Cruff Family Chronicles

Hi, all! I'm going to try to make this post short and sweet since I don't have Internet at home and I'll be typing it on my phone.  Today, we went to a couple of places. We went to River of Time here in Bay City. It is an outdoor event with people dressed up from all different times, native Americans, civil war times, British soliders, etc. Although I think this event could be fun, there just wasn't much for a 1 & 4 year old to do. I feel like it would be great for older school age kids. We got some kettle corn, root beer and lemonade. That was the highlight lol.  In the afternoon, we went to Bayne's Apple Valley Farm. I think this would be a great place for older toddlers and above. The store has lots of great things but the cafe only accepts cash. It is also pretty hard to get around in a stroller there. It was a warm day here so it was super packed, we don't do crowds very well. We took home some delicious apple cider and a dozen donuts. Marked that one o...

Hey, all! So it's been a pretty eventful week here. Last Tuesday, I was in a car accident. I was by myself, thankfully, but my car has been declared totaled. Someone made the comment ;) "But it hasn't even snowed yet" lol. I was not at fault and was t-boned. I was sore and mentally exhausted for a few days and also fighting a wicked cold. I'm still fighting the cold, along with the kids now, but doing better. We got a rental van that I just love but we have to give it back on Wednesday. We'll have to figure out what to do about purchasing another vehicle but in the meantime, we have my in-laws car so that's nice. We put the girls together for the first time last night and it didn't go well. With Avi not feelling well, she didn't settle down until about 10:30pm and she goes to bed around 7:30 pm. So this is how it was at the Cruffs last night: Avi slept in the pack and play in the living room Bri slept in her room but got up a couple of ti...

Today was Bri's 2nd swim lesson! She did well again. It didn't go quite as long as the first but she still enjoyed it. She has always loved the water so I'm glad we finally got her into some lessons. I bought her a swim cap to try and keep her hair dry because it was a little chilly outside today. She was all about it until we got there and she asked me "What if someone thinks I'm silly?" I laughed because I worried about the same thing. "2" for 2nd class :P I let her decide and she decided against it. Maybe she'll decide to wear it another time. Free play She's growing up so fast. She's a little person and comes up with the funniest things. I can't believe she's going to be 5 soon! I always tell her I don't want her to grow up and she tells me "But Mom, I WANT to grow up!" I remind her to just enjoy being a kid because being a wife and a mom is hard work! After swim snack: yogurt with spr...

So, uh...Fall has officially arrived in Michigan. Although, I'm told, this is pretty unusual for this time of year, I'm not buying it lol. Avi says "'Un-seasonably cold' my booty! " This morning we were just bums and lounged around the house. We worked with Avi's walking between me and Adam. She did fine. She can pick up her left leg pretty good but not the right so that's something I'm going to bring up in physical therapy. We planned on going to a family event here in Bay City called Kid's Block Party. It was hosted by Great Lakes Bay Moms . They are a great resource for things to do in the tri-city area. I actually found Bri's swim classes on there. Their Facebook  is great too. They post "Daily Picks" of events going on around town. Sure glad I found them. Thanks, Amy S. for the recommendation! Guy on stilts and wearing short sleeves in 48 degree weather. It was really cold but we bundled the kids an...

I debated many-a-times writing this blog post but I was afraid people would think I was looking for attention. That's not what this is about. I'm writing for awareness. To take away some of the STIGMA that comes with having a developmentally delayed child. So I'll start from the beginning... Averiana Eden was born last April. She is different than her sister, although they have a lot of facial similarities. Pretty much, from the start, she's been the polar opposite of Bri. Bri is independent, friendly, outgoing, and a big ball of energy. Avi is much more relaxed, not as warming to strangers, very hesitant and is content if you're just snuggling with her. Obviously as she's getting older, she's blossoming into a different girlie.  We knew early on she was behind on her gross motor skills. She sat up late, she rolled over late, she had a funny frog/army crawl. When she was a baby, I had noticed her head was getting flat in the back and asked her child care...

Hey Everyone! Thanks for stopping by. Now that I'm a semi-permanent stay at home mom, I've really enjoyed trying new recipes. Of course, Pinterest is the go-to place but sometimes Google pulls through for me. Yesterday, I made pulled pork and broccoli slaw. It was soooo good! I went to our local meat market (Jack's) and bought what I thought was a 2 lb pork loin. After I got home, it ended up being two 1 lb. loins but it worked well all the same. I'm a picky eater although my palate expands the older I get. I am not a big fan of cole slaw so when I saw the bag of broccoli slaw, I thought I would try it. I asked Siri how to make coleslaw and he (yes, I made his voice male, lol) told me the main ingredients were cabbage, vinaigrette, vinegar, vegetable oil and mayonnaise. As soon as I saw, vinaigrette (all day I spelled it vinegarette and I don't even care, lol.) I thought of this wonderful recipe my friend Julie had made and shared with me. It was one of Ina Gart...