What's Up Doc?

Will came in while I was cooking supper and said he'd really like to have carrots for supper and I said, "That sounds like a really good idea! Go pick some." He smiled so big and ran outside to his container of carrots that he planted back in the Spring.

Not too much later he came back in glowing with these beauties:


He sure did enjoy those carrots! Now I really want to get a garden started next year! That smile is such good motivation.

For more Unplugged Gardens, click here.

Oh, the Clothes! The Clothes!

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Side Note:
I got my months mixed up for the Round-up. I was supposed to do the kids' rooms last month and the playroom this month. Oh well... it got done! :)

Click here for Our PlayRoom Round-Up and here for More Playroom Round-ups.

Read on below for my Kids' Rooms Round-Up and click here for more on Kids' Rooms Round-up.

Confused yet? :) Sorry...
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Currently in my house we have FULL WARDROBES in the following sizes of boys' clothes:

6/9 month, 9/12 month, 18 month, 24 month, 2T, 3T, 4T, 5T, 4/5, 5, 6 (some 7's as well)


That is a lot of clothes! ... A LOT!!!!


I always said I was so glad to not have had girls because I would have gone broke with the cute little girls' clothes. I really don't know that it could get much more out of control, though! Ahhhhh!

We'll start with the easiest room... believe it or not.


Will has a tendency to throw his clothes on the floor while looking for the "perfect" shirt or shorts to wear. So this month, I have limited his choices. I've moved most of his clothes to Nathan's large closet and I leave about 5 T-shirts and 2-3 dress shirts hanging and put 1 pair of shorts in each of the cubbies on the hanging shelf. This has really helped out a lot! (Plus, he's working on keeping his room clean daily for a reward of yet another wooded train... like he needs one. Ha!)




Nathan's room is the only one (of the boys') with an actual closet... don't ask me why.

Unfortunately, his room gets a lot of the clothes storage: Outgrown, to be worn, currently fit, Halloween costumes, etc.


Even after the organizing, it still holds a lot of the storage, but on the left shelves it's now all in labeled bags so it will be easier for me to find when the time comes. ( I didn't have any more tubs - I used all that I had on hand for the toys.)


Future shoes for Nathan on the right hand side of his closet:

It's not so scary to open his closet anymore! :)


Ahh... then there is Witt's room. What. A. Mess.

He's outgrowing things faster than I have time to put them away for the consignment sale! Here's the pile of outgrown clothes to be sold:


He's got clothes hanging that currently fit and this pile of currently fits/will fit soon:



I put all the Fall/Winter clothes on hangers for the consignment sale and boxed/bagged all the future clothes up and put in the garage:


I didn't have enough hangers for the Summer/Spring items that are to be sold in the 2009 Spring consignment sale, so I left them in the box, but moved the box to a different corner of his room so it's not the first thing you see. As soon as I get more wire hangers, this box is GONE!


That was a lot of work, but his room looks a lot better! A corner should be home for a rocker, don't ya think? :)


I must say this... my boys are never lacking on clothes. Oh, and please don't buy any for them, they really have plenty. LOL!

Mosaic Me

Found this over at Four P's In A Pod:


a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.
b. Using only the first page, pick an image.
c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name? Becky
2. What is your favorite food? Pork Chops
3. What high school did you go to? Evans
4. What is your favorite color? Green
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Sean Connery
6. Favorite drink? Water
7. Dream vacation? Spain
8. Favorite dessert? Chocolate
9. What you want to be when you grow up? Good Mom
10. What do you love most in life? Family
11. One Word to describe you. Blessed
12. Your flickr name. Missbecky75 (came up with nothing... so used missbecky)


1. Becky, 2. Pork Chops with Carolina Rub, 3. evans head storm, 4. ♫ YO Yo yo, there's no place like a green penthouse... so i told the genie i wanted to be well hung. ^o^ ♫ nah... wildlife from singapore♫, 5. Sean Connery in JamesBond gunbarrel,GW418H168, 6. water droplets in the shower - o.k. bokeh, 7. Rio Manzanares, atardeciendo - HDR, 8. eye candy!, 9. بــحـط قــلـبـي بــيـن يــديـنـك هــديـه, 10. bless from above, 11. The Littlest Angel, 12. KDD 23-03-08

Dairy Free Quandries

&

This is our VBS week and we are having our classes in the evening - for both kids and adults. We have combined our VBS with another congregation, but holding all the activities in our building.

Witt's regular bible class teacher asked for suggestions regarding dairy-free treats for the kids. (Such a considerate teacher!) I gave her a couple of ideas, but told her that Witt probably wouldn't be there a lot since it is at night and goes well past his 7:30 bedtime. She relayed all the information to the other teacher that would be helping her (from the other congregation).

Last night was the first night I brought Witt. We all met in the auditorium first and when class time came, his teacher asked if she could bring Witt to class; that was fine with me so I let her. However, I went down to his class a few minutes later just to check on him and saw that there was a little girl three seats down with him holding a big sippy cup full of white liquid. Without even thinking about how to ask politely or how I might come across, I pointed and asked, "Is that milk?" The mother didn't respond, so I asked it again - a little louder. She heard me this time, smiled, said "yes" and went about her business. At this point, my mind is racing for the best way to inform her that we have a dairy-free nursery. Luckily, Witt's teacher interrupts and suggests we move Witt a little further down. The mother comments that the little girl just had her supper, needing a little drink.

Now let me stop here and say, the mom did NOTHING WRONG. There were plenty of times I brought Will and Nathan to church with a big sippy cup of milk and thought nothing of it. Milk is what you give kids. I understand this. I feel awful that I possibly made this mother feel ostracized for bringing milk. I will be apologizing to her for that tonight (if she's there).

HOWEVER, I still need to keep my child safe.

After class, there were cookies to eat. A good friend of ours was holding a bag of chocolate chip cookies and eating one. She put the one back in the bag and asked to hold Witt. I had to tell her no because of the cookies. [Again, I feel like an over protective mom and a crazy person to the outside (non-allergen) world.] Shortly after that her husband comes over wanting to hold Witt. She tells him no because he had cookies. I feel even smaller. Granted he didn't have cookies in hand (that could be easily snatched by Witt), but there was possible "milk debris".

Later in the evening, I talked with another parent that has a child with a peanut allergy. I asked how they deal with it. He plainly said that when they saw the peanut butter cookies come out the night before, they left. But, how do you do that with milk, butter, cheese, chocolate... it's everywhere. We can't live in a bubble or load up and leave every time it is present... can we?

Is it even possible for people to understand that don't have children with food allergies? I'll admit, I was quite ignorant before Witt. I understood that peanuts can kill and that some people can't even be in the room with a peanut. But milk? I had NO IDEA!!!

No idea that touching Witt after handling milk would hive up his little body:






These pictures were taken prior to our knowledge of the allergy. I have no pictures to share of what he looked like after ingesting milk... he was busy on an ambulance to the ER.

So, I'd love to hear from you moms that deal with food allergies daily - how do handle day to day situations like this?

For those of you without food allergies, how do you feel about other mom's asking you not to bring certain foods near their children? How do you feel is the best way to handle the situation?

I don't feel like I handled everything as well as I could have and I'm feeling kinda low today; thanks for all your suggestions in advance. :)

No Mama! No Eat My No!

Will's had a few cute misinterpretations lately:

Witt came back from a doctor's appointment with a band-aid on his finger. Will asked, "Did Witt get a finger pickle?" (finger prick)

During a never-ending talking session from Will, Jeff asked him to button his lips. He looked a little inquisitively at Jeff and said, "But, I don't have a button on my lips."




Nathan is really starting to get better with words now! It is so wonderful to hear his little voice (which happens to be high pitched most of the time!). He's finally putting several words together now! The longest strain came out when we were playing around and I told him I was going to eat his nose:

"No, Mama! No eat my no!"





Witt's still got "Uh-oh" down really well and now he shouts, "Da!" when he hears Jeff come in the door. And he says, "Mama" everytime I kiss him on the lips. He likes kisses. Those little lips (and cheeks and head and feet and hands and and and) just beg for kisses! :)



Speaking of kisses, when we ask Witt for one, this is the face we get:

Pucker Up!

We're Baa-aaack!

What a wonderfully relaxing get-a-way! Much needed, too!

However, in my last post showing the cabin where we were headed, I didn't give you the whole story because I didn't have it. There were a few little "surprises" waiting for us...

Upon arrival, we were welcomed by the stench of spoiled towels. Towels that were allowed to dry in the washing machine and were now crunchy and oh so smelly. Immediately after the stench, we notice the pull-out couch (not featured on their website, of course):




This picture doesn't do the decrepit old couch justice. You sink when you sit on it, so we pulled out the bed thinking we could at least lay down and watch tv. Here's what was inside:


Missing, broken and sprung springs along with the flattest mattress known to man. It was quite an adventure trying to prop pillows under it so we could have somewhere decent to sit and relax. Humf.

Moving on.

Across from the couch is the gas fire place. I have no idea if it works, but we were left a hand written note on the hearth instructing us not to use it at night.



Moseying into the kitchen brings us to another handwritten note letting us know that it would really help out if we washed the dishes and the towels before we left.


Really, that is a completely acceptable request, it's just the way in which it was asked that was a bit perturbing... especially because the owner took the time to write all these notes, but there was no welcome note... unless you count the invoice waiting for us on the table with a side note of "Thanks for Staying".

We check out the upstairs to find the bed and jacuzzi tub. Oh, and guess what? ANOTHER NOTE! This one explains that we should just run the hot water - otherwise the water will be cold by the time the tub is full. Helpful? Yes. Professionally done? No. It's a nice crisp piece of paper that has obviously been wet and dried several times. And if my memory serves me correctly, the grammar was awful!


So now that we have the cabin rules noted, we head down the stairs noticing the two planks of wood across the window. Jeff says they probably put them up because someone once went through the window after falling down the stairs.

Later, Jeff personally discovers that his hypothesis is most likely true: he found a slick step and used the bars to stop himself from going out the window. We quit wearing socks up and down the stairs after that.

After getting acquainted with the cabin and it's rules, we finally settled down and relaxed. Throughout our stay, we ate a couple gourmet meals in town, checked out the local shops and antique mall, did a little grocery shopping (where we went on a huge dairy binge), and just some driving around to site-see. I watched a couple movies and Jeff read. We had great conversation and enjoyed the quiet, too. It was nice to not have a schedule. Each day was lazy in it's own way. It was great!

We also happened across a jewelry store in it's final days of business with an 80% off sale! We stopped in to take a peek and Jeff found a band that I've had my eye on for about a year now (and was hoping for for our 10 year anniversary). It fit well with my engagement ring, and then he spotted the exact band in platinum as well. He said that I might like to get the platinum one, too, for the days I wear silver jewelry. He told the girl to "Wrap 'em up!" and I said, "Yes, sir!" with a huge grin on my face! He continued to browse and I went to pay. While the cashier was putting the rings in boxes, Jeff came up behind me and whispered loud enough for the cashier to hear, "So, how are you going to keep these hidden from your husband?" The cashier looked up at me and said, "What?" I just had to playfully punch him in the gut. He deserved it. :)



Saturday was the only thing we really had "planned". We met up with T, Super B, and Super Dad. We ate breakfast together at Jack's and then headed on to Trade Day. I must say we were smiling and laughing the whole time! It was so much fun to meet and we even talked about getting the kids together someday! It's so nice to have friends!


While there, Jeff was in a man's paradise! He came home with a pair of sunglasses, a set of loppers, a handle for his sledge hammer, a cell phone holder and this for his office. (So, I'm not the only one that's spoiled! LOL!)

After Trade Day, we headed through the mountains for a scenic tour back to the cabin. I'll leave you with these pretty pictures.



It was a wonderful vacation in spite of the cabin. And now, we have a funny story to tell, too!

We're Gettin' Away!

Step 4 of The Plan will be completed this weekend! It's been a LONG time coming! (And it's our 9 year wedding anniversary, too!)

Here's where Jeff and I are headed for 4 days:

(that's a hot tub in the far back)

(Ok, for the first time I just noticed there are mirrors surrounding the tub... that's a bit gross. LOL!)

And while we're away, we're going to meet this hillbilly! Can't wait to meet you, T!

Plastic and Compost

This week's Unplugged Project is "Plastic". I really didn't think we were going to get a chance to work it in this week, until I walked outside and saw this:



We are turning this 45 gallon plastic garbage bin into a composting bin. I got the bin idea from here and learned more about composting here.

For more Unplugged Projects, head on over to Unplug Your Kids.

STEP 2: Add a Little Structure

What we noticed first
"We" have a problem, too
Fixing it:
STEP 1: Create Family Rules

Step 2: Add a Little Structure

I am a person that likes structure. I like to plan and know what is coming next. It's just the way it is. Will may be the same way as these "open play" summer days are just not working for us.

Jeff took this past Friday off and the oldest boys spent the night at Grandmother's. We took the "quiet" time to really talk about the direction of our family and how we need to be training our boys better than we have been.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.

So, we came up with the Family Rules in Step 1 to begin with. We try to work the words in green into our day and our disciple to help teach the concepts of respect, staying calm, obeying, etc. So far it has really been working well. I am quite pleased!

For me, training also includes adding more structure to our day. So...

I got out my control journal (wiped off the dust) and revamped our daily routine to include daily bible reading (I know this should have already been there!), some sort of schooling to help Will keep up with it for Kindergarten and prepare Nathan for two days of preschool, and also some leg stretches to hopefully ward off those tiptoes before Will turns 8! None of the routine is rigid... we still go with the flow, but with a bit of an outline to help us stay on track with what needs to be done.

I not only updated the boy's daily routine, but mine as well. Giving myself time to do everything I need to get done. I included an earlier wake up time and even a bed time for myself. I need to be rested to properly take care of the boys. My mornings are VERY busy now, but at the end of the day I feel better about myself for connecting with the boys and keeping up better with my home.

Proverbs 31

15 She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.

26She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.

There's lots more in Proverbs 31, but I can't work on it all at once. ;) This is still such a new process and of course it's not perfect, but the outline works (when I follow it).

Here's the goal (again from Proverbs 31):

28 Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”