Dear Clarence and Adina,
I've been wanting to write you a letter for a while now. I want to remember how fun you are and to tell you what you like to do these days. We've been spending a lot of time inside because of baby Clifford. When we first came home from the hospital with him, we were just focused on getting through each day, trying to figure out how to handle a baby, as well as a 2 1/2 year old and a 4 year old. You spent a lot of time under the card table (that holds my sewing machine) playing. You'd hide in there and play for hours...you said it was your house. You also watched a lot of disney movies...Daddy would wake up with you guys in the morning and put a movie in so you'd be quiet so I could get an extra hour of sleep. It worked sometimes. :)
Now we're sort of figuring out a new routine. Clarence, you're back into playing with your farm and animals all the time. I love how you always ask me if you can play with your animals....absolutely! I love watching you and how you think, how you haul your animals around to different pastures or off to get butchered. You understand farm life so well. You also like to go out and help Dad feed cows once in a while. You haven't been going out as much because it's been so cold. However, on the nice days, it's fun to go out and play on the big snow hill Dad made for you or go out and work in your pen. Last week, we worked calves. Clarence, you were right out helping push the calves through the chute. I love watching you....you're fearless. That part scares me sometimes. You need to have some fear when working with the cows. But I love how you know exactly what's going on and you don't quit until the big guys do. I also love how much you love your new little brother. You always want to kiss him and hold him. Lately you've had a little cold, and you're so sweet and careful not to kiss near his face. You kiss him on the back of the head and haven't been holding him as much because we don't want him to get sick. So sweet! And yesterday, I was upstairs and Clifford started crying. You grabbed his bottle and started feeding it to him. You're such a big helper!
Adina, you mostly just love life. You're pretty easy-going most of the time. The rest of the time, you're incredibly stubborn. I love watching you pack your purses full of bracelets, necklaces, toy dishes, food, lip gloss, and baby accessories. You're 100% girl. I don't know where your love of makeup came from...probably Auntie Nikki. You haul all your "stuff" around the house in purses. You love holding baby Clifford for 15-second intervals. You put him in your arms, talk really sweet to him, say, "I love you, Baby Clifford," kiss his head, then hand him back. I get a real kick out of how much you like to dress up, do your hair, and put makeup on. Then you pucker up your lips and talk about how pretty you are. Another thing that makes me smile is when you are in a good mood and you're walking somewhere; instead of walking, you kind of skip/gallop with one arm in the air. It makes me smile every time. You sleep by yourself most nights, except when you wake up from a dream or if your blankets fall off and you get cold. Then you'll come into our room and get Daddy, and he'll always go and sleep with you for a while.
You two are such fun kids. We love seeing how your personalities are developing, and we hope to help you grow into kind, loving, helpful and respectful kids.
Love, Mom
Dear Clifford,
You're going to be five weeks old tomorrow. I can't believe how fast the time has gone. You've been such an easy-going baby so far. You're still not that good at sleeping long stretches through the night, but that's okay. I know this won't last forever. :) Someday, I'll get a little more sleep. Last night, you woke up at 1:30. Daddy fed you a bottle, then layed you down in your cradle thinking you'd fall right to sleep. Then he immediately fell asleep. You didn't, though. Nope. You cried. I woke up. And we were awake together until about 2:45. I wasn't real impressed, but at least you're cute. That helps make up for losing sleep in the middle of the night. :)
You're sure growing fast, too. You're getting nice, chubby cheeks, and a lovely little double chin. And you're growing right into all those 3 month clothes. It makes me sad how fast you're going to grow. I've already been talking with Clarence about his farm and how by next year at this time, you'll be making a mess of all his animals and pens. It makes him a little nervous, so we've already been planning a different "safe" place that he can set things up where you won't be getting into them. I hope to enjoy all the time we have of you being a little baby, because it's going to go so fast. I am excited, though, for a little bit of nicer weather, so we can all go out and play outside together. Some fresh air would really do this momma good!
Clarence and Adina think you're great, which I love. Clarence wanted a brother so bad....I only hope he's as glad to have you in 4 or 5 years as he is right now. Adina wanted a sister, but she's adjusted to a brother, and it doesn't seem to bother her a bit. Clarence tells her every now and then that next year we can have a girl. We'll see, Clarence. Your siblings love to hold you, kiss you, and pat your head. Most mornings, Clarence comes in my room and asks how you are. He just loves you to pieces.
Thanks for being such a good little baby. You're such a wonderful little blessing to our family!
Love, Mom
Monday, February 18, 2013
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Fun for the kids
We went to ECFE last night at school. Both Clarence and Adina just love it. It gives Clarence a chance to show off his classroom, his cubby, and what he gets to do at school. It gives Adina a chance to get acclimated to school and what she's in for next year when she starts preschool. She absolutely loves going to ECFE...it's her chance to be a big girl at school.
Anyway, last night, Clarence's teacher, Miss Jaime, had some worksheets for the kids to do. There was a website at the bottom of the worksheets, so today, I took some time to check it out. It's awesome! There's tons of free printable pre-k activities for kids ages 2-5. I downloaded about 6 different pre-k packs, ranging from Christmas activities to fall to birthday.... and I can't wait to print some of them off for my kids. Just wanted to share with you in case you'd like some of these activities for your own kids! They'll love the practice, and you'll love that it's free!
Go to: www.overthebigmoon.com and click on free printables. From there, it's easy to find what you'd like to download for your own kids. Enjoy!
Anyway, last night, Clarence's teacher, Miss Jaime, had some worksheets for the kids to do. There was a website at the bottom of the worksheets, so today, I took some time to check it out. It's awesome! There's tons of free printable pre-k activities for kids ages 2-5. I downloaded about 6 different pre-k packs, ranging from Christmas activities to fall to birthday.... and I can't wait to print some of them off for my kids. Just wanted to share with you in case you'd like some of these activities for your own kids! They'll love the practice, and you'll love that it's free!
Go to: www.overthebigmoon.com and click on free printables. From there, it's easy to find what you'd like to download for your own kids. Enjoy!
Life as a Family of Five
Well, as you all know, we went from being a family of four to a family of five on January 15th. Life's been going great since then, too, in case you're wondering.
I've had several people ask me, "What's it like going from two kids to three?"
My only answer is, It's an adjustment, and we're slowly figuring things out. However, it's not as hard as I was really expecting.
(Maybe that's due to the fact that: Clarence and Adina just adore Clifford - there's no jealousy whatsoever; my husband works here at home, so I can sleep in if I need to; we've been getting meals from loving and caring friends and church members since we came home from the hospital; our families have been great at helping out - especially right when we got home; I can just be home and figure things out - as do most new mothers...we have a few weeks to adjust to a new routine before going back and trying to fit our old routine in with the new one.)
There are only two real things that make it hard.
#1: It's winter; my other two kids have too much energy to be cooped up in the house all day with me. :) So, Clarence has been helping with chores a lot, and on the days where the weather is tolerable, I send them out to play, even if it's only for 15-30 minutes...at least they wear off a little energy trudging through the snow.
#2: Going anywhere. It's a chore. I start planning the night before how to go about my morning. When should I wake up, when should I get myself ready, then the two older kids, then Clifford, then worry about pumping right before we go so I'll have a bottle for Clifford while we're gone. Our outings have gone okay, it just takes a lot of planning - and help....again, I'm thankful Matt's home with a flexible schedule!
This morning, I sent Clarence and Adina out to play. They've been inside way too much lately, and they need to play outside and work off their "winter bellies". So, out they went, quite happily. Matt's made a big snow hill right out the front door that they like to climb on and sled down. They did that for a little bit, then walked through the knee-high snow over to Clarence's calf pen.
From here, I lost sight of them. So, a little bit later, I went out to check on them and make sure they were okay and safe. I found them out in the barn, safe, but Adina was crying. She was crying because when they were over at Clarence's calf pen, he'd told her that he heard a big buck and that it was coming. So they went to the barn. Once they got there, her glove fell off, so her fingers were cold. I calmed her down and told her that bucks don't come in the yard when it's light out - because they don't like people. She didn't really seem to believe me.
That's when Clarence said, "This morning, I heard a big buck down north. There was a timberwolf chasing it."
(Ok, Clarence...thanks. I'm glad you're so good at hearing big bucks. :) ) Apparently this is what he'd told Adina, so she was scared the buck was coming to get her. She told me she'd come in the house with me and help me "make hupper". Such a nice girl!
And, as for Clifford, he's a great baby. We're sure blessed to have such good, healthy babies. There were a couple nights he decided to stay up with me and just look around, wanting to be held, but we've seemed to figure that out now. I try to keep him up during the day for two or three, one to two hour stretches, so then he'll sleep well for the night. It also helps to give him a bath before bed - it seems to make him sleep better. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not really getting tons of sleep yet, but we're slowly figuring the sleep part out. And, surprisingly, even though the lack of sleep was one thing I was dreading the most, my body just seems to adjust to the lack of it and I don't feel overly tired...thankfully!
Well, hopefully now I'll get back to more regular posts....hope you're enjoying the beautiful, snowy day!
I've had several people ask me, "What's it like going from two kids to three?"
My only answer is, It's an adjustment, and we're slowly figuring things out. However, it's not as hard as I was really expecting.
(Maybe that's due to the fact that: Clarence and Adina just adore Clifford - there's no jealousy whatsoever; my husband works here at home, so I can sleep in if I need to; we've been getting meals from loving and caring friends and church members since we came home from the hospital; our families have been great at helping out - especially right when we got home; I can just be home and figure things out - as do most new mothers...we have a few weeks to adjust to a new routine before going back and trying to fit our old routine in with the new one.)
There are only two real things that make it hard.
#1: It's winter; my other two kids have too much energy to be cooped up in the house all day with me. :) So, Clarence has been helping with chores a lot, and on the days where the weather is tolerable, I send them out to play, even if it's only for 15-30 minutes...at least they wear off a little energy trudging through the snow.
#2: Going anywhere. It's a chore. I start planning the night before how to go about my morning. When should I wake up, when should I get myself ready, then the two older kids, then Clifford, then worry about pumping right before we go so I'll have a bottle for Clifford while we're gone. Our outings have gone okay, it just takes a lot of planning - and help....again, I'm thankful Matt's home with a flexible schedule!
This morning, I sent Clarence and Adina out to play. They've been inside way too much lately, and they need to play outside and work off their "winter bellies". So, out they went, quite happily. Matt's made a big snow hill right out the front door that they like to climb on and sled down. They did that for a little bit, then walked through the knee-high snow over to Clarence's calf pen.
From here, I lost sight of them. So, a little bit later, I went out to check on them and make sure they were okay and safe. I found them out in the barn, safe, but Adina was crying. She was crying because when they were over at Clarence's calf pen, he'd told her that he heard a big buck and that it was coming. So they went to the barn. Once they got there, her glove fell off, so her fingers were cold. I calmed her down and told her that bucks don't come in the yard when it's light out - because they don't like people. She didn't really seem to believe me.
That's when Clarence said, "This morning, I heard a big buck down north. There was a timberwolf chasing it."
(Ok, Clarence...thanks. I'm glad you're so good at hearing big bucks. :) ) Apparently this is what he'd told Adina, so she was scared the buck was coming to get her. She told me she'd come in the house with me and help me "make hupper". Such a nice girl!
And, as for Clifford, he's a great baby. We're sure blessed to have such good, healthy babies. There were a couple nights he decided to stay up with me and just look around, wanting to be held, but we've seemed to figure that out now. I try to keep him up during the day for two or three, one to two hour stretches, so then he'll sleep well for the night. It also helps to give him a bath before bed - it seems to make him sleep better. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not really getting tons of sleep yet, but we're slowly figuring the sleep part out. And, surprisingly, even though the lack of sleep was one thing I was dreading the most, my body just seems to adjust to the lack of it and I don't feel overly tired...thankfully!
Well, hopefully now I'll get back to more regular posts....hope you're enjoying the beautiful, snowy day!
Saturday, January 12, 2013
Adina's Mothering Skills
So Adina received a whole pile of babies for Christmas. Each time she goes up for a nap or bed, she makes sure all the ones she can find at the moment are in bed with her and nicely covered up with blankies. One of her favorite babies, though, is a tiny little one she got that goes with a stroller. It's not even a baby with a hard head and a soft body, like all the others; instead, it's a baby with an entirely hard body, and quite a bit smaller than her other babies. Anyway, she loves this baby the most right now. She'll drag the baby, the stroller, the bottle, and two little cardboard boxes that came with it all over the house - upstairs for nap, downstairs after nap, out into the addition (like Matt wants to see her baby and accessories), all over the house, and back upstairs for bedtime.
Yesterday and the day before, she was wanting to wrap baby up in her tiny taggie blankets. I usually help her do this so baby gets nice and tight; otherwise, she gets frustrated and will just throw the baby because it'll fall out of her blanket. She'll wrap the baby up, grab the bottle, then start her "mommy-bounce". It's something I haven't even thought of...it's been so long since I've had a baby to sit and bounce. But she'll just stand and bounce/rock her baby, saying, "shhh, shhh", then give it a little sip of the bottle she's holding, then, bounce, say "shhh, shhh", and just sit and smile at me. It's darling. I wonder where she saw this? Maybe at Wendy's house? I truly have no idea...we haven't had a baby around the house for her to see me "bouncing" yet. Anyway, it made my day. :)
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Potty Training Update:
We're making some progress. She always likes to poop on the potty, because she doesn't like the feeling in her diaper. The last two weeks at least, she's pooped every time in the potty (except when she was ice fishing with Matt and he had to bring her outside for her business). Sometimes I do have to bribe her to sit on the potty because if I ask if she has to pee, she'll say, "Yater, Mommy". Then, she'll have an accident later on. So I try and bribe her to sit every couple of hours if we're doing well. One day we went out to help with chores, and she held it for almost four hours...I was really nervous she'd have an accident in the tractor (because I sort of forgot to put a pull-up on her before we went outside, and she was left wearing undies), but she did very well and went right when we got in the house.
She's also starting to figure out when she has to actually go pee. It's taken a while, but she can tell right before she has to go, or she'll tell me as she's going (which we then have an accident, but I still feel like it's progress because she's acknowledging that she's peeing and really wants to be on the potty doing it).
So, we've made a little progress....hopefully when I'm in the hospital with baby next week, Grandma Juli and Grandma Carmen will be able to keep up with pottying some. I don't expect them to sit and train her, but I don't want her to go backwards, either, so I hope they'll work with her a little bit.
____________________
Bob and Mark came over last night to help with house stuff. At 4:30 this morning, all three finally went to bed. They'd finished laying flooring in my hallway and part of my bathroom. I'm so excited about it! It looks wonderful! Now all I have to do is varnish my wainscoting and Matt can get that hung up in my addition. Progress is slowly coming together. My office is nearly ready to be moved into - Matt just needs to hook up the outlets and put trim up. How wonderful! I'll be moved in before baby comes (I think and hope!). Yay!
___________________
It's been really hard to clean the house up to get ready for baby this time around...mostly because I don't know where to put things. I need to go through and just pick up and vacuum and whatever, but I don't feel like I can really organize anything in preparation because of my mess out back. Oh well...hopefully Matt will just help me do it when the time comes. So if you come to visit us when we get home, sorry for the cluttered mess everywhere! I'm just trying to be patient until I have room to spread the clutter around. :)
Other than that, though, I think I'm ready for this baby...I don't sleep very well, and I'm so sore all day long. I feel like an awkward stiff old person moving around. Yesterday I made banana bread and lunch with the kids, and just standing in the kitchen for over an hour made me all stiff. It was hard to get moving around again. I'm just plain ready for baby. Tuesday is the day....come see us if you want!
Have a fabulous weekend!
Yesterday and the day before, she was wanting to wrap baby up in her tiny taggie blankets. I usually help her do this so baby gets nice and tight; otherwise, she gets frustrated and will just throw the baby because it'll fall out of her blanket. She'll wrap the baby up, grab the bottle, then start her "mommy-bounce". It's something I haven't even thought of...it's been so long since I've had a baby to sit and bounce. But she'll just stand and bounce/rock her baby, saying, "shhh, shhh", then give it a little sip of the bottle she's holding, then, bounce, say "shhh, shhh", and just sit and smile at me. It's darling. I wonder where she saw this? Maybe at Wendy's house? I truly have no idea...we haven't had a baby around the house for her to see me "bouncing" yet. Anyway, it made my day. :)
_____________
Potty Training Update:
We're making some progress. She always likes to poop on the potty, because she doesn't like the feeling in her diaper. The last two weeks at least, she's pooped every time in the potty (except when she was ice fishing with Matt and he had to bring her outside for her business). Sometimes I do have to bribe her to sit on the potty because if I ask if she has to pee, she'll say, "Yater, Mommy". Then, she'll have an accident later on. So I try and bribe her to sit every couple of hours if we're doing well. One day we went out to help with chores, and she held it for almost four hours...I was really nervous she'd have an accident in the tractor (because I sort of forgot to put a pull-up on her before we went outside, and she was left wearing undies), but she did very well and went right when we got in the house.
She's also starting to figure out when she has to actually go pee. It's taken a while, but she can tell right before she has to go, or she'll tell me as she's going (which we then have an accident, but I still feel like it's progress because she's acknowledging that she's peeing and really wants to be on the potty doing it).
So, we've made a little progress....hopefully when I'm in the hospital with baby next week, Grandma Juli and Grandma Carmen will be able to keep up with pottying some. I don't expect them to sit and train her, but I don't want her to go backwards, either, so I hope they'll work with her a little bit.
____________________
Bob and Mark came over last night to help with house stuff. At 4:30 this morning, all three finally went to bed. They'd finished laying flooring in my hallway and part of my bathroom. I'm so excited about it! It looks wonderful! Now all I have to do is varnish my wainscoting and Matt can get that hung up in my addition. Progress is slowly coming together. My office is nearly ready to be moved into - Matt just needs to hook up the outlets and put trim up. How wonderful! I'll be moved in before baby comes (I think and hope!). Yay!
___________________
It's been really hard to clean the house up to get ready for baby this time around...mostly because I don't know where to put things. I need to go through and just pick up and vacuum and whatever, but I don't feel like I can really organize anything in preparation because of my mess out back. Oh well...hopefully Matt will just help me do it when the time comes. So if you come to visit us when we get home, sorry for the cluttered mess everywhere! I'm just trying to be patient until I have room to spread the clutter around. :)
Other than that, though, I think I'm ready for this baby...I don't sleep very well, and I'm so sore all day long. I feel like an awkward stiff old person moving around. Yesterday I made banana bread and lunch with the kids, and just standing in the kitchen for over an hour made me all stiff. It was hard to get moving around again. I'm just plain ready for baby. Tuesday is the day....come see us if you want!
Have a fabulous weekend!
Thursday, January 3, 2013
Clarence saw a coyote...
We were sitting in the living room yesterday, and all of a sudden Clarence starts talking about the night before.
C: I saw a coyote last night.
Me: Really? Where?
C: The puppies were barking and the coyote ran up by the river, by the chicken house - but didn't eat any chickens - and over there (pointing out by the barn).
Me: It ran over by the corn bales?
C: Yep, then it ran back down by the river. The puppies chased it.
Me: Wow, really, and you got to watch that?
C: Yep. And I saw a timberwolf, too.
________________
Funny what kind of stories he can come up with. He didn't really see a coyote; he was talking about the night before when it was dark out, and he sleeps like a log, so no dog-barking ever wakes him up. And we do have timberwolves close to our house, but definitely not close enough to see; and if Clarence did see one, I think he'd be too scared to go outside for quite a while. :) I'm glad to see his imagination's hard at work, though! He was totally serious when he told me his whole story; it was as if it really had happened, because he never missed a beat or acted like he was telling a story.
Today, we're picking Clarence up from preschool at 11, then heading to Grand Forks. We meet Dr. Brown today, who'll be delivering the baby on the 15th. My doctor, Dr. Lays, is due with twins in February and went on bedrest a couple weeks ago. I was kind of disappointed because I really like her and how easy she is to talk to, but oh well....it's not like I can do anything about that situation. :) Matt and the kids are coming with. I'm excited to pick out tile for our entryway floor, get stain and varnish for wainscoting, maybe look at a bed (Slumberland's having a great New Year's sale right now), then take the kids to a movie before coming home at a decent time. We thought it'd be fun to take the kids to a movie and do something special with them before our life is interrupted again. I hope they like it!
Have a super Thursday!
C: I saw a coyote last night.
Me: Really? Where?
C: The puppies were barking and the coyote ran up by the river, by the chicken house - but didn't eat any chickens - and over there (pointing out by the barn).
Me: It ran over by the corn bales?
C: Yep, then it ran back down by the river. The puppies chased it.
Me: Wow, really, and you got to watch that?
C: Yep. And I saw a timberwolf, too.
________________
Funny what kind of stories he can come up with. He didn't really see a coyote; he was talking about the night before when it was dark out, and he sleeps like a log, so no dog-barking ever wakes him up. And we do have timberwolves close to our house, but definitely not close enough to see; and if Clarence did see one, I think he'd be too scared to go outside for quite a while. :) I'm glad to see his imagination's hard at work, though! He was totally serious when he told me his whole story; it was as if it really had happened, because he never missed a beat or acted like he was telling a story.
Today, we're picking Clarence up from preschool at 11, then heading to Grand Forks. We meet Dr. Brown today, who'll be delivering the baby on the 15th. My doctor, Dr. Lays, is due with twins in February and went on bedrest a couple weeks ago. I was kind of disappointed because I really like her and how easy she is to talk to, but oh well....it's not like I can do anything about that situation. :) Matt and the kids are coming with. I'm excited to pick out tile for our entryway floor, get stain and varnish for wainscoting, maybe look at a bed (Slumberland's having a great New Year's sale right now), then take the kids to a movie before coming home at a decent time. We thought it'd be fun to take the kids to a movie and do something special with them before our life is interrupted again. I hope they like it!
Have a super Thursday!
Tuesday, January 1, 2013
How We Started 2013
Sorry, I'm not even going to be creative and hold you in suspense...
We started it by painting our addition!
I'm so excited about it I could scream, or something. :) My mom came over today and we painted the entry, hallway, office and most of my bedroom. We would've finished my bedroom, but we ran out of paint. All that's left is the laundry room (which my dear husband is priming right now) and the bathroom (which is going to be wainscoting and wallpaper and will be finished a little later.) Matt even hung up one of my pretty new light fixtures. He's wonderful!
We didn't go out last night to celebrate New Year's Eve. We decided to stay home - mostly because Clarence had been running a fever for the third day in a row and we didn't want to expose him to other kids - and also because we wanted to get all the rooms primed so Mom and I could really make progress today. I'm so glad we did it. I love the colors we chose and how nice it all looks so far. Now we're on to flooring, wood on the ceilings, and wainscoting in the entry and hallway. Progress is going great!
Sorry if it seems like all I do is talk about my addition. I'm so excited for the extra space. Some days, I'm so overwhelmed with the mess in my regular house I could cry. And I have a hard time telling Matt how I feel because he's doing all he can to get things done for me. The thing I'm most excited for is finishing the office...right now, my office desk and file cabinet are in my kitchen, one object on each end of my kitchen table. Things get a little tight when we have company over for a meal (which explains why we've been pretty stingy with our invites this fall and winter).
My dad came up after chores today, too. He spent the afternoon working on making a skating rink out in my yard for the kids. It's really thoughtful of him; he knows it's a long drive in to Hallock to take the kids skating, and he wants us to get them skating so they can play sports. :) Grandpa (well, all the grandparents) is excited for the kids to get involved in sports so they can start having someone to cheer for again.
And, as I'm sure you already know, baby #3 is arriving two weeks from today. Oh, dear! We've got so much to do before he/she gets here. I'm excited though, to meet this baby. I don't have a strong feeling either way with what it is. I can't wait to find out! It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone. I'm ready to be done being pregnant again, too. I get really stiff if I sit too long and really seem to waddle when I get back up to walk again. I'm sure it's quite a sight...and totally cliche...the "pregnant waddle"...I totally feel like I have it these days. Oh well.
Adina's been doing okay with potty training...today we had six successful bathroom trips and no accidents in her undies. My only challenge is convincing her to sit on the potty. She's such a headstrong little girl that I have to find creative ways to get her to sit for a while. I ask if we can sit down and look at books together. A couple times, I let her play with her plastic scissors and cut up a few pieces of paper (which she does, then asks for another and another...). She's very content if she's got something to do while she sits there, but sometimes it seems to take forever to convince her to go potty. Hopefully if I just keep on top of it, she'll get the hang of it and love being a "big girl" wearing undies.
Hope your 2013 is starting out great!
Tomorrow's agenda: finish painting! (I think.)
We started it by painting our addition!
I'm so excited about it I could scream, or something. :) My mom came over today and we painted the entry, hallway, office and most of my bedroom. We would've finished my bedroom, but we ran out of paint. All that's left is the laundry room (which my dear husband is priming right now) and the bathroom (which is going to be wainscoting and wallpaper and will be finished a little later.) Matt even hung up one of my pretty new light fixtures. He's wonderful!
We didn't go out last night to celebrate New Year's Eve. We decided to stay home - mostly because Clarence had been running a fever for the third day in a row and we didn't want to expose him to other kids - and also because we wanted to get all the rooms primed so Mom and I could really make progress today. I'm so glad we did it. I love the colors we chose and how nice it all looks so far. Now we're on to flooring, wood on the ceilings, and wainscoting in the entry and hallway. Progress is going great!
Sorry if it seems like all I do is talk about my addition. I'm so excited for the extra space. Some days, I'm so overwhelmed with the mess in my regular house I could cry. And I have a hard time telling Matt how I feel because he's doing all he can to get things done for me. The thing I'm most excited for is finishing the office...right now, my office desk and file cabinet are in my kitchen, one object on each end of my kitchen table. Things get a little tight when we have company over for a meal (which explains why we've been pretty stingy with our invites this fall and winter).
My dad came up after chores today, too. He spent the afternoon working on making a skating rink out in my yard for the kids. It's really thoughtful of him; he knows it's a long drive in to Hallock to take the kids skating, and he wants us to get them skating so they can play sports. :) Grandpa (well, all the grandparents) is excited for the kids to get involved in sports so they can start having someone to cheer for again.
And, as I'm sure you already know, baby #3 is arriving two weeks from today. Oh, dear! We've got so much to do before he/she gets here. I'm excited though, to meet this baby. I don't have a strong feeling either way with what it is. I can't wait to find out! It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone. I'm ready to be done being pregnant again, too. I get really stiff if I sit too long and really seem to waddle when I get back up to walk again. I'm sure it's quite a sight...and totally cliche...the "pregnant waddle"...I totally feel like I have it these days. Oh well.
Adina's been doing okay with potty training...today we had six successful bathroom trips and no accidents in her undies. My only challenge is convincing her to sit on the potty. She's such a headstrong little girl that I have to find creative ways to get her to sit for a while. I ask if we can sit down and look at books together. A couple times, I let her play with her plastic scissors and cut up a few pieces of paper (which she does, then asks for another and another...). She's very content if she's got something to do while she sits there, but sometimes it seems to take forever to convince her to go potty. Hopefully if I just keep on top of it, she'll get the hang of it and love being a "big girl" wearing undies.
Hope your 2013 is starting out great!
Tomorrow's agenda: finish painting! (I think.)
Friday, December 14, 2012
A Clarence Story and Adina's prayer
The other day, the kids were playing under my desk (Adina calls it her house), and had all her dishes spread out all over the place. They brought me a plate of "food" (actually, just the dishes with make-believe food and drinks on/in them). Clarence told me everything he'd made for me: chicken noodle soup with carrots, meat and noodles, there was meat on the plate, and he'd given me apple juice and milk to drink.
He sat down beside me on the couch and said:
I'm not hungry.
Me: Oh, you're not, how come?
C: Oh, I just had a beer.
Me: You what?
C: I just had a beer.
(It was all very nonchalant....totally not what I was expecting out of that conversation....but it sure made me laugh!)
____________________
Yesterday, he was talking about hauling bales...
C:I'm hauling bales to Danny's (Lyberg).
Me: Oh, you're hauling to Danny's?
C: No, he gave me some corn bales.
Me: Oh, I see...
C: I helped him haul hay and he gave me a load of bales.
This conversation also made me smile; Matt had helped my cousin Erik haul a bunch of corn bales last week, and his payment for it was a load of corn bales to take home. Clarence sure doesn't miss a beat!
_________________________
We were saying prayers one night, and had finished our usual "Now I lay me....". We were on to our next section, where we ask God to bless all our family, and then name everyone. Adina has finally decided to start participating in prayers. She folded her hands, bowed her head right down to the blankets, and started repeating names after me.
Me: God bless Mark, Nathan, Mike, Mark, Nikki, Harley...
Adina: Mar, Nath, Mike, Mark, Dikki, Harley, all my hens,
Me: Grandpa Bob, Grandma Carmen
Adina: All my hens, Mom! All my hens.
Me: Oh yes, and all Adina's friends: Payton, Anna, Esther, and everyone else.
Then she was satisfied. And it sure was cute. :)
He sat down beside me on the couch and said:
I'm not hungry.
Me: Oh, you're not, how come?
C: Oh, I just had a beer.
Me: You what?
C: I just had a beer.
(It was all very nonchalant....totally not what I was expecting out of that conversation....but it sure made me laugh!)
____________________
Yesterday, he was talking about hauling bales...
C:I'm hauling bales to Danny's (Lyberg).
Me: Oh, you're hauling to Danny's?
C: No, he gave me some corn bales.
Me: Oh, I see...
C: I helped him haul hay and he gave me a load of bales.
This conversation also made me smile; Matt had helped my cousin Erik haul a bunch of corn bales last week, and his payment for it was a load of corn bales to take home. Clarence sure doesn't miss a beat!
_________________________
We were saying prayers one night, and had finished our usual "Now I lay me....". We were on to our next section, where we ask God to bless all our family, and then name everyone. Adina has finally decided to start participating in prayers. She folded her hands, bowed her head right down to the blankets, and started repeating names after me.
Me: God bless Mark, Nathan, Mike, Mark, Nikki, Harley...
Adina: Mar, Nath, Mike, Mark, Dikki, Harley, all my hens,
Me: Grandpa Bob, Grandma Carmen
Adina: All my hens, Mom! All my hens.
Me: Oh yes, and all Adina's friends: Payton, Anna, Esther, and everyone else.
Then she was satisfied. And it sure was cute. :)
'Tis The Season
It's one of my favorite times of the year!
Yesterday I was home with the kids, and we had such a fun day together. While Clarence was off at preschool for the morning, Adina and I made a couple different kinds of cookies. They were new recipes I'd found in Taste of Home. One I like - it's got crushed candy canes in the cookie and is topped with a chocolate or candycane kiss; the other is ok...not my favorite, that's for sure. It's got cream cheese in it, with chopped Andes mints. Matt likes them, so I guess they're ok. He'd tell me if they were gross.
After Clarence came home, he went out with Matt to feed cows. He loves it and thrives on being able to help. While they were outside, I layed Adina down for her nap and was able to clean the house up pretty well. Yay! It always makes me feel good to find the floor again. :)
Bob and Carmen called in the afternoon and said they were coming over to visit. So I got supper in the oven, then the kids and I decorated the Christmas tree. We'd gone to "Grandpa Lowell's Ranch" tree grove to cut our tree a couple nights ago, but just hadn't had a chance to do it yet. After we got the lights on and before I'd even started with the ornaments, Clarence had gone around the downstairs and shut off all the lights. He loves having just the Christmas tree lights on - just like me!
Bob and Carmen brought Adina a present - a new Christmas dress...it's absolutely adorable! They stayed for supper and we all had a nice visit together...Grandpa Bob even got a little crazy with Clarence and Adina and started chasing them around the house with Clarence's new little dart gun. The kids loved the game.
This weekend (tomorrow), we're going to my aunt and uncle's, Loren and Jana, house for our Younggren Christmas. I'm really excited to start celebrating and enjoy the season. We always have a $20 gift exchange and it's always interesting to see what everyone decides to bring for it. I'm still trying to think of something good....I need to do a little searching and thinking today.
We've had another busy month up until now - we were all sick around the week of/after Thanskgiving with the flu and head colds, so we're just getting over our stuffy noses now. The kids and Matt had flu shots, as well, so we're all trying to prevent getting sick with our new baby coming. The doctor cornered me last week when I had a checkup and wouldn't let me leave until she'd given me a flu and whooping cough shot (DTaP). I guess it's all for the good of me and the baby, but I really didn't want to have a shot. Oh well.
I've been subbing quite a bit, as well as my piano lessons. I've also been doing a bunch of sewing projects for Christmas presents. I can't wait to show everyone what I've made and finally finish them!
We spent Thanskgiving at Mom's house, then the next day, we went to Roseau and had brunch with Matt's grandma Jeanette and family. We had fun visiting with everyone.
We've also been busy with the cows - the calves have been weaned, the steers and heifers are separated, they've been vaccinated, the cows have been vaccinated and preg-checked, and the bulls have been pulled (off the main herd and put with fall-calving cows). We've made a lot of progress as far as that goes...
As far as the house goes....
Matt's been working like crazy. He's got sheetrock up in almost all the rooms in the addition. The entry is ready for wainscoating on the bottom half of the wall, as well as wood on the ceiling. The bedroom is ready for wood on the ceiling and floors...He's working on the office now and the laundry room. I'm getting so anxious, but trying to stay patient. It's such a hard job! :)
Sorry for the total randomness of this blog post; I'm just writing about things as I think of them. For a closing, I'll share some pictures from Thanksgiving. Actually, they'll be the next post. Now that I know how easy it is to share pics from shutterfly, I'll be doing that more often.
Enjoy your Holidays!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Flying By
Wow, has time flown since I last wrote on here.
I'm now 30 weeks along and a few days. I'm having the baby in just two short months! Wow...I can hardly believe it. Until then, I want to cherish the wonderful seasons coming up.
Sunday the 18th is Clarence's 4th Birthday. We're celebrating Saturday night, the 17th with a party at dad's cabin. That's where Clarence requested we have it. He loves being at the cabin with everyone.
Just the other day, we were talking about his birthday. He told me, "Mom, the dads be outside talking, the kids play and watch movies in the basement, and the moms stay in the kitchen and cook the food." Really, Clarence, you've got it all figured out, don't you? That's how it always works...it's just funny that an almost 4-year old is perceptive enough to realize it!
Tonight we're going over to clean at the cabin and get everything ready. I made buns for it last night, and I'll make most of the other food on Saturday morning.
We had a fun couple weekends hunting...even though we didn't shoot a thing. We all saw a lot of does, fawns and small bucks, but none of us had a doe tag, so we just sat and waited for a big head-mounter to come along. Didn't happen, though. Maybe next year, I guess. Clarence went out opening morning with Matt. He lasted about a half an hour total...he was cold about 10 minutes after they got to their spot, then Matt told him to walk back to the pickup and wait for him there. Instead of walking quietly, Clarence would turn around and yell, "Coming, Dad?", then walk a little while longer, "Come on, Dad!". Needless to say, Matt just brought him back to Grandma Juli at the cabin, since he knew his chances of actually seeing deer with his little hunter were next to nothing.
I'm thankful I have a husband who's willing to at least make the effort, though. It meant a lot to Clarence.
I've been subbing a whole bunch this month. I'm getting tired and ready to just stay home with my family and get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I want to help feed cows, cut/load wood (I only load it...I'm not too handy with a chainsaw), and bake Christmas cookies with my little helpers.
I feel like I get so far behind at home when I sub all week long. I neglect the house, only wash enough clothes to get us by so we have something clean to wear, make the most simple meals I can think of, and fall asleep exhausted with the kids at their bedtime, only to start it all ove the next day. Thankfully, I got a bug this morning and picked up and cleaned the floors pretty well so the house looks more presentable. If nothing else, it makes me feel better.
Anyway, I've just been rambling, but we've been so busy running here and there, hunting, feeding cows, and everything else, that I haven't written in almost a month. Hope it doesn't take me that long to write again!
See ya!
I'm now 30 weeks along and a few days. I'm having the baby in just two short months! Wow...I can hardly believe it. Until then, I want to cherish the wonderful seasons coming up.
Sunday the 18th is Clarence's 4th Birthday. We're celebrating Saturday night, the 17th with a party at dad's cabin. That's where Clarence requested we have it. He loves being at the cabin with everyone.
Just the other day, we were talking about his birthday. He told me, "Mom, the dads be outside talking, the kids play and watch movies in the basement, and the moms stay in the kitchen and cook the food." Really, Clarence, you've got it all figured out, don't you? That's how it always works...it's just funny that an almost 4-year old is perceptive enough to realize it!
Tonight we're going over to clean at the cabin and get everything ready. I made buns for it last night, and I'll make most of the other food on Saturday morning.
We had a fun couple weekends hunting...even though we didn't shoot a thing. We all saw a lot of does, fawns and small bucks, but none of us had a doe tag, so we just sat and waited for a big head-mounter to come along. Didn't happen, though. Maybe next year, I guess. Clarence went out opening morning with Matt. He lasted about a half an hour total...he was cold about 10 minutes after they got to their spot, then Matt told him to walk back to the pickup and wait for him there. Instead of walking quietly, Clarence would turn around and yell, "Coming, Dad?", then walk a little while longer, "Come on, Dad!". Needless to say, Matt just brought him back to Grandma Juli at the cabin, since he knew his chances of actually seeing deer with his little hunter were next to nothing.
I'm thankful I have a husband who's willing to at least make the effort, though. It meant a lot to Clarence.
I've been subbing a whole bunch this month. I'm getting tired and ready to just stay home with my family and get ready for Thanksgiving and Christmas. I want to help feed cows, cut/load wood (I only load it...I'm not too handy with a chainsaw), and bake Christmas cookies with my little helpers.
I feel like I get so far behind at home when I sub all week long. I neglect the house, only wash enough clothes to get us by so we have something clean to wear, make the most simple meals I can think of, and fall asleep exhausted with the kids at their bedtime, only to start it all ove the next day. Thankfully, I got a bug this morning and picked up and cleaned the floors pretty well so the house looks more presentable. If nothing else, it makes me feel better.
Anyway, I've just been rambling, but we've been so busy running here and there, hunting, feeding cows, and everything else, that I haven't written in almost a month. Hope it doesn't take me that long to write again!
See ya!
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