too many social networking opportunities

(Corrected grammar on the title...that's what I get for editing without proofreading.)

I'm figuring out the fastest and easiest ways to keep my friends and family informed about what's going on in our lives. There is so much stuff out there it's easy to get bogged down with posting and blogging, etc.

We've been watching a lot of "Thomas" lately.  That show is my favorite!  The show's values just ring true to my heart.  The highest compliment is to be Really Useful, and the worst thing possible is to cause Confusion and Delay.  Sir Topham Hat even said to one of the engines, "Really Useful Engines don't argue."  Ha.  I love it!

I feel like I haven't expressed any of my own thoughts for a while.  I'm always just thinking about how cute my kids are.  They have more interesting and funny things to say than I do.  Honestly, I'm enjoying not having any really big goals right now.  I feel like I have worked hard to get to this place and now I can just enjoy my life.

I've been thinking a lot about my health lately.  I don't necessarily want to lose weight (although that would be a nice by-product), but I do want to feel more healthy.  My work causes my arms and wrists to ache all the time, I don't eat very healthy and I think that makes me feel more tired and fatigued than I should be.  However, I have a strong tendency to rebel against dieting.  I have all these grand, life-changing ideas, but when I really think about it I feel strongly that I just need to find balance.  Moderation. So that is my big goal in every aspect of my life.

I need to blog like this more often.  Or start writing in my journal again.  It helps me to organize my thoughts.

Now for the babies!  Here are a few recent pictures that I haven't posted on facebook.  I have started doing most of my kid show-and-tell there: pictures, videos, and funny sayings.

Here's Rayen after eating an Oreo.

Race car shoppers!

I was trying to get Ethan to hold still for a photo.  He kept running behind me to look at the picture (that I hadn't had a chance to take, yet).

We got him some puddle hopping Wellingtons. His pants only got a little bit wet and he was doing some big splashes! 

 Rayen eating rocks and dirt, as usual.

I need to get the kids outside more often, especially on these beautiful days.  It's better for everyone.

the sweetest and the best

I've been posting all my pictures straight to facebook since I joined up a week or so ago.  It's so easy to upload photos from my phone camera to facebook and it takes so long to post them to the blog.  When I get the big camera out, I'll post those photos here. For now, I'll just post all the funny/fun things the kids are doing.

Ethan - Something's hurting me. I need some medicine!
Me - Where is it hurting?
Ethan - Um...I'm sick! I need some medicine!

Ethan - (calling down the stairs) Are you doing ok?
Me - Yep, I'm just taking stuff down to the basement to clean up the house.
Ethan - Oh...so that Amy and Jamison can come in the house!

Ethan - Ow! Something's hurting me in my tummy! Maybe it's a hiccup.

Ethan (after a loud high pitched shriek) - What was that!? It was me?

Ethan -  My ears itch! I need Ear-tips!

Recently Brett and I were talking about something.  We weren't arguing, but the conversation was a bit excited.  Ethan ran up between us with a picture of Jesus and yelled, "I LOVE JESUS!"

(I've been noticing Ethan's reaction to other people more often lately.  He is very sensitive to what is going on around him.  I'm realizing that I need to be so careful with my emotions and what I say around him, because it affects him so much.)

Whenever Ethan sees his reflection or his shadow lately, he comments "My hair looks funny like Daddy's!"

He's grown several inches taller in the last month or so.  It's funny to see him running around in his too short pants.

I sing songs to the babies before bed at night.  It feels like neither of them are listening, because they both like to read books while I sing.  But recently I wasn't paying attention to the songs and I sang one wrong word.  Ethan was labeling pictures in his animal book but surprised me by correcting me, without taking his eyes off his book and barely missing a beat in his naming of the animals.  Sweet little bossy multitasker.

Rayen pushes out her tummy when I put a clean diaper on her.  She reminds me of a horse puffing out it's stomach before one tightens the saddle straps. She doesn't want a too tight diaper, I guess!

Rayen has wanted to cuddle sleep the last few nights again.  She cries piteously when I put her in her bed, but as soon as I pick her up she snuggles down on my shoulder and falls asleep instantly.  I notice she tends to be more clingy when I have plans for after she's in bed.  She senses that I'm not focused on bedtime, I'm thinking about what I'm going to do next.  She senses it even if she's asleep, as well.  Once I was nursing her for a nap.  She was done eating and had fallen asleep.  I was shifting my weight to stand up and put her in her bed and she reached up her little hand and grabbed onto my shirt in a death grip. 

I close the gate at the top of the stairs after the bath, so that Rayen won't fall down the stairs.  Recently she was standing next to the gate, banging on it.  Ethan was at the sink brushing his teeth.  He turned out to her and yelled, "Rayen, NO!"  She turned around to look at him and giggled, rattling the gate again. 

Rayen came over to Ethan and sat right next to him, leaning on him to look at his toys.  He said, "I love you too, Rayen. And I love Amy. And I love Johhun and Colette and Rob!"

featuring rayen (and some farm pics)

Last night, Ethan and I were singing the alphabet song (I was signing it too) and Rayen started singing and moving her fingers like she was signing with me.

Her new trick is to wave her little hands and say "bye-bye!" I'll work on getting a video of the waving and the alphabet song, but it's hard to record the babies when they're climbing all over me. Maybe we can get Brett to record it some night.

I've been in some kind of funk the past week (or month--you'll have to ask Brett how long it's actually been). It's so weird because I don't feel sick, but I am so exhausted that all I can do is come home and sit on the couch until nap time, then I pass out on the bed while the kids sleep. I think it's because I'm nursing. It is so interesting to me how much energy nursing requires.

Rayen is a cuddle-bug. She needs a certain amount of snuggle time every day, or she's not happy. And if she doesn't get all the cuddling done during the day, then she's up at night wanting it. That happened last night. She woke up at 12:30 and wouldn't let me put her down in bed again until 2:30. She didn't need to nurse, she just wanted me to hold her and snuggle under the blanket with her. I'm mindfully enjoying those moments (hours) with her. She's such a sweetie.

Ethan, Rayen, Amy, and I went down to the farm to help with the apple pressing. It was a lot of fun! It was nice to see the family. Amy played with the kids while I cut apples. It was nice for both of us--I felt productive and industrious and Amy got to snuggle with Rayen and listen to Ethan's stories!