The Perfect Day

We are not big on celebrating holidays or birthdays in our home. We acknowledge them but don't go all out. Today just happened to be my Birthday and it was perfect! I got to play with the kids this morning and then after lunch headed off to the dentist with O. No cavities for this mommy! Woohoo! Then O had his two month check-up, Yup 2 months old already!!! He is growing by leaps and bounds. Here are his stats just in case you are curious... 14lbs 10 ozs (96th%ile), 23in (60th%ile), and 15 3/4in H.C. (40th%ile). I was a little surprised that his head circumference was such a 'low' %ile since E and N have big heads. Overall he is a healthy, strong little boy. What more could a mommy ask for? Then we came home and T helped each kid make me a birthday card. They were all so excited to show me which card they made. It was super cute! Then I got to open my Birthday gift! T made me homemade brownies; we just finished his cake a few days prior so we were a little caked-out! They were not just any ole brownie; they were TRIPLE~CHOCOLATE brownies topped with ice cream as well as chocolate & caramel syrup. A simply perfect day; It could not have been any better!

Potty Time!

Now I am a complete fan of not having to change diapers but not such a huge fan of potty training. When J was potty trained it was never ending. I honestly think we tried to push the issue and put more work on ourselves than was necessary. We tried for at least 6 months to get her potty trained. Then it was like magic overnight; she just decided she did not want to wear diapers anymore. E was a little the same way. We tried but then gave up after 3-4 weeks and just waited for him to be ready. Then one day he woke up and was potty trained. Now it is N’s turn. I have been avoiding this not only because I am not really feeling ready yet but because she is not even 2. However E decided tonight that N did not need a diaper anymore and told her to take it off. Since she is such a good listener she did just that. Next thing I know T tells N that if she doesn’t want to wear a diaper than she has to sit on the potty chair; which she was SUPER excited to do. After sitting for a few minutes, she stood up and said, “Done”. T looked in the potty chair and SHE WENT POTTY! Big deal in our home! J is so super-duper excited that now SHE gets to potty train N. She is all about it and has been begging us to let her potty train N for the last month or so. I guess whether I want to or not we are going to start potty training N! I sure hope she is a fast learner. = )

Happy Birthday T!

One of my friends has an amazing cooking blog. She makes all sorts of fun foods, including delicious cakes! So… since T’s Birthday is today I thought it would be fitting to ‘steal’ some of her recipes and give it a go! The cake turned out amazing; moist, chocolaty, perfect! Then came the fondant. This was the exciting part for me. I had never worked with, let alone made, fondant. It was a lot of fun and (in my opinion) turned out nicely. Now if you look closely you will see lots of flaws but this is my first try! The finished product:

Happy Birthday T!

Special Treat

The kids and I made some fun Valentine treats today.

Simple Rice Krispie Bars with a little

food coloring and cookie cutters!



Somebody Said...

I got this as an email/forward many years ago and happen to come across it recently. I liked reading this and wanted to share with all my 'mommy' family and friends!

Somebody Said...

Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you’ve had a baby…
somebody doesn’t know that once you’re a mother, normal is history.

Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct…
somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.

Somebody said being a mother is boring…
somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver’s permit.

Somebody said if you’re a “good” mother, your child will “turn out good”…
somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.

Somebody said “good” mothers never raise their voices…
somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbor’s kitchen window.

Somebody said you don’t need an education to be a mother…
somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math.

Somebody said you can’t love the fifth child as much as you love the first…
somebody doesn’t have five children.

Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books…
somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his ears.

Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labor and delivery…
somebody never watched her “baby” get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten – or on a plane headed for military “boot camp”.

Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back...
somebody never organized seven giggling Brownies to sell cookies.

Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married…
somebody doesn’t know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother’s heartstrings.

Somebody said a mother’s job is done when her last child leaves home…
somebody never had grandchildren.

Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don’t need to tell her…
somebody isn’t a mother.

“The decision to have a child is to accept that your heart will forever walk outside of your body.”
Katherine Hadley

date night!

As many of you know T and I don't go out on dates very often. Our idea of a date is watching a movie or playing a game after the kids go to bed. There are a couple reasons we tend not to go out: (1)we (generally) don't have anyone to watch the kids, (2) there is not a whole lot to do in our town, and (3) a baby-sitter is so stinkin' expensive (we figured it out one day and it would cost us $85 to go to a movie on a date!). Now that A moved back up here we had an opportunity to go out on a 'date' and she was free to watch the kids! YAY!! T had his Medical School Formal on Saturday night. We had a wonderful time with adults. It was especially fun for me to get dressed up and feel fancy. ; ) T even won an award! The Medical Class of 2014 nominated T as the 'Most Likely to Use a Gigantic Word that You Don't Know the Meaning of'. The perfect award for him in my opinion!



Last weekend A was down and she was able to watch the kids so we could go and find a dress for me! It was so much fun. T and I spent almost 3 HOURS shopping at the mall (with O). It really wasn't bad because O slept the whole time and we just pushed him. It actually was nice because then we didn't have to carry anything. Although we spent more time looking for a dress and accessories than I did wearing it on Saturday it was super fun.  I think it is human nature to get caught up in life and not focus on your marriage occasionally (even though we try not to!). Sometimes I wonder how our dynamic or relationship will change when the kids leave us because they are such a HUGE part of our lives. Times like this remind me how much we truly love each other!

to my future M.D.

I found this poem online and thought it was just perfect. I could see J writing something like this when she is older. She makes a special point to let T know that being a daddy is his most important job; not that he ever forgets but she just likes to be a little bossy!

My Daddy, M.D.

Whenever Daddy signs his name

he always writes MD.

So people all will know

that he belongs to me.

For MD means "My Daddy"

or something just the same.

And that is why he always puts

these letters in his name.

Some letters in his name are small

but these are not, you see.

He always makes them big like that

because he's so proud of me.

being a parent

I was very blessed and was able to become a mother at a young age (compared to some). There were many times that I felt sorry for myself or wanted to do things that I couldn't. Over the years I have come to realize that being a mommy is GREAT! I may not have designer clothes, the newest tech toys, a new car or go on fancy vacations, clubbing, etc. BUT I get to wake up everyday and see four beautiful faces look at me! They are all healthy, happy (most of the time), and full of love! What more could a girl ask for?! I used to dread the idea of having to get up in the middle of the night to take care of and feed a crying baby but now I LOVE IT! Sounds crazy right?! I get to snuggle, hold, rock, and cuddle little O and have him all to myself. As for the other kids: N drives us nuts lately but she is so 'happy go lucky' and brings laughter to our mouths and hearts everyday. She has some of the funniest expressions ever seen. E is a boy of few words but nothing is better than having him come up and wrap his arms around you! He loves to sneak up and give hugs. Although J is a perfectionist who gets frustrated easily, she is a great kid.  She wrote her name the other day (after I made a game for her to practice and play: my teaching degree is put to good use even though I don't get a pay check!) and we were so proud of her. She did amazing and was so happy. In addition to all that we get to watch them grow and change while becoming little people. I am sure there are many challenges ahead of us as parents but we are so excited to see our children as young adults.

N's 'naughty' morning

Now let's just start by saying that T and I have always tried to avoid the 'n' word in our home (naughty)! But N was just down right naughty on Monday morning. Her afternoon nap could not come soon enough for me! I think the stage/age has come where she is developing herself more every day and is learning what she can and can NOT get away with. We have been a little relaxed with time-outs but now it is time to lay down the law! = ) Her morning went a little like this...

• During breakfast she did not get her yogurt right when she wanted it so she took her bowl of cereal (and milk) slowly lifted it about 9 inches above the table, looked at me to see if I was looking, and then proceeded to ssslllooowwlllyyy pour it ALL over the table. She was cleaned up and put in time-out. *I must mention that she was allowed another chance at breakfast sans milk in the cereal the second time around.
• We had an ice cream bucket of clothes soaking in the bathroom. N happened to sneak into the bathroom and somehow managed to dump the entire bucket, only about a gallon of water on the floor. Argh.
• After getting the bathroom floor cleaned up, I went into the kids' room to find her bottomless. No pants or diaper! This could have been much worse. She did not have any bodily fluid mishaps while she was diaper less. Woohoo!
• Now O pooped his diaper so of course I needed to change him. While changing his diaper N pulled out my chair at the table and pulled the candy bowl towards her. Some how, sneaking again, she managed to unwrap 4 Reese's Peanut Butter cups and shoved them in her mouth. She had all the wrappers on the table (thus how I know she consumed 4) and her mouth so full of peanut butter cups she could not close her lips. When I asked her what she was doing she just smiled and moaned, "MMMmmmm"! After cleaning her chocolate drool off her face and getting her down I watched her like a hawk until lunch.

We made it to nap time. Phew!

the honeymoon is over

I was very lucky when O was born that my mom was able to stay with us for a few days and help out. She left on a Tuesday and then T was done with his block exams Wednesday evening. I only had to take care of the four kids by myself for about 30 hours. Then T was home for over 3 weeks! I have to admit that he did most of the work while he was home, he more or less was SUPER DADDY! I really was able to rest and get my bearings back after having little O. Now this past Monday he went back to school, my honeymoon phase is over. Reality has set in and to be honest it is not as stressful as I thought it would be. We have great kids and they are very good helpers. Of course there have been a few episodes and tantrums but that has to be expected with kids. J and N love to help with baby O. E basically does his own thing and is fine with that. I think it is a boy thing. This is a great way for them to learn about being patient. They may have to wait a couple more minutes for more milk at a meal, solve a sharing problem amongst themselves, or help each other with a game, but overall these things won't harm them in the long run. As the kids get older I look and watch them grow into little people and I am completely amazed! I can't wait to see what they become some day.