Heidi this picture is for Chris! This is the view off of our deck! And yes those are all dandelions!!!

John's brother Jim and a almost 5 pound bass that he caught this morning! For those of you that are wondering they did let it go!

Nevaeh got in this one!!!

So nothing really going on in the life of us lately. John's brother Jim came up from North Branch for a couple of days of fishing and golfing. We were going to go to the park yesterday but got rained out so we spent a couple of hours at the Barton's playing with the boys.

I think Nevaeh has finally got the hang of going potty on the toilet! She was dry yesterday morning, and today so far. So... Hopefully we can be down to one in diapers all the time, and just the pull ups for the older two, or maybe she will just be dry all the time and not even need the pull ups!!! I would just be dreaming right!?!?!?

Couple of days

So I don't really have alot to say, but think I need to put something on here. I check all of my favorite blogs just waiting for someone to put something on there, so for those of you that really want to know what is going on in my life....

Yesterday I did get most of my house cleaned up, but about 20 minutes later the kids had it trashed again, and they don't seem to care, so unless someone is going to stop over, I am just going to make sure we have clean clothes, clean dishes, a semi clean room, vacuumed floors, and the garbage taken out often. I don't really care if the house is clean so....

I also made bread yesterday. And all I can say is practice makes perfect I haven't practiced enough! The kids and I have been eating it, but wouldn't give to company!

Today I didn't really do anything, well I made caramel rolls, which the girls from Bible study liked, but John told me to work on them some more.... They are his moms caramel rolls and so I knew that he wasn't going to like them, but I still kinda hoped. Nothing that I try of hers is good enough for him, but I guess I either need to quite making them then or learn to deal with the fact that he isn't going to like them as much as hers. We also went to the dump! Yeah for those of us that live in the country and aren't able to have someone come pick it up for us. Then on to Bible Study. Can I just say that I love having a group of women that I can talk honestly to, that opened their hearts and homes and everything to me. I can't tell you how great it is to have that kind of support group behind you. So for those of you that read this THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Now I think it is tomorrow, so I need to head to bed!

Don't try this at home

I was sent this video in an email and watched it and it is totally cool so I have to share it with you. The email was titled "Don't try this at home."(if you click on the stuff in quotation marks it will take you there)
Hope you enjoy that!

I am now going to spend the day cleaning my house, and I am going to try to not be on the computer again until later tonight...so...........

Day at Grandma Kris'

Wyatte getting his shovel loaded by Grandma!He actually did really well with moving the grass from the ground to the wheelbarrow. I don't think he spilled anything!
Nevaeh helped Grandma pull the tarp to move the leaves that we raked up.
Aubrie was having fun on the floor on her tummy.
Daddy was getting Wyatte's fishing rod ready to go fishing.Wyatte caught this one all by himself! It wasn't really big, but he had fun!Neither one of the kids were very scared of the fish, Wyatte helped catch all three. Two bass, and one sunny. John cleaned them all so Wyatte can eat the fish he caught!!!

Memorial Day was spent at my mom's house helping her get the yard ready for Paul's grad party. Raking up gravel that the plow pushed into the yard, and leaves from the fall. John and Kirk also started redoing the boards under the picnic tables in the yard, and put the dock in. We cooked hot dogs on the grill and enjoyed lunch with Mom and Kirk. Paul unfortunately was MIA for the whole day, well except for supper!!! There is still some work to do, but should all be done in time for the party. Hope to see some of you there!

Today was the last MUMS meeting. Next week starts the park schedule! So every Tuesday for the summer we will be the park playing with a ton of other kids, and I get MOM time!!! Yeah for me!

John got his first call about the Jeep that we are trying to sell. Not really sure how serious the guy was, but hey it was interest! If anyone else knows someone that is looking for a Jeep Wrangler let us know.

God's beauty

This is Paul (my brother) and his girlfriend. (this is a picture of a picture that Krislyn had up at her grad party. Paul and Krislyn think it was taken in 9th grade, but weren't quite sure) They have been dating on and off, mostly on though, since 8th or 9th grade. They both graduate this year, and are planning on going to St. Scholastica (I don't think I spelled that right, but...) in the fall. Paul is going into nursing and Krislyn is either going to major in Education or Business. She hasn't decided yet! I just had to post this pic because I think it is sooooo cute! I can't believe that Paul is graduating in a few days. My how the time flies.


The following are just some pics that I took of the scenery after a "storm" passed through. I thought the clouds were beautiful and had to share them with you all! They are in reverse order of what I took them in, but I couldn't get them to go right and didn't feel like taking any more time to get them in here. They don't need to be in the right order, just enjoy the beauty of God's creation!
i think the pic above this writing is one of my new favorite pictures.isn't it magnificent what God can do with a little water, and the sun!

Sprouts! and other tidbits!

This was what Nevaeh looked like when she woke up from her nap! She takes her rubberbands that hold her ponytails out when she sleeps, but her hair stays up!!!
Wyatte takes it upon himself to help Aubrie when she starts crying, the only thing is he leans on her feet when he does it and makes her cry harder!
I bought some dried fruit for the kids and I the other day, and they loved it, the only thing was it was 4$ for a little fruit snack size box. So I borrowed a dehydrator from my in-laws and made my own!! These are apricots.
The kiwi are delicious dried!
The strawberries are pretty good too! I also had apples, pineapple and orange segment in there! I have to admit that I have eaten more of them than the kids, but they are like eating candy, only better for you!
I have sprouts in my flower boxes!!! I have been patiently waiting for them to come up and finally they are here!!! I have hollyhocks, cornflowers, sweet peas, and another orange and red flower that I can't remember the name of. Wyatte picked out the ones that I can't remember, Nevaeh picked out the cornflowers because she liked the color, and I got the hollyhocks because I absolutely love them, and I got the sweet peas for John because he loves the smell. Now if I can only get the sweet peas to come up. I have planted them every year since we came home with no luck, so.... pray for them!!!! I got a different kind this year again, so...
Wyatte picked these out for me after the camping trip that he went on with Grandma and Grandpa Hoard. They were picking out flowers for John's sister's adult care home, and Wyatte asked who they were for and Grandma told him Noah's mom (John's sister) and Wyatte started crying and said that his mom would want some too, so Grandma let him pick some out for me and this is what he picked. And the reason why he picked them... they look like dandilions!!!


On a different topic all together. Nevaeh woke up dry this morning and then pee'd on the potty right away. She actually woke up and told me that she had to go! Yesterday she stayed dry after her nap too! She even pooped on the potty, which she hasn't done before. So I think we made a few strides in the potty training. She did have an accident in church this AM but... the nursery worker took her three times and I tried once, but.... she pee'd when the parents started coming to pick up the kids. Oh well.

Well, got to get running, the start of the grad parties is today!

long day

Aubrie has started "talking" and will sit in her swing a little longer than before, but only if the animals are pulled out so that she can see them. She sits there and just smiles and smiles and talks and talks and smiles some more! So much fun to see her grow up and develop!
All dressed up and ready for our walk. This is one of the first times that she has been out in the sun! She was in my baby wrap and covered for most of the walk, but she did get to enjoy the weather with us. As she gets bigger she will be able to enjoy it more with us!
Just another pic of her talking to the giraffe. Yes, I do know it is upside down and I am not quite sure why, but it is! It does make it closer to her and easier for her to talk to!!!


Today started early again, I don't know why my kids have to get up so early, but they do. Today was a little later, but still before 6! Nevaeh was still tired, very crabby and wouldn't lay back down in bed. She wanted to be held, but I needed to get stuff going for John for the day. She was mad because I wouldn't hold her and sat down behind me. I got started making John's lunch, and got his coffee started and I turned around and Nevaeh was sleeping on the kitchen floor with her baby doll in her arms! Of course I couldn't find my camera, so... No pics, but can't you just see her? She slept there for a good 30 minutes! Until John went into the kitchen with his work boots on and woke her up. Then Wyatt brought her some cereal and she sat there on the floor eating cereal for another 30 minutes or so! What a kid!!!

I got some more of my house clean today, but not enough of it. I have been lazy lately with the house work, and realized that I need to start keeping on top of it. They tell me that if you keep a clean house it takes less time to clean!!! :) So I am trying.

Today Aubrie and I were sitting in my glider and Wyatte "woke up" from a nap that I later realized he never took, but anyways, she was "talking" to me and I was asking her what she was telling me in her story and Wyatte asked if he could tell her a story too. This is about how it when...
One day, when I (Wyatte) was outside playing, I was outside playing with my digger, my mom, you, didn't know that I was outside, but I was outside playing with my diggers, and Xander (our dog) was running around, and I was playing with the mean digger and mom didn't know I was outside. I was having fun playing outside with my digger without mom....

And so forth and so on! Every once in a while he would throw in a new tidbit ( like about the dog...) but for the most part for about 5 minutes he told Aubrie that he was outside playing with his digger! It was pretty cute.

This afternoon a friend, from high school that I have been reconnecting with, and I went for a walk with my three kids (two in the wagon and one in my baby wrap) and her daughter (in a stroller) and a baby that she was babysitting (in my other baby wrap)! We were quite the group! We did pretty good the first 2 miles, and then on the way back Ava decided that she was hungry and Beth didn't have a bottle for her, and then Wyatte and Nevaeh decided to start hitting each other, and then 'Veah fell out of the wagon. So lucky for us we walked right by John's parents house and I dropped my two kids off to play there and Beth and the girls and I walked back to my house. We got back here and Beth made a bottle and Ava scarffed it down! All together I walked about 4 miles, pulling the wagon and carrying a 12 pound baby! Pretty good exercise for me! I need to start walking during the day more, because, as John pointed out tonight, I am still pretty white! I do have my first tan lines, but still need to get darker!

This is a better picture of the leaves on the tree off of our deck. I love this time of year.

Anyways, I went for another walk tonight. The same distance as last night, took me a little longer. My shins started to hurt right away, but I just walked right through it. Then I ran a little, and about a mile later realized that my phone had fallen out of my pocket during that short run. At least it was later at night and there weren't many people on the road! I did find it, and it works just fine. Tonight wasn't as moving as last night, but I think the songs didn't really touch me like the ones last night (the ones tonight were a combination of disney songs, and country ones) So I guess as I am walking and watching the sun set I should be listening to the praise and worship and Christian songs that are on my player. I am still looking for more songs to put on, so let me know your favorite artist, or song so that I can add to my collection!

Pictures!

I bought this truck for the kids at a garage sale last week, and they love it. They are trying to "fix" it right now! Just let me tell you that there is nothing wrong with it, they just decided that they needed to fix it.
Nevaeh driving the truck.
So of the new leaves on the tree off our deck.
Just another shot of the new leaves!
Wyatte wanted me to take a picture of the dandelions that he picked for me. This is only one of many that I received just yesterday. My big girl! She still likes to be held all the time, and is getting to the point that she is heavy unless I have her in the baby wrap. Her shirt is one that I got at her shower, it says "don't laugh Daddy dressed me"
The kids decided that they were magicians and that these were their hats!
Wyatte tried one on Nevaeh, but decided that it was too big!This is a picture of both kids in the same towel. I hadn't folded the clean towels yet, so John used a large one and put both kids in it! They were really cute, but by the time we got the camera ready, this is what we got!

Beautiful Day!

So today was absolutely gorgeous! The kids and I headed into town early this AM to get me some summer shoes, really just some cheap flip flops and imitation crocs. I also got Nevaeh a pair of really cute "crocs" and Wyatte a pair that look like sandals. We then came home and played in the yard for a little bit, and then off to bed. A friend called me while we were outside to see if I wanted to go for a walk with her when the kids woke up. So they woke up about 1:30 and we headed into town. She ended up having a couple of errands to run, so we bummed around town waiting for her to get home. I saw a bunch of black smoke pouring into the sky from a few blocks away from us, and so like the other 8000 people in GR today had to try to get close enough to see what was going on... Someone's garage burned up, not down, some of it is standing up still. Then it was off to Beth's to get ready for our walk. It was a nice walk, very warm, and the kids were pretty bad, but the walk felt great. I think it was about 2 1/2 miles all together, took about 45 min. with all the stops that we had to make for me to yell at my kids for littering, or dumping juice on the other one and all the other stuff that kids do when they are in close quarters. Then home to get supper ready for John, the kids a bath, and then too bed for them. John and I sat on the couch for a while, and then I decided to go for another walk. I walked from our house to John's parents and back, about 2 miles, maybe a little more, and I did it in under 40 min. So yeah for me. usually it takes me that amount of time just to get there with the wagon. Amazing how much slower I walk with it. I also had my mp3 player in and got to listen to praise and worship music the whole time. It was awesome! I can't wait to do it tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

music???

I am looking for some good songs to put on my mp3 player for when I walk. Any suggestions? I like country, christian and a soft rock ( no head banging, can't understand the words crap...). Something upbeat, but sentimental too... Let me know.

Thanks.

Another Tuesday!

So today started out a little earlier than I wanted it too, Nevaeh was up at about 6:15, but at least it wasn't earlier than that! Wyatte was up shortly after that, and Aubrie was up right away after him. They ate an early breakfast of grapes and toast while I tried to stay awake while feeding Aubrie! I think I ended up dosing off a couple of times but not for long. I did a few things around the house, and then we headed into McDonald's for a play time with the MUMS moms! There were 5 moms there and 14 kids between us! Oh, plus baby Barton, to be born in about 8 weeks! The kids are all under 5 or so, I think, out of all of the kids only 2 are older than Wyatte, so...

After the fun at McDonald's, I dropped the kids off at Linda and Laverne's and headed to the doctor again. I had a IUD put in, so no more "pill" babies for us!!! If I get pregnant right now, then God really wants me to have my kids close!

Then home to lay the kids down for a nap, and get a few more things done in the house. I got supper started, made apple crisp, washed dishes, folded 2 loads of clothes and watched Rachel Ray. Valerie Bertinelli was on there today talking about her weight loss, and she did a couple of surprises for a couple of Rachel's viewers. I know that I have put weight on since John and I met, and really since we got married, and yes even in the last 3 years with all the being pregnant, and even with the weight that I lost being pregnant with Aubrie I am still about 60 to 75 pounds heavier than I want to be, so I am going to start losing the weight that I have put on in the last 6 years. No more excuses, no more nothing. I am going to start walking more, and looking into getting a gym membership so that I can work out. A friend of mine from high school is walking between 3 and 7 miles a day now, and if I lived closer to her I would walk with her, but I am just going to have to settle for walking alone (well with the kids if John isn't home). And hopefully get to a point that I can run some of it off! I am also going to start keeping a detailed food journal, so hopefully that helps too. Please keep asking me how this is going because if I have people checking on me, that is going to keep me accountable and on track!

Sorry, forgot the camera today, but will make sure I get pics of all the kids, and put them up here for all of you to see!

Back online!

John getting his turn on the slide!
Nevaeh went down a slide and got her pants all wet! This is her 1st time climbing up the ladder and I think that she actually made it all the way to the top!
Aubrie's first swing ride! Mommy didn't last very long, because even thinking of swinging makes her dizzy! Thanks Amy for the wrap we love it!
Wyatte and Cousin Noah at the campground with Grandma Linda and Grandpa Tuffy!
Playing at the playground in the campground!


I finally got my computer back on line! So here is a really long update of what has been going on in our lives since Mother's Day which was my last blog!!!

Ok, so my computer is not working again… I am not totally sure what is wrong with it this time. It won’t connect to the wireless signal that we have been getting our internet from, so… I am calling today to see if we can just get a wired connection to our apartment. So this post is being written in Word, and will be pasted into my blog, just so that I remember what is going on in my life!

So, let’s see… Monday was the last day of the library storytelling group that we have been going to. So that was sad, the kids are just starting to sit still long enough to enjoy it, and so now that we have to wait until the fall for it to start again… We are going to have to start all over, but I guess they will all be a little older, so that should make it a little easier right?!?!? The children’s librarian is also retiring after being there since 1956, so we had cake and made cards for her. She has been there as long as I can remember; even my dad said that she has been there as long as he can remember!!! So that is going to take some time to get used to, a new face at the children’s desk.

Tuesday was MUMS. Another great topic and discussion after. I left Aubrie in the nursery for the first time. I think that was the longest time since she was born that she hasn’t been in the same room as me! She lasted over an hour, but then was sooooo mad at me for leaving her that she was crying so hard that she couldn’t eat. So I ended up with breast milk dripping all over my shirt and by the time she settled down enough to eat, I was soaked!!! So that wasn’t fun, but at least we survived. The church that we go to has pagers that they give to the parents to let them know if their child/ren need them, and we have never had ours go off, until Tuesday! I started leaking and about 2 seconds later the pager went off. I went to the nursery and she was hungry! I have heard of this happening before but never experienced it myself… I can tell when she is hungry if we are in the same room, because I start leaking, but this time she was in a totally different room with two solid wood doors between us!!!

I also had my postpartum appt. on Tuesday. Everything is good so far!

Wednesday included packing Wyatte for a camping trip with Grandma Linda, Grandpa Tuffy and Cousin Noah! So it is just the girls during the day until Friday! He was so excited about going that he was up early and wanted to get dressed and on the road! They all went last year and had a blast, so they went again this year. Linda and Lavern just bought a new camper and this is the first trip with it!

John came home from work Thursday night and took a bath and then decided that he wanted to go up and go walleye fishing, so we packed the girls up and we headed to the campground so he could go fishing. Nevaeh played with Wyatte and Noah, and Aubrie and I sat around the fire with Grandpa and Grandma. John didn’t catch anything, our landlord/neighbor was up there as well and he caught one. John brought it home to clean it but there ended up being a very gross worm in it that John saw when he was starting to clean it so it ended up in the garbage. Gave both of us the willies……

Today is Thursday, and the girls and I are going to head off to a few garage sales! I did really good last week, so let’s see how we do this week!!!

Garage sales didn’t go as good as I hoped, but still a few things. I got Wyatte a lot of play clothes. Nice shirts and pants that only had a couple of small stains on them for $.10 so not too bad. Nothing else really. I don’t remember doing anything else that day, so even if we did do something it wasn’t very exciting!!!

Friday morning started a little later than usual because Nevaeh slept until 7!!! Yeah for me! We then got ready and headed over to the Barton’s for a little play date for Nevaeh and Aubrie and a little “mom” time for me! I have talked about the Barton family on here before, Heidi and Chris are the parents (they both went to school with John and we now go to church with them for those of you that don’t know) and they have twin boys, Sam and Seth, which turned two earlier in the year. They are also expecting a little girl in July. Both of my kids love to play with them, but since Wyatte was camping it was all Nevaeh that day! They play together quite well, and I enjoyed some time to visit with Heidi. She had bought some fabric to make me another baby wrap, and it was done, so she gave that to me. I brought along the book that has all the ways to wrap with and she made a copy so she can use the wrap that she made for her! Chris is going to take pictures of my kids sometime this spring and so we looked at some of the pics that he has taken in the past so that I had some idea of what he could do! It was a fun morning, time just flew by!

The weather was really weird today. It started sunny, but then would rain for like 10 minutes and then be sunny again and then rain and be really windy and this went on all day. Was really hard to get anything done outside!

That afternoon, Aubrie had her two month checkup. She is now 11 pounds 11 ounces and 22 ½ inches long. She is in the 50^th percentile for everything pretty much. We just moved up in diaper size, so at least she is growing right! I know both Wyatte and Nevaeh were in size 1 diapers long before Aubrie, but… She also got her first set of shots. She hated them, which is no surprise! But I did have to give her some Tylenol to get her to calm down later.

That night the young marrieds group had a game night! It was a game that I have never heard of, but ended up being fun. We rotated a lot, so you got a chance to visit with everyone that was there! It was fun!!

Saturday was a pretty boring day if I remember right. We did have a pretty bad storm that night. Hail, rain, wind, power out for a few hours… We ended up going into town for supper because we didn’t even have anything in the house that we could eat cold, so A & W it was.

Sunday the kids and I headed into Sunday School by ourselves because John wasn’t feeling well. We made it in time! I told John to stay home from church if he still wasn’t feeling good, but he showed up, late but he did come. Then to McDonald’s like we do every Sunday so that the kids can lay down for a nap right away when we get home. And then off to home and a nap. John too! Then John went fishing again. I think he has only been home two nights since opener. The kids and I went to my mom's to see her, and help her with getting ready for Paul's grad party. We didn't get much done because Kirk called and needed a ride somewhere and I needed groceries, Mom decided to come to the store with me! It took a really long time in Walmart. Oh, did I forget to tell you?!?!? We have a superwalmart in town now! It still takes me a while to find stuff which is why it took almost 2 hours!

Today is Monday and the week starts all over again. Tomorrow is a MUMS play day, so off to McDonalds again!

Mother's Day

This is what the John and the kids brought home for me for Mother's Day! I got it last night because they were so excited about what they picked out that they had to give it to me then! There is a strawberry flavoredangel food cake, a "Footprints" keychain that Wyatte picked out, a "Mom, I love you" circle keychain that Nevaeh picked out, and some individual cups of sherbet! MY FAVORITE!!! The card is a "My Little Pony card that talks to you. The kids loved it John said, and wouldn't even look at another one! I am going to add the video I took of the card talking to me too, so you can hear what it says, it isn't a very good view of the card, but you can still hear what it says!

Great Grandma Margaret helped Nevaeh color a picture today at Great Auntie Marilyn's house. We went out to lunch with John's family (mom, dad, grandma, uncle, sister and 2 neices and 3 nephews), then we headed to my Aunt Marilyn's house to spend some time with my family (mom, brother, aunt, uncle two cousins, grandma and a couple of the girls that my mom takes care of {my mom was working!})
Great Grandma Margaret, Aubrie and Grandma Kris hanging out in the kitchen! Grandma Margaret got Aubrie to smile too!!!
Cousin Ryan redid Auntie Marilyn's sandbox, and Wyatte and Nevaeh got to be the first ones to try it out! Wyatte was out there forever, and got his church clothes alllllll dirty, but isn't that was boys are good for! Nevaeh actually enjoyed it too!

Post for the guys that check this out!!!

As most, if not everyone, of you know today was Minnesota's fishing opener. John went out with his dad, uncle and nephew. The went out somewhere on the Mississippi River instead of Bass Lake where they usually go. Anyways, they only came home with two fish, but this is what one of them looked like...
Yes, this is a Walleye that was caught today by John's nephew, David. It was about 8 pounds and was 27 and 1/2 inches long. It was almost as tall as Wyatte! He thought it was a shark! This was the only picture that he let us take, he decided he was scared of it and wouldn't even go this close to it again! Nevaeh wouldn't even get this close, started crying when John tried to put it by her to take a picture. She is definitely all girl!!!

pictorial update

Great Grandma Idella(bottom left), Aubrie (being held by Great Grandma Idella), Grandma Linda (bottom right), Sharalee, and Nevaeh (being held by Mommy). At a Mother Daughter Tea at the Cohasset Bible Chapel.Mommy and the girls. We couldn't get either one of them to look at the camera!
Wyatte and Nevaeh on the slides at Riverview Park. Nevaeh loves the slide this year. Last year it was the swing!
Nevaeh started liking the swing after a while today!
Wyatte and Sam (a friend from church) are in the foreground, Nevaeh is in the middle in the pink shirt, Jazmine (her mom is a friend of mine from high school) is in the red swing, Beth (Jazmine's mom) in the yellow sweatshirt, and Miss Heidi (a mom friend of mine, and mother to twins Sam and Seth) and Seth are sitting on the ground in the back of the picture, but you can't really see them. Sorry Heidi!
My big girl! All for of smiles for the camera! This outfit was one of my first garage sale finds of the year! I think it is super cute. I also think I did very well for us on Thursday! I got Aubrie a couple of outfits, this one, another one that has brown pants with pink poodles on it, with a white turtleneck and a pink velour blazer (soooo cute) and another one with a pink onsie with a snail on it, and then pants that have cute snails all over them!!! Will have to try to get a pic when she wears it. I also got Nevaeh quite a few clothes! A few play clothes and a few dressy ones as well. Wyatte got a courdory jacket, and a couple of toys.
Nevaeh has this habit of taking her "hair pretties" (rubberbands to hold her pigtails) out during her naps, and this is what she looks like every day when she wakes up!
Wyatte peeking through the fence at the playground!
Nevaeh peeking through the fence at the playground!
Wyatte and Nevaeh in the wagon looking at a "snake" on the driveway after the rain. It really was just a nightcrawler. I guess you can't really see it in the pic, but that is what they are looking at!
Grandma Linda reading to Nevaeh and Wyatte, and Grandpa holding Aubrie! While John and I enjoyed a little time on the couch with out kids!
This is the field across the road from John's parents house. John counted between 20 and 25 deer out there. They were running around and jumping up and down, and playing with each other! Very fun to watch!

This video is not the best quality, because it was taken on my digital camera at dusk, and I was a ways away, but I think you can still see what I am talking about during the video! Quite amazing to see how smart these deer really are! Linda and Laverne get to see this almost every night!

So hopefully this will satisfy those of you that check up on me on a regular basis! I know there isn't much wordage in there, but the pics should do the trick. I will try to get back on her every night to let you know what is going on with us. I told myself I need to do it for me too. That way I can look back and see what we did when! At the end of the year I can go back through and jot stuff down that I forgot!

Oh and by the way, Nevaeh has been doing ok with the potty training. Friday we were at the park, so I put her in a pull up and then we came home and she napped and then I left for the moms craft night (that no one else but Heidi showed up for) and so we didn't do so good then, but... If you stay on her she will go on the toilet, but if you forget to ask her, she has wet pants because she will just stand there and pee on the floor! Not so much fun for either one of us!

stay at home moms

i told myself that i was going to start posting on here every day and haven't kept up with that. i missed two whole days! lots went on, and i will post later, just wanted to let you all know that i am still here, and have lots to say, a few pics to put on and so forth and so on.

i was talking to my brother, im'ing actually, and this is what i told him....

i gotta run, need to get some stuff done in the house today, one of the side effects of being able to get out and do stuff is that my housework never gets done, so i need to make up for a week of being a stay at home mom who wasn't home!!!

are there any other stay at home moms that have that same problem?

garden???

I would like to do more in the garden this year, but am not really sure when to start everything. So for anyone out there that knows, let me know. I read somewhere yesterday that it is ok to start potatoes and onion sets now, is that true, seems a little(???) early to me. And then when do I start everything else? Just the wonderings of a new gardener.

Thanks for the input.

day two, part 1

day two...

Nevaeh woke up wet this morning, but did sit on the potty right away and went! The kids wanted french toast and eggs for breakfast, so we made that, planned a playdate with Seth and Sam for later this afternoon at the park. And then we then went for a walk down to Grandpa and Grandma Hoard's house, so I put a pullup on her because I didn't want her to have to sit in wet pants if she didn't make it there. No one was there when we go there, but she was still dry! So I put her on the potty and she just dribbled a little. While I nursed Aubrie I let the kids watch the incredibles. We then got ready to go and as we left Grandma and Grandpa pulled into the drivewa! So we stayed a little longer to visit with them. The kids played outside for probably around an hour, then we walked home. So I got in a close to 3 mile walk!

Yeah for me. I am going to start trying to get out every day and get at least a walk in. I am also going to see about getting a membership at the YMCA, and start going there. I thought about it last summer and winter too, but never did anything about going in. I think it will be good for Wyatte and Nevaeh also, the "Y" has childcare right there in the building, so... The interaction with other kids their own age. Teach them something.

I have a couple of nights to look forward to coming up. Tomorrow night there is a Mother & Daughter Tea at my mother-in-laws church that the girls and I are going to go to! My mom is coming also. It should be fun. I don't remember if I went last year, well I take that back I must have because Nevaeh came with me and the one before that I would have still been pregnant with her. So this will be our second one, and this time with 2 girls! Then Friday my church is having a moms craft night were you can bring whatever you want to work on scrapbooking, sewing, mending, anything and work on it in a room with all the other moms that come in!!! So I have a few ideas of things that I want to bring with me, but we will have to see what ends up on my plate!

I am planning on bringing my camera to the park today, so I will try to get some of the pics of today up tonight after the kids go to bed!

potty training, day one

Potty training Nevaeh is totally different than when I potty trained Wyatte. Right away this morning, I had her sit on the potty, and sit and sit and sit she did. Nothing happened, so we put on some of her new panties, and almost right away she pees! So I told her that she needs to try to let mommy know when she has to go potty, or just sit down on the potty by herself. So about 45 minutes later I had her sit down again, and sit and sit and sit again we did. Then I got up to get her a drink, and all of a sudden she was yelling "potty, mommy, potty, potty, mommy!" She had peed in the little potty. We called Grandma Linda to tell her and she was excited. Nevaeh smiled the whole time we were on the phone. Then since she got up sooo early this morning, I decided to lay her down for a little nap. When she woke up she peed on the potty again, we put panties on and I started getting lunch ready. I also wanted to try to make bread again, so I started that too. The next thing I know, I smell poop. She had pooped in her underwear. Wyatte never did that. He was soooo ready to get rid of the yuck in his diaper that he would sit on the toilet trying to poop even when he didn't have to go. He is still like that, if he feels gas, he goes and sits on the toilet just in case something else comes out too. So I got that mess cleaned up, we ate lunch and now all three kids are sleeping.

I tried to lay down and take a nap with Aubrie, but she does not like to snuggle when she is going to sleep. She laid next to me, and on my chest and just cried and cried and cried. I got up and laid her down by herself, and she was out in about 30 seconds. In a way it is nice to have a baby that will sleep by herself, but in other ways it kinda sucks. I want to take a nap today, and can't because there is a kid in the kids' room (Wyatte), a kid in my bed (Nevaeh), and one one the couch (Aubrie). So here I am on the computer trying to stay awake, while the kids are sleeping. Oh well, my bread is about to be ready for the next step and I have clothes that I need to fold, and so forth and so on, so I guess maybe God is telling me something. I don't need the sleep as much as I need to get my house cleaned up. So on that note, I am going to go and let you all enjoy your day.

Library Day, and NEW PANTIES!

Today was Storytime at our local library. I tried going a couple weeks ago by myself with the three kids, and it was a disaster! So last night I called Grandpa Stan and asked him if he was interested in helping me with the kids this morning. So we met him there, and then headed into the Children's area. They were sooo good! Even with out my dad there we would have been fine! The teacher read us 3 books by Eric Carle. One I had never heard of, and now that I am sitting here typing about it I can't remember the name of the book either! Sorry. Last time we were there I let Wyatte get a library card, but because of the fact that he was running around the library when we went to look for a book to bring home, he didn't get to use it. Today because he was so good, he got to pick out 2!!! One is about a snake called Verdi, and the other one is "Will you be my friend?" by Eric Carle. Nevaeh got to pick one out too, and the only one she wanted was "5 little monkeys jumping on the bed"! We have this same book at home, but she wanted it again, so...

We then went to Target to get pullups for Wyatte, and while we were there I decided that I was going to start potty training Nevaeh! So she picked out some panties, and some pullups of her own. She took a nap right away when we got home, so we didn't actually start until she woke up. She did ok for the first night. She peed on the potty once, but did pee on the floor twice. I tried not to get mad, but it is hard when you have a little girl that stands there and tells you she has to pee and then watches it come out! She keep me in your thoughts as I try this, Wyatte was super easy to train, he still wears pullups when he sleeps because he is such a sound sleeper, that he doesn't wake up.
Nevaeh in her new princess panties!

Not much else went on today, I rearranged my bedroom today. It ended up being harder than I thought it was going to be. Had to take the crib apart to get the bed to turn to the wall I wanted it on, then I lost one of the screws to hold the crib together... I am also moving Aubrie's dresser back into the kids' room because I don't have enough room in my room now for it, so... Not that you all really care about the arrangement of furniture in my bedroom, but now you know! Hopefully we can get outside tomorrow and play. We were going to today, but by the time the kids' woke up from their nap it was raining. We have a hanging strawberry plant that the kids are impatiently waiting to grow. We have also bought a few flower seeds that are going to need to be planted here soon. I can't wait to start working on the garden. Today on ebay I bought some "walking onions" I am excited to see them grow. Haven't ever heard of them, but they sounded interesting so will let you know how that turns out!

Nevaeh

Nevaeh and I had an impromptu photo shoot today when she woke up! Here are a few of the better ones! She was a little shy at first...
Then she started to move her hands...
And here is my pretty girl!!!
Then we did one in sepia tones, and I think she has the most beautiful look on her face. I know I am her mom, and thus a little prejudice, but I think she has the most gorgeous eyes!

First time for everything

So this morning we ventured into the previously unknown to us world of Sunday School! Wyatte has gone a few times to Sunday School with Grandma Linda and Grandpa Tuffy, but we have never gone to Sunday School at Grace. He loved going in the past, and he is getting to the point that he needs some more peer interaction, and what better place to get it than at church! I asked him this morning when he got up if he wanted to go, and he got all excited and told me yes. He wanted to go and sing songs and play with all his friends! So we decided that we would try it and see how it went. We actually managed to eat breakfast (leftover cinnamon rolls and bananas), get 2 kids and 2 adults in and out of the tub/shower, 3 kids and 2 adults dressed and out the door in time to only be 2 minutes late for Sunday School!!! At church we dropped Nevaeh off in the nursery, then off to Wyatte's class room where the teacher (a close friend of mine) told me that she found some fabric for a new baby wrap for her, another mom (due any day now!) and me. She is going to sew up the edges, and then get it to me. This one is a little lighter fabric, and a cream color so John can wear it too! A few of the patterns said to use a cotton gauze, so we are going to try that and see. Then it was off to the young marrieds class. We did walk in a little late, but not to bad. Aubrie stayed with us because she won't take a bottle yet, and it is just easier to keep her with us. Anyways we get there, and she starts fussing a little bit, so I told John to take her out, and she was soaked all down the side of her body. I thought maybe I had spilled on her or something and nursed her. She got done and I put her on my shoulder to burp her and she SMELLED HORRIBLE! It seemed like she had pooped everywhere but her diaper! So off to the car for some clean clothes and then to the nursery to change her, and then back to class. All in all in wasn't bad. Considering we are usually late for church which starts at 10:15, and we showed up in time for Sunday School at 9, I was pretty impressed with ourselves! Just took a little more motivation in the morning, and not as much lolly-gagging!!! {I am not sure if that is a real word, but...!}

I registered us for a paper garden class today, but it goes from 1 - 4 and I think the kids are going to sleep the whole time. I don't know if we are going to make it or not! It would have been fun. They were going to paint flower pots, and then get to make paper with flower seeds in it, that you could plant when you got home and watch your paper turn into a flower garden! I don't know, if we don't make it to the class, maybe I can find somewhere on the internet with instructions on how to do it, and we can just have our own class at home!

We are going to get outside today though when the kids wake up IT IS BEAUTIFUL!!! I can start walking again. No snow on the ground, doesn't look like rain, not real windy... We can also attempt to go to the park again. Wyatte wants to see if Sam and Seth, twins from church, want to go to the park with us this week. So Heidi, if you read this be ready for a call from us sometime this week for a park date!!!

Cinderella

I just have to mention this...

On another site that I like to check out, the Knudegaard Kronicles, one of the links that I have... They made a comment about a song called "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman. I read the lyrics, and then decided that I needed to listen to the song, and I cried! So I just wanted to say thank you for posting this wonderful song, and hope there are more to come. For some reason I am way behind in the music department lately. And I just wanted to share this song with others. I am going to try to post a link to a youtube video that plays it, but since this is the first time I have tried this, let me know if it works. If it doesn't you can go to youtube.com and search "cinderella steven curtis chapman" and it pulls up a few different videos with the lyrics (which I will also post in this post).

http://youtube.com/watch?v=MLYxtuC0oRk

She spins and she sways

To whatever song plays

Without a care in the world

And I'm sitting here wearing

The weight of the world on my shoulders
It's been a long day

And there's still work to do

She's pulling at me

Saying "Dad, I need you

There's a ball at the castle

And I've been invited

And I need to practice my dancing

Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella

While she is here in my arms'

Cause I know something the prince never knew

Oh, I will dance with Cinderella

I don't want to miss even one song'

Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight

And she'll be gone...

She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed

She wants to know if I approve of the dress

She says, "Dad, the prom is just one week away

And I need to practice my dancing

Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella

While she is here in my arms'

Cause I know something the prince never knew

Oh, I will dance with Cinderella

I don't want to miss even one song'

Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight

And she'll be gone

She will be gone

Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand

Just glowing and telling us all they had planned

She says, "Dad, the wedding's still six months away

But I need to practice my dancing

Oh, please, Daddy, please?"

So I will dance with Cinderella

While she is here in my arms'

Cause I know something the prince never knew

Oh, I will dance with Cinderella

I don't want to miss even one song'

Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight

And she'll be gone

Prom

I CAN'T GET THE RED EYE OUT OF MY PICS SO SORRY ABOUT THE SCARY LOOKS IN SOME OF THE PICS!!!

So tonight was Prom, and (my brother) Paul went with his long time (mostly on, sometimes off) girlfriend Krislyn. It was his last prom, as he is graduating this year. Yikes! I can't believe that I am going to have two brothers in college! It was soo dark in the arena where they did Grand March, that I had to have my camera in "night" mode, and in "night" mode you have to hold totally still to get a good picture. I finally got my hand steady enough to take a good picture, but the couples didn't really stop, so while I was steady, the pictures still turned out horrible because the couples kept moving! So I don't have any good pics of Grand March, but did get some halfway decent pics of them after.

John's neice, Mazie, is also a senior this year and was at Grand March with Aaron, and friend of hers from church. When John and I first met, Mazie was only 11 or 12 and now is is graduating, and going off to college, scary how fast the time goes by. Love you Mazie, and wish you the best of luck!

On a different note, Aubrie has gone from getting up 3 times a night, to only once!!!!!! Yeah for me! It took my body a little while to get used to, but is very nice now! I also laid her down awake tonight and she fell asleep all by herself! So, yeah for me doing things differently this time, and them actually working! I bought a "womb sounds" bear when Nevaeh was about 4 months old, but she didn't care for it at all, I think because I introduced it a little to late. With Aubrie I have been using it since day one, and while it doesn't always work to keep her asleep when I lay her down, most of the time it does! I have to admit that I do lay her on her stomach though, and I know they say not to, but she sleeps sooooo much better. I have the monitor right there, and the door open so I can her and see her when she is sleeping. I know they still say it isn't good, but... She is also starting to "talk" to us when we talk to her. She just babbles and babbles! She can hold her head up very well when you lay her on her stomach, and looks everywhere! One of my favorite things that she does is smile, actually smile when you talk to her, and look at her and laugh at her! Fun to see her hit all the milestones.

Tonight when I was getting Aubrie ready for bed, she decided to start "talking" to the pillows on my bed. This is her smiling at one of the grey pillowcases in the middle of her "story!"

We have also officially outgrown our first outfit! This is going to be the last night that Aubrie gets to wear this cute pair of pjs! These have been worn by all three of my kids, and I am sad to see it go!

Success!

Well, this morning they (John, Wyatte and Nevaeh) ate half of the cinnamon rolls that I made last night! John didn't rave about them, so I am sure they aren't as good as his mom's, but he went back for seconds so they must have been ok! I don't like any kind of cinnamon roll, or caramel roll, so I didn't try them. I just thought I would let you all know that I succeeded with my first attempt at cinnamon rolls!!!

Cinnamon Rolls

Today I got it in my head that I was going to try to make cinnamon rolls. And so far they have gone beautifully. I mixed it all up and let it rise, and it did! And then rolled it out and put the cinnamon and brown sugar in and then rolled it up, and let it rise again. And now, yes at quarter to 11 they are in the oven! John is still up watching a movie, so he will be my taste tester! I am sure they won't be as good as his moms, but hey it is my first time!!!

A few weeks ago, we bought a hanging strawberry plant from my brother Kirk, it was a fundraiser for school. Well, we got them a couple days ago, and John planted them today. The package came and it was just the bag, and 10 strawberry plants, and you had to put them in. So hopefully he did it right and we will have strawberries in a couple of months! The kids are excited, Wyatte wanted to know why he couldn't eat them tonight!

I finally got a glider rocker! I have wanted one since I had Wyatte, and now with my third I finally got one! They went on sale at one of the stores here in town, and I went and looked at it, and liked it, so it is now in my living room!!! Aubrie loves to rock, and I love sitting there with her.

She is getting so big. We had a nurse come out as part of our WIC program and she weighed Aubrie on Wednesday and she was 11 pounds 3 ounces! So she is putting weight on well. She is now 7 weeks old, and growing fast! She loves to sit in my lap and watch what is going on! Today we were in Target and I was holding her facing out so she could see what was going on, and she kept tipping her head back so she could see the lights! It was pretty funny. She is starting to make some noises when you talk to her... it is just amazing how fast they grow!

Well, I can smell my rolls, so I need to check them out. Have a great night/day!

Just another day in the life of...

Today, again, was a rough day for us. I have been having problems with my eyes and then end up with a headache almost like a migraine that doesn't go away, and my wonderful 3 year loves to make train "choo-choo" noises as loud as he can, his favorite movie right now is also Tarzan, during which and after he loves to imitate Tarzan's yell, along with Tantor's elephant noises. So I have a hard time keeping him quiet, and since it isn't quite nice enough to be outside with the rain on and off, we are again cooped up inside and loud noises, a migraine, and 3 loud kids don't really mix well.

Back to my eyes... A few times in the last month or so, I have been having problems with them. When I look out, off to the left side it looks like I am looking through one of those kleidescope toys. Kinda like everything is in wavy water, or something. And it doesn't stay in one spot. As I turn my head the spot moves, so I think in a way I am almost getting sea sick when this happens, because everytime I move my head the spot moves so it is hard to focus on anything. I haven't seen a doctor about it yet, but I think I am going to bring it up at my next appt which is on the 13th of May. So add that to your prayer request list please! Hopefully it gets better, but...

I have brought my baby carrier that Amy (my cousin for those of you that don't know) made for me to a few of the church events that we have had, and it has been very nice to have with. Between January and August, our church is going to have 10 or 11 babies added to it! A couple of the moms that have kids already were so impressed with my baby sling that they are going to make their own! We have looked at the wonderful supply (scarasm noted please) of fabric in our town, and found nothing suitable, but one of the moms is going to be in Cities this weekend, so she is going to check out a store down there and hopefully bring us some more fabric back so we can make our own! I was checking out the websites http://thebabywearers.com and http://theslingstation.com and found some neat patterns, and hints. There was also a really cute child sling, so your toddler or older child can carry around his or her favorite stuffed animal or baby doll, or truck!!! One of the moms from church has the cutest 2 yr old twin boys that I was maybe going to make them for! I think they would love them. She is having a girl, and everytime they see Aubrie they call her "baby sister" because that is what they are going to have soon! Heidi, that is her name, tried on my carrier today, and then her son Sam wanted to try to be "baby sister" in the carrier, so she put him in there and he loved it! So I think he would really enjoy being able to look like mom!

Today I again got the kids to all take a nap at the same time, and instead of messing around on the computer or doing dishes or picking up like I normally do, I laid down on the couch, and from 12:30 to 3:10, I actually got a very nice nap!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So right now I am feeling better, and hopefully will be able to sleep tonight!!!