Silly, That's Us!

I have very weird kids. They are extremely goofy and silly. And I absolutely love that about them. They don't care what people think, they just let loose, and be their strange little selves. And its not an attention thing, its just how they are. (They get it from their dad!)

Who knows??

Ducky..with a newborn Halloween hat on..in July!

This is how Ducky spends most of her day.. talking to and brushing our dog with a Barbie brush!

Um..yeah, Punk LOVES to pull up his pants like this and laughs like a hyena when he does! (He learned this trick from his dad..no comment!)

Punk with his "I'm pretending I'm mad" face after losing a game of "Mexican Horseshoes".

Here's to being silly! I am trying to take a lesson from my kids and enjoy life as much as they do.. they are ALWAYS true to their self!

Learning To Fly

Last week, Punk had to go to Kindergarten Camp all week from 12:30-3:30. I didn't blog about it at the time, just for privacy, but now that it's over, I wanted to share a bit about his experience.

Kindergarten Camp is something put on through the local schools to give the kids a run through of what Kindergarten will be like, get to know their teacher and some of their potential classmates (it is not decided yet what kids will be in AM or PM classes, so not all of the kids that he went to camp with will be in his class). They also incorporate Safety Town and a field trip into the week. I was VERY impressed with this program and I hope that local budget cuts do not affect this program by the time my girls get to Kindergarten age.

On the first day, Punk was very excited. He had been counting down the days for a week and when it finally got here, he could hardly control himself all morning waiting for lunch to be over so he could go to the school. But, when we got all loaded up in the van to take off, I looked at him and his eyes were filled with tears. When I asked him what was wrong he said, "I'm just a little nervous, and I am going to miss you guys so much!" I told him that we were going to miss him too, and I was sure that by the time I came back to pick him up, he'd probably be mad that it was time to go home already. That made him feel better and he never cried. Not even when we got to the school and his sisters and I had to leave him. I was a smart mom, and didn't try to give him a hug or kiss "goodbye". I gave him a high-five instead, and he seemed to really appreciate that!

When I went to pick him up, he was so excited telling me his stories for the day. He thought it was cool that he had gotten to have recess. And he even had a little homework assignment, which he took great pride in completing, with my help, after he had his after-school snack.

The whole week went by smoothly, and when it was all over he was upset that he'd have to wait a couple of months for "real school" to start. He's ready, and not scared at all, and to be honest, I am ready too! This week showed me that the 3 hours that he will be gone a day are really not THAT long, and although I will miss him around here all day everyday, the break will be good. He's ready to start learning and making friends. And I am ready to watch him grow and start to use his wings.

Now, I just have to fear 1st grade, when he'll be gone from me ALL day..THAT will be what gets me.

Wow..My Busy Life, In Pictures

Where oh where have I been? Let's see if this is any explanation...



We spent a rainy day at the Muirfield Golf Course for a practice round of the Memorial Tournament to celebrate my dad's 55th birthday. This is SB & me!



And here is the "birthday boy" my dad and my brother.



We got to watch Tiger & Jack Nicklaus play in the Double Skins Tournament. (Tiger was the winner!)



We had our driveway widened and re-gravelled.

BEFORE

AFTER

We've enjoyed many evenings on our breezeway playing with the kids..here we were letting them be photographers.




We've had water fights.



We've played in the sprinkler.



Twinkletoes had her dance recital.


And of course we have had many, MANY bonfires. (The man in the picture is my 20 year old stepson, J.)

So I have been trying to be online..but it hasn't been happening too much. I do promise a more "wordy" post tomorrow!

SUMMER ROCKS!!

What A Week!

Well, a day later than I had planned..but I'm back! I will try to make this post not go on and on, but that may be hard considering how much I have to share!

Last week was TREMENDOUSLY busy! Let me tell you all about it!

Monday: SB and I attending the calling ours of my dear friend's husband. He died too soon, and too unexpectedly. He was a 35 year old father of 2 young children ages 5 and 3. He had a massive heart attack brought on by an undiagnosed condition that he was born with. My friend and her children (along with the rest of his family and friends) are completely devastated by this loss. I pray for them daily. They need peace, understanding of why this happened, and comfort as they approach each new day on a journey to a new "normal". Please send prayers and good thoughts their way.

Tuesday: SB and I attended his funeral in the morning. SB called his son (my stepson!) to wish him a Happy 22nd Birthday! That evening Punk had a t-ball game. My dad and aunt who live 2 hours north of us, met us at the game to kick off the beginning of their 3 day visit to celebrate my dad's birthday. We then went back to our house where my mom and brother met us, and we cooked out and had a bonfire. It was a very happy and joyous end to a very sad day. My mom and aunt took the kids back to my mom's house for a sleepover and my dad, SB and I sat out by the fire until almost midnight sharing stories and catching up since we hadn't seen my dad since February.

Wednesday: We woke up around 6am and enjoyed warm coffee on the breezeway while waiting for my brother to meet us at 7am. This day was also my dad's 55th birthday! We then headed off for Dublin to attend the Double Skins Game at Muirfield Golf Course as part of the practice round for the Memorial Tournament. This was our gift to my dad. We stopped and had breakfast at a Cracker Barrel on the way. We had hoped for a hot, sunny day. Instead it barely reached 60 degrees and poured down rain on us the entire time!! But we did get to see Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus (along with many other PGA pros) up close and even got ourselves filmed on national television during the skins game! Luckily we had recorded it on our DVR and were able to watch it and see ourselves and laugh! SB called his daughter (my stepdaughter) to wish her a Happy 8th Birthday! We ended the day with a cookout at my mom's house, and stayed there until 1am drinking wine and enjoying good family time!

Thursday: The guys all went golfing. Us girls and the kids stayed at my mom's house and rested up from our busy day the day before. My mom wasn't feeling the best, and my aunt was exhausted from helping her with the kids the day before. I made my "famous" Garlic White Lasagna and everyone enjoyed it for dinner that evening. Twinkletoes had her dance rehearsal that evening and after we made it back to my mom's house, my mom, dad, aunt, SB and I all played Scrabble until almost 11pm when SB and I decided it was time for dad and us to take the kids back home since SB and my mom had to work the next day.

Friday: SB was at work before I was awake, but then Dad and I spent quiet time sitting on the breezeway, drinking coffee and chatting while we waited for my aunt to come and pick him up so they could head back to their houses. It was sad to see them go, but our visit was wonderful and we gave my dad a fantastic birthday. I spent the rest of the day working on my mom's birthday gift! We went to bed early that night trying to get some rest!

Saturday: We drove and hour north to pick up SB's mom so she could attend Twinkletoe's dance recital that evening. I called my mom to wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY since it was her 55th bday! We went to T's recital at 7 and got home around 10. She danced beautifully and was thrilled with the miniature rose bush her dad and I got for her and the tulips my mom got for her. Since this was her first time doing something like this she had NO IDEA that she would be getting flowers! The smile on her face was brighter than the sun.

Sunday: SB drove the hour to take his mom back home and I stayed home with the kids to make up the food for my mom's birthday celebration at our house. My mom and brother came over in the afternoon and we had artichoke dip as a snack. We broke out the beer and champagne and watched one of the home videos that I copied for my mom (which she said was the best present she had EVER received) and then spent the rest of the day outside playing Mexican Horseshoes (a game sorta like Cornhole, but 1000x better!) We then grilled shrimp skewers and had those over salad w/ garlic bread for dinner. Then we sat by the bonfire and chatted until it got to be almost dark and my mom headed home. Twinkletoes gave us a scare at bedtime. She stopped breathing for a minute or so. We almost had to call 911. We are starting to wonder if her going unconscious awhile back after her fall, was not due to the fall. My husband had a form of epilepsy as a child so we are going to have her checked out to see if she has been having seizures. Please say a little prayer for her.

So THAT was my week last week! Obviously the busiest of the year, thus far. Hopefully the busiest one we'll have for a long while. I had to spend the day recovering yesterday. I sat on the breezeway reading and just letting the kids run wild in the yard. They all even napped in the afternoon, and Punk NEVER naps!

It feels GOOD to be back to normal again!!

Rats!

Oh how I hate to write this. I just want to put out a notice that I have no problem AT ALL helping companies get the word out about their websites/products. But I need you to ask me first! My email link is right on the sidebar! Just shoot me an email so I can review your site/product and if I find it to be something that my readers would be interested in hearing about then we can talk about how best to get the word out. Be it a post like this one, or an advertisement on one of my sidebars. I will, however, not allow comments to be left on my posts with links to sites. They will be immediately deleted as soon as I see they have been posted. Thank you.


OKAY! Now that I got THAT off of my chest..let me tell you my sad story for today. I had a moment of "bad mommy" syndrome this morning. I was busy filling up the kids' juice cups when Punk came into the kitchen all teary-eyed and said. "I'm still really scared about what you said about those rats."

At first my mind went blank, "Huh? Rats? What is he talking about??" But then I remembered. I have been constantly getting on the kids to stop leaving crumb trails all over the family room carpet. I am constantly picking up sticky crumbs of Pop Tarts, or tramping on Cheerios that then get ground into the carpet. I had had enough of the the kids making such messes. And never getting it through their thick little skulls that they needed to be cleaning this stuff up or better yet, not being so darn messy to begin with!!

So yesterday, in a moment of "I've had enough!!" I said, "You guys, if you keep leaving messes like this all over the floor, rats will get in our house!" Then I laughed and said "Just pick it up!"

I seriously thought they knew I was joking. Apparently not.

Poor Punk was freaked out about it and once I told him that I had been joking and thought he KNEW that I had been joking, he just started crying and said "I didn't know, and I was SO SCARED in there this morning!!"

Oy. What a fantastic way to start the day.

Helping Feed The Hungry

Teaching kids about people less fortunate than them is an important task that we as mothers must do. It teaches empathy, understanding and tolerance, not to mention responsibility!!

I know that I don't do this enough. We are a very typical middle-class family. My husband has a job where he makes enough money for me to stay home, but not enough money for us to provide a lot of luxuries. And to be honest, that is perfectly OKAY by me. To be completely honest, even if we did have lots and lots of money, my children still wouldn't get all of the stuff they think they need. I want them to grow up knowing the value of saving for items they want. I want them to understand that the money that their Daddy makes at work goes towards paying for our home, food, electric, water...nothing is free. And gifts are saved for special occasions. Very rarely do they get "treats" while out at the store. It's just a luxury that they don't need.

But on the other hand, when they do get these things, I want them to understand to be grateful that we are able to afford these things. Many families out there can't. Many families out there can't even afford housing or food.

This past winter a local shelter opened up. Our church bulletin put out a list of needs for this shelter. Number one, blankets. We had recently gotten a box of my mother in law's old blankets (why she thought we needed them, I couldn't tell ya) but I saw this as a perfect opportunity for the kids to learn about giving to others. So we spent an afternoon washing them up and putting them into a box for the woman who ran the shelter to pick up. I explained to the kids what we were doing and they seemed to get it.

But that was months ago, and I haven't done anything since to help people in our community. I really should try to do something weekly with the kids to give them more of an understanding. Yesterday, an opportunity arose for another learning experience with the kids, and I jumped on it! Of all things, the USPS is having a food drive called "Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive" where tomorrow, May 9th, you can put non-perishable food items in your mailbox for your mailman to pick up and deliver to local food pantries. Isn't this awesome!! And it's so EASY! No running out to deliver the items. I can spend time with the kids bagging up cans of soup, tuna, spaghetti sauce; things we have in our cupboards that we can afford to replace so that we can be responsible citizens for helping others in our community who can not afford even simple grocery store items.

The kids are very excited about the idea of putting the food in the mailbox. But they also are showing a huge amount of concern about it. I explained that the food goes to families that can't afford groceries. That there are many kids out there who have to go to bed hungry at night. This started an onslaught of questions:

"But if their bellies are growling because they're so hungry, I bet those kids can't sleep very well. Right, Mommy?" -Punk, 5

That's right baby, that's why it's so important that we take this opportunity to help these families.

"If we give all of our food to the mailman, then will we have to go to bed hungry?" -Twinkletoes, 3

No, we are helping them because we have enough money to buy more food for ourselves. You will not go hungry, and neither will the kids whose families we will be helping.

So, I highly encourage you to take some time with your kids today to pack up a bag of food, and talk about the responsibility we have in helping others. The way the economy is right now, who knows which one of us may be the family needing such food drives in the future, and I would hope that as our children grow they continue to give to those less fortunate, fulfilling the responsibility of a concerned citizen of our great country!

A Brother's Love

When I got pregnant with Ducky, our 3rd (and final baby), Punk was a very mature and opinionated 3 year old little boy. He was excited at the idea of having a new baby. But because Twinkletoes who was 1 1/2 at the time drove him crazy on a daily basis by following him around, copying everything he did (you know, typical little sister worshiping big brother stuff) he was bound and determined that this new baby was going to be a boy.

He'd tell me on a daily basis leading up to the ultrasound that this baby was definitely going to be a boy. He just knew it. And to be honest, so did I. I had correctly guessed the sex of Punk and Twinkletoes from the moment I was pregnant with them. Call it mother's intuition or whatever, I was POSITIVE that this baby was going to be a little boy, whom we would name Wesley Scott, and he would be just as adorable and smart as his big brother! My husband, on the other hand was sure that the baby was a girl. Because I was SO SURE that it was a boy, I never could finalize a girl name with my husband. We went over and over names, just like we had done with the other 2 pregnancies so that once the ultrasound was over we could stop calling the growing baby "the baby" and start referring to it by it's name..but this time. We went in with only a boy's name, and my positive feeling that not having a girl name would be fine, because we wouldn't need it.

Ha.

During the ultrasound, I spotted it first. The 3 little giveaway lines that indicate the baby growing inside of me was definitely NOT a boy. (Remember, I already had had one of each so I knew what to look for). I remember saying "It's a girl," and the ultrasound tech saying, "Hmm, let me..Oh! You're right!"

And then, Punk burst into tears. "NO! I wanted the baby to be a boy! I don't want another sister! And on and on it went for the remaining 4+ months of my pregnancy.

"Mommy, when this baby grows up will she turn into a boy? Because I really don't want her to be a girl."

He asked questions like that on a daily basis. And yes, poor Ducky was referred to as "the baby" until about 2 weeks before she was born because SB and I could NOT come up with a name that we both liked for her.

But things changed for Punk as soon as she was born. He fell in love with her. His little baby sister could, and still can, do no wrong in his eyes. He is as sweet as honey to her, while on the other hand he treats Twinkletoes like his arch enemy. Every day he covers her in kisses, even now that she is getting closer to toddlerhood every day.

Just this morning I said to him after he sweetly greeted Ducky good morning, "So, Punk. Aren't you glad Ducky is a girl now, even though you wanted her to be a boy?"

He replied, "Yeah, but you know. I don't know know if she'll still be that cute when she gets bigger."



Huh. I hope his love for her holds on even if she isn't "that cute" as she gets bigger. Because it is the sweetest, purest love I've ever witnessed in my life. And also, I don't think I can handle much more sibling fighting. Those two are the only 2 of my 3 kids who don't fight with each other. Crossing my fingers and toes that it hangs on, for my own sanity!

I've Been Stereotyped

This weekend, after an awesome day at the ballpark watching Punk take part in his first Opening Day ceremonies of our town's baseball association and his first t-ball game, I was excited to come home and relax. One of our neighbors came over, someone with whom I believed I was becoming good friends with, and we decided to have a cookout together. We combined our food and my husband did the grilling while we waited for her husband to come over and join us.

We had a few drinks and the night was progressing nicely. Lots of stories being shared, lots of laughs, and lots of good food!

Not long after putting our kids to bed, my neighbor's husband went home as well because he had to get up early to go to work, but left us his cell phone number with the warning, "Call me if my wife pisses anyone off, she has been known to do it before, so in case you need me, just call!"

We laughed it off. She's always been so fun and nice!

But. Then. Something. Changed.

She started attacking me, verbally that is. I don't know what happened, but one minute we were talking about kids, and the next, she turns to me and starts going on and on and on about what a spoiled housewife I am. How I take advantage of my husband. How I just live the life of luxury and don't know what it's like to put in an honest day of work.

"I've HEARD you sit there and say, 'Oh I'll just let SB do that', or 'SB can take care of the kids for a little bit, I'm taking a break.' Let me tell you something, (Insert a very explicit name that starts with a 'C'), this man (pointing at my husband) works all day, this man is the only one taking care of this family, and you have the NERVE to sit in your chair in the evenings and let him deal with the kids!? How did you become so spoiled? YOU DO NOTHING and yet you expect YOUR HUSBAND TO HELP YOU?"

Yep, she said all that...and then some.

I am not a confrontational person so I just sat there.

Bless SB's heart, he jumped in and said "No, Jen works really hard, we have a system that works for us and I actually want to help her in the evenings, she needs that break."

Well, that just was like pouring fuel on a fire. She continued to go on and on about how he shouldn't be helping me out. I am the one who "sits home all day and does nothing".

I finally managed to get her to go home. I then walked straight to the bathroom, locked myself in, and cried. SB heard me and made me come out. I informed him that I didn't know if I was over-reacting, because after all she had had too much to drink, but I was NEVER talking to her again. I would be polite if I saw her outside, but she was NEVER to come to our house again.

SB then reminded me, that yes, she had had too much to drink, but that was not the first time she had said that kind of stuff to me. That was just the first time she had been HATEFUL about it.

That got me thinking about the snarky comments she's made in the past few weeks. Like the day she came home from work and I was outside with a baby on one hip, and a bag of trash in the other hand taking it to the outside trashcan. She yelled across the street, "Must be nice to live the life of luxury." I laughed. I thought she was joking because, taking out the trash, while dragging an 18 month old around is definitely NOT my idea of luxury, but in hindsight, she wasn't kidding. She was referring to the fact that I was at home all day.

Then I thought about the exchange she and I had had earlier in the day, before our cookout. She had gone inside my house for something and then let me know that our big screen TV was left on even though we were all outside.

I responded "Oh, I TOLD Punk to turn that off when he came out to ride his bike, the little booger didn't listen!"

She replied, "Its YOUR obligation to take care of this stuff, you're the one who's always here. You shouldn't expect your kids to do things for you."

Hmm. So, I guess my kids should have no responsibility. Just me. Since all I do is sit around.

After crying myself to exhaustion on Saturday night. Waking up on Sunday morning and feeling very very down. Constantly tearing up all day Sunday. I've finally came to realize, that there is nothing wrong with me. There is nothing wrong with my life. I am not lazy. I do not overly rely on my husband. He does things for me and the kids after working all day because he wants to. Because he knows that I, too, have worked all day!

There is however something very wrong with my neighbor. She apparently is jealous of me. That's right, I said it. I still have little kids. Her kid is all grown up and has flown the nest. I get to be home with my kids. She worked while her kid was growing up and is still working. I have a husband who is willing to help me. She apparently doesn't.

Does this mean I'm spoiled? Maybe.

But does this mean I am not worthy of respect? No.

Does this mean I am not worthy of being treated kindly? No.

Does this mean that I am a lazy housewife who does nothing but lay around and leaves all of the actual work for my husband to do? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

I work hard. I love my family. And screw HER. I'm done. I have NO intentions of ever having her over to my house again.

My perfect, dream neighborhood just got a little stinky..but oh well. At least now I won't ever have to worry about being attacked in my own home like that again!

Punk's BIG Day

Today is the day. The day I have been dreading, yet looking forward to since the day that my little man was born. It seems like just a couple of weeks ago, my mom and I were talking about how quickly the 5 years would fly until Punk went to school. At that time he was probably only 6 weeks old. Now those 5 years are up. And as I type this the kids are getting dressed so that I can take Punk to his Kindergarten registration.

Last week he had his immunizations so that his record would be up to date for today. I've made his dentist and doctor appointments for his checkups that I'll have to turn in before the first day of school. I've gone over and over these questions, "How do you spell your name?" "What is your address?" "What is your phone number?" How high can you count?" Ect. Ect.

I honestly have no idea what they'll actually be asking him, and the fact that they will take him into another room away from me to do the evaluation, I'll probably never know, because my son, is a natural blonde, and it shows! (He'll forget the minute we're back in the car.) So it will probably all be a mystery. Well until Twinkletoes goes through this in 2 years. That girl will give me every detail down to what the teacher was wearing.

But for now, today is Punk's big day. I am a nervous wreck. He on the other hand, is all, "Whatever, lets get this over with." And a little tiny piece of my heart has broken. My baby boy is all grown up. My FIRST baby, my LAST baby boy, is getting prepared to leave our nest. I'm so proud. I'm so sad. But today is a day I will never forget. This is the beginning of a new life for Punk, and I can't wait to see him fly!

Subtle Reminders of His Love

Yesterday was a beautiful Ohio Spring day. The sun was shining, the temperature was in the mid-60's, it was absolutely perfect. Twinkletoes, Punk and I went outside after I put Ducky down for a nap and spent the first hour digging up weeds in the flowerbeds. Nothing exciting, just the 3 of us with our trowels, working together.

After we had finished with that I went inside and got them a juice box and snack and got myself a nice big glass of ice water. I sat on my swing in the back yard and just watched them.

First, they chased a white butterfly all over the yard, squealing and laughing. Then they took turns pushing each other on the swing set. They both know how to pump their legs themselves, but they were having a very rare moment of brother/sister love and I guess decided it would be more fun to help each other.

After they were bored with that they climbed "the mountain". It's really just a steep embankment at that back of our property where lots of wildlife grows. They love to play at the top of it in their own make-believe land.

I sat there absolutely amazed at the peace I felt watching them. No fighting, no crying, just the two of them enjoying each others' company. It was absolutely perfect.

I needed a day like that after what I went through on Tuesday. They are regular kids, most of their time together is spent fighting or competing for my attention, but yesterday was a rare and wonderful time. Lots of laughs, lots of love, and most of all one happy momma!

Sunday is Easter, and as you're hiding your eggs and stuffing your kids' baskets, take a few minutes to remember what the holiday is really about. He is Risen indeed!

Not For The Faint Of Heart

It's been a wild week, that's for sure! Monday was fairly calm, a lazy day due to below normal temperatures outside and snow showers.

Tuesday, topped the chart for the scariest day of my "mommy" life. I was in the living room with Twinkletoes and she was explaining to me how she was going to teach, Tag, the dog, how to play hopscotch. I laughed and told her I had to go potty, but would be right back.

No sooner did I get to the bathroom I heard a VERY LOUD THUMP, a quick scream from Twinkletoes, and then an eerie quiet. When "T" gets hurt, she usually screams forEVER and makes every little injury a dramatic event. And due to the fact that she is about as coordinated on her feet as Bella is in the "Twilight" series, I'm used to her always being bruised or bandaged. The quiet following that scream indicated to me that this was NOT her usual fall.

I took off running to find her. She was laying on the kitchen floor completely still, face down. I pulled her hair out of her face to see what she was doing, hoping beyond hope that she was joking with me. When I saw her face, I knew this was no joke. She was gray, lips were turning blue, and her eyes were rolling back in her head. I started screaming for my 5 year old to bring me the phone. I was ready to call 911 immediately.

I quickly turned her over onto her back so I could start CPR if she needed it, which she looked like she did, only to have her eyes pop open and she started SCREAMING AT ME!

"LEAVE ME ALONE, I'M FINE, GET AWAY FROM ME!!!!!!"

I was in total shock, but I knew if she was screaming and running away from me she must be okay. That's when the adrenaline that I was running on when I was ready to save her life, left my body. I started shaking from head to toe, tears pouring from my eyes and sobs wrenching my body.

Punk was standing there with the phone still in his hand and just said "Is she okay? Because she really made my heart hurt!"

I went and found T and started asking her, what happened? Are you okay? To which she responded with more yelling to leave her alone.

I called my husband sobbing, barely able to explain to him what was going on. He told me to call my mom, who is a nurse, to see if I should still take her to the ER. Although, every instinct in my body told me she was okay. She HAD to be okay!

My mom told me to check her pupils, she explained that if they were different sizes she had a concussion and I needed to take her in right away. And of course if anything, ANYTHING in my body told me something was seriously wrong, not to hesitate to load the kids up and GO TO THE HOSPITAL!

T finally calmed down enough to let me hold her and check out her eyes. They were fine, as beautiful as ever. She showed me where it hurt. A huge goose egg on her forehead with so many broken blood vessels showing through.

She curled up in my lap for a couple of hours as I cried and prayed, and prayed and prayed.

Thank you Jesus for protecting my sweet baby girl. Thank you Jesus for giving me the strength to be prepared to save her life if it would have come to that. Thank you Jesus for providing me with the support and love to carry me though even if she wouldn't have been okay.

I spent the rest of the day pampering to T. I took her and bought her new shoes like I had been promising for weeks now. I bought her (and Punk) a Happy Meal from McDonald's. And I read her what felt like 100 books, made up songs with her, and tried to keep myself from breaking down every moment that I looked at her.

Last night I had a nightmare about it. Just me kneeling down beside her and pulling her hair back and seeing that face. I woke up screaming and crying. She seems to have forgotten the whole ordeal. I however will never be able to forget it, and am thankful I am the only one who saw her like that. I never would want my husband to have that image in his head.

Yesterday we colored Easter eggs and played outside, today we'll be outside again. Life is back to normal, but I still can't shake the feeling of how different it would be if Jesus would have chosen to take her from us.

Everyday miracles surround us. Some days, Lord, they don't have to be quite so scary!!

So They All Rolled Over & One (almost) Fell Out

Have you ever woken up hanging onto the side of your bed for dear life. Afraid if you make one more movement towards the edge of the bed you are going to crash onto the hardwood floor. Risk knocking over your nightstand, and end up with a lamp being smashed to pieces on top of your head? Well..that's exactly what happened to me last night.

My husband is an awesome dad. So awesome, in fact, that he has trouble saying no. I am a very sound sleeper and hear nothing in the middle of the night. Unless our dog is raising all kinds of hell because hes seen a raccoon or deer in our yard, then I tend to jump right up out of a deep sleep. But otherwise, I hear nothing. So when out kids sneak into our room at night asking to sleep with us..I miss out on that whole conversation. I have a feeling it goes like this:

"Daddy, can I ..."

"Go ahead and get into to bed."

Yes, my husband is a sucker when it comes to sweet sleepy voices. (I assume.)

So back to why I was hanging on for dear life. I woke up at 4am, with a major backache, clinging to the edge of my bed, and no pillow under my head. I started to roll over and got a bony elbow right in the boob. I tried to push that little pile of bones (Twinkletoes) over to get some room and ended up bumping right into SB. I then started pushing on him to get him to roll over, only to find out that Punk was on the other side of him!

I was a bit irritated by all of this. I don't like my kids sleeping in my bed, unless they are sick. Then, I don't mind having them close. But otherwise, they have their own beds..they need to SLEEP IN THEM!

When SB finally got out of bed around 6:30 to head off to work the three of us remaining were able to stretch out a little. (I only have a queen-sized bed and am seriously considering upgrading to a king after our night last night.)

But anyway...back to the story.

So, I woke up about an hour later, and immediately called SB on his cell to let him know that I was NOT pleased that he allowed BOTH kids sleep with us. I need my rest!! And I have a bad back!! I can't sleep squished up like I did.. ANYMORE!

Turns out..it was all MY fault. Well he didn't say that, but after hearing WHY they came and got into bed I realized, "Oops". They were scared because their rooms were too dark. We have an angel nightlight on our bathroom vanity that gives off a pretty nice glow and if I leave all the doors open..well they get a soft light shining into their rooms. Yesterday I had unplugged it to plug in my blow dryer and flat iron and..forgot to plug back in that darn light.

So when the kids came in complaining about being scared of the dark, SB DID in fact try to get them back to bed, and plugged the nightlight back in. But it was too late. They were upset and it was just easier for the pushover him to let them sleep with us.

So I'm now recovering from a miserable night of sleep. I'm on my 8th cup of coffee, have taken 4 ibuprofen and am waiting for nap time. Oh that's right..I don't get to nap!

Take Me Out To The Ball Game..

Punk is starting t-ball this year. He is so excited and has been out every warm day this week practicing throwing and catching with SB. It's so funny watching him pick up on his dad's way of talking.

"Hey Dad, that had some 'gas' on it didn't it!?"

So cute!

We got the call earlier this week from his coach letting us know that practice starts Monday and that he was to go in on Wednesday(yesterday) to get fitted for his shirt. We were also informed that SB would get to be the assistant coach, and let me tell you that was so exciting for me!

I really want us to be active in our kids activities. Not just become the parents that drop off our kid and show back up at the end to take them home. So by SB getting to be assistant coach, I know that we are off to a great start in supporting Punk and letting him know we are there for him ALL THE WAY!

Anyway, last night Punk and SB took off to go get sized for shirts and Punk had the BIGGEST SMILE on his face. He looked so grown up it about broke my heart. After about an hour or so and they hadn't shown back up, I started to get a bit concerned and called SB on his cell.

Me: "Where are you?"

SB: "Oh, we had to go to the other sports store to get his pants & socks because the other place didn't have his size."

Me: "I didn't know you were getting that stuff today?"

SB: "Yeah..well..Punk can be pretty persuasive."

(tell me about it!)

So they finally get home and Punk starts pulling his purchases out of his bag. Out comes black pants and red socks.

Me: "His colors are black and red?"

SB: "Yep..lucky boy!"

Me: "Lucky MOMMY..I wont have to worry about buying stock in "Spray & Wash" to keep his pants white!"

Let me just add that Punk's FAVORITE colors are black & red. If he had his way we'd paint our house black.

So, he is happy, I am happy. Let's PLAY BALL!

I Think She's CUTE!

So apparently an older version of Dora is set to release later this year. This way our daughters (and sons) who adore Dora can have her "grow" with them. As much as my kids love Dora, (Punk has kind of turned his back on her now that he's 5!) it saddens me to think that this little girl, who annoyed me to no end at first but whom I now love, would stop being a part of their childhood once they "outgrow" her. So for me, this new Dora is exciting and I can't wait to see how they market her and how she will become a part of our family.

But unfortunately, there are lots of moms out there who are in an uproar. They think that Mattel & Nickelodeon have "sexed" Dora up. I don't see it. I think this new version of Dora looks about like any other regular little girl as she grows up. Becoming aware of fashion, and wanting to try it out for herself.

Take a look at this pic and let me know what you think. When you are done here, you should go read the article that brought all of this to my attention.

The Cat Says Moo

So we're sitting at the KITCHEN TABLE yesterday morning and the kids were eating their cereal. With milk. Which to some of you may seem like "Okay, so...?" But my kids NEVER want milk in their cereal. They prefer it "dry".

But yesterday they wanted milk, so of course I was more than happy to oblige.

After finishing off his cereal. Punk was "drinking" the milk with his spoon and randomly yelled out "YUM! COW MILK!"

I looked up, laughed out loud and said, "Yeah..that's where milk comes from."

He replied, "No, it ain't." To which I laughed out loud again, because seriously? Ain't? Where did he learn that? That word most definitely is not in my vocabulary. Maybe he's heard his dad say it? I dont know. But so random!

Twinkletoes was in the process of putting her empty bowl in the kitchen and comes back to the table just a chuckling like she heard the funniest joke. I looked at her with that "what's so funny" look on my face and she squeaks out between giggles, "Milk don't come from cows! *hee hee* Milk comes from CATS!"

So I then proceeded to spend the next 15 minutes explaining to Punk that "ain't ain't a word and we ain't gonna say it"...and to Twinkletoes...well I tried explaining that yes, some milk comes from cats but the milk WE drink comes from cows. She continued to giggle. I think she thinks I was kidding. Maybe I need to start looking into preschools, because apparently, I "ain't" doing such a hot job of home preschooling these kids on my own!