Lost and Found

This past weekend we managed to lose Sutton's nuk somewhere in the house. When bedtime rolled around Sunday night I frantically dumped out toy bins, looked under all the furniture, and anywhere else I could think of as Sutton sat screaming in his crib and, of course, head-butting it because he was so mad. I was planning on taking his nuk away pretty soon anyway, but I didn't like the fact that it was lost and he was going cold turkey. My search turned up nothing even after I interrogated Macalan thinking maybe he took it and hid it somewhere. Sutton actually calmed down after rocking him a little and he ended up going to bed really well without it. You may be wondering why I don't have more than one nuk around the house, but I don't have a good answer for that. We had one or two others at one time, but something mysteriously happened to those as well and I just never got around to buying more.

He hasn't had it since and everything has been going really well. The only annoying thing about him not having it is that now I'm his "security blanket." Whenever he is sad or tired he only wants me and it always seems to be at the those times when I'm getting meals ready or trying to clean up from a meal. Oh well. It does make me feel good to know he needs his mama. Oddly enough Macalan ended up finding the nuk under the coffee table (the only place I guess I didn't look) the other morning before we left for daycare. I quickly grabbed it and hid it in Sutton's drawer so he wouldn't see it. I am kind of weird and like to save their nuks in their keepsake boxes.

On a completely different subject, Kyle and I tried curling the other night and had so much fun! We saw in our church bulletin that the married couples group was going to be having a social event at the curling club in Mankato. We thought we'd give it a try and it was an excuse to get a babysitter and get out of the house. I was really surprised at how well we both did. I was especially surprised at my first time abilities. Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not an athlete. I attempt to run, but other than being involved in dance while growing up, I have never really been interested in sports. I'm for sure not olympic material, but hey at least I scored us some points while playing! :) I think we are going to look in to joining a league next year so that we can get out once a week and do something together.

Other than starting the P90X diet and exercise program this week life has quieted down a little for me. I have my gallery walk on Monday night where I present my display board and final paper in a pretty relaxed, fun atmosphere. Some of the head honchos from Concordia will be there, but we also get to invite our families. After that I am DONE until graduation in May!

Well this concludes one of my more boring/long blog posts.

2 Years Later

I am happy and also very proud to say that I completed my master's program tonight! I felt the need to document this occasion on our blog because so much has happened to our family in the last two years. I have had to endure the rigor of reading multiple chapters every week and writing reflections, typing multiple papers, and completing projects. However, my family has given up a lot in order for me to be able to accomplish my goal of earning my master's degree.

It all began when Macalan was just 11 months old. Kyle began the weekly routine of picking him up from daycare and having a "guys" night while I attended my classes. It was only two weeks into my program that I discovered I was pregnant with Sutton. I remember crying tears of joy and fear when I found this out because I couldn't imagine having two kids under the age of 2, working full time, and going to school. I even called my advisor and asked if I should drop out. She simply said, "people get married, get divorced, and have babies while in these cohort programs." After hearing that I decided I would tough it out.

Nine months later my Sutton Button was born! I was able to take one class off so I could just be home with my boys and adjust to a life with two kids. Eight weeks later I jumped back in and took classes through the summer to make up for the one I took off. Kyle also had to adjust to being home one night a week with both boys, as well as taking care of them on his own while I was frantically trying to get something completed for class.

Through all of this though I feel like my kids have been the ones to sacrifice the most. Their needs at times had to be put on the back burner so that I could finish a project or paper. Many times Macalan has said to me "Mommy put your 'puter away." This was always so hard to hear and made me feel so guilty. Sutton has never known anything different. I have been juggling a lot since the day he was born and I wish I could give him back more of my time.

However, now I am so happy to be able to say that all of the sacrifice and lack of time is done! I am looking forward to having more time with my kids and less to worry about. I'm having a hard time believing that I am actually finished. Having all these things to do had just become a way of life over the last two years so it will be a little strange being able to just come home each night and play with the boys. My weekends will no longer include homework!

I will end this blog post with a big THANK YOU to my family. There is no way I could have done this without their support. I am such a lucky wife and mom to have such a supportive and loving family!

I am including a picture of my favorite little guys who make me so happy everyday and who have given up a lot over the past 2 years.

Happy Valentine's Day!

We spent Sunday getting our valentines ready for distribution tomorrow. When I picked the boys up from daycare on Friday we headed to Target to grab what we needed. Of course everything was picked over, but we did manage to find dinosaur valentines for Macalan. That was his only request. Well I shouldn't say his only request. He managed to find several things that he "needed" to have while we walked through the store.
I decided to make cupcakes for the daycare kids. Grandma Mary gave us a cute heart shaped cupcake pan so I thought we should put it to good use. Macalan had fun "helping" me make and decorate the cupcakes. We have this continuous problem where he feels the need to snatch a lick of the batter and icing so I'm constantly washing his hands so he doesn't spread germs.
The pictures are from last weekend when we did a trial run with the new cupcake pan. Trial run is code for I just really needed a cupcake fix!

On a totally different note...Macalan is putting himself to sleep finally! For a long time he has needed us to lay with him until he falls asleep. As much he thought he needed us, I really needed that time with him too. I love cuddling him after story time and watching him fall asleep, but I know it's better for everyone if he starts putting himself to bed. The past couple of nights we have tucked him in and then sat on the stairs below his room so he can know we are there, but not see us. He has cried a little bit, but overall it's going well. I hope we don't have to sit on the stairs for too much longer because my rear-end can't take that much longer! :)

I'm also including a picture from this weekend of Macalan's "experiment." I caught him unloading tons of stuff from one of our cupboards onto the dining room table. When I asked what he was doing he said, "I just doin' an experiment mom. Will you help me solve this problem?" The kid never ceases to amaze me. I don't know where he gets this stuff! I'm wondering if his scientific question had something to do with "how much crap can I put on the table before mom freaks out?"

Sutton's Walking!

Sutton has been taking 2-5 steps here and there for several weeks now, but this past week he decided he was ready to all out walk! Of course the big moment of him taking some substantial steps were while he was at daycare and while I was at night class. Oh well! Macalan did the same thing to me!
It is so cute to see him toddling around. He seems so small (short) to be walking. He is so proud of himself and he can even walk and drink from his sippy cup! Macalan was pretty proud too. When he was walking around on Thursday night he kept saying "Sutton your walkin'! I'm so powd of you!" :)
This weekend he also mastered being able to change directions without having to hold on to anything. He can also push himself up from the floor to walk (sometimes).
Another milestone for my baby! I'm sure before I know it he and Macalan will be chasing each other all over the place. My boys are growing up too fast!

Interesting toy name

Grandma came to visit today and brought with her some fun Valentine presents. Sutton got a cute little cow that he loves to cuddle and hug. Macalan got a hippo. When I asked him what he wanted to name the hippo he said "Horsey Butt." Nice name bud. When I asked him again what he wanted to name the new toy he replied "The Butt." Butt has been a new word in his rather extensive vocabulary. Great to hear it's making its way into the stuffed animal name circulation. Maybe I'll try to convince him of a new name that doesn't include Butt tomorrow.

Mr. Destructo

Since turning one Sutton has remained, for the most part, his relaxed mellow self, until recently. He is rarely crabby, but his personality is really coming through lately. He has been so silly and giggly. He thinks it's hilarious to head butt anything he can, including other people's heads, which is really painful! :( He likes to hold onto to the furniture and move his feet as fast has he can almost like a particular scene from the movie Flashdance. We've been trying to get him to walk, but the most he has taken is 5 steps. He pretends like he's going to take off and then promptly lands on his tush. Movies are becoming more interesting to him as well. Anytime Cars is on for Macalan he plops down and watches right along with his brother.

Not only is he becoming more busy and fun, he is also becoming more destructive. Yesterday while I was attempting to get ready he (with the help of big brother) pulled all the books out of the book bin and got multiple wipes out of the wipe warmer. I love each phase of childhood and I'd hate to say I want to rush through any aspect of my kid's lives, but I really don't like the "getting into everything stage."

A Valentine Project

Friday night Macalan and I did some watercolor painting together. I found some left over hearts at school and I thought he would have fun painting them. He didn't really get the concept of rinsing off the brush and then getting a new color. He thought painting with just the water was a blast! He can be easy to entertain at times. :) I hung the finished hearts in our kitchen as a garland and it looks pretty darn cute! It's hard to believe Valentine's Day is right around the corner.