I'd Be Lying to You...

if I didn't tell you tears were involved in the making of these crafts. These are supposed to be cornucopias. They were horrible to make. When we were done, Mason said they looked like tornados and made whirring noises and spun them around. He also said they had "several uses". I had to agree with him. They looked like a lot of things, BUT cornucopias.

We made them by folding a paperplate into a cone, wrapping it with masking tape, then gluing twine all around it. Easier said than done in our house.

The boys made these turkeys by tracing their foot and their hands. I know, nothing real creative, but I like to get at least one thing made each year with their hands and feet. I love Maddox's turkey. He glued everything where he wanted it to go and picked out how many eyes. A few tears were shed because he wanted me off of my chair and he wanted to handle the glue alone. I wasn't ready for that. And I was a little crabby during these crafts. Then got my "monthly" early today.

Note to Self: Do not do crafts with the children when PMSing.

Just love these pictures of this little goy. Just love him!!

Mr. Maddox is into hats and gloves right now, and sometimes Mason is too. They just run around the house wearing them. In the picture below, Maddox is wearing Mason's pajamas.

He is actually fishing with a drumstick with twine tied to the end of it.

The boys are tallying the number of birds at our feeders. It's fun to see Maddox trying to do everything Mason is doing, although I don't think Mason thinks it's so great.

Overall, it has been a good week. I do notice that my PMS is getting really bad though. I feel so out of control and angry about nothing. May need to get meds adjusted for that. I had so much more to write, but at midnight, my brain dries up.

Tomorrow is my last day of filling in for a maternity leave. I have mixed feelings about that. I am going to miss being around adults, working with families, and having people thank me. There just isn't much thanking when I am at home, as most moms experience, and to get a pat on the back is a nice feeling. I will miss the children I have been working with too. They are all great children with great families.

I will not miss having to plan out Maddox's "menu" for the day, making sure all his creams, benadryl, epipen, etc...are in a special spot and his food is in a special spot, or planning out Mason's day so his homeschool can be reinforced while I am gone. Soooo, mixed feelings. I will still be able to fill in, but sometimes just knowing I am going to work on Tues. really helps me get through the day!!

Tonight I took a mini-mental exam and I thought I was 1 point away from demonstrating cognitive dysfunction, when I realized I subtracted wrong!! I was seriously concerned and thinking I was going to have to go the Dr..Thankfully, my cognitive function is A-OK (well, at least according to this exam :) )

Well, my few readers (I think there are 4 or 5 of you?) I am going to bed. Need to get up for my last day tomorrow.

Hard, crumbly cookies

Well, I attempted sugar cookies today. They smelled great, tasted pretty good, but were hard and crumbly and fall apart when we touch them. The batter was promising, and I really thought they would do well in the oven. I had all these dreams of making cutout cookies with the boys and frosting them, eating the batter, licking the spoons and beaters, etc....We haven't been able to do that for 2 years.

I was soooo angry. I seriously almost threw them outside and cried.

Later, I got to thinking, how thankful I am that God doesn't throw me away when I get hard and crumbly after I've been through some heat instead of becoming what He wants me to become. So, that's my big thank you for today. That's my number 26.

By Zeus!

I watched part of "Community" tonight and a character on the show said "By Zeus! What type of jacka$$ery is this?!" I love this line and feel I could use it several times a day. At least I can use it in my head :)



Cooking supper around here is awful. For whatever reason, as soon as I become occupied with the stove, or bowls, or food, Maddox begins s-c-r-e-a-m-i-n-g and demanding I pick him up and walk around with him and Mason is usually tearing around the house picking on Mason and throwing his body into an inanimate object he can find. I can't stand it. Tonight, the same thing was going on. I lost it. I marched into the living room and told them I was cooking supper for them so they could eat tonight and I would not continue cooking if they kept screaming and picking on each other. Maddox stopped screaming immediately, looked at me, then went on his happy way and played wonderfully for the rest of the night. Mason's mouth fell open, then he said "OK" and played nicely the rest of the night. Who knew it was that easy?


I did apologize to Mason on the way I delivered the message later.





Does anyone else have this situation? It's not that I expect them to gush over me with praise for cooking for them, I would like them to behave while I cook. Both of them will also complain about meals. Maddox likes to say "yuck. all done." and hand it back, and Mason does the normal kid thing. It's frustrating. Personally I would rather throw in a store bought lasgana or pizza, but that's not happening in this household. I may start ending their meal when they complain, but I don't know if they are too young for that. Any suggestions on that one?

Things I am thankful for

14. A full 11 hours of uninterrupted sleep last night! What a difference that makes in a day!

15. Knowing God is with me, even though it feels like everything is out of control at times.

16. The ability to work as often or as little as I like. Really, that is such a blessing, especially in these times.

17. Warm, fuzzy pajamas that make me feel so cozy and warm.

18. Mason's gut busting belly laughing laugh. It is the most wonderful sound in the world.

19. Laughing. I love laughing.

20. The way Maddox snuggles up into my neck occasionally.

21. The smell of the air on crisp fall mornings and the way the cold air almost hurts my nose when I take a deep breath in.

22. How the sky can be an incredible blue, a blue no human could duplicate in paint, or crayon, or pencil.

23. Our couch. I think it is the most comfortable couch in the world. This couch has been comfortable through 2 pregnancies with bed rest, late nights with the boys, movies, and cuddles. And it is still comfortable.

24. Chocolate. Seriously, could anything be better than chocolate? (food-wise).

25. Warm, wonderful days in November....which leads into the pictures below:

These pictures were taken nov 9th. It was an amazing day! We got together with a friend at a park and had a blast.

Mason trying to convince Maddox to go down the slide with him

Having fun on the twirly slide.

He sat like a statue on the merry-go round, then he tipped over.

My friend had her dog and Maddox would squat down and jabber in a high-pitched voice.

Birthday Party

Mason had a great day today. The weather was gorgeous!!! This was the 1st birthday party Mason was able to play outside with his friends. It was fabulous!
Mason, Maddox, Dominic, and Kyrstle playing Transformers after the party.

Shrinky Dinks!!! The kids did Shrinky Dinks. I love those things!

This is the "globe". I think that's Asia, Australia and North America. It looked more like an UFO with globby hands. But, Mason said it was the best cake he had ever seen, so that is all that matters. He's easy to please.

Getting ready to blow out the candles

Mason's only request for his party (other than the globe cake) was that his party not have a theme :( I LOVE themes. So the "theme" of this party was "no theme". We played random games: tape the tail on the turkey, throw a ball in the cut out jack-o-lantern's mouth, Shrinky Dinks, and find the candy in the pile of leaves. (OK, I did manage to get a sort of "autumn related theme through the games...sort of). Even the treat bags weren't related. Nor were the decorations.

Speaking of decorations.

Mason was excited to see a birthday banner and a few streamers this morning, but "I kinda thought there would be some here mom (the entry way between the living room and dining room), that's where they usually are. So, I added a few more streamers and another banner I had. Halloween and their birthdays are the 2 days I will do just about anything they want (within reason and my abilities). So our home is covered in red streamers.

My dream would have been to have the 7 continents around the house as decorations and games related to the continents and different cultures. and food related to different cultures and a few decorations to represent different cultures.

Out in the wagon

Here's the birthday party gang.

Looking for Twizzlers in the leaves. I think they found every last one of them.

Coloring his Shrinky Dinks

Everyone working hard on their Shrinky Dinks
It was a fun, low-key party. My mom wasn't able to come, so that was sad, but she and Dominic, and Junal and Vinnie, Nic and Nanni were over on Thursday evening, Mason's actual birthday. My dad took lots of pictures. It would be nice if my mom could be done with the midnight shift at some point.



The Transformation of the "Globe"(in reverse)

I think I would like to work with this cake pan some more to perfect the "globe" shape. It would be fun to be able to make a round cake. Poor Maddox couldn't eat any of it and it looked so exciting. He kept talking about the "cake". He had a blueberry muffin and tofutti icecream. It's hard. Do I make everything at Mason's party safe for Maddox? I was worried it wouldn't rise without eggs though. These are the challenges with 2 children who do not share food allergies. I'm sure I will figure this out at some point. Right now it's tricky. Anyone have any suggestions?

Maddox's party will only have food that he can eat around. Even the adults will have Maddox safe food. That worked well last year, but his cake will probably be a ricekrispie type dessert.

A fun, relaxing day. Couldn't have been more perfect.

Happy Birthday Mason

(This is a montage of pictures in tribute to Mason's 7th birthday. I had more on here, but the computer disconnected last night, and I lost a bunch. All of the pictures are from the last 2 years. i still need to scan his baby pictures into the computer...we didn't have a digital camera back then.)

Happy Birthday Mason! You are growing up so fast and I love you more each day!

Grand Prix at Awana's. He won a race.

I just love his hair! Uncombable Hair Syndrome and all.

He is such a loving, sweet boy.

He is a funny boy.

Loves secret agents and disguises.

I think he loves decorating for Christmas more than my mom, or at least as much as her.

Always building and creating something.

Loves to cook and help out in the kitchen.

Has the best smile

Is my prince, but now that he is getting older, I may need to refer to him as a knight.

I could look at his smile all day.

Loves to do crazy things

Always in action

Simply adores his baby brother.

Wants another dog desperately

Will do anything with his brother

Is best friends with his cousin Gianni

Likes to do coloring contests and is determined to win at one.

I love this pose. This is how he stands when making a decision about what to do next. He will also stand with his hands clasped behind his back.