Ryan's Chore Chart

Just a quick idea for all of my friends with kids who don't yet read. A few months ago, I took pictures of things that I wanted Ryan to do in the morning and printed out a simple "Chore Chart" for him to refer to before going downstairs for breakfast. And even though I ask him every day to turn off his nightlight, because it's not been on the chart, he always forgets. So I added a couple of things to the chart last night and printed out a new one for him. Someone saw it in his room recently and mentioned that it was cool, so I decided to share with all of you, just in case your kids could benefit from this idea. I put his picture on the Chore Chart, plus each of the following:

Mommy the Dragon

My kids have an amazing way of making me feel 2 inches tall. Last night, after 25 minutes of stalling his bedtime, Ryan came out of his room (again) declaring that he was thirsty. I'd had enough and said a little too loudly, "Get...in...bed...NOW!" He scurried into his room and closed the door. About a minute later, I remembered the chapped skin on his hands and realized that I had forgotten to put lotion on them. I grabbed the lotion, went in and sat on his bed, explaining why I was in there. He smiled really big and said, "Are you Mommy now and not the dragon?" His imagination is really active these days (and I didn't catch on right away) so I said, "What do you mean, sweetie?" He said, "Are you back to being Mommy and not a dragon anymore? Are you sorry for shouting at me to get back to bed?"

I wish I had more patience, especially with my sweet kids. I know that I would get my point across SO much better if I could keep my composure and just have a consistently firm tone when I mean business. The problem is that I force patience upon myself again and agin, then when I've had enough, I burst. Fortunately, I've become good at asking Ryan for forgiveness when I overreact. That's why he asked if I was sorry...he knows the drill all too well. About 75% of the time, I know when I'm in the wrong and I don't apologize every time I raise my voice, but apparently its often enough to get noticed. I just pray that Ryan picks up on the fact that Mommy isn't perfect and when I screw up, I need to be forgiven. And I hope that I continue to learn to bite my tongue before his long term memory kicks into high gear and "Mommy the Dragon" is permanently burned into his brain. That is certainly NOT how I want to be known to my family. Quite the wake up call. Got it - loud and clear!

Mike's lunch hour

Today is the only day Mike had to work from 12/22- 1/1. He had lots of vacation time to burn and just went in today to check on the department and do some work so he isn't TOO behind next week. He works just a few minutes away, so Mike gets to come home almost every day for lunch. How many people do you know that go to spend their lunch hour eating turkey, potatoes, stuffing and gravy and doing this...

Also, I had to take a picture of how cute Kaylin looks in one of her new outfits today; a little pink grey sweat outfit. And you can't see the socks very well, but they have pink ballet slippers sewn into the sock and they're SO cute. I'll include a picture of the Mary Jane version of the socks. They're perfect for her right now since she's not walking, so technically doesn't need shoes, but it's cold for her little feet, so she needs socks. These are the perfect solution!

Oh, so blessed!

What a great day. It was freezing cold and windy; a perfect wintery Christmas...even in Arizona! After starting the breakfast casserole and sticking the turkey in the oven, Mike read the history of St. Nicholas to the kids and the Christmas story from the book of Luke in the Bible. Ryan recited the verse that he learned in church this month which was, "A Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord." It is the sweetest thing you've ever heard. I've gotta teach this kid more memory verses!!! After that, it was time for presents.

Christmas just gets more and more fun, the older Ryan and Kaylin get. And now that Ryan's toys are getting a little more mature, Mike's Christmas is even more enjoyable, too! This year, I came up with a pretty good wish list for everyone. When you don't buy much throughout the year and you know what your family likes, there are smiles all around on Christmas morning! The gifts that have been played with and/or appreciated the most so far are...

Kaylin:
- 4 new baby dolls from Mommy, both Grandmas and Gigi

- A Noah's ark toy

- New hair bows

- TONS of new clothes and ruffly socks (okay, so these are favorites for Mommy)

- Ryan's new scooter

Ryan:

- Remote control helicopter

- Talking parrot (Surprisingly NOT his favorite gift of the day, but it kept his attention while the r/c battery charged for the helicopter. He looks bored in this picture, but he DID actually like it!)

- Swing set

- Nerf gun & play dart guns (one for him and one for Daddy)

- Gum (he had 3 pieces throughout the day before I finally cut him off)

Gifts Ryan will appreciate SOON:

- "Good Times Kitchen" apron

- His new bike from Uncle Greg

- A ton of new games, books and puzzles

- Racetrack that was technically a gift for Daddy, who spent almost 2 hours setting it up in Ryan's room tonight and it's STILL not completely assembled!

Mike:

- Ryan's r/c helicopter (seriously, he barely let Ryan play at first)

- Gift cards (he likes going out to eat, but doesn't like spending the money, so he was "surprisingly excited about" getting so many gift cards for date nights)

- ASU shirt

- The Office on DVD, seasons 1 & 2

- And he's admittedly really into Ryan's stuff this year. I say that he's living vicariously, what about you?

Katie:

- A new parallel Bible (with NIV and The Message on each page)

- A homemade framed picture ornament that his teacher had him decorate, wrap and color the gift bag, then instructed him to put it under the tree. It even had a tag addressed to Mike and me from him. This teacher goes above and beyond!

- Tons of kitchen stuff - baking pans, cooking utensils and gadgets

- Workout clothes and pilates bands

- 2 new scrapbooks and an organizational scrapbooking book

- Gift cards for The Buckle (to get my new jeans!) and for a pedicure

Christmas Ryan-isms

As usual, Ryan provided many entertaining one-liners today. I wish I would have written them all down, but here are a few that I can remember. It was a really big day for him and I'm shocked we made it through without a single tantrum. We came close, but were able to talk him down off the ceiling prior to a full eruption.

- Last night at my mom's house, we all went around and said a quick prayer before dinner (all 20 something of us!) and most of us thanked God for family, health, stuff like that. But when it came to Ryan's turn, this was his prayer, "Dear Jesus, I just love you and I pray that you would help me not to pee pee in my diaper [at night]. In Jesus' name. Amen."

- We opened presents fairly sporadically throughout the morning today. Part of this was by design, but it was also partly because Ryan would become so excited about a new toy (or that everyone he loves most was in the same house) that he would need to stop and play for a bit. I've noticed over the years that he tends to get overwhelmed when there are lots of people or too much activity going on. After playing with a remote control helicopter for almost an hour, the battery went dead and we suggested he start opening the gifts from Mike's parents. He was completely disinterested. I ended up asking him to sit on my lap and that seemed to ground him for a little while and calm him down enough to open the rest of his presents. Initially, I had to explain that we look for his name on the tag, then he had to actually see what it was before tossing it aside. (there were some puzzles, Dr. Suess books and other non-battery operated gifts that may not seem interesting at first, but that I know he'll come to love!)

- With all of the great new toys the kids have, I'm going to officially start instituting time for them to play alone. I haven't done this since I had Kaylin and they don't play by themselves for very long anymore. But man, with all of the new-ness today, I hardly saw them! I read my new scrapbooking book in the family room for 45 minutes straight tonight while they played in the play room, together and separately. So every day, they'll get a new toy or two and we'll work up to a good amount of daily time that they play together without Mommy while I make dinner or do chores around the house. I had Ryan content for almost an hour alone when we first moved into the house. He got some much-needed down time and was able to play independently like a big boy. Then I ruined it by potty training him and following him around the house to make sure he wasn't having an accident!

Kaylin-isms

A few recent things that Kaylin's said or done and habits I'm starting to notice with her:

- When she opened her first gift this morning, it was a little baby doll and she said, "Wow! Baby!" Sadly, it was moments before the video camera was turned on, so we didn't catch it. She was so sweet! Once the doll was untangled from the box, she gave it a hug and kisses and put the bottle right to the baby's mouth. My mom pointed out that the bottle doesn't even really look like a bottle (but more like a cheap afterthought with a nipple on the end), so it's pretty surprising that she knew what to do with it. Especially since she's been off bottles for 6 months!

- I usually dry Kaylin off after a bath and put her down to crawl around while I get Ryan out of the tub and dry him off. A handful of times over the last month, she's peed on a small rug on the floor before I put on her diaper. I thought it was an annoying fluke until tonight. She started crawling out of the bathroom and into Ryan's room to see Daddy, then made a sudden U-turn to the rug. She sat there for a second before I figured out that she might be peeing and said, "Kaylin, DON'T pee on the rug." She immediately crawled away leaving behind a puddle on the rug!!! She's like a training puppy who pees on newspaper. If I were smart, I'd replace the rug with a potty chair. Hey! That JUST occurred to me! I may have to try that...

- Also, Kaylin is already into accessorizing. She (individually) asks for shoes and a "pee pee bow" (or a "pretty pretty bow") for her hair whenever she's on her changing table. Even when she's getting changed into her PJs. Even though she knows it's bedtime, she still asks just in case.

- I also noticed tonight that she's developing habits that I wouldn't expect of a second born. Mike, Ryan and I are all first borns and are very particular about things, pretty orderly and very routine. Every so often, Kaylin will show similar personality traits. She doesn't like having messy hands during meals, she will put things away where the actually belong and tonight, while crawling past the slightly-cracked-open pantry door, she backed up, pushed it shut, and went about her business. Already creating her own little version of order. This would drive some people nuts, but it makes this anal-Annie mommy beam with pride.

- Now that it's colder, I rarely put Kaylin in dresses. She's still crawling, so she gets the knees of her tights all dirty if I try to dress her up, so she's usually in jeans. Last night, she got all frilly and had a really tough time crawling because the dress kept getting in the way. She tried crawling up on her hands and feet, then whining to get people to carry her, finally, she just gave up and stayed in one place. So she'll be back in jeans until she's walking full time, poor princess!

Fairwell for now, old toys

For the last 3 years, I have vowed that the best way to keep things uncluttered and the kids interested in their toys is to rotate toys and books periodically. And after 3 years of putting it off, I finally did it today! You see, I know what's coming on Tuesday. I gave out the wishlists and have heard some mutters about purchases and I know that our families have gone overboard in the buying department. My kids don't need new stuff. We're really blessed in that department, but in reality, I need to help them appreciate the stuff they DO have. And that is why I have temporarily taken it away.

Tonight I gathered up most of the big toys, specifically the noisy ones, and boxed them up to put in Ryan's closet. What's great is that in a few months when all of the Christmas gifts start seeming like old news, I can rotate in their old favorites. This is a genious concept and one that I've heard about many times...why have I not done this before now???

Oh, and an update: I broke down and bought the parrot. When it's the ONLY thing on a kid's Christmas list, what's a mom to do? Ryan's going to flip when he sees it. I'll have the video camera charged and standing by, ready to roll. I can hardly wait for Christmas morning!

The Christmas fun is almost done

My intentions were good; I had planned to do several Christmas crafts with Ryan this month. The post with the all-in-one-day crafts that we did was on the 1st of the month and here it is the 21st and we've only done one craft since. How did that happen??? Ryan's been tearing off a little link off his chain daily to count down to Christmas and we only have 3 links left. That amazes me.

Here's what we did this afternoon. I saw this great idea (the left picture is what they should look like, the right picture is our cheap adaptation) on the Family Fun website. They're white chocolate dipped pretzel rods decorated like snowmen. I swiped some gumdrops from a candy bowl at my aunt's house a few weeks ago (with permission, of course) and have been collecting the rest of the ingredients ever since. I didn't get the gummy circles for the rim of the hat or the fruit by the foot for the scarf, and somehow, we were out of mini chocolate chips and only had the big ones. So we used leftover gingerbread house candy for the eyes and the standard-sized chips. They look a little funny, kind of like they have chicken beaks and alien-eyes, but they're good enough for me!

Then after dinner, we gave the kids an early bath, put them in their PJs, loaded them in the car with their blankets and headed out to look at Christmas lights. We were out really late, especially for our kids (who go to bed at 7:30). Kaylin crashed in the car by 9:00 and Ryan just finally made it into bed at 9:45. It was super windy tonight and quite cold (48 degrees is cold for us...I don't want to hear it!) so it was a perfect winter night to go see lights with hot tea and cocoa.

Mike looked up some of the "Clark Griswalds" of house decorations on line and I mapquested the most efficient route to take us all over our side of town. Some of the houses were a major letdown, but there were a few that were worth getting out of the car and touring. One even had a tour of a fully decorated INTERIOR in addition to the crazy lit up exterior. Another had Santa out front (the homeowner) which made Ryan light up brighter than the houses. He got SO excited - he ran up to him as fast as he could - Santa didn't know what hit him. He was so star-struck that all he could say was, "bird." Santa asked, "What else do you want?" Ryan: "Bird." Santa: "What else?" Ryan: "There isn't a 'what else.' Just a bird." Santa: "What kind of a bird?" Ryan: "A parrot."

I've finally figured out that what he wants is a parrot that we saw at Target about a month ago. I actually went back to find it today, even though we're completely done shopping (and spending) for him. It's $55. If it were $10 or $20, I might swing it. But I'm seriously conflicted. What's worse is that the thing talks and sings. Do I really want that in my house?!?! But it's literally the only thing he's asked Santa for...twice. I may have to unwrap something else we bought and take it back since finances are kinda tight right now. We'll see. So conflicted...

Ryan's Christmas Party

First of all, THANK YOU to those of you who gave me suggestions, ideas and encouragement about how to deal with Ryan behaving at school. All of the advice really boiled down to four major principles:

1. Mike and I have to be on the same page and present a united front.

2. Consistency, consistency, consistency!

3. Go back to the basics about "first time obedience" at home so he's in the habit of listening and following directions by the time he gets to school.

4. Prayer, prayer and more prayer.

I had a great 40 minute phone call with the other boy's mom on Tuesday night. We see eye to eye on a lot of things, but she's realizing that they let their son get away with too much at home and need to shorten the leash a bit. Today was much better at school. Ryan had very few problems listening and following the rules and the other boy had some minor issues, but did remarkably better. It's becoming obvious that he's really a clown. He loves to laugh, loves to be the center of attention and just needs to be directed and reminded as to when that's appropriate behavior and when it's time to stay quiet and take turns talking. His humor is going to get him in real trouble if he can't get it under control!

I took some pictures of Ryan's class. They're a sweet little bunch and have so much fun learning and playing together. Today we had a pizza party and sang a ton of Christmas songs. I watched Ryan and I had no idea how thoroughly he knew some of the lyrics! I was kind of surprised. Mike got to visit during his lunch hour and Kaylin joined us toward the end. She wanted to sit at the table with the kids and felt like such a big girl.

"Ryan the copycat" is no longer funny

Ryan has become quite the copycat lately. Most of it is harmless (crawling around after Kaylin, wanting to have his shoes on b/c Daddy has his shoes on, stuff like that) but recently, he’s started mimicking the bad choices of a little boy in his preschool. This kid doesn’t take turns, talks over everyone else, doesn’t listen, rarely follows directions, and is pretty rough on the playground…even too rough for being a boy. He thinks he’s being funny and laughs constantly, making Ryan think that everything he does is fun and silly.

Today for the second time, he and Ryan were sent to the office for not following directions to clean up. The first time was a couple of weeks ago and we talked with Ryan, took away privileges for 2 days and he was reminded and asked why the privileges were gone when he would ask for them over those 2 days. I tried explaining the concept behind peer pressure (without using those words yet) letting him know that even though other kids might make wrong choices, he needs to listen to his parents and his teacher and make good choices.

Then today, I was aiding in the classroom, and it happened again. I watched as the other boy did things he wasn’t supposed to and I saw Ryan imitate him, sometimes even looking around or looking at me because he knew it was wrong. This kid was, again, laughing hysterically, so Ryan joined in on the fun. The teacher requested that they help the other kids clean up several times and they ignored her, so back to the office they went.

We got home, I let Ryan know that I was very sad and disappointed at the choice he made and got him involved in deciding his punishment. I also tacked on that he couldn’t have his blanket during naptime today, which is a huge deal to him. He’s had his blanket for every nap and bedtime his entire life…until today.

I’m hoping this will let him know how serious I am about this. I decided that on the way to school each day, I'm going to go over the rules and remind him of how he's expected to behave. He finally fell asleep without his blanket. I don't want to keep punishing him...I want this bad behavior to stop!!! Please post a comment if you have a suggestion for me. I'm really open!

Whirlwind day

It seems I'm back to blogging almost daily. There's just so much to say! In the car this morning, Kaylin started coughing and as I looked back to make sure she was okay, she threw up. EVERYwhere. Thank goodness I was driving through the parking lot of Walmart to get to my gym. I pulled over to the side and put on my hazards talking to myself (actually out loud), "I don't know what to do. What do I do? I don't know what to do!"

My initial reaction was to go to her side of the car and comfort her, but as I unbuckled her car seat through the...lets call it a "mess"...I realized that I should keep her buckled and head into Walmart to clean her up and for a new outfit. She was fine up until that point, but when she realized that I wasn't going to pick her up or clean her up, she started bawling.

After stripping her down and washing her off in the bathroom, we sped back to the kids department (Kaylin sitting in the front of the cart in just a diaper and shoes) to get a box of wipes and some clothes. I didn't care what the employee said, I put the shirt on her before paying for it. She was freezing and extremely confused.

Once outside, I had to take the car seat out of the car (feeding about a dozen birds with all of the Cheerios that came out with it!) and put it into the grocery cart to clean. With wipes. About 1/2 a box of wipes. Because I still needed to get Kaylin HOME in the car seat! It was crazy. And possibly one of the most disgusting experiences I've ever had. So I wanted to share the disgust with YOU. Thanks for listening!

On a brighter note, my mother in law was available to come over and babysit Kaylin so Ryan and I could still go to a birthday party of one of his little class mates. Here are some pictures from Pump It Up, an inflatable play place where parents can bounce, slide and play, too. I was just as exhausted as the kids and was really glad that we got to spend that time just the two of us. I don't think I would have gotten to "play" as much if Kaylin was with us. And I ended up getting a mini-workout after all!!!

First theme day - "G" day

Today ended up being a "G" themed day. It began by accident, then we added things intentionally.

Ryan went to Grandma's house - It started by my mom taking Ryan back to her house after church. They hung out until around 4:30, then she brought him home.

Mike and Ryan played redneck golf in the backyard before dinner.

We had green chicken (I just put cilantro on it) and green beans with dinner - Not a rare occurance, but it goes with the theme!

We decorated a gingerbread house - This was planned all weekend and was what got me thinking that we should continue the "G" theme.

We watched The Grinch - I've been recording Christmas movies on our DVR and we happened to have it on there. Ryan really got into it this year and it was the Jim Carrey version, not even the cartoon!

Ryan wore a gray shirt - I know that's a stretch, but I noticed it and thought it was ironic.

On an unrelated note, here's a picture I took this afternoon. Kaylin was playing with a train and crawled into the storage box where I keep all the pieces. Minutes after I took this picture, Mike called me back into the room with an "I need your help!" Kaylin had a minor blow out and it had made it's way out of the diaper and into the box where she was sitting. Thank goodness she was in there - it contained the mess and saved our carpet !

1st Annual Family Pie Night

I mentioned in my Christmas traditions blog that I wanted to start doing an annual family Pie Night. Last night was the big event. I invited both sides of the family, but Mike's dad and brother were a little scared off by all of the estrogen I have on my side, so they opted out this year. But everyone else (except my sneezing grandma) was able to attend.

I made two pies, my mom brought one and my three cousins brought cookies, chocolate Rice Krispie treats and Snickers ice cream bars for their desserts. (I should call the tradition"Dessert Night," but it just doesn't have the same ring to it)

We had coffee, tea and cocoa with marshmallows. I also baked sugar cookies and had all sorts of colored frosting, icing tubes and sprinkles for the kids to decorate and create. By the end of the night, all but 3 of the cookies were decorated and eaten and I saw a few frosting-spreading knives with lick marks on them. (gag) It was a sugar-filled evening to say the least.

The other key component to Pie Night is games. We played Redneck Golf (also known as Ladder Golf) in the backyard and Guesstures and Taboo inside. It turned out to be a really fun night and I can't wait to do this every year!

STEPS! We have first steps!!!

Just 2 days before her 16 months birthday, Kaylin has finally taken her first steps. She was walking while holding onto my fingers and when I let go, she officially took 2 steps on her own before falling. On her face. She did it again a few times for Mike when he got home from work (and for the video camera!) and I've been practicing having her walk while just holding one of my hands so she can start working on her balance.

Here's a picture of her with her walker. For weeks, she'd see me with the camera and sit down before I could get a picture! Little stinker.

The next thing I need to take a picture of is her wearing our Santa hat. Ryan will put it on her and she'll say her version of "ho ho ho." She also tries to sing Jingle Bells and yells, "HEY!" after, "...in a one horse open sleigh." Actually, she yells it around the word "horse" to beat Ryan to the punch, but she says it at the right part of the song!

And she's cutting more teeth. I'm not sure where, though, considering all 4 of her molars popped up unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago. I saw the first set when she was laughing really hard and the second set when I was putting Benadryl on her gums for the first set. She's been gnawing on her hands all week, is whiny, has a running nose and is drooling for the first time in her life. She constantly wants to be held to feel better, poor thing.

I kept saying I thought she'd be walking by Christmas, so I was kind of close. She won't walk as her main method of transportation for several weeks, I'm sure, but we officially have FIRST STEPS!!!

'tis the season for baking

There are people who are addicted to caffeine. There are people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. Gambling. Nicotine. There are countless addictions. My name is Katie, and I am a sugar-holic.

Oh man, I'm completely addicted to sugar again. And I've dragged my whole family into the pit with me. I keep telling myself that I'm going to cut myself off from white flour and sugar...tomorrow. There's just SO MUCH going on this month that is tempting me! In addition to Christmas parties, I've had baby showers and birthday parties thrown into the mix. I need a good 3 days of no social events to get myself off the white stuff. Of course, tomorrow is a cookie exchange that I've planned at church, so this will have to all start...after tomorrow.

The weather has finally been colder, cloudy and perfect baking weather, so I've had the craving to bake almost daily. I've made caramel oat bars, thumbprint cookies, florentines, peanut brittle and truffles to name a few. I keep putting the stuff in the fridge and freezer to save it for "closer to Christmas" to pass out to neighbors, but after meals, I know it's there, so I'll just go grab a cookie. Or two. I dished out the 4 dozen cookies for my exchange tomorrow and had exactly 48. Whew! I stopped stealing from the stash JUST in time!

Then there's my husband. Friday night, I had a girls night at The Nutcracker. Saturday morning, the first thing out of Ryan's mouth was, "Can I have a cookie after breakfast?" (A cookie?? Where'd that come from?) While making oatmeal, I noticed that all of our milk was gone. Then I found the reason...a full zip-lock of homemade chocolate chip cookies. MIKE made them while I was out Friday. So I'm not the only addict in the house! (whatever makes me feel better, right?)

The bummer for Ryan is that he couldn't have any Friday night. On Thursday, I picked him up from school and learned that he and the instigator boy (mentioned in the November 29th blog) were sent to the office. They wouldn't listen and pick up the toys after repeated requests from the teacher. So his punishment was no sweets and no gum (even a bigger deal than the sweets) for 2 days. He had gotten quite used to a daily sweet treat with all of the garbage I've been baking, then Mike made it worse by making homemade chocolate chip cookies with him on Friday night. He helped put in the ingredients, stir the batter, watched them bake, and sadly watched Daddy eat them warm from the oven. Is that cruel and unusual punishment or what?!?!?

Anyway, I had some peanut brittle after dinner tonight and I seriously feel ill. I can feel myself getting jiggly real quickly, not to mention that every bit of energy has been sucked out of me like a deflating balloon. I need to get off sugar ASAP and I'm blogging it to make myself accountable. But I'm not even going to try tomorrow, knowing that I'll trade cookies with 4 other people at this exchange. What a temptation.

Here's a random picture of the kids playing in some DVR boxes the other day. Kaylin found one by the garbage can, crawled into it, closed the flaps and started saying, "Mommeeeee, are youuuuu?" Ryan jumped all over that, so I relocated them to the family room, where they played in the boxes, even ate their snacks in there, for an hour.

And here's a picture of Kaylin talking on a harmonica that she thinks is a phone. She's pointing outside and telling the person on the "phone" about the birds on the lawn. These kids crack me up. I couldn't stage some of these pictures if I tried! I just grab my camera before the moment is over.

Why, What and O-day

Ryan is finally in the "why" stage, but it's nothing like I expected. I hear other kids ask "why" after their parents tell them to do something. "Go put your shoes on," "Why?" That's not Ryan at all. He asks, "Why are you getting out of the shower," and "Why are you wearing those present earrings?" and "Why are you stirring the cookie dough?"

It's been said that when kids are precocious it's a sign of intelligence, which is all fine and good, but MAN it's tough getting questioned about every little thing I do all day. I feel like I'm constantly talking, answering questions: "Because I'm all done washing my hair," and "Because it's Christmas-time and I'm going to a Christmas party. I thought the present earrings would be fun to wear," and "Because we need to mix all of the ingredients together into the cookie dough so the cookies each taste the same instead of one having all of the butter and another having all of the sugar." It's truly exhausting thinking through the reasons for every...little...thing...

The other thing Ryan is into saying is, "What?" If I didn't just beg his pediatrician to give him a hearing test, I'd swear he was going deaf. I think there are times that he's not paying attention and others when he says it out of habit. You know what's worse? I noticed that Mike does it, too. So I have two boys in the house saying, "What?" after almost everything I say. Again, maddening.

Onto the other little talker, some new things Kaylin is saying:
- Over Thanksgiving weekend, she started putting two-word sentences together. Like, "my blanket" and "more banana" - of course it's HER words for these things, but she's saying 2 words none-the-less! She also says, "are you" for "where are you" when hiding or if someone leaves the room and she's looking for us. She's in her room right now calling, "Mom-meeeeeeeee, are youuuuuuuuuuu..."
- "Bob dead dew" is "God bless you" after sneezes
- She says, "Thank you" most of the time after getting something she wants
- She says, "I love you" (that's "I ya yooo") randomly throughout the day (the sweetest words I could hear!)
- O-day, sometimes shortened to "Day." It's cutest when I guess what she's saying and she agrees, but instead of saying, "Yes," she says, "Okay" or "'kay." She whispers it, by the way, which is hilarious. For example...
Kaylin: "bah-burrr, bah-burrr..."
Me: "Do you want to color?"
Kaylin: "Day!"
Most of the time I'm just asking to figure out what she's saying. I don't necessarily mean to tell her that she's going to get to color right then or have the snack she's asking for. Oh, that's another thing;
- Snack - she thinks a snack is a specific kind of a food. I ask if she wants a snack? "Otay!" Then I start offering suggestions. "Do you want an apple?" "No." "Do you want some raisins?" "No - sna." "How about some yogurt?" "Nooooo - snaaaaa!!" (increasingly getting herself more frustrated that I asked her if she wanted a snack, now I'm asking if she wants other things) Today, I've started saying, "Do you want an apple for a snack?" She gets the idea of breakfast and lunch being meals, not food, but this snack thing is throwing her for a loop.

Lessons I've Learned

Lessons I've learned since being a mom...
- Only take advice from parents who have kids that turned out the way you hope yours will be
- I can drive, talk on the phone and hand Cheerios to hungry little people in the backseat all at the same time
- Sippy cups leak
- Glitter and sand are very, very messy
- I can handle a lot of kids shows, but the Wiggles and the Doodlebops drive me nuts
- The oldest child isn't always at fault
- The child who was caught isn't usually the one who started it
- If it's entertaining them, sometimes the mess is worth it
- Raisins, corn and kidney beans come out whole
- It won't hurt anyone if they play in the rain
- Kids have amazing memories
- Building confidence is critical
- Everyone in the family benefits from routines
- Sometimes correction is better received from others
- Kids are capable of more than we give them credit for
- They listen to more than we think
- Everything doesn't need to be done quickly
- Kids need space, too
- Letting kids "help" isn't always help for you, it's to help them learn, feel included and build confidence
- It's good to have daily, weekly and monthly traditions
- Sometimes it's easier for them to learn the lesson the hard way

Lessons I've learned in general...
- The days are long, but the years are short
- Sometimes it's better to keep your thoughts to yourself
- I can't stand the phrase, "You just wait..."
- I love feeling organized and productive
- Laundry left in the washer overnight in Phoenix smells sour by morning
- Don't judge others; you don't know their situation
- We all look back at pictures of ourselves wishing we "still looked that thin." And we'll look back in a few years at pictures of us today wishing the same thing
- Burned, overcooked cookies have the same calories as gooey, soft cookies fresh from the oven...eating the hard, crunchy cookies just isn't worth it
- Be intentional about making memories
- Slow down and enjoy the moments
- Things don't need to be perfect
- It's better to count to 5 before reacting
- If someone randomly pops into your head, take a moment to pray for them and give them a call when you get a chance
- Be purposeful
- Be a person of integrity
- Edify your family in front of others
- Pray daily, alone and as a family
- You'll be much less stressed if you just hand it all over to God...he's in control anyway!

I'm looking for new Christmas traditions!

I'm on a mission to learn some fun new traditions that we can start with our family. After Mike and I got married, we had to forego some of our childhood traditions (specifically Christmas Eve) because they conflicted with each other's. So now we trade off each year. We've talked about starting some of our own, but haven't really stuck with it until now and I'm hoping for some new ideas.

• We always decorate our tree the day after Thanksgiving and eat leftovers for dinner, but I just heard of a great idea to add to that tradition: inflate the air matress and grab the sleeping bags to go "Christmas Camping" and sleep around the tree the first night it's decorated. I can see that being something our kids look forward to every year.

• Another idea I got from a friend a few weeks ago was "Pie Night." Every year on the Saturday night before Thanksgiving, she hosts pie night. Everyone from both sides of the family is invited and they have pie and coffee while playing games. There's no big meal to plan around or clean up after and if they miss spending Thanksgiving with in laws or other family members, they still get to see everyone. I'm doing our first annual pie night in a couple of weeks and everyone seems to be looking forward to it. Somehow, my cousin and I got on opposite trading schedules for holidays with our in laws, so we hardly see each other this time of year. But we'll see each other for pie night!!!

• Last night, someone mentioned opening one gift on Christmas Eve. She said that she remembers the gift she's opened on Christmas Eve every year and sometimes it's the only gift she remembers, since there's so much going on for Christmas Day.

• One other great idea (for families who struggle with whether to "lie to your kids" about Santa) is "St. Nicholas Day" on December 6th. That's the day the real St. Nicholas died in 343AD and I have a friend who celebrates Santa up until that point, then puts away the stockings and celebrates the birth of Christ through December 25th. She sent me all of the details complete with the full story of St. Nicholas, so email me if you want that.

What are some of your family traditions? I'm ready to implement some new ones now that Ryan is old enough to remember. Do me a favor and add a comment to this blog so other people can see them, too. Even if you think it's simple, I want to hear about it...someone else may love the idea!

Winter crafts

I'm trying to get creative with Ryan and do some fun, Christmas-y, winter-y crafts this month. Here are a few ideas to whet your parental pallet:

Of course, there's the chain links to count down the days until Christmas. I didn't have enough red and green construction paper, so I had him color typing paper with a red marker and other paper with green and cut it into strips. (A little ghetto, but it did the job and we're throwing the strips away each day anyway, right?)













Yesterday, Ryan asked if we could make a snowman for Daddy. It was raining like mad (I was in heaven) and it seemed he thought it might snow. Poor, snow-deprived kid! I got creative and made up a craft with mini-marshmallows, a toothpick and some chocolate sprinkles. We made our whole family; Me, Ryan, Kaylin and Daddy. Ryan was very specific about who was who.










Someone suggested this one to me a few months back, but I don't think I really get it. It's a reindeer...handprints for the antlers and a footprint for the face. Ryan's foot is so big that it looks more like a moose, but I'm not sure if I'm supposed to draw something on there to make it look more reindeer-like or what. Suggestions?