Colorful cheerios

Do you have those days where your to-do list seems longer than you can handle. Today was one of those days. It went like this... Scouts//Primary//Sharing Time//Changing diapers//Making Lunch//Cleaning//Laundry//Make copies//Go to play group//Suffer in the snow... Something like that. All very Do-able things... I was just totally overwhelmed. Pretty sure I was with in seconds of breakdown tears while face timing my parents. With a lot of parental advice and some smiles I decided to take a break. Ty was melting down demanding my attention//and we all know if toddlers don't get positive attention then they start to act out and get negative attention..still attention. So there Ty was breaking down...I'm trying to type on the computer...frustrated and about in tears. Called my mommy and decided to take a break and make some fun crafts with Ty.

It was exactly what we both needed. I badly needed a break from scouts... He needed some mommy-time and some craft time.

I bought this bag of fruit-loops the other day. Not because they are our favorite cereal but to make some necklaces out of them. It was a hit. Ty was in heaven.

"Mommy, these are colorful Cheerios"
"Mommy, we can make yummy necklaces"
"Is it ok if I wear a necklace if I can eat it"
"Girls wear necklaces but Ty can if Ty can eat them"
""Can we make it as long as as as. . as long as me mommy"
"Mommy I like necklaces"

We were struggling at first because the yarn kept fraying. He couldn't get the colorful Cheerios to go on the string. So I eventually tied a knot on the top. problem solved. His tiny fingers had no problem after that. 

"Mommy can we eat them all"
"Mommy if I eat them all can we make another one"
"Mommy it looks like a colorful snake"
"Can we do this every day"
"Can I save it and eat it in bed with Thomas"

We ended up eating them as we made it. They are yummy.. I mean if you like sugar. Why not?! When I went to take his picture he said "See I show you, it is Yummy mom...I promise"

Yummy. check
fun. check
hand-eye coordination. check
craft for the day. check
happy boy. double check

 ...Just need to make a few more I guess. Ty says "Daddy need one and Mommy and Ty and Ember and I need some some more and me and you Mommy"

critter march

Today we woke up early... all ate breakfast together... sent Jayson on his way to school.. Then the kids and I ran to the store. It was about 9AM when we got there and we almost had the store to ourselves. If you want to shop in peace and quiet go early in the morning. I think this will be the only time I grocery shop from now on. The kids were wonderful. They were playful and sweet. We joked and giggled together. Ember waved to all the people walking past. Ty helped pick out what cereal to buy and put all the apples in the bag for me. They both got one treat while we were there. Ty always loves to pick out his "One thing" and he enjoys helping Ember with hers. Today they both wanted the applesauce pouches. I always feel funny giving the cashier empty containers to ring up. O well. It works for us.

Did I say the kids were wonderful at the store? They were.

I was in such a good mood when we got home and the kids were still being little dears... so we decided to have craft time. Craft time is always most successful when the kids are in good moods.

I saw these little critters on 8footsix. She is such a fun mom and always inspiring me to play more and create more with my kids.

I love recycling projects. We just made those fun cardboard roads and houses that Ty adores. So this was fun. All we did was cut up our egg containers. We buy eggs in bulk. Jayson and I have them almost every morning. So we were able to make four critters today.

 
Get some:
Empty egg cartons
Scissors
Googley Eyes
Markers
Pipe Cleaners
Hot Glue Gun and Glue

Ty had a blast. He is always asking to make crafts. We are frequent shoppers of the dollar store, goodwill and walmart.

Took us about thirty minutes to finish them. And get this it was totally free! Well free because we had all the supplies on hand. The googly eyes, pipe cleaner and markers you can all get at the dollar store.. So I guess that's 3$ plus we bought the eggs, a dozen is maybe 2$.

Ty calls them a little family. "It's Ty and Mommy and Daddy and Me and Ember and Ty"
Silly kid.

happy

a few things that are making me happy

 //jayson is rocking his classes this semester. love you babe
//the kids new alphabet posters. total dollar store buy
//ty's potty training progress
// ty went to sunbeams..and liked it
//facetime with family
//new pants my mama gave me
//hot chocolate
//embers now giving high-fives
// my new 50mm 1.8 lens. actually using my camera on manual 99.9% of the time now
//love notes that i find around the house
//the mountain of laundry i had been putting off  for days is finally done
//i moved the couches again. love it
//tys play group.


making me not so happy

//it snowed. this is bitter sweet
//today we though our car was stolen. we just couldn't find it in the parking lot
//the 12 lbs that are still sitting on my backside from the holidays
//not wanting to go shopping because of the snow. we need food. like yesterday
//need to color my hair. now

routine

Ty's been saying things lately like "Mom I'm grown up", "Mom I'm bigger"... Yikes. He is still so tiny but growing up so fast. He really likes making things. You give the kid some markers, scissors and a glue stick and he is in heaven. We were pretty bored yesterday with the snow...(I don't drive in snow unless I absolutely have to). So we stayed in and cut up a bunch of boxes we had in the house. The big one is a diaper box and the smaller ones are fruit snack and granola boxes. He helped draw the lines for the road and the red on the shed. I drew everything else. He played with it on and off all day. Success.

I'm trying to be a lot more scheduled with the kids. Not to the point where life isn't fun... Just some routine.

Wake up
Snuggle for as long as possible
Change diapers
Eat Breakfast
Do our School (Ty's PreK book)
TV time (They usually watch an episode of Thomas, Tinker Bell or Daniel Tiger)
Craft time
Make Luch
Embers nap time//Tys train time (He only likes to build while she is napping)
Ember wakes up//snuggle time
Reading
Play
Draw/scribble 
Go out for a walk
Come in and warm up
TV time. Watch another episode of their choice
Make dinner
Daddy comes home
Play
Singing (usually Ty just wants to sing "Once there was a snowman" and "Wheels on the bus"
Bath
Reading time/Scriptures 
Snuggles
Prayer
Bed time

Obviously those get rearranged depending on the day. But I try and have "Times" Times set aside for learning, play, crafts, walks... Sometimes they can play or craft for a half hour to an hour. Sometimes I get five minutes and they want to do something else. Ty is three and Ember is 18 months. So that's OK.

It has definitely helped. They know when they watch a show and I say TV time is over, that its really over. Its time for something else. They also know that they will get TV time again later so they don't throw a fit.

For Christmas Nana and Papa Stan got all the grandkids new boots. Ember had one mysteriously disappear while we were visiting. I searched for days. Totally devastated because her other boots were stained, torn and almost too small... After we left Nana kept looking. With no luck I'm pretty sure it ended up in the trash can on accident. We have caught Ember throwing toys away before. She has no idea once it goes in there we never see it again.

We finally got her new ones in the mail yesterday. Lets just say I am pretty dang excited. They are just big enough they will last her a long time but not too big that she can't walk. They are also John Deere so they will last longer than she will actually wear them. I am certain she will grow out of them way before they fall apart.

I love how her calves are chunky. You can kinda see the chunk pushed out of the edges on the boots. Adorable.

Trains and things

I love being a mother. I love watching my babies grow and find their own interests. Ty and his trains has my heart. He loves watching them go round and round. He loves building new tracks and ways for them to cross. His whole face lights up when we play trains. It's like he is in his own world. 

The best thing is being a mother of siblings. The joy I feel while watching them play together overwhelms me. They are siblings so naturally they have their moments. Ty will take her toys and run away laughing. Or Ember will walk through Tys train set and think she is funny. (Causing her new nickname to be Ember-Zilla) But still they laugh together... They want chocolate milk together and they love sitting next to each other for an episode of Daniel Tigers Neighborhood. She holds her dolls and caterpillars and he has Thomas in one hand and a toy hammer in the other.

Eat together, play together, bath together, cry together and sometimes when Im lucky nap together.

The love I have for my children is endless and the love I see they have for each other is beautiful!

Having one child is hard. I remember while being pregnant saying " I have never been so happy to be so miserable" With that being said I keep feeling like its time for us to have another baby. Is that because half my friends are pregnant? Or my sister is.... My sister in law might be soon? Is it because Ember is getting older and I don't want the age gap to be to big??

I want to have a baby because its the right time for my family. Not because I am "baby hungry" Not because I am seeing all these adorable new babies blowing up my instagram feed. Or because holding my new niece Macie over the Christmas break made me want to steal her in the night... (kidding. kinda). I want it to be right. But how do you know when that is?

Making all things in life a matter of prayer. Maybe it will be next month, maybe in a few months, maybe next year. All I know is my life is good and I love my babies with my whole heart. I know I want more..lots more. But I also know I have time and I know I need to wait for the right time.

Flying with children

I was terrified to fly with the kids. The possibilities crossing my mind of what could go wrong was endless. I was scared to let go of either of them. I wanted to be holding Ember and holding Tys hand at all times. The idea of losing a child is paralyzing to me..as im sure every mother.

Anyway I have to say flying with children in my experience was wonderful. Ok maybe not WONDERFUL but it was pretty dang good.


We arrived at the airport and they sent us right to the front of the line:) Perks for having kids right! We were maybe at check in for five minutes. We flew out on a week day so security was a breeze. They didnt make us go through the crazy machines. We just both held a kid and walked through a metal detector. We didnt have to take off the kids shoes or jackets. Nice. We had a small hiccup when Ty had to put his Buzz Lightyear backpack through the scanners but as soon as he got it back he was as happy as can be again. We found our tram/train whatever its called and Ty was in heaven! Finally to our terminal and we had to wait forever. Luckily you can bring drinks and snacks when you have kids. So we went through about a box of Juice Box a bag of Teddy Grahams and a handful of Fruit Snacks. Ty brought a train set and set it up right there in the waiting area. He thought it was pretty cool that we let him bring it but it kept him busy...

Once we were on the plane it was not as bad as I thought. The kids both loved looking out the windows at the "MOUNTAINS MOUNTAINS MOUNTAINS" Ty was so excited. I thought he was being silly and then I realized we haven't lived in the mountains for a long time so he was truly excited to see them again. He was also interested in reading all the pamphlets with the snacks and safety instructions on them. He kept showing me the pictures and asking for M&Ms. Soon Ember fell asleep and the flight was smooth as can be.

We got off the plane and started getting Ty excited to see Nana and Papa. He was looking everywhere. As soon as we saw them he ran as fast as he could with his little Buzz backpack flapping up and down. Yay we made it. We were beyond happy.

Getting into the Vegas Airport was even easier. Fast and painless. Everyone made it as easy as possible with the kids. My favorite part was going through security this time. We were in Vegas and the Security
Guard was telling everyone to empty out their pockets. Boarding passes, ID, money...Everything needed to be in the bins. As soon as the Security Guard said to put money in the bins or in your hands this cute little Asian man said "No more money" :( Made us all laugh. Vegas is a tempting place lol.

As soon as we made it to our terminal I called Dad. He is working at the Airport and he brought the Fire Truck over and him and his partner came in to sit with us for a little while. I have to admit it was pretty cool seeing dad at work. When he was working outside the Airport we could go visit the Fire Station whenever we wanted and sit in the Fire Truck. The Airport security is pretty tight though and has so many restricted areas that we cant visit him anymore. BUT he could come see us when we were there. Ty was also in heaven. For about a week after he was talking about Papa and the green Fire Truck. He still asks sometimes if we can go to the Airport and see Papa.

So the wait to get on the plane from Vegas to Denver was wonderful because we got that time with Dad.

The flight home was fine. The kids were anxious to get off the plane this time. They were only interested in what was out the window for a little while. We took a later flight home so as soon as the sun was down they couldn't see anything and didn't care. Eventually Ember fell asleep and Ty just played with some of his new toys. We went through a box of Juice boxes again, a bag of gold fish and plenty of fruit snacks.

I actually loved flying with the kids because they thought it was awesome. Ty loved the big buildings and all the people. We are also lucky that when he gets in a crowd he sticks right by us. He doesn't wonder off and get curious about everything. He just insists that we go with him when he wants to see things. I'm sure we will be making that flight a few more times while living in Denver so hopefully it stays good!

Kids room update

We have made a few changes to the kids room.

I have to admit the kids room is probably my favorite room in the house. Its definitely where we play the most. I love all the bright colors..It just feels so happy. 

Ty got a couple train sets for Christmas so play time is more like train time for us now days.

Ember carries her dolls around now about as much as her caterpillars.