A late Thanksgiving post:

Thanksgiving this year was a tiny bit strange. Rob had to be out of town (again), so the children and I thought we would have to go it alone this year. Fortunately, Shar was able to make it! Yay! On Thanksgiving we ate "dinner" at about 1:00. Pretty early, but the food was ready and the kids were starving, so we just went with it. Normally we would all sit around and watch football and chit-chat. But this year, with no men in the house (except Bennett, who is too young to put up much of an argument about it) we opted out of the football and instead took the troops to see Tangled in the theatre. It was Bennett's first trip to the movies, and I gotta say he did great. Not a peep! We all enjoyed the movie and when we came home it was time to get the kiddos into bed. Then Shar and I got to enjoy some grown up time, good conversation and a bottle of wine. The next day we braved the mall and shopped around a bit (our first ever foray into Black Friday shopping). It wasn't as bad as expected, mostly because we waited until late afternoon when all of the mega-super-shoppers had come and gone. The girls were super excited to visit the Disney Store and were treated to some cute Rapunzel jammies for their great behavior through the "boring grown up stores." All in all it was a rather unusual holiday for us, but a really great time was had by all. Wish Rob could have been here, but we are looking forward to having him back for Christmas!

Catch Up

Wow, long time, no post. So here is a very brief run down of what has been happening in my neck of the woods:

September: Rob came back from Afghanistan and we all attempt to readjust. I seriously have very little recollection of any actual events during the entire month. There was a visit from Shar for her birthday and a couple of other birthdays during the month (Mom, Grandma B, Lindsey).

October: Trip to Texas to visit Auntie Shar and pick up Nanny (who flew in to Texas to be able to visit both Shar and us). Six Flags over Texas, Zoe's first real roller coaster (which she loved) and then a couple more roller coasters (the loop-to-loop was her favorite), outlet mall before driving home. Pumpkin patch, pumpkin carving, trick or treating (Zoe = Super Girl, Sydney = Belle, Bennett = Lion, Mommy = covered in barf thanks to Bennett).

November (so far): Rob to training. Parent teacher conferences (my kids rock). My first group art show (guess I rock too). Refridgerator breaks : ( and gets fixed : ). Bennett's first steps (about an hour ago) and yes I know that 16 months is a little late to start walking, but what can I say he has his own agenda.

And that is the news in brief.

I must say...

The last month has been a blur. Kids going back to school, trying to get ourselves into a new routine, and the return of my husband from an 8 month deployment has been enough to make my head spin. So this post is primarily to say, "Welcome Home" to my love and to issue a great big "Thank You" to all of those who fight for the freedoms that we enjoy as well as to those who support them at home. I would also like to say "Thank You" to those who supported me personnally, my family and friends, and possibly the worlds best neighbors who took great pains to ensure that the kids and I were well looked after during this long journey.

First Day of School

Zoe's first day of first grade and Sydney's first day of Pre-K. They were so excited, had a great day, and were so tired when they both finally got home that they were super cranky. Yep. And, I, being an idiot, thought Zoe got out of school earlier than she actually does so I subjected the little kids to an hour of sitting in the car. So...day one is done. Now to see what the rest of the school year has in store.

Shoe/Chocolate Addicts Anonymous

They say that the first step to change is to admit that you have a problem. So here goes:

Hello, my name is Lacey. I am a stress eater/shopper.
Now, this is a problem that I have known about for quite some time and it may be evident to those around me, but saying it out loud (in print for that matter) is a big step. You see when Iam feeling stressed out, insecure, upset, or recieve bad news (even just a little bit bad), I am overcome with the urge to consume LARGE amounts of sugar and caffiene and spend a lot of money on "things that make me feel good" in laymans terms that means SHOES and occasionally other clothing and accessories. Ok, more than occasionally. Get off my back about it. ;)
I noticed the problem recently as the cashier at the grocery store put 8 candy bars and a bag of skittles in their own little bag and handed them right to me winking and saying, "The most important thing..." Not missing a beat, I replied, "Ah, my little bag of sanity." Sure, it seems funny, but only cause you know it's true!
The plot thickened when I got a bit of disappointing news earlier today (don't worry everything is fine), and instantly went to my Amazon Universal Wishlist and perused my favorite items trying to decide which boots would be best for fall. I don't probably need new boots, even though my feet did grow half a size with Bennett. But I want new boots. I have it narrowed down to 3 pair. I know I shouldn't spend the money. And the only thing that is keeping me from getting onto DSW.com and ordering a pair is this blog and the overwhelming sense of guilt that I know I will feel if I do make the order. Plus I don't know which ones I really want yet. Maybe I should go into the store and try them on. Oh crap- you hear that....that was my addiction talking, right out there for everyone to hear (read).
So far I haven't broken down and bought anything. Nothing is on sale so it makes it a bit easier to resist. (Sales and bad news, well, thats just too much) I did just eat two mini Butterfingers though, and have the urge to raid the cupboards for more delicious chocolatey goodness. Well, I guess admitting the problem is not really helping since now I just feel like eating and buying MORE! What a dreadful cycle. Guess it is time to distract myself by changing a dirty diaper. Hoo-ray.

Last days of summer vacation...

Wow, big gap in the blogging! To be honest, I kinda forgot about it. After that whirlwind birthday situation, it was good to have a break. And a break we had - kinda. We went to Texas for a weekend visit to see Auntie Shar and her new appartment. As well as to "assist" with getting her settled. Hahahaa. Not sure how much assistance we were considering the three kids basically bounced off her walls (and likely angered a few neighbors). After that we came home and have been getting school supplies and school clothes/ shoes (Thank you, Nanny). I started a new term at school. Now the countdown begins to the kids school year actually starting. We have "Information Day" on Tuesday and the official start is Thursday. I can hardly imagine what I will do! Sydney will be in Pre-K from 9-11:30 daily and Zoe will be entering FIRST GRADE!!!! Oh my, my baby is growing so fast. Of course this realization has sent me into somewhat of a tail-spin. I have been ultra nostaligic the last few days. Looking at old photos and remembering all kinds of silly old things from days gone by. This on top of the back to school mania and the Dog Days of Summer with 107 Degree temperatures (keeping us indoors) has been nearly too much for my poor mind to handle. I have been walking around in a bit of a daze. The kids think I am losing my mind, because of my utter inability to focus from one minute to the next (i.e. I walk to one room from another then say "what did I come in here for?") I'm a pretty sad sight. Auntie came up for a get together this weekend and we saw her for a couple of hours including a customary trip to Target. That was nice and hopefully we can get together again soon. And now I have completely run out of things to say - or maybe not, I just lost track of my thoughts. So we will leave it at that for now.

Birthday Week (The longest blog post ever...)

Birthday Week 2010: Play by Play, Day by Day.

Wednesday, July 14: Crazy, Awesome Birthday Madness Week 2010 begins with Nanny's midday arrival. This annual event sends the kids into hyper-drive, making each and every detail of each and every happening about 300 percent more interesting/exciting/emotional. The day was a blur. Honestly. I can't remember anything we did that day prior to or post pickup. Auntie Shar came into town later that night after the kids were asleep.



Thursday, July 15: Outings. Lots of outings. Super Target was first on the list, as it is our favorite destination. At the Starbucks therein we partook in iced mochas (for the grown-ups), vanilla bean frapachinos (for the girls) and whipped cream (Bennett). Yum! I am pretty sure we went down every single aisle, some of them twice, a couple may have even warranted a third visit. The toy aisles were singing and dancing as we pried the children away. A cart full of whatnot later, we headed home for lunch. Next Sharlene and I needed a break, so we went out on our own. Back to Super Target (I told you we love that place!). Then we hit Gordmans and finally Hobby Lobby ( I am making Sharlene a Giant Kusudama Ball). Back to the house for a quick taco dinner then we whisked the girls away to the mivie theater to see Toy Story 3. We were the first ones there and very nearly the only ones (cause who sees a movie on a Thursday
at 5?) It was great and we will likely be adding it to our collection.

Friday, July 16: Decoration day! Over the last few months (okay, technically since February when they told me they wanted and Ariel Party) the kids and I have been crafting under sea decorations for the party. This was the day that we put them all up around the house. Since this was the big, joint, invite your friends party we kinda went nuts with it. Then we baked cupcakes, and I prepped the homemade pizza dough for the next nights dinner. Once the "work" was done, we played a bit and then Sharlene and I headed out for a well deserved drink.

Saturday, July 17: Playing, prepping, and last minute cleaning. PARTY TIME!!!!! Friends showed up and we colored Ariel pictures until everyone had arrived. We made oceans in empty soda bottles (lots of Dr. Pepper for me!), experienced near glitter overload, played pin the flower on Ariel (Zoe won, no one else was even close - Sydney missed the picture completely), sang a quick "Happy Birthday" scarfed down some cupcakes and tore open some presents. Everything was on super speedy mode because these children could not wait to get outside and play. They raced out the door screaming like a flock of banshees to splash in the pool and run through the sprinklers. Even fun Auntie Shar joined in. She began with chasing kiddos into the sprinklers, but was soon dragged into the pool fully clothed and dunked by a gaggle of gigglers. Eventually, one by one, they came straggling in to dry off. Play commenced indoors until bit by bit they left. Then we got to visit with Daddy online and open presents from him! Hurray! Pizza and Princess and the Frog bring this exciting day to a close.

Sunday, July 18: Sydney's 4th Birthday! Nanny prepared a wonderful suprise "Beach Party" and made our back patio into a beach, complete with sand. We built sand castles and played in to pool. Bennett Rode on his car and got sand in his little toes. We had hot dogs, fruit, and chips until the flies (that decided to take over my house and yard in the last week) sent us running for cover. Zoe lost a tooth during lunch. Daddy called to wish Syd a "Happy Birthday" we did presents and dinner then made some super fun snow cones for dessert.

Monday, July 19: I had a boatload of homework so that was my task for the day. Bummer. But Nanny, Auntie and the kids ran all over and played, cleaned up a bit, then they (minus Bennett who needed a nap) went to the local waterpark! They had a great time, and I got my work done, took down the decorations, and did some light cleaning. Shar treated us to some seven layer dip for dinner. We ate, watched a movie, and played

Tuesday, July 20: My 29th Birthday. Last year of my twenties. Yowza. The kids wished me "Happy Birthday" over and over all day long. It was super sweet. I began my day with a morning meeting at Starbucks with a Rep from the college I attend online. Next I met up with the fam at Sears for a photo shoot and to pick up some pictures I had ordered from before. Lunch at Red Robin commenced (Thank you for not making them sing to me!). Zoe made sure that I would arrive back at the house last so that they could hide and jump out to scream "Happy Birthday" when I walked in the door. Once we got home I gave the kiddos a few group gifts that I didn't want any one kid laying claim too because it was given mon their birthday. They in turn gave me some very thoughtful gifts. We played for a while then they came tromping into the living room from the kitchen with a cupcake and candle singing "Happy Birthday." It was so cool of them to try to make my day so special right in the middle of all of their birthday excitement. I have the best kids!

Wednesday, July 21: Zoe's 6th Birthday!!! Nanny orchestrated a beautiful tea party with a real tea set and tons of fabulous and very pretty food. the girls got all dressed up and inspired the grown ups to do the same. We rummaged through the dress up suitcase (the same one that just a week ago held a cat captive) and came up with some extra fancy accessories. We did an impromptu photo shoot and had tea. Then we quickly cleaned up and headed back to the warter park. This time we all got to go! It was so FUN!!!! Even Bennett had a blast (he is suddenly over his fear of the water). After we got back, showered, and started assessing the extent of our sunburns, Daddy got online again and Zoe tore open her presents then had a nice chat with her Papa. We ate "little chickens" (mini chicken wings) and potato salad, one of Zoe's favorite meals. We played until we were ready to drop. Then - we dropped!

Thursday, July 22: Today we said a sad goodbye to Nanny as we dropped her off at the airport. Auntie Sharlene gets to stay on a few more days before heading back the Texas way. As I write this the girls and Auntie are playing Disney Princess Yahtzee and Bennett is napping. I need a snack and some serious caffiene if I am going to stay awake the rest of the day. Exhaustion is setting in. This has been a whirlwind of a week, but it has been so very much fun. Tons of memories were made. I am officially calling Birthday Madness Week to a close, applying more aloe vera to my sun scorched skin, and taking my first zombielike steps into the world of raising a 6 year old, a 4 year old, and a 1 year old.

Birthday Pictures

Happy (Belated) 1st Birthday, Bennett!

Yesterday was Bennett's 1st birthday. The girls, of course, woke up at the crack of dawn and were ready to get the party started. Fortunately, we (Auntie Shar and I) were able to hold them off 'til just after lunch.
Since we were short a couple of important cast members for the event, we set up the web cams on our laptops and interfaced with some VIPs. The girls had a few issues staying out from in front of the computers so I am not entirely sure just how much our long distance counterparts actually saw, but they at least got to "be there" for the big day.
The presents were a hit. Who knew that 1 year old toys were so darn entertaining? As a matter of fact the toys were so popular that Bennett had a very hard timed deciding what to play with. No problem there though, Zoe and Sydney were more than happy to take a few off his hands. Actually, they got so excited that Bennett had some difficulty holding on to a toy for more than a few seconds. Ahhh, big sisters!
The cupcakes were a bit more manageable for Mr. Ben. In fact, he gobbled down every last bite of his. Surely, he would have licked up all the crumbs too had Mommy not swooped in with the washcloth and initiated clean up procedures. (A very special thank you to Auntie for all of her clean up efforts - You are a life saver, or some other very sweet treat :):).
After the hubbub, we were all worn out so nap time commenced. Then a completely unnecessary but fun trip to Target. Bennett's dinner time coincided, so he had a jar of babyfood out of my purse while we sat at the in store Starbucks waiting for our mochas! Ol' Blue Eyes (Bennett) charmed the pieces out of every woman who walked by ("Oh he has such beautiful eyes. How old is he? What's his name? Hi, sweetie!" was a common response to one of his smiles). The group tromped through the store leaving behind a wake of cuteness and noise.
Then we came home and had a quick dinner and sent the kids to bed. It was really a very successful birthday. I can hardly believe my baby is a whole year old. It makes me emotional. Imagine that, me, emotional. Hahaha.
Today we have his 1 year well check. And so commences the month of birthdays and festivities. On the docket: The girls joint Ariel The Little Mermaid birthday party, two individual parties for just family, my birthday somewhere in the middle, a visit from Nanny, well checks for the girls, and finishing up my current school term. Yowza, it's gonna be a busy month. So there will be lot lots more to come.
Photos are forthcoming. Thank you to all of you who helped to make my Little Man's 1st birthday a special one.

Are you talking to me?

Setting: Living room. Family watching Tinkerbell and The Lost Treasure.

Zoe: Those tadpoles are just like the ones in the bathroom and the kitchen!

Me: ???? I'm pretty sure you were dreaming, sissy. There are no tadpoles in our house.

Zoe: YES, THERE WERE. THEY WERE RIGHT BY THE DOOR!!!!!!!!!!

Me: Tadpoles that turn into frogs? How would tadpoles get into our house?

Zoe: I'm pretty sure a spider puked them up.

Are you talking to me?

*I will be using this heading for "Conversations" (Thank you, K!) that take place in my daily life that I find entertaining enough to share. To start, this one will be a double:

Setting: A few days ago in my kitchen/dining area, Sharlene is doing homework on her laptop at the kitchen table as I am scrubbing the cooktop and running the dishwasher.

Sharlene: The smell in here reminds me of the holidays.

Lacey: Really? I smell bleach and melting plastic.

(Hmmmm. WTF??????)

-------------------------------------------------------------


Setting: In the car on the way to swimming lessons. Discussing birthdays which inevitably led to questions about the birth of each of the kids.

Zoe: Did Daddy hold your hand when you were pushing us out? (yep, we have had that conversation)

Mommy: No, I was afraid that I would break Daddy's arm if he touched me so he just kinda stood there and cheered me on.

Zoe: Nanny took care of us while you were in the hospital.

Mommy: Yep, she sure did. That was awefully nice of her wasn't it?

Zoe: When you were in the hospital, was Dr. Suess there?

This is the point when I got the giggles so hard I could no longer speak. I hearby issue an apology to any drivers on the road at the time - not sure how that was going, cause my attention was fully in the car. In all fairness, she meant to inquire about my OB who she has met many times but just got the names confused.

Backyard Water Park

So, Auntie Shar is out for a visit and Nanny sent us a package. We love packages here, and get very excited about their arrival. The girls were very pleased to find new swimming suits and beach towels! Hurray, Thank you, Nanny!!!! What's that? There is MORE? Yep, we got to go pick out new sandals for summer too. What more could a couple of kids want? Auntie got a secret note that instructed her to take us on a magical voyage to Target. While we were there, exploring the outdoor fun section we managed to loose our minds just a tiny bit. We couldn't find exactly what was on our shopping list so instead we got the "Cannonball Slide,"(more on that in a minute), an inflatable pool (more on that too), a tiny wading pool for the babe (oh yes more here too), and Auntie couldn't pass up a giant pack of water balloons (nothing further on this at present). Later Auntie returned tot he store and came back with Princess camping chairs, popcicles, and verious other goodies. Can you say "shopping spree"? Sure, you can.... Of course once we got back to the house we could hardly contain ourselves. So we plopped the kids in front of a movie with some snacks and went outside to play....I mean set everything up. What an adventure that was. We opened everything up and decided to erect the shade canopy over where we were going to put the inflatable pool to keep the kids from getting to sunburned. Yeah, I just have to say that during the course of setting up said canopy I managed to nearly knock myself out. I have a HUGE bruise and scrape on my chin. Anyway, we eventually figured that out. Then I brought the air compressor to the back yard to blow up all of the inflatables (heck there was no way I was gonna blow 'em up on lung power). Of course, being an amateur compressor user this was it's own adventure. Especially since I forgot to plug the quick release valve on the pool and lost air as fast as I pumped it in. Yeah. Go ahead, laugh. I thought it was funny too. Once that problem was sorted we got everything inflated and began filling things with water. Cold water from the hose was great since it was 100 degrees this weekend. However we decided to take the canopy off in hopes that the sun would warm up the water. Of course we started having so much fun we forgot to put it back on and ended up all being rather burnt. Oh well. They kids were finally released from captivity and allowed to partake in the joys of backyard swimming and sliding. Now the Cannonball Splash Slide is a small wading pool aty the end of a blow up slide. Nothing major, the kids are 5, 3, and 11 months. But man did they have a blast. And so did Auntie and I. Yep we certainly did test the wieght limit of that slide (which I believe was about 100lbs). So far it hasn't popped, and we aren't gonna stop sliding til it does. Hahaha. Of course, being the creative sort that we are, the kids decided to put the slide in the larger (about 10x6) pool. Auntie got in with them and helped them slide down. I watched from the porch with Bennett. Wheels started turning. Yes, most mothers would probably worry for the safety of their children, but not I. I decided to place the splash pool at the bottom of our regular slide and run the hose up to the top making a steeper slide! It rocked. Yep we tried that out too. Don't worry...nothing is broken...yet. Now The girls just jumped right into everything and played their little hearts out. Bennett, my boy, well, he is another story. I got him all dolled up in his swim gear and slathered him down with sunscreen and took him outside. There was about an inch of water in his teensy splash pool so I though hey he should be able to just sit right down and splash, as long as I am right here he won't freak out. Not so. A toe touched the water and he screamed like the was the spawn of the Wicked Witch of the West. I tell you, the neighbors probably thought some one cut that kids leg off. So we went tot he bigger splash pool at the end of the slide. Yeah, I'm no quitter! I sat down and put him on my lap and poured the water over his toes with my hand. Still, my little man screams like a banshee! Yikes. So Instead of torcher the poor kid I brought out the pack 'n' play to the back porch and filled it up with toys, cheerios, and a cup of prune juice. Hog heaven let me tell you. Now I would very much like to post some video of all the "action," and I may try....but bear with me, I am having some technical difficulties. So for now a collage of pictures will have to suffice.

**In case you are wondering what the front yard pictures are for: We planted som thyme in the front garden and picked out some "accessories" for the garden. And I put some fake flowers in the pot by the front door that I always forget to water so that it doesn't look dead all the time.

Summer Project - Week 1

Summer is up and running around here. And so is our summer project. This is the first year we have done a summer project so really it is in the experimental stages. I think I have a plan, but you know how that goes.... We started out by taking a trip to the Zoo. The three little pigs and I...I mean the three bears and I... or should I say the three kids and I managed to see most of the zoo within about 3 hours. Not too shabby if you ask me. We spent a little extra time at the alligators since they are the animal we are learning about this week. We just so happened to get there while they were being fed. Ew. The kids thought it was fascinating. Well the girls did anyway, Bennett was too busy Peek-a-booing me through the peek hole in the top of the stroller to even notice. Between that and scarfing down cheerios, he didn't notice much. The next day we ventured out to the library. We found a book featuring alligators as characters and one about baby alligators. The kids each got to pick a couple that they just thought looked fun too. We got pretty excited about our books so we came right home and read them. During this time I offered Zoe a dime a book as a summer reading project (besides our animal project) and challenged her to read 100 books before school starts back up. So far she is loving that. Lucky for me, we are just writing down the books she reads and I don't have to fork over any cash until the end of the summer. But I digress.... Next we decided to talk about what we learned about alligators - did you know that they only live in the Southeastern US and China?? Well, now you do. Zoe practiced writing the word and a sentence or two about them and Sydney practiced writing AAAAAAA. She's getting pretty good. We also colored pictures of alligators and whatnot. Today we did an "alligator craft" basically making paper alligators. It was fun. So Our summer Animal-of-the-week project is off and running. Somehow we gotta get back to the zoo and library among some other scheduled activities (like swimming lessons) in the next few weeks. But everyone seems to like it enough to keep it going. Wish us luck.....

Dinner with Dr. Suess

Yesterday Zoe read Dr. Suess' Green Eggs and Ham to us at story time, out loud, without help. She did great. What a good little reader she is starting to be! We were so inspired that we decided to have green eggs and ham for dinner, it was kids cook night after all. One drop of blue food coloring with scrambled eggs and minced ham made for an easy and interesting meal. It was a hit. I asked the girls if they liked it. Zoe said that she loved it. Sydney said, "Mommy, if we ever go on a train I want to eat these on it." Good enough for me, but we may run into problems when they bust out One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish.

Mother's Day

Technically my Mother's Day celebration started on Thursday at Sydney's "Fantasy Festival". It is the end of the imagination unit at her preschool and the kids build a castle out of cardboard and make magic wands and crowns and are introduced as Fairy Princess or King Knight and come out and curtsey or bow and present their mother's with flowers. It is a sweet little "program." Then they get to eat cookies and drink punch. Sydney loved it and I got some cute yellow daisies, plus a neat art project that she made. A flower with her picture at the center and her hand prints as leaves. Then on Friday Zoe gave me a notebook that she decorated at school that has a note in it saying "Thanks for being my Mommy and I love you." She is getting so good at writing! I am a very proud Mama. Saturday, we got to webcam with a couple of our favorite people and afterwards I went to a new boutique opening in Moore, Oklahoma called Handmade with heART and consigned some of my artwork there. It was quite a thrilling day. Now it is Sunday, actually Mother's Day, and my plans include taking a day off from chores and spending it with my babies, calling my Mom, and maybe working on some new artwork. My house already looks like it has been both shaken and stirred so I will be earning my keep tomorrow, but right now its nice to just enjoy my family. I hope all the mothers out there are able to do the same.

Update

Wow, where did April go? It has been nearly a month since my lsat post and I have absolutely no idea what I have been doing these last few weeks. I guess you could say we have been in-the-zone with our routine. School, homework, a little family time, bed. I put stepping stones and river rock on the side yards that are always muddy - so much better! We had a lovely week long visit from Auntie Shar! Now we are heading into the last month of school. The weather has warmed up a bit and we are loving finally being able to go outside and play. The flowers are blooming and its about time to head to the nursery to fill our flower pots. So on we go.....

Happy Easter!

A collage of our Easter adventure~

No such thing as free time.....

So I finished my second 8 week term a week and a half early. (Grades are still pending, but I am pretty sure I aced both classes- go me). So finding that I had a bit of free time on my hands I dove madly into my To Do list. Okay, the list doesn't exactly exist, but there are a few projects that I keep in the back of my head just in case I find myself on this situation. In the last five days (yep, I don't start my next term until April 4th- still have time left), I sanded. primed, and painted the doors to the cabinets in my bathroom (white if you were wondering), and hung them up with new hinges and knobs, and did the same for the drawer. For those of you who are keeping score, my dear husband started this project five years ago when we moved here. Love you, Honey! Then I put new contact paper on the cabinet shelves (and used some of the extra to top the kids' play table and chairs). I felt so good about this that I hung up the full length mirror that I bought months ago and never put up (I guess I am just as bad as you, Rob). Then I Old Englished the wood trim and doors, so it looks like new. Then I did a bit of redecorating in there. I kinda went nuts because all of a sudden I had the intense desire to know how to make oragami flowers. So I looked it up online and after several attempts I found one I liked and made a cool flower ball thing that I hung in the bathroom. I also have a cool idea for some wall art - but that hasn't come to fruition yet.
The bathroom looked so great, that I reorganized the walk in closet.
I got so excited about walking in there and having things look clean and neat that I organized my bedroom too. While I was doing that I found the mosquito netting canopy that use to hang on the four poster bed. We had taken it down in because we couldn't feel the fan - a necessity in the summers. So I took it apart and added ribbon tabs to the tops of four panels and velcro fasteners, then decorated the places where the ribbin attached with mismatched buttons. I am really liking the look. Gotta get something cool to use for tiebacks. I am thinking complimentary ribbon and some flowers...hmm.
Meanwhile, we had a good school week for the kiddos. Sydneys parent teacher conference went great - she is doing wonderfully and her teachers love her. Swimming is going swimmingly - although I got a bit caught up over spring break that I forgot to enroll them in next months lessons so I guess we are taking a break. The kids got to watch the movie Enchanted for pizza and movie night on Friday. Of course they want to watch it over and over and over again knowing that I send these movies back on Mondays. Today we grocery shopped and caught up on the laundry and a bit of light cleaning. Right now I fear I am getting a cold. I am hoping to magically feel all better tomorrow so I can continue to tackle my ever growing list of "I should do that if I find time" stuff. If not...well, then I guess not.

Wishing a very Happy Birthday to my one and only. I love you, Rob!

This week...

Bennett with a new toy from Nanny.

The girls at the zoo.

My new specs.

Yep, Thats right, I got glasses. Had a great visit from Nanny/Spring Break. Nice weather, fun outings, a trip to the zoo. We had a blast. Did a lot of projects and crafts, celebrated Daddy's birthday a bit early so Nanny could be a part of the festivities. Went to a birthday party for one of Zoe's friends today. Now we are having a snowy first day of spring and trying to get ourselves back in the groove to be ready to head back to the grind come Monday morning.

Pictures/Update

A few pictures from the last couple of weeks:

Bennett and Mommy


Sydney is ready for bed

Zoe strikes a pose or two before swimming lessons showing off the pigtails she decided to let me put in her hair.

What's up:

Things are moving right along around here. Sydney has graduated to the Eel class at swimming lessons finally, but has decided now that she doesn't want to go with the new teacher. We are working on it. Zoe of course is doing great in swimming and is reading like a champ. Rob started her out on some sight word flash cards last fall and we have just about finished memorizing the second set. She also has had an interest in sitting down and reading books to me, which I love. Bennett is almost finished breastfeeding, usually just once a day now. He seems to like solids as long as his thumb is in there with whatever he is eating which makes for messy eating, but we get the job done. He laughs a bit, but only once in a while - not nearly like his giggly sisters. All of the kids seem to be enjoying the chapter books we read in the evenings (yep, even Bennett will sit and listen some nights). Making good progress on Stuart Little. I told the kids once we finish it we can rent the movie and watch it. Might be a fun spring break activity if this rain keeps up. Although, I am really hoping for some nice weather, as I would like to take them to the Zoo and outside to play. Oh well, if not we will have lots of time for other stuff.

In other news I am still working away at school. I am half way through my second term. The cats and fish are all still alive under my care- amazing. I find myself overcoming obstacles that seem to just hop right out in front of me. Today I fixed the garbage disposal - which had gotten hung up on what I believe was a piece of grape vine...right after i cleaned the fish tank (yuck - not my favorite job) and my bathroom (again not my favorite job) and did a couple of loads of laundry (today must have been crummy job day). Now I am headed to tuck in the kiddos and hit the books.

Giggles

Pictures

Zoe lost another tooth


Bennett and Mama


Prince Charming (Bennett) and Princess Zoe on Valentine's Day


Sydney loves her new headband


Group shot on V-day!

Bennett in action...

Playing in his jumper. He usually screams while he plays, but recently has started to actually like playing in it for very short periods of time, as long as I am within arms reach...

Eating grapes...

A Valentines Day Song....

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!

Kids Cook Night

For Christmas the kids and I got new aprons from Nanny (the very crafty lady made them for us!) The kids also got a kids cook book by Paula Dean! So we decided to make good use of them. Every Sunday we plan our menu for the week and go grocery shopping. The kids imput is very helpful for the whole week, but on Sunday nights they get to cook (with adult supervision....okay okay, my supervision - as adult as that may not always be). So tonight we documented our adventure. The menu consisted of Ambrosia Salad (Zoe's pick) and Pigs in a Blanket (Sydney's very enthusiastic choice). Mommy picked a slice of green pepper to get a veggie in the mix. Bennett (who is 7 months old today - and whom I did not take a picture of :( ) was napping. The kiddos did great and I managed to be very supposrtive despite my doubts about the tastiness of the meal. I for one am hoping that we can eventually move to more grown-up friendly fare in the future... but for now we feast!

This Week...

Snow day playtime.


Hahaha, Mom, I'm drooling on the couch.


Working in our activity books (more snow-day fun)


Photographic evidence of Bennetts teeth! Finally!
Yes, he was crying, but thats the only time I could get a picture of his teeth...


Much happier here...


After having been out of school for an entire week now, due to the adverse weather conditions, the kids finally returned to school today! I bet you can imagine the relief on the faces of all of the parents as they dropped off their little ones today!Afterward, Zoe did her homework without complaint - a miracle in and of itself. And today we also made a return to swimming lessons, new session, different teachers for each. No problems though, they both did wonderfully. Then spaghetti for dinner (the kids now think I am a rockstar - they looooooove spaghetti). Then bath. Now popcorn and a movie. Zoe's top left front tooth is so wiggly it is bound to fall out at any moment. Honestly, I have no idea how it is still attached- it is sitting all crooked. As for me, I did some painting and helped the kids with activities and crafts and took care of some chores....nothing too exciting. Waiting for my next classes to start the first of next week.

Wintery mix

First some freezing rain, then some hail, then lots of snow.

I was able to walk to my frozen mailbox on TOP of the grass without sinking in!

Weekly update

I have been notified by someone of great importance that it has been a week since my last blog update. Though there has been little going on I will humor you with an update:

It has been a long week here at the Christiansen household. All three kiddos and their Mama are sick. The kids started with low grade fevers and developed snotty noses and coughs. While the fevers are gone, the mucus remains. As for me, I have a head cold. My ears are stuffed up and that is driving me crazy.

Bennett has been having trouble sleeping because of his cold and has therefore been rooming with me for the past few nights. During the day all he wants is to be held (which on one hand is great because I love cuddling with him, but on the other prevents me from doing just about anything else). So the girls have been watching a lot of movies and entertaining themselves pretty well, but are cranky because of their colds and lack of attention from me.

To add to the lack of distractions, we have skipped swimming the last two lessons because I didn't think being out in the cold with wet heads and minor fevers was a great idea. Plus Zoe's fever kept her home from school on Monday. Today both schools were closed because of a mega-ice storm we are having. Tomorrow they will be closed too. So we are looking at a few more days cooped up sick and cold and iced in. Hoping beyond hope that we don't lose power or any such thing and that the ice has subsided by Sunday so that we can get to the grocery store and gas station without incident.

Bennett finally got his second tooth in. I have tried everything i can think of to get a picture of them. He has no intention of sharing. He is also sitting up by himself for very brief periods of time.

In other news, I have finished my Microeconomics class and I have one essay question to finish on my last test for Intro to Tourism, then that will be that for my first set of classes. The next eight weeks begins on February 8th, I think. For those who are interested my next two classes are Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism and Hospitality Law. In the mean time I might actually work on a few craft projects (Thanks Sue for the magazine- all kinds of ideas are now buzzing around my head) and if I can make it to Hobby Lobby I plan to bust out a few small paintings (those would be the silhouettes you asked for, Sue).

And that is the news for now.

A long overdue visit

This past week my mom visited us. This was the first time she had met my kids or seen where I live, so needless to say it was a very eventful week. We played every game and toy we could think of, had a day of beauty, went out to dinner, showed Grammy the girls schools, bonded, shopped, threw tantrums, ate, slept (only a little), and gabbed gabbed gabbed. Man can we talk up a storm. Bennett worked really hard on getting his second tooth (contributing to the lack of sleep). And the rest of us tried to cram every last bit of life into the few days we had together. Tonight we took her to the airport and said a tearful goodbye, but are very hopeful that it will not be another 5+ years before we can get together again. I just can't possibly say how wonderful it was to have her here and for my kiddos to finally know who I am talking about when I say "Grammy" or "my mommy." I know that she had a great time too. So I would like to say "Thank You SOOOOOOO Much!!" to Carl (Mom's BF) who made it possible! That was the best Christmas present we could have ever imagined!