On the Twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Twelve Loads of Laundry

Eleven Year Old Charmer
Ten times I said "No!"
Nine Million Messes
Eight Family Members
Seven Days of Cooking
Six Children Fighting
Five Days of Carpools
Four Darling Daughters
Three Girls Cheering
Two Kids in Diapers
And A Baby who is Happy.

On the Eleventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Eleven Year Old Charmer

Ten times I said "No!"

Nine Million Messes
Eight Family Members
Seven Days of Cooking

Six Children Fighting

Five Days of Carpools

Four Darling Daughters

Three Girls Cheering

Two Kids in Diapers

And A Baby who is Happy.

On the Tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Ten times I said "No!"

Nine Million Messes

Eight Family Members

Seven Days of Cooking
Six Children Fighting
Five Days of Carpools
Four Darling Daughters
Three Girls Cheering
Two Kids in Diapers
And A Baby who is Happy.

On the Ninth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Nine Million Messes

Eight Family Members

Seven Days of Cooking
Six Children Fighting
Five Days of Carpools
Four Darling Daughters
Three Girls Cheering
Two Kids in Diapers
And A Baby who is Happy.

On the Eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Eight Family Members

Seven Days of Cooking

Six Children Fighting

Five Days of Carpools

Four Darling Daughters

Three Girls Cheering

Two Kids in Diapers

And A Baby who is Happy.

On the Seventh day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Seven Days of Cooking

Six Children Fighting
Five Days of Carpools
Four Darling Daughters
Three Girls Cheering
Two Kids in Diapers
And A Baby who is Happy.

On the Sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Six Children Fighting

Five Days of Carpools
Four Darling Daughters
Three Girls Cheering
Two Kids in Diapers
And A Baby who is Happy.

On the Fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Five Days of Carpools

Four Darling Daughters
Three Girls Cheering
Two Kids in Diapers
And A Baby who is Happy.

On the Fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Four Darling Daughters

Three Girls Cheering
Two Kids in Diapers
And A Baby who is Happy.

On the Third day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Three Girls Cheering

Two Kids in Diapers

And A Baby who is Happy.

On the Second day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

Two Kids in Diapers

And A Baby who is Happy.

On the First day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

A Baby who is Happy.

Another Hidden Gem

Periodically Steve emails me the pictures he took with his cell phone. This was one of the ones he sent.

Yee Haw! Ride Em Cowgirl!

Baking Dr Seuss

This week, I had the privilege of helping to provide cupcakes for the Halloween carnival at the community center where my girl's gym team is. This years theme was Dr. Seuss. I ended up being a great way to temporarily decompress from the stress of a colicky/refluxy baby and 5 additional kids. I am not much of a baker or cake decorator but I think the cupcakes turned out cute. Best part is, that this year I didn't plagiarize someone else's idea off the internet but came up with it on my own. I tried to plagiarize but couldn't find any cute cupcake ideas. Perhaps the lack of sleep got the creative baking juices, that I didn't know I had, going. So here they are.

Cupcake #1 Cat in the Hat.
You can't tell very well in the picture but the cupcake itself is striped red and white like Cat's hat. The cupcake topper has Dr. Seuss quotes on it.

Cupcake #2 Green Eggs and Ham.
I'm not sure I like the eggs...they look kind of like boobies. Oh well.

Cupcake #3 Horton hear a Who.
In my head this looke a lot cuter but it was a struggle to get the coconut on the stick. Original idea was to cover a marshmallow. (which is impossible unless you make your own marshmallows). Then I thought maybe a rice crispie treat covered in melted chocolate and rolled in coconut but that made the rice crispie melt off the stick. Finally I softened the treat in the microwave and rolled in the coconut.
All in all I'm pretty proud of my ideas but I'm sure that someone out ther can make them cuter. But that's okay. I had fun anyway. After all "think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try."

PS. I think if you were going to do the Horton cupcakes you should make the clover out of a chocolate covered marshmallow rolled in coconut or a chocolate covered doughnut hole roled in coconut. Even after allowing the rice crispie treats to harden for 2 days, when they were put upright in the cupcakes 50% of them slid down the stick.

Thank you James

I just wanted to take a moment to thank my brother James for showing my 5 yr old what can be done with a camera phone and the inside of your elbow.

This is what Steve has to look forward to on his phone. Thank you so much.

More Pictures of Seth & My Daughter the B-Boy

I wanted to post some new pictures of Seth and also a few video clips of Isabelle. Isabelle has some mad skillz as a b-boy. (For all you un-hip peeples b-boys are break dancers). Enjoy.

Now Kenna joins in...

And now the big finish, in which Kenna is bored and wanders away...

Check It Out!

The bliss of (mostly) silence

Today was the first day of school for my kids. Brand new schools for everyone. Levi started (sniff) Middle School, while Rhyan moved to 4th grade and Katie started kindergarten. While kindergarten was very old hat to Katie (who went from full day preschool to half day kindergarten) but it had a few bumps for the others. Levi couldn't figure out how to use his student number to buy lunch and so skipped that meal while Rhyan discovered she had 5 minutes (her words) to eat her lunch and so basically skipped lunch too. On a plus note, Levi aced the lockers and didn't get lost once on his way to class.

The best part of today...my house stayed clean for almost 3 hours. I know, its shocking.

Shameless bragging and begging

Recently Steve and I instituted an online chore chart for the kids. It enables me as parent to set up regular jobs and bonus jobs for the kids to collect points for. One of the bonus jobs for Levi is to write a blog post. Levi is a smart kid who tends to be lazy when it comes to writing because writing takes time. So this is a way to encourage his writing. So if you all are inclined, follow the link on my sidebar that says Levi Rocks! and check his blog out. Leave a comment. He still writes haphazardly, but he's writing. Thats what counts...right?

This is how I wish I wrote

Brenna over at Suburban Snapshots posted this hilarious post comparing toddlers to frat parties. If you want another laugh and have ever had to potty train or take a toddler to a public toliet try this post.

10 Reasons toddlers are like a frat party.

10. There are half-full, brightly-colored plastic cups on the floor in every room. Three are in the bathtub.

9. There's always that one girl, bawling her eyes out in a corner.

8. It's best not to assume that the person closest to you has any control over their digestive function.

7. You sneak off to the bathroom knowing that as soon as you sit down, someone's going to start banging on the door.

6. Probably 80% of the stains on the furniture contain DNA.

5. You've got someone in your face at 3 a.m. looking for a drink.

4. There's definitely going to be a fight.

3. You're not sure whether anything you're doing is right, you just hope it won't get you arrested.

2. There are crumpled-up underpants everywhere.

1. You wake up wondering exactly how and when the person in bed with you got there.

Happy Birthday Rhyan!

If Rhyan had 3 wishes she would wish for:
1) The opportunity to meet Hannah Montana
2) An older sister
3) A baby brother

Rhyan's Birthday interview :
My favorite color ... green and pink and blue
I feel happy when ... I’m with my family
I like to eat ... Tortellini Alfredo
My Favorite Movie ... Marmaduke
I feel sad when ... my family members get hurt
I like to play with ... my brother
My favorite song ... Rock Star by Hannah Montanna
My dad is ... amazing
My mom is ... fantastic

My favorite holiday ... Christmas
I love to ... go to school
My favorite food is ... baked potatoes
My favorite thing to do as a family ... jump on the trampoline
My favorite toy is ... Littlest Pet Shop

It makes me happy when ... when I get to play with my friends
My favorite thing to do in my free time ... play in the toy room
My favorite number ... 8
I feel frustrated when ... I can’t learn a new trick in gymnastics
I really like it when ... I get to ride my bike outside
My favorite subject in school ... reading
My favorite game ... hide and seek
What I like about me ... is I’m talented
What do you want to do when you grow up... a teacher
What is the best thing about your birthday ... getting presents
Who is your hero, the person you look up to, or want to be like when you grow up ... my mom.

Happy Birthday sweetheart! I am so grateful to such a kind and thoughtful child. She genuinely loves those around her. Her teachers in school constantly compliment her on befriending those around her. One of her best friends in school was an autistic boy. He had never had friends in school before. When I told her how proud I was that she was his friend, she gave me a “duh” and said that she liked him, that he was funny, not realizing that most kids wouldn’t bother to get to know him. Her sisters adore her. Kenna screams Rhyan whenever she sees her. Sometimes in the morning I hear Isabelle go in her room and ask her to make her cereal. Steve and I adore her too. She is a blessing and a gift to our family.

Wild & Crazy

And may the Force be with you!

Recently Steve and I took Levi and Rhyan to see "Star Wars in concert." It was so much fun and I did not see as many weirdos as I thought I would. Before the concert they had all kinds of movie props and things to look at that were pretty cool. The concert itself was narrated by Anthony Daniels, who for all you non-Star Wars nerds is the guy who plays C-3PO in the movies. While the orchestra played the famous pieces of music from the Star Wars movie they played clips from the movies on the screen behind them. I was tons of fun and as close to culture as this town gets. Here's a small sample of what the concert looked like.





PS I don't know what Levi's problem was pre-show but he is smiling in all the pics post-show.

Tag..you're it!

About 2 months ago, Heather K challenged me to the "Photo Tag Contest".

Here's how you play.

Open your photos folder or program.

Go to the first folder that comes up.

Go to the 10th picture in that folder.

Post that picture and tell about it.

This is a picture of Rhyan from August 2004. Rhyan can always (even now) fall asleep anywhere, anytime. In the close up of this picture you can see she's sleeping with her eyes open. I have met anyone who can do that.

Garrett or Sarah, Becky, Susan and Lisa...Tag You're It!

Happy Birthday Levi!

I know we are a little late for this, Levi's birthday was last week so sorry. Levi got money from Grandma Jean and will get a ceiling fan from Nana & Papa. From Mom and Dad he got more money, some Lego guys and the new Rick Riordan book (author of the Lightning Thief books). I think his favorite part was having money to spend the way he wanted to.

If Levi had 3 wishes he would wish for:
1) A million dollars
2) A a jet
3) 2 more wishes

Levi's Birthday interview

My favorite color ... green, blue and red

I feel happy when ... I am with friends

I like to eat ... tacos, nachos and enchiladas

My Favorite Movie ... Avatar

I feel sad when ... I get hurt

I like to play with ... Lego's

My favorite song ... Tik Tok by Ke$ha

My dad is ... fun

My mom is ... fun to be with by ourselves
My favorite holiday ... Christmas

I love to ... play baseball

My favorite food is ... Chinese food

My favorite thing to do as a family ... play together

My favorite toy is ... my kickball and Lego's
It makes me happy when ... nobody fights

My favorite thing to do in my free time ... run around and be crazy

My favorite number ... 12

I feel frustrated when ... I don't always get to do what I want

I really like it when ... I have fun

My favorite subject in school ... P.E.

My favorite game ... four square

What I like about me ... is that I'm special

What is a funny/interesting thing that has happened to you ... I love fake mustaches and I wore pigtails and a mustache to school on my birthday.

What do you want to do when you grow up... be a rockstar

What is the best thing about your birthday ... getting presents

Who is your hero, the person you look up to, or want to be like when you grow up ... Zack my cousin

So happy birthday to my almost teenager. I can't believe it has been 11 years. It has been a privilege and a joy to be his mother, and I know his father feels the same way. I am so incredibly grateful to his birth mother who chose to place our beautiful baby boy with us. Levi is such a responsible, mature, little man. He is thoughtful of others. He is kind and protective of his sisters. He is concerned about finding his place in the world. I think he will leave this world a better place. Recently I was looking through a box with loose pictures in it and I came across a stack of pictures of him as a toddler. He was giving the camera his stubborn one-eyed death glare. I am so grateful for his stubbornness, (even as I curse it). He never deviates from the path he chooses. Whether its locking himself in the bathroom at church before his baptism or making right choices at school he is not swayed by those around him. So happy birthday Levi. Please continue to make right choices and grow straight and proud before the Lord. Always remember we love you and are so grateful for you.

The bee-baa woop is combing!

About a week ago, Isabelle came running in to tell me bee-baa woop combing. Of course because her speech is difficult to understand, it took me a while to figure out what she was talking about. Finally I figured out she was saying that the Big Bad Wolf was gonna get her. Since then I have had to hear about the big bad Wolf several times as she super glues herself to my side and won't leave. While I don't mind having her around it gets hard to have the same unintelligible conversation over and over about the big bad wolf.

Today I finally figured out why the conversation keeps happening. It has been very windy here lately and I guess in here mind that means the wolf is trying to blow the house down. I had just gotten out of the shower and wanted to dry my hair and avoid the repetitious conversation so I told her that she was safe because wolves weren't allowed in the house. That sparked a conversation about what was allowed in the house, (I think). For your info, dogs=yes, kids=yes, pigs=no, wolves=no, Dora=yes, Boots=yes, Neeky Box (Swiper)=no. Finally, I desperately told her that even if the wolf got in the house the dog Spack would save her thinking it would end the conversation. (Poor stupid sad naive me). The conversation then became a shout out to all the people in her life that she loves and adores who would "see me" (save her) from the big bad wolf; Mommy, Daddy, Nana, Papa, Grandma, Rhyan, Katie, Levi, Stacey, Darla, Paula, Hondo, Marena and the dogs Emma, Spack & Gidget. (Noticeably missing is her baby sister who she feels is always mean to her. Of course Kenna is really mean to her. I have never seen a child so young get so much enjoyment out of the torture of a sibling). As I type this Isabelle is hiding under the desk. I hate the wind.

Happy Birthday Katie Jayne!

Katie's 5th birthday was yesterday. She had a great one. She got a lemonade stand from mom & dad, curtains from Nana & Papa, $10 from Grandma Jean and a zsu zsu pet with a carrier from Grandma Kay. I have a friend who does a birthday interview for each of her children and so I stole her idea! Thanks Sherrie!

If Katie had 3 wishes she would wish for:
1) A real lemonade stand
2) A real Elmo to play with
3) So, so much money

Katie's Birthday interview


My favorite color ... Pink and blue and yellow
I feel happy when ... I am at school
I like to eat ... Big Fat Noodles (homemade chicken noodle soup)
My Favorite Movie ... Peter Pan (animated & non-animated versions)
I feel sad when ... kids are mean
I like to play with ... my zsu zsu pet
My favorite song ... No! by They Might Be Giants
My dad is ... funny
My mom is ... hugable
My favorite holiday ... Christmas
I love to ... play with my friends
My favorite food is ... Ramen and Big Fat Noodles
My favorite thing to do as a family ... play together
My favorite toy is ... pink & green & purple teddy bear
It makes me happy when ... do stuff I'm asked to
My favorite thing to do in my free time ... run around and play a lot
My favorite number ... 10
I feel frustrated when ... I don't get to do what I want
I really like it when ... I share
My favorite subject in school ... Art
My favorite game ... My Little Pony (its like Candyland but with ponies)
What I like about me ... when I share a lot and I be nice to each other
What do you want to do when you grow up...what I want to
What is the best thing about your birthday ... I get to have the first bite of cake & the first cupcake (at school)
Who is your hero, the person you look up to, or want to be like when you grow up ... Miss Carrie & Miss Sue & Ms. Dague (her teachers)

So a very happy birthday to our giggly, bubbly little love bug!

Our new digs

Moving has been a big example of good news/bad news. For instance good news/bad news scenario #1. Good news: the unpacking is coming along. Bad news: I spend more time picking up the messes my children cause than actually unpacking. Good news/bad news scenario #2. Good news: we almost moved out AND we have renters all lined up. The bad news: It took us 3 times longer to get out than we thought and about a 100% more crap than we thought we had. Of course as someone pointed out we've had almost 13 years to squirrel said crap away. Good news/bad news scenario #3. Please see scenario #1. I could go on for a while but the point of this is to post pics of the new house. That's all you care about anyway. So for all you bad friends and family members who won't come visit us...this is for you.



PS. Please, please, please disregard the disarray!

We're moving out!

Yes, it's true we are moving. As many of you know we have outgrown our house, (well actually that happened several years ago) and we have found a new place. Originally l had planned to post my address here but my common sense caught up with me and now if you want directions to the new digs you'll have to email me. This way we'll know who really loves us!

Another Milestone

Today Kenna passed another milestone on her way to mobility. Rhyan started yelling at me to look at Kenna. She was standing there eating a cracker. I snapped a picture from my cell phone, which is why its a crummy picture and it also looks like she is holding onto Isabelle's boot. I promise she isn't!

On another related subject (well its only related because it concerns milestones), Isabelle is 90% potty trained. I say 90% because she could be 100% if I was more on the ball and reminded her more frequently!

Kenna's First-ish Word

Kenna has been babbling a lot lately. She says "Da Da" but I consider that more of a phonic sound than an actual word. The other day though, she was sitting on my lap while I tried to finish a project on the computer. She kept trying to play with the keyboard and I kept pulling her hand away, telling her "Don't." After a few moments I realized that Kenna was saying "don't" back to me and as I listened, I realized she has been saying that word for quite a while and I just hadn't understood what she was saying. Unfortunately, this is probably the word she hears the most. So meanwhile, she is having a ball telling everyone "don't," smiling her toothy grin while we all laugh hysterically.

Goodbye 2009

I wanted to have this done before the end of the year but I ran out of time. I hope you enjoy our pictorial highlights of the past year!