The stockings were hung...

Our son Jack will be 8 months old this week and we've suddenly realized that he is NOT a baby any more!!! He is crawling everywhere and is into EVERYTHING! (While I am typing this he is trying to eat the tree!) I love him and watching him grow, but I am very sad that we no longer have babies in the house. Yes, technically he is still a baby, but now that he is moving around he doesn't sit and cuddle like he used to!

We're pretty sure (about 99% convinced) that we don't want to have anymore children, but just tonight Tom said, "Are you sure you don't want to add another stocking to our collection?" It took me a minute to figure out what he meant by that, and then I realized what he was saying! My first response was, "NO!" But it does make you think about the possibilities! I just think we're both realizing that our babies are growing up WAY too fast!

So... the stockings were hung by the chimney window with care, and no there won't be any more to add there! (Does that answer your question Tom!) :0)

Bath Time joy!

Bath time is one of the craziest, most hectic, and chaotic times in our home! It's always filled with splashing water, kids crying because there is soap in their eyes and/or naked babies running around! YET, it is also one of my favorite times of our day! The kids love bathing together and playing in the water. They often times don't want to get out!

I love it that they are all still young enough to bathe together! I hope to keep it that way until I point out the obvious.......

 that they are bathing in Jack's pee!!!

Basement Overhaul!

We've been living in our house now for 15 months and it seems like every time we move things get left in boxes. (I'm sure anyone who has moved can relate!) Things that don't get used very often, things you forget about, or things you don't like, get left in a pile in the basement and never cleaned up! That had happened to our basement and I was tired of the mess. We had things "organized" in piles and in moving boxes, but I couldn't get to anything easily. It was driving me crazy!

Sooooo.... Tom came up with a design for some storage shelves! I am a organization freak, so I was thrilled! I love storing things in large rubbermaid totes, so we made the shelves the correct dimensions for those bins and it's wonderful! Here are a few before and after shots...

Because we had to clear out the wall that the shelves were going on, Tom piled, yes PILED, everything together! This is the mess I had to organize when the shelves were finished...

Here are the shelves done, but empty...

And here is the finished product! All of my labeled storage bins are so easy to get to now!

Tom also added on a work bench so he would have space for his junk, I mean, tools!

 I do a lot of canning, so for right now all of my canning jars, supplies and canned foods are on this shelf, but eventually Tom will build me another similar shelf for all of it!

 We used the girl's old carpet from their bedroom for the floor and turned the previously messy area into an extra play space for the kids!

Thanks Tom! I am so happy with my new shelves! :0) 

Oatmeal Play for Toddlers!

There are two requirements for the following activity.... patience & a vacuum cleaner!!!

I was cleaning out my cupboards today and came across a canister of oatmeal that I had no idea was in there! I looked at the date and, well, lets just say that it was expired! :0) I have no idea how long it was in there, so I was about to throw it out when I stopped. (I hate to just throw things out, so I was determined to come up with something to do with it!) I thought, the girls would have fun with this, but do I want to bother?

Well, I decided to let them make the mess! When they woke up from their naps I had trays of oatmeal on the table for them. I knew it would appeal to Mia, my two-year-old-digger, but I wanted to make it look special for Bailee too, so I sprinkled sparkly beads in to appeal to my three-year-old-princess. It worked! They couldn't wait to get their hands in it!

I had two rules..... "don't put it in your mouth," and "keep it in the tray!" They broke both rules, but had tooooooons of fun!

It started with the oatmeal mixed with sparkly beads and measuring spoons. Then after about 10 minutes I added a bowl to the play. Then about 20 minutes later I let them sprinkle REAL cinnamon into their oatmeal to make it smell good! Bailee was so excited because she was "cooking" foods and couldn't believe that I would let her use my real spices! (What fun to watch them explore and use their imaginations!) Since they were "cooking" so much we chose some pretend kitchen toys and foods to add to the fun.

It is amazing how differently the two girls played with the same materials...

Bailee was very intent on making things and doing pretend play with the oatmeal. She was very focused on using the spoons and bowl to "cook" and "mix up foods." She even planted a garden. The beads were her seeds and the oatmeal was her dirt. At one point she was burying her "treasure" (the shiny beads) and then she would dig to find them!

Mia on the other hand didn't use her utensils very much, but preferred using her hands! She wanted to feel the mess all over her! She moved piles of oatmeal from one end of the tray to the other, filled her bowl and dumped it out many times, and just simply was happy to "dig in the dirt!" She insisted that it was dirt, not oatmeal! :0)

Either way, they were very content and focused on their play. I thought this would last for 20 minutes, but instead I peeled them away from the table crying 2 HOURS later!!!!!! What a great find... expired oatmeal made for a VERY peaceful yet messy afternoon! :0)

Jack has 3 Mommies!

So, it seems like lately the girls have been taking very good care of Jack... well, they are trying at least! If I am not paying attention then the girls are usually playing babies with Jack and they are the Moms! I always make sure he is safe, but all 3 of them seem to enjoy it, so why not!  

This is a pretty typical scene around here... Jack isn't quite crawling yet, so he ends up going backwards and getting stuck under things! At first I laughed when I saw him happily playing under his pack n' play and then I decided to grab the camera. 

While I was busy taking his picture, the girls decided to help him and pull him out. 

 Don't worry, they weren't pulling hard and I did help him right after I took their picture, but it just shows you how much they want to help him lately!

Meal time is another time when they want to help Jack out a lot! They often ask to feed him and want to watch me make his baby food or mix his cereal. These pictures were taken while I was cooking supper and Mia decided to help Jack eat his puffs. She climbed into the chair in front of him and started putting them right into his mouth. He didn't care, someone was helping him eat so he just went right along with it! :0)

 This one looks like she is force feeding him! Haha!

 Bailee wanted in on the action, so when Mia left she jumped up there and gave him a drink!

It's starting to look like I will be able to leave them all alone in a few weeks. I'm sure Bailee and Mia won't mind babysitting while I go out for a few hours... ;-) 

Do you think Joseph drove a Hummer?

My children's favorite new toy of the season is our Little People Nativity Set! We've had it for a few years, but I put away during the "off" season and take it back out from Thanksgiving to New Years. It gets stored with our Christmas decorations every year so that I don't forget to bring it out. The kids love it! I have blogged about Little People before because I love how they grow with your child. Babies love to chew on them, toddlers love to line them up and knock them down, and preschoolers love to do dramatic play with them.

Bailee's new found love is the Baby Jesus Little Person. (In fact, she calls the whole nativity set, her "Jesus People.") When the girls play with them, she wants to be the one to hold Baby Jesus the whole time!

A few days ago, the girls were setting up their usual wise-men, shepherd and manger scene when Bailee ran into the other room and came back with the Little People minivan. She sat it down and proceeded to place Mary in the drivers seat, Joseph in the passenger seat, and Baby Jesus sat in the back. I giggled to myself to think that Mary didn't have it that easy... the donkey was a much bumpier ride!

The whole thing was purely innocent and cute, but it made me stop and think about what the nativity scene would look like today. Would Joseph be driving a Hummer with a GPS system installed instead of leading a donkey? Would Mary be wearing the most up-to-date and fashionable maternity clothes instead of a rag? Would Baby Jesus be born in a state-of-the-art hospital instead of being laid in a manger filled with dirty hay? Would dirty shepherds be allowed in to visit? Would the wise men's gifts be stolen on their way to see Jesus?

What a world we live in now. I love the simplicity and the purity of the nativity scene. God sure had his hand in the whole thing and I am grateful that we can look back at that beautiful scene in the stable!

How to baby proof your Christmas tree!

A lot of people have asked me the past few years how I keep my kids off or out of our Christmas tree. I have no magical way or any fancy tricks, but I do have a few tips that has REALLY helped us the past few years.

1. Let them help you decorate. If they aren't allowed to touch the tree AT ALL, then they are only going to be more curious later and probably touch it when you aren't looking. Get it out of their system, and let them touch the ornaments, put some on the tree and feel the pine needles. (You may have to redecorate later, but at least they have been a part of it!)

Mia had fun helping me this year!

 Bailee was excited to find "her" ornaments!

2. Put paper, plastic and cloth ornaments on the bottom. Don't put any ornaments of value or breakable ones in their reach. This is only common sense, but it will save you from panicking when they grab one off the tree. Plus, it will keep them safer and you won't risk them cutting themselves on a broken glass bulb!

A plastic Elmo ornament is one of the favorites this year!

3. Always use new Christmas lights. I don't mean that you have to buy new ones every year, but just make sure they aren't the old kind that get really hot. The old ones could burn your child or, even worse, burn your whole house down!

4. My favorite and best trick of all is to line the whole bottom of your tree with jingle bells!!! On every branch around the bottom of my tree I have put small silver bells that jingle every time someone touches the tree. They are baby safe and when the tree moves or someone is touching it I hear it immediately! I have done this the last few years and it works like a charm!!! Just the other day Jack was playing with an ornament (when I wasn't looking) but I heard the bell jingle and quickly turned around to see him pulling it down! It's such a quick, easy, and cheap way to keep your kids safe! (You can usually find a box of 12 small bells at the dollar store!)

I hope this helps someone. I know it's always tricky to have a tree in the house with babies and toddlers around, but with some careful planning it can be fun!