Absolutely 80"s

I can't believe when A put this outfit together to wear to school. Now let this be known that this was not an 80's day or any special day at all. I guess it was the last day of school but she just put this outfit together because she thought it looked cute. I totally wore stuff like this. OMG. Just please don't get the big 80's hair please.

Tulips

I LOVE TULIPS. I am not sure why but, the tulips in my garden seemed more beautiful this year than they ever have. I love how simple they are. I only wish that they lasted longer, but that only makes me appreciate them even more.

Memorial Day 09

We took our annual trip to the lake for Memorial Day weekend. We had a great time. Our poor A had to stay home because she had to work. ISH. I missed her so much that my heart actually hurt. Really, honestly, I had chest pains every time I thought about her.

Gram, Gramps, Matt, Jodie, Je, Jo, R, Ryan, N, and myself were the ones who were made it to the lake. Kirk and Yoko couldn't make it. The weather was awesome. N and Je fished like crazy and ended up catching a bunch of sunnies, which Ryan and Matt ended up cleaning. Gramps had to give them a booster lesson since it has been a few years since they both cleaned sunnies. The next day we had the fish for lunch. Yum!.

D, Ryan and I took a paddle boat ride and saw more wildlife than we ever do. We passed a Mama Loon who was getting upset with us because her nest must have been close. She basically stood on the water. Then we saw a beaver swimming, two blue herons, trumpeter swans flying north, some ducks flying and we were lucky enough to even have a stink duck right in the boat with us. Ugh D.

Paci No More

It is official. Today marks 1 week since D and I took the plunge and got rid of his paci. We figured since he is now 3 it is time. Of course, this was mostly my decision. He wasn't really happy about this. I told him the paci fairy thought that he was a big enough boy and she made all his paci's poof away. He seemed to cry more just thinking about it than when we actually laid down to sleep. I kept telling him that he was a big boy now and he can go to sleep without his paci and he kept telling me No, and that he is a baby. Sweet guy. He cried for about two days and still mentions it from time to time but seems to be doing well.

Ants

ANTS

This week were learning about ants. Fun! We caught some ants in our bug catcher and looked at the closely. I do have to say that it was hard to catch them with out killing them. Sorry ants that are now in ant heaven. One of D's favorite songs and books is The Ants Go Marching. We read it and sing it a lot. D and A have really begun to get close. He really wanted her in this pic.

Sad lesson learned today- D found a baby robin in the neighbor's sandbox and picked it up. He held it a little too hard and it kind of died later. Sad post today- Dead ants and dead bird. Should I also say then that last week at ECFE they had some little minnows in a bucket for the kids to catch with nets and D squished one and killed it. My goodness. Needless to say we have had quite a few discussions about how to be gentle.

Garden Rocks

N and D had a blast the other day painting rocks for our garden. D made one that looks like a bee. Mom helped a little with the stripes. His other one is very artistic the way he blended and used colors. N made a really big ladybug. Mom painted a few too. I take the easy way out, polka dots. I hope the colors don't fade too fast. Only one of the paints was made for outdoor crafts. Time will tell. I am sure they will have just as much fun repainting them next year if they do fade.

Track Meet

Today was the first of two track meets that N has this spring. He did a great. He ran the 1600m, the 800m, threw javelin, jumped long and high jump. He earned a 6th place for the high jump, a third for the 1600m, a third for the long jump and a fourth for the javelin. Way to go N. His next meet is this Sat.

This is N's second year in track. He seems to like it a lot. Takes after his dad I guess. When I joined track in 8th gr. I quit after the 1st day because I thought there was just way too much running for my liking. I am not, I repeat, am not, athletically inclined what so ever.

I am happy that N likes running. It will take him places. Literally. Ha, funny. No really, it is something he can do the rest of his life unlike hockey.

Again, WAY TO GO N.

Mud Puddle

Yesterday when D asked if he could get out his rain boots to jump in a puddle that was in our driveway I didn't even hesitate. This never would have happened when A was little and I don't remember N doing it too often either. This is, of course, not because they didn't want to jump in puddles too. It is because I didn't want them to. I don't know if it is because I am older or because D is the third child, but it doesn't bug me anymore. Let'em get good and messy. Who cares. Of course, I wouldn't let him jump in puddles in his Sunday best but go for it in plain old clothes. Rarely do I put D in clothes that he can't mess up. His life is usually spent in Granimals from Walmart.

I have loosened up with N too. Or maybe he has made me loosen up. Either way you can often find him with grass stains on his knees and really, really muddy shoes. I was so happy when the Easter Bunny brought N some knee high rubber boots. I don't know how many times this spring we had three pairs of sopping wet, winter boots in the house. That is not because I had three children traipsing around in puddles. It is because besides his own, N can fit into mine and A's boots too and when one pair was wet he went onto the next. UGH. Of course, by the time the Easter Bunny saved us with rubber boots all the snow had melted.

Kite Flying

When don't we have a windy day. So, we decided to break out the kite today and have fun flying it. I think R and I had more fun than D. We have had this kite for yrs. You can't see it here but it is made from nylon. I think I got it from discovery toys but I am not sure. We plan on having many hours of kite flying this spring and summer.

Willie Worm

We have been working on worms this week and the boys have loved it. Today we made Willie Worms. There is a poem by Jean Warren. They are really cute.

Mother's Day

Making Bread

What a great day! First, I woke up before everyone and I do have to say that it was nice to have some alone time. Then I was made wonderful french toast (my request) that was made from bread that the boys and me made the day before.

They love helping make bread. D spends most of his time making faces and monsters out of his and N usually uses his as a punching bag.

D and I got in a nice 1 1/2 hr long nap today. We both could have slept longer but we got a late start. Oh well.

The rest of the day we just kinda hung out and went grocery shopping. R and the kids made a tasty supper of shrimp, asparagus, baked potatoes, (sweet potato for N and me) and a great salad, if I do say so myself since, that is what I contributed to the meal. We of course had some yummy homemade bread to go along with it.

I forgot to mention that I did get some beautiful roses from my boys today and A came home from work with 3 Butterfingers for me. I am truly loved. It was a little suspicious however, that dishes still weren't done at 10:00 pm and no one seemed to notice that I was doing them until the very end. What's with that guys? I would have gladly done them earlier but you said, "No."

Lesson learned today- N learned that if you put an Arby's Roast Beef sammy in the microwave with the foil wrapper still on, it starts on fire within 3 seconds. Cool. No harm done and all is well. He said his sammy still tasted great.

Clueless

Since, I know nothing about creating a blog I am guessing that things will change a lot over the next few months. I am excited for this new journey. I have tried to keep journals before and have never been successful. So, I am looking forward to this. I hope to keep it up. I think it will be a great outlet for me.

Here We Are

I have wanted to start a blog for a while now. I am excited to document the lives of my children and the joys and challenges of marriage.

I have been married to the same wonderful man for 16 yrs. We married when we were just 18. Our daughter was 4 months old on our wedding day. With all odds against us we have prevailed and are still in love. Of course, there are times that we drive each other nuts but for the most part we are crazy for one another.

Our daughter A will be 17 in June. I know people always say time flies but, boy does it. She was just a little baby in my arms and now she only has 1 yr. before college. A loves acting in plays and participating on the speech team. She is a wonderful older sister. I is fun watching her blossom into a caring young woman. Just a yr. ago she was so into her own life that she could care less about the rest of us. She was a true teenager. Now, she engages with her younger brothers and actually seems to enjoy spending time with them. And with us too.

Our older son N is 11. He loves hockey and also enjoys football, baseball and track. He really does not enjoy school. Last yr. and this yr. has been a challenge to get him excited about it. N. now seems to be taking on her sisters roll as the "pain in the butt teenager." He isn't fully there yet but we see the developing signs. UGH!

D our youngest, is a true blessing. We thought long and hard about having a third child. He was born when A was 14 and N was 8. D is now 3 and not a day has gone by where we haven't enjoyed him. He puts a smile on all of our faces with his funny antics.

I hope to post each day on one child and highlight what they have been up to. I also plan to discuss R and I somewhere in there along with recipes and pics of the dogs and any goings on.