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Our Homeschool Day: Preschool Journal

Squeaks journal has been one of the most consistent and long-running activities we have done since we started playing school.

We started a preschool journal about a year ago now and it has remained a favorite. If you're unfamiliar with the concept (because no, preschoolers don't journal there daily activities or record their thoughts and dreams diary-style) a preschool journal is pretty much just a handmade workbook. I'll draw out two pages at a time (sometimes just making them up on the spot) and Squeaks gets a quick and easy lesson that pertains to that weeks topic/letter/shape etc. She loves how official and important her notebook feels. Plus, after she finishes each page we put a "Good Work" sticker in the corner. It's a nice little confidence boost.

Most of the time I try and do one page of letter practice and one page of number practice. I mix in shapes and colors here and there. Some pages I try to incorporate a theme we're doing that week or a holiday coming up. For example, for Thanksgiving we made a turkey with different shapes, practiced gluing them in place, then counted the shapes. With activities like this the possibilities are nearly endless. If you can do it on a sheet of paper then you can do it in a preschool journal. Just use your imagination and have fun with it! It is so much fun to go back to the beginning of her journal and compare pages. She's made so much progress! Nice little confidence boost for teacher mama too. ;)

With this kind of thing, pictures are the main show. Hope this inspires you and your kiddos!

I think it's important to write out the questions and instructions. In my mind this is a basic life skill to be able to read and follow written instructions. Squeaks has always had a love of stickers, so if there's an activity where she has to trace the outline of a shape or letter with stickers, or use stickers to count out a number, she's all for it.

Every so often, after we've done a few letter pages, I'll do a review. Just write all the recent letters in highlighter and she traces over them. Activities where she has to cut and glue are favorites as well. For this fall tree I cut out the tree and then gave her fall-colored paper strips to cut into "leaves" to glue on. The hand print was part of an About Me themed week. We traced her hand, used an ink pad to add fingerprints (talked about how everyone has different fingerprints), then counted fingers. See?! Keepin' it simple. A lot of the time these themed pages lead to conversations about other things too. How trees grow. Why they loose leaves in the Fall. Why her hand is smaller than mine. Life is education! Like I said. You're only limit with these journals is your imagination. 

So what do you think?! Is a preschool journal something you'd like to try with your kiddos? What kind of pages would you add?

3 Things To Keep After Adopting

 If you've been reading my blog long enough you'll know Halloween is my least favorite holiday. After having kids it has gotten much more fun, but I'm still not a huge fan. This years Halloween was full of good memories though so I'll ignore the ghosts and spiders and focus on my happy kiddos.

Dory, Nemo, and the hungry caterpillar (or if you're using your imagination "Shark bait". wink wink.)

Now that Halloween is over, November begins a period of celebration I can really get behind. Like Easter, I have come to feel that this time of year is a special gift just for our family. For some reason God has decided to group life events in clusters for me and November holds a few that are dear to my heart. It's my mom's birthday month, Thanksgiving, Evelyn's birthday (I have come to a place where I can celebrate her!), and all month long we get to celebrate National Adoption Month!

I'm the kind of person that loves keepsakes. I get sentimental about the littlest things. For example, Josh and I have a shoe box full of little memories from our highschool years. Movie ticket stubs, a deflated balloon from our first Valentines day, a menu Josh made from the first dinner he cooked me. Theses are things I'll never throw away. My keepsake hording only increased once I had kids. Squeaks specifically has childhood memorabilia coming out the wazoo. 

In honor of Nation Adoption Month, I wanted to share a list of keepsakes you might not think of keeping for your adopted child. These are things I am super glad I have for Squeaks and I'm positive she will be thankful I kept them too.

1. Original birth certificate.
This might seem like a no-brainer once you think of it, but a lot of people don't do this. I don't know if this is the case in every state, but in California, once an adoption is finalized, the adoptive parents are put onto a new birth certificate with the childs new name (if they have chosen to change it). Squeaks' birth parents named her a completely different name and I wanted her to have that connection. I wanted her to see their names and the name they had chosen for her. It isn't  a legal document anymore but I have it. You may need to ask for the original like I did. Once it's changed it usually doesn't end up in the final paperwork.

2. Clothes.
Although we did get to go to the hospital and spend time with Squeaks birth family, due to extenuating circumstances she spent her first week out of the hospital with a foster family. We didn't get to put her in her leaving-the-hospital outfit. The whole thing was a hard pill to swallow at the time. But, just like most of our trials, we can look back now and see that God meant it for good. The night Squeaks came home she was dressed in pajamas the foster family had put on her. Pink long pajamas with monkeys all over them. Something I would have never purchased. But after texting some homecoming pictures to Squeaks birth mother, she was thrilled to see that Squeaks was wearing the same pjs her biological older sister had. Those monkey pajamas are now snugly folded into Squeaks keepsake box.

Squeaks in her monkey jammies.

3. Text messages.
I LOVE reading through the text messages from the day of and days after Squeaks was born. God's fingerprints are all over the place! These are the conversations that led us to her with the people who worked hard to bring her home. The first text messages I received from Squeaks birth mother make me cry even now. The strength and love is overwhelming. Text messages from our adoption coordinator, lawyer, and home study case worker are full of Gods amazing attention to detail. The majority of them have private detail that aren't mine to share. This one however is a favorite because it just goes to show how quickly life can change and how much God loves showing his perfect timing. Our homestudy had been delayed due to some misplaced paperwork. Not just for a few days or weeks, but delayed for months. It was driving me crazy and of course I thought it was all up to me to fix, it was going to derail everything, it was going to keep us from getting a child! I completely let my head run away with itself and forgot my God is bigger than paperwork. Then I got this text message the morning of January 8th completely unaware that Squeaks birth mother was in labor with her at that very moment. We got the call that night. That's the kind of thing that makes you all giddy inside. Knowing God had a plan all along and that every detail is in his hands. So ya, keep those text messages.

What about you? Did you keep anything out of the ordinary from your adoption journey?

This Is How It Works Today

If I've learned one thing since we became a three-under-four family it's that you've gotta be flexible. I think you learn that on a small scale with your first child, a little more with your second, but with a third you just have to pray that God helps you keep them all alive and just relax.

Three kids under the age of four is a beast all it's own. There's having multiple children, and then there's having multiple children really close in age. Triplets...forget it. Just douse yourself in dry shampoo and coffee, and we'll see you in 5-10 years. Squeaks and Little Dude are 20 months apart. Little Dude and Flash are 21 months apart. And four years ago I thought I was barren. Ha!

This is a life I dreamed about, prayed for, wanted so badly that I cried myself to sleep on more than one occasion. I'm going to be honest with you (which is a phrase I rarely use because it makes me think "well, aren't you honest all the time!?") it is everything I hoped for and a million times harder than I could have ever known. Any soon to be moms out there looking for articles to read about what its like to have kids close in age or more than one or two kids, just stop looking. I could give you a description of my day, try to compare one vs. two vs. three but the truth is it's different everyday.

Because of California's wonderful FMLA (family medical leave act) Josh was able to be home with us for seven awesome weeks after Flash's birth. After that I had to figure out how to function with three kids on my own during the day and keep in mind I'm at a slight loss for digits with which to grasp tiny, crazy fast little people (Little Dude is a major runner. I no longer judge parents who use kid-leashes.) On our first outing with just me and the kids, we went to the library for story time. As anticipated Little Dude and Squeaks went in two opposite directions for most of the trip, and at one point I had to pry a screaming LD off the library computer keyboard, all while wearing my six-week old, but we did it! Every day I am thankful that God granted me a mellow third child, because if Flash was a high-maintenance kid...I don't even know. It takes me a solid twenty minutes to get everyone in their car seats and all the necessary kid paraphernalia packed in the car to go somewhere. That doesn't include the time it takes to get them all dressed, and presentable to be seen in public. Add another hour for that. The logistics of getting three small children out of the car by myself, in a busy parking lot, is a little mind-boggling sometimes. 

From our first outing to the library. Just me and the kids.

  

I use to imagine how I'd parent. There would be lots of cuddles. My kids would have manners. I would be a patient and understanding mother. My kids would be good listeners, never scream in public. I would never give my kid my phone to distract them. And of course, my house would be clean because I'd be a stay-at-home mom, just clean while they play!

Isn't she lovely!

Well, there are lots of cuddles, even if the small one being cuddled refuses. "You're being cuddled darn it! Give in! LOVE ME!" But really, all three are world class cuddlers. The rest of that list is hit or miss. Except for the clean house, that's just laughable. There are days where nothing seems to go as planned, so I am slowly but surely being broken of my need to plan. The phrase that has helped me more than any other, the one that plays through my head multiple times a day is "This is how it works today." When I need to let one kid watch Minions for the millionth time so I can get another kid to sleep or wear Flash in my Tula for his afternoon "nap". When my lunch consists of whatever was left on my kids plates after their lunch. When Flash has to stay in his swing a little longer than I'd like because Little Dude decorated an armchair with a bottle of lotion. When I let my older two dig holes all over the backyard and spread the sand from their sand table across the patio because it's giving me time to do the dishes and hey, they're happy. On those days I say "This is how it works today." and my blood pressure goes down. God has blessed me beyond measure. He has given me the exact kids I was meant to have and I am the mom He wanted them to have. Every day these three small people surprise me, make me laugh, and challenge my heart to contain the explosive force of my love for them. Every day looks different from the last. Every day could end with a long list of things I wish I could have done differently. But I am living the life I prayed for and I wouldn't change a thing... Well, I'd like to sleep more. Other than that, not a thing.

My car is slowly being swallowed by kid "stuff".

Painting rocks (and himself) on the back patio.

My Cord Of Three Strands

 Oh how I wish I hadn't fallen so far behind on posting! I miss this so much. I logged on and realized I haven't written since our pregnancy announcement LAST November! I can give all the usual excuses, most of which involve being pregnant and running after two toddlers, but I think I'll skip that and share the fun stuff first.

We had a super easy pregnancy. Aside from the fact that my hormones made me a little short tempered here and there (sorry Josh), everything was very smooth. I'd very much like to write a full post about our newest arrivals birthday. It was a very blessed day and I don't want to forget a detail. For now I'll introduce our second son (on the blog I'll call him Flash. I'll explain why in a moment) born healthy and happy one month ago! He weighed in at a strong 7lbs 12oz, 20 inches, and as sweet as can be. 

 

The last eight months have been packed full of family fun, challenges, and growth. Squeaks turned three!!! She has thoroughly embraced her big sister role. I truly believe she was meant to be a big sister to two boys. I was admittedly a bit sad that she wasn't getting a sister but it was short lived when I considered her personality. She was cut out for brothers. She's so independent, so smart, so clever. A sister just wouldn't fit. As usual Gods plan is perfect. I'm not the type to go into too much detail about this sort of thing, but I am VERY happy to say Squeaks is now potty trained. That was a huge goal for me. The idea of three kids in diapers, yuck.

Add in Christmas, Easter, Mothers Day, Fathers Day, my birthday (which included a ride in a helicopter!), my little brother getting married (I'm old!), and 4th of July and these past eight months have been non-stop. The number of blog posts waiting to migrate from brain to screen is nearly endless. I'm going to make a serious effort to catch up/keep up with posting because I just really miss this creative outlet.

As far as our newest and biggest family change, Flash fits right in. I'm calling him Flash after a character from one of the kids favorite movies right now, Zootopia. A super cute, very slow, sloth. I think it fits our very relaxed new little man perfectly. He is the total opposite of our energetic, never-stops-moving, mini daredevil Little Dude. Our little Flash is super content, cries only when completely necessary, and even then it's the sweetest tiniest little cry you've ever heard. He's an amazing sleeper and can sleep through a ton of noise (yay!). He is a wonderful addition to our family.

Raising three kids under four years old is challenging to say the least. Josh and I are very tired. Past tired. A little delirious at times. But we're super excited to watch them grow together and develop a strong bond. We're excited to see what God has in store, and should it cross your mind, pray we stay awake to see it.

"Though one may be overpowered,
    two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12

Our first picture as a family of five! I do believe this may be the only picture I have of Little Dude sleeping. He hadn't slept well the night before and decided this was the perfect time and place to catch up on his rest. Squeaks was ecstatic to meet her new brother and, once he woke up, Little Dude was very excited to give his brother kisses.

Halloween 2016

Technical difficulties have kept me from posting the past week or so (technology hates me). For some reason uploading pictures just wouldn't happen. Well, I found a way around it. I had to email myself the photos for this post. Ha! Take that computer! 

Anyway...Halloween! It's never been my favorite holiday. It's my least favorite in fact. Not a fan of scary movies, spiders, bats, pumpkin-flavored-anything. But, having kids sure adds a fun element to it. 

Squeaks was a butterfly and Little Dude was a dinosaur. Both ridiculously cute. Halloween morning we joined some friends at a local retirement home for a toddler table-side trick or treat. We did this last year and it has been such a fun experience watching the kids with the older residents. The kids make their way around a long table collecting candy from each person. It's fun to watch how happy it makes all those involved. We don't give the kids sugar though so Squeaks enjoyed a granola bar while the other kids had some cookies. Since she doesn't even know what candy is and we call cookies "nasty pods" (half joke, half not), she didn't complain at all and was quite happy with her granola bar.

Later that evening we walked down to our church's harvest festival. Squeaks is old enough now that she understands how to play the games and she really loved the petting zoo and pony rides. This was her first pony ride in fact. Little Dude just couldn't stand staying in the stroller so we let him loose and he had a blast exploring with me following close behind him. He's getting pretty fast!

All-in-all a fun day! 

My sweet little trick-or-treaters! Squeaks ran around our living room pretending to flap her wings. Little Dude looked so cute in his little dino suit (inherited from a friend who outgrew it). Do you recognize Squeaks' monster feet? LD borrowd them for the day.

Two left photos: Squeaks collecting candy. Top right: Enjoying hr granola bar "treat". Middle right: Little Dude exploring and being cute. Bottom right: All the kiddos so cute in their costumes.

  Look how happy she is!! Such a sweet girl. I'd totally buy her a pony if I could. The face!

One Vs. Two

A friend once told me "Having one kid is like having one kid, and having two is like having twenty."

Yep.

Last week it happened that Squeaks was at Nana's house and I had Little Dude to myself for a few hours. The boy and I ran errands with ease. I can't believe I ever thought running errands with just Squeaks was difficult. I took my time at Target while LD enjoyed his snack in the stroller and waved at everyone we passed (I love that our stroller can go from a single to a double easily). Then on the car ride home he fell asleep. I decided to do something I haven't been able to do since he was born. I went through a drive through, got a chocolate shake, turned the music down low, and just drove around till he woke up. Soooo relaxing!

They are never in the same mood at the same time. Never both eat well. Never both sleep well (Squeaks sleeps while Little Dude doesn't). One always wants what the other has and they both always want what I'm eating. It's the biggest challenge of my life and I'm loving it!!

From what I've learned so far, being a parent to two small children so close in age is a lot like playing chess. It's a strategy game. Who do you get out of the car seat first? If you give one food the other will want some. Who do you feed first? What do you do with the one year old when he's not tired, but you need to put the two year old down for nap? You have to be one step ahead of them at all times. Add in housework, laundry for four (two of which love dirt), meals for four, three times a day plus snacks, breastfeeding, cloth diapering (ya, we're back at it), and three dogs, my life is never boring. I feel like I have to have a daily plan. My husband walks out the door for work and the game begins.

I don't know how to play chess.

There are days (a lot of days) where nothing goes "according to plan" and they are great days! So I've decided to start the day with a plan, envision my next move, and be as prepared as I can be. Then when it all hits the fan, laugh, and reset the game board. 

When nap times happen to overlap, I don't clean. I sit. And eat chocolate.

I had "a moment"

I'll call it "a moment", but we all know what it really was. A meltdown, an episode, a momma-is-gonna-lose-her-mind-soon-if-you-don't-stop-screaming...thingy.

We are in a time of transition. Little Dude is big enough and able to balance well enough to join sister in the bath in the evenings now. Up till now Josh and I were separating bath time. He'd take Squeaks and do bath time in our guest bathroom and I'd take little Dude to our master bath. A divide and conquer kind of scenario. This past week though, we've tried combining them. Both kids in one tub with one parent while the other parent gets PJs, pacifiers, diapers, and bedrooms ready for bed time. It looks great on paper. Josh and I get to alternate nights spent bent over the tub wrestling slippery toddlers and get a little extra cleaning up done around the house while the kids are in the tub with the other parent on watch. 

Kids are funny little creatures. They just love routine! So far on the nights where I do bath, Squeaks has flipped out because she's use to dad doing bath, and on the nights when Josh has done bath, Little Dude has totally lost it 'cause he's use to me always doing it. It has not gone smoothly to say the least.

This last Thursday night was the worst to-date. It was my night for bath and Squeaks immediately made her grievances known. Loudly. Little Dude was so tired (he's phasing out morning nap. Yay!) and just couldn't take it. He started to feed off his sisters unhappiness and before both kids were barely in the water we had full on meltdowns. 

I decided to join them. 

Total mom-fail.

They're screaming. I'm screaming. Our tiny guest bathroom was transformed into a tiny box of torture. Josh came to my rescue just in time to find me bent over the tub, Little Dude clutching at me, Squeaks clambering to get out of the water as I held her in with my free arm, all three of us in tears. Being the level-headed man that he is, Josh quickly formed a plan. He scooped LD up wrapped in a towel and told us to get out. Fine by me. Josh finished Squeaks' bath and I calmed LD and got him dressed. 

Deep breath.

Not much has improved over the last few nights. One child or the other is unhappy at bath time, but we plug away at it, and everyone eventually ends up clean. 

All of this reminds me of a conversation I recently had with another mom. When describing recent mothering difficulties the only way she could think to explain it was "it feels like being alone in a crowded room." 

I will be the first to admit, I want people to think I'm an awesome mom. I care. I care what people think of me. Plus, I actually DO want to be an awesome mom, not just look like one. Pressure from all sides! Why do I do this to myself? I am NOT alone. I know lots of other moms. Why must we all act like we've got it together? 

Raise your hand if you've had "a moment". 

Most days I feel like I just barely make it by the skin of my teeth. I wouldn't give it up for anything. Wouldn't change a single thing about either one of them. This job is no joke though. I know I'm not alone.

Grandparents Day

I have no doubt in my mind that my kids have the best grandparents in the world. Go ahead, challenge me. I dare you. 

Now that truth has been established, I can begin to properly brag. 

While my parents and Josh's parents have extremely different grandparenting styles, both are equally loved, needed, and effective. 

My parents have a laid-back mellow vibe, preferring music, conversation, arts and crafts, and theological foundation-laying. I value their contributions to our kids' growth. I can count on them to be both engaging and effective in their interactions with our kids. In a way I feel their time spent together is a kind of training. Not to say my parents aren't fun because they most definitely are. We all had a blast together in Tahoe in July and Gaga gives one heck of a "horsey ride" (Gaga being the horsey as Squeaks spurs her on). And just like her book-lovin' mamma, Squeaks can count on Gaga to read endless numbers of stories. I think though my parents would describe themselves as more future-focused. I love that they encourage character-building. They help me focus on my children as more than tiny humans, but as contributing members of our society. The day my mom, Squeaks, and I can sit and discuss C.S. Lewis or textual criticism will be a happy one. With the way Squeaks soaks up information I doubt it will be too long. 

My in-laws have an embrace-the-moment, Disneylandesque vibe to their grandparenting style. They fill my kids' childhood with play and adventure. I can count on them for random trips to the store where handfuls of books and knickknacks are purchased because they were at Squeaks' eye level. They are unfailingly generous and supportive. They keep our wishes at heart (no sugar, as little TV as possible, manners always necessary) and are still able to make "Nana and Papa's house" a magical place. Because I am my parents' child, the "play and pretend" style of my in-laws reminds me to play and pretend too. A necessity. This is not to say my in-laws are all fun and no structure. I know they will never steer my children down the wrong path. Prayers are said, Bible stories are read, and the blessing of wisdom is imparted. When all is said and done, it's an awesome thing to watch a grown woman in her fifties lay on the living room floor and make faces with my eleven-month old or silly sounds with my two year old. 

Very different styles, both absolutely needed. They are two halves to our grandparenting whole. Valued and loved. I have no doubt in my mind that any one of them would do anything for our kids. ANYTHING! We are blessed.

Squeaks held by Papa, Nana, Nana Sue (great-grandma), Little Dude held by Gaga, and Grampy

Our Calendar Wall: Learning The Weather

I've added the last finishing touches to our homeschool wall and I LOVE IT!! I'm super happy with how this turned out and I think it's going to be a great tool for helping Squeaks learn.

In my ideal world I'd have a designated homeschool room, but you work with what you've got. I think this little corner of our hallway wall is so cute and fun!

The last finishing touches include a weather wheel  and a cork board to display the letter and number we're learning about. If I had to pick one last thing to add it would be a little poster showing the different shapes. I've run out of wall space though, and I'd rather not have my entire kitchen/dining area/hallway taken over with kid related items. It's spreading everyday! That's another post though, cause I have thoughts on kid/adult friendly spaces and keeping them separate. But I digress. 

Click here for a link to the weather wheel. Living in Southern California means we probably won't get to use the "snowy" spot often, but maybe we can go visit the snow and use it on those days. I actually made the cork board too. My crafty self has leftover supplies from previous projects just coming out my ears! I already had a roll of cork and the perfect size little wood plaque to glue it to. Didn't have to buy a thing! I get my craft-hoarding tendencies from my mother (love you mom!).

Now excuse me while I go stare proudly at the corner of my hallway wall.

Our Calendar Wall: The Seasons

Once I get started it's hard to stop!! The creative juices are flowing and I'm on a total crafty/homeschool high. But really, if you're gonna do something, do it all the way! 

Another fun learning tool for you! A fun little "seasons" chart! I laminated mine, cause...why not!? It also makes the little arrow nice and sturdy for little two-year-old fingers to spin. It also makes it easier to stick to the wall.

We have a cute little "Seasons" song to go with it too (find it on my Pinterest board). Just wish we had more difference between the seasons here in CA. It will still be just to talk about the holidays in each season. I think this is going to help Squeaks understand parts of the year a lot better.

Our Calendar Wall: Learning Months

Squeaks and I have started a morning tradition of talking about the calendar. We discuss the days of the week, the date, the month, seasons, weather, and the current letter we're learning about (this week is the letter c). 

I was noticing that she was starting to grasp the days of the week thanks to this awesome days-of-the-week wheel I found (FREE! I opened mine in good-ol' "paint" to add color). When I would ask her what month we are in though, she'd give me a bit of a "what the heck are you talking about?" look. So to Pinterest I went!

There are TONS of months-of-the-year printables on Pinterest, and I actually found one I really liked, but it cost more money than I was willing to spend. I will be the first to admit that my OCD, hyper-organized self is totally geeking-out on school supplies so I've spent my max. DIY it is!! 

No biggie cause I love making school supplies even MORE than I love buying them. And now I will share the fruits of my labor with you! Enjoy this super cute (in my humble opinion) months-of-the-year banner!

The top part of the banner folds over the string and gets taped down. I just used twine and a couple of 3M hooks to hang mine. It's a bit longer than I intended it to be. I wanted it to fit on a small piece of wall at the front of our hallway. I'm happy with how it turned out though. I wrote "What month is it?" on a large clothes pin to clip to our current month. I think this is going to be a great tool to help Squeaks learn!

Lundy and Tahoe

A few weeks back we had our first vacation as a family of four! Over the past few years my parents have rented a cabin on lake Tahoe from some friends of theirs and this year we were able to join them. For many weeks prior we reminded them, "You remember we have two small children right? You know one of them doesn't sleep through the night, right? You know they are attention hogs, right?". Being the awesome Gaga and Grampy that they are though, they were excited to have us along and we were excited to get to spend the week with them!

We decided to split the nine hour drive into two days, you know, for sanity's-sake. About five hours in we stopped at Lundy lake, a spot that holds special meaning to my husband. At least six or seven of his childhood summers involved a trip to Lundy with his grandpa and uncle. It was fun to watch him remember and experience this beautiful place with our kids, even if it was for just one night.

Day two, more driving, and finally Tahoe! We were so excited and blessed to find out that our little cabin for the week had recently been upgraded with beautiful new floors. These are the things you get excited about when you have a crawling child who is an expert at finding every little crumb, so the lovely easy-to-clean laminate floors made my vacation a little easier.

Within an hour of arriving we were down by the water. Our cabin came equipped with new floors AND a private beach! Score! What a beautiful lake! The kids loved collecting rocks (or in LD's case, throwing them, but not far) and Squeaks had a blast on the nearby playground. Especially since it had a "twirly slide".

Over the next week, we enjoyed walks along the Truckee River, nature walks, good beer and food at a few local spots, live jazz on the beach, and the Truckee farmer's market. While vacationing with two small children isn't entirely a vacation, it was so fun to watch them experience new things and have so much fun they literally passed out (although Little Dude still didn't sleep through the night. Oh well.)

We had a wonderful time and look forward to making this a yearly trip.

Splitting the drive up into two days made things a lot easier. The kids both fell asleep just as we were leaving which made for an easy first hour. Squeaks got pampered with her own personal tray, movies on the iPad, and snacks. Little Dude held up about as well as you can expect a ten month old to. The drive home we did all in one day. By hour eight in the car I wanted to tuck and roll from the moving vehicle, but we did it! It was a fantastic first vacation as a family of four!

Our stop at Lundy Lake was only one night but it was well worth it to see my husband relive happy childhood memories. The spot where he and his grandpa and uncle would camp has since overgrown but the lake itself is just as beautiful and secluded as always. I tried to get a picture of all four of us together. I succeeded in a super cute photo of everyone except myself. Ha! I need longer arms. I can't bring myself to buy a selfie stick. Just the name bugs me much less the concept. So for now, I look weird and everyone else looks great. Two thumbs up.

We arrived at our Tahoe cabin mid day with plenty of time to walk down to our private beach. Squeaks loved walking with Gaga and Grampy and both kids had loads of fun sifting through the smooth piles of rocks on the lake shore. As a mom of little people I almost prefer these smooth rock beaches. No sand in diapers!...Don'tcha just hate it when sand gets in your diaper?! I know it makes me cranky. ;)

Our main event for the next day was a gorgeous walk along the Truckee River. Josh and my dad enjoyed some man time while my mom and I kept the kids and went exploring. We found literally the most perfect spot along the river with a little shallow spot for Squeaks to wade into the water. Little Dude and I relaxed on the shore...well, maybe not relaxed. He kept things interesting by occasionally attempting to go head first into the water. Most of the time though we enjoyed sitting in the grass watching groups of people rafting down the river. It was just perfect.

 There isn't an inch of this lake that isn't gorgeous. A nature walk the next day ended at the beach with our feet in the water. Little Dude fell asleep in his carrier on my back and slept the whole walk. He woke up super sweaty but happy. It was fun to watch Squeaks explore. She was very insistent that we were going to see monkeys and lions on our walk through the woods. She loved seeing the big pine cones, super tall trees, and elaborate spider webs.

The park just next to our private beach was a huge hit the entire trip. The picture on the left is proof of Squeaks first time swinging by her arms. She was very proud of herself and it gave her courage to attempt other "big-kid" obstacles on the playground (with Gaga spotting her). She felt very accomplished and grown up by the end of our stay. As she should. She played hard and slept like a rock every night. One happy kid.

 While in Tahoe we enjoyed some local breweries. Fifty/Fifty is one of Josh's and my dad's favorites. A little place in Truckee called Mellow Fellow was also very nice. Both super family friendly and relaxed. Little Dude even enjoyed a quick nap in his stroller while we sat and talked. 

Squeaks got her first purse while at the Truckee farmers market and also got to accompany a piano player on the sidewalk. His piano was covered in signatures and he let Squeaks add hers! She was very excited.

Little Dude and I got to enjoy some alone time at the beach for awhile too. He thought the small waves that the boats made were a little scary at first but soon he was splashing us both. A very sweet lady with her family offered to take our picture (bottom left). 

Our last day included a jazz concert on Kings beach. We enjoyed live music, fantastic people-watching, and a visit with our cousin Stephanie who lives in Tahoe (lucky lady). Squeaks made friends with a very sweet little girl and Little Dude sampled his first fist full of wet sand (and made multiple attempts to go back for seconds). Both kids loved the water and got plenty dirty. Fun had by all!

It was a wonderful week spent with family and we look forward to many more trips like this. Although traveling with little people can be quite challenging (packing our car with the required gear was like a game of Tetris), it's most definitely worth it. On to the next adventure!

Wise Choices Chart

Squeaks is most definitely not what you would call a difficult kid. In fact she's amazingly compliant and well behaved. She is two and a half though, and it has become helpful to have a visual aid when discussing behavior. 

As I searched for a tool, something to point to and discuss consequences, I wasn't unable to find many options that emphasized wisdom and not just goodness. There is, in my opinion, a difference between making wise choices and making good choices. I want my children to strive for Godly wisdom, not just being "good people". 

Any-who, couldn't find what I wanted, so I made it. Should there be other moms and dads that might find this useful, I'm sharing.

I laminated ours and we use a small clothespin with Squeaks name on it to keep her place on the chart. An "outstanding" day receives a special sticker (most of the time "good job" does too), and each step underneath has a consequence. Toy taken away, time out, etc. I shared this with a few friends on Facebook and one wise mamma added an extra bit of awesomeness by allowing her littles the chance to work their way back up the chart by helping others. Great display of God's grace and compassion.

Print and enjoy! Wise choices chart.

Like The Wind

"Squeaks, you wanna go for a walk after dinner?"

"Ya!""

As we walk around our block, past our church, past other families on evening strolls, Squeaks is impatient to reach the point at which she is released from her stroller. 

"Can we race Daddy?" 

"Ya!"

As we approach the part of our walk where we can safely let her out, her feet start to kick, and if she wasn't buckled in, she would slide herself out from under the stroller tray keeping her in her seat. The stroller stops, Dad unbuckles her, and....SHE'S OFF!!

Like the wind! Curls bouncing, chubby little legs going as fast as she can will them, and sometimes, in times of need, need for extra speed, her arms fly behind her in an attempt to become more aerodynamic. Daddy follows close by, feigning inability to keep up.

"Out of my way Daddy!"

Little dude watches longingly from his stroller seat.

"Look how fast sister is!? Soon Little Man, soon."

She stops suddenly. "We're at a street Dad!" (The corner of the block is a good twenty yards away.)

"Not quite Love, but you can hold my hand."

Across the street and she's off again. Like the wind! Curls bouncing, chubby legs a blur. 

Another sudden stop. This time to inspect a spider web. No spider. He must be away visiting friends. Look! A yellow rose! *deep inhale* "Smells pretty."

And she's off! Wind in her hair, pink Converse pounding the sidewalk. 

Stop.

"Where are the wishes?" (Dandelions.)

"It must not be the season for wishes my Love."

Disappointed pause, then again, off like the wind!

But wait! There! A single wish in our yard!

We're home. Squeaks blows her wish, and like the wind, she's off to bath and bed time.