Hannah's First Sleepover - Alone

Last Sunday, my mom called and asked if one of the girls, it didn't matter which one, could come over to their house and spend the night.  After a little thought, we chose Hannah to be the one to go spend the night.  We picked her first because we knew if Nicole went, she (Hannah) would have a hard time and probably throw some sort of tantrum, but if Hannah went, we could talk Nicole through any sadness she may feel, because she would understand that her turn was next.

So....Hannah go to spend the night at Yaya and Papa's house All - By - Herself!

They played in the pool

They made cookie dough

They ate snow cones (in a cup)

They had a ton of fun!

Just before bedtime, Hannah said to my mom, "Heehee (that's how she says Nicki), Moooo....Heehee, Mooo".  No, she wasn't calling Nicole a cow, she was sad because she wanted Nicki and her little cow she sleeps with sometimes.  To help console her, my mom laid with her until she fell asleep, and slept in the same room with her later that night.  But, Hannah did Great!  She slept all night.  Honestly, I wouldn't have been surprised if we got a phone call around 9 or 10 saying that she wouldn't fall asleep...so, I was really proud of her.

The next morning, she got to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (in bed I believe), make pancakes and then play with Nicole when I brought her over later. 

My dad snapped some great pictures from the morning too. 

Hannah had a lot of fun on her first alone sleep over.  Nicole's time will come soon, maybe even this weekend.  I know my parents enjoyed having some alone time with Hannah too.  It's good for the girls to be away from each other occasionally, but it's so sweet how much they miss each other (Monday morning, Nicole said to me, " Mommy, I miss my Hanny")

  Awe...they love each other!

Rookery Bay

Last August, I took the girls to Rookery Bay's Learning Center.  The Rookery Bay organization takes care of over 100,000 acres of SW Florida coastline and bays.  When I was in middle school, I went to a summer camp at Rookery Bay.  It's one of my favorite summer memories.  I enjoyed the camp and enjoyed all of the really neat things we did.  Well, now they've got this really nice learning center full of exhibits, a small theater, a lookout area, several bridges, walkways and trails.

During the summer they have free kids fridays.  I thought that was what I went to last year.  After tday, I'm pretty sure I didn't!  It was full of children, and this week they were learning about sharks.  Nicole got scared about 1 minute into the talk about sharks, so we abandoned the group of kids and explored on our own. 

They have a nice large tank that even has a little area you can be surrounded on all sides except your back by water.  Here is a picture of Nicole, looking down on her in the area.

We went on a little walk over a bridge to a closed trail.  Aren't these girls adorable!  They held hands all by themselves!  I love it when they are sweet to each on without my prompting.

The girls and grammy all played in the boat play area.  Nicole was driving them to Peyton's house, just 45 seconds away ; )

Hannah enjoyed looking at all of the fish.  I think she especially liked the sea horse.

No, that's not a real sea horse I'm holding silly!  I didn't take a picture of the real ones. 

Last, but not least, what's an adventure to a Florida wildlife sanctuary without meeting some alligators?

No...they aren't real...but Hannah thought they were at first.  Her eyes got huge and then became very afraid! haha.

I really like going here.  But, I would suggest going on a day other than Friday.  Here's why.  Children under 6 get in for free anyway, so who cares if it's free kid friday, at least right now.  There are less people on other days, and there is even a scavanger hunt to do (except on Fridays).  I think we'll go back again in a few weeks, or at the end of the summer.  Do you want to come?

Mirror, Mirror, on the wall....

Whose the cutest of them all?

Memorial Day

Yes, I know I'm late...about 3 weeks late I think.  But...better late than never, right?

The Sunday before Memorial Day, we called up Jeremy's Granny and asked if we could come spend the night.  She lives about an hour away.  Of course, she said yes...and off we went.  We had a nice dinner and evening together. 

Granny got to spend some uninterupted time with the kids.

Nathan got friendly with Granny's dog, Patches.

The girls played piano.

And, they ran around outside like crazy kids because "there were not stickers in her yard" (um...we have stickers in ONE part of our yard....not the whole thing! Whatever:-)

Hopefully, we can make more trip up to see Granny.

A little Nate lovin

Some recent pictures of our fun lovin little son.  

Baseball anyone?

Seriously, do you want to play ball with me?

Hmmm....where did that ball go?

Aha...I found it!

Seriously....I can't say anything.  He's just C.U.T.E.

You can't help but love this little guy.  Just looking at these pictures make me want to go wake him up and give him a big squeeze hug and hear him giggle.  Ahhhh...I love him!

The Age of Innocence

There are several definitions of the word Innocence...I will point out two here:
1. Freedom from sin, moral wrong, or guilt through lack of knowledge of evil
2. lack of worldliness or sophistication; naivete

So often, when people see a baby or even a child they exclaim, "oh, he/she is so innocent".  I often wonder what they mean.  If they mean definition number 1, I think they are dead wrong, if they mean definition number 2....then, I agree.

Let me start with number 1....Innocence: freedom from sin, moral wrong, or guilt through lack of knowledge of evil.  I don't believe anyone is truly innocent by that definition, according to the Bible.  Even a child...even my sweet sweet baby boy, Nathan, harbors sin in his heart.  It is the curse of the fall.  Every man and woman is born seperated from God.  How are we separated?  Because we are unrighteous, we are sinners.  Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought froth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. Gen 8:21....for the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth... Pro. 22:15, Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child...Ecc. 7:20, Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins....

My point is that no one is innocent, not even my sweet babes.  So, no....my little guy or girls are not innocent in the sense of "sinless".

BUT....I hope they are innocent in the sense of the other definition....lack of wordiness or sophistication.  I know I've only been a mother for four year, but the longer I am a mom, the more I think it is OK to keep as much of the world away from your young children as possible.  Recently, we have acquired a TV signal in our house.  Yeah, it's been nice (we got to watch all of the basketball finals which Jeremy enjoyed), but it comes with downfalls too.  We try to carefully guard what our children see and hear.  And, quite honestly, TV is an area that they can potentially see and hear a lot.  There are about 4 TV shows I let them watch, and even those I listen to and turn off if they are talking about something I don't want my kids to ponder upon.  Because, just as the Bible reminds me us that we are all sinners, it also reminds us that what we allow in our minds and lives is extremely important in learning to follow Christ.  Proverbs 4:23-27 Whach over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life.  Put away from you a deceitful mouth and put devious speech far from you.  Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you.  Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established.  Do not turn to the right nor to the left.  Turn your foot from evil.  earlier in chapter 4 vs 14-15, Do not enter the path of the wicked and do not proceed in the way of evil men.  Avoid it, do not pass by it; turn away from it and pass on.

My job, as a mother (and Jeremy's as a father) is to train our children in the way they should go.  This means right now, especially right now, we choose what we allow our children to see, hear, know.  And, as far as I'm concerned, I believe my job...especially with the girls, is to protect them from worldliness.  They will be exposed, much sooner than I hope them to....but they will, I know that.  But, my goal is that when they are, they will have a strong foundation of God's word and that their little minds will be able to discern between right and wrong, good and evil, from a Biblical perspective, not a worldly perspective.  I want to teach them that it's ok to be different from others, different from what our culture says is "cool" or "ok".

Nancy Leigh DeMoss says, " The Truth is, our task is not to rear children who can "fit in" or merely "survive" in this world.  The challenge of every Christian parent is to bring up children who love God with all their hearts, souls, minds, and strength; who have a vibrant, personal relationship with the Lord Jesus; and whose lives  will be bright and shining lights, penetrating the darkness around them.  Christian parents ought to be seeking to raise up not just "good" children, but children who enthusiastically embrace the Truth, children who love righteousness and hate evil, children who will be used by God to change this world."

Even more strikingly she says, "Children will cultivate an appetite for whatever they are fed in their earliest, formative years."  I think of this almost every time I turn on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  It's one of the few they watch, but I have turned an episode or two off, because I didn't like what they were talking about.  It is so important for us to teach our children to be transformed by Christ and not conformed to this world.

Two things have made me think about this recently.  The first is positive.  Nicole received quite a bit of money from grandparents and great-grandparents this year for her birthday....almost $30 total!  After we put a portion of it into her missionary bank, she had $25 left.  I told her we would go to Target and asked what she wanted to buy herself.  She thought a moment and said, "a cookie"  I replied that was fine, we could buy a cookie, but what toy did she want.  She thought again and said, "I just want to buy a cookie.  Do I have enough money for a cookie?"  Many, many four year old would have a running list in their heads of the coolest, newest toys that they want.  I loved that Nicole had no idea what was popular (in part to the limited tv time I think).  I was so thankful that she had not become worldly and materialistic. 

The flip side happened today.  After they finished watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Nicole came out and said, "Mommy, have you ever heard of Hannah Montanna?" I slowly looked at her and said, Yes-have you?  She told me that she saw her on Mickey Mouse (one of the Disney channel commercials).  Honestly....I was saddened by it.  I told her that Hannah Montanna is a TV show for girls a lot older than her, like 12 or 14.  Now, I don't think I have anything against Hannah Montanna, I've never watched one all the way through.  But, I certainly don't want my 4 year old daughter watching her.  She doesn't need to see a "tween" smart talking to her parents or gossiping about friends.  For now, she needs to be encouraged to obey her parents and talking lovingly about others.  Now that she knows about Hannah Montanna, she'll certainly see all of her stuff out there and this will be something we'll have to talk about a lot. 

To be really honest, my kids see enough selfishness and negativity from me all day, they don't need to see it and let it be reinforced by strangers, actors no less.  They see the world, but hopefully they also see me working through my sins, confessing them (sometimes to them) and hopefully growing each day. 

My children are like tiny little tender plants.  I am nurturing and growing them.  Providing a good environment for them to grow strong and tall so that "when their roots have developed and they are strong enough to withstand adversity, they can be transplanted outdoors."

My decisions about our children are not to say a certain show or program or music or book or video or whatever is bad for you or for me, but I don't think it would cause to strengthen my children now Before their roots are firm.  I may not always make the right decisions...and I feel like I err more on the side of trying to conform or not hurt feelings rather than stand up for my children, but I am working on always basing my decisions on what I think is best to train them in the way they should go. I only have a few years with them, and every morning I wake up feeling the burden of one less day to teach them and train them.  I don't want to blow it, because I can't have this time back.

Annual Check ups

This week, all three kids had their well-check visits. 

Nicole 

40 lbs  (82nd percentile)
 42.75 inches (97th percentile)

She had the remainder of her booster shots, so she is now fully vaccinated.  I'm not sure how I feel about that...but she is.  She got "four shots, because she's four"  That's what the nurse told her (glad I don't get 30 shots next year, owey!)  The nurse also told her I would take her out for icecream if she didn't cry (thanks a lot nurse Connie! haha)  We had a really fun appointment with Dr. Brown.  Nicole and I went alone, which was fun.  Nicole jumped up and down, followed instructions Dr. Brown gave her and came out with a big A+.  Yay for Nicole!  We still need to work on her speech, but she is improving.  We'll keep working on phonics and some sounds that she struggles with...but that is sort of normal for this age.  And, yes...we did go out for ice cream after the appointment.  She did not cry.

Hannah

30.1 lbs (90th percentile)
36 inches tall (97th percentile)

Hannah received 3 vaccines, her first MMR, chicken pox and Hep A ( she also did not cry...she just said "ow" with the last one).  She's a bit behind on the schedule, but that's ok....I like it that way.  Hannah also had a very good appointment.  She answer nearly every question with "uh huh" but also participated in Dr. Brown's question (like, touch your toes, stand up straight....).  Hannah also checked out great.  She's a big girl!  Taller and bigger than most girls her age, but we knew that already:-)  She is healthy and happy, and that's what really matters!

Nathan

18lbs 12 ounces (60 percentile)
28.5 inches long (94 percentile)

Nate also did great.  He is very long for his age, and his weight is just a little above average.  Again, no surprise for me.  I was worried a little because he's not fully sitting up on his or crawling yet (I thought the girls were by this point, but she told me not to compare boys and girls).  Anyway, she said that he is right on track physcially.  He's putting weight/pressure on his feet when lifted up.  He's semi sitting (like a tripod), his head is strong and he's scooting around on his belly a bit.  Nathan got his first shot, so...he's way behind, but again... I'm ok with that.  he'll get them eventually. 

Now, the mystery of the constant diaper rash.  Well, I'm not even sure I want to call it a rash.  It's almost never bumpy.  He's always just bright red in the peepee area.  Well, Dr. Brown told me that it's probably something acidic that I eat or drink that is coming out in his urine that is causing the redness.  Instantly I thought of my Dr. Pepper (or two) that I drink every single day since having 3 children.  So, no more.  I went through terrible day of headache and withdraw (like, I couldn't move my head or eyes...it was horrible.  I feel bad for anyone who's been addicted to drugs and had to go off, sheesh!).  Anyway, he's pretty much free and clear.  I finally chocked up his redness to just being a boy, and boys are a little grosser than girls, you know?  Powder wouldn't work, creams wouldn't work, different brands of cloth and disposable diapers weren't working.  Guess what worked.  Giving up my beloved Dr. Pepper.  Now, it just so happens that I had already decided last weekend that Monday I would stop drinking soda.  So, now when I really want it or think I need it,  I can't drink it, because I know it'll cause problems for Nathan.  Thank you Lord for giving me a REAL reason not to drink my soda.  I'll stay away now. 

We are very grateful that we have three very healthy children.  As you can see, they are all very tall (thank you Jeremy....or my Papa Sam is also very tall, maybe they take after him ; )

Chicken-Broccoli Couscous

I found this recipe a few months ago in Everyday with Rachael Ray magazine.  I ripped it out of the magazine because it had broccoli and chicken in it.  I finally tried it about 2 months ago, and it has become a family favorite.  It is so fast to make, very yummy and can be modified I'm sure to include whatever veggies your family likes (our veggie of choice is broccoli).  I like this recipe because it takes just a few minutes to make if you have already done your prep work. 

Here is a link to the full recipe.

First you cook up your salted and peppered chicken breasts.

When that is finished, you saute your chopped onions and boil your chicken stock in a different pot for the couscous.

After 5 minutes, add your chopped broccoli and a couple of cups of chicken stock to the onions. 

Also, pour the couscous into the boiling chicken stock, cover and set aside.

Let the broccoli cook for 5 minutes, then add your chicken (which you should have shredded), couscous, raisins, parsley and toasted almonds. You can either toast your almonds in the oven or over the stove top.  I just sprayed a little olive oil and toasted my almonds on the stove over medium heat.  I LOVE toasted almonds....yummy.

I add a little more than half of my cooked couscous, but I could add all of it if I cooked more chicken and broccoli.  Also, fresh parsley is best, but this is what my fresh parsley looked like. 

I haven't cooked a real dinner in a week (family was in town and I didn't get a chance to cook much), so I haven't used my fresh herbs in a while.  I guess a few days of neglect create a great opportunity for bugs and caterpillars :-(

Anyway, I know the ingredients are a little odd in this dish, especially the raisins...but they are very good.  This has become a household favorite.  Quick, easy, yummy, and healthy.  I like that!