Kennedy’s birthday

{warning: photo overload of the new 2 year old}

Let the birthday continue…
yesterday, today and tomorrow.
One only wants to do this when they’re young,
so we may as well let them and enjoy watching.
I think instead of birthday, it will be birth-week soon.
Once we reach my grand age,
we conveniently try and skip the birthday all together,
so party away, Little One.

Lisa came over in the afternoon with a gift for Kennedy.
Two of her favorite things, Curious George and books.

One of the stories in the book is about George’s birthday.
She listened while I read and when we got the page
of George blowing out the candles on his cake she say,
“Georgie not have birthday. ME!”

The bigger kids couldn’t wait until she could open her gifts,
but she wasn’t in any rush.
Or was it, she didn’t know there were gifts to be opened? :)

After she unwrapped her puzzle,
Dakota said, “I have a gift for her too!”
I was surprised, I certainly hadn’t helped him buy one.
He ran upstairs to his room and brought a little package down.
He had taken one of his little cars and wrapped it up
in a page that had fallen out of an old book.
It was well taped, as you can imagine, and quite cute!

The cake sat on a small glass table
in the middle of the kitchen all afternoon.
She never touched it.
Until… I came around the corner to find this happening!!

She said, “It’s yummy!”

Since she was already started,
the kids decided we should blow out candles and all eat cake.

It’s really hard for a 2 year old to get those 2 fingers up.
This works better, although she still yells, “One!”

oh the blowing…
and spitting…

and so many, many rounds of relighting and blowing again.

…finally it was time to eat some more cake!

I asked, “Are you ready for a bite of cake?”
She promptly leaned forward and…

I had no idea that was coming!

She was quite pleased with herself!

More bites.

All she was getting was frosting so I cut a piece for her.
She picked it up and carefully took the layers apart.

And then stuffed it in!

I think she had eaten a bit too much frosting because
she shuttered a bit and asked for a drink and was done eating.
No amount of encouraging would change her mind.
She broke the cake apart and laid it out for everyone else to eat.

Which they happily did!

As you can imagine, the entire episode was filled
with lots and lots of laughing by the siblings.
It’s no wonder the youngest ones behave the way they do
with all the encouragement they get. :)

Yesterday and today,
it’s still her birthday if you ask.
The kiddos think we need another round
of cupcakes with candles over the weekend.
We shall see.

Happy day to you all!

Little One is 2

How can it be, my baby is 2 already?
Wasn’t she just born yesterday?
Didn’t I just have her tucked under my chin,
snuggled up in blankets?
Where has time gone?

Now she’s feisty and sassy at home,
but quiet and reserved in public.
She puts us all in our place,
telling us what she thinks around here.
When strangers talk to her, or even people she knows,
she won’t say a word or even crack the slightest smile.
No one believes us when we say
she can carry on a conversation in complete sentences.
It’s like a light bulb, on and off.

I wrote last time about her getting up early.
Monday morning when my alarm went off,
my first thought was, “Wow, she’s still sleeping.”
But no, when I walked down the hall to the living room,
this is what I saw.
If Mom just sleeps,
she’ll find her own source of entertainment.

Yesterday she was fighting with Mr D
and he straightened her up and said,
“I think it’s time for you to go to bed!”
She kicked her leg out the side at him and snapped,
“NO! Neber!”
I told Eric I laughed to myself
but it also scared me because
we have some work to do with her!

How we love her!

Her birthday started early.
(what a shock)
When I sang happy birthday to her, she just smiled.
I asked if she wants to blow out candles,
and she got all excited.
So we stuck a candle in the side of
her yogurt bowl and she
happily blew spit until it went out.
By the end of the day she’ll
be out of air because
every sibling that came down
had to see her blow out another candle.

Her Daddy came in with 2 balloons for her.
Tickled pink!

In typical 2 year old fashion,
she refuses to look.

Favorite foods?
Is no food an option?
It could be chips. snacks.
Real food?
None.
Meals are trials, believe me!

This mother of hers,
is not organized when it comes to birthdays.
They always creep up on me
and catch me unprepared.
How do they do that when I know they are coming?

I knew what I wanted to do for a cake,
but do you think I bought the cake mix? No.
So we mixed one from scratch this morning.
(I know, better for us anyway)

I had a very willing beater licker.
Such a help she is.
Everything you do in the kitchen
requires a stool and a little body pressed against you,
wanting to help, lick, touch, pour or do something.

This mother of hers
is also not a cake decorator.
Everything that can go wrong, will
when I try to decorate a cake.
I saw this one on pinterest,
(God bless you, who ever invented it)
It was relatively simple
and fit a 2 year perfectly.

I had a lot of willing sprinklers.

She was almost as busy eating the sprinkles.

All ready and waiting for tonight.
We all know what she’ll do.
She’ll take a slice and eat all around the edges,
push the plate away and say, “Done!”

In her book, frosting should be a food group of it’s own.

A party for a 2 year old?
Well, if you can call cake to go with supper a party,
along with excited siblings, than we’re having a party.
The girls were all worried about the food.
“What will we make for supper?
You always make our favorite food and she doesn’t have any!”
Guess we’ll be eating chips and frosting.

More spit blowing pictures of that occasion to come on the next post.

This Week

My eyes are only half open as I prop my head on my hand.
The coffee steam curls up toward my nose,
but my hand is too tired to lift the cup.
One would be inclined to think I had worked an entire day
or milked a barn full of cows since 4am, by my appearance.
But no, such is not the case.
The case would be one unwise Mama and
one little girl whose sleep schedules do not mesh.
You see, the Mama likes to stay up late into the night
and the little girl loves to get up early in the morning.
No matter, absolutely no matter,
what time the Mama puts the little girl to bed,
she gets up before the sunshine every morning.
This Mama did not know that little girls
need less sleep than their Mothers.
One would think the Mama would have learned her lesson
in the short 2 years of this little girl’s life,
but nooo, it seems that has not happened.
{yawn}

(Reagan’s creation)
((Madison corrected me and said it was her, not Reagan)) :)

~~~

This week was hard, for various reasons.
One being, Eric was gone all week.
My heart goes out to young widows.
At least I knew Eric was coming home,
the week was manageable because of that.

The kids and I ate foods that are not his favorite all week.

This may not fall into that category but we happily ate it anyway.
We needed something to do in the middle of the day. :)

I pretty much stayed inside the entire week
except to get a few groceries on a sub zero day.
Becky was a dear and kept the 2 littles
so I didn’t have to drag them around.
That meant I was alone.
Alone.
That word deserves an entire line just for itself.
Alone.
The meaning of it is:
A very rare moment in the life a of Mom.
Emphasis on RARE.

When I did venture out one other day, it was for an aggravating reason.

Thank you Mr Snow Plow for forcing me to inhale a bit
of freezing, cold, fresh air into my lungs.
Please, don’t feel obligated next time,
I’m doing fine inside.

This white fluff that insists on being part of our lives…
I’ll refrain from putting my thoughts into words,
but I was nigh near frozen in just a few minutes.

~~~

One day I went to bat with the creators of webs.
They were completely taking over corners I keep skipping
when I clean around here.
How is it that these little guys are so much faster at putting
webs up than I am at taking them down?

Anyone with the urge to paint, come right over.
This entire place needs a coat and I lack the desire.

~~~
Madison is baking, as we speak.
I will not disturb her.
She has 3 others nipping at her heals,
wanting to lick.

10 min after she put her cookies out,
we found the little one happily eating them.
At least 3 gone.

Just bit ago I heard Madison say to herself,
“Resist it Madison, just resist and don’t lick the spoon!”
Such is the life of the cook.

~~~

This was my motto for the week.
And that is why I stay up late.

The Little Things

It’s the little things that matter.

Enjoy the little things in life,
for some day you will look back
and realize they were the BIG things.

Am I appreciating little things in life that matter?

Tiny hands. Little feet.
A squishy little hug.
A sticky kiss.
The word “Mama” 1000 times a day.

Laughing with my children.
Listening to their stories.
Watching them play.

Saying “Yes.”
Seeing the smile when you tell them
you did their chores for the day.
Building a fort for him.
Baking cookies with them.
Am I speaking their language?

Little things with friends can be anything…
A little note.
A smile.
Your interest.

A letter to a friend.
A phone call, “How are you today?”
Am I taking time for just a little?

When I think of the world around me…
Tiny Spring flowers.
Little buds on the trees.
A tiny white snowflake.
Am I seeing these for the beauty they are?

Do I relish the snugly blanket,
my cup of coffee,
while hearing little chatter and giggles?

Am I appreciating
one more memory game,
one more kiss goodnight,
one more hug?

Never stop doing little things for others.
Sometimes those little things
occupy the biggest part of their heart.

~~~
Jesus, help me remember
the little things in life matter.
When I think I would rather be
out doing big things for you,
help me remember the
little things I am doing,
are actually big in someone’s life.

Help me appreciate the little beauties of life.

Project 365 – February

2-1 There is always good food at Mom’s house.

2-2 It’s always farming season, no matter the weather.

2-3 Yogart Parfaits for Ladies Night Out.

2-4 Grilled peanut butter and jelly.
Try it. It’s the best like that!

2-5 Would you like a blueberry with that?

2-6 Pretty Sunset while we traveled.

2-7 God’s delicate creation

2-8 An intriguing station

2-9 Fried cornmeal mush. Yummers.

2-10 My Good Will find

2-11  Our school had a book fair and Reagan’s class used “Summer of the Monkeys” for their book. (these were made for them by their teacher’s mom)

2-12 When you bow and arrow breaks, make skis.

2-13  You know they were good when you find this. The girls brought leftover cupcakes home from a school party and the little guys ate them up.

2-14 No flowery Valentines picture for this day. We got caught in this on the way home from town. Madison took this picture while I was driving.

2-15 Miss Monkey with a monkey face.

2-16 With arctic tempts this morning, not too much else matters.

Of Wailing Females

When she wakes up saying, “No, no, no.”
You know it’s gonna be a bad day.

She wails loudly for something to eat.
I give her a bagel with jam.
After looking at it for a minute,
she pushes it away and cries loudly into her arms.

Dakota walks past with a toy she likes behind his back,
grinning wickedly, he sticks it out for her to see.
Howls at high decimals reach our ears and she lunges for him.

I settle her on the chair with her favorite book.
All is quiet until I open it to the first page and it is torn.
More crying, wailing and tears, “Broken page, broken page.”

Back to the table, she nibbles her bagel.
Loud cries go up over “Messy hands!”
I clean them and she wails, “Noooo, I do.”
I give her the rag and after she wipes for awhile,
I ask for it back.
More wailing, “Not done, not done.”

I pick her up, she sobs and says, “Stand up.”
“I am standing.” I tell her.
She stops mid cry and looks down and wails loudly.
Why? I don’t know.

She wants milk.
She doesn’t want milk.
She wants down.
She wants up.
She wants to eat.
She doesn’t want to eat.

Her Daddy walks in and asks what’s wrong.
Her mother replies,
“I don’t know. She doesn’t know. I guess she’s just being a female.”
When the father grins, the mother scowls inwardly.

We give her her favorite blanket and stick her into bed
and all is peaceful for a few minutes.
Soon she comes trotting out, smiling.
What happened?
We don’t know.
We just hope it lasts.

Moral of the story:
Don’t ask a female what is wrong because more then likely she doesn’t know.
Just clear the way, give her some space and chocolate,
take care of the kids, feed the dog, take out the trash,
clean up the house, do the dishes, and in due time,
all will be right with the world again.

Of Cooking With Menus

Dear Menu-Planning-Cooking-Woman,
I have a few questions for you today.

Do you ever have days when it’s 5pm and you still don’t know
what to make for supper? Yes, I say supper.
{No.}
Please tell me how in the world that is possible.
{Plan a menu far in advance}
Far in advance, hmmm, like a month? Wow.
I can’t even plan 1-2 days in advance.

How do you make that menu and stick to it?
{Just write it down and then cook it on the appointed day.}
Alrighty then, sounds easy enough, but that always leads me to this…

I have always had this burning question about your kind of people.
Are you always, really, truly, hungry for the meal
jotted down for Thursday night?
{Absolutely. If that is what’s on the menu, that is what we eat.}
Seriously? If I plan a menu, I never feel like eating tator tot casserole
on the night tator tot casserole is jotted down for.
I want Chicken Alfredo that’s slotted for Fri night
or the pizza scheduled for Sat night.
Anything but tator tot casserole.
Who wants tator tot casserole anyway?

Can you really manage to go grocery shopping
only once a month? (Your husband must be very proud)
{Yes. You just buy everything you need on that trip because the menus are all planned. You should never need anything extra because when you stick to your menu, you always have the correct ingredients.}
Wow. I was in town yesterday and we are already out of butter.

Do tell, how do you manage to get this done all the time?
{Organization. Perfect planning.}
Guess I missed that ingredient on the cooking boat.
If you haven’t figured it out already,
cooking is not my first love,
eating is.

Thank you for your time. I will give this
menu thing a shot and see if it works.
{No problem. Just remember to cook what is on the menu,
never veer to the right or to the left for Alfredo or Pizza
when it’s tator tot time.}

Now I’m sure somewhere out there is a working woman,
reading this and thinking,
“You my girl, have no idea how nice you have it.
Stay at home mom, nothing to do but take care of a few kids.
How can you not figure out what is for dinner before 5pm?”
Yes, I know, that is precisely my question too.

And I know somewhere out there is a farm wife on Wed afternoon
planning her third meal of the day, 12th meal of the week, thinking,
“You have no clue. Not a clue whatsoever what real cooking is like.
You have no idea what life is like when there are 3 meals a day to make.
You have nothing to complain about when all you have to do
is come up with 1 meal each evening.”
Meekly whispers: I know.

I also realize there are people out there starving.
A mama in Africa would probably tell me I have no business
even asking such questions because at least I have food with which to cook.
I know. I know.

But today, this is my problem.
Or every day this is my problem.
And I can’t quit thinking about it.
And wondering how to fix it.

So now that I have been set in my place and have organization on my brain,
I am off to browse cookbooks, make grocery lists and try to figure out
what is for supper for the next 37 nights in a row.
And after I do all this organizing and whatnot,
I guarantee you I will not be hungry for whatever is on the menu for that one specific night and all my work will be down the drain.
Make it anyway you say, she says, ugh, good diet plan I guess.

Knowing me it will be 5pm tomorrow and I still won’t know what to cook.

Then I’ll call you and we’ll go out to eat.