Then There Were Six

Catching Up

2012-01-28T06:20:00.001-08:00

I'm playing catch-up a lot these days. Last night the boys were at a birthday party so David and I took the girls to IHOP and Petsmart. It was so much easier! We could each hold one and entertain one while we waited for our food. It was a breeze. So, four is work, but that's okay. Adele is work. Seriously, she just brought me the kitchen scissors and the pencil sharpener. Wow.

I have to go teach pilates now. I'll give you a more thorough update later. Now that I have blogger on my phone maybe I'll keep up with this better ... You know at red lights?! Yeah, probably not. :)

Are you smarter than a fifth grader?

2011-10-05T04:40:00.000-07:00

School. It's what we do. I've developed the mentality that school, for us, is not an 8am-to-3 pm-sit-down-and-do-book-work event. It's an all-day, learn-from-everything event. Yes, we do book work, but we also talk and cook and clean and play. I answer question after question. If they're interested in something, we explore and investigate it. My kids are learning and bright and excited for school every day and I love that!

I had a situation recently that blew me away. I was teaching a water aerobics class. As I jump and jog and reach for my toes and yell, "harder! faster!" ever so often, one lady strikes up a conversation. We'll call her, Judy (we have to change the names, to protect the guilty in this case). Conversation is great. We love conversation in water aerobics. Class flies by when people are talking. However, this conversation in particular could not be over soon enough for me. Picture Edith from Archie Bunker, "So Alyson, are you still trying to homeschool your kids?" Are you kidding me?!

"Yes, Judy, I sure am." I smile.

"Well, how is that going for you?"

I make an effort to change the subject by saying, "Just great," and then tell a story about Adelle on the table during school (this occurs about 400 times a day). Judy was not deterred.

(Check out this video to see how that usually goes down: Adelle's new groove).

"Well, you know [our small town] public school has very capable teachers and ..." blah blah blah. I do know that. Thank you for that information. She goes on, "Do you have a degree in teaching?" Nope, sure don't. "Well maybe you should work on that and then think about teaching your kids." Really?! "What grades are your kids in this year?"

I explain with the intention of shutting this down, "Hudson is 6, but he's doing 2nd and 3rd grade work. Pierce is 5 and doing Kindergarten work. Alayna is 3 - she's doing pre-K stuff."

Judy smiles, "Well you're probably learning right along with them." Was that slam?

I smile in return, "Actually, I am smarter than a 5th grader, much less a 2nd grader, Kindergartener and pre-schooler." I laugh and smile and try to lighten the moment. I want to explain what my kids are learning right now. I want to put them on display so she can really see how awesome they are. Yes, I'm biased. I am the mom and the teacher. But, good grief, at this point I am feeling so belittled and wrongly judged, like I'm doing my children a disservice. While everyone else in class is looking a little nervous, Judy is absolutely clueless and keeps going. "What school would your kids go to? ... Oh! they team-teach there. That's a great school." blah, blah, blah.

Finally, I can take it no longer and try to shut her down, "Judy, you're not going to change my mind. I homeschool. It's achoice my husband and I made intentionally. My kids are smart and doing just fine. We're all fine." I say firmly, but with a smile. She smiles back at me and says, "Well, I just have a vested interest in the public school system." I respond, "Well, I just have a vested interest in my children."

I'm not a confrontational person. I hate being put in situations like this. I don't preach that homeschooling is the only way. Everybody do what's best for your family. I'm all for it! But don't shove it down people's throats like it's really your way or the highway. Man, that wears me out.

Okay, in other news...I turned 31. I'm IN my 30's now. Fun, huh? In better news, Pierce turned 5 and had the best weekend of his life including a campout party and a day at the fair to see Toby Mac (who is like a black/white guy, gangster/Christian, vest/skull cap - whatever, he's got a couple of good songs and Pierce LOVES him). Anyway, that was crazy fun (exhausting).

The birthday boy in the tent with his big brother.

Owl cupcakes

"At dawn we ride!" The chocolate-covered tornado.

Camp scene - roasting marshmallows for s'mores.

The girlies in their tent.

Here's Alayna explaining her drawing to me

Here's Alayna singing the timeline song

Someday I'll video the boys too :) Thanks for letting me vent.

Happiness

2011-09-23T05:08:00.000-07:00

My sister, Amanda, just read The Happiness Project (I haven't read it but I like her insights). She says, "It's an encouraging little book with practical tips that really do work. One of the things I see myself constantly failing at is her practice of 'act the way you want to feel.' Apparently, if you feel irritated and then you express that irritation, it doesn't relieve your irritated-ness. Looking back over motherhood, I see how true that is. But, oh the strength one must have to push that irritated feeling down into yourself, just absorb it, and gush out some sweetness and exercise patience and love. The outcome is that you will feel more patience and love and your irritation will lessen. So that's my happiness project for the week. Not so much for the purpose of me being happier, but I see the gospel in it, and my goodness gracious, it would just be really nice of me to be Christ to my kids, absorb their stuff, swallow my angry words, and decide to act gently and graciously towards them. But the motivation of, "so I can feel happier" isn't the best motivation, but happiness is nice." :)

Well, I just love my sister and her precious, crazy girls. I relate so well to her experience with my own children. Amanda and I took turns having babies. We shared maternity clothes and after-pregnancy clothes and, between the two of us, my parents have eight grandchildren under the age of 7! We love and discipline and train our children, but every mother knows there are those moments. They usually happen when dinner is on the stove, I'm on the phone, Adelle is climbing on the table, Hudson is trying to get her down while she screams, Pierce is kung-fooing Alayna while she's trying to twirl and sing. I hang up the phone, scream for everyone to just stop, and turn on a movie. (But Amanda's kids play "cooking" and mix cereal with dominoes and beads. Ah, such creativity!). There are those moments.

I don't think this is a fake-it-til-you-make-it mentality. I think it's grace, self-control, living TRUTH, and being Christ for my kids. Don't worry, be happy :) Here's some happy things ...

Little bitty piggy-tails! She looks like such a big girl, and her cheeks look extra chubby with her hair back. What mommy doesn't love smoochin' on some chubby baby cheeks?!

A little sister love. Adelle calls Alayna, "Nuh," just the end of her name. It's cute.

Guitar banana, singing the states and capitals song as loud as possible. I believe this shot was, "Baton Rouge, LouisianAAAAAAAH!"

Hudson was drumming, Pierce was strumming - Homeschooling at it's best!

Let me tell you a story. I get up every morning at 4:30 to have a cup of coffee and do my Bible study before I go train at 5:15. This morning I was extra tired. I got the coffee maker ready and started. Got dressed and tied my shoes and came back in the kitchen to coffee grounds and brown water dripping off the counter and running everywhere. I didn't get the pot pushed back in all the way. So I cleaned up the mess and went out the door without any coffee. When I came back in at 6:20 I made a fresh pot and now I have a smile on my face - happy things. :)

One more happy thing. One of my other sisters, Amanda's twin - Angela, got engaged to Bob this week! We're so excited for her! I'm corny and love saying, Bob's your uncle. Anyway, Yea Ange!!!

Fall Handprint Trees

2011-09-16T14:05:00.000-07:00

It's FALL!!! We're just a little bit excited. Sooooo, we decided to do a fall project for our bulletin board (that I haven't changed since the beginning of July! So now that it's the middle of September...sigh). Tempera paint was on sale at Hobby Lobby. It was meant to be. Admittedly, paint stresses me out a little. We took all the precautions but, never fail, a handprint usually ends up somewhere that it shouldn't. Today, however, was a success!

Apron clad children (one mad because I made her stand still - how dare I!).

Painting the hand and arm brown. Hudson said, "I can't believe you're actually doing this to me!" Neither can I, son. Neither can I.

Finger painting the falling leaves.

The finished product! So individually unique.

This is me after cleaning up Adelle and the rest of the mess - happy we did a project and happy it's all over!

In other news, school is going great. We're doing Classical Conversations this year and we love it. We're all learning a lot and enjoying getting to know other home-schooling families with the same goals and like-minded teaching style.

I'm still training every morning and a couple nights a week as well as teaching at the Y. Never thought I would see my alarm consistently set to 4:30 AM!!! But it is and I'm enjoying it ... and drinking lots of coffee.

The boys just started playing soccer at the Y and they are in their element. Alayna would love to be in ballet but we'll probably wait until she's 4. I think Adelle would probably love to be rock climbing. That child's favorite spot is in the middle of my kitchen table. I think this precious toddler has cured me of baby fever - I have my hands full! And I love it :)

A few videos

2011-07-19T14:34:00.000-07:00

Click on the sentences below to check out a few new videos. The one of Adelle laughing is a little dark, but so cute. :)

Adelle working on some motor skills.

Adelle cracking up at Daddy's game.

Alayna and feeding her baby.

Fabulous Fort Fun and a recipe

2011-07-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

Cushion forts are fabulous Saturday morning fun. If we did these every day I might go crazy because my front room would be a complete and disastrously noisy mess. I'm in constant pick-up mode as it is, without complete destruction. Anyway, they have a blast and I get the kitchen clean ... at least for a little while. :)

She rules the roost.

Alayna is doing "school" in her newly fashioned t-shirt sleeve head band.

Here's me in mine and, drum roll please ....... I made homemade graham crackers this week! We've been trying to stick with the 100 days of real food plan. Check out THIS LINK for some great recipes! Anyway, kid snacks were my hardest thing. Goldfish and other processed food snacks don't qualify as edible under this plan. We'd been snacking on fruit and nuts and cheese sticks, etc., but we were missing the cracker variety. :) When I found the graham cracker recipe I had to give it a shot.

Graham Crackers

3 c whole grain white flour (I bought Hogson Mill brand)

1/2 t salt

1/2 t baking powder

1/4 t cinnamon

8 T butter

1/2 cup raw honey (or agave nectar)

1 egg (my addition)

1. Stir together first 4 ingredients in bowl.

2. Melt the honey and butter together and pour over dry ingredients, adding enough extra butter to make the dough workable (I added 2 more T of butter and 1 egg at this point).

3. Lightly grease your cookie sheet and roll out dough to 1/8" thickness. Cut rectangles with a knife and prick with a fork. (You could sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar at this point too) :)

4. Bake 10 minutes at 375.

They are a little bit fluffier and grainier than the packaged variety, and I may be partial, but I thought they were wonderful and the kids think so too!

Your muscles get bigger while you're sleeping.

2011-07-12T05:43:00.000-07:00

Three years ago, Hudson was 3 1/2 and Pierce was almost 2; Alayna was on the way and we needed to make room in the crib, so we put them in a queen size bed together. This summer we were able to get bunk beds for them, yet they still manage to sleep together some nights. Every day they're getting bigger, smarter, stronger. I love watching my babies become toddlers, then big boys. I love teaching them and seeing the fruit of it. I love marking the notch on the door frame that shows they've grown another two inches and seeing the excitement on their faces. Yet, something sweet hurts inside.

Splish, Splash, I was takin' a bath!

2011-06-30T02:50:00.001-07:00

It's 4:50 am. I have to leave in 10 minutes to go train a couple of girls. But it's been ages and life is flying by so I thought I'd at least get a couple of pictures up. The boys are at VBS this week so the girls and I have been doing some gardening and cleaning. I stuck them in the bathtub a couple of nights ago and let them play while I cleaned. After a while I pulled Adelle out, got her jammies on and left Alayna with conditioner in her hair for a few more minutes. I set Adelle down with a book in her room (which is right next to the bathroom). I walked down the short hallway to the living room couch, grabbed a pile of towels, walked back to the towel closet right outside the bathroom, put the towels away, went back into the bathroom (maybe 15 seconds), then ran to get the camera. :)

She's a mess!

Summer is here!

2011-06-02T05:17:00.000-07:00

Swimming days are taking over and wearing us all out and we love it! Everybody's hair is getting a little blonder and we're adding to our freckle collection. The heat is officially here. 90 to 100 degrees all week long, so we're playing outside in the morning and swimming or summer schooling in the afternoons.

Yesterday we went to Aldi to grab some snacks before heading to the pool. "Are those all yours?" Her voice wafted loudly down the aisle and I knew it was meant for me because I hear it EVERY time we go out. I smile and nod, "They sure are." She gawks, "Two boys, two girls?" Mmmhmm. "I'm sure glad having children is for the young." I smile again, "We have lots of fun, I drop into bed and sleep great every night ... from all that fun (wink, smile)." She grunts a little. Lovely. Well, here's some shots of all our fun :)

Grilled everything - Hooray for grilling!

Look out - she's a wild woman!

Chillin' on the backyard swing.

Whoa! My little American Woman playing on the playground set.

Watering the flowers.

Making monster dolls!

We love them!

Swimming, of course.

Caught the top of his head before he disappeared.

I didn't get a picture of her, but miss fearless swimming diaper will jump in anywhere. She wears me out.

Getting a little reading in - man, they're cute.

We're trying to get a little more sleep too - Ha!

Daddy is finishing the day with the boys and the cowgirl playing angry birds. Yeah, it's exhausting and so much fun!

One Thousand Gifts

2011-05-25T05:57:00.000-07:00

I don't mean for every post to be a book review! But these books are changing my perspective and my life, changing the way I talk to and raise my children. I'm even trying to be nicer to my husband (Haha! he'll like that :)!! ). Click onthe book that will lead you to the blog and dive in - I love it!

I'm only three chapters in, but I thought I'd go ahead and start my list of one thousand gifts and I plan on sharing them with you as often as I post. But, seriously, as I type I have one boy explaining to me the details of his paper airplane, one snuggling on my lap with his blanket, one girl "reading/singing" her book at the table while she's supposed to be eating her breakfast, and the baby is still sleeping. Posting isn't easy, then again, nothing is easy these days. So let that be at the top of the list!

THE LIST

1. The four warm little bodies in this house that need me to be their momma.

2. Chubby cheeks and sparkling blue eyes that greet me from the crib.

3. The laughing, talking, and sometimes squabbling that is the soundtrack of our breakfast this morning.

4. The adventure and danger of being a little boy!

5. Baby #4 and the joy that she brings this mama (remember how I reeled when I found out I was pregnant ... AGAIN!) Love her!

A little peek into my morning

2011-05-16T07:13:00.001-07:00

There was a time in my life when I was much "godlier." I would sweep my long, flowing hair into a ponytail and pull on a warm, cozy sweater and slip my feet into warn house shoes. I would get my coffee, head out onto the front porch swing and read my Bible in the rising sunlight with singing birds and clucking chickens for background noise, offering up my prayers for the day. I was really living the Christian life and feeling really good about it. God must have been very happy with me. ;)

I'm reading a book right now I'd like to share with all the mother's of little ones out there.

She shares the same thought I just shared above with a great analogy: Back in those "godlier" days, I was like a rock in a stream, being refined by a slow river in a quiet place. Sure, I was growing spiritually, but so easily and so little. These days I'm in the rock tumbler where it's not so easy to feel godly. There's very little time for quiet reflection. "I do a lot of on-the-job failure and correction. Repenting and forgiving. Laughing. Lots and lots of laughing. Because if there is anything that life in the rock tumbler will teach you, it is that there is no room to take yourself seriously. Like trying to strike 'cool' poses on a rug that someone is continually pulling out from under you. Self-seriousness in mothering is totally pointless and probably painful!"

So, here's a real-life look at the first part of my morning:

At 6:30 this morning I rolled out of bed to iron a shirt for David before he left for work. I hit start on the coffee pot as Hudson came in asking for breakfast. A few minutes later I heard Adelle holler from her crib. I went in to get her up and change her diaper. Pierce and Alayna woke up soon after that. I got them all at the table eating their breakfast (funny question from Pierce: "Mom, are we city kids or country kids?" Ha!). We prayed together and said goodbye to daddy for the day.

NOISE

After breakfast I pulled out my pen and paper to scribble out a meal plan and grocery list while the kids "played" (Adelle dumped toys and library books, Alayna begged me to draw flowers and princesses all over my list, Hud and Pierce were playing some kind of very noisy spy/ninja game involving swords and karate).

After my list was completed, I got Hudson going on piano practice and played his songs with him, Adelle on my hip. As I'm counting beats with Hudson, 1, 1, 1-2, 1-1, 1-2, Adelle is mimicking my words and Pierce is yelling at Alayna to get out of his room. After a talk with Pierce about how Jesus would treat him and Alayna, finishing up piano, cleaning up breakfast, getting Adelle down for her nap, and a lovely phone conversation with my mom, I sat down here (the kids are watching a movie - we're doing afternoon school today so I can catch up on a few things this morning).

BUSYNESS

After Adelle's nap we're headed to the grocery store, Chick-fil-a!!! Grandma's house, the library, and back home for school and Adelle's afternoon nap (this involves getting four kids in and out of the car at least 6 times!).

I need a shower and another cup of coffee (Don't you love my priorities!). As I corrected Pierce this morning I had the fleeting thought, why can't they just get along? Why can't everyone cooperate? Why am I constantly playing referee? And then TRUTH - "Every failure from them (my children) is a wonderful opportunity for repentance and growth." And I had to deal with myself in that instance as I asked Pierce if he was showing love or anger to his sister. How do I react when I'm trying to do something and they want my attention? Do I shoo them away? Do I get irritated or respond to them in frustration because they're interrupting me and the very important things I have to do? I told Pierce, "I know you want to play with your own toys in your own room without Alayna bothering you. But I want you to think about what Jesus would do. Would He let Alayna come and play with him or would He tell her to get out of His room?" Pierce smiled, "He would play with her." Such a good reminder for me this morning!

"Generations will reap what I sow. I could pass on a curse or a blessing, to those I may never know." --Sarah Groves

Mother's Day 2011

2011-05-09T06:33:00.000-07:00

For my mom this year we surprised her with a mother-daughter photo shoot by my friend, Katie. Shannon was able to come into town for the weekend. So, we all headed over to a lovely loading dock outside of our little town and got so many great shots. I'll post a few more later on. We have a brother too, but he lives in New York. He towers over us at 6'4", and weighs less than us - yeah, we don't like him too much (I'm kidding, of course).

Shannon 22, Alyson 30, MOM, Amanda 29, Angela 29 (Zach 26, not pictured).

We had so much FUN!

Then, we my family got back from Georgia we got the cousins together and REALLY surprised mom on Mother's Day with a grand-baby slide show by Sweeter Still Photography! So much fun!

Adelle (almost 1!), Kate 3, Alayna 2, Lola 1, Riley 7, Pierce 4, Hudson 6, Claire 5

It's a cousin pizza!

The Freddys!

Hudson

Pierce

Alayna

Adelle

Cousins!

What a blessed and happy Mother's Day!

People Food

2011-05-04T06:15:00.000-07:00

For the month of May a friend and I are eating vegetarian, just for fun. Doesn't that sound like fun?! Ha. I'm not forcing this on my family but they're participating in a few meals. Adelle has officially graduated to people food. Last night she gobbled down some minestrone soup. The night before that she stuffed her face with broccoli, sweet potatoes, rice and quinoa.

No complaints here - this kid loves to eat EVERYTHING (including rocks in the driveway - watch out!)

A little veggie tales rest time in mom & dad's bed.

She'll be one in a week. Stay tuned for monkey cake pictures!!!

Eastery kid pictures

2011-05-02T05:20:00.000-07:00

Since we were out of town on Eater weekend, the kids wore their Easter clothes yesterday to church. Snapping pictures right before church is stressful. I promise myself every year that I'm not going to do that - I'll just dress them up some other time. Then I think, ah they're already dressed. I might as well snap a few shots. And we get these ...

I don't even remember what she was initially upset about. Neither does she.

But she recovered and we did get all four children in one frame. And we were late for church. I'll never do that again. ;)

Vacationing in Georgia

2011-04-26T05:24:00.000-07:00

We're home and had the best trip ever! Seriously, traveling with four small children can be disastrous, but I couldn't have asked for a better more rejuvenating time! God blessed us exponentially. I tend to be an exaggerator, but this is no exaggeration.

David and Hudson were at their Bible conference during the day so the little one's and I scoped out the little town and found some play grounds and we did A LOT of playing.

Adelle found a stick ... and a cigarette butt, but we didn't pose for that picture.

The sandbox dance - woohoo!

This was the biggest slide ever!

"This slide is shocky with electricity." Loving those four-year-scientific terms.

Alayna braves the monster slide.

Swangin'!

"Higher! Faster!"

After all that playing they all needed a bath, a bubble bath, no less. We like making grandpa facial hair - the entertainment is endless.

Traveling in the van with four car seats is crazy fun! Sometimes they slept all at the same time, but that was rare. My favorite road quote from Alayna was, "Mom, I'm so boring!" Ha!

Smily was a good girl.

Boys in the back with their ice chest pillow. They had a great conversation about how strong God is. Hudson: "Pierce, do you know how strong God is?" Pierce: "Well if just flicked you with his finger you would land in the next universe." Wow, that's a long way. :) Here's a video of some SERIOUS DANCING going on in the back seat.

Daddy was the driver ...

Mommy was the navigator/entertainer/snack waitress.

Hotel pools are always a highlight.

Don't mind that mess of mascara - check out that cute baby!

What a doll.

Huddy Buddy

All pink and purple and ruffles and flowers - of course!

Pierce as Aquaman. He was funny. A few great quotes of the week: At Walmart in the middle of a crowded aisle, "Wow, there sure are a lot of brown people." Smile, nervous laugh, moving on. Then we got to the cashier, "Mom, did God make mostly peach people?" I said, "No, God made all different colors of people." Thankfully, my "brown" cashier smiled and laughed out loud. Oh boy.

Home Schooling

2011-04-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

A good friend of mine has ventured to stick her big toe into the waters of homeschooling. We've had several discussions about homeschooling so I thought it might be a good idea to share what homeschooling looks like in our family.

Let me introduce myself, I'm the teacher. I usually have workout clothes on when we begin our day (let's just dispel that denim-jumper-with-an-apple-on-the-pocket myth right here and now) and a cup of coffee in my hand. We begin our day at breakfast time with Bible. We usually read our devotion for the day and go over Bible verse (we keep one Bible verse all week and by the end of the year the kids and I usually have 52 verses under our Belts - Ephesians 6:10-18). After breakfast, the kids get their personal hygiene stuff done. Hudson usually practices his piano first, then he gets going on a math lesson, Pierce and I sit down for a reading lesson, the girls play (sometimes Alayna sits at the table and works with pattern blocks or something like that). I'll admit that it's not always that clean cut. Monitoring 4 kids doing 4 different things is a beautiful picture of the controlled chaos that is my life.

2nd Period (I've never called it that before) Hudson moves on to reading, Pierce and I do his math (Alayna usually joins us), and obviously Adelle is just along for the ride at this point.

Once Adelle goes down for her morning nap, I sit down with Alayna on the rug in the living room and we do her pre-school. It takes all of 30 minutes to go over her letter of the week, number of the week, review her Bible verse, and we usually throw in some art or creative play like glueing fruit loops to the letter "A," etc. The boys get a lego-break while I work with Alayna.

I wont get into curriculum in this post, but I'll do one in the future so you can see exactly what we're learning.

Hudson finishes up with handwriting and spelling. We do a history read-aloud at snack time. I've just found that they sit still and listen better if they're putting food in their mouths! Science and art we do once a week if I have all the stuff to do something. I'll do better with this one when the baby is a little bit older.

So we're usually done with school by noon, but learning never stops. The kids help me bake and discuss measurements and the effects of yeast, etc. We helped papa plant his garden and we discussed plants and soil and water, etc. They're always asking questions and we're always finding answers. Whether you homeschool or not, your kids are always learning from you - the good the bad and the ugly. Let's face it - sometimes it really is ugly. Alayna let out a big sigh of frustration the other day and, sadly, it sounded just like me.

"The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever." Isaiah 32:17

I love homeschooling right now because the opportunities to sow and reap the rewards of Isaiah 32:17 are evident daily. As a mom - that's priceless!

Crafty-ness!

2011-04-12T05:25:00.000-07:00

I was in charge of the craft for our annual church Women's Retreat this year. I found this fabulous blog with all manner of crafty wonder and these fabric rosettes immediately grabbed my attention. Seriously check out all her stuff. Natsprat is a creative crafty genius. Her tutorial is way cuter than mine, but New Life Ranch is not equipped with Wifi so this lovely poster board had to do the trick.

And this is the finished product!

So easy and SO CUTE! Beware, it's addictive. I've made about 372.

We've been digging a hole to China. Our bathwater is brown every night. Loving the spring weather!!!

See the little purple rosette in her hair. She actually left it in! I'm loving the chubby little arms and legs in shorts and t-shirts. Oh.My!

How sweet is this?! Love those boys.

Funny story about Alayna. She's got this sheer, tie-dye ribbon that she loves to tie around her head or her wrist or just about anything. She calls it her Indian crown/bracelet/whatever. But instead of saying "Indian," she says "idiot." I got to laughing so hard this morning as she twirled around the living room singing, "I have my idiot crown," in her most beautiful singing voice. She's a funny one.

She's 11 months old (yesterday). I could write a book about how incredible she is and how much I love her. This happy little expression is pretty much constant. I pick her up from the crib and she squeezes me and presses her face into mine. She's just pretty much awesome. Time to start party planning!

I love them

2011-04-04T18:47:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a women's retreat that I'll post more about later. But I came home to these precious faces. :)

I think she might like these muffins. :)

Sweet boys - here's a good story: Hudson's 2nd top tooth was getting loose. The last time we pulled a tooth I had to hold him down. He cried, Pierce cried, Alayna hollered, "I'm being brave!" It was quite an ordeal. This time Hudson and Pierce were playing Ninja Spin-jitsu (I know you play that game at your house too). Pierce karate chopped Hudson in the mouth and the tooth went flying. I don't advocate facial karate chops, but this one worked out in my favor!

Oh my goodness - am I a blessed mommy or what?!

For the last time.

2011-03-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

It's a sad day for me.

I've nursed all my babies for a year. I just do. It's cheaper, it's good for them, it's good for me, it's convenient. And I love it. I love just being forced to sit. I love to feed the baby and play with her hair and check her ears and her fingernails and feel her soft skin and just enjoy her smallness. They just don't stay small. I've loved every stage, but I think I really love that little-baby-wholly-dependent-on-mommy stage. This one has an independent streak of determination running through her blood, but she still liked nursing.

Well, remember those nasty poison ivy vines and the nasty poison that leaked through my shirt (yes, I was wearing a shirt! Good grief!) and infected my entire stomach. I went to the doctor last Monday, but all she could give me (nursing) was a topical ointment, not a whole lot stronger than the over the counter stuff. By Saturday, it had spread everywhere, and I do mean everywhere (except my face, thank goodness). So I called the doctor again and she gave me a steroid prescription. I have to take it for 10 days, then wait two more days before my milk would be okay for Adelle. I hate pumping more than I love nursing and did I mention that the poison ivy spread everywhere?! Ugh. So I fed Adelle for the last time this morning.

We've both had kind of a rough day. She walks up to me saying, "Mamamama." And I pick her up and hand her her cup. I know it may not seem like a big deal. In a few weeks it wont be a big deal at all. But it is today.

Videos for Gigi

2011-03-25T03:47:00.000-07:00

We made some videos for Gigi last night. Gigi my grandma, the kids Great Grandma. She just had hip-replacement surgery and has to stay in bed for a while to make sure her incision is healing properly. The kids decided to provide her with some entertainment. :)

Hudson Reading

Alayna discussing Princesses

Pierce and his favorite things

Hudson and his favorite things

Alayna again :)

Kid quotes and crop tops

2011-03-21T18:37:00.000-07:00

My favorite kid quotes of the weekend happen to come from my four-year-old, Pierce.

First he came to me sobbing. This kid can turn on the crocodile tears faster than anyone I've ever seen. I asked him what was wrong. He got control of himself a little bit and said. "I just hate Adam and Eve." First of all, we don't say hate. Second of all, Adam and Eve?? What? "They just sinned and ruined the whole world and now we can't even pet bears. I just wish we could pet bears." Oh boy. We had a great talk about the things sin ruins and the great things that will happen when Jesus returns. You just never know when a deep spiritual conversation will spark. :)

Saturday we took the kids to a near by town where daddy has a credit card customer who sells frozen custard - YUM! We told the kids we were going to a new town and Pierce asked, "Did God just make that town?" No, it's an old town, but you've never been there. :)

And, I have poison ivy. No surprise there. I thought I was well protected and could get away without getting any. I was wearing jeans, and gloves and a long-sleeved shirt, but my belly is covered with itchy, oozing poison ivy bumps. I went to the doctor to get some kind of high-powered something to make it stop. She asked me if I was wearing a crop top! Now there's a pretty picture for ya!

In my spare time ...

2011-03-16T07:18:00.001-07:00

We've lived in our current home for about 5 years. We love it, even though we're outgrowing it. However, we chose this property mainly for the land - 3 acres to be exact. We're close to town but the land makes us feel like we're in the country. We love our neighbors, but their not right on top of us. It's great for the kids to run around and play. The people who livedhere before us did a great job with the yard - or hired someone to do a great job with the yard. The yard right now is well utilized by our children and their play things - littered with colorful tubes to crawl through, pink and blue slides, a teeter totter, a swing, a grill, lots of pecan trees a water well house, and a double clothes line - and that's just on the front acre.

The fence to the west is a privacy fence. The fence to the east is chain link and barbed wire, but it's covered in vines and the most awful bushes ever. The privacy is nice, but these bushes are taking over, and underneath them is growing a mountain of poison ivy. I learned that the hard way the year I was pregnant with Alayna and decided to trim up the bushes. Huge pregnant and covered with poison ivy is as miserable as it sounds.

Anyway, this year, I'm not pregnant and the bushes are coming down!

Here's what we've done so far.

Here's the mess that we still have to work on. I'm no girl scout, but I'm pretty sure those vines are poison ivy.

Daddy and the little cutie pie. Adelle is walking and trying to JUMP. She's also trying to repeat every thing I say. In this shot she was telling me hi. :)

The boys with their lego letter creations. Don't you just love the pose?!

Pierce doing his reading lesson - so proud of him. :)

The little jammy princesses with their waffles. Golly, they're cute!

Here's a couple of funny videos if you're interested ...

Alayna describing the bug that was on her finger. Hang on for all 27 seconds of this one for a good chuckle.

Adelle trying to jump with me.

What I've been reading

2011-03-14T14:30:00.000-07:00

I've been on a World War II kick lately. Before that it was Amish, and before that it was pretty much anything by Francine Rivers. Once I find an author I like, I pretty much read everything they've written.

There is a lady in my water aerobics class who I run into at the library every once in a while. Once she'd locked her keys in her car so I gave her a ride home and made sure she was able to get into her house. We talked about books all the way to her house. She brought a book she thought I would like to then next water aerobics class and that's what got me started on this recent reading rampage.

Sarah's Key - the saddest story I've read in a long time. It's historical fiction. While the characters in the story are not real, the sad history of it is. I got fancy this time and linked all the books to review sites or interviews.

After reading Sarah's Key I looked up World War II on my Kindle. Clara's War popped up next. I was craving a true story. This one is incredible. Click the book to see a real youtube interview by Clara.

The Kindle always gives book suggestions: Those who read Clara's War also read Gertruda's Oath. Another amazing true story.

Click on the book to see a real Youtube interview from the little Michael who is now a man.

I took a break from reading for a while and then a friend gave me this one to borrow. I'm about half way through and loving it too.

So, what are you reading these days??

Procrastination is the Thief of Dreams

2011-03-14T07:44:00.001-07:00

"The assumption of time is one of humanity's greatest follies. We tell ourselves that there's always tomorrow, when we can no more predict tomorrow than we can the weather. Procrastination is the thief of dreams."

--The Walk by Richard Paul Evans.

One of my dear friends lost her mother yesterday. Her mother, of course, was my mother's age. Young, vibrant, loving her grandkids and the life she had been blessed with. Then she was diagnosed with small cell lung cancer - "like the kind of event that blindsides you on a Friday afternoon when you're trying to plan your weekend."

Her journey through this battle is incredible. You can read about it here.

I have many vivid memories of Vicki Dees. She was my bible study teacher through middle school and highschool. She made a huge impact on my spiritual walk and my understanding of God. She was a the happiest, sweetest person I've probably ever met. All of that is a direct result of her love for Jesus.

I spent many days playing at her house with her daughter, Rissa, as a child. I grew up with their family as an almost daily part of my life. But my strongest and fondest memory of Vicki was one summer day when I was over at their house "helping" with a garage sale. I was probably 9 or 10. Vicki had us pricing things. She would strike up a conversation with every person who came to her garage sale. Most of the conversations ended up with this question, "Do you know Jesus?" Her boldness wasn't overbearing or judgmental. It was the sweetest thing I had ever witnessed. Like she truly loved and cared for every person who walked in that day.

If you read her blog you'll see her faith and you'll see one of her last profound statements, "I was created to be eternal." Her faith is now sight and mine is the stronger for it.

Funny Video of Alayna

2011-03-06T05:03:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking about uploading THIS VIDEO to America's Funniest Home Videos - aka The Fall-Down Show. :)

Spitting Sparkly Kisses

2011-03-05T04:51:00.000-08:00

I was at Aldi yesterday with all four of my children and every "blue-hair" in this little town. One sweet lady, who was about 85, told me she'd take those girls off my hands for me. She spent the next 5 minutes telling me about her twin boys "who are old men now." My kids could not take their eyes off this lady - she didn't hear very well so she was yelling and her "teeth" we're clicking. Adelle kept grabbing for her glasses and the lady would grab her hand and spit kisses all over it (don't worry, I'm always armed with wipes). I looked at the four of them and couldn't help but think that someday that would be me, stopping a young mom in the grocery store to share stories.

It's Saturday, which is still a work day around here. Daddy gives the boys jobs and after work Alayna and I usually go do something girly. She was watching my lips really closely last night as I read a story. She stopped me after a few minutes and said, "Mom, your lips have a sparkle. It's so beautiful!" Guess I had some leftover Burt's Bees Champagne on my top lip. :) Today we're going to find some sparkly lip stick for her. Love my girl.

babies and books

2011-03-03T06:12:00.000-08:00

Because every time I get the camera out she wants her picture taken and she's a cutie.

This one is getting so big! Almost 10 months old :(

Look at those long legs hanging out of that highchair! She and I were rocking at 2:30 this morning (she's been working on 5 teeth - makes for lovely late-night rocking sessions). She's fills up my arms and my lap now. I'm grateful for these days of more sleep, but I do treasure those middle-of-the-night feeding sessions when she would tuck her knees up under her chest and her little bootie fit right into the palm of my hand.

And how about a book review :)

This one will put you to sleep every night. Hudson loves it though!

There are several in this series. We checked out four and Hudson has been reading them to Pierce and Alayna in the mornings while I make breakfast.

At Adelle's 9 month appointment the doctor said, "You're reading to her aren't you?" Oh yeah! We should be doing that huh?! The happy baby books are my favorite and hers too. She can identify several objects already, like "cup" and "ball".

He rented out the restaurant

2011-03-01T05:22:00.001-08:00

My facebook status yesterday read: "February 28, 2004 I was wed to Dave Frederick. 9 months later we had Hudson, 22 months later we had Pierce, 21 months later we had Alayna, 22 months later we had Adelle. It's been a glorious blur. Happy Anniversary Love!"

Well, yesterday was my anniversary. Today is the anniversary of my honeymoon, so I think I'll take it easy. :)

Mom and dad kept the kids last night, but Adelle still needs me every few hours so she tagged along, which would have been fine except that the restaurant we'd planned to go to didn't have highchairs. I was SO disappointed. I've been wanting to eat there for a while now. There's nothing better on a special night than good food in good atmosphere with the man you love. Oh well. We went next door where they did have highchairs and ate all by ourselves. Seriously, a few people came in as we were walking out, but we were the only ones in there for a long time. Adelle behaved like the little angel that she is (we're just so glad high chairs have seat belts - she's a monkey). I enjoyed some Sea Bass and conversation with my man. We went to Target (is that sad? It was fun!) and picked up dessert at Olive Garden on the way home - couldn't help but treat myself to a little tiramisu. It turned out to be a relaxing, quiet evening and I loved it.

These last seven years have been full and fun and I'm excited to see what the next year holds. I'm hanging on to these days, loving my family and the life that we've made by God's grace and mercy.

New tricks!

2011-02-23T09:22:00.001-08:00

Remember that little monkey I was telling you about who likes to climb in the bathtub? She wanted to show you her new trick.

Click HERE!

The makeover continues ...

2011-02-21T08:46:00.000-08:00

I painted my kitchen last week. It's a lovely light blue - fresh and clean and bright - and I love it! My cabinets are dark brown, neutral tile - so I was thinking red accents. Especially after I hung that picture back up and saw the red awning and loved it next to the blue.

Well, lo and behold, wall decor was on sale at Hobby Lobby and I made a few little purchases.

I already had the flowers and the navy thing they're in. I think David got those for me for our first anniversary. (I've always loved red). The LOVE plaque reads: Love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things. LOVE it. :)

Then I discovered these lovely things and had to control my excitement in the store. Can you see the light blue coming through with all the brown and red??? These were made for my kitchen!!! The Micah 6:8 plaque is not just a great exhortation, it has light blue little paisley things on it! The next one says, "Christ is the center of our home, a guest at every meal and a listener at every conversation." The kids and I did our devotion this morning over that topic ... and it's going to be a reminder on my wall! The last one is Isaiah 32:17, "The fruit of righteousness will be peace; the effect of righteousness will be quietness and confidence forever." What a powerful verse! I also bought a big wooden spoon and fork - I couldn't resist. They were 1/2 off!!!

My sister, Amanda is coming over tomorrow to help me hang everything. Needless to say after all those exclamation points, I AM SO EXCITED!!! And after watching HGTV all weekend, I'll be moving on to the next room soon. :)

I love my kids!

2011-02-12T13:10:00.000-08:00

When we first moved into the house we're in now, Hudson was Adelle's age. I can't believe he's six!

Oh my goodness! Pierce is all blue eyes and cheeks and little chicklet teeth.

Alayna the little princess who loves her braids and bows and ponytails and polka-dots and anything that's light, sparkly pink.

Adelle, my little doll-baby and happy little monkey is nine months old!

Can you tell who eats more sweet potatoes?!

Book Review

2011-02-11T05:55:00.000-08:00

We take a trip to the library once a week and check out a few hundred books and five movies (that's our limit). I pile them all in my Akins tote bag that I got for free somewhere. It's pretty handy. I usually carry Adelle on one hip and cart the books around on the other arm. By the time we leave I'm usually sweaty and out of breath, but we're in pretty good shape for the rest of the week.

My kids have always loved to be read to, but since Hudson is reading so well these days, I usually have him read to Pierce and Alayna. We recently found these graphic novel history stories and he LOVES them! Our library has lots of them and I grab a handful every time. They're written sort-of like a comic book with lots of pictures. Be careful on your choices. I learned that this time when I grabbed a handful and one of them was about the Donner Party - that's the story where they get stuck in the mountains and eat each other (might not be appropriate for a six-year-old!). Thankfully this was one of the stories David read to the boys and he's good at editing!. The anniversary of the California Gold Rush is February 28 and I was way excited to find that story!

This one is just fun and there are lots of these. You can spot things in the town or in the house or in the sea. The list is long. My four year old loved this one. It's great for counting and for something to do while the big brother is doing math an the teacher is occupied!

Videos and Pictures

2011-02-09T07:50:00.000-08:00

What?! Two posts in one day?! I know, it's unheard of. I'm on a roll.

Adelle on the changing table babbling

Boys Sledding

papa was the first to dig and navigate the hole - he's our hero!

Pierce thought it was pretty awesome.

Hudson helped dig from the inside.

Alayna thought it was beautiful, of course. :)

Cool Breezes ...or blowing snow

2011-02-09T05:19:00.000-08:00

I love this blog. It's like I'm writing a letter to all my friends and family once a week. Is that cheesy? I used to be a big letter writer - until social networking took over the world. Anyway...What happened to Terrific Tuesday? I got busy, that's what. Actually, I watched Notorious (Ingrid Bergman Carry Grant - it's a good one) and took a little nap while the kids were out. Then I picked up the house and typed up the menu for my clients, then went to Lowes and bought THE PAINT.

When we moved into this house the kitchen/dining area was an minty/aqua blue, white cabinets, blue drawers with little white knobs decorated with a pink rose and age-old dark brown laminate floors. It wasn't horrid, but it definitely wasn't my style. I painted the cabinets chocolate brown and installed brushed silver knobs. The walls I painted a warm green - not too minty, not too olive. Perfect, in my opinion. ;) However, over the years with the addition of three more children and the wear and tear 6 people can put on a house, the kitchen started to look a bit dingy (that's din-jee as in grimy, soiled, dirty, not ding-ee as in ditsy, clueless, silly, mindless, etc!). After recovering my chairs I felt the need to redecorate my whole house. However, have I mentioned that I have four children, and we home school? Yeah, extra time is something I don't have too much of. So, we'll start with painting the kitchen.

The color is called Cool Breezes. It's a lovely white/blue and will really help brighten everything up. Painting, especially in main rooms, usually has to happen at night when the kiddos are asleep. Otherwise they want to "help." I'll post before and after pictures when I get this project done - my goal is by the end of next week.

In other news, I'm memorizing some verse with a friend of mine. Check out Beth Moore's blog . She issued a challenge at the beginning of the year to memorize the verses that she posts on the 1st and 15th of every month. In January of 2012 she's having a conference in Houston and everyone who keeps a journal of their memory verses can get in for free. It just so happens that my friend is moving to Houston this spring, so it's goal of ours to memorize and meditate on our verses for a year and then meet again in Houston for the conference. I'm so motivated and excited - and you should join us!

We've gotten A LOT of snow in the past couple of weeks. It's blowing more snow as I type. I actually love being snowed in. I love that my family is all together, my pantry is stocked, David picked up a bunch of movies and we still have electricity! Our local schools have been out for almost two weeks. My poor children don't get snow days. We've done school in the morning and played in the snow in the afternoon - perfect. My dad built a sledding mountain and dug a three way tunnel (is he incredible or what?!). Sunday, after sledding and playing in the snow with Papa, we headed to the grocery store to restock. David ran in while the kids and I stayed in the car. Alayna and Adelle were asleep and the boys stayed busy counting the security cameras mounted to the top of the store and making up some secret super-spy agenda about every person entering and leaving the store. I was thoroughly entertained.

Time to hit the books. Have a lovely day!

Love,

Alyson :)

Still Running

2011-02-05T07:05:00.001-08:00

The kids got jolly ranchers from my boss at the Y. Thanks boss. So I explained that they should not chew them because it's bad for their teeth. They could suck on them but be very careful. Hudson asked, "Why do we have to be careful?" Because you could choke. "What would happen if we did choke." We we're driving right by the fire department so I said, "I would have to drive you to the fire department and they would give you the Heimlick (who knows how to spell that?!). "What's the Heimlick?" I answered, "Well, they would wrap their arms around your stomach and pump really hard until the jolly rancher flew out of your throat." Then I just decided to go for the big scare, "You would probably throw up and you might get some ribs broken." Oh my goodness, what a terrible thing to tell your children! Hudson answered, "I will never eat Jolly Ranchers for the rest of my life!" Pierce said, "Or you could just be careful." Ha!

A few days later Hudson got some Starbursts at church. Every one wants my children sugared up except me! After lunch, when I was unwrapping them, Hudson asked, "Are these kind dangerous?" Yes son, all candy is dangerous.

Well, we've been snowed in for a week. Maybe longer. I don't know. I've lost all track of time. Thankfully our school routine has kept us busy and the kids have been way into digging tunnels in the snow. It's like the Great Escape in my back yard - secret tunnels and bunkers everywhere. What else are supposed to do with four foot snow drifts?!

For some reason, our little town is incapable of clearing roads. We're supposed to get more snow tomorrow and even more on Tuesday or Wednesday. Could we please get some driveable surface before the whole of this lovely little town goes insane?!

In other news I went out to do some laundry a couple of days ago (after my husband informed me that he was on his last pair of undies - I don't usually wait that long but it's been freezing and my washer and drier are in the garage, poor me!). Low and behold the washer would not turn on. Lots of buzzing, no water, no good. All of my facebook friends gave some great tips, so David put a space heater by the washer and by that afternoon we had a lovely little creek bed running through the garage. I think it's safe to assume something is busted. Well, we had to have undies so I picked through the laundry and gathered all the socks and underwear and brought them inside to my sink. Let's just say I'm so glad I was born in this century and that I'm not Amish. Hanging towels on the line is one thing. Washing and wringing out socks and underwear for 5 people is not my idea of a productive morning. At least the drier is still running. And the children are still running, so I'm also thankful that my coffee pot is also still running.

We'll be finishing our February bulletin board today and playing in the snow and risking our lives as we venture out on our treacherous roads in an effort to save our sanity. I'm making pizza tonight and cinnamon rolls for tomorrow's breakfast. It's a busy day folks!

Car Conversations

2011-01-29T04:56:00.000-08:00

Pierce asked, "Mom, do police even come get kids?" I answered, "If kids disobey they law, they have to be punished and that's the police's job." Pierce needed further clarification of this, "But if kids don't obey the law do they go to jail even if they're just kids?" I answered, "If kids are old enough to make bad choices (and gave several examples like stealing and breaking and entering) then they are old enough to pay the consequences." I told the kids what happens to most kids who disobey the law and said that's why it's so important that we choose wise friends and make wise decisions, etc. After a little thought Pierce said, "Well, I think my wise choice will be that I'll never run out in the street." Okay, good choice for a four-year-old. Then Alayna said, "I have a choice." Oh boy, what's your choice? "I will choose to eat cake." Really?? "Cake is yummy so that's a good choice." Makes perfect sense.

Whimsical Wednesday

2011-01-26T12:27:00.000-08:00

It's been a lovely day of school, library, and learning games. I love Wednesdays at home with no where to go and everything to do.

The boys color while they wait for their pancakes.

Alayna and her new "projeck." Yes, she slept with a skirt over her jammies.

Oh the crazy adventure of bath time!

"AH - THIS IS SO FUN!!!" I'm sure that's what she saying :) She's never still during bath time. I have to wrangle her to get her washed and she screams and laughs the whole time.

Four cuties

My little tutu princesses :)

JUMP!!

2011-01-25T12:04:00.000-08:00

Oh look! It's a book review! Our books and movies go back to library tomorrow. We got this book last week and LOVE IT!!!

All children and mommies will find this book entertaining and thought provoking. After all, if you were a frog in a bog and saw a bug on a jug, what would you do?

I'm really a willy-nilly book chooser at the library. Rarely do I order online and plan ahead so that goes with whatever we're studying. I did this week though, sort-of. Hudson requested books on hurricanes, starfish, crabs, and beetles. Pierce requested books on sharks, alligators, dogs and bugs. Alayna requested books about Dora, Cinderella, Beauty and Beast and elephants. I'll let you know if I find a good one out of the bunch.

Lots to do this fine afternoon. I'm making a menu for my personal training clients (I'm way behind this week), researching library books of course, preparing a fabulous meal of I don't know what yet, and training a couple more clients tonight. Think I help myself to some afternoon coffee on this terrific Tuesday. I'll get some pictures up sometime this week too.

Snow and School and a magnificent makeover

2011-01-23T18:45:00.000-08:00

Don't you just love my snowy tree background??

Well, we're ready for a new week and here's a re-cap of the week that was...

This happy little cutie loves to play in our laundry/treadmill/girls play room. Earlier she climbed from the treadmill into that laundry basket and was standing on top of the laundry hiking her leg to get up on the tall chair behind the basket! Help!

It SNOWED. Oh the excitement of snow ice cream and snow men and snow angles and snow castles!

Hudson said, "This is just like the beach, only freezing!" And no ocean, and no, this is nothing like the beach. I just smile.

Alayna is all purple and pink and polkadots and Pierces old navy blue boots. Oh well. The snow princess loved the snow for the first time in her 2 1/2 years. "Oh, it's so wintery and beautiful," she said in her most high-pitched princess voice.

We still do school on snow days. Hudson has been writing a short paragraph about whatever story we read for reading. He was particularly proud of this paragraph. His teacher gave him and A. :)

I've been wanting to recover my dining room chairs almost since I bought them just before we got married. They're white, or I should say they were white. My dear sister, Amanda, got me new foam and fabric for Christmas and came over last week to show me how to recover these lovely chairs.

BEFORE ...

AFTER

I'm so proud of what a good job we did. Now I need to repaint the kitchen and dining room, sand down the kitchen cabinets and repaint them. And by the time that's done I'll be ready to move on to the rest of the house. Who knew one simple little project could snowball into an extreme home-makeover?! :)

To be terrific you gotta be specific

2011-01-18T04:37:00.000-08:00

One of my 2011 goals is to keep up better with this blog. I have lots of blogger friends who do such a fantastic job posting links and pictures and updates and fun stories or recipes or whatever. I'm usually doing good to put a few pictures up for my far-away family members. This year is busier with more kids in school and a baby underfoot, however, I have high hopes of doing a little bit better. I have a friend who always posts Thankful Thursdays. She has eight children - if she can do it, I should be able to do it. Well, hey, there's a great idea! Maybe I should just have a day of the week that I ALWAYS post. Not that I wouldn't post something on other days too, if time allowed, but I would for sure plan that at least one post would go up on that specific day of the week. I evaluated what this blog is really about - my beautiful, wonderful children and our endeavors to raise them and keep the family and friends updated on what's going on with us - then I began to mull over appropriate titles for a weekly post. I was going for something original, but my thought process was interrupted when emergency mommy situations struck all four children at the same time requiring super glue, wipies, more wipies, some deep breathing and nose blowing.

But that was Monday, and this is Tuesday. Tuesday's are terrific. On Monday we do double schoolwork, I try to catch up on all necessary housework and bake a few batches of muffins or cookies or whatever for the rest of the week. I teach pilates on Monday night (that really is the best way to end a Monday). I come home and put the kids to bed and read for a little while until I can't possibly keep my eyes open another second. On Tuesdays, terrific Tuesday!!! I hustle the kids off for their day out and my day with just Adelle. I usually get a lot done and have a great nap before the kids come home in the afternoon. Seems like the best day to blog. All that to say, you may now look forward to Terrific Tuesday posts with links and pictures and recipes and funny stories. Doesn't that sound terrific?! :) And now for some pictures ...

The ninja-knight and the princess-cowgirl.

Alayna working with pattern blocks.

My girls love playing together.

Mommy and the princess.

Pierce counting and lining up the counting bears in A-B pattern formation.

Cheese stick mustache - lovely.

Bedtime stories and Tutus

2011-01-16T15:09:00.000-08:00

My fortune cookie this afternoon said I was good with words and someday I should write a book. I'm really good at making up stories to tell the kids. One day maybe I'll write those down. The boys like "The Three Brothers." For a while these brothers went on real adventures of my childhood: camping, skiing, hiking, exploring Australia's Great Barrier Reef and riding motorcycles down the Great Ocean Road or taking a 4WD through a rain forest with a river full of crocs. True stories. Then they built a time machine and a rocket and the stories got more inventive. My imagination took another turn after watching Modern Family and croctopus found it's way into our story - a creature with the jaws of a crocodile and the tentacles of an octopus. Yes, my cool points went way up with that story.

In other news I bought the girls tutu skirts and they are SO CUTE. The practical side of me had been holding off from this unnecessary purchase. I'm not a frivolous shopper. My kids have plenty of clothes right now. Who really needs a tutu anyway? Well, I don't know. But I do know that they are just darling and I have no regrets from that purchase. I'll get a picture of them one of these days.

The Icing on the Cake

2011-01-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

Love that little ruffle-bottom ;)

Adelle - 8 months

I poured myself yet another cup of coffee. Add a little cream. Stir it around. Walk back to the school table. "Spell 'sentence'." Hudson continued his spelling test. "Pierce, build an A-B pattern. Alayna, color all the triangles purple. Spell 'cent'." And so the morning continues while Adelle finishes off the cornbread crumbs under the table then heads back into Alayna's little playroom (also the treadmill room). In the picture above she was on top of the box clapping her hands when I walked in (I picked her up, ran to grab the camera and put her back). She's a climber. I have to keep the bathroom doors closed now because she likes to climb in the bathtub. She's only done it once and I was right there watching her, but now I know she can. I'm amazed at her dexterity and skill. None of the other three were as quick to learn to do these things as she has been. I'm thinking about tying some jingle bells on her ankles just so I can keep track of her. She's also a big fan of toilet paper. Aren't we all though?!

It's been a little crazy trying to keep up with everything around here. I started Pierce on reading lessons every day. He loves anything one-on-one and is doing great. He's doing a lot more math stuff this semester too - very hands on stuff like building color patterns with legos, building pictures with different shapes and working story problems with counting bears. Hudson is new territory for me, but Pierce is round 2 and I'm enjoying it even more!

Hudson is working through a lot of 1st and 2nd grade level stuff. I'm so glad to be homeschooling for that very reason. There are some things he excels in and is ready for more of a challenge. And there are other subjects he needs to spend a little more time on. It's great to be able to be flexible.

Alayna does a little preschool workbook every day that she loves. She thinks she's bigger than she is. Today she was running "the circle" around the house and as she came through the kitchen she said, "This is how fast I ran when I was a teenager." Mmmhmm.

It's January so, of course, the personal training has picked up quite a bit. I'm working a couple of hours every day training and at the Y. Between that and school and keeping up with my house and feeding everyone over here, I have very little extra time. I'm enjoying every minute though! For now, I'm going to take advantage of a quiet afternoon and rest with Alayna. Nothing sweeter than nap time on a busy day at the end of a busy week.

We Wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

2010-12-21T07:00:00.000-08:00

Where has the time gone. Well, let me show you :)

We did lots of baking and pretzel making. Funny story, Alayna wanted her "makron." I couldn't figure out what she was talking about. Finally, in tears, she explained, "I'm a maker and I need to wear my makron." Translation: she's a baker and she needs to wear her apron. If only I spoke her two-year-old princess language.

Granddad came for Christmas!

We were so excited about opening presents!

We ate and ate and ate!

When it was all said and done we were exhausted and are now recovering. :)

We conquered de-Christmasing the house with a vengeance.

and this cutie tagged along for the ride.

I might give a better update later, but that will have to suffice for now. Here's a couple of hilarious videos of the big kids. They're short - enjoy :)

Video #1 - Alayna singing some Backyardigans karaoke.

Video #2 - the boys dancing and singing karaoke.

Happy Times

2010-12-09T06:03:00.000-08:00

Pierce and Alayna are working on spelling their names. This homemade "puzzle" is the best tool that I've seen. Even little ones who are just developing letter recognition can do this one.

Hudson turned six last weekend and Aunt Angela got him some motorcycles to paint. Young children with paint stresses me out a little, but we were well armed with aprons, a table cloth, paper towels a stern lecture to not paint themselves or anything but the motorcycles. It made for some great Sunday afternoon fun. Thanks Aunt Angela!

Matching sweatshirts. I should have gotten a picture of them right after this because they got all dressed up in their "spy gear." Knee and elbow pads, gloves, sunglasses, walkie-talkies, backpacks, and sword stuck down their pants. They are anything but sneaky, but they are awful cute.

A perfect home for light sabers.

I'm having a hard time keep track of this kid. She's getting fast and she's doesn't take "no" for an answer. Now that every outlet and Christmas ornament is within reach I'm in full-time training mode (as if home schooling and personal training and housework and meal prep didn't keep me busy enough!) . She is the smiliest, happiest baby of the four and I'm loving every second with her. Hard to believe she'll be 7 months old this weekend!

Confessions of a desperate mommy

2010-12-01T18:21:00.000-08:00

Warning: If you have a weak stomach DO NOT READ the first part of this post!!! (You may not want to ready any of it).

Wednesday is library day for us. Every Wednesday after naps we load up our huge pile of books and movies and make the exciting jaunt to the library to make the exchange for new stuff. Today we did just that. However, everything changed when, from the backseat, I hear, "My tummy doesn't feel good. Mom, I can't hold it ..." He barely missed Adelle who had a front row seat for some serious projectile action. Hudson started the party and it went downhill from there.

My first thought was to get him home and clean up the van. On second thought, I don't want late fees on those movies and if the kids are all going to be sick, we really need new movies (books are good for two weeks). And, if I'm going to be up all night with sick kids I'm going to need some caffeine! AND, mom's who have to clean up after sick kids deserve expensive caffeine. David was headed out of town for a basketball game and I was not prepared to handle four erping (is that a word?) children without ample entertainment and energy. Totally selfish and depraved - I know.

So, we drove home, cleaned up the van, cleaned up Hudson, grabbed a couple of towels, and got back in the van. Yes, we did. Then we drove back to the library. Hudson lost it again on the way there (it's about 4 minutes away) so I told him to lay down on the floor of the van and stay there while we ran in and get some movies. Well, I got what I deserved. As soon as we got into the library Alayna moaned, "Mommy, my tummy hurts." Then she erped all over the library floor. The librarian kindly held the baby while I cleaned it all up, cleaned Alayna up, grabbed our movies (yes, I did!) and finally made a "clean" get away.

We got through the Starbucks drive-thru without any more incidents. We spent the evening watching movies and running to the bathrooms. At one point I had Alayna over one toilet and Pierce and Hudson sharing another one and a towel over my shoulder with the baby. Seriously, you can't make this stuff up!

Everyone is in bed for now and I'm going to make good use of this caffeine and go clean the bathrooms.

Pumpkin muffins & Christmas Carols

2010-11-30T05:52:00.000-08:00

I often wonder if other people's lives are like mine. I'm sure all mommies suffer/enjoy the same things. Adelle enjoys a good poop around midnight these days. (I must be doing something wrong). So after I've been asleep for two hours, I'm up to get her changed and back to bed. She's happy as a lark while she's up and she goes right back to sleep - I can't complain too much. Every mommy suffers a little interrupted sleep. I secretly enjoy the time alone with her. Last night I changed her diaper in the glowing light of the Christmas tree while she babbled and clapped. It should be a commercial for something.

6 am rolls around and Alayna comes in with her morning greeting, "Mom, I waked up!!!" I would love to tell you I've already been up for an hour by then and had a great run on the treadmill and done my quiet time and showered. Someday. This morning that was not the case. I rolled out of bed and let her drag me by the hand to the couch. Soon enough Hudson came in to snuggle. Pierce is usually the straggler. This morning we made chocolate chip pumpkin muffins while the Christmas carols played. I went a little crazy buying cans of pumpkin this year. Glad we like it. The kids, especially Hudson, are way into decorating and Christmas carols this year. They think they're going to get Hot Chocolate and pop corn during every little Christmas special that comes on TV and they want to take all the decorations off of the tree and do it again. Yesterday I had some orchestral Christmas music playing in the kitchen. Hudson grabbed his pillow and blanket and laid down in the kitchen floor to listen to it.

Hudson keeps pretending to evaporate Alayna and she's having none of it. Refereeing is not so sweet, but it can be humorous. Alayna came in yesterday morning sobbing, "Mom, Hudson keeps zaporating me!" They have their moments of provoking/reacting. But there are also moments like this morning where the muffins are baking and they're all dancing around and laughing to the Christmas music and I wish I could freeze them right there. Tis the season to soak it all in and make some memories.

Try this link for a little Sufjan Stevens Christmas Love :)

Crawling

2010-11-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

She's CRAWLING!!! Check out this video if you want to see cuteness in action.

My baby is 6 months old. Incredible.

Fall Photo Shoot

2010-11-17T11:45:00.001-08:00

While most of our all-together shots turned out like this ...

Katie did manage to get a few good shots that really capture the kids and their personalities.

ADELLE

THE BOYS

ALAYNA

They were all looking, sort of, and all smiling, almost :)

I like this one. I don't know why.

I can almost see what they're going to look like when they're older. I love their expressions, wind-blown hair and chubby little hands.

(I probably should have put Alayna in jeans - the concept of modesty is a little lost on two-year-olds).

A picture takin' adventure

2010-11-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

Got the kids pictures taken today by one of my friends. You can see some of her handiwork here. I'll post our picture soon.

It was a super-windy, great adventure through a lovely little-bitty old downtown. So much for combed hair. The old buildings made a perfect backdrop for some cute shots. The kids did great for the most part. On her mission to find pretty rocks, Alayna picked up dog poop. The boys freaked out. Later, she needed to go potty and there were no accessible potty-chairs. Thankfully we were off the beaten path and she has brothers so she was not afraid to mark some territory in the grass. We got to see and climb around on an old boxcar that the boys would like to live in just like the Boxcar Children stories.

On the way home I remembered that I was out of bread and all of the sudden felt very tired. This time change has my children waking up at the crack of dawn and CRANKY way before bedtime. I know, we'll adjust. We always do. Anyway, we drove through Chick-fil-a for lunch. What a treat!

We're going to get the rest of our school work done and clean the house. We're planning on enjoying the last of this 70 degree weather. Our FAVORITE days are the days that we can play outside! I am so NOT ready for the cold, dark days of winter.

Smiling Kids

2010-11-05T13:35:00.000-07:00

The battery in my van was dead yesterday morning when I tried to start it (I needed to go get some fancy, expensive coffee). Devastated and "trapped" I made a pot of coffee and rearranged the living room. Once I did that I had to do the playroom and got rid of a big bag of toys (you wouldn't even know by looking into the play room though!). Anyway, David bought a new battery for the van, I didn't spend $5 on a cup of coffee, my house looks all fresh and wonderful and I snapped some super cute pictures of my kiddos. Enjoy :)

Adelle jumping

Alana posing

Oh my goodness! Did I mention we've been practicing his smile?! Love those eyes.

HUGE smile to show off the missing tooth and two more loose ones!

Everyday for part of our spelling/handwriting, Hudson has to finish the sentence. Todays' was: I can keep from quarreling by ...

First he said, "Isn't quarrel something in the ocean?" Once he understood what "quarrel" meant he wrote, ... overcoming evil with good. A soft answer turns away wrath.

I love that my kids are hiding God's Word in their hearts and know how to apply it. I can't even tell you how rewarding it was for me to see his answer.

Halloween

2010-11-01T09:56:00.000-07:00

We went trick-or-treating last year and the boys got scared at a couple of houses. The houses looked fine but the adults came to the door in scary costumes and my 3 & 4 year-old boys were not into scary...and still aren't. So, they didn't want to trick-or-treat this year. We did dress up and went to visit Gigi and a few of her neighbors, then we went to Wendy's to use our free frosty coupons. Now that was a treat!

The fairy princess, a couple of cowboys and a pretty little flower - I just love it!

Close up - I put a little bit of makeup on her and she definitely felt beautiful! She twirled and flitted everywhere she went.

My mighty men were cowboys. At the three houses we went to (my Grandma's neighbors who are all about her age) the boy took off their hats and said, "yippee-ky-a" instead of trick-or-treat, and gave hugs after they got their candy. It was pretty sweet.

My happy little flower chewed on her petals and showed off her pretty smile all night.

Three big kids practicing their smiles.

Enjoying a sucker and Veggie Tales after a fun night. When we left Wendy's we decided to go for a drive. Once we got out about 10 minutes from town (or bathrooms) Alayna said, "My belly hurts." A few seconds later Hudson said, "I don't think my frosty is digesting very well." We all made it home in time to get everyone taken care of. Those drive will have to be reserved for date night. :)

My living room this morning. Alayna and Pierce are under the other blanket.

My sweet girl.

Peace Making

2010-10-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

Do everything without arguing and complaining so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God.

Alayna is in a disagreeable stage. She loves to argue, especially with her brothers. This morning all was peaceful around the school table. Hudson and Pierce were having a discussion about Batman and Robin. Alayna joined in with, "Well, I like my pink Batman and Robin." Hudson countered, "Alayna, there are no pink super heroes." Yes there are. No there aren't. Yes there are. No there aren't. Until Hudson said, "Alayna, you don't own the world." She burst into tears, "Mom," she wailed, "Hudson said I don't own the world!"

Arguing, wailing, and me refereeing are all regular occurrences at this house. Sometimes I correct Hudson with this great bit of wisdom, "Hudson, she's two. Just tell her, 'okay' and go on." But most of the time I try to use scripture to correct the kids. They have the scripture at the top of this post memorized. We're still learning to put it into practice. :)

Fully recovered from the realization that she doesn't own the world.

Pierce and Alayna working on their letters.

Beautiful Blue Eyes and her pretty little fish face!

Orange Power

2010-10-26T09:26:00.000-07:00

For my dad's birthday this year David got tickets to the OSU Nebraska football game in Stillwater. The kids all dressed in orange-ish outfits for game day and we had to snap a few pictures before daddy left for Stillwater.

Daddy and Ellie ready for the game - this smiley girl has won our hearts!

Pierce and daddy have been working on the camera smile. Isn't he doing well?!

I just love Alayna's face in this one and I love the way Adelle is looking at her.

The whole crew - what a lucky daddy!

Being silly, as usual. They're so fun!

S'more Coffee, Please.

2010-10-21T08:08:00.001-07:00

The kids went over to mom and dad's the other night for s'mores and driveway bike riding. Hudson and Pierce asked Papa lots of questions about heroes and villains. How did Mr. Freeze become Mr. Freeze. Why does Joker look like a mean clown? etc. Then Hudson said, "Papa, now you ask us a questions about your favorite super hero. Or you could just say something about one and we could agree with you." He cracks me up. So they got to watch an old black and white episode about Flash Gordon while Alayna colored a princess picture with Mimi. So fun. Love having my parents so close and involved in my family life.

This morning is filled with the kind of humor that requires a second cup of coffee (my kind of morning!). Pierce broke down when I told him, "No, we cannot buy the lego Death Star today." As I left the room to refill my cup, him wailing in the background, I heard Hudson say, "Pierce, the magazine says it's hard to find and it costs $400. It would take a boy like fifty days to earn that much money." Smile to myself as I walk into the kitchen where Alayna has two balloons that she's "whacking" with (her words). Her hair is all wild from the balloons and she announced, "This one is Dora and this one is Diego and they're having a whacking fight." Of course they are. In the meantime, Adelle is jumping like mad in the doorway jumper screaming and squealing. Yes, we know you're there.

On another WAY EXCITING note, I'm trading personal training with one of my favorite people who has agreed to watch the kids for me once a week and maybe come over and do some cleaning if I want her to!!! For real?! That's like gold! So, while she's watching the kids next week, I'm headed to Hobby Lobby to fulfill one of my goals for the next decade of my life. I will be purchasing paints and experimenting with a little art. I may never post any pictures of this venture, but I'm excited to try something new anyway.

Teeth, coming and going

2010-10-20T11:23:00.000-07:00

Hudson lost his first tooth Monday night. He was SO excited. David negotiated me pulling it vs. him just waiting for it to fall out by upping the tooth fairy fee. He decided to share the money with Pierce so they could choose a toy together. Pierce didn't lose any teeth, but I love that he's opening his mouth so wide in this picture!

Fall pictures - I need some picture taking tips for these kiddos. They never all look at the camera and smile at the same time. I think I need an assistant or a professional :)

Sweet girls - I love this one.

It is wild to have a child losing teeth and getting teeth at the same time. And I'm 30. Really feeling older these days - like a full-fledged adult. Yeah, it's wild.

We're working on some major fall projects that I've stolen from other blogger mommies. We're having lots of fun. I'll take pictures as we go. We're having fun over here!

Big things are happening

2010-10-19T09:18:00.000-07:00

My 30th birthday party at Mom & Dad's

Angela, Me holding Adelle, Amanda holding Lola

Pierce turned 4

Adelle is 5 months with two little chicklet teeth.

We went to a great pumpkin patch with our homeschool group.

We made a Pierce-size scarecrow, that I have yet to make a head for.

Lots of big things are happening, I just have very little time to write about them. As I speak the baby is sleeping and the big kids are eating lunch and I inhaled some leftover sweet potato fries before I tackle this house ... again. I read another blog of a homeschool mom with four kids (a little bit older than mine). She's super artistic and creative. Her kids do all kinds of special projects and experiments. She paints. Right now she's on a coffee cup kick and they're so cute. I want to paint some and hang them all over my kitchen and dining room. But I don't paint. I know we all have different gifts and talents. I'm not usually big on comparing myself to others. But I do always think other people have it all together and must be doing everything way better than me. Yes, I do have four children under the age of 5. And this week after all the lovely hay at the pumpkin patch my allergies have taken a turn for the worst. Being under the weather always leads to lack of motivation.

Anyway, the kids are done eating lunch and are now all pretending to be puppies. The volume in this house just went way up. I think I'll send them out to the yard for a while. :)

They were in trouble...

2010-10-09T15:49:00.000-07:00

(Pierce and Hudson are both mid/pre-sneeze.)

We've been enjoying our lovely evening by the fire-pit lately. The kids KNOW they're not supposed to touch it. "But there was no fire in it," ... "We were just moving the lid a little bit," ..."We didn't touch the ashes." All legitimate answers/excuses, except for the part where I said, DO NOT TOUCH THE FIRE PIT! Anyway I took their picture and washed their hands and faces and that was that.

Sweet Adelle is 5 months old in a couple of days. She's every bit as sweet and delightful as these pictures portray. Happy, smiley, and super kissable cheeks. Precious!

Golden Birthday

2010-09-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

I'm entering a new decade.

I celebrated my 21st birthday in Australia as a completely different person than I am today. I worked there for two years and met David. I was 23 when we got married, and nine months later we had Hudson. It's all kind of a blur from there. 22 months later we had Pierce. 21 months later we had Alayna. And 22 months after that we had Adelle. I know other stuff happened in the last nine years, but I might as well just touch on the high notes. Now here I am, married and four kids later and I'm 30. I feel like I'm not just entering a new decade, but a new era, a new phase of life. As far as my plans go the childbearing era has come to a close. I'm getting in shape for the last time (I've gained and lost 35lbs four times - that qualifies as a high note!).

I have a few goals for my thirties:

1. To become a woman of prayer. I pray all the time, I'm just not usually on my knees. When I wake up I pray to see God's new mercies (though sometimes it might sound like, "Lord, have mercy."!!) I pray throughout the day. But I really want to develop the habit of getting up early and meeting the Lord before all the chaos ensues.

2. A studier of the Word. I'm a good studier when I have the accountability of a church Bible study. I try to read a little bit every day. I memorize verses with my kids or teach them from verses I've had in my heart for years (thanks to my mom and dad). But I want to be a student of the Word beyond reading a Proverb a day. I want to know and internalize the Truth.

3. Expand my personal training. I love training people in exercise and nutrition. I have very little extra time with homeschooling and nursing. But sometime in the next decade maybe that'll improve. :)

4. Get my family more involved in missions and ministry. We're going to start doing some country studies this year of the missionaries that we're connected with. I want my kids to share the gospel boldly and have a deep understanding of Jesus' love for us and others.

5. Learn a new skill. I have no idea what that might be at this point. Something along the creative vein probably.

It's almost 10:30 and my brain is shutting down. Sweet dreams :)

Coffee tastes so good on rainy days.

2010-09-09T05:29:00.000-07:00

They wake up at 6am on rainy days. It's a good thing they're cute. This is just a more formal update for my far away family - love to you all!

Adelle Sophia, Smiles, Ellie Peaches, Ellie Belly, 4 months

She's the smiliest, happiest girl in the house (especially since Miss Princess Panties turned 2!). She's definitely a little spoiled because every time she makes a peep someone is in her face talking to her and keeping her company and she LOVES to be talked to. She'll be four months old this weekend. I think we'll celebrate and go get some coffee. :)

Alayna Serene, Sweets, Miss Princess Panties, Ladybug, 2 years

My little princess is two and the drama just turned WAY UP! She's sweet and fun most of the time, but we're working through the fit stage. Now when she gets up set she sobs, "I'm just going to go sit on my bed!" Yesterday the boys were wrestling in the living room she put both of her hands in the air to announce, "Everybody, lets do the Destroyer Dance!" What?! She has her own girlie twist on all boy activities and toys.

Hudson Alexander, Brains, Hud, Huddy Buddy, 5 years

My little engineer minded boy loves to build, create, and invent. He has a tender heart to the things of the Lord and gets super excited about working hard (to earn money). This past weekend he picked up sticks in the yard for an hour. He and Pierce have been saving for a toy, but Hudson needed to earn some extra so Pierce would be able to get his at the same time. So thoughtful.

Pierce Maxwell, Muscles, Piercy Pants, almost 4!

Is he cute or what?! My little toe-headed, second born is competitive and tough and super sensitive all in one adorable little body. He loves playing with guys and coloring Batman and Robin (I seriously print out the SAME picture every day, sometimes multiple times a day!). He's sweet to his sisters and loves his big brother. He's getting big, but he's still pretty cuddly. Alayna told him he was gorgeous yesterday (she tells everyone that), and he came running to me crying, "Alayna said I was gorgeous, but I'm not! I'm tough!" Yes you are, now wipe your tears.

Had to post this one for Gigi. Alayna and her "sunbrella." She played this game all day in the house, talking on her princess phone and sipping her "coffee" while it rained outside. Cheap entertainment for her and us!

It's Personal

2010-09-08T06:46:00.000-07:00

Well, the journey has begun. I started doing some personal training. I've thought about it for a long time, but every time I was ready to get serious, I got pregnant. Since we're taking a long and (hopefully) permanent break from birthing children, I might as well get started.

I only have two clients and the rest are lining up. I can't take on too much at a time. I teach at the Y Monday and Wednesday nights, so I train Tuesday, Thursday & Saturday nights. I homeschool three children during the day and keep the youngest on a rigorous routine: eat, play, sleep, repeat. :) Once this sweet baby girl doesn't rely on me for food anymore, I can start stacking appointments and add more clients.

In other news, our yard is overrun with Giraffe Beetles (looks like a beetle bug with a long nose). My little insect-lovers are in heaven! Alayna is obsessed with her umbrella that she calls a sunbrella. I asked her what letter that started with and she made the lowercase A sound, "A-A-A, sunbrella." :)

Good Morning!

2010-09-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

Alayna and I went on a Target date yesterday that included her first visit to Cherry Berry - what a treat! She chose Birthday Cake/Cheescake frozen yogurt and everything chocolate to spinkle on top (that's my girl!). We sat and ate at tall barstools with pink spoons. Last night when jammy time came she chose her "cherry berry" jammies :)

PBS kids new show, The Cat and the Hat, warrants TV trays and Honey Combs (not every day, but we'll make an exception this morning!).

Sweet kisses on chubby baby cheeks - precious!

Pear Pickin'

2010-08-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

We have a pear tree in our backyard and it's loaded with pears this season. It's been gorgeous outside so yesterday we did some morning pear picking and an impromptu science lesson on spiders.

In the very middle of this picture is the eight-legged creature that made me jump backwards off my ladder and prompted an insect vs spider lesson. This next shot is a blurry close up. I'm glad spiders eat flies, but I'm really not a big fan!

Alayna found a "baby" pear and ate the whole thing core and all. Then she went back to the bucket and found herself a big one.

Pierce LOVES pears. They're his absolute favorite. My favorite phrase of the day, of course, from bare-footed Pierce, "Ugh! I stepped on a wotten peh-uh. Now I have peh-uh swime on my foot!" Translation - he stepped on a rotten pear and got pear slime on his foot. :)

Hudson was my little worker bee, carting the pears from the tree to house.

This is the bucket load that I get to make into something. You're welcome to pass along any creative ideas or recipes. Hudson would like to make some applesauce, "only it would be pear sauce, but that sounds weird." :)

Enjoying our tasty snack.

Stretching

2010-08-25T05:42:00.000-07:00

Stretching is probably one of the most neglected parts of exercise but it's one of the best things for you. We're stretching in more ways than one around here. The last couple of months have been pretty lean due to several unexpected expenses - one being the air conditioner motor. When it's 105 degrees every day, you can't go without the AC.

Anyway, one of the first things on the budget to get cut is the food budget. There are those days when I'm so tired that I can't possibly make lunch (insert sarcastic tone) so we drive through Chick-fil-a (okay, so maybe I'm just craving that deluxe chicken sandwich with provolone and a little caffeine on the side!). The last couple of months we haven't been driving through and I've been forced to overcome a little mommy-laziness and get creative - sometimes you have to think outside the pb&j box. Yesterday the kiddos were thrilled with bananas, raisins, cracker and cheese. Creativity and no money inspire incredible resourcefulness and sometimes some pretty awesome recipes. You can do amazing things with lentils and beans! (It's a special blessing when Mom has an "extra" flank steak too!)

Tight financial months also open your eyes to the amazing faithfulness of God. His timing and precision is perfect. I can't tell you how many times we've been blessed with a grocery gift card or money in the mail, a package of diapers on the porch, even a thank you note from a friend with a little Sonic gift card inside ( You know who you are. Thank you!)! This kind of stretching also keeps us dependent on God and seeking Him.

My kids' faith is growing through this too. The other day we were driving out to a friend's house. I forgot the directions and my cell phone was dead. We drove around the neighborhood for awhile and I was about to give up when Hudson said, "Mom, you could pray." Right, good idea five-year-old! We prayed and, sure enough, we found it around the next turn! Hudson said, "I knew God would answer that prayer."

Last night I was saying goodnight to the boys. Hudson (no prompting from David or me) said, "I think I'm not going to play on the computer or my video games on Sundays anymore."

I said, "Really, what made you decide that?"

He said, "Oh I just thought it would be a good idea. I think I should just pray and do other things because my Bible says it's God's day and I think that's what He would want me to do." For real?! What mother who prays for the hearts of her children every day wouldn't be glowing, bursting, and weeping?! I'm amazed to see the Holy Spirit at work.

Then there's the stretching that occurs in me homeschooling three kids and nursing a baby. I'll share a little deeper look at that sometime. I'm glad there's not a camera on us most of the time! We have fun and we learn a lot and this mommy gets to practice just about every fruit of the Spirit or ask forgiveness later!

So, a little stretching is no big deal, especially when it's building such strong faith, not just in me, but in my children.

On a lighter note, David shaved the goatee and surprised me with this:

It's all shaved off now. Aren't we all glad!

Swimming, School, and Stuff

2010-08-24T12:13:00.000-07:00

We've been swimming, swimming, swimming around here! Hudson can swim from one end of the pool to the other and dive now. Pierce still thinks he'll "drain" without a life jacket, but with a life jacket he might as well be a fish. Alayna sticks to the steps most of the time. She likes to venture out into the pool on my back. I get some incredible exercise in the pool throwing the boys and piggy-backing Alayna across the pool and back. Adelle hangs out in the house with Mimi or in the shade of the pool house most of the time. Next time we're out at the pool maybe I'll remember my camera!

School is going great. We're part of a local homeschool group now and the boys are excited for all the field trips and special Friday classes we'll take.

I'm teaching two classes a week at the Y now and starting up a few personal training sessions for some ladies at church. Busy doing what I love and so blessed!

Here's a picture update for the last couple of weeks:

Poor Hudson - no one goes to the bathroom in peace around here! (And he'll probably be mortified someday that I posted this picture - notice the tan line. Yes, my white children do tan!).

Poor Pierce, swimming takes it out of him.

I love those fresh morning faces - sweet Alayna all wrapped up and Hudson hugging his monkey.

We're on week 6 of school. The kids were doing some serious water color art projects in this shot.

This was supposed to be a shot of my sweet baby sucking her thumb to go to sleep. Don't mind the sweaty, sleepy mommy. Sometimes I actually fix my hair!

Coping with digestive issues

2010-07-30T10:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I want to buy every digest from Econobusters Blog. You have to check that one out.

We've had the big D around here for the last few days or, as my kids say, rusty poop. I don't know where they come up with this stuff. So I've been making the kids eat starchy foods as I sneak Cliff bars and protein shakes (mommy and baby are fine). Yesterday morning we (less than successfully) tried Cream of Wheat. They thought it was so awful they opted for plain white hotdog buns instead. Last night I made mashed potatoes. Pierce happily ate those and said, "I like these kind of mashed potatoes but those applesauce potatoes you made this morning were not very tasty." :)

Due to the big D, this mommy has not gotten a lot of quality sleep. Baby A sleeps like an angel (knock on wood), but between Pierce and Alayna I've been up every couple of hours and my entire day suffers. So, this morning when Adelle went down for her morning nap, I turned on Dora and went down for my morning nap. It was glorious. After the nap and feeding Adelle I went to Starbucks for the rare and wonderful treat of a little liquid gold. Now the laundry and dishes are done and the house is in ship shape again. Caffeine as a stimulant is the way to go.

My children are happily eating applesauce and crackers for lunch after a morning of searching for bugs in the back yard (mostly fast spiders according to Hudson). After the big kids rest time we're headed out for an afternoon swim with the cousins and Aunts. Should be a par-tay.

A few little videos

2010-07-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

Click HERE to see Adelle jabbering on her blanket.

Click HERE to see Alayna telling me her verse.

Click HERE to see Alayna telling me about Adam and "Even" and making funny faces.

Snack time with Curious George :)

Summer School

2010-07-20T10:56:00.000-07:00

Hudson and Pierce "playing" with Adelle.

I got out of the van at Target yesterday and parked next to me was a big black SUV with a lovely blonde woman in the driver's seat on the phone. She got to watch the process that is getting the kids out of the van. I unbuckled Alayna, and pulled her out, then the boys hopped out, then we all walked around to Adelle's side. The kids put their backs on the door while I get the baby out and stick her in the sling. The blonde lady rolled down her window as I grabbed hands and arranged our train. "I don't know how you do it!" She yelled over my van. I yelled back, "One kid at a time!" As we walked into the store a couple of older ladies walked in behind us. I could hear them chattering together about my kids. As I put Alayna in the basket and instructed one boy to hang on to each side they came up on both sides of me and said, "You've got your hands full honey!" Yes, I do. That's the best answer I have for that one. Alayna likes to put her hands on the handle and help me push. :)

We traveled back to the toy department because I actually had an hour to kill before feeding the baby and heading to the Y for a step class(the bug guy was spraying our house - spiders! ack!). Nothing passes time better than looking at toys, right?! Another lady in the toy department looked up and counted my kids then said, "Wow, you are a brave woman!" To which I always answer, "Brave or crazy!" That always gets a good laugh. Who knew four little kids would be such a phenomenon!

We (I) decided to go ahead and start school. It's been so hot that we can't get outside too often and I can't take them to the pool unless I have some good help, so we might as well be doing some school. It's going great. The kids love their new school books and there are still a lot of things we can do all together. The read-alouds, history and Bible we do all together first. This morning we read the story about Adam and Eve - Alayna calls them Adam and Even. Pierce, who has had no letter recognition up to this point is really getting it. We're taking it nice and slow with lots of repetition. We played a bean bag gamethis morning - if they could tell me something from the history, read-aloud or say their Bible verse they got to throw the rolled up socks into the laundry basket. Who knew that would be the greatest game ever?!

Pierce and Alayna rolling cars on their letter "A".

Crazy cuties

2010-07-01T05:21:00.000-07:00

My boys have been going to VBS at my parent's church this week. Saddle Ridge Ranch is the theme and yesterday was crazy hat day. Duck tape goes a long way in making cowboy hats crazy.

Crazy boys

Socks, foam bath letters, plastic frogs, lego ships and guys, and an action hero = WINNERS!!!

My happy girl is getting so big.

While the boys have been at VBS this week Alayna and I have gotten a lot of good one-on-one time. She'll be two a week from today so we've been planning her party and just hanging out.

Anyway, I'm needed. I may never post a real blog post again!

Howdy Pardner

2010-06-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

A sweet little cowgirl

and some tough little cowboys

I don't have a lot of time to type up the goings on around here but I couldn't pass on these pictures. David couldn't resist buying the boys these hats and they are way into being cowboys these days. We need to find some Lone Ranger & Davey Crocket movies for them :).

I really don't have time

2010-06-16T07:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was feeding the baby when Alayna needed to go potty. So, baby still eating, we went to the bathroom, got the Dora panties down and stuck her on the potty chair (good balance and well-trained mommy muscles). Then I hear Hudson from the other bathroom, so off we go to take care of him and Pierce is waiting in line! I went back to take care of Alayna then back again to take care of Pierce, then back to the changing table to take care of a work in progress. Might as well take care of it all at once.

Adelle has been sleeping 7-8 hours at night, but the last three nights she's been up until midnight with tummy issues. I never knew Jimmy Fallen was so funny.

This is us after she finally passed out at midnight.

She smiled right before this. I'll get it one of these days.

A little blurry because, seriously, no one holds still. Barrels of fun. :)

The best advice I ever got on having a new baby ...

2010-05-29T06:44:00.000-07:00

After I had my first-born and went through the traumatic experience that is bringing them home from the hospital (what? You're letting me take him home?! Somewhat comparable to the first time I drove by myself thinking, I can't believe they're letting me do this!), some of David's friends threw a baby shower for us. One of the wise mother's there (a link to her blog, Mrs. Troop, is at the bottom of the page) gave me some advice that has stayed with me through every baby.

Every morning, take a shower and put on some makeup.

Brilliant! When you're frumpy, post-baby-weight, sleep-deprived body meets real life, it makes all the difference in the world to look and smell presentable. There may be days you accomplish little else in those first couple of weeks home from the hospital, but your whole frame of mind is much more positive when you're clean and not embarrassed to be seen! Did I mention that Mrs. Troop has EIGHT children. She might know what she's talking about! :)

It's not so important that you look good while you're changing diapers and wiping bottoms and printing Batman coloring pages and disciplining the other children and feeding the baby and feeding the other kids and loading the dishwasher and folding the laundry and refereeing disagreements and finding Hans Solo in the pocket of the other shorts ... it just makes you feel better. No, I don't have it all together and never will - but I'm clean!

What we've been up to

2010-05-26T17:57:00.000-07:00

Water guns make for HOURS of fun.

Even the princess has one.

I love this picture because I can see Hudson's long skinny legs next to my other little chubby-kneed, cankle legged cuties. Adelle sleeps a lot and doesn't mind hanging out in shade by the pool. Noisy boys and a squealy little girl don't bother her at all.

So far Miss Ellie is the most laid back of all the kids. She's awesome.

And here we all are - seriously, I don't think any of them know how to smile for real.

Catching up

2010-05-25T07:34:00.000-07:00

The baby's asleep for the moment and the kids are at a friend's house today. I'm trying to get caught up on a few things including sleep, but that'll come later. Life is going good. We're getting a little more sleep these days and adjusting to working around a feeding/nap schedule again. I'm so glad this little girl came in May so we can take a natural break from school and get ready for the new year. Can't believe she's already two weeks old. (I need to take some more pictures!).

Okay, she's awake. I knew that was coming. That'll be all for now and I'll get some pictures up soon!

Special Delivery

2010-05-13T13:18:00.000-07:00

She's here! Adelle Sophia Frederick was born May 11 at 6 pm weighing in at 8 lb 11 oz and 21 inches long. She has pink chubby cheeks and her daddy's feet - check out those long fingers and toes! She's a great little eater and has a very pleasant disposition so far.

Labor and delivery went pretty smooth. I didn't really ever have regular contraction so we finally started pitosin at 2:30 pm and she arrived at 6 pm. My wonderful husband was in the room, but doesn't enjoy participating too much, so my sister, Angela held a leg and cut the cord. She took the day off work to help with the big kids in the morning and me in the afternoon. She's the hero of the day.

My doctor was absolutely fabulous. She's the main reason I have come to love natural deliveries. She still runs marathons and is the mother of six. I still feel like my insides might fall out if I do more than walk at this point. I'm excited to get back at it in a few weeks though and glad to see that after 6 children, she can keep up the exercise into her 60's.

Daddy is smitten and has been the biggest help to me. In the last week he has kept up the laundry and dishes, and vacuumed the whole house (even under the couches!). Once he saw the dust accumulation in the vacuum filter he decided to wash the curtains. He's been busy with work too - so, yeah, he's pretty awesome. :)

This is the perfect picture of how I feel. So happy and so tired! Realistically, we're only a week into this lovely new world of four children. I'm just living moment by moment and trying to soak it all in for the last time.

The kids have been great. They love their baby sister and they've adjusted so well to my new schedule that has to revolve around feeding the baby. Pierce is a little worried about Adelle's "pineapple bellybutton." He can't wait for it to fall off.

So, I am now a mother of four. That's so crazy to me. I'm 29, but feel like I should still be 23ish. I have four children under 5 - how does one manage that? Seriously, nursing and wiping bottoms and changing diapers and feeding my family and keeping my house clean ... I know she's only one week old and we'll eventually get into our routine, but, wow.

I need to figure out how to change my blog name or maybe I need to get a whole new one. I don't know. I do know there are SIX of us now! :)

Mother's Day 2010

2010-05-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

I am so blessed.

My little family got me a new vacuum cleaner. The boys REALLY enjoyed the box. Of course.

My husband is awesome. I love him!

Overdue

2010-05-07T05:48:00.000-07:00

"Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. And in your book they were all written, the days fashioned for me, when as yet there were none of them." Psalm 139:16

After 37 weeks, I started thinking, okay any day now. Four weeks later I'm thinking the same thing! It's hard to be patient and so uncomfortable. But it does help knowing that she can't stay in there forever and the days "fashioned" for this precious little girl are already written by my Heavenly Father! Pretty incredible.

Pardon my self-portrait photography skills. I set the timer and jumped up on a stool and still couldn't get the right angle for the whole belly. Ah well. 41 weeks - you get the idea :).

Thankful Thursday

2010-04-29T15:02:00.000-07:00

I'm still looking at this ...

1. The good news is, the worst news I've heard all day is, "You're still 2 cm." I should know better than to get my hopes up. I seriously woke up this morning and put our bags in the car. I finished up the laundry and dishes, swept and mopped the floor, made sure the house was spotless, and didn't thaw anything out for dinner. I was SO SURE my doctor would say, "Oh my, you're dilated to a 9. Go on over to the hospital." I was not prepared for "2 cm." But, really, what's one more week? I know her birthday is already set and I have very little to do with it and I will not be drinking any castor oil!

2. I get 2 of these very soon! Someone is ready for her little sister to get here. :)

3. Daddy found a new Veggie Tales double feature on sale for $5 that we don't already own. The kids are into VT again and I love it!

4. Aunt Angela got to come over for dinner this week and my kids were THRILLED. Love all my sisters.

Exciting times for us ahead.

Random Conglomeration of Life One Week Before Baby #4

2010-04-24T09:46:00.000-07:00

Pains shooting down my legs immobilize me in public. "I'm okay, it happens all the time." But nothing I say alleviates the concerned, "your-crazy" stares.

One child has to go potty during our Chick-fil-a lunch, so do I take all three? Do I leave the boys at the table by themselves? At our CFA, yes, because our favorite "waitress" will keep an eye on them. :) I love my smallish town, and it pays to be a frequent visitor at CFA (caution - your waistline may also pay).

Alayna has two little plastic people she has named Jack and Jill. She calls them her jumping jacks. :)

Allergies are running high and I'm surviving on Benadryl and daily dose of caffeine.

The boys spent part of the morning in the dark bathroom with flashlights telling stories to each other (while I laid on the couch reading to Alayna who was sitting on her little potty chair trying to go #2).

I feel like I'm constantly cleaning, picking up, cooking, cleaning up, etc because what if my water breaks in 5 minutes and the house is messy?! Seriously (my water has never broken on it's own, and I've never gone into labor by myself, but it could happen).

I'm reading the Mission of Motherhood right now and loving it. Nothing like an awesome parenting book to motivate me in the midst of exhaustion and those shooting pains. Because they will only be little and squishy for so long. I was at the grocery store Saturday with Alayna. At the checkout line she chatted with the couple behind us while I loaded the groceries on the conveyer belt. With tears in their eyes they said to me, "Our baby girl is going to prom tonight." I can't hardly get my mind past this stage, but I know it's coming. Maybe I just don't WANT to think about it.

I'm teaching my last water aerobics class tonight, and so relieved.

I held my breath all weekend while my doctor was out of town running a marathon. I'm ready to go any time now. I have my next appointment Thursday afternoon. I'm hoping she'll send me on over to the hospital and break my water ... if I don't go before then. You never know :).

2 weeks

2010-04-19T10:27:00.000-07:00

38 weeks - 2cm dilated - looks like we'll be right on time :)

Grrrreat!

2010-04-15T04:37:00.000-07:00

We went to Walmart yesterday for a few groceries. I'm and Aldi shopper but they don't always carry everything I need. When I told the kids where we were going both boys cheered. Inevitably, we get to look at the toys at the end of our trip if they're good while we're shopping. Oh, the excitement! I even let them pick out their own cereal (we usually stick to the healthier breakfast choices and, left up to them we would be eating rieces pieces and milk for breakfast). Hudson chose Frosted Flakes and said, "I hear these are supposed to be grrreat!"

Dr Apt.

2010-04-12T18:34:00.000-07:00

For those of you waiting on pins and needles for my doctor appointment news, the news is ... there is no news. NO PROGRESS. I did the 2 hour Zumbathon on Saturday, weeded and mulched my flower beds, and carried Alayna to the bathroom 400 times and I still have nothing to show for it. So, not only do I get pregnant just by thinking about it, I also hang on to my babies until three days after their due date.

I'm not bitter. That actually takes away any anxiety I had lingering in my head over doing too much. So, I will be at the Y this week and I will behave like a normal human being and not like this baby is about to fall out. There's no good excuse to take it easy yet. Oh well.

The Little Princess and her Journey to Princess Panties

2010-04-10T05:31:00.000-07:00

Well, potty-training is not my favorite part of parenting, but when it's done it's so sweet. Notice how tired mommy is in the picture below ... part of that tiredness could have been that I was rearranging furniture and vacuuming every little nook and cranny, but that's another story.

We still keep the little potty chair handy when we're outside. Boys can just water the trees, but little girls have to run inside every 15 minutes and that's no fun. So we put it on the back porch and that works nicely. :) It's also nice to have three acres and no neighbors to bother.

She fell asleep on daddy after the traumatic discovery that she had to SIT on the potty. Never thought that would be the hard part for her!

The BIG potty chair is way better. I sit on the bathtub ledge and hold her hand. After doing this 100 times a day it's good to remind myself that someday she really will go all by herself ... and so will I! Quality time, right?!

She LOVES her brothers ...

and she REALLY loves her Mimi ...

and lately, she loves her daddy a WHOLE LOT. He'll pick her up and she'll pet his face and say, "My daddy." (Yes, she's still in the "mine" phase. It's sweet when it's daddy though, and he's loving it.)

Mimi and Papa played with the kids yesterday and David and I spent a day on the town. A little shopping, a Ruby Tuesday's salad bar, and a movie. Friday matinees draw an interesting local crowd. Somehow, David and I always get the blue hairs behind us with hearing aids cranked up high and they still talk loud to each other through the movie. Bonus entertainment, right?!

A couple of weeks ago I bought an urn with my gift certificate at Pottery Barn (the $$ leftover after the shower curtain purchase). So, yesterday I filled it with flowers from "Hobbly Lobbly" (50% off sale!!! I was SO excited). I'll have to take a picture of the finished product. I'm pretty proud of myself.

And, today is Saturday so we're planning on finishing up the flower beds and other jobs that require some serious outside time. Loving this spring weather!

Monday

2010-04-07T16:19:00.000-07:00

I'm totally wiped out these days. I went to the grocery store this morning and took a two hour nap this afternoon to recover. I have these crazy bursts of energy where I accomplish the unimaginable, but they leave me lifeless. My doctor appointment on Monday should reveal if all these contractions are paying off. I'm never early, but it's a nice thought.

Alayna did remarkably well with potty training. We've had no accidents and she's been dry every night since the first night. She sometimes wakes up at 4 in the morning to go potty, but so do I. No big deal. When she goes on the big potty chairs she always says, "It okay, my mommy gotcha." Her little legs stick straight out and when she's done she giggles and cheers. Adorable. We've replaced the special candy rewards with stickers. She LOVES stickers so the exchange was painless.

Wow, I can't wait for Monday. Does anyone ever say that?!

Easter

Potty-Training #3

2010-04-01T05:15:00.001-07:00

"Clean and dry! Clean and dry!" - our new favorite song since Alayna's in princess panties. Day one of potty training was absolutely exhausting for both of us. She wanted to stand up like her brothers and sitting was traumatic for some reason. Once she figured out that sitting wasn't so bad, she did great. No accidents on day two and this is the morning of day three. She woke up dry ... at 6 am. As hard as day one was, she's been the easiest to train so far. She still gets a little panicky with public potty chairs. I may need to carry around the small-bottom potty chair lid for the Y and church and other people's houses. :)

I really hadn't planned on potty-training until after the baby came. Don't know why I thought that would be easier!? But Alayna's been asking to go potty for a while now, so I thought we'd give it a shot. In case anyone is interested, I use Potty Training 123 by the Ezzo's for all three kids and they've all three potty-trained within 1 to 3 days. There's nothing magical about it except that the kids are ready and the mommy is ready for the ride. The first day is intense as far as staying on top of it and dealing patiently with accidents. The second and third days are progressively easier and less messy. So, I have a bunch of size 4 diapers at my house if anybody needs that size. :)

Hudson has finished his 15 day challenge so we're headed to Old McDonald's today. Our town has a newly built MD, but the boys like the old playground better. Hudson drew a sign for Pierce with both of them jumping up and down that said, "Let's go to McDonalds!" He's pretty pumped. And AUNT SHANNON IS IN TOWN!!! We're SO excited to spend Easter weekend with my little sister.

Went to the doctor Monday. All is well with Adelle. She measures right at 35 weeks even if mommy feels about to pop. She's head down and ready to go ... in a month. I told my doctor about all the aerobic classes I'm still doing thinking maybe she would say I should take it easy or something. No. She was so pleased with me. So I'll be going to Zumba this morning. I have a tiny little umbilical hernia (looks like an outie, which I never have with babies). Supposedly I should limit my lifting. I quit lifting weights a while back, except for laundry baskets and children. I guess the giant baby will have to get used to being the big sister sooner rather than later. It's always a little bit sad.

I'll close this post with the official name agreed upon by BOTH PARENTS. I thought we'd never get to this point. Naming kids is hard! Among the ranks of Hudson Alexander, Pierce Maxwell, and Alayna Serene, we will add Adelle Sofia Frederick.

Just a few pictures

2010-03-27T09:14:00.000-07:00

The kids were watching Curious George ... on top of each other! It really is a full length couch. :)

Pierce's awesome tower/Spider Monkey!? He was SO proud.

My hair-do. You can't see the highlights too well, but there's some blonde and red in there.

The crowd that gathers anytime I pull out the camera.

Click here to see Alayna and I reading Jesus. :)

Mine!!!

2010-03-25T13:16:00.001-07:00

Well, the angel baby has turned a corner in the last week. All of the sudden, miss selfish bossy pants discovered the word "MINE!" and uses it in every other sentence. She brings me the baby's clothes out of the baby's drawers and proclaims, "These are Layna's." She pulls books off of my bookshelf and brings them too me, "My books." She grabs an armload of laundry off the couch including spiderman underwear, maternity jeans and daddy's socks, "This laundry Layna's." Seriously?! We went out to David's shed last night for some different scenery (and the kids are aloud to jump off the couch out there - rain is going to drive us batty). Alayna started pulling stuff out of a box, "What's that?" she'd ask. "That's a charger." She'd pull it to her chest, "Layna's charger." It's that way with everything. What is going on here? The boys went through their own little "Mine" stages, but not this drastic.

So, I explain to her (if you can explain things to a one-year-old) that it is not hers and show her something that really is hers. She proceeds to throw herself in the floor and fake cry, "No, that Layna's." So, I have to discipline her for the fit and usually send her to her bed to cool off. Praying for wisdom here - don't know what else to do with this little sin-nature.

Bathroom Makeover and Bionic Dog

2010-03-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

He's such a big boy now.

The bathroom makeover - no flash, just beautiful, clean, natural light. I love it.

Notice the white grout I scrubbed with peroxide and a toothbrush (the giant baby is pretty cute too). I think it's good for pregnant girls to do things on all fours to relieve back pressure (I don't really know - I'm just making stuff up). So for things like giving pony rides, picking up toys and scrubbing grout, I'm doing great.

Hudson drew this picture and wrote a story about it. The tree, flower, boy, dog, and girl standing on a ruby rock are all characters in his story titled: The Talking Dog named Bionic. :)

The Big Sister

2010-03-19T05:19:00.000-07:00

Daddy bought Alayna a new baby in preparation for the real baby to come. This baby really drinks her bottle, really burps, then falls asleep. Non-stop fun for a little girl. :)

Her new hair-do. I told her she had such pretty piggy-tails and she ran around the house with her nose pushed up, oinking. Love it.

Deep Breaths

2010-03-18T06:55:00.001-07:00

This morning I've had to stand up really straight and take several deep breaths. I have that feeling in my head like you get before you pass out. I get this way at the end with every baby. I CAN'T BREATHE!!! and obviously I don't stand up straight. I miss pilates.

Tuesday night in the middle of Zumba my YMCA aerobics coordinator boss found me in the midst of the 75 dancing women (I was easy to spot in my red tank top and massive belly). It's spring break and no one was available to teach the Basic Step class the next morning. So, Wednesday morning I shuttled us to the Y, checked the kids in and set up class in the gym. All the equipment for this class is on rolling carts in a closet across from the gym - roll the weights over, roll the steps over, roll the speaker system over, plug in, set up ... then two people showed up. No big deal.

Basic step is generally for people who are just getting started exercising or have illness/injuries that prevent them from working out really hard. I had one older lady who barely spoke a word, and a very talkative 40 year old lady. She asked about my pregnancy and my kids and my life and then shared about hers (all while I'm giving step cues and instructions on proper form :) ).

She shared that after two miscarriages she got pregnant with her son who is now 14 months old. When she finally got pregnant she was afraid to move. She barely did anything and gained quite a bit of weight. Now she's trying to lose the weight because she wants to have another baby. She runs a support group for women who have lost babies. I loved hearing her story and seeing how passionate she is for other women because of the pain she has experienced. All that to say, it's okay that I can't breathe. :)

Ants in your pants

2010-03-16T05:57:00.001-07:00

Ants have invaded my bathroom like they do every year around this time. I put out the little poison squares so they'll take the poison back to they're homes and destroy themselves. Alayna's been scared to death of the "little bugs." She screams, "Little bugs get you!!!" Hopefully she won't be traumatized. I reassure her, "They're ants. They wont get you." And we watch them walk back and forth in their little line. Just fascinating. They're mostly gone now. But I did see one this morning. Alayna was with me (like she ALWAYS is) and I said, "Look, Alayna, it's a little bug." She took my face in both her hands and said, "It's a ant." Love it when the baby girl sets me straight. :)

It's starting to get nice out, and when it's nice out it's so much harder to sit down INSIDE and do school. So we set up a motivational chart for both boys. Hudson has to read 20 minutes a day and finish his other school work (handwriting/spelling and math). Pierce has to go over his flash cards (numbers and letters) and a couple of pages from his preschool workbook. If both boys get their work done without complaining for 15 days we get to go to McDonalds for a happy meal. They are so pumped! I have to remember how much easier things go around here when there is tangible motivation. I always tell the boys, if you obey your parents things will go well with you and if you don't, they wont. In this case if you obey (obedience at our house is doing what you're told, when you're told with a good attitude) you get to go to the best restaurant in the whole world (if you like feathers in your nuggets and climbing around a germ infested playground!).

I'm set on a middle name for #4 but I wont publish it until I can get the husband set on it too. He's named the boys and I've named the girls so far. No matter what she officially turns out to be, I think she'll be stuck with Ellie Peaches for a good long while.

Well, we're off to start school as I down a cup of coffee with Italian Sweet Creme coffee creamer. How can heartburn be SO bad and I still crave coffee? I think it's just survival mode at this point. Those last wonderful 6 weeks when my sleep is diminished and my trips to bathroom quadruple and people start making comments like, "Are you sure there's just one baby in there?" or my favorite, "I can always tell when mom's get close to the end because their faces get real full." Seriously?! It's no longer the "pregnancy glow." It's not the shiny hair or long strong nails or the clear beautiful skin. It's the growing belly that peeks out under the maternity shirts and the growing of yet another chin and the stretch marks that reach up to your neck. Lovely. Okay, coffee!

As promised ...

2010-03-11T10:24:00.000-08:00

Pretty smiles...

Click HERE to hear Pierce sing verse 3 of "Amazing Love."

When they sing it together Pierce only sings a few words, so I decided to video him by himself.

The real lyrics are:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay fast bound in sin and nature's night;

Thine eye diffused a quickening ray, I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;

My chains fell off, my heart was free; I rose, went forth and followed Thee.

Amazing love! How can it be that Thou, my God, should die for me!

--Charles Wesley

Nesting and such

2010-03-10T05:26:00.000-08:00

Between the women's retreat, the stomach bug, and near exhaustion from growing another human being, it's been TWO WEEKS since I've updated anything. Seriously, I'm doing good to keep up with my housework. I guess my weekend away did more to set me back than I realized. Ah well. I finally feel like I'm getting on top of things around here. We're also eight weeks away from baby #4's arrival and I'm pretty sure nesting has set in. I cleaned out the boys' closet yesterday and reorganized their room. Today I did the girls' closet and got the baby clothes put away and Alayna's spring line hung up. I do love little girl clothes! I love that A wants to wear the "pitty dress" and anything with butterflies or flowers or pink! Quite a contrast to the boy who wears basketball shorts and t-shirts under his church clothes. :)

I sent the boys outside to play yesterday while Alayna napped. My instruction were, "Don't get too muddy." What can that possibly mean to a 5 and 3-year-old boy except, "Don't roll in the mud, just throw it at each other!" So much for that bath. They were absolutely filthy 5 minutes later.

Alayna is doing great in her big-girl bed. She likes to "read Jesus" then lays down and goes right to sleep with her baby tucked under her blanket. Hoping she keeps up these good sleeping habits after Adelle arrives and occupies the other bed. As her Bible story knowledge expands beyond Mary and Joseph, so do the names of her babies and Little People. At least we know she's listening and soaking it all in. Do all little girls sing at the top of their lungs? She is constantly singing her own version of lullabies and nursery rhymes.

David taught the boys a new hymn and they ask him all the time to sing, "Long my imprisoned spirit lay." The real title of the hymn is "Amazing Love." :) That's just their favorite verse. I'll have to post a video of them singing it together - it's pretty precious.

Hudson asked me the other day, "If man was created first, why is 'ladies first' the law?" He's such a thinker like his daddy. Pierce echoes, "Yeah, mom, why is wadies fust the wah?" :)

Since the closets are organized and the house is clean, I'll make it a priority tomorrow to take some picture and videos. I'm getting pretty big.

Something Sweet

2010-02-23T19:40:00.000-08:00

For Valentine's Day we made sugar cookie pizza and the kids did the decorating. SO yummy and so much fun.

Pierce and I have been working on learning the states. We have a great puzzle with pictures for every state and he loves working it with me. The other day he picked up Colorado whose representative picture is mountains. "Mom," he said, "I know this is Russia." Three-year-old geography at its best.

The church women's retreat is coming up and I've been busy with the details of decorations and snacks and organizing my family so they'll function and eat and wear clean clothes while I'm gone. We had a meeting last night and the kids were in bed by the time I got home. Hudson had waited up on me so I went into his room to tell him goodnight. He whispered, "Mom, guess what I got to do. After Pierce went to sleep I got to sit on the couch with dad and hear some wisdom. And dad told me a spiritual secret. You know what it is? ... Guard your heart." How precious.

This one had just enjoyed some Power Crunch Cookies.

1/3 c stick butter, softened

1/2 c packed brown sugar

1 T water

3/4 t vanilla extract

1 large egg

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 t baking soda

1/4 t salt

1 cup oats

1/2 cup wheat bran flakes cereal lightly crushed

1/4 cup milled flax seed

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375. Beat butter, add sugar beating well. Add water, vanilla, egg - beat well. Combine dry ingredients through flax seed and mix well. Add to sugar mixture and beat well. Stir in chocolate chips then drop dough by tablespoons 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake 7 minutes or until almost set. Delicious!

Stay-cation

2010-02-21T20:00:00.001-08:00

My parents have been out of town visiting my sister this weekend, so we're enjoying a little vacation at their house :). They live about .2 miles from our house, so when we forget the pajamas and the toothbrushes it's no big deal. What is the big deal? Oh, I'd say cable TV, a big living room where adorable shirtless boys and a girl-brother are constantly wrestling, stairs (what's more fun when you're little than going up and down the stairs?!), and building forts in the play room. Tomorrow I'll dust and vacuum and, in my father's words, "make it look as if it never happened." We love being so close to my parents, and their house! :)

Weekendish getaway, big girl bed and happy hour

2010-02-18T13:15:00.000-08:00

I never intended to be a once a week blogger, but here I am. Ah, well.

The end of February will be our 6 year anniversary, but this year we celebrated a little early. The kids stayed at my parent's house and David and I had a weekend away. Not too far away, and it was actually Monday, but hey. We started with my 28 week appointment. Yes, that means I only have 12 weeks to go ... 11 now. Then we split a cashew chicken salad and some hummus and pita bread and The Cheesecake Factory; we caught a matinee showing of the Young Queen Victoria - a clean, period peace (hubby gets big points for that!); then we got a room at a local hotel - it was actually a HUGE suite - sweet! After resting my huge pregnant body (I'll post another picture soon), we went to dinner at Red Rock Canyon and picked up cheesecake for dessert back at the CCF. No children woke me up the next morning. I had almost forgotten what that felt like.

Tuesday we were back to the real world. The giant baby has been in a big-girl bed for naps for a few days, but in the crib for night time. When I told her to get her blanket for bedtime that night she climbed right into the big-girl bed. I wasn't planning on making the transition so early, but so far she's done great. She walks into the living room around 7:30 the next morning all happy and loaded down with her cup, blanket and baby. It's super cute.

I don't drink pop - really. But today, I did enjoy a little Sonic happy hour, and it did make me happy. Diet Coke with Cranberry, easy ice.

We've also finished most of Hudson's Kindergarten curriculum so I think we're going to get a head start on next year. I'll post what great things I order once I order them. Ordering things is always exciting, even if it's home school curriculum. I've started setting aside portions of my Y checks for specific purchases instead of blowing them on Chick-fil-a lunches. It's pretty exciting to exercise a little discipline.

And now I'm off to the Y to teach one of my last two Cardio Blast classes. I'll still work out, I just can't talk and work out anymore :)

Crock Pot Granola

2010-02-11T08:35:00.000-08:00

Click HERE and you can find the greatest, easiest recipe for Crock Pot Granola and Granola Bars. Awesome breakfast and snack. For a little extra fiber and omega 3's you can add milled flax seed and kids never know :)

Coffee please.

2010-02-10T07:40:00.000-08:00

I have three small children and one huge belly. When bath time rolls around I line them up in the tub and scrub and rinse while they play and wiggle and splash. Then I pull out the boys, lotion and robe them and send them to their room. Next I wrap the giant baby in a towel while she gnaws on Diego's arm (teething is her full-time job). Then I finally stand up straight and fully inhale. The crowding out of my lung capacity is here. Lovely. The boys clothes are always laid out and ready for them, but who can resist a game of birthday-suit tag around the house before following directions and getting dressed! All clothed and combed, nails clipped, ears clean, and I collapse.
Yes, there are days when this task is such an exhausting chore. It's going to be great to add another to the mix - rub-a-dub-dub, four "men" in a tub might be pushing it though. We'll have to go to two bath times, but that's another story.

I talked to a couple of empty-nesters yesterday who were practically in tears missing the days when their kiddos were little. One of them was my mother. Here's to enjoying the exhausting, LONG days of mothering small children and soaking in and loving every moment!

And, this video is for my sister Shannon. My baby girl is obsessed with her dog. :)

Alayna talking about Milton

Nesting or Crazy Cleaning

2010-02-02T05:52:00.000-08:00

Snow Bunny

Snow storms and sick children facilitate baking, eating, and for me, a little cleaning. I don't know if it's the early stages of nesting or just my way of coping with anything and everything, but my bedroom looks really good. Yesterday I took down the drapes, washed them, dusted the blinds and rods, cleaned the windows, vacuumed the base boards and decluttered everything. Hudson said, "Mom, why do you give yourself so many jobs?" Ha.

Alayna and I have been playing beauty shop. She loves getting her hair done and I love that it's long enough to play with!

She would touch her hair and say, "So fretty."

The mask I wear to chase the boys around the house. They LOVE it!

Today my plan is to tackle the master bedroom closet and maybe make some more room for the mommy clothes. I'm also going to be putting some drawers under the beds. That should help.

Oh, and I'm decorating for our women's retreat at the end of this month. The colors are pink, black and platinum and the theme is the butterfly with the concept of transformation/sanctification. I'm headed to Hobby Lobby later. Any brilliant decorating ideas floating around out there?

That it may impart grace.

2010-01-29T15:40:00.000-08:00

"She's got three children and she's about to issue another!" Thought the entire crowd at Walmart as if I had seven children under the age of 4 and were about to give birth to triplets right there on the floor. Honestly, it's four children people, not a reality show! I've heard so many one-liners the past few months, now that the belly is out there. On the tame side: "Wow! You sure do have your hands full." One the bold, brazen and someone-put-a-muzzle-on-that-woman side: "Haven't you figured out what causes that?"

I'm a pretty laid back person. I'm not easily offended and don't get riled up about things. This subject has been pushed to the forefront of my mind due to a couple of things (other than the constant flow of comments from complete strangers who feel the need to pass judgement on me so freely and openly): as usual, I read another blogger mom-of-four who is dealing with this issue; and I saw a movie about motherhood (but I'll address those thoughts in another post).

To address the first point: why do people think they're opinions and their judgements should always be expressed? Obviously they think that those of us who don't share their opinions and don't posses such "good judgement" would benefit from their wisdom and that we are encouraged by their dirty looks and comments. Well, they're wrong. And, it's not like I was dragging three fit-throwing, snotty, ratty-haired, foul-mouthed children through the store. Baby girl, sat happily in the basket and the big boys were holding hands and walking beside me while they jabbered quietly to each other about super heroes or something. I wasn't sweating or breathing hard or struggling in any way to get my children and our purchases through the store. And even if I were, dirty looks and comments are less than helpful.

These tend to happen whether your a mother of one "It must be nice to have so much free time on your hands,"!?!? or unmarried at 31, or married for seven years with no children, or home schooling, or working or not working or long-haired or short-haired or ... the never-ending list goes on and on with reasons others can judge you because you're not like them.

My husband's funny answer to rude comments is, "I always say nice things about you." Ha ha. In truth, there's not a whole lot I can say. I generally smile and keep going if at all possible. I think of the witty retorts later and I'm glad I didn't come up with them in the moment - no need to incite violence - ha! But for myself I can strive to speak encouragement to others rather than judgement of their choices or the life that has been dealt them.

"Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers." Eph 4:29

Closet Space

2010-01-27T19:58:00.000-08:00

I just read a post on organizing your wardrobe. Tips like: only keep clothes that currently fit, and store kids' clothes clearly labeled in boxes.

I'm in a situation that I currently can't stand! But what's to be done? I'm 6 months pregnant so my maternity clothes, including the ones I'll eventually (and sadly) grow into, are crammed into my husband's closet. My after pregnancy clothes are stored in a box in the garage along with the baby girl clothes. My REAL clothes are in the coat closet because I had to move them out of the big sister's closet to make room for the little sister. At some point we will either stop having babies or get another closet!

At least we have clothes, right?!

It's 10 pm and David just went out to get me some ice cream. I didn't say, "Honey, I really need you to go get me some ice cream." This is how great my husband is. All I said was, "Man, ice cream really sounds good." And, he's sharing his closet with me. :)