Darcy's Dancing Shoes

Listen for Ashton's comments on his sister's new dancing shoes :)...

ER Trip #2

Leave it to Drewby to have another accident. Last night our little man received 5 stitches in his tiny chin...I don't know how you could even fit 5 stitches on that thing! The little man went head firt into a laundry basket and I guess the impact from the basket being on our wood floors, was enough to pop it open. Don't ask why he was playing with a laundry basket...for some reason, it became his favorite toy yesterday, it went from simply holding blocks to becoming a race car, a boat, a snuggly bed, a bulldozer and then a gym. :)

For being a little boy who LOVES to snuggle, he is extremely wild as well. Both times in the ER, he jumped from chair to chair like nothing happened to him, despite his clothing being covered in blood and slashes on his face. He did great during our long wait and even while keeping the "numbing solution" on for 20 minutes before the real fun began. It truly was the hardest thing I have endured so far in my life...they strapped my little baby in a Papoose and he could not move at all. He screamed for us and asked that they stop touching his "neck"...I guess we need to work on labeling body parts. ;) He was and is a trooper and is back to jumping on beds and flying off of the couch. I have been trying to keep him calm today, but it is not working.

Pray that we don't make 3 trips before he is 3!

The Joy of Boys

From wild to calm in less than 10 minutes...the boys went from being complete crazy out of control children to calmly playing nicely and even including their sister. I pray that I can remember that they are good children. I have really struggled with my discipline techniques lately and I am looking for the perfect one. I have read almost every parenting book, but am looking into Conscious Discipline...has anyone read this one?

I must go get them to bed now...Mommy needs a break.

Stop and Pray

On a day when I am feeling less than, my son reminds me of who is in control. We were having a great day as a family until yet another realtor shows up to try and sell our house. I got a bit grumpy and my smile turned to a frown. After a bit more playing, Ashton stopped and folded his hands together and bowed his head. I left him alone and then later told him how proud I was of him for knowing that God is always there to listen to us. He said that he prayed to remind God that I did not like Piranhas. :) Maybe he is now thinking of Realtors as Piranhas, who knows.

My prayer today for God is to please stop the Piranhas! :)

Halloween Yuck

I've never like Halloween...it's creepy and just gives you a tummy ache. Now that we have 3 children, I don't like it even more! I don't like the idea of getting three kids in costumes, especially when two out of the three of them do not want to wear them and I don't like that we walk around taking horrible candy from people and consider it fun. Am I a grump? Yes, and I have a tummy ache.

Darcy changed her mind on her costume 4 times and finally decided she was going to be "nothing". Drew decided he would be a cat because "cats get lots of candy", but refused to wear the head piece, which made the costume. Ashton gladly walked around in his frog costume, but really, we could have had more fun at home than walking around Huxley saying "Trick or Treat".

I am glad it is over and I am ready to begin celebrating two of my favorite Holidays! Put the black and orange decorations away and throw the candy out! I am happy to say we don't have one piece of candy in our house...Ashton decided to give it all to Grandma and Grandpa. Yippeeee!

The Ashton Method

I will cherish this video forever.

Candles

If anyone is interested in purchasing some of my new and improved soy candles with a VERY strong scent throw, please leave me a post on my junk hunt blog. www.junkhunt.blogspot.com

Pictures of my candles are on this site and I have been doing a lot of melting to get ready for the holidays.

Thanks for checking!

Drewby

 

Napping problem solved! Ever since Drewby decided he could climb in and out of his crib, he climbs into Darcy's crib during naps and it makes for a lot of goofiness. Why do I even try to sweat the small stuff? If he wants to nap in our room, then so be it...he is sleeping right? He has no trouble snoozing in our cozy bed, but the crib is now a cage and he doesn't like it. Do they really have to grow up? I am waiting on our new house to bring out the toddler beds as I don't want Darcy to have to deal with Drew all over her while she is trying to sleep.

Drewby is my reminder to choose my battles, and belive me, it is a constant battle with this child. He looks so peaceful when he is sleeping. HA HA HA!

I better get back to work before I hear the pitter patter of his footsteps coming down the hallway.

Blessings,

Hollie

Crazies!

The twins really enjoy playing together when Ashton is at school...Darcy loves the attention from her brother, who is usually best buds with Ashton. I usually take time to do a few activities with them and then let them play while I clean. In this video, they asked to jump in their cribs with music while I was dusting bedrooms. Things got a bit crazy and Drewby, for the first time, crawled in and out of his crib. Since the video, he has not attempted again and I praise God...I plan to keep them in cribs a bit longer still.

When you think your life is crazy, just watch this video and think of this poor Mama.

God bless my babies!

Hollie

Whoa!

I love spending time alone with Drew and Darcy and today while Andrew and Ashton went to the ISU football game, I headed to the park with the twinners. We had so much fun laughing together and rolling in the leaves.

As Drew and Darcy would come down the slide, they would say, "Whoa at me Mommy!"...this meant that they wanted me to say whooooooa as they were sliding down. Consistently, they would say this phrase as they climbed up the steps to the slide.

Blessings,

Hollie

Twins

There's two to wash, there's two to dry,
There's two who argue, there's two who cry.
One's in the mud having a ball,
The other holds a crayon, another marked wall.
Some days seem endless, my patience grows thin.
Why was I chosen to be a mother of twins?

The answer comes clear at the end of each day,
As I tuck them in bed and to myself say,
There's two to kiss, there's two to hug,
And best of all, there's two to love!

Author: Unknown

GREEN

Since I am such an organized Mom, always on top of things, I knew it was "Green Day" at preschool today and I had Ashton's clothes set out last night all ready to go. Today when we left for preschool, he was decked out in green "swooshy pants" and a green shirt, as well as some green frog socks. He looked VERY green.

As we were walking to school, Pete(Maggie's dad and our neighbor) was talking about it being picture day. For some reason, I thought it was next week, but as we approached school, I saw the photographer's vehicle parked. Oh well, it's just preschool pictures, right? Well, I felt a little strange when Miss Wendy ran after me and said, "Did you know it was picture day today?" I felt like a terrible mother. I sent my adorable son to school in ALL green along with a head of hair that really needs to be cut and today was picture day...nice.

I know in my heart that this happened so I will never forget our crazy life when I look back at the green preschool picture.

Ashton has no idea that anything was wrong, so I feel like a pretty good Mom actually. I went with the flow and was not going to stress him out by making him change his clothes just for a silly picture.

Don't sweat the small stuff, or the green stuff.

Happy GREEN DAY to you!

 

 

 

 

We just returned home from a wild and crazy trip to NYC! We really did have a good time as a family(including our dear fiends Cyndi and Chris who live in NYC), it is just nuts in New York and even nuttier with 3 kiddos. I am sure glad that we live the simple life in Iowa...nothing beats it. I could never live in New York! The sites "wow" me, but also make me think a lot about pollution, consumerism, overpopulation, etc.! When we got back to Iowa and started playing in the backyard once again, I was reminded about how important home is to us.

The simple joys of bugs and dirt made the kids settle down and enjoy themselves again.

Home Sweet Home.

Connor

Since Ashton started preschool, I have been asking him who he plays with, what they like to play, etc. Finally, today, he mentioned a name and then I promptly went to the preschool class list to make sure he got the name right. ;) He did and I was happy to hear that Connor and him like to play tractors together and Connor really loves tractors. Ashton's favorite toy so far is the marble run...luckily I even purchased one at a garage sale this summer as a Christmas gift(go Mommy on the Compact)!

So yes, he is making friends and I feel that is the purpose of preschool. I can't wait until all he does is talk about his friends and what they like to play together.

I can't describe how proud I am as his Mommy and how beautifully he has adjusted to being away from me for the 2.5 hours that he is gone.

I love you my big boy.

 
 

Ashton loves bugs, frogs, and toads. Today was bug day at preschool and he took in a Big-Headed Ground beetle and found a grasshopper on the way to school to add to his "show and tell" box. Miss Wendy and Miss Kim took all the kiddos with nets to the trail to find more bugs. I guess Ashton was in bug heaven finding them left and right and Miss Wendy announced to the class, "Why do we need nets when we have Ashton?" What a fun day at school. After school, we followed Miss Kim to her Mom's pond to let our bullfrogs go...that was another fun adventure. I think they are really gross, but Ashton loves them!

We will really miss all these creatures when winter comes.

Happy Hunting!

Wordless Wednesday

 

Norma's Toffee Grahams

 


As a blogger, I find myself taking pictures of good food so that I can share the recipes with my "friends" online. Here is a really ymmy and easy recipe. Ashton finds it very strange that I photograph his snacks. :)

This is a recipe that my little neighbor lady in Nevada would make and it brings back fond memories of my childhood and a very special lady, Norma Corbin.

You need-

2 sticks of butter

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup white sugar

chocolate chips(I chopped mine up in the Pampered Chef chopper)

peanuts(or any other nut that you have on hand)

1/2 box of graham crackers

* I only made 1/2 the recipe just to make sure it turned out okay.

Melt the butter and then add the brown and white sugar. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down and let bubble for about 4 minutes.

Pour over the graham crackers on a foil covered pan.

bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes and then drop the choc. chips on top and let them melt. I placed mine in the fridge after the chocolate was melted, and they were very yummy!

Each day when Asher gets home from preschool, we have a treat ready for him and this is what he got today! "Toffee Grahams"!

They are to die for with a cup of coffee...I am enjoying some right now!

This preschool thing could add some good poundage on my little hips. ;)

Wishes

 

After preschool this morning and coming home for lunch, we decided to spend some time at the trail. We needed to get milkweed for our caterpillars and love spending time together being explorers.

Ashton, Drew and Darcy were pulling "poopy heads"/dandelions that have gone to seed and making wishes while they blew them out. Here are Ashton's wishes...

1.For Daddy to come home.

2. To spend the night at Grandma's

3. To find a frog at Grandpa's Shop

4. To find a TON of frog's at Grandpa's Shop.

Ashton helped the twins come up with their wishes and with help deciding, Drew wished for new Hot Wheels and Darcy wished to be a princess.

Love my kiddos!

Preschool

Well, our baby will begin preschool on Wednesday and I have very mixed feelings. Really, I think I want him to stay home for more selfish reasons, but I just hate to see him be sucked through the doors of school. I know deep in my heart that this is going to be a wonderful thing for our strong willed child. Ashton is going to learn to listen to other people better and find ways to make friends. We chose Ms. Wendy's Preschool because she has an old-fashioned approach, making it a lot of play and learning to be a friend. I want more than anything for Ashton to make some really great friends this Fall.

I am being so silly, but one of my biggest fears, besides his stomach being filled with butterflies, is his ability to go the bathroom without taking his pants completely off. ;) Yes, Ashton still does not want to do it the easy way(strong-willed) and just pull his pants down a bit and due his duty, he kicks them all completely off(shoes as well) and then asks for help putting himself back together. Ugh. I sure hope I am not the only Mom with this fear, but I probably am. I keep telling myself that Ms. Wendy has pulled lots of pants up and this will not be the first.

Okay, I need to try and get some sleep.

Hugs to Mommies who have babies leaving for preschool. :)

Happy Birthday Karlin!

Happy Birthday to our beautiful cousin and niece, Karlin! We are so proud of you and all that you have done so far in your life...you are truly a special young lady. Every time we see you we are amazed at your beauty inside and out...you are going to go far in life.

We hope you have a wonderful day filled with friends and family making it extra special!

Hugs from all of us!

Love,

Uncle A, Aunt Hollie, Ashton, Drew, Darcy and Angel

Prairie Fest Fun!

Life is good in Huxley, especially during the Prairie Fest! We had so much fun as a family this weekend and were also reminded of the kindness in this small community filled with young FUN families.

Our Winners

The Bug Contest

This year we joined the library for the "Catch the Reading Bug" program and decided to enter the contest for creating bugs to be judged and announced during Prairie Fest. We received a call on Thursday evening to inform us that we had some winners and needed to be on stage at noon on Saturday. Our bugs were "The Princess Butterfly", "Garage Garbage" and "Praying Mantis". The library was so sweet and made it a three way tie between the Allen Kiddos.

The Perfect Morning

When we woke up this morning, the sun was shining and all I could think about was some time away to unwind. Reiman Gardens is the best place to take the kiddos and sometimes a lot more relaxing just the three little blessings and myself vs. a play-date. We had a wonderful morning and Ashton was so great helping with Drew and Darcy and making sure he was a great listener...we are so blessed. I truly could not have picked a better way to spend the morning with our sweet children(too bad Daddy had to work) and thank God for his blessings. When life is tough, and it seems to be right now, I need to remember what really matters and that is why God led me to such a peaceful place today.

Blessings!

My Big Boy

This is proof to me that my baby boy is really growing up. He has always been very creative...not wanting to stay in the lines and make his own drawings with a lot of colors. I always loved his creations, but today, he brought this to me and I cried tears of joy that he had done such a beautiful job. He said that he really needed to color the sky blue and grass green...I love this kid! Our little Ashton starts preschool in a few weeks and I think maybe, just maybe, he is ready for the next stage in life. I'm sure glad it is not Kindergarten yet...I don't know how I will handle that. :)

Cecropia Life Cycle

It has been an amazing experience to witness the life cycle of our Cecropia Caterpillar. We received him from our Summer Reading Program at the library and have watched him eat,poop, eat, poop and eat and poop some more. It has been a lot of work for Mommy...fetching leaves from an apple tree down the street sometimes at 7AM and sometimes at 12AM and my favorite part, cleaning the poop up once or twice each day! UGH! So, thankfully, I was the one who was able to witness him first starting to spin his cocoon and it was so neat to watch...I watched all day and even got up in the middle of the night to see what was happening. I just couldn't stop watching, it was such a miracle to watch. I left him a nightlight on just in case he needed to see while he was spinning....I got very attached and became his Mommy. I am so happy that he made it this far and we just pray that next Spring we will see him emerge. We will now take the cocoon outside and let it get adapted to the weather changes.

Here are some amazing videos of his work.

Beautiful

Andrew just informed me of a conversation that Ashton and he had while I was teaching Kindermusik this morning with Drew and Darcy in my class. Andrew and Daddy get to do something special together each Saturday morning during Kindermusik and today was garage saling. Ashton was so kind and bought things for Drew, Darcy and Mommy. He picked out a bag of sea shells for Mommy and I guess there were two bags and he asked Daddy which one had the most beautiful shells in it. Andrew asked him why and he replied, "Because, Mommy likes things that are beautiful."

I guess that is why I love Ashton so much.

Off to display my beautiful sea shells.

The Squat!

Okay, maybe this seems silly, but I think it is a sign that my little girl is just that, a little girl. The baby days are over...tears. Andrew has been out of town this week and my dear Mom has been spending a lot of time with us, so we loaded the kiddos up to go to the "duck pond" in Ankeny. While running around, Darcy stopped and said, "I am peeing"...I love that she says this instead of "I need to pee", I am now getting used to knowing that she is not actually peeing, but has the urge. Well, what does any good Mommy do? Pulls down her pants and tells her to squat of course! My little Darcy squatted and peed for the very first time this evening...now don't you think that deserves a post on my blog? Me too!

Kisses and hugs to my little girl who now squats at the park!

I Knew It Was Coming

So, the questions are starting, yes, the questions about babies. While we were reading a book, there was a farmer/daddy with a baby in the garden.

A-Mommy, farmers don't have babies, they can't be Daddies.

M-Ashton, anyone can have a baby. Some farmers are Daddies too.

A-Why does everyone just keep having babies.

M-Not everyone keeps having babies, Mommy is not having any more babies.

A-How do people stop having babies, do they just leave them in their tummies?

M-Well, they just decide that they are done and they don't have anymore.(nice Hol, this is really helping him understand)

A- How do they have them?

M- When a Mommy and Daddy love each other they sometimes choose to make a baby.
(I'm thinking now, why the heck did I say this, how will I answer the "make" part of the conversation?)

A-Okay, can you read me another story now?

Mommy is now thanking God for this quick change of conversation.

The Moon

While driving home from Grandma's house last week, Ashton was staring up at the moon from the van and asked, "Mom, how can the moon go so fast that it can keep up with our van?"

Oh, the beauty of childhood wonder and the perfect opportunity for teaching. I love every ounce of it.

Sweet Dreams.

Rainy Day Dress-Up

What do you do on a rainy day? When we hear thunder and see lightening, we stay inside and today we got the dress-up clothes out. The boys had a blast getting Darcy all "dolled up" and Darcy was loving every minute of it. "Oh, I so beautiful, I am a princess."

Some of the pics did not upload, I will try to get some of Drew in his heals.