Tag Archives: toddlers

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!

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.

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.

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!

Going Through The Motions

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 30 June, 2014 None comments

Heartache is a horrible thing. The true pain life brings is scary and unpredictable. I thought I knew this world was ugly when I was in college but little did I know how ugly it could really be. The vast waters of sin are beyond my comprehension. Although my eyes have seen but a taste, I can’t fathom the root of where this evil really lays and nor do I want to.

“Our world is so big and scary out there” so they say in all the movies, but if that is true, than how much bigger is our God? How much bigger is our sin? How much bigger is heaven and how much bigger is hell? These are all questions that we get scared to think about, but the fascinating part is, this is all we should think about. Christ came for us, made us and wants to bring us home with Him, yet we get so distracted by the daily troubles of life forgetting about what truly matters.

Thanks to socialshare.com

There was a song on the radio other day that I haven’t been able to shake from my memory. It said this: “I don’t want to spend my whole life asking, what if I had given everything, instead of going through the motions.” I know we all can relate to this on some level or another, especially with different seasons of our life. What a horrible feeling to come to the end of your life wishing you had given it your all…but hadn’t. What if you decide today you will do your best with the Lord’s help? How would your life change, what purpose would you fulfill that you wouldn’t otherwise? What regrets would not be there and how many people might you have touched?

This one sentence brought such conviction to my heart but as the day progressed my motions slide quickly back into routine. I don’t want to let my days be a waste, my conversations be worthless and my mind to be on things that I will never remember the next day, week or months. Being married can help gauge how you are doing. Sometimes this is a good thing and sometimes it’s not. I look back on the past couple years of marriage and see how far we’ve come. But, in the same breath I also see how we haven’t moved at all. Within those feelings I have to separate what matters and what doesn’t. Evaluating the things we’ve come far in; is it worldly items and pleasures, or is it of value? That is a tough answer for me and if I am completely honest it’s a good combination. I would rather it be of value than not. And though my combination of the two may seem good, but if you really think about it, do the worldly things even compare to heavenly things? No, not at all!

This doesn’t mean, don’t be thankful in the little things and the worldly pleasures. Christ created this world to be for His glory. I will admit, my little pleasure on a daily basis is drinking my morning cup of coffee. I get such pleasure in this and I get even more pleasure enjoying it with my husband.

Moment of Truth: Are you going through the motions, not giving it your all? How can you make little changes in your day so that when you lay your head to rest, you have confidence that whatever circumstance come your way, God will say “well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Exhausted Mentally, Emotionally and Physically

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 28 June, 2014 None comments

Boy does the rain never stop in the lives of the Cook’s. We can’t seem to live a life that allows for a breath of fresh air. When we do things we “go big” so to speak. Between my husband and son, these past 2 years, or more specifically the last 6 months have been an utter whirlwind of emotions.

This past weekend was my sons birthday and we headed to the beach to enjoy a nice weekend away and a well needed vacation “from our problems.” Little did we know our problems were going to transpire into an exhausting, scary weekend away from our abode. The evacuation routes you often see when you head to the coast was exactly what we needed this trip…except in the form of a hospital. Unfortunately I saw them when we entered town and bookmarked it in the back of my mind hoping it was my fear stepping in; not reality. Although we tend to frequent hospitals on an all too frequent basis, Ocean Beach Hospital was a step in the right direction.

As we left town Thursday we were driving over the bridge in Portland waving goodbye to Randall Children’s Hospital opting to never arrive there again unless for the delivery of a newborn baby. Well our wish came true this weekend except that it was only granted for the children’s hospital. Stepping foot into an ER at the beach was not excluded from our list of high hopes. The day of Cooper’s 2nd birthday, he came down with a nasty “bug.” I use that word lightly as my son never has symptoms of a common cold except simply not being able to breath or talk. No runny nose, no cough, no sore throat, no ear infections no nothing is ever on the agenda. So when Cooper came down with this nasty little “bug” we were a bit disappointed as it was the day of his birth and we had planned to play most the day at the beach. Well….that did not happen. He was still in high spirits and we still had a great day.

Come evening, I lay him to rest and kissed his little lips. While playing cards with the family I checked on him and noticed he was very wheezy in his breathing; both inhaling and exhaling. It worried me but not enough to let me anxiety kick-in in overdrive. We kept playing cards and headed to bed pretty late. Less than an hour later Cooper was up and struggling to breath, sleep and simply lay still. Laying in bed with us for a bit, struggling to breath and simply not feeling good while I worried all night long if my little man would quit breathing, allowed for very little sleep. It was an exhausting night!

The following morning he woke up in good spirits and within the hour quickly took a turn for the worse. From playing to laying on the floor writhing in pain and a fever that shook my spirits was very unnerving. His breathing progressively worsened allowing for four adults to become highly concerned. Early nap was definitely on the schedule while multiple phone calls to the advice nurse took place.

My mom and I escaped for a couple hours during nap to grab coffee and enjoy the shops in Long Beach. We had a good time and also grabbed some medical supplies for the little man; humidifier, probiotics and honey sticks to coat his throat. Upon our arrival back at the house, my son just woke up to be extremely labored in his breathing to the point it was beyond scary. His little body struggling with each breath wheezing and with no vocal cords at this point was so scary. He couldn’t talk at all!

Off to the ER. We quickly arrive and immediately were seen by a doctor. No cold symptoms still causing for confusion yet again. They decided to treat for Coup and quickly give a steroid shot as well as a ventilator full of medicine. Within minutes we noticed his little voice coming back to us in a very quiet, raspy sense, but it was better than nothing.

Three hours later they send us home with strict instructions to follow up with our pediatrician. Talk of further complications such as cystic fibrosis came up which of course plagued me with fear. On the other hand, finding something that could be causing this is more of a relief than simply no answers at all. All I want is to find a reason and start treating. Now of course, I really pray nothing is wrong with my son and that we can avoid further hospitalizations but that doesn’t seem like the easy answer we will receive.

Wednesday we followed up with our pediatrician with great success, I feel we finally are in forward motion in search for answers. We have an appointment set with a pulmonologist and will be treating Cooper for croup on a preventative level. Our doctors believes Cooper unfortunately will continue to get croup and has had it previously. We will be treating on a daily basis to lessen the severity of croup as we cannot actually prevent it at all. But the goal here, is to keep us from frequent hospitalizations and labored breathing.

This is only the beginning of the long road ahead, but in some weird way I feel confident and relieved that we are seeking this further and searching for answers. Hoping his little esophagus is our only issue will require us to continue battling croup until he’s roughly 5 years old. The good news in that this condition does not have long term effects. Praise Jesus!

We will wait, pray and be thankful that as of right now, what we know to be true is bearable! I will keep you all updated with how the appointment with the specialist goes.

Moment of Truth: Life was never promised to be easy, but God did promise He will never give us more than we can handle. At many times in my life, I have felt I was on the edge and God swept in and allowed a calm in my storm. Circumstances may not change, but our hearts do. I pray my heart grows tender and I continue to seek the Lord, rather than build resentment and allow fear to take over my life.

Man or Wo-Man

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 19 June, 2014 None comments

Ever question why your son enjoys your perfume or why he wants to wear your necklace? Or maybe your little girl wants to dig in dirt or play with tools like daddy. Is it really something to question or are your kids simply being a kid and exploring all life has to hold?

The other night Cooper decided it would be fun to wear my shoes around the house. My husband watched the final game of the series for basketball and Cooper tromped around beyond gracefully. I thought it was so funny to watch him focus and concentrate so hard to walk around with them on his little tootsies. My husband began to laugh pretty hard while Cooper tried to step on him with the shoes on getting frustrated that they kept falling off. But, on the other hand, he thought Cooper shouldn’t be wearing girl shoes. :) I explained that the concept to Cooper was simply succeeding at the task that laid ahead. Cooper has no idea girl vs boy other than his ungraceful beating of the hammer, throwing things and digging in dirt. A true boy at heart while on the contrary my little niece does not partake in the loud chaos of Coopers activities but sits quietly with her dolls and princess.

The process begins.

They kept falling off and we had to get re-situated.

Finally, walking like a champ.

Successful concentration.

“Don’t interrupt me mommy!”

“I did it, I walked the whole room without them slipping off. Success!”

Michael and I got a good laugh out of our son enjoying the concept of walking in overly large shoes.

My son loves playing in my makeup bag twisting the caps off one by one, wearing my necklace and spraying perfume. Does this make him less of a man, absolutely not. It is pretty simple actually. He is home with me all day long and sees the things I partake in and wants to dabble as well. He also mimics everything daddy does in the evenings; digging in dirt, playing with tools, messing with the lawn mower and simply getting dirty. This is part of learning as a child how to do things and wanting to be like mommy and daddy. There is no need to worry in their little adventures.

Moment of Truth: I truly believe it is innately ingrained in all of our children that a boy will be a boy and a girl will be a girl.

Little Man Workouts

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 15 June, 2014 None comments

Oh how my son never ceases to amaze me. His sweet little personality in every step throughout the day is a constant reminder of thankfulness.

I believe Cooper has officially put himself in charge of daddy’s workouts and I believe that Cooper would make the best trainer out there.

He decided he wanted to work out with daddy and do his ab workout. His tiny little body lay next to daddy while he copies everything daddy does from P90X ab ripper x.

“Look Daddy, I can do them too!”

“Get to work daddy” as Cooper has happily put himself in charge of daddy’s workouts and keeps him going. He continues to ask for “one more” every time Michael stops to take a break. “One more” pull-up, “one more” sit up. Keep going daddy, it’s fun to watch! :)

Sweet baby was so proud of himself. I can’t believe this little guy is going to be 2 next Saturday the 21st. :( It’s been really hard on me as I am so happy he’s growing and developing his cute little personality, but I am also so sad the baby stage is officially gone.

5 Minutes Inside a Mom’s Head…

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 13 June, 2014 None comments

What does five minutes inside a mom’s head really look like? I saw this article and laughed to myself while crying over the harsh reality that it is beyond true in every mom’s life.

The comforting thing is we all know what one another is going through while men sit on the sidelines contemplating the next win in basketball or whose going to get drafted to which team.

Some people may think 5 minutes is nothing but a long relaxed deep breath. These five minutes are anything and everything but a deep breath. More like gasping for air, panting as if you just ran a marathon or simply drowning and still making your mental checklist.

I saw this article and it was a must share. Any and all of you who have children will relate to this article while every man reading this may think we’ve lost our minds and have our “job” so easy. “Easy?” You want to talk about easy? My life is everything but easy. Yes I may stay home with the kids and not get up at 6 and get to work by 8, work all day to have an hour lunch to enjoy the sun, take a walk or even go out to eat with the dudes to only get home at 6 pm. Dinners made for you and your kids bathed and ready for bed. “Yes, I stay home with the kids, yes MY job is easy!”

Sometimes I want to yell this to every man out there who complains about there regimen of working to support the family. I 100% appreciate and support any man who is willing to care for their family so the wife can take the opportunity to hold the house together and raise the children with good morals and standards while keeping them in a family environment rather then childcare. I also appreciate the simple fact that my husband can earn triple if not quadruple the income I could earn in a given year. Yes, I support you and greatly appreciate you and all the hard work it takes in our society these days to have a one income family! Thank you!

On the other hand, learn to appreciate your wife. Appreciate your child learning manners, learning their alphabet, getting socialized on play dates, having educational toys and activities to participate in. Appreciate that your child and wife are probably happy when you reach home at the end of the day. Appreciate that you probably don’t partake in most the household chores, errands, grocery shopping, laundry and bills that’s been taken care of for you! Appreciate that when an outburst happens at home, your wife probably knows how to handle the situation and guide you through it!

This may make you laugh at the harsh reality of it, but lets be honest, a man wants respect and appreciation so badly. This is what makes a man a man. We all long for respect and appreciation as well. We may long to receive it in different ways than our spouse but oh how true it is to feel that respect for what you do on a daily basis. Both men and women need to bot give respect and receive respect. We work our jobs because that’s the job we’ve been given at that point in time and we need to be thankful and appreciative of one another. Households are no easy to run and we all know earning an income to support a family is a challenge in and of itself. No need to put one another down and compare our job tasks, simply appreciate them and love them for what they do!

For a little humor read this article: 5 Minutes inside a moms head

Thanks to: huffingtonpost.com

Moment of Truth: Multi-tasking is the essence of a mother’s life. Learning how to manage her family to get everyone where they need to be, projects done, bills paid and fresh clothes to wear is the essence of a mother who cares. All you mom’s out there, you do a great job even though it is often a thankless job! Keep it up!

Sometime I wonder…

Posted by Delightfully Doable on 10 June, 2014 None comments

Sometimes I wonder why I wake up in the morning and continue on the day of disastrous events. I end the day in a state of oblivion laughing at the messes that continue to come my way.

I find the only way to make it through crazy chaotic kid days, is to laugh at what takes place rather then get too uptight about it. Kids are kids and are innocent little people trying to make it through their own day in a big world being told “no” all the time.

I find it’s easier to laugh at the crazy responses rather then get upset as if they are an adult choosing to be ignorant. :)

My sweetie laying in the pile of clean clothes.

I wake up this morning to an early start with kids being here around 7:30.

Take Haylee to Preschool- out of gas and running late.

Leave gas station and ALL 16 oz of my coffee spill on the entire backseat floor.

Get to preschool in the nick of time.

Clean up coffee disaster

Spend time with a girlfriend while the boys play (relaxing)

Pick up kids- I have a tummy bug that persists all day long.

We have an accident in two of the kids pants while at the park.

Kids play in the sandbox and little Ian decides to chomp on seashells.

Kids leave for the day- make dinner and my husbands doesn’t eat due to not feeling good.

Husband came home with migrane

Cooper is crying, he wants his footie pajamas on and I put his foot-less pajamas on as it’s very hot in our house.

My husband and I cave in to our little son wanting footie pj’s and a muffin. We laugh to ourselves in utter oblivion of what this night consists of.

Nights not over– Cooper goes to bed late, I rush to the store for my prescription.

8:57- pharmacy closes at 9, I walk in the door with NO perscription.

8:58- Pharmacy calls, they found my prescription laying on the ground.

9 pm- try and dish up some granola for a snack, spill it everywhere. (Husband chuckles)

I begin to tell my husband this is how my ENTIRE day has gone while I accidentally puncture the container the granola is in, spilling the remainder amongst the rest.

Stare at the pile of clean clothes covering the floor while I wish my prescription was in hand, pj’s on, face washed and clothes were folded.

I refuse to fold the clothes tonight and will begin my day again tomorrow around 7.

Husband needs something printed and scanned. We both spend 30 minutes trying to figure out why the printer will not print the current document but prints 5 different items from three months ago.

Paper jam- try again.

Paper jam- finally we get duplicates of the item and we send it off.

10 pm- in bed

Moment of Truth: Some days you simply can’t wish them away and must laugh at the stupidity you discovered each hour. How are your days similar?