Why, Mommy?

Let's go to the library.
Why, mommy?
Get your coat on.
Why, mommy?
Let's put your hat and gloves on.
Why, mommy?
Let's pick out some books.
Why, mommy?
Should we pick some out for Noah?
Why, mommy?
Let's go check them out.
Why, mommy?
Hold my hand.
Why, mommy?
Let's put your coat on.
Why, mommy?
why, mommy?
why, mommy?
and so on...
and so on...
and so forth...

Adventures In Potty Training, Part 2.

While I was changing Lily into PJ's tonight, I sat her on the potty.....AND SHE WENT!! YAAY! All 5 of us piled into the bathroom and jumped up and down and clapped and cheered. She was pretty proud of herself. Her brothers gave her high-5's. She kept saying to herself, "Yeah, I big girl."

Stinker.

There's Definitely Not A Confidence Problem Here...

Noah had his first basketball game today. He was VERY excited. As we were walking in, Noah asked me, "Now is this a REAL game?" I said, "Yes. This is a real game." Noah gets a smirk on his face and says, "Well, prepare to be amazed!" That's my boy.

Adventures In Potty-Training, Part 1.

I went to Target tonight and buzzed through girls clothing, where I stumbled upon a sale on girl's panties. I was standing there admiring these princess panties, dreaming of a day when no diapers exist, when I felt someone staring at me. I looked up and there stood a young couple with a little girl about Lily's age. They were from India, I think. The women started talking to me in really broken English. I was catching some key words here and there including "potty-training", "toilet", etc. As I'm trying to figure out what she's asking me, I put two and two together and figured out she was asking me how to potty train her daughter. Literally. Like she wanted me to start at point A and talk her through to the end where her daughter is out of diapers. I was rendered speechless for a second, then I looked at her husband who shrugged his shoulders and bolted. (I never saw him again...). I started to sweat. I really did wish to impart some wisdom, after all I AM a mother of 3, but all I could think of was "Lady, I got my own problems...if you figure it out, let me know!!" I fumbled through some basics with her, trying to sound like I knew what I was talking about. My worst fear was that she would figure out I was a fraud. I decided to go for some humility on my part and broke it to her that I actually had not been sucessful in potty training my daughter YET. She slumped, in dejection a little, and said, "Oh...Ok...thanks anyways." As she walked away, I started to say, "But I do have other children...they don't wear diapers...." but my voice trailed off, on deaf ears. So, the ending of my story is that I bought a package of princess panties that I didn't intend to buy. I just now realized looking at this picture that these are days of the week panties. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. That makes me laugh. I should invent hourly panties that say 7am, 8am, 9am etc. for those moms who are trying to potty train. I could make millions.

Breakfast At Lily's.

*If you can't stand the sight of messy kid face's...now is your time to look away.*

We bought Coco-Pebbles for Emily when she was back. I'm under the impression it's one of her favorites for some reason, so I always buy it when she comes back. Well, Lily's has discovered how much she REALLY REALLY likes this cereal.
I mean REALLY.
REALLY.
It proves my theory that she is in love with all things chocolatey.

While I'm On A Roll...

MOTHER: THIS ONE'S FOR YOU.
IF YOU EVER WANT TO SEE THE 6-TON CARTONS OF ICE CREAM BARS YOU LEFT IN MY FREEZER AGAIN, YOU MUST FOLLOW MY LIST OF DEMANDS.
#1. just come over and get them, OK? they're driving the kids nuts. i've had to beat them off with sticks.

IF YOU CHOOSE TO IGNORE THIS, I WILL BE FORCED TO TAKE DRASTIC MEASURES, AND IT WILL BE DELICIOUS.

Ransom Note.

EMILY: IF YOU WANT TO SEE YOUR SHIRT EVER AGAIN, YOU MUST FOLLOW MY LIST OF DEMANDS.
1. YOU MUST MOVE BACK TO IOWA IN A TIMELY AND ORDERLY MANNER.
2. UMMM...I GUESS THAT'S IT. JUST DO #1.

IF MY DEMANDS ARE NOT MET IN A TIMELY MANNER....SNIP, SNIP. DON'T THINK FOR A MINUTE THAT BECAUSE IT'S GREEN, I WILL TAKE PITY. IT WILL MAKE A VERY NICE THROW PILLOW.

IF YOU REFUSE TO RESPOND TO THIS, MY NEXT POST WILL CONTAIN A LARGE, COLOR PHOTO OF THE "UNDIES" YOU ALSO LEFT BEHIND. DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME. I'LL DO IT. AND LET ME TELL YOU, BLOGGER READERS, YOU'LL BE SHOCKED BY WHAT YOU SEE!!

SSHHH. Don't Tell Your Mom.

Shhhh. Don't tell your mom. I think I'm going to steal you and keep you for my very own. You can come and live at Aunt Laura's house. I look just like your mom...and I sound just like her, too. No one would ever know the difference! Isn't that a great idea??? Before this all goes down, I need to inform you of the rules. First of all, you're going to need to start sleeping through the night. None of this getting up and thinking you're hungry. That's just not going to be an option.
And you're going to need to go ahead and potty train yourself. I know you're only a few months old, but you're smart, you'll get the hang of it right away. See, the problem is I already have a two year old that's still in diapers and I don't think I can do two in diapers. From the way things have been going with your cousin in that area, it's going to be easier for you to make the switch. Plus, I saw the way you hosed down your grandma the other day.
While we're at it, you're probably going to need to put a cork in the whole spitting up thing. I do enough laundry as is. The extra 5 loads of burp rags will just push me over the edge, and no one wants to see that. Trust me.
What's wrong, Max? Why are you looking so worried? What's that you say? Too much pressure? I could swear he just called me a raving lunatic....
Oh, alright. You've got it pretty good where you're at. Maybe you can just come over and visit.

We Have A Mild Case Of Obssession At Our House.

It might be a toss up over which one of these girls is more obsessed with the other. There's no need to out-obsess each other. You both earn the prize.





I think it's a 'girl thing'.

"It's Just What Aunts Do." (So I'm Told.)

Emily and the "middle one" were up to no good yesterday. You can see it in their faces. No good at all. First, they disappeared for awhile, apparently stocking up with goodies at the gas station....

skittles AND bubble tape.... then locked themselves in my bedroom with "High School Musical". Literally LOCKED, as in preventing any intruders from interrupting (i.e. mom, older brother, younger sister).
Let's not forget drinks....
Wait! Let's take a closer look at that...32 FL. OZ.?!?!?!?
I will get you back. Mark my words. My revenge will be sweet.

Get To Work, Kid!

I decided to take pity on my poor husband and take care of the drive-way and sidewalks... by sending my 2 year old out to do it. We start 'em out young here. Don't feel sorry for her, she's got to earn her next meal just like the rest of us. She beat her record today. It only took her 8 hours 23 minutes this time. She's learning.
ummm...you're going to need to pile more snow on your shovel if you want to get done before nightfall...
Looks, like you've got the sidewalk done! Good job, Lily! Better get started on the driveway.
"aww, man!"

* Sigh. *

Well, folks, it's that time of year again. Didn't we just do this, like, last year? The time of year where he actually earns his high paying salary (snort.) The time of year where his wife painfully bites the inside of her cheek to resist nasty commenting on the hours worked...or supper's cold...or "are you coming to bed?". The time of year when his wife tries to implement a bedtime for her full grown husband. Because, you see, if he doesn't get to bed on time, then he can't get up at the crack of dawn, and when he oversleeps, then he has to bring a slew of work home and he has to stay up late to get it done, which means he goes to bed late, which means he oversleeps, which means he has to bring work home.....you get the idea. This is also the time of year when the funny dreaming starts. Joe has a reputation of having funny dreams during busy season which makes him do funny things in the middle of the night. My conclusion is that he is actually trying to work in his sleep. There was the time he was digging through the sheets looking for a fax that came in...and there was the time he was answering his phone at 2:30 am and trying to schedule meetings in his sleep. I'll keep you all posted what I get this year. I'm sure he's now going to read this and be afraid to fall asleep, which means he'll oversleep, which means he'll have to bring work home....

Down With The Silent E!!!!

I mean, really. Do we really need the silent E? I mean, all it does is just sit there all... silent-like. Who invented it anyways? Someone who had a lot of time on his hands. This kid's got things to do, people to see, places to go. He can't be worried with no stinkin' E-s. So, this is just the pre-test. Would it be un-motherlike to just tell him, "For the final test, just do the same thing you did on Monday, but just stick and E on the end of each one. Don't ask why, kid. Just do it."
*sidenote: notice the one he DID get right was 'name', which just so happens to also be at the top of his page. This kid's no dummy!

Or Not...

Ok, I just caught my sister teaching my son the words to Hangin' Tough and The Right Stuff in the backseat of the van. Maybe she should go back...

Yay.

She's my favorite. I'm going to duct tape her to my couch so she can't go back.

Cool People Wear Striped Socks.

Do you have striped socks? No? I guess you're not cool, then. I found out Jill and I bought each other the SAME socks for each other for Christmas. What are the chances of that? I guess coolness is in the genes. We quickly consulted and decided to ditch the exchange and call it an early Christmas!

Little Miss Beautiful.

I know, and fully recognize, the fact that I am VERY biased...but isn't she quite something??

That's My Girl.

Last night, I went to go pick up my new glasses. They are quite funky, if I do say so myself. Very different from what I have now. So, this morning as I got the boys up, I wondered to myself how long it would take the boys to notice my new specs. Let's just say it's now 4:30 PM and I just got a comment from Jackson about 5 minutes ago that was something like, "New glasses? Hm." They are men...what do I expect? Not much. The FUNNY part of my story, though, is that when I went in to wake up Lily this morning, I'm gently rubbing her back, she cracks her eyes halfway open and groggily says, "Oh, mommy! Pretty glasses!" She's been half- awake for 3.5 seconds. That's my sweet babygirl.

I've Finally Captured "The Lip"!

I've been trying for weeks to get 'the lip' on film. (What do people say, now that cameras are all digital??). 'The lip' comes out when she's doing something 'important' or is concentrating really hard. I also believe I might be seeing the lip a lot when she's, oh, about 13...14...

Fun With Play-Doh.

He Reads...And Reads...And Reads..And Reads....

I went in to clean the kids bathroom and, what do you know, 2 hours later...voila! It makes me smile :)

Time To Clean Out The Refridgerator.

My funny story for the day... I was in Lily's room looking for her hairbrush. It's usually in her desk drawer. So, I'm tearing her room apart, knowing it MUST be in here somewhere. I remember that lately, she's been putting things in her little 'play fridge'. I have found the darndest things in there (TV remote, shoes, MY jewelry, etc.) As soon as I open the little door, I'm hit with a wall of The. Most. Funknasty. Horribly. Foul. Gagalicious. smell I have ever smelled. Ever. (I'm almost too embarrassed to write this, but I will dig deep and carry on...) Inside was a wet diaper from 'who knows when'. Let's just say I can definitely gurantee it was from 2007. I'm sure it was I who had changed it and forgot to stick it in the diaper pail. My dear daughter probably knew it wasn't supposed to be sitting in the middle of her room and took it upon herself to 'get rid of it'. That thing was probably brewing and fermenting for quite some time. Major fumigation efforts are underway.