He is my Sunshine

This kid is great.  He is my one respite.  I started potty-training him (even though I was trying to resist it)the middle part of April.  He has done better than either one of the others.  He rarely has accidents now.  He is doing sooooooo good.  I am so proud and happy that he actually caught on!  Now we'll just work on him so that he does not regress.  So anyway, I just thought that I'd share my ONE success story with you!  Here are some pics for your viewing pleasure.

 

Birthday Boy

This last month my BABY turned one!  I can hardly believe it.  It seems like yesterday he came barreling out- ALL NATURAL and turned my life upside down.  We all just love him.  He is so smiley.  He is almost always in a good mood. 
He can speed crawl, and the man and I have discussed putting him on the diaper racing track, but since it is outlawed in 49 states, we figured it just might not be that safe.  But there is no doubt our money would be on this guy- he is fast. 
He can stand and walk very wobbly, but he prefers to crawl.  He can get into LOTS of mischief.  I have found that apparently the most interesting thing in my house is, by far, the toilet brush!  He certainly is a curious and inquisitive little guy who has to do and have everything the older brothers and sis has.  Happy Birthday to my baby boy! How I love this guy!

Daily Quips

The boy says to me today (as a jeep was passing us), "Mom, jeeps are fast!"
"Yes," I replied, "they can be."
"Ya- if they're racing jeeps"


And a little earlier today, the girl noticed a thread dangling from the smallish boy's sleeve.  Rather than ripping it off (obviously the adult thing to do), she touched it and then jealously said, "you've got a string to play with!"

And the smallish boy said something so funny, but I cannot post it since it involves loads of names, and wouldn't really be funny without them. 

Cute kiddos!

April Fools

We just love April Fools Day around here.  We're all little pranksters anyway- and it's great to have a day set aside to do just that.  I made a great joke- meal for the kids. 
It was a "cup-cake" meal I told them.  The main dish actually looked like dessert, and the dessert looked like mashed potatoes.  The main dish was meatloaf with sweet-mashed potatoe "frosting".  I told the kids they were chocolate cupcakes with orange frosting.  I don't think they bought this one so much.

  

The mashed potatoe cupcakes were real cupcakes with white frosting and caramel sauce with a yellow squished starburst.  They looked real, right?  And I think my favorite part was the drink.  I have made jello and put it in cups earlier so it would set. 

I gave them their "juice" and it was funny to see the smaller boy put the cup to his lips and tip his head back.  Then again and again.  My bro and sis-in-law had joined us for dinner and she finally said, "Hey, smaller boy, put your finger in it.  Then we all had a good laugh.  Well anyway it was fun for us.  I thought I was pretty clever.  Here are some pics.

Artists, Swimmers, and Cleaners

Because these pics are so awesome I will caption each one!

 

                                                         
                                                         

This is a darling pic. my little artists drew of giraffes.  So cute.

 Smaller boy telling me (right after I gave him his goldfish "snack"), "They're whimming mommy.  Whimming- see?"

                          Here's a close-up of the fishies "whimming"

This is the cutest little cleaner that loudly proclaims to me one afternoon (whilst I am sitting on my toosh reading a book during "quiet-time"), "Mom, I love you so much I am going to clean the whole house for you today.

She proceeds to clean the front room. 

Table pushed up by couches----check. Things off floor----check. Front room cleaned-----check.

Smaller boy's bed made----check.

 Smaller boy's belongings off the floor (just gander at the dresser)-----check.  Smaller boy's room clean---check.

The girl's bed made------check.  Girl's belongings off the floor (look at the shelf)-----check.

Once again- girl's belongings off the floor-----check.

The boy's belongings all off the floor-----check. 

House cleaned--------check.

Cutest girl in the world------check.

I refinished this dresser a while ago for the boy.  It is obviously chalkboard paint.  I go into his room the other day and he has "labled" what goes in each drawer.  This is the cutest thing.  I'm pretty sure that top middle drawer is supposed to say "toys". 

I love the ages they are right now.  I am hating/loving that they are growing up too fast.  They are growing up too fast/not fast enough.  Does this make sense to anyone else out there?  I love the kids and how cute they are right now, but there are some pretty rough moments when they are all screaming all at the same time for something different from me . 
I am really just trying to sit back and cherish the little things though because, come on... look how cute they are!  Seriously.  I just love it. 
"We remember moments, not days"  I am just totally loving and living in the moments they create.   

Birthday Girl

Today was my birthday.
 It was fantastic.
 Here are 10 pictures to help you understand why it was so great:

And here are 10 completely unrelated reasons why it was fantastic:

1. The boy came in to wake me up today singing, "Guess who's birthday it is,"  and I had to "guess".  How darling is that!
2. Tradition in my family is when you don't live with the person and it's thier birthday you call and sing to them.  So I got sung to a lot.
3. My kids were just as excited for the day as I was.
4. The man gave me a nice long hug right after he put on his cologne, so I was smelling him on me all day after he left for work. :)
5. Seriously.  Did you SEE that pile of presents.  I'm just saying...
6. Peaking out of the shower this morning, I see my darling 2 year old's bare bum as he stood on his tippy-toes as he chose to "peep-peep" in the toilet!
7. My sister brought me lunch, and a plate full of goodies for me and the kids. Then we hung out and played scrabble.
8. My brother and sis-in-law came over and we totally binged on all the sweet things around the house. (Well I did anyway)
9. All the awesome birthday wishes from facebook.  Makes me feel like a million bucks!
10. The snow (from last night) MELTED.

I couldn't have dreamed up a better birthday!  Thanks family and friends.  You guys are all great and I feel so lucky to have each of you in my life! You very nearly made me forget how old I am turning today.  (I must be getting old- I like scrabble)

The Potty Train

The girl has done wonderfully with no potty accidents for a few weeks.  The last three days, though, she has had a few accidents.  After her second accident today, I went into the bathroom to help her out and inquire about what was going on. 

"So, honey, what is going on with you lately?" I asked.

She got very somber and her voice was a little shaky when she replied, "Mom, I just think it is (the boy's)(she obviously says the boys name) fault.  He just took it from me and I just want it back, because it was his problem but now it's mine and I just want it back..."

Whoa.
Random rambling.
What the heck is this girl saying?
I tried to clarify- "Honey, what are you talking about.  What do you want back?"

"He took it and I just want it back so I don't have accidents anymore, mom. The 'POTTY TRAIN'."

Oh, thanks for clarifying there hon.

I thought about buying her her very own toy train so that we wouldn't be worried about accidents with her anymore.  But maybe she oughtta figure this one out on her own?
 
I just love my little angel girl.

Dropping a Bomb

I've got something to tell you.  I haven't been wanting to write this post, because I really don't want to alarm anyone.  But I am just going to say it like it is.

I am dying.

I began dying the minute I was born.  You see, I was born with a fatal condition.  They call it aging. 

I know- I know- you totally just cringed there.  Well- yes it's true.  I'm sorry you all had to find out like this.  This condition is 100 percent FATAL.  If something else doesn't kill me first, my condition will, with no exception end up killing me.  This is a particularly hard year for me.  I'm getting more and more aged as the years go by.  This year will be rough as I reach 30.

Yes, time and modern medicine have helped tremendously.  In fact- people with this condition are living longer now than ever before.  But there is no cure. 

Please don't shed any tears for me.  But you are welcome to bring me gifts.  Flowers to brighten my mood, chocolate for my soul (cadbury eggs are the best!), organizational bins from IKEA.  You know- that sort of thing. 

Well wish me luck as I say good-bye to my 20's and venture into my 30's (this month)... 
Uncertainly.

(And in case you were wondering- Yes I AM making kissy faces to the camera while driving on the freeway with 4 children in the car.  I deserve a mother of the year award.)

The Mommy Blahs

I have had a bad case of what I will just call the "mommy blahs" lately. You know, it's the mommy mode 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I am actually doing better the last couple of days, but cabin fever has totally settled in, and we are trying to banish it.  I hope the weather stays fairly decent, because the kids and I are finally starting to venture out.  We are yelling at winter, "You can't keep us in anymore!  We're not afraid of you!"  
Ha!
Take that!
I will get out to start planting soon. 
Strawberries (lots of these)
Fruit trees
Cold garden things like peas and spinach. 
You should too.  Do obnoxious things like wear flip-flops and no jacket.  That'll sure show winter that we don't want it back anytime soon!

Just some pics of the kiddos and me.

Peace