The Beauty of a Pearl

Katie and Pearl came over for eggless chocolate pancakes and coffee this morning. It was nice to have some more mommy time together. The kids played nice with the exception of Trevor and Caleb who are ultra overbearing at the moment. The girls seemed to play better this morning. We just have to make sure we have more than one baby to go around. Between Caleb, McKenna and Pearl, they had all the baby dolls out. It is nice that MJ is making her own friends and it is nice that I am too!!

I also folded about 5 loads of laundry tonight. I am not sure if it is the weather, or something else, but I am feeling very scatterbrained at the moment. I have lots and lots of things to take care of...ie. laundry, planning Caleb's birthday, playing with the kids, cleaning bathrooms, changing sheets, etc., but am finding it difficult to manage my time recently. My goal for tonight is to make a list of realistic goals for tomorrow. My goal for tomorrow is to complete the list. I have always been a list maker, so we will see how it goes. I think I just need a visual to get me more on task. Right now, I feel like a chicken with it's head cut off.

Tomorrow is a new day. I hope Aaron is home to take some of the burden off. That could be some of my issue too. With him working this ice storm, we haven't seen him for more than 20 minutes at a time. That is bound to make anyone nuts, I guess.


Pearl having a blast

I love this one. Pearl trying to figure out what McKenna is thinking.
Hanging out together.
Laughing and loving one another
The long goodbye...

We did it...

With the help of my friends, that is. Sonja came over with Jakey for dinner and phoro editing tips. We made a new header for the blog. Woohoo!! I have wanted to do this for a long time. So thanks to Sonja, I have a new header. I also know how to use adobe too. And, thanks to Oma and Pepere, I was able to get out with the kids to run some errands and get away from the kids a bit. Thanks to Mimi, Oma got home from work. Thanks to my husband, I am able to type this upstairs. So a big THANK YOU all around. Hope you like the new header. I am off to edit and play around on the internet.

Find the Crap

I will start by saying that I spent the entire morning putting every piece of clothing from the boys' dressers back in their place. Caleb took it upon hismelf to undo every pair of socks and empty out every drawer of clothing before bed. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. I left it to the morning so I would have something to look forward to...NOT. At least I had a chance to go through his clothes and donate the things he doesn't wear or that don't fit. The rest of the day was spent inside.

We played our annual Find the Crap in the Box today. We filled it with snow and lots of household trinkets and toys. The kids enjoyed finding and drying them. We also built snow castles, ate snow ice cream and built a mini snowman. I think I have exhausted all of my wintery crafts and games. So, I think we will venture out tomorrow. This is only possible because Pepere came over and poured sweat over our driveway. We are so grateful. I think I am on the brink of losing my mind anyway. It will definitely be a good thing to get out tomorrow.

Candyland, go fish, police chase, sticky fish, memory, card making, dot-to-dots...what else could a group of toddlers and preschoolers ask for? Maybe some electric and their daddy, but who's asking anyway. We had a fun afternoon, despite not having electricity. Here is the proof:

The Doughy Day, Part Deux

The kids are thoroughly enjoying the snowfall. We have spent the better half of the last two days outside. We woke up, had oatmeal, put on our snowsuits, hats, gloves, boots,jackets and went outside to play. We attempted to build a snowman, but it was more of a 30 minute lesson on how to make a snowball. Well, actually, more of a 30 minute whine-fest due to the misunderstanding that not all snow makes for good snowballs. Next, we had a snowball fight. More of a sprinkling of snowball dust, really. You know me, I am not going to encourage the throwing of anything at anyone since it will create mass chaos. We made a few snow angels, forwards and backwards. Then we came in, spent another 30 minutes taking off our snowsuits, hats, gloves, boots and jackets. We put them in the dryer and made hot chocolate (for those of us who drink things besides water, Trevor). We had warm biscuits with jelly for a snack and thawed out. We had lunch and took a rest. Then, we got up, put on our snowsuits, hats, gloves, boots and jackets and went outside to sledride. The kids were very excited since Aaron came with us. I have never seen Trevor so excited about anything. He loved it. McKenna too. Caleb, not so much. He whined and cried almost the whole time. Then we came home and took off our snowsuits, hats, gloves, boots and jackets and put them in the wash. We had more hot chocolate and settled in for the evening. The kids had a wonderful time. I did too. It was fun to be a kid again and sled. It was not so much fun hiking up the hill with McKenna on one hip, screaming Caleb on the other, while trying to drag the sled. And it wasn't fun dealing with all the dressing up, down, inside out and washing/drying of clothes. But, I wouldn't trade it for the world. This chaos is my world and I love every bit of it. Even all the snowsuits, hats, gloves, boots and jackets.

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The Doughy Day

Conversation #1
Mommy: It is going to snow tomorrow! Maybe we can make a snowman.

Caleb: Is it going to be icy outside.

Mommy: Maybe, it is supposed to snow a lot, we can make snow ice cream and snow angels, it will be lots of fun.

Caleb: Is it going to be a doughy day?

Mommy: I think you mean snowy and, yes, it is going to be a snowy day. I can hardly wait!


Conversation#2
A police officer was sitting on the side of the road doing paperwork...
Mommy: Look guys, there is a police officer. I am glad we are being good and obeying mommy and the law.

Trevor: Do you think he has a flat tire?

Mommy: I don't know, Trevor. That is a good question.

Trevor: No, I think it is his engine. He needs a merchanic.

Mommy: Yes, he probably needs a merchanic.

Caleb: I don't think anyone was bad, nobody is being rinsed today.

Mommy: You mean arrested?

Caleb: Yes, arrinsted.

Bathtime fun

The boys had fun being boys, and McKenna had fun playing beauty shop.

ICF (Intimidation Cage Fighting)

I went to an IFC fight last night. The picture was taken from my phone. We knew two of the fighters and had a lot of fun cheering for them. Lucky for us (and them) they both won!! I found myself in awe, making observations of the world around me. Can you tell I don't get out much? I discovered a few things about myself too. Here are 10 things I learned while people watching:

1. One sure way to get a shower and clean sheets is to go to Kentucky (where they are allowed to smoke indoors) YUCK!! If I could have stripped my van and house of the smoky smell that lingered with us, I would have. It was NASTY!

2. Having a bladder disease can have its benefits. I made several new BFFs while using the ladies room...all 100 times. New BFF every time.

3. I also met a few he-she's while in there too.

4. Draft beer and Interstitial Cystitis do not go hand in hand.

5. Take your new camera to the last place you thought you would want to take pictures. I can't count the cool shots I could have taken. Of course my camera would have a smoke film and the bag would stink, so maybe it is better that I didn't bring it.

6. Don't come home drunk at 2:00am and expect your kids to sleep in until 8:00.

7. Be pleasantly surprised when they play nicely so you can shake the hangover.

8. Every woman has to pee all the time. I must have heard it 42 times by 42 different women in the span of 4 hours.

9. Be thankful for what you have. I sat next to a woman who lost her husband 6 months ago in a freak chainsaw accident. She is now a single mom of four small children. County your blessings.

10. I am too freakin' old to go out drinking. It is 2:15 the next day and I am still dizzy. Thanks to the designated driver. Jason has a special place in our hearts...lol.

Beautiful Day

Need I say more...

Warm winter day

I will apologize, in advance, for the excess pictures. The kids and I had such a great time today. We went on a 2 hour walk, played baseball, basketball, jumped in puddles, had relay races, obstacle courses and just had a blast. So, I am sure the site may be slow because of these pictures, but I could not choose my favorites. They were all my favorites...minus the 400 other pictures I took, but didn't include. I literally too 400 pictures. At least the kids are used to a camera in their faces. They make for pretty cute subjects too!

Nothing new on the homefront, really. Had my Interstim pacemaker adjusted today, so hopefully will be having some relief. The last few weeks have not been really great days pain-wise. I already feel better since the adjustment, so that is good. The kids were awsome today. McKenna is really starting to talk. She is following in her brothers' footsteps. I think she is going to be cute and smart. Again, sorry for the amount of pictures. I hope you enjoy. Let me know which ones are your favorites.

While the boss is away...

Brothers and sisters will play.








Trevor spent the afternoon at Oma and Pepere's house. While he was gone, Caleb enjoyed ice cream from the container (without having to share), played the computer (instead of watching the whole time), and did puzzles and learned how to write his name (well, kind of). McKenna enjoyed her favorite video (Signing time) and had a tea party with her doll (without someone stealing the tea). I think all the kids had a great afternoon.

Presidential Party 101

A successful presidential party must include the following:

1. Presidential pizza for breakfast
2. Presidential pasta for lunch
3. Homeade Obama-mama cookies for snack
4. Presidential potroast with presidential potatoes for dinner
5. A side of Good riddance George W. green beans
6. Purple presidential popsicles
7. A bag of presidential popcorn
8. Letter "O" shaped grapefruit for a midday snack
9. Barack Obama build a block game
8. And of course...the inuaguration playing in the background during all the festivities.

Pre-naguration pancake day

Lord knows what tomorrow will bring if we are planning president-elect/pre-inauguration pancakes Monday, when the big time for change Tuesday doesn't happen until tomorrow. The kids had a good time making them and Aaron had an even better time helping to clean them up. We can't wait until tomorrow. Who knows what we will plan. I am thinking presidential pepperoni pizza, presidential popcorn and Obama Oreos. We shall see.








On a serious note, a friend of mine's house burnt down last night. They lost everything. Please keep them in your prayers and please, let me know if you have extra stuff laying around that you have been meaning to donate. They have 3 small children and could use any help they can get. Thanks and God bless.