Merry Christmas!

*cookies-CHECK.....carrots for reindeer-CHECK...chubby baby in polka dots....CHECK....

Wishing you a Very Merry Christmas!!

Thoughts from this very Tuesday

Would it surprise anyone to know that this kid right here is playing me? He's so capable of being "A Big Boy" with the whole using the potty and all and yet......today, he's back in diapers and totally cool with it. I think he's on to the fact that his mother is tired and sleepy and a tad bit exhausted and frankly not in the mood to check on his bladder status every 15 minutes or pay for super cool and super pricey pull-ups.We'll pull out the big guns again when we're both serious about this delightful issue. And so, we'll try again another day.

On another note: Guess whose $6.29 container of cherry tomatoes opened and spilled while she was loading her items at Costco leaving 1/2 its contents either on the parking lot floor or strewn throughout her shopping cart....gingerly hanging between each individual plastic criss cross hole and randomly dropping onto the ground below before they could be salvaged? Yup, MINE.

It was Awesome!

The late in coming.. getting warmer review

Here it is, Dec. 11th and I still haven't posted a thing for weeks. Everyday, literally, everyday since last Thursday there has been something that someone in this family or all, have had to attend. Insane craziness and I'm sure you all can relate. This post probably has a few too many pictures but come on....its been weeks, weeks full of juicy juicy tidbits and goings on. Here's a little review:

BRODY:

I'm starting with this little guy because he is now officially 3. Yes, December is his b-day month and he couldn't have been more thrilled. It's all documented fully on my new beautiful camera. My new beautiful SLR camera that I have been wanting for years but couldn't bring myself to purchase due to sticker shock. I must admit with the surprising addition of Chance the wonder pony into our family...the sticker shock wasn't as shocking....hmm. My beautiful SLR camera that I cannot (nor can my completely computer literate pal) figure out how to retrieve my pictures. I know the answer lies somewhere deep inside the user manual but I literally haven't had time to figure it out. . Sooooo, in the meantime I'm taking lots of fun and fast pictures and hoping one day to see them in print. I'm thankful for my slow as molasses point and shoot AND my darling sass a frass of a 3 year old!.

(Oh, I could just eat them up. I love having 3 darling boys!)

Kate: Speaking of eating your children.....this little gal is delicious! She's having an awfully hard time letting me blog at this very moment but man she's adorable. Latest tricks: -staring at the ceiling fan...oooooohhhh

-rolling over, 6 oz. bottles..are you kidding me, sleeping through the night, finding and sharing her darling little voice, and blowing out her pants on a daily basis. What's with little ladies and diapers? I cannot find one that shall we say "controls the leakage." It's so grody and annoying and not very lady like. Totally, totally, totally, loving her.

Cole: This kid kills me. Here he is in all his kindergarten glory last night at the school Christmas snooze/sing a long. I admit that a major Thomas flaw is tardiness. Not 15 minute tardiness but like 4 minute tardiness. Lame none the less. So last night we show up at 7:02 (if that) and the kindergarten kids were already up ON stage and singing. All be darned if my kid was gonna miss singing "Mousey in the snow." So picture me with 3 clothing layers and a puffy vest,(it's like 15 degrees outside) my gigantic Mary Poppins bag, holding Brody's hand and herding Cole and Jack up to the front to get that kid on stage...pronto. Now I'm weavin and bobbin through a stuffy packed house until we make it to the front of the auditorium. It's go time. "Cole, when the song is over, walk up on the stage and go stand next to that kid." And this is why I love Cole. He obediently waited allllmost until the song was over and just walked up...right across the stage and just found a spot to stand. The 2 minutes late Thomas' have arrived. I had to document his coughing spells. Coley has seasonal asthma which is quite annoying..is that bad to say? He coughs, and coughs, and coughs. They're not big deep clear your throat and make progress coughs. These sound fake and wimpy....thus annoying. Anyhoo, I laughed to myself as he sang through the last song and every 10 seconds or so...cough...faa laa, la, cough, la la mousey in the snow, cough! Out comes the nebulizer.

Kyle had an awesome time at the sing a long. He got stuck in the back back with Kate, a bottle and no burper cloth. See it was all up with crazy 2minute late mom and her Mary Poppins bag.

Jack: Let's see, what to report with this guy. He's either uber helpful or the spark that gets everything/one annoyed. I'm trying to focus him on being helpful without being the parent....fine line Jacky pants. Can I tell you that this kid is a fantastic speller?! It's so fun to quiz him throughout the week and then get his test back with 100% . He's a funny one who really really really enjoys watching tv and who's really really really observant. He's not to pleased that I control the remote and cartoon network is not an option. Ah, to be 7 1/2 ..so rough.

Chance the wonder pony: It's Fa-reezing here, bone chilling cold. Thrilled would be an understatement describing the fact that Chance now has his blanket on. I'm not a pet person, I don't want to think about animals outside in the cold. I know that's the way they're made....it's natural and all that. I just don't want to be responsible for a cold animal. With blanket on and backyard fence built, Chance the wonder pony is a happy horse. Kyle is almost done building an enclosure for him to protect him even more during the winters. It's a good thing cause we've ALL been a bit too chilly around here. Which leads me toooooooooo:

Heaters: See this little beauty, she's been running non stop for 2 days, helping me thaw out. In a nutshell the downstairs of our house has stained concrete floors. We love them. At least we thought we would love them. Then the temps outside hit ya know, 15 degrees and real quick it got real chilly inside. Now our floors have radiant heat to stay warm in the winter but nothing was happening. It was 58 degrees in my bedroom and 62 degrees in the rest of the downstairs. You know how annoying it is to be constantly cold??!!! I had Kate in 3 layers with tights and hats on, just ridiculous for being INSIDE. Anyway, Kyle brought home heaters while he figured out what was going on/not working. Finally yesterday he did some tweaking in the control room and just like that....you can feel heat under your feet and it feels soooo good. We are officially back to loving our WaRM concrete floors.


Finally......(my apologies to anyone who is actually still reading) this is for my sister who wanted to see my decor this year. We're still not completely settled and moved in but pretty close. I do love Christmas time as it is most appropriate to use red and green (my personal decorating faves) like crazy! Now I just need to restring the tip of my pre-lit Christmas tree which decided to go dim a few nights back..sAweet.

Whew, that was a good blogging session for me. Thanks for listening. And if you're really lucky your Christmas cards should be out come March.

Social skill of the week...before the big day of deliciousness

Yesterday I had Brody lean over and spit into Cole's bowl. Yes, you heard me correctly, spit.

Mom : " Brody are you kidding me? Knock it off we NEVER spit in other people's food......gross, don't you ever do that again!!!"

Brody: (Knowing he is full on guilty.) " LET'S SING SONGS!!!"

So on that "note" ......Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Business of the day

This morning was one of those blur kinda mornings. For some reason Kate thought waking up at 4:40 was a good idea. I on the other hand thought letting her cry it out was a good idea. Instead I lay in bed and tried my hardest not to hear her for the next hour ( and then some) until it was useless-I finally had to get up to start the day. My niece was on her way over at 6:30 in the a.m. to catch a ride to school so Friday was up and running. Cold, dark, rainy, exhausted mornings are such a treat. My routine in the mornings are as follows:
-immediately put on work out clothes so there are no excuses
-get breakfast for boys
-make lunches
-take Jack to school
-come home workout before Kate arises
As I am doing all of these things I am constantly listening to my favorite talk radio hosts. Today was no different .......topic of utmost importance: the health care bill that is being shoved down our throats and tomorrow the senate is scheduled to vote. I won't bore you with all of my thoughts on the matter but my point is this. I have had the names and phone numbers of senate democrats on my counter this whole week. Each day that I heard something insanely maddening about what they were trying to do I wrote it down so I could remember that point. It was my goal to call every single democrat that was so called "on the fence" about the bill and voice my concern. Well this morning as I made pancakes for the youngins (with a sleep deprived headache)-I decided that I couldn't waste anymore time. I began dialing like a mad woman...1 202 224 5824-that my friends is senator Mary Landrieu's (of the great state of Louisiana) office #. Her number has been a busy signal all day long. Hmmm, I wonder why? On the fence huh? Do you think that slime ball majority leader Harry Reid buying her vote with a ONE HUNDRED MILLION dollar additional relief package for her state alone has anything to do with it? I continued though...all morning, all busy signals. Then finally a ring...and then an actual person, "Senator Kent Conrad's office please hold..." I was ON....I was nervous....what would I say? I looked over my notes and thought how this piddily phone clerk could care less about what I had to say but I had to say it. He came back on and I proceeded to plead with him on behalf of the majority of Americans who oppose this bill (and every poll will show that )to vote NO. Please tell senator Conrad who claims to be pro life that there is nothing positive about this disaster - especially federal funding for abortions that WILL remain in the bill no matter how the media tries to twist it. I asked him to vote on principle and not politics. He was polite and said with a little chuckle that they have received a lot of calls. I hope they have. I pray that it will make some sort of difference. In case you feel so inclined to drop Senator Kent Conrad (ND)a little ringy dingy his number is 1 202-224 -2043. He is one of 4 pro life democrats who are on the "fence" concerning abortion in this bill. I already heard that Ben Nelson of Nebraska has caved and will still vote yes. Insane. Maddening. Scary. So after feeling a little success in my dialing efforts and taking the kids to school it was time to work out my frustrations.


This is my favorite friend as of late. My sweet Kyle finally brought her in from the cold and heartless barn so we could re-connect. Do you see those little dots all over ....that's my sweat, and it felt reeeally good. Especially on days when your brain turns on at 4:40 a.m. and is constantly filled with crying, and lunch making, and bum wiping, and insane politicians, and fear for my country and wanting to make a difference. So on this day I went 3 miles which is huge for me. Thank you Earth, Wind, and Fire, Mary J. Blige, Hall and Oates, Pointer Sisters, Justin Timberlake, Rhianna, The Cure, New Order,Gwen Steffani and all my other Ipod peeps. My 'treadmill time' was much needed and much appreciated. Now, back to dialing, I have some senators to contact.

In need of an asprin

It's Saturday and I have a splitting headache. Causes: 1. I'm wearing a hat today (not a wash hair kinda morning) 2. Kate is still screaming (not a nap kinda afternoon) 3. I'm starving (I guess not a preparing meals kinda day) and 4. my kids keep tattling....how is that spelled?



And YA WANNA KNOW THEE WORST.....I AM OUT OF BLACK INK CARTRIDGES ( and I was even already at Walmart this very morning) AND NOW MY PRINTER IS STUCK AND ALL I WANT TO DO IS FINISH MY BLASTED RELIEF SOCIETY LESSON WITH OUT LITTLE BOYS WHINING FOR CANDY AND COMPLAINING THAT THEIR BROTHER IS MOCKING THEIR SNOWMAN EXPLORER OUTFIT.



-No I haven't seen your Pirates of the Caribbean gun.

-Yes you can have a Hershey Kiss thingy

-No you may not have a juice box

-No I haven't seen your water bottle.



Then this guy pipes up on the stairs next to me and creepily says..." Hi Jack, you wanna play?" I ask you......when will his batteries die?

NO..I just want my baby to stop crying, my boys to stop arguing, my lesson to be done and presentable, and a gigantic hunk of meat perfectly seasoned and prepared (with a lovely salad on the side) on my dinner table STAT!

Halloween festivites and free advice

Just so everyone is aware: "Nevo eat "newds" standing up. They-o bound to bounce all o-vo the place." -Cole

And...you're welcome.

I'm just a big fan of October in general. You add a fabulously fun holiday like Halloween and a few dozen pumpkins and I'm good to go. I'd have to say that this year's festivities were my favorite so far. Yea, I'm gonna go with that answer.

The day was just right. Kyle worked in the backyard all day. I cooked all day. The boys played all day. And Kate was a dollhead all day. My cute sis-in-law Jen and 2 of her 3 little ladies + her parents (whom I adore) were in town from Utah and came over for dinner before trick or treating. My folks along with favorite uncle Jens came as well. With culinary inspiration oozing (thankyou dear PW) I managed to make 2 big pots of pretty darn delicious soup and carmel corn for dessert. Nothing like yummy soup and corn dogs for a crisp Halloween night

Dash, Mrs. Potato head (cousin Bergen) , Indiana Jones, and Buzz

Man have we gotten our moneys worth outta these costumes.

My cute festive mom in her fantastic orangey sweater.

Matchy matchy orange squared cousins Kate and Quincy.

I let the boys keep a baggie full of their favorite treats and sold all the rest to a local orthodontist. $18 bucks later and we are done!