My Sweet Gavin!

Well, I sure am a horrible blogger! It is not that I don't want to or have nothing to say. I just don't really have the time in my life right now .

I really don't have the time right now either since I need to go finish cleaning up from Gavin's birthday party. That's right - he is 1 now! Today is his birthday. Exactly, one year ago tonight, I was just meeting my precious little man. He was smaller than I thought he would be (7 lbs. 7 oz.) and has turned out to be sweeter than I ever thought possible. He is so patient and just goes with the flow. He is my little cuddler. My favorite thing is when I pick him up and he instantly puts his thumb in his mouth and then nuzzles his head into my neck. I could stare at his big blue eyes forever and never get tired of them.

I believe that Gavin has a very tender heart and seems to really be in tune to people. I see a sensitive spirit in him and I pray that God will mold it and use it as Gavin grows. I see a quiet strength in him and I want nothing more than to see him become a mighty man of God. I am so thankful for the gift of my second son and I am honored to be his mommy!

I will write more about him later, but I am a little too emotional right now. First birthdays really get me!!

Happy Birthday my "Little Buddy". I love you SO much!

What would you do?

Okay, probably only the mothers reading this will understand the question I am about to ask and not be too grossed out by it!

What do you do when you put your toddler down for his nap and you realize that he has a huge poop in his diaper after he has fallen asleep??? Austin played for a while after I laid him down and I even heard him yell my name a few times but I didn't go check because he tried this little ploy the other day to stall on going to sleep. He settled down and went to sleep so I didn't think anything of it. When I walked by the room he is in (we are visiting at my Mom's right now), my nose caught the odor all the way out in the hall! Well, I do have a sensitive nose, but that is still pretty bad. So, now I feel terrible!!

Do I let him sleep and enjoy a little peace or do I wake him up to change him???? What a fun dilemma I am facing right now! :) What would you do?

Awesome cleaning tip!

I just cleaned my microwave and thought I would share a great tip on how to clean it. The best part is that it is SUPER easy. I wish I could take credit for the idea, but I learned it watching a cleaning show a while ago. I was so excited when I tried it out and it actually worked. If you know me at all, you know I love to clean; thus my obvious excitement about this topic!

You know how you get those little bits of food all over and can't scrub them off? It grosses me out! Here is what you do:
Fill a bowl with water and 4-5 fresh lemon slices.
Put it in the microwave and "cook" it for 5-6 minutes.
When it is finished, take the bowl out.
Just take a damp washcloth and wipe everything down.
The steam loosens all the food particles and the lemon deodorizes the microwave! It is awesome!

Here's to clean microwaves!!!

I am SOOO mad!!!

All day today it seemed like something was missing from our front yard. I just realized what it is (yeah, I am slow today!) - our McCain/Palin yard sign!!! Someone took it!!! I don't care if someone has a different opinion than me or doesn't agree with me, but don't steal my sign!! The beauty of our country and our right to vote is that we are privileged enough to express our beliefs - even in our yards!

Last week

I couldn't blog last week even though I wanted to and had plenty to write about.

Between Monday and Saturday, Gavin cut 3 teeth on the top! So, the poor little guy wasn't feeling his best.

On Wednesday, Austin got sick - vomiting and fever (fun times)! I can't stand to see my boys hurting and not feeling well. I would take on any of the pain myself if I could. I also wish I could have cloned myself since they both needed me all the time and wanted me to hold them constantly.

So, hopefully, this will be a better week. Now, I need to put my house back together after letting it go for a few days. It is crazy how fast it falls apart!

The best gift!

Gavin, my 6 month old, is so thoughtful! I guess he felt bad for keeping me up most of the night and decided to do something nice for me (Little Background info: Austin, Gavin and I have had a cold for the last week). Gavin woke up all through the night and then for good at 5:30 and didn't want to go back to sleep this morning.

He must have been feeling guilty about it because somehow he coordinated with Austin that they should both take a 3 hour nap at the SAME TIME!!!!!!!! I haven't been feeling well this week and then getting 3 hours of sleep last night didn't help either. So, even though I don't like to, I decided to lay down and take a nap today. It was amazing and I felt so refreshed afterwards! I slept for an hour and then got so many things done around the house.

My boys sure knew what I needed! I wonder what tonight will be like?!

The lesson I learned from my son

One thing that I love about being a mother is how much God teaches me through my children! It is amazing. They are usually simple truths that hit me in a profound way as I try to understand my boys and see the world through their eyes.

For those of you that don't know me really well, I am a planner. I love to make lists, am structured, task oriented, organized, routine, etc.... - you know my type! But along with that, I can struggle with being a perfectionist and sometimes miss out on the joy of things as I try to get more and more accomplished. The Lord is gently and faithfully teaching me to slow down and focus on what is important to HIM and not just checking off my to-do list.

My husband, Brad, informed me about a kids craft program at Lowes on Saturday mornings. He said the kids wear an apron, get to wear little goggles and make a craft in the lumber department. I thought it would be a fun thing to take Austin to. I load the boys up this past Saturday and even picked up one of Austin's friends to take with us. I got to Lowes early since they only accept a certain number of kids. I walk up and see the sign for the event and realize it is the wrong Saturday. Apparently, Brad didn't notice that the craft event is every OTHER Saturday. He also thought it was for ages 2-5 but upon closer inspection, it says GRADES 2-5. Since Austin is only 2 1/2, that probably won't work. I was a little frustrated because I thought, "What are we going to do now??" I felt bad because I had talked it up all morning and brought his friend. So, we walked around Lowes for about 45 minutes. Austin looked at all the vacuum cleaners (one of his little obsessions), lawn mowers, Christmas decorations and played in all the model kitchens. He loved it!

When I went out to the car, I realized I had locked my keys in the car. Then it started to rain and I was with 3 young children. Arrrghhh! Brad couldn't help me because he was working and my roadside service couldn't get there for 30 minutes. So, we walked over to Starbucks in the rain, which Austin actually got a kick out of. We had special chocolate milk and sandwiches.

I will spare you the rest of the details, but long story short....... the kids ended up having a GREAT time! They loved it!! And Gavin, my baby, slept through most of it! Austin probably had more fun than if we had been able to follow my own little "plan". I learned just to relax, go with the flow and enjoy it. If the kids are having fun, who cares if my plan didn't work? It will be fun someday to tell my kids how much I grew because of them and I know this is only the beginning!