Taigen Joos and the Last Paint Project

Much to Taigen's relief, he is finally on the last room of the house that has NOT been painted. We are now attempting to match the upstairs bathroom to the rest of the house.

The walls are currently cream (with hints of dirt) and we are painting them white. We will leave the accent colors in blue/yellow/white and a slight hint of sage green. Those accents will be in the shower curtain, valance and towels. We are so excited to be nearing the finish line! I will post finished pictures hopefully by the end of this week.

Happy Birthday Party!

As our church has grown, we have tried to maintain that "small church" feel by "breaking" the church up into what is called "shepherding groups". The groups are usually categorized by cities. Periodically throughout the year, we have times when we get together as a group and eat and converse with each other. The great Baptist term for that is "fellowship". (This, of course, is best said in a Southern accent..."fellahsheep". Hee hee)

This past Sunday we had a feallahsheep with our group and Grammie Endean planned a big birthday bash. There were balloons and confetti and tons of food. The kids enjoyed it immensely. I was eyeing Shaylen throughout the ordeal, knowing her fear of balloons. So, imagine my surprise when she requested, along with Marshall, that she take a balloon home! Of course, when Grammie Endean offered them, they both eagerly accepted.

All was well, until a certain lady, who shall remain nameless, innocently commented to Shaylen, "I'm going to tie it on your wrist. If I don't, it will fly away." I think in that split second a flood of memories came back to haunt Shaylen.

Remember a long ago post that talked about Shaylen crying over Pooh becoming a "Little Black Rain Cloud" and floating away in order to steal honey from some unsuspecting bees? Or Piglet's flying away in the wind? Well, combine those and you have the reason for Shaylen's terrified, ear-piercing, "I don't want a balloon!!!!"

She was terrified of the balloons in the entire church building for the remainder of the day. There was no convincing her that she indeed was too heavy to be carried away by the birthday balloons.

Skip ahead to today. Funny how a good night's rest can change one's mind. Today she was happy that the house contained Marhsall's balloon and that there was no chance of it blowing outside. It was all she could do to keep her paws off of Marshall's balloon. They were great at taking turns, but for the majority of the day, Shaylen had it. She even said to me, "Next time, Mommy, I will bring home a balloon." I'll believe it when I see it.

Pileggi Visit

Our good friends Jason, Joni, and Enzo Pileggi came for a visit this weekend. Brenda, Janelle and I were throwing her a small baby shower for the little girl that is to arrive in April. We can't wait! Joni looks so cute. Imagine a basketball shoved under a shirt and you have correctly pictured this pregnancy. Makes me sick.

We had a great time! Marshall and Shaylen were so happy to see Enzo. Shaylen woke up at 6:30 on Saturday morning asking where Enzo was. She NEVER wakes up that early and that perky! Of course, she went back to sleep, but when she woke up at 7:50, her first concern was that of Enzo. Ah! Young love. Enzo, on the other hand was walking around calling for Marshall. "MahSHo!" "MahSHo." If looking at the basement was any indicator of the fun they had together, then you would KNOW they had a grand time. It looked like a tornado tore through it. There were toys everywhere. We loved every minute of it and were sad, as always, to see them return home.

Rice + Bowls = Entertainment

Ever wonder how to keep two three year old's preoccupied for almost an hour? This will do the trick!

This morning, while doing laundry, I turned on some of their stories on CD (Thank you, Grandma Sherry!--These continue to be a HUGE hit!) and handed Marshall and Shaylen two bowls, a measuring cup or spoon, and a small amount of rice. They had so much fun transferring the rice from bowl to bowl and listened intently to the stories. They had so much fun.

Some of you might say, "It makes such a mess though!" You're right, but if you've ever lived with two three year olds, you'd know that my kitchen floor was in need of sweeping anyway. What was another hundred grains of rice?

Like Father, Like Son

Taigen is already making quite the impression on Marshall. No task is too mundane. I hope one day that Marshall will be just like him. Tonight during bathtime, Marshall decided to do a household chore. Maybe, though, just maybe, he is imitating his mother, who prefers to wash a dish rather than take the chance of having to unload the dishwasher. Only time will tell.

Just to Clarify

Taigen just got home and watched the videos. He asked me if I had been working with Shaylen on spelling her name. I thought my answer would clarify some thoughts for you all too.

I have NOT been working on her spelling her name. What I have done is spell it out loud when I have written her name on any paper or any coloring. So her learning how to spell her name is not from any effort of mine. It has been from her absorbing it when I have been playing with her. That is why I was so flabbergasted that she could do this. She's a smarty!

Sometimes Seeing is Believing

Shaylen called me up from the basement this morning so I could see her spell her name. I know she knows her letters, but I didn't think she could spell it.

I was so dead wrong. This is what I found:



Take Two
And in case you didn't believe it the first time, she repeated it for me in the basement with another set of letters.

Cafe Royal on the Stairway

Taigen has been attempting to finish up with our painting projects this week. During the evenings he has painted our guest bathroom. Last night and today Taigen has been working on the hallway upstairs and the stairway. The color is called "Cafe Royal" and Shaylen has been telling Taigen that it is the color of "Mommy's coffee".

New Dictionary Entry

caulked- formally "shocked"; v. To subject (an animal or person) to an electric shock. New pronounciation of this word are credited to Shaylen Joos of N. America.

A Night on the...House?

As a Valentine's Day gift, our friend Susan Gauthier decided that she would come and cook us a gourmet dinner in our own home. She would come and prepare it while we get the kids ready for bed. When we come down she would serve and then leave us to our romantic dinner. Pretty nice gift, eh?

Well, Susan followed through with her offer last night, and what a treat it was! She left my kitchen spotless and smelling fabulous.

Here's what was on our menu:

Appetizer
Caprese (Salad)
Entree
Medallions of Beef with a Sun Dried Cranberry Demi-Glace
Pan-seared String Beans with lemon and Fresh Ground Pepper
Rosemary roasted Red bliss Potatoes (trimmed to resemble small mushrooms)
Oven roasted Carrots and Parsnips
Dessert
Chocolate Mousse with Fresh Raspberries
Beverage
Martinelli's Sparkling Apple Cranberry Cider

Everything was absolutely delicious. She is quite the cook! We had such a wonderful romantic "date."

The Return of Frog and Toad...Shaylen style

Alas...here is proof that she is actually quoting the book. Not verbatim, mind you, but she's doing a pretty good job of remembering what she's heard. It's obvious that she and Marshall love this work of literature.

Hemlock House, Third Installment

This is the guest bathroom. We recently finished this and painted the walls a darker cream to match the cream in the lighthouse border. It really cleaned up the look of the bathroom.

We kept the wallpaper and border up since it is in good condition and we like the folk art look of it.

Train Up a Child...

On Sunday we had the opportunity to go to a local nursing home and "do" a service for the residents. We were going to take Marshall and Shaylen with us. We prepped them so that nothing would surprise them and make them shy. They were told that we were going to go and visit a bunch of Grammies and Grampies at their special house. They were also told that they were going to sing!

The kids did a great job shaking hands, handing out hymnals, and they did their first "special music" ("Jesus Loves Me") before Daddy preached! When they said goodbye, Marshall kissed the hand of one of the residents and she told him that she thought she was going to cry. Her son was sitting with her and he commented on how much it meant to his mother that Marshall would do such a thing. I thought I would cry too.

The nursing home ministry had a huge impact on the kids and they have been excited to go back. One resident had a band-aid on her right hand. Of course, now Marshall and Shaylen are very adamant about reminding me to pray for her boo-boo to get better.

How thrilling it is to see them excited about serving!

The Delicate Art of Candy Land

One of the things we love to do as a family is play games or do puzzles. On Saturday night, we pulled out Candy Land. Shaylen has a particular way of moving her gingerbread man. You can learn the delicate art of a Candy Land move here:

Valentine's Day Blizzard

Well, this is it. The much talked about and anticipated storm has arrived. What time it started snowing during the night, I don't know, but when Taigen's alarm went off this morning at 5:30, he flipped on the news. I was still in the Land of Nod so I didn't hear anything on TV, but what I did hear was him switching his alarm clock to "off" and settling back into bed. School had obviously been cancelled. Hooray! Pretty nice Valentine's Day gift, eh?

This storm is supposed to pack a punch. Before the day is over we are supposed to get anywhere between 10-15 inches of snow. Taigen is chomping at the bit to go out to the shed and get his snowblower, throw on his parka, Maine sugarin' hat, and plow the driveway. This doesn't sound thrilling to me, but I'm not a guy.

We are hunkered down, the house is warm and soon there will be a batch of cookies in the oven for the kids (all three: Marshall, Shaylen and Taigen). Services have been cancelled for tonight so we are anticipating a quiet night at home as a family.

New Dictionary Entry

blilary- formally known as "library"; n. A place in which literary and artistic materials, such as books, periodicals, newspapers, pamphlets, prints, records, and tapes, are kept for reading, reference, or lending. The new spelling and pronounciation of this word is credited to Marshall Joos of N. America.

Zniff! Zniff!

We were just putting a puzzle together down here when Marshall paused and said, "Shaylen, yoooouuuu stink!" Which indeed, I soon realized, she did.

Of course, Taigen started howling. I very calmly whispered to him, "I'm trying to curb that."

I then said to Marshall, "Marshall, what should you say? Instead you should say, 'Shaylen do you...'" I waited anxiously for my well-trained son to answer "...need to go poo-poo?"

Instead he answered, "Shaylen, do you stink?"

I guess we have more work to do in this area.

Triple Treat

Today I had the treat of having three toddlers to take care of! Sophie Gray was able to come over today because her mommy was substituting for the school. We had such a great time. Sophie will be three in a couple of months. I gained a whole new respect for those with triplets...whew! It's exhausting. We had so much fun doing "school", playing Candy Land, putting together puzzles, reading and coloring. Marshall and Shaylen enjoyed having someone new to play with. They were all such good kids too! No fighting or whining. What a joy.

A Fresh Coat

We enjoyed a small snow storm last night that freshened and brightened things up for a nice day today. We got about 3-4 inches! Taigen was able to pull out his snowblower and have some fun this morning. He loves his new toy!

Pastor and Mrs. McIlwaine got a visit from Taigen this morning also and he was able to clear away their driveway and "rake" their roof. "Raking" is clearing the snow off the edges of low pitched roofs in order to prevent ice dams from forming. Ice dams can cause water damage in the walls.

Third Time's A Charm

Three times.

Can you believe it? I have pink eye for the third time this winter. I woke up with it this morning. Thankfully I still have my "wonderful" petroleum-like prescription to ward off the infection.

I must not have learned patience with the first two bouts.