I Forgot About 3 Year Olds.... Again.

I am sitting here at the computer trying to get a document ready send to my office before I head off to work.

I hear Bea's toast pop-up from the toaster, so I finish my sentence, walk through my room to check on Jack, and when I get to the kitchen there is smoke billowing out of the microwave.

I open the door to quickly close it again. Way more smoke in the microwave.


When I ask her what she is cooking in there, she tells me "A bwownie.". Oh. I like warm brownies too.

I open the kitchen window, and turn on the ceiling fan. By this time both of us are coughing.

I brave the microwave again to pull out a smoking paper towel with nothing but brownie dust on it.

It is still smoking outside.

I Have Hope

I don't know about you all, but when these kids get home from school it is a mad house here.

It drives me crazy. I have no idea how to make it any different. There is just so much stuff to get done. Homework..dinner..dishes..laundry..cleaning..baths..bed. And if we have something to go to? OH MY.

But I have HOPE.

On Monday, Elle decided she wanted to make dinner.

She did a FABULOUS job of Vegetable Beef Soup.

Her Fabulous assistant ~ Bea!

She Loves Me..

Bea and Elle just went up to bed. In the few minutes before, I was snuggling Bea and telling her I loved her.

When I asked her who she loved, this is what she said:

"Mommy" and who else?

"Daddy" and who else?

"Sissy" and who else?

"Will" and who else?

"Matt and Kaffy"

I guess your'e out Terry.

Favorite Photo Subject 2

While Elle's favorite photo subject is Jack, Bea's favorite is definitely her feet...

It's a "Foot Photo Fetish"

Splish Splash He Was Takin' a Bath

Jack likes his bath so much it is fun for the rest of us just to watch him in it.

The other night I decided instead of his little blue baby bath, to lay him on his back in the tub.

As soon as I layed him down, he kicked and laughed. It was so cute I wanted to go get the camera and record, but I quickly remembered that you cannot leave a baby in the tub alone...phew!

Last night I took the camera in the bathroom with me, and of course, no laughing. Here it is anyway.

He has been finding his first two fingers on his right hand the last couple of days. I think it is so cute, and it makes him happy!

I'm sure when he is 5, the post title will be: "How do you get your Kindergartner to stop sucking His fingers?"

True Companions

A friend of mine sent me the link to this video today and it melted my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBtFTF2ii7U

I wanted to share it!

Sorry I could not post the video here, I tried twice but no luck!

Remember this toy? Jack's favorite? The one I purchased just 10 days ago?

This is the star that makes the music and lights up.

The same star that broke yesterday.

The same star that is back-ordered until next month.

Take it back to the store where you bought it you may say....yes, yes I would. BUT I of course have thrown away the package it came in.

Wiener Sandwiches

The other day I made vegetable beef soup. We had it on a rainy, cold day with crusty, warm sourdough bread.

It made me remember when I was younger and we would visit my grandparents for the weekend. Grandma made 3 meals than I can remember.

Ever.

Oh, they had other food. Food that I liked. Potato salad, pasta salad, coleslaw. Things you can get in your grocers deli. Cold cereal. I love cold cereal. And potato chips. With dip. Cheese. All kinds. Sliced from the deli. Grandpa was usually good for a bucket of KFC. Livers & gizzards included.

Anyway, the three meals she made: "Chicken Pot Pie" with mashed potatoes, bologna sandwiches with Hellman's mayonnaise on wonder bread, and vegetable beef soup. And when we had vegetable soup, she always asked us if we wanted a "wiener sandwich". I remember being totally mortified when she asked me in front of my boyfriend....

Weekend Highlights...

The weather this weekend was perfect. Spring is near!

The kids did not have school on Friday so we got busy in the morning and did our housekeeping, and in the afternoon went to dentist appointments.

Will had to have a tooth extracted. I was so nervous for him. Elle and I explained it all, even the shot. He did FABULOUS. When it was over, he told me he cried. "A little, not much. Just a little". He also said: "There was no shot. Just a pinch." (like we had lied to him.) Oh K. I'm not telling him any different. Straw Hats for dinner with our best buddies.

Saturday the kids helped Ryan pick up sticks in the yard while I went to a baby shower, and then to friends so Ryan could help tear out their front steps. They are building an addition with a FABULOUS new kitchen.... Hamburgers and Hotdogs with the same best buddies...

Sunday, church and hanging out at home...



More little kids! They are so cute. They've joined the other Nanny in the "Maternity Ward."




Bea has a handful of food telling this goat: "Get off the fence." "Get OFF the fence"




Petting Tess. She's all fuzzy with her winter coat. I am waiting for her to gloss up for summer..

Swinging with our neighbor. She likes to go "Higher" .

Ryan burned some of the sticks & twigs they had gathered up.

Of course they wanted s'mores.

A perfect Sunday evening dinner.

Oohhh How Did I Forget About 3 Year Olds??

Bea just wiped "Bordeaux's Butt Paste" on both couches, multiple places on the carpet, all over both bathrooms, and of course, she's covered.

Where was I you may ask? Resting on the couch with Jack. Where she was supposed to be? Resting on the other couch.

She's in a Dawn infused bubble bath, and I am letting the "Resolve" soak. grrr.



Never, ever fall asleep before your 3 year old.

Weather

We have had the most diverse weather this last week. One week ago it was 70 degrees, and the kids were wearing shorts.

It rained so hard over the weekend, we thought it was the second flood.

Monday and Tuesday we had flood warnings.

Wednesday, wind advisory. There were whitecaps on the water-covered fields.

Today everything is frozen. We have frozen peaks on the water-covered fields.

Currently it is snowing and the sun is shining.


Counting the days.....

You Naughty, Naughty, Children

The funniest thing happened last night.

Elle and Will were fighting at homework time. No, that is not the funny thing. A nightly occurrence, but not funny.

Ryan and I are at our wits end trying to figure out how to get them to stop. Yelling ( we both are great yellers.) does not work. Telling them to "BE NICE". Does not work either. And telling them to "STOP TALKING", just makes them whisper angrily.

The most effective "punishment" to date is, have them sit next to each other, touching, holding hands. Yes, with fingers entwined.

Neither Ryan or I can barely get though this "punishment" with out cracking a smile.

This is the funny part: Bea, upon realizing that her siblings are sitting together on the couch holding hands, says:

"Mommy? I want to sit on the couch too".

"Ok, hop up"

"Mommy? Will won't hold my hand"

"Will, hold Bea's hand too."

And so they sat, all three of them, holding hands. Until Bea proclaimed that Will was squeezing to hard, and realized that they were being punished and she wasn't so off she ran.

"You naughty, naughty, kittens have lost your mittens..."

Because We've Nothing Better to Do...

My friend T. and I have been bored. Really just sitting around and twiddling our thumbs since our kids went to school last fall.

We've been on a quest for something worthwhile to spend our time on. So on New Years Day, when I went to the local quilt shop for their FABULOUS sale, I signed T and I up for their "Buck A Block" program. Real simple. We show up once a month all year, pick up our block fabric, give them a dollar, run home a sew it up. At the end of the year, we will have this great quilt top, limited time put into it, cheap, and quality time spent together. Easy peasy, lemon squizzy. Right??

We picked up our first fabric/block the last Saturday in February. Some glitch with a fabric mill in Asia for the "Snowflake" fabric made them behind. Starting out behind is something both of us are very familiar with.


Upon their recommendation, we purchased these: "Thangles". They are supposed to make your points "perfect". The store owner explained in great detail how they work. Mmhhmm. We smiled and nodded, and as soon as we got home, read the instructions and were still confused. But we are two bright girls, and eventually figured it out.

These are our finished blocks. I think they turned out great for first timers.

I also purchased these two fabrics. That is the idea, get us in the store once a month to see all the stuff we cannot live without. It worked.

Got any great ideas of what I can do with this fabric? It was too cute to leave there.

Counting The Days

We had a B.E.A.U.TIFUL weekend!

Friday the high was 65, and as soon as the kids came home from school they changed into their summer gear and played so nicely together in the sand box and on the trampoline.

We introduced Jack to the goats. Remember these guys?

They sure have grown since November.

They came right up and ate grain out of the kids hands.

Two cute!

And yes, Brooke, they are "To Cute Yard Varmits".

We are counting the days until summer...

Saturday Bea and Jack went shopping with Mommy, Kathie and Megan.

Jack got a new toy that he loves.

And poor Bea. Not used to the to much fun that shopping is, crashed....

Jack's cute voice...

Regardless of what some of you may think, I have been doing more than sleeping and feeding the baby.


I finished up these sheets for Jack's bassinet.




And this bag. I really love the floral fabric.

I recently joined "The Grocery Game" and needed something for my coupons, so I made this great little coupon clutch. I got the pattern from Lisa over at "A Happy Little Family".

It was easy to put together, and the pattern was FREE!

I'll keep you posted on how much $$$ I'm saving at the grocery.

Beware of the Sleep Deprived Mom

I have several things that I would like to post about, but I'm to tired to wait for the photos to upload.

Sad, I know. I'm going to bed.

Work

As many of you know, I have a great job. Just 20 flexible hours a week. (AND that 6 week paid maternity leave.)

Upon returning to work, I have been able to take Jack with me most days.





It has been great. I do look like a pack mule coming and going. It's either him or the pump...





Today, I am working from home. The atmosphere is completely different.

The co-workers look a little younger.



Facial expressions are easier to interpret. (hey mom! i love workin' with ya!)

We take more frequent breaks. Coffee and apple pie. mmmm

Clothing is optional. (what a great multi-tasker!)

One thing remains the same.

When he cries, we feed 'im.

Obsession

I LOVE watching "The Bachelor".



I just finished watching the season finale, and "After the Final Rose, part 1".

I fell asleep last night before it was over. I am so glad they stream my favorite shows. The best part? limited commercials.

(Jason is not my favorite bachelor in bachelor history. I think it has to be Andy Baldwin or Travis Stork. Frankly, I enjoy "the Bachelorette" more. I thought that Meredith Phillips was just the nicest woman.)

The point of this post? I am tired of these boys choosing the wrong woman. They never seem to know who is right for them. I was sad to see he chose Melissa. My choice was Jillian from Canada, but after he eliminated her, I was rooting for the girl from Michigan, Molly. She appears like a nice, down home girl. And so close to my home town too.

After watching, it seems that Jason has realized his mistake, and would like to have a relationship with Molly instead. That sweet girl. I had to laugh out loud when he told her. The shock on her face. The way she kept looking at Chris (the host), you could tell she wanted to say: "WHAT IN THE WORLD?" To cute.

Can't wait to see what happens tonight.....