Cards

This little guy loves cards! Here he is reading a few of the ones he received over breakfast. He likes to stand them up and "read" them. He is also into books of all kinds. He tries to read anything paper and usually gets upset if he can't open it up and turn the pages (like he couldn't do at dinner the other night...it was just a plastic stand with the drink menu on it). I love this face too. Look for a post soon about another one of his recent observations...hee hee....

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Sharing another Post

I have been reading the book, Wild Things, The Art of Nurturing Boys.  The first chapters are overviews of each stage of a boy's development.  I cried just a bit as I read about the teenage then college years, realizing how quickly those years will be here.  I looked down at my little guy playing with cars and when he said, "mama...play" and came and took my hand, I of course went.  I want to get on the floor, snuggle him close, and kiss his owie for the millionth time as much as I can before he doesn't want anything to do with me.

So when I visited my friend's blog today and saw this, I had to share.

Again from my friend Christina's blog, The Hoover Household:

The Days are Long...

...but the years are short. That's what someone recently reminded me about being the mom of young children.


Lately, when I look at my tall, skinny, smarty-pants first grader, I am fully aware that this statement is true. Kyle and I talked today about the births of each of our boys, recounting the moments we associate with each one and talking about how quickly the years are passing. I always have moments where I think to myself, "Remember this moment" and try to soak it in. Here are some things I want to remember about having young children:

•the smell of freshly washed children smothered in Johnson & Johnson baby lotion

•juicy, naked tooshies

•slobbery, open-mouth kisses

•them being small enough to sit in my lap (and wanting to)

•the sheer excitement on their faces when doing/seeing new things

•the way they run to me when I've been away

•sweet voices singing songs about Jesus

•footie pajamas

•chubby fingers

•the sound of "Mama"....how does it so quickly change to "Mom"?

•the way they look sleeping at night

•rocking and singing before bed

•the way they wrestle and run through the house

•the feel of little arms wrapped around my neck

•the giggles I can get from playing peek-a-boo or jumping out from around the corner

•the smell of Pampers diapers

•being able to contain them in a crib

•naptimes

•the arts and crafts they bring home from preschool/church/school

•playing games and reading books and just spending time together

•little feet!!!

•their innocence

•watching Kyle play with the boys

•seeing them start to know/remember Bible stories and verses

What do you want to remember about these years of mothering young kids?

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Watering Time

We picked up this Car's watering can at Lowe's last weekend, and he has loved putting it to use!

Helping water the new plants on the porch...

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Borax, You're the Best!

Borax powder. Oh, how have I survived without you?? What is it you ask?

Borax (sodium borate) is formed from repeated evaporation of seasonal lakes. Its chemical analysis is anhydrous borax, 53.8 percent; boric acid, 37.2 percent; sodium oxide, 16.6 percent; water of crystallization, 46.2 percent; and chloride, 37 parts per million.

It is truly amazing.  It has no chemical odor, I can use it without gloves (it does dry the skin a tad) and works like a charm on pretty much anything.  I just used it to scrub my tub and tile, but also add it to my laundry to "boost" the cleaning power.  And it works!! 

Best of all, it was only $3 for the whole box at HEB. 

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Mama (and babies) Has a Sweet New Ride

Oh, I am super pumped about my most recent craigslist purchase!  I snagged a Phil and Ted's Sport buggy for well over half-off the original price!  The sport buggy is a slightly older model, and if you compare what I paid for this one to buying one brand new now, it is WAY over half off. 

I've been on a search for the perfect double stroller and thought these were just out of my range.  What did I want?  Fixed wheel or swivel?  Side-by-side or one in front of each other?  B.O.B. (requiring the payment of my first born son and right arm) or a cheap plastic model that may break right away?  Did I want it to fit through a standard door, or did I care?  The choices were making me crazy.  In the back of my mind though, I remembered the Phil and Ted stroller.  It first caught my eye when I briefly participated in Stroller Fit (now Baby Boot Camp).  These were the "official" strollers of Stroller Fit and they seemed so perfect!  It is as wide and as long as a single stroller, yet could hold two children!  It had the front swivel wheel I decided I really wanted, and on top of that, the one on craigslist wasn't red and wouldn't clash with my son's hair (it's the little things in life...).  Check out the website for all the ways you can use the second seat attachment as they are too hard to describe.

So, I'll give it a try with my little one and one on the way.  We figure if it doesn't work for our needs, I can always re-sale it on craigslist since I got such a great buy.

Oh craigslist...how I love thee!

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10 Ways for a Toddler to Help in the Kitchen

My mom just sent me the link to this blog post.  It is full of great ideas for me to keep Dexter occupied while I am busy in the kitchen.  Thought I would pass it along if anyone else needed some hints to get started.

How about you?  What do you to keep your toddler(s) entertained while you are busy in the kitchen?

From the blog, No Ordinary Homestead:

Our little Mad Hatter, Mackenzie, is at a stage where she LOVES to help us do anything and everything she possibly can…but it can be a little bit challenging to find tasks that a 2-year-old can complete in the kitchen without making a mess or burning down the house. I try to let her explore new tasks as often as I can, especially because she tends to get a rather cross with me if I can’t find some way to let her help, and I am often really surprised at just how much she is actually capable of.




I for one love help in the kitchen, even if I’m not so great at asking for it most of the time. So I’m pretty thrilled to have discovered by trial and error, these 10 ways my toddler can lend me a hand.

1.Putting away silverware

I was totally impressed that Mackenzie, when given a stool to stand on, can totally identify where the different forks, spoons and butter knives go in the drawer. She places them all in the correct direction and everything. I’m not so thrilled about putting the silverware away anyway.

2.Adding ingredients to bowl/pot/KitchenAid

Obviously I am careful to make sure she won’t burn herself or get caught in the KitchenAid, but she’s pretty good at adding ingredients to things. And when she does happen to spill a bit, I try to remind myself that it’s nothing a few swipes with the sponge won’t clean up. And she really enjoys being a part of the cooking action.

3.Stirring ingredients

I generally just let her stir the dry stuff but I do sometimes give her a spoon to stir things while I’m cooking dinner in a pot or frying pan. Again, there are sometimes small messes made — but at least no instances of more dinner ending up outside the pot, or in her mouth!

4.Tearing up lettuce

You cannot believe how good she is at this! Like she’d been doing nothing but tearing up lettuce for salads her entire life. And there’s really no way for her to do it wrong.

5.Drying plastic dishes

After watching me do it a hundred times, Mackenzie grabbed herself a towel and started drying off plastic stuff from the dishwasher. And then she hung up the towel afterwards. I’m telling you, we have one good kid on our hands!

6.Taking out glasses and dishes from the dishwasher and giving to me to put away

I always freak out a little bit when she goes to grab a glass or bowl — but so far she’s been very careful and we’ve had no mishaps. Not even I manage to keep from breaking things every now and then. My biggest concern is that she might get hurt.

7.Unwrapping a dishwasher tab, putting it in the machine and closing the door

She so loves those little tabs. She used to take the box out of the cupboard when she was little and play with them. I guess it’s no wonder that she enjoys using them for real, now. And we were both pretty surprised when we realized that the wrapping around them is flimsy enough for her to tear. She’s always ready and waiting to get the dishwasher going for me!

8.Helping to put away groceries

We’re still going through some training for this one, but much like unloading the dishwasher, she’s definitely good at taking stuff out and giving it to me to put away. Since most of the shelves are still too high for her to access, it will be a little while longer before she’s truly unpacking groceries. But we’re off to a good start!

9.Helping make her own bottle (start hot water machine, scoop formula into bottle)

Another task that tends to get messy and she thankfully cannot yet push the button to start the water herself (oh the messes we’re going to have then), but she loves scooping the powder out of the container and dumping it into the bottle.

10.Wiping down the table

Mack is a table-wiping professional by now. She’s been doing it since she was big enough to reach over the edge of the coffee table. I think it’s probably one of her favorite chores to do around here. Maybe I can even convince her one day that dusting is just as much fun!

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It's a...

BOY!

That's right, the Ray household will be quite the boys club come July.  I thought there might be a chance to whip out the ruffle bottomed onesies and bow headbands with baby #2, but unless I want this boy to be confused, I better hold off and see what our chances are if (IF) there is a baby #3.

I can just see D and his little brother playing around like these guys one day soon.

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SF Travelog: Day 3 & 4

Day Three:
We decided to get up early and check out another walking tour, this time of Chinatown.  We are so glad we did as we learned a lot about the area, and also happened upon a little celebration complete with dragon and drums.  The tour ended on the same street just as this celebration begun.  It was incredible timing and we loved watching the show.

After Chinatown, we met up with Shelby and David, grabbed some incredible Italian sandwiches from a very authentic style deli, and headed for Crissy Field near the Golden Gate Bridge. We people and dog watched and enjoyed the incredible sunshine.

After the beach, we headed into the Presidio.  It is a National Park that used to be the home of the army base in San Francisco.  It was incredibly beautiful.  Full of old, fabulous homes, tall trees, and amazing views.  I looked up how much the homes in the park rent for -- they start at $2,000/month and go up to $10,000+/month.  So much for the dream of moving there to raise my children...

Here you can see where the city stops and the park begins.  This park is smack dab in the middle of the city.

In the park, looking out east over the Pacific Ocean.

After the beach and Presidio, we headed for the Mission, one of the more hipster neighborhoods in SF.  We went thrift store shopping, checked out another branch of Therapy, and then found the best thrift store of all -- Painted Bird.  Everything was priced between $10-20 and I loved most of it.  It was a smaller store, but it was as though someone with almost my exact taste had already pre-sorted the clothes for me.  I bought four items (leaving the caftan that I loved and everyone else hated for someone else...).  Then, we ate a great burrito meal at a little taqueria.  Perfect ending to a great day!

Day Four:
For the last day, we just took it easy as we felt like we had already seen all the major spots of the city.  I went to Trader Joe's with Shelby (awesome!), we made brunch, hung out, then Sander and I did some last minute shopping/walking through the Marina before our flight.

We caught a cab to the BART (train that also goes to the airport) so we would have lots of time to check our bag and get through security.  David and Shelby have both missed flights, something we hoped to avoid.  But, first we couldn't find a cab.  I ended up running down half a block to catch a cab dropping someone off.  Then we had trouble at the BART and ended up running to the tram at the airport, running to our gate (they switched TERMINALS at the last minute) and arriving just as it boarded.  It was not the relaxing ending to the trip we had hoped for, but we made the flight and arrived with all our bags in DFW, ready to see our little Dexter.

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