Fun Times at the McCrimmon House

I'm ready for church mom!

Please mom please! Can we buy a Micah?

Baby babushka

Flooding

It ain't as bad as those living in the Philippines, but its bad enough. One night last week, I thought I heard Micah moving a bunch in his play yard. But when I went to look at him, he was still as a board and the sound was still there. I ignored it and went to the bathroom. Dan was talking to me and noticed a random wet spot on the carpet. Nothing dripping from the ceiling....but it was dripping from the pocket door's rail. Oh my! Its 11pm and a bit late to make a call to the landlord.  But a drop of water is falling every 3-4 seconds. That will be a lot of water in the morning! Needless to say, we made the call. He came out. Cut a hole in ceiling. No water source. Another hole. Found the source. Coming from the drain upstairs. The boys upstairs had a shower about 2 hours ago. Call upstairs. They say that the faucet came off the tub and were going to call in the morning. Upstairs he goes, turns off water. Downstairs water stops. Two holes, a bucket and a large mess later and we get to go to bed. 12:30am. (Did I mention that we have a baby who still wakes up at night?) Monday its fixed. Had to wait with holey ceilings for a week to let boards dry out. Prevent mould. Crazy life we lead.  

Have we mentioned that this is the third "flood" we have lived through? Third times a charm!

You know you're a parent when....

...you store your pool behind a baby gate.

Just to make your mouth water....

Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies!!!!


Completely divine! In dough, fresh and frozen form. But really and truly are best straight out of the freezer.

Totally enjoying the cookies

Barely enough time to take pictures

 

Dan's first bite! Yummy!

Nutella-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies

{makes 24}

24 teaspoons Nutella
2 & 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (we used 1 cup)

Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Dollop on 24 teaspoons of Nutella. Freeze for at least 30 minutes.

 

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl of an electric mixer, use the paddle attachment to cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.

Add the flour on low speed in three additions. Stir in the chocolate chips. Chill in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Scoop the chilled dough 2" apart onto the cookie sheets with a 2 TBSP cookie scoop, or use a spoon. With your fingers, pull the cookie dough apart in the middle and place a frozen Nutella dollop inside. Cover with the remaining dough. {Between batches, place the Nutella back in the freezer.}

Bake the cookies for 12 minutes, until done, but still soft. Let sit on the cookie sheet for two minutes, then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely.
(Courtesy of bakeat350.blogspot.ca)

Diaper Boys

Both boys were wearing the same diaper the other day so I decided to take a few pictures.

Look, the same size!!!

Joel giving Micah pats (burping him)

Joel trying to pick Micah up

Me and the boys

Micah standing up

Cheesy face

So big!

I know its a bit blurry, but I love his expression in this picture

Chef in training #2

Muffin Cart

Joel decided that his golf "bag" would be a good storage place for his zucchini carrot muffin. He dragged it all around the house and in the end, never ate the poor muffin.

Shannon Falls/Stanley Park

On Saturday, we invited Chris, Katrina and their son Asher to join us for a day trip to Shannon Falls just outside of Squamish. The boys were hilarious in the car, with one child laughing and the other copying the laugh. It lasted quite a while and was super funny to listen to.

The boys climbing in the river.

A nice family shot!

At one point in the walk up to the falls, Asher grabbed Joel's hand and they continued to walk up to the falls that way.

It was super cute!

A picture of Shannon Falls

Group shot

Our cute family!

Look at that cute smile!

  

After Shannon Falls, we went to Stanley Park where the kids played in the waterpark. Asher spent a long time in the water, whereas Joel refused to go in. Smart boy--it was super cold water.

A job well done. Sleeping kids=happy parents!

Cultus Lake

We gathered as friends to give a nice send off to Greg and Karmen who are off to Korea and Carlye and Jordan who are moving to East Vancouver.

We enjoyed a beach day at Cultus Lake followed by a BBQ dinner and pie!

 

 

 

 

Prayer

When Joel was born, and for the next 16 months or so, I often felt like I only prayed about sleep.

"Dear God, make him sleep."

"Please God, just two consecutive hours before he feeds again."

"Please let this feeding take less than an hour. I just need to sleep"

"Please let me sleep. I'm so tired."

Now that our sleep patterns are more or less under control, I feel like I finally have time and energy to pray about more than just sleep. Joel is finally sleeping through the night, for the most part. Micah only wakes up once or twice to feed and is super quick (less than 20 minutes). So I finally feel like I have the energy and brain power to pray about something other than sleep.

Needless to say, during one of those 3am feeding/praying sessions, God brought to mind a prayer map. We have a lot of friends doing mission work around the world right now and I thought it might be nice to know where they are. Partly because my geography isn't that great and partly to be able to show Joel where Cody is living.

The map serves as a good reminder to pray for those all around the world, near and far. We have friends serving in Papua, Philippines, South Korea, Jordan, USA and Canada. Some are doing formal missions and others are extending hospitality to those around them. Some are working with MCC, some making music and others teaching English. Still others are serving their families through the daily ins and outs of life. Its a smorgasbord of service.

(Please do not be offended if your picture is not up on our wall. We might not have a picture of you and your family yet!!! Email me one please and you'll go up on the wall.)

It is great to see what God is up to all around the world. To see where God has called his children to serve. To see the giftings that he has given each one of us and see us using them for his glory. Each family is different in how they serve and no one more important than another.

I love looking at this wall in progress and seeing how God has brought so many wonderful people into our lives. I love that our role has been to offer hospitality to many of these people while they serve here in Abbotsford. May this wall continue to grow!

Random Lessons from a semi-experienced mom

These are some of the random lessons I have learnt over the last 19 months. Have I really learned all these things in this short amount of time? These are things that I think every new mom could benefit from.

#1. Do not use the dry weave pads for postpartum bleeding, especially if you ended up with stitches. Your stitches will get caught in the dry weave, causing much pain. Stick with cotton pads. (thankfully this piece of advice was passed on by our prenatal class and NOT by experience)
#2. If you need a breast pump, use one from Medela or Advent. Do not use one from a company that also makes formula. Because if you think about it, does a formula company want you to succeed at breastfeeding? Not really! They will make a ton more money if you need to buy formula. (also a tidbit from prenatal class!)
#3. Babies make a LOT of noise in their sleep. In fact, they sometimes even let out a little cry. Dan and I have labelled this "munching." They move, rearrange themselves, cry, suck, root and even talk in their sleep. We often think that they are awake, but in reality, they are still sleeping.
#4. A good sleep creates a happy baby. A happy, well rested baby sleeps better. Its a cycle. One late night can create a weeks worth of problems.
#5. Babies like to suck before they go to sleep. Breastfeeding them to sleep is not always the answer, since it can create problems in the long run.
#6. Each child is different. What works for one, may not work for the other. Some sleep well. Others do not. Some are active, others docile. Adapt to each child's individual needs. Be thankful if you've got the child that sleeps.
#7. Breastfeeding shouldn't hurt. But the during the learning curve stage, it may (partly to tell you that you don't have it right yet!). It can take up to six weeks or so to learn to breastfeed properly. Seek help if you need it.  Your milk supply will level out at around 3 months.  If you need milk, seek me out. (haha...not a lesson, but merely an offer!)
#8. Do not kiss your baby's feet after changing their diaper without looking at their feet to ensure the aforementioned substance is cleared from their appendage. Otherwise, you may get more than you bargained for. (hey Matt Kok?!)
#9. Trust your instincts. You know what is right for your baby. If not, ask for help. Or google it.
#10. Shrug off unsolicited advice that you didn't ask for. Intentions are good, but the times have changed. What was recommended by our parents and grandparents generation is not always recommended now. Do what is right for you.
#11. Do what is right for you and your family and this time. That may change as time goes on.  Do not feel guilty by your choice.
#12. Drop the mom guilt. It doesn't do anyone any good. If you feel guilty, change things. If there is nothing to be guilty about, drop it.
#13. The first time your baby sleeps after its born, kick everyone out and get some rest. This sleep that they have (the first one after birth) is the LONGEST sleep you will get for months.  They tend to sleep 5-6 hours. Take advantage of it!