Music choices of a 4 year old

Today I put on a cd of Toddler Bible Songs. Micah does not like kid's songs on a whole. I think his exact words were: NO! I DO NOT WANT TO LISTEN TO THIS!

I said, too bad, then proceeded to put in the computer some mystery cd/dvd that we had burned ourselves. I thought they were pictures. No. Music. Out blared "Jesus Freak" from the computer and BOTH Micah and Joel perked up and started singing along and dancing. Yes, my 1 year old can sing the chorus to Jesus Freak. Micah THINKS he can sing the rap. Its pretty funny what he thinks its saying--it makes no sense. I will have to record him doing this at some point.

So I relent and turn off Toddler Bible songs and we rock out.

Its pretty cute to hear him later on his trike singing "JESUS ON THE RA-DI-O"

At one point 3-4 months ago every time we got in the car Joel would demand to hear Jesus Freak. So needless to say, if I didn't know the lyrics in college, now I do. We went through a phase like this with Micah at age 2, but the song was.... Tiki Room. Yes. Every car trip consisted of "all de birds sing words and da flowers croon". This was nice when it was rainy and cloudy outside but VERY annoying after about 10,000 times. Fortunately our car was broken into and that cd was stolen.

Just got back from a fun long weekend to the East Bay to visit my aunt. Oh, and did I mention the kids stayed home with Dad? Yes, first the surprise party, and then a weekend away! I am definitely getting spoiled!

It was very restful and nice to not have to think about any one's schedule or needs but my own, but I definitely missed my boys (all 3 of them!).

We had a good time shopping and more shopping. I even was able to see friends, including Daphne and Julie. We had a great time going to tea, something I love to do but... well you know how it is with little ones. We had a good time chatting and having adult conversations. I can't believe that Daphne and I have seen each other 3 times this year. That's after not seeing each other for about 6 years! I hope it doesn't take another 6 years!

Aaron took the kids fishing at a local trout farm. They (I mean Aaron) caught 4 fish! They loved it and even Joel was talking about it. Although all I got out of the conversation was the word "fish".

Now I'm looking at our calendar for the next month and noticing the busy schedule coming up! I am going to be teaching a math class at a homeschool co-op on Friday mornings. Micah will be taking a beginning kindergarten class while I'm teaching and they have a nursery for Joel. I'm looking forward to it!

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Have you ever heard of parkour? This is something I always put in the category of "something they do in crime dramas and movies but doesn't happen in real life". Think James Bond or Jason Bourne chase scenes on top of buildings. Little did I know that it is a "discipline" like marshal arts.

Dreaded Places

Places I dread going:



1. The Dentist

2. Endodontist

3. Post Office.

I used to not mind going to the post office. Until I had small children. Even when it was just Micah (as a baby) it was okay. But 2 kids, one preschooler and one toddler, eeee gads. It is like pure torture to go to the post office. I'd *almost* prefer the dentist. What normal business would stay in business that made you wait in line for 45 minutes on a Tuesday, during the middle of the day? I only go to the post office unless it is absolutely necessary, but sometimes you just have to. So what do said small children do for 45 minutes in a government facility? Fortunately I found 2 bags of semi-stale cheerios in the bottom of the diaper bag. That occupied some time. Then Micah discovered the postal scale. He had fun weighing all of the beany babies.

Why are there beany babies in the post office? To tempt said rascally monkey children? When I go to the PO I'm just trying to get out of there as fast as possible. Not to make toy purchases.

Where do you dislike taking your kids?

Appreciative part deux

I wanted to add to the last post:

Sometimes I lament about Micah's health problems because he seems to have more than the average child. At least we go to more specialists! Besides the milk allergy, and lazy eye, now he potentially has asthma to add to the mix. But wow, reading about Judson's struggle has made me realize how Micah is truly healthy. Yes, his milk allergy is life threateaning, but it is definitely avoidable and treatable.

We were telling a friend once about Micah's milk allergy. He said that he would pray for Micah that God would heal him of the allergy. That stopped me in my tracks. I'm embarrassed to admit that I, as his mother had not ever thought to pray for that! For me it was just a way of life and maybe he would "grow out of it". That was very humbling.

Appreciative

When I was about 19 weeks pregnancy I found about some Biola friends, Josh and Tina who are facing a birth defect in their daughter. Tina was still pregnant at the time. At their 20 week ultrasound the doctor discovered a hole in baby's diaphragm. This allows her organs to migrate to the chest cavity, making it hard for her lungs to develop fully. I had never heard of this and it made me so nervous for my upcoming ultrasound. (our baby is deveoping just fine!)

Babies with this defect born at regular hospitals have about a 20% survival rate. The hospital Josh and Tina are at has about a 75% survival rate.

I talked to Micah about baby Ella and we pray together for her. This brought up some good questions from him. "Why is she like this? I think God made a mistake."

Yesterday I found out about some other Biola friends, Drake and Christina whose son, Jud has a terminal illness. Imagine having a spunky 2 year old who talked early and was very active. Two months later he can't walk, is blind and speech is diminishing fast. Talk about making your head spin. I haven't talked to Micah about Jud.

I can only imagine what both parents are going through right now. Your world is turned upside down, and yet God does have a purpose in this somewhere.

Please pray for these two precious babies, as God leads. You can follow their stories via the above links.

New room!

With baby coming Micah and Joel will be sharing a room. Aaron thought it would be better for them to move in together now to get used to it before the baby comes. That way we wouldn't have to deal with those problems AND a newborn. So we moved the crib into Micah's room. Once the baby needs the crib, we'll get Joel a bed. Eventually we will move the boys to bunk beds.

First night was okay, once they got to sleep. It took an hour to settle down (10pm) then they were both up by 6am. Both were cranky the next day, especially Joel. I guess eventually they'll get used to it. When I told Joel yesterday he was going to sleep in Micah's room, he said, basically, that he slept with Micah at Grandma's house in Oklahoma. I couldn't believe he would make that connection to our trip, which was about a month ago.

Joel has grown up so much faster, it seems, than Micah did. If you ask him how old he is, he'll say 4, because that's what he hears Micah say. Its hard to believe he's still only 1!! (His birthday is late September.) I joke that he turned 2 about 6 months ago, because he looks and acts like a 2 1/2 year old, in alot of ways. Sometimes I'll make a remark in reference to Joel being 2 years old and Micah will correct me. It takes me by surprise because I do forget that he's NOT 2 yet!!

Wonderful hubby!

Have I told you what a wonderful husband I have?

Sunday evening a friend asked me to go to coffee with her. She was hesitant about where I wanted to meet so she offered to come pick me up. Okay! She had to meet her mom at 8, so she came over at 5:30. When I told Aaron the time I expected some resistance since that is when we usually eat dinner. Nope, not this time!

So, unsuspecting, we went to starbucks, talked and had a good time. When we got back to the house, my friend came in with me to use the bathroom, or so I thought. When we walked into the house, (have you guess what happened next ?) all I heard was SURPRISE! There were 8 of my friends! Aaron had organized a suprise chocolate fondue party for me!

It was very fun to be able to talk and eat without kids! What a fun party, thanks honey!

With all the excitement, I forgot to take pictures. But I did take one the next morning of all the beautiful flowers I received!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yup, its the big 3-3 for me! (hey that rhymes!)

So if you would like a big laugh today, go visit Jodi's blog and read about "stupid guy syndrome".

Restaurant-Style Chinese Chicken

A while back Susan asked about dishes you like to serve to company. I made this dish last week for our family and Joel and Micah devoured it. Joel said "Its yummy!" And it really does taste like a dish from a Chinese Restaurant!



If you wanted to make it for company, you could do all the prep work ahead of time, then just cook it up right before you serve. Cooking time is about 15-20 minutes.



Restaurant-Style Chinese Chicken

from Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely



Marinade for chicken:

6 T soy sauce

6 T dry sherry, optional

3 cloves garlic, pressed

3 t ginger root, grated (or the powdered stuff is okay too)

(last time I added 1-2 T of oyster sauce and that was good!)


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1 lb chicken breast halves, skinless, boneless and cut into cubes

3 t vegetable oil (Add some sesame oil too if you have it)

4 oz unsalted roasted peanuts (or any other nut you have on hand, I use salted anyway)

1 red bell pepper

3/4 cup green onions, sliced

3/4 cup chicken broth

3 t cornstarch



(Now you can add or subtract pretty much any of the vegetables. I've used yellow onion instead of green onions. I've added tofu, mushrooms, broccoli, whatever you like)



In a large zipper-topped plastic bag, combine soy sauce, sherry, garlic and ginger root. Mush the bag to blend well, then add chicken (and tofu, if you want), turning several times to coat. Place bag of chicken in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.



In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add peanuts and cook, stirring frequently, until nuts are lightly browned, about 1 minute. Transfer nuts to a plate and set aside.



Now cook chicken in the skillet (reserving marinade) until cooked through. Transfer chicken to same plate with peanuts; set aside.



Add bell pepper and green onions to skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender, 1-2 minutes. Mix broth, cornstarch and reserved marinade, then add to the skillet. Add chicken and peanuts. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens, 2-3 minutes.



This is a good recipe b/c once you have it down then you can experiment with different flavors and veggies.

Impending Congratulations!

Congratulations to Tim and Wendy who are about to become foster parents to two adorable little girls!

Follow their story via their podcast!

Blueberry Farm

Today we went to pick blueberries at the blueberry farm in our town. You would never expect to see this blueberry farm, because its in the middle of a residential area. The trees are about 100 years old, so it is leftover from when our area were all farms. Its nice that the city has preserved it.

Micah started out by putting berries in the bucket. That lasted about 20 min, then most of them ended up in his mouth. I think Joel only put about 3 in the bucket the whole time. He liked running through the bushes like a madman, and playing hide and seek from us. Mostly hiding from us.

Then tragedy struck. Micah dropped his bucket and spilled his berries. We tried picking them up, but we lost probably half the berries. Then joel sat in the ones that fell, to make matters worse!

Here is Micah and Joel "picking" blueberries.

We ended up with 6 pounds of blueberries!

7 year old midget

I just applied for passports for the kids and myself since soon "they" will require passports to drive into Canada or Mexico. Given the proximity of ourselves and the border, and the frequency with which we "talk" about going to Whistler, I thought it best to start the process now.



The thing that cracks me up is on the application you are required to give your height, even if you are 22 months old. What? So it can change in about 5 minutes? Passports for kids are good for 5 years, so when Joel is 7, it will say on his passport that he is 2 foot 11 inches. By the time I apply and finally recieve his passport (which the website says is 3 months!) it will no longer be correct!



Ha!

Picnic at the Beach

Tuesday evening we had a fun picnic on the at the lake for dinner. This lake park is about 3-4 miles from our house and just down the hill from where Aaron works. Great location for us!



The boys had a great time playing in the water and sand. Joel is becoming quite the little swimmer! He likes to float on his tummy and puts his hands down on the ground to hold him up. Then he says "I swimming, I swimming, mommy!" The funny thing is he calls this a back float. Micah is also getting more brave, going in the water up to his neck! Tonight he laid down in the water on his back (about 3 inches of water) to do a (real) back float.



Some kids had dug holes in the sand next to the water and had filled them in with water. Micah said "Look! Tide pools! But, where are the fish?" The kids had fun, none-the-less in the little "pools". Joel was dirty, head to toe. Then they started jumping into the little pool. Very fun.



Here are some pictures from the picnic:

HO-mo-NYMS! HO-mo-NYMS!

Last week while driving back from the aquarium Micah asked me, out of the blue, (or so I thought) why we can't see the inside of mussels.



me: "Well, that's because muscles are under our skin, so we can't see them"



Micah, confused: "But they are under the water!"



Me, confused: "No, they aren't. . . oh you mean mussels! A-ha!! "



It's amazing what they pick up from an aquarium talk. He now knows about barnacles and mussels.



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Sweet Boys:



This morning Micah told me "I love you mama. Mama, you are my girlfriend. And you are Daddy's girlfriend too." Later he told me I was Joel's girlfriend too and that I was his beautiful mama.



Joel, on the other hand, calls me Mama C******* (insert our last name) . As opposed to his other mother. However, the other morning I came in to get Joel up out of his crib and the first thing he said is "mama kisses" and he blew kisses at me.



When Joel is ready for his nap, now he says, "night-night time with Tigie". And sometimes he sings the night-night song we have. Tigie is a small "lovey" blanket that looks like a Tiger. My MIL bought it for him and I gave it to him when he was 3 or 4 months old. They have been inseparable since. Tigie is definitely a special friend. Whenever Joel sees him he has a little giggle, grabs him, giggles, hugs and puts him in his mouth. Tiger is usually carried around in Joel's mouth. I looked through all our pictures from this year and couldn't find a pict of tiger in Joel's mouth. I will have to take a few, for posterity. (and good wedding picts!!) Here he is, on his lap:

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Rant:

Why do people ask random pregnant strangers when they are due?? When I see a pregnant woman, the first question out of my mouth is not "when are you due?" I mean, not even a hello, or hi! Geez, thank you for confirming the fact that the first recognizable thing about me is the size of my belly. I needed the confidence booster.

Harry Potter.

So everyone is talking about reading The New Book out for the summer. I have an admission. I have never read a single word of Harry Potter. Nor do I have a slight desire. There, its out.

Is that kind of like never watching Star Wars? (I have seen all 6, for the record)

I've watched 2 Potter movies, I don't remember which ones. They were okay. I only watched them b/c my hubby wanted too, but I'd never pay to see one at the theatre.

Now, to be clear, its not because I think there is something wrong with them, or that I dissaprove because of the magic. It just doesn't look very interesting to me. But then I've never really been into fantasy-type books. (Does the Chronicles of Narnia qualify as fantasy?)

I hope you all still talk to me.

adoption brings pregnancy

I am just about convinced that adoption is a sure-fire way to become pregnant. Three people I know in the past few months were in the middle of the adoption process or just completed adoption. Now these 3 are pregnant! One gal I know was told by doctors "she would never be pregnant". This is now her 2nd pregnancy, naturally with no fertility drugs. The first pregnancy happened while they were trying to adopt. Now they just completed an adoption. Her 2nd and 3rd child will be 9 months apart!!! Imagine the stares and questions at the park she'll get! =)

Oh, and remember Dana? Go read her blog for her latest announcement!

So if you are thinking about adoption....just be prepared for 2 new kiddos.

Oklahoma

We are enjoying our trip here to Oklahoma to visit family. I was afraid it would be WAY too hot, but it hasn't been too bad. So far we have:

-Been to a spray park. Those are sooo much fun!! Free, and you don't have to worry about small children drowining. The kids really enjoyed themselves. I wished we had one close by.

-Visited the Museum of natural history. Joel said "big dinosaur, ROARRRR!"

-Went swimming, shopping and visited with lots of family. Micah and Joel have had soo much fun playing with cousins. These are Aaron's cousins' kids, so they are 2nd cousins. But barring any unforeseen (and unknown) annoucement, these are the only cousins my kids have. So fun to have family their age to play with.

Computer and /or blogger is VERY slow, so I will finish later, hopefully with pictures.

Here is what we did!

So if you want to know what we were up to last week, go to Daphne's blog.
Just a sidenote:
Daphne mentioned that Joel wakes up early. He was. Now he is back to sleeping in to 7:30 or 8. Awesome! I think the 2 year molars finally came in. Ahhhh, then end of teething, yes!!

Busy week!

Whew!
We have had such a fun week, but exhausting! Daphne and her family came to visit and we had a great time. It was fun to catch up, talk and meet kiddos!

Someone came over almost every day for dinner b/t 4th of july, biola friends, and a baby shower for Dana's family. It was alot of fun, but I am just beat from all the entertaining!

Pictures to come later...

Forgiveness

Since we have watched the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe last week I have been ruminating over one of the scenes. I've read this book many times, but the visual image of it in the movie tends to stay with you longer.



Background: Edmund is the "black sheep" who cooperates with the White Witch and betrays his brother and sisters. The White Witch chains him up, but Aslan and gang rescue him.



The Scene: Aslan talks to Edmund about his wrong-doings. We just see them talking off in the distance. Aslan comes back to Lucy and Susan and says "It is done, do not speak of this". And that was the end of that. Edmund was repentant, Aslan forgave, that was it. No one belabored his major mistake and wrong-doing. It was forgotten.



Sometimes I think that I belabor Micah's wrong-doings AFTER he is repentant. I think that he doesn't "get it" about what he did wrong. So I belabor it. And talk about it. And try to punish him more by my words and actions. Christ never withholds love from us after we are repentant. And after we repent, he doesn't remember it, or grumble about our sin. The problem is not Micah, its me. I feel like I was wronged, and I want him to realize that. Wrong motivation for discipline. AND a sin *I* need to repent from!