I highly recommend...

Mother/Daughter play dates! Yesterday after school we brought GG's friend, who we will call Pretty Girl or PG, home for a play date. Then we met her mom for dinner. The girls had a great time playing and hanging out with us moms! Here are just a few of the pictures we took at dinner. We got a little silly :P

In case you were wondering the girls planned to match clothes! And they are both going to a birthday party today were they will be wearing the exact same dress they each got for Christmas! It is so funny to listen to them talk about matching clothes...

On the way to dinner the girls were making a plan on how they could become sisters. It went something like this...

GG: Both of our parents need to get divorced. (this is a new concept for GG and she really doesn't understand the effects, she watched Parent Trap 2 about a week ago!) Then I will live with my mom and you will live with your dad and then my mom and your dad will get married.
PG: Giggling the whole time she is talking...

I interrupt and tell the girls there is a easier way to become sisters then tearing families apart. They were both curious so I told them that if GG married PG brother they would be sisters or if PG married GG brother they would be sisters. I think they didn't like that idea because they would have to wait so long ;) The little stinkers!

Thanks Kristin for sending me these pictures!

Friday Photos: Cool Chick!

She didn't really like the feel of the sunglasses but I am trying to get her used to it for the summer at the pool! I like how the pictures turned out :)

Not wordless but I have a picture....

I went to the doctor's today and guess what! He wanted to have my toe x-rayed...off to the hospital we went. And sure enough it is broken. A very fine brake. Have to call tomorrow to see what if anything he wants me to do...here is what it looks like today...see pretty purple :)
I got the pleasure of talking to the nicest lady. She started talking to me because she saw my kids in the waiting room and thought they were so cute and behaved. I brought them with but I had help from Amy so they stayed in the waiting room. She asked about the baby, everyone does! In talking to her she told me that she is 88 years old, her husband is terminally ill, she has three boys, a girl who died at age 9 from falling off her bike, and that her first child was a stillborn baby boy. I had a voice inside of my screaming to talk to her about God, which I did but not if she knew where she would be when this life was over, I just couldn't get it out. I feel like I failed this opportunity and I am sitting her very sad. I am hoping she saw Christ in me.

8 month check up...

I killed two birds with one stone today, love when that happens. I had made an appointment for Peanut to have her well baby check up last week and she ended up getting sick over the weekend (I don't love when that happens). She was up all night Saturday night and the only time she slept was for about 30 minutes at a time while being held in the recliner. J and I took turns holding her, with him holding her most of the night. It just so happened that he was having trouble laying down and breathing so he needed to sit up to sleep too. I called the doctor (early Sunday morning) and they told me what things to look for to make sure she wasn't getting worse and that she wanted to see her Tuesday, which she already had an appointment! I found out that my chunky monkey weighs 18lbs 13oz...it's always nice to know how much weight you are carrying around all day long :) She is a hair over 29 inches. It looks like she just has a virus that is on it's way out of her system. However, Red woke up from his 2 hour nap with a fever, OY. Oh yeah and my toe doesn't hurt as bad today but it is way darker in color...such a pretty purple. I have an appointment tomorrow to make sure it isn't broken.

Slings

Steph wants to see our favorite slings!

I have used only 3 different kinds of slings since my children have been born and the first one I ever used I don't use anymore. I have found better ones! These two pictures are of the Maya Wrap I have. Red still loves to be in the sling...he likes the mei tie better even if it is pink camo, I just don't have any pictures of him in it!

I also love the mei tai because it is just so comfortable for long days like we had at the children's museum. I was able to put her facing out so she could see everything or I could face her in so she could take a nap.

I would love to have more but I don't know how to make them and our budget doesn't allow me to get all the different ones I would love to own. And I can't seem to win any contests that are giving them away :)

First Day of Pool...

The pools opened on Saturday but we just realized it today! We bought the summer session pool pass, well my dad actually gave us money for it as birthday presents for the kids. Thanks Dad and Roberta! We got to the pool right at 1pm when it opened and were able to swim with J for about 50 minutes before he had to go to work. Aunty Becky came after he left, I believe I was in the pool with all four for about 30 minutes, in total we were at the pool for 2 hours. I am just hoping that today's experience isn't a predictor of how the summer is going to be...

Which toe doesn't look right?

On the way out of the pool I stubbed my toe...and it has turned purple/blue and it hurts big time!

When we got home I noticed that Peanut got an injury too. There is no skin on the side of her big toe...I have no idea how or when at the pool that happened. Other than that why is it that there always has to be one kid/adult that ruins all the fun and has to be a jerk at the pool? I just don't get how hard it is to watch your kids...I was able to watch all 4 of mine and make sure they were behaving, enough said.

We went to the indoor pool because we weren't sure if it was going to rain and I can't wait to go to the outside ones and get my tan on!!! Of course, I use sun screen on me and the kids but it is nice to get some color.

Nail Polish UPDATE!

Thank you to the Anonymous comments I was able to get it out. This is what I did. Before I even got on here to ask for help I grabbed Peanuts baby wipes and got some of it out. Then I got a rag and put some nail polish remover on it like some of you suggested and some more came out. I didn't have any problem with it turning the carpet a different color as our carpet is a really light color anyway. After I did all that I could still see the pink in the carpet which is the reason I asked for help. We happened to have some gel shaving cream and glass cleaner and I thought I'll give it a try. And I am very happy to say that it came out!!! I have to get really, really close to see where the 3 spots in the carpet had the nail polish. It was hot pink nail polish and I am so glad it came out. I was tempted but not crazy enough to put some more polish on the carpet to get a before picture and then remove it to get the after! Yeah I have too many other things to do then make more work for myself so you will just have to believe me that it worked ;)

Happy Memorial Day...thank you to all the men and women who have serviced our country.

Love this WEATHER!

We have had a blast the last few days with the weather being so beautiful! We have gone on bike rides to the park and library and have played on our swing set in the yard. Here are some pictures of the kids enjoying the swings. GG was with daddy spending father/daughter time together.

Here is *the* 3 year old picture of Red...I took about 10 and this was our favorite!

Isn't he a handsome little man?!

HELP!

You guys have been so helpful with all the other questions I have asked for help with so I am turning to you AGAIN! Red spilled hot pink nail polish on our carpet. Does anyone know how to get it out???? We have little colored carpet! I will try ANYTHING...

I guess I can do it!

This whole week I have had to take the kids to school and be home alone during the day and have J home at night most nights. He is at a meeting tonight for work. This morning I got up early as Red thought it was time to get up at 6:45 that is not normal for my kids. We are normally hanking them out of bed. I took the kids to school and then the two little ones and I went to Wal*mart and then grocery shopping. We got home just in time to unload and go get Monkey from school. Then it was home for lunch and naps. Monkey did his homework while I went through tons of clothes in the garage to get ready for the sale we are having next weekend. I am already regretting this but hubby really wants to have one so I am being submissive to his wishes. Then it was back to school to get GG and home for more homework. J came home and made dinner which was so nice since he was going out to eat for his meeting. Then showers and bed. I am so tired and ready for bed and it is not even 8:30 yet. I was planning on going to an outlet mall tomorrow for the Carter's 3.99 and under sale but I started thinking about what I was looking for and I don't think it is worth driving all the way there to get a few things for cheap. Maybe in September I'll go when the kids are back in school. This isn't a very exciting post but it is my life ;)

Also I wanted to say that we have been having some issues with language in our house. Some how, I believe from the older two Red has picked up name calling and his favorite to use is Butthead. We have been working on correcting this problem and I am getting really frustrated with this process of deprogramming him. Well it seems it has started to work because now when he gets mad at his brother or sister instead of hearing, "You BUTTHEAD" I hear, "You BUTLER." Must he call names at all? Any advice?

The Kid in ME!

The girls over at 5 Minutes for Mom are having another photo contest, check out the link to get the details! I am entering this picture of my swinging...when I get on a playground the kid in me jumps right out and I love to swing. I told my 5 1/2 year old that I needed his help to take a picture so we could enter a contest and this is the picture he took of his mama having fun swinging!

Happy Birthday RED!

Dear Red,
These past three years have been, how should I say it, exciting and such a blessing. You have brought so much joy and happiness to our family. Your little personality is too funny! I look forward to watching you grow up and learn about God and the world around you. I love your heart...you are so caring and loving with your siblings, especially Peanut. You have a very special bond with each of your siblings and it is so sweet to see. Hearing you sing songs of praise and worship is so precious to me and I hope and pray one day that you will be a great man of God. I thank God for you each and everyday my sweet little big boy. I love you more then words could describe!

Love, Mommy

P.S. Over the last couple of days I have been asking Red where he wants to eat for his birthday lunch. Our conversations have gone something like this...
Me: Where do you want to eat for your birthday lunch?
Red: Church
Me: Do you want to go to a restaurant?
Red: YES!
Me: Which one?
Red: A restaurant
Me: I know but which one...Do you want to go to Photo's? Or Jimmy John's? Or Pot Belly's? Those are restaurants.
Red: Hmmm 2 restaurants

This is what he woke up to this morning!

Needless to say he never really did answer the question where he wants to go but I think Monkey got him to decide on Chuck E Cheese, shocking I know! Monkey also taught Red and little chant he learned at school. It goes like this...We will We will Rock you sock you flush you down the toilet hope you enjoy it. Just what every 3 year old needs to learn :)

3 years ago...

today, Red broke my water. It was a little tear that leaked very slowly, I got up and went to work with both the kids, it was a Monday morning. I worked at the kid's school in the preschool department. I remember half way through the four hours of work thinking, "I feel like I'm peeing my pants." But I still had 5 weeks until his due date and my last day of work was Friday. So I called the midwife and she said I needed to come in as soon as possible to make sure it was pee and not my fluid that was leaking out of me. Well I went in after lunch and we determined it was amniotic fluid and I should go home get things ready and go to the hospital. The midwife told me the more activity I did the better, we were trying to get the bag to break completely instead of just leaking. Because I wasn't in labor I was able to make phone calls, pack my bag, and do a load of laundry before we went there at 3:30pm on the 16th. We brought GG and Monkey to the hospital with us and they sat and watched a movie for the first 2 hours and then ate dinner grandma brought them. My mil came to be there for his birth. So she was able to help entertain the kids until my dad and step mom got there to take them home around 7:30pm. I was hoping I would have had him by then but things were moving very slowly, as I was scared to have him so early. I was really worried that he wasn't ready to come out and my body wasn't cooperating. I had asked if they would break my water completely but they said it was too risky since I wasn't showing signs of labor and they wanted to avoid an emergency c-section. If I had the midwife I had with my first two she would of done it because she knew what my body and previous labors were like but she lives 4 hours away :) So the midwife put me on pitocin right after the kids left and about 2 hours of that I was rethinking my whole no epidural approach. I hadn't progressed at that point (3 centimeters was all and that is what I was when I came in) and the pain was getting terrible. I got the epidural at around 10:45pm and it kicked in about 11:15pm then they broke my water completely. About 10 minutes after they broke my water my contractions really kicked in, so I was told, I couldn't feel anything! I went from 3 to 10 in less than an hours time. I'm glad I couldn't feel it because I have been told that is very painful to dilate that fast. As much as I wanted her to break my water before the pitocin without the epidural I am thankful the way it happened, fast and pain free. It was about 11:55pm when they checked me because I was feeling pressure and I was complete and ready to push. They started quickly getting everything ready at this point because the midwife thought it would take a few hours to get me to complete even though I told her several times I have fast labors, she was shocked that I was right! They had to get the NICU nurses and doc in the room, and the bed ready for delivery. I pushed a total of 3 times and he was out! He was born on May 17th at 12:23am.

When I got pregnant with Peanut this midwife kept a close eye on me because of my fast and early labors! I hope you got through all of that ;) I wanted to put a picture of Red as an infant and then a now picture but apparently when our hard drive crashed it ate/destroyed all pictures before 2006. I am so sad.

Stuff

Check out what my men did today!

Oh I just have to say that yesterday was so much fun getting to meet Happi! She took a picture with her camera, I forgot mine. The kids had fun but this meeting was for us MOMS. She wrote the nicest post about our get together click on her name above to read it and see our picture! It was so great meeting you Happi. :)

Peanut is just too funny with her socks. She LOVES to pull them off her feet while laying on her back and then she rolls and put it in her mouth. I have been trying to get a picture of this for weeks now and I finally got it... so I'll leave you with this picture.

Excited...

I sit here waiting for the time to go meet a fellow blogger. I am so excited because I love reading her blog and I've talked to her on the phone a few times and she is just super sweet. I would be lying if I didn't say I am somewhat nervous meeting her, but from our phone conversations I think we will be just fine!

Hooky

Today we kept the kids home from school and took them downtown Chicago to the Museum of Science and Industry. (Or as J refers to it as Museum of Silence and Injury) I haven't been there in over a decade. All I have to say is it is more kid friendly then I remember. On the way there I kept telling the kids it probably won't be as fun as the Children's Museum but I think they had just as much fun there. They also learned A LOT! It was cool to here all the things they learned from the different exhibits. We took them to the 3D show of Sharks, which they loved. We wanted to take them to the Omni Max Theater but decided the dinosaurs might be a little scary for Red. There was a little clip of it on their website. I have pictures but I'm sitting on the couch watching American Gladiator and I'm too lazy to go get the camera! If you live near Chicago and haven't gone to this Museum in awhile I highly recommend going. I'm tired and I'm going to veg for the rest of the night!

Oh yeah I had a great Mother's Day. J had the day off and we went out for lunch and then hung around the house playing card games. (skip-bo) Just as we were talking about what to have for dinner my dad called wanting to know if we wanted to go out to eat. I also got some very cute presents from the kids from school and church! From the hubs I got a book called The Power of a Positive Momby Karol Ladd. No it is not because he thinks I am negative I actually saw the book and requested it. I'm always looking for godly book on being a better mother to my kids. I also got a new swimsuit, for our pool passes!

The ANTS go marching one by one....

I have tried various tricks that I have heard to keep ants out of our house but it isn't working. Now I am turning to the blogosphere and asking...Do any of you have a sure fire way to keep ants out? If so, please give in detail what you use and how, please remember I have an infant that rolls around on the ground and will be crawling soon.

One morning we woke up and they were all over the kitchen floor and this is what I hear...
GG: No don't kill the ants they are God's creatures!
Monkey: But they are EVERYwhere!

I keep the kitchen as clean as humanly possible with small children but I can't see what they are looking for. They are also in our bathroom, what food is in there for them?

Red is deathly afraid of bugs lately. If he sees a spider in one area of the house he WILL NOT go there for weeks. Well when he realized we had ants on the floor he ended up on top of the kitchen table scared to death. J had him pick an ant up to show him they are harmless. But I could tell he isn't that brave yet. He picked one up to show me and once it left his finger and went to his thumb he says, "Get it off of me."

What I'm clinging to today! PTL

In my quiet time with the Lord today I read Psalms 23 among other chapters but this one stood out to me. I'm not sure if it is because I really like this passage or because I found great comfort in reading it today. I had Monkey say it by memory because I strive to have a childlike faith.

These last few weeks have been crazy around here with J's schedule and training for his new position. Just to give you an idea of the craziness of it all...

Tuesday: court 9:30 to 11:30, court 1:30 and then when right to work until 11pm. I saw him an hour.
Wednesday: 8am to 4pm this was nice
Thursday (today): 11am to 9pm what???

I never know from one day to the next if he is going to be on the day shift or afternoon shift. He has been told several times by the guy he is taking over for that he should be off of patrol and training otherwise he isn't going to be ready for next school year. There is only 4 weeks of school left before summer and how can you meet important people and such once school is out? I'm frustrated for him. But with all that said I know that God is in control of this and it will work out fine. The kids and I have managed to make his unpredictable schedule work...and it's not by anything that I'm doing. PTL!

More learning going on here!

The kids had the Race for Education on Monday. Last year Monkey won a trophy for running the most laps of all the boys in his grade. Well it is pay back time for all the toys that Monkey broke of Red's and if you guessed that Red broke Monkey's trophy you would be right! He has been talking about how he wants to try and win it again this year. Here is where the lesson comes in. There were a few boys who didn't stay on the track and cut through the field. I told a few that I saw to go back to the other side of the track because they were cheating. I must mention when that occurred Monkey was no where near me and he had no idea it happened. One of the boys listened and went back the other just stood there looking at me like I was crazy. I nicely explained to him that he needed to go back because he was cheating by not staying on the track. They get sponsored by lap or a flat donation. After I was done talking to the boy his mom who was there was yelling his name and waving him over. I have no idea who this kid was or what his name was. I turned to see this little boy conflicted as to what to do. I asked the women waving at him if he belonged to her and she said yes. I told her that he had run across the field and I told him to go back. As I got passed her I turned around to watch her walk towards him and tell him to just keep going. I was shocked that she would tell her child to cheat and keep going. Well this boy did it more times...per his mom's approval. This is a private Christian school that my kids attend. Anyways, I got sided tracked and went into more detail then planned. The kids were on their last lap and a group of boys (some of the cheaters) ran over to Monkey. I was trying to yell for him to run because I had a feeling they wanted to compare laps around. After they ran away from him he started crying. I ran over to him to see what happened. Needless to say, those boys had ran more laps and were bragging about how they ran across the field. Monkey says, "Mom they are going to win and they cheated." At this point, my heart is braking for my little man trying to do the honorable thing and follow the rules. He is my rule follower and I can so relate because that is my nature too. I had told his teacher about the boy who's mom told him to keep cheating after the second time I had said something to him about it. I found out later they took 5 laps away from him. I didn't know about the other boys until the end. Monkey told his teacher after the race was over about the boys who came up to him and she said, "It's okay." Then when I went to pick him up from school his teacher came over to me and we talked a little more about it. She suggested I talk to one of the boys mom, which upset Jeff because the teacher should handle it. We aren't upset that Monkey isn't going to win we really don't care about that because he did his best and we are proud of his effort. He ran 11 laps that is almost 3 miles in an hour.

This was a great opportunity to talk to Monkey and even GG about cheating and how it affects everyone involved. Why it is wrong and that if you are caught there are consequences like getting 5 laps taken off your score card. How God knows if you cheat even if you don't get caught. We talked about not following the pack when people are doing the wrong thing. We also talked about how we can't control what other people do like cheat the only thing we can do is what is right. I really hope these talks have sunk in. We have been having great conversations about it for the past two days.

Thank You

We've been talking to our kids a LOT about saying Thank you after someone does something for you. Whether it is getting them a drink or snack or giving them a ride home from school or taking them somewhere fun. It was getting to the point where we didn't want to do anything fun with them because they didn't say Thank you and only complained when we had to leave. Very frustrating as a parent and so begins the talks.

Well today it seems that the talks are finally paying off! After church today we went to lunch we a few people from our Sunday School class and on the way to J's parents house both the older kids told us, "Thank You for taking us out to lunch." To which J replied, "Well that just sealed the deal for ice cream when we get to grandma and grandpa's house." The looks on there faces was priceless. They were shocked and happy about that. When we got to there house they didn't have any kid friendly ice cream so we told them we would walk to DQ after Red took his nap.

At about 4:15 we had to wake Red up, he must have been tired because he took a 2 hour nap! We got to DQ around 5pm and had our ice cream. A couple of my friends have had ice cream for dinner and I thought what a great idea for today. So I announced to the kids as they were eating their ice cream that this was dinner. I think I confused them!

GG took the longest to eat her ice cream but kept saying, "I have to finish my ice cream because it's my dinner!" Then I think it was GG that said, "Mom don't you think we should have something more nutritional for dinner?" I got a kick out of that. I'm trying to raise them to want to eat healthy. :)

The Baby loves water...

Peanut loves playing in the water and usually throws a fit when we take her out. She got to go swimming Friday morning and I didn't have my camera to capture all the smiles. I gave her a bath today and took two videos of her playing in the water! These videos captured the way she waves, splashes and sucks the water off her toes, and I loved it!




A few days ago I entered a photo contest for Mother's Day. I was not a finalist. There were over 400 blog entries plus I don't know how many email ones. It had to be a tough choice and I'm glad I didn't have to make it. But one of my blogging buddies is a finalist! So if you could be so kind to click HEREand vote for Flip Flop Mamma, she has no idea I'm asking for your help. Her little girl is holding her baby in a child size sling. It really is a cute picture! The voting ends Friday, May 9th.

Squeaky wheel...

Sometimes I look at my blog and think I hardly ever write about Monkey, which I know isn't true. It just seems like the other kids are the squeaky ones or that they get more blog space! GG is the oldest and is total girl drama, Red is just saying so many funny things lately that I want to write about them, and the baby gets lots of press because well she's the baby!

Well my Monkey is the sweetest little boy. He still loves to cuddle with me and he is going to be 6 years old in three months. This picture shows how he got the nickname of Monkey ;)

I wish I could capture his imagination on video but when he sees me he stops playing. But there have been many days I have stood outside his bedroom door just listening. I should record him like that! He is a huge helper around the house and with his siblings. Here he is putting the clean dishes away, he puts his laundry away too!

The last time he went shopping with J he walked in the door with flowers for me. J said that he saw the flowers and asked if he could get them for me, he loves his mama! He knows how to give a good compliment. I was in the kitchen cooking and he looks at me and says, "Mama your little." I asked him what he said because it through me off, he got a little Monkey grin on his face and said, "Your little, you know short and skinny." It was really cute and humorous. I also love the way he lights up when I ask him if he want to go out on a date with me. We are hoping to go swimming on Friday but I don't know if our passes will work that soon. Got to check into it. Otherwise we will do something else. Just look at that sweet little face, how could I not love and adore him! I love you my sweet baby boy!


***Just a side note I started this post two days ago but had many interruptions squeaky wheels that pulled me away from the computer.***