Tag Archives: Kids

Lets Talk Fly Larvae

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 27 September, 2014 None comments

Seriously, have any of you heard of FLY LARVAE before? I have had no concept of fly larvae– until today that is. But I do deeply wish I was still naive and had no concept of what I am about to share with all of you.

So take my hand as we travel this dark road together.

First, lets start by talking about the nasty outbreaks around MY home. Yes, I have purposely failed to mention this prior to now as I did not want to be perceived as a dirty, grungy ol’ housewife. To my knowledge, our house is pretty clean. I feel I do the best to keep a good deep clean on a weekly basis.

Mopping, bathrooms, vacuuming daily, dusting, sweeping, laundry, folding clothes etc. But it’s the little 2 year old whose sleeping in the next room right now that may not help keep things ever so clean. The crumbs here, the crumbs there. Spilt milk here, dried oatmeal there. Okay so I try my darnedest to keep the house spotless even with him running around and do not always have 100% success.

With that in mind, I arrived home one afternoon and was greeted by these nasty creatures directly outside of our door. Hundreds covering the ground and “welcome” mat. I freaked out and jumped over them to get inside and quickly slam the door behind me. “Ew ew ew” I screamed as Cooper was hoping up and down as if I was the latest and greatest mom ever and screaming right along with me “ew ew ew.”

Immediately I call our pest control company (who by the way is ECO friendly for the little ones). About an hour later I creep my way outside to toss a dirty diaper and hundreds, seriously hundreds had covered our entire green garbage can. Deeply appalled by the lack of green showing, I rush back in the house skipping and hoping over what could be the worlds nastiest unknown creature and begin to spring clean my house. Literally deep cleaning! It was as if the dried oatmeal-spilt milk scenario began to haunt me and make me feel like a failure of a mother for missing the crumbs on the dark floor that blend in so well. The crumbs brought upon this “maggot” crisis and now I just failed my one duty as a housewife.

My worst case secnario moment played rapidly through my brain and I began to envision these creatures taking over my home and sleeping in bed with us and hiding in our food. Crunch!

Okay so yay for my nightmare not coming true but only in my head. And yay for them remaining outside….for the moment (apart from the 5 I found on our carpet and wood floor).

Anyway, lets not get distracted here…

Unbeknownst to me, these creatures were seen previously this week at another neighbors house in their garage. Our pest guy proceeded to tell me he’s never seen so many of these creatures before, until now. Lucky me!

What causes them and what are they you may ask? The are fly larvae (it must be mating season).

Did you even know such a thing existed because I sure as heck didn’t. He said the front door made absolutely no sense to him but the garbage can definitely answered some questions. Flies love garbage. They hatched their nasty little eggs and he tried to calm my soul by saying most of them do not make it out alive. Well they sure did make it far enough to our door before they all died off. Which is not so calming!

Let me share a little something with you. They have the GROSSEST bodies and mouths ever. They have no head, it’s an open hole that squirms and flops around. It is so disgusting and quite frankly, I did not want to deal with this situation.

Have I turned your stomach yet? I hope so because honestly, this was not an experience I wanted to partake in on my own. So I hope you are having fun on this journey with me :)

Okay one last horrific picture and than I’m done, I promise!

Isn’t it pretty?

Tell me, just what would you do if you found hundreds of these on your wood floor or carpet? Okay, now tell me what you would do coming home to hundreds of them at your front door to greet you??

It’s definitely not a pleasant picture and I still squirm even sharing this information with you.

I hope you all enjoyed my story and come back again tomorrow for another juicy, squirmy conversation on the popping sound they make when you squish them. ;)

Okay we wont get into that, I promise the grossness is done…. for now anyway ;)

Sleep tight my friends, don’t let the bed bugs bite!

Stylin’ Photo Shoot

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 23 September, 2014 None comments

He is the most handsome baby known to man.

And he is the most handsome babe known to man. :)

They are the cutest little twins I know. Daddy and me style.

I decided I would play around with my camera while we waited for the professional to show up and take our family photos. :)

We’re Going Camping Now We’re On Our Way…

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 10 September, 2014 None comments

We’re Going Camping Now We’re On Our Way…

“We’re going camping now we’re on our way. We’re gonna climb up a mountain and run and jump and play…” This was a song from my childhood. I have no idea who sang it and what it was on, but it definitely is still a memory my entire family holds. :)

We went camping last year but Cooper was a little too young to remember. I on the other hand, remember all too well. Not an ounce of sleep was able to rest upon my droopy eyes.

Cooper had an incredible time playing in the dirt and water but by the time bedtime approached he could not fall asleep. I believe the noise was ever so present from surrounding campsites that he was so confused. He was too young to explain this to, so we bore the brunt of our sleeping while holding him and walking around. Sitting in the car trying to fall asleep. Nothing worked!

So with that beautiful story in mind, we took the risk and headed out again this year…. crazy aren’t we?

He was excited to go to the “big park” as we had no other idea how to explain camping.

Watching the Gator drive around was his biggest highlight.

Trying to get a squirrel up a tree with the tent poles…. needless to say, it did not workout for him.

Daddy and Cooper setting up the tent…

Rather playing with the tent! Shouting and screaming for joy!

What an accomplishment….the succeed at tent making!

Going for one night was a lot of work, but not knowing how Cooper would sleep, wasn’t worth the chance of a two plus camping trip.

Getting dinner prepared with a twig and a blanket on the table wasn’t too easy! But the Buffalo Blue Cheese Chicken Burgers were fantastic!

Story time before bed! He loved it!
Forgetting our mattress pump, Michael believes he can work up enough air to fill this sucker up. I’m not sure he succeed though I’ll leave that to your imagination.

Chillaxin’ or shall I say getting ready to pass out from all the air loss.

Good morning sunshine….6 am sharp, this little monster was up and ready to play. Luckily he slept through the entire night! Praise Jesus because I think we all would have reached insanity after being up all night!

Whoops, my mascara was played with by a little rascal.
We had a lot of fun but it definitely is a lot of work to camp over night and even though Cooper slept through the night, Michael and I were still pooped the next morning! We had fun and would totally do it again…next summer!

Maybe a yurt, this time around!

Loving Time With The Cousins

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 16 August, 2014 None comments

Summer has come and has almost left us indefinitely for the year of 2014. Can you believe we are already 14 years into the millennium? Not that I really cared prior to the new millennium but it actually makes me feel old now that all our kids will think we are from the stone age. Kind of a weird thought, but I felt it was worth sharing. Tweet about it for me, than it will be something of value. Everything tweeted is honorable and worth acknowledging right?

Enough of my tangent about something of no value, but intriguing it was… while we were up visiting family, Cooper got to spend some amazing time with his three cousins. They are all boys. They all love outside. They all love cars and tractors and most of all…they all love one another! It was so terribly cute to watch them all play together and care for Cooper as he was the baby!

Trying to keep up with the boys in all their outside activities, Cooper did mighty well.

All the boy cousins

Agezu holding his little kitty. Oh how he loves these little kitties.

Showing off his sweet little kitty!

I think Cooper became over stimulated pretty quickly while the dog and two kitties ran around. He wasn’t quite sure which animal to attend to first.

“Woof Woof”

Come back kitty, come back! The kitties take off runny while the boys tried to chase them only to pick them up by their necks… no wonder they ran away!

Cooper loves his cousins and loves to call them “the boys.” It is great to have older cousins for Cooper to play with who also loves sports, outside and trucks and tractors too!

Cooper kept saying “Tim, Tim” I think implying that he was holding the kitty too! :)

Agezu trying to explain to Cooper how to properly hold the kitty…

Cooper trying to take kitty holding skills seriously…

Is the kitty smiling?

He could not get enough of these little kittens. They were so patient with him as he drug them all across the yard. Smashing their face and grasping their necks.

The grey little kitty would run away quicker than a bullet leaves a gun but boy did Cooper beat him this time.

Don’t you try and run away from me

Ah-ha, I gotcha now!

Let’s hug and make up

“I’ll say goodbye now..”

Finally he let the kitties go and play in the woodpile.
Okay… one more goodbye!

Bye bye woof woof, better known as Moose! he’s the largest Lab you will find but the best trained hunting dog around. He’s beyond well-behaved and taller than Cooper and… he had no fear of the Moose!

“Thanks Auntie and Uncle for letting me come play with all the kitties and puppies and chase them around. It was so fun!”

Cooper had such a good time at Auntie and Uncle’s house and absolutely loved not only chasing animals around, but chasing the boys around the yard too!

Thanks for a great visit. Wished we lived closer.

A Moment For Me???

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 14 August, 2014 None comments

How easy is it for a mom to get a moment of free time for herself? I’m not too sure about all of you ladies out there, but my song and dance is never alone. The countless showers, bathroom breaks and pulling on my finger to come outside and play is never-ending. Your ears never get a break, your souls never gets to rest, and your eyes are droopy looking like you have an illness taking over your body when really it’s just the disease called “exhaustion” while toothpicks prop your eyes open on a too regular basis.

The only “alone” time I get is while my husband snores next to me and my son is sleeping. This is the time Pinterest becomes appealing, Twitter exciting and Facebook stocking. My wonderful phone carrier for some reason does NOT work while laying perfectly still in a funky position in bed hoping for something enticing to pop up on the screen. Just than the thoughts runs across my brain, “maybe you shouldn’t be looking at smut magazines, maybe you should be reading your Bible?” The guilt plagues deep in my soul opting for a chance to possibly open the bible app on my now “no service” phone. Waiting and waiting and still no response. Even with my luck, Ecclesiastes will not revive my soul.

Anticipating that moment of “me” time before my husband rolls over and the light of the cell phone displays across his face attempting to wake him up. Or the sleepy head in the next room rolling over only to have his pacifier fall on the floor abruptly waking his little soul.

This “me” time is longing to be met while my phone decides to hold not an ounce of reception. I look forward to my 15 minutes of fame every night while laying as quiet as a bug in-a-rug to get my latest fashion update or keeping up with the Kardashians newest marriage fail. But even though this hopeless dream excites me every night yet continually lets me down, I continue to be persistent. Its almost as if maybe the world will turn just enough on the earths axle that as I lay my head to rest tonight, maybe, just maybe I will get some hope from my Pinterest app. And if this dream does get fulfilled, I know I am that much closer to the cancer causing cell phone towers and ever so grateful that my “alone” time was successful.

Though I haven’t fully accepted this outcome, I know my body is appreciating the extra 30 minutes to an hour Pinterest easily consumes. The meaningless minutes float away ever so quickly only leaving you more exhausted the following day. Yet I still persist and fight to overcome the losing battle of cellphone reception.

But though my luck wouldn’t render this joyous time for myself, I will keep trying every night as the screen lights up, the app attempts to open and as my hopes become disappointments. I will rest peacefully knowing those two minutes, although discouraging, were still two minutes of “me” time.

Washing Cars With Boys

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 11 August, 2014 None comments

Michael tries to partake in father son time after work while Cooper loves to be outside and be daddy’s little clone. Today in particular, father son time turned from washing cars with daddy to solely washing daddy.

“Whoops!”

Michael pausing to catch his breath and figure out what just happened.

“Seriously, what just happened?!”

The fun in the sun car washing experience was the perfect idea on a hot day with the house doors locked. It’s funny that these “activities” take place right after the floor gets mopped. Wet grass is no bueno on mopped floors. That’d drive anyone batty. So I locked them out! :)

Cooper soaked just as much as daddy but can’t keep his shorts up!

Ready- Aim- FIRE!!!

SOAKED!!!

This was quite the experience to watch unfold before my very own eyes while listening to the commentary take place. Cooper using his vast vocabulary trying to piece together sentences that make no sense while Michael tries to explain to Cooper to point the hose at the car while getting sprayed directly in the face. Laughter partakes on both ends. Michael proceeds to walk closer to take the hose from Cooper while getting soaked yet again. The laughter eggs Cooper on just leaving for a wet, sloppy mess.

Pretty funny if you ask me….

1-2-3 Barf

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 5 August, 2014 None comments

Easy as 1-2-3. My poor little man got his first bout of the stomach flu this morning. 2 separate play-dates lined up, both at water parks, fun in the sun and yummy snacks and a blanket. We were in it for the long haul. All packed up with goodies, lunch and toys and off to the park we go. About two miles down the road and on the freeway, my little man lets out a 5 second cry and off with the projectile vomit while I immediately pull the car to the side of the road. Not sure what to do, I offer him a little water and back home we quickly return.

“Bye-bye! Wes?” he muttered through tears and uncertainty. Poor boy couldn’t understand that he was sick and needed to rest on the couch with his Mommy. A stinky car needed cleaning. A car seat that was just washed yesterday needed to be returned to the washing machine. A little boy doused in his own chunky vomit needed to be hosed off, a blanket filled with the remainder needed immediate attention. My little boy was covered from head to toe.

He released his blanket for the first time allowing me to wash it while he repeatedly uttered “tink, tink” otherwise known as stink. He was beginning to understand his blanket carried the chunky smell that was so terribly potent while giving me a chance to wash this sucker without a meltdown.

Covering the couch in our park blanket to avoid any further mess, we got to rest on the couch while sipping some ginger ale and watching Cars the movie. He sat very well, but would get bouts of pain and point to his tummy. Refusing to nap, I tried to get him to rest on the couch and as that proceeded to fail, I scooped him up to walk outside and admire the few remaining blueberries on the tree for a hopeful distraction. This distraction worked only for a moment as he wanted to walk himself back inside and “BAM,” he fell to the ground busting open his big toe from tripping on who knows what. Sobbing hysterically I scooped him back up while blood showered my shorts and shirt; leaving me not only smelling of vomit but now covered in blood.

(Sorry it’s a little blurry. Very difficult to take with a sobbing child)

I finally got the band-aid on which was a nightmare in and of itself as he only knows them from our frequent visits to the hospital. Finally, the task was accomplished and my little man stoped crying. Had he not stopped crying, I feared another round of vomit would take place.

Finally, I coax him into a nap. Sweet baby needed to rest. Meanwhile, I needed to clean the car. I feel terrible for my poor boy, but oh how terrible a smell especially when baking in the sun for a couple hours while I tried to man the house, so-to-speak. While walking around aimlessly trying to figure out where to even begin, I gazed upon the interior of the car to find projectile vomit resting upon my iced coffee and water. Woo-hoo for me. I pulled the mats out and began to wash them clean while I Lysol-ed what used to be in liquid form, but now crusted upon the leather. Washing the car seat, wiping down the chunks matted in places I didn’t know existed and vacuuming the remainder. Finally….mission accomplished. Every thing was clean…so I hope.

He is still resting as we speak. So….I truly hope this bout of whatever he has is through. Hoping for no further messes but a bed and a tiny body longing to be cleaned upon his awakening. I have high hopes that he will drink fluid to keep from our usual dehydration. I have thankfulness in my heart that we aren’t managing all of this in the middle of the night. I am sustained as-of-this-moment.

Moment of Truth: It’s easy as 1-2-3 and the mess came forth. But it’s never as easy as 1-2-3 to clean up what has been done.

Is My Boy a Farmer?

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 27 July, 2014 None comments

My little man is overjoyed with tractors, planes and trains. He has a deep love for such machinery that I can’t fulfill within him. As we came to visit my parents this past week, I knew my dad, Coopers papa could fulfill his tiny little dream…and boy was he ecstatic.

Papa took him for rides in his BIG ford pickup…

So high up, he could see the whole world before him! :)

Up at Papa’s work, he got to test drive some tractors… this tractor was quite large.

“Look at me go!”

Trying to figure out if he can shift this puppy into a faster gear??

Looking quite content even though this tractor towers above him, no fear resides.

And yet another tractor. Maybe he likes this one better?

And off to the airport by Papa’s work. This tiny little sucker was such a hit for my little boy. He loves airplanes and was thrilled to be able to experience it all within a few hours. :)

And lastly, Papa decides to reward him with a cake pop before heading back to the house. These amazing little treats are by far a treasure to his little heart.

A long night of looking and riding tractors followed by a delicious little cake pop was not the end of his journey. On a nightly basis Papa would drive him out past their house to see the combines as well as many deer that wanted to be his friend.

Moment of Truth: This sweet little boy has won the hearts of many. I can’t fathom my life without him and his sweet little personality that is growing quite quickly.

Movies in the Park

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 23 July, 2014 None comments

If you want a cheap date night or family night, look for your local movies in the park. In Oregon, you will find them all throughout the Portland-metropolitan area. In our own neighborhood we have them every Friday night, and just one stop further, we have them every Thursday night.

This has been a great past time memory that we have participated in since Cooper was born. And although Cooper hasn’t been old enough to enjoy the movies, he has enjoyed playing in the park and having a picnic. Last night was fabulous. The weather was perfect, overcast skies, and an over zealous baby! He was beyond happy and content pushing his little truck around, playing in the water and most of all…playing with his mama. ;)

We went 2 hours early to the park to enjoy some time playing around and also because I wasn’t sure if Cooper could manage that late of an evening. We got home at 9:30 about 45 minutes after the movie was set to begin. Cooper had a blast and so did I.

This is a great water park

Ready-Set-Go

And he’s off…

Playing in the Water

And out of the water

Trying to wear mama’s shoes

Taking a breather from playing

Mommy and me

Adorable

Getting ready for the show.

Making himself comfortable

Oh what a night… so many activities took place just while hanging out in the park for one night. Tired little boy slept extremely well!

4th of July Extravaganza

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 13 July, 2014 None comments

This past weekend we went to Bend, OR as a family to get away and relax in the beautiful weather and scenery surrounded by four beautiful mountains. We had a great time full of fireworks, swimming, walking, river, Mt Bachelor, petting zoo, bouncy houses and watermelon eating contests. It was incredible.

Our little man did very well without naps and later bedtimes. I never worried about this previously, I was a very relaxed mother when it came to bedtime as I knew my son was a great sleeper. But now that he’s older and has been having some health issues, I tend to be very “by the book” so to speak; our book that is. I was a bit apprehensive over his lack of sleep and the high heated weather, that for sure he would come down with a fever. To my surprise and with great joy, he didn’t.

This was our beautiful drive!

Redmond hosts a large kids activity center at the fairgrounds each year on the fourth of July. It was free admission, free activities and most of all…free watermelon that was homegrown. This watermelon was probably the best watermelon to date. It tasted as if it was freshly picked and cut on the spot. It was so good my husband even ate it and he hates watermelon.

(High hopes that my watermelon grows to be that tasty)

So DELICIOUS!

They had a brand new Semi-truck out on display. They let Cooper climb inside and play with all the gadgets. He was beside himself. So cute!

He played in a bouncy house and had no fear. Sweet baby!!!

Jumping and jumping. Finally we had to have the volunteer go in and pull him out because he was having so much fun, he did not want to leave.

The petting zoo. Pygmy goats and llamas.

One of the many water features for him to play in…

This fairgrounds had the best kid activities especially for a fourth of July weekend. It was a small town feel. Very friendly and very focused on kids. It was great! :)

After our extravaganza we went to dinner at a local pizza joint and Cooper was beyond wild from lack of sleep and excitement. He wanted to play in the arcade area for-ev-er!

After dinner we walked across the street and got the little popper snap fireworks that go off when you throw them. Cooper was hilarious and kept asking for another one. Michael would throw them super close to Coop’s feet and he would laugh and jump all over. Me on the other hand….well I wasn’t that excited because last year Michael threw one at my leg and ruined my white capris. I hole burned right on through. So this year, I was very clear to keep them away from me. :)

Stomping on the little buggers

“One more!”

Completely unafraid…

Throwing fistfuls at a time

This is our firework show: Perched by the window watching the show take place at 10 pm while Cooper slept soundly by our side.

Getting ready…

The following day we drove 25 minutes to Mt Bachelor. So close and Cooper loved it. Great change in scenery as he’s our little outdoor baby.

What a beautiful drive.

Later we enjoyed a walk along the river through the middle of Bend. Cooper really hoped for a kayak ride.

He loves putting his toes in the sand and the water.

Later that evening we went back to the river and took take out for dinner. Cooper was so excited as usual, that feeding him always becomes an issue. He is so ecstatic that food seems extremely unimportant to my little man.

Daddy trying to bribe the kid with food…

Stopping for a brief moment to take a sip of milk….and off running again

Family Photo

The following morning we headed for our much needed iced coffee and found a playful area with a coffee stand together. Cooper was so happy to play in the water and play with his trucks along the ledge. We hung out for a couple hours and let Coop get wiggles out before beginning our long trek home.