3 Cute Kids

Christmas 2011

2012-01-31T06:15:00.018-05:00

Finishing up the 2011 posts with our Christmas post! We had a wonderful Christmas. I was super organized this year, and it really helped everything go so smoothly!

Jack got a huge arcade-style basketball hoop. He loves it! I almost never see him anymore! :)

Abigail got a bike- a BIG bike, not a baby bike, and there wasn't a lick of pink or princess or anything else "lame" on it!

This is actually Aidan's gift, not sure why the only pictures I have are of Jack on it! It is a Razor Rip Rider- similar to a big wheel or trike, but it can go really fast and spins into 360's! He loves it!

Aidan was SO excited to give Kydon an Auburn shirt! Based on all the clues he gave, I don't think Kydon was all that surprised, but he was so happy to give it!

Had to include this one to show I was there too!

We got a bunch of playmobile toys, and clothes, and all sorts of other things! They didn't get anything they had asked Santa for, but luckily they seemed very happy with what they got!

I didn't make much this year. The one thing I tried was these funny mustaches. I thought they were hilarious and great, but they boys hated them!! I made them put them on just for a picture, and you can see how much Aidan is enjoying it! At least Jack was more believable! That was the first, last, and only time they have been used!

I always love the "aftermath" photo of the room all ripped apart! Luckily it didn't stay that way for long!

Abigail's Baptism

2012-01-30T10:15:00.000-05:00

My girl Abigail got baptised over the weekend! I am so proud of her. Watching her face as she listened to all the talks and absorbed the messages was wonderful. I know without a doubt this day was meaningful to her and she will remember the events of the day!

I took her out for a little photo shoot in the morning before all the craziness happened!

She is getting so big! I love to see her grow and mature! We had a gigantic celebratory lunch with all of the family and a few friends. We did a pasta bar- choose your noodles, choose your sauce, choose your meat. Add in a salad and some garlic bread, and wah-lah! It was really good, and not too much work on my part!

The kids each got a plate, (notice I didn't say they ate, I just said they got a plate), and then very quickly were outside jumping. For some reason I just loved this picture of them in all their church-worthy finery and jumping!

Here is Abigail with two of her best friends. One lives right across the street, the other was in our neighborhood but now has moved a few miles away. These girls are so great together!

And, of course, the picture with the parents. I hate that I didn't get one with Jack and Aidan, but they were being tortured enough to be IN CHURCH on a Saturday and wearing BUMPY PANTS. I didn't want them to call DFCS with the news that I had also made them get in a picture.

I love that baptisms are a special time with Daddy!

Thank goodness for Kydon snapping a few pictures at the end- I was exhausted and completely forgot to get pictures of all the family, pictures of her brothers, and other combinations. I was SO happy when I downloaded the pics and there are several of various people, and this wonderful one of all the grandparents! Whew!

2012: Purpose

2012-01-24T06:20:00.000-05:00

Some years I set resolutions, some years I just try to survive. A few times I have selected a "theme" for the year. This year I am returning to the "theme" idea. I am not just trying to get by anymore. My kids are manageable and fun. For 2012, my theme is going to be:

Create The Life You Want!

I don't need to "make do" or "just get by". I need to be purposeful about what I want, and determined in the way I go about it. If there is a certain way I want my life to be, then I need to take responsibility to create that life. I need to act rather than be acted upon!

I'm still figuring out all the ways it will impact my day-to-day, but it is where my thoughts and inspirations are leading me. To create the life I want is exciting!

Christmas Morning progression

2012-01-23T13:20:00.000-05:00

2004:

2005:

2006:

2007:

2008:

2009:

2010:

2011:

My, how time flies!

Nirvana

2012-01-20T09:15:00.001-05:00

Grandma and Grandpa Olsen really know how to make little boys happy. They have a friend who was in the armed forces, and has several items of memorabilia, plus has a few "REAL Civil War" items. They convinced him to let all the kids come over and have a look.

Aidan experienced nirvana. He first got dressed in all his Union Soldier finery, including his blue pants, white undershirt, and (a bit too small) suit jacket. He donned his Kippe (how sad that I know the name of the hat), grabbed his knapsack and filled it with civil war treasures- confederate money, his small cannon replica, a few choice tiny army men, and a pistol. He also brought his musket (no self respecting soldier would go anywhere without it). Thus prepared, we entered the museum!

This gentleman was so incredibly nice and knowledgeable! He let 9 small children into his home, allowed them to ~~maul~~ touch his artifacts, and answered all of their questions! They got to see an actual pocket pistol, a real musket, and an actual sword, along with several other items of memorabilia.

Aidan then asked him: "Do you have any REAL guns that WORK?" To which the man hesitatingly replied "yes". And, of course, the follow -up came very quickly: "Can we SEE them?" Not one to be shy, especially if there is weaponry involved.

Very kindly, he left the room, opened his (very enormous) gun safe and brought out 3 guns- a handgun, a rifle, and an automatic (I think so, anyway, I was interested but not exactly fascinated). He kept them unloaded and well away from little fingers, but wow- how interesting! Jack and Aidan especially were over the moon with excitement and fascination!

The kids were then all given a chance to wear his REAL jacket and REAL hat!

Thankfully he said no to the holding the REAL gun request! Oh, my Aidan boy- I am going to do my best to steer you into engineering and weapon design rather than the military and weapon use that you seem so dead set on!

Eight is Great!

2012-01-12T06:24:00.000-05:00

My cute little pumpkin head turned eight this week! She is pretty used to it, since she has been telling people she is eight for over a year now! :)

Birthday celebrations started early- a few days before her birthday, Grandma and Grandpa Olsen took her out for dinner (at Chili's! With and ice cream sunday!), and let her open her gift- which contained FOOTIE PAJAMAS!! She came home from dinner, put on the footies, and has only taken them off for church and school- even dinner at Grandma's saw the footies! She also got some squinkies and a robe (in rainbow- her favorite color).

Her birthday morning started early- 5:30am, to be exact. Although I guess it isn't really that early for her, so early for the rest of us, but just a normal day for her! Waiting until dinner time to open gifts would be too cruel, so we opened them before school.

The traditional "heavy heavy hangover"!

And she got her dream toy- a squinkies camping truck!! Now it can caravan with the playmobile camping truck and miniature camping truck she already has. Also, if anyone knows of any other type of toy camping truck, please let me know- Easter is coming.

I made a whole slew of cupcakes and took them to her class at lunchtime, and ate lunch with her and handed out cupcakes! I also made her a birthday shirt to wear and let her not wear the school uniform that day.

Mama was not up for a full blown party this year, and we did a big one last year, so she invited a friend over for a party afternoon, which included:

More gifts!

Art projects! We did sand art into bottles, and then we were supposed to work together to make pom-pom scarves, but the girls decided to take a scrapbook Abigail got earlier out to the trampoline and work on putting all the pictures in. I ended up working on the scarves all by myself, but when it is your birthday, you get to choose what you do!

For dinner we had lasagna and more cupcakes! And eight candles, with a wish!

The scarf finally got done, one for each girl, and she is snug and warm in her FOOTIE pajamas! Do Grandma's know what makes girls happy or what?

Thanksgiving is past but not forgotten

2012-01-11T08:56:00.000-05:00

It is only January. Definitely not too late to be blogging about Thanksgiving.

We had a very fun Thanksgiving holiday. Not only was Kydon home a lot, but we had all of my siblings in town for the celebration! Of course there was us, my parents, and Melinda and Lisa's families (we all live here in town), but Jennifer came from Oregon (we missed her hubby who is in Norway finishing some school), and Russ and Catherine brought their kids all the way from Texas! It was great to be all together again.

We found a new park at Morgan Falls- it was absoulutely beautiful, and a blast for the kids as well! Spider web, anyone?

I thought these pictures were kind of cool where it appears they are hanging out in space!

And Aunt Jennifer is always up for a game of chase and capture- one of the many reasons she is the favorite!

We ate a huge, yummy dinner, of course, but we also had the entire week together to hang out and have fun- like going to at GA Tech basketball game!

The kids got "temporary tattoos" aka washable marker all over their faces!

And we got seats close enough to high 5 Buzz when he walked by!

There was hiking, of course, and lots of civil war soldiering going on. Watch out for the confederates if you are hiking in the GA woods, that's all I'm gonna say.

And we always decorate the tree over the Thanksgiving holiday. This year I let the kids put on all the ornaments!

And, it turned out u.g.l.y.! 5 ornaments on one branch, then whole sections with nothing!! I had no garland or anything to tie it together, so it was a real mess. Remind me to do better next year!

Luckily it was in the other room, so I really didn't have to look at it all that much! :)

We love to decorate and eat sugar cookies! That is a tradition that we all grew up with, and the kids just absolutely love it!

Once the sugar coma set in, we turned on a movie for all the little ones (including Grandpa, haha).

I'm all talk!

2012-01-05T13:27:00.000-05:00

As much as I think, talk, plan and try to convince Kydon to let me homeschool the kids, I can't help but enjoy my time while they are at school!

Especially the first day. When everyone has been a bit stir-crazy and I'm tired of thinking of fun things to do, the house is a mess and I have a million things to get done.

Take today, for example. I thought today would be my first day to homeschool Aidan. I thought that Kydon had agreed to let me keep one home, but apparently that was a miscommunication.

So, instead, I packed 3 lunches and sent 3 little ones packing off to the bus. When they left, I walked (wish it was running, but my calf is healing slowly) a blissful 2 miles down a tree covered path, with mind-numbing silence. Then I came home, cleaned the kitchen, started laundry, and did a pick-up of the entire house (which, I must add, has STAYED THAT WAY for 5 hours now. Miracle.). Then I took a shower, went shopping, made Abigail a birthday shirt, watched The Biggest Loser, and wrote this blog post.

Oh, and I still have another hour and 10 minutes.

Homeschool might be on my radar, but I sure do enjoy some time to get things done in peace and quiet!

Last Day of Christmas

2012-01-04T08:34:00.000-05:00

The kids declared today the Last Day of Christmas. They planned a party at their Grandma's house (luckily their Grandma was accomodating). It should be a day of fun!

I'm looking forward to *my* vacation starting tomorrow! Kydon back to work, kids back to school, the house will be clean and quiet!

Christmas Favorites

2011-12-24T08:56:00.000-05:00

Okay, so this post would be better with pictures, but I don't have any, so we will just have to do with a picture-less list.

In no particular order, here are my favorite memories from this 2011 Christmas season:

Zippy. Our elf. The kids have been so funny with him, whispering in his ear and rocketing themselves out of bed each morning to see where he is hidden. Aidan admitted just the other day that he tested his magic by touching him one day (if you touch him he loses magic and can't come back), and he came back anyway! Then Abigail devised this whole long and complicated explanation as to how that could have happened!
Watching Christmas movies. We have watched numerous ones, and loved them all!
Hot cocoa. Lots and lots of hot cocoa. Followed by ice cream, because it isn't really all that cold right now. Which also brings me to my next point:
WARM WEATHER! Love it! It has dipped into the 50's a few times, but also has stayed mostly in the high 60's. The kids have spent all month outside, running and playing and getting completely filthy. I hope it never turns cold!
French Dip sandwiches. Yum! An easy crock pot meal, and only about 5 min of putting them together before eating. Even the kids loved these sandwiches.
The age of my kids. This is the most fabulous year! They are old enough to understand all that is happening, the magic of Santa and the excitement of all the presents. They are old enough to plan and scheme for what to get other people, and yet still young enough to believe (it might not be much longer, based on their questions) and be mystified by all the events. They told me that tonight, Christmas Eve, is the best night of the whole year! The excitement is contagious, and I'm excited too!

Hope you all have a very merry and magical Christmas!

Neurosis Updated

2011-12-19T06:41:00.004-05:00

Thank you to all who commented about my neurotic need for my children to go to bed exactly on time! (If you haven't read that post first, this one won't make much sense).

If you read the comments, you can see that they are pretty split with opposing views, and the funny part is that I agree with each and every one of them!

The thing is, I do have a need and desire for my kids to go to bed early. Abigail wakes between 5-5:30 every day, regardless of bedtime, so it isn't an option to keep her up and have her sleep in. However, I recognize that as something unique to our family (I know a few others have the same issues, but they are pretty rare). I am okay with doing things differently than others, it really doesn't bother me. Although I inquired about changing the time for Activity Day Girl meetings, I really didn't push the issue, because it makes a lot of sense to have it that way. I recognize that if my family were a different dynamic, I would want it the way it is. I would NOT want to come to the church at 4pm for one activity then back at 7pm for another. I would want them combined. If my kids were not all the same age, I would prefer it that way. If I had a daytime job, I would want it that way. If I had kids in middle school that didn't get home until 4:30, I would want it the way it is. For EVERYBODY else, the timing makes a lot of sense. It just doesn't work for us. (And there really aren't enough girls to split the group and have 2 different meeting times).

Therefore, I did ask, and talk to some of the parents, and the leader, and the presidency, but when there was no support (which didn't surprise me, but I knew I had to at least try), I pretty quickly let it drop.

SO- the meeting time is not going to change, and really, I don't think it should change. However, it leaves me with my original dilemma of whether or not Abigail will go, and as Gretta pointed out, part of the reason I am so worked up about this is that in just one short year Jack and Aidan will also be expected to attend scouts, which meets at the same time, so I need to figure this out.

After thinking, and talking, and posting about this, I feel very strongly that bedtime is something that is crucial to our family happiness. I have tried very hard this year to be not-so-neurotic about it, and quite often on the weekends we have at least one or two days where they are up later than I would like. I try not to stress about it and just let it happen. But when things are hectic, and behaviour is bad, I need to be vigilant about bedtimes. I am going to take the same approach with the activity.

I will not be sending her to the activity on a regular basis. If there are days when behavior has been great and bedtime has been consistent for a while, and it happens to be a good night for her to go, then she will go. If it is not so good, she will not go. We are going to do some things for her (extra play dates, extra classes if she is interested) that will hopefully lessen the disappointment of not going, but I believe that church activities should be a supplement to family life rather than a detractor, and I also believe that in our particular family, bedtime is more important than it is in most.

Thanks for all the comments, both online and in person, and keep them coming!

Done...

2011-12-18T09:40:00.000-05:00

Shopping: DONE

Wrapping: DONE

Holiday baking and cookie making: DONE (and by the way, if you find peppermint marshmallows, please buy them and use them to make Rice Krispy treats, then drizzle chocolate and crushed candy canes on top, then eat and enjoy. Your welcome.)

Hmmm.... everything is done. Maybe I should work on a jigsaw puzzle:

Oh yeah, we did that too.

Now what am I going to do all this week???

In Which I Expose My Neurosis

2011-12-08T08:12:00.000-05:00

I am feeling agitated lately. Upset and nervous. Worried and bothered. You get the idea. I haven't talked about it much, because I know it will expose the truth- that I am neurotic with a side of crazy. But, what is a blog for, if not for over sharing?

In just a few short weeks, Abigail will be 8. That means she will be getting baptized. I'm very excited for that. I went through "my baby is too old" last year when she was 7, so I'm surprisingly calm and happy about the upcoming event.

*However*. That age-of-eight also means that she will be invited to attend "Activity Day Girls", which is a group of girls age 8-11 who meet twice a month for a little activity. Sounds great, doesn't it? Yes, I agree that she is ready for such a thing. She will love it, and it will be good for her. Yes, in theory, it is wonderful.

But the reality is... they don't meet until 7:30. PM! Yes, you heard me. The activity doesn't even START until she is supposed to be snoozing away in her comfy bed. Bedtime. I am fanatical about bedtime. FANATICAL, I tell you!

I try to be a permissive parent. I let them play in mud at the park. I take them on adventures. If they want to watch TV or make a mess of my fabric, I generally let them. The one thing I am fanatical about is bedtime. I wasn't always this way. When Abigail was a baby, there was no such thing as "bedtime". But when we had a one year old who needed a schedule and 2 nine-month old babies who were still waking every 2 hours, we needed to change something. I read the book "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child", and my entire world changed. Within 3 days all 3 were sleeping through the night and taking long, regular naps. I became sane again. I stopped leaving the house, because Jack and Aidan would nap 9-11 and 1-4. Abigail would nap 12-2, and bedtime for all was 6. Yes, 6 pm.

It was wonderful. I turned into the sleep fanatic. I would not go ANYWHERE if it interfered with naps. No family parties, no trips to the store, no park, no nothing. We stayed home and slept. That started about 6 years ago, and I haven't really changed all that much. Yes, we eventually gave up naps (although mine took naps much longer than most of our friends), but bedtime has remained pretty constant. Until just this year, we have put our kids to bed at 6:30.

This year, under great pressure from Kydon, we have delayed bedtime until 7:30, but that means they are generally in bed by 7:15 and hopefully asleep by 7:30. I greatly resisted this change. What in the world do you do with kids who are awake after dinner? It has been about 6 months, and I am still baffled by that time frame. I will admit that usually once a week I just can't take it and they go to bed at 6:30. They all keep asking me when I will relent and let them stay up later, and I honestly can't say. I was calling for a babysitter the other night, and at 9 pm all the teenagers were still awake! I worried about it all night!

And now, just because she is having a birthday, they want me to keep her up until 9 pm on a regular basis?? On a school night? That bothers me on SO many levels (not the least of which is that I can see immediate changes in behavior based on what time they go to bed, and I know I can expect to deal with increased whining and bad behavior the next day).

I tried floating the idea of changing it to an afternoon schedule, but that went over like a lead brick. Not gonna happen. So, now I have to decide.... do I stick to my guns and keep bedtime (something that I KNOW is good for the kids and good for our family in general), or do I cave to peer pressure and allow her to stay up twice a month?

I received no medication as a sponsor of this post. All idiotic neurosis are the sole property of my own head. I've tried to talk about this with real people, and get only baffled looks and "what is the big deal", so I'm giving it to the internet because I can't see computers roll their eyes.

Birth Family is just more Family!

2011-12-08T06:36:00.002-05:00

Our Halloween weekend was made even more thrilling by some special visitors! Jack and Aidan's birthmom brought herself and her kids all the way down to GA to visit us!

They were able to come to our school carnival, so they got to see our school, meet some of the teachers, and have some Halloween fun!

Aidan and Jack both have a little bit of hero-worship with Angela's oldest son Alec! He is so sweet to them and they just adore him!

Here is Angela, me with crazy braids, and Aidan's teacher.

Kydon made a bunch of pancakes to feed this hungry crowd! They stayed with us all weekend, and we tried our best to wear them all out! We were trying to give them as much fun as they give us when we visit. We couldn't do a bonfire and breakfast at the Farmhouse, but we did our best to show them around!

We have a skate park nearby which all the kids just loved... except poor Jack with his broken arm couldn't participate.

Abigail was standing with her roller blades at the top of this ramp. I asked if she was scared to go down, because she really isn't all that stable on her skates. She looked at me like I was crazy and said of course she wasn't scared! Then she did this-

Ha ha! No wonder she wasn't scared!

Alec showed us a bunch of cool moves!

Jack asked me to take this picture so he could pretend that he was going down all the ramps as well- notice how he is hiding the cast!

We decided that they needed to get a glimpse of "city life", so we all hopped onto the Marta train and headed downtown. With this many little boys, the train ride itself was the adventure!

We then walked around a little through downtown. It was a bonus adventure, because it was the GA Tech homecoming game, so they got to see a little of the craziness of SEC game day excitement!

It was a little difficult keeping all the little ones within our sight and out of the street, but we somehow managed!

The kids all got along so well, and it was so fun to talk to Angela and spend time with her- I love having extra family!

Walking across the ginormous bridge over the interstate! Of course we had to stop and stare in amazement and take some pictures!

We ate at the Varsity- an Atlanta tradition and the height of craziness on game day! It was so packed full, you could barely make your way through the place. We did somehow manage to get some food (and some of it was even what we ordered!) and even more amazing, found a place to sit!

I loved having them here and watching the boys spend time with her! I love that they have that relationship and know how much she loves them! I mean, who else would help them play DS for 2 hours, carefully explaining each and every button and reading each instruction on each game and let them switch games as many times as they wanted? (Not Mommy, I can promise you that!)

Why I don't Shop Before Thanksgiving

2011-12-07T08:15:00.000-05:00

Yesterday Abby made her own Santa suit. I think she did a pretty good job!

This morning Zippy was hiding in our fridge! Can you believe it?? That little guy took forever to find! But doesn't he look cozy all wrapped up?

There is a very good reason why I won't allow myself to do any Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving. That very good reason is that once I start, I just don't want to stop! Officially, I am "done" with my shopping. I actually was "done" two shopping trips ago. But we all know that I will just keep going until Christmas day!

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to check Amazon for something for Kydon!

What they aren't getting

2011-12-06T06:01:00.001-05:00

Oh, why, oh, why, can't they ask for something that I could actually agree to get?? I *want* to make their Christmas dreams come true, I really do.

In no particular order, here is a list of things they have asked Santa for, that Mommy has put the kibbosh on:

-- Electric Scooters. Yikes. You would have to be kidding. My kids are wild and reckless enough on the foot-powered ones they have. The very last thing they need is a motor!

-- Live animals. I don't think so.

-- Remote control airplane. This one I considered, but there is no shadow of a doubt that it would be broken within days of being opened. I just can't spend $40 on something that will absolutely not last.

-- 2 itouches. Aparently one is not enough for Abigail, who has asked for two. I don't think she is old enough, and spending $200 for one is not going to happen, let alone $400 for two of them.

-- Skate shoes. I thought about these as well, until I saw that they cost $100! Can't see spending that on shoes they can't wear to school and will grow out of in 2 months. Also, then I really wouldn't be able to catch then when they run away from me!

-- Powerwheels jeep. I didn't want them when they were age-appropriate, and I certainly don't want them now.

-- Nintendo DS. I just don't want to go there.

-- American Girl Doll. I actually would love to get one for Abigail, but Daddy is the mean one for this one. She never, ever plays with dolls. We bought her a knock-off AG doll last year, and it stays in the bottom of a drawer, surfacing only on the rarest of occasions when friends of hers are over and want to play. I still would buy it, because I like them as well, but Kydon says NO WAY to $100 for something she really wouldn't play with!

We have thought of many brilliant gifts, and I know Christmas morning will be fantastic... I just wish they would ask for something that I could agree to!

Mystery Solved!

2011-12-05T06:24:00.001-05:00

One of the benefits of having family so close is that we frequently have family dinners. We all gather at one house, make our way through pile after pile of delicious food, and enjoy the conversation and play time with cousins.

There has always been a mysterious element to these dinners, however. While I come home feeling stuffed and full, the minute we try to put the kids to bed, they cry and complain of hunger and empty stomachs. It never made sense.... until now.

The other day I was cleaning up from a family dinner at my house, and I went outside to gather the plates from the deck, and look what I found:

Gee, mystery solved.

Halloween Memories!

2011-12-04T09:23:00.000-05:00

Halloween was so fun this year! The kids all had very definite ideas of what to be, and they were pretty easy to make happen!

Jack wanted to be a vampire. I might be biased, but I think he looks more cute than scary!

As a shock to everyone, Aidan decided to be a Union Army soldier. Luckily we already had all the components of his ~~everyday wear~~ costume. Thanks to Daddy for his "real army" boots and to Granny for his musket.

We added a bit of battle wounds to make it a little more authentic. Soldiers in uniform don't smile, by the way!

I got into the spirit a bit as well with a fun hairdo of gravity-defying braids!

Here they are- all set to trick or treat!

Of course we had to go with our cute neighbor! I think they feel actual physical pain when they are separated from each other!

Trick or Treating started with a neighborhood gathering and costume parade and group picture and goodie bags. Then, they turned the kids loose on the neighborhood!

Run, boys, run! You don't want to miss it! They might run out in the next two seconds!

Trick or Treat!

Grab and run!

I thought it was so hilarious that they were running so hard between each house! Kydon and I could barely keep up.

Go! Go! Go!

They ate their fill of candy Halloween night, then the next day they get to keep 7 pieces of candy (oh, the agony of only 7 pieces!). That night, they put their gigantic bowls of candy on the front porch for the "Switch Witch" who switches the candy for a toy. This year she brought remote control cars!

I loved seeing them out running and playing instead of moaning and groaning on the couch from a sugar- induced coma!

All in all, Halloween can be chalked up as a success once again!

We got Grinched!

2011-12-02T08:02:00.000-05:00

The Who's down in Whoville liked Christmas a LOT!

But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville, did NOT!

On Tuesday I took my girl to her fist live musical performance! This is one of the great joys of parenthood- to experience something for the first time with someone filled with wonder and joy and excitement! We went to the Fox Theater to watch "Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas The Musical", and she was so excited! Not only did she get to see one of her favorite shows, but she got to stay up late! The world was perfect!

I love the Grinch book, I love the Grinch TV show, and now I can honestly say I love the Muscial! The costumes were out of this world- I keep seeing them dancing in my head! And the Grinch was masterful in his crankiness!

I think I have discovered our new family tradition to welcome the Christmas Season! I loved the way her little face lit up and her giggles and laughs at just the right moments! I think this is my favorite show I have seen at the Fox!

The costumes were divine, the music was sublime, and I wish I could live life talking in rhyme!

I received 2 complementary tickets to the show. All opinions and memories are 100% my own.

Tuesday's List

2011-11-29T07:42:00.000-05:00

I have been a bad blogger this month. Bad, bad blogger. I have posts about Halloween, posts about birth family visits and other family visits, and posts about mean tricks I like to play on the kids. I will get them written, eventually!

For now you are stuck with my random thoughts on a Tuesday morning. We greatly overdid our Thanksgiving holiday! Huge meals every night, all the gluttony of Thanksgiving dinner, and a divine cheesecake that I can't stop thinking about! Our out of town guests are gone now, and all I am left with is an empty fridge, hyped-up and sleep-deprived kids and 6 jigsaw puzzles sitting (completed) on my dining room table.

Today I have to grocery shop (in the cold, cold, rain- but I can't complain because the weather all week has been gloriously warm), make bread, do laundry, mop, and take Jack to get his big cast off. Most likely we will be trading the big cast for a smaller cast, but he is still very excited to at least have part of his arm back!

Oh, and tonight, even though she really should go to bed on time for once in over a week, I am taking Abigail to the fabulous Fox Theater to see "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" musical! I am so excited about taking her to her first show!

It's getting scary!

2011-11-27T17:43:00.000-05:00

It is obvious to me...

The holiday is over, the leftovers are gone, and it is time once again to head to the grocery store.

Racing AND Crashing- what could be better?

2011-11-22T09:02:00.000-05:00

A sweet package arrived on my doorstep: Jada Toys Battle Machines Combat Crash! Racing, crashing, remote control battle action... sounds like something right up our alley!

I wanted Jack and Aidan to have this for Christmas, but I just had to open it up and try it out! By the way, opening it ahead of time turned out to be a brilliant idea. I put batteries in, put all the stickers in the right place and figured out how to snap it all together in the quiet of a kid-less home. The other option is what we usually do- have the kids open it up, then find scissors and screwdrivers to take it out of the box, then find batteries and try to read instructions all while very excited children are jumping and grabbing and begging to please go faster. The stickers always get lost and/or put on by small fingers.

After working with this one, I am going to open every box before Christmas, pre-load with batteries, and make sure I know how to work it.

This Battle Machines Combat Crash was sure a fun one to start with. It comes with 2 cars, a simple track, and two remote "guns".... and really, to my 6 year old little weapon-obsessed boys, the only possible way to make remote control even better would be to make it in the shape of a gun! Ha!

You point the gun at the car, squeeze the trigger, and steer with the little wheel. It even has a "turbo speed" option under a finger guard- reminded me of the NOS option on Fast and Furious! I won't tell you how long I played with it myself without them anywhere around. Nope, won't even go there.

My only annoyance: 2 different kind of batteries. The cars took AAA and the remotes took AA. I did have to make a store run before I could try them out. If only they could have found a place for a 9v, it would have made it perfect!
The best feature? When the cars crash (which they are supposed to do), they pop apart! Little doors and hoods go flying! I can just hear the squeals of delight when they figure that part out! And even better? They snap back on so easily that they will be able to do it themselves, and I won't have to stop every 2 seconds and put it back together!

The track took a little "oomph" to get it to go together, but I was actually happy about that, because it didn't come apart when those little cars went whipping around crashing into everything! My only question is how long they will stick to the track before they take them into the streets (aka my entire downstairs)!

Have you started your Christmas shopping yet? Any new items to share? I would love to hear your plans!

I was given a Battle Machines Combat Crash to review. All opinions are my own.

If at first you don't succeed, remove all evidence that you ever tried!

2011-10-28T06:56:00.000-04:00

I love it when I see a cute and easy idea in a magazine and have all the things to make it. I saw these adorable rice krispy treat turkeys, and when Abigail had a playdate, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out!

Plus, it allowed the girls to get messy and stay out of trouble. Recipe for success!

Only.... it wasn't so successful. Actually, it was pretty much a complete mess from beginning to end with disaster in between.

This was the best one by FAR- looks just like an adorable turkey, doesn't it?? I was thinking this would be a practice run and I would make them for Thanksgiving- good thing I tried them first!!

Most looked more like this- they fell apart every time we tried to touch them, the candy corns wouldn't stick, the sticks fell out, the balls fell apart, the chocolate was a mess....

This is what we call Craft Fail!

But the picture was so gosh darn cute! And easy! Or not!

Fun at the Farm- pumpkin style

2011-10-26T06:49:00.002-04:00

The kids had a day off of school, so my sister and I took all the kids to a pumpkin farm.

First, the lovely opportunities for lots of pictures with pumpkins:

Abigail wanted a million pictures with different poses. It was so cute, I just had to oblige!

Love this boys' blue eyes!

We took a hayride... without any hay.

We fed some fish...

Some massive crazy big nasty catfish.

We walked in the parking lot... :)

And fed some goats and cows.

And of course had to buy a few! (Isn't my nephew adorable??)

Just call her pumpkin head!

It was a great time, and we got back to town just in time to get Jack's arm casted!

Reflections

2011-10-24T06:29:00.001-04:00

When Momma volunteers with the PTA, and gets to help run the Reflections Art contest, it is a pretty sure bet that the kids will participate! This was our first year entering, and it turned out fun. I think next year will be better, since we will have a better idea of what is involved.

Aidan, as we all know, is obsessed with the Civil War. We were talking about the contest, and the theme "Diversity Means", and brainstorming ideas of what they could do. Aidan really, really, really wanted to do a confederate flag. I had to explain that the confederate flag sort of stood for the OPPOSITE of diversity! He finally settled on President Lincoln.

He drew a picture (obviously Pres. Lincoln at a podium with Union and Confederate soldiers warring beneath him), and wrote "pezit lecein is a spesh man bcus he help fre The slavs" AKA "President Lincoln was a special man because he helped free the slaves". I was at a bit of a loss of what category to enter, but finally settled on liturature. And guess what?? He won! Apparently his entry was better than all the other first grade entries that didn't exist! He was so proud!

When we were brainstorming, Jack had the idea to draw different types of transportation, like car, bus, train, plane, boat, etc. and say something about diversity means that he can get to the same place a lot of different ways. But his actual drawing differed a bit:

A rainbow colored car and truck, one about to get pulled up by a crane. When I asked him for his artist statement he said: "Some trucks can be new and old. My picture shows if a old car about to be picked up and smashed, the truck is new and even when stuff are old they can still be good."

And he was a winner as well! I'm actually not sure how that happened, since there were some really great 1st grade entries, but I wasn't the judge, so it was a surprise!

Abigail and her cute friend at the reception for all the participants.

Abigail drew a picture of a school class with girls that all look the same and a new girl came who looked different and they all became friends.

I thought hers was really cute, but she didn't win for her grade.

But still proud anyway! And each participant got a gift card for a free ice cream cone, so we went that night and all ate ice cream! All in all, a successful venture, and I am sure we will do it again!

It was just a matter of time...

2011-10-23T06:15:00.001-04:00

I'm not actually surprised...

The way my kids play, it was really just a matter of time before a bone was broken!

We were enjoying the absolutely beautiful fall weather at a city fall festival. Jack was enjoying the bouncy houses just a little *too* much! He and Aidan were racing down a slide, and he got to the bottom first... Aidan landed on top of him, and *snap* through and through forearm breakage.

He doesn't seem to be bothered by it. I think it worries/upsets me way more than it does him!

This one cracks me up because he is posing a "hurt" look- he is pretty believable! He now has a cast from fingers to shoulder, and he will be in it for about 6 weeks, then transition to a short cast or a splint. It will be a long, long process.

At least now he can show his Auburn pride all over his arm!

And the hardest part by FAR? Making this boy take it easy! He wants to run, play, jump, chase, wrestle, etc. etc. with his cast! I gave him a good talking to the other day, and he said "but Mom! I'm a wild kid!" Yes he is, and if we make it 6 weeks without another break, I should get an award. I may have to take my mom's advice... cast his leg to keep him still!

My Disorder is Flaring Up

2011-10-22T08:50:00.000-04:00

I have a disorder. I diagnosed it myself.

SWD

Maybe you haven't heard of it. It is called Shift Work Disorder. It seems to primarily affect those who work odd hour shifts, such as a nurse who might work 7p-7a.

I have all the symptoms:
- insomnia and/or excessive sleepiness associated with working the odd hours WOW- I'm SO glad they have discovered that working all night can throw off your sleep!

... and I quote:
"The symptoms coincide with the duration of shift work and usually remit with the adoption of a conventional sleep-wake schedule." Excellent. Previous to my diagnosis, I would never have guessed that the difficulty sleeping would start when I went to work and resolve when I stopped going to work. This is groundbreaking science, people!

I also find myself experiencing some of the major side effects of this crippling disorder:

•Trouble focusing No wonder when I am awake for 26 hours then sleep for 2 I can't remember certain things. I never could figure that out.

•Sleep-related accidents Also why I don't operate heavy machinery after being sleep deprived for 2 days.

•Reduced work performance I'm just fine until about 3am. Then I want to crawl in bed and suck my thumb. Luckily if anything is happening the adrenaline starts pumping and I'm as good as new.

•Missed family and social activities Why didn't anyone warn me that if the family has an event at 8pm and I'm at work I'm going to miss it?? I'm really glad they funded this earth shattering research!

•Increased irritability Yep. Oh yea. Got that one. No question.

•Worsening of heart and stomach disorders Yeah, that one too. Not so much the heart, but my stomach isn't the same for about 2 days after working.

They didn't mention my favorite side effect, although it may only affect nurses using the particular hand cleanser that is at my hospital. About 3-4 days after going to work, I get what I call "sloughing skin disease". It is just a fancy way to say that the top layer of skin all over my hands flakes off. Similar to when a sunburn peels, but not nearly as nice. I'm either aging my hands by years, or I am getting a free weekly chemical peel.

SWD! Just trying to raise awareness, and finally feeling part of the club since I now can be diagnosed with a "real" disorder!

Also, does this mean I don't have to try to control my (ahem) irritability since it is part of the disorder and I really can't help it??

My To Do List

2011-10-10T08:54:00.001-04:00

First, I want to report that the driveway is clean. Paint thinner and cleanser were not successful, so we rented a power washer over the weekend, and it took it right off. AND we scrubbed the entire driveway and front walk. My concrete has never been cleaner. I'm so proud.

My to do list for today:

Clean the bathrooms
Laundry
Cook for today and prep cook for the next couple days when I will be working
Deep clean my dining room
Parent/ Teacher conference
Finish some PTA work
Shopping at Costco
Finish a quilt

Oh, and today the kids will be getting their "fall surprise": when they run in the door coming home from school the table will hold some new pajama pants, a small toy, some pez dispensers, and a new movie (The Lion King). I think tonight is perfect for a family movie night!

If making messes was a talent, we would win a contest

2011-10-04T09:14:00.001-04:00

I'm all for harmless fun. Especially if it is harmless fun outside on a beautiful day. So, when Jack and Aidan had the idea to take coke cans out of our recycle bin and smash them, it didn't bother me at all.

In fact, with Abigail riding her bike and the boys busy in the driveway, I thought it might be a good chance to call my mom and chat for a bit. After only seconds on the phone, Aidan came in to tell me something had spilled. I hadn't really heard him, and assumed that maybe one of the cans of soda wasn't all the way empty when they smashed it.

Silly me. I should know it wouldn't be anything as easy and simple as a bit of soda on the driveway.

No, it appears that although using their feet to smash the cans was effective and fun, Aidan felt the need to find something else to smash the cans with. He happened to find a gallon of paint. Yep, that's a great idea. Never mind it is on the "do not touch" list as well as the "not a toy" list. Not to mention it being in the "don't go over there" section of the garage. May as well grab it and try to smash it into another object, right? Right.

So, of course it spills. To his credit, he did come right away to tell me. Upon seeing a huge puddle of paint on my driveway, I [slightly] panicked. All I could think of was to get it off quickly before it dried. I grabbed the hose and started to spray. Unfortunately, as soon as the first blast of water hit the paint, I realized my HUGE mistake...

We have 12 gallons of latex based paint, and 1 gallon of oil based paint.

Guess which one he chose? Yep, the oil. The water only worked to splash it all over the place and run it in a river down the driveway, actually making the huge mess much, much worse.

I grabbed our paint thinner, a scrub brush, some soap and water and went to work. After an hour I had successfully cleaned the original puddle mark... but I ran out of paint thinner and there was still the ENTIRE rest of the driveway... covered in pain rivers.

While I was scrubbing, the kids all decided (against my dire warnings) to play in the paint rivers, therefore ruining their (school uniform) clothing. Once I screamed them away from even being near the water/paint, they played in our tree and started ripping down the cute little ghosts we had hung for Halloween decorations.

That is when my head exploded.

Now it is dry. The paint streaks remain, and I am spending my morning on google and will spend my afternoon on the driveway. Pray for me. Actually, pray for the children who live in this house. They are gonna need it.

Kydon talked me down from the ledge

2011-10-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

Okay, crisis averted. I called Kydon with my plan to redo two rooms before the end of the month, and he was able to talk some sense into me! Whew! I'm now SO so glad I didn't start that! I still want it done of course, but there is enough going on this month that I don't need to add something like that!

Now it is down to the usual: cook, clean and care for 3 cute kids, work a bunch of extra hours, clean my entire house in anticipation of company coming, plan a baby shower, volunteer at the school, go to PTA meetings and events, take the kids on weekend adventures, and help out at church.

My life is so boring.

Crazy

2011-09-28T08:28:00.000-04:00

We have company coming soon. About a month from now the house will be filled. What is it about this that makes me want to completely redo a room in our house? Okay, 2 rooms.

A few years ago we hosted Thanksgiving dinner. 10 days before the dinner, I figured I could rip off all the wallpaper in my kitchen. Guess what? We had dinner while looking at ripped up walls. It was lovely. A page right out of Southern Living.

Now I have 2 projects.
#1: Bathroom.

It needs an overhaul- a wall taken out, new vanity, new tile, new mirror, fixtures and showerhead, etc etc. We could do it ourselves, right?? In 3 weeks, right?

I mean, I have ALL this extra time since the kids are in school, right???

#2: Bedroom

Abigail's cute pink and brown bedroom. I would love to paint it and do a board and batten treatment to it. And paint it, of course.

I can do all that in just a few weeks, right??? Along with working and volunteering and cooking and (not cleaning- I gave that up), caring for 3 small children.

No problem. I think I'll head to Lowe's right now. {or maybe not}

The Best Church Art Ever

2011-09-25T12:39:00.000-04:00

Every week when church is over, I get handed about 12 random pieces of paper. Everything from invitations to coloring pages to announcements. I usually at least glance at them before putting them in my special place. This past week, however, I had to take a second glance, and it actually made me laugh out loud.

Abigail had obviously discussed in her class about saying prayers- on one side of the paper the teacher wrote "I thank Thee" and Abigail wrote in "the earth" and drew a picture of rainbows and trees and flowers. The other side of the paper the teacher had written "I ask Thee" and Abigail finished the thought with "for people to get well". Sounds lovely, and it was... until I saw the accompanying picture:

A little disturbing- what appears to be a person holding a sledgehammer smashing it into a second persons head.

Let's zoom in, shall we?

Nice detail with all the little exclamation lines surrounding the one getting smashed, and at least the hitter is frowning. That's a good thing, right??

Long Time, No Blog

2011-09-22T09:53:00.000-04:00

Have I really not blogged since Sept 5??? Holy cow, that is a long time for me! I have had so much going on and been doing so much... I will try to catch up, then post a funny story with pictures tomorrow.

Get ready! Are you ready? Okay, you're right - there isn't really anything to get ready for. Just read. And comment if you feel inclined.

1. I'm going to number my updates. No reason except I just wanna.

2. WORK. The hospital is very, very slow in the summer. Did you know that? Empty. It is like a ghost town there. Not that I would know, because when the hospital is slow, I don't work. I have "non guaranteed hours" which means that if they don't need me, I can't go in and they don't pay me. But with the kids back in school and the weather turning cold now and then, the hospital is hopping again (I can explain why if you really want to know), and I am trying to make up a lot of my lost hours by working extra.

It is really fun, because I love work. {insert laugh track here} Actually, I DO really like my work under certain conditions. 1. I have just the right amount of patients (too many is too busy, too few makes the hours drag). 2. The patients I have are sick enough to need to be there but not sick enough that they require lots and lots of attention from me. Believe me, you don't want to be the one in the hospital that requires lots of attention. 3. I'm not completely exhausted. This rarely happens, because I work 7p-7a, and I do it infrequently enough that I don't ever at all stay on the night schedule. So I am always really, really tired.

Sometimes all 3 of those conditions exist and work is not bad- borders on pleasant even. I worked 2 days last week and 2 days this week, and I would like to state for the record that NONE of my conditions were met. I had too many patients, too much work, my patients got really unreasonably sick and I couldn't fix them like I sometimes can, and I was so worn out. It makes me not want to go back- ever. Luckily I get paid on Friday and I will remember why it is that I go. [yes, that's right. No touchy feely "I just like to help sick children". I go because they pay me. That is just about the *only* reason I go, and if they didn't pay me, I wouldn't go. The end.]

3. SCHOOL. The kids are in school. All 3. All day. I miss them like crazy! I joined the PTA. And by "join" I mean that I somehow ended up on the executive board. Sounds fancy, right? I'm putting it on my resume. Executive Board. Really it just means that I have to do a bunch of work. Really fun stuff like meetings and covering 75 books with contact paper. I'm really happy to be doing it. Last year I did a lot more in the classrooms, but it doesn't seem to be working out this year, so I love that I can still be at the school seeing people and helping. I love passing my pumpkins in the hall or being the one that tests their ears. It was worth testing the other 52 kids just to get a high-five from Jack and a hug and kiss from Aidan. I'm making friends and I feel like I'm a part of what is going on at school. I love it, but it does add quite a few things to my calendar.

5. EXERCISE. I do it. A lot! Very strange for me. :) I go running virtually every day, and I'm lifting weights like crazy. I've lost a bit of weight (not that much since I still eat really bad/good stuff), but I can totally see my arms getting toned up. And I have way more energy and strength than I ever have. I can run a mile pretty easily now, which I don't think I have ever done before. I love it!

4. HOUSEWORK. I have abandoned housework. Really, who wants to do it? Not me, that's for sure. I've set up two different schedules since school started, and I've bummed out on both of them. It seems like I should have plenty of time, but I seem to spend my time doing other stuff.... go figure. Do you have any advice for me? My house really needs some cleaning.

5. BAKING. I bake and cook all the time. I have been sending home made lunches 100% this year. I have sent homemade snacks 100% this year. We've eaten out a few times, but for the most part I have been cooking and baking (and doing dishes) like crazy. I also make my own 100% whole wheat bread. I never buy bread at the store anymore (the kids have shown no signs of caring either way, but Kydon misses the white stuff once in a while).

6. SEWING. Almost never. I put my machine mostly away and I don't really miss it right now. I'm sure I will get back to my crafty ways, but for now I'm happy pursuing other interests. Same goes for shopping and housework and photography.

7. SICKNESS. Abigail and Jack had strep. They stayed at home several days just not feeling well. As soon as they got a little better, Kydon got sick with a cold/sinus thing, and then I got it. Mine hung around long enough to turn into something different with more sinus/cough problems, and now it seems that Abigail has strep again. Yuck! I just feel bad for Aidan, because he is the one who wants a "day off" more than anybody else! He, of course, has somehow managed to avoid all the germs that are taking the rest of us down! Poor guy, he would give just about anything to stay home alone for a day. I started to tell him to lick Abigail's spoon or something, but before I said it I realized that he really would do it, so I just gave him a toy from my stash.

There you have it- my update and why I've been too busy to blog the past couple of weeks. I'll try to amend that. I do have a really funny picture to share. I hope it really is funny and not just funny-to-me-because-I'm-their-mom. Okay, don't get your hopes up... maybe it isn't funny, but I thought it was, and I'll share it tomorrow!

Final Days in Idaho

2011-09-05T06:04:00.002-04:00

For the final few days of our trip out west, we drove back to Kydon's sisters house to spend the night, then traveled to visit my Aunt and head on home. We made a new tradition of leaving a bag in every place we stayed, so that made for some fun phone calls and extra trips. Nothing like a little excitement to spice up a trip!

More picnics, and more cool waterfalls.

More cute kids!

The family togetherness!

Here we are hiking a mountain in Boise with my Aunt, cousin and her kids. More kid cousins are a good thing, and my kids just loved playing with them!

I think it is a rule of pictures that if the whole family is in the same shot, at least two have to be looking away, pulling a weird face, and/or putting their arms in awkward positions. I'm just glad we weren't breaking any rules!

Here I am with my Aunt and cousin. I'm glad the kids weren't the only ones who got to play with their cousins! It was so fun to see them and talk to them! And my Aunt was incredibly patient with my little angels, who demanded every toy in her house, 57 million snacks, knocked down her quilt design wall (she just told them that it probably needed to be rearranged anyway), and even gave them some of her toys to take home when they explained that they didn't have that exact toy at their house! Thanks everyone, for hosting us and accomodating us!

Redfish Lake

2011-09-03T20:54:00.000-04:00

My favorite day of our vacation was the day we drove a little north and spent some time at Redfish Lake. It is incredibly beautiful (even if it was COLD- in JULY)! As we were packing the car to head up, I told Kydon that my inner planner was freaking out because I was bringing jackets, sweaters, shorts, t-shirts, swimsuits and flip flops for everyone! And you know, by the time we went home, we had used each and every one of those items!

As soon as we got there, Kydon realized he had left his jacket in the hotel, so he made a quick stop at the gift shop for a sweatshirt. They had these little play guns- 2 for $5. We got 4 so the boys would have something to play with. Jack and Aidan loved them to pieces!! Well worth a couple bucks. :)

We always have to eat! A picnic lunch was enjoyed by all... followed by some chipmunk chasing by the younger set.

These two girls are only 1 month apart- I love that they had a chance to get to know each other a bit!

We took a boat across the lake and went on a hike. FYI, guy at the dock who said the trail would accomodate a stroller- it didn't!!

Our hike led us to lilly pad lake- it was amazing to walk up and see this water completely covered with lilly pads!

I love it when twin brothers sit on a rock and discuss the world together!

A bit past the lake was this huge waterfall. We loved it, and for once the cool breeze was welcome!

After the hike we did a little beach time, and rented some canoes and paddle boats for a bit more fun before heading home.

The water was so clear- it was basically the opposite of our hot, slimy GA lakes! I loved the clarity of this one, but I'll take heat over cold any day!

Kydon and siblings (and a spouse)

Our cute family on the paddle boat. It wasn't awkward at all to have 5 people on there, 3 of whom were never happy with where they were sitting and constantly switching places. At least no one fell in, so we are calling it fun.

There was also ice cream. Of course.

I loved watching Abigail snuggle with her baby cousin- he was so content letting her hold him and squeeze him tight!

I'll have to show her these pics the next time she insits that she will never, ever have any kids!

Where was I? Oh yeah... summer!

2011-09-03T20:38:00.000-04:00

Holy cow... I feel like I have been running non stop since school started! Life is insanely busy! But I was trying to finish up the summer posts.

Our trip to Sun Valley ID was really so much fun. I loved seeing all the family, and watching the kids become friends with all the cousins whom they don't remember ever meeting. We ate together, ice skated, hiked, swam, and visited a lake.

The cousins were fast friends!

The water in the pool was **freezing**! The kids got in for a bit, but mostly we all hung out in the hot tub.

Of course, anytime Daddy comes to the pool, the kids all get flight lessons. :)

But the hot tub was the main attraction.

My 3 cute kids and one cute hubby!

My favorite times were just being able to talk with all the brothers and sisters! We don't see them all nearly enough!

Big family meals were a frequent occurance!

And the TV helped a lot when the kids were all cooped up and tired and a bit crazy!

The resort we were in had a huge lawn in the back where we spent much time running and playing and throwing balls. I loved this picture because it showed the beautiful mountains in the background!

My Work is Never Done

2011-08-24T15:28:00.000-04:00

This is what I suddenly today remembered about my school-is-in schedule. My work is never done! Summer was busy. Very busy, in fact. But I didn't worry so much about the work, I was just trying to keep up with the kids. Now that school is back in, and they are gone all day, I am remembering how tiring it is!

School-Time work: Things to be done while they are gone. Includes all shopping (98% grocery, 2% stuff the kids need), all errands, doctor appointments, cleaning, baking, exercise, and all of my millions of projects.

After School Work: Includes sorting backpacks, helping with homework, making dinner, and general house clean up.

After Bed Work: Work to be done after the kids are down, usually laundry or emails or craft projects.

I remember thinking last year that my day never ends! I get bits of down time throughout the day, but there is never a "stop" time or a specific change time. Does any one else experience this? What do you do to not feel overwhelmed by it all?

Going off the High Dive

2011-08-17T11:22:00.000-04:00

Most of our summer was spent at the pool, and most of the time when we were at the pool, the kids were jumping off the diving boards.

As a special treat, one day I took them to a nearby pool that has a 12-ft diving board. They absolutely loved it! A tiny bit of butterfly stomach, but no fear. They spent the whole time we were there just standing in line to have another chance to jump off again!

Homemade Snacks

2011-08-16T20:03:00.000-04:00

I mentioned in an earlier post that I will be sending all home made snacks this year- trying to completely eliminate all the processed junk that I sent last year (things like goldfish, animal crackers, peanut butter crackers, etc).

I feel like I need to give a disclaimer, because all the things on my list are not super-healthy. There are several items that have more sugar than I would like, there is a high use of butter, etc. However, I feel like anything I make at home is going to be better than things I buy, and I'm also trying to ease the kids in slowly- if I make things that they enjoy eating, they won't miss the other stuff.

I'm also restricting the really sugary things (like pudding or cookies) to one day a week.

Here is my list of snack ideas, along with any tried and true recipes/links:

Home made granola bar (haven't tried any recipes yet, but if I find a good one, I'll post it)
Cheese Quesadilla (my kids favorite snack)- sent at room temp
Banana bread
Pumpkin bread (recipe here)
Carrots (or other veggies) with ranch dipping sauce
Pretzels with peanut butter (the pretzels are store bought, but pretty healthy)
Applesauce (again, not homemade, but eventually it will be)
Fruit (apple, banana, peach, kiwi, etc)
Pizza rolls (recipe here)
Chocolate chip cookies (or other variety)
Muffins
String cheese
Yogurt
Hummus with veggies (I make my own hummus)
Pudding
English Muffin (recipe here- much tastier when made at home)
Chex Mix (home made)
Peanut Butter Balls (recipe here- I find they taste great as long as I keep the balls pretty small - about the size of a quarter- and cover them in chocolate. Otherwise they are too dense to eat much of.)
Popcorn (air-popped, not the micro variety)
Soft pretzels (recipe here- I made these once already, and they got eaten so fast, we only had them for snack for one day! I need to get another batch going, next time I will double it).
Peanut butter bar cookies (recipe here- ignore the bad picture, they are yummy!)
Fruit and Oatmeal bars
Granola bites (recipe here- I followed the advice in the first comment and switched the corn syrup for honey and added wheat germ. I also switched the raisins for choco chips.)

There you have it. My not-so-healthy-but-at-least-home-made list of snacks! Any other ideas for me?

First Day of School!

2011-08-16T07:56:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was back-to-school day for my 3 cute kids! Even though they drive me crazy at times, I was really not ready to send them back- there was so much we hadn't done over the summer! I wasn't finished with them!

Nevertheless, school was starting, and so back we went!

They were so excited this first morning- jumped right out of bed, got ready super quick and easy- I'm sure that won't last long!

Abigail is starting 2nd grade. Wow- that seems so big! She is ready for it, but I don't know if I am!

Thank goodness we have the absolute best school! I keep having thoughts of doing homeschool, but their school is so great- I just can't take them out of it!

Jack is in the 1st grade. He is more than ready! He has one of his best friends from last year in his class, so that will be really fun for him.

Our school started a dress code (aka uniforms) this year. I was totally excited, and Abigail was all for it. Jack and Aidan were quite sad that they could no longer wear their "soft clothes" any more. They were not looking forward to waistbands and buttons and collars!

Aidan is also in 1st grade. He does surprisingly well at school. He delights his teachers, and his teacher this year has a grandmother or something who is a civil war historian. Talk about a good match!

I had a VERY productive day- it is amazing what you can get done when they are all gone! But of course I missed them like crazy, and I was very glad to see this sight- the day had felt very long!

I'm happy to report they each had a great day and all came home on "green" (good behavior)! Whew! :)

Although I was a little surprised that they each had homework the very first day- no mercy! (Told you I liked this school)! It was easy, and once I told them no tv until it was done, it got finished very quickly!

It went well enough that they are all happy to go back tomorrow!

Major Summer Trip

2011-08-14T11:23:00.000-04:00

Our big trip for the summer was to Idaho- we spent time in Boise, Sun Valley, and Twin Falls.

We arrived at midnight, so we decided for the first night to get a hotel with a swimming pool- that way we could let the kids go swimming in the morning before heading to the family reunion in Sun Valley.

It started out pretty great- as long as we can go swimming, the kids are pretty happy!

Unfortunately, the happiness quickly dissolved into this:

And we didn't last long at the pool. Hmmmm... I guess the day before was just too much!

Luckily we made it to Sun Valley without any incident, even managing to pack 10 bags, a cooler, a watermelon and $200 worth of groceries into the trunk of our Ford Focus.

The best part was seeing the family! There were cousins we had never met, and the last time all the kids were together was when the boys were 1, so they didn't remember them. I loved how quickly they all just meshed and became instant friends!

Abigail has been interested in ice skating and took a class recently. Sun valley has a year-round outdoor ice skating rink, so we had to take advantage of it.

Jack, Abigail and I loved it. Erik and Preston also hung in for quite a while.

Aidan made me pay for him to do, but he was done after 2.3 minutes.

But it was worth it for Abigail, who loved it the whole time and only stopped when her leg had a huge raw spot where the boot was rubbing on it.

Aidan enjoyed watching from the side,

Then he and a few cousins got to get ice cream.

Preston, Bryce and Makayla shared our cabin, which was perfect for the kids. They totally enjoyed each other and staying up late and sleeping all piled up in the same room.

Fun times with cousins are the best! I'll post more about our trip later!

Swim like Fish

2011-08-13T09:26:00.000-04:00

Still trying to catch up all the summer posts before the kids go back to school (in just 1.5 days! Yikes)!

I would say the thing we did more than absolutely anything else is swim. We bought passes to the city pool, and went along with my sister to her pool as well. The first two weeks of summer, we were in the water every single day.

Here we are with some cousins at my sisters pool. The kids just loved the water, loved being wet and cool, and loved playing all the diving games, races, and "sharks and minnows".

They all spend most of the time at the pool going off the diving board. Abigail's favorite jump is to do a flip. She also likes to dive.

Jack loves to flip, do a can opener, or cannonball. Aidan loves the pencil, or one he made up called the sitter (he jumps then sits criss-cross to go in).

At the end of summer, Jack and Aidan actually went to a springboard diving class where they got to learn all kinds of new twists and turns and jumps. They weren't the most technically accurate in the class, but they sure had fun trying!

We all loved the pools this summer- the perfect way to beat the heat!

I tried to let it grow

2011-08-12T06:05:00.002-04:00

I have been trying to get Abigail to grow her hair out. I'm not trying for the super long look, but at least a little past her shoulders- mostly just to try something different and see if it would actually grow that long!

She prefers it short, and had asked several times to cut it. I resisted, and was determined to let it grow.

However, there was one small problem that was driving me crazy.

She developed the "hair in the mouth" habit. Everywhere we went, every time I looked at her, that darn hair was stuck in that mouth.

Finally, one day she was begging me to cut her hair short and I looked at her chewing on it, and agreed right then and there to chop it off. I ran up and got my scissors, and started cutting.

I made her pull all different pieces to her mouth, and any that reached got cut again! I'm hoping by the time it grows out again that she will be out of the habit and we can have a little length again! At the last second, she begged for bangs, and I gave in... sort of regret that now, especially since I cut them way too short and made them look a little funky. But when she looked in the mirror, she gave some shouts of joy, and said it was perfect, so at least one of us is happy!

After she saw how cute it is, she started doing all these funny poses:

This girl cracks me up!

Back to School Prep

2011-08-11T11:01:00.000-04:00

SCHOOL STARTS MONDAY!!!

Did you hear me? MONDAY!

That is 1.5 normal days and 2 weekend days, and then it starts.

I am so not ready to send my kids away and not see them for 6 hours every single day. On the other hand, I am SO ready to send them away! :) I wish they had half day 1st and 2nd grade. Does anyone do that???

Today I am cleaning out their drawers- out with all the soft, comfortable, easy clothing and in with the "dress code": all khakis and polos. [poor boys]

I'm also prepping snacks... my goal is to send all homemade snacks this year- NO MORE goldfish/ cheese crackers/ overly processed junk. I've been experimenting with recipes, and so far it is looking rather great!

I think the kids are ready (except for dress code)- you know it has been a long summer when you offer to take them swimming and they say "no thanks"!

4th of July at Lake Lanier

2011-08-11T10:05:00.000-04:00

We decided at the last minute to take a little trip over the fourth of July holiday. After a lot of trying to figure out where to go and what to do, we ended up at a resort/water park just a little bit north of us. I had heard of it for years and years, but I'd never been there before.

We had so much fun. The resort was fabulous, the water park was fun without being overwhelming. The kids were big enough to ride all the slides they wanted to. The resort was beautiful and had walking trails, a swimming pool and on Friday night they did a "dive in movie".

It was so much fun to just get away with our little family and enjoy ourselves. The kids were all amazingly behaved, and so was I. :)

Q: What is the only thing better than sitting on a fountain and pretending to pee?

A: Having a twin brother to sit across from you and spray each other with fake pee!

The highlight of the trip was a dinner we had one night. We asked around and got a recommendation for a place right next to a marina. It was a few minutes drive from where we were, but we decided to go for it. The restaurant was right on the water, so we got to see the lake and boats driving all around. The restaurant had some live music, and best of all, a gigantic sandbox.

The kids were occupied the whole time we were waiting, and then we made them come to the table and eat, then they ran right back into the sand and were busy and happy the whole time we were there. It was a wonderful dinner for Kydon and I to sit and listen to the music and watch the water and eat delicious food.

I'm going to remember the fun of that evening for a long time!

The kids had a total blast on the water slides and rides. They are all so brave!! I was never that brave as a kid- actually, I'm still not that brave! Those things make me nervous! :)

I was happy to stand at the bottom and cheer them on, and Kydon was happy to join them on the rides!

We had such a great time, and everyone enjoyed themselves so much.

I love these pictures of the kids all tired and wet and a little cold wrapped up in their special blankets from my mom!

Nothing is as soft and warm as Grandma's blanket!

Aidan Rides A Bike!

2011-08-10T06:24:00.001-04:00

One of my goals for this summer was to finally get Aidan riding a bike! It didn't take long, about 20 minutes and he was riding on his own.

He was a bit nervous, but really did much better than he thought he would! As long as he was going straight and didn't have to stop, start or turn in any way, he was doing just fine! :)

He rode for about 30 min, then parked his bike back in the garage and went back to his scooter. He hasn't pulled it out since!

But, hey, he can ride a bike, and that means... goal accomplished!

Sprayground

2011-08-09T09:54:00.000-04:00

I thought that since school starts on Monday, it might be nice to blog about some of the fun things we did this summer before it is over!

In June we went to the local Sprayground. I was really happy about it, because they made two major improvements- 1- they added some shade awnings. Thank goodness!! And 2- they cut the price in half. I thought that if the kids liked it, we could make it a regular thing to go there this summer.

After about 10 minutes, I realized we would most definately not be adding it to our routine! Between asking for snacks, begging for money for the consession stand and staring longingly at the regular playground a few yards away, I'm surprised they even got wet.

Even though there were a few enjoyable moments (does every little boy like to sit on the spray and pretend it is pee?) overall it was a whining cry fest.

They each made sure to tell me how much they hated it and how determined they were to never go again.

I wasn't arguing too much- sitting in a chair packed under 10 feet of shade with every mother there wasn't exactly my idea of fun either!

So, we did it, we went, we got wet, and checked it off the list! And I got another notch in my "Mean Mommy" belt.

It has to get worse before it gets better

2011-08-08T06:32:00.002-04:00

I am not a fan of Bradford Pear trees. They are huge, majorly stinky, block the grass from getting any sun, and can easily split and land on your house during any thunderstorm. When we moved into our house, we had two in our side yard. We took one out right away, and a few weeks ago we got rid of the other.

Of course, like everything else, we have to do it ourselves. With the help of my Father in Law, of course! This tree was majorly huge. You can see the scale by looing at Kydon, and the bench in the background.

The kids were very useful in dragging branches to the street. They only complained a little, because it actually was kind of fun to chop and drag around a giant tree. And there were many sticks that made perfect swords.

Thank goodness for Kydon's parents, who are always up for a project!

The only one who didn't participate was Abigail. When the first branch fell and released a major dust cloud of pollen, her poor little eyes turned watery and red and she started sniffling and snorting from her allergies. I could not believe how much pollen was in this thing- I hope it helps her to be less miserable now that it is gone!

We finally got it all piled up, ready for the big trucks to come. We also trimmed some branches off the neighbors tree, since we were out there already. We even had the stumps ground and went out and dug up a bunch of the roots. Now, instead of a flowerbed surrounding a tree, we have a giant dirt/weed pile that looks awful with random plants scattered around. Hey, hard work pays off, right?

*sigh*

The End Is Near

2011-08-07T06:00:00.001-04:00

Once or twice a year I make a trip to the school supply store and pick up a few workbooks for the kids. We use them for extra homework, homeschool time, or in place of regular homework. They can pick them up and work with them anytime they want, and when they finish the whole book they get a reward.

There is usually a flurry of activity when I first bring them home, then they lag for a bit. But as soon as they percieve the end getting closer and closer, they grab those books every chance they get!

Abigail and Jack are working furiously to get to their prize!

Picture Past

2011-08-02T11:45:00.000-04:00

I'm kind of loving this project of going through all the old pictures. I am starting with 2004, the year Abigail was born, and it has been so fun looking back through all those pictures! It also reminds me how crazy it was when we had a 15 month old and newborn preemie twins!

This was my life for a while:

Feeding one, burping the other, and trying to entertain the third! Also, we had 3 very bald babies.

And I found this picture that I posted a few days ago when Jack was just brand new (just a few days old):

And today I found the follow-up picture we took when he turned one:

The first picture is amazing, but the second picture makes the first look absolutely unbelievable! And at one, he was somewhere around 16 lbs, so he wasn't even that big of a one year old- but a lot bigger than his 3 lbs 15 oz he was in the first pic!

Snowball

2011-07-29T12:25:00.000-04:00

I was trying to get some pictures from our vacation onto the blog. But guess what? I hit a snowball- like when you go to turn off the water in the bathroom, and before you know it you are reorganizing the linen closet.

Tried to copy pictures from camera to computer..... computer was full.... went to copy files to the external hard drive.... realized it was a big mess of files.... started to clean it out and organize everything.... ended up spending 3 hours working on it all, and not even close to downloading my pictures.

There is some good news: The external hard drive is organized, and I may actually be able to find things when I look for them. Like this picture of Jack at birth that I have been trying to find for years:

He was SMALLER THAN A DOLL! Look at those heads. Amazing.

The bad news is that I don't think I have any pictures from 2007. At all. Unless I have them mislabeled somehow (entirely possible). Vacation pictures will be coming. Eventually. In the meantime, please feel free to comment on my tiny doll baby.

The Airlines Are Messing With Me

2011-07-26T11:22:00.000-04:00

$25.00 to check a bag? My cheap self just can't do it.

We have 5 ticketed passengers, which means we each get one carry-on bag and one personal bag. Do the math- that is 10 bags. Space isn't so much the issue- all of our things fit just fine in those 10 (TEN!) bags.

But the problems are many.
--- Carrying 10 bags through the airport. Yuck! The kids help a little (mostly with the ones that are easy to carry, leaving the big heavy awkward ones for Kydon and I), but still. 10 bags carried by 2 people through tiny little airplane isles isn't really the greatest experience I've ever had.

--- Keeping up with them all. The trunk of the rental car was packed full- we should be good to go, right? Too bad we left a bag in every place we stayed. One is being shipped, one we had to go back for. Seriously, who can keep up with that many bags when dealing with sleep deprivation and over activity x 5?

And now, a new problem. All 10 bags, full of dirty clothes and random items and everything you can imagine are staring me in the face- just waiting to be unpacked, cleaned out and put away. Usually 3 is enough to make me tired. 10 is just ridiculous!

I keep telling myself "just one at a time", but then I decided to blog instead.

Today I am....

2011-07-18T12:37:00.000-04:00

--Grateful for my cute niece who is helping Abigail conquer boredom, therefore allowing me to get some things done!

--Letting the boys play wii. I wasn't going to let them, but then Abigail and Caroline were playing so nicely, and I thought- why not let them play and then I won't have to parent for a little while? :)

--Packing and folding laundry to get ready for our trip to ID.

--Finishing up some emails and projects before I leave.

--Amazed that I perfectly planned the food so that we have enough food for healthy, yummy dinners while we are here and the fridge will be totally empty by tomorrow. Okay, it was probably mostly luck, but still- seeing the fridge empty out on its own is pretty cool.

--Trying to pack every single thing we will need for an entire week and not pack anything we won't need. Yeah- good luck with that.

--Getting excited to head out West!

Suspicious

2011-07-14T12:46:00.000-04:00

I just announced to the kids that this was the time in the afternoon when Mommy takes a nap while the kids do the dishes and clean up the house.

They didn't buy it.

But then, a few minutes later, Abigail came up and said "Mommy, can you please really go to sleep right now"?

She wouldn't tell me why she wanted me to.

And now I know that whatever I do, I absolutely cannot go to sleep.

When the TV goes off

2011-07-11T12:25:00.001-04:00

After the morning work was done, I informed the kids that we would not be watching TV today. Yikes. Sometimes I just get tired of it, and I also notice that when the box is on, the behaviour is worse. So today we are going to find other things to do.

Abigail has many ideas of things to do. First I said no to the lemonade stand, then I said no to the garage sale (even though I wouldn't have to do *anything*)! Finally, when she wanted to make a tattoo stand, I agreed.

Tattoos- only 25 cents!

With a Civil War show for an extra 25 cents! (But I found out later that if you want two soldiers in your show, you have to fork over an extra quarter. Bait and switch at age 7).

I actually thought the tattoos were quite clever- she got a piece of tape, colored on the sticky side, then stuck it to you to transfer the color, and when the tape was removed....

Wah-lah! Can you see my bracelet tattoo? Quite a bargain at 25 cents!

She did a necklace on herself.

Now for the show. Aidan has been estatic to have one more piece to add to his Union Army uniform- a real union hat (thanks to Granny and Grandpa).

There was fierce combat.

Guerilla warfare...

Wounds and injuries...

A lot of running, shooting, ducking, and scampering...

It really was quite the entertainment for only 50 cents...

At the end, the confederacy was defeated and the union won.

The tattoo artist had assisted to make very real-looking wounds and blood.

When the show was over, we discovered that when tattoo artists have no one else to tattoo, they turn their attention to themselves.

Learning to swim

2011-07-08T09:29:00.000-04:00

One of the very first things we did this summer was take some swimming lessons. We had our first ones last summer, so this year was more of a refining and learning some strokes. It was a good thing for my 3 fearless fish, because we have been in the pool as much as possible this year!

Isn't this boy cute? They all 3 just LOVE the water. And when it is hot, humid and miserable outside, going to the pool is the perfect way to cool off.

Abigail really shone in her lessons this year. She learned all of the basic strokes, and her coach said she didn't really need lessons anymore- just more practice, so we are planning on joining a swim team next summer!

Jack loves the water. He will do all sorts of crazy flips and turns and dives.

All 3 love the dive sticks where they drop a toy in the water then get to dive in and retrieve it off the bottom of the pool. They didn't really love the swim lessons, but it did teach them some good techniques that they use.

Abigail looked so great doing all these swim strokes!

But the very favorite is jumping- either off the diving board or off the edge.

Talk about crazy! I loved how much fun they have doing this!

Abigail tried hard to concentrate on her form... she improved, but needs a little more practice!

The pool has been so fun this year- we almost always see friends when we go, and I love that I can finally sit and read a book when I feel like it, or jump in and swim laps or play with the kids when I feel like doing those things. Fun for all of us- can't beat that!

Notes for Next April

2011-07-05T22:14:00.000-04:00

A few notes to myself, to be opened next April:

The last week of school is a wash for me. Between all the parties and volunteering and last minute things that need to be done, I better plan on all of MY projects being finished and wrapped up by the second-to-last week of school.
Forget signing up for all the camps. The kids enjoy them, but it isn't as much fun as it seems, and the money would be better spent on: A) a museum or other membership that we can enjoy during the heat, and B) a weekend vacation for the whole family to enjoy.
Don't be scared of summer. Yes, the kids are home all day every day, but after a few days, we all figure out the rhythm and routine and it becomes really, really fun.
2 weeks before school ends, give the house a good scrubbing, because it probably won't happen again until Augst.
As long as we have a pool pass, summer will be fun for all of us... especially now that the kids can play while mama reads a good book! Be sure to have a good list of books to read.
Also, next April, start making a bunch of freezer meals. All the running and managing and playing really wears Mama out, and way too many nights were spent eating out simply because I was worn out. Freezer meals would ensure an easy dinner, and an oven with a timer means we can be gone all afternoon and come home to a hot meal.

What notes do *you* have for yourself? Any tips or advice for me?

A boy obsessed

2011-06-24T06:47:00.001-04:00

When Aidan was a toddler, he developed a love of trains. This love of trains eventually led us to discover a Museum that was all about trains. The museum started as a memorial to the story of the Great Locomotive Chase. In the beginning, he was mainly fascinated with the trains, but the story is a pretty interesting one, and he began to love the story. Recently the love of that story has developed into a full blown obsession with the civil war.

He has become a soldier. Sometimes he fights for the confederacy, and sometimes he fights for the union. He takes his soldier duty VERY seriously.

We had a rifle on hand, but no bayonet- so he had to make his own. He found hats, weapons, and various props to assist him in his work.

I can't help but smile every time I hear the heavy footfalls of my soldier marching in formation, guarding the house from enemy attack. Quite often I am asked to play the role of the soldiers mother. I have to be worried and concerned, and provide him with food.

We found out a neighbor of ours is also interested in the civil war, and the two of them have many conversations about the particulars of battle. He taught Aidan how to salute with a rifle and the proper stance for firing his weapon.

Along with the love of the Civil War, he has discovered these small plastic army men. It is all he can do to earn enough money to run to the store and buy another bag of them. He also spends HOURS setting each and every one of them up in just the right formation. (And hours crying when some clumsy fool bounces the floor and 2/3 of them fall over). Here he has recreated the battle of Fort Sumter.

Have army men... will travel. We have to take them EVERYWHERE we go- doctors office, pool, friends house, we must not leave home without the precious army men. And when we get there, they must be set up just right, and cried about when they fall.

He asked the librarian for the kids civil war section, and came home with approximately 125,000 books about the civil war, which Kydon and I have the pleasure of reading to him. The other day he told our neighbor that he is studying the battle of Gettysburg. And I can promise that he really is!

The favorite book so far- combining his love of weapons with his love of the civil war. Check out the Gatling Gun on the cover- did you know it can shoot 100 bullets per minute? I didn't, but I do now.

We have been to a few battlefields. We have watched documentaries. We have explored countless books. I know more about the civil war than I ever did growing up. He is a boy obsessed.

BREAD!!!

2011-06-23T10:46:00.001-04:00

I made bread. I really did! I have tried and tried over many years to bake bread, with pretty unsuccessful results. I gave up for a long time, just figuring that it wasn't in me to make it work. But I still wanted to conquer it. I finally decided that if I had an electric mixer, I would be able to master it.

Last September, for my birthday, Kydon surprised me with a mixer. Now I had no excuse- I had to try it! So, 9 months later, I did! :) In the past, I could say that I *tried* to make bread, but this time I actually did it.

The result was smooth, firm, perfectly done bread. It smelled divine, and actually tasted wonderful. I am still in shock. We used it for sandwiches, french toast, and just sliced with butter and/or jam.

I used 100% whole wheat, and the kids actually loved it. I did too. And I must admit that less than 24 hours after it came out of the oven, 1.5 loaves have been consumed. Is it still healthy if you eat that much of it?

Here is the recipe, compliments of my friend Jenni:
5 cups hot water
11-12 cups flour
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup honey
2/3 cup gluten flour
1/4 heaping teaspoon Vitamin C crystals
3 T yeast
1 T salt

Mix water with 3 cups of flour. Then add oil, honey, gluten flour, Vitamin C crystals, yeast and salt in that order. Add rest of flour. Mix for 5 min on high until bread pulls away from bowl.

Put on oiled countertop and divide into 4-5 loaves. Put into greased bread pans to raise 40-45 min with a towel over the pans.

Bake at 325 for 35 minutes.

The gluten and Vit. C crystals give this bread a lighter texture than most whole wheat bread recipes.

*******************

My notes: I didn't have any gluten flour, so I just used extra wheat flour. I also couldn't find any Vit. C crystals, so I used Vit. C powder and increased the amount to 1 T.

I couldn't believe how easy this was, only 45 min of rising time and 35 min of baking time. I will be making this again!

Little Dippers

2011-06-23T06:34:00.000-04:00

I saw these little sauce containers at the store the other day, and got really happy. So many possibilities with a little container!

Today we had a lunch called "little dippers".

For dips we had peanut butter, honey, hummus, and ranch dressing. The dippers were pretzels, chips, apples, carrots, olives, and bananas.

It was super easy to put together, and they had so much fun experimenting with different options.

"Apples and ranch is AWESOME!"

Summer Conundrum

2011-06-22T12:59:00.001-04:00

I have a conundrum this summer. Actually two. Here is the first:

Aidan very much prefers to stay home. All day every day. Now, he does like to do fun things, and he enjoys the pool immensely, but if he does not have plenty of hours to relax at home, he is one unhappy boy. He will actually beg me to not do fun stuff and let him stay home. (A boy after my own heart).

Abigail very much prefers to be going and going and going every minute of the day. She is STARVED for human companionship, and she must go and do everything she can, with as many people as possible.

Jack, thank goodness, is okay with either. He loves to go places and do things, but he is also happy playing at home.

I've been trying to balance both preferences, having some times of going places and balancing it with some down time, but the going isn't enough for one, and the staying isn't enough for the other.

Luckily, Abigail has a friend right across the street. That friend has been playing with and inviting Abigail along with her to whatever they might be doing. I thought it was the perfect solution- Abigail could be out and about, and Aidan could be home more.

However, nothing is that easy. Enter the second conundrum:

Aidan, while desiring to be at home and playing quietly, also hates to be left out of anything. Every time Abigail goes to do something, he is quite upset and annoyed and hurt that he doesn't get to go. However, every time we join them or plan our own thing to do, he is also annoyed and upset that he can't stay home.

Conundrum.

The Final First Tooth

2011-06-21T20:32:00.000-04:00

Jack has been waiting, and longing, and hoping for the day that he would FINALLY lose a tooth. It is so hard to be the last one to hit the milestone!

He didn't really have any that were even wiggling, but thanks (?) to a trampoline-related collision with his brother's hard head, his 2 bottom teeth got really loose really quick. One tightened back up, but he kept working the other, and it finally got loose enough to pull out.

He couldn't have been more happy! Finally, a hole like the others! After Aidan's success with note-leaving for the tooth fairy, Jack wrote one that demanded $10.00 or a toy. Hey, at least he left an option! Since it was his first tooth, and he is the last child, the tooth fairy obliged with a little nerf basketball hoop for his door.

Wild Dog

2011-06-16T20:54:00.000-04:00

We've had a visitor the past 3 days.

Meet "Wild Dog"

Jack named him Max, Aidan named him Shock (because he looks like he got hit by lightning), and Abigail named her Hannah (because she might be a girl). I just called it Wild Dog, and I hoped every day that we wouldn't see him anymore.

I mean, how torturous is it to have 3 wild kids at home all day, trapped inside because outside is this crazy wild dog, roaming around our street. The kids LOVED him- from inside. They would smear themselves all over the window talking and calling to this dog.

Therefore, the dog spent an unnatural amount of time outside our house, hoping for something. After 2 days, we finally called Animal Control. This durn dog sat on our front porch for 2 hours in the morning. The AC dude pulls up, and the durn dog is g.o.n.e. No where to be found.

I was so sick of it that we decided to try and do something about it. The next time he came around, I lured him into the backyard, and shut the gate. He trotted very nicely up on our deck and sat there like any normal dog would. We quick called Animal Control back, and they raced out and went after him.

As I was inside with the kids, watching Kydon and AC guy try to corner this Wild Dog, I couldn't help but wonder...

How the heck do I get involved in this stuff? There was a time I wouldn't even have known this dog existed, let alone playing a pivitol role in trapping and catching him. What happened to my life of go to work, go to sleep, and eat out? Now I'm trying to corrall and trap wild dogs so that my wild kids are free to roam the streets.

Aidan was pretty sad when the truck drove away- I think he was secretly hoping to keep Shock.

Abigail was happy to have that thing gone. Her friend across the street has been at home all week, and they were too scared to run back and forth 50,000 times a day like they usually do.

Jack was also a bit sad. First Grandma's dog had to go back home after spending a week with us, and now Max had to go away as well... I guess a wild dog is better than no dog at all!

Bye bye, wild one!

I am the Entertainment Committee

2011-06-10T08:57:00.000-04:00

The phrase I remember most from my childhood summers is my mom saying "I am not your entertainment committee". We were expected to find our own fun, our own activities, and entertain ourselves.

So far this summer, I feel like I am the entertainment committee (by choice). There is SO much I want to do with them! I have tons of homeschool plans, reading programs, we have work/chore charts, scheduled lessons and classes, and I have a huge list of unscheduled activities that I can't wait to do.

So far, two weeks into our summer break, we are so busy we aren't even making a dent in all my plans! Homeschool is way behind. We have done our reading every day, but the Book Of Mormon outline is several days behind, our handwriting lessons have only happened twice, and there is no Spanish happening at all. I did put the math workbooks in the car, so at least as we go back and forth they have been doing a bit of math! I have been consistent with the chores- those have been done every day (mostly because I make them happen first thing in the morning, and we get up plenty early).

It is just so. darn. hot. The only thing we all want to do is head to the pool. So that is what we have done. We have swim lessons at 10:00, then we come home for lunch, then head back to the pool for the afternoon. We are supposed to do school work after lunch before going back, but the kids just want to play, and I'm usually hot and trying to get everything unpacked and repacked and checking my email so I don't want to force it to happen.

I keep telling myself that summer is only 2 weeks in- there is still plenty of time to get everything done. Maybe now that swimming lessons are done it will be easier to do a little more in the morning.

How is your summer? Are you busy and rushing and trying to fit everything in? Or are you bored and trying to figure out how to keep everyone from driving you crazy?? :)

Today...

2011-06-06T13:30:00.000-04:00

Today, Abigail woke up and did ALL of her cleaning projects for the whole week and all of her school work for the whole day, and then did some of Jack and Aidan's work. (Waking up happy at 5am does have some benefits!)

Today, we saw an adorable puppet show, which Aidan didn't like and didn't want to go and hated. (When he wasn't laughing his head off and dancing, that is!)

Today, we are way behind on our homeschool projects and work. (Oh well!)

Today, we made a detour after the puppet show and walked to the doughnut store. (yum!)

Today, after fueling up on doughnuts, we walked over to the Library. (Even though we have plans to meet friends there tomorrow!)

Today, Aidan found the Civil War section of kids books. (He will be occupied for at least 2 weeks!)

Today, Abigail wants to read all 10 books to get her reward tomorrow. (She only has 4 more to go, and it's only noon!)

Today has not gone at all according to my carefully laid plan. (Thank goodness!)

What summer looks like

2011-06-04T23:51:00.001-04:00

This is what our first week of summer looks like....

Getting crazy on the trampoline,

Kids having fun,

A few injuries,

A LOT of swimming and various water activities,

A little bit of school work,

Dirty dishes filling the counters every 10 minutes,

2 new buzz cuts and a lot of popsicles,

Several tantrums,

Swimming lessons,

And 3 Cute Kids!

Muffins for Mothers Day

2011-06-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

The kids all made cute little cards and pictures and things for Mother's Day. I love the little fill in the blank things and sweet cards they make.

Jack's card said "you are the best mommy in the whole wide world" Love it!

Here are the fill in the blanks- in their eyes I am 8.5 lbs and 59 feet tall. I love cream of wheat (it must be my favorite, because I'm always telling them how good it is in a pathetic attempt to get them to eat it), my favorite activity is jumping on our trampoline, and I love Christmas because I get to watch them open presents (who wouldn't love that?)! The thing I like best about being a mother is that I get to be with a child.

Then there were a few unscripted ones- Abigail said "Happy Mothers' day. I like that you cook for us. And make longrey (laundry) for us. And be our mom. This is how much I love you (followed by a long line).

Aidan wrote "Happy Mothers' day. I like that you cook for us. And make longrey for us. And be our mom. For me.

I can't help but wonder if they worked together.

My favorite was one from Abigail- on the back of a heart, she wrote "Dear Mom, I love you because you come to DEAR read to the class. I love you because you love me and you take care of me. I love you because you are my mom. I love that you cook food for me."

I told her how sweet it was, and how much I liked it, to which she responded that her teacher made her write all those things. Sweet.

Bring it on, Summer

2011-05-31T12:15:00.000-04:00

Summer is gonna be busy. I can already tell.

We were up late last night, and Abigail (aka the family alarm clock) actually slept in- until 6:15! What a treat! :) We got up, and came down to find some first-day-of-summer presents- new beach towels and goggles, and a new cute play tent! And a bit of candy, of course!

They spent a while exploring the tent and all the stuff, then we ate breakfast and got going on our new routine. They got dressed and cleaned up while I worked on dishes and laundry. They each picked an extra job, and actually did it without complaint. We learned a little Spanish, and did a page in our handwriting books, then Abigail turned in a TV ticket, and set up the portable movie player inside the tent, where they all camped out to eat snack and watch a movie.

All of this happened before 9:30 am. At 9:30, we loaded in the car for swimming lessons, then back home for lunch (in the tent) and some relaxing time (in the tent).

This afternoon we will do some reading and math, and then we are headed back to the pool (just can't get enough). Work hard, play hard!

I'm gonna be worn out by next week.

Work Hard... Play Hard!

2011-05-26T09:23:00.000-04:00

The poster is finished- now summer can begin!

I must have gotten this from my mother. She always had the best charts and posters to make work fun.

Our Summertime motto- Work Hard, Play Hard, and don't bug people! I am going to expect a lot of work out of these little ones, but we are also going to do a lot of fun stuff as well. I figure if we are all kept busy, there won't be as much time to drive each other crazy!

Starting with work- every day they each need to get dressed, brush their teeth, and make their bed. I know, I'm a slave driver. :) They also have a "weekly" list- 4 jobs that need to be done each week. They can do them all in one day or space them out, but it will need to be done by Friday (or else). These lists are each different, and I will rotate them each week.

This section gives is our calendar/schedule, so they know which days we have swim lessons, what day we will go to the museum, and what school subjects we will be working on. I also wrote things like baths, ice cream day, etc. 2 checkboxes on the side- one for behavior (5 days of no screaming fits means they participate in ice cream day), and one for school work (5 days of getting work done will earn a family movie night).

At the bottom I will attach a reward chart. When I catch them doing something nice or extra good, they can click off a box- 10 boxes will mean a trip to the treasure box or a playdate with a friend. Also there is a place for the TV tickets.

I am ready for summer! Bring it on!

Summer Reading

2011-05-24T08:25:00.000-04:00

One of my plans for this summer includes the kids getting some good reading time in. I've been looking at the summer reading programs, and they really aren't all that exciting.

So, I did what I do- I'm making my own! And anyone who wants to join me is more than welcome! In fact, for it to work well, I will need other people, so please join in!

Here is how it works:
-The parent works with the child to set a reading goal. It also might be nice to establish some sort of award to give them if they reach their goal, but that will be up to each individual parent.
-Once a month over the summer, we will have a "Lunch and Library Party" where we meet at a nearby park for lunch, then head over the the library to get a fresh supply of books.
-At the end of summer, we will have a big party to celebrate our summer reading, maybe have each of the kids talk about one of their favorite books.

Email me at momto3under2(at)gmail.com for the dates/locations/etc.

The goal for my kids will be 70 min/week which works out to 10 min/ day. Most things I read recommend 20/day for Abigail's age, and 15 for Jack and Aidan. However, I want this to be a goal that we can all REACH, and accomplish. All of my darlings still require active help and listening while they read, so that is 30 min/day of me listening to s-s-s-s-s-u-u-u-u-n-, s-u-n, sun to get each and every word out. There is no way I will stick with it if I have to do that for an hour a day! Plus with vacations and Saturdays and all the other things we have going on this summer, I think that is a reasonable and achievable goal for us.

Our reward will be: $10 that they can do whatever they want with. I'm also going to give them the option of earning an extra 25 cents for every 10 min they read over their goal, so they will be able to earn as much money as they want. I'm hoping to see Abigail take the plunge and get into reading. She LOVES books, and is a fairly competant reader, but she hates to read. She much prefers me to read to her, so I'm hoping she can figure it out enough to start enjoying it. Jack and Aidan like to read, and are actually pretty good for their age- I just need to work with them to develop their skill and mastery of words.

Winner!

2011-05-24T08:10:00.002-04:00

Kydon picked a name out of a bowl for the CF giveaway-

STEPHANIE!

I will get you your apron a little later today!

What is it with me and the park?

2011-05-19T08:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was beautiful. The kind of day that is warm but not hot, cool breeze but not cold. Perfect and sunny and beautiful. I should know that this is a recipe for me to get in fights with other parents. I should have stayed home and minded my own business. But I didn't. I took two cute boys to the park, I sat in my chair and called my sister on the phone, and let them play.

Is that where I broke the helicopter Mommy rule? Just watching and sitting and letting myself enjoy a conversations and not micromanaging the park play? I really need someone to explain these rules to me, because they certainly don't come naturally.

I saw Jack playing with 2 boys that looked to be about his age. There was a little girl following them around. No big deal (to me, anyway- I just don't get all the rules). They came back to the playground, the girl went to her mommy, and then the mommy approached Jack. I was watching, but still not doing anything. I heard her getting onto Jack about something, and I heard him saying "It wasn't me, it was him" and pointing to the other boy. The 3rd boy also pointed to the same boy and said "yeah, it was him". This still wasn't a big deal to me. I had no doubt that Jack was involved in some way, and I'm sure the other boys were involved as well. If Jack did something to her daughter, she is well within her rights to get onto him for it, and he should apologize. The end.

Except, this mommy was way more worked up than I realized! She asked Jack where his mommy was, then made a beeline for me with her daughter in tow. She starts yelling at me that Jack put dirt in her daughters hair. Okay, that isn't nice. He shouldn't have done that. I instructed Jack to apologize, which he did, and then I was done. But she wasn't.

How is she ever going to get DIRT out of hair? She has DIRT in her HAIR! It is IN her HAIR!

Apparently I am all that is wrong with the world today, and Jack is destined to be a criminal. And I really should raise him better than that and she can't believe a boy would do such a thing. And on and on. I mean, there was DIRT in the hair!

I just sat there, watching, and listening. I really was trying to figure out why she was so upset. I considered telling her that the dirt will come out with a bath and shampoo, but I thought it would only make her madder. I didn't say anything, except a very short and simple "sorry" (which is all I felt the situation warranted, but apparently wasn't enough). She finally finished, and with a huff loaded her daughter in the car. Then she called to the two other boys, and they jumped in the car and all left.

OH! Those were HER boys! No wonder she didn't believe it when one was accused of doing the *dirty* deed! (pun intended) After she left, I looked at Jack. He was staring at me in wide-eyed disbelief. I said, "Jack, you shouldn't put dirt in people's hair". He turned around, showing me the back of his head, and said "Mommy, they did it to me first!" His hair was CAKED with dirt and tiny rocks.

I did what any annoying parent would do. I laughed, and told him we would give him a bath when we got home.

Then I drove to get Abigail from her friends house where she had been playing. I took one look at her, and laughed again- they had been playing (outside!) in the (messy!) dirt! She was covered in dirt and dust from the top of her mangy head to her clothes, hands, shoes and feet. I took one look at her and said "looks like you need a bath too".

I'm going to give the mom the benefit of the doubt. She must have had a really bad day. Maybe she was in a fight with her husband, or just lost someone she loves. Maybe she was overwhelmed with motherhood and one more bath put her over the edge (I've been there myself). I've seen her at the park before, and if I see her again, I'm just going to smile and wave. I know that other people find me annoying at the park, but this time I'm not taking it personally.

Open Adoption Top 10

2011-05-17T08:34:00.000-04:00

Top Ten Reasons I love having an open adoption:

I love that my kids know where they came from... know *who* they came from. They don't have to wonder! They don't have to make something up!
I love that I have a connection to amazing people that I wouldn't otherwise know. I love that I can genuinely tell my kids that I love their birthfamily.
I love that when we visit, it naturally forces them to rethink adoption and how everyone fits into the story. Each year there is new understanding and growth. (I didn't really love Aidan telling me I am like his babysitter, but I do like that we had the opportunity to correct that misunderstanding!)
I love that even when there is sadness, they can process that grief in small chunks at ages when they still allow me to cuddle them in my lap and smother them with kisses.
I love taking a vacation to North Carolina every year!
I love that they will know where they got their curly hair and blue eyes. I remember when we were waiting for our first baby, someone asked where my curls came from. As I was answering, I felt so sad that my child might not be able to answer such a simple, innocent question. I love that with our openness, they can easily answer.
I love seeing the joy in the birthfamily when they see what cute little pumpkins we have! And they don't mind at all when we brag about them and talk about every little cute thing they do!
I love that maintaining our connection has promoted healing on every side- theirs, ours, and the kids.
I love that every time we visit, I learn useful information, like everyone in their family is small as a young child, so I shouldn't worry about Jack. Or they all had to go to speech therapy, so it isn't a big surprise that Jack and Aidan have to go as well.
I love that they make my children feel loved and wanted.

Giveaway for CF! Help Peter!

2011-05-15T17:53:00.000-04:00

Last year we participated in a walk to help raise money for Cystic Fibrosis. This year, the walk falls on a day where we can't walk. But we still want to help!

Especially for this guy- Peter will be dealing with Cystic Fibrosis for his whole life! Hopefully, with our help, his life can be a little easier and a lot longer!

I am going to donate to Peters team- every little bit helps! And, since I can't walk this year, I want to do something else to help! So I'm giving away a cute little apron that I made the other night!

You know you want it!

There are two ways to enter the giveaway:
1- Post a link to Peter's donation page on Facebook or your blog and encourage others to help this cause!
2- Make a donation to Peter's team!

Once you have done either or both of these things, come back to this post and leave a comment- one comment for each entry. I will pick a winner the day of the walk- Saturday May 21st.

She worked up the courage!

2011-05-11T19:47:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to get Abigail to get her ears pierced for a couple of years now. Despite my cajoling, she has steadily maintained that she didn't want them pierced. (Quite ironic, since I spent years begging my mom to let me get mine done, then I had to beg my daughter as well!)

When we were in Utah over Spring Break, I brought it up once again, and she agreed! We were in a mall, so we went straight to the little shop. After looking at the choices for a minute, she changed her mind and we left. A little while later, she changed her mind back- she was really ready this time! Only, before we made it back to the store, we remembered that she couldn't wear earrings at the soccer games... so we gave up on the idea until the end of soccer season.

Well, the last game was last Saturday, and that morning she asked if she could get them done! I said... YES! :)

So, just a few hours after the final game, we were in the mall, working up her nerve to follow through.

Having a friend nearby helps with the nerves! The store was SO crowded- we had to wait for 3 other people who were ahead of us, and there was a long line when we left. It might have been better to wait for a slower day, but I figured I better strike while she was willing, otherwise I might have to wait another 2 years!

The teeny accessory store was totally fun for the two boys who came to watch. All sorts of things to try on and check out!

As the time to pierce got closer, Abigail got calm, but Aidan started getting super nervous! He kept giggling and jumping and telling me his tummy felt funny! I thought it was so funny that he was more nervous than she was!

When the girl right before her didn't flinch and claimed it didn't hurt, that was all she needed- she was ready to go!

They cleaned the ears and made the dots- then erased them and made them again. I don't know if I had realized before, but she has perfect ear lobes! Just a little bit hanging down without being too much, and not stuck straight to her head like mine are.

And before we knew it, we were done! Two new holes in her head and little sparkly flowers to show off to everyone.

"And it didn't even hurt- not a bit"

Crafty Craft Night

2011-05-09T22:36:00.000-04:00

For a while I've been thinking it would be fun to have a craft night with friends- I love to sew, but it is sometimes a bit lonely, especially now that the kids are in school and I don't do playdates like I used to! So I gathered some friends (okay, 2 of them were my sisters, and therefore required to be my friend), and we made aprons!

One of them brought this darling baby- and I was able to get a crying picture! I love crying pictures of babies! :)

We each brought our own fabric, and then cut and sewed them all together! It was fun and we had some great conversations! And since my friend Katie lives way too far away to come, I used her recipe for caramel brownies which we ate with pleasure!

Melinda in her finished project- she gave this one to her Mother in Law for Mothers' Day, and she made another one for her own mom (who is my mom too, ha!)

Here we are with our machines all set up. It was "sew" fun! Although I did learn that I am not so good with the sewing and talking at the same time- I had to do a ton of unpicking and kept doing things in the wrong order!

But eventually I finished and worked through all the frustrations!

The last two to finish- Sarah and Christa. They left sometime after Midnight! I wish that everyone could have finished that night. It was a blast, and I can't wait to do it again next month!

The celebration lasted at least a week!

2011-05-09T08:46:00.000-04:00

Jack and Aidan had a fabulous birthday celebration! It lasted at least a week- the good times just kept on comin'! Their birthday was on a Sunday, so we started the celebrating on Saturday, with a trip to Stone Mountain. Wouldn't you know it, it happened to be "Frontier Days" at the park, full of history, cannons, and various guns and war displays.

It was as if it was custom designed for my history-loving little war mongers. They could not have asked for anthing better!

We also got a little climbing in- Jack made it to the top for the first time!

Aidan wanted to make it to the top, but got confused by the hand holds. He will get up next time! We stayed late and watched the laser show- it was a really wonderful day, celebrating our boys!

We let them open one present each on Sat. night, then they got the rest on Sunday morning. I spent Friday revitalizing our sandbox, cleaning it out and hauling 16 bags of sand to that sucker. I did it just so that Aidan could enjoy his gift of sand toys! He was really excited!

They both got nerf guns, which were a specific and adamant request, and were a huge hit! They were shooting everything they could think of!

Jack also got a basketball. Any kind of ball or sport is sure to be a hit with Jack. We might need to figure out a way to get a hoop for him- he just can't be contained!

Aidan got an iditarod book. He claims he will be the youngest one to win- planning to run it at age 13. He liked the book, but then got really excited when he realized it had "real history" in it- actual pictures and stories, not just illustrations! He is so funny with "real history". His aunt sent him $5, but all he cared about was the card where she had put pictures of iditarod racing and a map of Alaska. That was WAY more valuable than money to this one!

I did say the nerf guns were a hit- and they were- until Grandma and Grandpa trumped us by getting storm trooper guns that have lights and noise. Bye-bye nerf gun! See you when the batteries run out!

They got the best birthday present ever when we had a special adult-only session at church, and therefore they got to have a Sunday with NO BUMPY PANTS! It is like even the church knew what would make them happy on their birthday! In the evening, we went to Grandmas, where we had a family dinner, and celebrated more birthday fun.

We had cupcakes at Stone Mountain, then again at Grandma's house, then Mon and Tues we had their birthday dinners (Steak for Jack, Salmon for Aidan) with brownies/ice cream one night and milkshakes the next. We just kept on celebrating!

The boys also share a birthday with their cute cousin Ellie. I was really happy to get a picture of all 3 with poofy cheeks!

Happy Birthday Jack and Aidan! I hope you remember that 6 year olds don't throw fits, bathe themselves, get themselves dressed and don't pee the bed! Don't forget, -k-? :)

No Greater Love

2011-05-08T08:39:00.001-04:00

John chapter 15, v 12 and 13:

This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

I have heard and read this scripture many times over my life. I have heard heroic stories of people who gave their life for another, and been impressed by their love for another. I think it is a rare and special thing when someone has the chance to do such a thing for another.

As I have thought about Mothers' Day this year, this scripture has come to mind many times. It occurs to me that there is more than one day to lay down your life, and I see that evidence all around me, especially in Mothers. A one-time heroic act takes seconds, or minutes, and is over. A mother "lays down her life" hour after hour, day after day. Daily putting the needs of another over her own. Hourly stopping what she wants to do, in order to do what someone else wants her to do. Year after year, making sacrifices and allowances because she loves another.

We are, by nature, selfish creatures. Our nature dictates that we look after ourselves before all others. We have instincts that protect self, that care for self, and that avoid any danger or damage to self. I am, by nature, selfish. I often resent having to "do for others". Sometimes I complain, and get annoyed. Sometimes I want to get away and have a break to be selfish. Sometimes I don't appreciate all that I have. I am probably not much different than most mothers. I strive to do my best. I strive to be what they need. I strive to be their advocate, their friend, their advisor, their supporter, and their corrector. I strive to serve them unselfishly, hour after hour, day after day. To feel honored, rather than annoyed, when I am the only one they want. When they need comfort in the middle of my sleep. When they unleash pent up emotions for me to help them work out.

One of my favorite bloggers, day in and day out is Sarah from Clover Lane. She is the mother that I aspire to be. I learn so much about motherhood from reading her posts. I learn to appreciate my children, to stop complaining, and to do the hard things because it is good for them. This past week I read a post from her about how a mother needs fortitude. (Please click on the link and read the post- it will be well worth your time). I am reposting some of her words here, because she put it so much better than I could have.

We have all heard that we need to take care of ourselves. In fact, I think it's overstated and often misinterpreted, and more annoyingly, I think, it's turned into something shallow and false. A manicure, a shopping trip with friends, a night out. Mommy makeover, mommy spa treatments, mommy's weekend away. There is nothing wrong with those of course, but I feel it's a perfect example of our culture's turn to a quick fix, a Pavlov's way of dealing with something quickly on the surface, and never looking deeper. Those things all help in the moment, and the recharge lasts for a moment, an hour, a day. They won't sustain us.

Motherhood lasts forever (forever!) and takes us up hills and down valleys, and sure there are those beautiful meadows, where as soon as we think we get it all figured out, we are shown otherwise. We meet with unchartered territory and we are filled with doubts and worries and frustration.

Manicures on the other hand, hardly make it through the dinner dishes. A shopping trip, a night out, have always seemed to me like coming up for sweet air, with just a gasp of breath allowed before we go back under and must begin to swim again.

We are looking in the wrong places perhaps. Perhaps our recharge is not "out there". Perhaps it cannot be bought, or stolen, or compacted into minutes, or hours or a few short days.

Perhaps it must be constant and is only found inside of us. A daily commitment to find a moment of solitude, to let our hearts and minds be still. A daily commitment to remind ourselves of what kind of mothers we intend to be for our children.
**************************************

I am so grateful for the example of my own mother, who always helps me, and any of my siblings, any time we call her. I don't think I have ever heard her say no to any of the millions of requests. In fact, she often tells me how babysitting my kids at the last minute will help her out somehow! Her advice is wise, and I do well anytime I follow it. I'm grateful for my mother in law, who happily does all the mundane tasks- I have never seen someone cook, clean, do dishes and fold laundry with such true enjoyment! I'm grateful for my sisters, who are fantastic women and mothers, and who inspire me to be better. I'm grateful for my friends, who let me vent with understanding, and who give me wise advice and needed support. I'm grateful for my children's birthmothers, who are both wonderful mothers themselves, and without whom, I wouldn't be a mother. These women are fantastic examples of unselfishness to me, and I try each day to be more like them.

Soccer Time

2011-05-07T21:43:00.001-04:00

I have loved this season of soccer! All 3 cute kids on the same team has been so fun. Of course, it means that we comprise almost half the team, plus one of the coaches, and therefore can never, ever miss a game or practice! But watching them all play together has been wonderful. It probably won't ever happen again, and I am sad to see it end!

Jack and Aidan love playing together. They love passing to each other and setting each other up for "moves". It is hilarious.

This is Abigail's best friend. She lives in our neighborhood, and they are in the same school class. They get along so well, and are hardly ever apart. I love to see them comfort each other when they miss a play or celebrate together when they do something good!

Such cute girls- I am so grateful for good friends who are a good influence!

I also loved Kydon coaching. He did such a great job with them.

I did not love putting on 3 pairs of shoes and finding and washing and gathering and carrying 3 uniforms, 3 pairs of socks, 3 balls and 3 water bottles every single week.

But I did love watching them play. Every time one of them threw in the ball, it would be to a sibling. Every time they passed it would be to a sibling. I love watching that connection they have to each other. I love that they had fun together.

They each improved dramatically this year. They understood positions and how to play their place. Jack and Abigail both were able to score goals throughout the season, and Aidan came within inches, but didn't quite get it in this year.

But he is going to play soccer until he is a grownup, so there is plenty of time for scoring.

We won't talk about how much time was spent chewing nails, rolling in the dirt, sitting down, doing cartwheels, and running out of the game to tell mom an important message, like what they want for dinner.

We will just remember how well they all played and how much fun we all had!

Easter is NOT Christmas (shocking)

2011-04-28T08:34:00.000-04:00

3 cute kids were so excited for the Easter Bunny to come and leave baskets full of goodies. They talked about it non stop for weeks. They had all different theories regarding what he might bring. They tried to remember what had been left in previous years, and what bearing that might have on this year's bounty.

It was so exciting you might have thought it was Christmas! Oh... wait... one kid DID think it was Christmas! When he saw the basket, he was okay. But when he realized the basket contained mostly new clothing, and just a couple small toys, he got very, very upset.

He was quite offended, and kept yelling "It isn't as good as when Santa comes!" Yes, that's right, kid. It isn't as good as Christmas, and it never will be. Good to learn now, because I can promise that I'm not doing Christmas more than once a year! I only wish I could have gotten a better picture of his cute little crying face!

Easter Traditions

2011-04-26T07:50:00.000-04:00

We usually do our baskets and egg hunts on Saturday morning, leaving Easter Sunday free of chaos and candy (except for the chaos of making them wear clothes they don't want to and not eat candy that they do want).

We spent the early morning at home, discovering our baskets and new clothes and shoes. I got a new set of lawn chairs, which I use a lot in my role as soccer mom! We then went to a fantastic soccer game, came home to relax for a bit, then headed to Grandma's for our annual egg hunt.

One of my favorite childhood memories is doing an egg hunt at my Grandma's house, and my mom is creating those same memories for my kids. Think hundreds of eggs, special prizes and treats, followed by a huge dinner with delicious food.

When my Dad sees this next picture, I predict he will ask, in an exasperated tone, why we always take silly pictures of him.

And I will answer, as I always do, that if he didn't jump in front of the camera and pull a silly face, I wouldn't take the silly pictures!

Here is what we were really trying to get a picture of: The cousins before the hunt.

If it seems like not enough kiddos, that is because there are 3 who were very much missed on this day. We needed 3 more faces with baskets to complete the set.

Let the hunt begin- the littlest go first, much to the torture of the biggest.

Luckily Jack and Aidan didn't have to wait too long- they were ready to hunt!

Go, Aidan, go!

The bigger kids tried to act cool, but you could see the gleam in their eyes if you looked closely! :)

Found one!

Some are easy to find, others are a bit more difficult. And the squirrells always rout out any that might be missed.

Matt, Adam and I were the official photographers of the event.

Kydon was there too.

Love this one of little Aaron discovering an egg!

After the baskets were filled to overflowing, we stopped to eat a delicious dinner. Not that the kids were hungry at all, but the adults enjoyed it!

Little Gavin did his best to sleep through the whole thing. Don't worry, baby- we will do it again next year!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T20:58:00.000-04:00

I love the Easter clothes and family picture! Turned out better than I expected, so I'm happy! Happy Easter everyone!

I have 10 more to go...

2011-04-21T09:02:00.000-04:00

I'm still (sort-of) working on my goal of doing 40 projects in 40 days. My 40 days are up tomorrow.

Oops.

As a valid excuse, I will point out that I went out of town for an entire 9 days for Spring Break, so technically I should get another week, right?

There are 10 projects left... actually 9.5. The problem is that I have saved the most dreaded for last. Great idea, huh? Just when your motivation is at the lowest, tackle the most annoying projects! :)

So, I am giving my self one more week... One final push to finish it up!

Also, there are only about 25 school days left! I have a lot of things to get done before summer arrives!

My squishy nephew

2011-04-20T15:54:00.000-04:00

Such a cutie! And he was super, super good during all the picture taking! Just wide-eyed and happy- never even gave hardly a peep!

Makin' me laugh

2011-04-18T21:19:00.000-04:00

Just for fun- here is Abigail in her cute little Easter Egg dress that she just *had* to have for the Easter Egg hunt! And her 3-D glasses, of course.

Maybe it is just that I was a little off today from working all weekend and general sleep deprivation, but the kids were cracking me up all afternoon. I made Ramen Noodles for an after-school snack. Abigail had them for the first time at a friends house and requested them. Aidan heard us talking about Ramen Noodles, and when I handed him his bowl, he sniffed it for a minute, then asked "is this really Rotten Noodles?" I could just see him trying to decide if we were joking or if he was supposed to eat rotten noodles!

After snack, I just wasn't up to helping and/or forcing the kids to do their cleaning work. I decided to give ~~myself~~ them the day off. I started to joke about it, saying "Oh, kids, I have to tell you some REALLY bad news. It is going to make you all really sad..."

Abigail immediately pops up and says "YOU ARE HAVING A BABY!!" (not in an excited way- in a way that she thought that was the worst news ever!) I started laughing and told her that no, I wasn't having a baby, but if I were that would be *good* news, not bad! She countered, telling me I would get really sick and throw up and they would have to cut me open to get the baby out and I would walk around with my belly cut open forever and kids take all your money and they drive you crazy. I was doubled over, I was laughing so hard [and yes, I obviously need to stop complaining, but we'll save that for another day].

After I composed myself and told them that the real bad news is that they didn't have to do any cleaning and I was really sorry because I knew how much they loved it, Jack and Abigail got excited. Aidan, however, was still not happy. His source of annoyance? "M-ooooo--mmmm! I wanted to hear REAL bad news!" He does like to hear about the bad stuff!

Just a few pictures

2011-04-16T09:29:00.000-04:00

I've been taking a photography class the past few weeks. I wouldn't really say I'm passionate about photography, but Kydon gave me a nice camera for Christmas, and I would like to be able to take it out of "auto" mode. I would also like to be able to take nice of pictures of the kids once in a while.

The first few weeks, I basically just learned enough to realize that my pictures are really pretty crappy!

But last night at soccer practice I was playing around and ended up getting a few shots that I ended up liking quite a bit.

I love how his face is sharp but the grass is all blurry- that was one of the main things I wanted to learn how to do! Oh, all of these are straight out of the camera.

The storm was holding off for just a bit, but it was making some pretty interesting clouds.

I love Aidan's eyes! He was trying to thwart my picture by getting really close, but I actually like how it turned out!

Lessons Learned On Spring Break

2011-04-12T09:44:00.000-04:00

My kids are really lucky to have 6 living Grandmothers, who each know them and love them. And spoil them!
8 people cannot reasonably be expected to eat 23 giant bowls of Noodles. No matter how yummy it tastes, it just isn't physically possible. But there was room for a rice crispy treat at the end. There is always room for that!
If you never want to see your kids again, simply build a basketball court in your basement. Goodbye, children- see you when it is time to go!
Cafe Rio is just as good as everyone says.
In-N-Out Burger is not as good as everyone says.
My Grandma's cooking is better than all of it combined.
Aidan prefers an early bedtime and a set schedule. He actually made me promise to put him to bed at the REGULAR time when we got home. That boy needs his sleep!
A story problem: If One 5 year old eats Candy + Junk food + chugs a 32 oz soda it will = gastronomic distress. A good life lesson.
Kydon cannot stand to be at home for more than 24 hours. Thus, upon completing our trip to Utah on a Thursday, there were still 2 whole days of spring break left. Therefore, we had to go to Tennessee. Obviously.
I need to take more pictures.
Traveling is a lot more affordable when you get discount airline tickets, free places to stay and hardly ever eat out. Who knew.
As long as the hotel has an indoor pool, it really doesn't matter where the hotel is located. The kids just enjoy the swimming.

Hiatus

2011-04-01T08:19:00.000-04:00

I will be taking a blog hiatus this next week!

We will be visiting my Grandma to celebrate her 85th birthday. We will be up early, stay up late, and eat a lot of food.

Also, 3 cute kids could not be more excited. Jack woke up at 2am Monday morning asking if it was time to go yet!

I'm off to pack and do the last bit of laundry, since we have to leave the house somewhere close to 4am tomorrow (heaven help us)!

Keeping up with everything!

2011-03-29T08:43:00.000-04:00

Soccer season has started once again! I love it and it drives me crazy all at the same time!

I love watching them, I love the activity, I love how much they love it... but keeping up with all the *stuff* gets a little crazy sometimes! But when I see how happy they are at the games, it makes it all worthwhile!

Jack gets so intense when playing! His face can pull some pretty crazy expressions!

2 of our 3 games have been rained out, so that is quite a bummer! Maybe next year we will just do the fall season and not the spring.

My newest baby nephew was born! Love the squishy cheecks and the mop of hair! I love that we live close enough to see him!

I have been sewing up a storm, completing many of the projects in my "unfinished" bin. It feels so great to make the progress! I also sewed skirts for Abigail and all her friends to match- 5 skirts in 5 hours... not bad!

All of this is in addition to the job of being The Enforcer for our new schedule. It is still working fantastically well! Snacks are under control, homework is getting done, and everyday the kids and I get a cleaning project finished. I love it! I realized that we are taking the weekends off. They get all sorts of treats and snacks and very little work. But, I am totally fine with that. It helps add to the rhythm that we are in a work mindset during the week and we can relax and play on the weekend. I am just happy to not have all the fits and screaming when I ask them to help out. They really do it willingly now, and most of the time try to finish as fast as they can to go play! Thank goodness for things that work!