Gearing Up!

The first picture is one shot of the many we took of the boys, trying to find a good Christmas card pose. It's not easy taking a picture of two squirmy boys!

The second one is Nate's lastest injury. He was playing basketball and dislocated his finger. He pulled it back into place by himself. I'm glad I wasn't there to see that- I would have been grossed out! So now he is wearing a splint and the finger is swollen and purple.

The Christmas countdown has begun! Actually, we've been counting down for awhile, but the busyness is starting tomorrow. My MOPS group is doing our Christmas party so my co-coordinator and I have been busy planning that. Please pray we have a good turnout!

On Friday we are doing our little Christmas with the boys. On Saturday we are heading to Chicago for the day for an extended family Christmas. Then on Sunday the DeMaster clan is arriving and staying til Wednesday. On Thursday we head to my parent's house for Christmas. After that we are heading to Rochester, NY to stay with Nate's parents for a couple days. Whew!

Last night I was stressing out about how much I have to do in the next couple weeks. But, Nate prayed with me and I felt God's peace. Prayer is so amazing! I'll still be busy, but I'm not going to worry.

Mom's Christmas Wish

This is a funny email I received from a friend and I thought I would share the humor with you all!


Dear Santa, I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited their doctor's office more than my doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.
Here are my Christmas wishes: I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store. I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy. If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.
On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools. I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.
If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.
If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.
Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.
Yours Always, MOM...!

Out of Sorts

Today is one of those, "I don't want to get out of bed and be a Mom," days. It's been building up since yesterday, mostly due to a lack of sleep. Nate was sick with the stomach flu yesterday and didn't go to work. Thankfully it was only a 24 hour bug and he's back to work today. We're praying Isaac and I can stay healthy, I think it's the same bug Caleb already had. Last night was not pleasant with Isaac. Let's just say there was alot of crying and not much sleeping. His teeth are in so maybe he's going thru a growth spurt and is more hungry. It didn't help that he woke up earlier than I expected this morning. It's amazing how a Mom's attitude affects the kids. I know I am being impatient and not acting like the adult-which Caleb picks up on quickly and is acting up more today. So I'm trying to ask God for help everytime I feel frustrated.

In some good news, our Christmas shopping is done! What a great feeling. Our youth group is wrapping presents tomorrow so no wrapping to do, even better!

My friend, Jenilyn, inspired me on her blog the other day to start running on the treadmill. Not that I ran that much! Mostly ran a minute, walked a minute, etc for 30 minutes. But, it's the most I've ran in a long time. Caleb was pretending to take pictures while I was running and was saying Mommy, smile! I replied, "I can't while running!" Shows you how much I love running.:)

Christmas Wish

This year Isaac is wishing for his two front teeth. Can you believe my baby is teething already? He is 3 1/2 months old and his bottom front teeth are coming in. Caleb was about 4 1/2 months old, so I was a little surprised to see teeth in Isaac's mouth. I don't think you can see it in the pictures, but he is drooling quite a bit. He is not quite as cranky when teething as Caleb was.

Thank you for all your prayers this week! Caleb was only sick for a day and no one else caught the bug!

Noooooo!

Well, the stomach flu hit our house today. Caleb has thrown up a couple times already, none of which made it into a toilet or bowl. The last one was next to the toilet, so we're getting closer. I keep looking at Isaac and thinking, is there any way he will not get this?! I'm not too thrilled at the idea of getting it myself, but a puking baby is not pleasant for the baby or parents cleaning up. So everyone, please pray that the rest of our household doesn't get sick! And also that the cleanup crew keeps a good attitude. Here's to praying the rest of you have healthy households!

O Christmas Tree

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree, how pokey are your branches....

I think that is the theme for our tree this year. We went and cut one down yesterday. Caleb had a great time and Isaac stayed in the car. We ended up getting a Blue Spruce and I don't think we'll get that type next year! It is a very "pokey" tree as Caleb says. Nate and I had to wear gloves while working with the tree. At least I know small children won't mess with our tree, it will be too painful! I am very happy with how full it is, no Charlie Brown tree this year!

In other news, Isaac has been keeping us up at night. The past two nights he has been waking up at 3 am and crying for 30-45 minutes. Last night he made the night even better by waking at 5 am again at which point I finally fed him. We know he doesn't have to eat at 3 am. Conventional wisdom says it takes about 3 nights for kids to break a bad sleep habit and sleep better. Tonight is night 3... I hope conventional wisdom is right. It didn't help that Isaac woke up early from his nap this afternoon, just as I had laid down for a nap! Timing is everything.

Brothers

I've been taking pictures lately of Caleb and Isaac together. They love being next to each other. I think I want to record these moments because I'm afraid once Isaac is mobile and into Caleb's toys, Caleb won't be showing much love. Those of you with older kids, are my fears realistic?

In the first picture, Caleb is holding a number 1 and Isaac the number 2. Nate will say "Where's son number 1?" And Caleb will come running. Now Caleb refers to Isaac as "son number 2" and likes Isaac to hold the number 2. For now we think it is cute. However, Isaac might get a complex when he's older about Caleb always being referred to as number 1. Maybe I'm reading into it too much.:)

The last picture is of cookies I made recently. Sorry if I don't sound very humble, but for the most part I am a really good baker. However, I discovered that having the full amount of baking soda called for in a recipe is very important. The cookies looked so funny! They were supposed to be Hershey kiss "suprises" in the middle, but the cookies didn't rise well-so the kiss is very obvious. I just get a kick out of baked goods that don't turn out well. (As long as it doesn't happen too often!) Dad, remind you of some fudge I made??

In other news, we got our car back after a week and a half. Of course it was some tiny piece to replace, but with labor costs is was a couple hundred dollars. Grrrr.

Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! We hope you had a chance this weekend to be with family or friends and thank God for all of His blessings. We're thankful for all the friends and family we see often and those we wish we could see more often! We had a very relaxing week. Nate was off pretty much all week. He got some projects done like painting our front door, hanging a wallpaper border in Caleb's room, and hanging Christmas lights outside. We spent Thanksgiving at my grandparent's house with other family members. The first picture is my Mom with her grandsons and the second is my Grandma holding Isaac. Everyone enjoyed seeing Isaac and he was charming the whole visit.:) The last picture is of a cake I made for our friend's baby shower this weekend. They are expecting twins! This was my first "free hand" cake in a while. I see lots of room for improvement, but Nate says I'm too hard on myself.:) I am happy though with how the booties turned out. In other news, we had our first snowfall this weekend. It wasn't alot, but winter has started. Nate is super excited, I'm counting down the days til spring.:)

Trauma and Drama

We had an interesting weekend in our household. The "trauma" happened on Saturday. Caleb was getting out of the car and shut the door on his thumb, big ouch! I was inside and heard the screaming and Nate frantically running to the other side of the car to open the door. Caleb is probably going to lose the fingernail, but I think he is ok otherwise. A scary experience for us though. I'm so thankful my Mom is a nurse because the first thing I did was call her to see if we needed to have his finger looked at.:)

The "drama" is our Corolla. It died on Nate the other day at work, so it was towed to a repair shop. They basically said, we can't find anything wrong with it so come pick it up. Later on Saturday I left in the Corolla and it died on me at the end of our street. Thankfully I wasn't further from home! So the repair shop is towing it back in today. I just hope they figure out what is wrong. We know the car is nearing the end, but it would be nice to not have to replace it yet! So we are learning how to be a one car family. It hasn't been too bad yet.

We also had some fun this weekend. We went bowling last night with my friend who runs MOPS with me. They have a little boy Caleb's age and a son 9 months older than Isaac. The boys had a great time. The adults also had fun because we were bowling with bumpers, high scores all around!

So Cute!

Aren't my boys adorable? All three of them of course!:) Isaac is 3 months old tomorrow, I can't believe it! Last night he slept from 10 pm-6:45 am! He doesn't do that every night, but hopefully we're making progress. Isaac loves cooing and laughing at anyone. He is fighting the bottle these days, but I am NOT going to give up. I will go crazy if I can't miss an occasional feeding. Caleb refused a bottle and we didn't push it- so he went everywhere with me that first year. We are not going to repeat that again!

In the second picture you'll see Caleb petting Isaac's head. Whenever Caleb is near Isaac he is petting Isaac. He's very gentle, but it drives me crazy because Isaac's hair gets so greasy! He looks like a little greaser most of the time.:) Caleb had a funny comment the other day. The receptionist at church was getting him some candy. She asked Caleb if he liked Mike & Ike's. He replied, "No they're someone else's kids."

Enough with the Green!

So, am I the only one who is sick of all the "Live Green" campaign going on?! Every show on NBC this week has some kind of live green theme. It seems like global warming is being talked about ALL the time. Obviously God called us to be good stewards of the earth and we need to take care of the environment. So it is good that the media is drawing some attention to the issue. But at the complete expense of any other issue?! What about focusing on issues that affect human beings such as; orphans, kids in foster care, poverty, etc.? Sometimes it feels like the media is more concerned with the decline of polar bears than declines in human life.

I will get off my soapbox now. Does anyone else feel similarly or am I being overly sensitive?:)

Candy Isn't Enough

So trick or treating was a bust this year. First we had to cajole Caleb to even put his outfit on. For some reason he does not like to dress up. Nate walked him to one neighbor's house and came home after that. Having to interact with strange people was too much for Caleb and the prospect of candy was not enough of an incentive. We were disappointed mostly because we wanted to see the neighbors and show off our cute kids! Oh well. Some friends pointed out that he may enjoy it more next year when Isaac can tag along and provide support. We'll see what happens!

By the way, thanks to Aunt Colleen for Isaac's Packer snowsuit!

Canada,eh?

We drove to Canada this weekend for our college friend's wedding. It was a long drive with a 2 month old-nursing every 3 hours does that! We had a really nice time though. We got a tour of Jer and Angela's house where I met Angela and her kids. The first picture is of Angela and her son Caleb (who is 2) talking to Isaac. Isaac was laughing quite a bit, I guess he prefers Calebs! The second picture is of their house.

Nate was one of the groomsmen, so he was busy a good part of the weekend. The wedding was beautiful, but I missed some of it because Isaac was fussy. Kids!:) The reception was amazing though! The hall was beautiful and they had a 6 course meal with an open bar all night.:) The last picture is a show the staff put on. The dessert was crepe suzettes flambe and the flambe was very impressive! (Sorry if I misspelled the dessert.) The picture of us with Jer and Angela looks like we're standing in bubbles. The specks are singed cinnamon floating thru the air after the flambe. I missed out on the wedding cake b/c I had to get back to feed Isaac, but I heard it was great! I was able to get in some dancing with Nate too.

Nate's parents stayed at the hotel with us for one night and helped watch the boys during the wedding stuff. Thank you so much! Caleb enjoyed seeing them and Isaac got to meet his Grandpa DM. Isaac is cooing, babbling and smiling alot which they had fun seeing. The trip back was so long! The US border agents are sticklers. They were opening every car's trunk, hood, and doors. We waited at the border for over an hour, very frustrating!

I apologize to our non-Calvin friends. This blog probably wasn't very interesting, but I figured the Calvin group would be curious about the event.

Chicago!

The outage is over! What a relief! To celebrate Nate took yesterday off and we went to Chicago for the day. We drove to the Shedd Aquarium and took in the sights. Caleb had a great time seeing all the fish and just spending time with us. He keeps asking when we are going back to Mishcago. I think he gets Michigan and Chicago confused. For supper we went to Gino's East for deep dish pizza, it was fabulous! I had nasty heartburn later, but it was worth it. The family picture is at Gino's. You can draw on the walls there which is why the background looks funny.

The night before we went, Nate slept in the tent with Caleb in our backyard. Caleb was super excited-as you can tell by the cheesy picture! Isaac spent a little time with the boys in the tent. They had a great time even with the downpour and getting a little wet. I give them credit for staying in the tent- I would have gone straight for the house!

So we are thankful that life is getting back to normal. Thank you for all your prayers over the past weeks!

Our (not so little) 3 Year Old

Today was Caleb's 3 year old physical. He passed with flying colors and was declared healthy.:) He is 40 pounds and 3 ft 4 inches tall. He is in the 90th percentile for height and 97th for weight. He has stayed in the 90th percentile since he was born. It is slightly embarassing for me when the Dr. asks questions about skills I've never tested him on. Like, can he copy a circle or can he stand on one foot. Umm, I've never officially tested him-was that in the parent manual? Of course Caleb refused to draw a circle for the Doctor, but drew one after she left.

The most traumatic part was the shots. I didn't think he would need any, but I forgot about the flu shot and now they recommend Hepatitis A. So I avoided telling him as long as possible about getting some "pokes." Needless to say as soon as he started crying during the shots and asking me to make it stop I was getting teary-eyed as well. I hate seeing him in pain. But the sucker after the shot soon made the tears stop. Next week Isaac has his 2 month visit-more shots-oh joy!

Having Fun with Family

It has been awhile since I updated our blog. We have been keeping busy the past couple weeks. The first picture is Nate's sister Colleen holding Isaac. Colleen and her husband Mike visited us for a weekend and we had alot of fun! The boys and I then went to my parent's house for a couple days. We celebrated my Dad's birthday while we were there. We had a Dairy Queen ice cream cake which Caleb loved! As he was eating it he kept saying, "this is VERY good cake." The boys got alot of attention from Grandpa and Grandma. The second picture is Isaac smiling at my Mom. I haven't been able to snap a picture yet of a full-blown smile. Isaac is also starting to coo at me sometimes, very cute.

The third picture is my sister and Caleb. We took him to a petting zoo at a local creamery and of course had ice cream. The last picture of Isaac looks identical to a picture we have of Caleb at this age!

In other news we are hoping the outage finishes this week. I am not going to get my hopes up though.:)

6 Weeks Old!

Isaac is 6 weeks old today! He is starting to smile at me. I think it is intentional and not gas! He has a good eating schedule, about every 2 1/2-3 hours during the day and he only gets up once at night. He will also drink from a bottle which is exciting because Caleb never did that! He will also use a pacifier when fussy which is another thing Caleb refused to use. As you can see he is getting chunky-we grow big babies.:)

Happy Birthday Nate!

Today is Nate's 28th Birthday! He is a fabulous husband and an amazing father to our boys, I can't imagine life without him. He works hard for our family and he does a great job with the projects he takes on. The latest projects were the shed and a sandbox for Caleb. Nate is becoming a respected leader in our church and our neighborhood association. But, no matter how busy he gets, his family is always his top priority. God has truly blessed us! He'll be embarassed when he reads this, but it is all true! We're not doing too much tonight. He requested Oreo ice cream dessert for his "cake" and we're doing fondue for supper. Should be fun. He already knows what his present is because Caleb told him! Note to self, do not bring toddlers along when buying presents!

Of course, I can't forget to say Happy Birthday to Janna!

Outage=Exhausting!

So Nate's plant is doing their outage for 6 weeks. Basically they are refueling the plant and everything needs to be fixed during this time. They do an outage every 18 months. All the employees have to work 6 days a week and 12 hour days. Thankfully Nate got Sundays off. He usually puts in 13 hour days, getting home between 6:15 and 7:30 pm. And then work has been calling him in the evening too. Needless to say this has not been fun! Nate is exhausted and can't get much done around here. I'm tired from being with the kids all day. But, we've made it through 2 weeks so far. We're looking forward to October 9 and praying the outage gets done on time!

In other news, MOPS started yesterday. We have a couple new Moms, so that is exciting! I think we have a great year planned out.

Baptism and Party

Today was the big day! We had Isaac's baptism and Caleb's 3rd Birthday party. The baptism went well, but it reminded me of life with kids-not orderly.:) Caleb started walking up front with us, but went limp on me and sunk to the floor refusing to go up. So he sat in the pew with the family. Isaac was sleeping, but started crying while the pastor was holding him. So the boys went to the nursery after the baptism.:)

We had about 14 people for the party. I made a tractor cake for Caleb-he was very excited! Of course he had fun opening presents too. Isaac was passed around alot and posed for some cute pictures. Overall it was a great day! Tomorrow Nate's Mom is leaving, so we're on our own again. Should be interesting!

Grandma's Here!

Nate's Mom is staying with us for a week. We've been keeping her busy, mostly playing with Caleb! But, she is getting some time with her newest grandson. She's been helping make meals and we picked alot of apples- so now we're making applesauce, pies, etc. We are also getting ready for this Sunday. Isaac will be baptized and then we are having people over after church to celebrate the baptism and Caleb's 3rd birthday. Lots of food to make! We are so grateful she is visiting us!

The Highs and Lows

Yesterday was a great day and I felt very confident as a mother. Nate worked a night shift so he went to bed as I was getting up at 6:30 am to feed Isaac. I got the boys and myself clean, fed, and to church on time! Never mind I got up at 6:30 for a 10 am service.:) What a feeling of accomplishment! In the afternoon, some women in my church threw us a baby shower! I was very touched by the number of people who came and we received some cute gifts. They even gave Caleb some gifts, very sweet. My Mom came out for the shower as well, lots of fun.

Of course, today starts out totally different! Caleb seems to know when I'm feeding Isaac in the morning and get up right then demanding breakfast.:) Later, both boys are crying inconsolably. I'm trying to figure out how to use a sling I was given for Isaac, but he screams even more. I wanted to lock myself in the bathroom until they stopped crying! Thankfully, that didn't last too long. However, I went to the grocery store with the boys for the first time-another accomplishment!

I was thinking yesterday about some "laws of motherhood." Like

-the baby always spits up on the cute outfit you just put on before walking out the door

-the toddler has to use the bathroom or is dying of starvation as soon as the baby starts nursing

I could think of more, but I thought it would be fun to hear some of your "laws of motherhood"!

Sleep and Snacks

Today I was feeling the sleep deprivation. Isaac does well at night-only getting up once or twice. So, I shouldn't complain, but I was wanting to go back to bed as soon as I woke up. Not a good feeling. Of course, Caleb didn't take a nap today-but I left him in his room and crashed for 30 minutes. You know how "experts" say, "new mothers should sleep when the baby sleeps." Yea, that only works for the first kid. What do the experts say for the following kids?

I was also thinking today about snacks. I feel like I'm still eating alot with the breastfeeding thing and needing new ideas for snacks. Do you guys have any favorite snacks that are easy and semi-good for you? My favorite evening snack is cereal. My Grandma J. passed that trait on to me.

Here I Go!

So after reading my friends blogs, I got the itch to start my own! I know my life isn't that exciting, but it's a great way for our friends and family to stay in the loop. Now I can share more photos of our kids too. Hopefully blogging doesn't become too addicting! Let me know if you experienced bloggers have any tips.

Here are some recent pictures of I-he's 3 weeks old now! He looks quite a bit like C did at this age. C loves to hold I-but has a hard time being gentle. Being a Mom to two kids has been quite an adventure so far- some days are crazier than others!