More Rainy Days...

More rainy days has made it necessary for me to get a little more creative with indoor play.

I was set to make a homemade fort for my babies, but the idea of having to set the thing back up after it had been knocked down multiple times lead me to remember the play tent we stored under Calvin's bed.

I set up the tent, added a blanket, a few pillows, and lots of board books and tada! instant distraction.

Happy First Birthday, Evelynn!

It's hard to believe a year has gone by.

Rainy Days

On rainy days, and there have been quite a few lately, when we can't go outside we have to find other ways pass the time until Daddy comes home. Calvin loves to paint. He has to have a little bit of every color, dips his paint brush in and then watches the brush as it moves all along his paper. He gets into it.

And sometimes it gets on him.

Anger, Rage, Revenge

Evelynn has gotten to the point where she knows what she wants, and is not easily distracted from it anymore.

And when she doesn't get what she wants she lets you know about it, and even punishes you for the wrong.

...a woman scorned.

Sunny Days

Whenever it is nice we like to be outside. I want to make sure Calvin especially is outside as much as possible, finding bugs, swinging on the tire swing or his swing set, pretending, playing in the sand, getting good and dirty, and just generally running off energy.

The desire for him to be outside is not only to give me a break from entertaining him, but also for his enrichment. I have dreams of Calvin (and all my children) looking back on his childhood with very fond memories. It is important to me that he not only use his physical body but that he use his mind and even his spirit to play. I have dreams of Calvin running through the back yard playing in an enchanted land of make believe.

I believe God designed children to live that way, and I kind of envy them for it. Sometimes I wish I could go back to the days of my own childhood, but God has given me the task making these days special to my little ones now. I hope I can do as good a job as my parents did.

Dirt, Ain'ts, and Pretty Good Guacamole

This morning my babies and I got up, ate breakfast and immediately went outside. I am trying to get my two vegetable garden boxes my Dad made me ready for planting. I dug up the ground were I wanted the boxes to go. And started mixing in the soil that Craig and I bought, the old fashioned way, with a shovel and my hands. The birds started going CRAZY. Squawking and chirping all over the place. They must have spotted all the worms I was careful not to smash, or maybe all the grubs I was killing with a vengeance. I laughed at myself as I gasped at every one and searched for a stick, a rock or my shovel (which ever was closest) in order to smash them. It reminded me of picking raspberries with my Grandpa Neumann in his garden when I was young. As we would pick the berries, Grandpa would take any Japanese Beetles he would find and squish them between his thumb and index finger. Now that's hard core gardening. I don't know if I will ever get to the point when I am able to squish a grub with my fingers. I'll never be that hard core. Then I wondered am I or will I ever be hard core about anything?

I went back to mixing dirt. Calvin ran around me calling for "Dad" to come and help each time he fell down (on purpose). I stopped to watch, then realized "Dad" was the dog. I love watching him pretend. I went back to mixing dirt, disturbing a few little ants nests as I did. Calvin came up to help mix, but got distracted by all the ain'ts (ants). Evie came up to help eat the dirt, yes eat, apparently she was confused. So I stopped to make lunch.

I scrubbed my hands and then brought the babies in and scrubbed theirs. The rest of them was still filthy, but my kids don't eat with their feet. After fixing the babies lunch I had no idea what to eat. I had fed a little bit of avocado to Evie (Calvin won't eat it plain), and some tortilla chips the Calvin. I'll make guacamole I thought. I smashed up some avocado, and since I didn't feel like chopping other ingredients, I went looking for quick fixes. To the avocado I added powdered onion (purchased for just these sorts of occasions), powdered lime juice, and some salt. Then sat down right in the spot Calvin had sat to eat his lunch. I ended up with some pretty good guacamole, if you ask me, and Calvin. He crept on over when he saw me dipping chips in it, he loves guacamole, and if it is approved by a two year old it has to be good.

There I sat enjoying my lunch, watching Calvin dance around the room eating guacamole, and Evie coloring, and then I realized the place in which I sat was a little damp. I glanced at Calvin's diaper. It was sagging to about mid thigh. Hhhmm... I thought, this guacamole is pretty good. And kept on eating. What does that say about my mothering? Hard core? ....Maybe.

Our Powers Combined...Gets Things Done.

Craig didn't know I was going to take his picture.

He has been working on getting the kitchen floor fixed for a few days now. It has needed to be done for a few years. It is funny but we go through LONG periods of time when we just put off everything we need to be doing and then all of a sudden we get a blast of motivation and get several things done all at once.

This time he knew I was taking his picture and was showing his disapproval.

I am so glad this is getting done. He finished tearing up the wood that goes underneath the tiles just a few minutes ago. Tomorrow it will be my turn to bleach the old linoleum so he can replace the wood and then start to tile the floor.

I Can't Help It!

I heard little Miss Evelynn wake up in what was supposed to be the middle of her nap yesterday. Running up the stairs in order to pick her up before she woke her brother up too, I vowed I would nurse her and get her back to sleep so I could go out and plant my Morning Glories without the help of little hands. She nursed. And as she was laying there in my arms, with her eyes closed, looking all cute, I heard that little voice in my head telling me to kiss her chubby little cheeks. "No", I argued, "she'll wake up." "No she won't", it said, "Look how chubby and soft her cheeks are". My lips puckered. I sat there for a few seconds more trying to fight the urge. Finally, I couldn't fight it anymore. I kissed her. She woke up. It was definitely worth it. If she weren't so dang tasty...

Dawning of a New Era...

Time flies now. It didn't when I was younger, single, and without my own children. Now that I am a mother, time flies. Especially when it comes to my babies. They grow up so quick. Calvin is only two, but the last time I thought about it he was only 20 months (he was 20 months when Evelynn was born, I haven't had a lot of time to think about these things). Everyday both of my babies, surprise me with something they know, that I did not knowingly teach them, or just had no idea they knew, as some things don't need to be taught.

Calvin has a weakness for playing in the baby powder. Even though he gets in trouble every time he does it. He has been getting better. But if he finds himself alone in the room with a bottle, the temptation is just too great. He succumbed to temptation today while I was in the kitchen. I called for him to come to me thinking it was much too quiet. He appeared in the kitchen doorway holding the bottle of powder. I gave him a look, took the bottle from him and headed for the play room preparing myself for the worst. To my surprise I did not see anything, "Phew," I though to myself, "a bullet dodged. Way to go Meg!" It wasn't until after I had already put the babies down for a nap that I learned the truth. Powder sprinkled on the floor, and then carefully wiped away until it it virtually invisible in the eyes of a two year old. Invisible enough even to fool his mother for the time being.
My mom teases me sometimes by saying I didn't know my children were going to be sinners. Don't misunderstand me, I know the reality of sin, especially its presence in my own life. But it coming from my sweet little ones catches me off guard sometimes. It did today. So we're moving from plain disobedience to plain disobedience with a cover up, hhmm... Let the praying continue. And perhaps more diligently?

Lakeview Park

While at Grandparents Nickoloffs' house, Craig and I took our babies to Lakeview Park (I think that is what it was called).

Our babies loved the sand, and their mama enjoyed just watching them play. It was wonderful being on the shore of Lake Erie. Craig told me how the park used to be a mess, what a shame! I am so glad they cleaned it up and we had the chance to enjoy this beautiful work of Creation.

We left as the sun was just beginning to set.

A Lot of Silliness Going On

Calvin loves his Grandparents Nickoloff's basement. I think he would live there if he could.

A lot of silliness goes on down there...