Cake, Cake, and more Cake

About a month before his birthday, Lucas announced to me that he needed three cakes because he was turning three. A dangerous tradition to start, but I indulged him this year. While we were in Florida with my parents, I made a fire engine and a police car and an ambulance (per his request).



Then, for our family birthday celebration he told me he wanted a "mountain that is on fire, with strawberries, and the firemen are coming to put out the fire." Lucky for me, he agreed to have a house on fire instead of the mountain.


Notice the gummie bear waiting to be rescued out the window. :) With last year's dino cake as my first attempt, I was pretty pleased with this year. Lucas is forcing me to step up my game a bit. Of course, for his actual birthday party he just wanted some chocolate cupcakes. I can handle that. :)

For more Wordful Wednesday, visit Angie at Seven Clown Circus.

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Magnet

We knew it would happen. He would become mobile. And so he has. And with that has come a renewed mommy-vigilance. No more running quickly downstairs to let the dog out or switch the laundry. Caden is a man on the move and must be watched. And although he has yet to truly try the stairs, the boy is drawn like a magnet to all things that belong to the dog. Out of the millions of toys on the floor, he chooses the dog bone/ball/toys to put in his mouth. And as you can see in this video, the boy will not leave the dog food alone! He will crawl across the length of our townhouse just to get his fingers in it. Drawn to it... like a dog food magnet.






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Margin, What Margin?

Spring is coming, right? I think it was here for maybe a day or two but decided to hit the snooze button and hide for a few more weeks. We had SNOW this morning, people!!! What in the world!! It's the end of March!!!
While this brutal winter is getting in one last punch (hopefully only one), I have been busily getting ready for all that spring will hold. Birthdays, Easter, preschool applications, French Market preparations, etc... So although I haven't been present here much this week, but I have been a busy little bee. Nothing new around here. And although I talk a big talk about needing more margin, I am hard at work on a new project that I can't wait to announce. I'm just not quite ready yet....
But it is cool, oh so cool! At least I think so! :)


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No Nasty Chemicals

A few months ago, I attended a party sponsored by a popular cleaning products company. One of the perks of the party was that in exchange for our old cleaning products, we left there with a bag of party-swag: a variety of non-toxic cleansers and the such. Now, I am a girl who loves her freebies, but this particular swag was right up my alley. The nurse in me wants my house and clothes and boys clean and sanitized and as germ-free as possible. But the mom in me doesn't want to use anything around my family that might possibly do more harm than good. I had officially been bitten by the "green-cleanser bug."

So imagine my thrill to find another source for my eco/family-friendly products fix. Eco Store is this awesome website where you too can get your fill of chemical-free cleansers, soap, shampoo, detergents... You name it, they make it. And they make it with all natural ingredients that are actually good for you and your home.
So far I have tried their laundry whitener, baby shampoo and their dog shampoo. I can't think of a single thing I don't like about any of the three. We added a scoop of the laundry whitener to a load of whites and it made the clothes smell super-fresh. I think is was the citrus oil that they add. Per their instructions, I added a scoop to a bucket of water and let some of Caden's clothes soak. The baby-poop stains came remarkably clean.
Their baby bath as a lovely lavender scent and the puppy wash was really nice too. My pup never smelled so good! :)
But beyond the nice smell and good results, I know that I am not exposing my house or my family to any unneccesary toxic chemicals. And I can feel good about that. I have already ordered some other products to try.

Check out their website. They have a couple fun videos and a ton of information about why it is important to use "green" products in our home and on our skin.
With EcoStore, you know you are getting a reasonably priced, safe product that will not only work well but will also be good for the planet and your family. You gotta love it!



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Out of the Mouths of Babes

Just before New Years, I read several posts about people doing annual interviews with their kids. There has also recently been something similar going around Facebook. When I initially saw this idea, I thought it would be a great thing to do with the boys on their birthdays and record their answers every year. These are Lucas' answers from this year. Each answer is exactly as he said it- whether it makes sense or not. Some are silly and nonsensical and some answers are tender and very sweet. I guess that is fitting for my goofy, imaginative and yet very loving little boy! Enjoy and I hope it makes you smile.

Favorites:

• cereal- cheerios
  
• vegetable- fruit
  
• drink- apple juice
  
• toy- Cars, the ones with eyes
  
• TV Show- Cars Movie
  
• game- Candy Land
  
• book- Cars is my favorite book (are you seeing a theme around here?)
  
• restaurant- McDonalds (uh-oh...)
  
• holiday- getting groceries (umm, SO not a holiday, but that is what he said even after I explained what a holiday was)
  
• animal- giraffes
  

If you could change your name, what would you choose? L-U-C-A-S

What do you love about each person in our family? Daddy-his work, Caden-he's so giggly, Hadley-he's a puppa puppa, Mommy- how you love me so much

Where would you like to go on vacation this year? Florida

What are some of your wishes for this year? a brush so I can brush a goat (We recently went to the zoo where he got to brush a goat and he thought that was super cool)

And here are his 3yr. old thoughts on Mommy.... oh, boy.....

1. What is something mom always says to you? "Come here"
2. What makes mom happy? Me cleaning up my toys
3. What makes mom sad? Hitting you, Mommy
4. How does mom make you laugh? Little giggles
5. What was your mom like as a child? I don't know, I wasn't born yet (He's got me there)
6. How old is your mom? 2years months
7. How tall is your mom? Big enough to carry a whole ark (Wow, that IS big!)
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Play with blocks
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? I don't know, I'm not here. (He's got me there too.)
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? I don't know, mommy, you're not famous (So true...)
11. What is your mom really good at? trying shoes on (huh? I don't think have bought a new pair of shoes in a REALLY long time. Not for myself anyway)
12. What is your mom not very good at? getting things out of stuff- like play doh and rocket ships
13. What does your mom do for a job? Go help people at the hospital (I'm a nurse part-time :) )
14.What is your mom's favorite food? Sausage (only if found in gravy and served over biscuits)
15.What makes you proud of your mom? Helping me clean up my toys
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? A truck
17. What do you and your mom do together? play with cars (yup, in fact we are doing it right now!)
18. How are you and your mom the same? me and you are best friends
19. How are you and your mom different? trying on shoes (again, huh?)
20. How do you know your mom loves you? SO MUCH!! Same as me! (points back to mommy)
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? hugging each other
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? to the fairy place. Do you like to go to the fairy place, Mommy? You know, where all the fairies live and they sleep and they eat their oatmeal.
Is there anything else you want to say that I can write here? It is all about me, going on the potty. That is what it is all about. You can write that, Mommy.

Did you smile? I love seeing his perspective on his world. I think we'll try to do this every year and see how the answers evolve. My sweet little man!



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My Little Love

Three years ago tonight, I sat at dinner with Hubby and my parents, a nervous wreck about what would happen the next day. I was terrified, anxious, and yet so very excited. I was about to meet my son!! And once we met, there was no parting us from there. :)
He is my Lucas, my little love. His smile melts through all the frustration and fatigue that he leaves in his wake. I love watching him read a book or do a puzzle, his little mind working at mach speed. I love hearing the elaborate stories he creates in his head, his imagination taking him to the moon and back with all kinds of adventure along the way.
I wish I could spend the whole day with him cuddled up next to me, reading stories or watching a movie. He is his mama's boy and I adore him too. I love to kiss his sweet head as he sleeps or sneak in a hug as he runs past. For months I have been telling him that he gives the greatest bear hugs (he really does!). Now, he will come up to me and say "Mommy, do you need a hug? I give really great bear hugs!"
We have come a long way from the day we first met. Long nights walking with him in the sling to get him back to sleep, early morning wake up calls 'cuz he just can't wait to be back on the go. Hours of playing trains and cars and making up distinct noises for each one. Adventures with dinos and pirates and animal parades. Exhausting days of role playing and book reading and art projects. But I really wouldn't have it any other way.
With every day that goes by, he is becoming less and less my little baby and more a little man. He has such a tender soul, imaginative mind, loving heart. He does all things full speed. He plays fully, argues fully, disobeys fully, and yet loves his mama fully too. But as big as he is, he still loves to crawl up in mama's lap or hold my hand as I sit by his bed helping him ease into sleep. Just today, he was laying on the couch watching Peter Pan. I came and sat near him and he grabbed my arm and said "Thanks for watching this with me, Mommy. You can rub my legs, if you want to." And I do.
My heart smiles when I hear him learning memory verses and talk about how much he loves God or that God healed the "boo-boo on his toe." He expresses love for each of his brothers and his friends and mama and daddy too. He is stubborn and strong-willed and at times precocious. And yet so tender and insightful and my heart on the outside.

Happy 3rd Birthday, my Precious Lucas, my Little Love!! You are the evidence of God's mercy and love to me.




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It can only go up from here (AKA- my pseudo-Lenten reflection)

We are going on hour 19 of 24 of Hubby's crazy work day which started at noon yesterday and will end around noon today. But this is really hour 24 of 34 that I am playing single mom starting with Lucas' early wake up yesterday (Hubby slept in to gear up for his crazy day/night). My relief will come when Hubby wakes up around 5ish from the power nap he will need when he finally comes home. Yesterday was fine, even good. We had a fun morning, good naps, an outing and dinner with some friends. Lucas even went to bed with little drama. Some friends came over to hang out and have some wine/chocolate therapy. I felt pretty good about my energy level and patience. Honestly, I think I do better with my parenting sometimes when Hubby is gone because I have no expectation of having help. So I set more manageable goals and just take things in stride. I was actually having a lot of fun with my boys.

Was. Until around 11pm. Caden woke up, snotty and more clingy than ever. I got him back to sleep around midnight in time to see Hubby for a few minutes when he came home to shower and then turn right back around and leave. I laid down and got about 20min. of sleep before my snotty baby woke up. From there it was an endless cycle of "I want to nurse-but I can't breathe-so I'll just cry- which makes me want to nurse-..." I'm sure you've been there. We tried the steamy shower, sitting up, all the old tricks. I think we both got some sleep, but not enough as we both woke up cranky and very tired. Top that off with some old-fashioned toddler defiance and disobedience at 6:30am and you have a mama who is nearing the end of her limits. Anytime you have both a spanking for direct defiance and a timeout for general disobedience and excessive whining before 7am after a sleepless night with a sick baby, the day can't go anywhere but up. Right? At least Lucas is acting better after our mother-son heart-to-heart. I just told him that neither of us would survive a day that continued to look this way. He could probably see in my face that I really wasn't kidding.

After that, I picked up my hysterical 7month old and turned on some music on Comcast to change the mood. The second song to play was this one , then this one (neither of which I hadn't heard since high school). But it was just what I needed to get my head back in the game, get my eyes off myself and my seemingly-rough morning.

"We believe in God, and we all need Jesus. 'Cuz life is hard, and it might not get easier..."

"Make my life a prayer to you, I want to do what you want me to."

"I want to thank you now, for being patient with me. Oh, it's so hard to see when my eyes are on me."

I have been meaning to sit down and write an intentional post about my Lenten reflections. But this pretty well sums it up. After reading a post from a friend about proper perspective and then hearing these songs, I am realizing that this is truly how my heart feels. The fatigue and frustration with the clinginess and naughtiness and ridiculous whining are NOT the true state of my heart. At least I hope not. The emotion that pours out when I hear such songs and let those words roll off my tongue and out of my heart- that indicates to me that that is what is true.

It is so easy for me to get caught up in the "hard-ness" of the moment or the day. And then moments like this hit when I can brush away the fog and see things clearly, even if it is just for this moment. I do believe in God, and I do need Jesus. Because life really is hard and I really do want to do what He wants me to. And sometimes it takes being at the edge of my limits to force me to take my eyes off me. This is exactly what Lent is supposed to be- a time to strip away those things that we lean on, depend on, crave and replace them with the truth that we all need Jesus.
I have spent a lot of time thinking about which preschool to send Lucas to in order to shape his little soul and what activities I should put together to teach him about the truth of Lent and Easter. But in this moment I would really just like to teach him the truth I can see and feel right now- that we all strive for perfection and to be able to do things well. But in the end, all that we need to know is that "we believe in God and we ALL need Jesus." You may think that is over-simplifying it. But if I can teach my boys that, than even if I choose the wrong preschool or slack on cutting felt symbols or lose my cool before 7am, than I might still be doing ok. If I can teach myself that...

Today has not started well and I have a long way to go before help comes, and yet He is here. And I am tired and the boys are both a bit cranky, but He is here.

Lord, help me to strip away my pride and self-reliance and narrow focus and fix my eyes upward on You. Life may seem hard, but You are here.

I believe in God, and I need Jesus. Simple. True. Things are looking up already.

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