Baby Jack

On Saturday night, the main toilet in our home clogged, spewing its contents all over the bathroom and causing my husband countless hours of frustration as he attempted to fix the offending appliance. It was extremely annoying and very inconvenient. . .

Also on Saturday, I had to take the Spud in to Urgent Care to find out if he had an ear infection. After three hours in a waiting room with a 2-year-old that alternated between extreme hyper-activity and tearful exhaustion, I was told that he did have a severe ear infection. I then had the pleasure of waiting in a pharmacy line for almost an hour to get his antibiotics. It was all very annoying and extremely inconvenient. . .

Sunday night found me at home with the Spud, pinning him to the ground to give him his antibiotics and getting him ready for bed. I helped him clean up his room and put all his toys back in his closet. As I leaned over to pick up yet another Hot Wheel car, I felt a sharp twinge shoot up my back. I couldn't stand up without extreme pain. Apparently, somehow I threw out my back and so spent the night sleepless on the living room recliner. The next day, the Nerd ended up staying home from work to help me with tasks I couldn't complete with a bad back, like driving the Drama Queen to and from school and changing diapers and Pull-Ups. It was (and is!) annoying and incovenient. . .

But that's all those things were - annoying and inconvenient. It was easy to have a grumpy attitude and a "why me?" tone when all these things stacked up, one after another. In the course of a few days, they seemed so large and overwhelming; but in the grand scheme of life, they were small and insignificant.

I was thinking about that this morning while I prayed for my brother Tom, his wife Laura, and their six sweet little girls. You see, their lives have been hit by more upheaval than any ear infection or plugged toilet could cause. On November 15, 2010, Laura gave birth to their first son - two months before he was due to arrive. Little Jack came into the world struggling for life. His body was racked with infections, and the doctors were not hopeful that he would survive past those first few days of life. We were amazed at God's blessing when Jack turned one week old. That one week turned into two weeks, then three, and more, as his prognosis improved. Tom and Laura went through many hills and valleys during this time as Jack would first show progress and be taken off the respirators and then a few days later suffer seizures and more infection. This past weekend, Jack had to be rushed back into the NICU. Due to another E. coli infection and meningitis, he suffered a lot of bleeding on the brain. On January 24, 2011, Jack was released from his pain and suffering here on earth and went home to be with the Lord.

I wish that I had had a chance to meet Jack before he left this earth, but I know I will see my little nephew some day in Heaven. It definitely makes our problems seem small and not so important. Please pray for peace and healing for the family.

We love you Jack and will miss you!

Praising the Lord

Yesterday evening was my last night as Peewee teacher at our church, and I had the privilege of leading them in singing in front of the church one last time.

The very very excited boy on the far right is my Beast! Despite his autism, there seems to be something about music and praising the Lord that brings out the performer in him. I think he is completely unaware that there is a whole congregation of people watching him; although he is certainly aware of the pastors sitting on the platform around him. He gets so excited that he flaps his arms sometimes (a "stimming" movement common to autistic children).

And don't forget my sweet little Drama Queen. She is in the center, trying her best to smile and sing and do everything she is supposed to do. :)

I love it! It makes my heart smile and my soul glad to see and hear my kids praising the Lord!

How to Have a Perfect Penguin Party

First, make invitations for all the little guests. These funny penguins were made out of construction paper shapes, felt scarves, and star brads for their party celebration hats. All of the party information was written on the back of each penguin.

Next, make cupcakes for your child's class to help them remember that a penguin party is coming up. I made these clever cupcakes following instructions at Family Fun; only we substituted candy orange slices for the dried apricots and mini chocolate chips for the brown m'n'm's.

Then, begin making some special treats for the party. A healthy and almost unbearably cute snack to serve are these black olive/cream cheese/carrot penguins. I found instructions to make these cuties here.

And what's a party without cake? I made an ice cream cake following an old recipe I found in a Better Homes and Gardens cake decorating book and made it look like a frosty igloo. And don't forget to make up some "penguin food" to delight your little guests! It's easy to make up some blue jello jigglers with swedish fish inside!

Hot cocoa is the proper drink for a penguin party (although we did serve up "ocean juice" for those who didn't care for hot cocoa.) I made up a hot chocolate bar so the kids could customize their own hot cocoa with chocolate chips, marshmallows, and candy canes.

Decorating for a penguin party is super easy! We made pretty snowflakes out of coffee filters and hung them from the ceiling along with several blue streamers. My daughter strategically placed a few stuffed penguins around the room, and viola! the room was decorated!

When I googled the words "penguin party games", I found several ideas that sounded like a lot of fun. However, we chose to stick to just a couple of activities for these 5 and 6 year olds. When guests first arrived, they got to play a fun interactive video game called "Start the Party" for the Play Station Move. I originally intended it to be a time-filler until all the guests arrived, but it proved so popular that we abandoned some of our game plans so the kids could have more time playing this game. :)

Then, to get some of that crazy energy out, we staged a giant "snowball fight", in which two teams competed to keep the "snowballs" (balloons) away from their side of the room. Mass chaos and crazy fun!

I personally am not a big fan of having all the party guests sit down and watch the birthday girl open a huge pile of gifts. We always try to do a gift exchange with some sort of theme instead. For our penguin party, we asked each guest to bring a wrapped small stuffed animal. The kids all drew numbers and then got to open a stuffed animal to take home.

The kids liked all the treats, but it seemed that the "penguin food" and make-your-own-hot-cocoa were the biggest hits. We sent those kiddies home happy, a little sugared up, and one stuffed animal richer.

And that's how you have a perfect penguin party!

Five

Five years ago today the most beautiful baby girl entered my life and changed it forever.

I never thought one tiny human being could affect me that much. I instantly fell in love with her downy white-blonde hair, her brilliant blue eyes, and her sweet soft femininity.

I watched her grow from a smiling baby to a squirmy toddler, marveling at how quickly she reached each milestone and reveling in the delight of having a girl.

Barely past her first year of life, I introduced her to a chunky little guy that made her a big sister. She became second mother and instant playmate all at once.

A year and a half later, we gifted her with another little brother. She took it all in stride, enjoying her status as "oldest kid" and "only girl."

Since then, our drama queen has been growing like crazy. And I don't mean the "letting-out-the-hems-again" growing (although that certainly has been happening!), but the "I'm a big kid now and I can do practically everything by myself" growing. It has been both wonderful and terrifying to watch.

Now I catch her doing all sorts of things - reading books on her own, bossing her brothers around, matching her little outfits, telling knock-knock jokes to her friends, giggling at some preschool gossip, helping with the housework, and more.

She's getting to be quite grown-up. And I'm not sure I like it.

I just want to keep my little girl with the big cheesy grin and extreme exuberance for life (I never knew anyone to get as excited about pancakes as that one!) forever.

Five is not so bad. It seems so much bigger than four, but at least it's not fifteen.

I love you, sweet little angel - my "pickle head". :) Happy Fifth Birthday!

Wordless Wednesday - Glimpse of Christmas

three eager little munchkins in their new Christmas pajamas on Christmas eve

it's been watched countless times already - timeless!

new bikes!

our little musician

our little construction worker.

so these Christmas pictures are abominably late, but better late than never! :)

An Apple a Day...

...makes Mommy wonder in what secret hiding spot she is going to find the apple core today.

...tastes a whole lot better when you've taken it from the big bowl on the kitchen counter (without asking).

...is the Beast's choice of snack these days. Hey, I'm not complainin'!

So, go on, pick out a nice shiny apple and have yourself a good Monday. :)

Boys

Sometimes mommyhood can be exhausting.

Frustrating.

Stressful.

Especially when you have young boys!

And although they drive me crazy with their shenanigans and mischief, I can still say:

that I love being a mommy of boys!

They fill my life with giggles, hilarious facial expressions, and chaos.

I cannot get enough of their joyous, hold-on-so-tight-I-can-barely-breathe hugs and sloppy kisses!

Life is so much better when I am surrounded by Thomas the Tank Engine toys, scattered Hot Wheels cars, random Lego pieces, and other reminders that my life would not be complete without my boys.

I treasure their exuberance for life and rejoice.

Because - I am a mom of boys.

Wednesdays

The Beast has a fifty minute therapy session every Wednesday morning with his dear Miss Sally Ann. No one has been more kind, loving, or helpful to Davey than Miss Sally Ann (who sports a British accent, to boot!) Sally Ann has encouraged him, brought him out of his shell, and helped him build his strength in so many areas. I am so grateful to her and thankful for health insurance that makes these rather costly visits possible.

However, those fifty minutes are very draining on my little guy. He is forced to consistently pay attention and make his muscles do things he would rather not do. When he comes out of neurotherapeutics, two things usually happen: he cries hysterically that he is not ready to leave Miss Sally Ann, and he begins a day-long meltdown. His brain simply cannot handle any more stress, and he throws tantrums at the smallest and simplest of things.

Next, he moves into what I call the "check-out" stage. Davey moves into his own little world, a faraway place that is very hard to reach. It is difficult to get him to obey simple instructions and impossible to have any sort of conversation with him. This is a time when he often does inexplicable things, like tearing all of the pages out of his favorite book. He may also sit in a corner and start reciting lines from one of his favorite movies or TV shows.

By evening, he will reach the "ridiculous" stage. My Davey will sit on the floor laughing hysterically at nothing. There have been times when he has lain on the floor in the middle of a store, eyes glassed over as he giggled uncontrollably. Besides the crazy laughter, he also makes strange noises and grunts a lot.

Last night, after our midweek church service, I had to stop at the store for milk and a few other items. David was in "ridiculous" mode by that point, which made us the receiving end of many stares, glares, and rude comments. I kept telling myself that I didn't care what these strangers thought - there was no way they could possibly understand anyway.

And then this morning I read this post. Her simple but compassionate words touched my heart and reminded me of the extraordinary task God gave us when He gave us Davey. Today I am so thankful for God's unconditional love and blessings. It's the same way I love my son. Unconditionally and without reserve. So who really cares what other people think?

Cozy Comfy Cuddly

It is a cold, rainy morning here in Oregon - the kind that chills you to the bone and makes you earnestly wish that you didn't have to go anywhere at all. It's days like this that make me appreciate the cozy comforts of my life. Here are just a few of my favorite comfy pleasures:

1. Kivu coffee - it's a local brand of coffee here in the Northwest, and while I love a good cup of Starbucks, I recently discovered the Kivu coffee at our local grocery store. The house blend is yummy and comforting, but my favorite is Caramel Swirl. I am usually not a fan of flavored coffees, since I drink my coffee black; but this one is divine. Glorious!

2. My Kindle - this was a not-so-secret birthday present from the Nerd back in December. I am currently reading four books at the same time! That little Kindle goes with me everywhere - so while I am waiting for the Drama Queen to come out of school or getting my gas tank filled (which happens more frequently than I would like), I can read a few more pages. Since closing The Framed Frog has freed up my evenings, I often curl up on the couch with my Kindle and a mug of tea or hot cocoa after putting the kiddies to bed.

3. My peppermint and shea-infused lounge socks from Bath and Body Works - these were carefully tucked into my Christmas stocking from my in-laws. They keep my feet so snuggly and warm!

4. Caillou - the Beast has recently developed an obsession for this PBS Kids show. Thankfully I can access several episodes through our Netflix subscription. Lots of kids get attached to certain TV shows, but with the Beast, he becomes extremely addicted to certain shows or movies. The child will not sit still for more than a few minutes with any other show or movie, but I can put on an hour-long Caillou DVD that will keep him entertained and quiet the entire time. Thank you PBS!

Well, time to refill my Niagara Falls mug and plug my Kindle into the charger. What are your favorite cozy pleasures on a cold rainy day?

Farewell to the Frog

So when did I post last? November?

I'm sure it comes as no surprise to anyone that life has been busy and crazy around here. I don't claim any special circumstances that make my life any busier or more hectic than any of you. All of us have unique challenges that make life . . . interesting.

Ahem. Anyway, a few weeks ago, I was sitting on the couch in our living room. The time was 3:30 am, and another episode of "In Plain Sight" droned on on the TV. I was wearily putting the finishing touches on yet another custom name train, with a stack of orders piled up next to me that had to be completed and shipped out before Christmas. It wasn't the first time that week that I had stayed up that late to work on some Etsy shop orders. In fact, it had happened EVERY night for two weeks! Insanity was starting to set in. . .

That night (or morning, or whatever time of day it was), I realized something. I didn't enjoy it anymore. The whole reason I had started up The Framed Frog in the first place was to give me a chance to do something I loved and make a little money in the process. Now I sat there, hating the stupid train on the table in front of me and feeling like I was going to scream if I had to paint one more stripe or one more polka dot. Something had to give! Family time, housework, church ministry, my husband - everything was suffering as I plodded through each custom order.

After a lot of prayer and discussion with the Nerd, I decided to close The Framed Frog indefinitely. I am moving on to a new chapter in my life now. My life is full now with school activities, Davey's therapy, church ministry, taking care of my family, and taking care of my home. The Framed Frog provided a creative outlet that I no longer need, at least not now anyway. I still plan on doing the occasional custom piece for friends and family, but the shop is closed.

It is with a sense of relief ( and a clean house!) that I write this post. Earlier this morning, I played several rounds of "Uno Moo" with the Beast and the Spud without worrying about when I was going to get an order completed. After I pick up my daughter from school later, we are going to sit down and plan out her birthday party coming up in a few weeks. I have "fullness of joy" and feel content.

And, best of all, I will be able to get back into the whole blogging thing. It looks like I'll be playing "catch-up" for a while to record all of our holidays goings-ons and to read all my favorite blogs. I am looking forward to the challenge!