Yard Work

Seth, Matt and Mia helped Grandma and Uncle Heath trim bushes Saturday.

God, Thanks For The Rain

Um, we're good now.

House = Stress

We are feeling it this week. We have been working each night, except Thursday night, to get the stone on the porch. This weekend we hope to make a lot of progress. We aren't going to post any pictures until we complete the project. If you live near us, then I guess you will just have to stop by to see it. We will post a slide show of the pictures that we took along the way. I think this could be a summer long project :( yuck.

Unexpected Fun

Sam turned on the shower while I was filling the bathtub with water. He loved it!

We've Got A Bleeder!

Well, they say that things come in three. I hope that the injuries end here. After reading about Cy falling off of the slide and Tug cutting his finger, I never expected to be writing about one of my boys getting hurt. It happened today while we were at the church. We went there for a birthday lunch for one of the staff. We happened to get there early because we were already in town for play group, so I thought that it would be a great time for Seth to practice riding without training wheels. We took the bikes into the sanctuary where wide open spaces and carpet make the perfect training grounds. Seth was doing a great job riding, he was turning, breaking and peddling quite fast. I was so excited for him because I knew that he was gaining confidence. He took off toward the front of the sanctuary down one of the side isles, when I heard a little scream of terror. He had hit his head on the metal part of one of the chairs. I thought to myself, I will just go kiss him and he will be fine and jump back on his bike. Until he started to scream a little louder and he began to run toward me, he had noticed blood on his hand after he touched his head. I ran over to him and noticed blood streaming down the side of his head. He pulled his hand away from his head and it was covered with blood! I picked him up quickly and put my hand against his head and ran to Lonnie's office to get a doctor's opinion. I could feel his pulse throbbing against my hand as I put pressure on his head while I waited for Lonnie's phone call to end. After careful examination Lonnie decided that we wouldn't have to get stitches if we were very cautious with keeping the cut clean over the next 24 hours. Seth really didn't want to be bandaged up because he thought that he would look silly, but now that we are home I think he is getting comfortable with it. He has gotten back on a bike, but not the one without training wheels.

First Communion

Today was Seth and Matthew's first communion. We had communion in groups with our families at church today. Justin explained what communion is to the boys and they wanted to participate. Justin asked Seth if he wanted to pray first, but Seth decided that he would let his dad take the lead. It was really fun experiencing that with the boys and I look forward to many more exciting firsts in their spiritual lives.

I have decided that Matthew is my "extra grace required" child. I only say that because he has colored on my wall and bathtub with crayons and I never had to worry about that with Seth.

What Are The Rules Of Sharing?

Sharing is such a hard thing for little kids to do. It is very important that we teach our children how to share, but I find myself contradicting the rules over and over. So I began to think about what seems fair and what would cause less arguments between the boys. Here are the rules that I came up with.

1. If you are playing with a toy that can only be played with by one person at a time, then you do not have to share it. This applies to one or more items in a child's possession.

2. If the toy can be played with by more than one child at a time, then it must be shared with any child who wants to play with it. Example: A toy car garage/each child can use their own car, but they must share the garage.

3. If a toy belongs to Seth, but Matt has it first, then Matt gets to keep it until he is done playing with it. Therefore, Seth has to share his toy with Matt.

4. Sunglasses and watches are off limits. The owner is the only one allowed to use it, unless he has given the other child permission. Do you as an adult allow other people to use your sunglasses and watches? No, eh?

Please feel free to comment. I would love to hear any rules of sharing that you use in your house.

A Night At The Fair & Rodeo

Last night we took Seth and Matt to the Montgomery County Fair. Before last night the boys had never riden on carnival rides. It was quite an experience. We began with the Tilt-A-Whirl, it spun like crazy with all four of us on it. After the first couple of times that we spun out of control in a circle I started wondering if I shouldn't have had those chicken wing dings for dinner. Justin and I thought the ride would never stop, but ten minutes later we finally slowed down and got off. It was a good thing that the ride came to an end because Matt had to go pee. We stepped away from the ride five feet when I said, "Just let me find a bathroom." As I was scanning the fairgrounds for the prime space to pee I felt something wet spraying on my leg. I looked down to find Matt peeing on my leg and shoe. I couldn't believe that he was peeing on ME! In a panic, Justin and I tried to get him to stop peeing in public, but he just couldn't stop. I am not sure what all of the staring people thought of us, but I could have just crawled in a hole at that moment.

The boys went on to ride everything except the big slide and one ride that went upside down. I overheard them talking about how much they loved riding the cars and boats, the things that they could drive. We all decided to go on the caged in ferris wheel, you know- the one that goes upside down if you want it to. Seth and Justin rode together and Matt and I rode in the next one. The ride attendant forgot to release the lock on our cage. As soon as Matt and I started moving toward the top I knew that we were going to be stuck upside down. Sure enough the cage turned upside down and the ride stopped to allow someone else to get on. Matt and I were hanging there and panic began to set in for Matt. I started yelling at the attendant, "Hello, our cage is locked upside down and I have a 3 year old in here with me." He just went on with his business and told me to move the ring. Do you really think that I haven't already tried that? I am not one who deliberately submits my child to torment and fear. After hanging there for a couple of minutes and consoling my child with the red face, we made our way to the bottom and the guy released our cage. I convinced Matt to stay on the ride, but he was very skeptical the rest of the night.
After the rides we watched the bull riding and team roping, which was a good experience for the guys. The clown called for kids 6 and under to go out onto the field to chase ducks. Seth and Matt both went out there, but as soon as the clown touched Matt's head, he turned to look at the audience and began to cry with a really scared look on his face. Justin ran out there to get him without taking a picture since the crowd was saying, "Aaaawww!" I guess we will never have a clown at any of our birthday parties.

Matt with the clown right before he started to cry.

According to LeapFrog: You put a sheep in front and a cow behind, put them together and what do you find? A sheepcow? That's silly! I am pretty sure that we found one at the fair, even though someone said that it was a ram. Looks like a sheepcow to me! Really, how many rams do you see with cow colors and patterns?
XOXO

Tears Of Joy Five Years Ago...

Five years ago today, I became the mother of a beautiful little fireball. Seth Ryan was born at 12:25pm and we fell in love with him instantly. We knew that he was going to be strong-willed from the beginning because it was 11 days past his due date and he was not going anywhere. It was not too surprising though, since both of his parents are super strong-willed. We went to the hospital June 17th at 7:00pm for cervix softener, knowing that one way or another we would have a baby sometime the next day. I never understood what it meant to cry tears of joy until I delivered you, Seth. I remember being so anxious to see what you looked like, but struggling to see through my blurry tear filled eyes. Your dad tells everyone that you were born with a cone head, but it went away before we even left the hospital. Your body was so wrinkly that you looked a little bit like an old man, but it was really sweet (we have cute pictures of you naked). Your Grandpa Laughlin was a little worried about your weight for a few months, but you just have skinny genes I guess.






You have grown up a lot in the past few years. I can't believe all of the things that you can do independently. I know that you are a smart little guy and a great leader at school, a big change from two years ago when you first began pre-k. You are strong and you know exactly what you want. I am so proud of you and the little man that you are becoming. I look forward to seeing the plans that God has for your life.

What Dads Are Made Of!

Celebration!

Matthew, Lilly, Seth, Luke and Mia

Everyone was helping Seth open his presents.

Seth really wanted this spiderman bike that Grandpa and Grandma Laughlin gave him.

All of the kids watching Seth blow out the candles on his Chocolate Mountain cake.

Today we celebrated Seth's 5th birthday along with Father's Day. There is a strange feeling that comes with watching your oldest child grow up. I can believe that he is going to be 5 this week, but it is hard to accept that the years have went by so quickly. As he changes and matures each year, I feel myself grasping to hold onto him as long as he will let me.

We had a great time with Aunt Lindsey, Aunt Alison, Uncle Chad, and cousins Mia, Jack, Lilly and Luke. Great Grandma Laughlin and Papa and Grandma were all part of the fun as Seth opened presents and blew out the candles on the cake.

Seth Without Training Wheels

Seth and Matt were outside riding bikes when Seth asked me to remove his training wheels. I told him that I thought we should wait until tomorrow since we were getting ready to leave for dinner. Seth came in the house and told me that he took his training wheels off himself and that he wanted me to come out and watch him ride. I went outside and helped him for a little bit and then he took off. He still needs some practice, but he is doing a great job. Here is a picture of Justin helping him ride on concrete, which made him a little nervous.

Here is Sam giving Seth full support.

Events Of The Week/ Poop Disaster

I must start by giving a few small details of the week. Monday, Justin and I worked on the house. I tried to be as motivating as possible by volunteering to work the circular saw and doing small cuts with the tile saw. The weather was perfect, it was on the verge of storming all day. So, we got all of the cool breezes without the rain. We still have some more brick laying to do before the stone arrives, but we should get most of that done tonight.

Seth is enjoying VBS and is currently reading about 3 short sentences at a time during his reading lessons. Matt has been playing his small guitar more often, which led to a back injury for me yesterday. As I was trying to move Matt and his guitar to the back of the couch I must have pulled something in my back. I always forget how heavy Matt is when he needs to be lifted.

Now here is the real story of the week. This morning I heard Sam awake in his bedroom. I got his milk ready and went upstairs to get him up. As I opened the door to the nursery I was about blown away by the smell. It is a rare event when Sam poops before breakfast. I put the bottle on the dresser and turned to walk over to the crib. Then, I noticed that there was poop in a lot of different areas of the crib sheet. I immediately thought, "he must have diarrhea." Then, as I looked closer, he didn't have his diaper on at all. As a matter of fact his diaper was clean, so he must have gotten it off at some point before he pooped. I am sure that he pooped on the bed and began to play with it, smeared it around, rolled in it, and ate it. Who knows? I rushed him into the bathroom and began to wash him down. After a complete scrub down and washing his hands twice, I still can't get the poop smell off of his hands.

Now I'm It!

The rules of the game get posted at the beginning.
1. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
2. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
3. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.


1. What were you doing five years ago?
1. I was pregnant with my first child and today, June 7th was my due date.
2. I had just finished working as a full time tutor at the public high school.
3. Justin and I had been married for almost two years.
4. We were helping our good friends the Schwab family move into their new house.
5. We had just officially met our good friends Karen and Shane Cress.

2. What are five things on your to do list for today?
1. Rest
2. Buy Seth a few birthday presents.
3. Enjoy a day with Justin.
4. Get our window treatments.
5. Get through a reading lesson with Seth before bedtime.

3. What are five snacks that you enjoy?
1. Chocolate covered donuts
2. Snickers Ice Cream
3. Oreo cookies
4. Cream Soda
5. A lot of different chips or pretzels.

4. What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?
1. Adopt a lot of children
2. Travel a lot
3. Give money to family and friends who need it.
4. Make my house a little bigger or build a new one across the pond.
5. Try to keep my life from changing too much.

5. Where are five of your favorite places to travel, why?
1. San Cristobal, Guatemala/Mission Trip
2. Victoria, Vancouver Island, BC/Honeymoon
3. Estes Park, CO/Family vacations
4. Virgin Islands/vacation
5. Paris, France/vacation

6. What are five jobs that you have had?
1. Dairy Queen/high school
2. Marketing Research/college
3. High School Tutor/Post Marriage-Pre Children
4. Television Editor and Traveling Videographer for Joyce Meyer Ministries/Post College
5. Homemaker/Current

7. What five people do you want to tag?
1. Marylynn
2. Sally
3. Karen
4. Lindsey
5. Laura

Riding A Big Boy Bike

One of our neighbors gave us a scooter and a bike a couple of days ago. Matt hasn't wanted to ride the 12" bike that we bought for Seth. When we got home from play group on Wednesday and found this bike in our driveway, Matt latched onto it. He loves riding his "new big bike."

Here is Seth riding his scooter. He has wanted one of these since his friend Jillian brought hers to school for show and tell.

I Love My Neighbors

I live in a great neighborhood. The house to the south of ours is the home of Justin's parents. They are very pleasant to live next to. The house to the north of us is the Schaff family. They are a family of five. They have two girls and a boy, all of them are several years older than our children. They love to play with Seth and Matt. The boys played with them for 3 hours this morning. It was great because Sam has been upset the last couple of days. He woke up this morning at 5:45 am, his normal wake-up time is 7:30. Even after he had breakfast he was almost inconsolable. Sam rode on the mower with me, long enough to get him tired again. The point is that it was great to have a few hours that didn't involve a lot of multitasking. And Seth is going to VBS with them next week. Yay!

XOXO

Mittens & Money

I forgot to mention that Matt is no longer wearing mittens to bed. I stopped putting them on him a couple of weeks ago. There is no evidence that he has been sucking his thumb. I did remind him the first couple of nights that I would put the mittens back on him if I found him trying to suck on his thumb again. I think the habit has been broken.

Today, Seth kept asking me if he could ride his bike on the road. If you don't know where we live, then I have to tell you that our house is about 50 ft. from a road where most people drive between 55 and 70 mph. Our road is a very straight, long country road that many people take the liberty to race on. It is very scary to have my children in the front yard at all. Every time I hear a car speed by my heart goes up in my throat as I wonder if my child is obeying or not. Anyway, I told Seth that he must stay away from the road, but our neighbors were riding their bikes on the road and he wanted to ride with them. Finally, he came inside and went to his "keeper drawer" as he likes to call it. He took 26 fake dollars out of his drawer and sat it down in front of me. I said, "What is this for?" He said, "Can I ride in the road?" He thought he could buy my permission. Boy does he have a lot to learn.

Good Buddies

The boys like to share Seth's bed sometimes. They usually sleep at opposite ends of the bed. This is what we found when we went into their bedroom last night. I don't know how they could sleep like that, but they were in a deep sleep. After I took a couple of pictures Justin moved Matt back to his bed.

Beautiful Storm

Seth and Justin sat on the front porch rocker and watched the storm pass. Many interesting conversations came from this precious time that they had together. It was Seth's very first time that he asked the question, "Where do babies come from?" Then he went on to say, "I know that the mom has to eat a lot, then there is an egg and the baby is inside the egg." Justin knew that I was sitting just inside the front bay window and turned around to look at me with an expression that said, "I can not believe what I am hearing." He graciously and very vaguely explained that not all babies are hatched like baby birds and turtles. It left a great impression on Seth and now he wants to sit outside and have alone time with his dad again.

XOXO

A Few Of My Favorites

Fire and Ice HostaWhite Feather Hosta
Coral Bells
Coral Bells "Caramel"

Thank you for all of the input. I really liked several of the suggestions that was in my comment box. I now have a few new favorites to add to my old favorites.