Easter Sunday

Easter morning Joel and Vance woke us up bright and early. Had I been a better mom I'd have had a great morning devotional about the true meaning of the day prepared and do that before we got into the Easter baskets. However, I was doing well to roll out of bed with the kids. So needless to say there was no devotional.

But I did get a picture of them prior to the craziness.

Getting into their baskets.
Bambi and Leaplets- Easter bunny is awesome!

Finding the eggs the Easter Bunny left.

Done with the hunt.

After church our friends and us took turns taking each others family pictures in our Easter finery.

Rosen Family
Easter 2011

Easter Festivities

This year was a bit of a struggle trying to balance the fun spring traditions with the true meaning of the Easter season with the boys. I knew I was failing when the boys began referring to Easter as "Easter Bunny Day". But we tried to keep the focus on our Savior. What more can you ask for, right?!

We began the week with a family home evening lesson about the last week of the Savior's life that I found here. Then on Thursday we dyed Easter eggs.

Here is the documentation:

Joel preparing to dunk his egg.

Vance "patiently" waiting for his egg to dye.

Yes, EVERY family event has to have a silly
face from Tj. :)

Vance showing off his masculinity and Easter egg.

Joel's turn. Such macho men. :)
Tj is oh so proud. lol

A Belated Post About the Beach

A few weeks ago a good friend of ours invited us to go with a group to the beach. The weather was perfect, the company was great and the excuse to get out of the house was irresistible. So I broke my streak. Yep, we have lived here less than an hour away from the beach for almost a year and I had never taken the boys to play at the beach. Once all of my sun and beach loving friends have picked themselves off the floor I'll continue.

So we caravaned out and spent the day enjoying the sun, the water (it was SUPER chilly), and playing in the sand with our friends.

The boys before they braved the ice water.

Vance running away from waves.

Joel and Vance playing with friends.

Joel and Vance playing more beach games.

Again playing with friends.

So now that the streak is broken I'm ready for the weather to get nice again so we can gather up some friends and hit the beach again. :)

A Saturday at the Children's Museum

After a couple of really long days with Tj working late that culminated in a REALLY bad day (waking up on the wrong side of the bed, cold and drizzly days, no naps, "creating blueberry pie" that used up most of their toothpaste and made a huge mess in their bathroom, and playing in their milk at dinner that resulted in early bedtime) I made the executive decision that we were leaving the house come rain, shine, hell or high water with or without Tj today. Unfortunately, it did turn out that we were without Tj- duty calls- but the weather was decent and there was no rain. So we decided to branch out of our local area and hit up a children's museum.

They boys painted a leaf.

Climbed this really cool tower.

Posed at the top of the tower.
(Yes that meant I climbed the tower too.)

Played in a spider web.
(Which turned into them playing Spiderman, of course!)

And impersonated Tj. lol

It was a fun day. We can't wait to go back!

Green Thumb

I think Green Thumbs must skip a generation. At least in our family they did. I have a black thumb but Vance has an incredible Green Thumb. At church about three weeks ago we had a lesson about plants. Vance's other teacher had each of the kids plant their own pea seeds and take them home. I have been AMAZED at how big Vance's plant is. He is so good about remembering to water it. I think a plant is the perfect starter pet. :)

Vance and his Pea.
(Don't you love his outfit?! Accessories make the man. lol)

The plant.
I think I'm going to need to transplant it soon.
Any tips or advice?!

Have I mentioned Vance's funny sense of humor lately?!
He must take after his dad. (See here.)

Speaking of Vance's funny sense of humor. The other day Tj was reading to him a "David" book. (As seen here.) There's a part when David is picking his nose and Tj was saying that we don't pick our noses. Vance said, "Yes we do! I do it all the time!" And then proceeded to laugh his head off. :) Such a funny kid.

The Dentist: Act II

So can we just pretend that this is LAST Tuesday?! I thought so.

We took Vance to his first visit. I have to admit I was a lot less apprehensive this time. Although not entirely relaxed because Vance chips his teeth a lot (apparently he grinds them according to Dr. C.) but it's not a big deal right now so after that I was able to relax. I'm actually not dreading their next appointment in September. :) It turned into a whole family affair this time around. Tj had gotten home early from work so he decided to go and Joel's play-date got canceled due to the stomach flu. You know it's a good dentist when your child chooses hang out at the dentist over stay home with daddy. lol

Vance got X-Rays of his teeth.
He did a great job sitting there and wasn't at all nervous.

While we waited for the dentist the boys played video games.

Dr. C checking and cleaning Vance's teeth.
No cavities! Yay!

Vance getting his teeth cleaned.
He chose blue raspberry flavored toothpaste.

We have always been pretty good about brushing teeth but now the boys always remind me to floss their teeth too. :) I was also a bit concerned for a little while because in one of the other rooms there was a kid who was NOT liking being at the dentist. I was afraid that once Vance heard the kid screaming (and he was screaming and having a melt-down) Vance would get uncooperative. But he handled it like a champ. (Thank goodness he had gotten an early nap!)

The Dentist: Act I

I took Joel to the Dentist today- for the first time. I KNOW! I am way behind the curve and about 3 years late. But if you ask me it was worth it because Joel handled it like a champ; and so did I. Here's a little secret, I am kind of afraid of the dentist. Well not so much the dentist but the sounds at the dentist. The drill, the polisher, the clicking of the metal plaque scraper. Even the very thought of all these send my anxiety levels soaring! But this isn't about me. It's about Joel and he was NOT afraid of the dentist.


First they took X-Rays of his teeth. He did awesome and thought it was really cool that the dental assistant let him see them as they popped up on the computer screen.

All suited up for the X-Ray.
(He's such a goof. He looks really serious here but he smiled as soon as I took the picture.)

Next it was time to clean his teeth.
They let him pick his own flavor of cleaner; he chose cherry.
Did I mention that he got to watch "Shrek III" while they were cleaning?!
Sometimes he forgot that they were cleaning his teeth and
they'd have to ask him to open his mouth wide.
He's already training to do the whole "male-zone-out-in-front-of-the-tv" thing.

Then Dr. C came in and counted all his teeth.
He said they all looked good.
NO CAVITIES! YAY
Again Joel got distracted by the TV while the doc checked out his teeth.

All in all it was a great trip to the dentist. We'll go back tomorrow for Vance. Hopefully it will be a great experience for him too. (Crossing my fingers!)

Joel The Artist

I know that this will seem silly to post about but I was really excited about Joel getting into drawing pictures- well more specifically people. My kids have always liked coloring and art projects but drawing things that would be recognizable to anyone but themselves was not high on their priority list. So imagine my surprise when Joel drew this on the white board:


Notice that he even wrote their names on the side. Also take note that Vance has spiky hair. lol

Joel and his masterpiece and his inspiration.
Vance is seriously one funny kid. Love the face.
(Also notice the trusty blanket nearby. sigh)

Of course Vance wanted to show his masterpiece.
He drew hearts- awwwww! :)

When Vance draws on things he likes to use his left hand.
Silly boy, we'll see if he turns out left handed like Tj or not.

Joel's second rendition of himself and his brother.

The only draw back to using the white board is that the drawings don't last if I don't take a picture. Maybe we'll go back to the old pen and paper. :)

Our Valentine's Day

So I'm not one who usually goes all out for the commercial side of Valentine's Day. I'm not a huge chocolate fan, I despise waiting for 2 hours for dinner that is served by a cranky and overworked waiter and is mediocre at best, and expectations that have been set by the greeting card company to boost their bottom line. But I got a killer deal on a new truck set for Vance (Wal-Mart's after Christmas clearance is AMAZING once January 31st rolls around). So I did cave and bought gifts for the boys and Tj. The day was filled with chorus' of "Happy Valentine's Day Mommy!" from the boys, a surprise delivery of flowers (from Tj to me), and a semi-relaxing comfort-food-filled dinner (roast, mashed potatoes, gravy and Rhodes Rolls which would have been ideal if I had a personal chef to make it for us but alas was marred only by the fact that I made it and was stressed trying to time it so that it was all ready at the same time). Literally I could not have scripted a better Valentine's Day. This is partially due to the low expectations. Let's rewind to LAST Valentine's Day.
Valentine's Day 2010. Tj was going on month TWO of training in Washington DC while I held down the fort in FL. We had planned for Tj to come home for the long president's day weekend- the first time we'd see him since his leaving for training (approx 42 days). Then the HUGE winter snow storm hit and the his original flight was delayed, and then delayed again and finally canceled. Shortly after he should have been arriving- but wasn't because of the dang weather- I began an intimate relationship with my toilet thanks to a stomach flu. The next day was spent in bed and the following day was spent also in bed with Tj's dear Grandmother watching the kids as I was completely out of it. This was followed by the boys spending the remainder of the day at Nama and Pa's only to be returned at bedtime and put to bed by Nama and Pa because I was still out of it. Needless to say it was less than a stellar Valentine's Day that extended through the entire weekend.

So this Valentine's day was already a step ahead seeing as how Tj was home! The rest was just icing on the proverbial cake. Here are some of the highlights:

The boys with the package from Nama and Pa.

Spiderman chocolate and funny cards,
doesn't get better than this!

Except of course for the bubble wrap!

The other gifts (from Mom and Dad).
Toy Story chocolate- score!
New Leapster Game for Joel,
New truck set for Vance.

Tj putting together the truck set.
My hero!

A little thought on love.

With Valentine's Day just around the corner inevitably thoughts of love are brought up. This year especially I've been thinking a lot about what love is and the different forms that it's found. The boys have been exposed to the idea of "boyfriends and girlfriends" and kissing (thanks to the gym as well as friends who have teenage brothers and sisters) and so I had been thinking about the things that the world teaches about love and what I think and feel about love. My dear friend gave me Mindy Gledhill's newest CD for my birthday called "Anchor" (you can find out more about her HERE). It is such a great CD! But I love so many of the love songs on it (my previous post was inspired by one of the songs). One of my favorite songs is the title track 'Anchor' and here's my favorite line:

There are those who think that I'm strange
They would box me up and tell me to change
But you hold me close and softly say
That you wouldn't have me any other way

Here's a secret about Manda. I am incredibly self-conscious, fairly insecure and very critical of myself. I love this line because to me it sums up what I think one of the best aspects of mine and Tj's relationship. He is not only so accepting of me and who and what I am but his love is so encompassing that it does not even occur to him to want to change me. I love that if I am my own worst enemy, then Tj is my biggest champion. That is the love legacy* that I want to pass on to my boys.

*DISCLAIMER: To avoid being labeled as "one of those blogs" (you know the ones I'm talking about where everything is written with rose colored glasses) let me assure you that Tj and my relationship is far from perfect! However, that being said I love my husband and know that he loves me. And if you can't gush about that around Valentine's day when can you?! Now back to our regular programing. =)

I'll Take Less

"I'll take less if more means having less of you." Mindy Gledhill

I was talking with Tj the other night, okay I'll be honest I was whining about how frustrating life seems. It seems like I can either keep up with the housework, laundry, meals, dishes, etc or I can spend time with the boys taking them to play dates, parks, riding their bicycles, etc. It's either one or the other. And that to me is frustrating. I don't function well in chaos (although sometimes to look at my house you wouldn't guess) but I also feel this clinching in my chest every time I realize that starting this fall Joel will be gone half of every day. It's frustrating and heart-wrenching feeling like I've taken the last several years for granted and trying to make the most of what we have. Maybe I'm being dramatic (Manda dramatic, you don't say!) but I just love these boys so much and want them to be able to look back on their childhood and remember more than mommy just always washing dishes or scrubbing bathrooms. I want them to remember me playing with them and knowing that I love them. Here's my question to all of you supermommies that I'm lucky enough to call friends; how do you strike the balance between what you have to do and enjoying your time with your children?

On a less sober topic here are some pictures of the last little while.

With Valentine's Day just around the corner I decided to do a craft with the boys. I know that some day in the not to distant future crafting with Mom will be so not cool. I found these cute hearts on Martha Stewart and decided to give it a go. You can find the full instructions here. I did basically all the prep work and then for Family Home Evening we cut them out.

Vance was so excited to be able to cut ALL BY HIMSELF.
The ones that he cut were definitely all HIS. =)

Joel showing off his work.
He is actually quite good with the scissors.

I love this picture of Tj. =)

Nama and Pa bought these cars for the boys probably two years ago. You shake them to give them power and then they crash and make lots of noise. The boys LOVE them! It's amazing the lasting power of simple-albeit noisy- toys is.

Vance continues to LOVE his bicycle. Joel will ride his but Vance would live on his if we'd let him. He loves to go out with Tj and ride to the park or ride circles around the alley behind our house. Joel will sometimes join in but Vance is always up for a ride.

One of their favorite games is Tj the tire eating monstor.
Basically Vance has to ride as fast as he can away from Tj
so that his tires don't get eaten. Tj also taught him chicken.
Awesome!

Tj's already had to lift the training wheels for Vance.
I predict Vance is riding training wheel free by his birthday.

Potpourri

Things around here have been less than exciting. With the holidays over we're settling back into real life. Here's a general recap of each of us.

Tj: Turned 32 last week. Man he's getting old. It's a good thing he has such a young wife to keep him from being too much of an old geezer. =) We celebrated with his favorites; beef stroganoff and banana cream cream puffs. He was recently asked to help with the young men of our church (again!) so Wednesday nights- if work doesn't keep him- he's off to play with the 12-14 year old boys (in a totally non-creepy way).

Manda: Well you mom's know how your days go?! Yeah, just assume my life is about the same (except for those of you who are pregnant- then it's totally not the same).

Joel: Is getting so grown up. I'm already starting to get a bit sentimental for him starting school next year because I can tell that he's really ready for it. He got a Leapster Explorer for Christmas and I'm AMAZED at the things he does on it. He's really a smart cookie (he must take after his dad). It's fun to see the way his mind is constantly working. The other day I was listening to a song where they say "Calling me sugar". He listened to it and then said "Mom, I would never call you Sugar 'cause that would just be silly." He likes to explain why things are called what they are. As in a tree house is called a tree house because it's a house in a tree. It's funny when things are quite what they sound and yet he uses the literal explanation. He's getting really good at writing his name and has started to draw stick pictures lately. Unfortunately he's been a little under the weather. He had a really bad ear infection that has taken a long time (two rounds of antibiotics) to clear up. The infection finally cleared but there's still fluid in there so we may have to go see an ENT if it doesn't clear out on it's own. There's a million things that I have meant to post but now that I'm actually posting I don't remember them.

Vance: Is also growing (as noted by my clearing out of all the 2T stuff in his closet). He's quite the character. He loves to give kisses- I may have to worry about him once he becomes a teen (he must take after his dad). =) He's getting really good on his bike and would ride it constantly if he had free reign. I would not be the least surprised if he's ready to have his training wheels off by his birthday. He is our inventive child. He loves to see how things work and make his own inventions. He's big into the why stage now. After watching a movie he'll often ask, "mom why did -insert part of the plot- happen?" or "Why does -insert character- do -insert plot-?" It's very interesting to see how he's trying to figure life out. Mix that with Joel's interest in explaining life and it makes for some pretty interesting discussions. He also LOVES to learn. He loves to say "I'm learning my letters" as he plays with his leapfrog toys.

As you can tell there are no pictures. I'm lame- I readily accept this.

Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam

So this year should be an adventurous (and if today was any indication- exhausting) year. Vance and I both are Sunbeams! For those of you who may not know in our church children who are 3 as of January 1st are part of a class known as the Sunbeams. I was asked to be one of two teachers for this class of 8 children. It will be fun. Vance is excited to have me in there and I was pleasantly surprised to see how well behaved he can be! He sat so nicely and wanted to answer questions and did a great job!

That being said I have a feeling that my limited bag of tricks will be running low before too long. So anyone who has any good tips or suggestions, please feel free to share!