Festivities

I'm a little behind on what the Wilson things have been up to. And we have been busy! ( Well, sort of! I am not as busy as I used to be because I just can't do as much. Plus, I learned an important lesson from my recent ordeal: I don't play enough with my children. When I couldn't do anything but lay on the couch, all I wanted to do was be with the kids and take care of them . Then when I was slowly getting around I just played quietly with Johnny on the floor or the couch-way more than I used to because that's all I could do. It was wonderful! Now, I am able to do stuff again, but I will not forget this lesson. I've switched my house cleaning and such so that I am able to devote more undivided attention to my sweet darlings. Ok, back to the subject at hand....my sweet darlings!)

Pumpkin carving: We got a pumpkin and carved a kitty face. J was very wary of touching the slime and guts, M absolutely loved it! She squealed with delight during the whole ordeal! (Actually, I had to save it so she could play with it again another time!)

 Notice J is saying "cheese" to M and not the camera. So typical!

Since we are going to be in Utah during M's birthday, we celebrated with her class on Friday. She was so excited! Thursday avo we made cheesecake Oreo treats that she picked out. (Very yummy by the way, I'll be happy to give you the recipe.) Thursday night as we were lying in bed and talking about her birthday celebrations (and there will be a lot this year) she said, "I'm so excited I can't even look at my imagination!"
This girl is so stinking precious! She was so tickled that her class sang "Happy Birthday" to her and that her teacher gave her a "birth certificate" and birthday crown.

Today we had a fun day. Unfortunately, I didn't get pictures of all the fun stuff. This morning we made and played play dough for at least an hour. Then the little Wilson things had a game of their own going on. I just love it when they play together so well.

While M was reading to J, I came up to tell her something and she said, "Mom, don't extract me, I'm reading!"

Not long after, we were preparing to go for our "family fun outing" as she calls it and she mastered the shoe tying trick! She was so excited and proud!

 On said outing, we explored Warren Dunes State Park. It is about twenty minutes from our house. And gorgeous. And windy. And cold. We did manage to climb to the top of a very high dune (which kinda scared J because your foot slides down about half a foot every time you step). M loved it. The wind off Lake Michigan was very cold so we didn't stay long. It was a beautiful drive and we are excited to have such a fun place to play. I think it will be good in all seasons for different reasons, but I am definitely going camping there. Then we drove another twenty minutes to the Chocolate Garden. We had a chocolate tasting of some gourmet truffles and they were so good. That was a fun treat. After that we stopped and grabbed a few groceries and headed home. This was my kinda day!

Broomsticks and Bedrest

While I have been glued to the couch and unable to do anything for my family, my sweet mama has been doing it for me. (J too,but this post is about her.) She has been cooking and cleaning and playing with the kids. They decided to make Halloween cookies as both something fun to do together, and as thank yous to return to people in the dishes in which they brought us a meal. I didn't get a pic of M and mom during the process, but only after. And I love J's smile as he is cutting the dough. Such sweet memories for them!

Interesting...

I don't know when M did this worksheet, but I found it in her backpack this morning. It says: "who will rake the leaves?" Answer: "Mom, Mom, Mom..." Umm, I don't think so sugar plum! I can't even lift a rake right now lol. It's sweet really that she thinks of me. What I really learned from this telling worksheet is that I need to teach her how to write d-a-d! :)

B&L

Bored and lonely-it's what happens when you check yourself into the er and spend a long painful night awake by yourself and then get prepped for surgery alone and then wake up and you are alone! No hand to hold or anything! Boo hooo. (pity party now over) So very grateful J and kids came to see me earlier. Even though this was a low risk operation, I was so very grateful to see and kiss them! J is handling the kids and house like a haus. So thankful that I can trust and rely on him. What a man! Oh, and I've got to shout out to B who freaked me out enough that I would go to the er in the first place (course pain will do that but I would have waited a while I think - which would have made it so much worse). Here is a pic of what I have been seeing all day. Lol.
And here is a little of what else we have been doing before this exciting hospital thing happened. J and I had to wait at the pharmacy earlier this week and he entertained himself by trying on glasses. Very cute old man if you ask me...
Also, we had one last gorgeous day so the kids and I ran barefoot in the grass and flew kites and climbed stuff. So nice to be outside and warm at the same time!

P. S. Can you spot my little monkey?

Handy-dandy, Super-duper

While I miss M during the day, I am really enjoying spending time with my sweet little guy. I really feel so close to him now and love the time I get with him.
Lately, he has been enjoying watching Blues Clues. So to help motivate with his potty training, he has been filling a sticker chart to earn a "super-duper, handy-dandy notebook." This morning he earned said notebook so we went to the store and let him pick it out (along with some jumbo crayons bc that's what Steve uses on the show.) The minute we got home, he wanted the green crayon and for me to turn on the show and he got right to work. It was really precious! Love this kiddo!