Rozoni Smart Taste Pasta & Contest!!

"Spaghetti Stud"

My kids love eating pasta, noodle meals. If they could, I am sure they would eat these kind of meals most always. Our family goes through a lot of pasta, not only is it a more affordable meal

to make for a large family, but it goes a long way. I have been searching the nutrition facts on the boxes of pasta, and it can be a challenge finding a pasta that offers lower calories and higher fiber, but still be affordable. Rozoni's Smart Taste is a great tasting pasta/noodle and it offers the higher fiber and lower calories, yet it isn't over priced. Our family has made the switch over to Smart Taste over other brands because we love the taste, it is lower calories, and it is in our budget. We have tried other brands in the past, and we really can't taste any difference between the brands, so it is an easy choice.

Here is what the website says:

"What's so special about RONZONI SMART TASTE? It's the first white pasta to be enriched with Fiber, Calcium and Vitamin D-- and lots of it. RONZONI SMART TASTE is an excellent source of Fiber and contains Calcium and Vitamin D equal to an eight-ounce glass of milk. Studies show that many diets are lacking in these three important nutrients. Plus, RONZONI SMART TASTE is lower in calories and fat than traditional pasta. That means RONZONI SMART TASTE is the same great taste -- the smart taste --your family loves but with greater nutritional value. RONZONI SMART TASTE Taste comes in seven delicious varieties:
Elbows
Rotini
Spaghetti
Thin Spaghetti
Penne Rigate
Angel Hair
Extra Wide Noodles
RONZONI SMART TASTE is part of New World Pasta, the leader in healthy pasta. Our family of brands consists of Ronzoni Healthy Harvest® and the New World Pasta classic white pasta brands of Ronzoni®, Creamette®, Prince®, American Beauty®, Skinner® and San Giorgio®. New World Pasta is also home to Light 'n Fluffy® egg noodles. Learn more about New World Pasta."

Our family loves the Rozoni Smart Taste pasta! We made the Spaghetti noodles with Vodka cream sauce and grilled chicken, and it was delicious! Our kids happily ate their meal, as you can see in the photos, and they all wanted seconds. The family doesn't notice any difference in the taste of the pastas, and for the nutritional values of the Smart Taste, our family will eat Smart Taste!

With reviewing the Rozoni Smart Taste Pasta, I have a chance to enter the photo contest for bloggers!

Please Vote for my little Spaghetti Stud! (see picture at top) I have a chance to win the grand prize of $500 and a year’s supply of Smart Taste Pasta!
Voting will be open on June 14th at http://www.Ronzonismarttaste.com/blogger and stay open until June 25th.
You can vote once per day, and I would be forever grateful if you could help me out.

Thanks so much!!

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Ronzoni and received products necessary to facilitate my candid review and photo contest entry. In addition, I received a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

What do you teach in home school?

This is a quick funny to post, and I will try to write more of a personal post soon...but this is what was said in our kitchen this evening....


Caleb (looking at a planet and stars book): Mom, look at this moon! It is amazing!
Mom: That isn't the moon, Caleb.
Caleb: What is it?
Mom: That is Uranus.
Caleb: Uranus, what is an Anus?

I was laughing at this point, and poor Caleb didn't understand why I was laughing. All I could say was that Uranus was a planet.

Some sweet & funny things

About a month ago, we had vacation Bible School at our church (V.B.S.) and the kids had a great time with the whole week. One of the days, the kids got a Rice Krispie treat with a note on it saying something like, "Thanks for being my Leader." The kids were suppose to give it to someone who is a leader in their life. Caleb and Madelyn gave me theirs and I thought that was sweet. Then, Nathaniel came and gave me one, too. But, what was incredibly sweet was Nathaniel said, "I wish I could tie balloons onto this and send it up to Jesus."

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We have a children's picnic table in our family/rec room. It is a plastic Little Tykes table, and for some reason my kids love to stand on the top of it. I constantly tell them to get down and stop standing on there. Well one day, Caleb decided to hop on up there. I said, "Caleb, you need to get down from that table. You know I don't want you up there, and I never want you to stand up there. Ever. Now, get down."
To which he replied, "Mom, you should make a sign."
I asked him what he meant, and he said, "You should make a sign saying, "No Standing on the table," so we know that we shouldn't stand on the table."

Where did he hear or see that we need signs for things?

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We had our cousins here from Colorado/Washington this last week. They came to our house yesterday and spent the night last night. We took the boys, Nathaniel and his cousin tubing behind the pontoon. We decided to drop them off at the Island so they could go swimming for awhile while we drove around the Island. The plan was we were going to pick them up after we circled around. Well our dog, Lena, was not impressed with this choice~ at all! In fact, she was pacing the floor of the pontoon while barking. It was like she was saying, "You left the boys! They fell off! We need to go back! Hey, do you hear me? We are missing the boys!"
~lol It was very comical!

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Speaking of...

Caleb was cracking me up today, and good thing because when he wasn't saying something funny, he was getting himself into T.R.O.U.B.L.E with a capitol "T."

This morning while we were eating breakfast, Nathaniel made a comment about the very un-nutritious cereal they were eating.

Nathaniel: "They say that cereal has Vitamin D and Vitamin C in it, but if you eat too much you get a stomach ache." I told him it was misguided information and not correct. The company likes to put that on the box so it can look good to the consumer.

Then Caleb says, "Hey Mom, speaking of vitamin C, could I have a vitamin, please?"

Later on this morning, we were down stairs and Caleb said he was a candy eater. (I am not sure how that came up). Anyway, he pipes up, "Speaking of candy, can I have some candy, please?"

Then, we went over to Candace's house to babysit Claudia, and we were playing with the kid kitchen "play food." Madelyn handed me a cloth "pretend" piece of cheese. I said, "This is cheese. Can you do the sign for cheese?"

Caleb says, "Speaking of cheese, I think it is time to have some supper."

It was so funny! I am not sure where he got it from, but I am loving it! I told Terry about it when he got home, and he said that Caleb did that one other time, too, and it was pretty funny.

OH, Speaking of funny (ha ha), well...kind of weird. Yesterday, we had a flying visitor in our three season porch yesterday. Caleb and Maddie called me into the living room to see what was in there. We had a bird in our porch. Our screen door is currently broken (kind of). So, with it being cracked open slightly, and the wind blowing....the bird rose to the occasion to pay us a visit. It was pretty freaked out. I finally got it to go over to the door to make bail, but the poor little thing probably had mild heart attacks.

Here are some fun new things.... and some fun facts of my darling children!

Madelyn loves playing dress-up, and this is one of her favorite costumes. Thanks goes out to my dear friend, Anna, for the clothes she gave us!
I have the Tupperwear ball with all the shapes (love this toy!!) and Madelyn is really enjoying the challenges right now. I am impressed with her skills at putting the shapes into the correct spot. She even knows when the shape isn't quite in the correct angle, she needs to move it one way or the other to make it fit. I think that is impressive for being just "newly" two years old. She also likes to line up her crayons in a row, nicely and organized. I am not sure what the "experts" would classify this as, but I think it is adorable that she likes to line up the crayons.
Caleb makes a great head, body, legs and arms when drawing a person. He even draws the eyes, nose and mouth. I scheduled him for his pre-school screening in a few weeks, and I know that a person is something that they need to try drawing. So, when we had his birthday party (which I still need to blog, ahem....) I was drawing a person on the sidewalk in chalk. So, I called Caleb over and just showed him what a person needs. He was all excited and started drawing people. Now, when we are coloring or drawing, he is making people. He made a great looking person today over at Candace's house. He wanted Candace to have it, so it had to stay there. Caleb loves climbing trees so much, too! He also loves to "pee" outside on the trees, too. There is something about going outside that is so much fun!
Cole tries to sit up now. He will sit for a few minutes before he starts leaning over to one side. He loves to laugh at his brother, Caleb, who thoroughly loves getting him to giggle. It is so precious. Cole is drooling like crazy, and has been more spit-upy (I know it isn't a word, but it works). So, I am thinking he may be working on teeth. I could be totally wrong, though, because I think that with every kid, and I am usually calling that one too early. Cole loves his Jumperoo from Fisher-Price (totally the best jumper) and his exersauser ~which he can walk around in circles (another totally cool baby item). I had Cole in for his 4 month check up a couple of weeks ago, now. (told you I am behind a bit with blogging). He was 4 months and two weeks for his visit. He was just over #13 pounds and ranking the 88% percentile for his height. I don't have all the calculations here at my desk, but I was impressed with his growth and where he fit in the national percentiles....not that I weigh too much on the stats. He is a happy and healthy (big) boy.

Nathaniel came back from visiting his dad this weekend, and he creatively made a bow and arrow~ BY HAND! He carved a stick, removing all the bark, and formed it into a bow. Then, he shaved another stick down into an arrow. He said he had a fun time working on it. His Dad helped with the arrow, he said. It is pretty impressive, and of coarse, I had to take pictures of him with it. I think he was pretty proud of it, and he should be. I think home school has been a great start to his educational road to learning. :)
Isn't he handsome? He is getting so tall and growing so much! I can tell he is nearing the puberty stages. They already watched "THE MOVIE," as he calls it. It is a movie where they talk about the changes boys/girls go through when they reach puberty. I know they show this because many don't get the information from their parents, but I do think that parents should be the source of teaching these life lessons. So, we had some talks about all that.
Nathaniel only has 2 more days of school for the end of the school year for 4th grade. He has a field trip tomorrow (all day) and an all-school picnic with games, relays and food on Friday. He is really looking forward to summer vacation. I am really proud of him with his grades! He has done a great job bringing up his grades this year. He is challenged with spelling and essay writing, but we will work on that more in home school. I am thinking we will be homeschooling him next year. (more prayers....please pray for our direction on this). Nathaniel has scored phenomenally on his NCWA testing and MCA testing. He is in the high 90's for percentiles in Math and Reading. I am really proud of his scores, and what he has learned. I firmly believe that his 3 years of home school have greatly impacted his education and learning.

So, that is some updates. I promise to write up the blog post on Caleb's birthday (SOOOO....belated). But, I really want it to be a great post. I will also put up a contest or two tomorrow, too! Stay tuned!

Updates

I had a great blogable moment with Caleb today....we were talking about Rain.

Caleb: Mother, we really could use some rain.
Me: Yes, we sure could! We should pray that God will bring rain.
Caleb: Mother, does rain come from God's sink?
(laughing inside) Me: I am not sure where the rain comes from exactly.\
Caleb: Maybe the rain comes from God's hands.

**He is smart!
Notice the "Mother." Caleb has been really into calling me Mother lately. I think it is super cute!

Caleb has been going through some stage right now. He is not being a very good listener, or being very attentive. I am thinking that may have to do somewhat with his age, and partly because of Cole's presence. I hope he isn't jealous...and if he is, I am really going to work on spending more quality time with him for reassurance.

Tomorrow I am headed to the clinic to have 4 moles removed. I am not looking forward to it at all! I am really rather worried about it. I know I shouldn't be worried...I should give it to God, I know. It is hard not to worry about my health, though. I have skin cancer in my family, and last year, Nathaniel's Dad was diagnosed with Melanoma (a deadly form of skin cancer). Fortunately, his dad is surviving it, and taking measures to help it from spreading. I am just praying that my moles are benign and there is no trace of cancer. I have several, no millions, of moles. I am a pasty white Scandinavian gal, and covered in moles. I have several that the Dr. is going to keep a close eye on that we will more than likely remove in the future. So, after the removal tomorrow, I wait for a week or so for the results.

Last week my hubby worked a LOT with the DNR with fire fighting. His hours at work were really slow, and there was not much work. So, fortunately he was able to work with the State. It doesn't pay that well, but it was something for pay....PLUS, it is what he loves to do~ fight fire. I know our checking account will suffer a bit, and we will have to tighten the belt with spending. I just pray that his hours at his job will really pick up. We really need some overtime pay. God will provide, I know.

Cole is officially rolling over both front to back, and back to front. Last night, I had laid Cole on Caleb's floor while I was making his bed. He was fussing and complaining. I watched him as he was really working on rolling from back to front. Low and behold, He did it!! WOO HOO!! I ran to tell Terry and Nathaniel. Terry told me, "Oh yeah, he did that this morning. He was getting upset with me when I was changing his clothes, and he flipped over. I couldn't remember which way you told me he rolled a few days ago!" Urgh...I missed the first back to tummy roll, but I saw the first tummy to back roll. It's all good! So, my little guy is going through another milestone. He is also reaching for toys, batting at them, and reaching for my face. I love all of it!! :)

Random thoughts and funnies

I am sorry I haven't been blogging my life stories, experiences, situations...fill in the blank.....lately. Life with four children is definitely a lot busier than life with three children~ especially since right now, I have a 3 (almost 4) year old, a newly 2 year old, and a 3 month old. My son, Nathaniel....who is 10 1/2, is very helpful, but he is in school. Plus, he has difficulties, too. He is a great kid, smart, funny, lovable, and sensitive...just a hard age and life changing age right now. We are considering home schooling him next year. He has been in the public school for the last 2 years, after being home schooled for the first 3 years of school. He has experienced what "school" is now, and he is asking to be home educated again. One of the main reasons he wanted to go to "real school," A.K.A. public school, was to ride the bus. Now, that is one of the biggest issues he has right now. He hates the school bus ride. He is very sensitive to swearing and loud yelling/screaming, and he has been in tears over the whole mess. He has also had some issues with this year's teacher. Personally, I just don't think that she really "likes" Nathaniel. As his mom, I really struggle with that. She just doesn't have that warmness and caring presence that his teacher from last year had. Some of the issues I have with her is her lack of spelling tests and some of her reasoning. Nathaniel's biggest struggle is spelling. He has actually gone backwards in his spelling this year. They don't work on it in school, so how can he start getting it? There really aren't enough hours in the day to have him come home to practice/memorize spelling words for 2 hours each day when he gets home just before 4 PM. It is really frustrating. Nathaniel excels in Math, Reading, Language, and Science...he just really struggles with spelling. So, home schooling is probably the direction we need to go. I would love to have him go to a private school, but the cost is way out of our budget. Nathaniel's Dad isn't a big supporter of home education, however, he has seen it to be successful. He knows Nathaniel's grades have decreased this year, and that he has been struggling. Also, I think if Nathaniel shares his feelings with his Dad, he will be more apt to go along with home education. So, we are praying about it. One really great thing we have been doing with Nathaniel lately is having a talk session once a week. Terry and I sit down with him, and he has the floor to say whatever is on his mind. He can tell us if he is mad at us, disagrees with something, is upset about school/bus/friends/siblings, etc.~ all as long as he is respectful. Terry and I don't share our opinions, get mad, or correct him....we just listen. Thankfully, Nathaniel has been very open with us, and he is sharing so much. I see that he is just filled with so much suppressed emotion, and it breaks my heart. He is at such an impressionable age, and I really hope we can understand where he is at and help him overcome some things. I love him so much, and he is so precious to me. I am sure it is a challenge for him to live in one home with certain rules and expectations, visit another home with his Dad, and maybe feels out of sorts. Plus, he is entering pre-teen and that has a whole bunch of feelings/emotions attached. Terry and I are making some changes so Nathaniel can be happier with his home life, and school life. We are working on his own room, more one on one time with him, more time with his Dad, and his own space.


Caleb has been in a stage that is, what I would call,~ extremely independent. He has been very testy lately, and saying, "NO!" He is almost 4 years old (end of May). I think he is feeling a lack of attention lately with Maddie and new baby brother, Cole. Terry and I have talked about making sure he has more one on one time with us soon. He has been doing great with his potty training, and keeping his underwear dry during the day. Most nights he has accidents, but he really can't wake himself up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. He has been very observant of his body parts lately, and I find it embarrassing. I know God made him with those parts, but how do you explain it isn't a toy, or something that is of common discussion with just anyone. He says things like, "just playing with my ***," like it is just a game that he is playing. I know it is normal for this age, it just has never been comfortable to work through. Caleb loves wearing shorts so much lately. On Friday, I told him to put on jeans. He got so upset and what throwing them down on the ground. After a few rounds of me telling him he was going to wear them, and him telling me no with throwing them down....he said the funniest thing.
Me: "You will wear those jeans, and you won't tell me no."
Caleb: "I don't like wearing jeans!! I love my mom and dad, but I DO NOT like wearing jeans!" It was very comical.

Madelyn's favorite words right now are, "What?" and "Why?" She is really becoming more vocal and clearer with her words. She struggles a little with her pronunciation, but she is getting better at it. She is very strong willed, and independent. She is loving to dress herself, especially if she has a zipper on anything. She loves to be barefoot no matter where she is. If we are home all day, I don't even bother putting socks on her. She finally moved into a size 4 diaper. We also just moved her from the crib to a toddler bed. Last week, Nathaniel put the whole toddler bed together by himself without directions! We were so proud of him, and you could tell he was happy with himself and the results. I set it up in Caleb's room, moved the changing table, and she loves it! It is quite funny, because she will not get out of bed in the morning or after nap. She calls for Terry or I to come, and she waits for us. It is precious, and I am glad she likes it.

Maddie and Caleb are at Grandma's for the weekend. Caleb and his other boy cousins were peeing outside today by the trees. Madelyn was standing by a tree, and just kept still. Grandma asked her what she was doing, and Maddie said, "I go potty, too!" Then, she tried to go. Poor girl! She is the only girl grandchild with 7 boy grandchildren. I know she will fair well, but it would be nice if there was another girl for her. OH well!

Cole is growing so much these days! He just rolled over from tummy to his back this week on Wednesday, I believe. He is now 3 months old. He is also reaching for toys, and putting them in his mouth~ when he makes it that far. He is such a happy-go-lucky baby! He is a great sleeper, and is great about crying when he needs the necessities: feeding, changing, sleeping. He does bite down on me sometimes, and that isn't very pleasant. He is a great breast feeder, though. I love his smile! He really lights up when he is talking or being talked to. I am totally not rushing him into his stages or milestones. I want to just enjoy his growth, and learning. He may be our last baby, so I just try to relish his moments and cuteness!

Terry has been working with the DNR this whole week. He is a smoke chaser/fire fighter. He loves fighting fire. April and May are the big fire months of the year. His full-time job has been very slow this week (not good) but he has been able to get his fire-fix with the DNR at least. He has been on some great fires this week, too! I love hearing his stories and hearing about what happened with his evening. My house has seen better days than this week, but Terry has been gone most of this week. Tuesday night he was home at 2 AM~ Wed., 9:00 PM on Wed., and 7 PM on Thurs. So, the hours are a lot longer. I was so happy to have the whole day with him today with our drive to Wisconsin for a train show. It was a beautiful day! Tonight we looked for refrigerators. Ours is dying, so we need to get a new one. It was good to go hunting around for prices, but I know that I am not much of a shopper these days.
Tomorrow I have a bridal shower to go to for my future sister-in-law. Terry is going to work with the DNR again, so we will both be busy. I am excited to go because I love showers! The shower is about an hour from my house. After the shower I will be picking up Caleb and Madelyn. I plan to head home after that, but if Terry gets called out to a fire, I may have to drive another 2 hours to pick up Nathaniel, and then an hour and half home. So, I may have a lot of drive time tomorrow. I hope you all are having a great weekend! Thanks for visiting, and reading my blog! I will try to write more about us, and visit you all more soon!

Beauty Salon

Look real close at this picture. Can you tell who's body these cute little feet belong to?

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Here is the owner of those beautiful feet! That is right, Mr. Beauty conscience....
Caleb came downstairs after using the bathroom. He informed me that he had on "boy nail polish." I said there is no such thing as boy nail polish. I told him to show me what he meant. He walked over and showed me his toe nails. I have to say he did a fantastic job for a 3 1/2 year old. I was not happy with his creativity and exploration, though. I think I better watch him more carefully when he is using the bathroom. Time to hide everything??

Fourth Grade Choir Concert

Last night, we went to Nathaniel's yearly choir concert. There are so many children in his school that they have separate nights for each grade to perform their concert. There is one main choir teacher, and she has a helper. It was fun to see all the kids. I have to give props to his choir teacher, because she had kids playing different style drums, all of them playing recorders, bells, egg shakers and keeping them all in order. They sang 5 individual songs, and a patriotic medley of 7 songs. I think my favorite was the train song. This was a song of hand actions, singing in rounds, and leaving out words on beats (like BINGO). When the kids were starting to leave out words to the song, and just doing the hand actions, Caleb started noticing something was different. He said, "What happened to their voices? Why can't they sing?" Of coarse it was quiet, and those of us around Caleb had to laugh. It was so comical! I thought it was so funny that I laughed for some time after that comment~ just thinking about it.
It was a great concert, but Caleb and Maddie were quite restless. Maddie couldn't keep her hands off of the lady's coat in front of us on the bleachers. She had fur lining....it was funny.

Caleb is so funny!

We had a fun day today, and everyday Caleb has some fun things on his mind! Here are a couple things Caleb shared with me today...

We were on the subject of belly buttons. I told Caleb that everyone has a cute belly button. Then he told me not everyone has a cute belly button. I asked him what he meant, and he told me that fish do not have belly buttons. (Is that true?)

Tonight at supper, Caleb said, "When Lena (our dog) gets married someday, she can have cute puppy babies."

Children sure make life more interesting, and you never know what you will hear, learn, or think about.

Can kids understand this?

Caleb likes to chatter away non-stop when we get in the car to go places. He just goes on, and on, about anything he can think to talk about. This afternoon, we had to go to an appointment, and he started up with his yakking. He had so much to say, and the questions were non-stop. I kept answering him with a "Yep, uh-huh, yes..." Then, he said, "Mom, I am sure full of questions!" Do you think he was catching that I was not really paying attention, or just that he realized that he was chatting non-stop with questions?

It was really rather funny...

Bobbing for bubbles?

I babysat on Wednesday, and it was a great day! The kids all played very well together. Nathaniel was home from school this week, so it was super having the extra time with him. He got to come with me on Monday and Wednesday for babysitting. Tuesday, he was able to spend the day with his friend. Anyway, on Wednesday, I was blowing bubbles for the kids. Well, with my kids...bubbles are a tasty treat. Yep, Nathaniel loves to bite the bubbles~ so to speak. He pretends (and sometimes) eats the floating bubbles. Well, with Claudia giggling uncontrollably over his moves and actions, Caleb joined in the biting for bubble action! Claudia and Madelyn thought the boys were really funny! After the biting of bubbles came the bubble blasting. Nathaniel pretended like the bubbles were attacking him. Claudia's uproar of laughter became even higher in decibels! There is absolutely nothing like the laughter of children, being created from other children making them laugh! It was so comical! I could barely blow the bubbles because I was laughing so hard. Trust me, it was great entertainment!

The whole day went very well~ except Caleb would NOT take a nap. I am not sure what was up with him that day, but a nap was not in his agenda. So, about a half an hour before we were to head home, I gave him the option to sit on the couch and read for a quiet time. Before we left, I said to him, "Without getting a nap today, you better not be crabby." His response to that was, "I'm not crabby Mom. See, my smile isn't upside down."

Kids think of things in such a creative way~ what a great perspective!

Caleb and making friends...

A few weeks ago, at Bible study, Caleb met a new friend. His name is Ben. I was asking Ben how old he is and when his birthday is. I told him that him and Caleb are really close in age. Then, the boys had a chat....

Caleb: Hi Ben!
Ben: Hi Caleb!
Caleb: Nice to meet you Ben!
Ben: Nice to meet you, too, Caleb!
Ben: Hey, do you want to be friends, Caleb?
Caleb: Yes, that would be great!

**Then, they hugged.**

I love how kids mimic adults! They are constantly learning from us!

My Kids!

So, I am not sure who will be potty trained first between Madelyn and Caleb. Caleb will be 3 1/2 the end of November, and Maddie just turned 19 months old. Lately, Madelyn has been informing me of a bit of information. I am really liking that she is getting to know her body functions! She is even showing interest in potty adventures! She likes to go sit on the potty chair in the bathroom, she signs the sign for potty, and she does things like this:
On Thursday, Maddie was walking around and then she said, "I poo...I poo!" So, I asked her if she pooped. She said, "Yes!" I went to go change her...and sure enough~ she did what she said she did! What a smart little girl!
I really don't have a preference who will make the official leap into underwear, but it would be super if just ONE of them could make it to that amazing milestone before our little baby arrives!

Speaking of underwear...
We got a sitter for us on Friday night. Terry asked me to find a sitter so we could go sing karaoke. One of the guys from his work runs a karaoke show in town once a month, so he wanted to check it out. So I did the calling around and booked *S* for the night. We brought Nathaniel to meet his dad, and on our way back home, Caleb was asking about who we had coming to babysit him. He said, "Mom, I want...um...what is her name again?" I said, "Who are you thinking of, Caleb?" (knowing who he was implying) He said, "Mr.P****'s daughter, what's her name?" (Caleb calls my friend, Lisa, Mr. P****, and I think it is so cute) Anyway, I told him, "Kaytlin?" And he said, "Yes, I really like Kaytlin. She is my favorite babysitter." We asked him why she is his favorite, and he said that she just is! And she is nice.

So, anyway...getting back to the underwear...

The other sitter we had, was getting Caleb ready for bed (we were still home) and she was changing his diaper. This is the conversation:
Caleb: I wear diapers, *S*, do you wear underwear?
*S*: (chuckling) Yes, Caleb, I wear underwear.
Caleb: I am going to wear underwear someday, when I am potty trained, too. When I am a big boy.
*S*: That will be a good thing, Caleb, you should start going on the toilet.

Ha Ha Ha! I think that is so funny!!

Caleb's funny

Caleb is a really comical little guy. I try to blog his funny sayings as much as I can to remember them. Today, he said such a great thing...

I had just said honey to him, without realizing it, and he said,
"Mom, can you not call me honey?"

I said, "Why can't I call you honey?"

He said, "You call Dad honey."

I said, "Well, what can I call you~~my big sweetheart?"

He said, "You can call me Caleb *** ***." (He stated his whole name: first, middle, and last)

What a little darling!

Caleb's funnies over the weekend...

On Friday morning, I was cleaning up after breakfast, and Caleb came in singing, "Remember your children...Remember your children...(over and over)." So, I sang the song to him that he was singing from, and he said, "Yes, that's right mom." It was so precious.

Friday night, we were driving under a traffic light, and I said to my mother-in-law, "Those lights are two different colors. One is pea green and one is neon green." Caleb giggled and said, "Pea Green. That is funny mom! Pea Green! (laugh, laugh, laugh). Mom you are so funny! Pea Green is really funny! *pause* Mom, can I say pea green?"

A little later, Caleb said something along the lines of: "Mom, when you were a little baby, I held you and wrapped my arms around you. You were so little, and I could hold you."

Sunday, Caleb got into some different clothes. He put on shorts and a shirt that was sleeveless. He came running to me and said, "Mom, look at me! I have a shirt on with no arm sleeves!"

Caleb is on another funny kick

Caleb said such a funny statement today!

We were in the van, and I was eating my granola bar. Caleb asked to have a bite, so I gave him a bite. Then, I was drinking my water out of my nalgene bottle. Caleb said, "Mom, you shared your granola bar with me, and you can share your water." I told him that he had his own water to drink. Then he said, "I know, I was just saying that you shared your granola bar, and if you can share your water. Now we are becoming friends!"

I think those two things are so funny!! "I was just saying...." and the "now we are becoming friends!" He is such a funny little guy.

Last night~ and Caleb is funny!

Last night, we went to a great concert at a church. A wonderfully musical, and very talented family was there using their God-given gifts to minister to us, and bless us! The family is called Simple Grace! They were very entertaining to watch, and I was amazed at the love they displayed. They have 8 children, and 8 in heaven! WOW~ and the mom, Kathy, is a very dedicated home schooling mom! They travel on the road 33 weeks a year doing ministry. I really enjoyed seeing them use their amazing talents to glorify God! They play so many instruments: banjo, guitar, bass guitar, key board, penny whistle, mandolin, cello, fiddles, harmonicas and more! It was a fun evening! My parents, my aunt and uncle, and my other aunt and uncle (here visiting from CO) were there, so it was fun to see relatives, too.

Anyway...Caleb and Nathaniel were running around in the gym afterward during the fellowship time (sweets and coffee break). They were having a blast having races. When we were getting in the van, Caleb had this conversation with Terry:
Caleb: I am tired!
Dad: Yes, it is late, did you have fun?
Caleb: Yes, it was fun running with Nathaniel. Dad, Nathaniel is a fast runner! He was chasing me!
Dad: Yes, he is fast.
Caleb: I need training lessons, so I can run as fast as Nathaniel.

**Isn't that a hoot? Hee hee...

A funny statement

I forgot to blog this, but it is so precious, that I have to let you all know about it. I was telling Caleb that he will be getting to see his cousins at our family gathering "reunion." He was so excited to go there, and see everyone. The morning of the family reunion, I was giving Caleb a much needed hair cut. While I was cutting his hair he said, "I sure hope Atira likes my new hair cut!"

**Atira is one of his little cousins.

It was so cute that he was thinking about what kind of impression he would make at only 3 years old. :)

Family reunion

Last Saturday, we had a family get-together for my Dad's side of the family. We rarely get together with that side of the family anymore, and it was great to connect for a family picnic. We used to get together every Memorial Weekend when I was younger. I really miss that connection, and that camping weekend to look forward to. One of my Dad's 7 sisters planned this fun picnic day. I had mentioned something to her last year about our family getting together at least once a year. I just don't have the space to host it at my house. Otherwise, I would be all for hosting the event here. Anyway, it was a fun day! My cousin was here from Washington, and she planned fun events for the kids. There was an egg on the spoon race, a find the peanuts in the field hunt, a hoola-hoop contest, a bubble blowing contest...and more. She even had prizes for the kids. When people first arrived we were all given a sheet of paper with scavenger hunt questions on it. Some of the questions were: (1) What is uncle Chester's favorite meal? (2) How many children does Marie have? (3) Who is the youngest person at the party?
This question was tricky, because both my sister-in-law and I am pregnant, so we didn't know if that counted or not....it didn't, but Maddie was the youngest one there. It was a fun day, and the weather was great! It got chilly in the evening, and the mosquitoes came out. Wouldn't you know it, I was totally unprepared. I didn't bring extra clothes, a blanket, jammies, or nothing. WE ARE IN MN!! Hello?? You would think I would be more prepared. Usually I am over-prepared, but this time, I just didn't plan. A storm rolled in that evening, too, so we were stranded there for a bit due to the strong winds.

Oh, and on the way to the picnic...
Caleb was looking out the window. He said, "That is a funny house! It looks like an ice cream house!" Terry looked back at him, and said, "Oh, Caleb, that is a Silo." Isn't that funny?? Actually, the Silos do look a bit like an ice cream cone! :)

I was so happy! That morning, my Mom and I were talking on the phone, and she told me that my brother and his wife are expecting their number 2 child. She is due only about 2 weeks after me! How fun is that? Their daughter is a little over a year younger than Caleb. They told people that they may only have one child. Personally, I think every child needs a sibling, but it is their choice~ no, really it is God's choice. BUT~I am happy to hear that they want to add to their family!

Good Manners

Yesterday, Caleb was sitting up on the window ledge, and I said, "Caleb, how about you get down from there." He said, "Mom, Can you please say, Can you get down from there please?"