The Sweetest Story

Today as I was attempting to get Max down for his nap, he was telling me a story which may or may not have occured this morning at his friend Joshs' house. Hard to say with a two year old telling you the facts. But, after hearing the story four or five times, I learned that "a person fell down and went in the ambulance to get better". Apparently, Josh and Max said a quick prayer for whomever fell down and went in the ambulance. So before I could convince Max that it was now time to go to sleep, we had to say not one but two prayers for whomever may have fallen down and rode in an ambulance today. I'm so happy that my little boy is learning to recognize that he can help others through prayer and of course the power of faith. So whomever rode in any ambulance in this area today, please know my little boy is watching over you!

A Points Society . . .

I've been thinking lately on how we truly have become a society of points. Think about it . . . points for mileage on your credit card, points for using your debit card at the bank, points at the grocery store for a free turkey, points at grocery store for reduced gas prices, points for staying at your favorite hotel chain, points for even drinking your favorite beverage!

My question is, have you taken advantage of your points?

Unfortunately, Mark and I drink way too much diet coke. However, some time ago, I did sign up to keep track of our points on http://www.mycokerewards.com/. This way, I can feel much better about drinking my coke in large quantities because ultimately I will get something for free if I save up long enough! To date, I have turned points in for free magazine subscripions and of course a diet coke huggie for our cans! I did attempt to turn points in (over 900 of them) for some free pans which still have not come. I feel a little taken about it - after all, over 900 points were required. None-the-less, I still drink diet coke.

Other points that I have redeemed were from Marriott. On our little trip to Hershey Park we were able to use points on for our hotel room. It certainly was not the luxurious penthouse suite but, neverless points were used and in today's economy, doesn't every point count?

Townhouse for Rent - Kingstowne, VA

I know I don't have a huge readership . . . but in an attempt to help a friend out, if you know of anyone looking to rent in the Alexandria / Kingstowne area, please pass this blog spot and/or website along. Andrea would be grateful!

www.ldsmommy.com
www.coachleigh.blogspot.com

Strawberry Cone

Our baby shower was fun and our mother-to-be on #2 was very happy! Our friend Rebecka is expecting a baby girl in just a couple of weeks (if not sooner for her sake!). She has an adorable little boy named Danny who is looking forward to being a big brother! I think I saw this idea on another friends website a while ago but, thought I would give it an attempt. I probably could of used more strawberries but, I think it turned out great for the first attempt. I ended up putting fresh pineapple and cantalope along the bottom of the platter as well. The chocolate fountain was a big hit and the kids waited some-what patiently until the party ended before attempting to dip the last strawberries and pretzels in the fountain.

Here are a few shots. Good luck Rebecka!

PS - Thanks for all the help to Gail and Jo for making the shower a success!

The LOOK . . . .

So it finally happened today . . . of all places Costco! Our morning started out well, that is to say we had breakfast, Max did his business, we cleaned up. . . and off we were on our errands to do our final preparations for the baby shower we are having here tomorrow.

Our second stop was Costco for the day and Max generally has no problem sitting in the front and getting strapped in. We tell him it is the pilots seat and he is driving. Well, as of late, he has discovered how to undo the the straps that keep in the front basket / seat. Once he gets unstrapped and is just a bit out of sorts then, it is all about wanting to either stand up, have me hold him or get down to be loose (which is definitely still out of the question). If he is not strapped in our shopping time doubles if not triples from all the comotion. Mind you we were stopping at almost each of the taste-it stations along the way.

Well, we finally make it to the check-out line and while I am trying to load out things on the belt, Max is shuffling around in the basket where he of course is not strapped in and manages to spill the plastic container of snacks I had brought for him. I trying to be a good shopper bend over to pick up his mess and of course Max is screaming "no mommie, no mommie" amongst whatever else - it is really hard to remember at this point. Then I look up at him and he is now half in the basket and half out and I go to grab him out and truly I was in the mood for a good spanking . . . but then I got "the look". You know the look I am talking about. In fact, I would guess that all of us haven given "the look" at some point in our lives to other mothers. I guess it was now my turn to receive it. There she was a grand-mother looking lady giving me the look that surely you are not going to scream at your son or surely not discipline him here in the check out line, are you? This was coupled with the Costco employee who barely spoke English saying to me, I'll take care of unloading your cart . . . since clearly you can not even control one child that you have with you. Ughhhhh . . . I just wanted to get out of there!

As I was finally leaving Costco (mind you know with NO drink, hotdog, or treat) I ran in to a sister from our ward who is also a grandmother and mother of many, many children. (Not sure the count but at least 7). We chat for a few minutes about her upcoming trip to the Outerbanks which reminds me how much I miss going to the beach . . . while Max continues in his rampage and now kicking off his shoes, throwing my list and pen, etc. I felt like I was almost 10 taking my little brother to the big store with no authority! Needless to say, I told Max over and over again how he had not been a good listener in Costco and that made mommy very frustrated.

After nap today, I am happy to report that he did manage to stay strapped in during our quick trip to Walmart. Another popular destination for Max and I since it is the closest. Tonight as he was falling asleep next to me, I reminded him again about how he had been such a good listener at Walmart - it made mommy proud. I did give him the "I'm so proud of you look and smile".

Our Little Garden

Since we finally have some garden beds along our house we were able to save some money and finally put some plants and mulch in this past spring. I know we should not be prideful but, I do have to say I am so excited and proud of our little garden! We have three varieties of pepper plants growing and Roma tomatoes as well! It seems like such a miracle to have little seeds grow and produce beautiful fruit. I am grateful for the skills and desire that my parents instilled in me growing up to learn the art of gardening. Now I still consider myself a novice but, I have discovered "Miracle Grow" and boy has it helped! Our azalea's that we bought were a little sad looking after we got them in the ground and infact, I think they were on sale because they were last years plants, not sure but I suspect. We were worried about them but, after applying a little "Miracle Grow" I can honestly say a miracle has occured! They look great. Half of them will bloom both in the spring and in the fall so I am excited to see them again. Half have white flowers on them and the other have a hot pink flower to them.

Our other garden beds were either revamped this Spring or created as well. Mark and I worked our tails off on our retaining wall for the front our house and put all new plants in their as well. Along side of our walk out basement steps we put Rhododendrums (sp?) and Hasta's which are doing great. They have a purple flower on both. We added two cherry tree's to our front yard as well.

All n' all . . . we really have a beautiful yard and Mark keeps our lawn looking just perfect all year round. He takes great pride in mowing, edging and weed-wacking our yard each week. I'm sure next year we will add more plants and trees but, for now we are happy with our accomplishments. Tonight we will have a ceremony as we pick our first red pepper!

Where's the Ark?

The other night we had a terrential down pour! It was greatly needed and boy were we happy to get some free water on our yard. I was in playing the piano with Max and we took a break from our singing . . . (which I'm sure Mark and Justin appreciated) and looked out at the storm. I noticed in our driveway we had a turtle making his way across it. I was so excited to show Max the turtle. I tried to point it out to him but, he was looking at me, like what are you talking about mom?

So, I opened the front door and in the rain ran out to the driveway to show him the turtle before it got under the truck. I called for Mark and Justin to come see the turtle and we found ourselves standing in the garage looking at the poor turtle getting drenched! Mark decided that everyone would need a closer look so he braved the picking up of the turtle. Max and Justin were very excited and it was all we could do to keep Max from giving the turtle a "luv". We kept telling Max the turtle will bite you if you keep trying to pet him on the head and we really did not need to make a run to the emergency room.

So, after admiring the turtle we decided to get him a box and feed him some lettuce and bread. But, I really do not think the turtle was hungry . . . but it was a nice effort. The boys wanted to bring the turtle in the house, to keep as a pet, which Mark and I quickly had to squash that idea! We decided that the best thing to do was to return him to the walking trail path near our home where he could explore and make a new home amongst all the tall grass.

Mark put Max on his shoulders and Justin carried the box with the turtle and food. We decided it would be a good lesson on animals and nature and the boys enjoyed a nice walk in the rain to "set it free"! The next day, Max was thrilled to tell his friends in nursery about the turtle and setting it free as it was lost in looking for the Ark!

Max Update

The past two weeks have a been very stressful and full of challenges. But I thought I would share of some of the progress and stories we have made with Max.

First, we have been successful at converting him to big boy pants. He now has a full selection of Elmo underwear that he is proud to put on each morning. We have had a couple of nasty accidents but, for the most part he is doing great! The secret I have found is to constantly remind him to go sit on Elmo. However, the evening of July 3rd we were at our Bishop's house in Stephens City for his annual fireworks show and Max told me twice, "mommy I need to pee" so off we went to find Ms. Carols bathroom. I was very proud of him!

Second, we have converted Max's crib to a day bed. We thought this process would help get excited about going to sleep in his own bed vs. falling asleep on our bed beside mom! The first night he fell out of the bed twice and the second night he fell out once before we just put him in bed with us. So, by the third night we were off to find a guard to fit around his crib mattress to help hold him in. Now this seems to help him from rolling out but . . . he can get in and out on his own. So, now we have a wondering 2 year old on occassion through out the night. The other night I was so sound asleep and he literally scared me to death as he was climbing up to get next to me. I now call him the traveling angel at night.

Max is also fun to listen to as he is going to sleep. The other night he was saying to me, "Not Walmart just Target . . . Not Walmart, just Target". Or another favorite was, "The flies are going nite nite outside" accompanied by "the grass is growing outside". His mind must literally be racing with thoughts as he tries to slow down and catch some sleep.

Max loves to go to church especially nursery. Our biggest challenge is getting him through the first hour of Sacrament Meeting. I take books, crayons, snacks, etc. but all of this still does not hold his attention and inevitably Mark ends up taking him to the hallway. Help! When do they start making it all the way through an hour and 15 minutes worth of attention? I usually end up using Nursery as a bribe to him. I tell him he needs to be a good listener and sit reverently so he can go to Nursery. That usually lasts for maybe 60 seconds! Oh well, I am sure it is just his age.

Any suggestions are welcome to others who may have a solution to holding their attention at two!