The Vincent Family Blog

Another Birthday Celebration

2012-02-12T12:34:00.013-06:00

Mine!

So, I am a little late posting about this (December 30th was the big day)!

Now, I am not one of those people who FREAKED out over turning 30 because I think I have an old soul and I have never really felt my age, until now. I am leaving my 20s happy. I feel like I am right where I should be. I didn't complete everything on my list of "30 before I turn 30" but I am ok with it. I will keep working on it and mark them off as I go.

My 30th birthday was celebrated over three amazing days! (I figured I needed one day for every 10 years on this earth). We kicked of the celebrations on the eve of my 30th much like the days of my youth...with one of my oldest and dearest friends, Amber. We started our afternoon out with a shopping trip. Then her very sweet boyfriend treated us to dinner. After dinner we headed home for an old fashion slumber party. This one was a little different than those of our youth, for starters my mom didn't get drunk and step on her but we did laugh until we cried (due to the long process of opening the bottle of wine). After our night cap it was lights out so we would be rested for more birthday fun the next day.

I woke up on my birthday to the best gift this lady could ask for...10 solid hours of uninterrupted sleep. After getting up and about we headed out to get a message. The massage was followed by a super relaxed lunch and LOTS of birthday messages from friends and family. To round out our day we met a few more special people for dinner at GoJo's (one of my most favorite places to eat). Talk about starting out my 30s with a bang!

But that was not the end of birthday fun. Oh, no! Toby treated me to one more night away with a hotel room on the plaza. My friend Val and I walked around on the plaza for a bit then had a few cocktails before we headed back to the room. We finished off our GoJo's leftovers before passing out. Two night in a row of sleeping all night!!!

BEST

BIRTHDAY

EVER

The rest of my weekend was spent loving on my kids and hubby. It was the perfect way to celebrate turning 30!

The Baby

2012-02-09T13:32:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday Josh

Baby Brother, don't think that you are safe from my Big Sister Birthday Kindness because you are not. Today we celebrate you, the cutest pain in my ass (just kidding)!

Not happy about getting your picture taken

Such a chunky monkey

What a cutie

J-Losh

Happy 13th, I think

Happy Birthday Bubba

I love you lots and lots!

-Sis

The Twins

2012-02-07T23:27:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Hollie and Stephen

Today marks the beginning of the end of your twenties, so make it count!

And because I wouldn't be a good big sister without wishing you a happy birthday the correct way; by sharing old (somewhat embarrassing) pictures for all to see.

Left: Stephen Right: Hollie

Hollie sucking her fingers

Stephen and Hollie with Grandma Val

Happy 3rd Birthday

You GOT to love this one

Hollie in all her cuteness

Stephen looking very cute himself
(This is Karly's smile and eyes!)

Happy 29th
I love you guys lots and lots!!
-Sis

Card-Carrying Member

2012-02-02T12:53:00.004-06:00

It's official...as of today our family has our first Zoo membership!!

The weather has been so nice and with talk of bad stuff coming I wanted to enjoy being outside with the kids. I surprised them with a trip to the zoo after we picked Paisley up from school and while we were there I signed us up for the year pass. What the hey, why not.

Paisley started off our tour by letting Ryder know where we were and what animals we should see.

These two kept tackling and playing. Both kids got a kick out of seeing them act like house cats.

I LOVE this picture of them! Sometimes they can be so kind to each other and other times I just want to run and hide from them.

Anything Paisley did, Ryder wanted to do...

...that is, until he got scared and then all he wanted was for me to hold him!

Ryder: "Up. Up. Meez (please)!"

Let's hope the weather allows us to come back soon.

Pinterest Project - Book Shelves

2012-02-01T23:52:00.000-06:00

After spending WAY to much time on Pinterest I decided that I need to start doing some of my pinned projects.

My first project was the rain gutter book shelf.

(source)

Let me start by saying that this is a cheap and easy project. I on the other hand had to make it much harder than it should have been due to not being prepared.

Our day started out by Ryder and I going for a drive (I had a little bit of time to kill before I had to be a work) and I decided to go to Lowe's to price everything for the rain gutter book shelves. The rain gutters were around $6 a piece, so I decided that my budget could handle this project and got two. After talking to the sales guy about my project we decided to get the end caps (around $4 a piece) and the special glue (around $9). The guy was very helpful but said he could only make one cut on each gutter. My first thought was to maybe have 6 - 3ft shelves then I realized that I would have to cut the other two at home. So I asked him to cut the 10 foot rain gutter in a 4 foot section so I would only have to make one more cut when I got home. Yes, I am lazy like that!

Well, looking back, I should have gone home and MEASURED the space before I bought the gutters but in true Sarah fashion, I just guessed and moved forward with the project. When I got home from work Ryder and I took a nap and I didn't touch the gutters two days (just keeping it real). Then Toby started asking dumb questions, like "Why do we have gutters in the garage?" so I knew it was time to finish my project. I cut another 4 feet off the gutters leaving me with 4 - 4ft shelves.

Then I took them down to Paisley's room to hang and guess what...they were too big for the space. So, let that be a lesson to you, measure FIRST because then I had to go re-cut all 4 shelves to 3ft leaving me with a lot of waisted leftovers too small for shelves. Bummer!

Finally, I was able to hang the shelves (with the help of a leveler and my pretty little assistant). I attached them to the wall with long screws about every 6 to 8in.

I then added the end caps using the special glue (I didn't sand the ends because I knew the were going to be covered).

We had to wait 24 hours before we could add our books, per the instructions on the glue. But it was worth the wait! Paisley LOVES being able to see all of her books. She even said it was like they were new again because she had forgotten about some of them.

Side Note: My 4 3ft shelves hold over 100 paper back books. All of our hard cover books are still on a shelf in Paisley's room and all of our board books are in Ryder's room.

Hello Black Eye

2012-01-31T14:43:00.001-06:00

Thank you for making 10 different teachers ask if she was ok/safe at home.

Yes, she is safe at home. This is what happens when you get too many kids on a trampoline, a foot to the eye and she didn't even cry.

Disclaimer: My children take after me and we are not that graceful! Bumps, bruises, scratches and even broken bones are to be expected. We can't help it; boo-boos just find us.
(See proof here and here and here and here)

Nice PJ's

2012-01-27T23:19:00.000-06:00

These are the PJ's Ryder got on Christmas Eve.

He is totally rockin' them don't you think?!

Fun at Snow Creek

2012-01-26T23:04:00.115-06:00

The other part of Paisley's birthday celebration was to do something fun that only big kids can do. Translation, Ryder couldn't join the fun.

One on the MANY joys of having an older child is the freedom that comes with it. She is old enough to tell us what she wants/needs, she can do a lot of things for herself and we can do fun things like go to Snow Creek! (We love our Ryder Moose but at time his age limits what activities we can do.)

The girls (and Hollie) getting ready to hit the hill

Daddy's little girl

Up we go!

Just a little further....

Almost there (and boy was everyone excited)!

Ok girls, just one more picture, please?!

And like any good parents we let the girls go down first while we watched. After the guy sent them down the hill we all kind of looked at each other and said "Oh my, what did we just do? Who is going to catch them? No one will be at the bottom to help them." Oops!

But don't worry, the workers at the bottom helped them until we got there and we did catch up pretty fast.

For the next two hours we went up the hill....

...and then back down!

Paisley said she wants to do this every year for her birthday and we just might! Only next time we might ski also.

Princess Paisley Turns 6

2012-01-25T21:58:00.005-06:00

Turning 6 is a big event
filled with fun and merriment!

This year Paisley asked for a few very specific things for her birthday: First, she didn't want to have a big family party but instead just have a few friends over for a princess tea party/dinner. Second, she wanted Ryder gone (like out of the house/state and FAR away from her friends/party). Third, she wanted to do something fun that Ryder couldn't do. We decided to go snow tubing at Snow Creek - more on that later.
(Can you tell that Paisley is getting a little tired of having an ornery little brother around?)

The Party
Paisley requesting a princess tea party was a first. She has never been super girlie so this was new for both of us and we were so excited planning everything we wanted to do.

The cake (she was so happy that Toby made exactly what she asked for)

And princess cupcakes (she wanted both - more options for flavors)

We borrowed real tea cups and a tea pot from a friend. The girls love it!

Sarah letting us know the correct way to drink tea (punch), pinkie out!

The girls!

We made a castle out of a cardboard box and a table cloth. We even put up sheets on the wall to look like the sky and grass. We were a little rushed so the castle didn't turn out as good as I wanted but the girls still had fun.

Then we started the princess games. First up was a silly string fight, in the living room. This a BIG hit with everyone.

Gifts by the castle, where else would a princess open her gifts?

Next princess game was Princess Tag Tails followed by Princess Freeze Dance. We also painted picture frames so the girls could take a group picture home with them.

Everyone had a blast and Paisley loved getting to hang out with her friends.

Six year has flown by!

It feels like I blinked and she went from my Little Princess

to my big girl!

Happy birthday Paisley! We love you lots and lots!!

Tuesday Confessions

2012-01-17T23:58:00.006-06:00

This blog was passed to me from a friend and I LOVE it!

Momastery

I laughed.

I cried.

And it made me feel better about all the crazy in my life, almost normal. (Someone else dealing with similar issue = I'm not as crazy as I though)!

Her writing style is so fun and fresh and real and I like the Monkee (R)Evolution (people helping people just because always makes me happy).

A few of my favorite of post:

Whatever, Honestly

911

We Call These Y,TRH Posts (Yes, This Really Happened)

Unwind

Go check it out and tell me what you think.

Ryder Update

2012-01-08T23:29:00.011-06:00

As of Thursday morning our little man has tubes in his ears! We were unsure if it was going to happen because everyone in our house has been sick off and on for the past two weeks. As of Wednesday night Ryder had been fever free and kept his food down all day (he still had NASTY poo pants) but the doctor said they would take his temp and if he was still fever free then we would go ahead with the tubes.

(Ryder in the waiting room killing time before he got his tubes)

Rewind a few months: At Ryder's 1 year, 15mth and 18mth Well Child Check he had been testing at the very bottom of the scale for speech (for how many words and how clear the few he could say were) but the doctor wasn't worried because Ryder was excelling/ahead of the game in other areas. I was told at his 18mth WCC that if he didn't add three more words to this list then we would want to think about getting his ears tested. I didn't think too much about this until he started trying to say a few new words and they just didn't sound right (he kind of sounded like a deaf person speaking). I understand that he is only 18mth old and little ones do have a funny way of talking but this was different and it didn't feel right to me so I called and asked if we could go ahead and get his ears tested. When we went and saw the ENT doctor they said that Ryder has "significant hearing loss" in his left ear. (Talk about feeling like the world's WORST mom!!!) This is when we set up the appointment for the tubes.

The surgery went as well as expected. He was fine while we waited for his turn to go back (I got a little sad/scared for him when I heard a few other kids crying because I knew that would be him). He freaked out when the nurse took him from me to go back for the surgery and then I almost lost it when he was in recovery. He was going in and out of being awake from the meds and he would fight and hit and cry and scream and then his little head would flop around and he would be still then it would start all over again. Sooooo sad!!!! But when he woke up from his afternoon nap he was much better. He was starting to run and play and get into trouble. And it it was so cool to watch him "hear" somethings that he might not have paid much attention too before (like then I was rocking to sleep before nap he heard birds outside and sat up surprised and pointed out the window). We have a follow up appointment on the 25th to see how things are healing and to retest his hearing and we think we will get good news. The doctor also told us that after Ryder had the tubes we should see a difference in his vocabulary, the clarity of his words and his balance. So fingers crossed we see these other improvements also.

(Ryder on Friday - the day after getting tubes)

For my mommy file (because I have been slacking)

Stats from Ryder's 1 year Well Child Check:

Weight: 22lbs 4oz = 40%

Height: 31.8in = 94%

Head Circumference: 47.0cm = 66%

Stats from his 15 month Well Child Check:

Weight: 24lbs 2oz = 45%

Height: 34.0in = 97%

Head Circumference: 47.6cm = 63%

Stats from his 18 month Well Child Check:

Weight: 26lbs 2oz = 54%

Height: 34.4in = 95%

Head Circumference: 48cm = 56%

Ryder,

At a little over one and a half years old the best way to describe you is, CRAZY!!!! You have so much energy and you need to always be moving. You love playing with cars and balls or anything your big sister has. You have no fear. You climb on anything and everything (your dresser, tables, chairs and baby gates)!! You love to color/draw when Paisley is working on her homework and if things are not put away (out of your reach) you feel the need to color where ever you want (walls, the tv, the floor, tables, yourself, windows - you get the idea). You don't like to share me with anyone, so sometimes you have to sit in timeout for hitting. You are very helpful and love to help me clean/put things away. You are even very good at putting your toys away in the correct spot (I think the picture labels help out a lot). You are sleeping in a big boy bed all by yourself in your own room but you still haven't mastered sleeping through the night all the time. You are very picky when it comes to food. So dinner time is a battle on most nights. You are growing like a weed. You are wearing size 5 diapers and 24mths/2T clothes. You look like a little boy now, no little baby face (I'm not sure when it happened but it did). And you are a HAM!!! You can turn on the charm and smile to work a room like a star. It is so funny to watch. I can't wait to see all the new things you will learn this year.

Love you lots and lots!!!

-Momma

Random pictures of my Ryder Moose

He cut his lip jumping off Paisley's bed.

This is his favorite chair at our friends house (it's a firewood holder).

He LOVES hats and this one from Aunt Laura the most!

Christmas Extra's

2012-01-03T16:22:00.000-06:00

A few Christmas Extra's

Our 2011 Christmas Card

(I took the pictures in Ryder room using this picture I found on Pinterest as an example. I am sooo in LOVE with Pinterest!!!)

Voted best Christmas gift by the grandparents & great-grandparents

New Christmas pictures of my little cuties

Christmas Tour of 2011

2011-12-28T10:27:00.001-06:00

Christmas #1: With my Mom's Family

Christmas with mom is celebrated the Saturday before Christmas and this year it went smooth with no drama. It was pretty much stress free and I didn't feel rushed (always a good thing). I was able to enjoy spending time with everyone and catching up with my grandparents. And as always the kids had fun playing together.

P.S. Our forth Christmas is on the next page so if you are not sick of pictures when/if you make it to the bottom, then click on the "Older Posts" link.

Christmas Eve

2011-12-28T10:20:00.121-06:00

Christmas #2: Christmas Eve with Toby's Family

This year we made it easy on Toby's family and we drove to them for Christmas. (To be honest it was such a nice treat NOT cleaning our house around the holidays - but it sure does need it!) We left our house around nap time so the kids would get a good nap and that means that Ryder only slept for about 20 minutes but that didn't matter when we got there because the kids went crazy when they saw everyone. After we ate (and Uncle Reda got off work) we were ready for gifts. All I can say is that we are very lucky to have such a thoughtful and kind family. The kids where on overload and we have a TON of pictures because Aunt Laura was working her magic behind the camera (so get comfy because I couldn't stop adding pictures)!

Told you there was a lot of pictures!

The kids played with all their new toys until it was time to go home (around bed time) and they were asleep within minutes. We were home a little after 9:30pm and Paisley wanted to open her Christmas Eve gift from us (new Christmas PJ's - something we do every year). Ryder on the other hand was ready to go back to sleep.

Paisley was a little sad that she had to go to bed (at 10:00) because she really wanted to wear her new Christmas dress to church. (I almost let her go with me to the 11:00pm service but knew that would make my night even longer and her a little grouchy on Christmas.) She also knew that she wasn't going to get to wear it on Christmas because we had to be on the road to go to KC for Christmas with my Dad at the same time service started. So I promised her a new "Birthday Dress" to wear to church the weekend of her birthday. Only then would she finally go to sleep.

Christmas Morning

2011-12-28T10:18:00.061-06:00

Christmas #3: Christmas Morning at our House

Christmas morning started out like any other morning. Ryder got up at 6:30am and I brought him into our room to drink his milk, have a snack and watch cartoons until Paisley woke up (around 7:30am). She came running into our room yelling "Merry Christmas! Wake up, he came! He came! Santa REALLY came!! Come on let's go!"

So after we got Toby up and around it was go time and boy where the kids ready.

Oops, I guess Doc is a little too big for his new dog bed.

The kids got to play with their toys for a little bit while we packed up the car to go to my brother's for Christmas's with my dad.

Christmas Afternoon

2011-12-28T10:12:00.005-06:00

Christmas #4: With Dad's Family

After our busy night and morning Ryder fell right asleep in the car (thank goodness) while Paisley enjoyed a movie and a short nap. Even with all of our planning and lists we forgot a few things so we had a few unplanned stops (we were still early just not as early as we needed to be) and because we had the ham (that still needed to be cooked) are tardiness pushed lunch/dinner back by about an hour. It was a good thing that the weather was so nice because anyone that wanted to got to ride the Four Wheelers. I think that might have been the highlight for Toby!

Not to outdone by his dad, Ryder also drove his own Four Wheeler, Mr. T style!

As much as this pains me to say...I think little Mr. Brayten like his Aunt Hollie best! She ALWAYS gets the best smiles from him!

The kids are getting ready to hand out our surprise gifts to everyone (a new updated group picture of our growing family - picture to come later).

Little Miss Kynly Lynn with the hair that just won't quit! She has had it from day one!!

Bath Time

2011-12-16T22:41:00.008-06:00

After my friend Clare showed me this awesome blog: Play At Home Mom, I fell in LOVE with all her fun ideas of things to do with kids. And after seeing this post about glow sticks I knew that we would have so much fun, so I started collecting glow sticks each time I went to the store and I get a few out when the kids need something different to do. Tonight was one of those nights, Ryder was being super clingy and wouldn't leave Paisley alone. So I stripped him down and put him in the tub with about seven glow sticks. It worked like a charm, within minutes both kids were laughing and having a good time. I even had to add more warm water to the tub.

This is a picture before I turned the lights out. The rest of the videos are VERY dark but it is fun to hear them laughing.

I even added a glow ball into the mix (that we got from Wal-Mart) but Ryder just kept throwing it at me so I took it away. I don't think it bothered him not having the ball.

Paisley is standing outside the tub spinning the glow necklace and if you look you can see Ryder's hands around the glow sticks.

And Paisley the Planet

Lights

2011-12-15T21:29:00.002-06:00

Winter Wonderland at Lake Shawnee

Keeping with our annual Christmas traditions we took the kids to look at Christmas lights and a perk of going on a Wednesday night...being one of only three cars and getting to go through twice. The kids had so much fun listening to Christmas music and oohing and ahhing at all the lights.

Another first for us this year (but maybe a new tradition) we have light outside on our house. YAY!! (This has only been 5 years in the making.) Paisley and Toby picked them out and then the two of them hung them up. Ryder and I were napping but they say Toby was either on the roof or ladder while Paisley stayed on the ground and they say she used a broom to help hand the lights up to him. I wish I had been awake so I could have gotten a picture (maybe next year). What do you think of the finished product? It's not a lot but it's a start. We are already talking about what we want to get this year (when they go on sale) to add to our collection for next year.

November Leftovers

2011-12-14T22:20:00.051-06:00

Room Change
It's official...Paisley has changed rooms full time. She is now sleeping in the basement every night and loving it. Ryder has their old room all to himself and he is sleeping through the night! Yay, this makes me so happy! The toys are all still down in Paisley's room because Ryder won't sleep with all his fun toys in the room. But don't worry, Paisley said "I don't mind sharing my room for toys with Ryder if I get to sleep all night and he doesn't bother me." As a treat/reward for being such a big girl Paisley will get to pick out new bedding after the holidays.

Thanksgiving
This year our Thanksgiving started out a little different. Toby and Paisley went back to his parents house Wednesday night to help get everything ready while Ryder and I waited until after his nap on Thursday before we got on the road. It was nice for Paisley to get some one-on-one time with Toby, Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Guy. The food was great as always (I am so lucky that I married into a family that not only enjoys cooking but is GREAT at it) and so was the conversation. They even broke out the old family photo albums and we all had a good laugh.

Black Friday Shopping
Amber and I KILLED it shopping!! We survived on about 6 hours of sleep from Wednesday to Friday (thank goodness Toby and the kids let me sleep for most of the day on Saturday) and a whole lot of McDonald's (we are now the McFriend's). Not only did we shop until we dropped but we also got to catch up on life. It was like being in high school again only without all the drama. And after all our shopping I have almost everyone crossed off my Christmas list. All I have to say is: Game on Santa!! (I borrowed that saying from the new Best Buy commercials - It felt appropriate.)

Photo Project Completed
On one of my many "To Do Lists" I have a bunch of photo projects that I just can't ever find/make the time to finish. One of the projects on my list was to print, label and organize all of our pictures (the last time I printed pictures was around Paisley's first birthday so I had a lot of catching up to do). Over the last six months I have been able to slowly catch up on printing all of our photos by hitting sales on Snapfish and Shutterfly. Today I am happy to announce that all photos (from Paisley's first birthday thru November 2011) have been printed, labeled and put in date order and in photo albums. Let's hope I can keep up on printing the pictures because I want to avoid doing this again and the kids and I love sitting down with the albums and talking about all the pictures.

The Halls are Decked

2011-12-14T21:59:00.003-06:00

Most of my Christmas decor is the traditional red, green and white, well until I had kids. After having Paisley I wanted to have a "Fun Kids Tree" but didn't want to give up my Traditional tree so we have always had two, the Traditional tree upstairs in the living room and the Kid tree in the basement. But this year I wanted to change things up so we only put up one tree and it is in our living room. So we brought all the fun kids stuff to the living room. Our goal is to keep everything Ryder proof/unbreakable.

Paisley's hand tree she made last year in preschool.

Our growing Nutcracker family (Paisley is obsessed with them).

This year the cards are all displayed on the shelf with beads, ornaments and Holly.

Our new elf candle holders (a cute gift from a friend).

Our homemade Advent Calendar. Paisley and I painted these little buckets (that we got from Dollar Tree), added the numbers and ornaments. Each day the kids get a treat from the bucket and we hang the ornament on the tree. It has been so much fun that I think we will do it again next year!

Side Note: Ryder has managed to break about six different special ornaments (we are working on replacing the ones Paisley lost) and a dozen shatter proof silver balls. So far he has not broken anything on the shelf but he does like to re-arrange everything (I think because he knows it drives me crazy). Yes, I am keeping count so I know what to look for after Christmas when everything will be one sale.

New Job Explained

2011-12-01T23:48:00.010-06:00

When I quit my office job in June I knew that for me to be a successful stay at home mom I would need to do 'Stuff' to keep me and the kids busy. We like to visiting/talk with people and seeing new (or old) things. This is why I started the 'Field Trip' concept so we would be forced to LEAVE our house. I also knew that I need something just for me, no kids.

Cue first part time job (I don't get paid and it doesn't cost me anything):  I started teaching Paisley's Sunday class and much to our surprise we both liked it. She LOVED having time with me (without Ryder) were we could do only big kid things and I enjoyed being around her and the other 5/6 year olds. It has been so much fun watching them learn and remember what we have talked about (and sometimes they say/do some of the funnest things). We are on a rotating schedule so I have the next few months off, unless I am needed to sub. Also, I joined MOM's (Mom's On Mission) group at our church. They meet twice a month and have free childcare during the meeting times. This has been another free way to be out and with other women and I am getting reacquainted with my Bible.

Cue second part-part time job (This one pays & I get to bring the kids with me): I am a sub in the nursery at the Y.  This job works so well for me because the other ladies give me a hard time if they don't get to watch Ryder (because I missed a workout).  So it keeps me honest and working out and Ryder loves getting to play with the other kids.

Cue third part time job (This one also pays & I get to bring the kids with me): I get to clean /organize for a friend.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this because these are two of my most favorite things in the world. I think Ryder's favorite part is playing with her cats, dusting and turning the vacuum on/off. I think a future wife will thank me!

Cue forth part time job (This one also pays but I can't bring the kids): This was a job at a restaurant serving (I won't say the name but it rhymes with Flew Goose). After sitting in one day of orientation I knew this was not a good fit for me as a part time job and I didn't want to waist anyone's time so I quit. I still like the food and the restaurant as a whole just not as an employee.

Poor Toby is getting a little stressed about the lack of income/debut so these little part time jobs help both me and Toby stay sane while I am at home with the kids. (Just so everyone knows: If you were to ask me what I want to do with my life I would tell you that I am doing it right now. I am staying home with my kids and I will do whatever it takes to keep doing what I love. No, it's not always fun but I take to good with the bad!)

Facebook Explained

2011-11-30T10:20:00.001-06:00

The main reason I am back on Facebook....I miss the pictures!

Almost everyone in my family only shares their pictures on Facebook so I was missing out on some super cute pictures of my nieces and new nephew. And the second reason to get back on Facebook, Pinterest! If you have not heard of this stop what you are doing and go check it out!! But to have your own board on Pinterest you have to be on either Facebook or Twitter. So I bit the bullet and reopened my account. I am in the process of getting set up on Pinterest (so I will share more when it is live).

And because it has been a while I will share a TON of recent family photos that my mom took. (I think the first or last picture might make the Christmas Card photo this year but I'm not sure yet.)

We think he looks like an old man in this picture. Look at his double chin!

It looks like Paisley is covering her mouth because we are kissing but no, she is in pain because Ryder had just hit her in the lip with that stick in his hand. Poor Paisley!

If you look close on this one you can see that Ryder and I are fighting to keep him in the picture/on my lap. This my friends is real life. The joys of a one year old!

I'm Back

2011-11-29T23:06:00.006-06:00

Back blogging again.

Back on facebook again.

Back working again.

And back tomorrow with more details.

October Leftovers

2011-11-15T21:44:00.001-06:00

Due to my blog slacking there are a few fun things you missed in October:

Barb's Birthday Surprise

Playing in the Rocks

Our Family Cookie Contest

And the winner is......ME!

What did the loser look like? Well, I'm soooo glad you asked. He looked like this!

Dinner at Aunt Linda's

The Pumpkin Patch

Fun in the Leaves

New Boots

My kids LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. BOOTS! Their love for boots runs deep. So deep in fact that the boots can be seen on my kids with (and without) anything else on and even in bed.

Our Three Halloween's 2011

2011-11-01T22:44:00.001-05:00

Boo Downtown

Last Thursday I took the kids downtown for the annual trick-or-treating event. This year the kids were .....(drum roll please).........
Supergirl and a blue Ninja.

My Little Ninja (he even had a super cute little kick down)

My little Supergirl

Ryder LOVED the belly dancers and all the shaking they were doing.

Paisley said she needed to do something that a superhero would do, so she wanted a picture of her fighting the light pole. She is so silly!

Proof that my Little Ninja was not a happy camper!

(Sorry Amber and Hollie but I got to keep it real)

And proof of my bribe that made him all better (for a bit anyway).

The School Party/Parade

Last Friday was Paisley's class Halloween party and we (Ryder and I) got to go party with the class and watch the parade. Twenty-four little people talking and moving all at once on a sugar high, not my idea of a good time!

Ryder even got to enjoy a snack with all the big kids.

Halloween Night

Toby decided to dress up this year and when Ryder saw Toby's painted face his Ninja costume wasn't going to cut it. No Sir, Ryder wanted to look like Daddy! So Toby went to work transforming Ryder in a baby Frankenstein.

Ryder after we painted his hair

Hey guys...show me your monster face.

Hey Supergirl...strike a pose!

Ryder had to help himself to a sucker before we even left the house.

And we are off!!

First Quarter

2011-10-26T13:42:00.056-05:00

We (and by We I mean Paisley) are done with the first quarter of school. We had our first Parent Teacher Conference that went very well. We were told that Paisley is doing very good in school. She is getting along with the kids and even help mediate a few arguments. She (and one other little boy) have tested in the top level in their class in all subjects. Her teacher even gave us a few pointers on how we can keep challenging her at home. Also, in our first quarter of school we were late twice (morning are not fun around here) and forgot homework once. Over all we are walking away feeling pretty good about the first quarter of school and ready to make the next one just as fun.

For my Mommy file:
-Paisley is still sitting with all boys in her desk grouping (I was told that this is helping cut down on some of the extra talking she was doing).
-She loves writing stories using her site words.
-Paisley is reading more on her own. She has even started reading to Ryder at bed time.
-Everything is a test now (She comes home from school and will test us on the new things she learned that day).
-She isn't very concerned on what she is wearing (Matching isn't always the goal but more comfort and if she will be able to keep up with everyone at recess).
-Everything is black and white with her (If you do wrong, you are bad but if you say sorry then all is well again).

Tuesday Confessions

2011-10-25T18:34:00.018-05:00

I have a love/hate relationship with October.

I love that October brings the cool, crisp air of Fall. I love that I get to rock hoodies and jeans daily. I love that I get to celebrate my wedding anniversary. I love that I get to decorate my house for Fall/Halloween. I love raking a huge pile of leaves and jumping in it with the kids. I love going to go the pumpkin patch and drinking warm apple cider.

What I hate about October...scary movies!
WHY do they (the TV people) have to play them on most of the channels?
Why do they show previews for them all day long?
Don't they know that I am a wimp when it comes to scary stuff?!

For someone that scares easily I have seen a lot of scary movies so when I see or hear a preview for one it brings the images from that movie to mind and I have to watch lots of Disney shows/movies to counter the scary.

The only thing helping me through his year is my DVR because all of my favorite shows are recorded so I can fast forward past all commercials and miss most of the scary stuff.

Weekend Wrap-Up

2011-10-24T23:59:00.000-05:00

Our weekend was a long four day weekend thanks to Parent Teacher Conference's on Thursday and Friday (more on that later). We spent our extra time together at the house being lazy and resting before our crazy weekend started.

On Saturday Toby cashed in on some guy time, aka golfing. Now everyone can rest easy knowing that he does get his time away also. And while Toby was enjoy kids free time with the guys, we went to a wedding in Emma, MO. The bride (Brianne) and her family are like extended family of ours. Back in the day, I was able to test my babysitting skills out on her and her baby brother (talk about making a girl feel old). Weddings are so much fun. I love seeing the excitement before the ceremony and the love from everyone for the happy couple during the ceremony and at the reception.
Congrats Brianne and Eric!!

After chasing Ryder all over the place at the reception (thanks Hollie and Johnny for keeping an eye on Paisley) we headed home. I timed it so we were on the road around bed time thinking the kids would sleep. Boy was I WRONG!!! After about 45 minutes of nonstop crying (from Ryder) and yelling (from Paisley) we decided to make a pit stop at my mom's house. The kids loved getting out and playing but then the extra energy started to wear off so we headed home again. This time it was only about 15 minutes of crying before they both feel asleep.

Then on Sunday after Church it was Crafter-noon with Amber. Paisley was so excited to hang out with Amber and make crafts. Amber and I had been planning this afternoon for weeks. We had a list of different project that we wanted to get done and all the supplies. I would like to tell you that we moved right along and finished everything but that would be a big FAT lie! We didn't even get half of what we wanted to accomplish done. We made magnets following these steps but I forgot to take pictures and we decorated pumpkins. Lots of them!

Ryder's first pumpkin painting experience.

He liked painting with the brush much better than painting with his hands.

All of our pretty pumpkins!

A few of the ones that stayed at our house.
(Paisley made the one on the left and middle and Ryder made the one on the right)

And a few more by the front door.

Our Crafter-noon was so much fun we might do it again next month.

But that's not all, our weekend wouldn't be complete without a trip to the ER. This time it was for Toby not Ryder (he has another kidney stone). He gets them about once a year and this time was the worse I have seen. He kept getting sick because of the pain. Poor Toby! Everyone was worried about him but we couldn't do anything to help. Paisley kept asking if he was going to be ok and if she could help. So was super scared for him and didn't know what to do.

So, that's how we spent our weekend. Hope you enjoyed yours!

Girl's Only

2011-10-21T23:56:00.004-05:00

My "Girl's Weekend" was just want I needed. A healthy dose of some good old fashion fun! In three days we consumed LOTS of soda and food (and a few adult drinks), put a hurting on our poor feet and pocket books, shared tons of stories and laughed until our tears ran down our legs (funny saying found here). Yes, the laughter might have cased a little bit of dribble, some snorting and maybe a little tooting which fueled the fire of laughter even more! There was so much laughing one night that we were compared to 6 year old girls (but we think it was more like 12 year olds). Keeping with the 12 year old girl mentality we also suffered from loud outburst of giggles whenever someone would say something remotely dirty. Not our finest hour but it was super fun!!

We started off our Saturday morning with a stop at Mac-adoodles. I was instantly loving it because it is IRISH (and it was the last place to get alcohol before we crossed over into Bella Vista, AR).

Our group of gals (picture taken by a very nice Mac-adoodles employee)

Me and Donna (my second mom).

Then it was on to Bentonville, AR for our first craft fair.

I walked away with a cute white watch and two shirts.

Then we had the biggest lunch ever at The Dixie Cafe. I was so stuffed I really wanted to head home and nap but sleep was not on the agenda.

We headed straight to the next craft fair in Springdale, AR. I only got a bag of sweet nuts (that one was for you Donna) and lots of inspiration. I am always amazed at how crafty some people are.

Me and Momma Alice (Donna's mom)

On our way back to Nancy's house we did a little more shopping and as luck would have it the shopping center we stopped at was having a kids consignment sale. So my kiddo's scored some super cheap/gently used clothes and toys. Just for the record I won the title for largest purchase. Paisley's bean bag chair tipped the scale for me and took up the most space. She will be one happy girl on Christmas morning!

Before leaving Nancy's on Sunday we had to stop for a photo op with the fork in the road. Well the fork was in the middle of the road until they moved it to this building!

Eating salad with the big fork.

Too bad my big head was covering up the fork. It just looks like I have a big metal thing sticking out of my head.

Before heading home we decided to make a little trip to Branson Landing for a little more shopping.

Que more giggles!

(This was a fun store. They had a little bit of everything.)

This was definitely a weekend to reminisce, replenish, unwind and laugh into the night. Surrounded by fun ladies and lots of crafts. Now I am back to the real world with my batteries recharged!

Mrs. Cranky Pants

2011-10-13T23:49:00.010-05:00

For the last few days I have been Mrs. Cranky Pants BIG time!

My crankiness might have something to do with the fact that I just can't keep my kids healthy. I'm talking about months of nasty diapers (Ryder, not Paisley), lots of drainage and coughing (both) and early morning vomit you can set your watch to (Ryder, because of the drainage/coughing). We took both kids to the doctor last week: Paisley had an ear infection and was given meds. The doctor said everything look fine for Ryder and to just watch him.

Or it might have something to do with the fact Ryder still isn't sleeping all night. The sleep might be a combination of this non-sickness he has with coughing fits all night long. Or it could be a case of the brat baby. You be the judge. He doesn't wake up wanting milk, just to be rocked and letting him cry it out isn't really an option because the kids share a room so if he cries too long it wakes Paisley up and makes her cranky at school. Toby is going to try the whole cry it out thing again this weekend and let Paisley sleep in the playroom. Fingers crossed things get better because this house needs it's sleep back.

Or maybe because some people in my life believe the world revolves around them and everyone else needs to bend to accommodate them/their wishes without any regard to others. It is hard for me to see them in this new not so pretty light. I try to not judge and bit my tongue but at what point do I remove myself from the poison of these people and the hurt they cause.

It might also have to do with that fact that I have been questioning my decision to stay home full time. Am I really do the right thing for the kids? Would Ryder be better at a daycare and me at work? What am I helping by staying home?

On that note, peace out! I am off to feed my soul and regroup at a craft weekend.

No kids! No husbands! I can't wait!!!

Side Note: I love my family and I couldn't image life without them but sometimes this momma needs to recharge. Trust me, they benefit just as much as I do. Toby if you are reading this; thanks a million for flying solo this weekend.

Help Needed

2011-10-10T22:14:00.001-05:00

I am having blogger issues and it is driving me CRAZY! I don't know if this is a blogger issue or a user error and Google is not helping me find an answer so I am turning to my fellow blog friends for help!

The problem: I am having trouble leaving comments on over half of the blogs that I follow. A few work just fine and then a few others only work if the comment is anonymous.

When I try to post a comment I get this message:

Your current account (sbeerbaur2552@yahoo.com) does not have access to view this page.

Click here to logout and change accounts.

I have not changed any of my settings and I find it hard to believe that so many people changed their settings all at once. What is going on???? Could it be something with the 'Cutest Blog on the Block' background? I want to be a good blog friend and leave others some comment love but I can't. GRRRR!!!

HELP ME PLEASE!!!

Crafts Completed

2011-10-09T23:27:00.025-05:00

No, I have not been on vacation or slipping back into my old non-blogging ways. It has just taken me a week to finish this one (very long) post. I wanted to take time to share all the fun crafts I have done in the last four months. Now, looking back over the week it might have been better/faster to just post a few a day but I didn't think of that until Friday and then it was too late because I was committed to this super long post (with lots of pictures & "How To's") to just stop. So grab a snack and get comfy because this is going to take a while.

Baby Wipe Case

I made this for a friend a while back and didn't take pictures of the process (only the finished product) but this is the tutorial I followed.

Paisley's Desk Chair

I found this desk chair at a garage sale this past summer but didn't want to pay $5 for it (I know I am super cheap) so I went about my day a little sad wishing I had gotten it. Then about dinner time I noticed it out by the curb! Five dollar chair for FREE um, yes please!

So with a little bit of love (and supplies we had on hand) Toby and I brought this old chair back to life. Not bad for a free chair!

Butterfly Headbands

These headband were made possible thanks to another Dollar Tree find. While making my bi-weekly stop at the Dollar Tree I found a few different butterflies so I grabbed as many as I could and raced home to start working on them. These were attached to flowers so I first took them off the flowers by cutting off the back that held them on.

Then I added a dot of hot glue to the headband (also from Dollar Tree).

Then I added the butterfly at an angle.

I also criss crossed ribbon to the back of the butterfly/headband for added support.

The finial touch was a little bit of glitter to the darkest parts (the middle and edges).

Find a cute little one to enjoy!

Another version, with a different kind of butterfly using the same steps as above only my cute little model was in bed so I played dress up in the newest headband.

Nightgown

I purged my t-shirts and Miss Paisley Pie scored some new nightgowns. I used one of her nightgowns for my pattern and cut/sewed along the sides and arms giving my old shirt the right fit for her.

She was so happy to have new nightgowns that she modeled them all for me.

Personalized Bag

At enrollment Paisley was given a cute little bag full of goodies for school. Me having a little more free time on my hands (during Ryder's nap time) I decided to add a little 'Something' to the bag to make it feel a little more like it was something special just for Paisley. I got the P sized just right (in a word document), then Paisley picked out the fabric and I added the heat backing.

Now anytime we head to KC Paisley will grab this bag and fill it with whatever she wants to play with on that trip. It has made the car trips a little more fun for her.

Swim Bag

After swim lessons this summer I realized that we need a different kind of bag to hold Paisley's wet stuff. So as the beach towels went on clearance I grabbed some for $2 at Walmart and went to town making a bag that could join the wet stuff in the wash.

First I folded the towel right-side (pattern side) together in half and cut across the middle (this will make two different bags). Then I took one half and folded it long way (right-side together) and sewed across bottom (cut end) and the side (across from the long fold).

I did a straight stitch and a zigzag on top of the straight stitch for added support.

Then I measured how wide I wanted the straps. I didn't like how thin they looked (first set of lines on the outside) so I added a little more space (second set of lines on the inside). Then I needed a round shape to connect the lines so I used a small plate. Then cut along the middle lines.

Then I sewed down the straps stopping at the curve.

Then I turned the bag right-side out and double folded the right-side (pattern side) into the bad-side (non pattern side) about 1/2 an inch for a clean seam. Then I sewed the curve part to the straps.

I then tucked one strap into the other and sewed them together.

Finally, Paisley got her new pool bag. It was too late for her to use at swim lessons but she LOVES bringing it to the pool at the YMCA.

New Jean Skirt

New life to Paisley's old jeans. So these bad boys not only had holes in the knees but they were also too short. Wanting to stretch her wardrobe and my dollar I decided to make a skirt. First I started with jeans and measured where I wanted the skirt to fall and cut.

Then I took the seam out of the legs. This took FOREVER!!

Then I sewed one leg flap down on top of the other one (both front and back).

Then I added a double zig-zag stitch about 1/2 an inch from the bottom and right across the bottom to help stop fraying. Then I added black fringe to the bottom (but I forgot to take a picture of that step).

And once again Paisley modeling her new gear! Girls are so much fun!!

Close-up of the skirt.

Mom's Bag

I took my mom's old messenger bag and used it for my pattern. I used one yard of two different fabrics (a solid black I already had and this super cute pattern fabric). I cut out the four pieces I needed and sewed a 1/2 inch seam along the top (triangle part).

Then I added a packet to each half in the opposite color.

Then I sewed the two black pieces together (good-side together) and added the bottom. I just kind of gathered the sides as I went as even as possible.

Then I repeated the above steps with the print pieces. Then I turned both sets right-side out and pined them together. Then sewed along all seams. If you are still with me, here is the finished product and one happy mom!

And that my friends ends this installment of craft overload. If anyone is still reading this, I am sorry that your butt is numb. I hope we can still be friends!

Then and Now

2011-10-02T23:47:00.008-05:00

Then: October 2nd, 2004

Now: October 1st, 2011

This year to celebrate our anniversary went out to eat at The Melting Pot on the Plaza. We had so much fun just spending time together, talking and eating WITHOUT a child interrupting!

I will be honest, I may have gotten a little tipsy (ok, maybe a LOT). But the drinks were soooo good! Say hello to my little friend the Love Martini. (Psst, check out my anniversary gift, stackable Mother's rings. LOVE them!)

Now say hello to four of my other friends (we went all out and opted for the wine sampler that came with each course) but I only liked the second wine what was paired with our salad because it was a sweet white wine but I can't remember the name.

I had to snap this picture of Toby showing me some love!

Just kidding, he was checking on show times but we didn't find anything that we wanted to see so we headed back to get the kids from Toby's parents and then home. Everyone was so worn out from the early start and no/short nap that we all were asleep by 10:30 only to be woken up by Ryder vomiting at 6:30am.

And this my friends, is life!

Happy Anniversary Toby, I love you lots!

Problem Solved

2011-09-30T12:14:00.000-05:00

The problem: Ryder losing his toys into the great unknown under the couch. I use the term "losing" loosely because I'm not sure that you can call it that when he is the one that rolls the toy under the couch. After the toy is under the couch Ryder will army crawl over to the point of entrance, lay on his belly with his little arm stretched as far under the couch as it can go, trying to reach the toy. When he can not reach the toy he starts crying because he knows it under there but can't get it. After about 3 hours of this (in one morning) I decided it was time to FIX this problem!

Solution: At nap time I took a few of our extra swim noodles outside and gave them a coat of black paint.

Then I went down and moved the couch to rescue all the lost toys and clean all that nastiness that was under there.

Then I put the couch back where it goes. I then put the swim noodles down and marked where the legs were and cut out room for the legs so the noodle would lay flush with the bottom of the couch.

And there you have it, problem solved! We now have a can't see me wall under the couch that keeps the toys safe and Ryder happy!

Bug Question

2011-09-29T13:44:00.005-05:00

What the hell is this thing?????

These ugly spider/cricket mutant things have been showing up all over our basement. They are SUPER creepy because they walk like a spider but if you get to close they jump really high!!

After about a week of killing these things I decided to do a search on google to see if I could find answers and it looks like they are called camel crickets and they are totally harmless but still gross and I want them out of my house.

So, I guess problem solved.

Welcome to the Family

2011-09-28T20:18:00.082-05:00

Brayten Zane Beerbaur

Born at 3:17pm on Sunday 9/25

Stats: 7lbs 7oz and 20 1/4in

Congratulations Josh, Kristen and Big Sister Torey!

The great thing about little Mr. Brayten's birth, other than adding a new little one to the family, is that Josh and Kristen allowed me (and my sister and Kristen's best friend) to be in the room the whole time. We were there to offer support, hold hands/feet/legs and to help make sure Josh didn't pass out.

It was so amazing to experience a birth when it wasn't me birthing the baby. Kristen was so amazing and so strong! Thank you again for allowing me to be apart of your special day.

We LOVE this little boy so much. He is just so small and cute!

The waiting room crowd.

It's our family tradition to have the WHOLE family waiting to welcome the new baby. I guess we figure why wait to expose the baby to all the crazy and thankfully no one has kicked us out, yet.

The girls waiting on Josh to come tell everyone that we have a new baby

Josh announcing the birth of his son

And one more picture of the proud papa and his boy!

Friday Night Lights

2011-09-23T23:02:00.002-05:00

How did we spend our first night of Fall....at a high school football game

watching this sweet little girl shake her booty.

This is a MAJOR case of karma coming back to bite me. Me the anti-cheerleader (to the point of making fun of them) might have a future cheerleader on my hands.

After Paisley finished cheer camp last weekend she told me that she had lots of fun but didn't want to cheer in front of everyone at the game (tonight). Then around Wednesday she starting asking when the game was and she started to get excited. Fast forward to game time tonight: when it was time to leave she cried because she was having so much fun she didn't want to go. She even asked when she could cheer at another game. (Guess it is time to sign her up for soccer before it is too late - just kidding - a little. Paisley can be whatever she wants even if it is a cheerleader.)

While Little Miss Paisley Pie was down on the field having the time of her life Ryder and I cheered her on from the stands.

and ate snacks.

And yes, he has a new cut on his eye.

Mr. Fearless jumped from his bed to hers. He missed the bed but caught his eye on the bed frame. Never a dull moment!

Kynly's 1sy Birthday

2011-09-21T10:46:00.010-05:00

Last Friday the baby of the family (my niece Kynly) turned 1 and we helped her celebrate on Saturday!

Like any of our family parties there was great food, tons of people, funny stories being told and kids running around like crazy! At least at this party Holly had the good sense to give the kids (and adults) an area to cut lose in! BEST IDEA EVER!!! (I think I want to own a bounce house. They are so much fun.)

Tuesday Confessions

2011-09-20T14:06:00.001-05:00

I have a dream....to someday live on the East Coast. Not sure where exactly maybe Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut or North Carolina. I really want to experience the East Coast in the Fall. I guess I will have to visit a lot of different places to see where I might want to land!

Huff N' Puff

2011-09-19T23:38:00.001-05:00

No, this is not a Cheech and Chong movie it's Topeka's annual hot air balloon rally at the lake. They have music, food, some crafts and miles of hot air balloons you can see up close (they even have tethered rides). The kids ran around, danced and had a blast.

The sunset as we pulled up

A few of the MANY balloons.

Such a good big sister!

For the record: Paisley grabed my arm and pulled it across her like this. I do not have her in a choke hold.

The balloons look even better when the sun goes down.

Keeping the kids happy.

Worlds of Fun

2011-09-15T11:03:00.002-05:00

We finally took the kids to Worlds of Fun! We figured before we visit an others we better test the waters at a park just down the road (about hour - does that still count as being 'just down the road'?). Camp Snoopy was a big hit with both kids. They had a lot of stuff Paisley could do with and without us.

Paisley on the kid roller-coaster.

The highlight of Ryder's night!

Ryder was not a big fan of waiting in line. There was a LOT of up and down and picking him off the ground after a meltdown (good times).

And when we finally got on the ride he didn't like waiting on the worker person checking all the locks. By the time the ride was ready to start he was screaming because he was ready to get off. I was asked multiple times if we wanted to get off....but we didn't! I politely said "That's ok but thanks for asking. He is just ready for the ride to start." (But in my mind I was saying "Just start this damn ride already! We have spend enough time waiting!")

Paisley's new favorite thing to do with Toby, ride race cars! She has so much fun racing around the track. Her need for speed didn't stop with the race cars. She even went on the Spinning Dragons roller-coaster ride twice (she is such a thrill seeker).

The last picture of the night and it was at 10:00pm on our way out of the park. It was past both of their bedtimes but they were having so much fun they didn't even have a melt down and they were asleep before we got out of the parking lot.

One of the benefits of our trip to Worlds of Fun....character drawlings of the kids. So now my wall of family pictures is complete!

Ryder started to cry because he didn't want to sit for the guy anymore so I think that is why his eyes look so sad.

And Paisley had just gotten off the roller-coaster for the first time and had a smile on her face from ear to ear!

Big Boy Bed

2011-09-14T15:09:00.080-05:00

About two weeks ago I heard a noise I have been dreading. A loud thud from the kids room followed by crying. As I went to check it out Ryder came walking around the corner in the hallway crying and rubbing his head. That's right, he had jumped out of his crib. I say he jumped out because he did it again later that day. So I knew it was time to do something different. First I took the rail off his crib and he LOVED it because he could climb up and jump off, no good! This was not going to work. Armed with his birthday money from Gigi and Papa Jim we went out looking for something else and we found something everyone liked; a Firetruck toddler bed. When we got home and put it together Paisley and Ryder had a blast climbing all over it.

His first night was pure HELL for everyone. After a two hour battle he finally fell asleep and we were able to put him in his new bed. (He might not have been completely ready for this new bed but for safety reasons we were not going back to the crib.) Nap time the next day was super easy and he fell right to sleep. And that night he only got up like 6 or 7 times before he fell asleep with no tears. After the first few crazy nights he has done great (sometimes he falls asleep other places and has to be moved) but I didn't want to blog about it and jinx us so now, almost 2 weeks later I feel safe saying that he has adjusted just fine.

See for yourself:

Thanks again Gigi and Papa Jim for Ryder's big boy bed. He LOVES it!!

Tuesday Confessions

2011-09-13T21:58:00.001-05:00

Paisley is still too young to paint her own nails! And yes, that is a big BRIGHT pink/purple spot of nail polish on the carpet in our bedroom.

Letting Paisley try to paint her nails in the bedroom without putting anything on the floor - not my brightest parenting moment.

A Whopper of a Post

2011-09-12T23:56:00.004-05:00

With a week and a half left of Summer it's time I catch up!! So this is going to be the MOTHER of all posts and hopefully I can keep current (I feel like I say this a lot so lets hope I do this time).

Updated Summer List:

Only four things didn't get crossed off our summer list. Not bad for our first time! We have decided to keep the list up until everything is marked off (scroll down for more posts about our summer fun).

Summer Food

2011-09-12T23:31:00.005-05:00

I made a goal to cook more this year and when I made this goal I didn't just want it to be about me learning to cooking but more about me stepping outside of my comfort zone and trying new things. With me being home this summer I have felt more comfortable in the kitchen.

With me spending more time in the kitchen I have learned a few things:

One of my problems in the kitchen is overly multitasking (often times ending with something getting burnt - like cardboard pizza so crispy that even the dogs wouldn't touch it - oops!)
I now know the difference between a GOOD knife and a regular knife (a good knife feeling like you are cutting butter)
Spice is not as scary as I though
Neither is grilling (Paisley even said my steak was better than Toby's steak!)
Not everything needs to be 'made from scratch'
Fresh is better
It is WAY too hot to cook indoors in the summer (plan better next year)

Here are a few pictures/recipes of the yumminess I tackled this summer:

Mediterranean Chicken Wrap

Recipe: 1) Marinate chicken in Italian dressing and grill. 2) Spread Sabra's Roasted Garlic Hummus on wrap, then add lettuce, tomato and chicken. 3) Roll the wrap and enjoy!

Taste Tester: This momma approves! Paisley tried the wrap and did NOT like it! The garlic was too spicy for her.

Ryder also tried it and needed a drink of water but went back for more (cheese that is).

The Green Smoothie

Recipe: Blend 2 cups water, 2 handfuls spinach leaves and 2 cups of your favorite fruit (my fruit of choice is strawberry and banana).

Taste Tester: Approved by all and one of the only ways Ryder is eating his veggies right now!

Strawberry Stuffed French Toast

Recipe: I can't find it right now but it was on the bag of frozen strawberries.

Taste Tester: Liked by NONE. I think this was a little rich for our blood. Looks like it is back to regular french toast for us!

No Bake S'more Cookies

Recipe: I can't find this one either but I think it was in the summer issue of Parent's Magazine (but I'm not sure).

Taste Tester: Both Paisley and Toby gobbled these up and gave them good reviews but it was WAY to sweet and rich for me. (And yes, Paisley is wearing flannel footed pj's in July. She is crazy like that!)

Strawberry Spinach Salad

Recipe: Layer spinach leaves, sliced strawberries and sliced almonds, topped with raspberry vinegar.

Taste Tester: Me and believe it or not I really liked it!

Stephanie's Holy Turkey Boobs, Ranch Roasted Red Potatoes and Raw Veggies

Recipe: Holy Turkey Boobs - Marinate 5lbs. of boneless turkey breast, 1/2qt. of 7-Up, 1c. soy sauce, 1c. oil, 1/2Tbsp. horseradish and 3/8tsp. garlic powder for several hours. Then grill.

Taste Testers: Everyone. We didn't have leftovers so I guess it was a success.

Thank you Randy and Donna for being on call for my cooking questions. I'm sure there will be more question and at least I have moved past asking about how to hard boil an egg so I think I am improving!

Dollar Tree Crafts

2011-09-12T23:16:00.015-05:00

Here are a few Dollar Tree craft projects that Paisley and I have completed over the last few months.

Our Family on the Fridge: A while back I picked up a few 8x10 magnetic sheets from Dollar Tree thinking we could do something fun with them and we finaly did. Paisley help me pick out pictures of everyone in our family.

Then we cut out everyone and stuck them to the magnetic sheet like a puzzle.

Then we cut them again and put them on the frig. I think we might need to make a few people a little bit bigger but so far both kids really like looking at everyone and playing games with them. Paisley will ask Ryder where someone is and help him find them and Ryder will grab someone off and put them in the back of his dump-truck and drive them around or he will look at them and say "Hi-Ya" and give them a kiss!

Saucy Sums (Math Center) from The Mail Box Aug/Sept 2011: We started by cutting the pizza crust, sauce and cheese out of scrapbook paper and a small circle for the pizza pan. I had the scrapbook paper but I had to get the pizza pan from The Dollar Tree.

Then Paisley glued the crust, sauce and cheese together and the small circle to the pizza pan. Then I added the math problems to each slice of pizza and an answer to the small circle to the pan.

Now Paisley has a pizza math puzzle. If the slices of pizza equal 10 then she puts them on the pan and if they don't then she sets them aside. She really likes this game and I think that I will change out the answer/problems every few weeks so she doesn't get board.

Reading Pointer: Not sure if you know this or not but by the end of this year Paisley is expected to be reading. So we have been working at home with sight words and following the words in our books at bedtime. To help we made a reading pointer out of a pom-pom and craft stick (both from The Dollar Tree).

Paisley has even starting using it on her own with her Hello Kitty books on tape.

Summer Field Trip: Deanna Rose Children's Farmstead

2011-09-12T23:06:00.004-05:00

Our trip to Deanna Rose was the BEST $10 spent all summer!! We/I decided last minute on our way home from visiting mom to stop. We couldn't have asked for better weather! It was one of the first breaks from the crazy heat and we got there right when they opened so it wasn't very busy.

It was so fun watching both Paisley and Ryder interact with the animals. This was one of the first times Ryder started putting animals sounds to the animals. He wanted in with the ducks sooo bad!

I think we were at these cow bells for like 15 minutes! It was like these two were trying to out do each other on who could be louder.

The pedal tractor was for the big kids only and Paisley LOVED racing the other kids.

But no mater what I did I couldn't keep Ryder off the track/tractors. And every time I tried to put him on the right way he would climb off and get on like this.

Paisley couldn't believe that she got to ride the pony all by herself. She started asking for one again.

I think the goats were our favorite of the day. Paisley had the feeding bottle and she kept tell them "Now, stop getting pushy or I will take it away" or "Down! Be nice or I will leave and take this bottle with me." It was so funny listening to her talk to the baby goats like she would talk to Ryder. Such a Mother Hen.

Ryder on the other hand was a big bully! If he wasn't trying to ride the goats...

he was cashing them around....

or trying to get the goats off the stump by puling on their legs....

and headbutting them. I think if we hadn't left the goat area when we did we might have been asked to leave!

Summer Birthday Party's

2011-09-12T22:55:00.017-05:00

Kyndall's Skate Party (June):

Grady Jay's Backyard Bash (July):

Sarah's Party at Chuck E Cheese (August):

(I didn't get a picture of Paisley and Sarah - it was a little crazy)

Avrey's Family Party at Home (September):

Paisley's Preschool Graduation

2011-09-12T22:46:00.052-05:00

Toby was working out of town for Paisley's preschool graduation so my dad offered to come up and surprise her! It was so sweet when he showed up at our door. Paisley was so excited to see him. We visited for a bit while Ryder napped and that meant that Paisley had some one-on-one time with Papa Tim and boy was she in heaven! After Ryder woke up we had a little time to kill before we had to be at the school so we took dad to the Harley Museum. My Dad was so cute in there; he was like a kid at a candy store (a very expensive candy store). As a treat before the graduation we stopped by Sonic for happy hour drinks (that is why Paisley has a blue mouth and blue spots on her shirt).

I kicked off the graduation with tears as a part of Oh, The Places You Will Go by Dr. Seuss was read.

While Dad kept Ryder happy (not an easy job)!

The kids sang a few songs (After Paisley asked me "Could you tell I didn't know what I was doing?" She wasn't going to preschool the month before the graduation so everyone else knew the songs but her).

I cried again when she got her little certificate.

Paisley with her teacher, Ms. Ronda. We soooo miss her!!

I am glad that Paisley was in the preschool setting before Kindergarten started. I think it helped her adjust.

Zoo Play Date

2011-09-12T21:52:00.061-05:00

My friend Amy (from work) and her son Miles meet us at the Zoo for a play date. The weather was nice and it was the baby hippo's birthday party so they had all kinds of extra fun stuff going on.

Miles in all his cuteness!

The boys were parked, relaxing, watching the tiger run around.

Yum birthday cookies!

The birthday boy (or girl - I can't remember).

Birthday hippo hat crafts.

The big blow-up slide. Paisley helped the boys go up and down.

EVERYONE got to pet a snake (myself included)! It still grosses me out just thinking about it.

After the zoo we walked over to the park and had a picnic. Ryder feed most of his lunch to the birds. Paisley and Miles laughed each time he tossed something new. After lunch we took a ride on the train and then headed over to the carousel.

On our way back to the car we stopped for pictures. The more kids in one picture the less likely you are to get one where everyone is looking! Oh weel, we still got a few good ones.

Other Summer Stuff

2011-09-12T03:10:00.024-05:00

Here are a few other odd ball things that we did this summer that I took pictures of. Nothing to crazy, just my cute kids!

Summer Field Trip: Discovery Center

2011-08-29T23:42:00.000-05:00

The kids and I visited the new Kansas Children's Discovery Center that opened on June 1st here in town. We couldn't wait to see what fun things this place had to offer. If this place passed the "Fun Test" then I wanted to get a family pass so we could come back as often as possible. They had lots of fun stuff that each of my kiddos enjoyed!

This place is still pretty new in town so it is always crowded. They even ask that you leave your stroller in the car. This made our visit a little hard because I couldn't contain little man when Paisley was playing in the big kids area. I think our next trip back will be a one-on-one playdate so each kid can enjoy it more.

Summer Field Trip: Kansas Museum of History

2011-08-29T23:37:00.000-05:00

So, I am sure that the Kansas Museum of History is the one of those classroom field trips that all kids in the Topeka school district goes on but I had never been inside of the actual museum part. We have played at the little play area inside and out but never have we taken a tour. Paisley and I enjoyed ourselves and Ryder did at times (as for the times Ryder didn't enjoy himself, I don't think anyone close to us did either).

Summer Field Trip: The Library

2011-08-29T23:09:00.003-05:00

We completed the Summerfest reading program with the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library!

The goal was to read for 16 hours from May 31st to July 29th. We read all the time so this was super easy for us and Paisley thought it was so much fun that she was able to get prizes for something she already does and loves!

A few of the prizes that the kids have earned: free books, Mc Donald’s ice cream, CiCi’s Pizza kid’s buffet, Cold Stone Creamery ice cream, Gage Bowl, Chick-fil-a ice cream, Applebee’s kid’s meal, Straight Water shaved ice, Hazel Hill Chocolate, and we are entered the grand prize drawings of either a Nook e-reader or a family pass to Kansas Children’s Discovery Center (we didn't win either but we still had fun).

Paisley's favorite books of the Summer:

Friends Go Adventuring by Helme Heine

Bear Feels Sick by Karma Wilson

The Great Doughnut Parade by Rebecca Bond

Hush Little Dragon by Boni Ashburn

Ryder's favorite books of the Summer:

Whose Toes are Those by Jabari Asim

Mr. Brown Can Moo Can you? by Dr. Seuss

One of the best things about our library is the cute section they have for kids. Needless to say we spent a LOT of time there this summer enjoying the playthings, books, storytimes and other fun events the library hosted!

For The Mommy File: A fun twist on storytime (that even Ryder likes) is B&N Online Storytime. LOVE this!!! I don't know when they started this but it has added another option to our bed time book routine.

A Seussical Shower

2011-08-26T23:17:00.001-05:00

If you haven't heard the news.....I'm going to be an Aunt again!

I am so excited to welcome my very first nephew! That's right, my baby brother and his fiance are adding a little boy the mix and to celebrate we threw Kristen a Dr. Seuss themed baby shower (it felt like a good fit with her just getting a teaching degree and all).

The star of the shower (next to the Mommy-to-Be of course) was the cake Toby made. He is getting REALLY good at this cake stuff!

The Decor: This shower was so much fun to plan. I mean, how can you go wrong with Dr. Seuss? The colors, the books, the art work and the funny sayings! (I had so much fun that I think I want to add Dr. Seuss stuff to the kid's playroom!)

Congrats Josh and Kristen; I can't wait to meet this little guy!

Oh Yes I Did!

2011-08-25T08:22:00.000-05:00

Last night I finished a house project. It took three trips to three DIFFERENT Dollar Tree's but I am finally done.

Our house now looks super ghetto but all of the bad corners that Ryder has hit are now padded with swim noodles. At this point I am ok with our house looking bad if it helps my little Moose's head look better. And I put another gate at the bottom of the stairs to help Ryder understand that NO part of the steps are for playing. (The gate make it a little hard to get back to the playroom, bathroom and craft/laundry room but maybe this will cut down on accidents)

Summer Trip: Omaha

2011-08-24T12:12:00.002-05:00

One of the many perks of my new job (as a stay at home mom) is the freedom to travel with Toby (when our schedule allows). In July Toby had to travel to Omaha for work and Paisley was in-between swim lessons so we went with him.

We left Wednesday afternoon around nap time to make travel a little easier on everyone. We got to our hotel room right around dinner time so we unloaded the car and let the kids run around/explore the room while we searched for a place to eat dinner that would let the kids burn off energy. We found this place called The Pizza Machine. This place was like Chuck E Cheese on crack. It was CRAZY!! I don't know who had more fun the kids or us.

On Thursday while Toby was away at his work meeting the kids and I entertained ourselves at the hotel by making forts in-between the beds

and in the armoire.

We also explored outside little but it was hot and not that much fun. So we ended up at the pool four different times!

After Toby was done with his meeting we went to the mall for dinner, shopping and a little play time.

On our way home on Friday we stopped at the Omaha Zoo. We had fun but it would have been a little more enjoyable had the weather been a lot less HOT!

After the zoo we are were hot, hungry and tired. So we got lunch to go and settled in for a napped (at least the kids and I did) and about half way home we had to take a detour due to the flooding. It was so sad to see what these people had lost. And due to the unexpected detour the last 20 minutes of our drive was pure HELL (Ryder screamed and Paisley cried/yelled at him for waking her up - oh, the joys of traveling with kids)!

Tuesday Confessions

2011-08-23T14:03:00.003-05:00

Bye-Bye Daddy

Toby is out of town again and this time it is only for two days.

This summer Toby has been gone a LOT with work and I am left with the aftermath of his good bye. Each time it breaks my heart to see them standing there watching him leave or running around the house asking for him. So if anyone ever wants to know why we keep so busy this is why; to keep the kids thinking about something else.

Oh, the Places You'll Go!

2011-08-22T22:51:00.000-05:00

This summer the kids and I took part in our first ever Topeka Treasure Hunt. This event was something put on by Visit Topeka Inc. as a way to get people out and about in town to see what Topeka has to offer. The goal is to follow a clue to a location and take a picture and then you would get your next clue. Some spots offered discounts and others a learning experience. After we finished the treasure hunt we printed our pictures (for free from Wolf's), put them in a photo album and turned them to be entered in drawings for prises. We didn't win anything but we had a blast exploring our town!

Enjoy our Topeka Treasure Hunt!

Constitution Hall Mural

Marion Lane Candle Store

Bradley's Corner Cafe

Historic Ritchie House

Topeka Harley Davidson and The Yesterdays Museum

Iwig Family Dairy Store

Carousel in the Park

The Hiking Trails at Cedar Crest, Governor's Mansion

WIBW News Station

Kansas Museum of History (play area)

Children's Discovery Center

Kansas State Capitol

Great Overland Station

Summer Craft Projects

2011-08-18T22:21:00.008-05:00

Because I SUCK at keeping this little blog of mine up to date in real time I am going to do one BIG post about all the fun summer craft projects we tackled this summer.

We played with Moon Sand. This was a birthday gift Paisley got from Aunt Holly and Uncle Stephen but I made her wait until it got warm so we could play with it outside. I sand by this decision because it was messy getting the sand out of the water. If you have not had the pleasure of seeing this stuff go get some. I think the sand is coated in something because when it hits the water it looks solid but when you scoop it out of the water it turns back into loose sand. Paisley thought is was magic!

We also enjoyed Play-Doh outside a few times until it got too hot then we moved the Play-Doh inside to the dinning room. Each time we played with it Ryder would take a bite and each time he would spit it out. He new favorite thing to do with the Play-Doh when we are inside is to throw it at the dogs. When it hits one of them and they jump/run away he laughs like a lunatic.

We made stepping stones for my now dead garden. Paisley LOVED it.

Ryder wasn't feeling the project so much. So his stone reflects his personality at this stage: A Hot Mess With More Important Thing To Do!

I snagged this fun Sand Art kit from The Dollar Tree. Paisley got three sand projects for the price of one and over an hour of entertainment while little man napped.

Stained Glass Art - After church one day Paisley was asking questions about the pretty glass in the windows. So we talked about it and came home to make our own stained glass art.

Sidewalk Chalk Art Gallery

The Card Board Box house project
Thanks to a big box we saved from our grill we had a blank slate for a RAD playhouse. But before we could start we needed to fuel up and where better than Red Robbin (yum) with a fun and always funny friend, Stephanie (stop by her blog and see what she had to say about this project). When she agreed to hanging out I don't think she was prepared for 1) How CRAZY my kids are in public - again, sorry about that and 2) For the project I wanted to work on (with her help of course). I may have had a few adult beverages waiting to sweeten the deal. After three hours we took this box and turned it into .....

This RAD playhouse!

The kids LOVE it! It is the best free project ever. We have already had hours of fun and it is still holding up pretty well.

Yard Bubble - When Clare sent me this blog I knew I HAD to make this for the kids. Paisley was such a good helper with the taping part. If she hadn't helped I think I still might be working on it! Ryder didn't really like being in the bubble as much as I thought he would. He was much happier looking in the opening but Paisley was in heaven! She even wanted to sleep in the bubble.

Paper Airplane Fun - Leave it to little Miss Paisley Pie to put her own spin on a timeless classic. First she made the airplane then she made the passengers and then took turns flying. I LOVE this girl!

It Happened To Us

2011-08-17T23:48:00.016-05:00

Ryder fell down the basement stairs! BREATH. He is OK!!! BREATH. We are very lucky that he wasn't seriously injured! BREATH. But I still can hear the thuds. Yes you read that correctly, THUDS. Meaning multiple times he hit the hard wooden stairs. Then came the crying. Seeing him at the bottom of the stairs, laying on the tile, SCREAMING! BREATH. Just typing this I can't stop crying or shaking! BREATH. But he is OK and that is what I am holding on to!!

What happened:
Paisley was down stairs playing/unwinding from school. Ryder and I had just came upstairs so I could make him a cup of milk and lay him down for his afternoon nap. While I was getting the cup of milk ready (all of about 30 seconds) he was playing in the living room (or so I thought). I heard a noise at the LOCKED baby gate at the top of the stairs. I didn't go look because I thought it was Paisley coming up for a snack and that is when I heard the thuds. I yelled Paisley's name as I ran to the top of the stairs (thinking that she fell) and that is when I saw Ryder's little body laying at the bottom of the stairs on the hard tile floor screaming and crying. I couldn't breath as I ran down the stairs crying. I picked him up, checking his little body for something broken as I tried to comfort him. After talking with Ryder's doctor he said to head to the ER (this was Ryder's third head injury in three days - ***see below for more info on the other ones). I wasn't sure what would happen so I asked a friend to meet us at the ER because Toby was working out of town. At the ER they looked Ryder over and had to document all of his injures (both old and new). He has from top to bottom: a bruise/bump on top of his head on the right side, a bruise/bump on the left side by his hair line, the rhino bump in the middle of his head, a bruise/bump on his left eyebrow, a bruise inside his left ear, a bump/bruise behind his left ear, the green bruise under his left eye, bloody nose -right side, split bottom lip, scratches on his left arm, bruises on his left elbow, scratches on his lower back. With all of his injures nothing looked broken and they said an x-ray was not needed but they wanted a CT of his head to be safe. Me and two other people had to hold Ryder still so they could do the CT. He screamed and cried the whole time. He even made one of the ladies start crying (she told me afterwords that she has a little guy the same age as Ryder and Ryder's little pleading eyes reminded her of her son and it was hard to see but that she was sorry she cried). The CT came back normal; no fractured skull or brain bleeds. Good news! They discharged us with instructions to wake him every few hours, no new head trauma for the next 24 hours and what to look for to bring him back. It has been over 24 hours and he is still doing good. We had a clam day at the house today and he had NONE of the warning signs!

Looking back:
I see what happened. 1) When Ryder and I came upstairs and I locked the gate behind me the gate didn't really lock. The click I heard was just the metal on metal but it didn't catch the lock. I didn't realize this at the time but I was able to recreate my error. 2) When Ryder ran into the living room to play he made the lap. The lap my kids and dogs like to make is from the living room to the hallway to the bathroom to the kitchen and back to the living room. They don't get to run the lap much because we keep both doors to the bathroom closed. I thought they were closed but both doors were open. Now: I check the lock on the gate before I walk away to make sure it latched correctly as well as walk around to make sure both bathroom doors are shut before I even put Ryder on the ground. And I can't thank Barb enough for helping me with the kids at the ER. Not really a fun time but it was so nice to have the help and support.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

***Other head injures:
Sunday - Ryder fell in the bath tub and hit his eye on the side of the tub. He has a NASTY black eye (that is now green). Monday - We were playing Monster Mommy, were I chase the kids like a monster and they run screaming from me and when I catch them I tickle them like crazy. Fun game and they LOVE playing it! Well, Ryder turned to run and lost his balance and fell face first into the corner of the wall. Tuesday - see above horror story. I was not prepared for the craziness that comes with raising a BOY!!

Now for the pictures of Ryder that make him look like he is a member of Baby Fight Club.

This is from his fall on Monday. Also known as the 'Baby Rhino' picture. And you can kind of see the green under his left eye.

A different shot of the 'Rhino Bump'.

His 'Rhino' bump and the green eye.

At the ER. You can kind of see the red bump on the left side by his hair line, the red bump on his left eyebrow, the red bruise on the inside of his left ear, a little bit of dry blood on the right side of his nose, a cut in the middle of his bottom lip and the pink scratch on his left shoulder.

You can see the bruises a little more when his hair is wet.

Summary - WORST NIGHT EVER!!!

Kindergarten Here We Come

2011-08-16T23:23:00.000-05:00

Last night we prepared for this morning by reading a book about what Paisley's day might look like. This book is so darn cute!

This morning we started our day off right with a breakfast of champs!

(Waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon and OJ)

Then Paisley helped me decide what to make for her lunch.

(PB&J, string cheese, strawberries, crackers, berry/carrot juice and a piece of chocolate)

Then she got dressed in her new fancy outfit that she picked out and bought all by herself (thank you Grandma Debbie and Grandpa Guy), posed for a few pictures and we were off to school!

She was so excited to get to her class room and get the school day started. We didn't have any tears (not from her or me - good job us)!

On the drive home she talked about her teacher and how she wishes he would ask some hard questions tomorrow because today was too much like preschool. And about her new friends and getting to play on the playground and lunch time.

Paisley's first day of kindergarten = success! Bring on the rest of the year.

VBS 2011

2011-07-27T10:57:00.024-05:00

This year's theme was "Shake it Up Cafe"

Mon - Be ready for God!

Tue - Give happily to God!

Wed - Believe fully in Jesus!

Thur - Remember Jesus Ofter!

Fri - Celebrate God forever!

This year's mission project "Operation Backpack and Topeka hunger needs". Paisley LOVED getting money out of her piggy bank, Toby's car and junk drawl. It really hit home for Paisley that she was helping make a difference for someone that needed help. Now she is randomly get a toy or clothes or food item and bring it to me and ask if we can donate it to someone that needs it more. I LOVE her big caring heart!

Bible Bite:

Don't forget to do good and to share what you have, because God is pleased with these kinds of sacrifices.(Hebrews 13:16)

Tuesday Confessions

2011-07-26T10:59:00.002-05:00

I am obsessed with BOOKS!!! Not only do I read and re-read them but I collect them and decorate with them. In my next house I will have a library to house them all.

Maybe something like this:

(Source)

Or these:

(Source)

Oh, the possibilities are endless!