P-EWE-K

"Mom! Don't touch my pewek."

"Your what?"

"My Pewek."

"And what is a pewek?"

"It's what you collect."

So we have a new word at our house. We took Charlie's pewek and turned it into a table decoration for Thanksgiving. I am not the girlie type when it comes to table clothes and table decorations. I am taking a great bible study this semester at church entitled "Keepers of the Home." During this bible study we had a skill session on Entertaining where a friend of mine talked about using what you have to decorate.

So, I bought a roll of fall colored ribbon and added Charlie's collection of pine-cones and rocks. We picked leaves off of our Maple tree in the front yard. Dusty's grandma always had the most beautifully decorated tables. So in honor of her we used the leaves. She bought the tree for me as a birthday present the first year we lived in the house. I think it added her to our table.

We really missed her this year.

I want to swing now mom!

Somewhere around 10:30 every day Brantley cries. I try everything. I change him. I try feeding him. I try singing and rocking him. And nothing works. Out of frustration I put him in the swing and he starts sucking like he's hungry.

So I give him a bottle Daddy style. (It makes me crazy that Dusty props a bottle. He's just a baby hold him! ) And he starts eating. He would not eat five minutes earlier when I was holding him. But this is about the time every day where Dusty puts him in the swing to eat.

He finishes his bottle and goes right to sleep. He knows his routine even if Mommy doesn't. This is the only time of the day that he acts like this. Any other feeding he wants to be held except for Daddy's feeding. How funny is that? I think it's funny that he already has preferences and opinions. I find it even funnier that he can express those preferences and opinion since he can't even talk. It has only taken me a little over 3 months to figure out that I shouldn't even try holding him to eat any where from 10 to 2.

He's that way at nap time too. He cries to be put into his bed for nap. Sometimes the time gets away from me and he is ready for bed before we have read stories and sung songs and it makes Charlie mad that he doesn't want to. Brantley is such an easy peaceful kid! I wonder how long that will last?

So tall

This just amazes me. This little guy can touch the ground when wearing his shoes in his walker! Charlie couldn't touch the ground till she was 6 mths old. He is so tall!

Christmas

I found these boxes at Wal-mart. The little ones are $.67 and the big ones are $1.97. I have stamped and embellished them to add character. I hope that Charlie and Brantley's teachers at church think they are as cute as I do. I just wanted to give them a little something to say thank you and let them know how much of a blessing we consider their time and dedication to teaching the kids about God in Sunday School and Cubbies. I want them to know how truly special they are to our lives.

I used two verses

John 1:16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

Psalms 105:1 Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name, make known among the nations what he had done.

This little box allows them a place to count the blessings that God has bestowed upon you.

Cale Reagan

Isn't he just beautiful! Yes, I called a boy beautiful!

Gant had his lizard at the hospital. Charlie didn't want anything to do with him.
Gant, the proud big brother!

My pink room

Dusty and his dad worked on my room for the last two days. I don't think it will be finished by Christmas but we will see. Do you see this wall? There are three electrical outlets on my wall. I love my husband.

Here is the air unit. I don't need it now but I will love it in the summer!

Here is the wiring it is just not hooked up.

They put on the siding. It is wheat and beautiful!!! I just LOVE it!!!

I can't wait to actually be using my room instead of just storing my scrapbook and school stuff in there.

Love Days like these

I wanted to help make the holiday's a little easier for LInda since Rosetta died. I know that she will still be sad but I also wanted to give her many good reasons to be happy so I invited her to help Charlie and I make kolaches for Grandpa Jindra for Thanksgiving. Grandpa Jindra is full Czech and loves this little dessert.

I just love this picture of Charlie and her Grandmother's hands. What is it about hands? I just love hand pictures especially when it shows two sizes. I just love taking pictures of Charlie and Linda's hands.

Five years ago, when I first started teaching at St. John Nepomuk Catholic School I had this wonderful family in my class. Mrs. Parizek made Kolaches for the Czech Fest. I asked her if she would teach me. So one morning I showed up at her house at 6 am and spent the next five hours learning. I have always had the best intentions on making them, but never taken the time. This year I needed to be different. I needed to take the time because I feel like I have been getting to wrapped up in the unimportant. So, I asked Linda to come over.
We had the best day! I missed my mom so much. Which is funny since I was trying to help Linda not miss her mom. Growing up I would watch mom make pies for Thanksgiving dinner. I haven't done that since 1994. I really miss that innocent time with her. She is alive and in Florida and this little experiment made me want to be a teenager again watching her roll out the pie crusts. Anyway, back to this story, Charlie couldn't stand that the "balls" weren't coming out the be the exact size.

As you can tell both, Linda and Charlie had a great time. (See the tool in Charlie's hand. That is the one she used to try and turn Brantley into a frog.)

Brantley even joined in for a little while. That $30 we spent on the Snguli was so worth it! Brantley just loves it. And for once I have an activity that I did with Charlie and I have pictures of me!

How yummy do these look? We made apricot, apple, cherry, and prune. We used the old Parizek recipe that Sheryl gave me five years ago. I think I only missed one maybe two steps and nothing that "ruined" them. Next time I will have them looking much better. I am pretty impressed with us! And I just had one of those "GREAT" days. But, I really miss my MOMMY! How silly is that?

Do all three year olds...

Do all three year olds get into stuff?

Do all three year olds dump stuff out just because?

Do all three year olds explore and experiment?

Do all three year olds go on wild adventures and make their parents crazy in the mean time?

Do all three year olds get into stuff just to get into stuff?

And if so, when does it end?

Charlie has had one of those weeks.

1-She has shaved her chin with Dusty's razor. She learned that she didn't like after shave.

2-She used color stay lipstick as eye shadow (a week later it is still a slight pink after 6 showers and many scrubs).

3-She used body powder and water to make "pancake mix" and proceeded to bake them on the carpet in my bedroom at her picnic.

4-She planted apple seeds (small bits of eaten apple) all over her room b/c she wanted to see if they would grow.

5-She unrolled 3 rolls of toilet paper into a pile on the floor in front of the "dragon" toilet.

6-She flavored her popcorn with lotion.

7-She colored with red marker on my coffee table to give it a sun burn and then covered it with green goo (that's what we call the green goop of Aleo vera gel for sunburns).

8-She hit her brother on the head with a pampered chef pastry tool b/c she wanted to turn him into a frog.

9-She covered the kitchen floor with ice to make a winter wonderland for the penguin. We didn't find it until 25 pieces of ice had halfway melted.

10-She dumped a bag of magnet letters on the floor in the laundry room, climbed in a laundry basket and used 4 fly swatters as oars to try and rescue her letters that has gotten lost in the ocean.

11-She screamed for any where from two to three hours at bedtime that she wasn't tired and therefore didn't need to go to bed right now.

At what point does she grow out of this tiring behavior? Just lie to me if she doesn't. I know that she is a very creative child and that is so wonderful but really at the moment I am just really TIRED.

One of those days

We get up on time..Yeah! I take a shower. Charlie takes a shower. I go to make Brantley's bath water and realize that I forgot to turn on the hot water. Sorry for that cold shower Charlie. I get the hot water on and Brantley gets his bath. We are all dressed and ready to go to church and it is only 10:00. Sunday School starts at 11:00. Hey, I'll get there early. I get Brantley buckled into his car seat take him to the door and realize that the car seat for the Broncho is not put together. It is the one that I have never been able to figure out. I've got an hour before church starts. I've got time. So thirty minutes later I have the car seat together and realize that I forgot to put the top strap in. I go to take it apart to put in the strap and can't get the bottom to release. Charlie is 35 lbs. She can just use it as a booster seat. 10:45. Fifteen minutes to get the kids loaded and to get to church. No problem.

Oh, Brantley! He has spit up all over him and his car seat. Okay, No problem. I get him out of his seat. I get him changed and go to buckle him back in his car seat and OH BRANTLEY! He has just pooped. Okay mom's you know the poop that I am talking about. The one that leaks up the back and all over the clothes. So, bath number two, third set of clothes this morning but hey, we're ready to go. I look at the clock. It is now 11:05. If we leave now we can be at church at 11:25. Church is over at 12. We'll just stay home. "But mommy, I'm dressed and now I won't get to see my real friends."

So we watched Veggie Tales instead of going to church. Now here is the kicker. I made frozen pizza's for lunch. When I took them out and went to cut them I realized they they weren't quite finished. I put them back into the oven for a little bit longer. No problem right? I guess I didn't get the stone pushed all the way back into the oven b/c when I opened the oven door half my pizza slid off the stone and onto the oven door.

Alexander, Can I join you in Australia?

Visitors

Pappaw and Mammaw (my dad and stepmom) came down for a visit. We had a great time.

My niece Erin came with them. As you can see Charlie has decided that she is not going to pose for a picture. She is going to be incorrigible instead.

We went to dinner at Cimmaron.

Charlie decided to take a good picture after all.

Love you Er-Bear.

hair cut

See my beautuful daughter's hair...see the next morning...What do you do? Dusty got up this morning to this lovely beauty. When he asked her what she was doing she answered. I cut my hair so I could match my mommy. She has short hair.

How do you react to that? Here is her adorably cute fix of a cut. I can't even really be mad at her because 1-every child cuts someone's hair at least once during the course of his/her life and 2-she wanted to be like me.

What do you do?

Life lesson #9863

So, this getting up before Daddy and getting into stuff is wearing Mom and Dad really thin. Especially mom, (disclaimer here: I have a wonderful husband. He is great at helping keep the kids and keep the house picked up.) who has had to come home every day this week and clean up something that Charlie has gotten into. The toothpaste on the bathroom mat that was just folded over was the one that pushed me over the edge...or maybe it was the flowers.

"Charlie does your Daddy know that you got into Mommy's scrapbook stuff?"

"Yes,"

"And he didn't make you clean it up?"

"Nope."

This is where I sent Charlie off to watch TV. I was so mad and I am determined not to yell at her today. Skip ahead a few minutes to me sorting flowers.

"Why am I doing this? I didn't make this mess. She is perfectly capable to sorting these flowers herself. Charlie!"

"Yes, Mom."

"Get in here!"

She did a great job of picking up.

A day like today

So after a day like yesterday Charlie and I needed today. I am not feeling well so we took the day off. We played all day. And what do you ask: Don't spill the beans, The ladybug game ( a great game developed by a 1st grader), Ants in your pants, Uno, and Go fish. Charlie has never played Go Fish before. We used her Where the wild things are Uno cards. They were great. I made Charlie describe the wild things since she doesn't recognize her numbers yet. What a great way to get her making observations!

And I have to say that was great fun...
And for all those out there that love Charlieisms here's a good one for you. This is Charlie's solution to Mommy's rule of no food in the bedroom.

I really need to quit asking "Charlie what are you doing?"

"You said I couldn't eat in my bed."

Crazy Mom

My poor kids have one crazy mom. We have been cleaning house all day. I can't seem to get Charlie to pick up anything. So, I did it. I flew off the handle. I am just one crazy mom. I took everything out of her room and locked it in my not finished scrapbook room. And what did Charlie think about that...she helped me pack everything up. "Here mom, you forgot this one." So after I finished being crazy mom. I had to apologize for loosing my cool and yelling at her. She still loses her toys for a couple of days but thanks to this great bookwe were able to make up. The button game is our favorite. We call it stuck on you though. It always ends with us just laughing. That always makes me feel better after I go crazy. I really hope Charlie feels the same way.

The Knight and the Dragon

I just can't get good pictures of Charlie right now. This one is beautiful but Brantley is pouting.
And then there is this one... It looks like the dragon is eating the Knight.

This is pretty much the best one that I got. You can see both of their faces. Oh, well at least years from now I will look back and smile over how frustrated Daddy got when we couldn't get a "good" picture of both kids.
I didn't make Charlie's costume. I borrowed it from my dressup box at school. Thank you Mrs. Burrell for giving it to the school last year. We love it. Brantley's costume on the other hand...It took me about twenty minutes to wipstitch the cross on the knights cloak. Not too bad for twenty minutes.

Pretend

Charlie has been watching the latest Super Why. I just love that show. It is called The Ghost that was Afraid of Halloween. It deals with fears about Halloween. It is a great show that deals with not being afraid because it is all pretend. Now what just amazes me is a conversation Charlie had with the "Mayor" from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Here is how the conversation went:

Charlie: "Are you real?"

Mayor: "Yes."

Charlie: "No, you are pretend."

Mayor: "I am real. I am breathing."

Charlie: "You are scary and I am not going to be scared of you, so you are pretend."

Mayor: "How old are you?"

Charlie: "Three."

Now I would love to know what went through that man's head but Charlie was off and running. Once again Charlie just amazes me. She was afraid of the Mayor. She used what she had learned from Super Why to take away her fears. She is way more logical than I am. So Mr. Mayor, You are indeed Pretend.

Haunt the Zoo

Here is my wonderfully bright child. She is being Randy from A Christmas Story. This costume was incredibly easy to make.

I really do go with the family I just don't get my picture taken very often. Brantley is under the blanket but it was a little cold that night for an actual picture of him.

We had to see the clowns before we left and Charlie remembered seeing them some time before.

We went to Storybook Forest in Edmond on Monday. We had so much fun. We got candy, played games and went on a hay ride.

We also roasted hotdogs and made smores. We had some great friends that went with us that also brought hot chocolate and chips. We had a great time. Seven families from my school (4 from my class) went with us. We had a great time! Thanks friends.

Only Charlie would be able to break Sleeping Beauty's bed.

Thanks friends for going with us!

ODD

I am defiantly being convicted. Charlie seems to ask me often if she is odd. I am convinced she is. But that is not a bad thing. I think she is odd b/c...

She is the most thankful child I have ever known...She thanks me every time I put clean panties in her drawer "Oh, thank you for my clean panties mommy." Is that a normal thing a 3-year-old child does? No, She is just odd.

She asks for green peppers and hominy for dinner. How many 3-year-olds eat green peppers like they were apple slices? That is just odd.

She calls everyone, even kids her age, Mam and Sir. I don't know a single person besides her that does that. It's just odd.

She says stuff like "Mom, don't get my shoes... that's my responsibility." or what about "That's the consequences of me hitting him." when a kid hits her back. Or, when she got a new toy and wanted to know the fairies name she handed Dusty the box and said "Read the instructions it will tell you." She's just odd.

Oh, and she stops to pray in the middle of playing.

Now, I want everyone (Charlie included) to know that all of that said, I do not think odd is bad. I am so proud of her. I am blown away by what an amazing little kid she is. I pray every day that she never loses her oddity.