2015 Prayersolutions Answered

Dear Heavenly Father.... (January 2015)

Family
Help put in place the people and resources as we prepare to welcome a new family member. Please let this birth experience be a positive one with better healing and recovery after surgery. May our baby be healthy and strong. Also for Nolan, to transition well into his new big brother role.

God came through for us in a huge way this time around. With having a mentor mom from our MOPS group take our kids for 2 nights for the birth of Alden...it was a great weight lifted. Another person also fell into our laps for some day coverage. Nolan loves his little brother too. Healing also went much smoother and enjoyed recovering in the summer verses winter. Our Aflac coverage also came with a big financial discovery that enabled us to pay some debt down and cover bills. A much needed blessing after little to no tax return and having to unexpectedly purchase a new vehicle.

Space
As much as I have tried to be content in our starter space here in New York, it is becoming evidently clear that something has got to give. I desire to have a place for people and things, instead of cluttering up on each other. The winter months are long and having a finished basement for family time and play would be a wonderful blessing. To have the space means, being able to keep things clean for longer periods of time and use the new place to host gatherings of fellowship.

An interesting discovery came when after the snow melted and new neighbors were discovered. We had a new community of friends who had children and liked to play outside and open their homes to others to enjoy. I had become content with our home and loved the perks among the pits it came with. But with the city taking ownership of the properties, it pushed us to put on our grownup pants and purchase a home!

I would have never dreamed this day would happen back in January, and will answer many of our problems of living in a small space with 3 messy children.

New Beginnings?
We've spent about 5 years in one place....the longest for myself at least since moving away from home. We keep wondering when you will open the doors to a new state perhaps that will be better for our family's future outcome. I know it would be a mixed blessing, as I have made some wonderful friendships over the years, as have my kids with theirs. Help us discern what your will is for our family.

With deciding to stay in Rome for a little longer with the house, I think God has closed many a doors to moving away, while opening the financial ones to finance a house. Matt was also offered a promotion after interviewing for a new position at DFAS. I thank the Lord for his job security and benefits offered.

Health
This last half of the year was rather eventful when it came to our health. Besides the birth of our 3rd child, please keep us healthy and well, with no hospital stays. We are grateful for your providence when these surprises have popped up and for the insurance Matt has with his job.

Our health has been very uneventful in this department! So happy to have healthy and thriving children :)

Pumpkin Face

As the kids become older, I've tried to instil some holiday traditions into our family time. I grew up celebrating Halloween more so than Matt, but we both did do trick or treating. 

Without getting too huge into what this holiday means and what we want it to represent to our kids, I think there is nothing wrong in carving pumpkins and being creative. Hence why we do it a week away since we are not worried about them lasting until Halloween night.

 

We gave Eliza a marker and told her to draw a face, while going over the different parts that make one and how many of each. Then I tried to interpret the stribbles to the best of my abilities to showcase Eliza's design.

When trying to do an activity with all the family and with the young ages....I won't lie....it wasn't as magical and peaceful as we'd like when Matt is barking at the kids to not touch the knives and ensuring the pumpkin mess only finds its way to the slop bucket or table. I'm sure things will get a little easier each year...I hope!

Cell phone flash light apps work wonders for pre night testing. Once dark, I cracked a few glow sticks and put the pumpkins in their room for bedtime. Eliza is already counting down the days when we let her carve with a knife ;) 

PS- I found a WONDERFUL technique for roasting the seeds. I used season salt for the baking seasoning. Makes me sad that you can't buy pumpkins throughout the year.

Talk'n Turkey

They certainly are brave outside of the month of November. This family of babies has been growing bigger and bigger from only a little over a month ago. They roam around the neighborhood, including our front and backyards. Besides a few stray ones seen many years ago, this is a first for our wild encounters outside our door.

Eliza was happy to be given a turkey feather and felt proud to have stumbled upon their poop!

Belated Mothers Craft

In all the craziness of being pregnant and not seeing family until after Alden was born....it gave me a chance and an excuse to put together a gift for both grandparents with mostly supplies I already had on hand.

I took an idea from Pintrest and did a variation on one of them after the iconic Love stamp. My mother needed a gift that she could easily pack in her suitcase to fly home with.

My MIL, got one which will go nicely in their new home they'll be moving into this late July. Both were very happy to receive this as a gift, and includes all the grandchildren. I'm happy for the most part of how it turned out, but its not easy to get nice looking hand and footprints from babies and kids when you only have one shot at getting it somewhat visually pleasing.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

We decided to drive away from the local rain and head for the clear skies in the Finger Lake Region for July 4th for an adventure. Since there isn't anything to do where we live, I had thought visiting Watkins Glen State Park at the most southern end of Lake Seneca while my mother was out visiting would be a nice distraction.

There was a small but very neat playground by the picnic area, containing play structures that we don't have at any of the near by local parks. With all the time spent in the car and then being dragged along to boring outlet mall shops, this was a welcomed break for the kids. They really challenged the kids with the untraditional ways to climb, even bringing out a little fear in little miss daredevil. Nolan was quick to catch up to Eliza, proving he could do it just the same!

Watkins Glen's beauty is found in the wet paved trails, above and below the gorge with waterfalls. If you are not in the best of shape, you will still find trails that make it easy to walk without feeling like you weren't able to see enough of the falls.

It is recommended though, if planning on visiting with infants or young toddlers, to baby wear them, as the trails do have portions of stairs sprinkled in the trails. At least enough of them to detour you from wanting even a jogging stroller. This is when having an infant who is still very little, made my poor man's ergo carrier very enjoyable despite the stairs and distances walked. If you plan to stay for the day in the warmer months, your entrance includes access to a very large public pool with 3 diving boards and a good sized wading pool.

We stopped for dinner on the lake's waterfront and watched the boats come in and out and cruising along. Despite one cloud cell dumping some rain while we ate under the covered deck, the temperature was comfortable for the most part and didn't require any jackets.

On our way home, we drove up the other side of the lack and came into a small town's fireworks show. We pulled into a church parking lot and had the best up close viewing for the show.....and gave the local mosquitos a feast in the process! This was the first time the kids had seen fireworks, as we've always been visiting family and doing a BBQ at the house. Eliza loved all the colors, but Nolan was undecided for half the show if he liked them or not. Lots of running in and out of the van were had until finding a safe place with daddy.

Despite coming home very late and a few more bug bites than we'd like....it was a great way to spend the holiday with family and enjoying God's beauty!

Sugar Rush

Eliza, enjoying her basket spoils from the church...two fisted no doubt!

It wasn't our warmest of Easters, so we went outside quickly to snap a few shots.

Nolan enjoyed having full access to his loot and found pockets 

to be a great place to store his plastic eggs during the church service.

What Came First: Chicken, the Egg, a Bunny or the Dinosaur?

Ah yes, the time of year, if not countdown to Easter morning is upon us parents to shell out the creative juices and/or wallets and head to any of the various store displays with sugary and fluffy ammo. Some parents have planned well in advance and have baskets made, church clothes picked and pressed.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand......then there are us who look out the window and still see snow on the ground and a forecast for more over the weekend.

Spring?

It is still a surreal concept for most of us as we contemplate if dress shoes for church is going to cut it or do we drag out the boots, for what we pray is the last time this year. Or if we can find some tights for under a dress if we do indeed stay in the 30's.

I would be lying if I said I wasn't feeling any bit of guilt about not dying any eggs, crafting a basket for each of the kids or picked out a new dress/suit for the kids to walk into church with.

But ya know....

It really doesn't matter. Easter has never been about getting sweets, trinkets or toys.....so why should I start that expectation with my kids now? Before you start rummaging around for a Mean Mommy card to slap in my hands....I am not against anyone giving my kids a basket or inviting them to an egg hunt. It is their choice and never expected to happen. Just a nice surprise. In fact we were blessed out of the blue last night with a wonderful hand-me-down Easter dress from our previous neighbors :)

Over the last few years, it seems to be noticed that some holidays have become ramped up. Baskets have become so full, their contents have spilled out and on to the couch. Gone are the days where an egg hunt involved finding real eggs and more of the candy was reserved for a basket. The emphasis was more about spending time with family and friends than getting things. Those are the special things I want my kids to look forward to....worshiping Jesus centered with other believers....things I did not have the chance to know of in my childhood.

So we will wake up, pull ourselves together the best we can and be glad in knowing of the true sacrifice behind this day :)

**DISCLAIMER**
I do not judge anyone or families that have their traditions around the holiday. They decide what is best for their children and are allowed to do so. This is just what I desire for my family.

Big Children at Heart

Both Matt and I were gifted with something each that we both would have never spent money on ourselves. Certainly not practical, but if you know either of us in real life, we do have a kid inside that does like to be entertained.

After many years of always looking at them, I decided Matt needed a toy for Christmas so he could do a little stress busting when the kids were in bed. For an aviation nut....an RC helicopter was just what filled his bucket of joy that night....and continues to.

My mother, bless her heart, really did surprise me with a building toy. No, it wasn't Lego, but a tall Knex roller coaster. After putting the kids to bed early one evening, I spent around 3 hours building it. Here it is in action, using an extra coaster car for added fun.

Obligatory Christmas Post

Well, another Christmas has come and passed...and the last one as a family of four to be exact!

We headed down to the grandparents house on Christmas Eve, enjoyed some chilli, watched A Muppet Christmas Carol and sent the kids to bed while the 'elves' could get an early start.

Play jewelry was a real hit with this little girl!

An apron to use when grandma bakes with Eliza

The aftermath

Grandparents did the usual thing most do at this time of year and spoil the kids as they pleased. Matt and I spent a modest amount on the kids. It's easier to do it at this age as most are in the $30 range. Then of course some modest inexpensive stocking stuffers.

Our gifts to Nolan: Ride on Dusty, diecast planes, RC Mickey Car

Our gifts to Eliza: Pony wall stickers, Jake Duplo set, Do-a-dot stampers, 2 Innotab games

A shared gift was the Magna Tiles, which I was able to get 50% off with a personal connection. I know several of these gifts will be played with by both kids, and hopefully, be passed down to the next one. 

It was fun to see Nolan get much more into the fun with this being his second Christmas day. Only problem was...he'd get stuck on one gift, playing with it and ignoring anything else we put in front of him. Not much of what he got didn't have wheels on it. It's fun seeing this stage, as he develops his own interests :)

Now...we can only hope these toys will keep them well interested so mommy can have a moment to herself once and awhile

Santa's Vacation Home

We made our second annual visit to the local Bass Pro Shop...you know, where Santa likes to stock up on wilderness and outdoor supplies during his free time ;)

Manned with the special grandparent garments and a quick change in the bathroom (only to discover Eliza was not wearing any underpants), I fought with Eliza to wear a *gasp* blue dress. Seems like everything has got to be pink these days....

This was pretty much Nolan's initial response to Santa when we started, but quickly simmered down as we went along. Eliza, once being told that you tell Santa what you want for Christmas, was perfectly fine on sitting on the jolly mans lap. What a difference compared to last year where the only shot we could get was her face down, engrossed in Angry Birds on daddy's cell phone while tolerating the visit with Santa. But I love how authentic this Santa looks. Even nicer than the one in the Mall, and his surrounding area for pictures, which are free!

Of course, a visit to Bass Pro isn't complete without a long visit to the aquarium. Nolan was entranced at all the fish, while Eliza used the fake rock front as a climbing wall.

I used some of the other areas of the store as impromptu backdrops for pictures, but finding it is getting increasingly hard to get both kids to look at the camera...especially in new surroundings. Or my feisty three year old thinks its the best time to lift up her dress or pout her lower lip, as if this was such a punishment. But they enjoyed the other entertainment set ups where you could play with some of the toys for purchase.

The best surprise of this trip was finding Nolan was keeping his newsboy hat on the entire time. I got that thing for a steal at Children's Place on clearance for two dollars! And boy, did he work that whole ensemble. I couldn't get enough of him as his biased mother, and could have eaten him up.

So I wonder...what will next year look with three littles! 

You're a Mean One Mrs. Grinch

Call me what you want, but I'm perfectly okay with it.

This is the time of the year when many families stress out, fight over trivial things and feel like their to do list is never ending. I guess I don't get why we have to over complicate things when of course, the real reason for the season never included all the things which we stress over. Less is more in my eyes, and I don't set the kids up with expectations for each year. If it happens...it happens.

Here is what our family will not be doing this year:

The Elf- Haven't started and not sure if we'll get into it later on as I've heard a lot of kids getting creeped out by it.

Family Christmas Card- I applaud those of you who can successfully accomplish this. I do enjoy getting them from friends and family to grace the side of our fridge, but it has never been something I think of doing in time.**Update**
After taking a families card photo...it got the best of me and decided to just use pictures from this current year. Ah...peer pressure. 

A Tree- Yes, I probably get the most flack for this one. But I'm not loosing any sleep over it. Our place is small, and getting smaller by the day as baby Geddes 3.0 is cooking away. I struggle to keep this place cleaned up and organized in its current non holiday state as it is. There isn't room for one and we won't be home for Christmas anyways. If this wasn't the case, I would probably do everything in my powers to make something work. But for right now, I'll just focus on picking up all the small toys off the ground and not add ornaments to the mix.

A little girl I was watching one day asked me why we didn't have a tree up. I told her we were Jewish....just kidding of course. We do have however, the Little People Nativity scene set......And I am already having to play search and rescue for wisemen, animal control on the barnyard and CPS on baby Jesus.

T-Day

I was a bad photographer this Thanksgiving...

The camera never even came out of its bag the entire time we spent with the grandparents.

We had been set to leave town shortly after 3pm on Thanksgiving Eve to Matt's parents house. Then we got a phone call at about noon that a tree had fallen on dad's car as he was pulling into the driveway. He was okay for two reasons: 1) He is a man of short stature 2) The car he drives, is built like a tank. But needless to say, with this accident blocking the entire road in/out of the complex and the mounting snow piling up...this made for very nervous parents for their kids.

So we played the waiting game...

Checks of road conditions every so many minutes, screenshots of the roads and snow accumulation were our new hobby. Eliza was chomping at the bit to go and see Grandma, and I had planned the food shopping to not have to deal with a dinner on Wednesday evening. Our parents encouraged us to leave early morning and they'd plan dinner around when we got there.

We are both not morning people..

By 9pm, we gathered that most of the accidents had been cleared up and the snow was going to knock off as we continued our travels.

It wasn't our best travel time, but we made it, safe and sound near close to 2am with only one stop to grab some drinks. It also allowed me to do a breathing treatment since I had been battling breathing for close to 4 weeks.

Thanksgiving morning, I would then later visit the local ER for the first time as my last visit to ours back home about a week prior hadn't been effective enough. Three nebulizer treatments later and script for antibiotics, we were sent home and enjoyed a quiet meal with just our immediate family.

The rest of our time was spent relaxing, shopping at a few stores we don't have near us (IKEA), family time at Billy Bee's and doing some elf work. We brought the Christmas presents from us and my mother along with us so I could have a place to wrap and store the gifts since we'll be returning for Christmas. Not to mention, having the time to assemble a few toys before hand. Knowing we might have to return home on Christmas day at night...the last thing I want to spend my time on is reading directions. Plus, it means less wrapping for me, wahoo!

I'll leave this post with a conversation we had with Eliza in the car.

E: But I miss grandma

Don't worry, we will come back to visit them at Christmas and even Santa will come

E: No, I don't want Santa to come!

But don't you want some new toys?

E: But I already have toys dad.

Then I guess you don't want any new games for your Innotab?

E: Wait, I want games!

Little by little, she is grasping the whole Santa game....but still has this love/hate relationship with the jolly man in red :)

Mischief Managed

The Geddes clan went out in the night of sugar fueled fun, games, and of course CANDY! Our little Neverland Pirates, Jake and Izzy posed briefly for me, but it was quite hard to get Nolan to stand still.

This week has been a VERY busy one for the family, with 3 separate harvest/trunk r treating events attended before the very night. We settled on visiting a church where we had last year due to the cold rainy weather. Much to my surprise, this was the first Halloween night in which it did not rain and stayed a bearable cold temperature. So we decided to leave the church a little early and found a neighborhood nearby, littered with zombies, Elsa/Anna's, Ninja Turtles and various princesses. Matt went out to secure some take out while I went walking with the kids.

One house even had a haunted house walk through on the front lawn, with tented rooms. After deciding to skip it and just go for the candy at the end, the drama came to us. Nothing like an inebriated woman knocking your little pirate down on her butt. You could smell the booze on her breath and gave apologies as she was rushing off.

Nolan spent it from the view of the stroller and screamed every time you had to take his bag up to the door to collect some candy. Eliza struggled to walk and haul a candy sack at the same time, so guess who got to be the keeper of the candy ;) Then she noticed the candles in the pumpkins and kept trying to blow them out at every house.

Maybe one day, the whole family will dress up as a theme, but after having to drag a grumpy Captain Hook aka Daddy, he was glad at the end to be pushed out of the house. I think taking the kids out and having the opportunity to teach them social skills and manners shouldn't be overlooked. I guess either the parents never taught or the 6 ft teenage trick or treaters forgot how to take turns, say thank you and put the little kids before themselves.

I spent a total of just over $15 to do both of their costumes (white undershirt, blue and yellow felt, pixie dust bag, Izzy's shirt, puff paint and bandana), while using other clothing items already on hand. Felt really is your best friend when working with costumes. I didn't even pull out the sewing machine for Nolan's vest. Hot glue guns are a wonderful thing!

Costumes & Cuties

It's that month again, and along with all the general fall decorations and such...it's costume season!

Last year, we went out as a family to a harvest party (was too cold and wet to go outside) and I went to extra efforts to dress my son up as Charlie Brown, while I pulled general fairy wings and dress up stuff for Eliza.

This year, now that Nolan is mobile and Eliza is a year older...I'm hitting Pintrest for inspiration.

There are a lot of store bought options for the under 5 crowd, but I think the best ones are those that are not a stuffed animal suit on your kid with just a face exposed. For my southern California friends, these are not made for ya'll with the nice weather. Kids end up wearing for a total 5 minutes in those things.

I think the best kinds are those that express their personality and don't steal their spotlight and distract. Sometimes less is more.

Don't think you have any crafty talent?

Felt and a glue gun is your best friend.

My mother use to hit up thrift stores for tops and bottoms that would work and could be modified by using fabric dye or simple alterations. Hoodies are a great alternative to a hot and itchy wig. Just stitch or glue on felt or yarn until covered. Even printing out superhero insignia and glueing to cardboard can be an easy alternative. Just hot glue to fabric and voila!

Possibilities are endless when you think outside of the Halloween store!

So what are your little goblins going dressed up as?

Imperfect Perfection

It was Easter, and of course I needed to attempt pictures with the family in their church best....

Ha!

This was the nicest I could get of all three of them. Eliza was not cooperating and Matt was done with taking pictures from the start. She wouldn't even let me correct her sun glasses that we found and I begrudgingly let her wear for the picture.


Eliza has been a bit obstanent in the listening department. This was her pouting face until I used the threat of eating all her basket candy given to her from church. This was the only thing she was focused on getting as soon as we came home.

So yes, my kids are not perfect and even I get some loser realistic pictures of how my kids act/behave.

Anyone else having a hard time getting their three year old to cooperate?