Where did Becca go?

So the other day I was doing something and turned around and realized Becca was nowhere to be found. Upon further searching I found this:


I still have not figured out how she gets up there, but she loves to eat Michael's toothpaste and brush her teeth. Apparently she can turn the water on too.

Jon's Easy Peasy 20

Jon has been into stacking a LOT recently. He has gotten some 22s and 23s recently which is very fast for him. He completely frustrates Tim and Michael, though, because he usually stacks like this:
Hands on timer, fast up, up, up, STOP to push up shirt sleeves, down stack, down stack, chat a bit about the sound of the cups, finish fast, stop the timer.
Tim keeps saying how much faster Jon could be if he could get through a stack without getting distracted by something.

So the other day we got this: (Make sure to listen to his commentary at the beginning it's super cute.)

Teacher gifts

We decided to create some small gifts to the teachers and staff at Michael's school. I love the way they turned out:

Credits: Merry and Bright by geniaBeana Scraps, font is Segoe Print

We made the cup inserts with my digital scrapbooking supplies. Michael picked out the kit and told me where to put things in the design.

I carefully took the cup and rolled it on it's side around a sheet of colored paper and tried to draw a line along the edge. Then I cut it out and scanned it and used that as the template. Then we decorated.

I printed and cut them out and rolled them into the cups. I used a piece of 2 sided tape at each end to keep it secure. Then we filled baggies with the drink mix and tied them closed.

In case you are interested, here is the drink mix recipe:

1 (18oz) jar orange breakfast beverage crystals

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup red cinnamon candies

1/3 cup instant tea mix

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground cloves

Combine all ingredients; store in an airtight container. To serve, stir 1 1/2 tablespoons of mix into 1 cup hot water.

I added this to a project I was doing about how we can use digital scrapbooking supplies for Christmas presents. Check out my Scrapbooking Christmas gifts Pinterest board!

Vacuuming Couches

I'm not a big fan of this chore, but with little kids in the house our couches do fill up with things like half eaten cheerios so it must be done on a regular basis. This week I asked the boys to be in charge of getting all the pillows, blankets, and cushions off the couch so I could vacuum. They had a blast!

Michael on TV again

We were contacted a couple of days ago by Good Morning America asking if they could use one of our videos from YouTube. Here is the clip from the show. Unfortunately they got most of their facts incorrect, but we loved having the video featured!
You can check it out here:
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/instagram-app-year-kid-cup-stacker-amazes-15143934#.TufWFbSyrgI.facebook

Check out how much he has changed!

Funny things I found around the house recently

Stacking cups?!


Jon has been into sorting recently.


And the other day I heard, "thump, thump, thump, ... " But it was followed by laughter so I didn't worry. Then I heard it again and again and again. When I went investigating this is what I found:

SNOW

It seems that a lot of people around the country and even around Michigan already got snow, and we finally caught up last Friday. We awoke to about 1 or 1 1/2 inches on the ground and the kids were super excited to go out in it and play. I timed it for us and it took 14 minutes to get all 4 of us in snow pants, boots, coats, hats, and mittens. I will be so thrilled when Jon and finally when Becca can do these things mostly on their own, but for now I had to do just about all of it for both of them. Then we stayed outside for 20 minutes before I was overwhelmed with requests to go in and get warm. Then there were 5 minutes to get everything off everyone and laid out to dry. So 20 minutes of play and 19 minutes of getting things off and on. I'd consider that a success - more minutes playing that getting ready to play! :)

Here are some pictures from the 20 minutes. I lined them up at the garage door and then 1, 2, 3 they were off:


Jon wasn't sure at first, but Becca dove right in.


Here is Michael with what he says is his snow angel.


We couldn't really make a snow man with so little snow, but I did start a snow ball fight.


Even Becca tried to make some snowballs.


Becca copying Michael


Look what Jon found!


For the most part the kids had a blast. Becca kept falling down, though, which wasn't a problem, but then she couldn't get back up with all the snow gear on.


So after the 20 minutes, she had had enough.

Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

Tim and I both love potatoes and I've always loved eating scalloped potatoes, but I've only ever made them myself from a box. Recently I went to look for a more homemade version and found this yummy crock pot version. Here is the recipe with (my notes).

Ingredients:
*8 potatoes, thinly sliced. (OK, I always laugh when I see something like 8 potatoes. Depending on the kind and even on the specific bag I buy 8 small potatoes are like half the amount of potatoes as 8 large potatoes. The first time I made this I used 8 potatoes on the larger side and they cooked well and there was plenty of sauce, so I'd say think 6-10 potatoes depending on size.)
*1 onion, chopped
*1 lb fully cooked ham, cubed
*1-oz pkg dry country-style gravy mix (The only "country-style" gravy mix I could find was in a 2.75 oz package. So I used half of it the first time we made this and saved the other half for the second time. I'm always up for a little extra creamy flavor.)
*1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of mushroom soup. I used cream of celery since a certain member of my household if very against mushrooms.
*2 cups water
*2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (Yum)

1. Combine potatoes, onion, and ham in lightly greased slow cooker. (It was super yummy with the ham, but this week I made it without and just served the potatoes with chicken. That was good too.)
2. Comvine gravy mix, soup, and water. Whisk until combined. Pour over potatoes.
3. Cover. Cook on low 7-9 hours or high 3-4. (I've tried both and they both worked out great!
4. Top with cheese during last 30 minutes of cooking. (Yum, Yum)

Shape Sorter Genius

Becca and I had so much fun the other day with the shape sorter. She would purposefully hold the shape over the wrong hole, and then shake her head, saying "noooo." Then when it went in the right hole she'd get so excited. She lasted at it long enough that I even got a video:

Family Picture Time

While we were all dressed on the nicer side Sunday morning I decided it was time for a family picture. The ones around our house are still pre-Becca days so we were long over due. I set up the camera on timer and here is what we got.


Poor Becca looks a little lost, but everyone else is smiling, so I will call it a success.

I scrapped a page with it too:

Credits: Papers and Word Art from Bothers and Sisters, Element from Fall Speldor, and alpha for ranson all by WM[squared] Designs; Templateby Brandy Designs; font is Mish by Darcy Baldwin

Mittens

OK, so there are many times when I think that my kids area a lot alike, especially when it comes to how they look, but there are times too, when I notice how unique they are. This was one of those times.

Becca has been in love with mittens. We got them out the other day when it was pretty cold out and we were going to walk to the bus stop to pick up Michael. Jon and Becca really needed to get out and run around, so we bundled up and left earlier enough that they could both walk/run and not take the stroller.

Since then, Becca has wanted to put the mittens on again and again. Here are some pictures from one of her "photo shoots" as I'm calling the way she loves to pose for the camera and then check herself out.





Now, the boys hated mittens. I have no idea if this difference is their personalities, a boy/girl thing, or the fact that these season related things are happening at a different age for Becca. She is hitting this winter just before and after 2 years old. The boys did winter at 18 months and 2 1/2.

Here is Michael at 18 months. He looks alright about it in this picture, but he HATED snow on his mittens because he couldn't get it off.


And here is Jon last winter at 2 1/2 - He did not like mittens or anything to do with the snow.


Now of course, Becca hasn't actually been out in the snow with her mittens, but I'm betting the snow won't really bug her. :)

Jon writes his name

Jon loves to practice writing his name. We have done it together many times and he has scribbled away on his own some too. The other day he was working by himself and told me he wrote his name. As I was busy with some other things, I responded with something, "Great job Jon," but never actually looked at what he had done. The next day I happened to glance at the desk where the paper still sat. Wow! He had done a fabulous job. Jon has been pretty good at the O for a bit now, but I've never seen anything I recognize as a J or n before when he writes on his own - I usually only can tell it is Jon because there is an O between a couple scribbles.

Check it out:


Oh, and while we are on the subject of Jon, I have to share another thing. At home I often make spaghetti with rotini pasta since it is easier for the kids to pick up and we call it Pasta. At the restaurant we ate at this weekend Jon got spaghetti and without being use to the new name he kept calling it "PaTeddy" - so adorable!

Getting back into stacking

OK, side note: You see it in this second video. Stacking for Jon is mostly about talking about it and less about actually doing it. Right now, this is how he is with everything: at dinner, when playing, when trying to get ready to go out.... He just talks and talks and does almost nothing.

Oh, please help my ears

Jon has developed a love for the drum set.

We finally got a Christmas tree

Last weekend we got everyone all bundled up and headed out the door to get a Christmas tree, only to find out that it was raining. We had no desire to stand outside looking at trees with three kids in the rain, let alone bring a wet tree into our house, so we headed back in and put the adventure on hold.

Monday evening we tried for the second time - this time with success. We wandered around the lot looking at trees. We found one we liked a lot, but Michael insisted that we stay for a while and look at ALL the trees. So we wandered around some more. At one point I put Becca down and asked her if she wanted to run with the boys. She grinned at me, turned and ran, giggling, right out of the tree lot and into the parking lot. So after catching her, we settled on the initial tree we liked and brought it home.

Tuesday while Tim was at work we decorated it. I must say it would have gone a lot smoother if we didn't have an almost 2 year old her thought it her mission to undecorate as quickly as we could decorate, but we had fun. I thought we had done so well finding one that wasn't very prickly, but now I wonder if a couple good pokes would help keep Becca off of the tree. :)

You know you are a love and logic mom when...

Yesterday I realized that our toy bins were a bit scarce on toys and innocently thought, maybe some of them had gotten lost under the couch. So I knelt down and lifted the couch flap - AAHHHHHH. The entire area under both couches was filled to the brim with toys, books, old socks, you name it. I was instantly aware that Michael had not been correctly completing his evening chore of cleaning up the living room for quite some time. I must admit that initially I was furious! He has done this in the past and I thought we were over it. Luckily, Michael was at school so I was able to calm down and realize in true love and logic fashion that this was a perfect opportunity to teach him responsibility.

So when I got home from picking him up from school I calmly told him what I had found. He gave me a sheepish grin.

Then I let him know that instead of video games this afternoon, he could use that half hour to clean out under the couches and put everything in the it's proper place. His face turned to a frown and he said, "And then I can play video games?"

I told him, no that this would be instead of video games. That is when the wailing started. At first it was about how unfair it was and how he couldn't clean it ALL up by HIMSELF! To his credit, though, he started right in on cleaning while crying and yelling. Soon, though, the wailing turned to "Why do I always do this? I need to remember...."

Perfect!

So, you know you are a love and logic mom when after all this, your only regret is that you couldn't tell him about cleaning up during video games in the morning before school so he would be able to think about it all day at school and really burn it into his memory. :) I love my job as mom and I love my son dearly!!