Super Storm Sandy

I really can't believe all the trouble mother nature has sent while we've been back east. Perhaps that is part of living near the coast and I am only noticing now that I am so close to the action. In the year and a half that we have been here we have had an Earthquake and hurricane Irene in August 2011, a strong storm that was extremely unexpected this past spring. That storm was nuts! We had been at a friends house and on our way home the night was calm and warm, but once we got in the house and up the stairs we could here the wind howling like crazy. Then the thunder lightening and rains came too. Ryan and I put the kids to bed (on the floor to be safe) and went out to the porch to watch the storm. I couldn't sit out there long because it had turned really cold out. By the next morning we had large branches spread throughout our yard. As we drove around the neighborhood we saw more branches up and down the streets, a several trees fallen on top of houses and cars. It was so wild! And of course after that storm we had Super Storm Sandy. We just hunkered down in our house and waited out the storm. Thankfully we weren't affected very much., we didn't even lose power!

During the storm we Baked! There is nothing like the smell of fresh homemade bread. 

Sam passed the time by coloring, his new favorite pass time. 

Micah and Sam emptied out their play kitchen and turned it into an Ark. Micah was a Zebra, Sam was a Giraffe,  and I got to play God. My job was to close the Ark once the animals were all safely aboard.  

Summer and Fall mixed up in one happy post

So much to catch up on...

The last time I posted was back in July. The first half of the summer was so wonderful. My cute little family and I had so much fun. We got to do a beautiful hike to a beach at Calvert Cliffs State Park, visited Yards Park multiple times, spent a lot of time outside at other favorite parks, visited the national arboretum. We went to Utah for an internship for a few weeks and had a great time for about 2 weeks. 

The next 3 weeks that we were in Utah were not as wonderful. Sam got sick, he had multiple bouts of Diarrhea a day for 3 weeks straight. Sam got sick first, then he passed the sickness on to me and then Micah and Ryan got it. We were all down, we were all miserable but for the rest of us we only suffered for a couple days.Poor Sam lost so much weight which he couldn't really afford to lose). The day after we got back to Washington, DC Sam was symptom free. This short recap is not doing the whole experience justice. It was so miserable!!!

Since we've been back, Ryan has started his final year of Law school. And Micah and Sam and I have continued to explore this beautiful area. Our new favorite spots are The aquatic Gardens and Oxen Hill farm, and Hanes point. We have also started going to a different Trader Joe's, this new location offers child sized shopping carts, which is the best discovery of all to my kids. 

I have opted out of having Micah enter preschool this year. I feel very torn about my decision. However we have been enjoying each other so much and and I would rather his learning be done as he plays and explores on our adventures. 

Sam is cuter than ever. I love 2 year olds. Yep that's right I love age 2. It is a tough age, but there is so much more cuteness going on than trouble. I just love it. I have started to realize however that I don't take enough pictures or videos of Sam. I'll have to work on that. 

As for me, I am swell. I have a mountain of projects to do. I am on a never ending journey to simplify my life but there is just so much that I want to be a part of, I don't know where to draw the line. So I am trying to do it all, and sometimes I am succeeding but the rest of the time I am just kidding myself. My main focus lately is to stay connected to all the wonderful things I have in my life that I may take advantage of, my family, friends, religion, etc. I have come to realize that I have so many blessings in my life, I am too absorbed in trying to do it all that I am missing the simple pleasures. So I am trying my very best to stay connected. 

I really want this blog to be a place where my family and friends can keep up with everything that is going on with me and my cute little family on the east side. Wish me luck on future posts. 

Earlier this week...

I know that my family really likes to see all the fun happy things we do. I took the boys to go pick a pumpkin earlier this week. We went to Homestead Farm in MD and had a blast! We had a picnic, visited the animals, read Halloween books, played in a huge pile of Hay, and took lots of videos and pictures. I'd say it was a day to remember. We had such a good time!

Sam turns 2

Birthday Boy!

Sam turned 2 at the end of May. We had so much fun celebrating. We just had a low key party of 4 celebration, but it was perfect. We started the day with balloons all over the front room, then we let Sam open up his gifts. Later that morning we took Sam and Micah to Yards Park, which is a splash park off the Anacostia River waterfront. It is one of my new favorite DC spots. I can't get enough of it! Neither can Sam or Micah they ask about going all the time.Yards park has an amazing splash park. There is your typical fountains that spray up from the ground and at different levels. So you never know if your going to be splashed in the knees or in the nose. this section is on the upper level of the park and the fountain has a waterfall connected which leads to a large pool of water. The pool is HUGE and it's only about 12 in deep. I feel very comfortable letting Micah splash around on his own while I stay with Sam. I am so afraid to take my kids swimming alone, but Yards park is very doable and we all love it!

Sam enjoying the pool at Yards Park

We made Sam a yummy pizza and had some cake and ice cream. Sam asked for a Chocolate cake for his Birthday, I had originally planned to make a lemonade cake but that was purely for selfish reasons. So Chocolate cake it was. I have never made a chocolate cake that I like but this time, this chocolate cake was so good. I have never make anything so amazing in my life and I'm not sure I can ever do it again. But of course I have to. I wish I had a reason to make it right now, but I think it is going to have to wait until my birthday. Yes, I would make my own birthday cake if it meant eating that amazing piece of heaven again.

Sam (and Micah and mom) blowing out his candles

We ended the day with a family movie night. It was a fun day. Sam got lots of phone calls and packages from family. He had a really good time.

As part of my effort to give homemade gifts, I wanted to make Sam some overalls. I had a really hard time finding a pattern that I liked so I decided to make my own pattern. It was a lot of work but I am so pleased with how the overalls tuned out. I think he looks adorable in them!

Sam sporting his seersucker overalls I made him.

Sam at 2

Sam is very polite, he always uses names when speaking to you. If I sneeze I always get a "bess you Mommy", if he needs to apologize, "I sorry Mitah". For some reason he get's really irritated by Ryan and you will often hear him say "No Daddy!"

Sam loves to play trains. ever since Sam has sparked his train interest, Micah has come back to playing with trains and they can be up building a track, and crashing their little trains in their room for hours!

Since Sam's Birthday over a month ago his biggest accomplishment has been to potty train. Yesterday morning Sam kept complaining that he was poopy, but every time we checked his diaper it was clean. so after a few minutes I offered to take him to use the potty. He relieved himself on the toilet and had such a sense of pride when he was done. Of course we we're celebrated his success the whole day and decided that we definitely had to encourage him to keep using the potty. He had about a 50 % success rate on day 1.  We are on day 2 today and Sam only had 1 accident. He is so enthusiastic about using the potty. I think his main motivation is to flush the toilet when he's done. I love it I am so proud of him!!!

Sam wearing his first pair of underpants

Favorite toys- trains, cars, sand box, and water table
Favorite books- Gordon's new view (Thomas and friends story), old hat new hat
Favorite food- pizza, avacados, chips, all fruit, trail mix, popcorn
Favorite place to play- Yards park, back yard (sand box, water table), bedroom
Favorite place to sleep- On the floor next to his bed
Favorite song- Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam, Friday (Rebecca Black)

Sam and Micah with their new water table from grandma and grandpa and new swimsuits from nana and papa

Sam loves
- pass (pacifier)
- bear
- Gordon
- bath time
- when daddy comes home
- read (be read to)
- his shoes off 

 
Sam does not love
- getting out of the bath tub
- going grocery shopping
- walking, he insist on being held
- eating anything except what was listed above
- bedtime
- chore, these consist of putting his pillow on his bed, getting dressed, saying a prayer
- piggie back rides
- goodbyes

Strawberry picking at Butler's Orchard

We went Strawberry picking with some friends on Monday at Butler's Orchard. As you can see it was rainy which made for really bad traffic. But as it turns out rainy days are perfect for picking strawberries. Besides us and our friends there weren't any other strawberry pickers around. We had the whole field to ourselves. It stayed nice and cool outside. And the strawberries were beautiful, juicy and delicious! Here are all of the ways we have been enjoying our strawberries.

My little "helpers" ate more strawberries than picked them

The first thing we did with our strawberries is make Strawberry Pie. We only ate it the first night so the rest of it got blended up and turned into a strawberry pie Popsicles. Waste not want not right!

Then Ryan and I made Strawberry jam. yum!

The next morning we had Strawberry Banana smoothies for Breakfast

I also had fresh Strawberries in my oatmeal a couple times

Chocolate dipped Strawberries of course!

I had strawberries on top of my slice of Sam's  Chocolate Birthday cake. mmm,,,

Mothers Day

I feel like this picture says it all. As a mother I've got my hands full, but I manage somehow, I love being a mom and I look good doing it! I actually don't love a lot of pictures of me but I ALWAYS love the pictures of me with my kids, and I can't get enough of this one!

I love being a Mom. I love that I get to be the one who is home with my kids. I love that I get to teach them about the world. I love that I get to teach them about God. I love that we can spend a whole day reading books together. I love painting with my kids. I love cooking with my kids. I love my kids!

I love my Mom. I love her for all of her wisdom (even though at times I haven't always appreciated it, I see it as wisdom now). I love her for her humor. I love her for generosity. I love her for helping me recognize how to listen to my body (seriously!)

I love my Mother-in-law. I love her for her kindness. I love her for her generosity. I love her for bringing Ryan into the world. I love her for her example.

I seriously love all of the women in my life that have shaped and molded me into who I am. I am not perfect, but I like to think that my positive features have been influenced by strong, powerful, loving women.

Yeah Visitors!!!

Right after finals (the day after to be exact) my in-laws came to DC for a visit. It was so much fun to have visitors. We dragged them all over Washington to see the sites, I really loved taking them around to the local scene. We went to dinner on H street one night, went shopping in Eastern Market, went to a Nats game, Farmers markets, one of our favorite Capitol Hill Restaurants, Tortilla cafe and so much more. I love being around family!

Shopping in Eastern Market

Me and the boys after the Nats game. Doesn't Micah look great in his hat!?

Law School Widdow

Can I start by saying I am so glad that April is over! This month has been a doosy at our house. Ryan had final papers and tests and work that were all taking up every moment of his day, so we basically saw him for a few minutes at breakfast. Ryan's absence had a huge impact on the rest of us. The boys and I always look forward to the end of the day when we know that our whole family will get to spend the evening together eating dinner, playing games, reading books.  Over the course of the month our perfect bedtime that I brag about became non existent. Usually we can do our simple routine and have the boys in bed by 7. They usually sleep through the night and wake up at 7. And Sam sleep 2-3 hours during the day and Micah has a nice quiet time for an hour, who wouldn't be proud of this schedule!?As of late we have had Many night of boys falling asleep as late as 10:00! o top of that Sam is not napping during the day and he is practically waking up as much as a new born does every night. I DON'T blame Ryan's busy schedule for our bedtime falling apart, I do think however, that if he was more accessible we could have tackled this issue together while it was fresh and could have had a resolution by now.

Who's to blame you ask? I am! Sam has recently started climbing out of his crib and I thought that it would be more safe to convert the crib to the toddler bed. Once I did that, he just didn't stay in bed for naps or bed time. And he persuaded Micah to get out of Bed and play too. I didn't mind the giggling and chatting that I could hear coming from their room. But I did mind the big mess they were making and them running out of their bedroom and slamming doors. After a few days of that nonsense, I switched Sam's bed back over to the crib. Since then Sam has been climbing out of his crib and falling asleep on the floor. I started leaving a big soft blanket bed next to the crib so that Sam could have a soft place to sleep, that worked for a little while but then he started crying every time I said goodnight. So I would sooth him until he was nearly asleep and then sneak out but he would start crying again. I started laying him down on the blanket on the floor (instead of the crib) and that worked or a  couple nights. Then I started laying down next to him on the floor and usually falling asleep before him.

As of tonight, we have switched the crib back to the toddler bed, I fell asleep next to Sam in his bed and so far we have had a peaceful night. I am crossing my fingers that he will sleep all night long. Now that I have made you feel sorry for me allow me to share one last horror story for all intents and purposes to make you laugh.

On Saturday night, I lay Sam down on the floor for bed on his big soft blanket. When I went in to check on him and Micah later on I could not see Sam anywhere in the room. I checked under his blankets, in Micah's bed, around the corners in his room. I was panicking by this point. I called Ryan upstairs, ran to check my room for Sam ran back to his room, then saw him snoozing away under the crib! I don't know how he ever made his way under there, he hates reaching under his bed to grab a toy or a book. What the heck was he doing sleeping in there?

Monday, Monday

Yes I am watering my Sam so he can grow.

Remember my post about how my kids keep making and playing in mud? Well the saga continues. As I was getting ready this morning the boys were out playing in the backyard. Apparently Micah decided that Sam needed a hair cut. So he took a spray bottle and got Sam nice and wet. Just like any great stylist would do, Micah was really trying to sell his product. I could hear Sam telling Micah NO, but Micah was not going to take no for an answer. So he thought Sam might be persuaded by sampling the product. Have I mentioned that the product is dirt?! Needless to say, by the time I got outside to check on my poor temporarily neglected children, Sam was a big muddy mess. We we're running late for a birthday party so I packed kids, mud and all into the car. I dropped Micah off and came straight home to address Sam.

I was not about to put Sam in the clean bathtub and risk getting a muddy ring around the tub. So I pulled out the watering can and showered Sam white trash style in the front Yard. Lucky for Sam it was a very hot day today. He loved it, and so did I. We had so much fun this morning. It isn't very often that Samuel and I get one on one time together.

As part of my resolution to give homemade gifts this year. I made this for one of Micah's friends. Micah went to a Birthday party this morning and in true Lindsay fashion, I didn't throw this beauty together until this morning. Unfortunately it looks like I just threw it together. Oh well, Micah Loves this apron and was so happy to give it to his friend as a birthday gift. Hmm I wonder if I should get around to making one for each of my boys?

My kids and I have a playgroup we go to every Monday with some friends of ours. We Each take turns planning the activity. Last Monday we signed up for a class at Brookside Gardens in Maryland. It was such a lovely garden, I still can't get over how beautiful it was.

You gotta love camera timers! the only way I ever get in pictures is if I put the timer on the camera and jump in. In this photo Micah ran out of the shot, as you can see Sam is pointing in his direction.

Happy Easter 2012

Easter morning with the family. Complete with chocolate, jelly beans and watching "He is risen" (living scriptures cartoons).

Today has been such a great Easter. I have felt my Savior's love so strongly today as I spent time pondering who He was and how His life has made a profound and everlasting affect on my life. I read my favorite passages as well as The living Christ Declaration and it just affirmed my testimony that he lives! And this makes me so Happy!!!

Micah has been anticipating Easter for a long time now. For the last month he has been running into my room every morning asking me if it's Easter yet. When I answered in the affirmative this morning he was so excited his his mouth dropped to the floor and his eyes nearly popped out.

Micah hunting for eggs in the yard

Sam is an energy leach, meaning if Micah is Happy and excited, he is too! The boys we're both dancing around the room, laughing and playing and completely oblivious to the fact that they had Easter baskets waiting for them downstairs. But as soon as they saw them they we're on a whole other level of Happy.

Sam hunting for eggs at the Church ester egg hunt on Friday at the National Arboretum

Getting my hands dirty

Look at me posting 3 days in a row! I don't actually plan on posting every day per se but I do want to post more regularly. To make up for the guilt of living thousands of miles away from family, I really want this to be away for everyone to have a window into our happy, crazy, busy, silly, lives.

This morning I woke up with the urge to plant beautiful flowers in my yard. Thanks to home depot and a very patient husband who hung out with the kids all day, I did just that! I should also mention that Ryan was multitasking and helped me dig out old stumps when the going got rough. I may or may not have planted these beautiful flowers in my neighbors yard, but with the weird plot of dirt right between our two yards its hard to know. Either way the dirt looks so much prettier with flowers there and I don't think the neighbors will mind. It was a bit rainy which made digging very easy, it also gave me a chance to try to embrace my curly hair. I love my curls, but not so much with this hair cut. I love to garden, I can't wait to get our vegetable garden going next!

I also had the chance to have the young women come over tonight to watch the General Young Women's broadcast. Between the slightly unbalanced chairs and the snoring, we had such a good time!