Happy Birthday Daddy

The kids were SO excited when I told them we were going to take Balloons and a Cake to Daddy at work. I was actually a little worried that they would spoil the surprise and tell him, but it worked to my advantage that Evan had worked so late on the days leading up to his birthday that he didnt actually see the kids at all.
While Kael was in playschool Naveah and I went and got the balloons. Then after we picked him back up it was off to the shop we went. Unfortunetly Evan wasnt there when we got there and there wasnt really a way to get him to the shop without ruining the surprise. But the kids were still happy just to be at the shop. They love going to visit there.

Before I show you the cake, let me explain it a bit. If your 'electrically challenged' it will probably just look like a mess to you.
This is Amaritech logo, the Company he works for...

This is a panel that they did on one of the rigs...

Now that you've seen that, you'll probably understand this a bit more....

I had so much fun making this cake and I have no problem putting it on my list of one of the coolest things ive ever done. Im very proud. And it was very satisfying to hear Evan call later and say "Wow, uh.......thats crazy!". Every bit of it is edible and it even TASTED good! haha.

For Evans REAL birthday I made him take the day off so we could have some family time. Evans parents came up as well so we got the opportunity to go out without the kids which was nice! We havent done that in ages it seems. We went to Dinner and  a Movie and had a great time!

Happy Birthday Evan (Daddy)
We Love you.

He's Got Moves

Well, I posted not too long ago about Jacek sitting up. Would you believe that it was only days later that he started crawling!?
Jacek loves to move. I figured he'd be on the go pretty early. He doesnt like to be still, even when he needs to sleep! I have to walk him to sleep. Cant sit, bouce or rock...I have to walk!!! I found walking up and down the stairs to be most affective. BUT thats beside the point. The point is, HES MOVING! time for a baby gate!

Jacek loves his jolly jumper. Hes almost as good as Kael was! But there is still time for improvement.

Crawling around the basement in his incredibly appropriate PJs. Snails.

Testing me. Will I get the toy for him???

Naveah, showing Jacek how to crawl.

Copying Naveah. So cute.

Heres the real shocker. He can STAND! He is seriously amazing. He sat on his own, crawled and STOOD all within a matter of 3 weeks. Unbelievable.
Hes only done this about 5 times since. He get so excited that hes standing that he keeps falling backwards. Hes also taken to leaning forward now whenever I hold him up. He just wants to walk. First he needs to learn to put one foot infront of the other.....but we arent gunna do that for at least 4 more months.....right!?

Standing on his own. Barely 6 months old.

Ice Fishing

One thing Kael was really excited to do was to go ice fishing. Evan and Kael were invited along with some friends to go with them for the day. I was excited for Kael to have such a new experience. I packed a bag for them and was sure to put the camera in the top of the bag. I instructed Evan to take lots of pictures! I must have messed that statment up cause he came home with these....

Kael standing outside the fishin hut. Its an old camper with holes cut
out the bottom! awesome.

playing with some bait

Thats right. Slightly disappointing. No picutre of him actually fishing or anything! But I guess there is always next time. I might rig the camera next time and attach it to evans face so he can only see the screen on the camera, and if he wants to see whats going on, he'll have to take pictures. haha.

Kid-Do Gifts

Ive been wanting to get the kids more involved in the whole gift making process now that they are getting older. But I dont want them to make something that will just end up in the garbage or recycle 2 days later. So ive been searching for ideas that are very 'kid friendly' but also 'useable'. I came across 'Stained Glass Crafts' while browsing a craft book at Chapters. I knew right away the kids would love making them and new the PERFECT candidate for recieving them.

These have been such a hit and ive had quite a few people ask me how to do them. So ill explain how to do them in the photo comments...

Cut out Butterfly images out of cardstock. You'll need 2 exact images
per butterfly.

Cut out small shapes of tissue paper then glue around the shape of the
butterfly. Randomly place tissue paper pieces over the glue,
make sure to cover all the holes. dont worry about 'staying in the lines'

They were so excited to use glue. Theyve been hounding me to use scissors and glue, so this was the perfect project. This takes more of 'Moms' crafty abilities then theirs, but the few minutes of fun the kids had smothering these in tissue paper was worth it.



Once completely covered attach the other butterfly cut out on the back.
Cut off any bits of tissue that are sticking out.




carefully paint over all of it with Mod Podge ( can buy at any craft store)
Probably best to do one side then the other, 2- 3 coats each.



Let dry (overnight)

punch wholes in the corners and attach with metal loops.
I just made some out of some metal wire I had.
Hook them together and hang in the window!!!

Happy Birthday Grama Pow-Whoa!

Nova

We got a new Cat!!! And shes gorgeous.

A few months ago Kael came into my room first thing in the morning and said "I think we need two kitties."
I asked him why we needed two kitties.  He said it was so Zuli could have a friend! I thought it was so cute. I told him we would look into it. We almost bought him a new kitty for his birthday but the one we really like had already been adopted. A trip to the SPCA became a regular weekend occurance. The kids loved going to see all the cats and playing with them. After not finding a cat we were 'in love' with after a few weeks we put the thought of buying another cat off to the side for a bit.
While looking for something to do this weekend Kael said he wanted to go look at the kitties, so off we went to the SPCA. We didnt go there with the intention of buying another cat. But then Evan pointed out this cute, fluffy and loveable kitten. I went over to check her out and she snuggled right up and was purring instantly. Im a sucker for a cuddly kitty! We checked her out a bit more. She  was super friendly with the kids and has some very unique quirks about her. So we adopted. After all, who could resist this face!!!

Here is one of the things we found so interesting about her. We loved her pointy ears and long hair between her paws. Reminds me of a Lynx. While they couldnt tell us what breed she was, Im pretty sure there is Lynx Point and Tabby in there (Zuli also has some Lynx Point in her). Also, she has somewhat of a 'two face'. It doesnt take a second glance to notice the line directly down her face. One side is more black, the other more copper. Kinda cool!
But the MOST unique thing about her is this.....Notice anything a little strange???

Not really a great picture but still noticeable. Still cant see what I mean? Then check this one out!

Thats RIGHT! This kitty has THUMBS!!!??
She is a "Polydactyl Cat" and I thought it was the coolest thing!

Anyways, we are loving her to pieces. Zuli is having a hard time adjusting but im hoping that with time they can learn to be in the same room! We're in trouble if that doesnt happen.
Here are some more pics of the kids and Nova.

I managed to get some new Kitty beds made up this morning. Zulis bed was looking pretty gross so she needed a new one anyways. They arent the greatest, but will do until I have more time to make some better ones.

Sah-Moovies

One of my kids' favorite things. "Sah moovies", but more commonly referred to as 'Smoothies'.

As a kid we always made these. Our freezer was never lacking in frozen berries. Now, I had a sweet tooth as a kid but when it came to 'snacking' we chose relatively healthy things. Like Smoothies. It was our after school snack. Especially in the summer. We used to make them so thick there was NO WAY you were getting it through a straw. Spoons were very much necessary.

I went years without making these -then I got pregnant with Kael and I started craving fruit with a passion. I couldnt get enough. So I started making smoothies again. And its something ive stuck with ever since. I make them every morning for breakfast and as soon as my kids were old enough to eat solids, they were getting these fruit smoothies. Ive noticed that the kids were more likely to catch whatever cold or flu thats going around when we missed a day or two with no smoothies. Ive tweeked the recipe somewhat over the past couple years to make it crazy healthy. Also so that I could sneak food in that was good for them that they just wouldnt eat in their true form. I prefer to use fruits filled with antioxidants. Ive come to favor a pomegranite berry mix. (pomegranite seeds, cherries, blueberries and strawberries).

Now, every morning my kids ask for Sah Moovies (two words, not one). I love the feeling of knowing that ive passed a little of my childhood onto them, and hopefully its something that sticks with them through their lives. Sure its just a smoothie. But its nice knowing that ive created a memory to them. And its a yummy one!
So I thought Id pass the ingredients onto you. Try it out!

Mix of frozen berries

Yogurt

100% fruit juice

Avocado

Water

First add Yogurt (about 2 heaping tablespoons), Then half an Avocado! (trust me). Add about 1 Cup of frozen berries. Add about a cup of fruit juice then 1 full glass of water. (should settle around the 1L mark pre blend)  Blend for 2-3 minutes.

This smoothy is AWESOME. The kids love it, and its crazy full of healthy stuff. This is just one of the smoothies we make. Other things you can add are...

Ground Flax Seed

Banana

Spinach

Probiotics

(I suggest the more of these you put in, the more juice you add over water,

otherwise you begin to taste the 'healthiness')

Whats great, you cant taste any of that yucky 'green' stuff and the kids chug it down. There are a ton more things you can put in smoothies, but these are just some of the ones we do. So go ahead. Try it! I dare you to put ALL of it in.  

High 5!

Jacek sure has been blowing us away with his milestones lately and hes only 5 months! Hes slowly changing from Baby to Little Person. Hes gunna be walking before we know it.
We started feeding him solids a little sooner than they suggest. For his size and the amount of food he demands I just couldnt keep up on my own anymore. Plus with Jacek being so demanding (explained in my previous blog 'Giving Up') I was despite for some sanity and was hoping the food would help with his krankiness. So we tried some rice cereal. While it wasnt the miracle I was hoping for I have seen a slight change in his mood since. Just this week he graduated from rice to oats and apple sauce. Ive never had a baby eat so quickly!

Jacek has been my strongest baby so far. He was rolling over when he was only weeks old and by 2 months he was rolling all over the floor. A few weeks ago I tried testing his skills and plopped him down on the floor to see if he could sit up. I wasnt surprised when he was able to hold his own for a few seconds before flopping over to the side. Then last week I tried again. And this time he stayed sitting up and it was a good minute before he fell over! and since 3 days ago he is a full time sitter upper!!! I tell yah. Im so happy to be at this stage.

Another thing that surpised me last week was looking over at him and seeing him up on all fours!!! Great. Not only did this kid suddenly decide to sit up he's soon going to be crawling!!! No seriously, im excited about this. Most mothers seem to dread this stage because now their baby is mobile! But I LOVE it. Cause that means no more kranky, yelly, screechy, whiney, complainy baby because he cant get the toy he wants or because he doesnt have the strength to sit up!
This isnt the best shot. This one I took a couple days after I first saw him flirting with the idea of crawling. With him being on the hardwood and not the carpet he was having a hard time staying up cause it was too slippery.

I love that hes becoming a little more independant and can now go longer than 30 seconds with out sitting on my lap. Playing in his crib is something he enjoys to do after he naps (when his nap actually takes place in his crib). He got a cute little Monkey from one of Evans business partners and he enjoys wrestling with it. Here they are sitting up in the crib during a little 'break from mommy' time.

 

wrestling with his monkey

His choice in toys is somewhat bizarre and i am yet again question why we BUY toys for our children. Jacek loves plastic bottles, cups, bowls and pretty much anything else that looks edible. (and thats everything at this age). And when something that sparks his interest comes anywhere near him hes quick on the draw to wrap his little fingers around it. While cooking dinner one day he was being awfully 'pleasant' and was having a hard time finding enough toys to keep him distracted. I finally resorted to dishes. I handed him a little strainer and oh man this kid was in heaven. He would have played with that thing till the cows came home. You can imagine the fury whenever he accidently dropped it out of his reach!

Despite all our challenges we've been having with Jacek so far we still love him to bits. I love watching him explore new things and trying to conquer his challenges. All in all he is a pretty happy, fun loving, spunky kid and hes a huge blessing in our lives.