Button and Contest

A blog I read, profoundly seth is having a contest. You could win something fabulous from Melissa and Doug! Or maybe I will =)

Anyway, I got hooked on El's blog when I started reading her Not Me Monday posts. Seth's cuteness has me going back daily to check for updates about his journey and the rest of the families' goings-on.

You can click on the link above or the button on the left side bar to find El's blog. You will not be disappointed.

Oh and if you head that way, tell her I sent you =)

Not Me Monday 14th Edition

I did not stay in my pajamas on Thursday and Friday, but if I had know that I showered, I just put my pajamas back on afterward.

I did not get four tickets on Christmas Day while waiting at the airport to pick up Devin and Cody.

I did not skip doing Christmas cookies with the kiddos this year. They totally did not even notice.

I did not wrap all of the kiddos' gifts in one night. If I had I wouldn't have gone to bed until 3:30 AM and that would have been crazy!

I did not eat hummus and like it.

I did not make the children wait to come see what Santa brought them until I had coffee brewing.

I did not let my son wear a camo shirt and slippers and plaid shorts on Christmas Day. I did not tell him I couldn't see him because he was wearing camo.

I did not spend Christmas Eve service in the church kitchen pretending to help set up the food for after the service when I was really sampling the food.

I did not wear reindeer antlers to my husband's work Christmas party.

And lastly, I did not have to clean up after my son stood on the top bunk and peed over the side, fully clothed, while his cousins played in his bedroom Christmas Eve.

Nope, not me!

McKMama is taking today off, with all the excitement of the weekend and it being Christmas break and all, but check back next Monday for more Not Mes!

Christmas 2008

Christmas was a bit different this year, not having Josh, Cody or Devin with us on Christmas Eve. But, Josh was there Christmas morning and Devin and Cody arrived in the afternoon. It was neat to have just Kari and Noah to tuck in on Christmas night. And if you read last year's blog, Kari did not have any issues this year with settling down and getting to sleep. That was a definite blessing! Here's some pictures and commentary from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.....

After we attended our church's Christmas Eve service, we came home and opened our traditional one gift of Christmas Eve. Then we did our Adornament and read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Kari and Noah set out some milk and cookies for Santa and a few a carrots for the reindeer. Kari wrote Santa's note herself this year!

Opening the traditional Christmas Eve pajamas




Reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas


The kiddos woke up at 7:45 AM to open presents and start the day. We were very thanksful that we got to sleep in a little bit.

Ready to see what Santa brought


A Cars Leapster2 and a Princess Leapster2


There's a Webkinz in my stocking!!




What's in your stocking??




Santa left a note!


Pet Pals game for Leapster2


He loves his Leapster2


Playing with Daddy


The Christmas Day beverage of choice - hot chocolate!


Opening gifts












Opening the Wii from Nana and Papa


Josh opening presents. We had to wake him up around 11 AM and he wasn't too thrilled. I think all he wanted for Christmas was sleep






Josh and Kari setting up a Wii game


Noah playing the Wii - gracefully


Devin and Cody arrived at 3:30 PM. After an adventure at the airport with Maryland's finest (another blog entry for another time...maybe), we headed to the house to open gifts.

Opening gifts - Cody is thrilled about his card shuffler!


Dan's gift to Devin. He painted and decorated a box and filled it with a dino t-shirt and a hamburger phone (just like in Juno)


The picture Devin painted for Dan - Phantom of the Opera


We went to the Hendrickson's house for dinner. It was delicious! We stayed and watched Horton Hears a Who after we had coffee and dessert.

LOOPER!!


Kari and Noah playing air hockey (not sure why Kari still had her hood up, though. Must be part of her game strategy)


The "kiddos" table


The turkey was delicious


The tryptophan kicked in


Getting ready to watch Horton Hears a Who in the media room


When we got home, we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus and had some cake. A perfect ending to a great day!

Blowing out the candles on Jesus' birthday cake

Not Me Monday 13th Edition

I did not think about doing my post last night just after midnight, but played with my daughter's Webkinz instead.

I did not then forget to totally post this morning.

I did not get mad at my husband more than once this week and even go to bed mad at him at least once...or twice.

I did not let my children eat a double size box of Reese's Puff's cereal over the course of a few days because they were eating it for breakfast, snack and even once for dinner.

I did not spend all day Friday on the couch due to a stomach virus, allowing my children to totally trash my house.

I did not not do Christmas cards this year.

I did not buy my ILs an anniversary card and then totally forget to send it!

I did not arrive a half hour late to church since I know I have to be there early since I am the nursery coordinator. All of my volunteers did not arrive before me, either =)

I did not eat the only truffle I knew my husband would like out of the box we got from friends as a gift, knowing that now I could eat any and all of them since he does not like any of the other kinds in the box!

I did not silently wish today that Christmas was already over so I wouldn't have to go out again tonight to try and finish the shopping and start wrapping today.

I did not call my daughter's boyfriend numerous times for gift ideas when none of the ideas my husband and I have seem to be working out right now?! Why are teenagers so hard to buy for??

I did not find poop all over the back of my son's t-shirt because it was too long and seemed to get in the way when he was trying to wipe making his t-shirt what was wiped against his bottom instead of the toilet paper he was using! Some of it was not dried and possibly from earlier or dare I say...yesterday?! Because that would mean that he wore his shirt two days in a row and that never happens. Plus, that would mean that I did not notice the poop on his shirt yesterday and that is just ewww!

I did not gag a little writing that last paragraph.

I did not have to take the max dose of diarrhea medicine for a 24 hour period and still have stomach issues.

I did not make my daughter wear a Christmas sweater she did not like just because my mother bought it for her and I did not want to hurt my mother's feelings and I wanted to be able to say she wore it so she won't have to wear it again.

I did not wait until today to start cleaning in preparation for our Christmas Eve Open House.

Go check out the blog that puts the Not Me in Mondays!

Not Me Monday 12th Edition

I did not pee my pants the other day while rushing to get to the bathroom (I totally waited wwaayy to long to go and almost made it!) I wish I had laughed so hard I peed my pants, but it is just the result of birthing three kiddos!

I did not spend way too much time playing games on Webkinz.com today on my 6 year old's daughter's account

I did not guilt my husband into taking me and the kiddos to Fractured Prune for donuts this morning

I did not pretend to be asleep on the couch this afternoon so my husband would make the kiddos lunch

I did not stay up way too late last night watching the cheesiest Christmas movie on the Hallmark Channel (I did not do the same thing on Saturday night)

I did not quietly do a happy dance when the 13 year old left last Friday to visit family in TX

I did not miss that same 13 year old on Saturday when it actually sunk it that he was really gone

I did not eat the entire box of Banana Nut Crunch cereal last week by myself, even eating it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late night snack one day

I did not get excited when I realized we had a gift card we could regift for Christmas

I did not totally forget about Not Me Monday again because I was not able to get on the computer to blog today until just now!

Check out what others in the blogosphere are not doing at the blog that started it all!

**Edited to Add: Oh and I did not get all crazy when I could not get McKMama's blog to load and email her and ask her about it and then twitter about it! That would be a little over the top, dontcha think?

Not Me Monday 11th Edition

I did not let my kiddos eat AirHeads candy before breakfast

I did not dust my bedroom for the first time in 6 months the other day

I did not let my 13 year old sleep until 2 PM on his day off just so I would only have to deal with his 'tude for a little bit that day

I did not silently thank the Lord that my kiddos were sick so I did not have to go to Bible study last week

I did not eat pretzels for dinner and top it off with a Nutty Bar for dessert

I did not block Disney channel from my 6 year old daughter because I was tired of her acting like a mini Hannah Montana costar

I did not fear for my life when I was in a public bathroom with a crazy looking woman who was singing to herself while she combed her hair with her fingers

I did not spend the majority of my morning watching Herbie, the Love Bug movie

I did not stand in line at AC Moore for a half hour to get 25% off my $10 purchase

I did not finally check my bedroom window to see if it was open after two weeks of freezing in there, wondering why it was so cold. (BTW - it was open)

Go on over to McKMama's blog and check out what others weren't doing this week.

Little Nuggets

Just a few things heard or going on at our house lately.....

Mondays are kinda of lazy days around here, recuperating from the weekend and all. So, I let the kiddos eat breakfast in the bedroom. As they were finishing, N had to go to the bathroom, but did not feel like walking the 10 feet. So, he peed in K's cereal bowl. He literally p*ssed in her Cheerios that morning.

Watching the Backyardigans and they are sining the song Racing Day. Austin just sang "It's not sausage casing day, It's racing day, It's racing day!" Seriously?? I am sorry, but that is just weird.

Today I was telling K she had already used up her computer time today - 1 hour. She has discovered Hannah Montanna's Room Redo on Disney.com and although, it allowed me to get some things done around the house today I do not feel like dealing with it for more than an hour a day. During our discussion of her computer time, K got a serious look on her face and said, "That is how long it takes to get a photo developed at Walgreen's. One hour. That is what the sign said." Random, table for one, please.

Okay, so these next two did not happen around our house, but are worth mentioning -

At court yesterday I was eavesdropping on a conversation that was taking place right beside me. A public defender was discussing a case with a parent and she told the mother that she was still responsible for her son and his actions until he was 18. The mother responded, "Well, I wish I would have known that 17 years ago. I would have kept my legs closed." Classy, no?

I went to the bathroom before the court proceedings started and there was a lady in there that looked like a drug addict. I know that may be, as my 17 year old would put it, profiling or stereotyping, but I am sure you know what I mean. She was standing at the sink, combing through her hair with her hands and was howling and making other random sounds like "Wa, Wa, Wa" and "Bow, Wow, Whoa, Whoa" only stopping her noises to clear her throat and spit mucus into the sink.

Lastly, if you are standing in front of somone seated on a bench and you pass gas, please, at least say excuse me. Especially, if it is foul. It is just not cool to not say excuse me. Totally not cool.

Not Me Monday 10th Edition

I did not totally forget about Not Me Monday.

I did not eat a pumpkin roll in 12 hours - my children and I did not eat pumpkin roll for dessert on Thursday, breakfast on Friday, snack on Friday and breakfast on Saturday.

I did not squirt whipped cream into my mouth directly from the bottle. I did not let my children do it, either.

I did not dip my pretzels in chocolate icing.

I did not have a bizarre dream about a friend and proceed to laugh every time I saw them Sunday and thought of the dream, but not tell them why I was giggling.

I did not panic when my 4 year old twisted a string from his blankie around his finger, causing it to turn purple and start to lose circulation.

I did not tell him to suck it up when I had to cut his beloved blankie to get his finger out of it. I did not also say, "It was cut the blankie and deal with it or lose the finger, son!"

I did not let my kiddos stay up late and sleep in every day last week during their break, setting a bad precedent and having to deal with wailing and gnashing of teeth at bedtime tonight.

Check out McKMama's blog where it all started. What didn't you do??

Pictureless

Well, Thanksgiving and Decorating the Tree Day have passed and I did not manage to get any pictures. Actually, I have a picture of the cake I made for Thanksgiving dessert on my cell phone and I took a picture of the finished tree with my Dad's camera, but that is it.

Once I figure out how to get the picture off of my cell phone and off my Dad's camera I will post them. And maybe even write about Thanksgiving and tree decorating. Or maybe I will just post pictures.

Not Me Monday 9th Edition

So, to join the fun head over to McKMama's and read other posts and link your own. And check out her new header and the cute pics of her kiddos.

I did not pile up my son's peed on clothes for two days instead of washing them

I did not let my husband wash his work clothes this week....twice.

I did not tackle my daughter and have to hold her down to remove her loose tooth that was hanging by a thread. She did not scream like she was being attacked by wild animals, causing my friends to think I was abusing my daughter.

I did not sleep in until 10 AM today making my children snuggle in bed with me, so I could sleep in and hoping they would since we stayed at friends' house until 10:30 PM last night

I did not just write the lamest Not Me post ever.

Nope, not me!

First Snow, Sort Of - November 2008

Yesterday we had some snow flurries. When the flakes were really big and swirling around really fast Kari and Noah went outside for a bit. Here are some pictures.....



Standing still, letting the snow blow by


Noah trying to get snowflakes on his tongue


Kari wanted her snow boots on, but the snow wasn't even really laying on the ground


Dancing in her new hat and gloves and yes, her pajamas

Sad Day

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to our hermit crab, Reggie. Kari and Noah were both upset, but in their parting words to him it was apparent that Noah was more affected by this loss. Kari asked God to help him in heaven and let him believe in God. Noah said, "Thank You, God that he was a fun pet. That he very good manners and that he was a good pet for today."

Bless his little heart.

While we were getting shoes and such on to go outside for the burial, I asked Noah where his slippers were, thinking they would be faster to put on than his tennis shoes. "My slippers!", he exclaimed, "You are not putting him in THERE! He's dead, Momma!"

I think Reggie may have enjoyed his final resting place being some Lightening McQueen slippers. Now if they were Cody's slippers that may have been a different story. Boy has some stinky feet!

I guess this post indicates how attached I was to the hermit crab. I will not be ending my dinner prayers with "and God bless Reggie" like my sister used to for her hermit crab, Bessie.

My Hero, Zero

Today we were going home from Bible study and Noah asked, "Momma, what is the difference between a zero and an "oh"?" I answered, "Well, a zero is a number and an "oh" is a letter." To which he replied, "No, Momma a zero is a stretched out "oh".

Our conversation got me thinking.....

Do you ever feel like a stretched out "oh", like a zero when it comes to your life? Do you feel like on a scale of one to ten in motherhood or being a wife, friend, sister or daughter that you are at zero? Does it seems like you have nothing left to give in all the areas of life that encompass who you are, that you are running on empty or your energy tank is on zero?

I know I feel that way sometimes. I know I have felt that way a lot lately.

It seems to me that when I have too many arrows aimed at the target, none of them hit the mark. Zero bull's eyes. When I am juggling too many things at once, I end up holding zero at the end of the week.

What I am missing is balance. I begin to stretch myself out and try to cover all the areas of my life all at once or in the same way and I end up coming up short, or being too stretched out to do anything well.

I think recognizing this is the first step. Half of the battle is won when we tell ourselves that what we are doing is not working. When we face the reality that things have to change.

Prioritizing is the next step. What is really important for right now? For today? It is wise to have plans for the future but we are not guaranteed a certain time here on earth. But, when we wake up we have that day stretched before us and have to decide how to spend it, who to impact, what to change.

Then we need to delegate. Even though we think we have superhuman powers at times, and although God does sometimes grant us extra amounts of strength in times of stress or when we are in need of it, many of us only have the ability to accomplishment what is within our gifting or ability. There are others that God has brought into our lives to come along side of us - a spouse, a friend, a family member - to help us complete our daily tasks. Many times we rob ourselves and others of the joys and blessings of helping. We live under the false premise that we can do it better ourselves, or faster alone. That is not always true. And even if it is, we are to teach our children to do many of the things we continue to do out of habit or stubbornness. We are to allow others to help us, to bear our burdens, to further the work, our destiny.

So that is what I am doing today, recognizing that I am at zero capability right now, zero productivity, zero impact-ability. Then I am going to prioritize what is important for today and tomorrow and when I am given another day to breathe and move, I am going to do it with purpose. And I am going to do it with the hands of my children and the arms of my spouse and the encouragement of my friends and family around me.

A Bloggy Good Giveaway!

This lovely blog design site is having a giveaway! They are giving away a holiday design and a year of blog designs that is retailed at $400! Isn't that awesome?

Well, it is for me because I have no idea how to design anything for my blog! I am going back to ruby and roja and letting them know that I am spreading the word about their giveaway.

Let the holidays begin =)

Not Me Monday 8th Edition

Head over to McKMama's for a great entry with pictures. She started all of this, BTW!

I did not not go and fix my kiddos' CD player that kept skipping because I was reading Not Me Monday posts

I did not read 20 or so blogs in hopes of getting some more people to come and read mine

I did not get in line at Target to pay for my kiddos' PJs only to realize that I had forgotten to get the birthday gift I made the trip for, to get out of line after getting the gift only to realize that I did not get a gift bag or card! I did not buy myself some Raisinettes to make myself feel better

I did not bribe my children with breakfast at IHOP so that they would not freak out about getting their flu shots

I did not spend too much time on the computer making it too late to fix a proper dinner and feed my kiddos cereal

I did not wear the same shirt twice this week only to remember that most of the people that saw me wear the shirt the second day also same me wear it the second day

I did not wear a baseball cap more times this week than I washed my hair hence the need to not wear the baseball cap

I did not split a Nutty Bar with my daughter and my son telling them they only needed a half of a pack when I had a whole pack between splitting the packs between them

I did not finish the ice cream in the freezer and then act surprised when my daughter said the ice cream was all gone

I did not tell my son all I wanted to do was snuggle with him when actually I knew he would fall asleep if he climbed in bed with me and I would get a nap

I did not wear snowman socks with my dress pants and fancy outfit last night to our church's leadership banquet

And I did not let my husband sleep in the armchair this week because he yells at me when I wake him up. I totally woke him up and made him come to bed so he did not complain about his neck hurting the next day

Not Me Monday 7th Edition

Not Me Monday posts are inspired by McKMama - momma to four of the cutest kiddos on the blogosphere, including McKMiracle, Stellan.

I did not eat two donuts for breakfast and a handful of Doritos for lunch.

I did not let the kiddos finish the bag of Doritos while I was writing this post instead of making dinner.

I did not spend most of my day on the couch, nursing a swollen hand and hearty migraine.

I did not text my daughter's boyfriend for a good portion of the time I was at a sleepover on Friday.

I did not fall asleep at the sleepover while I was suppose to be pretending to be asleep so the older kiddos would fall asleep so I could go upstairs and chat with my girlfriends.

I did not spend two hours cleaning and purging the kiddos' bedroom to still have a good 2+ hours more of cleaning to do in there.

I did not make my husband feel guilty about being on the PC instead of spending time with me before he went on a retreat this weekend and then proceed to fall asleep instead of spend "quality" time with him.

I did not wear my slippers to the grocery store....twice.

I did not let my friend's 7 month old grab a pizza crust and start chomping on it when I was suppose to be watching him and wasn't.

I did not sleep in my t-shirt and jeans on Thursday night because I fell asleep when I was only suppose to lay down with the kiddos until they fell asleep so I could do some cleaning and such without them whining.

I did not eat a large size waffle fries from Chick-Fil-A by myself while I was waiting for a friend at the mall.

What didn't you do??

Not Me Monday 6th Edition

If you haven't gone over to McKMama's blog and read about her miracle baby or the post that started it all, then head over there after you read my blog (and leave me a comment =)

I did not eat several mini candy bars from my kiddos' Halloween stash as soon as we were done trick or treating

I did not let my mom empty, refill and run my dishwasher several times this week

I did not make my husband go to Wal-Mart at 11 PM to get me tortilla chips so I could have nachos at midnight

I did not let my kiddos sleep in their costumes on Friday night

I did not silently rejoice when my friend told me she got fired - I watch her girls on Mondays and I did not want to be able to sleep in on Mondays again

I did not make my husband clean out the chair that my son threw up in at 3 AM on Friday

I did not make my husband sleep on the couch so my sick son and lonely daughter could sleep in our king size bed with me

I did not give my son a large bowl to vomit in during the early morning hours, so I would not have to rush him back and forth to the bathroom while he vomited every hour on the hour

I did not forget (again) to return our library DVDs on time, resulting in several dollars worth of late fees

I did not let my daughter play outside in her Easter dress, complete with purse and hat and my son play outside in his Halloween costume and bare feet on Saturday (it was 70 degrees, BTW)

I did not my husband when he said his fantasy football team was going to beat mine this week

I did not eat my son's soft pretzel even after I had already eaten nachos for lunch

I did not pray bedtime prayers at my kiddos' bedroom door because there was not room for me to walk across their floor due to the toys and books and clothes and just stuff strewn all over their room. At least I think there is a room in there....somewhere.

What didn't you do??

Halloween 2008

So Halloween started pretty early for us...3:30 AM to be exact and it began with Noah having the stomach flu. It has been traveling around our church and finally reached us, well, Noah. He was up from 3:30 - 5 AM so sick and then when he finally fell asleep, he was up every hour getting sick. He finally ate a popsicle at 5 PM and kept it down, so we let him do a bit of trick or treating, but opted out of the CEC visit we were going to make with friends. By the second block he was sitting in the stroller, forgo-ing candy for comfort. He had one lollipop when we got home and was asleep within minutes. Kari was feeling well enough to eat several pieces of candy only to be awake at 5 AM throwing up right next to the trash can in the bathroom. She has not gotten sick since then, so not sure if her vomiting was from the stomach bug or her candy comsumption. My bet's on the latter.

Anyway, here are a few photos from the evening....

The kiddos opted to paint pumkpkins this year. Kari and Noah each decorated their own - Noah's pumpkin was a Daddy Pumpkin with mustache and gotee - while Rick painted Bob and I painted Larry.


Arrgh! Our little pirates!


One of the annual houses we visit. Aunt Loretta's house!


Seems like the stomach bug may have skipped Rick and me, but we'll see. I am making sure I get in as much chocolate as I can before I end up being sick =)

Not Me Monday 5th Edition

It all started over at McKMama's. After you read mine, head over and read hers and others that link on her site...

I did not totally forget about Not Me Monday and almost not post anything today.

I did not spend money on ice cream cones for the kiddos even though we already had ice cream in the freezer at home.

I did not skip dinner last night to be able to have two slices of cinnamon cake instead.

I did not give my kiddos dirty socks to wear yesterday because I did not want to go downstairs and sort through the clean clothes baskets to find socks.

I did not drink Diet Coke with breakfast....twice.

I did not sleep on my bed without sheets this week because I did not want to go downstairs and sort through the clean clothes baskets to find clean sheets.

I do not have a problem with taking the baskets full of clean clothes upstairs after I take them out of the dryer.

I did not have to move several baskets full of clean clothes from in front of the freezer to check and see what we had in there several times this week.

I did not take a piece of gum from my 13 year old son's pack without telling him and justify it because of all the times he takes gum out of my purse without asking.

I did not make the same son eat dinner by himself on Saturday because I was tired of looking at him and listening to his grumpiness.

I did not take a nap today even though my husband let me me sleep in an extra 2 hours.

And I did not let me 4 year old son tell people at church that the cuts on his forehead were from a knife fight with his 6 year old sister. He insists it was a pink knife.

What didn't you do??

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip October 2008

Yesterday we went to the pumpkin patch with some of the other families at church. Grammie was our tour guide. We got to learn about some of the things they grow on the farm including sweet potatoes and cotton, see a variety of animals including a goat and cow that had to go to the bathroom right in front of us, take a hayride and pick our own pumpkins. At the end of the tour, we got an apple! Funny story - Noah was climbing on one of the fences and Grammie took him down and swatted his bottom. Brian, who didn't know Grammie was, well....Grammie said to Rick, "Man, who does that lady think she is swatting Noah's butt. I am keeping Leland away from her!"

Learning about different pumpkins and gourds




Brian and Leland


Pumpkins painted as Little Einsteins, Pooh Bear and Friends, and Wubbzy and Friends


Pumpkins painted like Batman and the Joker, The Jonas Brothers and Hannah Montana, Handy Manny and his Tools




Checking out the animals










The hayride


Cool shades, Leland


The pumpkin patch




Love the socks on the pumpkins!