Big Boy Bed

Well... I guess is official now. Levi is a big boy. We moved him out of his crib and into a twin bed. Yikes...how'd he get to be so big? In preparation for the transition, we took Levi to help us pick out his new bed. Then a few days later, we went to the store and he got to pick out his new sheets all by himself. This, in and of itself, it a pretty funny story. So we went to Ross and immediately found three sheet sets that I knew Levi would love--a ball one, a tractor one, and a car/train/bus one. However, I only wanted to pay for two: one to use and one to wash. I thought for sure Levi would want the ball one, so I put it in the cart and then asked him to choose between the car/train/bus one and the tractor one. He picked the car/train/bus set. Then we are walking around, browsing other things when Levi starts saying "Tractor! Tractor! Tractor!". So I head back over to the sheets and pull down the tractor set and told him that he had to pick just two of them. He ended up picking the tractor and car/train/bus sets-I was shocked he gave up the ball set. (Let me tell you, I must have looked really funny trying to explain and reason with a two year old, but it was all about him and making the transition to a new bed easier.) After we finished up browsing, we were in line to check out when Levi decided he didn't want the tractor set. I asked if he wanted the ball set instead and he said no. He was very adamant that he only wanted the car/train/bus set. Silly boy! So I saved myself $10 and only got him one sheet set.

The bed we ordered for Levi came in last Saturday (one week ago). We only got him a mattress, no boxspring, because I didn't want him to fall off the bed. So that night when we got home, we threw the mattress down in front of his crib, put the sheets on, and began the struggle! Levi was super excited about his new bed, but going to sleep was a whole other story. Basically, what it came down to was the first couple of nights Sam had to fall asleep with Levi in bed, get up with him in the middle of the night, and in the morning ending up waking up with Levi either in our bed or the guest bed. What a good man Sam is. I am especially grateful for all he did since I was up with Brinley quite a bit...we had a sleep deprived household. Well, things have gotten tons better with Levi and his new bed. We moved his crib and put his mattress in the corner of his room so his head and one side where up against walls--I think that helped quite a bit. To go down for the night, he still wants one of us to lay in bed and fall asleep with him, but now he sleeps through the night. (well...except last night, but hey, we'll take what we can get!) And for Levi's nap yesterday, I read him two stories, sang him two songs, then told him he could play until he was tired, then he needed to get in bed and go to sleep. Four hours later, he woke up and proudly told me about how he did just what I told him. Hopefully things just keep getting better and better like that! So here is our sweet little boy in his big boy bed.



Oh...I almost forgot the bed part. We checked a book out from the library called The Best Class Picture Ever! In the book, the photographer tells the class to say "cheeeeeese". I had never done that with Levi before, and thought to do it when I took these pictures. He caught right on saying "cheese" and giving me a huge grin. I love it!

Reflex, perhaps?

So we all know that babies are born with certain reflexes--things they don't have to learn, but that just come naturally, like sucking. I think there is another, undocumented reflex that children are born with: proving their parents wrong. Yes, this begins WAY before the teenage years. It seems to me, that anytime I make a statement about one of my children's behaviors, within a couple of days they prove me wrong. For example, I just posted about how whenever I pull out the camera, Brinley's smiles go away. Well, because it must be a reflex, Brinley had to prove me wrong. Here are some cutie pictures of her smiling.

The word of the day is...

{bubbles!}

Levi has discovered bubbles, and we haven't been able to hear the end of it. He loves them! So much fun!

Sam the Man

Sam is a man...in the truest sense of the word. He is a man because he doesn't have to prove he is a real "man" (picture grunting, grring, and flexing muscles here). What brought this post on was something that happened three Sundays ago (yep...just now getting around to posting it). I was too sick to go to church, so Sam was getting the kids ready to go and taking both of them so that I could get some much needed rest. As he left, I noticed that he had in hand my somewhat-girly diaper bag, instead of his Eddie Bauer more masculine diaper bag. I had to laugh to myself, because I knew exactly what he'd say if I questioned him: "Why get out another bag? This one was already packed with everything." Sure enough, when he got home and I told him about my observation, that's exactly what he said. I love that he values convenience over protecting his "image". I also love that he has no problem whatsoever with watching "chick flicks". Okay, not quite true. He won't watch the 5 hour Pride and Prejudice with me...but I think that's probably asking WAY too much from any guy. I am sure I have his sisters to thank, at least in part, for his easy-going attitude towards girl-things. Mostly, I am just glad that I am married to such a good man who takes his roles of husband, father, provider, protector, and priesthood-holder very seriously and is everything that a true man should be.

p.s. I choose this picture because as I was looking through all our pictures, there were about 10 pictures of Sam driving on our various trips. Why do I always take those pictures? I have no idea. But one thing is certain...we definitely have record that it is Sam who does almost all the driving!

Camera Shy

Every time I whip out the camera to catch Brinley's smiles and cooing on 'film' (what do you call it now that it is all digital?), she stops. Couple that with an annoying flash and bad photography, and I don't really have anything great to post for Brinley. I need to be better about taking good pictures, but it is hard to do when your subject is so uncooperative! Here is what I've got for my camera shy baby girl. I can't believe Brinley is already 3 months old! She is getting so big!

All you students of child development, look for text book demonstrations of over-stimulation. Notice how she first turns her head away from me. When that doesn't work, she starts to cry. If she could only talk, she would have said "Mom! Leave me alone!"

Seriously, Brinley was super smiley and cooey (is that a word?) right before the camera came out. At first I thought, "Oh good, I did get some of her cooing" but then I realized it was Levi in the background. Darn! But hey...Levi's little voice is sweet too.

The Wonderful World of Levi

The other day I heard Levi in his room after a long nap. This is what I opened the door to find: him reading books. I love when he wakes up and just plays until I come and get him. Much better than screaming and crying.

About a week or so (okay, probably longer) after Levi's birthday, we finally got around to taking the streamers down off of the fan. What do you do with old birthday streamers? Why, make a "grass" skirt of course! Levi liked it for about 2 minutes, then he was done.

My little character. Right after the grass skirt, he goes into the bathroom and comes out strutting his stuff with a new "hat" (read: folded up towel) on his head. He thought he was pretty funny.

Did I mention Levi's a character? I believe I did. So, I am upstairs doing something in the kitchen (I'd like to say cleaning, but that might just be wishful thinking) when I hear Levi at the foot of the stairs calling "Ma! Ma!" I look down to see him with Brinley's headband on his head. The headband that she had been wearing just moments earlier. When I got downstairs, he proudly explained/gestured that he had taken it off of Brinley's head and put it on his own. When he decided to try and return it to Brinley, I decided I'd better step in and help out.

Self-portrait. A.k.a. Unteachable. Levi loves to play with the camera, but he will NOT let us show him how to correctly take a picture. He puts his eye on the lens and then snaps a shot. So he ends up blind and we end up with lots of super-closeups of Levi. This is one he got from a little further away, so the picture is actually recognizable.

Here is Levi eating sour candy. Funny!

Spring is Springing!

So, I don't know if I can say that Spring has sprung, but it is definitely springing! Yesterday we had some really gorgeous weather, so the kids and I walked down to the park. I love having a nice HUGE park so close to our house! I also just love living in Richland and only a few blocks from the beauty that is the Columbia River. Most of all, I just love Spring...it makes me so happy! I took tons of pictures and couldn't decide which ones to post, so you all get to see this lovely collage. Please click on it to make it bigger... I hate how small it ends up. You can't see the pictures very well. For example, the picture with the two park benches in it is actually of a huge swarm of birds flying over the river. Also, the second picture from the left on the top row... I was trying to take a picture of Levi with the river in the background so I crouched down. Levi followed my example, and I couldn't get him to stand back up unless I did too. It was pretty funny.


p.s. Levi hated the swing... can you tell?

Food Storage Recipes

I've had a few requests for the food storage recipes that I came up with. A disclaimer: I said that these can almost be completely made from food storage. It may require an item or two from the store or adapting the recipe if times are really bad. I count meat as being included in food storage, since I have a freezer full of it in the garage (boy are we in trouble if we lose power!). Also, I noticed that quite a few call for sour cream which I found you can buy dehydrated sour cream here. And, I am assuming that you have some basics in your food storage such as flour, sugar, oil, dry milk, salt, and powdered eggs.

5 Bean Soup
5 cans of beans (kidney, red, pinto, black, white, black-eyed peas, navy, etc.)
2 cups thick'n'chunky salsa (We use Pace in the huge bottle you can get at WalMart)
1 pkg. Polska Kielbasa Sausage

Rinse and drain beans; put in large pot. Add salsa. Cut up sausage into bite-sized pieces and throw in pot. Add water to desired consistency. Heat until hot. You could make this sans meat as well. We like to serve it with shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

Mexican Creation
Sam invented this one. Throw whatever you've got that seems "Mexican-ish" into a pot and heat through. Serve in tortillas (can be made from scratch using FS items) or chips. Here's what we usually have in ours:
ground beef, browned and drained
diced tomatoes
kidney beans, rinsed and drained
black beans, rinsed and drained
black olives
green olives
corn (new addition!)
Top with sour cream, cheese, and salsa. If it is dry (no juices), add a little water.

Tortilla Recipe
Warning: Must use a dough hook or it doesn't turn out right!
2 c hot water
2 tsp salt
1/3 c oil
3 c flour

Mix with dough hook. Roll out on generously floured surface. Cook in a frying pan over medium heat (a dry pan-no oil or anything) until light brown spots appear. Flip and cook other side.

Chicken Spaghetti
This makes a ton....so downsize if needed!
2 cans spaghetti sauce
2 cans chicken chunks
1/4 tsp garlic salt
3/4 lrg. tub of sour cream
spaghetti or rotini noodles, cooked and drained

Heat up sauce, chicken, and garlic salt in medium saucepan until boiling. Stir in sour cream. Serve over noodles. (Original recipe calls for spaghetti, but we prefer mixing it with rotini noodles.)
Tip: Grill chicken in a skillet for a few minutes before adding makes it taste better...less like tuna!

Chicken Stuffing Casserole
1-2 cans chicken chunks
1 pkg. stuffing
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 c sour cream

Prepare stuffing according to package directions. Mix in chicken chunks. Mix together soup and sour cream. Spread a thin layer of soup mix in bottom of casserole dish. Add chicken/stuffing mix. Top with the rest of the soup mix. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until bubbly and hot.

Sloppy Joes
1 lb hamburger
3/4 c. water
3/4 c. ketchup
2 TBS flour
2 TBS sugar
1 TBS mustard
buns or bread

Brown hamburger and drain. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well. Bring to a boil and then let simmer until thick. Serve on homemade buns or bread.

Cornbread Slop
1 pkg. cornbread mix
1 can green beans, drained
1 can corn, drained
2 cans chili

Mix chili, corn, and green beans together in a casserole dish. Prepare cornbread according to package directions. Spread on top of chili mixture. Bake according to directions for cornbread until the cornbread is done in the middle. Other add-ins could be diced tomatoes or olives.

Taco Soup-- meat-free option
1 can chili
1 can green beans
1 can corn
1 can kidney beans
1 can diced tomatoes
8 oz tomato sauce
taco seasoning or cummin to taste

Throw it all in a pot and heat through. Tastes great served with shredded cheese, sour cream, and chips. My mom substituted chili for hamburger one time either because she didn't have the meat or she didn't have time to brown it. I was amazed at how close to the original it tasted. I do it that way every time now because it is so fast and less expensive. Plus- great for food storage!

Easy Southwest Stroganoff
1 lb hamburger
1 c. water
2 c. thick'n'chunky salsa
2 c. wagon-wheel pasta (or similar shape/size)
1/2 tsp salt
1 can sliced olives (optional)
1/2 c. sour cream

Brown and drain hamburger. Stir in water, salsa, pasta, salt, and olives (original recipe did not call for olives, but we like them!). Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pasta is tender. Mix in sour cream. Serve with tortilla chips crushed on top.

Pancakes
pancake mix
butter/margarine
syrup

Okay, so this one is a given. But who doesn't love having pancakes for dinner??

Pasta and Sauce
1 pkg. noodles of any kind
1 can of your favorite sauce

Another given, but so easy. Perfect for food storage. Dress it up a little by adding olives, dried parmesean, canned chicken, diced or stewed tomatoes, or other food storage appropriate items.

Really? Mayo?

Last night right before bed, we discovered Levi's artistic crayon work on the hardwood floor in the kitchen. Nice. Well, water won't clean it up because it is wax and you can't use cleaners because it will damage the finish, so I googled it. (What did we ever do before google? Seriously.) A couple links suggested plain ol' mayo. Lather it on, leave it for a few minutes, then wipe it up. Unfortunately, I don't have any before and after pictures but it totally worked! The crayon is completely gone. It works also to just put mayo on a paper towel and wipe at the crayon if they aren't heavy marks. I was so amazed, I just had to post about it. Hope this helps someone out there whose wood floors or furniture have been a canvas for an artistic genius like my little guy!

Kind Stangers

A couple of days ago, Sam and I were shopping at Wal-Mart with the kids. Along with a few other things, we had a box of Levi's diapers and a couple packages of Brinley's. In the checkout line, there was a couple in front of us who had a small child of their own. After that couple had finished checking out and left, the checker was ringing up all of our items. When she came to the diapers, she told us that the couple in front of us had already paid for one of the packages of Brinley's diapers. How kind and thoughtful is that?!?! It totally made my day. Maybe we'll have to pay it forward... It is nice to be reminded that there really are good, kind people out there.

More videos from Levi's Birthday

Here's some more videos from Levi's birthday. They wouldn't fit into one post.

So Levi is hilarious (in my opinion...oh wait, I might be biased). Probably his favorite thing he opened was what he opened first: a card. We had a hard time getting him to put down the card and open some presents. Way to go Aunt Lacey with the awesome card! I love that he says bike "bike-ee". Oh, and Sam forgot he was recording, so you might want to stop the video as soon as he starts recording the carpet!

Levi had a birthday...shout hooray!

The Boy:

The Cake:

The Party:

Those in attendance: Mom, Dad, and Brinley
Grandma and Grandpa Thurgood
Grandma and Grandpa Clements
Aunts: Arina, Lauren, Rhonda, Lacey, Shelly, and Kristin
Uncles: Justin, Jared, Evan, Joe, and Jared
Cousins: Sierra, Savannah, Brooklyn, Kailey, Logan, Parker, Jace, Baylee, Kamora, and Nate
Friends: Dan, Sara, and Kylee Flamm

My baby boy is now two years old! Crazy!

Levi loved his "Joe" cake (a football field), and he even blowout both of his candles by himself. (We hadn't even practiced! I guess he's seen it done enough times.) Well, I guess I should say he loved how the cake looked. He didn't eat any of it until the next day... then he loved it.

Opening presents was kind of chaotic...but isn't it always? Levi did a good job, but was always interested in playing with whatever came out of the bag. All the other kids there were anxious to have him open the next gift while he was still figuring out the previous one. He got many fabulous gifts including a baseball glove and Thomas the Train engines from Mom, Dad, and Brinley. We are so lucky to have so many family members nearby. There were 31 people at Levi's party and the only friends were our guests from out of town.

This year we continued the tradition we started last year with surprising Levi after his nap with one of his favorite things: balloons!!! Sam and I snuck into his room while he was sleeping and dumped a whole bunch of balloons on his floor. He thought that was pretty cool. If you listen really closely you can hear him say "bloons" and "kick".

At the end of the night, Sam was taking down the streamers and thought we should have some fun. Check out the combo of streamers and a ceiling fan:

(Yes... that is Brinley screaming in the background. In fact, I think she is crying in most (if not all) of the videos we took that day. She had a REALLY hard night, possibly because of the huge crowd and tons of noise. After everyone left, she still couldn't wind down and spent the next several hours screaming until she was literally red in the face. Poor baby girl.

Flamm Friends

Our friends, the Flamms, came over this weekend from Seattle for a visit. Daniel and Sam have known each other since they were little boys, and Sara and I are reaping the benefits of having husbands who have friends who know how to pick good wives. (Did you follow all that? :D) Their little girl, Kylee, and Levi played so well together, and it was tons of fun to watch them! We are so glad the Flamm's came to play! Check out these cutie pictures of Kylee and Levi.

Okay, so how cute is the hugging one? I love it. Also a favorite, the one where they are both looking down all bashful like. Such cute kiddos.

The Flamm Fam: Dan, Kylee, Sara (and Carson on the way)
The Clements Crew: Kelsey, Brinley, Sam, and Levi

Smiley Girl

Brinley has been smiling since she was three weeks old, but the last couple of weeks so has started giving us big smiles accompanied by cooing. It is so sweet and so fun to start to really interact with her. One little smile from her just melts my heart!



I thought that I had taken a better picture than this of her smile, but she still looks darn cute!

Man...check out that tongue work... she must be a Thurgood baby!

Playlist

Let me introduce you to one of my favorite artists: Brad Paisley. If you'll notice, my entire playlist is devoted to him right now (I think I have 22 songs on there). So, if you haven't met my friend Brad yet, take some time to have a listen. My favorite are his love songs, but he has some pretty hilarious songs as well. There are also a few gospel songs on the list, which I really like. So, like I said, turn up the speakers, have a listen, and let me introduce you to Brad.

Self-Reliance

As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we have been counseled by the prophet to be as self-reliant as possible. Two major themes of self-reliance are gardening and food storage. Now that we are in a house with a garden plot and a huge garage, we are trying to heed this counsel even more fully than we have in the past. We are super excited about our soon-to-be garden! We got started last Saturday (not two days ago, but a week and two days ago) when we went to C&N Nursery to buy seeds. Then we went to Home Depot and bought a indoor garden starter kit. Last Wednesday we went to work planting our seeds. Levi thought it was pretty cool and he was a GREAT helper!

Sam planting seeds.

Levi perusing our seed selection.

This starter kits (by Jiffy) are the coolest, and they are really inexpensive. It come with a tray of small flat discs. Then you add warm water and wait. After a few minutes, the discs turn dark brown and swell up to 1 inch high peat pods. Then you plant your little seed in the pod.

Daddy with our best little helper.

Sam did some work on my dad's business computers. So with the money he earned from that, we decided to really get our food storage up and running. In order to have a functional food storage (where the food doesn't go to waste because it gets too old), we decided that a food rotation system was essential. We ordered this one from shelfreliance.com. We googled for a coupon code and ended up getting 25% off plus free shipping. It was great! Then a local grocery store was having a case lot sale, so we got some canned vegetables and fruit. We are still working on stocking up on everything we need.

I just had to post this picture, because this is our life in a nutshell. :) A friend told me that we looked like we had it all put together... boy, are we great actors! We just try to make it through one day at a time, and love the little moments as they happen.

Levi love, Love, LOVED putting the cans in. In fact, anytime we are in the garage he tried to rearrange them... this might defeat the purpose of a rotation system.

Even Brinley got into the spirit of self-reliance... she relied on herself for entertainment! We were able to get lots and lots done because she played all by herself. She is turning into a very happy, content baby.

Levi and Mommy... proof that I was there, and it wasn't just some phantom taking all the pictures!

p.s. Here is a little food storage tip that I came up with all on my own and I think is pretty brilliant (toot! toot!-- that's me tooting my own horn). I came up with 10 meals that I can make primarily out of nonperishable items, and then listed out their ingredients. Those are the food items that we are storing...stuff that we'll actually eat and know how to use! Then, the goal is to have atleast one of those meals each week to rotate through the food storage. Anytime I go down and get a can of corn, I come up and put corn on the shopping list. After shopping, I put the corn into the food rotation system. That way, we are sure to rotate through our food, but we won't use it all up and then have to go buy a huge load again. Pretty smart, huh?