Coloring...Confinement Style

Coloring & toddler don't belong in the same sentence in my opinion unless there is some confinement involved. I know my toddler very well & I'm sure he'd end up coloring on God only knows what, but probably not the paper provided for him. Lucky for me, he's been obsessed with sitting in his booster seat ever since he ate dinner in it. So, I decided we'd have some confined coloring time today. J seemed to really enjoy himself...here are his steps to creating the perfect coloring masterpiece.

Step 1 - Decide the 3 crayons Mom gave you is limiting your creative talents.

Step 2 - Dump the rest of the Big Box of 96 crayons on your tray.

Step 3 - Discard box & get down to business. By business, I mean act as spastic as possible with all 96 crayons.

Step 4 - Sit back & survey your work...only a few marks on a piece of paper, but crayons all.over.the.entire.room!

So, I'm sure you're wondering, "How did Becky know to confine him?". Well, consider this scenario, unconfined during "Toddler Time" at the LIBRARY! You know, the place where you're supposed to be quite & neat. I'm sure you can just picture it.

Yes...he definitely needs to be confined for any activity with crayons. And we're not even going to discuss markers yet.

What an awesome computer!

So I feel like my HP laptop & I have a real bond since we spend so much time together. I often think I need to set some boundaries to our relationship. I'm pretty sure if I won this computer, then I'd break up with it completely! Well, probably not since this computer is a desktop & my laptop will travel with me anywhere I go. Yes, I'm sure it would be very gluttonous to have my laptop (that I adore) and this baby, so I'll be sure to repent of my sin if I win.

My two favorite features...(1)it's a touch screen & (2)you can TALK to it. And it will listen to you & respond. AMAZING. OK, it would be a Christmas miracle if I win, so I guess it's a good thing I believe in miracles!!

Creative Parenting

I'm not sure if I've mentioned that we're in the middle almost through with a basement renovation project, but we are. Josh & I are could not be more excited & pumped for this to be finished. We're going to be using this space as part playroom & part craft/LEGO area. A little something for all of us & it's going to be AWESOME!! Let me take a moment now to thank our incredibly generous parents for making this possible. Could there be a better Christmas present than a whole new room in your house? I doubt it.

Anyway...back to the renovation. The painters have been here this week (see almost done!!!) and with paint comes fumes. Nasty, brain-cell-killing fumes. It wasn't too bad until they started painting the steps with the oil-based paint. Then I just couldn't take it anymore so we had evacuate to the upstairs & close all the doors. However, we still have to eat supper. So, how am I supposed to feed a toddler in my bedroom without making a complete mess & causing me to scrub the room from top to bottom? Ahh...enter the booster seat! Evidently it does just as great a job on the floor as in a chair. And I actually think Jeremiah was a lot less messy than normal.

I promise that he is wearing a diaper in this picture...I'm not trying to add more mess to clean up!

Thanksgiving in pictures

 

GO PACK!!!!

There was a football game this weekend...a bit of a RIVALRY game. The Wolfpack vs. the Tarholes oops! I mean Tarheels. Our divided family brunched together at home, then headed out to the game. But not Jeremiah & Mom...it was a bit chilly & interfered with naptime. Don't mess with naptime! Josh & I were prepared for our beloved Wolfpack to be crushed by Carolina. I mean we've only won 4 games & 2 of those were against 1-AA schools. Pitiful. PIT-I-FUL!

But WAIT! What was that? The Wolfpack BEAT the Tarheels?? Oh yes they did! 28-27...wahoooooo!! I was so excited I could hardly stand it, but I was trying to be gracious & not rub it in too much.

After all, I do love my family & we all try to be great sports. Some of them even submit to a post-defeat picture with me to show they are not sore losers. 

It was a PERFECT ending to a great time in Raleigh. Thanksgiving post to follow sometime soon...

Thankful

I have so much to be thankful for, here are a some...

1. My husband. He's amazing & I love him so much. We were so fortunate to meet while we were so young & get to spend so much of our lives together.  This is not the most flattering picture of either of us, but it's one of my favorites for sentimental reasons. It was taken Thanksgiving 2007, the year Thanksgiving Lunch was hosted at our house (due to major construction at Mom & Jim's). We found out that very morning that we were pregnant with J, but decided to keep it our little secret.

2. Jeremiah. How could I not be thankful for God's most abundant blessing - a child. Especially a child who is so happy & full of life. Loves to snuggle & EAT! I could write a million words & it still wouldn't adequately describe the love I have for him.

3. My parents. They raised me to remember that family comes first & I'm so thankful for that. They also taught me the value of education (even if your plan is to get your MRS Degree, have a handful of children, stay home with them) & encouraged me to be independent. Sometimes they probably wish they would have toned back that last lesson a bit. :)

4. My in-laws. They raised my husband to work hard and love his family well. Obviously they did a great job because he does both of these things impeccably.  No matter how busy, they are always willing to share their time, many talents, and a great meal.

5. Brothers & Nephews. Josh & I are both blessed with great brothers who like to have fun and occasionally be a bit crazy. We also have two nephews who we enjoy spending time with & love to play with their cousin. Jeremiah is crazy about all of them. 

  

  

6. Grandparents. I still have three living grandparents and their love is amazing & spoiling. What a blessing for Jeremiah to have great-grandparents. Of course, we greatly miss our grandparents who have passed on as well and are thankful for the love they showed us while here.

  

7. A best friend. I'm so thankful to have Nicole as a friend to laugh with, craft with, encourage one another, become Twi-moms with, and just generally have a good time even doing nothing more than watching our kids love on each other. This picture cracks me up because it's so typical of how our time together usually is - not perfect! We're trying to get a family picture but Jeremiah's sitting on Dylan & Anna doesn't really want anything to do with it, yet Nicole still has a smile on her face. Love it!

Blessed. Beyond blessed. Praise You God for your abundance, love, mercy, and grace.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Fingers are the best utensils.

Dear Jeremiah, 

Recently you've decided to assert your toddler independence in many ways. Your temper tantrums are by far my least favorite way, however what I'm about to talk about is definitely #2 on my "dislike" list. You've decided you do NOT want anyone to feed you with a spoon or fork. You INSIST on feeding yourself things like yogurt & applesauce. This creates such a mess at every meal that you really need a bath about 3 times a day.  I'm really hoping there's a sharp learning curve to your utensil use because right now you give up on the spoon or fork and opt for your fingers. Yes, you feed yourself yogurt with your fingers! It's disgusting and not very effective. Here are a couple of pictures to demonstrate the mess. This was a lunch of peanut butter on graham crackers that you dipped in your applesauce. YUCK! But I love you anyway.

Bunches of love,

Mommy

Changes...

Making some "design" changes to the blog. However, I know nothing about doing this so bear with me as I work out the kinks. :)

What's up?

Long time, no blog. So what have we been up to?

Well...Jeremiah went to his first UNC/Duke football game with Mimi & G-pa. It seems he had a good time & I'll be sure to upload some pictures of that event later when I get them from Mimi. Josh & I still think he should have worn an NCSU outfit to the game, but others thought differently. Luckily, the Pack did manage to beat the Turtles last weekend - wahoooo!!!

This week, Josh had not 4, but 5 wisdom teeth removed. It was ugly. VERY UGLY. Poor guy. I have a ridiculously embarrassing photo of him that I really want to post, but I'm going to be a good wife & not post it. It's definitely taking a LOT of willpower. So Josh could recover in peace, J stayed Monday night & Tuesday with Nana & Popa, then headed east to stay with Mimi & G-pa the remainder of the week. It's been a nice break from toddler-distractions this week, but I'm ready to get my hands on the little guy, give him a big "squzzle" & lots of kisses!

During my "free time" this week...in between 20-min icepack (I mean frozen pea bag) changes, meds every 4 hours around the clock (yes...I set my alarm for 3am & 7am to be sure he didn't have a lapse in pain meds...I think I deserve a good wife award), making LOTS of pudding and trying to find anything soft & not too hot for my "patient" to eat...I've cleaned the house, caught up on laundry, and started a Christmas Quilt! I think it's going to be so fun & funky - a great twist on a traditional holiday. Check it out so far...

I also finished the Twilight series this week. I totally didn't think I'd get into this & I definitely did. I didn't want to put the books down & was sad to see the story end. I liked the movie - it wasn't fabulous (the book is always better), but I did enjoy it & I'm excited for New Moon to come out in 1 week!

And last, but CERTAINLY not least...the basement!!! I cannot even begin to explain my excitement over our new space. Popa & his guys have been working down there this week since we've had a second coming of The Flood thanks to remnants of Hurricane Ida. The drywall is up & ready to be finished, then painting & flooring...YAY!!!!

Pickle Face

Jeremiah had a pickle at dinner the other night...what priceless expressions!