Blog-o-licious

Wahoo! I love Spring. I hope this is the real thing and not a teaser, because I actually sweated today, and did not wear a coat and now I can't wait for Summer! My children wore sandals, and played outside which lead to lovely bedtime rituals. They crashed. Which, for Ben, is virtually unheard of.

Some milestones took place recently. First of all Todd turned 40!! More on that later. Secondly, Maddie had her first haircut! Many thanks to Miss Tracie. Maddie is really stealing my heart lately, I just wish you all could give her a sqeeze too. After the haircuts, we were getting in the car, and Ben decided to pull a trick on Maddie- I swear this was not a Mom set-up! Truly a blog-worthy moment, don't you think. Following this, we went on to enjoy todays incredible spring-like weather, and played outside

Here are some shots of our time outside:

Come on February

Is it me, or is the shortest month of the year seemingly dragging on forever? I am so ready for spring- as are most people; hey at least I live in the south- we are looking at 70 degree weather by the end of the week. So I should just stop my whining right now. We did get a little dusting of

snow,and we had a little fun. It is President's day weekend- a very underrated holiday I must say. We took a jaunt up to Pigeon Forge this weekend, and the crowd was quite sparse. We toured the "upside down house" better known as Wonderworks, Amusement Park for the Mind. More on that later.

So, Family Valentine's Day was fun and as I try to begin some family traditions , I sure hope this one sticks. We had a nice dinner with a wimpy attempt at decorating! But Ben really liked the flower petals- he called them mushrooms at first. Maddie really enjoyed her chef-boy-ardee ravioli- you would not believe how she can put them away!

Lastly, I just wanted to leave family and friends with snapshots of my beautiful blessings. It has been a difficult week, as it started with terrible news of a great loss. A family we know and love lost their 16 mo. old daughter on Monday due to a tragic fall. My heart goes to the Myers family. Lauren's little life was a blessing to so many. Her funeral and eulogy led me to appreciate my friends and family all the more. So, to my loving family and friends far and near- I love you. I am so thankful for the blessings of my children, my brother, sisters and brothers in law, aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins, neices and nephews, friends, my Mother and my Father, Mothers and Fathers in Law, and of course my husband. I am also thankful for Jesus Christ who saved my life. Life is Good.

Geez I am a Lazy Blogger!

Ok, both children are asleep, we have no company, and the boxes are pretty much all unpacked. Unfortunately my trusty blog readers are either out of town or have given up on me- Margaret, I hope you are still there! Anyway, I wanted to post some photos, and update friends, family and the random voyeur (where is Tucker- how do you spell that??) My friends son recently won the Knox county spelling bee- way to go Tucker...anyway, I digress.

Winter can be such an isolating season. We parents with kids are relegated to germy indoor playgrounds or the trusty- glad to have- home. We are new to our neighborhood and are looking forward to warmer months so we can get out and meet some buddies. Here is a shot of our new hood. We have this HUGE hill made up of two empty lots across the street from us- it is massive- the only thing missing is lots of snow. I just noticed, too, that Dad is all bundled up, but Ben is strangely coat free. hmmm. please, noone call dhs.

A beautiful thing going on now, is that I am watching Maddie grow up before my eyes, so I thought I would share some great shots of her. She loves to eat, and that is great. She is trying out her independence. She is crawling and exploring everywhere. Thanks to big brother Ben, she is learning to fend for herself too.

Another great aspect of raising children is watching them develop friendships. My girlfriend and I "trade" playdates every Monday, this past Monday was our turn to host Ben's buddy- what fun they had. They washed dishes-during which they both got soaked. Then they opened a "store" complete with a cash register- and the contents of my pantry.

Otherwise we have been busy and enjoying kids and family. Parenting is the hardest yet most loved job I have ever had. Every day is a gift.

Also a note, today is my Grandfather's 91st birthday. He is an amazing man. This is my shout out to him I suppose. He has never used a computer that I know of, but I think he would enjoy this blog. So, Grandaddy, here's to you, your life and all that you mean to your family.

A New Year- Old School Fun

Ok, I know I have been very behind on the ole blogging scene, but I have had a few things on my plate. The move has taken place and we are in our new house. Ben and Maddie have been adjusting nicely, and I am happy to say we have finally gotten a little sleep, albeit not a full night since the move, but improved- let's just say! Well, sleep deprivation leads to lack of motivation for blogging, so I am happy to say welcome back all you readers! It's all good.

I can't believe it is already Mid-January! Life comes at you fast. The advent of preschool is a wonderful thing- and I must say, it is a big part of my sanity. But, imagine having the wonderful two plus weeks of no preschool, and then after going back just one week, bam! they close preschool again for a teacher work day. Now, as a former teacher, I fully appreciate the need for teacher in-svc. etc. But- let's just say absence does make the heart grow fonder. Well, in response to much time with my toddler, I decided to head out into a well planned and active day as I tried to keep my 3 yr. old busy. Maddie hung in there as well and helped out along the way. Did I mention we have tried dropping the nap for Ben??? Nothing like kicking a mom when she is sleep deprived! ...ok, as I always say...I did sign up for this. chuckle.

Many thanks to Dee-Dee who gave us the foam letters in a crafty gift. With a formula fed baby, I find myself with a plethera of formula cans, so we decided to decorate one and make a drum, or a letter can - Macaroni was dyed with food coloring and pasted on top with that cool Elmers clear glue. Sweet. Then Ben helped clean up while Maddie looked on- and learned.

Well of course, all that crafting leads to hunger, by making old faithful, juice pop-cicles- old school. We did add a strawberry to the orange juice. Does anyone remember School House Rock? All in all it was a great day, but I do miss nap time. What a glorious thing, napping. This time is fun- I'll admit exhausting. Teacher appreciation week is coming up, so I intend to participate fully.

Ho Ho Ho

Ok, Santa had a very busy schedule this year, so we decided to get on his dockett early and take advantage of an timely visit- it was just easier for Santa, you know. What with travelling all over the globe, one early stop in Knoxville was just what worked for him. So, for those we love near and far, I thought I would post the happy faces of my kids, your grandkids, and neices and nephews- thanks for paying the extra postage this year. All your gifts were so great and generous.

Sticking Traditions

As a fairly new mom, this whole Christmas thing, I must say, is really fun. One tiny pressure that I feel though is creating those warm and fuzzy memories my children will always remember. Hopefully through scrapbooks and blogs, it can at least appear as though. But alas, I have those who paved the trail to help; like, Grandparents, Friends and Aunts and Uncles. Here are some great shots of two traditions others helped me start. First, my friend Heidee who grew up in Austria handed down a favorite tradition from her family, the advent calendar, complete with Austrian chocolates. Although Maddie missed out this year, Ben absolutely loved it. Here he is with his calendar. He is a bit baffled why we can't have chocolate every morning now.

Another great treat Ben had starting on the 13th was thanks to my Mom. It was the 12 days of Christmas "Dotty Style". Ben got into the swing of things and would come to our bed every morning (yes, at 6ish) and would jump up and down for his chocolate and present. spoiled? no way!

Another tradition I would like to see stick is hiding my children under Uncle Wade and Aunt Donna's Christmas Tree. These folks did the Griswald's proud this year and came up with the most monstrous tree I have witnessed west of the Biltmore Estate. Thankfully Ben and Maddie were able to show off the many benefits of such a big tree. Now, every day is arbor day at the Wade and Donna's.

Saying Goodbye to our Basement!

Seeing that our days with a basement are dwindling, I decided doing an art project with Ben would be a great way to blow it out and use our basement. I am sure I will miss having a basement so I will just have to take memories like this with me.

I got this idea from one of my many "busy books" which offers ideas for fun times for toddlers. We had a plethera of boxes due to all my online Christmas shopping, so we made a "City" and I finally mixed the tempara paint that had been sitting in my garage for months. (Ben kept wondering where his paint was. Anyway, we just layed out newspaper, lined up the boxes and started painting. Ben had a ball, and Dad joined in, as it was late Friday afternoon.

Maddie had fun watching and playing some music and clapping- yes, she can clap now!!!

I thought an especially blog-worthy photo was when Todd helped Ben use some tools- Ben's favorite pastime!

Christmas Cookies

Christmas is just so much more fun with children! Sounds like a very obvious statement- but for those who have known me a long time know how heartfelt that statement is. We are in the midst of Christmas for a 3 yr. old and a 8 month old, so I am trying to instill some fun traditions that might stick. Ben has found that making cookies is pretty fun. Here I did the easiest route and used store-bought cookies, and made a simple icing. They turned out cute, and for really cheap cookies, they were quite good.
Maddie will be joining us soon and I am looking forward to many more cookies in the future!

The Christmas Pumpkin Patch

I have recently had so many blog-worthy moments in my parenting experience, that I just don't know how I can record them all. As I ponder about the purpose of this blog, I really see it as a "living scrapbook" for my children. One day, we will all be able to look back on these ramblings and see that the childhood experience was fun and full. Some noteworthy sayings Ben has come up with lately are...

"Bless my heart!"

"Where is me???"- while hiding under his infamous white blanket

"I love Tananas" (bananas)

"I am making a pumpkin patch!"

which brings me to my first blog-worthy photo of the week!

We had recently bought a huge box of grapfruits to support our H.S. band fundraiser. Anyway, Ben saw a great opportunity to decorate our house- after all that big box of "pumpkins" was just sitting there! So, he took each grapefruit aka pumpkin and placed each one on a stair- while saying "I am making a pumpkin' patch!"

The Felted Purse! Yea- My First Noni Bag

I have lusted after beautifully felted Noni bags for long enough, so I decided to make one. It wasn't so hard, knitting can just be time consuming when you can't do anything (and I do mean ANYTHING) uninterrupted. It was originally intended as a gift, but, I was so pleased with the outcome, I decided to keep it for myself. Bah Humbug.

Here is pre-felted

Here is post - felted:

Holiday Fun

Ok, I knew Christmas would be MUCH more fun with children, but I guess I underestimated just how fun it is. Ben is now 3 and he is really starting to "get" Christmas. Thanks to a dear friend of mine, Hiedee, we are able to experience an Advent calendar just like the one she had as a child in Austria, where she grew up. It is priceless to see how excited Ben is every morning (at about 6 am mind you!) about getting a little chocolate behind the paper door of the calendar. It is really priceless. Today, I took some shots of a great outing of making gingerbread houses with fellow moms. Many thanks to Susan for hosting this really fun event! I have a feeling the "jonesing" for bigger and better houses will continue next year as well!

The Big Move

Well, here it is! Our soon to be new house. It is located just about 4 miles from our current house, and it offers a few more things we are looking for now that we have a family. With a community pool, tennis courts and basketball courts, Ben is sure to have a fabulous summer. Did I mention it comes with a "boom boom" or what Ben calls a trampoline. (don't tell our insurance agent) Anyway, I think it is going to offer some changes we have been needing in a house. All the bedrooms will be on one floor, and here is the most exciting feature- the master bath was recently remodeled for a show on HGTV! We plan to close on Dec. 29th so we aren't counting on anything until the dotted line is signed by ALL! but, we are sure the new year will be exciting!

Ben's 3rd Birthday Bash, take two!

Ok, so having a birthday that is overshadowed by a major holiday can have it's drawbacks, but so far, Ben has not felt the brunt of that. He has just celebrated "Fish Party" number two, thanks to the fact that we were traveling for the Thanksgiving holiday on his actual birthday, so his little buddies got to celebrate first, and then the Grandparents got in on the gig. Here are some shots from our trip to Tampa. It was a long drive, but the weather was great and we enjoyed seeng the parents/grandparents. Thanksgiving feast was awesome, as was the company, and nothing beats Grandma Seavers' oatmeal cookies.


We also had a great time at Sea World - Ben loved the dolphins, and Shamu. He also liked the penguins and the sharks. He and Maddie had a great time, and honestly, I enjoyed watching Ben's face during the shows at Sea World more than anything else! All in all, it was a great time- I would highly reccomend Sea World- It was actually my first visit, and it was great!