Sporty Spice

Chloe has been playing basketball this year.  Honestly we aren't very sporty people.  I mean I guess Greg was in high school but not really since then.  I don't enjoy any sports where people have to defend me or when there is any sort of pressure put on me so that pretty much rules out any competitive group sports.  I do however really excel at shooting things into the garbage.  And I play a mean game of P-I-G or H-O-R-S-E depending on how much energy I have.  Greg and my first date was actually us playing H-O-R-S-E together and I wooped him.  I won him over when I sunk a shot from half court.  So maybe Chloe gets it from me.  ;-)

Her coaches are really great.  They focus on drills and skills and not so much the game part so it is all the parts of basketball I would really enjoy.  Anyway, if she isn't tripping over the ball while she's dribbling, she's really good and being open for shots and passing and really good at rebounds because she doesn't make too many shots.  Still it is fun to watch her and fun to watch her team.  There is a little boy on her team that just gets tired of running around and lays down on the court sometimes.  And there is a girl who goes into her own world sometimes and starts jumping around like a frog.  So there is lots of entertainment.  She's got another set of games this month so it should be fun to see if there is much improvement.

Gavin and Tati have really been enjoying themselves too.  Tati loves to run around and shoot the ball and Gavin just loves the freedom a large gym provides.  He can also be lured to sit still if you're playing a video game and he can watch you.

Old Ladies

So it turns out that I really love doing embroidery.  Who would've known?

I decided that this year for birthday presents, I would sew my childrens' friends a purse or bag with some embroidered embellishments.  It has been great because it keeps me sorta crafty but it is something that I can do in spurts and really is relaxing.  Embroidery books however are super dumb.  They are written in a language I don't understand.  They are in the same language as word problems, health insurance pamphlets, tax information, and overly detailed period piece novels about the British class system.  My dear, sweet, husband who speaks all of those languages except the last was able to help me visualize the stitches and translate the words into my language.  I've been adding a few, new stitches to my repertoire.  I've been laughing at myself at how excited I've been getting at dorky things like embroidery hoops that are really tight, or a really sharp needle, or even adding beads and sequins to things.  Apparently this excitement has been contagious because Chloe has been really wanting to do some embroidery too.  So I gave her the chance.  At first I thought it was over her head because she wasn't listening to all the instructions before trying the stitches and she wasn't watching me the way I told her to poke the needle or hold the needle and I was getting frustrated and impatient.  So I told her she had better listen or she wasn't going to get to sew.  So she listened and I explained it all again.  Then I gave her a simple straight line to sew.  She did it.  So I gave her a another straight line to sew.  She did it.  Then I gave her a straight-ish line with a little bump in it to sew.  She did it.  Then she said she wanted to sew her name.  And lo and behold, SHE DID IT!  Now I need to come up with some project where she can sew her name.  I'm so proud of her.  Honestly, she exceeded my expectations.  See for yourself.  Now we're both turning into old ladies.

Daddy's B-day

Greg's birthday was pretty low key. He's so sweet because he told me that he would enjoy his birthday so much more if I didn't have to cook or put a lot of time into making him a cake.  So he requested that we eat a Costco meal.  So we got a rotisserie chicken and some of those yummy ciabatta breads and even got a ready made cheesecake.  I made some garlic butter for the bread and we had a quick and easy meal.  It was great.  He was right, I really ejoyed that meal and not having to do a bunch of cooking and cleaning made me be in a much better mood which always makes Mommy more enjoyable to be around.

Greg's sisters sent him a little birthday surprise this year. It turned out to be not only a fun present for him but also for the kids: LEGOS! They assembled it together and then played with it together. It was a cute and fun activity for all!

TWO Cute!

It is crazy how fast this kid is growing up.

For his birthday this year, we just had some friends over for dinner and "cake".  I decided not to make a normal cake for him this year because Greg's birthday is so close and also because Gavin never really eats cake.  Like most kids, he licks the frosting and then is does.  He does, however, LOVE whipped cream so I was fancy and made some pavlova for his b-day.  They turned out a bit overcooked but delicious and he loved it.

Since it has been so cold and gross, the kids have been like caged animals.  So Greg took Gavin for a little father/son walk around the block and just let Gavin pick up rocks and take his time.  It started out pretty fun but but by the time he was home, he was crying because his little hands were freezing (he wouldn't wear his mittens).Greg managed to take a few awesome shots while they were out.

A few days later, Greg took the kids to the indoor garden to take some pics.  I usually try and do a photo shoot with the kids for their birthday but I wasn't feeling too good so I stayed home to rest.  I think he did a great job.

Here are a few with his best siblings. Sometimes the candid shots are the most cute.

We love Gavin so much.  Here are some things he loves to do:

• Loves to cuddle and cozy up with his blankie.  
• Loves to climb Chloe's ladder and play on her top bunk.
• Love chips, fruit snacks and candy.
• Loves to shower.  Anytime he hears the water on, he wants to get inside with whoever is in there.
• Loves to read books, especially his book about trucks.  He has almost all the trucks and cars memorized.
• He loves to play with Legos.  He can't really put anything too fancy together but he can put simply things together.  He also really loves taking the pieces apart.
• He loves gum.
• He loves pretending he's driving the car.
• He loves helping me cook.  He gets on his step ladder in the kitchen and helps me.  His favorite thing to make is hummus mostly because he loves pushing the button on the food processor and also because he loves to dip his finger in it for a taste test.  He also really loves to turn the mixer on although that one I have to keep a really close eye on him.

The Ice Man

Greg's job at church is to organize the cleaning of the building and the snow removal. Since we live across the street from our church, that also allows for Greg to gauge the needs of the church a little better. So after a full day of snow, he decided he'd head over and clear it a bit so it didn't become too deep for the next day. He called around and nobody was available to help so he headed over and did the work by himself. It was soooooooooo cold I couldn't believe he really went out there and did it. When he returned home, this is what he looked like:

So who needs Top Gun? I've got my own Ice Man right here.

(And p.s. The beard is a phase that began sometime in November and since we've been watching Duck Dynasty, the pride in this beard has been growing with the hair.)

Closer Look

If you looked closely at this picture, do you know what you'd see?  You'd see every color of the rainbow somewhere on this "outfit".  Well, that's not true, you wouldn't see orange but we didn't know that until later.

What was the grand occasion?

Well, we went singing time at the library today and they do a colors song and if you have the color on that the teacher says, you get to jump up and shout "hurray!".  Last time we went she wore like 2 colors.  Apparently that was when she hatched this brilliant plan.  It was pretty brilliant.  Because of her shirt (mostly), she jumped up and shouted "hurray" on each color until they got to orange.  That's when she realized there was no orange in her get up.  I have to give her props for not jumping up anyway and being honest.

After singing time I asked her if she had a great time and she said, "Yeah but next time I'm going to wear orange too and I'll tell the lady to call black because she forgot and I had it on."

We're Broken & Not

I've been sick like I have never been before for over 60 days.  Think about that for a second.  60 days feels like forever when you are nauseous for 2/3 of the day and exhausted and not able to eat real food or enjoy the food you force down.  It has been rough and this family has literally been in survival mode complete with cereal, scrambled eggs and quesadillas for dinner everyday.  Laundry sits for sometimes a week in the clean baskets until it is folded and pretty much as soon as Greg gets home from work, I just hit the couch until bedtime.  During my 1/3 time of the day where I'm actually feeling "ok", I've been trying to do more to make me feel normal.  Yesterday I made muffins (which I normally liked to do once once/week), I've been sewing a bit AND I've been trying to actually interact with my kids and not just have them watch t.v. all day while I throw snacks at them.

I've been thinking a lot about this new baby that will be joining our family and wondering how it will affect the dynamic between the kids.  I've been worrying that there just isn't enough of Mommy and Daddy to go around.  Then we had a big lesson on family love the other night.

It started out as a big scare though.  Gavin was jumping on the couch while I was laying next to him.  He decided to make a big pillow mountain and then jump off of it onto the couch.  Our couch pillows are quite sturdy and there was an ottoman in front of the couch so I figured it was all safe.  He jumped several times cracking himself up and landing over and over.  Then one time he jumped, fell, crumpled and just started crying hysterically.  I was so confused b/c I didn't understand how he could've been hurt.  I told Chloe to help him up and give him a hug and I thought we'd just go on our merry way.  But he wouldn't stop crying.  Then he wouldn't walk or stand without crying even harder.  That's when we got worried.  Greg took a look at his foot and it was starting to swell up.  We were sure it was broken.  So he rushed him to Urgent Care while I stayed home with the girls.

While they were gone, the girls were so worried about Gavin.  They were pacing and crying and saying prayers for him.  They kept asking me questions about casts and bones and pain and suffering.  It was so sad and so sweet.  They couldn't sleep because Gavin was still gone and so I had them take a nice, long, hot shower to calm them down and finally they were able to sleep.  Gavin and Daddy came home a few hours later.  Nothing was broken.  Just some soft tissue damage and a bruise.  He still is limping a bit but we were assured that all would be well over time.

For as scary as it was, it was also a really wonderful experience for me, as a mom.  I didn't realize just how much Gavin has changed our lives and changed our family.  It seems crazy to remember a life without a little boy in it.  Without spit kisses and trucks running over your feet.  He has really changed us forever. 

And it made me super excited to see the kids with a new brother or sister learning to love somebody else all over again.

So yeah, we're a little broken right now and disorganized and downright just surviving but we're also going to be ok.  No, we'll be better than ok.