Makita Chiquita

It was a dreary Tuesday afternoon, approaching naptime. I was minding my own business performing routine domestic duties, when I caught Jack trying to stuff his animal magnets into the openings on the front of the dishwasher (you know, where the lock lever is). Despite rescuing one of the animals, I realized, to my horror,  that 3 other innocent animals were stuck and dangling precariously over the abyss leading to the inside of the dishwasher door. (I sure wish I could draw a diagram). Using my dexterous upper phalanges, I was able to rescue a rooster and a goose. Sadly, I couldn't save the cat. Down she went into the darkness. I did not despair, however. I summoned my Super Tool Girl powers and retrieved Chad's Mikita electric screwdriver from the garage and preceded to remove the back of the dishwasher door. 7 screws and 1 battery change later I spotted the lost magnet. Using a kitchen spatula, I was able to reach and rescue Jack's lost toy. I was shocked to discover that I had not rescued the cat but another lost magnet- Lassie! It took some more finagling before I was able to return the cat and Lassie back to their rightful places on the front of the dishwasher and secure all of the screws. I then holstered my weapon...I mean put the Mikita back in it's case and turned may attention back to the laundry. Just another day as the mom of 2 busy little men.!

Above Par Date Night

My parents and younger sister spent the last 5 days with us. We had a wonderful time taking the boys to the zoo, doing a little shopping, house hunting, and the girls all got lovely pedicures. Never a dull moment. 

Saturday, thanks to my wonderful parents, Chad and I were able to get away and have a night to ourselves. After screaming "FREEDOM" when we left the house and plotting to possibly never come back, we decided begin our date night adventure. We're usually content with grabbing dinner at Chick-Fil-A and running errands, but Chad and I made a pact that we would go eat somewhere we can't go to with the boys. Shogun's won, and we were not disappointed. 

After managing to get our overly stuffed selves from the table to the car, we decided to drive by a house and then head to Hobby Lobby. I know that sounds sad, but we'd been trying to go for weeks. It was nice to wonder around and look at whatever we wanted. After making our selections, we left and headed back to the car. We considered going to a movie, but as parents of 2 little guys who had been entertaining all weekend, we were afraid that a movie in a cold dark theater would just put us to sleep. Now, if you know Tyler at all, you know that it's not exactly abuzz with activity. We didn't want to walk around the mall or Target (our typical date night activities), and we didn't want to go home either. Then, it came to us. Like finding money in a coat pocket, we were thrilled to rediscover a wonderful childhood pastime- miniature golf! We spend the next hour and a half dodging water traps, putting while standing underneath the leaves of a huge tree, and enjoying Putt Putts 2 resident cats Addison and Zoe. My golfing techniques need a little tweaking...ok, I'm terrible, but that didn't stop us from having fun. We hadn't connected like that in a long time. We paid for 2 games and got the 3rd one free, and since we only played 1 game, we get to go back twice! Maybe next time we'll get egg rolls and the concession stand. We concluded our night away by satisfying my almost ever-present sweet tooth. Thank you Braum's!

Dancing with Barbie

I was recently challenged by a woman at my Weight Watchers meeting to "put on my big girl undies" and start working out. I've found that if I argue w/ myself about it, the anti-workout part of me almost always wins. So, this morning I decided to start the day with a little aerobics. I searched youtube for workout videos, and I discovered a Barbie dance workout from the early 90's. For nearly 30 minutes, I danced with an animated Barbie and 10 or so teenyboppers, including Jennifer Love Hewitt. I've included a link to the workout for your own amusement. I love the fact that Barbie told me several times that I'm wonderful. Oh, the things we do to better ourselves!

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Under the Table and Dreaming

Luke's found a new favorite spot- underneath his saucer. He usually takes some of the Handy Manny tools with him so he can do any needed tune-ups. 

Hiatus Over, House Hunt Begun

So after 3 months of blogging hiatus, I've decided to pick up my computerized quill yet again and delve back into sharing my world on cyberspace.

Here's a very brief update on what's going on in the Land of the Larshes:

Luke had cut 2 teeth with more coming soon. He's so ready to crawl, and he's getting more and more frustrated by his lack of mobility. He does, however, spin, roll and army crawls. I know he's ready to follow Jack.

Jack is talking all the time! He's saying things like, "bagging area," "watch this," and "Luke is sleeping." He's counting to 10 and leaves us in stitches as the dances around the house. He got his first haircut in January, and it'll be time for another trim soon.

Chad continues to amaze me with his genius. He's working hard making sure that PC has the best technology available and that everything is working smoothly. I'm so thankful that he loves his job and the people he works with. 

I'm staying busy keeping up with the little dudes. Never a dull moment around here. Some of you may remember my Hannah vs. Holsteins challenge from back in the fall. Well, the group pretty much disbanded. I'm am excited to say that I've kept at it, and I've lost nearly 50 lbs. since I was in the hospital having Luke. I have about 12 lbs. to go, and I hope to get there by his first birthday. 

We're excited to announce that we've started looking to buy a house here in Tyler. We went and looked at our first 6 options last night. Our realtor is great! He has us nick-name the houses to help us remember them. We've seen "the cute old lady" house and "red, white, and awkward" to name a few. We're excited to see where God leads us. 

Off to go play cars and blocks. I'll post some pics soon. 

Missing Baby Jesus

I come from a long line of women who love to decorate for Christmas. My Mom and Grandmothers both decorate to the nines. Christmas would not be the same for me without a tree, a nativity scene, and a menagerie of snowmen. When Chad and I became a family of our own, we started talking about how we wanted to celebrate Christmas, and this discussion has deepened with the birth of our two precious sons. It is our heart that we instill in our boys the true meaning of Christmas. To quote a Christmas song that means a great deal to me, I want other people to know that Christmas is a time when we "celebrate the day that You (Jesus) were born to die so I could one day pray for You to save my life."

 

Now, our boys are still too young to grasp some aspects of Christmas, but we decided to start teaching them the Christmas story early. Jack knows who Baby Jesus is, although he says "Jeez" instead of "Jesus." Melts my heart every time. Last year, Jack was given an adorable nativity set that he can play with. It's been on the floor of the boys' room with pieces strewn about in all directions. This morning,  decided to clean off the fireplace hearth and arrange Jack and Luke's nativity so they can see it and play with it. I found the stable, animals, shepherds, Mary, and Joseph. I even found the angel and 2 of the wisemen. After some searching, I was able to locate the third magi under Jack's bed. I had every member of the initial Christmas story, except the most important player- Baby Jesus!!! I spend a good deal of time crawling around on the floor looking under furniture and digging through cubbies full of toys. I still couldn't find Him anywhere. 

 

My search for baby Jesus struck a heart string. It is so easy to miss Jesus in Christmas.  With the hustle and bustle of the season, I am so quick to forget that Christmas is about celebrating the birth of a tiny, vulnerable baby who was born to 2 very young and inexperienced parents. He wasn't born in a hospital, or even somewhere clean, for that matter. A stable was his shelter. While His entrance into the world may seem meager, all of heaven rejoiced! Angels came and told of His birth. Men traveled miles and miles to lay their eyes on Him. The most beautiful love story in all of history had the most humble and the most miraculous beginning. I do not want to lose Jesus in my Christmas. The nativity scene means nothing without Him. Christmas means nothing without Him. My life means nothing without Him. 

 

I am pleased to report, that our Baby Jesus was found at last. He was in the kitchen underneath the window. I'm sure Jack carried Him in there, all the while saying, "Baby Jeez." He is now safely in His place on the hearth. 

 

May you too find and keep Jesus this Christmas. 

etsy.com- I wish there was a patch.

If you haven't experienced etsy.com, it's awesome. However, you will quickly find yourself spiraling down an endless road of internet wandering. One treasure inevitably leads to looking at the sellers other items or deciding to hunt for something else. If you struggle with spending too much time surfing the web, you'll need some serious accountability. They should put a warning on their website. It is, as the lovely EKB would say, magical.