Baby Steps

This past weekend, our church held a large parking lot sale. Anyone who wanted to participate could bring their junk (I mean, lovely treasures) to the church parking lot and attempt to make some extra cash. That, and some extra room in the garage!

I used the opportunity to promote and sell some of the items in my etsy shop The Framed Frog. I also had noted that there were some things taking up vast amounts of room in the house that did not need to be there anymore.

There were baby bibs everywhere! Apparently, having three little ones in three years really enlarges the bib stash. Only the Spud uses bibs now, and even then it is sporadic because his poor mommy is lucky to get him fully dressed each day. So in they went into the sale.

I surveyed the linen closet and decided the mountains of folded baby blankets really needed to go as well. The Drama Queen insists on sleeping with the same blanket every night anyway, and the boys are big fans of the quilts their great-grandma made. I carefully stacked up the various Pooh-adorned and fluffy fleece blankets and marked them for sale.

So far, so good. Although it made my heart a little sad to get rid of these sweet reminders of recent baby days, the thought of a much cleaner closet and new things to come made it a lot easier.

On the top shelf of the kids' room's wall closet, I spied a vary familiar froggy face smiling back at me. I reached up and pulled down the Froggy Tales crib set that all three of the children had enjoyed. The sheets and adorable quilt were crisp and clean still, but a thousand memories lingered in the threads. I stood there for several minutes, wondering if we should sell the set. After all, what was the use of it sitting around? Those crib bumpers take up a lot of room! And should another Frogster join the family later on, we could always get a new crib set for the newest tadpole. I agonized over the decision because I didn't really want to give it up. It seemed then that all things baby were gone.

I eventually (and with much encouragement from the nerd) did put the whole set in the sale. (perhaps secretly hoping it would not sell, which would obviously be a sign from God to keep it) And when the nice young family walked away from my booth, clearly thrilled to get a nice set of bedding for their expected child, I smiled. And then I ran to the bathroom and cried for a few minutes.

It's strange - I am so ready for my little munchkins to be more independent and more helpful around the house, yet I am not really ready for them to leave the baby stage. Oh well, I guess it all comes in baby steps. And selling that bedding was a BIG baby step for this momma...

Wordless Wednesday - why use a spoon?

note: red jello stains skin. For like three days. Just so you know.

more wordless fun at 5 Minutes for Mom...

He's the Best

It has been crazy busy around here. You know, the kind of busy where I am up until three in the morning trying to complete projects and then getting up again four hours later to continue what I didn't finish. It's why my Not Me! Monday post never really happened yesterday, and why the kiddies wore the same pajamas three days in a row. It's why I have considered taking my coffee IV style to save time and hype up my energy.
Despite the busyness, I was very careful to make time for a very special someone's birthday this year. You see, last year around this time, I had just given birth to child #3. Between recovery and trying to figure out how to manage three little ones with only two hands (okay, maybe I'm still working on that one!), my poor hubby's birthday fell by the wayside. No gifts, cards, birthday cake, nothing. It certainly is something I regret.

So this year I determined to make up for last year's fiasco. After all, the man was turning 29, and that alone deserved a celebration. By the way, I'll tell you what else deserved a celebration - the fact that this man, although many times is exhausted by the mental pressures of his two jobs, still comes home and washes dishes, wrestles with the kiddies, goes back out to get Frosties for the whole family, fixes whatever needs fixing, and patiently listens to his wife ramble on for hours about her day. He supports The Framed Frog whole-heartedly and spends hours helping me with order forms and the business side of things. Most of all, he is first and foremost my best friend. I feel like I hit the jackpot when it comes to husbands. I just love that man!

Anyway, this year, I have been giving him little gifts all throughout the month of August leading up to his birthday. Fun T-shirts, candy, food, etc. have made their appearance to remind him how much he is loved. For his "big" gift, he of course got some video games. The night before, we treated him to Mexican food, his favorite, and on his big day, his parents took us all out to Famous Dave's BBQ. I naturally had to make him a special birthday cake - he requested peanut butter and chocolate. The kiddies chose gifts at the dollar store for their dad - the boys picked out a set of plastic army men, and the Drama Queen purchased a tiddly wink set. We of course spoiled him rotten all day.

And it doesn't hurt to butter up the guy for when a certain girl turns thirty in December. . .

Just Call Me the Master of Deception

It worked! I feel so clever and such a master of deception! I must admit, I was rather confident that my kids (and my hubby) would not be fooled. But I was wrong. . .

Earlier this week I tried to get the family to eat cauliflower by breading it with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese and baking it. Served with marinara sauce, it's absolutely delicious in my book. Although the Drama Queen seemed to enjoy it, the boys were not as thrilled and refused to eat it. (Well, hubby ate it but he said it was a "taste he would have to get used to."

So last night I got the remaining cauliflower out of the fridge. This time I boiled it with potatoes and then mashed them altogether. I did not say a word to any of the other family members of this hidden ingredient. EVERYONE ate their cauliflower. And NO ONE knew that they had eaten it! Hubby commented on how much he liked the bleu cheese flavor (I added a little fat-free bleu cheese dressing). Success! I later informed hubby that he had indeed eaten cauliflower, and he was very surprised.

Hmmmm. . . I guess there is something to this hidden ingredients thing. I'm still not convinced that adding beets to brownies is a good idea. My philosophy has always been to leave those brownies alone! :) ha ha

Any other hidden ingredient suggestions? I would love some tips for broccoli and green beans...

Working, Weekend, Worshipping Dad

Last year I decided to start a tradition for Father's Day. I dressed the kiddies up in Daddy's clothes and took pictures for him to keep at his office. The Drama Queen wanted to be "Working Dad" - so her getup included Daddy's work clothes, his shoes, laptop case, and pens. Here she is one year ago:

And here she is now. It's fun to see how much they grow!

The Beast was of course "Weekend Dad." He sported one of Daddy's favorite T-shirts, his sneakers, game controller, and cap. Here he is a year ago:

The little guy couldn't even stand up then! And here he is now:

He continued to wear Daddy's Mario hat for the rest of the day. And finally, I had to come up with something for the Spud to wear, as this was his first year participating. And so I give you, "Worshipping Dad":

He was not at all happy to be wearing that shirt or tie, and it was agony to get this picture. :)

Besides the general cuteness of the photos, I wanted to post this today as we are getting ready to celebrate a certain special someone's 29th birthday on Sunday. He is my other half - and puts all of his passion into his family - and in his working, playing, and worshipping. Just this morning, the Drama Queen asked me where her Daddy was. When I reminded her that he was at work already, she said, "Oh right. He is working hard to make money to give to Jesus. And to help our family." (smiles)

And every evening, just about 6:00 pm, you can hear the excited shrieks of "Daddy's home! Daddy's home!" as all three kiddies race to the door to get their hugs in first.

Wordless Wednesday - fun at the lake

awww....I am just in love with these little faces! More wordless fun at 5 Minutes for Mom...

A Spudilicious Party

Mr. Spud Muffin had his first birthday celebration on Saturday. I planned a beach-themed party at the local spray park. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate, and we ended up moving it to Grandma's house. We still managed to have a little of the beach with us, though:

The sandcastle cake was made from a 13x9 sheet cake cut in half and stacked on top of a round cake layer. The round layer was iced in blue and adorned with gummy fish. The sandcastle was iced in milk chocolate frosting and decorated with nilla wafer crumbs and candy seashells. The towers are actually cake cones coated in frosting and crumbs. The beach pail contains the Spud's special cake - it's just small pieces of cake layered with applesauce and topped off with the nilla wafer crumbs. (I got this idea from familyfun.com).

Party favors were pretty simple - a trip to the dollar store yielded these bright ice cream cone cups which we filled with candy, bubbles, and a crazy straw.

Another treat that the Drama Queen made for the party were blue jello fish bowls. To make them, you need a package of blue raspberry jello, some gummy fish, boiling water, and ice. Mix the jello and 1 cup of boiling water in a large bowl. Add two cups of ice and stir for five minutes. Remove any unmelted ice and spon the mixture into clear plastic cups. Push gummy fish into each cup. Refrigerate until firm.

The Spud spent some quality time with Grandpa.

The kiddies and their second cousin enjoyed all the finger foods. The Spud and his second cousin are only a month apart in age and spent most of this time stealing each other's cheese puffs.

Daddy and the Spud get ready to have some cake. (Grandpa made the awesome larger-than-life photo posters for decorations!)

Blow! Look at those precious chubby cheeks!

The Spud did not hesitate and dug into his bucket of cake without reservations.

It looks like the cake was a success with the little ones!

He is our only kid to not cry while opening his gifts. In fact, he seemed pretty blase about the whole experience.

Since swimming and splashing were out of the question, a little Mario Kart became the favorite party activity. (Don't be fooled by the Drama Queen's confident expression - neither of them have any idea of what they are doing!)

It was a great party, and I am relieved to have no party planning for a while. Hubby turns 29 this week, but Grandma is taking care of that party. And I fully expect him to throw me a huge party in December, when I turn (gasp!) thirty!

Not Me Monday #14 - the binky confessionals

Well, now. I for one am not willing to admit that it is Monday already. And of course it's just one on a long list of things I'm not willing to admit. Lucky for me, I can "confess" these things in my Not Me Monday post. Hundreds of other Not-Me'ers are sharing all the things they did not do this past week, and we have all banded together at MckMama's blog. Join us, or at least read on..

I did not spend an entire day lying on the couch and watching random TV shows because I was sick. I would not have jumped at the opportunity to send the kiddies to Grandma's house so I could rest in peace. Ha ha! Because I did not feel like death warmed over that day...

If I had been that sick, I would not have dragged myself off the couch to decorate a wicked adorable rubber ducky cake that I promised to make for a baby shower. And knowing that the expectant mom was not fond of pink, I most certainly would not have purposely made strawberry flavored cake so that it would be pink on the inside. Heehee, not me!

When I lost the Spud's last binky, I did not become incredibly desperate and search the entire house for that lovely piece of rubber we affectionately call "amazing grace." After failing to find said binky, I did not suddenly and miraculously discover that the church nursery workers had accidentally put another child's binky in my diaper bag. And of course I would never ever rinse off that binky and then shove it into my child's mouth to get some much needed quiet. Besides being ridiculously unsanitary, naturally my child would not be so addicted to his pacifier as to need such drastic measures.

While making the Spud's birthday cake, I did not purposely make extra frosting "in case I needed it." I did not then sit down and eat all of the extra frosting spoonful by spoonful while watching infomercials for exercise equipment. Yeah, I mean, no! Not me!

And of course it was not me that sat on my bed Friday night and cried because my baby had turned one year old. That's a silly thing to cry about! Nope, not me!

Ah, that felt good. Now I've got to go work out and get rid of these extra pounds. Don't know where they came from - it's like I've been eating frosting straight from the bowl or something...

Happy Birthday to the Spud!

See that look? That look of pure joy and "I'm gonna take over the world"? Well, that's what happens when you give your kid a chocolate cupcake for breakfast. Okay, people, it's his birthday today. And it's not like I gave him a Pepsi to go along with it. The world could not handle the Spud hyped up on chocolate frosting AND Pepsi. Talk about mass destruction!

So, my little Spud, you have defied me and insisted on getting older. One year ago today Daddy drove your momma to the hospital in the middle of the night. You kicked me so hard during my pregnancy that I had bruising all around my rib cage, and you continued to kick me during the whole labor and delivery process. I knew then that you were going to be a real handful!

You are our only kid to get stuck in the crib railing over and over again because you were jumping up and down in your crib. You are the only one in our family who has resisted my morning training and still insists on getting up at 5:30 am each day. You are the only baby to get out of the changing table restraints and almost fall off - more than once. And now you are walking. The whole house quakes in terror. Your siblings run because even though you are half their size, you are not afraid to steal their toys. And then laugh about it.

And yet you are the one that cuddles in my lap for hours, stroking my face and "talking" to me. You break out into a huge grin when Daddy gets home, and scream "Da-da" for the world to hear. You are constantly "hugging" your siblings and shrieking in delight at the smallest of entertainments.

God has great plans for you someday, my Spud. We love you and are excited (and a little nervous!) to see how you grow and mature this coming year. Happy First Birthday, my little man!

Escapades of the Beast

I've been AWOL from my blog for a few days due to sick kids and other crazy stuff, so I decided to skip the Wordless Wednesday I usually do and put up a post with some actual words. Ha ha! don't worry - plenty of photos of my cute monsters to come in future posts!

However, I have not had a chance to fill you in on the Beast's latest escapades. These of course must be chronicled for posterity and for possible embarrassing of the Beast as a teenager later on....

This past week I caught him:
1) Trying to shove a porcelain tea cup in the trash can at Teavana. I am so thankful that that $19.99 tea cup survived the ordeal without a chip or scratch.
2) Hiding in the swimsuit racks at JCPenney and then shouting "Boobies! Boobies!" when he saw the bikini tops. Thank you, big sister, for teaching him that anatomy term.
3) Singing the words to "Down By The Bay" word perfect and in perfect pitch. I think he's only heard the song a few times; so I was very impressed.
4) Stating loudly: "I don't like my brother today!" when the Spud kept trying to play with him. Yeah, I'm pretty sure the feeling was mutual.
5) Pleading "Momma, may I please have a drink of your soda?" 58 times in a row at McDonald's the other day. He is definitely persistent, but I did not give in. (Unfortunately he found a weaker target - Daddy gave in rather quickly!)

Not to mention that he suffered terribly from the stomach flu on Friday and managed to throw up several times on the couch, the floor, toys, and generally anywhere there was not a bucket.

I love you, my little Beast! And you certainly do make my days a lot more interesting...

Spud Takes His First Steps

Just a week before the little guy turns one, he decides it's time to try out some steps completely on his own.  No clinging to the couch or Momma's skirt!  Mr. Spud Muffin (thanks daddy-in-law!) bravely sets foot amidst a sea of toys and cheese crackers.  The video camera is not nearby, but thankfully Momma just happens to have her Nikon D60 close at hand.  And thus the following sequence of events is captured forever:

Apparently the cheese cracker crumbs were too much temptation, and he sits down after taking a few steps.

My life is now officially over.  With the Spud being able to walk, the levels of destruction and play intensity are sure to increase dramatically!

But for now, I beam with pride as I watch him take his first steps....

Things That Make Me Happy

Last night in our PeeWee Pirate Club meeting, I assigned the kids(ages 3-5) a special worksheet.  They were to draw smiles and frowns on the appropriate faces, add some fun yarn hair, and dictate to a helper what things make them happy and sad.  We have been really emphasizing in the last few weeks that even when you are sad, you can still have the joy of Jesus inside.

Well, here is what the Drama Queen produced:  

Apparently she felt that both of her faces should be smiling.  She was also the only one in the class to design her faces' hair in the "extreme windtunnel" look.  I know, I know, it's pure artistic genius!  Despite my absolute delight at her indifference to peer pressure (the rest of the class carefully laid out their yarn in nice stripes across the top of each head), I was even more tickled to read her list of things that make her happy:

1.  Mikey climbing on me - translation:  Every day near the end of naptime, I release the Spud into the living room to climb all over the kiddies on their nap mats to wake them up.  The Drama Queen cannot keep away the giggles when this occurs, even if she is a little cranky at first.

2.  Sharing with David - awww....except how often does this really happen?  Ha ha , kidding folks!  She is actually quite good at sharing and letting her little brother be involved in her play (well, most of the time!)

3.  Spaghettios - ahh comfort food!

so in thinking of things that make me happy:

1.  one adorkable hubby who spoils me, brags on me, and makes me feel like one hot mama, even when it's 5:00 pm and I haven't quite made it to the shower yet....

2.  three children exceeding all cuteness factors who daily amaze me with their brilliance and melt my heart with their "I love you Momma"s...

3.  reading my Bible (before the kiddies get up!) with a cup of steaming hot coffee

4.  crafting and all things arty

5.  Starbucks (is it bad to have coffee mentioned in two different lines?) haha

6.  food in general - I'm pretty easy, just feed me and I'm a happy girl!

7.  friends who stick by you in the tough times

8.  the colors yellow and robin's egg blue

9.  babies! (and no, there is not another "Frogster" on the horizon!)

10.  in-laws who love me and take the kiddies on a regular basis, even when the kiddies are acting like outlaws

11.  words - I love playing around with words, changing the order of the letters and scrambling them in my head...

12.  my church - guaranteed to see at least a dozen smiling faces and hear many more "Hey! How are you?"s before I ever reach the church nursery

13.  phone calls from people I don't hear from very often

14.  lovely comments on my blog that keep me encouraged to stick it out in this whole parenting thing and domestic control (hahaha)

Yikes, I guess I am one happy gal!  With so many reasons to be happy, it's hard not to smile!  No wonder the Drama Queen made both of her faces smiling. . . 

Wordless Wednesday - beach baby

sigh. . . isn't he just adorable?  Wish I could just freeze him in time for a little while - the little stud muffin is turning one next week!

more wordless fun at 5 Minutes for Mom...

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Mealtime

I am not by nature an organized person. I generally live in a state of clutter and chaos. I mean, I know where everything is and I am usually able to get the whole family out the door and on time to wherever we are going. God obviously has a sense of humor, for he paired me up with someone who is even more disorganized than I am. Somehow we manage to keep the piles of papers and laundry and toys from taking over the house.

The point is, it may shock some of you to know that I actually sit down at the end of each month and plan the next month's meals in detail. I know, it shocks me sometimes! However, it helps us save money and eat healthier (and gives us no excuse to grab fast food instead!) I have been experimenting with some new recipes - my mom sent me a book entitled Kid Favorites Made Healthy, which is perfect for my four picky kids. I am trying to teach my kids to eat better foods ( aka lots of veggies and good proteins) and re-train my hubby as well. It is a difficult process, but we are discovering some new family favorites along the way.

I thought I would share one of the kiddies' favorites - I tweaked it a little to make it our own.

Chili-Mac Skillet
You need: 8 oz. frozen meatballs
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
1 15-oz. can stewed tomatoes
1 cup dried elbow macaroni
1/2 cup chopped red pepper (or green, or yellow)
1 tbs paprika
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
To make:
1. In a large skillet, brown the meatballs and onions until meatballs are soft enough to break apart and onions are tender.
2. Puree the stewed tomatoes. Add the tomato sauce, tomato puree, uncooked macaroni, peppers, paprika, and garlic to the broken meatballs and onions. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes - stirring often.
3. Remove skillet from heat and sprinkle with cheese. Cover and let stand about 2 minutes until cheese is melted.

I have found that I can add finely chopped broccoli or carrots or green beans, and the kiddies(and hubby!) don't even notice.

Yum! All right, I have to go attend to that carpet of toys hiding the real carpet in the kids' room....

Jeanette

Not Me Monday #10 - (not so secret sale)

Time for another therapy session in which I tell the world all the things I did not do this past week. It always feels good to confess without really confessing, I guess. And if you think I'm crazy, you should see the hundreds of others who swear by this same therapy at MckMama's blog...

It was not me that spent the night sleeping on the couch in the living room because hubby had not put the air conditioner in our room yet. nope, not me! I certainly would not sacrifice the comfort of my bed for the comfort of sleeping in a room that was not over 100 degrees! And of course I did not spend much time the next day "encouraging" hubby to install the air conditioner pronto.

On Tuesday, I did not pack up all three rascals and head to Target for a few hours just to walk around in the air conditioning. Nope, not me! And if I had, I would not have gotten a crazy craving for Raisinettes. Which, if I had purchased such a chocolatey treat on such a hot day, you would not have seen me hurriedly eating entire handfuls of Raisinettes before they melted. No, not me!

On the hottest day of the year (Wednesday), I did not throw ice cubes in the kiddie pool to keep them cooler longer. We also did not go through a ridiculous number of popsicles that day...

I did not stay up until three in the morning to make a lot of French memo boards for the parking lot sale coming up that weekend. Because of course the next day I would be getting a call that the parking lot sale had been postponed to the end of the month due to the heat.

On Thursday, I did not get a call of desperation from hubby at work saying he had torn his contact lens and needed his glasses. If I had, i would have jumped with joy at the thought of taking the kiddies and driving all the way into downtown Portland to take him his glasses. I would not have cleverly finagled the situation to include lunch out with him downtown. Nope, not me! And while driving there, I did not get hopelessly lost with GPS in the van. Ha! You all know how fabulous I am with directions....

On the Beast's end of things, he informed me to let you all know that he most certainly did not dump over a huge bin of spools of thread at the craft store, sending them scattering in all directions. And he absolutely did not sit in the middle of the same store, shouting "I'm pooping! I'm pooping!" Ha - not my kid!

And finally, i am not about to offer my blog readers a fabulous deal! Today only, in case I just happen to have a surplus of French memo boards(shown below), I am not about to give my readers $3 off these boards. But if I were to hold such a great sale, I would tell my readers to go to The Framed Frog and message me with which board they want. Then I would send them the info they need to order the board. I'm just saying....

12x16 boards - regular price is $17.00 

1.  alphabet board, multi-colored ribbon, colored star-shaped fasteners

2.  coffee bean board (green and brown), brown polka dot ribbon, brass word fasteners

3.  cherry pie board (black), red ribbon, black gingham fasteners

14x18 boards - regular price is $20.00

4.  Christmas forest (green)*, green ribbon, gold fasteners

5.  Christmas candy (green)*, red, green, and white ribbon, ribbon bow fasteners

6.  pink peace doves*, white ribbon, crocheted flower fasteners

7.  princess (pink), purple ribbon, flower and ladybug fasteners

8.  elegant fleur de lis (pink), white daisy ribbon, wedding cake fasteners

9.  retro flowers (white), aqua ribbon, brass word fasteners

16x20 boards - regular price is $24.00

10.  teal swirly flowers (brown), teal ribbon, brass upholstery tacks

11.  sock monkey numbers (red), yellow ribbon, colored star-shaped fasteners

12.  quaint Christmas stripe*, red and green ribbon, gold fasteners

(fabrics marked with * are Michael Miller designer fabrics)

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