Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star...

Casey is such a happy boy! He goes around singing to himself as he plays. Twinkle, twinkle, little star is his favorite, but he also does most of the Wheels on the bus and trys for Happy Birthday! Most of the time that one just comes out Happy Day!

Having three children makes me forget sometimes. Their cute little voices all run together in my head. So I got the idea that I should remember Casey liking to sing that song and I thought, Okay I'll take a little clip with my camera and see what happens. I mean I knew I could take video clips with my camera, but always wondered what would you do with that??! Here's my first attempt. It seems to be moving around a lot, but I'll get better. I have such a poor memory at times, this should serve to jog it.
Maybe next we can get Emily singing Hannah Montana!

Casey's Birthday Party ***EDITED***

**I added this sign that Carter made for Casey because he did such a good job all by himself!**













We had a 2 year old birthday party for Casey, Sunday at the Library. They have a nice big room available for meetings, etc. It has a huge projection screen, open space, etc. So, we brought the Wii and our bean bag game; I bought punchy balloons and parachute men and we headed out. We got there early to set up. The kids hung the posters they and their cousins had made for the big event, I worked on the food and bean bag game, while Al set up the Wii. As he is unpacking the game, he says, "oh here is a present for Casey" and he hands it to him. Of course Casey opens it and then insists on wearing it!!! Of course Casey wore his new Thomas the train pjs from us the whole party and two days later he still has them on!!!! Emily made the sign pictured. You can click on it to make it bigger and read it. I thought it was so sweet! We had an Elmo cake because it was easy for me to create and because Casey begs for Elmo every time we turn around. He got an Elmo DVD for Christmas and he wants to watch it all the time. I finally bought another one so I could quit watching the same DVD over and over. He still asks for the first one 9 times out of 10! Oh well...Everyone had a great time, especially Casey. His actual "Happy Day" is Thursday. I can't believe he is 2 already! It seems like last week when we were being told "We've got boy parts!" when we were expecting girl parts!!

We love you just the way you are Chubber Bubs and we are so blessed to have you! Happy Day!

Life

The other morning I was heading to work and noticed my squirrel feeder in my haste to get to the van and get to work and I just had to turn back and take a picture! I love this squirrel feeder that Al made for me! Sometimes the squirrels even fall asleep after they fill their tummies and the sun beats down on the glass.

That's just life in my little yard in this small town.

What is in a Name?

My daughter Emily is 8 and she has a set of those five quintuplet dolls called the "Fivesies." They are like Barbies, only smaller. They came out about 4 years ago and you could buy sets to go with them like 5 high chairs, 5 rocking horses, a house with 5 rooms, etc. Em's aunt Amy started her on these and Emily began to expect something every Christmas from her.
That said, Emily names her dolls. These particular names are very orginal.
Pinky, Bluey, Greeny,
Yellowy, Purpley
The names coincide with the color of outfits they are wearing.
Obviously....
A couple of years back Emily wanted a baby kitten so badly. We had 2 cats already, but they are old and fat and she wanted a kitten. My aunt happened to find one abandoned in a gas station parking lot and asked if we would like to have it. I thought, what a perfect way to get Emily a kitten. For free!
She named him....
Blacky
Yes, he is, you guessed it, all Black.
Al and I were talking about how she names dolls, pets, etc. and how we named pets as a child.
Yep. I had a dog named Montana. We got her in, you guessed it, Montana.
At least we can say she comes by it honestly. And I am glad I outgrew that phase when my children came around. I think
Emily, Carter and Casey
are pretty great names!
Maybe it was Al's influence??

Did you Know??

1. I want a tatoo?
2. I went to school in Idaho for a semester?
3. I am an only child?
4. I hated camping as a child and now I love it!
5. I have a minor in French and want to visit France someday.
6. I love dark chocolate, no other chocolate will do when you've got a craving!
7. I love to write and would love to write a novel one day.
8. I never realized I wanted to be a librarian and now can't imagine anything else!
9. I have been a "crew leader" at Hardees and a telemarketer before.
10. I am blonde and Beth has reminded me that it is easy to be blonde when it gets you out of stuff.
11. I am a closet Jimmy Buffet fan.
12. I own Madonna's Immaculate Collection, shhh don't tell.
13. I was an editor of a creative writing magazine in college.
14. I love to roller skate ( I even owned my own pair when I was little)
15. I met my husband in a bar!!!

Volcano

We had another cancelled school day Monday, February 18th!!! the kids were really getting antsy although they would never admit it! Consequently, Emily and I decided we should do some "concoctions" with our free day.





Concoction #1 - The Volcano - Using 2 Sponge Bob paper cups, 1/4 cup baking soda, 1/4 cup vinegar and some red food coloring we created our very own Volcano! It even blew the top off! We tried it several times in a row, so it must have been a hit!



Concoction #2 - Blue Silly Putty - Using 1/4 cup glue, blue food coloring and 1/4 cup liquid starch we concocted Blue Silly Putty. The big draw back here was the blue turned our hands blue!



Casey's Concoction - As we needed to keep Casey out of what we were doing, I gave Casey, flour, water, spoons and measuring cup to "concoct" his own creation!



Our fun concoctions made the day go better and more fun! We even made it upstairs and cleaned out Emily's closet a little bit! We can see floor in her room!! Amazing! Little by little we will get there....

Whim

Al went to pick up our new camper Saturday a.m. early!!! Yay!! I can't wait to camp; I wish this 15 below would stop already!! Anyway, he convinced our neighbor to ride along with him so he didn't have to go by himself and I didn't have to go with him!! Yay again!!! I was not looking forward to taking 3 children 2 hours in the truck (close quarters) and stopping for 1/2 hour then riding 2 hours again!! Especially when we had talked about Grandma's house all week!!!

Here are a couple of pics of the inside!



We even get a toilet!

Since my neighbor was keeping Al company on the drive, his wife, Janet, who I believe was joking at the time, says to me, "So Stacey, what should we paint in your house while the guys are gone?" Little did she know that I had been thinking about this for a year or more and that I make decisions better under pressure! Needless to say...I went uptown to the lumber yard with 30 minutes to spare and bought paint!!! I was only going to start with one wall....You know how things go, you've got great help and things are going well, you are excited, etc. I actually called the guy at the lumber yard and asked him to go back up and make me another gallon later that day and we painted the entire living room/dining room! We painted a while in the afternoon, then stopped and went to my parents for supper and a slide show of baby Stacey (fun, fun, thanks mom and dad!) and then came home and painted from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m.Wow!!! When I finally got up around 9 a.m. Al and I looked at it and talked some more and then decided to change 1 wall's color so Janet came back over and we painted more and then rearranged the whole room!!



Boy what a difference a little paint and changing things up can do!! (Since we changed, I actually ran out of paint again and so behind the computer desk still needs painting, but the rest of the room is awesome!) My house had been the same color, Angel Hair (fancy name for off-white), the whole time we had lived here, about 10 years!! It deserved a change. And I LOVE it!!
So, that's what a great neighbor and a whim can do for you!! Thanks Janet!!

Magic Words

Trying to teach manners is an ongoing task. I remind all of my children to say please and thank you when someone does something nice for them. I use the phrase magic words to remind Casey to say please and thank you. And every time I get something for him, like a drinkable yogurt or cookie, I say, "Thank you, Mommy," trying to remind him of those magic words. Lately, I've noticed when I hand him something he's been asking for, he will say "'Welcome," as he is walking away. I think it's sooo cute!!! We may not have the please and thank yous down, but we at least realize we say something back when someone does something for us!! Because it is just a little backwards, it is extra cute and memorable.

'Welcome Casey!

Me

When I was little my mom always took "slides" instead of pictures...so I don't have lots of pics of me as a little girl/baby. Yet. It is my goal to learn how to scan slides and then do something with some of those pictures of my life when I was little. Anyway, this is a slide my mom brought to show me with a little viewer thing when I had my first baby. She thought Emily looked a lot like me as a baby. And she does now, too. This is a scanned slide. My mother-in-law scanned it for me and yesterday I made a little "scrapbook page" out of it. (Take heart Beth.... I am trying.)
Anyways, I just thought it would be interesting after seeing my kids little pictures again to see one of me....

Be My Valentine

Ten Things I Love About My Husband of 11 Years!

1. I love that he can always make me laugh, no matter the circumstances.
2. I love that he is very hard working and supports our family.
3. I love to watch him play with our children and see how much he loves them and they him.
4. I love that he tries to please me.
5. I love that he balances me.
6. I love his smile.
7. I love the way his nose "flutters" when he is trying to hold back a laugh.
8. I love that he supports my working part time to spend more time with our children.
9. I love the way he teases me because I know it means he loves me.
10. I love that he hugs me every day and tells me he loves me!!!

Emily??

I made Al guess on that last post with Casey and Carter....Yep! He guessed wrong!! Of course I knew....because I had the actuals photos with the dates!!! Anyway, I knew I had a Tigger outfit that I had loved for Emily so it also went through Carter and Casey. And I knew I had taken pictures of all three of my children in it. So, I thought it would be fun to see if anyone could figure out , "Where's Emily?" (Please comment your guesses, I'll try and come up with a prize...)

Hungry??

There was this one Sunday that Carter had a birthday party and I had to work. Al, Emily, and Casey decided to go shopping, so when Carter's party was over he got dropped off at the library. He was so good, playing computer games, puppets and watching me work. His favorite thing was to sit by me and "watch me work". I was working on an article for the newspaper and had an idea how to start it. So I got the dictionary out to check the meaning of a word. Yes, I am old fashioned and actually like to touch a dictionary and use it! Anyway, as he saw me looking he said, "Mommy, how come that book has all of those bite marks in it??"

Which Boy?

As I was looking back over my Christmas pictures, I ran across one of Casey playing in the Santa hat and realized that I had that same picture, only with Carter instead of Casey, playing in the Santa hat. So, I went digging through my old picture disks until I found it. I did have to wait in between there to get my computer back because I wasn't as diligent as I thought with saving pictures!! Thank God I have everything now!! Their ages are a little different, Carter's pic was taken in December of 2002 and he was born in March 2002. Casey's is this December 2007 and he was born in February 2006. I couldn't believe they even had the same shirt on! Now you can see they are brothers... Do you know which is which?

Carter's First Lost Tooth

Let's hear it for Carter! He has officially lost his first tooth! I thought he'd never lose it; he wouldn't barely touch it let alone wiggle it. In the middle of the night on Saturday, Carter became feverish and came down with this creepin' crud that's been going around our house and he was yelling at me to get him a drink and lay by him. Anyway, when I got back from getting his drink, Emily had woke up and was saying Carter lost his tooth!!! That little stinker! 3 a.m. and he is wiggling his loose tooth!!! Poor guy is sick though and it's the middle of the night so we waited and showed Daddy the tooth in the bright a.m. and left it under our pillow on Sunday. Hopefully, he's better when he wakes up! I know that is wishful thinking, but a mother's gotta hope!

Night Ski

Last Friday, February 1st, Heery Woods State Park held its annual Night Ski. They had cross country skis available for use, groomed trails that were lit by candles/lanterns, and a lodge complete with a roaring fire, marshamallows and hobo stew. Cost was canned goods for the food pantry and the stew!

I actually own cross country skis...but mind you, I haven't skied in 15 years! The last time I skied was with a good friend from high school who had actually talked me into buying these skis! My biggest memory is of falling and then of laughing. I was a little worried about skiing myself, especially taking 2 kids who had never skied before, but I thought I'd give it a go.

At first, we convinced Carter to stay home because I wasn't sure I could handle it. After we got there and started going I rethought my decision to leave him home. Emily just took to skiing! She was awesome! She hardly fell and I hardly kept up!!! So I thought, "Oh Carter can handle this...What was I worried about?" I pulled my cell phone out and called Al to bring him out.

Let me tell you Carter didn't take to it quite like Emily. He was forever tangling his skis and I was trying to hold him up so he could uncross them. Poor Emily would get ahead and have to wait! Around the last loop, Carter gave up and took his skis off and walked back!

When we got to the lodge, he had a cookie and sat by the fire and fell asleep! I had stew and Ems roasted marshmallows and then we headed home.

This was the only picture I had time to snap but I am glad I got to document the event!

Ems and I will have to try it again sometime!

Can't Wait Until Summer!!!!

Guess What???!!! Al found the camper of our dreams!! It is in pristine condition and it is now ours!!! This is the picture from the ad...We drove to Des Moines last weekend to check it out in person and make an offer (which at first was refused)...It took some haggling, but we now have a camper with air and heat and toilet and an outside shower and and and!!!! It is what you would call a hybrid in that is is hard sided but the ends fold out for the beds somewhat like a pop up. That way I can have the best of both worlds!! I get to have screens all around the bed like a pop up or tent and breathe fresh air like camping is supposed to be (my opionion.). But if it is unbearably hot or raining, we have air conditioning and space to play cards and drink margaritas!!! Yee haw! I absolutely can't wait until summer!!!! I've already asked Al if we could see how well the heater works and we don't even have it home yet???

One More Thing...

I forgot to mention that I never thought I'd ever see the day that a child actually complained about a late start day... There is a first for everything I guess...



Carter had a fit this morning about the late start!!! Carter of all my children, Carter!!!!



Recently in his kindergarten class they have set up a post office and they are practicing buying stamps and mailing their Valentine's to each other. Last night we had worked hard on finishing some Valentine's for him to take and "mail." He thought by missing the first 2 hours of the day that he wouldn't get to do this and he was really upset about it!! Carter is such a hands on learner and this project is right up his alley. I tried to tell him he would get to do the post office later in the day, but he continued to pout!






He was pleasantly surprised this afternoon as he did get to play post office after all and was pumped to make more Valentine's tonight for tomorrow...

LATE START

I have to admit I am a bit tired of winter, snow, ice, etc!! This has been an extremely looonnngg winter!

However....Late Start Days I LOVE!!! Today school was delayed 2 hours!! This is the absolute best!!! The kids (and I) get to sleep in and wake up on our own...We have time to play Wii, watch TV, work on Valentines, read a book, whatever we want! And, we have a real breakfast as I have time to fix something!

The real kicker is I am NEVER late to school on late start days...

I LOVE LATE START DAYS!!!

What Couldn't You Live Without?

I was thinking today about all of the inventions that we have and depend upon. You know, like cell phones, PDAs, GPS units, computers, the internet, VCRs, DVD players, microwaves, TVs...These are the first that come to mind anyway. So I was wondering what I could live without and what I couldn't live without.

The fact that I have been without my computer for the last 4 days has something to do with my train of thought. I was down to 2 percent hard drive space and nothing was working right. So, I talked to a friend of mine who knows a lot about computers and he suggested that he could help me out if I would bring him my computer. There have been weeks when I have done nothing with my computer other than watch the slideshow screen saver, but the fact that it is gone out of my house is making me crazy! It's the fact that I CAN'T work on it, not that I NEED to work on it. I obviously have access to a computer or I wouldn't be typing this. But it's not my computer!!! Childish I know, but I can't help it. I guess I am attached to my computer. But the question is could I live without it? I think so. Well, probably, I mean without it I wouldn't be able to do stuff with my digital pictures or e-mail or blog!!!!

TV I am sure I could live without except for those times when the kids NEED to wind down and it is sooo easy to watch a video. My mom used to tell me I had it too easy because of portable DVD players and long car trips. I am here to say that if they were available when I was a child my mom would have bought one!!!

The one invention I really like though is a microwave. This seems silly because everything you do in a microwave you can do with a stove, but it's soo much easier. Especially with kids and quick easy foods and warming up leftovers. A microwave really makes my day to day life easier. I am sure I could live without it as with any invention really, but I wouldn't want to.

What couldn't you live without?