Be My Valentine--Marriage Challenge

Confession time here. I'm not a big Valentine's Day person. I don't like all the commercialism, and I don't like the fact that we spend all this time and money to show our spouse/significant other how much we care for and love them on Feb. 14th. So here's my question... why just one day? Why not every day? Granted I would gain a thousand pounds if my husband brought me chocolate everyday (in theory--I would probably die of happiness since chocolate is one of my favorites) but really folks--we need to show our love, gratitude, and support more often.

Enter Women Living Well. They are hosting a 4 week challenge for Valentine's Day. The point -- to praise, encourage, inspire, admire, build up, thank, and appreciate our husbands, partners, and significant others-- and that, in my opinion, is a challenge worth taking.

Now let me explain... this is going to be a big deal for me. In our busy, rush-rush, trying to balance work, marriage, and an extremely active 2-1/2 year old world, true conversation with my husband is reduced to almost nothing. I mean nothing says I love like "will you please pick up your ties" or "Can I please get some help over here!", and don't even get me started on all the socks laying all over the house.... More often than not I don't give my husband enough credit for the wonderful things he does do-- like bath time with Duncan, his famous back-rubs, or even taking the time to empty the dishwasher.

This being week one of the challenge, I have jumped in full force. I've "pimped" my husband out on facebook thanking him for spending time with us on our surprise snow day Thursday; I've worked hard to find at least one thing a day to thank him for daily... and it's working. I am not only working on my appreciation, but I find that I'm beginning to see just how much he does in our marriage. And he really is a wonderful man.

I am so up for this challenge. How about you? Are you willing to work on your marriage as I am? I ask that you pray for me as work to show just how much I love and care for my husband every day--not just one day of the year.  If you are, let me know and we can do it together.

Here are this weeks details....

Week 1: January 21st-27th - Look for ways to praise your husband verbally. Praise him in front of the kids, friends, family, co-workers, on facebook, tweet it - get praise out anyway you can. Be sure to mention noteworthy things he does -- as a provider, a father, husband, lover, friend, and partner. Say something kind and loving to your husband everyday until Valentine's Day arrives and beyond!

Pin it Friday--Holiday edition

It's almost December and the holidays! More importantly... I have a house I can decorate!! Woo Hoo!!! Since moving to C-ville I have been dreaming of the day we get a house and I can decorate for the holidays. I am by no means Clark Griswold (via Christmas Vacation) or do I plan to make my place look like Santa and snowmen threw up on it... I love meaningful, family traditions--advent wreaths, turning off all the lights and sitting by the tree, a big wreath on the door, candles, and Christmas mugs full of hot chocolate. The smells of the holidays...fudge... I could go on and on. My mom is my inspiration for decorating-- she always made our the house the coziest most wonderful place during the holidays and I have wonderful memories of growing up there. Granted she probably ran herself ragged trying to do it all, but she never let it show. And since I am my mother's daughter after all, I hope that I can make Christmas as special for my son and family as she did for me.

So... how do I find inspiration for decorating my new huge house? Pinterest of course!!! Here are some of my favorites that I either do or are thinking of trying out. Enjoy.

                                                                              Source: make-it-do.com via Kate on Pinterest

My first pin comes from Make-it-do.com. It is one of my most repinned pins. At my house during the holidays it always smelled wonderful -- something was baking, the smell of the Christmas tree, a fire in the fireplace -- I loved it. So I tried this pin out last year to see if I could make our tiny place (we were in a tiny apartment) smell more homey, more like Christmas and it worked. This stuff is amazing. Try it. I know you will like it.

                                                                                                  Source: kimmccrary.blogspot.com via Kate on Pinterest

My next Pin is about changing up the way do our advent calendar/countdown to Christmas. For so many years we had the advent calendars where you opened up the little window for the day and got a piece of chocolate. Now anyone who knows me, knows that I am all for chocolate, but do I really want my son to associate counting down to Christ's birth with chocolate? I want him to experience the season. So that is why I am trying this idea for kimmccrary.blogspot.com. Using activities to celebrate each day till Christmas. I hope this goes well and it can become a holiday tradition at my house.

                                                                                   Source: tinycookers.com via Kate on Pinterest

This last idea is from tinycookers.com. Cookie Cutter Pizzas! What a fun way to serve pizzas for Dunc. I'm thinking this would also make a fantastic holiday appetizer. Just cut the dough with any holiday cookie cutter and top with pizza sauce and your favorite toppings. this is going to be so much fun. I can have Dunc help make them too.

Hope you all find some inspiration! Happy Holidays. 

Catching Up Part 1: Vacation Wrap Up.

Yes, I know... I haven't had a post in FOREVER!  Yes, I know... I've been slacking, but in my defense life has happened. Planning for my classes (including a brand new one) and trying to cram as much in with my family as possible before school started took priority over blogging. So to catch you up on all the Innes happenings.... I'll review our summer, staring with our vacation. Check out later posts for the rest.

VACATION WRAP UP

Our vacation to Grand Haven, Michigan started out with a bang. A huge derecho hit our town and all Central Virginia the night before. What is a derecho you may ask? It is a SEVERE storm -- rain, thunder, lightning and winds up to 80 miles an hour. It knocked down trees, houses, and took out power all over central Virginia (in some places for 11 days) -- 3 days at our place. Now this wouldn't be so bad except temperatures reached 114 degrees too.  But the joy for our family was trying to finish packing for our week long trip  with no power. Honestly most of it got done the next morning and we were a bit late starting our trip.

Here's a picture of our packed car. Yes, I know it looks like we are going for months, but with a toddler in a family of older kids we had had to bring things.  Duncan did really well in the car and handled most of the trip with ease. 

Hanging out sans shoes!! Really all of us took off our shoes as much as we could.

Once we reached Michigan and my hometown of Grand Haven a whirlwind of activity ensued. It was so wonderful to see my family--it's been two years since I've seen my mom and sister, more like 4 years for my nephews. The goal was as much quality family time and holiday celebration as possible.

First up a picture with Grandma Tenney. Check this off our bucket list. My mom had not seen Dunc since he was about 3 weeks old. She was "in love" and could get enough of his crazy funny antics. She kept us going with endless amount of watermelon, sweet tea, chicken nuggets, cucumbers, and hotdogs. 

Not only did my mom have a chair that was just the right size... she had toys and lots of them. Cars, trucks, school buses, tonka trucks.... Duncan was in heaven.

 A walk along the boardwalk and Pier were a must as well. Duncan really enjoyed watching the fishermen and seeing all the waves. He liked the boats and all the holiday hub-bub.

 More fun to be had at imagination station. What is imagination station? Well almost 15 years ago the residents of Grand Haven decided there needed to be an inclusive park for all children. What came out of it was imagination station--a huge playpark with swings, bridges, boats, soft play areas and lots of fun things to play with--and of course--it was a hit.

Duncan driving the "car" (left) and playing in his favorite tire swing (below).

The 4th of July dawned as a HOT, and humid day... so to cool off before all the festivities and picnic, a trip to the splash park was required. I truly think we have a water baby on our hands, Duncan played for two hours straight and wore himself out. But I was ok with it--because I knew he would have an AWESOME nap.  I truly love the expression on his face in these pictures--he was so excited about the water.  Oh and funny story... we lost a shoe on the way home, so daddy double-backed to see if he could find it. Nope, but he did find the sock? Who needs a shoe but leaves the sock?

A couple of visits to Aunt Beth and Uncle Jeremy's farm were also on the agenda. It was great to be able to see my nephews again, especially "my baby" Jonathan-- umm... yeah... he's not a baby, he's 18 and all grown up. Duncan really like the animals and playing on the farm with all the trucks and toys. We even got to ride Cricket, the horse, and play with the barn cats. 




I loved getting on a horse again. It's been forever. Duncan was a bit unsure at first, but settled in and really enjoyed it (especially after giving cricket a treat).

Even daddy rode Cricket!!! 

Having ice cream after riding the horses and playing at the farm our second night there. 

 My "baby" Jonathan.... all grown up. I really am proud of what he has been able to accomplish.










And of course... what trip to West Michigan and Grand Haven, would be complete without a trip to the beach? We met up with my childhood friend Rachel and her 2 sons and played all morning in the hot sand and warm water. Duncan make his first sand castle and once more had a ball in the water. 

 Building a sand castle with Xander and Heath. Duncan manned the shovel!

Playing with daddy in the water. They had such a good time jumping in the waves and floating. To be honest I wasn't sure we'd ever get Duncan out of the water.

Our trip home was uneventful. We did bring a small trailer home with us with some furniture from my mom's old house that I have wanted but have never been able to get to us. Duncan really didn't want to spend the same amount of time in the car on the way home (neither did I), but we made it back in decent time---just in time to go through our freezer to see what had spoiled. Remember, we left when the power was out.... for 3 days. That was a "fun" thing to come home too. All in all, we had a wonderful time and I can't wait to do it again.

Bucket List Update #1

This past week we finally crossed off one of our bucket list items. Swimming at the pool. The pool at our complex opened quite late this year due to repairs (can we say earthquake anyone?) So we had to make due with other exciting things (running in the park, daily walks, slides and swings) to tide us over until it was ready. And on a hot humid day we were ready to try it out.

To be honest, Duncan really wanted nothing to do with it. He fought us every step of the way getting his swim diaper and suit on, and lord, don't get me started on the shoes. We had to fake it and say we were going on our evening walk--early. What you say? You don't go walking wearing your swim suits and carrying towels, grapes, a new floatie, a waterbottle and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich? Well, we do.

As we got closer to the pool, you could hear other children playing in the water, and that pipped his interest, especially when he saw the large inflatable beach ball flying through the air (leave it to a ball to get my son jazzed about the pool). He went right for the gate and wanted to go in. A few minutes later after unloading all our stuff, getting shirts off and floaties on, we took our first tentative steps to the pool. Holy moo cow was the water cold, but my son looked around, and jumped into his daddy's waiting arms. From there it was all play time.The hubs and Duncan splashed around and I finally got in and used to the cold water. 

Checking out the turtle on my floatie.

Here I go!!! Jump!

Splash, splash, with daddy.

45 minutes later, both of us could see that Duncan was doing a bit of shivering (yes the water was that cold, which makes me think that our place needs to get a solar heater cover, but that's another time) and we started wrangling the boy to get out. You would have though we were sending him away for ever from all the crying and pleading to stay in. Thank goodness for the peanut butter sandwich and grapes--they made a great distraction. (Yes, I do have my moments of brilliant forethought) And after a quick bite to eat and drying off we headed home promising a warm shower, brushing our teeth--which is one of his favorite things to do-- and Thomas the Tank Engine on the Sprout channel before bed. Overall, it was a great memory and fun time for our first bucket list event. And... I think we might just have a real water baby on our hands.

Toddler Rules

Note: I must admit, I did not make this up... a friend of mine (thanks Dee) sent it to me. It describes my son and his behavior perfectly--you moms out there with toddlers, you know what I'm talking about. And because it's "about" him, I just had to throw in a picture so you can imagine him doing all this. Enjoy!

The Rules of a Toddler! 

What every parent needs to know.

If it is on, I must turn it off. If it is off, I must turn it on.

If it is folded, I must unfold it.

If it is a liquid, it must be shaken, then spilled.

If it a solid, it must be crumbled, chewed or smeared.

If it is high, it must be reached.

If it is shelved, it must be removed.

If it is pointed, it must be run with at top speed.

If it has leaves, they must be picked.

If it is plugged, it must be unplugged.

If it is not trash, it must be thrown away.If it is in the trash, it must be removed, inspected, and thrown on the floor.

If it is closed, it must be opened. If it does not open, it must be screamed at.

If it has drawers, they must be rifled.

If it is a pencil, it must write on the refrigerator, monitor, or table.

If it is full, it will be more interesting emptied. If it is empty, it will be more interesting full.

If it is a pile of dirt, it must be laid upon.

If it is stroller, it must under no circumstances be ridden in without protest. It must be pushed by me instead.

If it has a flat surface, it must be banged upon.

If Mommy's hands are full, I must be carried. If Mommy is in a hurry and wants to carry me, I must walk alone.

If it is paper, it must be torn.

If it has buttons, they must be pressed.

If the volume is low, it must go high.

If it is toilet paper, it must be unrolled on the floor.

If it is a drawer, it must be pulled upon.

If it is a toothbrush, it must be inserted into my mouth.

If it has a faucet, it must be turned on at full force.

If it is a phone, I must talk to it.

If it is a bug, it must be swallowed.

If it doesn't stay on my spoon, it must be dropped on the floor.

If it is not food, it must be tasted. If it IS food, it must not be tasted.

If it is dry, it must be made wet with drool, milk, or toilet water.

If it is a car seat, it must be protested with arched back.

If it is Mommy, it must be hugged.

Summer Bucket List 2012

It's time for summer!  Too often I make up a list of things I'd like us to do as a family and then {POOF} summer is over and I don't get to even half of them. Last year we were in the midst of a move, starting new jobs, and discovering a new city so our list got thrown to the wind. This year I am much more determined to do enjoy a summer filled with family fun. While scouring the web for ideas of activities near us, I came across the Happy Family Movement's Summer Bucket List Challenge. What an awesome idea and I immediately signed our family up. There are over 1000 families participating--how exciting!!! I'm looking forward to a fun filled summer. So without further ado, I present to you the Innes Family 2012 Summer Bucket List Challenge!

• visit Grandma Tenney
• visit Grandma and Poppa Tyler
• swim at the beach on Lake Michigan
• see the Thomas the Train Experience
• make homemade ice cream
• visit the water park with Felicity and CJ
• go camping
• attend a Friday at Five concert together
• have a picnic at the park
• feed the ducks at the local pond
• plant flowers
• go mini golfing
• go to the National Zoo
• go strawberry picking
• see fireworks together
• swim at the pool
• go to a carnival 
• ride horses
• visit a petting zoo. 

I will most likely update the list with more ideas and I will definitely add links to relevant posts as we cross things off.  Have a  great start to your summer everyone.

Sesame Street Live

This year the hubs and I took Duncan to Sesame Street live for his 2nd birthday and it was quite an experience. We bought our tickets as soon as we could and ended up with GREAT seats on the floor, just to the right of the stage. Duncan was excited to go, after a bit of walking around and some Annie's bunny snacks, he settled in for the show. It was a bit overwhelming at first we could tell--he stuck to me like glue-- but by the time Elmo's World started he was dancing in the isles. As with any two year old, time is of the essence and we made it through about 3/4th of the show before Duncan just couldn't handle much more--I'm just happy he made it through intermission! We headed to lunch at a restaurant in town for hotdogs, bbq, and hamburgers and by the time the three of us got into the car to head home, Duncan was fast asleep for a 3 HOUR nap (it was heavenly!). All in all... a pretty good birthday celebration if I do say so myself. Now, just if they had a Thomas the Tank Engine traveling show... we'd be set for life!

Our seats, right up front near the stage. The characters came down and visited us a couple of times during the show.

Having our Annie's bunny snacks.
We pretty much can't go anywhere with out these :)

The start of the show.

Duncan was a bit overwhelmed by everything at first. That quickly changed once he saw Elmo and Cookie Monster.

Ernie came down off the stage into the crowd. Duncan really wanted to meet him.

A quick picture of daddy, taken by Duncan of course.

Dancing in the isle and having a great time.

Ernie captaining the S.S. Rubber Duckie.  This was daddy's favorite part.

Happy Mother's Day!

On this special day I want to say thank you--to all the mom's in my life. My own mother, who had been my teacher, guide, and friend; my sister, who has been an inspiration to me; my mother-in-law, who is so supportive of me and helps keep my husband in place (he, he);  my dear mommy friends who teach me about being a better mom, the fur-mom's who remind me that a mother's love has no boundaries--all moms and mommies. You are truly amazing. Happy Mother's Day to you.

As I look back on my life
I find myself wondering.....
Did I remember to thank you
for all that you have done for me?

For all of the times you were by my side
to help me celebrate my successes
and accept my defeats?

Or for teaching me the value of hard work,
good judgement, courage, and honesty?

I wonder if I've ever thanked you for the simple things...
The laughter, smiles, and quiet times we've shared?

If I have forgotten to express my gratitude
For any of these things,
I am thanking you now....
and I am hoping that you've known all along,
how very much you are loved and appreciated.

           --Anonymous 

Have a wonderful Mother's Day. :)

Easter Memories

This year was Duncan's first "real" Easter--to know what is going on and to get excited for the day. This year we did our egg hunt after nap time since our morning was pretty busy with church and other things. All I can say was that bunny brought some pretty cool things--no candy, but lots of matchbox cars (in the eggs no less), and books. Duncan had a great time. How do I know? Here's a recap of our activities from both of our perspectives with a few pictures thrown in--enjoy.

Do I like my new Big Truck? Yes I do!

  Me: "Duncan, what did we do first today?"

  Duncan: "get dressed and eat pancake mom"

  Me: "Did we go to church?"

  Duncan: Yes, mom. I colored"
 
  Me: "What did we eat for lunch?"

  Duncan: "Dinosaur chicken (dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets),   cumber (cucumber), grapes, and drink!"

My first Easter egg hunt!

Me: "Did the Easter bunny come"?

Duncan: "Yes, jump, jump, bunny"

Me: "What did he bring you"?

Duncan: "Big Truck, cars, and eggs." (A matchbox truck and cars and of course hunting eggs)

Hey... what's over there?

Me: "What else?"

Duncan: "And Thomas mom" (as he shows off his new book about Thomas the Tank Engine)

Me: "Did you have fun today?"

Duncan: "Alright!"

Bringing my eggs to daddy.

Our day was pretty magical.  I hope you agree, and I hope you had a blessed holiday. Now... it's time for me to make the "after Easter day" deviled eggs. YUM!

Eggs, eggs, and more eggs!

Bathtime = FUN

Thanks to pinterest, tonight we have created a new tradition in our house -- bathtub paint. All I can say is was a HUGE hit with Duncan who spent almost an hour in the tub playing and making a mess--umm-- I mean masterpiece :)  It really is a breeze to make -- all you need is shaving cream, food coloring, a muffin tin and a paint brush.

Yes... it really is this easy folks!

 The finished product--green, red, yellow, blue, and purple paint! (yes, I know... the purple looks funky, but it's purple!)



Duncan really enjoyed making a mess, but the shaving cream makes it a breeze to clean up (ie. just rinse it away with water).  Sometimes its nice to have an extended bathtime since it means Duncan can get to be creative (and get some more energy out) and I get to get some quality time in. It really is a win-win :)

Playing with my paint

It Snowed!!

One of the things about living in Virginia is the lack of snow. It has been a big adjustment for my husband and I since both of us are northerners by birth and we moved from the west (Colorado to be exact) to our new home. We didn't have a white Christmas this year, no sledding and hot chocolate, snowmen or snow angels... it's been a bit depressing. Until yesterday. At last, we got a "dusting" -- 3 inches!!! I even had a 2 hour delay to work--heaven! Dunc who had never really played in snow (last year he was only just 9 months) was amazed and excited. So as I headed out the door clean off my car, I wrapped up Duncan in his boots, coat, hat and mittens and off we went. He had such a good time. Daddy even came out to play a bit too.

                                  After our first snowball "fight"--one of my favorite snow pictures

                                                            Playing chase in the snow

                                                                       What fun this is!

After my car was clean, a mini snow ball "fight" and making some snow angels, off I went to work, and Duncan inside to enjoy a snack with Daddy. What a perfect way to start my morning and my week. How blessed I am for this time. May you be blessed with a moment this week too.

A Valentine's Story: A Boy and His Balloon

Happy Valentine's Day to all. Our family has been a bit busy (a.k.a. crazy) for the past two weeks, so Valentine's kind of sneaked up on us. No date night, candy, flowers, or gifts, but instead homemade baked potato soup, crusty bread (for Duncan and myself) and ice cream for dessert. Simple and my husband and I loved it. But what to do for a rowdy 21 month old? Simple...a balloon.

Since the age of 3 months, Dunc has been fascinated with balloons--the color, size, shape...everything about them. At first it was all about watching them float around. Now a days, it's about banging, jumping, and rough housing--and carrying his "ba-loon" where ever he goes (including is "tiny place hideout").  Hope you enjoy some pictures of smiles and love of a boy and his balloon. Happy Valentine's all.

Playing with my "ba-loon".  It's the best valentine's present ever.

Where did mommy go? By the way, did you notice my
artwork on the wall behind me? I surprised mommy with that!

Please, please, no more pictures...

Just hanging out in my tiny place (a cupboard in the bathroom)