It's been a while...

It's been quite a while since I've posted.  Guess I didn't keep up with the blog as well as I thought I would.  I'll try to touch on a few key things that have happened since then.

Thanksgiving
We went to Kingsville to celebrate Thanksgiving with James' family.  His grandma, aunt, & cousin also came from Utah for a visit, so that was really fun.  We made the rounds at the local sites such as the aquarium, the beach, etc.

All of the kids had fun playing in a big bounce house that Granny got.  The Gardiners made a TON of pies for Thanksgiving and everyone at pie at pretty much every single meal on the days following!  Then everyone watched Christmas Vacation together...a Gardiner tradition.  We also got to take turns shooting the BB Gun that Anthony got for his birthday.

Here are some pictures from our activities...

 Thomas' Blessing

Thomas was blessed at Church on December 2nd, 2012.  Thomas wore the same outfit that James did when he was blessed as a baby.  He did not cry at all and was very calm.  Lots of family members came to participate and it was a beautiful day.  Afterwards, our family came back to our house for BBQ chicken sandwiches and cupcakes.  We feel very lucky to welcome Thomas into our family and that we have two wonderful, happy, and healthy children.

December

Getting into the holiday spirit was really fun for me this year.  I had a little more time on my hands being a stay at home mom this year to do things like bake cookies, give treats to our neighbors, and decorate our home.  Grant had tons of fun decorating the Christmas tree...he couldn't get enough.  We attended a Christmas party at Church and got to see Santa.  We also got to go to Eli's birthday party and hit pinatas and ride tractors.

We opened up a few presents before we left for San Antonio.  Once we got there, we spent Christmas Eve together going to Church and eating a nice dinner afterwards.  The next morning was so much fun seeing Grant's reaction to what Santa left for him- a new train!  He was a bit overwhelmed by all the presents and everything, but he really loved the whole process of opening everything.

Holidays with little ones really makes them much more fun.

Thomas grew by leaps and bounds!  He is VERY vocal and started using his little voice quite a bit from early on, making all kinds of squeals, chirps, laughs, and more.  I've never heard a baby be so vocal!  It really made me feel like he wanted to connect with us.

The New Year

We spent New Year's with Andy, Susan, and Eli.  The kids were scared by the fireworks, but we still had fun.

We also had the chance to go to the zoo a few times which is one of Grant's favorite things to do.  He loves to feed the giraffes and watch them reach for the lettuce with their super long tongues.  He also loves the zebras and lions.

 Grant's Birthday!
Grant turned THREE in late January!  I can hardly believe my baby is a "big boy" now.  We just had a small get together with some nearby friends one afternoon to eat pizza & cupcakes.  Grant was very into opening presents and playing with toys.  I think he had a bit of present overload with his birthday being so close to Christmas, haha.

To commemorate his love of cars, we made this little slideshow for his birthday:

Happy Birthday buddy!  :)

6 weeks!

Baby Thomas is growing and growing!  I love seeing him change and he is already doing new things.  This week I noticed that he is starting to coo and make little noises, he can focus his eyes more and follows us a bit around the room.  He also seems like he is trying to smile.  And he rolled over for the first time, from his tummy to his back!  He did it about 4 times in a row.  All of those little things make me so happy because I know he is trying to communicate and interact with us.  He is such a sweet baby.

Poor guy has a little baby acne. :(

Grant loves poking and prodding his little brother.

Thomas rolling over!

Having 2 kids is totally kicking my butt, but I love them!

Halloween!

Halloween started off with a Trunk-or-Treat at Church the weekend prior.  It didn't quite go as planned, but we still had fun.  Grant was very cranky and refused to put on his costume.  Thomas looked very cute in his crocheted (by a friend) turtle outfit, but it started to get chilly and drizzling, so we weren't there for long.  It was cute seeing Grant start to get the idea that saying "trick or treat"= CANDY!  haha.

We decided to take a quick trip to Kingsville to celebrate Halloween with Grant and Thomas' cousins.  Thankfully he was more willing to put his costume on this time.  He looked absolutely adorable as Mickey Mouse and he didn't want to take his costume off all night long.

Here he is with Granny getting ready to go trick or treating.

 Aunt Jill was Minnie Mouse.

 Here are my 2 cute boys all dressed up.

 Grant with some of his cousins and cousin's friend.

 Here we are at the first door!  He had a very fun time saying trick or treat.  By the end of the night, he was running up to the doors and pushing his way towards the front, lol.  He had good intentions of eating the candy, but would usually just take one bite and decide he didn't like it or that he didn't want anymore.  He still wanted to open up ALL the candy, though.  Oh well.

Funny sign we saw along our way.  "NO CANDY!!!" haha.

Pinterest Challenge: Week 2

Here is Week 2 of my Pinterest Challenge (one pin a day for 30 days)!

Day 8:  T-Shirt Headband

I was trying to get my flyaways to stay back in my hair, but my bobby pins kept falling out.  It was irritating as heck...so I remembered seeing "t-shirt headbands" on pinterest.  I saw a couple and decided to try this one


My results: I didn't have a very stretchy t-shirt like the blog called for, so I actually rummaged through my drawer and found some black trouser socks (almost like pantyhose) and cut them up instead.  The directions on the blog actually are not very good. You cut 3 strips of fabric about 2 inches thick each, then place them on top of each other.  Place the top of the strips inside something to hold it steady, like closed in a dresser drawer.  Then braid the 3 strips.  The blog said just to wait until you have braided it, and then tie the two ends directly together...but I could tell mine wasn't going to be long enough...so I tied each end off, then pulled one of the strips from each side to stretch it out more, then tied those 2 together.  Mine is actually just a BIT too small, but it still basically works.  You'd want to get longer pieces of fabric if you want to try this. But...it does the job on a bad hair day.  


Day 9:  Blog Post:  Teaching Children Responsibility

It talked about age appropriate chores for preschool aged children and up, and the benefits of giving them responsibility.  You start small and gradually add more as they get older. It recommended for age 3 (Grant is almost 3):  "Put forks and napkins on table. Wash table before setting. Stir mixture for dinner. Lead thanks or prayer at the table." I think I will try this.  Grant already "helps" me put wet clothes in the dryer and tries to "help" sweep, etc., but I like the idea of having him try something specific on his own.  I think it would be easy enough to give him a washcloth to wipe down the table.  And he already likes to say the prayer sometimes too.  Forks and napkins might be a little harder for him, but I'm going to give it a try!


  Day 10: Calm Jar
 
  My results:


I did a few things different than the pin.  For instance, it says to use glitter paint and 3 "pouches" of glitter.  I didn't have glitter paint, and I wasn't sure how much a pouch of glitter was.  I ended up putting in 3 tablespoons of glitter (3 different colors, red, silver, and sparkly white).  It looks like way too much!  Oh well.  I also added 3-4 drops of red food coloring to give it a tint (since I assumed that's why it asked for glitter paint).  That worked well.  I tried to be creative and added in a few silver beads I had from a broken necklace and also some of those plastic refrigerator letters, thinking that would look cool...but you can't really see them.  So basically, just stick with a little glitter and food coloring. Grant likes it!

Day 11:  Glitter clothespin magnets

There was another broken link for this pin.  I hate those!  Here is the pic & instructions, though.

Cover clothes pins with glitter, put a magnet on the back, and you have an instant way to display things on a board. ALSO...Mod Podge over the top of the glitter and it wont shed everywhere.

My results:

Mine (of course) don't look as nice as the original picture, but I still like them.  I like hanging things on clips on my fridge, so these are perfect.  I painted a little mod podge on the clothespin, then sprinkled with glitter.  I waited several hours for it to dry, and then I carefully painted a LOT of mod podge over the top (you have to be careful because it can pull a bit of the glitter off).  It took a really long time to dry, but it worked- the glitter does not fall off.  I had a roll of magnet "tape" (basically magnet on one side, adhesive on the back) and I attached it to the back of the clothespin when dry.  

Day 12:  Homemade Granola Bars

I am really excited about this!  I think this will be something I'll do over and over again, especially since it's pretty easy and you can change it up if you want.

My results:

They turned out really yummy.  The taste reminds me of a cross between no bake cookies and a classic granola bar.  As I was making them, the smell of the oats, honey, and nuts together seemed awesome too....so maybe sometime I'll try it with just those ingredients.  This recipe has you add peanut butter and then whatever else you want (dried fruit, flax seeds, chocolate chips).  I added chocolate chips.

Mine came out a little too dry, and as a result kind of falls apart when you take it out of the pan.  The blog said if it was too dry, to add more honey or peanut butter...but I guess I didn't realize it needed more.  So next time, more honey.  

It is YUMMMMMMY!

Day 13:  Chocolate Chip Cookie for One!

AGAIN...the link was broken, so I followed the instructions on the Pin caption, which are:

For those days you just want to make one cookie... 1 tbsp. butter, melted 1 tbsp. white sugar 1 tbsp. brown sugar 3 drops of vanilla pinch of salt 1 egg yolk 1/4 c. flour 2 tbsp. chocolate chips MICROWAVE 40-60 SEC IN A CUP OR BOWL. single serving deep dish chocolate chip cookie, YAY!!

My results:

It looked...gross when I got it out of the microwave.  Actually after 60 seconds it looked still raw, so I put it in for 30 more seconds.  It looks yellow-y to me, but I guess that's because you use an egg yolk only instead of the whole egg.

Anyway, after it cooled down, it looked more normal than this pic.  I tried it, and actually it was pretty good.  It didn't taste EXACTLY like a regular chocolate chip cookie that I would normally make, but it gets the job done if you have a craving and don't want to make a batch of cookies.  It is REALLY easy and quick, so it's practically immediate satisfaction. 

Day 14:  Halloween Decorations

I saw this pin and I didn't follow the 'initial' decoration suggestion, but I looked through the ideas on the website and decided to do several different silhouettes with construction paper since I didn't have the other materials.

Our results:

The picture is not great, and the tape looks kinda ghetto, but I was dealing with 2 grumpy babies at the time, lol.  I think it will look cool on Halloween if we put a light behind it like the website has.

STAY TUNED FOR WEEK 3!!!

One Month Old!

Baby Thomas turned one month old last week.  I'm still surprised by how fast it's going.  It's kind of like the phrase that a lot of people said while I was serving as a missionary for my Church:  "the days are like weeks, and the weeks are like days."  The sentiment is that each individual day is long and grueling, but before you know it a week has passed and it feels like the blink of any eye, and you can't believe how much happened in such a short amount of time.  So at the same time, things seem to go on and on, yet it's slipping away quickly at the same time.  That's how I feel right now. :)

So as far as updates, not too much is different yet, but a few things that have been going on are these:
-Thomas sleeps consistently for about 5 hours per night, then wakes up frequently after that
-He nurses quite often during the day to make up for his long sleep at night
-He is going through a phase where he wants to be held more often.  He gets upset at being put down for too long.  It drives mommy a little crazy feeling so tethered to him, but wearing him a wrap helps.
-He is trying to lift his head up more and more; I can tell his neck muscles are getting stronger
-He still poops and farts ALL the time.  I don't know if I've ever seen a kid with so much going on in the digestive area.
-He is trying to look at us more.  I think his eyesight is getting better.  His eyes are still a grayish blue color.

Grant has been a challenge lately.  He is mostly ready to potty train, but refuses to sit on the potty.  He screams when I try to make him.  He has started immediately taking off his diaper any time he goes to the bathroom.  It was so funny (NOT) when he did it while I had visitors last week.  He has also been doing this during naptime, when he seems to conveniently save up his poops, then take off his diaper and get poop everywhere.  I am trying to work on a plan to get him more potty trained but it is a difficult because my hands are literally full with a newborn and nursing all the time.

However some cute things Grant has been doing make up for all of that.  He has grown quite complimentary.  He noticed when we changed Thomas' onesie the other day and said, "cool shirt!"  He saw James wearing a hat the other day and said, "Nice hat, daddy!"  He also says please ("pweeeaaase!") and thank you ("tank oo, mama!" regularly and also "welcome, mama!"  He will say "bless you" and "'scuse you" at the right times, too.  He's been doing that for quite a while, but I thought I'd mention it.  He will also prompt us if we forget to say one of these things in the appropriate social context, as well.  Funny kid.

James has been working a lot the past two weeks and will next week too.  Last week he worked 70 something hours.  This happens every few months when quarterly reports are due.  It is really not fun for us, but it's a necessary evil.  It will be nice when we get our daddy back.

As usual, here are a few pictures:

 Movie night last weekend.  Grant likes to hold Thomas, but only for a little while.  Then he's over it.

 It's finally cool enough to play outside.  Grant is liking the backyard more and more and is getting braver about going out there by himself since usually I am busy with Thomas inside.

 We went to a pumpkin patch last weekend.  Grant liked the little pumpkins the best.

 Grant and his cousin Eli.  This was the most fantastic picture we could get of them together. ;)

 First pic as a family of FOUR.  I can't believe it.

 Grant looking snazzy in some hand-me-downs for Church.

 Thomas' first Sunday at Church.  He did pretty good.  He slept most of the time which made it a lot easier.

 Grant holding Thomas.  Thomas not so excited about it.

Giving him kisses.

He is a good big brother.

 I got some Halloween cookies a few weeks ago and they had purple tinted sprinkes which turned Grant's teeth purple, haha.  They were in the shape of spider webs. and he kept asking me for "spider webs" every chance he got.  He still has not forgotten about the "spider webs," and still asks for them.

Thomas all bundled up.  He really likes to be swaddled and it helps him to stay calm.

And to conclude...here is a funny video we took of Grant last weekend, dancing to "Lean like a Cholo," haha.  It was soooo funny.

Pinterest Challenge!

I was inspired by a friend who recently created and completed her own "Pinterest Challenge."  Basically, you commit to complete one project that you have found on Pinterest every day for 30 days.  For those who don't know, Pinterest is "a virtual pinboard...that lets you organize and share beautiful things you find on the web...used to plan weddings, decorate homes, and organize favorite recipes."

I was impressed by all the projects that she accomplished, so I took a look at my pinboards and got started. Here is a little about what I did during the first week.

{I just realized my last blog post said that I never have time to clean, yet somehow I found time to do these...each one honestly didn't take very long, and it helped me feel like I "accomplished" something during the day, so take that for what it's worth!  haha}

Day 1:  Pretty Makeup Brush Holder

This was an easy one.  I already had this leftover from a centerpiece and I have had no idea what to do with it, because I had taken the flowers out to use for something else.

So all I did was tie a ribbon around it, and stuck my makeup brushes in there.  Super easy and looks cute in my bathroom. :)

Original Pin:  (the link is bad, so here is just the picture)

My results:

Day 2:  Food coloring ice cubes for the bath

Original Pin (another bad link, so it's just the picture):

Our results:  Fun bathtime!  They melted pretty quickly, but Grant thought it was fun.  He was disappointed when they were all gone, lol.

Day 3: Blog Article: "Advice for second time moms to be"

It talks about transitioning from one kid to two.  

Some things I tried that the article suggested:

-Go hands free:  I tried out the Moby wrap for the first time and it REALLY seemed to help the fussiness and enabled me to do other things and not feel so tied down to a crying baby.  I'm definitely going to continue using it.

-Involve your first child:  he's been getting me diapers and I loved the hint about reading to him while i'm nursing the little one so he feels involved and it's good multitasking.  :)

I'm so glad a friend of mine pinned this!

Day 4:  Manual Binder

This was a really helpful idea.  You Put all your manuals into a binder, to keep all in one place:  

My results:

 I really like this one!  I already had the binder and page protectors, so it was easy to just throw stuff in there.  It cleared out a lot of space in my kitchen cabinets since most of the manuals are from appliances, etc., that are in the kitchen.  Great idea!  I still need to go through some of our electronics stuff to gather that stuff together, but so far I already have lots more space. :)

Day 5:  30 minute rolls

My results:

Mine definitely are a lot uglier than the blog!  I found that the dough was very sticky, even though I followed the recipe exactly, I couldn't really get it to form into balls, so I basically just dropped it in the pan.  Maybe I should have added more flour or something.

Anyway, they tasted pretty good.  They weren't amazing or anything, but for only taking 30 minutes it was worth it to have rolls with dinner.  They were more dense than I would think a roll should be.  But I'll still keep this recipe on hand for times when I want some bread with dinner in a hurry.

Day 6:  Organizing laundry room

One of the tips I did was to get a 3 bin organizer for separating laundry, since I'm bound to have more of it now.

My results:

I don't have a pic, but I found a much cheaper version of this at Walmart for $10.  It was easy to set up and I think it will work great!  So far I'm using one bag, for baby clothes, one for towels/blankets, and one for whites, since those are the loads I do most frequently.

This site actually has quite a bit of good tips for organizing if you click through them.  I would like to do more, but I'll have to get to it another time.

Day 7:  Emergency kits for kids/babies

My kit for my newborn:

We have family emergency kits, and I already had stuff for my toddler, although at another time I want to add more of the things on this list.

Since I just had a baby, I needed to add another bag for him.  I didn't have everything on the list, but I just put together what I had, and I'll add more later.  I like how the site gives you quantities.  I included: 20 diapers, travel container of baby wipes, small bottle of baby wash, wash cloths, burp cloths, baby blanket, a onesie and sleeper, a bottle with formula (even though I exclusively breastfeed, you never know what will happen), 6 bottles of water, and a flashlight.

Stay tuned for Week 2!