A Women For VP

This morning I was shocked to find this unbelievable twist in Politics. A Governor that everyone had dismissed months ago is now being announced as McCain's VP pick. WOW! I am more and more intrigued with Governor Sarah Palin. She seems to have all the qualities as a women and mother that I have. Relatable. Now I feel that sending my vote in this direction is worth while and not out of spite against the annoying, cunning Democrats. Good for you John McCain.

1 Down...Loads To Go

The countdown is done and Sydney is officially off to her first day of Kindergarten!

I have dreaded and longed for this day for quite awhile. I want Sydney to have more fun during the day, be surrounded by friends and to learn. But she is also my biggest helper, the best sharer, my buddy, my pal and I hated the thought of sharing her.

Thankfully we've had one long summer to spend time together and after watching the Olympics I'm just grateful that no one from the government came to my house when she was 3 and whisked her away to start training her for gymnastics.

Giving Ben a good by kiss!
I'll miss by little helper the most when I have to climb the stairs to get Ben out of his crib after his nap. Darn, that was nice to have for awhile!

I promise you these 2 will probably miss each other the most.
Even it looks like two magnets trying to be "shoved" together!

Now I turn over the reigns to Daddy to take my little "skittles" off to school.

Deep down I would really like to take her myself, but sure don't want to bring the whole kid-crew with me...

So until then, I'll take advantage of Daddy leaving the same time for work.

Syd is flashin' her new bling. The Tinkerbell backpack.

(I wish that Disney character was a little more modest! Could her skirt get any shorter?)

Every kid loves to see their name on their very own locker!
It's kind of like the smell of a brand new car, it makes you all happy inside!

"Now, where should I start first?"

I love how Syd is almost totally done coloring and both the boys at her table are distracted and haven't even started yet. That's my girl!!!

Boy Toys For Ben

After a deep cleaning and reorganization of the toy room I realized that many of our toys are more gender focused toward girls and not boys. Poor Ben has sported many high-heeled shoes, purses, stuffed princesses and as we all know he's my #1 best vacummer! I've also noticed that Ben no longer helps cook at the little kitchen but he climbs it instead. He doesn't talk with the mini princesses but pounds them into the table to make the loudest noise possible. It's these experiences that has pushed me into finding more "appropriate toys" for Ben.

Thanks to my sister Kim for dropping off many pounds of Lego's and blocks, boy dress up hats, and even a superman laptop that Ben can't get enough of. But after hitting the 2nd Hand Kid's Store I couldn't pass up this gem of a purchase. (besides the fact Ben wouldn't get off of it)

INTRODUCING BEN, THE BOUNCING BRONCO (aka: riding on a zebra with shoes):

Sheer joy!

Asking him to stop for a photo opt was an impossible task.

When was the last time you threw your head back and laughed like this?

INTRODUCING BEN THE BOUNTY HUNTER ON HIS FIRST EXCURSION:

I've got my hat and my weapon...now I'm ready.

ATTACK!!

I am seriously grossed out and screaming by this because that is a nasty, dirty, fly-gut filled Fly Swatter. EW! But of course, Ben enjoyed it! (and Larry too!)

Sportin' A Baby Bump

After a trip to the Midwives with the kids, they came home wanting to sport their own baby bump. We even had to appease Ben and find a ball small enough to fit in his shirt. Now if only I could find a way to share my back pain with them...

Just a side note: I agreed to take part in a documentary that the Women's Center is doing on why many people are going to birthing centers instead of hospitals. They will interview us before the baby is born and then video tape the birth (totally modest and nothing gross). Larry and I figured it would be great to finally have a video of a birth. Since most hospitals won't let you tape them anymore. It should be .... interesting!

All In A Hard Days Work

It's nap time at our house and there are things to be done. Floors to mop, dishes to put away, more dishes to put in the dishwasher, laundry to wash, bathrooms to scrub,...etc. Instead I turn on the DVR of the Olympics (because it would be a travesty to miss even one thing) and then I let my daughters entertain themselves with a cup of baby powder and a brush while they put "makeup" on mom. After an hour I'm as white as any respectable Geisha from my eyebrows to my toes. Even the baby bump got a decorative touch. Hopefully soon I'll be back to my normal "anally clean" self. Until then I'll be keep the couch warm. And if you call me, I will probably only answer if one of the kids can find the cordless phone and bring it to me in time before the answering machine goes off.

A Moment Of Weekness

With the nasty HOT temperatures finally dropping out here in Texas, I was caught up in a moment of weakness and persuaded into hanging outside with Ben and Emma. I know that someday I might regret posting these pictures...which may only last on the blog for less then 24 hours...but here we are sporting our Sunday best.

Ben was put into his "already dirty" pj's right after church, Emma has on some 2T cheerleader costume from the 80's and Me, we'll I'm 32 weeks prego and barely squeezing into Larry's t-shirts. I'm shaking my head as I write this because of how funky we are going to look to all of you. Hopefully we aren't the only ones dressing less then appropriate on a Sunday afternoon. (thanks to Larry for the impromptu photo shoot)

Emma wants a quick pick-up game of soccer

I tried my best to keep up with her energy.

But eventually I got beat.

Emma wants a "super" high-5.
The shocking part, is that she can really jump high enough to reach me.
Ben is dreaming of a pool full of water...or maybe he just needs a diaper change. EW!

Ben is always interested in the little dog that barks next door.
Time for a "monkey swing".
Somebody wants another turn.

Once is just never good enough?

jiNxED

I completely, totally jinxed it. As soon as I posted the last blog, Emma has had an accident every night. That's right. Three nights in a row.

Oh and did I mention that Larry has been off with the YM at Youth Conference until midnight every night and way too sleep deprived to be of much use. Bummer for me, huh?

I'm done whining now. You can cancel the "whaaa-mublance".

Random Highlights

Sydney (5 years & 9 months old):


Recently our dear neighbor brought over some school uniforms for Syd. She was super excited. We spent an hour before bed trying them all on. At the bottom of the pile we found a lunch box. Apparently this lunch box was so cool with it's sparkles and shiny patches that she said...

"I love this thing. I love this thing so much that I can't even put this thing down!"


(Oh thank you Junie B. Jones, you relate more to my daughter then you'll ever know!)

Emma (3 years & 11 months old):


So far with all of my many YEARS of experiences with potty training, Emma has been the slowest. Last summer we finally hurdled over the poop-problem and succeeded in daytime perfection. Her last challenge has been nighttime. We used to suffer through the whole pull up thing...put I'm cheap and didn't like her "resorting" to it all the time. Thankfully Larry and I are totally smart and we found that waking her up once around 10pm and taking her potty, kept her dry the rest of the night.

This was fine for the last 6 months until I realized it was too much. At least for us. Soon 2 kids in diapers and sleepless nights was not conducive to remembering to take her to the bathroom. So we made a chart to fill up with stars, striped her bed to the bare minimum and told her she could go to Chuck E. Cheese if she filled up her chart. It's been 9 nights of trying and so far she has succeeded 6 times. I'm so SUPER-DUPER proud of her. And I'm even more happy for Sydney and Ben's over-zealous reactions when they see her progress. Go Emma!


Ben (1 year and 20 months old):


In the past week Ben has exploded in his language skills. Although he's still as stubborn as can be, rarely wavering in my attempts to bargain with him, and enjoys crying fits when he doesn't get his way...I'm still extremely grateful for this leap in speaking. It makes daily interaction with him slight more pleasant. This morning he said yes and no to many of my questions and said drink, banana, and snack when he wanted something. Ahhh (deep breath)...this is such a relief!!

Yes I Read It

To put away any doubts that I might not follow the TRENDS or any fears that I had fallen off the deep end out here in Texas...

Yes I have read all the Twilight Series.

Yes I read Breaking Dawn.

Yes it only took me 36 hours of reading (with 3 kids around the house to distract me).

Yes Larry laughed when he came home from work and still saw me reading and no dinner ready.

And Yes, it was worth it! I'm completely satisfied with the ending. Happy endings are the BEST.

WatcH oUT ThE CirCUs Is IN toWn

Before our family became weighed down by a "newborn" schedule and the necessity of driving 2 cars everywhere...we soaked up some Family Fun at the CIRCUS. With my purse stocked up with Ziploc bags full of candy for the kids we headed to the American Airlines Arena (way nice with carpeted stadium and leather seats). Plus to our surprise we never had to "walk" the hallways with Ben. We were able to contain him with snacks, a straw, random fireworks and large animals. The worst part would have to be the cost of products. I'll never forgive myself for being SO desperate for a drink that I actually paid $5.50 for a Sprite. I could have bought 4 1-liter bottles at the grocery store for that price!! The biggest sticker shock came from some light up toys that would spin or some princess light up wands that came to a whopping price of $30. Seriously people tell your kid no and promise them one next time you go to Wal-mart. You'll save yourself $25.

Here's my proof that we DID take are kids to the circus.

Yes my kids are eating Slim-Jims (ew!)
But it did keep the busy while focused on the show.
Thanks to Dad for holding at least 1-2 kids on his lap for 99% of the time!

I tried to keep Sydney excited about the show by explaining just how difficult most of the stunts were.
(there's the over priced drink...#&^#*^)

I love this. Here's Ben completely frustrated with me because I put his candy bag away. Heaven forbid I let him eat the WHOLE thing in 5 mins. He is such a toddler!

You won't find me hanging out in a cage full of tigers.

This pole was SO high up that it was taller then our CHEAP SEATS.
Oh and did I mention that she has no harness, no net and climbed up it on her own.
AMAZING!

If you look closely this elephant has a tattoo of a star on his butt. There is one on each side. (I wonder what his mother thought of that.)

The look of pure joy!

That is why we do these things with our kids.

Ben At 19 Months

This morning Ben impressed me again with just how much he understands. After breakfast I herded the kids up the stairs reminding them we need to start getting ready for church. While I was in my room trying to dress myself, while buttoning dresses and pulling on lacy socks ( for the girls )...Ben cames in with his church pants. (ahhhh) What a good boy! I asked him if he wanted to wear these to church and he shook his head yes. (ahhhh) Then we walked back to his room explaining we needed to find a shirt and his church shoes. My impressive little boy walked straight to his closet and brought out his church shoes. What a smarty pants!

Sydney-ism

"Mom, what makes you happy?"

(oh man...that could take me hours of deep thought.)

"Well, I like to read books, take pictures, play with my kids...."

and as I keep going with my list she walks away, completely distracted by something else. I not sure the answer was the important part of the conversation, but what makes me really happy is that she loves me enough to ask me a question like that! What a sweetheart!

7 1/2 Months Down

I finally remembered to document this pregnancy with a photo for the ages. Personally I wish I could do some "serious" photoshop doctoring to this...but that wouldn't be fair to all preganat ladies. Although some airbrushing would be nice!