Just a little about us...

We're Still Here...

2010-03-19T20:46:00.000-07:00

So I think I officially failed on my New Year's resolution to blog more. But I am a work in progress, and I will just keep trying to do better.
Life is good around here. I can't believe it's Spring Break already. Before we know it, it will be summer.
Here are a few pictures of my 3 favorite photo subjects:

Ally's school project...playing with shaving cream

We had a couple of beautiful days in February...Here was a day we made it to the park!

Finally...Can you imagine falling asleep like this?

Went For a Haircut...

2010-02-05T11:44:00.000-08:00

And it looks like he got into fight. While waiting for his haircut, Logan managed to bang his head on a hand rail, bounce off of there, and cut his eye on a shelf of shampoo. Who knew Supercuts could be so dangerous?

20 Simple Things That Make Me Smile...

2010-02-02T21:28:00.000-08:00

1. My kids playing school and teaching each other all they know

2. A brand new haircut

3. Starbucks

4. Ally's excitement over putting together her outfit for the day

5. The smell of liquid fabric softener

6. Cuddling up under a blanket to read a good book

7. The way my kids say "Mommy," when I pick them up from the babysitter

8. Logan taking toy trains to bed because he loves them

9. Eskimo kisses

10. Listening to my kids singing along with the radio

11. When Jacob shows me what new things he has learned

12. Kittens

13. Cold Diet Pepsi

14. A beautifully decorated cake

15. Watching my kids do a puzzle (especially Logan)

16. My warm slippers

17. The park on a sunny day

18. When someone tells me my kids are well behaved

19. Freshly vacuumed carpets

20. Movie "camp out" nights with my kids

OMSI Trip

2010-01-25T19:59:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we got to go spend a fun day with Aunt Dana, Gadi and Gadi's family. We went to OMSI, then out to dinner at the Spaghetti Factory, and finally back to Dana and Gadi's house to play video games. Here's some pictures from OMSI.

Waiting to go in...

A cute picture that Jacob took...

Launching bottle rockets and Logan watching...

Logan in the Ball Room (His Favorite Place)

Gadi's Hair + Static Electricity = FUN

What's Going On? (List Form)

2010-01-22T20:07:00.000-08:00

*I have neglected the blog this week. I'm sorry.
*My mom and grandmother travelled down to California this week. They thought they were going to get warm. And they ended up in Oregon like rain.
*Logan continues to not answer when you ask how old he is. He is weirdly stubborn about stuff like that. Sometimes he says that he doesn't know...but I think it really means he doesn't care.
*Jacob and I now have to be very strict about reading at a specific time every night. We are going to get him reading. Some nights it is like I'm torturing him but I just have to remember it is good for him. Watching him have a hard time is one of the hardest things I do.
*My kids love to tell jokes but they don't really know many jokes. So they usually just make them up...so the jokes aren't always the best. Logan always tells the some one...Knock, knock...Who's there?...Orange...Orange who...Orange Pineapple.
*Tomorrow we are going to OMSI. I'm super excited...we are going to have so much fun.
*Next week I'm taking Ally to watch an OSU gymnastics meet. I think we will have a fun girls night, and I even think Grandma and GG might come along.
*This is boring. I promise I am going to work on writing something interesting this week.

Dear Logan...

2010-01-18T14:01:00.000-08:00

It is unbelievable that you are turning 3 years old. You are my baby...though you do not enjoy it when I call you such.
Since the day you were born you have been such a light in my life. You love to see people smile. I think you know what you are doing when you are silly; you want people to laugh. I love your smile. I treasure your smile. I have a habit of taking life too seriously and you are always showing me that there is fun in everything.
You have also shown me that even though I have 2 children that have survived their toddler years, I am not an expert. You are your own person and I am not easily able to convince you to do anything. If you do something its usually because you have decided that it is time. I would just appreciate a clue as to when you will think it is time to be done with diapers. Just give me a date and I would be happy to know that an end is in sight.
You may have been born a "preemie," but now at 3 years old, you are a big boy. You are so tall. You are atleast half a head above other 3 year olds. And you are about to outgrow your 5 year old sister. I think you might be bigger than her by next year at this time.
I love you Logan and I love seeing you grow! Thank you for so much happiness!
Love, Mom

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday

3rd Birthday

Party!

2010-01-17T15:53:00.000-08:00

Logan's birthday follows my mom's birthday by 4 days, so yesterday we had a bowling celebration for the two of them!

The Almost 3 Year Old! (He was very confused he kept telling people he is 2 and a half.)

Grandma and Ally celebrating.

Back at GG's house for cake and presents...sitting at Logan's new table.

Grandma's Chocolate Cake

Make a Wish!

Present Time!

All Partied Out!

Logan kept his hat on until we were home and changing into pajamas. As I took it off of him, he said, my birthday is over.

What's Going On? (List Form)

2010-01-13T22:19:00.000-08:00

*We are already halfway through the week. Wednesday is over...it's all downhill from here. And I'm even taking an extra day off next Monday for Logan's birthday; so I am even looking forward to a 3 day weekend.
*Tonight Ally cried a lot! That's what I get for letting her stay up to watch American Idol. She cried when she bumped her cup on her tooth. And she cried when she spilled juice. I wonder if I cried that much when I was 5.
*American Idol has not been that interesting this week. I remember in the early days of Idol when watching the audition shows was really fun. Now I just want them to get to Hollywood.
*Jacob's spelling list has the word anemometer in the challenge section. I had to google it; I should have just asked Jacob. He knew...it measures wind speed.
*I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting last night. I'm excited and motivated right now. I cannot guarantee that my happiness about this will last.
*Tonight I put some old Pull Ups on Logan, from when Ally wore Pull Ups. These Pull Ups have princesses on them. So I told him since he isn't using the big boy potty, he is now a baby girl, wearing a baby girl diaper. He thought that was funny. I told him he would have a princess birthday and I would buy him make up. He did not think that was funny. He wants a boy birthday with choo choos. Is it sad that I am calling my son a girl to try to motivate him to potty train??
*Happy Birthday to my Mom tomorrow!!!

Lazy Sunday

2010-01-10T20:59:00.000-08:00

It isn't too often that my kids and I decide to just stay home. But after church today we decided to just go home and hang out.

We did do some cleaning and picking up. I, unfortunately, must admit that I still hadn't found places for all our new Christmas presents. So now I think everything is pretty much put away. I wish I could say that now my house is clean, but I definitely don't have the right to say that. But we are more organized now.

Jacob and I played some Super Mario Brothers. It is so hard to stop playing. I always think that if I try just 1 more time, I will make it through the level. We also watched a movie and the kids did some puzzles. We moved Ally's new easel into the living room. So Ally and Jacob are now able to be teachers for each other and Logan.

Then GG came over with her new movie, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs. The movie promptly put Logan to sleep, but the rest of us really liked it. I love watching a movie and hearing my kids giggling. I love my kids' giggles.

Passing Down the Love

2010-01-09T20:40:00.000-08:00

Today I made a trip to Costco (always fun). I was looking at their books and I just wished for more reading time. I love books! All those words, all those stories. I always have atleast a stack of books waiting for me. But I know someday my children won't be so small and those books will still be there waiting. Currently I am enjoying an Anita Shreve book.

I wish that there was some magic I could use to pass this love on to Jacob. Struggling through learning to read with Jacob has been one of the most challenging things I have tackled. He tries so hard and it frustrates him when he isn't able to read perfectly.

One of the most important resolutions that I made this year was to work really hard with Jacob on his reading. This past week I can see how my effort really makes a difference in Jacob's success. I have found a small chapter book that him and I take turns reading out of every night. It isn't always easy to find this time but it is so important. We are really enjoying this and I hope this is the magic that I need to pass on my love of books.

In Mourning...

2010-01-07T20:29:00.000-08:00

Santa brought Logan a small fish tank for Christmas. After which we promptly purchased 2 fish and 2 snails. The fish were named Nemo and Dorothy. (I know Doree was in Finding Nemo, but Logan insisted it was Dorothy.) The snails are Garey and Goldey.

Maybe it was my pessimistic nature, but I have been waiting for a fish to die. I am not lucky with fish and I just knew it would happen.

Today was the day. Nemo is no longer with us. After Nemo was out of the tank and gone, it was time to tell the kids. Logan asked to see Nemo. I had to explain tht he was already gone. But he was pretty accepting. He would say Nemo died and is gone.

However Ally was heartbroken! Tears, tears and more tears came from Ally. She told me that we hadn't had Nemo very long. She cried that she missed Nemo so much!

Ally has finally calmed down. Time for bed. We loved you Nemo!

What Happens After Bedtime...

2010-01-05T21:30:00.000-08:00

Ally and Logan were supposed to be going to sleep. But somehow Ally got a toy screwdriver stuck in her hair. What more can I say?

Spelling, Reading and a Puzzle

2010-01-04T21:47:00.000-08:00

How can we make spelling practice less miserable?? I hate that there are tears when a word is spelled wrong. Jacob and I still have work to do to make spelling time better.

It doesn't help that his little sister thinks its fun to try to spell with her brother. She sits and writes random letters while Jacob is spelling. She smiles and laughs and asks what we are going to spell next.

Tonight spelling time was hard. But we recovered, after some tears, and we read together. Reading was fun tonight. I am so thankful for fun books.
And while we were going through our spelling and reading time, Logan started a puzzle. We all helped him finish...but he really did most of it. He didn't need us. I was just trying to speed it up; it was bedtime. However once the puzzle was complete, we had to shut off all the lights...becuase this puzzle glows in the dark.

We enjoyed looking at the fireworks and lights glowing. But seriously, a glow in the dark puzzle? Why? How often are you in the dark with your puzzle?

Bowling, Bowling, Bowling...

2010-01-03T20:40:00.000-08:00

Last month we went to my work Christmas party, which was a family bowling party. We had lots of fun and I discovered that Logan loves bowling. Even after Jacob, Ally and I were done, Logan was still bowling. So I have been considering a bowling party for Logan's birthday in a couple of weeks.
Today we decided to go check out the bowling alley near GG's house and make sure Logan really does love bowling. That was a really great way to spend our Sunday afternoon! And I think Logan may be a true bowler.

Back to work for me tomorrow. And back to school for the kids this week. The holidays are done for now. I plan to start keeping a log of my food and exercise tomorrow. I also intend to continue blogging regularly. I just want to make sure I write those things down so anyone reading this can hold me accountable.

Our New Year

2010-01-02T18:08:00.000-08:00

We did it...my kids and I made it until midnight and rang in 2010 together! We went outside and the kids banged pots and pans. And then some neighbors started setting off fireworks. It was a fun way to begin our year.

Logan had so much fun staying up for the New Year. But at 11:30 he looked at me and asked if it was time for bed. If he would have asked earlier, I would have just let him go to bed. But it was so close to midnight so I told him he needed to stay up. I think he was glad he didn't go to bed.

On New Years Day it took us a long time to get up and going. But we finally got going and headed over to Grandma's house for tacos. Tacos are my mom's specialty. We watched the Rose Bowl. It was bittersweet since our Beavers were 1 win away from being there (for the second year in a row). But it was fun to eat tacos, watch football and spend time with family.

After football my kids headed to their dad's house and I got to go have a girl's night with my grandma. We watched movies and stayed up late. It's always fun to have grown up time! We watched Julie and Julia. This was such a cute movie!

Today I had to get some work done. I finally got the Christmas tree down and decorations put away. It is so hard to keep all of the things that 3 kids receive as gifts organized. But it feels good; my living room is mine again! I even hung up new pictures and calendars that I had from Christmas. And I was able to rearrange the top of my entertainment center. I am really happy to have it all done.

Here is the rearranged top of my entertainment center. I did have some ugly speakers on it. I realized that I never used them, so here is what I did. (Please ignore the tape...I was using that...its not part of the decor.)

I tried to take a picture of our new family portrait. Unfortunately my house was dark, so I needed to use the flash. This caused a huge glare. Logan is under the glare; just try to imagine it!

Here is my Christmas present from Jacob. I love this calendar. I feel bad putting up the picture of January because Jacob told me he was sick the day they did this page, so his wasn't as good. I will have to post a picture every month.

And here is my other calendar. GG made this for us and I love it. Look at all those birthdays we have coming up this month!

I hope everyone else's new year has been as wonderful as mine!

2010...Here We Come

2009-12-31T20:40:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it? Here I am on my blog. I am hanging out with my kids...playing video games, eating junk food and trying to stay awake to ring in the new year.

I have been thinking about all the things I would like to do better this year. But I have also been thinking that I am pretty pleased with the year 2009. Jacob, Ally. Logan and I have all grown up a lot and we have had a great deal of fun in the process. Here's a couple pictures to show how we have grown...

Christmas Tree, 2008

Christmas Tree, 2009

It's amazing the difference a year can make. I look at my blog and wish that I would have documented all the growth this year. So in 2010, I am going to really try to document our life. My goal is that next year at this time, I can create a hard copy of what I posted in 2010 and it will be a kind of scrapbook of our year.

We have much more growing to do this year and I hope that you can watch it on my blog. Here are just a few of the many things that our family will work on this year...

I would like to develop more healthy habits. I spent a few months in 2009 working on healthy eating and exercise habits. I wish I could say I was diligent and didn't fall off the wagon. But I have gotten lazy and I eat too much junk. So this year I have to really work on making these changes my way of life, rather than a "diet".

I'm excited to watch Jacob keep growing into a young man. I really want Jacob and I to work on our patience with reading and spelling. Jacob is at such an important age. He is soaking in everything and really growing up. He has been struggling because reading and spelling don't come easy to him. Jacob is going to need to do a lot of reading and I need to work on finding ways to make him realize it isn't work.

Ally is such a fun girl. But this year I hope that she can work on controlling her emotions. We will start by working on tears. She is very dramatic and crying is something she does often. When Ally is crying, she is going to need to find a spot to sit and calm down until she can talk about what is wrong.

My big 2010 goal for Logan is (drumroll please) NO MORE DIAPERS. I know we will get there when he is ready. But I'm really hoping he will be ready sooner, rather than later.

I'm so thankful for the year my kids and I have had and I am so excited for this year to come. Happy New Year! Yay for 2010!

What Happened?

2009-08-31T20:48:00.000-07:00

I sit here pondering what has happened to my kids. I found this picture. It's not the best picture but it really portrays the 3 of them and I remember having so much fun taking them through Storybook Land that day.
But I've looked all over my house and I don't know what happened. The kids in my house are much too big. They look like this...

And like this...
And like this...

How could there be a 2nd grader and a preschooler in my house? Along with another little boy who is old enough and smart enough to put together a 100 piece puzzle. They are such special kids and my time with them is so precious. Just wanted a little reminder!

Bubbles

2009-07-28T21:03:00.000-07:00

Here is Logan on the Fourth of July, along with a little insight from me on what was going on in that head of his.

Wow, Grandma convinced Mom to let me use the bubbles all by myself!

Finally, I can try to taste them...they look so good.
Pretty good, I'll have a little more.

Okay Mom, calm down...there's some bubbles.

Dear Jacob...

2009-07-25T18:26:00.000-07:00

It's amazing to think that it has been 7 years since you were born, and I became a mom. On that day in July, 2002, there is no way I could have imagined how wonderful it would be to be your mommy. It's amazing the pride I feel with you for every accomplishment, as well I feel pain with you when you are disappointed.

Turning 7 makes you seem like such a big kid (and you are a big kid). You had a wonderful 1st grade year and you discovered your love of math and numbers. No matter what we're doing, you somehow find a way to add or subtract. As a matter of fact, just the other day you pointed out to me that it is only 6 years until you are a teenager.

I am constantly learning from you. I am often challenged by your intelligence. You always pay attention to what is going on around you and you keep me on my toes as a mom. You are also such a good big brother. You are (usually) patient with Ally and Logan. And I can tell that you want the best for them. I am lucky that you are so willing to help and teach them.

Everytime I ask you what you want to be when you grow up, you change your mind. Sometimes you say dentist, other days you talk about running a restaurant. But every time I ask, you do let me know that you plan to make a lot of money. You told me you will save a million dollars. And you have also promised Grandma that she can live with you after you buy your house. I know you are determined and I am sure that whatever you do someday, you will be successful.

When I say 7 years it sounds like a long time, but it has gone by so fast. I am so glad that I can look ahead and try to imagine what the future holds for you. However, anything that I imagine does not even compare to you and the things you do.

I am so proud to be your mom. Thank you for working so hard in all you do and making me so proud. I love you more than I ever could have imagined!

Mom

Crazy Hair Day

2009-07-18T09:26:00.000-07:00

This week was Vacation Bible School. Jacob and Ally had a blast! It was good for Jacob to spend time with kids his own age (he is the oldest at daycare and gets a little bored). And Ally loves anything that is "school." Thursday was crazy hair day...so here are some pictures of the crazy hair dos.

Ally's never had much hair, so it is fun for me and her now that it is long enough for ponytails.

It is hard to do crazy hair for Jacob...

If you're ever taking pictures of Jacob, do not tell him to smile...it causes him to make some very strange faces.

And we can't forget Logan. He may not have gone to VBS but he is still super cute!

Loving My Logan...

2009-06-08T20:56:00.000-07:00

Logan has suddenly become a little boy instead of my baby. He has began speaking in full sentences and he just loves to tell you what he sees. He loves to talk about automobiles and animals, especially trains and birds. He is such a special boy...I'm so lucky to be his mommy!

1st Grade Zoo Trip

2009-06-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

There couldn't be a better way to celebrate the end of the school year, than a fun filled field trip to the zoo! Jacob only has 3 and a half days until he is done with 1st grade.

Jacob on the bus

Serious Jacob reading his map

Jacob and me on the train

Jacob and Cerri on the train

Jacob liked the tiger better than this elephant. However my tiger pictures did not turn out, so enjoy my elephant picture.

Running around in a field after Jacob decided we had seen the whole zoo.

Class picture and yes that is my son who may be crab walking rather than sitting like everyone else.

(Not So) Tough Little Ally

2009-06-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes my little Ally is so much tougher than her brothers. However when she falls or gets bumped, she cries (a lot!). She spent a day with my mom last week and fell down and scraped her knee. We found out she does not do well with blood. There was a great deal of crying (I actually called in the midst of this and could hear some of the drama). She apparently, at one point, even asked, "Will my skin ever grow back?"

Music and Tigers

2009-05-31T19:47:00.000-07:00

Jacob has less than 2 weeks left of the 1st grade. It's hard for me to believe that he is headed into 2nd grade. I distinctly remember being in 2nd grade, making it weird for me that Jacob is that old. Making it seem like a big deal, as well, is the fact that he heads to a new school next year. Right now he is in a primary school with just Kindergarten and 1st grade. I know the elementary school seems much bigger to me, but I don't even think it's a blip on Jacob's radar.
This week I got to go see Jacob's class put on a short music program in the school library. After the music I was able to go see Jacob's animal report and diorama. Jacob chose to write his report on the Siberian Tiger. I must say I was so impressed by this project. It was a big deal for these kids and I could tell how proud Jacob was.
This week I'm going with the 1st grade classes to the zoo. I think it should be a pretty fun day and I really hope we get to see a tiger for Jacob.
It has been quite a growing year for my oldest son. I am very thankful for the teacher he has been with this year. She did a fantastic job encouraging him.

Surprise

2009-05-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

As I have shared with you before, taking a decent picture of Jacob is nearly impossible. So imagine my surprise when I put my memory card in my computer tonight and found this.

Having Fun at the Park...

2009-05-10T21:28:00.000-07:00

Hold Your Loved Ones a Little Closer...

2009-05-04T20:13:00.000-07:00

I had posted about the anniversary of losing my dad a couple of weeks ago. I didn't mean for the post to be sad, but I think it turned out that way. After I read what I had written I promised myself to make my blog a happy place. I really have a great life and have so much for which I am thankful. I want everyone to know that my life is truly blessed.

But today I am sad. This weekend my grandpa passed away. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to Richard. He was officially my step-grandpa. But he held a very special place in my heart. My kids and I spent the afternoon and evening with him and my grandma before he left our earthly world. I am so thankful that each of my kids hugged and kissed Grandpa Richard before we left. I am so thankful I kissed him on the cheek as I got ready to leave. Please make sure you tell your loved ones how special they are. I still can't believe that was the last time Richard will talk to me and play with my kids.

I just want everyone to know that I am so thankful that Richard was my grandpa. He was always willing to do anything to help me. He did everything from putting up shelves in my house to babysitting my kids. Richard loved to take care of my babies. If I ever needed or wanted to do something with my older kids, Richard was always willing to take care of the baby.

I remember last year my kids and I were joining Richard and my grandmother at the beach and he wanted to make sure we made it over easily and safely. So he drove from the beach to my home and then back to the beach.

This experience feels very unreal. I am sad. I will miss talking to Richard. I am sad that Jacob will not get to take any more drives in the mountains with Grandpa Richard. I am sad Ally and Logan will not get to climb up and cuddle with Grandpa Richard again. But I know Richard has moved on from our earth to an amazing place where his physical heart isn't going to hinder him anymore. His heart is strong now and I know that he is in heaven still loving my family just like he has for years.

Yeah when I get where I'm going, there'll be only happy tears. I will shed the sins and struggles, I have carried all these years. And I'll leave my heart wide open, I will love and have no fear. Yeah when I get where I'm going, don't cry for me down here. Chorus from When I Get Where I'm Going, sung by Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton

Tae Kwon Do

2009-05-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Today Jacob and Ally tested for higher belts at Tae Kwon Do. Ally now has an orange tiger belt and Jacob has a yellow tiger belt.

Still Missing You Dad

2009-04-22T15:14:00.000-07:00

Four years ago today, I said good bye to my dad as his battle with cancer ended. At the time I was relieved to see the end to a painful journey for him. However now I wish he was here to be a grandpa to my kids.
His battle taught me a number of things. However it also sent me into a struggle with my faith. As my dad found out he was ill, I watched him turn to God and work to strengthen his faith. Yet I did the opposite. To this day, I struggle with the fact that there are people suffering through such awful situations and diseases.
I feel like recently I have finally broken through some of the anger. I cannot say I felt angry that I lost my dad. Obviously it was hard to say good bye to him when I was just 23. But what made me angry was seeing the way he suffered. It was very hard to see my dad rendered almost helpless, because of a disease that we call cancer. This is what caused me to question God and my faith to Him.
There are many things I learned from my dad and his cancer. And I know he inspired many other people. I just have to remind myself that it is not my place to question why my dad suffered. I am working to turn my attention to my life that I am living. That is what my dad would have told me to do. And that is what God wants me to do.
I have many things that I wish I could tell my dad. I have grown up a lot in the past 4 years but mostly I want him to know about his grandchildren. I am such a proud mommy and I know somehow my dad knows how wonderful my kids are and he is a proud grandpa, even if he isn't here with us.
We went to the park to visit my dad's bench a couple of weeks ago. I hope I can take my kids there every year and get a picture of them on the bench. This is going to be my way to show dad how his grandkids are growing. While we were there Ally even found a penny sitting right next to the bench. It seemed obvious to me Dad sent us that penny to show me that he could see the kids. Here's the poem about pennies sent from heaven:

Today I found a penny, Just laying on the ground. But it's not just a penny, This little coin I've found. Found pennies come from heaven. That's what my Grandpa told me. He said Angels toss them down. Oh, how I loved that story. He said when an Angel misses you, They toss a penny down, Sometimes just to cheer you up, To make a smile out of your frown. So don't pass by that penny When you're feeling blue; It may be a Penny from Heaven That an Angel's tossed to you.

Good Day

2009-04-20T20:36:00.000-07:00

Today was beautiful. We made sandwiches and ate dinner on our back porch. The kids had obviously been playing outside quite a bit today and it was so much fun to get to see the kids run straight out into the backyard to get to play some more.

While I was making sandwiches, Logan threw a frisbee over the fence into our neighbor's yard. Even though we have many more frisbees, the kids insisted we walk around the corner to try to get our frisbee back. Unfortunately no one was home, so we came home frisbeeless. I told the kids if we saw the neighbors we would yell over the fence and ask for our frisbee.

Before we came inside, Ally had to point out that we had not gotten the frisbee back. I reassured the kids that it is okay that we may not get the frisbee back. So Logan looked at me and said "Bad day." I asked him why it's a bad day. And he told me because the frisbee was gone.

This made me think about how I let little things ruin my whole day. Today I had an angry patient yell at me. This felt like a big deal for me, so it felt like a bad day. But really in the grand scheme of things, a patient yelling at me didn't make it a bad day, just like the frisbee over the fence was not a bad day for Logan.

Today was a good day. On this day, 3 years ago, my mom had surgery to remove her cancer. Today she is strong and healthy.

Today was a good day. I have 3 beautiful, healthy children.

Today was a good day. We played outside until bathtime.

Today was a good day. I got to use my new camera that my grandpa gifted to me recently.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T20:43:00.000-07:00

I am so lucky. The kids and I had such a fun day. From the 6 am wake up to check out baskets all the way to the drive home from GG's house. Everyone was so exhausted that I'm the only one who stayed awake for the whole way home.

I feel so blessed to be able to spend a day watching my kids light up over so many things. I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday!

I would like to write more but tomorrow is Monday and I need to get some rest.

Egg Hunt

2009-04-11T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today was our local Easter Egg Hunt. Great fun, but I only got pictures of Logan. The older kids were hunting in a seperate field.
Logan is definitely more defiant than Jacob or Ally were when they were his age. The hunt was scheduled for 10 am, however we didn't get the all important "Go!" until about 10:15. Not a fun job to show my 2 year old a field of eggs and be so proud when he tells me he understands that he is to put the eggs in his basket, and then say, but wait.

To the older gentleman standing near us:

I'm sorry my son's basket hit you in the legs. I am working hard to teach him throwing is not a solution when he is frustrated. However I wish you would remember you were in an area designated for 0-3 year olds. So please don't look disgusted when I walk over and apologetically pick up the basket. If that upset you, please avoid this area that was designated for children that may be at an age, that is prone to tantrum throwing.

Thank you, Logan's Mommy

Without further ado, pictures:

This is what Logan did when I asked him to make a bunny face...

You can see how much thought he is putting into this...

He hit the jackpot...

We're so glad it wasn't raining...

Look at all my eggs...

Do a Push Up Jacob!

2009-03-31T19:50:00.000-07:00

That is what I heard Ally saying last night. And here is what I saw when I looked in at my kids.

Jacob told me afterward that he thinks Logan is heavier than Ally. (I have been thinking the same thing lately.)

I Got Lost This Weekend...

2009-03-15T22:06:00.000-07:00

I am highly susceptible to the power of a good book. I started Hunger Games on Friday and was lost to the fictional world of the story, until I finished today. This book had me hooked from the start. And now, unfortunately, I realized it is the first in a trilogy. The Borders website informed me the second book is due out in September. I guess that book release will be something to look forward to in the fall.

My Little American Idol

2009-03-12T20:01:00.000-07:00

If you look in the background of this picture, you can see that Ally is singing for Simon Cowell...

Wordless Wednesday with Logan

2009-03-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

My Makeover!

2009-03-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

About a month ago I won a blog makeover from McMommy. This makeover was done by Erin at DesignerBlogs. I love the new look, maybe it will inspire me to blog more :) I've never had a blog design done before this, but Erin does a wonderful job and works hard to design exactly what you want.

Thank you McMommy and Erin!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-03-04T20:35:00.000-08:00

Getting a 2 Year Old in the Car

2009-03-03T20:02:00.000-08:00

As you know Logan is my 3rd child...so I'm a seasoned veteran in the toddler parenting department, right? I don't think anybody can truly be a seasoned veteran when it comes to kids. Darn those kids...such individuals. Logan seems to be doing the terrible 2 thing more than my other kids did.
As my kids and I get ready in the morning, there is typically some type of issue. It is just never easy to get all 4 of us ready for the day and out of the house. Lately Logan has been the 1 causing the waves in our morning routine.
His new thing has been as we exit the house to load into the car, he stands in the doorway and says, Carry me! Logan has gotten to the size that I don't really carry him anymore. (He is only 2 pounds lighter than his 4 year old sister.)
Usually my morning is so rushed that I give in, lug him to the car and avoid the catastrophe. Well today I was not working (I got to go see Charlotte's Web with Jacob's class), so I was not in as much of a rush.
Therefore today was the day that Logan and I battled it out. I set him outside the door and closed up the house and headed to the car. Logan stood by the door crying and yelling. I encouraged him to follow. The stubborn boy stood by the door. I climbed into the car and started it. I was in the car along with my 2 oldest children. I was watching Logan and he was literally jumping up and down to emphasize his anger (I think the high schoolers walking to school may have been staring at us). I got out of the car and encouraged Logan to join us in the car. He responded with an emphatic, No!
This was going to be harder than I thought. I got back into the car. Jacob encouraged me to begin driving; he was convinced Logan would follow. I climbed back out, asking Logan to join us. And amazingly my stubborn 2 year old ran over to the car!
I love my Logan, even if he has turned into a stubborn 2 year old!

Concert with Jacob and Coloring with Ally

2009-03-01T21:08:00.000-08:00

A few week ago I won tickets to go and see the Brad Paisley concert in Portland, as well as hotel vouchers. I thought this would be a fun outing for Jacob and me. So Friday Jacob and I hit the road and headed to Portland to see the show.
Our hotel parking lot was a big hill and Jacob loved running down this hill. It is so hard to get a good picture of Jacob. I think this picture of him running is one of the best that I got during our time together...

After we checked in at our hotel and rested for a few minutes, we decided to head out. I knew we had a bit of a drive to get to the concert and I thought for sure we would find a restaurant on the way, as well as an ATM. Suddenly, much quicker than I expected, we were upon the Rose Garden and I did not have cash to park and Jacob was complaining that he was hungry.
I pulled into the parking area and said pathetically...Any chance I can pay to park with a debit card? I knew it was stupid. But the nice lady let me park near her booth and go up what felt like a very large staircase to an ATM. She acted like I would just see an ATM at the top. No such luck. Jacob and I wandered around for awhile and did finally stumble upon an ATM. We were then able to go back and park the car. I tried to emphasize to my hungry son that we were on an adventure.
We were able to eat once we were in the Rose Garden. We were both happy and excited to see the show. We found our seats and took some pictures...as I said before getting a decent picture of Jacob is near impossible...

It looks like I am torturing him in this picture...

The first performer was someone that I hadn't heard of, so the excitement level was not too high. At this point Jacob was looking tired. I don't understand this because there have been times when Jacob asked if he could stay up late during a weekend night to watch movies. I usually fall asleep before him on these nights. So then Dierks Bentley came out and I think Jacob would have fell asleep then, but there were quite a few screaming girls behind us. A couple very loud girls right behind us. Jacob gave them a number of looks that made me believe he thought they were crazy.
Then when Brad Paisley came out, Jacob was asleep within about 5 minutes. I guess running up and down the hill at the hotel wore him out. I considered leaving because Jacob was sleeping, but it was a very good show, so I sat and enjoyed it and Jacob slept (further proving my belief that he could sleep through the house falling down around him).
I think he had fun even though he missed the main event. And I know I had fun and was glad to have him along.

Ally was slightly jealous of this outing. So when I came home yesterday, I had my montly Stampin' Up workshop to attend and then it was Ally time. She knew she wanted to go out for smoothies. I told her we should do dinner first. Her first idea was McDonalds. I said not McDonalds. So then she said Burger King. I said how about Mexican food. She said no. We were stuck. She finally came up with Izzys. So off we went for the buffet at Izzys.
We then had to kill some time because we were full and we couldn't get smoothies right away. So we were wandering around the store and decided to get new coloring books, so we could go home and color pictures for each other. We went through the Dutch Brothers drive thru and got strawberry smoothies and headed home to color and watch American Idol.
Ally and I took pictures too. She has a better camera smile than Jacob does.

Silly Faces

Mad Faces

Just the 2 of us
(And my new hair-do; I love it Mom!)

I am lucky to get to have so much fun with my kids. I should have taken some pictures with Logan too. I will have to do that soon. Each of my kids have such fun personalities!

Thankful Thursday

2009-02-19T21:01:00.001-08:00

I have been working to try to appreciate the things that I have. Sometimes I spend too much time dwelling on what is wrong, rather than all the things in my life that are right. Here are some of the things that I am thankful for:

Logan is learning to talk and really becoming a little man. This means I am even thankful when he constantly tells me no and even throws himself on the floor.
Ally is always so full of emotion. This means that I am even thankful when she cries for 20 minutes and says that she can't stop.
Jacob is working hard to improve his schoolwork, even on reading, which isn't his favorite. This means I am even thankful when he doesn't want me to say I love you when I drop him off at school.
I love my warm blanket and Grey's Anatomy, so I am going to go watch my show!
But first, I have to say I'm thankful that each of my children says I love you to me so many times (even Jacob, just not in front of people at school).

Beaver in Training...

2009-02-10T19:48:00.000-08:00

This morning Ally chose orange and yellow hair ties for me to fix her up. I was quite proud; she looked pretty cute.
Suddenly Jacob walked up to me, somewhat accusingly, Why did you put a yellow hair thing on Ally? Why not, I asked him. Because that's a Duck (University of Oregon) color!

A Few Pictures of Our Evening...

2009-02-07T15:08:00.000-08:00

Ally was making brownies for us

I was chasing Logan with the camera

We all had to taste some brownie batter...

Now I've promised Jacob and Ally that we could play a game of Trouble after Logan goes to bed. So they have eagerly been telling me that their baby brother seems very tired

Too Much Sharing!

2009-02-04T21:02:00.000-08:00

My children are sharing the one thing every mom wishes they wouldnt...their germs. They have been passing the germs from one to another to another and then back again. Today I cried after I received the dreaded call that Ally had gotten sick.
The irony is none of my kids have gotten really bad sick. It's just a yucky stomach thing that won't go away. But today I left work 2 hours early and discovered Ally was not "acting" sick at all. It made me feel a twinge of irritation. I actually thought (for a second), if I am going to miss work these kids need to be really sick.
So for a second of my day, I was actually irritated that my daughter was not laying miserably ill, waiting for me to care for her. When I think about it, I cannot believe how ridiculous I can become.
In the grand scheme of things, this is such a tiny problem. Ally and Logan are going to spend the day with their dad tomorrow, so I don't even have to miss work.
I just have to think (and even write) it out, at times. Then I remember that I am so lucky to have the 3 kids I have, even when they are sharing too much!

The One With My 25 Facts...

2009-01-30T13:52:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged by Lani to write 25 facts about myself. I am recovering from having some teeth pulled, so if anything doesn't make sense I blame it on the meds that I am taking. Here goes...

RULE: Once you've been tagged you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facs, habits or goals about you. At the end, choose some friends tag! You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you it's because I want to know more about you.

1. I love to read blogs. I am somewhat obsessive about checking blogs. I am also often disappointed when I check in and no one has written anything. (So you would think that would make me better at updating mine...but nope.)
2. I really like to watch sports. But unfortunately I am lacking when it comes to athletic ability.
3. I wish I was a good housekeeper. I want my house to be clean, but toys frequently end up taking over.
4. When I was in elementary school, I wished my birthday wasn't in the summer. I always wanted to have a birthday party at school. Now I'm glad that the sun is always shining on my birthday.
5. When I found out Jacob was a boy, it scared me. What did I know about boys? I was pretty excited to find out Ally was a girl. But then when we found out with Logan, I was hoping for a boy.
6. I'm very brave about getting haircuts. I figure it will always grow back. This is good because my mom went to beauty school when I was in high school and I was frequently her model.
7. I am lucky. I sign up for random contests and so that means sometimes I win. A couple of years ago, I won a barbeque from Channel 9 news. Last month I won a tank of gas from a local car lot. And now I am on the waiting list for a blog makeover that I have won from Designer Blogs.
8. I have dark hair and brown eyes. Somehow all 3 of my children have blonde hair and blue eyes.
9. I love to read. I have always thought I liked pretty much any genre except fantasy. Then I fell in love with Harry Potter; then I became obsessed with Twilight; so now I am considering reading more fantasy.
10. I cannot put eyedrops into my own eyes. If I see something coming at my eyes, I close them. Someone must pin me down and hold my eye open to get a drop into it.
11. There are certain grammar and spelling mistakes that drive me crazy. I am not perfect but I cringe when I hear double negatives or when someone types loose instead of lose. I also often feel the need to give lessons in their vs. there vs they're.
12. Forks scraping on teeths and plates are also cringe-worthy for me. People don't know they do it but they let their fork scrape on their teeth when they eat. And I would prefer that a person lick their plate than do the scrape, scrape, scrape bit.
13. I am sure I have seen every Friends episode numerous times, but I still laugh when I watch the show. I often relate things in real life back to the show..."This reminds me of the episode of Friends where..."
14. I could never be a stay at home mom. I love my kids and sometimes I wish I had a more flexible schedule to spend time with them, but if I didn't get out of the house to go to work, I would go crazy.
15. I love diet pop. I have tried to give it up; I always hear how bad it is. I can't help it, I love it!
16. My tv is always on, even if no one is watching it. When Ally was little we were visiting someone's home and their tv was off. Ally pointed at the tv and said Uh-oh.
17. I hate the snow. It looks pretty, but it is way too cold. The Willamette Valley is great for me. I don't mind the rain, as long as it stays warm.
18. I thought math was easy, until I took Calculus.
19. Both the middle school and high school I attended have been torn down and replaced.
20. My family will never let me forget that I once said "I'm bored," while I was at Disney Land with my grandmother.
21. I have only been to beaches where it is cold. The Oregon Coast always makes me feel cold. I want to go to a beach where it is HOT.
22. I regularly check CraigsList but I have never purchased anything from anyone on the site.
23. I worry a lot. I have a tendency to come up with the worst possible scenario. I am working on controlling this. I know the bad things happen when you least expect it. But for some reason that doesn't stop me.
24. I need my sleep at night but I always wake up early. I was lucky my babies were good sleepers because I do not function well in the middle of the night.
25. I am working on writing on my blog more often. I love to write and this is such a great chance for me!

I tag anyone who reads this and hasn't ever done it. It was hard for me to come up with these 25 things, but it was also fun.

Happy Birthday GG!

2009-01-27T16:38:00.000-08:00

Growing Up is Hard to Do!

2009-01-26T21:25:00.001-08:00

Tonight the kids and I didn't head home until a little late. So we went through the McDonalds drive thru. I allow Jacob a small pop when we go out to eat, so I ordered this for him. Ally then asked, When I grow up, can I have pop?

Of course Ally, when you grow up you can drink pop. Suddenly Ally's dramatic side kicked in. But Mom when I grow up, will I live with you? No Ally, when you grow up you will move out on your own.

The worry was evident in Ally's voice, But what if I can't find a house? I guess if you can't find a house, you can still live with me. But I think you'll be able to find one.

At this point Jacob interjected telling her it would be easy. He explained, You just have to look for the ones that are Free Sale, because people aren't living in them. I admit it, I didn't even try to explain real estate at this point. I just let Jacob be the real estate expert; I think Ally needed his reassurance.

We arrived home and were unloading from the car. I realize at this point Ally is almost in tears. What happened Ally? Mommy, I'm going to miss you. In the 2 minute drive home, I had honestly forgotten the conversation. What, you miss me? I will miss you when I have to leave. Oh sweet Ally, it will be a long time so please don't worry about it right now.

This seemed to be enough to help her for most of the evening, but I know the thoughts were still in her head. Because not too long before bed Ally was just about crying again. Holding her foot in the air she said, When I grow up, none of my shoes will fit.

Logan's Birthday

2009-01-19T21:02:00.000-08:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

We went with Grandma and Grandpa Kirt to Chuck E Cheese's to celebrate Logan's birthday. What a very fun day for all of us! Logan got a lot of clothes for his birthday. He is growing like crazy and needed them! Grandma got him a cool pair of Sketchers tennis shoes. He also received Thomas the Train toys and a car.
GG and Grandpa Richard seem to know Logan best. They sent a fish tank lamp. Logan has fell in love with his fishies! This morning we even had to take the fish lamp to the babysitter with him.

On the subject of GG and Grandpa Richard, I just wanted to mention that our thoughts are with Grandpa Richard. He has spent a couple of days in the hospital and we are thinking of him. Grandpa Richard...you are in our prayers. We know you're feeling good but get well soon. The kids can't wait until you come back to play with them this summer! Love you!

Dear Logan...

2009-01-17T19:52:00.000-08:00

It feels like you have gone from infant to toddler in a blink of my eye. But it also feels like you have always been a part of my life; I cannot remember or imagine my life without you in it.
In your 2 years you have shown me that there is always a reason to smile. The day you were born, you left in an ambulance to be taken care of at a bigger hospital. At that time, I felt like our world was falling apart. But I learned from you, right at the beginning ,that just because life doesn't take the turns we expect, does not mean things are falling apart. You and I spent your first 2 weeks in Eugene, and looking back, I am thankful for that time and experience.
A year ago you were still a baby. You were learning to walk, but you still really needed me. Now you are so grown up. You try to do anything and everything that you see your brother and sister doing. This year you have learned to love books. I think you may end up as much of a book lover as me. Your favorite right now is a big book full of pictures and you point and identify so many things. You have also fell in love with Dora this year. It is so fun for me to get to watch you and your sister talking to Dora on the TV.
You are an amazing boy. You are so happy and you make those around you happy with such ease. I wish that you could stay my little guy forever, but I also can't wait to see you grow.
I love you Logan and I am so thankful to have you as my baby boy!
Love, Mommy

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Disaster Cake, Nice Haircut

2009-01-17T17:37:00.000-08:00

I tried to make a cute cake for Logan's birthday tomorrow. Oh what a disaster. It looks like it was made by a 2 year old...not for a 2 year old. Oh well, it will at least taste good (I think).Luckily Grandma did a better job on Logan's haircut than I did on Logan's cake. He sits so well for haircuts. This was the first time Grandma used the clippers. What a big boy!

Whose Pajamas Are These?

2009-01-10T20:30:00.000-08:00

My little Logan is growing so fast and is not so little anymore. And my Ally is so tiny that she has clothes that are meant for a 2 year old.
The other night I couldn't find any clean blanket sleepers for Logan. My house is a little chilly at night so I like to make sure Logan has warm pajamas. So I had the idea that with all the sleepers that are in Ally's drawers, there must be atleast 1 that is gender neutral. (Most of the things in Ally's drawers and closets are very pink, purple, flowery or girly)
I finally found a mint green sleeper. Definitely something a boy could wear. (I guess technically he could have wore any of them)
I called Logan to change him into pajamas and he looked confused. He pointed at the sleeper and said, Mine? And then he thought and said, Ally's? I just reassured him that it was okay and changed him.
I really thought that he would be completely oblivious to which pajamas he was wearing. But he had to show me he's smarter than I think.

But I don't have any tonsils...

2009-01-10T10:54:00.000-08:00

Last weekend my kids were in need of a snack, so I gave each of my 3 children a bowl of pretzels. Ally looked at me and said, But Mom I don't have any tonsils. I tried to explain that she has healed from the surgery and now it's okay to eat pretzels. She looked puzzled, began eating her pretzels and said, I still don't have any tonsils.
So a bit of advice...Don't tell your child that they cannot have pretzels after they have their tonsils out. I should have known to explain, more specifically, that she could not have pretzels for a certain amount of time after the tonsils came out.

You Are My Sunshine!

2009-01-07T20:47:00.000-08:00

The Tears and Drama of a Little Girl

2009-01-04T20:49:00.000-08:00

Okay...I know Ally is so much healthier since she has recovered from her surgery...but my goodness being healthy has brought out the drama queen that was hiding inside of Ally.
Let's start with Friday morning...I had to work 1 day and then the weekend. That seems pretty easy...but not for Ally. She has never been fond of waking up in the morning and Friday she woke up crying. She cried and she cried. I asked her what she needed...nothing. She said she was trying to stop but she couldn't. And I will admit it, occasionally I got fed up and said, Stop it! So when we got to the babysitter's house, Angie asked her why she was crying. And Ally responded because Mommy yelled at me. Oh my poor, little Ally.
Fast forward to today...Ally and Logan have been doing a great deal of playing together. I love to see this, however Logan is so calm, he has no idea the stress he causes for our drama queen.
Ally and Logan were going to have a tea party this morning. Jacob and I sat in the living room and we could hear Ally screech, It is not time for the party yet! This screeching went on and on. I think I even saw Jacob roll his eyes. Finally Ally came to me in tears. Mommy, Logan will not let me set up the tea party; I'm not ready for the party to start yet! So I held Logan (against his will) while Ally got everything set up perfectly for their party.
This evening I had bathed all my children and I was getting ready to take my own shower. I heard a small amount of hub-bub downstairs, but definitely nothing too exciting. And I heard Jacob say, Just let him have it. Then as I'm about to get in the shower, Ally comes in, again in tears, Mommy, I had something first and Logan wanted it, so I gave it to him! I responded, that was very nice of you...What was it? (Still in tears) The thing I had first! Okay, I said, how nice but what was it? (Crying continues) I don't remember. It must have been something very important to her.
Oh my Ally! I love you even with all the tears and drama!

Out of the Mouth of Ally...

2009-01-03T21:06:00.000-08:00

We had spaghetti for dinner tonight. When Logan was done I took his shirt off, wishing I would have been smarter and taken it off before the meal. It irritated Logan that he didn't have a shirt on, so I told him to take his pants off and I would put his pajamas on.
Ally then announced that if Logan took off his pants, she would not play with him. "I don't play with boys who aren't wearing pants!"
Someday you'll be pretty embarassed when I remind you of what you said.

Christmas 2008

2009-01-01T20:29:00.000-08:00

Well...I didn't take many pictures during our Christmas holiday and this pretty much sums up why...

Poor Ally was miserable. She would make the effort to open a present and then she would just lay there and look at it. I couldn't even get her to smile. She recovered about 2 days after Christmas and was able to enjoy her many, many presents over the weekend.
But my boys did have a blast on Christmas...

We are lucky to have so much wonderful family who make for such a festive, great holiday. And though Ally was a bit down, she can breathe well now and as I said she is enjoying everything she received.

Individuals

2008-12-24T23:28:00.000-08:00

Numerous reasons led me to schedule Ally's surgery a few days before Christmas. One of the most influential was my memories of Jacob after he had the same surgery at around the same age. He bounced back quickly. Obviously it took a while for him to be himself 100 percent, however I have no memories of misery.
Unfortunately I forgot a single important fact...Ally is not Jacob and Jacob is not Ally. Her recovery has been completely different.
This morning my Ally was miserable. She couldn't keep anything down and she was just so unresponsive. I was getting upset...the last thing I wanted was to have my daughter be so sad on Christmas Eve.
I will say that she really improved through the day. After I put her to bed tonight, she came back out to ask for a vitamin. (I was happy to hear her thinking about something so simple).
I really hope she will wake up refreshed and enjoy Christmas morning. But this has definitely been a good reminder for me about treating my kids as individuals. I cannot base the decisions I make upon what would work for the other kids. Each of my kids has individual, different needs.
Merry Christmas to everyone!

Recovering

2008-12-23T06:47:00.000-08:00

Ally's surgery went well yesterday morning. She was the first patient of the day so we arrived at 6:30 and she was wheeled back to the OR around 7:30. Around 8:30, Dr. Benton came out and said all went well. He did tell me that her tonsils and adenoids were huge and we should see a "night and day" difference. I am excited to see the difference. Ally and I were headed home by 9:30. It's pretty amazing to think this is a surgery for which they used to need people to stay the night in the hospital, and now Ally was able to head home in around 3 hours.
Yesterday Ally was not herself. She was given a lot of medications during the surgery and I think she spent most of the day allowing them to wear off. I had expected her to complain about pain but instead she was pretty calm and wouldn't really try to communicate.
I was finally able to get her to eat some bites of a milkshake for dinner, but I could tell she wasn't really up for it yet. After I put Logan to bed last night, I fixed hot cocoa for Jacob and me. When I saw that Ally was awake, I squatted in front of her and asked if I could get her anything. She looked at me and pointed, and simply said "Cheese." I almost busted up laughing. But I worked hard to hold it in. I told her she couldn't have cheese. I offered pudding, yogurt or popsicles. But all she would say was cheese. I couldn't help but laugh.
Ally was up for a short time during the night and I think she seemed more like Ally. So here's hoping today is a good day for her.

The Snow Grinch

2008-12-20T08:31:00.000-08:00

Spending most of my life in the Willamette Valley, snow is not a major part of my life. I have to admit this does not bother me at all. I lived in Ohio for 1 winter and that was 1 winter too many. I don't like the snow. It's too cold and it makes my life more difficult. This is not a popular attitude. It kind of makes me the grinch. Most people around me squeal with delight when they see the white flakes falling. I try my hardest to keep my bad snow attitude to myself.
But this week it was too hard. Last Sunday the snow began falling and I bundled up my kids to go play in it. My thoughts were better on the weekend when I don't have to be at work. However the snow didn't stop. This is really odd for this area. Our snow usually lasts for a day or two. Monday morning the valley was what most would refer to as a Winter Wonderland. For me, it felt like a giant nuisance.
A lot of people just didn't come to work, but for me I just left an hour early for work. Yuck! This week it was like the snow was never going to go away. Jacob only had school on Thursday this week and now he's on vacation. Lucky kids! But I bet they won't feel lucky when they are making up the missed days later.
But now I'm on vacation too! I took next week off for Ally's surgery. I feel bad for what she has to go through, but I am excited to not have to worry about work for a whole week. It seems like a long time since I have taken time off around the holidays.
So I guess that is enough rambling. I looked outside this morning and I see melting snow. It makes my heart rejoice to see this (I really am a Grinch about this). They are predicting another storm today but I am happy to say it is 34 degrees now.
The kids and I are going to spend time this weekend baking and getting ready for the holiday. Hope everyone else has a great weekend. And I apologize for my unpopular attitude toward the snow.

Early Christmas Surprise

2008-12-18T19:51:00.000-08:00

Today I called my grandmother to tell her that my mom had received a package from her. My grandmother's reponse was, that's not possible, I just mailed it. After awhile Grandmother called me back and remembered that she had ordered Oregon State t-shirts for my mom and her husband and that was what the package was. She said she knew the shirts didn't come wrapped and so she didn't care that they would see them right away. Fun idea, I thought. We always love more Beaver apparel in these parts.
This evening when I got home, there was a UPS note. I somewhat expected this as Grandmother told me she had sent some packages to us. There was also a small package between the door and the screen. This looked like it had clothing in it and I assumed it was some pajamas that I have ordered for the kids, so I put it aside, so they wouldn't notice.
Fast forward to after the kids are in bed, so I decided to check on the pajamas and make sure I got everything that I ordered. My first thought when I opened it was that there was not enough there. I was trying to figure out which children I had actually received pajamas for, when I realized these weren't pajamas. It was Beaver shirts for me and Jacob. What a fun surprise!

Decorating the Tree...

2008-12-13T21:18:00.000-08:00

So Excited to Decorate the Tree

Logan Distracted by Toy Trains

My Very First Christmas Ball

Posing for Pictures

Our first kiss picture attempt...

2nd Attempt = Success

Mean Mommy...

2008-12-10T19:54:00.000-08:00

I feel slightly mean. Today I met with the doctor and scheduled Ally to have her tonsils and adenoids removed on December 22nd. Yup...you read it right...3 days before Christmas.
I hope it will be a good present for her. I hope it goes as well as it did for her big brother when he had it done 2 years ago. And then I hope she will be able to breathe again.
This means that I get a week off for Christmas to take care of my little patient. Between insurance and being able to actually get time off from work, Christmas week was the perfect choice for us.
Ally's ready and likes seeing the doctor. Again...here's hoping that all goes smooth and maybe Ally will get to have ice cream and pudding for Christmas dinner.

All I Want for Christmas is My 2 Front Teeth...

2008-12-08T19:54:00.000-08:00

Crazy Mommy

2008-12-07T20:18:00.000-08:00

I truly believe being a mom has taken away some of my IQ points.
Today I was ready to begin washing bedding from all around my house. I emptied the dryer, because it is inevitable that there is always something in my washer. I open the washer to see a diaper on top. I was pretty impressed with Pampers, as this diaper had absorbed a lot of water. I picked it up and threw it away. Then I began taking clothes out, questioning how a diaper ended up in the washer, when I discovered the other diaper. This one had not done as well as the other. The insides of it were all over our clothes. If you have never seen what comes out of a diaper when it explodes, it is interesting. A lot of little crystally, foamy things come out. Not so interesting when they are all over your clothes and coming out of your washing machine.
My irritation level at this point was really high. I had tons of bedding sitting on the floor in front of my washer and now I had to clean all this up and re-wash the load of clothes that were in there. My head was searching for a way to blame one of my children for this, because surely I wouldn't have thrown diapers into my washing machine. Unfortunately, as I looked at the clothes, I remembered throwing the contents of a backpack into the washer. Of course, there were diapers in the backpack too.
Fast forward to bedtime. The kids and I are hunting for a book that we had just sat and read together. After looking downstairs and then upstairs, we were about to go back downstairs, when I find the book on the bookshelf.
I said you kids make me crazy. To which Ally responded, I love making you crazy!

Long Week...

2008-12-06T17:09:00.000-08:00

For those people out there who read my blog, I am sorry for my lack of posting. This week just felt crazy. Work was busy and the kids managed to keep my evenings busy.
We did attend the local Christmas tree lighting. Santa rode in on a fire truck and passed out candy to all the kids. It was a fun evening. Logan just stared at Santa with wide eyes. I can't wait to take him to sit on Santa's lap. Jacob has been pushing me to get ready for Christmas. So this weekend we are pulling everything out and starting to decorate.
We have driven through the light display at the Pepsi company. My kids are at such fun ages for the holidays. Logan is beginning to talk non-stop. There aren't full sentences, but I usually understand what he is saying. When I drive, Logan spends the entire time pointing at the Christmas lights that he sees. And he says, Mama, I see, I see.
In other news, Jacob lost a tooth yesterday. This was the first one he has lost on top. This makes it much more visible than the others he has lost. I will get some pictures of him and post them soon.
I also hope to do some Christmas decorating and post some pics of how much the kids are loving this season. It always amazes me how fast time goes. Another week down...

The Joy of Reading

2008-12-01T21:06:00.000-08:00

I have always loved reading. Within the past year, I have found that helping Jacob learn to read has brought me so much happiness. It is so wonderful to share the things that you love with your children. When I spoke with Jacob's teacher earlier in the year, I was full of questions about helping him with his reading. She explained that most kids really seem to catch on to reading around the holidays and she said to just keep working and being patient.
Tonight Jacob and I sat down with his assigned reading book and he just seems to have come so far. He went through so confidently. So then for a bedtime story, we chose one of Logan's books...

I decided this book probablly had a lot of words that Jacob knew, so he read the majority for me. It's so exciting to be able to have him pick up a book off the shelf and recognize over half the words within. Obviously friendly was a challenging word, but it doesn't phase him as long as we take our time and I am there to help. However the word fish was actually more of a challenge. First he said fishies, which didn't really bother me, but I did read the title back by saying 10 Friendly Fish. He responded with where is the "s," indicating the word fish. I explained there is no such word as fishes. But why, Jacob asked. I responded that it is like the word deer; there would be 10 deer, not 10 deeres. But why, Jacob asked. Um...just because. God bless the English language and all of the question that must be answered, just because.
I have spent time studying language, and I know our language makes very litte sense. Lucky for my kids, I love the language and I am a grammar freak and I will constantly tell them the rules. No matter how annoying I am or how many times I have to say, just because. :)
Well, speaking of reading...I have moved from the Twilight series to Stephanie Meyers' "grown up" book, The Host. And I am loving it. She does an awesome job of developing characters. So I am off to spend some time reading, before I go to sleep.

Our Quiet Weekend

2008-11-30T19:26:00.000-08:00

My life has been somewhat out of sorts for the past week. I ended up on jury duty for 2 days last week. Combine this with the Thanksgiving holiday and I only worked 1 day last week. Tomorrow, it should be interesting to go back to the chaos of my regular work week.
We had a fun Thanksgiving at Grandma's house. I made the pies and my mom and her husband took care of the rest. My kids are fairly good eaters, so holiday meals have never really been much of an obstacle. However, in the past year or so, Jacob has developed ideas of what he cannot eat. He promptly informed me that he is "kind of" allergic to pie, so he would not be able to eat any. Whenever I asked how he knew he was allergic to pie, he responded that he was "kind of" allergic. I still haven't figured out the difference, but it just left more pie for everyone else.
Jacob also ran into problems with the green beans. These green beans were not even normal green beans; they were cooked with bacon and brown sugar. I tried to tell him that they tasted more like candy than vegetables. I told him he had to take 1 bite of them. His response did not surprise me; he has done it before when he decided that he is not going to eat something. He began to gag himself. He was determined to make himself throw up (which I might add, he can do). This is a Jacob habit that really gets to me. Of course it was somewhat comical, so grandma, grandpa and myself were stifling the laughs that come when a 6 year old is trying to make himself throw up. I became determined and told him to just swallow it and it would be out of his mouth. He continued the drama. I think grandma didn't want to experience the puke, so I hear her say, spit it on your plate. To which I responded, no, swallow it. Repeatedly over his forced gagging, I told him to swallow. My mom finally gave in and said, your mom said you have to swallow, so you have to.
And guess what, he swallowed. And he didn't throw up. The green bean did not make him ill. His head was making him ill.
This is a huge frustration of mine with Jacob. But unfortunately it can be quite comical as well. But I did have 1 small victory when he swallowed the green bean.

Disclaimer: Please don't think I am force feeding my children. I don't make them eat what they don't like. I am just trying to make Jacob see that he needs to taste it before he decides.

The other big event of our weekend was the Beaver game. I have pondered how to write about the disappointment of thinking our team was headed to the Rose Bowl, but I haven't decided the best way to convey what I think. I will just say I was truly disappointed yesterday. But instead of thinking about how ugly that game yesterday was, I should be thinking about how great the season has been.

Our Thanksgiving Meal

2008-11-24T20:50:00.000-08:00

I was telling Jacob that this Thursday is Thanksgiving and we would get to eat a lot of good food. I began listing the things...

Me: We will have turkey

Jacob: But we don't have turkey.

Me: Well we are going to eat at grandma's house, and they will go to the store and get a turkey.

Jacob: So, we're not going to shoot the turkey?

Me: Nope, we buy it at the grocery store.

Jacob: Oh, they already shooted it for us.

Pictures from Ally's Birthday

2008-11-23T21:01:00.001-08:00

Me and Ally loving on each other

Opening presents

"It's just what I wanted."

Homemade Dora Cake

Blowing out the candles (Can you see the spit?)

Twilight: The Movie

2008-11-22T08:12:00.000-08:00

I think last night was the first time I actually waited in a line to get into a full theater and watch a movie. Luckily my mom and I got there early and we were pretty close to the front, because by the time they let us into the theater, this was the line and it was going all the way outside.

But after the long wait we were able to meet the Cullen family on the big screen...
So, was it worth it? Obviously, it wasn't the same as the book. Things had to be changed and hurried along more than in the book. It seems quite obvious that everyone had their own pictures of the characters. But I really enjoyed seeing this view of all the happenings of Twilight. And I have to admit, I fell a little more in love with Edward.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-19T20:38:00.000-08:00

I love this picture of Logan but I hope you don't mind the snot under his nose. Between colds and teething, the poor boy always has a runny nose.

Dear Ally...

2008-11-16T19:54:00.000-08:00

Dear Ally,
It seems impossible that it has been 4 years since the first time we officially met. You entered this world in the same manner that you use to approach everything in life: fast and furious. You came 2 weeks early and when you decided you wanted to meet us, you wasted no time.
In the past year, I have watched you grow up in many ways. You have turned into an amazingly beautiful young girl. You observe the world and take in as much information as possible. You have learned numbers and letters from Jacob. You have learned Spanish from Dora. And you have learned to be a big sister from Logan.
Not only are you the single girl amongst your 2 brothers, but there are also mostly boys at daycare with you. You may be girly-girl, but those boys are never going to mess with you. I admire the way you assert yourself and we never have to worry about you being the forgotten middle child. I know you would never allow that.
Your confidence is amazing. You love to look at yourself in the mirror. Sometimes you are subtle and other times you're not, but if there is a mirror in the room, I see you gravitate to it. You know you are beautiful and you are proud of it.
You tell me when you grow up you would like to be a doctor. I'm sure if that is what you put your mind to, you will do it. But I have to tell you I love watching you sing and dance. I think that you will do some performing at some point.
I love you Ally! Happy 4th Birthday! Thank you for being a part of my world!
Love, Mommy

Dora, Dora and Backwards Fingers

2008-11-12T20:00:00.000-08:00

I haven't written much about Logan on here. He is just always so happy and doing the things that toddlers do. But I thought I would share with everyone his biggest obsession yet...Dora the Explorer. We have a lot of Dora toys around our house and he finds them and shows everyone "Dora, Dora." Angie, our babysitter, had told me that he will sit and just watch Dora for a long time. I had never really seen it until today. We were home early this afternoon and the kids asked to watch Dora, so I turned it on. Logan became frozen on the couch staring at his favorite explorer. Later this evening, I was watching a basketball game. When it went on commercial Logan came to me and said "Done." At first I didn't understand, but then he pointed at the tv and said "Done...Dora, Dora." I told hime we were not watching Dora which led to a bit of fit throwing. Well here's he is totally engulfed in his Dora, Dora...
I also had to share waht Ally showed me tonight. She came up and said I can make an O with my fingers. I wasn't paying close attention and I tried to mimic what she was doing and then I realized that what her fingers were doing would be quite painful for me. So I snapped a picture instead...

I Just Wanted to Take My Kids For Haircuts...

2008-11-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

This morning I noticed my children were in need of haircuts. Considering my mom works at SuperCuts, we take care of shaggy hair pretty regularly. So I called my mom this afternoon and asked how busy the day had been. She said it had been pretty steady, but to bring the kids in tonight.
So after work I picked up the kids and we headed for SuperCuts. When we arrived there were a few people waiting in the lobby, but we were there, so I decided we would wait. We settled in for the wait. I try really hard to keep my kids calm in this little waiting area, so we don't annoy the other customers.
First the kids built with legos. Then they looked at books and magazines. At this point we were getting a bit restless. The 4 of us turned around on the bench to look out the window and we decided to play I Spy.
Ally had her turn, she spied our car. Then it was Jacob's turn. Before Jacob could spy anything, Logan was throwing up all over the windowsill and the bench. So I turn him to look at me and he throws up some more all over me. My natural mommy sense told me I had nothing else I could do but let it land on me. Better on me, then all over the SuperCuts lobby.
My mom and her co-worker realized at this point I needed help. They excused themselves from their customers and ran for towels. But it was too late; the damage was done. Not only were Logan and I both covered, but so was the back of the bench and the window.
My mom and her co-worker were super sweet helping me wipe things up, but this wasn't a little wipe up amount of puke. It was a pull out the bench and scrub and even vacuum kind of puke.
I told them to leave me towels and I would work on it.
I directed Ally and Jacob to another bench. They were instructed to continue I Spy and be good. And luckily a couple of young men decided to join in the I Spy game and did a great job entertaining my kids. Thank you boys, whoever you are.
I placed Logan on a step stool and told him to sit. He did not act sick at all. He was ready to keep playing. I scrubbed and vacuumed and cleaned up as well as I could. And I really hope that there is no lingering smell.
Logan and I hung out mostly in the car, while my older 2 kids played I Spy and got their haircuts. After all was done, Logan was acting fine and we still needed to eat. So I went through the Burger King drive thru and got Macaroni and Cheese for the kids. I figured the pasta would be okay for Logan's tummy. When we got home I got the kids all set with their food and went to start some laundry. About a minute later Jacob and Ally were shouting at me that Logan was throwing up again.
After this Logan's food was thrown away, he got his pajamas on and I took him to bed. I really hope a good night sleep will help his yucky tummy. I think I am going to go cut myself a piece of pumpkin cheesecake and try to relax.

A Few Things That I am Looking Forward To...

2008-11-09T21:30:00.001-08:00

1. Next Saturday Jacob and I get to go to another Beaver game. They are playing against Cal and Oregon State finally got into the Top 25 this week. Our seats are right next to my friend from work, so it should be a good time!

2. Ally's 4th birthday is a week from tomorrow. Here's a picture from her birthday last year.

3. The movie Twilight premieres Friday, November 21st. I just finished the last book in the series and I already miss Edward and Bella.

4. After that comes Thanksgiving and the holiday season. As stressful as the holidays can be, there is still a part of me that is really excited for it to come.

Oklahoma

2008-11-08T22:41:00.001-08:00

Tonight Jacob, Ally, GG and I went and watched the local high school perform the play Oklahoma. I had never seen the play or the movie, but I knew it was one of GG's favorites. And I always love going to watch a play. I have to say it was very cute. It is really fun to see how hard the high schoolers work on such a big project. I'm now inspired to rent the movie. I thought the kids would really enjoy it; I especially expected Ally to have fun watching the singing and dancing. Unfortunately this is how Ally looked by the intermission...

Next time we need a long nap before we do this, because she really seemed to love what she saw.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-05T20:31:00.000-08:00

This was our family a year ago. It's amazing how fast my kids are growing!!

This is how I get to watch Desperate Housewives tonight...

2008-11-02T19:26:00.000-08:00

Thank you Grandma for the early Christmas present!!!

Busy Halloween

2008-11-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

Our Halloween was a busy one, but what a great time we had. Ally, Logan and I watched the kids in Jacob's school parading in their costumes in the morning. In the afternoon we had Jacob's school party, a party at daycare, a party at Jacob's Tae Kwon Do school, dinner, trick or treating, and then a party with Grandma and GG at the Elk's Lodge. At the Elks Jacob was pretty proud to take 1st place in the dancing contest, while our Ally took 3rd. And Logan won the costume contest!

All our daycare friends!

Jacob...The Clone Trooper

Ally...The beautiful, princess mermaid

Logan...Darth Vader

Doing crafts!

Hope everyone else had a fun Halloween!

Sleeping and Floating

2008-10-26T21:01:00.000-07:00

When I went to Jacob's conference a couple of weeks ago, Jacob's teacher gave me a questionairre to fill out with Jacob. She explained they will use this information about Jacob in a project they will be doing. So today when I was cleaning, I found the form and decided we better get it done. Little did I know how funny the experience would be. Here are a couple of the questions and Jacob's responses.
Me: What do you like to do after school?
Jacob: Sleep.
Me: What about tae kwon do or swimming?
Jacob: Nope, I like to sleep.
Me: Fine....(writing down sleeping)...what about playing with your brother and sister.
Jacob: Sure, put that down.

Me: What do you like about yourself.
Jacob: (thinking)...I don't know.
Me: That's a hard question, we will come back to it. (Starts to move on to the next question)
Jacob: Wait, I know. I like how I sleep.
Me: What?
Jacob: I like that I sleep to have lots of energy.
Me: So you like the energy that you have?
Jacob: No, I like the way I sleep.
Me: Fine. (Writes down I like how I sleep to get lots of energy.)

Me: What are you going to be when you grow up?
Ally: I'm going to be a doctor.
Jacob: I am just gonna be a guy...(thinking)...who floats around...in the water...A FLOATER.
Me: (puzzled expression)
Jacob: Oh...a sailor!

I then called my mom to inform her of Jacob's love for sleeping and how well he thinks he does it. And to let her know he has decided on the career path that he had entitled floating. He kept covering my mouth and we laughed so hard. I love, love, love my kids!

Nicest Kids in Oregon

2008-10-24T19:25:00.001-07:00

This morning my kids were eating cereal while I was getting ready for work. I heard them each sharing and making sure everyone was happy. I told my kids that I was proud of them for being such nice kids; I even said the nicest kids. Jacob then declared, "We are the nicest kids in Oregon. There are kids as nice as us in other places."

What...A Worm...Where?

2008-10-20T20:12:00.000-07:00

Oh the confusion when children wake up during the night. I will admit I am not good at waking up in the middle of the night, but the antics of my children can make it harder...or maybe just more confusing.
Last night, around 3:30 am, I awoke to a wet Ally. She does not wet the bed often, so I did not find it a huge deal. Let's get cleaned up.
A little while later (who can keep track of time when you have been awoken from a deep sleep), Ally's pajamas are changed. As well, Ally's bed, which she had been sharing with Jacob, was cleaned up and changed. Jacob is a heavy enough sleeper that the whole process pretty much didn't even disturb him.
So Ally looks at me and explains that she wants to go sleep in Jacob's bed. No problems with that; they pretty much go back and forth between the 2 beds. I'm fine as long as they are in 1 of the beds. So off she goes up to Jacob's bed.
At this point, I'm awake. And I realized I missed the end of Brothers and Sisters when I fell asleep. So I decided to cuddle up on the couch and watch the end of my show.
As I was on the couch, I hear Ally come out of Jacob's room yelling hysterically. Thinking back, maybe I should have jumped up and gone to my hysterical child. But I know my daughter and she is a bit of a drama queen. So I kept asking her what was wrong, but I didn't get off the couch. She stood on the stairs. You must know when Ally cries hysterically it is really difficult to understand her. Plus when she is saying things that don't make sense, it makes it all the more difficult. I really think we went back and forth about 20 times.
Me: What is it Ally?
Ally: Aaaah...woom....curtain.
Me: What about the curtain?
Ally: ...Voom...curtain.
Me: A warm curtain?
Ally: I saw a worm on Jacob's curtain!
A worm on the curtain? What is my daughter talking about? I finally put enough together (Give me credit...it was the middle of the night!) to have Ally lead me to Jacob's room and show me what she saw.
We walk into Jacob's room and she points at the window. I see nothing but Logan awake in his crib. He looked up at me and I sternly told him it was not time to get up. He dropped his head and pretended to be asleep.
Ally, in the mean time, could not find the worm that she had seen. So I suggested that she go back to her bed with Jacob and she agreed.
Back down the stairs we went. She went in her room to get into bed and I sat down to finish my television show.
A minute later Ally is crying again. What is the problem now? She comes out crying and explains there is no room on her bed. Apparently during her adventure with the worm Jacob had taken over her bed.
At this point, I give up. I tell her to get a blanket and lay down on the couch. Ally and I spent the final couple hours of our night on the couch.
Prior to kids I don't think I could have ever imagined that I would ever be looking for worms at 4 am. But now it's not so unbelievable.

How We Spent Our Saturday...

2008-10-12T20:49:00.000-07:00

Jacob and I went to his first live football game. Go Beavs!

Ally and Logan went with GG and played their little hearts out. What a fun, indoor playground!

We are so lucky to get have so much fun!

Orange Belt

2008-10-09T21:11:00.000-07:00

Jacob did it. He was tested today at Tae Kwon Do and he advanced from the white belt to the orange belt. I am a very proud mommy!

2 Days Until School Pictures...

2008-10-06T21:26:00.000-07:00

And I recieve a phone call from the school secretary informing me that Jacob had a fall today and has a big bump on his head. He seems fine and he's back in class, but just wanted to warn you about the knot on his head.

Jacob had a pretty dramatic story about another boy pushing him down. But the teacher didn't see it, so no one got into trouble. He says he hit his head on the floor. I still don't understand how he didn't catch himself with his hands.
Of course, I'm just happy there was not serious injuries.

Sparing the Spider

2008-09-28T19:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made sure to get all my kids into bed by about 7:30. All 3 are sleeping in the same room (because Ally doesn't like sleeping by herself), so I always know it will take a little bit of time for them to settle down. I know I want to be watching the Amazing Race premiere at 8, so I aimed early this evening.
So after I thought they were all settled in, I came downstairs and was putting clothes into the dryer. I automatically heard Jacob coming down the stairs. Already, I think to myself. I yell out the door to find out what Jacob is doing. He explains that he has something to show me.
I come out of the laundry room and there stands my oldest son holding a dress up, plastic, yellow helmet. This frustrates me a little.
What is it, I ask. A spider, he replies. My heart jumps into my throat. I am not terribly fond of spiders, but I typically am not hesitant to smash a spider. Yes I murder spiders and do not feel even a little bit guilty. But tonight my oldest son was standing in front of me calmly holding a decent sized spider in this hat. I was frozen; I wasn't sure how to respond. Would it upset Jacob to see me smash this spider?
So, I asked him what I should do. He said, I don't know, what do you do with spiders? I explained to him that I kill them. He said okay, just like that this was not bothering him at all. And here I am in this emotional turmoil over smashing a spider. So then a thought hits me. Do you want to put him outside, Jacob? So he turns and opens the front door and we put him in the yard.
This was such a bizarre sequence of events for me. I have never hesitated to kill a spider, but the fact that my son was so calm about this gross little creature made me question myself.
Okay...gotta go...The Amazing Race is starting.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

2008-09-24T21:02:00.002-07:00

Last Sunday we spent the afternoon at Discovery Village!

My Reminder

2008-09-23T19:06:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been frustrated with my oldest son. I love him dearly but we just seem to butt heads over everything. It seems like he would argue with me even if I simply stated that the sky is blue.
But this afternoon Jacob reminded me of how much I love him. I have heard all week about the book fair that is at school. I have told him to wait until I have to go to Open House on Thursday and we will talk about possible purchases.
When I went through Jacob's backpack today I found a brand new board book (pictured above). Jacob explained that his teacher had given him a token to get something at the book fair, so he chose a book for his baby brother. He had to add that Logan should really work on learning his ABCs.
Thank you Jacob for reminding me that we need to think of others, even when there are probablly a million things that we want.

Not Me Monday

2008-09-22T20:11:00.001-07:00

Lately I have found myself addicted to a wonderful blog written by MckMama. Her family's story is inspiring and I would recommend everyone go check it out. Well, MckMama has this fun, new idea where we can all share those things that we "did not" do during the previous week. So I decided I want to play along.

I "did not" get excited when Grandmother called and asked if Ally could spend 2 days in Salem to keep her company while Grandpa was out of town. I wouldn't get excited to have 1 less child for a period of time.
I "did not" suggest that since Ally was away, Jacob and I could go shopping for junk food for Friday night. I "did not" then go home, put Logan to bed, turn on a movie for Jacob, eat some junk food and promptly fall asleep on the couch. That would not be a responsible mother.
I "did not" also buy a bottle of wine when we went junk food shopping.
I "did not" spill my first glass of wine into a paper tray which had held the sushi that I ate for dinner. That spill "did not" catapult soy sauce that had been in the tray so that I had soy sauce in my hair and on my feet.
I "did not" find soy sauce on the other side of the kitchen on Saturday morning.
And finally I "did not" spend a great deal of time thinking about what I "did not" do, and then worry about whether I know how to put a link within my blog post. And I "did not" hope that I would impress MckMama because I think she is a great writer.
And I "will not" spend the next week thinking about writing a better Not Me Monday post for next week.

We Missed You Sister!

2008-09-21T21:45:00.001-07:00

The One With the Missing Princess...

2008-09-18T22:11:00.001-07:00

Ally left us last night to spend 2 nights with Great Grandma. She was pretty excited to go keep Great Grandma company while Great Grandpa is out of town. So after our busy Thursday evening which includes Tae Kwon Do and swimming lessons, Great Grandma came and took Ally to Salem.
I have always enjoyed girly things and having a daughter as girly as Ally is such a delight. But these 2 boys are so special. They can always make me smile.
This morning Logan was the only one with the babysitter, so they headed to the store and stopped by work to visit me. What a way to brighten my day, looking up and seeing Logan's smiley little face just brings joy to my heart.
This evening the boys and I went grocery shopping and we got some junk food, so Jacob and I can stay up, eat junk, watch TV and play computer. Just have a fun lazy night.
I knew Jacob's class had planned to make applesauce today. So I asked him how the applesauce was. He informed me he didn't like the applesauce; he just likes the kind from the factory.
I love my special boys!!

But Shawn Wears Boots...

2008-09-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

I picked out a cute little pink outfit with capri pants for Ally this morning. I even got up early enough to fix her hair. Then I told her to find her shoes and she said, I want to wear my boots. My logical side simply replied, no, you do not wear boots with capris. This answer did not satisfy my daughter. She wanted to wear her boots. We went back and forth a couple of times and she explained Shawn always wears his boots to daycare. I went another logical route and explained I wasn't Shawn's mom. Then Ally was about to start crying and I suddenly asked myself, is this argument really worth it? Well you can see what I decided...

Maybe it flew somewhere...

2008-09-10T22:44:00.000-07:00

So I am still figuring out dropping off Ally and Logan at daycare and then taking Jacob to school. I have been leaving the car running while I take Ally and Logan into the babysitter's house because I thought Jacob would want to be able to listen to music. I thought that if I told him to stay in his seat, that would be enough. But honestly shouldn't I know better. So this morning when I dropped the younger two off, I peeked back out the door to see my oldest son sitting in the front seat. Lesson learned: he's not quite ready for that.
On to the actual story. As I came out of work at 5:00 today, I could see as I opened my car door that something was wrong. My Explorer has this little "anti-theft device," which has regularly been a pain in my butt. It is a little computer type chip on a plastic hook that slides into a spot right down by my knee under the dashboard. If this little device is removed, my car does not start. I have more than once thought that my car battery was dead, when in fact that "wonderful" little device has been knocked on the floor.
As I opened my car today though, I automatically observed this device was nowhere to be seen. Did someone steal this? What would be the use? Is someone laughing at me, as they have this in their pocket and watch me in my skirt looking all over my car floor and even in the parking lot for this stupid plastic device.
As my discouragement started to approach tears, a picture flashed through my mind. A picture of my oldest son sitting in my front seat earlier that day. I thought it through. The car was on when he was up there and I didn't shut it off until I arrived at work, so this would be the first time I noticed his hijinx from this morning.
I picked up my phone. What if the kid has it in his pocket? What type of money would it cost to replace this little thing because knowing my child this essential device could be anywhere. As soon as the babysitter answered the phone, I asked for Jacob. He got on the phone while I was still looking through my car.

Me: Jacob, did you take out my little thing that lets the car start?

Jacob: No.

Me: Do you know what I'm talking about?

Jacob: Yes.

Me: Where could it be?

Jacob: Maybe it fell.

Me: Where would it fall?

Jacob: (pause) Maybe it flew somewhere.

As I began to ask where it could have flew, I spotted it tucked very nicely into the handle that opens the console in the middle of my front seat (which is conveniently covered by my arm rest). I did have to talk to Jacob about honesty when I picked him up. But how can I not find it funny that his little mind was coming up with a story about this device flying. I am definitely still learning about 6 year olds.

First Day of First Grade

2008-09-08T21:21:00.000-07:00

Well Jacob has done it. He finished his first week of first grade. Jacob is in Mrs. Harvey's class and his best friend from last year, Cerri, is in his class. It is so hard to get Jacob to tell me about what happens when I'm not there. But everything he has said has been positive. And though it's hard to get the positives out of him, I am sure I would hear about it if he didn't like it. Here he is headed out the door on the first day...

When Jacob wasn't sure about starting first grade, I took him school shopping to get him excited. This lunch box is his favorite thing that he chose. He really wanted the old style plastic ones like I had when I was a kid. And he was a little against cartoon characters (He must be getting too old). We finally decided on the Speed Racer. I try to convince him to get hot lunch sometimes, but he loves taking his lunch. So we've compromised and he gets hot lunch once or twice a week.
We're still figuring out this schedule. But all seems to have gone pretty smoothly the first week. So here's to a great school year!

California Trip

2008-09-08T21:04:00.000-07:00

So I took a bunch of pics on our trip to California to visit my uncle and aunt and their kids (that are about Jacob and Ally's age). However I put my memory card in my computer and accidently deleted a bunch of the pictures :( I was pretty upset and still looking for ways to find them, but here are the couple that I have left.

Here is Ally and her cousin Brooke in princess dresses. Brooke has lots and lots of princess dresses and Ally was in heaven playing in Brooke's room.

Here is Logan in the pool. He loved the waterfalls down in the deep end, so we would take him down there to play. He also got quite good at climbing out on the stairs and jumping back into the pool, so someone always had to be ready for him.

Here's Ally in the pool. She has been working to get more comfortable in the water. She loved this little tube. By the end of our time there, she could kick all over the pool in her little tube, and she was even willing to put her head underwater.

As you can see, nothing left of Jacob, but he was there too. He had an absolute blast in the pool. One time he accidently lost his noodle that he was floating on in the deep end and Grandma had to go save him. But that didn't even get him out of the water. By the end of the weekend, he would go underwater and do a full flip and come back up.
The pool was Jacob's highlight of the time and the princess stuff was Ally's highlight. It was a great time for all of us to get to visit with family who we don't see often. It was a bit of a drive, but definitely well worth it.
We really appreciate that our family welcomed us into their home to visit and made sure we had such a great time. And we were also really glad to have Grandma and Great Grandma along with us. Thank you everyone!!

First Grade

2008-09-02T20:50:00.000-07:00

Okay, I haven't quit blogging. I was on vacation and took a vacation from my blog as well. But now I'm back to real life. Our vacation was a blast. We visited family in California and it was hot and we spent a great deal of time in the pool. I have pictures but I accidently deleted some, so I'm messing with my memory card trying to find them, but I will post them soon.
Today was Jacob's first day of first grade. It is hard to believe that he can be in school all day long. It was a very long day for me, thinking about if he was doing okay, making it through. But it appears all went well. Jacob never tells me too much about what happens. But I do know that one of his best friends from last year was there this morning, which I think probablly made the day easier. Well my pictures of Jacob from this morning are on the same memory card, so hopefully I will get them posted tomorrow.
Vacation is fun, but I always enjoy coming home!

Princess Bossy

2008-08-25T20:26:00.000-07:00

So Ally is not only believes she is the princess everywhere she goes, but also in charge of making sure everyone is doing what they should be doing. I love to listen to Jacob and Ally converse. Here is what I heard the other day as we loaded into the car:

Ally: Jacob, get in your seat and get buckled. (Pause) Good boy.

Jacob: Don't say good boy to me!

Ally: Ok, good man.

It is always fun to listen to their conversations! Logan is working on joining in. He is pointing and trying to talk about everything. It should get really interesting when it is all 3 of them.

Sunday Again...

2008-08-24T14:28:00.000-07:00

Well it's that dreaded day of the week when I just keep thinking the weekend is drawing to an end. But this weekend isn't so bad for me. This week is only 3 days for me because we are headed to California for 5 days to see family. We are really looking forward to some time away to play in the sun and have a fun end to our summer.
Today we are school supply shopping. I'm hoping to get Jacob a little excited for school. As soon as we get back from our trip, it's time to start school. I know he will do well. I just want to make sure he feels good about it.
As we go to California and school starts, I am going to work to take some pictures to post. I know they are so fun to see.
Hope everyone's weekend has been as fun as ours!

Happy Birthday to Me

2008-08-22T23:37:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to drop in and say that I had a wonderful 27th birthday. I am very lucky to have a wonderful bunch of friends and family. I always feel spoiled on my birthday, even now that I'm a grown up. I hope that I can always make sure my kids have a very special day as everyone does for me.
Highlights of the day include my mom got me the ipod nano for which I had asked. And my grandmother. She, herself, is a highlight. I am so lucky that she is selfless and wants to help me in so many ways. Her and her husband spent the day cleaning and organizing my house. I am truly blessed to have my grandmother and Richard always there willing to help me. It's hard to watch her work so hard to do things that I feel like I should be taking care of on my own. But I really appreciate that she is there and willing to help.
My special day reminded me how much I have to be thankful for, which I think is truly more important than anything else today. And I hope everyone else has the chance to be spoiled every once in a while. Everyone deserves it sometime.

Rain, Rain...Go Away

2008-08-20T21:44:00.000-07:00

What happened to summer? It's not enough that we are getting ready for school and Labor Day is approaching, but it is also raining! Yuck. This morning Jacob and Ally were adament that they needed jackets or sweatshirts with hoods. It was time to go and so I tried to explain that it is summertime and we don't have any hooded jackets out and handy to take. This irritated Ally and she explained to me that it was not summertime and told me to look outside. Point taken Ally...hooded jackets found.