2009

2009 - I can honestly say that this year has been the best year ever!  I am more in love with my husband then I have ever been.  I am loving my job as mommy!  I got to spend some special time being mommy to just Zeke, we visited just about every park there is in the Littleton area, we swam at the pool every day that we couldn't be at the park.  In April I got to meet the newest addition to the Kulow family, Malachi who was born on April 29th.  Being a mommy of two was hard at first but a few weeks in we all adjusted - Michael only had to go without homemade dinner from me for about two months.  The summer was spent at the pool with two little guys.  In August my dad and sister got to meet the newest to join the family, it was great to see them!  In September Zeke started preschool and has loved every day of it!  Zeke's vocabulary has increased so much in the last three months, Michael's request for mommy translations has diminished almost completely.  Ki is growing in leaps and bounds!  Ki starting sitting by himself in October and started crawling the beginning of December.  Now here we are, the last day of the year and he is pulling himself up on everything and taking steps while holding on to stuff. 
The Kulow family is ready for 2010!  We eagerly await what the Lord has in store for us in the year to come.

Big Boys in Training

When we left San Diego Zeke would upon our request go to bed and lay down for his naps and bed time.  When we moved out here to CO, I became a stay at home mom, and felt like my job was to spend every minute with Zeke.  I would lay down with him for his nap time and I would read books until he fell asleep.  After three books if he had not fallen asleep I would lay next to him rubbing his back until dream land came.  When I found out I was pregnant with Ki I felt like I had to continue spending that special nap and bed time with Zeke because I didn't know what life would be like with two little ones. 
With all that said in the last two weeks I have been having both boys lay down on their own to take naps and go to bed.  It has been a little more of a struggle with Ki, however Zeke has taken to it really well.  We do lunch time around noon and after lunch Zeke can play for fifteen minutes and then he needs to go upstairs, go potty and then lay down on his bed.  I will give him a kiss and then he falls asleep on his own.  He has been taking two hour naps, which before I would only get an hour if I was lucky!  Ki has been falling asleep on his own at night time really well, actually too well if you ask Michael, because Ki goes to bed at seven, Michael would like a little more time with him.  Nap times for Ki are a little rougher - he still takes two naps a day.  The first nap is usually around 9 or 9:30 and lasts for about forty minutes.  The second nap is around 1 or 1:30 and lasts for an hour maybe a little more. 
I have to say I am very proud of the boys though in their quick learning that they need to fall asleep on their own!  I am also happy because it has allowed me a little more down time.  I actually get to eat lunch and have a little time to myself in the middle of the day, which all moms know that sometimes naps are more for ourselves then for our children! ; -)

Productive last two days.

Yesterday I got the cleaning bug and went through the pantry threw out some old food.  Went to Target and got some snap ware and put away some of the pantry food that was in bags from Sunflower Market in them.  Got all the Christmas decorations picked up and boxed up.  Today I decided to tackle the laundry.  I got all the laundry done and put away - that is a big thing for me, usually the clothes sit down in the basement on my folding tables; also known as the tops of the washer, dryer and the ironing board.  Both the boys got a lot of clothes for Christmas and so I needed to wash all their new clothes.  Being that there were so many new clothes I had to go through all the old clothes and pack up the outgrown ones.  While I was in the mood I went through the boxed clothes from Zeke that were to be passed down to Ki, and organized and washed them.  The some of the clothes that have seen better days through hand-me downs from friends I took a bag of clothes to the Goodwill.  I cleaned out my truck and put in Zeke's new booster seat and then moved Zeke's old car seat over for Ki to now use.  I got dinner made and then cleaned up from that, got the boys bathed, Ki in bed and now Zeke is watching a movie while I sit here. 
Phew - that just about tired me out typing it all... or maybe it is that I am tired from my day.  I think it might be also that I woke up at three this morning because Ki woke up, he went back to bed and I could not for the life of me switch my brain off!  This morning when Michael got up I bombarded him with all of my night time thoughts, which were a ton!  I started off thinking about Mothers & More, then MOPS, then the boys room, my truck, having another child or not, selling the baby stuff if we are done having babies, our vacations... March to San Diego, July to Utah, and August to Arizona... like I said my mind would not shut off!
Well, now I am hoping that my mind will shut off.  I am off to have a glass of milk and some chocolate chip cookies!

OCD and Proud of it

Michael very nicely made Ki some cereal this morning while I was getting beds made and Zeke changed and ready for the day.  Zeke and I came down stairs and Michael in his absent mindedness of getting food to Ki, forgot to close the cupboard doors.  I noticed it but thought oh well, at least Michael helped get Ki some food while I was taking care of Zeke.  Zeke, on the other hand said,"Mom, dad leave open."  His eye brows furrowed and his hands on his hips.  I said, "It is okay Zeke, when I am done feeding Ki I will close them."  Zeke then proceeded to call down to Michael to come and close the left open cupboards.  I smiled and noted... Zeke really is my child! : )

Wake Up Call

This morning I was awoken by Ki crying in his crib at 7:20am.  I went to his room to get him out and after getting him out of bed to change his diaper and feed him, I walked into Zeke's room to check on him.  Zeke was not in his room.  A little panic ran through my chest as I wondered where he was.  A glance down stairs assured me.  Zeke had gotten up was eating an apple, that he climbed up on the counter to get himself. And was sitting very quietly on the living room floor eating and trying to figure out one of his Christmas games that we got him... Lighting McQueen Tic Tac Toe.  I thought about getting upset with him for coming down stairs by himself and climbing on my counters, however he chose an apple to eat when there was plenty of other things that he could have gotten that were not as healthy.  My little Mr. Independent!

Home

Before we left for San Diego for Amie's wedding, Michael and I found a house that we really liked.  We had called our Realtors and told them that when we got back from San Diego that we would like to go and look at the house.  So two Sundays ago we went and looked at the house.  Everything was perfect... it was a three bedroom house, main floor master, main floor laundry, two bedrooms upstairs for the boys and the basement was finished with what they were calling two extra bedrooms and a bathroom but was really more one room (office) and a play area.  The home was smaller then our current one but it was so nice.  No major work was needed, the walls were even painted reasonably. 
Michael and I spoke with our Realtors and they explained that there are quiet a first time homer buyer packages that we needed to look into.  That evening Michael and I sat down and looked over our finances and calculated the home price through a mortgage calculator and realized that we could handle the monthly payments as they were only one hundred dollars more then we are paying for rent (we calculated mortgage insurance, home owners insurance, taxes, hoa, and the mortgage).  We really felt confident that it was just a matter of getting the pre-qual letter. 
So the very next day I went to our bank and got in contact with a lender.  After playing phone tag I was able to meet with the lender in person on Wednesday.  After an hour of looking at everything she said that we were not qualified.  I was crushed.  Because of the way in which Michael is paid... his hours and then "cafeteria money" taxes show the hours and not the "cafeteria money", so even though we make "X" it shows we make "Y".  I was crushed - I felt like my dream of owning a home for my boys to grow up in was shattered in that one meeting. I spent a day of mourning my "loss", then had to come to grips with, "When it is the Lord's will nothing will stand in the way."
I guess in my head I thought that if only we could have a home that we owned then we could do what we wanted, have pets, paint the walls, grow the garden that I want... all of the things that are not really possible in a rental.  After my day of mourning I had to come to grips with the fact that we are blessed to live in the house that we are in.  We have a nice place, in a great neighborhood, and my boys are happy here.  All the other things are the "American" dream but maybe not in the near future for my family.  All in perfect timing... even if it is not my timing!

Gates

After a tumble down the lower stairs Michael ran out and got a gate.  (I have been tumbling down the stairs since we moved in and only when Ki tumbled down the stairs does he get a gate... Smiles!)  Ki has decided that he is going to perch himself right in front of the gate making it difficult to open it but I guess it keeps him from falling down the stairs.

A New Day

Thank the Lord for new days!  By yesterday evening around six I was done.  I had lost my patience and I had become a yelling lunatic.  I got my boys to bed at 6:30 and I headed to bed at seven to read.  I fell asleep around nine.  A good nights sleep... well waking up three times by the boys, is truly a magical thing.  I woke up this morning at four thirty and I felt like a new person.  I took a long hot shower, got dressed for the day, did my hair and had a cup of hot peppermint tea.  Ready for my day!

Mommy Moment

Zeke and I were playing swords with our water bottles and I got his water bottle from him and then I was pretending to stab him with the "swords".  Zeke turns around and puts his hinney in the air and says, "Me farting at you so you give me sword back." 

An Acknowledgment

Is it so hard for the police men, firefighters, or paramedics to smile or nod?  Today we were sitting at two lights one with a police man and another with a fire truck and ambulance.  Zeke had his window down and was frantically waving hello to them and no one, not a single person waved or even acknowledged the fact that an admiring child was waving.  I wanted to honk my horn and yell at them!  Now I can understand if they were busy... but we were sitting at a stop light!  I had to tell Zeke that maybe they were too busy to wave.  Inside me I was crushed for Zeke!  I think it should be a requirement for them to all have to take a class on "Proper Child Acknowledgment". 

Stairs

So in the last week Ki has gone from the army crawl to full blown crawling.  Now he has ventured near the stairs.  I can feel the gray hairs sprouting from the top of my head!  Ki is pulling himself on everything, being that the stairs are at the perfect level he is using those to reach higher.  Thankfully he has only been able to reach up to steps but I know that it is just a matter of time and he will be conquering the stairs of this house. 
Michael and I yesterday had to move Ki's crib down to the lowest level.  My baby is growing up!  He loves standing up and checking everything out.  Much like his older brother he is a "big boy".  Ki is about a month behind Zeke as far as reaching mile stones.  I will be honest I am totally fine with that though! 
Zeke was sitting at four months
Ki sitting at five months
Zeke got his bottom two teeth at five months
Ki got this bottom two teeth at six months
Zeke was crawling at six months
Ki is crawling at seven months
Zeke was walking at ten months
Ki... well we will only see!
I know my babies are growing up but it is a bitter sweet thing!  I guess as Grandma Betty says, "They are always my baby boys" while referring to uncle Bart and my dad. 

Run Away

Today I got to run away from home for an hour.  This past week was a long and hard one... two sick boys and Ki I think is allergic to sleeping at night!  Yesterday I asked Michael if I could run away from home for an hour and he being very gracious agreed.  This morning I was able to take a shower all by myself and used up all the hot water, all be it in a twenty minute shower but it was nice to not have anyone (Zeke or Ki) in the shower with me.  I was able to get out of the shower and get dressed without having to referee the boys.  I was able to blow dry my hair and brush my teeth in peace!  Ahh the simple things.  Then I got to run away from home.  I had to take back the string cheese we got from Costco last night because I wasn't paying attention when I put it in the cart and I got the variety pack, so I took that back and then went to the library.  I was kind of bummed because the book and movie that I was really wanting to get were both checked out, so I got different ones.  I will say the book seems to be a decent one, I am only one chapter in but am enjoying the new author....  Michelle Wildgen.  I stepped out of my comfort zone of Karen Kingsbury, Lori Wick and Nicholas Sparks and got an author I have never even heard of before.  I know this seems like an insignificant thing however for me it is pretty big!  I am all about my comfort zone and my tried, true and tested things (like when we go to a resturant and I don't even open the menu because I order the same thing every time... I "opened the menu" at the library and am actually enjoying my new choice!)  So now I am off to read, or watch my movie - I haven't decided yet which I am going to do.

At last

The fever has left the building (well okay the house!).  I may have to put an addendum to that however since Michael woke up this morning really not feeling well.  At least my babies are fever free which means that maybe we can leave the house today.  It is hard having fever babies and not wanting to leave the house but going crazy sitting in the house.  All I have to say is thank God for the library... we have gotten movies from there the last three days.  So I guess, yes, we have left the house but it is for ten minutes to run to the library to get movies to come back home, close the curtains and snuggle on the couch.

Christmas Spirit

I have been struggling with getting into the Christmas spirit lately.  I think the crud has had an effect on that but I really think that it is more then that.  I will admit today I was feeling a little glum so I decided that I would decorate everything.  Yes, I realize that without the decorations in my house it would be hard to get into the spirit... therefore the motivation was there tonight.  We went and cut down our Christmas tree on Sunday night, the event was very non-eventful... we drove up to Grandma and Grandpa Kulow's house.  We saw a tree from the car on the road to their house, pulled over, got out and cut it down and got back in the car to go eat cookies at the grandparent's house.  We put the tree in our house Sunday night.  Zeke came down with the crud that night, Monday and Tuesday I was watching our neighbor's daughter Luciana.  Ki came down with the crud on Tuesday night and the last two days I have been laying low!  After a few movies, naps and lounging, Zeke and I decorated our Christmas tree, we even set up the Thomas train track around the bottom of the tree.
I am hoping that with the tree decorated, house cleaned and the crud, hopefully on it's way out of our house that the Christmas spirit will come to me!

Crud

Ahhhh - I will be so glad when this stuff is out of my house!  Zeke has been battling the crud since Sunday night.  Ki picked up the crud on Tuesday.  Michael picked it up yesterday.  I have been contemplating picking it up for the last two days. 
"Crud, crud go away, don't ever come back another day!"

Comparison Shopping

My next Mothers & More meeting is this coming Monday and the meeting title is "Family friendly budget on one income"... being that is our world at least at the Kulow's home I thought I would do the research for my house and then share my findings with the group.  Today I hit Target and Costco and wrote down some of the basics that we purchase as a family.  From the two stores, thus far, I think that if you have the space to store Costco purchases you are better off.  I will try to graph out all of my findings this weekend in Excel to share with the group.  My thought is that I will try to go to WalMart, Safeway and Kings Sooper this weekend and get the prices from there to add to the spread.  While I was in Target today a sales associate came up to me and asked if I was with WalMart.  She said that one of their jobs in working at Target is to go to WalMart "undercover" and write down prices.  So she thought that was what I was doing.  I simply told her that I was doing research for personal use... she was impressed.  I will say that there is a sense of wonder on my part as well as a sense of accomplishment, I think that Michael will be pleased that I have taken the time to really see if we are getting the best prices for the things that we regularly purchase. 

Pigs not boys

I swear I have pigs not baby boys.  Zeke today ate a whole Costco hot dog after we were done at Costco today, he didn't even share a bite with me.  We got home and he ate a whole apple and then had two celery stalks cut up with peanut butter and craisens on them.  Geesh!  Ki last ate at nine this morning before we left for our errands.  We got home and he polished off two jars of baby food and then nursed for ten minutes.  I can't even begin to imagine what our grocery bill is going to be like in ten years!  The Lord better come back before then or Michael and I are going to have to get more jobs to pay for these kids to eat. 

Helpful People

After dropping Zeke off at school today I made a mad dash to Hobby Lobby - Zeke has "overused" his Superman cape and it was in need of repair.  I stood looking at a large wall of cape repairing materials and I was totally lost.  Thankfully there was a grandma type lady purchasing a few items and I thing she say my look of desperation while holding the cape.  She came to my rescue and offered a few options for me to fix the cape.  She asked if I had a sewing machine and I informed her that I didn't and that I was bound and determined to fix the cape better than new.  She smiled a sweet grin and offered to have me over to her house to help me sew it on her machine.  I was so honored by her gesture and I think overwhelmed that I turned down her offer.  She pat me on the shoulder and said, "That's a true mom!"  I sheepishly smiled and she was off.  After she left I cringed thinking... what the heck, I just turned down help in an area that I am totally unfamiliar with!  Oh well - I have a cape to repair so that my super hero can get back to saving my house!

Mothers & More

I have to admit that I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with my position in Mothers & More.  I know that I can bring a lot to the table and can offer much to the group but I am tired!  It feels as though every time I turn around someone is dropping out or informing me that they will be dropping out.  My husband encouraged me to push through it all and really try to build it back up, but I am loosing my fire!  I feel like I am holding all positions and am not doing a very good job at any one of them.  I need a little inspiration to keep me going.

Happy!

I can't tell you how many people commented on how happy I looked while we were in San Diego.  I was overwhelmed by the nice comments.  To that I simply say, I am happy!  I am blessed beyond words.  I have a wonderful husband who I love and whom loves me... even with my quirks!  I have two great boys, who keep me busy and on my toes.  I live in a fun little town where I have made friends, which is not in my nature to do but I have learned!  I have THE best job ever - being a wife and a mommy.  I truly feel like I am doing my dream job - the job I was made to do.  Growing up I thought I was supposed to be a teacher in a classroom, but I have found my higher calling... being Zeke and Ki's mommy and Michael's wife. 
So to everyone that said such nice things to me in San Diego, thank you!  You made me take a moment to really appreciate all that I have in my life!

Busy days

Starting this week I am watching our neighbors baby, Luciana she is two months old.  So my days are very busy.  The mornings are all about rushing to get everything done for the rest of the day knowing that with three little ones my afternoons are taken up.  I have been truly blessed though with a big helper in Zeke.  He love helping with Luciana.  I don't think he realized that he could help out with Ki but now having two babies he is really helping out.  Yesterday both the babies were fussing at the same time so I put Luciana in the bouncy seat and had Zeke feed her a bottle and then I fed Ki, as he still will not take a bottle.  Today Luciana was fussing because she had tummy troubles and Zeke was so sweet, he sat next to her singing to her the lullaby songs I sing to he and Ki.  When the songs weren't helping he tried stroking the bridge of her nose like I do to Ki.  When that stopped working he came over and got me and took me by the hand to the kitchen to get her a bottle.  I had to inform him that a bottle wouldn't help but we just had to talk gentle to her until she stopped. 
The only reason why I am able to post is because both Ki and Luciana are sleeping right now... awe peace and quiet, well maybe from baby cries but Zeke is still running a mile a minute, on no nap mind you!

Quick Wit

Yesterday I was scolding Zeke for talking meanly and I had my brows furrowed and was talking very sternly to him.  Zeke very quickly took his Batman mask that was around his neck and placed it over his eyes and smiled a big smile and said to me, "No yell at Batman.  Me not Zeke, me Batman."  I have to tell you with that quick wit I had a hard time not laughing myself.  I replied to his humor saying, "Well Batman and Zeke both need to listen to mommy!" 

Rolling Suitcase

I just bought Zeke a rolling suitcase that matches his back pack and he is now going around the house "packing" things in the suitcase to take to San Diego.  It is so funny!  Even worth the $16 I spent on the roller!  I asked him what he was doing and he huffed and said, "Moooom, me packing!"  Like duh, can't you see what I am doing.  Gotta love the little independent man that he is already at two and a half!

Brothers

Brothers will be boys! I sent both boys down to the basement to play. I stuck Ki in his johnny jumper and Zeke had free run of the basement. I folded some laundry and then went upstairs as they were playing nicely, Ki was not crying and Zeke was riding his bike - being good! I am sitting upstairs and I hear Ki laughing and Zeke is talking to him. I open the door just enough to see Ki soaring through the air. I know a video would capture exactly what I am talking about and once I get Michael to download the video I will share... but it was priceless. Zeke was grabbing the sides of Ki's jumper and pulling him to one side of the basement and letting go. Ki thought it was the best thing ever! I watched quietly for a while just enjoying my boys being brothers! Zeke decided that was boring after too many times of watching his brother soar through the air and decided to change it up a little. Zeke decided that the jumper would work like a tire swing - you got the picture? Ki was getting twisted around and around and the whole time his eyes are trying to follow his brother - both are laughing. Just one of the priceless brother moments I get to capture in my mind and share with you!

Headed to San Diego

I am very excited to be headed to San Diego. It has been a year since I was in San Diego and it will be so nice to see family. I am excited for my family to get to meet Ki for the first time too. I sure hope that Ki will go to other people though. Ki is a momma's boy and is usually not to open to meeting new people. I guess that is the one down fall to being a full time stay at home mom - Ki really is only around me and is leery of meeting new people. I am excited for Zeke to get to meet my cousins Nick and Brad because I think Zeke will have a blast playing with them. I also am hoping that my dad will get a chance to take Zeke to play some place, even if it is just to the beach. I know that my dad is really looking forward to it, but I am afraid that he is going to be too busy with wedding stuff. We shall see I guess! The one thing that I really want to do is get a picture of my boys with my great grandma Talone. Three years ago when Michael and I were getting married Grandma Talone was saying she wasn't sure if she would make it to our wedding, then she said she wasn't sure if she would get to meet her first great-great grandson, now she has two great-great grandsons and I can't wait to capture that!
Well in five days we will be in San Diego! I sure hope that it is nice weather for my sisters wedding. However, whatever the weather is going to be like I am sure I am going to have to unpack our shorts to bring with us... we have become accustomed to the colder weather and yesterday it was low sixties and we were walking around in short sleeve shirts and pants and were stinking hot! Funny how your body acclimatizes. This summer it got up to 80 one day and I was telling Michael it was too hot for me to do anything! I think that was just my excuse for being lazy, but I did think it was funny how I was thinking it was miserably hot!
Hope to see many of you while in San Diego! I think we are going to try and make church service at Maranatha on Sunday the 6th... not sure which service!

Scooter

So I have a scooter, not a crawler! It is so funny to watch Ki scoot across the floor to get to me. He has figured out that he can get places and he works very hard at it! He stretches his little body out and bends his arms and the pushes off with his toes. Needless to say he looks like he is doing the "army crawl" elbows and toes! For a scooter he is pretty darn fast!
Not that anything in my house was ever safe having Zeke already but now it is doubly not safe! Ki really like pulling himself up on my plants... pulling them over too! I will say that I am nervous though because we have so many stairs in our house and none of them really can have gates on them because of the way/angle that they are. Basically there is no rest for me... at least until I can teach Ki how to belly down the stairs. I think that is going to have to a new chore when we get back from San Diego.

A Wonderful "Births-giving" Day

In case you are wondering that is Thanksgiving and Birthday mooshed together! : -)
I had a very nice day that started with sleeping in until 7:30 then watching the Macy's day parade with my boys. We played in the basement for a little while and then went upstairs to take an early nap. It just so happened that as I was laying them down for their naps that sleep overtook me... so an hour and half nap with my boys was what happened. Michael spent all day cooking some very yummy food. We had my father in law and his wife and our friends from San Diego over. Everyone pitched in and brought great food. Some of my favorites were... Great Grandma Talone's corn casserole made by Michael, Jackie's sweet potato casserole (that really is more a dessert) and then Talia's "birthday cake" for me - pumpkin cheese cake. So good!
After everyone left I cleaned up from dinner, swept, mopped and got everything put away so that this morning I woke up to a clean house. What's on the agenda today? Not really sure, we talked about maybe going to the mountains for a walk - one thing is for sure though, we are staying away from any and all stores! Yikes!
I pray that you too had a restful and wonderful Thanksgiving!

Tuesday

I know that today is not Tuesday but if you ask Zeke he doesn't know that! According to Zeke every day of the week is Tuesday. I am not sure why Tuesday is his favorite but it just is! Every morning I ask Zeke, "What day of the week is it today?" He very confidently says, "Tuesday, mom."
Another one of Zeke's favorite things to say is, "Mom, dat funny huh?" One day we were driving around doing errands and Zeke said, "Mom I like snow, dat funny huh?" I chuckled and said, "Yeah, Bubba that's funny."
Zeke is really picking up on his vocabulary and he feels that he needs to talk all the time, often to my frustration!

Non-sleeping house

What is up with the men in this house? None of them know how to sleep! Last night all three of them were asleep by 9pm. Michael woke up at 1am, Ki at 3am and Zeke at 4:30am... all of them have been up since then. Geeze - why don't these men know that night time is for sleeping and in the morning wrestling on my bed is not what I want! Way too much energy at 6:30am in my room. Ugh!

Something Amiss

All day today I have felt like I am in a fog. I don't quiet feel right. Frustrating, yes! I wish I knew what was wrong or amiss but nothing comes to mind. Just feeling kind of blah!

Christmas Wish List

So I know that I am too old to have a Christmas wish list, but I have been adding my wishes up and I think I have more on my list this year then I have ever had. Funny I guess!
I have decided that I really want a good camera. I know I have a decent one that captures those great little shots, but I would love to have one that has a good lens on it that will allow me to capture on film some of the great things that I see, especially of my boys!
I also want a Kitchen Aid... although I really think I want this more because Michael really wants it. Every time he watches Good Eats has another food that he wants to make but says, "Not until we have our Kitchen Aid." So I think number two is more for my husband then for me!
The other thing that I really want is an Ergo baby carrier. I have always sworn by the slings but with Ki a sling really does not work. Being that Ki is a back archer, I cannot safely carry him in the sling, yeah it was nice when he was an immobile baby but now that he is so strong I need something else. I have been looking around and I have not been able to find any on Craigslist, I guess that is because everyone keeps theirs until they have worn them out completely! So I think that this is probably my number one choice!
Maybe "Santa" will have grace upon me and get me one of my wish list items!

Longest Night EVER

Ahhhhhh - last night was the longest night I have had since bringing Ki home! He has a tooth that decided to cut last night. So needless to say Ki was up screaming all night long, I think the longest time period he slept was maybe an hour and half. Therefore a very long night for me.
Today however Zeke and Ki took a nap at the same time, actually Zeke is still sleeping but I got a solid hour with no boys. What do you think I did with that hour of quiet... I cleaned! I know I must be insane! Although I must say it was nice to clean my house (okay maybe not the entire house), but it was nice to get some cleaning done and not have a toddler "helping" me and an infant screaming.

Lighting is the BOMB

Daddy bought Zeke a Lighting McQueen blanket at Costco today. I was thinking it was a Christmas present but daddy couldn't wait to give it to him. We didn't even get home before the blanket was unwrapped. Needless to say I am washing the blanket because Zeke wants it for his bed - tonight!

JumpStreet

$4 Entrance Fee
1 1/2 Hours of Play
3 Hour Nap
Two Happy Parents!
Zeke and Ki had a blast at JumpStreet... think we will have to go again!

Cartoon Morning

Very rarely do we allow Zeke to watch cartoons in the morning let alone television. This morning all three of the Kulow men are sitting in front of the television watching Cars. There is something very sweet about seeing and listening to Michael interacting with Zeke while they watch Zeke's favorite movie. Moments like these I think are what makes family memories.
I have been in the recent months trying to be cognitive of making lasting and impressionable memories for Zeke - I think mornings like this are what he will remember... snuggled up on the couch with daddy and brother watching Cars.

Five in a Bed

This morning through blurry eyes Michael says, "We need a bigger bed!" Our queen size bed had Michael, Zeke, Ki, Neeko and myself. Five in a queen size just is not comfy for anyone. Okay maybe comfy for the two boys that were snuggled in the middle between Michael and I, but that is about it. Michael asked Zeke why he was in our bed and Zeke grinned and said, "No, dis me bed!" The argument began between Zeke and Michael and I think Michael wound up giving up - Zeke was loudest in the contest for 7am.

Hands Full

Tonight I finished my dinner and then made Ki some dinner. I put Ki in the booster seat and moved him between myself and Zeke. I fed Ki his baby food and towards the end of his meal he started getting really fussy. Zeke too was getting fussy so I told Zeke he had to eat two more bites, and I would even help him by feeding him like I was feeding Ki. One bite to Ki, one bite to Zeke. I was watching Ki every time I gave Zeke his dinner and Ki had his mouth wide open and vise versa. After Ki had finished his meal he was pissed. So I thought maybe Ki wanted a bite of Zeke's dinner... meatloaf, green bean casserole and rolls. Ki was so stoked to get Zekes food on Zeke's fork! It was the funniest thing to watch. Zeke didn't mind sharing too! After every bite Ki had Zeke would lean over and ask Ki, "You like dat Ki?" Ki would smile something fierce and wait for Zeke to get his bite and then try to be patient and wait for his next bite. Now don't worry I was not feeding Ki meatloaf, I was just giving him the soupy stuff from the casserole. Pretty darn funny - Ki thinks he is a big boy just like his brother.

Absolutely blessed

I think I am just about the luckiest lady! I have a great husband of which I have been married to for three years, yesterday! We have two great kids. We live in a great town. We have an awesome church. What more can I ask for?
It has taken me a while to really appreciate everything that I have. I have always loved my husband but there have been times where I want to throw him in the trash. In our three years of marriage we have come to learn how to work well together. I have learned what he needs and expects from me and him for me - it has not been easy, but I suppose things that are really good take time!
Yes, of course I have always loved my babies! From the minute we found out there was a baby in my womb there is this unearthly love that overwhelmed me. But trust me there are times I too want to put them out with the week's trash! Zeke knows just how to push buttons but he does so with this cute little grin that makes me want to laugh and cry all at the same time. Ki has been going through a rough patch of screaming - the Lord gave me patience but by four o'clock in the afternoon the meter has hit empty and I want to curl up on the floor and scream and cry too! How can it be that two little boys can rummage up so many emotions in one person? I am not sure but I know I would not trade it for anything!
I know I was not too keen on the move to Colorado. It meant picking up from my parents and everything that I really loved in San Diego. Now a year later I am so glad we moved. I do miss the people in San Diego that makes it home. My love for where we live now is so strong. I love that two weeks ago my kids were playing in the snow, last week it was in the high 70's and this week it has been in the 50's with pending snow for the weekend. I love that today we got to play in the leaves in the backyard that had fallen from the trees. I love that everything is so close to where we live, yet we are still so close to the mountains.
I thought I would never find another church that "fit" me like Maranatha Chapel but I have found a place in my heart for Foothills Bible Church. I have grown accustom to the worship style and the way Pastor Bill teaches and found myself enjoying it all. I always thought there was nothing other then Maranatha Chapel, but it seems that there is!
Basically I am thankful for everything that the Lord has done in my life in the last three years! I am blessed and very content!

Imaginary Life

Zeke has become very aware of his imagination in the last few weeks! It is so neat to see him play by himself and then to hear what it is he is saying. Lately he has been playing sharks and spiders - pretending that there are sharks or spiders on the carpet and trying to get away from them. Another thing that he has begun doing is playing dress up - not in a creepy way but finding mine and Michael's clothes fun to put on. Today he has been carrying around a tool box saying, "I have lots of work to do." Whatever keeps him entertained I suppose is good. Along the lines of dressing up... yesterday I was at WalMart getting some stuff for Michael and I saw that there Halloween costumes were all 90% off so I got Zeke two costumes to add to his dress up/imaginary play! Ki even took part in some of the dress up too...

Randomness

Today I took a nap with my boys for the first time in months! It felt so good... I knew there was stuff to be done but curling up with a boy laying under each arm was just what the doctor ordered for me today!
Zeke is doing great on his potty training. He has gone a whole week with only one accident. I am seeing light at the end of the washing a million pairs of pants and underwear tunnel! Yeah!
Ki has decided that his favorite teething tool is a stalk of celery! I gave him a stalk this afternoon as I was making the dinner salad and he gnawed on it for almost an hour.
Today I was at WalMart to get Michael's flavored water and all of their Halloween costumes were 90% off so I found two for Zeke for dress up. I got him Buzz Lightyear and a clown. He loves the Buzz costume... actually wore it all afternoon.
I took my mom to the airport this morning, I was sad to see her go but I get to see her in less then a month. It is always hard seeing her go - it is so nice having her help with the boys!

Mothers Helper

Ahhhh - It is so nice having my mom here visiting! I can not even begin to say what an amazing thing it is to have two "moms" doing "one" job!
Right now I am sitting here on my computer writing instead of doing bedtime stories. We got home from a friends house around 6pm - I fed Ki while my mom entertained Zeke (a full time job). I got dinner made while mom played with both boys. I got to eat my entire meal without having to bounce Ki on my knee and try and eat a cold dinner! After dinner mom gave Zeke a bath while I attempted to give Ki his night time bottle/medicine. Ki cried himself to sleep. Mom read Zeke multiple bed time stories while I cleaned up. I got the dishes washed from dinner the kitchen floors swept, the trash taken out, the cat box cleaned, got a load of laundry folded, another in the wash and picked up the basement. Now I am taking a breath to update my blog! Aren't moms great! Thank you mom for taking time out of your busy schedule to come out here and give me a few minutes!

Family Photos

After much painstaking organization, I was able to get some family pictures! We picture traded with our friends... they took pictures of our family and us of theirs. It worked out very nicely! Here are some of the pictures. Hope that you enjoy!
BTW - I have given up on trying to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time and not making faces. So as you will see there are some goofy faces and wondering eyes - oh well!

Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Mommy & Her boys

Zeke showing off the snow

Zeke shoveling with Daddy

Daddy showing Zeke how to shovel

What we woke up to this morning

Daily meaning

This might sound strange but today was a day where I felt like I had meaning. Let me back track a little... there are some days where at the end of it I seriously question myself, "What good did I do today?" Today was one of those days where when I asked myself that very powerful question - I felt like I had an answer! Most days I feel like I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off and don't ever do anything that makes an impact on anyone positively.
I think so often I get caught up in my little world that I forget that there are others on this same planet with me. Yes, I see them at the store or wave to them, but I never stop to talk or listen or encourage. I personally think that life is really nothing, if we do not take the time to connect with others... other moms, friends, or strangers.
Maybe that is a rather general statement so let me try to explain my day!
Today started like any other day, woke up a little late after a night of being awake with Ki. Rushed through getting both the boys fed. Got Zeke off to school, since today is Tuesday (Zeke is working on saying the days of the week!). As I was leaving the preschool parking lot I called up my best friend, Sarah, to check in with her and just chat. I chatted with her as I shopped for a few grocery items. I hung up my call with Sarah as I was getting in the line to pay and instead of being absent minded I chatted with the grocer. I could tell that she was happy I hung up my cell phone and acknowledged her. I asked her how her day was and she shared that she is not having a great day because she is a little stressed. I questioned her, not in a creepy way, but just a friendly banter. Come to find out she just got the job at the store and is in the middle of a divorce. I sincerely welcomed her to the store and thanked her for helping me. She smiled a huge smile and simply said, "You have made my day." I gathered my groceries and headed home.
I got home and picked up my house a little and then got a call from my neighbor. She sounded a little worried, she asked if I had anything going on this afternoon and I told her a had a few things, she asked if she could come over and talk - I said sure. I picked up Zeke from preschool and headed home to get lunches made and get ready for my neighbor to come over. My neighbor came over and vented. She shared some of her stresses as she is a brand new mommy with her return to work looming over her shoulder. We chatted and I shared with her some of my experiences but also just listened to her and then encouraged her to take one day at a time. As she was leaving she thanked me for listening and said, "I am so glad that you are my neighbor."
After she left I had a conference call for my Mothers & More chapter. The call was just a means of brainstorming ideas with chapters throughout the region. It was so nice to hear from other chapters that they are having some of the same struggles, also nice to hear some of their ideas to bettering the chapter.
So I think the bottom line is - CONNECTIONS! Life would be meaningless without reaching out to others and making connections!

Genetic Mishaps

Okay maybe that is not the best title - but how else am I supposed to refer to this gray hair that is sprouting up in my hair? Ugh - what is up with this? I am in my mid-twenties, dealing with facial blemished and gray hair at the same time. I found a great henna hair dye product and it has helped with the long ones that were mixed in, but I woke up this morning and I found some short little hairs that are growing in gray. There is something seriously wrong with the universe - a person should not have to deal with skin blemishes (zits) and gray hair. Come on - do you feel my pain?

Changing Table War

Neeko has decided that the changing table pad is her bed. Today I went up to Ki's room to change his diaper and Neeko was curled up napping on the pad. I tried "shooshing" her off and she did not budge. She dug her claws in and would not move. So instead of fighting with her I jut pushed her to the end of the pad and placed Ki down. The whole time I was changing Ki, Neeko was edging for more room. Ki was grabbing her tail and pulling her fur and still she did not budge. I finished changing Ki and Neeko resumed her spot in the middle of the changing table pad. What a silly cat!

Over night plastic surgery

I woke up this morning and it looks like I took a trip to the plastic surgeon's. Day two of massive cold sores - yuck! I will say it is kind of nice to see what my lips might look like with a little "plump" - however the pain is probably about the same as getting them professionally done. L-lysine is my friend!

Too much stress

Ugh! I woke up this morning and my lip was a volcano. I guess I have been stressing about too many things. My lip is in the worst shape it has been in years. Maybe a little napping myself will help me out! On my agenda for the next few days as Michael works: Sleep, Drink lots of water, Watch movies, and Just simply hang out with my boys!

Hungry Baby

I wish I would have known sooner... I was "starving" Ki. I know it is hard to believe when you see his 17 pound mass! That is all I can figure now after Michael was able to get some cereal in him he is now sleeping. Ki has been on a sleep strike for the last month, he would take little ten or fifteen minute naps and then would wake up every hour or two in the middle of the night. That was really hard, being that Ki was a great sleeper from the day he was born. Ki slept through the night the first day he was born and loved his naps! I have been trying to get Ki to eat cereal but he would not take it from me. I was expressing my frustration to Michael and he decided to make me look like a fool. I think that the reason why Ki would take food from Michael and not from me is because Ki knows I can give him mommy milk, why would he take food. Michael has been very dedicated to getting solids into Ki and therefore today I was actually able to give some solids to Ki. Yeah! Last night was the first night that Ki slept six solid hours, woke up to eat and then fell back asleep for three more hours. Today Ki is already on his third nap of the day, the first was a little over an hour, the second was half an hour and he has currently been asleep for forty minutes! This is such a blessing - I have been stressing about it, thinking that something was seriously wrong with my little one - well there was, I was starving him!

Beautiful Domestic Goddess

I am so physically tired and yet I am not sleepy! How can that be? I think the problem is that I can just not turn off my mind. I need to be able to turn off my mind to allow myself to sleep. Even my dreams the last few nights have been of me running from one place to another, trying to juggle everything and still be the beautiful domestic goddess that I believe is necessary. Yesterday was the epitome of it all. Yesterday I was trying to clean up my house as I was opening my home today for my MOPS group. Ki has been going through a phase (at least I am hoping that it is a phase!) where he is requiring my undivided attention when he is awake which is all but maybe 9 hours in a 24 hour day. So yesterday I was vacuuming my floors, holding Ki in one hand, yelling at Zeke to get out of the way of the vacuum (one of his favorite games is to play "chicken" with the vacuum), and talking on the phone with Vistaprint trying to get business cards made up for Mothers & More. How after explaining all of that can I wonder why it is that my sleep dreams are overwhelmed with juggling everything? I absolutely enjoy everything I am doing, I love being a wife to my husband, a mother to my boys, a friend to my MOPS group, a leader for Mothers & More - but how do I juggle it all gracefully and still manage to be a beautiful domestic goddess? Any suggestions?

Not a good mommy day

You know how there are those days when you get to the end of it and you think, "Who allowed me to be a mom?" Well today was one of those days! My mommy license should have been revoked today. Everything was fine until Zeke had a mid day melt down and it lasted until 5pm when he fell asleep - and then picked up again at 6:30pm when he woke up. My allotted patience for the day was all used up by about 3pm! I felt bad for Michael, he called after a long day of work at 7pm and I had to vent - I don't think that was what he wanted to hear but I needed to blow off some steam!
Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!

Type A to the MAX Part 2

So yesterday I decided that I would do henna tattoos for myself. My parents got me a kit for Christmas last year and here I am just now trying to figure it out. So I spend yesterday morning making the paste... which has to sit for 12 hours. So I make it in the morning planning on doing the tattoos in the night right before I go to bed. I get the boys down for bed, get my chick flick in the DVD player and then get everything ready for tattooing. I spend about ten minutes practicing on some paper towels and then decide that I am ready to mark up my body - well just my palm. I start making a flower and then the dispensing cone starts leaking... I have henna all over my right hand while I am trying to get a flower on my left hand. Needless to say after nearly an hour of messing with the stuff, I got frustrated, attempted to wash my hands off and then threw it all away. As I am sitting here I can see my orange flower on the left palm and the orange all over my right fingers. Grrrrrr! So much for cute little henna tattoos. Maybe I will just have to stick to paying the ten dollars at the street fairs!

Pushing Milk

Within the last two weeks I have found a way to get Zeke to drink his milk. Ever since he dropped the bottle at 16 months I have not been able to get him to drink milk. I have started taking his morning yogurt and putting it in s cup and adding half milk - making it a smoothie. Don't ask me why it has taken me a year to realize this but - heck it works and he is drinking milk. Gotta get milk into my growing boy - thankfully I have found a way!

Book-worm

Zeke is a little book-worm! Michael, I don't think could be more proud. Michael has always loved books and is very happy that his boy loves them too. We go to the library two to three days a week and get 10-15 books every time. Our library ventures started when I became bored with Curious George. Every trip to the library is an adventure, both Zeke and I enjoy it thoroughly!

Nothing Sweeter

As a mom I think that there is nothing more sweet then night time snuggles with my boys! Tonight I got home from my Mothers & More meeting and had the privilege to rock both of my boys at the same time in my rocking chair until sleep came upon them. The feelings of their little bodies snug against mine, their chests rising and falling, their little breath against my skin - nothing can be sweeter!
I know that there will come a time where I can't rock them both at the same time, or for that matter there is going to come a time where they are not going to want to be rocked... until then I will try to sneak every night time snuggle I can get!

Fall Social

Tonight the boys and I went down to Whole Foods and had a blast! Whole Foods was hosting a fall social tonight, they had face painting, cupcake decorating, caramel apple making, coloring contest and tons of pumpkins. Zeke got his face painted for the first time - he loved it! The lady that was doing the face painting was really good and really quick! (Even after his shower tonight and me washing it off - he kept showing me his cheek - too cute!)
After we hung out at Whole Foods for about an hour we grabbed dinner and then went to the park to play for a little while. Needless to say when we got home at 6:30 this evening it was a mad dash to get the boys bathed, jammied and in bed! It all pays off though - Zeke had a blast!

Something Magical

Being that I was raised in San Diego I always thought that summer was my favorite season. I am beginning to rethink that judgment call! I think the reason I always thought that was because that is about the only season we had. Yes, I know there are a few other "seasons" mixed in but nothing to extremes.
As I sit here sipping my first pumpkin spice drink I contemplate the season of which I have become very fond of. FALL! There are many reasons I think that this season has become my favorite.
The first being the wonderful colors. I would love to drive all day long every day just so that I can soak in all the colors that fall brings. One of my favorite streets here in Littleton is Bowles. As I drive this street heading to downtown Littleton the streets are lined with so many rich colors; reds, oranges, yellows and greens. The streets are not just asphalt but are cement which provides a wonderful palette on which these fall colors rest upon. As I follow the cars in front of me autumn leaves billow under their tires, making it like I am driving through God's confetti party of Autumn. The grass that only a season ago was bright green has taken on a tint of yellow. Some of my favorite colors are highlighted in this present season... brown and yellow!
The smells of this season just warm my heart. Of course there is pumpkin, then nutmeg, then cinnamon, oh and I can't leave out apple spice. Ahh, my senses are alive! Fall, means burning candles, which means a trip to Yankee Candle; no house is complete without a tart burning! Oh yeah, the evening smell of wood burning fire places replaces my next favorite smell of barbecued meat. Granted most fireplaces in town are electric so the night time smells are not exactly what I dream of but every now and then there is a real fire burning in someones fireplace that makes me inhale a little deeper. Speaking of inhaling in deep, oh the crisp fresh air that comes with fall is like no other.
The fall clothing, that is another pleasure! Being that I have lived in San Diego for so long this was something new to me! Sure, I have turtle neck sweaters and scarfs, but these were only worn as decorations, not necessity. Now when I put on my sweaters there is a sense of pride that comes with them. The scarfs are not just an outfit accessory but an outfit need - their purposes are actually carried out here in Colorado. Plus nothing is more cuddly then my babies snug in their fleece footy jammies. I simply cannot resist hugging my babies a little longer and a little tighter when they are warm in their footy jammies!
Now you know why this current season is fast becoming my most favorite one!
Cheers!

Motherhood Life Lessons

In the last six months since becoming a mother of two little ones I have had to learn some rather hard life lessons. Okay, maybe not hard in the sense of learning them but hard in the sense of accepting them!
Lesson 1 - The chores will still be there, later in the day, night, the next day or the next! Don't sweat it!
Lesson 2 - My babies need me, not part of me - but all of me.
Lesson 3 - When the baby is not screaming and the toddler is not jumping from something - take those few seconds and breathe!
Lesson 4 - It is okay that I do not have the same body that I did before my babies! My body will recover when it is ready.
Lesson 5 - Everyone does not except my children to behave perfectly all the time - they realize that they are little and there is grace for children.
Lesson 6 - It is okay to wear the same outfit more then once a month. No one cares what I am wearing any way!

My Little Man, The Champ

I was talking with the receptionist at Kaiser setting up Ki's six month well baby check when I asked about the flu shots. I asked the receptionist if there really is the worry of little shots. She simply laughed and said, "Don't listen to the news - there are plenty of shots, don't worry." She then told me that if I wanted today was the first day of the walk in shots at our clinic, and I could get a shot for Zeke. I got off the phone and asked Zeke if he wanted to go get a shot and he enthusiastically said, "Yes." So we drove to the clinic. We had to sit in a line, there were three people ahead of Zeke and about five after him. The people before Zeke got their shots, one of them was a little three year old girl, who proceeded to cry after getting her shot. Finally it was Zeke's turn! He climbed up on the chair next to the nurse. The nurse asked me if I wanted Zeke to have the nasal one or a shot. Zeke simply said, "Shot please!" Then the whole room started trying to get Zeke to commit to the nasal one. Zeke held his ground and smiled nicely and again said, "Shot please." Then he pulled down his pants and pointed to the leg that he wanted the nurse to inject him in. Everyone in the room was quiet, I think they were expecting Zeke to cry or cringe or something - but he didn't! He got his shot like a champ. I could tell at one point he thought about maybe crying but instead grinned and then smiled. He got his shot, pulled up his pants and then gave me a hug, collected his sticker and was out and running. I was sure proud of my little man - I hate shots myself but he was such a champ!

Showering

Okay - so this morning as I was rushing through my shower I was hit with a reality... I used to take showers as a means of beginning my day fresh and new. I would take long hot showers, spend extra time making sure I shaved my legs and scrubbed my entire body with some expensive body scrub. Showers were also viewed as a luxurious retreat that could last as long as a half an hour.

Since becoming a mom of two that has all gone by the way side! I now jump in the shower to wash off whatever puke, poop or dirt I have accumulated throughout the day - not from me, from the boys! My showers are usually in the evenings after at least Ki in in bed or if I am lucky during their afternoon naps. Showers are no longer a relaxing oasis rather a five or ten minute hide out from the kids to wash off, scrub up and rinse off. I suppose a shower could still be relaxing if I wasn't trying to rush through it so that I could have a few minutes to myself before the kids wake up or someone comes barging in wanting help. Shaving - forget that! I am sorry honey... but there is not enough time in the day to care about my leg stubble. If I can't get it with one quick swoop of the razor then it will still be there the next time the razor graces my legs. Expensive body scrub - heck no! I soap up with whatever WalMart had on special.

My, how showering life has changed. Yes, I know showering is a very small thing in the whole scheme of life but I am in constant awe of how two little people can effect so many facets of life. Don't get me wrong I love my little "thing one and things two" but they have rocked my world!

Bed full of boys

I hate those dreams that I wake up from and I am drained. I have been having some really draining dreams the last few nights. Actually I am not sure if it is the dreams that are tiring me or the fact that my bed is full of boys every night! I swear the boys go to bed in their own beds and then all end up in my bed in the morning! Grrrr!

Wednesdays

Normally I hate Wednesdays. I feel like I hit the mid week wall and I have a hard time adjusting. Today was not the case! My wonderful hubby took Zeke to work today. That meant that I only had one boy to look after, which meant I had a quiet day. Then after being spoiled by being a one child mom today we went to Costco and bought food and a few extras. Now it is almost eleven at night and Michael and I are sharing some spring rolls and just having a quiet night.
Maybe I will give Wednesdays another chance after all!

Planet Mom

This year's MOPS theme is "Together on Planet Mom". This morning I was spending some time praying for all the ladies at my table when I started thinking about what the theme really means to me.
The thought of when I was younger and I was the little martian on my mom's planet sprung into my head. My mom was a christian school principal and as a staff of the school they met together every morning for a time of worship, devotion and prayer. Being the kids of the principal we were required to get to the school at the crack of dawn... okay maybe not that bad but it was early. To make matters worse we lived twenty minutes with no traffic away from the school. However where in San Diego is there no traffic? So basically we lived an hour sometimes more away from the school. Are you getting the point? We as kids had to wake up early and get everything together to get in the van and get to the school in time for the staff devotion time.
Those morning drives were often spent catching up on homework that, oops we forgot to do at night, or sleeping, or as three sisters often did... bicker!
My mom's little blue Toyota Previa van strolled down highway 15 every morning with some sort of noise. If my mom had it her way it would have been in silent meditation as she prepared for what devotion she was going to share with her staff. As kids we had other plans! One morning sticks out in my head so vividly as if it were yesterday. Being that I am the oldest I always got shot gun and my two younger sisters had to sit in the back. My sisters were bickering, somethings never change! Being the little mom that I was because I was seven years older I joined in the noise and began yelling at them to shut-up. My mom, I believe had hit her limit and very loudly shouted, "Shut-up and praise the Lord!" Then proceeded to blast the worship tape that was playing. A few seconds later all four of us just starting busting out laughing. Mom grew a little pink in the cheeks and then I guess came to her senses and turned the worship music down.
I will admit to this day we still harass my mom about what she said. Now being a mom I find myself on the verge of saying, "Just shut-up and praise the Lord." So often as moms I think we have this perception of what life should be... our husbands are space men that drop by our planet occasionally, they take a few steps and then vanish. Our children are martians that we try to wrangle and have behave like humans when others look on. That leaves us - moms, trying to hold everything together for fear of a cosmic disaster.
My mom's van was her little planet every morning and evening. She drove it from place to place with her own three martians and often added some other mom's martians to it as well. All in all - my mom's little planet spun on a decent axis but with three martians it got askew but she always seemed to right it... maybe not with the words of a Proverbs woman, but with words of a frazzled mom living on planet Earth trying to control her very own planet.
Life is crazy but every day is a blessing!

Marker Emergency

I sent Zeke to the bathroom because he has been playing outside in the backyard for quite some time. Zeke went into the bathroom and I went back down stairs were I was folding laundry. I was down stairs for a while and I saw that Zeke was standing near the bathroom door and I thought he was needing some help getting his pants back up. So I came up stairs to find my little artist with a black permanent Sharpie in his hand and very proudly standing next to his art work. For some reason my little artist thought that the bathroom door was the perfect canvas for his impromptu artwork. Ahhhh! I frantically grab the pen from his hand run to the kitchen and grab a hot soapy sponge to try and clean up the mess, to no avail! Michael jumps on to the internet and types in "Permanent marker on wood door". Next thing I know Michael is concocting some paste substance in the kitchen and then goes to the bathroom door and starts scrubbing. Baking soda and water was the miracle paste that cleaned away the artwork that our little artist drew on our rental home bathroom door. I simply chuckle and ask Michael, "What did parents do before the internet?" All I have to say is thank GOD!

Struggles

So last night I was up with a sick little Ki. The whole time I was praying that the Lord would make him better and take his fever away. While this was taking place I was comforted by the words, "The Lord never gives us more then we can handle." Yes, I realize that Ki being a little feverish is not a huge deal but the words rang so true and comforting to my soul that I started thinking of all the things in my life that I have come through and He was there every step!
I think of the simplest things, a long work day; to some of the bigger things, being paralyzed... from the day to day to the year to year. I am confident that my God does not fall asleep, He does not slip off the throne, He does not turn a deaf ear.
Whatever the day holds know that our Lord sees you fit to handle it. Of course we want to handle it gracefully and come out with perfect looking hair, however sometimes struggles knock us to the floor and we cannot even stand after coming through on the other side.
Some of our struggles may look like mountains, some like a desert, and some like a heavily treed forest. We often stand on one side of that struggle thinking, "There is no way to summit, cross, and no way to survive." Rest and know that our Heavenly Father is there and He is confident that the mountain, desert or forest will not kill you but make you stronger.

Breakfast in Bed

I am a truly blessed woman! This morning I was graced with pancake breakfast in bed at 7:30am. That meant that I was able to sleep in and Michael took care of Zeke for an hour while I slept. Ahhh - life is good. Now we are just having a relaxing day... still jammie clad and loving it!

Simple Joys

An unexpected love note text from my hubby
Quiet lunch with Zeke
Ki sleeping on my shoulder
After nap snuggles with Zeke
Kiss requests from Zeke
Little giggles from Ki as he watches Zeke
Watching Michael look at his boys - the little grin of admiration
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First sip of tea that warms my insides
Secret milk and cookies snack
First bite of a craved food
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Phone call from a friend
Drop by visit from an unexpected guest
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Warm flannel sheets
Cozy robe
Early morning snuggles with hubby

Library

Why had I not thought about going to the library until today? I picked up Zeke from preschool, the three of us went to the park for a picnic lunch then we went to the library and got some books. New Curious George books - I needed new material! I can pretty much read every one of our Curious George books without even looking at the book. I guess that is a good thing for those days that I am trying to juggle feeding Ki and getting Zeke down for his nap. However we went to the library and got three new Curious George books and a Bob the Builder DVD. Very exciting stuff here - new Curious George books. Kind of makes me chuckle at what excites me as a mom - never thought I would be so ecstatic over children books.

Heavy Heart

Before you begin know that I have been really contemplating a lot of things and so the flow of this is not going to be in any order... just a lot of thoughts!
Memory maker versus memorabilia keeper...
Today I met with a women that is getting rid of a three car garage packed full of baby, toddler, and young child things. As I walked into the garage I was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of stuff that was there. I begin sifting through the items on the search for a few very specific items. As I am searching I glance over at the woman and I see that there are tears in her eyes as she is lovingly folding an infant item. I ask her what has brought on the sale of all of these things. She looks at me with tears and says, "The conclusion of therapy."
Come to find out she was blessed with one child and after many miscarriages has given up hope. The statement "given up hope" rang so loudly in that garage at that very moment I became almost sick to my stomach. This three car garage was full of not "things" as I first stated but a reminder of lost babies, shattered dreams, and the very real constant reminder that only one child would be hers. Each toy, blanket, coat, baby item was not the purging of things, but the release of what clearly seemed to be hope. Not wanting to minimize her feelings but wanting to acknowledge her emotions I simply said, "I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and that there are seasons for everything."
After spending a few more minutes with her I left her home. As I was driving home I realized a few things. First I realized that so often as moms we place our worth in our children. We are good moms if we have two or more happy, healthy, well behaved duplicates of our spouses and ourselves. Secondly, as women we tie our memories and emotions to things as they are reminders of what was. Thirdly, we see road-blocks in life as the end rather then an opportunity to grow, change, and take a detour.
The mornings events reminded me of a brief conversation that I had with a friend yesterday. I had a friend come over to my house yesterday for a play date. As our toddlers played I gave her a tour of my house. She looked at me in disbelief at the order in my home and jokingly said, "I have not seem the floors in my bedroom in months and the kids rooms - another crazy spot." I simply said, "I thrive in order and therefore often throw things out because they may cause clutter." That statement was no sooner out of my mouth before I followed with, "I am not one to keep things... first hair cut, whatever, didn't make a big deal about it."
I guess this all brings me in a circle again. I am not a "things" collector. I am a mom that loves and treasures every moment I spend with my two children, that are nothing less than God's gracious love.
How as a woman can I be a "things" collector as well as a memory maker? My thought is that memories won't clutter my house, but will decorate my mind and the minds of my children. Is it possible to still be a good mom without collecting every scrap of paper my children doodle on, or save every outfit my babies wear in a moth proof box? I guess I know the answers but am heavy hearted over the intricate details of what makes a mom a good one!

Snow...

This morning I was awaken by rain - kind of a nice surprise as we normally only get rain in the afternoons. Well that rain turned into snow by 10am this morning... what snow? Yes you read that correctly! Snow! I called my dad in San Diego to ask what the weather was like there and he said that it was down to about 79 degrees he was in Rancho Bernardo at the time. I told him that it was snowing - not sticking here in town but snow none the less. Oh goodness are we in for a WINTER.

Just one of those days

Today has been just one of those days where I am in complete awe at how great life is! We woke up this morning and went to first service where Pastor Bill was on fire, he is preaching through 1 Kings - the sermon series is Wise Among Fools. There are so many great little tid-bits throughout the series. After church we came home and the boys and I played in the backyard. Ki hung out in his Johnny Jumper and Zeke and I played baseball. Michael came out and joined us outside for a little while and played with Zeke so I could hang out with Ki. Then we ate our lunch outside, nice weather to enjoy before fall sets in too much! I got both the boys down for their naps and now I am just enjoying - enjoying the slight breeze that is billowing the curtains, enjoying the stillness of the house - enjoying life!

Crepes

Ever since we went to Arizona the first week of August I have been craving crepes. We went to VI and I got crepes with Nutella spread, bananas, strawberries, and whip cream. I have been wanting that ever since then. It was the first time I had ever had crepes. My thought has always been - why get crepes when I can get pancakes that fill me up - the same thing right? Oh goodness, not the same at all. Being that we are Good Eats fans (a cooking show by Alton Brown on Food Network) we saw that he had a crepe recipe. So Michael being sick of listening to me beg to go back to VI to get crepes - he decided to make some for us today! Let me tell you - they are so stinking good! We are sitting here and trying different fillings and toppings - so far we have tried jelly, honey, and caramel with chocolate. I think that we are headed to the store to get more fillings and toppings to try more for tomorrow as I think crepes will be the new Saturday morning breakfast request!
Interested in the recipe? Check out Good Eats on Food Network - it is great!

The Crud

Oh blasted crud! Please go away and never come back!
The joys of preschool germs have bestowed itself on our household. We are all feeling the effects of the crud. Zeke woke up Friday morning with a runny nose and it has only gotten worse and reproduced itself in Ki then Michael and then this morning myself.
Needless to say Tylenol, Vicks vapor rub, and Kleenex have taken a mainstay in our home. In my weary attempts to get Zeke to rest I have employed the help of Pixar Cars. I could almost repeat the entire movie for you - oh joy!
I am eagerly awaiting the departure of this cursed crud so that we can go on enjoying life.
Cough, Sniff, Cough!

Cookie Monster

So this afternoon Zeke, Ki and I got home from running a few errands and I was getting ready to make Zeke lunch but Ki needed some attention (diaper change) so I took Ki upstairs to get him changed. I came down stairs and I couldn't find Zeke any where. I checked in the backyard, the basement and then went back upstairs to check the bedrooms - no luck! I started hollering his name and I heard some laughing coming from my pantry. Let me paint the picture of the size of my pantry... it is probably two feet deep with shelves that are probably about a foot and half wide leaving a very small space between the shelves and the closing bi-fold doors. I open the pantry doors to find my little cookie monster Zeke sitting on the floor with Oreos in his lap and black all around his mouth. He looks up at me very innocently and says, "Me eat cookies." Like, "Hello mom I was starving here and you made me eat them!" Oh goodness! What is a mom to do with this one?

My boys, my life!

Today I woke up in complete awe that of all the parents in the world for my boys, God chose me and Michael! All day I was in the mind set of complete gratitude! I know that there are times that we will fail our boys and times that we will let them down but God knows that the four of us make a good team. Life would not be the same without our boys in our lives.
Zeke has a way of making me laugh even when I want to scream. He has this gentle little spirit to encourage even with his limited vocabulary. When he is not around, yes my house is quiet but it just does not feel right! Today when I picked him up from school his teachers noted how smart he is but also just how friendly he is - it is always neat when others see what you see in your child!
Ki, although really young has a way of capturing my heart. He has started this new thing of pretend coughing and then laughing - where he got that from I am not sure but it makes me laugh every time. Just today Ki became acquainted with the baby in the mirror and it was the funniest thing to watch. One thing that makes me laugh every time - he laughs so hard that he gets hiccups and then his little laughs are between catching his breath and hiccuping - too funny!
Pastor Rays' words have been on my mind all day today, "God is good... All the time. All the time... God is good." Amen! We are a truly blessed family.

Discipline...

So my very cute and strong willed Zeke this morning was getting into something that I have told him a zillion times to leave alone. I swatted his hinney and then asked him, "What am I supposed to do with you?" He very confidently held out his arms and said, "Kiss me!" Then proceeded to point to his forehead, cheek and lips and said, "'Ere, 'Ere, and 'Ere." Suggested the very specific places for me to place the kisses. How can I not laugh and do just as he asked and lay some big mommy smooches on him? Goodness I have my hands full!

Figuring this thing out!

So after many hour I think that I have finally figured out how this "blog" world works. A day of being lazy and playing on the computer has left me wide awake. I am normally fast asleep by this time of night however with Michael gone I am wide awake.
Thankfully this morning I was productive, I swept and mopped my floors and made two loafs of banana bread. A day spent loafing around followed by an evening of laundry to keep up with my little one who is attempting this whole potty training thing. I don't think I have ever done so much laundry in all my life - loads are as little as two couch cushions, a blanket and underwear. Ahhhhh!

Type A to the MAX

Okay, how pathetic am I? I have spent the last like three hours trying to figure out how to make my blog fun and colorful... needless to say at this point - to no avail! Good thing I suppose that I declared today a "lazy day". Since Michael is out of town today and tomorrow I decided that today could be a jammie day, yes you read that correctly, I am still in my jammies from last night! Gross maybe but more just lazy. So basically I sent out a "help me" request to my friend that suggested this darn blog thing in the first place. Hopefully she will be able to help me!

Let's Try This

Okay so a friend of mine suggested that I try to blog rather then stress about being such a slacker in not getting my "family update" emails out! So for the family that is not on Facebook and gets all my glorious updates there is another quick and easy way for me to update y'all.