Two-Year Olds Pick Up More Than You Think :)

Just wanted to share something funny that happened this evening. First let me set the scene. Matt's sitting at the dining room table on his computer and I'm straightening up in the dining room and the kitchen. Klaeyton is in the living room building train tracks and playing with his trains. Matt and I start having one of our laughing arguments as I call them where we just pick at each other. 


Me: You're a weirdo!
Matt: No you're the weirdo!
Klaeyton (from the living room): Your mom's a weirdo!


Ok so if you don't already know, we crack the "your mom" joke all the time with everything and apparently Klaeyton has picked up on it. 


Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom.

Couponing

I'm sure you all have heard about this new craze. Craze it may be, but it works, and if you're interested I'll be making posts periodically about some of my coupon adventures. So I started a new label titled "Cha-Ching" and it encompasses all of the great deals I have gotten using coupons and sales and what not. I'll even give a glimpse of how I do things :)

The Promised Land...

If we could visit Kentucky every month we would. We love it there. We made this trip to visit the Hardens and to bring one back with us ;) So it was a short trip (they're all too short) but an eventful one. 

One of Klaeyton's favorite things to do is ride the "tractor" with Papa. The spent the morning enjoying the nice weather and being good workers in mowing the lawn for Nana. It's such a joy to your children have a blast with their grandparents. I love that when we go to Kentucky, Klaeyton acts as if we never left. He waltzes in and gives hugs and kisses and begins talking non-stop. It truly warms the heart. 

Another thing I love about Kentucky is being able to just relax and breathe a little. This is Klaeyton being goofy with a pair of glasses Nana gave him to play with. 

This wasn't taken in Kentucky, but I had to add it. Aunt Lana has officially moved in and Klaeyton's prancing around in her shoes to prove it :)

Easter 2011

Don't they all just look so precious? This was Easter morning before church...I wish I would have taken an after photo when Klaeyton was covered in chocolate, hair all messy and no shoes and Jules' dress was covered in spit up. Why don't I think of these things at the time?

Yeah...as you can probably tell...Klaeyton wanted nothing to do with that Easter Bunny...He was clenching his teeth to say cheese only so that Jess would give him candy afterwards. I couldn't help but laugh. 

We didn't do Easter festivities until Monday when we were in Kentucky (More to come on that). Klaeyton did so well hunting for eggs! I think next year I'm going to use an alternative to that yucky grass...what a mess.

Good Earth Friday

When I woke up this morning and did my usual Facebook check, I noticed that not only is today Good Friday. but it's also Earth Day, which got me thinking. I just finished reading The Case for a Creator not long ago (it's by Lee Strobel) and to get off on a slight tangent...it's a very scientific book dealing with the idea of an intelligent designer vs. darwinism and other evolutionary theories. It has to do with a lot of earthly science and it popped into my head when I was thinking about writing this post. Anyways...Earth Day is all about remembering to take care of the Earth and Good Friday is about remembering that Jesus sacrificed himself for us. The fact that both these remembrances are on the same day causes us to also remember that the Earth that we take for granted is a gift from God. I did some research today on the relationship between taking care of our Earth and obeying God. Here is a short jist of my conclusions:

God created Earth:

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth... God saw all that he had made, and it was very good." (Genesis 1:1, 31)

God owns the Earth and everything on it and has allowed us to rule it:

"Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.' (Genesis 1:26)

God loves and values Earth:

"God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good." (Genesis 1:31)

I think that obviously if God loves and values the Earth, shouldn't we? God tells us to love one another because he loves us, so why shouldn't the Earth be any different? If we look around, not only are people hurting people, but we're destroying the very thing that God gave us to sustain ourselves. 

So today...pray...for Jesus died an excruciating death for you...and plant a tree...because we're killing one the biggest gifts from God. 

Wants and Needs

One day we were all walking around Target and we stopped to look at the toys. Klaeyton normally does very well in the store (probably since I'm a firm believer that you have to actually take a child into the store in order to effectively teach them how in act in one). Well this isn't a story about a wild store tantrum, but as we walked by the trains (Klaeyton's new obsession) we hear "Mom, I neeeeed a Thomas." Of course the first thing Matt and I do is laugh because it just sounded so funny. We spent the rest of the trip trying to get Klaeyton to say "I want a Thomas" instead of "I need a Thomas". 


This became an ongoing thing, and we're actually still working on it. Whenever Klaeyton wants something we hear this whiney "I neeeed...such and such." It really made me think because I thought I was doing much better with deciphering the two whenever I, myself speak. Apparently not. But it is nice to have such a cute little boy reminding me that there aren't nearly as many things that I need verses things that I want. 


And I can firmly say that this is something that I deem so very important in raising a child. Especially in today's society that says we have to have all these material things that ultimately determine our worth. I want Klaeyton to know that God will always provide for what he truly needs but that he has to understand the difference between a need and a want. 


Ultimately, I think we should all step back every day and Thank God that our needs are met and that we have the means to obtain things we want. 

A Month Old List

1. We all know how bad I am at keeping this blog thing up. I need to just ingrain in into my routine each week and then maybe I won't go weeks without posting. 


2. I have ingrained running and exercise into my routine! Anyone who knows me knows how much I hate physical activity so this is quite the accomplishment for me. I gotta get myself buff for vacation this year :) 


3. I can now run for twenty minutes without stopping. Woo!

4. Jules is now eating cereal and 1st stage foods. And she's already 4 months old. Where did this time go? She weighs 13.6 lbs which is almost half of Klaeyton! It's gotta be the formula chunking her up. But she's definitely happier and has quite the little girl squeal. 

5. Klaeyton got a hair cut :) If summer ever shows its face, he won't be sweating to death. 

6. Speaking of summer...we are sooo ready! This was taken on one of those rare warm days here in Ohio. 


7. Matt is officially an STNA and is in the midst of finding a job. He starts school this summer at LCCC going for most likely his RN. It's definitely exciting. 


8. I'm still working for the church from home and I'm also an Avon lady :) I really like getting free stuff :) here's my website www.youravon.com/allisonharden and here's my facebook page where you can get all sorts of updates www.facebook.com/allisavon. 


9. Klaeyton's new toy obsession is Thomas. And of course it's definitely an expensive obsession...


10. I already have an idea for my next post, Yes! :) hehe at least you know it won't be weeks before the next one. 

I Love Being A Mom (In the Ninja Turtle Voice)

Today marked the first day or nice weather here in Northern Ohio. I would post some pictures, but haven't put them on the computer yet. It has been a productive day so far. 


But before I venture into all that we have done, I should mention my minor emotional breakdown earlier this week. I woke up Tuesday morning with my to-do list ready to go, which consisted of a staff meeting, other work for church, a ton of school work and of course the daily doings of having the two kiddos. Well half way through my first cup of coffee, my dry heaving spell began. And sadly, it didn't go away. I had to call out of my meeting and park myself on the couch with a temperamental infant and a demanding two-year old. Needless to say, I kind of lost it. I spent a lot of time crying and praying and came to a very difficult decision of withdrawing from school. Thankfully the director of the department was beyond understanding. I don't believe that I'm quitting, just rather post-poning. 


I wear a lot of hats and play many roles and sadly I think everything was suffering because of my anxiety over school. Right now, the most important thing I am is a wife and a mom and I'm totally ok with that. I know that even my work with the church was suffering and I just don't want that. There will be plenty of time for school. There's so much more I could say on this subject, but if you really want to know more, just ask :)


Because I really want to get into my day with the kids today. Klaeyton helped me clean the house. He wiped down walls and doors and even took stuff upstairs for me. We ran some errands and he was so good. We went to the park and tested out the sit-n-stand stroller I found at the resale....ummm totally awesome :) He talked my ear off the whole time and it was so nice to be outside. When we came back to the house I let him venture out back.  I busted out his power wheels jeep and attempted to pick up six months worth of dog poop, which was yeah uh totally disgusting. I wonder...can you hire someone to do that?


Anywho...it's been a fantastic day and a reminder to me of how much I absolutely love being a mom :)

A Leash?

Matt's in school for his STNA training all day during the week this month. Well yesterday I had errands to run and had to get Jules to the Dr. to be checked for thrush (yes we have it again) and I had to take both kids with me. This is the story of our day...


I was able to get lots done in the morning as far as getting my Bible read, I got to do some treadmill work and even got things done for church. It was a productive morning. Well I loaded up the kids...in the rain of course...and took off. We went to the bank drive through, then to the Dollar Store....Klaeyton was really good and helped pick out some things for Daddy's birthday bag, like a whoopie cushion :) He was even really good when we picked out the balloon and got it to the car. Next stop...Target...Once again K did awesome. We got birthday brownies and some other stuff for Matt and then took off to Burger King for lunch. I let Klaeyton play in the play place for a little while and he actually spent most of his time talking to his own reflection in the window. It was so funny even other people started to notice. 


Well then we left for the Dr's office. This was the part I was worried about. I packed all kinds of distractions and even reminded K of how we have to behave while there.  Of course K fell asleep on the way there, so he was cranky when I had to wake him up. He felt the need to run around the waiting room, talking to everyone he came in contact with. I kept trying to get him to go potty and he wouldn't. I could tell he needed to go, but I've found out that even if I take him to the potty, he's so stubborn on point that he still won't go until he wants to. So I just knew it was going to come at the worst possible moment. 


So of course they call us back and he does surprisingly well...until the doctor came in. While examining Jules, Klaeyton informs me that he needs to go potty...of course. Well the doctor tells me she's done and she'll write the scripts while I take them to the bathroom. I grab my naked baby (only in a diaper), a blanket and rush a toddler holding himself to the bathroom. In all the rush I don't even notice Klaeyton pull the emergency switch in the bathroom as I'm setting Jules on the changing table so I can help him onto the potty. The next thing I know a nurse is knocking on the door to check on us as this insistent buzzing keeps going off. I have to reassure her that we're fine and flip the switch back up. I'm trying to keep K away from the pull string and get his pants back up when Jules starts screaming. I then make our way back into the office so that I can get Jules dressed and ready to go. While doing so Klaeyton takes everything out of the diaper bag in search for his dinosaur that is under his leg. After shoving everything back in the bag, buckling Jules in her seat, we start to exit the exam room. Well...Klaeyton has done so well all day staying put and waiting for my hand (since I'm carrying a diaper bag and a huge baby carrier on one arm and I have to open the door with the other)...except for that moment. He just took off...running....at full speed....around the entire building. As soon as I say his name he runs faster. I drop the baby (not literally) by the reception desk and start briskly walking through the hallways to capture the blonde headed bullet racing through the buildings. I hear him laughing and even heard doctors and nurses laughing....I was so embarrassed. I'm pretty sure I turned beat red. A nurse blocked his way (after we made a complete circle around the building) and smiled as she gave me his hand. All I could say was that I'm sorry, he's never done that before. She just laughed and said it wasn't the first time she had to wrangle a toddler. She was commented on how fast he is...I know that will be a great compliment when he starts track :)


I think I'm going to invest in a leash. I never thought I'd say that...but after this...I can see why  they were invented. 




Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

A Weekend List

It's been a great weekend :)


1. I'm officially an Avon lady again :) well almost officially. Hopefully my contract will be done being processed tomorrow. Once I get my website link I'll post it :)


2. My sister came to stay with us. I love when she's here. 


3. We hit up some resales Saturday and I am sooooo stoked that I found a sit-n-stand stroller in fantastic condition for only $55. I know they retail starting at $140 so I was pretty darn excited. I wanted to post a picture but it's still in my trunk....


4.....because what do you know we got more snow last night. Oh Ohio how I'm beginning to loathe you. Wait...I do loathe you. 


5. We got K some wooden train tracks and trains and I think we have found his new obsession. 


6. We had an awesome Kidstuf Live service this morning at church. It was pretty much da bomb. 


7. We got our HDMI cable and adapter and are now watching netflix on the tv :)


8. We went out to Red Lobster for lunch today and I was able to see Molly...who I really do miss. 


Oh the joys of being an ordinary mom :)

Assembly Required

In this past week I've grown to have more appreciation for things that need to be put together before using.  But let me tell you, I think companies are awful about their assembly instructions. It makes me wonder if the people who write the manual actually ever put anything together. How does one get that job anyhow? Do you walk in and say excuse me I've put countless things together in my lifetime, can I write your assembly instruction manuals? Well that would mean that the manuals are helpful. These people are probably not  that experienced in putting things together. 


Between the treadmill and our new entertainment stand I could have pulled my hair out. Not to mention the couple blonde moments I had that resulted in needed assistance from Matt and me kicking myself in the behind. 


And on a side note I appreciate Matt so much more for putting the crib together...I know that thing is one giant huge pain in the butt. 


I just wanted to rant for a minute. I do believe that baby and children's things are the worst things to put together. But this week I experienced the terrors of putting other household things together. 


Oh the joy of being and ordinary mom.

My New Best Friend Bertha

Moms need friends too. And well thanks to Uncle Sam, this is my new one :) If you read my post on my Goals for 2011, you read that I was going to make myself start running. Now, I am by no means a runner. In fact I hated it...until this morning. 

Let me back up a bit. I made the decision to start running initially because of peer pressure. All my friends run and even my husband runs. I know it's good for your body and frankly I know that I need to exercise more. So that's how it made the goal list for this year. But I also know that I have two small children, a husband who works outside of the home, I work from home and we're both in school, oh and I live in the dreadful state of Ohio where one day we get 3 ft of snow and the next it's sunny and warm. So needless to say I knew it would be hard to run outside all the time, especially when I'm at home with the kids or even just in the winter. So I invested in Bertha up there and knew that if I paid money for something I would at least force myself to use it, even if I didn't like it. 

Well after much hassle and frustration getting the thing together and started last night, I actually looked forward to trying it out this morning. I downloaded this application for my iphone since like I said before, I am not a runner. I knew I'd have to start small and work my way up and this app came highly recommended. 

So I hopped on this morning with my app ready and my kindle where I could see it. I hear about people reading while they run all the time so I figured, hey it's worth a try. Umm so yeah I loved it. And I felt so good afterwards. The natural high of exercise is awesome and I know it's something I've been missing out on for awhile now. Sadly, according to the program I'm not supposed to run again until Friday, but I might just have to be a rebel and do it again tomorrow ;)

Oh the joys of being an ordinary mom.

10 Things Two-Year Olds Do

Two-year olds do some awfully funny things:


1. They enter this independent stage...I hear "Kayton do it!" at least a million times a day...before vacuuming, before meals, before getting dressed, before watching a movie oh and even when Jules is crying. I now know why it takes twice as long to do things with toddlers. 


2. They wear your name out. When Klaeyton wants my attention (mainly in the car), I hear "Mommy...mommy...mommy" about a gazillion times :)


3. They get obsessed with certain things. For instance...cheese. Klaeyton wants it on everything and literally picks the shredded or grated cheese off of things and eats it. 


4. They repeat everything they hear and tell you over and over again. Klaeyton's words of wisdom these days is "we don't kill dragons" since his new movie obsession is How to Train Your Dragon.

5. I don't think all two-year olds do this, but mine does...

He's kind of particular about his toys. 

6. They spill things. And they do it on purpose just to see what comes out :)

7. They pick up on your habits. When K makes a mess, I hear... "I made a mess" in this awe shucks kind of voice. 

8. Even two-year old boys are picky about which kind of underwear they wear. It would be awful to be caught in boring undies. It's gotta be cars or buzz and woody or dinosaurs or robots or something. 

9. They have likes and dislikes. Klaeyton loves when Daddy plays the guitar, however Mommy is never allowed to sing or dance :)

10. They still snuggle you...but only when they really want to. 

Klaeyton's Manners

I have to share this conversation that I had with Klaeyton recently but first let me set the scene for you...Klaeyton and I are on the couch. He's all dolled up in his undies and t-shirt and he farts...(yes I used the word farts, you don't teach your two-year old the term 'passed gas' that's just ridiculous)

K "I farted"

Mom "what do you say?"

K "thank you"

Mom laughs hysterically

Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

Dress Up?

A forewarning before I get to this post...I've been making notes to myself when a blogging moment arises and I have a whole list of stuff I want to blog about and since remembering my ideas are one of the hardest part I think you can expect more from me on a regular basis :)


We had Jules dedicated this past Sunday. And I have to say she looked so darn cute. 

But speaking of looking cute...it's a pain. I don't understand why people dress their kids like this on a regular basis. It's obnoxious. And I know that it can't be comfortable. I can only imagine what she was thinking when I took this picture... "Really mom? You're going to put me in this frumpy flowery dress with an itchy layer of fish netting underneath? You're crazy" But no worries I didn't pay money for this dress, it was given to me along with about three others that I'll have to find occasions for. 

Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

The First Video Attempt..."I'm Batman!"

I wrote this post about four days ago but for some reason have been struggling to get the video to upload. I've tried leaving it up for hours and it still won't upload. Anyone know how to fix this?

So instead I'm re-routing you here so that you can watch it (if you haven't already)

Back now? Ok. So here is the rest of the post I wrote four days ago :)

Klaeyton's vocabulary is through the roof now as he will pretty much repeat anything you say. I had to post this video because I still laugh every time I watch it. And by laugh, I mean actually laugh out loud even if I'm the only one in the room. I can't help it. It's hilarious. I bet you laughed when you watched it...didn't you?


I have to admit I have it pretty good right now as a parent. Klaeyton's old enough to carry a conversation on with (even if he does repeat himself eight million times) and he still gives me kisses and hugs (of course when he wants to), yet he's independent and likes time to himself. I can't even describe what it's like to watch him grow and to watch this little personality blossom. I know I'm totally a mom when I tear up when watching him sing the whole itsy bitsy spider song by himself.
Jules is two and a half months old and is still in the sleeping a lot stage, so I get to snuggle her whenever I want, well almost. Sometimes I feel like I'll never accomplish all the things on my list of things to do, but I do make sure to take time out to snuggle both those kiddos. I'm still working on not feeling so overwhelmed and trying not to be a perfectionist with everything. I have good days and not so good days. Anyways, back to Jules. I pierced her ears. Bring on the criticism! I had her pediatrician do them and I won't lie, I felt awful because she got her shots the same day. They gave her tylenol but I still felt like the most wretched mom ever. She was such a trooper though. Check out her bling...

Hopefully I can figure out why the videos won't post. I'd love to post them on here as well as facebook. 

A Post That Doesn't Have Much To Do With Valentine's Day

I'm not big on Valentine's Day. The whole idea and concept is nice, except that it gets turned into a massive hallmark holiday that puts entirely too much pressure on the male gender to out do what they did the previous year. Besides, I have a fantastic hubby who does nice things for me throughout the entire year. :)


I figured I should open this new post with a tid bit on Valentine's Day since that is in fact what today is. Whew, it's the middle of February already. Time is flying by. But I guess that's what happens when you have two children, are working and go to school. I'm just trying really hard not to miss anything. 

They're growing so fast. Klaeyton is pretty much fully potty trained and his speech is awesome! Everyday he does something to make me laugh, smile, and sometimes want to cry because he's not my little baby boy anymore. Jules is awake and alert a lot and Klaeyton just loves her. He's always talking to her and wanting to know where she is. In this picture he was telling her about Jungle Book and she was just cooing away at him. 

She already looks so big :) She's now 10 lbs 6 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. She has short legs. She can still wear newborn pants :) And if you look closely you can see her earrings. I pierced her ears (insert debate here :)

One of my favorite pictures :) she is always go cross-eyed and in this pic it's just the one eye but it's enough to make that smile look a little crazy.














School is going well. A little rough at times. I think I let myself get discouraged and I shouldn't. I'm just as capable as anyone even if my undergrad degree is in something completely unrelated.  If anything I have already learned to plan better (and I didn't think I could get any better at that) just so that I can get everything done that needs to be done. Speaking of school work...that's what I have to get to :)

MiscKalaneous :) No that is not a real word...

I should be doing homework. I've been saying that since yesterday. And granted it isn't due until Monday, I've been determined not to wait until the last minute... which I have to say isn't working so well. What can I say? I work so much better under a deadline. It will get done. I'm not worried. 


On that note, I've also been determined to blog more...see how that has turned out? The truth is I'm busy. Especially since school started :) Here's what's been going on...

I took my trip to Anderson, Indiana for school...
and it was a great trip, with just a few setbacks. I took Jules with me since I'm nursing and well, we ended up with thrush and Jules had an awful cold. It was quite the adventure getting her pediatrician to call in prescriptions out of state and for me to play phone tag with both the midwives and the bfsg warm line at emh. She did really well in class though and overall I had a great time. 

Then I drove back, picked up Matt and K and took off to Kentucky. I wish we could go there more. It's always as if we never left and it's always such a great time.

 While we were there we got to attend Big Hill Church for service and I got to witness the musical talents of the Harden family :) It's a beautiful thing to see them together :)

Now we're back in Ohio. Boo. With the massive amount of snow that we're still getting. It's obnoxious. But on a good note...we started the whole potty training thing with Klaeyton and it's going sooo well. So far today we have had no accidents :) I do worry about nap time and bed time but I know eventually it will all work out. Tomorrow will be a true test since we have church all day, so I'll be packing lots of extra clothes but I'm hoping for the best :)
I know I already posted this picture, but it's just so darn cute and I'm sure one day he'll hate me for it.


Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom. 

My Little Jules

Jules is now 9 1/2 pounds! Wow! And she's 21 1/2 inches long! And today she is six weeks old. And I can't even begin to tell you how fast it has gone by. Definitely faster than it did with Klaeyton. I attribute it to a couple of things. 1. She's a second child and with K I couldn't wait to see how he would grow, with Jules I know what to expect and I just want her to stay little. 2. I have about 8 million things going on and am so busy that sometimes it's easy to forget to savor the moment. 


My baby girl is eating well and taking a bottle. She smiles a lot and is beginning to coo and ahh at us. She loves tummy time and her head is constantly drenched in Klaeyton spit from all the kisses he gives her :)

Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom :)

My OCD and Klaeyton :)

Change is a good thing. Spontaneity isn't evil. It's ok if things aren't perfect. I have to keep telling myself these things. That things can't always stay the same, that it's ok that everything isn't planned out to the last second, that a sock on the floor isn't the end of the world. I've always been a little obsessive compulsive, but sadly I think it's gotten worse since I became a mom. Now how much sense does that make?


So the last two weeks have been both eventful and stressful because of this character trait I can't seem to shake. It seems like the more I have to do, the more I fret about getting things done. I keep praying. And I keep telling myself, "Alli slow down." I know things will settle. 

On a lighter note, I have to share this picture. 

This is what happens when Klaeyton refuses to take a nap :) He falls asleep eating m&m's. Yes that's m&m on his back. I'm not really sure how it got there. 

And I wanted to share this one too

I think this is the picture I'll blow up at his graduation party. :)

Ok one more of Klaeyton

and Matt...Oh aren't they cute?

And while we're sharing pictures and happy moments I have realized that I haven't hardly posted or written about Jules very much...so my next post will be dedicated to her :)

Oh the joy of being an ordinary mom.