Comparison: the poison of parenting

Today a friend on facebook quoted her daughter (younger than Lincoln) using real words, full sentences in fact.  And I let the poison that is Comparison creep in.  All I want in the world is for Lincoln to start speaking.  I long to hear his sweet voice say "love you momma."

We are all guilty of letting this poison in.  Me, sometimes so much so that it consumes me.

Why is my kid in the 10 pt club when others his age are in the 25 pt club?  I wish my baby was sleeping through the night, so and so's is.  Why isn't my toddler saying words when others younger than him talk in sentences? Why are my girl's letters backwards, her friend can sound out and spell words?
And on, and on, and on.  Well I've decided I'm stopping.
God blessed me with my kids, they are "fearfully and wonderfully made."  And I need to cherish them as such, not compare what they are and aren't doing to someone else's kid (or worse still, comparing my kids to each other).  This poison of comparison has two side affects, pride and shame.  I either become prideful because my kid is doing so well compared to others or shameful because my kid isn't measuring up. I want to guard against both in my life, so I'm going to stop comparing.  Yes, I'll be proud of my kids and the little victories they have, but I'll also stop feeling shamed that my kids haven't succeeded where others have.

God has us all on an individual timeline, and this poison made me forget that.

No more. 

no words...

Just this.

Sawyer Jon

Never would have thought I'd have a baby with blue eyes.  Denim-blue eyes.  But it happened.  Not sure they'll stay, but at almost four and a half weeks, I think it's likely.  He's pretty handsome, of course I'm a little partial to someone I grew inside me.  

Enjoying Life {I Heart Faces}

I haven't blogged since I don't know when.  I was busy this spring gestating a baby and then three and a half weeks ago birthing said baby.  Thought I'd jump back into blogging with a link up to I Heart Faces July photo challenge. 

I love this picture of sis holding baby Sawyer for the first time.  She prayed and prayed for a sister, but God had other plans for our family.  And even though she cried when dad told her we had a boy, when she got to the hospital to meet brother she was so sweet on him.

LEGO Obsession Continues {the girly edition}

After Christmas I had got on the LEGO website, don't really know why actually, but I came across these.  A new line of LEGOS, just for my girl.  How cute!!  We were already getting her a big girl bike, but knew what we'd be telling grandparents to get her.  It's no secret that in our house LEGOS are a bit of an obsession with Mason.  Now Brooke would be able to join in the building fun.  Unlike Mason though, I suspect her sets will stay put together.  Granted, Mason keeps several of his intact, but he goes on building sprees where everything gets taken apart then put back together in some new creation.  Brooke on the other hand has been playing with her sets for a over a week now just as they are.

I just CANNOT get over the cuteness of these!!

Olivia's Tree House.  I spy a Star Wars guy, can you find him? 

Heartland Dog Show.  She thought more doggies were needed so 101 dalmatians came to play too. 

Seriously?! The cuteness!! Dog washing station that goes with the dog show.  Interchangeable bows, little LEGO water pieces, white picket fence.  Cute.  Cute.  Cute. 

City Park Cafe.  I think this is my favorite that Brooke has so far.  

Don't you agree? 

(L to R) Ice cream maker, pie display case, cash register with cupcakes ready for purchase.  Those cupcakes are actually upside down, the brown cupcake is supposed to fit in the yellow wrapper but didn't fit right (my only negative for this set), so we put the on the bottom.  At the booth two soda fountain drinks and a juice box.

Want to eat your burger out on the patio?  Go for it!!

Need some ketchup or mustard?  How 'bout salt and pepper?  They've got you covered.
BEYOND CUTE!!

Butterfly Beauty Shop.  A close second for favorite is the beauty shop.

If the Friend's need a new look, just swap out the hair.

Lipstick bar, oh my!

Ready to pay?  Check out at the cash register.  Brooke informed me later we forgot to put the sticker on the screen.  She fixed that problem.  Way to pay attention to detail!

The Friends.
She has seven, one was playing in her room when they took this group shot.

Brooke has already started asking for the Heartlake Vet.  It comes with a hedgehog named Oscar, and really what's cuter than a hedgehog?

So what do you think?  Aren't these so fun for a little girl?!!
The LEGO invasion continues. 

Best Playdough Ever {a recipe}

Let me start by saying that I got this AWESOME recipe from my buddy Erin.  Let me also say that I wish my buddy Erin had a blog where she chronicled her daily life and the things her kids say.  I'd say you should friend her on facebook just to read her status updates, but that'd be weird.  She is witty and sarcastic and wonderful.  That is all.  

Okay, so about this recipe, it is fantastic!!!

Not gritty.

Not sticky.  

Easy to make.

Stays soft.

It's perfect.

What you need: 

• 1 C. flour
• 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 1 C. water
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1/2 C. salt
• food coloring

It doesn't hurt to have a helper too, preferably one that knows how to work her lower lip. 

Melt all together in a saucepan over medium/low heat.  Stir.  Stir some more.  Then stir some more.  You're getting close when you scrape the bottom of the pan and it doesn't immediately fall back into a soupy glob.  Pretty soon you'll see that the dough will begin to pull together.  Keep stirring.  Stir until a ball forms.  Store in an airtight container (not in the fridge like some recipes call for).

There you have it.  The best playdough ever.

Ideally this post would have a great picture of my helper playing with said playdough, but 8 seconds after I got done making it she said "I don't want to play playdough."

Story of my life.

Linking to:

Whipperberry

Tatertots and Jello

10 months...

Remember this little dude? That face. That drool. That (black!) hair. 

He isn't LITTLE anymore.  

Five months ago...This face kills me.

And now...

WOAH!!  Can I please just freeze time?!
I'm not normally the emotional 'cry over my kids getting big' type, BUT Mason starts KINDERGARTEN next week and Lincoln is really starting to change, so I have a feeling it's gonna start to hit me.  And I don't really like change, and having one of your kids gone all-day, everyday is a big change, but I know he is going to thrive so for that, I'm excited.

Eating, Lounging and Losing Teeth

Unlike my other children, Lincoln isn't so big on eating the solids.  Let's just say he loves his momma.  I think he has some texture aversions, he won't do applesauce or cereal.  I gave him a bite of mashed potatoes once, it looked like I was trying to feed him lemons or something.  His face was utter disgust.  But he's does eat some things.  I tried avocados the other day.

He wasn't overly impressed, but I think he got some of them down.  At least he thought they were fun to play with. 

And then he does this to signal he's over it and ready for the good stuff.

My girl lounging. 

I don't know about you, but that looks super comf-ty (as my kids say).

Mason is officially a big kid now. 

 First lost tooth!! He did AWESOME and pulled it himself.  The one next to it is loose now.  As he's loosing these I wish Lincoln would start cutting some teeth of his own. 

Today

Avoiding this

So I can focus on this. 

And then we went swimming. 

Fun day

The Many Faces of Mason {featuring a gentleman's tie}

Mason is such a goof (and grouch sometimes) as you can see.  He's also one handsome fella and I'm proud he's mine. 

 He was super excited for his new tie I made him.  Sometimes I make things for him, and his response is less than enthusiastic, I was happy to hear that even around others he thought his new tie was "awesome."  My friend was helping in Kids Kountry (the pre-K & K class at our church) she said the boys were playing outside and had this conversation. 

Mason,"hey guys, check out my new tie. Isn't it awesome?!" Caleb said, "cool!" Josiah said, "Did your mom make it? It's sweet!" 

They are buddies!! 

ACTION SHOT!!  (It's reversible too)  

I'm making him and Lincoln some to wear for Easter.  And Mason is also gonna get a Batman one, I found Batman fabric at Mary Jo's when I went to NC a few weeks ago.  Pretty sure he's going to be the envy of all his friends.  

Shameless promotion: Need one for your son/nephew/kid down the street?  Check out my facebook page and let me know.  Little Man Tie $12

Baby is 5 months!

Seriously!  How can he be 5 months old?!  Time goes too quick I tell ya.  He is rolling over, almost sitting up by himself, turning in belly circles and draws his legs up under him during tummy time.  I predict he'll be scooting within the next month.  Mason and Brooke were both early crawlers too.  I was just looking at old pics of Mason and can't believe that he is 5 and a half and going to be in kindergarten in August.  

These days he would stay outside ALL DAY if we let him and weather was nice.  And although he loves the camera and will give me tons of smiles to work with, I thought this pic fits him to-a-tee.  Outside, wild hair blowing in the spring wind.  

And then there's my Brooke, who I have to beg and beg to give me a look when I've got the lens pointed at her.  But this pic captures her as well, playing play dough, fighting the urge to put it in her mouth.  That sweet smile coming through.  You might never know what a goof she is and the CRAZY things she says that have the BEST facial expressions to go along with them. 

Does it ever just hit you how blessed you are??  I've got three amazing kids, who everyday are becoming more of the person they are meant to be.  Growth in its simplest form.  And through it all, I'm growing too.   

Want to see more pics check out my photography blog.  I just figured I'd post these here today since it has been a while since my last post.  But I am working on sewing, fear not, so pics of sewing works should be up within the week. 

A Hat for Monster

After I finished this hat for me I asked Monster if he wanted a camo one.  He did, so I got to work.  I still have lots of digital camo left over from his play tent.  He has a messenger bag made from it, but fabric still abounds.  I barely used any for his hat, so I've got to come up with some more projects to use it up.  Anyways, on to his hat.  Same construction as mine, except I did add a bit of elastic in the bag for a snugger fit on his head.  He really likes it (he's ALL about camo-such a BOY.)

And can I say I'm pretty proud of this shot, all I did to fix it was a quick color fix.  I'm finally starting to shoot more in semi-auto.  I still need to take tons more pics to really get down ISO, aperture, shutter speed, but I'm finally starting to get it all.....I think :).

And just some Lincoln love for you.

   He is six weeks today.  Where does the time go?!

Why I love this boy...

Cause I can feed him, lay him down in the chair and he will drift off into dream world all by himself.  He is perfect!

Lego Memory Game Cards

Monster's birthday is TODAY!!  Five years old, WOW!! 

 Sweet swollen face baby the day he was born, my {heart} be still!  In about three weeks I'll get to hold another sweet baby for the first time.  I CAN'T wait!  And I'm so beyond ready, I actually told my mom the other day, I was kinda over being pregnant.  

Anyways, back to his party, if you remember we are doing a Lego themed party.  So I got one thing marked off the list.  Last week I worked on the Lego Memory Game.  I think my guy will love playing these.  They are also going in the gift bags for party goers.  And I'll share them with you!  Just print off (preferably on card stock) two of each sheet , cut on the lines and you'll have a huge (24 set) memory game.  We also plan on laminating Mason's set.  

Download Lego Memory Game Sheet 1

Download Lego Memory Game Sheet 2

Download Lego Memory Game Sheet 3

Download Lego Memory Game Sheet 4

**For personal use only.  And if you do use them, please give credit where credit is due.

Images taken from various Lego downloads.  If you need more Lego printables, check out their website, they have TONS.  Click under products at the top of the page, then select what theme you want.  Here's the link to Lego CITY printable/downloads.  

Lego Dudes

I'm planning a Lego party for Monster's 5th birthday.  I've got a month to get it all planned out.  Here's what I'm thinking:

• Gonna make these Lego Cake Pops
• Gonna play Lego bingo
• Gonna make these Lego chocolate figures
• Gonna make my own Lego memory game cards for gift bags DONE
• Possibly make some Lego magnets for gift bags

I better get on it!

And yes, the Lego dudes had a great time with their little mini photo session :)  I'll be doing many more to get pics for the memory game cards I'm going to make.