last night we went to our churches small group. Our lesson Sunday was on “Hoarders” and what we hold onto. I did not get to listen to the message because Little Miracle was fussing, but we discussed it last night. What we are holding onto in our lives. Be it physical or emotional.

Many of you know, I am slightly OCD when it comes to clutter and my house. I like my house to be clutter free, clean, neat and organized.

Lately I have felt like my life was falling apart. Stephen was working 12 hour days, my kids were not listening, and I felt like sleeping all day. Needless to say, my house suffered. Laundry piled up, diapers needed to be washed, the dust was inches thick on the cabinets and toys were scattered about the entire house.

I woke up this morning and was tired of the mess. I had the urge to spring clean. To throw it all away. To get everything back in order.

I cleaned out the laundry room which had become my catch all for the junk in my life. Then I swept the floor, vacuumed, dusted, did some laundry. It feels nice to clean. I still have a lot of cleaning to do to feel completed, but it will take a few days. Closets need to be purged and the fridge needs to be scrubbed.

Stephen is back to working less hours (for now) and I am slowly feeling like myself again. My house needs to get back in order and I think everything will be OK again around here.

I am feeling anew again, and it feels so good.

Elf On The Shelf

How does Santa know which kids are good or which kids are bad?



At our house, we have George. George is an elf that was delivered by Santa. He sits on the shelf during the day, watching my boys. Every night he heads back to the North Pole and reports to Santa. He spends his nights with Santa and his friends but comes back just before Little Man wakes up. He finds a new spot in our house and makes Little Man find him.

He started out on the TV shelf. The next day he was in the play room, then the mantle, then a mirror in the hallway. Today he sits on the curtain rod staring at me from the living room window.

Little Man loves his “friend George”. He is helping with the behavior problems we were having in the past.

I wanted to do this last year with Little Man, but I did not think he would get it just yet, plus Little Miracle was just born, so we were a little busy.

George is an “Elf on the shelf”. You can buy your own here

I Need A Bigger Freezer

Today is a rainy, yucky day here in Georgia. That makes a perfect day to spend in the kitchen.

The past few months I have been cooking as much as I can in one day and putting the food in the freezer so we don’t go out to eat as much as we used to. On the days I don’t feel like cooking or we are too busy, I just pull something out of the freezer and toss it in the oven.

This all stems back to the change in diet we started about 6 months ago. We got rid of all processed foods and stopped eating out as much as we were. I make almost everything my family eats from scratch now. Yes, it takes longer, but it tastes so much better and is so much better for you.

I get our eggs, milk, meat and cheese from a local farmer that is just a few miles up the road from me. Vegetables and fruits usually come from the farmers market or Whole Foods, making sure I only buy the local or regional ones.

Today I will be cooking 2 servings (when I say servings, I mean enough to feed 3 of us for dinner) of lasagna, 8 servings of chicken tortilla soup and a pizza for dinner tonight. Grass fed meats, freshly chopped tomatoes and onions, my house will smell wonderful.

I still have a meatloaf, a serving of salmon, 4 servings of tomato basil soup and a serving of chili in my freezer from last time I cooked like this. Needless to say, my freezer will be full! I need a bigger freezer!

Yesterday was supposed to be my cooking day, but we went to the zoo instead. I am glad the weather says I need to stay inside today so I can get it done!

I am off to the kitchen, as soon as my boys nap!

Zoo Atlanta

We took advantage of the $5 days at Zoo Atlanta today. They had one in October, but it was on Little Mans birthday and also the day our church had a massive event, so we could not go then. I haven't been to the zoo since I was a child and Stephen could not remember the last time he went.

We got there about 2:00 and the line wrapped around the building, up into the parking lot and all around the parking lot.

It was crazy!

But it moved quickly. Just under an hour and we were at the front gate. As we were waiting we saw a kid squatted down to tie his shoe. Then his parents joined him and before we realized what they had done, they were standing in front of us. Wow. Your really gonna teach your child its OK to cut in line? Not only that but you used him to cut you in line.

Once we got in the zoo the lines dissipated and we headed to see the animals. Little Man liked the elephants and the giraffes the best. The gorillas were my favorite because there was a tiny baby gorilla in with its mama.




The mama gorilla refused to turn around, but if you look really close, you can see the baby gorillas head.



We stayed at the zoo for a few hours then headed home with exhausted kids in tow!

My Kids Nicknames

Just incase you were wondering how my kiddos got their names that I call them on here. Here are the stories.

Little Man was once called LB. When I was pregnant with him, my mother in law would call and ask how “Little Bit” was doing. Then we found out he was a boy we joked that Little Bit has little bits. Once he was born, we had a billion nicknames for him. Little Man was the one that stuck.

Little Miracle has been Little Miracle since conception. I had a molar pregnancy and was originally not allowed to get pregnant for 6 months to a year. After my numbers went down quickly and I presented my doctor with the newest research, he gave me the ok to try again after 3 months. I had fallen in love with the idea of a 2007 baby and a 2009 baby and I did not think I would get my 2009 baby when we had the molar pregnancy. The day I was cleared to try again, I figured that if we got pregnant that month, we would have a December 2009 baby. I got pregnant the day. It was a miracle.

I have debated sharing their names here or coming up with new nicknames for them. It gets confusing for me talking about Little Man and Little Miracle.

Date Night.

Stephen and I finally got a date night. Last time we had one was May, and even then we didn't get out, just got away from the kids.

Last night we got a babysitter and took off. We went Christmas shopping for the boys, ate dinner, went Geocaching and then had a few drinks in a nearby town square.

It. Was. Awesome

A much needed night off.

We got home just before bedtime and ended up playing with the boys for well over an hour. Then we wrestled them to bed way past their bedtime.

It was very nice to have a kid free dinner and time to focus on just each other. We don't do it near enough.

Dollar Store Fun

Today is Veterans Day. I want to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who serves in the military, be it past, present or future.

Today is also my husbands 30th birthday.



Not being a gift person, we usually skip birthday gifts. Not this year. This year I decided to take Little Man to the Dollar Store to pick out whatever he wanted to give to Daddy.

I brought my mom along for back up.

We arrived at the store and Little Man was so excited. He knew he was getting Daddy a present. I told him he could pick out any 3 things. Whatever he wanted to give to Daddy.

He proceeded to walk down every aisle and touch everything. When he would pick up something I would ask him “do you want to get that for Daddy?”

“no” he would say and put it back in its little spot on the shelf.

“Pickles? Do you want to get pickles for Daddy?” “no”

“Elmo plates? Do you want to get Elmo plates for Daddy?” “no”

Glow sticks, sunglasses, Christmas lights, truck balloons, a toy gun, toothpaste, a soup spoon, a bath sponge, plastic forks, a wreath, socks, balls, padlocks, measuring tapes, candy bars, a hair brush.

This continued for what felt like an hour. Finally he decided on a flashlight. He dug thru every flashlight first trying to find one that worked. He would pick one up, try to turn it on, then put it back down when it would not turn on. No matter how many times I explained to him that they all need batteries. He finally decided on a black flashlight with a yellow ring on it.

Then he decided on a yellow spray bottle and a toilet bowl cleaner.

Then we picked out a card and a gift bag. The card Little Man picked out had a rainbow and flowers on it, that’s why he liked it. At least it was a birthday card.

This morning we bagged up his presents and Little Man excitedly brought Daddy his new treasures. Little Man was excited to show Daddy the presents picked out just for him.







Daddy loves his “bathroom cleaning kit”. He says he can put bleach in the spray bottle, and use the flashlight to see the dirt better while he cleans the bathroom. (Who is he kidding? We all know who actually cleans the bathrooms around here)

We have a date afternoon/night planned and we are both super ready for some time off together without the kids!

While I wish I could take credit for the Dollar Store idea, I first read about it
here.

I Hate Gifts

I hate gifts. I hate shopping for gifts. I hate receiving gifts. Trying to find that perfect something for friends or family drives me crazy. Driving to a billion stores and fighting all the crowds just for a gift. Not worth it for me!

Needless to say, Christmas is not one of my favorite seasons because it seems to revolve around gift giving.

I decided last year, after searching endlessly for the perfect gifts for all my friends and spending way too much money that I was not going to do it that way again. I decided to give to my friends favorite charities.

I also want them to do the same for me.

Problem is, I have no clue who I want them to give too. I like many charities that are well known, but part of me wants to find a local one. One that gives back to the community that I live in.

Have you ever tried to Google local charities? Oh – I have. There are about 10 billion websites that list charities and what their tax IDs are and all the legal stuff about them, but these sites don’t tell you what the charity actually does. I want to know what I am supporting.

I would like to find a local one that does something for pregnant or new moms.

Anyone know of a good way to find this?