4 day weekend for these 4 Days

Taking a walk down to "Mom's Rock".

Johnny had the privledge to wear Dad's "Thinking Hat".
Now what's he thinking about?

Throwing rocks in the lake and watching for ducks!


A few 4 wheel rides around the neighborhood.

Brad taught Alex how to roast the perfect marshallow.

We went on lots of little hikes with the kids, they loved it of course.

We need to get Alex conditioned for an overnighter.

Mother's Day

Whenever Mother's Day comes around I have to tell myself that "Mother's Day is a day to celebrate mothers and show them how much you love and appreciate them". For some reason I want to think that it is suppose to be a day off for me. And well the only way you can really have a day off from being a Mom would be to spend it away from your kids. And you wouldn't have a reason to celebrate Mother's Day if it wasn't for your kids. So when I'm changing a diaper or making a meal or breaking up a fight on Mother's Day I remind myself, don't be grumpy because you can't just sit and be waited upon all day long, because then you wouldn't be doing all the things that make you special enough to have this day! Don't get me wrong, I was treated quite nice on Mother's Day, I always am. The strawberry crepes in bed after sleeping in an extra hour were awesome. My kids made me cards and gave me gifts all day long. Alex sang to me in church with the rest of the primary kids while Brad took Johnny out so I could actually enjoy the talks on Mother's Day. I didn't even have to make dinner that night, what a treat. But when it comes right down to it, being a Mom is not just a job, it is who I am and I do it because of my love for my kids. I've heard so many people say that Mother's Day is always a depressing day because you're reminded that you will never get a break from being a Mom. But that is why we are being celebrated on this day. Because no matter what's going on in our own lives, we put our kids and family first and it's their chance to show us just how much they appreciate that. So to truly celebrate Mother's Day, you need to be a Mom to your kids while they are telling you "Happy Mother's Day".

Big Boy, Big Bed

Yesterday I couldn't wait any longer, so the kids and I switched room first thing that morning. We put less girly sheets and bedskirt on Johnny's bed and took out some of the more girly pictures. We switched their clothes around and put the guard rail up on the twin bed. He took his nap that day in his new big kid bed. When Brad got home, we moved furniture around in Alex's new room and took down the crib. We split the toy shelves in half and gave half of the stuffed animals and books to Johnny and half to Alex. He had his very own big boy room now. I also took it a step further and cut the rubber tops off of all his binkis. I figured I'd be loosing sleep over him switching to a bed as well as when I took his binkis away so I might as well get them both over with at the same time. He carried them around all day saying "broke" as he held them up for all to see. I couldn't get him to throw them in the garbage though, he still wanted to hold onto them in case they could be fixed. That night, Alex was excited to sleep in her new full bed and Johnny was reluctant to go to sleep without his binki but he didn't fight it. Well around 11pm he woke up crying and pointing towards the door saying "broke, broke". He obviously wanted his binki. I left the room a few times and a few minutes later he'd be crying "broke" again. The first time I went in and asked him if he wanted to sleep in his crib (and I pointed to his playpen all packed up in the corner of his room) or his big boy bed. He pointed to his bed and went back down easily enough. The second time I asked him again and he immediately stopped crying and gave me a sheepish grin as if to say "that's a silly question, why would I want to sleep in my crib? You must be joking around." The third time I came in and set up his playpen and laid him down. He smiled and waved goodbye. He went back to sleep for the rest of the night without any problems. Maybe the bed will take some getting use to. The first thing he did this morning though was run up to the kitchen counter where I used to keep his binkis during the day and whined "broke!" over and over until I showed him that there were no binkis there and convinced him that they had been thrown away because they were broken.

Alex was in a toddler bed at 18 months and that is also when we took her binkis away. She never even asked for them. She loved her toddler bed as soon as we switched it to the "right" corner of the room which was where her crib had been. And loved her big girl bed even more when she turned 2 and we switched her over. Hopefully Johnny will soon be able to sooth himself without the comfort of a closed in crib and a binki in his mouth. He does however love the fact that he can be in that room all he wants (it used to be off limits when it was Alex's room) and he loves looking out the window at the tractor working the field out back.

Curls and Kisses