Our Week with Aunt Shannon

Late Monday night, my sister Shannon came into town. We were all very excited to get to see her, and spend some time with her.

Tuesday morning, she joined Micah, Elizabeth and I at the movies, and we saw Over the Hedge. It was a really fun time, and I was very thankful to have Shannon's extra set of hands. Micah was in and out of the bathroom three times! But that pull up stayed dry!!

Tuesday evening we went out for dinner with money that Mom had sent. It was so fun, so good, and a very big deal! As those of you with a high young child to adult ratio can attest to, going out to eat at a "real restaurant" isn't always a good idea. In fact, I don't think Curtis and I have ever done it alone! So armed with Super Aunt, we went to Ninfa's.

Keeping the kids busy with crayons.
This picture cracks me up! Those are two crazy boys!
So sweet!

My daughter who wouldn't sit still, and my beautiful sister.
Again, another crazy picture. Shannon was trying to get Elizabeth to take one good, sweet, picture by first taking a bunch of crazy picture. It never quite worked, but it made for some funny pictures!

Benjamin loved the queso! The above picture is of him drinking the queso!

Yesterday we ran errands in the morning. Shannon is very healthy with what she eats, but has a hard time finding good, organic food in Wichita. We made a trip to HEB so she could stock up on some healthy yummies. As we were leaving, Micah's balloon blew away. At that point, there was NO WAY I was chasing it, so I just let it blow, and told Micah that Benjamin would be happy to share his balloon. Suddenly, Micah is crying harder, and Elizabeth is screaming, "Hey!!! Hey you!!!! That's my brother's balloon!!" I turn around to see some random guy walking off with Micah's balloon. Elizabeth is ready to take on this random stranger, and Micah is just beside himself. Shannon and I just laughed! Micah kept asking, "Why that man take my bubba-oon?" We convinced him that the man was going to go give it to another kid, and I ran back into the store to get another balloon.

My Mom sent a ton of goodies down with Shannon. One of the things that she had picked up was new goggles for the kids. They are AWESOME! The kids' old goggles didn't fit the boy, and Elizabeth's were always getting foggy. Last night, Elizabeth swam, and swam, and never needed to fix them! Curtis even tried them on......

...but he freaked us out and I told him he wasn't allowed to wear them any more!

Shannon leaves on Saturday morning. And even though we will be very sad to see her go home, we are very excited that Papaw and Memaw are coming Saturday afternoon!!

Another bump... or two.

It's a hard knock life for Benjamin. Literally! Yesterday he bumped his head on the toilet, resulting in the nice knot and bump on his forehead. Then today, he lunged out of Curtis' arms and smacked his head (we thought) on the book shelf. Turn out it wasn't his head, it was his eye.

Benjamin's lookin' a little rough these days!

WE are THOSE parents

Yep, Curtis and I are THOSE parents, and Micah is THAT kid.

Tonight while we were at the pool, Micah swallowed a little too much water, choked, and puked in the pool.

I was one of THOSE parents who didn't get her kid out on time (though I really did try) and whose hands were too small to catch the blue puke. Yeah, I'm also one of THOSE parents who bribed her kids at Sam's with blue Icees.

And poor sweet Micah, all the way home kept saying, "I no throw up! I just choke!" And we asked him, "What happened when you choked, Micah?" He rightly responded, "I throw up!" Some how, there just wasn't the connection.

So, Curtis had to be one of THOSE parents who told the life guard what happened.

And we were one of THOSE families who closed the pool for half an hour.

Oh well. On to the next great adventure!

Training #2

Currently, we are going through a season of training with Micah. A friend of mine encouraged me with Elizabeth to not look at your two year old as terrible (you know, the terrible twos) but rather to look at him/her as trainable. I think that perspective has really encouraged me during those "trainable" moments. I also think that so many moms of trainable two year olds look at their child's behavior and say, "Oh well! He's just two. What do you expect?" Rather than just minimizing those moments to random bad behavior, I strive to encourage Micah in obedience.


One area of training that we have been focusing on as of late is potty training. Micah is doing really good! I'm very proud of him. The one area (which happens to be a rather big area....) that we need to work on is when he has pants on. If he's naked, we always goes to the bathroom, and never has accidents. Once has has something on, it's a whole other story. Oh well. I guess I'll just take the good with the bad.

The other big area we may be starting is church training. With Elizabeth, I found that three was the perfect age. So church training Micah really wasn't on our radar. But this Sunday, he really wanted to come with us into church (I think it was mostly that he didn't want to be in nursery). After reading this article, I didn't want to deny my child the opportunity to worship, so into church he came. I won't lie. It was a bit crazy. But he made it through the entire service! I was so proud of him! Sure, he didn't do great, he forgot to whisper, he crawled under the pews a couple of times, he kept trying to tell Mr. Andrew "HI!", he asked a lot of questions, and tried to grab some communion bread as it went past. But it was so neat to have the two big kids in church with us. What a joy it is to worship together as a family!!


Training #2 has been much different that #1. I think the biggest thing that has impacted us is the fact that we are still working with Elizabeth. So even though I have a little bit clearer of an idea of how and what I want to do, it's a little more challenging since I can't devote 100% of my efforts to him.



Micah, you are getting to be such a big boy! Mommy and Daddy are so proud of the little boy you are! We are so thankful that God chose us to be your parents, and we cherish these moments and pray that God will use them to grow you into a man who follows HIM!

Watermelon

A letter to the pool

Dear Pool,

I have a love/hate relationship with you. I love how you provide a cool, wet place for us to spend time when we would normally be sweating away in the heat. My children love going to your cool waters, so I can frequently use you as a bribe. After the pool, my children are worn out, and sleep well!

However, I do not enjoy the task of getting ready to see you. I don't at all appreciate the mess that I have to clean up after we get home from a trip to you. And I think the secret of your cool,refreshing waters is out, and going on the weekends in nearly impossible. And even though this complaint isn't your fault, why must you close during the weekdays, even when it's still hot outside?

All in all though, I can over look these minor flaws. Because most of all, I am very thankful to have such fun place where I have build so many wonderful memories.

Thanks pool! Micah, Alexis and Elizabeth, summer of 2006
Piper and Elizabeth, summer of 2006

Elizabeth, summer 2006Micah and Mommy, summer 2007

Micah and Daddy, summer of 2007

Benjamin, on his first birthday

The promised video.... mostly for the grandparents!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Singing and Playing in the Rain

This evening we had a little rain, which meant we couldn't go to the pool as planned. Since Curtis and I don't want to be out down by the weather, we pulled out the rain gear, and outside we went.

This is right before is started really raining. See how sunny it still is.
I LOVE this picture!
Benjamin lovin' the umbrella. But never once did he actually use it the right way.
Really, he was happy. He just didn't like being still to take the picture.

It was a fun night! Stay tuned for video......

Bad dreams

This morning, I was going over our evening plans with Curtis on the phone. Elizabeth was here, we were talking, and suddenly she starts crying, and talking about scary giraffes. Curtis told me that she had a nightmare about giraffes, and since the crying had reached sobbing, I got off the phone to talk with her. Here's what she told me (amid the tears).

"I had a dream that I got thrown in the giraffes den, and the giraffes were doing silly tricks, and it really scared me."

Poor thing! She was really upset by the whole thing. She also told me that she had that dream all night, which would explain her presence in my bed! After talking about possible solutions.... hers was to stay up with Mommy and Daddy, then always sleep with us.... mine was pray..... she called Aunt Shannon and things seemed to get a little better.

The whole conversation was almost laughable. But her genuine sadness and fear kept me from laughing. It reminded me, even though she can be quite the pill, she is still just a little girl. It also reminded me of how much calm and comfort I as a mother can provide. Hopefully Curtis and I can use this situation to point her to the One who can provide the ultimate comfort, and use these kinds of moments to show her how much she is loved.

Micah-ism

Me: Micah, DO NOT hit your brother with the bat.

Sweet Micah, with an innocent look on his face: I just hit mirror, Mommy, not Ben.

Yes, that is sooo much better!

The Dark Ages

A couple weeks ago, I bit the bullet and did something that I have been meaning to do for some time now. I scanned all my wedding pictures! Since Curtis and I got married back in the dark age, before digital photography was common, we only have hard copies of our wedding pictures. It took me three hours just to scan and upload them to be developed. Blah!! But, now it's done, extra copies are being send to me, and I can begin the fun task of working on my wedding scrapbook.

This is my favorite picture! Don't we look like babies?!? We were, we just didn't know it.

So, Mom, go get your wedding pictures out of that horrible album that's eating your pictures into a yellow oblivion, and scan them!

Leaf or Hopper?

This morning, Christi brought Anthony over for a little while so that she could take Alexis to swim lessons. We had so much fun playing with Anthony, and I think Anthony was quite amused by the antics of my three.

As an extra treat, Alexis, Christi and Anthony stayed for lunch and bike riding. After a couple rounds of Musical Bikes, it was decided that Benjamin had the right idea with ridding in the wagon. On one trip around the cul-de-sac, Elizabeth (who was pulling Alexis and Benjamin) stopped and from the other side of the cul-de-sac exclaimed, "Look Mommy, a leaf that looks like a hopper!" Christi and I look and her, then each other and ask, "Or is it a hopper that looks like a leaf?" Here's what we saw when we looked.

Looks like a squashed Hopper to me!

Summer

Things I don't like about summer

• I really don't like all the extra laundry. Between a sweaty husband, sweaty kids, messy, dirty kids and towels, I think I have a couple extra loads a week.
• Since we spend a lot of time outside, the kids get more messy, which means more baths. Neither Curtis or I like doing bath time, unlike some awesome parents we know.
• All the first that I wash off my children gets stuck in the tub. So I have to clean the tub more. Not to mention the bathroom floor!
• Even though I've already said I like the hot, I don't like how insanely hot it can get. The kind of hot where you play outside for 15 minutes and have to go back inside to rehydrate. Blah!
• Summer Hours. What's up with that?!
• The lack of rain leading to grass watering. I really don't like taking the time to water the grass, not to mention I really don't like how high our water bill can get.
• The shoe situation. The kids don't want to wear tennis shoes because they have to wear socks and that makes their feet more hot. Totally understand! So they wear sandals of some sort, which come off very easily. Granted, that also means they go on easier.

On to the bright side! Things I do like about summer.

• VBS (though at the end of VBS, you might not hear that same answer).
• POOL! I love taking the kids to the pool!
• Sno-Cones just aren't nearly as good when it's 50 degrees outside.
• Traveling is expected, allowed, and mostly enjoyed in the summer.
• Since we live in a college town, and most of the college students leave during the summer, we rarely have to wait to be seated.
• Summer activities abound! From church activities, to the children's museum, there always seems to be something happening.
• Though I am turning into more of a planner and organizer, I enjoy the break from constant activities, meetings, things to go to. I even feel more laid back with the kids.

I know it's going to be a long day when....

I look at the clock, see that it's 10:15 and I've already done two loads of laundry, folded two loads of laundry, loaded and started the dishwasher, returned a couple e-mails, fed the kids, dressed one kid, braided hair, played tea (we had pork chops!), started dinner, cleaned the kitchen, picked up the living room, and handed out Skittles for potty training.

But, that's also my definition of a good day!

The Crazy Krajca Kids

They say the world is our playground, so why not make the suitcase and laundry basket our playground too?! Micah and Elizabeth singing a made up song with very big hand motions.

Hanging out in the laundry basket with your brother, while eating a PopTart.... doesn't get much better than that!

Boys....

Curtis and I are continually amazed at how very different our boys are from Elizabeth. And of course, we wouldn't have it any other way! Boys are so much fun! I love how you can just be rough, and playful without worrying about hurting or upsetting them.

One of the other things we have noticed about out boys is how resilient they are! But lately, both Micah and Benjamin have gotten some pretty big boo boos. Of course, being the boys that they are, I had to take these pictures while they slept.

Benjamin ran into/fell into the couch on Saturday night. Then, on Sunday morning, he learned first hand that when Mommy says something is hot she's not joking. He grabbed my curling iron and has a nice blister on his thumb. He's already getting his big boy boo boos!

Micah got his boo boo somehow in the middle of the night on his bed. We're not sure exactly what happened, but at 5:45 we woke up to Micah screaming. We think he got tangled in his covers, and bumped his nose on the edge of his bed while trying to get untangled.

And I think the fact that Micah is sleeping with this huge ball is just hysterical.

Oh, the joys of Little boys!

Wouldn't recommend it!

Last Friday, I took the kids to the park that's right by our house. Would recommend it! Despite everything else that I'll say, it was fun.

Ridding our bike/tricycle/wagon seemed like a good idea. Wouldn't recommend it! Since I was pulling the baby in the wagon, I lost one of my hands and had to catch/push/put shoes back on with only one hand. Made for some pretty fantastic moves on my part though!

Micah wore flip flops, since we couldn't find his sandals with the strap. Wouldn't recommend it! Not only did he have issues ridding his trike, but he also had a hard time keeping the shoe on while playing. If only I was like MacGyver and had duct tape....

Thinking that this whole outing would be a good time killer before Curtis got home from work, we left around 4:45. Wouldn't recommend it! It was H-O-T out there! So hot that the kids couldn't play on anything other than the swings, which was fine except that meant they were sitting in one place, when I wanted them running around getting exhausted, and I was running around getting more hot an exhausted. And on top of that, I was very worried that the kids would get so hot, they would see the nasty, dirty creek as an inviting way to cool off.

All in all, we had a fun time. Curtis was able to join us for a couple minutes. Back up.... would recommend it!

Messy Micah

Today our sweet friend Isaac turned one! Micah would like everyone to know that the monkey cupcakes were delicious! The face says it all!

Try again Micah, I think you missed a spot!

Thanks to Mr. Kyle for capturing this priceless and very messy moment, since that sweet boy's momma forgot the camera.

God is With Me.

One of Elizabeth's new things is making up songs. The thing that really touches my heart is that all her made up songs are about God. Something's getting through!!

So here's a rather long sample of her newest song, "God is With Me".

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our traveling adventures.

I don't want to call it a curse, that's way too strong of a word. But it seems like any time we go on a trip, we are plagued by some kind of drama (shocking... the Krajcas have DRAMA?!). Thankfully, it's always more of an inconvenience and never anything too terrible. And with three kids ages 4, 2 and 1, what would you expect?

The drive up to Kansas started off bright and early. I was excited to actually be running ahead of schedule by about two hours! The kids were all in good spirits, and very excited about going to Grandma's, or maybe they were excited about eating breakfast in the car... regardless, we were excited! Leaving at 7am meant we avoided the traffic that we always seem to run into in the Ft. Worth area. Unfortunately, we got our dose of traffic about an hour or so south of Oklahoma City. We saw a informing us "Construction: 6 miles ahead". Great! We knew we were in for it when we saw another sign "Construction: 5.6 miles ahead" then it flashed "Be prepared to stop". At this point, we start seeing lots of break lights. Curtis quickly decided to take an exit for a pit stop. Everyone went to the bathroom, got a snack, I filled up sippy cups, and we changed the boys. And it's a good thing we did! It took us 55 minutes to the next six miles! SIX MILES!! It was rather maddening. Despite this hour traffic jam, we made it to Wichita in 10 hours! The trip usually takes 8 1/2 hours, and that's with no stops. So we were rather pleased with ourselves.

Our ride home yesterday, started off after lunch. Curtis and I enjoyed a very quiet trip while all three kids took naps. We also began another book together (some of you probably know that Curtis and I really enjoy reading a book together while driving... I read, he drives). There had been some rain, but nothing major. As we drove through OKC, the weather continued to get worse. WE got a little break south of OKC, where we were able to stop and do all the things you have to do with three small children. About 40 or so miles from the border, here's what we saw.



It turned into quite the severe storm. And not only were we dealing with the bad weather, but also all the idiotic drivers. We made it through safely, and got home in just over nine hours!!

Yesterday, as we were almost home, we realized how thankful we are for our three, awesome little car riders! The three kids did an awesome job! It's nice that we are at the point with them that we have a system and they know the system. It's also nice to know that we are done with any car trips for a little while!