The Bannon Clan

Here they are. . .

2011-10-31T21:46:00.000-05:00

The Black Cat.

The Fireman.

The Ballerina.

The Chick.

The Pumpkin Head.

The whole gang. . .I think this is the best picture of all of them yet.

The cutest fireman I've ever seen. :)

She's Here!

2011-10-29T22:55:00.002-05:00

Aunt Krista is here for a few days. . .today we went to the Pumpkin Patch. . .and it was fun!

One of my little beauties.

2011-10-13T19:53:00.006-05:00

Today after Grace's nap we had a little photo session in the back yard. She was the first one up so I thought I'd take advantage of it. In one week she will be 5 1/2 and I couldn't help but think how grown up she looked as I took her picture. What a pretty little girl she is both on the inside and out.

Maybe.

2011-10-11T09:10:00.002-05:00

Maybe it shouldn't be "It is, what it is" but more "It is what you make it."

Before and Afters

2011-10-10T13:52:00.004-05:00

The fondue night was a success. We had plenty of food and plenty of people. . .although they didn't consume as much as they should have. We have so many leftovers. Here are some house pictures. They are before and after pictures. We have been here for about 1 1/2 months now. I was able to get everything pretty cleaned up but we are still lacking that "homey" feel.
Playing with modeling clay when I was trying to get stuff cleaned up.
Fondue pots. We had 7 total. . .4 with cheese and 3 with chocolate.

First kitchen picture is of it semi cleaned up. . .ingredients are all on the counter.
Messy Kitchen.
Messy Kitchen and Messy Kids.
Cleaned Living Room.
Messy Living Room.
Cleaned Dining Room.
Box infested dining room.
Semi Cleaned up Bedroom.
Super messy bedroom.
Cleaned up 2nd living room.
Messy 2nd living room.

So that is pretty much the house so far. You are missing the upstairs kids room (there are three rooms up stairs) and the bathrooms. There is one full bath upstairs, a full bath in our room and then a half bath in the hallway by the kitchen. So there you have it.

A little distraction.

2011-10-07T15:18:00.009-05:00

So I was suppose to be cleaning up all the mess and clutter around for our big dip stick party tomorrow but I got a little distracted. Nine weeks ago today this little beauty entered the world.

Are you there?

2011-10-07T08:54:00.002-05:00

So if you are there and still peeking in on us could you leave a little comment to let me know. It might just give me the motivation to keep up dating. Seriously there is a ton of stuff going on but if you are still peeking in I'll still check in every now and again. The house still needs some major unpacking and organizing, I've been booking 10+sessions a month, and some little munchkins all want attention. :/ Errrr. . .what to do, what to do. So leave me some love and hopefully I'll check back in.

Haircut

2011-10-06T21:56:00.003-05:00

I gave Obie a hair cut. . .he was getting a little desperate. I've got all 4 kids because Grace has something called "fall break." (which is totally not needed and probably voted in by the teachers who just want a break) Anyways, it started today, and she will have all new week off+Monday of the following week, then she will go back that Tuesday. 8 School days off. . .hopefully the remaining days will go better then today did. I didn't have a problem with the kids. . .just one kid seemed to have a problem with me and all the other kids. :) Lovely, makes for a long day.

Wanna know something else...

2011-10-03T15:13:00.002-05:00

I love. . .

yellow trees

sleeping babies

big yards

sugar

clean houses

big porches

pictures of people

super hot showers

granola

a shiny fridge

a full pantry

an empty car

sun shining through the trees

worship music playing

calmness

quiet

baby smiles

some of these i have & some of these i don't. . .but i love them and look forward to them no less.

Just so you know...

2011-10-03T15:12:00.000-05:00

i love sunflowers. . .big ones. . .little ones. i love them all.

Dip Stick Party

2011-10-03T08:39:00.002-05:00

So we had this idea that we wanted to invite a bunch of people over once we got "settled" into our new house. Hum. I'm not quite sure if we are settled since we still have piles of clothes all over our room, random boxes still sitting around and a basement floor seriously covered with toys, but we are going to attempt to have a party. I've named it a Dip Stick Party. So basically we are going to have a bunch of fondue pots filled with cheese or chocolate and everyone invited was told be bring something to dip. Hopefully I'll be able to get everything in order by then. . .this will be my mission for the week. Cleaning, organizing and filling pots. . .fondue pots. Oh, and we have to mow our job. . .which is a job in itself. I plan to post pictures, so stay tuned in to my upcoming mission.

8 weeks

2011-09-30T19:39:00.002-05:00

Little Ellie-Ruth is 8 weeks today. She measured in at 10 lbs. and 2 oz. She was 22 inches long. Both put her in the 45%.

Did I introduce. . .

2011-09-27T20:48:00.003-05:00

our newest? Ellie-Ruth Palmer was born on August 5th. She's doing great and is almost 8 weeks old. Everyone else is doing well too. We have gone through a lot of changes in the past 8 weeks. Here is our list:

New Family Member

New House

Grace Started Kindergarten and rides the bus

Obie Started Preschool 2 times a week

Mike got a new position at work

Things around the house are still a bit crazy. Unpacking is going slowly and seems to be taking forever. I have three helpers who seem to think the things that are put away actually belong in other places. . .such as the floor. Keeping the house clean, and unpacking/organizing is a never ending task. I just started to photo sessions again. I had a wedding on Saturday and am crazy booked for October and November (like a total of 19 sessions, 1 wedding and 2 wedding assists). I'm also going to be taking pictures for the parks department to use to promote their parks and programs. So thats life right now. . .stay tuned for more.

I need some. . .

2011-09-26T15:40:00.002-05:00

motivation

sleep

healthy food

fulltime nanny and maid

less boxes

less whiners

less toys on the floor

a child who wants to do flash cards

a few extra hours in the day

a washing machine that works

a roof that isn't leaking

a dog that stays in the yard

clothes that fit.

I think thats about it. For now anyways.

Church Day.

2011-06-06T20:59:00.006-05:00

Sunday we went to church. Some how all three ended up matching and were looking pretty cute.

Tomorrows June.

2011-05-31T14:43:00.003-05:00

Here are some random pictures from the past few weeks. Mattia pretty much refuses to look at me when I'm attempting to take her picture as you can see below. The first two are from the zoo, the one with my parents are from going to a lake yesterday (which was closed due to high bacteria levels :() and last Mattia not wanting her picture taken.

Tomorrow is June. That might not be a big deal. . .just another month but for me that means things are going to get a little bit crazy. Here is why.

-Mike turns 30 June 8th

-Father's Day

-10 year anniversary

-no more preschool

-water aerobics

-swim lessons

-house for sale by owner

-clean house

-grow this belly. . .more.

-nail down what house to purchase

-Parent's will probably be returning to Egypt

July will continue the chaos. . .

-4th of July

-hopefully sell our house

-hopefully buy a new one

-move to new house or an apartment

-register Grace for Kindergarten once we find out where we will be living :/

-go to a U2 concert

-Grow this baby some more.

August. . .Birth a baby. :)

Due August 20th but I'm hoping for August 6th.

My Three Loves. . .

2011-05-30T20:09:00.008-05:00

I'm turning into one of those blogs where there are no posts for months and months. . .sorry. I hate those blogs. . .hopefully you don't. My busy excuse is getting old, I'm tired of writing it and I'm sure you are tired of reading it. Hopefully this is the start of some regular posts. Maybe short, but with pictures, which I think is often more interesting then the words attached. Here are my three little loves from today.

19 weeks & a side note

2011-03-29T14:36:00.002-05:00

Ahhhhh. . .taking this picture was torturous. The kids were running around like crazy and wouldn't stop poking at me. Anyways, this week my legs/hips have been so achy. I think I'm up about 10 pounds. Tonight is the big ultrasound. We aren't finding out what it is but I'll be looking and paying attention to how it goes. I'll give you my best guess later.

On another note; this year is kind of a big one for us. Both Mike and I turn 30. I already did and Mike turns 30 in June. It June we will also be married for 10 years. So because of all those milestones we decided we should take a special trip. My mom will be watching the kids, and Friday we will fly to Cozumel, Mexico for 5 nights. It will be the first time we have left all the kids over night with someone. Hopefully everything will go smoothly and everyone will make it through. . .

Little Bitty Update

2011-03-15T20:02:00.004-05:00

So things have been a little bit crazy lately. My parents were evacuated from Egypt at the beginning of February so they stayed with us for the month. We had a great time had fun celebrating my Mom's birthday and my 30th birthday. On my birthday we went bowling and then Mike had planned a surprise birthday party for me a Chuck E Cheese. It was great. There were a bunch of friends from church. I love Chuck E Cheese plus we all have kids so Chuck E Cheese worked out great. At the beginning of March Mike's parents came to visit for a few weeks and Krista was able to join us during her spring break. She also had a birthday we got to celebrate, which was a lot of fun. It was great having company and the kids loved hanging out with everyone. . .they sure didn't like it when they left. It just us for the next few weeks, then after that we will see what will happen with my parents. My mom will be here for April for sure which will be nice since I have so much to get done. . .we are still hoping to move this summer and buy a new house & Baby 4 is due in August! Kind of a lot going on. Not to mention Grace will be starting Kindergarten in August. Obie is almost 3 1/2 and the sweetest all boy boy around, and Mattia is a determined little walker who loves her siblings loves to follow their lead. I'm not 17 weeks along. I have a doctors appointment Friday and my ultrasound next Tuesday. We aren't finding out what #4 will be. . .sorry. . .but I'll let you know if I see anything. So far I think I have gained about7-8 pounds. I'll see if I'm right on Thursday. I think I have started to pop a bit. Time seems to be flying by. I feel like this pregnancy is going super fast and fairly easy. I'm not sure how this summer will be, I'll probably be aware of every single uncomfortable moment.

Did I mention. . .

2011-02-20T15:21:00.001-06:00

14 weeks down & 26 weeks to go. Number 4 should be making it's appearance in August.

Mattia Baby

2011-01-13T13:59:00.003-06:00

She's getting big. I have decided to break out the point and shoot camera so I'll talk more pictures. There are too many little hands to leave my nice camera out. . .and if I don't leave it out I don't use it very much. SO here is Mattia. She is usually getting clobbered by the older two and not very happy but today Grace was at school so Mattia wasn't out numbered. Obie was distracted by the Ipad so Mattia was good. She is an official walker now. Today I even asked her to get her jacket which was across the room. She walked over to it, picked it up and showed me and then walked it over. I was impressed.

Whirlwind. . .

2011-01-10T15:15:00.004-06:00

Ah. Its been a month. A crazy month. Obie turned 3 right before Christmas, then for Christmas we drove to New Jersey. Mike's parents are back raising support so we were able to spend Christmas with them, Nate & Jessica and Krista. While we were there we got about 9 inches of snow. The kids enjoyed building a snowfort and playing in the snow. . .well, actually, Mike, Nate and Krista enjoyed building the snowfort and the kids played along. We had a great time. The trip was long (we drove 16 hrs. each way) but it was worth it and we had a blast.

Here are some updates:

-Mattia is walking.

-Obie is three

-I have 5 weddings booked for this year

-house is still on the market

-we have a contract in on a new house so we are just waiting to sell ours

-Mike has been watching the kids so I can clean for open houses on the weekend. . .McDonald's ice cream dates!

-Grace still loves school and art

-Mattia is starting to say more words and seems to only call me Mama half the time. . .the rest of the time she calls me Dada. (We are working on that)

-Obie has been sick twice in the past month throwing up

Gracie Quote.

2010-12-16T15:04:00.004-06:00

Obie loves soft triangle cheese. Today he wanted one so I got him one. Most of us like to put it on a cracker but since Obie loves the cheese so much he wanted it plain. Grace saw him eating it and informed him he needed a cracker. I told her that he was ok and didn't need one. Her response was "Obie's just lazy, thats why he doesn't want one!"

Gracie Quote.

2010-12-16T15:04:00.001-06:00

Ice Day.

2010-12-16T14:59:00.003-06:00

Its freezing. Yesterday we got freezing rain so today all the schools are shut done. Everything is covered with ice. Its pretty amazing and it only took a few hours. Needless to say, I didn't want to venture out anywhere so the kids were going a little crazy. Mattia is getting new teeth so all she wants to do is be held. Grace and Obie were board so they get a little too creative. Yesterday we got a box in the mail from Aunt Candy, and we opened it today. The kids were so excited because she said they had one thing in the box they could open early. It ended up being little matching bears that sing Jesus Loves Me. Grace got pink, Obie got blue and Mattia got red. They loved them and are all taking naps with them now. Thanks so much!

My Baby Boy is 3!

2010-12-16T14:54:00.002-06:00

Obie turned 3 on December 14th. We went to a huge indoor playground and had a party there. It was a great success and he was so excited. We had pizza, presents, dinosaur cake and got to play. There were a total of 10 kids along with their parents. Obie enjoyed every minute of it and now wants to know what he can do for his next birthday. He picked out the cake pan and I decorated it for him. I'm not so sure about he taste of the super green frosting but it looked good. As I was decorating it Obie stood on a chair watching me. Every once in a while he would let out a "Wow" or "Oh" it was great and I had so much fun doing it for him.

My Baby is One.

2010-12-06T21:31:00.004-06:00

Mattia turned 1 on November 22. (I'm a little behind) We had a pizza party and of course cake. She loved it, and so did we. She tore the cake up. It was great. . .

Wee bit busy. . .

2010-11-16T10:22:00.002-06:00

So things are a bit crazy and time seems to be passing so so quickly. Here is what is going on in our house. . .

-Mattia turns 1 in a week

-Looking into selling our house

-Looking into houses to buy

-Getting ready for Thanksgiving/Christmas

-Obie turns 3 in one month

-Pictures Pictures. . .of everyone else. I have been averaging 4 sessions a month. This month I have 5 sessions and a wedding to assist with

-Fixing stuff around the house before we put ours on the market

-Mike has been busy at work

-Taking care of kids. . .Grace has her own agenda, Obie seems to have entered his terrible twos late and Mattia can move fast. Mike took a "Mom's Mental Health Day" yesterday aka "sick day" to help me out and get a few things done. (don't worry. . .we love our kids they are just being extra challenging at the moment, I guess this means it will be extra rewarding when they start doing better. . .and they will)

I think thats about it. See, a little bit busy.

Little Bit of Love.

2010-10-31T22:26:00.000-05:00

Trick or Treat

2010-10-31T22:09:00.003-05:00

The only thing we discussed with the kids before trick or treating was what they were suppose to say and we reminded them over and over how they were suppose to say thank you. All was going well. They were doing really well going door to door. Then one old guy asked Grace if she had any tricks. Mike and I were standing back on the sidewalk so we didn't tell her anything. All of a sudden. . .like she had totally rehearsed it or something. . .she resights a pumpkin story called 5 Little Pumpkins Sitting on the Gate. The old guy was shocked, and so were we. . .but she did get a 2nd piece of candy.

Piggy, Lion, & Snow White

2010-10-31T21:57:00.003-05:00

Tonight started a bit ruff. Grace got her finger stuck in the back door. . .it was quite traumatic. After we finally got over that she had a blast. . .Obie did pretty well too. He managed to only fall 5 times. He tripped twice and fell down a few stairs 3 times. He spent the last half of the night laying down in the wagon eating candy. I asked him what he was doing at one point and he told me he was being a goofball. Mattia also did a really good job. Even though it was late and cold she stayed pretty happy. The kids filled their bags and enjoyed digging through it once we got home. Grace was so so excited about he whole Halloween thing. She wanted to know when Halloween was going to happen again.

Current Happening. . .not much.

2010-10-21T14:36:00.004-05:00

Seriously, not too much to report. Mike has been busy with work. This week they had a big presentation so they had been preparing for that. I have been busy with my photography stuff. I have been trying to book sessions and get some more wedding experience. I have assisted with 2 and have two more to help with. Grace has been doing well with school. Last night was her parent teacher conference. Her teacher didn't have one bad thing to say about here and didn't even give tell us areas she could improve. She stated she was exceptional several times. Obie is also doing well. I have been enjoying the one on one time we get while Grace is at school and Mattia naps. He is fully potty trained. . .even at night and he is getting better at talking all the time. Mattia is right on the verge of getting her top two teeth. She is learning her animal sounds. . .she is a great growler. . .and she loves to climb steps. Actually she loves to climb anything. Her and Obie have great potential to get in trouble together. She loves playing with the water in the toilet. . .in fact I found her and Obie playing in it the other day. Usually Grace yells is Mattia goes near it but Grace wasn't around.

(in these pictures Grace and Obie have paint splattered all over them. They were suppose to be finger painting and then Obie discovered it was more fun to put paint on his hands and clap them together.)

Grace Quote of the Day

2010-10-14T13:56:00.002-05:00

"YOU TREAT ME LIKE A SERVANT AND MAKE ME DO EVERYTHING!" This was the reaction I got when I asked her to find her shoes and put them away. Oh yeah. . .and she was standing there with a mermaid costume on and had just been playing dress up downstairs. . .I am SO mean.

Field Trip

2010-10-12T22:10:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow is Grace's first field trip. . .I signed up to go. I feel like this makes me a real parent now. Kid in school + field trip driver=real responsible parent. Hopefully. Anyways, wish me luck. . .Mom's make me nervous. :)

Apparently. . .

2010-10-06T14:04:00.004-05:00

some people around here don't think I'm the boss. I didn't realize that when I asked them to do something some how my words were magically transformed into a dare. What part of don't take off your shoes do you not understand?!?! You see, we were at the park. An old park with tiny rocks everywhere. One little girl, who happens to belong to me, decided it would be a great idea to take off her shoes and socks. . .because she was hot. I immediately told her to put them on. She then ran off. When told to put them on or we would have to go home, I was stared down. Boy enters the picture. . .he runs over to me, sits down, takes off his shoes and socks, throws them and runs after the little girl. When I followed threw with my "so called threat" of going home the cries erupted. . .wailing and begging. Sobbing and pleading. Please give me a break. . .are you kidding. What part of put your shoes on do you don't understand and why is that so hard?!?!? I walked back to the car with one happy littlest girl and two sobby, teary, broken down monsters following.

Back to Life, Back to Reality

2010-10-02T14:41:00.003-05:00

Its back to us. . .just the 5 of us. Its been a busy past 1/2 months with family from both sides coming to visit, family reunions in states far away and long weekends filled with trips and fun.

Yesterday our last guest left. Today we woke up to a dark sky and chilly air. Our house is a wreck, the kids off schedule and there is not one to keep us company. Instead of sitting around moping we ventured off to the pumpkin patch. The clouds were dark and the wind strong. . .a great combination. This kept a good chunk of people away from the farm. Last year it was pure craziness. . .this year it wasn't too bad.

Fun Times. . .

2010-09-16T22:34:00.003-05:00

For the past 2 weeks I got to hang out with these fun people. Some have gone and some are still here. We had fun times, many memories and consumed enough junk food for a small, no, enormous army. Here is a little peek of our fun. . .

This is the problem. . .

2010-09-01T22:25:00.001-05:00

Another reason I haven't been around much. Today I got my first referal. . .StephanieBannonPhotography.blogspot.com

Slacker

2010-08-31T13:35:00.000-05:00

Family is in town again,
I am a slacker,
all is well.

She's a big girl now. . .

2010-08-19T19:25:00.002-05:00

Today was the first day of preschool. All as well until we started walking to the class room. Crazy! She broke down, screamed, wouldn't let go of me, wouldn't stop crying. . .the teacher finally pried her off me and I left as she carried Grace to the classroom. Thirty minutes later the teacher called saying Grace was now a happy girl. I talked to Grace and she was excited and having so much fun. The day ended well. I picked her up and she was all smiles.

Two little teeth. . .and one more on the way.

2010-08-12T23:08:00.003-05:00

Here is the girlie who is getting teeth. Two in and a bunch to go. If you look at the bottom picture you can see two little white teeth on the bottom.

Gone for a bit. . .

2010-08-09T11:30:00.002-05:00

will be back soon.

The Fam.

2010-08-02T14:40:00.001-05:00

Here they are. My sweeties. This is what I found yesterday evening when I came home after taking some pictures at a near by park. Thanks Mike for watching all the crazies while I attempt to be a "photographer."

Did I mention. . .

2010-07-26T21:49:00.004-05:00

it has been killer hot! Like it has been unbelievable. We have been trying to stay cool. See. We are either out at the pool or inside. . .that is about all we can handle. I've been super busy. . .actually, we have all been busy. We are getting ready to drive to Colorado in then next week, we are having family come to town after that. . .both sides. Bannons in August, Palmers in September. Grace is starting PreSchool soon. Mattia grew a tooth, almost two. . .and Obie, well, he's Obie just enjoying life. I've been super busy with the photo sessions I have scheduled. I started this photography venture at the very end of June and I currently have 11 sessions booked. . .all in one month. I've been trying to figure out editing, and all that fun stuff. Its going well, but its taking a lot of time. Hopefully things will continue after this month. Mike has been super helpful with watching the kids in the evening. . .which makes him busy. Other then that, we are just hanging out trying to get this house under control. Fun Fun.

Obie Quote

2010-07-16T22:16:00.002-05:00

Grace always asks Obie why he can get a certain toy and she can't. (he grabs it first) His response is "Because God told me."

Gracie Quote

2010-07-16T22:13:00.002-05:00

Mike asked Grace if she should be punished for something she did wrong. Her response was "No." Mike asked her why and without pausing she said "because Jesus was punished for us. He saved us so we don't have to be punished."

Gracie Quote

2010-07-16T22:11:00.002-05:00

Grace told Mike he had to say while he was praying "we praise your name." Mike asked why and Grace said "because its nice to say to Jesus and God because they are like super heros, they just don't wear capes."

Sweetest Babe in Town

2010-07-16T21:52:00.005-05:00

Here's Mattia. Almost 8 months old. Sugar. Complete Sugar.

Ahhh. . .

2010-07-14T21:01:00.002-05:00

I feel like I'm running in a million different directions. We have been attempting to paint our "big" room so we can move the kids in and we will have a guest room again. . .that was a month ago. . .I thought it would take a week. Ha. The room is a wreck. Our bed is in Mattia's room. I think we are almost done so we can wrap this distruction up but thats what I said a month ago.

I've been working on the photography stuff. I've got about 14 sessions scheduled in the next month. I've done 3. In three weeks we leave for Colorado to visit the Bannons. . .which will be so much fun. Grace keeps asking when we can leave for the mountains. . .three weeks is forever to a four year old. So thats what is going on. Its really not that bad, I just feel like there are a million things to get done. Thats about it for now. Oh, and we got an Apple computer which has been taking up my time. . .it has been taking me forever to figure out how to get things done on it. (I thought it was suppose to be easy.) Maybe, with time. Ok. So thats whats going on. Hopefully I'll check in more often. . .until then.

My Harvest.

2010-07-02T20:57:00.000-05:00

6 cucumbers.
1 squash.

The Lake

2010-07-01T16:26:00.006-05:00

This past weekend we were invited to go to the lake by some friends from church. It seemed a little questionable. . .Two Bedrooms, Four Adults, Five Kids under 5, and Three dogs (one being a German Shepard). Despite the numbers totally being against us we accepted the offer and left Thursday afternoon. We had a great time. We rented a boat, went to the pool, visited the outlet mall, played 10 cent skee ball and stayed up way too late. The kids has a great time together and Grace and Obie loved all the swimming they got to do. The dogs did pretty well except the German Shepard was in love with Lily. She didn't like all the attention and Juma didn't want to share her. . .so he made his feeling known. We had a great time and here are the picutres to prove it.

I think I saw my. . .

2010-07-01T16:23:00.002-05:00

Tricep muscle as I turned my arm today. . .and it was good. On I side note, this afternoon I weighed in at 143.3. . .and that was good. July 4th here I come.

Stephanie Bannon Photography

2010-06-29T15:12:00.003-05:00

Sorry I haven't been around. I've been busy starting a photography business. Take a look!
http://StephanieBannonPhotography.blogspot.com

Mattia & Mama

2010-06-23T14:39:00.002-05:00

Just so you know...

2010-06-23T07:20:00.006-05:00

(Starting Weight-2 months after Mattia was born)

(161.2)
(My downward graph)

its looking good for me! As long as I maintain until July 4th the Ipod is mine. . .In case you can't see my picture very well it says 144.4 and just in case you need it a little clearer, thats under 145. :)

When Daddy's gone. . .

2010-06-22T20:53:00.004-05:00

the family will play. Pool, trains, hose and popcorn party. That was our day. See?

Really?

2010-06-22T20:42:00.004-05:00

7 months? Really? Already? Yep. 7 months. Over half a year. Mattia is a sweetie. She's my little sugar. She's a peanut. She is so small compared to pretty much any other baby her age. Today she started inching forward. . .she can do push ups like none other. . .and her sitting abilities are lacking. The problem is she just likes to relax and recline, which leads to tipping straight back, which she is fine with. She smiles at anyone who talks to and will got to anyone. She loves to kiss and loves to make noise. 12 hours of straight sleep is her norm. . .and we are more then ok with that.

Babies.

2010-06-22T20:29:00.002-05:00

The rabbits on our block aren't the smartest around. Two dogs+Kids=a bad place for a rabbit home. This rabbit has been run off several times and we even destroyed the first empty home. Then it came back. We didn't find the hole. . .the dogs did. They also found 5 baby bunnies that had to have been brand new. They didn't have hair and their eyes were closed. 3 made it. The hole is right in the middle of the yard, not covered by a bush or a tree, just a hole covered with grass and rabbit hair. Like I said, not the smartest rabbit on the block. Well, 5 days, an attack, and a graduation party later, the three bunnies are doing well. The Mama comes back to feed them and their hair is growing in. Take a peek. . .

Feast your eyes on. . ..

2010-06-20T22:34:00.003-05:00

the first cucumber that I ever grew.

Surprise Graduation Party.

2010-06-20T22:04:00.004-05:00

Master's degree=Complete. Mike is officially done with school so to celebrate we had a surprise graduation party for him and another friend from church who graduated. The thought it was just a BBQ but it was to celebrate them and their amazing accomplishment. So here are a few pictures of the event. All went well except for the 30 minute downpour. We all crammed into our house and waited it out. . .after that, it was smooth sailing.

Some Randomness.

2010-06-16T14:50:00.003-05:00

-We have now officially been married 9 years as of Monday.
-Brazilian BBQs are yummy.
-Mattia is almost 7 months old and can now almost sit by herself. She trys to lean back a little, loses her balance and falls straight back.
-Obie is pretty much officially potty trained. He just wears a diaper at nap time and bedtime. . .and only wets it about half the time.
-Target boy underwear fall apart when washed.
-Grace is not a fan of VBS. . .until she is bribed with McDonald's afterwards if she gets a good report from the teachers.
-Mike is working working working (20 hrs. of overtime since last week). . .and has a business trip next week.
-Obie wants to go to VBS.
-Grace starts swim lessons next week.
-145.7 as of this morning. 2 1/2 weeks until the official weigh in on July 4th.
-Water aerobics is still fun.
-Summer BBQ Saturday.
-Free Highlights for me. . .and I don't have strips this time.
-Errands are so much faster with only two kids.
-The house is a complete mess.
-Our room is half way painted so the kids can move in. . .bayside blue & lime moose. . .pictures to come.
-My garden is doing great.
-My red toenail polish has been on way too long.
-Pool water is much warmer if you are moving around.
-Mattia can now get up on her hands and knees and she can spin herself in a circle. She is also really good and the yoga position "downward dog."
-Obie doesn't like black anything.
-Juma needs to be shaved.
-I'm not a fan of humidity.
-Avocados have about 275 calories and I could eat them all day long.
-Tonight=Yard Work. (its long overdue)
-Chocolate syrup over cut up strawberries and banana is really good.

This past Sunday. . .

2010-06-16T14:46:00.002-05:00

Grace decided to get into her play makeup right before church. She took lip gloss and covered her lips and she had a streak of it across her forehead. I caught a glimpse of Grace in her room with "new look on." I told her she wasn't allowed to wear make up out (its just for playing in the house) and we would take care of it in the car. As we were walking out she pasted Obie by the back door. He looks at her and says "Gracie your so pretty!" Grace smiled from ear to ear, looks at him and says "You're handsome Obie." and out they went.

Obie Quote. . .at the groccery store.

2010-06-16T14:43:00.002-05:00

Grace has been at VBS all week so today after we dropped her off Obie, Mattia and I went to the groccery store. We pull into a parking spot and as soon as I stop Obie starts pointing his finger saying "Me no like that lady!" I wasn't sure what he was talking about so I said "what?" "Me no like that lady!" he said again. I looked up and saw a 70 yearish lady with white hair putting her bags in the car. "Why?" I asked. "Me no like white hair!" Obie declared.

Fruits of Our Labor. . .

2010-06-16T14:27:00.001-05:00

well actually vegetable of our labor. Pretty good huh? Everything is still growing and we have about 6 cucumbers that need to be picked. So Exciting!

A little look at the babes. . .

2010-06-16T14:08:00.004-05:00

Here was our attempt to take some pictures of the kids at the park the other day. A pocket full of candy would I been very useful but all I had were goldfish. . .

scamS

2010-06-12T09:41:00.001-05:00

if you happened to get an email from my mom asking for money its a scam. she is laying on an egyptian beach and she wasn't robbed in england...just so you know.

Just so you know. . .

2010-06-10T15:09:00.002-05:00

there were no fat ladies with sports bras on over their bathing suits with water shoes on. . .just me and a friend + the instructor. . .and we aren't fat and didn't have sports bras on over our swimsuits.

Birthday Celebration

2010-06-10T14:27:00.004-05:00

Mike took the morning off and was greeted by two little ones, me and some a new assortment of coffees and teas. Grace & Obie were so excited to sing happy birthday. After Mike got up I made french toast (with homemade bread), with strawberries and maple syrup. After breakfast we went to a lake that is close to our house. Initially the plan was to bike around the lake, and then we realized there was no way to fit all the kids and us on the bikes. Grace rode and we walked. . .well kind of. . .we didn't get very far. Grace and Obie were more interested in playing in the sand and water. Obie ended up "wadding" a little too far and totally feel in. He was able to get to his feet but he scared himself pretty bad. Instead of walking back he just stood there screaming, waving his arms. . .all while we stood on the side screaming for him to come back. After the traumatic experience we enjoyed our picnic we had brought. The sky was getting darker and darker so we decided to finish the trip with some boba tea. The kids thought it was the greatest thing ever. When we got home they napped and Mike went to work. While Mike was at work I did my last minute wrapping and got dinner ready. After dinner we opened a few presents had mint ice cream cake from Coldstone's. It also happened to be the first night of water aerobics so at 7:00pm I had to leave. . .so that was our birthday celebration. Low key but so much fun.

29 years and counting. . .

2010-06-08T13:54:00.001-05:00

Twenty-nine years old that is. Today Mike turns 29. So Happy Birthday to the best husband & daddy around. We love you!

Little Bit of Life

2010-06-07T15:03:00.005-05:00

Here is a little bit of our life. . .seems like so much is going on at this point but at the same time nothing is really happening.

-Last night we ate our first veggie that we grew from a seed. It was a yellow squash and it was so good. Hopefully are plans will produce more. I need to get the pictures off of Mike's phone...we made sure we documented it.

-This morning I spotted several cucumbers which were all about 3-4 inches long.

-I started a new batch of seeds.

-A friend used me as the model to demonstrate a new highlighting technique so I got free highlights today. . .and they don't look like stripes.

-Mattia can get on all fours and rock back and forth. . .fast.

-Mike's birthday is tomorrow.

-Mike and I went out Saturday night to celebrate him graduating. . .I saw a guy with a gun strapped to his chest. . .and he wasn't a cop. I realized I don't like guns. . .especially when they aren't on a cop.

-Wii said 147.0 (2 pounds to go)

-Tomorrow I start water aerobics.

-Obie has been a pee pee/poo poo star on the potty. He has been wearing underwear and has only had on accident in the past 4 days.

-Grace loves it when I call her a pro.

-Our family has grown in the past 5 years and our house has not. . .which leaves me with either moving to a bigger house (=$$$) or developing a plan. . .so here is my new plan since we could really use a guest room. Our room is big upstairs and the other two rooms are a good size, so we are going to put all the kids in our big room up stairs. Then we will use the other bedroom upstairs as a babies room/guest room and we will move downstairs to the brown room. We will keep Mattia in the baby/guest room until she gets a little bit bigger but then she will move in with the other two. We will be having family in town for August, September and part of November so we figure this will be the best plan. . .or else the kids will all have to be shuffled around and the guest still won't have much space.

- Krista is graduating on Friday from BFA. . .wish we could all be there.

-I'm a good griller.

-There are way to many mosquito's in our yard. . .and they love me.

-Craigslist is great.

-I'm so glad I don't have to worry about day camp right now. . .staying at home is nice.

-We got carpet squares for the dinning room so are floor doesn't get all scratched up.

-Obie doesn't like not being able to touch the bottom of the pool with his feet. . .his face screams terror but he is in love with the little pool.

-Grace is going to VBS next week.

-I like Big Macs.

-I only mowed half our front yard. . .and it looks bad. . .the steep hill is a killer.

-Mattia eats more then the other kids. . .she downed two jars of baby food the other day and she could have kept going.

So, currently, that's our life.

9 years ago. . .

2010-06-02T22:01:00.002-05:00

I wore a jean skirt, and held a small bouquet, and stood beside the man I stand beside today. I was 20 and he 19 (so close to 20) and we made the biggest decisions of our lives. Legally we were married, in front of some dear friends and family. . .while across a big ocean the rest of our family waited for us to come. . .for our "real" wedding 12 days later. So much has changed. . .our family has grown and we have grown. . .and today I forgot. . .but my wonderful husband did not. I love him and he loves me. . .luckily I get a second chance, on our second "real" anniversary June 14th.

Weekend...

2010-05-31T21:27:00.003-05:00

Our long weekend wasn't too productive. . .we are counting down to the end of Mike's class and he has been busy and exhausted trying to finish his final project. On Saturday, June 5th ant 2:00 am it will be over, and we can't wait. We did try to have a little fun. Saturday we went to a "messy" birthday party. The kids got to paint and play with shaving cream, noodles, water and pudding. Then when we got home I worked in the yard. I've decided to extend the "farm". I've seriously over planted my squash/cucumber garden. . .I just need more land. I do have squash and cucumbers actually growing. My biggest squash is about 4 inches. I also just started my next round of "crops" with my leftover seeds. I've decided to dig up the grass (more like weeds) on the side of our house. Its an area that is about 3 ft. by 30 ft. so that's where my new stuff will go. Pictures to come. . .I dug up the weeds and covered the area with tarps to kill the junk.

Sunday, Obie started feeling sick. He complained of a tummy ache and he had a fever. We thought he was feeling a bit better so in the late afternoon we went to the pool. We all had a great time. . .except for Obie. We didn't stay long. Obie was exhausted and went to bed early.

Monday morning Obie's fever was gone and he seemed better, so off to the pool. We took both cars so I could stay longer with Grace and Mike could take the other two home early and give them naps. (that would also give him so work time). Well when Grace and I went to leave we realized we had a problem. Someone, who will remain nameless, gave us the wrong set of keys. . .we only had the van keys and we did not have the van. Slight problem. So we got a hold of Mike and he was able to get the neighbor to stay with the sleeping kids and then came to drop off the keys. The wait wasn't too bad. Grace and I sat under a tree and played Indian Princess. She ripped off some big leaves and stuck them in our hair. . .which obviously turned us into Indian Princesses. Once we were home we all enjoyed naps, then Mac & Cheese. Overall we had a good weekend. . .but are really looking forward to June. Here is a snapshot of June. . .

-Mike completes Master's Degree
-Babysitter Saturday night to celebrate completion
-Mike's 29th Birthday
-Summer Kick Off BBQ with Friends
-9th Anniversary
-Grace's Swim Lessons
-Stephanie starts water aerobics

A Song, Stuck.

2010-05-28T21:42:00.003-05:00

I've had a song stuck in my head but the problem was I couldn't remember the words. . .all I could remember was "do a little dance, some thing some thing some thing, get down tonight, get down tonight." So because I couldn't remember the words I was singing "do a little dance, shake a little tush, get down tonight, get down tonight." Mike came home and Grace and Obie were dancing while I was singing this. The kids and I thought it was hilarious. Mike just gave us a weird look. So yesterday I was driving in the car somewhere and the song come on. . .apparently Mike knew the words. . ."do a little dance, make a little love, get down tonight, get down tonight." I was laughing so hard. He never told me the right words or said anything...he just had a weird look and let me sing my version for a week or two. . .Grace even started singing it. So after hearing the real version it is officially decided that my version is better, way better.

My Favorite.

2010-05-28T21:29:00.005-05:00

Dinner.

2010-05-28T20:56:00.002-05:00

Cheeseburgers on homemade buns. . .need I say more?

Bowl full of cherries, and then some.

2010-05-28T12:56:00.006-05:00

A friend has two of the three kids, so Mattia and I are enjoying a quiet house. So so easy with one baby. . .anyways, we have been enjoying ourselves quite a bit. The morning started off with a few pictures, because a baby's bum is oh so cute, then we went to Lowe's. I bought a dresser for the kids room on craigslist (from a very scary man in the middle of nowhere) and now I need to refinish it. Actually, hopefully soon it will be a nice shade of yellow. We also found a hydrangea for 50% off so we had a little impulsive buy. I already planted it in the front of our porch. . .I'm very tempted to pull up the big ugly bushes and plant hydrangea's everywhere. Seriously. Then we went to the fruit stand. I splurged on my favorite cherries. . .the problem was it there was a little sign that said "you may taste one and only one." So I tasted one. And it was amazing. It brought me back to two lovely memories so I had to get them. $4.99 a pound, so I got a little bag and they were good. Then we came home, Mattia took a nap, and I had lunch. Now I'm here. Blogging, but soon, very soon I will be enjoying my red, red, cherries.

*the two memories with cherries are. . .

1. Walking the back road in Germany, and picking cherries from random cherry trees with good friends.

2. Mike and I went to Paris before visiting BFA one year. . .I convinced Mike I needed a big bag of cherries, so he bought me one. Then we walked all over, all day long munching on them.

*one side note. . .

If you want old ladies to talk to you. . .wear a baby.

Wii Weigh in. . .

2010-05-27T14:04:00.001-05:00

Ahhhh. So finally. I've been stuck at 149 for the past 3 weeks. I was starting to think I was going to have to fork over some money to the good old Dad but finally today there was a change. 147.7. Hope. 2.7 pounds to go and I have 5 weeks left.

Splash Day.

2010-05-26T21:49:00.004-05:00

Its been hot. Like its been in the 90s for the past few days, so parks are a little hot, but inside is just no fun. So today we decided to get strategic with our planning. First we washed the outside of the car and got all the junk out. Well kind of, Obie emptied a piggy bank in the back so now there are coins everywhere, but I figured that was better then the trash that was there before. So that was our productive event for the day. Then we went to the park. Heat+Playground=Exhaustion=One happy mama because everyone takes long naps. So that was our strategic event. We had lunch at home, which is my new favorite thing. I call it lunch in a cup. Basically I mix up a bunch of little snacks in a colorful small bowl and tell them its their lunch. Today I was super nice and let them watch Barney as they at from their fun little bowls which were filled with goldfish, raisins, blueberries and a string cheese. Then after naps we played in our little plastic pool. This was our cool down, fun event.

Oh so true...this is a problem.

2010-05-25T21:09:00.000-05:00

Quote

2010-05-25T15:40:00.002-05:00

The doctor asked Grace if we eat meat at our house. . .Grace said yes. Then the doctor asked what kind of meat. Grace stood in the middle of the room with her hands behind her back. Thinking. "Bear!" The doctor giggled and said "What?" Gracie replied "Bear!" "I've never heard that one." Said the doctor.

The lastest.

2010-05-25T14:10:00.005-05:00

Its been a week and I just don't feel like blogging. Really, I just feel like laying in the sun or shopping. Neither are really doable at this moment...sleeping would be nice too but I shouldn't get into the habit of napping or I get angry when a little one decides she doesn't want to nap and then messes up mine. So here I am...updating. 90 degrees. Pretty nice. The pool opens this weekend so hopefully we will get to go. Grace and Mattia had doctors appointments this morning. It was traumatic to say the least. Grace got two shots. . .which she was dreading. She didn't want the nurse to touch her and she was sure to make it known. She wasn't very quick to get over it either. Grace weighed in at 35 pounds (45%) and measured 41 1/4 inches (80th). She did great following directions and answered everything the nurse asked her. We has has a little test for her two do. Just basic questions, colors, drawings, explaining things. She got all the way up to the 6 year old questions and we ran out of time and didn't finish. She was able to spell her name for the doctor. . .which was a surprise to me. . .she won't let me teach her anything, I just have the make the info available and let her do the rest. So that was pretty impressive. Mattia did well too. She's are little peanut. Since her last appointment, which was two months ago she hasn't even gained a pound. So she is now a whopping 14 lbs. 9 oz. (25%) and she grew two inches for 26 inches total (50%). All is well with her. Still not sitting by herself yet but she can roll and roll and roll and she has started pushing herself backwards while laying on her stomach. Last Sunday we also had Mattia's baby dedication. She and the other two kids did great at the beginning of the service. (I was loaded with crackers) Then when we had to go up Mattia was not a happy camper. Grace and Obie then moved on to bigger and better things and enjoyed the Swedish Fish I had in my pocket. (Be prepared always, that's my motto) So other then the Mattia's screaming during the actual dedication she did great. If her goal was to get attention from the whole church she definitely succeeded.

Green Thumb Me.

2010-05-18T21:20:00.005-05:00

Green Thumb Me. Yep. That's right. I'm amazing. Well, not really. I just pretend. Still nothing to eat from our "garden" but I'm hoping. I've never grown anything in my life. . .except weeds. I'm a little worried that if things do grow I might want to become a farmer. We'll see. Here is the progress I've made. . .

Cilantro
Tomatoes

Lavender

Squash

Cucumbers
Pumpkin (appeared in our compost pile so we officially planted it today)
Watermelon

And he's off.

2010-05-18T21:11:00.003-05:00

Mike left today so he didn't go into work, instead he hung out with us. We went down to the river and went for a walk. . .well kind of. Grace rode her bike, Obie rode in the wagon, Mattia rode on me, and Mike and I walked. The weather was perfect, the kids napped, we gardened and then we all did a drop off at the airport. Here's a peek at our walk. (It started with a tear.)

Who is this?

2010-05-17T15:17:00.003-05:00

Alrighty then.

2010-05-17T14:49:00.007-05:00

So two weeks off line made me a bit more productive. Less distractions=More work. I finally was able to get online last night, I checked a few things, which took about 15 minutes and then thought what do I usually waste my time looking at on here. . .I'm sure it won't take me long to figure it out again. Until then, maybe I'll be productive again. Here is my update in point form. . .thoughts, updates, news, randomness. . .

-another business trip for Mike this week.

-Obie has been doing great on the potty

-we seem to constantly be getting sick this year

-I have laundry everywhere
-two weeks ago I finally made it into the 140, 149.3 to be exact (now I'm stuck)

-I went for a walk in the rain, by myself and two dogs. . .and it was fun. . .I was soaked

-so soaked I couldn't wear my shoes today
-Mike has less then a month left of school left...June 4 its over. (Masters in E.E)

-Grace is fighting naps. . .I WILL win!

-Mattia is sleeping 12 hours at night. . .uninterrupted. . .its amazing.

-Still no teeth.

-Doctor's appointment next week for Grace and Mattia (checkups)

-Its been raining a lot.

-Obie has started asking "Why? Why Mama?" any time I ask him to do anything. . .he is like a recording.

-August and September is going to be fun. . .visitors.

-my living room is a wreck

-Mattia is crying upstairs

-a nap would be nice but there will be no nap

-signing off. Good bye.

Hi Again!

2010-05-16T21:03:00.001-05:00

I'm back. Mike just fixed my computer so I back. . .finally. Stay tuned I'll give a real post tomorrow.

Computer problems

2010-05-13T13:28:00.004-05:00

Stephanie's computer has been conquered by evil software. I am valiantly trying to liberate it. Until good triumphs over evil, it will be difficult for her to post.

New Song

2010-05-07T09:37:00.002-05:00

I put a new song in the player on the right. The player is also a new player so let me know if you have problems with it.

The song is a long time favorite of mine, Aicha by Khaled. Let me know what you think.

Just hanging out. . .

2010-05-03T21:28:00.003-05:00

Is Monday. Overall it turned into a decent day. Nothing too crazy happened. No injured kids...despite Obie getting a hold of a Cutco knife waving it around during dinner. No bruises...despite the kids wrestling around the backyard and fighting over the slide. No wet beds...Grace used every excuse in the books to not go to bed..."I have to go pee pee." is the one she really thinks we will give in with...but we didn't, and there was no pee pee. Just an upset little girl. I was rather productive today too. 7 shirts ironed. Check. 2 pairs of pants ironed. Check. Dinner made. Check. Kids bathed (2 out of 3). Check. Dogs walked. Check. Feet up & rest time. Checking off right now. (pictures are from tonight after dinner in the backyard...just so you know)

Are you kidding me?!?

2010-05-01T21:40:00.004-05:00

Ok. So my vacuum died. Its not the best vacuum in the world. We bought it almost 9 years ago when we got married. . .Eureka is the brand. I picked it because it was blue. No research. No brand loyalty. Just blue. Its lasted. Hasn't really had problems but now it barely sucks. There is no way we can live without a vacuum. Three kids and two dogs make it pretty much impossible. So today we took the plunge. It could have been a bigger plunge. . .enter craigslist.org. I found a brand new Dyson on craigslist yesterday. 1/2 the price and brand new in the box. We contacted the guy and arranged to pick it up today. I really was trying not to get too excited. Really. The more I thought about it the more I wondered if this was one of those too good to be true things. Who would buy a Dyson, keep it in the box for two months and then sell it? Why didn't they use it? Did they drop it down a flight of stairs and then decide to sell it? Really. What was the deal? Anyways, we met the guy at a restaurant to make the exchange in the parking lot. . .weird and very questionable it know. There was now way for us to try it or anything. . .I did write down the guy's licence plate just in case. Turns out he drove a super fancy BMW and his wife decided she wanted the newer model that was just released. We made the exchange, plunked it in the truck and headed home to test the thing out. . .I've never tried one of these monsters before. . .haven't even pushed one, but I did read reviews and my dear Swedish brother in law claims they are the best. So we put it to the test. Just so you know the last time I vacuumed was a week ago and I just swiffered the hardwood floors yesterday, so it wasn't like its been months or anything. Here is what the beast got up. . .

There was two canisters full of. . .stuff. Hair, fuzz, dirt, dust. It was unbelievable. I seriously cannot believe it. The carpet totally looks refreshed. I'm sold. I love it. It is truly amazing. I want to take it to every one's house I know and see if their floors are as bad. I would have said my old vacuum was ok. Like sometimes it would miss the bigger things and I would have to run it over an area a few times. . .but I didn't even know it was missing all this dirt. So here is the beauty.

Looking up. . .

2010-04-30T21:26:00.005-05:00

All is well here in our house. . .overall. No more vomiting for the most part. Mattia threw up last night but I think it was a fluke. She hasn't been acting sick, just had the one vomit. Today everyone had a good day. We attempted Costco again, which turned out successful. . .successful is exciting. I'm not sure if I'm braver, more strategic or if the kids have just gotten better, but a few months ago I would have done anything to not have to take them to a grocery store. As of right now, its not too bad. Obie also wore real underwear to the fruit stand, Costco and McDonalds. No accident or anything. He did get busy playing when we got home and had an accident, but for 3 hours out he was good. I happened to be motivated during nap time. I attempted to clean up so the house wouldn't be a disaster for the weekend. I got out the vacuum just to find out it no longer wanted to suck. I attempted to fix it and find a clog but nothing helped. Mike came home and we declared it dead. We researched some vacuums and the one I have been eyeing costs a fortune. . .yes. . .its a Dyson. So there was no way I was going to pay for a Dyson. . .but then I decided to Craiglist it and there was one. . .brand new and for half the price. Plus we won't have to pay tax or shipping costs. Pretty good! So tomorrow we are going to go and check it out. Its brand new and still in the box but I think we are going to try it out first just to make sure its not broken or anything. The guy said he bought it two months ago and hasn't ever used it. So if that works out it would be great. That's about all our news.

Stuck.

2010-04-27T21:50:00.005-05:00

Obie has been sick since Saturday night. Like vomit sick. Yuck. We have been stuck inside, watching him lay on the couch and watch cartoons for the past 3 days. We did take some impromptu pictures on the floor. Obie wanted to join us, so he got off the couch, threw up right beside of us and then laid down for a pictures.

No Better Left Over.

2010-04-27T14:40:00.006-05:00

I'm never very good at using left over ingredients. It seems they either get taken to work with Mike or they sit in the fridge and go bad. Unless its a meal, Mike doesn't really take it to work and my left overs this time were definitely not a meal. For Grace's birthday party I had bought a bunch (two large boxes) of strawberries. I cut one box of strawberries up and we barely but a dent in them. This left me with a big bowl of cut up strawberries, plus another large box in the fridge which were destined to go bad. Since Friday night I have also had a double boiler half full of white chocolate. This was also destined for the trash. . .I just had to remelt it in order to get it out and have been too lazy thus far to do so. Anyways, yesterday I had a thought. A very yummy thought actually. Chocolate covered strawberries. . .not too hard. So today during nap time my leftovers were put to good use. Take a peek. . .

Our First Real. . .

2010-04-24T15:01:00.003-05:00

PARTY! I'm not a party person. They make me nervous. Like what if I don't have enough food, what if I don't have enough to do, what if they are board, what if it rains, what if I don't get everything done. Ahhhhhh, the list goes on. So for some reason I was feeling ambitious a few weeks back and we decided to have a Hello Kitty Party and we decided to invite 20 people over. Our house isn't big enough for 20 people. . .but we went for it. We prayed for no rain, we cleaned out the garage, just in case, and we had a party. 80% showers. We had no rain until about 20 minutes after the party. It was amazing. We hung out in the back yard, garage and alley. We had a "litter box", we made Fruit Loop collars, we hit a pinata and we had a hot dog picnic. It was great.

Obsession

2010-04-20T20:59:00.004-05:00

Grace has an obsession...clothes. Yes. She is 4. Yes. She has an obsession. Every time I turn around she has something new on. She flip flops between her "normal" dresses and princess dresses. After nap time she ended up in this beauty. Its her Halloween costume from two years ago. She loves it. When she first got it, it was too long. Not anymore. She wanted to play Cinderella so I was instructed to boss her around in a mean voice. I was the mean stepmother. I'm always the mean stepmother. I tried to convince her to let me be Cinderella but she had none of it. I was able to get my porch swept though.

Life is hard. . .

2010-04-20T20:52:00.005-05:00

when you can roll. Poor Mattia has master rolling to her stomach. The only problem is she rolls over on her stomach in her bed and then can't roll back to her back so she screams and screams. Overall she is doing great. No teeth yet, but she has gotten really good at grabbing things and sticking them in her mouth. On Thursday she will be 5 months old.

What do you think. . .

2010-04-19T21:34:00.003-05:00

So I was looking for a gift at H&M for Grace and found these for $5.95. I didn't have any sunglasses so I figured I couldn't go wrong for $5.95. . .or could eye. I never wear sunglasses this big. I know they have been around for awhile and everyone seems to wear them but I'm feeling a little "flyish." What do you think? Oh, as I was looking through this pictures I noticed a lovely grey hair so I thought I'd point it out to all of you who still don't believe they are really there. See. . .Do you see it? If you don't, let my nice large white letters show you.

Today's Festivities

2010-04-19T21:08:00.005-05:00

Four year old daughter. Check. She is now four. Another birthday done. Chuck E Cheese was a success. Mike took the day off and was able to play all day with us. Everyone had a great time and I found 74 tickets in the trash. Birthdays are so hard at this age, not for the one who's birthday it actually is but for the sibling who gets to partake in the festivities but receive no gifts. Because of this we decided to do something special for Obie too. After we went to Chuck E Cheese we went to Toys R Us and let the kids pick out something. Grace had gotten money from her Grandma Bannon and her Nana and Papa that she was able to use. Obie, on the other hand, was just well taken care of. The kids never go to Toys R Us so it was extra special and they had a blast. Grace ended up with a new Ariel Dress with matching high heels and a cell phone and Obie picked out a tool set, complete with a work belt and a hard hat. After naps we had dinner and Grace got to open a few more presents. Because her birthday party is on Saturday we didn't have a cake or anything special for dessert. . .luckily her Aunt Jenny and Uncle Freddy saved the day. They had sent Grace and Obie some gummie pigs so we got creative, shoved a candle into their (pigs) face and sang. The kids loved it and Obie begged us to sing to him too, so we did. I think the kids had a great time and we had so much fun with them too.

My Biggest Little Girl

2010-04-19T08:44:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday Gracie! Today she is 4. 4! Can you believe that!?!?! She's like a real kid now. No more baby or toddler. . .full blown kid. Today we are ago to Chuck E Cheese to celebrate and then on Saturday we are having a Hello Kitty Birthday Party with some friends from church.

All you need. . .

2010-04-15T14:04:00.004-05:00

is something to stick up your nose and you can have fun for hours. Well, Grace thought so anyways. This is what we did after dinner last night. Grace tried to stick things on and in her nose and Obie ran around in his underware. It doesn't get more entertaining then that.