My bread bowls

Yes I am posting about my food so what. I had made some soups and Jakob actually seemed interested in trying them this time. For those of you who don't know, Jakob WILL NOT eat soup. Something about it not being a thick enough consistency or something. He only recently became an honest fan of ice cream because of the same reasons. Anyways, I thought I would make something neat and tried my hand at makeing bread bowls. I was actually pretty excited about how well they turned out! And Jakob ate two helpings of soup out of his before he ate the bread!!! Awesome!

Zoo Trip

So we have really been getting good use out of our Zoo Pass. A couple of weeks ago we used our discounts that came with it to bring along come friends. We all had so much fun and it is so nice to just go for a few hours and leave, and then pick it up again later.

Life in the fast lane...Seriously!!

I sign off of my computer everynight thinking, "Man I really need to update my blog!!" And of course I never do! So I am going do yeat another catchup and then post some pics.

Mike- Has been medically approved to have eye surgery to correct his vision. It's not Lasix (sp) but where they implant a permanent contact in his eye. I am not 100% thrilled but then again I can see when I wake up in the mornings. So we have no clue right now as to when he will actually have the surgery, but sometime this year for sure. He just spent a week in VA at a school, 10 hours in an airport trying to get home, one day packing for the boat, and will spend the next FOUR WEEKS at sea!! Poor guy he was so exhausted trying to fit family, work, and sleep in. But we are officially counting down to when we see daddy again!!!

Jakob- Oh that boy amazes me. The things that he is interested in, remembering, and the food that he is experimenting is awesome!! He is reading so well and starting to enjoy reading the signs as we go out in public again!! He was awarded the McKay Scholarship which will cover his tuition at a private Christian School and he seems REALLY excited about going there. Fingers crossed! Therapies and stuff are still in limbo with insurance and well beaurocratic crap! But whatever he will get what he needs. He is so funny because he has discovered music and music videos and sings them all the time. Amazing thing is that he is really starting to pick up the words where as before he would just mumble out the tune.

Hazel- Ah this child... Potty training seems to be going well. Of course we have good days, bad days, great days and HORRIBLE days but it's all gonna happen in due time. She has discovered her boobs and likes to walk around and point them out to you and show you where yours are like she is the first to discover them. She is talking up a storm and has to do everything Jakob does. I don't know what we are going to do when he goes to school or when he goes to NC for a few weeks. That is going to be one sad little girl. She is trying to give up naps which terrifies me, but we are working around it. I just have to cook dinner a LOT earlier than before.

Me- Well the past few weeks have seen some drastic changes. I hope they are all for the better, and I hope they stick around for a while. I have fully embraced the blessing of homeschooling and am reluctantly sending my son back to school next year for one more shot. Contradictions I know but he said he liked this school so we are going with it. I have discovered the "Going Green" movement and am pretty excited about what I have turned up. We are planting our own garden and trying to live as conservatively and healthy as we possibly can. I have even started to buy produce from an organic co op. Mainly I have happened upon some pretty awesome ladies that I feel I really can connect with and have fun with while we are all so different. It all reminds me of being in the mountains in school, and in Lenoir with all my B.C Friends (b4 children). Now I have the best of both worlds, comfy friends WITH kids!! Classes started for me last week and I seem to be ok so far. I still have a LONG way to go b4 the end so PRAY HARD!!

I think thats mostly what's been happening for the past couple of weeks. I am exhausted so I will post more tomorrow I hope! NIGHT!!

It's Potty time!!

We have been working on Potty trainning with Hazel diligently for about a week and a half now. I was a little nervous about "pushing" her into potty trainning, but she seemed to show all the signs that she was aware and at the same time just being a little stubborn. So last week she officially started using the potty. She started with a poop which YES I took a picture of and NO I will not show it to anyone. Mike was at his eye dr appt and I felt bad he missed it. She has been doing great ever since. We are not completely done already but just letting her run naked around the house and using the potty whenever she wants. She gets really into it since we make such a big deal about it and loves to "tell her pee-pee bye". The only downfall is that she doesn't like to take the time to poop and waits... awhile and then you know it hurts. LOL as I write this I realize that yes I am talking about poop! But hey it's the little things right?

Anyways, Hazel is doing great, Jakob is doing great. I will have more updates on him in a few weeks. We are working on some different avenues to get his therapies rolling so pray, cross your fingers, howl at the moon, whatever it is that you do but please keep us in your thoughts as we begin this process again. Loves!!!

Our trip to the Everglades!!

Monday we decided to brave the notorious Everglades and see some wildlife. Jakob and I have been talking about habitats and since Mike was off, I figured we should just make a field trip out of it. Oh my goodness it was awesome!! These pictures do not even begin to describe how cool it was to be so close to these creatures!! None of these shots are zoomed in just so you can get a feel for how close we were!

Jakob showing off the first gator of the day.

The birds were spectacular!

We were on a deck overhead but there were tons of these guys just chillin'!!

Of course the day would not have been complete without an official two year old tantrum! Apparently Hazel decided that if she couldn't have it her way then she would just plop down and wait until someone came to see her point of view. NOT!!!

The cutest shots ever and a couple of family pics

So, we painted Mike's car....

A couple of preschool playdates ago we were talking about colors and mixing them and such. It was right before I had split the group into two sessions (we had grown too big!) and so I was trying to think of a fun activity that all of the kids could do together and still be on level for each child. So, we painted Mike's car. I ixed washable paint and shaving cream andthe kids went to town! There were so many great shots, I just couldn't fit them in. Here are some of my favs.


Hazel and Julia not quite knowing what to do with the mess on their hands. Notice Hazel's new infatuation with belts. She has to wear one of her brother's everytime she sees it.

Jakob having a ball painting Mike's car. He couldn't understand why we were not going to leave it there to let him see it when he returned from work. LOL

This one is one of my favs because little Baylee is REALLY getting into it! She was the last girl left still painting after the others gave up. You go girl!!

Jakob's special message to Mike. He is just the sweetest!!!