Christmas!

Christmas was so fun! and actually isn't over for us. We have our last Christmas party today. Here were some of the presents that I made for other people...

Who's who?

Christmas is almost here?!?!

I always think that I am so ahead on my gift making and doing so well.... and then I look at the calendar. I made a list of all of things I have yet to do and it stresses me out a little. I try not to let making the gifts stressful because it's supposed to be enjoyable and fun. I have to keep reminding myself of that! I will have to take pictures of all of the presents and I make and post them after Christmas. The more I sew, the more I like it. I'm not really much for patterns. I'm more of a trial and error type. I have only had to take out one stitch so far. Knock on wood.

The many uses of vinegar

I had no idea how great vinegar is! My sister-in-law got me this great book that has many different uses around the house for vinegar.




I have used it to make salad dressings, disinfect my washer, make my own cleaning products, and the latest..... used on a burn! Laidy was over at her aunt's house and wound up with a burn on her poor little hand. I looked up home remedies for burns and one of them was vinegar. So I put some on a band-aid and put that on her hand and a sock over that and left it for the night. I was actually VERY surprised that it survived the night but her burn doesn't look bad at all. Last night it looked like it hurt and would probably blister and today it just looks almost like a bruise.

Energy

For some reason the last couple days I have had a little more energy or motivation or something...

Things accomplished today:
Bathed my kids
vacuumed my car
did the dishes
made cookies
hung christmas lights outside

and now both kids are sleeping.... what should I do now?

Someday

I would love to do something like this with Caelan sometime. Right now I can't even get him to color a a simple shape. He would be way more interested in destroying the train and eating it than building it. Will that always be? I guess only time will tell. Maybe Adelaide will be able sit and focus on a task....

November pictures

Come check them out!

Christmas!

I love Christmas time! I love all the lights, the music, the food, the smells! I love making things also and Christmas is a time that I have deadlines, so I actually get them done.... Here is my latest project.



I think Caelan will like getting a treat every day too!

?

Adelaide has pooped on the toilet twice now..... I put her on there twice when she seemed to be having a hard time and within seconds she was done! Don't know if it's just these two times or if she will be one of the those kids that just doesn't like to poop in her diaper. Only time will tell...

Beautiful Births

I am copying Abby and making a blog for my doula business. Here it is!

This got me out of bed today

I was laying in bed having a very hard time getting up. Caelan and Adelaide had been up for awhile and I just couldn't open my eyes. I was feeling sorry for myself that I can't call in sick to my "job". Then Caelan's sweet little voice said, "Momma, you look like an angel." People don't tell you that at job's that you can call in sick to.

PMS and colds

I have not had to deal with PMS for a year and a half now and it sucks! I was so angry and my whole body hurt and I was wondering what was going on with me. All I wanted to do was eat chocolate and sit on the couch and not talk to anyone. I figured it all out the next day but I'm not looking forward to dealing with this again.

Colds have also hit my family. A 2 year old with a cold is way more manageable than a 8 month old. I can just give Caelan fishy crackers and a movie and he is fine but Adelaide I have to carry everywhere and she is not light and really not good at being held. Thank God for the Ergo. I'm trying to decide who is better at being sick still, Caelan or Nathan. : )

Crafts

I love to do and make different crafts. I always have projects in my head that I am wanting to do. Here is my latest one for adelaide. It was actually supposed to be for Elie for Christmas but turned out too small so Adelaide has to have it. Darn! : ) Sorry Jess.

"Punkin Match!"

We went to Heavenly Harvest this morning to pick out our pumpkins. I was lots of fun and REALLY muddy. Nathan sister was able to come with us which was a nice treat.

It was also nice to get a few family pictures.

like I said, REALLY muddy

and slippery

Kisses for aunt Katy

We also ran into some friends. Emma thought the corn tasted pretty good.

Cleaning

Somehow our house gets sooooooo gross so fast! It takes me awhile to get motivated to clean it. Today was the day and I am always surprised at how fast it goes. Why do I always forget? I should have taken before and after pictures....

Here is what I did this morning:

Dishes

clean Caelan's room

pick up toys downstairs

2 loads of laundry

vacuum upstairs

vacuum downstairs

Writing it down makes me feel better. Now if only I could squeeze a shower and brushing my teeth in....

A new way of doing things

Nathan and I are trying to figure out a schedule that works best for our family. Last night we tried putting the kids down at 7 instead of 8 and as we assumed they got up at 7 instead of 8 in the morning. I thought that I would hate getting up earlier but I LOVED it. It was so nice to have the whole family wake up together and have breakfast before Nathan went to work. I think we are going to try and do this from now on! Everything in my day will shift an hour so I will have to get used to that but it's worth it. Nathan also seemed so much happier going to work than he normally does. The down side is that Nathan has time to help get the kids dressed in the morning.

Balance

I have been having a hard time lately trying to figure the balance that I should have with all my roles. I am a Christ follower, a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a doula and I'm sure many other things. How much energy do I give to each of those roles? Which one is suffering right now and which one i'm a giving too much to? It's all very confusing and I am hoping that I will figure it out soon. If anyone has any wisdom I'm glad to hear it!

tired

I don't think I have ever been this tired. All day my eyeballs hurt. Coffee isn't strong enough. It's this sweet little face that is keeping me up. She's lucky she is so sweet.

Sick

It's 10:00 pm and i'm just heading upstairs for my shower. Today was filled with snot, coughing, and diarrhea. Luckily none of those things came from me or my day would have been even worse! With the wonderful fall weather also comes the sickness I suppose. I am praying tomorrow will be better! This is the face I got pretty much all day today.

Caelan's Prayer

Dear God, Thank you for going to church. Thank you for Isaiah, Micaiah, Ezra, Evan um um Isaiah. Thank you, God, for listening. Thank you God, Amen.

Mom you're pretty. Can I have a snuggle?

One, it's crazy when I write down exactly what he said and seeing that he is talking so much and well! Two, he is just the sweetest thing in the world. Three, how could I ever say no to that last question?

Also, I'm pretty impressed that he got 4 out of the 5 Wise children's names.

The house to ourself!

So we have had a few nights with the house all to ourself and it has been great! I forgot what is was like to get ready for bed with the lights on and be able to talk in a normal voice to my husband about our days. Caelan has been doing great in his new room. Last night he was scared of some shadows but he has been sleeping so much better. Adelaide is working on sleeping better.... Last night she went to sleep on her great and slept great for two hours! :( I am hopeful that each day will be better. At least she is going to sleep on her own now and it can only get better from here.

I told Caelan that today was the international day of peace. His response was "like piece of pizza?"

our own room?

Nathan and I will finally get to have our own room! Nick moved out yesterday and tonight is heather's last night! The kids will each have their own room and we can't wait. They haven't been sleeping very good and I am sooooo hopefully that a week in their own rooms will do the trick. I am also very excited to decorated Laidy's room! I have lots of ideas and not much time to do things like sew and crafts so we will see what actually happens and how long it takes.

Caelan's quotes

"I have a big rock in my leg!" (referring to his knee cap)

When asked if he was a big boy or a little boy he said, "I'm just a dude"

He handed Nathan a frisbee and told him to sleep on it and when Nathan followed his directions Caelan laughed at him and said, "That's a frisbee, Crazy!"

Whenever I tell him not to do something he almost always responds, "But I have to mom."

He was playing at Grace's house the other day and in the middle of playing he closed his eyes and said, "Thank you God for Grace's house. Amen." and went about playing

I should be doing this at the end of every day because he has so many sweet things. He is such a sweet smart boy and I love him!

started saying "yes"

Usually when I am at the grocery store and they ask if I need help out I say "no thanks". But I just started saying "YES!" It has been amazing. Now by the time I have both kids in the car the groceries are in to. It's so wonderful. I don't know why I never accepted before. All moms should get help out to the car. It's amazing!

Please Remember

There are times throughout the day that I catch myself praying these words, "God, please let me remember this moment!" Today it was because Caelan was reading to Adelaide. He asked me to make her sit up and he sat down next to her and said, "Look baby Adelaide, Pig. Pig says, Oink" All of that was in an extremely high voice. Adelaide looked at the pig and caelan was a little upset that she didn't say oink. I just know that I will forget their little voices and all these little moments that you just don't have time to go get the camera and put it on tape. Caelan loves Adelaide and can't wait for her to play with him. He is always sharing his toys with her and giving her hugs and kisses. It just warms my heart! I love being a mom.

La La La

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The Rileys

We had a great time at the DOX Marriage Seminar this weekend!  Gave Nathan and I a lot of stuff to talk about!  Here is my hubby back in the day.  Such a sexy man!  This was on our one year anniversary, I took him to that place up in Newberg I think with all the planes.  He thought it was cool, I was bored.

It's sad but I looked through our pictures to get a picture of us together..... I couldn't find one.  There was this picture of him almost three years ago and then tons of pictures of him with the kids.  What happened to those years before I was pregnant?  I should find those and we should take more shots together.

Fun in the Sun!

This morning was GREAT!  Caelan slept in until 7:15 which he hasn't done in a few days!  Then we just woke up slow and hung around until about 11:00 and headed to my sister's pool.  (One of the benefits to living in an apartment!)  It was so nice!  I love summer time!  Caelan wasn't really acting himself though he was snuggling me the whole time and didn't really care if he is in the water.  I really hope he isn't getting sick again.  Hopefully he will wake up from his nap feeling great!

Ewww stinky Daddy feet!

Snuggles for Daddy

I'm all ready to swim, Mom!

Big Boy Bed

We had to make the switch to a "big boy bed" since Caelan figured out how to climb out of his crib.  Right now it's just his mattress on the floor until we can go to home depot to find all the right screws for his toddler bed.  I was really worried about the transition and how he would do with all the freedom.  First go around was a nap and he did great!  He didn't get off the mattress at all and talked/played for about 15 minutes before falling asleep!  I was so happy!  Then that night he screamed and cried and wouldn't stay in his bed.  We had guests over so Nathan went up there to help him fall asleep fast.... I went up after our guests left to wake Nathan up.  Today for nap time though he did great again.  Didn't even attempt to get off the mattress.  We will see how tonight goes....  I'm sure it's much harder when there is people over though.  I wouldn't want to go to sleep either.

Coffee and Dancing

That's what I need in the morning to get me going.  A good song to dance to and a hot cup of coffee.  Caelan just stared at me this morning as I had a dance party with myself.  He wasn't laughing or smiling, just staring.  Good thing he is only one or I would've been really self conscious. : )

oh motherhood...

Caelan had two accidents within 2 minutes.  Apparently he didn't want to go in the toilet that time.  So annoying.  I can't wait until he is totally potty trained, it has been way too long. 

Caelan has also been really really clingy the last couple days.  On monday I spent most of the day with both kids on me.  It makes it really hard to do anything else.  That night Caelan also climbed out of his crib for the first time.  My poor sister was watching him and wound up sleeping in the guest room with him until he fell asleep.  I'm pretty sure he took his nap on his floor yesterday.  We need to get hardware for the toddler bed and then we will making that switch.  Nathan also slept with him in the guest room from 3:00 am on last night.  I don't know what his problem is lately.  So because of that I have been really exhausted but I am hoping that it will only last a little bit and he will be excited about his new bed.  Luckily he can't open the doors yet so at least he will confined to his room, if not his bed.

Laidy is starting to need a little more attention too but it's fun because she is so responsive.  She is getting past the newborn stage and moving into little baby.  Pretty soon she will be walking i'm sure.

5 hours

that was how long Laidy's nap was today!  she ate twice in there but never opened her eyes

Never Again...

So this morning I decided to Adelaide a bath... it had been awhile and though I like sour baby, it was time.  Of course I can't give Adelaide a  bath and have Caelan just watch so he jumped it.  All was well and fun.  I took Adelaide out and she decided that was a goo time to pee all over her clean self and me.  So to wash off we went back in.  So all three of us are in the tub.  I decided to wash my hair since I was already in the bath but I can't put Laidy down because well, she would drown.  So there I am in the shower holding Adelaide and Caelan is yelling, "Up Momma, Please!!!"  I just have to get the shampoo out of my hair!!!  Well, some of it falls in Caelan's eyes and he is screaming, "Ouch, Momma!  Eyes!!!"  

We all made it out clean and alive but NEVER AGAIN.  

Also, I hate brushing Caelan's teeth.  I dread it every morning and because I hate it so much we rarely brush them at night.  Hopefully I am not teaching him bad dental hygiene but we can work on it later in life.  He will loose all these in a few years any way, right?  

Adelaide went down for her nap at 10:00 today woke up at 10:45 to eat and went right back to sleep.  It's now 12:15 and she is still sleeping!  Caelan and I are getting some good time together!

Even more pictures

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cookie dough and milk

Marriage?

Aren't they so cute?

Nathan was away

Nathan was in Germany this week so we were up in Portland staying with my parents. We did lots of fun things like go to the zoo and the children's museum.  You should check out our pictures here!

http://web.me.com/rileynathan/Site/April.html

Come see our pictures!

Big Day

Yesterday was a big day for Caelan.  It was the first day that he had no accidents!!!! and the first day that he counted to 5 all by himself!  He is getting so big!

Trying Something New

Since my sweet Laidy has come into the world I have not found the time I want to for reading my bible.  I used to do it during nap time but now she is awake usually during Caelan's nap time.... and if she is sleeping I want to clean.  So, this morning I was up at 6.15 (because of Laidy) and got some good reading time.  I'm going to try and wake up earlier to get that time.  Start the day off right.  I really hope I can keep it up.

Here is my boy following in my footsteps:

Party time!

Here are just a few photos of the kids from Beka's party!

cheeks

crazy hair

looking for fish

Who is going to be the first to go in?

cute, too bad the sun did some weird things

open for interpretation

Only stopping to think through her escape plan

just cute

cute curly haired girls

Thanks for the fun evening Beka!  Hope you had a great day!

I love my kids!

Sweet

My sweet Laidy wearing her easter dress.  I just thought everyone should see!

Yeah for pooping on the potty!

We got this new potty a little while ago and he likes it a lot better.  Yesterday he ran to the potty and pooped!  He is getting so much better about going on his own and not just waiting for me to take him.  There are still accidents but I think he is finally getting it!

The truth

A lot of people have been asking me lately, "So, how is life with two little ones?"  I usually respond, "Oh, it's great!  She is just so easy, it's just like having one!"  I did feel that way for awhile.  It was so easy and I loved it!  I don't know what changed exactly, if it was more them or me, but it's not so easy anymore.  Adelaide has been sick this last week which makes me worry all the time.  I hear her cough and contemplate throwing the kids in the car and rushing to the hospital before she dies.  Before I am able to finish the thought she has already stopped.  Caelan is growing up so fast and becoming more and more independent which is a nice way of saying I hear the word "NO!"  a lot more often.  He has started hitting which gets me so frustrated.  I have this image of him being the sweetest little boy and always saying, "Yes Mom!"  and having nothing but hugs and kisses for everyone around.  I'm realizing more and more everyday that is not accurate.  He is still very sweet, don't get me wrong, I just have to teach him how to express his emotions.  My brother-in-law says he is just like a large breed puppy.  He is so playful and energetic but can be so destructive in the process.  He just doesn't know all that he is capable of yet.  I am constantly praying for patience and wisdom throughout the day.  If anyone has any hints of things that worked for their hitting kids let me know!  

Swimming Lessons

We had our first swimming lessons today and Caelan LOVED it!  He couldn't stop jumping and kicking.  He had a huge smile on his face the whole time except for right after he went under he looked very surprised!  It was so fun and I we will look forward to the next 9 saturdays!

Fun Contest, Great Jewelry

http://jewllori.blogspot.com/

This is a friend of mine that lives up in Canada and makes lovely jewelry.  She is doing a fun contest that you should check out!

Mother and a Doula

I have been thinking and praying about what I am doing.  It's so easy to feel like I am doing nothing all day.  There are so many days that I never even open our front door (soon to change because of the wonderful summer we are going to have).  I feel insignificant and useless some days.  But at Dox on Sunday I felt like God was speaking to me about my importance as a mother.  Raising my kids to love the Lord our God with all their heart, mind, and strength isn't easy and shouldn't be taken lightly.  Luckily I have parents who did a great job at this and can use them as a reference.  It warmed my heart the other day at dinner to hear Caelan pray, "God, Thank you Thank you.  Amen"  So sweet!  But I need to take this job seriously and know that it what God has called me to.  Also God spoke to me about the importance of being a Doula.  I have to opportunity to greet babies into the world with prayer.  I plan to be praying through each and every birth that I get the privilege of attending.  God wants to use me to encourage women to bring their babies into the world.  This is such a precious and vulnerable time for a women and God has asked me to be there for it.  I am so excited to start getting more involved in the Doulaing! : )  So I have a renewed energy and excitement about where I am and where God is going to take me!

Bath Problems

Two weeks ago Caelan and Elie took a bath together and the dads were supervising.  They are pretty sure that Caelan was the one that pooped...  I don't know if he was so grossed out by it or if it's because he saw Uncle Nick's reaction but Caelan won't take baths anymore.  If I take him in the shower with me I have to hold him.  If the bath is full he will gladly play from the side but if I try to put him in he grabs onto my neck and yells "no pee mom please no!"  I am hoping it ends soon.  Swimming lessons start this saturday and I really hope it doesn't happen with the pool too.

Caelan

So my son is the greatest little guy and I LOVE him to death.  But somedays.... Let's just say that I very much look forward to his nap times.  He has SOOOOO much energy and so much to say.  Today was one of those days.  I even thought I lost him at the library today but it turned out he was still listening to story time while I was running around the library looking for him.  He is so quick that he could have been out the door in the time it took me to look down and get my bag.  I'm still adjusting to having two kids and more stuff in my diaper bag.   

New to the Blog

So I finally decided to start a blog!  I have gotten addicted to reading other people's and I thought it was only fair to offer something for everyone else to read.  Right now Elie is watching a movie and Caelan is sleeping.  When I'm finished here I am going to read Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult.  It's nice to be reading for fun again... it's been awhile!