Let them Sleep

It's a rainy day around here, and has been for two days now, so we're all rained out. Boo. My boys are outside so much now that they've got the cutest little farmer tans (despite all the sunblock that I slather on them). I'm one proud Momma when my little ones ask to go outside more than they ask for TV or video games.

But all that fresh air and sunshine brings about the best side effect of all: naps!

Look Who's 5!

So look what happened around here lately (okay, not lately, in November past, but still...): My baby boy, my sweet little guy, is now five. I know I say it every year, and I probably will for every year that follows, but where does the time go?

 

 



Here's years past:

 

 

Wow, where did my baby go?



Flyswatter Painting

So the boys have been into arts and crafts lately. With the lack of crafts stores in Germany, it's sometimes hard to find things for them to do. I went to the German equivalent of the Dollar Tree (woefully inadequate replacement) and picked up some flyswatters. I'd seen this idea on (where else?!) Pinterest where you put paint daubs on a canvas and gave the kiddos a flyswatter and let them have at it. My boys are a: fans of paint and anything messy, b: really big fans of smacking/hitting things, so I knew they'd have a blast.

 

It turns out, though, that it's really really really messy. I would have tried it outside instead, which is probably a much better idea, but it was raining. Because it's Germany. And it's always raining.

 

If you look closely you can see the pain on his ear, cheek, eyebrows, hair...

 

It was like instant-gratification art. You get to smack the crap out of the paper and you get beautiful results. Link was a huge fan.

 

I was not a huge fan of the mess. We obviously got a little wild with our smacks, and by we, I mean them. But the fun was worth it. Nothing a little magic eraser can't help!

 

Here's our final results:

 

 

Link used a three color approach, while Drake wanted just red and blue.

 

I sealed the canvases with some glossy fixative and they now hang proudly in my foyer. Beautiful artwork with sentimental meaning at the price of fun. Win-win-win!

 

Capturing December

I'm joining in with A Content Housewife's blog to do her photo-a-day challenge.

In her own words, "This is such a fun way to get those creative juices flowing AND you capture memories that will last a lifetime! Even if you don’t want to do every day, this can still be used as a holiday photo checklist to make sure you capture some of those important moments during the Christmas season!"

Sounds wonderful to me! Today's challenge is Your View Today.

 

So I hated picking just one photo for this challenge as both boys were super helpful in decorating the house for Christmas, but I really love this one of Link showing me the ornament. In the photo he's telling me that it's purple. LOVE that he knows his colors now. He even helped choose the correct color-coded branches for our tree earlier (I'd have a real one but I have allergies to them).

 

Linking back up to A Content Housewife

Discipline

So maybe this is a bit ironic of a post to follow my Thankful post, but today was a very frustrating day. My eldest son, now five, drove me nuts at the doctor's office. He was well-behaved until he got frustrated with the iPad. He couldn't beat a level in Mega Jump so he banged it on his forehead in frustration. While I can appreciate his frustration, he needs to find a better outlet for it. I took the iPad away and made him go back to reading magazines in the waiting room. He then proceeded for the next FIFTEEN minutes to ask for it back. In his most annoying whiny voice. Complete with big crocodile tears. Our conversation went something like this:

D: I won't do it again. Can I please play it again?
Me: No. What you did was unacceptable. You cannot play it now.
D: I'm sorry. Can I play it now?
Me: Thanks for the apology. But you're still not playing it. The answer is no.
D: But I waaaaaaaaaaant to play it. I wannnnnnt to. Pleassssssse.
Me: The answer is going to stay no. Quit asking.
D: I wannnnnnnt to play. I wannnnnnnnt the iPad. I won't do it again. (repeat ad nauseum)

I tried ignoring his requests, after asking him to stop asking. I took away tv time, computer time, and told him he was going to take a nap as soon as we got home. I ran out of things to take away. I was very frustrated with his lack of listening. I don't go back on my word. He can earn back privileges for good behavior, but it has to be consistently good behavior out of the goodness of his heart, and not for the sake of earning privileges back. I guess this is what I'm doing wrong. Because the kid just won't take no for an answer. He badgers me until I get so frustrated that I end up just as upset as he is. How do you stop your children from badgering you when you give an answer?

Potato Stamp

So I know this isn't a new idea by any stretch of the imagination, but we had a lot of fun with it. We created stamps from potatoes (I had red fingerling potatoes in the house as I am obsessed with roasted potatoes).

What we did: Mommy carved a heart into a few potatoes, then poured some different colored paint into plastic-coated disposable plates (I suppose you could be fancy and use palettes if you have them!), then let the boys go to town.

Perfect indoor craft for little hands, especially if you have a toddler (like me) who lacks fine motor skills. We ended up with quite a few lovely sheets of hearts, so we wrote a short message to Daddy and tucked it into his deployment bag.

Yay! I'm thinking these would also look great this time of year with leaves carved into the potatoes or snowflakes.

Back into the Fray

So a lot, and I mean A LOT, has happened these past few months. I've been incredibly busy and preoccupied but here's a rundown of things:

1. I quit my daytime job so I can devote more time to my family, including my son who has speech dysarthria and has numerous doctors / therapy appointments

2. My dysarthric son had ear tubes in/adenoids and tonsils out. They seem to be working wonders. I know some people are on the fence about tonsillectomies, but this child no longer has sleep apnea nor snoring. It's improved the quality of the sounds he can produce as well. Win-win!

3. We went to Disneyland Paris and Legoland Deutschland. They. Were. Amazing. Love the memories that we created and maybe one of these days I'll post some information/tips/photos.

4. I realized that I'm frustrated by the lack of information out there about children with speech dysarthria (if you google it you'll find it's mostly in older patients, particularly stroke patients, who have had some sort of head trauma). I'm frustrated that we're not sure what we're in for, nor how far Lincoln can go, and that there's just NO ONE out there. Then I realized, hey, I can blog about it. I can be the start. There might some other mother out there that's just getting the dysarthric diagnosis for her child and she might want to find some answers (I have none) or atleast some camaraderie (I have plenty). So if I start rambling about my child and his speech / motor delays, you know why. :)

Well, those are the main points, I think. I do plan on becoming more active in my blog. I really enjoy reading other blogs, reading comments, etc. so I hope that I can get back into it. Like everything else in life, I think I'll just have to make time for it.

Long Time Gone

Wow, I can't believe that the last time that I wrote was in May. Well, actually I can. I've been super busy. My youngest, who has been diagnosed with dysarthia (a motor speech disorder) has three appointments a week. I'm thankful that he's getting the help he needs, but I find that I'm doing a lot of running back and forth. It doesn't help that the hospital where he goes has very few parking spaces. I once spent 20 minutes trying to find a spot...but that's another story.

We also went on vacation back to the States to see my family and the hubby's family. IT. WAS. AWESOME. I didn't want to come back, truth be told. It's a good thing we have things to look forward to over here, or else I would have wanted to just stay put. I'll try to post some photos of our month long vacation (since I took over two thousand) but I make no promises.

I really do hope to start writing on a more consistent basis and providing even some more free printables. I love designing and creating items that I know get used, so if you have any suggestions for what ot make, just let me know! Thanks for hanging around and not giving up on me. <3

Happy Mother's Day

This past weekend of course was Mother's Day. As always, I had an amazing day. I woke up to freshly brewed coffee (yummy chocolate truffle blend) and the hubby made me my traditional omelet. He's the best! I wish I made omelets as great as he does. I didn't have to cook, clean, or lift a finger all day. Man, I love Mother's Day!

Here's my two sweet boys who made me a mommy. I'm so incredibly blessed! It was also Linky's birthday so we celebrated that as well. I can't believe the little guy is three!

My sweet husband even drove both ways to the museum that we went to. I love not having to drive or lift a finger. He spoils me too much, but don't tell him that. I rather enjoy it. Isn't he handsome?!?

We went to this Egyptian exhibit in the city of Speyer (about an hour away). The city itself is worth going to as it has some fabulous architecture, museums, and a lovely pedestrian friendly zone. You know you're spoiled by amazing European architecture when you don't snap photos of every little building anymore since they're all amazing.

Posing with my babies in the main pedestrian thoroughfare.

The shops along the pedestrian way evoke memories of Venice to me. The colors aren't adjusted at all. This is how they look.

We had a delicious lunch at a sidewalk cafe, followed by some yummy Italian gelato (1 euro per cone!). The boys had chocolate, James had nutella, and I had raspberry.

More sidewalk cafes and beautiful architecture.

We stopped at the park on our way back to the car. Too bad the shadows cast have our eyes heavily shadowed. That and the remains of gelato on the little guys' faces...Not a perfect photo, but definitely a perfect day.

Hope your Mother's Day was just as enjoyable!