The Mothership

It's been long since told, but we are pregnant again!!!  And to tell you the truth, I am pretty excited.  No, really, I am...at least I am now:)  It came as a bit of a shock, but I am very excited.  Infact, I was just looking at someones facebook page and they were cuddling with their baby, and I had a longing for cuddles...a longing?  Really?  How can this be?  My little girl is only a bit over a year and I'm already ready for another baby.  I can't really say that I was ready for the news when I found out though. We had Carolyn's first birthday party.  To my surprise, as we were opening gifts, I thought that maybe I had started my period...false alarm.  But that got me thinking...when WAS my cycle supposed to start?  I am fairly regular but, I didn't think much of it and the week went on.  Finally on the following Friday it occurred to me that I had not started yet and that I may actually be pregnant.  I was running wi...

I sit realizing I'm staring at a family whose child is having a meltdown of the century.  The Mother looks up and realizes I'm staring, and what do I do, I smile.  I smile because I've been there before...maybe not right now, thank God, but probably 40 minutes earlier.  I walk away with my children in tow and find myself wondering for that Mother. Does she know I smiled at her out of EMPATHY because I can relate so well?  Or does she think I smiled an uncomfortable smile covering up some judgement I'm making in my head?  I hope she thinks it's out of Empathy, because it was, it really was.  I never know what to say in those situations, so I end up just smiling and removing myself from the situation because I would want fewer spectators if my child were having a tantrum too. But how often do others actually need to hear support from other stranger Mothers?  Maybe more than I'd like to admit.  I also am guilty of judging others, because who does...

Our little pumpkin made it...she made it a whole year! Some things we would like to note about Carolyn: she has THE BEST smile I have ever seen.  It can melt anyone's heart and is the culprit for some of her spoiled behavior. she is very advanced for her age;)  She can throw a tantrum like an 18 month old and has been walking/climbing for over a month now...we are such lucky parents! she LOVES her bottles and expensive formula...no signs of giving them up anytime soon (at least not nicely). loves to play with her brother loves to pinch loves to be outside was 19lbs. 12oz. at the doctor and 29inches long (all in the 50%ile) LOVES the library and books...can't get enough of them can't stop the dancing...she even goes up to the stereo and either tries to push the buttons on with her stubby little fingers or points and whines till we turn on the music is really good at playing hide and seek LOVES bread in any and all forms has 6 teeth sleeps a total of 15+ hours...

Since purchasing Green Bean Delivery, it's been very convienient to try new foods. Of course, I had to purchase the ever increasing, popular, super food, KALE. If you haven't tried it yet you should!  Some facts about Kale: • it is full of antioxidants and may reduce the risk of some types of cancer.  •it's rich in vitamins  •it has lutein, which gives it the beautiful color and rich vitamins. This pigment, lutein, helps keep your vision sharp and eyes beautiful! • a cup of Kale has 2 times more vitamin C than an orange or a carton of milk.  •make sure you buy organic Kale because regular Kale is one of the most likely crops to have residual pesticides.  •kale should be eaten along with something like lemon juice or olive oil to help it break down so the nutrients will be more available to your body.  I've made a few recipes with this brilliant leafy green that God gave us. I am always looking for more recipes too:)  **** be sure to always remove the s...

****** MORE POTTY LANGUAGE.  If you are not comfortable with it, get over it, it's my life right now.**** Luke has done and AWESOME job with potty training.  He really hasn't had very many accidents to speak of and pretty much decided on his own that he was going to go diaper free.  I was expecting him to be very stubborn about the whole process, but he really has done a great job.  All in all, I'm impressed with my son.  He is a tremendous potty trainee.  However, there are a few things that make me say he's not 100% potty trained: he's 2...I mean there are not many 2 year old boys, in my career as a teacher, whom are perfectly potty trained.  Since he's 2 he is also very unpredictable/unreliable! because he's so young, his little arm does not reach around to his bottom to wipe.  So he still needs help with wiping. he also is not tall enough to stand and pee nor is he able to get up onto the potty without his pants falling off....

****WARNING!  This has potty language.  Not cursing, but literal potty language  So if you are uncomfortable with it, don't read it.***** Luke is pretty well potty trained.  He has accidents every now and then, but they mainly happen because I've forgotten to ask him if he needs to go and we are nowhere near a bathroom, or he is having too much fun to be bothered to stop and pee himself (this is another post;)).  We have a small potty in the bathroom for him to use during the day just for his pee breaks.  He will run in and use it without me even knowing, with the exception of his white naked butt making an appearance.  I have been thinking that maybe we don't need this potty anymore in the bathroom since he is doing so well, but it makes things very convenient.  Plus Carolyn is becoming ever more curious and follows Luke everywhere.  However, the potty still sits in its spot in the bathroom. The other day they were being especially swee...

Tim and I recently had a child-free morning, thanks to my parents.  On this early morning we were able to drink coffee without a worry of it being spilled, go back for a second cup, walk around naked....(Just kidding;).  We also spent the whole morning whilst drinking our coffee, on the front porch talking for almost 2 hours.  This is a VERY rare occasion.  Not just because of children, but life and all the distractions it holds.  Which got us talking about some goals we decided we wanted to instil as a family.  We tried to make goals that are realistic and attainable, yet challenging. So here they are: All snacks must be portioned out (No bag or jar eating)...and at least 15 minutes between snacks.  This goal is mainly for Tim and I because the kids are growing, they don't have any obesity issues that I'm aware and Tim and I tend to snack after the kids have gone to bed. No T.V. watching 2 nights a week .  Tim and I are so tired by the end of...

With Luke's new vocabulary questions have come.  He doesn't even stop to listen to the answer I am giving him and he's already asking another.  He also makes the most random comments and remarks out of nowhere.  Here are just some of my favorites: While watching a show about dinosaurs, "Mommy, what dat species?" "No, dat silly mommy.  I'ma sillwe monkey." "dah-hah, me feet stinky!" while running to an air-show, "Me LOVE see aiw-panes fly! Phshuuuuuu on a phone call with Mammie discussing what he saw at the air-show, "Me see jets, aiw-panes, racie cars, super guys, helwecopters, and SPACESHIP!  Phshuuuuuu!" if he seems absent mindedabout anything he snickers a little smile and says, "Ha, me forgot!" like it was such a surprise to him. after a long walk with with G-pa he came back and said, "Mammie, me walk weallwee farrr.  My legs so tired!" and my favorite: whilst playing or being corrected...

Luke has recently really gotten into saying his prayers at night.  I have tried to compile some of our dialog during prayers.  They usually start out this way: Me: You want to say prayers? Luke: MmmHhmmm Me: Let's do it then. Luke: Dear Godt, kay-you for me, kay-you for mommy, Cece, kay-you for Daddy, kay-you made me and my torpedos. Amen and another time... Luke: Dear Godt, kay-you for making trees, and gorillas, and my family...AAAAAANNNNDDD my CARs another... Luke: Godt, kay-you for mommy, daddy, Cece, and kay-you make me, and Dave and Jess, and Dave and Ho-hawk (mo-hawk).  Amen.  Dave do that again? another... Luke: Dear Godt, kay-you for make me, my house, my food, my cool house, and for my toads, yeah toads...they say croak, me see toads morrow? Amen. another one...(this one really gets me right there ya know) Luke: kay-you for my mommy, my daddy, Cece, and...., and..., and...Mommy you so beautiful:) As you can tell, prayers are a compil...

My grandma and I were very close.  In fact we didn't even call her Grandma, we called her "Bobbie."  Every weekend, two of the five of us would spend the night with her.  Somehow I was special...I spent almost EVERY weekend with her.  I LOVED my Bobbie and couldn't do most things without her.  I don't think a day, or maybe two, would go by without talking to her. I remember... ...how she would let me put on makeup and nail polish.  On the way home on Sunday mornings, I would be peeling off the nail polish so my parents wouldn't know.  It was just between us.  ...how she would feed us grapes and soup in the bathtub.  And after the bath, use all her fancy powder brushes to powder our bodies.  Plus the feeling of the nice, warm, night gowns that she would heat up in the dryer for us. ...her taking me to the beauty parlor every Saturday morning to sit and talk with the older ladies while Bobbie "got her hair done." ...watching Touc...

It is amazing how God makes himself known and quite boldly. Recently, I have had a hard time disciplining Luke and then feeling VERY guilty about how I handled each situation.  I also have been struggling with the want to CHANGE Luke's aggressive behavior and sometimes only seeing the "bad" things he does instead of focusing on what Luke does well.  This is another side-effect of being a people pleaser.  I have been praying for many weeks now that I have more peace and understanding of how to handle Luke and love his heart just the way it is, and of course to have more patience (I mean, what parent DOESN'T pray for more patience). I read a quote the other day saying, "Don't try so hard to fix your kid and forget that you already have a good one."  I believe God put that there for me to see because right after reading that some things in the house have changed...now, everything is not hunky-dory, but I am beginning to see Luke in a new light. Luke i...

Luke has embarrassed me... and I'm sure it won't be the last. We were at a friends house, a bachelor of course, where no children abide.  I'm always nervous I'm going to have to replace some expensive VAZ from Paris or somewhere exotic that is of course IMPOSSIBLE to replace.  That being said, this friend is pretty laid back and LOVES kids.  In fact he reinvites us time and time again...doesn't he remember us? The kids ate well, played well through most of dinner.  I enjoyed playing with them as Tim and said friend talked about things way over most "non-tech" peoples heads.  Luke brought lots of toys with him includig his cars.  Now, this is a VERY WHITE house with LOTS of white walls and carpet and nice hardwood in the kitchen.  At one point I got pulled into the conversation with the other adults in the room.  However, promptly before that I reprimanded Luke for ALMOST driving his cars on the walls for fear of marks on the walls....

This is somewhat of a continuation of Carolyn's Birth.  This is about when Luke came to meet her at the hospital for the first time.  This is a memory that will forever be fresh in my memory.  It touches my heart every time I think of it and almost makes my eyes tear up with delight and sadness at the same time.My mother warned me how upset she was when she came home with Sam, at how BIG Emma looked and was no longer her baby. Well, this played somewhat the same way, but in a slightly different, emotional way.  Let's go back to the day before...or couple of months before Carolyn arrived.  Now, don't get me wrong I was VERY excited to have a new baby and especially have a girl.  I've always dreamed about how close I would be with my kids, but especially my daughter.  There would be a special closeness.  Little did I know how CLOSE I would become with my little man.  He is all kinds of emotion...but he is a part of me.  Raising him h...

Carolyn Frances Thielen is finally here!  She is so beautiful...but then again I'm very biased. This all happened very differently than Luke.  Luke came early, but very stubbornly.  Which of course is his personality; always rushing, but under his own terms.  Carolyn came two days after my due date through induction, but she came as smoothly as any birth could.  This too, is her personality; calm and easy going, but not without making a statement first. We dropped Luke off at Patti & Chris's house Monday night after spending a whole day together as our last day of a family of three.  We did whatever Luke wanted to do and even took him to EnterTRAINment junction.  I had never been away from Luke for more than a day so I felt sentimental.  I tried to go to bed early, because we needed to leave for the hosiptal by 2:30a.m..  I laid awake thinking about how different we would be as a family and many questions entered my thoughts. ...