Grace Turns 3

On December 19th Grace turned 3 years old.  Where did the years go?  We had a party for her on the 16th of December.

 We had most of her favorite foods...pigs in a blanket, macaroni and cheese, grapes, apples, applesauce, and much much more. 

 She was pretty happy to be three, get to blow out a candle, and also get the red plate for the first time.

 Yes, in speaking of food we must not forget the cupcakes!

 At the party was Papaw and Mamaw, Carol, Eamon, Shannon, and Eamon's friend Seamus, and Amy.  Mike was home with Austin and Adam who were sick at the time.  We were sorry that they were not able to attend.

 Oh yeah, Glen was there too.  He was also celebrating his birthday at the same party.

 The unwrapping of the presents was a highlight of the night.

 Grace got a glowing orb :)  No it is really just a rubber ball that lights up when you bounce it.  However it was one of the favorite toys of the night.

 Grace also got a jewelry box.  It used to be her Great Grandmother's.  Now it holds Grace's treasures of plastic necklaces, rubber bracelets, and Minnie Mouse rings and earrings.  Oh, she loves her treasure box.

 She also got a tea set for her kitchen.  At which she promptly said, we need to have a tea party.

Only a sweet little three year old girl can convince teenage (and almost teenage) boys to join her for a tea party.

It was a good day.

20 Birthday Questions

1.  How old are you?  3
2.  Who is your best friend?  Grandma Sue
3.  What is your favorite thing to do?  Build
4.  What is your favorite color?  Purple
5.  What is your favorite food?  Cheese
6.  What do you like to do with your family?  Read books
7.  What is your favorite toy?  Books
8.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  I be a daddy
9.  What makes you happy?  Toys
10. What makes you sad? 
11. What is your favorite show to watch? Between The Lions
12. What is your favorite book?  Mouse Paint
13. What do you love to learn about? Trains
14.What was the best part of your birthday?  Presents
15. Where do you like to go? Amy's House
16. Who was your teacher?
17.What is your favorite treat? Candy cane
18. What do you think about before you fall asleep? I am in bed looking at my balloon
19. If you could meet anyone famous who would it be?  A Princess
20. What was your favorite birthday present? Jewelry Box

Grace Reading The Bible

Grace got her first Bible from Bonsack United Methodist Church, the church that we attended as both of our children were born.  She has loved looking at this book and has recently decided to start reading it to me.  I do not know if you can understand but each page of the Bible is the same
"God loves me"
I like her version of the Bible, simple and very true!
I just wish Glen had also gotten a first Bible too, I will need to start to be on the look out for one for him.  Maybe that will help him learn that God loves him too :)

This Week In Pictures

Grace decided that she wanted to pretend to be a dog.  So she needed slippers for her four "paws."  Fortunately we had four Pooh Bear slippers that she could use.  Silly Girl!

 This past weekend Grace discovered the wonders of the same Light Bright that I used when I was young.  I still remember playing with this exact Light Bright when I was 10 and had chicken pox.

While Grace was playing with the Light Bright, Glen was enjoying the wonders of a nap on the other Glen in the family.

Here Glen is trying to "help" with the laundry.  At least he is happy.

 He is quite possessive of his pacifier.

We have a set of these cute little books that have maybe 6 pages and one word on each page.  He will sit and look at, hold and look through these books for the longest time.  One night while getting ready for bed he needed to escape me in order to look through his book.  Silly Boy!

Pumpkin Donuts

One day while searching the internet I discovered a recipe for pumpkin donuts.  I waited with this information till the right time came (which happened to be last week).  One morning we were not rushed, we were not busy, we were in a good mood, so we baked.  We make the batter of the donuts.  Then Grace (and I helped a bit) piped them out onto the pans.  We made letters, either she made them or told me how to make them.

 We filled two pans of yummy donuts that soon afterward headed to the oven to cook while we made the icing.

Once the icing was made I put it in a squirt bottle and Grace got to decorate the donuts with the icing by going all "Jackson Pollock" on them.  She loved the activity.  I enjoyed the time and creativity with her, and Glen loved the donuts.  It was a good event all around :)

Apple Orchard

In October we decided to meet up with a few friends of ours that we knew from Roanoke who had moved to Northern VA.  We decided that a fun activity would be to go to an apple orchard/pumpkin patch that is located in Winchester (that is a halfway mark between both of us).

  

Grace loved playing checkers on the very large mat.

She also loved the playground that was located at the farm.  It was hard to get her away from the boat, swings, slides, and other fun play things in order to get some apples.

But all was good because she had her new great friend with her Vitaly.  They had a grand time together.

He had her reach for the apples up top.

They chased each other through the rows of trees.

I did get her to stop for just long enough to take some family pictures.  Here is one of the girls.

The whole family.

And the boys.

While Grace was have a fun time with Vitaly, Glen was stalking and attacking apples that were laying on the ground and completely unaware of the danger that was ahead for them.

Heading down the rows of trees with a bag of apples that continued to get heavier and heavier as we kept finding wonderful apples that could not be left behind.

Soon, Grace gave up the shopping bag and got a ride back to the barn to pay and get our car.

 

But not before one for photo shoot.  

Happy Fall Everyone!

Happy Halloween

With the storm making its way up the east coast, and planning on hitting us hard right around the 31st I was unsure if we would be able to have trick or treating plans for Halloween this year.  So I made sure to be able to take the kids out on Saturday for Trick or Treating on the Square (downtown Harrisonburg).  It was a lot of fun and the kids seemed to have a great time getting candy and being dressed up.

 Our house was a zoo or maybe a safari with a giraffe and a cheetah.  However, they were the cutest little wild animals that I have ever seen!

 Below is a lesson in camouflage.  Can you see Grace?

 Grace loved her costume so much that on Sunday she decided she needed to wear it while helping Matt install new faucets in the bathrooms.

While trick or treating on Saturday we passed by a parking lot where there were three young ladies dressed in what could be prom dresses.  Grace just stood there and stared, pointed at them and said "princess!"  So Amy and Grace went to talk to the princesses.  It turns out that they were doing a photo shoot of some kind.  And while Grace was in awe of the beautiful princesses, they were commenting on how adorable the little girl in the giraffe costume was.

It has been a good Halloween so far.  I do hope that we can get out and dress up once again for Wednesday.  We shall see if Sandy lets us.

Stories on Grace

*  While Matt was in CA on a work trip, Amy helped me put the kids to bed one night.  She was in Grace's room getting Grace to say her bedtime prayer.  She told Grace to repeat after her (I was in the hallway listening since Glen had just fallen asleep).
Amy:  "Now I lay me..."
Grace:  "Now I'm Amy...."
(Giggles from Amy and I)
Amy:  "No Grace, say Now I lay me..."
Grace:  "Now I'm Amy..."
I have never laughed so hard during a prayer time.  And that is still how she says that prayer.

*  Mom was bringing the kids home one day after I subbed at a local school.  Grace went back into the car while mom was getting Glen out.  She sat herself in the driver seat and got very comfy.  She had her hands on the steering wheel and turned to mom, held out one hand, and said in a very exasperated tone "Mamaw, keys!"
I asked her what she was going to do and she told me "I drive."  Then I asked her what she was going to do, she promptly told me "shopping!"
Where does she come up with this stuff?

*  Grace does not say more.  She said mare.  For instance "I want mare cheese"  No matter how hard we try to get her to do it, she does not say that o sound.

*  Alton Brown, and his show Good Eats, are her favorite.  She will ask for it as soon as she wakes up.  If eating while watching it she will try to stir her food when he stirs his recipe.  She talks about ounces, pounds, and other measurements that I had no idea existed till I was at least in sixth grade.  She can also identify more fruits and vegetables then I had ever known of at her age.  But to have a favorite TV character at the age of 2, you would think big bird or Elmo...Not a TV chef.  Maybe she will be making us dinner by the age of 5 :)

Pot Roast

So I have always envisioned the perfect housewife to be someone who keeps a perfectly clean house, the children are always well behaved, and she always puts together the most perfect meals (picture June Cleaver). 

I do not have a clean house, my children are not always well behaved, and I had not figured out the main housewife dish...the pot roast.  I had made a few before, and Matt ate them, but it was not as I thought it should be or as I wanted it to taste.

Then I started subbing at the local schools.  I came up with some crockpot freezer meals.  Wake up in the morning before I have to leave for school.  Dump out a ziplock bag that I had prepared earlier.  Set it for 8-10 hours, and it is nice, hot, and done by the time I come home.

I found a pot roast recipe like this and decided to try it.  I made it on Sunday so that we would have some hot dinner to come home to after we went to the pumpkin patch as a family (more pictures to come).  Let's just say that Matt has informed me that bad things will happen if I ever try to make pot roast any other way than this one!

POT ROAST


3 pounds of rump roast or bottom round beef (cut into smaller sections, not tiny, just enough to fit into the bag, you can cut them up more after they are cooked)
2 cans mushrooms, leave them whole.
2 cups of beef broth (add day of)…or two cups of water and two bouillon cubes
1 green pepper diced
1 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
Assemble all ingredients(except broth) into freezer bags.  Place in freezer.   Day of cooking, place in slow cooker and add broth. 
Cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4. 
Remove meat and shred with forks.  Use juice to cook noodles.  Return left over juice from noodles to shredded meat.  Mix onion, mushroom and pepper solids with meat.  Serve over noodles.

That night as we were getting ready for bed, I leaned over to Matt and said "I can not tell you how wonderful it is to have you home" (he had been gone for a week to CA). 

He lovingly leaned over to me and whispered in my ear "I am finding it hard to find words to express how wonderful that pot roast was this evening."

Just thought I would share :)

Tea Party, Legos, And Other

This past weekend we went to the Virginia Mennonite Relief Sale.  Lots of good food.  Lots of fun crafts.  And lots of people to love on my kids.  Jenn had a great time cuddling with Glen.

 Grace however, preferred to cuddle with a lawn ornament bunny.

 This week also brought about the joy of Legos.  This was the first time that I saw them playing happily with each other with Legos.  I am sure that it will not be the last time either.

 Maybe I will just have them stick with Duplos.  They are a lot easier on the feet then actual Legos...

 On Tuesday morning Grace decided that she needed to have a tea party with her three stuffed dogs.  So we sat at her play table with cookies and grapes and had a wonderful tea party.  She has some strange ideas, but if they keep her happy...

This Week In Pictures

This week was filled with trips to the farmer's market (where we got to watch the fish), playing in the leaves, and celebrating the joy of Glen standing on his own (just to name a few events).

From July to October

I have been trying to eat healthy, and also I have been training for a half marathon that Matt and I will be running in November.  I have noticed by the numbers on the scale that I have been losing weight.  But it was not till I saw these pictures that I really noticed it.  The one on the left is of Carol, Amy and I before running a 5K in July.  The one on the left is of Carol, Amy and I before running a 5K this past weekend.  I am wearing the exact same outfit in both of them.  I am just amazed at how baggy that shirt looks on me in the second picture compared to the first.

I have a long way to go, but this just shows me that I have gone a long way already.

This Week In Pictures

Grace loves her books!  She loves to read and have stacks and stacks of books around her.  Though she does not know how to read words yet, she still devours books as if she could read them word for word.

Here is Glen, I thought he looked very humorous in this picture.  He is very contemplative, and possessive of his bottle.  He fell asleep in this position about two minutes after I took this picture.

This is the latest favorite game of Grace and Glen.  Grace sits on the chair or sofa, Glen pulls himself up to the edge and they play peek a boo over the arm rest.  I love to hear the giggles that this causes.

Look at the toes...they are Blue!  Grace and Mamaw had fun painting toe nails and finger nails this week.

This is Grace's flower.  This random plant started growing in the front yard beside where we park the car.  We would accidentally step on it many times, but it would never die.   So we decided to let it live and see what it would become.  It became a very large sunflower that is located right beside the car door where we put Grace in.  So this is Grace's flower and she is quite proud of it.