Thursday, November 13, 2008

It's the little things...

That sometime make us happy and here is one... I bought Laney these pink rubber rain boots at the Goodwill yesterday for $4. I was especially tickled as the rain had been pouring here for 2 days and I really wanted some rain boots for her. I went looking for something else, and just hoped maybe I might find some, although highly doubting it, thinking they were an item much in demand.
Well imagine my surprise to find one lone pair of rain boots on the shoe rack, and in something close to Laney's size (a size to big, but she'll wear them and grow into them!). And in pink to boot!!
Apparently, she was quite pleased about them as well. She kept talking about her boots all night. She told me that she can jump really high in them and run fast. She also said her boots are for mud, and snow and rain of course. She refused to take them off, and I finally persuaded her to remove them to put on her pajamas, only if she could put them right back on. So we did.

Do I need to tell you that these pictures are from this morning?? Yep, she slept in them.

Who knew a cheap pair of rubber boots from the thrift store would bring one 3 yr old so much happiness :)??

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

updates coming soon.

Sorry blogworld and whatever readers I had... I know I have severely neglected this blog.
I will be updating soon. Hopefully today :)

Thursday, April 17, 2008

makin cupcakes

Potty training...its going. Slowly. As I learned after the other 2 children I potty trained, you can't force it. So it has to be Laney's choice. I just daily give her the choice whether she wants to wear panties or a diaper. Even when wearing the diaper I ask her "Do you want to go pee on the potty?" once an hour or so. She seems to have figured out what the sensation is just before she needs to go, and when she is in panties she has not been having accidents. She has now gone pee on the potty 5 times. yay!! So....I keep waiting. Hoping that like Ashlyne if we keep heaping on the praise, she'll just wake up one day and want to wear the panties and it will be done.





So Cortney turns 12 tomorrow! I have a full list of things to do today, including get my house clean. sigh...


She has requested I make peanut butter cupcakes decorated like basketballs for her to take to school tomorrow. This is what I plan for them to look like:

I'll post photos when I'm done. Maybe. Ha ha...unless they turn out horribly.

So tomorrow night is her party, 3 boys and 5 girls have been invited and the girls will be staying the night. Its a sports themed party. We are having hotdogs, popcorn, soda, and cupcakes. The original plan was shooting hoops, playing catch, etc. But now with Cortney having a broken ankle, that blew that plan. I still haven't figured out what they are going to do exactly but I'm working on it.

Wish me luck!! Have a super Thursday!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Maybe an end to diapers in sight?!!

Laney just peed on the potty TWICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Do you need original gift ideas for the Mom in your life?

Yes it is true...Mother's day if sneakin up on all of us at light speed. It tends to do that every year.
I just received an email this morning from a website I frequent http://www.coolmompicks.com with news of their Mother's Day Gift Guide. I have put their display button over there on the right, so you can link directly to the guide. There is some very cool stuff, including great book suggestions, original jewelry, and some green choices as well.
Enjoy!!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Spring Snow!!

So last week was the start of Spring, and we are also now in daylight savings time. Wouldn't it be safe for one to assume that sunshine and warmer temperatures were on their way. Well, as you know, one should never assume....
As last night we were hit with surprise snow showers, and (gasp) accumulation of that snow! It was crazy. So about 5pm we all bundled up and went outside to enjoy a bit of what will hopefully be our last snowfall this year.
Cortney, Laney and Ash just out the front door...
Laney.."See mom...it snow!!"

Jordanna likes to eat the snow.

Craig and Cortney threw snowballs at each other...


Here Laney was trying to catch the snow on her glove..

We went to the park in our development to play..

And here are the loves of my life... :)

So while it was temporary fun...we want our sunshine and warmer temps!!!!!

Monday, March 24, 2008

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter from all of us! We sincerely hope that you had a great day!! Ours was quiet and different. No big dinner, and Cortney and Jordanna were gone all day. We woke up in the morning to Easter baskets for Ashlyne and Laney....


Here is a smile from Laney!!! I guess candy can coax one out of her!

Craig and I hid 128 eggs in the backyard for the two of them to find. They were all stuffed with candy, so needless to say...we have a lot of candy around here today!




And then we went out to breakfast, and were surprised the Easter Bunny was hanging out at Denny's....
Where's the picture with Laney? LOL...she would go nowhere near that Bunny!! She did follow his every move in the restaurant though!
Happy Spring and Happy Easter!

learning to ride a bike..

Saturday was a beautiful clear and sunny day here. Which was great, as our Homeowners Assoc. had organized an Easter Egg Hunt that morning. Ashlyne and Laney really enjoyed that and got quite a bit of candy.
A little later that afternoon, Craig took Ashlyne out for bike riding lessons. It went very well and she was able to ride for a few moments without Dad holding on!! Check out the pictures below!







You can see the look of determination on her face! A few more lessons and I'm sure she'll be riding all over!!

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Ready, Set, Don't go

So tomorrow night Misti flies out to Alabama. Last Saturday Gma Jan, Laci and I pulled together a surprise going away party for her at a little mexican restaurant in town. She was indeed surprised, and it was perfect, she was surrounded by a room full of people who came to wish her well. I asked her to come up and have dinner tonight so we could say our goodbyes..as you can't really do that at the airport any longer, and this way the whole family could be here to see her.
She requested that I make meatloaf and mashed potatoes and gravy. So the family is coming up tonight for dinner. I'm making meatloaf, mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole and peanut butter pie. So its a busy day for me, cleaning, run to the store for some last minute things, and then cooking.

It's probably for the best I stay busy today. Everytime I stop for a moment and think, tears come to my eyes. I (along with everyone else) am very excited for Misti and the new opportunites on her horizon. I'm proud of her for having the guts to make such a big leap of faith. She is doing what we prepare all of our children to do- Spread her wings and fly. I never imagined how hard it would be to let her go though.

There is this song that Billy Ray Cyrus sings along with his young daughter Miley. It's called "Ready, Set, Don't Go". I googled the lyrics last week and was crying by the time I was done reading them. This song is so fitting for this time in my life, in our lives.


She's gotta do what she's gotta do
And I've gotta like it or not
She's got dreams too big for this town
And she needs to give 'em a shot
Whatever they are
Looks like she's all ready to leave
Nothing left to pack
There ain't no room for me in that car
Even if she asked me to tag along
God I gotta be strong
She's at the startin' line of the rest of her life
As ready as she's ever been
Got the hunger and the stars in her eyes
The prize is hers to win
She's waitin' on my blessings
before she hits that open road
Baby get ready
Get set
Don't go
She says things are fallen into place
Feels like they're fallen apart
I painted this big ol' smile on my face
To hide my broken heart
If only she knew
This is where I don't say what I want so bad to say
This is where I want to but I won't get in the way
Of her and her dreams
And spreadin' her wings
She's at the startin' line of the rest of her life
As ready as she's ever been
Got the hunger and the stars in her eyes
The prize is hers to win
She's waitin' on my blessings before she hits that open road
Baby get ready
Get set
Don't go
And I leave you with a few pictures from the restaurant last weekend...
Misti, Gma Jan, Cortney and Laci

Sisters...Misti, Cortney and Laci

This is a long time coming.. :) Misti and Cortney
I love you Misti. We wish you happiness and joy under the blue skies of Alabama. Always remember that your family is here for you and we love you. Good, bad, whatever.
We are family and that is a never ending bond.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Trip to the dentist...

I found a Children's dentist up here near our house, and scheduled appointments for all 4 girls. Ashlyne had been to the dentist before, along with Cortney and Jordie, but its been more than a year since their last visit, as we had some insurance changes and went without dental for the last year or so. Laney had not yet visited the dentist.

So Ashlyne and Laney had an appointment this morning. I scheduled it for 10am, which in itself was a bit challenging, as at 10am they are usually just moving around and having some breakfast. But by 9:45 this morning, we were dressed, teeth brushed, hair done, breakfast had, and out the door.

What a cool place!! There is a playroom that has books, games, a train set, a castle playhouse with a slide, arcade games and a 3 horse carousel ride. And the games and ride do not require money!! Yay! The girls were having a blast! Which was almost a problem- Laney didn't want to leave the playroom when their names were called. I was really nervous about how Laney was going to act, as many times at the dr. I have to hold her down for even simple things like letting the dr. look in her ears.

Ashlyne did really well, sat still for the xrays, and was still and cooperative for the cleaning and the dentist examination. They put sunglasses on them to help with the bright light in their face. Ash has a set of molars coming in within the next 6 months the dentist said, and a few of her teeth are just starting to feel the slightest bit wiggly- she was very excited about that. She does have one cavity in a molar. Which is in the top, down in a crevice. The dentist said she would probably have a hard time even getting to it with her brush. She will be getting a filling next week.

Laney was freaked out having to lay down and having someone poking in her mouth, but she did much better than I expected. I held her hand and just kept reassuring her and of course, coaxed her with the promise of a treat when she was done. And she laid there and even opened her mouth. And didn't scream. lol Success!! Her teeth looked great!

The dentist also said that they both have beautiful teeth and they have nice positioning (even Ash's permanant teeth he could see on xray) which means he does not for see any need for orthodontics for either of them at this point. Hallelujah!! With one kid already in braces, we've been worried at how many more we will have...

So they got a bag of goodies (new toothbrush, floss, stickers) and got to choose something out of a vending machine with a token the dentist gave them. All in all, a good experience and Ashlyne is even looking forward to going back! :)

Friday, February 15, 2008

Happy Valentine's Day from us!

Hope you all had a very Happy Valentine's Day yesterday!! Here is my girls with one of their treats. Grandpa Perry and Grandma Sherryl showed up with this great cookie bouquet and here the girls posed with their cookies and their greetings!!

And this is the very yummy cupcake that they each got from their Dad and I. :) I visited this great new shop in Downtown Puyallup http://indulgecupcakes.com/index.html and got each of the girls a treat for their valentine's goody.
We ordered pizza and had a relaxing evening at home. I hope that you had a nice day yesterday!!

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Enough is Enough already



So I and Craig have been sick since last week. Cortney came home Sunday sick. Jord started feeling sick Tuesday, Laney has been coughin all week, but it hasn't slowed her down..lol. I went to the dr. finally Tues night and have bronchitis. Haven't slept much this week with the kids all being sick, waking up to take temps, give meds, etc.Then the wind last night- holy jesus. Ash and Laney were both scared so they were in our bed half the night. Then Ashlyne starts running a fever at like 5am this morning.

Enough already!! I want to be well (which is hard to get to when you aren't getting any sleep) and I want the kids to be well! So we are quarantined. lol.

bright spots:

Craig stayed home Monday to help out since he didn't feel well and I was feeling really bad. That was great because I was able to sleep all day pretty much.

A new friend of ours sent over dinner last night. lasagna, bread, salad, even cookies. That was awesome and sooo appreciated!! I must say that after having 3 babies and going thru numerous illnesses, I do not recall anyone ever bringing my family dinner. What a blessing!

Friday, February 1, 2008

Friday Gratitude

One of my goal's for 2008 was to blog more. I miss writing, I used to do so much journal writing and I just don't anymore. (must be the 4 kids running around here..)

So I want to continue to keep everyone updated on anything exciting in our lives, and do a better job at that, but I also wanted to start getting on here more to just write. So I hope you will come along for the ride. Sometimes I might just post musings, funny stories, goals, dreams, plans. It could be anything. It could be nothing.


I want to start committing particular days to a specific post. This might help me get motivated. So Friday's are going to be "Friday Gratitude". I will post what I'm grateful for that week. So here we go!!


Friday Gratitude (week 1)

This week I am thankful for my best friend- my husband. He is such a hard worker, even doing a side job last week that kept him at the shop til 9pm one night. He does this to provide for our family, and he rarely complains. He puts up with me, and I can be challenging. He still adores me and that is amazing. I love him with all of my heart, would absolutely be lost without him. I can hardly remember life before him, and that is probably a good thing. lol


7 years ago tomorrow- we had our first date, and our first kiss. (yes, tsk tsk, I kissed him on our first date ;) and I kid you not, fireworks. We both knew something amazing was happening. Who knew that this would be the road we would travel. I LOVE YOU!!


This week I am also thankful for another month of bills paid ONTIME!

I am thankful that gas prices went down this week.

I am thankful for cupboards with food in them, a warm house, and hot showers.

I am thankful that Ashlyne seems to finally be kicking the crud she has been carrying around since before Christmas.

I am thankful that my children are generally in good health.

I am thankful for their smiles and laughter, that each day keep me going.


This week, I am full of gratitude.

Friday, January 25, 2008

adventures in cheerleading!

Ashlyne went to a PHS Cheer Clinic last weekend with her friend Dani that she played soccer with. It was a 4 hour clinic for elementary school kids to hang out with the high school cheerleaders and ultimately learn a routine and a few cheers to perform at halftime at a PHS Basketball game. She was pretty excited after the clinic and was really excited when Tuesday came and we loaded up the family to go the PHS Basketball game and to watch Ash cheer at halftime. Here are some pictures that Dani's mom Leanne took of Ash and Dani. My camera failed me miserably that night. :( I really need a new one. Anyway, she did great! She is such a natural at cheer, its so fun to watch her!
Here's our cheerleader......

Big G, Little O, GO GO!
This is definately the "Color Shout", Purple, Purple, Purple,
Gold, Gold, Gold, Gold, Gold...a lot of hip shaking!



I'd say she is enjoying herself!!




Craig and I had this long discussion on the way home about how much cheer costs. LOL We are pretty sure she will be interested in being in cheer in high school.
It's 19 degrees here right now, brrrrrrrrrr. I am so done with winter, we've been so jipped on snow. I'm ready to just move on to spring.
Have a great weekend all!