Javan is with his grandparents this morning since they did Christmas last night, so I plan on taking full advantage of these moments of uninterrupted time to get really important things done. Like re-upholster my kitchen chairs and make some curtains for my kitchen :-)
What?? I got a new tablecloth for Christmas and now it doesn't match my chairs or my curtains. Something MUST be done about this!
Lance thinks I am crazy too... Anyway, I thought I'd take a few minutes to write down a couple of silly Javan sayings.
We met up with Chad's sister yesterday so that she could take Javan to his grandparents house. Missi and her daughter, Aislinn, had just had some Sonic for lunch and apparently Aislinn offered Javan a tater tot... and here is how the conversation went (paraphrasing since I wasn't actually there)...
Aislinn: Javan, do you want a tater tot
Javan: My mom doesn't take me to restaurants.
Aislinn: So, you don't go to restaurants at all???
Javan: Nope, never. She never takes me to Mcdonalds. She makes me eat healthy things.
Aislinn: Like what?
Javan: Things like Sticks, and twigs, and mud and branches
Aislinn: Oh man, so can you have a candycane?
Javan: Oh yeah! I can have candycanes
Lance says that we should serve him up a dinner of sticks and mud when he gets back (as a joke) and see what he says. hahaha
Seriously, though, this whole 2 sides parenting thing is killing me!! And so it goes... I cook every meal because, well, its healthier and cheaper.. Chad sees him once a week and takes him out to Mcdonalds every time. I'm sure if i saw him only once a week I would probably take him out too!! AND for the record... we do make an occasional fast food jaunt from time to time.
I have so many thoughts about this topic, my brain gets all mixed up when I think about it...I think I'll leave it as it is right now and maybe when I have some more time I will dig a little deeper on the whole parenting/eating healthy conundrum.
Anyway, one other cute little quote Javan said... and before I go there, I'd like to answer everyone's question before you ask it. No, i'm not pregnant and no, we are not trying ...
Shew. and once again, paraphrasing since I wasn't there for this one either....
Lance and Javan were talking about Harrison and how helpful Javan is with him. Then Lance said, so Javan when you are a big brother someday, are you going to be a big helper for mommy? Javan's response:
"Oh yeah, i'll be a big helper! I'll be really good at teaching him how to wrestle."
hahaha... Thanks Javan! I'm sure teaching the baby how to wrestle will truly help me.. I mean, it IS his duty as a big brother, right?!?!?
I will write soon about Christmas excitement. Right now, its back to work....
Monday, December 27, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Oh man.. Javan was just adorable this weekend. He said so many cute things, I'm kicking myself for not writing them all down.
Friday night we went to Legacy's christmas show and it was spectacular (not like I would expect any less from them). Anyway, they had a background picture of snow falling and Javan says "Mom, I learned that snow is just a lot of SNOWFLAKES" I wish I could somehow put into words his genuine excitement for this simple fact. It just reminds me the many pieces of knowledge that we adults just take for granted.... and expect kids to just KNOW.
Saturday morning we went to Lance's parents house for a little bit, while Lance helped his dad with some electrical and then we went to a family Christmas dinner (on his mom's side). Javan had a buddy there... Grant... and they played SO well together. There were a few times that i was sure they must be causing trouble because they were so QUIET but, no, just playing nicely together (well as "nice" as a couple of boys can play together). Javan fell asleep on the car ride home and when I took off his coat and put him to bed. He mumbled in a very concerned tone "My toys (he got a couple of little toys there) are in my coat pocket." I told him I will get them, not to worry and he replies "but, MOM, they will be ruined if you put them in the washer." The things that he worries about.
Over the weekend he developed a little bit of a cough and we were super busy so we decided after church to just have a "lay low" day. We watched a couple of movies, made some donuts and just rested. It was a good day!!
I have to give some major props to Lance who has been soooo patient with me while I have been swamped with work last week. Friday night he knew that I was waaaaaay too busy to have any dinner ready and he decided to make a (delicious, I might add) stuffed crust pizza for dinner
We have been having a lot of fun lately making things from scratch. We try our best to avoid grocery stores for anything pre-made. Yesterday, we were thinking about making a trip to Dunkin Donuts for some donuts and then thought... it would be a lot more FUN and healthier and cheaper to make them ourselves. I love it when Lance and Javan cook with me. :-)
Lance rolled out the dough while I got the oil ready and made the glaze. We didn't have a donut cookie cutter so lance used his wedding ring for the donut holes. I decided to name them "love donuts". haha.
This was the finished product. Some very very yummy donuts. Lance and I are already thinking of how we can get creative with our next donut making marathon....
Friday night we went to Legacy's christmas show and it was spectacular (not like I would expect any less from them). Anyway, they had a background picture of snow falling and Javan says "Mom, I learned that snow is just a lot of SNOWFLAKES" I wish I could somehow put into words his genuine excitement for this simple fact. It just reminds me the many pieces of knowledge that we adults just take for granted.... and expect kids to just KNOW.
Saturday morning we went to Lance's parents house for a little bit, while Lance helped his dad with some electrical and then we went to a family Christmas dinner (on his mom's side). Javan had a buddy there... Grant... and they played SO well together. There were a few times that i was sure they must be causing trouble because they were so QUIET but, no, just playing nicely together (well as "nice" as a couple of boys can play together). Javan fell asleep on the car ride home and when I took off his coat and put him to bed. He mumbled in a very concerned tone "My toys (he got a couple of little toys there) are in my coat pocket." I told him I will get them, not to worry and he replies "but, MOM, they will be ruined if you put them in the washer." The things that he worries about.
Over the weekend he developed a little bit of a cough and we were super busy so we decided after church to just have a "lay low" day. We watched a couple of movies, made some donuts and just rested. It was a good day!!
I have to give some major props to Lance who has been soooo patient with me while I have been swamped with work last week. Friday night he knew that I was waaaaaay too busy to have any dinner ready and he decided to make a (delicious, I might add) stuffed crust pizza for dinnerWe have been having a lot of fun lately making things from scratch. We try our best to avoid grocery stores for anything pre-made. Yesterday, we were thinking about making a trip to Dunkin Donuts for some donuts and then thought... it would be a lot more FUN and healthier and cheaper to make them ourselves. I love it when Lance and Javan cook with me. :-)
Lance rolled out the dough while I got the oil ready and made the glaze. We didn't have a donut cookie cutter so lance used his wedding ring for the donut holes. I decided to name them "love donuts". haha.
This was the finished product. Some very very yummy donuts. Lance and I are already thinking of how we can get creative with our next donut making marathon....
Friday, December 17, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
There is something not quite right....
Shana asked Seth, "So, what did you think of Javan's Christmas pagent?" and he says (I'm paraphrasing here since I wasn't there to get the exact quote):
Well, it was good but something wasn't quite right...I don't think Angels pick their noses.
LOL. That Seth!
Well, it was good but something wasn't quite right...I don't think Angels pick their noses.
LOL. That Seth!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Angel Video
My video is too big to download it to my Blog so I had to create a youtube account and download it there...then I got to thinking... why not download all of my videos there... my computer is getting so slow from all the space that is used for videos and pictures.
I am going to attempt to burn all of my pictures onto disks so I can delete them from my computer too. I need to free up some hard drive. haha.
So, the link to my youtube channel is below. I will hopefully get all of my videos posted this week......
The video of the pagent is:
Monday, December 13, 2010
That's how we be men
Javan's newest little quote. I'm not sure it came from... assuming his daddy because its not something we say here but its sooooo cute...
"We put our shoes were they belong..that's how we be men, right Lance? THAT's how we be men!"
Well, Javan was a really awesome and adorable angel this Sunday at his pagent. Putting the excessive nose-picking aside.... he did AWESOME! I have a few pics and I recorded his little song they did but I have to find my camera....... will post soon.
It was great to have Lance's parents, Crystal, Adam, and Lucas (Lance's sister and family), Adam and Angela (the family i babysit for), and Shana and Seth all there cheering him on. Afterwards, we went to Fritz's with Lance's family for dinner as per Javan's request. Fritz's is basically a Mcdonalds that delivers your food via train. :-)
After ALL that we needed to take a rest so we all got comfy and watched Madagascar 2 - Javan got the movie at a gift exchange at Lance's cousin's Family Christmas party on Friday night. That night was loads of fun too!!!
After the movie Javan got his little awana vest on and went to cubbies. He's doing such a great job memorizing his bible verses. This week they took all of the kids to a "awana giftshop" and Javan got to pick a present for his mommy. He got me candles in the shape of flowers....He was so excited to give them to me **melt**. Then we packed him up in the car, bought some subway and ate "dinner" in the car while we watched the "dancing christmas lights". We got our first snow the night before so it really felt like Christmas :-) Then Lance drove us around while we looked at some other Christmas lights in the neighborhood.
It was an awesome weekend! I just can't be more thankful for our little family.
"We put our shoes were they belong..that's how we be men, right Lance? THAT's how we be men!"
Well, Javan was a really awesome and adorable angel this Sunday at his pagent. Putting the excessive nose-picking aside.... he did AWESOME! I have a few pics and I recorded his little song they did but I have to find my camera....... will post soon.
It was great to have Lance's parents, Crystal, Adam, and Lucas (Lance's sister and family), Adam and Angela (the family i babysit for), and Shana and Seth all there cheering him on. Afterwards, we went to Fritz's with Lance's family for dinner as per Javan's request. Fritz's is basically a Mcdonalds that delivers your food via train. :-)
After ALL that we needed to take a rest so we all got comfy and watched Madagascar 2 - Javan got the movie at a gift exchange at Lance's cousin's Family Christmas party on Friday night. That night was loads of fun too!!!
After the movie Javan got his little awana vest on and went to cubbies. He's doing such a great job memorizing his bible verses. This week they took all of the kids to a "awana giftshop" and Javan got to pick a present for his mommy. He got me candles in the shape of flowers....He was so excited to give them to me **melt**. Then we packed him up in the car, bought some subway and ate "dinner" in the car while we watched the "dancing christmas lights". We got our first snow the night before so it really felt like Christmas :-) Then Lance drove us around while we looked at some other Christmas lights in the neighborhood.
It was an awesome weekend! I just can't be more thankful for our little family.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
I am taking a quick minute to give an update on the happenings around here, before I forget...these days i feel like I can't keep my head on straight!
I am soooo excited that starting the new year I will be starting with my new office hours. This will be great for not only me, but the entire family. It just can't come fast enough. We are looking forward to having our early evenings together without the computer interruptions. My new hours will be 7:30-4:00 central time.
We bought a membership to our community center and have been enjoying trips to the pool. Javan is getting better and better at swimming and backfloating with his little "surf board" (as he calls it). We had him practice treading water without help the last time we were at the pool, he still needs some practice but he is eager to learn (his reward is that as soon as he can swim without support for 10 seconds he will be able to go on the BIG slide).
Last weekend we went to Luke and Seth's "Kings Kids" the Christmas program Legacy puts on. Of course, as with the majority of Legacy's events... it was AWESOME! The kids did such a great job!! Javan had a blast playing in the gym with his cousins and the other kids. There were lots of cookies and cupcakes to induce a outrageous sugar high.
This weekend we are getting excited for Javan's Christmas pagent. The preschoolers/kindergarteners are all Angels.. .the boys are angels with swords, while the girls are just pretty ;-) Well, Javan told me that his pagent was going to be SCARY....
Now, why in the world would his Christmas pagent be scary?? I had to find out....
Javan's answer: "Because I'm going to have a sword and I'm going to fight the girl angels"
Oh. Geez. You just can't take the boy out of him!!
Anyway, Christmas decorations are up. Christmas presents are bought (yes, we got him his timer... a digital one too!!).
We have been doing our advent at the dinner table. I think "dinner-time devotionals" may be a continuing tradition after Christmas is over.
I am soooo excited that starting the new year I will be starting with my new office hours. This will be great for not only me, but the entire family. It just can't come fast enough. We are looking forward to having our early evenings together without the computer interruptions. My new hours will be 7:30-4:00 central time.
We bought a membership to our community center and have been enjoying trips to the pool. Javan is getting better and better at swimming and backfloating with his little "surf board" (as he calls it). We had him practice treading water without help the last time we were at the pool, he still needs some practice but he is eager to learn (his reward is that as soon as he can swim without support for 10 seconds he will be able to go on the BIG slide).
Last weekend we went to Luke and Seth's "Kings Kids" the Christmas program Legacy puts on. Of course, as with the majority of Legacy's events... it was AWESOME! The kids did such a great job!! Javan had a blast playing in the gym with his cousins and the other kids. There were lots of cookies and cupcakes to induce a outrageous sugar high.
This weekend we are getting excited for Javan's Christmas pagent. The preschoolers/kindergarteners are all Angels.. .the boys are angels with swords, while the girls are just pretty ;-) Well, Javan told me that his pagent was going to be SCARY....
Now, why in the world would his Christmas pagent be scary?? I had to find out....
Javan's answer: "Because I'm going to have a sword and I'm going to fight the girl angels"
Oh. Geez. You just can't take the boy out of him!!
Anyway, Christmas decorations are up. Christmas presents are bought (yes, we got him his timer... a digital one too!!).
We have been doing our advent at the dinner table. I think "dinner-time devotionals" may be a continuing tradition after Christmas is over.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
All I want for Christmas....
I forgot to mention what Javan asked for from Santa....
Well, first of all, I must mention that he told me that day in the morning that he didn't need Santa to get him anything for Christmas. What a humble little boy.
So, what did he ask for when Santa inquired about his Christmas wishlist....
A new timer.
Yes, you read right. A timer...a $2 wind up timer....
sigh... And to think Lance and I spent several hundred dollars on the boy for Christmas but did not get a new timer.
We do use our timer for all sorts of things...
1 hour of TV per day-set the timer...
Everyone is finished eating and you have been sitting there playing at the table. You have 10 min to finish eating and then we are clearing your plate - set the timer
We are leaving in 15 min, you are still in pajamas and your teeth aren't brushed - set the timer.
When the timer broke last week, I didn't realize how much the boy missed the silly thing!!
Guess I'll be making a trip to target to get that his week, maybe I'll splurge and get a digital timer - might as well go wild and crazy ...after all, it IS Christmas! haha
Well, first of all, I must mention that he told me that day in the morning that he didn't need Santa to get him anything for Christmas. What a humble little boy.
So, what did he ask for when Santa inquired about his Christmas wishlist....
A new timer.
Yes, you read right. A timer...a $2 wind up timer....
sigh... And to think Lance and I spent several hundred dollars on the boy for Christmas but did not get a new timer.
We do use our timer for all sorts of things...
1 hour of TV per day-set the timer...
Everyone is finished eating and you have been sitting there playing at the table. You have 10 min to finish eating and then we are clearing your plate - set the timer
We are leaving in 15 min, you are still in pajamas and your teeth aren't brushed - set the timer.
When the timer broke last week, I didn't realize how much the boy missed the silly thing!!
Guess I'll be making a trip to target to get that his week, maybe I'll splurge and get a digital timer - might as well go wild and crazy ...after all, it IS Christmas! haha
Saturday, November 27, 2010
The last few days have been a blast! We had a great Thanksgiving with Lance's family and then some yummy dessert with the Kansas Rushiks... then we were blessed to have a great Aunt and Uncle who offered to watch Javan OVERNIGHT while Lance and I did some black friday shopping.
This was absolutely invigorating for me!
I know some people can't handle the crowds and whatever... and I will admit when we went into Walmart to see the line go back halfway through the store... we didn't stick around there... but most of the stores were just BUSY not too crazy for me.
Friday was pretty much a "catch up" day. I had planned on going down to Crown Center for the tree lighting but decided everyone (including Javan) was just too tired for that!
We did head down to Crown Center today and went to Union Station's Science City, which we realized we could have used a few more hours to play!! We were all hungry though so we went to Crown Center, had some dinner and then checked out the tree lighting.... once again, I forgot my camera...Lance did get a pic on his phone... i'll have him upload it next.
OH ... and while we were at Walmart today, we totally lucked out and happened to be there when Santa was there.. It was AWESOME! Javan got to sit on Santa's lap AND we got a FREE 5x7 and a CANDYCANE! Then, after we did a little shopping we decided to get a family picture with Santa... i mean, WHY NOT... its FREEE!! haha. Of course, it was after Javan had already nearly devoured his candycane...Hence, the blue lips, sticky fingers, and HUGE grin :-) Those are the kind of pics we like... candid. haha
This was absolutely invigorating for me!
I know some people can't handle the crowds and whatever... and I will admit when we went into Walmart to see the line go back halfway through the store... we didn't stick around there... but most of the stores were just BUSY not too crazy for me.
Friday was pretty much a "catch up" day. I had planned on going down to Crown Center for the tree lighting but decided everyone (including Javan) was just too tired for that!
We did head down to Crown Center today and went to Union Station's Science City, which we realized we could have used a few more hours to play!! We were all hungry though so we went to Crown Center, had some dinner and then checked out the tree lighting.... once again, I forgot my camera...Lance did get a pic on his phone... i'll have him upload it next.
OH ... and while we were at Walmart today, we totally lucked out and happened to be there when Santa was there.. It was AWESOME! Javan got to sit on Santa's lap AND we got a FREE 5x7 and a CANDYCANE! Then, after we did a little shopping we decided to get a family picture with Santa... i mean, WHY NOT... its FREEE!! haha. Of course, it was after Javan had already nearly devoured his candycane...Hence, the blue lips, sticky fingers, and HUGE grin :-) Those are the kind of pics we like... candid. haha
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Javan is always doing cool stuff. Today at preschool, they had a thanksgiving lunch. It looked pretty awesome. I haven't picked Javan up from school yet to hear all about it but the preschool director was nice enough to send us some pics of it.
The 2nd pic is of Javan's stay and play teachers.... look familiar? The one on the left is the one and only Aunt Shana. Oh how we love her. :-)
I am so thankful for such an amazing preschool for Javan to go to!!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Well, last weekend was a lot of fun and very very busy. We drove to Lance's parents house on Saturday morning and Javan did some shopping with me and Marilyn, while Lance and Monty worked on the house. Javan didn't have a blast shopping, but we are sooo thankful that we downloaded some books on cd for him to listen to on his ipod while we walked around the store.
When we met up with Lance and Monty at the house they had just a few things left to do. Javan was eager to help and held the flashlight for them while they discussed what they will be doing with the electrical. Apparently, they talked a little too much because Javan said "Alright guys, lets get to work!" hahahaha. What are you, our foreman...??? little stinker.
There was a hook hanging out of the wall. It was basically a hole in the wall and this hook hanging by one screw. Jav saw that 2 screws were missing and somehow found 2 screws and a screwdriver and put them in himself! After that he said to me, "Mom, I'm hungry because I worked really hard today so lets go out to eat." What a working man! His favorite part of the weekend was helping Lance work on the house.
Javan also got to shoot Lance's bb gun, which was super cool for him! Sunday we had dinner with lance's family and then drove to Shane and Shana's house for Luke's birthday. OF COURSE, Javan loves any chance he can hang out with his buddies Luke and Seth!
On Tuesday on the way to preschool Javan said "when I am an adult, you will be able to drive your car whenever you want." Confused, I said "Javan, I already can drive my car whenever I want." I realized after I said that, he was thinking about how whenever Lance is home he drives me everywhere and I don't really drive very much. Javan's response: "I know, mom, but when I'm an adult, i'm going to be a good driver so i can take you everywhere."
Javan always seems to have this desire to take care of me. Its very sweet.
When we met up with Lance and Monty at the house they had just a few things left to do. Javan was eager to help and held the flashlight for them while they discussed what they will be doing with the electrical. Apparently, they talked a little too much because Javan said "Alright guys, lets get to work!" hahahaha. What are you, our foreman...??? little stinker.
There was a hook hanging out of the wall. It was basically a hole in the wall and this hook hanging by one screw. Jav saw that 2 screws were missing and somehow found 2 screws and a screwdriver and put them in himself! After that he said to me, "Mom, I'm hungry because I worked really hard today so lets go out to eat." What a working man! His favorite part of the weekend was helping Lance work on the house.
Javan also got to shoot Lance's bb gun, which was super cool for him! Sunday we had dinner with lance's family and then drove to Shane and Shana's house for Luke's birthday. OF COURSE, Javan loves any chance he can hang out with his buddies Luke and Seth!
On Tuesday on the way to preschool Javan said "when I am an adult, you will be able to drive your car whenever you want." Confused, I said "Javan, I already can drive my car whenever I want." I realized after I said that, he was thinking about how whenever Lance is home he drives me everywhere and I don't really drive very much. Javan's response: "I know, mom, but when I'm an adult, i'm going to be a good driver so i can take you everywhere."
Javan always seems to have this desire to take care of me. Its very sweet.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Vinegar is my new best friend
Recently, I got Lance hooked on tea (moi-ha-ha **evil laugh**) No, seriously though, he had no idea how many different kinds of tea there are and we now enjoy tea morning and night and in between. I drink it mostly in the afternoon because its been a little chilly around here but when he starts boiling that water... i just can't resist a cup of some rooibos chai!
ANYWAY, although tea has more caffeine in it per ounce than coffee does... you add more water per tablespoon than you would with coffee, so apparently the caffeine shouldn't affect you as much. Not so much the case with me. I have noticed MORE energy during the day and LESS sleep at night. A trade off, i suppose, but I think less tea (or white tea) is the better option for me (the bags under my eyes aren't the most attractive).
So... i decided to blog a little to wear off my little brain and hopefully go off to dream land.
Vinegar! Yes, it is my new best friend. Putting the many health benefits of adding it to your food aside, the stuff is awesome!! I recently read an article about cleaning with vinegar and the many other uses of vinegar, so I decided to give it a try. I put 50/50 vinegar and water in a bottle and cleaned my bathroom and windows. They look great! I can't say it cleans BETTER than the other stuff but just the same. No streaks on the mirrors. The bathroom was clean. Didn't wreak of the yucky vinegar smell either, just clean.
But, here is where i am totally SOLD.
Everybody knows that you should only wash your hair every other day, but I can't stand that greasy yucky stinky hair on the "other" day. So, this week I started putting straight vinegar on my scalp on the "other" day. "washing my hair with vinegar", I suppose. It all started because I know from experience that vinegar helps with dandruff, which I struggle with every winter and I was on a vinegar kick.. so why not? Well, i've never done it consistently every other day like this and I have to say... MY HAIR LOOKS AWESOME! Its so shiny and smooth, I can't even believe it!! And the "other" day greasy, stinkyness is no more. MAN, I love this stuff. There are a lot of other ways that we have grown to love us some vinegar, here are just a few:
1. We put it in our washing machine rinse cycle for soft towels. Plus, I heard many plumbers recommend running vinegar down your drains to clean calcium build up from hard water. Which, I believe is true because we put it in our humidifier and the filter was all crusty from the calcium and now its all clean. Which leads me to my next point.....
2. We put it in our humidifiers and vaporizers. Probably a combination of the moist air and the vinegar but Lance's allergy's are soooooo much better!
3. Its CHEAP!!!!!!! Like $2 for a HUGEMUNGO container
4. I don't have to worry about overspray when I am cleaning near our toothbrushes or on our counters. Even just thinking about the chemical buildup that is on our kitchen counters where I am always rolling out some kind of dough... yuck.
5. I don't have to worry about Harrison getting into the cupboards and accidentally poisoning himself with our cleaners.
6. I can now get rid of the 500 different bottles and condense down to just 2. Vinegar and Vinegar and water (ok, there are a few other combos I can make.... but you get the picture....)
Now, that I have shared my vinegar excitement, maybe I can sleeep ;-)
Tomorrow morning we are heading up to Lance's parents house so Lance can help his dad on some projects and then Sunday Lance's Aunt that lives in Washington is in town so we will be having lunch with them AND THEN drive back to Overland Park to have some cake with Luke for his birthday. You know we will do anything for a little cake ;-)
I'm sure more pictures and blogging to come.
Oh, in other news... Lance sold his HOUSE!! woot woot. Had to drop the price but at least they are breaking even and we don't have to pay that crazy mortgage anymore.
Life is good. Now off to bed!
ANYWAY, although tea has more caffeine in it per ounce than coffee does... you add more water per tablespoon than you would with coffee, so apparently the caffeine shouldn't affect you as much. Not so much the case with me. I have noticed MORE energy during the day and LESS sleep at night. A trade off, i suppose, but I think less tea (or white tea) is the better option for me (the bags under my eyes aren't the most attractive).
So... i decided to blog a little to wear off my little brain and hopefully go off to dream land.
Vinegar! Yes, it is my new best friend. Putting the many health benefits of adding it to your food aside, the stuff is awesome!! I recently read an article about cleaning with vinegar and the many other uses of vinegar, so I decided to give it a try. I put 50/50 vinegar and water in a bottle and cleaned my bathroom and windows. They look great! I can't say it cleans BETTER than the other stuff but just the same. No streaks on the mirrors. The bathroom was clean. Didn't wreak of the yucky vinegar smell either, just clean.
But, here is where i am totally SOLD.
Everybody knows that you should only wash your hair every other day, but I can't stand that greasy yucky stinky hair on the "other" day. So, this week I started putting straight vinegar on my scalp on the "other" day. "washing my hair with vinegar", I suppose. It all started because I know from experience that vinegar helps with dandruff, which I struggle with every winter and I was on a vinegar kick.. so why not? Well, i've never done it consistently every other day like this and I have to say... MY HAIR LOOKS AWESOME! Its so shiny and smooth, I can't even believe it!! And the "other" day greasy, stinkyness is no more. MAN, I love this stuff. There are a lot of other ways that we have grown to love us some vinegar, here are just a few:
1. We put it in our washing machine rinse cycle for soft towels. Plus, I heard many plumbers recommend running vinegar down your drains to clean calcium build up from hard water. Which, I believe is true because we put it in our humidifier and the filter was all crusty from the calcium and now its all clean. Which leads me to my next point.....
2. We put it in our humidifiers and vaporizers. Probably a combination of the moist air and the vinegar but Lance's allergy's are soooooo much better!
3. Its CHEAP!!!!!!! Like $2 for a HUGEMUNGO container
4. I don't have to worry about overspray when I am cleaning near our toothbrushes or on our counters. Even just thinking about the chemical buildup that is on our kitchen counters where I am always rolling out some kind of dough... yuck.
5. I don't have to worry about Harrison getting into the cupboards and accidentally poisoning himself with our cleaners.
6. I can now get rid of the 500 different bottles and condense down to just 2. Vinegar and Vinegar and water (ok, there are a few other combos I can make.... but you get the picture....)
Now, that I have shared my vinegar excitement, maybe I can sleeep ;-)
Tomorrow morning we are heading up to Lance's parents house so Lance can help his dad on some projects and then Sunday Lance's Aunt that lives in Washington is in town so we will be having lunch with them AND THEN drive back to Overland Park to have some cake with Luke for his birthday. You know we will do anything for a little cake ;-)
I'm sure more pictures and blogging to come.
Oh, in other news... Lance sold his HOUSE!! woot woot. Had to drop the price but at least they are breaking even and we don't have to pay that crazy mortgage anymore.
Life is good. Now off to bed!
Friday, November 12, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
A lesson taught by a 4 year old
We were in the car on the way to preschool and Javan was saying that maybe his name should be spelled JavIn. I explained to him that that is not how his name is spelled... and he replied...
"but Aislinn and Austin told me that it should be spelled Javin because an A doesn't make the "i" sound..."
My blood boiled for a moment there... of course, every parent takes a lot of time and thought to decide the name of their child, but that wasn't the only thing that annoyed me about that statement. I get the feeling that whenever Aislinn and Austin are together, they gang up on Javan a lot and Javan looks up to them so much he doesn't even notice... protective mommy chimes in...
"Well, Aislinn's name isn't spelled the way it sounds either... AIS should sound like "AIS" but instead they pronounce it "ASH". The next time she says anything about your name, you tell her THAT!"
Javan: "OK, mom, i will tell her that. I will ask daddy to take me to see Aislinn today and I will tell her that."
Then, he thinks about it for a minute... and here it comes...
"Mom, I don't think you told me to do the right thing. If i tell Aislinn that, that might make her sad. That would be teasing and we shouldn't tease anyone."
Wow. Filled with feelings of guilt, embarrassment, remorse, and PRIDE in my little guy's sense of morals.
"Your right Javan, even mommy's sometimes make bad decisions. Telling you to say that wasn't the right thing and when we make a bad decision, we need to say we are sorry and make it right. I'm sorry, Javan. What SHOULD we say if someone teases you about how your name is spelled?"
We talked more about it and decided that he should say "My mommy wanted me to be named after the Javan in the bible and that is the way Javan is spelled in the bible... so that is how i spell my name"
......and I have officially been called out by a 4 year old.
"but Aislinn and Austin told me that it should be spelled Javin because an A doesn't make the "i" sound..."
My blood boiled for a moment there... of course, every parent takes a lot of time and thought to decide the name of their child, but that wasn't the only thing that annoyed me about that statement. I get the feeling that whenever Aislinn and Austin are together, they gang up on Javan a lot and Javan looks up to them so much he doesn't even notice... protective mommy chimes in...
"Well, Aislinn's name isn't spelled the way it sounds either... AIS should sound like "AIS" but instead they pronounce it "ASH". The next time she says anything about your name, you tell her THAT!"
Javan: "OK, mom, i will tell her that. I will ask daddy to take me to see Aislinn today and I will tell her that."
Then, he thinks about it for a minute... and here it comes...
"Mom, I don't think you told me to do the right thing. If i tell Aislinn that, that might make her sad. That would be teasing and we shouldn't tease anyone."
Wow. Filled with feelings of guilt, embarrassment, remorse, and PRIDE in my little guy's sense of morals.
"Your right Javan, even mommy's sometimes make bad decisions. Telling you to say that wasn't the right thing and when we make a bad decision, we need to say we are sorry and make it right. I'm sorry, Javan. What SHOULD we say if someone teases you about how your name is spelled?"
We talked more about it and decided that he should say "My mommy wanted me to be named after the Javan in the bible and that is the way Javan is spelled in the bible... so that is how i spell my name"
......and I have officially been called out by a 4 year old.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Javan has really been full of questions about God and heaven and how He hears us, etc. Its so exciting to see him begin to grow such a strong relationship with God.
Tonight on the car ride from AWANA he said "Did you know God even knows how many people live in town?When i get to heaven, I'm going to ask him how many people live in town... maybe he'll say 100" Its so beautifully innocent and free from the doubt that we are so often corrupted with as adults.
Before bed tonight, Javan was doing "work" with Lance while Lance was studying for his placement tests for college. Javan goes,"Mom, God is calling me to go to bed." (of course, he didn't want to listen to God's calling, which was a life lesson all on its own.)
Kim's cousin was recently in a terrible car accident and it is amazing to me how much interest Javan has had in praying for Peyton. I am so happy to know that Javan has already developed such trust in the Lord....
Javan's prayer last night "Please may you not take Peyton to heaven yet, and make his brain not sick anymore. AMEN!"
Tonight on the car ride from AWANA he said "Did you know God even knows how many people live in town?When i get to heaven, I'm going to ask him how many people live in town... maybe he'll say 100" Its so beautifully innocent and free from the doubt that we are so often corrupted with as adults.
Before bed tonight, Javan was doing "work" with Lance while Lance was studying for his placement tests for college. Javan goes,"Mom, God is calling me to go to bed." (of course, he didn't want to listen to God's calling, which was a life lesson all on its own.)
Kim's cousin was recently in a terrible car accident and it is amazing to me how much interest Javan has had in praying for Peyton. I am so happy to know that Javan has already developed such trust in the Lord....
Javan's prayer last night "Please may you not take Peyton to heaven yet, and make his brain not sick anymore. AMEN!"
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Fall pics
Thursday, November 4, 2010
I think Lance had the camera last so I will have to get it from him and upload Halloween pics. In the meantime.... some adorable Javan quotes:
1. (playing by himself in his room with his little leapfrog toy) "YES, I scored zero points! Awesome!"
2. To our friend Cohen that we had here to play:
Javan: "Does your mom know how to make hot chocolate?"
Cohen: "Yup"
Javan: "Would you tell my mom the instructions so she will make us some hot chocolate?"
Cohen: "sure" (and proceeds to come over and ask me to make hot chocolate)
3. Also, to our friend Cohen on the same playdate "Cohen, did you know mommies never CRY!"
4. When I say or do something silly Lance will sometimes say to Javan jokingly "where did we get this girl from?" which always gets Javan giggling. Well, this time Javan had an answer "The tree of knowledge" hahahaha
1. (playing by himself in his room with his little leapfrog toy) "YES, I scored zero points! Awesome!"
2. To our friend Cohen that we had here to play:
Javan: "Does your mom know how to make hot chocolate?"
Cohen: "Yup"
Javan: "Would you tell my mom the instructions so she will make us some hot chocolate?"
Cohen: "sure" (and proceeds to come over and ask me to make hot chocolate)
3. Also, to our friend Cohen on the same playdate "Cohen, did you know mommies never CRY!"
4. When I say or do something silly Lance will sometimes say to Javan jokingly "where did we get this girl from?" which always gets Javan giggling. Well, this time Javan had an answer "The tree of knowledge" hahahaha
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Getting a little behind here....
Ok, my dear sister in law pointed out that I never gave an update on Javan's trip to Disney world. Woops.
It sounded like Javan had a great time! He called me every night excited about the things he did and saw that day. As far as I could tell, he didn't get homesick at all. But was just spoiled rotten by Grandma and had loads of fun. I have a couple of pictures on my phone. I will upload those when I am done blogging here.
Apparently, there was a ride called "the tower of terror" that he told me he wouldn't go on it again until he was 20! haha. too scary. Ironically, when he told Lance about the tower of terror, and Lance acted very excited about how scary it was and how brave Javan was and Javan WOULD NOT say what he told me about not wanting to go until he was 20. haha.
While Javan was gone, we did a lot of painting and cleaning and organizing and making this house a "home" (especially for Lance). The house looks great! We also had a date night on Saturday night and went to a dueling piano bar which was loads of fun. Other than that...just a couple of movies and mostly enjoy the quiet house to ourselves :-)
Since Javan has been back, aside from catching up on some much needed sleep, we did some pumpkin carving and got ready for halloween.
This past weekend (Halloween weekend) Lance's parents came down and we got to spend some good quality time with them. On Sunday we went to the Fall Fest at Legacy church (Shane and Shana's church) and then we took Javan trick or treating at the houses in the neighborhood by the church. Javan really had a great time and didn't want the day to end.
Yesterday was Lance's birthday. Javan was with his daddy on Tuesday night so Lance and I went out for a birthday dinner and I gave him the VERY cool shoes that I bought him. Yesterday, Javan wanted to get Lance balloons ... so we did... and made him some birthday brownies so when he came home from work we sang happy birthday and had him blow out all of the candles :-) It was a fun day!
It sounded like Javan had a great time! He called me every night excited about the things he did and saw that day. As far as I could tell, he didn't get homesick at all. But was just spoiled rotten by Grandma and had loads of fun. I have a couple of pictures on my phone. I will upload those when I am done blogging here.
Apparently, there was a ride called "the tower of terror" that he told me he wouldn't go on it again until he was 20! haha. too scary. Ironically, when he told Lance about the tower of terror, and Lance acted very excited about how scary it was and how brave Javan was and Javan WOULD NOT say what he told me about not wanting to go until he was 20. haha.
While Javan was gone, we did a lot of painting and cleaning and organizing and making this house a "home" (especially for Lance). The house looks great! We also had a date night on Saturday night and went to a dueling piano bar which was loads of fun. Other than that...just a couple of movies and mostly enjoy the quiet house to ourselves :-)
Since Javan has been back, aside from catching up on some much needed sleep, we did some pumpkin carving and got ready for halloween.
This past weekend (Halloween weekend) Lance's parents came down and we got to spend some good quality time with them. On Sunday we went to the Fall Fest at Legacy church (Shane and Shana's church) and then we took Javan trick or treating at the houses in the neighborhood by the church. Javan really had a great time and didn't want the day to end.
Yesterday was Lance's birthday. Javan was with his daddy on Tuesday night so Lance and I went out for a birthday dinner and I gave him the VERY cool shoes that I bought him. Yesterday, Javan wanted to get Lance balloons ... so we did... and made him some birthday brownies so when he came home from work we sang happy birthday and had him blow out all of the candles :-) It was a fun day!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Javan was eating some oatmeal and strawberries. I was in the middle of pouring a nice big cup of coffee when Javan said....
"Mommy, why do some little kids get to live with Jesus?"
Gulp...I took a huge gulp of my coffee hoping that it will kick in quicker that way ;-)
Oh, its going to be one of THOSE mornings....
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Missing
Yesterday, I kissed my baby goodbye as he spent the night with daddy and anticipated his trip to Disney World with Grandma and Pa Pa. From Wednesday through Monday Javan will be enjoying sunny weather and hopefully a run in with Buzz Light Year.
Lance and I, on the other hand are looking forward to a QUIET relaxing week of being able to sleep in and get some things done around the house....
Last night I couldn't sleep.
I woke up at 1am. I don't know if I had a bad dream or what it was BUT... I couldn't fall back asleep after countless trips to the bathroom... drinks of water...blah blah blah.
I was thinking about Javan and how much I missed him ALREADY. I started thinking of worse case scenarios like if he got hurt or WORSE while he was gone. I started thinking about when he is a teenager that he might want to live with Chad... only because "the grass is greener on the other side" and I couldn't stop thinking about THAT! How I could help him to see that living with us would be the safer more stable option. What could I do now to help him make wise choices as a teenager (this thinking comes from the Love and Logic book, which we LOVE).
By 3am I was still thinking about what ifs... and just missing his little cuddle sooooo much.... hating that he wasn't sleeping in the room next to us, safe and sound.
I did eventually fall asleep. I think I looked at the clock last at 3:30. I definitely wasn't expecting all of this anxiety about him being gone....lets hope the rest of the week goes smoothly.
Fall fun
Well, this fall has certainly not been dull. :-) Last weekend we went to a fall fest and Javan had a blast ...
Lance and I had fun too, except that moment when we couldn't find Javan and while I am a frantic mess, Lance managed to find him in a strange man's arms (ok, not strange.. just another dad who probably has experienced the awful feeling of a lost child).
That aside, it was a great time... lots of slides and pumpkins and train rides and a corn maze... can't really beat it. Then the NEXT day we went to Louisburg cider mill with Lance's sister and her family and had some AWESOME apple cider and some apple cider donuts. yum! A great weekend :-)
The weekend BEFORE that Javan went to a friends birthday party and they were able to decorate their own aprons and then decorate their own cupcakes. Jav had so much fun playing with all the boys (especially Luke and Seth whom will forever be his little role models).
Pictures from this weekend are uploaded on the web album:
Lance and I had fun too, except that moment when we couldn't find Javan and while I am a frantic mess, Lance managed to find him in a strange man's arms (ok, not strange.. just another dad who probably has experienced the awful feeling of a lost child).
That aside, it was a great time... lots of slides and pumpkins and train rides and a corn maze... can't really beat it. Then the NEXT day we went to Louisburg cider mill with Lance's sister and her family and had some AWESOME apple cider and some apple cider donuts. yum! A great weekend :-)
The weekend BEFORE that Javan went to a friends birthday party and they were able to decorate their own aprons and then decorate their own cupcakes. Jav had so much fun playing with all the boys (especially Luke and Seth whom will forever be his little role models).
Pictures from this weekend are uploaded on the web album:
Gotta love google
As a wedding gift, we got a whole bunch of new towel. Towels seemed to be the gift of choice among family and friends, which is great because we really did need some new towels (I mean, seriously, is there a such thing as too many towel - don't answer that).
These new towels are so soft and snuggly and nice... we haven't used them yet, for fear that they will soon turn rough and scratchy like all of the other old towels we have. This maddness must come to an end, especially since we are planning to repaint most of the house and our bathroom would look soooo pretty with the new towels in it.
So, google search it is... "How do you keep your towels soft and new"
The answer:
Vinegar and baking soda... mainly vinegar
I've heard of several families getting rid of their chemical cleaners and just use vinegar for pretty much everything... but I wasn't quite sold on it.
However, this morning I read this post:
Just a thought: i know my previous comments are long, but i really think that we are all complicating our lives with convenience. i am not saying to abandon your favorite cleaners, because there are things i love and would not give up. i love my dawn, cascade, tide, and downy and i wouldn't give them up.
These new towels are so soft and snuggly and nice... we haven't used them yet, for fear that they will soon turn rough and scratchy like all of the other old towels we have. This maddness must come to an end, especially since we are planning to repaint most of the house and our bathroom would look soooo pretty with the new towels in it.
So, google search it is... "How do you keep your towels soft and new"
The answer:
Vinegar and baking soda... mainly vinegar
I've heard of several families getting rid of their chemical cleaners and just use vinegar for pretty much everything... but I wasn't quite sold on it.
However, this morning I read this post:
Just a thought: i know my previous comments are long, but i really think that we are all complicating our lives with convenience. i am not saying to abandon your favorite cleaners, because there are things i love and would not give up. i love my dawn, cascade, tide, and downy and i wouldn't give them up.
But what if you could simplify, save money, and time, reduce the amount of spray bottles and cleaner, and not have to compromise?
Let me ask you this: what do you clean your microwave with? what do your wash your fresh veggies with? what do clean your frig with?
My answer used to be bleach, then i got sick and was diagnosed with lupus and had to rethink things.
What did my granny and my great-grandmother use? Then it came to me: vinegar and baking soda. You can literally clean everything in your house with vinegar. (except granite and marble).
i remember cleaning windows with vinegar and news paper, and guess what? It still works, but would it work on anything else?
I thought long and hard about what it would take to make me a believer (a convert if you will. i used to clean everything with bleach). then it came to me: the oven.
I took the racks out and put them in the bathtub and sprayed them down with full strength vinegar and let them sit. I turned on the warming drawer to heat up the oven just a little bit and sprayed the oven, door and the glass and let it sit.
I waited until about an hour passed and then sprayed the racks with hot water and wiped a few spots with a scrubby. They looked new!
i resprayed the oven and used the scrubby on the glass and wiped it down with hot water and it worked.
I was stunned, hooked. Glass to grease, no steaks and no residue.
i kind of feel like the Lorax in Dr. Seuss,
shaking my fist, "glub, glub" at you know who.
Try some, try some you will love it too!
I'm a geek. I tried to resist but it was no use.
Sorry i got carried away. star
***************************
And suddenly I'm a little intrigued. So.... a little vinegar we will try. I will let you know how it goes.
By the way, I was stunned at all of the many uses vinegar has... check this link:
Thursday, October 14, 2010
One day I decided to make my own bread. Not really sure why, just a new challenge I suppose. It was a disaster and ended up in the trash. I tried again.... another pile of dough that didn't rise for me in the trash.
Then I bought a breadmaker. It was an amazing purchase. I just throw in the ingredients and kazow... fresh baked bread.... and quite delicious I might add....
I started to explore this machine's capabilities... Jelly, Pizza dough... you name it... it pretty much makes it. A great purchase and it got me to thinking... all of these years we are sort of conditioned to believe that those things we buy at the store are just way too much work, if even possible, to make ourselves.
Cake and brownie mixes, for example. its so simple, you take the box... add some eggs, water, and oil and its done. Why would anyone do anything different?
.....wheat flour enriched with Niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, cocoa powder processed with alcal, dextrose, artificial flavors, carrageenan, sodium bicarbonate.......
that's why.
high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated soybean oil are both TERRIBLE for your body and is in NEARLY every item we buy!
I feel like i would just overlook the long list of ingredients that you can't pronounce just because I thought that it was my only option... then I realized..
its not my only option.
I could avoid all of those unnecessary ingredients by just taking the extra 10 min and add my own flour, sugar, cocoa powder... and whatever else the recipe calls for... Its really not that hard... the 10 extra min to add a few extra ingredients totally worth the health of our family....
Everyday Lance comes home from work and has wheat thins and hummus.... Now, the hummus we buy is about $4 for a little tub so i decided to save us some $$ and make our own. I was appalled at how easy it was!! Today I was reading about Wheat thins REALLY REALLY REALLY RIDICULOUSLY high in sodium. So.. today i made wheat thins... do you know its only 7 ingredients (all ingredients i already had in my cupboard) and takes 5-7 mins to cook? My cupboards that were once stocked with boxes and cans of "food" is almost completely bare.
And then I watched Food inc and realized all of those big companies that pretty much control the food industry... are all in decision making positions in the FDA and USDA.... and so that answers my question as to why no one really cares what is put in our food and the regulations are so lax.... and my trust is broken...
ps....i grind my own flour which makes bomb-diggity bread AND I spend about 1/2 the budget I used to on groceries... everything we eat is made at home :-) Plus, no more wasted time clipping coupons and deal searching. Its really a win win :-)
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Silly Willy
Yesterday I started the morning like I always do... make the bed, remind Javan to make his bed, get dressed, breakfast, feed the dog, feed the fish...... that's when I realized something was not quite right... As i dropped the little pellets of food in his bowl, silly willy just layed there...
I texted Lance. "Silly Willy is dead :( "
I kept on thinking of how in the world I was going to break the news to Javan. I really didn't want to get into the whole death, heaven..bye bye fishy conversation with him (although I knew it was inevitable when we decided to purchase the fish...and adopted the dog for that matter). I went back over and tapped the bowl a little and noticed the most pathetic little "glug glug" come from him...
HE'S STILL HANGING ON!!!
All day I kept a close eye on him as he layed at the bottom of the tank, hoping and praying he'll pull through (I realize he's a fish, but ya know, he's our pet and we love him). In the afternoon, I saw him swim up and finally take a tiny bite of his food from the morning.... then returned to his place at the bottom of the tank... resting. Oh dear.
After watching him lay around all day, we decided to get Javan prepared because Silly was not looking so good. So, Lance and I start a conversation about how people (eh hem...and pets...) get sick sometimes and sometimes they go to heaven and sometimes they get better. Then I said, "Javan, Silly Willy is sick." i wish I could remember exactly how the conversation went from there but I was too wrapped up in Javan's adorable little concerned face when he decided to pray for Silly Willy. He put his tiny little hands over the fish tank where Silly Willy was laying. I don't know what he prayed because there was music playing and I couldn't hear him.
We watched as Javan finished his prayer and moved his little hand away...
and Silly Willy swam up and around the tank looking as healthy as ever....The miracle of a small child's prayer!
I put Javan to bed and took a last look at Silly before I got ready for bed too. He was looking pretty good... at least swimming around (albeit a bit slow). This morning Silly Willy was pretty much back to normal - Praise God for caring for even the smallest creatures that He created.
Of course, this brought on the conversation about heaven in the car on the way to school. Kind of a huge concept for a little boy, but I thought I'd try to explain what I can...
He said "Mommy, some little boys go to heaven"
I said "yes, some do."
Javan: "Mommy, I want to go to heaven too."
Me: "Well, those little boys that go to heaven are usually sick and need God to take care of them. Its sad for thier mommy's because they will miss them but it is what is best for the little boys. Mommy isn't ready for you to go to heaven yet. You aren't sick and I still want to take care of you."
Javan: "Well, mommy, I want to go to the heaven at OUR HOUSE!"
haha. Glad to know he thinks home is heaven. I just smiled and left it at that. What a sweet little boy.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Friday, October 8, 2010
This weekend was loads of fun! We ended up sticking around at Harrison's birthday party (I mean.. you can't leave without having some cake!!) haha. And then we drove up to Lance's grandma's house. Lance, his dad, and Javan set up the tent... Javan LOVED being such a helper and asked all night if it was time for bed yet ;-)
We enjoyed lots of yummy food... Javan had other kids to play with... and a big bonfire that Javan was delighted to throw some sticks in and roast marshmallows.. We brought smores but Javan and the other kids were less then thrilled about the chocolate and graham crackers. So, lesson learned, save your money and just roast marshmallows :-)
And then we bundled up and got ready for bed. I dressed Javan in long johns, footy pajama's, socks and a hat...... he woke up with his footy pajama's unzippered and no hat. haha. That boy just doesn't get cold. ;-)
Javan's air mattress deflated so at some point in the middle of the night he ended up in bed with me and Lance. Lance's grandma has a couple of dogs that were barking at coyotes all night and someone decided to sleep in their truck...and let it run... all night... it wasn't a quiet truck ;-) We woke up in the morning to grandma scraping the icey dew off her car. Lance on one side (I think we stole all the blankets cause he said his back was cold all night) and Javan on the other.. I woke up roasty toasty and comfortable...except my nose which was completely frozen.
It was definitely an experience to remember and I would even consider doing it again !
Pictures of our night (and a few other summer fun days) on the picasa web album:
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