Strep Strikes

My poor, pitiful babies have been stricken with strep. Just thought I'd share this sweet little shot of the two of them resting in Mommy & Daddy's bed watching a show.

Happy Birthday Connor!

We celebrated Connor's 4 year old birthday today! For months Connor has been reminding us that he wants a "Monster Truck" birthday party so we made plans! Due to the fact his birthday is in the unbearable heat of June we decided to make it a Monster Truck swimming party. Our neighbor so graciously let us borrow her pool for the occasion. The kids hadn't even been in the pool 30 minutes when the showers started. We hung out under the awning for awhile but ultimately we decided to let them swim in the rain, complete with the must have party hats. He had a blast. His best friends came to celebrate with him, it was a small, but very enjoyable party, despite the rain.

So Happy Birthday to my favorite 4 year old in the whole world! Here are four of my favorite things about Connor:

1. He looks just like his Daddy but with lighter hair.

2. He gets a joke and has a great sense of humor.

3. He is smart as a whip and loves to learn.

4. He loves his friends and family and never meets a stranger.

Instead of the traditional birthday cake and ice cream we opted for monster trucks playing in the mud cups. Brownies on the bottom with pudding on top and a dallop of chocolate ice cream!

I added Connor's favorite song to my playlist for this post. He calls it the "Angel song", we always dance together when we hear this song. I thought it was appropriate because we swam in rain and of course I had to kiss my birthday boy in the rain!

What's New with You?

I haven't blogged in a while so I thought I'd share what we've been up to lately.

Caroline got a big girl haircut today. She was so good sitting in that chair so still. She even told me on the way over that she was going to be so still. This wasn't her first haircut but it's been a while since she's had one. She looks so adorable. I've spent some one on one time with her the past few days and I have loved every minute of it. I'm just falling more and more in love with her. I'm getting to see different aspects of her personality come out and I am just so in love with my helpful, sensitive, amazing and very tan daughter!

Cooper turned ten months old earlier this month. He is now pulling up on everything and disrupting his siblings lives'. He finally cut one of his top teeth and is now working on the other one. He is still nursing and I fear he will be the hardest to wean.

We celebrated my mother-in-law's birthday last week. We enjoyed a nice dinner and she spent the evening with her grandkids. Caroline even convinced her to read them some books.

It looks as if there is a possibility that I'll be going back to work next year. I am thrilled, nervous, and sad all at the same time. I love being at home with my children but I have sorely missed the classroom as well. I'll be going in on July 1st to discuss my future with my former principal. Please keep me in your prayers.

A Beach Trip to Remember

My lovely brother-in-law generously let us tag along on a beach trip to Sanibel for Memorial Day weekend. We actually went down first and he met us down there later. Boy did we have fun!

Connor is a bonafied conchologist (real word). We checked out a book from the library before we left entitled Beachcombing Exploring the Seashore. All week long he said I want to be a "beachcomber." There was a picture in the book describing a beachcomber - "To be a beachcomber, all you need is sunblock, a hat to shade your head, sunglasses to protect your eyes, and a bucket to carry shells and other treasures you find."

He collected gobs and gobs of shells. He knows the name of every shell and so much more than I ever did. I even learned a lot about shells and other treasures this year. I learned how whelk shells are created. Have you ever seen those snake skin looking chains on the beach? Well if you burst one open you'll find tons of little baby whelk shells. It is the neatest thing.

He has quite the collection now. Scallops, shark's eye, worm shells, cockleshells, slipper shells, cat's paw, pen's, tulips, mussels, olive shells, banded tulips, conch's, mottled cockleshells, and so on and so on and so on.

Although nothing compares to the beach Connor did enjoy some pool time too. Towards the end of our stay we played more at the pool and he even got his nerve up to go under the water. I think once he saw his brave, little sister do it so he wasn't as scared.

Connor also loved being buried in the sand.

Speaking of sand we saw some really neat sandcastles. There was a couple who came out each morning and made huge sandcastles. It look hours but they were beautiful!

My second born LOVED the pool! She tolerated the beach for the rest of us but she adored the pool. She was so brave. She even let Uncle Brant throw her up in the air and she went under water with eyes wide open. (I can't believe I got as many pictures of her as I did where she is looking at the camera and smiling, that never happens!)

In order to get her in the ocean we had to tell her that she could pretend to be Dora the Mermaid and help clean up the beach. For some reason it worked! She sang and sang and sang, "Clean up Clean up everybody clean up!"

This was Cooper's first extended beach trip. He is old enough now to get around and eat some sand. Boy did he! He must have pooped a good 4 to 5 times a day due to all that sand. We'd find all kinds of treasures in his mouth.

We took a little trip to the Sanibel Community Park one afternoon and Cooper loved the swings. After the park we stopped off at Jerry's and picked up Connor some soy ice cream so he would have something to enjoy while we ate a treat at the DQ. Some old ladies sat next to us and giggled because Connor had a spoon and a quart full of chocolate soy ice cream all to himself.

Happy Summer time to all!!

Mommy Guilt

Mommy guilt . . . . a nasty little, two word phrase that is keeping me up tonight, along with my teething 9 month old who has decided that sleep goes against his better judgement.

Why should I or any of my dear Mommy friends (who are great mothers) be riddled with Mommy guilt? How come 4 years ago these "guilty" thoughts never even occurred to me and today they consume my every moment? You know what I mean - anything from I can't get my kids to drink water - they down way more juice than my pediatrician recommends (6 ounces in one day are you kidding me?) Should I be a stay-at-home mom or go back to work? Should I homeschool or can public education meet the needs of my children? Do I read to my kids enough? Did I spend enough one on one time with Cooper with the other two clamouring for my attention? How many servings of vegetables did my kids eat today? Is TV rotting their brain out? Did I pick up all the Little People in Caroline's room and put them back in her dollhouse just so? I know if you are normal, and you are a mommy (I guess that's a given since we are talking about "Mommy" guilt but I wanted to clarify just in case), than most likely, you have some form of Mommy guilt. As our children get older I'm sure the scenarios change but the guilt is still the same. Ladies, why do we do this to ourselves?

I've been battling lately with the whole going back to work issue. In one way I miss the classroom and I know God gave me the gift of teaching. On the other hand, it hurts to think of my children spending more time with their teacher than their mother. Even though for our family school will probably be a better option. It hurts to make a decision either way. For some reason I want to make plans for the next 15 years when all I really need to do is take it one step at a time. I'm starting to realize that some of these issues work themselves out and I wasted a lot of energy fretting over things that never happen. As for the big picture, God is going to do what He wants to anyways, I just need to be open to it (has He not already proven that to me over and over again, why didn't I get it the first time?) Didn't He warn me in Jeremiah 29, "For I know the plans I have for you." says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not disaster, to give you a future and a hope." I need to enjoy the ride and treasure the moments I have with my kids whether I am a working-mom or a stay-at-home mom. And so what if the Little People stay up late partying in Caroline's room at least she'll know a good time when she sees it. Honestly, how could I be riddled with Mommy guilt when God has given me these three, precious children who have turned out alright so far, right . . . . . right . . . . . .????

So I declare no more guilt! Who cares if my kids have 6 ounces or 60 ounces of juice, well 60 might be a little much. I'll still be a good mother whether I am working or staying at home. My kids will still turn out alright whether they are homeschooled or attend public school. So what if they eat Chick-Fil-A french fries as a serving of vegetables, potatoes are vegetables, right? As long as we place God first in our family and allow Him to guide us in our decision making and guilt-free thinking I think we'll be just fine!

Zucchini Cupcakes

We've had an abundance of zucchini from our garden so I made some zucchini cupcakes a few weekends ago for our neighborhood BBQ and they turned out pretty yummy if I do say so myself (plus they've got veggies mixed in - you can't beat that!) What's better than sneaking a few veggies in a cupcake and feeding it to your kids? I thought I'd share the recipe.


Ingredients for the cupcake part:

• 3 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups of sugar
• 1/2 cup of canola oil
• 1/2 cup of orange juice
• 1 teaspoon of almond extract
• 2 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1 1/2 cups of shredded zucchini

Ingredients for the frosting:

• 1 cup of dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1/4 of milk
• about 2 cups of powdered sugar

Directions for the cake part:

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil, orange juice and almond extract. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl; gradually add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture and mix well. Stir in the shredded zucchini.

Caroline loved licking the batter off the beaters! She even had shreds of zucchini hanging from her nose it was gross but cute!

Then fill your muffin tins (I used the paper liners). Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Let them cool.

Directions for the frosting:

Combine brown sugar, butter and milk in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in vanilla. Cool to lukewarm. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until frosting reaches spreading consistency. Frost cupcakes.