Sinoef has NOT gone to bed...

There are many joys of being a mother: listening to the funny things your kids say, getting and giving a bazillion hugs and kisses everyday, getting compliments from strangers on how adorable or well-behaved your kids are.....Here are a few of the joys of my mothering from the past few days and a couple not-so-joys....

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I still have to separate the boys at bedtime because Zakkai is a monkey and keeps Samuel awake. Samuel begs to be allowed to go to sleep (due to no nappage) so I have to put one in our room and one in their room. We recently rearranged our bedroom to make more room and took down the pack n' play for the first time since Z was born! So anyways, I put Samuel in our bed the other night, thinking he would think it was special to snuggle in mommy and daddy's bed until Z settled down. Wrong. He was SO upset at not being in his own bed that he was crying and arguing with me.

Finally he angrily said to me, "I will NOT sweep in this bed! Mommy, this is the word of Samuel who will not sleep here: S-I-N-O-E-F. Samuel will not sleep in your bed!" Obviously we need to work a little more on how to spell his name!:)
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Taking the boys swimming for the first real time. (long story) We finally found a place to swim around here! The boys had a blast! It was so fun to teach them how to float and splash and have a good time. They didn't want to leave:)
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Leaving Target early because Zakkai was throwing an outrageous tantrum. Over not being allowed to try on helmets. Fun times.
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`Making homemade granola bars for them and watching them eat with pleasure. It's really fun to cook for my boys! When they eat it, that is.....see recipe below.
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Waking up to a sick child at 5am this morning. I always think of my mom when I am comforting a sick little one.
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Listening to Samuel play with his trains on the train table during naptime. He makes up elaborate stories and conversations between the trains and Sir Topham Hatt:) He gets really embarassed if he notices that you're listening to him!
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Homemade Chewy Granola Bars

1 cup packed brown sugar
2/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 c. light corn syrup
1/2. c. butter, melted (I used less)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. coconut
1/2c. shelled sunflower seeds
1/2 c. raisins or dried fruit of choice
1/3 c. wheat germ or gr. flax seed meal
2 TB sesame seeds
3 cups quick-cooking oats 1 (6oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
*I used probably 1/2 the amount of
Ghiradelli milk choc. chips. YUM
Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9 in pan. In lg bowl, combine the first 5 ingredients; blend well. Add all remaining ingredients; mix well. Press evenly into pan.

2. Bake 15-20 min or until light golden brown. Cool for 1 hour. Cut into bars.

* I would like to find a way to make it a little healthier but I still liked that it has oats, flax seed (or wheat germ), and fruit in it! They were DELICIOUS! Ben proclaimed them the best granola bars he's ever had. And he loves granola bars:)