Brilliant Husband (shhhh...don't tell him)

David loves yogurt, but as many toddlers, has decided that he no longer wants help eating said yogurt. Now, dinners past I have let him have the container, usually to have it in his hair or tossed on the floor. Such a waste of yogurt, and such a mess to clean up. Apparently, I should have been having Nate feed him dinner. Using nothing but tape, he fixed our problem. Still not the cleanest food to eat, but this was way better than it usually is.

Crafty Snowday

We had another snow day today. Not a fan seeing as though I had a list of kids to meet with today, and a bunch of work to finish up my ISTEP prep (our state wide test that I coordinate for our building), but what are you going to do? David went to school today. It was PJ day and they were reading bed time stories. He loves stories, so he went. (Plus, mommy needed a mommy day since daddy is going to a bachelor party this weekend 3 hours away.)

After cleaning and doing some work, I decided that I was going to make my rag wreath. I had bought the fabric and form last weekend and I wanted to see how it would turn out. I had 1 yard of 4 different patterned fabrics, and 2 yards of white, and a 12 inch wreath form.

To start, I needed to make strips of fabric. Mine needed to be about 9 inches long, and I made them about an inch wide. The great thing about the fabric I picked was that it tore very easily. Took very little time to make my strips.

Then I started tying them on. This is when I was about 1/2 way done.

In a matter of about 2 hours from start to finish, I had a new door wreath!

Not bad for my first attempt. I needed to make my colored strips longer and the white ones shorter. My door is red, so I was afraid to have too much color. I also didn't need nearly as much fabric. I used less that 1/2 a yard of my patterned fabrics, and less than 1 yard of my white. Total cost for my project was about $20 and I still have fabric left over. Move over Martha Stewart!

A Mott Family Saturday

Saturday was the perfect family day. The weather was warm(er) and sunny. Nate and I wanted to do something to get the heck out of the house. Winter blues were starting to set in hard! You can only build so forts, take so many bubble baths, and watch so many episodes of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse before you start to go stir crazy. We decided to take a trip to the zoo. We love our family membership! Not all of the animals were out, but David had so much fun just the same. It was great to see him so excited and to get so much energy out.

Our first stop was the seal lions. David was not  a fan last summer, but now he loves them. I think it's mostly because he knows that the next stop is the aquarium, which is his favorite. He loves to watch the fish and see the sea lions from the tank inside. Of course the peguins are a hit as well. David ran from tank to tank squealing and pointing.

The next stop was the playground. This was David's first time playing on it. Usually it's super busy and David wasn't walking well last summer. He loved it. He ran up the ramp and tried one slide. He then ran the long way around to go up the ramp again and try the other slide. This was repeated for about 30 minutes.

Next stop was the plains. We were hoping to see the elephants, but they were not out. We saw the rhino's and girrafes. He even got to see the monkeys and cheetahs! This point was about 2 hours into our visit, and David started to get a little cranky, so we decided it was time for lunch.

Nate took up out to the Old Spaghetti Factory for lunch. Yumm-o! Pasta, salad, and spumoni with every entree. He loves fettucini alfredo, but I think he liked the spumoni best.

David barely made it back to the car before he crashed. He napped in the car on the way home and for a little bit at home. Then he was up and ready to play some more. Nate and I decided to take David to Fort Ben. We also love our season pass there. We only live about a mile away, so it's nice to get away into the woods after a busy day. They have a really nice paved path that we walked while David pushed his lawn mower. We made him ride in the wagon for a while, but he prefered the lawn mower. After the walk he played on the playground for a while before coming home to play outside the with next door neighboors.

It was a busy, fun packed Saturday. David was exhausted. He went to bed at 6:45 and slept until 8:15. He was still half asleep when we woke him up for church Sunday morning.

Ooops

I am still trying to figure all of the features here on Blogger. So today in reading my comments, I deleted them all. So don't think I didn't like your comments, just hit delete on accident.

Holy Tantrums, Batman!

We are getting closer and closer to 2 as each day passes. This means that we are getting closer and closer to the terrible twos. I think people just tell moms that it is the terrible twos to make them think it will only last a year. I believe that it starts around 18 months. It tends to worsen around 13, and continues until they start college. :)

David has decided that throwing tantrums is the way to get things. Thank God we have not done this in public, but I am sure that my neighbors can hear the screaming. Here was how last night went for us:

On the car ride home:
Mommy: David, do you want to play outside when we get home?
David: (does sign for play and outside)
Mommy: Okay, we will go home, change your shoes and go play.
David: (smiles and does sign for shoes)

Upon arrival at home, I tell David that he has to come inside so that mommy can change and so that we can change his shoes. What does David do, scream bloody murder! I go inside and put my stuff down and go back out to the garage and nicely ask him to come inside. He screams. I tell him that I am sorry he is choosing to have a tantrum, but he has to change his shoes before we go play (I refuse to let him play in the muddy grass with good shoes on.). He screams more and throws himself on the floor. I tell him to let me know when he is ready to follow directions, and leave the garage door to the house open while I go in and pull something out for dinner. 20 minutes later, he enters the house to continue the tantrum in the laundry room. He kicked when I tries to change his shoes, so I take him some milk and animal crackers, feeling bad because at this point he has been screaming for 20 minutes.  We are well past playing outside - I will not cave to the demands of a toddler to play before we change shoes. I go about my business, noting the screaming stopped long enough for a sip of milk and then continued. 15 minutes later, he walked over to me, gave me a hug, signed sorry, and snuggled up next to me.

If this is a preview of the next 18 years, I am in trouble...

Evening walk

The weather was nice today. 50 degrees is much better than the 20's we have had. David and I decided to take advantage of the nice evening to take a walk. I got his jacket on him (courtesy of his older cousin Justin) and we set out. I pulled out his ride on toy thinking he would love it. What did he want to take on his walk? The bubble lawn mower (no bubbles though). He looked so cute "cutting" the sidewalk. He didn't want to walk on the snow, so if it was on the sidewalk he held my hand so we could walk in the street around it. It was nice to get out of the house for a little while.

Photo Challenge : Day 30

A picture of someone you miss

I'm cheating on this one and posting more than one picture, and since it's the last day of the challenge, I say that I can.

I miss college - not college itself, but how easy it was to stay in contact with people before we all grew up and became adults. I was an RA in a hall on campus. I met so many wonderful people with the position that I was so lucky to have. We got free room and board and tuition paid for - you don't get that anymore though. Of course you were on duty 4 nights a week (from 7p-7a), so you spent a lot of time in the hall with the people you worked with. It was so easy to walk to each others rooms. We usually ate at least 1 meal a day together. I'm still in contact with some, but we live all over the place, so we don't see each other.

My first year as an RA with some of my residents (and sisters) rock climbing.

Kelly and I. She was the other staff resident with me for 2 years.

Jessica and Lesley (Kelly's sister) on out Canada road trip

Some of the staff the year after Kelly graduated and we went co-ed.

Photo Challenge : Day 29

A picture that can always make you smile

We took this picture when David was 10 weeks old. It was downtown on the canal. He was so over having his picture taken. We got several very good shots, and then this one. His outfit says "Tough Guy" on it. Makes me smile everytime.

Photo Challenge : Day 28

A picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently

The thing that has made the biggest impact on my life recently would be my miscarriage in November. We heard the heart beat of our little bean on 11/11, and on 11/22 we found out that the heart had stopped beating. I was 10 weeks. We had been trying for 10 months to get pregnant, and it is devastating to not have that baby. I would have been 22 weeks now.

We will try again when we're ready. I thought it would be easy to jump back on the trying to conceive horse, but now that we are closer to getting the green light, it seems a little scarier with all of the what ifs. I guess that is where my faith comes in.

Photo Challenge : Day 27

A picture of yourself and a family member

Awe man! The picture I used on day 10 would have been perfect for this one! Luckily I have another photo from the same day. Is it sad that the last good picture that I have of my sisters and I is almost 2 years old? So sad. This is from my sisters wedding in May of '09. Need to give them some love on my blog - they did have to put up with me for many years. Without their torture, I wouldn't be the gal I am today!

Photo Challenge : Day 26

A picture of something that means a lot to you

This was pretty easy for me. I picked a something and not a couple of someones that I thought about picking. For me the thing that means a lot to me is my faith. It has changed over time, and is constantly developing. There have been times in my life that things didn't go the way I thought they should have, and I questioned my faith. Instead of lessening my faith, it just grew stronger. No matter what I have been through in life, I have always kept faith in knowing that God would provide for me and my family. My faith is something that means a lot to me.

This is a picture of the cross that is in my room. I got this shortly after I bought the house.



Photo Challenge : Day 25

A picture of you last year and how you’ve changed since then

I hate having my picture taken. I am usually the one taking the pictures. This is from last Christmas.

Since this picture was taken, I've added a few pounds, I'm sure. My hair is shorter, and I am busy chasing a toddler around. I have learned that plans change, and what you want is not always what you get. I have grown closer to my husband and my son. I have learned to be grateful for what I have and to cherish every moment. Physically, not much has changed, but I do feel that I have grown as a person.

Photo Challenge : Day 24

A picture of something you wish you could change

Where to start? Who doesn't have a laundry list of things that they would like to change about themselves? Their height, their weight, their hair type. I could go on.

The thing I wish I could change the most is my inability to be spontaneous or to do anything that would be remotely dangerous. I also wish I was more outgoing, but I think some of that comes with the ability to go with the flow. I need to have things planned out. I do not like to be in big groups of people. If injury could come from it, I won't do it. This has gotten much worse since having David. I wish that I could be a little more carefree and spontaneous. I know that Nate would love for me to take some risks.

These pictures were taken when we took our trip to TN. Please note, Nate sat on the ledge of the cliff, I smiled with the sign.

Photo Challenge : Day 23

A picture of your favorite book
To pick just one book is cruel. There are so many wonderful books out there and I have loved different ones throughout my life. So, I shall cheat, because asking me to pick only 1 book is not fair.

I am a huge Arthur Miller fan! You might say, he didn't write books, he wrote plays, and you would be correct, but he wrote them so well, and he did have some nonfiction books as well. I can still remember how enthralled I was when we read The Crucible in high school. That was a good play. And Death of a Salesman, took me longer to get into, but I loved it. I remember going on a date to see All my Sons just after I had finished reading the book. All of this and who wouldn't love a guy who married Marilyn Monroe?

I also am a big Mitch Albom fan. The first book of his that I read was The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I loved that book. So detailed in the descriptions of what he thought it would be like. The next book was Tuesdays with Morrie, which I also loved. Such a great message. For One More Day was my next book. I think I read that in 1 day. I couldn't put it down. His last book, Have a Little Faith was written much like his first non fiction book. It challenges you to take a look at your own faith, something that I don;t do often enough.

So there you have my cheat. There are so many other books that I can think of, but I'll stick with my favorite authors. 

Goodbye BabyCenter...for now

I have been an avid BabyCenter users for a few years now. I would look up answers to questions, ask questions, and learned so much from the site. At times, it was hard to see everyone else get pregnant again and not me, or to see what everyone elses toddlers could do that David can't yet. Still, I loved reading about what everyone was doing. But alas, all good things must come to an end, or a break. I spent way too much time on the site. I would check BabyCenter as often as I did my own email. I need a break, but having the account is too tempting. So, I deleted my account while I take my break. I needed a clean break, and knew I wouldn't have that if I still had a log on. To easy to just pop on and check real quick.

So here I am, day two of my BabyCenter hiatus and feeling the pains of withdrawal. I am sure that someday I will join again, but for now, I can use this time to focus more on family and learning to be a better cook.

Photo Challenge : Day 22

A picture of something you wish you were better at

There are a million things that I wish I was better at. I wish I was more crafty, more organized, could find better ways to spend my time. I will always strive to be a better mom and wife.

I would love to be a better cook and baker. I have this wonderful appliance sitting on my kitchen counter shoved back in the corner. It sits there wanting to be used, screaming to me daily, but do I use it? Not so much. This year I will become a better cook and baker!

Photo Challenge : Day 21

A picture of someone who inspires you

So many people have inspired me in my life. The obvious ones have been mom parents. They always worked hard so that we could have what we needed, and what we wanted. Love you mom and dad.

The person who insired me the me most as a youth though, would have Elizabeth Blackwell. She was the first woman doctor in the US. Every book report I did for years was on her. I would pick a different book about her, or research a different aspect of her life. I wanted to be a doctor, and I thought to do that, I should start where US women started years ago. I didn't end up being a doctor, but she still inspires me to follow my dreams, no matter what. Her journey to her dreams was not easy, and she reminds me that anything worth having, is worth working for,

Photo Challenge : Day 20

A picture of somewhere you’d love to travel

A few days ago I posted that I wanted to go to Fiji before I died, so today I will pick a different place to travel. I would love to go to the Mediterranean. It's always so beautiful in movies and it holds so much history. Ideally, I would like to do a cruise so that I could see more areas. And, Nate hasn't been there, so it would be something for us to do together.

Thawing out

Here is what my backyard looks like. You can't tell, but that is a deck and it's not snow, it's nice shiny ice.

Today was day 4 off of work. Snow days loose their magical powers when you graduate from high school. Things got a little tense around here since we were all home with nothing to do for several days. To top everything off, the roof started to leak yesterday. Nate got it to stop, but once things warm up, we'll have some repairs to do. Today I finally got out of the house. Target was calling my name.

David decided he was done with his tent that we made, so we took it down last night. It was pretty cool. We had a picnic lunch in there before it was destroyed.

Today he decided that he want to watch some TV. He pulled a footstool over in front of the TV.  A guy has to have somewhere to sit, right? He then went and pulled one of his plates and placed it on the TV stand. He went back into the kitchen and pulled out some Cheetos and brought them to me. I opened them up for him. He took them to his plate, poured them out and threw the bag away in the trash. He went back to his stool and waited for the TV to come on. We picked Sesame Street. Here is what he is doing while mommy blogs...

He may not say many words, but he knows what he wants when he wants it. I love that he knows mommy wants him to use his plate. Now we will work on not sitting so close to the TV. (Oh, and when he was done, he put his plate in the sink. Think he can teach daddy his new tricks?)

Photo Challenge : Day 19

A picture from last summer

There are so may pictures to choose from! We had such an amazing summer, full of fun and adventure. Went to the zoo, made a water park in the yard, went to the beach, played in the park, what to choose, what to choose!!

I'll go with David's first trip to the zoo. He loves fish and would spend all day in the aquarium if I would let him. This is a picture of him watching the seals. They were super loud that day, and they scared him. Every visit since, he has loved them!

Photo Challenge : Day 18

A picture of your favorite place

This one was easy...home is where the heart is. My favorite place to be is at home with my boys. I don't need warm, sunny weather, or a picture perfect sunset, just me and my boys at home. (Of course, I wouldn't throw away the warm sunny weather and perfect sunset.)

This picture is about a year old. There is no way that I'm going out to take a picture is below freezing temps. Looks the same, except for the tree - it came crashing down in a storm last summer. Better that it came down then than in an ice storm.

Photo Challenge : Day 17

A picture of your biggest insecurity

Insecurity is a feeling of general unease or nervousness that may be triggered by perceiving of oneself to be unloved, inadequate or worthless

This is the day I have been dreading since I started. Who acutally wants to post a picture in portraying their biggest insecurity? Mine is being alone. I spent a long time thinking I would never find someone to love me, never grow old with anyone. I never thought I was good enough for someone else. I was blessed more than I could ever imagine when I found Nate. I wake up daily and thank God for what he has given me in life, and pray that I never have to walk alone.

This was taken when I was 8 months pregnant. I don't always waddle, I promise!

Photo Challenge : Day 16

A picture from your childhood

I love looking at pictues from when I was a kid. I found this picture and knew that it needed to be posted on my blog, depsite the fact that dad might be mortified. Please note: I don't remember this and for all the time I remember being at home, there was no alcohol in the house. When we were little, dad let me try it and I thought it was yucky, still do. He also once made us beer pancakes. What else do you do when it's just you and your kids want pancakes and you don't have milk? (use water?) You use a can of beer!! In case you are wondering, not so good. :)