Busted

One of Cooper's favorite things to do outside is pee. He will whip it out anywhere at anytime. Got to love little boys!

Taking a Walk

We went to the library today and checked out some new spring books. The weather was so nice, we decided to take a walk. Here are a few things we passed on the way. Such a great way to spend our day.

Full Circle

You know "people" say you will pay for your raising. Well, my tab has officially been started. I was notorious for shoving things under my bed as a way of cleaning up. Every so often my mom would make me clear it all out. Well tonight, I cleaned out under Marlee's bed. Don't judge me or her. :)

Yes, ALL of this was under Marlee's bed. We will be staying inside tomorrow morning until ALL of it is put where it belongs.

Marlee's excuse was she doesn't know where everything goes. My reply was it is her room, therefore she should know exactly where everything belongs. Also, she was informed if this happens again, everything under the bed will go in the trash. We'll see how well she listens.

Moving On Up

The springs on Cooper's toddler bed were about to bust through the mattress. Someone liked jumping on his bed...I'm not naming any names. So I bugged Chad to transition him to a big boy bed. He still moves around a lot, so we opted for a futon spring mattress. His bed sits lower to the ground in case he rolls out. He has done so well and was so excited. We got some really cute transportation bedding from Target. Nice and warm flannel sheets just in time for the cold, winter nights. The best part is now instead of Marlee crawling into our bed each night, she now just walks across the hallway to Cooper's bed and sleeps with him. They love it. They have slept together every night except for a couple times when she stayed asleep in her bed and while we were home for Thanksgiving.

It is pretty funny to listen to them giggling on the monitor each morning. They will usually play upstairs for about 20-30 minutes before they make their way downstairs. They have to fall asleep in their own beds otherwise they would NEVER go to sleep. If Marlee wakes during the middle of the night, then she can crawl in bed with him. They don't cuddle up, but she just likes knowing another person is in bed with her.

The other big news is that Cooper is pull-up free!!! He has been potty-trained during the day since July but just this past weekend HE decided that he didn't want to wear pull-ups to bed anymore. I explained what that would mean for him. He completely understands and uses the bathroom (most nights) before getting in bed. I've slept pretty lightly all week waiting for him to wake during the middle of the night but he's done great. I know there will be a few accidents here and there, but I'm excited for the big boy adventures Cooper's experiencing.

Bad Blogging Award

The bad blogging award would go to me. I have just been plan ol' busy lately. I got behind on uploading pictures, which put me behind on blogging. I'm in the process of back-dating some posts. So scroll through and look for a few new ones and check back later in the week for updated posts. I'll try and do better from here on out.

My Cowgirl Ballerina

I think the pictures say it all. And I threw in a picture of Cooper just for the heck of it.

Homemade Fun

Chad found this neat homemade craft in our Family Fun magazine. Ours is not nearly as pretty, but the kids and myself sure had fun making it. Marlee was all over gathering the materials. Cooper had gathered cars for driving. I don't know why, but the kids love to sit on the steps and play. On any given day, you can find them sitting there in playland. Cooper has a thing about laying down and vrooming his cars back and forth. I guess he likes the view from there. (Sorry for the order of the pictures. They loaded that way, and I didn't want to take the time to move them around.)

Random Saturday

Together

Having two children so close in age who are so strong-willed make for some pretty tiring days around here. But they have had a few really good days lately. By good, I mean they have been playing so well together. Sharing toys. Interacting and playing pretend trains, tea parties, horses. There has been a genuine love for one another. I'm thankful for these days and will try really hard to reference back to them when they are driving me crazy next week and about to kill each other.

This was from a few weeks ago. Silly faces are a must in our house.

Skidamarinkadink

I love you in mornings when you crawl up in my lap and ask me to cover you up. You fit just perfect in my arms. I love how every sentence ends with Momma or Daddy. I love how you ask me, "Where we going today, Momma?"

I love you in the afternoons when you wake up with a smile on your face. I love how you cock your head to the side and smirk a little smile to me.I love that you'll always give me a kiss and a hug. I love that you tell me you love me out of the blue.

I love you in the evenings when you want only me to read you a bedtime story. I love how you sometimes ask me to rock you to sleep. Once we get in the rocker you pick the songs you want me to sing to you while you lay your head on my chest; listening to my heart beat. I love how you mimic my lips' movement while silently trying to follow along with the songs I'm singing.

I love you underneath the moon and thank the Lord each night for being your Mom.

I love you Cooper!

A Puzzle and a Key

I was messing around with the camera and these images got me to thinking. My life has felt like a jigsaw puzzle these last couple of years. I wrote a post awhile back about life not always turning out like you had planned, but I didn't really put a lot of thought into why. When I put a puzzle together, I always look at the box to show me how the finished product looks. Then I proceed to put the outside together.Easy. The hard part is placing and replacing the many small pieces that make the puzzle complete. Isn't that life though? Trying new things out to see how the fit into your world? Sometimes I feel like I am forcing one piece of the puzzle to fit when it doesn't belong.

 To me, life is truly a puzzle and the pieces are the key to unlocking who we are and what our purpose is. I find it interesting to reflect on life these last 15 years. I have spent nearly half of my life trying to figure things out. Who I want to be. Where I want to be. What I want to be doing. Turning 30 this year really made me think about those answers. I have tried out so many puzzle pieces along the way that I finally feel comfortable with who I am. Where I am. And what I am doing.

When I unlock the key I see a Mother, a Wife, a Daughter, and a Friend. I see home. Which isn't a city on a map, but rather comfortable, cozy, warm, and full of love. And what am I doing? Living.

What does your key unlock?

Messy, Messy, Messy

Some days our toy room gets so messy! When the kids are in full play mode, I don't mind it at all. It's when they walk away and don't want to help pick it up that I get the urge to grab a trash bag and throw it all away. Notice Cooper laying down in the corner? We had such a busy week and weekend, he could hardly sit up to play. I guess that's the price for having fun!

Silly Bands

Silly bands are all the rage in our house right now. Marlee and Cooper got some for Christmas but didn't really play around with them too much. That has totally changed as you see in the pictures. Marlee got all of her stuffed animals out and was asking who wanted what color silly band. Then she began passing them out. Cooper didn't want to miss any of the fun, so he sat down with his otter and gave it silly bands, too.

Time to Enjoy the View

Marlee and Cooper have really enjoyed all of the new views around the house. We venture out many times a day to the park (playground) and to the buseum (gazebo). Marlee has finally taken to her bike after 3 months and wants to ride everywhere all the time. Cooper got a tricycle for his birthday and tags along behind her. Our little Pleasentville neighborhood has tons and tons of sidewalks on both sides of the street, so we ride and ride some more. The birds have been chirping, the wind has been blowing, and the kids have been out and around in droves. Marlee and Cooper have really made themselves feel at home. Too bad the attitudes didn't stay in Georgia...sigh.

How do they do that?

Cooper has a new thing of rolling his eyes up when he's thinking. You can tell he's putting a lot of thought into what he wants to say before he says it. It is the cutest thing and makes him seem so much more like a little boy than my baby boy. Marlee's new thing is asking about your dreams and telling you about hers. For now, she's dreaming about spring and butterflies and Tennessee. I'm a dreamer and usually have the wildest ones too. So, I'll be interested to see if she gets my dream habits. It amazes me to watch my children grow into little people.

Life Doesn't Always Go as Planned

By nature, I'm a planner and organizer. I like things a certain way. It may not always be as neat and tidy as you might like, but it works for me. As as kid, I idolized my cousin and aspired to be just like her when I grew up. When she became a lawyer when I was in the 3rd or 4th grade, I made up my mind that I would do the same thing. I kept that dream until my freshman year of college. She was a political science major, so of course, I planned to major in that, too. I took a political science class and didn't fair too well. So I mulled around for a semester or two and decided to major in sociology. I stayed with sociology and added an elementary education minor. Although I didn't enter college with the mindset that I would graduate a teacher, I'm happy things didn't work out the way I had planned.



When I dreamed of being pregnant, I envisioned having that "glow" and eating pickles and ice cream while watching my belly bounce all around. Well 3 months of 24/7 morning sickness didn't allow for the pickles and ice cream. The "glow" was a wicked rash all over my body, and the bounce was my sciatic nerve bouncing from leg to leg, crippling me as I walked. My pregnancies didn't turn out the way I had planned either, but regardless of the craziness I was experiencing, two beautiful and healthy babies grew inside my belly for those 10 months. As the saying goes, the pain was worth the gain.



I love being a parent, but it is the hardest thing I have ever done. I had grand plans for the way things would happen and how I would raise my kids, i.e., no tv, processed foods, strict bedtimes well behaved ALL the time. The list could go on. My children have their moments of love. Like today, Marlee was sitting in my lap and out of the blue told me she was in my heart. I had her repeat what she said and asked what that meant. She told me she was in my heart because she loved me. It totally melted me. Cooper always thanks me when I fix his moo juice and excuses himself when he burps. On the flip side today, Marlee had a timeout with lots of screaming and crying, and Cooper deliberately poured sand out onto the patio. My plans for parenting may not be working out the way I hoped, but I love my children just the way they are and love them for the persons they will become.

So what I've realized in my 29 years is that I may have plans for the way life should unfold, but life doesn't always go as planned. I just need to breathe, count to 10, and be grateful for the wonderfulness that surrounds me.

Following My Head or My Heart

Marlee has started a bad habit of waking up in the middle of the night and coming into our bedroom. In the beginning, we would instantly take her back to bed. This could happen several times in one night. Slowly, Chad and I let her crawl in bed and cuddle for a bit, then we would take her back once she fell back asleep. Now this is happening almost every night.

A few weekends back, Chad and I were talking to her about the importance of staying in her own bed at night. Of course she asked why. Our reply was our bed just isn't big enough for 3 people. She said Chad and I could roll over and make a spot for her right in the middle. How could we argue with that? She's got reasoning 101 down. LOL

So the problem is, do I follow my head and continue to put her back in her bed or follow my heart and enjoy cuddling with my daughter? I worry that she's not getting quality sleep at night because she's waking up. I know how important sleep is for her especially since she doesn't take naps anymore. On the other hand, I know one day soon she won't want to lay in bed and cuddle with us at all.

What's a mother to do?!?! Have you had any experience with this? Strategies? Tips?

Calm Down and Be Nice

Boy, over the last few weeks Marlee and Cooper have been playing together like a someone is flipping a switch on and off. One minute they are all buddy-buddy and the next minute someone is screaming and crying. It makes for some exhausting days around here. Cold and rainy weather doesn't help the situation much. That's why this past weekend, I threw both kids outside in the sun and locked the door. Ah, I'm just joking, but we did spend LOTS of time in the sunshine. I think everyone slept like a rock Sunday night.

Cooper is becoming more and more independent. He is playing by himself more and more, too. Saturday afternoon he headed to the steps with a handful of monster trucks. I could tell he was on the steps, so I went to check on him. He jerked around and threw his hand in my face and said, "No, Mommy! My play monster trucks on steps!" It was rather cute to sit back and watch him play. He's starting to develop imaginative play. He was making truck sounds and racing them back and forth.He sat there for several minutes playing. Today, he did the same thing with his trains. He's definitely becoming more like a little boy and less like a toddler.

All of this independence disrupts Marlee's game plan. She's developing a bossy streak and has meltdowns if Coop doesn't do exactly what she wants. Cooper will voice his opinion usually with a scream and running away from whatever he was doing. Needless to say, my nerves have been tested lately. A few new sayings around the house are"Calm Down!" and "Be Nice!" I'm sure the neighbors are thinking, "What in the world is going on over there?!?!"

Simple Pleasures

One of my favorite blogs, Kelly's Korner, did a entry on simple pleasures. A few friends followed suite and blogged theirs also. I have though about mine all week and decided to list them.

My simple pleasures:

*Early Morning cuddles with Marlee
*The feeling of Marlee and Cooper relaxing in my arms
*Late night rocks with Coop
*listening to Marlee sing (and Cooper trying his best to sing along)
*My children's laughter
*Silence
*Wind chimes
*The perfect cup of coffee
*A kiss from Chad (still makes me weak in the knees and gets my heart racing)
*Hugs
*3 Simple Words: I Love You

It's Here!

Cooper has always been the happy little addition to our family. Well the time has come for the terrible 2's. Cooper is in full swing of fit-throwing, screaming "NO!", falling to the floor, kicking his legs, and voicing his opinion about whatever. I've had 2 sets of neighbors comment on how they have never seen Cooper upset before. I just laugh and say yes, the terrible 2's have arrived 2 months shy of his second birthday.

I was really hoping his laid-back personality would keep him calm, but I guess every kid goes through some sort of adjustment period. His biggest problem is craving Independence like Marlee. This stretches from sitting in a big chair at the table to drinking out of a cup to walking around a store while we're shopping.

He's experiencing many more timeouts than before. It is funny to hear and see Marlee's reaction to his behavior. She recognizes when he's throwing a fit over something silly, yet, she doesn't see the silliness of her own fits. I just try and use those times as examples of what he or she could do as a better choice for the situation.

I hope he quickly grows out of this behavior. I already have too many grey hairs and wrinkles! I don't need anymore.