Memories

Last night I helped the girls clean their room. I wanted to do some ‘mother daughter bonding’ so I told them that I was going to ask them a question and they each had to give me their answers no other talking allowed.
I threw out things like
“What’s your favorite color”
and “if you had 5$ what would you buy your sister?”
I got some pretty typical answers, but then I got some pretty sweet ones too. It isn’t often that my girls show love towards each other, so when I hear the occasional proof it makes me very happy.
This is what I learned
Ali’s favorite color is still yellow. (It has been for about 4 years)
Her favorite food is still mashed potatoes, and spaghetti.
If she had 5$ to spend on one person she would buy
Megan “things to color with”
Mattie “a toy”
Me a “fairy or a frog or a Make over” (should I take that personally?)
Ex (her Daddy) “climbing stuff”
Taylor (daddy too) “a new hat or something like that….”
I learned that if she could go anywhere she’d go to Hawaii, or California,
And If she could spend time with anyone in the world, it would be her family.
She also wants to have a slumber party for her birthday.

Megan When asked about the 5$
Turned and asked Ali “what would you like Ali?” which I thought was very cute. Ali said she’d like “a book”. (ahh, a girl after my own heart).
She’d buy Mattie “a toy”
Her Daddy (Ex) “climbing or camping stuff”
Daddy Taylor she wasn’t sure of….”what does Daddy like?” she asked
And we didn’t even get to me, because there was too much squirming and talking about Birthday parties that I had to move to the next question..
So I learned that if she could go anywhere right at that moment, she’d go “swimming”. After hearing Ali’s answer, she changed hers to Disneyland.
She’d spend time with her family, and
She WANTED to have a Ballerina Birthday party… including Jack! “do boys do ballet Mom?” but after hearing that Ali wanted a slumber party, she’s decided that she is going to have one too.. With Michie, Emmy, and Mia.

To keep the mood going I started telling them stories. Now for those of you who know me, I love to get lively when I tell the kids stories.. I use motions, gestures, and different voices with facial expressions.. I love to see the sparkle in their eyes when they hear stories and they love it even more when I get animated.
I began with stories of myself when I was a child. I told them of the time we stepped out of our cabin in Yellowstone to find a Buffalo right outside our door.
I told them about how when Pushing kids on the tire swing in third grade I ran into the pole and got a concussion. I dramatically re-enacted the entire scene for them, including my Teachers reaction to the giant welt on my forehead. . I told them how I was the ‘best tire swing pusher in third grade” to which Ali responded “That comes from you then, mom, cuz, I’m the best tire swing pusher too, I get that from you! It must run in the family”.
I told them about the time I broke my pinky playing kick ball, and thought my pinky was my thumb.
I described to them the temperature of the water as we jumped into the pool for the first time every spring. (I definitely burned calories re-enacting that one!)
I ran out of my own stories so I went on to tell them stories about when they were tiny.
I told about Ali’s pacifier addiction and how no matter how hard I tried to get rid of them she would always magically find one hiding somewhere, and when she did, she’d pop it in her mouth happily and suck away. She LOVED the binky!
I told of Megan when she was about barely crawling and would climb into the baby bouncer and bounce so hard she’d catch air.
The girls were giggling and begging for more. I remembered that I had Megan’s bouncer jumping on video so we went in search of the old home movies. As it was getting late, we spent just 20 minutes playing the tapes and forwarding through to the fun parts. I couldn’t believe how little they both were. Listening to Ali’s little gruff voice telling me things was just darling. She was such a little busy body. She was jumping around, climbing on things and talking non-stop just like she does today. Megan was a super chunk and she loved seeing herself crawl around ‘growling’ and being charming. I could have watched them all night. I really enjoyed it. And I think the girls did too.
I was especially grateful when they climbed into their beds and went to sleep without any protesting. It always feels good when you can tuck them in and leave with a good feeling.
When I went in to check on them a few hours later Megan was yet again curled up on the end of Ali’s bed, squished into the 2-foot space she had.
I picked her up and put her back in her own bed. I’m glad I did, because unfortunately she had an accident last night… I probably should have woken her up to go to the bathroom, but that’s okay, we’ll keep trying.. First thing she said when she woke up was “will I have to wear a pull-up tonight?”

Oh and cute Mattie had been hanging with us the entire time. He LOVES playing with the little trinkets and things that the girls have on their shelves.
He was particularly intent on getting something on the top shelf of Ali’s and kept saying "dat, pees, Dat, pees" so I picked him up and let him point it out to me. When I handed it to him he took it out of my hand, immediately stuck his hand up under his chin and said “dant-do” (aka Thank you). He’s such a smart boy. We only showed him once and he does it all the time now.

Megan update

So I feel like I just posted This entry but I'm pleased to say I have a wonderful update to it.
Megan has stayed completely dry every night for over a week now!
Way to go Megan!!!!!!
she's s happy not to be wearing pull ups anymore..We've officially retired them (with a little hesitation on my part)
And I'm happy she's happy!

Principal Pride

Both the girls have been honored this past month for special achievements that they have done in school. Each month Teachers pick students that have done things that deserve recognition or for things that they are excelling at.

Its Called Principal pride, and parents are invited to come to a little ceremony where each child gets recognized and given a certificate. A Letter comes home announcing their special day about a week before.

I thought it was great that Megan was chosen a few weeks ago, as it happened to be at a time that Megan was working very hard on being "the nicest girl in class".. She was so proud of her letter and even slept with it that night. Taylor and I felt really bad because we were both scheduled for work and couldn't get the day off. Grandma and Papa came through though and took lots of pictures for us.I was sad that I missed her little face. I wanted to see her expression so bad..

Megan's Achievement was for "getting her work done in class, and working hard on reading".

Yesterday was Ali's turn. Taylor and I were both able to attend. Grandma ,Papa, and even Mike came to see her too. She was so grown up. She'd picked her outfit out the night before and looked fabulous!

Ali's achievement was "Amazing Author Award! Works hard in writing, very creative!"

They're both doing so well, I'm so proud of them.

More Parenting lessons.... belated

My Megan is a deep sleeper. Always has been. Sleeping soundly is a wonderful thing, UNLESS your brain is so busy sleeping, it forgets to communicate with your bladder in the middle of the night. That, unfortunately is a problem we’ve dealt with since she was first potty trained at 2 ½ . We thought she’d grow out of it as she got older, but here we are and at 5 and she still wets the bed.
It’s never been a big deal at our house. We’ve kept her in pull-ups at night, and beside the occasional complaints of “wedgies” or “I’m a big girl” protests , it’s been fine.
Ex had a very hard time accepting that it wasn’t her fault and often punished, or made her feel bad about it. He insisted that I 'do' something about it a few years ago ,(because you know, I have complete control over her body). After spending weeks waking her up in the middle of the night to use the potty, with no improvement, I took her to the Dr. Her Dr assured us that eventually she'll grow out of it,and if by the age of six, she’s still having a problem then we’ll begin the whole Alarm system routine. So for years now we’ve given Meg her choice of pull-ups, encouraged her to ‘go’ before bed, and celebrated dry nights if just lightly so as not to put a big stress on it all.
Ali being older, and having never had a problem with wetting the bed, has in the past taken to harassing Megan like her Dad. She would repeat things that her He (Ex) would say, like that she was too old and shouldn’t be doing that, or that she is still a “baby” said mockingly which of course to Megan is the biggest insult a 3-4 year old could receive. I sat down with Ali long ago and explained to her the inability Megan has to control it, and pointed out how the hurtful insensitive things she said to Megan could really hurt her ego. Without deflating her Dad, I had to explain to her that her dad was in fact not correct in his approach. And that maybe he just doesnt understand. She agreed that she didnt want to hurt her sister and for the most part stays quiet but occasionally I do catch jab here and there, (which quickly gets her a pointed look from Mom).
So I guess my point to all of this is that we’ve really tried to help her not feel bad about her problem. I don’t want her growing up with issues or insecurities. But then a week or so ago, I reminded her to go put her pull up on. She began to cry, and for the first time ever she said what I had been dreading she’d say about it for years.
“But Mom, What if someone finds out and makes fun of me?” It was that last point. “What if someone makes fun of me” It finally occurred to her that this could happen, that her problem was in fact not normal and it scared me a little. . I assured her no one would find out, and that it was not her fault that she slept soundly. She seemed reasured but still cried a bit about it. All I could think about was how I could protect her from that ever happening. How can mommy fix it?
Yet another moment that I wish they’d written in a book for me.
By the next night she’d forgotten about it, and happily slipped into her new “boxer style” brand. I breathed a sigh of relief but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want to fix that communication between her brain and her bladder before any of her peers ever find out..

Catching up.

I haven’t felt much like blogging lately.. Not for a lack of topics.. We’ve been quite busy around here.. Its more a Laziness issue… When I do get a minute to sit down, I have been catching up on my Magazine reading, or just sitting alone enjoying the small windows of silence.
So lets catch up shall we?
Craig is still here. And yes, we are still enjoying his company.
Last week we watched Michie, Emmie, and Olivia while Ang had Orientation. It was pretty crazy at first, but by mid week, we’d gotten everyone into a routine. Things went quite smoothly from there. I have to give Taylor credit for most of that.. He was seriously super dad, keeping the house clean, and taking care of 6 kids! His laid back personality can really be a blessing sometimes.
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Angie Home schools her two older girls, so I picked that up for her the days I was home.. Ali was a fantastic little tutor; I think Michie felt quite privileged to be her little pupil.
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Thursday I took them ALL to the dentist for Ali and Megan’s 6 month check up.. I was quite amazed at how smoothly it went. The girls behaved beautifully, and hooray, No cavities.
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Week in review via picture........................................…. CHAOS!!!!!!!

Friday evening, The North’s (sans Michael) came to town for a visit and for MJ’s 5-month pictures. Coryne and Ali tore the place up and were literally jumping off the furniture until we had to separate them for bed. Megan and Shane weren’t far behind.
Saturday we had a great photo shoot, then ran errands with them before they left for home. Let me just say…. 6 kids running errands… Not so fun. But we made it.
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Sunday........ Ahhhhhhhh quite! LOVED it!

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Monday we started over again with the Cason girls
More ‘home schooling’ and lots of play-doh..

Taylor started his NEW JOB at UPS (YEAH!!!) His last day at Primary Children’s is the 27th. He’s sad to leave After 5 years, but it’s a really good move for our family. I’m really proud of him, and super excited for great benefits. You’d think we had great benefits working for IHC, but they really suck.

Tuesday I had a really nice visit from my visiting teacher (her partner had sick kids). It was really nice to sit and chat and get to know her. Even though I have been in the ward for 5 years, I’m still socially hopeless and don’t know people very well.
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TodayI worked again.. a VERY busy day and finally an early bedtime for the kids which means blogging time for me!
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And just a little something to end with

Matties boots finally fit..........................

Saturday post

In Kaysville again.. just can't seem to stay away.

The girls got their hair cut today.... I'm afraid to say that they butched poor Ali..... its bad........real bad...... So bad that I want to cry about it. It hurts me to look at it,(Not at her because she IS beautiful no matter what) but the hair.............. SO SHORT!!!!!!!!!! I pray it grows fast......
They cut Megs MUCH shorter than I'd have liked , but her's is salvageable at least...... guess that's why people pay big money for a good hair cut and not 10 dollars at the super cuts.....

"Cuz, I AM a rocker girl!"

When I work LOoooonng hours at work, it seems like my personal life disappears. I have no idea what is going on at home, or with the kids.

I can call and check in but more often than not I get a brief distracted description of what everyone’s doing, and then It's back to work.
I've got one more work day this week (I've worked the last 3) and then I'll be home again, and I can kick back and relax with the kids. (After I clean the house and catch up on laundry of course).
I'm hoping that the weather will permit me to do a few more pictures of the kids outside.
I'd really love to get something worthy of a Christmas card......

The other night my Sister Steph brought over two great big bags of new shoes and clothes for the girls (its an Aunt thing) and although I was a little sketchy on some of the outfits, The Girls LOVED everything they saw.
They both immediately threw together their favorite outfits and set them out carefully to wear the next day.
Megan chose a "rock star girl outfit because" as she informed us "I am a rocker girl".
She looked so cute I couldn’t stand it!

Look at those bright Pink Leopard print leggings!

Ali looked equally cool in her cropped Rock star sweatshirt complete with hot pink and blue hearts and graffiti ( I didn’t get a picture of her because SHE WOULDN’T SIT STILL LONG ENOUGH!!) She got a few pair of really cute jeans that had fun appliqués on them totally "teenagerish" as Ali put it...
Ali told me that Stephanie is the only older person she knows that has such good style!
I wonder what that says about me??

Fall and No TV day 4?

Day 4 No TV.. No big deal. When I got home from work we went to my Parents to celebrate my Mom's birthday, then we came home and enjoyed dinner together with all 5 of us home (that doesn't happen often). We played games together before bed, and I got to catch Greys anatomy half way through.. Yeah!

Pumpkin Patch

We took a little trip to the Pumpkin patch because you know...

Its tradition!

Mattie thougt it was funny to peek through the pumpkin

Megan wanted a "Tiny baby one"

Ali picked a perfectly shaped medium sized pumpkin that was only 5 Dollars!!!!

(When I was 8 that pumpkin would have cost a quarter!)

(I used a little "old school" finish on this picture.. I like how it looks)

Typical morning… and the rest of my Friday.

My Morning
We started off with our regular morning routine where I drag the girls out of their beds kicking and screaming. (They don’t realize I feel the same way most mornings). Then I spend the next 20 minutes debating Megan on her attire. “No Megan, You can NOT wear Alex’s size 10 skirt, because you thinks it’s beautiful.” “Yes, you HAVE to wear underwear”, “Megan quick wigging out and just put your stinking socks on!!!!!” “oh, Megan PuhLEASE just put your boots on”
And in between all of that I’m re-directing Ali from the many million distractions that she finds every morning. “Ali, get your Shoes on”, “Ali, put your stuff away, and get your shoes on”, “Ali, get your shoes on, come eat breakfast” “ALI, IF YOU DON’T PUT YOUR STINKING SHOES ON, YOU’RE NOT GOING TO HAVE TIME TO EAT!!”… And then as we’re walking out the door, “ALI! Where are your shoes?” Ugghhh!. Its a lot of work getting those two off in the morning.
As I walk back in the house after dropping them off at school, I see Ali’s backpack sitting by the door.
Pretty typical.
Its my morning verbal calisthenics..
This morning
I put Matt down for his a.m. nap and set out to make the crucial choice between taking a shower (which I hadn’t had the opportunity to do in two days), taking a quick nap (which I hadn’t gotten to do for weeks), or cleaning.
Nap won… but no sooner had I laid my head down than my doorbell rang.
Like I said. Pretty typical morning.

The Rest of my day……….
We had Kate over to play after school, I like play dates because the kids are less likely to complain that they’re bored, which in turn gives me time to get something done. Kate and Megan play really well together, and Megan told me just today that she [Megan] is a nice girl now because she wants to get the principal pride at her school. (I’ll take whatever incentive that works).. .
When Ali got home, I sat out in the front yard and played games with the girls while Mattie walked around the yard using the baby carriage as a walker. (Shhhh, don’t tell Daddy.. We’ll just pretend it was a big monster truck). The Weather was good and my kids love the outdoors. They get that from me.
Around 4:30 Mattie pointed up the stairs and babbled something very persistently. I walked him up to his bedroom and he practically threw himself into his crib.
He slept until 6:30!
I’ve been in a mood lately to cook things that I’ve never tried before. I made porcupine meatballs the other night, homemade butter flake rolls and cinnamon rolls the day after that and so last night, I decided to try my hand at Chicken noodle soup. From scratch! Stock from the bones, home made noodles, the whole bit! It took HOURS! And only 4 calls to my neighbor Jeanne for instruction. I had no idea what I was doing, and no recipe. It actually turned out really yummy. I was quite proud of myself.
When Matt woke up he was in a great mood. He was giggly and playful, finding great Joy in pulling the clothes out of my organized laundry piles. He’d pick up an article of clothing and before he could even do anything with it, he was giggling and rolling around, climbing into my lap and falling all over himself.. I LOVED every second of it.
Good Day I’d say.
Hope yours was too.

How cute is this baby?

Isn't this little one cute? She's 5 weeks old. I just LOVE taking baby pictures!!

I had an interesting day today.
Megan had a play date with a little girl in her kindergarten class. She brought along her little cousin (who I might add was only 4 years old). I had never formally met the mother before which apparently was my first mistake. my second was that I didn't get her phone number .
She was scheduled to pick them up at 1:30.
I usually like play dates because it gives me a chance to get things done while Meg is entertained... NOT this time! I had to watch them like hawks so I got nothing accomplished. The oldest had a potty mouth so I had to keep telling her "we don't say that", "we don't call names", "You don't need to yell, just ask nicely"..And then I'd turn around and the younger one was asking me for food again....
Well 1:30 came and went.. and then it was 2, and 2:30, and 3...you get the picture?
... when She showed up at 5:30 to pick them up I could not have been more completely appalled at someones parenting or lack of!
She came to the door with some exaggerated excuse and all I could do was nod my head, and shut the door tightly behind her.
come 9pm... the DOORBELL rings! mind you my kids are all in bed as there bedtime is 8:30. The mother had brought me a plate full of uncooked (literally) brownies. I smiled and thanked her graciously, but it changed nothing of my opinion of her. I wonder why she thought ringing the doorbell at 9pm on a school night was okay?
anyway.. Going to be a little awkward when I see her at drop off tomorrow.

I should have known today was going to be fun. Meg started it off with an hour long drama fest over socks and underwear!

All's well that ends well......

She did it!

She looked at the choices set before her.
Chose a beautiful blue pair
then realized just how close she was to the chair.
I could see her slowly backing away from the kiosk,Fear filling those big blue eyes.
I knew that if I didn’t do something then, she was going to torment us later.
We’d listened to her non stop for days and I wasn’t about to let it drag on any longer.
I picked her up arms and legs flailing and sat with her in the chair.
She FREAKED out! My heart broke for a millisecond but I stood strong, and I knew we just needed to get it over with.
As they were loading the earring ‘guns’ she cried and covered her ears, pleading with us to stop. She said “lets come back another day” that comment confirmed it. I knew she wasn’t going anywhere.
I said “DON’T MOVE or it WILL hurt!!”
30 seconds later it was all over.
She wouldn’t look in the mirror immediately, and covered her ears resentfully.
However, Two steps out of the kiosk She grinned, held her hair back, and sang out “I got earrings!”.
I asked her if she was glad that I made her go through with it, and she pushed her hair back and smiled all prissy like, Nodding with appreciation.
Oye!
She’s been strutting around telling us all that she’s got beautiful earrings, and even answered the phone like this…“Hello…. I got my ears pierced….. Who is this?”
Glad Its over.
She’s still a bit nervous about them.. not letting anyone touch them, and informing me that she’s Never going to take them out.. but at least the hard parts over…

Jack!

Megan's has a crush. A "MAJOR CRUSH" as she puts it..
His name is Jack, and she's talked non-stop about him for 4 days now.
She is completely enamored by him, following him around instead of playing with the other little girls in her class. The other night I asked her to tell me about him. She took that very literally and proceeded to describe him exactly “he has brown hair (spiky like Daddy’s) and skin like mine, no polker dots on his face, and pink lips. Do boys have pink lips?”. "yes, I reply", "then yes, he has pink lips". And then with a dreamy look in her eyes, she sighs, leans back in her chair and tells me "he's SOooo handsome!"
That’s when my stomach does a little nervous flutter. My baby is growing up a little faster than I want her to.. Wasn't it Ali who just came home yesterday to tell me about her first crush?
When Megan came home from school last week and made her announcement, she informed me that she was going to tell Jack the next day. No hesitation.
She did indeed tell him that very next day. When I asked her what he said, she said "nothing!, he just stood there, so I just followed him around again." I couldn't help laughing. Oh dear….. My stalker child!
Ali is totally opposite from Megan.. Three years She has had a crush on the same boy. Ali would never dream of telling her crush she liked him. Everyone knows about him of course, but She would just die if any of us told him!.
Megan's begging for a play date with him, and has all of the sudden decided that she needs her ears pierced. So All weekend we’ve listened patiently as she’s talked about Jack, or her ears. I’m still not sure if the earrings thing is going to happen. She wants earings so badly, but is just terrified of going through the action of getting them pierced.. I am just going to let her decide. I don’t really care if she gets them pierced or not. I didn’t get mine pierced until I was 10.
Alright, I better stop writing.. Its time to go pick up the little love bird..

Go VOTE!!

So I submitted my kids pictures into a modeling opportunity for a local photographer that is looking for some children to use for an Autumn spread she is doing.

they have been chosen as finalists!!!

YEAH!

But you have to vote, for them to get the shoot..

We would REALLY love this opportunity, so please
PLEASE GO VOTE NOW!!! And tell your friends to vote too..

click on the link below and follow the instructions

http://wynonarobison.typepad.com/photography/2007/08/finalists-model.html


VOTE 1d and 3c
VOTE 1d and 3c
VOTE 1d and 3c

Ali and Megan, the cutest ragamuffin kids I know!

They're Baaaack

Yep they're back!

And exactly where they left off!
Before they'd even stepped into the house Ali asked when we were going over to my parents.. She's so excited to tell Papa about Yellowstone. My dad has the whole park [Yellowstone] memorized. Being a wildlife photographer, it was a favorite of his for many years. Health issues have kept him from going for the past 5 years or so. I'm sure he misses it.

The girls have been super hyper and loud. I think they forgot what it was like to live in a house with a baby. We'll have to work on that one.
I’m just delighted though because they LOVE their new room. We worked so hard on it, so I am really glad they like it. Taylor is so disappointed that he didn’t get to see them open the door and see it for the first time. They were supposed to be home last night, but I guess this summers trend with Ex is bringing them home the next morning.. I'm not going to fight it because it’s just not worth it. Taylor felt so sad when we called him after they got home. He said he just wanted to jump in his car and drive home to be with us.. I would feel the same way if I were him, but we have tomorrow off so we’re going to spend the whole day playing and spending time together.

We went to the library to try and pass some time, because all they wanted to do was leave for grandma and papa's. We had 4 hours to go. The sign on the activity room said "activity 2-4" Ali was excited and said "perfect!, when we're done it will be time to go to Grandmas!" It was only 12:30. We managed to hang out until it started at 2,but when they walked out of the room with their craft complete at 2:10 I knew we were going to have a problem. We brought back some books and movies. Ali has had one eye on the clock and the other on whatever else is going on. In another hour or so we'll be heading over to my parents. It is going to be a nice day. It’s so good to have them home...

*Update*

After dinner the kids wanted to play in the water.....

It's much cooler today than it has been, and the kids got a bit Coldy(yes, I meant to say coldy, I say it all the time)

So we all jumped into the tub again......

yep, ALL of us!

and the little one said "roll over, I'm crowded"

This is what I woke up to this morning.. We have a King size bed, but my side of the bed apparently has child repellent because they were both crowded in on Taylors side (lucky me). I had to get a picture of them all snuggled in together. I tried not to wake them up with my camera, but Taylor heard the click. He took that opportunity to sneak out and sleep on the couch for the last few hours.

We're sure going to miss these little bed hogs while they're gone!

Ali's been staying up deep into the night. Its going to be a fun battle when school bedtime arrives next month.

she's such a night owl. I'm SO not.

Megan still falls asleep where ever she is, if she's tired.. Taylor actually carried her up to her bed last night after she fell asleep with a laundry basket over her body obviously in the midst of playing something.

she must have woken up to a lonely bed and found ours in the middle of the night.

Summer time is so inconsistent around here. It’s hard to keep a routine when they spend half the summer at Ex's mom's house. Like I’ve said, I try to plan activities and fun things while we have them, but having the Van die on us really took a toll on the event planning.
We did take the kids to the pool a couple times, and they’ve spent quite a few afternoons at my parents house playing in the neighborhood, but otherwise, its just been time hanging at the house. Why does that make me feel guilty? Summer doesn’t need to be filled with activities right?
I did manage to plan a scavenger hunt for them the other day.. It was definitely a hit. In fact, Megan asked me to do another one for her yesterday. And we did have “art” day. Which has left my back patio, and my kitchen tablecloth covered in paint. And I did do the fort………... So there, we have had fun. I’m a good mom after all!
On a different note
Meg has become quite whiney lately. She started after the last long visit at Ex's, and hasn’t stopped. After this next two week visit there, I'm sure I'm in for a treat. Hopefully we'll be able to undo the habit when things become more constant.

Oh and I just have to mention that I am SO excited for my brother. He called a few days ago to tell me that he is getting married! Yeah, he so deserves it. He is the best dad and His ex wife was not very nice. The best news of all is that he’s gone from a total atheist to finding Christ, and going to church. That’s just a miracle in my eyes. God works in mysterious ways. He sounds so much calmer, and happy than I’ve heard him sound in years. God’s got a plan for my brother I know that, and I’m so excited for him. I can’t wait to meet his new wife someday soon too. I wish he didn’t live so dang far away!
Love you Craig.

Well I’m off to clean the house for the 100th time this week. We’ve got lots of friends coming over today to play and I would hate for them to trip over our mess.

So sorry this is rambling, but I thought I’d write a few things down (for myself more than anyone) and this was the place to do it.
Have a great day!

Poker dots

Meg was snuggling up to me last night on the couch. Patting my face she asked "mom, why do you have poker dots all over your face?" She's so sweet, I could eat her! I just laughed and hugged her tighter.
I love her vocabulary. It’s so sad when children grow up and start realizing how to properly articulate words. I Love that she says "chicken spots" and "ku-prize" or "bee-member". I never correct her. She'll start kindergarten this fall, and those sweet errors will fade away soon enough.. But until then, I'll savor every word.

Shots, puddles,cupcakes and a bath

We had a busy day today.
The Girls got home this morning, from spending the last 5 nights with their dad.

Megan had her big Kindergarten check up today. That only meant one thing. SHOTS! I decided not to tell her until we were on our way out the door. I thought I’d save the anxiety until the very last minute.

I was so impressed by her quick intelligent answers, and surprised at how big she suddenly appeared. She passed with flying colors of course. She was given a kindergarten workbook at the Dr’s office as a little prize, and she insisted on doing the entire book as soon as we got home. I think she’s going to love school.
After her appointment we took a rest, then headed over to Papa’s and grandmas house for our weekly visit.
Mattie successfully grossed my mom out by eating the hose.

Megan did her usual ......................
Searching for bugs

and Stomping through puddles.

And we enjoyed one of my Favorite dinners…………BREAKFAST!!! Yum! My mom makes better pancakes than IHOP I swear!
Here’s Mattie enjoying a very festive Fourth of July cupcake for dessert.

And because he was covered in frosting, I decided to jump in with him and Megan in the big tub… (sans clothes since my dad was there)

Matt LOVED the jets. He splashed, squealed, and giggled the whole time..
We ended the evening curled up on the couch watching Nanny Mcphee…

It’s good to have the girls’ home!

Ikea again, and Recital one

Sevy and I went to Ikea again. This time without little ones (well, she had her youngest). We spent FOUR hours there and still didn't make it through the whole place! FOUR hours!
I think what I love about Ikea the most, are the showrooms. I Love that they put complete rooms together for us who have no interior design abilities! I just wish I had the thousand or so per room to complete the whole ensemble. They really think of everything down to the lighting!

After Ikea, We all jumped in the car and went to Megan's Gymnastic recital. She is SUCH a little tumbler! She LOVE "mastics" as she calls it. I think she loves the jumping, swinging, and bouncing off things more than anything. She's so fun to watch, no fear, and full of energy!


She LOVES it! Just look at her face!

After the recital we went to the Sevy's for some yummy BBQ. Taylor helped put up the new desk that she got for Jacob. Its really cool, I want one for myself!

When she grows up

Megan is practicing for her future career as a designer. She's already got her personal style too. Just look at this ensemble she put together to play ball with Taylor in.

Then she changes her mind about the whole designer thing, and decides that she's going to be a snail keeper when she grows up.... She practices by carrying this slimy little guy around with her for two days!
When the snail dries up
she decides shes much better suited to ride through puddles.

Megs Vocabulary words
"Kuprize" surprise
"Bezert" Dessert

Mattie tries corn on the cob for the first time. We think he liked it. It might be the whole "you touch my corn you die" look.



We went to the church to ride bikes the other day.
Ali picked this bike out for her birthday. She doesn't care that its a boy's bike. It's cool! And its really fast too!

don't forget to check out the latest pictures I uploaded to flikr