Tennessee, reading, doctor, Santa Claus, grim reaper, & a gingerbread house

So Ben and I went to Tennessee in November.  I didn't post any pictures, so here's one.  

It was a great trip, and it was SO good to get away just the two of us!  We did some hiking and did a lot of relaxing.

Oh, and lots of reading.  I read these books on our trip, and I recommend all of them!

I love Jani Ortlund.  I hope to read more of her books.  Like THIS one called "Fearlessly Feminine: Boldly living God's plan for womanhood"  I bet it's more helpful than books like THIS one where Rachel Held Evans (boo) completely misses the point (which isn't surprising).  She makes me crazy.  

My parents babysat a few weeks ago, and when I got home, this is how I found them... they were all just hanging on the couch.  I thought it was so sweet.

I had to take Anna for a checkup (and shots... boo! Speaking of, does everyone get their child the Hep A shot? I feel like since I personally haven't gotten it, why should she?? I think I said ok just so I wouldn't be a pain, but I think I think it's stupid, and I'm pretty sure Caleb doesn't have it.)

Anyway, I took all the kids to the doctor and brought goldfish and animal crackers.  I'm glad because sitting in the waiting room with three kids isn't that fun without a snack. They did a great job though. I was so proud of them.

Here Caleb is dressed like Santa Claus (at least that's what HE said).  He filled my boots with gifts for me.  I just love when he brings me random pieces from all the different toys we have!

I dressed Anna in mostly black one day.

Ben said she looks like the grim reaper.  I have to agree.  Creepy Anna Sue!!! But really, she could never be creepy because SHE'S SO STINKIN SWEET!! Seriously. I cannot get enough of her. 

 Caleb and Grace have been playing constantly together. I LOVE IT.  My quality of life is improving because of it.  Here they are laughing their heads off, which is becoming quite normal. (Of course, they often end in someone crying, but they're happy for a while)

The other night we made a gingerbread house.  Caleb was SO excited about it.  Like so excited for a few days that I had to tell him he HAD to stop asking, or we would have a problem......

They were putting frosting on each other.  Ben started it. 

TA DA! Although it may appear as though Caleb singlehandedly made this house, Ben and I actually helped a lot.  I was in charge of the icing.  That may not have been the best idea.  I think the hole was too big when I was squirting it out..... that combined with my shaky hand ended in some pretty sloppy work.  Whoops.  There's always next year!

Caleb obviously doesn't get the concept of bunny ears.

                               

I would also like to say I really WAS there.  The mother never gets in the picture.  Unless of course you have a selfie stick or love taking selfies.  Neither are true here and selfie sticks make me feel weird.

I AM SO EXCITED FOR CHRISTMAS!
Hope you have a Merry one =)
Melanie

Birthday partay, fruit tree, Christmas, & a killer joke

My Anna Sue is 1! And walking! You know how they go from just a few steps here and there to choosing to walk more than crawl?  Yeah, that's what's happening here.  I love seeing her walk all over.  She seems too little to me, but I know she isn't.  Saturday we had a birthday bash for her. (and this paragraph is centered even though it's making me CRAZY. It keeps going back to center after I change it! WAHHHH!!) 

The picture below is seriously the best picture I got of her eating her cake.  Awesome. You see, she didn't want to eat her lunch and she didn't want ANYTHING to do with her cake.  Say WHAT?! I know, I was also confused.  SO, when Ben was throwing up at 3 am, it hit me.  "I guess she wasn't feeling well"  Maybe Nannos can have some birthday cake later after this goofy stomach bug leaves our house.  I didn't get a picture of her cake.  I don't know what I was thinking-- not that it was super beautiful or anything, I just like to have record of that. 

When it was time to open presents, Anna cared for about... 1 second.  The good news is that both Caleb and Grace cared enough for all three of them.  They wanted to "help" Anna.  While they were helping, Anna went elsewhere to play with a lamp or something.  

She was in a new location for her next present.  I think her favorite part of any of her gifts was the tag that came on her new outfit.  

 And, here's Caleb playing with Anna's present next to my Auntie Ellie and Grandma.  He played with her present for most of the evening too.  

 Lately we've been noticing a little bit of jealousy between our girls.  Uh oh.  It's begun!?!?  Anyway, when one is by Ben, the other one has to be too.  If Ben talks to one, the other comes running over (or walking in Anna's case). And, if Ben puts one down, the other is happy to be put down as well. AND,  they don't care about Caleb being by either of us.... isn't THAT interesting? The good news? I think Ben loves it.  Even though he said he never ever wanted a daughter (ahem, rude!), he loooooooooooves having girls.  And look how they love him.  It's very, very sweet.

Oh, and then Caleb wanted to get in on the action.  Annnnd.... he's the only one posing.  I can't WAIT to take a picture for Christmas this year!!! (NOT!!!)

So, a while back, I went to Michigan to visit my friend Katie (who recently had a baby) with my friend Libby.  Since Libby is a super artist,  I decided to ask her for HELP in making my..... wait for it.... FRUIT TREE!  

You know how I LOVE Reviveourhearts, right??(and if you haven't visited it, DO IT!)  Well, one day I was listening and a lady that Nancy Leigh De Moss (although she has a new name now since she got married on Saturday) was interviewing was saying that she made her kids a fruit tree.  Whenever they showed fruit, they got to put a piece on the tree.  And I thought, BRILLIANT!  What a great and fun idea! Since I knew I wouldn't be able to make a tree OR fruit very well, I asked super Libby for help.  And, she nailed it. 

The trunk is white because they didn't have brown poster board at the dollar store in case you're wondering.  Isn't it beautiful!? Those little white things are velcro.  Libby gave me the wonderful idea of laminating the fruit pieces and putting velcro on them so they don't get all bent after the first time.  I'm SO glad she thought of that, or we'd need to make new fruit weekly.

 I set to work with my coffee and laminated away. (Side note! Behind my coffee mug you'll see Bentonite Clay, which I also never heard of (HAHA!) until I googled homemade diaper rash cream and made it from THIS site. It works well! Anna has issues, which is why I did it in the first place) 

And there's the fruit!  The beautiful ones are ones that Libby made. The ones that look like they have butt cracks, I take the credit for..... 

Anyway, I love it.  The kids really like putting fruit on the tree, and I like being able to point out when they have self control, or are kind etc.  I think we'll start over every week (as in take all the fruit off).  And, we don't keep track of who gets how many up there.  I want them to be excited to fill the tree up together and to encourage one another-- spur each other on! Amen?!

Speaking of trees, with the snow yesterday, and my playing Christmas music while making dinner.... we just HAD to take out the decorations. (And, I know there are only 4 stockings. I have to get another one of those holder things.)  This will be where we are all Winter.  It's SO COZY!  This is the first year we put the tree in our family room and I love it next to the fire.  

We (or Ben) had to vacuum after we (or....Ben) put the Christmas tree up.  Since my back is still broken (UGH!), Ben is kind enough to help me out here and there... and everywhere. 

Here Ben is explaining to me how incredibly MANLY he is for vacuuming the floor especially with his newly grown in facial hair. (I actually kind of like it).  Anyway, he's the best.  

If you're looking for a gift for your children, or grandchildren, or nieces or nephews or your neighbor kids, you should consider buying "What's in the Bible" dvd's. I believe I've talked about them before... at least once. Click HERE to see what they are.  I'm not sure the best place to buy.  They are SO SO SO SO SO good, and Caleb LOVES them.  These are pretty much the only things he's watched lately (except we DID watch Frosty the Snowman today).  Today at supper he asked me what a lament was.  And then answered "It's a sad song mom.  Dad, are there laments in Psalms?" I can guarantee I didn't ask that question when I was 4 (and I'm pretty sure he already knew the answer).  Anyway, the point is, these movies are teaching him all kinds of neat things about the Bible, and I even learn from them when I watch.  Plus they are hilarious. 

Kind of like this joke I'll tell you.

What time is it when you have to go to the dentist?
Tooth-hurtie

I know. Hilarious.

Alright, that's all.  Next time maybe I'll write about our trip to the Smokies last week! 

-Melanie

Beans, smothering, talent night, craft, playing, & crazy hair and glasses

 So a while ago I posted on facebook that I just heard about "busy bags."  I loved the idea and started googling ideas to do with the kids.  The other day I decided to bust out some beans--who knew playing with beans was a brilliant way to entertain kids!?!  Maybe you did.  I'm not very creative, so I need people to give me ideas like this.  Beans, bowls, measuring cups, big spoons.  I'm definitely going to be using this a lot this Winter.  Oh, and yes, they did get beans all over the floor. I recommend sweeping PRIOR to busting out the beans.  Otherwise, when you sweep up the beans, you get other gross stuff mixed in.  Yeah, I should have thought of that since Mr. Caleb is my after meals sweeper.  Sometimes he misses stuff....

Caleb's been learning how to take pictures with my phone lately and asked if he could snap one of me and Anna.  This sums up the smothering of Anna that takes place 90% of her wake time.  HAHA.  Ok, not really, but I SERIOUSLY cannot get enough of her sweetness, and I cannot stop kissing her cheeks!

I remember feeling a bit overwhelmed when I found out I was pregnant with Anna (Grace was 8 months I think), but she is ABSOLUTELY THE sweetest baby I could have ever asked for.  She is so easy and wonderful.  I am so blessed, and God was so good to give her to me just when he did.  His plan is perfect, and I'm so glad I can trust Him to do what's best for our family. 

A couple weeks ago, Caleb and I sang at our church's talent night.  We sang "The kings of Israel" by Jamie Soles.  His cds are GREAT, and I believe I've mentioned him before on here. We learned all the kings to song, and that makes it SO easy!  I was so proud of my Caleb for singing in front of everyone, and when he put his arm around my neck to sing, I melted.  The bad news is that we forgot half the Israel side for the real thing....dahh!  Oh well, you win some and you lose some. Ben couldn't come because Anna and Grace were a bit under the weather.  We had planned to sing as a quartet-- Me, Ben, Caleb & Grace. ha!  I was bummed that didn't work out.  

I made this at MOPS. I repeat.  I made this at MOPS.  Can you believe they found a craft that I could participate in!? It was unbelievable, and I think it's so cute! 

Here's where I put it! 

The other day I was playing around on the piano, and I went to check on the kids.  I heard them giggling their heads off.  This is where/how I found them. 

Yeeep, they're all there!  Here's another one..  Caleb yanking on Gracie's legs... bhaha

I love when they all play together.  Caleb and Grace have been playing together more and Anna has been joining in.  I hope they're all friends forever.  I'm trying so hard to foster good relationships between all of them!! 

For the last couple of months, I've been trying to use natural shampoo and conditioner on my hair.  Anyway, I've been trying different things- -I won't go on about what or how.  After I was finished making my shampoo Ben said something to me like "You're so weird".  Ouch.  And actually, I have to disagree.  I'm not weird, I just DO weird things.  There's a difference. ...right?!

Speaking of weird and hair, today I made an egg, honey, yogurt mixture for my hair.  After I rubbed it on my scalp and in my hair, I put saran wrap on my head so it wouldn't drip all over my neck.  As I was doing it, I took an INCREDIBLE picture with my new Harry Caray (as Ben calls them) glasses. 

This is me cracking up at my own reflection in my phone.  I cannot stop laughing about this.  And as I was taking the picture, I said to myself.... "I think I really AM a lunatic!!" 

There's another nice one! ;)  I know I know.  My selfies are ALL wrong.  1. I look terrible, 2. I'm not holding the camera 5 feet above my head 3. I'm not puckering up. 4. I have a crazy vs. seductive look in my eye.  Maybe next time... NOT!  Anyway, like my glasses?  You see, I ordered them online from Zenni optical and they were SUPER SUPER cheap.  And, well, there is always a risk when you order something online... HOWEVER, they are so huge that I can see really well through them!! So, I've been wearing them around the house all day today.  Caleb likes them.  He's my favorite. ;) 

Oh and Caleb came downstairs and saw me like this.  He started giggling and said "Mom, you look SO silly."  That was a sweet way to put it, wasn't it?!  I'm glad he's not older.

Oh and I HAVE to report-- My hair seriously feels WAY softer!!  So, even though it was a crazy thing to do, I'd totally do it again.  Maybe next time I'd get a shower cap or something.  The saran wrap took it to a whole new ridiculous level. 

I think that's all for now.  

-Melanie 

Just an update

I decided to blog today because on my Facebook memories this morning, I read a previous blog that I posted two years ago today. I LOVED reading back on what was happening around here, so I thought I'd better keep up with it!

Sometimes we go grocery shopping as a family because neither one of us wants to stay home alone with the kids. HAHAHA.  No, it's really just a nice way to get out as a family, and the kids enjoy it.  I'd take them myself, but I have trouble fitting the groceries in the cart at Aldi.  And that's my main shopping place.  Caleb and Grace weren't having that much fun at that moment, but Anna sure was! One day soon I'll post a picture of ALL of them sucking their thumb/fingers.  It's quite a sight.

A few weeks ago we went to a park sort of near our house and brought Jimmy John's for supper.  It was super fun and this thing was SO FUN! Look how happy they are!!

Let's do little updates on the kids.  We'll start with Grace. I love having a daughter.  AND, I love that she's old enough for me to do her hair.  

 Isn't that cute?!  The only bad news was that before we even got out of the car, she had taken her bow out.  Dahhh! She's such a little stinker.  She is talking constantly, and she has a pretty hilarious personality.  This is a common conversation in our house.
Me: How old are you Grace?
G: Good.
Me: No how OLD are you?
G: FIVE (and opens her whole hand to show me)
Me: No
G: Two.
She's improving, but it's still a work in progress.  She might get the finger part down by the time she's three.  Maybe I should just start working on that instead.

She loves Caleb and gets sad when he leaves for preschool.  She says "ah-kay?" (ok) all the time.  Like... "A get Kaybub from preskul. ah kay? ah kay."

Anna Sue is turning into Miss grabby pants, which is awesome because then I'll have TWO of those.  (Grace is grabby pants #1) Anna LOVES the fridge.  Like every time I have it open, she books it over there to start grabbing things.  She's standing alone quite a bit, but isn't really taking steps yet.  

She loves Caleb the most.  He could say anything, and she'll burst out laughing.  It's pretty cute.  It's also really helpful for when I'm taking a picture.  I just have to say, "Hey Caleb, come here!"

**I have to mention since you're looking in my fridge anyway-- the lettuce was a DOLLAR at Jansma's.  Peppers are also an incredible deal there.  You can get FOUR orange peppers for A DOLLAR. And 2 red for a dollar... it's CRAZY! If you tried that at other grocery stores, it's like over a dollar a piece!** 

Anna is still super sweet and laid back.  And, her hair is growing!  You might not be able to tell there, but it is.  The bad news is that she was referred to as "he" twice when we visited my grandma at the nursing home.  Sorry Nannos. I should probably refrain from putting her in blue... 

Let's move on to Caleb. He started Angel Academy preschool and loves it!  We hope to homeschool him next year, so hopefully this isn't ruining it for us....

He recently discovered the small kid carts at Jewel and it's his favorite thing ever. 

A couple days ago we had a nice talk.  He was being really obedient and had a happy heart, and I was just so proud of his attitude etc. SO, I said

Me: Caleb, I'm so proud of you! You've been obeying so nicely and have had such a happy heart!

C: Thanks mom. I'm proud of you too.

Me: Yeah? Why?

C: Because I really love you.  And you always obey God ...sometimes.

hahahhaha. 

Today we had this conversation, and I'd say this is pretty typical of a lot of our conversations.

C: What's this?

Me: Sprinkles

C: Why are they sprinkles??

Me: ....

I just LOVE those kinds of questions.  NOT! It reminds me of a Facebook conversation I had lately where the guy asked me if animals were people.  Yes. I'm serious. 

Him: Do you find some animals are people?

Me: Animals are not people.  Why not? Because they aren't. They are animals. 

He didn't think that was a sufficient answer, but I think sometimes answers can be like that.  Like sprinkles-- THAT'S JUST WHAT THEY ARE! Can you tell I'm passionate about it?! I should clarify, I have more understanding towards my 4 year old than a grown up. 

I turned my basement into a playroom (sort of)!!!!  There used to be a bed and dresser etc.  But I decided to make it a play area instead of a bedroom.  We have a decent blow up mattress, so if someone stays with us, it's not terrible. =) Do you like the snickers wrapper on the ledge in the picture?!  It's my new hershey bar and by that I mean it's my latest candy of choice.  So delicious.  The problem is that it's way smaller than a hershey bar... although I suppose you could look at that another way...

I am feeling super motivated preparing for this week.  I hope to do a bunch of freezer meals. PLEASE fill me in on your absolute favorites.  I'm not really a freezer meal person, but I want to be.  I don't like casseroles that much, and I don't like to use cream of soups.  Other than that, I'm open.  Ok, it's not like I won't eat casseroles, it's just I don't prefer them. SO, if it is a DELICIOUS casserole, I'm willing.

 As you may know, we have oatmeal every morning, but I'm going to try THIS tomorrow for a little variation, doesn't it look yummy? My dream is to make a delicious Sunday breakfast... like homemade cinnamon rolls.  I just have to learn how first. I'll work on that. 

I'm also going to make THIS on Tuesday because Ben won't be there.  I don't want Mr. Whiney pants crying about quinoa again. ;)  (Ben's the best and really quite easy to please.  He just crabs about quinoa, so I have to make fun of him.)

Alright. That's all I've got. Hope you're enjoying this beautiful day! 

-Melanie

Bed head, sleep, headphones, bath, church clothes, and a little structured play time.

Let's jump right in, shall we?

A couple weeks ago, Grace woke up looking like this.  Is this amazing bedhead or what!?!  What I would do for some of that volume! I love her hair.  

Then, this happened the other day and it reminded me of when Caleb was a baby. Same ottoman, same sweet boy... just now he's much, much bigger.  That ottoman IS very cozy.

Then, FIVE weeks ago I was standing in my parent's kitchen and I had a lot of pain in my middle back.  I sat down, and although it improved a bit since the inital shock, I've been fighting the pain ever since.  FIVE weeks.  Five weeks of slowing down, asking Ben to do... everything for me, not taking walks, not going to the park.  Boo hoo.  I got a massage, went to a reflexologist twice, chiropractor twice, the regular doctor, and finally landed myself in Physical therapy where I currently remain.  I have hope that she's going to help me.  It's been humbling.  I'm a go getter.  Like... I love doing things.  All the time.  It's so hard to be an invalid.  Good things have happened though.  1. Ben is a professional house cleaner. 2. I'm more laid back about mess since I can't clean it. 3. I have been spending more time with the kids.

I'm trying to look on the bright side you see.  Oh and shout out to Ben.  He's the most wonderful husband I could have ever asked for. Truly.

I can't stay sappy though, so now I'll move on to mockery. Ben got new headphones.... and I laugh at them. ;)

The kids took a bath together and no one got hurt!  Victory!  Anna ALMOST got hurt when Caleb did some weird kick-slide action and knocked her over.  I was right there to prevent her from drowning. Mommy saves the day!

Caleb surprised me by getting ready for church all by himself! Bhahahhaha.  Awesome.

 This morning at breakfast the children were overwhelming me.  You know how sometimes EVERYONE seems to have some kind of issue!?  At the same time?!  So, I found myself asking Ben if it was naptime yet even though the kids had only been up for a half hour or so.

Instead of getting crabby and whiny, I decided to take action.  My brilliant friends who taught me A LOT about parenting always emphasize not giving your child tons and tons of free time.  Why? Oh, good question.  Because when children are aimlessly roaming the house, they tend to get into trouble. Lots of trouble.  Then you tend to get mad at them, really mad.  And then you start yelling at them for tearing your house apart and breaking all your valuables.  At the end you have a messy house, and you're all crabby.  Make sense?

The solution?  Structured play time.  After breakfast I instructed Caleb to play with the magnatiles (coolest toy ever... as in I actually also enjoy playing with them) and Gracie was to play with the Melissa and Doug make your own pizza (which is also a neat toy, and I found it at a garage sale!) Gracie has to be in the highchair otherwise there will be a battle of getting her to stay put... and aint nobody got time fo dat! After 20 minutes they switched.  The good news?  They were all occupied, and there was much peace for 45 minutes.  Peace is glorious.  And, I usually ask myself, why I don't do this EVERY day.  That would be smart.  I think I'll do this every day.  Changing activities of course.

And, when you have young children (especially three of them), it is important not to go crazy... because they need you.  I also help keep my sanity by using a pack n play AND a playyard gate (like this) .  These things are lifesavers, and if you have little children running around your home, you need one or both.  I think it's totally beneficial to put some fun toys in the gate, and have Grace play with them for an hour, and this I definitely do EVERY day.  It's good because...  1. She learns to play with a toy (and not go from toy to toy to toy to toy) 2. She has to sit fairly still (excellent lesson in self control) 3. She is safe.  Well except that one time when the crazy lunatic knocked the whole business over.  But, that's rare ;) 4. I get a break to get something done. 5. She gets in less trouble.  Waaay less trouble.

Even Anna has started playing in the gate and pack n play!  I cannot possibly keep my eye on miss crawl everywhere every waking moment of the day.

I should also mention that EVERY time I have kids over who are not mine, they ask to go in the gate.  I purposely put FUN toys in there so that it's not a drag to go in. Oh and I don't have magic children.  If you think your kids couldn't do it, you just haven't tried it or haven't tried it long enough.

Word.

I'm telling you these brilliant tricks, because they were told to me and have improved my life drastically.  

I'm not telling you to put your 7 year old in the gate. He could climb out.

Oh and lastly, I've been sort of potty training Grace for a while now.  Potty training is so horrible.  I can't even believe I have to do it again after I'm done potty training Grace.  I need a support group again.

Thanks for listening.

-Melanie

Bathroom before and after!

Today I'll show you my bathroom makeover! WOO HOO!! I'm so glad it's done! One of my heroes, Deano, came for a visit a couple weeks ago and was willing to paint. I KNEW it was time to take on another project while he was here.  I chose the kid's bathroom because it was dark and yucky looking.   It was fine for 2 years, but I was ready for a change.

Most of our house is neutral colors. I have some light colors in a couple of bedrooms, but everything else is blah.  And, blah is OK sometimes because I know you can brighten things up with accessories, BUT I do need some wall color in my life.  I decided to go CRAZY in the bathroom.

I'm still not crazy about the countertop, but at this point, I'm not willing to pay for a new one.  Our master bathroom is practically the same, so I plan to try painting that countertop, and if it goes well, I'll do the kid's bathroom too.

Here is before...

Try to focus on the bathroom itself and not Caleb with a screw driver in his mouth or my incredible hairdo and outfit.

Deano painted an elephant on the wall, and Caleb was upset when I painted over it. Sorry buddy!

 Dean did such a BEAUTIFUL job along all the edges... which is basically 95% of the bathroom.  I'm SO glad I didn't do it myself. It would have been a nightmare.  And, I'd probably have ended up with a blue painted shower...

And here's my brother Alan helping me hang the mirror.  Alan is also my hero.  He worked his tail off while he was at my house helping me put all new doors in upstairs!! THANKS ALAN! ( I'll post pictures of that a different time once the woodwork is up. )

And here are the after photos....

Like the colorful towels!?!  I do!

Ben picked out the shower curtain.  When I first saw it, I thought it was a bit wild.  But, Ben said I was picking ones that were too girly, so I decided to go with his pick.  Now I LOVE IT, and I love having a bright and fun bathroom!!

Let's do them right in a row.... 

Before

After

Sorry for the poor lighting...

Anyway, I find it much improved.  In fact, when I walk down the hall, sometimes I turn the light on just to enjoy the bright colors. ;)

-Melanie