Itches and Scratches...

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T11:09:00.002-06:00

I am welcoming 2012 with open arms. A new year for us all, a fresh start, changes for the better...yes please!

2011 was a tough one for us, definitely a growing year for our family.

Ellie: We have a new book in our house that could have been made just for Ellie. All Cats have Asperger's Syndrome is a sweet, beautiful, easy to understand book about the similarities cats and people with Asperger's Syndrome have. Ellie was diagnosed with this Autism Spectrum Disorder a couple of weeks ago, and we're learning what that means for our family. We're reading books, talking to experts, and becoming experts ourselves, all to help our sweet girl.

She is so sweet, in so many ways, but she struggles so much, so VERY much, in so many ways. Her sensory processing problems are still very severe. A few days ago she couldn't handle the feeling of wrapping paper under her hands. Her inability to socialize well is hard to understand. I have high hopes for her for this year though, as we continue with her therapies. She's getting a lot of help, and I am excited to see how she improves.

Ellie takes a class at the local zoo every month. She's a member of Roots and Shoots, a wonderful program started by Jane Goodall. Animals are joy for Ellie, and this class is offering incredible experiences to her. At her last zoo class Ellie got to feed a male tiger, and pet a female tiger. She is still beaming. She couldn't wait to tell me all about it. Her eyes sparkled as she explained how it all worked. She was grinning as she recounted how they put a ball of meat on a stick to feed the male tiger. I was in awe as she described the feel of the female tigers furry tail. Amazing.

We've had some other challenges this year too, some good, some not so good. Austin's ears are still quite a challenge, and he has been struggling with some social things at school and now we're working on figuring out why. Our family business is expanding, and opening in a new location tomorrow. That's been a very exciting, and exhausting adventure. The rest of us have pushed through this year, and we're ready for a better one!

So Happy New Year! Praying it's a banner year for us all!

Fancy Friday!

2011-12-10T23:51:00.005-06:00

Annie came home a week ago, SO excited to tell me about "Fancy Friday". Her class had read Fancy Nancy books, and studied "Fancy" words, (big vocabulary words), and had earned themselves a Fancy party! With the party a week away, my sweet Annie wanted to plan her outfit RIGHT NOW. Yes, I'd say she was a tad excited. :-)

So last Thursday night we, painted her nails, rolled her hair in curlers, she reminded me, "Don't forget my jewelry mom!", and I tried to calm one very excited girl down so she could get some sleep. Friday morning she donned THE outfit...

Black dressy dress with ivory silk and lace flowers at the neck.
Black sequined trimmed leggings.
Tall shiny black boots.
A sparkly silver necklace.
Gold hoop earrings.
And because it was cold, a long ruffle trimmed sweater.

(unfortunately, none of my pics do justice to how awesome her outfit was!)

She looked beautiful! I had an ohmygoodnesssheisgrowinguptoofast moment, but I held it together.

She had a great party at school, that I got to attend as a helper. And do you see who also got to "help"? He almost looks like he could be a first grader!

Here are my fancy kids with a sweet school friend.

Annie's fancy word she picked to tell her class about was MANICURE. Grammie should be proud. :-) I think this might have been my all time favorite school party EVER. The kids looked adorable, and they were so excited. A simple, but super fun idea!

Painting

2011-11-21T00:17:00.001-06:00

10 years ago I painted a room for my first, yet to be born, daughter. I heaved my 7 month pregnant body up and down a ladder, and all around that room. I painted trees, birdhouses, flowers, and butterflies, and clouds on the ceiling. I poured myself into it, imagining the wonderfully precious baby that would soon be sleeping there. I was young, I had never been sleep deprived, and honestly I was quite naive about what parenthood would be like. Obviously there have been a lot of twists and turns over the last 10 years, but somehow we've made it almost a decade. :)

About a year ago I realized Ellie was quickly outgrowing her room, and it's decor, so we started talking and planning, and now we're finally putting some paint on the walls!

It's a beautiful (calming) pool blue color. I love it, and I am a very happy with how things are turning out. Yes it's bittersweet. As I painted over the butterflies and flowers I remembered how excited I was 10 years ago, and how different things have gone than what I expected. What will the next 10 years hold? Only God knows. I pray that her new, calming and beautiful room, will see her grow into a lovely young woman, full of Gods glorious grace.

Stay tuned, I'll be posting pictures soon!

Shelley

It's that time again!

2011-11-14T22:15:00.002-06:00

Oh Holy Night Religious Christmas Card

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Our journey with Ellie...

2011-11-10T09:48:00.004-06:00

Part of my bloggy silence in the last several months has been due to a journey we've been on with Ellie. I have been silent about it, because I wanted to wait for answers. I wanted to have details to share, maybe even wisdon to impart...Ha! :) In all seriousness though, it's been a very rough road with Ellie since spring, and last June after doing some research, I set out on a path to get some serious answers.

Autism. It's a scary word, but a word that has become increasingly familiar to me in the last several months.

In August we started seeing a family counselor to explore what was going on with Ellie. Yes, she has Sensory Processing Disorder, and we have had our challenges with her in that regard, but for awhile we felt like we had things somewhat under control. Starting in the spring, and continuing over the summer Ellie slid into a bad place. Her sensory problems increased, her meltdowns increased, she became angry, sad, anxious, fearful. As school started, her problems hit an all time high. She cried for an hour before school, and an hour after school. Socially she has had an extremely rough year, not being able to handle other kids, not understanding social rules, not functioning as a typical 4th grade girl. Not even close. The possibility of an Autism Spectrum Disorder was immediately brought up, and so we began walking a new path.

We're still on this path, with all it's twists and turns and looong waits to see doctors and therapists, and have numerous evaluations done, but we finally got the first of our answers yesterday. After weeks of testing, Ellie's school has diagnosed her with Autism.

Now, if you know Ellie at arms length, you may be confused. She appears at first glance to be a very "normal" child. But if you watch her, really watch her, you will see the differences. She does not play, she does not understand social rules, she is extremely detailed, she cannot tolerate changes in routine. She is not Autistic, in the "Rain Man" sense. She is very high functioning, with her major areas of concern and delay being in social areas, sensory areas, and gross motor areas. She now has an IEP in place, that spells out her needs, and what special services she will receive. OT, Language therapy, Social Skills training, etc.

We are still waiting for a more specific diagnosis, which will come from an independent neuro-psych evaluation that is scheduled at the beginning of December. That's the "big one" in my head, the one that will give us more direction. For now though, I feel that we're on the right path. The counselor/therapist that we're seeing specializes in Autism Spectrum Disorders, and he and the school feel that we're heading in the right direction. I have struggled with this, prayed over this, cried and lost so much sleep over this, but I do feel like we're getting there.

Of course I don't want my child to have Autism, but I do want her to get the help she so desperately needs. I am counting her diagnosis as a victory. She is a bright, beautiful girl, and with a little help, I think she will use her special needs and special talents to become a wonderful help to others someday.

To be continued... :)

Music

2011-10-24T10:02:00.004-05:00

UGH my blogging silence is killing me! I have started writing about 16 blog posts in the last month, but nothing has stuck. So I'm jumping in, be warned, it may not make sense!

My silence has been caused by many things...Laundry, Dishes, Kids, Doctor's appointments, Exercise, The Real Housewives shows... So I have a LOT to catch up on. Today though, my thoughts are on music.

I love music. I used to always have something playing loudly, then I had kids.

Now they are what's playing loudly.

Lately though, I've rediscovered my love for loudly playing music. While I clean, while I workout, while I drive, when I'm trying to drown out the sound of screaming children...

I was listening to a lot of country and pop, but started turning on the local Christian radio station more and more, because I wasn't loving a lot of the DJ's commentary while my kids were in the car. Not to mention the news reports, yikes.

So I've discovered a few new to me, super awesome songs, that pretty much sum up my life right now.

All things MANDISA. OH my word she is awesome. My favorites of hers:

Shackles: Fun, upbeat, truth. Love the words...

"Everything that could go wrong
All went wrong at one time
So much pressure fell on me
But I know you wanna see
If I will hold on through these trials
But I need you to lift this load
'Cause I can't take it anymore"

Broken Hallelujah: Not upbeat, but so speaks to my heart right now.

"When all that I can sing
Is a broken hallelujah
When my only offering
Is shattered praise
Still a song of adoration
Will rise up from these ruins
I will worship You and give You thanks"

So I realize it sounds like I'm going through a lot right now, and that's because I am. We are. I believe with all my heart things are heading in the right direction though, and I will be more specific soon. We are still seeking help and answers for Ellie, and have a fairly good idea of what's going on with her, we're just in the waiting process still. Which brings me to my next song...

Stronger:

"When the waves are taking you under
Hold on just a little bit longer
He knows that this is gonna make you stronger, stronger
The pain ain't gonna last forever
And things can only get better
Believe me
This is gonna make you stronger"

and

"'Cause if He started this work in your life
He will be faithful to complete it
If only you believe it
He knows how much it hurts
And I'm sure that He's gonna help you get through this"

And finally, to wrap up Mandisa's songs...

Waiting for Tomorrow: In all this waiting, I have to remember that I can't put off everything, including taking care of myself.

"Maybe tomorrow I'll start over
maybe tomorrow I will finally change my way
said the same thing yesterday
don't know why I'm so afraid
to let you in to let you win
to let you have all of me

I can't live my whole life wasting
all the grace that I know you've given
Cause you made me for so much more than
sitting on the sidelines
I don't want to look back and wonder
If good enough could have been better
every days a day that's borrowed
so why am I waiting for tomorrow"

So, yeah, big Mandisa fan now!

Another song I am loving is Blessings, by Laura Story. Such beautiful music and lyrics that also speak so strongly to me right now.

"'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise"

And finally, Hold us Together, by Matt Maher. Love this song's vibe, and it's message.

"Love will hold us together
Make us a shelter
to weather the storm

And I'll be my brothers keeper
So the whole world will know
That we´re not alone"

I don't know what I would have done without my "keepers" lately. My friends, my family. People I can lean on, cry to, talk to, call to pick up kids. They are what keeps me going. Thank you SO much. I know I'm not alone because of you all.

So like I said, I started turning on the Christian station to avoid the not so great commentaries for the kids. Then I found these great songs, and added them to my playlists. Then one day I noticed Ellie was singing the words to ALL of these songs. These are the words that are getting in her head now, instead of whatever was on the radio before. Wow, count me convicted. I'm not saying I was a bad parent for playing non-Christian music, I'm just saying it really hit me that what's playing in the background really does matter.

I've also noticed that I wake up with these songs in my head, I hum these songs when I'm working, I go to bed with these words on my mind. And my attitude is much better because of it. I've always known that music had a lot of power over me, but somewhere along the road I'd forgotten just how much.

I know this was crazy long, but check out the songs when you have time. Maybe they'll brighten your day too. :)

Nine Eleven

2011-09-11T21:56:00.003-05:00

On this day 10 years ago, Jason and I slept in a little. It was his day off from work, and who knows what we had planned. Life was so simple back then. I was 3 1/2 months pregnant with Ellie, and over-the-moon excited about becoming a mommy. Jason worked 4 days a week in the family business and we spent lots of time together. We shopped, we ate out, we planned the nursery, we saw movies, and every couple of months we'd travel to Kentucky to see Jason's brother Chris, his wife Michelle, and our sweet toddler niece Olivia. It was a gloriously easy time of life.

I remember turning on the Today show, as I usually did when I woke up. The first plane had hit TWC, and the news was all abuzz with what that meant. Within minutes the second tower was hit, and I ran to wake Jason. We watched in horror as the rest of the morning played out. I cried and cried, fearful of what this might mean for the world my baby would be born into. We called Michelle, Chris was serving as a psychologist in the army at Fort Knox. She was scared and nervous about what this meant for them, Chris' job, and sweet Olivia. As the day progressed, I remember we went to get gas in all our vehicles, just in case. The rest of the day was spent glued to the tv, flipping between networks, and praying to God that everything would be okay.

In the last 10 years, many things have changed. Ellie is 9 1/2, and we added two more children to our family. Our sweet niece Olivia is 11, and is a great big sis to Elaina. Chris finished his military job, and he and Michelle moved to our little town to help us run the family business. 4 day work weeks are a thing of the past now, life is crazy busy, and at times pretty complicated.

Today Jason and I took the kids to Silver Dollar City. As our tram pulled up to the entrance we saw this...

It was beautiful. And then the questions began..."Mom, why is that there? What's going on? Is today a holiday?". As we walked into the park, God Bless America was being sung. I paused and listened, and remembered. I gently and simply told the girls the meaning of "Patriots Day", and how it evolved, and then they ran off to pet the goats. Tears filled my eyes as I watched them be so carefree. I am so thankful.

I am thankful to the men and women who serve our country. Military, Firefighters, Police...all those who protect and serve. I am thankful to God. Yes, our world has changed in the past 10 years, but my family is safe and our country is free and today I was able to enjoy a day of fun with my family. Thank you Lord for my family.

We will always remember.

Shelley

Back to School!

2011-09-02T10:27:00.004-05:00

It's another new school year, and yes. I'm already behind!

For the first time ever, all three of my babies started school on the same day!!!

I was concerned our morning would be crazy hectic, but because of my fear, I over-prepared and over-organized and we ended up having the smoothest first day of school morning we've ever had, which left us with plenty of time for cute First Day of School Pictures! Yay!

Ellie is in 4th grade this year. Seriously? How did that happen? She has a great teacher that I've had the pleasure of getting to know, and getting to help already. Ellie has some special needs, and it takes the right kind of teacher to make her life, and therefore my life, go well! Mrs. V has been a blessing in so many ways already, and we're only two weeks into the school year!

Annie is a sweet First Grader this year! She was so excited to get back to school, see her friends, and not be bored by mommy anymore! :) She wore the cutest watermelon dress for her back to school outfit, that my dear friend Jeanette made for her! Seriously, I love having talented friends. Annie has been loving the first grade, and reports that her favorite things have been recess with good friends Avery, Gracie, and Elizabeth, PE, and Library!

Austin gets to be in two preschools this year, lucky boy! They are in the same building, even on the same hall, AND on the same hall as Annie's class! His mornings are spent in Pirate Preschool, where he has Mrs. C and is learning how "real" school works. After lunch he goes down the hall to his ECSE school, where he's been for the last two years. He has new teachers, but is familiar with everything, and is doing great!

So every morning for two weeks now, all three kids go to school. Wow. I'm still getting used to the quiet house, and my "free time". It's an adjustment for sure! So far I think I've spent way too much time wandering around with a blank look on my face, almost lost without the screaming/yelling/chaos around me. My brain has been wired for almost 10 years to work within the chaos, and now I have to remember how to work without it! It's good though, I really do enjoy the time while they're at school. And I am so much happier and more patient with them when they come home.

Yep, it's all good! Happy new school year!

Super Mom

2011-08-25T07:39:00.006-05:00

I have the best mom in the WORLD!!!

She is sweet, kind, selfless, giving, fun, servant hearted, beautiful, wisdom-filled, God fearing, smart...the list is endless. I have always admired and looked up to her. She sacrificed a lot for me, and I have always been grateful. But now, now I realize she really is a Super Hero.

And I can prove it.

Yesterday after school, I took my three ~~fighting~~ wonderful children and headed up north to an appointment we had. We were running late thanks to the insane school loop of doom, and I was already flustered. I called my mom, who was planning on meeting us at the appointment to take two of my kids and do something fun with them... Mom, I'm running late. Shocking I know! She assured me that she'd meet me there, and I could just go on in, leaving her to deal with the chaos of flung snacks, and pile of backpacks, and she'd figure it out. Awesome, right? Just that right there shows how great she is. But oh wait, there's more!

On the way my youngest got sick in the car. Of course.

I sent a text... Austin threw up.

She texted back...I'll take care of it.

And she did. As Ellie and I rushed into the office, she switched keys with me, and proceeded to take my kids, and my nasty car to her house.

45 minutes later, Ellie and I arrived at her house to a clean car, clean and happy kids, and her washing machine running to clean the messy clothes.

Mom, you are a SUPER HERO!!!

You have rescued me time and time again, through years of raising me, and now helping me raise my own.

And you saved the day, again. And today... IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY!!!

You are such a wonderful example of what a mother and grandmother should be. I know we are truly blessed by you, and I hope someday I can live up to the example you have set.

I am so excited to hang out with my sweet mom today, as we celebrate her! I know nothing can make up for all the years of sacrifice she's made, nasty things she's cleaned up, teenage tantrums I threw, or all the objects my kids have broken .... but buying her dessert might help.

Especially if it's chocolate.

I love you mom! Happy Birthday!

A Typical Summer Morning

2011-08-10T10:32:00.006-05:00

I dedicate this post to my cousins, Lauren and Lane, and their expected baby boys. :-)

My morning:

Austin slept in until 7:45 am, (this is late for him) thank the good Lord above!
(Of course that was after he invaded my bed at 2 am, and slowly pushed my tired body to the edge of the bed. I finally gave up and stumbled to the couch to get some sleep.)

Since 7:45 Austin has...

Watched a movie. (Beauty and the Beast)
Destroyed the playroom. (Why do I bother cleaning it?)
Played outside.
Eaten Spaghetti O's for breakfast. (Completely normal for him)
Made me "play" breakfast.
Watched TV.
Played computer games. (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse)
Fought with Ellie. (Annie is still asleep)
Captured a baby lizard.
Invaded a forbidden closet.
Played with (terrorized) the animals.

It's 10:30 am.

And just so you know, this is a typical summer morning. Not unusual at all.

School starts in 8 days.

We're more than ready. : )

Lane's facebook update today was this:

"So Christian is constantly moving around...seems like he's moving about 80% of the day. Lord please don't give me an overactive child! Is this normal for him to be so active?!!?"

And my response?

Bwahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!

Good luck my cousins!

This Summer...

2011-08-08T09:59:00.004-05:00

UGH.

A one word summation of how I have felt this summer.

Endless days of 100+ degree temps.

Austin's recurring ear infections, which means no swimming.

Ellie with no therapy = not working.

Endless days inside our house.

Endless days of cleaning up after the kids...mainly Austin.

Endless days of "He broke ____ today honey" conversations.

The boy and boredom, do not mix well.

Here's a list:
---------------------------------------------------
Flour + Hose = White "glue" spots all over our deck/outdoor furniture/grills/windows.

Plugged bathroom sink + water running + locked door = floor damage upstairs and ceiling damage downstairs.

Bike riding indoors + cutting corners too short = trim ripped away from walls.

Toys + Toilet = a plumbing headache.

Towel bar + Boy hanging = holes in the wall.
-----------------------------------------------------

I'm sure there's more, but my tired brain can't think anymore.

I realize this post sounds very negative, and I hate that. I don't like being negative. I love summer. But not this summer. My eyes are fixed on this coming school year, cooler temps, more help for Ellie, more activity for Austin, more friend time for Annie.

I pray that Austin's ears clear up and next summer we can swim until we turn into fish. I pray that answers come soon for Ellie, and that with answers comes more help. We are exhausted.

And I pray that the next 9 days until school starts go quickly!

And hopefully I can be back to my normal, upbeat, notgoingcrazy self soon. :)

This summer I spent a lot of time reading about all the awesome things our friends are doing with their awesome kids...and that just makes me want to cry. I am happy they had great summers. I am happy that their kids are fun and excited to do new things and go on great vacations. I just wish that could be us. The simplest of things is nearly impossible with our family dynamics right now. An afternoon at the pool, even if Austin could swim, would be a monumental effort. Austin requires a lot of my attention, and with it, he's fine. But pair that with Ellie, who requires a lot of my attention, and with it may or may not be fine, and you have one stretched thin mommy. So many nights I feel tremendous guilt for not having a clue what Annie did most of the day. So yeah... UGH.

Ellie may or may not have an Autism Spectrum Disorder, and I am in the process of finding out what to do about that. One thing I keep reading on Autism/Asperger's websites is that being a parent to a child like this can be very lonely.

No kidding.

Watching friends walk through life with "normal" kids, and realizing that it's impossible for us is depressing.

Getting harsh and judgmental looks from strangers or even acquaintances at Target/the pool/a restaurant is upsetting and degrading.

Getting blank stares from friends and family, when we try to explain what life is like for us, is disheartening.

Being snubbed and excluded from social groups, teams, or events is angering.

Watching our first born struggle day after day, week after week, even when she is trying so hard is heart wrenching.

Yes, this road is lonely. I am praying we have answers and help soon. And I pray that if you, or even I, are ever in the position to offer a kind word, or even just an understanding smile, to someone struggling with an out-of-control child, do it. Maybe that parent isn't the best parent, or maybe they are. Who are we to judge someone? Maybe their child isn't as compliant as yours. Maybe that child is more challenging than average. Maybe that child has Asperger's or ADHD. Whatever it is, it doesn't deserve judgement from us. I had someone tell me one time that NONE of her four children ever defied her, or threw a fit, in public, EVER. Wow. How? I don't even think I want to know. But it's people like her that make people like me feel like inadequate and terrible parents. Don't be her.

Facebook. Oh how you are two faced. I love facebook for keeping up with my family and friends, their cute pictures, their funny stories, etc... but OH how facebook has another side. A "look at me I'm better than you" side. So what do you do?

BE REAL ALREADY!

Don't just post the "good stuff" so we think you are the best parent with the best children ever, and therefore feel bad about ourselves. If you're kid broke something today, let the rest of us mommies know so we don't feel so alone! If your 3 year old kid ran naked next door to the neighbors house unbeknownst to you, tell us! That's funny stuff people, and it makes us realize you and your kids are REAL and NORMAL, not PERFECT! (And yes that happened to me!) And then next time we REAL people run into each other at Target, we won't feel so alone. We'll realize we have more in common that we knew before, that none of us is perfect with perfect children.

And we won't duck behind the nearest display to hide from you.

Toothless!

2011-08-07T23:43:00.001-05:00

Annie FINALLY lost her first tooth!

At the ripe age of almost 7, she was a little on the late end, but it finally happened!

She was very excited when it was wiggly, but complained that it was hurting a little. After a dose of orajel, she ran off to play, then a bit later reappeared with her tooth in hand! I guess the medicine numbed it enough so she could wiggle that thing out!

She was scheduled for a sleepover at Grammie's house that night, and we decided that the tooth fairy could find her there, so off she went! I heard later that Ellie and Grammie "assisted" the tooth fairy in trading Annie's first tooth for $2! One gold dollar and 4 quarters! What a lucky girl! :-)

For mommy, it's a little bittersweet. Annie turns seven a week from tomorrow. Seven. It doesn't seem possible. Then three days later she starts 1st grade. Pair all that with the first missing tooth, and I realize there's no denying she's growing up...fast. Sigh.

Dear Annie,
My beautiful girl. I am super excited you lost your first tooth, and that your next one is "already wiggly"! I love your sweet, innocent joy. Please, please stay little for awhile longer.
Love,
Mommy

Kansas City

2011-07-16T12:30:00.002-05:00

Another family vacation has gone down in history. Was it a good one? Hmmm...I'm not sure. What is that saying, "History repeats itself"? Remember Disney?

This vacation was similar to Disney. Not as bad, but similar. Not as good, but similar. At this point I am frustrated at the state of things with Ellie, and once again we find ourselves seeking out more help, more answers. Again, very similar to where we were after Disney. This time though, we were already in the process of seeking more answers, so although I didn't quite expect as many meltdowns from her as we had, I also didn't expect this trip to be without it's hardships.

We visited Kansas City for a close to home, yet "big" vacation. We splurged on our hotel and stayed at The Great Wolfe Lodge, a water park/hotel.

The girls in their "cabin" part of the room, with their souvenir animals.

Very cool place, but also a very expensive place, and in case you're thinking about going there, be prepared to pay a lot of money for all of the "extra" fun things. (A bit of a frustration for J!) The water park was the best part of the hotel, and we did have a lot of fun there!

The girls "dunking" each other in the "colors" game!

Daddy and the kids! (And the first of many "tongue" pictures of Austin. Why?)

Underwater pictures!!! (And another one of Austin's tongue.)

Austin and Annie...best buddies!

Me and Annie with funny faces! We had a blast together riding the water slides!

We ate at a lot of cool places, the T-Rex cafe and Fritz's railroad restaraunt again, and we also ate at the Orange County Choppers restaurant.

My personal favorite of the trip was our visit to Union Station. We loved Science City, the model train exhibit, watching the real trains go by, and the "Art of the Chopper" exhibit. What a cool place!

Ellie at the mini golf area in Science City, sporting her new "glasses" she bought for fun! So cute!

Jason teaching the A's how to play mini golf.

Annie playing golf!

The kids standing on the train overlook platform where you watch the real trains go by. Very cool!

Ellie standing in part of the Chopper exhibit. Also, very cool!

Austin was really excited that this race car was parked outside our hotel. : )

The last thing we did was visit the Kansas City Zoo. It was dreadfully hot, but we did enjoy a few things. We were amazed at the kangaroos that were just out in the open! Although we did keep warning Austin not to get any closer!

But the neatest thing at the Zoo was Nikita, the Polar Bear. Nikita was thoroughly enjoying her pool on this hot day, and she kept swimming laps, and doing back flips out of the water! She was Amazing!

So despite the hard parts, we did have some fun. Austin probably had the most fun on our trip, he really weathers the lack of sleep and crazy schedule of vacation the best of all of us. He also provides a lot of comic relief. : ) He and Annie both started really swimming a lot better on our trip too, which was awesome! I don't know when we'll be ready to do another trip again, but I know we will again someday, and no matter what happens, I really do love my family. : )

Happy Birthday America!

2011-07-13T16:20:00.007-05:00

This year we lost our minds for a bit, and decided to take our 3 kids to the lake on the 4th of July...All. Day. Long.

Miraculously, we all survived, and even came home fairly happy, albeit exhausted!

Some of my favorite memories, in no particular order...

Austin falling asleep on the boat, just before the fireworks started.

Ellie and Austin cliff jumping!

Annie NOT cliff jumping...hello role reversal!

Relaxing off the boat at State Park Marina for a bit.

Eating shaved ice! Yum!

Seeing Ellie smile.

Seeing Austin smile.

Seeing Annie's smile...and some rockin' boat hair!

The Branson Belle up close, it never gets old.

This picture of Austin and Annie, best buddies.

Watching Big Cedar's fireworks from the lake. Beautiful!

I really did it...

2011-06-22T10:07:00.003-05:00

I sent them to summer school.

Can you believe it? Am I a mean mom?

It's interesting to get people's reaction to the fact that I put all three of my kids in summer school this year. Yes, even Austin. I've had various comments ranging from "Good for you!" to "I would never do that." I have friends who always put their kids in summer school, and I have friends who never-in-a-million-years would choose to do it. Who knew this was such a dividing topic?

I have to say, I surprised myself by actually doing this. I mean, sure I've threatened it before...If you kids don't stop fighting I'm calling the school and taking you in!" But this year I did it. See, 2 days into summer, we got the news that Austin couldn't swim for at least 3 weeks. His ears were severely infected again. Nice.

I sat at home with 3 fighting kids for a few days. We couldn't go to the pool, we couldn't go to the lake, we couldn't play in the sprinklers, and it was 95 degrees outside. I'd had all the whining, fighting, complaining and fussing I could take, when a friend mentioned summer school. I brushed it off at first, them my mom mentioned it. Then I thought about it...and made the call. And you know what?

They have LOVED it!

Annie is sad that it is ending tomorrow, Austin has enjoyed eating lunch at school for the first time, and even Ellie has enjoyed it since she's getting to do all the "fun stuff" (reading, computers, recess) and none of the "bad stuff" (PE) , you gotta love that girl. :)

And me? I'm not gonna lie, having 4 quiet mornings a week for three weeks has been pure bliss.

Yesterday Austin had an ear check-up and we got the news that HE CAN SWIM! Yay! The timing is brilliant (Thank you God!) with summer school ending tomorrow. I am so happy for my sweet boy who has been begging to go to the pool. I pray that his ears stay healthy, and our summer can have lots of fun water time.

And as for summer school, they all say they want to go every year. Go figure!

It's that time again!

2011-06-16T16:51:00.004-05:00

We just had our 4th annual blueberry picking adventure!

It's an adventure with my 3 kids, for sure. This year wasn't without its ups and downs, but for now I'll focus on the ups. :)

We had quite a blueberry picking group this year! It was so fun to have our friends and family with us!

I mean, who couldn't have fun with these monkey's around?

Austin enjoyed picking berries for about 2 minutes, then after that he tried to raid our friends buckets. When that didn't work, he just played, and looked for Nana. :)

Ellie, as always, did a fantastic job filling her bucket. This year she buddied up with Langley and they did great!

Annie (with face paint still on from the zoo the night before :) had her best year to date. She ended up with at least twice as many berries as last year. I think it helped that she and William buddied up, he inspired her. :)

This is one of my favorite family traditions!

A Boy of Many Questions

2011-05-25T19:02:00.002-05:00

Austin didn't say much for the first 3 years of his life. With moderate hearing loss, he was slow to learn to speak. With ear tubes improving his hearing, and speech and language therapy, he finally began talking. After a year we saw great improvement, and in the last year he's amazed me with huge jumps in his speech. And now...he talks non stop.

If we're in Target, you'll know it. His voice carries well, and his running commentary is hard to miss. But he's not just talking, he's asking question after question. And he wants answers.

"Mama! Why is that sign there?"

"Mama! What does that man have?"

"Mama! Where did that pumpkin go that used to be here?"

And on and on, aisle after aisle. Of course I love it. I love that he finally found his words. Sometimes I wish he were a bit quieter, or at least more patient, but I still love it.

This Spring has been a rough season for our area. We've had floods, and now it's flooding again. A town (Joplin) nearby just experienced the worst tornado to hit the USA is over 50 years. And Austin has taken it all in. These are the questions that are harder to answer...

"Mama! Why did it flood?"

"Mama! Is it flooded again?"

"Mama! Why did we go to the basement?"

" Mama! Where did the 'toenado' go?"

" Mama! Why did the 'toenado' come?"

I just don't know the answers to these questions. So we talk, and we pray, and we donate, and we help. It's all I know to do.

Austin has a plan though. In his words...

"When I grow up, I'm gonna drive a monster truck and push the toenado away!"

I just love this boy.

Tea cups

2011-05-15T18:45:00.005-05:00

How do you spell fun?

TEA CUPS!

And a day with our cousins and aunt and uncle at Silver Dollar City!

Favorite Photo...

2011-05-13T12:05:00.003-05:00

(1/40, f5, iso 200)

My two girls.

I picked this as my favorite photo for the last day of the Opposites Photo Class. As I looked back, I had lots of pictures of Austin, but not as many of the girls. I don't intend to play favorites, but since the girls are in school all day, Austin tends to get my attention a little more right now. So for this assignment, I wanted my girls!

I just bought them these matching shirts, and they both wore them today. They looked so cute! Sweet sisters. As an only child, I always wanted a sister. These two girls are night and day. Opposites, if you will, in every way. Ellie is fair skinned, strong willed, prefers cold over hot, and meat over veggies. Annie is always tan, easy going, hates to be cold, and eats salad like it's ice cream. How can two girls from the same two parents be so different?! They fight like cats and dogs, and are very competitive, but underneath all that, I know they love each other. I pray that one day they grow up to be the best of friends!

I used all my lessons from the photo class for this picture. No flash, natural light, balancing the light, tilting the camera...YAY! I am so happy I understand all of this now! Thanks so much beth!

Black and White

2011-05-10T15:23:00.002-05:00

I love black and white photos. Ever since I can remember, I've felt pulled in by the pictures of the past. I remember sitting with my mom, my grandma, my great grandma, and looking at the old pictures, loving the history behind them.

Day 14 of the Opposites Photo Class is Black and White. I love how this picture of my littlest soccer player looks in black and white.

(1/2000, f7.1, iso 400)

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T09:07:00.009-05:00

Mother's Day has never worked out well for me.

It's a scramble to do church, wrangle kids, honor my own mother and grandmother, and my mother-in law, deal with insane restaurants, all while supposedly enjoying a special day all about me. (And yes, I realize that being a mother is supposed to be the only gift I should ever need. And that my children are blessings, and that I should want to spend all day just reveling in the wonderousness of them, while doing crafts and making cookies, and birds sing all around us.)

Yeah.

Then there's been our families track record of major illnesses on Mother's Day. On my first Mother's Day, my dad collapsed at church. He's ok, but it was very scary, and we spent the day at the hospital with our sweet 3 month old baby Ellie. Jason's dad went to the hospital last year on Mother's Day weekend, and so Mother's Day for me was watching the kids fight, while Jason spent the day with his mom at the hospital.

Then there was the year I got a Meat Marinator for my Mother's Day present.

And it was three weeks late.

See what I mean? Not so fun.

There have been a few okay Mother's day's in between. But none have ever lived up to the amazing expectations I had when I first found out I was expecting a precious child of my own.

Hmmm...that's interesting. Yet another thing I glamorized in my mind about parenthood. The pattern continues...

So by now, 9 years into motherhood, I've lowered my expectations A LOT. The kids WILL fight, and won't care that it's Mother's Day. They will make messes. My husband will not read my mind. The restaurants will be insane.

(right now my kids are fighting)

Which brings me to this year. So far Mother's Day this year has been...perfect.

Yes, they are fighting, but Jason is handling it. First thing this morning, Austin walked in sweetly and said..."Happy Mother's Day mommy." Then he opened his sweet little hand to reveal a Pandora bead. Precious! A little while later Ellie walked in..."Happy Mother's Day mommy." I looked up and smiled and hugged her, and then finally realized (after she stood there grinning for 2 full minutes) that she had a beautiful silver necklace around her neck. So sweet! Then Jason gave me a box with this...

An original Lisa Leonord necklace! My friend has one that I've loved for a long time. I heard about her through a blogger friend, and awhile back I was window shopping on her website. Then I saw a cool option where you can create your perfect piece, and then send an email to a loved one as a "suggestion". So I did. But honestly I figured that Jason wouldn't give it the time of day. I assumed it went directly into his spam folder, or he'd think he'd rather find something on his own. Then I promptly forgot all about it, which is pretty typical of my tired mommy brain.

Back to this morning, when my sweet Annie woke up, she also came to me and said sleepily..."Happy Mother's day mommy", and in her hand was another Pandora bead!

Yay me!!!

Don't judge. Remember...Meat Marinator.

Now Ellie has made me breakfast, and I'm sitting at my computer with my coffee. Ahhh...

Honestly the whole weekend has been good.

Yesterday was Super Soccer Saturday. Annie had two games, Austin had two games, and both kids had soccer pictures. Jason had to work, but he blessedly took Ellie with him, while I wrangled the two soccer players at the soccer field for 6 1/2 hours. Whew! We made it though, and overall I was THRILLED with how well Annie and Austin handled the day. It did help tremendously when Aunt Michelle showed up at the perfect time to lend a hand and watch a soccer game for awhile.

Soccer Cousins! Annie, Elaina, and Austin!

Then last night our favorite babysitter came, and we had dinner with Chris and Michelle and Jason's parents. We had a beautifully peaceful dinner after a crazy long day. So nice!

This afternoon I am spending some time with my sweet mother. Where I assume there will be some shopping involved. Yay! :)

For now I sit here and wonder...how did everything go so well this year? What has changed?

A lot.

After 9 years, Jason has come to read my mind a little. Or maybe he's learned from a few "off" years, a few shed tears, a few selfish rants, a few interesting gifts...and this year, this year he made up for it all. It means the world to me that he helped the kids honor me. I love you sweetheart!

After 9 years, my expectations have lowered. I live in reality, not in fantasy, and it's amazing what a difference that makes.

After 9 years, my kids have grown up a lot. They have moments where they actually appreciate me sometimes, and they mean it when they say, "Happy Mother's Day".

So, this year? Best Mother's Day ever!

So for you mommies of 3 years, or 5 years, who are frustrated today at your kids and your husband for not flippin' GETTING IT...there's hope! Hang in there!

Or you mommies of 0 years, with your precious babies in your bellies still (Lane, Lauren), remember this...

Mother's Day will not be perfect. This year you may have expected your sweet husbands to lovingly give you a gift, as you are a mother already! (And if they did you can stop reading now. But if they're anything like Jason, the thought never even crossed their minds.) And they won't. Next year they may not either, since "You're not MY mother". Yes, you may hear those words. (I did.) The next year your kids will disappoint you. And on, and on... My prayer is that at least you won't get a Meat Marinator. But again, hang in there. After 9 years your kids, and your husband may finally get it right.

And then you will truly appreciate it.

Happy Mother's Day!

Day 13...

2011-05-05T20:57:00.003-05:00

Juxtaposition.

I love that word. I love the idea of a photo showing this concept. This is the assignment for the Opposites photo class day 13.

This is Austin...

(1/400, f4, iso 1600)

He is one active kid. When he was crawling, we called him "Turbo baby", and I was scared for the day he walked.

For good reason.

He jumps, he runs, he climbs, he spins...he exhausts me.

There are calm moments though, and one of those is when we read...

(1/14, f4, iso 1250)

Austin being calm. Quite the juxtaposition! :)

Day 12...

2011-05-05T20:46:00.004-05:00

Day 12, Opposites Photo Class: Slow.

Beth wanted us to sllloooow down our shutter speeds, and take a picture using a light source to create an interesting effect.

Hmmm...

That's pretty much where my brain went and stayed for several days. I finally caved in, when no spectacular ideas presented themselves, and just shut myself in a room with a flashlight. I invited Ellie in and she created this...

(Shutter speed, 14 WHOLE seconds, f3.6, iso 1600)

Then I called in Jason and got this...

(Shutter speed, 14 WHOLE seconds, f3.5, iso 1600)

So. I'm not blown away. However, I have some GREAT ideas for later this Summer! I'm thinking lightning bugs, fireworks, flashlight games while we camp, etc... So in the end I did like this assignment for the experience, even if it was the hardest one for me yet! :)

It's the simple things that I love the most.

2011-05-02T10:47:00.001-05:00

What to do on a rainy, cold, Sunday afternoon...

Annie had some homework to finish, so Austin joined her with his "homework" (spider man coloring book).

Be still my heart.

Flood...2011

2011-04-27T14:00:00.003-05:00

3 years ago our town had a flood. Two hurricanes hit the gulf that year, and sent a lot of water our way. They opened all 10 gates on Table Rock Dam that year, and set some new records for lake levels and flooding.

Those records are now broken.

In the last few days we've had over a foot of rain. It's been crazy, scary, historical, and amazing to watch. We took the kids to see the flood gates opened last night. It's humbling to see what mother nature can do.

(1/3200, f5.3, iso 1000)

My photo assignment for the Opposites photo class day 11 is FAST. Take a picture of something fast. Well, this water is fast. Flowing at a rate that every second it could fill an Olympic sized pool. Ellie commented that it looked soft and fluffy, but she knew it wasn't.

More pictures...

We're praying for all our friends that are being affected by the flooding. The water is beautiful, but it's also devastating parts of our town and area. The silver lining is the heart warming stories coming from friends and neighbors about the outpouring of help.

Flooding and all, I love where I live.

Far

2011-04-26T14:06:00.000-05:00

Day 10, Opposites Photo Class...FAR.

I took this picture from a distance. We had some friends over for dinner the other night. Great friends, college era friends. They brought their kids, and I didn't stress at all. Yay! This picture shows Annie and Austin with one of our friends' kids. As you can tell by the photo, there was a little destruction in the playroom. :-)

(1/25, f3.8, iso 800 - should have bumped up that shutter speed!)

In my opinion, the mess means they were having fun!

Light and Near

2011-04-23T11:17:00.007-05:00

I'm going to cheat. I'm going to do something WILD and CRAZY. I'm going to do one blog post for two photo class assignments.

And I'm doing them in reverse order.

Livin' on the edge.

Or maybe I'm just wiped out and since I took the pictures for both of theses assignments in the same day, in this order, it just makes sense.

Nah. I'm a rebel.

We did the annual easter egg coloring session at my mom's house yesterday. Even though I wasn't thrilled to have midday sun for my photo class assignments, I was thrilled that we were able to color eggs outside as opposed to inside. I'm pretty sure mom was happy about that too. :)

I'd like to say that I took lots of pictures and that the egg coloring session was a wonderfully fun. But...not so much. Ellie was having a rough day, and Austin was having an active day, so instead I snapped pics as I could, in between trying to help manage the chaos. Which of course means lots of pictures of Annie. :)

Opposites Photo Class, Day 9...Near.

Annie was loving it. She is a budding little artist, and was having a great time creating masterpiece eggs. Her hands were rainbow colored by the end. I tried showing her how to use a bag as a glove to keep her hands clean, but that was cramping her style. Here are my two favorite NEAR pics...

Annie creating art.

(1/4000, f5.6, iso 400)

Annie's eggs, with Grammie and Austin having fun in the background.

(1/4000, f9, iso 400...could have changed some settings here, but was managing chaos. :)

Then we drove down the road to my Grandma's house. Grandma has a beautiful yard, with beautiful trees. After we changed them into their pretty Easter clothes, the kids hid eggs for the Grandma's to find. Then promptly forgot where they hid all the eggs. They were real eggs though, so if there are still any left, maybe the neighborhood animals will have a nice snack.

Opposites photo class, Day 8...Light.

This was a challenge in my world this week. We haven't had much light. Lots of clouds, not much sun. And like I said earlier, when the sun did come out, it was midday. I was glad though, for all the advice and tips that beth gave. I am really starting to understand a lot more about how to make a picture turn out the way I want it!

I took this LIGHT picture using some open shade from Grandma's dogwood tree. I stood in similar light, and set my camera to spot metering to capture the glow of the sun. I think it turned out beautifully!

My Mom, my Grandma, and my kids.

(1/640, f4.2, iso 400)

Happy Easter!

Me and My Shadow...

2011-04-18T14:22:00.007-05:00

That's the title to a song I did a sing and dance routine to at a church talent show, with two of my good friends. We wore top hats and carried canes.

If that's not cool, well then, I don't know what is.

Maybe this... The Opposites Photo Class Day 7 Theme: Shadows.

Have you ever taken a picture of a shadow on purpose? Well I hadn't, until yesterday. We spent the day at our favorite local theme park, and all day I was looking at the shadows.

I was amazed at the beauty of the shadows around me. Thank you Beth, for this assignment. What a fun way to expand our perspective! Here are two of my favorite shots...

Annie playing in the fountains.

(1/3200, f4.5, iso 400)

Austin walking by the trees.

(1/400, f3.5, iso 400)

Photo Class, Day 6

2011-04-17T23:13:00.004-05:00

LOUD! That is the assignment for the Opposites Photo Class this time.

Well, that ought to be easy around here. ;-)

Today we went to our favorite local theme park. It was an absolutely perfect day. The weather was great, the kids had a great time, and when we returned home, everyone was still in good moods! Success!

While at the park, Ellie was in super big sister mode. She proudly took her baby brother and sister on ride after ride. She did a great job, and I was proud of the way she handled herself.

The first ride she took them on was the little roller coaster. Talk about LOUD. The coaster is loud and all the kids screaming at the tops of their lungs are quite loud. Including my 3 little munchkins.

They had a blast, they screamed, they laughed. So fun! My oldest and youngest are in the back car, and Annie is in the pink shirt in front of them.

(1/400, f5.6, iso 400 taken in manual mode. definitely needed a faster shutter speed though, but again, I am learning! :)

Today it was a great day to be loud. :-)

Photo Class, Day 5

2011-04-15T19:44:00.007-05:00

Day 5 of the Opposites Photo Class brings us the theme, Quiet.

This is hard at my house, because things are most often loud, or insanely loud. Rarely quiet.

Today Austin had two sweet buddies over for some playtime. These two little guys are the twin 2 year old's of my good friend Jen, who just happens to be doing this photo class too. Actually, she's the reason I found out about this class! The boys had a blast today. They played hard, then sat down for some lunch, and what do you know? They were quiet.

(1/40, f4.5, iso 800, no flash, manual mode)

These cute boys are a blast, and Austin and I had fun with them today. I couldn't help but laugh when I read Jen's "quiet" post just a few minutes ago, and saw that her quiet moment with the boys was also with them eating. Ha! So funny!

Photo Class Day 4

2011-04-11T23:02:00.004-05:00

The assignment for Day 4 in the Opposites photo class is OUT. As in OUTside. The assignment was to take a picture outside, using some open shade, and trying to capture catchlights in the subjects eyes.

Annie Grace and I ran outside after dinner tonight, and she was more than willing to be my model. :) That girl is precious! I understand the concept of catchlights now, and am wishing I had more light to work with tonight! The sun was starting to set, but I got a sweet picture of my sweet girl.

(1/40, f4.5, iso 200)

Photo Class Day 3.

2011-04-10T21:23:00.003-05:00

Day 3 of the Opposites photo class, assignment - In.

We were challenged to take an INside picture. Using my camera on manual mode inside scares me. But I went for it, and am fairly pleased with the results.

(1/20, f4.8, iso 200)

This is inside my oldest daughters bathroom. I recently redecorated it, and painted these canvases for the wall. My prayer is that these verses will get IN her heart.

With a bit of editing I brought the exposure up to where I really wanted it. I'm thinking my iso was set too low for the light in this windowless room at night.

I'm learning! :)

Photo class day 2.

2011-04-10T13:39:00.005-05:00

The Day 2 assignment for the Opposites photo class was NEW.

I took this photo this evening...

(1/100, f5.6, iso 500)

Wow! I am SO excited about how this came out! I took everything I could remember from the beth v photography blog, and put it to work. I am most excited that I know HOW I took this photo, instead of just accidentally taking a good photo. YAY!

So obviously the NEW part comes in with the new flower. New life. New beauty for my new garden spot. I love this new flower. It's a Ranunculus. I've never planted these before, but was completely taken by their beauty at the nursery the other day. And now, after this picture, I love it even more. It was mid evening when I took these pictures, and very cloudy, so my iso was higher than I think I would normally have it set for outside pictures. (At least I think! :)

Here's one more photo of my new Ranunculus, this one a beautifiul yellow. Again, I am so pleased to say I took this picture!

(1/80, f5.6, iso 500)

Happy Spring!

Day One Photo Class- Old

2011-04-07T14:14:00.003-05:00

I love to take pictures, but really REALLY want to get better at it. So when this free photo class thing popped up on my friend Jen's blog I thought, why not? I'll join in! It's not like there are 3 loads of laundry that I should be putting away instead...

The host blog is beth v photography and looks really cool, check it out!

So today's assignment is "Old." And here is my sooc (straight out of camera) pic...
(1/80, f3.2, iso 400)

And my edited pic...

My crazy boy, about a year ago. The "old" part is his sisters rain jacket. I bought this precious pink rain jacket and some matching boots for my first daughter when she was a mere two years old, and our only child. Little did I know then, that several years later my wild little boy would be wearing it in our backyard, when I realized at the last minute that he didn't own a rain jacket, and he wanted to play in the rain! It looks like he's crying, which just adds to the hilariousness of the picture, but really it's just rain drops on his face. He looks quite pathetic though, with that toy story bandaid on his head, and the "tears", and the pink jacket. So sad. :) He plays the "baby-of-the-family" role quite well!

Our Sunday Morning Routine

2011-03-27T20:09:00.002-05:00

This morning we went to church.

If you saw us there, we looked pretty normal, but before church...

I told Ellie her hair needed some help, which made me "THE WORST MOMMY IN THE WORLD!"

Annie couldn't decide what to wear, and got mad when I made her wear the third outfit of the morning.

Daddy smacked Ellie's plate in the car (out of frustration over her bad attitude), thinking it was empty. It wasn't.

Food flew in Ellie's hair.

World War 3 broke out.

Austin told jokes, mostly with words like "butt", "fart", and "toilet".

We arrived at church 5 minutes late. I threw coats at the kids as they stumbled out of the car, while telling them it was time to straighten up, "We're at CHURCH now!".

As I pulled on my own jacket, I noticed the sleeve was stuck to the front with some sort of sticky substance. Nice.

We walked into church, as one big HAPPY family, as the greeter opened the door for us, and reached out to give Austin a high 5.

Austin formed a gun with his hand and pretended to shoot him. And then three other strangers.

We dropped the kids in their respective classes and made our way into the sanctuary.

And sang praise songs.

Amen.

My Birthday!

2011-03-22T16:36:00.000-05:00

As I've gotten (a little!) older, I have come to a realization.

Birthdays aren't as cool as they used to be.

HOWEVER, this year was an exception for me!

On my birthday there was a Rascal Flatts concert, and I got to go! My super sweet sis in law surprised me with tickets!

And when I say "surprised" I mean, SURPRISED! Since not only did she get tickets, unbeknownst to me, but then I went and threw a kink in things when I bought my OWN tickets to the same concert! That's right, I ruined her surprise! I mean who would've thought I'd be listening to the radio at the exact right time, to hear about tickets to a sold-out concert for a group I love, and decide to go ahead and buy them, without checking with Jason first! I sure wouldn't have thought that could happen! But it did! Poor Michelle. It all ended up good though, actually GREAT, because our husbands got to go too!

And we had a BLAST!

Mayberry!

Summer Nights!

Rascal Flatts!

So THANK YOU MICHELLE!!! And Chris and Jason for making my night a blast! And my mom for keeping my kids so we could go!

A few days later I got to continue celebrating with lunch and shopping with my sweet mom, grandma, and aunt, and then a few days after that I finished up with a dinner out with friends! Like I said, this was a good birthday year for me!

Is that not the cutest pic of me and my friends?! Love them! Good job stretching your arm Jen! ;-)

So I take it back. Birthdays aren't as cool as they used to be...They're better! At least this one was!

My Super Brave Girl!

2011-03-20T15:41:00.000-05:00

Well look who got her ears pierced!

We've had an interesting week, including a visit to Urgent Care for Ellie to get 3 staples in her head. Poor girl. She and Annie were getting ready to use the Easy Bake oven, when she jumped to reach something in an upper kitchen cabinet. Her head smacked the corner of the cabinet door. Hard. It's one of those moments as a mom you never want to happen. Looking up to see blood everywhere as you hear "My head is bleeding mommy...!". It was pretty bad, and so my sweet girl had to go through the trauma of staples.

After it was all done, I jokingly said something about getting her ears pierced would be a walk in the park compared to staples.

Little did I know she was really listening, and seriously considering it. A month ago when Annie got hers done, Ellie was terrified to do it. But after the staples, she decided it really didn't sound to bad afterall!

So she did it! I am proud of her for making it through staples, and pierced ears!

If you can't tell, she got Hello Kitty earrings! They are adorable!

Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The Kindergarten Circus!

2011-03-17T21:50:00.000-05:00

Ok, the Kindergarten Circus may just be the cutest thing ever! Imagine a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds dressed up as circus characters, dancing and singing and just being adorable!

Annie's class were ribbon dancers, as was Ellie's class 3 years ago! The kids were too cute, but I have to say that Annie was the cutest! She picked her black and red leotard, and we added some homemade leg warmers to up the cute factor. :-). Thanks to my friend Janelle for that great idea! She suggested we take some knee socks and cut off the feet for some cute leg warmers!

The circus turned out great and Annie did a great job!

What a fun tradition this is! I hear that it's been around for many many years, and I can see why!

My Brave Girl!

2011-03-16T14:17:00.000-05:00

Annie asked if she could get her ears pierced a year ago, when she was 5. I said yes...then distracted her with candy. It wasn't that I thought she was too young, I had my own ears pierced at 5. I just froze as I thought about voluntarily putting my daughter in pain!

The subject of ear piercing came up again as we planned our trip to Kansas City. A good friend had hers pierced in the same mall we were going too, where she also got her American Girl's ears pierced at the American Girl store. I mean, how cute is that?! So I agreed that anyone who wanted to, could have their ears pierced, and their dolls ears pierced, on our trip.

Ellie thought about it, but decided she wasn't quite ready. Annie however, was more than ready.

My girl hopped in that chair, and didn't even flinch when the girl with the rock star hair pierced her ear. I was prepared for tears. I was prepared to have to talk her in to having the second ear pierced. (rock star girl was the only one working, so they couldn't do both ears at once). But I was wrong. The whole thing was over and done before I knew it, and Annie did great! My brave girl didn't shed a tear! I was so proud of her. And now she is sporting some precious pink crystal flower earrings!

And in the last month since she's had pierced ears, she's bought several pairs of earrings. None of which she can wear for a couple more weeks. Some (dangly ones) that she can't wear for months! But does that matter? Nope. She's a girl that likes accessories!

We may be in trouble. ;-)

Ice skating 101.

2011-03-15T14:16:00.001-05:00

2011 is the year we decided to try Ice Skating!

Our fun loving group of friends went ice skating in January. It turned out to be "plastic skating" (instead of ice it was a plastic floor that mimics ice), which was news to all of us, but the kids had a blast anyway. Actually, I think the plastic ice was a bit easier for the kids to learn on. It was a great night!

A few weeks later our kids got to try their new found skills out on some real ice in Kansas City! It was fun, but definitely harder! I put my ice skates on and took each of the kids out for a turn. They had fun, and really did pretty good for novices! I was super proud of them!

I'm excited that we introduced our kids to ice skating this year! Great memories were made!

American Girl!

2011-03-14T14:15:00.000-05:00

The reason we chose to make a little trip for Ellie's birthday...

Oh where was this store when I was a little girl?

I think that's why this store gets away with charging what they do. (which is insane!) The mothers are living vicariously through their daughters.

Proof. The day before we headed to KC, I found a hat that was almost identical to the one that came with Annie's doll, Julie. I couldn't NOT buy it! I mean, look...

Pure cuteness!

I mean, tiny flip flops? Check.

Itty bitty eyeglasses? Check.

Matching swimsuits for your six year old and her doll? Double check.

Pierced ears for your doll to match your own. Well of course!

The stuff is just too adorable.

We had a blast. Well, after the girls got over their bad attitudes we had a blast. Oh mercy was I mad at them. In retrospect though, I can understand why they were behaving like..well, like children. We were all pretty tired by the time we made it to this fabulous place. But after about 30 minutes the magic of the store set in, and we couldn't get enough!

Seriously, between Grammie, Nana, and myself, I lost count of how many times we visited the cash registers. I like to think that we were just doing our part to boost the economy. It helps me sleep at night. :)

The girls ended up being thrilled with their experience in the American Girl store, and want to know when we get to go again.

Daddy says after they get jobs.

Mommy wants to go tomorrow.

:-)

Ellie is 9!

2011-03-13T14:17:00.001-05:00

I'm not sure how this happened, but my first baby is 9. Mercy.

That's almost a decade. Almost double digits. Half way to adulthood...ok, I gotta stop! Breathe...just breathe...

For Ellie's birthday this year we took a little trip to Kansas City! She really wanted to visit the American Girl store for her birthday, and we decided to make a fun family trip out of it! We even brought two Grandma's with us to share in the fun!

We did a lot of fun stuff in 2 days! We visited Kalaidescope at Crown Center, where the girls had a blast making crafts! Austin wasn't as thrilled with this place, although he did like one little nook where there were pillows, and he decided to lay down. Silly boy! He also liked this cool room where you could push a button and your picture appeared on the wall. Very cool! I thought it was a great place, especially for free!

We also ate a Fritz's! You place your order via a red phone at your booth, and then wait for the train to deliver your food! Everyone loved this place! We had to order a couple of times so all the kids could get the food off the platform. So fun!

We also did the Crayola Store and ice skating (future post!) at Crown Center, along with some fun shopping! The next day we visited Oak Park Mall, which is where the cool double decker carousel was!

Our last stop in KC was the T-Rex cafe. This place was super cool! Great food, fun times, and life sized animatronic dinosaurs!

We had a great trip to Kansas City and I'm so glad that we decided to go!

The next day was Valentine's Day/Ellie's birthday! We stopped by Nana and Papa's house for awhile after school, and then celebrated that evening at Grandma Ellie's house with family. We had heart shaped pizza and a chocolate fountain! It was a great night!

AND...(we like to celebrate big in this family!) we had one more fun thing to do to finish celebrating our Ellie girl! A few days after her birthday we celebrated with manicures for Ellie and Annie, and cousins Olivia and Elaina! They were so cute sitting so still and being so grown up. Adorable!

So our Ellie is 9! 8 was a good year for her, and I'm excited to see what great things this year holds for our sweet girl! We love you Ellie!

In the meantime...

2011-03-12T10:38:00.005-06:00

Yes, I am way behind and have a lot of catching up to do here on my little blog! I have some posts almost done though! I promise!

In the meantime though, I'd like to interrupt the bloggy silence with a snippet from today...

There are moments that are perfect in my otherwise hectic life. I need to remember those moments in the harder times. Like this morning...

It's day 1 of 9 of Spring Break. It started out rough, but smoothed out after the first hour. It is an incredibly beautiful day, sunny, 60 degrees. Annie is still asleep, (it's 10:45!) bless that girl! Austin and I played outside for awhile, then I sat and watched him play. Ellie is enjoying her own quiet time. Hanging out in her room, watching tv, crafting who knows what...

My children are wonderful. I adore each of them so, so much. They are each so unique, so perfectly made by God. This morning is a perfect example of their uniqueness.

Ellie is growing up. She enjoys being in charge of herself. She wants to be helpful and is always asking me what she can do to help me around the house. Awesome! She is extremely creative, and amazes me with some of the things she comes up with. She'll craft things for hours, and loves making things for people. She's been spending more and more time in her room, with the door locked. (like this morning) I think it's good for her, my girl who gets overwhelmed, and I think it's helped her be a lot calmer lately.

Annie is still my little girl. She needs more downtime than the other two kids. She loves to sleep in, and when she gets up, she'll stay in her room and play quietly for a long time. She's a lot of fun too though, and when she is ready, she is a great playmate for her brother. She is sweet and smart and sensitive.

Austin is my wild and crazy, full of life and energy boy. Our backyard was made for him. If he hasn't climbed something yet, don't worry, he will soon. Yesterday he figured out how to scale the outside of the play/swing set. Mercy. He has the most active imagination I have ever seen. He loves to "talk" with his cars and trucks. He is gradually getting a bit calmer and more manageable, and he absolutely adores positive attention from his sisters.

And right now he is dismantling the hall closet, so I'd better go...

;-)

When you're a parent, it's Always something.

2011-02-17T23:16:00.003-06:00

That's the tag line of one of my current favorite shows, "Parenthood".

And it is so, so true.

I didn't expect that. I didn't expect a lot of what parenthood, for me at least, would be like.

I didn't expect the exhaustion.

I didn't expect the joy.

I didn't expect to have a daughter with SPD.

I didn't expect to design my life around what that daughter can, and can't handle.

I didn't expect to spend hours of my life in therapy with Ellie, learning how her brain works, and how to help her.

I didn't expect to have a son with early hearing loss.

I didn't expect that my son would take so much work, just to help him learn to speak.

I didn't expect that my son would be 9 months behind in his social development at this age, and I didn't expect to be happy with that, considering how quickly he's catching up.

I didn't expect the mama feathers.

I didn't expect to feel such love for my children, that any word against them makes me crazy.

I didn't expect the feelings of protection. To want to hole up in my house and never let anyone hurt them.

I didn't expect the intensity of feelings my children evoke in me.

I didn't expect the judgment from others.

I didn't expect the friendships that the hard times have made stronger.

I didn't expect, that even though this job is way harder than I ever thought it would be, that I would think my life, and my sweet little family, is so Awesome.

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Super Bowl with Super Friends!

2011-02-10T15:04:00.001-06:00

We don't watch a lot of football at our house, but we do enjoy watching the Super Bowl every year. We also enjoy inviting a few friends and family over to help us eat the MOUNTAIN of food that my husband/personal chef likes to prepare. This year J made hot wings, BBQ wings, and pulled pork tacos with homemade taco shells. Yum! I did my part with some hot cheesy bacon dip, and the Super friends and fam brought some great sides and desserts. So...yeah...we pigged out!

My niece was almost as excited about the food as my hubby! Love that girl!

The W twins made an appearance! I loved having those sweet little guys around, and so did Austin!

The boys liked our dog!

Austin liked having a buddy to watch Toy Story with!

I like these girls!

We're a pretty fun group!

Especially with these crazy kids around!

This is one of my favorite parties to host. Thanks to all my friends and family that made it fun!

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The Winter it Snowed...

2011-02-09T12:37:00.005-06:00

...and snowed...
...and snowed...
...and snowed...
...and snowed some more.

Oh my word. This years winter will go down in history as the WINTER IT NEVER STOPPED SNOWING!!! I may be exaggerating a bit, but not by much. It has snowed more this year than I can honestly ever remember. Some have called it "Snowmageddon!", and that's not a bad title.

I like a nice snow or two. I like to get some annual pics of the kids sledding. And then I'm ready for Spring.

Oh Spring, where art thou?

I'll tell you where, buried under 14 feet of snow!

In the past 12 hours we've received a fresh 5" of snow. That's on top of the 10" we got last week. Which was on top of a few inches from the week before that. That's normal for the mountains of Colorado, not here in B-town!

We had some crazy sleet as well. Inches upon inches of little balls of ice fell from the sky. Because it was sleet, and not freezing rain, it didn't cause the devastation an ice storm can wreak. Instead it was sort of beautiful.

I did get my annual snow pics of the kids, and they are cute!

This was the year Austin decided snow could be REALLY fun.

The girls love going to Grammie and Grandaddy's house to sled.

It is snowing right now, and I just took this pic...

Beautiful? Yes. But I am so over it. I may have lost count, but I'm pretty sure today is the 10th snow day for the kids. It feels like the 80th. I ran out of "fun snow day ideas" on the 2nd snow day.

Oh, and I did this a few days ago.

Yeah, that wasn't too fun. As you can see by Ellie's face, she was not thrilled either. We slid off the road on the way home from sledding at Grammie's house. It was scary, but we were blessed. First, we didn't flip, which as you can see, we were close to doing. We had our snow gear with us to put on, so we were warm. Jason made it to us quickly and safely, we didn't hit anything when we landed, and there were a lot of things to hit. It took two tow trucks to get the 'Burban unstuck, but they did it without damaging anything. The biggest blessing was it was just me and Ellie. Austin and Annie were still at my parents house, thank God! And even though Ellie was scared, she really did a good job of holding herself together.

So yes, I am ready for Spring. I am ready for flowers, warm temps, and sunshine. I am ready for school to be in session 5 days a week. I am ready for the snow to GO AWAY!

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Blizzard Warning!

2011-01-31T21:59:00.001-06:00

Well.

Apparently we're under a Blizzard Warning. I know this from the weather guy on the local news.

And from the condition of things at Wal*Mart today.

Wowsa.

Anyway, we are as prepared as we can be. Prepared for the possibility of an inch of ice followed by a foot or more of snow.

The funniest part of this whole thing is Ellie.

She is Ready.

She has her extra warm jammies on. She has her wind up flash light on her nightstand. She has questioned us over and over again. Do we have a generator? Does daddy know how to work it? She has watched the news and the weather. She has planned her activities for tomorrow, assuming she'll be out of school and without power.

She is 8.

Who's kid is this?!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

We're the smart ones.

2011-01-21T11:38:00.005-06:00

We're the smart ones. The girls are still outside playing in the snow, and Austin and I came in to have some hot chocolate!

We do it right. Extra chocolaty hot chocolate, whipped cream, and chocolate syrup on top. YUM. Austin would like to demonstrate the right way to partake of this delicious treat.

First you must cautiously approach the waiting mug...

When you've decided it is safe, you take the first sip.

And you realize...This is GOOD!

But that chocolate sauce on your lips is bugging you, so you ask for a spoon.

And proceed to scoop every bit of whipped cream and chocolate sauce into your mouth.

Until all that is left to do is drink the now perfectly cooled off hot/warm chocolate.

The end.

Dear Me...

2011-01-20T17:31:00.002-06:00

Dear 21 year old Shelley,

How are you? Pretty good if I remember right. You're working at Silver Dollar City, painting away on those parasols. You're engaged to Jason, and planning your brilliant wedding. Your mom is still doing your laundry and cleaning the house you live in. Your biggest concern right now is remembering not to overdraw your checking account, but even if you do, Jason will put money in it for you. Oh and making important decisions about which bridesmaids dresses to pick, and do you or do you not go with the dyed shoes?

Girl, your life is GOOD.

I know today you got annoyed by those kids whose parents MUST not care about discipline. I mean really? They totally gave in when that girl named Brittany threw a fit. Don't those adults know that they are just ENABLING her? I know you thought...I will be a MUCH better parent than that!

Yes, yes you said that. I remember.

I remember what you were like. Young. Smart. Sure of yourself and who you were becoming. Planning your life with Jason and your 3 perfect children. Maybe even 4 kids if you can convince him! You were going to be a FUN mom! You planned on scheduled craft times, teaching them piano yourself, teaching them to read by the age of 3...You were going to be a Rock Star Mom!

Yeah...

Sorry to disappoint you, but...yeah.

Don't get me wrong, you still have it pretty good. You are a stay-at-home mom. Jason is a wonderful husband and daddy to your 3 great kids. You do your own laundry and dishes, plus everyone elses, and it Never Stops. Jason still puts money in your checking account, and you know NEVER to go with dyed shoes.

Your almost 34 now, a far cry from 21. You used to be smart, before the mundaneness of life sucked your brain cells away. Now you are "kid smart". You know that if you say They're being so good! That in 10 seconds they'll be fighting. You know as soon as you let your tired body sit down with your semi-warm cup of coffee, that someone will need something RIGHT NOW! Yes, those "kid smarts" come in handy.

You are no longer sure of yourself, and you have no idea what you want to be when you grow up. Your 3 kids are far from perfect, and the thought of a 4th kid sends you into cackles of laughter interspersed with terror in your eyes. You are not a fun mom. Sorry to break it to you, but you yell at your kids, and need at least 3 cups of coffee to make it through your morning. There are no crafts, your 4 year old can't read, and no one cares a hoot about learning to play the piano.

Yep, that is your life.

And that mom of Brittany? No, that's not you.

You are behind her, with your 3 screaming kids. You are about to give in and buy them all whatever they want just to get them to be quiet. You have let them eat sugar all day, and are now paying the price. You are totally an enabler, and you don't give a mouses patootie what that girl painting parasols thinks of you. All you want to say to her is...

Just wait.

Surprises

2011-01-14T12:55:00.001-06:00

So yesterday I blogged about my boring life, but I left out a not-boring-at-all tidbit.

I had a surprise run-in with one of my best friends!

I love my friends. They are the people that "get" me. The people I can be around with no make-up, and feel perfectly comfortable. The people I can invite over and say "Please don't look cute.". And they won't. The people I can vent to, the people I can cry and laugh with, the people who have walked with me through the hard times and the crazy times.

So my surprise run-in with Janelle yesterday, was anything but boring. It was a bright spot, in an otherwise boring day. My only complaint is that our time was too short. Much too short to catch up on each others lives.

I need to fix that. I need to make more room in my boring days for lunch or coffee with friends. I guess a little excitement wouldn't hurt me. :)

As long as no one looks too cute.

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Thursday Thirteen

2011-01-13T18:59:00.001-06:00

13 things I did today...

Made coffee.

Fed the cats.

Got the girls out the door for school.

Counted calories.

Did laundry.

Did dishes.

Played with Austin.

Took Austin to school.

Exercised.

Went to the grocery store.

Counted calories.

Picked the kids up.

Went through backpacks.

Excited yet? I know, my life is Boring with a capital B. But you know what? I'm kinda ok with boring right now. In fact, I'm kinda liking boring. As much as I don't like counting calories and exercising, I am glad I have time to do it. As mundane as doing the laundry and dishes everysingleday is, I am glad they are getting done. I realize it doesn't make for an exciting blog post though. Don't worry, I'm sure before long one of my children will do something exciting, aka CRAZY, and I'll have something more exciting to write about.

But I kinda hope not. I like that they're being boring.

Boring = Peace!

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Another Flashback...

2011-01-04T16:53:00.001-06:00

Annie had a homework assignment over Christmas break, and like all good parents, I waited until the last night before school started to help her with it.

Her assignment was to make a timeline of her life, all 6 years. We were instructed to include pictures if we'd like, so of course we did.

I ventured into the depths of my abandoned scrapbook room to find some photos of my little girl.

And then the weeping began.

Why do they do this to parents?!

I wiped away tears as I went through piles of old photos, wondering where those sweet babies went.

Then I came across these, and cracked up laughing. (it's a good thing I was alone or my family would have thought I'd lost it!)

Annie Grace, circa 2006, age 1 1/2. Caught with her hand in the sugar jar.

Be still my heart.

Shelley
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Flashback...

2011-01-03T19:56:00.003-06:00

I started blogging in May of 2007. Almost 4 years ago. At first it was an obsession. I did it, and all my good friends did it too. Sometimes I posted two or three times a day, which now seems crazy! Over the years, most of my friends who once blogged even more than me, have dropped out of the bloggy world. Some have stayed, some posting more than others. I have stayed, sometimes posting once a month, sometimes more. But that "bloggy feeling" hasn't been there for awhile. Facebook took over for most of us, and that's been okay with me for the most part.

BUT...

LATELY, they're coming out of the woodwork! My friends are back! And I love it!

I think.

Tonight I have spent 3 hours on the computer. Catching up on blog posts of friends, commenting, writing, uploading pictures, etc...

I haven't spent this much time in bloggy world since around this time...

Tuesday May 8, 2007
so, i've been sitting here at my computer for about 2 hours setting this thing up. in that 2 hours my 5 year old has watched several episodes of scooby doo, i'm such a good mom! at the beginning of the 2 hours my 2 little ones were asleep, now they're awake. the 2 year old is watching dora, the baby is watching a baby video with the 5 year old. i'm thinking maybe (just maybe) my kids might watch a bit too much tv. anyway, i've caught up with my friends blogs, i've let them know about mine, i've fought with my email, and i've been trying to think of something funny or poignant to write about today...

Hello Flashback!

I am laughing over the similarities and differences from then to now. I've been at my computer for hours, but my kids are now 4, 6, and almost 9. My oldest is watching TV, as I neglect her to be here instead of getting her going on her homework. Oh mercy what am I doing?!

Moderation. I must practice moderation.

But really, welcome back Janelle and Alana, I have missed you here! And thanks to all my other friends who blog, for sticking with me!

Meet Max.

2011-01-03T17:05:00.009-06:00

Max.

Maxamillion.

The Max.

It goes by many names, and... It. Is. COOL!

Meet Max...

He found his new home thanks to my husband, who makes it his mission in life to find new and slightly odd toys.

Jason and I took Annie and Austin out to Razor Ridge to really see what Max could do. (Ellie had a special day with Nana and Papa that day!)

Check out Max...

Wait for it...

COOL!

That's right, Max is amphibious. And he may have a slight ego, he likes to show off a bit.

My view from inside Max.

My boy. He likes to run.

My girl. Beautiful.

Razor Ridge in early Winter.

SO much fun!

Be an Encourager.

2010-12-08T21:57:00.002-06:00

What does it mean to be an Encourager?

For some reason I can't stop thinking about this tonight. Perhaps it's because the last few months have been tough for me, and with Christmas just around the corner, our lives are in hyper-drive.

Or maybe it's all the mashed potatoes I ate for dinner talking...

I digress.

Anyway...An Encourager.

Tonight I was remembering the words of a fellow mom. Not someone I know well at all. Barely an acquaintance really. I think it was about a year ago when she stopped me in the hall at Annie's preschool. I had just dropped off Annie, and Ellie and Austin were already at school, so I was alone as I hurried out of the building. This woman called out my name, and I turned around with my "always a friendly face" smile on and greeted her. She smiled sweetly and seemed a little nervous as she said, "I just want to tell you something..."

You are a wonderful mother. I watch you, and I just really felt like today I was supposed to tell you that. I've been meaning to say it for awhile. You really are. You are doing a great job.

I thanked her, gave her a hug, told her how sweet she was, and thanked her again. That day I walked a little taller, and had a little more patience.

She was an Encourager.

And today as I remember that, tears fill my eyes, because...Wow, it still touches me that she told me that.

So many times as a mother of some really great, but sometimes really difficult kids, it's the negative stuff that gets my attention.

The nasty look from a stranger at the grocery store, the loudly spoken comment from a shopper at Target, the direct condemnation from an old lady at McDonald's, the glances and whispers from acquaintances at the pool, the disappointed face of a once loved teacher...When you add that all up, it's crushing.

But she was an Encourager.

She's not the only one. There was the kind old lady at Bass Pro who told me she'd survived, and I would too. The man at Wal-Mart who reminded me to be thankful even in the midst of a tantrum. And of course, there are the kind, uplifting words of my family and friends. Without them I don't know how I would survive sometimes.

I guess what I'm trying to say is Be an Encourager. Make someones day. Smile at the exhausted mother, hold the door open for the older man, or even tell someone how great they are. Speak kind words, and watch someones face light up.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you."
2 Corinthians 13:10-12

SO much fun!

2010-12-07T12:37:00.011-06:00

A few weeks ago we took our little family bowling.

To be completely honest, I was a little worried it might not be a good thing. I mean the thought of Ellie, aka: child who doesn't like loud noises, and Austin in a room of very heavy balls, were definitely some valid reasons to be concerned. However something in me really wanted to try this little venture, so I brushed off my concerns, convinced Jason everything would be ok, and decided to go for it.

We met some great friends at the bowling alley, ordered some pizza, and settled in. Things started off well, all the kids were having a blast hanging out and cheering each other on, and then...

Things got even better.

I gotcha there, didn't I?! You thought I was going to throw in a horrible/crazy/someone got injured twist, didn't you?

I could scarcely believe it myself, but the evening was just pretty perfect. I told Jason at the end of the night I think that was the most fun we've ever had as a family. Seriously!

And of course, I had my camera, so...

SO much fun! And we'll definitely be doing it again!

Oh and I thought the matching shirts added a nice touch too! Sometimes it's fun to be cheesy!

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-15T17:35:00.000-06:00

Howdy Y'all! I, Woody, would like to tell you that we had a GREAT Halloween!

Yes, we had a lovely Halloween! I missed my sea friends, but it was so fun to trick-or-treat on land!

Dr. Ellie was wonderful to look after all the animals. Especially Delilah the Bumblebee.

Oh my, what a group of characters!

Ariel, Cleopatra, Toothless the Dragon, and a pro basketball player. Yes, we have quite a diverse group of friends!

Ya need a hand with you car partner?

Happy Halloween!!!

Shutterfly is Fabulous!

2010-11-15T09:11:00.003-06:00

I am excited to tell you about an amazing deal with Shutterfly right now. The are offering 50 free cards to bloggers who would like to give them a shout out...which I am happy to do! You can do it too! See... Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly. Sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010: http://bit.ly/sfly2010 ...Yay!!!

I've been using Shutterfly for years. I use it to back up my pictures, kind of like an external hard drive. I use it for printing, either through mail, or at Target, and I think the quality is great! I've done several Christmas cards through Shutterfly over the years too. Click here to see there wonderful selection of Christmas cards. I think the first year I did a photo card, and I loved the ease of designing it! Shutterfly has all kids of cards though, not just photo cards. Click here to see some beautiful things!

The next year, if memory serves me right, I went a little fancier, 'cause apparently that year I was feeling fancy. :) I did a stationary card, and I loved it! Beautiful designs, fantastic quality, and again, easy to do!

We've done some Shutterfly photo books over the years too, and I always love them. If you want to be praised for being the best gift giver EVER, just give Grandma and Grandpa a Shutterfly photo book for a gift. I have, and I love the excited reactions from them! Something I am excited to try this year is the Shutterfly desk calendar. I have someone in mind to give one to, and I think I'll be ordering one for our home too! Click here to check them out!

I think my favorite thing about using Shutterfly, for photo books, cards, gifts, storing pictures, etc...is how easy they make it. It's so user friendly, even I can do it! :) I also love, love, LOVE the beautiful Christmas card designs. They bring out new ones every year, and every year I am torn between several new and beautiful cards! Seriously, check them out! And I'm not just saying that for a promotion, I really do like their website. Their service is fantastic too, my cards and pictures always arrive super fast, and it good condition.

SO, Ready? Set. GO to Shutterfly...

Fall Soccer Twenty-Ten!

2010-11-10T09:09:00.005-06:00

Annie played soccer again this fall, in what was I'm sure, the warmest fall soccer season EVER. It was a great season, and she loved her team! They were the STARS, and they played great! Our Awesome friend Janelle even got the girls on the team special Star soccer socks! That's right, soccer can be fashionable too! Here are some of my favorite pics...

My STAR!

The Star Socks..in action!

Playing hard!

The Huddle. Thanks Coach S, for another great season!

Four Awesome soccer friends! These four have been friends from the time they were born! (annie had her face painted like a cat, from her fall party at school, at our last game!)

And two Awesome soccer cousins! It was so fun to see our cousin play too!

We can't wait for next year!

Pumpkin Patch Twenty-Ten!

2010-10-31T11:31:00.005-05:00

We had another fun trip to the pumpkin patch! It's a great tradition, and our kids look forward to it every year. I love that we have a great patch close to home now, it's so easy to just load everyone up after school and go have some fun! I have been cracking up at some our past patch pics, and wanted to share some with you!

Austin's first trip to the pumpkin patch!

And the next year, my first trip to the pumpkin patch with 3 mobile children. (I think I look a little stressed!)

And the next year...

That year Austin had a great "picture face!"

And finally, this year!

Thursday Thirteen!

2010-10-21T08:21:00.003-05:00

Why not do another good 'ole Thursday Thirteen?

Thirteen things I am doing while all three kids are at school...

1. Deciding that 3 hours goes by WAY too fast!

2. Making friends with my treadmill again. Sometimes.

3. Staring at my walls and going crazy because I'm not used to all the quiet!

4. Cleaning out every closet in the house, and realizing I'm really not organized.

5. Finding out that apparently I put a bunch of stuff in those closets about 8 1/2 years ago, and never looked back.

6. Realizing that the past 8 1/2 years has been a whirlwind...and wondering how I survived!

7. Doing laundry, dishes, and cleaning, all while listening to MY music!

8. Wondering how come the kids rooms always have a smell...

9. Planning meals, making lists, and still not cooking much.

10. Thinking about scrapbooking again. We'll see.

11. Having phone conversations without the background...Who's that? What? What are you talking about? MOM!

12. Eating breakfast with a friend. A few times. I need to do it more!

13. Starting to think about Christmas! Yikes!

A Good Ole Thursday Thirteen!

2010-10-14T11:30:00.001-05:00

13 Realities of Motherhood.

1. I had no idea what I was getting into.

2. Toys are a waste of money, for the most part. Instead children play with drawers, pots and pans, boxes, electronics, remotes, phones, or anything in general you don't want them to play with.

3. My children will hate the wonderful meal I made, even though they loved the same thing at the restaurant the week before.

4. If you try to maintain perfection, you will go insane.

5. Even if you don't try to maintain perfection, you will come close to going insane.

6. You will lose sleep. Lots of sleep.

7. Clean sheets are a magnet for throw-up/pee/poo/?

8. An empty laundry basket is a magnet for throw-up/pee/poo/?

9. A clean car seat is a magnet for throw-up/pee/poo/?

10. My couches aren't for sitting on anymore. They are for jumping on, climbing on, and making forts with the cushions. The same goes for the beds and their pillows and every blanket in the house.

11. You cannot imagine life without your kids, but sometimes would really like a week by yourself.

12. Kids are gross. Seriously, I never really knew until I had them. They are dirty, germy, and disgusting. Keep hand sanitizer close by.

13. I wish I could impart all of my knowledge of the last 8 1/2 years on people wanting to have kids. I want to sit them down and say...Okay, here's how it really is. It's good/bad/happy/sad/exhausting/etc. But honestly, I think I'd scare them!

I love online shopping!

2010-10-06T10:09:00.003-05:00

I discovered my love for online shopping soon after I discovered the internet. The combination of easiness, and the fact that I had just moved to a small town with limited shopping options, made internet shopping a dream come true!

I remember my very first online order, a set of cool looking hand painted coasters (that later my first born destroyed!). I was so excited as I clicked the "buy" button! My heart pounded as I entered in my payment and shipping info on my chunky monitored, large towered, dial-up internet, computer. I felt a rush, almost dangerous as I finished my order. After all, who knew what could happen in cyber-world! Would my credit card get hacked? Would I actually receive those beautiful coasters? Oh I was living on the edge! :)

But as luck would have it, my coasters arrived safe and sound, and I was hooked on online shopping. I just discovered a new website that I am loving, and I wish would have been around when my first baby was born! Diapers.com and it's sister site Soap.com are my new favorite websites. How many times did I need diapers and wipes, but it was so hard to leave the house with one or two babies in tow? How many times did I think to myself, if only someone could come sit with my sleeping child so I could run and get diapers? Now you can shop while they sleep, and within 2 days have your diapers delivered to your door! (Mine came the NEXT day!) I compared a few prices to my local Target store, and I was happy to see that they were fairly comparable on most things. Right now they have a special offer where you get a 30% credit on any diapers you order. I tried it, and it works! I ordered the pull ups we use and some wipes, got 15% off at check-out with my coupon code, and then a few days later got an email that my credit was in my account. And I used my credit today to buy some things on soap.com that we needed! Anyway, I just wanted to let my friends know about it. If you have babies or toddlers, I think it might be a life saver! Use the code below to get 15% off your first order, and use the code "30LOVE" to get the 30% cash back credit! Oh and they have free shipping on orders over $49, which with diapers is easy to achieve! Have fun shopping!

Get 15% off

your first order

use code PINK1768

shop for all your baby needs: body pillows, good start formula, swaddle pod

check out baby registry

Not valid for existing Diapers.com or Soap.com customers. Some resctrictions apply.

4 years ago today...

2010-09-21T06:29:00.000-05:00

...We were blessed with Austin!

Austin, you are...

Amazing
Hilarious
Silly
Beyond Active
Adorable
Cute (but you'll tell me NO, I'm Handsome!)
All Boy and then some
Heart Stealing
Fun loving
School loving
Climber extraordinaire
Strong
Beautiful
Sweet
Loving
and so much more.

And you are 4 years old today! I love you my baby, Happy Birthday!

It was a Facebooky Summer!

2010-09-16T08:18:00.002-05:00

I did this post in April of some of my favorite facebook updates. I liked it so much that I am doing it again! Our Summer, through the eyes of facebook...

(Shelley)...thinks I may be losing my mind...I've agreed to go camping this weekend, and I am actually looking forward to it! I mean, we're talking tents and no running water kind of camping. Maybe my inner "outdoors girl" is coming out. HA!

...didn't quite expect to find a slug in Austin's pocket...

...We've been camping for two hours...Jason and I have had one argument, Annie's needed two bandaids, and Olivia actually had an ant in her pants. Fun times!

...is really enjoying Summer!

...just conquered the biggest laundry pile I've ever had. I feel like I climbed Mount Everest, and I need to plant a flag on my couch!

...is so proud of Annie for jumping off the diving board today, and Ellie for conquering the Big slide!

...For the third year in a row we went to pick fresh blueberries at Persimmon Hill Berry Farm. We are in love with this tradition! Our girls are great berry pickers! Austin...not so much. :) But he enjoyed running around and just being outdoors. What a great day!

...said something tonight I never thought I would say..."Austin! No using vegetables as weapons!". He was wielding two squash like swords.

...is enjoying a day in the air conditioning! I don't think I could have made it as a pioneer woman.

...found a large frog in my rain boot yesterday. Compliments of my son. Good thing I turned it over to make sure nothing was in it!

...thinks Sonic happy hour is a must today!

...Overheard from Austin's room this morning... Lots of scolding of the stuffed animals, "Daddy said NO NO", "No hitting!", and "You go to time out!"...I think I know what kind of evening daddy and the kids had last night while I was gone.

...thinks it's a perfect day to join some friends at the lake!

...took the kids out for dinner and a movie...in the car! You gotta get creative when the power goes out on a hot night! Thankful that it's finally back on!

...No nap and an evening swim party equal a little boy asleep before his mama could finish reading to him. Love that!

...while the girls are at "Camp Grammie", Austin is at "Camp Potty Training." It's been, well...Interesting! That boy has a bladder of Steel!

...had a great day with the kids and family! Annie was all better just in time to hang out with some Texas cousins!

...took the kids to see Toy Story 3 tonight with some friends. It was our first attempt at having Austin at the movies since he was 18 months old, when he ran down the aisle and onto the stage by the screen. 2 years later...He was PERFECT! Whew!

...thinks I could just live in the pool. Ahhh...

...is enjoying an "under-the-weather" Austin. Calm, cuddly, early napping, quiet...I want him to feel better...tomorrow. :)

...loves it when my oldest reads to my youngest.

...Why is it I can get two kids to behave and act nicely, but never all three? They take turns being the one that drives me nuts. I think it's a conspiracy.

...is ready for my laundry fairy to arrive.

...is wishing my hubby a very happy birthday! Now he's as old as I am! :)

...is so thankful for friends who understand me, and this crazy stage of life that I'm in. :)

...Me: Sweet Annie, you are such a people pleaser. Ellie: I hate people pleasers. Wait, am I a people pleaser? Me: I don't think so dear.

...After a tough few days of power struggles with Ellie, we had a good heart to heart talk last night. At the end I said..."So if you'll just do what I tell you, then we'll get along much better, ok?" Her response was, "But that's so BORING!". Oh my.

...Overheard from the kitchen...Annie: Austin, Gods rules are kindness, compassion, and sharing. So share your chocolates!!

...is enjoying the quiet while Austin naps and the girls shop online. Thank goodness they don't know how to use a credit card yet!

...is there anything harder to clean up in this world than the stuff a diaper is made out of? If so, I don't want to know!

...is enjoying the peace and quiet of nap/resting time and praying I can make it one more month until school starts.
‎
...8 hours at the lake has left us all tired, but happy. Littlest one fell asleep on the way home...I love that!

...is SUPER proud of Ellie for swimming her heart out at her very first swim meet today!

...We have reached the point of Summer when my children are fighting over everything. This morning it started with play doh scissors. I think we've had a little too much togetherness!

...Me: Austin, you're cute. Austin: NO, I'm not cute, I'm a BOY...Gwammie's cute!

...had a wonderful evening with friends tonight! Kids chasing fireflies by the lake, daddy's fishing, and mama's chatting! Perfection! A special THANK YOU to our sweet babysitter for keeping Austin home to play. Otherwise this mama would not have been able to chat! :)

...A 3 hour photo session with my kids = TORTURE! Laney, you are a saint! And I'm glad you're an "amateur" photographer, because I don't think I could pay anyone enough money to go through that!

...We had a fun day at White Water to celebrate Annie turning SIX years old!

...had fun tonight! Went to a Springfield Cardinals game where the girls danced with their studio, watched the Cardinals hit 3 home runs and win big, saw some great fireworks after the game, and surely lost 5 pounds from sweatin' like a pig!

...is heading to the pool to soak up the last of Summer!

...is laying down for awhile with a sweet sleeping Austin...we had a rough morning. Found out he's not hearing out of his left ear at all, and needs new tubes put in and adenoids taken out. :( This mama is sad.

...Austin cut his finger this morning and said through his tears..."I fink a chocolate will make it better." I have NO idea where he got that idea. :)

...is ready to tackle this last day of Summer!!!

...Getting ready to host a family party for Annie, Austin, and Grammie's birthdays!! Then at approximately 10pm I shall be unresponsive for 12 hours...give or take. :)

...Austin started his second year at ECSE Preschool, Annie started Kindergarten, and Ellie started 3rd grade!

...is going to miss my sweet cousin Lane living in my basement! Good luck in in Oklahoma sweetie!

Wow. After reading them all like that, I am suddenly very very tired! No wonder I was ready for school to start! :)

Tooth Fairy

2010-09-08T21:13:00.003-05:00

My oldest daughter lost yet another tooth today. I think that makes 10. She'd lost it at school, and the nurse gave her a tiny yellow treasure box to bring it home in. Excitedly she showed me in the car as we drove to ballet, saying...Yay the tooth fairy is going to come tonight! MmmHmm I murmured as I drove. To myself I thought...How much longer will she believe the tooth fairy is real? Isn't she getting a little old for this?

Tonight as I went in search of the tiny yellow box, not remembering for a bit where I'd put it, I thought again, When will she be too old for this? Finally I located the box, helped her tuck it under her pillow, and layed beside her for our nightly prayers. As I kissed her goodnight she said...Mom, I have a question...

And I knew.

She was about to ask.

Before she uttered another word I said... Sweetie, make sure you really want an answer before you ask.

She thought for a second and then...Yes, I really want an answer.

Then she asked.

And I immediately regretted my earlier feelings. Why did I want this to end? Why did I think she was too old? As we talked (she handled the news quite well), my heart ached as I realized the first step out of childhood had just happened for her. What comes next? Santa? Oh please no.

I realize it's a milestone that had to happen, maybe needed to happen, but it's still tough.

Then as I walked out of her room, just a few moments ago she called out...

Mom, you know I'm just gonna forget about this, right?

And I smiled. She wants to hang on just a little longer, and that's just fine with me.

School is in Session!

2010-08-26T09:27:00.004-05:00

Well despite my oldest daughter's resistance...School has Begun! :)

Wanna know a secret? I'm am THRILLED!

Ha!

Oh how I crack myself up. No seriously, I am one happy Mama right now. And if you know me, and my little family, then you are not surprised one bit. I understand that not all mama's feel the way I do. I've spoken to a few friends who loathe the start of school. They are sad to send their babies away all day, and they lament over how much they will miss them. When I have a conversation with friends like this, I smile understandingly, nod my head, and agree that the transition will be hard. But inside I'm thinking... Are you NUTS?! School starting means I get my sanity back! How many minutes are left until I drop them all off??

So yeah, there's a little Truth for you today from my little blog! I adore my kiddos, but at least two out of my three are high maintenance people! And after having some alone time, I am a much calmer mother, so I LIKE it when they are in school! I know many of my friends who's children aren't as high maintenance as mine, and I also know that God makes us each with our own personalities, so I really don't mind when a friend feels differently about this subject than I do. I just don't quite get it! :)

Now for the first days update:

Ellie did not want to go back to school, and now, one week later, she still does not want to go to school. :) Don't worry too much about her though, she IS making friends, she DOES like her teacher, and so far she is having a good year. She just doesn't want to admit it!

Annie was THRILLED to start Kindergarten! She is LOVING EVERYTHING! Her only complaint is that it starts too early. :)

Austin started his second year in ECSE preschool, and is going 4 mornings a week! So far he has been a VERY good boy, and this mama is proud!

Now excuse me while I go drink a cup of HOT coffee and enjoy the quiet! Ahhhh....

Six

2010-08-15T01:38:00.001-05:00

My Sweet Annie Grace,
How has it been six years since you, this sweet baby girl, was placed in my arms? You were long and skinny, and screamed like mad...until daddy held you. Life with you is fun. You are vibrant and playful, beautiful and sweet. You are a good big sister, and a good little sister. You are a precious daughter. I can't wait to see what the next years 6 has in store for us. Actually, I can wait...so stop growing, ok? Just stay six.

Happy Birthday sweet pea! We love you!

The Family that boats together, stays together!

2010-08-06T15:04:00.010-05:00

When Jason and I were dating and we went to his parents house for the first time, the view from their deck took my breath away. They lived on one of the most beautiful lakes I'd ever seen. It was a lake I'd been to as a child many times, but I'd never realized how beautiful it really was until then. When we got married, we moved to the same area my new father and mother-in-law lived in. We had a boat for a while, but sold it once we had Ellie. This Summer we were blessed to buy another one, this time along with Jason's family! Although our house isn't on the lake, we're not too far, and we've been enjoying the lake more than ever!

Ellie!

Elaina!

Annie and Austin!

Ellie and Olivia!

Austin!

Chris and Elaina!

Annie!

Olivia!

There may be hope for my green thumb afterall.

2010-07-22T12:24:00.005-05:00

Remember this?

Look at it now!

That's right, I actually GREW something! I am more than a bit proud of my little container garden. I've actually remembered to water the plants, and they've lived! It's miraculous.

I'd like to say that we've been enjoying delicious tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, peas and strawberries from our garden, but we've had a pest problem.

His name is Austin.

Unfortunately our sweet pest can't contain his excitement when he finds something growing, and he just has to pick it and bring it to me to see! So far nothing has had a chance to finish growing before it's been picked.

We have enjoyed some delicious fresh basil though, and we're loving our sunflowers!

And there's a few new tomatoes and peppers that are trying their hardest to make it!

All in all I'm just happy things have GROWN. We'll work on the actual ripening of things later. :)

At least he still naps...

2010-07-19T19:56:00.002-05:00

One bag of chips on the floor.

All the books on the bookshelf on the floor.

A few time-outs.

The dogfood spilled.

Lots and lots of running.

Leap frog over the couches.

A few stolen chocolates eaten.

3 potty successes...1 miss.

A typical weekday morning. And then it's naptime.

Ahhhh Naptime!

Every day when I lay down with this boy I thank God that he still naps. His sisters had given up naps by this age, but he's still going strong. On most days he sleeps 2-3 hours, and in that time, I regain my sanity. This year he'll go to school 4 mornings a week, and I have a feeling he'll be worn out and still nap in the afternoons. I gotta say, I am REALLY looking forward to our fall schedule! :)

Marketplace!

2010-07-09T11:08:00.007-05:00

Every Summer the church I grew up going to hosts a Vacation Bible School they call Marketplace. 20 years ago they started building a village from Jesus' time, complete with little shops, a bakery, a well, costumes, and "families." The families are the kids that attend Marketplace, a group of 7 or 8 kids the same age with a "Mom" that guides them through a morning in the village. They get to make fish nets, bake bread, work with leather and pottery, and learn about how people lived then. They also get to visit with real life missionaries, play games, sing songs, and see Bible stories acted out in the village. It's an incredible experience!

When Marketplace started I was 13. I was a "big sister" in a family that year, helping the "Mom" with a group of little kids. In years later I was a "Mom" to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade kids, I helped in a shop or two, and I was part of the "Cast" that acted out Bible stories. I helped every year until I got married and moved a couple of towns away.

During those years my cousins would come from Texas and stay with us, and go to Marketplace. We'd have friends that would come too, and often spend the week at my house. My mom was so brave! We'd have 4 or 5 of us spending the week together, doing Marketplace in the morning, and spending our afternoons swimming and playing. For me, as an only child, it was a week of pure excitement, and I loved every minute of it.

It's hard to believe 20 years have gone by. Marketplace has grown tremendously, and this year had around 1200 people! Now it's my kids that attend Marketplace.

This year both girls spent the week at my mom's house. My sweet cousin Lane stayed with mom and the girls, and helped take care of them for the week. They had such a wonderful time doing exactly what I used to do, doing Marketplace every day, and spending their afternoons swimming and playing. Ellie served on the worship team helping lead the worship music at the beginning of every day.

Annie spent her last year in the preschool area, and is so excited that next year she gets to be outside the entire time! Austin will be old enough to go next year also, and I know he'll love it. It's such a special ministry, and I feel so blessed that my kids get to experience God in this special way.

Austin and I spent the week working on the potty training...which we're still working on. :) We did get to join the girls for swimming one afternoon, where the little mister finally worked up the courage to jump off a diving board!!!

I am so blessed by my mom and my cousin Lane. Even with my Grandpa in the hospital, mom still wanted the girls to come and spend the week with her, and Lane made it all possible by staying with the girls at mom's to help whenever mom couldn't. What a great family I have!

PS: All these pics are courtesy of Lane, my brilliant cousin/photographer! Thanks Laney! :)

Potty Training 301

2010-06-29T23:02:00.002-05:00

This one is interesting.

An entire day of potty training yielded NO accidents!

But also NO successes.

Figure that one out!

We swam in the lake for awhile, so I'm assuming he went then, but other than that, from 10 am this morning, until bedtime the boy didn't go potty AT ALL. We tried several times, but nothing happened. He even stayed dry through a two hour nap.

Hmmmm.....

We have ARRIVED!

2010-06-25T23:19:00.003-05:00

No, he's still not potty trained.

He hit his sister with a toy truck today.

He told me to "sut up!"

He didn't take a nap.

He woke up early and screamed like crazy because he knows I'll come get him so he won't wake up his sisters.

BUT...

He sat through an entire movie at the theatre and was P.E.R.F.E.C.T!

We have been waiting awhile for this day. 2 summers ago we went to see a movie with friends. Austin was 1 1/2, and up until that point, had sat nicely in his stroller through movies. That day however, things changed.

15 minutes into that movie he was out of his stroller. I held him, walked him, took him out, then back inside. Thankfully I had a friend with me to help with the girls who were 3 and 5 at the time. Towards the end of the movie Austin wiggled away from me, and in a flash was down the aisle, up the steps, and in front of the giant movie screen. I snatched him up as fast as I could, and took him out to the car...I was mortified. The girls were always good movie watchers.

Austin, not so much.

So here we are, two years later. When I heard Toy Story 3 was coming out I thought...Do we dare?

He loves the first two Toy Story movies, he's familiar with the characters, so I thought it would be a good one to test him on. And I was right!

Did you get that? I WAS RIGHT! Hold on, I gotta let that sink in some more...Mercy that feels good!

What a great movie. Annie melted down right as the ending credits rolled, she had a headache and was exhausted, and I'm sure wondering why we weren't stressed out with her brother, so she decided to fill in for him. :) We can never be completely drama free! But all in all, a Great Night!

I feel like we've ARRIVED. I feel like we just sailed over a major hurdle. I feel like some door opened and we got to walk through to the other side, the glorious glowing "people who can take all their kids to the movies and not go nuts" side! Maybe I am overreacting, but it's been a long road! And there's hope people!

Hope that someday we will pass through the valley of the shadow of the toddler/preschool years...and live to tell about it.

Hallelujah!

Summertime!

2010-06-19T10:24:00.007-05:00

Summer. I love Summer. I love the lazy mornings at home, the swim suits and towels draped over dining room chairs, the sound of my children spraying each other with the hose in the backyard, the smell of freshly cut grass...I love it all.

As a child I was a fish. My favorite place to be in the summer was in the water. Lake, pool, sprinkler...as long as there was water, I was a happy girl!

Our kids have taken swimming lessons from a young age, and love the water as much as I do. We hope to put a pool in our backyard in a couple more years, and I can't wait! I know it will bring us years of enjoyment, and tons of great memories. In the meantime though, we love our town pool, and visit at least 2 or 3 times a week. Ellie joined the swim team this year, and is loving it, even with the early morning practices!

Austin is loving the water as much as his sisters this year. And I love the fact that after an afternoon at the pool, he takes a really good nap! :-)

Annie is learning to swim in the deep end this year. She also taught herself to do a front flip!

AND...She jumped off the diving board for the first time! Go Annie!

Spending time with friends is a favorite part of our Summer. The kids love having friends to play with, and I do too! Here are Annie and AJ doing the "We jumped off the diving board hug!"

And little Wing Man getting lots of help with the slide from his big sis and Annie!

Not to be outdone by her sister, (we couldn't have that! ) Ellie bravely went down the (scary) tunnel slide! She didn't care for it, but I was proud that she finally tried it, and conquered her fear.

I have to say, I still love the water. I know most mommies enjoy lying on a chair, soaking up the sun, and someday I'm sure it will be nice to do that! However I am still a fish at heart! I love to swim and dive. And I still love a good game of Marco Polo!

I love this picture of Ellie and Lane. Lane is my sweet cousin, and she gets to stay with us a lot this summer! Her husband is deployed with the Navy right now, and we get the pleasure of keeping her company while he is gone. She is a great help with the kids, and a blast to have around!

Summer. Days in our swim suits, cooking on the grill, late bedtimes and sleeping in. Ah Summer, I am glad you are here!

Camping at Razor Ridge

2010-06-10T15:30:00.005-05:00

My sister-in-law Michelle and I are very similar in many ways. We enjoy air conditioning, shopping, nice hotels, a good "Real Housewives" show, computer time, and talking on the phone. So part of me is still trying to figure out why we both agreed to take our families camping! I wonder what our husbands thought. They probably thought we'd temporarily lost our minds! And honestly, as we prepared to go, I started wondering the same thing.

Bags of camping equipment filled our kitchen, trailers were loaded, menus were made, coolers were loaded, and away we went!

In my head I pictured lots of free time, kids running happily, parents hanging out playing cards...Not exactly! Reality was a couple of hours of set-up, parents sweating, a group effort to keep Austin from getting into everything, kids enjoying each other, and rarely a moment to sit down! It was fun though! The kids had a blast playing in the creek, fishing, four-wheeling, sitting around the campsite, making smores, and enjoying each other. Things settled down after awhile, and even the parents got to sit and enjoy the campfire!

All in all it was a great trip. Our kids first camping experience was a good one, and I think they'll always remember it. We went the weekend after school let out for summer, so it was a great way to kick things off!

Here are some of my favorite pictures...

Our niece Olivia!

Ellie!

Our niece Elaina!

Annie!

Austin!

Welcome Summer!!!

The End of an Era...

2010-05-24T23:23:00.005-05:00

Last week Annie finished her time at preschool. It is bittersweet for me...I know she's ready to move on, but that also means she is growing up. WAY too fast!

I got to be the parent helper in her class on Graduation Day. I was thrilled to get to spend that morning with her, and all her sweet classmates! Here's Annie with her show and tell...I love how she's got all the boys begging to be picked! Ha!

Our friend Shann came by and took some cool pictures of the kids outside on the playground. I can't wait to see how they turned out!

Annie and Mrs. B!

Annie and Aunt Michelle just before entering the Sanctuary for the big event!

Oh Mercy she is precious. You see why this is a bit hard for this mama?!

After Graduating we went downstairs for some cookies and pictures and to get a special folder full of sweet preschool memories. Annie was SO happy and excited! Here she is with Grandaddy and Grammie!

And with her friend AJ! These two crack me up! I can't wait to recreate this picture in high school! Okay, I CAN wait...don't grow up too fast girls!

And here she is...The Graduate! This is the "Lane" pose. Made famous by my sweet cousin Lane in many, MANY pictures! It seems to come pretty naturally to Annie too!

After Graduation we took Annie out to lunch and Grandaddy and Grammie gave her a Bible as a Graduation Gift!

Then we stopped by to see Papa and Nana! I know they're proud of their little Graduate too!

What a beautifully, wonderful day!

Congratulations Annie Grace! We are so proud of you! You are a precious, sweet, smart little girl, and you've grown so much over this past school year. I am blessed to be your mama each and every day. I know you will be amazing in Kindergarten! I love you!

Austin vs. The Dining Room Window

2010-05-21T14:02:00.000-05:00

Austin + A Plastic Golf Club +

My Dining Room Window =

Yeah.

I wasn't too happy with my boy. Then after some discipline, when I went to lay him down for a much needed nap, he wrapped his little boy arms around my neck, and held me tightly. He squeezed me hard, pushed his little face around, and gave me a precious little boy kiss.

That is life with Austin. He drives me crazy and melts my heart. All in the same day.

Our Little Garden!

2010-05-18T11:32:00.003-05:00

For several years Ellie has asked if we can grow some vegetables. Every year I've said "SURE HONEY!" and yet, it never quite happened. I blame it on many things, exhaustion..exhaustion...and exhaustion. Okay, so that's just one thing, but it's a Biggie! :-) Now, even though Austin is still the busiest child on earth, I seem to have a bit more energy, so this year it actually happened! We planted a garden!

We're starting with a container garden, and see how it goes. Our soil is very dense, with lots of rocks and clay, and therefore very hard for me to grow things. I don't have a very green thumb! So Sunday Jason took the girls vegetable shopping after church, and when they got home, we got to work!

What do you think? I have to say, I am pretty proud of us! And I'm very excited that (hopefully) later this summer we'll have some homegrown, organic, fresh veggies!

We planted strawberries, cucumbers, green bell peppers, basil, tomato's, peas, and sunflowers!

Our first baby strawberry! (Which is now sadly gone, thanks to Austin. I hope our plants survive him!)

And don't worry, the pots are screwed to the deck, so no one can "relocate" any of the plants! :-)

It's a wonderful facebooky world!

2010-04-29T09:01:00.004-05:00

I love Facebook. I love keeping up with friends and family that live far away, and also the ones that are right here in my town. It's fun to read what funny thing a friends' daughter said, or what crazy antics their boy has been up to, and without Facebook, I'd probably never know. It connects me to people I wouldn't normally know...when I want it to. :) It also serves as a personal journal of my daily life. Most of the time I keep my updates light, and try to put a funny spin on them. I started thinking the other day that I should record these updates here, on the ole blog, for my future memories. What better way to look back in 10 years and see what life was handing me in April 2010! So here are some of my favorite Facebook updates from this last month. They all start with Shelley...then the update. So here we go!

(Shelley)...thinks it's a Starbucks kind of day.

...is totally exhausted, but apparently my kids aren't! I am praying they are finally all asleep. After hearing...MOM!...about 243 times in the last hour, my nerves are frayed! Did someone slip them Starbucks when I wasn't looking?

...Kids play tent, rocking horse, soccer goal, jump rope, doll high chair, and 2 bikes. Category? Things I had to move to get to the treadmill this morning. I think it's been too long!

...Finally got to mend all the clothes that needed mending. Think Austin's Christmas sweater will still fit next Christmas?! I was a little behind. :)

...It's a perfect day for playing in the rain!

...Another day, another trip to urgent care. I wonder when they'll give us our own parking spot?

...Potty training Austin...take 2. Any suggestions are welcome!!!

...Stinkin' tooth fairy.

...is at Annie's first kindergarten event. Mercy time flies!

...Our plans for a relaxing day at Razor Ridge got canceled when Jason threw out his back first thing this morning. :( Thanks to Nana for coming over to help me this afternoon, and Uncle Chris for unloading the trailer! I am thankful for our family!

...just caught Austin trying to eat sugar out of the sugar bowl with a 1/2 cup scoop. That would not have been good.

...is getting my car detailed right now. A normally 45 minute service has taken 1 1/2 hours...so far. I'm thinking they've figured out I have kids. :)

...is thankful for my handy husband, who fixed our mailbox tonight! No more leaning over a cliff, or using the kids "robot claw" toy to get to the mail. I'm sure our mail lady thanks him too! :)

...got up this morning, fixed my coffee, and slipped my "indoor" shoes on so my legs won't hurt while I run around the house. I am officially my mother.

...just managed to transfer a sleeping Austin to the car, and keep him asleep! I call that a miracle!

...is trying the "naked in the backyard" method of potty training today. Lord help me!

...is off to color eggs at Grammies house! My green hands will look lovely at church tomorrow. :)

...had a WONDERFUL girl babysit my kiddos today while I ran errands BY MYSELF! Thank you sweet Chelsea! Now Jason's tucking Annie into bed, and I'm listening to Ellie help Austin play computer games for a few minutes before their bedtime. Ahhh.....:)

That was fun!

He may need therapy for this someday...

2010-04-24T16:42:00.005-05:00

This is what happens when you are the only boy, after two girls.

No, not the bandaid...although that is courtesy of his big sister Annie. No, we're talking about the pink rain coat.

It was Ellie's first, the Annie's. I had no intentions of Austin wearing it, I really am not that cruel! But today when we had a perfect rain to play in, and Austin had no rain coat, well...

Poor sad boy. He's going to hate me for this someday!

Spring at Razor Ridge

2010-04-14T12:56:00.006-05:00

Sunday afternoon we headed out to our little piece of land to enjoy some time together, outside, in the incredible sunshiny weather. We had a blast four-wheeling around, splashing in the creeks, and picnicking under the newly green trees.

Our day was going very nice, and then we heard a little "beep beep", and we were happily surprised to see our favorite Aunt, Uncle, and Cousins, pulling down the drive! And then our day was perfect! The kids had an absolute blast together! I couldn't have imagined a more perfect day for us to be out there.

Jason had fun taking the kids through the pond on his 4-wheeler. I for one, was a bit nervous the first time, it looked awfully deep! But they did great!

The kids hiked along the creek, one after the other...so cute!

Before long we made our way down to the creeks again, and the kids discovered the utter joy of playing in the mud. I loved seeing these sweet princesses get all muddy!

Austin enjoyed some mud too...:)

Our cousins brought their fishing poles, and shared with us. Austin apparently REALLY likes fishing!

This land is so beautiful. The colors right now are incredible. The bright fresh green leaves on the oaks, the deep green cedars, the bluer than blue sky, and the fuchsia blooms of the redbuds. Incredible. God is quite the artist!

Before we headed home for the night, we decided to give our little piece of land a name, and take a picture to commemorate the occasion.

Welcome to Razor Ridge!

Our Easter

2010-04-09T21:25:00.004-05:00

Our Easter, in pictures...

Dying eggs at Grammie's house. The girls were very careful, and created beautiful eggs and Austin only squished two of his. :)

Peeking out the front door to see if that elusive bunny came...

He did!

Having the grandparents over for some good family time!

Hunting for Eggs...

And wearing ourselves out...

What a fun, beautiful and blessed day.

Ellie: One Year Later

2010-04-01T09:30:00.004-05:00

I wrote this post one year ago today. That was a tough thing to write. When I wrote that, we were still in a very hard place with Ellie. We had some hope, but I was skeptical. Daily life was still very unpredictable with our girl. I prayed, and I waited to BE AMAZED.

We started weekly OT (Occupational Therapy) right about the time I wrote that post. We continued it through the summer. Every week I learned something new. I learned how much her Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) affected every aspect of her life. I learned what a midline was, and why the fact that she couldn't cross hers, was very significant. I learned why she struggled with stairs, handwriting, crowds of people, clothes, noises, riding in the car, and much, much more.

She worked hard through the summer, and we started seeing the benefits of therapy after a couple of months. We learned a lot about our girl, and how her brain works. I wasn't AMAZED yet, but I was more and more hopeful. Ellie started second grade, and I was humbled and blessed that she was able to start OT at school, as well as continue with her private therapy. That's when the changes really started making themselves visible to me.

In one year she really has become a new child. She's been an Honor Role student, and, as her teacher said, an "Asset to her class"! We've recently gone to having our private OT every other week, and that's working out well. The plan is to continue that for a few more months, and she'll continue to receive OT at school for awhile.

On our Mini-Vacation, Ellie did awesome! I was so proud of her, she handled crowds, noises, car rides, like a pro! She was helpful, sweet, and happy most of the time. We had a couple of moments when she got a little overwhelmed, but she was able to get through it, which is amazing. A year ago I was dragging a kicking and screaming girl out of a restaurant, now she is able to talk to me, tell me what she needs, and as a result, calm herself down. WOW!

They were right, I have been AMAZED. Thank you God! My prayers have been answered, my fears have been dismissed. We've been blessed with an incredible teacher this year, and a school that acted quickly to help our girl. We were blessed with an extension from our insurance that allowed Ellie to continue her private therapy, which has been Wonderful. As I look back, I can see God's hand guiding us along, and clearing the path for us. I am so proud of Ellie's hard work. She's learning a lot about herself, and I know God will use these experiences of hers for something really AMAZING someday!

I can't wait to see how she grows in this next year! I am so excited to see what's next for our AMAZING girl!

Austin's Anitcs, Again.

2010-03-28T08:54:00.000-05:00

If you're a friend of mine on facebook, you recently read this...

Oh Austin, I just don't understand your drive to make me completely INSANE! Why son? Why did you pour a quart of motor oil all over the back of my car?! Why, why, why...

That's right. He poured a quart of motor oil all over the INSIDE of the back of my suburban. Why? I have no idea. I let Austin and Annie play in the car for a minute, while I ran in the house to change my shoes, and grab Annie's soccer stuff. I actually thought to myself...There's nothing in here that he could get in too much trouble with..."

Oh why am I so naieve?

The tiny blessing is that most of the oil landed on the removable carpet pad, and washable things. His coat and blankie, and the stroller took the biggest hit. The stroller may always smell like oil, but it did come clean with some dawn. After some googling, I found the solution to gettting the smell out of the blankie and coat. Muti-purpose orange cleaner! A good soak in that, another wash, and about 5 dryer sheets later, they smell mostly normal!

I know I've said it before, but THIS BOY! Where did he come from?! What do I do with him?! I've decided God made him so stinkin' cute to protect him in times like this. Mind you, he did get in major trouble, but he is still alive. :)

Other antics lately have included scaling the backyard fence in about 1.2 seconds. Seriously, it poses no challnge at all. Also standing on the faucet in the kitchen, and causing it to snap off, making him fall to the tile floor ON HIS HEAD. And yet, he was fine!

Someday I will understand, right?

Our Mini-Vacation!

2010-03-25T09:15:00.007-05:00

Our Spring Break was last week, and we decided to take a little mini-vaca to the big city of St. Louis! In the effort of keepin' it real, I am providing a bit of commentary on my own pictures. What you actually see, and the story BEHIND the picture. A peek, if you will, into what is really happening, and what I was thinking. Enjoy!

The first thing we did in St. Louis was SWIM! I think the kids were the most excited, and had the most fun, at the indoor pool at the hotel. But did I get any pics of that? Nope. There were a lot of kids swimming, and I was afraid that my camera wouldn't make it out alive. The kids had a blast at the pool though, and Annie loved the hot tub! The next day we went to the Zoo!

The St. Louis Zoo is incredible, and is always a favorite with my family! Apparently some other people like it too, because they had record crowds the day we went, and we got to park about 3/4 of a mile away, and hike to the zoo. We made it though!

Here's sweet Annie, making good friends with a Chimpanzee! (back story: There were CROWDS of people around us at this point, and I had to fight my way through to get this pic. I heard several people comment about "that chimp and that cute little girl!")

My three sweet darlings at the zoo! (back story: It took three tries to get them all three to look at me, and this is the only picture I got of them all together the entire trip!)

Ellie eating Dippin' Dots! (back story: She was so happy Daddy let her get this treat! She deserved it though, she was quite a trooper this day, and never complained!)

Ellie at the Mississippi River and the Arch! (back story: Ellie really wanted to see the river and the arch. I love that she is interested in the things she's learning about at school! Shortly after this however, she had her toughest moment of the trip in a crowded restaurant. We got through it though, and I was proud of her for being able to work it out.)

The Magic House! Another favorite of my kids! This was the first time we'd been there since they added on, and WOW, it's even more incredible now! This was in the new part, it's the Beanstalk from "Jack and the Beanstalk!" The kids LOVED it! (back story: This thing became my nightmare! We couldn't get Austin out a couple of times, and had to send Ellie in after him. Annie never wanted to leave it, and got mad when we made her. She retaliated by disappearing a few minutes later, and we found her back here. She got in MAJOR trouble for that little stunt. Ellie liked it, but I could tell that it was major sensory overload for her, and yet I couldn't keep her out of the darned thing! She did fine while we were there, but afterwards was edgy and grumpy.)

Austin LOVED the Magic House! He did really well overall, and that made me so happy! (back story: Really, he did great! Mommy however, was in a bit of a grumpy mood this day. I blame it on not sleeping well the night before. Which may have had something to do with the fact that my sweet husband thought a hammock was a good idea for an extra bed in the hotel room. It wasn't.)

We got to see this sweet little two week old baby! Our good friends Matt and Gina are proud new parents! We were thrilled to meet this little guy, and spend a little time with his great parents. He is a DOLL! (back story: Gina, you are a brave, brave woman for inviting our circus over to your house! I hope we didn't stress you too much! Thanks for letting us meet your sweet baby!)

On our way home we visited another favorite place, Purina Farms! They had their Easter Village set up in the barn loft, complete with all kinds of baby animals the kids could pet! The girls were fascinated with this gosling! (back story: I couldn't keep Ellie away from the baby animals. She was in heaven.)

"What baby animals? LOOK! TRACTORS!" (back story: Austin quickly lost interest in anything but the tractors!)

And the Grand Finale? A CAT THAT DID TRICKS!!! His name was Friskie, and he was 5 months old. I was impressed! (back story: Ellie now wants to be a vet AND and cat trainer. She was beyond excited!)

I will say we had our ups and downs. Our kids are never easy kids, but on the whole, I am VERY proud of how they all did! It was a great getaway! We've done this trip before, almost three years ago! If you want a little peek into the past, and you have an extra 10 minutes, click here to see my post from that trip. (It's kind of long!) My how the kids have grown and things have changed!

Happy Spring Everyone!

Some days...

2010-03-17T23:41:00.003-05:00

Some days are Good. Some days are Great! And then there are days like yesterday, days when I think…REALLY??

Yesterday was scheduled to be a good day, maybe even great. Ellie had a swimming lesson, then we were headed to Wacky World again, this time with all three kiddos. Also we were meeting Grammie to do a little Easter outfit shopping. Ellie had OT, and then all 3 kids were going home to Grammie and Grandaddy’s house for the night! Yay!

BUT (there’s always a BUT with my family!) before we left the house, Austin decided to change the plans. He climbed through the little “window” from the living room, to the kitchen. He loves to do that, and usually he’s quite good at it. Yesterday though, I guess he decided to stand on the faucet. I didn’t see it, but I heard it…BOOM.

It broke.

He fell.

On his head, on the tile floor. Oh mercy me. I really expected blood. But no, Mr. Hard Head only had a small bump. Thank you God, once again, for protecting my son’s head.

So after I watched him for awhile, and decided he was okay, we finally made it out the door, late. We missed swimming lessons, but went on to Wacky World. We arrived, and the kids were off! They were having a blast, Grammie arrived, and everything seemed to be going pretty good.
UNTIL…I decided to be a “young and fun” mom, and follow Austin through one of the bouncy thingies. I was doing okay, until we reached the climbing wall. I told Austin to go on without me, but he insisted “Mommy, COME ON!”

So I did.

Then I fell.

Ouch.

Turns out, even though they are air filled cushions, they can still hurt. My ankles folded under me, and a few hours later, I was in a LOT of pain. Both ankles were throbbing, and I could barely put weight on my right foot. I was actually pretty scared because it was hurting so badly. After I got the kids settled with Grammie, I made it home, driving with my left foot, and cruise control.

After soaking both ankles in ice water, taking a good dose of medicine, and eating a delicious dinner my sweet husband made for me, I was feeling a little better. And today, I was able to walk semi-normally. Which is a good thing, considering we are going on a little family vacation tomorrow, and I had a lot to do today!

So, I guess I'm "Not as young as I used to be." At least that's what my mom and my dad told me. Nothing like your own parents reminding you of that.

Here's hoping for a nice, uneventful, mini-vacation for us. Where I don't lose a camera.

A girl can dream...

Wacky Fun!

2010-03-13T19:53:00.001-06:00

When I was younger, and dreamed of the day that I would have beautiful, perfect children of my own, I envisioned days of peaceful playtime, and fun excursions to exciting places...

Then I had Ellie! When she was a one year old, we joined our local Mops group, and began fulfilling our destiny. We started going to playgroups, and Kindermusik. It was just like I'd imagined...

Then I had Annie! Things got a little tougher, but we managed. We continued with Mops, I even served on the steering team for a few years. We went to two Kindermusik classes, one for each girl. It was more hectic than I imagined it would be, and my energy started to dwindle a little...

Then I had Austin! And all of a sudden it hit me, I was exhausted. Ellie started school, we struggled to make it to Kindermusik and Mops. Soon I decided I liked being home more, it was just easier. Our days of exciting adventures wiped me out, and made me cranky. As Austin grew, and became, well...Austin!...I found there were very few places that could handle his level of energy. Throw in Ellie's sensory issues, and well, I became Hermit Mom.

Okay, maybe not Hermit Mom, but close! I pretty much stick to activities that will be easy, and with my small group of friends who don't judge. :) When I venture out of my comfort zone, I'm usually met with looks. You know, the ones from people who either haven't reached my stage of life yet, or have forgotten how it was. The dreams of perfect children, and endless days of exciting activities have become the running joke of my friends and I. Obviously real life with real kids is much harder than we thought it would be!

But something came over me the other morning. Something I hadn't felt since the girls were little. A restless stirring to do something, dare I say....Fun? I hopped online and after a bit of research, packed those little kids of mine up, and we headed to the "big city" to play!

We found a great indoor inflatables place called Wacky World Kidz. Their location was great, a straight shot from our town, and their hours and prices were great too. We called Grammie on our way out the door, and she said she'd be in town anyway, so she'd stop by and play too! More fun!

We hit the door, and POOF they were off!

They ran, they climbed...

They jumped, they played...

They slid down giant slides and smiled...

They were moving so fast I could barely take pictures!

They even played air hockey...

She might be a bit competitive...

They wore themselves out! Yay!

It was a really fun day. I am so glad I didn't squelch that feeling to go and do something fun. I am so glad to have had a day somewhat like the ones I imagined, it's been awhile! Since Austin was born, life has been much harder. He's been more than "just one more." Lately I feel like we're coming, albeit slowly, out of the fog. I feel like I can handle a bit more, not a lot, but just enough to give me hope that things will get easier! And I'm so glad to have found a fun indoor play place, we'll definitely be going back!

Little Hands, Big Voices!

2010-03-10T10:09:00.006-06:00

Tuesday night was Annie's preschool program, Little Hands, Big Voices. Those sweet preschoolers stood up and sang like little angels! And no, of course I'm not biased! Ha! There's sweet Annie Grace with the yellow sweater and bow, sitting with her sweet class of friends!

They also showed off their marvelous artwork! Seriously, I think we have the most talented children here in our little town. Again, no bias. :) Here's a little sample of Annie's work...

I love seeing these sweet kids preform together. I love this sweet school. I just loved last night! Me and my sweet girl...(and that's Ellie and Nana in the background :)

And I love this great teacher! Mrs. B has taught both my girls, both years they went to preschool. She's been a wonderful influence on them, and me!

What a wonderful way to spend an evening!

The conundrums of motherhood...

2010-03-01T14:26:00.003-06:00

I have sick kids today. Well, one sick kid, and one that was sick, but is apparently better, since he's had the energy of 10 wild animals today.

Poor Ellie. She really is sick. She's spent 1/2 the day in the bathroom, and the other half on a couch or in bed. (She's gonna love me for writing that someday.) I did see her walking a little just a few minutes ago, so she may be on the upswing...And that's good...right?

You see, I have a bit of a conundrum. A dilemma, if you will. I want my children to be healthy. But when they're sick, well, they're much easier! For instance, last week Austin had an ear infections in both ears, and for four glorious hours, he laid still. He snuggled with me, he was calm, he was sweet. As soon as the meds kicked in, he was back to his normal crazy mischief. Today with Ellie has been calm and quiet. No fights, no arguments, just a sweet girl needing her mama.

So I do want her well...just maybe not until tomorrow. :)

Austin on the other hand, stayed home "sick" because he was sick last night. Today, however, has been an entirely different story. Today Austin...

Put a hole in the wall with a screwdriver, dumped a box of tiny nerds candies in the playroom, climbed on the counters approximately 214 times in an hour, dumped a box of crayons on the floor, colored on his sisters nightgown (which she retaliated and colored on his pj's..fun.), tried to swing from the chandelier in the dining room, and dumped a large pitcher of freshly, perfectly made iced tea, all over the kitchen counter and floor.

So, can you see where I am coming from?

Yeah, I think you do!

Works for me Wednesday

2010-02-24T15:14:00.003-06:00

I know there's this cute little thing in blog world called "Works for me Wednesday", where people post a great thing in their life that "works" for them. Great organizational tips, decorating, stuff their kids like...etc. It got me thinking...What works for me?

I'll tell you what works for me...WARM WEATHER! And what doesn't work for me? This winter! Grrrrr. I am sorry, truly sorry for being grumpy, but this cold and snowy winter has just done me in!

I find myself day dreaming about going somewhere warm with my sweet family...a beach...sun shining...me and J relaxing in lounge chairs, books in hand, drinks by our sides...our children playing happily in the sand and surf...until they start throwing sand at each other...and start crying...and screaming...and I have to put the book down and scold them...

Okay. New dream...It's just me and Jason...:)

You get the picture.

It's just that when it's cold EVERYTHING is harder. So I'm ready for the warmth. That's what works for me. That's what works for my kids! That's when I might have some real "Works for Me" things to post. In the meantime, my good friend MK has started a blog, and she has a REAL Works for Me post, that I thought was just really good. That MK, she is a smart one! And a great writer too. I'm happy she started a blog, she adds good stuff to this bloggy world.

Happy Wednesday everyone. I'm off to day dream some more...

Our Valentine

2010-02-14T23:37:00.000-06:00

8 years ago tonight we got a very special Valentine gift...

Ellie Marie!!!

That tiny baby stole our hearts.

In the years between then and now, we've been through a lot together. We've laughed, we've cried, we've screamed, we've hugged, we've taught, we've learned...

Today we celebrated.

We celebrated this girl who is growing up. We celebrated her hard work over the last year. We celebrated the progress she's made, and is still making. We celebrated Ellie!

Tonight as we ate dinner I asked...

"Ellie, was your party as great as you hoped it would be?"

And she answered...

"It was WAY better!"

And that made this mommy's heart smile. ♥

Happy 8 Ellie! I have a feeling it's going to be a great year!

Christmas Past...

2010-02-12T16:48:00.004-06:00

Since Christmas was oh...about 2 months ago, I thought it might be time to record my memories, or what's left of them, before they vanish into thin air. So here is a list of what I can still remember of Christmas '09...

1.) Christmas Eve...We had Nana and Papa, Uncle Chris and Aunt Michelle, and the cousins over for an EASY dinner (frozen lasagna, bagged salad, and some yummy bruschetta. gotta love easy!), and presents! Fave pic from the night...The girls all got SNUGGIES!

2.) Cleaning like a mad women every other day, so we could host yet another Christmas celebration, and mess the house up again.

3.) Not minding the mess....for a little while. :)

4.) Hearing the kids shout "PAPA AND NANA ARE HEEERE!!!" They get so excited when the grandparents show up, you'd never think by their reaction that we live in the same town! I love it.

5.) Watching Grandaddy carefully unpackage toys, while Austin patiently watched for a VERY long time. Precious.

6.) Grammie helping the girls with their "project" toys, Ellie's Easy Bake oven and Annie's Barbie lip gloss maker, while Jason and I made Christmas breakfast. Also precious.

7.) My heart being happy as my home was filled with all the people I love dearly.

8.) A WHITE CHRISTMAS! The first since Ellie was a baby! (Although now, two months and about 24 inches of snow later, the memory isn't quite so sweet. :)

9.) Cats everywhere! At Aunt Denise and Uncle Deans house there was a total of 5 cats (my cousins each brought their two). The kids were in heaven trying to hunt them all down.

10.) Christmas Jammies! Seriously, that made me so happy. I have this pic in a frame now!

11.) 4 Wheelin' in the snow on Christmas Day! Santa brought the kids their very own 4 wheeler!

12.) Annnnd...that's it. That's where my memory runs out!

It was busy, and fun, and busy. It was a great Christmas from the kids perspective, but exhausting from a mommies point of view. Next year I would really like to figure out a way to squeeze it all in, but not be so busy. Is that possible? I guess time will tell!

So Merry Christmas everyone....Errr...Happy Valentines Day.

:)

This is where 10 years got us...

2010-01-21T14:27:00.005-06:00

A little over a month ago, we celebrated 10 years of marriage by going to Las Vegas! Jason and I were nervously excited to leave the kiddos with the grandma's in charge, and take our longest vacation, for just the two of us, since our honeymoon! We finally arrived, after a two hour flight delay, at about midnight, or in other words, the middle of the day for Vegas!

I giggled as I saw all the slot machines in the airport. I'd read about them, but seeing them in person just made me laugh! I was also amazed at the airport being right in the city. In my limited traveling experiences, most large airports are fairly removed from the hustle and bustle of the city they are in, but not here!

We were dropped off at our hotel, TI (Treasure Island), about 1 am, and so, got to witness the incredible energy of the city right away. I've never seen so many people on the streets, laughing, partying, wearing the tiniest dresses, and just living it up, as I saw that night/morning. I have to say, I actually loved it! I loved getting to see everything so alive in the middle of the night! I suppose there's a little bit of a party girl in me after all! :)

Jason and I had such a great time together. We needed this trip more than we both realized I think. We never ran out of things to talk about. We never got sick of each other. We never wished the kids were with us! Ha! I remembered what life was like pre-kids, honestly for the first time ever. I remembered all the things that made me fall in love with my sweet husband. I remembered who we are as a couple, and not just parents. It was really, really, good.

Some of my favorite highlights were...

The Eiffel Tower at Paris!

We went up in the tower just as the sun was setting. The view was amazing. Here is my attempt at a self portrait! It might not be the best pic ever, but it reminds me of how much fun we were having! I really did love it up there!

We saw the beautiful mountains, the city. We watched as the lights of the buildings came on, and then we saw the Bellagio fountains from above, which was incredible!

The murano glass ceiling at the Bellagio was also quite impressive. I think it is amazing how incredibly ornate the hotel/casino/resorts are. I was amazed time and time again.

Two of our "must do's" were to see all the sights, and eat as much good food as we could! :) We are Food Network fans, and I really wanted to eat at a couple of the celebrity chef restaurants. Our first celebrity chef meal was at Emeril's, Lagasse's Stadium. And let me just sum that meal up with one word...INCREDIBLE! This place was SO cool. It is a sports bar/restaurant. Very casual, and much more reasonably priced than the other celebrity chef places. The atmosphere was so fun. I have never seen so many TV's in one place in my life! They covered the walls, upstairs and down. Every table had it's own TV. There were giant screens everywhere. So much fun. The food is supposed to be Emeril's take on his favorite ball park foods, kicked up a notch! Jason and I shared the nacho's, which were wonderful, and then I had the Stromboli. And then I died, and went to food heaven. No seriously, I have never had food that good. Ever. I want to fly to Vegas to eat there again. Here is a picture of heaven on a plate.

Our other celebrity chef pick was Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill! I loved the vibe of his place. Upscale, but casual and cool. Very modern and elegant, all at the same time. The food was good, more "gourmet" than Lagasse's Stadium. However, Emeril's food won hands down for me. I am thrilled we ate at Mesa Grill though, because I just feel cooler knowing that we did. :)

Another must for us was to visit the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, from the History channel's show Pawn Stars! Jason is a huge fan of the show, and we had to go see it in person. It was very cool, and exactly as seen on TV. My husband was thrilled when we immediately saw Chumlee from the show! Here they are...!

And then a few minutes later Cory, aka: Big Hoss, came out from the back and he and Jason talked it up for a few minutes!

VERY exciting stuff people! I think that was the highlight of Jason's trip!

Our last day, we hit a different section of the city, and saw New York, New York...

So cool. Like I said, these places amazed me with their detail.

We also went to MGM Grand, Excalibur, Hooters, The Tropicana, Mandalay Bay, and the Luxor. I really wanted to go into the Luxor and ride the elevators that go on a diagonal. It wasn't quite as exciting as I thought, but hey, you win some, you lose some. We did get J's picture with the Sphinx!

I'd go back again tomorrow if I could. It was SO good for us to have a real break together. I can tell you one thing for sure, it will NOT be another 10 years before we get away like this again! I definitely have the traveling bug now!

First babies...

2010-01-20T00:09:00.004-06:00

If you are an animal person, then you understand what I mean by "first babies." When Jason and I were dating we got our first babies. A black lab named Abbie, who went to puppy heaven a few years ago, and a fluffy furry cat named Daisy.

Daisy is now a spunky, independent, 12 1/2 year old cat. She has lived through 2 moves, 3 kids, 4 dogs, and 1 cat. She still doesn't act like she likes us much, unless she's hungry. I credit her long life and good health to being smart enough to stay away from the kids most of the time! :)

So tonight I was walking through the playroom, and I saw this...

Seriously, I about died laughing. She has the life!