Triple Blessing

Simply

2012-01-18T14:12:00.000-08:00

It's January? Can we just pretend it's still December and I'm better about updating our blog? :)

Actually, I'm ok with being silent around here because it usually means I'm spending some quality time with my family. At least once a day I think "I should blog about that." But at night, the motivation is gone.

We had a great Christmas break with the girls! As the girls get older, the festivities just get more and more fun. We made lots of Christmas crafts, did lots of Christmas baking, and just enjoyed being together as a family. The girls have inherited my appreciation of watching Christmas movies in jammies, with a fire in the fireplace, and having just the lights of the tree on. I was going to post pictures from Christmas, thinking it was the least I could do. But I haven't even downloaded our Christmas pics yet. So, I guess THIS is the least I can do. :)

After New Year's, we hit the ground running. Most of the time it feels like a sprint to the end of the day. I've taken on more leadership roles at church and the school, as well as continuing with homeschool projects, fixing up things around the house, and just doing the day-to-day stuff.

With all the busyness, I crave order and simplicity. I get into a purging mood at the beginning of each new year. I'm learning that the purging can also mean activities. I'm learning to say no. I have no trouble saying "no" to my children, but I have trouble saying "no" to others. I want to be involved. I want to be helpful. Above all though, I need to remember that my priorities should be: God, family, others; in that order. I'm praying that the Lord continues to show me areas that can be rearranged (or eliminated) to keep my priorities in the right place.

I suppose you can call that a resolution. I'm going to call it a goal. :) I want to reach the end of 2012 and feel like I did my best to keep things from turning upside down.

Will you help keep me accountable?

As a sidenote: There's a free kindle book on amazon right now that talks about simplifying your life. It's right here. And if you don't have a kindle, just download the kindle app to read books on your computer.

Take a hike!

2011-12-16T14:02:00.000-08:00

It's good for the soul....
We just took the girls on a hike in the hills behind our house. The sunshine, fresh air, and family time were just what I needed.

At the entrance to the trail

We found a few sticks....

The girls and Brian looking at animal tracks

Skylar saved a piece of dried mud :)

Then, the sticks turned into baseball bats...

That little tiny person is Skylar

This girl...sometimes it feels like she's turning 15 instead of 9.

A few of the tracks we found....we guessed they were coyote prints

These look much more like mountain lion prints...

Reagan's favorite.

The loves of my life.

Tis the season!

2011-12-14T14:01:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas!
The true meaning of Christmas, celebrating Christ's birth, is incredibly special to our family. We have made it a point to explain the true joy of the season to our girls, but that doesn't mean we don't take part in all the fun that Christmas has to offer.

We decorate, and put lights up. We buy a tree, and make cookies. We watch Christmas movies and snuggle by a fire in our jammies.

We talk about giving and go shopping for gifts. We listen to Christmas music. Bailey sings "Feliz Nah-me-nah." She says it's "Merry Christmas in Dora."

This time of year always puts me in a reflective mood. I think of how much the girls have changed in a year. I remember the fun times we have had as a family.

I am simply filled with joy.

The girls have odd requests this year and I'm cherishing their simplicity. Reagan asked for a 3 hole punch. Skylar wants footie jammies. Bailey wants ketchup. :) There are other things on their lists, but those are the most humorous. I am cherishing their ages. I know the time will come when their requests involve electronics that begin with 'i', but for now, they are easy.

It's hard not to be "busy" during this season. I'm trying to take moments to pause and just take it all in. We are done with school until January so now the real fun begins!

At our city's Christmas parade

Making CornFlake Wreaths

New Balance

2011-11-23T17:48:00.000-08:00

No, not the running shoes. Although admittedly, I have not run in far too long. I guess that goes hand in hand with what this post is about.

I've discovered the most challenging part of being a wife and mother is finding balance. Most days it's a struggle to keep just one of the areas of my life in balance. It's a constant readjusting. I started to feel like I was failing more than I was succeeding.

Keep a clean house, but spend time with your children.

Make healthy meals, but make them taste good.

Don't dress like you just got out of bed, but don't dress to make other men stumble.

Spend time teaching your children, but let them be kids too.

Budget wisely, but splurge on the important stuff.

Protect your kids, but let them make mistakes.

Exercise, but take time to rest.

Be stern, but be gentle.

Love others, but don't let them take advantage of you.

Have great friends, but spend time alone too.

Be helpful, but don't get overextended.

Be confident in who you are, but be willing to change.

Accept that the Lord is God and He died for you, but....hmmm. I'm glad there's no "but" to salvation. That's all that really matters. Life's pressures are mostly imposed by ourselves or others, not God. Does he want me to be a good wife and a good mother? Of course He does. He desires the best for me and my family. Does he care that I haven't cleaned behind the fridge in two years? Probably not.

Now that Brian's mom has passed, I am replaying our conversations, and cherishing them even more. When they came to visit this past January I told her that I didn't have a chance to clean as much as I wanted. She just smiled and said, "Look...you can have a clean house or you can spend time with your kids. You can't have both. Each day is a choice. Some days you will choose to clean. Some days you will sit on the floor and play with Barbies. As a grandmother, I am glad that your house isn't spotless because it means you're spending time with my granddaughters." She went on to tell me that there will come a time when your house stays too clean and you miss the mess. Then she said the kids move back in, along with the grandkids and you miss the clean. "It all evens out eventually."

Today, I'm striving for a new balance; one that doesn't leave me feeling guilty at the end; a balance that reminds me not to take things too seriously because, "It all evens out eventually."

Victory is not easy

2011-11-11T15:33:00.000-08:00

This week has been a roller coaster for our family.

There are major changes going on at the girls' school and we're right in the middle of it all. Brian has major things going on at work and he's at the center of it too. That should be enough, but those are the minor parts of our week.

Monday morning, Brian's mom passed away. She was diagnosed in January with uterine and lung cancer and by October, it had spread to her brain, spine, and lymph nodes. She fought it every way she could, and dealt with the awful side effects of treatments. On Monday she was healed completely. It may not have been the way that some were hoping and praying, but it's healing nonetheless. I've often heard the term that a person has "lost the battle with cancer". I've decided I don't like it. She didn't lose. Ultimately, she won. Cancer did not take her life. It took her home. She gets to be with her Jesus. When Brian was there a couple weeks ago, his mom said she was ready to go to heaven and be whole again and be with her sisters (and others that have gone before her). But victory is not always easy.

Victory is not always characterized by jumping, shouting, and rejoicing. Victory often has a downside. I'm definitely not a glass-half-empty kind of girl (that's the pessimistic one, right?). But I'm not a sunshine, rainbows, and unicorns kind of girl either. I know the reality of life is that for every winner, there is usually a loser. In a court case, there's always one side rejoicing, while the other mourns. The Lord's gain in heaven is truly our loss on earth.

I've learned that victory always means change too. Even when we were ecstatic about the girls' new school, it meant saying goodbye to old friends and learning to adapt to a new school's philosophy of learning. Likewise, we have been praying for my dad to find a wonderful job after his department was laid off almost 3 years ago. This week God answered our prayers. He has a wonderful new job! We rejoice in the victory, but the job is over 4 hours away, so it means that they will be moving. Major change from the 5 minutes it takes us to get to their house now. Victory is not always easy.

What we cling to in weeks like this is that victory is ultimately the Lord's. We are promised that throughout the Bible. In Jeremiah 29:11, it says "For I know the plans I have for YOU,' says the Lord. 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a future and a hope." The Lord's plan is for us to be victorious. In Revelation 17:14 it says, "These will make war with the Lamb, but He will triumph over them. All those that accompany him shall share in the victory."

This week we cling to His promises, rejoice in victory, but we grieve for our loss.

making up for lost time

2011-10-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

All 3 girls are sick. This is a first for us. They are incredibly healthy and if one gets sick we have been good about keeping it from spreading. Not this time. Skylar is on the mend but Bailey and Reagan are just starting the flu bug. So, today's comic relief was a welcome reprieve.

Skylar returned to school today but it completely wiped her out. She rested for a while, and then started talking. And didn't stop. I had to laugh because she wouldn't even let me get a word in edgewise. She hardly took a breath in between sentences. I think she was making up for being so lethargic and quiet the last few days. I hit "record" on my phone so I could capture her chatty-ness. I don't know how to upload it here so below is a transcript of my favorite "story". Just try not to laugh.

"Mommy, do you know what would be fun? If we could get a pink car for me, the kind with batteries and pedals that go when you push down on them, and we could get a car for Reagan and Bailey that was a police car that had pedals and could go fast, but not really fast, cause that's not safe, but just kind of fast and they could chase me in my pink car. Then I could jump out and run and Bailey could jump in the pink car and Reagan could stay in the police car and I could hide behind a tree and when they drive past me, cause I'm a good hider, I could jump in the police car and Reagan would be so scared that she would jump out and then I would be chasing Bailey who thinks that she's chasing me, and we could drive all around our neighborhood, chasing each other and then come home and have a snack and laugh. Wouldn't that be so fun?!"

Back to Basics

2011-10-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

Martin Luther King Jr. used to say that some days his schedule was so busy that he had to spend two hours with God, instead of one, just to get it all done. I wish I had that perspective. I wish I was better at just giving my day to the Lord before I go and mess it all up with worry and chaos.

It's been over a month since I blogged. It wasn't a purposeful fast, it just didn't fit into the schedule.

In the last year or so we've been trying to get "back to basics." We're eating better, exercising, spending time as a family, budgeting, etc. So, it came as no surprise last week when my devotions were about being child-like in our faith. How much more "back to basic" can you get? I started to research exactly what that meant and in the process I came up with a top ten list of ways that we can become like children in our faith. I even prepared to share it with the ladies at one of our church leadership meetings. But, if the Lord is going to have you teach something, He makes sure you learn it first.

One of the characteristics of children that we can learn from is believing that God is capable of anything, even the little stuff. I had gotten out of practice in asking the Lord for the little things.

Yesterday Skylar woke up with a bad headache and a 104 degree fever. She has the flu. It has been almost two years since the girls had any kind of virus so our ibuprofen was nearly empty and expired. We made it through yesterday with just acetaminophen, but today it just wasn't working. I put a plea on facebook for someone to grab us some ibuprofen while they were out and no one responded. I got discouraged and frustrated. Brian has been visiting his family back east, and my mom is up north at my cousins. So, my normal go-to helpers weren't around. I finally just stopped and prayed. Within 2 minutes I got a text from a fellow school mom. She was heading to the store and wanted to know if I needed anything. She doesn't have facebook so she never even saw my request. Then my neighbor texted and asked if I needed anything. Then I got an email from a friend asking if there was anything she could do to help. Not only did the Lord answer my prayer, He answered it in abundance.

It was a good reminder. A humbling reminder.

I still have so much to learn.

Today I'm going back to the basics. The laundry can wait. My goal for the day is to sit with my precious girl and possibly shower. :)

crazy days

2011-09-21T09:30:00.000-07:00

September has been crazy! I started this blog as a way to document what's going on in our family but I've been too busy to even write posts! All of that changes next week. We are slowing down. For some reason, September was the month of visiting friends. It felt like summer, but instead of just having lazy days to play, we had school to contend with (among 50 other things). We LOVED seeing so many friends though, and the girls are already asking when we get to see them all again. :)

I haven't downloaded pics yet, but promise to soon. Here is a random recap of the last few weeks for us:

The girls are loving the new school (and we are too!). We successfully completed a few "homeschool" days, and they are quickly becoming our favorites.

Skylar's teacher used to be Belle at Disneyland so it took her a while to remember her first name. It's so much easier to just say "Belle." :)

Reagan was nervous about starting at a new school because she was worried about all the other kids already having friends and not including her. So we prayed that she would meet someone on the first day and make a friend. We were in her classroom less than a minute when a mom said to me, "Are you guys new here too?" Our girls ended up being at the same table and became fast friends. Now they are in separable and so sweet to watch. It was neat for Reagan to see how God answers prayer. The best part is that her new friend loves Jesus, just like Reagan. Her mom and I are starting a mother's prayer group and hoping to see some great things happen at our little school.

I thought Bailey would miss her sisters, but she is loving the extra attention. Of course she's still happy each day to go get Skylar. We've used the time to do some "school" of our own and her writing skills are improving fast! She sounded out her first word last week so she tells everyone that she can read now. :)

I participated in my first consignment sale. I finally parted with the rest of the baby clothes. (sniff. sniff.). It felt good to get some bins out of the garage but the smell of the baby clothes took me right back to when they were tiny. Don't worry, I still have two bins of "keepsake" stuff that I plan to make into a quilt for each of them. But the rest needed to go. I'm officially hooked on this consignment sale. It's only twice a year, so I can save up my items and make a nice profit.

Last weekend we had a snake in the house. Granted, it was tiny and not too scary, but still. A snake. In the house! Thankful for my wonderful husband that took care of it quickly. Don't worry, it wasn't a rattlesnake, but still....a snake.

I have full laundry baskets calling my name. Right after we go swimming, that is. :) It's HOT today!

Recycled centerpieces

2011-09-01T13:29:00.000-07:00

We have events or barbeques at our house frequently so I'm often in search of ways to dress up our table (or kitchen island).

I've also been spray painting anything in my path lately.

So, when I needed something to put some fairy wands in that I made for a friend, I grabbed a pickle jar from the fridge, convinced Skylar she wanted to eat the last pickle, washed it out, and spray painted it. I was officially hooked on re-using jars.

So, when I had a ladies event at my house this week, I took a look at all my jars that are "waiting to be painted" and decided to do something with them.

I put a little sand from the sandbox in, added a tealight and some raffia, and voila!

I don't think we'll ever throw away another jar. :)

Firsts

2011-08-30T16:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a first for us.

It was the first day of school. At a new school. And it was Skylar's first day of kindergarten.

We had prepared her the best way we knew how. She can write her name, read short books, and knows how to count to 100. More importantly, she knows when to say 'please' and 'thank you', how to raise her hand, how to follow directions, and how to be a friend.

We picked out an outfit, packed her backpack with 30 pounds of supplies, and made a snack.

The night before school started, she was getting misty-eyed. When I asked what was wrong, she said, "I'm excited to start school, but I'm sad to grow up."

Me too baby....me too.

Yesterday was Reagan's first day of third grade. She made a friend in the first five minutes and after school she said, "I have a feeling we're going to be best friends. She's very polite and sweet and she loves God!"

My girls are growing up.

Lord give us the strength and wisdom to continue raising them in the way they should go.

celebrating with frozen yogurt after school!

Beach beauties!

2011-08-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

Ok, so first of all, html and I are not bff's. Please pardon the bloggy mess if you are visiting the actual site. :)

We had a wonderful day at the beach with some of our friends yesterday. It was actually chilly when we got there, but the sun came out and we warmed up quickly. The girls could have played in the water ALL DAY. The most incredible part was that there were three moms (and my mom as the grandma for the day), and ELEVEN girls, ages 8 and under. There was no fighting, whining, or complaining. They were eleven of the most incredible girls (my 3 included, of course). They were all so sweet, and well-mannered. I was thankful to be able to spend time with other moms, working hard to raise Godly little women. It made for such an enjoyable time! There was plenty of girly shrieking at the waves of course!!

Bailey's "cheese" grin. She's part bulldog apparently.

The water was frigid when we first got in! That didn't keep them out of the water though!

My precious oldest has grown up so much in the past year.

Pure. Joy.

This beach has a playground on it. How cool is that?!

Lots of squealing girls chasing the shore breaks

My beach beauties!

Someone commented that Skylar's eyes matched the ocean. She was right!

We hurried home, shook off the sand, and headed to Open House at the girls' new school. We're excited to start next week, and so glad we squeezed in a beach trip before the summer was over.

A Married Mothers Manifesto

2011-08-22T18:36:00.000-07:00

Found this today and thought it was worth sharing:

"We are all raised with "do's and don'ts" from the time we can move. Our rules change as we get older and then we realize that everyone has different ideas about what we should or should not do. I learned early on in my life as a mother and wife that God has far different expectations than we could ever imagine. So I wrote my own set of "rules" to look back on when I get pulled too far from the road I should be traveling. Hopefully they speak to you too.

I will not obsess over the 5, 10, or 15 pounds that show up on the scale and destroy my self-esteem.
I will lace my shoes up and do something about it.

I will not downplay or minimize a compliment. ("Oh you look great in that dress!"... "Oh, it's just a slimming color.")
I will accept it gratefully and smile and pay it forward with a compliment to someone else that just might need it.

I will not make excuses for my house being too small, or not decorated, or too lived in.
I will remember that God can use any house when it is offered for His glory.

I will not believe that being married means I can stop trying.
I will give my husband the best of me, and not the leftovers.

I will not expect my husband to meet my every need.
I will try to bless him each and every day.

I will not feel guilty for needing a few moments away from my children.
I will remember that God's voice is loudest when I am quiet.

I will not compare myself, my house, my children, or my husband to others.
I will treat my family as the gift they are.

I will not continually hope for the next phase of life.
I will embrace this season.

I will not spend our money, and incur debt on frivolous things.
I will store up my treasures in heaven.

I will not let my children become "those kids" that people dread being around.
I will shepherd my children and teach them how to become responsible, respectful, adults.

I will not be in such a hurry.
I will smile at strangers. It may be the only one they see that day.

I will not be so busy.
I will spend time just playing with my children.

I will not be judgmental.
I will give someone the benefit of the doubt.

I will not lament over what we don't have.
I will make our house a home by the attitude and atmosphere I set.

I will not be a screaming, yelling woman.
I will remember that a gentle tone turns away wrath.

I will not live a life of regret.
I will tell those close to me that I love them. often.

I will not beat myself up over mistakes.
I will remember that God's grace is sufficient.

I will not be anxious.
I will pray.

I will not let anger fill my heart.
I will pray.

I will not walk in fear of the unknown.

I will pray.

I will laugh at myself.

I will treasure my "now".

I will learn to cook healthy meals.

I will let my children eat cake for dinner sometimes.

I will say please and thank you.

I will remember that God made me, and He doesn't make mistakes."

What would you add??

She's still 5

2011-08-16T08:54:00.000-07:00

Most days I feel like I'm running at full speed just to keep up with my "list." I know there will always be something else to do, so I end up doing only what is absolutely necessary each day. That means the big projects often get pushed aside. Skylar's 5 year pictures were no different. We have a tradition of doing portraits at 5 years old (in a white dress) in our family. Someday I would love to display my moms, mine, and all 3 of my girls, in one frame. Reagan's portraits were a little pricey so we've been holding off on doing Skylar's pictures. But her bottom tooth started getting wiggly....and I really wanted to have them done before she lost her baby teeth. Thankfully, I've been able to pick up photography as a little hobby and when we were asked if Skylar could be part of a magazine shoot in San Diego, I jumped at the chance to take some pictures of her myself. I'm still saving up for that DSLR, but I was thrilled with what we got. She may be five and a half, but it was worth the wait.

It doesn't hurt that she's so beautiful and totally photogenic. :)

Now to pick a favorite.....

Baby Blues

2011-08-14T21:17:00.000-07:00

This weeks theme at I Heart Faces is "Beautiful Eyes." How could I not enter a photo of my sweet middle girl and her gorgeous baby blues?

Last week we had a little outing down to San Diego and I took advantage of the setting to take some 5 year old shots of my girl. We have a tradition of photos in a white dress when you turn five. I'm only six months behind :) But, they were totally worth the wait.

This shot is SOOC. Yes, her eyes really are *that* blue!

Go check out the other "beautiful eyes" at iheartfaces.com

Not all 'healthy' is created equal

2011-08-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

I have a friend (and I'm kinda hoping she doesn't read our blog!), that recently tried to make the "switch" to organic foods based on my recommendations. After almost a month she emailed and said "I don't see any difference. It's too expensive and frustrating. I'm going back to the way we did things before."

This is a topic I could disucss for days, so, let me address here a few reasons why all things labeled 'organic' are not always healthy.

As with all things in life, I like to take a comprehensive approach. In parenting, there is no "one" method that works best for each child. Our kids are not textbooks, so we need to adjust what we do and how we respond for each one differently. With exercise, you can't just run for 30 seconds everyday and expect weight to fall off. With being healthy, you can't just make a switch to buying foods that have "organic" on them and expect to feel different within a few weeks. In fact, eating organically is a long term investment.

Many of the pesticides that leave a residue on our foods are known carcinogens and cancer takes years to surface. By eating organically now, I'm investing in my children's future by not exposing them to harmful chemicals. Likewise, organic foods do not contain GMO's (genetically modified ingredients). GMO's have not been around long enough for us to know their true impact. Again, until we know the long term effects, we try to avoid them.

With milk, chicken, and beef, the non-organic versions contain antibiotics (which can lead to antibiotic resistance), and hormones to make the animals mature faster. Those hormones are passed on to the person eating the food, or drinking the milk. Doctors are noticing that children are maturing faster (girls as early as second grade) and some have linked this fact to the hormones in our food. Obviously, just a month of eating organically won't make a difference here.

In addition, the 'organic' industry has exploded so there's a lot of money to be made by misguided consumers. Just because something says "organic" on it, does not mean it's healthy for you. Granted, when choosing between a regular and an organic cookie, the organic is the lesser of two evils, but not by much. Cow manure is considered organic but you don't see me feeding that to my kids either. :)

Our bodies were not made to process refined white flour and refined sugar. We were made to eat foods that are whole, natural, and fresh. Just because a cookie has an organic label on it, doesn't make it any easier for our bodies to process. Does that mean that we only eat fresh, whole, natural foods at our house? No. But we're careful about the quantity. The bulk of our diet is made up of the good stuff.

We also (in that comprehensive approach) make sure that our kids get plenty of exercise and we take daily vitamins (with extra D and probiotics).

If you're considering a switch to 'healthy' eating, I encourage you to do some research on your own. And give it more than a month.

Vacation Week Two (aka: picture overload)

2011-07-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

After we left our dear friends in Indianapolis we spent the entire second week of our vacation in Wisconsin. From Indy we drove to Sheboygan, WI. It's right on Lake Michigan (which the girls kept calling the 'ocean') and there's a fabulous hotel with a waterpark. We planned our stop in Sheboygan because, as much as we LOVED being with family and friends, we also wanted a day to be just our family of five. The indoor waterpark was a big highlight for the girls. We had to remind them to eat and drink while we were there because time just evaporates when you're having THAT much fun!

The boardwalk in front of the hotel on the lake

Our hotel room was an "aquarium" with bunk beds and a tv just for the kids

The Indoor waterpark!

My favorite shot of Skylar

Reagan loved it!

Bailey wasn't too sure at first. Just through those windows....Lake Michigan. So beautiful!

This was her favorite part!

The girls after six hours of playing in the water.

Taking a walk outside before we left

Skylar was exhausted from playing (but at least I got a sweet shot out of it).

We left Sheboygan and headed north to my cousins' house in Merrill. They have chickens. And kittens. And horses. And a tire swing. The girls were in heaven!

It was SO beautiful and relaxing (and hard to leave).

We went back down south to Milwaukee for the wedding that started the planning of this whole trip.

We even squeezed in a visit with some Virginia friends that happened to be vacationing in WI too!

Our first experience with real frozen custard. YUM! We definitely enjoyed all the food Wisconsin had to offer. Best cheese, sausage, bratwurst, and custard we've ever had. We should have planned the wedding at the beginning of our trip because my dress barely fit by the end!

The girls checking out the golf course at the rehearsal.

The wedding day!

My handsome man got to wear a tux!

The girls danced late into the night at the reception. I love this one of Skylar. She was having so much fun just jumping up and down to the music!

Dancing with daddy....

Headed home from a whirlwind vacation!

It was truly the trip of a lifetime for all of us. We're grateful for all the family and friends that made it do-able by opening their homes. We had a blast! Someday I'll catch up on the laundry. :)

I heart my water babies!

2011-07-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

I had planned to do a recap of the last part of our big trip but instead decided to link up with the photo challenge over at Iheartfaces! I couldn't resist when I heard the challenge was "water." One of my favorite photos from our trip was at at a waterpark in Wisconsin. Skylar had SO MUCH FUN! Right after I snapped this shot, she said, "Mommy, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much! But it's ok!"

This one is SOOC. I didn't want to mess with pure joy!

Head on over to I Heart Faces and see other "water" shots!

a re-cap of week one

2011-07-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

Today is the first day in over a month that we have nothing planned. It feels wonderful!
I'm still getting caught up from our vacation, but our crazy post-trip week is over. We've had dental visits, doctor visits, a day trip to San Diego, a baby shower, dog grooming, and Brian and I celebrated our 10th anniversary. Whew! It's no wonder the girls slept until 9am today. :)

Don't worry, I won't bombard you with 700 photos from our trip but I would love to share my favorites from our first week. We had a lot of "firsts" for the girls and made tons of memories. They saw deer, caught fireflies (we don't have lightning bugs in CA), among other things.

We started our trip in Tennessee visiting Brian's parents and brother and sister in law (and niece and nephews).

The girls playing on Pop Pop's tow truck

The girls got to ride on the four-wheelers with their "big cousins" for the first time (and LOVED it!)

At the Discovery Center

Bailey with cousin Ethan (I love his reflection in the pool!)

Bailey amazed at the air tunnel at the Discovery center

The girls in front of Aunt Kimber's incredible hydrangeas

The girls with MomMom and PopPop at Cracker Barrel (another first)!

After leaving Brian's family in southwest Tennessee, we went in to Nashville to see my aunt and uncle. Aunt Sharon took us to the Nashville Zoo.

From Nashville, we left and went to our friends' house in Indianapolis. On my birthday. My wonderful friend Rachel made delicious brownie cupcakes (and a host of other yummy food all weekend). Then we went to the Indy Zoo.

The girls got to pet a shark....

And act like monkeys...

Then we got to play with fireworks (something we are not allowed to do in our city). Brian showed the girls how to light five sparklers at a time.

After we spent time with our friends in Indy, we moved on to Sheboygan, WI.

But that starts our second week.....

Recovery

2011-07-11T19:27:00.000-07:00

We just returned from an amazing family vacation. It was wonderful but I'm tired. I have some major catching up to do (laundry anyone??), and something planned for each day this week. I'm not sure what I was thinking!
I plan to give a synopsis of our trip but in the meantime, I thought I'd share a couple pictures.

On Lake Michigan in Sheboygan, WI

On my cousins farm in Merrill, WI

Trust me...there are 698 more pictures where these came from!

Conversation with an 8-year-old that's way too smart

2011-06-15T12:55:00.000-07:00

Reagan: Mommy, can I watch a show after lunch?

Me: Yes, which show are you going to watch?

R: Can I watch Extreme Couponing?

Me: Isn't there a show on that's more...appropriate for your age?

R: There's Phineas and Ferb but I've already seen it and I'm not in the mood for animation. There's Fresh Beat Band, but I think that's more for 7 years olds and younger.

Me: I'm just not a big fan of Extreme Couponing.

R: If I tell you that I know people are buying in excess and it's not really saving money if you're buying things you don't need, and that they aren't really buying healthy things...then can I watch it?

Me: Yes.

Bring it!

2011-06-09T12:23:00.000-07:00

We are on official summer break!! The last week of school was a whirlwind! I made a class video. Reagan had an awards assembly (where she got perfect attendance), we had a flag ceremony where they said goodbye to her teacher (she's going to another school next year), we had a music day in her class, a pizza party, an ice cream party, yearbook signing, end of the year gifts, and the art fair. Whew!

Yesterday was bittersweet as we said good-bye to all of Reagan's friends and her wonderful teacher. We're looking forward to our new adventure at the charter school but it was still a little sad to know we wouldn't see some of our friends each day.

We started our break the way everyone does- At the dentist!! What? Most people don't start their vacations at the dentist? Hmm. Well, we did. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I made the appointment six months ago but at least we got it out of the way before we were used to sleeping in. :)

After we got home from the dentist Reagan said "Now what do we do?"

Somehow catching up on all the laundry and cleaning I've neglected in the last week didn't appeal to them. I asked them to come up with some ideas. They asked for BuildaBear and Disneyland. I guess I should have emphasized FREE things to do this summer. :)

Back to the drawing board.
Happy Summer All!!

Friday Funnies

2011-06-03T16:04:00.000-07:00

I've been terrible with remembering to write things down lately, but here are a few that I managed to text myself. :)

**************************
Me: Bailey, you just have to wait and be patient.
Bailey: But I don't know HOW to wait!!
**************************
Bailey asked Skylar to help her unbuckle her carseat straps and Skylar told her, "If I help you, then you will never learn to do it yourself."
**************************
And...in the "not so G rated" section:
Reagan saw a mobile dog grooming van at the gas station and in her haste to read it quickly she started shouting "Doggy Style! Doggy Style!" (It was in fact, "Doggy Stylin'") :)

Skylar and Bailey like to play the "construction game" where they shout out what type of construction vehicle they see while we're driving. Bailey doesn't have all the correct names down yet, so I had to laugh when she started yelling "Hoe! Hoe! Mommy look, a Hoe!"
**************************
And...in the "things that build my self esteem" section:
I was blowdrying my hair (and it gets really fluffy), and Bailey walked into my bathroom. She took one look at my hair (pre straightener) and said, "Oh mommy. How will you ever get it back to normal?"

I was carrying Bailey in the grocery store the other day and she said, "You are too heavy for me." Reagan corrected her and said, "I think you mean that you are too heavy for mommy. You can't lift mommy. That would take a really really strong man, like daddy."
**************************
Skylar asked what the term "King of my heart" meant in a song. I explained to her about having Jesus in your heart and she said, "I don't remember if I have Jesus in my heart. I better ask him again just to be sure!" After I prayed with her, she looked down her shirt and said, "Yep, he's in there now." :)

Have a blessed weekend!

Sixteen

2011-05-16T11:04:00.000-07:00

Sixteen more days of school. I'm so ready for summer, and lazy mornings, and evenings outside.
We went to the park the other night with some friends and it just made me long for summer even more. The kids love the park playground but also love the creek that runs behind the park. It's brimming with tadpoles right now.

Looking for tadpoles

Two of the ones they caught

Pointing out the rabbits in the field

Just sixteen more days.....

Creative Laziness

2011-05-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

I would never call my children lazy. But occasionally they do have a funny way of getting out of work.

The other day I asked Bailey to go upstairs and pick up the playroom. She said she was just too tired to climb the stairs. I made her do it anyway. Five minutes later Skylar came downstairs and said, "Did you know Bailey is asleep on the stairs?"

Poor kid wasn't kidding. She really was too tired to climb the stairs. Or else she just REALLY didn't want to clean the playroom.

Last week I went to use the bathroom downstairs and saw this:

Rather than actually replace the toilet paper, Reagan just set it on top of the counter. And in case you weren't sure what that roll was, she labeled it:

My kids crack me up!

Pretty much...

2011-05-09T10:07:00.000-07:00

This is how I feel today:

Mom

2011-05-07T16:43:00.000-07:00

I posted some pictures from Easter on facebook and a friend from Virginia commented on one. She said, "I remember when all you wanted was to be a mama. Now look at you."

The comment nearly brought me to tears. It's true. It's all I've ever wanted. I remember asking my mom for years and years if she would give me a baby brother or sister. I told her that I would take care of the baby and she wouldn't need to do anything. (sounds more like I was asking for a puppy huh?) :) I didn't understand that it wasn't "possible" for my mom to have any more babies. I just knew that I wanted a baby of my own so badly.

I started babysitting at the ripe old age of 9. Yes, 9. By 14 I was a full fledged nanny during the summer months. At 16 I had a little girl I watched so much that she called me "mama." As much as I enjoyed it, I had to teach her to call me something else. I was the first face she saw in the morning, and the last she saw at night. I witnessed her first steps, and heard her first words. I loved her like my own but it broke my heart. I knew her mom was missing out. It was through that experience that I decided I would do whatever I had to in order to stay home with my kids. I was blessed to marry someone with the same ideals.

It was only two years after we were married when we had Reagan. I remember holding her for the first time. Besides the flood of emotion that comes with any normal delivery, I was also overwhelmed with the realization that I was finally a mom. I didn't have to give her back. Even as we were leaving the hospital two days later Brian suggested we stop at Babies R Us to get some preemie stuff and I said "Is it ok to do that?" He responded, "She's ours. We can do whatever we want." :)

Now, almost 8 years later, I know I'm doing exactly what God wants me to do. It doesn't make each day easy or filled with rainbows, unicorns or cupcakes with sprinkles. But even on the days where I feel like locking myself in the closet for some peace and quiet, I cling to the knowledge that our sacrifices are not in vain. There are plenty of things I'm not, but I know that being a mom was a desire placed by God and fulfilled by Him alone. And "He who began a good work will be faithful to complete it."

I also know that God placed an incredible example in my life as my own mom. She amazes me with her quiet strength, her love, selflessness, and sense of humor. She is a blessing to me and my girls are incredibly lucky to have her as their "yaya."

(yes, I know we match....and we didn't even plan it)

Thank you mom for being a Christ-like, shining example in my life and in the lives of my girls.

Happy Mother's Day!

Mud

2011-05-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

I finally backed up our computer and deleted a bunch of files so I could download new pics. I know you've been waiting on the edge of your seats. :)

For Skylar and Bailey's birthdays my mom asked if she could get the girls a sand and water table. At first I said no. We've had a sand and water table before. I know what happens. The sand doesn't stay on the sand side. The water doesn't stay on the water side. It turns into a mud table.

I don't mind fun messes, but I wasn't too keen on the idea of mud being tracked through the house.

But she convinced me that it would be so much fun for the girls, so I caved.

She was right. It is fun. They love it.

But I was right too. It's a mess.

A big, muddy mess.

But such a fun mess!

Who needs the beach when you have this in your backyard?

Thanks mom! :)

One weekend.

2011-04-25T10:28:00.000-07:00

Having just finished the Easter weekend, I can't help but be introspective about it. It's humbling to remember that He did it for me. That kind of love is just unfathomable.

I've been thinking a lot about what that Friday must have been like. I know it didn't feel like a "Good Friday" to those that loved and followed Jesus back then. What sorrow they must have felt. What defeat.

That Saturday could not have been any better. Even though the "worst" was over, they were still reeling from the tragedy of the day before. They didn't know that Sunday was coming. But it did!

That weekend continues to play out in our daily lives. Maybe you've just endured a Friday. The sky is black and you feel hopeless. Or maybe you're in the midst of a Saturday. Reality is sinking in and you're desperate for good news. Rest assured, Sunday is coming.

"Sorrow may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5

We do all the baskets and eggs and chocolate bunnies and pretty dresses, but our girls know why we celebrate Easter (in the most age appropriate way of course). As a child I used to wonder why we didn't get a bunch of gifts on Easter, like we did on Christmas. They were both "Jesus" holidays, so why does one get more attention and hoopla than the other?

As an adult, I've realized that Easter IS the biggest gift. There's no way we could top it. We need to just accept it, and be grateful. How can you compete with grace?

In college as an RA, I had a student that had a plaque over her dorm room door. It read:

"Good morning! This is God.

Don't worry, I've already taken care of today.

Please don't go messing it up by trying to do things yourself."

I imagine that God would add to that by saying, "By the way....I've got tomorrow covered too."

It's a good reminder for each of us. Don't worry. But I still do.

I was worried about the girls getting into the charter school we wanted. The week before the lottery I called to find out the exact date we would hear anything and they informed me that there were absolutely no openings in third grade. That meant Reagan would be wait-listed regardless of the lottery.

We discussed a bunch of different scenarios if Skylar got in and Reagan did not: homeschooling, two different schools next year, taking her out mid-year if there was an opening, etc. etc. etc. Then we prayed.

The day of the lottery we got a phone call from the school administrator. She said "Just calling to let you know that we have a spot for Skylar in the Fall!" I started screaming and jumping up and down (in true girl fashion). Then she went on to say, "And we've decided to make room for Reagan and increase the class size by one so that she can come here too." That's when I lost it. Tears of joy.

God knew. He had already taken care of it.

Why do we worry?

I know, I know...we're human. We try but we fail again and again. But that's ok. God knows that too.

Today, I'm just thankful for grace and the promise of Sunday.

Friday Funnies

2011-04-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

It's been a while and I've been terrible at writing down the funny things the girls have been saying.
But here are a few that I DID remember (if you know me on facebook, some of these will look familiar):

************************************
Reagan overheard me talking to a friend about her 14 year old niece making poor choices. Reagan said, "what kind of poor choices is she making?"
I said, "Well, she's spending too much time with boys."
Reagan said, "Oh! Like playdates?!"
Ha! Love her innocence.
************************************
At Skylar's 5 year well child visit, the pediatrician asked her, "Do you know some of your letters Skylar?" In a very serious (and blatantly sarcastic) tone, she said, "Um, yah. I know how to read."
(Then of course the Dr. asked her what her favorite food was and she said 'hot dogs.' We never eat hot dogs!)
************************************
Reagan and Skylar were watching the lizards in our backyard one afternoon. They do this funky "push up" move that always cracks the girls up. Skylar said, "I wonder why they do that." Reagan answered (very matter of factly), "I bet it's because it's mating season. He's working out to attract the females." OMG! Animal Planet is officially banned now! :)
************************************
Skylar was setting the table the other night for dinner and she gave Bailey a fork that Bailey didn't like. She started whining that she wanted a princess fork and Skylar looked right at her and said, "You're three now Bailey. It's time you learn how things work around here. I get the forks. You don't complain. Got it?"
************************************
We were at Costco and decided to grab lunch at their food court. There was no one in line when we got there but after we sat down with our food the line started backing up. My mom said, "Wow, we got here at the right time. Look at all these people now." Reagan said, "Yep. Must be happy hour."
(I wondered how in the world she knew about happy hour, but realized later that Sonic has a happy hour).
************************************
I was doing my hair one morning and Reagan walked into the bathroom. She said "What smells like bologna?" Then she got closer to me and said, "Oh! It's you. Well, not you, but your hair stuff. Now I'm hungry." Note to self....stop using that leave in conditioner. :)
************************************
Bailey was out in the garden with me last week and remarked, "Mommy, we're growing weed in our garden."
Me: "WeedSSSS, baby. WeedZZZZ."
************************************
I was reading upstairs and Reagan walked into my room. She said, "If you see something outside, it's just daddy. He's really good at getting high!" (Which is even funnier considering the comment above! Don't worry, he was just hitting golf balls!).
************************************
We were at Reagan's school one morning and I saw one of her classmates. I said, "Look Ray, there's Carson. He's such a sweet boy." She replied, "He's more boy than he is sweet. He makes disgusting noises with his hand in his armpit." Ha! Gotta love growing up with just girls. :)
************************************
I was pulling weeds in the backyard yesterday and Skylar asked if she could help. After about ten minutes of her helping, she said, "Ok, I'm done helping. I'm going back to being a kid again." :)
************************************
After pulling weeds I came in and made pasta with spinach. While Bailey was eating, she said, "Mommy, did you put the weeds in our pasta?"
************************************
We were running at the park one afternoon and Bailey needed to go potty. All they had were port-a-potties, and Bailey said she was too scared to use one. So Skylar told her, "Don't be afraid Bailey. The Bible says 'don't be scared because God is always with us.'" I was overwhelmed with pride until she said, "So stop being such a crybaby and get over it!"

Have a great weekend!

We are that family!

2011-03-23T13:46:00.000-07:00

Growing up there was a family in church that some might describe as "odd." They didn't eat fast food; they didn't own a tv (and subsequently no video games); their mom made their clothes; they were homeschooled (way before it was popular); there were more than 2 kids and they all got along for the most part. They were not the norm.

Fast forward 25 years and I find myself appreciating that odd family.

Somewhere in the last few years, we have decided that mainstream is not for us. Just because "everyone else" does it, doesn't make it right. Remember when your mom used to say "If everyone else jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?" Yah, the same rules apply as parents. Thanks for that timeless wisdom, Mom. :)

We are very careful about what our girls watch on television. Some days I'd like to chuck it out the window, but I do appreciate the quiet every once in a while. I'm not that crazy. The girls know what shows they are allowed to watch so when we are at a friends house, they will tell me if something inappropriate is on.

While I don't make all their clothes (I can, just choose not to), I do make sure that their clothing is age appropriate (and usually a bargain!).

We try to avoid fast food and sit together as a family each night. We made the decision to start eating organically a couple years ago and have seen such benefits from it. We also added vitamins, supplements and probiotics to our daily regimen so the girls are rarely sick.

We spend time outside being active.

Our girls don't always get along, but they do love each other and play well majority of the time. We have taught them that friends will always come and go but you will always be sisters, so you might as well get along now.

We talk about thankfulness a lot in our home. The girls take turns praying and it warms my heart to hear the things that they are thankful for.

They are precious to us.

When I was younger my mom wouldn't let me go over to a friends house because she didn't know the parents. When I asked her why, she explained it this way: "If I had a diamond worth 5 million dollars, I wouldn't just give it to anyone to take care of. I would choose only the most qualified, and trustworthy people to take care of it. YOU are worth far more than a five million dollar diamond to me. So I'm not going to just let anyone take care of you." That explanation has always stuck with me. I've already told my girls the same thing. They may not understand how much five million is, but they understand that jewels are valuable.

Recently we have been making decisions about schooling for our girls. We have realized we are not the norm. Regular public school is not meeting their needs. It's certainly not a place I want to send my precious gems to sit all day. We don't feel called to homeschool....yet. Private school would require a second mortgage on our home, so that's not an option either. Our only other option is a charter school. We've researched until our eyes are blurry. We've toured, asked questions, filled out applications, and now we just pray and wait.

When I told Reagan's teacher about our desire to switch over to a charter, she said "That's a great option for a family like yours."

A family like ours.

Yep, we are that family. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

She...

2011-03-08T06:38:00.000-08:00

She is three today.

She is my baby, but doesn't like to be called a baby. She reminds us daily that she's a "big girl" now. Since she was our "last" I tried desperately to hang on to the babyness. But she wanted nothing to do with it! We are a crib-free, diaper-free, baby toy (and giant gear) free house. She is already learning to write her letters and almost has the 50 states song mastered.

She likes to do whatever her big sisters are doing. We often hear "I do it myself!"

People tell me she looks the most like me.

She marches to the beat of her own drum (and dresses herself).

She cracks us up daily, which is good since she also tests every bit of patience we have. :)

She....

is our blessing.

Happy Birthday Baby!

The Eyes have it.

2011-03-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

When Skylar was a baby, people used to say "Wow she has such BIG eyes!" And she did. She has kind of grown in to them, but they are still the largest out of all three girls.

Do you know what happens when you have beautiful BIG blue eyes?
Well, they look beautiful in shots like this:

But the drawback?

They don't close all the way when you sleep!

Freaks me out everytime!

She's lucky she's so cute when she's awake.

Happy Friday!

Yay! 5!

2011-02-23T10:05:00.000-08:00

There's an old episode of The Cosby Show (probably from the first season) where Rudy is sad because she is the littlest in the family. But her mom convinces her that she is growing up each day and can already do lots of things at 5, that she couldn't do at 4. By the end, they were both saying "Yay 5!"

Today we are saying, "Yay 5!"

Skylar is 5 today! She has already spent the morning showing me how many things she can reach, and how her feet almost hit the floor when she sits on the couch. She is convinced that she grew a foot last night. The funny thing is....it looks like she did. :) I could have sworn that the jeans she is wearing today actually fit her last week. Thank the Lord that capris are in style!

Skylar is our fearless one, but also the most tender. She is incredibly flexible and just goes with the flow. She just doesn't get bothered by much. She is equally as good of a big sister, as she is a little sister.

She is definitely our happy-go-lucky kid! She makes us laugh; she's quick to listen *(most days) and loves to be a helper. We are blessed to have her in our family!

Happy Birthday sweet girl! Yay 5!

Keep on keepin' up

2011-02-17T14:13:00.000-08:00

I keep waiting for things to slow down. It's definitely a busy season for our family but I'm realizing more and more that life is just busy. There's always something to do. Somewhere to go. What that also means is that every time I'm doing something, something else isn't getting done. It gets easy to see the glass as half full or get overwhelmed.

"I'll never get it all done."
Nope. You won't.

"There just isn't enough time."
Nope. There isn't.

I find myself saying "I can't wait...." (fill in the blank). I can't wait for summer. I can't wait until the month runs out before the money. I can't wait until the girls can do more chores *(ok THAT one I really can't wait for!!).

I'm learning that today won't wait. All I can do is keep on keepin' up.
I'm learning to embrace the now. My girls won't ever be this age again. Ever.
I'm learning maybe I CAN wait.
God is in today. He placed me for the here and now. And where He is, is holy ground.
My circumstances today are holy ground.

"Worrying does not empty tomorrow of it's troubles; it empties today of it's strength."

Fast, and not so fast.

2011-02-14T10:05:00.000-08:00

The past 30+ have been a challenge for me. Our pastor did a series on "fasting" and after some prayerful consideration, I decided to give up all social media. I also fasted an occasional meal, but that's not what this post is about.

To be honest, when I first decided to fast, I wasn't sure I would make it. I crave social interaction. Most days that interaction comes in the online version. I don't like to feel "out of the loop." Then I started to wonder if folks would even notice I wasn't around. Of course that made me feel even more anxious!

"How in the world will my friends function without me?!"

It won't surprise you that life went on. I didn't log on. My friends survived without me. I got on without them. A few emailed me and said "I miss you" (which, let's face it, made me feel SO good!). The first few days weren't "hard" but I did find myself picking up my cell phone to check facebook and having to remind myself not to do it. It was hard to not click on the bookmarks while I was working on the computer. But after a few days I didn't even think about it. Then, an odd sense of relief set in. I didn't feel like I had to "keep up."

It did help that we had a busy month. We had Brian's parents visit for a week and had a wonderful time! Then, we had a few days before our good friends from Philly came to visit. The day before our friends arrived, I started teaching again. It's a fast track course at the community college with a new textbook so I have to spend almost as much time in preparation as I do actually teaching.

Now, the real purpose of fasting is to draw closer to God. So, you are supposed to use the time that you "would be doing something" (like eating or being on facebook) to spend time with the Lord. For me, my time on facebook and blogger were never large chunks of time. They were small snippets here and there. I actually felt a bit guilty because I wasn't being super spiritual and spending hours in prayer. But our pastor spoke on that EXACT thing during the fasting month. He said, "God doesn't want you to cram it all in. He wants you....throughout the day." So that's what I did. I prayed each time I thought about checking facebook or twitter or blogging. The oddest thing happened. I stopped thinking about facebook and twitter and blogging and started just conversing with God throughout my day. I created a new habit, and I love it.

I realized that without social media I wasn't just sitting and twiddling my thumbs. I NEVER had extra time. My day just got filled up with other things. I even wondered at a few points, "How in the world did I have time for all the social media before?" I realized that we MAKE time for the things that matter.

People say they don't have time to read a devotional. They don't have time to read to their children. They don't have time to exercise. They don't have time to meal plan. They don't have time to pray.

Make time.

Even though we were busy, January felt like it would NEVER end. I even told someone at church on January 30th, "well, back in January..." and she looked at me with a puzzled expression. Then she said, "Isn't it still January?" Sigh. Yes, January was long and by the end of the month it felt like it should be March.

My class is only 8 weeks long but feels like I've already been teaching for 8 weeks.

We all got colds but the girls recovered super fast. I think my crazy schedule made mine linger so it wasn't so fast for me.

I think all 3 girls grew at least a few inches since Christmas. They're growing so fast.

I hit my goal weight finally! (praise God!) It felt like it would never happen. I almost got hit by a truck while running last week. He wasn't going fast, but I was. :)

A week after being here, Brian's mom went to the hospital with a nagging cough and shortness of breath. She was diagnosed with uterine cancer that has spread to her lungs. It seems like it hit so fast. She already went through one surgery and will begin chemo in about 4 weeks. The treatments won't be fast, but we're praying they are effective. Your prayers are appreciated.

We are thankful for our family. I'm thankful for a month of perspective and prayer. I'm thankful to be back online :D

I'm thankful for these three blessings:

I heart the faces of 2010

2011-01-03T09:07:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I entered a challenge at I Heart Faces, but I thought this week would be fun.

I love each and every little face in our house, but this picture just melts me.

This photo is SOOC (straight out of the camera) and I wouldn't dare touch it.

Her eyes really are that blue (and her face really is that sweet).

Hop on over to Iheartfaces.com and see some other "favorite faces" from the past year.
Don't forget to vote. :)

Holly-Days!

2010-12-29T13:30:00.000-08:00

This lil' old blog has been quiet for a while. But that just means we've been having lots of fun! Well, mostly. Brian had surgery three days before Christmas but he's recovering well and already back to work.

The girls had a fantastic Christmas and now we are working to put things away (toys, laundry, Christmas decorations, etc.). I haven't run in WAY too long and I'm starting to feel the effects, so I'm starting that back up again soon too! I don't know what it is about post-Christmas, but it always makes me want to purge, organize, clean, and decorate. You can bet there will be plenty of that going on here as well. Meanwhile we're enjoying the rain (and we've had plenty!!) and just staying inside.

I've been trying to jot down a few of the funny things the girls have said so I can revive the Friday Funnies, (look for a new year's edition soon)!

I can tell you all we've been up to, but I know you'd much rather see it!

Reagan's classroom Christmas party:

Mom's birthday a few days before Christmas (and a delicious chocolate cake made by my sis-in-law):

Walking "Christmas Card Lane" (and a rare family pic):

Delivering cookies to daddy's office:

Reagan and my nephew Dylan (best buddies). He was teaching her all about something called a "Nintendo DS" :)

Christmas Eve at my mom and dad's house:

Christmas morning at our house. The girls all got a giant dollhouse to share. Love Reagan's face (and the fact that she's throwing paper in her baby sister's face). :)

Reagan REALLY wanted a globe for Christmas (something that's easy to find for cheap in August. In December, not so much). Thank you Craigslist!!

Skylar with her new Princess bike (complete with a baby seat on back)!

Skylar and Bailey wearing the slings that Reagan made for them!

Mom opening the quilt I made. She's going to hate this picture, but I just love it!

The girls playing with their new dollhouse:

Matching Christmas jammies!

Our tree on Christmas night. We have some crazy LED lights!

We hope your Christmas was blessed and your home is filled with warm memories! We are gearing up for a busy January (with every week/weekend already booked!), my return to teaching, and squeezing in some playtime too! :)

Happy New Year!!

Holiday Happenings

2010-12-17T10:47:00.000-08:00

You know it's been a while when my own husband says "you certainly aren't updating the blog very much." I know....I sound like a broken record. We've been busy. I've always said that I would not let the blog be a stressful thing for me, so when things get busy, it's the first thing to go. So, here's a brief update of our holiday happenings!

A family picture taken on Thanksgiving at my brother and sister in laws house.

The next day was Brian's birthday so we took him out to dinner (and ice cream)!

Then, the Christmas festivities started! We picked out a tree...

Our dental office had a Christmas festival with a petting zoo so the girls had a blast petting the 3 week old baby pig.

The girls decorated the tree...

This picture just makes me smile. Bailey dressed herself and asked me to take a picture :)

I hope you are enjoying the Christmas season as much as we are!! Reagan's last day of school before break is today so we're looking forward to 3 weeks of making cookies, watching movies, looking at lights, and staying in our pjs!

Little Mamas

2010-12-02T12:15:00.000-08:00

Today I'm linking up with my dear friend Liz! She has a countdown to Christmas and if you need any ideas for Christmas crafts, go check it out.

The girls have been so sweet this year when it comes to gifts. They have asked if they could give gifts to their sisters for Christmas. I love that they want to give and they aren't just thinking of their own lists. Reagan really really wanted to sew something so I found a pattern for something that she could do pretty easily (and that her sisters would love).

Both Bailey and Skylar adore their baby dolls. They tote them everywhere. Literally, everywhere. I've used scarves in the past to tie their babies to them so they can "wear" them like I did when they were babies. But, nothing beats a "real" sling for a baby doll!

One yard of fabric makes TWO slings. Plus, Reagan and I had them cranked out in less than 30 minutes (and for less than 5 dollars).

Start by cutting your one yard of fabric in half lengthwise. That leaves about 18 inches in width (for me, the fabric was 55 inches wide so my length was 55 inches by 18 inches). If your girls are littler, you can trim it a bit more, but I wanted a larger sling. I've heard you can also measure your child from hip to shoulder and then double it and add 2 inches. That's too much math for me. I just winged it.

Then, just hem both long edges.

You may also want to iron your fabric unless your allergic to ironing like I am.

After both long edges are hemmed,
Fold it in half with wrong side facing out.

Sew a curve on the OPEN end. Then trim. You can see how this is an exact science, right? My curve was lopsided so I actually sewed it again and made it a little less curvy. That seemed to work better.

Fold it right side out and then in half and you're ready to go!

Hope you enjoy making a baby sling for your little mamas!

(for littler girls, you can make the fabric closer to 12 inches in width and probably 40 inches or less in length. you can also line it with another fabric to make it heavier. the options are endless.)

Here's your sign

2010-11-30T21:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight Skylar said, "You know what I would love to do more than anything tonight? I want to have the fireplace on, put a blanket on the floor, put a Christmas movie on, and drink hot chocolate. With whipped cream. Peppermint whipped cream."

We're raising that girl right.

him

2010-11-26T04:10:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful for so much.

My family.

My home.

My God.

I could go on and on about each and every one. But today I'm thankful for him.

He is my rock.

My better half.

My heart.

He knows how to make me laugh, how to make me feel important, and loved.

He is *adored* by our three blessings.

He's an amazing dad!

You won't find someone more honest or harder working.

He also happens to be incredibly intelligent, rational, and level-headed.

He makes sacrifices and plans ahead so I can live my dream of being a stay at home mom.

He's introverted and quiet around people he doesn't know well.

That makes us a good team. :)

He leads our home spiritually and I am secure knowing that his relationship with the Lord is solid.

He prays with me and for our girls each and every day.

It's just a bonus that he's so handsome and his gaze still makes my heart race.

He also happens to know exactly how I take my coffee.

I am so thankful for him.

Happy Birthday Honey! Each day with you is a gift!

smile

2010-11-24T09:41:00.000-08:00

I'm trying desperately to be more organized this year. I had a goal of having almost all my shopping done by Thanksgiving. I'm not going to make it. I've been waiting for a wonderfully warm but overcast day to take our Christmas card pictures. I realized (after checking weather.com), that wasn't going to happen either. So we headed out this week to capture what we could.

It was cold. And windy.

And sunshiny....hence the squinting.

Lots of squinting. So we changed directions.

And the wind was blowing in a different direction

(Reagan's hair was in Baileys face for about 15 pictures).

Then Bailey started doing her "underbite" grin. She's part bulldog apparently.

Then I would get two smiling.....and one not. (and there's still squinting).

So I decided to work with the squinting and just go with sillyness! They loved making kissy faces!

So much so, that they just couldn't stop.

Then all sorts of sillyness ensued....

oy.

We finally got *one* decent picture. Decent, not perfect.

I even took a few indoors.

Sometimes I think I need to have lower expectations. I'm not a professional. I don't have a professional camera. My girls are not trained models. Sometimes, you just have to take what you have and smile. What I do have is 3 healthy, beautiful girls. Girls that have tender hearts of gold. Girls that indulge my need to take 150 pictures (or more) just to find a good one. Girls that bring me so much joy!

I pray that your home is filled with joy during this season too!

Confession

2010-11-15T17:13:00.001-08:00

I'm a snob. Well, a grammar snob at least. Call me a rule follower, but I prefer to use words the way they were intended. Yes, I'm one of those moms. I correct my children when they say "Can I have some water please?" I usually say "Yes, you MAY have water."

I'm not sure why folks forget that there are two "r's" in the word "library." I cringe when I hear teenagers say "fo sho" (that's "for sure" if you aren't hip to the lingo). It's even more bothersome when I hear 9 year old kids saying it. They might as well be pulling their fingernails across a chalkboard. It's almost as frustrating as the boys that insist on wearing their pants below their bottoms and showing off their boxers. But that's a whole other post.

I don't know when the word "supposedly" was replaced with "supposably" (not an actual word by the way). At some point it became acceptable to use text speak in an email. FYI: If I have to break out my teeenage text decoder book just to read your email, I'm probably going to delete it. It also became acceptable at some point to use the incomplete sentence for dramatic effect. I know I have done it before, but I know folks that do it. All. The. Time. I don't use it often. Only when. Absolutely. Necessary. :)

There: the opposite of here. "Please put your shoes over there."
Their: the possessive pronoun form. "Their shoes were all wet after walking in the rain."
They're: Can be used synonymously with "They are." If "they are" does not work in your sentence, "they're" is not the proper word. "They're going to the store after the movie."
My second grader knows the difference between these words. There's no excuse for adults.

This morning I was taking Reagan to school and a Suburban pulled out in front of me with writing on the back window. It said "Go VIPers." Now, granted, I did not get to finish my coffee so I was operating at half caff. I went into an entire discussion (in my head of course) as to how ridiculous it is to have a football team named the VIP'ers. Eventually I did realize that she meant "Vipers" but somehow she must have figured that standard rules of capitalization did not apply to car windows.

I saw a t-shirt at the store the other day that said, "Don't worry, I'm just correcting your grammar in my head while you speak." I may have to purchase it for myself.

just....

2010-11-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

I'm just sitting here and trying to sort out my thoughts.
I'm listening to my precious girls playing restaurant and giggling while they make french fry pizza. Some days I want to pack everything up and move to a remote location where the world can't influence their innocence. I don't ever want them to know that there are bad things that happen in the world. I'm tired of hearing people swear in public. I'm tired of averting my children's eyes because someone is dressed inappropriately. I'm annoyed by the people that insist on being negative....all the time. I can't believe the commercials that play on children's channels. It almost feels like a losing battle.

At the grocery store two days ago there was a lady in front of me that used to work there. The cashier asked where she was working now and she said, "I stay home now." His response was, "Oh, so you're just a mom now?" Just a mom. Just one of the most important jobs in the world. Just shaping the future generation of leaders. Just protecting our children from others. Just teaching them right from wrong. Just sharing the love of Christ with them so they can know His grace too. Just teaching them to pray. Just trying to balance life with love. Just shepherding our children's hearts. Just teaching...by example. I could go on and on.

The truth is, it can be overwhelming. I can't put my girls in a bubble. They will know hurt and sadness. That's why it's even more important for us to teach them about our eternal hope (and why we obey our parents, and how to speak with kindness, and how to be thankful).

It's not easy, but not impossible. I'm just sayin.

Friday Funnies

2010-11-11T21:39:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Friday Funnies!

Bailey has been a total crack up lately but not necessarily with WHAT she says, but HOW she says it. I'm thinking a "video friday funnies" is going to be in our near future (if I can get a video to load).
**************************************
A conversation in the van the other day:
Reagan: Mommy, Christmas is where we celebrate Jesus's birth and Easter is where we celebrate His death, right?
Me: Well, we don't really celebrate his death. Easter is a celebration of his resurrection from the tomb.
Reagan: Then, what in the world does that have to do with eggs??
Me: Hmmm, I'm not sure how eggs got thrown in the mix.
Reagan: Maybe the tomb was in the shape of an egg.
**************************************
Skylar wanted to play hide n seek the other night but daddy had just got home from a long day at work. This is how that conversation went.
Skylar: Daddy, can you play hide n seek with me?
Brian: Can I do it from here on the couch?
Skylar: Sure! You sit here and I will go count and then I'll come find you. ok?
Brian: (confused) ok....
Then we heard Skylar go in the other room, count to ten and come back into the family room. She saw Brian sitting on the couch and shouted "I found you!"
We all busted up laughing and then Skylar said, "Ok, mommy, your turn. I'll go count...." ha!!
**************************************
Sometimes when Bailey asks for something she can't have, I will say "awww, you're so cute, but the answer is still no." The other day she asked for chocolate milk and I said, "No baby, you can't have chocolate milk." She replied, "But I so cute!"

Have a blessed weekend!

The most wonderful time of the year!

2010-11-08T15:47:00.000-08:00

I {heart} the holidays. Everything about them just fills me to the brim with excitement and joy. I'm so thankful that my girls seem to share in my Christmas enthusiasm. We've been watching Christmas movies since August, listening to Christmas music for at least a month now, making Christmas lists, planning where the tree will go, and as soon as the temperature dipped to "slightly chilly" the girls were begging for the fireplace to go on. I, of course, obliged.

I'm not exaggerating when I say that I start planning our Christmas cards....in July. What are the girls going to wear? Will they match? or just coordinate? Will we do pics of just kiddos or the whole fam? (Let's face it, most folks just want to see the kids anyway right??) Where will we take the pictures? Then I get to start looking at Christmas cards and planning which one I want. There used to be so few options available. Now, it's nearly overwhelming. There's also the cost factor involved.

My sweet friend Liz reminded me about Shutterfly's awesome Christmas cards! And they are truly on the affordable side. The options are pretty endless too. I browsed through their site and kept saying "ooh, I like that one. Ooh, no I like that one better!"

They have the fun 5x5 size

They have true "cards" where you can write on the inside (and they're great because they sit up for display!). You may notice I have a thing for the cards with three pictures. It makes it so easy when you have three kids to get just ONE good picture of each of them instead of one good picture with all three. Believe me.

Of course they have options for just one picture (or two, or four, or eight...whatever you prefer).

I loved the inside of this one (also named "the most wonderful time of the year, appropriately). You can actually do a group shot on the outside of the card and then include a small pic of each family member with an update on them on the inside.

(a pic of the inside)

They cover every saying, whether you prefer "Happy Holidays", "Merry Christmas", or even "Bah Humbug." Ok, I was joking about that one. Just making sure you were still paying attention. I personally like the Religious cards. Afterall, Jesus IS the reason for the season. And I agree with this card. Every good gift does come from above. Especially my three gifts.

We are using Shutterfly for our family calendars this year

(they happen to do invitations, gift tags, and photo books too!).

The best part is that by being a blogger, I was able to get 50 free cards just for lovin' Shutterfly!

Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly, follow the arrow à here :) You're welcome.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some shoppin' to do....and I need to figure out what the girls are going to wear!

Lil' Punkins

2010-11-06T21:58:00.000-07:00

I realized that I never posted pictures from our trip to the Pumpkin Patch!
WARNING: THIS IS GOING TO BE A PHOTO HEAVY POST!

We discovered last year that going on a Friday was the best idea!! It's not crowded, and the folks that are there, all clear out by 3pm. We have a lot of "parking lot pumpkin patches" pop up in October, but we still have a love for the "real" patch away from it all. Well, not totally away from it all. Technically there's a golf course less than a mile down the road, but it's still a real working farm. :)

Skylar feeding a goat

Reagan on the hayride

Skylar on the hayride (I love her sweet sundrenched face in this one)

All three girls LOVE the pony rides! This is the face of a two year old that just told her mama to go away because she was "fine" to ride by herself. Alrighty then....

This is the face of a little girl that could sit on that pony all....day....long.... (and also the one that asked the guy working "May I get up by myself please?")

Skylar really wanted her pony to just "go faster." :)

In the pumpkin patch area, Bailey tried to pick up the pumpkins. She actually succeeded a few times!

Reagan and daddy were looking at the horses next door.

Skylar just being sweet...

Reagan asked if we could take this pumpkin home. Sadly, the answer was no. I'm no fun.

Of course Yaya is ALWAYS fun! :) She found a pumpkin hat!!

This year we got to meet my Sister in law and niece and nephew at the farm so we all had a wonderful day filled with special memories. We are blessed to live near family!

Happy Fall!

You'll thank me!

2010-11-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

I have tried LOTS of recipes for Banana Bread and this one is by FAR our new favorite! I've also included a recipe that we just tried for pumpkin bread that was delicious too!
Of course it's 90 degrees today and I don't really want to turn the oven on, but if it's fall where you are, give these a try and let me know what you think! These are NOT healthy recipes, just to let you know. I'm sure you can substitute some ingredients to make them more nutritious if you prefer. For us? We like them just the way they are! :)

Banana Bread

1/4 c. white sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

combine these two ingredients and grease two loaf pans. Then shake the cinnamon/sugar mixture onto the pans.

1 1/2 cups white sugar

2 eggs

3-4 VERY ripe bananas, mashed

8 oz of sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

2 1/4 c. flour

(optional) 1/2 c. crushed walnuts

mix the sugar and eggs together until well blended, add the ripe bananas. In a separate bowl, mix flour with other dry ingredients. Add the sugar/egg/banana mixture and then the sour cream and vanilla.

Pour it into the two prepared pans.

For a crumb topping:

1/2 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. flour

3 tablespoons of melted butter

1 tsp cinnamon

Combine until "crumbly" and add it to the top of the loaves before baking.

Bake @ 325 degrees for 70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

PUMPKIN BREAD

2 cups white sugar

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup oil

4 eggs

combine until creamy

add in

1 can of solid pack pumpkin (16 oz).

In a separate bowl:

3 1/2 c. flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp allspice

Stir the two together and add 1/2 cup water to the mixture.

Grease two loaf pans (or one bundt pan) and bake at 350 for 65 minutes (or 90 for bundt).

Cream cheese icing:

1 block of cream cheese softened

1/4 c. butter, melted

2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Trunk or Treatin'!

2010-11-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

Every year our church puts on a fantastic fall festival for all the families of our community. I wish I had walked around and taken pictures of all the great activities for the kids, but I was busy decorating my "trunk" so I could hand out candy to all the kiddos.

I did manage to get a few shots of the cutest Alice, Minnie, and Bee at the festival though!!

We temporarily misplaced the ears to Skylar's Minnie Mouse costume so with a half hour to spare before the festival, I whipped up a new set of ears out of a handkerchief and an old black velour infant headband.

Reagan's dangling front tooth?? Yah, one bite into a caramel apple and it was almost out. Daddy pulled it with little effort so she has a fun toothless grin now!

The bumble bee costume has now been worn by all three girls. Can we all say 'aw'?? :D

We don't make a big deal out of Halloween. Our house decorations are more "fall-ish" and we don't buy new costumes every year. I usually just tell the girls they can wear "whatever they want out of the dress up chest." Both older girls' costumes are from yard sales. Reagan's is from two years ago, Skylar's from this year. I love that they are "go with the flow" kind of girls. :) It's really all about the candy though, right?

Here's our "trunk" for the festival. We went with a beachy/hawaiian theme this year since that's what we had in the leftover party bin (and Brian's surfboard too of course!). We had SO much fun!

I flipped the calendar to November today and almost gasped. There are only 7 days throughout the month without something planned. Oy. Bring on the coffee.

Bloggers Quilt Festival!

2010-10-29T10:19:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to be participating again in Amy's Blogger's Quilt Festival! Last year I was so inspired by all the quilts. I can't wait to look through them this time around (and maybe actually see ALL of them).

In spring I saw a few "scruffily" quilts and instantly fell in love. I modified it a bit (only did two layers instead of 3), but love how it turned out!! It's made with Moda pre-cuts (the Wrapped in Paisley line) so I was able to assemble the top in about an hour. I did free motion quilting on each of the center squares and then through the seams on the large squares.

This quilt was a gift for a friend so I embroidered (free hand so it's not perfect) this phrase in the lower right hand corner: "Blessed is the home that welcomes a friend." I wanted it to be cozy and warm so I backed it with chocolate flannel.

I can't wait to do another scruffily quilt!! I didn't think I would like the raw edges as much but I just love it! It's my new favorite and SUPER easy!!

After the quilt arrived at her house, this is the post that she wrote about it (with a full picture of it).

Now go visit the festival and be inspired!

Friday Funnies

2010-10-29T01:21:00.000-07:00

The girls were a total crack up this week (and I remembered to email the "funnies" to myself)!

*********************

Driving home from school, the girls noticed a man struggling to get his sweatshirt over his head.

Skylar: Mommy, that man is stuck!

Reagan: He wouldn't be stuck if he took his helmet off before putting his sweatshirt on.

Me: Uh baby....that's not a helmet. He's bald.

Reagan: But it's so shiny!

*********************

Skylar was playing with her baby doll. Overheard from the other room:

Skylar: Oh Kayta, you're such a challenge sometimes. But I still love you and your little watermelonhead. (In her defense, our watermelons from the garden this year were about the size of her baby's head).

*********************

Later on that day while she was playing with Kayta, she came running into the room.

Skylar: Look mommy! See the necklace I made for Kayta out of beads!?

Me: Yes, she looks so fancy! What's the occasion?

Skylar: We were in the rainbow parade! People were walking wearing rainbow colors and carrying rainbow flags and wearing lots of rainbow beads. It was SO fun!! I wish it was real!

ummmm, at what point do I fill her in that rainbow parades really DO exist?? :)

*********************

I put a little chapstick on Bailey because it's been so dry and windy. Ten seconds after putting it on her, she says, "Mommy, can I have more lips please?"

*********************

Bailey has been asking to watch "Ginger Bears" for a while and we finally figured out that she means Berenstain Bears!

********************

Skylar and Bailey were playing one night and Skylar tells Bailey, "Look what I brought you from my trip! I know you wanted it but it wasn't on sale yet so I bought it for you. All the way from China!"

It is true that most toys they own say "Made in China." :) I think it's even funnier that she knows we don't buy things until they go on sale. :)

*********************

We went to the pumpkin patch last week and my mom bought Cinnamon Bears for all of us to share. After she left Skylar noticed that she had left them on our counter. She said, "Oh no! Yaya left her cinnamon bears!!" Then the phone rang. Skylar said, "I bet that's yaya calling. She's going to say 'don't you eat my cinnamon bears!" :D

**********************

Have a blessed weekend!

Friday Funnies-The Skylar version

2010-10-22T04:26:00.000-07:00

I only have two this week but they are both from Skylar and super funny!!

*******************************

Our backyard neighbors were having their trees trimmed one morning. The girls were fascinated by the chainsaws and the guys climbing into the trees to cut the branches. One guy had to stand on our fence to reach a limb and he happened to squat down in order to reach the branch after it fell. Skylar was watching out the window and then looked away quickly with her hand over her mouth. She gasped and then said, "Oh my word!! I can see that guys bum bum!!" Apparently the tree trimmer was also a plumber. :)

*******************************

Skylar and Bailey were playing "ring around the rosy" and they sang a second verse that I hadn't heard before: "Horses in the meadow, horses in the meadow, buttercups, buttercups, we all jump up!" I asked her where she heard it and she said, "My cousin Sam. She knows lots of stuff. She's a teenager." I said, "Oh really, so you think teenagers are smart huh?" She replied, "Yep! Daddy says when I'm a teenager I will know everything."

Have a blessed weekend!

Tutu cute

2010-10-21T10:25:00.000-07:00

I need to be cleaning but it's cloudy again today and I'm lacking the motivation. So, instead, I thought I would share some of Bailey's two year pictures we *finally* took. Technically she's 2 and a half, but still two, so it counts, right? :) Skylar was at Yaya's house and Reagan was at school so it was just her and I at the park. Perfect weather, sweet girl, and my camera. I couldn't have asked for more.

Now all I need to do is pick one and have it printed for the wall. Wish me luck.

A little Sunshine

2010-10-19T11:59:00.000-07:00

It's been cloudy and rainy here lately, so Skylar decided to make her own sunshine and tape it to the sliding glass door. I thought I'd share just in case you needed a little sunshine too!

(and in case you couldn't tell what it was, she wrote the word 'sun' on it). :)

I heart apple orchards!

2010-10-18T07:34:00.000-07:00

This weeks theme at I heart Faces is "In the Orchard."

We haven't been to an apple orchard this year so this is a picture from our last visit. Skylar loved eating apples right from the tree. Just looking at the photos from our trip made me realize how much she has grown!
Go to I Heart Faces and check out all the other "Orchard" pictures!

Friday Funnies

2010-10-15T00:16:00.000-07:00

This week has been a rough one. I'm even more thankful for the joy and laughs my girls bring. I hope you enjoy our Friday Funnies this week!

**********************************

I took Reagan on a "date" the other day and while we were sitting and enjoying our slushies, we started talking about heaven. She asked two questions that I thought were cute.

Reagan: "Mommy, can we call people once they go to heaven?"

Me: "No baby, we don't get to hear them again until we get to heaven ourselves."

Reagan: "That's too bad. I would call Papa Great (awwwww...) and then ask him to put Abby on the phone."

Ha! Abby was my mom and dad's dog that was put to sleep two years ago.

Later....

Reagan: "Mommy, do you think there will be Starbucks in heaven?"

Me: "ABSOLUTELY!"

*************************************

While driving the other day, Skylar noticed the bowling alley out the window but didn't remember what it was called. She said, "Hey mommy! That's the place where we play with our balls!"

*************************************

Reagan and Skylar were playing last night and Reagan said, "Skylar, you're being kind of bossy." She could see that it had hurt Skylar's feelings so she tried to recover by saying, "...but in an adorable sister kind of way..." :D

**************************************

We were at Starbucks on Wednesday and Bailey noticed the Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake. She said, "There's PINK cake!" Skylar said, "I know why they have pink cake today mommy! It's for breast cancer awareness!" (That one's for you Christine!)

***************************************

We had just returned from getting Reagan at school and Bailey had fallen asleep (yes, in the two minute car ride home...of course). So, I got her out of her carseat and said, "Skylar, can you please pick up Baileys shoe and take it inside?" She gave me a VERY grumpy look and bent down to pick it up. I said, "And with a joyful heart please..." She answered with a gruff, "I do have a joyful heart. I just have a grumpy face."

***************************************

I tried to wear my hair curly this week. As we were getting ready to go get Reagan from school Skylar says, "Mommy, your hair is crazy! Do you want me to get your hat for you before we get Reagan?" I thought it was funny until my husband came home and said, "Hey Crazy Hair!" :D I'm guessing the curls are a little out of control with the new haircut....

*****************

I can't wait to read your "funnies" from this week. If you don't blog them, you can always leave them in the comments. Have a blessed weekend!

Lookalikes

2010-10-14T11:54:00.000-07:00

I was in desperate need of a hair cut. Now that it's short, I am finding that I can't go six months without a trim. So, my wonderful mom offered to buy me a haircut last week (you KNOW it's bad when your mom offers to pay!!). I decided to go with the "Friday Funnies" logo look. What do you think? Was I successful? :)

I run.

2010-10-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

Last week I went for a run around the neighborhood. I went my normal route which is just over 2 miles. When I hit the corner of my street I started walking as a cool down. One of my neighbors stopped me and said "wow, I didn't know you were a runner." I was quick to answer, "Oh, I'm not." Her next statement has stayed with me: "Well, if you have babies you're a mother, and if you run, you're a runner."

I guess I am.
I'm a runner.
But how did I get here? Well, let me share with you a bit about the journey.

I would call us a healthy family. We eat organic food as much as possible (especially when it really matters with the "top" fruit and veggies), we don't eat a lot of processed foods or sugary snacks, we take vitamins, we don't drink soda, and we stay active. But being "active" did not interpret into consistent "exercise" for me. Sure, I chase the kids around the yard, I run up and down the stairs a bazillion times a day, and take the girls on walks pretty frequently (especially during the school year). So you can imagine my shock when my doctor told me, "Your weight is perfect but that doesn't mean you are in shape." Um, ouch.

TMI alert!
I was in the doctors office because I was consistently having intense shooting pain every time I ovulated. It was debilitating and obviously painful. I was relieved to hear that it wasn't anything serious, but what my doctor did tell me surprised me. Apparently I'm prone to ovarian cysts. While they are not uncommon, the fact that I have them so frequently, they are so large and rupture, is uncommon (thus the pain).

Her solution?
Either take birth control or run. That's it. Either take a medication that I have not had good experience with (if there was a side effect, I had it on birth control), or run twice a week for 15 minutes. It seemed like a no-brainer for me. So I started running. The whole idea is to hit the anaerobic state of breathing and then keep it there for at least five minutes. Your body releases a whole mess of Seratonin and adrenaline when that happens and both helps prevent cysts from forming.

I wish I could say it was easy and I just put my shoes on twice a week and went for a leisurely jog. But it wasn't easy. The first day I felt like my body was ready to give out after about 30 seconds of running. I learned how to pace myself (and kept repeating "it's just 15 minutes"). Then the weirdest thing happened....I started to like it. I didn't have weight to lose, but my clothes started fitting better. I had more energy. I was in a better mood. The most amazing part? The first month I started running, I didn't develop any cysts. I thought it might have been a fluke, but then the second month rolled around and I didn't develop any cysts. It was working!! Another way I know it was working? When I got sick with Labyrinthitis I didn't run for almost 6 weeks and my cysts returned. It was a painful reminder of how consistent I have to be.

Running has to be part of my routine, as much as brushing my teeth and doing laundry. If something is important, we just make time for it. (This can translate to reading our Bible, etc. etc. etc.).

Our families have been plagued with medical challenges in the last few years. The unfortunate part is that most of the medical challenges are ones that are avoidable. High blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes....all complications of obesity and a lack of diet and exercise. We've learned that it's a choice. You can choose to exercise or not. You can choose to eat the right foods.

We choose to eat right (most of the time...we're not perfect).
We choose to exercise.

We choose to help our bodies perform to the best of their ability.

We choose to model healthy living for our kids.
We choose to try and be around for them as long as possible.

I'm not saying we are going to be marathon runners *there's actually evidence that TOO much running is bad also*. But 15 minutes a few times a week? I can do that. I will do that. I choose to.

Friday Funnies

2010-10-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

Oy. I wasn't very good at writing down the funnies this week. Hopefully you all did a much better job.

Here are the few I managed to eek out:

*******************************

A couple of my favorite "Bailey phrases" lately:

It's right by-hind (behind) us!

We're out of Pullyups!

I want to play Yittle Bill on the 'puter!

(I'm realizing now that she adds "y" to a lot of words!!)

*******************************

One day Bailey and Skylar were playing and I asked what they were doing. Skylar answered: "We are being secret agent, finding the bad guys. Now stop talking to us or you'll blow our cover!"

Thank you Phineas and Ferb and Backyardigans for that one!

*******************************

Skylar and Reagan were playing with their walkie talkies one day. Reagan was upstairs and Skylar was downstairs. They weren't working very well apparently because I heard Skylar say "Can you hear me NOW?!" After hearing no response from Reagan, she threw her walkie talkie on the couch and said, "Piece of junk!"

*******************************

Baby Sis

2010-10-07T10:19:00.000-07:00

Bailey has been busy the last few weeks too.

You may remember that she has been finding new things to do with her pull ups:

Trying to be like her big sister

She didn't get to actually dance at ballet class, but she was certainly dressed the part.

Down to the shoes.

She's been teaching Nana Great how to do the "Wheels on the Bus"

Raiding the pantry....

And quite possibly eating her cupcake off the ground at her cousin's birthday party

It sure is a good thing she's so cute!! :)

Middle Sis

2010-10-06T11:28:00.000-07:00

All three of our girls are SO different. Reagan has always been girly, but not into baby dolls. She loves animals, reading quietly, not getting dirty, and wearing dresses. Skylar loves her baby dolls, but also loves to get dirty and wrestle with daddy. She's pretty athletic and has some pretty amazing hand/eye coordination. As much as I try to "figure her out" I think she's just one of those kids that likes everything.

Lately she's been playing baseball outside with daddy.

And actually hitting it!

Don't you just love that little face?! (I know I do!)

She's also been taking ballet. And loving it!

Her last class was "Princess Ballet Day" so she wore a princess gown. The girls were SO cute!

She is definitely showing us that she's one of those kids that just can't be labeled.

She's just a superstar! :)

Big Sis

2010-10-05T11:19:00.000-07:00

I've been remiss in blogging. I feel like a broken record.
We've been busy.
We've been busy.
We've been busy.

There are a number of days where my heart wants to blog, but my head knows that the sink full of dishes takes precedence (especially to keep the great ant invasion of 2010 at bay!).

I could do a looooong blog post to update you, but there are so many times that my girls get lumped into one group that I thought it would be fun to highlight each one individually this week.

Reagan's had an eventful couple of weeks.

She's been losing teeth.

And winning awards at school

Making us proud....and getting her ears pierced.

She had been asking to get her ears pierced for a while but her reasoning was always "because my friends have theirs done." We didn't want to set a precedence for "when everyone else has something.." so when she came to us and asked to get her ears pierced because she felt like she was old enough to take care of them herself, we told her we would consider it. Then we found out she was getting student of the month in the first month of school, for the second year in a row. So we rewarded her with getting her ears pierced. Her teacher said the nicest things about her at the awards assembly. Her award was for academic achievement because she breezes through everything.

Unfortunately the fact that things are too easy has been an issue lately. Reagan started to say that school was too easy and boring. She said she was frustrated that the other kids were not grasping the concepts and that she had to spend "so much time" on things that she already knew. I know this is part of being in a classroom setting, so we have actually had to deal with this every year. Last year's teacher was not as willing to challenge Reagan. Instead she offered her more homework. More of the same stuff she already knew. Two hours of homework is not a challenge....it's a burden. We are so thankful that after talking to her teacher this year that she was SO receptive to changing things up for Reagan.

We talked about homeschool and after talking to Reagan about it, she said "I think I'd rather be bored at school." I should have saved that one for Friday Funnies, but I just had to share!! The girls are so different. Skylar would LOVE to homeschool. Reagan, not so much.

Thankfully for now things are good and she is being challenged. We're praying about next year. I'm learning that we are going to have to just take it one year at a time, pray for the best teachers, and stay super involved.

There could be worse things than being a smart girl! :)

Friday Funnies

2010-10-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

Better late than never this week right?! :) I hope you have all had a wonderful week! Our weather has been a bit crazy! We went from extreme heat (which apparently made the news all over the US), and then to sticky, humid, stormy weather. I loved the thunder and lightning. The girls....not as much. Today we are back to our "normal" for this time of year. Perfect. 82 degrees. Ahhh!
Enjoy our Funnies from this week!

**************************************

Bailey burped one evening and then giggled.

Me: Bailey, what do you say?

Bailey: High five?

Me: No, try again.

Bailey: Excuse my butt?

close enough.

*************************************

Bailey thinks it funny lately to refer to "daddy" as "Brian." She also has been walking into a room and saying "Hi honey!" to me.

*************************************

Bailey's favorite treat? Yemen- M's (Aka: M&M's). We refer to them as the "middle eastern version." :D

*************************************

Reagan asked if she could be "Rapunzel" for Halloween. I told her what that costume would look like and she said, "Well, first I have to grow my hair REALLY REALLY long..." :D

*************************************

Bailey was dancing to a video and then fell over. She said to herself, "Oh Bailey, you're so funny. I crack myself up!"

*************************************

Bailey grabbed the dogs leashes one morning as we were heading out the door to take Reagan to school. I said, "Bailey, we are not taking the dogs with us to school. Please put the leashes away." She walked over to the dogs (who were SO excited about the leashes) and said, "Sorry puppies. I said yes, but mommy said no."

*************************************

And just for you Auntie Sharon:

Bailey was talking on her phone to Auntie Sharon (a fake phone), and she said, "Sharon, you live in Turkey?!!! Do you have Turkeys and Chickens?"

(hehe...Auntie Sharon lives in Kentucky)

*************************************

Skylar was giggling last night and I said, "What's so funny?" And she said, "You don't smell it?!"

oy vey!

*************************************

Bailey keeps saying "3,2,1, Blastoff" but Blastoff comes out as "Blastard!"

Have a great weekend!!

Creative Genius

2010-09-29T10:13:00.000-07:00

What in the world are we supposed to do with all those pull ups now that Bailey is potty trained???
She has her own idea....

Silly kid!

I heart chalk!

2010-09-28T14:07:00.000-07:00

This weeks theme over at I Heart Faces is "Fun with Chalk!" We play with chalk a lot. I have tons of pictures where the girls are covered in chalk, but this one is especially sweet for me! Reagan was tracing Bailey's hands and they were just enjoying each other's company. It's these moments that I cherish and pray for them to just stay little.

LPGA

2010-09-25T11:10:00.000-07:00

On Labor Day we had a little outing. It was also gorgeous outside! Perfect weather. So, we decided to do something we had never done before:

We took the girls miniature golfing.

Oh. My. Word. They were so cute! We were a little worried that they wouldn't know what to do and it would take us 3 hours to get through the course, but that wasn't the case at all.

Reagan picked it up really quickly.

Bailey and Skylar both had their "own" styles. Skylar was a bit of a Happy Gilmore. She had an unorthodox style but still managed to get the ball into the cup each time!

Look carefully at the picture above and you can see Skylar with the club....above her head!

I should have used this picture of Brian for the smirking contest. :) Each time Skylar would finish her turn, she would hand her club to Brian. Just call him the Daddy Caddy!

All in all, they had a BLAST. And we were done in 20 minutes.

friday funnies

2010-09-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

We've had my 85 year old nana with alzheimers staying with us this week so some of our funnies are a bit more "adult." :) Of course the girls have not disappointed this week! Enjoy!

*********************
One morning nana was getting dressed and walked from her bedroom to the bathroom...in just her underwear. That was funny enough in and of itself, but what was even funnier was what Brian said when I told him about it. I texted him and said "It's good you're not home. Nana's walking around naked." He responded, "Well, she did see Bailey walking around our house naked last night. When in Rome..."
*********************
After dropping Reagan off at school one morning we were driving home and Skylar asked, "How do trees go potty?" I responded, "They don't." Puzzled, she asked, "Then why does that one have toilet paper in it?"
*********************
Reagan came to me on Wednesday and said, "I have three reasons why you should do my laundry tomorrow...." Oh sweet little analytical one. The apple does not fall far from the tree.
*********************
Skylar and Bailey were watching "My Friends Tigger and Pooh" one morning and Skylar said, "I think I know why his name is Pooh! He likes to eat all the time. And everyone knows that when you eat, you....poo." :)
*********************
The girls call my grandmother, "Nana Great." Except for Bailey. She calls her "Nana Grape" and sometimes "Mama Grape."
*********************
Reagan was practicing piano. Nana and I were sitting and listening to her. In between songs, Nana said, "Some day you're going to have a pianist." Later Reagan asked, "Why did Nana say that some day you will have a penis?" :D I didn't even know she knew that word!!

Ugh!

2010-09-21T20:28:00.000-07:00

I spent over an hour looking for a "smirking" photo, only to realize that I just missed the cutoff for the IHeartFaces challenge. Bummer! But I'm going to post it here anyway. It's a cute shot and worthy of sharing. Enjoy!

Friday Funnies

2010-09-17T00:13:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Friday Funnies!!!

***************
Bailey found two brushes in my bathroom and held up the blue one.
"This one your faygrit?"
"Yes, Bailey, that one's my favorite."
"NOOOO, your FAYgrit!"
"Yes, my favorite."
"NOOOO, your FAYGRIT"
sigh.
"Yes, it's my faygrit."
"SEE? I told you."
***************
Conversation from the backseat:
Me: We're going to the bank.
Skylar: The bink?
Bailey: No! Pink.
Skylar: The pank?
Bailey: No, the pancake.
Me: No, the BANK.
Skylar: They have pancakes at the bank?
oy.
****************
Skylar: Mommy, when I'm old like you, will I have sharp hair on my legs too?
(Don't get me started on how many things are wrong with that statement).
****************
Skylar: MOMMY! Bailey's wearing panties that say Sunday on them!
Me: Yes. Why is that a problem?
Skylar: Because it's Thursday.
****************
I took Skylar to the store with me and wiped down the cart with a antibacterial wipe. She asked why I wiped the cart and I told her it was because I cared about her and didn't want her to get sick. Her eyes got huge and she said, "Daddy doesn't wipe the cart! He doesn't care about me!"
****************
Occasionally when I get frustrated, I will end my request with "for the love." I.e. "Bailey, goodness gracious! Can you please stop banging that stick on the bookshelf, for the love?!" Sooooo, the other day I said, "Bailey, please stop screaming." And she replied, "for the love?" :D

Have a great weekend all!

About me!

2010-09-16T11:27:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Liz to answer eight questions about myself, so here ya go:

1. Where were you born?

I was born in San Diego, CA and lived there for most of my life. It's one of my favorite cities in the US.

2. What is your idea of the perfect job/ If you could do anything, what would you choose?

I am actually DOING my perfect/ideal job. I always knew I wanted to be a mom and being home with my girls is a dream for me. If I had to choose a PAYING job, I would say a photographer. Or a dancer (cause they are always in shape).

3. What is your favorite food?

It's hard to choose an absolute favorite for me. I love pasta, and most mexican food (especially fish tacos), but also love a great burger. :) I guess I'm just easy to please when it comes to food!

4. If you had a day all to yourself, what would you do?

Shop. And then take a nap.

5. What is your favorite restaurant?

I love Islands Restaurant!

And Flemings.

6. What is your least favorite chore?

Hmmm, it's a close call between loading/unloading the dishwasher (because it seems never-ending), and scrubbing the bathrooms.

7. What is your favorite movie of all time?

I'm a chick flick junkie. I can't pick just one. I love "When Harry Met Sally", "Sleepless in Seattle", "You've got Mail", "Father of the Bride" (I and II), "Anne of Green Gables", you get the idea....

8. What is your happiest childhood memory?

The smell of Lemon Pledge takes me back to Saturday mornings when I was growing up. My mom would be cleaning, listening to KC and the Sunshine band (or something similar), and I would "help." She always made a big breakfast on Saturdays, and then we would watch Saturday morning cartoons.

I also have great memories of traveling in an RV with my family!

If you have a few moments and want to play along, go ahead and answer the same eight questions! I'd love to read more about ya!

Finding Beauty

2010-09-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

I love how my girls can find beauty in little things. They can see a butterfly from 300 yards away. They also think the trail that a snail leaves behind is "so pretty." :D

The other night, Reagan said, "Mom, come quick!" I ran into her room and she pointed out what she called "The most beautiful sunset ever." To be honest, I couldn't see a sunset at all. She had to point out the reflection in the car window.

Beautiful.

Friday Funnies

2010-09-09T22:32:00.000-07:00

Who needs cable when you have kids?! Especially kids that say funny stuff!
The girls seemed super funny this week, or maybe it was just that I remembered to write them all down. Either way, enjoy!!

*********************
Bailey: Mommy this strawberry milk tastes funny.
Me: That's because it's chocolate milk.
Bailey: Oh, then it's yummy!
*********************
Skylar: Mommy, when I have a baby, I want to name her Sarah. I used to want to name a baby Peppermint but then I realized that wasn't a very good name.
*********************
Walking to school one morning and it started to drizzle a bit.
Skylar said, "It's starting to rain!"
I replied, "It's ok, it's just a little drizzle."
Skylar said, "But Daddy said it wasn't going to rain!"
Reagan replied, "Skylar, I hate to burst your bubble, but Daddy is NOT a weatherman!"
*********************
Bailey was sitting next to me on the couch and tooted. I said, "What was that?!" She replied, "There's a monster in my butt!"
*********************
Walking to school again, we heard an ambulance.
Bailey: That's a ambrijan
Skylar: Bay, it's AM-BLI-ANCE
*********************
A little girl walked up to Reagan at school and said, "What are you going to be for Halloween?" Reagan said, "I'm not sure yet." The little girl said, "I'm going to be Jason or Freddy Kreuger!" (she has much older brothers). Then she walked away. Reagan turned to me and said, "Who are Jason and Jenny Cooper?" :D
*********************
Bailey was playing with a fairy wand and touching it to things in the family room. She would say "Abba Dabba" and turn objects into other things. She touched it to the fan and said, "Abba Dabba, you're a elephant." Then she came over and touched the wand to my head. I said, "What are you making me?" And she said, "I'm making you blonde...." (oh, if it were only that easy)!

Can't wait to hear about all the funnies at your house this week!

Friday Funnies

2010-09-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a break from linky (cause it's being stinky today), but that doesn't mean I can't share my own funnies with ya! And if you want, go ahead and share some funnies in the comments.

1. While driving, Skylar said, "That cloud looks like a purple dragon eating a sandwich!" (I love her imagination). Reagan said, "Skylar, have you EVER seen a purple dragon eating a sandwich?" She replied, "Uh huh....right there in the sky."

2. I asked Skylar and Bailey if they wanted a roast beef sandwich for lunch (since that what I was making for myself). They both said, "Ew! No! That's gross!" So I made a sandwich for myself and told them I would make them something else after I finished. So, of course when I sat down they both wanted a bite to "try it." Both of them said, "Oh, I like it! Can I have my own?" And there went my sandwich....

3. Reagan has officially discovered Hannah Montana. But not because her friends like her, but because she saw that Miley has a horse. Go figure. Now we can sing the theme song like the best of them!

4. My friend Rachel doesn't blog so she gave me permission to share this one: Her boys are 7 and 4. The 7 year old and a female buddy were talking about having to go potty. The 7 year old told the girl, "Just go in the woods." She replied "I can't do that. I don't have one of those." The 4 year old piped up, "I have 52!" Rachel said, "Obviously he had no idea what they were talking about, but wanted to participate." ;D

girls and dolls

2010-08-30T06:03:00.000-07:00

I know...it's 105 degrees outside and we're not even to Fall yet, but I can feel it. I know the school supplies at Target will only be there for two more weeks. Then, you know what moves in?? That's right. The Christmas trees, skirts, lights, ornaments, cards....and then.....the toys.

The commercials are weeks away. You know the ones. The sparkle and lights and smiling faces that show kids "You NEED this toy!" Each year I wait to see which newly created craze will end up on my girls' list. One area I am always amazed with is dolls. Pretty soon the dolls on the market are going to be so lifelike, we won't need to have more real babies. :) Recently I was reading one of the girls' library books (you may remember that they love the Christmas books), and this passage stuck out:

"There were dolls that said mama and dolls that said goo.
Dolls that made music and dolls that made poo.
There were dolls that grew tall at the push of a button
and a doll best of all that didn't do nuttin."
How Murray Saved Christmas by Mike Reiss

I wholeheartedly agree. My favorite baby dolls are the ones that don't do 'nuttin.' But there are still quite a few baby dolls on the market that are just "stuffed" so I thought I would offer some of my research insight with you on the best options for baby dolls. We also love to encourage baby doll play in our house because I heard a great quote once..."When a little girl plays with a Barbie, she wants to be like Barbie. When a little girl plays with a baby doll, she wants to be like mommy."

Recent research has shown that many of our plastics contain BPA (from phtalates in the PVC). This chemical has been found to disrupt hormone levels in children especially. You can now find BPA free bottles, plates, pacifiers, etc. But what most forget is that the plastics in toys contain the same harmful chemical. (I won't bore you with the details on whether or not phtalate free PVC is as safe as PVC free vinyl, so let's just stick with one chemical for now). It's not necessarily a concern unless you have a baby putting the plastic doll in her mouth (which, let's face it...every baby does). So, for the babies, here are a few BPA free dolls that they can "chew away" on:

Most fabric dolls are of course plastic free (but some still have plastic pellets that contain BPA and can leech into the fabric making it just as unsafe for babies). Some that claim to be BPA free are:
Pottery Barn Kids:

Our favorite...Corolle Dolls. They are manufactured in France and contain no BPA. They also have different dolls for different ages. The newborn baby dolls are either stuffed with just a plastic face and hands or just a lovey with a face, or completely stuffed and made of cloth.

As your little one gets older Corolle offers dolls for 18 months+. Our favorite is the Calin doll. You may remember that a certain "Calin" is my fourth daughter.

Another favorite is Tidoo. She's a Calin that can get wet.

They also have some funky dolls if you like something a little different:

As a bonus, the dolls smell like vanilla.

Another brand we love that contains no BPA is Madame Alexander. Most know her as the maker of famous porcelain dolls, but she does so much more. These are a few of her "baby" dolls.

I was recently introduced to a wonderful shop on etsy.com that makes baby dolls. Lovies for my Babies. She uses all fabric (great for babies!) and they are all machine washable. She does use "beanbag" type material to weight the babies so I can't be sure if it's BPA free, but they are SO cute! And totally customizable.

As your precious ones get older, it's doubtful that they will be able to avoid the American Girl catalog. If she isn't ready for the historic dolls (or the 'just like me' dolls), a great option is Bitty Baby.
We have one at our house and she is WELL loved! The great thing about Bitty Baby is that she is a great size and has a plethora of accessories made just for her. She's also available in a multitude of skin tones, hair color, and eye color.

If BPA is not a concern, then some less expensive alternatives are the Fisher Price newborn dolls (and the Target knock off). Both are made in China, contain BPA, but are stuffed and cuddly, and don't do anything special.

I hope this limited list is helpful for someone. :) Happy Shopping!! And please feel free to add to my list! I love to hear about other baby dolls.

Really?

2010-08-28T04:50:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I find myself asking this question more and more. "Really?" Usually followed by "Seriously?" Maybe it's my age (and the wisdom that comes with being mid-30's), or maybe there truly are more and more ridiculous things in the world. Maybe it's because I took a critical thinking course in college. Or maybe it's the fact that I was blessed with common sense. Either way, I'm sure I'm not alone.

Two weeks ago I had to fill out paperwork for Reagan's school. Again. The same information they asked for last year. Again. Part of me wanted to write on the information card "nothing has changed..." but I know that they probably already chucked last year's info card so it would have been futile. I dutifully filled out our address, phone numbers, places of employment (I'm COO of Homefront Enterprises in case you were wondering), allergies, blood type, social security numbers, ebay and paypal login names, and pets living at home. Ok, so maybe I am exaggerating a bit but you get the idea. Then, I got to the Disaster Emergency Preparedness sheet.
It said, "In the event of a disaster (i.e. fire, flood, terrorist attack, etc.), please provide FIVE in state family members/friends and THREE out of state family members/friends that we could release your child to."

Really?
Seriously?

If you think about it for a minute (it really doesn't take much longer), IF something has happened to both parents, and all FIVE of our in state relatives and friends,....I'm fairly certain that the elementary school won't be the only building left standing in all of Southern California. And if something DID happen to our entire state, and somehow the school was left standing, I'm sure it wouldn't be really easy for my aunt in Kentucky to come pick up my daughter.

Who makes these forms?
I don't know what's worse...the fact that they have to ask these questions, or the fact that I filled it out.

Let's all just roll our eyes and shake our heads.

Friday Funnies

2010-08-27T00:44:00.000-07:00

Did this week blaze by for anyone else? Wow! I only wrote down three funny things...but here they are!

*************************
On our way to church Reagan said, "Wouldn't it be fun if dogs went to church?" I told her that Service Dogs were allowed in church because they are allowed anywhere that people go. Skylar said, "I've never seen Circus Dogs at church." :) Service...Circus....it's all the same right? :)
************************
Again, while driving, Skylar said, "MOMMY! Watch out for the Pizzons!" Reagan corrected her and said, "Skylar, it's not Pizzons, it's Pigeon, with a J." :D
************************
Reagan asked me, "Mommy, am I short?" When I asked her why she wondered that she said "because my skirt is a size 5 and I'm 7 years old." I said, "Well, you're petite." She replied, "Oh great! That's another word for short isn't it?" HA!

Can't wait to read about the "Funnies" in your house this week!

More Animals from the Reserve

2010-08-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

You may remember that we live on a wildlife reserve. Here are a few more animals we have seen around here lately:
This yellow bird just blends right in with the yellow flowers on the tree!

Then there's this bird:

and a few other "wild" animals:

Ok, so a few of them "might" actually be from our trip to the zoo....but I'll never tell. :)

We heart the beach!

2010-08-23T20:32:00.000-07:00

If you follow our blog, you will recognize this photo. It's one of my favorites from one of our beach trips this summer. Skylar LOVES the beach and it just shows all over her face in this one. I might add that she added the headband....not me. :)

Head on over to I Heart Faces and see all the other fantastic beach pictures!

Friday Funnies

2010-08-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

I didn't get to hear all the Funnies at our house this week. But I didn't want to deprive anyone of the chance to document the funnies at their own home.

Here are my two for the week:

1. Bailey was stomping around my bathroom and banging on a drum while I was lying in bed. So I said, "Bailey, what are you doing?" She replied, "Oh nothin. Just bein' loud."

2. The girls have their own version of "Ring around the rosy" and I don't have the heart to correct them since I like their version better. It goes something like this:

Ring around the Rosy

Papa caught a Posy

Astrik, Astrik,

We all fall down!

Have fun linking up with your own "funnies"! I can't wait to read them!

The land of the living

2010-08-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

I've been MIA. But with good reason. That "little" virus that passed through all of us about two weeks ago decided to settle itself right into my inner ear.

After four days of watching the room spin and feeling sick to my stomach all day I realized this wasn't just a regular old flu bug. I ended up in urgent care and was diagnosed with Labyrinthitis. I was sent home with 7 meds (5 prescriptions and 2 otc drugs).
Antibiotic
Anti-nausea med
Motion sickness med
ear drops for the pain
anti-inflammatory
Plus
a decongestant
and Tylenol

Needless to say, I felt drugged for a few days.
The anti-nausea drug caused me to have a negative reaction and my joints felt like they were on fire. It took almost two days for my hands to stop hurting even after discontinuing the meds.

The anti-inflammatory upset my stomach (which is great when you're already nauseated and your anti-nausea drug isn't working), so we've switched that one too.

I'm not convinced that the motion sickness med was doing anything to make me feel less dizzy (just really sleepy) so I stopped taking it today.

Today is the first day that I'm sitting up for extended periods of time. It feels like a baby step but I'll take it. I'm slowly joining the land of the living.

My friend Jaimie joked that she and I would have been able to get away with only prescribing two meds (since we're such fantastic internet doctors). I'm beginning to think she was right. I'm taking the "less is more" approach and it seems to be working better.

I'm so grateful my mom has been able to be here to take care of the girls. Moms are great that way aren't they? :)

And because I like pictures and I haven't shared this one yet...(I don't think), I thought I'd leave you with happy smiles.

Friday Funnies- The Bailey version

2010-08-13T01:33:00.000-07:00

We all took turns with a flu bug this week so there wasn't as much humor to be found, but there's always some with Bailey around!

Bailey loves a certain "Barbie" bowl that a friend gave us. But she doesn't call it a Barbie bowl. She calls it a Barbie-Q bowl. :0)
*****************************
I was helping Bailey get dressed and I said, "Oh, you have a booger." To which she replied, "and fries?" I'm sure I don't have to mention that she also mispronounces the word "burger."
*****************************
Speaking of boogers, if Blogger wasn't being such a booger right now, this is where a video would be of Bailey playing on the wii fit. I was going to have my first ever "video friday funny" but I've been out of luck on uploading videos all week. Oh well. Maybe some day.
******************************
Bailey saw a baby doll on a commercial that drinks from a bottle and says "mama." She said, "I like that baby!" Reagan said, "Back when I played with dolls, they didn't do anything. You had to use your imagination." Ha!! Is she 7? Cause she sounds like an old lady!

If you'd like to play along, just grab the Friday Funnies button and write your own post about the "funnies" at your house. Then, link up with your post's address.

Can't wait to read them all! Just as an FYI, I leave the linky open for six days (until it's time to write a new post!).

First and Second

2010-08-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Our summer is over.

It's the first day of school. First day of second grade for Reagan.
She's growing so fast!

This morning she said "This year is going to be different from last year." I said, "Of course. It's good to have change. Different teachers do things in different ways, but I think you'll like having a new class and a new teacher." Then she was quiet for a few seconds and then said, "Yah, it's good when school changes. But if next summer is just like this one, that would be ok with me."

My thoughts exactly. We had an awesome summer.

At the beginning of the summer, I had Reagan make a list of all the things she wanted to do before going back to school. With only eight weeks, I wasn't sure we would fit it all in. We only missed one thing. Not too bad for a list with 18 things on it. Reagan also managed to read 32 chapter books. Thank the Lord for the library!

She has matured so much in the past year. She's asking more mature questions, becoming even more helpful, and independent.

And even more beautiful. Inside and out. Only 4 more hours until we go pick her up and hear all about her first day (over our traditional first day of school ice cream of course).

Not Me Monday!

2010-08-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

I don't usually participate in "Not Me" Monday (mostly out of sheer embarrassment), but today I decided to go ahead and put it out there. :) And because I love me some sarcasm, I couldn't resist. This blog carnival was created by MckMama in an effort for all of us to share what we did "not" do this week. Head over to her blog and read what everyone hasn't been doing!

This week, you would NOT have found my potty training 2 year old in just panties....and boots....playing outside. I think at one point she may have had a hat on too.

I did NOT just finish writing a blog post about being more healthy....only to come down with the flu.

My potty training 2 year old did NOT decide that after 5 days of no accidents, she was going to squat on the carpet and poop. *sigh* (Three kids and she's the first to do that).

My 4 year old did NOT bring me something, only for me to realize AFTER I took it from her that it was NOT a booger!

My 7 year old most definitely did NOT say that she's excited for school to start so she can talk with kids her own age that don't drive her bonkers.

I think that's enough for this week!! What have you NOT been doing this week?

Friday Funnies

2010-08-06T00:57:00.000-07:00

I've been waiting all week for this! My kids gave me some awesome material to share!! As a tip, if you have trouble remembering what your kids say, email it to yourself right away or text it to yourself like I do.

If you would like to participate, just make sure you follow "the guidelines" and link up! I loved reading the Funnies last week and almost spit my coffee out on the computer!! I still chuckle every time I think of Jaimie's boys "dinner table conversation", the Gomez family's "little meatball" and Mindy's sons method of "finding money in mom's purse!" Oh my word. If you didn't get a chance to read the link ups last week, make sure you go visit! They are good ones!

Here are our own Friday Funnies this week:

We took the girls to see Toy Story 3 in the theater (and took out small personal loan to do so), and as we were leaving the girls saw the ad for "Despicable Me." Skylar said, "Oh look! It's Spectacle Me!" Reagan: "No Skylar, it's Respectable Me!" I said, "Actually, it's Despicable Me." Reagan said, "Oh great, you're going to put that on the blog aren't you?" HA! She's on to me!!

*****************************************

Bailey got used to having no clothes on the bottom half of her body during potty training so this week, even though she's been in big girl panties she randomly takes them off. I asked her "Bailey, why are you doing that?" and she said, "Ummm, I d'know. I likey nakey." :)

****************************************

My mom has been coming up about twice a week to go to the chiropractor just down the street from us. When she was here the other day Bailey asked her, "You go see the firecracker?"

****************************************

One morning Skylar woke up and said, "MOMMY! Did you know that Yaya (my mom) was on Dancing with the Stars?" I said, "Really?" "Yah, but she got eliminated." Quite the imagination!

****************************************

We were sitting at the table eating dinner one night and Skylar looked outside at the pool. Her princess bouncy balls were floating around in the water. She said, "Look, those balls are walking on the water like Jesus! Maybe they're Jesus's balls!!" ;)

****************************************

We were sitting at a red light and then it turned green. From the backseat Bailey yells "Go buddy go!" to the truck in front of us. I have no idea where she heard that!

*****************************************

Skylar brought me a plate of unifix cubes when they were playing restaurant one day and I asked, "What is this baby?" She put her hand on her hip, rolled her eyes and said, "use your 'magination mommy."

*****************************************

Reagan said last night, "Did you know that black widow females eat the males after they mate?" I said, "I did know that." Reagan sat for a few seconds and then said, "I'm glad humans don't do that. I would miss daddy."

*****************************************

I told Bailey to go ask daddy for something and she stood at the bottom of the stairs and yelled, "Honey!"

*****************************************

I was writing words for Skylar to read and when she got to "fork" she sounded it out and then got all excited because she thought she had got it right. Unfortunately it came out "focker! focker! focker!"

****************************************

I was closing up the house so that we could leave and run errands. I heard one of the dogs barking outside so I said, "Who let the dogs out?!" and Bailey started singing "Who...who.....who...whowho."

*****************************************

Our country tis of thee...

2010-08-05T06:26:00.000-07:00

We have been frequenting the library this summer and I'm always amazed at the books the girls pick out.

Bailey seems to pick whatever is at her eye level on the 'put back' shelf. Reagan has cruised through 30 chapter books this summer, and Skylar.....well she has decided she loves the United States. All of them. She wants to learn about each state, what it's like to live there (and what language they speak...which really cracked me up).

We've checked out every kid atlas about the US that the library owns. And renewed them. Twice. She and Reagan will sit on the couch and pour over the atlases and talk about what it would be like to visit each state. They talk about which state is their favorite (Reagan likes Kentucky because it has a lot of horses on the page. She about flipped out when I told her that her aunt and uncle live there! Her other favorite is Virginia because it's where she was born....and it had horses on the page).

I thought it was a great opportunity to teach them about the names of each state. So, this summer we've been learning this song. It was my favorite in fourth grade and the girls have already learned quite a bit of it!!
Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!! (remember to scroll down and mute my playlist so you can hear the song).

Big winner!

2010-08-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

I just won an award. For being random. How cool is that?! Well, technically for being "versatile" but it's basically the same as random and "random" is one of my favorite words.

I've never tried to make this blog anything specific. It's just about our family, figuring out God's plan for our lives, eating and being healthy, and having fun along the way.

I was given the award from Jaimie (a fellow versatile blogger and all around supermom/friend) and I'm supposed to give you seven random facts about myself and then nominate a few others for the award.

So here goes:

I'm 5'2" and really hoping my girls get some of their daddy's height. But not a lot. Just enough to make pants fit off the rack.
I love aqua. A lot. And chocolate. The color and the food.
I started buying organic almost everything after Reagan had an allergic reaction to pesticide.
I run (blog post about that in the works).
I saw my first movie in the theater when I was 5 (ET) and decided I wanted to make movies. I kept that dream until I got to college and took film courses. I changed my major quickly to writing.
I didn't like my husband the first time I met him. He was rude. Although he begs to differ.
I used to be a college professor and love when my old students find me on facebook and still call me "Professor." Someday I will teach college again...until then, I get to teach my three blessings every day.

Now for my nominations:
Liz@Sugarplum Creations: My blogging kindred spirit. She's extremely versatile. She's a great momma to three beautiful girls, crafty as all get up, and takes beautiful photos. She's also just sweet as can be and a blessing to me.

Christine@ Mommy Madness: She is a friend and a blogging guru. She has an amazing daughter (that happens to be my husband's goddaughter) and she's been on a journey that inspires me to greater things. She also loves coffee creamer nearly as much as I do.

Anna@Annas Joy- If you look up "versatile" in the dictionary, I bet there's a picture of Anna. She has traveled the world, been in the Air Force, gone on missions trips, started fostering precious kiddos, and just announced that she and her husband are expecting their first bambino.

Kelly @ Three Kids, a Minivan, and a Lot of Love: Kelly is crazy talented, has three adorable kiddos, takes awesome pictures, and seems to be a current day renaissance woman. You may remember that she redesigned my blog, cause she's awesome like that.

Julie @ The Peapod Four plus one- Julie has three kids also (just now realizing how many folks I know with three kids). She is a wonderful mama, a wonderful friend, and tries to deny how talented she is, but if you follow her blog at all, you will see that she makes cakes and dresses and pillowcases, and quilts and shoes (yes, I said SHOES).

If you've been awarded and feel so inclined, please write a post about your own randomness, er, versatility, and nominate other fellow bloggers for the award.

Triple Blessing

Simply

Take a hike!

Tis the season!

New Balance

Victory is not easy

making up for lost time

Back to Basics

crazy days

Recycled centerpieces

Firsts

Beach beauties!

A Married Mothers Manifesto

She's still 5

Baby Blues

Not all 'healthy' is created equal

Vacation Week Two (aka: picture overload)

I heart my water babies!

a re-cap of week one

Recovery

Conversation with an 8-year-old that's way too smart

Bring it!

Friday Funnies

Sixteen

Creative Laziness

Pretty much...

Mom

Mud

One weekend.

Friday Funnies

We are that family!

She...

The Eyes have it.

Yay! 5!

Keep on keepin' up

Fast, and not so fast.

I heart the faces of 2010

Holly-Days!

Holiday Happenings

Little Mamas

Here's your sign

him

*smile*

Confession

just....

Friday Funnies

The most wonderful time of the year!

Lil' Punkins

You'll thank me!

Trunk or Treatin'!

Bloggers Quilt Festival!

Friday Funnies

Friday Funnies-The Skylar version

Tutu cute

A little Sunshine

I heart apple orchards!

Friday Funnies

Lookalikes

I run.

Friday Funnies

Baby Sis

Middle Sis

Big Sis

Friday Funnies

Creative Genius

I heart chalk!

LPGA

friday funnies

Ugh!

Friday Funnies

About me!

Finding Beauty

Friday Funnies

Friday Funnies

girls and dolls

Really?

Friday Funnies

More Animals from the Reserve

We heart the beach!

Friday Funnies

smile