Waffle-makers

Grambo helping his Daddy (he is ticked when he finds out J made them without him)

Every week Jason makes us a big batch of homemade waffles for the kids to have for breakfast each day. Graham especially LOVES them and is not a happy camper when we're out and Jason's not around to make more. You might be thinking, "Maggie, why don't you make some for the little guy?" To this I say, "I don't do waffles". I'm spoiled. I "don't do" a lot of things: waffles, homemade syrup, mop floors, scrub toilets. I'll stop there so I don't embarrass myself. This is not to say that on occasion I don't cowboy up and take care of business. Yes, I have made waffles, scrubbed toilets, and such. I just have a husband that loves me and takes very good care of his lady. I'm seriously going to miss that man at the end of the summer when he deploys. Sigh........we'll save those worries for a different post.

Signing Time w/ Ben-O

If you listen close, you'll here his gorilla/cave man grunts that we hear most of the day. I was so surprised this morning when I started asking him the different signs and he knew quite a few.

My Parenting Woes....

Okay, so I’m reading this book called, Christ-like Parenting. I’ve really enjoyed it. The book focuses mostly on parenting teenagers, but the overall focus is very helpful and motivating. It talks a lot about parenting as Christ would (you probably caught that from the title). Kids need to know what is expected of them and they need consequences, but they don’t need those expectations and consequences screamed at them on a regular basis. This is where I struggle. I have felt prompted that I need to take these words to heart and try to overcome my tendency to yell and lose my patience so quickly. My problem…..it’s much easier to practice Christ-like parenting when you are in fact, Christ-like. Darn. I’m working on it.

I’m wishing there were more practical scenarios in the book that would help me know what to do in certain situations. For example, what should I do when I’ve told my 4 year old child to take the pile of toys upstairs to his bedroom and he, plain and simply, does not listen. As I’m typing this, I know what the problem is. I’ve trained said child to only pay attention and listen when I’ve gone through the motions of asking sweetly and have quickly transitioned into the “Do it or Die” mode. After I’ve screamed my instructions, he’s quick to say, “Okay!”. (He uses a tone that seems to say, “Wow, Mom. What’s the deal? It’s not like you’ve asked me twelve times already."). The kid then jumps on board the obedience train right away. I’ve got some work to do.

I’m hoping to fall off the wagon less and less. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.

Love Will Keep Us Together.....

Our Valentines Day was fabulous! We had a great time celebrating at the Ray house. The kids came downstairs that morning and were surprised to see the gifts we got for them.
My Mom and Dad always got us books for Valentines Day, so we started the same tradition a few years ago. My choices were a hit! Lucy got The Kiss That Missed and a book from the Magic Treehouse series. Graham got a Dinosaur Dictionary and That’s Good, That’s Bad (a book about a kid with crazy adventures in a zoo). The bigger excitement came when they realized they each got a whole box of their favorite sugar cereal (we usually only have Honey Nut Cheerios and Life).

Gotta show you a picture of the pom-poms I made. Beth and Jason made some for me to hang at Christmas and I decided it would be fun to do different ones for each holiday. Shades of green are next.

Being the incredibly creative mother that I am, I cut Lucy's PBJ into a heart. I know, I'm great. She's so lucky to have me.

As you can see, Lucy got Cookie Crisp and Graham got Trix. I forgot to get something for Ben, so Jason put a bow on one of his Gerber Yogurts.

Later that morning, the boys and I came out from the gym and found the inside of my van full of at least 200 cut out hearts. They were everywhere! Jason left a sweet note and a dozen roses, too. It was such a nice surprise.

That afternoon, Lucy spoiled me with handmade Valentines and she even shared her candy from school with me (she knows how much I love the sweet stuff).

Jason and I waited to have dinner after the kids were in bed. He grilled us some steaks and we ate and watched Runaway Bride (the movie we were watching when we first held hands). J bought a ton of different kinds of candy and put them in little bowls so I could make my own penny candy sack.

It was a fabulous day! I’m mad that I failed to go stock up on conversation hearts. Probably too late by now. Lucy’s in bed…..maybe I’ll go check out her stash from school.

January Miscellaneous

January flew by for the Ray fam. The weather was fabulous and we had lots of fun days playing outside. Here's a few random pictures from the month that I thought were blog worthy. Look at those chubby hands. Love 'em! Ben does this all the time and it always makes us laugh.
Graham and Lucy wanted to join the fun.

We enjoyed some great trampoline time after homework was all done.

Here's our little pirate at the pirate park with his #1 buddy, Grant. ARRRRR!

31....yikes.

On the 10th of January I turned 31. Yep....I'm officially in my thirties. I had a great day! Jason took off work and we went to lunch at Joe's Crab Shack. My great friend, Laurie, watched Graham, so it was just J, Ben, and I. We had a fabulous view of the ocean and it was a beautiful day. Have I mentioned how much I love the weather here?
After lunch, we went to a little candy shop in Ventura and I picked out some of my favorites. I'm a huge candy fan. They didn't have any penny candy, but I got some lemon heads and other sugary treats.

That night we had hamburgers at home and some cake and ice cream. The fam sent me on our traditional "hot and cold" hunt to find my presents. Lucy bought me a huge bag of Jelly Bellies and wrote me a sweet story. She also wrapped up my flip-flops. Earlier that day, she asked me why I was wearing my flats. I told her I couldn't find my flip flops, so I had to wear them. The night before she had wrapped them up as one of my gifts. She What a goofball!

Jason got me some workout clothes and some cycling shoes for me to wear to spin class. One of my presents was some comfortable socks for the gym. When I opened them, Graham said, "What is it? What is it? Socks! WAH WAH." I don't really know how to explain it, but try to imagine the "Wah, wah" like you hear on a cartoon when something bad happens. He says it every once in a while and we are always impressed that he uses it in the right context.

I had a good day! It's always fun to get calls and messages from family and friends on your day. Jason and the kids did a great job of making me feel loved and special. I am so blessed!

Partyin' at the Beach.....in January!!

We spent President's Day this year at the beach. The weather was amazing and we had a ball! Here's Lucy sportin' her new wetsuit. Our California girl in action. She's hoping for a boogie board very soon. Ben-O loves the beach. Especially the sand. This kids ate so many cookies covered in grit. He was pooping sand for 4 days after. Sandy smile

Graham and his friend, Grant, graciously paused for a picture. We had a spectacular day with our friends. We've had day after day of fabulous weather here. Today was a little to chilly for me at 62 degrees. We are definitely livin' it up! We'll have a hard time leaving the beach when it's our time to go.