weekly 10

Lately I feel like a chicken running around with its head cut off.  Between finding our groove with school  and work schedules, extra curricular schedules, volunteer schedules, house stuff, illness, etc.... I have started to lose my mind.  I can tell that it is wearing on me and the kids so I have decided to take a deep breath and focus on the little things that make me smile everyday.  Cause really, those are the only things that get me through all of this chaos of life.

My smiles this week:

1.  Hearing Ashton tell me he want cuddles on the couch with me.  I will gladly lay with him for hours on the couch if he would just sit still for longer than 2 seconds. 

2.  Grant talking to me about God.  He is asking a lot more questions now and it just warms my heart to know he will have God in his heart at such a young age.  That is something I never had at that age.

3.  Seeing the glee in Jason's eyes as he cuts down trees and starts to see our dream house become a reality.

4.  Walking through the Christmas display at Menards and watching the looks on the boys faces as they see all the twinkle lights.

5.  Christmas in the stores!  I know many people grumble, but there is something so peaceful about Christmas and I love nothing more than to slowly stroll through the Christmas aisles even if it is only October.

6. The Goldbergs.  I don't sit down and watch many shows, but I have made the time for this one.  This weeks episode made me smile because I will totally be that mom that wants to protect her son from getting his heart broken.  Jason looked right at me and said, No, you cannot do that to our sons!"  He knows me too well.

7.  Great doctor appointment check ups and hearing Ashton tell the nurse thank you after she gave him 2 shots.  Never one to forget his manners....

8.  Sunday drives to see the beautiful colors.  I think they are better than they have been in years.  Hearing Grant tell me how beautiful they are- I love his appreciation for nature! 

9.  Watching Grant and Ashton play together.  They fight, they whine and they can scream and yell very loudly, but every once in a while I catch them quietly playing together and it makes it all ok.

10. And finally, an hour of silence as I got a really good massage.  This should be mandatory for all mothers.

Up Up and Away its Ashton's 2nd Birthday!

Last Friday we celebrated Ashton's second birthday with family and friends.  It was a wonderful night celebrating our little love.  His theme was airplanes since every time he sees or hears a plane he points to the sky and screams airplane.  He walked around all day saying,"up up and away its my birthday."  It was so cute!


He LOVED his balloons.  Many fights took place between him and Grant since he also loved the balloons...

 

I had so much fun with this theme.  I had an Arrivals sign on the front door with everyone's name on it.  (left it off here for privacy reasons.)  I made this TSA sign as well as Baggage Check (present area) and Baggage Claim (favors).  I also made a shirt for him with an iron on transfer.  I couldn't get a picture of it though because he refused to stop moving for a close up shot.

 Baggage Claim- candy airplanes, sugar cookie airplanes and peanuts for the adults. 

The Food Court- once again I got into naming dishes just because this theme was so fun and it all came together so easy.  I hope I am not setting a precedent for all future parties though!

Grant's Sami Shop- Hot ham and cheese on buns
Mom Mom's Pasta Palace- Mac and cheese
Raul's Mexican Restaurant- Seven layer mexican dip or chips and salsa
Ashton's Apple Stand- apples and caramel
Jason's Juice Bar- Lemonade, apple cider or my new favorite- apple cider and a little caramel vodka:)
Krista's Cakery- airplane cake

 I thought that no one could get as animated as Grant when opening presents. I was wrong.  Ashton was hilarious.  He ripped open all presents.  He opened the clothes boxes, yelled clothes and then threw them.  He opened a card with $ and propudly yelled,"money!"  Jason helped him open his cards and Ashton would rip them out of his hand and proclaim,"I read the cards daddy."  It sure was fun watching him get so excited about his gifts!

 

The cake from hell.  Looking at this cake you would think it would be the easiest thing ever, right?  Wrong.  I bought butter cake mix instead of regular yellow cake.  For some reason when I was at the store, I bought 2.  I figured out why after I went to get my first cake out of the pan and the whole things crumbled out in pieces.  I am assuming this was because the butter mix was SO moist. So, I greased and buttered and floured and made the second cake and thankfully it came out ok.  I had made my frosting the day before as a time saver but as it warmed up, it became very runny which made it hard to decorate with.  And, I ran out of frosting so there were patches you could still see the cake through as well as a huge section that came apart when I tried to take the wax paper out from underneath when it was completed.  I attempted fancy lettering to look like clouds but it looked horrible so I had to scrape it off and re-do with what little frosting I had left.  All in all, it turned out ok, just not one of my best attempts!

 

Ashton seemed quite happy with his cake so it made all the crazy cake making worth it!

 

It is hard to keep him still.... showing off all his new gifts.  What a blessed little 2 year old!

 

 

 

1.  Sayings heard recently that I swore I would never hear in my house...

"If you don't stop crying, I will give you a reason to cry!" - Said to Grant for crying hysterically for not getting the blue plate.

"Don't make me pull this car over"  - Said to both boys for screaming in the car for no good reason at all.


2. On Sunday, we were able to get out for the fall color tour I had been craving.  We drove around and enjoyed the beautiful colors in silence while the boys napped.  We then went to my favorite orchard and took a hayride and picked more apples because seriously who can resist apples at 40 cents a pound!  The boys had fun playing on these pumpkin haystacks. We then drove to South Haven for some yummy Sherman's ice cream for dinner and then headed home.   It was a great day!

3.  The next time I tell Ashton to grab his shoes as we are headed out the door, I should pay more attention.  I have noticed that my attention to detail has seriously been lacking the last few weeks, but this is really bad!  I didn't even notice these shoes until we climbed onto the hayride!

4. In reference to #3,  Sherman's Blue Moon ice cream makes for shockingly blue diapers!

5. The other night Ashton was asking to wear underwear.  (No, we are not potty training him!)  Well, Grant decided he was going to help Ashton go potty so he took him into the bathroom and took off his jammy pants and his diaper and then Ashton proceeded to pee all over the floor. Grant was not pleased with Ashton.  I however thought it was hilarious and was so happy that I caught it all on video!

6.  I had planned on the boys 2 and 4 year pics during our drive on Sunday but Ashton fell and scraped his face up on Sat and then Sun he got scratched at the orchard and that night he got a bug bite on his face that made his eye swell up AGAIN.  So, back to the dr we went.  Luckily he didn't need to get a shot this time but it still scared the heck out of me. I hate when things get that close to his eyes.

7.  The other day I picked up The Goonies for super cheap.  This is one of my all time favorites but I haven't seen it in a while.  It is amazing how different it is to watch it as a mother.  There are some serious swear words in that movie!

8.  Neither of my boys are big eaters at all.  That is why I was so surprised the other day when Grant ate 2 sausage links, 5 french toast sticks, and a bowl of cereal for lunch.  Followed by 2 sandwiches and a half a carton of strawberries for lunch.  I guess my little boy is starting to grow!  That is his usual appetite for a whole week!

9.  The boys are really into jokes these days.  On the way to drop off this morning, we prayed and then the boys started in with knock,  knocks.  Of course, jokes at their age make absolutely no sense, but they think they are hilarious!

Ashton: knock, knock
Me: who's there?
Ashton: strawberry
Me: strawberry who?
Ashton: seasaw
Grant and Ashton crack up.

Grant: knock, knock
Me: who's there?
Grant: strawberry
Me: strawberry who?
Grant: strawberry toot toot (because yes, his world seems to revolve around toots these days!)
More laughter from the second row.

I want to remember these hilarious car rides especially after the chaos of trying to get out of the house on time!


10.  Blessing of the week:  After a lot of headaches and waiting, we finally got approval from our association to start building our house!  We were surprised when our excavator called us the next day and told us that he had scraped our lot already.  I guess we can officially say we are building a house:)

Weekly 10

1. The last few weeks have been crazy around our house.  Ashton was stung by the bee and had hives all over.  The next week he had a cold and then got bit by a bug and his whole face swelled up.  Last week Ashton and Jason were diagnosed with strep throat and Jason had pneumonia.  If you wondered why I haven't been blogging lately, that is why!

2.  Getting Ashton to take his antibiotic is like wrestling an alligator.  He spit it back in our face, closed his mouth so tight there was nothing getting in it, ran away, etc....  I finally had to take him to the dr on Friday for an antibiotic shot because he wasn't eating and every time he tried to eat, he threw up.  The poor guy was a mess.

3.  I am really hoping that now that we are all healthy, we can get out and enjoy fall before it is over.  So far we have gone apple picking and made 2 batches of applesauce and one batch of apple butter.  This weekend I am hoping to get for our annual fall color tour before the weather turns on us.

4.  Lucky for us, we have now entered the colors phase.  Also known as the,"but I wanted the blue bowl" phase.  Ugh...

5. I have started praying in the car with the boys as we drive to school, day care and work.  This has been such an uplifting way for the three of us to start our day.  Most mornings Grant prays for the firefighters; that they stay safe and Ashton usually prays for Jesus or Lisa his fabulous day care provider.  Today however provided a few laughs as Grant prayed for Halloween to get here safely.  I just love the way his mind thinks.

6.  Words you never want to hear,"mom, Ashton is putting poop on the couch."

7.I haven't watched Glee for years, but happened to catch the episode the other night that dealt with the aftermath of Finns death.  I had tears rolling down my face.  They really captured the raw emotion of grief and after hearing # 8, I was balling my eyes out...  they got it so right.

8. "You know, when I would see that stuff on the news, I would shut it off because it was just too horrible to think, but I would always think, 'how do they wake up every day?' I mean, how do they...how do they breathe, honey? But you do wake up. And for just a second, you forget. And then, oh, you remember. And it's like getting that call again and again, every time. You don't get to stop waking up. You have to keep on being a parent even though you don't have a child anymore."

9.  Grant asked me why I was crying and I told him that I was sad sometime because I missed Brooke and Alexcyn and this show reminded me of them.  He came over and gave me a hug and said,"I get sad about them sometimes too mommy."  I was speachless.  He is only 4 but knew exactly what I needed to hear in that moment.  God definitely had a plan when he blessed me with Grant.

10.  Blessing of the week:  hearing Grant pray all by himself at the dinner table.  "Dear God, please bless this food onto our bodies.  Thank you for the food on our table and the roof over our heads.  Amen"  Totally brought tears to my eyes.

Roar Grant Weston is 4!

Last weekend we celebrated Grant's 4th Birthday.  He is still in full dinosaur mode, so we planned an extreme dinosaur weekend for him. 

On Saturday we surprised Grant with a trip to the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago.  We left Ashton at home with the grandparents so that each boy got some one on one time- something they never ever get.  Grant was so excited and asked just about every 15 minutes if we were there yet.  We had never been to that zoo before.  We were quite surprised at what an awesome zoo it was!


Ironic that my 4 year old asks to ride in the stroller but my 2 year old refuses!  Grant also still has a love for maps.

We saw a dolphin show, huge lions, giraffes, hippos, bears, rhinos and most importantly a dinosaur exhibit.

 So excited to see all the dinosaurs! 

Grant's absolute favorite is the long neck.  I was so excited to see one and get my pic with Grant in front of it.  Too bad Grant had to pull his refusal to take a good pic with mommy attitude AGAIN.  I an starting to take this personally.

The look of amazement on his face when he saw the dinos move and roar made the 6 hour car ride totally worth it! 

Even though his official birthday was on Tuesday, we had his party on Sunday so that all the family could be there. 

My 4 year old Grantasaurus was full of energy that day.  Next year I will need to remember that making him wait all day for his party is not a good idea.

He wanted his party gear on all afternoon and refused to sit still.  He ran through the house yelling and screaming like a wild child!

 You can almost see the wild in his eyes in this pic!

Finally about 20 minutes before the party started, he was sent to time out in his room and fell asleep.  Suddenly happy excited Grant turned into grumpy sleepy Grant but luckily that was short lived once he saw all his cousins here.

My attempt at a cake.  Grant was very specific that his green long neck dinosaur HAD to be on the cake.  No exceptions to that rule.  It turned out better than I thought it would considering I forgot to put in my cardboard piece to hold the top cake on the bottom!

The food.....  I don't usually go to the extreme of labeling food, but I saw some fun ideas on Pinterest this year so I got into it.  Plus, Grant thought it was so fun to eat dino eggs, etc... so it made the extra effort worth it.

Dino Eggs- meatball subs.  Broncho bites- corn. Swamp Dip- chips and dip. Carnivores- dino chicken nuggets for the kids. Herbivores- fruit salad, Dino dig- dirt cups with dino gummies.

So many awesome gifts.

The tractor he has been begging us for forever.

 

My Grantster has a true talent for opening presents.  I mean, who really gets this excited for a new backpack! ?

 Finally, he can be a golfer just like his daddy...

Blessed by all his gifts.

 Time for cake and ice cream!

Things I forgot to take pictures of but want to remember for my books.... Party favors were dino grabbers and dino hats like the one Grant is wearing.  School favors were treat bags with a little dinosaur and dino sticker book.

At the end of the day, we all sat on the couch for some tv time.  Not 5 minutes later I looked over and saw this.  Such a precious ending to a special day.  

School

Last week Grant started his 3 school.  The week started off quite dramatically with Grant screaming in pain on Monday with a tummy ache.  We went through the day assuming it was gas from constipation and then later that night, attributed it to nerves after Grant declared that he had butterflies and a froggy in his tummy when he thought about school.  Later in the week we discovered he actually did have a bug when Jason also had the nasty stomach ache.

when asked what he wants to be when he grows up, he said a golfer like his daddy.  Good thing we got him a golf bag for his birthday!

Tuesday he woke up excited for school.  He even woke up before his alarm which is pretty good for our little sleeper.  He really hates mornings so I anticipate his happy attitude to go back to grumpy morning Grant really soon!  I got to spend the whole morning in his class with him that day.  He had so much fun digging in the sandbox and riding his (already) "favorite" blue bike.  They ate a snack, went on a hike through the trails, made a craft and played inside at all the learning stations.  They sure pack a lot in 3 hours!

He found his coat hook!

playing in the sandbox- he gets 20 min of outdoor play first thing in the morning.  Rain or shine.

heading off on his first hike- he will take a 30 min hike every morning.

finding shapes and colors on the nature hike with Miss Lonna

so proud of my little reader for going straight to the books!

by the end of the morning, he (and all the other kids!) were pretty much over it.  A lot of crying and fits were witnessed the last 20 mins!

As we got into the car on Thursday, he looked at me and said,"don't worry mom, I am going to be a brave boy."  Melt my heart!  On the drive there, he expressed his concern over what to do if he got lost and was really worried about a tree falling on him.  On how I love how little minds think!  We walked in and he was clinging to my leg but once it came time for me to leave, he was such a big boy.  I was sure I was fine until I turned around to leave and suddenly felt the tears streaming down my face.  Can't believe my little boy is all grown up.

Hopefully he is as excited to go back this week!

Ten on Tuesday

1.  Cutest thing Ashton says right now- Oopsy daisy.  It is so cute, it just makes me smile every time I hear him say it.

2.   I was looking for some Greek seasoning in the international aisle at Meijer the other day.  I laughed out loud when I came across the "southern" section.  It included hush puppies, creole seasoning, hot sauce, etc..... since when are the southern states considered international????

3. A few weeks ago Ashton walked up to the table to eat lunch and proclaimed,"no chair. I sit table" and pushed the chair holding his booster seat onto the ground and climbed into a normal chair.  Who gave this kid the rights to grow up so darn fast?????

4. I thanked Grant for being a good boy the other day while we were out and about and he responded, "I did the best I could mommy."  LOL.

5. Anyone else get totally addicted to the show Camp this summer?

6.  I laid down on the couch the other day and got ready to watch my favorite fall movie, Mystic Pizza and realized our VHS player has finally bit the dust.   I suppose it is finally time to join this century update my favorite movie collection to DVDs!

7.  Ashton and bugs do not get along.  He was stung by a bee last week.  He reacted fine to it that day.  When he woke up the next day he was covered in one large hive all over his tummy and back.  Thankfully Benadryl cleared it up within 24 hours.  This past weekend, he got bit on his cheek by something while out with J on our property.  He woke up the next day with his cheek all swollen.  After a day of Bendryl, he woke up the next day with his eye all swollen.  We headed to the dr where he received an antibiotic shot because the Dr was concerned about infection.  We had a follow up appt the next day and it was finally looking better.  We left the office with a script for oral antibiotics and a referral to an allergist.  Yippee.

8. Ashton's favorite phrase right now,"I do it."   I love that he is a little more independent, but he gets so frustrated when he can't do everything and I get frustrated when he insists on doing everything his way when I am in a rush!

9.  Grant starts school next Tuesday.  He is going to a new nature based preschool so most of his learning will be about nature, animals, etc.... I am so excited for him, but am also a little anxious to send my baby off to his first day of school.

10.  Blessing of the week: medication.  The Dr informed me that when he was a resident (not that long ago) he would have had to admit Ashton for IV antibiotics and cat scans to ensure the infection didn't spread and affect his eyes.  Thank God for antibiotic shots that they can give you in the office and save you an overnight stay in the hospital.