Friday, September 30, 2011

The other night...

Sawyer and I threw caution (and nutrition) to the wind and


ate ice cream for supper.


The sweet time spent together was well worth the sugar high and lack of nutrition.

Just a reminder to myself to have fun with the kids even as we endure the terrible two's and all it's temper tantrums.

Doesn't it look like he's in a sugar induced coma?

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Fall Wreath

Remember this wreath of yore?  It adorned our front door all summer and now that it's fall I decided we needed a new look.

Please ignore the door that needs re-painted

I made the burlap wreath this spring with the intention of reusing it every time I felt the urge to change our door decor.  Instead of buying a new wreath all the time I could repurpose the burlap wreath, so that is exactly what I did. I removed the fabric flowers (they were only pinned in) and then created an argyle pattern using felt in an autumn palette.



I like the end result.  It's very simple and I could always add some felt leaves or felt flowers to embellish it, but right now I'm enjoying the simplicity.  It was also very simple to make.  The whole project could easily be completed in 30 minutes (alas I never had 30 minutes of uninterrupted time so I worked on it over several days).

Here's my inspiration and a tutorial found via pinterest.  I used a burlap wreath instead of yarn and I used brown embroidery floss instead of yarn for the criss-cross pattern because that's what I had at home.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Game #4

On Saturday the Malone Pioneers lost to the #3 Marion University Knights by a score of 0-56.  We'll just leave it at that.

On the bright side we enjoyed the beautiful fall afternoon outside and one little boy finally developed the courage to make contact with the friendly moose mascot.  I think the peer pressure of the older boys playing with the moose helped spur Sawyer on.

Sibling affection before the game

Sawyer being encouraged to visit the moose

Sawyer giving the moose a hug

Our family of 4

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Comparison

When a new baby is born the #1 question you get asked is "who does he/she look like?"

Do you think Sawyer and Nora look alike?  

Sawyer is on the left and Nora is on the right in each picture.






From the moment they laid Nora on my chest I knew she resembled Sawyer at birth, but as the weeks go on I find the resemblance uncanny.  In fact the only part of their face that I think is different is their chin.  Sawyer has a dimpled chin and Nora does not.  They also have different hands and feet, but I'm not sure you can tell that from the pictures.  Basically I think they look like twins in their facial features.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Stats



These aren't football stats, but Sawyer stats.  When he turned 20 months (last week) we went to the see the nurse and have him measured and weighed and we were a bit shocked by the results.  Since the arrival of his sister I feel like my baby boy has turned into a full fledged little boy.  He has grown so much that most of his summer clothes no longer fit and he is even getting a little bit of a tummy.  For so long he has been so little (like 3rd - 10th percentile in height and weight).  He never had little baby chunkiness, but he was starting to put some meat on his bones...so I thought.  Turns out he measured in at 32.5 inches (50th percentile) and weighed 21 lbs. 14 oz. (below the 5th percentile).  At his 18 month appointment he weighed 22 lbs. so in 2 months he has gained no weight!  However, he has hit a major growth spurt which is kind of a double-edged sword.  It's great that he is growing and getting taller, but his weight is not following suit.  Thus he is now classified as underweight.  In the past he has always been small, but his height and weight were very proportionate so the doctor was not concerned.  And in all actuality the doctor is not too concerned as Sawyer did gain an appropriate amount of weight in the past 6 months (i.e. he is not losing weight) his weight just has not caught up with his growth.



So, where does that leave us?
  • We could make him stop being so active...yeah right
  • Force him to eat more (trust me he already eats plenty)...not going to happen he has a very strong will and when he says "all done" you better believe not another morsel is passing through those lips
  • Feed him calorie packed foods: bananas, beans, peanut butter, cheese, etc...um this is already what he eats everyday, the boy loves him some beans
  • Our other option is to supplement his food with dry milk to increase the calories without increasing the volume.  We're going to give this one a try and see what happens.
On the bright side he is growing (maybe his little sister won't be taller than him :)  Now we just have to watch his weight closely.  He will be weighed again in November to see if our efforts have helped him pack on the pounds (oh how I wish I could give him a little bit of this baby weight :)

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Final Visitors

Last week we welcomed our final visitors who traveled from a great distance to meet miss nora.  Sawyer and Nora's great-grandparents (papa & tache) drove all the way from Kansas to visit.  They played with Sawyer, held Nora, watched Seseame Street more times than they could count, went to the farmers market, and took on the challenge of watching the kids for an entire day so mommy could go to work.  They were a big help and did a wonderful job of spoiling the kids :)

We also went to get the kids picture taken together, but it did not go well.  In fact I'm still too traumatized to discuss it.  Let's just say after an hour and lots of tears from both children we left with no pictures.  So much for a sibling picture on the birth announcement.

Here are some pictures to document Papa & Tache's time in Ohio.

Papa & Sawyer playing with his new pillow pet for his big boy bed

Tache & Nora w/ her 1st doll




Sunday, September 18, 2011

Game #3

It was a perfect fall football afternoon on Saturday when the Malone Pioneers took on the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees.  Much like the first 2 games it was exciting too the very end.  However, this week the Pioneers were not the victors.  The final score was 22-24.  Malone was behind most of the game.  In the final 7 minutes the MU defense tackled the quarterback in the inzone for a safety putting the Pioneers up 22-21.  Then with 5 seconds left in the game St. Ambrose kicked a field goal for the win.

It was a game filled with high highs and low lows making it a difficult loss.

But kids can always brighten the mood.  A few pictures of the kiddos to turn that frown upside down:

Oh, oh lets touch the sleeping baby

Cute Cousins

A lesson in getting 3 toddlers to sit: lollipops

Nora chilling

Sawyer enjoying a snack on the field after the game

Friday, September 16, 2011

Thank You's

As I was perusing Pinterest (my newest obsession) one evening I ran across a couple of small gifts that I thought would be perfect thank you's for the helpful hospital workers and our wonderful visitors.


I made the flower pins for the nurses and a few special people who were very helpful during our transition. For Sawyer's birth I made the nurses cake balls and that was such a hassle to transport and they weren't that cute. So, this time I decided to make something cute and useful. These pins can be used on a shirt, coat, purse, attached to a head band, etc.


Felt flower pin tutorial: tatertots & jello
Thank you gift tag printable: eighteen25
I followed the felt flower tutorial, but I made my own template as I wanted something a bit smaller.

And here's another variation of a fabric flower using this tutorial from Matsutake

For our visitors I created a thank you tag (using picnik) and wrapped several pieces of red vines. The inspiration for this came from this 4th of July project by Room to Inspire




Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Strawberry...


Cutest strawberry I've ever seen
(she wasn't too happy to be wearing a hat...but she's still cute :)



Monday, September 12, 2011

1 Year Later...Family Room {basement}

As you will soon see in the reveal section. This a multi-functional room. Some of it's functions include play room, office, craft room, library, and tv watching room. The family room is the place where I spend 90% of my day with the kids. If we're not eating or sleeping we are most likely in this room. So, while it serves many purposes and I love it's functionality sometimes I get annoyed with the amount of clutter. However, I am very thankful that the room is large enough to accommodate all it's functions. Plus it's nice that I can do office work or some craft projects while the kids play.

So, without further ado here's what the room looked like when we bought the house:

This was actually the 1st room we tackled...the orange paneling and red carpet quickly went bye bye.
Also we removed the ceiling fans as they were a bit of a safety hazard for anyone over 6 feet tall.

The After:
View from the stairs

Clothesline to hang all the kids artwork or a felt alphabet (w/ the "b" missing :)


View of the office, bookcase, craft table, and craft storage...it's a lot in a small alcove, but it's very functional

View of the full wall...the white wall space is not decorated because it has been designated as the backstop for throwing/kicking balls.

View of the couch area and toy box...someday we'll also have a kids table on the left for their craft projects.
Entertainment center
Kids activity area with books and craft storage...under this is where the kids activity table will reside
Most of the wall decor in this space is kid focused, but I tried to incorporate some adult sophistication (blackboard globe, vintage car toy, vintage apple print). And someday we'll put art over the couch that will be more adult appealing. So, as most of our rooms it is still a work in progress, but I love it's functionality!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Game #2

This week the team traveled to Illinois to battle McKendree.  The score was 30-27.  And yet again Malone came away with a win in very dramatic fashion.  I'm sure my recount will not do it justice, but here's a quick rundown of the final minutes of the game.  The Pioneers led the whole game until the final 2 minutes when McKendree scored a touchdown to tie the game at 27-27.  At this point I was driving and listening on the radio with screaming kids in the background and talking on the phone to another coaches wife that couldn't listen to the radio so I didn't hear everything...but the offense took the field around their 40 yard line.  The team got a few first downs, but they were not in field goal range.  So, with 5 seconds left on the game clock they threw a hail mary pass that was incomplete and we all figured it was headed to overtime for the second week in a row.  However, the refs threw a flag for a personal foul against McKendree.  So, while the game clock was over we had the opportunity for one more play.  The field goal group came onto the field and missed the field goal attempt, however there was  yet another flag...roughing the kicker.  So the Pioneers once again moved forward and attempted another field goal (I wanna say it was on the 23 yard line at this point) which was good!  The game ended 2 plays after the clock ran out and MU came out victorious.  I was stressed and I wasn't even at the game.  I can't imagine how the coaches and players were feeling.

The Schenk clan did not make the trip. Instead I took on a different challenge...watching 2 kids for 2 days all by myself for the first time.  I started out with lofty ambitions.  I decided to take both kids on a full fledged grocery excursion.  Both children did great at the 1st store, however by the time we reached the 2nd store both kids were screaming and it continued through the 2nd store, on the drive home, until we reached the house and the baby was fed and Sawyer got to watch Elmo.  I realize I made 2 fatal errors that resulted in the demise of my shopping trip.  1) I attempted 2 stores.  Sawyer is patient with 1, but 2 usually results in lots of tears and frustration.  2) I forgot the pacifier.  So, I was that mom with the screaming child that cannot be consoled because all he wants is to be out of the cart/store.  And all the screaming woke the baby up and it was impossible to hold her, push the cart, and corral Sawyer.  But on the bright side we survived and we have some food to eat :)

Luckily the rest of the weekend we had some fun plans to help me keep my sanity and distract us from missing daddy.  On Friday night the coaches wives got together.  The kids played while the girls ate and gabbed.  It was a much needed reprieve for me and Sawyer.  Saturday we got around bright and early and went to the Farmer's Market.  I love perusing the fresh produce and Sawyer loves to talk to strangers and pet the goat.  Saturday afternoon while the kids napped I listened to the game online while working on crafts.  That night we attended a Gotcha Party for some of our friends who recently adopted a sweet little girl who happens to be the same age as Sawyer.  Sawyer had fun in the bouncy house and I had fun interacting with adults.

Daddy arrived home in the wee hours of Sunday morning and we were all happy to be reunited :)

I apologize for a post without pictures but I haven't quite mastered handling 2 kids and getting pictures to capture the moment :)  I really need 1 more arm.

Friday, September 9, 2011

1 month



Miss Eleanora recently turned 1 month old.  Her 1 month appointment was not scheduled until September 8th (@ 5 weeks).  So the numbers are a little skewed, but here are her 1month stats.

Height: 21 inches (50%)
Weight: 9 lbs. 1 oz. (50%)
Head Circumference: 14.25 inches (10%)

She is officially out of newborn size clothes and has now moved on to 0-3 months.

Over the last few weeks she has developed a little reflux which causes some spit-up episodes and a cough.  Thankfully the  amount of spit-up has tapered as we learn to control her eating.

Now that she can easily lift her head and move it from side to side she always sleeps on her tummy.  In fact even when she is awake she prefers to be on her tummy and not her back.

She loves to be talked too.  And she's a tough one as her brother has thrown a full-sized football at her head twice and he has sat on her head and each time she hasn't even made a peep.

She is also the recipient of lots of Sawyer kisses.  I think she will be well protected as her brother does not like anyone besides mom and dad to hold Nora.  He starts crying and runs to me to make sure I know what's going on.

She is typically a wonderful sleeper going to bed around 10 or 11 pm and sleeping until 5:00 am.  She will eat and then go back down for 3-4 more hours.

She has naturally developed a bit of a routine eating every three hours during the day.  However at night she does like to cluster feed.

Here's a typical day:
8:00 am wakes and eats
9:00 - 11:00 naps
11:00 am eats
12:00 pm plays and watches us eat
1:00 pm naps
2:00 pm eats
3:00 - 5:00 pm naps
5:00 pm eats
6:00 pm - 7:00 pm plays
7:00 pm eats
9:00 pm eats
10:00 pm eats

And a sampling from the past week:


 Can you tell she does not like to awakened