Weekend "stuff".....

This past weekend went FAST..........the girls had soccer on Saturday morning while I taught a kids class at MLPA from 11-1, and then took a really great class from 1:30 - 3:30 that I will be teaching at a convention in a few months for the store.

When I got home we all went out to dinner to this place called Max and Irma's (where the tortilla soup is to.die.for.) After dinner we saw Horton Hears a Who in the movie theatre (Jen's first time at the movies and she did GREAT!!!!) After that we went to check out a truck at the Ford dealership that Ron is looking to buy sooner rather than later. Got home. Girls in bed. Fold some laundry. Clean up the kitchen. Off to bed cause I was tuckered out.

Then....at 2:12 AM......I heard something in my sleep. Sounded very much like Jennifer screaming "MOMMY!!!" at the top of her lungs. I tried to turn over and dream of something other than one of my kids screaming bloody murder at me, but it was still there. I cracked my eyeballs open and listened for a second....and I heard it again. So I went to investigate. Steph was sound asleep sawing logs in her room. I went down the hall to Jen's room and cracked the door.

And that's when it hit me.

OH MY GOD!!! What in heaven's name is THAT SMELL!!! I faintly saw Jen sitting up in her bed looking up at me with her hands out in the front of her, so I reached around in the hallway and turned the hall light on to get a closer look.

It took a second to register.

Why is Jen sitting in her bed with food all over her hands?

And why does Jen have food all over her face?

And why does it smell like throw up in here?????

Then I fully woke up and realized that Jen had indeed threw up all over herself, her hands, her bed, her pillows, her blankies.......everything. And she was shaking her throw up hands at me as if to say "Ummmm......lady......can you stop staring at me with that glazed look on your face and get me cleaned up, please?"

So she had a bath at 2:15 AM. Ron threw the sheets and pillow cases in the washer and I got her all snuggled back in bed in the "puterator room" (computer room) in the spare bed.

We all settled back in bed and then 15 minutes later I heard a faint "mommy" again.

I went to check on her and sure enough, more throw up.

But this time we were in luck! It was only on her and not on the bed! This was great because we were running out of bed options at this point. Poor Steph...her bed would have been next.

So Jen got bath #2 at 2:34 AM.

Ron rinsed out the second set of jammies and I dressed her in the 3rd set of jammies. When I was tucking her into the spare bed again, Ron asked her if she wanted him to sleep with her and she siad YES! Big treat in our house........one thing we NEVER do is sleep with the kids. Only once with Steph when she was running a very high fever. So......off I went to bed while they snuggled in the "puterator room".

I woke up at about 8:30 AM on Sunday when I heard Jen giggling in the hallway. When I ran into Ron a few minutes later he said that Jen threw up a third time in the trash can in the "puterator room" and that she was up bright and early at about 6:15 AM. I missed all of this cause I was out like a light.

Needless to say, Jen was her old self on Sunday. We had great weather. Ron fixed up our bikes, put air in the tires, and hooked up the baby seat on the back of his. We rode around the block a few times while Steph roller-skated with us, and then rode her bike around once for good measure. The girls jumped on the trampoline for awhile, and played on the swing set for a bit. No more throw up.

At least no more throw up so far at 9:02 PM.

:)

Easter eggs - 2008

A few shots of the girly-girls dying their Easter eggs a few weeks ago. Uncle Bubba (my brother) and Christina (brother's fiance) were over to watch the action and help with the decorating. One of the eggs, once dyed, revealed the saying "I would not like to touch 100 butts".

Looks like that joke won't be going away from this house for a very. long. time.

:)

First day of soccer was......

Lots of fun for Steph......not so much for Jen.

Let me clarify:
Jen had fun doing what Jen wanted to do (which was totally opposite of what EVERYONE else on the field was doing). Then, as soon as Jen was asked to do something that interrupted the fun (fun=whatever Jen wanted to do...are you starting to see a pattern???) she would have a meltdown. The first one was 20 minutes into the practice. I then had to go out onto the field and beg+threaten+act like I was totally cool with her meltdown in front of all the coaches and other parents. When that didn't work I told Jen that if she didn't practice with her friends then I would.

I thought that would work.

It didn't.

So......I ended up with the 3 year olds doing their soccer practice until Jen got annoyed that she was missing out on something and finally joined us....I mean them.

As for Steph, that kid was MADE for speed. And soccer. And sports. She took to it like nobody's business and really had a good time. For those of you who know me you know that I am a puny little 5 foot tall puke, and that I WAS NOT made for speed. Or soccer. Or sports. So what is a girl to do? This girl married a 6 foot 4 inch tall beast of a man with lots and lots of sports-type genes running though his body. I figured SOME of that would have to run off into at least one of my kids.

And it did. And that kid is Steph.

I suppose that later in life Jen and I will be sitting in the bleachers at some sort of tournament that Steph is competing in and we will discuss things like what color nail polish she would like to try next time and how there is this great pair of jeans she wants to buy and how pretty her hair is and how gross it is to get sweaty and dirty.

OK....back to soccer. Here are the very few good pics that I got of the day. The fields are indoors and the lighting is terrible, so I struggled with my camera the entire time.

Here is Jen with her friend Ty. Ty is in her class at school and they were born on the very same day....January 20, 2005!!! They have been in school together since the infant room and are good buds (and Jen was sooooo happy when she saw Ty there).

Of COURSE Steph got #1. Totally not planned. Totally a fluke. But TOTALLY right on the mark!!!!

That's Steph in the middle of the circle. Not a great shot but hey....at least it isn't all blurry like the other 247 that I took that day!!!!

Jen is #8. This was after meltdown #1 and before meltdown #2.

Fun with friends + some layouts

Last Friday, the girls were off for Spring break and I took the day off from work. My friend Rachael and her two kids swung by at 9 am and picked the three of us up. We headed off to meet up with a group of our friends and their kids at this cool place near Quakertown.....it's a coffee shop with an indoor climber inside of it for the kids to play on. There must have been 9 or 10 of us moms and at least 20 kids there! It was great to get away and meet up with a bunch of friends for a few hours!!!!


Of course, Rachael and I stopped off at the scrapbook store on our way home and picked up a few new goodies. It is so hard to resist........


Here is a picture I took of the kids from that day. From left to right: Steph (6), Jack (3), Macy (5), and Jen (3).

Also, here are a few recent layouts that I have done. Now that we have more going on (spring+soccer+Easter) I think I will be needing to get alot more layouts done!!!!

Toaster "issues"

I did about 4 hours of Spring cleaning in my kitchen and downstairs bathroom today. It was in dire need of it, yes-sir-ee. However....there was one thing that caught my eye more than anything else.

The toaster.

Let me just start off by saying that I HAVE cleaned out my toaster before.

Promise.

I should also tell you that we are a family that likes our toast. Yep. Toast with butter and grape jelly, please. I guess we eat alot of it.

So....as I am merrily wiping away in the kitchen I take notice of the two trays at the bottom of the toaster and decide now is as good a time as any to clean those suckers out.

Only they didn't want to come out.

They were SO FULL of toast bits and pieces that I had to pick the toaster up to jar them loose.

Picking the toaster up only made the situation worse. The piles of toast crumbs started pouring out all over the counter and floor that I just got done cleaning. CRAP! Now I will have to clean them again!!! I rushed over to the sink, leaving a trail of the crumby crumbs on the floor as I ran, and let the remainder of the little buggers fall out into the drain.

Then I started shaking it. This is a good technique if your toaster, like mine, has managed to store up insane amounts of tiny little crumbs in it's depths. The amount of "stuff" that came from this contraption amazed me. It just. kept. coming.

I am not telling you this to gross you out. And I hope if you ever come to my house and I offer you a nice, warm piece of toast you forget we ever had this conversation. I am only telling you this because....well........it was quite amazing and I felt the need to share.

Have a lovely day and Happy Easter to all!!!!

Who art thou?

I started this blog for myself and for my kids.....so that we can look back a few years from now and remember the daily happenings of our life. The things that we will eventually forget as time goes on.

I also have tons of family out of state, with the majority located on the West Coast. This is the easiest way to give everyone some insight into our lives while at the same time keeping them up to date on what is going on with the girls.

That being said.......I would LOVE to know who all is reading my blog. Friends, family, or those who just happen upon it. If you would be so kind as to leave me a little comment and let me know you were here, I would greatly appreciate it!

Don't forget to leave your name if you sign anonymously so that I know who you are.

Oh...and thanks for reading!!!!!

Please Touch Museum

Yesterday we had family day.

Ron and I took the kids into Philly to go to the Please Touch Museum. It is a great place for kids from ages 2 - 7 to run wild and play with anything and everything! Steph had been there once before when she was about 3 years old and has been asking me to take her back ever since!

The girls had so.much. fun. And even though Ron and I basically just sat back and watched them play....we were EXAUSTED when we finally left that place!

After lunch in the city we headed to the Mall to see the Easter bunny and to do a little Spring/Summer shopping for the girls. We had dinner at Friendly's and didn't get home until after 9 PM. Very long day but much needed!!!!

Here are a few pics from the day:

This is what the girls looked like on the car ride from the city to the mall (btw, this is what I FELT like, but unfortunately I was driving.)

And here they are with the big bunny himself:

Face.

This kid has the kind of face that I just want to eat up!

Even with marker all over it.

As a matter of fact, there is a saying that my brother made up when Steph was still little, and it has just stuck ever since:

EAT THE FACE!

We say it alot. The kids know that when we say it they better start running, cause it usually means someone is gonna grab them and start munching on some cheek/neck/forehead/face.

Lazy Sunday.....

The rain is gone but boy is it COLD outside.

So.......we are staying inside today.

This morning I finished a project for a class that I am teaching at the end of this month, I have another one to do but I have to wait for the supplies to come in before I can get started.

The girls talked to their Grannie on the phone this morning (Grannie is my mom, she lives in Las Vegas) and are now taking a nap.

Ronnie and I decorated the house for Easter. Bunnies, bunnies everywhere!

This is what Daisy looks like right after daddy gives her a bath and clips the hair around her eyes:

And this is what daddy looks like when he is playing video games for the rest of the day:

My Scrap Room

I took these pictures in January for the Scrapper's Spotlight and I figured that I would share them here for anyone who is interested in seeing them.

I love my scrap room. It makes me happy to just walk in there and sit down. It is in a corner of what is "supposed" to be the living room. We are NOT a formal family, so we have no need for a "formal" space right now. This room, being the spot that we all craft in, is one of the most used rooms in the house. The girls and I are always in there making something......and that is just the way I like it!!!!

Rain, rain go away.......

It has been raining here for two days now.

Ick.

I always feel so tired when it's raining. I really can't wait for Spring to come......I need some sunlight!!!! And these kids need to get outside........

Ron and I are going to decorate the house for Easter today. When we get done there will be little bunnies everywhere.

Here I am at the mall on Thursday night, I love how the curved mirror makes me look tall and SUPER SKINNY!!!!

Busy.....

I've been so busy lately......I feel like I need a few days to catch up. Jen was sick on Tuesday (she had a fever at daycare) so I left work to pick her up. I stayed home with her yesterday.....worked from home....and she was perfectly fine. No more fever. THANK GOODNESS!! Let's just say she went back to school today.

I am teaching another class at MLPA on March 29th, this time it is a kids class. They will be making a small wreath with their picture and name on it (I'll post a picture of the sample when I am done with it). The kids really do love to make crafts/projects so this one should be fun!!!

I have also been taking some photography classes (just for fun, not for school) and tonight is my second one.....I am loving it!!! I think there are two or three more classes in the series....so hopefully I will come out of them with a little bit more knowledge when using my Nikon. The first class was filled with all kinds if great information so I am sure that tonight's class will be just as good.

School for me starts back up next week. My next class is Financial Management. Yuck. The good news is that I only have 11 classes after that to get my degree.

JUST 11 MORE TO GO!!!!!! I have to keep reminding myself that I am at the downward slope of school and that it WILL be finished. Eventually. Most days I just want it to be over.

Steph is excited to start soccer in a couple of weeks (and I am excited to take pictures of soccer in a couple of weeks). Jen has no clue what is going on. She will just show up and be cute.

Other than that......not much else going on. Oh, I submitted a few layouts to a magazine to see if I can get published. I have my fingers and toes crossed. I'll post if I hear anything.

Scans from the last post....

Here are the scans from Steph's journal (as discussed in the last post).

She really cracks me up!!!

Stephanie for President

They must have been talking about the President or the elections in Kindergarten a couple of weeks ago.

Here is how I know........

Every day Steph fills out a journal page. On one side is a drawing and on the other side they have to write a couple of sentences talking about what they drew. When the month is over, the entire journal comes home for me to keep. Each and every time I receive one I get all giddy inside because I know that I am just moments away from one of those belly laughs that hurts.

So on Friday I got the February journal. I don't have a scan of the page yet, I will post it soon. Until then, I will try and describe it for you.

On the left side is a drawing of Stephanie sitting at a desk.

On the right side it says: When I am President I will sit in my oval office and I will mind my own business. I am in the White House.

Love that kid.........