my toddler bat

Today Asher turns 18-months old, which means that I can no longer deny that he is now a toddler. Some books start using the toddler term at age 12 months, and some at 18 months. So for the last 6 months, I went with calling Asher my baby; now he is my toddler!

Halloween is also coming up and we have had a few occasions this week to get some use out of Asher's bat costume. Last weekend we attended Boo at the Zoo with my "mom friends" (the term I use for my friends who are also mothers of wee ones). The husbands also came along, so this was a change, and a fun one at that. We were quite the rowdy crew, especially as we tried to get 4 "toddlers" to stand still for a picture! I think we had the cutest skunk, giraffe, lion and bat there! Although it rained and hailed for much of our time there, we still had fun.

And today we attended our Kindermusik class and mom group meet-up in costume. Asher still = the cutest bat alive and I wanted to just eat him up! (Why do we use this expression exactly when we think a baby or toddler is cute? Eat a kid? That's weird. And I'm not the only one because I also heard several moms also use it today!)

Did you know bats sucked their thumbs?!?! :)

Lately I have been...

... neglecting my housework

... trying to book haircuts for Asher and I

... folding a lot of clothes

... fallen behind in watching the only 2 shows I do watch, and I want to catch up!

... running a lot

... connecting with a "running friend" in a really meaningful way

... missing old friends in a big way

... thankful for my "mom friends", and sharing the journey of motherhood with them

... stressing over finances

... planning simpler meals

... tying up loose ends

... enjoying my freshly waxed bikini line, underarms, eyebrows and legs (thankfully the lady I go to is SUPER cheap)

... wanting to blog about a million things floating around in my head, but they remain unwritten

... amazed at the words Asher is picking up

... anticipating my 4 year wedding anniversary coming up in a couple weeks

... humbled by the way God can touch my heart through music

... overwhelmed at the love I feel for Asher, especially when it hits me unexpectedly

... too busy!!!

My birthday recap

So last Friday was my big 29th birthday and it was a great birthday weekend!

Greg surprised me by taking my birthday off of work so I could be free of all mommy duties for the day. In the morning Greg took care of getting Asher ready and fed for the day, and I only had to worry about myself. Asher and I then went apple picking with some friends, and I left Greg to do some housework. When we arrived home, Greg then took care of feeding Asher and napping him while I took a nap of my own! After that I spent a few hours by myself in Chapters, sipping on a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks, and reading. It was glorious.

I arrived home just in time for supper, which was going to just be leftovers from the night before. We were supposed to go to my mom's, but she ended up being sick, so we couldn't make it. Greg said he was going to get my leftovers all ready for me. It was at this point that he started stalling. He offered to make me supper from scratch, then he started doing more little odds and ends jobs, and I could tell he was trying to kill time. Of course I couldn't just play along, but instead bugged him and bugged him, but he wouldn't cave and admit what was going on. He finally heated up my leftovers (just to shut me up, I'm sure), and as I was half way through them, our close friends arrived with pizza and cheesecake! This was a fun surprise because Erin was home just for the weekend from Virginia, and I got to spend my birthday with her and Jason.

Other birthday highlights included:

- sleeping in both days on the weekend

- my favorite Indian food restaurant on Saturday night, with a super great friend date while Greg stayed home with Asher

- games night with friends Saturday night

- a birthday run (you know I have a problem when I want to run on my birthday!)

- lots and lots of lovely gifts and birthday wishes from friends and family (everyone is just too sweet). Now I get to go shopping!

- laughing at Greg who forgot to wrap my gift, so instead threw it in his duffel bag and gave it to me that way (can't complain, he did do so much to make my day special!)

So here I am, 29 and feeling fine!

Thanks everyone for making by 29th birthday awesome!

It's the ball tent!

I had you all fooled! Asher's favorite is totally the ball tent. He always runs and jumps into it first thing when we head down to the play room, and he repeatedly goes back to it while we're there. He has had it for several months, and although he wasn't crazy about it at first, the boy certainly loves it now. Here is some evidence of how often I find him playing in his beloved ball tent:

Perhaps the fact that Greg also enjoys playing in the ball tent serves as a bit of a motivator for Asher (even though most of Greg's intention is to throw balls at me!)

Yay for the ball tent!

Raindrops on roses, and whiskers on kittens...

... these are a few of Asher's favorite things! We play downstairs with these toys every day, but Asher certainly favors one toy over the rest. Can you guess which of these three he spends the most time with?

option A: his ride-on car

option B: his ball tent

option C: his climbing structure/slide

Happy guessing!

All I want for my birthday is...

- Cora's for breakfast
- a new sweater
- to sleep in
- to laugh
- to not have to cook
- time away
- for this guy not to be sick!

My birthday is in 2 days and I'm praying that, within that time frame, Asher recovers from his cold and his painful monster of an ear infection that we just found out about. He has been super duper cranky, and had a very runny nose, and has not been sleeping very well. I would take him feeling better over any birthday present any day.

Oh birthday fairy, if you're listening, HELP!

grateful

There are many things to be grateful "for" but, as I ripen with the seasons of life, the many reasons blend into a sacred mystery. And, most deeply, I realize that living gratefully is its own blessing.
Michael Mahoney

As I reflect on Thanksgiving, and all the things and people I am grateful for, it would be so easy to write a list and leave it at that. But I don't want my gratefulness to be something that springs up every now and then, or something I remember to do at a particular "season" of the year. I hope to recognize and acknowledge my gratitude every day, no matter what circumstances I find myself in, and live life out of this heart.

Wishing you thanksgiving today, and all year through!

Apple Butter

Apple Butter

10-12 crisp apples, peeled, cored and quartered

1 cup + 2 TBSP brown sugar

1/2-3/4 cup apple juice

1 tsp cinnamon

dash of ground cloves and nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Put all ingredients in a medium pot and cook on medium heat until the apples are soft and break down.

2. Let simmer for 45 minutes (I had to add a bit more apple juice here as I found it was drying up quite a bit).

3. Puree

Holy yum! I received a new recipe for Apple Butter from a mom-friend of mine last night at a recipe swap, and I couldn't wait to make a batch today. It's fabulous!

We have lots of apples around from our recent apple orchard visit, and it was fun to get to use them in this different way. For those of you who don't know, apple butter is used like a jam would be. I especially like it on bagels with cream cheese. Delicious!

Apple butter: a new reason to love autumn!

weekly feature?

Perhaps I should start a weekly feature titled "Interesting places I find my son" because this is what I found today.




Yup, that's him stuck inside the toy box! Perhaps I shouldn't ask where I will find him next; I'm afraid of the answer!

PS - Punctuation boot camp girl, was that the appropriate use of a semicolon?? :)

never fails...

This guy never fails to amaze me, or crack me up. He is always into something, exploring, and trying to figure it all out. Here are 2 things I caught on camera last week that made me smile, atleast in the moment!

Super- Asher!

I think he considers this "helping"!

I wonder what this week will bring... hum?