Thursday, July 30, 2009

Another look into our morning



Well, here is a video of Dakota and Lily on the trampoline outside. We finally had a break in the rain...so I got the kids outside to run off some energy before the next rain storm started. They had a good time... Kota is getting really good at his somersaults.

video of Miss Lilyann



Here is a video of Lilyann jumping all around on Kota's jumpaline (the names Kota comes up with)
I have been working on doing videos, so that you all can see how the kids are doing...A picture says a thousand words, but a video lets you experience it first hand.

So here is Miss Lilyann jumping...I think if she didn't have her hat on, she might have jumped more for you...but she has to make sure her hat was on right.

Just to update you all...she is 20 months old today. Weighing in at 23 lbs. Remember, when we were praying for her to hit the 10 lbs mark?? What a great God we serve!

Grandma Smith


We were sad to be informed that Jed's grandmother, Grandma Smith, passed away on Monday, July 27, 2009. Grandma Smith is Jed's dad's mother. Such a sweet lady who will truly be missed.

The pictures posted are the last pictures that I have of Grandma Smith. These were taken in June of 2008. This was the 1st time that Grandma Smith saw Lilyann.

Grandma Smith would always cry when she saw Jed....and say how handsome he was...just like his daddy.
The graveside service was held yesterday (Wednesday, July 29, 2009)...there were butterflies fluttering about...it was such a pleasant service. The music was Precious Memories...the reading of the 23rd Psalm...and ending with The Lord's Prayer.

Psalm 23

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Grandma Smith...you will be in our hearts forever

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Way back When-esday


I am blogging along with Cheryl from Twin Fatuation for today's topic....Way Back When-esday

Dateline: July 2008
Age: almost 8 months old
Here is Miss Lu...a few months after her open heart surgery. She was sitting up and enjoying her new found love of food. After being tube fed for 2 months, anything on a spoon was gourmet to her. You can barely see her "zipper". My how much she has changed in the last year.

And Miss Lu again...her first time swimming in the kiddie pool. I know, there isn't much water in there..but I was trying to keep my eye on her brother, Kota, trying to make Shamu splashes in about a foot of water in the other pool. I love this picture...even with her bald head...it makes her cute little ears stand out!

Monday, July 27, 2009

Makes My Monday



Me and My hubby....had a great time out fishing!


This weekend was truly a Monday maker. I dreaded Monday's arrival after all the fun we had this weekend.
Friday night..the kids went to Grandma's house and spent the night (WOOHOOO!!). Jed and I finally had an evening to ourselves...where we could sit without kids calling for us to do this or that, where we could lay on the couch and doze without being awaken from the huge mass on your chest bouncing up and down asking to play Lego Star Wars...and for me, having them pull your ponytail to get up to get her another cookie!! It was quite an enjoyable, quiet evening. We stopped by Moe's Southwest Grill on the way home (might I just add...wonderful food)...we recently had one open in the area. I had never eaten there...my brothers and sisters all rave about the food. Matter of fact, every time my brother, Matt, and his family go to visit my family in Florida...they must eat at Moe's. I loved it!!

We got our food to go and sat in the living room to eat...how romantic..while watching TV..even more romantic...lol I enjoyed spending some quality time with hubby...without the kids.
My 2nd catch of the day...a catfish

The next morning, we were up at a bright and early 6am..to go fishing. Yes! I went fishing...and I even baited my own hook. I didn't take the fish off the hook..but at least, I am baiting the hook now. We had a good morning of fishing. I got 4 keepers...and Jed's only keeper was a lily pad.Jed with the infamous Lily pad....lol..at least he looks proud of his catch!

He did catch a lot of fish, but they were too small...I still joke about his hooking a minnow...that is how small some of the fish were.
Just before we started to pack up to head to home (well, to Grandma's to get the kids), we saw this man coming around the spillway with a (as Kota would call it) "humongous" catfish. He had to stop at least 4 times on the way to his truck to rest. That catfish was huge!! That would have been quite a tale if it had gotten away...but wow!! he caught it!

It was a wonderful weekend...and I plan to have more weekends just like it. (hint hint to Grandma)

Spending time with my husband definitely Makes My Monday....stop on by Twinfatuation and link up to show & tell about what Makes your Monday.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Chances are....

...if I'm folding clothes, it is usually passed midnight, and I am watching LOST.

...if I can't hear or see Lilyann, she is either playing in the potty or pulling stuff from the trashcan.

...if the TV is on (and DVD player off), Kota is watching Phineas and Ferb...Disney Channel.

...if the kitchen sink is empty, it is because I have ran out of sippy cups and I HAD to wash the dishes.

...if it is late and hubby's on the couch, the TV will be on and he will be asleep. ;)

...if you hear a beep beep, Kota has opened the front door and you will find both kids standing on the front porch in their skivvies (this is trash day regular occurrence).

...if we are outside, the kids are usually on the trampoline.

...if the kids are on the trampoline, they are asking for Popsicles.

...if Dakota dresses himself, everything is on backwards but his undies.

...if my house is clean, it is because Company is coming over or Boo has been to my house...Thanks, Boo.

Thanks to Carrie at 4 the Love of Family...she posted a blog today like this and invited us to play along. So here is my "Chances are..." post. Stop on by Carrie's blog to play along.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Our story behind Oreos



Let me just tell you all about why Lily and Dakota think twice when handed an Oreo cookie....

A while ago, I got a bag of odds and ends toys mixed with some kids' clothes from a person on Freecycle (check it out...great place to get rid of stuff you don't use and get stuff you need without a cost!!) So, along with the clothes, books, and a few play dishes...came plastic food. We have lost most plastic food...but the infamous Oreo cookie is still here. It goes into hiding...under the bed, in the basket on the kitchen table, thrown into the kids' drawers, under mommy's pillow...and the list could go on.

Lately, I have found Lily walking around with it in her mouth...like she is eating the cookie. And it is even funnier having someone come to your house and reach down to pick it up off the floor...and you know, they are thinking "Why is a perfectly good Oreo on the floor?" Well, it is plastic...a toy!

Last Saturday, I asked Jed to pick up a few things at the store and to grab a package of Oreos...it would be nice to have a treat...and I thought the kids would enjoy them, too. Jed comes home with the Oreos and Lilyann is at my feet (where she always is when I am in the kitchen)..so I open the package of cookies and hand her one.
The look on her face was priceless and I didn't have the camera close by to capture it. But she gave me this look like "I know that is plastic, mom! Do you think I am crazy and can be sent away with plastic cookies?"
It took, Jed taking a bite of the cookie and opening it...so show Lily that we weren't crazy..eating plastic cookies. Now, she loves them!!

Jed and I were thinking...that is a way to get your kid to not eat junk food..let them play with the plastic junk food when they are young and they will just think that all junk food is plastic!!

**the cookie on the left in the top picture is the plastic cookie...could you tell the difference???**

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Wordful Wednesday


My Little Daredevil....she has fallen a lot this week, and it's only Wednesday..she fell out of the chair in the living room while trying to get the blinds and busted the inside of her mouth on the window seal. That was the bloodiest accident we have had in a while...and yet..she is still climbing and going everywhere.


Me (since I don't really post lots of pictures of myself) and my Miss Lu...on the trampoline Monday Evening. This was the same day as her busted lip...and you really can't even tell.


Dakota has a new infatuation with Daddy's PlayStation2. He loves playing it...He is playing The Lego Star Wars games. He was not happy that Lily was sitting in the chair with him (same chair she fell off of and busted her lip) and that mommy was distracting him to take pictures.


Wow!! this picture here is priceless...I caught Miss Lu at exactly the right time...You will see from the picture below that she was eating her pizza for lunch...just sitting in her chair, minding her own business..and then Mommy (how dare me!!) had to take a picture of her. It almost looks as if she was scolding me for taking her picture. But I must say..and hopefully this will make my dad proud...but Lily looks like my dad (Poppers) here. The stern look through the eyebrows, the finger raised to ward off any explanations as to "why" I did what I did.
wowzers!! nothing like a snapshot to set you straight!

Wordless Wednesday is what I usually do...but someone told me about Wordful Wednesday at sevEn cLoWn CirCuS ...so I decided to link my blog up to hers and share all about my Wordful Wednesday. Enjoy!!

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Blueberry Muffin morning

The temperature is at a wonderful 72 degrees....misting a few sprinkles here and there now. This morning, there was thunder and heavy rain...and thanks to the storm, it is so nice outside.

Lily and I just came back inside from stomping in the puddles (Lily) and checking the mail (Me). If you linger long enough, the breeze comes through and reminds you of bits of lingering Spring and the prospecting arrival of Fall.
I really do love the summer with all the sun, and playing at the splash pads, slip n slides and sprinklers...but the arrival of Fall is grand and glorious. I am thankful for this little foretaste of beautiful weather...makes me endure summer a bit longer which in turns helps me to appreciate Fall (my favorite season).

This morning started out as me wondering why the kids were up so early...and to my surprise, the kids actually slept in...it was 9am! Due to the storm, I thought it was barely 7am. Raining days make for doing things we don't usually do...so today, we made blueberry muffins. Lily was excited when she saw me pull the mix down....but then started whining because muffins didn't just pop out of the mix package. I tried to let her taste the batter, but she didn't want anything to do with that. I told her just to wait...soon, we would all have muffins.


About 12 minutes later, the muffins were ready..hot and steamy! I let Lily taste a piece of the muffin that fell apart and she was more than ready for her OWN muffin. I let her have it...and she gobbled it down...leaving crumbs in her chair, which she picked up one by one.


~You know it tastes yummy when the kids clean up after themselves.
~

Monday, July 20, 2009

I won a Custom Blog

So...I am hoping that you notice the difference to the blog. I won a custom blog from Christina at

Christina offered her handiwork as a prize on Alyson's blog


and I was the lucky winner!!

I am very pleased with Christina's work and I will sing her praises. She did an excellent job. Thanks again, Christina.

Friday, July 17, 2009

Finally Friday

To me, this week has seemed to never end. I will be ready for Monday to come, though. Jed should be back to his regular early schedule for work. He has been working the later shift since the guy he works with was on reserves for the last 2 weeks. So, all of our schedules have been messed up. The kids going to bed later, since Daddy just got off work. But even with the later bed times, the kids have still been getting up bright and early...I think it is because they know that Daddy will be there when they wake up (on his early shifts, he is gone before they wake up and home after nap time).

I have been having some pretty fierce headaches...haven't had this many in quite a while...I'm thinking that they could be associated with my neck hurting as well. My headaches turn into migraines which in turn make me feel like doing nothing.

Kota..this is a very rare occurrence

So...all that to say...I took a small break on the blogging this week. We have been busy, though. Nothing like a migraine to make mommy take the kids to the park, splash pad, lake, you name it...just to get them all worn out to take a nap...or just sleep through the night. We have done it this week.
Monday, we went to the park and the splash pad. Tuesday, we went to my sister's house...let the kids play with their cousins and run off some energy.
Wednesday
we hooked up the sprinkler and put it under the trampoline and the kids played for a while..made a trip to the gym (just for mommy's sanity) and then ended off with Bible Study at church (which Kota sat through rather peacefully...he fell asleep).
Thursday we didn't do a lot..but we did make a trip to Sam's Club, and then head home for Lily's nap. After the nap that never happened..due to Dakota's excitement of going to the lake..he HAD to wake up Pretty Girl and tell her all about it. We headed off to the lake. I have never been to the lake with the kids by myself...so this was quite an excursion. We were there for about an hour. Kota kicked around in the water and played. He "swam" out into the deeper water (waist high for me) and enjoyed himself. Miss Lily fell into the water in the shallow area..so I think the trauma of that ruined her enjoyment of the lake..from the point on, she was attached to my hip...and only let go, when I pulled out graham crackers from our park bag.

I had a good time at the lake...and plan on doing it again, next week..but hopefully, my sister will come and bring her kids. More kids make the lake that much more fun!! And the major excitement of the lake was that we saw a helicopter. It landed in the field by the lake...Kota was entranced...Lily wasn't too fond of the noise...which didn't help with the already clinginess!!

And now you know the story of the title....Finally Friday!!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Makes My Monday

What makes my Monday??? I have never really thought about it. Usually, I get all caught up in the hub bub of another week starting...Jed is back at work..it is just me and the kids, and I am tired from the weekend...laundry needs to be done...the kids are fussy from having 2 days off schedule from the regular week, and the list could go on 'til Tuesday. I never think about the positive of it all. But I was browsing my favorites blogs during nap time and came across...a Makes My Monday post at 7th HEAVEN and it got me thinking...

This is what Makes My Monday...

awww!! Sometimes I think that Dakota could care less about his sister, Miss Lu. But then again, that little guy surprises me. Not just a few minutes ago, he was pushing her down to get to the slide first...but he does have a heart. He ran to the edge of the park to pick some flowers for his "pretty girl".
That Makes My Monday!!

And here are some more pictures from our Monday morning.


Kota playing around at the park

Miss Lu...doing the scoot down the steps!!

This was after she was all wet from the splash park...fun!!!
Kota playing in the water...he was laughing his head off.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Totally RaNdOm Tuesday--Kid's Movies



All about Movies!! Kota is avid movie watcher. And thanks to Grandma, he enjoys most of the classics that I watched growing up.

When he was little, we only had rabbit ears (archaic, yes!!). So, he watched a lot of DVDs..mainly, The Baby Genius DVDs ...since they were the cheapest educational videos I could find. His favorite DVD was
Ever since then, Dakota loves to watch movies. I remember the time that he came home from Grandma's house and was asking to watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.


He and his cousin, Alexis, had watched that movie for the 1st time with Grandma and completely fell in love with it. So, while Grandma started looking around for copies of it on DVD (she had it on VHS), she bought Mary Poppins for him to watch. Which he did and LOVED IT!!

This was how Dakota's love for classic children's movies started. He likes cartoons, but he really enjoys watching movies that have singing and dancing. Like....Mary Poppins, Annie, Wizard of OZ, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and more.I had never really watched Wizard of Oz growing up. But last year right before Thanksgiving, The movie came on TV. I recorded it and Dakota requested to watch it anytime he sat down to watch a movie. He loved it. So, for Christmas, we thought...let's get him the movie!! Come to find out that The Wizard of Oz is a classic and is no longer printed. So, if you find a copy, then you keep it, it is a collector's item. Thank God for modern technology...DVRs. I kept it on the DVR for quite some time....all the while checking every junk store, thrift store, yard sale...you name it!
One weekend, we took a trip to The Boardwalk and stopped on the way home at a hole in the wall gas station. I got our drinks and went to pay..and lo and behold, what did I see sitting at the register?? A DVD of The Wizard of Oz for rent...I asked if I could buy it..and they readily agreed. I told them afterward that it was a collector's item..and they were in shock. But Kota was the happiest kid alive!!

Kota does like the Disney animated movies. His all time favorites are Peter Pan, Return to Neverland, and Tinkerbell. Anytime Kota has anything the resembles a sword, whether it be sticks, pencils, seat belt buckles, forks, anything, He is Peter Pan and you are Captain Hook!! What an imagination Dakota has.
He is starting to enjoy more of the other Disney movies
But never fear, he loves animals, too....which brings us to a movie that I'm sure everyone has seen. At least, it was one that I watched growing up. Milo and Otis
Such a cute and quiet movie. It is actually playing right now...Kota likes laughing when the cat falls into the water.

And I can't forget about the movies (well, at least a show) that Lily enjoys watching...She is a die hard Blue's clues fan. She loves Blue. All we have to do is turn on the show, and she finds her chair or a lap...along with her blanket and cup (or bottle, still) and snuggles down to watch.
Align Center

Monday, July 6, 2009

Our 4th of July Weekend

Our 4Th July weekend started on July 3rd. Jed was off...so we used that day to just spend time together. We slept in (well, slept until the kids woke up) and then decided to go to the splash pad. We got there and to our surprise no one else was there.


We had the splash pad to ourselves. The kids and I played in the water and then moved on to the park where we played and did some swinging. After our water/park fun, we stopped for donuts at the Mrs. Baird's outlet store..yummy!!
That evening, July 3rd, we met up with my sister, Marg and her family, Sam, Samantha, and Cash....for the fireworks show. It was spectacular!!!



Uncle Sam brought watermelon...oh! so yummy!! Lilyann just stood by her Uncle Sam..since was the one with the food. Kota has his fill of watermelon, too. At about 9:30 pm, the fireworks started which brought and ohs and awes from the kids.

Dakota was truly in awe of the fireworks; Lily on the other hand, she clung to Jed until they were finished.
As I sat and listened to the popping of fireworks and the jabbering of the kids, I thought about those who weren't able to see what I was seeing. The men and woman here and abroad serving our country. The sacrifice that they make so that we might be free. I think of a mommy friend of mine. Her husband is deployed right now...He is out there for not just his family but for all of our families. And my cousin, Kenny....I appreciate you and thank you for serving our wonderful country. I often wonder if I am the only one who gets chills just hearing the national anthem...listening to the fireworks popping in celebration of our freedom. It always brings tears to my eyes hearing the patriotic songs. I'm proud to be an American.

My Life




On July 4Th, we spent the day as a family. Playing outside on the slip n slide with the kids...and jumping on the trampoline...all while smelling the brisket going on the grill. Jed cooked the brisket and corn on the cob. I did the potatoes. It was quite a yummy day. After our big lunch and Lily's nap, we headed out to the lake.

We knew it would be busy, but we went to the lake for a walk in the woods. Kota brought his monkey of course (which I ended up carrying just a few short minutes into the trip) and Lily walked along checking out everything around her. It was nice. After our walk, we headed home but decided to stop for some ice cream. Below you can see Kota's face when he got his ice cream!!


After our outing, we headed back to the backyard for water balloons and watermelon. We tried to do some seed spitting, but Dakota thought that seed spitting was getting a mouthful of watermelon and spitting it all over..so our seed spitting was quickly put to a stop.

I LOVE AMERICA!!