I Wish I May, I Wish I Might

One of my childhood memories was going to the St. Vincent Mall near our house with my grandmother, Nanny.  She was a "mall walker" and I would often go with her.  I would hope that our cruising would eventually lead us over to the nearby GapKids or Claires for a present =).

Anyways, in the middle of the mall was a large fountain.  I thought it was the neatest thing and would habitually stop and stare at the water as it fell, mesmorized.  I would also look down at all of the coins laying on the bottom, as if they were treasures.  My mind often took me to the scene in the movie, The Goonies, where they found themselves at the bottom of a wishing well with tons and tons of coins.  It was brought up that these coins were people's wishes.  They were people's dreams.  I would sometimes think about that as I stared into the water.  I was always in awe of that fountain for some reason.

Today, the boys and I headed over to a shopping center in the north part of Jackson.  It was an outdoor shopping center with some really cute stores.  It was nice to be able to get out, walk around, and ooo and ahhh at all of the cute things that were for sale.  In the middle of the stores was a courtyard with...you guessed it...a large fountain!  Of course Thomas had to go check it out!

I guess the apple didn't fall far from the tree because he stared up at the water, in awe, and could have continued to stare had I not redirected him back to our shopping task.  As we were leaving to go home, we passed back by the fountain, only to find us being drawn back to it.  I decided to teach Thomas about throwing a penny into the water while making a wish.  Don't think he grasped the "make a wish" part but he sure loved to throw pennies into the water!  I bet the fountain profited a good 10 cents of our money in a single stretch!

Isn't it fun to think about your wishes and dreams over the years?  Isn't it interesting how some of them are still the same, even twenty years later?  Isn't it crazy how some of them are so the opposite of what you'd wish for now?  I don't know about you but I still wholeheartedly believe in wishes and dreams.  I still get giddy when I see a fountain and still look down for the treasures lying below.  I believe in wishing and dreaming for something and it coming true, just like in the movies.  Call me crazy but it continues to give life a magical flair, amongst all the yuck that can really bring you down sometimes.

These are the wishes and dreams...

...that bring a daily smile to my face!

May your days be filled with magic, good wishes, and great dreams!

Bathing Baby

I love bath time with my babies!  We start the habit early on of a bath everyday...I may have a house full of boys but by golly they won't be stinky if I have anything to do with it!

(I know, I know...they will be stinky...a girl's gotta dream though right?)

Last night, I was giving Evan a bath before putting him to bed.  He's growing much more tolerant of his baths and seems to actually enjoy them these days.  I'll put him in the bathtub and he seems to sink into the warm water and even give a little sigh of comfort.  It's such a peaceful little reaction.

He likes to hold onto my finger when I'm bathing him.  I love the security that this little act seems to bring him.

Children come into this world with an innocence and an innate ability to fully trust.  They are completely dependant on us, as their parents, and trust everything that we do for them.  It's an awesome and sometimes overwhelming responsibility.  It's the type of relationship that I know we are meant to have with God...one that is filled with a child-like faith and constant trust.  Yet, I often struggle with my side of that relationship due to my "having to be in control at all times" issues.  It is so comforting to know, though, that no matter what, Christ is ready and willing to reach down and let us grip his finger of guidance.

Deep thoughts for today huh?  Ok, enough philosophical musings for now.  I leave you with some cute pics of my "bathing baby."

Coffee Quest

We had a casualty at our home last night...

We lost our beloved coffee pot carafe.  It was the coffee pot carafe vs the floor.  The floor won.

This incident was instigated by our precious, all-too-curious two-year-old.  He reached for it up on the counter while Adam was cooking dinner.  Adam pushed it out of his way while stating, "Please don't play with that Thomas...Mommy will be really mad if that breaks."  To which I replied, "If that breaks, Daddy will be finding Mommy a Starbucks tomorrow morning!"  We spoke too soon.

Seconds later, I heard a crash and a shatter...sigh.

So, this morning, the boys and I packed up in the car to search for a Starbucks so that Mommy could get her caffeine fix.  (Yes, the need for caffeine has magically increased since Evan's been born!)  I thought, surely, there would be one nearby.  There's practically a Starbucks on every corner in every city in the world right?  Wrong!  After driving around for nearly an hour, we came up empty-handed!  The only Starbucks we came across was one in a Target in the next town, which I opted out of because we would have had to all unload out of the car.  Disappointed and still un-caffeinated (is that a word?), we headed back home.  I did settle on a mocha from McDonalds...it wasn't Starbucks but it made do...

I may need to write in a formal request for a Starbucks to the Brandon city council.  This city needs to experience the wonder that is Starbucks!  Plus, I can keep the business booming until we buy a new coffee maker!

Mosey Monday

Today, our day was filled with a little of this and a little of that...

We had a little breakfast...we (Thomas and I) are total cream of wheat junkies!  Love, love the stuff!

We had a little fun...

And we did a LOT of laundry!

Sweet 'Stache and Grape Grins

Nothing beats a big ole Saturday morning breakfast with the ones you love!  Happy weekend to all!

Outing Attempt #1

As I've approached motherhood with two, there have been a few things that I knew I would have to accomplish but have had some anxiety about them.  One was spending all day alone with both boys.  Before coming to Jackson, I had luxuries like being able to send Thomas to school during the day or having my mom around to help out.  Here in Jackson, while Adam's at work, it's just moi!  But we've finished our first week here and I'm proud to say that I did it...and you know, it wasn't so bad...whoo hoo!

Another milestone I knew we would need to accomplish is getting out of the house successfully to go somewhere.  I've been putting this off as well but when the opportunity came about for us to go eat lunch with Adam at work, I knew I needed to tackle this hurdle head on!  And that's just what I did!

The preparation for our outing was completed in several steps.  Now the Blanchers are large fans of The Disney Channel and we are also fans of "Special Agent Oso."  So as I'm writing this the "three special steps" song is going through my head...oh the joys of young children!  So...

Step one:  Prepare and pack lunch

Step Two:  Make Sure Mom is Ready

Step Three:  Dress the Dudes

Step Four:  Diaper Bag Organization

Step Five:  Warm Winter Apparel on Everyone

Step Six:  Locked, Loaded and Ready to Go!

We did it!  Sure, it took all morning to prepare and execute but who cares?  Now to perfect the process and shoot for a more early morning departure (aka, getting ready for school/work...yikes!).  That will be for another day!

We had a wonderful time up at "daddy's work."  We got to eat lunch with the other interns there and got to meet some of the people that Adam works with.  Everyone is so nice there!  Plus, we got to see his office.  Thomas quickly felt very at home there...he informed us that he needed to "sit at his 'puter and do his work."  Ah, a little workaholic in the making!

It was a great first outing and gave me great confidence that maybe I can handle this whole two-kid-mom thing! 

Evan also had a ball, by the way.  All that socializing plum wore him out!

2010 Recap: March 2010-Easter Treats!

Easter is yet another fun time for treats and surprises.  Last year was no exception! 

Thomas got a super-fun Easter goodie box in the mail from Grammy and PapaRazzi.  He had a great time with all of the tissue paper inside of it!

We also got to make these cute "carrots" for his class Easter party at school.  We called them "bunny bites."  It was cake decorating bags filled with Cheetos and tied with a green ribbon.  Thought they turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself!

2010 Recap: March 2010-Palm Sunday Easter Egg Hunt

Our church held an Easter egg hunt for all the children after our Palm Sunday service last year.  That service was particularly neat because it was a combined service.  A typical Sunday at our church consists of two services-a traditional service and a contemporary service.  We're involved in the band at our contemporary service, so we don't see the people that attend the traditional service a lot.  We only combine our services a few times a year, but it's really neat to see the whole church join together for worship.  We also had our annual Palm parade during the service and there were so many kids there!  It was incredibly refreshing to see the future of our church and so reinforcing to see that our church is thriving and growing.

the band playing in "big church"

Thomas marched proudly in the Palm parade this year along with all of his buds.  Then they all got to listen to a special children's sermon together before heading back to the nursery.  It was fun!

"waving the branch of a palm tree high in my hand"

John Kirklin

Mathis and Michael

Amelia

Garrett

Isaac

baby Will

Georgia

listening intently to the message

After church we all headed over to a field across the street from the church for the Easter egg hunt.  Why is it that it's always cold and rainy on Palm Sunday??  Here you've got all these nice, new spring clothes that you are so ready to wear and you either can't or you have to cover it up with a huge jacket!  The weather was such as this that day.  We pressed on though and wore some of our new spring stuff...it was a great photo opp!  Thanks to Kenny for sharing all of his wonderful pictures of the fun!

finding eggs with Daddy's assistance

enjoying the treats inside

getting the hang of this egg-hunting business

finding time to "chase" with Daddy

becoming a little distracted with a stick

coming to get Mr. Kenny

Thomas's entourage

Easter egg finding fun!

2 1/2 Years Old

Now that Evan's a month old, that also means that Thomas is two and a half years old.  Talk about time flying!  It is so hard for me to believe that two and a half years have gone by already!

It's really amazing to watch him grow into this little person with his own talents, his own quirks, his own insights and his own thoughts.  He's a very kind-hearted individual but is also very headstrong.  (Wonder where he got that from!)  He loves people...he loves his family (especially his baby brother!) and he loves his friends.  He's pretty shy in new situations but once he's comfortable, look out!  The world is his stage! 

He's very chatty and listening to his thoughts and musings are the highlight of my day.  Some of them are the funniest things I've ever heard!  It's also amazing to watch him learn and absorb information.  He's so smart and blows me away with some of the things he knows and understands.  He's very perceptive.  Sometimes I can look at him and tell that the wheels are spinning in that head of his.  He's just taking the world in!

He's still growing so fast.  He's a very solid boy and now I'm noticing that he is starting to lengthen out.  I believe we're going to have a tall one on our hands!  His hair grows faster than any hair known to man!  We get monthly haircuts to keep it in line.  Hopefully it will stay blond for awhile...it's fun having a blondie in the house!

He's a great eater.  Not too much of a sweets fan but could eat sausage until he was blue in the face!  He's also eating more and more fresh fruit and vegetables these days.  He's still definitely a "meat and potatoes" kind of guy!

He loves sports...already his knowledge and understanding of sports is quite impressive!  He loves the LSU Tigers and the New Orleans Saints...we're raising that boy right!  He also loves cars, trains and trucks...especially "ment" mixers or anything that pushes/dumps dirt.  He loves to watch movies...Toy Story 3 is a heavy favorite at the moment.  He loves to build with blocks.  The other day, he wanted to show me a tower that he built.  He kept saying "Tiger's going night night!"  I realized that he had created the clock tower on LSU's campus from a book that he likes to read, "Goodnight Tigers."  So neat huh?

He loves music, especially playing the guitar and the drums.  Maybe we'll have a little musician on our hands??  He also loves listening to music.  He frequently requests to "turn it loud" when we're listening to music in the car.  He also still loves to read books.  He's getting really into those books that have the interactive buttons that you can push while you're reading the book.

He's been in a regular bed since October and has not had a pacifier since the summer.  Both of those transitions went very well much to my relief.  Potty training has been slow-going but we're going to get there!

He tests his limits with us at times...sometimes more than others...and has had to be disciplined, which has proven to be harder that I thought it would be.  No one ever said parenting was easy, huh?  But he seems to learn when we teach him right from wrong and I can tell that he wants to do what's right.

He's such a joy in our lives and we can't wait to see what treasures life has in store for him!

Happy two and a half years Thomas!  We love you so much!