This is why people hire professionals

Yesterday we had such nice weather, I decided to go outside with the kids and take pictures of them for our Christmas cards. I got them all ready, dressed in complementing navy outfits, hair gelled, styled and matching bows for the girls. They were fresh-faced and beautiful as we went out in the yard for some photo ops. What happened next reminded me why most people pay someone to do this for them. What a disaster. :)

Merry Grace, our sweet, lovely child was grumpy and crying from the get-go. No amount of soothing from me or her sibs did any good. Also, we began with a major compromise. If you'll notice, Ian is wearing his Spiderman slippers--actually, that was more of my compromise than Ian's. :)
The cheez-its you see to the right were part of the shameless bribery techniques I was using to get a nice shot of the kids. Obviously it didn't work. I can just see the Christmas card now, "Merry Christmas with love: Elise, Ian, Merry Grace, and the box of cheez-its that we were too lazy to take out of the picture." Oh well.
Just plain silliness. What can you do? What can you do?
Every time I told Ian not to be silly and let me get a nice shot, this is the look I got. Great. Just great.
Typical shot. Elise is being nice, good, obedient and sweet. Ian is being silly. Merry Grace is devastated.
Then Max joined the fun. MG looks horrified by the whole thing.
The one time I had everyone looking happy and sweet, the photographer ruined it. In my defense, I was jumping from behind the camera to say "Boo" and other silly things. It worked, in that all the kids were smiling and giggling. Unfortunately, I couldn't hold the camera still and make them laugh at the same time. Sigh. I need a tripod.
More attempts to soothe Merry Grace. Unsuccessful.
After a discouraging 30 minutes of trying everything to get a Christmas card picture, we packed everyone up and called it a day. Sometimes, you just have to admit defeat. :)

Standing up for What's Right

This year we've gotten into some of the elementary school drama that all little girls seem to go through. It began a month or so ago with one of Elise's friends who decided at recess to start a club. Elise was very excited at first because she had "never been in a club before and didn't know what it was like." But quickly it went sour because Morgan decided to "boss everybody around." I asked Elise what she did and she said, "Well, I quit the club. Morgan wasn't being nice, so I decided just to quit the club. I thought it would fun to be in a club, but I didn't want her to tell me what to do all the time." The next day she came home to tell us that she and another friend had started their own club where people could do whatever they wanted. They were having themes for different days. Their first day was going to be "Talk about your Family" day. Everyone in the club was going to get to tell all about their family. We were pretty impressed with how well she handled the situation. What makes it even more impressive is that there are all the usual threatenings of "you'd better do this or I'm not going to be your friend anymore" or "I'm not going to play with you unless..." or "You can't sit beside me if you don't..." or whatever. Those threats are a big deal to a little girl. Yesterday she came home upset because Morgan and another girl in the class (and Elise's closest school friend) decided to start a "Mean Club". Originally Morgan had started it and Elise and Ally had decided not to join it because "why would anyone want to be in a Mean Club anyway?" But yesterday, Ally joined the mean club and left Elise all alone. They tried to get Elise to join it, but she held firm. They had wanted her to tattle-tale on another boy in class, but Elise didn't want to do it--so she didn't. She was pretty hurt and upset that her friends left her and wanted her to be mean. But she held firm and did what she knew was right. Those situations are so tough for little ones and it means the world to me that she stood up for what was right. I told my sister-in-law about it last night and she said that making those tough choices didn't seem hard for Elise. Even though she was sad and hurt, she never really considered doing the wrong thing. I think that pretty much sums it up. What a good girl she is!!!!

The Life of a Mom

The other night Ian was sick. He'd been sick all day, throwing up at least 10 times since early morning. By this time, it was 7:30, and he seemed to be perking up a little. Instead of just laying around, as he'd been doing most of the day, he felt well enough to jump around the room a little bit. At that point it was a relief to realize he was feeling better and more like his old self. But within a short 10-minute period he had managed to strip the bed of all the pillows, comforter and sheets--even the foam mattress pad. I was talking to my mom and the phone and remarked, "I guess this is my payback for standing beside him, rubbing his head and patting him on the back while he vomited into the toilet all afternoon." Ah, the life of a mom. :) Of course, he's the sweetest little guy, too. Sometime during the night last night he toddled into our room and climbed up in the bed. I asked him, "Ian, what do you need?" He just smiled sleepily, burrowed down into the covers and laid his head on my shoulder. What more could a mom need?

Just cute pictures

Elise and Max were snuggling before school one morning. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more, but my money's on Max. :)
Ian was playing at a friend's house one day, so I just had the girls with me. They were playing so cute. Here is just a small sample of their cuteness. Merry Grace was playing the baby and Elise was taking care of her.
Elise was the photographer here. Just cute kids. Did I mention how cute they are?

Merry Grace reading a book. She looks so grown up. She thinks she is, anyway.

I cut Merry Grace's hair the other day, giving her bangs. She didn't want to pose for me, saying "uh-uh" every time I came near her with the camera. :) Finally I got this shot of her without the grumpy look on her face. We're still trying to decide if we like the bangs or not. Obviously she's cute either way. We're just not sure about the styling and the upkeep. But its something different, so we'll see how it goes.

More of Halloween...

The night of the party at church, the kids got all decked out in their Halloween gear. Ian was a power ranger, Merry Grace was a little witch.

Elise was also a witch, albeit a fancy one. Glitter body spray and purple eyeshadow completed her outfit. :)

Halloween night, all the cousins came over for a trick-or-treating party in our neighborhood. It was another chance to get dressed up and another excuse for us to all enjoy being together.
The three witches of the night: Emmy, Merry Grace & Elise.
I tried so hard to get a shot of all three kids together for Halloween. As you can see, it was really tricky getting everyone to look at the camera and everyone to have their costume on and all that good stuff. I didn't succeed, at all. :) But they are still pretty cute!

Halloween Happenings

This year we made chocolate molds as part of our Halloween festivities. It was pretty messy, but we had fun.
Elise was quite the pro at this. She did a great job making unique and traditional ghosts and goblins. I think the mummies were her favorite.
Merry Grace just licked the chocolate bags. :)
My sister-in-law had a Halloween party. These are the mummy cupcakes that I made for the event. I'm not much of a cake decorator, but I thought these turned out really well.
We also made monster cupcakes. Again, for my limited skills, I thought these were a success.

Quick Update

We had a great week and a great Halloween. I have pictures, but am having trouble downloading them from my camera. Big bummer. I don't know what the problem is, but I'll keep working on it. We partied almost straight from Saturday until Thursday with one activity or another. I guess that is finally catching up with us. Ian woke up this morning feeling bad and has thrown up all day. He is one sick little guy. Poor kid. It is so sad. :( Anyway, just wanted to update so you wouldn't think we'd dropped off the face of the earth. Catch ya soon...

Several things I love and a few I hate

1. Armor-all Car Care Products: I used some of these this weekend to give my car a thorough scrubbing. Just a word to the wise--these products are primarily intended for "touch-up" work, not the heavy-duty-what-in-the-heck-happened-in-your-car kind of cleaning I was doing. (Just an example, Ian took a half eating bag of still-in-the-shell peanuts and chewed them up and spit them out all around the back seat.) Anyway, the products were wonderful. My favorite was the all purpose cleaner which worked wonders on my leather seats. I didn't even realize they were so dirty. Scary. Now my car looks almost as good as when we bought it. Obviously the carpets have a little more wear and their are a few places here and there, but I'm quite pleased with the results.

2. Kraft Light-Done-Right Toasted Asian Sesame salad dressing: This was a new product I tried recently and really liked it. I don't know that I like it better than my old stand-bys, Kraft (again, light done right) Raspberry Vinaigrette, and Ken's House light honey mustard, but it was really good and definitely something I want to try again. It gets my vote, for sure. (Especially when you add some fresh strawberries, mandarin oranges, craisins, and grilled chicken to the mix of fresh romaine lettuce. YUM!!!!)

3. New water filters: We're on well water now and its definitely been and adventure. One of the new tricks we've had to learn is changing out the water filter. It's amazing what a difference that makes. Cory just switched it out and I took my first shower with the new filter. OH. MY. GOODNESS. The water pressure was amazing. I felt like a new woman after my shower. I had forgotten how wonderful it was to have strong water pressure. :)

And now for one thing I hate:
1. Pregnant comments when you're not pregnant: We went to my sister-in-law's house yesterday to celebrate my neice's birthday. Her "other" grandpa was there and of course there was lots of talk about kids and babies and all that stuff, since we all have quite a few. I was holding baby Ally (my other niece) and it was mentioned that she was not mine. And so the "other" Grandpa was like, "Yes, but you're expecting, too, aren't you?" I tried to just brush it off and said, "No, but maybe we will be before long," just to be nice and ease the awkwardness. But he was sooooo not getting it. He was like, "Well, sure you are. Aren't you?" Again, I said, "Nope. We just have the three. That's it." So he digs in even deeper, "Oh. Isn't that a maternity smock you're wearing?" So again I have to say, "No, I'm just being comfortable and fashionable. This is my 'I can eat what I want and not suck in' shirt." AWKWARD. I wanted to say, "How painful can you possibly make this for both of us? Take the hint and drop it. " As Dave Barry says, (and I paraphrase) "Unless you actually see a baby emerging from the mother, do not assume she is pregnant." In his defense, I was wearing one of the "babydoll" style shirts that are so fashionable. But come on....how many people have to say, "don't make pregnant comments" before people actually STOP doing it?

More fair pictures

Here are the crazy girls: Marleigh, Kyleigh, Elise, and Emmy. Rock on!!!!

Ian really enjoyed the baby chicks and baby ducks. Its so neat to get to hold and pet them. He was a little unsure about how much contact he wanted, but gave it a go anyway.

I know this doesn't look good or safe, but honestly, the baby chick was fine. That face is priceless. I think it perfectly captured his mixed emotions over the baby chicks.

Elise, on the other hand, was the perfect mother hen. She held, cuddled, and snuggled the babies. She even got one to sleep. :)

The State Fair

It's state fair time again!!!! We went yesterday, along with Cory's brother, sister, and sister-in-law and all our families. We have gone together the last several years and loved every minute of it!!!!! We got to the fair about 10am and ate, looked at rabbits, rode rides, ate, rode more rides, ate, held baby chicks, ate, looked at cows, huge pumpkins, fresh veggies, and ate some more. Did I mention we ate lots of good food? :) We had the most heavenly grilled corn on the cob. Its so amazing & could almost be considered healthy, if it weren't for the two pounds of butter it is drenched in. But, hey, that is what makes it so good! We also had gyros with cucumber sauce, honey buns, hot dogs, pizza, frozen lemonade, cotton candy, candy apples, ice cream, and my personal favorite--frozen cheesecake on a stick dipped in chocolate. My goodness, have you ever heard of anything so wonderful in your whole life? We finally left around 5:30pm, exhausted, dirty, stuffed and very, very happy. It was lots of fun and here are the pictures to prove it. :)

Here are Elise and Emmy at the start of the day. They already found something cool to look at.

The kids riding one of the many rides they were able to enjoy.

Our state fair has one of the biggest midways in the country, so there is so much for the kids to do.
Are they getting a little green around the gills, or is it just the light?

The boats were a big hit, but seriously, what wasn't?

The Phone Curse

I don't know what it is about phones, but I have a knack for losing, destroying or otherwise ruining perfectly good phones. Here's the history with them: I've left them out in the rain, dropped them down stairs onto a cement floor, dropped them in chocolate milk, dripped syrup into the mouthpiece making it totally useless for talking into, cut the cord, messed up antennas and the list goes on. The latest incident involves the charger for my cell phone. It is completely missing in action. It is nowhere to be found. So now I once again have a phone that is completely useless to me and anything I'd want to do with it. All it is is a fancy looking paperweight. Oh well. I should have known....

They didn't inherit my sweet tooth

When it comes to eating sweets, Elise and Ian certainly didn't get my genes. I made some homemade peanut butter and chocolate chip toffee sprinkled cookies a few days ago. One day after lunch I asked Ian if he wanted one for dessert. He paused, then shook his head. "No thanks," he said, "but I would like some grits for dessert." I also packed Elise a cookie in her lunch box as a special treat. When she brought the lunch box home in the afternoon, it was completely empty, except for the cookie, completely untouched. I, on the other hand, would rather just skip lunch and eat 15 cookies. :) Lucky for them, they'll never be a slave to chocolate.

Ian's Morning Antics

So far today we're already down a laundry basket. Here are the remains of what used to be a nice container for holding my white clothes. Unfortunately it got in Ian's path this morning...

This is how it happened. He launched himself off the bed and onto the laundry basket. The basket was no match for the strength of the amazing spiderman. We were both quite stunned that this happened and Ian was very apologetic for destroying my basket. By the time I got my camera, he was smiling and a little less alarmed than when it first happened. Thankfully, he's fine, although I can't say the same for my basket. :)

Is there an award for giving your child Doritos?

Last weekend, Cory had basketball games at church. The games were early and the kids hadn't eaten a good breakfast beforehand. We were almost to the church when Ian started complaining that he didn't feel well. That's our cue to get some food in his tummy. If he does too much before eating, he throws up. Fortunately, it doesn't happen too often, but its happened enough for us to know what to do. So we were in a hurry and just stopped in at a gas station to pick up some snacks. Gas stations, of course, are not known for their health food sections, so I ended up with a bag of sour cream and onion chips, a bag of doritos, a donut cake, a container of tic-tacs, a diet coke and a raspberry lemonade. During the game my three kids, plus my nephew, were huddled around the snack bag, scarfing down the food. At some point I looked over at another group of moms and their kids: there was a mom holding a ziploc bag of baby carrots, and her toddler eating them--happy as a clam. YIKES!!! I was sure wishing I'd thought to throw in a banana. Oh well, maybe doritos will let me be their spokeswoman. :)

Has Ian been too quiet?

It's been a while since I've posted any of Ian's escapades, so lest you think he's settling down, here they are. One morning before school we were looking for Elise's water bottle. Not finding it anywhere, we sent her with something else. Sometime during the day, I founded in the bedroom while doing laundry. I asked Ian to please take it into the kitchen and put it on the counter. A few minutes later I heard what sounded like Ian spitting out water. I heard the sound a few more times, thinking he must have stopped off in the bathroom and was spitting the water out into the sink or tub. At this point, I just got that little prickle, thinking maybe he was up to no good. So I called out to him, "Ian! Are you spitting that water out into the sink or the tub?" And he responded, "I'm not in the bathroom!" Uh oh. I took off down the hall and walked around the corner into the kitchen just in time to see him pour out the rest of the 12 or so ounce water bottle onto the floor. No matter how many times I ask the question "Why?" I get nothing. Who knows? What I do know is that he was promptly put in time out until I could get it together. (It ended up being about 10 minutes, but hey!) Then we got out the mop and cleaned up the mess.

Yesterday was Elise's dental check-up. Of course, I had the other two children as well. Just to set the scene, the dental office we go to is fancy. Almost opulent. Expensive furniture, high ceilings, chandeliers, marble floors, everything you can imagine. When we walked in the first time Elise commented, "This is the dentist? This looks like a princess castle!" So while in the waiting room, the fun began. Because of the layout of the building, there is a nice echo in the lobby area. Naturally, the kids (Ian in particular) were testing out their voices--loudly. Keep in mind there are probably 8 other people in the waiting room--no other children--and before we got going there was complete silence. Once I calmed down the hootin' and hollerin', Ian began running back and forth between two leather couches, flipping up on each one and doing a handstand. It was chaos. And since most everyone's attention was on me and my crew, its a little difficult to get things under control without causing more of a scene then we already were. It was also one of those awkward moments where everyone is feeling hopelessly sorry for you and even sorrier that they were scheduled for cleanings at the same time we were. Sometimes the kids are places and being, well, just being kids and other folks around smile and sympathize and you feel that, while they are glad it is you and not them, they don't really mind that things are crazy for you. This was not one of those times. It was so bad that when one of the kids bounced down on the couch beside this one older guy, he got up and moved to a chair. :) Fortunately, once the newness of the adventure wore off, the kids got pretty well under control and we survived the whole ordeal. I just think, some people actually 'just go to the dentist'. I feel like I went to the dentist, participated in a three ring circus, tamed a chimpanzee, fought off a kangaroo attack, and came out with my lipstick still in tact.

Fun with Numbers

The other day Elise was wanting to do something and Cory said, "You'll have to grow a few more feet tall before you can do that." Elise responded, "Daddy, that will take me, like, 600 weeks." It took Cory a second before we realized she was exactly right. :)

For family night tonight we were playing hide and seek (Ian's choice). Cory, Elise & I had all taken turns counting to 35. When it was Ian's turn, Cory asked him, "Ian what is the highest number you can count to?" Without even so much as a pause, Ian said, "Four. I can count to four." We all laughed. He can actually count a bit higher than that, but since his birthday, four is his new favorite number. :) (He counted to 20 with only a few numbers reversed and mixed up.)

You've gotta love this song...

A full day and then some

It started with a dental check-up for Ian on Tuesday. They found a small cavity on the back of his front tooth. I know it was the apple juice he guzzled for years, before we finally bit the bullet and stopped buying it. Unfortunately, this particular dental office didn't want to fill it because of his age and worrying about how he would do. I feel sure he would have been fine, but they referred us out anyway. The only appointment the referral had available was one the next morning at 7. YIKES!

We took it, so the next morning found me waking up two sleeping children, dressing them, and packing breakfast in the car. We got to the office and after some paperwork they took Ian back. I have to admit, I wanted to go back with him. I don't think it would have been upsetting to have me back there and I could totally have handled it. But that's their policy. I especially wanted to go back after reading their policies on "hard to handle" children. I mean, I can only imagine trying to work on a kids teeth, who has probably rarely used a toothbrush, who may be in pain, and is afraid of the dentist. (There were a few kids I saw in the waiting room who had extreme dental work, so I'm sure that must be a challenge.) But I was a little freaked out reading about them using something called "pediwrap" on an unruly, unmanageable child. I was sure Ian would be fine, but I really wanted to be around to check on him. :)

Anyway, cavities and sealants and 3 1/2 hours later, we were finally finished. Ian actually did magnificent, as did Merry Grace, who had to spend the entire time in the waiting room. I was so relieved. When I asked him how it was, he said, "Well, it was a little bit not fun." In my head I was thinking, "Uh oh. Here it comes." But I asked, "So what was 'not fun'?" "That little girl wouldn't share that toy with me and she had it for a long time.", he said. I almost laughed. I couldn't believe after all he'd been through that day that the most traumatic thing was not being able to play with a certain toy.

Unfortunately, our day wasn't over yet. We then had to go to the doctor for well-child check-ups and immunizations. So two hours and 7 shots later, we were done. Miraculously, neither one of the kids cried with their shots. Ian got four, and MG got three. I could hardly believe it. They did so, so, so good throughout the day. But we were exhausted by the end. At least we crammed all the "not fun" stuff into one day, rather than dragging it out. How's that for a positive spin?

Beauty Refresh

A few things about me: I love clothes--both buying them and wearing them, I love make-up, I enjoy primping and looking nice, even if I tend to be on the low-maintenance end of the spectrum. That being said, I was in the car this morning and happened to glance in the mirror. I was on the way to take Ian to the dentist & it was early, but this is what I saw: unwashed, slightly unkempt hair, half-done make-up (partially due to the fact that Merry Grace emptied my compact and blush onto the bath mat while I showered yesterday), no earrings (the last time I went anywhere without earrings was when I had gallbladder surgery 5 years ago, and if I know myself I probably took them off in the car before going in), and the wrong shade of lipstick (I had tried to put some on, but I'd left my favorite kind at home). I realized, somewhere in the last few weeks, I had let myself go. I never leave home like that!!!! Fortunately I caught it before it got really serious, but it was real nonetheless. So as soon as Ian's appointment was over I replaced the make-up MG destroyed, came home and colored my hair and made a commitment to take a little more time for myself. Even if that just means doing my make-up before I leave home instead of while I'm waiting in the carpool line, or ironing that cute shirt I've been wanting to wear but haven't done yet, I'm starting fresh today. So if you happened to see me out this morning or in the last few weeks, it was just a fluke, and I apologize. The real me is back. As my friend & I used to joke when we were teens, "Kristen Barnett, you beautiful thing, don't you ever die!!!"

I've always wanted to be a superhero!

Just a few minutes ago, Ian was looking for a clean pair of shorts to put on. Not finding any in the clean laundry basket, we made a last ditch effort by going down to the laundry room, in hopes that the dryer would have a pair in it. I was unloading the laundry into a basket and, sure enough, there was a pair of shorts. When I found some and handed them to Ian, he enthusiastically cheered, "Oh Mommy! You're a super hero! I love you! You are soooooo the best!" I couldn't help but laugh. Its nice when just a clean pair of shorts garner that kind of praise. I'm pretty sure no boss could ever dole out compliments that well or sincerely, for that matter. Once he got the shorts on and we were walking back upstairs, he continued, "Mommy, you are sooooooo a genius for getting me these shorts!" And you know what, after talking it up that much, I did kind of feel like a genius. What a sweet kid!

In other Ian adventures, this morning, around 6, he and Merry Grace had both woken up and found their way to our bed. They were playing while I was trying to eke out a few more minutes of sleep. In my dream-like state I heard Ian say, "One little pig was a pig. Two little pigs went home. And one little pig said wee, wee, wee, all the way home." It was so cute. They had a fun time.

And of course, here is an Elise story. She certainly has her own fashion sense, and flaunts it with pride. Last Sunday, when I had early meetings, she came flouncing into church in last year's maroon Christmas dress, and completed the outfit with a sparkly, furry, turquoise scarf. She also had a bag chock full of a hundred different odds and ends. Cory told me later that on the way to church he had had to borrow something from her out of her purse. She told him, "It's like I always say, 'A girl is always prepared!'" I don't know if she always says that or not, but it sure sounds good. :)

Where do you belong?

You Belong in Rome

You're a big city soul with a small town heart Which is why you're attracted to the romance of Rome Strolling down picture perfect streets, cappuccino in hand And gorgeous Italian people - could life get any better?

What City Do You Belong In?

Cuter than Cute

Here are some of the goings on around our place here lately. Elise and Ian discovered the pillowcase. I've decided I'm going to write a book: 50 reasons to never buy your children toys. This will be chapter 12. :)Is this baby the cutest thing you've ever seen, or what? She'd had pigtails in earlier in the day, but had taken them out for bath time. In her continuing move toward independence, she decided to wash her own hair. Unfortunately she only managed to wet the middle section. She is certainly a mess...but too cute for words!
Elise came home from school the other day covered in some sort of red stuff. I have to admit when I caught a glimpse of it in the rear view mirror on the way home, my first reaction was to think it was blood. Upon further inspection, thankfully, we realized it was marker or paint or dye or something. Elise has no idea how this happened or what she is covered in. I can't imagine that is the case, but who knows. It was all over her shirt, skirt, tummy, neck, arms, and hands. She was pretty sad that we had to throw her clothes away. There's just nothing you can do with that much red. :)

Kid Communications

Last night, Elise was reading the book "Are you my Mother?" for a bedtime story. If you aren't familiar with this book, it involves a little bird who wanders around thinking different animals and objects are his mother. She was having a grand time reading it and getting into the whole act of engaging Ian. Here is how the communication went:

Elise: "And Ian...Guess what he came to next?"
Ian: "I don't know."
Elise: "It's an animal and it lives on a farm and it eats hay..."
Ian: "A bird!"
Elise: "And its black and white and milk comes from them..."
Ian: "A pig." (pronounced pid) :)
Elise: "And it is big and nice..."
Ian: "A cow!!!!" (pronounce tow)

It's so funny how they interact. I just love the way they talk to one another. Sometimes I wonder how they ever make sense of anything. And that is probably what makes it so sweet. To the outside observer, their conversations are coming from two different planets. But they are happy and love talking to one another. And I love listening to them!

Watch out for flying objects

Today the whole gang went to eat lunch with Elise. It's the first time we've been to her new school for lunch, and everyone was excited. We were sitting at a table, enjoying our meal, when this other class walked in and began getting their food. We were at the table closest to the front and watched this new class go through the line. The last boy in line grabbed a milk carton from the refrigerator and held on to it. This boy, probably a second grader, began talking to a couple of boys at the table behind us. Somewhere, in and amongst our conversation at our own table, we lost focus of what was transpiring around us. About that time, the little boy in line picked up the milk carton he had just dropped and hurled it at the two boys behind us. Fortunately no one was hurt, but YIKES! I had no idea I needed to wear protective clothing to lunch at an elementary school. Frankly I was pretty surprised. But what surprised me even more was the lack of response by the teachers around there. Maybe they are just used to things like that happening, maybe they dealt with it after lunch, maybe they thought it was a battle they didn't care to fight. I'm just not sure. Needless to say, lunch was an adventure--and fortunately one we survived. :)

So who are YOU?

Which HP Kid Are You?

Grateful

Last night I had Presidency Meeting and was gone from soon after dinner until after bedtime. When I got back home, the dishes were done, the counters and table were wiped down, and the kitchen floor swept. The kids had been fed and all the supper stuff was cleaned up and put away. The kids had taken baths, brushed their teeth, done homework, and were tucked into bed. It was the best feeling ever to come home and find all the projects I had left to do, already done. Cory is so wonderful to be supportive of me and what I have to do. I have to say, I'm a pretty lucky gal.

Time for a little rant

My source for news are the headlines I read on my google and yahoo home pages. If you browse through the headlines like I do, maybe you happened to come across the one about Britney Spears' performance on the MTV awards (or whatever they are called) the other night. Apparently the lip-synching was off, her dancing was bad...blah, blah, blah. I guess what really got to me were the comments in the article about how fat she was. Give. Me. A. Break. Being the mother of a little girl, I despise the emphasis--almost everywhere you turn--on being thin. I'm all for eating healthy, exercising, and having all around good health. There is a problem with obesity, both in adults and kids. But some stuff is just ridiculous. I would post a picture to prove my point, but they're just a little too revealing for this family-friendly blog. I know Britney chose to go out on stage in a skimpy, next-to-nothing-bikini. Certainly she is by no mean a model of morality, or almost anything else you'd want to emulate. We try very hard to keep Elise away from so much of this "in your face" weight stuff. We are careful about what we say, how we act, what we do. I just despise the attitude that is everywhere in the world that thin is good, that it's better, that your worth comes from looking good. I think so much of it is subtle, and that even when its not directly "said" it is implied enough that even a 6-year old girl could pick up on it. Bah. It makes me mad.

I guess this leads up to my next rant. Maybe you've heard about this too. The girls who plays the lead in the High School Musical Movies has gotten "busted" because of nude pictures of her on the internet. She has admitted they were hers and apologized. Granted, she didn't post them herself...she was betrayed. Whatever. Again, this was a show my little girl loved. What a mess. I'm just disgusted.

I'm not sure this makes any sense. Maybe I'm too frustrated to get my thoughts together. But I'm sick of it.

Kids just crack me up

Elise is the funniest little thing ever. She was in the car yesterday and we were talking about the effort at her school to name the mascot. She was really wanting to name the mascot "America" because "that would make it for everybody", but others in her class had different ideas, one being the name "Justin". "Justin", she said, "That's the weirdest mascot name I ever heard!" Apparently her class didn't make the final cut in the "name the mascot game", and she was a little frustrated. "It's probably because some people in my class voted for the name Snowball. What were they thinking?"

She's just a funny mix of sassy and sweet and her interests always surprise me. Each day since the first week of school she wants me to draw a small heart on her palm so that she can remember that I love her. We started it one of the first days when she was feeling a little apprehensive about school. Now its tradition. Ian & Merry Grace follow suit, as well, wanting matching hearts on their hands. This morning Elise drew the hearts on her siblings hands instead of me and told me that she had drawn her "special ones". When I asked Ian about it later he said, "Elise drew me this special heart." "What does it mean?", I asked. "It means 'I love Elise when she is at school.'" How precious is that?

This is the same girl that checks out the books, "Bats" and "Vampire Bats" from her school library and watched an entire Animal Planet special on "Boxed Jelly Fish", or something of the sort. What in the heck?

We were going to Emmy's yesterday for a bit and needed to take back some shoes she left over here the other day. I told Elise to get them from her room and bring them with her. A few minutes later, I she her walking around with this aluminum foil packet. "What is that?" I asked her. "Oh...", she said with a sheepish grin, "these are Emmy's shoes. I wrapped them up for her, so they would be pretty."

Who can figure. All I know is that I love her to pieces. :)

And a few more pictures for good measure...

This was Ian's "surfer" pose.

My little family.

This makes me want to take a bath.

Wishing I Were There....

When my brothers came down a couple of weeks ago, we went to the beach. It was a beautiful day--practically perfect in every way. Today I'm just wishing I were there again.

A Great Movie

The other night, the kids and I were going to snuggle up and watch a show together. We looked through the guide and saw that "The Sound of Music" was on. I'm a sucker for great movies like that and fortunately, so are my kids. We were all totally into it and watching it reminded me of why it is such a great movie.

I hope you are all familiar with the premise. Basically, Maria has decided to become a nun, only to discover that following the rules are more difficult than she imagined. She becomes a governess to the seven Von Trapp children. Of course, she is a wonderful governess and loves the children dearly. In the process, however, she begins to fall in love with the widowed Captain Von Trapp. When she realizes it, she runs away, only to be encouraged by the Reverend Mother to return and face the challenge before her. Back at the Von Trapp home, she discovers that Captain Von Trapp is already engaged to someone else. Very shortly that engagement is called off leading up to one of the sweetest, romantic scenes in all of movies. Captain Von Trapp tells the surprised Maria that he is no longer going to marry the Baroness and says, "How could I....when I'm in love with someone else." Looooooove it! It is so beautiful and the backdrop of the trouble with Hitler and the Captain's loyalty to country and integrity just makes it all the more wonderful. The songs and music are great and Julie Andrews' voice makes it seem natural that she would go from talking to singing one second to the next.

I grew up on musicals like this and I love it that my kids like them too. It's such a fun memory from my childhood and I love being able to share it with my kids. And it doesn't hurt that I'm a hopeless romantic. I fall for those sweet lines every time. It was so good I watched it again last night. And that's how I know it's a great movie--it was just as good the second time around.