Nice job, Mom!

If I ever feel like the cleaning I do isn't appreciated, I just need to have Ben around while I clean. Here is what happened today as I was cleaning the bathroom.
Ben: "What doin' Mom?"
Me: "I'm cleaning the bathroom, would you like to watch?"
Ben: "Yeah!"
Me: (cleaning the toilet)
Ben: "Nice job, Mom!"
Me: (cleaning the mirrors)
Ben: "Great job, Mom!"

This continued with every little task I completed, and eventually it included clapping too. I think everyone should have a two year old around when they clean.

Only a two year old boy

Only a two year old boy would take a snack of animal crackers and applesauce and make it gross. How you might ask? By covering the animal crackers in applesauce and saying "animals pooping." That kid has quite the imagination.

Drumstick

Last night we were out grocery shopping right up until dinner time, so for dinner I bought a rotisserie chicken. When we got home Ben watched Thomas while I put away groceries and put the finishing touches on dinner. I asked my husband if he thought Ben could eat a drumstick. We decided he could so I said "Ben gets a drumstick and Daddy gets a drumstick," thinking Ben was so engrossed in Thomas he wouldn't hear. He did, and that is when things got ugly. Ben thought we meant a toy drumstick that goes with his toy drum. So, when it was time to sit down and eat, all Ben did was stand by the toy closet and cry for his drumstick and drum. After about 15 minutes of meltdown we got Ben to sit down and eat some of his dinner. As sad as it is to see Ben get so confused and meltdown, I love to see him learn about language and the different uses of words. And you have to admit it's pretty cute that all the little boy wanted was to play his drum with his drumstick.

Happy Birthday

Yes, Ben is wearing his sister's diaper, and yes we are going to show this at his wedding someday ;)

We must be doing something right

I am back! We recently bought a new computer, and blogger actually works on this computer, so I will hopefully be blogging more. On to the stories....

I took Ben and Madeline Trick or Treating today and Ben pretty much melted my heart. Ben used to go to tumbling classes and his teacher, Teacher Kathy, lives right behind us. Her house was about the third we went to. While we were waiting for someone to come to the door Ben took two pieces of candy out of his bucket and said "for Teacher Kathy." I almost cried and unfortunately Teacher Kathy was not home to witness Ben's touching act of charity. At each house after that Ben would dig through his bucket for Candy to give away. The first thing he did when we got home was give a piece of candy to his daddy and say "for you." How precious that he thinks first of others before himself. Growing up the highlight of my birthday was always trick or treating, but I know now it will be taking my children trick or treating and watching them grow into caring, generous individuals.

Where did the summer go?

I cannot believe preschool starts on Wednesday. I feel like I am ready, but at the same time still have so much to plan. I am really excited to have my own classroom this year. Technically it was a storage room but the principal kindly gave me the room instead of cancelling the two year old program all together... thanks to many requests from parents :) The past two years of teaching this class I have had to drag everything out of closets into a multipurpose room each week, and then put it all away when I was done. No more of that this year, thank goodness.
On top of starting school I am up to my ears in craft projects. This year we are making all the Christmas gifts for family. Actually it is more like I am making all the Christmas gifts which means I should have started last Christmas. Right now I am working on a quilt for my nephew. Next on the list will be some hemp diapers inserts for Maddie's cute new diapers. I found a website, www.diapercuts.com, where I can buy cotton/hemp terry and make inserts for about 1.50 each, when the cheapest I could buy pre-made inserts is 2.00 each. Exciting isn't it? If this works out I may tackle cloth diapers next.

Why!!!

Blogger no longer works on my computer at home. Anytime I try to access a blog, a lovely blank screen shows up. I really don't understand why this is happening. I am not a big computer person, but I have tried to get it to work with no success. If anyone has any ideas they would be much appreciated. I am so behind on reading blogs (not that it's a necessary part of life) that it will take a long time to catch up. I have a new tutoring job at the library every Saturday, so until my computer at home decides to work again, my blogging will be limited to Saturday mornings. I will try and post pictures of my crazy kids next weekend, but for now I have to hurry home to help with our huge garage sale we are having. We are hoping to sell enough to buy more Fuzzi Bunz (cloth diapers) for Madeline.

A compliment... I think.

Yesterday after my shower Ben started stroking my hair and saying "handsome." Either I have very manly features, or he really meant to say "pretty." I'll go with the latter.

Holy Beers

Ben knows a lot of words. The problem can be in his pronunciation. For example "thank you" becomes "gee goo", and for a long time "Grandpa" was "Pampa." Last night while getting ready for bed I was asking Ben to say the names of all the people in our family. Then we moved on to saints' names and "God" and "Jesus." When I asked Ben to say "Holy Spirit", he said "Holy Beers." God must have a sense of humor.

Busy busy

This past weekend was a very busy one. On the fourth, we went to the traditional Bernhard family extravaganza at the farm. There are always games, lots of food, and lots of family. This year there were several new games including a moon bounce, and a "name that grandchild" game, in which we had to write the name of each child under their photo. Keeping in mind that my grandparents have 55 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren, this game was impossible. I think I was able to place names under about 10 of the pictures, and this includes myself, my siblings, and my children. They were all baby pictures though, so I get a break right?

Some of the many cousins tearing apart a Sponge Bob Square Pants pinata... classy.

On Saturday Madeline was baptized. I was able to finish her gown on time, and we had family over for dinner afterwards. It was a wonderful evening, and Maddie still smells like the Chrism, even after a bath today. Forget about new car smell, I'll take new Catholic smell any day.

Yesterday, my aunt had a baby shower for Madeline. It was nice to get together with family and I think Maddie has enough clothes now to last a year. She is going to be one well dressed baby.

After such a crazy weekend all I really want to do is sleep, but with a new baby that is near impossible, so I am blogging and posting pictures instead. C'est la vie...

Old News

Well, everyone who reads my blog probably already knows this, but I thought I would make the official blog announcement. Madeline Rose was born June 11th at 3:45pm. She weighs 9 1/2 pounds, is 20 1/2 inches, and absolutely beautiful. Her big brother loves her and calls her "baby." He is a good helper, and his favorite thing to do is give her a pacifier. I would post a picture, but we had to switch computers recently and am still not sure if our camera will work with this computer. Someday I will post pictures.

Any way you look at it

13 days. 38 weeks, 1 day. 8 1/2 months. Less than two weeks. Any way you look at it I am about to pop. I feel like I am about to pop. There can't possibly be any room left for the baby to grow anymore. At my doctor's appointment on Friday, the doc said the baby is slowly moving lower and getting ready for labor. Then he asked if we have everything ready for the baby. Honestly I don't feel like we do. I still don't have a bag packed for he hospital. We still have to get bottles and the car seat ready. There are other things I want to have ready before the baby. This includes having everything set for Ben's birthday (because who knows if i will be in the hospital on his birthday), having all the materials for the baby's baptism gown, and having Father's day planned. There are also projects that I am going to have to put off indefinitely because of bed rest. These include having a garage sale and planting a garden. Part of me wants the baby to come soon, but then I think of everything I have to do while staying off my feet 8 hours a day, and I wouldn't mind if the baby is late. I just have to remember that God's timing is perfect and the baby will come at the right time.

What does modified mean?

On Wednesday I had a doctor's appointment. After three high blood pressure readings and three hours in the hospital being monitored, I was put on "modified" bed rest. These past few days I have really been struggling with what this means. I think its because I am so stubborn, and I don't want to accept that I am on bed rest. My mom has been helping a lot with Benjamin, but I hate just laying around while everyone else does things that I usually take care of. Although it is nice to not cook dinner every night.
Yesterday we actually got out of the house for most of the day,and honestly it wore me out. I think "modified" must mean bed rest without the bedpan, and I am starting to see how necessary it is. I just have to keep reminding myself that this is for the good of the baby, and I just pray that I can make it through the next four weeks without losing my mind.

Curious George

Today was a sick day for Benjamin. So, like any good parent, Jacob went out and got a stack of movies for Ben to watch. One was a Curious George video. I put it in to watch with Ben and the only word I can think of to describe it is "bizarre." It was some weird primitive claymation from the 80's. The story starts with "the man in the yellow hat" in the jungle. He sees George and says "look a monkey, I want to take him home." So what does he do? He lures the innocent George with his yellow hat, puts George in a burlap sack, and drags him onto a boat. The whole story gets better with George finding the man's pipe, smoking it, and hallucinating. Then George gets thrown in jail for dialing 911 on accident. I left the room after that, but Jacob assures me it remained just as "interesting." Ben loves Curious George and watches the Curious George movies at least three times a week. I thought the video we watched today would be a nice alternative, but I will gladly sit through the movie ten times a week than have to watch that bizarre video again.

April Fools

The only reason I can come up with for why it took 8 tries to get Ben to take a nap is that he was playing an April fools joke on me. I wasn't amused.

Little Chef

Ben's latest obsession has been cooking. I suppose this is my fault due to pregnancy cravings for anything baked. Or perhaps I should blame the baby. No matter whose fault it is, I have been baking a lot with Ben lately, and he has been loving it. Yesterday he woke up from his nap and immediately ran to the kitchen yelling "cook, cook!" So, I had to think of some way to get him involved in throwing chicken nuggets in the oven for lunch. He just watched. Later in the day we dyed Easter eggs. He was so cute in his apron dying the eggs, and just as I expected, the first hing he tried to do was crack the hard boiled eggs. At least he's learning something from all of our baking. While I was cleaning up Ben ran into the kitchen (still wearing his apron) grabbed two skillets, a pot, a bottle of syrup, and a box of tea and put them on the stove to cook something. I am sure someday he will be a great chef, but I am not too sure what he was planning on doing with the mixture of supplies he had.

Just Like Daddy

Ben will do things every once in awhile to be just like his dad. What Ben did today though definitely wins the prize for cutest and most unexpected. I brought Ben into the bathroom with me, and the first thing he did was grab my razor off the edge of the sink (it had a cover on it so he was safe), say "dad" and put it to his face like he was shaving. To make it even better when I turned on the water to wash my hands, he put the razor under the water and put it on his face again. That boy wants to be just like his dad, and it makes me smile.

100 days

It's only 100 days until Madeline's due date AND Benjamin's 2nd birthday. I am not sure which scares me more, having another baby, or having a 2 year old in the house.

Trials of Motherhood

I left Mass on Friday morning and this morning in tears. I wish I could say it was because I was deeply touched by Mass itself, but that is not the reason. The reason was my son. I have made an effort to bring him to Mass every day, despite his behavior. I usually am able to just deal with it and accept the cross of a rambunctious toddler that God has given me. Lately though "just dealing with it" has been harder. Maybe it's the pregnancy hormones, or maybe it's the fact that I can't hold Ben in my arms due to my growing belly and shrinking back strength. Whatever it is I just can't seem to handle his behavior. I suppose it is nothing out of the ordinary for his age (or so I am told by other moms with older kids), but I find myself wondering when this stage is going to end.
So this morning after a full blown tantrum during Mass, being slapped in the face several times, and a failed attempt at a time out in the corner, I lost it. I could not hold in my frustrated/embarrassed/hurt tears any longer. As much as I just wanted to storm out of church and never come back (with Ben that is) I am so thankful for the support I received from two moms. They were my angels today, giving me hugs, offering help during Mass, and just letting me know that Ben is normal and I am normal for getting so frustrated. So, I will be at Mass tomorrow morning and hopefully there will be no more tears... from me or Ben.

Happy Valentine's Day!

In our family we have several traditions, kind of to go against the whole commercialization of Valentine's Day. While it is nice to get gifts and show how much you love someone, last year I was searching for some deeper meaning for Valentine's day. I found out that the pagans used to use Valentine's day to draw names out of a hat and that would be their "partner for the year. The Christians then took that idea and changed it to drawing the name of a Saint out of a hat to be their patron for the year. I really liked this idea so instaead of choosing a saint out of a hat, I chose the Infant of Prague, the patron of good finances and family life, for my husband last year. I tried to pray for the Infant's intercession each day for my husband. This year I think it will be Saint Joseph.
On top of this, we do a five dollar gift exchange. It is always interesting to see what five dollars can get you. My husband and I also have a nice homemade dinner together (after the wild child is in bed of course). This year, because we are major nerds, our dinner of roast chicken, garlic mashed potatos, green beans, and chocolate mousse will be eaten at a card table while watching LOST. We are so romantic :) I hope you all enjoy your Valentine's day and don't be afraid to reject the commercialization of it.

So much can change in a few hours...

Jacob has a job! He will be a general recruiter (not just IT like before), and working in the city. This is perfect for several reasons. He can take the train to work, so we can sell his car, he will be makin more money, and he will be working with a good friend of his. God is so good. Only one week without a job, and no lag time with our income. And, we are getting a "new' couch and ove seat fro y aunt to replace our current couch that is as old as my husband. And, even better, LOST is on tonight... what a great day!

It's been awhile...

I realized today that it has been quite a while since I last posted anything. Nothing too exciting has been going on here. Jacob is still looking for a job and everyday we are having to put complete trust in God that things will work out and He will not leave us stranded. Benjamin has been obsessed with Mega Blocks recently. We keep them in a closet so we don't have a huge mess all the time. Well, Ben knows where we keep them and all day we hear "blocks, blocks." And, if we don't get them in a certain amount of time, it is tantrum time. I love the terrible twos. The baby is still doing great. Yesterday I had a doctors appointment and they had a hard time getting her heartbeat because she kept moving and kicking the doppler. It seems like she has a little attitude already. Lastly, Jacob taught Ben a new phrase today... "mean mom." Hopefully he doesn't remember it.

Ultrasound

21 weeks

We had our 20 week ultrasound today. We went into it knowing we wanted to find out if the baby is a boy or girl so before we dropped Ben off at my mom's house we asked him "do you think it is a brother or a sister?" Usually when we ask this question he shrugs his shoulders and mumbles something that sounds a lot like "I don't know", but today he said "ter" (sister). He must have big brother intuition because the baby is indeed a little girl. We are going to name her Madeline Rose and everything is looking good and healthy. We are so happy and can't wait to meet our little girl in about 19 weeks.

Recipes

Yesterday was all about recipes. I have had the urge to bake a lot lately, so I was searching for a banana muffin recipe yesterday and found the website http://www.allrecipes.com/. this website is amazing. There are so many recipes and they even send you a "recipe of the day." this is perfect for my quest to become a better cook.
Later in the afternoon I decided to make play dough for Ben, hoping he would actually play with it, and not just try to eat. I used the recipe we use in the preschool and it went great and Ben loved it! He didn't even try to eat it once. I thought I would share the recipe with you, especially those with little ones who love to get messy.
Kool-Aid Playdough
2 pkg. kool-aid (unsweetened)
2 1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. salt
1 Tbsp. cream of tartar
3 Tbsp. oil
2 C. boiling water
Mix dry ingredients, add oil, then boiling water. Mix, then knead, and have fun!

Lastly, for my friend Erica, I said I had a great whole wheat pizza dough recipe. I actually cheated and it is one I found online... but, here it is. It is my favorite pizza dough and use this recipe anytime I make pizza.

Documentary

I just finished watching an excellent Netflix find. The documentary is called "Unborn in America." I highly recommend this film. It focuses on the pro life movement, but there is no hidden agenda like many things in the media. Pro lifers are not made to look crazy, and neither are the opposing pro choicers in the film. It is a very neutral film focusing on many aspects of the pro life movement and it was very refreshing to see such a film. The only downsides were foul language, graphic images, and the fact that I was teary eyed through the whole film.

Forgetful

Sometimes I forget that I am pregnant. For example, on Thanksgiving I was thinking of bringing a bottle of wine to dinner, and I was trying to think of who would actually drink it. I thought "Grandma will, I will... " Oops! Thankfully I remembered I had a little babe inside me and stopped myself.
The latest example of this happened last night. We had gone out for pizza and when we came home I went to put my pajamas on. I looked in the mirror and in shock thought "did I really eat that much pizza? How did I get so fat so fast?" Again, I had to remind myself of the baby. I think this baby may be stealing my memory.

Football!

Yesterday Ben and I were listening to a nice CD, playing with puzzles, when he spotted my husband's Sports Illustrated from across the room. He picked it up, looked at the cover for a while, turned to me with a huge grin on his face, and pumping his fist yelled "football!" The cover had some football player on the cover (don't ask me who... I'm not exactly into football), and I asked Ben if he wanted to look at the football pictures in the magazine. He got so excited and climbed in my lap, and we looked through the entire magazine. Every time there was a football picture Ben would yell "football!" I am just hoping this next baby is a girl... I think two football nuts is enough for this house.

Sneaky Chef

I tried to be a sneaky chef at lunch yesterday. I was making macaroni and cheese and in my desperation to get my child to eat vegetables I mixed in some peas. Since Ben is still learning to use a spoon I figured anything that ended up on the spoon would end up in his mouth. It worked for a little while... I think Ben ate maybe 5 peas. Then, my too smart for his own good kid, figured out I was trying to trick him and would pull the peas out of his mouth. Then, he gave up on this and just smeared the macaroni and cheese all over his tray. I think maybe he was trying to pay me back by tricking me into thinking he ate a lot. It didn't work. When I took off the tray he had a lap full of macaroni and cheese and peas. I am sure if we had a dog, the dog would have had a very nice lunch.

Baby kisses

We are always trying to help Ben understand that there is a baby in mom's tummy and he is going to be a big brother. When we ask him where the baby is he points to his belly, which is when I usually point to my ever growing belly and say "no, the baby is in mom's tummy." Last night we asked him to give the baby kisses, and he did! At first he just kissed the air like he usually does, then he actually kissed my belly. I was very touched and thought he finally understood where the baby is. Then he kissed my thigh and began to see it as a game, cheering for himself after every kiss. Oh well, at least Ben learned to give real kisses and I can still think that he gave the baby kisses, right?

Does this mean I'm a bad driver?

I have noticed lately that whenever we are in the car Ben will sit in the backseat and say "weeeee!" Either he really likes riding in the car, or my driving is similar to a roller coaster ride.

Oh what a night...

Last night no one got sleep in our house. Ben woke up screaming around 11:30pm, which is not an unusual occurrence. But, usually all it takes is a pacifier to get him to go back to sleep. I got him back down first and then he woke up screaming again about five minutes later. Jacob tried next, and from then on Ben would have nothing to do with me. I would try and pick him up and he would hit me and flail his arms and legs until he ended up on the floor. After about four hours of this, my genius husband decided to change Ben's pajamas. After that, he went right to sleep. Who would have thought that fleece "Cars" sleeper pajamas would cause a kid to stay up all night and throw a major tantrum. Gotta love the terrible twos.