Shining Stars

Happy New Year from the Burtons!

2012-01-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

My intention was to email everyone a Merry Christmas card with updated family pictures.
Christmas Day came a lot quicker than I thought it would! So . . . HAPPY NEW YEAR!! In 2011 we felt like we got run over by a train! The year started out with a lot of financial struggles but ended with Chris' business finally looking up, after a long, hard season of getting established. We are continuing to press into our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ trusting in Him for provision. We have so much to be thankful for! A roof over our heads, health, beautiful children and many other blessings.

Elizabeth turns 5 in 10 days!! She will be celebrating with friends and family by having a "Royal Tea Party". She is looking forward to learning how to read and last year I started teaching her to write her letters in cursive - that's been fun! Ellie loves to play princess/dress-up, she is always "cooking" in her kitchen and LOVES to draw us all pictures.

Josiah is 3 1/2 and continues to keep us on our toes. He mimics his big sister much of the time, constantly playing "catch-up". He still loves to be rocked by his mommy, makes strange noises when he is falling asleep and doesn't stop moving when he is awake. He's really into knights/princes and dragons. He turns into a "big-boy" the second that there is "danger" he must save Ellie from!

You can see more of our pictures and our life throughout this last year (and continue to keep updated) by checking out my web album. I probably upload new pictures every week or so. I also have a youtube account where I try to upload videos of the children at least once a month. Enjoy looking at them as much (or as little) as you desire!

Have a Blessed New Year my dear family and friends!

Love,
the Burtons

Photos taken by my brother, Paul, in Old Town Sacramento following the celebration of my dad's 60th!

Micah, Paul, John, Josiah, Dad, Mom, Chris, Tara, Ellie & Colleen

A new buffet

2012-01-01T11:06:00.000-08:00

I grew up with this buffet. My parents received it as a present when they purchased their first house when I was two ... 1979. I've always LOVED it and was promised that one day I could have it in my own home. Here it is in my diningroom ... I love that all my napkins, etc is now safely tucked away and no longer cluttering my life. Thank you mom and dad!

I made my own yogurt!!

2011-12-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

Following the directions found HERE I made my own yogurt last night. It was surprisingly easy. Put the milk in my 6qt crock pot, turned it on low and walked away for 2 1/2 hours. Off for 3 hours and then mixed 1/2 cup of store bought yogurt in. 10:45 at night by this time so I covered the pot with towels to keep it insulated and went to bed! Got up in the morning and it was nice and thick on my kitchen counter . . . tasted it, but lukewarm yogurt isn't my favorite so I stuck it in the fridge and we'll have some as a snack today! I am planning on making "Go-gurts" with some of it and will definitely do this again!

Oh . . . have I mentioned that we've been making our own kefir? It is surprisingly easy to care for and every two days or so we have yummy kefir to drink, mix into smoothies, etc!

The routine wins!

2011-11-30T13:45:00.001-08:00

I have my children on a pretty tight routine ... at least when it comes to sleeping ... actually, that may be the ONLY thing that is tight around this house :) We put them to bed around 9 every night and they are up around 8:30ish in the morning. We do our thing during the morning and early afternoon and then around 3pm every day I put them down for a rest/nap and then they are up again by 4:30 to make this house of mine a home again!

Yesterday was a BEAUTIFUL Southern California day - in the mid 80's - and both Elizabeth and Josiah were having a blast playing outside in their "fort". It was getting closer to rest time and I decided to let them stay awake and play. Tick, tock, tick, tock ... the minutes went by and at 3:30 both children come running inside because they are finished playing! I changed my plan again and put them down for their rest time. Usually Elizabeth plays quietly in her room the whole time and Josiah goes to sleep. I figured that I wouldn't put Josiah to sleep this time, maybe I could get him to bed earlier at night?! He brought toys in his room and proceeded to play ... aaaah ... I went out to get some filing done for Chris. 30 minutes later Josiah comes out and tells me that he would like his humidifier on, the lights off and for me to tuck him into bed. Zzzzzzzzzzz ... he slept through his alarm and I had to wake him up at 5ish. So much for me trying to take away the routine for a day ... he went and took it back!

Bike Bucket Tutorial

2011-11-23T07:18:00.001-08:00

I fell in LOVE with this tutorial a few months back when I saw the picture on pinterest (check it out... it's an amazing and fun site) and decided to make one for each child. So last week, using up scraps of fabric I put it together and here they are!

Our Autumn decorations

2011-11-23T07:05:00.001-08:00

In the middle of October we were driving around seeing all the many decorations up for Halloween. It made me want to decorate my own house, but with the Harvest/Autumn in mind instead. We found this tutorial HERE and I proceeded to cut out my tissue paper leaves. Next time I would make a variety of sizes like she did because I felt like I had made a bunch of colored "football" leaves when I stood back and took it all in!

After gluing them on to the window Elizabeth is painting with black tempura paint

Josiah's turn, notice the rather "football looking" leaves on the left

Elle got ahold of my camera

The finished product!

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving!!

Fun b-day card to make

2011-11-22T22:29:00.001-08:00

Found this cool card HERE and made it back in October for my Mother-in-law. It was fun to make and super easy!

Cut out two sets of slightly enlarged hands, traced Elizabeth and Josiah's hands on one side, added the words "We love you"

THIS MUCH

This one is definitely a keeper ... don't be surprised if it shows up in your mail box!

Getting my house (LIFE) back in order

2011-09-29T07:39:00.000-07:00

My house has been a mess ...

kitchen

Dining room/School room

Other side of dining/school room

I couldn't take it anymore ... I had allowed the mess to rule my life and I couldn't get anything else done! I found I was avoiding the kitchen and dining rooms but I couldn't any longer! So yesterday afternoon during the kids naps and while Chris took them to gymnastics I put a good book in my ears (A room with a view) and went to work!

This is how it should look at ALL times ... amazing!!

No more clutter!! I think I need to put something on that wall, tho.

What a difference putting the ironing board up makes!

I'm ready to tackle some sewing projects now!

My goal is to keep my house looking this way from now on. Follow through and self discipline ... which is something I lack and yet it is gift that I wish to give to my children. How can I give something to them which I am not myself practicing? Today is a new day!!

making rags

2011-09-11T22:04:00.000-07:00

I saw a cool blog POST about taking the husbands old socks and making rags out of them. I already use our old socks for dusting but I thought that opening them up could possibly get more use out of them. I wasn't 100% sold on the idea tho ... seemed like a lot of work for something you were just going to clean with ... UNTIL I remembered the Bridal Shower I was going to this weekend and that I had no present for the bride to be! I made her a handful of rags that I dyed in blue dye first and then sewed some extra fabric on the back to make them a bit more sturdy. But you can't just give someone rags for a present .... enter the lavender vinegar that I had just finished making! I poured some into a bottle and then grabbed the book, "Organic Housekeeping" and put it all together in a basket I had around the house. It was cute and I felt good about my accomplishments ...

of course today I still had a bunch of old socks lying around that I needed to do something with! So I grabbed some more old fabric and made over a dozen rags for cleaning around my house. and I STILL have leftover socks!!

Here is the pile of old socks

Here are the fabric scraps

Here is my finished product!

Glimpse into a pretty typical Saturday

2011-06-04T21:30:00.001-07:00

What a day I had today! The kids and I were out of the door by 8:15 ... we had a coupon for Buy One Get One for Jamba Juice and the same for Noah's bagels (right next door to each other). It was so fun to give them a special treat! They have so much joy and it must be contagious because a very nice lady who met us in Jamba Juice and then again at Noah's bagels handed me two cookies that she bought for the kids because she just thought they were so adorable and sweet. Aaah!! How nice is that?!

We headed over to the "Pantry", where a group of Christians hands out recently expired food from local grocery stores, and waited in line until it was our turn for food. I had just "weaned" them off of needing to watch a movie while mommy goes into the kitchen to get the food ... now it has moved from being a time of me socializing w/ friends to being a time of me spending quality time w/ them ... I read them 3 books while we waited and then sent them (along w/ my phone for distraction) to the stairs to wait. On our way home we stopped at Trader Joes (the small one, as Ellie calls it) tried the sample, got a few items and found the "panther" hiding in the store. Always an adventure w/ my kids!

Home. An our later we were out the door again on a bike ride to the library. It's a little over a mile to the bike path and then another 1.2 miles to the library from there. It took me twice as long this time! I felt like I was pulling an elephant ... it wasn't until I was on my way back that I finally took a look at the tires on the trailer ... yep, it wasn't on right and had been "rubbing" on the trailer the whole time. Yikes ...

After dinner the kids and I watched "Homeward Bound". I'm such a sap ... cried at the end ... and now I'm waiting for Chris to come home so we can watch a free movie together. Yes, free! Blockbuster is doing this cool thing right now where all the movies that are not new releases are FREE for the month of June! He took back the kids movie and got the Soloist for us to watch ... looking forward to having some Madelaine's and Rooibos tea while watching a movie w/ my hus!

homemade refried beans

2011-06-03T22:28:00.000-07:00

I made crockpot burritos tonight ... but before I could make them I needed to make refried beans - so at 7 this morning I rinsed my beans, boiled them and then turned off and let them soak for 4 hours. At 11am I rinsed them and set them back on the stove to boil for about an hour. Around 3 this afternoon, using the recipe my mom gave to me from a good friend of hers, I finely chopped strips of corn tortilla, chopped some onion and 2 garlic cloves and sauteed them until soft in some olive oil on the stove ...

added the beans w/ some of the reserved water from the beans, mashed them and then added a lot of salt until they no longer tasted bland and still I could have added a little more!

When I was finished I had enough to put in my crockpot burritos (which were cooked for 2 hours on high each wrapped in foil (note to self: tortillas are soggy when cooked this way ... must put in oven and/or broiler for a few minutes before serving). They were very tasty - kids LOVED them! I ALSO had enough to put aside for lunch tomorrow or Sunday AND I froze some too!

Sleep training

2011-05-28T07:44:00.000-07:00

In the last month it FINALLY clicked! Both kids now stay in their rooms until 8am every day! Woo-hoo! We have these monkeys, see ... they are amazing. You set them at night by putting their eyes closed and they "wake up" at the time set for them in the morning. Genius! There was many a morning when I had to send them back to their rooms after asking them, "is your monkey awake?" Now when Josiah wakes up he grabs his rocking horse out of the hall and goes back inside until his monkey wakes up. He sometimes wakes up as early as 7am ... but he stays in there until he's allowed out! Elizabeth sometimes wakes up @ 7:30/45 and she uses the bathroom and climbs back into her bed. I feel like I can finally enjoy my mornings!!

I would say that the monkey works best with children who are closer to 3 ... they just don't seem to "get it" before then. There are other sleep training clocks out there and they probably work just as well. We just happened to settle on this one! As a parent you aren't off the hook once you purchase something like this ... you have to do the work of training them to stay in their room ... pointing them back to the clock every time. Also, if your child currently wakes up @ 6am every day you can't expect for them to stay in their room until 8am just because the clock says they should. You must start with reasonable goals with your child and work toward a time that gives you and your child peace!

You can check out all of them HERE at Amazon.com. Our monkey clocks are about half way down the page - and remember the clock is NOT a toy, do not be fooled into allowing your child to carry his/her monkey all around the house - it WILL break!!

Feeling Productive

2011-05-23T21:03:00.001-07:00

Today is exactly how I would like to see my Monday's go ... not that it was a perfect day but I was able to accomplish a lot and enjoy myself in the process!

Alarm went off @ 5am ... finally pulled myself out of bed and 5:45. Clothes on, out the door and on a mile run. I think my eyes finally opened about 3 minutes into the run :) Back home to do some push-ups, stretch and wash my floor. Shower. Drank a nice cup of tea while I read the Word - those Proverbs can really hit home! 8am kids started to stir ... my day is here and I am ready!

This was the first 3 loads of laundry ... I ended up doing 6 loads - yikes!

I even hung extra line to accomodate for all the clothes I was drying ... this was the first round

While I was waiting on clothes to wash and dry I decided to make some pillowcases out of an old sheet.

Aaaah! Finally made it to the last load! (I think it was around 3 pm or so)

I was finished making 5 pillowcases and a handful of napkins shortly after dinner ... in the background is the remainder of the sheet not yet used.

It's 9pm ... I have a load of jeans in the dryer and these clothes on my couch ... I'm going to spend some time w/ my husband and then take care of these in the morning!!

Oh - and I dusted and vacuumed the whole house (minus the livingroom). It was a very productive day!!

I'll get my exercise any way I can!

2011-04-20T13:28:00.000-07:00

Needed to go to Trader Joes today ... so I packed the kids in the Burley trailer and headed out on my bike. 3.8 miles on the way there ... 28 minutes pulling 70 lbs and going up and down hills the whole way! 3.3 miles on the way home (found a shorter route) and I don't know how long it took because I couldn't make it up the 2nd to last hill. Kids had to get out and walk for a couple of blocks. We had one more hill after that and the kids got out again to walk another block. Finally made it home. I'm exhausted but I feel so good! My goal is to keep it up!! Tomorrow I'm going to ride the bike w/ the trailer to the library/park (2.2 miles) and then walk a couple miles around the park with a friend. Yaay!!

Extreme potty training with Josiah

2010-10-30T07:56:00.000-07:00

Potty training ran my life for 3 days one month ago ... but the rewards have been GREAT and Josiah's inconsistency in his poo & pee habits are no longer running mine day in and day out! I began the saga for training Josiah back in the beginning of July. I could tell he had been "ready" for quite awhile and he did good for a little while ... but then he began to regress, I began to get frustrated and all in all I realized there was a lot of inconsistency that I was allowing to happen. That's when I ran across the 3 day potty training method and after reading it realized that it was the right fit for both Josiah and I. So after taking a 14 day break from doing anything I put it into practice the last weekend of October.

This is a snapshot of my first day: We got up and had breakfast together. We then took all his diapers and padded training pants and told them "goodbye". We got all his new underwear from the dryer and put them in his drawer. I took him to the bathroom and introduced him to his new weeman urinal and told him that pee and poo were going in the bathroom from now on because he is a BIG boy! Then we went about our day. He made it to the bathroom first thing to go poo - he likes to hold on to mom and put his little head in the crook of my neck while he "does his thing". It's a little stinky but that's what he needs for now ... that's when he told me that I was his favorite superhero - awesome!! The rest of the morning and afternoon was him peeing in his underwear (or rather on the floor) and me rushing him to the bathroom saying, "yucky, now your underwear is wet". I got peed on twice during that time and spent a lot of time w/ vinegar-water and a rag :) I spent a lot of the day saying, "tell mommy when you need to go pee" and "are you still dry?" "Good boy, keep your underwear dry"! Finally at dinner time we sat down for our meal and he said, "I need to go pee" - which he hadn't done for about 2 hours. Chris was home so we made it a family affair and we all went into the bathroom together to see him go pee in his new urinal. And BOY did he go!! He "dumped" it back in the toilet, got his treat and Ellie led the procession out to the livingroom so we could "jump for joy" ... although Josiah refused to jump for joy until we changed it to, "jumping for Penny" (from the movie Bolt). He did GREAT the rest of the evening and when it came time for bed he went pee w/ his daddy and we tucked him in ... prepared for a night of changing sheets ... which never happened! He came out 20 mins after we put him down to go pee one last time and then Chris took him pee @ 3am.

It's been one month since those 3 days and I am happy to say that Josiah is fully potty trained. He has moved from going pee in his wee-man urinal to standing on a stool and going pee "just like daddy". We are working on him going all by himself now - something I remember doing w/ Elizabeth when I first trained her. If he doesn't need my assistance he gets a special treat and he LOVES that incentive! He still has accidents now and then - but mostly just little leaks from waiting too long. It's still hit or miss during the night. Sometimes he'll keep his bed dry all night long and other times he has accidents all thru the night! I decided a few days ago to use the padded cloth pull-ups I used with Elizabeth when she was his age and I have cut my laundry in half!! All in all I am VERY happy to not have to wash cloth diapers every other day - I do not miss the diaper days one bit!

it's been almost 2 weeks ...

2010-10-27T06:40:00.001-07:00

since I removed the dvds from the livingroom and put the library books in their place. The first week was a bit tough with Elizabeth asking for a movie every day. Also every time I did her hair she asked for "PBS kids" (which we watch on our computer). I told her we weren't going to watch a movie every day anymore and so when the asking would start again I would sit on the couch with the kids and pull out a book. We've read SO many books over this past week. First of all I am absolutely amazed at the attention span of my 2 year old. We've been reading books for the 4 - 5 year old level and he has no problem sitting there the whole time. They will sit there for 20 - 30 minutes at a time just listening to me read! One would think that with all this reading my house would be messier than before ... the funny thing is that it's not any worse than when I when we were watching anywhere from 30 mins to 2 hours of a dvd per day. After talking to my friend Carrie about this I realized that unlike watching a dvd Ellie and Josiah are interacting with me the whole time we read together. They are getting an extra dose of love that they cannot get with a movie.

We watched a movie on Friday night together (well most of it was together) and since then they have only asked to watch a movie once. Even yesterday when I was doing Ellie's hair she didn't ask to watch anything ... she just played with her toys at the table along with Josiah.

It has been a wonderful transition for us all!

Rain!

2010-10-06T07:21:00.000-07:00

I woke up around 3:30/4 this morning to the sound of the rain ... was SO excited to hear it pouring down and wished that I had a window in my room to open and listen even more! Had just drifted back to sleep when Ellie came into the room saying, "mom, you were mad at me in bed", "What?" I replied. "I had a dream and you were mad." I picked her up reassuring her that I was NOT mad and that I loved her. I then took her to the potty, put her back in bed and told her to listen to the sound of the rain that God was sending for her to listen to. Her eyes were wide and her smile got big as she talked about how she couldn't wait for morning when she could put her boots and raincoat on and go jump in the puddles! Somewhere between 4 and 5 she came in yet again and I tucked her back into bed ... then Josiah woke up screaming about his "pee-pee" hurting him ... took him pee and told him to listen to the rain. He was so excited to wake up and go out in the rain that I'm surprised he actually fell back to sleep!

It's so fun to share with my children the joy of weather and change in the seasons!

God is so good

2010-10-04T06:11:00.001-07:00

My son loves this song ... found him standing on top of my laundry basket singing this on the top of his lungs yesterday. Such a beautiful sound to hear your children singing praises to the Lord. It truly is a picture of the verse in scripture that says, "...out of the overflow of the mouth, the heart speaks." (Luke 6:45)

I am praising the Lord this morning because he is good. The past year and especially the last few months have been a tough journey for our family. We have been struggling financially in a way that we've never struggled before. We have had to let all of our credit cards go, stop paying on most of our mortgages (we have several investment properties), have lost one property to foreclosure, we are the in process of declaring bankruptcy, have bills due this next week that I have NO idea how we will pay and the list goes on.

Yet the Lord is faithful.

I began babysitting a little boy at the beginning of summer - that's the Lord's provision.
A friend called us right after we prayed about our bills a few weeks ago and offered to loan us the money we needed to get through the end of the month - that's the Lord's provision.
I am on the end of all my tea/coffee and lately I haven't been able to get through the day w/o some caffeine ... yesterday I won a coffee and tea package at a babyshower - that too is the Lord's provision.

Those are just a few of the things that come to mind as I sit here in the early morning, yet the point is not in a list - the point is that HE is faithful and takes care of His own!

All the while my husband works and works to try to see deals close in real estate. He's even going to drive a trailer one day this month and deliver a bunch of packages through a gig he found on craigslist. I'm so proud of him and the way he's stuck to his work even though there has yet to be real payoff AND that he is looking for alternative and creative ways to provide for his family.

I will continue to praise HIM, continue to trust in HIM, continue to "lift up my eyes to the hills" for He is faithful. (Heb 10:23)

I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

Ps 121:1-3

Pottytraining Standstill (dun, dun, dun)

2010-09-15T07:03:00.000-07:00

I would say that Josiah is 80% pottytrained. If we are out and I'm consistent it taking him he does GREAT. And he's 100% going poo on the potty - w/ or w/o underwear on. When we are home & he's naked he is probably 90 - 95% but when he's got underwear on - forget about it! I think we both just get busy w/ the day and forget! But the lights will click for him one of these days ...

The last few days he's been a little stinker by peeing whenever he feels like it ... even if his potty is RIGHT there! It used to be that he would have an accident and I would "find it" now he's been going and telling me about it!! I can't wait for this to be over so I can get my carpets steam cleaned and move on!

I think I probably started him a bit on the young side - would be easier to train them when they are 2 1/2 or 3 - like I did Ellie, but I was just done w/ diapers and having him poo in the toilet is a WAY better trade off!

the Boba Organic 2G

2010-09-10T05:58:00.000-07:00

I got to pick out a new baby carrier for my birthday ... the Boba Organic 2G! After having the Ergo carrier for the past 3 years it was fun to try something new! I chose the Boba mainly because it has the foot-rests for a toddler.

Here are the pluses that I found:

Super comfy ... straps have a lot of padding and make it nice to wear!
Adjustable buckles that are attached onto the straps. They move up and down easily and won't fall off!
Adorable, fun designs!
The hood can come off! A definite plus for those with toddlers who don't need this feature very often.
The ergo accessories also work w/ the Boba. I have the front pouch & backpack.
Extremely comfortable (did I already mention that?). I have carried up to 40 lbs without "feeling" it.
My children (3 1/2 and 2) both love it too!

Cons:

Cannot be used for a brand new baby (unless maybe you use the ergo insert or a blanket to help keep baby in? Didn't try as I don't have a little baby) so perhaps this is not a con?
Can only be used on the front or the back unlike the ergo which has a side option ... but I honestly have not missed this feature
Does not have a pocket in the front like the ergo ... I do miss this a little bit

As for those foot-rests? Well, I found that they weren't too helpful unless we were going on a hike. Otherwise Josiah doesn't want his foot in them - at all! But they don't get in the way and for the times that we hike I use them, but otherwise ... not so much...of course then there was last night and the boots that are just a tad bit big for Josiah - kept them on perfectly!

All in all an AMAZINGLY comfy carrier that I really like and am glad that I have it. We use it all the time (the Ergo has taken a backseat for now) and I would definitely recommend it to others!

Where can YOU find this carrier (and others)? Check out my best friend from Junior High (yes, we go that far back) Amber's site, Heavenly Hold. She is a knowledge of wealth on all subjects related to baby-wearing and has excellent customer service! She is EVEN selling the Boba Classic which is just like the 2G but is a bit less expensive and not organic. Don't settle for the Baby Bjorn ... there is WAY more out there to choose from!

THIS is why my children can't share bedrooms ...

2010-08-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

Josiah.

My son "sings" himself to sleep. And the last 3 nights he has fallen asleep on the ground. I've been able to transfer him to his bed on two of the nights but last night I couldn't even open the door to get to him!

Early mornings (usually between 7 and 7:30) he comes out, asks to go pee and then I bring the rocking horse back to his room for him to rock on until his monkey wakes up. This morning I heard him come out of his room so I walked down the hall to intercept him. Instead I watched from the bathroom as he went into our room, grabbed his horse, pulled it down the hall to his room, shut the door and started riding. Yaaay!! He's SO my sweet little boy.

Gotta LOVE the monkey ... eyes closed: it's not time to get out of room, eyes open: come on out!

check out my new blog

2010-08-17T15:38:00.001-07:00

I'll be the first to admit that this blog has been a bit messy at times. But that's ok!! I've recently begun a blog about my homeschooling experience ... that's right I'm homeschooling my little kiddos! I thought it would be fun to write about my experience as well - and be a bit more "focused".

I will still write down my random thoughts here but I also want to share with you my homeschooling experience so check it out over at "Schooling that shines".

tara :)

a new way to exercise

2010-08-15T08:49:00.001-07:00

I find that working out with two kids is near impossible - without a gym membership and/or childcare. I try, I really do, I'll get up at 5:30 3 days a week for pilates - that might go on for a week or a month but eventually I'm burned out. I tried jogging in the stroller with them - I have a flat now and haven't fixed it yet ;) Trying to find time and the energy to do anything in my "spare" time is exhausting and obviously not working!

This past Friday we walked to a house 2 miles away to get lemons. A gal who is apart of my freecycle group and was giving them away for free - yaay, lemonade!! We started out w/ Jonathan (the boy I babysit) in the double stroller (not jogger, cuz remember that one has a flat), Josiah riding his "tractor" and Ellie on her trike. 1/4 of a mile into it Josiah decided he was done so I loaded him up and hooked his tractor onto the stroller. 1/2 mile into it Ellie decided she was tired so with one hand I pushed the boys (about 60 - 70 lbs) and pulled Ellie (her bike has a handle on the back). For the remainder of our walk every time we went uphill I pushed and pulled, every time we went downhill I got a break! The last 1/4 mile I had Ellie in the stroller w/ her trike and Josiah's tractor riding along and Josiah on my back - I felt a bit like a pack mule! By the time we got home I felt amazing and ready to get out there again!

Tornado Jo

2010-08-12T20:50:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth was yelling at us from the other room this evening while Chris and I were getting dinner ready. As we made our way to the livingroom we heard a loud "boom". There was Josiah, bottoms off (which is usual since we are potty training) and t-shirt soaked, the portable white board fallen over on the ground, "I hurt myself" he said to Chris as we walked into the room. That was when I heard the water running ... walked into the hallway to see the toothpaste opened, soap out, etc on the ground. Turned the corner to walk into the bathroom. Water POURING out everywhere. Apparently that is why Ellie was yelling for us to come!

10 minutes and 3 beach towels later I had cleaned up the mess, emptied the entire under-the-sink area, including 4 soaked toilet paper rolls & Ellie's container of hair supplies. At least I got a head start in cleaning the bathroom - it was on the agenda for tomorrow anyway!

Then we ate dinner. The whole time we were eating Josiah was complaining about his tummy hurting. He asked to go pee twice ... the second time he threw up in the hallway. No fever, no other symptoms and he was ravenous right afterwards. Our thoughts are that he drank some of the water, ate some of the toothpaste and maybe even some soap? and then felt "yucky". He certainly keeps us on our toes!

watching movies on the BIG screen

2010-08-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

Today we went to the movie theater to see Charlottes Web starring Dakota Fanning with Julia Roberts as Charlotte. Our local theater does children's movies twice weekly throughout the summer for free. A few weeks ago we went to see Curious George. The kids LOVED it! Today was equally as fun. Elizabeth did wonderful, of course. Sat in her seat the whole time, eating popcorn and then having a lollipop. I had to take Josiah out twice to go potty (way to go Jo!) and by the last 30 minutes of the movie he just wanted to run around. As SOON as the credits/song came on Josiah ran right up to the front and was dancing his heart out! Ellie soon joined him, which quickly led to them running circles around the middle seats! We were almost the last to leave! It was a very fun outing for us to do together. I'm thinking about taking them to see Muppets in Space next week ... but we'll see!

Housekeeping

2010-07-27T07:37:00.000-07:00

I just ordered the book Organic Housekeeping from Amazon a couple of weeks ago. Cannot WAIT to receive it! I had borrowed it from the library about a month ago, read thru most of it, took lots of notes and realized that I needed to have it in my possession as a "manuel" of sorts! It has helped me tremendously in my housekeeping, my desire to use non-toxic chemicals as I clean and to spend the least amount of time possible doing that cleaning!

A few "items" I discovered that makes my cleaning even easier is Bon Ami cleanser, baking soda & vinegar. I already knew about the latter two but the Bon Ami ... it's amazing! And it's been around since the late 1800's - go figure!

Now that I've got the ingredients I just need to actually put it into practice!! I'm still not yet cleaning my bathrooms once a week ... it will happen tho, I'm determined!

just in the nick of time...

2010-07-18T15:12:00.000-07:00

Could hear Josiah "talking" himself to sleep (sounds more like "eh, eh, eh" than real talking. Sounded like he was out and so I went in to grab a stuffed animal that Ellie wanted ... Josiah was on his horse, eyes shut, swaying from side to side - about to fall off! I'm SO glad that I went in at that moment and swooped him into bed. Now that he's in his own bed I'll need to pay closer attention!

Adventures in Potty Training

2010-07-12T14:37:00.000-07:00

Whenever we go out of the house Josiah does wonderful going potty! On Saturday we went blueberry picking at a local farm and on our way there he said, "I gotta go potty". We pulled over to the side of the road and sure enough, he had to go!

Yesterday he woke up and had his bm before he even got out of bed. We left the house @ 11ish and were gone until 3ish. While at the zoo Josiah went potty twice and did not pee in his training pants at all! It was great! We got home and after his nap he had only pee'd a tiny bit in his waterproof training pants. The rest of the evening went well. Today I kept his training pants off after b-fast because I knew that a bm was coming. About 2 hours after waking up he started dancing around running back and forth to the potty chair and back to play. Finally he sat on the potty, asked me to "hold him" and he poo'd! I acted too quickly tho ... took the potty chair to the bathroom (while putting him in training pants) and when I came back he had gone more ... apparently he wasn't finished! About an hour later Ellie came inside telling me that Josiah had taken his underwear off ... I looked outside and he had gone poop and decided to take them off. Kudos for not wanting to play in dirty underpants! I rinsed him off in the shower and the rest of the morning before nap he kept peeing in his pants or on the floor with only a couple times in the toilet.

I don't understand it ... at the zoo he'll go more than an hour w/o peeing and then at home I can't even keep track of any pattern! I just need to be his personal assistant and not let him out of my site ... of course then I wouldn't get anything done ... no lunch, the other kids wouldn't be cared for ... but perhaps there is a fine line that I'm not yet walking to get this kid fully trained! Perhaps I'm the one that needs some training!! Only 9 more days before we go out of town ... I better turn up the heat!

Outing with the kiddos

2010-07-09T07:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had some errands to do in Simi (the town next to us). I loaded up the kids after Josiah had his bm and off we went. The kids HAD to bring their blankets and when we got out of the truck to go to the bank Ellie insisted on bringing hers with her. Josiah had on his little backpack (with a convenient leash for mom) and kept informing me that he was "Buzz Lightyear"! I told the kids to go sit on the chairs once we got inside and I went up to the teller. Ellie spent her time setting up her blanket so her doggy could sit on the chair safely. Josiah was running around all the chairs and trying to climb up them (on the sides) proclaiming loudly, "I Buzz Lightyear"! I wish I had had a video camera it was so funny - especially when their two "agendas" collided!

On another note Josiah did WONDERFUL out. He never once peed in his underwear and was very responsive when I would set up his potty chair and tell him to go!

in love ...

2010-07-06T23:40:00.000-07:00

This is very strange for me to say ... but it's very rare that a "chick-flick" actually causes me to fall more in love with the man I am married to. I think most movies aimed at women and relationships are meant to cause us to envy and want MORE than we currently have. I could be wrong, but that's usually the impression I get. Not tonight, however. I watched 'Leap Year' with Amy Adams (who I absolutely love) and ended the movie really thankful for my husband AND for how the Lord brought us together 10 years ago. It really was a "fairy-tale" story in a lot of ways, and although the road hasn't always been easy I am SO glad to be where I am today!

it was a little gross

2010-07-05T21:11:00.000-07:00

Day 3 in potty training Josiah. We met in a park w/ some friends in the morning for Church so I told Josiah he was a big boy and put underwear on him for the day. Every 20 minutes or so I had him sit on the potty and he did pretty good. . . until he had his bm. Changed that and he did well again. Got home and he played in the playroom after naptime. During that time he went all by himself to the potty, carried it to the bathroom AND flushed it down the toilet. Don't get to excited tho ... he must have somehow got some of it out and walked w/ it all the way to the kitchen. Needless to say I cleaned up a lot of poo yesterday.

Day 4 (today). We were getting ready to go to the zoo w/ some friends. I was preparing lunch when Ellie came in to say that, "Josiah went poop"! Great. Spent the next 15 minutes cleaning, wiping, disinfecting (thank GOD it was on the tile). Thought he was done. Went to wash out the potty chair ... he wasn't done. Came back to find yet another pile to clean up. Yuck. The zoo was uneventful. Josiah did great! He peed in his underwear on the way there (but it was a waterproof) and then I just sat him on his potty every 20 minutes or so. He LOVED it ... I could tell he felt like he was big and important like sister Ellie. On the way home he fell asleep, we ended up at Costco and when he woke up I put them in the bed of the truck and then proceeded to get the potty chair out and set up. That's when he said, "I pee in my underwear." Thanks Jo ... at least that's all it was. At home tonight things went well. A couple of accidents and he even ALMOST made it to the potty chair for his bm ... he made it to the paper - good job! Now I just need to make him SIT until he is completely DONE!

I'm not giving up! Gonna press in even harder tomorrow!

no more diapers: day 1 & 2

2010-07-03T19:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the day we told Josiah he was a big boy and didn't need diapers anymore - except at night (of course). The day started off good. Caught him "bearing down" for a bm mid-morning. Stuck the potty chair under him, which was met with a little bit of resistance, and then happily flushed it down the toilet! The rest of the day we had a couple little accidents (pee) here and there - but I just kept reminding him that he was a big boy and needed to go on the potty! Caught his second bm right before dinner ... then after dinner I forgot what we were doing and realized he was in the playroom all alone. I ran in to find that he had squished his bm into the carpet - at least it was in the playroom. YUCK! I knew it wasn't going to be completely smooth sailing but this was a bit gross ... But on a good note he was proclaiming to all of us at the dinner table that he was not wearing diapers anymore!

Today has gone better so far. This morning he was dancing around in the playroom obviously needing to go #2. I kept offering him his potty chair and he kept refusing. Finally after about 20 minutes or so of that he laid down on the ground and asked for a diaper. Um ... NO! Stuck him on the potty chair and all came out good! During the first part of his nap he was NOT sleeping and I heard him thru the monitor asking to go pee! Good boy! Then once he was up he was crying a lot and I could tell we were dealing w/ yet another bm. He finally stopped being clingy and I left him in his playroom for 2 minutes ... came back and there it was on the ground - but this time I was smart and put down a covering on the ground!

Almost bedtime so we'll do this again tomorrow! In 17 days we are going on a trip so I must have him potty trained by then!

week one exercise

2010-05-23T21:50:00.000-07:00

I feel like I did really good last week! Monday and Wednesday I got up early and did a 40 minute pilates video. Tuesday and Thursday I ran 2 miles in 25 minutes (while pushing 50 lbs). I was going to get up early on Friday to do pilates again - but Josiah was up before my alarm went off (5:40). Those darn 2 year molars! Instead I walked 2 miles (40 minutes) w/ another mom while Ellie had her last dance class.

Now I just need to focus on eating healthier! Been having one to many late night snacks the last couple weeks ... or so.

This next weeks goals? Pilates on Monday, Tuesday and Friday. Run on Wednesday and Thursday. Play with my family at the zoo on Saturday (dad & mom coming down for a visit this weekend)!

30 minutes later ...

2010-05-19T08:49:00.000-07:00

and they are STILL eating breakfast! We started out with toast and scrambled eggs w/ spinach & cheese. They were still hungry so they ate a bowl of shredded wheat (Josiah ate 2), Ellie ate an apple and now they are eating a bowl of corn flakes!

Must be going through a growth spurt!

I ran!

2010-05-18T21:22:00.000-07:00

After writing about exercise I checked back outside and it wasn't raining anymore It smelled SO fresh and clean out that I just had to get out and run! So once the kids were up I warmed up some frozen pancakes, loaded them up in the stroller and headed out. This was my second run since I got my real running shoes. I did a 2 mile loop in about 25 minutes ... last time I only made it 1.5 miles - so I felt better about finishing the run this time! I had to go up a hill at the 1.5 mile mark and pushing 50 pounds going up a hill is NOT easy - but I just put my head down and pushed through!

One of these days I'm going to push the kids (not run) up tarantula hill ... I'll post a picture of that one when the time comes. It's across the street from my house and it's not easy.

exercise

2010-05-18T07:10:00.001-07:00

Since I do not have a gym membership I have to come up with my own things to do for exercise. Sometimes that is exhausting with two kids! Last week I did nothing ... but I have "that time of month" to blame ;) This week I began by planning out what I was going to do ... pilates on Mon, Wed & Fri and running 2 miles on Tues/Thurs. It's raining today, only a light drizzle, but I'm not running. If we lived in Portland or somewhere where it rained A LOT I would go ... but we live in sunny Southern California ... I'm not running. I also don't feel bad ... my plan is my plan - but it's not a law ... and if you really knew me you would know that I create laws all the time for myself and then beat myself up for not keeping them. For instance, I MUST get up @ 5:30 every day to read the Word, prepare for the day (or exercise) and be showered and ready for the kids to be up by 7:30. I did that for awhile ... and that was good. But I'm learning that was a season and the Lord was using it in my life to teach me some valuable things about discipline - but I'm not in that season right now and that is okay!

That being said - I'll still run twice this week ... I'll just do it on Saturday and report back then on how the rest of the week goes!

Lessons learned

2010-05-17T22:04:00.000-07:00

This evening I had to run out to Trader's right before dinner so when I got home I was in quite a rush to get the meal made so we could eat "on time". Ellie really wanted to help and Jo just wanted to be wherever she was. Initially I let them help but then I got annoyed b/c it wasn't going fast enough and shooed them out of the kitchen. Josiah didn't care but poor Ellie went away crying, "mom, you told me I could help". I was just so frustrated and at that moment I heard the Lord saying to me, "Tara, she just wants to spend time with you ... push her away now and she won't want anything to do w/ you when you want it" ... ouch! I did NOT want to hear that - and I told him so but I knew I needed to draw her back in and take the time to include her in what I was doing. In the end it was amazing. Both Josiah and Ellie ended the evening thinking that they had made dinner and that ended up being very beneficial because this is a soup they normally don't eat - and they both wolfed it down! They were so proud of themselves for helping to make dinner. In Josiah's words, "mommy, you're a good cook ... Ellie, you're a good cook".

So glad that I listened to God and let my children mess up my orderly life!

"People were bringing little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them."
Mark 10:13 - 16

ick

2010-04-26T20:44:00.001-07:00

This was the day Josiah's diaper decided to fall off and deposit his poop on the kitchen floor. I was busy at the kitchen counter when I turned around just in time to see Josiah put his finger in him mouth ... that's right ... good thing is he didn't like what he tasted and I was officially grossed-out!

I was on the phone w/ my mom later watching Ellie in the backyard. She decided to take her panties off, set up her portable potty (we have the potette plus) and go pee in it. I thought she was just pretending ... until she picked up the plastic bag that was around the chair and brought the pee over to me. At least I know that she could do it all on her own if she needed to!

Hopefully tomorrow will be less exciting ...

another reason I like cloth diapering

2010-04-22T09:00:00.000-07:00

like cloth diapering? Let me rephrase that ... I LOVE cloth diapering! Since I've been doing it for 3 years and 3 months now I BETTER like it. I was recently reminded of my love when I left the kids w/ a babysitter for half a day - 1:30 - 8:00. I left her with paper diapers and during that time he was only changed twice!! I was appalled when I got home and counted the diapers I had left out - what?! Now, I'm not upset at the babysitter ... if I had been I would have chastised her immediately ... no, I'm just upset that paper diapers give the "illusion" of the child not needing to be changed! I would do it too! With cloth diapers if the kid is wet, you better change him! I can go a bit longer with an AIO than a regular cotton diaper but I still try not to!

Usually at home I use prefolds or fitteds so that I'm forced to change him more frequently ... part of this is so that he doesn't get comfortable in the pee - ick! When I'm out and about I use the AIO's so that I can go a bit longer ;) Another reason I like it - and this may sound very gross - but when I flush the poo down into the toilet I get to see how my baby is eating/digesting his food, I am intimate with my child's poo - and I'm ok with this (on most days)!

And how about the cost?! Well, I haven't bought a new cloth diaper in at least 9 months - maybe more - and I haven't purchased a paper diaper since December! How about that in savings?! I do buy paper inserts from time to time (makes the poo easy to dispose of, esp when out and about) but other than that my diaper-buying is very minimal.

I STILL use Charlie's Soap and I LOVE it! We use it for ALL our laundry because the actual washing machine has to be free of any other detergents for it to work properly and that would just be too much of a hassle any other way! If you ever decide to try it please give them my name and I'll get some free soap out of it - what a great company! I've also called and emailed Charlie's Soap with questions and they are VERY helpful over there!

Besides Charlie's Soap I also use Oxy Clean Free when washing my diapers - which I buy at Target every couple months or so .... as you can see my costs really ARE minimal!

Today is diaper day so I better get back to that load I have in the washer and get it hung up on the line to dry!

it's official ...

2010-04-14T14:49:00.001-07:00

No more pacifier for Josiah!

This is how it happened. As you may know Josiah LOVES his moose w/ the paci attached. It has been that way since he was about 3 weeks old and has saved us many nights of crying these past 21 months. However I knew it couldn't (and shouldn't) last forever so I came up with a plan and was getting ready to go thru with it when he bit thru the paci on the moose right before bedtime 3 nights ago. I sprung into action, cut the paci from the moose, grabbed the remaining pacifier and told Josiah that the moose didn't need the paci anymore. Gave Josiah the paci and the moose and put him to bed. For two days he was only allowed the paci in the crib ... it went well. Okay, so he got a little upset when I would put the paci away and out of his reach in the mornings ... in fact he threw his moose a few times in frustration but he would get over it quickly.

My plan was to let this go on for a week or so and then take the paci away all together. I believe though that the Lord, in his divine wisdom, first of all allowed me to not remember to buy more paci's as back ups AND "hid" the remaining paci from me last night. I looked EVERYWHERE for it last night and could not find it anywhere! Finally I picked up Josiah, his blankie and his moose and told him we were going to bed. He was a bit confused and asked for his paci - I just said it was all gone and after a few minutes he excepted it and fell asleep just fine. He hasn't asked for it since then!

...and wouldn't you know I found the pacifier this morning right next to the sink ... near where I had been looking yesterday!

the sound of the song birds

2010-04-10T06:23:00.000-07:00

Some mornings we get serenaded by crows ... not a nice sound - this morning there is the beautiful sound of many birds chirping outside. One in particular can really sing. Aaaah, thank you Lord for the beauty of your creation!

Speaking of birds. Right outside our playroom (which is a sunroom) we have a nest full of baby birds. The children have really enjoyed watching the babies come up for food, seeing their mommy fly over to care for them and watching them go "poo-poo" outside of the nest (yes, my children think that is cool). I'm so glad that they can see God's creation right outside our backdoor.

A few days ago Ellie pointed outside and said, "It's a duck!" Without looking I replied, "No, those are birds"...but no, they were ducks! And out she ran after them! They flew over the fence into my MIL's backyard and I lifted the kids up to watch them swimming around in her pool!

Now before the kids get up I'm going to sweep and mop! Tired of walking around on a dirty floor!

I like tea

2010-04-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

I've always enjoyed drinking tea but since having my children I have need just a little bit of caffeine in the mornings and another boost in the afternoons to effectively get through my day. Sometimes I treat myself to a nice cup of decaffeinated tea in the evenings too. Rooibos is always nice. I have a couple of good friends from South Africa who introduced me to Rooibos (pronounced Roy-bos).

My children enjoy tea as well. We've had a couple of tea parties with Ellie's tea set. Complete with milk & sugar and everything ending up all over the floor as well! Tea parties w/ a rambunkcious 21 month old is messy though! I have to have a towel at my side to clean up all this spills!

So does it matter what kind of tea I give my children? I don't know much about it and have really only been giving them the rooibos tea - but I know that there are specific teas out there for children I just don't know if it's worth it to go out and spend the money on them!

I also have some mint growing in my backyard ... need to find a good recipe for making fresh mint tea ... and anything else mint is good for - hate to see it just going to waste!

Early morning bird

2010-04-07T07:34:00.000-07:00

Josiah wakes up every morning @ 7am. He talks in his bed for a bit and then calls me after he has had a BM. A few weeks ago I tried getting him up and on the potty right after I heard him. Needless to say he sat on the potty for an hour and 30 minutes after putting his diaper on him he finally went. We haven't tried that again. It seems a shame to me to have to change him every morning when he is so consistent but I just don't know how to get him to transition to going in the potty!

Will the drama never end?

2010-03-20T07:22:00.000-07:00

Even in her sleep there is drama. We put Ellie to bed last night at about 8:30. She was up at least 3 or 4 times. First to go potty, then she fell OUT of her bed (which woke Josiah up), then she peed in her bed. Now @ 7:20 she just came out because her "bed isn't perfect" (the night before it was her room that wasn't perfect). I woke up exhausted. I'm so glad that I'll be getting a couple hours of a break today because I need it. Anyone who has children knows that it's nice to get a break when they are sleeping but to get a break when they are awake? Now THAT is golden!

bringing in my 33rd year

2010-03-16T20:39:00.000-07:00

Woke up this morning to the sound of Josiah bouncing in his bed. I waited in my bed until I heard him yelling, "right now, right now, right now" followed by "mommy, mommy, mommy". Changed a dirty diaper and rocked him (one of his favorite activities) until Ellie got up 45 minutes later. Breakfast and then we made some yummy granola bars, courtesy of Sugar Plum blog :) Josiah spent most of the morning either crying, being held or chasing me trying to be held. Half way into the granola bars I did resort to a few episodes of 'Curious George' and that helped me regain my sanity a bit once again!

Did Ellie's hair while she watched George and the granola bars almost burned . . . oops. Fortunately they were still VERY yummy! I would prefer them not to be quite as sweet - but I still really liked them! I didn't put any white chocolate on the kids bars :) My MIL came over w/ three bags of clothes for Ellie . . . yaay for grandma's . . . and then took Ellie out for lunch (double yaaay)!

Spent some time w/ Josiah (after taking some allergy medicine) in the backyard. Beautiful day outside . . . I was in a sundress ... it was 75 degrees today!! My birthday friend Kristi called me and we chatted while I rocked Josiah to sleep on the hammock ... wish I had a picture of that ... little baby boy laying beside me with his blanket, Woody on one side and his moose on the other. Precious. Put him down in his crib.

Back to work, tidied the kitchen, worked on some bills and waited for Miss Elizabeth to come home. She took a nap once she arrived home and Josiah woke up in time for me to take another important phone call from another special friend (who doesn't share my b-day tho) - Carrie.

After playing in the backyard we went inside for a snack. Ellie woke up to join Josiah in eating the granola bars. They loved them and Josiah, unfortunately carried his all over the house - unbeknown to me!

Before dinner we made yet another mess in the kitchen by making Sugar Plums, Chocolate-Orange Ricotta Torte. The kids left about half-way through and played outside until they couldn't handle it any more. Then it was another couple episodes of 'Curious George' (did I mention we LOVE that monkey?) and dinner...

Dinner was crock pot corned beef & cabbage w/ carrots. Wouldn't recommend this recipe - although the corned beef was yummy! Kids ate well and then we ate the "birthday cake" and they sang "happy birthday" for me. Regarding the Torte . . . it was very yummy...the picture makes it look a little more dense and I was hoping for a bit more of a chocolatey taste. But all in all it was VERY good, the kids polished theirs down fast. Chris even had a whole piece (and he doesn't like "fruit flavored desserts") and I enjoyed mine as well. It was very light and reminded me of a chocolate "snack" cake I ate once. Yum!

After "teamwork" (clearing the table together) we all hung out in the playroom, mommy folding diapers, Josiah and daddy reading books and Ellie being, well, Ellie.

Put the kids to bed and now it's time for me to get off this computer, tidy up the kitchen and go to bed!

Oh...and my birthday surprises aren't even done! Going to spend time getting pampered at a hair salon on Saturday morning and spend the evening going out to dinner with Chris!

what a day

2010-03-05T20:19:00.001-08:00

Chris has been gone for 2 days now and will be gone for 2 more. I don't think I would be cut out to be a single mom - I have to give kudos to the single moms, moms whose husbands are in the military or travel a lot out there - it's a hard job to do it all by yourself!

Yesterday was a bit easier than today. The highlight of the day was picking up a double jogging stroller for cheap and eating dinner @ Carrows in Ventura. Food wasn't fabulous - but the kids ate free and a kind couple sitting near us took care of our bill for us! You can't beat that!!

Today started by me procrastinating my alarm. It went off @ 5:30 and I finally rolled out of bed @ 6:30 . . . Jo was up about 20 minutes after that and Ellie soon after. However I was able to get last nights dishes in the dishwasher and wipe down the kitchen counter before they were up! They started the day by taking out all of my fabric and spreading it all around the dining room floor (where it still sits). After breakfast I gave them a quick bath, got them dressed and put on a short movie so I could do Ellie's hair (it turned out very cute)! At 9ish my MIL came over and we headed out to do some errands before Ellie's dance class @ 10. Ellie had a good dance class and then the kids played at the park until lunch time. We went out to lunch and then "window-shopped" (which I don't enjoy at all) until Josiah started to lose it. By 2pm we were home and I was rocking Jo to sleep. He took a 2 hour nap & Ellie spent those 2 hours by herself in her room. I enjoyed some "me" time on the computer for my break :) After naps we ate a quick snack and Josiah continued to melt down until we got in the truck and headed out for MORE errands (@ 5:30). Now THIS is where the fun REALLY began. We got to the first bank and there was a line. Ellie went right over to the chairs, sat down and began a conversation with a gal who was so patient and seemed to thourally enjoy chatting w/ a 3 year old. It was so sweet and I was SO thankful. Jo finally convinced me to let him off of my back and he went to join the party. The chatted while I waited in line and then Jo came to "help" me w/ my transaction while Ellie continued talking with her new friend. We arrived at the second bank 10 minutes before closing and in my rush to open the door I failed to see that Ellie was behind the door, hit her in the nose and knocked her down. Three of the guys working there RUSHED over to see if everything was okay and one even went to the local Jamba Juice to get some ice for her. Meanwhile my deposit was taken care of and Josiah drew a picture of Nemo to share with everyone. We made it back to the truck with no mishaps and headed over to Daphne's for dinner. Took us awhile to make it inside, however because Josiah was more interested in the really cool fountain/light show to the music that was going on outside. He was so interested that he stood at the window crying while I stood in line to order. Dinner went well and afterwords, while I cleaned up, the kids took their "WetWipes" and proceeded to clean everything in sight. We went back outside to enjoy the water, went home and they were in bed by 8.

I'm exhausted, my house is a mess and I'm sitting at the computer to "unwind" while waiting for Chris to call!

But only 2 more days and as I read back my post it doesn't look quite so ominous - I think I've got it pretty good!

french braiding

2010-02-20T10:31:00.000-08:00

I have been practicing my french braiding on Ellie. Today was the first day that I actually french braided her hair w/out her watching a movie to distract her! I can't wait until I can do two french braids in her hair. It's been so rewarding to learn something new! I watched a tutorial online to learn the basics and then just started practicing!!

LONG night

2010-02-17T06:41:00.000-08:00

So glad I went to bed @ 9:30 and was asleep before 10 last night! Ellie & Jo were both up and screaming @ 12:30. Ellie hasn't yet realized that it's ok to need to go pee and there doesn't need to be drama associated with it. You just wake up, get yourself to the bathroom, pee & go back to bed. But no she's all out of sorts, comes and gets me and cry's in her "whiny" sort of way the whole time! So I took her pee, Chris tried to take care of Jo but 15 mins after he put him back down Jo was screaming again. I comforted him and put him back in his bed. I thought I heard him say something about a drink when I put him down and sure enough 15 minutes later he needed me again! This time I was SURE he said drink since he was doing the motions for it! He WAS thirsty!! Let him lay down w/ us for a bit then put him back in bed to get some sleep. Ellie was up AGAIN sometime between 1 and 5 because she was HOT . . . I guess she also doesn't know how to take the covers off on her own! Helped her out and then slept until 5 . . . she was up again to pee . . . my alarm went off at 5:30 . . . hit snooze until 6. What a night!! At least I have my Yerba Matte to get me through today!!

It's a new day!

2010-02-12T06:21:00.000-08:00

My computer was down for about 5 days and boy did I miss it! Now that it's back up I have a renewed sense of wanting to blog! However I don't know if time will actually allow me to update it very much! The past 2 weeks have been pretty hectic w/ the kiddos. They have decided that sleeping is not a habit they are interested in currently. We've had days with short naps, mornings where Josiah is up by 6am and nights where he screams and wants to "rock!". We are still awaiting the 2 year molars and he is putting everything he can to the back of his mouth so I know that some of what we are dealing with is teething! I must keep it all in perspective and trust the Lord to give me the strength to be the mom I need (and want) to be for them.

Nursemaid's Elbow

2009-12-07T21:49:00.001-08:00

Josiah came down with a bad case of "nursemaid's elbow" last night. The definition found in Wikipedia is: "a dislocation of the elbow joint caused by a sudden pull on the extended pronated arm, such as by an adult tugging on an uncooperative child. The technical term for the injury is radial head subluxation."

Josiah was not being an uncooperative child (although he often can be) no, he was simply sitting by my side and started to slide off the couch. In my haste I pulled him up by his wrists and he started SCREAMING in pain. Poor little dude.

The orthopedic surgeon that we saw this afternoon did his best to check out Jo's elbow - but we left there at 3:30 without it being popped back into place. He told me to give it a day or two and if it wasn't better that I should take Josiah to a pediatric orthopedic. So tonight, after many phone calls, lots of tears, 2 trips to the Urgent Care (one for x-rays), lots of movies & still a crying baby boy, I finally looked up "nursemaid's elbow" on the internet. Based on what I saw he didn't need x-rays - he just needed a pediatric doctor who could pop that elbow back into place. I came out of the office and prayed for healing in Josiah's elbow, then I called my friend Kristi (who is going to Duke to become a PA) and talked with her about what I should do next. While on the phone with Kristi, Josiah fell down twice and I had to help pick him up - then two minutes after the 2nd fall (about 10 minutes after I had prayed for him) I looked up to see him using BOTH hands as he stacked up his shoes by the front door. Over the next 10 minutes I followed him around to see him using his left hand/arm as if nothing had ever been wrong! He was back to his crazy little self - climbing on EVERYTHING tonite! Praise God for his healing! I'm so glad to have my little boy back again!

Home again

2009-11-09T16:16:00.000-08:00

The hope was to arrive home in time to put the kids to bed on Sunday night. However, we forgot that everyone else would be coming home from Vegas too! So besides tucking Josiah in when we got home (@ 10:30) I had to wait until morning to see them.

Ellie woke up @ 5:45, crying as she walked into our room. She was SO happy to see us. "Mommy, daddy, you're back"! Then she just held on as tight as she could. I tried to get her to fall asleep for the next hour. Not so much. Got up w/ her a bit before 7 and we went into the living room and I told her stories until I heard Josiah waking up. He was so cute. It was as if I had never left. He had his moose & both blankets and was more interested in the "cars" on his wall than anything else.

Josiah was very happy today. I could tell that he was happy to see us. Before Chris got out of bed he ran down the hall yelling, "dada, dada" and then pointed up to the bed. He was SO excited to see him!

Ellie spoke w/ her Papa (my dad) and told him, "I think my mom & dad are back" and then, "You can come visit later".

I can tell that they both had a wonderful time w/ my parents and Colleen but it's cool to see their excitement (and peace) they both have about us being back home.

First Time Away without the Kids

2009-11-06T16:22:00.000-08:00

It's been 16 months since Josiah was born. 16 long and wonderful months of doing nothing but caring for my two very beautiful (and active) children. This weekend Chris and I are in Vegas for a conference (I haven't gambled once yet) without either of them! Thoughts so far . . .

Besides needing more blankets . . . I slept relatively well and I slept IN!

Didn't have my morning Yerba Matte (tea w/ just the right amount of caffeine) and could hardly stay away in the first two sessions at the conference this morning. I'll be drinking caffeine tomorrow morning.

Took a long NAP this afternoon - w/ absolutely NO guilt!

Have had meaningful adult conversations w/o my attention being divided!

Once I wrap my head around more of the conference I'll write a bit more about that :)

New Family Tradition?

2009-10-31T22:28:00.000-07:00

We may have begun a new family tradition tonight . . . but first let me give you some background.

Chris and I aren't particularly excited about celebrating Halloween. We don't agree w/ the roots of the holiday, we don't give our kids much candy to begin with and we aren't excited about giving in to the commercialism found in our culture. Therefore we have decided to not give Halloween much credence.

So no, our kids did not dress up and I don't think they knew the difference! Instead, since we live in a fairly busy neighborhood, we left just before dusk tonight for dinner. We took the kids to a relatively nicer restaurant, sat outside (it was a beautiful fall night) and had a wonderful dinner together. The kids were pretty well behaved - although I had to take Ellie away from the table at one point into the bathroom to give her a stern lecture - but other than that they ate, laughed and even danced together.

We drove back home, turned off all the lights in the house once we were home and hung out in the back room just playing w/ the kids. It was such a pleasant evening!

A Change in our Plans

2009-10-26T07:59:00.001-07:00

Last weekend the Burton family had grand plans. My good friend (and past roommate from college) Jen, had her wedding on Saturday (the 17th) and I was excited to go celebrate the occasion! The plan was to drive up to Sacramento on Friday night, stay the night in a motel with the kids, then hand them off to my parents on Saturday morning. Chris and I were going to drive into Palo Alto enjoy the wedding and have an evening w/o the kids (a first since Jo's was born)! We were going to drive up to Paradise on Sunday and have dinner w/ the whole family and my cousin and her family who are moving to Nebraska at the end of the month. Then we would pack up the kids Monday morning for a long drive home. That was the plan . . . but that's not what happened.

We left on Friday at about 2 pm. We had just reached Santa Barbara when Josiah threw up. We had been in traffic up to this point so we thought that he was just carsick and pressed on. After a couple more hours he threw up again. This time it was evident that he was indeed sick. After discussion over dinner - which he was able to keep down - we decided to head up to Palo Alto anyways. I would go to the wedding and Chris would stay w/ the kids. Unless Josiah got better the next day we would not head up to Paradise to see the family. We got to a motel in Gilroy (about an hour south of Palo Alto) @ 11:30. The kids and I went to bed and Chris stayed downstairs - on an outdoor patio - to "wind down" from his drive. During this time he was able to share the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ with 3 people! One of them being VERY receptive to the Good News! We marveled at the fact that his encounter wouldn't have taken place had Josiah not gotten sick!

The rest of the weekend was pretty uneventful. I went to the wedding on Saturday and had a great time! Chris stayed with the kids, letting Josiah sleep, sleep, sleep. He ran a fever all day Saturday and all morning Sunday. We left the motel room at noon on Sunday and by the time we got to a restaurant for lunch he was completely better. No more fever and back to his busy little self! We had a nice trip home, taking our time and enjoying time together as a family.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

in season fruits and veggies

2009-10-01T12:25:00.000-07:00

I know that it is best to eat fruits and vegetables that are in season. And it's even better to support the local farmers who grow those things! However, I didn't grow up on a farm and while I know that apples are in season in the fall that's about ALL that I know! I found the Peak-Season Map at Epicurious.com which helps someone like me figure out what is in season in my area in the different months! Yaay! Now I have something to "go by" when I'm buying my fruits and veggies . . . now I just need to make it to the local farmer's market some time soon.

blogging, journaling, reading . . .

2009-09-26T22:01:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to decide whether or not to just focus on this blog (not that I write here very much) and drop the blogs on my website that I write for my kids (which I don't really have time for either) OR try to do both. I think I'm going to try to focus more on this blog and just try to write more regularly. Maybe once a week for starters!

On another note I have been journaling again lately. I go in spurts with that too :) I've been pretty consistent w/ my time in the Word before the kids get up so it's been easy to open up my journal and write a bit before moving on to things I must get done for the day. I've been reading through "the Daily Bible" which takes you through the Bible chronologically in one year. Recently I've been in the time of the exile in Babylon and now I'm reading the psalms that were written after their release. It's been so nice to have a plan to read through because I hadn't been very consistent in my Bible reading over the last 2 years or so. The kids are finally at a place where they are both sleeping through the night and I feel like a human again in the mornings!

What have you been reading lately?

cracking me up

2009-09-08T22:37:00.000-07:00

here are the kids right after In N Out.

DRIVING ME CRAZY

2009-09-08T21:23:00.001-07:00

I drove up to Newman with the kids to visit my family this Labor Day weekend. Newman is the town I grew up in and while my parents no longer live there we have a lot of friends who still do!

The trip up there was pretty uneventful. We started out by leaving the house @ 10:30. We ran a couple of errands on the way out of town. Stopped at the grocery store, dropped off a movie at the library, got a few items (including disposable dipes for Jo) at BabiesRUs and then went did a "drive-thru" oil change on the car. The kids ate their lunches while the car got ready to go! We finally got on the road @ 12:20. Josiah fell asleep by the time we were at the grapevine . . . but woke up about 30 minutes into his nap because his ears were popping. So here I was driving down the grapevine and Josiah in the backseat screaming because he was in pain! I was throwing whatever food I could at him to try to get him to eat and pop his ears but it wasn't working too well. Finally we got down the grapevine and stopped at the first available stop! Then it was back in the car and both kids played with toys and did pretty well the rest of the way. Josiah had a few more screaming fests, my favorite being the one where both kids were screaming at each other . . . for fun.

Our time in Newman was pretty uneventful. We had a great time w/ my family. Saw some old friends on Friday evening. Went to the Fall Festival on Saturday (didn't even make it around the whole park)! Watched the Nebraska game Saturday evening and had dinner w/ the family and the friends whose house we were staying at afterwords. Put the kids to bed and then I went back to the park to meet up w/ my siblings and hang out for a bit. Sunday I took the kids to their first parade. They LOVED it. Josiah was dancing to the band and any other music he heard and Ellie was in love with all the horses. Monday we hung out with a few more friends before heading out of town @ 2pm.

Now . . . about the ride home. After a FABULOUS lunch at the Gardners home we headed out. Ellie was immediately hungry so I gave them snacks off and on as we drove. There was a lot more traffic than usual . . . end of Labor Day weekend . . . what did I expect? We stopped at a rest area where Josiah was drawn to the big trucks and dirt, Ellie to the dogs and other kids. Then we headed out again. Ellie fell asleep shortly after but Josiah took a little longer. I had to rub his feet to get him to calm down and fall asleep. He woke up right before the 5 and 405 meet . . . and all the traffic slowed down. He was screaming. A LOT. I was finally able to pull off and into an In N Out. We hung out there for an hour. I was in NO hurry to get back on the road. I gave Ellie some gum and Josiah his pacifier for the drive up the grade, put on a movie and off we went. Josiah did pretty good the rest of the way home. He freaked out a couple of times and I think I remember hearing Ellie say, "dude, don't cry" at one point! It was stop and go once we got over the hill until we hit the 210. Then we were able to move again! I was so happy to be moving . . . until Ellie said, "I've got to go pee"! We pulled over again, Ellie went in her little potty chair and Jo started to cry . . . again. I gave him a hug, put him back in his carseat and off we went. We ended up getting home at 9:20. Do the math . . . that's 7 hours of travel that only took us 5 on the way up!!

All in all it was a good trip. Would I travel alone again with the kids . . . yes, but not any time soon!

CTRL + ALT + DELETE

2009-08-28T22:07:00.001-07:00

That is what last week was for. I needed to clear my brain and just be a mommy w/ out the internet distractions! It went very well. I noticed the most clarity on Monday and felt like I was more "in tune" w/ my kids throughout the week. I didn't have a perfect week, of course, because I am human (surprise!) and media is not to blame for me being short w/ the kids, snapping at my husband or not doing the dishes! There were, however, three main things that I took away from the week.

#1: I am not that important that everyone is waiting around for my next status update on facebook or waiting around for my next blog to be published.

#2: Everyone else is not that important that I need to know what is going on in their lives minute - by - minute.

#3: My children are the most important thing (besides God & my husband) going on in my life right now. They are what I need to focus on and anything (not just media) that gets in the way of that needs to be "put in it's place" from time to time!

I also decided from this experience to limit my facebook time (ie: not be on EVERY day) and to limit the kids movies to one a day and none on the weekends. So far I've been doing good! If it gets out of hand I'll just take a week off again!

Turning off the computer

2009-08-16T16:59:00.000-07:00

I'm finally doing it! Turning off the computer for the whole week. I was actually inspired by my friend Laura Komarek ('Lil Dasies) who did this very thing quite awhile ago. This evening I will be officially shutting it down and not opening it again until next Sunday evening. This actually applies to movies too. I'm not going to put on a quick movie to distract the kids when I need to get something done. I'll actually need to be CREATIVE!!

During this week I'm hoping to actually get some things accomplished around the house including keeping it clean! I also hope to be more focused and purposeful in what I do with the children. I'm also specifically going to be thinking and praying about the tools I currently use as communication & if I should change anything I'm currently doing. I'm actually looking forward to unplugging - even though I know that I will probably go through withdrawls!!

I'll blog about my experience next week!

sleep training

2009-08-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

I posted the following on my facebook status a few days ago.

Tara Burton is wondering if I should start letting Jo cry it out when he wakes up in the middle of the night (yes, the boy still nurses once at night).

My girlfriends gave me a lot to think about. I ultimately concluded that Josiah needs to learn to sleep through the night. Ellie was sleeping thru the night between 6 and 8 months of age and the only reason Josiah hadn't yet was mainly because of him & Ellie sharing a room. It was very difficult for me to let him cry in the night when his sister was in the crib next to him! About a month ago we put the kids in separate rooms so I KNEW It was possible - just wasn't quite sure HOW do go about it! I just knew I didn't want to do the CIO (cry it out) method - at least to start with. The next night I spoke with my mom for quite awhile and we came up with a "plan" for getting Josiah to sleep through the night. . .

When Josiah wakes up in the middle of the night to eat instead of nursing him I would pick him up and try to get him back to sleep in other ways. Rocking, giving him some warm milk, and as a last resort putting him in his jumper - just no nursing until morning!

That was the plan and this is how it's been going... the first night Josiah surprised me and didn't wake up until 5am! I went ahead and nursed him and then put him back down. He then slept until 8:15

The 2nd night Josiah woke up @ 3:30. He was standing up in his crib. I picked him up and brought him into the livingroom to try to rock him back to sleep. I could tell he just wanted to nurse. So I warmed up 4 oz of cows milk and fed it to him from his sippy. He took about 2 or 3 oz and then laid in my arms as I rocked him for about 10 minutes. I laid him back down while he was awake. He did the "butt-wiggle" which usually means he's content, and he fell back to sleep on his own. He didn't wake up again until 7:15!

Last night Josiah slept until 4:40. I went in, picked him up and tried immediately to rock him back to sleep. Nope, not interested. So I gave him some warm milk again, held him for a few minutes and had him back in bed by 4:55. He was up @ 6:30 though!!

I have noticed a few things through this process. The first being that he is eating MORE during the day. Today all he wanted to do was eat - and he drank more milk than usual! The second is that I can't SLEEP after he wakes up. Both nights I just tossed and turned after putting him back down - aaaah!!! And the third is that I think my milk is starting to dry up . . . we may be finished with weaning earlier than I was expecting! However I feel fine with that and more importantly I think that Josiah is doing well with the transition. He still has ME and I think that's the most important thing right now!

Now it's off to bed so that I can be ready to give that little boy some love tonight should he wake up!

nutella and brownies

2009-08-09T21:01:00.000-07:00

when I was pregnant w/ Josiah I ate a lot of nutella. Not just by itself though. I would put a pile on my plate, along with some peanut butter and then dip green apple slices for a late night snack. YUM!! But nutella's expensive - and it's not that "good" for you. SO . . . I was going through a couple of my favorite blogs when I found a recipe for cinnamon-hazelnut brownies and then a recipe for nutella! Now, the nutella is not as creamy as the nutella you buy in the store - but hey, when it tastes just as good and is at least better for you I won't complain! And the brownies . . . my little sis was here when I made them and we were blown away by their deliciousness!

Also, in case you didn't know I LOVE to bake. Cooking, not so much. But give me a recipe for a dessert, bread, casserole dish, and you've made my day! That's probably why the kitchen is the hardest area for me to keep clean - as soon as I clean up after dinner I get an exciting recipe to try and all my pots and pans come out again!

So Sugar Plum is one of my very favorite food blogs and steph chows is another. Steph has an AMAZING whole wheat pizza dough recipe. The first recipe I've found that actually cooks all the way through! I HATE doughy pizza! One trick she gave was to invert the cooking sheet. Brilliant idea! I tried it and it worked wonderfully! I also inverted the sheet when I made focaccia bread the other day - I have NEVER had my focaccia bread turn out as good as it did then other night. Even Chris agreed - it tasted just as good as the bread you get at Macaroni Grill - not joking!

I feel so inspired tonight. I can't wait to go see the movie, "Julie & Julia" and become even more inspired!

one reason I love cloth diapers

2009-08-07T14:54:00.000-07:00

They look so beautiful on the line!

on to the poops

2009-07-30T14:18:00.000-07:00

I bought some fruit leather and put it in a jar 2 weeks ago (kind of looks like poo itself, come to thinkf of it). Nothing happened for the past week except for Ellie continuing to go to her corner in the playroom and doing here "business" there. Finally, just a few days ago, Ellie was in her bedroom taking her rest and I was my bedroom napping. I didn't have the monitor on so it was awhile before I heard her yelling. I finally woke up and rushed out to see that she had climbed out of her bed and ran to the potty. She didn't make it in time but I praised her for her efforts and we've had 90% success since then! I really have to watch her when I know it's "time" and keep her from running to her familiar spot. But most of the time she is going all on her own w/ no coaxing from me. She waves "good-bye" to her poo-poo, which is always going to where mommy & daddy's poo-poo goes! And the treats are working great as incentives! Once we are going to the potty chair 100% of the time I plan on transitioning her to the BIG potty (we've got a seat for that).

I do not miss changing diapers ONE BIT!

potty training #2

2009-07-19T22:04:00.000-07:00

so we had 2 days of successful #2 in the potty chair and then it's been back to pooping in her panties. I figured out that she likes to go into the playroom and poop in a particular corner. At least she's consistent BUT it's kind of gross!

That being said this morning I knew she was due for a bm and was trying to make sure to "catch" her before she went in her panties again. I was changing Josiah's dirty diaper when she ran into his room and announced that she needed to go poop. OF COURSE she would need to go when I was in the middle of changing a diaper! I told her to go to the potty and ran out to see how she did as soon as Josiah had a diaper on him. The potty chair was untouched and there was Ellie in her favorite "pooping place" in the playroom - again!

I've decided that tomorrow I'm going to get an "incentive jar" filled with fruit leather . . . I'll see how that goes!

Potty Training

2009-07-13T21:39:00.000-07:00

I really thought successful potty training was never going to happen. Ellie loved the various movies that we've watched over the past few months and she seemed interested from time to time but I could always tell she wasn't "ready". I was lamenting my situation to some moms who had made it through the potty training years successfully and one of them highly recommended the dvd "Once Upon A Potty" based on the book by the same name. Finally 2 weeks ago I rented it from our local library. Ellie LOVED it! She sat on her potty in the livingroom while watching it and even went and put her pull ups on after watching it. It is about 15 minutes long with the story as the first half and a "potty song" as the second half. After a few days of watching it she was going pee a few times a day, but wanting a diaper on when she had to go #2. We went 2 days with no pee in diapers, except naptime and nighttimes and then on Sunday she went #2! I was amazed and she's been only using the potty since then! It's like the lights just came on and she realized that she was ready! Today she hung out w/ Grandma and they went around town doing errands. She used the "porta-potty" in the back of Grandma's car and did just fine! No accidents!!

I'm using "potty scotty" underwear (decided that potty patty wouldn't be good for Jo to wear when he's potty training) and they are so easy for her to pull up and down. She will go all by herself w/o me reminding her - most of the time! If she's too busy with friends then I do have to remind her. I'm so happy that it's going this well so far!

Next up, I have to figure out what panties will be most comfortable for her . . . we had purchased some Dora ones awhile ago and they were cheaply and poorly made. Any recommendations?

A child's perspective of discipline

2009-06-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

This morning I told Josiah "no" when he was throwing his food. He made his sad face (which I need to get a picture of) and Ellie said to him, "It okay Josiah . . . sometimes it happens". I believe the "it" she was referring to was discipline!

it's official

2009-05-28T22:08:00.000-07:00

the monthly acne is beginning again. I broke out on my chin today - I'm so sad. At least this time my body waited 10 months before getting back to "normal". But it's still sad.

We also moved - I've been crazy busy - and need to go work on the house right now!! We MUST get things in order so that my BRAIN is in order. And really the only time to get anything done is when the little munchkins are ASLEEP!!

So it's off to "work" I go!

Gro Baby Diaper!

2009-05-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

GroBaby was first brought to my attention by Jillians Drawers (one of my most favorite diaper sites). My friend Amber just told me about the contest they are having over on facebook. I've been doing cloth diapers for 2 years now and although I'm pretty set in the products I use (BumGenius, Fuzzibuns and my favorite staple the prefold diaper) I am ALWAYS open to trying new products. Especially if it makes my life easier! And that is just what these diapers seem to do - make the diaper changers life easier. I haven't tried them yet - but I would LOVE to! Having a inner shell that you can just change would make my life so much easier!

Check out GroBaby and if I am one of the lucky winners I'll post again about how they work!

life is too short

2009-05-04T22:43:00.000-07:00

A gal I went to Simpson College with is dying of cancer. She is in the hospital right now as I write this. She is married and has a 2 year old son. She's one year older than me. I went to Ukraine with Monica in 1996. Her heart for the kids, the love that she showed all of us (I think she co-led the team) and her energy was all an encouragement to me. I got to spend some time with her again in 2000 when I went to Ukraine to visit my friend Valari. We all (Val, Kara & Kostya, Monica & I) took a train down to the port city of Odessa. It was fun.

Please pray for Monica. Here is the "friends" page and the link to their website is: http://solandmonica.com/

I have a washing machine again!

2009-04-22T22:43:00.000-07:00

In case you didn't know, and you probably didn't, my husband has been taking our laundry over to his mother's house almost every day for the past 5 months. It has been a laundry nightmare over here! Because I don't have control of the laundry, it has been an unending pile that is never put away because he brings it home in the evening and I spend the next 3 days trying to get it all put away! But we finally have a washer! The last straw was this morning when I took Ellie's nighttime diaper off and she was RED all over. I knew it was the detergent that Chris used on the last load of diapers and I was over it. I told him this morning that I needed a new washer so I could go back to using Charlie's Soap (which I love - and is good on the little kids bums) and I was surprised that he had it purchased (used), delivered and installed by 7pm tonight!

I've already done a load tonight and plan on washing ALL the diapers tomorrow (over and over and over again; since that is what it takes to make sure all the other detergent residue is completely out). But I am not complaining! I feel like my life can be back in order (or at least a small portion of my life).

thank you Chris!

peace

2009-04-15T21:57:00.001-07:00

I made it through my day yesterday! I also had a GREAT day today. I've chosen to keep the computer off Tuesday's thru Thursday's during the day and it's made a HUGE difference in what I can get done AND the peace that I feel w/ the kids.

I'm usually SO distracted by the computer that Chris comes home and the house is a mess, dinner is a mess and the kids are running me ragged. Today I stuck w/ my plan to NOT be on the computer and I had the house tidy (for the most part), dinner was on time and the kids were not driving me as crazy as usual.

so tired

2009-04-14T12:04:00.000-07:00

I'm so tired. Ellie has been up since 5am. Her 2 year molars are STILL making their appearance as she informed me after an hour of trying to get her to go back to sleep. She was in our bed and said, "my teeth hurt - I need motrin". Gave her some motrin and gumomeal but the girl wouldn't go back to sleep. I hope that this day goes by quickly (and that we all get a nap).

It's only 1/4 of a cup...

2009-03-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

but it was enough!! I made a roast in the crock pot yesterday and the recipe called for 1 cup of coffee. We don't have a coffee maker (long story, but it involves cockroaches) so I headed off to Starbucks to pick up a cup. It smelled SO good as the aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled up the car as I drove home. I came inside and used the cup and saw that there was about 1/4 of the coffee left. I didn't want to see it go to waste, so I drank it. Now I haven't had any caffeine for the past 2 years plus. I couldn't really feel any difference until I was at the gathering of the church and I shared something God revealed to me this past week. It was when everyone's eyes (about 15 of us) were looking at me that I realized I was shaking. There are only TWO times that I shake. The first is when I drink caffeine, the second is when I'm hungry. I also talk EXCESSIVELY when I have caffeine. I realized as I was speaking that I was beginning to get a little excited . . . I will not be drinking any amount of coffee (or caffeine) for awhile!!

going to sew

2009-03-10T21:21:00.000-07:00

Aaah. Both kids went to bed like a dream tonight and I'm trying to NOT eat the night away. Last night I had 4 chocolate chip cookies after 10pm. I might have ONE sweet thing tonight but definitely before 10!

I am going to sew tonight. I'm taking an old dress of mine that I no longer wear and am going to make either a top or dress for Ellie (whatever I have enough fabric for. I'll post a picture of it once that's accomplished.

Of course the only way to actually accomplish something like that is to actually get off my computer SO . . . until THURSDAY I am signing off! The only time I'll be turning on my computer will be if I need to do anything with finances . . . otherwise I MUST be strong!

I don't like it

2009-03-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

that's what Ellie says when she doesn't like the taste of something and I don't like the taste of time change. It really sneaks up on you and if you aren't prepared it really leaves a bad "taste" in your mouth. I wasn't prepared . . . otherwise I would have spent the last week moving the kids bedtimes up a bit. But not only wasn't I prepared but Miss Elizabeth decided that she wasn't going to sleep until 10 pm last night . . . I got her into bed by 10:30 (new time) tonight so hopefully it won't take too many days to get them both back on track!

I think I have a problem

2009-03-07T21:07:00.001-08:00

I like to eat, and while that is not exactly a problem, snacking (and snacking and snacking) until I go to bed is becoming a problem. I realized a couple of weeks ago that it was because all day I take care of the two kiddos and hardly have a moment to myself. Then as soon as they are both down for the night I get to eat and actually enjoy what I am eating. I need to work on this because this is not a healthy habit to have.

On another note, Josiah is doing better w/ eating. He doesn't eat like Ellie did, but he is eating. The trick, I found, is feeding him about 30 minutes before I nurse him. That way he's good and hungry and will actually EAT. The last couple of days were a bit challenging w/ him refusing to eat, but this evening he enjoyed his pureed chicken and I threw in a few bites of peas in as well.

Blogging in my head

2009-03-06T22:24:00.000-08:00

I wish I had time to blog about being a mom more. I actually have a running blog going on almost all day in my head. The only problem is I rarely have time to put the words in my head out onto the computer screen and so all that I have to say gets lost deep in the recesses of my brain never to come out again.

Maybe one day I'll make the time.

nap strike

2009-03-02T21:41:00.000-08:00

I fear that my nap times have come to an end. We are on day 5 of Elizabeth's nap strike. This is the longest one yet. In the times before she would scream the whole time or not be content she is now perfectly content to read books in her crib with her stuffed animals for an hour! She's a bit of a brat in the evenings, hitting her brother and throwing tantrums more readily but she's starting to mellow out.

I am still getting my alone time, just can't count on a nap anymore - which means I should probably go to bed earlier!

nursing

2009-02-20T16:13:00.000-08:00

Josiah has decided he will not be taking milk from a bottle anymore. This has happened three separate times now. First for Chris, then my mother-in-law. I thought, secretly, that they were just not doing something right. Yesterday I was proven wrong. My friend, Amy, was over watching the kids and Josiah did the same for her. She tried for 20 minutes, then I tried, then I tried putting it in a sippy, then putting it in a different kind of sippy. It was all to no avail, and more dishes were added to my already full sink!

This behavior is a little perplexing to me, especially since he's had no problem taking bottles as recent has 2 weeks ago! It was nice to be able to go out for the evening and not worry about how the little guy (and the one watching him) was getting along. I don't know how this will effect our already very few date nights. I like our date nights. Perhaps we'll just have to modify them for awhile.

While I'm on the subject of nursing, Josiah likes to nurse. Elizabeth was a very different baby. I used to joke that she didn't care HOW she got fed. Nursing, bottle, sippy cup - I probably could have fed her intravenously and she would have been happy. The girl just liked to eat (and still does). Of course it was a good thing that she wasn't picky because after finding out I was pregnant with Josiah, when she was almost 9 months old, my milk supply dried up and she was completely weaned at 10 months of age. Josiah would probably be VERY upset if I suddenly stopped producing as much. Fortunately that's not the issue . . . there is an issue with his teeth though. I did not know that having a baby with teeth hurts when you are feeding them - even if he's not biting down. Elizabeth only had her bottom two teeth the whole time I was nursing. She got the top two at 11 months. Josiah has his bottom two teeth, one of his top teeth and the other one just poked through today. I'm really hoping it will get better!

feeding Josiah

2009-02-08T22:22:00.000-08:00

Josiah has not been interested in much baby food yet. Every time I tried to feed him pureed baby food he would gag and then cry and refuse to eat more. I was doing some research on Wholesomebabyfood.com and came across Baby Led Weaning. I found it to be very interesting and while I don't agree with it 100 percent it opened up my (often rather closed) mind to new ways of introducing food to Josiah.

I found out the other day that Josiah likes avocados and he likes artichokes. I mash a little on my finger and give it to him. He does pretty well. Tonight I tried a new food, tofu, and he really liked it. I also gave him cooked peas and cooked apple pieces instead of pureeing them. He liked both a lot more and he didn't even gag!!

I am learning that what worked with Elizabeth may not work with Josiah and I have to be flexible in order to figure that out!

clean house, clean mind

2009-02-02T12:22:00.000-08:00

It's the start of a new month and on the first Monday of the month we get our house cleaned. I forgot that today was the day for our house to get cleaned so last night I was making a list of all the cleaning I needed to do . . . and knew deep down inside I wasn't going to get to it all! Then I got a reminder call from my house cleaner and "aaah", I didn't need to stress! It feels so good to have a clean house! Now I just need to try to keep it that way the rest of this month.

peekaru

2009-01-19T15:54:00.001-08:00

I purchased a peekaru vest from my good friend Amber over at Heavenly Hold. It is the perfect addition to my babywearing. We got it just in time for a trip to the mountains/snow. Josiah was so snug and warm! I was looking for something that wasn't big and bulky, could be used in COLD weather but also would be good for the more temperate climate of Southern California. I couldn't be happier w/ my purchase and little Josiah loves it too! The ONLY thing I would add to it is a way for their little hands to be free when facing forward . . . but otherwise it's great!

bedtime

2009-01-10T21:14:00.000-08:00

Elizabeth and Josiah are in the same room now. We moved Josiah in three nights ago and first of all it's AMAZING to have our room all to ourselves again! Secondly the change has been a lot easier that I thought. Ellie is still in a crib but we gave her new bedding - sheets and a fitted comforter the second night Josiah was in her room. Ever since then she wants to go to bed as soon as he is in bed - putting her p.j's on and brushing her teeth is a breeze! She isn't even bothered when he cries. We were trying to put Josiah down first and then once he's asleep put Ellie down but last night we could tell he wasn't going to go to sleep right away, so instead of waiting for him to fall asleep we put Ellie down with him awake - and crying. She did fine! We did put a cd on, Sleep Sound in Jesus by Michael Card (thanks mom!) to help drown on the noise and they both did great! Josiah is still waking up twice at night, but that is going relatively smoothly as well. Even when I didn't get in the room fast enough last night and Ellie woke up she had no problem going back to sleep.

Right now Josiah is crying off and on and I can hear Ellie talking in her crib - we'll see if they keep each other awake or I can get them both to fall asleep with out needing to pull Josiah out to rock.

The goal will CONTINUE to be one kid asleep before the next one goes to bed, but I know that won't always be possible!

Do you like Lara Bars?

2009-01-09T22:30:00.000-08:00

I do. They are such a yummy treat and the best thing about them is that they have only a few ingredients and no preservatives. However they aren't cheap. A friend of mine sent me a link to a recipe for making your own lara-type bars. Wow are these YUMMY! I made some a few weeks ago - Ellie loved them, I loved them - it was great! I made more tonight. Check out this LINK if you are interested in making some yourself!

Elizabeth Rose

2008-12-29T22:31:00.000-08:00

A good friend of mine takes amazing pictures.

too busy

2008-12-27T22:24:00.000-08:00

I have so many things I want to blog about but not enough time in which to write them all down! I do manage to update my website with my Children's blogs a bit more frequently! If you are interested in keeping up with their lives you can check out my website @ http://web.me.com/shinelikestars77

One day I'll be more consistent in this blog . . . for now, it's time for bed.

'Tis the Season

2008-12-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

It's been a lot of fun this year to watch Elizabeth light up as she sees the Christmas decorations all around her. We haven't decorated the house, besides putting a wooden nativity that she can play w/ out. But Grandma Burton has gone all out and Ellie loves the decorations at her house. We've chosen not to play Santa so as she sees the Santas at the mall and in front of houses she doesn't give more than a second glance. I know that we'll have to explain it to her in the future, but for now saying nothing works fine.

She's really into baby Jesus - she talks about him a lot and wants to see the manger scenes that people have set up out in their front yards. She enjoys playing pretend with her nativity set that we gave her today. She is also enamored with snowmen. Grandma Burton put out 3 snowmen in front of her house and Ellie insisted on bringing the littlest snowman inside last time we were there. She carried that little snowman (almost as tall as her) all over Grandma's house!

mix-matched socks giveaway

2008-12-07T14:26:00.000-08:00

Simple Finds is giving away socks from LittleMissMatched. I would LOVE to win some for Ellie. She is still obsessed with putting a sock on her hand and wearing it around the house or even out to the park. I often can't find matching socks when I need them and having mix-matched socks ON PURPOSE would make my life a lot easier! So I'm entering their contest AND making sure I get as many entries as I can!! The contest ends in two days (on the 9th) so go on over to Simple Finds and enter it for yourself!

not so much

2008-11-22T22:16:00.000-08:00

as soon as I posted the post about naps Ellie started crying (1 1/2 hours after putting her down for bed). After 5 minutes I went in there and she reached for me. I picked her up thinking she had a bad dream and sat down with her on the futon (which is in her room). She immediately wanted to "talk" and read more books. I turned the light on a bit and decided to "re-do" bedtime. It was then that I saw all her stuffed animals were in a pile outside of her bed as well as her pillow and blanket. We read a few books, I sang her a few songs and walked out of the room. Now she's screaming for us again.

I think I'll send Chris in next.

nap update

2008-11-22T21:51:00.000-08:00

so Ellie is doing much better with her naps or should I say I am doing better at dealing w/ her when she doesn't want to nap! Thank you to every one who gave me advice. I may still need more in the future! She still has a hard time on some days - she will just cry and cry and cry. As a matter of fact the last 3 nights (tonight excluded) we put her to bed at 8:30 and she fussed for 2 1/2 hours before finally falling asleep. Every time we went in there she just wanted to play or talk. There was nothing wrong! It's so hard to know what to do as a parent in those situations.

But I may try the chamomile tea sometime. If anything it will calm ME down at night!

Mamanisita

2008-11-20T21:36:00.000-08:00

I love the Mamanisita blog. Not only do they have great giveaways but they also have great reviews on toys. Including a Holiday Toy List. Check 'em out - and while you are at it scroll down to the bottom of the page and enter some of their giveaways as well!

the kids

2008-11-20T20:50:00.000-08:00

Chris put Ellie down for sleep tonight and I put Josiah to bed. We came out of their respective rooms (J sleeps in our room still) and gave each other high fives. We went back in 40 minutes later to calm two screaming children back down :) Josiah had just rolled over to his tummy and needed his paci so I had a relatively easy job getting him situated. Elizabeth wanted to "talk". She watched to talk about "mao" (kitty), annie, doggy and all the other stuffed animals she goes to bed with.

giveaway spree!

2008-11-10T22:25:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've blogged about a giveaway. I've entered only a few the last few months and today I went on a "giveaway spree". I found one that I really liked . . . a "KISS MY FACE GIVEAWAY". They have a new kids line and I would LOVE to win!! They don't use any artificial colors, unncecessary chemicals, or animal ingredients (this is a good thing)!

Check out the giveaway for yourself and YOU could enter for a chance to win!

my photoshoot

2008-11-03T14:05:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago I did a photoshoot with Josiah for Earth Mama Angel Baby. We went to Lori Dorman Photography in Glendale and she took some pics that they wanted done and then some pics of Josiah & I together. Check out her BLOG and see if you can figure out which cutie is Josiah. She'll be emailing me all the pics that she took so I can purchase some for myself. It was fun - even if Josiah peed ALL over me at one point.

running errands

2008-10-31T23:15:00.000-07:00

Today I ran some errands on my own . . . did I mention I was by myself? It was amazing. A friend came over to babysit Ellie and told me she'd watch Josiah too. I was nearly speechless! I left her w/ some freshly pumped milk and took off. It was amazing. I got to Babies R Us, where I had an exchange to make, turned to grab my purse and realized I brought my diaper bag with me. I laughed and was glad that the diaper bag is the one Jenna, from Sweet Baby Creations, had made. It's stylish and could pass for a big bag, unless you looked inside it and saw the diapers inside (check out a pic of it HERE)! I grabbed my bag and took off toward the store . . . when I realized I left the item I wanted to return in the car. Oops. I think I'm more "on top" of things when I have the kids w/ me . . . I don't really know what to do with myself when they aren't there! After Babies R Us, I went to Trader Joes and was surprised at how quickly I could get through the store! I finished my errands in 45 minutes . . . then came home and started dinner.

Which, by the way, was yummy. I had leftovers for Chris and I but made Ellie "Creamy Potato Soup" from Jessica Seinfelds "Deceptively Delicious" cookbook. Ellie LOVES this soup - and it's one of the only ways I can get her to eat potatoes. It has cauliflower and carrots (or you can put butternut squash) mixed in. I froze it in two batches for the future. It's great to have on an, "I'm not feeling good" kind of day!

The Business of Being Born

2008-10-31T22:50:00.000-07:00

Just finished watching The Business of Being Born. Excellent movie. I think that every woman should see this before she has children. I think I cried every time they showed another baby being born. While it is true that not all of our births can go as planned (I have friends who had Plecenta Previa, friends who had a life-threatening illness @ the end of pregnancy, etc) there is much in the way babies are being born in America that is not as it should (could) be.

If you haven't watched it, check it out.

no more naps?

2008-10-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

Ever since we took the paci away from Elizabeth (it's been over a week now). She is not consistently taking naps anymore (and she's only 21 months). It was last Sunday (the 19th) that the paci's were taken away and last week she took a nap every other day. Today was the day she should have taken a nap (based on the way things had been going). But no, she refused to take a nap. I could leave her in there for 2 hours and she would probably cry the whole time (no exaggeration). Today I tried a new tactic. When it was evident she was not going to be going to sleep I told her she needed to stay in her room and play quietly by herself. We have a toddler gate - which is the only way this can work. It's kind of working. She's been in there for 10 minutes now . . . but not really happy about it.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I'm not ready for her to give up naps, but perhaps that's not entirely up to me. . . however if she does give up naps how can I encourage "quiet time" w/ one so young? I know I could get some quiet time by sticking her in front of a movie - but I don't want to make that a habit. Help!!

nursing cover

2008-10-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things is my nursing cover. It got me through my nursing days with Ellie and it is working well again with Josiah. My cousin, Danna purchased it for me from “Sweet Baby Creations”. Jenna is a work @ home mom who I met this past August. She does great work while her children are sleeping. She makes nursing covers, diaper bags, “momma” bags, diaper clutches, etc.

The nursing cover allows me to see Josiah while he eats, but covers me completely from any “lookie-loos”. It also doubles as a “mommy-cape” or a dress-up outfit for Ellie!

more calories?

2008-10-13T14:23:00.000-07:00

could I not be getting enough calories? I try to eat enough but it seems like 20 minutes after eating a meal I'm still hungry! Josiah is eating every 3-4 hours during the day and his longest stretch at night is only 6 - 7 hours. I think I need to eat more things that "stick to your bones" or perhaps I just need to have more snacks between the meals. Any suggestions?