No more nuk... no more baby?!

We decided that after she turned 2, Aphia would be weaned from her nuk. She only had it at naptime and bedtime, but she counted on having it then! When we first started prepping her, saying that she was almost done having her nuk, her big eyes would fill with tears and her little bottom lip would quiver... it was more than I could bear.

We decided to cut the tip of it off first (which didn't matter a whole lot, since she had already chewed a couple holes in them, so it didn't have the suction anymore) to which she promptly took it out, handed it back to Jeremiah saying, "Bwoken Nukie Daddy, bwoken Nukie." We eventually trimmed it down this far:

Finally, last Thursday night we took it away completely, telling her that she was a big girl and she wasn't going to have her nuk anymore. She did o.k. the first couple nights, but Jonah was the super hero those nights, talking her off the ledge!! It was very sweet and big brotherish of him- telling her, in an extremely sweet voice "Aphia you're a big girl, you don't need your nuk now. We're so proud of you for not having your nuk anymore!" She's been doing great the past couple nights, still asking to have it, but when we tell her no, she just hugs her dolly and rolls over and closes her eyes.

Does this mean she's really not a baby anymore?! Hmmmm.... what's a mom to do?

Shaving at this age?! Nope, just playing

We decided to play with shaving cream yesterday. I put a bunch on some paper plates and the kids pushed around their construction vehicles, cookie cutters, and had a blast. They weren't so sure at first... not wanting to get messy, but I assured them it was ok! And it was... until Aphia decided that it was really ok and started rubbing it all up her arms and then I decided she was done.

Aphia's Birthday!

Here are pictures from Aphia's Birthday Party (along with Grandpa Jeff's too!) last Friday.

She absolutely loved wearing her jewelry from Uncle Michael and Auntie Susie, and actually kept it on most of the night! She received lots of fun gifts and we had a great time celebrating the big 2!!

Not Me! Monday

It's that time of the week again folks! Time to NOT fess up with those awful things that I did NOT do this week, tending to my family! If you want to check out many more, hilarious, Not Me! Monday stories check out MckMama's blog- http://www.mycharmingkids.net/ and see what her and hundreds of others have NOT been up to this week!

This week, I did NOT let Aphia play with a big box of tampons while I was making dinner for the family. She was not completely entertained while I made dinner in peace without her little hands continually yanking on my legs!

Jonah did NOT get his finger stuck in the clip of some lanyard thing that Jeremiah brought home from work (we, of course would never let our children play with dangerous things like that) and it did not rip his skin, making him not bleed. I did NOT allow him to put a bandaid on and then continue to give him new bandaids (for many days) when it should have been airing out to heal.

Since I did NOT take a perfectly timed nap on Sunday and did NOT feel completely refreshed, I did NOT decide (at 10:00 p.m.) to start sanding/priming/painting the trim in my entryway on Sunday night.

Because I do NOT have a very sick love for Dove Extra Dark Chocolates, I would NEVER have eaten a whole lil ol' box of them, that Stephanie gave me at MOPS, in two days. I did NOT share a few with Jonah though- who also does NOT have a love for them.

I am always the most organized, planned out person you'll meet. And so I did NOT just wing it with timing things out at our last MOPS meeting. I would never have just written down the stuff we needed to do, with no extreme structure and plan, timed out to the minute, nope, NOT ME! So of course, when people asked me "What time are we doing ____?" I could tell them exactly the moment we'd be doing said activity, NOT leaving people laughing and shaking their heads at me.

On Friday night my parents and siblings came over for a combo Grandpa Jeff/Aphia birthday party. I did NOT let the kids nap until 5:00 that day because I knew they would NOT be up super late. My family does NOT have a history of being night owls and they did NOT leave just prior to midnight. My kids most certainly did NOT stay up until after 11:00 that night!!

Probably the 2nd most NOT gross thing this week that I did NOT do, was leaving an extremely gross, dinner-caked on pan on my stove top for several, several days because I just didn't to do it until I actually needed to use it again.

And finally, the MOST, NOT gross thing this week, is not even clean enough to talk about on this blog. Let's just say, Aphia deals with constipation- in a bad way- and it was just NOT gross, the things I did NOT do, to try to get her to (FLIPPING!!) poop. I was NOT extremely frustrated with her and did NOT take it out on Jeremiah when my keys were not hanging in their usual spot when I needed to go to the grocery store for more fiber!

when with the boys

Last week, on our way to Cubbies at church, Jonah informed me, "Mom, when it's just the boys, we don't have to say 'Excuse me.'" Trying to stiffle my laugh, an knowing just where this idea must have come from, I said, "Who told you that?" Of course what followed, "Daddy. But we say 'Excuse me' around the girls because that's the polite thing to do Mom." I affirmed this, "Yes Jonah, that's right, it is polite. Girls really appreciate that." It was quiet for just moment and then he said, "Yep they do. And boys appreciate burps and farts."

So true my boy, so true.

(Although I do enjoy me a good toot every now and then)

Not Me! Monday

So there's this blog I read sometimes. Ok it's a lot. I usually check back more than once a day, usually. Well her name's MckMama and she's fabulous! She writes a blog each Monday, entitled "Not Me! Monday" saying it's a place "where we can be brutally honest with each other, and live to tell about it, while we shroud the severity of our statements by pretending we SO did not really do them!" Check out MckMama's blog- she's a hoot and I know you'll love her (especially if you have small children).

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.



So onto my "Not Me!" Monday! (And for some reason, when I started this blog... on Thursday... but did not finishe until Monday... it says it's posted on Thursday... But really it's Monday!)



I most certainly did not get sick 2 weeks ago with the stomach flu, infecting my entire household, and then leave them all in their misery to flit off across the globe to a magnificent beach in Mexico with 5 friends on a trip that had been long planned! Nope, not me!



I also did not feel incredibly guilty about this non-fact while I was there and after I came home to find that my brood had then infected my mom, dad and sister. Nope, didn't feel horrible in the least, considering I feel guilty enough leaving (when everyone is healthy) to go to Target for an hour in the evening.



I did not zip through and entrench myself in the last of the "Twilight" series books, "Breaking Dawn," while laying on the beach, partly to distract me from thinking about my family back home.



Whilst sick with my crew before I left, I did not allow all of us to stay in our pajamas for 3 days, watch endless amounts of pbs and movies, let Aphia have her Nuk almost all day long (when she normally only has it at bed time) and take uber long naps.

I did not let Aphia eat breakfast 3 times on Saturday (one with Jonah, one with me, one with Jeremiah) because she seems to love eating more than anything else. And sometimes, it's just easier. I also did not ever swear that I would never say the statement, "...because it's just easier."



And finally, I am certainly not extremely thankful for the wonderful friends I have, who made my trip to Mexido possible. I was not overwhelmingly blessed by them to be there, and by my family back home, taking care of my kiddos while I was gone. I really do have the most amazing network around me~ loving and devoted~ wow.



Check back next week when I fill you in on more things that I certainly did not do, that show the imperfect, unbalanced, sometimes very crazed person I really am not!

Hodge Podge

Sometimes my brain works at alarmingly fast speeds, thinking of at least 37 things at any given moment. I can frequently be found playing through scenarios that I might encounter, rearranging my house, *trying* to recite Bible verses, trying to remember what it was that Aphia has eaten that might have been out of the ordinary- that is causing the latest bout of constipation (and then remember that there is nothing out of the ordinary that does this to her, it's just her!). I try to figure out a time in the given day that I'm going to work on reading with Jonah, I think about many family and friends who I would love to sit and have a cup of coffee with and enjoy a nice, uninterrupted, adult conversation with, and I attempt to plan out the rest of my life- ALL IN MY HEAD... at any given moment.

Jeremiah says I think way too much. This might be true. Sometimes when I say to him, "What are you thinking?" he responds with, "Nothing." And it's TRUE! He just blanks out. I cannot do this... I don't understand it and I don't think I ever will. My mind is always turning, like a hamster's wheel.

Today is no different. Lots of stuff on the brain, stuff I have to do, stuff I want to do, stuff I don't want to do. It's a hodge podge mess of thoughts.

So here is a hodge podge mess of photos to go along with my scattered-thought-brain.

This little pumpkin is my challenger. She is SO darned cute, but she is strong willed. What do I do with a girl who, when she takes off her socks and shoes in the car and is made to walk across a FREEZING cold garage floor barefooted to get into the house (I believe in natural consquences for a lot of things), simply does not care that she has to do this. She even gives a little giggle and struts into the house. And this hasn't happened just once, it's usually a once a week occurance. What am I to do??? What am I to do with a girl, who after she throws all of her food onto the floor at lunch, when I turn my back for a moment, and I give her hand a darned ouchie slap, literally shrugs, laughs and continues talking to Jonah. What am I to do?!?!

And other times she is the JOY of my life. I tell her "I need to change your diaper, so run to Mommy!!" She backs up, to get a good run going, and FLIES into my arms, with her miniature legs going at warp speed, laughing the whole way! And at bedtime, she folds her hands, ready for prayers, when we lay her down and goes through the list, naming those she wants to pray for- so tender and sweet.

Yes, this would be God's way of MAKING me slow down. Not that I was even trying to go too fast or anything!! Really God? REALLY?? I rolled my ankle last weekend, it was dumb. It gave a loud, "SNAP, CRACKLE, POP!" and I wanted to die a little bit. But I made it to the family picture in time and smiled for it! I'll be wearing this air cast boot, that my awesome Father-in-law got for me, for a while. Hoping that I will only have to bring it with me, when I go on vacay next week, ONLY as a precautionary measure.

My sisters-in-law (and one to-be!) Love them, LOVE THEM! And yep, sometimes Bex and I are just SO SAME BRAINED that, yes, we wear the same exact sweater to Christmas, not even knowing the other had it. Seriously, I'm extremely blessed to have them.

My angels. Thanks to Grandma Judy for the costumes for the Kruger Christmas Program.