These are the days of our lives

Ashley's quite a writer

2012-02-15T08:42:00.001-08:00

Here are a few of the things Ashley's written recently. She's so sweet.

Ignore if you like

2012-01-31T13:05:00.001-08:00

I want to give you the option to ignore my blog if you want. I worry people think its a place for me to brag or something along those lines. If it seems that way...sorry. It's main purpose is to remind me of how cute my kids were when I'm old...or even just older. I also like to share with others who are interested but mainly I want to preserve these moments in time. For instance, I call Holly and Ashley cuddle bunnies. Here is a picture of my cuddle bunny with a quilt her grandpa made. She's taking an unintentional nap....gotta love those.

Title of Liberty

2012-01-31T12:25:00.001-08:00

Ashley drew this for family night last night. It's her Title of Liberty. These are things she values that are worth fighting for. I thought it was so cute. Frankly I thought our kids weren't even listening when we asked them to draw this. I won't mention what the other kids drew. :)

What can YOU do in 30 seconds?!

2012-01-31T12:17:00.001-08:00

Over the last few weeks Henry and Max have amazed me time and again with what they can do in 30 seconds...unsupervised of course. Here is a list of things they've done.
1. Henry ate half a pack of gum while I was on the computer in the other room for 30 sec.
2. Henry or Max threw a new bottle of children's Tylenol from upstairs over the balcony...shattering the lid and spraying Tylenol everywhere.
3. Max's favorite unsupervised activity is splashing around in the toilet.
4. Max cracked a DVD in half in the time it took me to put another movie in the player...that takes some real determination.
5. Max likes to clear the whole dinner table of all of its contents in 30 seconds.
6. When left unlocked the ice/water dispenser becomes a target. They commonly spray ice everywhere.(picture below)
7. They also both live to rearrange the furniture and then jump from couch to couch...hopefully we don't have to add break leg to this list.

They are certainly busy boys. We have a number of procedures to prevent most of these. The most effective is to yell at any given moment "NO NO!"...that has saved our computer in the library several times. All I hear after that is scurrying and I usually find them with guilty looks sitting on the couch next to the computer desk.

Family fun

2012-01-16T19:00:00.001-08:00

For the long weekend we decided to come to St Louis. We originally thought maybe a museum but then noticed we wouldn't freeze to death if we were outside(it was in the 60's). So, outside we went at the zoo. Our kids like it but are always surprised by how much walking they have to do. So sad. Here are a couple pictures of the kids at the zoo. Why do we love the zoo so much? It's free...it forces our kids to get exercise and be outside...and it's free. :)
We also had a late birthday party for Holly with her grandpa and grandma. And as is tradition, we made her look ridiculous and cute for the occasion. Also we play charades as a family a lot these days and while ash and drew get it, Holly thinks of it as some kind of crazy dance party...which is fun to watch. Sorry the picture is blurry but you get the idea.

The favorite twin

2012-01-12T16:55:00.001-08:00

Holly and Henry seem to be the best of pals. I love that they like to play together or rather that Henry allows Holly to boss him and goes along with her shenanigans. But....it has me worried. I thought none of my other kids could tell the twins apart but Holly often seeks out Henry and is successful at finding him. Anyway I think you can guess the problem. What about Max? This isn't the first time a kid in our family has been left out...ash and drew have left Holly out plenty. Anyway, poor Max and of course we encourage including everyone but you know how that goes. I can't imagine being a twin though...so great in some ways but hard in others a constant companion but potentially a constant competitor.

Christmas time WAS here.

2012-01-05T16:42:00.001-08:00

Yes Christmas time has come and gone. What did we do over Christmas? Here you'll get a glimpse. It involved making gingerbread houses. There was of course the hanging of the stockings. There was a lot of sleeping....not for me of course....I preferred staying up late to hang out and chat. The kids enjoyed plenty of quality time with their aunts and uncles who so graciously gave up their rooms for us to sleep in and played endlessly with our kids. We played laser tag....which has become a tradition...Daniel and Nathan obviously have no shame when it comes to their laser tag attire. It was great to get to see the Nelsons and their cute kids. A highlight that I can't skip over is eating at Chik-Fil-A at least 4 times while Daniel's parents and siblings babysat....so nice. Finally, I got to meet my new sister-in-law Lauren....what a treat. Very fun to meet her and get to see Tyler as well. It was sad to leave....Andrew broke down in tears when he got home....which made it even harder. He loves his time in Idaho especially his time with his uncles. Fond memories were made....but now it's back to reality! :)
ps...while in Idaho we contemplated who was the cheapest Ames....a title highly sought after. I'm not sure a conclusion was made but this might give you a clue. On the way home we thought about stopping at the Omaha zoo with our kids. After weighing the costs we decided to take our kids to Cabellas. After all, it has animals....and so what if they're dead and stuffed...it is free and who can argue with that?...not someone who is contending for The Cheapest Ames title.

Time is flying

2011-12-06T14:09:00.001-08:00

So much has happened over the past couple months! First Facebook has robbed me of my desire to post...but because this is as close to a journal as I get...I'm going to post even repeats from Facebook. So time is flying by and I'm feeling so old lately or at least feeling like I should feel old given that I have FIVE kids and a THIRTY year-old husband. Yep Daniel just turned 30 and we had a little surprise party for him with some of our friends....even though the picture looks like maybe we have no friends.

The kids got to see Santa downtown Normal to start off this Christmas season. The paper said there'd be all kinds of fun Christmasy things for everyone....but this is all we found. Oh well seeing Santa for 30 seconds is better than nothing.

The weekend after Thanksgiving we decided to decorate our Christmas tree. As you can see it only made sense to decorate the top third of the tree. Henry and Max spend their spare time pulling off ornaments and shoving pine cones in the tree.

Maxwell and Henry have really ramped up their efforts at being destructive lately. While I was on the way out the other day, Henry spilled a half gallon of milk all over the kitchen floor and a few days later Max decided to lead the way in pulling all of the keys off our laptop keyboard...AGAIN...sigh.

Last year when I found out at around bedtime that Andrew's school was having a Christmas hat spirit day, I decided to use what I had and make him a santa/elf hat. This year I got 2 more hats for the other kids and figured they'd all be jolly. Turns out my hat isn't the most coveted hat this year but somehow they managed to pose without ripping each other's heads off to get the hat they wanted.

Max loves dogs...and this one won't bite him so bonus. We thought this looked like it came straight out of a catalog...minus the blurriness.

When I got my new Iphone I came across these pictures from my old phone from when the twins were babies. The first one is Max and the Second one is Henry. They were so little and elf-like. :)

We had another birthday in the family recently. Little Ashley turned 6! And if you can't make people look silly on their birthday when can you?!

Henry and Max spent time during the birthday party in their favorite chair at Grandpa's house. Henry was very serious about watching his show and not being disturbed.

I got the twins moose hats recently...and Henry was kind enough to keep it on for more than 5 seconds. Max was not so kind. I bet he'll change his tune when it's -20 outside and it's his only hope.

And finally the van has also been dressed up for the holidays. To my shock, many people have not embraced its new look and in fact are embarrassed of it. Do I think it looks classy?...No. Do I think it spreads Christmas cheer and makes things more fun for my kids?...YES. So, the costume stays. There aren't many good things about a big brown van, but why can't its uncanny resemblance to a reindeer be one of them?

Trick or Treat

2011-10-31T17:52:00.001-07:00

The windy day we had our trunk-or-treat at the church....the picture gives you an idea of just how windy it was.

Daniel and the troops assembling on the porch before going out to get some candy!

Grandma and Grandpa with the kiddies before trick-or-treating. Pretend like Ashley's eyes are open and this is a perfect picture. We had to be quick because Max was terrified of Andrew the werewolf. :)

Holly was a cowgirl....a goofy cowgirl.

The two most courageous looking super heroes I've ever met.

The three of them trick-or-treating together.

I'm a very intellegent Occupy Wall Streeter.

Fall Fun

2011-10-14T07:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the kids and I and their grandparents went to Tanner's Orchard. It was a beautiful day so needless to say other people had the same idea for fun. It was crowded. But, we all still had a great time. Max and Henry's favorite part by far...besides whining was feeding the animals. Max would get so excited every time the goats would get near.

At first Henry was really shy so when he got food to feed the animals he would just run up and throw it at them and then quickly run away. But by the end he started warming up and feeding the goats more than food.

Andrew and Ashley spent a fair amount of time running on top of the straw bail maze but stopped for me to take a photo.

The girls road in style while their grandma peddled.

The kids all ran to the top of a big hill...even though you can't tell.

I am blessed

2011-10-01T18:58:00.001-07:00

Today was a rough day. Daniel taught a class last night...and then again this morning...followed by a church meeting which made me a single mom of 5 for more time than I would like. Okay so any amount of time as a single mom would be too much for me. Anyway, Henry and Max really make things hard. They are soooo adorable and so sweet but they can be real bears...hard to believe...I KNOW. I anticipated these couple of days being hard...so I tried hard to keep a positive attitude and get through it. Things were going as planned...hard but manageable and then tonight at a friends my boys took turns seeing who could cry the loudest...after I spilled a cup of milk in my newly purchased...over-priced purse and just never a break. I had had enough....I was feeling sorry for myself. After getting home and finally getting everyone in bed I came down to start cleaning the kitchen when I looked over at a piece of decor I bought today. It's the word Blessed cut out of wood in big black cursive letters. I had plans of putting it on the mantle and set it there earlier today. When I looked over to see how it looked I realized it blended in with the background. I nearly missed it. Then the big lesson from this hit me. So often I nearly miss the blessings in my life. I get so focused on everything else that I don't take time to really see and appreciate just how blessed I am. So that's my thought for tonight...I need to make sure I am aware of and grateful for how truly blessed I am. By the way. I will be moving the picture up so that the word Blessed stands out....I won't miss it. :D

dilly bars

2011-09-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

After Ashley's soccer practice tonight, the coach surprised everyone with dilly bars from dairy queen. The biggest surprise of all was that he gave one to Henry who acted like it was a trophy or an award and was grinning from ear to ear for quite a while after accepting this prestigious award. Here's a little video of the happy times with the dilly bar. Also, here's a tip for anyone who wants to stay on Henry's good side....Do NOT take a bite out of Henry's dilly bar ever. Not even to show him how to do it....he may never forgive you...and if he does...he will never forget. :)

Good Question?

2011-09-27T11:23:00.000-07:00

Holly's grandma bought her some new clothes recently which she was excited to wear to preschool today. When she was having some trouble getting dressed this morning, she came to me and asked, "Can you please help me get on my dress?". I replied, "Oh Holly that's not a dress....it's a shirt." Then Holly appropriately asked, "Okay mom is this shirt made out of dress?" She is always thinking...that Holly. We love her and her astute observations. Sorry the picture is blurry...my ipod was all I had.

postworthy events

2011-09-17T19:11:00.000-07:00

We've been busy the last few weeks with the start of school for Andrew and Ashley(as you know)...and preschool for Holly. Here are a few first day of school pictures. Must have been quite sunny.

Those were some bittersweet days. They'll always be my babies though. Andrew and Ashley also started soccer a couple of weeks ago and had their 2nd and 3rd games today. It's definitely kept us busy but it's been a lot of fun too. I love going to the games and watching them play. Henry and Max love it too. They kept running on the field to let the coach know that they were ready to go in at any time....truly dedicated players.

Henry and Max love a good soccer game. They get in plenty of practice while waiting for their call to go in from the coach.

Henry is such a sweet and playful guy!

The soccer fields are right next to the airport runways so the boys get to see lots of airplanes too. yay!

Finally Andrew recently was the "star of the week" at school and he had to bring in 12 pictures that told about who he was. It was fun going back through old pictures. here are a couple.

Summer of Carly

2011-08-29T18:08:00.000-07:00

Today was a sad day in the Ames' household. Carly left to go back to Idaho. I feel like I lost a friend today. :( Okay so that was way too dramatic. Of course I didn't lose a friend....there's still texting, yearly visits, etc. But it was a joy to have her around and she will certainly be missed. I've decided to name this summer in honor of Carly's visit....the Summer of Carly. Last summer was the Summer of the Twins...they ruled our lives. The summer before that was the Summer of Building our New House. And the list goes on. Anyway, here are some fun memories from this summer and things I will miss.

1. Carly watching movies with Daniel and I and NEVER failing to fall asleep. You can count on Carly to sleep through just about any movie.

2. Carnival rides at Grady's that Carly is still young enough to handle while Daniel and I have decided we can no longer stomach rides such as the Tilt-a-whirl. The kids were grateful to have someone fun to ride with them. Here's a picture of fun times at Grady's.

3. The time Carly and I went to McDonald's and thought it was so cute to see Max and Henry drinking from a big person cup. I said it was awfully nice of Carly to share her drink with them...and she said that's your drink right?....We both looked at each other in horror. Fun times. A picture of this momentous occasion. The boys with a complete strangers slobbered on drink. :P

4. When Carly went with me against all rational thought to Ashley's school on the first day of kindergarten and consoled me after breaking down in the office. She assured me everyone has embarrassing breakdowns. Sooo glad she was there but then maybe I wouldn't have gone if I didn't have Carly with me to watch the little kids in the van while I went in. So of course a part of me blames Carly for the whole incident. ;)

5.The time(like 24 hours ago) when Carly sweat buckets with all 5 of our children so that Daniel and I could go to the Temple together. It was HOT outside. We are very grateful to her for that. We all also learned that our family is not ready to be in public yet! :D

6. Carly and I were also in the church nursery together every week. We got to hear some pretty crazy stuff from some of the kids. One kid assured us his parents aren't married and he's allowed to lick himself at home whenever he wants. Carly also got to hear many solos by me during singing time and lots of interruptions during songs with me saying "Sit in your chair" or "Please don't pick your nose".

7. One night Carly, a date, Daniel, and I had a double date at our house. We played frisbee and Daniel pegged me square in the forehead with it. Everyone had a good laugh and then we all played Beatle's Rockband. Daniel and I took turns singing and I'm pretty sure I'm the worst singer on the planet.

8. Also, for anyone who doesn't know...Carly can sleep through anything. We'll have fond memories of the blaring alarm clock going off on Saturday mornings...and afternoons for that matter. Carly tells me she has to set like 5 alarms just to make sure she gets up. She was never late though to her multiple babysitting jobs. Amazing.

9. We all went to visit Stephen one weeknight and went out to eat at Monical's. Max and Henry were both like Godzilla at times during the dinner...climbing around and trashing the place. It was fun but mostly stressful. Here's Stephen, Carly, and Daniel in the parking lot outside.

We had so many good times this summer. We'll miss Carly.

Not my finest hour

2011-08-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

Over the last hour or so I've managed to do a lot of things that I'm less than proud of. In fact, I'm mostly horribly embarrassed of. At least I could share these moments with my SIL Carly. That way not only will I always remember it....she will too.;)
Today was the first full day of school for Ashley. She's not the oldest so I didn't think much of it. As she was packing her lunch this morning though I started to worry a little bit. She packed 3 things that needed to be opened...usually by me...not today though. But whatever she grabbed her lunch and hopped on the bus without a tear....from either of us. I'm not one of those moms who cries on the first day of school. Anyway, round 11 I started worrying that she wouldn't be able to open her food and since she's shy, she won't ask for help. Yes there's help I know...but I also know Ashley and that she doesn't like talking to unfamiliar people. At 11:30 I called and asked Daniel if it'd be crazy to stop in to make sure she got her food opened ok. and "Yes...it would be crazy". "She'll be fine...there's lots of help...are you really that worried about her?" silence. And cue the tears. I started crying and said we'll talk later. Should've stopped there but no I asked Carly, my SIL, to go with me to the school so I could stop in. 5 minutes later I'm walking in the office. Everything would have been fine if I could have gone straight to the cafeteria...but no I have to stop and explain why I'm there(I do appreciate their attempts to keep out crazies). I say "Hi...hi...hi" followed by breakdown. Great now I'm crying in the office....they're used to that...5 year-olds come in all the time crying. Problem....I'm not 5. I'm supposed to be an adult who can pull myself together and not show up like a loony to my kids first day of school crying in the office. It was surreal. Right out of a movie...a horror or a comedy?....still undecided. How did they react? They said oh are you ok?...do you want to go to a conference room in the back?(aka please hide yourself before you scare everyone). I managed to pull myself together and say I just wanted to check on Ash and I'm so sorry for crying. They directed me to the playground where she would be playing in a few minutes. Lunch was over....and I was a wreck. So I quietly walked back to the van and told Carly the whole embarrassing story while heading to Mcdonald's to drown my sorrows in saturated fat. Pretty sure not many moms can top that embarrassing story.

The truth is...it's hard to watch your kids grow up. I will always miss their sweet baby faces...their sweet little voices....their sweet little hands and feet. I'm happy they get to do new and exciting things but I'm sad that someone else gets to spend more time with them than me. I know they drive me nuts a lot....but I love them and can't stand the thought of them being hungry or scared at lunch....hate to think that some kid will say something to make them feel bad today, or tomorrow. A line from a song I really like goes "It hurts to grow up"...and it sure does. It's hard having to be the grown up and putting on a brave face...I obviously failed at that today. I'm not embarrassed about being that sad, but I'm embarrassed about not keeping it together when I needed to. I made one good decision today.....not to go and visit Ash when I knew that I'd just cry. Anyway, here's hoping tomorrow I can be a little more grown up.

good times

2011-07-03T18:05:00.000-07:00

The other day we took the kids to Chicago for a little family trip. We got a little lost at first...thanks to our possessed GPS...we really should not depend on that thing so much. Anyway, during the confusion Andrew so helpfully asked why we ALWAYS do this...get lost...that is. Imagine our surprise. US...GET LOST?!! Yes we tend to do that whenever we attempt to visit a big city. We did eventually make it to the Museum of Science and Industry, our intended destination. It was a lot of fun...not quite as fun as when I was a kid...things never are. The kids probably liked the submarine the most...here they are in front of it.

Andrew also really enjoyed the weather exhibit...which included a tornado like thing. When he was called up by the museum worker to make some observations...he looked a little panicked and tried to ask what an observation was while being pulled front and center. We knew he'd be ok.

One of these things is not like the other....one is a Holly.

After we got home I started going through the pictures we had taken that day and found these oldies but goodies from when we lived in Durham, NC. Hard to believe Andrew and Ashley were ever that young and innocent.

Hawaii and Back

2011-06-03T20:10:00.000-07:00

Hawaii is the cure for what ails you. It certainly cured me of wanting to travel that far away pretty much ever again. Don't get me wrong...it was great...and it was beautiful...but there's always a price you pay and for Hawaii, I will not pay that price again. Jamaica...is another story...:D
Here is the first thing we saw on our way to Hawaii. American Airlines....has done us wrong for the last time. Unless, they make us an offer we can't refuse of course. ;)

On our flight out, we got to see the grand canyon out our window. I've never been so it was quite breathtaking. Thank you American airlines pilot for pointing it out..still not enough to make up for the wrongs. :)

Last year in Hawaii we had an ocean view room...this year it was mountain view. Both were awesome...as I love both the mountains and the ocean...I could wake up to this everyday..shocking I know.

We spent a lot of time at Waikiki beach. I always expect it to be more crowded...but it wasn't bad...there was always a spot for us along the beach.

I could rest on a palm tree daily....could you?

Here we are on Waikiki together.

And yet another

We spent most of our time at beach if you couldn't tell. We went to cheesecake factory almost every night for dinner....Oh how I love that place. We went body boarding...that was fun...but not for jokers. The ocean will show you no mercy..and the waves will keep coming. We went snorkeling twice. Snorkeling is my favorite. It doesn't take much to be "good" except maybe willingness. Overall it was a lovely trip. I could have done without the salt water up my nose...and subsequent sinus/ear pain nightmare...I could have done without the sun poisoning...and the cancelled flights. But I'm glad I went. I'm grateful for the troopers(my family) who took care of my 5 crazy kids so I could relax for a few days. That's no small task. I'm so glad to be home. I missed my kids like crazy...and it made me more grateful for them and my life here at home.

We can go outside

2011-05-20T06:49:00.000-07:00

Good news...it's been warm enough for the past few days that I think it's safe to say playing outside is an option. So we've been digging some holes and planting some plants. We always seem to have a helper with us whether we want one or not. I was just saying to Daniel that I can't believe Henry and Max haven't tried to destroy our plants yet. Then 2 seconds later they started ripping leaves off of our barberry plants. Those are supposed to have prickers. The lady said if you have kids you won't want these...well even the prickers on those aren't enough to keep Henry and Max away...oh well. We also have plenty of knockout rose bushes...which also have prickers...good luck with those boys. ;) Here's one of our little helpers.

Another fun family outing is when we all go to Menard's...the local hardware store. There's something for everyone. They have a big play area with all of their outside playsets in their greenhouse seasonal building. All the kids love it and Henry and Maxwell expecially seem to have endless amounts of energy as they climb up the ladder on the big playset and go down the big twisty yellow tube slide. They are so brave...I'm sure I would have hesitated at their age. The kids also love to jump on the trampoline....Ash can do a flip(glorified sommersault)...which is pretty cool. The twins like to get on there too....just to give me a heartattack while they run towards the edge. Henry especially loves the trampoline.

Also, can I just say that on October 28, 2009 two soccer stars were born. These boys love to kick the ball and run...if they really do have any athletic talent...they didn't get it from me and word on the street is Daniel used to pick flowers at his soccer games. So, it's a mystery.

Last week Andrew's class had a spring music concert. They all sang lots of songs about frogs, bugs, monkeys, and other spring things. He didn't want to wear what I suggested but he did anyway...what a trooper. Doesn't he look handsome?

Finally, here's Ashley who insisted on getting a picture by the flowers. Love her.

yet again

2011-05-04T11:32:00.001-07:00

Scene: Ashley and I on the way home from a friends house. Ashley sees me unbuckle my seatbelt right when we turn into our subdivision.

Ashley: "If you are going to do that(unbuckle my seatbelt early) then I'm going to do that. And, if you don't want me to do that then you'd better not do that. As long as you're going to get unbuckled early then so am I. If you want me to stay buckled then you better."

Maybe I should start a blog just about Ashley. She has a good point about me living the way I want my kids to live....but really?...who is the parent here?! She really gets her point across with all that repitition too.

Where did THAT come from?

2011-05-03T12:31:00.000-07:00

Scene: Daniel in the car with our 5 children going to get frostys from Wendy's

Ashley: "GOOOO DADDY!!"
Daniel: "I can't...the light isn't green."
Ashley: "Oh so you have to wait till it's green?"
Daniel: "Yep...then we can go."
Ashley: "Would it be really mean if when the light turned green we waited to go until the last possible second so only you get to go through the green light?"
Daniel: "Yes...yes that would be mean."

I'm not sure where Ash gets these road ragey ideas...could it be from her Grandpa Darrell...or from her less than "go with the flow" mother(I don't think of myself as having road rage...until someone else is in the car usually just staring in horror as I yell left and right at other cars)....we may never know. All I have to say is....if she's coming up with ideas like that at the age of 5...watch out world!

Easter fun

2011-04-23T19:40:00.000-07:00

Every morning...this is where you will find these 3 boys...huddled around a plastic cup full o fruit/spinach/oatmeal smoothie. One great way to trick your kids into eating spinach. Today...Daniel wasn't able to be here to make it for them...they made me aware of how upset they were....they did NOT want any of my toast or cereal.

Easter is tomorrow so today we had an Easter Egg hunt at my dad's house. Holly loved hunting for eggs.

How does an 18 month old know instinctively to pick up random plastic eggs and put them into a bucket that was handed to him?

Max had so much fun...he just laughed and smiled the whole day.

The work for Henry really never stopped. He kept dropping eggs out of his bucket which needed to be picked up and then after that he needed to move his eggs from one bucket to the other and back again. He was ready for a nap by the end of his hard day.

Andrew had no trouble filling his bucket immediately.

Ashley was happy to get lots of candy and informed me she wouldn't mind sharing with me...like she has a choice :)

The kids also got some silly string to use for whatever they wanted. What they wanted of course was to attack their grandpa.

and their Daddy

The whole day was a success. Our kids are so lucky to have so many grandparents that love them. We need all the help we can get! :)

On a final note. Max has been attacking Henry out of the blue lately. He'll just come up to him and push him down and then hop on his back like he expects him to play horsie with him. Henry does NOT like this and Daniel thinks I'm heartless for taking a picture instead of saving him right away...I'm sorry I just think...How will I EVER remember this is if I don't. On the up side Henry has been so kind to Max lately. When Max is crying, Henry will bring him his blankie and sometimes even give him the binkie right out of his mouth....touching...and gross.

This past week

2011-04-10T09:11:00.001-07:00

I love when my boys are all dressed up..it makes them look like grownups in little bodies. Max added the binkie and blankie to show you he's still a kid at heart.

I've mentioned this before but Max and Henry have all of the sudden gotten really into watching movies. This is both good and bad. We all need a break sometimes...I do...and so this is a good break for me. We also all need our brains to develop....and so that is how this is potentially bad...I don't think much develops in their brain while they watch Tangled...though I think it's a delightful movie.
Not much development going on here for Henry.

Max looks a little more alive.

We went to the zoo yesterday in St. Louis. It was REALLY warm...almost 90 but we've been waiting for the warmth so it was appreciated. To start off Ashley picked me some flowers and weeds. Every day I get several dandelions from Andrew, Ashley, and Holly(from my yard..grrr) to put in a vase.

Andrew really wanted to see the Rhino. This trip was for his birthday so of course we granted his wish.

A nice lady at the zoo gave up a bunch of free tickets to ride the carousel...thank you nice lady. So Henry, Andrew, Holly, Ashley, and Daniel got to ride. Max was busy eating a lemon icee with me. Daniel rode only to help Henry who would NOT be helped if he had anything to say about it.

A house full of character

2011-04-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

When Daniel and I were deciding on which house to buy we of course poured over 100's of houses before making a decision. We liked a lot of things about older houses. An older house often has a lot of character that you just can't replicate in a newer house without paying big time for it. But, ultimately we settled on building our own house so that we could add our personal tastes and touches to it and so we wouldn't have to do all the renovating and fixing up that an older house might require. I'm still happy with the decision to not buy a fixer upper....I can't see when we would have found the time. But I know that in building our new house we gave up some of the character...we have all taupe walls for one...our house blends in with every house in the neighborhood for two(I think this town has some sort of mission to camouflage all of the new houses...there's no other explanation for all of the earthy toned matching houses)...and for three we stayed very neutral to make reselling easy if need be. So our house maybe doesn't have as much character as I would like, or does it?....lately I've seen more character in this house than I could have ever imagined. My kids are the craziest characters.

Ahhh my sweet little Ashley. Sometimes she really makes me think there's a 40 year-old woman in that 5 year-old body. She says some of the craziest stuff and never ceases to amaze Daniel and I. We can't help but feel like she gets some of her "spunk" from the two of us. One thing about Ash is she seems to believe that she has quite a bit of leverage in any given situation/argument. Daily I hear phrases that start with "if you don't"....and end with "then I will not have ANY fun today!"..or "then I won't care about you anymore!". It can be quite amusing...to me anyway...of course to her it's no laughing matter. But I admit, if it's been a long day it can really rub me the wrong way. The other day Ash said to Daniel "You have two options...you can make me something I like for dinner...or I can starve". What kind of 5 year-old says that?! And finally, a few days ago we were visiting Daniel's office as a family and when heading to the car I realized we left a binky in his office so I headed back to get it. Ash asked Daniel where I was and he said I'd be right back and she quickly replied "you don't know what you're talking about!" I would chalk it up to just throwing out random "adult phrases" to sound grown up...but they always make sense when she says them...so yes we're scared of when she becomes a teenager.

Anyone who knows Holly knows she's a loveable little character. She too likes to shout crazy stuff like "HEY DON'T COME IN HERE" when she's in a public bathroom stall. Or if she doesn't like what I'm saying she yells "HEY STOP TALKING TO ME"...or "HEY DONT YOU SAY THAT TO ME". I'm not sure why but she kind of reminds me of Harry Caray. I think it's because she starts a lot of sentences with a very loud HEY. I love the scenes from SNL where will ferrell impersonates Harry Caray. I remember riding in the car with my dad as a kid and hearing Harry Caray over the radio. CUBS WIN! I also remember watching this on snl with some friends in high school...you'll have to cut and paste the link to see this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hObBw7ZAWDo
or there's this one...which is pretty funny too.

Finally the twins are very interesting characters. Henry thinks pretty much every animal is called a "Goggie"(dog)...and says that and then makes a barking sound. Henry also does not care for shoes but Max loves them. Henry never feels bad about taking Max's binky, blankie, or drink while Max is drinking even if Henry already has his own. When he takes Max's stuff Max says a very sweet "Heeeey". Maybe he's a little Harry Caray too.

do you like WWF?

2011-03-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

If you answered yes to my first question...then you'd love being at our house a lot of the time.

Henry is often plotting against Max. Look at this evidence.

Luckily Maxwell has a nice Daddy...that is there for him when he needs him.

on a lighter note

2011-03-01T11:52:00.001-08:00

Henry and Maxwell have a new hobby....one that is hard for me to accept. They both like to climb on our pubstyle chairs and then onto our table. Then after milling around for a while, they realize that it would be a hard task for them to get down...so what do they do?....they cry and whine. You can frequently find them on the table crying because they don't want to attempt to get down. I don't get the lure of the table but maybe they just want to see what it's like to be on our level for a while...or maybe it's that there's usually food on the table. Which brings me to the next problem. How can we possibly eat dinner with 2 toddlers running around on the table trying to help themselves to everyone's food but their own? I've resorted to telling Andrew, Ashley, and Holly to guard their food with their lives...but how fair is that? Last night I'd had enough and told the older kids to eat on the counter over by the sink so that the boys couldn't get to them. Oddly the kids didn't like that idea and perhaps didn't think they should have to eat on the counter by the sink. weird.

Holly has been grouchier than ever today. She makes it a point to wake up at 4:30 every once in a while just to shake things up. In spite of her bad attitude she let me take some pictures of her cute little self today.

Hard to believe this little girl can have such a foul temper sometimes. But...it's true. She also makes it a habit of yelling at me in public restrooms. She rarely wants me to come into the public restroom with her...and when I do...she goes into her little stall and yells "HEY...DON'T COME IN HERE!". Hard for me not to laugh really loudly...like I want to follow her into the bathroom. Anyway, what a sweetie.

Doing the most good

2011-02-28T07:03:00.000-08:00

Our house has had it's annual sick for weeks in row time now so hopefully we're almost out of the woods. With the exception of a few cases of pink eye and some hacking coughs I'd say we've paid our dues for the year in terms of sickness. Right now the 3 youngest have pink eye...and a terrifying thought came to me today. You're never immune to pinkeye are you? If we don't stay on top of this it could go round and round until we would be a great cast for a horror film....like this guy.

ok so not really...he's way too sweet to be in a horror movie...maybe more like a "just 20 cents a day" commercial. If you don't remember that...then you're too young to be reading this. Anyway, poor Max....and now Henry and Holly. However, if you're going to be classified as sick, I'd pick pinkeye every time.

That commercial brings up something that I've been thinking about a lot lately. I've posted about something similar to this before. Lately I've been feeling what I would describe as the winter blues...boredom...not feeling fulfilled...whatever it's called. Anyway, so the family and I decided to venture out to the mall on saturday to shake things up a bit. To my surprise everyone in town was there. It made me more aware of how much people shop to give themselves a little pick me up. I know because I've done this and still do sometimes...a lot of times. It works...as does going out to eat...eating anything tastey...watching your favorite show...and probably so does doing drugs(though with swifter negative consequences often times). Anyway all of these things are quick fixes to boredom and seem to fill a void...but ultimately do nothing in the way of helping me have a fulfilling life. It made me a little sad to see how many people do this...and at the same time it was comforting to see that I wasn't alone in being so offbase. All this led me to believe that I need to spend my time on worthwhile things if I want to feel like I'm living a full life. But..man that's hard. I feel like I'm doing that when I'm being a good mom....that's hard to measure though. Sometimes being a good mom means your kids are furious with you. I guess ultimately doing service is the best way to feel like your life has been worth it...like your time was well spent. So in thinking about this I came across a website that talked about bakesales you can do to raise money for kids in Uganda...for things like running water, education, medicine, shelter, etc. What a great idea...and what a great way to get your kids involved and caring about people and understanding that not everyone has it as good as they do. The website was www.thecupcakekids.org for anyone who is interested. Anyway, from all this I started thinking about my life and the huge contrast in the way I live versus the way these kids live. How can I possibly live like this when there are so many that have nothing? How can I possibly justify new shoes..like brand new...when some people..especially kids...don't have enough to eat or aren't getting the medicine they need? I've talked to Daniel a lot about this lately and the only thing I can come up with is a sort of lame justification. I say that each of these small pieces(wearing new clothes, having a nice home, going out to eat with my famiy) is for a bigger idea...a bigger goal to create a safe and happy environment for my kids...to create memories...to fit in society where we will do the most good if we are accepted and have more doors opened if we aren't extreme...or perceived as whackos who live in the forrest and off of the forest. I then think but you can accomplish that goal with much less..and start thinking of ways to sell my house and live on less. I've got a feeling this will be a mental struggle of mine until I die. Why should I ever go to Mcdonald's when someone could use that money for something needed for basic survival? So, should I just give all my extra money to foundations that say they are doing the most good for the less fortunate? I don't think so...I mean giving to charity is good and I do give some money to charities...but I guess I selfishly want to be a part of the service so that I can see the results. Daniel and I have recently thought seriously about adopting a kid from Africa...talk about extreme...but after talking to some women who have done this...it seems that the only need for adoption is for kids that are older or disabled. That humbled me really fast....when I realized I wasn't the kind of person to actually take on something like that...I guess I feel like I would if I didn't already have 5 kids who already need so much of my attention. I guess I have a lot to think about in terms of how I want to move forward and spend my time. I hope I can come up with the right balance so that when I die I can look back and be proud of the way I spent my time and know that I did the most good with what I had.

my boys

2011-02-21T08:02:00.000-08:00

Henry and Max love pictures. They can't get enough of em.

In other news Max has been labeled the crazy one. He has had some crazy falls lately due to his crazy actions. He's had a couple bloody noses...and I don't think any of my other kids have ever had a bloody nose. Anyway, if that doesn't convince you of Max's craziness perhaps this will...

It's just somehow not quite as cute when you have blood dripping from your nose Max.

Last week(before the virus from heck swept through our home)....Daniel and I went to get the boys for bed. We found them happily watching a movie with their sisters. Well Henry was watching and Max was busy climbing all over Ashley. Max...why can't you be a good little zombie like your siblings when a movie is on?! I know this quality will serve him well.

And finally, I found out yesterday that Daniel really cannot tell Henry and Maxwell apart...without looking for a pinch on Henry's ear. I thought he just told people that to amuse them...but no...he's quite serious. Someone the other day asked if the boys knew their names pretty well...and while they should....I've discovered Daniel after spending an hour or so with one of the twins...calling that twin by his brother's name. So, if they don't quite have it down(they do)...who can blame them. Anyway, I tell Daniel and everyone else that I just see a different face when I look at them...Max has a Max face and Henry a Henry face. Maybe I'll always be the only one who can tell the difference...I feel special. :)

A few WORDS of advice

2011-02-07T12:26:00.000-08:00

When you're playing scrabble over the internet on your ipod with someone....doesn't it kind of defeat the purpose if you're using a word generator? As some of you already know, I love a good word game, specifically scrabble. So, you can imagine how excited I was when I found out I could play as many scrabble games at once as I wanted on my new ipod touch that I got for Christmas. Anyway, you can play random opponents who also have this app...which I do. Now, I consider myself a reasonably good scrabble player, but there's one random person I play who always beats me. Okay, I beat this person once, but barely. Anyway, you can request a rematch which I usually do if I lose because I thought maybe this person would help me sharpen my scrabble playing skills. So, I've played this person again and again ...and again and again I'm put to shame. I recently asked this person if they've been to the scrabble olympics...or nationals...and they said in a very serious way that no they had not been to such events. Anyway, we kept playing and I kept losing. So, today I finally asked if they use a word generator. You have to be a real scrabble nerd to know what this is...and I only have a vague idea. I think it's some sort of program where you say you have these letters and this many spaces and it will tell you a word...probably something you've never heard of if you have to use such a program. Anyway, it's CHEATING! So here I was thinking man this person is good and I'm just not that good....when all along they were using a word generator. Who does that?! How can you feel good about a win when you CHEAT like that. That's like going hunting and bringing a dead dear and planting it in the woods and then after a while going out to collect it and bragging to your friends that you always get one. It's worse than corking your bat or using steroids in professional sports...because this is SCRABBLE and who cares if you win or lose. So the moral of the story is, if you're going to play scrabble, do not use a word generator unless you want to win.

so much to say...so much to say

2011-01-24T20:43:00.000-08:00

I have a lot weighing on my mind so I feel like I have a lot to say. Sometimes...oddly those two things don't coincide. First I have made a couple of cute Valentine's things....though I'm wondering now if they were worth the time I put in....sure they were...they brighten things up and that's always a good thing. Here are a couple of pictures of my copied crafts....as in not my original idea...but someone else's. I'm thankful for crafty people who share their ideas on the internet...saves me a lot of time and embarrassment.

I'm assuming in both of these you can tell what I've made and then what was in all likelihood made in China and not by me. It's theraputic....making things....and feeling like it was worthwhile....a net benefit.

That brings me to what's really weighing on my mind...whether or not to have more kids. Tomorrow?....next week?....next year?....in 5 years? Daniel and I of course currently have 5 kids all under the age of 7...the oldest is 6.5. So, I think I have the answer for tomorrow and next week. And random people I meet while I'm out also seem to have the answers to those questions once they see how full my hands are. More than once I've said to a stranger who looks at me pityingly.."I think we're done having kids"....and they've replied "Ya think?" Interesting how we have it all figured out for other people. But I digress. So back to the question...do I have more kids? Since the twins were born the answer for Daniel and I has mostly been No. We've been in over our heads for some time and will probably continue to be for a while. And wouldn't it be nice to have a "light at the end of the tunnel"....to dream of a time when we could get more sleep and change fewer diapers. But...more importantly would our current children suffer because of a decision to add more to our clan? If I was doing a pros a cons list it'd look something like this...

cons
1. our family is so large we can't go out to eat or anywhere without causing a scene

2. Daniel and I would be signing up for 18+ more years of work/worry

3. less attention for each current child

4. kids cost money

pros

1. we are already so big that we don't go anywhere anyway so why not make the party at our house

2. isn't life about doing things that are worth while and what could be more worth while than raising a happy healthy human being

3. more siblings to play/talk/be friends with

4. great tax deduction and credit and oh yeah can you put a price on the joy of watching your son or daughter's first step....or first smile...or all
the memories

Those are just a few of the things that come to mind and may seem way too simple. Anyway, I just can't get this question out of my mind and don't feel like I have a clear answer. Of course I don't have to know today....but wouldn't it be nice if our lives were all mapped out for us and everything went according to plan? I wouldn't want to not have kids so that I could nap, shop, or go out to eat more.....none of those things bring me great happiness....sure maybe temporarily but when I'm on my deathbed I know I won't be saying thank goodness I had those 10 years to nap whenever I wanted and wasn't bothered by anyone.....or my favorite memory is when I spent all day shopping and going out to eat.......no it'll be a collage of things from my family life that'll bring me the most joy.....the thing I'll be the most proud of. Well there're my deep thoughts for tonight....now maybe I can sleep.

each and every day

2011-01-09T16:33:00.000-08:00

The handsomest firefighter you'll ever meet. Who wouldn't want to be pulled out of a burning building by THIS guy right here?!...maybe someone who wanted to live....but I digress.

Holly had a stomach bug the day before her birthday party. As a result we had her blow out a scented candle from bath and body works instead of blowing all her germs on her cake. Maybe a little too cautious....but for anyone who remembers what the throwup flu is like.....can you ever be TOO cautious?

Does this look like the face of a little girl who is about to get a piece of icecream cake? I wish I looked that gorgeous when I'm pouting.

It's never too cold or too snowy to jump on the trampoline! Good thing Daniel and I were too lazy to take it down this winter.

Rahrrrrrrrrrrrrr! That's what I think of when I see this picture of Hank. Really is there any better thought for this. He's gonna be a heartbreaker.

With the Nelson's at our house for Christmas, the kids were having a blast together! Fighting...playing...playing....fighting....what are cousins for?! :)

Christmas morning was awesome with Nathan, Jessica, Greta and Elise to join in the celebration!

I think Max was trying to give me a talking to. Word to the wise...take out the binky when you're trying to look stern. ps...doesn't he look handsome in his sweater pullover?!

We made all the grandkids pose for a picture. I'm impressed by the number of kids looking at the camera...or forward for that matter. It really was a Christmas miracle!

The house that Max built!

Happy Birthday

2010-11-27T17:56:00.000-08:00

Today is Daniel's birthday! So, how did we celebrate?!.....I took a nap...I went to a baby shower...I went to Wal-mart. Who's birthday was it?!...I know. What a nice guy huh?! In my defense I tried to offer a few fun options....or at least offered to make him breakfast...and I got him a cool sony e-reader from a doorbuster deal at wal-mart. Anyway, Daniel's a great husband and father...if there were awards for that sort of thing...he'd get many. I always tell him it's not fair the twins like him better than me...it MAY have something to do with the fact that he can and will hold both of them when they want him to. They love their dad!

The above picture does a good job of emphasizing the different face shapes of the boys. Henry is on the left...and Max is on the right....the guy in pink is of course Daniel.

Have you ever been asked, "If you could live anywhere, where would you live?" I'm almost positive if Max in particular was asked this question he would answer, "that's easy...the dishwasher". Whenever I open the dishwasher he comes running like a zombie(that's really how he runs...arms out in front...teetering from side to side). He and Henry truly believe there are treasures in there...or something....anyway here's proof. Also, I don't want any flack for the pink binky...he's secure...and he likes pink....as do I.

In other news Andrew has become a really good reader. He likes to read to me and Daniel. I don't always appreciate the books...or the repetition but I appreciate that he enjoys reading and is getting so much better. Tonight I told him how impressed I was with his reading. He asked "What does impressed mean?...does that mean you're really sad about it?" I immediately told him no...it meant that I was proud of him and thought he was doing exceptionally well. What kind of parent would say, "I'm really depressed with the way you've been reading." ?...not me. Anyway glad we cleared that up and that he asked instead of thinking that.

I am thankful

2010-11-15T19:02:00.000-08:00

As Thanksgiving approaches I remember just how much I have to be grateful for. To start, I have a wonderful and healthy family to be thankful for. They mean the world to me. Each member of my family makes me smile several times a week. Let's start with the twins. They ARE crazy. They keep us going a million miles a minute. Henry and Maxwell remind me so much of Andrew. To make a long story short...they are needy needy babies....but have such sweet michevious smiles. They often break into our pantry when I'm not looking and the other day for the SECOND time managed to open a bag of cereal and proceeded to help themselves. Hank was the leader in this instance. He means nothing but business when it comes to eating cereal off the floor. Ohh and Max gives high fives now...I've worked on this with him. I tried with Henry but accidently hit him instead of his hand and since then he looks at me suspiciously any time I try to give him a high five.

Ashley cracks me up. The other day when getting ready for bed she said, "I'm very pleased with our property mom". I was a little puzzled but assumed she meant that she was starting to really like and enjoy our home here. I told Daniel about it later and then we both asked her what she meant by "our property". She then told us, "A property is a community of waste". In other words she is very pleased with our community of waste. It made me think a little bit(just a little mind you) about my efforts as a housekeeper.

Holly is often finding herself in trouble these days. She's very familiar with the counting to 10 system we have and then the follow through of sending her to her room when she deliberately disobeys(pretty much every time...somebody help us :) ). She's such a kind hearted girl that she likes to pay it forward with her brother. Lately she's been counting to 10 and then trying to shove Andrew to his room. She usually only does this when we are already threatening him....always trying to help us out.

Ahh and then there's Andrew. He's mostly our most obedient child....but he has his moments. He's growing up so fast. I got to eat lunch with him today at school and I listened as he and his friends made a schedule for what they will play every day at recess this week. They all decided on a star wars harry potter rotation. He is learning so much in school. Last week he came home with this beautiful piece of ....well art I guess. When I first saw it I started to tell him how not cool it was to draw something like that....but he stopped me mid-sentence with something about how his teacher had explained that that's where the pilgrims went to the bathroom. I guess she had it coming then. Anyway not one of his classiest drawings but still amusing to those with immature senses of humor(me and Daniel).

tag I'm it

2010-10-27T18:13:00.000-07:00

My SIL Jessica tagged me and I don't really like doing these but I like her so I will give it my best effort.
1. What's your favorite food to eat? to prepare? same or different and why?
My favorite food to eat is bread...any kind of bread: garlic, cinnamon, bruchetta, wheat, white..I love bread. To prepare....hmm cookies. The difference is I'm confident that I can make cookies well and so it's worth making.
2. If you could have one talent what would it be?
I wish I could sing....so that I would want to hear it....like Ariel. Man was I dissapointed as a kid when I found out I did NOT sing like Ariel.
3. What is your favorite thing about being married?
Having someone to talk to about whatever...whenever. He IS obligated to talk to me at any time...and he doesn't seem to mind. :)
4. Best childhood Christmas gift?
A cabbage patch doll. It was close to all I got that year and I loved it. She had blonde hair and purple clothes. I loved that doll. If only it were so easy.
5. Favorite thing to do in the autumn?
My favorite thing to do in autumn is probably go to a pumpkin patch with the kiddos. That sort of has it all....Cider...pumpkin donuts....pumpkins...hayrides. I love autumn.
6. Most awkward moment with someone you didn't know?
I'm sure I've had many but as a kid one time in the gym I dropped some money at lunch time and I raised my hand and told the person who came over "ummm that was mine"...and they were like "ummm what are you even talking about". I felt pretty dumb and it was quite awkward.
7. What would you name your own grocery store?
Foodios. Probably not but it's the first thing that came to mind so I figured just go with it. :)
8. Wooden versus mechanical pencils? pros and cons?
I'm going to go with wooden. They're reliable....and that's so much more important that cool or impressive. You can always resharpen wooden whereas the lead always falls out of the mechanical and the eraser does too. I had many annoying experiences as a kid with mechanical...I'm so sorry wooden pencil that I ever took you forgranted.

Get Carded

2010-10-27T11:18:00.000-07:00

Ever since the year our first son Andrew was born our family has tried to send out Christmas cards to each of our family members and friends. This would be one way to let everyone know...where we are...what we now look like(good or bad)...and(although I'm guessing noone realizes this) a glimpse of what our style is through the card's design. At first I tried relentlessly to get a "good" family photo that would represent the Ames family at Christmas time. Then I would select some mediocre card template to put our awesome picture on and be satisfied but not thrilled with the results. Last year I got a Christmas card from a family that shall remain nameless and noticed they got their card from http://www.shutterfly.com and it was awesome. I can't say their picture was perfect...though it was good...but the design from the card made all the difference. They have such cute designs and really have good options that represent our family's style. I seriously can't believe how many options there are. For once...that will be the hard part about our Christmas cards....trying to narrow down all of the adorable options that fit our family to a T....instead of worrying about who is making a face or whether or not our outfits coordinate the way I want. Just look at all the amazing options here http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationary/holiday-cards Anyway, one of my favorites is the Seasonal Chic 2010 design. It just looks...well...chic...is the best way to describe it and I'll probably be putting our family photo on there and mailing em out to everyone this Christmas. If I don't do that one then I'll go here
http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationary/christmas-photo-cards which has more specific Merry Christmas cards instead of just Happy Holidays. How important is it to you to say Merry Christmas instead of Happy Holidays? I'm glad they give you the option. I love merry memories blue and sooo many more. I guess now the only surprise will be which card I pick to send. So look for yours in the mail! :)

hunger games and high school P.E.

2010-09-30T16:38:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying I never read the Twilight series. Everyone else did but I just had no interest in the life of teenage vampires. Even the movie seemed a little ridiculous to me. But more power to those who loved it...it must be somehow good if millions loved it. I have, however, started reading the Hunger Games series(all the rage right now around here)...and am half way through the 2nd book, Catching Fire. It's been a while since I've read a book that fast....it really sucks you in and I don't feel like I can go about my daily life until I've read all 3. Don't worry the kids are being fed. Anyway, I couldn't help noticing some similarities between the Hunger Games and my experience in high school P.E.

First a little background on the book. The story goes that after a series of natural disasters a group came to power and divided the remaining people into 13 districts...each in charge of a different type of production for the whole. Life in these districts wasn't good causing inhabitants of district 13 to revolt. There was a war and many died and the result was 13 was obliterated and the group in power tightened their fist. They made things worse in the districts and as a punishment established the annual hunger games. Every year 2 children ages 12-17..err...18....are picked through a lottery from each district and are put into an arena where they must fight and survive until there's only 1 victor left. This is obviously devastating to the districts each year but for the group in power(The Capitol) it's very entertaining and watched on their televisions. People are allowed to send provisions for the contenders in the arena....but most can't afford to except for those in the capitol and they of course only help those who prove to be the most entertaining...or who can win the crowd over. I won't give any more away for those who will read it. Like I said before I couldn't help but notice how similar this is to high school P.E.

In high school it was mandatory for me to take P.E. all four years....so in a way from age 13-17 I was selected to be put into this arena. While in P.E. class I was ruled over by P.E. teachers who usually because of some unresolved issues from their high school years were happy to be in a position of power where they could watch others suffer. They were so similar to "The Capitol"...in trying to punish me for something my ancestors did to them...maybe they were made fun of in high school. While in the arena of P.E. class we all were forced to compete athletically and socially until those who were the most popular and athletic won out and the rest were shamed(by the teachers....yes I saw my p.e. teacher make fun of students) or were embarrassed in front of their peers...making them lose out socially. Or like those from the capitol...the teachers would help those they considered athletic or who they were friends with. Dodge ball is the most obvious example of all this....the coaches clearly got a lot of entertainment out of this forced game where many people got a playground ball to the face....ouch. We all knew this game was ridiculous but if you didn't fight you got hurt. Daniel just told me though that dodge ball is no longer allowed in high school P.E. Thank goodness....there's hope for my kids making it through P.E. I'm a victor though....I made it out alive. At the time I wasn't ....ohhh how I dreaded P.E.

Moving on. Here's a picture of HOlly when I found her one day going through my makeup. I can't believe she knew to put the eye makeup by her eyes. She also frequently "robs" me...taking everything out of my wallet.

And today I went to put something for goodwill in the van...and when I got back I found these two crazies in the pantry....having pulled everything from the bottom shelf on the floor and eating cereal that spilled as a result.

Also, I love this picture of the 2 of them side by side drinking bottles.

Finally, last weekend we went to St. Louis for some fun with friends. Here's a picture of the oldest 2 with their friend Hannah in front of the penguins at the zoo.

hobos and weddings

2010-09-09T07:03:00.000-07:00

So much has been going on that I find it hard to even write this post. In fact...I have to bribe my daughters to let me do this....a treat to follow this post. For anyone who is interested come on over. My sister Sarah got married this weekend. That meant that the whole weekend was consumed with wedding festivities. We all had a great time and everything went really well. Friday night we had a bbq at the my Brother-in-law's parent's house. I of course took my camera and before I could say cheese Ashley was posing like a model....hmmm should I be worried? :)

You'll find these pictures in no particular order. Here's a picture of my favorite twin sons doing what they do best climbing around and getting into things. For those who are curious...Henry is in the front and Max is in the back.

Lately the babies have been happy to play in the basement with their older siblings....and I must say I'm happy to let them. Henry spends a lot of time singing Karaoke down there and he and Max frequently fight over the coveted plastic microphone.

These two looked so cute on the day of the wedding. Andrew was the ring bearer and Ashley and Holly were flower girls. They got their hair done and looked like little dolls to me....the kind of dolls that you get from a boutique...before your daughter cuts their hair and colors on their faces. :) I'll post more pictures of them soon....sadly this is really all I have.

Sweet sweet Henry has such an infectious smile. He is such a good guy. He allows many people to hold him without hesitation. He's grown rather fond of his grandpa lately....it's so nice that he's happy to have someone else hold him. Max...on the other hand likes me so much he got me kicked out of the gym last week because he didn't want to be in the childcare anymore. I'll take that as a compliment I guess.

There's that adorable girl again. She's going to be trouble I already know.

Holly sat on a bench that was just her size and I just had to get a picture. I'm so lucky to have such adorable and sometimes even sweet ;) daughters.

Later that night I couldn't find Holly anywhere ....I mean anywhere so we looked all over town for her. Finally we found her under some newspapers on a bench in the park. She would have no trouble being a hobo as you can see from this picture below. We love her even if she's frequently mistaken for a homeless girl.

zoo time

2010-08-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

I got a new camera last week and so I tried it out at the zoo and on my children. I still have much to learn in the ways of photography but at least I've got some adorable material to work with!

About 6 months ago I got a Bonzai Palm tree from my dad and was certain it'd be dead within in a week. Recently it sprouted a new branch....which for the first time made me feel like a successful nurturer...odd that I have 5 children and hadn't felt this before. Anyway, here's a picture of the new branch on my thriving plant.

This is the result of a long and fun day at the zoo. Moments like these are few and far between. A random guy at the zoo yesterday told Daniel he knew which twin was older. He said he knew because the older twin is always slightly bigger than the other. Max is the older one. Which one is Max? The one on the left is Max. That guy was full of baloney by the way.

We got to pet the rays at the St. Louis Zoo yesterday. We were also "lucky" enough to get to feed them if we so desired. I thought the kids would like to so I bought some food. Turns out they were too scared and couldn't really reach....so that leaves me with a handful of raw fish to hold out and let the ray glide over my hand and suction food off of it. It was SO cool and creepy...I jumped every time....it felt like they were going to bite my hand off....but I still have both hands and all 10 digits.

The three mustketeers...Ashley, Holly, and Andrew in front of the Elephants at the St. Louis Zoo yesterday.

Ash is such a cute girl. I made her pose a few times to test out my new camera on the perfect subject.

Henry has a great big smile and he's currently winning the competition for favorite twin...for his smiley personality.....with Daniel he's winning anyway. I appreciate Max's fireball self.

Here's my little Max and his camo helmet. He gets lots of extra attention and sympathy for wearing the helmet....not to mention it's a great head protector when he's less than graceful.

recent happenings

2010-08-01T11:31:00.000-07:00

a lot has happened since my last post....so much in fact that I've probably forgotten most of it. The twins have been growing like weeds and are both in the 95th percentile for their height and like 75th for weight....and that's not taking into account that they were born 4 weeks early. Maxwell recently got a helmet...not because he's a bike-riding baby....but because his head is mishapened....if that's how you spell that. Anyway, he's supposed to wear this helmet 7 days a week and 23 hours a day. The idea is that with this helmet his head will be forced(not painful) to grow into the space where his head is currently flatter...and sort of round out to make it symmetrical. Now you might be picturing this sad looking baby with a nerdy looking helmet. Erase that picture immediately from your mind and picture an adorable baby with an awesome camouflage helmet. Anyway hopefully this sweet helmet will give him a perfectly shaped head in the end. I will post a picture of this as soon as I get a camera...mine had a meltdown.

In other news Andrew has a loose tooth...his first...which he's extremely excited about. This of course brought on the toothfairy conversation. Andrew asked me if there really was a toothfairy and I said "kind of.....ummm go ask Daddy". A while back Daniel and I knew this couple where the wife told me about her childhood and feeling so betrayed by her parents when she found out about all the lies they'd been telling (i.e.....Santa Clause, Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, etc)...and I mean REALLY betrayed to the point that she told us that she and her husband had decided to be straighforward with their kids and tell them the truth that these things were not real but were fun traditions. Anyway that may seem extreme to you but I kind of agree with that philosophy. I have a hard time looking my kids in the eye and making up a story of how Santa gets in the house and how his elves do this and that or why the tooth fairy wants their yucky bloody tooth. So, Daniel and I kind of agreed we'd just tell them the truth....and so far we've just avoided the questions. Till the other day. Andrew did as I said and went and asked Daddy. And, back he came telling me there is no santa, no tooth fairy, no Easter bunny, etc. Wow...I don't know if I was ready for that. But, how can I expect them to believe me about other things if I straight up lie about these things. Well so I'm everyone else's worst nightmare. My kid will be the one ruining their kids' warm and cozy beliefs in Santa, the Easter Bunny, etc. Sorry. :)

In other news I just turned 28. I've never really felt old till now. I'm uncomfortably close to 30 and I find I'm liking less and less the clothing style options out there for me. That is a bad sign in case you were wondering. But I'm doing my best to swallow some of the current trends and stay young. No one need get offended by the fact that I feel old at 28 . Afterall you're only as old as you feel...right? Though recently I had a feeling I've never had before. I found myself being jealous of my kids who were playing outside with the neighborhood kids....what a weird feeling that was. There are lots of things about growing up that I wouldn't want to repeat, but for some reason the other day I really wanted to be one of them playing outside with my friends. weird. On my birthday I took the kids to The Field Museum in Chicago. It was a lot of fun and we got to see lots of dinosaur exhibits. Here's one that I saw that didn't make me feel any better.

Thank goodness I'm a human being and not a T. rex.

Is it ok?

2010-05-10T12:35:00.001-07:00

Lately I've been thinking about how much I love our house, decor, yard, and just everything about it. We are blessed to be able to have a house as nice as this....and to have been able to pick what we wanted. I find myself staring at the builtin bookshelves or our newly furnished library(partially furnished...ok just a couch) and thinking wow that looks so nice. But then here's the thing.....is it ok really to have things this nice? Does anyone really NEED granite countertops or leather couches when so many people have so little. Shouldn't I be spending my time and money on better things? When I'm old I don't think I'll look back and say my goodness I loved that couch...instead will I regret not living in a meager home so that I could do all I could to help others? Don't get me wrong. We do donate to charity...but is it enough? The way I just justify our nice house is that I want to create a nice and cozy place for my family...a place to create warm memories in....a place where the kids want to be....and a place where their friends want to be(not the obnoxious ones of course :)) Couldn't this be done in a small house with linoleum kitchen floors? About now you might be thinking....sounds like you've been reading too much Walden....but seriously how does anyone justify so much luxury? I somehow do it....sort of put those thoughts on the shelf while I happily host bbq's in my big pretty house. I know those things(a pretty home, nice clothes, toys, etc) seem to make me happy....but I also know that kind of happiness is only temporary and won't bring the kind of happiness I'm really interested in. Anyway food for thought. I'm really interested in your thoughts on this.

2010-04-25T19:05:00.000-07:00

Hi there--my name is Daniel. I've been asked to guest host the blog. For Andrew's primary class in church, he was recently given an assignment. Each child in his class was given a cloth bag with the following instructions: "Help your child find a photo to bring of a person they know that loves them. Your child will need to explain how they know that the person loves them." Any guesses about the photo Andrew selected? He chose a baby picture of himself, circa 9 mos old. Unfortunately, we don't have an electronic version of that particular photo, but here's another one of Andrew from North Carolina from 2006 or 2007.

Caption: "My love for me runs deeper than any river. Knowing how much I care about myself gets me through those tough times. Sometimes I get choked up just thinking about how much I mean to me....man...(excuse me)...ahem...I just really, really love...myself."

It's a wonderful life

2010-04-25T13:20:00.000-07:00

Over the past couple of years it's become more and more apparent how similar our lives are to George and Mary Bailey's lives from It's a Wonderful Life(I love this movie and the writing in it especially). Let me try to elaborate. George and Mary knew eachother from a young age....so did Daniel and I. I was a very sweet girl....sort of waiting for Daniel to come around....and so was Mary. When George and Mary finally got married they weren't very well off and lived in a shabby home.....Daniel and I lived in a 1-bedroom apartment even a year after having our first son Andrew(no idea how we made that work). The BIG similarity is that Daniel dreamed of getting out of this town...had every intention to and in the end here we are in the town we grew up in together. Part of that similarity....Daniel followed in his father's footsteps to work as an accounting professor at ISU.....just like George Bailey took over his father's job at the building and loan. Just like George Bailey learned that you don't have to do "Big" things to be happy we're finding we have a pretty sweet deal right here in our hometown. But, upon occasion(during the stressful moments) we find ourselves saying just like George Bailey "You call this a happy family?! Why did we have to have all these kids?!" ;) And then we laugh and realize things aren't so bad. How could they be when we get to see hairdos like this....

and carrot covered faces like this...

I love my kids and lately I've been thinking I can't believe how blessed I am to have such adorable babies...and oh yeah the other kids too ;) Right now the babies are in a standoff in their walkers....neither one willing to budge so the other can go about his way....or maybe being 6 month olds...they don't know how to budge....I'll stick with the first story. Ahhh I'm going to miss them when they're older....better get in all the hugs and kisses I can while they can't run away or look embarrassed.

Andrew's birthday

2010-04-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

6 Years ago on Easter Day Andrew Ames was born(getting me out of a few last finals before graduation) To celebrate.....Saturday we went to the zoo. The kids had a good time....I was a little underwhelmed by Miller Park Zoo....and felt sorry for the animals in their tiny habitats....but whatever it takes to give Andrew a Happy Birthday! ;) Saturday night after the kids went to bed I decided to make Drew a spongebob pinata....because I think it's good for kids to get rewarded when hitting someone with a stick until their guts fall out. Anyway I'm quite proud of it and the kids were so excited to beat the life out of it. Andrew said it was a good job, but both he and Ash noticed the imperfections. I was shocked to learn that the stripes were usually a little higher on his socks and other various mistakes I made. Here it is.

Not too shabby. We had a party on Sunday with my family....grilled out...hit the pinata...had cake....and blew bubbles...it was great and Andrew had a happy birthday.

The twins are getting more and more active these days...with the help of my new best friends...the exersaucers. Occasionally they run into eachother and are aware of one another.

the cutest thing ever

2010-03-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

Tonight just before Daniel and I took our assigned twin and headed off to bed.....Daniel checked on the older 3 kids as he usually does. When he went into Andrew and Ashley's room he noticed neither of them were in their beds. He looked around the room and couldn't find them. At this point he would've been really worried if he hadn't been able to hear Ashley's crazy loud snoring. Finally, he found them.....asleep....in their closet.....on top of storage boxes....with their little turtle nightlight. Earlier in the day Ash had mentioned something to me about sleeping in the closet and I just said no closets weren't for sleeping in and that was that. They never asked again and never mentioned the closet. When we left them at bedtime they were tucked in their beds. This is probably the cutest thing they've ever done. They made a bed on top of boxes with their blankets and hopped right in there....a 2 ft wide space....and fell asleep on this lumpy narrow bed in the closet. This makes it all worth while.

A day in the life of an Ames

2010-03-06T12:45:00.000-08:00

In order to accomplish all that we need to on any given day, Daniel and I have had to become very efficient. This means our days are packed full and require nonstop action. First let me start off by saying we've decided to try homeschooling Andrew. Just when I thought life couldn't get any more stressful :) This might make you think...."why would you do that to yourself...add more stress to a very stresssful situation?"...well most of you already know...I sent out a sort of manifesto on why we're homeschooling. Essentially we've decided it'd be best for our kids and so we have to at least try it....so trying it we are....successful I hope we'll be...and other yoda thoughts. We may not, however, succeed....we'll see how it goes. So let me give you an idea of what our days are like.

To start....Max and Henry are ready for daylight savings. They get grouchy and demand to go to sleep around 7...7:30 these days and are waking us up at something like 5 every day. They must love the sun like their parents. Too bad we've doomed them to a life of gray skies in Bloomington, IL. :) Don't let these innocent looking guys fool you...Ohh and try to guess who's who...I'll let you know at the end.

So we wake up at 5.....try to get them to sleep until 6:15ish and then finally get up and change both of their diapers and clothes. We then get breakfast around for Andrew and Ashley who luckily dress themselves. I feed both babies and we both hold one baby while we try to eat our breakfasts. Then Holly wanders out of bed around 7 and one of us will change her and get her dressed. Then we get her breakfast and start cleaning up all of the kids mess from breakfast.

I just realized this could be the longest most boring post ever so I'll try to speed it up. We've scheduled 4 45min blocks for "school time"...one being language and reading...one being math...one being art...and the last one being science/history. So we have those dispersed throughout the day. At 9:30 every day I've started going to the gym and taking all 5 kids with me where they have childcare included in the family membership. I know they didn't have us in mind when they made up that deal. Oh well....Seller beware. My gym time will eventually become the kids' "P.E. time" as well. They also get 1 hour of tv time every day around 1 pm. One day a week we go to the children's museum from 11:00-1....and 1 day we have playgroup.

Then Daniel gets home at 4 and we "relax"...like that ever happens...for a little bit and then start dinner and have it around 5....then clean the dinner mess... and then Jammie time at 6. Then we have a school/reading time until about 7 and then it's teethbrushing and scripture readin time. Next, the older 3 go to bed. Keep in mind all of this is done while holding a baby...each of us. In addition, we are following each kid around picking up their various messes along the way. Phew....it exhausts me just thinking about our days sometimes. Daniel and I then watch a movie(or fold laundry) and then I get all the kids outfits out for in the morning and my gym bag ready...anything to make the morning easier..etc. And that's our day in a nutshell. I find that I'm happier when my life is nonstop and have less time to waste on surfing the net and shopping...my two favorite time wasters....so there you go.

In conclusion I've decided to make a t-shirt....that way I can cut down on all of my courteous responses and just point to the shirt. It will read "Yes, I DO have my hands full!" and maybe I'll add..."And I'm HAPPY about it!" By the way Henry was on the left and Maxwell was on the right. Henry has a wider head...but his isn't as funny shaped in the back...ahh well. They're the cutest babies ever as far as I'm concerned.

Our changing family

2010-01-29T10:38:00.000-08:00

Here's a post just to remind people that we still exist and we're ever changing...some of us for the better even...like the following cuties. Max is a big big smiler these days. He's the more dramatic one between the two of them. He smiles bigger and also gets bigger frownie faces. I prefer the smiles...but can't help but think the frowns are adorable too.

Henry though seems to be a little more mellow...good-natured most of the time....though not a pushover...he lets us know when he's had enough. Also he's somewhat of a comedian like his father....just look at the nametag he made out for himself at a social event. I think it fits him perfectly.

My sister's getting married in September and so we went to a bridal expo where we got all kinds of free goodies....a feather boa included. Holly was less than amused when I asked her to pose with this boa. She's a no nonsense kind of gal.

I thought this picture was really cute of Holly. She's wearing a dress Ash wore a year ago....they're 2 years apart....hmmm. Kind of looks like she has a wig on though...I dunno why. Anyway, what a sweetheart.

More pictures to come but for now this will have to do. Our lives are still crazy as ever...but when you think about it...what better way is there to spend your time? Raising kids....helping them to survive...and helping them become hopefully good and nice people.....investing in a family...kids that visit us when we're older and harrass us the way we harrass our parents now....how fun. Life is good.

Our crazy lives

2009-12-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

Here's where I try to recap the last 2 months of our lives and then some. Let's get right to it. Maxwell Scott and Henry William were born on October 28, 2009...in that order weighing 6lbs 13oz and 6lbs 12oz...respectively .....and things haven't been the same since. We were told they're identical so technically I only need to post a pic of ONE of them right? Here's a picture that shows both a front view and a profile shot. Daniel would argue he shares the same hairline with the twins.

Here's a front shot...of I think Henry. Usually I can tell the difference ...Henry seems to have a longer forehead.

What's life like with 5 kids 5 and under?.....it's what you'd imagine and then 10 x's harder. Daniel and I sleep in shifts to survive. He gets the 7 pm-2am shift and I sleep from 2am-8am. If we're lucky we get some sleep during the other one's shift...if the babies happen to sleep at the same time....a rare thing. It's not all bad though. These little guys are adorable....and sweet....we love them....we just wish we had a little more time to enjoy them.....we're running around with chickens with their heads cut off usually(I later noticed I wrote...we were running around WITH headless chickens instead of LIKE....and thought about correcting it...but it provides some hilarious imagery I don't want to rob anyone of)...from one crisis to the next....everything is a "crisis" with children you know. As I type 3 of our 5 children are crying....we're getting ready to go to the store and this guaranteed will be an ORDEAL. I can only imagine what people will be thinking when we come rolling in with 5 under 5....requiring at least 2 shopping carts to carry the children and food we'll be purchasing.

What could be crazier than having 5 kids under 5? Trying to homeschool them. Yeah that's right...after lots of thinking and research we're leaning towards homeschooling. I'd be happy to defend this decision to anyone who's thinking...oh great they're going to raise a bunch of social weirdos. I disagree. Anyway that's all I can manage for now.....things are melting down.

twins at 30 weeks

2009-09-13T19:27:00.000-07:00

The following will be a glimpse into the life of someone who will soon have had 5 kids in 5(yes that's right 5) years. So I'm at the point ...let's be honest I have been for a while....where everyone I meet looks at me with pity and says something along the lines of "Any day now, huh?" In fact a lady at church today told me I "look miserable"....I'll just assume she meant that I look like I FEEL miserable. I told her I'd try to look more chipper in the future. Anyway, after going through the speech about no I'm not due anytime soon but I'm having twins and oh yes I already have 3 ages 5, 3.5, and, 20mos.....the pitying looks turn to .....you are completely crazy and I get a lot of "I know you can do it...but there's no way I could/would do that to myself." Then I feel I must reassure whoever it is that "Yes,it'll be crazy....but we'll make it"....(I can't say for sure that I know how at this point....but I still feel obligated to reassure these poor pitying souls) So on top of these endless encounters as far as how I'm physically feeling let's just say I'm seriously considering using the motorized carts at the grocery stores. I feel like a big slug and it's quite possible I will lean over for the last time one of these days ....I simply won't come back up.....my toes have become very coordinated and serve me well. A good gift idea at this point would be one of those pincher things with the long stick attached for reaching things on high shelves or for people who can't recover from leaning over like myself. On the upside people say you can't tell I'm prego from the back. In fact, while placing sprinklers around the lawn the other day I was honked at by some classy construction workers....who I'm sure as they turned the corner and got a profile shot realized they got more than they bargained for...perhaps they sped up at this point. Anyway, I'm so excited for 2 adorable little babies to come but I'm also scared...and I do appreciate words of encouragment.....however no one honestly knows whether I can do it and do it well....not even me till I get there...but then what else are you going to say?...something like "gee you'll probably have a nervous breakdown....or yeah you may not be able to handle it with the 5 there....sure glad I'm not you". Each week I think...can I really get any bigger?...sure enough ....I do.....The babies are approximately 4 lbs a piece right now....that's a good size single baby right there. Did I mention I'm only 30 weeks. :) So there're my crazy thoughts for the day. We're in for quite an adventure to say the least. I just have to hold on to that original feeling of winning the lottery that I had when I first found out we were having twins....I do really feel that way....it's just mixed in with lots of other thoughts.

As promised

2009-09-02T20:31:00.000-07:00

Here Andrew is on his first day of kindergarten. Everyone asks "Was that hard for you?" No...not really because he was sooo excited to go....he loves school....I was busy just being happy for him. Sure I miss him and all of his questions....but just look at that genuine smile ;)

And of course here is my little trooper Holly with her dirty(we've had a dirt yard for the last week or so) purple cast. She never whines about her cast and acts as if she always had a purple arm of steel....what a girl!

Here's Ashley in what I think is a great color for her....she's gorgeous. So, I decided not to have her go to preschool this year. I thought I should ask her first before officially backing out.

Me: Ashley, would it be okay if you stayed home with Mommy this year and went to preschool next year?

Ashley: Why?

Me: Because Holly and I would miss you and I need your help with Holly and the new babies.

Ashley: Okay, I'll go to preschool next year.

That's seriously how it went...no sugar-coating whatsoever. What a sweetheart huh?....thanks Ash.

Here's the front of our new house...and newly sodded lawn(Yay!)

A kitchen shot

A dark family room shot

The many things life brings

2009-08-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

I know....I've fallen off the face of the earth....but without regular internet access I just don't blog anymore. I thought though there were a few things of note worth mentioning. First, Holly fell last Friday and had been sort of favoring her right arm....though she had really no other symptoms...hardly any swelling....no constant whining....etc. But, here we are one E.R. visit later with a daughter who has a broken arm....fracture on both her ulna and radius. Needless to say Daniel and I were shocked and felt horrible for waiting 5 days to take her to the doctor. So just a heads up....toddlers/babies....don't usually get sprains...and when they do ...they don't usually complain after 5 days or longer....news to me. It seemed like any other fall and so after this I'm wondering how my other kids have survived this long without any broken bones....they fall all the time. Luckily Holly is a trooper and her only complaint seems to be about the big cast she's lugging around....a perfect weapon in case her brother or sister gets out of line. :) Also, Andrew, Ashley and I have a virus that makes our eyes bloodshot. So as a family we look pretty run down these days. The kids also have runny noses. Imagine us walking into...well anywhere...the toddler with the arm in a cast the 3 of us with bloodshot watery eyes.....noses running wild....me looking like a cow that ran away from the farm.

In other news I signed Ashley up for preschool at a local church...it will be 3 days a week for 2 hours at a time. I'm conflicted over this decision...since she still has 2 years before kindergarten based on her bday being in November. Any advice? I AM about to have twins and I have a toddler....so I'm afraid I won't have the energy to provide her with playgroups and entertainment like Andrew and Ash used to get....but I realize now's my chance to influence her the most and do I want to hand that off to someone else? I think I might try it for a week or 2 and see how she seems to like it and respond to it. They assured me I can back out at any time. Well that's all I have time for. Our house will be done in 16 days...and it's gorgeous so far....I love it. I'll post pictures soon.

Wii fit...or Wii fat?

2009-06-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

Today was a low point in the old twin pregnancy. I periodically get on my Wii fit...only when Holly's not around....she fancies herself a Wii fit master and won't let anyone on the board when she's around. Anyway, anyone who has tried a Wii fit knows that the Wii fit can get pretty sassy. For example, when you haven't been on in a few days or weeks it asks stuff like "Too tired to work out yesterday, Erin?" It also doesn't have a pregnant setting and so it can't seem to understand why I keep gaining weight. It usually weighs you first thing and every time I get on it asks me to explain why I keep gaining weight...some options are....eating too much....not exercizing enough....being lazy...etc. Back to today....I weighed myself in the morning and was pleased to see I had lost a few pounds since last time...this never happens. Then around 12 I decided to get on again and the Wii fit started flipping out and asked if I was holding a heavy object. Apparently I had gained so much weight since the morning that it didn't think it was humanly possible and assumed I was holding a cat or something. I hoped it was broken but then Daniel's weight was perfectly normal and all my hopes were crushed. I'll chalk this one up to water weight ....but I mean my goodness. Slowly watching your figure go down the toilet is no fun at all....wondering if you'll ever find it again...even less fun. It'll be worth it....I know.

Am I crazy?

2009-05-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to save money and to force myself to spend my time doing something more fulfilling we're canceling internet and cable. Daniel still has internet at school...which I will use once a weekish.......but this will be a huge change for me. I'm going to give it a week and see how it goes. I watched an Oprah recently about "What can you live without?".....where a family was forced to give up all of their technology for a week. They freaked out at first but actually started spending time together in meaningful ways...etc. I always think about things like this but never actually go through with them. I'll keep you informed on how my life has blossomed into this new more fulfilling life starting this week. That's the only outcome right?....not me being cut off from the outside world and pulling my hair out with 3 small children alone at home..right? Here's hoping.

An obvious mistake

2009-05-23T05:11:00.000-07:00

Ashley: "You sure have a BIG bum."
Me: "Who does?"
Ashley: "You do."
Me: "That's not a nice thing to say...We don't say that."
Ashley: "Ohhh....uhhh you have a BIG brain."

obviously what she meant to say....a clear mistake on her part. That doesn't make me even more insecure about the amount of weight I've put on in this pregnancy. It does build my confidence about how big my brain is and how smart I am. :)

The cutest NO you'll ever hear

2009-05-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

I think Holly's first and most deliberate word was "No!" I have of course told her "No No" several times as she's started to test her boundaries and she's certainly picked it up. I admit it's the cutest thing to me. She seems so proud to have that kind of power. To just be able to say no to anything. Since the first time she understood what a hug was I've constantly asked her for hugs and kisses. She used to do this happily and willingly. Now, she usually squints her eyes and simply says "No"...in her Holly nasally voice. Like all things this behavior is cute now....as I still know I'm the boss ....but later it might not be so darling. Daniel has reminded me that I pretty much praise and encourage this because it's just so darn cute to me. Little people....thinking they're big people and asserting themselves as such. Love it!

Thoughtless things people say

2009-05-16T10:57:00.000-07:00

Lately I've been on both ends of thoughtless statements...giving and receiving that is. I'm sure these people(and I) mean no harm and are kicking themselves later if they realize or are on the receiving end of a thoughtless statement....so no hard feelings. Here are a few examples.

"Wow, I just saw you...what..a week ago?....I can't believe how big you've gotten in a week!"

"Wow....so you didn't have your baby yet?"......out comes baby in the carseat from the car. "Ohh uhhh I wasn't even looking at your stomach....I just..."

"When I was pregnant with twins...I pretty much lost my mind....and then once I had them I would have given anything just to be pregnant again...that was better than having newborn twins.".....said to someone who is newly pregnant with twins.

"So you're only 6 months along?....I thought you were due like tomorrow. You're just so big!"

Even when you're pregnant you don't want to hear that you're as big as a dumptruck....contrary to popular belief. Maybe they think all tact goes out the window when it comes to pregnancy. That reminds me of how people will touch your stomach which is always unwanted....or they'll stare...and I mean STARE...like you're a freak of nature. Anyway, I thought I had more ideas but that's all that comes to mind at the moment. Anyone have any thoughtless comments to share....either that they've said or been the recipient of?

Spring fun

2009-05-07T18:57:00.000-07:00

Turns out Andrew actually perforated his eardrum....which is painful right before but not too bad after they say. So, we got him his meds and he should be good to go. Instead of going to school today we went to the doctor....to Mcdonald's for a bribe to get Andrew to go to the doctor and then finally played outside with a tiny swimming pool. Perhaps, I should upgrade. Anyway, fun was had by ....well at least those 3.

I love this picture of Holly...despite the fact that you can't see her eyes. She's such a jolly girl...I love it!

Don't judge a book by its cover

2009-05-06T15:47:00.000-07:00

Below is what looks like a sweet and innocent brown-eyed little girl. Don't let her fool you. Terrible twos...meet horrific threes! She's not all bad...more of a Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde....especially nice when there's candy involved. We love her still.

Andrew's "Graduation"

2009-05-06T09:27:00.000-07:00

This morning Andrew's school had a little graduation-like ceremony. First, the kids in the class sang a few songs for us. Then one by one their names were announced and they got a certificate stating they had completed a year of pre-k. I got a little choked up but managed to hold it in and not look like the odd man out....many of the other parents were like "WHY aren't you singing?!...yadda yadda!"...while I was busy thinking...."he's getting so big." It's amazing to see how much he's grown and learned in just a year. Afterwards we had a little party in their classroom with snacks and juice. I would've taken his picture in a cap and gown but Andrew's ear was bright red and he started crying. Poor guy has an ear infection...but is feeling better he says now that he's had some Tylenol and Land Before Time. He's the little guy just below his teacher Ms. Hope in the blue shirt.

Next, I just wanted to share a video of Holly. A favorite hobby of hers is running around with things on her head...buckets, lampshades, hats that cover her eyes so she runs into things. We think it's pretty cute.

Finally, can anyone tell me why my pictures/videos are such low quality. I admit I don't have the best camera, but it's supposedly 10.3 mp and it's a kodak. How can I improve the crispness of my pictures and videos?

A little Change

2009-05-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

As I'm pregnant with twins and slowly but surely losing my mind....I thought naturally it's time to change the blog completely. We'll see how this works. I just think it's more user friendly this way. Also, don't let the 0 comments fool you. I used to have a chat box which took the place of comments. Anyway, with this craziness don't be surprised if I post a pic with me and my new pixie cut....mm not just yet.

2009-05-04T12:11:00.000-07:00

A special surprise in the mail. Everyone likes getting unexpected things in the mail. Over the last few weeks I've been surprised time and again by what I find in my mail box. A few weeks ago I found a couple spiders crawling up my letters. Then, last week I found a big roach scuttling around and happened to notice before he became our new in-house pet. Finally, today was the biggest surprise of all. I found hundreds ...if not thousands of ants and little ant babies all over my mail. I had had enough to say the least. I don't really understand it either. It's not like I eat cookies in the mailbox and leave crumbs all over in there.....it's not like there's a warm light/neon flashing light inviting all the who's who of bugs. Either the mailman is smearing my letters with honey or all the bugs in town have decided that my mailbox would make a good hotel. As of now there are thousands of dead little ants in my mailbox(sorry for all of you Animal Rights Activists...I invite the ants to live in the dirt where they belong...but as soon as they cross that line...) as well as deadly chemicals splattered all over the inside. Can't wait to get the mail tomorrow! :)

2009-04-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

A friendly guy. These days Andrew amazes me with how outgoing and friendly he can be. Whenever we go places it seems he finds an opportunity to introduce himself....his sisters....and then of course his parents...Erin and Daniel. :) When I was his age if I saw a stranger whether young or old I'm pretty sure I hid behind my parents or a tree or whatever was close by, but not Andrew....he's so eager to meet new people and he seems proud to introduce his family. I love this about him. Most of the time he is received warmly by others and brings smiles to their faces, but not always. Yesterday we were at the park and a group of 4 kids ranging in age from 5 to 9 showed up and immediately Andrew was excited to go and play with them. He walked up to them and said "Hi, I'm Andrew what's your name?"....."This is my sister, Ashley, and there's Holly....etc. They gave their names and then Drew asked if he could play with them. They said sure and then ran up the stairs to the slides. Andrew quickly followed...and they appeared to be playing together until it became apparent that they were trying to ditch him. Another quality I love about Andrew is his innocence. While they were busy running away from him he was unaware and thought they were playing tag or just having him chase them. Daniel and I however were aware and I said to a few of the kids that "He only wants to play...you don't have run...or at least be nice" They continued however to try to run from him and after a while he seemed to be losing interest in playing with them. So, what do the kids do?.....they say "Hey Andrew we're over here on the slide...and we're waiting for you!" With an excited look on his face he runs up to the slide only to find them quickly sliding down and then running away. At this point I was livid....so I told Daniel I'd be right back and that I had a few things to say to these rotten heartless children. Usually I'm the one to speak out and say things that I might regret later in these situations but as I approached them Daniel passed me up and I heard him say "You're MEAN kids! That was horrible what you did and you know better! You don't have to play with him, but at least be nice and leave him alone! You owe my son an apology!" ....and he made them apologize. The galling thing was their mom was like 6 ft away the whole time and said nothing. I would have been so embarrassed if my kids treated another kid that way. The only thing scarier than a world with rotten kids....is a world with apathetic parents. Anyway, I know my kids aren't perfect, but I have an obligation to help teach them how to treat others and not just say "kids will be rotten kids"

2009-04-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

Earlier tonight Daniel, I, and kids were playing on the driveway when I noticed a clump of hair on Ashley's back.....then another and....then another. Then we found clumps of hair in the kitchen and front porch. At this point I started to panic thinking Ashley's hair was falling from some rare disease or malnutrition. Then Daniel casually mentioned he had seen Ash outside earlier with the scissors cutting Dandelions....and apparently her hair...we then concluded. I was so relieved that it wasn't due to an illness that I couldn't be very upset. After a while though I began to wonder just how you deal with a big patch of 2 inch long hair in the back of your 3 year-old's foot long hair. I know this is typical...seems like it's rare that little girls get through childhood without giving themselves a stylish haircut or 2.....and I'm glad it wasn't in the front...but still....do I have to give her a bowl cut now and wait for it to grow out? I escaped giving myself a haircut as a little girl....but that was made up for by my dad who let me get a "spike" when I was 5.....not necessarily the best look for me.

In other news Daniel nearly ran over Holly while driving the gator. And....what does it mean when someone says...yes they suspected you might be pregnant.....perhaps that you look really fat?....or that you've been particularly jerky/moody?

2009-04-25T04:24:00.000-07:00

Party of Seven. I had my first doctor's appointment on Thursday which started out with an ultrasound to make sure there was a viable pregnancy and to determine the actual due date. After the lady took some measurements and recorded the heartbeat she turned on a tv screen so I could see what was going on. "Notice anything different?" she asked. "Ummm....no"...I can never tell what's going on in those ultrasound pics until they point things out. "There's two", she said. "WHAT?!.....Are you SERIOUS?!"....I was in shock. That's right we're having twins as some of you already know. Daniel and I have briefly talked about having twins....in like a wouldn't that be cool...but never going to happen to us sort of way. Well here we are....expecting twins. With this new news comes a wave of feelings. First, Daniel and I feel like we've won the lottery or something....we're really excited and know that the odds of this although better than I thought were still against us. Daniel has often said that with twins you're getting 2 for maybe the price of 1 1/2...we'll see how right he was. Second, I'm worried that there will be problems or complications, but am hoping since so far my pregnancies have gone smooothly that this will be no exception. Third, we'll be having FIVE kids in FIVE and half years!!!....that's just a little terrifying....so yes although we're excited ...we're aware that we've got our work cut out for us. Thankfully, I happen to be moving to my home town where all of my family lives... 4 months before these babies are due. So from now on we'll be a Party of Seven............we're going to fill a minivan the second we buy one. Should we buy bigger?....not for future children...but I mean for more room? Anyway, that's our crazy news for the week....I'm still in shock and think about this constantly. At least I have a reason for eating so much....I thought I just had no self control. :)

2009-04-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

Ashley: I have 2 Grandmas and they live in Illinois
Me: Actually you have 3.....what about Grammy?
Ashley: Grammy is not my grandma....she's my uncle's mom.

She got me there.

2009-04-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

So the word is out to most of you.....I'm expecting....due in November around Thanksgiving. It's a little early to tell but it's hard to keep it quiet when it pretty much consumes my life these days. I mean that I feel like I'm losing my mind and my stomach most days. That's not to get sympathy...it's mostly to vent. So I have the usual nausea....but that could be worse....my sister-in-law Jessica has it much worse in terms of being physically sick....so I'm grateful for how relatively well I'm doing there. However, my mind plays tricks on me when I'm pregnant that it seems no one can relate to....so maybe I'd like to hear who can relate to this or to hear more.."hmm you really are one of a kind". Anyway so when I was pregnant with Holly there were certain shirts I bought during the first trimester that I could hardly even look at then without throwing up and now still shudder a little when I think about them.....the smell of the Abercrombie/Hollister store made me sick. In addition, songs that came out during those 3 months made my stomach turn and still bring back sickly memories. Now that I'm pregnant with PTBNL(Player to be named later....named by my dad....and what I will call this baby until it is born).....it seems that all of my old addictive habits make me nauseous. To name a few....being on the computer, watching tv, and even sleeping seem to make me think of puking. It's the weirdest thing....not necessarily a bad thing since those habits aren't the most fulfilling ways to spend my time. But, I find that when I don't feel well...I tend toward doing any one of those 3 things and that just makes it worse. You see my dilemna. The worst part of it all.....I was so excited about building our new house when I was first pregnant...nausea just taking effect....and now I can barely stand to think of our new house! So, I try to think about it as little as possible so that when I move into my new house I don't associate it with feeling sick. I tell Daniel this and he's baffled....and so are most people...even those who've been pregnant before. I have an addictive personality...I can get obsessed with things....and it seems as though....the things I'm "obsessed with" around the first trimester.....will be the things thats keep me carrying a bowl around with me. Weird huh? Sorry, I think I mentioned throwing up way too many times in this post. I promise the next one will be less disgusting.

2009-04-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

Andrew: "Mommy, how much do I weigh?"
Me: "You weigh 44 pounds."
Andrew: "44 pounds for fighting?!"
Me: "hmmm."

2009-04-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

Ashley: "Mommy, you're not a loser."
Me: "Thanks Ashley".....I think
Ashley: "Andrew called you a loser but you're not."
Me: "Hmm....so Andrew called me a loser?"
Ashley: "Nope.....he did last night"
Me: "Andrew did you call me a loser?"
Andrew "No....well I did last night"
Me: "Do you think I'm a loser?"
Andrew "Umm well not right now"
Very reassuring. Ahhh kids.....I'll tell myself that Andrew still doesn't understand what a loser is.....and that'll work for now. :)

2009-04-02T14:20:00.000-07:00

Something not right at school. Over the past few months I've noticed Andrew saying things about school that leads me to believe it's not the best school in the world. The first thing he came home saying was "Mommy........ Brandon, Dimitri, and Caleb belong in Jail!" I'm guessing he didn't come up with that on his own and now he and Ashley say this regularly.....telling all who will listen about these boys misbehaving and how they will end up in jail. How sad that apparently their teacher is telling them they belong in jail...and will end up there. As if kids need someone to tell them they are doomed to fail. Then, recently Andrew came home and said "Jaun, caleb, and Brandon can't count.....they always mess up!" But, he said it in a way that I knew he was repeating what an adult had said. Andrew doesn't usually even notice things like that unless someone points it out and makes a HUGE deal out of it. Even sadder that his teachers are announcing to the class who can't count. I asked Andrew if he can count and thank goodness he said he could....it would have broken my heart if his teacher seeing him struggle would label him as the kid who can't count or "the slow one". And today he came home and said "Brandon and Caleb were actin like fools today". This, I know, did not come from Andrew's brain. His lovely teacher again apparently announced to the class that these kids were actin like fools. Finally, Andrew has asked me several times what nerves and frustrating mean...from "you're getting on my nerves and frustrating me". His teachers say this regularly to a select few he tells me. Kids are sponges and soak this stuff up....sometimes ....too often we think of them like rubber..."they won't even remember or they aren't even listening"...but as you can see not the case. You might be thinking at this point....."Why aren't you doing anything about this?!" Oh, don't worry I have plans to, but as long as Andrew isn't in the line of fire I don't want to make him a target and so I've decided to wait until either Drew tells me something about him or the end of the school year.....whichever comes first. Anyway, his teachers are nice .....I don't want to paint them as monsters....but sometimes they say things without thinking. I can't say that I never do that....I'm not a perfect mother....and it would be hard to control what I say when trying to watch 17 3-5 year-olds.....but I think they can do better.

2009-04-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

Ashley ate a glazed donut this morning and I just told her to get a baby wipe to clean her face. After I was done giving it a good scrub Ash said " I don't think my face can take any more donuts."...cute.

2009-03-29T16:33:00.000-07:00

Random happenings. On our way to Bloomington a few weeks ago we stopped at a grocery store to go potty, stretch, etc. Andrew, Ash and I went inside while Daniel circled the parking lot with Holly. When we came out of the store Daniel was still at the back of the parking lot so we had a minute to hang out while we waited. I was looking for Daniel when I happened to turn back around and see Andrew holding and playing with a dead bird....moving its body around and pretending it was flying. I screamed at this point thinking of all the diseases he was most definitely catching and sort of scared him I think. He said sorry and I just explained that it wasn't a toy bird and that it was a DEAD bird and DEAD birds are ...well....less than clean. Later that week we were meeting with a builder and the builder's wife offered to play with the kid while we chatted. While playing with the lady Ashley decided she should tell her that Andrew plays with dead birds..........needless to say we made a very good first impression on that particular lady.....gee and where was that dcfs airport lady....I can hear her saying..."If you loved them you would never let them play with dead birds!"....that would've been fun. Then I would say...."It's because I love them so much that I let them play with dead birds!"...so maybe not.

Next, lately the weather has been nice...well until now...it's in the 30's but last week the weather was nice enough that we got to play outside lots. Andrew and Ashley have gone for cruises on their Gator several times.....If I'm being honest I was worried that would be more of a stressful present than anything just because I thought Andrew would needs lots of direction. But, he's a natural and drives around the neighborhood just like the big people. Holly loves to ride in the back but whenever Ashley hops out she works her way to the front and usually prefers standing while Andrew drives. She loves living on the edge. When Holly's not in the Gator she's in her own car. Because Holly gets bored with the usual way of doing things she likes to drive her car backwards and in circles. Here's a video of her in her car.

Next, Daniel has a method of keeping Holly happy that I don't subscribe to and soon you'll find out why. When she's whiney or just isn't happy with the usual toys he hands her valuables....such as his wedding ring, watch, the remote to the tv(soo very valuable), his cell phone, and his keys. Well recently most of these things have gone missing....go figure. Today we found his wedding ring deep inside a toy basket.....our remote deep inside a trunk filled with stuffed animals and other various toys, his watch buried in the couch and finally we found his keys swimming in garbage at the bottom of a tied up bag of trash in the garage...all ready to go for tomorrows trash pickup. So you see now I think he'll think twice about handing her whatever to keep her quiet....we'll see. I remember a time in North Carolina when my wallet had gone missing and was found in the trash in the bathroom a few days later. Come to think of it all of my kids have gone through a phase where they think most things ought to go in the trash....fun times.

2009-03-19T16:40:00.000-07:00

Good problems to have. So last week we spent the week in Bloomington, IL which by the way is where Daniel got a job which starts in August. We planned to spend the week relaxing with my family, but things didn't go quite like that. We made a couple of appointments with builders which led to several appointments with those builders....which consumed our week and made it fly by. Our poor kids...they were drug from office to office....from spec home to spec home instead of getting spoiled by their grandparents constantly. Don't feel too bad for them....by the end of the week they'd been to the children's museum which is so awesome....a.k.a...has more than a computer chair and a rabbit.....no but really I'm so excited to go there at least once a week when we move there. They'd also been to Chucky Cheese's and taken on a few rides on a tractor. They'd been to mcdonalds.....and many other restaurants. Anyway back to building. So Daniel and I never knew there could be as many decisions to make at one time...or factors to consider as there are when choosing to build. Where to build?....granite tops or not?.....wood, tile, or carpet?....location?...all the factors to consider for not only what you want but what would be good for resale. Then...trying to get the best deal....we have to talk about all of this with 4 builders and try to compare their house plans and offers. So, sort of stressful ...but a good stressful.....as I said in the beginning these are good problems to have. Surprisingly between the two of us...never would have guessed this....Daniel is the spendthrift when it comes to picking things for our house. He wants the tiled shower with the glass doors....he wants the home theater system and 5th bedroom in the finished basement. He wants hardwood floors in the family room and study. Finally, Daniel keeps going back to the idea of a rain showerhead in the tile shower....one that comes from the ceiling.....12'' diameter....that's luxury. That guy has some rich tastes....who knew? Anyway, I think we're narrowing things down and coming to an agreement with one builder. We'll keep you posted.

2009-03-01T18:42:00.000-08:00

The many happenings. I have quite a few things to post about..so here goes. First we'll start with Holly....who loves to climb on and in everything. We recently caught her doing this...

Next, Andrew's class recently had a field trip to a local Science Center...or that's what they like to call it. I usually refer to it as the small room with the dirty toys and a rabbit. But, you know it's not their fault.....they just don't have the funding. I hope to one day be able to help places like this ....that are trying to promote fun educational activities for children.....if you have a chance to donate...I say go for it. Really....do....this place brags of its chair that spins...we're talking a computer chair....that kids just spin around in....this is supposed to be a science center. Anyway, Ashley and Holly got to come along and so below you'll see a picture of them with a girl named Amaya in Andrew's class. He says when he gets older she'll be his honey.....his words...not mine. She's adorable so we'll see....so if when he's in his 40's and ready to get married ...and if she's still available...

Also, due to a shortage of competent gorgeous people to report the news at a local news station.....Ashley and Holly had to step in and show them how it's really done. Questioning whether this is true? Just look below to see proof of my two beautiful talented daughers working hard to deliver important news.

Finally, on the field trip Andrew got to do what he dreams about day and night. He got to dig up dinosaurs.....He was born to be a paleontologist. He's constantly impressing his teachers by pointing out the names of dinosaurs they've never heard of.

Andrew's recently become very picky about his bedtime rituals and settings. For instance, He has to have his nightlight on.....the closet light on with the door cracked at about a 45 degree angle....and the hall light on with his room door at about a 30 degree angle. To make sure all of these are the case...he sleeps sitting up....yep that's right sitting up in his bed. Think after he's asleep he won't notice if you adjust any of these settings?...think again. If I so much as close the door a little within a few minutes he's awake and yelling....OPEN THE DOOR!....pretty crazy. All I have to say is...it doesn't come from my side of the family. ;)

2009-02-19T20:29:00.000-08:00

Because I'm sick of seeing my last post. Yes, I'm writing because one who has their own blog should have written something new by now right?...even if they think there's nothing sensational to write about. We're all back on the healthy train again...everyone but me recently had a cold...Daniel completely lost his voice for a bit which of course makes it hard to lecture to 120 students 3 days a week...but he managed. He was born to teach...entertain...and he gets to do both. Moving on....today I went and saw Confessions of a shopaholic with a friend for a girl's night out. Here's my review. It was a little over the top...everything a bit too unbelievable...but a cute story that Erin(being me) could relate to. I admit it and pretty much everyone who knows me must know ...or be somewhat aware of the fact that I'm a shopaholic. All of the feelings she describes about shopping and the highs she gets from buying something cute and new that of course never lasts and must be sought after time and time again....I can relate. Now, do I buy prada...gucci....that kind of stuff?....no. But, I do like to shop nonetheless and can be snobby about it...just can't afford to be that snobby. So, in the end...each time she's out shopping she has to say to herself "Do I need this?".....and use the real definition of need instead of the one shoppers use....like in the movie when she says...."I need these cashmere gloves because it's winter and I have hands" I plan on following her advice.......and as for the movie....I'd say shopaholics will enjoy it more than others....who might find it incredibly hard to relate to such irrational behavior. Although more and more these days I think most Americans are shopaholics in some form or another...may not all being buying clothes but we all seem to love consuming. So much of our time is spent on buying things...or coming up with new things that we have to have.....the neverending list. I have one of those...always on the hunt for something...never quite satisfied. Anyway sometimes I think it's sad that so much of my life is wrapped around consuming....shouldn't I be doing more important and fulfilling things?....yes I have a family and I watch my children and help them learn...and I believe that's a great way to spend my time....but shouldn't I be helping others instead of looking for the new trendy shoes I saw in my People Style Watch(a new magazine I subscribe to)? I could talk about this forever so I'll end here. When I die I don't want to regret how much time and money I spent on consuming and how little I spent on making someone else's life better.

2009-02-10T20:44:00.001-08:00

Another one bites the dust. It's true. Our laptop was recently infected by a crazy virus that left it totally unusable....in fact we had to order a special cord to get the needed files off of the hard drive. So my message today is simple.....keep your anti-virus/spyware stuff up to date on your computer...pay the 30..40...50...bucks a year. It's worth it. And...if you refuse to do that....back up all of your important files(i.e...photos of your children). We'll be fine but I wish someone had told me a week ago this very thing...so here I am telling you. Don't feel too sorry for me...I get a new computer out of it. Andrew or Ash had stepped on our old one...and the monitor part was about to become detached from the keyboard....so a blessing in disguise?....I wouldn't go that far. Protect your computers...from viruses....children using them as stepstools...etc. :)

2009-02-07T19:40:00.000-08:00

Blogs are supposed to be little highlights from your life right?.....it seems like something is wrong if the highlights are all about the throwup flu going round and round your family. But....thanks to anti-bacterial hand soap and prayers we're all flu free for now....so thanks. Also, Ashley's doing great potty-training....piece of cake compared to how Andrew did......she still potties on the floor occasionally but it's more out of laziness than anything...anyway less diapers to change....YAY! Holly on the other hand has become quite the night owl. As I type in fact....Daniel is in bed about to pass out from exhaustion....and I'd be right there with him if our toddler weren't in the kitchen right now emptying our cabinets of all the food within reach.....oh wait no.....she wandered into her older siblings room and is playing with toys.....her favorite is to climb the bunkbed ladder...usually without success so we have to hide it. She does however give hugs upon request which is enough to keep me going....makes it all worth while.

2009-02-04T20:13:00.001-08:00

Round 3....fight. I hear those words in my head from a nintendo boxing game....as I think about the fact that my son Andrew has the throw up flu for the 3rd time in 6 weeks......which as you all know means so will the rest of the family. Pray for us.

2009-01-30T16:15:00.000-08:00

Ashley has finally decided potty training isn't the devil. We'll see how long this lasts. She often runs up to me and says "Mommy...I'm so proud of you".....since she's hearin it regularly coming back from her trips to the potty. Also, we're all better now...feeling like a million bucks....so thanks for the sympathy.

2009-01-27T07:27:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately he didn't make it. He's got the flu as I type.....poor little guy. It's nice to be able to comfort him though without the fear of getting it myself. In other news we had an ice storm last night that has closed his school and Daniel's.....hooray!

2009-01-26T06:51:00.000-08:00

Ashley asked me this morning..."Mommy, why do you look like an evil dragon?" Normally I might be shocked by this but since I spent Saturday night throwing up for hours in the bathroom and all day Sunday in and out of sleep ....I think perhaps she's justified. ANyway, since Saturday night Daniel, Holly, and I have all gotten the flu. Andrew is the last man standing....here's hoping he makes it. :)

2009-01-24T07:35:00.000-08:00

What do we do in our spare time? Hard to believe we have any spare time what with all of the flus we're constantly fighthing off.....but when we get a free moment here are a few things we apparently like to do.

We take the occasional trip to the moon...without any oxygen or protective gear.

Having spent all our money on trips to the moon.....we look for other cheaper ways to entertain ourselves......for some it doesn't take much.

A new hobby for Holly inlcudes crawling under our bathroom sink and ripping up toilet paper rolls....it brings her hours of joy.

When those don't satisfy us we try to look really cool....hence the following TWO pictures.

Living in a small town in IL has deluded some into believing a Fu manchu is cool.

Finally, Andrew got a John Deere Gator for Christmas....and is running into less and less these days. Holly enjoys riding along in the back....and in fact is a great rider. It can go up to 18mph in 2nd but sticking to my stepdad's advice....We haven't told Andrew about 2nd geer....maybe when he's 30. ANyway, we have a back up car now.

2009-01-22T15:08:00.000-08:00

Just when you think you've rid your whole family of the flu....your daughter wakes up at 2 am with a horrible scream followed by puking all over. Some day....maybe not now....maybe not soon....but some day we'll all be healthy and well rested. I won't hold my breath. :)

2009-01-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

A quick rant. Yesterday was our trip home from Idaho Falls. We had 2 flights with 2 hour drives before and after the 2 flights and a 3 hour layover in between. All went relatively well considering we had 3 kids under 4 and 7 carryons to avoid paying more for the extra bags...until we got off the plane in St. Louis. At this point, Ashley, having concluded she'd had enough, decided that she'd flop down and throw a major fit unless we carried her. Keep in mind we were carrying Holly and many other carryons and coats. In times past and on this particular occasion I decided to let her lay there and tantrum and said "We'll see ya Ash......you sleeping here tonight?"....and pretended to walk on as if we'd leave her. Well Daniel and I got 15 feet away when a very concerned 50-year-old woman rushed up to Ashley's side....at the same time another woman came up to me and said you hang in there....my daughter did the same thing yesterday...to which I replied thanks, but looks like she's calling our bluff. Anyway so Daniel goes back to tell Ash again to get up when the concerned old lady says "Anyone could have taken her....I can't believe you left her like that....If you don't want her ......I know lots of people who do.....I'll take her....I suggest you pick her up right now....etc...etc." Daniel replied "Do you have children?"...she said no.....he said"Obviously........and we love our daughter which is why we're trying to raise her right". Anyway....it ended with her walking off yelling "ILL REPORT YOU" and me giving her the evil eye. Needless to say this was a very frustrating experience for me. I guess I'm tired of people thinking that the way to show your children love is to give in to their every demand and let them walk all over you. I can tell you from experience that children don't know what's best for them and if it were up to them they'd never sleep except for when they pass out...they'd be fulll of sugar all the time..... they'd never wear a coat outside....and apparenlty they'd be carried everywhere ....never learning how to walk. In my opinion that is not loving them. Do I have all the answers?.....no of course not, but I want people to know that discipline does not equal negligence.....I think just the opposite does.

2009-01-05T19:22:00.000-08:00

Christmas fun. We've been in Idaho Falls for the last 3 weeks enjoying our holiday with Daniel's family. It was a lot of fun and a very white Christmas....which I appreciate. A few highlights(meaning interesting things not necessarily good things) from break include....Daniel and I made a family game called the Ames Game which was essentially a toned down version of cranium which centered on family memories......we played it on Christmas....fun was had by all. Next, every member in the family got the stomach flu.....except ME.....over break....it seems as though it's not a family vacation unless at least one of us gets really sick.....but we're all better now and life goes on. We also played insane amounts of rockband II.....I'm not very good and it makes my eyes burn since I refuse to blink in order to become a rockband master.....but it's a lot of fun. Also, with the crazy amounts of snow....surprisingly I only got the car stuck like 3 times and once was in the neighbors yard...all I can say to that is...when it's white....it all looks the same to me...the road...the neighbors yard...whatever. There were so many more memories made this break but I'll end with this one. We got to spend some time at Daniel's sister Jessica's house in Provo( I miss Provo and the beautiful mountains). It was a great time ....we chatted lots and played games and talked Daniel's brother Tyler and his friend Jen into taking Andrew and Ashley to the world's largest Dinosaur exhibit/museum. All who know Andrew know....this was a blast for him. Tyler had an awesome time and so did Andrew and Ash. They got to see tons of dinosaur skeletons and even got to dig up dinosaurs like real paleontologists...sp? Great way to wrap our vacation. So all in we had a wonderful break and are so glad we got to spend it with Daniel's fam. That said....we're excited to have 2 more Christmases with my family over the next few weeks. Hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Here are a few pics from the dinosaur museum adventure.

2008-12-02T16:22:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time. The good thing about waiting forever to post on your blog is that there are a million things you can think of to write about. The bad thing is you've lost most of your readers(I know of 2 maybe 3) who now think "What's the point of checking Erin's blog....she never posts anything." Ok so here's a summary of the last few weeks. First....no we didn't get San Diego.....Daniel was one of 2 candidates.....who were both very qualified, but the other happened to have tons of auditing experience as well as a husband who makes and sells surfboards.....unfortunately a perfect fit for the job and area. But, I think things happen for a reason and I'm sure it'll be a little more clear in the future why this happened this way. We've had a few more interviews since then and I'm sure we'll have answers very soon (Christmas time).

We spent the last week in Bloomington, IL with my family for Thanksgiving. We had lots of fun and did lots of shopping. Both Daniel and Ashley had birthdays last week which gave us a couple of excuses to eat lots and lots of cake. So Ashley is 3 and Daniel is 27. We're all getting so OLD. Some of us are old and still not potty trained. I assume you all know I'm not talking about Daniel, but AM talking about Ashley. How do you potty train a child who has no desire to be potty trained. Do you just throw her in underwear and hope she gets tired of soiling herself before I get tired of cleaning her up...or I should say before I literally cannot clean up another mess? One thing I did that motivated Andrew during potty-training(quite by accident) was I cried one time when he had an accident at the mall. It had been a long day and I was very pregnant. I think this really may have scarred him for life and certainly made him think twice about having an accident. The first thing he said after his next accident was "Mommy please don't cry". Heartbreaking huh?....but maybe the key to pottytraining your children through guilt.

Anyway, back to the shopping.....I love black Friday and had so much fun fighting the crowds at 6 am at walmart and target....got some great deals. Anyone who avoids the madness on black Friday is missing out....although it's clearly tragic how crazy some people get on this day. An employee was trampled to death at Wal-Mart in New York......that's ridiculous and very sad. I go with the mindset that I may not get a crazy deal and that's ok....and am usually pleasantly surprised. I got a new camera in fact....a screamin deal I think.....so perhaps I'lll post more pictures. The biggest obstacle now to overcome in terms of posting pictures is to get Ashley to stick around for a picture. It angers her when I point the camera at her. She's a fiesty one ....I'm scared for when she's a teenager. Here's a picture of our family.....may be on our Christmas cards this year....but here it is anyway.

2008-11-08T20:28:00.001-08:00

We're currently in San Diego for a job interview...but come home tomorrow....details to come.

2008-11-03T17:37:00.000-08:00

Should I be worried? Ok so I'll admit one of my hobbies is reading fashion magazines. I've recently become a fan of one magazine in particular.....People Style Watch. This magazine consists of page after page of celebrities and their latest outfits and how we...the less fortunate...can find a comparable and more affordale outfit. I like fashion and am interested in it....and let me be honest I need the help to know what is and what is not in fashion....Daniel tries but he IS a guy and well enough said. Anyway Daniel and I were skimming People Style Watch tonight(what a fun husband I have, huh?!) and Andrew happened to look over our shoulders at one point. When his eyes met with a cute girl in an add for a Conair hairdryer(that is sure to make every girl as beautiful as the one in the add).....he exclaimed "I like girls!".... and gave her a big kiss on the lips. Daniel and I just looked at each other in shock. WOW. He's 4....and we're not even close to being ready for that. So hence the first line of my post .....should I be worried?

2008-10-29T19:15:00.000-07:00

Here are my two charmers!

Here we are at the Halloween party at church. I know...my costume IS the scariest. ;)

Bad lighting but look at the chubby little ladybug.....So happy to have found her old friends...3 Musketeers and Crunch bar!

2008-10-27T20:35:00.001-07:00

Here are the two beanbag toss games I made....with tons of help from my stepdad. Some might say a little too much went in to this for a couple of Halloween games.....but it was fun and Drew and Ash have already enjoyed playing it in the garage....so well worth it.

2008-10-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

Noticing the good things. Andrew and Ashley have become quite the good older brother/sister. Andrew is my in-the-car helper who feeds Holly Cheerios in the car...especially on long trips. This sometimes stresses him out I think and he frequently says "I'm having a hard time feeding Holly".....or "Just one more right?"...but it's good for him. He knows how often to give her one by her signal. She growls when she wants another one and so then he puts another cheerio in her mouth....I should say 5 cheerios...she's getting bigger. Perhaps we should teach her sign language so that she doesn't have to growl at us to get food. Or, I suggested to Daniel tonight that we teach her a high-pitched growl for when she wants drinks and then of course a low-pitched growl for bites of food. Anyway, I can always depend on Andrew to help me out with Holly for feeding and entertaining her in the car.

Ashley too is enjoying her role as an older sibling. She always gives the first drink from her sippy cup to Holly. Also when I give Ashley peanut mnm's ....it's not too long after that I see Holly come around the corner with blue (or whatever color mnm I gave Ashley) drool streaming down her face. I then tell Ash....no more mnm's for Holly she could choke....but the idea was sweet ....right?

Finally, Holly is starting to walk more than just a few steps....seems to be in sync with her 2nd cousin...first cousin once removed....I dunno....anyway Callie Green...I hope I spelled her name right. So Holly walks....and it's so adorable to see the look of pride in her eyes accompanied by a huge grin as we cheer her on with each step. Tonight we put Andrew and Ashley's mini pumpkins in their wal-mart shopping cart and let Holly push it around the kitchen. She loved it!
Ahhh kids.....so sweet sometimes.

2008-10-21T20:04:00.001-07:00

Here's my trendy...and one can't deny...chubby little girl. You can see how the vest is pulling a bit across the mid-section. Still....what a sweetheart.

Andrew loves dressing up in his Halloween costume weekly. He just got this horse and loves to ride it around the living room saying "eah-haw horsie...eah-haw!". The horse neighs and gallops....he tells it to settle down sometimes. What a handsome fella!

2008-10-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

So I don't have those other pictures I promised but I do have these.

Holly's headed to town in a car that seems to be in better

shape than our other two.

Hmmm...looks like it too needs a little push sometimes.

2008-10-15T20:05:00.000-07:00

What have we been up to? Well here're a few things...just to let you know I'm not dead. We've become obsessed with the Wii fit....could be worse right? We're yoga masters....well I am....and it's hilarious to watch Daniel try to be. He's an amazing hoolahooper though. I'm really liking it and my thighs are killing me. I reccommend it.

Andrew's class went to the fire station today...pictures to come. It was so cute....we met his class there...he got to ride a little bus there and I think that may have been his favorite part of the day. Anyway he's getting so big....I teared up watching the excitement on his face as he got out of the bus at the fire station. It's so fun being a mom and watching your kids experience new things .....especially the good things. He even got to spray the fire hose...not at full blast....I think that would've blown him away.

Finally, last weekend my stepdad and I made these two halloween beanbag toss games out of wood. Yes, we used power tools and everything. Now all I have left to do is paint them. One's a pumpkin face....the other is a spiderweb with holes to throw spiders through. We made them for our church halloween party.....again pictures to come. Andrew and Ashley are going to be a cowboy and cowgirl for halloween....which leaves Holly......I was thinking horse or cow to match...but as of yet I have a ladybug costume from when Ash was little....we'll see.

2008-10-07T18:53:00.000-07:00

What do you do? What do you do with 3 kids ages 4 and under when they go wild any time you are in public? I used to have the philosphy that being away from home with the kids was somehow easier to stomach than being at home. I now am on the fence. On the one hand when you're away from home time goes by more quickly and the kids are messing up someone else's place. Now on the other you have to constantly keep them from getting you kicked out of places and from giving other people the impression that you are a horrible parent and obviously don't know what you're doing. Lately during any outing....Andrew and Ashley in particular act like wild hyenas running, screaming, and laughing maniacally. With this new development...not that they were ever little angels but they used to be better....I'm not quite sure what to do. Lately I've tried to be very military with the opinion that I will just be firm in demanding order while we're out....I'm not going to stay at home because practice makes perfect...right? Not working so far. I spend lots of energy disciplining and worrying what other people are thinking and to no avail. Should I just let kids be kids....and think who cares what other people think as long as they are not vandelizing or mooning anyone.....or is staying at home really the only option for a mom with a 4 year-old, almost 3 year-old, and a 9 month-old? I think wal-mart has the stay at home moto.....the carts that hold 3 kids now have been fixed so they only hold 2 at our local wal-mart....Thank you very much Wal-mart!

2008-10-05T16:55:00.001-07:00

Ok so Jessica tagged me to do this blog. You're supposed to list 6 quirks about yourself. I'll do my best.

1. I'm a crazy road rager. It's true. I confess. As much as I'd like to believe I'm not...I find myself yelling at people in my car for doing things as small as taking too long to get going at a stop sign. I never really realize it until someone is in the car with me. For all of you that heard Elder Wirthlin speak...you know that his comments hit home with me. :) And I quote....
"Have you ever seen an Angry driver who when someone else makes a mistake acts as though that person has insulted his honor, his family, his dog, and his ancestors all the way back to Adam?".....He encouraged us to laugh in those situations instead of "raging".....I'm going to try

2. I'd rather fix a car than fix a meal. Maybe that's apparent from my previous posts, but really I'd just get more joy out of fixing a car. I don't hate cooking....especially when it's for a big group that acts appreciative....instead of toddlers who'd be just as happy with mac n cheese. So Daniel cooks dinner a lot.....don't feel too sorry for him....he likes to cook.

3 I only like talking on the phone to a close few....(Daniel, Dad, Mom, Sister).....or to total strangers. It's those people in between that I have a hard time talking to. I feel pressure to constantly be talking....no silences. So, what do I do when a silence comes....say something stupid inevitably. So I try to avoid phone conversations with others for that reason. Crazy I know.

4. I've developed a love of peppers.....red and green that is. No I'm not pregnant. I just think my taste buds have decided it's time for me to branch out. They are tastey.

5. I love scrabble. Daniel has informed me that this makes me a nerd....and that I'm a minority in this way. He humors me with a game or two a year so I don't get my fill. I just like word games.

6. I'm rarely the right temperature. I spend a lot of time adjusting our thermostat....opening and closing windows...turning on and off fans.....or messing with the temperature in the car when I'm driving. Lucky for me Daniel doesn't seem to care.....or he pretends not to anyway.

So hopefully you'll all still be my friends after reading this. I'm quirky....aren't we all?

2008-09-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

I am a certified bug-a-phobe.....I'm sure there's a more technical term for that....in fact let me look that up. Ahhh I'm actually an Acarophobic which means I fear itching or the insects that cause itching. This weekend we went to my cousin Tony's wedding which took place in a garden/park. It was all very beautiful except for the millions of little oat bugs which decided to attend the wedding as well. It was horrible....we actually were late for the wedding and thank goodness. Millions of tiny bugs coated everything....bug spray was being passed left and right and let's just say I'm lucky to have come out alive. I now have somewhere around 30 itchy bites. I was freaking out the whole time constantly brushing my legs and arms to make sure no bugs were on me. I also avoid taking walks at night(something Daniel loves) because of this fear of itch-causing bugs. I now embrace spiders and all that they do to capture and eat these bugs. In fact yesterday while I was in my room Ashley yelled to me from the kitchen that there was a big spider on the floor. I yelled back...don't touch it ...I'll be right there. When I got there a big hairy spider was there...and Ashley confessed she had touched it with her finger...kids have no fear. AnywayI actually captured the spider in my house...this big scary one....and let it go outside in order to further my cause....killing these other bugs. My fear of itch-causing bugs has overrided my fear of spiders. I have to say my fear may be somewhat due to the fact that bugs seem to love biting me....Daniel also attended the wedding and I think came away bugbite free....simply not fair.

2008-09-24T21:09:00.001-07:00

It's Alive!(imagine a spooky igor voice) Tonight my dad and I replaced the alternator on the white car. So, it lives on. I'm seriously contemplating going to vocational school after my kids are all grown up....to learn how to be a mechanic....even just audit a few classes. I love knowing about cars and how to fix them...and I hate being dependent on greasy sexist guys to fix them...I know all mechanics aren't that way....but so many are. Anyway we'll see how long this fix lasts. Anyone need a new alternator?

2008-09-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

A weekend to remember. Since I don't know html well enough to figure out how to have a title and am too lazy to figure it out...the first line of my blog will be my title. This weekend was great...let me tell you why. Friday morning we decided to take a trip to St. Louis...again...we were just there last weekend....and we figured since we have such a reliable car....why not. Anyway Friday afternoon we went to the temple and then got to spend the night at a hotel which included swimming in the indoor pool and getting less sleep than we would have liked since all five of us were in the same hotel room....it turns out Ashley snores quite loudly. Today...we woke up and got ready and then headed out to the Great Forest Park hot air balloon race. To our surprise my mom called and said she'd be coming down to meet us...which we were all excited about. So she met us at the festival....where we ate overpriced food and the kids got to bounce in a few bounce houses. After a couple of hours the kids got wrestless though and we were wondering if there really were going to be hot air balloons since there were none in sight so we decided to head to the st. louis science center nearby. What a great science center they have...and it's FREE. While there we got to see tons of dinosaur exhibits and watched an omnimax movie all on dinosaurs(Andrew's favorite). Did you know velociraptors actually had feathers unlike the ones you see in Jurrasic Park? Did you further know that the chubby skeptical kid in the beginning of Jurrasic park was the missionary who taught me?...moving on.

After a fun day at the festival and science center we headed home in our reliable car. On the way home 'ol reliable's lights started flickering and all of gauges suddenly stopped working. Soon she shut down completely right while we were passing through a small town called Pinckneyville. Since our battery was essentially dead we pretty much just had to stop in the middle of the road with no warning to anyone. Luckily two guys in a truck pulled up and helped us push the car into what looked like an abandoned wearhouse's parking lot.....come to find out it was an auto repair shop that was open on a Saturday night....hoooray. The mechanic that was there said he'd be happy to charge our battery so we could at least make it home....but since the alternator isn't working we weren't allowed to turn anything on...ac...radio.....anything that would take extra volts. Anyway, the point is....we are so blessed. Imagine if it'd stopped a mile earlier......we would have had to get it towed and to who knows where and the kids would have been crabby...or if it'd stopped in St. Louis rush hour traffic on the interstate and the list goes on as to what could have gone wrong, but our car died essentially in a mechanic's garage where a very honest and friendly mechanic was working on a Saturday night. God knows us, knows what we're going through, watches out for us, and blesses us......we are so grateful. So it was a weekend to remember....full of fun memories. Is this the end of the white car?....stayed tuned.

2008-09-16T18:30:00.000-07:00

So our car is on its death bed. We found out a week er so ago that it needs a new alternator and a new transmission...in other words bye bye car. It's a white chevy malibu with 192,000 miles on it...no I didn't mistakenly add an extra zero....some people actually keep their cars that long.....actually I bet most of you can relate. She's had a good run and definitely held up to her end of the bargain so I don't blame her. It seems odd to me that I get a little attached to my cars and start talking about them as if they were people...but I do. Anyway Daniel and I had always kind of said when this one goes it's minivan time since we do have 3 kids and hopefully our family will only get bigger. So we've been roughly making plans to get a minivan. As a side note we also have another car, a 1985 Honda Civic hatchback, which Daniel drives to and from school....great gas mileage.....but quite small and not so pretty. Last night we were talking about how we'd come up with the money for the van ......I can't seem to sell enough on ebay to do it so we were trying to think of another way....when Daniel came up with what was according to him a Brilliant idea. "How about you drive the 85 Honda when the white car dies?" I was/am less than excited about this idea. Imagine me driving around me and three little people....in a car about the size of those rides at grocery stores....the ones that cost like 75 cents and give the kids whiplash....not to mention I don't know how to drive a stick shift.....and I'm too proud to learn. I've told my father-in-law and husband that I can get through this life without ever learning how and I wanted to prove that to them. ANyway it'd be like those clown cars at the circus...all of us getting into this car. But....we can't exactly afford a new car...not without student loans.....so I'm torn between being a thrifty person and sacrificing in order to stay out of debt.....and being comfortable...perhaps safe...and having the convenience of having two cars still in the family. ANy thoughts?

2008-09-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

First day of school ahhhhhhhh! So Andrew went to school this morning. Daniel and I got him ready and decided we both wanted to drop him off. We were a little worried he wouldn't want to stay when he realized we weren't going to be there but........After we met his teacher and we got everything squared away.....he ran over to us and asked for hugs and said "Goodbye mommy.....Goodbye daddy!"......as in get out of here. Mixed emotions of course....but the overall feeling from me is.....I'm happy for him.....he's really excited to meet new friends....play....learn letters....etc. Here's a pic of the little guy!

2008-09-10T13:24:00.000-07:00

So it's been sort of an eventful week. Sunday my sister, Sarah, arrived to spend the week with us. This was much needed and I've definitely appreciated the help. First major help was on Monday....when Andrew got a physical for preschool. That day went a little something like this...

We wait in waiting room for like an hour while the kids play with toys that other sick kids have played with....I'm not sure what they're thinking having toys in the waiting room....but it's either that or have a room full of screaming crazy kids. Next.....we go see the doctor where Ashley asks(in her I have a cold voice)......"What are you gonna do to my brudder?"....the doctor assures her nothing bad will happen. Then comes the shots and tb test poke. Andrew was reluctant but got through it. One thing I didn't appreciate was the doctor saying...."it's not gonna hurt"......yeah right we all know it hurts and I know she meant well but come on don't flat out lie. If I were him I'd never trust another doctor. We thought we were done but next came the lead test....which was a little harder now that andrew knew needles actually DO hurt. They had to draw blood and I had to pin him down in order for them to do it. It was crazy but we got through it.

To make up for Monday's horrible happenings we went to the St. Louis Zoo on Tuesday. The highlight of the day for me was when the kids and I got to feed a giraffe. Giraffe's are pretty I think and very sweet.....with HUGE tongues. Anyway here're some pictures.

Andrew loved being surprised by the Hippo who would swim by the aquarium window.

Finally they got to sit on a gorilla who was bigger than the two of them combined.