Disney

So we will just start this post by saying that my Grandparents are AWESOME! Most people who are close to me have met my grandparents. My grandma loves to have family get-togethers and over the years, I have had just about every person I have known over there. Well, especially if you live in Ohio!!
They are super loving, godly, serving people, and choose to bless other people with the money they have been blessed with. They have chosen to take every grandchild/great-grandchild to Walt Disney World. And yes, these are the same grandparents who got a beach house for my whole family this past summer in Outerbanks!!
This past September (about a month ago) it was our turn to go! Well, actually Maddy's turn, but we all tagged along!! We stayed at a Disney resort called Port Orleans Resort, and we had a blast!! Here are just a few (ha ha) pics from our trip!!


We never fly on airplanes, just a little out of our budget, so the plane ride was in and of itself a treat for the kids, well, Maddy. She had so much fun looking out the window, getting her little drink on the plane, and holding Judah, as you can see. He might not be having so much fun!
Plane ride!! Judah was such a trooper! Both flights (down and back) he fell asleep in Tad's arms for his nap!! Glorious!!
When we got off the airplane, it all started!! Disney stores, Disney characters to take pics with, and Maddy was excited!!

Exciting!

When we got on our bus to ride to our hotel, everyone was exhausted. The boys crashed in the back of the bus, while Maddy (below) watched cartoons as we rode.

When we got to the hotel, there were little chairs set up and the kids could watch tv in the lobby.

Do we look tired??
That night, we rode a boat from our hotel to Disneytown and had dinner at the TRex restaurant. It was all fun, but there aren't any pics here because I got a migraine for 3 hours and had to go back early.

The next morning, we hopped on a boat and rode it to the Polynesian hotel for a character breakfast!! The main characters were Lilo and Stitch!

Nice family pic. Who is looking?? Me!

Is this a great shot or what??

Poor Judah squashed in the middle!

Family pics before the character breakfast. What a magnificent hotel!!

Mommy and Maddy!

Judah got some love from Stitch. Not sure what he thought about that.

Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa (Or Boopa, as all the grandkids call him)!!!

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!

Lilo!

Pluto! Right, or Goofy? No I think it's Pluto!

Mickey Mouse waffles, and Maddy looking a little dazed. It's the flash on my camera, makes everyone look dopey!

Our view from our table at breakfast!

We rode a boat over to the Floridian, another Disney hotel on the property. That's about all we could afford was to walk in. They had a Princess tea for about $250 for Maddy plus $175 for adults or something crazy like that. Don't think we went to that!! Sheesh!!

Judah zonked out at that point.

I guess all the Disney hotels have really cool pools. Ours was huge and had this big dragon wrapping all through it, and part of it was a water slide, which Maddy loved, and got even Boopa to go down the slide. He is almost 80 by the way!

Judah got to chill with Mommy in the baby pool a little bit!

The hotel was all New Orleans theme, if you didn't guess that already.

My Uncle Mike and Aunt Becky are missionaries with Campus Crusade for Christ and live in Orlando where my Uncle heads up Student Venture (the highschool branch, I believe). He came in to have dinner with us one night at Planet Hollywood.

And this is the kids portion spaghetti at Planet Hollywood. What???

Maddy and Boopa!!

Maddy, you are suppose to be sharing that banana split!!

And finally, our day at Walt Disney World!! I loved all the Fall decor all around!! Tad got to go to Disney when he was 4 too, and has a picture right in this same spot.

The castle!!

The castle and some woman's rear end.

They were working on the castle while we were there and Tad thought this picture was awesome. Boys. I guess it's a memory!

First ride! The Carousel!!

The Dumbo ride!!

Grandma paid for Maddy to go to the Bippity, Boppity, Boutique to get her hair, nails, and makeup done. A girls dream!!

Sitting in the chair. She was so incredibly shy I thought that they had mixed up my daughter for someone else's. The lady kept asking her, "Did you lose your voice again?"

Nails.

A little spray. Oh my.

A little hairspray shield. And they have you make a wish while putting sparkles all over your hair.

Getting her ready, and saying Bippity, Boppity, Boo while spinning her around....

Beautiful!!

Finished product!! All dressed and ready to go to the Princess lunch in the castle!!

Move it, Shake it parade.

Poor Judah, he will only remember this trip in pictures!! We will have to go back when he gets a little older!

Waiting for lunch, and to see Cinderella!

Is this a dream come true? Maddy has already told me that she wants to go back and see her.

Finally, into the lunch! They have several princesses who come around to each table and take pictures and sign autographs. Maddy isn't much into autographs, but she loved seeing them and taking pictures!!

Family lunch! Very nice!!

Mickey Mouse plate. She wasn't much interested in eating, only seeing the next Princess!

Snow White.

Sleeping Beauty (Aurora, right?)

Ariel

Belle (Beauty).

Teacups. While we were waiting for them to ride, it started pouring, and my camera died so I didn't get any more pics at the park except on my phone :(
The next day, we went to my Uncle Mike and Aunt Becky's house. They have a beautiful house in Orlando, with a lake in the back, a canoe, and a little pool. Maddy had so much fun!!

Back of their house. I can't believe we have never visited them in Orlando. We will have to come again! We had such a great time, and I loved catching up with my aunt and gleaning wisdom from her about parenting (they have 3 wonderful children who love the Lord), loving God, housekeeping, entertaining, and the like. Love you, Aunt Becky! Wish we could talk more often!

This is right off their house. You gotta love this! Maddy did! This, and shooting lizards off the screen porch with a watergun.

Daddy feeding Judah his baby food.

Family dinner out by the pool. We had a blast! It was so fun!

Superstar.

Last night in Florida. Soaking up the sun.

The last morning, we had to get up at like 4:45 to get downstairs, load our luggage, and be to the airport on time. Maddy had like 4 night terrors that night (probably from lack of sleep) and our hotel neighbors were pounding on the walls! Fun times!! So here we are, bright and early, waiting for our bus to arrive. Actually, it was outside, and we didn't know, and it almost left without us (and about 10 other people waiting inside!) Then Tad almost forgot his backpack and had to run back inside to get it! But luckily, we managed to get to the airport on time, and in one piece. Sorry for staying with me on all the details, if any of you still are. I just wanted to document our trip and be able to look back on this trip with the details. These days I have a horrible memory!!

Big yawn!!

Super early!!!

Thanks again, Grandma and Boopa! It was a trip we will never forget, and we appreciate it so much!!! Maddy is still talking about it and telling everyone that she will be Cinderella for Halloween because she just went to Disney. And playing salon with her dolls. And asking to go back. And wanting to see Cinderella again. We love you guys!!

Curried Shrimp Noodles with Basil

I have a family full of shrimp lovers. Tad and Maddy would eat shrimp for every meal if it was available. This is yet another Weight Watcher's meal that is a-maz-ing!!! I always write in my cookbook commenting on each meal I make, if we liked it, and any notes I need to make (changes, things that worked well with the meal, things I didn't like), and this meal says, "Divine!!" It is so good, and if you're a fan of coconut milk and shrimp and basil, then this combination is for you!! I always feel like a saleswoman trying to sell the new meal I'm about to blog about. Like I'm gonna make money off of it! But I'm not. I just want you to enjoy this meal as much as we do!! It's a new staple!!

Curried Shrimp Noodles with Basil
From Pantry to Plate: Easy Meals from Foods You Keep on Hand
Weight Watchers

3/4 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 teaspoons bottled Thai green curry paste (I'm sure red would work too. You can find this in the ethnic section of the grocery store, of course, the Thai section!!)
6 ounces Chinese wheat noodles or spaghetti
2 teaspoons peanut or canola oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup light (reduced-fat) coconut milk
1/2 cup loosely packed Thai or regular basil leaves

1. Put the shrimp and curry paste in ziploc bag. Squeeze our the air and seal the bag; turn to coat the shrimp and refrigerate for 20 minutes or up to 1 hour.
2. Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain.
3. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and stir-fry until golden brown, 4-5 minutes. Add the shrimp and salt; stir-fry until the shrimp are just pink, 2-3 minutes.
4. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the coconut milk. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Add the noodles and cook until heated through. Remove from the heat and stir in the basil.

Points value: 5 pts. for 1 1/2 cups.
Note: The heat is adjusted according to how much curry paste you add. If you want less heat, lessen the amount, or if you want more, add more. Just be careful and add a little at a time so you don't make it too spicy for your family!!

Homeschooling

(Our little "schoolroom." In this tiny apartment, our little "dining room" will have to do. It works, for now, but hopefully someday, I can have a schoolroom!!)

This year, we have decided to start Maddy doing preschool at home. I was not homeschooled, so I had a lot of studying up to do on how to get started. In talking to some other homeschool moms, I learned that I didn't need to be so structured and rigid for this first year of preschool. In other words, I didn't need to run out and buy a huge curriculum and make a huge deal out of doing "school."
I have started talking to moms, reading up on Christian homeschooling, and trying to figure out why I want to homeschool Maddy, what I feel is important in a homeschool education, and how I am going to carry out doing school at home. I want to reference a blog I have cited before, passionatehomemaking.com, because she is a mom about my age with 2 young kids, and she has a whole section of her blog dedicated to learning at home. I actually ordered a small curriculum for learning letters after reading about it on her website. This year we are using "Learn Your Letters, Learn to Serve" which is a great, Christian based curriculum for learning to write letters, the sounds of letters, and learning to serve people with names that start with each letter. For example, for the letter "A", there is a corresponding verse, recipes and crafts that start with "A." You come up with people you know whose names start with the letter "A", pray for them, and bring them something (craft or recipe in section) at the end of the week, pray for missionaries who are serving in "A" country or state, etc. It's a great way to not only teach your little ones about their letters, but get them thinking about other people and what they can do for them!! It gets you and your family outside of your box!!


If you would like to check out the website for this curriculum, you can do so here. I just want to let you know that it is in downloadable form, which I didn't know ahead of time. So you just have to print it all out. But it isn't very pricey, and it is well worth the money. It is a wonderful curriculum.

This is Maddy working on making Apple Bread for the letter "A." We have had so much fun doing activities together with this curriculum. It is our special time together, and with me not being a very crafty person, it has given me so many fun ideas to do with Maddy. It is all layed out for us and I just have to pick which ones we will do, and make sure we have the supplies. And by the way, they are all very easy too!


Making Brownie Bites for the letter "B." Let's just say that we had to make more because they were so good. We made some for Boopa (Grandpa Crandall) and Bill and Briana. Delicious!!

Another curriculum book I am using is called "Mom's Big Activity Book For Building Little Characters." My mother-in-law gave me this one, and it is simple and fun. There are 5 little activities for each week, focusing on different areas of growth and learning. I love that it includes Bible stories and things to build character and to teach it simply to a preschooler. For example, one activity has you put a vegetable in some water and watch and wait for sprouts to form, and to teach James 5:7 as you watch together patiently day by day. It's hard to teach abstract concepts like that to a child, but this has concrete objects to help get the idea across. Love it!


It also includes activities like this one where she colored 3 different pictures and when folded they make different pictures, teaching the words short and long.

Homeschooling has been good for us. I will be honest, it does take up a significant amount of time in the morning where I could get things done, but I love the structure, and I have found that Maddy does too. She asks when we are going to do school (she will ask after a nap because she thinks it is the next day already!), and what we are going to make. We enjoy picking our people each week for the letter we are learning, and anticipating what we will be making for them. Before, our day didn't have much structure in the morning, especially since Judah was born and has his long morning nap. But now, as soon as he goes down for his nap, Maddy has to get dressed, make sure her bed is made, and we usually do a little 5 minute room cleanup. We start school around 9 and usually have it for about an hour. That sounds like a long time, but each little "segment" is only around 5 minutes or shorter.

I have charts up where we review the season, what day it is, we go outside and check the weather and put that up, review her chore chart, and review the month, day of the week, and day on the calendar. Then we pray, go over our verse that goes along with our letter, and sometimes her verse for Awana. I usually have several little activities that we do, a craft or recipe, writing the letter for the week, practicing writing her name, and sometimes a coloring activity.

We have had to work through some attitude issues, obedience issues, and respect for mom/teacher. It's not always easy, but I feel like she is getting better and knows that we have so much fun doing school, and it's better to have a good attitude. I remind her that if she has a bad attitude, then we won't get to do the fun things I have planned, because we will have to deal with discipline. Sometimes if she does something with a great attitude, or does really good the first time I ask her, she will get a sticker on her page or her chart, and she LOVES that. I don't know what it is about stickers and kids, but it works every time.

It's been really fun having our special time together, having planned fun things to do everyday, and to see Maddy learning new things all the time. At this age they are such sponges, wanting to learn, asking questions about everything, and picking things up everyday. So homeschooling is a fun way for me, as a mom, to teach her about all kinds of different things and to see her growing and learning, and really enjoying it. It's so fun to see her learn something or understand something new and getting excited about it. The other day someone asked her if she was in preschool and she responded "we are doing the super fun homeschool..." which made my day.

So, I'm still learning and figuring out what will work, and what won't. Some moms told me not to be super structured this year but I am pretty structured and Maddy seems to really enjoy it. We do homeschool Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. Every other Thursday we have a Moms group at church and the off Thursday will just be catchup day or playdate day. I thought of doing 3 times a week, but I thought that might be kind of confusing for Maddy, and we are enjoying our time. Plus, I like to work on one letter a week so she can really get the idea of the letter, the sound, and words that start with that letter.

So if you are still reading this long post, bless you. This is probably too many details but it's good for me to outline what we are doing, and to let people know what it's like, whether you already homeschool, are thinking about homeschooling, or wonder what the heck people do when they homeschool (I'm still kind of in that boat.)

I may do another blog post sometime about why we homeschool, but that is a whole other story altogether. Let's just say that Tad was homeschooled all the way through, I went to public school for half and private Christian school for half, and Tad was all for homeschooling. It has been a struggle for me, and I'm not against sending the kids to school, but for now, it is working for us. So we will see what the future holds!! And if there are any changes, you know you can read about them here!!

Thanks for reading!!

Left Out Summer Photos

We had a fun, eventful summer, and I had so many pictures and things I hadn't blogged about! So this blog post is just a big jumbling of our random summer!! We didn't do that much stuff with people this summer, like cookouts, having people over for dinner, or playdates. With Judah's schedule of naps and bottles, we stayed at home more in the mornings, and tried to get out in the afternoons. So sorry to the people we used to hang out with more, you know who you are!! We were out of town a lot, more than usual for the summer, and felt like we were barely at our church either between travel and being sick. But alas, we are back in Fall mode with a full calendar and our move coming up fast. So, in no particular order is part of our random summer:

We were out at a playground one afternoon, and we heard some cool music. As we wandered over to a park, we saw an Art Festival going on in Lincoln Park and Maddy was quick to find this little free art studio where they would provide you with paint, an easel, and paper. Maddy loves to paint, so she was excited to get to do this, and I was excited it was free!!




Twice a year I shop at a resale for all my kids clothes. It takes the temptation out of buying them clothes all year long at expensive stores, and it gets it all done in one fell swoop. Of course, Maddy is not shy to tell everyone that, "Mom got this from the resale!!" Thanks, Maddy. Here is Maddy in our laundry room with her $2 lifesize doll from the resale and her new Princess dress from Costco (not resale!!) that she will wear for Halloween to "Slime Time" at church!!
It's hard to see here, but Judah is actually holding onto the swing and Tad isn't even holding him!! It's hard to withhold your motherly fears!!

Dairy Queen after jogging to Oz Park!!

Having fun on the tire swing at Oz Park.

Tad's cousin, Trevor and him have been long time best friends. Him and his wife and 2 kids came to visit us in Chicago!! They stayed in our apartment and we had lots of drama with our 4 young kids! We stayed at the Four Seasons with them for 1 night, and then just hung out the rest of the time. Here are the boys with their double strollers and kids!!
Daddy's with their girls. Precious!! They both have girls first, and then boys!! They live in Edmond, OK so we are excited to be seeing more of them!! And his wife, Julie, is awesome! I have treasured the short times we have shared together and look forward to more playdates with them!
At the Four Seasons (actually the Ritz Carlton, it's owned by the Four Seasons) I have gotten this breakfast every time I go. I can't find it anywhere else, or a recipe for it. It is divine!! It's called Swiss Birchermuesli, and if you know how to make this sweet, cold oatmeal-like breakfast, you better share!!

Good Morning, Four Seasons comp night style!!

The girls with their gourmet kid food.

The gourmet adult food!!

Maddy turned 4 this summer! We usually have a birthday party in the city, but this year we happened to be in Ohio for her birthday, so we decided to have a family birthday party at my grandparents house in Thompson!! It was a Hello Kitty themed party, and Tad made the cake all by himself!! I was so impressed!!!
My cousin, Charlotte, stayed at my grandparents this summer. This is her trying to get at the candy in the pinata!!

Hit it, Maddy!

Good job, Daddy!!

We went to Ohio for my cousin's wedding. This is a shot of our little family at the wedding!!
These are the cutest little carts at Target!! They both sit behind the cart, and since Judah just started sitting in the cart without the carseat, I thought this was the cutest thing!!
Forgive me if I already blogged about this, because I can't remember. Mommy brain. Maddy did a summer reading program at our local library, which is right across the street! She had 25 books read to her and did 25 book reports where she drew pictures about the story. She hadn't really started drawing yet, so this was definitely out of the box for her. I didn't know if she would make it, but she did all 25 book reports and was quite the little artist when all was said and done. It not only was good to read all those books, but she really got into drawing and learning to draw new things. Way to go, Maddy! I was so proud of her!

Attending the final party at the library! They had the kids make different crafts having to do with art, and some thank you notes for some of the donors. And they got to pick out a new book at the end!

They all got a shirt that says Reading is Art-rageous! She was so excited to get hers like all the other kids!! The shirts were kind of big, so we made hers into a little dress with a belt and leggings. We went to a weekly story time, and she had a blast!!
We also did VBS at Moody Church this year, which hosts around 300 kids for their VBS. This is the "set" for the worship time in their sanctuary. Maddy loved going everyday!!
One night we were invited to go out with the new conductor of Women's Concert Choir and some of the previous/current girls of WCC. I was in WCC for all 4 years at Moody, and we traveled around and did concerts. It was so nice to meet some of the new girls, and to eat in Chinatown in Chicago. Maddy kept telling people we were going to China!! You can see behind the "L" tracks that Chinatown is in the background.

We got yummy bubble tea smoothies!! Thanks Dr. Hong (ordering her smoothie)!!

Such a fun part of Chicago!

Much of our time in Chicago in the summer is spent at the beach. We will miss the beach when we move to Oklahoma!! We will have to find something else to do in the summer!
This pic belongs up there with the library ones. This is Maddy and the children's librarian who led the reading program and the weekly storytimes. They became good friends. Thanks Annie!!

So goodbye, Chicago summer. We sure will miss you!! You have been good to us!! Hopefully, we can visit you soon.

I could be a baby for a day

When you are a kid, you have no idea how much your mother invested into you when you were young. When you are a mom, you realize to a small degree, and really start appreciating your own mother. It is so tiring at times!! And a non-stop, all day long, all night long job!! The house always needs cleaned and picked up, the kitchen always needs work, the laundry always needs done, or folded, or put away, there is always something I could be cooking, or prepping, and I could always take a nap. I guess I'm not hiding the fact that I'm kinda burned out lately. So, I got to thinking. I could totally be a baby for a day. Or a week. Or, well, you get the picture.
When my baby boy gets up at 5am, I always know that he will go back down for a nap around 2 hours later. Well, I could go down for a nap 2 hours later too! But I have other things I need to do, and my daughter to take care of.
I could wake up when my tummy started rumblin'. Get put down to play until I'm hungry or tired. Be put down the second I feel tired and sick of playing. Not pick up anything or any mess I made. Cry for the pacifier and have it delivered to me. Cry when I wake up and be instantly picked up and cuddled until I'm fully awake.
I could be spoon fed, pushed around in the stroller to the park, put into the baby swing to laugh and relax and possibly fall asleep (which Judah did at one park recently!). I could take 3 naps a day, go to bed at 7 pm, and not pick up one toy, or my mess from dinner. Oh yeah, and a little de-stressing bath before bed might be nice, too. Just sayin.
So, as much as I love takin' care of my kids, I am worn out, and I'm not afraid to admit it. And I can't say I'm never jealous of the little baby I'm takin' care of, cuz really, he has it made!!
And I totally understand why every time my doorman sees Judah in the stroller, he says, "he has got the life!!"
No bills to pay, no chores, not a care in the world. Mission for the day: play. Accomplishment for the day: ate baby food. Favorite things in the world: sister, sleeping, toys. The End.
Ahhhhhh. The life of a baby!!