Garth Brooks

Vegas was absolutely AMAZING.  Super hard to leave the kiddos, I had a major break-down the night before we left and in the morning when we got on the plane, but everything went well and we are home now... we are exhausted, but we are home :)  So, the entire reason we went to Vegas was to see Garth Brooks, and what a life changing experience that was!  Some of you might be thinking that I am crazy, but let me tell you, I have waited to see him for so long, and never thought I was going to be able to, and then my WONDERFUL husband got us a trip of a lifetime. 

This concert was like nothing that I have ever seen before... Just Garth, and his guitar.  There wasn't a band, or any special effects, just him, and his stories about how music has influenced his life.  Tricia even made an appearance and sang a few songs, and for those of you that know Garth Brooks music... we did sing the 3rd verses!  It was something that I will never forget, and something that I will talk about for a long time.  He first came out and sang Much to Young (to feel this damn old) and there was me... 15 rows back, with tears running down my face.  One thing about Garth Brooks that I never expected...He sounds so much better in person... if you can believe that!  His voice is so incredibly powerful and it just gives you goosebumps.  So, if you are wondering if I had a good time?? YES!!!  It was the best show that I have ever seen, and if he goes on tour... I am getting front row, and back stage passes!  Honey- you better start saving!!!





BEST NIGHT EVER!!!

Boys Will Be Boys??

We have been very lucky that Tammy (Kyle's mom) has taken Blake to the Little Gym ever since he was about 9 months old.  We have seen amazing things with him as far as hand-eye coordination and also balance and learning how to play appropriately.  Nothing but great things to say about this place and it's teachers.

Last week, we had our first little incident.  Blake is somewhat of a sensitive child, I do not believe that he is overly sensitive, but he can get his feeling hurt.  Kyle and I have always felt really good about the fact that Blake has very good manors.  He knows what is appropriate and what is inappropriate behavior.  There is a new little boy at the little gym that is somewhat challenging... he doesn't have and boundaries, runs into all the kids, pushes them, and steps on them.  Blake stayed out of his way, but was more upset that this little boy hurt his friend, and for the first time in almost 3 years, Blake didn't want to participate.  He was so upset by this little boy that he completely shut down.  The other kids were really upset also, and cried to there parents but Blake was really upset and kept asking Grandma Tammy to put that boy in timeout. (which I actually think is really funny)

Now, I sit outside the class and watch while Tammy goes in with Blake and does all the activities, and I saw it all.  Tammy did an amazing job of trying to reassure Blake and make him feel safe, but he just wasn't having it, he wanted to go home.  So, Tammy talked to the teacher after class about the situation, and I was in there too, and we both expressed our concerns about this new little boy in class and how his mom spends the entire class chasing him around the gym and how he is really upsetting Blake and the other kids... I got the impression from the teacher that this behavior from this other boy is normal, and that boys are just boys... HELL NO IT IS NOT NORMAL!  I am sorry if I offend anyone, but last time I checked, it is not appropriate to allow your child to run into, step on, push over, or jump on anyone.  I think that she knew that she struck a nerve, and then sympathised with Blake and said that she would talk to the other parent about making sure that he doesn't hurt the other kids... I SHOULD HOPE SO!

I am reminded of this post on Pinterest that I have seen... "Boys will be boys, or so they say, but I'm raising my boys to be men some day...Shouting is not nice, and kicking hurts... nobody likes their face in the dirt... So boys that fight, kick and shout...will be boys that sit in timeout."



It just makes me really sad that Blake might not want to go back and do something that he really likes because one child made a bad impression on him.  We are not going to MAKE him do anything that he doesn't want to do... I am all for putting my child in an uncomfortable situation and making them work through it, but at his age, I don't think that he is ready for that.  We are going to take a week off from going... we are going to be out of town anyways, but then we are going to take him back and make it as positive as we can.  Hopefully that will help, but we will see. 

***Confession:  Part of me wanted to tell him to hit the kid back HAHA  I didn't do that, but I secretly wanted him to... I would have had to reprimand Blake if he did take action into his own hands though...LIKE PARENTS SHOULD!!!

Trying the More Natural Approach

So, the more and more we watch the news, the more I see how much nasty stuff is put into food, and this whole "natural thing" started when I went to start Luke on Rice Cereal, and now it has high levels of arsenic in it, and you should only give it to your kids once a week... umm, hello, how about not at all??

In April,  we bought half a cow... grass fed organic beef... and we love it.  It was quite a sacrifice to make financially, but we felt that it was better for us, and we really wanted to try it out, and we are sure glad that we did!  We actually know what we are putting into our bodies, and I know it didn't come from an assembly line of cows in cages in a nasty slaughter house.  I guess it makes me feel better knowing that it ran freely on Dan and Julie's farm :)

So, back to the all natural thing... I was looking for an alternative to the rice cereal since it is that time, and what I ended up doing was made some pured potatos with breast milk and Luke absolutely LOVES them... so yesterday, I talked to Kyle, and we are going to eat more healthy, and I threw in there... we should go organic... I figured it would be a little bit more, but HOLY MOLY!!  I went to Fred Meyers, and I was shocked!  They have a pretty good Organic and natural section, but I almost feel like I need to be rich to shop in that section.  I bought some bread, eggs, yogurt, granola, fruit and veggies...just the basics, and not very much at all compared to what I normally buy, and I spent over 100.00 on food that filled 2 paper grocery bags.  I mean, I would love to make this sacrifice for my family, but goodness gracious... I am a stay at home mom and we have ONE income, and that is just not in the budget.

We do want to start using more natural products, but we are going to have to start small, and slowly start incorporating them into our home.  It is just discouraging that it costs more to buy something that is less processed.  Groceries in general are going up and up, but organic is crazy expensive! But starting small will hopefully make it less overwhelming.  Our main goal is to not eat anything out of a box.

So, since the whole organic thing, I have become a canning fool!!  Canned a bunch of Italian plums, dehydrated some too, and they are super yummy!!  I also pureed some and put them in the freezer for Luke when we have intestinal issues :)  Made a batch of Raspberry Jam, 2 batches of Loganberry Jam, and 1 batch of Marion berry Jam... YUMMMM!!!  We eat a lot of PB&J in this house, so this is more of a necessity!  Also, we have some apple trees on our property, but they are not good to just bite into.  Some have some worm spots in them, but if you cut those out, they are something AMAZING!!  And perfect for applesauce!  It takes a long time to make the applesauce with peeling, cutting out the bad parts, cutting them into small chunks, and then actually making the sauce and canning it, but it is SOOOO worth it.  There is nothing like homemade applesauce. So for now, that's all the canning I have done...next year I hope to do a lot more with the veggies in my garden, but this year, it just didn't happen with a new baby in the house... we had other things going on :)

Yummy canned plums!!

Blake LOVED helping!



Sometimes the ugliest apples make the best applesauce!!

Blake turned 3!!

This day has always been bitter sweet for me... each year it gets easier, but still some really scary memories of how Blake came into this world.  September 29th is a day that I realized what it takes to be a parent... what sacrifice means, and what unconditional love feels like, so for that, I am so very grateful.  There was a nurse in the NICU named Liz, and she said to me " you don't know how strong you are until you have to be strong, and I know you are stronger then you feel right now"  Then she let me hold my baby for the first time (48 hours after he was born)  I will never forget that, and I will never forget her.  I have tears in my eyes now just thinking about her,  and what that moment felt like... the first time I was able to hold my child.  I remember just looking at him and crying, being so thankful for that moment.  I didn't care about the what happened before, or what tomorrow meant, it was just that second, and I will always remember that feeling.




Now, Blake is 3...and what an exciting 3 years it has been!  Mr. Blake is an active, healthy, strong boy.  He has a tenderness about him at times that could never be taught, but also, a fire in his eyes that shows a deep passion.  He is my amazing little man, and my miracle baby.  Every day, he says, or does something that amazes me... what a special boy we have...

Blake loves:

Batman
otter pops (green ones)
french fries
acting like a cowboy
riding his bike
watching Little Bear
Reading Cat in the Hat
running bear foot outside
digging in the dirt
jumping, swinging, and bouncing off anything that he can

Happy 3rd Birthday Blake!!