The One With My 25 Facts...

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!

Growing Up is Hard to Do!

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

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...

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

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?

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...

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!

The Tears and Drama of a Little Girl

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...

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

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.