Cale's Bedtime Prayer Tonight

Cale and I say together, "Now I lay me down to sleep . . . .
God help mommy to be a good mommy, God help daddy to be a good daddy, God help Zach be a good boy, God help Cale be a goodboy"

Cale says, " help the babies bring my bites back, they just need one"

Moon Sand

Moon Sand- the boys got it for Christmas last year and this is only the 2nd time we got it out. The first time, I was not impressed it made such a mess and unlike play doh you can't really pick it up, I ended up sweeping it up and throwing some in the garbage. However, tonight the kids played with it for quite a while and I put it in baking dishes and that worked out great. Anything that entertains them that does not involve the tv and hurting each other I become a fan!

Webkinz

One of the best investments I have made in regards to kids toys. At first, it looks like another stuff animal and who needs another one of them, however it comes with a code. This code unlocks the best computer game. Zach and I have spent hours on the computer this weekend. With your code, you get "kinz cash" which is like virtual money, you can use that money to buy "things" for your pet. You also can earn more "Kinz Cash" by playing games, having a job and answering questions. Each pet has a 3 meters to determine their happiness, health and hungry and you are to try and keep all three meters at 100%. It is very educational. It teaches about the value of money, the age appropriate questions are in regards to social studies, language, math and some other topics. The games are just plain fun, mostly educational and there is a lot of them. I could go on and on, I just think it is awesome and I want to play more, but Zach's in bed.

The Bites Gone

It's been a little ugly at our house this weekend. We decided to do it, to get rid of Cale's 'bite' (that's what he has always called his pacifier). We have talked about and tried several times, but Eric and I are big softies and can come up with a hundred reasons to let him keep it. But, for some reason, on Friday night I decided it was time for him to be done. Zach and I were home with him and we collected them all and put them in a baby sack and told him he needed to put them in the mail box and the stork would come by and pick them up to give them to the babies. Well, I think he may never like a baby again. At one point last night, as Cale is crying and screaming for his bite, Zach looks at me and says "Just give it to him and wait until he is 3" Believe me I wanted to, but he is so attached and I don't think he is the kind of kid that will just be done with it, I think he would have it as long as we allowed it. He made it through the night last night without waking up, which shocked me, but he was awake around 5 looking for it, we made a trip to the mailbox, he was not impressed to see his bites gone and a sack full of doughnuts (his favorite) and a Diego toy. Today, he has been doing okay, he'll cry for it, but it doesn't last as long. We were rocking in the chair and he says, "I don't want to get big, I want to stay 2" It breaks your heart, but it's for the best, right?

Night Terrors?

Night terrors terrify me. Last night Cale had his first one. Zach has had them in the past, but has not had one for awhile, thank goodness. It is a scary thing to witness, your precious little child turns into a raving, screaming, fighting little devil. Is there anything you can do? The only thing we do is keep trying to talk calm to them and make sure they don't hurt themselves. It seems like restraining them makes it worse, but I am so afraid they are going to hurt themselves. Cale's last night lasted what seemed like quite awhile and he is so upset I worry that he is going to pass out or have a stroke. He couldn't talk and seemed to be shaking, but after Eric and I trying to keep him safe, a brief moment outside (didn't want to wake all the neighbors), a little douse of cold water and watching Dora the Explorer he returned to his precious little self. I sat in the chair holding him and thank God he was okay. Does anyone have suggestions or know the cause? I worried because I gave him Robitussin to him for the first time, but that was at 4:30 pm and this was around midnight.

Jackrabbits vs Panthers

vs

Eric and I went to SDSU vs UNI football game at Cedar Falls this past weekend. It was a fun game to watch even though SDSU lost. Eric's parents watched the boys for us and Eric and I got to remember the good old college days. Eric gave me a tour of his old stomping grounds. We ate at one of my favorite restaurants, "Hu Hot" and stayed the night in a motel. It almost felt like we were young again.

35 Things I am thankful for in my 35th Year

Having a personal relationship with God,
Being married to my best friend, Eric,
My son Zach and his adorable smile,
My son Cale and his contagious laugh,
Having parents that taught me right from wrong and have always loved me,
Two wonderful sisters (and their husbands) , even though we don’t see each other so often we know we would always be there for each other,
Eric’s mom and dad, sister and her family- so nice, kind and generous,
Nephews and Nieces- all so bright and beautiful/handsome,
Aunts and Uncles- each one of them have a special place in my heart,
So many successful cousins and I wish I could see them more often,
Prairie Ridge Reformed Church- a place that helps me grow,
Friends – how lucky to have such terrific people in our lives,
My job – I come in early, I’m challenged and home when Zach gets off the bus and have supper ready when Eric and Cale get home,
Our neighborhood- friends to talk to, kids for the kids to play with and once a month adult game night filled with so much laughter my cheeks hurt,
Our home,
Date nights with Eric,
Time spent playing, laughing and reading to Cale and Zach
Vacations,
Book Club and the amazing women in it,
Cars that get us from point A to point B without any problems,
My good health and the good health of Eric and the boys,
DVR- I am not sure when the last time I watched a commercial,
Feeling the Holy Spirit,
Being born when I was – God knew I would have a difficult time living in a time without disposable diapers, microwaves, dishwashers and computers,
Computer/Internet/Blogs,
Struggles- didn’t like them at the time, but made me a stronger person,
Ankeny- I love living here ,
Dr Stratton, our family doctor, who gives us her personal cell, checks on the kids if they have been sick,
Mercy Child Development Center- it’s been an almost perfect daycare for our boys since infancy, Library,
Cell phones,
Diet Pepsi,
Living in Iowa and The United States,
Having some money in the bank and
Moments alone to read and scrapbook

Why I Should Not Read Fiction

Well, I remember now why I should not read fiction, because I become too obsessed with the book and the only thing I want to do is read it until I am done. I started the book over the weekend and finished it last night, the book was wonderful I enjoyed every minute of it. However, in the meantime, my husband, kids and house all get neglected. I have to learn to pace myself.

What do you do on a cool, windy day? Make a blanket fort, watch tv and eat - life is good.

Saturday Morning Muffin Making

Mmmmm Chocolate Chip Muffin Mix, does it matter that the mix never makes it to the oven?
Both boys like helping me in the kitchen, but Zach especially. He seems to really enjoy baking or at least licking the spoons. He is a great cucumber pealler and vegetable chopper. With his perfection type personality, I never have to get off any other extra skins, they are gone. It takes a little extra time to have extra hands in the kitchen, but maybe someday they will impress their future wives.

Brotherly Love

Suppertime last night:

Cale very tired, refusing to sit at the table for supper, sitting on the floor pouting. We have asked him repeated times to come eat supper, at least 10 minutes had gone by and we were now choosing to ignore Cale on the floor. Zach is done eating by now and is ready to go out and play with his friends, Cale follows Zach to the door and Cale asks Zach, "Can I go out and play with you" and Zach says to Cale, "You have to eat your supper first" Cale walks back to the table, sits down and started eating. What do you say to that?

Cale has always loved being around his brother Zach, but Zach not always so much. However, recently the two of them have been playing more together, which I love to see. The reason I think Zach likes playing with Cale better now: Cale goes to the bathroom in the bathroom (for the most part). I think Zach was grossed out that Cale went to the bathroom in his diaper. Zach never wanted Cale's bottom near him. Zach likes things clean and he has forgotten he used to wear diapers at one time.

The Ted Abbas family:

This was taken at our annual Gray reunion in the summer. My cousin Allison has taken up photography as a past time/second job and is doing excellent.



I sure do love my family, but we just don't get to see each other often enough. Everyone just stays so busy.

A day at Blank Park Zoo

The boys are always fascinated by the milking of cows.
Cale was a little unsure about feeding the goats at first, but then he got the hang of it and giggled everytime the goat took a piece of food.

Zach loves the zoo and it amazes us on all the facts he can remember about animals, stuff we didn't teach him. He will say things like, that animal is nocturnal, that's a so and so kind of frog (it looks like a regular frog to me). Eric and I just look at each and smile.

The Blank Park Zoo in DM is considerable smaller than our favorite zoo in Omaha, however it is a nice place to spend a couple hours on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

I Love to Read

Now that the kids are getting older, I am finding I have a little more time to do the things I enjoy and one of them is reading. I love it because it is hobby I can do anywhere, I can start and stop anytime (except when I can't put it down, because the book is too good) and it isn't that expensive. I love the feeling of completing a book and feeling like I accomplished and learned something. In July, I stated a book club with a few of my girlfriends. So far, we are just meeting every other month, but it seems like we are all enjoying it enough that we may increase the frequency (and our first book wasn't even that good). Anyway, I am going to keep track of the books I have read this year and will have a little mini review on them in case any one is interested in reading any of them. Also, if anyone has books to recommend, I would love that.

Waiting for Morning by Karen Kingsbury

I can't say enough about her books, I just love them. I am still tired today from staying up to late on Monday night, because I had to know the ending. This book was about another human tragedy and how a family tries and deals with it. I can hardly wait to start another one of her books.

The Out of Sync Child

This book was read more out of necessity than want. This book helped us understand Zach and the reason he responds to things the way he does. If you kid has sensory issues, this book is very informative.

The Sunflower by Richard Paul Evans

A friend had loaned this book to me and I loved it. I am trying to read more fiction and I was not disappointed by this book at all. In fact, I have another book of Richard Paul Evans I hope to read soon.

Ocean's Apart by Karen Kingsbury

I have always been a self help kind of reader, if you haven't noticed from the list of books. Fiction has never really been my thing until I started reading Karen Kingsbury books. I love them. They call it inspirational fiction. This was my first book of hers I read and could hardly put it down. It's a Christian family that deals with real life struggles and how they try to deal with those struggles.

Have a New Kid by Friday by Dr. Kevin Leman

I have read a lot of parenting books. But this one really worked for us with Zach. I applied the recommendations starting on a Friday with in 5 days we noticed a significant difference. It WORKS! It's not easy and it pulls at every heart string, but it WORKS! The first part of the book tells you the what and the how of his philosophy and the second part is divided into specific sections regarding over a 100 different behaviors. My father-in-law actually heard the author speak on WHO radio and was the one who helped us find it.

The Girlfriends Guide to Getting Your Groove Back by Vicki Iovine

This book made me laugh out loud. Maybe because I could relate or maybe it was a book I read on vacation. It talks about the time of my life right now, the kids are becoming a little more self sufficient and after the diapers, the bottles, the late night feedings it's time to take a little care of yourself.

Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

If I could only remember all the great things in this book and if I did remember everything I would really be a better person. Easy and quick read.

You Best Life Now by Joel Osteen

I like Joel Osteen, I think he may be a little extreme regarding the power of positive thinking. However, I am a firm believer there is always two sides to everything and why not think the positive way and in his books they help you do that.

The Message

I don't know about anyone else, but I do struggle reading the Bible. However, this version has helped a lot. It is in language that we use everyday and a lot easier to read

The Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian

This is one of the books I just keep around and read it periodically. Right now I have it by our elliptical machine and I try and re read a couple chapters when I am struggling to exercise. I like it because I do understand the importance of praying for our kids, but sometimes struggle on remembering all the areas I should be praying about and this book is divided into subject matter and gives prayer examples.

10 Smart Thing Women Can Do by Donna Carter

This is our first book club book. This book did not get our rave reviews. We felt it was a little "preachy" However, after that being said, it gave our book club a great discussion and we all actually did get a little something from the book. Here is my favorite part: "Sometimes the very thing we complain about is a by product of having so much. We complain about being so busy but forget that it is because we have meaningful work and relationships. We complain about our morgage payments but forget we that we have them because we are blessed with homes . . .I am annoyed by my husband's loud and erratic snoring and forget to be grateful that I share a bed with a wonderful man who adores me."

90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper

This book I read at St. Pete's Beach in Florida. It really moved me. The way heaven was descriped was amazing to me. WARNING: tears may be shred while reading this book