Mother of Invention

I was thrilled with Moses' three hour plus nap today. Must have been the dreary day or the necessary trip to Chick-fil-a after the clearing of the roads. The first 10 minutes he was awake he was happy. Milk and banana were being being consumed without incident. Then he spotted the Tylenol bottle in the cabinet when I reached for the goldfish. His mission was to get to that bottle and mine was to stop it. NOT HAPPY.

That began the wailing and tears that would stop and start without any reason. The only thing that would help was being held. This was in the middle of me making dinner. Pretty impossible to finish chicken and spinach lasagna with a toddler in your arms. Needless to say I was thrilled when Brett got home early. Still it was time for him to eat and the lasagna was not ready for Moses' dinner. What to do?!

I looked around. I had some leftover chicken from the lasagna as well as some spinach. I also noticed jar of sauce still had the remains that NEVER come off. So what does a desperate mother do? This one tosses the chicken in the jar and shakes it up and puts it in a bowl with some spinach. And ta-da dinner is served. I know. You are all super impressed. Luckily, my critic didn't mind much.

Winter Wonderland

It snowed! And well sleeted and iced! Last night it started snowing and we had winter weather until late this afternoon/early evening. Since a really bad ice storm experience a few years ago, I way over prepare for winter weather. (Can we so no power for 8 days, I'm just saying) So we have lots of food and diapers as well as clean laundry and a tidy house. Luckily we've had no outages and full bellies all day.

Moses woke up and looked out the window and saw a blanket of white. We taught him to say snow while he had some milk and we gathered up some warm clothes. He liked it until the sleet started stinging his face. We went inside and had blueberry muffins and hot apple cider. We tried another outing that lasted about 5 minutes. We came inside and played and I forced Brett to watch WRAL while I made chicken tortilla soup. After some lunch and a few naps and some digging through the attic for a sled we tried going out again. It went much better. Brett pulled us on the sled for a while and Moses loved it. Brett however will be in pain tomorrow from pulling 100 some odd pounds around on a sled.

I made Brett be brave and grill hamburgers for dinner. We aren't afraid of snow! I think Moses is a lot like his daddy when it comes to storms. They both get cabin fever very quickly. I'll bet by the end of tomorrow they will be climbing the walls. I just might barricade myself in a room!

Dear Wolfpack

We still love you.

XOXO,

The Barkers

Moses' New Office

Everybody needs their own space. Somewhere to put your things, catch up on some reading, or just think quietly. Moses has his own cabinet, or what I like to refer to as his office. He loves to climb in the cabinet or put things in and out. Riley likes to watch and try to understand

Do you see? A little man peaking out?

There he is!

Camp Gramp

Moses had been acting out some last week. Let's just say he is not a fun person to dine out with. I think it is frustration from not being able to communicate verbally as well as he would like as well as some teething. Brett and I were talking to my mom on Friday and joking about sending him to stay with them for the weekend. Well, that's exactly what happened.

We met them halfway Saturday. Had a little lunch and he was off for the weekend! Brett and I caught an early movie and played a little Super Mario Brothers on Wii and basically just goofed off all weekend, and called my parents every few hours. Very relaxing.

Moses, well, he had a blast. I am sure I will never know the extent of the spoiling that went on, but he was happy. His Papa wore him out and his Gaga taught him all sorts of new things. He has a few new words and is much better at asking for what he needs. Still a little ways to go but we're getting there! I think he has some more solo trips to Camp Gramp in his future!

New Year, New Decade, New Resolutions

You've all probably seen the news and sports channels doing their year end and/or decade in reviews. I love to watch them. It's overwhelming to see what people as a whole have experienced in a year. Or even ten years.

People are right, time goes by faster when you have kids. It is also better. I'm not going to lie. There are a lot of things that are boring. Days can start to blend together. But the giggles (like the ones I am hearing from the other room now) make it worth it. I've been a mommy for a full year. Brett and I are wrapping up our third year of marriage (eek!). I've made friends I couldn't imagine my life without (that's you playgroup mommies!).

What have I learned? I can take care of a child. A whole person. I can teach him things. I am helping build a little person who can (hopefully) take care of himself and make the world a better place. I can not freak out when he falls or fails. I can let him be himself and enjoy life.

I have learned couponing is awesome! And saving money helps even if it is just a little at the time. It can also bring together people and is a great way to help your community.

Probably the most important thing I have learned is that prayer doesn't change God, it changes us. God has a plan for us and he does hear are prayers, but in the end the praying changes us. Understanding this has been a HUGE part of growing spiritually for me.

What are my goals for this year (and let's face it years to come)?

- I really need to get into shape. I am probably in the worst physical shape I've ever been in.

- Brett and I have really cut back on spending and we are working to do even better. I am using mint.com and tracking all or spending and debts to get ourselves into good financial shape.

- I want to work on being a better wife, mother, daughter and friend. Since the first three are obviously the most important, I really would like to be a better friend. I have SUCH wonderful friends and I need to be better to them. I would love to be a more attentive wife and mother. Really taking the time to make our immediate family even better than it is. I also want to work on being a better daughter to my parents. I have the best set of parents anyone could ask for so they deserve it!

- I also want to find a good Bible Study. I haven't been in one since I was pregnant and I really need this! In addition to this Brett and I are going to work on our spiritual relationship by doing daily devotionals as a couple.

- And finally, I want to figure out something to focus on for me. I have small hobbies but I would really like to find something that I love and that brings me joy besides my sweet family.

I hope I'm not to ambitious here! I'm already dreading the weight loss one. Why is that always the hardest? Send me all your encouragement and ideas for anything I've mentioned! I need lots of love and support.

Merry Christmas!

Yes, I am a week behind in blogging. But I have good reasons! Anyways, Moses is still not old enough to "get" Christmas. I think was excited when he saw what Santa had brought him. Santa found this little table and chairs that once belonged to Moses' mommy and brought them for him to use. How cool! He also got a replacement remote controlled car (his broke) and some balls to play with.
This was the final scene once all the presents from everyone were piled under the tree. Some were hiding in corners so you really couldn't get the full effect. It was a MAD house. I'm already thinking of ways to handle present opening next year. (First of all, we can't wait with an excited two year old!)
It was really a special Christmas. My uncle and cousin even made it to spend the day with us as well as Brett's mom. Lots of food, fun and fellowship.

Moses was pretty happy too!