Glimpse into a pretty typical Saturday

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!

just in the nick of time...

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!

Outing with the kiddos

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!

what a day

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!

Home again

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

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 :)

A Change in our Plans

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

blogging, journaling, reading . . .

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?

CTRL + ALT + DELETE

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!

it's official

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!

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

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

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 think I have a problem

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.

too busy

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.

the kids

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.

running errands

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!

where I've "been"

You may be wondering where I've been. I've been taking care of two very important little beings, trying to keep my house in order, keeping us fed, making sure bills are paid and trying to get enough sleep to survive.

I've also been updating my children's blogs. You can check them out on our website.

I think I'm going to commit to writing on this blog at least ONCE per month. So don't be disappointed if you don't see much from me over these next couple of months. My children and projects outside of the "virtual" world are more time consuming right now.

I look forward to the day when I'll be able to make this blog (and therefore keeping up w/ your blog) more important!

you put that where???

I used the thermometer this past week on Josiah. Since he's only 10 weeks old you can guess where I put it. Well I didn't clean it right away. Instead it sat on the kitchen counter for a few days . . . until Chris walked in one evening. Yep, you guessed it, he put it right in his mouth as I was saying, " No, don't put that in your . . . mouth". I looked at him w/ the thermometer in his mouth and told him where it had been last. There was nothing he could do at that point so he just continued to take his temp with a funny look on his face.

Now, I'd better go clean that thermometer . . .

Learning to juggle

Yesterday was crazy . . . or perhaps it was just me that was crazy! After Ellie's nap in the afternoon Josiah decided to have a freak-out. He was screaming and I was trying to get them both out of the house so we could go to Trader Joes (grocery store). Finally I had things together. I headed out the door w/ Josiah in his infant carrier, Ellie in the ergo carrier on my back, my keys in my hand and grocery bags on one shoulder, diaper bag on another! As I locked the door I realized that I left the house key inside. Oh well, not a problem since we have an extra key in the back patio - I decided I'd get that when we got home. Made it to the car, put the bags in the front seat and Josiah in his seat. Somehow from his side over to the other side Ellie managed to grab hand sanitizer and was consuming it as fast as she could. I got that away from her, put her in her seat and realized I had only put one shoe on her.

The trip to Trader Joes was uneventful. Josiah fell asleep on the way there and slept the whole time we shopped. I left him in his carseat and put it in the cart, Ellie was on my back in the ergo (a lifesaver). Ellie was so happy, smiling and laughing, giving me "hugs" from behind. She is just like me - needs to get out every so often and when she does it just lifts her spirits! What a social creature she is!

Once we arrived home I loaded Ellie back into the ergo, picked up Josiah's infant carrier, put the diaper bag on one shoulder, one of the grocery bags in one hand and left the other grocery bag beside the truck. Dropped everything but Ellie at the front door and ran back for the last grocery bag. Now I had to get inside. . . Josiah had woken up at this point and was hungry, so I propped a bottle up for him as best I could & took Ellie over to the side of our condo. Placed her down, with her balloon, telling her that momma would be right back. Jumped over the wall, ran to get the key and found the sliding glass door unlocked (oops!), ran inside, opened the front door and ran around to the side to rescue my now screaming little girl (mommmmma)!!

Inside we went while I unpacked and rescued Josiah from his seat so I could change him. My mother-in-law arrived a few minutes later and off Josiah & I went to hang out w/ my ladies group for dinner where I was involved in grown up conversation for the first time that day!

updates

I know it's been awhile since I've written anything. Been a bit busy trying to learn how to mother 2 kids, not just one! I feel like I'm constantly juggling!

I have a website up for our family. You can check it out @ http://web.mac.com/shinelikestars77

I have a page for Ellie & for Josiah. It's mainly to keep faraway relatives and friends updated on the happenings of our childrens lives. Hopefully you'll enjoy it too. I also have updated pics on my photo gallery so check those out too!