Wrestling at the Woogies

Noah is starting to get a bit strong for me. I may have to let this be a only guy thing soon! Daddy can handle it! Love them so!!!

An optimistic 7 minutes

As we were saying our goodbyes to Daddy this morning, I made an EXTREMELY optimistic statement to the boys. I said, "OK boys, play kindly for 7 minutes so I can get ready (do my make-up and get dressed) and we can go to story time at the library." Let's get real...taking a shower while having an active 3 year old and 1 year old is never going to happen without another adult involved. John affirmed my optimistic statement by saying I was being quite optimistic. I guess a Mom's gotta have some HOPE at times!

After John left, we made our way to my bathroom and Noah had already closed the door on Luke trying to keep him out. And in my mind I stated, "well, there goes that. Maybe next time-again I've got to have HOPE they learn from the past." After some comforting, disciplining (cause that's obviously not the first time that has happened), an apology we've moved on.

At that point, I tried to start putting my make-up on while Noah proceeded to get on the bed by rearranging furniture to climb up, threw off all our perfectly placed pillows, all the sheets, and turned on the radio to jump; Luke was up to no good too. He had played in the water bowl that catches the water from the toilet leak for the 100th time. That may actually not be an exaggeration. As I again said, "No no" and redirected his attention by finding a toy, I tried to get on with putting my 'mask' on. At that point, Luke had already picked up the bowl again, dumped the water on the floor, and threw the glass bowl into the shower...yea, it shattered. Of course, Noah got bored with his song and dance and decided to try to climb into the tub like his brother...'Fun, broken glass, lets play in it' is probably the thought process running through his mind and that point. After I tried cleaning up the mess hoping neither John or I would receive shards of glass in our feet next time we shower, I was back at trying to put on my make-up. I finally finished my make-up and got dressed after Noah discovered what he called "a box of mysteries' in the bedroom and took out its contents, Luke took out stuff from several cabinets, both of them tried to tearing up a book, Luke put hangers in the clothes hamper, as well as other unnamed events.

But all was forgotten (except for now as I write this blog) when Noah said happily to me, "Do you want to sing with me? "Yes, I would love to. What song?" "No we can just cuddle in the bed," Noah smiled and said so sweetly. After we cuddled he asked to make stairs with the pillows and other shapes. And... all is forgotten. Snuggling time with my sweet boys! Love them! Although a 7 minute process can end up to be 30 minutes or more, I wouldn't change having these little one for one minute. And although we spend the time getting ready, managed to get in the car to head out, drove to the CLOSED library (due to a librarian's funeral), we drove over the train tracks per Noah's request and come back home to go on a stroller ride around the block. The only other place in Weatherford in the winter/rainy days is the YMCA and attempting that on Spring Break with all the other day-cared or schooled kids is not my idea of fun.

I know many of you can relate to this 'getting ready' experience with young children. I was actually shocked to read one of my fellow minister wive's blog to see that she attempts to take her showers on Sunday mornings. And even had optimistic thoughts of painting her toe nails that same morning with two little boys as I have. Let's be real here, putting all optimistic thoughts aside...that is not going to happen in this house! I can say that it has been over a 1 1/2 years since I've taken a shower on a Sunday mornings when another adult isn't present since John leaves around 645am. Let's just say that my friend didn't make it to her nails that morning. She was satisfied in the accomplishment of making it to church, even though it may not have been on time. So, I hope you all the best at being patient when you have none left, meeting your kids needs when all you really want is 7 minutes to get ready, and making it on time against all odds.  Maybe you just need to start looking for jackets and shoes 30 minutes before you have to go as I do...because it takes that long. Blessings to you all the Moms out there and the children God has blessed you with!

Sesame Street Show at Cox Center

 Grammy took us all to the Sesame Street show at the Cox Center on Saturday. Everyone really enjoyed it! Noah and Luke were very interested! I was a bit surprised because last time we attended a similar event last Fall (The Circus) they had a harder time sitting still the whole show. Before the show, we took a few pictures...

After the show, we all went to Pop and Grammy's for lunch and nap time. The kids enjoyed playing all around the house while Pop made such a wonderful meal for us. It was SO good! And a thanks go out to Grammy and the the Henry's girls for making the chocolate cake. Yum! 

We attempted to get a few cousin pictures but that can always be interesting...

After naps, we all took the kids to the park. They had a blast! Noah seems to be more brave and confident each time we go to the park. If you notice the slide/fire pole, rock wall, etc. in the back ground, you now know how high Noah is. John could just barely touch it when he stretched up high. Seriously...give me a heart attack!

What a fun day! 

2012 Cruise

John and I had the pleasure of going on a Carnival cruise alone...yes, without the boys! We had a relaxing, wonderful time. I hadn't ever been away from the boys for more than 2 hours for a year (besides one shopping trip I took with John that may have been 3 hours)! So it was definitely a change of environment for me! My main goals were to spend some quality time with John and get sleep since I wouldn't be up with my year-old-newborn-sleeper.

The cruise started at 12:30pm on Monday out of Galveston, TX, and traveled to Progreso, Mexico and Cozumel, Mexico. It landed back at port at 8am Saturday morning. We were actually in our car and traveling home at 8:19am Saturday morning! John preached the next morning so we had to travel to Mesquite to pick up Noah at my parents house (5 hours to get there), travel several more hours to get Luke in Oklahoma City, and then another 1 1/2 hours to our house. We had the boys in bed by 9:15pm. Wow! Long day!

Here is a picture of our ship when we got off at our first port, Progreso. We both got a 45 minute massage for $15 each. I call that a good stop!

The slide...

We went to several shows, family comedian acts, played putt-putt golf, dressed up each night for dinner, swam, shopped, played games in the cruise library, met tons of people, watched a movie on the big screen, laid out, read A LOT, and just enjoyed being together! Here is our informal formal night picture. Love him!

We also loved coming to our room each night and seeing different towel animals. We actually went to a towel folding class and bought a book on how to do it. If you ever need to know, I am your girl! Here are some of the towels...

Thanks go to Grammy, Pop, Grandpa, and Nana for watching the boys!

I am a fan of cruises for sure. It is the second one we've been on. I love that you just pay one flat fee for the whole week...which is crazy cheap when you can go in the off-season and get a price that is unbeatable! You get to do a lot of different activities on the boat, eat as much as you want, shop in different ports, etc. I would ski every year if I could but this is a MUCH cheaper vacation. We ate way more food each day than we paid for...so we pretty much got our room free. Thank you Carnival! I would prefer a Disney cruise which John has done but it is much more expensive. I think the shows would be more family-friendly, there wouldn't be the extent of drinking that can happen, and everything would just be higher quality. I was absolutely pleased with the food but disappointed with the desserts on our cruise. And I am not hard to please when it comes to that! I think the desserts were just fancy - using dark chocolate, visual appeal, and uniqueness instead of just straight tongue-pleasing. Overall though, I loved the cruise and look forward to spending that quality time with John again.

Luke's 1st Birthday

He is 1!!! I cannot believe it! I love him so! He has grown so much and is a joyful, active little boy! My biggest praise is that he finally started sleeping through the night the night before his birthday. Wow! Praise God for that one! He has his bad nights but over all I am sleeping too! Woohoo! Can I say Praise God again!!! The Lord has sustained me through a tremendous lack of sleep over the entire year. I practically had a new born for a year. But God gave me what I needed each day and for that I am grateful! He is good!

He is saying a few words, he is running (since he has been walking for over 2 months now), he is learning so much about how life works, waves bye, blows kisses, puckers his lips to give a kiss to Daddy, high fives, points to his eyes, starting to like puzzles like his brother, and he is full of joy as always! Last one...he is weaned! Yes, my son who would not take a bottle AT ALL for 10 months is weaned! I had never been away from the boys more that two hours (besides one shopping trip with John that may have been 3 hrs.). But last week, John and I went on a cruise (without the boys). It was such a blessed time for John and I. My main goals were to sleep and spend time with John. And is was great. Love cruises! No phones, no worrying about money (everything is already paid for...even if you eat 2 appetizers, 2 lobster meals, a steak meal, and 2 dessert in one meal), I actually sat down to read, and nothing planned but tons to do if you want. Thanks go to Grammy, Pop, Grandma, and Grandpa for watching Luke and my parents for watching Noah for the week!

We had a birthday party for Luke Saturday and I loved celebrating him! We are so blessed! Thank you to Pop and Grammy for getting the cake! It was so good-moist and tasty! You could tell is was from a bakery and not a grocery store!!!

Luke had his own smash cake of course! We had a blast watching him. We sang Happy Birthday and then I helped Noah blow out the candle.

Then Luke had his first taste....ummm!

It didn't take long before he realized how good it was!

Haha...Noah looked at me with confidence thinking he would get a cake with a '3' on it since Luke's had a '1'. Luke was lovin' it! He was so different than Noah. Noah was not very happy about having his hands all dirty and didn't want to mess with it much. Noah's 1st birthday was the first time he had ever tried any type of sweet! Luke already did...not by my choice. He first was given sugar in the church nursery, a cookie. He also received other goodies from Grandparents so it wasn't his first go around.

How fun!!! He was so messy that we just put him in the sink. He was pretty clean by this point...

He is enjoying his pizza here...or rather flirting with others!

His favorite gift...

Thanks Larry and Robin. Very appropriate! Larry knows his guitars! We also got double DVD players for the boys long car rides. Noah has had one for 1 1/2 now but only use it on long (at least an hour) car rides. I will not have it on for short drives. He needs to learn to be still, quiet, see everything outside, talk with the family, learn lesson about God, etc. But, traveling to Mesquite and even the city...it SO MUCH safer than passing toys, and snacks back every 30 seconds when I am the only one if the car with the boys. Grateful for that gift!!! We also got money from a few family members that helped buy the new car seat! We got clothes, new swim outfit for the summer, etc. Thank you all! We couldn't have asked for more!

My heart is so full of love for you, my sweet Luke!

Snow Day

I was looking forward to it snowing in Oklahoma this year. Now that Noah is 3 years old, I knew he would really enjoy it! Grammy bought him a good snow jacket and I found those ski bibs at the Etc. shop (thrift store) in town. He is all ready to go...

Luke was outfitted in a jacket that John wore when he was a little boy. Yea, I know he doesn't match...

Playing in the snow...

I had to give Luke a ride before I took him in...

Noah and I made several snow balls and had a snow ball fight.

Then he took his snow balls down the slide.

Sweet boy!

Noah really enjoyed the sled this year. He got it from Larry and Robin for his 2 year old birthday but wasn't too fond of it. But now that he is 3 he loved it...his favorite thing was to watch me ride down it and then as I rode down he would run and tackle me so we could wrestle in the snow.

John and Noah also got some good snow to bring inside for snow ice cream. I typically make cookies and cream ice cream or butterfinger ice cream both with a milk base...our favorite. But, the 'ice base' for the snow ice ream was pretty good! I just made vanilla (with Mexican vanilla thanks to Grandma!) but it was great! Great memories with my sweet boys!

Sweet Tooth...I think so!

I made beef enchiladas (Robin Jones recipe...thanks!) Saturday night and John mentioned that he had been waiting for them all week. I hadn't made them in a while; I just forgot about the recipe even though I have a complete excel list of all the recipes I do. They are all typed up in one notebook (yes, you should be jealous...I finally accomplished this cherished book after wanting to do it for years). I told him he should have mentioned he wanted me to cook beef enchiladas and I would have...easy as that. Of course at that point I asked him to go through my excel sheet and pick out some of his favorites that I don't do often enough (something a concerned wife who likes to please her husband in every way possible would have done before this prompting...here is your cue to ask your husband). He then goes through the list while smiling really big...Auntie Anne's Pretzels, fruit pizza, giant ginger cookies, pumpkin bread, sour cream cookies...

OK. I meant main meals. He comments, "Oh."

Sweet tooth. Yea! This is after I made double chocolate chip muffins that morning, 2 bags of peanut butter popcorn on Thursday, white chocolate macadamia nut cookies (love my new recipe-my favorite!) on Monday, and white chocolate chip Oreo cookies (thanks Pinterest!) on the Friday before that. And he is asking for more. Sweet tooth....can I say that again? Sweet tooth. But I don't have any complaints! I love baking and eating it just as much as him! If you ever need sweets we probably have something! Just give me a call!

10...1215...330...545...7...830

That was my night night. Luke my 10 1/2 month old still sleeps like a newborn...yes, a newborn...STILL being the key word explaining the fact that I haven't slept well in over a year. Yes, over a year!

It all starts when you are pregnant and the baby is laying on or kicking your bladder. If you are not up every hour using the restroom, you are turning over (if you can actually manage to turn over) because your hips are expanding and aching. So the last couple or more months of pregnancy...sleep is already a distant memory. It is a great way for God to prepare you for the baby's arrival! I looked back in my log and noticed I got 4 hours total the last 3 nights before Luke arrived. Yes, 4! Now 10 1/2 months later, I am still not sleeping. I have gone over 30 different reasons why Luke still sleeps like newborn. I've read articles, I've listened to advice, and I've tried many, many things. A few times in Luke's life, he has only woken up once. Right before he got the cold he has now, he did it two days in a row...then got a cold from me that I got from John. Before that was on vacation but that was only because he was extremely exhausted from traveling all day and getting to bed hours late. Before that was a few days before thanksgiving...and then he got a cold at thanksgiving. Before that it was in Mesquite in September. Then we came home, kept him in the pack-n-play thinking he liked it instead of his crib...didn't work. And he only did it a couple other times before Sept.

Q: Why do I remember those cherished nights?

A: The answer is the same...10...1215...330...545...7...830

Q:Why do I lay in bed for up to 2 hours trying to fall asleep?

A: 10...1215...330...545...7...830

Q: Why have I forgotten how to sleep?

A:10...1215...330...545...7...830

Q: Why does it take me 2 to 3 different times in the night to get 4 or 5 hours of sleep over the last year?

A:10...1215...330...545...7...830

Q: Why can I not shut my brain off knowing the world will revolve without me awake?

A:10...1215...330...545...7...830

Q: Why do I eat at least once and often twice in the middle of the night?

A:10...1215...330...545...7...830

Q: Why do I hear phantom cries when Luke is actually sleeping?

A:10...1215...330...545...7...830

Q:How can I walk through the dark house at night and not bump into any toys?

A:10...1215...330...545...7...830

Q: Why do I wonder if he is alive and go in and check on him when he sleeps longer than 5 hours?

A:10...1215...330...545...7...830

Q: Why do I like to stay away from anyone who is sick?

A:10...1215...330...545...7...830

Q: How have I survived 10...1215...330...545...7...830?

A: Only by God's grace! He is the Sustainer! Praise God for being in control and letting me lean on Him! Only by Him can anyone survive a year like this!

OK, so Luke doesn't sleep this bad every night...but almost! He typically sleeps 4 or 5 hours at the beginning of the night...which doesn't do me any good unless I went to bed at 8pm. Which leaves me NO time with John or to do anything without one of my boys present in a 24 hours period. Like read the Bible, take a shower...something for me. I've even tried it and cannot fall asleep before 10 or 1030....why? 10...1215...330...545...7...830. Then he wakes up every 2, 3, or 4 hours. So, I am at a loss. Lately, I have changed my prayers from 'Lord, teach Luke to fall asleep on his own, back alseep on his own when he doesn't need to eat, teach him to turn around in his bed when he hits the end instead of standing up, and comfort him'....to 'Lord, work a miracle in his life.' I believe it would be nothing short of that for him to sleep well! Pray with me please!

Thank you all for reading. Sometimes you just have to share your experiences. I am sure you can agree with me that it is a miracle that God has sustained me and kept me sane with little sleep. To God be the glory!

Noah's 3rd Birthday Party

We had a blast celebrating Noah's 3rd birthday! I was pretty excited about his party since this is the first one where he really knows what is going on. I talked over several themes with him. He loved most of the ideas. I decided upon Toy Story since that is one of his favorite movies right now...besides Bambi of course! The only thing he could tell me that he wanted was a candle! We certainly had candles! I bought a Buzz candle with a rocket ship on it. I haven't used it yet but plan on making him a cup cake so he can practice blowing out the candle. He wasn't interested in doing that at the party.

We had a great time. I tried my best to prepare for the party but we've been gone, packing, unpacking, and cleaning clothes since about a week and 1/2 before Christmas. We had his party on Jan. 7th. He is a New Years baby! I guess he will always get to celebrate his birthday over several weeks since we probably will not have a party on the 24th. My preparation took longer than most parties because I planned on making some cardboard box creations. I saw the idea on Pinterest and loved it. I am all about free entertainment even it is involves a little elbow grease! I am upset that I didn't get any pictures before the party. Totally forgot and was engrossed in the moment. As I always am...I am not know for being great and taking pictures! But here are some pictures of the party after the fact...

I decorated the tables with army men, letter blocks, toy story characters such as buzz, woody, potato heads, legos, cars, made signs for Pizza Planet pizza, etc. We had Pizza, cupcakes, Woody sugar cookie badges, fruit kaboobs, and Buzz lightyear green punch.

Here is Sheriff Woody's office and Buzz's Space Portal...

I also made two of these space ships to 'ride' and a rocket. Kids loved them.

We had a bunch of other toys laying around to play with too including a Toy Story punching bag.

The horse was a hit! The kids rode it...some chose to wear the cowboy hat. We also had a hulla hoop and played Lasso Bulsey. So glad John's Mom saved that horse from when he was a little boy. Noah loves it too!

Here is the presents table...after the fact. I put the goody bags in the wagon for the kids on the way out.

Here is Noah checking out his cool new toys...

New bike from Grammy and Pop! Yea!

We also had a Mr. Potato coloring contest! The 'older kids' even got involved!

Noah picked the winner! Congrats Skyler!

A last view of the party...

Very fun! Love you Noah! You are such a big boy!