Take Two

I wasn't kidding about another photo shoot... only this time we ventured out to our backyard. (See, I'm a quick learner!)

Smile!!! (Or Fake It)

What a day... we decided that one of the things we would do (as opposed to the only thing we would do) today was take some pictures of our family. From the start, it was a struggle figuring out what to wear, doing everyone's hair... Sara's feeding and sleeping needs.... FINALLY we all got in the car and started to drive around looking for the perfect place to take pictures. We drove and drove and drove.... all of the sudden from the back seat, Shanna said "My tummy hurts and I'm really hot." (This is the same kid who rides roller coaster after roller coaster right after eating.) The next thing we heard was "I threw up."

Oh yeah... all over.

So, home we went, clothes and shoes went in the washer. We found another outfit and shoes, cleaned up her face and hair... uuuhhhh... Did I mention how afraid I was to have kids because I can't handle it when they throw up???

We found the perfect spot... about 3 blocks from our house. Most of the pictures didn't turn out great because of the shadows of the late afternoon. BUT, we were determined not to give up! There were several moments when Tyler and I looked at each other and laughed like patients at a mental hospital!

Here are some of the pictures (and outtakes of the day.) We had so much fun today we might just try it again tomorrow. Anyone want to come with us???

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Rockin Thanksgiving

Here's Miss Spunk, thoroughly enjoying her first drumstick! Can you just imagine having this much energy under your feet all the time?

She suddenly got up out of her chair and started walking around the table.

I said "Kaci! What are you doing?" She looked at me with her big innocent eyes and said "I thought you said we were going to go around the table and say what we're thankful for!"


Oh am I thankful for her sense of humor! We just about fell over we were laughing so hard!

It was so much fun having my brother here. He came early in the day, and we cooked together. It all turned out great and it was special to have him with us!

Thanksgiving

I regularly read a blog that inspires me. I rarely post emotional posts, but when you feel inspired, sometimes you feel emotional. Here is the post: Bring The Rain Here is my response to her:

"Angie, this is the most beautiful post ever. I love reading your thoughts and words. I ache for you yet also admire your strength and faith.

To make this quick, I struggle to admit that I am thankful for my angel baby of December 18, 2002. (and another one in 2003) As I see Christmas lights go up each year, it tears the scab off of my heart. Somehow each year I work through the hurt and I find joy and the Christmas spirit by the time Christmas comes, but the pain and tears are so fresh and painful. These were the words I needed to hear today.

I hope your family has a beautiful day of Thanksgiving tomorrow. Now that I admitted the hard part, I can admit the easy one... I am thankful for you, your strength and the inspiration you are to me. May you feel the sun shine on your face!"

I challenge each of you to read her post, (read her story to understand what she writes about) and then think about what you are thankful for. It's a lot harder than you think.

Traditions

When I was a little girl, I thought that noodles went with mashed potatoes and gravy. My Grandma Tiller always made them, and it is what I think about when I think of Thanksgiving. (Even before turkey) I really debated this year if I was going to make them or not. But, here it is, 12:45 am and I made them. Traditions are so important, and if my kids think about having noodles and gravy on their mashed potatoes, I will have succeeded. (Plus, if I didn't make them, either me or my brother would have complained about missing having noodles tomorrow.)

It kind of goes beyond what food you are serving on your table. What traditions are you serving to your kids? I hope that someday, each one of my girls thinks to make egg noodles at midnight and think of their Great Grandma.

Confessions

Do you ever feel the need to air your dirty little secrets? (Whenever Kaci hears that song on the radio, she says "You're my dirty little secret Mom!) No, I don't plan on airing all of my secrets, but life has been so crazy I might just bust at the seams if I don't admit to some of the following:

1. We had such a day on Saturday tearing our dishwasher apart that we actually thought it would get better by leaving the house. We took all 3 girls to the mall AND the grocery store. Any reasonable person would know that's a bad idea...

2. I really truly actually threatened the girls that they couldn't go to church unless they cleaned up their rooms. (Does that go against any commandments?)

3. We put a dog leash on Kaci's bike to keep control of her when we walked to get Shanna from school. (Can you imagine the looks we got? Look all you want but it really worked and you'll probably see us doing it again!)

4. Now when Kaci stuffs too much food in her mouth at dinner, we just point to the bathroom and tell her to clean up after herself when she's done... We also tell her the same thing if she has a potty accident because she is being lazy...

5. I let Shanna eat hot lunch at school this week just because I was too lazy to make it. (She thought she was winning!)

6. Kaci was telling me what she learned about the first Thanksgiving. I didn't correct her when she started calling the Indians ALIENS because it was too cute and funny!

7. Shanna is testing the Santa theory by asking for a bunch of stuff she knows we'd never buy for her. Included on the list are: 2 puppies, a Sugar Glider, a motor-scooter, to know if Jacob likes her, a laptop and a video camera. We are debating on forcing her to change her list, or just let her find out the truth.

8. I am cooking a whole turkey for Thanksgiving (I was just going to do a turkey breast) because Shanna came home from school talking about this new food called "drumsticks."

I could keep going, but I think that's enough for one day!

We are looking forward to a great Thanksgiving. I hope to sleep in at least one day... the girls are excited about seeing the parade on tv tomorrow. My brother is coming for Thanksgiving dinner and is (please Bryan!) bringing some sushi. No Black Friday shopping here... I went to Costco yesterday and just about had a panic attack. I might go to the grocery store for a few last minute things, or I might just call it good and not! It is raining here, it is the perfect holiday feeling. We just need some popcorn and puzzles and we're set!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It Takes A Whole Village To Raise A Child

Shanna has really been struggling lately. She has had such a hard time making friends and with her self esteem. Last week it got really bad with a group of girls, and she has gone from being happy and bubbly to not wanting to go to school each day. It is heart breaking as parents to watch. We are looking for ways to boost her self confidence and are hoping for some help.

She won a spot from her school (one of 6 spots) in their Story Telling Festival. They had to memorize a story and re-tell it in their own words. She is going to the District competition tomorrow morning. I think it would be a huge boost for her if she could get some e-mails or phone calls tonight wishing her good luck!

We are working with her at home, and her teacher is helping watch out for her at school, but maybe some extra love would help make a difference too! Thanks!

Babbling Baby

Sara hit a new milestone yesterday... babbling. I love it. Instead of one syllable grunts and the normal crying, her little bottom lip moves and she babbles this whole string of words known only to her. It is the cutest thing ever!

Happy Baby!

Happy Birthday Tyler!

We had fun helping Tyler have a fun birthday. The girls piled in our bed and gave him presents and a card in the morning. We let Shanna come home from school to eat lunch with us, and then we went to the park before going out to eat. I hope he felt our love!

Here's some pictures from yesterday:

Miss Sass

First Time Playing On A Slide!

Monkey Girl

Doesn't Look Like They Are All Yelling "Mooommmmm!!"

Sara is signing "I love you!"

Smooth....

Last night, I thought I was ahead of the game... making dinner before Shanna had dance. I was putting a tray of asparagus cannellonis into the oven (it was in a pyrex dish on top of a cookie sheet with a loaf of bread.) Sara was fussy, I tried to set her down so I could put the tray into the oven. She didn't like that one bit, so I decided I would be talented and put the tray in one handed.

Guess, what? The glass dish slid off the cookie sheet. There was glass EVERYWHERE, along with pasta, pasta sauce and bread.

The icing on the cake?

Sara thought it was funny!

The Story...

I finally got the story tonight when I took Shanna to dance.

A man walked into the kids consignment shop directly next door to the dance studio. (The Chinese restaurant which I thought was robbed was one door over from the consignment shop.) He started arguing with his ex girlfriend. She asked him to leave, he refused. She called her boss, and then he pulled a gun to her neck. Luckily the owner heard what was happening and called 911.

The girls were dancing (their dance studio is a store front shop with big windows all over) and the teacher saw 5 men in regular clothes (SWAT) run past with machine guns. (Don't you think at this point someone from the police department would go into the studio and help keep the kids safe and let them know what was going on?) The teachers hurried all the girls from the different classes into the back classroom which has no windows and they locked the studio.

They did finally arrest the man, but he escaped at least once. So, Shanna was right... 5 guys with guns (not bad guys though) one man was arrested and he got out of the car... then they got him again.... I was impressed with how accurate her description of the situation was, down to what the people looked like. I feel so horrible that it happened, that I wasn't there to protect her. She seems to be fine though. She wasn't scared to go back to dance, and was quite matter-of-fact that the police did their job in arresting the bad guy. I just wish those innocent eyes didn't see what they saw. The other thing that keeps going over in my mind is that we almost went into the consignment shop after dropping Shanna off to get Kaci some new ballet shoes. The only reason we didn't is because Sara had fallen asleep.

It scares me how easily and fast life can change.

Lockdown

When I got to Shanna's dance tonight to pick her up... I saw a bunch of cop cars. She told me the Chinese restaurant next door to them had been robbed, and all of the people at her dance studio went in the back room for a while with the doors locked.

I didn't see that one coming... I'll have to update tomorrow after I read the story in the paper and talk to the people at the dance studio. She said she saw a bad guy with a gun, but I am guessing it was an officer not in uniform. (At least I hope) She said she saw them handcuff one guy, but she heard her teacher say there were 5 robbers...

So scary. I am glad she is ok. She said she was scared but tried to be brave. She said a lot of girls were screaming and crying, but she wanted everyone to be quiet so that the bad guys wouldn't find them. She said that the teachers and moms who were there were helping people to be calm, and she didn't freak out. (I wonder if she was more brave because I wasn't there?) She doesn't seem scared anymore, but I hope she doesn't have nightmares about it all.

She Really Said This

"Moooommmmm.... Kaci put deodorant on the wall, but we wiped it off."

All I can do is laugh

What Kind of Parents Are We?

Take away the whole Costco experience... we may STILL qualify for the worst parents ever.

Kaci came home from preschool with the "purple" song... they are learning to spell colors through songs. She sang:" P-U-R-P-L-E spells Purple. P-U-R-P-L-E spells Purple, Like the grapes on the vine, and the Kool-Aid is fine, P-U-R-P-L-E spells Purple" Then she said, "Miss Katie said Kool-Aid is really yummy. What is it?"

Oh yeah, she is 4 years old and she doesn't know what Kool-Aid is!! I knew what it was.... My Mom only put half the sugar in, but still I knew what Kool-Aid was!!

So tonight (at bedtime) Tyler took out a glass pitcher, put A WHOLE CUP OF SUGAR in it, the tiny flavor pack and filled it with water.

Kaci LOVED it. She downed it like it was the best thing she had ever tasted.

Did I mention IT WAS AT BEDTIME?????

Fall Pictures

I have been so crazy busy lately... between keeping the house clean for showings, going through closets and drawers trying to get ready for the move when our house sells, I haven't had much time to post pictures. Here's a slide show I put together of some fun times we have had lately.

The girls have been playing together nicely (for the most part) They are enjoying the nice weather playing in their playhouse and with the dog.

Sara has such a fun personality lately. She laughs and blows bubbles and gets so excited when her sisters talk to her. She has been eating cereal and bananas and loves to be included at dinner time. She also loves to grab my plate or the food on it! She just about was successful in tasting guacamole the other night!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

A Public Safety Announcement From Kaci

When your parents tell you to sit down in the shopping cart, they mean it. The loud thump at Costco tonight was my head hitting the floor.

Election Night

We made the election a learning process for the girls. They came to vote with us and then last night we printed an electoral map for them to color as the results came in.

Coloring + Competition = fun in our house!

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween. Sara was a ladybug (that was easy since it has been in our closet since Kaci was a baby!) Kaci was a unicorn, and Shanna was an ice skater. She wore a costume that was mine over 20 years ago! She wore my skates around her shoulders and was so happy.

Our friends Sherry and Rick brought their kids over and we had fun trick or treating together. One house was decorated for Christmas and the people were dressed up as Santa and Mrs. Claus and gave out ice cream cones! It was fun. I carried Sara and Tyler carried Kaci on his shoulders, so we were exhausted by the time we got home.

Things were so crazy that I didn't get a picture of all 3 girls together. Maybe next year I'll have my act together better!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow