Busy Blessings

3 Day Potty Training Boot Camp

2011-02-03T13:01:00.005-06:00

When I first started on this endeavor, I was going to do a blog post each day (for the 1st three days). We are now on Day 9 so I'm scratching that idea. Here's what has been happening the last 9 days at Potty Training Boot Camp.

First, I need to go back to December. Each day for about a week, I would see comments that a facebook friend was making about doing the 3 Day Potty Training with her daughter. As the days passed, with the exception of an accident or two, it appeared that her daughter had really been potty trained in 3 days. I became a bit curious but didn't inquire of her.

This would be a good time to tell you what a lazy mom I am when it comes to potty training. I crashed and burned early with Eli in the potty department and finally gave up until he made up his mind to do it. (as a sidenote since I wasn't blogging waaaaaaaay back then. He was 3yrs and 1 month old when he made that decision. It was Thanksgiving weekend. Philip and I were on an anniversary getaway and my parents were staying with Eli and EK. He walked up to my Dad and said something to the effect of "Grandpa, I need to poo poo." And that was it. All my frustrations from the previous year in vein.)

So when the time rolled around for EK, I just let it happen whenever it did. That turned out to be the fall that she was 2 1/2 when she started preschool 2 mornings per week.

Since the lackadaisical approach seemed to work best for me, I had planned on that same approach with Zane & Zander.

As mid-December came though, Zander kept showing more and more interest. 9 times out of 10, he would go in the potty on my command. (Hey Zander, you wanna go to the potty? Off he'd run and he would make it happen)

So I decided that I might should ask this facebook friend about the 3 Day Method. 'Cause I was thinking if I could get 2 boys trained in 3 Days rather than dragging it out, my life would be better.

The "method" is in an e-book format. My friend emailed it to me. I read it and thought it sounded good with the exception of 2 things.

You basically had to clear your calendar for 3 days in a row. The author suggested no cooking, no computer, no doing laundry, etc... Just at home right by their side for 3 solid days.

She also suggested they would wear underwear and T-shirt only for those 3 days. That would've been no problem if we were still in Florida, but a tad cold for this Arkansas winter weather.

So I read the book right after Christmas. Zander continued to go-on-demand. Zane would attempt it only after Zander produced something in the potty. But even then, Zane was usually unsuccessful. He just could not make it happen. (Keep both of those things in mind as you read further down)

The author of the book also said that after the age of 2 1/2, it gets harder to train using this method. My boys were 2yrs8mos in January, so if I was waiting on that warmer weather to happen before training, it sounded like it might be even harder.

I looked at our January calendar (which was already full), but saw that we only had one event the last weekend in January. I called my mom to see if she would come and help. My Dad said that they both would come. (THANK YOU!) He said he would take the big kids to/from their activities, take them out to eat, etc... and my mom would help me. (this is what my friend Lori called man-to-man defense. Me with one boy. My mom with the other. LOVE that phrase!!!)

Fast forward to the last week in January. I've got the calendar mostly cleared for the upcoming weekend. My parents are set to arrive Friday. I will start the 3 Day Method Friday morning and then they'll be here that afternoon to help me with the rest of Day 1 and then all of Days 2 & 3.

On Monday before boot camp is set to begin, I get a call from my Dad. He said, "Did you know the signs are right this Wednesday and Thursday?" I said, "What signs? What are you talking about?" He said, "Rita believes in the signs and she says the best days are Wednesday and Thursday." I follow up with, "What signs and who is Rita?" To which he replied, "To potty train the best days are this Wednesday and Thursday. Your mom is checking with someone else and if her signs are the same, then we'll be coming to your house tomorrow and train them Wed,Thurs and Friday." Well that conversation was over. I still had no idea what the "signs" were nor who Rita was.

I called my mom a bit later and asked her about the signs. The good ole Farmers Almanac. I laughed and laughed. And by the way, the person my mom checked with agreed that the best days were Wed-Friday. So that was the new plan.

My parents arrived Tuesday and I got everything ready to start Boot Camp bright and early Wednesday morning. I had previously emailed the book to my mom to read, but we both skimmed through it again Tuesday night to make sure we were on the same path.

The supplies I had were:

mini M&M's for going #1
gummy bears for going #2

40 pair of underwear... (my friend said her daughter went through 19 pair the first day, so I did the math. 19 for 1 child = 38 for 2 boys)

28 T-shirts...

and 17 pair of socks.

(I did have a picture of the socks, but now its disappeared. And those of you who upload single pictures to blogger, know what a pain that is if you're already in the midst of your post. So you'll just have to imagine what 17 pair of socks looks like)

Day 1 began with breakfast as usual. After breakfast, I told them we were throwing all our diapers away because they were big boys now and they were going to be wearing underwear.

Eli was my underwear model. He showed them how big boys wear underwear....

We put all their underwear in what-used-to-be our diaper basket. I let them pick what they wanted to put on first. They could choose from: Thomas, Mickey Mouse, baseball and a few random Spiderman that a sweet friend gave to us. Zander immediately chose but Zane kept picking 3 at a time.....

I had bought all of them in size 2/3T. However, we quickly discovered that one certain boy's rear end is a bit big. They were T-I-G-H-T on his hiney!

Day 1 went so much better than either my mom or I expected. If I recall correctly (since it is now 8 days later), they each had 1 accident. This is probably also a good time to say that I didn't follow the book exactly. She suggests going cold turkey ALL the time. I like my boys to sleep. So for naptime and nightttime, I put them in a pull-up. So when I say only 2 accidents, that doesn't refer to when they were sleeping.

Day 2 was about the same except that we had our first poop accident. That was fun. I think it was Zane that did it. We also got to go outside for a bit to play and Zander had a pee accident while outside playing.

Here are their backsides on Day 2:

Zane on left Zander on right

Day 3: They both had #2 accidents. Fun times again. But neither boy had a #1 accident.

My parents left on Day 4. Philip was working and Eli had 2 basketball games to play. Whew. I was a Nervous Nelly. We were going to be gone for about 3 1/2 hours. I loaded up my car and diaper bag with supplies. I had 6 pair of underwear, 4 pants, 2 shirts, paper towels, wipes, trash bags and a "pee" bucket. (pee bucket was suggestion of same sweet friend that gave us the Spiderman undies) Throughout the course of the ballgames, I took them to the potty 4 times and only on the last and final trip were they successful!

It was also on Day 4 that we had poop actually go into the potty. Up until then, they had either done it in their undies or when they were napping. So that was another success!

Day 5 was church and I was once again a Nervous Nelly! Philip had to work so I debated about whether or not to take them. No way was I reverting back to diapers, so if I took them it would be in their underwear. Since they had done so well on Saturday (both at home and on their first "outing"), I decided to take them. My ~~diaper~~ underwear bag was packed and off we went. When we got to Zane & Zander's class, there wasn't a teacher. So I volunteered to stay for the first half. So thankful it worked out that way. I was able to see the bathroom situation (how small the potties were, that it seemed to be better for them to stand rather than sit, etc...). During the 1 1/2hrs I was in with them, I took them to the potty several times. Zane was successful once but Zander never was. I think this was partially because Zander cannot seem to stand and pee at the same time. So, again, thankful that I was in there to see all this so I know what we need to work on at home. (they are in childcare at church 3 times per week, so its important to be able to use the potties there!) When another set of volunteers came to relieve me, I went to my Bible Fellowship class, but was constantly looking at my watch. Wondering if Zander had gone in his pants. Wondering if I should go and check on them. The hour passed and I was pleasantly surprised when I picked them up that they were both dry! Another success!

Days 6-9: On Mondays we are mostly at home anyway, so I wasn't worried about Day 6. Monday night and into Tuesday morning, we were showered with a huge snowstorm, so the kids and I have been "snowed in" ever since. As far as potty training goes, being snowed in has worked in our favor. Normally, the boys would have been in childcare Tuesday morning for Bible Study as well as this morning for Mom's Day Out, along with being in the car taking Eli and EK to/from school, gymnastics, basketball, etc...

I would consider Zane 99.9% potty trained....hooray! He tells me without fail when he needs to do #1 and #2. I don't think he's had an accident since Day 3...but my memory could be failing! There have been times when he's done it completely on his own. Pants down, potty successful, and I don't even know until he comes running out to tell me. One of my favorite things he has continually said throughout this process is "spush." For example: after he goes in the potty he needs to spush (flush) it.

Zander, on the other hand, is probably 80-85% trained. Day 7 & 8 (which was Tuesday and Wednesday of this week), he had 2 or 3 pee accidents each day. Now, there were still plenty of other times when he told me he needed to go (both #1 and #2), so I know he's getting it...just not completely got it.

Do you recall way earlier in the post when I told you to remember that back in December and January, Zander would go on command but Zane never could make it come out? That is so interesting to me now after we've gone through P.T. Boot Camp. I just knew Zander would catch on so quickly, but its been totally reversed. They never cease to surprise me!

Having twins has been beneficial in the potty department. They love to clap and cheer each other on and are genuinely happy for each other when they are successful!

I guess because Grandma was such an integral part of their first few days of Boot Camp, they still occasionally say they want to tell her after they go #1 or #2. Emma Kate took the picture below of me calling Grandma to tell her that Zander had poo poo'd in the potty....

Overall, I'm highly satisfied with the outcome. It went much easier and better than I anticipated. Thank goodness for facebook or I might never have known about the 3 Day Method!

Photo of the Day

2011-02-03T08:50:00.004-06:00

Because we buy our yogurt (and many other staple food items) at Sam's, we keep it in the fridge in our garage. When the boys decide to eat yogurt, they like to go out to the garage by themselves to get it.

I loved the attire they were wearing this morning as they went out to get their yogurts:Keep in mind it was 4 degrees outside.

One doesn't want any clothes.
The other wants to be covered from head to toe.

Random Thoughts

2011-02-02T20:36:00.001-06:00

We're ending our 2nd Snow Day this week, (although our teachers did email work for the kids to do today), and we've already received the email that we're out of school tomorrow also. Basically that sentence should read: I've been in the house since Monday afternoon and haven't gotten out. Looks to be another repeat tomorrow. So I've got a lot to say.

Since I have no adult interaction other than the 2-3hrs that Philip is home before he goes to bed, I'm just going to write down the random thoughts that are going through my head.

Mollie is much better today. Walking, sitting and sometimes laying like normal. She really likes the chicken flavored baby food (which is what the vet recommended we feed her this week)
Speaking of Mollie and baby food. You know what baby food looks like when it comes out of a babies behind? Well, FYI, it looks pretty much the same when it comes out of a dogs behind.
Since the kids and I have been snowed in for 2 days, I haven't gotten out of my pajamas. Still got the same ones on that I put on when I went to bed Monday night. I bet Philip just loves to see me in the same clothes when he gets home at night as I was in when he left early that morning. Maybe tomorrow I'll go all out and change. Probably into different pajamas.
I went to Walmart Monday night and stocked up on some groceries. I wanted to get eggs but there wasn't a single egg to be found. Now, 2 days later, we are running low on eggs, butter and orange juice. Those things won't make me venture out tomorrow though. We can just do without.
I discovered tonight that its really hard to bake cookies, cook dinner, and assist in trips to the potty all at the same time. Turns out I cannot successfully do all three. Cookies came out okay, but the onions that I was sauteing burnt and some of what was supposed to end up in the potty ended up on the floor. (use your imagination here)
Final thought...I have been a Verizon customer since before it was Verizon. Way back when I got my first "bag" car phone (circa 1995), I was on Alltel. Been with Alltel ever since and now with Verizon after the buyout. I have really no complaints with Verizon except that I've been yearning for an iPhone. Most of last year, I debated if I was going to renew my contract with Verizon or switch over to AT&T so I could get an iPhone. I was plum giddy when I heard in December that a Verizon iPhone was in the works. And now I'm even more excited to say that.......the time has come!!! Tomorrow morning at 2am, Verizon customers who have "signed up" can order their iPhone online on a first come first serve basis. So yes, I will be setting my alarm and waking up a little before 2am in the morning to order my phone. All good things come to those who wait!

THE END

Lego Table

2011-02-01T21:25:00.004-06:00

Sometimes reading & following other blogs can get me into trouble. So many of the well known bloggers out there are either: kitchen gourmets, bargain hunters, or crafty. And I am none of those three. I like to cook but am no gourmet. I love a good bargain but will not spend hours hunting one down. And crafts. Oh crafts. I would love to be a crafty girl, but honestly, I can barely use my hot glue gun that was bought for $1 at the Dollar Tree. And I certainly can't even sew on a button.
So when I'm reading some of these blogs, I see their amazing recipes, awesome bargains, or totally cute craftiness and I wish to be like them. Thankfully for me, I do have a husband that is pretty good with tools (no doubt because of his amazingly handy father). So occasionally when I see a craft that I know he could do, I get excited.

The latest such project was a DIY Lego Table that I saw at The Idea Room.

Eli loves to play with Legos, but they were taking over my breakfast area and dining room table and computer desk. I'd find creations or little pieces everywhere. I thought this souded like a great idea to have a place to play with them.
We didn't want to spend much money on the table, so I searched and searched on Craigslist for a cheapo. Never found one that seemed quite right.
I finally found this one at a furniture outlet. It had a small crack in it, so it was fairly reasonably priced. Now, if you've read about the table at The Idea Room, you know that she suggests having a "lip" around the table. Well the one we found did not have a lip, but that handy husband of mine said "no problem." He made a lip and stained it to match pretty darn perfectly to the original table color.

Next, we ordered these baseplates from Lego. Again, I tried to go cheap, checking for these on Ebay, but no luck.

After the baseplates came in, Philip got busy gluing them to the table. He even used little Lego men to help hold them together!

After all the baseplates were glued on, he used some big thick books as well as clamps to hold them down while they dried...

The table was finished and brought up to Eli's room. He immediately got busy scattering pieces out all over the table.

And then he went to creating masterpieces....

like this:

Star Wars Battle of Endor...

and this:

Atlantis Underwater Exploration Station....

I'm so pleased with how the table turned out. Philip did a great job! And Eli has already spent several hours during our snowed-in week at home upstairs in his room at his Lego table!

So glad God gave me a husband who can pick up the slack in some of my non-gifted areas!

Mollie Dog

2011-02-01T13:09:00.004-06:00

This is Mollie Valentine.

(I know that picture is really blurry, but she's scared of my camera. So when I get it out, she won't be still)

She is 6yrs old and we have had her since she was about 10 weeks old.

She has turned out to be like a teacup breed of Maltese, although she wasn't advertised as that. We knew she was a Maltese and expected her to weigh between 6-10lbs like her parents.

She weighs 2.5lbs. She has never weighed more than 3lbs. She's soooo tiny and bony. We've had her on high-calorie dog food and it doesn't matter. She just doesn't gain weight. (it would be nice to have a bit of that problem)

Yesterday was not a good day for Mollie Dog.

I took her to get her teeth cleaned. Her breath was really stinky, so we decided it was time for a good cleaning.

When I took her in, one of the assistants told me about the procedure. Because of her size, they wanted to do bloodwork to make sure her tiny body could handle the anesthesia. Then, they also wanted to put a catheter in to keep her hydrated (again because of her size). I asked for an estimate for the procedure and was quoted around $300. (this included pain meds for afterwards as well as her heartworm meds for 6months). However, if she needed any extractions, they said the price would increase.

They told me they would start the procedure around mid-morning and that I should be able to pick her up late afternoon.

I received a call around 1:30 or 2:00. Here is what I recall of the conversation.

Me: "Hello"

Vet: "Mrs. Jackson, this is Dee, the Vet. Mollie is waking up from anesthesia and she's doing fine. But, I'm sorry to say that she has no teeth left."

Me: "Excuse me?"

Vet: "Yes ma'am. I'm sorry, but her teeth were just awful. They were infected and we really didn't even have to work to get them out."

Me: "So she has NO teeth left?"

Vet: "Right, but I assure you she's going to feel much better."

Me: "I didn't know she was feeling bad in the first place."

Vet: "Her teeth were really bad and just practically fell out."

Me: "How will she eat?"

Vet: "She'll do fine on soft food."

The conversation went on for a bit longer but the details after that are unimportant. We hung up and I felt completely sick to my stomach. I would go back and forth between thinking I was going to throw up and then feeling like I was going to cry.

She is just a dog. I get that. But, no teeth? That's just not right.

In the conversation, I was told to wait until around 5:00 to come and pick her up so they could continue to watch her. Philip was supposed to get home around 5:00 so I decided to wait until he got home to go get Mollie, so I wouldn't have the distraction of all my busy blessings being with me.

As it got closer and closer to 5:00, the knot I was feeling kept getting tighter and tigher. It traveled. Going from my stomach, up to my throat, back down to my stomach, etc...

Philip came home and it was time. Emma Kate asked if she could go with me. Although I would've rather gone by myself, I said yes. I later had a thought that her going with me was probably God's way of keeping me calm and Christian-like when I spoke with the 2 Dr's.

The vet is only about 5 minutes from our house, but with each passing minute during the drive, I was getting madder. And sicker. We went in and they called us back into an examining room. Two Dr's that helped with her procedure came in to talk to us. I won't go through the details of that conversation, but 2 things happened:

I calmy let them know how unhappy I was that no one called until AFTER it had been done.
I actually felt much better about Mollie's prognosis after hearing their explanation.

Then it was time to see our Mollie Dog. Surprisingly she looked almost normal. They had said the main difference we would probably notice would be that her tongue might hang out or be wobbly. Because she doesn't have a place to "rest" it and therefore doesn't really know what to do with it.

We brought her home and she acted much better than I anticipated the first 2 hours we were home. As evening rolled around though, she just wasn't herself. She wouldn't go into her "house." (which is very strange b/c that's where she likes to sleep and its her safe haven away from all the noise and chaos of our house). She also would barely sit or lay down. She just stood.

When it was time for Philip and I to go to bed, she still wouldn't go in her house nor lay down outside of her house. I put her in bed with us and was able to curl her up next to me. She stayed in our bed the entire night (which is a big no-no for Philip. When we first got her, I wanted her to sleep in our bed and he immediately nixed that. In hindsight, I'm glad she has her own bed and we have ours. Thankfully though, I think he knew how critical last night was and he didn't make me put her down). She slept pretty good. I heard a couple of moans from her, and I had to make her lay back down a few times.

She still isn't herself today. Her front 2 legs are very stiff and she still won't sit or lay down. The vet called this morning to check on her and said that if she's still acting that way tomorrow to give them a call.

I felt so sorry for her and it hurt me to see the way she's still acting today. So I've resorted to this...

Carrying her around in a pouch.

Go ahead and laugh if you want. But don't let me know about it. She's just not herself and if this makes her feel better, I'm going to do it.

This carrier is from Build-a-Bear. Emma Kate got it one time for one of her bears. (sidenote: Praise the Lord we no longer have to go to Build-a-Bear and spend WAY TOO MUCH MONEY on stuffing and dressing bears.)

It's just the right size for our Mollie Dog.

Lovely picture, I know. Its a snow day. It's 2:03pm and I'm still in my pj's. Don't be a hater.
Emma Kate has enjoyed carrying Mollie around today, too.

Hopefully she'll perk back up in the next day or two.

Story to be continued....

Blessings to this Momma's Heart

2011-02-01T09:34:00.003-06:00

Before I share what's on my heart this morning, let me make a disclaimer that Eli and Emma Kate are by no means perfect. They argue. They throw fits (well that's just mostly Emma Kate). They complain. And the list goes on.

But what I want to share today is how they've made my heart happy in the last 15 hours...and without even realizing it.

Last night, they asked if I would download some songs onto their iPod Touch(s). Every song they asked for is a Contemporary Christian song. Specifically, they asked for songs by: Brandon Heath, Britt Nicole and Group 1 Crew. (the grandparents reading this won't recognize those names, but most of the rest of you reading know who those artists are).

I love that this kind of music is what they think is normal. I hope they always want to listen to music that is written to glorify God.

Secondly, this morning they crawled in my bed since its a snow day (HOORAY!), and as usual, I was on my iPad. (that seems to be my favorite iPad spot...my bed). They both asked, but at different times, if we could download the Bible onto their iPods. oh Father, let me seize this moment. A 10 and 8yr old asking for the BIBLE to be put on their iPods. Thank you Father for what you are pouring into their hearts and what they are retaining. Thank you for all the Godly people and places you have placed in their lives (2 of which are school and church). Finally Father, let them finish this race to your Kingdom with endurance.

Some verses that have popped into my mind as I've been typing this:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:5-7)
...and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. (Hebrews 12:1b-2a)

Amen and amen. All glory and praise be to HIM!

Fitness Buff

2011-01-29T22:03:00.004-06:00

Since working out at gymnastics 17 hours each week isn't enough, she decided to exercise at home tonight.

She asked if I could find some exercise on TV. I chose Denise Austin because I know she dresses somewhat modestly.

I took pictures.

And then helped myself to another cookie while I watched.

Just Kidding! (sort of)

Silly Gator Poem

2011-01-19T21:53:00.003-06:00

Two boys all snotty-nosed

Dressed head to their toes

in Gator clothes.

A helmet on top

Their feet had Crocs

But their diaper and train tee

Lacked any Gator colors...oh me.

The last picture just can't be beat

It shows you that on Zane's feet

is the way to wear your shoes

if you put them on by yourself and you're two.

Philippians 2:14

2011-01-19T21:19:00.004-06:00

Remember a few days ago when I posted about the One Word Prayers I'm going to pray for each of my family members this year? Remember that for Eli, I wanted the opposite of COMPLAIN? Well, today I was reminded of what Paul said in Philippians 2:14 "Do everything without complaining or arguing." (NLT) So, I'm thinking that maybe rather than having just one word, Eli will have a verse that I pray for him. This verse.

The real reason for this post though is because of what I found while searching different versions of Philippians 2:14. Read what The Message says for verses 14-16:

"Do everything readily and cheerfully - no bickering, no second-guessing allowed! Go out into the world uncorrupted, a breath of fresh air in this squalid and polluted society. Provide people with a glimpse of good living and of the living God. Carry the light-giving Message into the night so I'll have good cause to be proud of you on the day that Christ returns. You'll be living proof that I didn't go to all this work for nothing."

{Gulp}

I think the Lord just showed me an entire passage that I need to be praying.
I don't think its for Eli though.
I'm thinking its for Eli's mama.

Bird Food

2011-01-18T21:41:00.004-06:00

Today at childcare during my Bible Study, the boys made bird food. They were so excited to bring it home and put it outside for the birds to eat.

They decided to sit it on their picnic table.

Because it was really cold outside, we immediately came back in. They watched patiently at the window waiting for some birds to come.

After a few minutes with no activity from the birds, Zander got unhappy....

He wanted his bird food back inside.

I told him no and immediately got an arched-back show of displeasure.

This was a battle I chose not to fight.

So now there is one container of food left outside for the birds.

Yipsticks

2011-01-16T21:23:00.003-06:00

By now I know that when the boys are awake but quiet, that it usually means trouble. Quite often its Double Trouble. Tonight was no exception.

When I found them, they were sitting in my bedroom floor with the contents of a bag dumped out. Inside that bag, they found several tubes of "yipsticks."

And they put it on. Just like they've seen Mommy do.

They were so proud of themselves.

I was so proud that it wasn't all over the carpet.

Emmy Kate helped clean them up by using a makeup remover cloth.

They weren't fans of that.

Reflecting on 2010

2011-01-15T21:44:00.004-06:00

Somewhere in bloggy land, I found some questions that dealt with reflecting on the past year. I printed off the questions I liked and had Eli and EK answer them, as well as myself. (I didn't even bother asking Philip to answer them. I knew he would think it was stupid. But, I think I'll enjoy looking back on these in a few years.)

The question will be in bold. Answer in regular print and my thoughts in italic.

Starting with EK:

What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
Never did times (multiplication) before
What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
My birthday wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. (really? Cause I sure didn't know that. I thought you thoroughly enjoyed taking 3 friends to Shogun and then to a Gymbacks meet. Humph.)
What dates from 2010 will remain fresh in your memory and why?
When I got my iTouch in August.
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Winning the Santa Meet (which mom will add was her highest score ever!!)
Did you suffer illness or injury?
sick at the family reunion
What was the best thing you bought?
Christmas tree (She's referring to the new white Christmas tree we bought for her room in December. However, I didn't realize "she" bought it. Pretty sure I paid for that.)
What did you get really excited about?
When I won the Santa Meet
What song will always remind you of 2010?
Your Love (by Brandon Heath)
What do you wish you'd done more of?
Played on my beam (interesting because I recall you playing on it almost everyday. When else would you have liked to have been on it?)
What do you wish you'd done less of?
Eat unhealthy stuff (also interesting because you don't eat much of anything)
How did you spend Christmas?
went to Grandma & Grandpa's
What was your favorite TV program?
Big Time Rush (I had never even heard of this until I looked at her answers. I asked her what it was and she said "a show I watch at Grandma and grandpa's house." ohhhhh. that explains it.)
What were your favorite books of the year?
Puppy Place (this is a series of chapter books about animals)
What was your favorite music from this year?
Gotta Go (a Toby Mac song. She should've just put Toby Mac in general)
What were your favorite movies of the year?
Facing the Giants (its true. even though its not a movie from this year. She ALWAYS picks it to watch when we go on road trips.)
What were your favorite pieces of clothing to wear in 2010?
black peace pants and gray jacket (yep. pretty much everyday to gym she has those 2 pieces of clothing on over her leo)
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
7 and we went to Shogun and watched the gymbacks!
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
a hampster (she asked Santa for one and he told her he couldn't bring it on his sleigh)

Now for Eli's answers:

What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
learned what Pi (3.14) is
What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
an iPad
What dates from 2010 will remain fresh in your memory and why?
Oct. 15 & 16. My birthday party on the 15th and my first 2 TD's and 2 extra point in football on the 16th
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
being selected to go to the State Math Olympics testing
Did you suffer illness or injury?
I threw up 9 times. (yes, 2010 will go down as a year that we were plagued with the stomach bug 3 times. I didn't realize he kept track of his vomit though)
What was the best thing you bought?
I did not buy anything. (so true. this boy has more many saved than I do. He does not spend.)
What did you get really excited about?
my iTouch
What song will always remind you of 2010?
Gotta Go (Toby Mac)
What do you wish you'd done more of?
gone swimming
What do you wish you'd done less of?
twisted my ankle
How did you spend Christmas?
traveling
What was your favorite TV program?
Fetch!
What were your favorite books of the year?
Ramona the Pest
What was your favorite music from this year?
Gotta Go (same as EK. he should've just put Toby Mac in general. They listen to his music over and over and over.)
What were your favorite movies of the year?
G-Force and Ramona & Beezus
What were your favorite pieces of clothing to wear in 2010?
my Tim Tebow jersey (he does love a good jersey!)
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I went to a corn maze, played night time dodge ball and had a silly string war. I was 10.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Going to DisneyWorld or the beach (definitely agree with him on the beach part!)

Now for my answers:
What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before?
Drove 1,976 miles by myself with 3 kids
What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010?
iPhone
What dates from 2010 will remain fresh in your memory and why?
Family Reunion Trip (1,976miles), going to Las Vegas in May, my trip to FL in June to see my besties, and Eli making the All-Star Team in June/July
What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Losing 35lbs.
What was your biggest failure?
not being as dedicated to prayer as I wanted to be
Did you suffer illness or injury?
we passed the stomach bug around our house 3 times.
What was the best thing you bought?
iPad
What did you get really excited about?
trips to Las Vegas and FL. and the boys starting Mothers Day Out in August.
What song will always remind you of 2010?
anything Wiggles because the boys became obsessed with them during the last half of the year.
What do you wish you'd done more of?
spend time with God and blogging
What do you wish you'd done less of?
yelling
How did you spend Christmas?
5 day trip to Texarkana and then Piggott.
What was your favorite TV program?
American Idol
What were your favorite books of the year?
not sure if I finished one.
What was your favorite music from this year?
anything by Chris Tomlin, music from Glee (even though I've only seen a few episodes), and from the country genre: Love Like Crazy by Lee Brice, Water by Brad Paisley and Rain is a Good Thing by Luke Bryan
What were your favorite movies of the year?
Blind Side and Letters to Juliet
What were your favorite pieces of clothing in 2010?
boots in the winter. workout/stretchy clothes in warmer months.
What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
It was Easter Sunday. We went to church in Texarkana and then drove home. I was 34.
What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
A full-time person to pick up/straighten up/clean the house. (maybe not full time but about 12 hrs/day.)

That's 2010 wrapped up for the 3 of us. It was a lot to type, but I'm already so glad I did it!

One Word

2011-01-15T16:18:00.006-06:00

I'm going to jump on this "One Word" thing I heard about in blogland. I found this on Ali Edwards blog (which I don't even follow), but thought it sounded neat. Basically, I choose a word for myself to focus on for the year. As soon as I decided to do it, one word immediately came to me. JOY. But not the joy that the Holy Spirit gives us. I like to think that I've got a good dose of that. The JOY I'm talking about is actually an acrostic J.O.Y.
Jesus
Others
Yourself

I want to get back to being a Jesus girl. Loving him above all else.
I want to think of others before myself and serve others before myself.

As I was pondering this "One Word" thing, I came across this post from Lysa TerKeurst. She sort of takes the concept of one word per year and puts a spiritual twist on it. One Word Prayers. For her children, she is choosing one specific word for each of them and will make that word a focal point as she prays for them.

I have decided to do that for all 6 of the members of my family.

You already know that for myself, the word will be J.O.Y.
I have chosen the word for Philip, but I'm not going to tell all of bloggy land what it is. The reason? I don't want him to know what it is. If my prayer for him happens, I want it to happen because the Lord moved his heart to do it. Not because his wife pressure-prayed him to! I will tell you though, that I was led to his word from a song I heard. It's a beautiful picture of what I desire.
For Eli, the word is not so easy. For him, I want the opposite of COMPLAIN. Ya'll, that boy complains about everything. I've looked up antonyms for complain. It gave me rejoice, applaud, approve, praise. I don't feel like I should pray for him to rejoice, applaud, approve or praise having to do schoolwork, unload the dishwasher, etc... But one of the antonyms that did strike me is "be content." Its not one word. But I like it. It seems to fit.
Emma Kate's word has been a bit of a struggle. It may change as I start praying it for her. CONFIDENCE. She lacks it. I definitely don't want her to be arrogant, boastful, proud or cocky. She is none of those. But, I do wish that she had confidence in herself. Not only now as it would relate to her in school and gymnastics, but in a few short years when she is faced with teenage peer pressure. I want her to be able to say no when needed because she is confident enough in herself.
For Zane & Zander I've chosen just one word: POTTY. Does that make you laugh? It does me. Don't know if I'll actually pray that. But, I could. Scripture tells us that God cares about the small details too. Hopefully in a few weeks, I'm going to embark on a 3Day Potty Training session for both of them. I bet I'll be doing a lot of praying during those 3 days!

If any of my words come to your mind throughout the day, feel free to pray them for us too. That may very well be the Holy Spirit prompting you. :-)

2011 Goals

2011-01-15T11:42:00.011-06:00

I don't like resolutions. Maybe its just the word itself. Resolutions. I don't know, but I'm not gonna use that word. You can't make me.

Instead, I choose the word goals. Ahhh, doesn't that sound much more appealing and inspiring?

I don't always make a list of goals. And if I do, they certainly don't have to be made just because its a New Year. But apparently all good bloogers do that, so I'll jump right in.

Fellow Providence mom, Jenny, actually inspired this post. She just thought of hers off the top of head without writing them down and pondering for days. {Gulp} So I'll do the same.

Read through the Bible in 2011. I actually did this in 2009 only because Bridget peer-pressured me to do it. Ha! Just kidding. Sort of. It was good peer pressure though, right? This time, I am doing it through our churches Tuesday Morning Ladies Bible Study. So with a renewed vigor, I am jumping in!

Be a better blogger. Not as in get more followers or make money from my blog. I'm not into that. I strictly blog to preserve the memories of my precious family. So I want to be better at keeping up with the blog. I am so very very far behind in posting. Like months and months behind. Its a little overwhelming really. So, I'd like to not do that to myself again this year.
This one goes right along with #2, but I want to get caught up on my blogging. You may be thinking its exactly the same as #2, but hold up. In #2, I said I wanted to get better at keeping up with the blog. That is keeping it current. For #3, I want to get caught up. I started blogging in 2009 and have not yet blogged all of that year. For 2010, I still probably have 1/2 the year to blog about. Its a big task, but I know if I do it, I will thank myself someday.

Keep working on my weight. Not that I like to publicly talk about this. What woman does really? But, I made a commitment last March to get the extra weight off that I'd been carrying around for far too long. I was very disciplined for about 5 1/2 months and lost exactly 35lbs! I think I was within 7lbs of my goal when I just couldn't make myself do it anymore. I took one month off, which turned into two months, then 3, 4, 5. And here I am now in January. A few pounds have attached themselves back to my mid-section. (that area and my face are their favorite places to hang out) Its time to get back with it. I'm just lacking any motivation right now. I'm hoping by posting this that I'll be forced to get back with it.

(stealing this one from Jenny. But its a good idea.) Take a picture of the 6 of us together once a month. That will be hard. And you know they won't be good pictures. But, these children need to know, when they get older, that they had a mother and a father. 1/2 way kidding, of course, but really, we're in very few pictures.

Start video-ing more. I do good at getting pics of the kids, but I've been getting worse and worse about videoing them. I even have the handy dandy Flip video which makes it sooooo easy. And they LOVE watching themselves after I've video'd them. as a sidenote* I'm not talking about videoing sporting events, spelling bees, etc.. I usually always get those. But really, who wants to sit around and watch those for hours on end? I'm talking about capturing them day-to-day being the fun happy kids that they are.

Get better at washing the dishes the same day that they get dirty. I'll be honest, I'm not excited about this one. But, if I don't do them that day, they sometimes sit for ~~a day or two~~ several several days.

Get better at menu planning. Not talking about those bloggers who link up every week to meal plans. I can't commit to that. But I do know that when I take the time to make out a menu, we are less likely to just go out and grab something. And its good for me to have a plan. I like lists.

Yell less. I hesitate putting that out in bloggy land because I don't want anyone to get the wrong impression. I do not frequently yell at my children. But, there are times when I'm at the breaking point and I yell at one (or more if the incident involves multiple children) of them. It does not make me feel good when I do it. Nor does it set a good example for them.
This one is more of a desire than a goal, but I need to end on the #10. (not because its the rules but because that makes it nice and rounded. Eye appealing.) I would like to go to a conference this year. Since 2004, I've attended one or two conferences every year (either the MOPS Convention, Women of Faith or D6 Conference). Last year I didn't go to a single one. Its nice to spend a weekend just getting my spiritual life filled up. Its like a car who has no gas. A weekend at one of those, puts my tank on FULL!

Happy 2011!

My Chalkboard

2011-01-13T21:59:00.003-06:00

My brother-in-law is skilled at finding junk and making it look good.

So I thought when I asked for a homemade Christmas present from he and my sister, I'd be giving him something enjoyable to do.

I think I was wrong.

I wanted a big ole chalkboard with an even bigger frame around it.

I envisioned him finding an old frame on the side of the road somewhere and then fixing it up.

As the story goes, he spent many hours and a couple of do-overs making my chalkboard.

I felt bad that it turned out to not be enjoyable for him.

But, I couldn't be any happier with the finished product.

Here it is just after I had "primed" it to get it ready for writing...

and then later, with a verse I heard at Bible Study....

Now, a week later, my same verse is still on there but lots of other writings and verses have now appeared. Looks to be the handwriting of a 10yr old and a 7yr old.

I love that we have a family message board now. I am frequently using it to write verses or thoughts from my Tuesday morning Ladies Bible Study.

Emma Kate used it earlier this week to let our household know that her mouth was hurting.

But another day (when Philip had left especially early for work), I woke up and found this written on it:
Such a thoughtful Daddy.
He wrote this becaus Eli was participating in the school Speech Meet later in the day.
Eli loved finding it when we woke up!

So dear John (that is my brother-in-laws name...not the beginning of a sappy love letter), I truly didn't mean for my Christmas present to be such a pain for you. But your work is much appreciated. I absolutely love it and its already a huge hit in our house!

School Supplies

2011-01-12T21:32:00.000-06:00

Looks like a little boy (or two) wanted to do homeschool today like his big brother and sister. He must've just needed a few school supplies to get started.

A Victory for Mom

2011-01-12T21:31:00.002-06:00

You may remember that last Wednesday, one of the things that made my day extra challenging was Emma Kate's attitude toward wearing normal clothes to AWANA. She wanted to wear her favorite clothes that she wears every Mon,Wed,Fri to gym. Which is this....

(you may also remember that these are the clothes she listed as her favorites from 2010 in the Reflections post I did.)

I told her that those clothes are fine for going to/from gymnastics, but not for other places. Well, she didn't get to go to AWANA because of the fit she threw.

So tonight when it was time to get ready for AWANA, I reminded her of our little incident last week and that if she didn't choose something matching tonight, that I would pick out her clothes. I also threw in that my choice would most likely be something she didn't like. (that may have been a little on the naughty side. Not sure. But I still said it.)

I'm happy to say that she came downstairs wearing matching clothes! And she was even smiling about it.

SCORE.

A victory for Mom!

1st Snow Day of 2011

2011-01-11T21:05:00.003-06:00

Less than an inch of snow really doesn't seem to be enough for a snow day. But apparently the roads were a bit slick in the wee hours of the morning, so the public schools cancelled for today, which means that our school did too.
Hooray! No complaints from the Jackson fam!

The kids and I had a great day playing both inside and outside.

On the inside we played games. One of which was this... We were still playing this when Philip got home from work (Boo...He doesn't get to take Snow Days with us.).
While he was playing with us, one of the challenges for Emma Kate was to get a mustache and glasses drawn on her face with makeup. She chose her Daddy to do it.

working on the mustache

All finished.
This picture just makes me laugh. Not quite sure what she looks like.

It was bitterly cold today.

When we first woke up, it was 9 degrees with a wind chill of 5 below.

Naturally the kids wanted to go outside to play in the little bit of snow that we did get.

I told them we had to wait a few hours until it "warmed up."

Around noon when it was close to double digits, we bundled up to go play outside.

The big kids dressed warmly in layers and hand-me-down snow clothes from Aunt Karen.

It took me 10-15 minutes though just to get those 2year olds all bundled up.

When I got done with them, they sort of looked like weeble wobble robbers.

Can you even tell who is who?

Zane is 1st picture

Zander is 2nd.

Emma Kate didn't care that she was basically making a "grass angel."

And even with a tiny amount of snow, Eli still thought they needed to get the sled out....

Emma Kate tried pulling Eli, but it didn't go so well....

Then Zander wanted a turn on the sled...

But Zane was content to just sit back and watch...

Emma Kate looking ever-so-much like a janitor enjoyed shoveling the snow....

We are ready for another Snow Day. But next time we want more snow please!

Modern Mission Laser Tag

2011-01-09T21:25:00.003-06:00

Our friends, the Finks, are starting a new business here in NWA. Modern Mission Laser Tag.
Very fun concept. Its like outdoor paint ball but without any of the hurt or the mess. They invited us out for a "guinea pig" game before they officially open their business. Since it was during naptime, I stayed home with the boys while Philip took the older 2.
Becky said that we should dress in camo if we had any. Thanks to Aunt Karen who gives us lots of hand-me-downs, I found some things for Eli and EK to wear.

Emma Kate with her headband and gun. Ready to go!

She's "hiding out" behind this trailer....

Eli is crouched down behind that tree. Can you see him?

Coming out to get an opponent...

and off he goes to get away from an opponent...

Thank you Fink's!

We had a great time at Modern Mission Laser Tag!

We love hanging out with your fun family!

Photography Class

2011-01-09T21:02:00.005-06:00

Philip hosted a men's photography class at our house yesterday. Mindy from MJW Photography was the instructor. 6 guys listened to a woman for 4 hours. Can you believe it? Eli was here also. He was the "model." He got to play football outside, ride his Ripstik and Pogo. He was in heaven. And he didn't even mind the fact that 6 cameras were in his face.

One of the action shots Philip took:

Not an action shot, but I LOVE this one. Love it enough to blow it up into a BIG picture!

Then this morning before church, Philip played around with settings on his camera and got these shots:

Poor Zander. Got left out of this post. Philip actually got a really good shot of Zander smiling. But it was blurry. Hmmm, might need another photography class?

3 years ago today

2011-01-08T06:40:00.003-06:00

Three years ago today, I was a pregnant girl of about 20 weeks.
We knew we were having twins, but we didn't know the gender.
I've never been so sick in my life as I was from week 6-week 20.
It finally subsided during this week.
Because I'd been pregnant before, I knew how my body reacted to carrying both genders.
I wasn't sick with Eli, just couldn't eat certain foods.
I got sick a few times with EK, but for the most part just felt nauseous all the time.
So, based on my very scientific conclusions, I KNEW that these 2 babies were either: 2 girls or 1 of each.
I KNEW that my body got sick with a girl so there HAD to be at least one of those in my belly.
And seeing as how I had been so very very sick, I thought there were probably 2 girls in there.
Why else would I be so sick?
2 sets of girl hormones, I concluded.

So, 3 years ago today, I went in for my 20 week checkup and ultrasound.
Around 2:45pm, I saw my 2 babies.
And they were both boys.
I didn't believe it.
Baby A's boy parts were very evident.
The positioning of Baby B made it more difficult to see, but the ultrasound tech assured me she was seeing boy parts on that baby, too.
I told her to look again.
That just couldn't be right.
Guess what?
She was right.

I found these scanned images at my parents house during Christmas. So the quality isn't the best.

But here they are.

Top 2 pictures are Baby A who is my Zaney.

In case you're not a pro at reading u/s pictures, that is his legs & bottom facing up in the 2nd picture (which shows his male-ness).Down here is Baby B. My Zander Griffy.

3rd picture is his side profile.

And look closely in the 4th picture to see what the u/s tech saw to determine he was also a boy.

And you know the ending to this story.

I love that they are the same gender.

I love that they are both boys.

I'm so thankful I wasn't the one who orchestrated it.

I would've messed up.

HE did not.

And that brings tears to my eyes.

Perfect Potty Spot

2011-01-07T21:37:00.002-06:00

Zander has been showing some interest in the potty lately. He likes to go before he takes a bath. (and he's usually successful!) For the most part, Zane usually wants nothing to do with it. And being the non-potty-training-mom that I am, that's fine by me.
Tonight was a different story though. After Zander had finished on the potty, Zane wanted a turn. We sat and sat and sat. He kept telling me it was going to come out. The other family members were in the kitchen washing, drying, and putting away the dishes.... and I was getting tired of just sitting in the bathroom. So, I moved the potty seat into the kitchen/breakfast area where everyone else was.

Zane didn't seem to mind where he was located....

Philip was actually jealous of Zane's seat. He took one glance at the view Zane had. Which was this...
Philip immediately declared, "Zane, you're living my dream dude. Sitting on the pot in front of the big screen."

Ugghh. Boys and their toys.

Toothless Again

2011-01-06T21:53:00.002-06:00

She lost another one tonight. That is 4 missing now.

All at once.

I sure am glad the bottom middle 2 are her grown-up teeth.

Otherwise she'd look like my Granddaddy when he can't find his dentures!

Wednesday to Forget

2011-01-06T12:01:00.002-06:00

Wednesdays are one of the hardest days of the week for me.
The kids have a large amount of homeschool that has to get done THAT day, in order to be turned in at school on Thursday.
We also have AWANA on Wednesday night, which means Eli and EK need to have their weekly AWANA work completed.
So its just usually a looong day.
Yesterday, we had 2 friends from school at our house. Their mom was out of town so they came to our house to do their schoolwork.
The day was actually going pretty well. Around 11:00am, we were over 3/4 of the way done with everyone's schoolwork.
I was thinking about what I'd feed 6 kids for lunch, as well as getting the 2 friends back to their house and then bring my 4 back home in time for Z&Z's naptime.
Speaking of Z&Z, they had been upstairs in the playroom & their bedroom playing while I did school with the other 4.
Zander came running to the top of the stairs and excitedly proclaimed, "Mom, my shirt is wet."
Of course, I asked why.
Still excited, he said, "because."
I asked "where is Zane?"
To which Zander excitedly replied, "He getting wet in Emmy Kate's bathroom."

Uh-oh.
I ran upstairs and found this.... and this....

and this....

and one last view...

Apparently they got bored with the playroom and their bedroom, so they went to EK's room and bathroom. I wish I'd had a hidden video camera going so I would know who started it, how it started, exactly how much t.p. they put in, and how many times they repeatedly flushed.

But, alas, our house isn't set up with video monitoring. :-)

After I took pictures, I got all the school kids settled back down at the table to work. As I was going to get towels to start soaking up all the water, one of the kids had a question relating to their schoolwork. So I got sidetracked.

While I was helping with schoolwork, we heard a strange sound.

Sort of sounded like rushing water.

We went toward the sound and found water POURING out of this light in our living room...

I felt that up until this point, I had been pretty calm and collected about the whole situation. Let me backtrack and say that I never yelled at the boys when I found the initial mess in the bathroom. I sternly told them that what they had done was being bad boys. To which Zander replied, "Momma, you happy?" I said "No Zander. You and Zane playing in Emmy Kate's potty does not make me happy." His response was, "But I want you be happy Momma."

So back to the current situation....

When I saw that water from the second level of our house was pouring out through the light/ceiling of the 1st level, I pretty much lost it.

I immediately called Philip at work. I was pretty hysterical (and not the funny kind of hysterical either). I knew he couldn't come home but that is what I was pleading with him to do. In his very calm voice he simply told me to get towels and soak up all the water in her bathroom and that even if he was home, he wouldn't be able to do anymore than that. Humph. We hung up and I did as was told. The water did not immediately stop coming through the light, but it did stop GUSHING. It was more of a slow leak for the next 15 minutes. (could it really have only been 15 minutes? Seemed like at least an hour)

But, before the frantic phone call, I had already put buckets in the floor underneath the light....

so everything that leaked was going into the buckets rather than the carpet.

We once again, started working on school. Finished that up. Fed lunch to 6 kids and then packed them all into my car to take our friends back to their house.

Came back home and boys slept while I had some quiet time. (much deserved I would say). I'm actually glad I did take a little down time for myself because the day's fun wasn't over yet.

Around 4:30 I told Eli and EK to start working on their AWANA work. They did which was followed by them needing to eat, brush teeth, etc... Emma Kate had been to gym that morning and still had on her gym clothes (which for the record usually means a leo with yoga pants and a jacket over it.) Upon telling her to make sure she put on matching clothes, she threw herself a little hissy fit proclaiming that there was nothing wrong with the clothes she had on. I proceeded to tell her that the clothes she was wearing was appropriate for gym and home, but not for other places.

Fast forward to 5:45. She is still sprawled out on the floor throwing her fit (in her gym clothes). I told her that if she wasn't dressed in matching clothes by 6:00, that she wouldn't be going to AWANA. Well, I immediately saw the lightbulb go off in her head. (she's thinking "aha. I can get out of going by continuing to throw my fit and not change clothes.) Which is exactly what she did.

Little did she know that I had a trick up my sleeve.

We took Eli to AWANA and got home around 6:35. As soon as we walked in, I told her to go take a shower and get on her pj's. She questioned me, but she did it. Then as soon as her shower was over, I put her to bed. This was about an hour and 10 minutes before her normal bedtime. Wow-wee, this incurred another hissy fit. Which resulted in her being the recipient of the spanking spoon and then crying herself to sleep.

I put the little boys to bed at 8:00 and went downstairs to start fixing everyone's lunches for the next day. Philip had just gotten off work and was picking up Eli from AWANA on his way home.

Around 8:10, I opened the refrigerator door...

and this happened....

At the same time, Philip and Eli walked in and that was officially the end to the Wednesday I'd like to Forget.

Dog Snack

2011-01-05T21:46:00.003-06:00

Zander is hardly ever quiet. And usually if he is quiet its not a good thing.
But today, in the middle of a tiring-will-this-day-ever-end-kind-of-day, he was quiet. And he was being good.
I found him with his puppy dog and his snack.

He said he was feeding his doggy some dog snack.

I know this picture looks like he's putting the cheese on the dog, but he's really not.

With a face like this, I can temporarily forget all the other chaos of the day!

New Years Eve 2010

2011-01-01T18:59:00.004-06:00

Friends from our Bible Fellowship Class at church invited everyone to their home for New Years Eve (kids included). My parents timed a trip to our house so that they could bring us the rest of our Christmas loot as well as keep Zane & Zander while the rest of us went to the NYE party. (cause I'm guessing that the Z's wouldn't have been the life of the party at midnight!)

I made some snacky foods to take, but I also had Eli and EK make a kiddy snack.
They started with pretzel squares on a pan... then they put Hershey's Kisses on top of those...

and baked for a few minutes. Right after taking them out of the oven, they then smashed an M&M on top of each Kiss...

(looks like somebody may have taste tested one!)

The kids had a great place to hang out at the party. They watched movie after movie in the theater room.

The adults ate and talked and ate some more and played games upstairs.

Around 10:00, I could tell that Emma Kate was getting tired. She came upstairs and crawled in my lap. Although she stayed awake, she pretty much stayed in my lap for the next 2 hours.

She perked up around midnight when we turned the TV on to watch the ball drop.

Here she is with her friend Ryanne at midnight...

(and yes, they are in their pj's)

Ryanne's baby brother Mason, was quite the little trooper. He slept for a little bit, but around 11:00 he woke back up and rang in the New Year as well. His Daddy gave him the appropriate accessories....

(and yes, that is sparkling cider)

Not many adults were still there at midnight....

But being the late night party animals that Philip and I are (insert sarcasm here), we stayed til the end!

The Z's Lingo

2010-12-21T18:57:00.003-06:00

Back in October, I made a list of 10 words/sayings that the Z's say that I wanted to remember.

Well, I've come up with some more. So for memory sake, here they are:

"not hearing to me" This is what they say (especially Zander) when they are talking to Eli or Daddy and they are not getting answered. Example: "Daddy, you not hearing to me?" Which means "you're not hearing me" or "you're not listening to me."

"belly bunt" This is what they call their belly buttons. And they frequently like to show them off....as seen below.
"tawg" This is what they call a guitar. They both have Wiggles guitars and they will say "I playing with my tawg."
- "jew-nanix" This is what they call gymnastics. Example: "We take Emmy Kate to jew-nanix."
- "Chick-a-fay" This is what they call Chick-fil-a.
- "cram-uh" This is camera. They have play cameras that they like to take in the car. So they'll say "I got my cram-uh for the car."
- "hell-kah-ter-ter" One that I may remember forever...helicopter. They love to see a "hell-kah-ter-ter" flying in the sky.
- "bine-hine" This is behind. Example: "That car is bine-hine us."
- "bebe Geeeeeee-zuz" This is mostly Zane and he says it everytime we pass the nativity that is set up in a yard down the street. It looks a lot like this...
- "dah-yers" This is dollars. And they say this is why Philip goes to work. "Daddy go to work and get more dah-yers."
- "scuse me up." When they are sitting in a chair and they need to be scooted up, they say "scuse me up please."

Well Traveled Ball

2010-11-10T22:01:00.003-06:00

Remember a few days ago when I mentioned that this ball was found in the dryer? I still don't know which 2yo boy put it in there. Or even if they put it in there at all. Perhaps it was in one of their pants pockets....(although I don't think a ball of such size would fit.)

Tonight that same ball made another apperance in an unusual spot. As I was running the boys bath water (and doing 234 other things at the same time), I heard them squealing with excitement. They were on the outside of the bathtub but with their heads leaned over the side looking down in the tub. I peered over the side too and saw this....

Mr. Ball had magically found his way into the bathtub and the boys LOVED that he was getting wet!

Again, don't know which one of them did it. But it doesn't really matter, does it? What does matter is that if you look closely at the picture above you can see 1/2 of a little white (and cute) butt cheek!

Oops!

2010-11-09T08:33:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was one of those days where the little boys were constantly saying, "oops!" (which was my clue that there was a mess to clean up or a problem.)

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning, we have to load up bright and early to get EK to gymnastics. This usually means that I take the boys straight from their bed to the car. In the car, I usually have milk and ro-ros (toddler speak for "cereal") waiting for the boys so they can start filling their tummies in the car.

Yesterday, as I was driving, I heard them say not once, not twice, not three times, but FOUR TIMES, "Uh-oh mommy. I drop my ro-ros."

When we got home, this is what the floor of my car looked like....

But I can't really get too mad, when I look up from the mess in the floor and see this....

Then, later in the day I heard Zane say, "Uh-oh mommy. Ficks (fix) my pants."

Bless his heart. His mommy buys the same size clothes for him and Zander. And this boy just doesn't have as much "junk in his trunk" to keep his pants up.

Hiding to get the Job Done

2010-11-06T21:24:00.003-05:00

When I see Zander "hiding" and squatted down like the picture above, I immediately know what he's doing.
I mentioned how the Elmo potty isn't getting used for any potty time. Zander would just rather hide under a chair, squat down in a corner, or if we're outside, go and get on the golf cart to "do his #2 business."

When I asked him what he was doing, he said, "I poop. I be done soon."

Dryer Ball

2010-11-03T21:15:00.003-05:00

Today as the dryer was going, Eli said, "It sounds like there is something in the dryer that shouldn't be there." I told him he was probably just hearing these.... (the clasps from the boys overalls)

However, when the dryer went off and I opened the door, I saw this....

Here's a closer inspection...

No question in my mind the age of the child who put it in there (the 2 year olds), but I'm not sure WHICH 2 year old did it. I also don't know if the ball had already made it through the washing machine without my notice.

I called Eli into the laundry room to let him know he had been right. There WAS something in the dryer that shouldn't have been in there. He laughed and then turned the ball over to see that it had this kind of face...

Thick or Theet

2010-10-30T14:10:00.002-05:00

You may hear Emma Kate say "thick or theet" this Halloween rather than the usual greeting!

Last Saturday she lost a tooth from the top front and looked like this...

As she got ready to put it under her pillow that night, Eli told her that the Tooth Fairy pays more than the standard $2 bill for top teeth.

Hmmm, that was good to know. (glad I was within ear shot of that conversation)

Lo and behold, Eli was right. The Tooth Fairy left two $2 bills for Emma Kate. She was very excited Sunday morning when she woke up!

Before I go on, I must do a little bragging on her. As we were getting ready for church that morning, she said that she wanted to take one of her $2 bills (that she'd JUST received from the Tooth Fairy) and put it in the offering at church. Do the math on that. $2 is half of what she'd received. Definitely far more than the 10% the Bible uses as an example for us to give. I was SO proud of her and yet realized how much my children can teach me.

Yesterday she pushed (with her tongue) the other top front tooth out, and now she looks like this....

So for now, she'll just say "thick or theet", but in another month she'll be singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth...."

Sippy Cups

2010-10-27T20:20:00.000-05:00

One of the jobs that Eli and Emma Kate have is to unload the dishwasher. Anything that they can't reach (high in the cabinets), they lay out on the counter and then I put it away.

After their most recent unloading, I walked into the kitchen and saw this.... Holy Moly! That is just one dishwasher load of sippy cups. And that's only for 2 boys. It really made me start thinking about families with 5 or 6 multiples (you know, the ones that get on TV?). Can you even imagine what their dishwashers & counters look like?

PJ's with feet

2010-10-27T20:16:00.000-05:00

It is supposed to get down to 41 degrees tonight, so I decided that kind of coldness called for some footed pajamas for the Z's. The last time they had pj's with feet was back in early spring, so I'm sure they don't remember them.

Zane was first out of the bath (which is the norm. He likes to get in first and get out first) so I got him dried, diapered and put his feet in the pajamas and he said, "I got feets?" Love love love that use of the word!

Next was Zander's turn to get out of the bath and get dressed. As I was putting his first foot in he said, "I wearing socks." To which Zane replied, "yeah, like E-i (eli)." Eli does have some footed pajamas but he hasn't worn them in quite a while, so I'm not sure what Zane was referencing.

If we have time before their bedtime, the boys like to watch The Wiggles on "Daddy's bed." (sidenote: Everything in mine & Philip's bedroom/bathroom is "Daddy's." It's Daddy's room, Daddy's bed, Daddy's bathroom, Daddy's floor, etc...)
So anyway, I put them on the bed, and turned on Wiggles. I walked into my, oops I mean Daddy's, closet to put some things away. I heard Zander giggling and kicking. I came out to see what was going on and he said "my feets tickle this." Which I think meant these footed pj's are tickling my feet.

This instantly became a blog-worthy event and I ran for the camera. So, here's Zander showing that "his feets tickle."

and then Zane looking over at Zander and getting in on the kicking and laughing...

Did you notice the pillows they are laying on? That's another sidenote! Those are just extra pillows that Philip and I use to prop up to read and watch TV (take a guess at which one of us is the reader and which is the TV watcher?). The pillowcases are sooooooo old but Zane & Zander LOVE laying on them. Zane always wants the one with the cow and Zander wants the flowers.

I'm actually blogging this event on the actual day it takes place (miracle moment!), so I've just put the boys to bed. I'm now going to go get by the monitor and see if they talk about their feets & socks before drifting off to sleep!

Daddy's Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-26T06:40:00.005-05:00

Philip told me to title this post "Daddy's Pumpkin Carving." He said that even though it was supposed to be for Eli & Emma Kate, that he basically did all of it!

To give Emma Kate some credit, she did participate in quite a bit of it. She started reading the "Pumpkin Prayer Poem" while Daddy cut the top off of hers.
Next, she started scooping out the insides.
If you look closely at the picture above (or just click on it to make it bigger), you'll see (in the background) what Eli was doing...reading a book. That's norm for him. Always has his nose in a book!

Philip started cutting the top off of Eli's, but Eli was still reading his book.

EK is still scooping hers out....

She decides that its just disgusting....

Philip finally told Eli to "put his book down and get over here."

So Eli did, but he didn't like the cleaning out process at all.

Next they drew faces on their pumpkins....

which was followed by Philip carving the drawn faces...

The little boys got up from nap just in time to take a picture with the completed jack-o-lanterns....

Pumpkin Pictures

2010-10-22T20:50:00.007-05:00

Mandatory during fall (at least if you live in my house), is getting dressed in fall colors and going to a pumpkin patch for pictures.

Clothes went great.

Pumpkin patch was great.

Getting four kids to look the same way and smile at the same time was not great.

Mainly it was one busy boy who just didn't cooperate. He wasn't bad. Just wasn't into sitting still and smiling at the same time.

Before I show you all the outtakes, here are some that were good!

All those were good right? Did you notice none of them had the baby of the family? Enter Zander and watch the atmosphere of the pictures change.

And now attempting to get a good one of all four of them together.

1st try...Zander is looking at the flowers.

2nd try...Zander must be hot and needing to wipe the sweat off his brow.

3rd try....Zander wonders if anything exciting is happening behind him.

4th try...Zander does his "wrinkle up my nose" smile.

5th try...Zander stands while everyone else sits.

And after that, both Philip and I are done. D-O-N-E-, done. Actually Philip would've probably been done after the 1st or 2nd try. But not me. I gave it good effort. Just came up empty.

5 Days of a 10th Birthday

2010-10-20T17:16:00.019-05:00

We celebrated Eli's 10th birthday on 5 different days!

Quick recap but LOTS of pictures!

Day 1: I don't have any pictures of it, but Mimi and Papa came up the weekend before Eli's birthday and they took him out for a birthday dinner. He chose Lin's Garden which is a Chinese buffet. We often get take-out from there but hardly ever eat-in, so this was a treat!

Day 2: The Thursday before Eli's birthday, I took a special snack to his class. He chose cookies & popcorn.

Handing out the popcorn to his friends....

Listening to his friends sing "Happy Birthday" to him...

Finally getting to sit down and enjoy his snack. (He got a little lesson in serving others while passing out the snacks. Some of the boys wanted 2nds & 3rds before he had even sat down to eat his 1st helping!)

Day 3: Whew! He had been planning his actual party since about February. He waivered on two different ideas on and off through the spring and summer months. Around August, he finally decided he would have a sleepover (our 1st one at our house) with a few friends.

We went grocery shopping for cool drinks & snacks (cool meaning things that Mom usually doesn't buy for him).

Here are the drinks with the labeled cups. Just waiting for his friends arrival!

(as a sidenote, they went through the Root Beer and 1 of the Fantas in about 2 hours. And that was only 4 boys!)

Emma Kate labeled her own cup in her new cursive handwriting....

Chips meant for 9 & 10 year old boys....

And some 2 year old boys who think that the birthday cake sure does look yummy!...
After we played in the yard for a little bit, we sat outside and had pizza and chips. See the boy in the gray shirt? That is Caleb and he DOES NOT like to have his picture taken. He purposely looked away when he saw me with the camera!

Eli striking a pose...

Alex showing us his version of the water sprinkler....

Next we went back inside and gathered up our sleeping bags since Eli's daddy was setting up the tents outside....

Here are the tents! A 10person tent for the 4 boys and a 4person tent for the 1 daddy.

The boys getting their "camping spot" set up.

and a pillow fight immediately breaks out....

Then it was time to go back inside for cake & presents. We went with a Tim Tebow'ish theme this year. We had these Gator things left over from Eli's party last year...

but the cake was of Timmy's new Broncos jersey...

blowing out candles....

Zane enjoying the cake....

Imagine that....Zander's piece is already gone!

Time for presents!

Alex gave Eli money which he is so excited to use to buy a DS game!

Preston gave Eli this COOL faux bow!....

From Caleb, Eli received juggling balls and a neat electric dragster which he loved putting together!....

When it started getting dark, Philip loaded the boys up in the car and took them to the Corn Maze!

Here they are using their flashlights to scout out the map of the CornMaze. You can't really tell it from this map, but the maze is in the shape of a Razorback....

And they're off!....

Corn Maze Accomplished!

Shooting the corn cannons was next on the list....

Philip then took them to the flag football fields near our house and they played Nighttime Dodgeball with some light-up balls I found for them....

Eli says this was the best part of the night....

The boys all came back home around 10:00 and they were hungry. We had a late night popcorn snack. Philip then had them all in their tents and settling down for sleep by 11:00.

The rest of the night seemed to be uneventful (thankfully).

The next morning, Philip came inside and this is what he looked like....

Day 4: Started out with doughnuts. Zaney boy LIKED them!

And so did Zander Griffy!

Eli had a flag football game so the boys had to leave from the sleepover around 9:00am. While we were waiting outside for Daddies to arrive, the boys played with the faux bow....

After Eli's flag football game, we had lunch and then opened family presents. (this was the actual day of his birthday).

He was so excited to see a Wii Lego Star Wars game from Mimi and Papa!

as well as The Grinch movie from Aunt Kim. This was especially meaningful this year as he and Emma Kate are dressing up as The Grinch and Cindy Lou Who for Halloween!

The biggest mouth-dropper of all though was opening a Tim Tebow Broncos jersey from Mom and Dad.

It even warranted giving Mom a GREAT BIG hug!

Eli's birthday day ended with a family fun trip to New Creation Camp (aka the Fink Family Farm) for the PCCA 4th grade class.

This wonderful acreage is a boys paradise!

Looks like even the girls like playing in the dirt too!

Hayride included....

as well as a bonfire and s'mores! Told ya this place is FANTASTIC!!

Day 5: The last day of Eli's 10th Birthday celebration happened 3 days after his birthday when Grandma and Grandpa came. Look at what they got for him:

His bike was WAY too little. This one is a bit big for now but he is learning how to get on and off. It should last him for a long time!

A lot of FUN and memorable happenings for Eli's 10th birthday! We are blessed that God chose us to be his parents! He is truly an enjoyable gift!

10-10-10

2010-10-10T21:19:00.005-05:00

Today is 10-10-10 and the blogging world is going crazy with all sorts of lists that have "10" in them. A quick google search came up with some of these: "10 Classic Books," "10 Uplifting Animal Movies," "10 Calendar Tips for Busy Families" etc...

So I've decided to do my own "10" list. And since my mind is always in overdrive, I came up with more than 10 so I have 2 lists.

Ten Random Thoughts on 10-10-10:

The Gators are killin' me this year in football. Last nights game against LSU left me furious!! I woke up during the middle of the night thinking about it....ridiculous! I told Philip that if they lose this next week to Mississippi State, that I'm done with them for the season.

Emma Kate told me a few days ago that "her tooth felt like it was going to get lost today." Love that girl and her funny sayings!

Eli will be 10 years old in 6 days. So strange to think that he's been here and I've been a mom for a decade. Wow - that makes me sound old. However, it also saddens me because if he leaves our home after high school, we have less than 9 years left with him. I need to be more intentional about making each day count.

While I'm being all sentimental, I walked into the little boys room during naptime and had to snap a pic of their sweet faces.... I also prayed for them while I was in their room. I can really feel the presence of the Holy Spirit when I go into my childrens rooms while they are sleeping and pray over them.

Speaking of praying, Emma Kate has brought home 2 papers recently from church that need to be remembered. The first one was a card she made for my Dad after his surgery. I mailed the card to him, so I don't remember exactly what it said, but I do remember that it said, "I'm sorry about your gaw blatter." The next paper she brought home was a prayer & praise list. She had listed Grandpa, Grandmother & Granddaddy in the nursery (nursing home) as her prayer requests. And my dad again on the praise list. Then she wrote, "Dear God, I pray for my grandpa, granddaddy at the nursing home, my grandmother amen. Dear God, I have a praise for my grandpa who is feeling better from surgery amen."

My husband has been cranking out some awesome projects lately! Can't show you a picture yet of the big one, but it is Zane & Zander's Halloween costumes. The other cool thing he did was help Eli make a diorama for his book share presentation at school. It is based from the book "Dark Day in the Deep Sea" which is a Magic Tree House book. Didn't they do a great job?

A local magazine was doing an issue dedicated to multiples (twins & triplets) for October. I got to submit a column for it as well as have a photographer take pictures of Zane & Zander. It just came out last week and I think it turned out pretty good. If you haven't seen it, you can read it online here (which coincidentally is another "10" list)!

My phone is really driving me crazy. It just freezes. When it does that, I can't make any calls, receive any calls, etc... I'm eligible for a new phone, but I can't decide if I'm sticking with Verizon or switching over to AT&T so I can get an iPhone. So for now, I'll just deal with it...which by the way my husband thinks is dumb!

The weather right now is gorgeous! Cool in the mornings & evenings but so nice and sunshiney during the day. We do occasionally need long sleeves and jeans. I've realized this year more than ever before, that fall/winter clothes means that my pile of "darks" laundry can't go more than 2 days without needing to be done. Massive amount of clothes I'm talking about!

Finally, listen to this song because it tells exactly how I'm feeling lately.

Now onto my 2nd "10" list for 10-10-10.

10 Things I Love to Hear Zane & Zander Say

When they want to be held they say "I want to hold you."

When they say the words really or silly, they say it with a "d" instead of an "l", so it sounds like "reedy" or "seedy". Everytime we see one of these things waving around... they say, "Oh look, a seedy (silly) guy."

At night before they go upstairs for bed, they ask for a "bitah-men" (vitamin)

They say their names with an "s" sound rather than a "z." So they are Sane and Sanner.

Zane says "momo-cycle" instead of motorcycle. And Zander goes to the pantry doors and while banging on them says, "Open this, I want." I think that means "open this so I can see what I want."

Today they were trying to get Eli's attention but he was nose deep in a book. So they both said "E-i, you not hearing me?"

I found one of these scooters for them at a garage sale.... Zander calls it a "cootah."

Every Wednesday night when Eli and EK go to AWANA, Zane cries to go to "yawna" with them.

They call computers and pianos a "peen-o."

One of their most favorite foods is fruit cocktail. They call it "fruit hot tail."

15 Hours of Mischief

2010-10-02T21:07:00.004-05:00

Zane and Zander have gotten into more trouble within the last 15 hours than should be allowed in an entire year.

It all started with me noticing that I couldn't hear them. I walked into my bathroom to find them having a hairspray party with this can... They were sharing & taking turns (for once I might add). One boy would be the sprayer and the other boy would wave his arms through the hairspray fog and squeal with delight. Then they would switch jobs. When I walked into my bathroom, the air reeked of Aussie Sprunch Spray. It was so thick that I immediately started coughing. I have no idea how they were still breathing normally. I shuttled them out quickly, but knew I couldn't light a candle for fear of blowing up the place.

After that episode, they then got these squirt bottles and dismantled them. By doing this, they can turn the bottle upside down and the liquid inside will come out.

After I discovered that mess, I took those bottles away and they found this bottle....

Notice the bottle is empty? This picture was taken AFTER they emptied the entire. brand. new. bottle. They told me it was soap and they were washing their hands.

Apparently while they were washing their hands with the eye makeup remover, Zander maneuvered the cap off this bottle of pills....

The pills are red. His hands were wet. Do you know what kind of combination that is? Not a good one. He had red all over his hands, his face, his shirt. Everywhere.

Good news in all that is that I don't think he digested any of the actual pills. Its always good to look for the positive in every situation. Sometimes the positive is hard to find!

After all that was cleaned up, I was at my limit. Philip was at work, so I had no help. I needed a few minutes of quiet so I could cry and wallow in my pitiful self, so I turned on the built in babysitter........the TV. Oh yes, I did.

Thanks to DVR, the Wiggles and their big red car were waiting for my heathens....

It was like an instant tranquilizer....

Potty Brush

2010-09-27T21:07:00.000-05:00

I bought the boys an Elmo potty several months ago. I had no intentions of starting the potty training process, but rather just got it so the "newness" of it would be worn off for when I do actually decide its time for the training to begin.

So for now, the potty is useful for nothing except for holding things like this..... Not sure the 5 second rule is applicable though....

5 Senses

2010-09-23T21:22:00.002-05:00

After school today, I found this crumpled up piece of paper laying behind the trash can in one of the bathrooms.... I decided to open it up to see what it was before throwing it away. It appeared to be a sheet about the 5 Senses that Emma Kate had probably done at school that day. The paper had 5 sections (one for each sense).

The sections said:

"I can see..."
"I can hear...."
"I can touch..."
"I can taste...."
"I can smell...."

Then, there was a blank area in each section for her to write in something that she could do with each of those senses.

Her answers were:

I can see Cale (this is a friend in her class)
I can hear wind
I can touch beside me
I can taste brick (not sure what that one means?)

and the best for last...

I can smell toot & poop

Isn't that classic?

I'm just SO very thankful she didn't get TOO specific and name whose toot & poop she smells. Unless of course she had said Daddy. Then it would've been pretty funny!

MDO Picture Day

2010-09-23T21:11:00.003-05:00

Today is picture day at Mother's Day Out. Here are the boys before leaving for "school" this morning.... Lunchbox....check

Backpack......check

Cute outfits....check

I have no doubt that the pictures will turn out great because my talented photographer friend Mindy is taking the pictures! Hooray! No cheesy backgrounds or props!

Check back in a month or so....I'll do a blog post when we get the pictures back!

Fashionistas

2010-09-07T21:48:00.004-05:00

I feel like this picture should be a

"What's Wrong with this Picture?"

Let's see...could it be that:

its about 95 degrees outside and Zane has on fleece footed pajamas? (just for the record. He WANTED to put these on. Cried and threw a fit to have them on.)
Zane is holding a baby doll?
or that Zander has on girls shorts? (also for the record, let me just say that his shorts were wet. We were only going outside to play and they were the quickest thing I could find. Yes, they are Emma Kate's. Yes they are a size 4. Yes they fit her and him both. Yes he is 2years old.)

Just in case you need a closeup of these fashionistas:

That's one of those times that I eat crow. You know back in the day when I said, "I'd never let my kid do that...."

1st Day of Mother's Day Out

2010-08-26T20:26:00.002-05:00

Zane and Zander started Mother's Day Out today! Part of me thought this day would NEVER come! 3 1/2 hours that I will be child-free! Guess I'm not supposed to be THAT excited about it...huh?

I've been talking to the boys about this for several weeks. The building is just down the street from our house, so everytime we pass it, we talk about how that is their "school." We picked out lunchboxes and backpacks. Rather than picking them out myself, I gave them a choice. Hoping they would take more ownership and help the transition away from mommy. They chose the same backpack (a train) but different lunchboxes. Zane's has a firetruck on it and Zander's has all different vehicles.

The day finally came. I had them pack their backpack with diapers.

And I showed them all the food I was putting into their lunchboxes....

I tried to do 1st day of school pictures with them like I did with Eli and Emma Kate. It was a bit challenging....

Because their "school" is so close to our house, we can drive our golf cart!

Getting ready to go inside....

all settled in. It went SO much easier than I thought it would!

Crossing my fingers that I don't get a phone call because one or both of them is crying for their mommy!

Eyes Shut Tight

2010-08-25T20:53:00.001-05:00

Zander is quite the family entertainer.
He wanted to get his picture made with Eli and Emma Kate on their 1st day of school. Emma Kate's blue eyes are so sensitive to the sun, so when we were outside taking pictures, I would tell her to keep her eyes closed until I counted to 3. Then open them and I quickly snap the picture.

So as Zander made his way into the pictures, he heard me say to Emma Kate, "close your eyes" and this is what he did....
followed by this....

and this....

Fast forward 1 day. Its almost naptime for the boys. They are watching Elmo or Barney (can't remember which) before naptime. Zane is apparently REALLY tired because I look over to find him already sleeping while the TV show is still on!

Zander, the ham that he is, sees me taking a picture of Zane and says "what chu doing?" I tell him that Zaney is asleep on the couch. So he does his sleeping imitation....

And yes, it is almost 1:00pm and they are still in their pajamas!

1st Day of 2010-2011 School Year

2010-08-24T20:37:00.003-05:00

Today began another school year for Eli and Emma Kate. Eli is entering 4th grade and his teacher is Mrs. Janicke. Emma Kate is in 2nd grade and her teacher is Mrs. Shell.

We started off the morning with a special request breakfast. They chose waffles with fruit and Redi-Whip on top.

After breakfast, they got dressed and then it was time for mom's annual back-to-school pictures. Before showing their individual pictures and comparisons from last year, look at the picture below to see who also wanted in the picture taking process....

Emma Kate's side-by-side:

2nd grade on the left, 1st grade on the right.

She is taller but what I really notice is how she looks SO much older. The bangs are gone and she just seems taller and longer and leaner to me.

Eli

4th grade on the left. 3rd grade on the right.

I can't tell too much difference from this year vs. last. What do you think?

Outside for one last pic before heading to school....

One of the super exciting things at school this year, is that we have a new HUGE building for K-5th grade! I believe its 50,000sq feet compared to a few thousand we had before. It has a playground with equipment (which we didn't have before), and it has a gymnasium that will be doubled as a lunchroom/multi-use room (which we've also never had). We are so thankful for this building that our school is renting!

Here are the big kids walking into the new spacious building. Notice the HUGE earth globe spinning in the top right corner....

We go upstairs where the 2nd-5th grade classrooms are. Several of Emma Kate's friends are already sitting down together and there isn't another chair by them, so Emma Kate sits down on the end....

Who needs friends when you've got baby brothers that want to sit by you?

Just before leaving her class, we spotted her friend Sara Beth coming into the room and she sat down by Emma Kate. I think these 2 girls look a lot alike. Do you think so too?

Next we head to the 4th grade class. As we walk in, its funny how the girls are sitting on one side and the boys on the other. Mrs. Janicke had not put them that way. They did it on their own....

Zander sitting by his oldest brother....

Eli with friends Phillip and Preston H....

Another school year has begun.

Big deep breath from momma as I clip another wing and let my babies fly a little farther away....

Week Before School

2010-08-19T21:29:00.005-05:00

The week before school starts is a very busy week for us. The past 3 years, my parents have come to stay with us and help me during that week so that I can go to all the back-to-school parties and parent training and whatever else the week may hold. I'm so thankful and appreciative that they are able to do that!

This year, the week started off by going to Open House at Mother's Day Out where Zane and Zander will be going on Thursday mornings. We've been calling it their "school" everytime we drive by there. It is soooo close to our house which will be extremely nice!

They were very excited to go to their school. They never really "explored" the room though. They went from this wooden bead maze... to color pages. This entertained them the ENTIRE time we were there!

Before we left, we let them play on the playground which they said was a "slide park."

After we left Open House, we went home and played outside while we awaited the arrival of Grandma and Grandpa. Eli's bike has had a flat tire almost all summer, so he opted for this ride....

Mid-week it was time for the class parties for Eli and Emma Kate.

The 4th grade party was a swimming party with some other backyard fun included...

When all the boys heard that it was almost time for the party to be over, they scurried to the food table for one last mouth-stuffing....

Just before leaving, we did a class pic of everyone who was there.

The next day was the 2nd Grade party. It was a picnic at a local park.

Emma Kate enjoyed playing with her friends whom she hadn't seen all summer!

The week ended with Back-to-School night for the parents. Eli snapped this picture of me and Philip before we headed to our meeting.

This parent meeting is so good each year, and this year did not disappoint! I'm always challenged at what I need to be doing better as well as encouraged by the other parents and administration at our school. It is such a great feeling to be partnering with other families who want to raise their children to be "abnormal" from what the world tells us is "normal!"

Harper Mae, Sunshine & Patches

2010-08-12T21:37:00.004-05:00

The kids just got back from spending several days at my parents. They enjoyed playing with their cousin Harper Mae. She is just a few weeks younger than Zane & Zander. They also really loved the adopt-a-kittens my mom got for Emma Kate. Seriously. She "borrows" these cats from a friend so that Emma Kate (whose Mom won't buy her a kitten) can have pets to play with when she's there.

This is Harper Mae. She is such a little doll!

I asked my mom why the boys didn't have pants on. She said it was just too hot.

I think Zaney's face and hair says it all....

Here are the cats that my boys toted around....
I don't know which is which. One is Sunshine. The other is Patches.

So they not only toted them around, but looks like they kissed them also....(as I make a scowling face while typing that)

Guess what else Emma Kate got while she was at Grandma & Grandpa's? An iPod Touch. For real. I was thinking that might possibly be a Christmas gift. Guess not.

One day they went to Harper Mae's to play. My boys loved her playhouse!

When they emailed this picture to me, I instantly noticed all those curls on Zander's head. Once again proving just how hot and humid it was.

They weren't one bit spoiled when they came back home.

Sick sick sick

2010-07-29T21:22:00.002-05:00

Our house has never been as sick as we were this week. It was absolutely awful. All 6 of us fell victim. It started in the early morning hours on Tuesday. Through the monitor, I heard, "Momma, I make a mess." I went up to Zane & Zander's room and found that Zane had gotten sick all in his bed. This story goes downhill from there. For the next 5 days at least 1 of us, but usually 2 at a time, have been sick.

Here's sweet Zaney on Day 1. We had non-stop TV-a-thon because he just felt too bad to do anything else. Notice towels under and over him for when the sickness hits him.

Zander was next, but I don't have any pictures of that because Zane was still also sick and quite honestly I just couldn't take care of 2 sick 2yr olds and take pictures also. I have never known the level of awful that this was.

2 days after Zane's began (and 1 day after Zander's), it hit the big kids. They were so pitiful. I've never seen them so lethargic and lifeless. Here is the extent of what they did all day long.... laid with washcloths covering their face and buckets beside them for when it struck. It hit Zane & EK the hardest, but probably EK more than anyone. That seems to happen to her anytime we are sharing a virus. I wonder if that's because her body is so lean?

The day after Zander was so sick, I tried giving him some jello-ice (similar to jello water. I read about it online and thought we'd give it a try. Note to self: get a different color other than red. Its not pretty on the carpet.)

I got it on day 4 and Philip on day 5.
This picture was on day 5. I still wasn't feeling great so we were laying low. Still on the couch and watching TV. Honestly I don't recall even feeling well enough to smile. I bet I was faking in this picture.

Several sweet friends helped out by bringing things over. We didn't leave the house the entire 5 days (well Philip did until he got sick on Day 5). Sonic crushed ice, jello, Sprite, chicken noodle soup. Thank God for good friends who kept us supplied!

Splash Park

2010-07-02T21:50:00.004-05:00

The kids and I went to the Splash Park this morning. As always, Eli loves the big buckets that pour out gallons of water....

He also loves it when the water shoots up from the ground....

Emma Kate contemplated the big buckets for a while....

and then screamed like a girl when they dumped on her....

Zander carried this bucket around the whole time. Filling it up with water, then pouring the water out.

At one point, he also contemplated the big water dropping buckets. But he decided to stay away.

Zane stayed next to me most of the time. He did venture out with Zander for a little bit.

But then this happened. Look closely and you will see a teeny amount of water spraying up from the ground. Zane was traumatized.

and MAD.

So he spent the rest of our time there, standing beside the fence. Just waiting for me to say, "time to go."

Tanyard Creek Photo Shoot

2010-06-13T08:27:00.005-05:00

Its getting close to Father's Day and my Dad has asked for a new mousepad. Not just any mousepad though. One with updated pictures of our kids. He has one that I gave him last year, but Zane & Zander weren't even walking, so their looks have changed a lot.

About a week ago, I got the kids all cutesied up and we headed to Tanyard Creek to take pictures. Got out of the car, walked to the creek, Philip started to take the 1st picture and...........(any guesses as to what happened next?) If you guessed that there was no memory card in the camera you are correct!!! So.....no pictures were taken that day, but the kids did enjoy splashing around in the water.

Yesterday we did Take 2 at Tanyard Creek (and made sure the memory card was in the camera before we left home)!

As we were crossing over the bridge to get to the creek, the kids all looked out across the water.....

and saw this....

After admiring God's beautiful creations, we got down to the photo-taking business.

Eli and Emma Kate are usually always easy subjects, so not much explanation is needed for their pictures.

Zander did good as long as he was BESIDE the water....

But when we put him IN the water, he wasn't too crazy about that...

Zane didn't cooperate with ANY of it. Not beside the water. Not in the water. Nothing.

This is as good as we could get.

When we had Zander out in the water, we had Eli & EK get out there with him so that he wouldn't fall.

Happy Father's Day to my Dad! Hope you enjoy your new mousepad!

Rock-a-Baby

2010-06-12T21:15:00.003-05:00

This chair was given to us as a gift, from my grandparents, when Eli was born. I know its a bit outdated, but it sits and glides SO very comfortably that I just haven't parted with it.
I have always rocked my babies in that chair. In fact, Zane and Zander call it the "rock-a-baby." They will frequently say "wanna rock-a-baby." Which means they want me to hold them in that specific chair and rock them. So sweet!

Earlier today, I was back in my bedroom and I heard Zander saying, "Help....Help rock-a-baby."

I went to the living room where that loud voice of his was coming from and I found this.... "Uh-oh Zander," I said, "What happened?"

To which he replies, "Rock-a-baby fall down."

Thankfully, he wasn't hurt, so instead of helping him up immediately, I snapped a few pics for memory sake!

Friday Night Girls Night

2010-06-05T21:11:00.001-05:00

Daddy and Eli went to a sleepover at a friends house last night, so after Zane and Zander went to bed, me and EK had a girls night. She got to pick what we did.

First, we made cupcakes with her cupcake kit. Doesn't that icing look scrumptious?Mouth watering, I know.

Then, we watched a DVR'ed "19 Kids and Counting" and gave ourselves manis and pedis.
EK chose lime green for her toes....
and a pinkish for her nails.

The last big event for the night was getting to sleep in the bed with me. She was so excited that it took her a VERY long time to fall asleep. Once she did though, she made herself quite comfy....

Sweet Dreams my Emmy Kate.

I'm so thankful you enjoyed our girl time. I hope there are many more fun mommy/daughters memories ahead!

From Good to Bad and back to Good

2010-06-02T21:18:00.002-05:00

The title of this post explains my day today. Everything was going good/normal for us. The boys and I took EK to gym at 8:00. We then went to a nearby trail. I put the little boys in the double jogger and Eli had his scooter. I jogged, pushing the stroller, for about 20 minutes. Most of the trail was still shaded at 8:00am, so it was really nice. (other than the part where I was pushing approx. 100lbs: 60 of boys, and maybe 40 for the double jogger??)

After that we headed to Target to make a needed purchase and then went back home. A little while later, we went back to gym to get EK, came home, had lunch, had nap/rest/quiet time and then got ready for the next part of our day. The 4:00-7:00pm witching hours.

Before I go on about the BAD part of the day, I do want to mention some cute/funny sayings that I overheard from the little boys.

At the 4:00 snacktime, I introduced them to one of my fave pantry staples: PEANUT BUTTER! I put a thin layer on saltines and fed to them. I started with 5 crackers and when those were gone I asked them if they would like more peanut butter crackers. Zane said, "more pee-pee butter."

After snack, they were playing in the living room floor and Zander had some loud gas. Zane said, "Scuse you Zander."

Then, we were in the car heading to ISR and Zander was trying to get my attention. He said "yoo-hoo Mommy. he-hoo Mommy."

So now for the BAD. It started at ISR. Zane has been doing really well until the last 2 days. Yesterday he cried A LOT and today was just a full out blood curdling scream. He goes first, so as I was getting his swim diaper and shorts on, I hear Zander say "HELP." I look over and Zander has gotten in the hot tub. Clothes, shoes and all. It wasn't hot and he wasn't in any danger, he just needed help getting out. So that part was actually funny.

At this point, Zane knows its his turn and he starts kicking and screaming. He runs to a corner where he thinks I can't get him. I can though. I literally drag him to Mrs. Courtney, the swim teacher. He SCREAMS the entire 10 minute lesson and then continues to cry while Zander does his lesson.

After Zander finished, I only had a diaper to put on him (remember that the clothes he wore are now soaking wet from the hot tub experience), so I wrap a towel over him and carry him out to the car. This made Zane fit-throwin' mad. He wanted to be carried too, but I just couldn't do it. Eli and EK both tried to help by offering to carry him but he refused. When we got outside into the parking lot, I told Zane he had to hold my hand and he refused. I told either of the big kids to pick him up and carry him to the car. He flung and girated his body out as best a 2yr old can, making it impossible for them to be able to pick him up. I am definitely starting to lose my cool at this point. I told EK to just let go of him. When she did, he continued with the fit rampage and sprawled himself out flat down in the parking lot. Ughhhhhh. What to do? I'm holding a diaper clad no-shoe wearing hefty toddler in my arms. If I put him down on the hot pavement, his feet will burn. Because I have the heavy towel wrapped around him, Eli nor EK would be able to hold him. Yet, I have another toddler sprawled out in the parking lot where he IS. NOT. BUDGING. AND. IS. STILL. IN. FULL. FIT-THROWING. MODE.

I tell Eli to stand on one side of Zane and EK to stand on the other side so as to "barricade" him in, should a car come barreling through the parking lot. I quick-as-I-can run to the car and get Zander buckled in.(making sure not to buckle any of that exposed bare skin. I've done that to one of them before and it not only hurts them but STABS momma in the heart). Then, I go back to sprawled-out-in-the-parking-lot-fit-throwing-child. Pick him up and he completely stops his fit and his crying. Well, this ticks me off even more so I proceed to tell him what a bad boy he is. Wrong move. That makes him mad and fit starts again. Get him buckled in the car seat. Big kids get in car, I get in and think to myself that if this wasn't a dry county, I might just turn into one of THOSE moms who totes her kids along to the nearest liquor store. :-)

Outdoor Fun with Mimi & Papa

2010-05-24T09:33:00.001-05:00

Mimi and Papa were in town this weekend to keep the Fayetteville cousins while their mom and dad went on a fun trip.

Friday, while those cousins were in school, Mimi and Papa came to play with us! After we picked up Emma Kate from gymnastics, we went to the Bentonville square for lunch.

Nothing says Bentonville like the original Walton's 5 & Dime.(that's Walmart before it was Walmart, in case you didn't know)

Next, we walked a couple of blocks over to the Crytal Bridges Trail. We walked down to the museum observation deck and checked on the progress.

On Saturday, Mimi and Papa took all the grandkids over the age of 2 (sorry Zane and Zander!), to Hobbs State Park.

They went on a guided walk (which I think was a little long!)

but it was also fun!

Then on Sunday, we went to church and ate lunch with Mimi and Papa before they headed back to Texarkana. Here are all the NWA grandkids, except for Zane. He wouldn't sit with anyone other than his mommy or daddy.

1st week of ISR

2010-05-22T08:32:00.007-05:00

When we moved here 2 years ago, I did an online search to see if ISR was offered in this area. It wasn't. I was disappointed. Both Eli and Emma Kate did ISR for 2 years in Florida. ISR stands for Infant Swimming Resource and is an amazing way of teaching swim survival to infants and preschoolers (ages 6 months - 6 years, I think). This is not your standard swimming lesson. This teaches the little ones how to save themselves if they should fall into water by using a swim-float-swim sequence.

Last week, I was looking through a local magazine and saw an ad for an ISR course in our area! I was so excited!! I immediately called the # listed and spoke with Mrs. Courtney, the instructor. She was actually starting the sessions that day. There is much paperwork to be done before starting ISR as well as approval from somebody with ISR authority, so we couldn't start that day. I did all the paperwork and we were approved to start this week.

If you've never seen an ISR lesson given, it isn't for the faint of heart. Especially in the beginning. Zane and Zander were no exception. They DID NOT like it. The good thing is that each lesson is only 10 minutes, so it isn't really so bad.

The next few pictures show Zane's thoughts:

Zander was taking it all in while he watched Zane....

Zane's 10 minutes was up and then Zander realized that he was going to have to do it too!

And now that Zane is done, he's keeping a watchful eye on his buddy Zander...

After the lesson, the child is laid down on their side and wrapped in a towel while Mommy pats them and tries to get out any trapped air....

Even though he's done, Zander still cries for a good effect!

Helpers

2010-05-17T06:55:00.002-05:00

I've mentioned before how much Zane & Zander like to "help" with the laundry. Usually its putting clothes in the washer or then switching the clothes from the washer over to the dryer.

Well today I decided to give them a new task. I put all their clean clothes on hangers and asked each boy to take them to the stairs. I told them to lay the clothes down and I would then take them up the stairs to their closet.

Here's what I found afterwards.... Not exactly my idea of how to lay the clean clothes down. Still LOVE those helpers just as much as ever though!

My Man

2010-05-17T06:52:00.003-05:00

All you ladies reading this, be ready to be jealous!

How many men do you know that can sport this look?
And still look this good?

I mean seriously.

Pink rubber gloves while doing dishes accompanied by an upper arm tattoo.

How cute is he?

Slip-n-Slide

2010-05-12T20:38:00.003-05:00

Our neighborhood pool isn't open yet, but its been really warm this week, so Eli purchased a slip-n-slide. He got it out today and he and EK had so much fun with it!

I put swim shorts on Zane and Zander in case they wanted to get in the water. But, they were content just to watch from the sidelines....

Zane found these swim goggles in the pool bag....

We were having a great time, Eli and Emma Kate slippin' and slidin' and the little boys standing back and watching. However, when Daddy got home from work, he thought Zander would enjoy the slip n' slide.

Guess what?

He didn't.

So then Daddy had to hug, hold and kiss Zander to make up for his meanness!

Kupcakes & More

2010-05-11T13:17:00.005-05:00

A week or two ago, as I passed the Square in Bentonville, I noticed a new place on the corner, Kupcakes & More. Made a mental note to maybe try it sometime. Then, yesterday as I flipped through this month's Kids Directory, I saw a full page ad for it. Moved that mental note up to a definite "to-do."

Today was the day! After we picked EK up from gym, we went to the square for cupcakes. Unfortunately, I broke Rule #1 of being a good blogger....ALWAYS carry your camera with you. After all, you just never know when a picture opportunity will present itself. So, I have no pictures of the yumminess as it happened. We did bring home 2 cupcakes though, so I've got pictures of those to show you.

For the most part though, you'll just have to imagine how this all went down:

Eli chose Berry Berry Strawberry....

Me and EK chose Chocolate Peanut Butter....

and I got a Party Cake flavor for the Z's.

We also got a Berry Berry Strawberry to bring home to Daddy and because a "special" was a 6 pack of cupcakes, we bought another additional Berry Berry Strawberry. (This seems like a good time to talk about the price of cupcakes. Why are they so expensive? These were $2.75 each. Apparently that is the going rate because its the same price as the cupcake place in Fayetteville. At least these at Kupcakes & More are bigger. But still, that's a lot!)

As we sat down outside to eat them, we saw several classes of school kids walking to the square for lunch. Emma Kate recognized 4 friends from gymnastics but we were across the street from them so she didn't get to talk to them.

We all took our first few bites and oh. my. goodness. Pure enjoyment. I was helping the little boys with their Party Cake kupcake because it had a heaping mound of icing on it and I knew that was just going to be a big mess. So I took one for the team, and ate most of the icing off. I am a self-proclaimed icing connoisseur and let me tell you, this icing was DEEE-LISH!!! The little boys ate the "cake" part of the kupcake, with the exception of one bite I took, it was so moist...mmm, mmm, mmm!

I looked over at Eli and he only had one bite of his left, so it was apparently equally good. Emma Kate dropped 1/2 of hers on the table, but I know she liked all that topping (as seen in picture above), because it was all over her mouth! (don't you wish I had my camera so you could SEE all these visuals I'm giving you?)

The owners/workers were so very nice also. When they found out we were going to eat outside, they went out and cleaned the tables and chairs for us. Great customer service!!

While we were outside eating our kupcakes, 3 firetrucks with their lights and sirens on came barreling down the street. That was super exciting for the little boys. They, especially Zane, love "fifa-truks."

Impromptu times. Fun times. So thankful to be able to share them with my Busy Blessings!

2nd Birthday Party

2010-05-10T13:43:00.014-05:00

We celebrated Zane & Zander's 2nd birthday on Saturday May 8th. (one day before their actual b-day).

I wanted to do a cute Mod Monkey theme party like this....

But I went soft and did a party from the boys current fave character....ELMO! Here is a scanned copy of the invitation I made and sent out to a few family members....

My friend Bridget, who I didn't think was crafty but has clearly gotten that way, made these shirts for the boys to wear for the party. She is truly a remarkable friend!

Wouldn't you know that it was a bit cool the day of the party??? Everything was planned to be outside, so I had to layer the boys so they could still wear their awesome shirts!

Here's Mimi and Papa with birthday boy Zander before the party started...

Daddy with his birthday boy buddy Zane....

We opened presents first!

Grandmother and Granddaddy got the boys their own Bibles that were just the right size for their 2yr old hands....

A soccer goal and soccer ball for each boy from Grandma and Grandpa....

Eli picked out "big balls" as his gift to the boys....

Aunt Kim sent them each a T-ball set....

Mimi and Papa got the boys a fun Roller Coaster....

After opening presents, all the kids played for a while. Here is Eli with cousins Cole and Haley....

Elmo's favorite food, as well as the birthday boys, is pizza! So of course that was our party food!

and Elmo drinks....

Mimi, Aunt Katie, Papa and Daddy getting their food....

Zander and Zane enjoying their pizza....

Grandma and Grandpa also bought the birthday boys this picnic table which came in very useful as all the cousins sat down to eat....

Absent from the picture above was my sweet Emmy Kate. She had a scary fall off the trampoline right before the party started. She wasn't feeling too good afterwards, so she stayed out of the middle of the excitement and hung out on Momma's new swing.

We came inside for cake & ice cream. Grandpa is always such a good sport at parties. Joining right in with the kids....

The cake table....

The Elmo cake that I paid WAY TOO MUCH for and was SO DISAPPOINTED with.

Singing Happy Birthday....

The boys were amazed with the smoke that went "up to the sky" after we blew the candles out...

So, we lit the candles again and did it all over a 2nd time so they could see more smoke. There are 2 birthday boys after all, so it only makes sense to sing the song twice!

Happy 2nd Birthday Zane and Zander!

Last Day of School 2009/2010

2010-05-06T14:08:00.002-05:00

Before heading to school for their last day as 1st and 3rd graders, respectively....

Zander kept saying "Cheese" while I was taking Eli and EK's pictures, so Philip grabbed him for one of them together....

These are "Spirit Wear" shirts. Worn only on the last Thursday of the month, or in this case, the last day of school!

Zander is quite the poser when I don't need him to be!

The kids went to school for 3 1/2 hours and then we picked them up for a picnic & Field Day at the Upper Campus. Emma Kate took turns riding her little brothers in the "train."

As Eli and his friends were waiting in line to throw balls at the Dunk Tank, the firemen decided to spray their hose full-blast. The kids got soaked and absolutely loved it! Eli is 6th from the right.

Close-up of his excited face....

Before the fun ended and we parted ways for the summer, we took one last picture and gave one last hug to our wonderful teachers!

EK will remember:

"applying" for jobs as a classroom helper
Mrs. Waind's funny rhyming poem about EK with her straight hair
Mrs. Waind reading to the class

Some of Eli's favorite things from Mrs. Edwards class were:

the science experiments
making tin can telephones
the chapter books he got to read
Another great year at PCCA!!!

Facebook Status turned Blog Post

2010-05-06T06:51:00.012-05:00

This was my facebook status this morning:

The next 4 days are bittersweet for this momma. My "babies" will be turning 2. My "big kids" finish up their last day of school. Another year gone by. I get reflective this time of year. Wondering if I've done enough, said enough, not said enough, shared enough, taught enough, modeled enough, and enjoyed/loved/laughed enough.

This wasn't just another status. I truly am reflective. Although encouraging words from friends are nice, I certainly didn't post it just so that they could say "You are a wonderful mom. You are doing a great job. etc..."

Mothering is such a hard but rewarding job. Such a fine line to walk between being the parent and being the friend.

I have about 50 books on how to do the job better, more effectively, creatively, parenting girls, parenting boys and on and on.

But as one of my precious friends commented on my fb status, she reminded me of the One who can help me above all in this mothering journey. As well as the only Book that can guide me in all aspects of my life, not just parenting. From that very book, this passage of scripture, from 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 came to mind: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest in me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

I am weak without Christ. I am weak when I'm not daily walking with and abiding in Him. So to Eli, EK, Zane and Zander, may you know how much your momma loves you. May you know how I long to be a daily example of Christ in your life. But as you already know, I am not always what I want (or need) to be. I continue to try to find the balance that we all need. I know how to achieve that balance. I know where it comes from. I pray that I will only get better at modeling the love of Christ to you. I pray that I will bear more fruit. It seems that too often my branch is too disconnected from The Vine. I also pray that as I grow in God, you will too.

One final thought I leave you with is a quote I read in a daily devotional.

"Anything I do right as a mom is because of my constant dialogs with God. Anything I do wrong as a mom is because of trying to do things in my own strength and slap wearing myself out." (Lysa TerKeurst)

This not only applies to being a mom, but it applies to every aspect of your life. Love God. Abide in Him. Rest in Him. Walk with Him. He will make your paths straight when crooked seems to be the only way you are going.

As this school year comes to a close for the big kids and the little boys turn another year older, I am reflective. I have enjoyed another precious year on this Earth with the 4 of you. I am so blessed and honored that God gave each of you to me. May you always know first, of HIS love for you and second, of my love for you!

Pigpen Jr.

2010-05-05T21:09:00.004-05:00

The Original Pigpen....

The 2010 version.... Be sure to click on his picture to see that messiness in detail!

Dada's Car

2010-05-03T15:42:00.002-05:00

This is what Philip drives.... a 2000something (I don't know the exact year) maroon Nissan Altima.

But according to Zane, the car below is "Dada's car"

so is this one....

and this one....

and this one...

Basically anytime we see a 4door mid-size maroon car, he enthusiastically yells out "DADA'S CAR!!!!!!"

It's so cute the way he's always on the lookout for his Daddy!

Zaney boy triple-heart LOVES his Daddy!

Ants-a-Plenty

2010-05-02T20:25:00.001-05:00

This has been a favorite toy of Zane & Zander's since they received it 2 Christmases ago. A few days ago though, I noticed ants crawling all over it....ewwww! I tried to get rid of them all but they would keep appearing. Finally I found the root of the problem. Cheerios had been left down in the toy for who-knows-how-long.

Ick. Feeding the ant population of NorthWest Arkansas is not something I'm proud to be a part of.

Funny Words

2010-05-02T13:57:00.003-05:00

Ever since Emma Kate could talk, she has always had a funny way of saying things. Here are a few examples I've heard within the last 2 weeks:

As I was putting her to bed one night she said, "You know the night we had the other night? Maybe it was yesternight or the night before we woke up this morning? Well, whatever night you call that, I was steamin' hot! I was so hot I had to push up my arm sleeves and my pant sleeves so I wouldn't be so steamin' hot. That's why I'm not wearing any sleeves tonight."
Yesterday she came downstairs to tell me this (and yes, its sort of gross when you stop and think about it) "Momma, I went to use the bathroom in my room and there was poop in the toilet. Someone hadn't flushed it and it had melted and made all the water turn brown."
One last example was from the prayer she said at lunch time today. It ended like this, "Please bless this food to the nursery of our bodies."

Oh, how I love that girl and all her funny sayings!

Random Pictures from March & April

2010-04-30T20:16:00.010-05:00

Here are some pictures taken in March and April with my purse-size camera (as opposed to the MAC Daddy camera Philip owns). None of these really warranted a post all by themself so I'm just clumping them all together.

Before school one morning....

Having a snack of row-rows (Cheerios) and watching their new fave show, Barney. (Yes, Perkins family...if any member of you are reading this you can laugh at me and say "PAYBACKS." I know I teased your wee one all the time about Barney, but for goodness sake, I was but a child myself.)

Sitting with Daddy on Mimi and Papa's bed Easter weekend....

Going to the Easter Egg Hunt in Texarkana. Zane was playing peek-a-boo with his "egg babbitt."

Here they are watching Barney again. Looks like Zane was super dee-duperty tired....

Having a quiet moment outside at Cold Stone Creamery....

One of their new favorite songs is "Freeze" by Greg and Steve. They put their hands on their head when the song says FREEZE!

Both boys in the FREEZE position....

Using our new-to-us kiddy pool...

The boys absolutely LOVED it! I don't think they knew it was supposed to have water in it....can you see on the left there is a teeny-tiny amount of water and no water on the right???

The big kids thought it looked like fun so they joined in...swimsuits and all!

Philip arranged a sitter for the kids one Friday night so he and I could go out alone! He said I got to choose where we went. Being tired of the same ole "go out to eat and go home" routine, I surprised him by going to a Razorbacks Baseball game. It was my first time to go to one. (And I'm sad to say I never even went to a single Gator baseball game when we lived there.)

Anywho...I even donned a Razorback shirt for this momentous occasion! We had a fun night together!

Last fall when the tree fell on our roof, it simultaneously shattered our patio set. I've been casually looking at patio sets since then, but now that we are outside playing almost everyday, I've REALLY been fixated on getting a new one. I loved this one from Sam's.... but didn't think I wanted to shell out that much money. I found one at Home Depot that I liked that was much cheaper. I showed them both to Philip and we both came to the following conclusions:

we needed one with six seats
the difference in the quality between the two was not even comparable
we liked the one at Home Depot but really really liked the one at Sam's

So, I'm sure you can figure out which one we bought.

We decided we'd take both cars to go and pick it up. We didn't know how big the box would be, but our game plan was that we'd fold down the back row of my car in order to get the box in. Then Eli and Emma Kate could ride home in Philip's car.

Ummm....that plan was not so good. It took Philip multiple trips in my car with BOTH rows folded down to get the 3 (or maybe it was 4???) boxes home.

However, this is what we did for the first trip home (the one where we had all 4 kids with us).

We put the 2 car seats in Philip's backseat and then crammed Emma Kate in between them. She was oh so comfy...can't you tell? P.S. As always seems to be the problem at Sam's, I came home with another purchase in addition to the patio set. Pics to follow when it gets assembled!

Conversations with two almost 2 year olds

2010-04-29T16:05:00.002-05:00

So here's the conversation I had with Zane and Zander this morning while we were on our way home after we had dropped Eli and Emma Kate off at school.

Me: "I'm going to call Grandma now."

Zane: "Maamah (Grandma) home?"

Me: "I don't know. I'm calling her to see."

Zander: "No Maamah home."

Me: "Grandma's not home?"

Zane: "Sleep."

Me: "Grandma's asleep?"

Zane: "U-huh."

Zander: "Bah-bahs (passy)."

Me: "Grandma has a bah-bahs?"

Zander: "Me-me (blankie)"

Me: "Grandma has a me-me?"

Zane: "U-huh."

Me: "I don't think Grandma has a bah-bahs or a me-me."

Zane: "Pah-paw (Grandpa) home."

Me: "I don't know if Grandpa is home. Grandma isn't."

Zane: "Pah-paw sleep."

Me: "You think Grandpa is asleep?"

Zane: "U-huh."

Zander: "Bah-bahs"

Me: "No Grandpa doesn't have a bah-bahs."

Zander: "Me-me."

Me: "No Grandpa doesn't have a me-me."

Zane: "Baff-room (bathroom)"

Me: "You think Grandpa's in the bathroom?"

Zane: "U-huh."

Zander: "Kuh-owwws (cows)" (this was as we past a field of grazing cows)

And that ended the conversation about the whereabouts & doings of Grandma & Grandpa. For the next 4 minutes until we got home, we discussed the cows and whether or not they were "sleep."

And that my friends and family is why I talk and talk and talk whenever I see another adult. I ~~need~~ crave adult conversation!

1st Grade Missionary Project

2010-04-29T13:29:00.009-05:00

For a couple of weeks, me and Emma Kate have been working on a missionary project that was assigned to all the 1st grade students. Emma Kate chose to do her project on one of my parent's friends from Piggott, Jerry Morgan. I guess I shouldn't give him the label as just being friends of my parents. We have known him for many years also. Jerry was who Philip and I chose to marry us 11.5 years ago. He is such a good Godly man who is pretty much like family to us!

Having said that, because we left Piggott when Emma Kate was 6 months old, she doesn't know him as well as the rest of us do. When the assignment was first sent home, she and I talked about if she personally knew any missionaries. She said no, but I quickly reminded her about Mr. Jerry and told her that he is a missionary. She immediately decided to do her project on him and his work in Ukrainian orphanges.

We began by emailing him a few questions. I typed the email but Emma Kate picked out the questions to ask. Here are the questions she asked Mr. Jerry:

What is it like to be a missionary? Why did you choose to be a missionary?

What countries do you go to?

What can you tell me about that country? What are the people like? How do they live differently than we do? How do they live the same?

What do you do there? How often do you go? How long do you stay? Do you take things with you for those people? Do you like that country?

How do you tell the people about Jesus?

Mr. Jerry responded back in a few days with very thorough answers. And in case you didn't know it, God often uses our children (or in this case their school projects), to teach us valuable lessons. I was so touched and moved by Jerry's answers, by the love of Jesus that he shows to these children, and just by God showing me how over-abundantly blessed I am. The morning that I received Jerry's response email, I was in tears as I got to the end of the email. It just made me want to be the hands and feet of Jesus to others in need. Just like Jerry is doing. I want to go and visit them. I want to bring them home with me. I want to buy these children things. I want to love on them. For as long as I can remember, children have been my passion. From my 1st year of teaching, I learned that the love I have for children isn't just reserved for white children. That year I had a classroom full of African-American and Hispanic kids that I dearly loved. Now after emailing back and forth over the last few weeks with Jerry about these children, and seeing pictures of them, I know that the same love extends to these precious children in the Ukraine.

Do you see what I mean about me learning more from this than Emma Kate? This post is supposed to be about her project and I can't quit talking about how deeply I was impacted! But I will quit...for now.

Back on track....today was the presentation day. I was able to go to her class and video it (even though she told me that it would "freak her out" if I came). She presented it although I could tell she was either very nervous or scared (or maybe both). That girl is somethin' else. She'll get out on a gym floor in front of hundreds of people and perform all by herself, but if you ask her to talk....FUH-GET ABOUT IT!!!

So, here's her presenting her project entitled,

Mr. Jerry the Missionary and the almost ABC's

(you'll have to turn your speakers up as high as they will go to hear her tiny little voice. and even then you probably won't be able to tell what she's saying, so I've translated it below)

"Mr. Jerry the Missionary and the almost ABC's

A is for Alexsey and Mr. Jerry laid down beside him and petted him like a dog because he lived with dogs and goats.

B is for babies and there is a baby orphanage where that he talks about.

C is for children and there's children in the orphanages.

D is for diapers and the ladies make handmade diapers.

E is for expenses and our Grandma and Grandpa give him money every year to go and talk about Jesus.

**She accidentally skipped F & G. The poster says "From God." She was supposed to say that Mr. Jerry says being a missionary is like getting a hug from God everyday on this Earth.

H is for hair and they have red, blonde and brown hair just like us.

I is for items and he brings items and he brings items to everybody in the orphanages.

J,K, and L is for Jesus, Kind and Love and he acts like Jesus, he's kind to them and he loves them.

M is for magic and someone asked him to go and do a magic , his magic routine for them.

N is for nearly 2,000 children in the orphanages.

(O is for orphanages but she didn't say that) and there's a picture of one of the orphanages.

P is for pets and they have cats and dogs like us.

(S is for six but she didn't say that either) He goes six times every year.

(T is for transportation but again she didn't say that) They ride on a bus and it takes them 30 minutes to get everywhere.

(U is for Ukraine) Here's the Ukraine. Here's us and there is them over there. (as she points to the United States and then to the Ukraine.)

W is for wheelchairs and there's a wheelchair orphanages.

Y is for Yes! He said yes to go and do his magic routine.

Two almost 2 year olds

2010-04-28T14:37:00.005-05:00

I can totally tell that the boys are going to be 2 VERY soon (as in next week). After getting most of our homeschool work done by 9:30am this morning, (thank you Providence teachers for lightening the workload just a bit during the last 2 weeks of school!) I loaded everyone up to run some errands in Fayetteville. We had 3 stops to make, all of which were things to be done for the boys birthday party.

Rick's Bakery. I ordered their Elmo cake 2 weeks ago, but had to pay for it before picking it up. I wasn't prepared to pay for it the day I ordered it, so we went back to pay for it.

Personally Yours. My awesome and amazing friend Bridget made Elmo shirts for the boys to wear at their party. All I had to do was take them in to get their names embroidered.

Party City. Needed to buy all the Elmo party supplies.

The first 2 stops were quick, easy and uneventful. Our final stop was Party City. And this is where the fun began. I purposefully saved this one for last. My thinking was that the boys would be so excited to "see" and hold Elmo stuff that the excitement was best saved for last. We walked into the store and the boys immediately started yelling "MAH-OON" (balloon). We walked back to the aisle where the Elmo stuff was and they then started yelling "ELMO." This was all fine and good. The yelling doesn't bother me at all. We got what we needed and then walked to the front of the store to pick out some balloons and then pay. I had assigned Eli to hold one boy's hand and Emma Kate hold the other boy's hand. As I was paying, I heard Emma Kate say in a not-so-thrilled tone of voice, "Zander get up." I turn around to find Zander sprawled out on the floor. He was mad. He wanted one of the already inflated "mah-oons" to take home and Emma Kate said no. So, being that he's almost 2, he just threw himself down on the floor in protest. As the cashier is looking at what's going on in the floor, I know what he's thinking. "Good grief, lady. Can't you control your kids? If not, you should just leave them at home." So, I get the items all paid for, scoop Zander up off the floor and we walk out to the car. Now mind you that Zander is still screaming/crying all the way to the car, so I'm feeling a bit frazzled at this point. I open the car door and put Zander in. Turn around to get Zane and find him on all 4's in the parking lot. Zane is a frag-ile sort of child, can go from 0-90, laughing to crying, in 0.2 seconds. (and that has nothing to do with being almost 2. That's just Zane.) Apparently something "triggered" him right as we got to the car. Have no idea what it was, but his "I'm almost 2 years old" reaction was to throw himself down on all 4's in the parking lot. Lovely.

**I can't help but wonder if the cashier was looking out the window to see yet another on of my ~~heathens~~ children throwing a fit?!?

Game Night

2010-04-23T20:28:00.004-05:00

We had Family Fun Game Night tonight after we put the boys to bed. As of right now, they are going to bed at 7:00pm and at that time of day, there is still plenty of light left outside, so it works out great!

The first game we played was Hyper Dash. Lots of fun with lots of running around and laughs!

This is the look and strut of a proud man who has just won a childs game against his wife and 2 oldest children!

Next, we played "Mother May I?" (which I think is a game that EK plays in PE sometimes)

After that, the mom and dad were worn out so we came inside for some board games!

Lens with a different view

2010-04-16T15:51:00.003-05:00

Emma Kate loves to take pictures. Note that is VERY different than having your picture made. She does not like at all to have her picture made. But, she loves to have a camera or cell phone in her hand and take pictures. Here are the most recent pictures she's taken with my camera.

Zander using a washcloth to "wash" his hair....

Zander (or 1/2 of him anyway)....

Me taking Zander to lay down for a nap....

Self-portrait....

and me looking not-so-glamorous on a pajama homeschool day....

Water Table

2010-04-13T20:49:00.001-05:00

The little boys absolutely LOVE the water table that Mimi and Papa got them for their 1st birthday. Most days, if its warm enough, I just put them in swim clothes or a plain ole diaper when they are going to play with it. 'Cause I know any piece of clothing they have on is just going to get soaked. But this day, I didn't for whatever reason and YES, their clothes got soaking wet.
Zane's absolute most favorite thing to do is pour water in the funnel and watch it come out through the spinning wheel....

Zander likes any part of it that gets him wet....

Look at the concentration on that face....

Zander also LOVES to drink the water which I think is tee-total GROSS. He knows he's not supposed to, but I'm thinking by the lips-puckered-together-look on his face that he's just taken a big ole drink....

Normally he just drinks out of one of the 8,000 cups they are using to play with, but this glorious day he decided to try a new way of drinking the water....

I think he liked it!

So proud of himself!

Let me try that again...

Zane says "Have your fun your way. I just want to continue to pour the water."

It's all fun and games till Zander splashes himself on the face....

He immediately says "eyes towel." (which translates to wipe my eyes with a towel)

New Camera

2010-04-06T16:09:00.009-05:00

After doing much research and trying out different cameras, Philip finally purchased a new digital SLR camera. He's been enjoying taking lots of pictures of the kids.

The next 3 pictures are neat because its a step-by-step of her doing a back flip on the trampoline. I love that the camera takes the pictures so quick!

Can you say static electricity?