Backhoe needed!

This won't be exciting for anyone to read, but I had to post because I have a huge sense of accomplishment for my 3 hour chore this morning!

I tackled one of my worst nightmares this morning.....cleaning/junking out the girls' bedroom. Wow! Who knew two little girls could have so much STUFF!?! It's not just one of a lot of things, it is mostly two of most things, it could be two baby dolls, or in our case 20 baby dolls (who needs that many)? Or two of every kind of coat imaginable.... I know I am complaining but I am very grateful for what we have, and what has been given or handed down to us, I wouldn't trade that for anything! BUT jeez louise, the time has finally come to get rid of some of it! It seems like I am constantly sorting through their clothes and passing them on, but today I did even more. I filled up TWO garbage bags worth of toys, stuffed animals and baby dolls. I am very happy to give it to someone in need! I am going to give some to a few of my younger clients and then take a few trips to the Goodwill. I am thrilled to finally be able to see the carpet in their room. When I was finally done they just kept running around in circles in their room, there was actually space to move! I know it doesn't look too exciting, but we were all thrilled! Here is D in shock. I also took down the changing table/pad and now it is just a regular "big girl" dresser! I am so glad that I can put pictures in their room now, hopefully they will last and the girls won't break them.....

I also got out the comforter covers that I bought a while ago and finally put them on their "big girl" beds. They were happy for new blankies too. Wow, I can't believe my girls will be three in two months!

Here are their cute little "twin" picture frames. They each have sayings on them that I love!

I also had to include these pics. of story time that I had with the cousins a few days ago when they were over. All the big kids sat in a semi-circle and were ready to listen. It was so cute!

Ellie decided she was going to read her own book to Owen.

*Take note, that pile of toys in the corner is no longer there!!! I sorted all of that stuff too, and I made a "baby station" in a corner of the living room where the two cradles, two doll high chairs and two strollers go, along with a doll changing table. We are set!

My Little Fish

My excited little boy: I signed Brayden up for swimming lessons at the Y. Now that we're finally members, lessons are half price. You can't beat that. B is thrilled! Luckily I signed him up the day before it started so he didn't burst with excitement within 24 hours, but that's all I heard for a day, "I CAN'T WAIT FOR SWIMMING LESSONS MOM!" I was thrilled that he was excited and loves the water as much as I do. He did great, it was the first time I've seen him have a hard time listening to a teacher because he was SO happy! He only got to swim with the teacher 3 times in the half an hour because there's five kids in his class. Hopefully next session I can find a class with less kids and he'll get more one on one time. While he was supposed to be sitting on the steps waiting for his teacher, he took it upon himself to venture out and test the waters. He went flailing into the open water and doggy paddled/splashed/sunk for a few feet. He thought he was the best swimmer there, you couldn't help but laugh at his bravery/pride! This was also the first time I witnessed him leading the naughty pack, by not following the rules. Not saying it has never happened before, but he is usually smart enough to not be outright naughty when I'm sitting RIGHT there.

As he was swimming back with his teacher, he yelled across the pool, "MOM, do you see me!?! Why aren't you taking more pictures!?! Take more pictures of me MOM!" My face turned beat red, what am I raising? I guess I should put my camera a way for a while!

It was a very fun night with a very proud little boy! We may not have a Michael Phelps on our hands, but we have one eager little guy!

~By the way, the goggles were a must, and they were lost after the first night. Who knows, they may turn up some day.

Party Time!

Last week we took "rainbow" cupcakes to my Grandma's to celebrate her Birthday. I think she turned 84 (?) The kids are thrilled to sing Happy Birthday to anybody and everybody. The girls say Happy Birthday to me everyday, and it's usually followed by a few verses of singing. They think it's hilarious. I frankly don't get it. But here they are partying it up: Brayden, Dani and Ellie

Guess, I caught Grandma by surprise. :)

And of course I had to add the Potty Party picture:

It's official! Ellie is now potty trained. She has done amazingly! We are quite proud of her. Now once Dani decides she's ready, we can start saving $80+ a month on diapers! (Towards the end, I was only changing them 2-3 times a day. I figured they should sit in their tinkles and be uncomfortable and WANT to wear dry panties. Dani doesn't really seem to care though. :)

Note: I took this pic. because D is actually wearing panties! She sat on the potty and tried, so I let her put "panties" on, even though they're really Brayden's old Elmo underwear. The minute she walked out of the bathroom she tinkled on her floor in her room....ok maybe it was 5 minutes later. You gotta love that sneaky girl. :)

Ahh, just breathe!

Our little getaway.

Gorgeous mountains surrounded us.

Outside of Uncle Uli's where we ate lots of fondue!

Kent and I were very fortunate to have a night away! My mom came and stayed with the kids while we used a gift certificate for a B & B in Leavenworth. What a wonderful 24+ hours of relaxing, talking, and walking. It's so nice to be able to hang out with my husband without our screaming, needy children. :) It's fun to meet the guy that I married and be able to laugh with him again, without all the stress of "normal" life.

Leavenworth is a cute little Bavarian town with lots of shops and snow sports. We walked and ate our way through the beautiful streets. It was the first time either one of us had been there and we would definitely go back, it was such a great getaway! Thanks Mom!

Computer overload and lots of rambling

Ok, it has been a while since I have posted.....things have been crazy, busy. Kent took a week off, so I wasn't on the computer as much as usual. Then our computer crashed...then we got it fixed, then it crashed again, and I just realized none of our pics. are on our computer. uh, hello, that is a huge deal, hopefully Kent was smarter than me and has them backed up somewhere...? anywhere...? I was planning on posting some X-mas pics. so I guess I will just ramble about the latest happenings.....

Ellie: We are on day 3 of potty training! This time it is for reals! The first day she was 1/6, I did a whole load of laundry just from her clothes that day. The good news is, the one out of six opportunities, she pooped on the potty! Phew! It has gotten better everyday since. She loves her "pretty panties" and she struts around the house with just a shirt and her pretty panties. Some are flowers, some are princesses, some are B's old underwear. :) The funny thing is, they're all different sizes and about half of them are too big and ride up her bum like a thong. I know, I know, that is horrible to say, especially when it's your OWN two year old. Come on, baby Elle, I don't want to have to start worrying about such things. She is going to give us a run for our money, along with Miss Dan Dan:

Dani: Miss Danielle is on her own schedule, and isn't even pretending to be interested in the potty, she won't even sit on it now. The bad thing is, Ellie will get potty treats (2-3 mini M & Ms) and SHARE them with Dani. What do you do in that situation? Ellie is being super sweet, but not helping on the motivation front for D. ?? Danielle has been busy with her "Brand new baby" (this is the baby's name), my mom and dad got the girls a high chair, stroller, and bed set and the girls LOVE it! She is quite the little mommy, she takes very good care of her baby. The other day she was picking it up from the stroller and she grunted, "uhhh." Kent and I looked at each other and thought, 'maybe we shouldn't grunt or be exasperated every time we pick Dani up.' It's just that D is solid and seems heavier than E even though they're the same weight. You learn alot about your parenting skills when you watch your kids with their babies. :) I won't go into detail about the time-outs, and all the trips they take to go get coffee with their strollers. hehe...

Brayden: B is our little dictator of the house. He seems to have become more and more bossy, and the girls take it. They pretty much do anything he says or suggests. He has a very bossy tone and he stands with his hand on his hip while he addresses them. I have no idea where he learned this behavior. Some of his phrases I've overheard make me grimace. "How many times do I have to tell you....? Are you listening to me? I told you to... Man, who is the bossy one? I guess I am just teaching him good leadership skills, right?

Kent: Kent is in Detroit this week, probably thrilled to have some quiet time after the holiday chaos and a week home with us. No, I know he was really disappointed to leave us. :)

Christy: I have a very sore, tired body from working out at the Y and swimming laps in the pool. Swimmers out there, I need help! First of all, I never realized how much work REAL swimming is. I get so tired....I have to alternate with a kick board so I don't drown, which brought me to the idea of wearing flippers. :) I know how hot I would look, then I decided against it because I figure they won't let me wear flippers in the sprint triathlon I signed up for in July. YES, I am going to do it, right now I am on my own, does anyone want to join me in training, or for the race? It is in Coeur d' Alene on July 25th. I have digressed, my swimming questions are: 1. My swim cap squeezes my head so tight, it feels like my brains are going to ooze out of my ears. Is this normal? Does it eventually stretch out? Are there different sizes, cuz I couldn't find sizes? This also results in lovely lines on my forehead, which don't go away for hours....painful, very painful. I swam without the cap the other day and it was much better! I am just worried all the chlorine in the Y pool is going to make my hair dry, turn green, and/or fall out. My other question is: Tips? Any tips on how to improve form/stamina, besides doing it over and over? I need all the help I can get!

That's all for now, thank you for reading my rambling, if you made it through it all, and let me know if you have any tips for potty training or swimming.

New traditions?!?

Last Wed. morning Brayden had his school performance at a retirement/nursing home. He was pretty excited, but I think he viewed it as a job to get done. Grandma Phillips was able to come and watch and we laughed the whole time because B was so serious. Just like his Dad, he was there to complete a mission and move on to something else.

My three munchkins running around before the show. I'm sure the old ladies loved listening to them shriek and scream with excitement!

Me with my perfect little angels. :) Ellie is hiding in my lap.

Brayden singing away. This is the only pic. where he is halfway smiling.


After we got home, we had to take off all the "fancy" clothes as soon as possible! Ellie was a good girl and tinkled and pooped on the potty! (I know you are tired of seeing my kids on the toilet, but I have to document that it does happen occasionally).

This is the funniest pic. though:

While E was on the potty, Dani was changing her own bum. She took her wet diaper off, then put a new, dry one on, and then got dressed. If she can change her own bum, does that mean it's time to be potty trained? Can you please let her know that!?!


Last Friday was a good opportunity to head downtown and do some festive, holiday stuff. It was 40 degrees! I couldn't believe there wasn't any snow on the ground and it was above freezing! It was the perfect night to stand in line for an hour and a half to ride in a carriage for 10 minutes! :) What a great tradition we may have started. hehe. There's a story behind this.... of course. We got downtown and 5:15 and got in line. It was great, there were only about 12-15 people ahead of us. We waited and waited and waited.... finally at 5:45 when no carriage had arrived, therefore no progress in the line was made, I heard someone say, "They're on their break until 6." Perfect! My tummy was hungry, since we usually eat at 5 pm on the dot. (No we don't have any blue hair). So I was starving at getting grumpy (imagine that) and I made the executive decision that we were going to go eat dinner and then come back.

It was a good choice, I also grabbed a hot chocolate and peppermint brownie from Starbucks. Oh my, talk about heavenly! The kids were much more patient for the next 45 minutes in line while they got to sip hot chocolate with full tummies.

Ellie playing peek-a-boo while we waited and waited.

Dani not too thrilled to be in line again.

B with a little left over cocoa on his face.

YAY! It's almost our turn!

Kent, super excited to be on the carriage and sitting down!

Dani, me and Brayden. When did I get so old and haggard looking? I am going to venture a guess and say within the last couple (2 1/2) years? Every time I see pics. I swear I am going to start wearing (more) make-up. I guess I need to make that more of a priority in the mornings. :)

After our carriage experience we walked a couple of blocks down to the Davenport hotel. It was beautiful and the kids loved all the fancy trees and decorations.

They also had tons of themed gingerbread houses that were amazing!

Overall, it was a very fun evening. What will the rest of the week entail? I just hope we all make it out of the holiday season alive. Are anyone else's kids walking a thin, thin line?

It's finally here!

The snow has arrived! We have had a few dusting's of it, but last night 5 inches dumped. The kids were thrilled! Brayden has been asking to go sledding with every sprinkle of snow. After I shoveled for a half hour, I let the kids out to play...... Between the time of me going in the house to grab my camera and coming back down, through the window I saw B chuck a snowball right at Dani's face. I walked into the garage and told B to sit in time out. He said, "I was just having fun, she likes it!" I have to admit, Danielle didn't even cry, but that's only because ever since she has been born, B has been chucking snow at her. Tough girl, but he still had to do his time. I didn't realize he was in time out while I was snapping all the pics. so I don't have any of him in the snow......next time.

Working and working....after a few shovel fulls I decided I needed to bust out Kent's new toy. I went in the garage, read the directions, looked and looked at the snow blower, and felt like such a girl! It said turn the key in the ignition.... I thought, 'I can do that.' Low and behold, I couldn't even FIND the key. I hate feeling so stupid! So I took my anger out on the snow and shovel! (Kent is in San Diego this week, so he couldn't help, although if I called him he probably could have walked me through each step, but I had way too much dignity for that. LOL :) Plus it was a good warm up for my work out at the gym.

Here it is: the new toy, with plastic and all! Really, did we have to get the biggest one possible?

After all of the shoveling I took Brayden to school, went to the gym as fast as I could because I had to be back at B's school within an hour and a half for the X-mas show. I hustled my buns in ZUMBA and zoomed back to the school as fast as I could on the snowy roads. When I arrived I realized I didn't even THINK to dress B up for his Christmas performance. (Granted, I have been thinking the real show is tomorrow at the nursing home, so he will look very handsome tomorrow). AND I was all sweaty, and stinky. Ellie looks like a chemo. baby, (which is very, very sad), and Dani's hair hasn't been combed since yesterday morning, and she has a huge scrape under her eye from falling down the stairs and landing on her baby doll.....wow, I am thinking I am super mom! Good thing I'm not too concerned about our appearances! We will look better tomorrow for the old folks! :)

The show was fantastic! It's fun to see B as one of the older kids, he really took the lead and sang every song and did all the hand motions, I was a proud Mama! Plus he was one of the few kids who DIDN'T pick his nose during the performance. Phew, we lucked out on that one! That is my friend, Julie's daughter, Madison next to B. They're so cute!

Here's most of the gang, I realized, I never got a picture of Ms. Jenny. I will have to do that tomorrow too, I better start making a list: Take a shower, dress nicely, comb hair, take picture of the teacher.

After our crazy morning, Brayden and I made Pumpkin Crisp during nap time. It was so great and so easy! Thanks for the recipe Tami, it's a keeper! I LOVE pumpkin!