Happy 9th birthday Emily!

How did we get from this...

... to this so quickly?

Yesterday, June 9th, 2009 was Emily's 9th birthday...her "Golden Birthday"! What's a golden birthday? Supposedly, it's when your date of birth is the same # as the age you are turning. I missed mine; it was when I was 4...oh well. But, Emily turned 9 on the 9th yesterday, so she wanted to make sure that we did something extra special on her golden birthday. I'm sure that she meant something extra special would be an extra present, but instead, Jason, Ben, Abby and I each wrote a list of 9 Things we love about Emily. Of course, it wasn't difficult to come up with a list. Emily's a great kid and we are so blessed to have her!

A few highlights from the list:

I love the way your dimples show

when you smile really big. (Dad)

I love how you work hard to make your friends

feel better when they are sad. (Dad)

I love how you are brave and share

about God with your friends. (Dad)

I love how kind and caring you are. (Mom)

I love that you are truthful and

do your best to do what's right. (Mom)

I love your shiny brown eyes. (Mom)

You play with me. (Ben)

You teached me how to blow up balloons. (Ben)

You love me. (Ben)

You kiss and hug me. (Abby)

You are funny. (Abby)

You draw with me. (Abby)

On to the presents...

I love it when I get a reaction like this:

All because of these; the new craze...

Japanese erasers!

And roller blades!

(pink ones, of course)

And on to the party:

Cupcakes....check!

Craft: this...

...plus this...

...equals this...check!

Can't forget the good friends...check!

Add a night walk complete with glow sticks...check!

Top it off with sleeping in the tent in the backyard...check!

Oh yeah, almost forgot...

Add Mom sleeping in the tent, too...oh well...check!

Hope your birthday was fun, Em!

We love you and are so proud of you!

Catching up...

The Curtis Crew has been quite busy, thus the lack of blogging for a while. Hopefully, this post will serve as a quick catch up! These are in no particular order of importance, just as they pop into my brain, which is usually in random fashion!

We enjoyed a trip to Blossom Time over

Memorial Day Weekend in Chagrin Falls.

Benjamin is reading...so amazing and so sweet!

Abby is completely potty-trained!

Benjamin is registered for Kindergarten...please pass the tissues!

Emily took a trip to NYC with her Grandma to celebrate her upcoming 9th birthday!

We have FINALLY found a church home!

We have these growing in our flower beds...

gotta bring a little TX into the area!

Jason and I have lost a total of 23 pounds together!

Thanks to these folks...

Emily bought herself a new bicycle with her own money.

She saved and saved...so proud!

Ben bought himself a new scooter with his own money.

Congrats, buddy!

We attempted to grow a garden in our too shady backyard...

However, we have 10 very healthy radish plants!

I'm the only one that likes them...

I started this challenge this week...bring it on!

All is not quiet, but very well on the Curtis home front!

Hatching eggs!

This is what is happening in Ben's class today.

Progress will most likely take all day, so keep checking the link!

Do NOT try this at home!

If you read my last post and realized my state of desperation, you probably either are shocked and can't believe I would stoop to such low levels or you're wondering if it's working. Before I proceed here, please take warning and do NOT try this at home! This form of potty training is not endorsed by this blog!

So, my sweet little friend is now using the potty. She has had a complete turnaround. We actually ventured out yesterday in underwear. She ended up going pee-pee and poo-poo on the potty all by herself! She is little miss independent and doesn't even ask for help, just goes on in and does her thing.

Good job, Abby, you little stubborn monkey!

I'm a bad mommy...

I am SO frustrated that my 3-year-old is still in diapers. I mean, we are not even in pull-ups! It's one thing to change diapers for a sweet little baby, but when it's a work-out with your arms to hold the child's legs up to get the said region clean, it's not fun or cute anymore! Keep in mind, this is my third time to do this! Emily & Ben were potty-trained by this age and it was a fairly easy accomplishment. This time, it's NOT the same! Our little Abby is a tad bit more strong-willed, er, I mean spirited than the other two. Compliance is something we may occasionally glimpse, but most things are a struggle with her. Don't get me wrong, she is a load of fun; brings laughter into our home every day. You never know what she's going to say or do!

So, I have tried all the tricks I know to get her to use the potty. She is not motivated by rewards; she is not motivated by punishment; she is not motivated by coercing... what are we to do?

In my frustration yesterday after one of those unwanted arm workouts, I laid it out for her. She can either use the potty herself or we will have to go see the doctor to get a diaper shot. What's a diaper shot? It's the shot you get so you won't need diapers anymore. Immediate tears and screaming... she doesn't want to choose either one of these options! However, last night, she pee-peed in the potty. We are in underwear right now, so we'll see how the day goes.

I know, this is a bad tactic, but in times of desperation, what must one do? As I am typing this, she just jumped up and said, "I need to go pee pee by myself!" Sometimes, you just got to do what you got to do! I am in no way endorsing this as a potty-training tactic, however...

Catching up...

Yesterday was a fabulous day! We spent most of the day outdoors, actually we spent most of the weekend outdoors. Yesterday, we took a trip to Squire's Castle, which is in one of the Cleveland Metroparks. We had a great time hiking through the woods. We ventured off on what looked like a shortcut and ended up being quite a steep climb down a hill. Never fear, we conquered it with ease! The kids gave me a slew of handmade things, which I love, love, love! Jason gave me two adirondack chairs for my front yard, handmade by a guy close by. We're going to paint them red. They'll look great against my blue house and my red and white impatiens I planted this weekend (keep away you waskally wabbit!). Here are some fun pics from our day...

I am a blessed Mom, indeed!

So, just wanted to update on our new quest for a healthy lifestyle. Today marks two weeks since we started our program. I am LOVING this! I cannot tell you how much better I feel, how much more energy I have. I no longer feel like a stuffed toad after I eat. It's great! We had a free day on Sunday to not worry about what we eat and indulged a bit. However, I was looking forward to getting back to the regime today. Jillian Michaels keeps us on track every morning at 6:00 am. The kids have noticed as well and wonder why we're eating so many "fancy" dinners! Hee hee... Here's one of our favorite recipes:

Caribbean Chicken Salad

1 lb chicken breasts

2 tsp McCormick Montreal Chicken seasoning

1 bag of baby romaine salad

1 bag romaine salad blend

1 cucumber, sliced

1 red onion, sliced

1 cup radishes, sliced

1 red bell pepper, diced

2 tomatoes, diced

1 can (11 oz) mandarin oranges, drained

1 can (8 oz) pineapple tidbits, drained

1/2 cup reduced-fat cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup lite honey-Dijon salad dressing

Preheat grill to high. Season the chicken breasts on both sides with the Montreal seasoning. Then place chicken on hot grill and cook for approximately 6 minutes; turn and grill for approximately 6 more minutes, until no longer pink in the center.

While the chicken is cooking, combine the baby romaine salad, romaine salad blend, cucumber, red onion, radishes, red bell pepper and tomatoes in a large mixing bowl and toss.

Divide the salad between four plates. top each with one-fourth of the mandarin orange slices, pineapple tidbits and shredded cheese.

Place the cooked chicken on a cutting board, let it cool slightly, then slice into 1/2-inch strips.

Top each salad with a portion of chicken. Pour honey-Dijon dressing over salads.

Serve and enjoy!

I picked my little boy up from preschool today and learned that he had written a love note to one of the little girls in his class. It seems that he has his very first true crush. It's been building for a while and he is now free in talking about his friend. Evidently, today, he wrote a note to her that said, "I love you". Oh my! I'm sure Ben's name has come up at her dinner table and her dad is buffing his baseball bat! At least this note seems to be a little more chivalrous than his last attempt to impress her. He took a lollipop to school to give her. He had Emily make a card that said, "Love, Ben" and tied it on the stick. He put the lollipop in a baggie and headed off to school. When the big moment arrived and he handed over the prize, he said, "Here, this is for you. I peed on it." She was NOT impressed! But, look at this face... there's hope, right?

Have a fabulous week!

I am going to enjoy the sunshine!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all my mommy friends!

Let us Pray...

Life with a 3-year-old in the house can really provide proof that God has a sense of humor. I mean, seriously, life with a 3-year-old can be a bit challenging, right? The only way to get through and appreciate the day-to-day challenges is with a sense of humor that only He can give!

Our precious 3-year-old is quite the spirited child. She is very independent, very creative and very stubborn (not sure where she gets it...). Thus, the reason she is still in diapers (which is a whole post in itself!) She's not ready; doesn't matter if Mommy was ready months ago.

We try to do as much as we can to teach our children about the God who created them, about his love and his provision, his miracles and his discipline. We memorize Scripture, teach our kids to pray, sing songs about God, and point out on a daily basis some of the blessings He gives us.

At the dinner table, we take turns saying the prayer before the meal. The kids are usually very eager to pray and volunteer quickly, so we rotate the turns to keep it as even as possible. One particular night last week happened to be Abby's turn. She began her prayer with the song, "God our Father". Emily & Ben learned this prayer song at their preschool in Texas. Abby, in turn, learned it from them. The words are:

(To the tune of "Frere Jacques")

God our Father, God our Father

Once again, once again,

Thank you for our blessings, thank you for our blessings,

Amen, Amen.

On this particular night, Jason stopped her and asked her to do a "Dear God" prayer instead. (This is when they just talk to God with their own words.) Here's a glimpse into our life with Abby:

Dear God,

Thank you for this food.

Thank you for making healthy food.

Thank you that we get to disobey and do whatever we want.

Amen.

Oh my goodness...we have a long road ahead of us!

Have you tried this?

Apple Turnover...

You must! It's beyond yummy!

Happy Friday!