Saturday, April 30, 2011

New blog

Alright, so a follow up to my last post...

I have a new blog to keep up with, this hinkleclan blog will stay as it is, dedicated to our daily happenings and this new one www.countrycatholicliving.blogspot.com will be dedicated to my opinions and research on various topics including but not limited to, Catholicism, abortion, vaccinations, circumcision, homebirth, breastfeeding, natural health alternatives, organic food, vitamins and supplements, and peaceful attachment parenting.

Please follow me if you are interested :)

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Thankful Thursday

Tonight I am just sitting in bed, catching up on some articles that my fellow bloggers have put up. I am always reading blogs that contain the following topics, Catholicism, Vaccinations, Abortion, Peaceful and Natural Parenting, and Conservative Politics.

I am sitting in bed, Nev is layin next to me, Clare and Paul are both in bed sleeping, Josh is playing Call of Duty and I am all caught up (sort of) on housework. I am thinking about how grateful I am to have so many good friends who have provided me with so many avenues to form who I am as a mother today. I am shocked at how much I have changed since I first was pregnant and then gave birth to Clare. My ideas of parenting have pretty much done a 180 (thats when they turn completely around...right?) I am also so grateful that my husband is so smart and supports me in everything we have chosen for our family. He truly is a wonderful leader, husband and father. It gives me so much comfort to know he has researched almost as much as I have on Vaccinations, more than I have on Catholicism, Abortion and DEFINITELY WAYYY more on Conservative Politics or Politics in general. He is a wonderful support.

I dont like to post to much about topics that interest me, I tend to stick to my kids and just posting about our day to day lives but I think I will start incorporating some articles and various tid bits of information I am researching as I research. I can only imagine I will lose blog readers, but since I have a pretty minimal following- I think i'll live. Part of my reasoning behind blogging about topics that are important to me, is to have a place where I can compile all my research and put all my random articles I have in my inbox and my husband's inbox in an organized blog.

Anyways- I hope yall stick with me and dont EVER feel forced to read anything I post and please drop me a comment or question- I ALWAYS will respect everyone's opinion and rights as a parent.

God bless!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Happy Birthday Paul!





Well, Mr. Man turned 2 on Friday. If you ask him how old he is, he says "Free" (Three) and holds up one finger...hmm.

Paul has been such a joy, he is so articulate and funny. He LOVES to play with Clare (she loves playing with him as well). He is obsessed with rescue vehicles especially FIRETRUCKS! We took Paul to see a firetruck on Friday, Josh is friends with the Fire Marshall through his store and he has told us many times to bring Paul by so we took all the firemen some Braum's Icecream and got to see a firetruck. Paul sat in the front seat, "drove", hit the lights, and made LOTS of siren sounds. Paul also received a Fireman hat and some stickers.

We had a family and friends party for Paul today for Cake and Icecream. While getting everything set up, Paul literally helped me decorate. He recognized that most everything (table cloth, plates, cups, napkins etc...) was red or blue and he brought out various red or blue items, including a lady bug stuffed animal, his coveted truck book, spiderman book, train set he received from Gma and Gpa Cihak, cars...all colored blue or red.

We had our family here and some dear friends that drove out from Cashion with their five children, Peter is their youngest and he is about 2 weeks older than Paul. Marigold is a little less than a year older than Clare and then they have Oliver who is 6, Ben who is 8, and the oldest sweetie who 'trained' our puppy all afternoon, Lily who is 10.

Paul also received a firetruck that makes all the noises and siren sounds of a firetruck in action...sidenote- this is not an appropriate toy for car rides...unless you enjoy being the only person pulling over frantically looking around, waiting for a firetruck to zoom by! haha! Thank you to his God Parents Paul and Susan! We miss yall so much!


enjoy the pics :)

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Paul


Paul is the funniest kid, he can talk completely in full sentences now which is why when he SCREAMS just to scream instead of asking for what he wants I crack up...

Today I gave Clare a glass of water and Paul immediately SCREAMED "AHHHHHH"...my immediate reaction was to laugh much to Paul's dismay...he screamed again "AHHHHHH", I asked Paul if he wanted water "Yes, I want a glass of water yes" - me: "dont you think we can skip the screaming and drama Paul?" Paul: "AHHHHH" (which means GET ME WATER NOW).

Paul also just asked me for a plate, so I grabbed him one of his spiderman plates, then he asked for a spoon, so I got him a spoon, then he asked for a yogurt ... okay, I start walking to the fridge...Paul says "Yogurts are in the fridge Mummy"... *thanks Paul*.

Sleep much?


One thing I love about babies and children growing is that when they are born they obviously sleep a TON, then they slowly start to wake up constantly to eat for about three months, then they get into a great pattern of maybe waking up once or twice...Nevan Jonathan is the exact opposite...

Nevan went from sleeping 5 hour stretches from 6 weeks of age...to waking up EVERY hour! This little guy has been getting up at three AM for the past 2 1/2 weeks and staying awake until about 10 AM...yeah! This is awesome.
Don't be fooled by these innocent eyes :)

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Lame days at home


Well, since we are a one car family, I spend A LOT of time at home with the kids, sometimes I really struggle with this because I LOVE to be busy and run errands. Clare seems to take after me in that sense, she likes to run errands and behaves much better when we are out and about. Lately, with Josh's store opening we have been spending EVERY day at home ALL day. You would think that being stuck at home I would be able to keep up on laundry and cleaning but I feel more behind than ever! I had to enlist Josh today for some household help :( . Josh is so helpful anyways that he was happy to help me, but I still feel guilty for it. But he also got a better idea of why I was getting behind...

Dear little Nevan, bless his happy little heart- he is hurting so bad with his teeth coming in, he constantly wants to be held and loved on. This stage has caused some jealousy among the siblings, Paul especially. Clare tends to stay up with me at night though and goes to bed when I go to bed, she loves to just snuggle and I love it to because often times Josh isnt home till late anyways. Backt o Nevan, poor baby, he just smiles but cries while smiling- I promise you have never seen anything so pitiful. However he does enjoy his exersaucer and bumbo for about five minutes a day...yes only five minutes.

Paul continues to amaze me with his talking and singing.
Story-
He saw some change on the counter and asked for it, I gave him 2 pennies. Paul looked at me and looked back in his hand and said "I want more! I dont want 2 pennies, I want THREE".
-Maybe I am overreacting...but my boy knows that three is more than 2 and he wanted three AND he conveyed the message CLEARLY in a full sentence! Paul might be turning 2 next week, but I say he is 2 going on wallstreet :)

TJMAXX is officially an outdoor dog, he stays in the backyard ALL day and comes in at night to his kennel...this truly is the best sort of dog!

Monday, April 11, 2011

Things and Stuff





Clare received her first hair cut from Mommy yesterday, so her little curls are now above her shoulders and much much easier to brush. Clare also doesnt really like me to put her hair in pony tails or do anything with it, she seems to prefer it messy and in her face so I figured a short haircut was in order. Lucky she has curly hair so you can't tell how uneven and horrible I am as a hair cutter.
Paul is slowly potty training which really means he is just running around the house naked (Thank you Lord for hardwood floors). He also still is a shrimp! He only weighs 24 lbs so he (as pictured) loves to hang out in the swing.
Nevan! This guy can now sit unassisted in his play center! He also is rolling over with a purpose and TEETHING! Kill me now! This is what normal parents go through with their teething kids?! Fevers, crying, fussiness, the runs, sleepless nights! WHAT?! Clare and Paul NEVER went through this...their teeth just magically appeared! I ordered a Baltic Amber Teething Necklace from Poland which are supposed to be the cure all for teething ailments so my complete sanity is vested in this one little necklace and it better work!
I hear we are in for some tornado warnings soon, so I am mentally preparing myself with what to do...I have never been very far from family or tornado shelters so I am not sure what I will do in the event of a tornado (better figure it out fast!).
Off to do laundry and LOTS of cleaning!
God Bless!

Friday, April 8, 2011

The boys


I want to just blog about my boys. . .

Joshua-
I went to stay with some friends for a week with the kids so Josh could really focus on working and his store... we had a blast, Josh came to get us yesterday and took me out for dinner. We got home around 8 pm, I put the kids to bed and Josh worked on his store schedule for the entire night and then went to work at 5:00 am. I am so blessed he is such a hard worker, loving husband and great father.

Joshua Paul-
Paul as you can see has some green crocodile shoes that he literally is OBSESSED with. His typical outfit is Crocodile shoes, tuxedo pants (from Christmas) and his firetruck shirt, he actually went 6 days wearing the same thing. Paul loves his crocodile shoes so much by the way that he even wears them to bed and in the bath!
He is the CUTEST talker, he talks in full sentences and has full conversations with EVERYONE, especially his beloved "bo bo". He is so funny, and loving- he gives me hundreds (no exaggeration) of kisses a day, he loves Nevan or "my nevs" as he calls him. I just can't get enough of him.

Nevan Jonathan-
One word to describe Nev: HAPPY
Nevan is the happiest baby I have EVER been around, if you so much as look in his direction (and he is aware enough to know) he SMILES and even laughs at times. He smiles as I nurse him and as I change him and even when I lay him in his cradle.

There- I just needed to write all my happy thankful blessings down about boys today :)
Clare is a blessing too...but I will write about her again another day :) <3

Random pix and Life

As you can see
As you can see we have a puppy, who was not supposed to get in the bath but did anyways. His name is TJ maxx (yes, some people name their animals after fancy designers, but that didnt fit for us).
Paul is also now in a big boy bed, which basically means I am so tired by the end of the night just chasing him back to bed. Paul is also pictured with his favorite blanket and stuffed bear "Bo".

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Country Week

This past week, I took the kids to the country to stay with some friends for a couple days, we had such a fun time! We played outside CONSTANTLY , jumped on the trampoline, played baseball (with a big stick and a soccer ball), we ate awesome food, played with baby ducklings, rabbits and a snake. I cannot wait until JOsh and I can finally build a house- because we are headed to the country!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Zoo Zoo Zoo




Josh and I decided to take the kids to the zoo to see the new elephant exhibit. The kids LOVED the snake exhibit- which I could barely handle walking through...but I sucked it up and we all enjoyed it.

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Riverwalk and Downtown




Josh and I took the kids downtown to go on the riverwalk and grab some dinner...next time we go - we plan on taking a carriage ride.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Funny Updates

Clare funnies:

At bathtime the other night, I got Clare all stripped down and told her to go to the bathroom for bath time... Clare: Just one sec, I just have to do something really quick - *Clare runs to the back door, dramatically swings it open* GOD BLESS AMERICA!

I listed off all the things we had to do one day: Breakfast, gym, naps, zoo, dinner, bedtime...Clare's response- "well, at some point I need to stop by the hosbibble and have my baby"

Whenever I tell Paul to do something, Clare chimes in and says "Paul, say YES MAAM to your mother"!

As Josh layed Clare down, and turned to walk out of the room she said "Daddy, please dont leave me, your breakin my heart, bless my little heart".

While Paul and Clare were wrestling which turned into a fight, Paul started singing "I Belong to Jesus" in between punches.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Backyard pics!



Clare and Paul LOVE LOVE LOVE the backyard...

Friday, February 25, 2011

Nevan and Clare WBC


Took Nevan in for his 2 month WBC and Clare's 3 year old check up yesterday.


Nevan is in the 98th Percentile for height and 95th for Weight. He weighs 16 pounds and looks healthy healthy. Nevan is now laughing and smiling ALL the time, he eats whenever he wants which is probably about every 2 hours or so. He loves to cuddle and sleeps pretty much in our bed...since he basically nurses all night.


Clare is now 3! She is in the 95th percentile for height and 75th for weight, she is pretty much wearing 3t, although most all of her clothes fall off her waist. She weighs 33 pounds and is tall although I cannot remember what the doctor said her height was.

Friday, February 18, 2011

Letter to Clare




Dear Clare,

Three years ago today, your Daddy and I were given the best gift we could have ever wanted. You were born in the afternoon and were 7 lbs 11 oz of perfection. You have changed our lives forever. You have been such a joy and have brought countless daily smiles to our faces. You have been truly loved since the moment we found out we were pregnant with you. I always knew I would name you Clare. Clare means clear, bright and pure and your GodMary thought of the middle name Noelani which means "Beautiful girl from Heaven". Your name couldnt describe you more perfectly. I feel so honored to be your mother and try and cherish every moment that God has given us. I look forward to continue to watch you grow, always remember that you are truly loved. You were born on one of the feast days of St. Bernadette, I cannot wait to read to you about her amazing life.


Thursday, February 17, 2011

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Finally

We now have a home for at least the next two years until Josh finishes school! We moved very quickly out of our recently molded apartment that was to small anyways and we found a three bedroom tiny house that is ADORABLE. We love it, it isnt in the best area of town but we decided we just would put a shield of prayer over the house and call on our guardian angels for extra protection. The house has all hardwood and tile floors (real hardwood and real tile) which will be wonderful for our messy little children. I also will now be watching a little girl that is a little younger than Clare five days per week to help with rent. She is a sweet little thing, her name is Ava and her and Clare are already little besties.
Clare's birthday is rapidly approaching (2 days away) and I am scrambling to get all of our stuff in one place to move as well as get ready for her party.
Side note: I decided to write this blog while all three of my children are awake and I thought they were watching a show, and just turned around to the game "Sorry" scattered EVERYWHERE- note to self...wait till they are asleep to blog.

Nevan weighs 15 pounds and is a happy little guy, smiles at everything and everyone. He eats great- obviously.

Paul is talking more and more and we have discovered (the hard way) that he is an absolute bear if we deviate from his schedule AT ALL.
Clare- is almost three! She told me this week- "Alright Mom, I am ready to go to the Pope's office.." Me: "umm..we are going to the post office"

Sunday, February 13, 2011


Yesterday, it was 61 degrees outside! Oklahoma amazes me, one day it is in the negative degrees and the next it is 61! The kids played outside in tshirts and jeans in the SNOW and LOVED it. Paul loved eating the snow...or eating what he thought was snow...please see picture above. I let him...I dont really care if he eats a little dirt. Clare enjoyed running around with me and kicking the ball. She is also a bit obsessed with Hide and Seek. We had fun.


Today at Church, Josh and I made yet another attempt to get the kids in the nursery, but 10 minutes into Mass we got the phone call :( So Josh spent another mass stuck in the back with two hyper hyper children. I got to enjoy Mass while holding precious cooing Nevan.


On to funnier things...

When Josh went to get a hysterical Paul from the Nursery the nursery attendant pointed out that we had written his age down wrong...we had put one instead of 2...pysch! Josh: "No Ma'am he doesnt turn two till the end of April"...pause. Nursery attendant: "WHAT?!!!, but he talks in full sentances!? He said, Lift me up over this gate, get me out of here, DONT TOUCH ME DONT TOUCH ME, I am gonna throw up, get away, I dont want to hold you"- Josh and I are sort of proud...but not exactly with what he said :/

Clare on the way home spotted Chili's Restaurant and started excitedely telling us to turn of the music...we turned off the music...Clare: "Mommy!! Mommy! look, we can eat at Veggie Tales, I have never eaten there before" *car passes Chili's and the gigantic fit begins*


Happy Sunday!


Saturday, February 12, 2011

I have a little bit of time

Clare, Paul and Nevan are all sleeping, house is a mess and I have lots of packing to do so naturally I am on my blog...

Funny things of the week-Paul addition:
Paul was sick for about 3 weeks, throwing up, coughing, fever...and the list goes on. Now everytime he coughs he puts on his best sad face and says "mommy, I just throw up"

I heard Paul from his bed the other morning say, "Mommy?! Moooommmy? I want to get up, I am in my bed, get me out, I want to hold you"

Paul talks about two octaves higher than everyone I know, so he sounds really girly all the time but we LOVE it...we always find ourselves talking in really low voices trying to encourage him to bring it down but it doesnt seem to work.

Paul also hits his head a million times per day- I really dont know what it is...it doesnt worry me, but it probably should.

Funny convo between Clare and Paul:
Paul- I want to see Jesus, I want to see Jesus
Clare-NNNOOO Paul! We CANT see Jesus, we are going to eat Quesadillas!

Friday, February 11, 2011

11:41 PM


Well, it is 11:41 PM and I am crazy for blogging right now but its the only time I have! Clare and Paul go to bed at 8 and Nevan went down about 10:45 and Josh right with him so I thought...I'll blog...instead of going to sleep...stupid.
Anyways, today Josh and I apartment/househunted with the kids. Then we went to the mall...which is Clare and I's ABSOLUTE favorite thing ever..Daddy and Paul...not so much. I think poor Josh got frustrated because between me and Clare just dawdling and wandering in and out of EVERY store...he seemed to be at his wits end. Clare and I had a GREAT time. Paul seemed pretty cool too. Nevan just chilled in the Moby and nursed most of the time. Pretty funny to watch people look at me trying to figure out why I am wearing a big brown draped cloth with a blanket over it. Josh and I took Paul to get some new shoes. I NEVER buy my kids shoes, thank the Lord, we have been blessed with handmedowns, but we had some money saved for shoes and various other things so today...SHOES for JP. We trekked to Stride Rite and took off Paul's shoes for his feet to be fitted and measured. (note paul has been complaining constantly of pain in his foot.."ouchy ouchy" *shakes foot, for at least a week). I hang my head in absolute embarrassment and shame when the shoe lady announces he is wearing shoes that are THREE sizes to SMALL!!! FAILURE as a Mom on my part! Anyways we got him some pretty cute shoes...then I decided that if I failed with Paul I must have failed with Clare so we had her measured and FANTASTIC...Clare was wearing shoes TWO sizes to small- SERIOUSLY...I am so out of touch with some things! My two worst apparently are brushing teeth (working hard on that one) and SHOES! Anyways, here is a pic of me happily out of it wandering through the store completely in my own world and little Nevan.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Finally

Well, finally all three children are better and happy. Clare and Paul are doing really well, especially sticking to their schedule. Nevan is a blessing and laughed for the first time last night which made me cry :)
Paul is the biggest talker ever! He NEVER stops, he is so cute though, he says all kinds of full sentances...where is my book, I dont like that, I want to hold you Mommy, Mommy come find me! Mommy, I want wogurt! (yogurt).
Thats the end of my short post because Nevan doesnt go more than 2 seconds during the day without being bounced or sucking a paci... :) (I guess it is obvious why I dont hardly blog anymore...)

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Nevan's Five Weeks Old

Well, Nevan is five weeks old and I forgot to post his one month old check up stats...
Nevan is in the 95th percentile for pretty much everything - he weighed 12 pounds last week, but today when I took him in for a quick check on his cold he weighed 13 pounds. He is a big boy, to us he doesnt really look fat or chunky, just big.
All three kids are fighting off something still, resulting in very little sleep for everyone. Please pray for our health and rest.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Vomiting, Fevers, and Ear Infections...Oh My!





























Long week for us, started with Paul throwing up (no other symptoms) for six days and peaked when he caught a sinus infection, Clare topped the week with her upper resp. infection and Nevan rounded it out with THRUSH. (ouch is all I can say to that).














Some funny things that the kids said this week.







Clare: "Grammy, please pat my back"







*Grammy begins patting*







Clare: "Harder"







*Grammy pats harder*







Clare: "Harder"







*Grammy is practically pounding her back*







Clare: "There, now I should burp"














Clare *Coughing fit*







Dr. Thompson: "That sounded like it hurt?"







Clare: "Yes, I am so sorry, that was very rude of me"














Thursday, January 13, 2011

Nevan


Well, I have had a few questions about Nevan's name so I thought I would just post about it.


I first heard the name after reading a story about a little Catholic family who found out they were having a baby boy with Trisomy 13 or 19...or whatever the number is and fell in love with their story as well as their little baby boy. He only lived for about an hour after birth but when the doctor lifted him up to the light to see if his heart was beating, his blood vessels had formed into the shape of a cross...


I then started to research the name and found that it is EXTREMELY uncommon. I love to have uncommon but not weird random names so I then found the meaning of the name which is "Holy, Holy little one, Little Saint, Holy little Saint and Follower of the Saint".

Josh and I prayed about the name and it just felt like it fit so we went ahead and named him Nevan.