Not in Order...

Since I am still not organized from Christmas, I am not posting in chronological order. Besides, you know how they say if you ever want to start scrapbooking you should start current and then when you get that finished, you should work your way backwards so that you don't get overwhelmed. Well, that's what I am doing now. Trying to avoid being overwhelmed.

This was breakfast yesterday:

Strawberries and Apples dipped in melted chocolate

Carter being the boy that he is and so very different from Emily "created art" on his piece of chocolate and insisted that I take a picture of each side because there was something different on all six sides.

We had fun and as an added bonus, I've never seen Emily and Carter eat so much fruit at one time!!! It's still good for you even if it is covered in chocolate, right??

Casey was asleep still for most of this, but when he finally woke up, he decided he didn't want anything right away. Then, he wanted to dig into the Christmas candy...go figure! There's no fruit in that...where's my rationale for that breakfast?

A quick funny story

So I don't forget...

The other night we were goofing around before bedtime as we often do and playing pig pile on whomever, usually daddy because he can take it. Anyway, I had told the kids not to jump on me. It hurts Moma ,I said. They were all goofing around and being silly and I went into the bedroom with Emily for a little quiet to be able to read with her for her homework. Al tells me later, that as he and Carter are in the bathroom brushing their teeth, Casey comes in and whispers to Carter, "I have a secret. Come here." Then, when Carter gets closer, he says, "Go jump on Moma!"

Al has dubbed him our "ringleader":)

Since I haven't posted in a while...

We've had a snow day already this year and this is what we did...Al had hurt his shoulder at work, so I was designated snowball lifter! Wowie!! These were the biggest snowmen we've ever made and it took everything I had to lift them up!! We took Em's picture this way because she wanted to be sure and point out that she made a "baby" snowman and attached it to her "Moma" snowman near the middle here.


Carter's snowman is even taller than he is! Whew!! (Too bad, that it was so warm that day and after we made them, they started to melt. Then it got really cold, so now we have some kinda sad looking snowmen in our yard. Oh well. It was fun times spent with my kids in the snow!) When we brought our tree in the house, Al needed to cut off a few branches from the bottom to fit it in our house and stand. This is where the kids put "baby" tree. I just thought it was too cute!

Yesterday, we got about 12 inches of snow!!! Needless to say, Christmas vacation started a day early and we didn't go anywhere all day. When Al got home from plowing snow for 12 hours in nearby town, he brought the skid loader into town and piled a mountain of snow in our yard almost as tall as our house!!! The kids will be the envy of everyone near and far, I'm sure!

All I Want For Christmas...

All I want for Christmas is a few crafty kits...
I want lotsa toys! Hey and check out my belly button, Santa!
I'm serious here, all I want is a remote controlled train...


Conversation with Carter about Santa:

Carter: Mom, why does Santa have a strap on his beard?
Me: Well, Carter, he really isn't Santa, he's Santa's helper because Santa is sooo busy right now he doesn't have time to visit everywhere. So his helper is "helping" but yet needs to look like Santa.
Carter: Mom, where are Santa's boots? He's wearing tennis shoes.
Me: Well, Carter, maybe they were wet, and he's drying them out.
Carter: Or maybe they're over there! (pointing to a wonderful display in this library where Santa is stuck upside down in a chimney made of red books!)
Carter: Mom, can we stay and watch Santa leave? I wonder how he leaves.
Me: I don't think he brought the reindeer this time, Carter.
Carter: Not the reindeer mom, but the sleigh!

What I found

Al's so funny. Always making me laugh. I really love that about him. He took 80 some pictures with my camera of us getting the tree and setting it up, etc. And this is what else I found!
So, even though he is getting up at 2 a.m. and going to work plowing snow before he picks up garbage to get home at 4-5 p.m. and then plow snow at home and go to bed again, I still get a smile and a laugh! Love you dear!

O Christmas Tree, How Lovely Are Your Branches

We are on a hunt for the best Christmas tree ever! It is awfully cold though, so we are trying to hurry and Casey is just trying to keep up. I remember one year when it was warm and we wore light jackets to pick out our tree. Not so this year!
We found a beautiful white pine, long, soft needles that smell so good in the house. Full branches just waiting to be hung with ornaments.
The guys at the tree place we go to, (we've visited the same family owned place for, oh probably, 10 years) decided it would be fun to build a snowman. He was great! Big and huggable!
Our own little tree came complete with some of its own decorations! We've never had a tree like that before! How cool is that?
I don't know what Casey and I are talking about...Al was snapping away and I thought this picture looked cute.


Casey hung most of his ornaments from the bubble lights.
Here's one of my pinecone ornaments that we left in the tree. I just think that is so cool!
Carter had his own special spot in the tree too....
And the favorite Christmas decoration is this nativity that my mom made for my grandma many many years ago. It is needle point and very special to me. Carter begged and begged until I let him and Emily play with it. One year, we had to hunt for baby Jesus because he is the favorite piece and tends to wander away from the nativity.

Please ignore the mess that is STILL there and need to find a home, but hey, at least the decorations fit around it and it feels more like Christmas now!

Old Fashioned Christmas

The vocal music teacher at our school is really great. She designs a kind of musical each year for the elementary Christmas concert with acting parts, costumes and of course, singing. Last year they wore pjs, hats, mittens, and scarves and acted out a snowball fight. This year the theme was an Old Fashioned Christmas and an older gentleman read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas while the kids sang and dressed in their Christmas best. I was glad we finally got another chance to wear our Christmas best before it doesn't fit anymore.

Emily looked so pretty and Carter was such a handsome boy.

And while Emily and Carter were singing their hearts out, Casey was doing this....
And this!!!

Snow

Whew!! All the corn is out and we can finally enjoy the snow for its beauty and fun!

November 25

So, I haven't posted in a while...

November 25 was my 28th (3?) birthday and Al and the kids surprised me with a kayak, paddles, life jacket and a waterproof bag so I can take my camera along on the water!!!!!! OOOHHH I absolutely cannot wait!! 50 is warm enough, right??

My life jacket is even purple! With butterflies!!!!



Here we all are posing and Al is taking our picture when this lady who is driving by stops and rolls down her window. She says, " What are you doing, getting ready for the next flood??"

Funny Things Kids Say

Do you know what this is??



Technically speaking, it is a shell from a dreaded walnut left on my steps by a hungry squirrel.

According to Casey, this is "wind poop." He says it everyday and avoids it like it really is poop!


Last night when we got home from school and errands, Emily said, she had told Casey that the wind was a monster and it had "pooped" on our step and he'd better hurry and get inside before something else happened!!

Motherhood

My husband who has to hear all of my worries and stresses everyday and live with me...sent me this poem and I cried...


Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom
I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.

Before I was a Mom
I slept as late as I wanted
And never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth every day.

Before I was a Mom
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys
or forgot the words to lullabies.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on
Pooped on
Spit on
Chewed on
Peed on
Or pinched by tiny fingers.

Before I was a Mom
I had complete control of my mind
My thoughts
My body
And I slept all night and got plenty of rest.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child
So that doctors could do tests or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
When I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew what love at first sight really meant.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
Every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth
The joy
The love
The heartache
The wonderment.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much
Before I was a Mom

Thanks Al!

Dumping on the go...

Proof that my husband really can multitask. Maybe, better than I can.....*smile*

She had a good idea and she went with it.

Emily invented "the All Purpose" tray and took it to Invention Convention today. The idea for the tray came from trying to help Casey do things the last 2 months. She had a good idea and Al and I helped her refine and build it. Then she had a display board and log book to do. Working right up until this morning before school, we finished just under the wire. This afternoon she had to present to judges and then talk about it to any and all students and parents that came in to see. It was a hit and now she is headed to Regionals in December with fingers crossed that she will go on to State Finals next March!

Congrats Ems! I am very proud of you for coming up with a winner of an idea and working hard on it to see it finished!!!

Who knows? Maybe she'll be an inventor some day...

About Makes Me Want to Cry

This little boy of mine about makes me want to cry! I am so proud of him! I stayed home from work with him last Wednesday and he started walking!! I would leave the room to go and get something, turn around and there he was!! It has only been two weeks yesterday since he got his cast off and he is already walking, and climbing on things and generally getting into stuff!! Knowing all that he has gone through, it's just awesome to see him being so resilient and getting everything back. He doesn't walk perfectly and his muscles are pretty tired by the end of the day, but I am sure it's soon to come. Along with running!!!

Now, if we could just convince him that the potty is a good thing....

P.S. I think about blogging all the time and really want to, but it's been really hard lately. Be patient with me and keep checking I am still here!!!

No Matter What

No Matter what is going on,
No Matter how sad I am,
No Matter how mad I am,
No Matter how worried I am,
No Matter how distracted I am,
No Matter What...

This guy of mine can always make me laugh. In this world of busyness and stress and worries, laughter is my best medicine.

Trick or Treat

Trick or Treat,
Smell my feet,
Give me something good to eat!
If you don't,
I don't care,
I'll pull down your underwear!!

Dinosaur Boy

Evil Villain Emily and (Emily's friend is Velma)

C-3Po Carter
and (our neighbor is Hannah Montanna)

Moma Dinosaur
and our other little neighbor is a Monkey

We all trick or treated Al's house (the combine)!
I bet not many kids can say that about Halloween!

Fun pictures with my Boys

Emily has dance class on Monday nights and sometimes, Carter and Casey come with me. This particular Monday, we stopped at a gas station for a snack and a drink and drove over to the dam in town to watch the water and take some pictures. The boys posed so nicely and we had an enjoyable time together while we killed some time waiting for Emily to finish up. I've had some really fun times with my boys while Emily is in her dance class. We have an hour to just play and be and have fun and no other responsibilities...






I was trying some new settings on my camera and new angles. I am having such fun with my camera. Especially when my subjects are having fun too!