treats

Posted on October 11, 2011 by meghan

i saw these little pretzel treats on pinterest and we’ve made them a couple times lately. not only are they tasty, they are so easy even little adalaide can help. in fact, the only thing they need my help with is the oven.

first, you lay the pretzels out on a cookie sheet.

then put a hershey kiss on top.

of course, sneak one for yourself.

don’t worry if you have a little chocolatey drool. it’s to be expected.

lick your lips in anticipation.

why not even sing a little song about how much you love treats.

sneak one more, or five.

but watch out for that wrapper!

after baking them for a few minutes on low heat we top them with a reeces pieces-for a little bit of fall color.

and lastly, try not to eat them all before daddy gets home.

pumpkin patch trip no. 1

Posted on October 10, 2011 by meghan

we didn’t actually get any pumpkins because we were swarmed by bees, and finley was one of the 4 (!!) who got stung. it was impossible to rally her around, so it looks like we’ll be heading back. which is just fine by me because i LOVE the pumpkin patch!

thoughts on parenting

Posted on September 12, 2011 by meghan

I saw this list of ways to mentor your child on one of the blogs that i follow {see it here}. I was so encouraged by it, and if it weren’t so wordy i’d print out a copy to hang on my wall as a reminder.

1. go to church regularly. not so a sunday school teacher can tell your child about Jesus(which, yes, will happen hopefully), but to show them the importance of living together in a christ-like community.

2. read the bible with your child regularly. a lot of you mentioned the Jesus storybook bible. we love this too. hands down, i think it is the best children’s bible out there. and sometimes i cry when reading it…but whatevs.

3. memorize scripture with your child. for example, have a verse of the week. write it on a chalkboard. practice it in the morning and at night. apply those verses to every day situations…i.e. when they’re afraid, when they need an attitude change, when they need to show gratitude.

4. talk often about heart motivations, which leads to bad behaviour.

5. dream, plan, and pray about what you want to see in your family. write it down and pray it through.

6. remind children that obedience is obedience if it is: all the way, right away, and with a happy heart. if it is not all those things, it demands a consequence.

7. put your iphone away. or is it your computer, blog, craft, cleaning, etc? BE PRESENT when interacting with your child.

8. pray with your child. not just at bedtime. pray through rough situations with them.thank God for fun things. help them to know how to repent. pray that your child experiences the Gospel in a real way.

9. ask your child for forgiveness when you mess up. tell them what heart motivations led you to your behavior. model repentance.

10. journal your life honestly. journal your prayers and dreams for your children. this could be done once a year on their birthday. or more often.

11. eat dinner together as a family. no TV. no phones. no distractions. talk about their day…play high and low. what was your high today and what was your low?

12. build encouragement into your kids. build them up during the day or around the dinner table.say encouraging things to them alone and in front of others.

13. go through “catechism” questions with your children. it may seem outdated (actually, up until last year i thought it was just for catholics), but the word catechism just means to teach a biblical truth in an orderly way. it is amazing how many of us don’t know the answer to simple biblical truths as we reach adulthood.

14. model character traits you want to see in your children. ask God to help you model them. if you don’t like it when your kid lies, don’t lie to them. if you want your kids to be grateful, don’t complain constantly. the list goes on and on.

we’re entering a new phase of parenting an older child, and with that comes a whole new set of responsibilities, joys and challenges. this kind of gave some direction to some things that have been on my heart. maybe i really should condense it and print it out. i like visual reminders

on a similar note, my mom cleaned out my old closet and found my old journals. brian and i died laughing as we read through a bunch of old letters to my future husband. seriously. so. embarrassing. anyway, i found this list of parenting advice written when i was 14 years old.

things to remember when i’m a parent:

1. never “ground” my kids

2. never handle anything the way my mom would

3 always be consistent in parenting

4. never “check up” on my kids to make sure they’re where they’re supposed to be

5. always trust them and they’re judgement

6. always fix dinner or food no matter when they want it

7. never fight over ridiculous things

8. never make my kids talk if they don’t want to

9. never snoop through my kids stuff unlike my nosy mother

is this not the most hilarious thing you’ve ever read?! good thing i had 11 years to grow up before becoming a parent!

i love her

Posted on September 8, 2011 by meghan

a lot.

bribes

Posted on September 2, 2011 by meghan

i am not above bribing my children when the situation calls for it, and taking all 3 girls in for check ups is definitely a situation that calls for it. finley has a pretty severe fear of strangers, so taking her to the doctor/dentist is a nightmare for everyone involved. in fact, once she had to send an apology card to our sweet pediatrician for kicking her during a check up. there weren’t any punches thrown today, but somehow i ended up promising the girls and arm and a leg IF THEY WOULD JUST PLEASE STAND STILL ON THE SCALE FOR ONE GOSH DARN SECOND!!

The only sweets we had in our house were these gigantic lolly pops that i was going to use as a decoration for something.

and when the allure of the lolly wore off, they were promised a special something from target…

see that smile? it says ‘my mom is a sucker’. and i am.

adalaide { 18 months }

Posted on August 31, 2011 by meghan

my adalaide. my sweet, sweet adalaide. she’s got something about her that is impossible to describe with words. it makes people fall in love with her wherever we go. it’s her sweet little smile, and twinkly green eyes. it’s the way she will snuggle with just about anyone. it’s the way she covers her mouth with both hands and giggles. the way she likes to very discreetly show off. her quiet, relaxed demeanor. the way she carefully loves on her baby sister. i can’t tell you how many times i look at her throughout the day and think bless your heart, sweet girl. watching her grow into a little girl has been such a joy. thank you Lord, for our adalaide may!

“this is so magical”

Posted on August 22, 2011 by meghan

that’s what finley said about our little day trip to our favorite local beach. we found a little stream {estuary?} that was so much fun we never actually made our way to the ocean. days like this make me love living in the northwest. days like today, not so much…

wedding

Posted on August 15, 2011 by meghan

This weekend brian’s brother got married. It was such a joyful celebration, and something that his friends and family have been waiting a LONG time for. And let me tell you, his wife was well worth the wait. Their wedding happened to be our 5th anniversary too, so it was fun/special to be back where we got married. Finley and Adalaide were in the wedding with their cousins, and it’s a real bummer i don’t have any pictures because those kids were a-dorable! Their pastor did a great job with the ceremony. He spoke really genuinely about marriage and i left feeling really encouraged. do you get tired of hearing the same lovey dovey, not so realistic talks at weddings like i do? Anywho, we had the BEST night. Our girls seriously danced for hours. We’d arranged for my mom to bring them home and put them to bed, but they were having so much fun we kept them up until 11:00! At one point Finley was in the house playing and she heard one of her favorite songs start playing. She ran across the property to the dance floor, and kept asking them to start the song over. Ha! I took lots of pictures, but unfortunately hardly any of the bride and groom since i was mostly with the kiddos. Check out the album for more…

rehearsal. when i saw this picture i thought whoa. i’m a mom! funny how you sometimes can’t believe it.

does your 89-year-old grandma look this hot? and does she also get out on the dance floor? good genes in this family…

waiting for the wedding to start

the best we could get.

adalaide and her cousin jonny {12 days apart}

are you dying?

cousins

finley was laying down in the grass pouting because she didn’t want to share the veil. she looked so cute i had to snap a few photos. that sends a good message, right?

adalaide with the bride’s sister {who is the most stunning, poised child ever}

my s-i-l and a sleepy lyla

summer fun and a 4 month old

Posted on August 8, 2011 by meghan

our family has had lots of fun stuff going on. the weather has actually been somewhat summery so we’ve been outside every waking moment. besides the normal summertime fun {park, swimming, picnics, etc…} we’ve been:

-dying at how cute adalaide looks in pigtails-

-pickin’ berries-

-playing with cousins-

-and wondering how in the heck this sweet thing is 4 months old already-

lyla started rolling like crazy around 12 weeks. she rolls and rolls and before you know it she’s under a coffee table.

she loves standing in the exersaucer and is starting to play with the toys.

she has, or i should say “had” a tooth. it poked through the skin and then the next day it went back down. how cruel is that? {finley still holds the title for earliest tooth at 3 1/2 months}

sleep has not been so great this week

she babbles a lot. and she is really, really loud.

she might have restless leg syndrome. not really, but she shuffles her feet in a sort of jig while she’s sleeping. it’s funny and actually quite loud.

and she laughs, especially when you blow raspberries on her tummy.

ocean shores

Posted on July 26, 2011 by meghan

Brian and I had decided that we weren’t doing any trips this summer, cause it just sounded like a lot of work. Then summer {i use that term loosely} came and i got a little sad that the girls wouldn’t be enjoying any beach/water fun because mommy was lazy and didn’t feel like packing a bazillion things. So, i got my mom on board for a little road trip and we took the girls to ocean shores. No housework, no internet, nothing else demanding my time and attention. just each other. it was really a special week for me, and i think for the girls too. a few of my favorite pictures…