Be Mine

I LOVE LOVE valentine's day.

I always have.

Not for the romance of it though

But for the love.  The day where you just love your whole class, your whole family, your whole world.

I love making valentines with my kid's faces.  And with their personalities.

But most valentines it is happening in the eleventh hour and we are all frantically taping, stapling, glueing to get them done.

And since we are in the eleventh hour, I have become good at making them simple and quick to make so they only take an hour to put together.

#1. Take a picture on my phone, upload to my computer.  I just use pages because that is where I have my favorite fonts from DaFont.com and other free font sites. But you could easily use pic monkey or picassa

#2. If you type your child's name on the valentine you just saved your kid 20 minutes of writing their name 30 times. (some may say well I want him/her to practice...Great! valentines are a wonderful way to have them practice IF YOU HAVE THE TIME. More often than not we don't have the time.)

#3. Then print.  I love printing through picassa because it gives you the option to print 4x6, 5x7, 3x5, wallet etc...  I can get the biggest bang for printer ink/paper.  In the case of Alayna's card this year, I just set up the page in 2 columns and printed.

#4. Set up an assembly line and cut them out if necessary. (Allie's was a full sheet of cardstock so her selected treat would fit her wrist just right. She only had 6 little valentines in her preschool class so printing a full sheet wasn't a bank breaker)

She was so sure that her little friends needed a candy bracelet.

So we found candy watches (gender neutral ;)

And wrote: What time is it?

Valentime

What preschooler doesn't call it Valentime at some point?

Alayna didn't want her mug on her card BUT she did want a ring.

We found some squirting rings that were a big hit.  Her cute teacher let them go outside to squirt each other.  She was thrilled to have the hit valentine!

Jacob's Room

Mom came to stay with us last week and Jacob wanted to show her his room. But unfortunately my house has too many stairs so we made a video and Jacob gave her a tour.

One of my favorite things growing up was decorating and redecorating our rooms. Mom was so creative and I loved how she would let us be a part of the process.

How I wish I had pictures of each time we decorated our room.

The best is when Mom gave me creative control in high school

and I painted the glass globe light?

That is probably why I love making my house a home and enjoy design so much.

I also LOVE home shows/tours/open houses. Free snoop time.

Alayna was given this gene as well

as she asks for a tour at just about

every house we visit, friend or not?

So why not open my house up for a tour?

We will start with Jacob's room

A sports theme of course....

I found his bed on ksl classifieds/craigslist. It started out like this (pic @ end of the post) I painted it a barn red and added football pulls.

His light was a clearance item I found at Emily's Lowes for $35.

Night light is a planet shape from Ikea

I don't love valences, but in Jacob's room, he would be swinging from drapes so the valence is from his nursery bedding set.

The hanging airplanes are from the free build n grow clinic at Lowes. We painted them to match his nursery bedding.

Last winter, I was so sick and pregnant but felt so bad for Jacob being cooped up all day I decided to put a swing in his room. I originally planned to hang it from the ceiling but didn't have enough room, so on the bed it went. It is perfect for a leisure swing.

(Which I read that swinging aids in brain development)

His bedding is the softest, warmest corduroy set from Walmart. And it has washed so well so many times......

The item that took the longest to find/figure out was what to put over the bed. I thought of so many options. But it is where he sleeps and put his legs up on that wall so I had to keep that in mind. I finally came to the conclusion that I wanted to do a football field. It took a year and a million searches, failed attempts until I found this rug. When I found it, the heavens opened and angels sang, at least I felt like they did, I was so excited. The perfect size and Univ of Utah.

The chair is from a set that we moved to the basement and the most comfortable one in the entire house. I put it in there to encourage even more story/snuggle time for Jacob.

The bookshelf I made when Ashtyn was 2 or 3 as a knock off from Pottery Barn.

The letters are paper mache from JoAnns. I saved my 40% off coupon and bought one each month til I had his whole name. Each one mimics a sports ball with paint, fabric (they have basketball feel fabric) or stitching. Probably my favorite part of his room. I love how he spells his name every time he looks at it.

I will admit that his room is not always this clean.

BUT it usually can be in 10 minutes or less.

If I want my kids to keep their rooms clean it has to be easy.

Kids like to stuff and shove so why not let them.

So I keep it pretty simple but I also spend time cleaning their rooms with them every few months.

Toys have 3 options, the train box, car box or toy box.

I keep a few things separate so they are easy to find, usually the smaller, most played with items. So for Jacob he has a box for trains and the 2 yellow boxes on his bookshelf for cars.

This way he doesn't dump out the entire toy box looking for Thomas or the green matchbox car. He had the sort figured out right away and knows where to put his cars or trains so they don't get lost. He is not perfect but when I help him clean his room and we sort through all the boxes he is able to get everything in order.

This also gives him a opportunity to sort an important skill for kindergarten.

But it also helps when at a store and he says he wants another toy and I tell him that his boxes are full and there is no more room.

The rest of his toys get dumped in the toy box which makes cleanup so quick and easy.

One of the other things I find important in a kids room is easy taking care of clothes. Jacob has been putting away his clothes since he was 2. I sort them into pants, shirts, jammies and roos then he puts them away in the drawers. I put hooks in my kids closets for easy hanging. 4 year olds don't do hangers but can put jackets, hats and bags on hooks.

"Beat Bee Eye Yew"

Jacob tried so hard to understand the rivalry this year.

I love when my kids start understanding football and the excitement around their Dad's job.

It is especially fun to watch them wrap their little melons around the 'rivalry'

Like when Ashtyn and Alayna got out of the car in Provo a few years back,

took in a deep breath and

looked at each other saying in unison,

BYU really does stink.

(they aren't allowed to say byu sucks, only byu stinks)

We also have been working on being Utah Fans, not byu haters ;)

First Jacob kept asking questions about colors of the teams.

Then he was very curious where byu was located.

In years past we have stayed with the team at the hotel in Provo.

This year we had soccer games all day saturday.

We left early so we would miss traffic.

And we did.

We arrived at the hotel in time to make posters and

watch the players board the buses.

Ashtyn thought of many ideas for her poster using play on words and ended up with this one.

She thought it was pretty cool to get a picture with Brian Blechen and Jordan Wynn and the poster.

Alayna was a little perplexed by the play on words....

She wanted to draw a tractor/bus/truck for Jacob and ended up with this poster.

When we walked into the stadium they had to approve all our posters and if not fully explained it could have read "Run over those 'bleep' byu cougars"

but the beep is Coach Jay Hill honking the horn ;)

Jacob's poster said Beat BYU!

Let me preface, Jacob is four

and other than a minor lisp he speaks very well.

BUT the poor guy tried and tried but could not get his lips wrapped around these words. Instead kept saying

"Beat Bee Eye Yew"

then a crooked look knowing something wasn't right

"Beat Bee Eye Yew"

Eventually after saying it wrong to about 50 players getting on the bus he started saying "Good Luck".

After the game he was in unbelief as he kept asking if we had "beat bee eye yew"

As we have listened to Sport Talk in the car he hears byu or provo and reminds me that we went to provo where byu is and and we beat them.

We all liked this guy

And just for the record,

The night before the game I told Jay

"Please, please make this one a blow out. I really want it to be 54-21"

Jacob sings Selena Gomez

He is just like his Dad and Ashtyn, they can learn and remember the words to songs. I laugh at his winking and pointing. He is such a funny little 3 year old.

Sunday's Cookies

Sunday one of my favorite neighbors called to borrow a movie. The girls delivered it and came home with king-sized candy bars. Later that evening she brought the movie back with a plate of cookies. The girls answered the door, grabbed the cookies and movies shutting the door as fast as they could. I saw the plate of cookies on the stairs as I ran out to tell her thanks and visited for a minute. The minute turned into 45 or more. Her poor patient son listened to us and finally let out the biggest huff and eye roll as he said he was missing the game. He is a good son. I came in and put dinner on the table. As we were sitting down to eat, Jacob came down the stairs with this face. That is when I remembered the cookies....

"I having a tea party mom"


Inside his pop up tent was the plate with a small hole for his hand to conveniently retrieve his chocolate chip delights.



Needless to say he didn't want to sit down and have any more "dinner"

Jacob's Eating Disorders and Feeding Therapy

This has been one of the biggest parenting struggles so far. And I need to document our progress. Maybe one day when He is eating me out of house and home I will look back and see how far he has come.

Jacob has had eating issues from the beginning. I was determined to breastfeed for at least 6 months. I BF him til I dried up at 3 months. I was disappointed to be cut so short. We started him on formula and he was shortly thereafter put on prevacid and carnation good start. When it was time to start solids, he was so finicky. That is when the oatmeal started. Looking back this post was the beginning. He would not try anything new. It has been oatmeal or milk 3 times a day. Worried about his nutrition so I added in carnation instant breakfast and V8 fusion.

Since then, 2 years later, the little guy has battled through a lot. He is a HUGE kid. He is 2 and wears mostly size 5/5T. The above pic, shows how much he needs more meat on his body. I have taken him to a couple of Dr.s and my BFF is a Speech Therapist/Feeding Specialist at Primary Children's Hospital. The Dr.s keep telling me that he is growing and looks healthy. Amy has done some therapy with him and has given me therapy to do with him. We have tried rewards, threats, love, fights...everything.

We are now to the point where we eat dinner/meals as a family as often as possible. He has to eat 3 bites of what we are eating (we started at 1bite) It is such a process.
He used to be sent to the garage and have a good cry. Fighting to even get 1 bite chewed and swallowed without gagging or throwing up.
The first 4 times he ate mashed potatoes, he threw them up. Twice immediately and twice that night in he bed.??
So getting a bite down has been the first hurdle.
Now he gets to play with a special fire truck when he gets his bites down.

I can't figure out what it is that has him gagging? Is it the texture? Is is the flavor? Is it hurting him? Why doesn't he gag when he is eating something sweet? Oatmeal, poptarts, granola bars, chocolate, apples, grapes, yogurt? I have put the 'why' on the shelf for a little while and see if we can't just get through the bites.
There are little victories, like the day he ate a small (5 bites) bowl of mac and cheese. And other days when it takes 35 minutes or more to get one bite down. He almost always will say "mmm yum it is so good" but will never want the next bite. He now has tasted beans, noodles, chicken, steak, lettuce, spaghetti, peaches, pears, strawberries.
He very rarely gets more than 3 bites. Most recently, he did eat an entire dino chicken nugget. (It took more than 45 minutes)





You can tell he is trying so hard. BUT seriously it is so FRUSTRATING, it is such a mental deal for this little guy. Finally in the above video, by 1 min and 54 secs he gets the noodle in and gags a bit but chews it. He did eat another one after we shut the video off.

I can't wait for the day he asks for seconds.