Randomness

Well, the Jeep is currently on life support and it seems it will take a miracle in the form of a new engine to save her.  Why would we put more money into this 12 year old car?  That's a good question and the answer is because buying a new car now would be too expensive.  About a year ago, Mark and I devised the "Two Year Plan."  We took a hard look at all of our debts and devised a way to pay them off in 2 years.  We are only 1 year into the 2 year plan and it doesn't allow any wiggle room for a car payment.  So, hopefully, we can resuscitate the Jeep for another year or two.  Say a prayer.

On an unrelated note, Jack got the sweetest card from his swim teacher yesterday.  She told him what a great job he was doing and congratulated him on putting his head under water for the first time last week.  It was really thoughtful of her and Jack loved it.  He saw it again this morning and said "Mom, Ms. Laura sent me a note.  I'm doing a really good job at swim lessons!"  It was nice to see him so proud of himself. 

I'm here...barely

I can't believe how fast the month of August went.  It seemed like one minute it was the fourth of July and in the blink of an eye, it's now labor day.  Too bad the winter months don't go this fast.  We're coming up on my favorite time of year.  I love everything between now and Christmas.  Bonfires, sweater weather and hayrides are some of my favorites and don't get me started on the food.  Hot chocolate?  Good.  Pumpkin bread?  Goood.  Christmas cookies?  Gooooood!

But before all of that happens, we're still enjoying the last few weeks of summer.  This has been another week of working two nights and it's really wearing on me.  Throw in a couple of migraines, and I'm pretty tired.  The Etsy shop has been booming which means lots of late nights (and sometimes early mornings) in the office.  We're all especially cranky because there's no food in the house.  Lately, I've been shopping on Sunday afternoons while the kids nap, but last Sunday MY desire for a nap far outweighed my desire to grocery shop.  It was really no contest.  I quickly glanced through the cabinets and convinced myself we had enough food to last us 4 days until Friday when I could go again.  This, as it turns out, was not true.  I've eaten either a hot dog or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for every meal since Sunday night.  Jack wanted to know why he couldn't have an eggo for breakfast this morning and when I told him we were out, he said, "we need to get some at the store."  Indeed.

Oh, and Mark's Jeep died yesterday.  It's at the shop today to see if it can be resuscitated.  I don't hold out much hope.

Weekend Recap

I was sooo looking forward to this weekend.  Our anniversary was last Monday, but we took this weekend to celebrate.  My mom watched the kids and we had a little "freedom."  It's so rare that we have a day sans kids that it feels so strange and we never know what to do with ourselves. 

Mark has had trouble seeing while driving for a while now and he finally went to the eye doctor and got a prescription for glasses.  That was a year ago.  So, since we had no kids to distract us, we spent most of our "free" day driving around shopping for glasses.  As I write this I'm realizing how pathetic this sounds and also how old we are getting.  Four hours after our hunt began, he finally settled on a pair and got them ordered.  I had a list a mile long of things I wanted to accomplish while I didn't have little ones under my feet, but a lot of that didn't happen.  It's okay, really, because I'm glad Mark will be able to see when he drives us home in the dark next weekend from his Grandma's house.

We had reservations at Brio at 6:45 and after that we spent the evening walking around to shops and stocking up on kids clothes at Carter's $6 sale.  Even without the kids, we always end up doing kid-related things.  It was so nice not to worry about what time we got home or how early we had to get up in the morning. 

Meanwhile, my mom and nana took the kids to build-a-bear.  Honestly, I'm kinda glad I wasn't there for that.  The kids seemed to have had a really good time although I heard that each took a turn in the meltdown department.  They are only 2 and 4, so it's to be expected.  Apparently, there was also a bruhaha over a bear stroller that resulted in Gram having to buy two in order to stave off bloodshed.  Did I mention I was glad I wasn't there?

Anyway, their bears are adorable and they spent most of Sunday pushing them around in aforementioned strollers.  Here they are:

Notice the blue painter's tape on Jack's stroller.  God forbid they get mixed up.

Claire thinks the sunglasses are for her and has worn them constantly since coming home.

I have no clue why Jack's aviator-sunglass-wearing camo bear needed a girly pink polka dot stroller.  I'm sure the bear is thrilled.

Oh, and he also insisted the bear have cowboy boots just like his.

I enjoy a little relaxation time away from the kids, but I'm also glad when they come home too. 

Happy Weekend!

This little girl is excited for the weekend!  Have a good one!

Homemade Pizzas

One of my new favorite go to's for dinner on a busy weeknight is the homemade pizza.  It's fast, fun and kid friendly.  I just buy 1 big boboli (or any other brand)  pizza crust and 2 little ones.  I buy mozzarella and pepperoni and the kids really enjoy making their own pizzas.  After cooking a meal, I really hate hearing "I don't want to eat that!!" from Jack who then follows it up with a tantrum that involves much screaming and leg thrashing and usually requires a time out.

Thanks for cooking us dinner, Mom!

Thankfully, I usually don't hear that with homemade pizzas.  Here's a look at last night.

Claire was really only interested in eating the pepperoni--that's my girl!

Gardening for Good

One of the projects for our Parents Ministry this summer was to grow veggies in a garden plot on our church grounds.  We have a huge church garden cared for by many families and different church groups.  The Parents Ministry has one plot in the big garden and we all take turns weeding and harvesting the veggies.  The veggies are then sold at church services on the weekend or donated to local food pantries and other minitries that provide food to the needy.

I really want the kids to grow up knowing what it's like to serve and to have service oriented hearts.  I think it's so important that they realize how lucky they are and want to help those less fortunate than themselves.  I want them to know that we are put on this earth to be the hands and feet of Jesus and to help people the way he did. 

I also want them to know that serving Christ isn't just donating money and doing the easy things.  While being generous with our money is certainly important, sometimes you have to do hard work and get in the dirt to serve Jesus.  This is certainly one of those projects. 

Last night was the last time we had to tend to the garden.  Harvesting is wrapping up and there isn't much left to pick.  The kids did really great!  Claire's still a bit young to be a real help, but Jack got right in there and picked the veggies and judged the good from the bad and put them in the bins.  Our plot was mostly picked already, but he helped another couple on a different plot harvest a lot of their veggies and throw the bad ones in the field.  Jack is usually shy, but he introduced himself and did everything they asked of him.  Claire followed right behind him and I'm so proud of both of them!

Oh, and did I mention he gardens in his cowboy boots?

7 Years

I've been a little MIA from this whole blogging thing this week.  It was busy at both jobs and I've barely had time to catch my breath from a busy weekend.  But, today is an important day.  Today marks seven years that I've been married to my best friend.  Here's a little of our story.

Mark and I met at a home football game at our high school.  He was a sophomore in the marching band and I was a freshman on the dance team.  The dance team and the band sit together during most of the game and at this first game of the season Mark was chatting up my friend Lisa.  During their conversation, he spotted a girl on the dance team he thought was cute and asked if Lisa would bring her over so he could meet her.  Luckily, Lisa brought me over instead.  We spent the rest of the night talking and the next day I couldn't stop thinking about him.  Two weeks later at another football game he asked me to be his girlfriend.  We dated throughout high school and moved in together during college. 

On a high school trip out west--look how skinny Mark is!!

Prom

After we graduated from college we got jobs and decided it was time to look for a house.  I had gotten a teaching job in Springboro and it was an up and coming area so we looked there.  We decided on a house that was in the process of being built and we were set to close in November.  A few weeks before the closing, we learned my dad had cancer.  It was devastating news as my dad was only 51.  This was an incredibly stressful time in our lives.  We both had new jobs and I was going to school at night for my Master's degree.  We were building a house which came with a set of problems all it's own.  On the day we moved into the house, Mark proposed.  Now we added planning a wedding to the list of tasks we were trying to tackle.  Unfortunately, my dad lost his battle with cancer a few short months later in January. 

I took some time off from my job and focused on my Master's work and the wedding.  We got married in August and it was a bitter sweet time for us all.  Mark was a rock through everything.  Because we met so young, my dad had been like a dad to him too and his passing left a huge whole in all of our lives.  Slowly we healed and started our lives together as a married couple.

Our wedding in 2005--photo by Mark Garber at markgarber.com

 I finshed my degree and got a new job as a librarian and Mark started his own company.  Three years after we got married, we welcomed our first baby, Jack, into the world.  He arrived 10 weeks early and weighed only 3 lbs. 2 oz. at birth.  We were all scared for him, but he did amazingly well.  I can't help but think his Grandpa Richard was watching over him and us during that time.  Six weeks in the NICU and then Jack was home with us.  He's been a joy to have and I've loved watching him grow up.

July 18, 2008--The day we brought Jack home from the hospital at 6 weeks old.

Three weeks after Jack turned two his sister, Claire, was born.  She was also born early at 36 weeks, but faired much better and came home from the hospital with me.  The two of them are crazy kids, but I love having them both.

Mark with Claire at 1 day old--a proud papa.

Mark and I have been through a lot in the last seven years and he's always supported me in so many ways.  I can't imagine my life without him and our babies are so lucky to have such a wonderful father.  I certainly hit the jackpot with him.

Back to School

Fortunately, my kids are still too little for school.  This morning, my facebook news feed has been clogged with lots of friends' kids on their first day back to school.  I've been thinking a lot about this lately because this time next year Jack could be going to kindergarten.  I say "could" because we haven't decided whether or not to hold him back a year.  Anyone who knows me knows I've agonized about this almost since Jack's birth.  Stupid, I know.  Just when I think I've made my mind up one way, I talk to someone who throws out benefits for the other way and I'm back at square one. 

I've talked with Jack's preschool teacher who thinks it would be crazy to hold him back.  I've talked with his pediatrician who acknowledged that most boys with his birthday are held back.  I've talked with countless friends with boys with summer birthdays and there seems to be no consensus among them either.  There are so many moving parts to this decision like maturity level, personality, academic ability and social skills.  He excels in some areas like academic ability and social skills, but in others I think he falls way behind.  He has a lack of motivation that won't serve him well in school or in life and that has me concerned.  Part of me thinks I should just hold him back and give him the most amount of time to prepare.  The other part says if he's ready, then just put him in. 

And then I think of myself.  Forget Jack, I'M NOT READY to send my baby to school.  The thought sends chills down my spine.  Where did these last few years go?  It seems like just yesterday I held a little 3 pound baby and prayed to God to let us keep him.  He answered our prayers and I'm not ready to send him out into the world just yet.  Luckily, I have a whole year to figure this out and prepare him.  And myself.

Ice cream Social 2012

Despite having to work Saturday, we had a pretty fun weekend with the highlight being Sunday's ice cream social at the fire department in our hometown.  This is something we do every year.  It's near and dear to Mark's heart as be used to volunteer at the event when he was in the high school marching band oh so many years ago.  The band members help serve food, pick up used trays and sell their band calendars at the event which is primarily a fundraiser for the fire department.  The food is usually pretty good although I think someone fell asleep at the grill this year.  Most of my food was burnt, but it's a fundraiser, so what the hell.  I only go for the ice cream anyway which was delicious as always.  The kids have a great time because all the fire trucks are there (I feel bad for anyone who has an emergency on ice cream social day) and they can sit in them and try on the fire gear.  They even have several antique fire trucks that the kids think are pretty neat.  They also have a bounce house and fake house with flames in the window that kids can knock down with a real fire hose.  The kids didn't want any part of either this year.  They had one track minds, ice cream and fire trucks.  Well, two tracks, I guess.  So, that's what we did. 

She knows how to strike a pose!

Just one more fire truck...please...!

Popped

This is what happens when a little boy slams on the bike brakes and skids down the driveway.  Over and over.

Looks like we'll be shopping for a new bike tire this weekend.

I blame the Olympics

Man, I'm really tired today.  Usually, I don't think talking about how tired you are is a legitimate topic of conversation (because we're ALL tired), but this is my blog and I can talk about whatever I want. 

I've worked two evening shifts at the library this week and the shop has been pretty busy as of late so I've had to work in the office after I get home from the library and after we put the kids to bed.  Every night for a week I've said I'm going to bed right after I'm done working and NOT ONCE have I actually done that.  Without fail, I come up from the office and the Olympics are on the TV upstairs.  I haven't been able to resist watching!  One night, I even went to bed with the intention of going to sleep and ended up watching it on the TV in the bedroom (which reminds me, we should get rid of the TV in the bedroom).

Like most people, I love the swimming and gymnastics.  I like that I can read the results on the internet before the primetime coverage and if I don't like the outcome, I don't want to watch it.  I can't handle the suspense.  I'm still trying to figure out how the gymnasts know exactly where the edge of the mat is with their heels before a big tumbling run on the floor exercise.  Another of their many talents. 

I also really like watching diving, but I haven't happened to catch any yet.  I looked it up and much of it is being shown between 1 and 4 in the morning.  I wish now I didn't know that becuase I'm afraid I'll start staying up to watch it.

Four year checkup

Jack had his four year physical this morning.  It was kind of neat because there were some new things.  Like, for example, they gave him an eye test.  He had to say what the pictures were on the eye chart and then he had to do it from far away and while covering an eye.  Jack was none too pleased about being at the doctor's office, so at first he wouldn't cooperate and talk to the nurse.  I thought, oh geez, if he refuses to talk what are they going to write down about his development?  I had visions of speech therapy and other unnecessary things.  Luckily (or not so), there was a giant bug that came out of nowhere on the floor.  I screamed and Jack laughed.  The nurse squashed it and that was enough to lighten the mood and make Jack forget he was in the middle of a power struggle with us.  He did just fine on the eye test.

This appointment was a combination physical and asthma assessment.  Essentially, he hasn't been using his inhaler for more than a year and he hasn't shown any symptoms of asthma in a really long time.  My opinion is that he's grown out of it.  His doctor tended to agree and she changed his diagnosis to the lowest level "intermittent asthma."  We'll reevaluate next year and if he's still not having symptoms, she'll remove the diagnosis all together.

He seemed to be on par in all other aspects of his development.  He weighed 34.2 pounds and was 40 inches tall.  This put in him the 32nd percentile for weight and 38th for height.  I guess he's still a little guy.  The hard part came when the doctor said he was due for four vaccines plus the flu shot.  I wasn't prepared for this.  A flu shot?  Really, already?  For some reason, I thought he was caught up on vaccines and I didn't even bring my shot record.  She said we could do it this year or next, as long as it's done by the time he's six.  I really didn't want to do it now, but I knew I really wouldn't want to do it next year either, so we did it today.  Poor guy.  We took pity on him and took him to breakfast at Tim Horton's when it was all over because nothing makes you feel better like a carton full of Timbits.

See?  You can't even tell he just got 5 shots.  Timbits are just that good.

Cross Training

A little over a year ago, Mark and I started a search for a new church.  We had never been regular church goers, but now that we had kids, we wanted it to become more of a focus in our lives.  Our kids were baptized in the same church we were married in, but it became increasingly clear this was not the church we wanted to attend.  Mark was raised Catholic and I was United Methodist.  The church we sporadically attended was Methodist and it always felt like Mark was going to "my" church.  We needed to find "our" church.  Some friends recommended SouthBrook, so we gave it a try and our "church search" was over.  We've attended church almost every weekend the kids weren't sick for the last year -- more than ever before.  The kids love it and that's saying a lot.  We've gotten involved and joined the Parents Ministry too.  It's really been a life changing experience.

This weekend, in a series modeled after the Olympics, our pastor talked about spiritual training.  This was a totally new concept to me.  Much like physical or sports training, he says we need to train our spiritual lives too in order to keep our faith strong.  Apparently, it's not enough just to try hard as trying hard will only lead to burnout and frustration.  I realized this is exactly what I was doing.  Since renewing my spiritual life a year ago, I've just been trying hard.  I really want to devote my life to Christ and go through the character transformation that goes along with that, but I really don't know how.  I tried really hard at first to read my bible and pray, but eventually I did it less and less and it fell by the wayside.  This isn't good enough.  I wasn't sure what to do about it and I felt like the message this weekend was just for me. 

Our pastor talked about orienting your life around your priorities.  If following Christ is your priority, you will orient you life around that goal.  I haven't been doing this.  I say with my mouth that I want to follow Christ, but I don't follow through with my actions.  So I got to thinking, what are my priorities and what do I orient my life around?  I suppose the answer is work, and therefore money.  I work a full time job and run a Etsy business on the side.  A 10-12 hour day between the two jobs is the norm.  Of course, I will always need to work, but what if I oriented my life around following Christ?  What would that look like?  I don't have all the answers yet, but I'm going to try to figure it out.  I'm certainly a spiritual work in progress.

You can listen to the message here:  http://www.southbrook.org/resources/podcast/fiverings/crosstraining.html

The Weekend

It was another busy weekend at the Crummie household.  I barely had enough time to get the laundry washed (but not folded) and the grocery shopping done.  Mark and I detest grocery shopping.  I'm not sure who hates it more, but I got stuck with it this weekend.  Before we had kids we used to speed-shop.  Every week we timed ourselves and tried to beat the previous week's time.  We got pretty good, but now we have two kids and nothing is fast with two kids.  It seems like I barely have enough time to get everything done that has to be done before a new workweek begins.  If we want to fit in anything fun, we have to sacrifice something vital and we are behind come Monday morning.

Anyway, Jack and Claire had their Saturday morning swim lesson and tumble bunnies classes.  I enjoy doing the tumble bunnies class with Claire, but she can be a bit of a brute.  She positively hogs the trampoline and tumble track.  If she wants to jump on either one and there's a kid already there, she runs up and yells "MY TURN! MY TURN!" until the other kids' mom ushers them away.  It's a bit embarrasing. 

Claire at tumble bunnies

Waiting for Jack's swim lesson

After their classes I wanted to stop at United Art and Education Supply so I could see if they have a chalkboard for a project I'm working on.  The kids were a little lot hyped up after their classes and not using their walking feet.  I went to get my wallet out of the car and when I came back in I could hear Jack screaming.  Turns out, he was running and almost trampled a lady so Mark put his leg out thinking he would see it and slow down.  Jack was paying no attention and slammed head first into Mark's knee.  By the time I got here, he was a bloody nose mess.  We got the bleeding stopped, I paid for my things and we slunk out of there as best we could.  I'm sure everyone was glad to see us go.

In other weekend highlights, I made a few Pinterest recipes.  First up were these chewy M&M bars from here:   http://fantasticfamilyfavorites.blogspot.com/2011/06/thick-and-chewy-m-cookie-bars.html  They are were delicious!  I ate most of them.  I thought the recipe called for 1 egg and 1 egg white, but then I realized it wanted an egg yolk, but it was too late so I just dumped the whole second egg in there.  As far as I could tell, it made no difference.  Here's mine:

Then I made a blueberry breakfast cake from here:  http://www.alexandracooks.com/2011/06/29/buttermilk-blueberry-breakfast-cake/

I've made this before and it is fantastic.  For some reason, the kids don't like it, but I'm fine with that.  More for me.  I used thawed frozed blueberries and it definitely wasn't as good as using fresh blueberries, but still pretty good.  Walmart didn't have fresh blueberries this week and I don't go to more than one store per weekend.  If Walmart doesn't have it, I don't need it.

I made this for dinner Saturday night (also from Pinterest):  http://www.verybestbaking.com/recipes/143190/Penne-Pasta-with-Sun-dried-Tomato-Cream-Sauce/detail.aspx  It was just okay.  The sauce was very thin and didn't stick to the pasta very well. 

Sunday was spent at church and a trip to Lowe's (for aforementioned chalk board project).  Sunday evening we went to Nana and Papa's for pizza and the kids had a blast playing outside.  Jack rode his bike around the block and Claire doesn't like to be left out so luckily they still have this little gem that used to be my Mom's:

This reminds me to see if Claire's had a tetanus shot.  It was just a tad rusty. You'll notice Mark's belt in the picture.  Claire's feet barely touched the pedals so we pulled her around using the belt.  She doesn't have the hang of steering just yet either.

All in all, it was a good weekend.  My Etsy shop was pretty busy and I mailed out 13 orders this morning.  Now I'm just workin' for the weekend.

TGIF

I'm so thankful it's Friday.  I've had a migraine that's plagued me most of the week and it seems to finally be gone today.  I also saw the pictures from Jack and Claire's photo shoot and they are awesome!!  When I get them, I'll be sure to share. 

I've been thinking more about Jack's troublesome behavior and what he could be trying to tell me.  I think I've come up with an answer.  The main struggle in the morning is that he's too tired to get up.  This is unusual for him.  He's my early riser.  Or, at least he used to be.  We had to buy him a clock that was programmed to turn a color when he was allowed to get out of bed.  He used to wake up and watch the clock intently until it was time to get out of bed.  In the last few months, the clock hasn't been needed because he was sleeping through and I was having to wake him up to get ready for preschool.  It's harder to stick to a strict bedtime in the summer.  It stays light so much later and time seems to get away from us.  Before we know it, it's 8:30 and we haven't even started baths.  It's also hard to convince the kiddos it's bed time with the sun still streaming through the windows.  So many nights the kids aren't getting to bed until 9:00 or later.  It's funny because I used to be such a stickler for bedtimes, but I've mellowed on this issue in the last couple of years.  Maybe I shouldn't have.

So I decided to try something crazy.  We actually put them to bed at 8:00, their old bed time.  And you know what?  Jack was so much better this morning!  I still had to wake him up, but he didn't seem so sleepy.  He got up, put his clothes on, came out and ate breakfast with nary a tantrum.  It's a miracle!  I hope this is the answer to our morning meltdowns.  I love it when answers are simple.