NC Trip: Days 1 & 2

I wish I could download pictures to go with all that I'm about to tell you, but I guess you'll just have to keep checking back for a link to what I'm sure is going to be a very full and fun photo album of our adventures.

Tuesday, after Evan finally finished his oatmeal, we got into the car and started the drive. We stopped just once in Charleston, WV (and let me tell ya....it was an experience!) for gas and to eat the lunch I packed and to play in a little grassy area. We kicked a ball around, we blew bubbles, and we had fun throwing our little sky-diver man around. We piled back into the car for the remaining 3 hours all rosy cheeked and ready to pass out.

Them. Not me.

And really, they did great before then, too. No fussing or fighting. No whining or crying. They read books, they ate snacks, they played with the tons of toys I brought with us. They were amazing. And the scenery was breathtaking. i think I've gotten used to the gray of Cleveland because we got about an hour south and everything all of a sudden was nice and bright and green and cheery.

It could have been too, that I was just excited to have a change of pace and get away.

When we got to Mt Airy (our first stop) we were met by a wonderful family I've known since middle school (I babysat for them). They live in the city limits, but for all intents and purposes, they live in the country. They have 3 acres of rolling green hillside, some fruit trees, a pond complete with little ducklings, a huge fountain with fish that Evan got to feed, and...

John Deere tractors. Evan was hooked. Both boys got to ride with Dr. Rob and it was all Evan could talk about.

We went to a soccer game where we won (go Gentry!) and also got soaked in some rain. We had good fellowship and just an amazing rekindling of friendship. I spent the next morning stuffing my face with homemade sausage biscuits with homemade peach jam (from a deer that Rob had hunted - the sausage, not the jam), just soaking the beauty around me all in, letting the boys play and run off some energy, and simply enjoying, as Kelly and I said, "the breath of fresh air" it was to get together. If we ever go visit my brother in GA while we live on OH, and we drive, we will be making Mt Airy a stop over for sure. And I will request those sausage biscuits. They were to die for.

We then drove just a short 3 hours through the Blue Ridge "Mountains" to wind up in Asheville. More on that later.

But we're having a blast so far!

My Sweet Evan

I'm literally waiting for Evan to finish his oatmeal as I type this post and then we will be on our way to NC for about a week. Scot's boards are 2 weeks from today so I'm getting out of dodge and visiting friends I haven't seen in quite some time. I'm really looking forward to the beautiful scenery as I drive -- I'm just hoping and praying that the boys do well. I think they will. I have enough toys and snacks and books on "tape" and regular books, too. I have music for them and music for me. I have every thing packed and loaded into the car.

And so I wait.

The reason I wanted to get on was because Evan has just been saying the darndest things lately and I didn't know if I'd remember them all a week from now.

Take this morning for instance.

I was sitting at the table talking to Evan as he was supposed to be eating his oatmeal when he looks up at me and says "I'm getting "track ed". That's what it sounded like to me, at least. I asked him to repeat himself, and so he did. "I'm getting track ed"

Still not getting it, so I asked him to repeat it again. In the calmest face he looks at me and says, "I'm getting frustrated." That word I know! So after a few more tries, I finally got it.

Distracted.

Yes son. You are distracted. So I'm going to leave now and blog.

This is not the only thing he's done recently.

Just 2 nights ago while getting ready for bed, he came up to Drew and in the sweetest excited voice said "Hey there little guy!" It melted our hearts. He's also taken to saying "I'm going to grow up and be big like daddy!" Melts both our hearts, but Scot's more, I think.

Yesterday while I was making dinner he asked me to get something to which I replied that I was in the middle of getting dinner ready. His response? "It's ok mom. I'll be patient."

And another quote from this morning. Having to do with his oatmeal which I had put in the freezer to quickly cook down. "Are you cooling up my oatmeal?"

I love this age.

Water for Elephants

This was my main April book and it was addicting.

Sara Gruen so amazingly transports you through the page right to the circus in the 30's. You can smell the sweat of the men, you can hear the mallets on the spikes, you can feel the humidity in the air, you can see the billowing tent of the menagerie -- and, as my dad and I said while discussing the book "you can even smell the poop!". Which is most cases is bad - but in this one, it means the author did a fantastic job on the imagery.

The story line is also well done. The story is set on a circus during the depression and the language and imagery are mirrored to that fact. It's crude in part and risque in others, but it fits beautifully. It's a page turner and it will leave you feeling like you've peeked into the lives of real men and women who had the adventure (or misfortune) of being on a show. It's fiction, but some of the outlandish situations from the book are actually based on true circus stories (or tall-tales).

I'm pretty picky on my fiction books, but this one passed with flying colors. The writing is actually above par for today's authors and the story, while slightly predictable toward the end, left me intrigued until the very last page.

I will be reading her other books.

Disclaimer: After being challenged by a sister-in-Christ, I realize that this review is written more by an English major than a Christian. My sincere apologies. The book does have parts that are bawdy, it does have an affair within its pages, and there is language used. As Christians, we are given the ability to discern and I don't want anyone picking this book up thinking it's all wonderful. While I do enjoy a good story line, I am also a literary critic - this book is amazing for it's literary accomplishments. The story line, while intriguing, is full of filth. Please also know that to date (I just read Ape House), this has been the "worst" book I've reviewed on the blog when it comes to content.

Don't Make Me...

This was my other April book and I think I'm just going to keep reading it every few months. It was so good.

I learned so much. I was confirmed in some of the ways I'm all ready raising the boys. I was challenged.

Essentially, Ginger Plowman delves into the messy sometimes-unknown of raising children - according to the Bible. Unlike other Biblical parenting books where all you get it the list of dos and don't, she couples these lists with practical application. She talks about how you need to get to the heart. How you can tell your child what he's doing wrong, yes, but to help him see where his heart was in the matter and what he should have done instead.

For instance. If Evan is being mean to Drew, I could just simply tell him to stop. OR - I could ask him if what he's doing is loving and kind or mean and unloving. Once he tells me that it's mean, then I can ask him "what should you do when Drew cries like that?" - to which he can respond "I should stop." From there, I have him apologize and then "re-do" the scene the right way so it sinks in. It's all about getting to the heart of the matter. The heart attitude of the sin.

She has a lot more in her book than just that - you'll just have to read it to find out. It's an easy read, Ginger Plowman has a spunky sense of humor and you laugh along with her as you learn from her insight.

Easter 2011

Happy Easter from our family to yours! He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Our Easter weekend was full of fun. An Easter Egg hunt and brunch with friends on Saturday and then a wonderful Easter day. A powerful message, good fellowship, a nice quiet afternoon as a family, and a pseudo traditional Passover meal to close out the day.

The boys in their Easter best. If Drew's outfit looks familiar, you're right! Evan wore it last year for Jared and Madeline's wedding as well as Easter last year.

One of these is not like the other.

Boards are almost here.

Which means studying for them is almost done.

Which, in turn, means that I'm less likely to find medical books alongside my much-lighter reading.

Look at all those colors!

I loved dying eggs as a kid. The different colors you could combine to make some pretty radical designs, the intensity of some of the colors if the egg was left long enough (or forgotten), and the lovely (edible) display they made Easter morning.

In fact, I still love to dye eggs!

Although I didn't know it until the other day when we all sat down with over a dozen eggs and 6 little bowl fulls of home made dye. (1/2 cup boiling water, 1 t vinegar, food coloring)

Evan had a blast, but I was the one who got my hands dirty - literally. He would tell me which eggs to make which colors, and that's the way we went. He did, though, get very good at putting the egg on the spoon. It was the taking the egg off the spoon he had difficulty with.

We lost a few eggs, (I'm so thankful you color eggs after hard-boiling them!) but since we don't like to let things go bad, we had a fun time cracking them, smashing them, and then, yes, eating them.

Scot took a little study break and helped us get started.


The wait.


My hands after we were all done. Scot thought it was pretty funny. I did not.


Evan was very surprised to find that some of the eggs had writing on them! He found one with his name on it!


Also - Drew was present for all this. But since we tried our hardest to not let him get near either the eggs or the dye, there is only one pictures of him. Oops! He had fun watching, though.

Yogurt, anyone?

The other day I decided it was high time for Drew to try his hand at feeding himself some yogurt. It was a bath night and I figured, what the heck, how messy can he really get?

Messy. Very very messy.





But oh so much fun.

My Little Men

For Drew's birthday, my mom bought both boys new church clothes. Don't they look so handsome? (OK - except for Evan's "Mom, what are doing?" face)

Stats: Evan (2 yrs 9 mo) 30 lbs (45th%) 38in (60th %)
Drew (1 yr) 21 lbs (40th %) 29.5in (40th %)

Resurrection Eggs

This upcoming week I plan to dye eggs with Evan, read lots of different accounts of the death and resurrection of Christ, and really try to make Easter into the celebration of redemption that it is.

One of the ways I plan on doing this is with Resurrection Eggs. I grew up with the tradition of finding eggs on Easter morning (or afternoon) and having some of the eggs not filled with candy, but a piece of the Easter Story - a nail, a piece of gauze, a smooth flat stone - to be gone over once the egg hunt was complete. This year we're carrying that tradition on.

This is the list I'm going with, I thought I would share early in the week so if anyone else wanted to do it, too, at least there's time to gather the items needed.

Again, a thank you to my mother for helping put all this together while she was here.

For whatever reason the list transferred, but transferred funny. If you want it - let me know and I'll email it to you!

Say what?

This morning my mom and I took the stroller out (with boys securely fastened and bundled) on a good brisk walk in the wonderful early Ohio light. Our chit-chat, the boys laughter, and some chirping from nearby trees filled the silence. It was one of those mornings. You know the kind. The air is clean and fresh, full of life, and you feel as though you can do anything.

We were walking when out of no where down swoops this yellow blur. For a split second I wondered if I were in the middle of a Quidditch match I couldn't see. Evan also saw the small yellow blur and without missing a beat he said:

"Look mom! A Goldfinch!" (Did he say Golden Snitch? How would he even know that?)

My mom and I exchanged a look that said: Ummm...say what?! The kicker of the whole situation? When we looked to the tree where we had seen the little yellow blur flit off to, we realized he was right. Sitting there above our heads was indeed an American Goldfinch.

Picture courtesy of the Internet.

My socks literally were knocked off. And you're probably wondering how he knew what kind of bird that was just like I did.

To give a little background, my mom is a bird lady. You know those crazy cat ladies with the frumpy jumpers and bird-nest hair? Well, my mom is a very sophisticated version of that only with birds. She dresses well and always has her hair done, but she has a crazy love for her birds. She actually raises finches and has an enjoyment and appreciation for wildlife - and especially birds - that she has passed down to Evan. For Drew's birthday, she got Evan a bird feeder and they have had such a wonderful time watching house finches come and go, enjoying the seeds we bought for it.

The bird feeder Evan got all full of seeds for wild birds

Evan also has this little bird book that explains which birds eat what seeds and where they live. I didn't know it, but my mom "read" the book to him the other day.

Just once.

And inside this book is a picture of a Goldfinch which he obviously remembered this morning so he could impress me.

He also knows what Juncos are and Cardinals. My kid is going to be a crazy bird man when he grows up I think. But I'm ok with that.

It could be worse. He could have a fascination with snakes or creepy crawly critters. I much prefer birds to any of those other options.

My momma...

My momma is great. Not only does she come out for Drew's birthday and stay for 10 days (when she has a calligraphy workshop, a trip to Fl and another calligraphy workshop to work around), she also has been helping me clean, do laundry, buy "daylight" light bulbs (they make such a huge difference in the house!), prune bushes, play with the boys, be a part of our life, treat us to ice cream and...she helped me paint the basement!!

That's right! She doesn't like just sitting and doing nothing, so she asked me the first day she was here if I had any projects coming down the pike. I mentioned that I was going to tackle the basement this summer when the weather was nicer. She, though, took the idea and ran with it.

She made a list of things we needed and we had everything except the Kilz. A quick trip to Home Depot fixed that and we were on our way!

After about 2 hours of prep that is.

We had to vacuum all the walls and pull everything away from the walls first before we could even start to paint. But now it's finished (after 19 man hours and only 9 actual hours thanks to Scot's help one night) and I'm so happy with it!

Since we had to move the play room from the so-very-not-4-season attic down to the basement, and since we just signed a 2 year contract for the house (something we did only after lots of prayer and consideration and realization that friends and community matter more than single-paned windows, a shared wall, and no central AC) I knew the basement needed to be less basement-like. A coat of paint would do the trick, I though, and it did.

So will some daylight light bulbs.

BEFORE

AFTER

Back wall is now all white and the laundry area is majorly tidied. Side walls are now a pretty blue!

Side and back walls are all sealed and newly blue! No more chipping paint and rust spots on poles, either!


Where all the toys are kept. You can also kinda see the elliptical in the "workout room" through the doors to the left!

Oh Mitchell's, how I've missed thee...

As most of you loyal followers know, Mitchell's Ice Cream is a favorite in our family. It really is Cleveland's best. And it even beats our favorite back home in Colorado Springs. That's pretty hard to do, too, if you've ever visited Josh and John's.

Yesterday, though, we went out -- Grammy's treat -- and it was even better than I remembered. I think the heat wave that hit Cleveland (a high of almost 80) made it all the sweeter. They had new flavors since our last visit which was before Christmas. We tried Dulce de Leche, Caramel and Sea Salt, Lavendar Honey, Lemon Blueberry, and Double Dutch Black Raspberry.

We then proceeded to take our mounds of sweet delight to a nearby hill with a picnic blanket that I keep in the trunk for just such spontaneous occasions. And enjoy we did.

Scot and I actually got a picture of just the two of us. So unusual (and therefore so treasured) in this day and age it seems.

He wanted more. Can you see his peanut butter "smile" under all that ice cream?

My handsome men

And then, we went to a park to fly a kite.

It was just that kind of day.

Birthday fun!

Drew's birthday started off quite normally, but soon turned into a day full of fun. We all (Scot included!) took off to Tommy's for lunch. It's our new favorite place to go - they have fabulous food and even better milkshakes. So of course, we had to get one. Drew loved it.

His Caterpillar Cake

After a small family "party" where we opened gifts and then had a wonderful meal of Hummus Coated Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary (he has an elevated palate), we had a group of friends over for cake and ice cream. We all had a blast.

All the kiddos!

My dear friends - Jo, Julie and Jamie.

For all the pictures from the birthday bash, go here!

Happy Birthday!

Fresh new little guy less than an hour old all scrunched up and stretched out to...

...a very bouncy, energetic, laid back, sweet, cuddly, laughable, eating machine, not-quite-walker, smiley 1 year old.


Happy birthday, Drew-boy! We love you!


Click on the label "Drew" to see all the month pictures with Mr Bear (who has since been named Harry) Which is your favorite month picture?
Mine? 3 Months. Hands down. I laugh every time.

Frugal Fun: Foaming Soap

I love Bath and Body Works foaming soaps. They seem like such a treat to me. If you go at just the right time (read: when they have their major sale) you get them for a pretty good deal, too.

But then they run out, and the major sale isn't going on, and if you're like me, you won't go back until the sale is on. Which could be a while.

Here is where the frugal tip comes in.

Instead of replacing the wonderful foaming soap with plain ol' regular liquid SoftSoap, save the foaming soap dispenser and make your own foaming soap!

Here's how:

• Rinse out foaming soap dispenser of any left over soap
• Fill the dispenser 1/3 of the way full with anti-bacterial SoftSoap
• Add 10 drops of your favorite essential oil (I found Sweet Orange scented essential oil at Whole Foods on sale for a little over $2 and used that in combination with some Lavender I had I hand.)
• Slowly fill the rest of the bottle with warm water.
• After cap is replaced, gently shake bottle until soap and water are fully combined.

Enjoy having fun foaming soap for literally pennies!

Have I told you lately that I love you?

Well, yes dear, you have. But flowers are such a nice bonus.

My husband is so sweet. He came home from work the other day with these beauties.
Just because.

Yes. I am one fortunate woman to be married to such a man.

Toys are so overrated

With toys in multiple areas of the house the cabinets are still a favorite.

And this is the way Evan arranged the containers when asked him to pick up.
Yes. He is mostly definitely my child.

Why do I even have so many yogurt containers? I love soup!

That doesn't make sense? Go here and it will.