pumpkin patch fail

All I wanted were a few cute pumpkin patch pictures.

Is that too much to ask?

Apparently my charming children thought so.

They were bound and determined not to look my way.

It was like they had plotted before we even got to the pumpkin patch,

"Ok, here's the plan: if mommy calls your name, look away.

Anywhere is fine, as long as it's not at her!"

"Like this?"

"How 'bout this?"

"Yep, that's great! Looking down is always good too!"

(Man, is she gonna be frustrated, or what?)

"Uh oh. There's that look. We better cooperate or bad things might happen..."

"Sucker...you fell for the 'ugly face'?

I'm still not looking!"

"I'll just pretend to be distracted by this pumpkin stem."

Oh well.

There's always next year, right?

And adding a 7 month old to the mix is bound to make it easier...or not.

moms don't get a day off

Today is my birthday.
Today has also been one of the craziest, busiest (is that a word?) days I've had in a while.

I woke up to see Marko and Sam off to a dr. appt (thanks for letting me sleep in a little, honey!) then got Ava up and ready to go to Preschool Co-op.
But, before heading there I had to run by the store and pick up a few things for the class.
Co-op was a zoo today (read: lots of hyper 3-5 yr olds!) and I was short on patience (for reasons I'll disclose later) making it all the sweeter when I was done. After Co-op I dropped the kids off at home with Marko and ran some more errands that needed to get done today.

On the way to my last stop I got a frantic text from Marko
"Help! Ava has poop all up her back and in her hair!"
Nice.

So home I sped (not literally) to clean up the pooped on floor, while Marko bathed Ava. Marko left and I attempted to take a little time for myself (it is my birthday after all!) but, Sam asked me to read him a book...or 10.
Sigh.

Sure, Buddy. Let's read some books.

And then it hit me.

Mom's don't get a day off.

I mean sure, we can physically leave for a little while and get a much needed break.
But by virtue of being a mom, we are always on call.
Birthdays,
Mother's Day,
Christmas,
Thanksgiving...
on call.

Not that I'm complaining.
I willingly surrendered my "me time" when I signed up to be a mom.
I believe that fulfilling the call as a mom is the greatest thing I can do. Training up little people to love the Lord and become productive members of society is a HUGE task.
And I love a challenge. 

It was just a gentle reminder from the Lord that "there is no greater love than to lay your life down for a brother"...or munchkin.

So, Happy Birthday to me.
And thank you, Lord for all the blessings that this life offers me.
Even the little ones that interrupt "me time." 
And chocolate cake with chocolate chips inside.

p is for...

Pee Wee people

painting,

putting purple and pink polka dots & puzzle pieces on P's,

polishing off popsicles,

and playing in the pool

at preschool.

"way behind" wednesday

Ok. 

 I am way behind on my blogging. 

Blame it on my malfunctioning computer...

or uncooperative camera... 

or my Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Monday...

or the rain sweltering heat...

whatever the reason, I've got some catching up to do!

Let's start with Mother's Day.
After a (mostly) relaxing morning at home
(we go to church on Saturday night),
and some wonderful cards and gifts,
we met my parents and brother at Olive Garden for a yummy lunch
(gotta love those bread sticks and salad!).

Then we lazed around the house until early evening and met some family and friends at the beach for a cookout.

Sam, his cousins, and friends had a great time jumping waves, playing with boogie boards and digging humungous trenches in the sand.

The dads cooked up some mean hamburgers and hot dogs, and wrestled each other into the water (Marko has a broken toe to show for it {shaking head}....BOYS!!)
And the mommas...relaxed!

This was Ava's first time at the beach (even though we only live 20 mins away from it...sad. I know.) and she did really good. She liked the sand and the water (a BIG plus, since I hope to be there a lot this summer!) but wasn't too crazy about the wind.

All in all, it was a fabulous day!

if i could ask God anything

The other day Sam and I had "the talk."

No, not that one...Sam's only approaching 5 (although he is fascinated with the human body)

The other one.

The one about heaven and hell.

Yep, that one.

Sam is totally intrigued with spiritual questions. 

Every time we read the Bible I can see his little mind start to spin 

and questions come out like,

"Why did Jesus have to die for us?" 

and

"How does God make thunder?"

and

"How can God be 'God' and Jesus be 'God' too?" 

(ever try to explain the Godhead to a 4 yr old? It's mind-bending.)

So, I knew it was only a matter of time before I had to answer the heaven/hell question. 

Thankfully, I happened to have this little gem on hand.

When I saw it on BookSneeze.com, I jumped at the opportunity to review it. I love reading how other people explain God and the Christian faith to children (mostly because mine asks TONS of questions!) and I sent for it. Written by Kathryn Slattery and distributed by Thomas Nelson Publishers, this 207 page book covers questions like, 

"Do I need to use special words when I pray?"

"Why did Jesus have to die?"

"What is sin?"

"Where did God come from?"

"If God loves people, why do bad things happen?"

Great questions that kids actually ask with simple, straight-forward answers. Each answer has a biblical reference too (which I liked a lot), so that you can take your child directly to God's Word.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty good book. I would recommend it for ages 6 and above, since some of the answers were a little over my (almost) 5 yr old's head. I loved that it covered all the major themes of Christianity and even covered topics like holidays. To that end though, I was a little disappointed with the inclusion of Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny and Halloween. I realized that it was a great starting point for some answers, but that I would need to fill in the gaps regarding our specific doctrinal beliefs. I also thought that it over-simplified the love that Christ has for us, without giving equal emphasis to our need for repentance.

All in all, a nice little book though. And I look forward to reviewing other books soon.
If you're interested in receiving books to review, check out BookSneeze here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

miss me?

Wow...I can't believe it's almost been a week since I last wrote anything. Life here has been kinda crazy lately and it seems like the only time I'm online is when I'm holding Ava (not very conducive for typing) or too brain dead to put together a coherent thought. So here I am, after midnight, posting a few thoughts before my brain turns to jello.

Ready?

Here we go...

First, you must understand that I DO NOT like to keep things just for the sake of keeping them. I do not keep things "just in case we might need it" or because my second-cousin-once-removed gave it to me for my birthday. I have made the mistake (more than once) of selling things in garage sales that I have received as gifts from my husband...much to his pack-rat-ish dismay. Call me heartless, but those are the facts.

That being said, we seem to accumulate "stuff"...toys and misc. household items...faster than I can sort it and dispose of the junk unique and wonderful items that find their way into our home. My son has recently inherited a truck load of LEGOs, board games and various other toys that have started to spill out of every bin and toy chest that we own. At my wit's end, we finally sorted and purged the bins, reigning in the toy madness for at least another month. Tomorrow my mission is to bring all the excess to Goodwill.

We are also overflowing with clothes. With an infant and 4 yr old growing like weeds, I am constantly changing out smaller clothes for bigger ones. The problem? The smaller ones have to go somewhere! I have finally given up on saving anything for future babies and just give everything away as the kids grow out of it. Sigh...my sentimental side is always losing out to my practical side.

So, now that my spring fever has subsided a little, I can concentrate on more important things like blogging , suggesting baby names for MckFlurry, and taking pictures of random things {rolling eyes}.

Speaking of babies, Ava is 6 months old already. How did that happen?? Just yesterday I was bemoaning the fact that I was 14 days overdue! And now, I have a little girl brimming with personality and activity. She is sitting up and clapping, starting some solid foods and truly becoming her own person. Now, if she would just sleep through the night...

Well, it's time for me to greet my pillow before my chick pea calls. But stay tuned, I've got photos and a giveaway coming your way tomorrow. It's good to be back!

here's mud, er, milk in your eye?

So, let me preface this by saying that Sam is COMPLETELY fascinated by how bodies work. Maybe it's because he has CF and has been poked and prodded all his life, maybe it's just because he's a curious kid. Anyhow, we have been having "What's that?" conversations since he started talking. So...

The other day I was nursing Ava, and Sam wanted to see where the milk came from. I non-chalantly pointed to my um, nursing area (keeping it vague for the men-folk). "But, how does it come out?" he asked. "Like this" I said, as I squeezed a little...which would've been a-okay except that a renegade stream of milk popped out and squirted him right in the EYE! Clearly shocked and completely grossed out, he jumped back about a foot. Trying my best (and failing miserably) to keep a straight face, I assured him that it wasn't a big deal and it wouldn't happen again.

Strange...the body questions have suddenly come to a halt.

my rolly-polly