Dog gone cute!

Matthew's new "dog gone cute" pj's from Aunt Shel &Uncle Bri!

Thanks Shel and Bri!

Choo Choo

Grandma and Grandpa G. got the kids a big train set for Christmas. Madie got one from Aunt Shel and Uncle Bri last year and loved it. In fact, there was often a feud over who got the train cars. No longer...this thing is fun! It looks like fun to Brandon and I also.

Getting started. We had to set it up right after we got home from Grandma and Grandpa's

Fun!

The tunnel and suspension bridge whistle when you go through them. The bridge also lights up. Super fun!

Madie squealed with excitement when we were setting it up. Emma tried to act as though she didn't want to have anything to do with it but guess who was waiting not so patiently to play with it!!!

Emma's Masterpiece

Santa brought Madie some window markers for her stocking. They were a hit. I have a feeling it is becuase they felt as though they were coloring on something they weren't supposed to. Anyway, Emma did this masterpiece on the slider, and was very protective of it I might add. Notice the winter wonderland behind the house...a white Christmas...now it can melt!!

Merry Christmas to all!

I hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas filled with joy, hope and love!

All the best in 2009!

A work in progress...

Well, our five year basement finishing project has taken some great leaps forward the last couple days. (It began when I was pregnant with Madelyn~she will be 4 in March.) We have been working hard on putting up the drywall. Brandon is doing a fantastic job and I cannot wait to have the extra space and a TOY room. Sometimes it feels like my upstairs is vomiting toys. When it is finished, there will be a family room, office, toyroom, bathroom and 2 additional bedrooms. Yippee!

This space will be the office with french doors at the end.

Brandon working hard. This is part of the family room. He has it figured out that for every 8 inches of TV you need a foot of space. The room is 14 feet deep. Uh...112 inch TV...keep dreaming dear.

Organization has been a challenge...so Brandon got an early Christmas present this weekend. I feel better, don't know about Brandon! That and now the little vermon can't steal tools (the dog, not the kids!)

I hope I can post this! For some reason, the girls don't like to wear clothing when they are at home. They get dressed and an hour later they are "hot". Even yesterday when the wind chill was -25! They definitely don't get that from me. Anyway...this is Madie cleaning up the drywall dust. Very helpful!

Random

Here are some random pictures from the last few weeks. We are all prepared for the big ice storm. All I ask is the power stay on. For some reason 3 kids and no power doesn't sound appealing. Don't know why... Hope everyone stays safe the next 24 hours!

Madelyn during our attempt at capturing Christmas photos. Needless to say, I haven't gotten a Christmas card made this year.

Emma at the big family Christmas. I just love this picture...classic goofy Emma!

Bathtime Matthew. We have started giving him baths in the big tub. He LOVES them! I don't know why but this photo is a little blurry.

The Marvelous Misadventures of Madelyn!

3 is such a wonderful age. She is full of such curiousity. She loves to laugh, play and have fun. She still likes to give hugs and calls me 'mama'. She is cute as a button. And then comes the annual Sunday school Christmas program at church. Age 3 and +standing for 1 hour = shananagins! And we just happened to have the camera with. Keep in mind she was standing by little Eleigh, who is also cute as a button and mischevious. She has lots of curls and a personality larger than life! Let's take a little picture tour of the morning?!

All ready!

The beginning, we are doing well! Only 3 minutes in! Emma standing to Madie's right did wonderful all the way through. She kept looking at me with this smirk that said "Ooh is Madie going to be in trouble!"

Don't ask, I don't know...

Playing with Eleigh's dress

For some reason the fascination was on the shoes! At one point she was sticking her tights to the Velcro on her shoes, hm mm, what happens when...

blurry, but you get the idea...

I see London, I see France! As did the whole church. You could hear the giggles go through the crowd. ~sigh~

Luckily, we were just about done at this point. I asked her about it afterwards and she didn't really have much to say. Next time, we will talk about the expectations of standing in front of a crowd!

Cankee Doodle and a snow day.

We woke up this morning to ice and snow. NO SCHOOL for us! Yippee! Brandon skated all the way to work but made it ok. This is what the driveway looked like...you can see the layer of ice.

Well, here is part 2 of my pictures that I finally downloaded. Emma had her "Winter Program" at school last night. I love how it is no longer the Christmas Concert but the Winter program. Kinda like you don't have Halloween parties anymore at school they are Fall parties. The kids still know what they are for, we just have to satisfy those parents who have to make a fuss...doesn't make sense to me...oh well, that is a story for another day.

Anyway...Em did a fabulous job at the concert, she sang her little heart out. And she looked great as well. A big thank you to Grandma G. for the beautiful new Christmas dresses for the girls. Madie had to wear hers to the concert as well. She was disappointed when she realized that she didn't get to sing as well. She knows all the songs as she has picked them up from Em. They sang Yankee Doodle (Cankee Doodle as Madie likes to say...sounds like some rare disease!), Jingle Bells, S-A-N-T-A ( a spoof on B-I-N-G-O) and GoodBye.

Madie all dressed up.

Emma, looking lovely...our picture taking session didn't go well or last long...sigh

In between all the happenings, Matthew and dad had time for a nap!

Happy Holidays

Wow...it has been way too long since I downloaded pictures! I will give you a quick recap of the last couple weeks...
I think we are finally over our little round of illness. I can't believe we all made it out without any major catastrophes. And now let the holiday celebrations begin! I have to say I am a little scrooge...I haven't wanted to play pass the baby...we have had enough illness to last the rest of the season!

Sunday we had the family Christmas with Great Grandma R. This is the family with grandma. Good luck getting the girls to smile!
Matthew at Thanksgiving. Ya think he is ready for the larger size pants? I can't keep this kid in clothes for nothing! He is growing so fast. Already 17 pounds.

Emma rocked Matthew to sleep while waiting for Thanksgiving dinner.

The night before Thanksgiving, Les was kind enough to help us unload 70, count 'em, 70 sheets of drywall. We are beginning to see the end of our 5 year basement finishing project. Since Madie will be 4 in March, we are about right on target. The first room was finished right before her birth.

Mom...I'm hungry!

You know you need to go to the grocery store when...

• you have to steal the remaining almost a cup of milk out of your child's sippy cup to make them oatmeal for breakfast.
• your five year old says "Mom, every time I look into the cupboard the food disappears, you really need to get groceries"
• for supper, that same five year old wants to have Totinos pizza rolls because "there isn't anything else to eat"

I think I will get groceries tonight!

We are still here....

We are still here...just nothing to write about. It has been pretty uneventful. We had a great Thanksgiving. We were able to spend it with family which is always nice. And now it is back to work and school. Madie asked me this morning when it would be spring. I think she was a little cold after playing outside at preschool! A long time Madie, a very long time!
We have gotten the Christmas tree up. Looks great and the girls and Grandma G. helped us decorate. It just doesn't seem like Christmas yet. One would think the snow would help but it doesn't. I am tired of the wet, dirty garage already and we have had 2 snows?!
More to come later...with pictures, I promise!

What we are thankful for...

• A new, healthy baby boy to complete our family. Matthew was born July 21st and it feels as though he has always been here.
• 2 spunky girls who always keep us guessing. They can be a challenge but we wouldn't have it any other way.
• Kindergarten~we are thankful Emma loves it so much and enjoys going. It has been good for her!
• Brandon's job in the financial industry...need I say more?
• A great house that we call home.
• An extended family that is always here...you know the saying "It takes a village"...I think we realize it takes a very involved family to raise a child. A big thank you to grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins and more.
• 8 years together...
• And so much more...

Where did the time go?

Eight years ago we were just getting married! I can't believe how fast the time has gone. Eight years, 4 moves, and 3 beautiful children later, here we are! This is just one of the many things I am grateful for this week. We have had 8 wonderful years and I am excited to see what the future holds!

November 25th, 2000

October 2008

Brown Bear, Brown Bear

Brown bear, brown bear, what do you see? I see Matthew looking intently at me! Madie was reading Matthew his new book and he was very interested in her story as you can see from the following pictures. He likes to look at books, especially when the girls are "reading" the story to him.

Madie reading. Notice the snowpants. She had to get them out to go play in the 1/2 inch of snow we had on the ground this morning.

Interesting....

Great story Madie!

In other news...the cycle of illness keeps going. We kept Matthew home this week to get him well (a big thank you to Grandma R) and wouldn't you guess it...the 4 of us came down with a little stomach bug. Not a bad one, just enough to make everyone miserable for a few days. We did accomplish the goal of keeping Matthew well. His cold is gone and he seems to be germ free at the moment, although that seems to change in an instant. So we fumigated the house today. I wiped everything off with bleach water, washed what seemed like 20 loads of laundry, and then we opened up the windows and left. It was a brisk 51 degrees in here when we got home. Felt a lot fresher though! Let's just hope that keeps some of the germs at bay.

Pet Peeve...

Ok, we have established that I have to work. Since I do, I would like to get something off of my chest. I know that others who work with children have expressed the same frustration. PARENTS! The biggest pain in my side when I go to work everyday are parents. I don't have a problem with parents who advocate for their children. It is how they do it. For example. Don't tell me what I am doing is good one day and then when we get to the meeting with 10 other people, tell me I am doing crap work and completely speak out of the other side of your mouth! I, like many other people who choose to work with other people's children, for little money I might add, did not go into the field to do harm to your child. In fact, just the opposite, I want to help your child. I work 40+ hours during the week helping other people's children. I don't get to spend that much time with my own! (5-6 hours out of the day compared to 7-8) It doesn't really want to make me work harder when you tell me through your actions that you do not appreciate what I do for your child or that you are entitled to anything and everything your heart desires. Sorry, doesn't work that way in my world. No wonder the average life span of a career in special education is 7-10 years...parents! Whew...not that I have gotten that over with, I feel much better. There is a lot more I could say on the subject but we will let it go at this!

2 bites are better than 1!

Aunt Shel challenged us to show how 2 is better than 1. Well, for Matthew, 2 bites is definitely better than one! We started him on cereal this weekend and let me just say...he LOVES it! He finished off his bowl tonight and could have had seconds but we don't want to over-do it! Just goes to show you~2 bowls are better than one! That just happens to be my philosophy when it comes to things like pizza, Mt Dew and my craving of the week...Chocolate White Chip cookies that are on the back of the Hershey's White Chocolate Chip bag...definitely worth having 2 of those! I'll post the recipe at a later date.

Matthew eating his cereal...note how very little mess there actually is. Not bad for a first timer!

Mmmm...lip-smacking good!

Happenings...

• We are finally on the mend. Only after Matthew caught pink-eye though. We have been playing with germ warfare. That strain of pink eye is strong stuff. Since Emma came home with it, it has infected 6 other people that we have come in contact with. (that we know of)
• Matthew started eating cereal this weekend. Little man has decided that he is hungry every morning at 4. Love that...even tried 6 ounces of formula last night to try to cease that habit...didn't work.
• Madelyn and Emma wouldn't let me take pictures for the blog today. They both covered their faces!
• Busy playing the Wii. We rented MarioCart this weekend. It is fun as well.
• Getting ready for Thanksgiving...we have a lot to be thankful for again this year!

Buddy...the only member of the family to let me take his picture.

Growing up...

We got school pictures back today. They turned out pretty good. Both Emma and Madie are loving school and learning lots! Emma has started sight words. Watch out...once she figures out how to read we are in for it!

Emma

Madelyn (gotta love the fake grin that says "you want me to say what???")

Matthew (AKA chunky monkey...love the double chin!) This was taken after his bath. Don't really think he wanted his picture taken.

And the award goes to...

And the award for Mother of the Year goes to....ME!
Brandon figured out after 3 whole days of drops in Madie's eyes that she is allergic to them. Yes, folks, I said allergic. Remember I said Madie does illness with a style and grace all her own? Well, this is yet another instance of that. Her eyes just didn't seem to be getting better with the drops, in fact they just got worse. Her poor little eyes. She kept complaining they hurt and we just didn't get it. I have to wonder if it wasn't the sulfate in the drops that did the trick. Who knows... but I win a big fat trophy for that one. Kinda like the time I just kept putting the shoes on Emma until one day she said her feet hurt. Duh, they were 3 sizes too small... no joke. Her little feet just kept going in so I didn't think anything about it. Wonderful...I'm going to have my mantle filled with trophies by the time the kids are grown! *sigh*

One big calamity...

One big calamty. That is what we are...first Emma had pink eye last weekend. Then Matthew came down with this crud (he is getting better!). Then I talked to my sister and Jacob caught the pink eye and then shoved a pea up his nose instead of eating it for a snack. Betsy said she still doesn't know where it went. I guess if he starts to sprout we will know it's still there! And then, this morning Madie woke up with the cruddiest eyes you have ever seen. Emma did the pink eye but Madie seems to do illness with a style and grace all her own. If she is going to get something...she goes all the way! She is very happy to show it off (notice the lovely goober in her right eye) and has decided she likes the drops..."Mom, you watch daddy do it. He does it good". Evidentally I don' t know how to put drops in. Oh well... My advice...stay far, far away...you don't want to catch something!

Honesty the best policy???

I don't know that honesty is always the best policy...this was the conversation at the supper table tonight:
Madelyn: I like the snow. We can go slide when the hill is all covered.
Me: Hey, Mom can go sledding this year too! There's no baby in my tummy anymore.
Madie: Oh, we're gonna have to get a bigger sled!
Brandon: chuckle, chuckle

Thank you, thank you my lovely daughter. Thank you for pointing out the painfully obvious. Sometimes it is nice to live in the unrealistic bubble that I am still the same old size 6 that I was in college. Rather hard to do with an honest 3 year old around.

Fun, fun, fun!

Between pink eye and colds, I thought we had had it all. Matthew had come down with a barky cough and some raspy breathing, I thought it was croup. So I took him to the doctor to make sure I was right and wasn't missing something. One nebulizer treatment and chest x-ray later...we find out he has a few little spots in his bronchioles and may or may not be getting pneumonia. So we came home with a nebulizer and are to watch him closely the next 48 hours. Dr. said that if he is heading towards the pneumonia it should be evident by Friday. The fun never ends... At least no one else has pink-eye...yet!

Happy 31st Birthday!

Happy Birthday to the best Daddy in the whole world!

We love you!

So big!

He can't be this big already!

Peter, Peter pumpkin eater...

Well, Halloween is over and what do you do with the pumpkins? Emma brought 2 smaller pie pumpkins home from her field trip to the pumpkin patch. Instead of dumping them in the garbage we decided to try to make real, homemade pumpkin pie. I really don't know what I was thinking...over 3 hours later the pies where just coming out of the oven.

First you have to bake the pumpkin to soften it up. Not hard and smelled wonderful! They also turned a really deep shade of reddish-orange.

After it is cooked, you scrape the pumkin out of the shell and then you have to strain it to get rid of the stringy, pulp stuff. The girls had fun helping with this.

Pumpkin goo...fully strained. Boy did we have a mess!

Out of the oven. Looks pretty good. I have to say this is the first time I have ever made a homemade pie shell also. Brandon told me after it was all over that he wasn't holding out much hope for taste since this was the first time I had attempted such a thing.

The final product. And yes...it tasted wonderful. Brandon even thought so. Madie ate a piece by herself as well. Emma refused! It isn't as creamy as pumpkin pie from the can. The texture is a little courser. Would I do it again...probably. It was kinda fun but very time consuming!

Pink eye anyone??

Yet another successful, candy-filled Halloween. The kids had a lot of fun trick-or-treating with Jacob. It was fun to watch him begin to understand what was happening. The light went on after only a few houses that people were going to give him candy! Emma started coming down with pink-eye yesterday. Today it was full blown and we have made a trip to the doctor already this morning. She has decided drops aren't that bad. Evidentally it has been traveling throughout the kindergarten class...hopefully it doesn't grace the rest of us as well!

All ready to go!

Aren't they cute?

Ahh, yes...time for Uncle Mark to play the Wii. He stated as he was finished playing that he didn't want "one of these things". Could it be becuase his 5 year old neice beat him in bowling...233 - 101?