Last post for May - you may have to visualize

For the cub scout pack meeting in May they did a talent/variety show. There were singers (both serious & comedic), a magic act, a dancing act & we decided to do a skit.

Time to visualize - Dan & I were kneeling on the floor with plastic pails and shovels (the kind you would take to the beach) "digging". Kassie was helping us, Abbie stood still behind us in a bright yellow shirt. Nate was the "boss" and stood off in the back (funny note on this later*). Nate, in Dan's safety vest & hard hat, walked up to our work site & asked Abbie "What are you doing" to which Abbie replied "I'm a light bulb", then Nate in his best gruff voice said "Get to work" and off he went. He came back in a few "minutes" (more like seconds) and said to Abbie "You aren't working, get to work or you're fired!" and she replied in her sweet little voice "OK" and Nate marched off again. When Nate returned the third time still seeing Abbie still just standing there he said "You STILL aren't working you're fired. Go home!" Abbie again said "OK" and then she left the "stage" at which point Dan & I began packing up all our tools. Nate was confused and asked us what we were doing to which we replied (in unison) "We can't work in the dark". Ha ha ha - that was our skit.

I took my camera so someone could record our skit for us but I forgot to ask for help with that so instead I video taped the dancing act. It was a family we are good friends with. At first I taped it just to give them a hard time, they were doing a Wii dance game after all! But then their youngest (the little one with the red shirt & binkie), looked like he was trying to do what everyone else was doing - it was sooo cute! Then when I watched it later I noticed Nate in the background (still in costume from our skit) following along - too funny! I asked permission to share it (Thanks Sara!) and so here you go:



When the activity was over the family who brought their Wii, let all the others who wanted a turn, have a turn. They had a tremendous amount of fun! Especially my kiddos! When Dan & I got married we decided on a no video games rule for our children/family, but with the wii (since you get up and move more than the previous types of video games) we are starting to re-think our decision. We haven't given in yet, but our resolve is starting to dissolve for sure.

*Nate had me type up our skit for him. Turns out he brought it with him, and put in on a small table in the back, then every time he left the stage between lines he was going to the table in the back and spot memorizing his next set of lines. I noticed this mid-skit. It was just about all I could do to not bust out laughing then & there. What a funny boy!

I am grateful for good friends and good fun together as families!

Maddie's Blessing Day

Both sets of grandparents came to visit for Maddie's baby blessing. We blessed her Memorial Day weekend and so we had a long weekend and a chance to do a couple of fun things with Grandparents, which is always a special treat for us & the kids. For some reason my camera came out next to never that weekend so you'll have to take my word on it - there is no good photographic proof. We went bowling, to a festival (I can't remember what it was called but it's theme was boating or something like that - they had old sailing ships on display & for a pretty penny you could take a cruise, we had to pass on that - too spendy for us!), and after a delay was able to go to the Tacoma Glass Museum. [I didn't get any good pictures/videos that day at the museum - see my older post from Mother's Day last year Happy Mother's Day!? for some. We had been given some $ as a baby gift from the family that I was a nanny for in NY & since they were the ones that introduced me to the beautiful world of glass art - I used part of the money to purchase a family membership at the Museum. It's one of our favorites & so now we can go back often - Extra special treat for us!]

We had someone take pictures of us at church after Maddie was blessed - I don't have them back yet & will post some when I get them. However, we did it again! I've yet get to get a good or even decent picture of our family - Dan, myself & the kids on a blessing day. Some one is always crying, goofing off or the picture doesn't get taken at all - which is what happened again! When having pictures done at church pictures were taken of the Maddie, the kids, the entire group of us & one of our family with Dan's parents, but not one of just our family or our family with my parents. GRRRR! So, I asked some neighbors to stop over and take the 2 "missing shots". I can't remember what happened but Abbie got in trouble on the way home so my streak remains in tact, no good family picture on a blessing day - some things are just not meant to be.  Here are the best pictures (that I have) of that day.

How cute is this one though?! My favorite so far!!!

 

 We are grateful for families who care enough about us to make such an effort to be with us on special occasions. It means the world to me/us!

Mother's Day - UGH!!!

Let me just start by saying - I love my kids & I LOVE being a mom. I just simply HATE Mother's Day. I didn't like it when I was growing up - I'm a believer in saying what you mean so finding the "right" Mother's Day card for my mom was a pain. The full on hate started - when we were "trying" to have children with no luck. Seeing the knocked-up teenagers at the mall all but drove me to drink. I realize now that emotions ruled at that point in my life, which I hope rationalizes the insane thoughts I had then. (i.e. Why would Heavenly Father send his spirit children into that situation but not to us? - yep totally out of my head there, but those feelings were oh so real & so very painful. Something I'll never forget & hopefully helps me be a little more sensitive to others in difficult, child centered, circumstances.) Then we were blessed with Nate & then Abbie, Kassie & now Maddie & Mother's Day is officially one of if not my very most hated day of the year. It is ripe with great expectations from what the day should be like - breakfast in bed, gifts and all the (excuse me) CRAP to go with it - to the talks in church on what kind of mother I should be or strive to become - again CRAP! (I say what I mean and I mean what I say, it's who I am, love me or leave me alone.)

So this year I thought I would give it my best to have a good day with no expectations. Mind you I had just had a baby less than 2 weeks prior. We were going to miss church, recovering from a c-section was more than a valid reason. Nate & Abbie really wanted to sing to me at church and so I gave in ('cause that's the kind of mom I was that day) and we compromised & went to sacrament meeting only. Let me say here (sorry for the TMI) that I still had a surgical drain in & was completely self conscious about it. So we went to church & were late (another biggie on my list of pet peeves - but that's a post for another day), and I can't remember what happened but Nate & Abbie didn't/wouldn't sing with the primary children or I had to take the baby out - something, but the entire reason for going to church didn't happen - anyway it was starting to look more & more like a typical Mother's Day. By the time sacrament meeting was over - I was, physically, DONE - everyone wanted to see the baby and talk - I just wanted to go home & be somewhere comfortable.

Dan & the kids did their best to make my day nice, but it was hard to have a special day considering the situation, new baby & all. The one tradition we kinda have for Mother's Day, is that Dan takes my picture with the children after church. I am usually the one behind the camera & I like it that way. I recently had a friend ask me "Do you ever see pictures or videos of your self and think, Is that REALLY what I look like?!" - Yep every time I see myself in a picture I think that! So we were trying to take our annual picture - (a regular 3 ring circus!) when a neighbor walks by and says Dan should be in the picture & takes one for us with everyone, which was nice. Anyway - here are the best 2 shots of the day.

As much as I dislike Mother's Day I love my children at least 100 times more than that. They are my greatest treasures, now and always. No matter what I will always love them unconditionally with my whole heart.

Summer Fun

So for Abbie's 3rd birthday, way back when, Dan bought a climbing wall for her birthday. It was a bit much for her then & a real pain so in the past it hadn't come out to play very often, but since we we're restricted pretty close to home & the weather has been more or less decent this summer we've pulled it out & let the kids have some fun!

Mostly we've got videos, they show more in this circumstance, so here they are  (sorry for the background noise) this may be overkill for our friends who read our blog - but I'm posting all these with distant grandparents in mind.















We did get one picture of Abbie's crazy static hair - YowZa!

I am grateful for good weather when we have it & kids that LOVE to play outside!

FIRE! (Station that is)

One of the local firehouses here was having an open house of sorts where you could go tour the facility, ride on the trucks, participate in extinguishing a fire, etc. Nate needed to visit a fire station for scouts & since I had only been home for about a week (and still had too much post surgery hardware attached to my being) Dan took the two big kids & left me home with the 2 little girls. It went just fine, the trip to the fire station was lots of fun & the accomplishment for scouts was passed off.

Nate has said off & on since he was in preschool that he wanted to be a firefighter when he grows - so this gave him some practice driving the truck - ok maybe not really - but hey he's not getting any closer than this anytime in the near future.

Abbie's turn

Going for a ride

Checking out the Ambulance

Dan and the kids met up with some of our friends there. You can see their blog entry here:
Fire Station
It has pictures of Dan using an extinguisher to put out a fire - none of those came home on our camera for obvious reasons.

I am grateful for Dan and his desire for our family/children to have so may great experiences as they grow.

Caught up on April

WHEW! - next up May

Wondering if I can catch up to "now" before July is over - seems ambitious to me. Time will tell I suppose, but at least I have an adorable excuse for not keeping current!

Madelynn Brielle

She arrived on April 27, 2010 at 12:29pm measuring 19 inches & weighing in at 7lbs 2 ounces.

She was 1 ounce smaller than Nate & Kassie & 4 ounces bigger than Abbie. She's our only baby born in the pm. She was born with lots of dark hair. She is a mild and content little one, who started smiling from day 1 or so it seems. She lost quite a bit of weight at the beginning, at one point gaining a few ounces then losing almost a whole pound. I've had to make some compromises I'm still not sure I'm ready to make, like having to supplement with formula when I was able to nurse the other 3 for the first year. That may be an entry for another day, maybe....

She's doing well & thriving. We love having her in our family & all the kids love loving on her.

And now for the pictures:
Her first photo

I hate these pictures they are so un-flattering!

Holding onto daddy

Our little mommy

The girls

The best big brother for 3 little sisters that there ever was!

I am so grateful for 4 healthy children who love each other, for the most part get along well with each other, bring me unmeasurable joy & bless my life each & every day!

Baby Shower

Just a quick note - mostly to document my gratitude.

My new visiting teacher (from church) and some friends threw a baby shower for me. I felt a little guilty about it. It was for baby #4 and they had given me one for Kassie less than 2 years ago, but I caved to them and I'm am very glad I did. There wasn't really anything much we needed - things we'd like to have sure, but for need there was only 2 things I felt like were a need.

First - a new diaper bag - it's the only thing I feel like I deserve new with each baby - they get so ratty and worn out & since it goes everywhere the first 18 months - 2 years, it's my one thing I treat myself to each time.

Second - a double stroller.  When Abbie was born I considered getting a double stroller, but then decided against it. I never had any regrets about that choice, but we are much busier now - taking big kids here, there & everywhere & frankly Kassie can be a force of nature all on her own so I felt this time I really needed the double stroller if only for containment. I hope that doesn't sound bad - but really it's all about safety for the little girls and sanity for me.

So the idea of a group gift was presented & after much research I decided on the double stroller I would like to have. I had it narrowed down to 2 strollers a front/back double & a side-by-side. They were both rated about the same on consumer reports and very close to each other in price but the side-by-side won out in the weight department - it was 20 pounds lighter & that was huge for me (c-section recovery and all). Most of the guests at the shower, and several friends who weren't able to attend went in together & purchased the stroller for us - what a huge blessing! I was then able to use the $ I was saving for the stroller to purchase the compatible infant car seat. There were other gifts at the shower, some baby toys, outfits, blankets & such. The next best surprise is I received the new diaper bag I wanted. When the shower was over we were set. It was wonderful & we felt very blessed to have such great people in our lives.

I haven't taken any pictures as of yet of the stroller I'm sure one will show up eventually - after all soccer season is just around the corner, but I can tell you that I absolutely LOVE IT! I would recommend it to anyone - it has been a sanity saver indeed!

Since I love to put pictures in my posts & I didn't take any at the shower - here is a picture of the lovely bouquet that was made/given to me at the shower. Better than no pictures to commemorate the event, rigtht?

I

I am grateful for friends who care so much about us to do something so wonderful for us!

Easter Egg Hunt

Ok so for those who don't know (I'm sure there has to be someone who doesn't - right?)... Our 2 oldest children have a severe food allergy to egg (anything with egg, or egg by-product in it). Yes it's a pain, but we've adjusted and if they both have to have food allergies at least they are allergic to the same thing - it's a huge help it really is! Anyway, their allergies were discovered about the same time for both of them - when they were about two. Kassie just turned 2, and when I say our fingers are crossed that is an UNDERSTATEMENT! So far it doesn't look like she has any food allergies, but with Nate & Abbie it showed up out of the blue with no notice what-so-ever, so needless to say I'm hesitant to say with any certainty that she is allergy free. Ok so with that tidbit of info you will understand why we had never taken our kids to an Easter Egg Hunt. This was the year it all changed....

Nate (8 years old) & Abbie (6 years old) are both old enough to be aware of their allergies & they pretty much know what is safe or not & are good about asking for approval before eating something they are unsure of - Nate is better than Abbie but overall they both do a great job of keeping safe. So with that in mind we decided to give in to their pleading to go to an Easter Egg Hunt and give it a try.

It was  a great success. We tagged along with some great friends (the Schaser Family, thank you!) and the egg hunt they've been going to for years. It was held in a little neighborhood community park. They had separated it into 4 or 5 different age groups and eggs were hidden according to age level. Parents were not allowed to help their children (no matter their age - but this was a rule I've decided I'm a big fan of). They had the children who were too old for the hunt as helpers for the little ones - it worked out perfectly for us - as one of the Schaser girls was assigned to Kassie's area & since Kassie was comfortable with her it was easy peasie - WHEW.  Nate & Abbie did great on their own. At the end of the hunt they lined up all the children in each age group, the one who found the most eggs in front of the line and the rest lined up behind according to how many eggs they found. They then were taken to choose a prize - everyone got a prize. There was both real & plastic eggs - we told the big kids that they couldn't do anything with any of their eggs until we got home. They were pretty good about it & we were able to pull the real eggs out, keeping everyone safe. It was the best Easter Egg Hunt I've ever been too. We'll be tagging along again next year!

Kassie is ready to go - clueless but ready!

 Getting things figured out. 

Full basket = the winner in the toddler division! She was so much fun to watch - once she figured it out she was unstoppable!

Abbie had fun searching and came in the middle of her division.

Nate had more fun than Abbie in searching & also came in the middle of the pack.

Three happy hunters - with all their loot!

I am glad, that although I'm a worry wart at heart, that I can step out of my comfort zone and just let my kids be kids. On days like this it takes a lot - it sure would have been easier to keep them safe at home, but with Benadryl & Epi-Pens in my pocket we took a chance & had a TERRIFIC time!

It's that time again....

Time for me to take the time to put my thoughts down. A lot has happened since my last post & I'll be doing my best to "catch up" over the next week or so.  I'm going to attempt with the oldest stuff and work up to "now" and if I'm lucky I'll do more than one post in a day so scroll down if you see something new there may be more new below it - if not check back. I've found that I really like to blog and regret not having the time to do it more. I've never been much of a record/journal keeper but this seems to fit me better. So ready or not here goes....

For this post - I am grateful for pictures and videos we've captured on the camera these last few months. They will be my greatest asset in my efforts to catch up.