valentine delights

Matthew goes to Mother's Day Out (school) on Tuesday and Friday each week.  This year for Valentine's Day we decided to make treat bags for his class.  I had no idea how much fun this would be for him.

Here is wearing a festive Valentine hat he made at school.   Notice he would not take off his camo hat so I put the paper hat right on top.  I will have to post about the camo hat sometime.  We wear it everywhere.

All of the stuff we included in the bags.

1. Valentine's cards
2. lolli pops
3. goldfish crackers
4. conversation hearts
5. stickers
6. starburst

You can see the apple sticker underneath the whales.  That was Matthew's favorite sticker and they all got put into bags first.

He asked to work on these everyday until they were finished.  

"Let's do my bags."

Even Woody and Bullseye stopped by to help.  

grocery store fun

I really enjoy going to the grocery store with the boys. I know this sounds crazy...busy store, crowds of people, two kids...but we almost always have a good time. Matthew helps me bag all of the produce and also prints all of the produce labels.  He is always thrilled when it is his turn to press the green print button. Samuel normally just hangs out while I push the basket. Occasionally he gets upset and I put him in the sling.

I recently had the idea to take Matthew's shopping cart with us to the grocery store.  I had no idea how much he would like it.  I made sure it was a time when it was just the two of us because I did not think I could handle pushing Samuel in the basket and making sure Matthew wasn't getting into anything he shouldn't.

 Matthew has all of the ingredients for yummy beef stroganoff.  

 No trip to H-E-B is complete without a fruit pouch.

 Notice the cool bandaids.  We swapped the gauze tape for our friends Winnie the Pooh and Tigger. 

We had such fun.  He followed me around.  I pushed a little basket and he pushed his.  We filled both of them up with ease.  At one point he told me his wheels were breaking.  After investigating, I concluded that all of the groceries he was carrying were to heavy for his little cart.  They were causing the wheels to buckle.

Notice we are in jammies.  I took Matthew after bath time and we got back home way past bed time.  But all of the fun was worth not going to bed on time!

Yucky Staph!

It was just a couple of weeks ago that Matthew woke up with a red bump on his right eyebrow.  We noticed it on a Tuesday.  On Wednesday it was slightly swollen and by Thursday his eye was partly swollen shut.  We saw Jackson on Thursday.  He told us to apply a warm compress as often as Matthew would let us.  Well you can guess that, that did not happen.  He would hardly be still long enough for us to look at it for fear that we would touch it.  On Friday when his eye was completely swollen shut we took him to see Jackson again.  We unfortunately had to hold Matthew down on a table while Jackson cut open the abscess.  It was very difficult to see our child in pain especially since we were forcing it upon him.  After a week of some very strong antibiotics,  we are completely healed.   

This was taken and sent to Jackson to see if he wanted to see us.  Looks pretty bad!

After all was said and done Matthew could not be consoled.  We offered all kinds of treats but he just wanted to go home.  He fell asleep minutes after we got in the car to go home and slept for the rest of the afternoon.  

It wasn't long before he was back to himself.  It sure was nice to see those big blue eyes again!

Samuel {3 months}

How did 3 months go by already.  You are growing...growing...growing.  So fast!  I am trying to capture everything but some days I just run out of time.  Here are some sweet pictures I took of you this month.

It was hard to keep the blocks set up and straight.  Your arms were flapping up and down like you were trying to fly.

You are such a vocal baby.  You talk and coo and giggle all the time...and give me the biggest toothless grins too.  I am totally in love with you.  Matthew is trying to read books to you and is quite good at it. When you are laying on your tummy it already seems like you are ready to take off crawling.  But it would be great if you could hold off for another couple of months.  It is nice that you are not mobile for now.  Right now you spend a lot of  your awake hours on your play mat.  Matthew brings you toys and shows you how to play with them.  Sometimes he just takes them too.  {I imagine it is hard to be the older brother...watching the baby getting all of his toys.}

We are hoping you will start sleeping all night again.  Mom and Dad are growing ever weary.  But it is hard to get upset when you flash us a big slobbery smile in the middle of the night.

Just like Matthew, you of course love your bumbo seat and love to play in it too.  Matthew tries to get into it too.  He does not fit like he used to.

I think your eyes get a little bluer every day.

You are such an awesome baby!

Love, Mommy

caught red handed

Ahhh the days of toddler mischief.

Date of crime: Friday, February 10, 2012
Scene of crime: Kitchen
Offender: Matthew Oliver


I got up from nursing Samuel, walked into the kitchen and found to my surprise, a toddler covered in chocolate.

Evidently, Matthew had been rummaging through the pantry.  So of course I had to run and get the camera.

Yum! Our favorite treat.

How much more can I get in my mouth before Mom takes this away from me.  

Finger lickin' good!

Don't waste any.

I'm so proud of myself.

The good news is that this mess was contained to the kitchen counter.  I consider myself very lucky.  The bad news is, the reason I got up to go to the kitchen is because Samuel, the 3 month old, just had a blow out on me.  This mess was unfortunatley not contained in the diaper.

Good times!!!

For Samuel

RSV has struck again.  The first was when your brother was 5 months old. The second was when you were 2 months old.  We spent your first New Year's Eve and New Year's Day in Hillcrest hospital together.  Just you and me.  I wrote this letter to you while we were there and thought it fitting to blog it.  A great memory though the circumstances were not that good.

Samuel,

It's New Year's Eve and you are sound asleep. We are at Hillcrest hospital.  You are sick with a UTI and RSV.  So I am here ringing in the new year with you.  Just you and me.  We don't get moments like this very often and I am enjoying you so much.  We are trusting the Lord to heal your little body, and are praying for good health in 2012. You have brought such joy to our lives and we adore you.  Happy New Year my sweet Samuel.  

                                                                                                           Love Mommy

It was late and I was really exhausted but I just could not put you down.  We watched the ball drop together.  This was the first New Year's Eve that I spent without your dad in about 15 years. 

 

 

Living tired

I have started to meet with a group of ladies to read books and share thoughts on life.  I guess you could call it a book club but in my attempts to keep believing that I am young I prefer not to.  We have started a book called One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp.

To start, I am not a reader.  I have tried for years to become one, but have finally conceded to the fact that I will never be book savvy.  So in saying that, this is a stretch for me...reading.  And trying to complete what I have started.  I am a notorious project starter.

But this book is stirring in me all kinds of thoughts.  I find myself wanting to read it all the time.  This week after dropping Matthew at Mother's Day Out I wandered over to Starbucks with book in hand and baby in tow.  I ordered my usual, cinnamon dulce latte, and sat down to escape into all thoughts grown up.

The book is about finding joys in daily life and accepting that what He gives is enough.

As I was reading, this cold Tuesday morning, I realized I was holding my breath...tensed...stressed.  She writes,

I wake to the discontent of life in my skin.  I wake to self-hatred. To the wrestle to get it all done, the relentless anxiety that I am failing. Always, the failing.  I yell at children, fester with bitterness, forget doctor appointments, lose library books, live selfishly, skip prayer, complain, go to bed too late, neglect cleaning the toilets.  I live tired. Afraid. Anxious.  Weary.  Would I ever be enough, find enough, do enough?

I can really identify with these words.  Simple words written on a page but have so much meaning to me.  I live tired.  I find myself longing for children's nap times.  Longing for Patrick to be home so I can have a break.  Longing for a time where I don't have to do anything and take care of anyone.

I have forgotten the joys of my children.  To enjoy  the small wonders that they discover everyday.  I would rather be doing nothing.  I am  consumed with keeping the house clean, fighting over a two year olds eating habits and changing dirty diapers.

But as I read I can feel my shoulders relax and my breathing change.  (A good feeling I might add.)   I have had a light bulb moment.

I will never be enough.

I don't have to be enough.

He is enough in me.

But this morning, I wake wildly wanting to live.  Physically feeling it in the veins trembling, the hard pant of the lungs, the seeing it in the steady stars, how much I really want really live.  How I don't want to die,  Is that the message of nightmares and dreams? To live either fully alive...or in empty nothingness.

The sun climbs the horizon.  I throw back the covers, take another breath, and begin.  I get to. I get to live.  

The question she asks is will we live fully.  So often we become so focused on self that we can't see God's blessing.  When we live like this for a prolonged period of time we develop bad habits.  It becomes easier to not recognize God's blessing the longer we are focused only on ourselves.

What I need is a reprogramming of sorts...a reboot...new batteries.  

So now that I have identified the problem I can fix it right?  Just start noticing how God is blessing me...the gifts he has given.  Much easier said than done.

Change takes time.

Change takes time.

Change takes time.

I must give myself time to overcome these bad habits...this complaining of life that  has become second nature.  But I must take it one day at a time...one minute at a time.  Rediscover God's joy.

In rediscovering God's joy I can really learn to live fully.

I choose to live.

I choose Life.