And that's why we had pizza for dinner...

Friday afternoon I did a brave thing. (I'm a wimp, I'll just say it now!) I hadn't taken both the boys to the grocery store for awhile. You see, they've gotten a little much for me. It's always hard to go out places when you have a newborn and a toddler and then when that newborn reaches the "I'm big enough to sit up in the cart stage" it's a whole new world. For several months the boys and I enjoyed getting out...it's wasn't so hard. Then Shep grew up. He got independent. Before, I just had one trying to climb out of the cart, or crying for something they wanted or running away in the parking lot...now I have two very busy boys, often running in opposite directions and it's just gotten hard to get out again. We always talk about proper behavior etc and the consequences for not obeying before we go out, but inevitably challenging situations always arise.

All that said, we headed to the store Friday afternoon. The boys are both excited about the race car cart and I'm just hoping there is one available. Sure enough, there are several available, but they are all in the way back behind many other carts. I decided to be an annoying costumer and asked an employee to help me. He had to pull several cars out before retrieving the much coveted yellow race car cart. I set Shep in before realizing that this particular cart had a missing steering wheel. Anyone with two kids, especially boys, will understand that one steering wheel and two little boys is not a good thing. Shep had already seized the wheel and Conner started crying. Shep lost interest after awhile and they switched places, so it worked out. They were pretty good in the store and waited excitedly to get their "buddy bucks" to play a little kid's game. We got over to the machine and tried to play, but it was out-of-order. Conner took it pretty well and only a few tears were shed before heading to the car.

Then I decided to be even braver and let them get a sno cone. It was a pretty afternoon and we hadn't gotten one in awhile. We sat down. Sky was blue, slight breeze...lovely. Then suddenly out of nowhere it started raining. I figured it was just a stray cloud and would pass, but it didn't. Soon it was pouring and we're scrambling to get into our car. Conner climbed in and promptly dumped his whole sno cone on the seat. We saved most of it. Shep made a complete mess with his and was soon covered in syrup. The rain finally stopped and we ran into the house. I hurried to get the groceries in and then stuck the boys in the tub. After starting the water I ran into the kitchen to put the milk and chicken away. Upon entering the bathroom I noticed Shep was standing weird. He just looked up at me and said "Poop". Boy, was it ever. I will spare all the lovely details, but I'll just say it had disintegrated in the tub and I think I spied a lot of kidney beans floating in the water...yuck. As I tried to clean up the mess, the boys unloaded all the groceries, but fortunately didn't break anything. (Last time Shep helped with groceries all the veggies ended up with Shep teeth marks.)

And that is why we had pizza for dinner. I'd like to say that is a highly unusal day, but it's not. That's basically my life...now you understand why I'm so tired=)

Lessons in Mommyhood

I was reminded again last week that kids learn things in their own time. Conner decided last Wednesday that he was ready to potty train. We'd been talking about it for quite a long time with little success. Conner is just one of those kids that it has to be his idea. I was stressed about potty training for a long time. I would see kids younger than Conner who were already potty-trained and feel somehow that I wasn't doing a good job as parent. All my worry and the pressure I was putting on myself was so silly! Potty training has been the easiest things ever. I just needed to wait until he was ready. I think I was forcing it because I wanted people to think well of me, which is completely the wrong reason for training him! I decided to back off from it for awhile and weigh my motives. It's amazing how God can use even something like potty-training to reveal sin in my heart!

Conner loves wearing underwear. He only wears a diaper at night. I NEVER thought he would be potty-trained in just a couple days! It just goes to show how once again I stressed and worried about something that ended up being no big deal.

The Letter "C"

Today we talked about the letter "C". Obviously, that is Conner's favorite letter and he has known of it for quite awhile. I'm trying to do a little preschool with him, but it's quite challenging. He's smart, but definitely has a little boy's attention span. He also wants to "do by himself" everything. He doesn't want me to explain to him what we're doing or how to do it. Apparently, he already knows how to do everything.=)

I got out some glue sticks, scissors, magazines and construction paper. We made these.

Conner was excited about the Camero. I cut out several letter C's as well.

I made one too. I love doing stuff like that. I decided "C" is one of my favorite letters, too. So many wonderful things start with "C" like, Creme brulee, cheese, California, capuccino...

Coffee...what a wonderful letter. This is my favorite mug.

Conner lost interest after about 15 min. He wandered over to the bookshelf and pointed out the letter "C" on the Copland books. Being the nerd I am, we went over to the CD shelf and picked out a Copland orchestral CD. We then looked around the room and found other objects that start with C. (Shep loves clocks, but he calls them "docks" and says, "dock-dock" for "tick-tock")

We lit a candle. See the teeth marks on the back? Shep did that. He thought it was food.

Well, that was about all the learning they could take. It was time for a morning swim. Shep needed to wash all the ink off his face, anyway. I tried to occupy him with some stamps while Conner and I did our project...it got a little messy.

Here We Go

It's been a great summer. I am so grateful for all the wonderful time I got to spend with my husband. It was so refreshing and so needed. I feel ready to get this semester started. The sooner we get started, the sooner we're done...FOREVER!

The semester officially kicks off on Wednesday. I know I'm going to miss Zack, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. One more intense year of coursework and then a year for dissertation. We're almost there! Last year was very difficult for me. I remember watching Zack leave for school that first day holding a 3 mo old with a 1 1/2 yr old by my side. I was tired. I was overwhelmed. I wanted to quit, but God was faithful when I really didn't know how I would make it.

The boys and I will resume our normal routine. Bible study for me on Tuesday nights, storytime on Wed morning, park playgroup on Fri morning and lots of swimming. It will be very nice when we can go on walks and explore again. Conner may at some point have MDO on Tues and Thurs from 9-2. He's on a waiting list, so I hope it works out! (for both our sakes=)

Our church is launching all sorts of new Sunday morning programs. I am going to start teaching Sunday school in Sept. I get to teach 4 year olds! I am very excited. I haven't done anything like this since I was a teenager, so I'm looking forward to it.

Well, that's about it. We'd definitely appreciate prayers as we transition back into school and for provision for our daily needs.

Books, books, books!

One of the best things about this summer (except for the getting to sleep until 8 am every other day and having my husband home around 6 pm!) is that I've gotten to read a lot. The boys are finally starting to play together some, so I can sometimes sneak in some reading while they play (can't do housework all the time=). Zack and I have been wanting to re-read the Chronicles of Narnia for quite sometime. I only read two of them growing up and after seeing the two movies that are out really want to read the whole series. I found 6 of them for 2.99 each at Borders! They are hardbound and have the original pictures.

Here's what I've read:

Old Curiosity Shop by Charles Dickins (I started this one in Dec and finally got back to it)

This Momentary Marriage by John Piper

Sacred Parenting by Gary Thomas

Hudson and Maria Taylor: a Match Made in Heaven by John Pollack

Julie and Julia (This is one of my favorite movies. The movie is much better...I was a little disappointed that the real Julie is nothing like the Julie in the movie)

John and Betty Stam by Kathleen White

Books 1-6 of the Chronicles of Naria. Starting the 7th on tomorrow!

What have you been reading this summer??

Anniversary

Last week was our fourth anniversary. Next year will be five and that's just weird. Not so "newlywed" sounding anymore. I guess we hardly qualify for newlyweds since we have two kids. I was just going to cook something, since eating out was not an option. Then on our anniversary we received a gift card from my Grandparents to Macaroni Grill! What a sweet blessing!! Since I didn't have to cook I did some extra cleaning and a little decorating. It's always so much fun to look at pictures and remember. I put this picture up so you could notice the picture on the far right. That was Conner's contribution. He came out and saw me decorating and said proudly, "I go get Conner!" He climbed up on the piano bench to get down a picture of himself and then added it to the display. I thought that was so cute.

This framed verse was a gift from my Mom shortly after we started dating. Mr. Bruce Thompson wrote out the verse for us with our names inserted. It's very special to me now.

Our yummy meal. Isn't Macaroni Grill bread the best?? Since we had a free meal, we splurged and got a cheap wine. I'm not a huge red wine person, but this Zinfandel is one of my favorites!

While Zack when to pick up the food, I put the boys to bed. Conner had refused to nap that day, so was good and tired. Both the boys fell promptly asleep. Yelling children in the background does not make for a very romantic meal. We had such a wonderful time. We talked and remembered and thought about the future. It was so simple, yet so wonderful and relaxing.

Happy Anniversary to my wonderful husband!!

Growing and Changing

Boy update! The boys have both changed so much this summer. Conner is now very much a little boy and Shep very much a toddler. They are quickly becoming partners in crime=)

Conner is 2 1/2 now. You can definitely have conversations with him. Lately, he's been saying, "Sometime when I grow bigger..." He is very ambitious and has lots of plans for when he's bigger.

Shep is 15 months. He is quickly catching up with Conner in size. (Conner is 32 lbs and 37 1/2 in tall) Shep will have an appointment next week, but I can tell he's grown quite a bit. He's talking A LOT now. A couple weeks ago we were all in the car on our way back home from getting a cold treat. I was using it as a lesson in politeness for the boys. I said, "Conner, tell Daddy thank-you." He said, "Thank you." Then I said, "Shep, tell Daddy thank-you." To which he said, "Day-doo." I just looked at him and asked Zack if Shep had just said that. Now he tells me thank-you almost every time I give him anything, totally unprompted! I know he knows a whole lot more than I think! He can identify his hair, eyes, ears, nose, tongue, belly and toes. I was reading a book to him and asking him where different things were and though he can't say them all yet, he identified them. He can say at least 20 words.

Here are the boys playing in the sand at the Stanton's house last Sunday morning. There is nothing like getting dirty.

Shep is making dog noises here. He can make lots of animal sounds.

Both boys love books. I hope it sticks with them! Shep will bring you a book and slowly back up (walking backwards is his new favorite thing) and plop on your lap.

I'm sure I'll post again tomorrow. It's our anniversary!