Keeping a 2 year old busy

So I know that I have said before that I love age 2, and I do, but it is not without it's challenges! It is so much fun to be able to really communicate with this little person who is so curious about everything. And everyone talks about the "terrible twos" but with our experience at least, age 3 is much more difficult as the "sinner" side emerges more- defiant, self-willed, and the list goes on. But I must say, that Rylin is so busy! By this age, Kacia would sit and watch a cartoon, or even part of a movie, but Rylin does not stop, from the minute she wakes up "All done night night Mom!" repeat, repeat, repeat... until the moment she goes to bed. So with the weather rainy last week, here are a few things we did to "try" to keep her entertained! I got out a bowl of beans for her to play with (they are cleaner than rice), and we did alot of play dough. But you have to understand, that I never had Kacia mix the play dough colors, I don't really know why, but now my perfectionist of a 4 year old does not allow Rylin to mix either, so instead, I just have to get her out a new color every 90 seconds! "All done dis one! Diffent one please!" She is my shadow all day, insisting that she "see" whatever I am doing in the kitchen. If I don't put up on the counter, she goes and scoots her small Cinderella folding chair over to stand on. She has to push every button I use, whether it is on the microwave or DVD remote, or simply the handle to flush to the toilet. She is almost ready to start potty training, and asks, "potty chair" often, but we are going to wait for this one until we move into our more permenant house. I'm shooting for April. She asks "why" constantly, at which I just respond, "you say ok mommy." But yesterday, she said, "no okay, WHY!" very, very loudly, and will also ask, "why no why?" She also told me, very genuinely as she was holding her tummy, "I sick, baby in tummy." I think she is also convinced that she can see the baby if she peers deep enough into my belly button. See why I love age 2, they are so much fun, and she makes me laugh constantly as she tries to do everything that Kacia does, but at the same time, she wears me out!

Withdrawals

My name is Jenny. I am a coffeeholic. It has been 15 days since my last Starbucks (or any good, $4 coffee!).

So Kevin and I are trying something new. We are trying to live on a budget. This may be surprising but in our nearly 9 years of marriage, this is something we have never done, at least not successfully. But it is time. With Kevin being self employed, living on a typical budget, based on percentages and what not does not work for us. There is no predictable, dependable income, so this has been the excuse we have used. But we know that it is time we get smart, value money, and make wise choices with what God gives us. So, for now that means cutting out unnecessary purchases so we can determine how much money we need to spend each month vs. how much money we actually spend. So since I have both coffee and creamer in my house, getting myself a "treat" when I am out running around would fall into the unnecessary category. However, for those of you who do not live in Redding, you need to understand that in our "small" town there are atleast 7 Starbucks, 4 maybe 5 Dutch Bros., and numerous other coffee drive thrus that are constantly calling my name. So although my withdrawals are strong today, my desire to really glorify God in this aspect of our lives is even stronger. I am really excited to see how God is going to change us as we learn this new and difficult discipline. But have patience with me, and I am warning you that if you bring a white cup with a little green circle logo on it around me not to turn your back, because you may end up with an empty cup!

Baby Number 3

So with having 2 girls I get asked everywhere I go what I am having. When I reply that I don't know yet, everyone always says, "Are you hoping for a boy?" I politely reply that we would love to have a boy, but I have 2 very adorable girls, and so if I have a third girl, that will be just fine for us. It is amazing the pressure you can feel over something you have absolutely no control over! But perhaps the most difficult individual to deal with has been Kacia. She has been praying for well over a year for a baby brother. I have told her that God always hears our prayers, but sometimes He answers them differently than how we want. I told her that God can see more than we can, and always does what is best for our family. She will nod her head, and then say, "okay, but if this one is not a boy, you can just have another baby, right?!" So, yesterday we went to the dr., and after doing all the measuring, and looking around, finally she starts pointing at the screen, "So this is a leg, this is the bottom, and right there, that is a boy part!" Kevin and I were so excited! We are going to have a son!!! Kacia is absolutely thrilled, and had to add, "See mom, I was right and you were wrong, huh. Now we can have two sisters and two brothers!" To which Kevin and I both quickly added, no only one brother. And she says, "Well maybe after this baby, you can have just one more!" Nope! I told when she is the mom she can decide how many kids to have, but for Daddy and me, 3 is the perfect number. So we are all very excited and praise God that He does hear our prayers, and yes, He does always know what is best for our family (and fortunately this time that happened to be in agreement with what we wanted as well)!

Our Snow Vacation!

Well, I have been waiting to blog about our trip to Mt. Bachelor because Kevin has pictures of Kacia skiing on his laptop that I keep forgetting to put on my computer. But, since I had a few minutes, I decided I would post about the rest of our trip. We had a great time! The house was awesome, the weather was really good at the beginning. The day Kacia went skiing was perfect, which also meant great days for sledding as well. But by the last part of our trip it just snowed and snowed and snowed! I have included a picture of the outside of the house because I love the snow in the trees. We got a little bit of cabin fever the last two days since it was really snowing too hard to be outside, but it was so pretty to watch from the inside! It did make me think of how different life was before kids. On snowy days like that I would have cuddled up next to the fireplace with my book and cup of coffee, instead of cleaning play dough up off the ground, breaking up arguments, etc. But I also realized the trip would have been so different if it was just us adults. We wouldn't have bothered sledding or ice skating, and it is so much fun to watch your kids have so much fun! Rylin loved sledding! (Which was really the only activity she was old enough for.) She kept wanting to go "again" and "faster"! Kacia enjoyed it all! She is eager to go up skiing again, and I am so thrilled that my kids get to learn this sport as children rather than as an adult! I am sure that by the time baby number 3 masters the bunny slope I too might be ready to try some different runs. But I have already prepared myself for the fact that they will master this skill much faster than I have! All in all a great time for our family and a wonderful time with our best friends! (I will post Kacia on the slopes later!)