And more on Tanya's...

For those of you who loved her scones as much as I did....

What were your favorite flavor combinations? Comment and I'll pick a random winner for whom I'll bake a batch of your flavor! (Provided I can find the fruit... no apricots in season yet, so you might have to wait a few weeks :-)

Just for fun- comments open 24 hours, until 4 pm Wednesday.

Finally, Back in the Grocery Game...

That took a while! But six weeks post-baby, I got out shopping today with only Isaac, and we did good! Better than I'd hoped! I had $50 in my envelope, so I was hoping to stay under that :-) The Pre-Preferred Card subtotal was over $80 so I wasn't sure I was gonna make it, but my total ended up being $33! The receipt said I'd saved $49 :-)

Woo Hoo! It feels good to be gettin' the deals again!

And by the way, I saw a small sign on one frozen popsicle item that indicated you could get free Ice Age 3 movie tickets with a $15 purchase of participating frozen food items... Anybody else see anything in the sale papers or online about that? That's one we would try to catch, especially for free! (depending on what those "participating" items are...!)

Yea, and Grrr...

YEA: For you locals, do you remember/didn't you love Tanya's Bakery's scones? We used to buy them at the Farmer's Market and sometimes for special occasions- They were AMAZING! Sooo Yummy. Well, this morning I had a larger harvest of blueberries and wanted to make something special and yummy for breakfast. I quickly scoured Tammy's site, clicked a link to someone else's site for a Lemon Blueberry Scone recipe. The finished result? Tasted almost as fantastic as Tanya's! Perfect, with a not-so-sweet dough so the berries (and whatever else you choose to put in) are the explosion of sweet in your mouth.

GRRR: I tweaked the recipe quite a bit, using sour cream instead of yogurt, way more lemon juice, forgot the sugar, added milk, no lemon zest, added lemon oil instead, kneaded the dough, so that means extra flour, and rolled the wedges in sugar.... Not sure if I will be able to recreate the perfection experienced this morning.

Isn't that annoying!!!??!!

Warning Men: TMI!

Wow... Didn't see this one coming, but tonight I feel as if I should scream, yell, cry, bash my head against a wall.... What does that sound like? (At least in my world...) PMS- oi.

I hate it when it hits me like a train- didn't expect it, thought I was going crazy.... Praying over and over, desperately, "GOD!!! What is wrong with ME!????"

I do feel a little better now that I've realized what's going on, but that doesn't help my short temper or sudden urge to scream at the top of my lungs.

Thank goodness my children are in bed. Tomorrow will be a better day.

How does this happen?

Why is it that the big nasty messes only happen when I don't have the time/energy/stomach to clean them up?

No, I won't share, because I know you really DON'T want to know....

June 24th

Happy 9th Anniversary to Us :-)

It amazes me that so much time has gone by, and yet, Lord willing, we still have decades together ahead!

Happy Birthday Darcy! And Andrea too!

Such a Blessing!

Last night, Mom and I had planned for her and Dad to take Melia to the "World Famous Lipizzaner Stallions" show at the Town Toyota Center. Previous to yesterday, I had planned on only Melia going because of Kiera probably not getting as much out of it as the ticket cost... But at lunch I spontaneously thought, "Hey, I want to go too. Let's just do it..."

So, we show up (the kids and I) and meet Mom and Dad at the center and get in line for tickets. A lady asks us if we need tickets.. yes, of course. To sum it up, she hands us 7 (but really 6- one was a receipt) and refuses payment for them. This is approx $134 worth of tickets, free!

We get inside and learn we are on the top level, in one of the suites, but someone told Mom and Dad (as I was waiting in line for my coffee :-) that we could sit on what I would call the balcony, VIP section, Very Cushy chairs, by the VIP club (concessions).

Let me summarize the blessings involved in how this evening came together..
1. Free admission- wow!
2. Private seating. Which means Kiera doesn't bother anyone but us with her talking... Isaac doesn't bother anyone when he hollers... I can feed Isaac comfortably...
3. We have a great view, and were able to run and buy drinks, popcorn, and cotton candy at a moments notice and miss but a minute of the show.

I am so thankful for His provision of such a great evening! The show itself was fine, but didn't even compare to the joy of sharing such an obvious blessing together at His expense! "Thank you Lord- You know when we sometimes just need a blessed break..."

"And You know when we need to hear from You--" Yesterday at church, I received my own special message. He had been preparing me all week for it, and I am so thankful that He is Faithful and True to guide and direct our hearts in His Will, especially against the onslaught of the world and the enemy. "For Your Glory, Father."

SOOO COOL!

Ok, everyone with kids, you have to visit this site and play the videos on YouTube to see if your kiddos like them! Mine were magnetized to the computer, Kiera started boppin', and Melia started singing with them just the second or third time through the songs! And ME? I thought, "Hey! I could listen to this in the car and NOT GO CRAZY!!!"

Seeds Family Worship and click Media to go to You Tube or Listen Online (adjust your speakers first... words of experience...)

I ordered two CDs :-)

Sorry about That....and a funny...

I know, it was pretty random to leave ya'll hanging like that. But yesterday, I was so glad to have Gabe objectively analyze what was going on, because my brain was fried and my patience non-existent. I swear, we (the kids and I) could not get through 5 minutes yesterday without fighting, screaming (between the girls) or "Mommy, Mommy MOMMY," in which one would need me, and when she left, the other would come over, back and forth back and forth. Not a single task was completed, nor thought process finished.

It is extremely valuable to have another adult tell me that I am not going crazy, that we really are having a bad day, and that certain things need more consistency (which requires a second set of hands :-), and other things need to stop. I can't imagine how pioneer women did it, with no close neighbors, and a husband working sun up to sun down. No objective opinions to take the pressure off!

But, something funny to share, from Melia to Kiera.
"I'm the mommy, and you're my little honey."

What I Miss

Silence. Less Drama.

I Love Parallels-- from the Word

I am slowly working my way through The Kingdom, Power, and Glory by Chuck and Nancy Missler. Gabe and I are considering leading a small group in the fall-- and I've really been wanting to check this out, probably because He seems to really be pruning me in the area of obedience lately, and this book's subtitle is "The Overcomer's Handbook."

Anyway, a quote that spoke to me, as I've never gone this deep in this area before...I understood it, but haven't really delved into that understanding.

"Complete salvation therefore means not only receiving God's Life in our spirits (justification), but also renewing every part of our souls and bodies as well (sanctification). Many Christians take only the first step of salvation and stop there. Like the Israelites, they put Christ's blood on the doorposts of their homes, but they forget to purge the leaven [sin] from their lives."

Mmhmmm. Love it love it love it. Such a perfect word picture.

HUGE NEWS FROM OUR HOUSE!!!

OK, so as to not blab all my daughter's secrets to the whole wide blogosphere... Read carefully.

Ya know what I've been so frustrated with lately, and Kiera has seemed like she was purposefully doing behind closed doors? What she can recite the whole process about, but won't actually do? What we discussed her punishment on Sunday night (which BTW, she decided was a rinse off by the hose outside, 4 spankins, and a time out on the pot...SHE picked those out, with a *little* help from Melia)? When she does this, she is expecting a chocolate...

SHE DID IT TONIGHT!!! (After three days of me feeding her prunes- ha!) She actually crawled out of the tub to DO IT! And yes, Mommy screamed, hollered, did the happy dance, gave high fives... And Kiera got a chocolate caramel truffle for a treat. :-) WOO HOO! (Can I make that font any bigger?) Seriously, this is a Huge victory here, and I am so thrilled. It felt like such a battle recently.

AND, on another note, I weighed myself tonight, then held Isaac and weighed us, and he is somewhere between 11 and 11.5 lbs! Another exciting development, as that means he is sooo close to the magic number of 12 lbs! (At which, babies are supposed to start being able to sleep longer periods at night... )

Now, off to bed myself... :-)

Gassy Suggestions?

Shouldn't the third child be easier? Like, we already know everything, so why is he throwing new stuff at us? ;-) He doesn't like his binkie, he doesn't like being swaddled, he has gas like you wouldn't believe...

4 weeks in and we are still trying to figure each other out.

Any suggestions on what I should NOT be eating if he is a gassy kid? Cause, well, I guess guacamole isn't so great? Bummer.... it tasted so good...

How Many Children?

So, how many kids do I need to have before I learn the lesson to just leave them alone?

Let me illustrate.

Melia: Born with lots of dark hair, it grew in blond. So she had this section of her hair that was still baby hair, dark at the ends. One day, I thought, "I should cut that off." And I did. Don't tell, but Gabe was fairly irritated at me, and I was nearly in tears when I realized what I had done. It completely changed her appearance.

Kiera: I didn't listen to the nurses at the hospital, and tried to cut her nails. She bled. I felt awful.

Isaac: Whatever you call that first layer of skin that peels off, it is still present somewhat on his head, which ends up being sweaty and greasy from all the lovin' he gets. So it wasn't coming off, and his skin was looking... not pretty. This morning, I decided to wash his face to help it along. I washed up his forehead, into his hairline. But the skin just turned to glue, sticking to the hair. After it dried a little, I took a small comb to it to help it out some more. And soon discovered that his little tiny darling baby hairs were coming out in the comb. I nearly cried. I had receded his beautiful, perfect hairline.

Gabe says that now he looks even more like his Uncle Shaun....

What will I do to the next one?

Just How Much Do They Love Their Baby Brother?

Melia: "Mommy, Can I love on his leg a little bit?"

Kiera: Kisses him wherever she can, even just his knee...

Isaac's Two Week Check up

So, yea, he is three weeks now, but I realized I forgot to share his details :-)

We took him in last Wednesday for his well child check. I was a little concerned because he didn't seem to be plumping up like I expected. His weight and height...

Weight: 8 lbs 5 oz (birth 7 lbs 13oz)
Height: 22.5 inches (birth 21 inches)

I laughed and said "are you sure? Because that's a growth of an inch and a half..." Dr. said that can happen, and his head circumference measurements correspond with it, so it appears normal. So. no plumping, just stretching....

Spider Wars

You know it's summer when the gnats come in at night and the spiders are waiting for them! We have the lovely problem of them flying in through Ziva's dog door... just peachy.

This morning, I noticed a chunk of dirt on the kitchen floor... didn't pick it up right away cause the girls were clammering for their cereal... Later, I almost reached down to pick it up bare-handed, but thought (while in my glasses, not contacts BTW) "that looks slightly odd..." I got up close and personal, discovering that it was hardly a dirt clod at all, but a grayish spider, sucking the juices out of another spider...

Good News- I didn't scream, and they both ended up dead. Oi. blech.

Too Early?

Is the age of 18 days too young to label an individual as a redhead with a temper?

;-)

Fun Read: Husbands and Wives in the Making

I sat down to read a few articles this afternoon- online, because I let my printed magazine subscription lapse (don't worry, I re-upped today too!)... and I just feel so rejuvenated. I cannot stress enough how much of an impact No Greater Joy has on my attitude as a mom- God truly uses it to "fill me back up."

Anyway, I got a kick out of this article- Pretty cute :-)

Overall: Success!

So, right after we picked out our very first item at the very first store (Melia's new swimsuit at Costco), Kiera exclaims that she has to go potty! And I realize I forgot to make her go before we left home.... and I turn to Isaac and see that he has spit up all over himself. This from a monkey who has only once or twice in his 17 days spit up... So we trek all the way up to the bathroom....

But, after that mishap, our trip went fairly well! Kiera had to go potty again at Target, but I really should be happy about this- at least its not in a pull-up... The odd thing is that she normally holds it a long time, but this was twice in 2.5 hours. And she is literally all over the place at the stores-- I need to get creative with her training, cause she doesn't like sitting the cart (which she has to do if she doesn't stay next to me), but it doesn't seem to impact her next time when she gets to try again. She's back to wandering... Ideas?

And Isaac did very well; he slept basically the whole time we were out and about :-) I am so thankful that he likes his car seat!

PLUS! I cleaned part of the kitchen today! WooHoo! I honestly have no idea how our house gets so cluttered so fast. NO IDEA WHATSOEVER. On the one hand, it drives me nuts... On the other, I know I am 1/2 to 1/5 of the problem... ;-) Anyway, I'll be sleeping good tonight!

One Night down...

I did it! I went to bed at precisely 9:24 pm, which is a huge step for me, and Isaac slept good all night, waking up to eat and then go back to bed! Thank You Lord! I feel much better this morning, and we are now going to attempt to go shopping for some staple foods... and maybe a swimsuit for Melia... My first time shopping alone with 3 kids.... Praying for patience and Godspeed! :-)

2 Weeks and counting...

Little baby man had a busy weekend for an almost two week old, and I kinda think we are paying for it a bit now :-) Last Thursday, we had a get together with most all the friends we used to hang out with 5-10 years ago... before children! Now, between 4 families, we've got 13 kiddos! What fun! It was a really good time- And thank you Lindsey for organizing it!

Then Friday, my cousin Meera got married in Cashmere... Best wishes to her and Zach!

Saturday, we joined my dad's family's Family Camp at a neat farmhouse in Brender Canyon. My mom and sister took the girls overnight, but Gabe and I still ended up staying there late, so no extra sleep for us! I did find it extremely interesting how much the girls tried to "push the limits" in a new location... Interesting and irritating. I think I needed to discuss the situation with them a little more before letting them go- to make sure they understood we still expect them to obey! That's the hard part about nursing a little one- I can't really reinforce immediately... but I don't want them to know that! (yea right, I'm delusional here I know!)

Sunday the girls got to head with that side of the family to Leavenworth to partake in MiniGolf ("golfball game" according to Melia) and lunch, while Gabe and I went to Sunday School and church (where Isaac slept the whole time!!! Praise God!) and then joined with my other side of the family at Gramps house for a relaxing afternoon, watching the Mariner's blow their game... No, I don't keep up with sports, but Gramps always has the game on, and boy- to lose after a 8-1 lead is painful to watch...

And last night we went to watch our church's softball team play- we had to leave before the end of the last game, but from the facebook comments, I believe we are still undefeated :-) The weather was perfect- it was so hot all day long, but cloudy enough that it was comfortable, especially for baby man! I am grateful we were able to get out a little- the girls get cabin fever so bad, and with not having any shade outside they can't play for very long.

And what about me? Sleep. More sleep. Unfortunately, I am just not responsible enough to make it happen. Maybe tomorrow when Gabe goes back to work-- I can go to bed on time and not be tempted to stay up for some quieter time with him!