What am I going to find tomorrow when I get him from his nap?!

This kid is out of control! He's so quiet and laid-back that everyone thinks he's an innocent little angel. Well, I did too until this (and yesterday's nap!)....

(sorry about the weird angle, but I was trying to be sure he'd be decent)

Please tell me that his diaper fell off and not that he took it off!

Caleb, your Mommy loves you very much, but she will use duct tape!

Good News/Bad News

The Good News:

I had just emptied out my bag

The Bad News:

I left a lipstick in there

The Good News:

It was almost gone (one of those that you hang on to trying to scrape enough out since they discontinued the color and you're forever bitter about it!)

The Bad News:

It didn't have a lid (since the same someone who found it during n

aptime pulled it out of my bag at our last trip to Walmart and procee

ded to fling the lid under a shelf where Mommy had no hope of retrieving it!!!)

We camp in style!

Our vacation this year was to a really nice cottage in the Mountains of WV (Isn't all of WV mountains? I don't know. That's all I saw anyway! Whatever.) It was called Faith Mountain and it's a retreat place for Pastors and Missionaries (with discounted rates - awesome!!)

It was so beautiful and peaceful (oh wait...it wasn't necessarily peaceful since we had a 3 and 1 yr old boys with us, but I can see where for anyone else it would be extremely peaceful!) 

I loathe putting pictures in posts. I'm either incapable of doing it the right way or it's a terrible system and I prefer to think the latter is true! So this is just a smattering of things that we did and saw. You won't be seeing pictures of the wildlife that visited our cottage (wild turkeys, deer, rabbits and the random bald man - oh never mind. That was just my dad!) because I'm too frustrated with putting pictures and they didn't make the cut.

This is the Cedar House where we stayed. It was totally the best way to camp. By day we had a campfire outside and a pond to fish in, trails to walk on and a beautiful view and by night we had an amazingly beautiful house to stay in complete with a full kitchen (even a dishwasher if that gives you an idea to how nice it was!) 4 large bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (one with a whirlpool tub!), wood floors - beautiful!! There is seriously no other way to camp in my mind anyway!

This is the earliest stinkin' campfire I've ever seen. This was probably about 6:30pm, but it was fun and delicious (s'mores!!) and the boys were bathed and in bed by 8pm. Doesn't get better than that, sports fans!

Caleb and Pop-pop at the campfire. You'll notice Pop-pop passed him off to me after this picture and when you see the next one you'll know why. Chicken!
Caleb enjoying his first S'more! He was such a sticky, chocolatey mess! And super cute!!

My parents came down the day after us. Dad stayed for 3 nights and Mom stayed the rest of the week with us. It was so fun to have Grammy and Pop-pop with us! We went exploring around the area and discovered there's really nothing to do! 45 minutes away we found Sutton Dam which was super cool. I don't remember ever being to a dam before, but some people are telling me I was at one in high school. I was in my own little silly world doing silly teen things then.  'Nuff said. Anyway, it was impressive and a really fun trip.

This is one of the views from the top of the dam. So pretty! Sammy spotted the playground down there on the left and asked to play for a bit so we drove down there. It's a beautiful park with pavilions for picnics, fishing, etc.

There was a spot for swimming so another day Grammy, Daddy, the boys and I went back. This time we swam with the boys (when I saw "we" I mean "I" because Grammy and Daddy were chicken!) Then we played at the playground and ate a picnic lunch before heading back to the house for naps. It was a great day!

The boys watching a movie. There was no tv, no internet, no phone, not even cell service at the cottage so we came up with things to do!

And here's one of the things Sammy came up with! =)

Daddy and Sammy fishing together. It was the first time for all of us and even though we didn't catch anything it was really fun (and nice to leave Caleb at the house with Grammy since we literally climbed down the mountain and back up again to get to the pond). I don't recommend it with a 1 yr old in your arms! In fact, I just plain old don't recommend it at all!

This was a very cool old, run-down barn we drove by many times. On our way home we finally stopped and took this picture. I think it would make the best postcard or a really cool puzzle. Or maybe I'll just do the boring thing and blow it up to hang on the wall. I don't know what it is, but I just love this old barn!

Caleb being silly and sweet on the ride home. We made it all the way with no traffic at all until we got to the smallest stickin' state (sorry, I can't bring myself to even utter the word - it starts with a "D") and mercy did we ever hit traffic there! We were stuck on 95 for what seemed like an eternity!  

All in all we had a great time and though I don't think we'll ever go back while the kids are young (I'm the kind that enjoys a quiet relaxing vacation every now and then, but really loves a place with stuff to do and see!) I could totally see us going back sometime when it's just the two of us.

Simon, a.k.a. Samuel Says...

After being stung by the bee yesterday I asked him if it was a small or big bee and he said "It was really, really big and it was like a circle (I assume that means round although I've never seen a round bee myself!) and it had crumbs on it" (We figure he meant fuzzy! =))

Please pray with me...

I just linked to a blog of a beautiful family who is in need of lots of prayer. They are pregnant with their fourth child and the baby's heart is failing. Please join me and prayer for this family. You can see their story here. 

Bzzzzzz

Unfortunately, the bee that Sammy encountered today wasn't as friendly as this little guy! He was playing on his water slide and the little buzzer (heehee) was lying in wait in the grass and stung him on the side. The crying didn't last long at all and it's only swollen up a bit around it. We'll watch him very closely though since I'm allergic and this is his first sting so we're not sure if he is as well. They say it isn't a genetic allergy, but who knows! My being allergic has made us vigilant (ok, somewhat psycho) about bee stings and the like.

This'll make you smile!

DISCLAIMER: Please forgive the lack of clothes!=

Relax..I'm back!

I must apologize to everyone (ok, just my impatient sister!) who have asked me to update my blog. We've had some issues with uploading pictures and what with my boys being so adorable I didn't think these posts were worthy without them.

And just to confuse everyone (ok, again, just my impatient sister!) I've changed the dates so the world will never know that my blogging is quite delayed. Tricky! Scroll down to see the good stuff!

We picked blueberries till we were blue in the face...

...not really. We actually picked less than $3 worth since we saw that the already boxed up ones were only $1.50/lb and the pick-your-own were $1.80. Seems so backwards! If it weren't for the boys we would have just bought the boxed ones and called it a day, but we had a good time picking.

We rode on the wagon out to the fields. Caleb was really sweet (what else is new?!) and waited patiently for a taste. Grandmom showed him how to pick them himself and before we knew it he was picking and eating almost as fast as his brother! By the end he was grabbing them off the bushes as we pushed his stroller along the aisles!

Sammy was really funny. I noticed he was eating a lot so I asked him how many he had in his basket. He looked in and then looked back up at me and said "oops!" His basket was empty after about 15 minutes of picking! It's so true that if they were smart they'd weigh the little ones before and after to make more money!

YUM!!

He and I have very different ideas of what saving for winter means!! =)

picking...

...eating...

...grinning because his basket is nearly empty!

Walking back to the wagon (to buy the pre-boxed blueberries!!)

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

Fruity Fun

About half what we ended up with

This wasn't posed or anything! ;)

Look at that sweet boy!

Today we went to pick strawberries and cherries with Grandmom, Aunt Sarah and "my cousin baby Josie" (as Sammy calls her). You'll notice that there are no pictures of picking strawberries. That could be because Caleb was a crab and Josie wasn't thrilled with the carrier so Grandmom put the two of them in the corner which left Sarah, Sammy and I to pick strawberries. Well, actually it mostly left Sarah since Sammy was running up and down the aisles and I had to stop quite frequently to make sure he wasn't getting too far. Sorry, Sar! It was pretty hot and we didn't get a ton of strawberries, but the fun was to come!

Next we went around to the other side of the farm and picked cherries. I love to pick cherries! It's so fun! We picked from just one tree and ended up with TONS of cherries. We parked the two strollers under the tree in the shade and had a blast picking bunches and bunches of beautiful, delicious cherries. Someone (who will remain unnamed) even climbed the tree to pick. The kids were great and we came home with more cherries than I knew what to do with!

Silly

Sammy and I were doing laundry this morning (which in itself is awesome. He loves doing it so much that I get tons of loads done because he's constantly asking to go put more in!) and he said to me "Mommy, we don't get in the dryer. That wouldn't be very good...because I'll get trapped and someone will cook me!" Huh! How's he know he'll get cooked if he climbs in there? I'm not gonna fight it though! Maybe he'll never try it...wait, he's a boy! Regardless of what he knows about dangerous things he'll still try them won't he?! Oh well! I tried it when I was a kid and didn't "get cooked"!

Ponderings... **EDITED TO ADD MORE "WISDOM"**

1. As soon as you feel you have your house in order and clean - turn around...surely there's another mess happening already somewhere!
2. The calmer Mommy stays the calmer the child stays - the same is true with how upset and frustrated Mommy gets!
3. I take the small things in life - especially with my kids - for granted no fewer than 3,469 times each day! (To my shame!!)
4. The longer you wait for something the harder it gets to wait patiently (ok, so this one is not new to mankind, but waiting for an architect's plans is getting unbearable!)
5. A baby learns very early to whine and cry so his older brother will get yelled at!
6. The more i want to loose weight the more depressed it makes me and the more I eat! (absurd I say!!)
7. Regardless of the number of times you go to the grocery store there will always be days when you can't find anything to make for dinner!
8. Hammer pants are one thing that I pray daily will never come back into style! (that was random!)
9. When you're not looking toys breed!

**EDIT** (PLEASE DISREGARD IF YOU ARE PREGNANT (I KNOW WHAT THE "PREGGIE QUEASIES" CAN DO TO A GIRL!), JUST PLAIN HAVE A WEAK STOMACH OR HAVE NO CHILDREN (OR YOU MAY DECIDE TO NEVER HAVE ANY!!)
10. When your child is sick try to stay far, far away and do yourself and other children a favor and keep them far away too or they will have a much closer encounter with said sick child than anyone ever wants to experience (ie vomit in their mouth!!) and you may loose your lunch in the process!! Not to mention you now have multiple children to console, bathe and wash their mouths out with soap (just kidding! i remember what that was like and vow never to subject my kids to that!!)
11. When vomit is present in your house, no amount of scrubbing, bathing, laundry, etc will totally remove the smell. I swear it's not that it's still in my house, but in either my nose or brain and I can't escape it! I now have the cleanest floors on the block since they have been scrubbed more times in the last 24 hours than in the past month. Although maybe that's just saying something about my housework or lack thereof! =)
12. Life is full of essential decisions. One of them being, when you have sick children you need to take a moral stand on how to dress their beds (and yours too if they're the sharing type and allow you the joy of vomit in your sheets as well!) The question is whether to put a mattress pad on in hopes of sparing your mattress or leave it off in hopes of having less laundry which in some cases will be pointless since after a night full of puke you'll have multiple loads to do anyway!!

Oh, and lest I appear to be a totally heartless friend I must offer the following....
13. Take a good grammar class so as not to have run-on sentences like me in #'s 10 and 12!!

Tag! You're it!

I've been tagged. Your turn!

What was I doing ten years ago:
I was in the second month of classes in my first year of Bible School at the Word of Life Bible Institute in Argentina and I had just met my husband!

Five things on my "to do" list:
Laundry
Plant veggies
Straighten the house from kid clutter!
Cut and color my hair
Enjoy my iced coffee that my wonderful hubby brought me!

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Finally put a 2nd floor on our house with all new furniture (no more hand-me-downs!!!!!!!!)
Save for college for the kiddos
Go on a cruise or something with my husband because he's amazing and deserves it!!
Go to Italy
Give to our church and missions

Three of my bad habits:
Procrastination
Lack of Exercise
Not being consistent 100% of the time in discipline

Five places I have lived:
Audubon, NJ
Merchantville, NJ
Runnemede, NJ
Mt Ephraim, NJ
San Miguel del Monte, Argentina

Five jobs I have held:
JC Penney (Men's Dpt)
American Express Financial Advisors
Perry Videx (bilingual secty/translator)
Stay at Home Mom (the best in the world!!!!!)
(I realize there are only 4 here, but I haven't had any others)

Happy Birthday, baby boy!!!

Our little Caleb had his first birthday yesterday! I can't believe it's been a year since this handsome, sweet, gentle little boy came into our lives! Caleb is the most laid back baby I've ever seen! He loves to cuddle, suck his thumb and play with his hair (or that of whomever is holding him...unless their name is Pop-pop in which case there's none to play with!), he is super serious and quiet around strangers, but lights up around those he knows, he calls everyone dada, he is FINALLY crawling and pulling himself up (so we're in search of a different nickname since "the lump" is now inadequate), he loves to see and play with his brother, he seems to live for bedtime when he can entertain everyone by standing in his crib and letting go so he falls down. He's an absolute joy! We are overwhelmingly thankful for how God protected him when I was burned! To give birth to him and find that he was absolutely perfect and unharmed by such a terrible situation and now to see him a year later we are completely in awe of God's protection and grace!
We love you so much, sweet Caleb baby!! Happy 1st birthday!!
*I planned on adding pictures to make this post all sappy as is my duty as a mom, but my SD card is being difficult so I'll try tomorrow after sleep restores my 3 braincells!

I think I passed on the Accident Prone Gene!

Growing up I was always hurting myself (wait, now that I think about it, as an adult I haven't done much better)! I've split my head open two times, torn muscles in my thigh and pulled muscles away from my ribs (super painful!) I've destroyed the tissue around the knuckles on my hand, broken my toe from dropping a very large jar of peanut butter on it, broken a finger from closing it in a sliding door of a minivan, popped my shoulder out of it's socket, had a number of sprained ankles, wrists, etc., got 2nd degree burns from my eyebrows clear down to my belly button while 9 months pregnant (whatever you do, don't try this one at home!!!)
So, I was vacuuming on Wednesday and Sammy was running around and climbing on and off the furniture having a blast like he usually does when I vacuum. He loves when it's time to get out the vacuum. He insists on dragging it out for me and turning it on and off. Well, I don't think he'll be so enamored with the vacuum after the experience he had with it! I kept telling him to stay out of the way (because it was taking twice as long - not because the thought had even remotely crossed my mind that he could get injured!!) I didn't realize that he had come up behind me and was trying to get to the couch, but he ran into the handle of the vacuum as I pulled it backward. He got wacked right in the face! It hit him so hard I was waiting for the black eye and blood to pour out of his nose. I felt horrible! I injured my child!! It turned out that it only left a red mark down his face from his eyebrow down along his nose to just above his nostril and it wasn't even real dark or noticeable.
Then tonight we went to my parents to pick up my dad's lawn edger (I am so excited to edge our lawn!!! but that's for another post!) My parents have a disappearing screen on their front door (kinda cool idea, but a little strange if you ask me!) Anyway, to get it to go up you tap it with your foot (the lazy way, I'll admit, but it's how we've always done it) and it zips up the door and rolls away out of sight. So, I tapped it and up it flew, but not before the handle wacked Sammy on the forehead! Again?!?! This can't be happening! Now he has a one inch raised red lump on his forehead. I'm such a bad mommy! My only consolation is that the poor child needs a haircut so bad that it covers most of his forehead so I don't think many people will see this lump!
*Aimee, if you're reading this I hope it makes you feel a little better that you're at least not the only mom who's kids will need therapy some day for the injuries their mothers have caused them!! =) *

Conversations with Sammy

The other day while we were all eating dinner Sammy started asking some deep questions about Jesus. He asked what we do to make Jesus happy and so we talked about how sharing, being kind, telling people about Him, taking care of each other, etc are all things that make Jesus very happy. He asked if Jesus was coming to our house and if He would eat with us at our table (Dining Room). We said we were pretty sure He wouldn't be eating with us. =) We tried explaining that we can't see Jesus, but that He's always with us and loves us and takes care of us. It's a little hard for his 3 year old mind to understand, but it's really cool that he's asking all of these questions and hopefully will be concerned with making Jesus happy so disciplining will go better! ;) I really wish I had written the whole conversation
Today we had a conversation that went something like this:
"Mommy, we're not going to work?"
"No. We're not going to work"
"Just people go to work?" {Wait a minute! What's that supposed to mean?! We're people!!!}
(Sammy again) "I work, Mommy!"
"You do? Where do you work?"
"Downstairs, Mommy! I work with my tools downstairs!" (he has a toolbench and tools in the basement! funny kid!)

I also want to brag a little about how well he's doing with potty training! We started on Monday. He had 3 minor accidents (one was after going on the potty just one time and another he ALMOST made it to the bathroom!) Yesterday he didn't have any accidents at all! He has woken up dry from naps both Monday and Tuesday and both Monday and Tuesday night he stayed dry all night!! Today he did have an accident. He did #2 in his undies...needless to say it wasn't very pretty! =/ Overall I'm THRILLED at how well he's doing and wondering why I didn't start sooner (ok, truth be told I was scared to death!!!)
Seriously, the kid makes me nuts, but he's a blast!!!

It's a girl!

My sister gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on Thursday night. Her name is Josephine Grace. She's so tiny! Alright, so maybe that's because my boys were 9lb 3oz and 11lbs, but still she seems very tiny! Sarah and Josie are doing great and we're all enjoying having a cousin close by! Samuel only refers to her as "my cousin Josie"! It's very cute!

I'm a proud Aunt!! =)