The January Thaw

It has been absolutely beautiful this January. I hate to say that I want more snow because all this beautiful spring like weather is wonderful. But the truth is that we really do need moisture. We have only gotten one snow storm at our farm this year and it was a week before Christmas. Anyways, that snow and the amazing temps made the snow absolutely perfect for building a snowman. The kids had so much fun and the snowman turned out perfect. Sadly I doubt he will last very long, especially since the temps for today are suppose to be in the 40's.

the snowman

the snowball fight!

more pics of the snowman

The Holidays are finally Over

Whew, the last 3 weeks have gone by in a blur. Actually the last 3-4 months, strike that, more like the last year has gone by so fast it has left me spinning. My surgery went well and I am slowly recovering but feeling very well. In fact, I feel so much better and things that I thought worked fine before the surgery now are working even better and it has gotten me wondering just how long I had actually been having issues and never even realized. But I wont dwell on that and bore everyone, its time to move on and enjoy life.

Anyways, as a result of having surgery on the 18th of December, we stayed home for Christmas and New Years. It might seem a little boring to most people but it actually was one of the best Holidays I have ever had. New Years was especially fun. The kids all danced around, we wore party hats and had fun horns to blow. At 10:59 (we live in the midwest) we gathered around the TV and watched the Ball Drop in New York and did the whole countdown thing.  After that we went out onto our deck and did some confetti sticks. By 11:30 the kids were all fast to sleep in bed. It was a perfect night!

Some pictures from Christmas:

Cady's new bed set

Cady's pretty Christmas dress

My Handsome boy all dressed up and sporting a tie!

Vannah in a Zebra Dress

Vannah's new Zebra bed set

And Vannah's new sweater dress with a zebra jacket......the girl loves zebras!

And then the New Years Party:

Being goofy

Cady trying to look sweet and innocent

Party Horns cause Mommy loves a headache!

My Prince

The Devil in Pigtails HAHA

A Cheeky Moment!

It never fails, just when I think I can not be surprised, my kids go and do something so crazy that it leaves me speechless. Cady is very much a little artist, there is not a single wall or item in the house that has not been drawn on. I just found her signature on the side of the microwave just yesterday. It doesn't matter how many times I take her markers and crayons away. I try my best to tell her its only OK to draw on her art paper and then show her the giant stacks of paper (Every type and color imaginable) that are right out in the open for her to use any way she wishes. She still continues to draw on everything. I admit that most of the time she is actually quite creative. Once, she took her white pony (a stuffed animal) and turned it into a white and green zebra, most likely to play zebra's with her little sister (A huge zebra nut).

Lately, my artist has ventured into the area's of body art. At first it seemed fairly innocent, a little face on her wrist or on her leg. Then she started decorating her little sister. So Monday was a crazy day. I had my pre-op appointment and had left my husband at home to watch the girls and to wait for Koda to get home from school. The girls had finished their lunch and asked their dad if they could go downstairs to play. He said sure and didn't think anything of it. He say's he heard them playing and laughing the entire time while he tried to do some of his work from home. Later that evening I return home and got dinner made and everyone fed. Vannah was tired so I decided to get her ready for bed. I noticed that she had a mark on her shin and it worked its way around to the back of her leg. I sighed and quickly scolded Cady and Vannah for drawing on each other but I wasn't to horribly upset. I told her to turn around so I could see if there were any other marks and that's when I got a cheeky surprise!

I don't know how one can honestly prepare themselves for such a surprise. At first I had a look of complete dumbfounded shock on my face. A noise that was a cross of OMG and sucking air came out of my mouth. Being the excellent mommy that I am, I reached for my phone and took a pic to post to the world because that's what mommies do. And you better believe it when I say that this photo has a permanent home in little Miss Vannah's baby book! Oh how I love my crazy little kiddos!

just some random pics!

Well, I wish I had more time for this blog but at the moment things are extremely busy and I really haven't had much time to do anything other then clean and clean and clean and help other people. December 18th I will be heading to surgery and having a hysterectomy. Yes, I said it. I am evicting my uterus and I am glad to see her go. I love everything that she has given me. My babies are beautiful and growing up wonderfully. But I am completely over having all my "female" problems and looking forward to getting on with life. So, as a result of this surgery coming up, it has been extremely busy. I am two weeks from the big event and have become a huge germ-a-phobe. And currently, I am sick with a nasty throat cold or something.  Anyways instead of dragging on about the surgery and how busy it is. I figured I would just share some of our pictures from the last month.

3 bed bugs watching movies at Kings Point Resort on Thanksgiving night!

Vannah's rainbow tutu she got for Christmas (day after Thanksgiving) at Grandma and Grandpa's. She will not take that tutu off for anything!

Vannah at King Point Water Park

Cady at Kings Point Water Park

Vannah the red nose cutie pie!

I am sure I will have many more pictures to share later. As stated above, its extremely busy at the moment, so bare with me if it is a while before I can get another post made. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays Everyone!

Koda's Snack Suprise

When I first got pregnant with my oldest, Koda, I knew I was in for things like poopy diapers, spit-up, and vomit. Those are the things that give us mom's that super power called an Iron Stomach! Although  I admit that I can not handle vomit at all. In fact, as I type the word vomit, I can feel myself wanting to gag. But that is a different story and we need not go there. Anyways, I was recently reminded of another reason that mom's have the Iron Stomach ability. At some point our children will want to make us a meal or a snack. Its great for kids to be given this opportunity to create something for us and Koda decided to make me a snack. So he grabbed 1 saltine cracker, 2 slices of bread, some peanut butter, and a handful of mozzarella cheese. With his ingredients and a daddy to help him (Keith thought this was hysterical) Koda made me a very special sandwich  The pride on his face was beautiful. So I had no choice, I had to take a bite. I believe in trying everything before deciding if it is good or bad and I try to teach my children this as well. So I tried it and surprisingly it wasn't that bad. It wasn't something that I plan to ever make again, but it wasn't something that was going to send me running for the toilet either. And thank goodness for that because my proud little guy stood right next to me watching me eat every last bite. Of course I did take a picture of the inside before I ate it to share with the rest of the world

Thank you Iron Stomach, you have once again saved the day. I am so proud of my boy and of myself. Whew!

Cady's Heart Appointment!

October has turned into one of the craziest months we have had and I am sure as the kids get older we will have more and more months that are just as crazy or possibly even crazier. Since I am a stay at home mom, my calendar has pretty much been open for the last 6yrs. When I would make an appointment I would rarely look at my calendar because it was usually open. Well this month I have actually had to learn how to schedule pretty much everything. Between visits from the repairman, Dr. appointments, conferences for the kids, birthday parties, and furniture/appliance deliveries....I am sure there are other things as well but my brain is fried trying to just keep everyday in order. Its just been crazy. 

This week we had one of the big Dr appointments for Cady. She was born with a heart murmur. More precisely Pulmonary Valve Stenosis, which means that her pulmonary valve doesn't open all the way. It hasn't gotten better but it hasn't gotten worse. More importantly, her heart is handling the murmur very well and is not thickening. So a good appointment and now she does not have to go back to the Pediatric Cardiologist for another 4 yrs, YAY! Oh and the nurse was nice enough to give Cady a copy of the ECG, how cool is that!

Oddly enough this day was one of our quieter days. But Vannah thought otherwise and passed out right before dinner. She ended up sleeping straight through the night and well into the morning. 

She didn't even wake up when we moved her to her bed. Sometimes I really wish I could fall into such a deep sleep and wake up really refreshed in the mornings. I am completely jealous.

When Glitter Attacks

       Silence, the first sign of trouble. I should have known immediately that something was up. But those rare moments of peace are hard to pull away from. Normally I have one of my three always under my feet asking for food or drink or wanting to color or watch a movie. So when I have a moment to actually sit down and relax, maybe sneak a snack or a cup of tea, I really cherish it. But in the back of my head I always know that it will cost me.

       It was silent in my house. I convinced myself that the kiddos where all playing nicely together down in the toy room or watching a movie since it was to hot to be outside. I was lounging upstairs, really enjoying some mom time, when Koda came running into the kitchen. I knew something was up before he even muttered a word. All I did was raise an eyebrow and he said "Mom, the girls made a mess with the sparkly stuff" I quickly went through my mind trying to figure out what the sparkly stuff could be. As I walked down the stairs I noticed that my crafts dresser which has the baby proofing latches on it had every single drawer pulled open. With a great big sigh I walked to the girls bedroom and saw a beautiful sparkly mess.

They had found my glitter!

Isn't it beautiful!

For the next 20 minutes I worked on vacuuming the giant mess up. Not only was the floor covered but so were the beds and numerous toys. When I shook Vannah's blanket it looked like a magical rain pouring to the floor. So much sparkles everywhere. No matter how much I vacuumed, the glitter was always there and probably will remain for years to come. 

Later that evening I was playing with Vannah when I noticed glitter on her hair. At a closer glance I discovered that she had so much glitter in her hair that you could not see her scalp. I brushed her hair and washed her hair and the glitter is not coming out. Its going to be a while before this mess is fully cleaned up.

Yes the girls did get in trouble for getting into mommies stuff. They got to help clean up and lost some toys due to the glitter and glue.  I never once got mad.  Sometimes all you can really do is laugh. I know I will never forget this adventure and will always look back on it and smile. 

This shirt fits her very well!