Expanding our Family

Aaron and I have decided that our family is not yet complete. We are finally ready for our last (hopefully our last) member to take up residence in our home. Meet Wylie.




He will be joining our family (and may get a name change) on Sunday, December 28. Shhh, it's a surprise! Don't tell the kids!

Notes from Brenna

I just came upstairs and found two notes taped to the TV (oh my daughter knows her parents all too well).

Note #1:

Look! For: Mom and Dad
Call: 1-800-313-5750
or visit us at
www.DisneyVacation.com/memories
to order your Free
vacation planning DVD!

Note #2:

Look! For:Dad
dad mom said that
we proboly could get a
puppy that I really really
whant want.

Just go to: little...well
just ask mom to show
you this really cute puppy!



Price:0.00 or free!

Say Cheese!

I figured that since it has been quite awhile, it was probably about time I posted a few updated pictures of my little darlings. So, without further ado, here they are.

Oh the apples I picked and washed and cut up and cooked and blended and canned to make applesauce. This was literally an ALL DAY process. Brenna was delighted to wash apples for about 10 minutes.


Of course, Elliot had to see what was going on, too. Mmmm, applesauce!


Getting Ethan to actually give me a non-hammy smile for a picture is about as feasible as me going through an entire day without sugar. Not happening.

Now, who can resist a face like that? We are going to be in big trouble with this kid...

Maya, Maya, Maya. If I had a big following of this blog, I might have a "Name That Photo" contest. Because I don't really even know what to say about this one.

Brenna, my future concert violinist. Assuming, that is, that she can master her arpeggios.

Obviously I don't give my children equal photo opportunities because this is the best I could do for Maya.

Elliot loves his bottle. In fact, right now he is a fan of eating period. Whenever he sees someone chewing or sitting at the table he comes over and squeals until he gets a bite.

Not Me! Monday Round 5

Well it's that time of week again! Over at My Charming Kids, it's time for another round of Not Me! Monday. If you'd like to join in the "Not Me! Monday" fun, click here for the rules.

Just in case you're wondering, I definitely did not, as I was leaning over the bathtub to rinse out my daughters puke bucket, get sprayed in the head with the shower because I would have been smart enough to make sure that the flow was coming from the faucet rather than the shower head.

I did not ever, not even one time, have a headache in the morning because I didn't get my coffee infusion early enough. I am most certainly not addicted to caffiene, so this would never happen to me.

I did not lift my baby over my head only to have him drool on my face.

I did not show up to our church potluck with pizza from Papa John's. Because I am a good little housewife who always cooks amazing meals from scratch.

I did not pick my daughter up from school only to have her tell me that she had broken the zipper on her jacket. This has not happened multiple times with multiple jackets before. I did not then rush to the mall to find her a new jacket. Because zippers can be fixed so it would be silly to buy an entire new coat.

I would never ever spend a ridiculous amount of time on my daughter's Webkinz account playing one of the arcade games. That would be so immature.

I did not throw away all of my cookie cutters over the weekend because I was not at all annoyed that my husband kept making comments about how we needed to clean out the laundry room (which I did) and we needed to organize the drawers and cupboards in the bathroom (which I did not do yet, I spent the majority of the day in the laundry room) and we needed to find a new place to put our cookie cutters because they cluttered the drawer. I did not, after not finding a new home for the cookie cutters, furiously clean the rest of the house to work off my frustration. I am not passive aggressive, I always address issues head on.

And finally, I absolutely positively did not enter the kitchen to find that my 10 month old son had opened the pantry and pulled out the recycling (which was not strewn all over the floor). And he was certainly not playing with a can with a very sharp lid. Because that would be just plain irresponsible and dangerous.

Interior Decoration

My oldest child is a bona fide pack rat. She hoards everything from stuffed animals and books to toilet paper tubes and Home Magazines. She has a particular dislike for passing her too-small clothing down to her little sister. When she was about 5 or 6 she had two pairs of Strawberry Shortcake pajamas that she had outgrown. She was in her room with me as I was packing them away and was quite distraught over the fact that they were going to be Maya's soon. After I reminded her for the 100th time that they were too small for her, I asked her what she planned on doing with them if I allowed her to keep them. She answered through her tears, "Hang them on my wall!"

This story had my laughing so hard a couple of nights ago that I could hardly even spit it out. It seemed much funnier to me then than it does now. But I already typed it out, so I guess you'll just have to deal with it.

Not Me! Monday Round 4

Over at My Charming Kids, it's time for another round of Not Me! Monday. If you'd like to join in the "Not Me! Monday" fun, click here for the rules.

My week did not go as follows:

While walking around the grocery store with my boys I did not hear the call of nature. The call was not so loud that I didn't pay attention to where I was going and therefore I did not see, upon entering the restroom, 3 urinals. It was not at all embarassing to be seen exiting the men's room by a store employee. I did not think to myself as I was entering the correct restroom, "This will make a good Not Me! Monday post."

I did not pull out the vacuum to suck up the cheerios on the floor and than leave it sitting next to said cheerios all day.

I did not give my SIL (whom I dearly love) a ride in my new (okay, new to me) van and she did not proceed to put her bottle of uncovered kumbacha (fermented tea, yuck!) in a cup holder that was not too big for the bottle. This full bottle did not tip over when I turned and therefore did not spill it's entire contents onto the floor of my new van which does not now smell like vinegar.

My husband did not call me at least 5 times while I was out getting a much needed respite with a friend. Because my husband can handle things just fine without me.


Well, I'm sure there should be many more to add to this list, but sadly I cannot remember any more!

Not Me! Monday Round 3

Over at My Charming Kids, it's time for another round of Not Me! Monday. If you'd like to join in the "Not Me! Monday" fun, click here for the rules.

My week did not go as follows:

I did not have to extract my darling daughter (who is not going to be 8 in a few months) out of the van when I did not tell her that I was going to be leaving her with a babysitter (who certainly was not her super fun aunt). I was not overpowered by this child and did not have to resort to telling her that if she continued her screaming our neighbors would call the police who would then take her away from me. I would never do that.

I did not take a two hour nap on Tuesday afternoon. And it did not feel good.

I did not have my almost 4-year old child nap with me which did not result in him staying awake until 11pm. Because what kind of a mother lets her child stay up until 11 pm? That would just be irresponsible.

I did not take Maya to the Dr to be tested for diabetes and did not find out while we were there that while she doesn't have diabetes (really) she also doesn't have another UTI.

I was not secretly happy that I had to wait 20 minutes for Maya's Rx even though it should have been ready when I got there because I really don't enjoy walking around Target. I especially don't like walking around Target childless. I am not addicted to Target. I never spend any money there.

I did not mind that my husband was gone all week on a business trip in Vegas. I was not at all happy to have him back home. He did not spend a ridiculous amount of money on Cirque Du Soleil. And did not compensate for it by telling me that I could have my first ever spa day. I am not excited about this at all.

My son did not just come over to me with a bag of cheez-its and did not proceed to rip open the bag thereby causing the crackers to explode all over the room.

I did not tell several people that I was going to kick this child out of my house one day last week because he did not spend that entire day whining and complaining. I was not frustrated with him at all. Because good mom's enjoy every second of every day with their beloved children.

Proud Mama

I usually try to stray away from bragging about my children. In fact, I tend to swing the other way and am way more likely to bring to light all of the negative attributes of my little darlings rather than discuss all of the wonderful things about them. However, I can't keep this one to myself. I took Brenna to her violin lesson today. It was her fifth lesson EVER. She has been working, for the past 4 weeks, on Twinkle Twinkle. Today she had a new song, Lightly Row, introduced. Now, I have no experience what-so-ever with the violin. But I could not help but be impressed when she picked up the song in about 8 minutes. 8 minutes! I was completely floored. I didn't think it was going to go well at first. She was struggling with the bowing and I could see the look of frustration on her face. But then it suddenly just clicked and she had it! And then! My little mommy heart just about burst out of my chest at the end of her lesson when she and her instructor played Twinkle Twinkle together. Brenna played the melody and her instructor played the harmony. Brenna didn't miss a beat! She was awesome!

31 Things

1. Where is your cell phone? on the end table
2. Where is your significant other? Las Vegas
3. Your hair color? dark blonde
4. Your mother? Deb
5. Your father? Ron
6. Your favorite thing? my family
7. Your dream last night? don't remember, but it was probably odd
8. Your dream/goal? to raise my children without losing too much hair
9. The room you're in? living room
10. Your hobby? reading, scrapbooking, shopping
11. Your fear? losing my children
12. Where do you want to be in six years? in the nursing program (or working towards getting there) while all of my kids are in school
13. Where were you last night? home watching tiny football (Monday Night Football on a 4" screen on my laptop because we don't have expanded cable)
14. What you’re not? motivated today
15. One of your wish list items? nice digital camera, bigger TV with expanded cable,
16. Where you grew up? MN
17. The last thing you did? took a nap
18. What are you wearing?jeans/t-shirt
19. Your TV? is off
20. Your pet? 2 smelly goldfish that I am hoping will die soon so we can get some prettier, less smelly fish
21. Your computer? an IBM Thinkpad
22. Your mood? lethargic and a little crabby
23. Missing someone? my hubby
24. Your car? Dodge Grand Caravan. 2 of them. One grayish silver (or olive green according to the hus) one dark green. And a green Mazda 626.
25. Something you’re not wearing? socks
26. Favorite store? Target!!!
27. Your summer? is gone:(
28. Love someone? YES!
29. Your favorite color? just about anything with brown
30. When is the last time you laughed? this morning
31. Last time you cried? 2 nights ago...shouldn't read sad stories about people losing their babies...

Food for Thought

I was reading through the many comments on one of the blogs I follow and found this there...I thought it was interesting and it did make me stop and think.

This is the list of "Cannots" oft quoted by both Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan.

"You cannot bring prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further brotherhood of men by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away man's initiative and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves."

- Rev. William J. H. Boetcker

Apply that to candidates as you will . . .

Not Me! Monday Round 2

Over at My Charming Kids, it's time for another round of Not Me! Monday. If you'd like to join in the "Not Me! Monday" fun, click here for the rules.

Well, in true Not Me! Monday form, I did not (nor would I ever) almost forget that it was Monday and therefore did not almost forget to post my latest list.

I did not run over my son's bike which did not ruin the bike tire because it was not laying in the middle of the driveway.

I did not miss Ethan's chiropractic appointment because I did not forget to check the calendar.

I was not forced to throw away a sippy cup because it had not been in the toy room for at least two months and therefore was not growing a colony of mold.

I did not, while snuggled up in my bed at 10am talking on the phone, say to my friend that my life is too busy.

I did not spend most of the day on Sunday reading the archives of a new blog I thoroughly enjoy.

I did not watch my favorite NFL football team lose yet another game that they should have won.

Not Me! Monday

Okay. Yes I realize that it is not actually Monday today. However, I didn't learn about this fun idea until yesterday and while I didn't have time to post then, I also didn't want to wait a week to actually post on a Monday. So excuse my cheating, please.

This idea comes from MckMama, author of the My Charming Kids blog. If you'd like to join in the "Not Me! Monday" fun, click here for the rules.


In the last week...
I did not get frustrated with my baby who did not suddenly decide that he no longer likes sleep.

I did not waste any time on the computer when I could have been doing something productive.

I did not clean my bathroom for the first time in a month.

I did not drink a minimum of one coffee and one can of soda a day.

I did not cringe while listening to Brenna practice her violin and certainly did not spend more time correcting her than encouraging her in said pursuit.

I did not utter some less than choice words because I did not step on a very small toy airplane twice within five minutes.

I did not have to rewash a load (or two) of laundry because I definitely didn't leave it in the washing machine too long.

More Juice Please?

Ethan asked me to post this so everyone could see how well he can drink lemon juice. He was very adamant to say that other 2 yr olds shouldn't try this without their parents assistance. Note that he is 3.5 now and has fully recovered from this event in his life. Actually, every once in awhile he asks me for more lemon juice. I don't know if that is dain bramage or if he is now pulling my leg :-)


While adding this to YouTube Ethan and I watched it multiple times (laughing each time of course). Every time I played it he would say "Do you think I will like it this time?" LOL! Gotta love kids and how they think.

Shopping with Four

After dragging my lazy bum out of bed at 9 am, I decided it would be a good idea to take the kids (yes, all four of them) shopping. Before we left, I mixed up Elliot's bottle and fed and changed him. Asked Brenna no less than 5 times to get herself dressed and brush her hair. Poured some cereal for Maya (2 bowls, please) and persuaded her to get dressed (with my assistance, I wanted the task accomplished in 30 sec rather than 30 min) and allow me to fix her hair. Ethan was still wearing his clothing from yesterday which I deemed clean enough to wear again, and had already had his breakfast. Somewhere in the midst all of this, I decided to take a shower, only to discover that our hot water heater was once again on the fritz. So, instead of my nice, relaxing shower I leaned over the side of the tub and washed my hair in cold water. In the final moments before heading out the door, I made sure the diaper bag was stocked, tracked down Elliot's nuk clip and strapped him into his car seat, found socks for Ethan and helped him don both them and his "softball" shoes, located socks for Maya and put on my own socks and shoes. Once at the van I anticipated the usual arguments over who gets to sit where, but was pleasantly surprised when everyone found a seat to sit in and was happy with it. As we pulled into the Target parking lot I ran through my usual list of rules (which were, of course, made to be broken): stay by mom, no running, no asking to buy anything, no complaining. I put Elliot in the stroller and asked Brenna to push him and we were off. Once inside, I snagged a "roller coaster" cart for Ethan and Maya to ride in. As they fought over whose legs belonged where, we began our journey through the store. By this time, of course, Elliot was getting tired. We had just begun to browse the aisle of clearance toys when he started in on his "I'm tired" cry. So with a crying baby and 3 other kids running around like hooligans throughout the aisles (breaking rules 1 and 2) whining about all of the toys they weren't being allowed to get (breaking rules 3 and 4) I quickly filled the cart with 75% off merchandise to save for some of the many bday parties my little darlings get invited to. After corralling the three vagabonds, I took Elliot out of his stroller and carried him (while pushing the heavy "roller coaster" cart) through the rest of the store. After purchasing our items and bringing them out to the van, we reentered the store to find ourselves some lunch. While standing in line to order (Elliot was back in his stroller at this point, on his way to dreamland) Aaron called and wanted to know if he could join us for lunch. Not wanting to make the natives any more restless than they already were, I regretfully declined saying that we would be happy to sit with him as he ate later, but we were going to have our meal NOW. After we finished eating, we made our way into Payless to look for school shoes for the girls. While we were in the store, Elliot made his presence known once more and I decided that it was time to make our way down to the food court to wait for daddy. Pushing the stroller and carrying the baby, I encouraged Brenna to slow down and Ethan and Maya to hurry up right up to the point when I spotted our dining companion. At that point, all three made a mad dash to be the first one to give their daddy a great big bear hug. After Aaron finished eating, he took Ethan with him and I took the other three to Gordman's to allow Brenna to purchase a Webkinz. This may have been the worst idea of all. Once we located the Webkinz in the store, Brenna couldn't decided whether or not she wanted to spend her money on one and Maya was upset when she learned that she was not going to be getting one. We walked through the store for a bit to let Brenna think about it for awhile, but in the end she decided not to buy one. We left the store with Brenna sulking over the price of Webkinz and Maya complaining about the fact the I had not purchased a Webkinz for her. By this time I was completely DONE and decided that Walmart and Sam's Club would simply have to wait for another day. If I'm lucky, that day will not involve my four darling munchkins.

Wordtwist

My house is a mess. I have a load of laundry that is currently on it's third spin through the wash due to the fact that I keep forgetting to transfer it to the dryer. There is a rather large pile of unwashed laundry all over the floor of the laundry room as well as an overflowing hamper full of even more dirty laundry. The dishwasher is stuffed with clean dishes waiting to be put away and counter is covered with dirty dishes ready to be washed. The living room looks like it's been hit by a tornado. There are stuffed animals, littlest pet shops, barbies, dvds and even a plastic fork all over the floor. My girls' room and the "toy" room downstairs are no better. I know that I should be keeping on task. My job, after all, is to take care of my children and my home. And yet, I find that I am sick and tired of the lack of a sense of accomplishment that goes along with the unending chore of trying to keep a neat and orderly home with no less than five of it's inhabitants continuously undermining my every effort. (Okay, you could probably make that four, Elliot doesn't really contribute to the mess...yet.) So instead I prefer to spend my time on Facebook playing wordtwist. It has become my latest addiction. I'm not really very good at it, and yet it feels so wonderful to use a small portion of my brain for something other than housework. I find myself trying to twist words all day long now. How many words can I find in the title of that movie or the name of that restaurant? I'm hoping that I will soon tire of the game and will regain motivation to care for my home. Until then, bring on the Wordtwist.

My First Blog Entry

Well, here it is! My very first blog entry! I really have absolutely nothing to say at the moment, I just want to see what it looks like to post on my blog.