Happy Birthday, Little Man!

We've gone from this special day.....

To the first celebration of that special day.....

To now. What a wonderful now it is.

You are 2.

The full of fun, full of personality, full of mischief kind of 2!

You've been melting my heart for 2 whole years now, Joshie.

Can it get any better?

Little Me

My dad has been doing lots of picture scanning over in Colorado today too. Must be in the air.....

This is me with my cousins when I was three. I'm the second from the right.

This is me with my mom and dad. I was three here too.

And here's me and my mom - still at age three.

Thanks, Dad.......

Picture From the Past

We inherited a lot of old papers with our house. Some of them date back to the early 50's and are receipts for work done on the house and there are all the plans for landscaping and for the addition to the back. There, with all those papers, I found this old picture. There wasn't a date on it so I can only guess when it was taken.

Do you see the big antenna on the roof? And the little holey walls on the porch are nice. There's a basketball goal that's no longer there and the garage door is different. The landscaping is totally different. This must have been taken before the original owners paid a landscaping company to change things up.

This picture has been hanging on our refrigerator. I don't know why, but I'm mesmerized. I like to look at it and wonder what it was like inside and who lived there. We have all their names and even some personal information. Maybe I should do some internet sleuthing just for fun?

Finally......A Nap

I won! I finally won the nap war!!! Joshua is taking his first nap in a couple of weeks right now and I couldn't be happier. It meant putting him back in his bed a number of times, spanking him, and talking sternly, but it finally worked.

It really is all about consistancy and determination. As a mom, I think you just have to decide to be more consistant and determined than your child. I'm on child four and you think I would have this down by now. Perhaps I should tattoo a reminder on my forehead.

So anyway, after spending the first 7 hours of our Saturday playing and cleaning, the big three are down in the "man cave" watching a movie and Joshua is sleeping upstairs. I have the whole main floor all to myself.

Can you hear me squealing?

You Can Thank My New Scanner

I got an awesome wireless printer/scanner/copier for Christmas and I LOVE it! Our last printer was so slow and it was just a printer - so old school, right?

In the interest of learning how to scan something, I grabbed a few old photos (I really don't have too many since we've had a digital camera for most of our married life).

This is me when I was 8 and my little brother when he was 3.

Here I am in the third grade, still 8 years old. This was my school picture and I will never forget how my mom put that silly pig pin on my dress. And don't you just love my glasses?

And it gets better. This is me in the fifth grade. Yes, I was cool because I wore a denim vest and played the saxophone. Mostly because I wore a denim vest though. By this point I had made the transition to doing my hair by myself ( I dread this stage with my girls!) and I had graduated to some slightly less horrific glasses. I'm not sure why I wore my glasses in my pictures. I know I looked for every opportunity to take them off until I reached sixth grade and got contacts.
I plan to scan many more pictures in the near future.
Lucky you......

This Makes Me Happy

It didn't take long to realize we needed a way to store and organize all our gloves, scarves, hats, and earmuffs. I found these drawers at Walmart clearanced for $7. I bought two sets and and stacked them.

Then, to keep track of which drawer was which, I put a picture on the front of each one.

Nothing really new, I'm sure, but it made me smile.

The kids like it too. And it almost makes picking up all the stuff fun. =)

Nothing is Safe....

This child, monkey really, cannot be left alone for a moment. Here he sits on the kitchen counter, happily pilfering though what we affectionately call "The La Box". (It's a box with four drawers that hold keys, change, checks, receipts, and Chuck E. Cheese's tickets. Uhmmm, doesn't everyone have a designated spot for Chuck E. Cheese's tickets?)

He found the Jeep key. I wonder what adventure he was planning.

Mom's here so it's not fun anymore. Time to get down.....

I'll just use my handy dandy chair.

I couldn't resist throwing in this picture of both my little monkeys.......

Marriage Lessons

Today after church, we headed to our favorite Sunday lunch place (it's quick, affordable, and has pizza - doesn't get much better than that). I checked my face in the mirror of the car to make sure I hadn't developed a huge pimple or anything else that might need attention. I was glad I checked. I had raccoon eyes. Yes, indeedy.



My husband, who had been sitting with me all during church and walked to the car with me afterwards and then drove in the car with me hadn't thought to mention it. He said he figured that at some point I would probably glance in a mirror and notice it. Really? Thanks, Baby.



I'm not sure how many male readers I have, but let me just say that this wasn't the right move.



Something else you men may want to consider is that when your wife/girlfriend shares with you her plans to lose weight, you might not want to suggest any goals. That also would not be a smart thing to do.



While I'm talking to men, let me also just mention that if you are in a public place and you run into some female aquaintances of yours, please do introduce your wife. It really is the socially correct thing to do. (Versus having a conversation with the friends while your woman stands awkwardly to the side.) This social rule is even more important when the friends are good looking blondes. Trust me, guys.



Lest you think that I have a horrible husband, let me be the first to say that he is a fabulous man. Sweet and innocent as could be in every one of these situations. I think he has learned some valuable things though.



Come to think of it, so have I.



Don't count on a man to let you know of any blarring hair, makeup, or clothing imperfections.



Don't discuss weight loss goals with your man. They might try to hold you to it.



If your husband has pretty female friends, jump right in there and introduce yourself as the wife and the mother of all his many children. And then give them crazy eyes or something so they know to back on up and stay away from your man.....Then strongly consider revisiting the whole weight loss plan.



Sundays are such good days for reflection.....



(Love you, Baby!)

The Problem With Playing The Piano in This House.......

.....is that you usually attract multiple visitors.

Sorry, John David. I have the same problem!

John David and the Snow

My boys love to play outside. Snowball fights are prime entertainment around here and anyone who goes outside is fair game. These are old picture and there is currently much more snow out there.

Here’s John David holding his first snowball. He was quite proud. For awhile, it didn’t matter where we were – if he saw snow on the ground, you could bet he was going to pick it up and make a snow ball. I’m happy we’re done with that for the most part. There was one day when the boy was quite determined to make a snowman. He started it in the backyard and then decided he wanted me to see what he was doing through the front window. That poor kid rolled the big snow ball all the way from the back to the front (quite a long distance).

By then he was pretty tired, but he still wanted to finish. As he was trying to round it out, a big chunk fell off. I wasn’t out there, but I have to wonder if he didn’t say a naughty word under his breath. I think I would have. I was amused to watch him as he decided to have fun another way. What could be more fun than ripping into the bottom half of a snowman? Running starts and all. And that was the end of the snowman. There have been none since. They are the snow-things of which we do not speak……

Getting Out of Bed on School Mornings

School mornings come early around here. It's so dark and sooo cold outside that pulling back the big down comforter and putting your bare feet on the frigid wood floor is just short of torture. The kids apparently agree (as demonstrated by their oh so convincing "I don't want/need to go to school today" pleas every morning).

When I go into John David's room to wake him up he usually moans something along the lines of, "Ohhhhh, not again!" I "gently" remind him, "Son, morning comes everyday.

Julia is especially hard to get up since she sleeps on the top of a bunk bed that has big side rails. We also have to keep the ladder put away (one word: Joshua) so I can't exactly get to her. If she doesn't want to get up (which is pretty much every morning), she just scoots to the side of the bed that's against the wall and pulls the covers over her head. A few days ago I started stroking her and telling her good morning and she sat up quickly, looked around and, in the most disgusted voice ever, said, "Are you kidding me??? It's morning already? Ughhhhhh!" Of course, she immediately laid back down and pulled the covers over her.

Today, John David's room was especially cold for some reason so I crawled under the blankets to snuggle with him and wake him up. I asked him if he could wake up and go anywhere he wanted, where would he go? He only thought for a moment before answering, "Colorado", so he could visit Grandmamma and Dodie (my parents). So sweet.

On to Julia's room next. My little question had helped John David wake up easily enough so I decided to try it on Julia too. "Julia, if you could wake up today and go anywhere you wanted, where would you go?"

That child didn't skip a beat. "Back to bed," she said.......

And then pulled the covers back over her head.

Christmas at Home

We celebrated Christmas at our home the Saturday before Christmas. We didn’t wake up and go straight to the gifts though. We got dressed, ate our traditional Pillsbury cinnamon rolls (orange is the best flavor!), and even did some cleaning. It was kind of a last minute decision to do it the way we did.

Joshua was super cute opening his things. He got a couple of Diego toys and his very own Buzz Lightyear! He reminds me of his daddy when he opens presents. Very serious and thoughtful. I was glad to capture a little smile when he opened his “Rescue Pack”. We already owned the “Backpack” so now he goes around carrying both of them…..

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Aulora was so excited to get the Miss Goodbee motor home toy. The child is so in love with all things Miss Goodbee. She and Julia also got matching Baby Alive dolls. These dolls came with a little fairy skirt for the doll and a bigger one for the child. Aulora constantly puts hers on on top of whatever she’s wearing. Real clothes, pajamas, whatever. It’s super adorable.

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Julia got her very own Hello Kitty hair dryer (shhhh! Mommy’s been using it too!), her Baby Alive, some clothes, a movie, and a leapster game. She was thrilled about her own things, but was also very excited about everyone else’s things too. What a little mommy she is.

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John David was hard pressed to wait for his turn to open things. (Patience is not yet his forte.) He got a great big Star Wars blanket, some books, a Monopoly card game that turned out to be a lot of fun, and some legos. He was also enjoying Joshua’s Buzz Lightyear. We were reminiscing about how much he LOVED all things Buzz when he was little. So far Joshua isn’t quite as impressed, but we’re working on it. I LOVE Toy Story! (Can’t wait for number three in June!!!)

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And So It Begins…..

All of the catch up, that is. I got a new laptop for Christmas (I can’t tell you how excited I am about that – and how needed it was!), but I told John yesterday that getting a new computer is like moving. All my files, programs, pictures – they have to move. And I’m having to learn how to do things differently now. For all the frustration my old dino computer gave me, we had a pretty good working relationship. We were organized. We knew each other.

And this new, beautiful thing I have…..well, we’re still getting to know each other. Which means I’m kind of slow. What I know from this morning is that there HAS to be a better way of downloading and organizing my pictures than what I just went through. Seriously.

How about I leave you with a few images for now until I can put together some posts later on today?

Here’s John David using the snow blower after our first significant snowfall back in December. This amount is “cute” now.

Joshua has learned to take off his pajamas and climb out of his bed. We are also dealing with him not taking naps currently. I’ve even foiled (GASP!) his windows to make his room darker in the hopes of improving napping conditions. It worked once. 

Julia looks totally adorable in her snowsuit. (I’ll take this opportunity to shout out a big THANKS to the grandmas who bought all the various things she has on. Yea for grandmas! And yea for big sales at Kohl’s too!)

And of course I have all the Christmas pictures to post. This year we traveled all the way down to the Tulsa area where we spent two weeks with John’s side of the family.

We were looking forward to some warmer weather and no snow……Oh well………

The Girls Sing and a Snippet of the Christmas Program

We're so excited here at our house that Christmas is only 7 days away! After school today, Julia decided to throw a birthday party for Jesus with Aulora since Aulora didn't get to have a school party. They put stuffed animals in all the chairs and set out treats and decorations. They even had a goody bag ready in the corner. I heard them from upstairs and Julia was leading Aulora in singing the birthday song. Too cute! I had them do it again for the camera. You'll see in the video that Aulora was a little busy enjoying her treat to sing again.

The school program was last night. It was very sweet and the kids were pumped about the night. I tried to take more video but I had a little too much help from Mr. Joshua. Enjoy. =)

Man in the Making

My boy, "Little", is morphing into a man and I'm not so sure how I feel about this. One of his classmates (of the girl variety) got him Bath and Body Works cologne for his birthday. He was not at all impressed about it at first, but he changed his tune pretty quick. Multiple times a day he goes into his room to spray that man stuff all over him. Once he's gone to school and I go into his room to pick things up, his bigness lingers. And I don't like it.

He's been practicing the piano a lot lately. He was on the verge of complaining about it one day until I mentioned that girls really liked it when a boy could play the piano. Well yeehaw, that little bit of information seems to have launched his musical career. When, exactly, did he start to care what girls thought? Last time I looked he was totally into whatever creeped or grossed them out. (Perhaps I should tell him that girls also like it when a boy takes a shower.)

Then yesterday was an "un-uniform" day for his class because they won the box top challenge. (If you would like to donate box tops please send them our way! Our school has raised well over $500 already this year and that's with just 30 students!) He took a little longer than normal getting dressed and when he came down he had on his cologne (of course) along with a very well thought out outfit, complete with pearlized snaps and a really cool hemp necklace. He was extra tall somehow and I'm pretty sure his legs looked hairer. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. And for some reason, on this particular day, I didn't mind his bigness quite as much.

It made my heart feel full.

And proud.

And a little old.......

No Apologies

There were great plans for major updates yesterday but I ended up spending about four hours playing Monopoly with John David instead. Oh yes. Monopoly.

(And I loved it! Shhhhh!!!)

We made special memories and laughed and loved. It was fun. When Daddy finally came home at 1:00 am after studying and taking practice tests all day at school we were still playing!

John David was sad that I couldn't play again this morning so he's been teaching Julia how to play and they've been doing great.

We had to skip church today because Julia was sick all yesterday and was still throwing up through the night. She woke up at about 11:30 and seems to feel good again. She's always been funny that way with quick little bugs.

It's so weird that here we are in December, in Northern Indiana (only a few minutes from Michigan actually!) and we've only had a couple of snow flurries so far. Nothing that has even stuck. The kids are sad but we keep telling them that we'll be tired of lots of snow soon enough. Meanwhile, all our friends and family in Texas enjoyed snow and even built some snowmen! Now that's strange!

I slightly panicked a couple of days ago when I realized there were things we needed to do to get our house ready for the winter that I hadn't even considered. For instance, cleaning out gutters is a very important thing. One company wanted $250 for the job. Uh, no thank you. I found a 20 year old guy from Craigslist who did the job for $25. I had to give him multiple bowls of hot water since the gutters were already a little frozen but it's done.

We still have to get all our storm windows back on and get the snow blower serviced. I'm getting a little nervous! Like, should I be stockpiling a month's worth of food in the basement in case we get snowed in? Seriously?

Another winter problem is Joshua. The child does NOT like to wear a coat. At all. He screams! It doesn't matter which coat either. Not sure what to do about that. So far I've mostly just dressed him warm and then thrown a big blanket over him but that can't continue.

Gotta run now before Aulora puts another roll (as in whole roll) in the toilet.

I should seriously consider having some circus music play on my blog.......




PS. Thanksgiving went great. I cooked a whole holiday meal on my own! (Until my mom got here about 30 minutes before we ate anyway. Does it still count?) It certainly wasn't the fanciest and prettiest feast our family has ever had (sorry, I don't own a gravy boat and we didn't bring out the fine china) but we were together. And black Friday shopping? Nope. I slept in. It was great.....