Uninspired

How's that for a title? :) I couldn't think of anything witty to write - sorry! We are currently in the midst of a perpetual cold - currently it's the babies and myself. Really, mommies should be exempt from being sick. And so should babies. Only those who are old enough to blow their noses and tell you where it hurts and drink when told and take medicine should be eligible. And primary caregivers are out altogether. And it bothers me that altogether doesn't have two "L"s in it. And it also bothers me that "till" as in "till we meet again" isn't spelled 'til. Because it's an abbreviation of "until" so I think it should have an apostrophe. And I'm thankful for spell check. I won't tell you how many red squiggly lines are underlining my words as I type. And that's how clouded my brain is - I hate being sick.

Ok... some updates...

Rick - waiting to see if he is laid off (thanks for all your kind words on Facebook - love you!) this month. And also trying to work hard as if nothing is happening. Lots of deadlines looming... how will they do without him.

Mom - sick. See above. Still pumping after each feeding - though now from my very own pump - not a rented one. Wishing she could get a haircut, but thinking ponytails may be the order of the day until we know if we're keeping our job. Thirty bucks can buy a lot of milk and bananas!

A - Finally passed off her +5 addition test (20 probs in under a minute) and will now be moving on to +6. We will be practicing at home using this site to generate worksheets. Loves to play with the boys at recess. Super gal!

N - Had his preschool's dinosaur day at school and was in heaven. The things they learn when are interested in a subject are amazing! They made fossils and went on a "dig" and had special dinosaur treats. He is my earliest reader and picks up on things sooooo quickly! He is a quick study and I'm excited to see him grow in Kindergarten next year. (Which I registered him for a few weeks ago).

L - Firecracker. She is talking so much! I can't believe she will be two in a month. She has her opinion about everything and can get quite feisty if things aren't going as she would like. She doesn't let her siblings walk all over her - she is quick to hit when she is mad. She is also my most loving child (hugging and kissing you just because) and so quick to say sorry! She loves her siblings so much and loves to wave at them, hug them and kiss them. You can see how we are wired to learn through mimicking others when you watch her. She picks up on so much that I do and say through the day!

M - Hopefully still gaining! She went from 50% to 4% and to 9% at her last weigh-in. We have another next week. She rolls over both ways, can sit up for a few seconds unassisted and is such a happy baby! I just love how she can make me feel such bliss when she looks at me and smiles - which thankfully she does often.

House - on hold. We were ready to pay people to fix up the last bits - but now we are thinking we should hold on to our pennies until we know more about the job situation. We have some sheets of drywall to put up, a duct to move, some closets to build and then we are ready to have some guys come in and mud/texture. Then we have a patio to pour and a yard to design. Then we are pretty much done. Oh, we need to put flooring in on the main floor. And then we are pretty much done. Except for the bathroom. And then the kitchen cupboards and counter. You get the idea...

Hope you are doing well!

Dec 25th - the birthday!

He wanted cupcakes with blue frosting - and he got 'em! We also had macaroni and cheese with Little Smokies. :) Lovely Christmas dinner!

5 years old!

An alien cake for your enjoyment!

Space/Astronaut party - here we go!

Random image of Birthday Boy's loot that I found on my camera

The Saturday of Nathan's party was also his last basketball game! So the alien waited patiently to be eaten until after the game. :)

Getting his medal and a big hug from coach Joe
The team - go Grizzlies!

Defense, hey, hey, Defense (all lined up with hands stretched up)

Cuz he's awesome

Dec 1, 2009

Cool on so many levels... Squirt gun, Mardi Gras beads, shades, cell, missionary tag...

Pizza Night!

We often have a pizza and movie night on Fridays. Our kids are notoriously slow eaters and if we waited until everyone was done with dinner to start the show we would be up all night! So we spread out some towels or a picnic blanket, break out the sippy cups and enjoy the movie while we eat. :)

Our attempt at our yearly photo shoot

Here is why we still don't have kids' pics for you...

At least the big kids don't give us trouble! Cute, huh?

Halloween

Here you have our Halloween from 2009. Rick opted out this year... Booo! Mommy was a kitty, Ashlyn was a princess (when this costume wears out I'm not sure what she'll do!), Nathan was a knight, Lauren a butterfly and Megan a ladybug. The pics are at our annual dinner and trunk or treat at church.


It was also b-ball for Nathan that day! This just cracks me up - here is the defense. They all stand in a line with their arms up. As the season progresses they move closer to the net - same formation. Adorable!

Cowboy Day

One of our favorite preschool days...

First Day of School 2009

Slip 'n' Slide Summer fun

Spring Preview

This week brought a great opportunity for me to share a bit of our Spring preschool program when Nathan started telling me about the "big people" song he learned and would like to sing for me.  I shot a quick video on the camera for all of you who don't get to come see the kids perform at their preschool programs (which would be all of you!).  

Isn't he cute?

Checkups

Time for shots and checkups!  We took Nathan in for his 4 y.o. appt. and Lauren in for her 1 year.

Here's the breakdown:

Lauren (cuz I know you are as anxious to see how she's doing as I was!)

Weight:  19lb 13.2 oz,   25%  Woo-hoo!  Nice comeback from 3%, huh?

Height: 76.5 cm (not sure we're in metric here? ~30in for those stateside),   100%  Ha!  Take that!

Head:  45 cm, 44%

Temp: 98.6F

BMI: 2.38

Pulse: 132

Oxygen: 93

:)  I know you want it all!

Nathan

Weight:  40lb,   74%

Height: 44.5in,   98%

Blood Pressure:  102/52

Temp: 98.6F

BMI: 14.20, 8%

Pulse: 108

Oxygen: 100

The doctor also mentioned that though Nathan looks slim, not to worry!  His weight is all muscle.  Well, I can't say that I've ever worried about these kids (barring L) being too slim, but it's nice to know he's nice and healthy.

Historical Museum

Ma and Pa rustling up some supper. Ash made "healthy snacks" for the kids on the plates on the counter. Nathan cooked up some fish on the stove.

Blacksmith's shop

Running around on their horses outside the 1880s blacksmith shop. Ashlyn's was named "Jackson" and Nathan's varied between "John" and "Max".

Nathan asked "How do you turn this thing on?" so I told him he needed to hitch up his horse. Ashlyn obliged.

So embarrassing! Just as the farm worker walked past he heard this.

Mom: "What animal is that?"

Nathan/Ashlyn: "I don't know."

Nathan: "A no-lump camel?"

Seriously - my kids do know what a cow is. I think they like making me look like a bad mom in front of strangers. : )

(Worker walks off grinning to himself.)

Happy Birthday to my Christmas boy!

This year we weren't snowed in (a first!) so I was able to buy supplies for a real cake! After changing his mind (Spiderman, Batman, Sheriff Woody, etc.) many times we broke out the Woman's Weekly birthday cake book and picked....

Christmas Program

Christmas Party with Santa

Here was our chance to take our pictures with Santa - we missed the memo that dinner was supposed to be Sunday dress. Oops! Ash and Nathan are very contemplative!

Nathan's a Wampanoag

From his preschool's Feast Day. Nathan brought cookies to share.

Blog reader, blog reader, what do you see?

I see the work of Nathan looking at me!

Or you will soon....

I asked Nathan to go to the bathroom and wash up before nap. He was taking a long time and after a while I could hear that he had filled the sink with water and was splashing around. I told him to wash his hands, empty the sink, dry his hands and get into his bed. ... Nothing... A few more minutes went by (I was busy folding laundry and not checking on him).

ME: Nathan, what are you doing?
N: Cleaning up.
ME: What are you cleaning up?
N: Um, squishy stuff.

Oh no, what could "squishy stuff" possibly be!?!


So here's what you see...

two rubber duckies, hair brush, Q-tips, 2 wash cloths and an Aussie Olympic platypus toy in the sink - with water of course.

What you don't see - the rest of the cotton balls from that empty jar and more Q-tips in the sink.

Squishy stuff.

And I should mention that the reason there are cotton balls in the jar is because Nathan was putting them back in - "cleaning up" as it were. Those are soaking wet.

Funny Nathan

We were in WalMart lamenting the cost of looking at new bikes (Ashlyn looks like a clown in the circus on her little 2-wheeler - it's WAY too small for her) and Nathan (my "I want" kid at the store) was asking if he could have this bike, or this one, or that one, etc.
I said, "No Nathan. You already have a bike. It's a cool bike - it has Spidey on it!"
N: "But I want TWO bikes!"
Me: "Nathan, one bike is plenty."
N: "But, Mom! One is the LONELIEST number!"

:) Rick sings that "One is the loneliest number" song to the kids. Well, he sings that one line anyway. He has actually admitted that he doesn't know any more of the song. But he does like that one line!
We're weird that way - we could bust out in song at any moment! We sing around the house all day long and when there's a sad/mad kid or parent nothing brightens up the mood like a silly song in opera falsetto crazy woman voice.

First snow this season today!

The latest snow on record was the 21st - so we didn't set records but this is pretty late for us! Nathan is already very disappointed that it's melting - already nothing on the roads and the driveway. :) I told him "That's Colorado!"