Miss Independent

Annabelle is almost 20 months old and she sure has become an independent little girl. She wants things done her way and her way only. She has to have surgery on Thursday, her adenoids out, so hopefully she will be a happier and healthier independent little girl. I can't imagine my family without little Annie, independent or not, we love her tons! Here are some fun moments of her over the past weeks:

Annabelle loves being outside, and especially at the park. This year she thinks she is big enough to climb up the slides and the ladders (she did get pretty far).

Every meal we find Annabelle standing up and dancing. We try the seat belt, but she can wiggle out of it. It is cute to watch her dance, but she has fallen once and I had barely enough time to grab her ankle before she hit the floor.

New shades are lots of fun. Annie always likes playing with my sun glasses so now she has her own to get sticky, dirty and bend all up.

Usually doing hair is not an easy task. However, yesterday Annabelle decided that she wanted all of her "pretties" in her hair. Greg counted over 20 and she was not happy to take them out so I could really do her hair for church.

All 3 Smiling

I just wanted to give props to Greg for fixing up my photo shoot. I knew he could do it, and you can't tell at all! Now I have a perfect picture of my three adorable kids.

Week of Frustrations!!

The last week has been filled with some pretty frustrating days. First I took the kids to the mall on Tuesday to finally get Ryan's birthday portrait done. We were able to get them taken easy enough but then the system crashed and they said to come back in a few minutes. We walked around, the playground is temporarily gone so that was hard on the boys, and returned to some more bad news, they weren't sure when it would be ready so come back tomorrow. I wasn't able to return until Thursday and upon arriving I learned that Ryan's pictures were no where to be found. They called for help while Annie and I walked around and I bought a few things. Again, when we returned they told me it would take at least a half hour, but I had to pick up Ryan from preschool and had other errands to run. I have since called and left messages but do not know if they found the pictures successfully.
Second, I was told that the Wal-mart picture places aren't that bad and I had been wanting a picture of the three kids so I thought I would give it a try. I even made an appointment so I could get in right away. I was all ready and excited to take the kids out to lunch afterwards--a really fun trip. Of course that was not how it turned out. We got there and no one was there. The next appointment showed up, we bought a couple things, and we got lunch at the McD's at Wal-mart instead of the play place one (not making the kids very happy). Still no one showed. I called their headquarters but they really couldn't help me, and neither could any Wal-mart employees. I was livid! The immature part of me wanted to trash the place, write mean messages everywhere, or something silly like that. In reality I left, really upset, and went home to try to take some pictures by myself. I need a better camera, one that takes pictures one after the other, because I got lots of good pictures of 1 or 2 of them at a time, but never all three. Here are a couple of the best ones, maybe I will try to get Greg to switch the heads around. One thing is for sure, I will never take the kids for pictures at Wal-mart again.

Cooking with Kids

Nathan brought home a Kids Cookbook from his school library and we have had some fun this past week making some of the simple recipes. I love cooking with my kids. It does get frustrating at times, and messy, but I really enjoy it.
1. Under the sea pasta, complete with hot dog octopus.
2. Ice Cream mice for Family Home Evening
3. Yogurt parfaits, which were my personal favorite-who knew that vanilla yogurt was so yummy?

I also love cooking yummy things by myself. Growing up we always had lamb for Easter. It is a tradition that I have not been able to continue here (I tried cooking it for Greg's family and they just didn't appreciate it-no offense). Greg doesn't love it, but I have to have it at least once a year. This year I must have made it especially yummy because Greg just kept eating and eating. He has also taken some of my coveted leftovers for lunch the past couple days. The boys didn't really like that they were eating a lamb, but they liked it enough not to worry about it too much.

I finally did it!

In 2005 I painted my kitchen yellow. It was a lot brighter than I was wanting, but I told myself I would eventually fix it and went on living. 3 years later and I finally did it. It took a few hours, but it was worth it. The room is still yellow, it now just has a gold tint sponged on top. I don't know if the picture does it justice, but here it is:

Easter Celebrations

Decorating Eggs:
This year we didn't do too many eggs since mom and dad were not feeling the best. The kids couldn't tell and still had a blast. Annie of course had to try and of course broke an egg, but we still colored it, hid it, and ate it.
Getting ready to find the eggs:
The boys were SO excited this year. Thanks to friends and school, all they could talk about was the Easter Bunny (I asked my mom and we never believed in the Easter Bunny, we always knew my folks hid them). As you can see all three kids were very excited to go downstairs and find something, anything.

Finding Eggs, or Candy:
The boys knew the drill and set off to find as many eggs as they could, even though I did give them a limit. Annabelle found one egg, opened it, and was SO excited about the candy (one of the few words she can say), that she decided she had found enough and just wanted to eat.

All dressed up:
The kids were on a permanent sugar high all morning, it really got hard when they had to sit still at church, and they would not hold still for a picture. The day was so beautiful that I thought we should try to get a picture outside by my daffodils. As soon as we were out in the sunshine the kids started playing "Ring Around the Rosies." Oh well, I think I will dress them up another day and have someone else give it a shot. We really had a wonderful Easter Day.

How I Wish I Felt

This picture shows the exact opposite of how I really feel. Last night I went out to dinner and had a great time and felt great. However, as soon as I arrived home everything went down hill. I am not sure if it was food poisoning or the flu just finally catching up to me. Greg was awesome and stayed home today so I could sleep all day, since I was up all night with unpleasantries. When I came down stairs at 4ish the kids were all excited to see me and I felt missed, now I just want to feel better.

Volleyball

Last night the kids and I went and watched Greg play volleyball with his new league team. He has been playing twice a week now at work (during an extended lunch break) and now he has found an evening league once a week. I am very encouraging, since I also like to get out and have some fun. It was fun for me to watch my hot and sweaty hubbie and the kids had fun on the bleachers and drinking daddy's Gatorade.

Kil the Monsctor Game

No, I am not misspelling things on accident. Today Nathan went outside to color with chalk and made a game for us to play. It was called, "Kill the Monster." As you can see he drew a big monster and then wrote out instructions for how to play. I love how much he tries to write lately. It is fun to try and decipher what he writes. The object of the game was to throw the "apples" at the monster and try to make "holes" in him. We had to stand on a certain line and throw the rocks. It was exhilarating!! I love his imagination and creativity, but I was more than happy when he said, "We can quit now if you just write quit on the ground."

A Bread Recipe Even I Can't Mess Up!

This last week I was able to attend an Enrichment meeting about bread making. I almost didn't go thinking I would watch someone make bread and then return home to try it on my own and fail. Greg and I both love homemade bread, but I have always had a tough time making a loaf that meets our expectations. I decided it was a night out and maybe it would be worth it, and boy, was it ever. A lady in my neighborhood and her mom have perfected a recipe and even teach classes professionally(pantrysecrets.net). In under 2 hours they had made 5 different things with their 1 recipe. The tricky part is that the ingredients are specific, but once you have the right ingredients, it is a piece of cake. I have since tried it at home and been amazed, as has been Greg, at the results. We have had pizza, cinnamon bread sticks, bread, scones, and a turkey and cheese braid that was divine. My whole family is hooked and Nathan asked last night while I was making the scones, "Is that the best bread ever again, mom?"

The meeting was also about food storage and its importance. They had many tips and suggestions for what to have and how to get it as cheap as possible. I have really tried to stock up on food, but sometimes it seems a bit overwhelming. I have bought things in spurts and didn't really know what I had. This meeting inspired me to focus on actually getting a full year of supplies, of things that my children will actually eat. It also inspired me to go through everything that I do have and make an inventory of it all. It was a lot of work and lifting of heavy boxes, but I am so proud that I did it. Now, I just have to figure out what all the numbers mean (for example I have eleven #10 cans of wheat??). It is only a beginning, but I hope to be able to have a years supply soon.

Bikes and Robots

It was preschool at my house again this week and we had lots of fun with the theme of bikes and the letter, "R". We ate cheese robots and rainbow jello, made rock pets and rectangle robots, and decorated our bikes for some fun races. I tried to make an obstacle course for the kids, but they had a hard time going around the cones. So we just went crazy and I let them do whatever, sometimes they just need some free time. I can't believe I will only teach preschool 1 more week. It has gone by so fast and I will miss it when it is over. At least it will be summer by then so we can get out more. And I know I will be able to do it again with Annabelle.

Girl Scout Cookies

It is that time of year again. Having grown up a Girl Scout I was blessed to always have cookies at my house in the month of March. Having lived here for almost ten years now, I am usually sad when March comes and goes and I don't get my cookie fix. This year however, Greg and I were driving and I saw a sign on someone's car that gave a number to call for the cookies. I called it when we got home and the sales had already ended but they let me order a few anyway. I got them this last weekend and have enjoyed them immensely. I think I will go and eat one right now!

Happy 30th Greg!

I just thought it would be fun to have an entire blog dedicated to Greg. I love him so much and can't imagine this life without him. I wanted to do something big and fun for his birthday but he really didn't want that. We are bringing a cake to his work and then the 2 of us will go out to dinner tonight. Not much, but a night without kids is always a great time. 30 used to seem so old, but not anymore. We are still young and rearing to go in life. I look forward to many more birthdays with you my dear and some day I will convince you that a big bash would be a lot of fun.

Roller Skating

When I heard that Nathan's school was going to go roller skating I made sure we could go. Not only for Nathan who has never done it, but for me who loved to skate as a kid. We decided that the 2 little ones needed a night out of the house and maybe the different air would help their lingering coughs. We picked up Greg from work and headed to the roller rink. As soon as we walked through the door I could feel the energy and I got really excited. I loved the music, the lights, the sight of tons of kids, and parents, having fun. We brought Nathan's scooter and luckily had the stroller in the car for Annie (isn't that cool that you can bring a stroller!). We decided the boys would take turns skating and riding the scooter.
I really didn't think it would be so hard for the boys to skate, but it was next to impossible. Had we only had 2 children so that both Greg and I could help the beginner it would have made a big difference. However, be it that we have 3 kids that left 1 of us to try to teach. Greg did it better than I, for when I tried to help Ryan we both landed on our rears. We stayed long enough for the little ones, but Nathan was upset that we didn't stay until the end. It was hard, next time we won't take the babe, but a lot of fun. I honestly look forward to next time.

Sick Kids

I really hate when my kids are sick. It all started with Ryan and yet another ear infection. We may have to do tubes again if this keeps up. Then Annabelle started burning up and now Nathan as well. We took Annie to the doctor since she was so fussy (I can't wait until she can tell me what is wrong), and he said that everything was fine besides her fever. I hate hearing that, I really would just like some meds to make it all better. I have learned that I am not very patient with my sick kids, at least on the inside. I hate missing things like helping out in Nathan's class or having to go to the store late at night. Greg is much more patient, maybe that is why they prefer him when they are sick (and Annie all of the time). Here I captured 2 of the happier moments of these past few days. I made mashed potatoes and though the kids didn't really eat them for dinner, they enjoyed them beforehand. Any food I can get into them is a good thing. Also you see Ryan and Annabelle twirling and you can't see but they are laughing. I love their laughter and am constantly praying that they will get healthy again so I can hear it more. Till then Tylenol and Motrin are my friends, as are the DVD and VHS players.

My Biggest Boy

I love Nathan. He is such a sweetheart. He likes to say my name sometimes, without really having anything else to say, and then he just says, "I love you." The other day I made this new recipe and was a little worried the kids wouldn't like it. Nathan couldn't get enough. He kept saying things like, "This is Delicious!" or "This is awesome" or "This is the best dinner ever!" It was very rewarding as a mom to know that I did something right.My tulips and other bulbs have started to bloom thanks to this beautiful sunshine. I was going to take a picture to discuss how I love Spring and the new life that takes place. Before I was able to Nathan picked this flower and was so excited to give it to me. He told me, "You could put it behind your ear and that would look pretty." How can you get mad at that. I didn't, and as you an see I was happy to wear it behind my ear and look pretty.