It's time to catch up

Ok, I have alot of catching up to do.. and only about a half hour to do it. So let's start with some much needed photos:

I got Killian an adorable bee cake.. here he is eating it (PS he ate the WHOLE thing!)

Helping mommy bake rhubarb :)

He loves his sensory box.. he has packing peanuts in it now... and he was so good at picking them off the floor anytime a little bit spilled (that's what he's doing in this photo).. until I turned my back of course. then this happened:

He also got a brand new ball pit:

He's very spoiled.. I know :)

He finally learned how to say "cheese" for a photo :)

And then the ball pit became a bed (and we took it to our cabin for memorial day weekend.. and it worked great.. until one of the sides deflated and he rolled out of it.

This is the quilt I sewed for Killian. It turned out pretty cute if I do say so myself. :)

Here is his room with new wall stickers and chalkboard on the bottom. There's still ALOT to do.. but I'll keep current photos on here.

This is the  cushion I made for his rocking chair, to match his bed.

And I got him some ABC wall art.. they're being held up by tape because I was still deciding on where to put them.

His room is SLOWLY coming together, but it's going to be ADORABLE when it's finished :) And yes.. I forgot my camera this weekend, so I didn't get ANY photos of Killian at our cabin, but my mom took a few, so I'll get them up when she gets me copies.

So what's been new with us? Well we've definitely been enjoying the beautiful weather! We've biked to the park a few times, and to Killian's daycare on Friday. We spent almost every second outside this weekend. Killian's a beautiful tan while I'm nicely burnt. Apparently when I was applying sunscreen to him every 1/2 hour, I forgot to do it to myself. But Killian LOVED the water, sand, boat, and running around with the dogs. He also enjoyed all the attention from all my extended family, though he was joined at my hip like always. His favorite thing to say was, "mama? Mama :)" When he found me. It was very sweet :)

The dogs loved running around outside, and stella ventured into the water, though she didn't like swimming. Stubby had learned 2 years ago that he sinks like a rock, so he doesn't even try wading into the water anymore.

Today we got home around 1, and Killian slept until 230. We hung around our house, because Killian was just so happy to be home. Then ran to walmart and Kohls (where Killian got 2 more free trains from a 10$ gift card they sent me in the mail), and then to my dad's for dinner and planting watermelon. Killian liked helping smash up the dirt clumps with a screwdriver, and then he walked around the backyard with his Thomas the Train umbrella. This I have to take a photo of, because it's just too funny how attached he is to it. At Walmart, Killian picked out this (hideous in my opinion) thomas the train shirt and shorts. I normally wouldn't have bought him it, except that it was a. 5$, and b. perfect for wearing in 2 weekends when we go see/ride on Thomas in Green Bay. He tried to put it on right there in the store. Oh how I love my obsessive boy.

Alright, I think I'm caught up for a while. Hopefully I'll post again this weekend with some new photos and funny stories. :)

Our Week and funny BEAN stories

We've had a busy week. I started my 3 week interim on Monday, and we're still getting into the groove of a new schedule. I have class 2-3 mornings a week, and try to work while Killian's napping/eating snack, and then pick him up in the early afternoon for mommy time :) Of course, we're also finishing up our last 2 weeks of supervised visitation with his dad, so Killian spent the two mornings I had off last week with me, his dad, and his dad's wife at their house. Killian seems to be comfortable there, but I'm sure there will be melt downs the first couple of times he's there alone. This coming week is his last week of supervised visitation, and next week he'll be with his dad alone. I'm hoping he adjusts well.
It's been SO beautiful out that we spent every day outside. I can barely drag Killian in most nights. I LOVE that he's an outdoors person, because so am I. However, sometimes it's just too humid and I'm too tired for playing outside for more than an hour. Killian gets impatient with my lack of energy :( On an adorable note... he has little farmer tans on his feet from his flip flops. He's so adorable :)
Yesterday I took the afternoon off for "me time", sitting in a coffee shop drinking chai and doing hw. I also did a little shopping. I needed to get Killian something new, fun, and gross motor for when he's bored with all his toys (which is EVERY day lately). Well, I got him a car ball pit. Yes.. it's adorable. I have photos, but as I'm taking my computer in on Monday, I don't want to upload any photos that I'll lose ( I have to get a new hard drive (thank you killian), so I'm losing everything that's not saved on my external hard drive.. which I'm not sure what's not). Anyways, Killian loves the ball pit. He played in it for a good 30 min. friday night, then we threw all 225 balls into a laundry basket, and I put killian's blanket and pillow in the ball pit, and he layed down :)  I'm thinking about bringing it along with us next weekend when we're at our cabin.
On my shopping trip I also bought a sewing machine and fabric. Yes, I am attempting to sew for the first time in 9 years! I decided that Killian's room is still decorated as a nursery, and he's in need of a toddler/big kid room. SO, I'm SLOWLY (because of lack of money) converting it. My first step is to sew him a new quilt, pillow, cushion for his rocking chair, and curtains. I'm starting with the quilt. It's a dinosaur theme, and I'm about 1/4 of the way finished. I'll post pictures when it's all done.
I'm also getting him some chalkboard contact paper that I'm running along the bottom of his walls so that he can draw on them. :) I have alot of ideas of how to make his room fit his personality and age, and I'll keep you posted as I finish each idea.
Today we had a busy day... we took a trip to New Holstein to buy raw milk. We left during Killian's nap, hoping that he'd sleep the hour up there. Well, he fell asleep half way there, and woke up as I transferred him into the stroller :( And then the sassy didn't fall back asleep the ENTIRE hour ride home. He was too busy finding the horses and cows that he wanted "out" as he told me. When we made it home, we grabbed the dogs and headed to my mom for gardening/sand box play, and of course horses.
This evening I've frozen 5 gallons of milk, skimmed the cream off of them and made butter, butter milk, and tom. I'll make some mozzerella and pizza dough from the whey. I LOVE summer time :) I had NO idea how easy it is to make butter, and am looking forward to having buttermilk pancakes tom. morning from my fresh buttermilk :) MMM.
So here are a few funny bean stories from this week. I'm trying to blog all of these for future reference on Killian's/my part:

** Killian used to like to help me train Stella. And by help me train, I mean feeding her treats constantly until I rip the bag of treats from his greedy little fingers. Needless to say, I trained her after he was in bed. However, lately Killian's been wanting to BE trained. Yes, when I say sit, he sits down and opens his mouth for a treat :) He now does sit, lay down, roll over, shake, and jump. He even gets impatient with me when I'm not feeding his the treat for his "trick" while I'm trying to teach Stella. Oh bean***

** Everything is MINE lately. Killian's putting together sentences, but he tends to use the same couple of words to mean everything. Today, he found his cowboy boots at my mom's house, and wanted to put them on to go down to the barn. He told me, "mama, shoes". So I said, "oh, you brought me shoes? Ok, put them on me." He gave me this devil look, clutched the boots to his chest and screamed" no, MINE".**

**All W's are "M's (for) mama". When I explain that they are w's, not m's, he's insistent and points to my mouth saying "m, mama. m,mama".***

*** He enjoys playing fetch with Stella, however he asks me to hold her back so he can get the ball, and fetches it up.. with his mouth, and carries it to me (still with his mouth), and drops it by my feet. I think this child needs a sibling***

**Killian now believes there is "bad koclate (chocolate)" and "koclate". Bad chocolate are chocolate covered raisins, hot chocolate, chocolate milk, and anything else masquerading as pure chocolate. Chocolate is pure chocolate (or with some PB added in there). What can I say? He's my child**

Mac N' Cheese

When Killian was born, I decided I needed to learn how to cook, because I want the best for him. And after learning to cook, my relationship with food changed drastically. I discovered I LOVE cooking, and that I have a new outlook on life. I believe home cooked meals made with whole, local foods with as little processed foods as possible is the best thing for our bodies. And I cherish meal times with Killian.
Anyways... I've discovered that I'm not an amazing cook. If I was married, my husband wouldn't go around bragging about my cooking, and I'm no Bree Hodge, but my meals are tasty, healthy, and good enough for Killian and I.
However, there is one thing that I'm AMAZING at, that Killian will ask for 3rd/4th helpings of... Mac N' Cheese. And no, it's not from a box (though I'll admit that once a month I buy Annie's Deluxe mac n' cheese in a box), but my homemade mac n' cheese is SOO simple and SOO good. I originally got the recipe from Laura at Heavenly Homemakers, but I've altered it quite a bit.
I don't cook my pasta in milk, though it does make it creamy. So what's my recipe. Well here it is for my readers:

Pasta (whole wheat is best for you, but of course white tastes best. I mix both together) - Cook.. elbow noodles or spiral noodles work best
While the pasta is cooking, shred cheddar cheese into a bowl (I like to use medium because it gives you a little more OOMPF)- I use about 1 cup for 2 servings of pasta (1.5 cups of pasta)- but you can experiment with how much cheese you use. I normally don't measure it out, I just keep shredding until it looks good. Also add a little Parmesan cheese (about 1/4 cup).. and REAL Parmesan, not the powdered stuff. Add a small slice of butter and a little bit of milk (about 1/8 cup of milk)
When the pasta is done, strain and add straight into the cheese mix (it has to be hot in order to melt the cheese and butter)
Mix it all up... if the cheese isn't completely melted, stick the bowl in the microwave or oven to melt the cheese completely. Add a few sprinkles of salt for taste.
THAT'S IT! So simple and SOO yummy. I often add some veggies too like steamed broccoli or carrots when in season.
For another version, you can do all of the above, then preheat the oven 350, put the mac n cheese into a pan, and crush some cheese crackers (I use Annie's Cheddar Bunnies since we always have them in the house), and sprinkle them on top. Bake for about 10-15 min. Mix in a little more milk and cheese so it's not dried out.

Let me know if any of you try it out, and what you think. I know Killian's a BIG fan :)

Lots of updates!

Well, it's been a LONG time since I posted... so here are some of the updates:

Killian and I have been having a rough couple of weeks... lots of ups and downs. One day he woke up and decided to be going through the terrible twos... and OMG are they horrible. Half the time I wonder what happened to my sweet, wonderful child.

Some here are some of the rough points:

Killian broke my 1200 dollar Mac, because he was mad I turned off the water. YUP.
Killian's been throwing massive fits in public places, simply because.
Killian's been hitting friends at school, AND me.
He's decided nothing is good unless he picked it out.
EVERYTHING is HIS, even after he stole it from me.
He's been beating up on the dogs.. and I mean beating up. He pulls Stella by the ear until she's off the ground crying in pain.
He's blatantly being disobedient ALL the time.
And... here's the worst one- simply because it;s SOOOO frustrating. Ever since he was 2 weeks old, he's ALWAYS put himself to bed. He was SUCH a good little sleeper. I would lay him down when it was time to sleep, and he'd put himself to sleep. Now, he gets out every 2 min. for HOURS. Tonight it took 2 hrs of constantly putting him back in his bed... and the only reason he finally fell asleep was because I let him fall asleep in my arms. UGH.

And here are some Joy parts :)
Killian has been calling to me, mama mama mama telling me when he wants me to do something. :)
He's been understanding alot more, and expressing alot more.. even putting 3/4 words together to form a thought
He's been giving hugs and kisses
We got my oil changed, and he saw them take "mama car" into the garage and was upset. When they took the tires off to rotate them, Killian said " UHHH, no no, bad. Mama car" When I told him that it was ok, mama said they could do it. he said "mama say ok" and touched my mouth. But then the next second he yelled at the workers again. :) SOO funny and sweet
He figured out what piggy back rides are, and loves them :)
He recognizes and finds H, M, O, K, S everywhere and tells me what each means: H=neigh, S= woo woo, dinky, lella (stubby and stella), O=O K=silence which means Killian M= m mama :) He's such a smarty

I'm really hoping that this terrible two stage goes quickly so I can see my loving, sweet little peanuter every day again... instead of the sassy little thing he is now :)

here are some recent photos:

My aunt and uncle gave Killian this giant pony.. and of course he thinks it's real like his real pony.. so here he is giving the pony an "apple" and brushing him

Killian doing a typical silly face.. eating ice cream from his ice cream bowl and spoon

finger painting.. he looks bored in this photo, but he actually had alot of fun

Drinking from a big boy cup

Putting puzzles together.. he can now do 6 piece puzzles like this

I caught him sitting like this watching TV.. when he thought  wasn't watching

He colored thank you cards for his teachers

Disapointing weekend

Killian and I look forward to our weekends all week long.. two whole days to devote entirely to each other.  Well our Saturday was pretty good. We spent the morning at the mom and pop place with a friend and her little boy (who's only a few days younger than Killian). After nap, we went shopping (and I bought a BIG deep cleaning carpet cleaner.. which I'm in love with), and spent an hour at the park. After rangling Killian into the car, we headed home to make brownies, and then went to my mom's. Killian spent a good half an hour in the sandbox, when I finally convinced him he needed to come inside to eat. He went to bed at his normal time, and my mom and I and her friends had a poker night. I actually came out with a few extra bucks :)

Sunday.. was a different story. I was so sick to my stomach I couldn't take care of Killian. Around 12 I realized I had the flu. I made it a few more hours, and at 330, I finally called my little sister to come help me. She came around 4 and helped me with bean until 7 (his bedtime). She tried to let me sleep by shutting my door, but Killian became hysterical, crying for "mama mama". He's never had me be so sick that I'm not me. Our sunday was ruined :(

This morning wasn't much better. Killian got up at 530, and I was still feeling sick. I lasted until 7 am.. and then I had to drop him off at daycare. I slept and read some hw for class until 1.. and finally got out of bed for the day. I am still quick to tire, so I opted out of going back to class, and picked up bean at 2 for the afternoon. Poor little thing was so clingy to me. After a day and a half of mama not being mama, he needed to be reassured that life was going back to normal. :)

We shopped for his teacher's appreciation gifts (it's teacher appreciation week), colored their thank you cards, played nicely by himself while I shampooed the carpets, "helped" me hang some picture frames on the wall, took the dogs for a walk (he had stella's leash in two hands and was laughing hysterically while she dragged him along), and finally collapsed into tears at bedtime. He was way past exhausted, even though it was his normal bedtime. He desperately wanted to go swimming, and wouldn't listen when I told him I'd take him tom. morning. Poor tiny dude.

I'm hoping our week is a quiet one. I have two more weeks of this semester, and a few more projects to get out of the way. I'm focusing on finishing up.. because I just found out my interim is 50% online :) That's good news for us.

I'll try posting some pictures next weekend- my computer's charger is deceased..and I still haven't bought a new one (I'm using my work computer for now), so when I get my mac up and running, I can upload my photos.