first snow

November 19, 2011

POTD's this week

I thought I'd share a few recent ones (picture of the day's that is):

Sunday, August 22:

Hanging picture frames and wall decor at 10:30pm

Monday, August 23

A daily activity: "I want you to play cars too mama."

Wednesday, August 25

Baking sugar cookies as an after-supper treat...just as a forewarning, it's a dangerous thing to put a two and a half year old and a 3rd trimester pregnant woman in the kitchen alone together armed with baking goodies. We were both so anxious to eat the sugary treats that these were probably the ugliest cookies I have ever turned out of an oven before...but man, they were yummy!!! ;)

Thursday, August 26

Our neighbor, Kat, brought over fresh tomatoes from her garden tonight. Parker would've eaten them like candy if I had let him!

I love how some pictures are close-up and show only one idea while others are taken from a distance to show multiple representations. Creative, messy, neat, cute, ugly, simple, complicated...it's all part of everyday life. I love to capture it all.

Beautiful sunrise

Picture taken by Clay via iphone while airborne in April at 6:33am

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

Hebrews 11:1

What's on your kitchen floor today?

Warning: Before you think about staying up late to sweep & mop your disgusting kitchen floor, read the following story. It might cause you to wait just a little longer....

I'm sure you are familiar with the saying, "There is no use crying over spilled milk."

Well, last Thursday morning I chose to cry (HARD) over 1 dozen + 2 "spilled" eggs on my freshly cleaned kitchen floor. During my luxurious, 7 minute shower, my ever-hungry 2 year old (who had already eaten a bowl of Cheerios, a banana & some of my breakfast as well that morning!) decided to get in the fridge to see what goodies he could find.

When I walked into the living room (in nothing but a towel I might add since I always run out just to check on him before I get dressed, etc.), I wish I could have gotten a picture of him sitting there so proudly in his fire truck footed pjs with the biggest grin on his face in the midst of the yellow goo. Unfortunately, my brain didn't think to grab the camera to capture the moment. Actually, the look on my face alone made Parker not only cry, but also get up & head for his time out corner. I stripped him down on the way out of the kitchen (since egg yoke covered his last-night pjs) & told him in a very quiet, but very tense voice to sit in time out until I told him to get up.

As I cried pitifully staring at the situation, I realized that it might be a good idea to go put some underwear on at least before I stepped into the mess.

Some days --most days as a matter of fact-- I handle stressful situations very well. Had this happened during another week I probably would've handled it very differently...had a look of shock on my face, grabbed my camera for the prize shot, sent Parker to time out while trying not to laugh, & resumed cleaning up the floor.

...that wasn't how it went on Thursday. Oh no, it didn't go like that at all.

Other than the actual mess on the floor, I was seriously upset over the fact that just the night before I had forced myself to muster up enough energy to stay up till 10pm to get just one thing cleaned in the apt...and that was to sweep & mop the kitchen floor. But, that's usually how it happens right? ;)

Do you know how many Swiffer wetmops it takes to mop up 1 dozen + 2 spilled eggs on a kitchen floor (after you've used one half of a roll of Bounty Paper Towels)? Correct answer would be 3.

What was my adorable 2 year old trying to get into that caused the eggs to come falling out of the refridgerator?

Apparently, according to the above evidence of fresh sticky strawberry prints & the fruit remains, a pound of fresh strawberries bought the day before at Target. Have I mentioned before how much my child loves fruit...especially strawberries? He had taken each of the strawberries out of the container, eaten off each one to his desire (some taken a couple of bites off of & others eaten down to nothing but the stem) & made a sweet little pile on the above shelf. I did find some remains in the garbage too...not sure why he made the transition from garbage to fridge unless he got tired of walking to the garbage after eating each individual strawberry. I guess he figured this way was more efficient! :)

Needless to say, this little incident has forced me to either bolt the refridgerator door each morning with some of our handy packing tape along with his wooden high chair standing in front (so he doesn't rip the tape off), or resorting to taking him to the gym just so I can shower. :) I told Clay we were going to seriously look into refridgerator locks...yes, they do make them. I'll let you know how well they keep little 2 year old hands out!

Easter Sunday

Our weekend was full of activities & small, sweet blessings! I hope each of you had a blessed Easter! Among all the packing & house stuff to take care of, Parker & I found plenty of time for an Easter egg hunt, a special "breakfast" dinner that consisted of Mickey Mouse pancakes, bacon & strawberries, a new Easter movie for Parker (the classic "The Easter Bunny is coming to Town" with Fred Astaire), a fabulous Easter lunch with friends, & of course an Easter service at church to celebrate our Lord, the risen Saviour! We missed Clay & our other family very much this weekend, but our parents, grandparents, siblings, etc :) were great to keep us company with phone calls & frequent text messages letting us know they were thinking about us! :) Love that!

Parker enjoyed leaving out carrots & water for the Easter bunny Saturday evening & enjoyed waking up to an Easter basket filled with treats the next morning! Sidewalk chalk in the shapes of eggs, a new book, bright colored bath tub letters & numbers, a new movie, popsicle treat holders, some fun matchbox construction trucks, & even a little bit of candy hidden in the Easter eggs were left for our little man by Mr. B himself.

Following Easter basket treats came church, where Parker was so excited to sport his new Easter outfit from Nana & Poppie. (well, maybe it was his mama that was so thrilled to see him in his first spring outfit for the season...especially since every year that we have lived here there has been snow on the ground at this time..this year no snow!) It was the first day we have dressed in short sleeves & shorts in months, so I think the excitement just bubbled out of every step we took that day! Though we didn't get to see the service (I was working the nursery), I know it was amazing. It was just great to be there period & to celebrate the reason for the special day.

After church, we went with a dear friend to have Easter lunch with her family! Parker had an amazing time getting to run around outside with the other boys & then have a delicious lunch. It was wonderful having the food, friends & fellowship that day. (Thank you Tressa!)

we're moving!!! ...down the road that is...

Clay & I are so excited; we have given our notice! At the end of next month, we will be moving to a house out in Eagan (about 9 mi from Apple Valley).

Parker will have a backyard to play in this summer! I am already planning suppers out on the deck...I dreamt that one warm, sunny day this summer I was outstretched on the deck sipping crystal light lemonade & enjoying scrumptious chocolate covered strawberries. ha! I will be found indulging in this shortly after we get moved in...possibly before! :)

Since moving to MN in the winter of 2006, Clay & I have lived in the same apartment complex (switched apts, but stayed in the same building). It worked for us. I didn't mind not getting up at 4:30 in the morning to plow snow out of a driveway in the frigid winters on those many days that Clay wasn't in town. Our space was plenty for our little family. Cozy, comforting & enjoyable were how we described our apartment. Although we still like our apartment, space is more limited & well, it's just time to move on.

An opportunity to talk about moving came up a couple of months ago with some friends of ours, who recently moved away & decided to rent their home. (Thank you Tressa & Kyle!!) It's a beautiful house with a great yard & in a kid-friendly neighborhood. We couldn't pass this home up! The timing has worked out really well (almost anyway)... just in time for our lease to be up here, the current tenant of this home will be moving out.

Knowing that it was a done deal several weeks ago, I started collecting boxes & packing unneeded items. If we aren't smart with our time, this could turn out to be a huge stress factor, which I really don't want right now! We aren't sure of the exact move-in date, & probably won't for awhile, but at least we have an idea so we can work towards that. The day that we are supposed to officially be moving out & into our new place is April 30 & May 1. On May 1, I am in a wedding down in MS...this should be interesting. You can start praying for me now! Anyway, we are hoping that given the situation, this can be a gradual thing to take some of the stress load off. Hey, at least I can guarantee that our apartment will be packed up & ready to go by mid-April! :)

So, each weekday I have a goal to pack at least 2 boxes...weekends we'll tackle more stuff. So far, we've got about 14 boxes packed & ready to go in our storage room!
This last picture was taken last night around 9:30pm. Clay & I had on The Good Wife & were wrapping our glasses & a set of our dishes. I'm sure there will be many more nights just like this one in the near future...

Naptime...our routine

An everyday moment: Naptime at our home Clay walked in the living room today & captured a picture of part of our everyday life...Parker's naptime.

Each day, anywhere between 12:15 -1pm, I sit in the recliner with Parker's blue blanket, his pacifier & the t.v. remote. I snuggle him in my arms & while he's falling asleep I take turns watching him &/or either the latest show on the Food Network or According to Jim. :)
Back when I was working every day, one of the things I would wish for was to be able to rock Parker to sleep for his nap. The day after I was laid off I took care of that & haven't stopped since!! I love it probably more than he does!
After he's asleep, which can be anywhere from 2 minutes to 15 minutes, I go & lay him down in our bed, where he snuggles in between pillows & covers & sleeps soundly for an hour & a half to 2 hours. Now, a year ago he would only nap for a half an hour or so, but that has changed as he's gotten older (& when we started laying him down in our bed vs. his crib! :))

It's a simple routine, but I love it so much & cherish the snuggle time!

birthday party, cookie decorating, haircuts & more!!!

Here's a small glimpse of our week...it's been a very busy one, so tonight we're enjoying Daddy being at home & having a family movie night!

Cookie Decorating Party at Kindercare...that icing was so light & delish!
It took Parker a little time to get the knack of it...getting the sprinkles on the cookie that is...

The finished results...yyummm...Parker wasn't much into eating the cookie so Clay & I helped him with that! ;)
Another much needed haircut...Parker totally relaxes when he climbs into the chair at Kid's Hair. He has a little playtime with the toys that Sarah gives him & then about halfway through (just 3 minutes later), you think he's about to konk out -mouth is hanging open, head slowly dropping as he goes to his complete relaxed state!

Playtime at home on the "it's-below-2 degrees-outside-so-we-can't-go-out-to-play" days. Being the cutie that he is! :)

Birthday Party time! Happy Birthday Bella! Parker's friend Bella turned two this last weekend so we had an all out bash at their house on Sunday afternoon & evening. The Kirkpatricks have an entire bottom floor (that is the size of their house on the main floor) dedicated to playthings & a play area for Bella & her friends...so much fun! The kids all loved it! The played their hearts out ALL afternoon & evening until bedtime. As a matter of fact, the group of 6 2 year olds did so good, that the mom & dad's decided to let them play all the way until bedtime!!!

We are already looking forward to our next playdate at Bella's!!!

It's "December-time!"

Yesterday, after flying in from the South, we decided it was time to pack away our fall decor & get out our Christmas goodies! Parker enjoyed helping us hang ornaments on the tree (when he wasn't playing with them!) until the super glue incident.

We had left a small tube of super glue sitting out on the counter & Parker decided to grab it & bite into it. Clay & I didn't think he had gotten any on him until a few seconds later Parker was fussing and we noticed super glue had started gushing out the back of the tube...he had bitten a hole in it. Clay fervously worked on his upper tooth that did the main biting & his upper lip, while I soaked his 2 little fingers that were glued together. Meanwhile, the Poison Control said that everything was fine...no worry over him swallowing the stuff...as long as his fingers come apart. 10 minutes & a quarter of bottle of nail polish remover later, the worst of it was over....his fingers were free! Poor little guy. By the time that whole fiasco was done, we decided dinner out sounded like a nice plan. :)

Last year for Christmas, Parker received Elf on the Shelf. I was excited to start the tradition with him this year. We haven't named little elfie yet, but here he sat waiting for Parker to notice him this morning!!
More Christmas fun to follow soon!

a few "picture a day" snapshots

Just wanted to share a few of our "picture a day" snapshots that will go in our album!
November 2 - Eating yummy apple pie at Emma Krumbees


November 4 - getting our pj's on...I think I see a little "Rambo" in that face!!! (What you don't see in this picture is how hard he was laughing when I showed him what he looked like in the bathroom mirror!)

November 5 - outing to Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis (it ended up being a much quicker outing than we expected because it was soooo cold!)
November 7 - Parker & Clay swinging at the park (we were so excited to have a warmer & sunnier day!!)
November 10 - Pics at St. Paul Cathedral

acorns + leaves + Parker = lots of favorite pictures!

I am so thankful that yesterday afternoon Clay & I took Parker to the park, because this morning we woke up to this...and it hasn't let up yet!

Sunday afternoon, we ventured out to Cleary Lake Park for a few minutes...in less than 20 minutes I had taken over 100 pictures & decided the drive out there was well worth it! Parker enjoyed picking up acorns, crunching & diving into the leaves, & running around with his daddy. It was the first time he had ever worn gloves (versus mittens). He was fascinated with them at first & had a little trouble holding on to his treasures that he found on the ground, but I was pleasantly surprised at how patient he was with the new gloves & how quickly he caught on!

Clay was telling Parker all about the acorns; Parker was excited to learn about these newfound treasures.

About one quarter of the leaves had changed colors out at the park...ahem, I would love to see the park in its beautiful fall glory..."Winter, can you pretty please wait another month or so before you send us another snowfall?! I would really appreciate it!"

I am so thankful for our simple, everyday moments such as this.

apple pickin'

Apple Picking at Applewood Orchard
Monday, September 28
After flying into Minne on Monday, we quickly changed into our fall/winter clothes & headed out to Applewood Orchard in Lakeville to pick delicious Honeycrisp apples to take home with us! We met friends from church, Brent & Kelli, out there.
Parker enjoyed sitting in the little red wagon with all the apples while his daddy pulled him.
One of the highlights for Parker was getting to pick the apples up at the top of the tree with Daddy's help!
Parker's special apple that he picked all by himself!

Aren't they just the cutest couple?! They are expecting their first baby next spring! We are so excited for them!

Let's head to the raspberries patch!

Parker would start eating them as fast as we could pick the raspberries so we didn't make it home with any in our little basket! ha!

One of Parker's happiest moments...getting to sit & pretend drive the big green tractor!

Clay & Parker playing on the big haystack!

The Applewood Orchard store was fun to shop in. Delicious treats such as Abdallah Caramel Dip, sweet honey sticks & caramel blocks, hometown cookbooks with plenty of apple recipes, & of course more apples than you could count!

Clay & I ended up taking home a bunch of Honeycrisp apples to eat for sweet snacks & a variety of tart Haralson apples for autumn cooking! Yumm...

Applewood Orchard was such a fun & simple place! They offer hayrides (for $1) for the children along with little green John Deere "kiddie tractors" for them to ride...thankfully, these were put away when we arrived. I don't know if we would have ever gotten Parker away from those things if he had seen one! ha! ...a great variety of apple picking...14 different kinds while we were there...Also offered, are a variety of pumpkins & gourds for purchase, sweet jams & butters in the store, & other candied goods! It was a delightfully chilly day & slightly overcast, which although made us bury underneath our jackets a little more, made for great pictures!