Backyard Bonfire

Now that the weather has gotten nice again, it's time for a little marshmallow roasting!

Getting the fire ready!

The girls watching from a distance!

Caden making sure everything looks good!

Getting our sticks ready...we are excited!!!

Yay!! Roasting our masrshmallows. This is going to be good.

Someone brought the chocolate....Right!?!

Oh how I love when it's nice out!!

Crafts

What better way to spend our down time...than doing crafts (messy crafts) out doors! We went to Michaels and found $1.00 wood crafts that we thought the kids would like. Keira picked the birdhouse...and Caden picked a helicopter!

Busy working and so serious!

All of Cadens paint that came with the set were just about gone (guess that is what happens when you spend a buck)...so he improvised with Keiras'.


Caden painting his helicopter blade.

Keira painting the roof of her birdhouse.

And sides

Then the finished products:-)

What fun....and did I mention how gorgeous it was outside:-)

Hard Bake Oven???

Keira had gotten an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas. She has been asking me at least 3 times a week if we can bake something in it. (Caden too) It is not that it is that HARD to do ... sometimes I just feel like I would rather make something with her in the Big oven...that we all can enjoy! But, seeming that little kids like to use things that are "kid sized" we have used it a few times!

Preparing the Cake!

Stirring the cake!

Still stirring the cake!

Waiting and baking the cake!

Frosting the cake!

Lots of Confetti for the cake!

And after a whole 20 min. after starting the process we finally get to enjoy the cake!!!

Mmmmm...Yum!

Parenting

I have read 4 books on parenting in the past 2 months. Trying to get some ideas with disciplining and hoping that I am not completely destroying my kids;-) But lately, as with reading these books it seems the kids just KNOW I am trying to do better and their behavior seems to have gotten worse. Maybe it is just the changing of seasons, from being outside to inside the majority of the time? Anyhow, I find I have been escalating with my discipline and getting increasingly frustrated. Until finally a breakthrough a couple of weeks ago. I read that the best whiners probably learned from their parents! (ex. Child: Mooooom.. I waaant a coooookie! Parent: (or me) Nooooo for the umpteenth time youuu caaan noot haaaave aaa coooookie!) So I decided that even if they are whining I am going to treat them like a precious gift from God, be a GOOD EXAMPLE and not whine back. I have now found myself laughing whenever they whine. (Because even though it is annoying, they STILL are pretty cute.) Life is too short to get frustrated. In return, when I start laughing, they start laughing and the whining stops. Do I have it all figured out? NO. Will I? Hopefully, but probably won't. All I can do is take it a day at a time and do my best.

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.


Proverbs 13:24

Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.

Go, Baby, Go!

Okay, this might not be the best video, but my 6 month old is LEARNING to crawl. AHH!! Time sure does fly!

P.S. The comment made at the end kind of runs in the family:)

Things they say!

Keira: (While playing school) Mommy come on it's time for school. I am going to be your teacher today!

Me: Ohh, what are we going to learn about Keira?
Keira: We are going to learn about the Bible....because, it's all about the Jesus!

Caden: I need help!

Me: What do you need help with?

Caden: I wasn't talking to you. I was talking to daddy....he's my best friend!

Caden: Are those your work jammies grandpa?

Keira: I am just helping her crawl! (as she is pushing Kenzie's bottom so her face is going into the floor)

Wow! They are listening.

I have to repeat myself over and over and over....I am pretty sure they (being Keira and Caden) are not listening. Well, I have been known to be wrong about a few things. To my amazement I have been wrong. A few things have surprised me lately and make me think I'm not doing a terrible job of being a mother.



Amazement #1 While helping out at Keiras school I had put Caden into the preschool class while I helped in Keiras class. The preschool teacher came to me after about 20 min's and asked if Caden could play with the markers? I looked at her bewildered like "Yeah". Well she informs me that she was trying to get Caden to play with them, but he informed her he is not allowed to play with markers because he wrote all over the walls at home. He did do this, and I had told him he was not allowed to play with markers! But, good job for obeying me when I'm not around. (I did tell the teacher she could let him know he could play with them in class.



Amazement #2 With Halloween approaching I had been talking to Keira about reasons we are not going to celebrate Halloween. (Not that I think there is anything in and of itself wrong with dressing up or getting candy) So we had seen a couple of things on the TV that had to do with Halloween and the bloody, gory, evil side of things...and explained that we are not going to participate in this. So at Tuesday Treasures at church (Keira had the day off of school) her teacher found me in the hall trying to get Kenzie asleep and asked if it was OK if she read a story of a pumpkin (that had to do with the light of Jesus) and to do a craft of a pumpkin. Again I was like "YEAH!" Well Keira informed her teacher she was not suppose to participate in Halloween:) But of course I said these things are okay. Which I guess brings up the question...where do I draw the line?

Tennis Anyone?

All summer long Keira has been asking me to play tennis with her. I like to play tennis...but teaching an almost 4 year old to play is a little beyond my scope of playing. We have been hitting the ball off and on some of the summer, but today she really wanted to play. So after a brief lesson on how to hold the racket and making contact with the ball she got some pretty good hits in:)





Caden wanted to play too. But lasted only 2 mins.





He 'd rather do this with the ball.

However Keira lasted awhile.

But, after about 15 mins of me telling her to watch the ball.....

This is where we ended up!

She is a good sport and did well:)

No ice cream or dresses!

No, this isn't in response to a punishment...rather two little kids who have baffled their mom. Yesterday was so hot that I thought it to be a good idea to have some ice cream...so I said to the kids "lets have some"! Cadens response was "No. I want to take a nap." WHAT!!!
Then today my mom came over and we talked about going to Wal-Mart, because she had wanted to buy Keira a princess dress for her birthday party. Keiras response..."No...I already have a dress."
???