When did we get a Hamster?

I had to laugh at Meagan today. We had a bit of a drive today, so she took her new Leapster 2 with her that she got from Grandma & Grandpa for her birthday. We were driving along, and things had been quiet for a while. All of a sudden, she cries out, "Mom! My hamster! I can't find my hamster anywhere!'

I confess, I was stumped. I thought maybe it was something with a Littlest Pet Shop... maybe? I said, 'Sweetie, you didn't bring any of your pet shop animals with you.'

'No Mom! My hamster! I just had it!'

Since I was driving, I couldn't exactly turn around and help her find her *hamster?* so I sort of ignored her in hopes that she would move on to something else. There was a moment of quiet, and then she said, 'Oh there it is! Can you hand it to me?' I looked, and she was pointing in my direction. I looked around, but all I saw was her Leapster in the floor by my chair. When I told her I didn't see what she was talking about, she said, 'It's right there!! My hamster!' I could tell she was getting frustrated with me, but I still was a little lost. Finally, in desperation to quiet her, I picked up her game and handed it to her... 'Here, do you want to play this instead?'

'YES!! That's what I've been saying!'

'What? You mean the Leapster? It's called a Leapster, Honey, not a hamster.'

Thoughtful momentary pause... 'That's okay. I can call it a hamster if I want to.'

Okay. Hamster it is. Glad I could help.


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Easier Than Ever 2

Hi everyone! I just wanted to share this with you... Creating Keepsakes just put out a new idea book called Easier Than Ever 2. I don't normally promote other people's products on my blog, but I'm excited to say that 2 of my 2-page layouts are featured in this book - both of Meagan's birthday from last year actually! Anyway, I know some of you who follow along are scrappers, or would like to be scrappers, or like to scrap but don't have the time or creativity, etc. I thought I would encourage you to take a look at this book... each layout is SIMPLE (hence the name of the book) and GORGEOUS! I would love to have an album full of pages that look this good. The best thing is that each layout comes with step-by-step instructions, ideas for simplifying, an estimate on how long each layout takes to complete, and a list of supplies that you'll need to make each one. How much easier does it get (again, with the name)?! Thought I'd pass the info along if you're interested...it could be worth your time to look into it.

Early Morning

I just wanted to document, for historical purposes that is, that I actually woke up at 5:30, and GOT up at 6:00... in the morning. Here's to hoping I make it through the day without a nap!

Happy Memorial Day!


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note to self

note to self: You are blessed beyond measure. Be a blessing to others. --Me


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...happiness

Isn't she sweet? She waits for the boys to get home on the bus every day! The few moments it takes for the bus to go down and turn around at the end of the road must seem like eternity to her!
Journaling: boys home from school = happiness

'Those hours when the boys are at school and Meagan is at home can't pass quickly enough as far as she is concerned. She eagerly waits as the bus goes to the end of the road to turn around & bring her boys home.'


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Birthday in the midst of baseball

Well, Meagan is officially four years and 2 days old now! Her birthday was slightly eclipsed by daily life, but we did our best to make it special for her and to enjoy it together as a family. On my way home from work, I stopped at Dairy Queen and got an ice cream cake for her. Then when we came home, she walked in to see her gifts waiting for her on the table... which of course, made her HAVE to open them right then! I love it!



The boys got her 2 books - Pinkalicious (from Sebastian) and Purplelicious (from Isaac). She also got a Tinkerbell mini backpack and Tinkerbell soundtrack CD and hair clips and another game (Princesses) for her new Leapster... But the grand finale was the one thing that she said she wanted time and time again whenever anyone would ask her about her birthday... a ballerina music box... also Tinkerbell-inspired. At the end of the movie, Tink repairs a ballerina music box and returns it to Wendy. Apparently that has really gotten her wheels turning, and she has been wanting one and requesting one for several weeks. Can I just tell you those things are NOT easy to find...in stores anyway. But I found a really really cute one online for only about $40. It's blue with butterflies and ballerinas on the outside with pink velvet on the inside and a little spinning dancing ballerina. It's so pretty, and watching her examine it was beyond precious! Her eyes lit up. And she kept opening it and closing it and re-opening it. And she peeked in the little mirror that's in the box. She even put all of her hair clips in it. She was thrilled! That made my heart happy.

Anyway, after a quick dinner, we did what we could to really actually enjoy the ice cream cake before we headed out the door for 2 baseball games. Ah, well. We had a good day. We had fun playing together at the games. And we were all together as a family, even if it wasn't our typical birthday celebration.

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Today is Tuesday

Today is Meagan's last day of being three! I can't believe it! She's getting sooooo big so fast!

Yesterday my mom came up to visit and watch the boys' baseball games. She staid the night, and we got up first thing this morning and headed to the school for the boys' field days. Sebastian's class had field day from 9:00 until about 11:30, and Isaac's went from about 1:00 until 3:15. And we fit in lunch at Applebees for Lucas' birthday somewhere in between.

After we left the school, we headed back to the house, picked up Meagan, and left for gymnastics practice. It was my mom's first time getting to see Meagan do gymnastics, so that was fun! After practice, we grabbed Wendy's for dinner, ate quick, and headed to our last small group of the season. We did manage to get home at a somewhat early hour, and all kids were in bed before 9:00. Not bad!

I have a few things to get taken care of before bedtime... namely wrapping Meagan's gifts!! I should probably do that before tomorrow afternoon (on second thought... I think I'll do that tomorrow at lunch time. I just feel like being a lazy bum tonight... I'm pooped!) So maybe I'll just sit here and watch the finale of Dancing with the Stars (which I usually never watch, by the way), and maybe play on the computer for a bit before bed. Sounds like as good of a plan as any, right? 'Night!

Birthday Girl

She doesn't officially turn four until Wednesday, but this past Saturday we celebrated Meagan's birthday. We headed to Grandma & Grandpa's house for the party, so there were lots of friends and family members there to celebrate with us. She had a great time... we all did really... although we were all exhausted by the time we got home Sunday night (although you would never know it by the way the kids went to bed - or FAILED to go to bed! Yikes!!)

This layout is just a series of pictures we took throughout the party - cake, presents, family. It was a Tinkerbell party complete with fairy dust sprinkles on the pink & green cupcakes. She loved it!

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Enjoy Every Moment

Last week, my new friend Krista gave me the chance to use her AMAZING new kit called Enjoy the Moment. That was definitely a nice surprise, and I had a lot of fun with it! Here's the layout I came up with... I still have plans to do at least one more layout with it simply because there are too many good papers & elements in there that I haven't used yet! Can't let good stuff go to waste!
Journaling: I'm still trying to learn this. I take things way too seriously sometimes. Sometimes I get focused on the unimportant things, and I miss out on opportunities to enjoy a moment and make a memory. But on this particular day we were enjoying a silly moment together. We smiled and laughed and grew a little closer. We should do this more often!


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Wishing Flowers

Friday Meagan and I went on a walk around the neighborhood. We found a few exciting things, such as a hatched robin's egg, a nest in a tree, and some beautiful flowers. But her favorite thing by far were the white fluffy dandelions. If I would have let her, she would have picked every last one of them! They are captivating and magical to her! She kept blowing the seeds off and saying goodbye to the fairies that just must have been waiting to be sent to Neverland. I don't know that she ever actually made a wish, but she has officially deemed them to be called wishing flowers.

Credits

It's a great day to be Mommy!

Happy Mothers' Day to all of my mommas... to my mom, Nancy, and Jane... and to all of my friends who are mommas like me, still making our way through the challenges of mothering yet-t0-be-grown-up children.

Yesterday I think I was at a low point for being a mom. Nothing majorly bad happened, but there was a moment when one of the kids did something they really shouldn't have, and I thought, 'Am I even making any impact on their lives? Do they get it at all?' I wasn't feeling like the most effective mom in the world, that's for sure.

But God quickly reminded me of the importance of being a constant presence from beginning to end in the lives of my children... that consistency, perseverance, and habit-forming practices will serve to shape and mold their personalities, directing them to become the adults they will someday be. And this morning, I felt very encouraged, and overwhelmingly blessed!! Even now as I think of it again, my heart swells with love for them, and tears fill my eyes. It's a huge responsibility, and a daunting task when you really think of it. But I can only work with today - it's all I have.

So really, it's just a one-day-at-a-time role. It's about making the best choices with what I have now; instilling the necessary wisdom in this moment; correcting what needs to be corrected right now. Any mistakes I've ever made, harsh words I've ever spoken - they're all in the past... done and over... can't be undone. And all of the things to come have yet to arrive, so I can do nothing about them either.

All I have is today - the day for moms - the day where I got homemade hand prints and magnets and pictures made with love - the day I got to read stories to the boys and play dolls with Meagan. I am so thankful for these things! Today is a good day to be Mommy!

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY!



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Breakfast Casserole

Okay, one more thing that I threw together last night for dinner. I know it's been done before, but I found that out AFTER I made mine...LOL! It would probably have been much easier to work off of a preexisting recipe! Anyway, what I did was slightly different the the recipes I found... same concept, different quantities & cook time etc. * Preheat to 375 * In a 9x13 dish, spread out about 1/2 pkg of tater tots (about 35 pcs) * Then cover the tater tots with 1 lb. cooked ground sausage * Whip 12 eggs and about 1/8 cup of milk together in a bowl * pour the egg mixture over the sausage & tater tots * Cover the whole thing with shredded cheddar * Cook at 375 for about 45 minutes. YUM! It was really good. My kids all devoured it! I'll definitely be making this one again!

Chicken Lasagna Alfredo

Well, I've been on a roll lately with making up random meals to use up things we have. Last Sunday, our church had a carry-in dinner in the evening, and I had nothing that made any sense that was enough to feed a large group of people. Instead, I made something up. I figured, worst case, it wasn't any good, and a few people may still eat it (lol). I made sure to get some on my plate when I went through the line to try it out. And to my surprise - and relief - it wasn't bad! I thought I'd share it with you... also, that way I can come back to this later to see what I did, because I'm really good at forgetting things. I did all of this in my big oblong crock pot.

* spray the crock pot lightly with cooking spray

* in a bowl, combine

• 15 oz. canned white meat chicken (drained),


• 1 pkg frozen mixed veggies (I used peas, carrots, corn, gr beans) - still frozen is fine,


• 2 jars of Alfredo sauce (I used Classico...it was very yummy),


• a bit of milk (maybe 1/8 - 1/4 cup),


• Italian seasoning or oregano - no idea how much, I just put it in ??

* cover the bottom of the crock pot with a thin layer of the sauce mix

* lay out 3 or 4 uncooked lasagna noodles in the bottom of the pot

*Spread a layer of ricotta cheese over the noodles

* Cover with some of the sauce mix

*sprinkle a light layer of shredded mozz & parmesan cheese over the sauce

* layer another layer of uncooked noodles, ricotta, sauce, and cheese until the pot is full.

* Put the lid on. Cook on high for 1 hour. Then on low for 4-5 hours.

Why ask why

This conversation was held this morning:

me - 'Meagan, I love you.'
meg - 'Why?'
me - 'Why do I love you? Because you're precious and special and smart and funny and sweet, and because you're my girl.'
meg - 'Oh yea, I knew all that.'

:)



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Fun in the Sun

I'm starting to get stir crazy for summer! I'm really hoping to be more proactive this year in finding fun things to do with the kids. Last year I was kind of a lazy bum when it came to being creative with them! I know there is a small lake nearby that lets you swim for free...we may look into that this year. And I may take advantage of the free gardens nearby and so forth.


Here's a layout I did the other day that 100% makes me think summer! I used a new kit by Pink Ellie called Aloha. I LOVE the colors in this kit. I've been holding on to these goggle pics of Meagan for a year now, waiting to find a kit that really does them justice. I was so excited to finally get these awesome pics (thanks Grandma...or Tina!) onto a layout.

Journaling: Summer vacation at Grandma & Grandpa's always provides plenty of opportunity for swimming! This year, Meagan had no problem keeping pace with the boys. With her green goggles and her hot pink floaties, once she got in the pool, it was hard to get her out! Summer 2008

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For those who want to know...

I know a few of you have asked me about baseball/gymnastics schedules so that you can make plans to come up and watch games & practices. I figured the easiest way was to post it here. That way you can't lose it, and I can make changes if needed and not worry about forgetting to tell someone something! So, without further delay, here it is:

Saturday May 9:

• 9:00 am - Baseball practice (S)

Monday May 11:

• 5:45 - Game (S)
• 6:00 - Baseball (I)

Tuesday May 12:

• 4:30 - Gymnastics (M)
• 7:00 - Game (S)

Wednesday May 13:

• 6:45 - Baseball (I)

Monday May 18:

• 6:00 - Game (I)
• 7:00 - Game (S)

Tuesday May 19:

• 4:30 - Gymnastics (M)

Wednesday May 20:

• 6:00 - Game (I)
• 7:00 - Game (S)

Tuesday May 26:

• 4:30 - Gymnastics (M)
• 5:45 - Game (S)

Wednesday May 27:

• 6:00 - Game (I)

Saturday May 30:

• 12:30 - Game (S)

Monday June 1:

• 6:00 - Game (I)
• 7:00 - Game (S)

Tuesday June 2:

• 4:30 - Gymnastics (M)
• 5:45 - Game (S)

Wednesday June 3:

• 6:00 - Game (I)

Monday June 8:

• 5:45 - Game (S)
• 6:00 - Game (I)

Tuesday June 9:

• 4:30 - Gymnastics (M)

Wednesday June 10:

• 5:45 - Game (S)
• 6:45 - Game (I)

Saturday June 13:

• 12:00 - Game (S)

Monday June 15:

• 6:00 - Game (I)
• 7:00 - Game (S)

Tuesday June 16:

• 4:30 - Gymnastics (M)
• 7:00 - Game (S)

Wednesday June 17 (OUR 9-YEAR ANNIVERSARY!)

• 6:45 - Game (I)

Monday June 22:

• Baseball tournaments this week...not sure of the days yet (S)
• 6:45 - Game (I)

Tuesday June 23:

• 4:30 - Gymnastics (M)
• And maybe a tournament game for Sebastian

So, there you have it. If there are any changes, I'll change this post so that it's always up-to-date. The only real change I could foresee is maybe Meagan's gymnastics schedule will be changing for the summer session. Not sure when that starts yet.

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Number 28 & 29

I have officially finished 29 scrapbook layouts so far this year. That really doesn't seem like a lot, but I guess it averages out to a little over 7 layouts a month, which is quite a bit. Here are #'s 28 and 29! I'll set a goal of 55 for the year, just for fun, to see if I can make it! Something tells me I should be able to pull that off!

Anyway....

The first one is a picture of Isaac and Lucas that I took last year at one of Sebastian's t-ball games.

The journaling says: 'this moment is precious to him - sitting in daddy's lap, reading, listening. in this moment, he has his daddy's full attention. it may seem like a small thing - easily overlooked, even lost, among the daily rush & activity. but this moment should not be overlooked. it should not be forgotten. it should be celebrated. captured. remembered. because in this moment, he is learning to trust. to communicate. to share. to be. in this moment, his life is being shaped. his path is being altered, changed, forever. in this moment, he knows what it means to LOVE, and for that, this moment should be remembered.' (click for credits)

The second page is of Meagan on her first birthday. Can you believe this was almost 3 years ago already! I am constantly amazed at how quickly time passes!

The journaling says: "The big giant box should have been a hint that Shane and Tina had something planned for you. I wasn't expecting to see a giant crushed-velvet bear in the box, but that's what we found! You LOVED it, and kept coming back to it all day!" (click for credits)

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Burried in baseball!

Oh my goodness! Yesterday was the first day in 2 weeks of attempts that a baseball / t-ball practice actually went off without a rain cancellation. Sebastian's practice was at 5:30; Isaac's was at 5:45.... or so we thought.

So, I took Sebastian & Meagan to one school, and Lucas went with Isaac to another school - because, of course, they have to be at the same time at different locations... anything else would be too easy, right!

I had been under the impression that Sebastian was playing BASEBALL this year - no tee. But when we got there, there was a tee, and at least 3 kids on Sebastian's team that are in kindergarten. I thought, 'Wow! They're a little young to be skipping over a year of t-ball for baseball!" Although I was wondering a bit, I stopped worrying about it at the point when another kid Sebastian's age (and in Sebastian's class at school) showed up for practice.

Well, we got home before Isaac and Lucas did. I figured since they started 15 minutes later, they'd be home within 15 to 20 minutes, right? Nope. It was at least 7:30 before they got home. Hmmm....

And then Lucas spoke up. "Bec, did Sebastian's team have pitching?" Yes, I answered, the coaches pitched. "Oh no! Not Isaac's team! They had a fast pitch machine! And they were running laps, and doing push-ups! And one kid got beamed in the face with a pitch and started bleeding! Poor Isaac just kept ducking the ball!"

Ah ha! Maybe THAT's why I was so suspicious during practice that something wasn't right! The rec league got our boys mixed up and put them on the wrong teams! So we notified the coaches that, as of next practice, we will be switching the boys around to the other team.

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Okay, that being resolved, I sat down at the calender to put in their schedules. Let's just say, we are going to have to divide and conquer, or there is NO way! Sebastian will have practices or games on Monday's and Tuesday's mostly, sometimes Wednesday's, and sometimes Saturday's. Isaac will practice / play on Monday's and Wednesday's. One at 5:45 or 7:00. The other at 6:00 or 6:30. (And all of this is complicated just a bit by Meagan's gymnastics on Tuesdays, and sometimes Wednesday's or Thursday's). The season runs through mid-June for Isaac. Sebastian's goes the same, but there's a tournament the week of June 22. Thankfully, the calender on my computer lets you keep a separate calender for each person and view them together or separately. (It's also color-coded by person, so it looks like a big giant coloring book!)

Let's just say that I think by the end of June, we will not be sorry to say good-bye to the baseball season.

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