18 months

Guy Smiley just passed the 18 month mark.  He's getting so big...it's making sad.  I'm not ready for him to be growing up so quickly.
He is just a sweet, happy boy.  He loves to snuggle and hug and laugh and play.
His current vocabulary is expanding rapidly.  Some of his words are are all none(all done), bye, yook(look), piple(people), airp(airplane), wha(dog), meme(Mimi), and ah uts(ah nuts!). He can also sign for more, please, thank you and drink.  He also tries to run most places...the fun, jilting run of a toddler(I LOVE it).
He loves his Daddy and as soon as he hears him coming will run to the window and yell "Dada!" over and over and once Daddy is out of his car he runs to the door to greet him saying "Hi Dada!"  It's SO cute and sweet.
He is quite tall but still has wonderful knee chub.
He loves his brother and sister and plays well with them for the most part.
He has a total of 16 teeth with his canine teeth having just broken through.  I am so glad for a small reprieve before his 2 year molars.
He is our best eater ever...he can seriously pack the food in.  It's great!
He's very adventurous and brave.  He just takes off on his own with no fear...we have to keep an eye on him.
While he's incredibly snuggly, he's also very independent...he won't let you feed him and does NOT want to hold your hand.

He has just been such a joy and I'm loving it!

Thankful Thursdays

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the sweetness of guy smiley when he grabs a stuffed animal to snuggl
watching guy smiley relax and enjoy being at the pool
moose meat!
a gorgeous and sunny fall
my kids' singing
the amazing group of women I get to be a part of
a wonderful church
the pilot's sweet voice telling stories
having only a small space to keep clean
joy in the Lord



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Busy

Life has been a bit busy this past week...and therefore I've forgotten completely about blogging.

The kids just started their swimming lessons this week which keeps us busy two mornings a week.

Then the a group I help lead at church just started back up again and it was AMAZING! We had over 50 women at our first meeting and are praying for more!  I'm so blessed to be a part of such an awesome group. 

Then I had a training at church this past weekend.  It was incredible.  And I was so blessed to be able to go and so thankful that my church offered childcare so that I could go.  But it was tiring, spiritually and emotionally, and a very long Saturday for my kids as they weren't home ALL day.

Then church and popcorn night at Oma and Opa's house(dh's grandparents).  Popcorn is a biweekly occurrence and is such fun.

Monday was a Costco run...which tires me out every time.  It's crazy how tiring a trip to Costco can be...and yes I did have the kids but even without them it still wears me out.  I also bought my first sewing machine!  (A wonderful gift from my Mom.)  I'm looking forward to learning how to use it.

Along with that dh worked Saturday then left that same evening for a moose hunt...which he got home from late Monday night.  But we got a moose and spent today butchering.   But it's pretty amazing to think that dh left Saturday evening, he and his friend had a moose down by noon on Sunday, had all the meat hiked out by Monday afternoon(and even had fun glacier biking), drove home and then all the meat was in the freezer before 10 pm Tuesday evening.  That's pretty amazing...and my poor dh is exhausted and goes back to work tomorrow.

So needless to say it's been busy around our house...tomorrow we don't have anything planned and I'm very much looking forward to that.  Though we do need to do some schoolwork...and clean some.  But I'm not required to leave my house and that is great news.


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Just want you to know

That whether you know Him or not....

God loves you!  GOD loves you!  God LOVES you!  God loves YOU!  GOD LOVES YOU!

Thankful Thursdays

#111-120

-sunshine

-sunshine

-did I mention sunshine.  (We have a had a horrible summer with lots of rain and clouds so fall has been a wonderful change).

-my incredible dh

-the amazing smells of fall

-how well homeschooling is going

-fun as a family in the great outdoors, fishing and hiking

-seeing how much fun my kids are having at swimming lessons (and ballet for the princess)

-the sound of dh and the kids talking/bonding before bed

-A strong body

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PE

Aka...Hiking the Butte with friends.


Friday was an absolutely gorgeous day here in Alaska. And when it's sunny and warm(warm being 65* and up) we have to get out and enjoy it.


Especially after a very wet and cloudy summer...we even broke a record this summer. Most days in a row of measurable rain...the old record was 27 days...it's now 31 days. Yes, we haven't had much sun and now fall is here.


Back to the subject at hand. I love our hike counts as PE for my daughter...but I really love that we were out enjoying God's creation and the amazingness of this area we live in.


Here are some fun pictures we have of the hike.

On the way up...

Looking for grasshoppers with his cousins

Found one!

Jumping!  That's a glacier in the background.

We made it!

My SIL and DH's cousin...and of course guy smiley.

My family minus DH plus SIL

Back at the bottom...puddles + kids = FUN

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Thankful Thursdays

I'm starting these back up because I'm realizing how much I need to work on being thankful.
1 Thessalonians 5.18 says

...give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

So I'm continuing on with my list...still quite far from my goal of 1000 gratitudes.

I am thankful for...

101. The pilot and his great imagination while giving a puppet show with his hands.
102. Guy smiley's great laugh
103. The joy I get from my children playing together.
104. A very hard working dh.
105. The beautiful fall colors
106. The joy in teaching my daughter at home
107. Amazing friends
108. An amazing church body
109. The fun had while Mimi(my Mom) and Papaw(my grandpa) visited
110. How my mom lovingly spoils me and my kids when she is visiting.

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Getting to bed...

Does anyone else have a hard time going to bed early?  Or am I the only one?

I don't know what happens after the kids go to bed, but all of a sudden I'm free...and off duty(well, about as off duty as it gets being a Mom).  I love being up and enjoying the peace and quiet and being able to do what I want without fear of interruption or without the knowledge that a child could awaken at any moment. It's "me" time and I don't want it to end so I stay up.  (I should add that dh typically goes to bed by 9pm 4 days a week because of his job and then the other 3 days he's up with me.) 

I guess I should clarify that early for me would be getting to bed before 11pm.  My goal is start going to bed by 10:30pm at the latest, but I have yet to figure out how to motivate myself to get in bed by then.   Any ideas for me?

Baked Salmon

Here's a great recipe for baked salmon(wild Alaskan salmon of course), but I bet it would be great on halibut or really any type of fish.  This is courtesy of my mother-in-law...she's the one who gave me the recipe.

I typically use 1-2 medium sized fillets with skin still on.
1/2-1 onion thinly sliced
Mix:
Equal parts of sour cream and mayonnaise(it will depend on how much you need to cover your fillets)
A little bit of lemon juice...like a tsp or 2
A little bit of apple cider vinegar...again like a tsp or 2
Mustard- 1 tsp
salt, pepper, garlic powder/granules, onion powder to taste

Lay fillet skin side down in pan.  Salt and pepper fillets.  Lay slices of onion on fillets.  Pour mixture over the fillets.  Bake for 30 minutes at 400*.

Enjoy!

Update...

Can I do it??  Obviously not yet.

Haha.  I'm laughing to myself while reading my post from August 3rd.  I obviously have not blogged in a month...how's that for consistency in blogging?

I'm going to restart that challenge again. I'm learning that failure is not the end.  I can try again.

So far I'm doing well this month(for me...my goal is 2-3 posts a week, if more great!)...it helps to sit down and write when the urge hits...as long as it's not while doing school with my daughter.  So in those instances I've been writing down any ideas that have come to me.

As to the morning challenge...it was on and off for the month of August...I would have to say it was half and half.  If I did get upbefore my kids, it typically ended up being only 15 minutes before guy smiley was up.  He's my early riser...while the other two will sleep in.  I'm hoping when our new blinds come this will help him sleep a bit longer since his room will be darker.

This challenge will continue on as well.  I'm really finding I need it for my sanity and my stability during the day.  I find I am a much better mom, teacher, housekeeper, cook and wife when I get up and take some time, even 5-10 minutes for myself.  I am able to read my Bible some and pray before the day and what it will bring starts.  And I know it will be especially important as we have started school now.

So there it is...an update and new start...

Menu Planning

I've finally found what works for me! 

Menu planning has always been such a chore.  I knew it would help me.  It would help me not flip out, complain about, or whine at 5:00pm wondering what on earth I was going to do for dinner.  I knew it would help to save money on groceries.  And I knew it would help cut back even more on eating out.  But nine times out of ten I couldn't get myself to do it. I would even be prepared having my list of foods we like to eat and a calendar out and ready. Still...I just couldn't do it.

Why you ask?  I have now discovered that I'm afraid of the blank calendar.  I do not do well trying to figure out what to have on what day without repeating too often or having chicken 4 days in a row or feeling like we are eating the same thing all the time(even though sometimes we do).

So what works you may be asking. A list.  A plain and simple list.  I just list what we'll have for dinner in the coming week...doesn't matter what day we eat what just so long as I pick one.  I cannot explain why this is less stressful for me, but it is so I'm going with it.  I took it a step further and made lists of what we like to eat for breakfast and lunch as well and picked 3 or 4 of those things this week to make sure I had on hand for those meals. 

Here is what I have listed for this week:

Dinner listed in no particular order:
BLT's and cucumber/carrot sticks
Whole lemon chicken roasted/baked with rice and asparagus or green beans
Chicken quesadillas and tomato slices(using chicken from roasted chicken)
Wild Alaskan Salmon(probably fried), rice and broccoli
Beans and rice
Chef Salad
Hamburgers
Hamburger soup

Lunch:(I typically add fruit and/or veggies to all lunches)
Quesadillas
Tomato soup/grilled cheese
Hot dogs(nitrate free)
Leftovers
Tuna salad with crackers
Sandwiches from leftover chicken

Breakfast:
Cottage Cheese
Eggs(though the pilot is not a fan)
Millet with coconut and craisins
Toast and fruit or smoothie
Yogurt and fruit
Cereal

Let me know if you'd like a recipe for anything.  And maybe you'll find that this works for you as well.

A new adventure...

So we have started a new adventure this week...Homeschooling!

So far so good...for the most part.  I have been enjoying it so far, though I can't tell if the Princess is.  Though when I have asked her she said she does...but she seems to use quite a few excuses if she's not really wanting to do any of her work. 

I find it amusing since she's not working alone...I'm right there with her and typically she LOVES it if I join her in what she's doing.  And if any of my children likes to be social and always with people, it's her.  Maybe part of it is just the transition...from playing and having fun all day to having to sit and work.  Maybe it's just the sitting still and being focused part.  Oh wait, she can do that for her doll stickers and her coloring...so it's probably the school work.

Some things from this past week:
-Constant fidgeting/moving...seriously, I do NOT know how a Kindergarten teacher does it.  And I'm not even wanting her to be completely still...I just want her to actually be looking at what she's doing.

-Just guessing on words...instead of actually looking at what letters the word is made of.  For instance her list of words to read was something like hat, man, fan, cat, Dan, rat.  And she would read hat, mat(me asking her to read it again...about 2 or 3 times before she actually sees that the last letter is not the same as the word before), man, fan, can(more correction, multiple times over)...you get the picture.  Thankfully it wasn't frustrating for me or her...we just laughed and she fixed it and we moved on.  But I do find it amusing that it's natural to try and do things the easy way instead of doing it right or trying hard the first time.

-Needing to rest...WHAT?  Rest...you do know that means doing nothing while laying on the couch right?  Oh, you mean you just don't want to start your writing right now...I get it.

Overall I'm enjoying it...now to really get into a good routine and help the boys figure out what the morning or sometimes the afternoon will look like for them.