A delightful day

The details are the morning are unimportant...I can hardly remember all the events. But, my dear, sweet husband came home early from school and cheerfully volunteered to watch the kids so I could go do some much needed shopping done and have some ME time. I really was just going to run there, shop, and come back...but I ended up finding some **STELLAR*** sales at JCPenney (bought Brandon some new jeans for $4.99!!) and got a few things there. I then wandered through the mall, which I have been to only once or twice. On my way out (about the 10th time I said to myself that I REALLY should go home) I ran accross a bookstore. I HAD to go in--it was the most wonderful time just browsing and reading little bits here and there. I bought both the kids some really great books from the dollar clearance (90% off!) and checked out some other really nice finds--which I ended up leaving there. It was just fun to look. There is something so fabulous and welcoming about a bookstore--I just felt truly spoiled being there.

I called Brandon to let him know I really WAS coming home...he got dinner on for the kids and was about to give them all baths. When I came home, things were all cleaned up, the kids were getting ready for bed, and I felt ready to rock and roll as a mom again! :)

What a fabulous evening...and what an AMAZING husband I have!

Picture a day Challenge--day 21

"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and

wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers. "

~Charles W. Eliot

I spent some "me" time wandering through a bookstore in the mall this evening...it was wonderful to see all the books, the topics, the stories...browsing a bookstore is true indulgence!

Here's a quarter!

Tonight Brandon was pushing the kids/giving them rides in the toy bins. After a while of playing, this conversation took place:

Jenna: MY TURN!

Brandon: Not right now. I am all out of energy.

Jenna: That's okay dad. Here's a quarter (she then tried to make the noise as if she were depositing it in a coin-operated ride)

If only a quarter could give me energy when I am all out of it! :)

Picture a day Challenge--day 20

"You say potato, I say Potahto"

What a big dinner helper...that Kaden is a pretty silly character!

A package from grandma--

We got a little package from my mom today with some fun little things for the kids. The best treat of all is that there was a "quiet" book in there. Jenna instantly started playing and figuring it all out. She had a blast!

Thank you mom for the cute little package! We loved it!!

There are few things better than...

There are few things better than fruit in the winter...

This is a new tag my cousin thought up...The rules: "The topic of this one is "There are few things better than..." and you must finish the sentence. The rules are a little different, though. Read all the way through my post and then go to the comments. If you are the first one to have read it, post in the comments that you are "it" and immediately go to your own blog to post your completion of the sentence. If someone else has already commented that they are "it", follow the trail of blogs through the comments (giving you a chance to read everyone's sentences) until you get to post your own, being sure to copy the instructions for the next person. Pictures are optional :) Have fun!"

(Order was Calista, Melinda, Stephanie, then me.)

Happy WINDS-DAY

Talk about being cooped up--we have had the most blustery day...and night for that matter. It is a surprise our little house is still standing. When I say windy, I mean school-closing, door-freezing, power-outaging wind storm. Brandon took our garbage out to the curb this morning and I saw that in the night our door mats had blown away. So, I ran out to grab them from out neighbors driveway and they were FROZEN to the ground! In the 30 seconds that we were outside, out front door froze shut and we had to run around back to try to get in. Needless to say I was NOT going out again, so we played hookie from preschool and snuggled in warm and cozy.

Jenna has watched FAR too much TV today--please say you have days like that too--but in the meantime, I got 4 loads of laundry done, all our bedding washed, my dishes got done, the kitchen cleaned, and I had 2 hours of great conversation with my sister's-in-law (or sister-in-laws??). I somehow never got a shower, or even got real clothes on for that matter. Just got busy cleaning in my grubbies and never looked back. :) Will be looking forward to a nice, warm bubble bath tonight and then climbing into crisp, clean sheets. Oh, I do love bedding laundry day!

I suppose I must feel bored, because in between all my clean-up today I have been checking non-stop for any form of outside communication....any new blogs posts? Nope...new emails? Nothing...ANYTHING??? I even checked my internet connection thinking maybe it was preventing the posts from coming through once someone had posted on their blog...though it was CLEARLY working or I couldn't have navigated to ANY webpages. Honestly, Rachel!!

The kids are all resting now (Kaden must have been pretty tired because he practically CLIMBED into his crib and laid right down, clutching the blanket for dear life) and I need to make myself work on a project for the Young Women in our ward at church.

I am hoping the winds calm and the temperature rises. The sun is sure a welcome sight, but it is so deceiving with all the wind! :) Happy Winds-Day everyone...

Picture a day Challenge--day 19

"27 DRESSES"

Tonight for girl's night we went to see the movie 27 dresses. It has been at least a year since I have seen a movie in the theater--I honestly can't even remember what it was I went to see, but it has been AGES! I wasn't even going to go tonight, but Brandon pretty much begged me to take some time for myself. (really it's because he needed to study, but he wanted me to think I needed ME time...I would have to say he was RIGHT!)

I am obviously not a qualified movie critic, and won't give any clues about what happens in case you haven't seen it. My thoughts? Cute movie...BAD language. WHY, WHY, WHY do they have to throw a 4 letter word in SO much? It had so much potential! Now this isn't to say it was a horrible movie...I really did enjoy being out of the house and seeing a movie. But I also felt really uncomfortable too...let's just say we won't be buying that movie. But it was fun to see once.

Tom Cruise Excited....

I am SOOOOO excited!! How excited?? There is a scale, you know...

--pretty good, excited

--scream out loud, excited

--wet your pants in public, excited

--TOM CRUISE excited!

If you could envision what would appear to be an absolutely crazy person doing a super cheer and dancing all over the living room (kind of like Tom Cruise did on Oprah!), you would be picturing me after just getting the mail and seeing Brandon's W-2....YES, our tax forms have arrived. I know this is the dreaded time for some, but when you are poor and going through school, this is 20 times better than Christmas presents! In the next day or two, I will be sitting and waiting for that beautiful refund to be deposited into our checking account. YEAH! We always use our refund to pay off student loans and save a little bit to do one fun thing for ourselves. I can't wait to plan it out and pick what we will do this year!

SUPER-DUPER NEWS FOR US! Made my day!!!

IT'S A MIRACLE!

An event occured in our house today. This truly is no small thing. An event that should be recorded in the book of miracles, for it really was...

I took a nap--it may have only been 15 minutes, but it was taken and thoroughly enjoyed.

What's so miraclulous about that you ask?? Well, a few things:

1-in order for me to nap, ALL 3 children must be napping at the same time...

2-I actually let go of all the extras I could be doing...cleaning, blogging, or working on projects.

3-My phone didn't ring. Not that I get a lot of phone calls, but someone always seems to call the second you lay down...not today!

And after my little catnap, I caught up on a recorded Oprah show. I haven't watched daytime TV in so long...Brandon is constantly making fun of me for having 18 recorded episodes of Rachael Ray waiting to be watched...just no time anymore. :)

Ahhh....now on to all those to-do's I needed to get done earlier!

For your viewing pleasure..

I bought the kids a new CD I had been looking at for a while--and it came today in the mail. We had the funnest time laughing over the songs!! This was one of our favorite ones--and quite appropriate considering we had just bought bananas at the store. If you want the whole song (it is incredibly funny) I can post it or email it to you...SO silly (and adult friendly too--let's be honest...the same old kids songs get old fast!)

They finally SHARED something!

Yes, Watermelon in Winter...

so juicy and sweet...

so tempingly tasty...

the perfect way to eat our winter blues away!

Jenna's funny sense of style

You are probably looking at these pictures and wondering what kind of mom would take their daughter to the store looking like this--well, meet ME. :) She was playing dress up all day and when I told her to put some real clothes on to go to the store, she picked this dress, her "crown", and had her hair done this way. I wasn't going to argue...

What a funny girl!

Of course, Barbie was only allowed to have ONE shoe (Cinderella)...

Sunny days!

WHAT A BEAUTIFUL, SUNNY DAY IT IS! I am SO excited to go outside with the kids this afternoon! We have a few errands to run (which is NOT so exciting) but it is a beautiful day and I can't wait to try to get a few pictures of them--taking pictures in our house is getting really old. It makes me wish for a house someday that has an entire wall of windows for that beautiful natural lighting. Okay, that probably isn't the most logical thing with kids, but the thought was nice. :)

We had a really fun night last night. Our friends, Dan and Amber (and baby Grace) came over and ate with us and played a game. It is tough to find games we can play while the kids are still awake...you know, games without PIECES. :) But we made due playing catch phrase--which the girls won (even though the guys won't fully admit this). It was fun to have company again--

I felt spoiled with the sleep I got last week--we had a few rough weeks before that, but last week overall was a dream come true. Last night brough tossing and turning again--and today I am wishing and hoping for a nap...a long, long nap... :) I know I won't get a nap, but am definitely aiming for an early bedtime. I must say, I LOVE Brandon's new alarm clock. I used to always try to peek over and see what the time was when I woke up in the night, but now it projects onto the ceiling and I can see it bright and clear. It is WONDERFUL!

I have had some comments lately that we need to update our family picture. I am trying!! It is tough to get us all in one spot, awake, and happy at the same time. We are dealing with a tripod and winter weather, so it has been a challenge. Trust me, I am sure there has to be a better pic than a family picture taken 5 days after I had a baby...We are hoping this weekend will bring sun and smiles to our family!

I better get the house cleaned before the kids wake up. Dinner is made and in the fridge ready to be cooked this evening--so if I can get the house cleaned too, it will feel like pure success today!

Picture a day Challenge--day 18

"WATER BABY"

Kaden could take a bath probably 10 times a day and not get tired of it--as it is we often have a minimum of 2-3 baths per day! He loves to be in there, lay on his belly and slide back and forth along the bottom of the bathtub, letting the water splash all over him. He loves the bubbles, and watching the water come out of the spout. And he loves pouring water all over himself.

He is definitely my little water baby.

Passing

We got word from Brandon's family a few minutes ago that President Hinckley has passed away. What a bittersweet event. I am so grateful he will be with his wife who he loved so dearly! But I have loved learning from that sweet man for so many years now...

Feeling sorry...

I have to admit, I have felt sorry for myself lately. I have felt so lonely, yes. But my feelings weren't completely warranted. We really are surrounded by wonderful people who are each going through their own situations (lonely at times too). I realized today that while wallowing in self-pity, I might end up hurting the people who really DO care about us and are trying to reach out to us. I also realized that I am just not doing enough--in my times of frustration and emptiness, I should be reaching out the MOST! I feel like that is when I will feel, and others will feel the love of Christ more abundantly...and I will be able to be carried through my hardest times instead of moping through them.

I feel a great burden lifted in trying to turn the focus off of my own trials and on to doing for others and focusing on the ways that others bless my life. I just hope that on the way to figuring all that out, I haven't inadvertantly hurt anyone...

I have so much to learn and change--how is it that there is always something more?!?! :) I am amazed at looking and back and seeing how I have grown, and stand in awe at knowing there is so much more ahead.

Picture a day Challenge--day 17

It is not a slight thing when those so fresh from God love us.

-- Dickens

Yet another adventure...

Kaden had a little fun while I was changing a diaper earlier today. I could handle the 3 empty shelves...I could handle the little papers that got scattered from my old cookbook. What I couldn't handle was the grease (cold and slimy) and the eggshells he took OUT of the garbage can and crushed/smeared all over. Ooooh....I get the chills just thinking back to it. I have discovered that it isn't always my fault for leaving the baby gate open. I have watched, and if he stands there and pushes at the right angle, he can get through. And here I was blaming myself all the time!!!

We had a busy day cleaning--I tried to recruit Kaden to the cleaning crew, but he just made things much harder, so I waited until he went down for a nap and then cleaned like crazy. It felt so good to finally mop the floor and wall--at least by where Kaden sits...and to have that squeaky clean scent filling the air! Ahhhh.....

I am so glad to be starting the new week off cleaned up and ready for more new adventures...

A surprise for daddy!

Yesterday the kids and I went to pick out a surprise for Brandon. We just wanted him to know how much we love him and are thinking of him. The kids picked the balloons and I picked a new alarm clock. The previous one we had was not consistent with the alarm ringing, and so Brandon often would wake up shortly before his ride came--or we would wake up later than we thought because we couldn't see the clock display very clearly (it was tiny and dim...and we are getting old!) :)

This probably sounds so silly to all of you, but Jenna and I had a great time blowing up balloons and getting my bedroom all cleaned (THAT was a surprise in and of itself!) so we could surprise daddy. Jenna kept watch out the window to make sure he wasn't coming home--she was very diligent about it! :)

His new alarm clock is fabulous! It has giant numbers--so Brandon can document correctly all the times he gets up in the night with the kids, and has 2 alarms, just in case. :) It even projects the time onto the ceiling in case you don't want to turn over...okay, that seemed like a really lazy feature, but it is actually really cool. AND, to top it off it was priced wrong, so I got it for $10 cheaper than the advertised price (which was already on sale). YEAH! :)

Hooray for dads--and Husbands--and hooray for celebrating them! :)

Picture a day Challenge--day 16

"Putting the pieces together"

I bought Jenna a little 25 piece puzzle for $1.00--she put it together about 8 times this afternoon. I loved spending time, just me and her, trying to figure it out together...

A great find!

I don't usually buy things on a whim--but when I ran across this online, I HAD to buy it! I have a HORRIBLE time hanging pictures and shelves that require 2 nails--I am never quite straight and it drives me nuts because I spend SO much time attempting to make it right! This went on sale half off with no tax and free shipping--and I am now the proud (and I do say PROUD) owner of a Black & Decker Gecko Grip AccuMark level.

I actually had a shelf waiting to be put up and tried it out as soon as it came!

It is great because it has moving "targets" that you put up to the back of the picture or shelf you are hanging and they targets stay in place where you move them (lining up with the holes where the screws/nails would be put in the wall). So there is no guessing. And there are rubber grips so you just put the level on the wall, make sure it is level, and put a dot through the already adjusted marking spots. SOOOO easy!


(I got these pictures off of Amazon, but I think they are too small to really see)

And, ta-da...here is my new shelf all put up....and level, I might add. :)

Our little playdate!

Today we went for a little playdate at the mall play area with our new friends Caroline (the mom) and Olivia (her daughter) The kids had SO much fun--and I did too. It was fun to visit and let the kids run crazy! They played hard and were ready for an early bedtime tonight!

(Olivia is in the green--climbing the tree. She is such a cutie!)
The girls have SUCH amazing imaginations and really let them run wild, pretending to be all sorts of funny things. Jenna, after the influence of Brandon, ran around yelling "BY THE POWER OF GRAYSKULL" (off of Heman--yes from the 80's...Brandon has been introducing that to her and now she LOVE it!) They were just so cute to watch!



Here they are taking a little drink break.

Jenna had a great time on this bridge. I just love how soft and squishy everything is-- :)

It took Kaden a little bit to figure out the slide, but he loved it!
Even proof that Spencer was there--I sometimes forget to include pics of him when we are out and about...but nobody worry, he is always in tow!
I have to say that today was so refreshing for me to meet up with Caroline. She can really relate with me on having a surprise baby--she has 2 daughters. One of them is almost 3...the other is 28. So, while she and I may have an age gap, it didn't cross my mind one single time. She has a way about her that just makes you feel comfortable and cared about. Caroline is such a wonderful woman, and I really felt blessed to connect with her and spend some time today.

Picture a day Challenge--day 15

"SHARING TIME"

I took the test

This is Brandon again. I saw Rachel's color test results and decided that I would give it a try to see what color I am. According to this I guess I'm a pretty funny guy and everyone likes me. I don't think I needed a test to tell me that but it was still fun.

What's Your True Color?

My Result: Yellow

You're yellow, the color of joy and energy — two things you definitely bring to everyone around you. It's hard for anyone to be sad or lonely in your presence; your sunny disposition and cheery outlook just won't allow it. The warmth of your personality shines through in the kindness you show friends and family (and strangers, too). Always ready with a lighthearted joke or heartfelt compliment, you know how to make people feel good about themselves, so they can't get enough of you. Yellow is a warm and inviting color for a warm and inviting person — you!

Take this test >

SUCCESS!

You might be wondering what ever happened to my goal to finally cook with worcestershire sauce...I will admit, I had a little "stage fright" and put it off a few more days. Today was the day. I DID IT! And you know what? It was good! I can do it! :)

I used it in a sloppy joe recipe--you can check out on my recipe blog, pictures included. I must give credit to my friend Amber for the recipe. It was easy and delicious!

Wow! I feel great after trying something new! On to the next new success!

What do you do when it's 13 degrees outside?

GO OUT FOR ICECREAM!

Brandon came home from school early and we loved every minute of having him home this evening. After dinner we went to check out a really cute icecream place that we had never been to in Valley View--a few minutes away from us nestled in along the Cuyahoga Scenic Valley Railroad and the Erie Canal. It was FREEZING outside. But, we had a really fun time! :)

They had these really cute little "bubbles" with sprinkles and confetti that the

kids could play with.

We can't wait to go again in the summer when we can go for long walks under the warm sun along the water and eat icecream outside.

A few favorite bits of technology!

Okay, one more quick post while the kids are sleeping and then I will go clean the house! :)

Several people commented that they check my blog several times a day--so I wanted to share a website that has changed my blogging life forever! www.igoogle.com

If you add their google reader, you can add ANY website you want and it will be updated whenever there is new info....blog included. It is FABULOUS! So, every day, I just keep my igoogle page up all day (minimized) and it tells me when there is a new post from someone. This is also a great way to watch other blogs of interest as you are surfing through.

SUPER, SUPER COOL!

Also, I checked out the site meter as several people suggested. THIS IS AMAZING! I can see who is visiting my sites, from what blog they came to mine, where they are in the world, how long they stayed, etc. This is GREAT! I think I checked that like 15 times yesterday to see who was on my blog! I have eased up today--but it was SO nice to put on the blog. So, HIGHLY recommend you checking that out.

If you want to see how mine works, you can scroll down the right side of my blog until you see the small site meter box. Click on it and see!

Anyone have any other cool things they have found and want to share??

Just a swig...

Kaden has started trying to drink out of anything that looks like a drinkable bottle...the latest being a hairspray bottle. What a funny kid! And then there is Spencer...it has been a few days since he has graced our blog with his presence, so I am putting his picture on here too. He is getting so much stronger!
He is rolling...kind of. It is more of a lifting of his head and then his body automatically turns due to the shifting of weight. :)

He just lays there calmy once he flips over...just waiting...and waiting...and waiting for someone to rescue him. :)