Four Silly Sisters

Something Old

2012-01-23T11:44:00.004-05:00

I have a very talented husband. Several months ago we treated ourselves to a long overdue king sized matress upgrade. The only trouble was we couldn't agree on a new bed to go with it. After a little debate and a lot of Pinterest perusing we decided that perhaps an old door would serve as our new headboard.

Thankfully Mimi had a few old doors stashed away at the dairy barn, so we got started... and by we I mean mostly Scott. I really hate that we did not take any before photos. It was such a filthy mess to begin with. I got to help on several days while the girls were in school (boy am I going to miss that next year), but mostly I did easy jobs while Scott had to do all the measuring, cutting, nailing, figuring, etc. I think the finished product turned out beautifully!! I am so proud of Scott and his determination to do absolutely anything he sets his mind to.... Thanks babe!

Gold Rush

2011-10-16T09:07:00.005-04:00

Kari and I loaded up our five girlies while the Daddys were working and headed over to Dahlonega yesterday to meet up with some friends for Gold Rush. Thank you KD girls for a nice meeting place, and Heather and Joan it was great seeing you ladies!!

Since I'm the worst blogger ever I thought I could at least post some pictures from our afternoon... maybe some more bloggy catch-up is also in order. Perhaps this will be the week?!?

A Summer South GA Trip

2011-09-02T08:25:00.004-04:00

In addition to all the individual dates that Scott and the girls shared this past July, he also made a trip down to south Georgia to see his family. As usual, Ella and Sarah were eager to travel, and Maggie and Kate opted to stay home with me.

The girls took their bikes with newly removed training wheels and chalked up a few hours in the early mornings and late evenings riding along the sidewalks near Gamma's. Not even one knee was skinned upon their return.

They didn't seem to mind the scraggly, bearded face of July as much as I did.... case in point, Ella was still willing to be hugged right up to it cheek to cheek.

They spent some time at Gamma's antique shop. She has several baby carriages so I'm sure they pushed their babies around and around the place. As nerve wracking as it is for the girls to play around in the antique shop with all the breakables, it's got nothing on the days of letting Bandit off his leash in there!?! What were we thinking??

They even had a nice visit with Scott's dad's side of the family... lots more picture posing than Ella or Sarah either one was very happy with by that point I'm sure.

Back at home I was amazed at how easy it was to only have 2 little people with me during the day. While the others were away, my sweet Kate and Maggie were just as happy as a couple of little larks to play together. They even snuggled up in the same bed while Sarah was missing from their room. I truly don't think they fought or argued over one single thing the whole time!

Kate was randomly giggling from the back of the Expedition one afternoon, and when I asked her what was so funny she just smiled, reached over to grab Maggie's hand, and said, "I'm just so happy to have my Maggie!" Melted my heart right on the spot....

I am sure that Ella and Sarah fared almost as well for the trip, but we were all certainly glad to be reunited when they arrived home once again.

5 Years Old

2011-08-30T09:05:00.004-04:00

We celebrated Maggie, Kate, and Sarah's birthday a few weeks ago with family and some of their preschool classmates. At their request we did the usual... pool/ water slide party with cake and ice cream. They each wanted something completely different in the way of cake, so we had pound cake with blue icing, pound cake with chocolate icing and sprinkles, and strawberry pound cake with strawberries on top. The cakes were yummy if I do say so myself!

I'm not sure if it is because they are kindergartners now or because they are 5 or what, but the girls amaze me daily with how grown up they suddenly seem. There are no traces of baby left, but I sure am enjoying the company of these little ladies now!

Amazingly, after being in class with the same 17 other kids for going on 3 weeks now, their classmates didn't even realize that Maggie, Kate, and Sarah were sisters until I took cupcakes in on Friday to celebrate their birthdays at school. To me that speaks volumes about how well they are doing in one classroom all together.

Hilton Head Island 2011

2011-08-17T09:41:00.005-04:00

We had another fantastic time at Hilton Head in July. As usual, our routine was breakfast, bike, beach, pool, lunch, rest, beach, pool, bike to dinner, crash.... rinse and repeat 3 or 4 times with only a little variation. This was the first summer that we've had 4 full fledged swimmers on our hands, so that made everything "way more fun". For the first time ever, we spent one morning playing putt-putt. Whew, that was exhausting! Another first was the girls actively trying to make friends with other kids we met on the beach and at the pool ... also great fun! They found lots of little girls and even several little boys that didn't mind being friends with a whole gaggle of sisters. Scott helped each of the girls take turns learning to ride on the boogie board. Ella became quite good at it, and after making a new friend one day tried to ride off into the sunset with her new friend on the board. That was a completely new nerve wracking experience for this mama who is used to having her girls hover very nearby at all times!

On this trip the girls became very eager to ride their own bikes... guess those carriers are getting a little bit cramped! So we told them that when they learned to ride without training wheels they could bring their bikes and not ride in the carriers anymore. Guess what? The minute we got home we removed them and within a week all four of our kiddos were riding their bikes sans training wheels!! Perhaps those should be the next pictures I post?!?

Anniversary Celebration Dinner

2011-08-16T09:04:00.006-04:00

I'm still catching up on some of our summer fun and adventures, and I thought these pictures were too special not to share.

For the second year in a row, Kari and I, along with our families were home and able to help Mimi and Pop celebrate their anniversary in July. Thankfully this year I remembered to take pictures of our whole crew... no simple feat anymore!

Kari, James, and Harper made a nice photo, but apparently our gang couldn't get it together.

We made Pop pretty miserable with all the posing, but I think the pictures are worth the effort!!

As usual Kate wasn't interested in having her photo taken, but we did get a rare shot where she was smiling. Hooray!

Ella

Maggie

Sarah... more than willing to take up Kate's slack

Cool drinks from the water fountain

We parked the girls on the same bench as last year for the sake of comparison.... I can't believe how much they've grown and changed in just a years' time!! Wow!

By the time we finished taking pictures they were way past done!

I think the anniversary celebrations just keep getting better and better... the girls are still occasionally talking about this trip and plotting for next years' already! Here's to many, many more!!

Uncle Trap

2011-08-15T20:11:00.005-04:00

The girls watched a couple of "new to us" movies this summer... their favorites were both the old and new versions of The Parent Trap. One Sunday afternoon the girls tried to pull a trick on their great- uncle Silly Al that was inspired by the switcheroo in the movie. Ella even helped to give Maggie a freckle the same size as Kate's.

Can you tell who is who?

Happy Birthday Daddy

2011-08-11T10:04:00.005-04:00

First off, Happy Birthday Scott!!

We felt that each one of the girls needed a special Daddy Date this summer because Scott spent most of the last school year away for work. He had the whole month of July off for these adventures, and he and Ella started things off with quite a bang.

The two of them flew up to D.C. for the day early in July. Ella says that the National Zoo is the longest walk she ever had to take! Apparently it was also pretty hot there in July.

They enjoyed some outdoor fountains in the city, a lunch date, an art museum or two, ice cream, and some time at the air and space museum.

Ella and Scott were both completely exhausted by the end of the day. It is a blessing to be able to fly standby, but with all the extra stress it added, Scott decided that the other 3 dates would be more local.

I know that reconnecting with the girls is overwhelming for Scott after deployments, but I have to say he did a fabulous job investing his time with all four of our girls this summer.

First Day of School x 4!!!!

2011-08-10T13:03:00.001-04:00

Today is a BIG day in our house. Kate, Maggie, and Sarah have entered the world of Kindergarten. They are probably the youngest in their class since they won't actually be 5 until the end of this month, but they are ready. We couldn't hold them back any longer!

Silly Faces

Serious, study faces

Maggie

Sarah

Kate

Ella... first day of 1st grade, and she didn't even look up as she waved me off this morning. She's an old pro at this school stuff and has been eager to get back to "The Creek" since mid-July.

Now with a little bit of time on my hands I hope to develop a daily discipline for blogging to catch up on the thousands of photos and summer memories that are sitting idle in my head and on the computer. Stay tuned...

Almost Wordless Wednesday: My Heart Explodes Soon

2011-05-18T21:04:00.006-04:00

These three precious girls, who incidentally just started pre-k what feels like yesterday, will say goodbye to their beloved preschool tomorrow at graduation. We will miss their sweet, loving teacher and all their ~~cohorts~~ classmates. I can not believe how fast time flies!!

Weekend at the Beach

2011-05-04T11:33:00.005-04:00

We spent a lovely weekend at the beach with Nanny, Mimi, Kari, and aunts and cousins. It was a great way to spend our time while waiting for Scott to return to the US. The countdown is on...

Celebrations

2011-04-24T21:46:00.004-04:00

This morning, in addition to the Resurrection, we celebrated a couple of baby dedications at church. This little bit was included, but she was fully clothed for the ceremony!! She is the sweetest niece ever, and totally adorable, too!!

After church we had a delicious lunch at Mimi and Pop's with family. Then Harper and her two grandmothers looked on...

... as all the "big" cousins began a fabulous Easter egg hunt.

They covered a lot of ground.

After we recovered from the sugar coma that this egg hunt induced we headed to Nanny C's for yet another family gathering. I'll continue tomorrow with those pictures, and then by Tuesday I'll have every basket, egg, and bunny carefully placed back up in the attic until next year. Whew, we've had some exhausting fun today and I can't wait for all the candy to "magically" disappear.

Wordless Wednesday: Us Girls

2011-04-20T13:32:00.001-04:00

Sarah

2011-04-18T21:23:00.003-04:00

Every time I turned around yesterday Sarah was striking a new pose for the camera. She was hilarious, and she definitely had the most fun of all of us.

Beautiful Palm Sunday Blessings

2011-04-17T21:13:00.004-04:00

What a beautiful, blessed day we've had!! After Sunday school, a wonderful Easter cantata by our church choir, BBQ lunch on the grounds, a butterfly release, and an egg hunt all at Mossy Creek UMC this morning, we headed to Nanny C's and ventured out into the pasture. I took lots of pictures at church, but most of the 350 pictures I took (and all of my favorites from the day) came from our yellow flower pasture photo shoot. Expect to see more of these over the next few days.

Thank you God for all of our many blessings!!

Pretty Spring Afternoons

2011-04-14T21:17:00.004-04:00

Most pretty afternoons I can count on at least one hour of time during which all four of the girls will play outside on the trampoline together- happily!! I have never been more thankful for a single piece of play equipment... ever!

Yesterday I joined them after I had supper started to take a few photos of their silliness. They are simply adorable these days.... even if I do say so myself.

all together in front of the old red milk barn

Ella... doing a few tricks for the camera

Maggie with a pretend sad face.... and Sarah curious

Kate... too cool, and yes, we washed her stringy hair before bed

Rock a bye baby

2011-04-14T21:12:00.003-04:00

The girls have always been huge fans of nursery rhymes. They can sing or quote more of them than I can count. Can you guess which one they were singing as they hung all their babies in the tree this afternoon by their umbrellas? Silly girls!

Full Disclosure

2011-04-07T21:30:00.000-04:00

The many, many notes I mentioned getting from Ella before, well, they officially aren't all sweet anymore.

After a recent "try night" at our house, (what we call a night when the girls are being served a meal they may or may not like, but are expected to try 2 bites of everything on the plate regardless) I received this little note from my oldest. I only know for sure what it says because she used the words and said it to me moments earlier at the table. :EVAPORATE FROM THIS HOUSE : Yes, she told me she wished I would just evaporate from this house. She then used some rather curt words with sweet Maggie, so I sent her to her room to write sentences about using her words to love and not hate.

She did eventually turn things around because she wrote "I love you" at the bottom of her sentences list and informed me in a second line "I have gon to upologis to Maggie".

I just didn't want the blogosphere to think it was sunshine and roses here all the time.

Mostly Wordless Wednesday: Crazy Kids

2011-04-06T21:15:00.007-04:00

This morning my goal was to stay home and do some baking to get ahead for weekday breakfasts. The girls were playing nearby at the table with their Playdough cake factory for most of the time, but by the time I had 2 batches of waffles and some muffins filling the freezer they had migrated away from the kitchen. I heard lots of giggling coming from the bathroom, and upon investigation this was what I found. These girls are so crazy!

Kids Say Funny Things

2011-04-04T13:32:00.007-04:00

One day in recent history Maggie passed gas, looked up startled, and said, "Well that's a fill-miliar sound around here."

Kate came screeching into the kitchen and said, "Mom, can I please use your potty... ours is occupated."

After being sick and unable to eat for 3 days Ella finished off an entire plate full of French toast and said, "That was a stupendous breakfast mom. Thanks!"

Now that the sun dresses are hanging in one of the closets Sarah never has trouble deciding on what SHE wants to wear. We are regularly butting heads about what is weather appropriate and not. On a particularly cool morning when she picked out a sleeveless dress and I was working to redirect her to something more weather fitting she said, "Mom, are you TRYING to make me look like a dork??"

I overheard the funniest conversation while dropping Ella off at school this morning. The kids at her table were all chatting and writing about what they did over spring break. A cute little girl who sits across from Ella said, "We were going to see a movie Friday, but then we found out it had language in it." The little guy next to Ella inquired, "What kind of language... like Spanish or something?" The puzzled little girl simply responded with a shrug. It was very funny real time, but I'm not sure it translates well in the retelling.

Little people just crack me up!!

Rewards

2011-03-28T21:33:00.003-04:00

I've been striving recently to be a more intentional "yes" mom... yes to Popsicles, yes to playing games when I should be cleaning, yes to the snow cone machine, yes to water colors painting, yes to cinnamon rolls for breakfast every now and then, yes to reading aloud to the girls any time they ask.... the list goes on.

My efforts have not been without rewards. In addition to tons of extra smiles, giggles, and thanks, I keep finding these little love notes and certificates posted all over our house telling me I'm a "spectacular parent"and "doin' a good job". Ella even wrote a poem for me: "Pritte grle, pritte grle, I like you cus your famulee and you are silee." Translation: Pretty girl, pretty girl, I like you because you are family and you are silly.

I never imagined one 6 year old and three 4 year olds could be so much fun!

Spring Time

2011-03-25T22:44:00.005-04:00

Spring is here! The flowers are peeking out everywhere, the pollen is killer (guess you're glad to be in the desert right about now honey), the girls are playing outside many more hours each day than they were just a month ago, and they've begun begging for me to get out the summer clothes.

This is what our house looks like for weeks during the changing of the seasons. It goes down like this: I manage to bring in a few bins of clothes to go through. Before I have a chance to remove the heaviest of winter things from their closets they all notice the bins of awesome, fun, new, exciting, tank top, summer attire neatly folded and tucked away in bins in my bedroom. Before long they are daily digging through said bins and destroying any order that there was to them in an effort to get dressed each day... even though it is still entirely too cool out for tank tops and sun dresses and we sometimes have to go round and round about what is and is not appropriate weather wise.

Who has time to go through and remove the winter clothes from the closets and replace them with spring/ summer things when the sun is shining and no one is vomiting and did I mention it is spring time again!?! Yeah!!

Wordless Wednesday: Sisters, Popsicles, and Trampolines

2011-03-23T22:58:00.004-04:00

I spied on the girls as they were having Popsicles outside in the afternoon and got these photos of one of their many pow-wows out on the trampoline. Whenever I see them like this I realize how blessed we are to have them, and also how blessed they are to have each other!

Cute Little Stinkers

2011-03-18T21:50:00.006-04:00

It's a good thing these little gals are so stinkin' cute.... because a week ago one of them brought a yucky stomach bug into our house, and it still hasn't left! Family movie night was all the more interesting tonight due to our sickness drama. If I "get" to take a turn with the bug personally in the next few days there may not be any new posts, but if that happens we'll just blame the stinkers. Here's hoping we'll be able to enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend!!

Wordless Wednesday: Thanksgiving 2010 at the Farm

2011-03-16T21:54:00.005-04:00

I'm taking advantage of "mostly" Wordless Wednesday because I have 2 littles sleeping beside trash cans tonight. Perhaps I'll finally get around to sharing all my favorite pictures that never made it to the blog last year on Wednesdays.

It Doesn't Seem Possible

2011-03-15T21:45:00.003-04:00

Today was Kindergarten Round-Up for our county schools, and these three little ladies...

okay, maybe it was actually these three little ladies, and I attended.

They are super, duper excited to go to school with Ella next year. I'm not sure how I feel about it just yet...

Crazy About Shoes, Clothes, and All Things Daddy Related

2011-03-14T20:45:00.004-04:00

All four of my girls are just crazy over shoes.... their size, my size, fancy, heels, or flip flops, does not matter, they are just crazy over shoes.

So you can imagine the squeals of delight they made as we opened a package from their Daddy a few weeks ago and they saw these...

Scott sent each of the girls their own little curly toe'd pair of Afghan shoes. They were so excited, that is, at least until they tried to put them on. Maggie's disappointment was the most obvious as she cried, "I just can't get my big step-sister foot into this little thing!" Poor little gal cried and cried until she realized that Ella's shoes were also too small, and she would therefore be allowed to wear E's. Maggie wore them to school, to church, and around town, but she always packs a back-up for playgrounds because she doesn't want the fancy ones to get dirty.

Much to the girls' delight, Scott tried again with the next larger size on the shoes so everyone would have a properly fitting pair. In addition to the shoes, this time he sent little outfits. Ella wasn't quite sure what to think of hers at first. She loves the fancy aspects of it, but she isn't too keen on being so "different".

When the original package arrived a few weeks ago, Scott also included a beautiful green Cashmere scarf for me. After glancing in the box at the luxurious fabric of the scarf and all the gold thread on the shoes she exclaimed, "Daddy must be really rich now!" When I asked her why she would say that she said, "Well, just look at all these fine things he's sending to us!" It was like she was saying, "Duh, mom... can't you see?"

When Scott heard about Ella's comments he got the message to her quickly that even if he didn't have a dime, he would be rich.... so very rich!

I couldn't agree more!!

Party Ramblings

2011-03-11T22:39:00.004-05:00

This was the only decent picture that I have from Ella's party this afternoon/ evening even though it doesn't have all her guests in it. We successfully managed afternoon snack and outside playtime with 4 extras here. Then the birthday girl and friends made their own pizzas... rolled out the homemade dough themselves and everything. Big mess, but equally big fun. The three littles enjoyed some non-homemade pizza while all the pizza making was taking place.

We should have quit while we were ahead, but instead after another round of outside playtime we had cake and ice cream.... and more outside playtime, though by then it was quite cool out.

Shortly after I made everyone come in and we had just settled in to watch our movie, one of our friends erupted with vomit without any warning... all over the living room, and the rest of the evening was spent cleaning up(only if you were me) and trying to stay away from any place the cute little fountain had been earlier (everyone else). Long after he left the girls were still running around fretting over his previous whereabouts. Maggie actually went to bed crying because he had been in their room this afternoon. *She really hates to be sick*

I learned a few things at the party tonight. 1- My kids have pretty darn good aim when it comes to vomit. 2- Six year old girls will be dramatic about EVERYTHING... even if they have to make up stuff to be dramatic about, but especially if they don't! 3- God really knew what he was doing when he blessed me with a house full of girls because boys are so rough and tumble... oh. my. stars. I know it is the way they are made, but I would live in a nice padded room if I had 4 boys full time I believe. 4- A nice hot shower really does a great job of literally and figuratively washing off the day.

We said a little prayer for our friend together after he left that he would be well soon, and Ella added in a little "Please God, don't let the rest of us get it"..... which I completely hoped too, but as I was typing this I was called away to help one of my littles. More clean up for me, and now my shower has worn off. Time for bed because this could be a long night.

These are the faces....

2011-03-10T22:21:00.002-05:00

... of three little girls who are in need of some birthday party'n detox, loving on their great-Nanny.

... of one sweet birthday girl doing the "cheezy grin" face, and one adoring little sister looking on.
...of the littlest munchkin who just didn't understand what all the noise was about.

We celebrated Ella's birthday with cupcakes at school and family over for dinner tonight. Tomorrow we celebrate with a few friends after school, and after that all 5 of us will be in need of a little break from all the partying.

Tonight I'm feeling very blessed indeed!!

On the Eve of Six Years Old

2011-03-09T21:20:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow we'll celebrate her 6th birthday. I can't believe it has been 6 years already! I am definitely not the same person I was before she came along. She has made me so much more...

Ella is....

a fantastic kid, a wonderful big sister, a great kindergarten student, an artist, a writer, a photographer, a generally cheerful helper, the one who made me a mother, and one of the keepers of my heart.

Happy birthday sweet girl! Your dad and I couldn't be prouder of the little lady you are fast becoming!

Playing Baby

2011-02-06T20:06:00.001-05:00

The girls are pretty infatuated with aunt Kari and baby Harper's nursing relationship. I think these pictures say it all...

Snowed In

2011-01-13T12:10:00.008-05:00

I'm pretty sure I heard the girls all singing the Hallelujah Chorus as we pulled out of our somewhat icy driveway on Thursday afternoon for our first trip out of the house in over 5 days! Just to get out and play in the fluffy turned icy white stuff required 30 minutes of dressing, after which the girls happily played for 10 minutes max. So with no school, no play dates, and weather so cold that it was not fun to stay out for more than a few minutes at a time, we had to get creative to entertain ourselves indoors.

We watched several good movies. Despicable Me, Toy Story 3 (my favorite), Eloise at the Plaza on DVR, and Ramona and Beezus (the girls' favorite as evidenced by the 100 times they asked to watch it within a 3 day period) all made the cut. Incredibly, the girls didn't ask to watch the television unless it was to see one of the above movies, and we only watched Ramona and Beezus 5 times and the others once each.

The girls "helped" me in the kitchen where we made homemade pizzas, fresh french bread, banana muffins, homemade pancake syrup, and massive amounts of waffles which are now filling our freezer.

They painted, spent hours and hours playing with their homemade play dough, colored, made princess bead jewelry, and drew life sized creations on very large pieces of cardboard.

All of the above were important in keeping us sane while stuck at home, but the most important thing that kept the girls going strong this week was their wonderful imaginations. I am so grateful that they all seem to be blessed with fantastic, creative little minds!

One night 3 of the girls were in the bathtub and one was resisting. There really isn't room for all of them to bathe at the same time anymore, so I didn't mind. I went to straighten up the kitchen while the water was running. When I came back a minute or so later, I overheard the fact that the tub crew was performing a c-section on a poor, unsuspecting mermaid bath toy. My non-bather was "assisting tub side" on the delivery. There was more giggling and laughter than I'm sure is allowed in a surgery suite, but otherwise they cracked me up with their "doctor" language.

Another favorite imagination game they love is to pretend to be mamas. They like to take turns being Aunt Kari and several of her friends who have young babies. They nuwrse their babies, change diapers, play with them, and babysit for each other while they take turns making trips to the grocery store and many other more outlandish places.

When the snowy weather arrived, I was so grateful that I hadn't put away the Christmas cards we got this year just yet. At least once a day the girls dug through the stack of photo cards and drew out a family... usually one with babies or small children, and then they pretend to be that family. Many a day was spent telling and re-telling them our friends' names, their children's names, their pets names, if included in the card. Because we still keep in touch with friends from the other places we've lived, there were quite a few cards with families that the girls just don't remember so those were always favorite picks during the "Chwristmas Card Game", as they called it. I loved it because the game often entertained them for hours, and it also gave me a chance to introduce them to people they don't know or were too young to remember.

When I finished cleaning up from lunch one day I walked into the living room to find Kate in the recliner with Ella standing over her, wearing latex gloves, and poking around in her mouth. As I entered Ella was saying, "Hummmm... it looks like you need to do a better job with your flossing young lady!" Playing right along Maggie looked up from behind her little make shift desk and asked if I was there for my appointment with Dr. Barrett.

Early in our snow captivity their creative little minds decided that we should attempt to "super glue Daddy to the wall so he won't have to leave for Afghanistand". That didn't work out for us, but I can say that we've more than survived this past week. I am super duper ready to get back into a daily routine... particularly one that involves not being in the house 24/7, but I have thoroughly enjoyed the time the five of us girls have had to spend together this week.

***This post would undoubtedly be better with photos, but getting out of my blogging groove also means that I now find myself with a new computer and trouble inserting my SD card. From half way around the world Scott can't help me. I'll try to add some pictures tomorrow from my laptop and erase all this nonsense about no pictures.***

Wordless Wednesday: A Few More Favorites

2011-01-12T20:57:00.003-05:00

I thought today would be a perfect day to post a few more of my favorites from our Farrah Nicole Photography session back in December. Happy almost wordless Wednesday!!

... and We're Back

2011-01-05T21:33:00.001-05:00

**Photo by Farrah Nicole Photography**

I'm so sorry for the long break I've taken from the blog. After a week, and then a month went by, it was harder to start back than it was to just keep ignoring it. However, one day when I want to go back and read about all the ups and downs of 2010 (because I have the worst memory of anyone I know) I will be sorely disappointed at my miserable attempts at writing it all down!

I am going to make a much better effort of documenting things in 2011. Goodness knows we've got plenty of "exciting" things on the horizon here. Let's just say that a new word in the girls' vocabulary is Afghanistan'd' and leave it at that.

We had some beautiful family photos taken by Farrah Nicole Photography, in 30 degree weather no less, back in mid- December so that we would have them before Scott deploys, and I'm looking forward to sharing them here a few at a time.

There are plenty of "funny things I've heard lately" posts swimming around in my head just waiting to be written. Some pretty hilarious stuff, so I'm looking forward to getting some of those down for posterity.

Here's to new inspiration in 2011!!

Wordless Wednesday: Halloween Dress Up Fun

2010-11-03T22:41:00.000-04:00

Wordless Wednesday: Ewwwww!

2010-10-27T14:13:00.000-04:00

All About Maggie

2010-10-20T22:17:00.003-04:00

We have one little tom boy in our group of girls. Her name is Maggie. She is the one who often declares she's not gettin' married when the others are playing wedding. She's also been known to claim she'll just marry Daddy and stay here forever.

She's a tinker-er. She likes to inspect everything and find out how things work. She refuses to wear tights, and also really hates socks. She doesn't like to try new foods anymore either... boohoo!

Maggie is the funniest little gal I've ever met, and most of the time she is completely easy going. Of all the girls, she's the one who can entertain herself for the longest without any intervention, assistance, or need of an audience... can't say that about the rest of them.

However, when Maggie puts her foot down about something it is usually a standoff. I have been hearing lately from her lots of the following, "When I gwrow up and have my own shilwren and my own house and my own wules.... " and then usually it ends with the opposite of whatever parenting choice I'm presently making. She does what I am asking of her, but she makes it clear that it won't be that way when she's making the decisions! We're still working on having a cheerful heart to go along with compliance. **grin**

She's sharp... so sharp. She reminds me of my brother Adam. She has an incredibly quick wit, doesn't talk very much, but when she does the things that come out of her mouth often astound me. One morning in the preschool drop off line I looked back and realized that she had cinnamon roll from breakfast on her face. So like a good mother (who no longer carries wipes 24/7), I turned around in my seat and tried to clean her up with my own saliva and my hands. Gross, I know. I said, "Maggie you have breakfast all over your face!" as I leaned in to remove it, and Maggie replied, "Well Mom, you have coffee breath!!"

All Maggie wanted last Christmas was a white dog. At the time she got a stuffed white dog, but soon our family is going to be fostering this sweet mama dog named Gracie. She is a European Cream Retriever. When Sarah first saw Gracie's picture she said, "Hooray, Maggie's dream is finally coming true!"

Gracie is a new mama to 7 tiny puppies, and the first time that I took the girls to meet her Maggie asked as we were driving down the road, "Mama, do you suppose Gwacie intends to bwest feed those puppies?" I nearly drove off the road from laughing while driving, but once I recovered I told her she would definitely be breast feeding her pups. Once we arrived Maggie was quick to check and count her "bwesteses" to be sure Gracie would be able to manage to feed them all. She was relieved to find that she had a couple of spares in case any of the puppies is extra hungry!

I'm sure the reason for concern over how Gracie would be feeding her puppies comes from the girls exposure to Kari's feeding precious little Harper. Kari is always very discrete and uses a nursing cover, but boy the first time she fed her in the room with the girls Kari was bombarded with questions.... most of them from Maggie. She wanted to know first and foremost, "Do it huut??" and because she knows a little bit about modesty, "What would you do if it was a boy instead... would you still nuuse him?"

While Maggie could care less about playing wedding, if you give this unusual tomboy a doll you can bet her little shirt will be up in a flash so she can feed her baby. Earlier this week when I got home from dropping Ella off at school Nanny C. was rolling with laughter over the girls and their imaginations. Sarah and Kate were feeding their babies, and Maggie was sitting in the rocking chair wringing her hands and dripping with fake worry. She was spinning a great little tale about being upstairs "pumpin' mulk" for her baby and then hearing her crying downstairs. She declared she had pumped out all her milk and just had no way to make her little one happy. She was asking advice from Nanny and the girls I think.

And as if we haven't been having way too many conversations already about "birds and bees" stuff, Pop Dickie's dog Daisy is in heat. She has an appointment with the vet tomorrow, but she has been locked up in the pen for the last few days. I've been explaining and explaining the best I know how to a bunch of 4 year olds' why Pop doesn't want Daisy to have puppies, why she has to be locked up, and all that good stuff. Thus far I've been honest and left out as much as I can get away with, but I realize this strategy won't work for much longer. Yesterday Maggie picked out Marley and Me as the movie for their afternoon "rest time". I usually just watch along with them and skip over the scenes when Jenny and John are making out. That usually works out, but not yesterday. I happened to be turning over the laundry when Maggie yells from the living room, "Hey Mom... is Jenny in heat?"

Maggie also told me tonight that she wants to have 2 babies when she grows up, but she wants to have them one at a time so the doctors won't have to cut her belly open to get them out.

She's a hoot! I never know what to expect with this one, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

Sweet Sarah

2010-10-04T22:01:00.002-04:00

Sarah has one of the sweetest little hearts I've ever encountered. Don't get me wrong... she's certainly not all sweetness. In fact, she's one of my chief button pushers. All my other little girlies are super sweet too, but Sarah's sweetness takes the form of an especially caring spirit and listed below are just a few of the examples.

When my Pop C. passed away this spring Sarah was the one who immediately suggested she would help Nanny C. find another husband. Sarah loved her Pop C. fiercely and was always the first of the littles to give him hugs, so I knew it wasn't that she was eager to replace him. After I assured her that Nanny wasn't going to be looking for a new husband she said, "Well, I'll just give her all the money in my piggy bank so she can buy food." We assured her that Nanny C. was well taken care of and didn't need her money, but how sweet it was for her to sense Nanny's potential need and immediately begin problem solving!

Just a few weeks ago we were in a local pizza place that we visit almost weekly, and all the girls went around the corner and out of my sight. A few minutes later Sarah came back to report, "Mom, I hugged that man in there." I had a mini panic attack and wondered who in the world Sarah had been hugging. When I turned the corner it was obvious that the object of her loving affection had been an older gentleman who was dining with his wife. He smiled and waved to me to let me know he had "been the one". Later Sarah said to me of the stranger, "He just looked like he really needed a hug." He turned out to be the grandfather of the para pro in Ella's room at school who reported that he just couldn't stop talking about that sweet little gal who offered him a hug for no obvious reason.

Last week while I was dropping Ella off at school Maggie, Kate, and Sarah were asking Nanny C. (who graciously comes up here most weekday mornings to stay with MK&S while I drop E at school) if she was on the list of people who can pick Ella up from school. She was telling them that she was a little too old to be driving around with great grandchildren in the car when Sarah told her, "Don't worry Nanny. When I get big and you get old, I'm gonna take good care of you." Nanny was tickled to hear that not only would she be taken care of, but mainly that Sarah doesn't think of her great grandmother as old yet!

The teacher and directors at the preschool Maggie, Kate, and Sarah attend all shared with me last week a story about a new little boy joining their class a little bit late in the year. They said that the new little guy was crying on the first day his parents dropped him off, and Sarah put her arm around him. To comfort him she said, "Don't worry R, we cried at first too."

Look Out Preschool...

2010-09-08T11:39:00.003-04:00

... cause these sweet little blessings are headed your way!

Maggie, Kate, and Sarah were just a wee bit nervous this morning while getting ready for pre-k.
But they quickly got over it and began discussing how cool it was to go to pweschool wif your berry best fwiends!
I have many, many great stories to share, and everybody seems to think now I've got all this "extra" time on my hands, but it will have to wait because it is already time to go pick up the stinkers and find out how the first day went.

Much more to come....

Four Years Old

2010-09-01T23:17:00.004-04:00

I truly can't believe that my three babies are 4 years old!?!?! We celebrated with a small group of friends and family over the weekend at a swimming/ water slide party. They had a blast! I'm just in shock..... how did they get so big?

Kindergarten... the first

2010-08-25T22:19:00.004-04:00

To say Ella is loving Kindergarten thus far would be a gross understatement! She walked in proudly on the first day, sat down, and got right to work. I was shocked that there were parents entering the classroom crying themselves.... I thought they would at least keep it together until they got out the door?!? Because she was so eager to get started and so darn happy, I didn't even tear up at all (very unlike my own kindergarten experience, right mom?).

The girls have missed Ella during the days, but for the most part they play incredibly well together when she isn't here. There seems to be more equality and sharing of the roll of "boss" between the three of them. I've heard Maggie say many times over the last several days, "I miss my Ella... when is big sissy coming home?"

After the first day Ella's report was that kindergarten was grand. When she climbed into the car and began chattering excitedly about all she had done and her new friends and her wonderful teacher, well, that was when I realized she had matured 5 year's worth in those 8 hours I wasn't with her... and then I had to try hard not to cry!

In the days since the first, she hasn't been quite as chatty but has asked if 1- I thought she might ever get to spend the night at her teachers' house, and 2- if she might call to ask her teacher about something, and 3- mom why didn't you tell me kindergarten was going to be so great?

I am incredibly excited that she is having such a great time! She is paving the way for Maggie, Kate, and Sarah too. Sarah has asked about a million times today if she will get to start kindergarten when she is only 4... seems she is ready for a little of the fun that big sis is having.

Tomorrow I've planned to volunteer in Ella's classroom. I can't wait to see her in action!

Balloons

2010-08-18T15:48:00.000-04:00

Quite a while ago we took the girls to see a balloon race that was set to take off near our house. It didn't actually happen that day due to the weather, but we were there by 7:30am waiting to see some beautiful balloons. The girls didn't even mind that the balloons never took off.

Wow, that feels like an eternity ago. By the time I finish posting all about our summer adventures perhaps I'll remember to take the girls for a trim because of all the scraggly hair pictures from June!

Head's Up

2010-08-18T08:11:00.000-04:00

I've got a new post up on the review blog.... there is a $25 Staples Gift Card up for grabs. Check it out!

certainty and swimming

2010-08-17T22:13:00.000-04:00

As we were driving down the road this afternoon taking a meal to friends who have a new baby, the girls were all discussing the little fellas we would be visiting....

They were asking, "So Luke is the big brother now, right?" "Right", I said.

"Since Sam is the baby he can't swim, right?" "Yes, Sam is only 3 weeks old... he doesn't even hold his own head up yet, so I don't think he's ever been swimming," I answered.

"So since Luke is the BIG brother he can swim them??" I told them all I didn't know if he swam with or without swimmies and that seemed to suffice.

After a couple of minutes Sarah piped up from the back, "I swim like a mermaid..... I definitely, double know that!"

We Don't Call 'Em Silly for Nothing!!

2010-08-11T22:13:00.002-04:00

2010-07-21T21:37:00.002-04:00

My parents celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary earlier this month. Since Kari and James were back in town (they've finally moved home, woohoo), we all took Mimi and Pop Dickie out to dinner to celebrate.

It was the first time that we took Maggie, Kate, Sarah, and Ella to a really nice restaurant for an evening meal, and they all did great!

After dinner we strolled around the quaint little town square and the girls got all their sillies out before we headed back to Mimi and Pop's for a late night dip in the pool.

Of course I didn't take any pictures of the 38 years later still happy couple.... so I'm hoping these cute pictures of the grand kids will make up for it. However, if I'd had my blogging cap on that day I would certainly have snapped at least a few of the rest of our crew.

Mimi and Pop,

You guys make a great team. Thanks for the loving example you are setting for all of us!

Love,

MB and the girls

Hiking with Daddy

2010-07-20T23:18:00.000-04:00

Scott took the girls hiking a while back so that I could get the house cleaned and have an hour to myself. Ella enjoyed being the photographer for the day. Note: old pictures = scraggly haired children. Please remind me when it is time to take them again... before it is too late!!

Girly Girls?!?

2010-07-19T23:13:00.001-04:00

I often bemoan the girly-ness of our household because I was quite the tom boy myself. I loved Dukes of Hazzard as a kid, but I didn't pretend to be Daisy, I was Luke Duke, thank you very much! I played basketball and softball, and never wore a cheerleader's uniform (unless you count the one pep rally where all the ball players dressed as cheerleaders and vice versa). Suffice it to say, I am the opposite of a girly-girl.

I had a weird dream last night in which I imagined I had my old job back working for "big chemical company". I wasn't going to be at a paper mill this time, but instead some other huge manufacturing facility. After lacing up my steel toe boots, grabbing my ear plugs and safety glasses, and finding my hard hat, I headed out the door for work. I was only a little sick to my stomach as I wandered around inside the facility scoping out all the big equipment with one of the employees. Then the very gruff manager descended upon us and quickly pointed the way to the basement filled with all manner of large, loud, scary looking stuff. He insisted I get straight to work cleaning up the mess the person before me had left with his high dollar equipment.... did I know how much extra work I was going to cause him.... should I not have the boilers ready for inspection the following day he would be happy to replace me, etc, etc. I guess you could say the dream was really a nightmare.

Upon awakening I realized all the more the beauty in the princess costumed, cheerleaders with pompoms ready, fancy ballerinas that I am surrounded by constantly. I thanked God yet again for giving me the opportunity to mother these precious little ones in all their frilly girliness.... and I still hold out some hope that at least one of them will enjoy some of the same activities I did as I was growing up.

But for now I have to head to bed because we have an early morning wake up in order to get 4 sweet girly girls off to cheerleading camp on time. **sigh**

Before and After... Finally!

2010-07-19T22:33:00.004-04:00

A while back I took the girls to Ms. Kim for summertime haircuts. We snapped a few before and after pictures. I can't believe how incredibly scraggly they looked before they got their new do's! Emma wanted to be in the before shot, but she wasn't in need of a haircut..... since her mom is a great hairdresser she always has a cute 'do.

By the time we finally left Emma was done with the girls and having to share her toys so she didn't want to participate in the after shot. Here the girls are lined up: Ella, Kate, Sarah, and Maggie.

So, expect some serious confusion as I finally get around to posting the pictures that have been piling up in my blog files. Many are before the summer hair cuts took place and now there are plenty since... and I will be posting them in no certain order. The crazy long hair will give away just how old some of these posts are! Ah well, at least I'm finally posting some.

Inside on a Summer Day

2010-07-13T23:37:00.001-04:00

Ella, Sarah, Kate, & Maggie

Back In May

2010-07-02T23:13:00.005-04:00

I'm going to clean out my brain and my photo files right here on my neglected little blog over the next couple of days. Hopefully this will help me to get back to updating regularly because so much is happening and I don't want to miss this stuff! In no certain order:

Meet my Dad's dog Daisy Mae. She became his in May...

...on the same day that Ella graduated from preschool.

During the entire hour plus of graduation silly Sarah insisted on wearing her own personally devised clip on earrings. The hairbows attached to her earlobes looked terribly uncomfortable and she verified that they were in fact hurting her. Her words, "These things are killing my ears, but aren't they just the cutest?!?" Where do they learn this stuff??

Thunderstorm

2010-06-25T23:21:00.003-04:00

Kate survives thunderstorms these days with a little help from her sisters.... and from her ear phones!

Waterpillar

2010-05-18T09:21:00.007-04:00

I am enjoying cutting our ~3 acres of grass myself so far this year. It helps that the girls will play for hours on the driveway in the waterpillar.... and they don't mind a bit!

Here Comes Summertime

2010-05-16T22:14:00.003-04:00

The girls are loving the pool so far this year. They also love hanging out with little Miss Emma.

See... she's just one of the gang.

Tomorrow is Ella's very last day of preschool... ever!

In other news, Ella has started reading. She is able to read all of her BOB books, and she can sound out a hand full of other books. This past week she read her first ever book to the little girls. When she finished there was a chorus of cheers from her 3 biggest fans in the world. They were so proud of her.... and my heart almost exploded!!

Updates on Our Busy Crew

2010-04-21T20:43:00.001-04:00

The past month has been lots of things, but I suppose the words I would use to describe it for us would be busy, busy, unpredictable, crazy, full of learning, and did I mention BUSY!?!

I'm throwing out my perfectionism and just putting this post out there... it's been sitting unfinished in my computer for weeks! I need to do better. I'm really, really going to try and post more often.

Maggie, Kate, and Sarah are all 3.5 years old and weigh in at just under 30 pounds, and they're 38 inches tall. They are constantly on the move and almost never stop talking... all at the same time.

Sarah is a little ball of fire. She is smart as a whip and yet sweet Sarah has to be one of the most generous 3 year olds I've ever met. She is always looking for ways to make others feel happy. She loves everyone, but she especially LOVES her sisters. She is often willing to give up something of her own to make a sister happy. Almost a month ago I overheard her tell my aunt Donna, "you're so beautiful... the most beautifulest....I love you forever, I love you to the moon and back, even when you die you'll stay in my heart." Sarah knows all her basics... colors, numbers, shapes, and most all upper and lower case letters. She constantly comes to me and says... "What does puh-puh-pancake (and virtually every other thing that crosses her mind) start with?" She almost always knows the answer before I tell her. Sarah has a full grasp of the power of being the baby of the family... even if she only claims that title by a about a minute, and she has a double wide stubborn streak!

Maggie is purely and simply the picture of mischief.... she always has been! She has the most precious voice and is quick to tell everyone we meet that she is "the shy one". Being second in the birth order ranks, she is very competitive with Ella. She can often be found lurking in Ella's closet trying on clothes. She likes to be able to do the things Ella does. She too knows all the basics preschool wise, and seems to have an extra special knack for math skills. She easily adds items, counts items, etc. She is also a great kitchen helper... follows instructions well and really enjoys getting her hands dirty. Maggie is usually the tomboy of the crew. She gravitates toward cars, machines, and figuring out how things work. She has a couple of girlie favorites... baby dolls and high heel shoes. She can't get enough of either of those!

One night after I had tucked the girls into bed I checked in on them and overheard the following. Kate had declared she was marrying her friend Luke C. and living in "New Werk City", Sarah planned to marry Luke G. and move to Chicago, but Maggie said, "I want to marry Daddy and live right here." Maggie used to be our most adventurous eater, but she is quickly losing that title to Kate and becoming quite picky. She has the very best imagination of the group and often blames her mischief on her ~~pet dog~~ lovey. Maggie gives the very best hugs ever!!

Drama girl Kate is always looking for something to elicit sympathy. This girl can really milk a boo-boo! She too loves high heels and all things girly. She's got preschool basics down pat. She has amazing rhyming skills, and her favorite game is the one where we say, "What is an animal that rhymes with __________ (fill in the blank with any word that we can come up with that rhymes with an animal). She beats the other three almost every time.... drama and quick wit! As I already mentioned, Kate has taken over Maggie's adventurous eater title. She is willing to try almost anything I put in front of her. As a result, she likes more foods than the rest. Kate is also the most eager and very best kitchen helper I've got. She loves to get her hands into flour, she works a microwave like a champ, and I thoroughly enjoy having my beautiful little half pint helper by my side! Kate also loves to do tricks with daddy. He can spin her around, toss her in the air, and hang her upside down, and she always comes back asking for more.

I can hardly believe how much Ella has changed this past year. She is now 5 years old and headed to kindergarten in the fall. I still can not believe it is time already!! She is such a great helper, an even better boss, and according to her preschool teacher only has kind things to say about everyone. She loves her sisters, but she definitely enjoys her time apart as the Big Sis. Ella has a keen sense of style. She is making rapid progress toward learning to read. We just finished reading Charlotte's Web together at bedtime, and according to Ella her new favorite books are "chapter books". We can't get away with spelling things we don't want her to understand anymore. She is working on blending consonant and short vowel sounds. Another recent skill of note, Ella is now able to "pump" and swing herself. She is super, duper tall, but still only weighs around 40 pounds.

Scott has been working lots... work stuff, ARMY stuff, and wood working. Yeah, you read that right... woodworking. He made a bar height island for the kitchen. When we removed the quad feeding table way back when I had no idea we'd leave a Little Tykes picnic table in our kitchen in it's place for so long. But we finally found a picture of a replacement we liked, and then with my uncle Greg's help, Scott made it for us. It matches the kitchen table really well, and we've already gotten tons of use out of it.... evidence above where all four girls are making homemade play dough together. We're still on the lookout for perfect barstools so if anyone has suggestions, I'm all ears?!?

Even I've had lots of new things going on this past month. My friend Dena and I kept one another motivated, trained together, and then ran our first 5k early in March finishing with a time of 34 minutes and something. Two weeks later I ran another one in the rain. Apparently I don't like running in the rain because I finished with a much improved time of 29:44. Woohoo!

I have also kept very busy in the kitchen trying to have a little Food Revolution of our own here. I've finally ditched the pancake and waffle mixes and found homemade versions that the girls like to go along with our homemade pancake syrup. I'm trying to be more conscious about getting fruits and vegetables in with every meal, and I've been doing lots of homemade breads... so far French bread is a favorite. Next I'm going to tackle whole wheat sandwich bread. It's not huge by any means, but we're making our revolution one baby step at a time.

Hopefully there will be more to come tomorrow... we've had lots going on that is not being documented while I'm not blogging. I've got to get back into the swing of things!

Proof...

2010-04-07T15:45:00.004-04:00

... that we're still around even though it's been terribly silent on our blog lately. I'm so, so behind, but looking forward to playing catch up very soon!

Tropicana Juicy Insiders

2010-03-16T22:52:00.006-04:00

I realized this afternoon that in addition to some very important family milestones (which I'll get around to on here eventually), I've also failed to let you all know about a new blogging program that I am taking part in.

I love finding a good deal. I especially love deals on things we buy all the time anyway. That's why I'm pretty excited about Tropicana's Juicy Rewards program. These days when I reach for orange juice on the grocers' shelves (and we can go through some OJ) I choose Tropicana. The cartons currently contain codes that can be used for discounts and coupons on everything from golf, to workout gear, amusement parks, museums, and spa services. One carton saves you up to $15, three can save you up to $45 . I'm planning to take the girls to Monkey Joe's on the next rainy afternoon courtesy of a B1G1 coupon from Juicy Rewards.

It is simple and free to sign up. Just go to Tropicana and register, and then to get you started immediately use the code: MOMCE-NTRAL for a point. Around here that's good for a day at INK kids' museum or Monkey Joe's.... can't beat that for rainy day entertainment!

"I wrote this review while participating in the Tropicana Juicy Insiders Ambassador program by Mom Central on behalf of Tropicana. I received 12 free Juicy Rewards points and a $50 Visa gift card to use in redemption of the points and to facilitate my review."

2010-02-25T10:58:00.001-05:00

Last night on our way home from church I was preparing the girls with the instructions I wanted them to follow when we walked through the door. When Scott isn't home I tend to act like a drill sargent in order to get the bedtime routine done. It was after bedtime already, so they were to take their vitamins, brush teeth, get jammies on, put the dirty laundry in the basket, and select their books. Five simple instructions... they've heard them so many times that when I started the conversation they all started rattling off the steps in order to me before I had the chance to finish.

Once we were all unbuckled and safely in the house they got amnesia. So I handed out vitamins and then told them to meet me in their room to read some books after all their other tasks were completed... oh, and I set the timer for 5 minutes. I had no idea what that timer was for, but they all have a pretty strong desire to beat any and every timer so it didn't really matter.

I went to my room to get ready for bed as they were all running off in the direction of their bathroom. Several minutes later when my timer went off (I suppose it was to pull me out of my own temporary amnesia) I walked down the hall to check on them. That's when I found all four of the girls lined up across their 2 sink bathroom counter half way brushing their teeth and whole heartedly singing "It's a hard enough life for us, it's a hard enough life for us" - their version of the opening number from the Annie movie.

So I pretended to be Ms. Hannigan and sent them off to change into their jammies while I cleaned up the bathroom. It looks like a walrus tried to take a bath in the sink after they are done brushing, washing hands, basically doing anything in the bathroom that involves water.... just in case anyone was wondering.

A few seconds later I found Sarah changing her clothes in her bedroom all by herself when we heard the other girls cutting up over in Ella's room. She nearly jumped out of her skin, was immediately in a hurry and said as she was running for the door, "The girls are all laughin' and I'm in here missin' out!"

***

everyday life with 4 sisters... always someone to sing with, always someone to dance with, always someone to play with, always someone to laugh with, always someone to love... you girls are not missing out on a thing!!

Balloons

2010-02-24T22:32:00.003-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I took all four girls to the grocery store for essentials to get our pantry stocked back up. It is never ideal to bring all four with me on a trip to the grocery store, but they were pretty good and my sanity was actually holding up pretty well as we pulled into the checkout line. I joked with the cashier about barely having room for food in the cart due to all the space that the girls were taking up and then got started unloading.

About that time one of my manager friends Sam came over and asked if the girls wanted a balloon. My first instinct was NO... but because they had been so good I gave in and sent the littles off with her to select four nifty helium filled balloons. Truth be told I was probably just buying myself a few minutes of peace in the check-out line. I could see them, but I couldn't hear them. Ahhhh.....

For the rest of the day the balloons did nothing but cause trouble!

On the way out of the store it was difficult to hold hands while also holding on to the string of the balloons and we had to stop to re-group several times on the way to the car.
In the car I kept yelling, "Keep those things behind my seat.... Do Not let them drift into the front of the vehicle" over and over again while they hit each other with them and pulled each other's strings.
Then, of course, the unthinkable happened- Sarah's balloon "broke" while I was unloading groceries. She was completely devastated, as were all her sisters.
The three remaining balloons became impossibly tangled to the point where I had to cut them and retie the clip that prevented them from flying away several times.... oh, how I wanted to just let them go!!

The only saving grace of the balloons was the quick science lesson we had in the car on the way home: helium gas inside is lighter than air= they float. I think they got the gist of it. They were even asking if helium is what makes swimmies (or floaties or waterwings, whatever you call them) help people float in water.

Fast forward to tonight:

On the way home from Family Night Supper at church I was talking with the girls about what is on our schedule for tomorrow. Someone in the back piped up, "Don't we need some groceries mom?" I told them we had all the groceries we could use for now and they all started to whine. Then Maggie and Kate both started begging at the same time, "Please, mommy.... our balloons are getting really low. We need to go back to the grocery store." That's when Ella added, "Yeah, Sarah's busted and mine is almost out of gasoline."

Here's hoping the balloons are a very, very rare treat at our local grocer or I'll never be able to sneak away to the store by myself again!!

Weekend Getaway

2010-02-24T14:48:00.003-05:00

Scott and I were blessed to be able to go to Hilton Head this past weekend for a Strong Bonds marriage conference sponsored by the ARMY Reserves. It was great to get away with just him.

The 5 hour drive there and back was wonderful because we were able to chat and listen to the radio and just drive without having to stop every hour for someone to use the potty. We also reveled in the fact that we didn't have Dora singing away in the background!

We learned quite a bit in the sessions, but best of all was the free time we had. We enjoyed 2 wonderful date nights including seafood, Japanese food, and a long browse in a bookstore. I even got to do my running out on the beach Saturday afternoon!

Overall we had a fabulous time, and I think we'll try to make a habit of attending some kind of marriage retreat every couple of years. It is always a good idea to invest in the things that are most important!!

We came home Sunday evening to four silly, silly girls who might have missed us... just a little bit. Thanks Kay, Mimi, Donna, and Kelli for taking great care of them.

Our being away meant that instead of getting 12 hours of sleep at night, the girls only got 9 or 10 hours. So it took a couple of days after we returned to get them all caught back up. Monday they were in bed by 6:30 and didn't get up until close to 8am on Tuesday! To say they were worn out by their weekend of fun was an understatement, but things are about "normal" again here.... if you can call this normal!

Sweethearts

2010-02-15T23:13:00.005-05:00

Yesterday morning the girls all dressed in their red dresses for church and then covered themselves with heart stickers.... so I took a couple of pictures of our little Valentine's. The picture quality was awful on all of them, but I had to go ahead and post this one because of all the facial expressions. Really, really LOVE these quirky girls!!

Valentine's Day 2010

Maggie, Kate, Ella, Sarah

Snow Day

2010-02-14T22:24:00.003-05:00

Kate preferred riding her tricycle to sledding.

Uncle Joe stopped by to see what was going on. Scott was in charge of getting the winter things out of the attic and came out with that huge wig. The girls thought it was hilarious!
Ella was happiest when she could keep the snow out of her face with her umbrella.

Sarah just before she found the perfect spot for a snow angel.

Maggie was sad that the sled wasn't quite fast enough.

I feel a little bit silly showing how giddy we all were to receive our 2 to 3 inches of snow the other day when our friends in DC are experiencing record snowfalls.

Our measly couple of inches was just the right amount for us. It wouldn't have mattered to the girls if we had another foot of snow. Suiting up took longer than they stayed out to play in it, and I doubt that would have changed.

**Oh, and I found the reason Sarah felt I was crushing her hopes last week.... Cinderella's stepsisters "crush her hopes" when they destroy the dress that her sweet friends made for her in one of the 15 versions of the Cinderella story that we have here in our house. I should have known it was one of the fairy tales.... Sarah lives in a fairy tale kind of world!!

Valentine's Party Pictures

2010-02-11T22:22:00.002-05:00

Ella

Maggie

Kate (please excuse the hair, she wore it in pigtails all day and decided to pull it down at 5pm)

Sarah

The girls and I went to church last night for the children and youth Valentine's party. They played games, had fun, made the cutest little heart shaped frames.... hence the dorky posed photos above. Ella and I spent the afternoon making and decorating the cake. She was so proud to show it off! One more Valentine's Day kids celebration and two birthday parties on Saturday then the sugar high will hopefully begin to fade!

Pastries with the Parents

2010-02-10T23:17:00.003-05:00

This morning I had the pleasure of attending a special little breakfast with Ella at her preschool. While I was getting ready I had my usual crew of commentators taking note of every single detail. First it was the earrings.... "ooh, mama, are you gonna wear THOSE earrings??" "They are the prettiest!" Then I selected a cute pair of heels, and I kid you not all 3 of my helpers literally squealed with delight! They are such girly girls!!

After school Ella and I spent the afternoon on a special date. We had lunch at her favorite spot, did some grocery shopping, and then came home and finished up Valentine's cards and iced our heart cakes for Youth tonight. It really was a wonderful day spent with one of my favorite people!

2010-02-08T21:17:00.003-05:00

Oh how I wish there was a way to know what is going through the heads of these four girls of ours. They very often are testing out words and phrases these days that leave me in stitches.... and sometimes scratching my head trying to determine where in the world the word or phrase originated.

This afternoon we were all working away together on cleaning up the ~~disaster area~~ play porch. It wasn't quite warm enough to be outside, so we were doing the next best thing by soaking up the sunshine we could through the windows.

I had tasked my little army with sorting the toys into the major categories, which for us includes baby dolls and supplies, dress up attire, musical instruments, and play kitchen food and accessories. All the other stuff goes into smaller bins. The girls are quite good at sorting like with like, but at no point did I have all four of them working at the same time. In fact, they were more often than not working against each other.

Sarah came barrelling over to me with two hands full of baby supplies which she was obviously intending to use on the baby under her arm. She had a sad look on her face as she said, "Please don't crush my hopes mom." I said, "Excuse me, what?" thinking I had simply misunderstood her. She continued, "Why are you crushing my hopes by putting all these baby things away?"

I was completely unable to explain to her that toys that are put away but still accessible in no way constitute crushed hopes.... heck, nothing in her life to this point constitutes "crushed hope" that I can imagine. So now I'm on a mission to determine what book or movie of late contains this dramatic little phrase. I've racked my brain all day and come up with nothing. Anybody have any ideas?? I'll be sure to post an update if I ever figure it out.

An Oldie

2010-02-06T21:45:00.002-05:00

Looking at the calendar for next week, between our 4 Valentine's Day parties and all the baking that will be involved in those, I'm certain that my blogging will mostly consist of pictures. Since those will all be new ones, I opted for an old photo tonight.... it almost makes me cry to see how little they look only two years ago this month. Such a sweet bunch of girls we've got!!!

Expectant Laughter

2010-02-05T22:32:00.003-05:00

In real life we know several families who are expecting babies. This leads to hilarious conversations and imaginary play around these parts.

For instance, several days ago Sarah shoved baby dolls up her shirt only to have Ella "deliver" them a few minutes later.... this went on for over 2 hours, baby after baby after baby.

Today the girls were all playing the expectant mama role when Maggie walked up and asked me to help her get her baby out. I reached up and grabbed her new baby calf. Later on it was a puppy. Maggie is clearly our animal lover of the group!

Sarah waddled down the hall this afternoon with 2 babies under her shirt. Two little sets of feet were poking out from under her shirt. When she became aware of this fact she looked over and said, "Goodness, my babies' feet are hanging out.... mama, did our feet hang out when we were still in your tummy??"

They each have a different number of babies that they are wishing for when they are old enough to have children of their own. Kate wants only one. I'm guessing because she loves to be the center of attention and being a good little mama wants to do her best to give her child that experience full time. Maggie wants to have 2 babies but I'm not clear as to why. Sarah says she wants 7 babies because she just knows we'll all want to have one of her babies to hold, and the ever sensible Ella says she wants "however many babies God wants me to have."

So that about covers the baby talk for now.

Fantasy World

2010-02-04T13:55:00.004-05:00

We all live in a fantasy world here in the Four Silly Sisters household!

I can't count the number of times each day someone comes to me and asks, "Mama, will you be ___________ (fill in the blank with hundreds of random supporting characters in their imaginary worlds). I have even had to convince the girls that I can play multiple p-tend roles at the same time, since everyone NEEDS me to be part of what they are imagining at the same time.

The girls pretending fluctuates constantly between people we know in real life, to ballerinas, cheerleaders, brides, teachers, doctors, mothers... the list goes on and on.

I believe that the make believe play that they are constantly engaged in is great for their development.

As their mother, I try my best to make healthy choices for them in every aspect. I attempt to feed them nutritious foods.... limited fast food, very little processed, food dyes, additives, etc. However, today at lunch as they were going around the table exchanging greetings among their current personas I realized I'm living in a fantasy land of my own.

Sarah said, "Hi guys.... I'm Anna." (Anna our favorite friendly Papa's Pizza employee)

Ella was next, "Hi everybody, can I take your order? I'm Ms. Jan" (favorite waitress from the Waffle House)

Maggie then said, "Well, I'll be Annie from Chick-fil-A."

As usual, Kate was a non-conformist. She stuck with playing the role of Aunt Kari.

Anyone want to come over and play make believe with us? Or better yet, maybe we should just meet for breakfast, lunch, or dinner somewhere?!?

Come on Spring!!

2010-02-03T22:17:00.003-05:00

Maggie

Kate

Sarah

We had an incredibly long day today. The girls, who are usually in bed asleep by 7 pm, were finally tucked in around 9:30 tonight. So I'll keep this post mostly wordless in anticipation of what tomorrow may be like! Yeah for me I'm 3 for 3 in February!!

Big Sis

2010-02-02T22:56:00.002-05:00

Ella is quite a little socialite these days. She is thrilled when she is off playing with friends or spending time with her cousins. The only time the smiles turn upside down is when it is time for her to come back home to reality, and fortunately once she is welcomed home by all her ~~adoring fans~~ sisters the frowns are long gone.

In the car on the way home from a recent play date we had the following conversation:

Ella: "Mom, I'm angry with you for making me come home....... I'm mad!!"

Me: "I'm sorry to hear that, but it was time."

Ella: "I'm just mad, no I'm angry!! Hey mom, which is more... angry or mad??"

Me: "I have no idea, but we can look it up in the dictionary when we get home."

Ella: "Will you remind me, cause I need to know if I'm mad or angry?"

Of course I failed to remind her because I truly didn't believe we would be able to determine with the dictionary whether she was angry or mad, but I think she is pretty stinking funny.... even when she's had it with me!

Anybody Still Out There??

2010-02-01T22:26:00.004-05:00

I've decided to try and create a few new habits, one of which involves blogging. So even on days when I have absolutely nothing to say, I'm going to post something (at least through the end of February), hopefully a picture and not complete randomness. Consider yourselves warned! My hope is that if I get back into the habit of blogging the words will come back, and if not we can all enjoy looking at the pictures one day.... and maybe I'll finally get our Christmas photos on here!?!

Play Date

2010-01-15T21:28:00.001-05:00

We had a great time visiting with Lawson, Jessica, James, Luke, and Mr. & Mrs. B over the holidays. Ella and James were fast friends. Maggie, Kate, Sarah, and Luke tolerated each other the way 2 and 3 year olds tend to do when no one is on familiar ground. We adults were able to have entire conversations without much interruption.... which was a stark contrast to the last time we were able to all get together.

We had holiday play dates with several other buddies planned that never took place because the girls were all sick, but hopefully the cold germs are on their way out and we'll be able to reschedule soon!

Oh the Things We Hear Around Here

2010-01-08T22:54:00.003-05:00

I've put some thought lately into why I've fallen off in my blogging duties... it certainly isn't lack of material coming from the mouths of these four silly gals we're raising! If anything, our house has been more dramatic and comical than ever these last 3 months, and yet I have still not posted Disney pictures from early November or Christmas photos, etc, etc.

I suppose it could be the extra time off that Scott has had. We've been enjoying dates and dinners together and just hanging out more trying to catch up from his being gone last year. Or it could be that I'm still recovering from the holidays and all the preparations, or the fact that since I quit posting here regularly I've taken up couponing and I'm slightly obsessive about it. I'm also spending time reading again. I just finished up The Accidental Billionaires about the creators of Facebook... very interesting stuff, and before that eat, pray, love (I'm way behind in my reading list).

But for all my pondering I just can't figure out what is truly keeping me from blogging. I guess I won't over analyze I'll just keep trying to post when I can, catch up in the photo posting department for posterity (that's what the girls will want to see anyway), and see what happens.

For now I'll leave you with a couple of the silliest things I heard yesterday.

At the supper table last night each of the girls took a turn saying a short blessing before the meal. Ella went last and hers started out sweet enough. "Deuh God, Thank you for the peace... (insert extremely long dramatic pause which caused me to believe she was actually meaning world peace)... and quiet from my sisters that I get on the days I go to preschool." I tried my hardest not to laugh out loud!

After dinner Kate and Sarah went missing for a few minutes while I was finishing kitchen clean up. I followed a trail of their clothes into the bathroom and found them in the tub, naked and high five-ing each other while cheering about getting a "semi- pwivate bath, semi- pwivate bath, semi-pwivate bath".

And as if we needed more comic relief here, Maggie has been bouncing around the house for the last 3 days singing, "Who let the dogs out... who, who, who?" THANK YOU Just Dance! She loves dogs and takes the song both seriously and literally. Hilarious, and some day I'll capture her dancing to the Wii game on video.

Until then...

Baby Consumer Info

2010-01-08T22:05:00.005-05:00

We are so past all the baby stages here in our house that it is hard for me to even remember what those days were like.... but I CAN still recall the lack of sleep and the stress of "are we doing this right" that so often accompanied the baby days.

One big struggle for me was the issue of what to feed Maggie, Kate, and Sarah when my breast milk supply could no longer keep up with their demand. I had the guilt of Ella's never even having sampled formula to add to my concern for their nutritional needs, but the fact of the matter was they were hungry and they required 3 times as much milk! By the time they were 7 months old I just couldn't make enough to go around. Fortunately a company provided us with quite a bit of their brand formula through a program that they offered to families of multiples. Once that supply was gone, being a thrifty shopper and a scientist (MS in Analytical Chemistry) I simply compared the labels on national and store brand formulas and ended up using Target's house brand formula for the few short months that we needed the supplements.

Apparently my decision was a solid one as there is currently a national campaign to make sure parents realize that store-brand infant formulas are nutritionally equivalent to, and confer the same developmental benefits as, the more expensive national brands like Enfamil, the makers of which have recently lost a 13.5 M dollar lawsuit for false advertising against their lesser expensive store brand competitors. Here are several links to the information surrounding the landmark court case:

http://www.pbmproducts.com/press.aspx?ID=310

http://industry.bnet.com/advertising/10004868/a-desperate-mead-johnson-loses-135m-jury-verdict-over-false-claims/

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/esearch/e3i6328aaffeb014c13fbcc5dbedc3d4fd7

http://blogs.consumerreports.org/baby/2009/07/save-money-on-baby-stuff-cheap-formula.html

Here's my take: Breastfeeding is best for babies, but if for any reason you need or choose formula, you certainly don't have to pay twice as much for the name brand stuff!!

So, what do you think? Name brand formula or the store brand variety??

BSM Media provided the above links so that I could educate myself on the facts surrounding this campaign. They also compensated me for sharing this information with you.

All Because 2 People Fell In Love

2009-12-30T22:50:00.000-05:00

This was our family gathering on Christmas Eve. Nanny and Pop C in the center, surrounded by their 6 children and their spouses, grandchildren and some spouses, and great grandchildren. Everyone was there so we called over a sweet neighbor who took the photo.

Christmas Program...A Cast of Characters

2009-12-21T22:42:00.005-05:00

This year our church Christmas program included quite a cast of interesting characters. Maggie, Kate, Sarah, Rylee Ann, and Emma Grace all made their acting debuts... Ella, of course, got a head start last year when she and a couple of buddies were angels.

The young actors waited with a fair amount of patience during the rehearsals prior to eating pizza with the big kids because really the youth group does all the "work" of the play and these guys just got to enter on cue and look cute!

The girls thoroughly enjoyed being "princess angels". Maggie, Kate, and Rylee Ann thought it was pretty cool, but Sarah was absolutely in heaven!

Jackson played an adorable puppy dog... he had all the girls cracking up with his antics.
I didn't get a photo of Ella and Laurel during the actual performance because they were never standing still together, but they opted to just be "regular angels" so that they could wear their pretty Christmas dresses instead of the princess costumes like the little girls.

Sweet Emma was the show stealer with her boogie to Frosty the Snowman. I don't know how the youth group held it together while she was dancing away!?! It was adorable.

The youth group did a fantastic job of making the show go on while this rogue crew of little ones traipsed all over the stage. They really did an amazing job!

Thank you Cindy, Lora, Kim, and Dusty for allowing the girls to take part in this special tradition! I look forward to many, many years of exciting Christmas pageants to come!!

Date Nights

2009-12-18T02:56:00.007-05:00

Dating your spouse is important. Scott and I try to have a date at least once a week. Whether that be a trip for two to the grocery store while someone else watches the girls, a special meal with wine after the girls have gone to bed, or an actual night out on the town makes little difference to us. The important thing is that we are spending time together talking without all of the little distractions that so joyously fill our days.

There is certainly a different kind of variety to our dates since the girls came along. Back in the days b.c. (before children) we traveled, spent many a weekend rock climbing at Palisades Park, we often pondered over which of the multitude of restaurants we'd choose for dinner, and we even saw the occasional movie.

These days we literally consider going to the grocery store together a date! Sad, but totally true, and I can't even remember the last time I was in a theater?!? We have much fewer dining choices nearby, but that doesn't matter because we (mostly Scott) have gotten pretty good at making meals that are both yummy and healthy right in the comfort of our own home. However, for those nights when we are in the mood to go out, we've discovered restaurant.com and I can't think of a simpler way to save money while dining out! If you want to check it out there is more info on my left side bar in the JuiceBox.

We used a restaurant.com gift certificate for our most recent date night last week and had a wonderful meal at only a fraction of the cost. After which we strolled the big bookstore in the mall, and then predictably ended up the evening at the grocery store. So basically, spending time together alone is important to us, but getting the work done has to happen too! I suppose we must be complete dorks to think grocery shopping is date worthy.

The folks over at the Juice Box Jungle want to know if married people feel like they are dating enough, but what I want to know is this: are there any other folks out there who think a trip to the grocery store counts as a date as long as no children come along??

This is a compensated post from the Juice Box Jungle and restaurant.com. However, all the opinions are 100% mine. Oh, and as an added incentive for checking out restaurant.com, from now until Christmas you can use the code SANTA to receive 80% off.... thereby making $25 gift certificates $2.

Pumpkin Patch 2009

2009-12-09T23:10:00.003-05:00

Alternate Title: Almost Wordless, Barely Still Wednesday

Whoa... it's almost Christmas and I still haven't posted our favorite Pumpkin Patch pictures!! Enjoy the slide show for what's left of Wordless Wednesday... this little trip was so long ago I don't remember much to write about it anyway.

Ella and Her Daddy

2009-12-09T22:13:00.005-05:00

While the little girls and I were in Memphis, Ella and her dad had quite a large time. She stayed behind in order to not miss preschool class picture day, and because I wasn't sure I could manage 3 in the airport much less 4.

They did some local sight seeing and hiking and even sneaked in a quick visit with Scott's grandparents who were themselves traveling around our part of the state.

The did a little baking... cookies mostly, I think.

... and by her choice Ella slept in a tent in the living room the entire time.

She was glad for the girls and I to be back home, but I know she had a fabulous time having Daddy all to herself!

First Trip to Memphis

2009-11-29T20:51:00.009-05:00

Another major trip of note from the month of October was Maggie, Kate, and Sarah's first ride in an airplane. Not just any trip in an airplane.... I took the three of them from Atlanta to Memphis and back to visit aunt Kari, BY MYSELF, flying standby no less! I was a bit worried how things would go, but they were great! I actually came away from the experience feeling like standby travel with 3 three year olds (well, at least these three) is completely do-able.

The girls each carried their own back packs, and I limited my bags to a single backpack as well. On the way there we sat across the very back row. Maggie, Kate, and Sarah carried their lovies in their bags and even got to use their pacis for the trip. I had some backup candy stowed away as well.
On the return flight we were in the row behind the business class. I was worried, but for no reason. On both flights the people around us were very complimentary and raved about how much fun the girls were to listen to and how well behaved they were.

*** disgusting mommy bragging ends now**

Once we arrived in Memphis we got straight to the fun stuff! Aunt Kari had collected a bunch of play dough and sidewalk chalk. We played in the yard with Zoe and Lila for hours and hours and got all caught up with Kari.

The sleeping arrangements were a little unconventional. On the first night the girls hogged the full sized bed, 3/4 of the corners at least. Then after spending that night on the couch crushed under the weight of Zoe, I squeezed myself in there with Maggie, Kate, and Sarah the next night.

We took the mandatory trip to the Pee-Potty Hotel (the Peabody) to watch the ducks make their march into the fountain.

We helped Aunt Kari and Uncle James pick out pumpkins for carving with their friends.

Aside from generally spending time with Kari and James and the dogs, the girls had a definite favorite part.... Kari's shoe closets! Maggie, Kate, and Sarah played for hours and hours uninterrupted with her bazillions of pairs of shoes. Come to think of it, I really should invest in tons more shoes for myself if it will bring the same level of contentment, enjoyment, and free time for me here at home!

For our last bit of fun, the girls got to paint pumpkins in the kitchen the evening before we left. It was the messy kind of fun that we don't often indulge in here at home. Maggie, Kate, and Sarah all had a blast!

Thanks a million Kari and James for being such great hosts and allowing us to invade for a couple of days just to see if we were capable of such travels. As long as we haven't worn out our welcome, we'll certainly be back!!

Four Silly Sisters On Weddings

2009-11-29T16:03:00.005-05:00

Scott, Ella, and I had a night away back in October when we attended the wedding of one of Scott's buddies from Iraq. Ella was fascinated with the idea of weddings, parties, receptions.... remember all the talk about brides and brooms?!?

Ella and I really didn't know anyone there at the wedding except each other and Scott, but fortunately the groom had several cute little nieces who were excited to have another new friend to dance with.

Ella enjoyed the wedding ceremony. She soaked it all in and asked a bunch of questions. She has finally learned to whisper, thank goodness! She also loved dancing with her daddy.... but her favorite part was the wedding cake at the reception.

Scott had a good time hanging out with some of the guys he spent the last year with in Iraq, and I just enjoyed having a relatively quiet evening out with two of my favorite people in the world!

All the wedding talk leading up to our trip brought about lots of pretend play and dress up weddings. One afternoon when I arrived at Kay's house to pick up the girls I found them dressed as bride and bridesmaids. They quickly handed me a jacket, slacks, and black dress shoes so I could pwretend the broom.

Even still, over a month later they ask to play weddings and discuss it a bunch. We've even gotten out mine and Scott's wedding album and poured through it hundreds of times. As you can imagine one of the biggest questions they have is about the flower girl. At our family Thanksgiving gathering I pointed out the fact that my now grown cousin Callie was the little flower girl in our wedding. Sarah looked deep into my eyes and said, "Mom, if you'll let me wear your really, really, real veil and your really, really, real wedding dress when I get married I'll let you be MY flower girl"! So sweet... I'm sure it gives their Daddy heart palpitations to think about all the weddings in our future!!

Columbus Day

2009-11-29T15:50:00.002-05:00

The Big Sisters

The Little Sisters

I had to include these photos of the girls' trip with Emily, Makayla, Beverly, and KayKay on Columbus Day because the early days of October were some serious Emily infatuation days. The girls referred to themselves as either Emily or Emily's cheerleader pals for weeks and weeks.

This little crew spent the entire rainy Columbus Day away from home... I think I got a lot of cleaning done that day while they had lunch and went to Monkey Joe's to play.

Catching Up

2009-11-29T14:53:00.003-05:00

First of all I have to apologize for getting so behind in my blogging that the next several posts will be "old news" I just don't want to leave out.

Secondly, I should say that while I haven't managed to post anything on here for an entire week, I have posted a couple of interesting things on our review blog. If you are looking for a great way to help your kiddos memorize Scripture you'll definitely want to check this out!

Finally, if I didn't want to include so many pictures I would simply do one single catch up post, but managing multiple photos in blogger is not my forte. I apologize to those of you who read the blog through some kind of RSS feed... we'll be bogging you down for the next couple of days with many short posts. (They'll be short because it all happened so long ago now that my memory doesn't have many of the details left.... another great reason for keeping up!)

Oh yeah, and I think I've finally figured out why I have all but stopped blogging... these girls of mine don't nap anymore. Ever! But they are even more fun than ever, so I will just have to make a way to get this part of my job as family historian done. My memory stinks, and I don't want to forget these days for anything!!!

Fair Warning

2009-11-21T21:37:00.002-05:00

The girls have been in bed and asleep since 6:30 pm. I have prepared an appetizer and a dessert for our Thanksgiving meal tomorrow, done my workout, and worked on Christmas gifts until I can't anymore.

Some day I'll be back to posting on the blog, but if when that happens I must warn you that it will likely commence with a boat load of photos and lots of stream of consciousness garble because I'm so dreadfully behind!

Under the Tree

2009-11-20T20:05:00.004-05:00

The ladies over at 5 Minutes for Mom are hosting their annual Christmas Giveaways again this year. I love the fact that every year along with their awesome giveaways that bloggers can register to win, they also compile an equally impressive stash of items to give away to those in need. They've definitely got the Christmas spirit! Check it out if you have a minute, and while you are over there register to win a few prizes yourself.

Fall Favorites 2009

2009-11-18T10:04:00.005-05:00

We had to have our pictures made for our church directory last week, so we took advantage of the fact that we were all dressed and made a few pictures outside before we went. These were some of my favorites. Some of the girls were being more agreeable than others. Enjoy!

We Made It!

2009-11-10T21:26:00.000-05:00

Here we all are on our last night in Disney. The picture doesn't lie.... we were TIRED!! We had a fabulous time and I promise to share pictures, stories, and more soon.

Disney or Bust!

2009-10-31T23:56:00.004-04:00

If we had stuck with our original vacation plans, Scott and I would be on a big boat in the middle of the Caribbean right now celebrating 10 years of marriage. Instead, we just arrived home from a fabulous date night Willie Nelson concert and are looking forward to 5 days in Disney World celebrating four beautiful little people with whom God has so richly blessed us! Look out Mickey here we come...

Where Have These Little Girls Gone?

2009-10-30T23:26:00.000-04:00

I am so behind on my blogging that I don't know where to even begin! I thought I would start with this old photo. It was taken a year ago... does anyone know how to make time slow down a little??

My excuses for not blogging include a trip in an airplane with Maggie, Kate, & Sarah to visit aunt Kari, many fun play dates, and of course our big upcoming trip! I will catch up with full posts about all our fun activities since, oh, Columbus Day sometime, but for now there is still Disney World packing to be done!

A Quick Prayer

2009-10-25T14:40:00.002-04:00

The girls are having a pretend picnic in the living room now as I clean up the kitchen, and I just overheard the sweetest little blessing.

Ella asked Kate to say the prayer over their pretend food, and they all bowed their heads. Kate then said, "De-uh Lood, I hope God has a good day!" .... and they all said Amen.

While the Cat's Away...

2009-10-24T22:40:00.006-04:00

While the Cat's Away the Mice Will Play... (in her closet)

Maggie, Kate, and Sarah are all completely capable of dressing themselves these days. I have maintained control of this ~~chaos~~ new desire to constantly change outfits by putting locks high up on their closet doors. However, this morning they found the loophole in my system.... Ella's closet. Ella spent the night at a friends' house last night so she wasn't here this morning to stop them from going through her closet and dresser for their attire. When they were reunited this afternoon Ella's first comment to each of her little sisters was, "Just where did you get that outfit?!?"

I hate to be the one to tell her that she has years and years of repeating those same sentiments to her three adoring siblings! Sisters, sisters... and as you can see in the pictures they each have their own ideas about "style".

Busy, Busy

2009-10-19T23:14:00.002-04:00

I'm still way too busy to write a proper update, but here are a few pictures from our afternoon of playing in the rain. Enjoy!

Without Caution

2009-10-10T22:18:00.003-04:00

We have been zooming through the days and weeks lately, and even though the signs have all indicated that we should do otherwise, we've proceeded completely without caution!

Last Sunday night we rolled up slightly late to church for the ground breaking for the new Family Life Center. We were late because all four of the girls napped during the afternoon, and that phenomenon hasn't happened again since. In fact, no one has taken a nap here all week.... unless you count the short one Scott took on one of the few days he was home, hence the out of control feeling we've been operating under.

On Wednesday evening we helped KayKay celebrate her birthday with a cookout. We had hotdogs and burgers on the grill followed by cake and ice cream. All the sugar and celebrating and a very late evening following no naps made for grouchy girls and tired parents..... and more of the out of control feelings!

On Thursday we went hiking nearby with some cousins who were visiting from out of town. The trip was great fun. Six kids age 4 and under, and we still managed to hike the entire trail without incident (even though there were plenty of warning signs.... as pictured above)! The only trouble we had was completely miscalculating the time we would spend there and except for light snacks, skipping out on food for way too many hours. So to recap the day: complete joy over spending time with family we don't see often enough, exhaustion from hiking and play ground playing, and little to no food for many, many hours. By the time we got home there was much more of that out of control thing going on, but we could hardly blame our tired, hungry children!!

Friday Ms. Faye stayed with the girls all day long while Scott worked and I delivered BBQ plates for the church fundraiser. Then the girls stayed up way too late again last night playing with friends who are here for the weekend.

Today we got together again with Heather and her crew for lunch and pumpkin painting. All of the kiddos played very hard, but I was sure to bring my gals home for an early bedtime tonight.

There is no end in sight to the fun fall busy-ness.... tomorrow we'll celebrate Nanny C's birthday, and we've got a trip to the pumpkin patch with Miss Emily planned for Monday (wonder who Sarah will pretend to be when Emily, the very person she pretends to be most days, is actually with us) .

Things aren't slowing down here anytime soon because perhaps craziest of all today we made our reservations to take the girls to Walt Disney World for the first time early next month! We haven't told them yet. I'm so excited.... but now there is all the planning and packing to think about. So here we go.... proceeding without caution!

To the Moon and Back and Then Some

2009-10-03T22:11:00.004-04:00

Here in our house our favorite phrase for affection is, "I love you to the moon and back." If you ask any of the girls how much I love them they will quickly tell you "Mama loves me to the moon and back." I often overhear them telling each other that same thing.

So tonight, after a very lengthy bedtime conversation about our upcoming trip to the wedding, when Ella said to me, "Mom, do you know how much I love you?", I said, "to the moon and back?" She said, "Nope, we learned at school that a circle has no end, so that's how much I love you.... and please tell Daddy that's how much I love him from now on too."

Little Girl Excitement

2009-10-01T22:07:00.000-04:00

Scott and I have plans to take Ella with us to a wedding in the middle of October. She is absolutely thrilled. The wedding will be the first one she's been to (that she remembers, sorry Kim and Dusty), but more than that she's looking forward to a trip alone with both Mom and Dad.

Her only disappointment with our plans thus far came when she realized we are not planning to travel there via airplane or "great big boat". I'm now trying to convince her of the merits of a simple road trip.... guess she was spoiled on her last Mom, Dad, and Ella outing since we spent the week in Hawaii!

We've discussed both our trip and weddings in general a ridiculous amount over the last few days, and just the other night we had a conversation that went like this:

Ella: "Mom, do you think the beautiful bride will be wearing white for the wedding?"
MB: "I guess so honey, but we'll just have to wait and see."
Ella: "Well, do you suppose the broom will wear white.... ooooh, will he cover his face with one of those thing-ys too?!?"
MB: giggling at her calling the groom a broom "No, the groom will most likely not be dressed in white and he'll definitely not have a veil over his face."

As it turns out the groom is a Naval officer, so he very well may be dressed in white. I don't think Ella has ever seen her Daddy in his handsome dress blues, but I am looking forward to being one of the two ladies on his arm that evening... every bit as excited as our sweet little Ella!

Wordless Wednesday: Sunflower Pictures

2009-09-30T21:51:00.003-04:00

Disclaimer: Ella was off on a lunch date with her Daddy when I took all these cute sunflower and roses pictures last week. We've now missed the sunflowers, but we'll find some other excuse for a photo shoot with her very soon!

First Shiner

2009-09-28T22:53:00.003-04:00

Yesterday afternoon the girls and I went over to Nanny and Pop C's. After playing outside on their wonderfully sloped driveway with their riding toys for an hour or more, the ~~noise~~ girls decided to come inside to play. After a quick snack and potty break, Kate declared, "Let's take these books upstairs and sing some pwaises," and off they all went. Pop C followed a few minutes behind them hoping to catch some of that pwaise singin' before they noticed him.

Once they caught sight of Pop, the giggling and laughter that we'd been able to hear amidst the singing increased significantly. I could tell from the sound of things that they were jumping on one of the beds. It sounded like great fun, and I didn't worry too much about it because their great- granddad was right there with them. However, all the fun came to a screeching halt when Maggie slipped off the top of the dresser they were jumping off of and fell between the dresser and bed. She banged her head into the corner of the foot board and her elbow on one of the dresser pulls. I heard the scream from my comfy seat downstairs, and ascended the stairs in only 4 or 5 steps.... just guessing. I found Miss Maggie in Pop C's arms. She was wailing, and his face was white as a ghost. To hear her tell it today, she scared Pop C to def. She's got a little bit of a shiner, but I've got to say, I can't imagine a better way to acquire one's first shiner than by jumping on the bed like a bunch of monkeys with your sisters and your Pop!

More Funnies from the Girls

2009-09-27T23:21:00.004-04:00

Life is zooming along here. I wanted to post about all the random funny things the girls are picking up here at home and at preschool. Fair warning: It is completely random!

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While the girls were piling on top of the pillows and each other on the couch the other night I overheard one of them say, "Hop on this elevator, it will take us to Africa.... I mean Florida." Another said, "Yeah, let's go!" Geography is obviously not a strong suit yet.

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Sarah has quite the negotiation skills, and she's pretty good with fractions already too. On Friday when I got home from grocery shopping Ms. Faye relayed the following. She had tried her best to get Sarah to eat something, anything for lunch and ended up making her a peanut butter sandwich. Sarah wasn't really interested, but Ms. Faye pleaded for her to please just eat half of it. Sarah's response, "Well, how 'bout I just eat a quarter?"

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Ella has learned to count by 2's...... "2, 4, 6, 8 who do we appreciate?" Yes, they are all still cheering non-stop!

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I have no idea where they learned this one, but they all frequently yell for me to go faster when I'm driving. They follow it up with, "Don't go so fast that the po-po's will get us." So what I want to know now is Who taught my 3 year olds the term po-po's for police??

Wordless Wednesday: Forever Friends

2009-09-23T10:11:00.003-04:00

Kate, Maggie, and Sarah.... Forever Friends

Pweschool

2009-09-17T22:41:00.003-04:00

Tomorrow will be Maggie, Kate, and Sarah's second day of pweschool. They are pictured below last Friday as we were headed out for Ella's second day at CCP and their first day at Ms. Dena's. Ms. Dena, one of my lifelong friends, and her youngest son Brody are hosting "preschool" one day a week. This way Dena has a class to hold Brody's attention, and I have a preschool for the girls. So far, so good!

Incidentally, we celebrated back to school last Tuesday evening with peanut butter sandwiches and chocolate shakes for supper per Ella's request, and on Thursday with a home made cookie cake that Maggie, Kate, and Sarah got to help make and decorate. It was super easy... maybe I'll post the recipe sometime soon.

Maggie, Kate, and especially Sarah are thrilled to be going to school this year. We work together at home all the time on little preschool projects, but it really is important to them that they are going to preschool, so thank you Dena! One of my many prayers for our girls is that they love learning, and I think they are off to a great start! Aren't they a motley little crew?!?