Gage is 2! (almost)

We celebrated Gage's 2nd birthday on Saturday! His birthday is the day before Easter and I will be gone for most of it so we decided to celebrate a weekend early. Grandma and Papa Grimmett and GG and GG Papa (Shaun's grandparents) were able to come and celebrate with us!

It started Saturday morning with Gage's birthday party! We did an Easter theme this year since his birthday is so close to it.

 I took this pick to put on his invitations and they said, "Hop on over to Gage's birthday party"

 We had peep cupcakes with fruit and juice boxes.

 We had an Easter egg hunt at the park. It didn't rain that morning but it had been all week so the grass was really muddy, but all the kids had fun. We spread packs of fruit snacks, pencils, and toys in the grass with the eggs too.

The birthday boy enjoyed the egg hunt!

 He also enjoyed being sung to. Him and Maisey play birthday all the time at home so he was a pro when it came to blowing out the candles. It was cute!

 Maisey and Madi enjoying their treats.

After the treats, Gage got to had to open his presents from his friends. He opened the very first thing (cars) and just wanted to play with those and so then he didn't want to open anything else. He screamed and cried when we took his stuff away from him to open the next gift. It was kind of sad, but oh well! Now that we are home and all of the toys are open he LOVES them all! 

 That night we went to Red Robin for our traditional birthday dinner. He enjoyed being sung to again!

 And he also enjoyed his ice cream! YUM!

 When we got home from dinner, Gage got to open family gifts! The highlights of the night were:

His BBQ from Grandma and Papa Grimmett

 His huge fire truck from Grammy

And his train table from Mom and Dad!

He got tons of train stuff including puzzles, clothes, and toys. This little guy was sure spoiled this year!

Tulip Festival

There were so many cute pictures from this day. I picked my favorites but there are still a lot! We enjoyed pretty much the same things this year as we have in the years past. Outings just get more fun as the kids get older! And I am always amazed at the beauty of the fields of flowers! Enjoy all the pics!

After going down this slide you will need to go to the chiropractor!

Maisey's First T-Ball Game

Maisey was so excited to start T-ball! On the few nice days we had before the first game we would go out back and help her practice. The Peewee T-ball league she is in only has games on Saturdays and doesn't practice at all during the week. The games are timed for 30 minutes so they don't drag on forever. It's a nice way for the kids to learn the very basics of the sport!

  She was so excited that they are blue!

 The little man wanted his picture taken too!

 The game is very parent involved. A parent stands by each kid in the field and by each base!

 Gage was very sad that he didn't get to play and was trapped in the dug out all game.

 But then Mommy gave him a sucker and he was all better! Funny how that works!

 She had a great hit!

 And was happy when she crossed home plate!

Great job little slugger! We are proud of you!

Blazer/Laker Game

 Kobe (24) and Wallace were going at it all game!

Artest (15) and Odom (7)

Shaun and I went to the Blazers/Lakers game a few weeks ago! We were rooting for the Blazers but it was still fun to see all of the big names from the Lakers. I was secretly hoping that Khloe Kardashian would be there to root on her hubby. . . but nope! We had totally awesome seats (as you can tell by the pics!) and I had a totally awesome guy with me! What I thought was the most funny about the whole night was the two guys sitting behind us who were totally talking about their wives' birth stories! Haha! Now I know what goes down on guys nights!

The Blazers ended up winning after a very physical 4th quarter! What a great night!

It got better!

I just wanted to report that our day did get better. I got my entire back yard weeded, except for the raised garden beds, but with our weather, we won't be planting a garden anytime soon! Maisey learned how to pump on the swings and spent 45 minutes propelling herself! :) YAY!!! I also got my Pampered Chef Cheese knife in the mail today, as well as my Gymboree package that I wasn't expecting until tomorrow! We got our carpets vacuumed and shampooed too. It was a busy evening, but my kids were actually pleasant! I definitely needed that!

My Day Thus Far

I woke up to Gage with a diarrhea diaper that leaked all over his crib. Sheets and blankies went directly into wash.

Maisey was not aloud to watch a show this morning because she peed all over the floor last night. So she was grumpy all morning.

We headed to run a few errands and Maisey pooped her pants in Toys R' Us. Not just a little. So bad that I had to just throw the undies away. She is now wearing a diaper with no pants on.

Gage started falling asleep on the way home. I tried keeping him awake with fruit snacks, a car, my sunglasses. Finally I gave him a tube of chap stick and he ate the whole thing! At least it kept him awake.

Ok, it's only noon and I just want to crawl into a cave and hibernate for the rest of the day! Lucky for me it is nap time and I'm going outside to pull weeds while enjoying the sliver of sunshine that we have.

Motherhood

I'm just going to say it plain and simple, being a mom is HARD! We've had a pretty rough week with Maisey.  I am really frustrated because I have spent countless hours trying to find ways to deal with her strong-willed, defiant behavior. I pray all day long for strength to help me withstand the next tantrum or battle. Last night, I was at my wits end when I was talking to my mom on the phone. She told me about a Love and Logic class that she took when my brother was young. During nap time today I decided to search it out a little and reserved a copy of one of the books at our library, but I still felt like something was missing.

Then, suddenly I remembered about a blog that I used to read every once in a while. Last summer, the writer who is a mom of five totally cute kids, was really struggling with her youngest. She sought advice from her friends and family on how to deal with this child. I remembered that some of the comments on her post were really insightful, so I decided to search it out. I found the post that I remembered, but a comment was made on the post since I read it last. It had a link to this blog: Asking Jane. You want to know what the title of the post was for this week? "How do I improve the relationship with my 2 year old?" And, although Maisey isn't 2 anymore and can communicate very well, I still felt like I could relate to a lot of this article. This blog is totally awesome and I felt like maybe I was lead there for a reason. Maybe a once-a-week pep talk is what I need to get through this difficult time with her.

She is sooooooo smart and sometimes I forget that she is only 3 years old! But I don't want her to think her behavior is acceptable and I don't want it to get more out of hand than it is. I love her so much and just want what is best for her and I want her to be successful in life. In order to do that she needs to learn to be respectful and kind, not only to others but to herself! Like I said, being a mom is the hardest job I have ever had and I am sure that I haven't even faced the worst of it! But I do know that I have had some very rewarding moments as well, and I am confident that I am doing the best that I can in this demanding, foreordained role.

I'd like to share a quote that I read on the Asking Jane blog. I thought it was perfect!

Motherhood is "like a field of roses. . . You approach it from a distance and it looks so beautiful. Then you find yourself in the middle of it and there are thorns and struggles and it's hard to see where you are. Then you get to the other side and look back and say, Wow, that was so beautiful!"

Even though I know I am still in the "middle" I am going to be more focused on creating the beautiful moments with my family. I am also going to focus on the last two paragraphs of Jane's "Answer" to the aforementioned post:

"You are her primary relationship. Much of your time is spent, of necessity, coercing her to do things that she doesn’t really want to do. This strains your relationship so you have to counterbalance all that coercion with praise, approval, smiles, hugs and meaningful comfortable time together. My experience has been that when my children feel really loved by me and when our relationship is solid, they begin to want to please me. And when I see them doing any little thing—making even the tiniest effort to comply or obey, I stop everything and look into their eyes and compliment them and thank them and hug them. The tide begins to turn.

Finally, recognize that this is the child that is going to teach you all the attributes of godliness—patience, long-suffering, gentleness, charity. This is the child that is going to force you to seek help—to search ponder and pray. You’ve been wanting to put more of that into your life, right? Now you have a purpose! This is the child that is going to refine and change you. This is the child that is going to grow up and remember the many ways that you loved her."

So, here is to the start of a new us! It is going to be hard, and I know that we will still have our moments, but I am hopeful that things will start to get better. I'm pretty sure they can't get much worse. . .

Long week!

Does anyone else feel like this week is dragging on? It's only Thursday morning!!! I feel like it should be next week already! This is the only week we don't have anything BIG going on this month, and maybe it is just the anticipation of all of the other fun things that we have going on that is making this week crawl by!

And while I'm complaining, can I put in a little bit about the weather? Seriously, it is April!!!!!! Check out this link for some crazy weather we had yesterday, not to mention the last 34 of 38 days have been rainy! Blah!!! Doesn't Mother Nature know my kids need to play outside and my husband needs to finish pressure washing my house?

Oh, and we started a new set of workouts in my group power class on Tuesday! I'm pretty sure my calves are going to rip off the bones, they hurt so bad!

I'm just ready for this week to be over, That's all!

Commercials and Cleaning Tip

Random, I know! These are just my thoughts from the day! Has anyone seen the commercial, I think for IHOP, advertising the chicken and waffles? Sounds pretty gross to me, but apparently it appeals to Maisey. At breakfast this morning she asked for chicken and waffles. My reply, "Uh, No!" Then all during breakfast she was singing, "Chicken and waffles. . . . . . . oh, yeaaaaaaah!" Repeated over and over and over and over! Then she started saying, "Chicken and waffles and farts. . . . . . . oh, yeaaaaaaah!" Then it led to just "Chicken and farts. . . . . . . oh, yeaaaaaaah!" Who is this girl?

Sometimes she really surprises me in what she says!

Also, I've been hitting the cleaning list hard the last two days! I'm finishing up the kitchen and decided to unscrew the tip of our faucet to really clean it well. Ok, totally gross! It was nasty to see all of the buildup in there! You should check yours. Go ahead, I dare ya!

*** WHY IS BLOGGER GIVING ME SO MANY ISSUES LATELY? I HATE THAT IT WON'T LET ME LEAVE SPACES BETWEEN THOUGHTS/PARAGRAPHS! THIS IS SO ANNOYING! ANY HELP? ANY ONE?

post script: i figured it out! i love google!!!

Reminder: Try a Little Harder

. . . To Be a Little Better!

How is it going?

Am I being more patient, kind, and positive?

Am I learning to let things go and be more flexible?

Am I understanding that life is hard, and am I trying to find joy in it?

Remember you are preparing yourself for future trials and great events.

You can try harder!

You are doing a great job!