Random Rewards

Whenever we go to the grocery store we start at one end of the toy isle (why, oh why did they put a toy isle...okay I KNOW why...but you know what I mean...) and Ben can pick up whatever he wants and look at it until we get to the end of the isle. Then I tell him we must put it back for another little boy to look at too.
He always says "can we bring this dump truck/tractor/bubble kit/playdough/car home?"
I say, "maybe another day, Ben" and distract him with whatever is first on our shopping list to find.  He always obediently puts his find back on the shelf.

On this particular day he had a cart full of random finds; a curly straw cup, music set, watergun, toy blender and animal crackers. He was holding all of them and wouldn't let me help.
"Okay Ben, put the things back on the shelf. We are going to go see if we can find some nice red apples. How many should we buy?"
 Ben clung to his load of loot.
"Can we bring these things home Mommy? Please?"
 "Not today honey. Maybe another day. Should we get green apples too?"
Those big green eyes welled with tears. I could hear him whisper something under his breath.
"Padron me, Ben?"
"Then what day mommy? What day can we bring these things home with me to play?"

Oh how quickly my stomach dropped to my feet. For probably two years now he has waited patiently for THE day. It has never come...I just hadn't thought.

"Today Ben! You're right! Todays the day!"
"Which thing can I have at my home?"

And becuase of his sweetness and my extreme guilt at my oversight I caved...mostly I needed to see those green eyes light up again.

"All the things Benny! You have been so patient to wait, I think you can have all those things!"

Whew. Oh boy did those eyes light up!

He wouldn't let me put anything in the cart for fear I would sneak something back on the shelf so he clung to everything for the next hour while we did our shopping and shouting proudly to everyone that would listen;

"LOOK WHAT MY MOMMY IS BUYING ME BECAUSE I MAKE GOOD CHOICES!"

July In Pictures!

INTRODUCING....

MY NEW BLOG!!!!!

Yes it is very exciting!

Head over there now to check it out...and get in on the giveaway action!

www.ourjourneytoeden.blogspot.com

Stickers...

Ben loves stickers, in his life they represent good choices and thus good consequences. He hordes them. Sometimes he saves them...in the most unusual places!

You Don't Have To Go Home, But You Can't Stay Here...

Our house is for sale right now. We just want a change...maybe to a project house?, a bungalow?, a country house?, a house on water? (even though I am afraid of water...but just go with me on this...) a farm? A century home? Somewhere close to Jon's work?

We really don't know what we want...I think we will know it when we see it. I love that attitude because everyday then I can want something different. I have been very busy lately up here in my head, planning all of these scenarios. Right now the beach house is sounding lovely. I found the most perfect periwinkle blue last night at home depot and a gallon of grassy green miss-tint that I bought, even though it was too big for the stroller basket to hold...you know, just in case we move to a house with a wall that screams for miss-tint grassy green.

What I know for sure is that it will be a country/beach/urban/suburb (does that stand for sub urban? probably, right?) house of COLOUR!!!

I painted this house and decorated it for selling it...not necessarily to my taste. The furniture is forgettable and the wall colors can all be found on the same colour swatch of "Benjamin Moore's most popular safe colours"

I'm over it.

The next house is going to be for me. I love to decorate and uplift a space.

I can't wait!

Every Good Backyard Needs a Pirate.

If only our backyard pirate had shown up sooner, perhaps the rabbits would have been scared out of our vegetable garden!

My Dream

I hate Laundry. I really really loath it. When one of my children spoils an outfit before 10 am I know there are probably 2 more plus pajamas now to wash for the day....

My Mother in law loves laundry. The boys get their bums wiped with facecloths at her house just SO there will be more laundry to do.

She is a saint.

I thought perhaps then it was just perspective ...I tried to change my perspective...truly I did. I try to be grateful for my front loaders that half the amount of loads I need to do in a week as a result. I am fully aware that my great great grandmother would have sold her left foot for one of these contraptions.

Alas. Here I am...loathing laundry.

Sometimes I get on a roll and will do 3 or 4 loads in a day, but then I lose momentum and interest and inevitably get distracted. Then I will wander down to my least favorite room a few days later to be reminded by a stinking load still sitting in the washer...needing now to be washed again. I usually wash the load in the dryer again too because it is so wrinkly I would certainly have to *gasp* iron it or something. (if you just dry the cycle on high heat and take it out immediately after it is done and still hot, rarely does anything wrinkle!)

Ben was looking at a new book I got for Jacob called "1000 words" he was naming all the things on the the pages and had no trouble with "combine harvesters, mobile cranes, refrigerators and staplers" but when he got to a funny oval shaped appliance he was stuck.

"Mommy? What is that?"

"Um...it's an iron. Ask Grandma."

No I have never ironed. Ever. I do own one though... my mother in law gave it to me. One day I will use it too...I swear on my front loaders".

I usually dress my boys in dress shirts and vests for church on Sunday. Often people comment on their outfits, specifically vests.

"You must have quite a collection of vests! They always look so charming on Sunday mornings."

Why thank you. I do love to dress my dollies...I mean children, up. But the truth? They wear vests because I too agree with the charming nature of a little boy in a vest...but you also need not iron the shirt underneath.

Jon is not allowed to take off his hot suit jacket, even in July. Unfortunately the hot dryer trick doesn't really starch the way I would like a dress shirt to look so he is stuck in a suit jacket.

There. My shame.

Then on a first episode of 19 kids and counting, (I think there were only 15 then...) I saw the solution to my loath. The thing that would free me too to have an 8 load a day quota of kids....

the....

Family Laundry Room

Michelle Duggar is brilliant!

I need one of these.. All the clothes are kept in the same room, ideally with the washer and dryer. You simply wash, fold and put away in the same place. No lugging clothes up and down stairs, no sorting and splitting into piles for different drawers and rooms...a laundry chute would really be te icing on the cake wouldn't it!

Can you imagine the freedom! No longer the dank room in the pit of the basement...but a sunny, organized, detergent smelling heaven of clothes organization.

I wish one for everyone!!!



I would probably iron too...if i had one of these little numbers...

Happy Half Birthday!!!!

Has it only been half a year since we met you? It has really flown by, and yet we can't imagine life without Jakey! He is our little ray of happy sunshine. He is so content, so happy, so quick to smile you can almost see the energy around him glowing.

Gosh we love this boy.

What a blessing he is to our family.

In his sixth month of life Jacob is

1-trying so hard to crawl.
2- interacting more with Ben, trying to get his attention and initiate play.
3- holding strong at two teeth
4-hating the car! It is the ONLY thing that can upset him. My new seat is the one next to his where my face aches when we reach our destination for the faces I have to pull trying to keep him from bawling.
5- he wants food SO badly. I was going to delay solids until eight months but because he shows no signs of allergies I think some sweet potato is in his near future!
6- He has a great sense of humor and takes any opportunity to laugh.

We love you Jakey Jake and can't wait to watch you learn and grow some more!

Splash Fun

Summer means one thing to Ben...splash parks. We do the circuit each week and he loves them. Jacob got in on the action with some help from Daddy...until he got sprayed by a big boy and we thought maybe he would take a break... until next year.

Never Just A Box

We bought a new bench for the kitchen and fortunately it came in a great box! It began as a race track and ended as a space boat...named "Ladybug"...we had some great trips in that boat until it...crashed (and by that I mean that it got jumped on and rolled in one too many times...).

Just a Couple of Stinkin Cute boys...

Campfires

Ben enjoyed his first fire in our backyard recently. No one's eyebrows were singed and Ben loved the marshmellows that I relented and gave into in the name of tradition...but just one (and the ten he snuck while thought I wasn't looking).

Kanga Boy

Jacob, like his brother, does not want to be put down...ever. He would happily be carried every moment of the day. When he sees me get out his Ergo baby carrier he giggles and wiggles until I have him securely in. As soon as the clasp is tightened I can feel his weight drop. His body relaxes so instantly and so immediately I think he has fallen asleep. Jake will stay there happily as long as I can carry him. This is how, among other things, I make dinner every night.

I am amazed that he has learned to roll over at all since he is barely ever out of arms...or wrap...or carrier.

I could have used a pouch for this one!

Truly though, there is nowhere else I would rather him to be!

Waiting For Grammie

Ben adores his grandparents. Much of his pretend play revolves around them.

"Ben, Who are you talking on the phone to?"
"Grampa."

Of course.

"Ben, who are you driving in your car to visit?"
"Costco...and then Grandad!"

Of course.

"Ben who are you having a picnic with?"
"Mr. Beebs...and Grammie".

Of course.

"Ben, where do you want to go today?"
"To see Gramma!"

Of course.

When a beloved grandparent is going to stop by for a visit I use it to my advantage because Ben will keep himself out of trouble by waiting by the window for up to an hour. When they arrive he leaps off the couch and shouts out the closed window.

It is adorable.