Friday, November 28, 2014

Our Turkey Day in Pics!

Pictures are sometimes the best way to show our day…so here is how we spent our Thanksgiving Day!

Loaded up in the car on our way to the Wises’ home!

The minute we arrived, Jaxen found his favorite toys in the playroom
and stayed there the majority of the day!

They had really cute place settings for everyone - This is at the kid table.

This was our “big kid” table (notice that we have candy too)!

A group picture. 

A great picture of the kids, eating lunch!

After a wonderful lunch and yummy dessert - we all headed outside for some sledding and football!
This is Jaxen riding the sled for the first time.

And the football game!

 Jaxen even played (with Nik holding him)!

I finally got him to wear mittens and hat, and then he had a little fun in the dirt!


After football (and a 2nd round of dessert for some!) we watched football,
played some games, put our feet up and relaxed!

It started snowing the night before Thanksgiving and has snowed on and off for a few days now.
Thankfully, the snow didn’t really stick and so we only accumulated about 3 inches.
But it is so weird to have snow on Thanksgiving - It was our first “White Thanksgiving”!

And one we will never forget. Good times!

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Thanksgiving Preparations

Monday I went to the grocery store, and it really was not as crowded as I had expected! Granted, it was 9:30 on a Monday morning. But still. I had already purchased Jaxen some Pringles and put a movie on my phone when I realized it was not terribly crowded. So he watched a show, had a snack and I shopped in peace! (My biggest problem now days when shopping with Jaxen, is that he likes to help - help by putting everything he can reach into my cart. I am okay giving my child food and technology so this experience is a bit easier on me - Ha ha!)


We had a beautiful Monday here so I quickly dropped the groceries off 
at the house and Jaxen and I made our way to the park!

That night Jaxen was showing off his muscles to us!

Tuesday, Nik and I were invited to a nearby Christian School for lunch. They were having their Thanksgiving Feast and we were invited to attend by Thomas (5th grader who attends our church). I guess they let the kids invite their pastors as a way to show pastor-appreciation-and-thanksgiving. I am glad he thought to invite us. It was really fun to see all the kids from our church who attend the school, and have lunch with them. We also got to see all the kindergarten kids recite the memory verses. They were pretty cute!

Tuesday morning cuddle time!

At the Thanksgiving lunch!

Jaxen loves playing “night-night” and decided he and Nik needed
to do so under our Christmas tree.


Wednesday Jaxen and I started cooking and baking! First I made a Peanut Butter Pie. Because…yum! I even bought Dark Chocolate Syrup to drizzle over it - Nik’s favorite. Then we moved on to making Deviled Eggs. Nik enjoys most foods at Thanksgiving - but he said this is the one food he wanted to make sure he got to eat! Granted. And then I made my grandmother’s Apple Pecan Pie. This reminds me of Thanksgivings with my family. I have one more dessert to make and it will be a Pumpkin Sheet Cake. I don’t know if I have mentioned this cake on my blog or not - It is a new recipe to me but by golly, it is so delicious. Like so delicious. Not kidding. It may get made tomorrow morning. I’ll have to wait and see how the rest of the afternoon goes!

 Nik made me a flower, while him and Jaxen played with play-do.

But for most of the morning, this is where you could find Jaxen…helping in the kitchen!
A pot, some water, spoon, measuring cups, an egg carton and dried beans…apparently is a lot of fun!!

And then the stickers…
He loves stickers and for some reason, loves to put them on his belly and face!

And tomorrow is Thanksgiving!

In case you were wondering, we will not eat Deviled Eggs and 3 desserts only...We have been invited to spend Thanksgiving with some friends here. There will be 16 of us total and I know it will be a great day. I am thankful for these friends who include us when our families are so far away. We will miss our families but it sure is nice to know that we have people in our lives who love us and are so kind to think of us!

I wish the very best Thanksgiving to everyone!

Sunday selfie :)

P.S. It is snowing and Nik and I get to have a date night tonight!!!

Monday, November 24, 2014

Snow Days!

It is really funny posting about our snow days because all the snow is now gone 
and we had a beautiful day in the 60’s today! But I know more snow is coming….!

But back to last week…

Thursday morning we woke up to more snow! 

First thing that morning, Nik and I spent about an hour outside doing this:

After Nik headed to work, Jaxen and I played at the house and when we were in the middle of this: 

Nik came home! (It was about 11:30am)…which meant...

A Family Snow Day! 

After being couped up inside most of the week, I was ready for a change of scenery. Guess what we did? We headed to Sam’s Club. Because why not, right? We needed diapers and they have super huge aisles that are perfect for a little 2 year old to run wild (as long as no one else is in the aisle with us) and let loose.

So Jaxen ran around and had the best time (putting items into our cart we did not need)!

He was in awe of all the big TV’s and could not stop watching them (like father, like son)!

After we shopped (ran around) we decided to eat lunch there. Because why not? Cheap food!

So that is how we spent a huge chunk of time Thursday - and we had a great time together!

Friday morning we woke up and decide to get out and do a little Christmas shopping. Right before we left home I received a phone call from a friend who wanted to know if Jaxen could come over for a couple hours and have a play day…why yes!

So Nik and I got a little unexpected time together. And it was great. We got a bulk of our Christmas shopping done and again, had a great time just being together.

So far, these snow days have been fun!

Saturday, November 22, 2014

Week in Pictures

 (Last) Saturday
While out running an errand, I decided to stop and get Nik and I a little (drink) treat!
(see the snow flurries in the pics?!)

After I came home, I paired my vanilla coke with some spicy crackers for a yummy afternoon snack!

Sunday 
Selfie Time! Jaxen was not in the mood for a picture this particular morning.


Isn’t his face pretty pathetic?!
I tried making him laugh - but those pics turned out blurry!



Nazarene nap time!

Monday
Play-do time! He had the best time with it.  

That night, he decided Nik needed help with the fire.

He loves to sit and watch the fire when it gets going good!

Tuesday
See his funny hair…that is snot that is making his hair stand up!

We worked on counting with his army men…boy mom!

Wednesday
It’s hard to see in the pic, but Jaxen is talking on his old baby monitor like a phone, 
wearing his hard had, walking down the stairs. Such a little man!

He loves playing with his tool set!

At church that night, Jake let Jaxen drum for a little bit on his bongos. Jaxen loved it!

Thursday and Friday we had some fun family snow days…post coming soon!

Friday, November 21, 2014

Stay At Home Mom - Part Two

Please see the post “Stay At Home Mom - Part One” if you have not already read it!

Being a stay at home mom is pretty much everything I chalked it up to being: not showering, wearing sweats all day, sleeping in, taking naps, cooking dinner, having a clean house…

Ha ha! Yes, it is all the above (at times) but is is also so much more! Here are a few things I love about being a stay at home mom right now...

Time at night with Nik. When Jaxen goes to bed, Nik and I have 2-3 hours together, usually uninterrupted. And I love it! Sometimes we do our own thing, but no matter what, I’m so glad I am able to stay up with him and spend time together!

Sleeping in. Yes, I sleep in. Thankfully, Jaxen does not wake up until around 8:30am. I sleep in usually until 7:30am. And I love it! And even better, I don’t normally have to jump out of bed and get ready for the day quickly. I can take my time. I like having this time in the mornings to do a few chores or my Bible study or just have a few minutes of quiet to myself!

My wardrobe. I have never been a “fancy” person, and I sure do not feel the need to start being one now. I know people say you should get "dressed" everyday because it will make you feel better about yourself, but I’m completely happy in my “comfy” clothes everyday. Especially on the days when Jaxen and I don’t go into town or see anybody else. It is much easier to play on the floor, cook dinner, take walks, go to the park, paint, clean bathrooms and other stuff when I’m dressed for it!

Time with Jaxen. The first-of-the-morning hugs and cuddles while he drinks his milk is worth it all. I love that time with him. The way he wants me to come in his playroom to talk and sing about his Christmas Tree with him, or how he plops himself down on my lap so I can read his favorite book to him is a wonderful feeling. The relationship that we have…is just pretty great! I love that I’m there with him everyday to help him learn, to watch him grow, and to love on him. And I am so happy that I’m there and available when he needs me. When his is sick, or hurt, or just looking to me for reassurance in a new situation. I know these days are fleeting and I’m so thankful that I can be a part of this time in his life!

Cooking. I normally cook dinner 6 nights a week and fix lunch (leftovers, grilled sandwiches…etc) everyday for all 3 of us (thankfully, Nik is normally able to join us for a quick lunch everyday). It saves money and it helps us to be a bit healthier in our food choices. I know Nik enjoys having home-cooked meals and I’m so glad that I can do this for our family. I love time around the table with our family! We are creating great memories and I hope we can always sit down for a meal together. Me, being at home just makes it a little easier to do.

Support for Nik. Last, but not least, is that I am able to be available to Nik and his ministry with the church. There are days that he does not ask me to do a thing…but then there are days when he needs me as a sounding board, or just for a listening ear…and there are times when I need to load up and head to the church to help with something, or he will call me during the day and ask if I can do something at home for him. It does not matter what it is - I am thankful that I can help! Being at home allows me a bit more freedom to do so.

So there you have it!

Basically, a few of the pros and cons of being a stay at home mom. I know this is not for everyone and not everyone has the opportunity to do so. I talk with moms every week who long to be able to stay home with their kiddos. I am just grateful that I am able to do so at this time!


Wednesday, November 19, 2014

W.I.N.T.E.R. Is Here!

I have been saying “Winter is coming” for awhile now…well - it arrived this week!

We had our first official snow last week and our first official snow storm this week. If you have been watching the news I’m sure you’ve heard of what is happening in Buffalo and other areas of northern NY. Although this region has not been hit like Buffalo (yet) we have had some major snow. Thankfully, in our neighborhood we have not had it very bad. I’m not exactly sure on inches but I would guess we received about 10 inches in the past 24 hours. Today alone, we had to shovel the snow twice. But in other areas around us, just a few miles away, they have had up to 3 feet. Crazy!

This was about 10 minutes after we finished shoveling the driveway and sidewalks...
It started snowing again, covering everything!

This was later in the afternoon, once the sun was out.
They did not plow our road until late afternoon.

Finally, our road was plowed!

As I type this, it is snowing again, and coming down pretty hard. We are expected to stay in this “Lake Effect” winter storm until Friday. I never knew anything about the lake effect until I moved here. It really is a big deal!

Tuesday, it was bitter cold with terrible winds. So we stayed inside all day. Today, the sun was out part of the day and was pretty nice (as long as you were bundled up). I thought I would take Jaxen outside to get a feel for it. This is what he thought about it…


First of all, he would not wear his gloves. Would not. And he insisted on taking his trains outside, but the minute he dropped one and could not see it because it fell through the snow - he was done. Completely done. Didn’t want to walk in it or play in it.

This was on Monday…he was enjoying kicking the snow everywhere and had a great time for a few minutes!

And so winter begins!