Almost, But Not Quite

Well, Bret almost had the 4-wheeler running again. After not using it much towards the end of last summer and fall because it wouldn't run in reverse or stay in 2nd gear, we ordered a replacement gear box and new tires. Bret replaced the gear box this afternoon and it worked for all of about 5 minutes. Now it won't run in 1st gear or reverse. You have got to be kidding me. Poor kid was so excited when he saw it back in the garage after being in Bret's Grandma's garage for the winter. And we know what Ryan does to the 4 wheeler when it ticks him off. Worth a pretty good laugh, though.

Sure, Go Right Ahead

So last night at 2am in the morning, Ryan comes in to our room and asks if he can go downstairs and play his Star Wars game on his Play Station. Having not a single clue what time it is and knowing that I just want to go back to sleep, I tell him yes. He says "Yipee" and turns and heads for the door as Bret thankfully wakes up and sets us both straight. After finally calming down, Ryan climbs into bed with us and I'm still not really sure if he ever went back to sleep because at 6am he's bugging us about it again. So I sent him on down. Great parenting, huh?

Complaint Free World

The 21 Day Challenge

As I'm sitting on the couch reading through People magazine (because I'm feeling too tired and lazy to put away the rest of the groceries I bought this morning) I came across this article about a church in Kansas City, MO and a movement they have started. It's called A Complaint Free World and you wear these purple bracelets (similar to the Live Strong ones). The challenge is to go 21 days without whining or complaining. Every time you whine or complain you have to switch the bracelet to the other wrist and start the 3 weeks over. I've ordered 20 of them since they are free and when they arrive, I'm going to hand them out to family and friends. I think it'll be fun to support each other and yet kind of funny catching each other breaking the rules and having to start over. What a great idea! It'll sure make us all realize just how often we complain and help us to become more aware of our thoughts and more enjoyable to be around. So check out the article and let me know if you want one.

Now if I could just find a bracelet that says "Patience With Your Kids" for the other wrist.

A Perfect Day

Finally! Some warm weather! Today was a true sign of spring being right around the corner. With almost 70 degree temperatures and the warmth of the sun, the babies and I hung out on Emily's driveway on a blanket watching all of the neighborhood kids that weren't in school play. I did feel a bit guilty since Ryan and Ashley would surely be upset that I was outside enjoying a beautiful day while they were stuck in school. (Not too guilty, though...ha.)

It's funny how you don't tend to see many of your neighbor's during the long and cold months of winter, and then all of a sudden it warms up outside and you realize that everyone's kids have grown a few inches taller and look a lot older. It was nice to sit and catch up with friends that we don't see everyday.

Spring break is quickly approaching and I'm hoping the weather will be as nice as it was during last year's break. Last year the kids and I were outside from the time we had finished eating breakfast until it was time to come in for bath time. By the end of the first day, Emily and I had sunburns - in March! We couldn't have asked for better weather.

Here's to hoping that tomorrow will be just as great as today was.

Future Astronaut

Yesterday was Ashley's field trip to the Challenger Center in Bloomington and she had a lot of fun. Bret went with as a chaperone and it seems the kids really enjoyed having him along.

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The kids got to simulate a mock space mission.

After they left the Challenger Center they headed over to the Children's Discovery Museum. Someone failed to tell Ashley that you shouldn't lay down under a cow when you're attempting to milk it.

Below would be the kids' free entertainment.

Why Can't They Stay Little?

Chloe is now 7 months old and Cecelia is now 6 months. Where has the time gone? Can they get any cuter?

Chloe hams it up for the camera.

Cecelia is always full of smiles.

Chloe: I'm getting such a headache from all of this picture taking stuff. Do you think she's about done, already?

Cecelia: Who knows. Here let me massage your headache away.

Chloe: Okay, but I get to play with your head next.

Cecelia: Um, I don't think so. I saw what you did to that teddy bear's head earlier.

We Already Knew That She Couldn't Keep A Secret

This post is dedicated to you, Mom!

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Yesterday was the big day for Ashley's family birthday party and I had come up with a sure fire way to throw her off. She was pretty sure she was going to get the iPod Nano she's been begging for and I didn't want it to be too easy for her. Bret kept trying to talk Ashley into getting a Nintendo DS but Ashley insisted that she didn't want one. A friend of hers had just gotten a Nintendo DS for her birthday, so I borrowed the box and hid the iPod inside of it, pretty sure she'd believe there was a DS inside. I told everyone ahead of time NOT to tell her to look inside the box. I wanted her to continue opening her presents so that she'd slowly realize she was getting an iPod as she opened up all of it's accessories. Then we would have told her to look inside the DS box when she had gotten to the last present and still didn't have an iPod in her hands.

She did fall for it, and very graciously....

But then my mother asked to see what the DS looked like before she moved on to the next gift!!!



Sigh. She was happy to see it was an iPod instead of a DS, but man it would have been really fun to see her sweat it out some more.

Ashley's New Gig

Last night was Ashley's very first babysitting gig. While my friend Emily and her husband took Ryan and their son to a basketball game, Ashley stayed behind and watched their two young daughters. I think I was more nervous than Ash. I called at one point and asked if she needed help getting the two girls to bed and she told me she could handle it. I kept looking out our kitchen window through the backyard at Em's house to make sure everything looked okay. She did such a great job!!! When she came home she was all smiles and so apparently proud of herself. I knew she'd be great since she's had a lot of practice with helping me out with the babies here at home. She says she's ready for her next gig - only mom won't let her go further than a neighbor's house since she's only eleven.

Up next is Ashley's family birthday party this afternoon. I've got something very funny (Ash might think cruel) up my sleeve. I can't wait so stay tuned...

Glimmer Of Hope

I've always felt a little guilty that I moved 2 1/2 hours away from my family up in Chicago when I got married. Today I felt a little glimmer of hope that someone from my side of the family might eventually end up down here. My cousin, Julie drove down here to Peoria this morning to pick up an application for the Peoria Fire Department. She stopped by to visit and hung out with me and the babies for a few hours. I gave her the tour of the house and showed her what Ashley says would be Julie's room downstairs, until she could find her own place, if she gets hired and moves to Peoria. (Sorry, Mom.)

Let me just say that you are officially an adult when your 22 year old cousin comes to visit and you drive her around town in your minivan so she can buy birthday balloons for your 11 year old daughter, who also happens to be her God Daughter. I am so old!

She has a really good chance of being hired, though. She's pretty tough and can probably hold her own against any male firefighter. How funny would it be if the two of us both ended up in Peoria?

A Little Behind

I've just now realized that I've named all of my picture files on my computer as "2006". Is that sad since tomorrow starts March of 2007?

Happy Birthday, Ashley

Ashley had her second band concert at school tonight. It's amazing to see how much progress all of the kids have made since their first performance at the beginning of the school year.

She is officially eleven years old today. I can't believe how quickly time has passed and how mature she has become. In five years she'll be driving. (I think my heart may have skipped a couple of beats there.)

Happy Birthday, Ash!

A Riddle

Question: What's worse than being home with two cranky/teething/ear infection/runny nose babies?

Answer: Being home with two cranky/teething/ear infection/runny nose babies and a sick and cranky runny nosed husband.

Only because I'm just as much fun when I'm sick, right?

Running Out Of Time

Ashley's 11th birthday is on Tuesday and I haven't even started going through pictures for a video slide show for her like the one I did for Ryan's birthday. Oh, the guilt! I worked on his for a good month (back when I had tons of free time) and it turned out really well when I got the DVD copy in the mail. Ashley's is a different story. Out of eleven years, I have to go through 8 of those years worth of pictures and scan the ones I choose. (Only 3 years before digital for Ryan's.) Not an easy job. I guess we'll have to see what I can pull off in my limited free time. I already feel a headache starting.

Returned

I had to go from butt kicking mommy to soccer car mommy earlier this evening. No more hummer. Bummer.

Enterprise's Screw Up

If anyone needs us, the girls and I will be out off-roading in our Hummer today.

Today was my scheduled appointment to take my van back to the dealership AGAIN so they could straighten out the problem with the internal computer thingy. They had reserved a loaner for me, but Enterprise screwed up and loaned it to someone else. All they had left were Hummers. Darn. My OCD kicked in before I got home though, and I had to run it through the cheap car wash before I could settle down. The thing was so dirty I couldn't see out the windows and there was no washer fluid left. I've already had to change my clothes once because of all the filth that got all over me when I was trying to get the car seats in. We won't even talk about the condition of the interior. (Starts shivering and shaking.) I think I've got some extra towels and rubber gloves around here somewhere.

Okay, fine. I admit it. I went at the steering wheel and gear shifter with a Lysol wipe. I had to do it. I've had enough fevers, body aches and stuffy noses this winter already.

Swimming When It's Below Freezing

So what do you do when it's below freezing outside and the kids have been cooped up inside for too long? Well, you go swimming, of course! Yesterday afternoon was Brooke's birthday party at the RiverPlex. I cannot believe that she is 5 years old already. Time goes by way too fast. The kids had a blast and it seemed that swimming was just the thing to fix a dreary cold day full of boredom.

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Ashley, quite the babysitter, took care of Mitchell for most of the party.

Brooke takes on the lazy river and Mitchell holds on for dear life.

Ryan and Bret chill out in the lazy river, too.

Brooke says that it's "party time!"

Ash and Ryan wait patiently for cake and ice cream.

It Just Keeps On Coming

We got 4 more inches of blowing and drifting snow Friday night and Saturday morning.

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There's nothing like shoveling the street when your tax dollars are suppose to do it for you.

Ryan in the cornfields behind our neighborhood.

Snow Day Number Two

If the school bus doesn't come tomorrow, I will personally go get it and take the kids to school myself. Enough is enough. The kids are getting sick of each other and actually want to go back. I think I hear the house itself begging the kids to go back so it can purge itself of the numerous toys that have littered it's floor.

Here We Go Again

Is anyone else over this winter stuff just as much as I am? The kids were off of school today due to the snow that's been falling and blowing all over the place. How much has fallen? I don't know - too much! (My guess would be 6-8 inches, but it's hard to tell since it's blowing everywhere.)

Like an idiot, I kept my 9am appointment this morning at the car dealership because I was desperate to get my CD player to stop eating CD's and figured the Service Vehicle Soon message that kept showing up probably wasn't a good thing. The kids went over to Teri's today while I delt with that. Supposedly a few updated downloads later, the SVS message was taken care of and the monster spat my CD back out. We'll see about that - I'm not convinced. The drive home wasn't too bad but it was quickly getting worse outside.

Then Ashley decides she wants to go down the street to her friend's house to play, so being the nice mom that I am, I drove her. Despite Bret's advice that I not attempt to drive anywhere, I, the stubborn person that I can be, drove her down there and got stuck in the middle of the cul-de-sac right in front of her friend's house and had to be shoveled and pushed out. (While my daughter was wearing my boots because she left hers at school.)

My toes haven't warmed up yet, but we're now getting ready to head out to Bret's parent's house for my niece's birthday. And no, I am NOT crazy and going to go out there and drive in that again. Bret's brother is picking us up in his 4 wheel drive truck. So, if we get stuck - he can be the crazy one.

I guess it could be worse, like this! Whew.

How's About A Break?

They are saying that 6-8 inches of snow is predicted for tomorrow - on top of the 3-4 inches that we just got last week. Makes it pretty much impossible to go anywhere with two infants. (Guess that gives me an excuse to spend the day in my jammies, right?)

The kids don't have school tomorrow and Teri has to work, so I'll have 6 kids here tomorrow. I'll be sure to take some pictures of the pandemonium, including one of myself pulling my hair out. (Just kidding, Teri...LoL) Honestly though, it should be a fun and busy day, but I'll probably be in bed for the night by 6pm.