New Artbooks

Bria has always been so interested in drawing. The problem is, she gets out ten million sheets of paper everyday and we end up with piles and piles of artwork that eventually get thrown away. I hate always throwing her artwork away, and I always save the one's she really worked hard on, but they just get so piled up. I thought about buying her a drawing pad, but they always seem so expensive for only a few sheets of paper.


Here's is our solution:



A few weeks ago, I found a screamin' deal online and got 20 reams of paper for $25 (including shipping). It works out to be 10,000 sheets of paper. So, now we have more paper than we know what to do with.

I made covers for each of the artbooks using some digi-scrapbook stuff I already have on my computer. I printed them with our fabulous printer that does borderless printing. I added a huge stack of paper. Then, we took them to the local print and copy place and had them bound for about $2.00 each. So, instead of getting a drawing pad with 20 or so sheets, they each have a good amount of paper that (hopefully) will last longer than a few days.


The kids both LOVE them and can't get enough of drawing their pictures. Plus, when they have completely filled the books and are finished, they can their own art "album" to look at.

Max's Birthday, cont.

I'm finally getting around to posting about Max's birthday. It was SO fun!

We started off the day by going to lunch at Applebee's. We hardly ever take the kids to any restaurants. This was more of a mom and dad place, but we had a gift certificate, so....we decided on Applebee's. It was good, though and the kids had a blast! They were so excited that they got to drink Root beer and even got refills!

After lunch, we went BOWLING! It was a blast!! Neither of the kids have ever been, so it was fun for everyone! It is such a kid-friendly activity.

Bria bowled all by herself. She had such a unique style. She would walk up and awkwardly, but efficiently, throw the ball down the lane. Then, after every turn, she would turn and do a twirl.

They have bumpers on the sides to get rid of the gutter. They also had a ramp that Max used to roll the ball easier. Bria bowled all by herself. She had such a unique style. She would walk up and awkwardly, but efficiently, throw the ball down the lane. Then, after every turn, she would turn and do a twirl. Max's big fascination was just rolling the ball. It took a few times for him to realize that the whole point is to knock over the pins. He was just happy rolling the ball! He did great - bowling a 102 on his very first time! Go Max!!!

After bowling, we came home for dinner and presents/cake & ice cream.

Bria was SO excited about her present to Max. She got him a silver ball and a kite (but the weather has been too bad to even try it yet). She could hardly wait ALL day to give him his present. It was so cute and added a lot to the excitement.

Max got a new outfit and a baseball and a baseball glove from Grandma & Grandpa Webster. He had fun tossing the ball with Dad. Then Grandma & Grandpa Martin got him a circus addition to the Thomas the Train set they gave him for Christmas. It was really like Christmas all over for Max - he couldn't get enough of all these presents!!!

Mom and Dad thought it was about time that he got his own bike. When we wheeled it over to the table, his eyes lit up! All he could say was "I want to ride that!" We've practiced with him a little bit, but he still needs to learn to pedal by himself. (If only we could get some of that warm spring weather back!)

Happy Birthday Max!

Today was Max's birthday. I can't believe how much he is growing up!! It seems like he's grown up faster than even Bria. I don't know if it's just because we're busier now. But, it makes me kind of sad to see the time go so fast. I keep telling Max to stay little, but he always tells me "Me can't stay little. Me need to be big boy." I know he's right. But, really, where does the time go?!?

We had an extremely full and busy day with him, but that post will have to wait until tomorrow. I am exhausted!!! This pregnancy is literally wearing me out - and I don't think I have another ounce of energy left for today. But, I wanted to post a few pictures of Max's journey so far:

This picture was taken the day Max was born. If the massive bruise on his forehead doesn't tell you about his traumatic entrance into this world, I don't know what could. Poor baby! The doctor said that the two white lines that go through the bruise were caused by my pelvic bone. Max is literally our miracle child. We had so many complications during the delivery that the Dr said he'd NEVER seen that many complications in the same delivery! One of the major complications was the double knot that was in his umbilical cord, which if stretched at all, would completely cut off the blood supply. It's really amazing that he even made it through the pregnancy. Lots and lots of babies die with a single (let alone a double) knot in umbilical cords. They are either born too early or end up being stillborn.

I'm so glad he made it through okay. I can't even imagine our family without his sweet spirit!

Max at his 1 year birthday party.

Max at his 2 year birthday party.

It's amazing to me to see the change from year to year! They grown up so fast!!!

No more pacifier!

I'm jumping back on the blogging bandwagon. I've had kind of a dry spell lately/ But no longer - now that I'm feeling better I'm starting to notice how much more there is to blog about!

I am SO proud of Max. We've been trying to break him from his pacifier habit for MONTHS! He's been talking like he wants to get rid of it, but without fail, at bedtime he cried until he got it back. And, quite frankly, I've been too much of a softie and too lazy to force him to give it up. Plus, he pretty much has just used it at night.

Well, last Saturday, me and the kids did a major overhaul cleaning of the basement. Too much mess - too many toys. During the cleaning, Max brought his pac to me and told me it was garbage and to throw it away. This wasn't the first time he's said this - we've been encouraging him for months. But, this time, I just took it quietly and put it into my pocket. Normally I go into a dramatic charade and say "Are you sure?" "You might be sad at bedtime without it" or "Okay, watch me throw it away"! I know - maybe Bria gets some of her drama from me. Anyhow, I just smiled and pocketed the pacifier.

When bedtime came, Max didn't say ONE word about it - and he slept all night without so much as a whimper. The next morning, I gave him giant praises, and he just simply said "Pac's are for babies. I'm a big boy."

(this picture is from April 2008 - if this doesn't show his obsession with pacifiers, I don't know what else could!)

I'm so proud of him!! This is something he truly decided and carried through on his own! It was SO much easier than going through a power struggle with him and deciding for him what was right. Instead, he made his own decision and, since he's a big boy, stuck to his guns.

So, I am happy to say - we are currently pacifier free! (Now to finish the potty training).

Bria's Morningtime Artwork

Bria is a morning person. She always has been. The problem with that is the rest of the family LOVES to sleep in. She wakes up very early every morning - usually no later than 7:00, but lots of times earlier. She wakes up and is VERY happy. She sings songs, plays at her highest level of creativity, and likes to talk to everyone else (while still in bed) about all of her morning adventures. Everyone has been getting increasingly frustrated at her morning cheerfulness, but it is so hard to get upset - after all, she is happy and this is part of who she is!

Enter solution.

Bria loves to draw, cut, paint, glue. Pretty much any type of artwork. She gets grounded from her crayons regularly for leaving them lying around for Max to scoop up and color all over the walls. But, really, if I had to decided something that is truly Bria's favorite thing to do, it would be art. Even when she was 1 1/2, you could give her crayons and paper and she would be entertained for hours. I remember when she learned how to draw circles. She literally drew THOUSANDS! She would fill whole papers with tiny circles.

So, to alleviate some of our morning time woes, we have devised a plan. Bria is allowed to color and draw her heart out - first thing in the morning, when everyone else is asleep. It is working magically. No more singing loudly. No more waking Max up hours before he is ready. No more telling a half way asleep mom about her wild dreams during the night. (Not that we mind any of these things, but not so cheerfully at 6:30 in the morning - just a little later in the day would be nice).

Here is what she has been coming up with. She did these completely on her own. I helped her spell the words she later added to the pictures, since she can't read or spell on her own yet - but, she did write the words on her own.

Weather: She drew Rain, Snow, Hail, and Sunshine.

Spider web: I couldn't believe the detail she put into the web. She said the spiders are chasing each other around the web. Also, when I told her how to spell spider web, she was so proud of the S she made. (Kingergarten - here she comes!!!)

To full appreciate this, you have to know how big this piece of cardboard is. I really have no idea where she found it, but it is about 2 feet wide by 3 feet tall. She found some of my decorative scissors and cut paper to her hearts desire. Then, glued each one. It looks like a mosaic to me.

This tree was on the other side of the cardboard. I was very impressed by her cutting skills. She cut that tree out all on her own.

Springtime in Idaho

Just when we thought we were gearing up for some really great weather, mother nature turned on us! It's been pretty cold all week - even with snow! Dave took this picture on Sunday. I thought it was so ironic since it was only a few days earlier that we all spent the day outside in t-shirts and ended up with sunburns!

Spring is in the Air!

Today was the warmest day we've had this spring. It was perfect! The sun was shining, the wind stopped blowing, and the tulips are starting to bloom! The kids spent the majority of the day playing outside. They jumped on the trampoline, rode bikes in the driveway, raked the dirt in our barren garden, and tried to find every friend they could muster up to join in their fun. It's been a good day.

St. Patrick's Day

Yesterday, I told Bria she needed to go pick out something green to wear in the morning since it was going to be St. Patrick's Day. She ran down to her room and found the perfect shirt.

When she got upstairs, she asked "What do you get on St. Patrick's Day?"

"Pinched", I said. "But only if you don't have green on."

"No, I mean what do you GET?"

"Pinched!!"

"Mom, are you kidding me?!? I mean WHAT do you GET?!?"

"I'm serious, Bria - you get pinched if you don't have green on!"

So, since there is NOTHING else you get on St. Patrick's day, and apparently she didn't want to get pinched, she told me this morning that she slept all night in her green shirt so that no one would be able to pinch her for even one second!! (I didn't make the same wise observation and she was ready with her pinching fingers first thing this morning! She helped me remedy my greenlessness and picked out an appropriately green shirt for me too - but not before she got her fair share of pinches in! When else is it okay to pinch mom and not get in trouble for it?)

We did have a fun dinner, too. I attempted to make corned beef and cabbage - which I think turned out rather nicely! I also made Irish soda bread and to finish it off, I added a little bit of green apple sauce, which I don't think the kids ever did figure out what it was. But, it was a fun and yummy dinner.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

A CHEAP Shot!

Mondays, our local district health office does immunizations. Since Max is turning 3 in about a week, I decided it was high time that he got his 2 year old shots and Bria was due for her pre-kindergarten ones. So, I called and made an appointment and to my surprise, they got us in that same day! It was probably better.....less build up.

When I broke the news to Bria, she cried and cried - "Why, Mom, Why!!! Why would you make us get shots!! This is the worst day EVER!!!"

Max had a different idea - he was so excited!! All day, he said "Now we go get shots? Now? Now?" "No, Max, not for a while."

I don't know if he just forgot what it means to get a shot - I really doubt it. He saw me get blood drawn at my drs appt a couple of weeks ago. My theory is that he is obviously so entertainment starved, that even getting a SHOT was better than staying home ANOTHER day.

When we got to the appointment, the feelings had escalated - Bria's anxiety and Max's excitement. I honestly don't know why he didn't catch on to Bria's nervous feelings, but nothing was going to sway his mood! The nurses and receptionist couldn't quit laughing because he was SO excited!

They called Max and Bria back for their turn. I definitely wanted Max to go first - I didn't want Bria's screaming to kill Max's excitement, so better get his out of the way first. Right up until the very moment the needle pierced his skin, he was beaming. The minute he got poked, the look on his face was PRICELESS!! He go CHEATED! This was NOT what he thought was going to happen!!! Poor guy! Nothing a little bit of TLC and a sticker won't fix!

It was good I let Max go first, Bria SCREAMED! I hope she didn't scare any of the kids in the waiting room! When I made the appointment, I was REALLY going for Max, and just thought I would squeeze Bria in. But, it turned out that Max only needed ONE shot and Bria needed FIVE!!!! Poor girl! Her legs were covered in band-aids. And, one of them was a Tetanus shot, so her leg has been bothering her since. Even today, she's been begging me for NO MORE SHOTS!!

Bows for Bria

Since I started feeling better, I have been dying to get out of the house. Luckily, the weather has been warming up and the snow is melting, so it's really easy to be motivated to leave the stuffy indoors. Mostly, I've been just going to the store. At this point, even a trip to Walmart feels like a vacation.

Yesterday, my SIL Jessica invited me over to make hair bows for our girls. We've talked about it on and off for the last couple of months, but I haven't felt good enough and it never has seemed to work out. But, yesterday we finally got together. Thanks to Jessica's teaching talent and my generous MIL donating some beautiful flowers, I came home with some darling new hair pieces for Bria. Now, maybe her neglected hair will finally look cute again!!

Pregnancy Updated

YEAH!!!! I am finally starting to feel better and be able to semi-function. I really thought this day would never come, but I'm almost there. I still get sick most mornings, but I have seriously cut down on the nausea medication. I actually feel like cooking again. And, slowly but surely, I've been trying to put our havoc-torn house back together. We still have a long way to go, but at least I can function like a person again.