Meal Plan Monday!

I'm dreading this, really. Not that I'm burnt out on cooking or anything, I'm just tired and don't feel like thinking. And partially because, like last week, I have a couple that just didn't actually happen and are carried over. Doesn't make for a very interesting blog, does it? But, I can either do it now, or fumble around every night this week at dinnertime trying to figure out what to make. So, onward!

Okay, let me open up my Excel spreadsheet of meals to choose from! (um, and last week's blog to see what we didn't have) Ahem....

Last night's Greek Lentil Soup was fantastic! Thanks Hannah =)

Tonight:

Ribeye Steak, Salad

Tuesday:

Taco Chicken (Riley's fave!); Green Beans. Here's the yummy recipe if you're interested:

Preheat oven to 400.

3 Chicken Breasts (or more depending on how many people you're feeding)

1.5 t Taco Seasoning (or you can make your own with 1/2 t salt, and 1/4 t each of oregano, paprika, garlic salt and chili powder)

3 T Mayo or Miracle Whip (we use MW but I'd like to gradually switch over to homemade mayo)

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Tortilla Chips (we've switched to Garden of Eatin' Organic Blue Corn Chips, so that's what we'll be using this time)

Taco sauce, hot sauce, or salsa

Mix the seasoning and mayo, spread it across the tops of the chicken, crush the chips and press into the chicken, then sprinkle the cheese on top. Sometimes I put the cheese on first, I always forget which way it's supposed to go. Just use as much as you want.

Bake for 20 minutes, then top with sauce. Enjoy!

Wednesday:

Tuna Sandwiches (1 can of tuna, 4 boiled/sliced eggs, 3 heaping T of mayo, and sometimes I sneak in some finely chopped celery)

Thursday:

Bruschetta Chicken Bake; Cinnamon Carrots

Friday:

Lentil & Couscous Salad 

Saturday:

Chicken Parmesan; Chard and ricotta gnocchi with sage butter (can't wait to try this!)

Crock Pot Sunday:

Ground Turkey Casserole

I'm looking forward to Wednesday morning moms' Bible study, we're having a menu-plan swap! So, I should have some great new meals coming soon!

Oh, and my children are now eating kale chips. Well, not right this minute, but you know. I'm so proud that my little ones are eating healthier than ever! My guacamole turned out kind of bland, so i'll just go back to my old trusty recipe, I didn't even try the beet top/banana smoothie but Riley and Julia finished it off, and the spelt crackers turned out great! Lasted a whole day. Actually, not even a whole day. So, those will definitely be repeated! And I was inspired to try and create a new fun recipe with spelt, so stay tuned for the results!

Ok, so I know I've been a bit obsessed with all things gastronomical lately, but that's good! However, I don't intend for this blog to become all about food, so I promise to post something else this week that is totally unrelated!

Now I lay me down to sleep

When I was a wee lass living out in the country with my mom, there was a brass plaque on the wall that my bed was next to that read, "Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray the Lord my soul to keep; If I should die before I wake, I  pray the Lord my soul to take."

I said that prayer every night, but didn't really pray much more than that during those years.

Something that I love about my daughter is how she prays. She blesses people and asks Jesus to heal ouchies and thanks him for her food and socks and "MommyandDaddyandJuliaandJosiah" and proudly declares "AMEN!" at the end.

I can remember my dad praying with me as a teenager, something that still means a lot to me.

When Julia was born, I knew that it was important to pray over her and speak blessings over her every day. Now, I'm not going to lie, there have been many days that I've failed to do so. Either because I forgot or was just plain *gasp* too lazy.

These are the things I pray over her regularly:

"The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord cause his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. May you love the Lord with all your heart all the days of your life, and know Him at an early age. May Jesus be your highest passion. May you be bold and compassionate, shining your light to the world around you. May you have the faith of a child and know that you are a princess in the kingdom of God. No weapon formed against you will prosper; all those who rise up against you will fall. If the enemy comes at you one way, he'll flee from seven. May you be pure for your husband. May you be full of wisdom and discernment. Every piece of ground that you walk on is yours to take. May you have the confidence to fulfill your destiny. I declare healing over your body from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet. Sweet dreams, restful sleep and visions of Jesus."

Of course I usually forget a few of those, and they don't always go in that order. I think she really enjoys it and sometimes even falls asleep as I'm saying it. There are few things in life more enjoyable than watching your child calm down under the blessing of the Lord!

I've noticed that it doesn't occur to me as often to pray these things over Josiah, not for lack of desire or need, I'm just so used to it being a thing that I do with Julia. So lately I've been making a point to pray the same things over him as well, plus some other things that I think are especially for him.

Meal Plan Mon--, Er, Tuesday!

I

 I promise, I made this meal plan Sunday morning! But as fate my children would have it, I didn't get around to actually putting it all together so pretty in my dear blog. Until now.

Okay, so since we're being realistic here, I will confess that only 3 out of 7 of last week's menu plans actually happened. And the three we did do weren't even on the right day. Not that we didn't eat the other 4 days, other things just came up.You know, life.

So, here's how my new recipes turned out:

Beet Greens Salad-- didn't even do it. Instead, since I was so not in the mood to use my brain follow the recipe, I got creative. I sloshed together the chopped greens/purples with a Tbsp each of dijon mustard, honey and lemon juice. Topped it with the salmon that I was too lazy to patty. Oh, didn't you know? Patty is a verb now. Turned out decent after baking, but because I didn't chop the purples small enough, I couldn't stomach all of mine. But I did eat most of them, and am healthier for it!


Let's see, what else did I try out? (clicking over to blog because my memory doesn't work the same these days) Ah yes, The Mommypotamus' Homemade Pizza.

Ok, so this was something I was looking forward to ALL WEEK. I even bought fresh, organic basil to make my own homemade pesto. I followed all the instructions exactly, even the night-before soaking. Well, let's just say I started to wonder what I did wrong. It didn't exactly look or feel like dough. I would say, hmmm, oatmeal/porridge/soup? Very watery, but I didn't have any flour and since the recipe didn't call for more than I put in it, I trusted that it would thicken up while it sat in the warm place to rise. Um, no. Instead, my precious, long awaited, hard earned dough that I kneaded smeared for 10 whole minutes slowly dripped off the edge of my pizza stone onto the inside of my oven. Boo! I was getting pretty upset because my expectations weren't being met and therefore disappointment began to set in. I could very well make something else for dinner, but I wanted pizza. That pizza. That I had all the toppings for. And had started working on the night before. I contemplated getting a store-bought crust but decided not to. Dang it, I was gonna cook that dough no matter how it ended up tasting! So, we did and finally, after hours of preparation and stress, we had our first homemade pizza. It was obviously not how it was supposed to be, but it tasted good. But not as good as the new one I made today (that Heather so graciously prepared the crust for while I sat and watched in her own kitchen this morning!)! What did I learn? When in doubt, add more flour. A little bit more. A little bit more. Heck, a whole cup more! (she has corrected the proportions now so don't be afraid to hop over there and try it out!)


Ahem, what is the title of this post? Ah yes, Meal Plan something-or-another. Well here's what might end up in our mouths this week (in no particular order):


Last night: (ha! we really did eat this.) My deeelicious Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup


Tonight: Pepper Steak; Sweet Potato Casserole (See? I really do have a few meals from last week that got bumped)


Wednesday: Spaghetti; can't-remember-what-kind-of-leafy-green Salad


Thursday: Bruschetta Chicken Bake; Green Beans, Cinnamon Carrots


Friday: Zesty Chicken Penne; Peas, Broccoli


Saturday: Fish Sticks; Romaine Salad


Sunday: Greek Lentil & Chicken Soup; Chard (will find a recipe because I don't really know what to do with this but it came in our coop pickup Saturday)

Monday: Chicken, Lentil, Tomato, Arugula & Couscous Salad


I will most likely rearrange these as the week unfolds, but it's good to have some sort of an outline of ideas to choose from instead of panicking at 6pm every day with no ingredients in the kitchen and a hungry family! So, I guess I better make it to the store tonight to pick up the handful of things I need, huh?


Oh yeah! I also made Kale Chips last week. Wait, don't cringe. They're AMAZING. They are super healthy and are a totally yummy alternative to traditional potato chips. I'd never even eaten kale, but I kept hearing new friends and acquaintances talk about them so I had to give it a whirl. Tear 'em off the stalk, brush some olive oil on, sprinkle some sea salt on, stick 'em in the oven for 10 minutes and voila! Julia didn't try them but I know she eventually will, and will love them as much as Riley and I did!


I'm also going to make some guacamole/salsa sometime this week that will include the avocado and cute little colorful peppers we got in our coop. That should be fun. Oh and there were some beet tops too, and someone posted a recipe for a smoothie with these and bananas. Honestly, it sounds disgusting, but it will be pink so maybe that will make it taste better! We'll see.

Alright now, it's your turn: What's on YOUR dinner table this week?

Meal Plan Monday!

First of all, I have to say that I'm kind of so extremely glad that I started weekly menus again. It really made the past week less stressful and super delicious!

Here's a brief review of how my new recipes turned out (I took pictures but for some reason they won't upload, so forgive the lack of evidence):

The Gorgonzola and Bacon Stuffed Burgers turned out really yummy! We decided to do beet "chips" instead of the other recipe though, and except for a little overcooking (next time I'll do it at a lower heat and take them out quicker) they were pretty good! Especially dipped in poppyseed dressing. MMM!

The Goat Cheese and Arugula Quesadillas didn't turn out exactly how I hoped. Partly because I changed so much of the recipe- used spreadable instead of shredded cheese (what was I thinking? No wonder they didn't stick together well!) Partly because I used spinach tortillas that didn't cook too well at high heat. But they were OK. I might try them again in the future but follow the recipe exactly. It was really just a way to use the arugula that came in our coop produce share.

Apple Cider-Glazed Turnips- Not bad! I've read that you can mash them like potatoes so I may try that route next time.

Ok, on to this week's fare!

Tonight:

The Chicken Casserole that we didn't end up making last week; Sweet Potatoes (anybody got a good recipe? I tried making fries last time but they didn't turn out too well)

Tuesday:

Pepper Steak with Green Bell Peppers and Tomatoes on Brown Rice, Corn on the Cob (also carried over from last week's menu)

Wednesday:

My famous Crock Pot Chicken Tortilla Soup; Cinnamon Carrots (wait, is that a THIRD thing that we didn't go through with last week? Geez!)

Thursday:
Spaghetti, Twice Baked Potatoes (can anybody say YUM!), Peas

Friday:

Chicken Parmesan on top of some kind of Pasta; Green Salad

Saturday:

Early dinner with our produce coop families, then a second dinner at Primo's with my good friend Katiebug!

Sunday:

Salmon Patties, Mac-n-cheese, Beet Greens Salad

Wait! I bought all the fixins for a new homemade pizza recipe-- Which dinner should I knock out to replace with this?

What's on your dinner table this week?

Meal Plan Monday!

C

Don't judge-- I just couldn't resist jumping on the wagon with The Mommypotamus and The Belgexans! 

This is really just for my own benefit (ok ok, my husband and children's as well) to make a weekly meal plan. Not that I'll stick to it exactly, but hey it's worth a shot!

Well, here goes:

Tonight: Stuffed Burgers on thin whole wheat buns with Gorgonzola Cheese and Smoky Bacon*; Tangy Buttered Beets and Greens with Dijon*


Tuesday: Goat Cheese and Arugula Chicken Quesadillas*; Cinnamon Carrots


Wednesday: Lil Smokies in BBQ sauce; Corn on the Cob


Thursday: Rosemary Plum Chicken; Apple-Cider Glazed Turnips*


Friday: Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches


Saturday: Paula Deen's Chicken Casserole (I have to tell you what's in it because it's not your everyday chicken and rice dish)... this is a thing of beauty really, snatched from the kitchen of my mother-in-law-- french style green beans, cream of celery, mayo (or in my case, miracle whip), long grain and wild rice, pimentos, water chestnuts, diced chicken, cheddar cheese.


*new recipe (www.wholefoods.com)-- wish me luck!


So what's on your dinner table this week?

Turning over a new leaf

Riley and I have finally hunkered down and truly committed to beginning a journey towards a healthy lifestyle. And I'm not talking about low-fat ice cream.

We're totally stoked. Who wouldn't want to feel better, look better, act better, think better? So, our journey began a couple months ago when we decided to join a gym. Woohoo! And we're actually still going! 

The next step was cutting out high fructose corn syrup and Red 40. This made a huge difference. Riley's reflux has pretty much gone away, I have more energy (despite my extreme lack of sleep) and Julia's behavior has improved significantly.

We've also starting drinking a lot of water (reverse osmosis at that) and adding vegetables to more meals. Cutting down on sweets is another area we've been working on!

And now we're joining an organic produce co-op! I never even knew about these until recently, and in years past I didn't even really give a hoot about the fact that i was filling my body with pesticides.

Let me interject with one thing: I would much rather have a box of chocolate chip cookies than a bowl full of vegetables. At least, taste-wise. Hopefully soon, my body will begin to crave the healthy stuff over sugar. Not on top of sugar, instead of.

One of my inspirations as of late has been my new friend Heather. Her blog, The Mommypotamus, has been a great source of information on natural wellness and eating healthy.

Friday night we had our very first piece of grass fed beef! It was a ribeye steak and we paired it with a wonderful green salad. Yummy! But expensive! Organic meat from what I can tell so far, costs about 3x as much as the kind we're used to, but hopefully we'll eventually get there in our steps towards a healthy diet. And really, it's still cheaper than buying a corn-fed steak at a restaurant. I keep remembering a quote, "Pay the farmer now, or pay the doctor later." So true! We could totally look at our medical costs and say we can't afford to eat healthy, but really? Really? We can't afford not to. And as we make small changes, our health care budget will shift towards prevention instead of treatment. And we'll be enjoying, rather than enduring, healthy food (paraphrasing Heather).

Another change we've made is going to the chiropractor. Julia has gone twice and the rest of us have appointments coming up. The whole philosophy just makes sense. It's funny-- like many people, I used to think all they did was help people with back pain, and it seemed really scary. Boy have I learned otherwise! But I won't go into all of that, you can research it on your own!

I'm really looking forward to having a back yard that I can plant a garden in! I don't know the first thing about growing food, so I'll need help with that.

And here before you is my new favorite snack:

Ok, so I don't exactly pick it from the tree myself (maybe someday!) but it's a delicious organic gala apple. MMM!!!

We have a long way to go, but we're really excited about getting healthy! Our bodies are the temple of God and it feels so good to finally be taking better care of it.

Thankful Thursday

This is what I'm thankful for today. Not just snow, but a second chance to enjoy the snow! We didn't get outside to play when it snowed at Christmas, so we feel especially blessed that God sent us a great amount of beautiful white powdery goodness! 

Julia had so much fun today. This morning she looked out the window and said, "Mommy can we put our shoes on, and pants on, and sots on, and shirts on, and jattets on, and nose on, and eyes on..." and i'm just sitting there anxious for her to finish and say "and go outside?!" In that moment I just couldn't wait to say "YES! Let's do it!" 


Strangely enough, it took her longer than expected to get ready to go outside. But hey, we did it and wonderful memories were made. The snow was kind of hard this morning so i couldn't really roll it up good and my snowmen were really tiny. So we threw snowballs at each other, and at our window (Riley was just inside, working from home on his laptop). Cue Julia's giggles. 


Then I laid her down to make a snow angel, she didn't really get it but laughed! My mental camera was flashing like crazy. The look on her face as she lied there with her eyes closed tightly and the giddy smile that stretched across her precious face. Ahhh yes, i am thankful.

While I was cooking dinner, Riley took her outside again, this time in the back of our apartment, there was a lot thicker snow. He pulled out a broken down box from the patio and used it as a sled. I couldn't get very good pix since I was taking them from inside the glass door, but I'm just thankful that our camera stayed awake long enough to capture a couple. (It's been majorly on the fritz lately, which is another reason to be thankful that we'll be getting our Nikon soon!)

From the sound of it (good ol' meteorologists makin' those economists look good!), we should get to have more snowy fun tomorrow. Woohoo! What are you thankful for?

On second thought...

those of you that know me (who else reads my blog?!) know that for a really long time, i wanted to have a lot of kids. like somewhere between 5 and 8. no one told me that might change after having one or two.

after having julia, i was pretty content for a few months and even thought that i would be okay if i never had anymore-- she was perfect! but of course as she approached her first birthday, i started wanting another one. not right away, but by the time she was 2 or 3 i was hoping to have another. a boy, at that. it took a little longer for riley to feel the same way, but i'm glad that eventually we both were okay with getting pregnant again. only a couple months after we stopped preventing, we found out that #2 was on the way!

we were thrilled but nervous, and i was definitely eager to find out that i was having a riley 2.0!

fast forward to august, 2009. zip-zip-zip...

being a mom just got a little somewhat A WHOLE LOT harder! and math doesn't work the same anymore. taking care of two kids isn't just twice as much work as one kid. the increase in difficulty is exponential, my friends! just to give you an example, here is a typical rundown of how things go just to get out the door: feed josiah and change his diaper . get julia dressed. decide there's no time to change josiah's shirt so just wipe the spit up off with a burpie. put julia's socks and shoes on. put josiah in the carseat. put julia's shoes and socks on again, because she took them off. sing to josiah so he stops whining. take julia potty. make sure i have everything i need in the diaper bag. nope, where's that thing i need? put the toy bar that julia ripped off josiah's carseat back on the handle. fill up julia's sippy cup. find that thing i needed. where are my keys? and my sunglasses? put julia's socks and shoes on again. no, julia you can't take your doll stroller in the car. stop whining, we need to go. out the door we go. julia, wait for me. julia, stop! (running down the sidewalk towards the parking lot)... finally everybody's all buckled into the car, and i realize my cell phone is still on the charger/bar/nightstand/desk/wherever. ugh. you get the picture. and that's just the abbreviated version!

cleaning is harder. naptime is harder. and when it does happen, julia wakes josiah up, or i spend one of their naptimes trying to get the other one to nap. it helps when riley's home because he can help with one while i put the other one down. i'm thankful that julia has finally stopped trying to pick josiah up, now it's just a matter of keeping her voice down while he's sleeping!

there's so much more, but i digress. you moms of more than one know what i mean. alas, i have gradually gotten to the point where "eight kids?! on second thought, i'm good." don't get me wrong, i think it would be totally awesome as a grandma to have a whole bunch of adult children. but right now, it's too hard just with two! maybe i never thought through the fact that i'd have to see eight babies from birth through the toddler years. 

i have to bite my tongue when i hear yet-to-be-parents talk about their grand intentions of having lots of children. "ha! just wait till you have ONE!" seriously though, i wish them well. 

as for me, i have to really try hard to depend on the Lord for grace, and remember that it IS sufficient. children are a blessing, and while i would recognize that if i ever did get pregnant again, at the moment i'm pretty happy with our family just being a foursome! one boy, one girl, no minivan, one hand for each. 

not that i'm scheduling a tubal ligation or anything, but i just don't have the desire for more babies. i applaud and admire large families, and even felt guilty when at first i realized i no longer wanted to have a lot (after all, we're supposed to be fruitful and multiply right?!) but hey, if anybody has experienced this it's me: God is more than welcome to change my heart! and hey, I LOVE AND CHERISH MY TWO WONDERFUL, ADORABLE KIDDOS!

Almost there!

Riley and I have been wanting to get a DSLR for quite some time now. We both have somewhat of an eye for creative photography, and since our regular digital camera has been on the fritz lately, we've stepped it up a notch to save towards this bad boy:

 

This is the Nikon D5000. I don't know a whole lot about DSLRs but am aware of the competition between Canon and Nikon. Riley knew that he preferred Nikon but we still did a lot of research to make sure exactly what we thought would be best. It also helps that there is a discount program that we can buy from through his work. Woohoo! So we've been selling stuff and doing odd jobs to rack up enough cash to buy it and we are almost there! We're just waiting on a refund check for our old monitor that lost 1/3 of the screen and was still under warranty.

I'm so excited! Even though I've never even taken a picture with a DSLR (or an SLR for that matter!) and have so much to learn. Who knows, I may even get good enough at it to start a business! One can dream, right? It's no secret that I do love taking pictures of children... 
=)

Let's get physical!

That's the song that our P.E. teacher played every week during class in elementary school. I don't know the other words so don't attack me if it means something beyond exercise.

Ok!...so, Riley and I joined a gym! I'm totally excited. I've been wanting to for a while now. It's the 24 hour fitness like 3 minutes from us, they have free childcare (major points!), and it's cheaper than most of the other clubs I looked into. so yay. we're getting in shape! My goal is to work out 3 times a week. Some cardio each time, and alternate arms-legs-abs workouts also. I've also tried out a couple classes. I've heard a lot of great things about Zumba, but it just didn't do it for me. As far as dancing goes, I'll stick with Lindyhop. The spin class was great though. Well except for the first 5-10 minutes which royally sucked because I'd never done it before and the seat hurt my bum like nobody's business! So I'll probably do that again. May try some yoga or other classes too.

Had my fitness orientation last week, although it got cut short because Josiah needed a diaper change so they had to page me since they don't take care of that. My body fat is 19% which I could care less about, I just want to look and feel better and be healthier. We're going to have a followup next week so he can show me some stretches that will help some funky leg posture thingy he noticed.

I started the couch to 5k thing again on the treadmill, the 1st one was a piece of cake, so i'll probably just skip ahead to week 2 next time. yay! we're going to get in shape, and i'm so thrilled.

Just because I don't have pictures...

...doesn't mean I can't blog! I think that's why I don't do it more often, because the thought always pops up in my head, "Oh I'd have to take a picture to make it interesting." well phooey. If it's boring then it's boring. I've decided to write anyway! So, without further ado, this is the end of a photo-less blog. Go Me!

Six months!

There's no way my baby boy is halfway through infancy. I just don't believe it!

So yesterday Josiah turned 6 months! At his checkup today he measured:

16lbs 13 oz -- just under 50th %ile
28 in long -- 90-95th %ile
42.5 cm head circumference -- normal i guess because they didn't say anything else about it

so on the length, it's safe to assume that he was NOT actually 27.75" at his 4 month checkup (and therefore off the charts) because i just don't see how he could grow 4 inches in two months and then only 1/4 inch in the next 2 months. anyway, so my little prince is definitely tall. his weight has leveled out though!

what's he doing now?

rollin', rollin', rollin'!

all.over.the.place.

like, i put him on this huge blanket on the living room floor and before i know it he's way on the other side. i know he can roll but i have yet to see him actually travel in the manner that he obviously does. of course, he's been known to be facing the other way in his crib when he wakes up, so i guess he's got some scooting power going on!

he babbles, laughs, growls, and wiggles like crazy. his socks don't stay on his feet very long, so i don't bother unless we're going outside. his hair is so fuzzy, i just can't resist petting it constantly.

he's wearing mostly 9 month clothes, some 12, and a few unusually large 6 month ones.

he usually has a thumb or fist or toy or burpie or something else in his mouth! the dr told me today that he is definitely teething! i don't feel anything sharp but he stopped sleeping through the night a couple months ago so maybe that's why. hopefully they'll poke through soon and i'll start getting full nights of sleep again!

we'll be starting cereal this week, then moving on in a few weeks to veggies and fruits. fun! i guess that means julia will be moving up to a big chair so josiah can have the highchair, although i don't foresee any complaints =)

everybody always says how good and happy and calm josiah is. and they're right! people are also starting to say that he and julia look a lot alike. which i think is funny because julia looks like me and josiah looks like riley. i guess they have a little bit of us both though!

he still won't take a bottle. i've tried a few different kinds, breastmilk and formula. guess i just need to keep at it. it'd be nice to be able to leave him for more than 2 hours at a time!

most of his waking hours are spent playing on the floor or in the exersaucer. well, except when i'm carrying him around or nursing or helping him sit up (almost there!) or taking him with me on errands!

i just love to give him hugs and kisses! who wouldn't?! he's so cuddly and lovable. he and his sister get along great too. i look forward to them being good friends and actually playing together!

Well he's napping right now so I can't take a picture, but here's the most recent one! (thanks mom for the cute onesie, i love it!)

Pookie 2.5

forgive me, that's the best title I could come up with instead of "Julia's 2 and a half year update". next, forgive me for writing this 11 days after her half birthday.

and yes, that's her nickname. it's short for punkin poodle pookie. she's also my honeyboo. josiah's my hunkaboo. julia tries to convince me that it's the other way around, but i won't have it!

anywho, there's been a lot of talk and updating about josiah lately but i mustn't forget my precious firstborn! so much has been going on lately in her world!

what's new:

~ her vocabulary has SOARED. we're not just talking complete sentences... she will go on and on about something and i can actually understand most of it. her grammar is fantastic (tenses, persons, etc...) and her complex thought processes simply amaze us. she is truly brilliant. it's like God took the genius of her father and yours truly, multiplied it and squeezed it into 25 lbs and 3 feet. no, not 3 feet as in 15 toes, but stature. indeed, she's almost half as tall as her daddy!

~ her intelligence is incredible. sometimes we just sit and watch her figure things out. she's even more curious than me (gasp!) which can be quite a bit of a challenge because she gets into EVERYTHING! tell her no, she moves on to something else. repeat. repeat. repeat. get frustrated. repeat. pull hair out. repeat, ad nauseam.

~ she absolutely ADORES her baby brother. gives him kisses without prompting, sings to him when he's crying (with prompting), tells me she loves him, has ceased to drag him off the boppy and the like. i can trust her to be alone in a room with him (whereas before i couldn't even go brush my teeth w/o taking one of them with me for fear he wouldn't be safe) which is great because they can now share a room.

~ so a couple weeks ago we started putting josiah in the crib at night, which is in her room. usually at least one of them wakes up in the middle of the night. but if it's just josiah, julia stays asleep because she's a heavy sleeper (once she finally surrenders her wakefulness).

~ we're still working on jumping. she tries but usually doesn't get both feet off the ground at the same time. it's fun to try though, we always end up just dancing and twirling!

~ julia LOVES to help. as in, so much that sometimes she takes over and won't even let ME help. it's so sweet though and we're trying to channel that quality in a productive way. it's a good thing to know when i need to distract her from destructive behavior, because she's so very fetching. ha! "julia sweetie, can you bring me such-and-such?"

~ sometimes when we're riding in the car or putting her to bed, she blesses people. if you're a relative or friend that she's ever met, it's likely she's said, "bless [insert your name here]" at least a hundred times! hey, your life is probably better now!

~ back to the subject of talking, she always gets compliments on how well she speaks. not because of her pronunciation though. there's still some consonants she has trouble with. like k and g. for example a dog is "dod" and a cake is "tate." it makes for quite a few humorous ones like when she's trying to say "kitty" or "kix". one of my favorites that i'm not sure how she concocted is "dibbyup" which means "giddyup." i often have to translate for her but it's fun to listen to her express what's going through her busy little mind!

~ on the subject of potty-training, we're still working on it. she can go potty, both #1 and #2. she very rarely poops in her panties which is a nice break from cleaning up so much pee. we usually keep her in panties all day even going places, and put a diaper on her at night. of course even then the bed gets wet because she's become quite the heavy wetter at night. i tried one of josiah's one size cloth diapers on her and it seemed to fix that problem so i'll probably get her a couple of pink ones and that'll be that. so, she still has accidents and it drives me crazy when she does because she knows when she's peeing and has the ability to control it, but for whatever reason doesn't tell us. we try to remind her often enough that she won't have accidents, and a lot of the time she just goes on her own! treats seem to be a good thing for her. i'm going to make a chart too, both for pottying and good behavior.

~ which brings me to: we've been having quite a few struggles, if i may understate, with julia's behavior. i won't go into the details though since i'd like this to be a mostly positive blog! it's been really exhausting, frustrating, depressing, etc. for us but we have sought counsel about it, got some really good ideas and prayer, and are working with her to improve things in that area.

~ i hate winter! it's hard enough to get outside with two kids (next to impossible really, what with julia's tendency to run off) but tack on the low temps and all-around it-takes-forever-just-to-get-out-the-door-ness, and all of a sudden you have a toddler who's bouncing off the walls just to get some natural light, fresh air and open spaces. but thankfully, i found out about a couple places that will really help out in that area. when it's not incredibly cold, i'll take her to this playground in colleyville that has a fence all the way around. one way in, one way out, and i can sit with josiah right there while she has the freedom to play in quite a large space full of climbing and such. then there's an inside "playscape" at a church in richland hills that has comfy seating for parents. cold day solution! i can bring snacks and nurse josiah while julia plays. these 2 just might be my saving grace for the next few months! i'd like to try storytime again (haven't taken her since josiah was born) because i'm sure she'll like it now that she's a little older and has a (slightly) longer attention span.

~ we're currently in a pretty good nap routine. doesn't usually happen till later in the afternoon, but i can usually count on getting her down as long as josiah is asleep or at least happy for 15-20 minutes. we sit in the rocking chair and i rock her to sleep. sometimes she wants me to sing to her, sometimes we bless people, sometimes she things we're just rocking HER baby to sleep (sneaky!) But the good thing is, she sleeps soundly for 2-3 hours and i get a break. yay! now if i could just get the two back to napping at the same time, that'd be great!

~ her hair is becoming quite adorable. she's got these sweet little curls that just capture my heart! for whatever reason, they're not always curly but oh well. i just can't believe how long is finally getting! now don't get me wrong, it's still shorter than most 2 year old girls' locks but at least i get to put it in ponytails now! granted, she usually takes them out in the car, but eventually she'll gain appreciation for my styling prowess (heh heh) and leave them alone!

~ she loves to dress herself. she loves to undress herself and run around nekkid. she loves to wear pajamas all day. she loves wearing anything princess. she loves trying to fit into josiah's clothes (and has been successful a number of times). what can i say, she's a girl!

~ she loves dancing and singing. she even makes up songs. mostly to tunes she already knows, just changing the lyrics. so cute. i love this!

~ it's hard to explain but when she "points" at something, it's not with her pointer finger. or any other single finger. it's with her whole hand, fingers pressed tightly together as in hail hitler. not that hitler's funny, but it's cute when she does it.

~ i've officially come to the conclusion that her eyes are hazel. i thought they were going to be kind of green like riley's but they're just not. it's funny though because people still think they're blue. i guess because mine are and she looks like me.

~ when she's really into telling you something her eyebrows stay raised the whole paragraph like it's so important and serious. which it is.

~ her newest obsession is betty boop. namely, a dvd with about an hour of short betty boop cartoons. she wants to watch it all.the.time. we're trying to cut back on her tv/movie watching but this is definitely one of her favorites. followed closely by horton hears a who, kung fu panda, stuart little, wall-e, strawberry shortcake, and finding nemo (my favorite). i asked her one time, "do you like betty boop?" to which she responded after i long pause, "i LOVE betty boop! i LOVE betty boop!"

~ she can draw circles! it usually starts out as a little straight line, and then she goes round and round and round. my little artist! ooh which reminds me, the other day she was given some playdoh and we were making different shapes with it together. then after playing with it by herself for a few minutes, she brings this to me and tells me it's an elephant. just so we're clear, she did this completely by herself. try and convince me that it was an accident and she's not a genius!



~ getting her art out of the furniture is still on my to-do list. =)

this pic is from a month ago (i'd put a newer one but we're having camera issues) but here you go!



ok i take that back here's a pic from yesterday (pardon the puffy eyes, she just woke up from a nap. yes, in a shopping cart. she fell asleep in the car and we weren't about to go home after driving all the way to a far away mall and having nothing to show for it. note to self: always bring the stroller!)

Why Santa doesn't come to our house

It's that time of year again. Santa Claus, presents, snow, red and green decorations, food, baby Jesus... I love Christmas, it's probably the only thing that I look forward to about the winter (besides my birthday)!

This time of year is when Julia gets asked, "What do you want Santa to bring you?" "Did you get to sit on Santa's lap?" etc. I try to be as gracious as possible and just respond, "We don't do Santa."

Some people understand why, but those of you who don't, read on.

First of all, let me begin by telling you why I didn't have Santa growing up: My dad tells the story of one Christmas Eve when my oldest brother, Shane, had a present under the tree for a friend of his. My dad told him they needed to take it over to this friend's house to give it to him. Shane responded, "It's ok, Dad, Santa will take it over there." It was then that he realized that Shane was believing a lie, really and truly trusting in Santa to take that little boy his gift. He didn't want it to be that way, so he decided from then on, he wasn't going to teach the rest of us to believe in Santa.

At my mom's house, I would pretend to believe in Santa because my stepsisters did, but I always knew who really put the presents under the tree. It was still fun, and I actually got to be thankful to people that really existed.

A couple of cool traditions that we had growing up were, we watched It's a Wonderful Life (my favorite Christmas movie to this day!) and each got to choose one present to open on Christmas Eve. We had others but those were probably the most memorable!

Not once have I ever wished that my dad had taught me about Santa. I don't feel like I was deprived, and I'm glad that he chose to be honest with me.

I want that kind of relationship with my children. I want them to trust me, and know that when I tell them something, it's the truth. If I tell them there's an Easter bunny, Santa Claus, and the tooth fairy, only to tell them it was all a lie, who's to say they won't think one day, "Jesus probably isn't real either."

Yes, my kids will still get presents. Yes, we will decorate our home and celebrate with family and friends. Yes, we will play in the snow. Yes, we will remember the birth of our Savior. Yes, we will make new traditions and do fun things that the kids will remember for years to come. No, they won't be missing out. "All good things come from above!"

4 months!

Can I just say that I was NOT ready for Josiah to be this old yet? I mean, I know he is still a wee babe, but still. He is growing way too fast for my liking. He'll be a grown man before I know it...GAH!

Here's how he sized up at his 4 month checkup last week:

15lbs 4oz, just above 50th %ile

27.75", off the charts! that's like how long the average 7-8 mo old baby is. His daddy is 6'4" so why I was shocked is beyond me.

I later realized when looking at the side of his carseat that another inch and a half (3 weeks at this pace!) and he'll be too big for it. Great. He can't even roll over or sit up yet and we're gonna have to move him to a toddler seat.

So, no rolling over yet but he's doing really well in the bumbo and can even turn around to the other side when sitting in the exersaucer. And we just started putting him in that a few days ago!

Anytime i put him in the swing or his carseat he leans forward. I guess he's tired of taking these kinds of things laying down.

He had his first (and hopefully last!) illness, the weekend before last. Fever, diarrhea, fussiness and antibiotics for a few days. All better now!

Everybody always says how he's such a good baby. Not that I've ever heard a baby be referred to as bad... he just has a really peaceful temperament, and I love that. He doesn't laugh as much as Julia did at this age, but when he does we really enjoy it. Sometimes he giggles out of nowhere, other times when we tickle his ribs or give him raspberries ("boops" according to Julia because, well, that's what they sound like).

I love his smile. It's almost always completely wide-mouthed and kind of uneven. So cute!

He's still, yes still, in our room. I've been putting him down in the crib for morning naps. Eventually we'll get around to putting the monitor up in Julia's room and then we'll probably move him to the crib for beditme as well. He almost always sleeps through the night, so that's WAY awesome!

I never thought he'd go this long without a bottle. Seriously, he has yet to drink from anything other than my boobs. Not that he won't, we just haven't tried yet. The whopping 5 ounces of milk I pumped back in September are about to expire, so I guess we'll be giving it a whirl pretty soon. Hopefully he'll take the bottle well. We want to be able to leave him for more than 2 hours before he's weaned! I do get breaks from him to go run errands and such, and he usually takes a long nap in the afternoon along with his big sister, so i'm no longer the 24/7 snack bar i once was.

I really can't think of what to get him for Christmas, since we already have plenty of toys. But, the good thing is, the kids probably won't remember this Christmas as being the one where Julia totally got way more than Josiah. She's so easy to buy for. I'll probably just get Josiah a cute new fleece outfit or something, unless I think of something else too.

Ok, I need a nap. 3 hours last night just isn't cutting it.

Still trying to recover the photos that were on my camera so here's the most recent one that's made it safely to my computer: (8 days shy of 4 mos)

the things i talk about most...

...according to wordle.net:



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it's fun-- you just type in a bunch of text or thelink to your blog or whatever, and it creates a "wordle"!

Three months!

Oh, my little hunka-hunka-burnin-allthingssweet... you're 3 months old today! Ok, so it was Saturday, I'm a little behind! No, I don't mean I'm a little bum-bum.

Well here's the skinny: Josiah is NOT skinny. Not that he's a butterball, he's just SOLID. His waist is so thick. It's insane. He's not incredibly long, so by the time I find a pair of pants that won't squeeze the life out of his massive midsection, they're way too long. It's the complete opposite problem that we have with his sister. Therefore, I have just this instant come up with a solution: I will take the length off of his pants and add them to hers. As soon as I learn to sew, or he starts wearing pink and purple, whichever comes first (i.e, not anytime soon!)

~He almost rolled over the other day! Actually, it just looked like he was going to, because his chest was propped up on a little tummy-time-mat pillow and he was pushing way up just on one side. My jaw dropped and I went for the camera and by that time he was too worn out to go that high again. Oh well, no rush! He is doing really well in that department though. Have you seen him with his shirt off? Man alive, that boy has some muscles!

~The ever-wet-shoulder syndrome has returned to me since its departure sometime during Julia's second six months. Yes, he's a happy spitter. Which makes me continually thankful for the oh-so-cute burpies that Liz made me. w00t!

~I need to go get him weighed. He doesn't have a checkup between 2 and 4 months so I totally planned on heading up to the breastfeeding center down the street (ok, down 4 streets) Friday or Saturday to size him up. But, I forgot so maybe I'll do it today. When I weigh myself, then again holding him, it shows a difference of 16 lbs but our scale is kind of unreliable so I'm not sure that's accurate. If so, that's insane. Aren't most 3 month olds like 12-13 lbs?!
--UPDATE: went to get him weighed, and he's 14lbs11oz--

~If he is indeed 16 lbs, technically we need to figure out a new sleeping arrangement. See, he sleeps in the bassinet attachment to our pack-n-play, which states a 15 lb limit. I know it's probably not really dangerous for a few more pounds, because they want to err on the safe side, but still. We really need to figure out something soon. Riley doesn't want to bring the crib into our room, because of the message that would send to Julia, which I have to agree with. So, I've been trying to put him down for naps every once in a while in the crib (in her room) to kind of get used to it. We will eventually need to just step out on a limb and put him in there with her. I won't lie-- I'm afraid she'll climb up in there and hurt him. I'm also afraid they will wake each other up. But eventually it's gotta be done. Just like potty training. But that's another story.

~I'm trying really hard to settle the kids into some sort of a routine. Not a rigid schedule, but just some kind of structured day where they know what to expect and can be a little more at peace with life. As any mother (especially of more than one child) knows, THIS IS HARD. Somebody constantly needs something, and every once in a while, you need to visit the potty, take a shower, brush your teeth, eat. Don't even get me started about how long it takes just to get out the door and why.

~Where was I? Ah yes, updates on Josiah's 3-month-ness. Ok, so he laughed for the first time Saturday. Which officially makes him meet the milestones like clockwork. Smiled at 6 weeks, slept through the night at 2 months, laughed at 3. It was so cute. I had just taken off his clothes and just got this urge to give him some raspberries on his tummy and neck. Well, he liked it! Of course by the time daddycameraman came in the room, it was all over. He was not going to perform. But hey, this is only the beginning of my favorite sound in the world: baby giggles!

~Josiah likes, nay, loves and requires, being held. I'm trying to get him to fall asleep on his own, which he sometimes can, but, when his belly's full and he's tired, here's what does the trick: holding him chest to chest, bouncing him up and down while patting his back. The other night it took about 15 seconds. Sometimes it takes 15 minutes. I don't mind doing it, because at least I know what works besides the boob, but I don't want him to get so used to it that it HAS to be done that way every time.

~One month since starting cloth diapers and it's going great! He actually sleeps better when he's wearing cloth instead of Pampers. Tested and proved. I'm so glad I made the switch.

~He's so past the "i'll just sleep whenever and wherever i feel like it" stage. Which is why i'm trying to help him take regular naps. But anyway, yeah, he's alert a lot more during the day than even just a few weeks ago. Which means we get to talk and laugh and tickle and all that fun baby stuff. Julia likes to join in on the fun, which I love!

~We put him in the Bumbo for the first time on Saturday. It went well, but pretty unremarkable.

~I love his ears. I don't know what it is about them, I just want to nibble on them! mmm.

~I can't remember if this is news since the 2 month update, but he's officially a tummy sleeper. Yes, I know, now the drs say to put them on their backs to prevent sids, etc. but hey. This kid can turn his head around and push up a good distance from the bed so, it's safe. And a lot better than laying on his back uncomfortable. We of course started him out on his back but after a few times of discovering being on his tummy was the only way he'd sleep happy, we knew.

~We borrowed a swing from a friend of a friend and he really likes it! He just watches the lights & music mobile thingy above and sits there pretty content. Sometimes even falls asleep =)

~Yes, I realize that there are way too many hyphenated phrases throughout this entire post.

Ok I think munchkin #1 is awake so I better wrap this up. Here are the latest pics of my squeezy little chunky monkey:

So long Pampers, Hello Cloth!

Well, I did it. I became a cloth diapering mom. Thanks to my friend Angie whose status a few weeks ago read, "I love cloth diapering... so wonderful not to have to go spend $30+ on diapers for the month. Just need to pull em out of the dryer!! :)"

It piqued my curiosity and I got sucked in! Not that it took a big fight; I'm easily swayed towards anything that saves us money. It's just my way of pitching in! Ok, maybe it's a subconscious fear of my husband sending me back to work for my old boss. Just kidding, he loves me way too much to do such a tortuous thing!

Anyway, let me start by saying that when I was pregnant with Julia, we planned on doing cloth diapers because it seemed the way to go as far as saving money. I knew nothing about it besides what I remember my mom doing with my younger siblings. I envisioned having to handwash them myself, which was disgusting, and that got us looking into diaper services. Well, at least around these parts, they don't realy exist anymore, and if you do find one, it's not much cheaper than disposables. Some well-meaning family members ended up talking us out of it, and supplied us with several months worth of Pampers, which we felt was a huge blessing! So, we never looked back.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, when I read that post and started wanting to know more. I really didn't think I would change my mind that easily. But, the more I researched and got my questions answered, the more I realized that it's not at all what people think. Actually, it was a no-brainer.

Disposable diapers for one child, from birth to potty training, cost an average of $3000. Cloth diapering, on the other hand, can cost as little as $300, and the diapers can be reused for additional children.

Cloth diapers are nothing like what they used to be when our parents and grandparents used them. Just take a look at some pictures online and you'll see that they really have come a long way. In fact, they are SO much cuter that it's actually FUN. AND, some of them are adjustable/one-size so you don't have to keep buying all new ones as your baby grows. They are much more absorbent than they used to be, and way better for the environment. Now I'm no green freak, but it's pretty staggering to think about all the landfills that disposables are filling up because it takes then 500 years to break down.

"But what about washing poopy diapers?" I think that's what turns most people off. Well, so far I haven't had to touch any poop yet, and I'm no expert. In fact, it seems like I'm actually touching LESS poop because it stays in the diaper instead of on Josiah's bum. And because he's not eating solids yet, it can go straight in the wash without doing any harm to the diaper or the washing machine. When his poo starts getting harder, the only extra step is dumping it in the toilet first. Big deal, I'm already doing that with Julia's panties when she has an accident.

"What about all the extra laundry?" I already do 4 loads of laundry a week, so why not just make it one a day? I won't go into details, but diaper laundry is so much easier than any other load. If you do the math, that saves about $70/hr to do cloth instead of disposables. I don't know about you, but that's a pretty penny.

Just like any other time I find out about a great money-saving strategy, I always wish I'd known about it sooner. Well, that's definitely the case here. I wish I would've learned the truth about modern cloth diapering 3 years ago and done it with Julia. Would've saved us a chunk of change!

Don't get me wrong, I still have some Pampers to use on occasion. But for the most part, I've made the switch and am SO glad. It feels really good to know that I'm doing something positive for the environment, plus it probably feels a LOT softer on Josiah's skin!

I do realize that I have just become part of a minority group. I don't have a single friend around here that does cloth. But, I do have a couple in other states/cities, and there are plenty of online mommy communities that have been helpful. I had no idea how many options there were out there for doing cloth. It was pretty overwhelming until I decided to just jump in and try it out!

I'm not saying it's for everybody, but it's definitely worth looking into if you have a child that isn't potty trained yet!

Ok, so here's a couple pix of my little prince in his new duds:





Questions, comments, cheapshots? ;)

TWO months!

to say that the past 9 weeks have FLOWN by would be an understatement! i almost cried the other day when i saw a 5 month old bouncing baby boy and thought, wow, josiah's gonna be that big, like, tomorrow! it's so different this time around. i always wanted julia to get to the next age, and now i just wish josiah would stay little forever! not that i don't look forward to the next age with him (after all, he just keeps getting cuter every DAY!), but i savor each moment more.

ANYhow, on to the update:

* he's smiling now! sometimes i have to really work for it, but it's so worth it. his smile is so big-mouthed and cheesy! love love love it.

* i kept thinking he wouldn't sleep through the night until much later, because he wasn't really slowing down with the night feedings. but, last night he slept till 5am! yay! let's hope for more of that. =)

* from 2 to 6 weeks, he gained 4 lbs. seriously yall, that's double the norm. he's finally slowed down (a little) but he's still in the 75th percentile for his height and weight. who would've thought i'd have a skinny little girl and a hoss little boy?! (um, have you seen their parents?!) ok so at his 2mo checkup yesterday (which he passed with flying colors!) he was 12lbs11oz (one more pound and he'll be double his birth weight... crazy!) and 23.75 inches. yah, he's grown almost 5 inches since birth. no wonder he's outgrown everything!

*he still grunts. a lot. i try to just let him squeeze it out but sometimes he gets so fussy i have to help him out a little (holding him upright works well, sometimes i just have to nurse him again, which may be why he's gaining so quickly).

*still doesn't have much hair... i wonder if he'll be bald till he's 2, like julia. guess we'll see!

*his eyes are still blue... i wonder if they'll turn green/hazel like julia's (and riley's) or stay blue like mine. that would be cool, because every other part of him looks just like his daddy!

*he's holding his head up really well. doesn't really hold it straight but i can hold him on my lap like sitting up facing me, and he can look at me without his head flopping down or back.

*he's "talking"... usually when i'm cooing at him or trying to get him to smile, he'll coo back. it's really cute. i don't get enough of that!

*still haven't given him pumped milk in a bottle yet. trying to build up a stockpile of that so i can leave him longer than 2 hours!

*he almost always takes a good nap when julia does, so that's nice, and makes up for the fact that i don't get a full night's sleep.

*i just started cloth diapering him on wednesday, but i'll probably write another blog entirely about that instead of going into detail here! it's going great though.

*his eyelashes are getting prettier! when he was first born they were really short and blond, but they've been gradually getting darker and thicker. julia's did this too (maybe every baby does) and hers are gorgeous now so i'm sure his will be too!

*he looks like a boxer. like his waist is really thick and he's got these big punching hands. it's awfully cute.

well i can't think of anything else for now so i'll just leave you with a recent pic of my handsome little man and his adorable big sister!

My knight in shining armor!

Can I just say that I have THE most WONDERFUL husband in the WORLD?!

Thursday night was rough. Like, I don't think I really slept at all. I'm sure I laid my head back on the pillow as I nursed Josiah, but seriously... every time I put him down, he started crying again. He wanted to eat. all. night.

This was after having a headache all day Thursday so I really needed the sleep. But, no.

So of course Friday morning I was a zombie and absolutely nothing got done around the house, besides trying to keep Julia from cracking eggs on the floor, opening 10 cups of yogurt, pouring salt all over the stove, dropping Josiah on the floor, you know, everyday stuff.

Well after lunch we ventured out to Wal-Mart (which I rarely go to anymore) because Julia needed more diapers. I swear, every time I buy a box, I think, hopefully this will be the last box. Guess the potty training has taken a little detour lately.

Anyway, it was horrible as I expected, but necessary. We got home and as I was pulling Josiah out of the car, I noticed a white Malibu in the parking lot. Well, that's what Riley drives. I checked the license plate, and it was his. Did he not take his car to work today? Duh, of course he did. I checked my phone because I figured he would've called if he was coming home early. Sure enough, he had and I just didn't hear it.

YAY! I was so excited that he was home early. Especially because I'd had such a rotten night and morning.

When I came inside he was washing the dishes that had stacked up the day before and I just didn't feel like doing, and lo and behold was a wonderful surprise!

Beautiful sunflowers and a super sweet card. It was EXACTLY what I needed... he is always there to lift me up at just the right time! (I was reminded of the day I had a horrible wal-mart trip with a killer headache...hmmm, is there a theme here?... and when i got home, he was there! turned out i had meningitis!)

Anyway, I am so grateful and thank God for giving me such a loving, sweet, strong, gentle, smart, generous, fun, dorky, helpful hubby. I love you Riley...you are AWESOME!

Dollar movie adventure!

So, last night after dinner Riley suggested taking the kids to go see UP. I figured hey, it might be a special treat for Julia and we could at least see how she does at the theater. A little worried about how she would behave, but we'd eventually have to give it a try anyway!

It took forever to get Julia ready to go, I don't think she realized what we were doing or she might've been more excited and got those pants and shoes on in a jiffy!

Well, somehow we got there in time and $3.50 later we were in our seats ready for the show! I just held Josiah in my arms and they had cool booster seats with cupholders so we got one of those for Julia. She settled in pretty nicely after a trip to the potty (although she didn't actually pee and i didn't bring a clean diaper to the restroom so she was stuck in a really wet one).

Josiah was happy the whole time of course. Julia got a little antsy and went back and forth between Riley and me. I can't speak for the other people there, but I don't think she was too disruptive. Of course, it's a kid movie, and it's only $1.75 so I wouldn't feel THAT bad even if she had been a little terror. I'm glad we brought her sippy cup, snacks and blanket. I think that helped her enjoy it more!

Not sure if she actually paid much attention, half the time she was bouncing back and forth between Riley and me, half the time walking back and forth through our aisle (that we had all to ourselves), asking for more lemonade, etc.

Eventually she fell asleep in my lap, but was uncomfortable and started crying so Riley and I made the final switch for the rest of the movie and she slept on his chest. So sweet!

Well I'm not going to review the movie here but it was good!

After it was over, we realized we needed to figure out how to get Julia's diaper changed so we wouldn't have to do it at home and risk waking her up. It's been a real challenge getting her to sleep lately so we wanted to protect that at all cost!

We ended up laying her down across the blankets-covered-booster and Riley changed it there while I held Josiah. What a sight. Good thing the theater was empty by then! (except for the cleaning boy) I'm glad we're such a good team! If it had just been one of us, it would've been so frustrating and impossibly difficult!

Well the jeans she had on were really too small so I told Riley to look in Josiah's bag for some extra pants since i hadn't packed Julia an extra outfit. They were newborn sized and probably would've fit since she's so tiny, but Josiah had 3mo shorts on and i thought those would fit her better. so we took his shorts off, put them on Julia, and put the extra pants on Josiah. What an ordeal! She stayed asleep the whole time. Even getting in and out of the car, and into bed, all night! It was work but it was fun and a great adventure... just like Mr. Frederickson in the movie!

The whole experience was definitely positive. I think it's safe to say we can take Julia to the movies if it's a kid one, especially if it's the dollar theater!