Sunday Funday (19 months old today!)

It was nice to be home this weekend!  We did a lot of work around the house, organized the garage, cut up and burned branches from the storm, finally got Parker's swing out!

We spent the morning just lounging and playing!  

 Watching the cars go by

 Getting tickled

 Just being cute

 Snuggling with dad

Days like this are the best!

Trying to beat the worry

I mentioned a few weeks ago that we are getting Parker evaluated for developmental delays.  We haven't gotten the call to schedule through our clinic yet, but our school district referral did go through.  I got a call from our district's early childhood special education team to set up an evaluation.  It will be solely focused on education, where the clinic one will be more in depth.  We have an appointment in a couple weeks, which is a relief.  At least we can get the ball rolling.  Based on my conversation with the district, Parker should easily qualify for services.  I think these services will be free since they are part of the public school system (that's where my tax dollars go!)

While this is a step in the right some direction, I still have to fight off the worry.  I am helping out in my church's kids programming this summer.  I have decided to help in the waddlers since that is where Parker is.  He stayed with my parents this Sunday so I was able to focus solely on the other kids.  I got down a bit as I watched and listened to the other kids Parker's age.  It was tough to hear all of the things they saying and see the things they were doing that Parker isn't.  I just want my baby to be like the rest of the kids.  I know he will be ok, but it is tough to think about your child having struggles.

Last night I had a strange dream.  I rarely remember my dreams so I always try to write them down when I do.  At first, I only remembered that I was crying in my dream.  They were happy tears, but I couldn't recall was caused them.  Then, I was sitting at my desk and it came to me.  Parker had come up to me and said "Parker love Mama."  Every parent dreams of the day their child can express love in words.  It made me wonder if I will get to hear that and how long it may take to come.  He doesn't even call me mama, mommy, or mom.  I know that I will get those words some day, but, like all things, the waiting is the hardest part.  I know that he loves me, otherwise he wouldn't cry when I leave a room.

For now I will just have to pray for a calm heart and try to be patient.

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. -John 14:27

88 Hours

I posted on Friday that we had just lost power.  We finally got it back just after noon today.  88 hours!  We are very lucky to have family nearby to help us out.  We have a terrible record when it comes to power outages at our house.  They are rarely fixed quickly.  After the storm passed I went out to see if there was much damage.  A tree had fallen on our neighbors house.  

Luckily it didn't break through the roof and she was ok.  There were so may trees down!  The city of Minneapolis estimates they lost 3000 trees.  Saint Louis Park also had a lot of tree damage.  A combination of 60+ MPH winds and extremely saturated soil caused so many trees to go down.  We did not have any damage to our house, just a lot of smaller branches on the ground.

I made a quick decision to head to my parents just 2 hours after the lights went out.  I emptied the freezer and fridge and took Parker with.  Jimmy slept in the basement on Friday since he had to work early.  We spent the whole weekend and Monday night there.  It was nice to have air conditioning and internet!  We had lots of fun hanging out with Grandpa and Nana.

Breakfast at Denny's on Saturday morning 

Playing in the hot tub with Grandpa on Sunday

Stacking cups

Grandpa always has freezies!

By Sunday it seemed that Parker was getting homesick.  He just seemed sad all afternoon.  The picture below captures his mood.  He just stood there for a while.

Monday offered a bit of normalcy for all of us.  Parker went to daycare and Jimmy and I went to work. Then we all headed back to my parents for another night and did it all over again this morning (Tuesday.)  Xcel had stated that most customers would have power restored by Wednesday night so I was trying not be too optimistic about having power, but it was back up when Jimmy got home from work!  He still had to head back to my parents after picking up Parker since we didn't have any food in the house.  We ate dinner with my parents one last night and then packed up to head home!

All the food packed up!  Glad we didn't have to pitch it all!

Parker was very excited to be home!  He got the biggest grin on his face when he saw all his toys again.  

 He probably could have run around the house all night!

I am also very glad to be home.  While staying with my parents is fun, it's always nice to have home bed advantage!  Plus they like having Parker around more than us I am sure!

Things I learned from the power being out for 88 hours:

We have way to many bottles of sauce/dressing

We have way too many jars of pickles

It may be a good idea to invest in a generator (once supply is up again!)

I have the best family ever!

Splish Splash!

We finally got our little pool filled on Thursday night (before the big storm, but more on that later.)  It had been a hot week so it was nice to have a cool dip.  Parker had fun splashing, but wasn't sure if he wanted to stay in or out of the pool!

Blogging in the dark!

I took a look at the radar and decided to go for my run early because rain was coming. I had to try out my new very early birthday gift from my parents! Thanks mom and dad!

Half way through it started to sprinkle. Then it got really dark and I booked it home. It seems that the bad part of the storm (that was heading north east) took a sharp dive south! Here was the the radar when I got home.

I was starting Parker's bedtime routine just as the wind really picked up so we are in the basement until the red blows over. The light went out just as we got down here too!  We are playing in the dark!  He isn't quite sure what's going on!

Hopefully it blows over soon so he can get some rest.

Father's Day 2013

We had a great Father's Day celebration this year.  Parker and I did 2 crafts.  One for Jimmy and one for the Grandpas!

We had planned to celebrate with Jimmy's family last weekend, but we all ended up sick so we couldn't go.  I saw the craft below on Pinterest and just had to recreate it since both Grandpas like to fish!  This and other great Father's Day crafts can be found here.

Our second craft was Parker's card for Jimmy.  I have seen lots of things with finger paint and painters tape, bot most involved words.  I thought it would be fun to make a picture.  I used tape to make a robot for Parker to pain over.  I think it turned out great, and Jimmy loved it!  

I made two gifts for my dad as well.  The first was a basic light switch cover.  I got a small square of Huskers fabric and used Mod Podge to secure it.

I also made a "fans" plaque with the help of my Silhouette Cameo.  I cut out the design and used it as a template to paint.

We spent the whole afternoon and early evening at my parents house.  All of us, minus Jimmy, took an afternoon nap while watching golf.  It was splendid!

We also took an updated picture of the Parker tree.  My dad planted this tree in their backyard in 2011.  It wasn't doing well last spring and he wasn't sure if it would make it.  As you can see, the tree is doing great!  I hope we remember to do this every year to see how Parker and the tree grows!

I am so lucky to have Jimmy in my life.  He is an amazing husband and father and I often don't express how thankful I am.  I certainly married up!  So blessed to have these two in my life.

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!

Rainforest Cafe at Mall of America - Family Date Night

We have been wanting to check out The Rainforest Cafe for a while now, but I always had an issue with how expensive theme restaurants are.  But, I got a gift card from my work for $25 so it was an easier choice to go.  We thought Parker would enjoy it as well because there is a lot going on.

We arrived and got our Passport to Adventure!

Then followed the footprints (through the gift shop) to be seated.

It is a really fun setting with trees and animal noises.  There were a bunch of fish tanks that I wanted to get pictures of, but Parker was getting a bit antsy at the end so we just left.

Parkers favorite part was the jungle "storms."  See the video below!

Overall, it was a fun experience.  The food was a bit underwhelming, but I also chose a cheaper item (darn frugalness of mine!)  Jimmy had the avocado burger that was really good!  Not sure if we will be back soon, but I am glad we tried it once.

Water/Sand/Anything Table

My dad and I built two sensory play tables last weekend.  Here is a quick overview of how we made them.  We cut the pieces below.  Remember, these are nominal dimensions (actual dimensions are slightly smaller.)  My dad had a table saw so we ripped the 1x2 boards ourselves.  I chose green treated material since we will be storing these tables outside.

We attached both the long and short sides to the legs, instead of each other.  We uses 2" screws to attach the short side and 1 1/4" screes for the long sides.  Make sure to pre-drill your holes.  These boards can easily split, weakening the structure.

We used the last 3 shorter boards as supports for the plastic container by attaching them with 2" screws to the underside of the longer boards.  I used a Sterilite 41 quart under bed container.

I purchased a few cheap water toys from Target and it was ready for playing!

Thanks Dad for helping me with this project!

Burlap Earring Holder

I'm back to crafting!

I have seen a lot of ideas for earring holders on Pinterest, but most involved chicken wire.  I am not a fan of using metal because I have had some bad interactions with jewelry in the past.  I don't know where it came from, but all of a sudden I thought that burlap could be a great alternative.  Perhaps not as durable, but very easy to replace if needed.  My good friend Gib happened to have some lying around so this craft was done for less than $5!

I purchased a 2 pack of 5x7 frames from Michael's on sale for $2.99.  I opted to leave them unfinished, but they could be stained or painted to match any decor.

I used hot glue to attached the burlap to the frame.

 Trimmed the excess

 I then glued the other frame on top.  I did also run another bead of hot glue along the inside of the frame to secure the burlap better.  The open weave was a bit harder to glue down in such a skinny area.  I added a little ribbon I had on hand and hung it from a removable hook.  Now it is all ready to display my earrings!  I am also thinking about fashioning some hooks to the bottom for necklaces and bracelets.  I also need to find a solution for all my studs!  Hope you enjoyed this little tutorial!

Happy Crafting!