Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Wordless Wednesday - Duck Watching with Dad

Spread The Word

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Need a reason? Read this. Or watch these.

Puddle Fun

Remember those cute raincoats and boots my mom brought the boys? Well it finally stopped snowing, at least for a few days, and we were able to make good use of those cute coats and boots. And what better way to make use of raincoats and boots than to go puddle jumping.

Jonathan started out just interested in looking in the puddles. But it didn't take him long to catch on to the idea that jumping in puddles is FUN!

I absolutely love those last two photos. They might be my favorites so far this year. I love the action that they capture. The pure joy of boyhood is written all over Jonathan's face. He had so much fun.

Even Jason got in on the fun. I took him out to a puddle and jumped while holding him. I wish you could hear how hard he is giggling. He had so much fun. I can't wait until next year when he can get out there and run around and splash with Jonathan.

Jonathan was absolutely soaked to the bone by the time we decided to head home. As we were walking home we could hear the squish, squish, squish of wet boots. It was so funny when Jonathan would run because the squishing got louder and faster. When we got home I took off his boots and...
dumped all the water out! I'm pretty sure we brought home at least half the water that was down there. After playing around in that muddy water Jonathan got a nice bath to clean up and warm up.

Monday, March 30, 2009

I'm Back

Finally, after what seems like forever, I feel like I have time to blog again. School is still incredibly busy and it probably will be until May. Mid-terms are over and I did fairly well.

My mom has come and gone but she'll be back in May just after school gets out. We had a great time while she was here. I still have several more posts, besides this one, about her trip in the works.

My birthday came and went and I had a fantastic time. We didn't do much on my actual birthday, just open presents. Dan got me new car speakers and installed them. I'm so excited! I have only had one working speaker in my car for almost a year now. Since I commute about 16 miles a day the music has been a little lame. I will be nice to have music with bass again!

Jason turned 11 months on the 18th. I can't be believe he's almost 1. Here is his 10 month picture with his bear to compare with 11 months, below.


Jonathan and Jason went to the Dr last week. Jonathan's asthma seems to be under control. The Dr said his breathing sounded great. Jason's ears are almost completely cleared up. There is no fluid in his right ear and just a little in his left. The Dr is confident that it will all be cleared up by his 1 year check-up. Praise the Lord!

And don't forget Kellsey's auction. Bidding ends today at 11:59 pm central time.

That's it for now but I'll be back tomorrow!

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Silent Auction

Bid to Bring Kellsey Home


So I've been out of the blogging world for a bit and haven't gotten this posted. Renee over at My Special Ks and her family are adopting a little girl from Eastern Europe. Right now they are holding a silent auction to raise money to bring Kellsey home. They have some really great stuff so click on the button at the top of this post and help them bring thier girl home!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Baking with AG

In addition to the adorable raincoats, my mom also got Jonathan his very own apron. We do a lot of baking when AG is in town and he loves to help out. I need to include him more when I cook and bake when AG isn't here but so often I've already started dinner by the time they get home from school that there is nothing left for him to do. Anyway here he is in his adorable Hatley Dinosaur Apron.
The first thing he got to bake wearing his new apron was mommy's birthday cake. Normally mom and I go for a boxed cake mix but this year we got brave and made a cake from scratch. We made this Chocolate Cake. It was tasty but a little dry. Mom thinks we might have over mixed it but having never made a cake in the food processor before we had no idea what we were doing. I think we're lucky it came out as a cake and not a chocolate brick!
Jonathan thought the food processor was pretty cool. Sometimes loud noises freak him out but not this time. He just covered his little ears and watched the cake batter go round and round, maybe a little too long!
The next morning, after the cake had time to cool completely, it was time to make the frosting. We have used the same buttercream recipe for years. It's divine, I could eat it with a spoon.
1/2 cup butter
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 - 5 tablespoons milk or cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Salt, a few grains
Cream butter; add sugar, gradually, stirring or mixing until well blended. Add salt. Stir in liquid, a little at a time, adding just enough to have a good creamy consistency. Beat until light and fluffy. Add flavoring.
This kind of mess is what will happen if you don't add the powdered sugar gradually. I put a little much in and Jonathan turned the mixer on to a high speed. Poof!
Of course everyone knows the best part of making frosting is licking the beater when you are done. Don't worry he thoroughly brushed his teeth when we were done.
Then he got the opportunity to try his hand at frosting the cake. This didn't last too long. We didn't add all the cream and the frosting was a little too thick to spread easily. He got frustrated and moved on to better things.
And of couse really the best part is the eating the cake. Jonathan decided to abondon the fork method and just eat the cake with his hands. Cute kid!

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Wordless Wednesday - Baking Fun

Happy Birthday to Me



Ignore me just listen to Jonathan singing, it is precious! More to come later ;)

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Back to the Daily Grind

My mom left yesterday after two full weeks here. We had a great time and I can't wait until she is here again in May. But for now its back to the daily grind. School starts again on Monday and I have a small project due Tuesday that I haven't started yet. I also found out the other day that I have to resubmit a paper for one of my classes because the teacher didn't like what I submitted. I'm super bummed about that because I thought I did a really good job. Oh well at least I get to resubmit rather than being stuck with a bad grade.

I have a really bad case of summeritis. I can't say senioritis because I'm not a senior yet but summeritis definitely fits the bill. I can't wait to sit on my deck, watch the boys play, and drink lemonade. I don't want to have to do homework everynight and read bunches of text books. I want to read a book for pleasure and not spend my day running all over the place for school. Ok I'm done whining, time to man up and finish out the semester.

I'll schedule some posts about my mom's trip with pictues for later this week. For now, to get y'all through, here's a picture of my cutie pie baby boy.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Ultimate Blog Party!

Ultimate Blog Party 2009

I'm a first year party goer and I'm totally stoked to be here. Welcome to my blog!

A little about me. My name is Ann and I'm an almost 27 (on Tuesday) wife and mom. I've been married to my husband, Dan, for 5 years. We have two wonderful little boys, Jonathan is 3 and Jason is 11 months. We live in Eastern Washington State and have lived in this area for almost 9 years now. We both moved here to go to college at the University of Idaho. Dan has a degree in Elementary Education and teaches a little bit of everything at a private Christian school. I have a degree in Public Relations but decided that wasn't for me so now I'm back in school getting my degree in Elementary Education. I'm a Christian trying to live my life sold out for Jesus. I was born and raised in Alaska and I think that has had a huge impact on the woman I am today.

My blog is a little about me and Dan and a lot about our boys. Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Wordless Wednesday - Hat Hair


For more Wordless Wednesday's head over to 5 Minutes for Mom.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Blog Neglect

Oh I've been a bad blogger again. I'm still reading but mid-terms have keep me busier than should be legal. Thus I have been left with no time to write. My mom has been here and is still here until next Friday, so that is also keeping me busy. I've done homework, we've shopped and cooked and baked, we've stayed up too late and done nothing at the same time. It's been great. I have many wonderfully fun stories to share with y'all, if anyone out there is still reading, but they will have to wait. I'm off to bake something and then get ready for our day trip to Spokane tomorrow. Much to y'all!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Wordless Wednesday - Sleeping Baby

He sleeps in the strangest positions!

Rain Coats

My mom is here and like any good grandmother she came bearing gifts. Technically the gifts were already here, no sense mailing them to Alaska just to pack them back down, we just had to wait for AG to get here before opening them. As she does every spring my mom got the boys rain coats and boots. Actually only Jonathan got boots because it's hard to find rain boots in a size 3 for Jason. So here are the boys all decked out in their rain gear.


Jason in his bear rain coat from Hatley. For those who don't know we chose bears as the theme for his nursery so the coat goes with the theme.


And Jonathan in his moose rain coat and rain boots also from Hatley. His nursery/bedroom theme is moose so he has lots of moose gear.

Now we just need it to stop doing this...


so the boys can wear their cute new gear!

Monday, March 9, 2009

A Busy Week

This week is going to be a busy one for me. My mom got here yesterday, which I am super excited about. It's also mid-terms week. I did my big mid-term project last week so that's one thing off my plate but I still have a reading journal to turn in tomorrow, and two tests on Thursday. I also have some stuff due for my online class on Friday.

I think we are all on the mend. Last week Jason had an ear infection, I had strep which I faithfully shared with my husband. But we all seem to be doing better now. Dan and I can swallow and talk again and Jason is sleeping again, which he wasn't before he got meds. And praise the Lord Jonathan seems to have missed the strep that Dan and I had. The Dr that I saw for my strep was nice and wrote a prescription for Dan and left it at the receptionist rather than making Dan come in for what we pretty much knew was strep. I was glad he did that cause it saved us a lot of money.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Good-bye Old Friend


For the last 3 1/2 years red blankie has been a trusted companion. It was the one thing our boy couldn't sleep without and for that reason red blankie is quite well traveled. It has made countless trips to Spokane and Portland, 3 trips to Alaska, and 1 trip to Kentucky. It went back to the operating room in his hands when he was 11 months old. He dragged it along to preschool when he wasn't too sure about being there without mom. It has dried his tears, brought him comfort, and kept him warm from the day he came home from the hospital. I loved the way he would stick his little fingers and toes through the openings in the blanket. It was crocheted with love by his Aunt Sarah and it has been well loved for 3 1/2 years.


As happens with all things well loved red blankie was starting to show its age and getting a little small for a big boy. For Christmas Aunt Sarah crocheted a new, bigger, blue blankie. For the last few months he has been sleeping with both red blankie and the new blue blankie. Last night we found a hole in red blankie, the kind of hole that can't be repaired. And so it was time to retire red blankie if it was going to survive any longer. It's probably too loved to pass on to his own kids but at least he will be able to show it to them one of these days.

He was sad tonight without his red blankie but after he discovered he could get his fingers and toes into the new blankie he settled down for the night. Honestly, Dan and I were as sad about red blankie going away as he was; red blankie has been a great, trusted friend.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Monday, March 2, 2009

Ears again and 10 months

Yesterday we went back to the doctor to have Jason's ears checked again. If you need a refresher on Jason's ears click the "Ears" tag to read all my previous posts about ears. The last time we were there there was still fluid in his ears but the fluid wasn't infected. Even though he hasn't had any fevers he also hasn't been sleeping very well and because of that I had my suspicions that his ears were infected again. The doctor confirmed my suspicions and actually said Jason's ears looked worse than he as ever seen them. Big bummer. Since he's allergic to penicillin that means he can't have the antibiotics that are most effective against ear infections. So we are on a different, possibly less effective antibiotic. Then the pharmacist tells us that 10% of kids who are allergic to penicillin are also allergic to this drug. If he's allergic to this antibiotic as well then the pharmacist said our options are very limited. Oh great.

So for my prayer warriors out there can y'all pray with us that Jason's ears clear up, he doesn't have to get tubes, and that he isn't allergic to this drug. Love y'all!

It's hard to believe our baby bear is 10 months old. (actually now he's almost 10 1/2 it's taken me a while to post this) Here is his picture with his bear.

Jason's 9 month picture for comparison.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Wow it's been a long time since I've done a Not Me! Monday! I'm sure there is lots of stuff I haven't been doing...

I absolutely am not avoiding writing a 4-6 page paper with the hope that the paper will get inspired and write its self. And this paper that I'm not avoiding most certainly is not due today at midnight. I'm far too responsible to put off a paper until the last minute.

I did not let the boys clean laundry sit in a laundry basket all week. I always put my laundry away promptly and there is not a pile of sheets on the recliner arguing against my previous point.

I do not absolutely hate my Monday class to the point that I am not counting the number of Monday's left in the semester. It is far to early in the semester for that and knowing that number would be too depressing.

Ok clearly I need to do this more often because this is all I can think of but I know there is more I haven't been doing.

Me and My Keys

Anyone who has known me for any length of time knows that my keys and I have some issues. Or probably more accurately I have issues keeping track of my keys. In fact I have such a reputation with my keys that they young man I dated in high school gave Dan and I a key holder as a wedding gift with a note that said simply "She'll need this. Trust me." And these aren't recent problems that can be blamed on pregnancy or having kids, no these problems go back to the first week I had my drivers license.

I kid you not in the first week I had my drivers license I locked my keys in the car 4 out of 5 days and twice the car was running. Not having a cell phone at the time I couldn't discretely call my mom to bail me out. Nope I had to swallow my pride and take the walk of shame and ask to barrow a phone. It was quite embarrassing.

I have locked myself out of every house I have ever lived in at least once. When Jonathan was really little, still small enough to carry around in his infant carrier, I managed to lock myself out of the house and car without my cell phone in the rain. I had to walk almost a half mile to our church, with Jonathan in his carrier on my arm. By the time I got there I was drenched and rather upset.

Last January I really out did myself and managed to lock Dan out of his car at work. While attempting to rescue him from my mistake I managed to lock myself out of my car and our house. I was at home with the keys to his car and he was at work, with a car he couldn't get into, with the keys to the house and my car. You can read the whole story here. Believe me it's worth it. Yet another proud moment and my biggest key debacle ever.

My special skill struck again last Thursday when I locked my self out of my house and car again. But this time we were prepared and had placed a key in a magnetic box under out deck. Unfortunately that was before we latticed in our deck. I reached under the deck and found the keys but they were just a little out of my reach. I shoved my arm further under the deck and grabbed the container with my fingertips. The magnet released and at the same time my finger tips lost their grip and I dropped the container under the deck and out of reach. Crud! By this point I'm running really late to pick up my friend and am on track to be late to class. I'm also up a creek without a paddle. Fortunately Dan had a prep period on Thursday morning and came to my rescue. He got to the house moved a piece of wood and exposed a huge gap between the ground and lattice and pulled out the spare key with ease. Well if I'd know there was a gap I could have done that. Oh well!

I'm sure this won't be the last post about my keys but hopefully there won't be another one anytime soon.