What Sharks Eat

Johnny in the back seat of the car with his huge toy shark.
The shark bites Johnny's finger
Johnny tells the shark "Don't eat my finger"
Johnny speaking as the shark "But I hungry"
The Johnny asks the shark "What do you eat"
The shark says "Fingers, Dragons, and Lilys!"

When we tried to explain to "the shark" that he couldn't eat Lilys becuase she wasn't food we just got a long "WHHHYYYYY?"

Wordless Wednesday

Valentines Day

Growing up I was never left out of Valentines day. Just because I was too young to be in romantic love didn't mean I wasn't loved. My father always had something special for me, a new pair of earrings or candy and even one year my first cell phone, and it always made me feel wonderful. (This year my parents got me some decorative pink pearl jewelry and some cupcake kitchen things, they got Shawn a very nice new sweater and Johnny a Hot Wheels carrying case and some new cars and Lily some puffs and framed picture of them with her.) I always want Lily and Johnny to know they are loved and feel as special on Valentines Day as I do.

We took some special pictures in out special outfits for our Valentines.

Reaching out for Love.

Standing like a big girl! Mommy made the skirt and bow and ordered the special cupcake Valentine's Day shirt.

That smiles continue to take my breath away.

For this picture I asked Johnny to give me a hug! He gives the BEST hugs EVER! Johnny's shirt says "Johnnysauris!"

Yesterday we made some red heart cookies to take to Daddy's work and give to all our friends, Johnny LOVED IT!

When we started decorating he was so careful, making sure that the sprinkles and icing went right where he wanted it too.

But by the time we where done he was having so much fun that the sprinkles went everywhere!

After we finished the sugar cookies Johnny went to bed and Mommy couldn't seem to stop baking, I had fun baking like I hadn't in so many years! I made huge heart shaped cookies for Grams and Pops, and Shawn. With as much fun as I had baking them, Johnny had decorating them this morning.

I also had the kids special Valentines gifts all ready for them to wake up to. I had really wanted to get the dragon and unicorn pillow pets for them since before Christmas, it was perfect for Valentine's Day. Johnny had his first chocolate on his first Valentines Day, but he was 11 months old, Lily is just 8 so she didn't get any chocolate, but she did get a singing book that tells her that we love her more then anything.

Johnny was shocked and very excited! He scarfed down a large chuck of his candy and carried around his dragon all morning.

Lily was similarly shocked and happy :)

Mommy woke up to some of her favorite chocolate GODIVA! and some new perfume :) yeah me

After getting dressed and taking Shawn to work we drove to Grams and Pops house to take them their special cookie heart and some valentines cards. Of course Samantha is with Grams and Pops all day so we took her some special Elmo bows that I made and she showed Johnny where all the treats where.

At Grams and Pops house my camera became too full of pictures and I couldn't bare to erase anything so we have no more pictures.

In the afternoon we took lunch to Daddy at work and shared some cookies and Valentines with his co workers. Everyone loved seeing the kids in their special cloths, smiling and being sweet! It was a wonderful visit.

For Dinner...HEART SHAPED MEAT LOAF!!! Daddy and Johnny's favorite!




Johnny had three serving of meatloaf and two servings of potatoes and green beans!

Firework

There is a new Katy Perry song out, called Firework,
It is a simple and yet inspiring self esteem building pop song, I avoided it for a long time since it seems to me that it must be every teenagers anthem(I don't think there is a teenager out there that never thought down on themselves or that the world was ending at some point,) and well I am not a teenager. But there is something about this song that gives me energy and some sort of boost, it is really great for workouts.

This evening I was listening to the song and flipping through some recent pictures of the kids and I realized....my kids will be teenagers one day....oh crap! (Thankfully I have 10 years to learn how to deal with teens! )

But for now I can remember what it was like to be that age and know that the day will come when my kids will relate to this song as well, and now I can't listen to Firework without crying and thinking of 14 year old Lily and 16 year old Johnny...so I want them to always know that those beautiful colors are in them, I CAN SEE THEM! Those fireworks blind me everyday and I can't wait to see them light up the sky of this world! They will do amazying things one day and they will blind the world with their brilliance.

Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
Drifting through the wind, wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?

Do you ever feel already buried deep?
Six feet under screams but no one seems to hear a thing
Do you know that there's still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you?

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby, you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh
You're gonna leave 'em falling down

You don't have to feel like a waste of space
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow

Maybe you're reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a lightning bolt, your heart will blow
And when it's time, you'll know

You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like the 4th of July

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh
You're gonna leave 'em falling down

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
It's always been inside of you, you, you
And now it's time to let it through

'Cause baby you're a firework
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, oh
As you shoot across the sky

Baby, you're a firework
Come on, let your colors burst
Make 'em go, oh
You're gonna leave 'em falling down

Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon
Boom, boom, boom
Even brighter than the moon, moon, moon

Okay so after I posted this and went back and watched the entire music video I started sobbing when they showed the woman giving birth and sparkling. I realized that that woman was me! (It might be really late and I must be emotional) I realized that my kids and becoming a mother was my ignition and that Lily and Johnny make me bright and sparkle! I am amazyed, I have tried to think what I can do for them and give to them, and all this time they have done something amazying for me. They have brought out the best in me and shown me that I more then I ever thought I could be, becuase I am their mother.

I kept trying to think that I was too old to find personal meaning in a pop song, but I no longer care :) and wow how sappy and self satisfying is this post, sorry!

Definitely Strep Throat, Maybe New Teeth

Yep that is right, our home is officially infested with strep! Johnny had a cough for the past few days, but yesterday he seemed to loose his voice and when asked, he would tell you that his throat hurt. So after a very bad coughing fit, Johnny not being able to eat a crescent dog (one of this favorite foods,) and Grams suggested it might be strep so Momma took him to Patient First.

One quick swab and a look down his throat and strep confirmed, antibiotics given. We got orange juice and cough drops and antiseptic spray and he seems to be doing okay. His energy comes in spurts, where he will be running and crazy for 15 minutes and then crash. He is being so polite, always saying thank you and please, even though it must hurt to speak. Last night while waiting to see the doctor, Johnny sneezed and said "Bless Me." He is just so sweet and strong with this entire thing, I love him so much. This morning he even went poop on the potty all by himself, then he wiped himself! We where all excited and proud.

The Bransons are quarantined, as we try to not spread this to Sammi and Ella or our friends, Johnny had to miss gymnastics today :( But he is entertaining himself just fine with some Hot Wheels that Papa brought to him yesterday, he carries them around in anything he can find.

Lily is working on some teeth! Her two bottom front teeth are starting to pop up, you can just see and feel the top of them!! I noticed them in the check out line at the craft store this week end, I had everyone in line excited! So she has been a little fussy, but still a happy smile when ever you look at her!

She is fully recovered from her infection last week, however the clinic wants to test her kidneys and bladder to see why a 7 month old got a UTI, it is not normal. Last Friday when she went in for her follow up they wanted to take another urine sample to make sure the UTI was gone. They catheterized her...it was a horrible experience and that paired with the fact that the only pediatrician the clinic had retired, has us seeking approval to find a pratice off post. One of the tests has her being catheterized again, but this time by a professional else where. We are hoping to get approved and get another pediatrician quickly so we can get a second opinion, but from what I have read the test are standard for a baby who gets a UTI.

YUM YUM Teething ring and some beautiful eyes!

On the go again, she still hasn't gotten up on all fours to crawl, but she gets around just fine and very fast anyways. Check out the rainbow legwarmers!!! I finally found an outfit to match them :)

We cannot win, I don't know where all this sickness is coming from...we don't go anywhere and this all makes me want to leave the house even less!

Showing Our Life, Feeding our Kids

So over at Kelly's Korner Kelly is doing a new round of Show Us Your Life, so I thought I would join in. Every Friday she asks her readers to share a different area of our lives. This week she wants to know what we feed our kids! I thought this was a great opportunity to share Lily and Johnny's eating habits.

Johnny will be three years old in just 6 weeks. He is VERY big for his age, fitting into mostly 5T cloths and size 10 shoes, so his appetite has always been large, but what he likes to fill that appetite with changes every day. His best meal is breakfast and he will eat all morning if we let him. He starts with oatmeal or waffles, fruit and milk. But because he has had regularity issues his oatmeal or waffles are fiber added and his milk is lactose free. I have noticed that this gives his poo the best consistency and keeps his regular (you know he will hate me for this one day :) After breakfast it doesn't take him long to ask for granola bars (Haaa ba) and chewies, his favorite snacks. Also he gets an "ice cream" if he poops on the potty. The ice cream is actually frozen GoGurt, which I find he can tolerate once every couple of days.

Lunch is usually quick, since he doesn't want to slow down long enough to eat. I found that lunch meat or hard boiled eggs are a great protein that he will scarf down. I also must add that his father has taught him that ketchup is great with everything....and now Johnny likes to dip his hard boiled eggs in it! His lunch sides are usually pickles and goldfish or applesauce. Johnny also has always been a very thirsty child, he LOVES apple juice, but I tend to put in a splash of juice added to his water and that is enough for him. He hasn't used a sippy cup for months, but loves silly straws in his plastic Backyardigans cups.

Dinner for Johnny is something that we are still working on. When I make a meal for everyone it is usually simple, lean protein, a vegetable and potatoes or rice. Sometimes when Johnny has had too many snacks or is tired or worked up he just won't eat or keeps asking for something else, anything else. So we are focusing on making sure he sits at the table until everyone is done eating and to eat what he is offered. But sometimes it feels like a losing battle :) He LOVES meatballs or meatloaf, green beans, mandarin oranges and noodles, those are things I KNOW he will eat no matter when I offer them to him.

Lily is 8 months old and in the midst of learning how to feed herself and trying new thing but is still dependent on formula bottles for her nutrition. We chose to use organic formula when Johnny started it and tried to feed him as much organic food as possible for that first year, so we give Lily the same benefit. Children are hitting puberty earlier and earlier these days so we try to keep as many chemicals away from the kids to give them a pure start in life. We where lucky to find that Walmart has a name brand formula, Parents Choice, that is half the price of the name brand formulas, making organic formula actually affordable.

Lily starts her day with half a banana cut up so she can feed herself, and mixed in with some organic puffs. She does a pretty good job, but 1/3 of it still ends up as Minny Mouse food. So I use the other half of her banana to mush up and mix with some oatmeal rice cereal, she smiles with each bit!
I don't buy canned baby food, I like to buy fresh organic produce, steam it and mush it up in our Magic Bullet, put in some ice cube trays and freeze it. So lunch is usually two cubes of a vegetable (carrots, broccoli, squash, cauliflower...) mixed with some rice cereal and some more puffs or organic yogurt melts on the side.

For dinner I like to include her into what we are eating, as long as our side safe for her that is what she gets. Mostly peas or green beans that I cut small and let her feed herself. This is when she usually gets her favorite snack...Mum Mum! That is what she eats while I make dinner.

I recently bought this chicken for Lily's first protein! Some baked chicken with a little bit of rosemary! I can't wait to give it to her!!

I feel very lucky that both of my kids are good eaters! It is something that I am always thinking about, like how many veggies Johnny had today or what will Lily's next new food be...but I am also the one who taught Johnny to dip chocolate animal crackers in chocolate icing! YUM! As healthy as I want them to be, I also LOVE sharing special things with them and baking with them!

Lily Low Crawl

Lily has been low crawling a little at a time the past week so I thought it was time to officially document it!
So we took the binky away and tried to coax her to get going. She never has trouble getting around, rolling and throwing herself and sometimes you just turn around for a second and she ends up on the other side of the room, you have no idea how she got there.

She got a little fussy, so we changed her and then I remembered how I got Johnny to do his crawl for the video....Puffs, his favorite baby snack! So we pulled out the Mum Mum, Lily's favorite snack, I think she might be hungry.




Johnny loved "playing this game"


But is a sucker for his baby sister and gave in, taking her Mum Mum to her.