BEAK!

What the BEAK! I just wrote a post all about today and it says "oops, don't like you" and deletes it? I guess that just goes along with the day! Been kinda crazy, but we're getting there. Molly just cried and kept asking for "dew" for about 1/2 hour. Did I mention it was juice that was in her cup that she was holding in her precious little hands, but she thought it was something else? She didn't even try it, she just stood here and cried. After I kept telling her, she finally decided to trust me. BEAK!

Headed to another scrapbook retreat just for the day tomorrow! YIPEE! Man, this workin' thing is tough, especially when it's digital scrapbooking :)

Smeared

Here Molly sits on the table again, pizza smeared all over her sides like she always does. Thinks her shirt and pants are napkins this kid! I know I should get her down, but at least with her sitting in front of me here on the table, I know where she is. Is that wrong? I suppose it is!

I'm trying to get organized but you can see where I ended up :) Can ya tell I feel like clearing out toys and the mud room and putting stuff away in the basement? Umm, no. But I need to! Then it'll be clutter free for the realtor next Monday night. I'll get there, maybe with a few visits to Facebook and such along the way. Hope you are having a good one!

Mikie and Mol going "tubing behind Uncle Bob's boat"
enjoying those skeddios, are ya?

When looking to put game pieces back where they belong, sometimes you come across the unexpected... Like "secret snacks" for their "secret fort"

Jack making a birthday card for Chloe (mom and dad's dog) the boys & their secret fort...
they had me make this sign to throw off anyone looking for the fort.
This sign leads people into the bathroom!

Kleenex and Cookies

Now I am sitting here with a piece of kleenex wadded up and stuck in both nostrils, holding back the endless flow. I was just standing in front of the oven with the oven door open, absorbing all that heat (choc chip cookies just came out). Now it's time to eat some cookies... Mmmmm... Nite!

Third Time?

My nose is raw and the boys are working hard to earn an allowance. Not all bad, eh? My nose has literally dripped all day like a faucet. I don't think I mentioned, either, that I had some kind of freakish reaction to a chapstick I used (from the place that stripped my veins) and my face is all raised and hurts! WEIRD! I'm some kinda freak! And having to wipe my nose in that general area hasn't helped the weird situation. Yesterday in nursery I was SO self concious of it! My lips were dry enough to crack right off and the area around them was glowing red. Sheesh...

Other than that, we've had a pretty uneventful day. Erk had lunch with Jack at school which was great - made both of their days they said :) Mikie laid down with me for a while to take a nap, but he never fell asleep. Mol was cashed out for about an hour this morning, then willingly after lunch again for a few hours. It's nearly jammies time and I'm thinking I might hop on Quickbooks tonight to make sure our ducks for '08 are all in a row. Have a good evening!

Ohh and next Monday night we will be having a realtor over, yep, we are gonna try to sell. Third times the charm??? We'll have to see what the Lord has in store for us!

Our Roadtrip...

Pretty stainglass window at their house

Grandma's old house, new and improved

With as much as we "coached" the boys to be good at Larry and Janelle's, their

grandsons were there and they were pretty

"active" so the boys had fun playing right along!

didn't take Mol long to find the "ooks"

Aunt Janelle and Uncle Larry

Man, did we have a fun day yesterday! We left a tad later than planned, but still made it there around the time we had planned. Got on the road and the boys kept asking when we were gonna be there and how much farther! I had packed snacks for the kids (which came in handy) and then we stopped for a later-than-usual lunch which was a nice break in the action. We then journeyed (is that a word?) on thru to Larry and Janelle's (aka Grandma's) house. It's so pretty - so beautifully decorated and inviting. We took a peek in the bed and breakfast part and that took us back to 6 years ago when Jack was in my belly and we stayed there. It was a very nice visit and we chatted a bit, then headed back on the road to "big" Molly's place.
lil' Mol in an antique hichair she found

On our way, we detoured to see Grandpa and Grandma's grave stones at the cemetary. It was nice to stop by, it's been, again, since Jack was in my belly that we'd been there. Erk showed the boys and Mikie nearly got stuck in the snow bank :)

Mol's casa

From there we made it to Mol's place and LOVED it. It's the coolest apartment, HUGE inside and so cutely decorated and so Molly :) The boys were getting a little too comfy on her new couches that were delivered yesterday! So we headed out to a Texas Roadhouse for supper and after a bit of a wait (and me following lil Molly around the waiting area while she walked 'round and 'round) we sat and ate some good eats. The boys, I think, by that point were pretty much done. They started kicking under the table, climbing under the table, kept having to go to the bathroom. Lil Molly got my ranch dressing when I wasn't looking and made a big mess :) It was great though, great to see Mol, her place, where she is all this time and to meet Tyler, her friend who came along.

Then the roadtrip home was pretty peaceful as Erk and I ate the chocolate chip cookies Molly made and sent home with us and the kids all fell asleep. Well, I guess not all the kids, the little lady fought it the whole way home...

Today was double nursery duty at church for me and Erk came to late service with the boys. Mol was pretty tired in the nursery but held it together til she fell and bonked her head. Now we are home and headed back out again soon to my cousin, Sarah's house to celebrate her twins baptism! Packed weekend, but fun. Hope you've had a good one!

Hi-dee-ho neighbor! Erk is upstairs watching tv, the kids are all in bed and I just updated our bizz scrapbook blog so I thought I'd say hola to all of you! How has your day been? Good here, we've had a nice one. Both boys had school of course this morning, Molly and I grocery shopped while they were gone and then we had a lunch all together and Mikie took a nap with me :) Mol zonked too (in her own bed) and Jack played super quiet. Worked out so well! I've not only been on the ornery side this week, but also freakin' tired!

We have a great day ahead of us tomorrow! Headed a few hours south to visit with Erk's aunt and uncle who live in his Grandma's old house. I remember the days of going down there for holidays... the house was, well, in not the best shape, poor Grandma couldn't take care of it. After she moved out for some assisted living, Larry and Janelle took it over and turned it into a bed and breakfast! Amazing the transformation!! We actually stayed there overnight when we were in town for Grandma's funeral. I was prego for Jack. Wow, that seems like forever ago!

Anywho, Erk has been itching to see Grandma's house again, and can't wait to show the kids. We'll leave mid-morning and grab some lunch on the way, stop in a visit, then get outta their hair. From there we are going to see "Big Molly" and her new apartment not too far from Larry and Janelle's. Mol got a new job and casa and we wanna see it! We'll hopefully grab some din din with her and then head back home. What a fun day ahead, I'm so glad we are doing it!

Ohh, today - I was pretty excited when I dropped off an order to Mikie's preschool teacher. Did I tell you she ordered thru our website (and actually said she prefers it over Creative Memories???). She was thrilled that they were printed already and showed the teacher's aide, then a bunch of other teachers came walking by and she showed them and even took them to their daily staff meeting before school started! Wow, that was a huge blessing. As I waited in Mikie's room for the teacher to come back (they always meet for about 10 minutes before school, pray together, etc) Molly and Mikie played. Then when she came back she had her coffee in one hand and her pages in the other and said thank you again, "these are awesome!" I'm so glad she likes 'em :) Good stuff...

Well, now I think I'll get ready for bed. Hope ya'll sleep good!

Quote of the Day

"Mikie, stop screaming... Jack, stop egging."

Followed up by (as a sort of comfort to her ears folded back):

"I know Bean, I know."

Tude Change

I'm tired and have been REALLY crabby today. I just didn't want to deal with day to day stuff, wanted to climb back into bed. You know how it goes :) I told the boys they could call me Mrs. Grumpypants! Jack started out with the "rhea" again this morning so he stayed home from school for a while. We took Mikie to preschool and by that point, Jack was ready and very willing to head to school. They both had a good day and as the morning wore on, my tude changed.

So now I am ready to plop my butt down and eat a dozen cookies - oh no, wait, I mean watch American Idol. Cookies would be nice :) Can you say PMS at its finest???

SWEEEEEEEEEET

Kate!!! I LOVE your blog! I'm sorry, but I had to take advantage of the awesomeness of choosing a different background than what I've had for all these years :) ROCK ON!

Now if getting Molly to take a nap would be as simple as that was, we'd all be in a good place :)

RARE & NAUGHTY

This child is RARE and N-A-U-G-T-H-Y! Here she sits on the dining room table like she owns the place. RARE. She just yesterday started to shake her head yes, which is so cute. And she also does this new face when you get the camera out. This "fake" smile bit. I'll see if I can capture it on camera. And today? Sitting here on the table - grabbing my mouse for my laptop, I told her no and she did it again. "No, Mousie," I tell her again. She goes for it again and I say, "you wanna spank?" She gives this comical, trying to be seriously sad face! Cracks me UP!

I have now changed 13 dirty diapers on her! Poor baby. She keeps saying "Dew!" for wanting juice but I can't give her any (I guess it doesn't help the rhea situation). So it's Pedialyte which she'd rather drink Bean's water (and I really think she would!) so we'll see.

Both boys are at school and it feels good to have them back on their feet after last week of missing so much! They had a fun time skating last night, I'll try to get some pictures posted from that too.

Have a good one - hope you aren't up to your elbows in rhea like I am! I think every store within a 10 mile radius is out of baby wipes cause we have used them ALL!

here we have the newest face, fake "ohh, my feelings are hurt..."

topped with the face you get when you pull the camera out!

aren't I cute?

Skating Adventure

Daddy with the boys ice skating on the lake! Papa took these lovely pix! Sorry for the order, blogger messes it up!

oops!

nice buddy!

all tuckered out!

This is what I woke up to in the middle of the night. Bean. Erk slept on the couch cause he couldn't get comfy and so Bean thought it was a freebee night for her to sleep with me. I look over in the night and have her face right next to mine! FUNNY ANIMAL!

Name Game

Diarrhea is the name, cleaning it up is my game!

I just heard with my own 2 ears, Molly filling her drawers for the now 6th time since she woke up this morning. It's now 1pm and I've bathed her (that first dose at 7:07a was NASTY and everywhere to include her sheets, her chest and her furniture), I've also been puked on by her and mix in there numerous other blow outs and that's us today.

As much as I was looking forward to going to church today as a family, here sit Mol and I. We just finished up some lunch (technically she is still chompin' on Ritz crackers) and it's quiet. Poor baby! I thought maybe it was a teeth oriented deal, but with the frequency and stench, I'd say she has the flu bug the boys had last week.

Erk is planning to take the boys to my folks this afternoon to teach them how to ice skate! The neighbor there has offered numerous times for Dad's "grandkids" to come learn to skate. He has every size skate imaginable, and so we thought today would be a great day for that. I had hoped to tag along (you know me, always up for a great photo op) but I think me and poopy butt will linger (no pun intended) here at home with our poop germs and all!

I hope you are having a good Sunday? Seems the temps have gone up a tad outside, so that's good news. I'll check in with you later. Erk snapped some pix yesterday of the boys tackling me that are pretty funny - I'll try to post 'em. Adios!

A Bit Boring Today

Well Miss Molly is down for bed now and Erk took the boys to get some hot chocolate while watching the skiiers at a nearby ski place so I'm chillin' out! Kinda literally, it's freezing!

Today, Erk and I dove into Quickbooks. That is not a small task, but one we've been putting off for a long time! We didn't start out doing it right, but then got the hang of it (after a few hours!) and ended up putting in all of our orders/amounts/tax stuff for now. Seems as though there is still a lot we don't know, but we'll get there. The big thing is that we got started. That was a big mountain for us! It was nice to enter in 2 orders that are currently in our inbox :) One of which was Georgia lady again! YIPEE! That makes 3 orders from her. What a sweetheart she is too!

I hope you've had a good one. Ohh, we had "sticky buns" this morning from a place in town that were delish. Erk went and picked up 6 of them, between us 5 we couldn't even polish off 3! But tonight when it came to burgers on the grill? Erk made 7 and only a 1/2 remained! Molly ate an entire burger, bun and all. She's nuts!

Good night, sleep well -

Recent Interviews

In a recent interview (tonight) I asked the following questions. These answers are word for word, the answers I received:

State your name: “Jack”
Have you ever skipped school? “Yes, because I was sick.”
Have you ever been to Canada? “No.”
Have you ever been to Europe? “No.”
Have you ever been to Florida? “Yes, in the Villages.”
Have you ever been to the opposite side of the country? “What does that mean?”

Have you ever laughed so hard a drink came out of your nose? “Probably water or pop.”
Have you ever danced your heart out? “You never wanna do that!”
Have you ever blown bubbles? “Yeah, lots of times.”
Have you ever sat outside in the rain? “Umm, I think one time.”
What is your favorite drink? “That would be milk.”
If you could be any animal, what would it be? “I would not be a bug cause people squish them… I’d be a lion.”
Ever been on tv? “of course not, I’m a kid!”
What is your favorite movie? “Madagascar 2”
Favorite dessert? “Mmmm… chocolate soldiers like we ate after lunch today” (they were actually nutcracker chocolates)
Name something you love. “My B”
Favorite number? “160”
What is your favorite smell? “Candles”
How do you relax? “a fan blowing in my hair so I can just sit down and relax.”
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? “Texas.”
What is your favorite pastime? “to sit with you and Mikie.”
What is your latest obsession? “riding my bike.”

In a separate interview, this individual was asked some of the same and some different questions…

State your name: “Mike”
Have you ever skipped school? “Yes,when I’m sick.”
Have you ever been to Canada? “Umm no.”
Have you ever been to Europe? “No.”
Have you ever been to Florida? “Yes.
Where? “at a Mexico restaurant.”
Have you ever been to the opposite side of the country? “no”
Have you ever laughed so hard a drink came out of your nose? “No.”
Have you ever blown bubbles? “No, oh I mean yes.”
What is your favorite drink? “Sprite.”
If you could be any animal, what would it be? “Dog… because I want to.”
What is your favorite movie? “the movie Cars”
Favorite dessert? “cookies.”
Name something you love. “Madagascar 2”
What is your favorite smell? “Apples”
How do you relax? “Umm, with my ankles.”
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? “In a mirror.”
What is your favorite holiday? “Halloween.”
What is your latest obsession? “I don’t know.”
What is your favorite thing to do? “swim in a pool.”

At no point, was the following individual interviewed. These answers are purely from a mom’s standpoint.


State your name: “Molly”
Have you ever skipped school? “What’s school?”
Have you ever been to Florida? “Yes, some old fart place but I didn’t mind cause I slept all day like they do.”
Have you ever been to the opposite side of the country? “Huh?”
Have you ever laughed so hard a drink came out of your nose? “Maybe formula?”
Have you ever danced your heart out? “I love to boogie!”
Have you ever blown bubbles? “I used to all the time when I was pooping.”
Have you ever sat outside in the rain? “Only if I was stuck in the stroller.”
What is your favorite drink? “Warm water mixed with apple juice.”
If you could be any animal, what would it be? “a monkey, cause I like to climb all the time.”
What is your favorite movie? “I don’t sit long enough to watch anything.”
Favorite dessert? “M&M’s.
Name something you love. “Bean dog aka Bee ba”
What is your favorite smell? “Momma”
How do you relax? “by sucking my thumb.”
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? “being a sweet, loving pre-teen!.”
What is your favorite pastime? “to repeatedly call out “Momma”
What is your latest obsession? “taking toothbrushes out of the bathroom and chewing on all of them, no matter who’s they are.”

this was the scene 2 days ago with our 2 "sickies" - but fortunately they are much improved (back to fighting/yelling/waking Molly up early from her nap - back to themselves!

Crazy Animal

Umm, so are you WEARING the shoe, Bean?

ohh no, I see, what's that hanging outta your mouth?

Uhh, Bean. Is that yours?

So perhaps I don't help the situations! These shoes were always too small for Mol anyways!

Retirement Home

Good evening – here I sit with the dishwasher running behind me and the house is dark except for the dining room light where I am sitting. Erk went up to read more of his latest book and the kids are all in bed. Ahhh, silence. A little while ago, Erk had all 3 kids in the bathtub and I laid there in the hallway (I know, kinda weird, but I did) and listened to the sounds of water splashing, Molly “talking” and the boys imagining. I had a big ol’ smile on my face laying there with my eyes closed!

Today was a good day, not too eventful. Papa took the boys for a bit and they hung out at their house. Mol and I ran an errand and then came home (I forgot to make the stop to get Bean food, sorry Bean dog) and then I got on here for a bit fulfilling my bizz duties and then got so freaking tired, I laid down for ½ hour. Felt good. Dad brought the boys home then and we did various things (to include me teaching them the "Hokey Pokey") and dinnertime came and went, they got clean in the tub and bedtime. Boy, some nights go by fast, don’t they?

I hope you’ve had a good one. I’m tired so I’m headed to bed soon. I’m so freaking old. I get so tired anymore after a weekend away – next move for me will be the retirement home!

even cuter

I like these even better than the black and whites from yesterday :)

Some Cute Pix from Today