September Phone Dump

With school starting, September flew by so my phone captured the moments of the month.  We made a Labor Day weekend trip to my parents condo and spent the month getting acclimated to school and routine.

Sometimes these two love each other.  ;-)

 Siblings saying the pledge

 Cousin lunch with Reese

 Pigtail Quints with Gigi

 Dollar store face paint fun

Here and There

Last weekend, Craig had a crazy idea to go to the beach!  For him, that is crazy.   After T-Ball, we headed down to the coast for a relaxing day on the sand.  The weather was perfect, the kids had a blast and we even saw a pod of dolphins.  This was the first time ever, just the 4 of us have been to the beach.  We've gone before with family, but never just us.  The second picture (if you can see) captures the feeling of the water on Craig's face - COLD!  The kids didn't seem to mind.  After the beach, we headed to a local seafood restaurant and hit Sonic on the way home for milkshakes!  I love these times with my family.

This girl is so funny!  

 Notice anything under Kate's bed???

 Umbrella Day at School

Here we come MAY!!!

Lately...

What have we been up to around these parts!?  School, swimming and general organized choas.  There are only 2 weeks of school left and then it is summer!

 I got to babysit this little muffin!  She will be 1 in just a few days!  

 I started growing my own herbs in a big pot in the backyard.  I have thyme, basil, rosemary, cliantro and parsley.  I have used the thyme, cilantro and the basil on this little dish below.  Lemon Basil Butter sauce with shrimp and pasta.  

 Had the kids pics done a few weeks back and this one I am in love with!  

 The kids and I went to see The Lorax in IMAX 3D.  I swore off movies for a while after I took Kate to see Chimpanzees, but she did great and stayed still most of the time.  Hello summer movie dates!

Tonight was Mother/Son Date Knight at CFA.  It was great to spend some time with my little guy, just us and let him enjoy.  We really had a great time together and I think he felt special, which he most certainly is. 

And, Jack graduates from preschool this week!  Sad to leave our amazing teacher and friends, but very excited for next year and our first ever kindergartner!

January Camera Phone Dump

What have we been doing?  Not much.  This is a transition time for Kate.  She is 3 weeks paci free and doing great!  Hasn't asked for it and we are a non-pacifier home.  Potty training is improving and she is now going at school (thanks to some Starburst coaxing).  It will probably take longer than Jack because I have to send her in pull-ups to school until she is fully day trained.  Today, though, after school, I put her in underwear for about 3 hours and she had one accident.  Not too bad and she told me she had to go #2 and went in the potty!  Apparently after that, it was an underwear party for the little ones, so they played Legos in their underwear...

Today I registered Jack for Kindergarten!  I can't believe it.  I am so excited about it.  We are having a great year this year and I am sure it will be another great year next year.  Kimberly also registered the triplets for VPK and Reese for the 1s for two days.  Next year, all our kids will go to the same school.  That is so neat to me.

I may have also acquired a small addiction to Pinterest and have found some great ideas on there.  I made Gak the other night using Borax, glue and food coloring.  I also have used a shoe holder as cleaning storage on our back laundry room door.  Convenient and a space saver.

Here are some random photos from my phone that I have captured over the last few weeks:

February is upon us!  Can't wait for another great month and hopefully some great potty breakthroughs for Kate!

Hello, January.

I have taken a total of probably 8 pictures since 2012 started.  What have been doing?  We have been living!  Life just keeps rolling and we are making it everyday - and those have been blessed days.  The kids are good.  Jack is growing by leaps and bounds at school coming home with things he learned that day.  Kate is becoming more independent and girly.  Her paci is gone.  We took it away a week ago and she has done pretty good.  There have been times I wanted to give it to her to calm her, but I threw them all away that day as to not succumb to my temptation and be firm.  She has struggled a bit and is napping less, but overall it has been a pretty smooth transition.  The dreaded potty training is around the corner.  I have done it once, so I can do it again, right?

Everything is pretty status quo and I like it that way.  God is working in me and moving and that has been the greatest blessing of this year thus far.  Satan does attack (i.e. when we had our crazy day last week when Kimberly passed out and hit her head and I had to take her to urgent care, only to receive a call while there that Jack needed to be picked up from school due to throwing up).  Everyone was fine and we actually had a good laugh about it later.  The coolest thing I have started to realize is that I am seeing God differently now.  I remember envisioning God and who He was when I was a teenager and felt certain confidences and doubts, but now as an adult and mother, I am seeing Him in a new way.  It is like I am "growing up" in Christ and it is pretty cool.  I have a long journey of still learning more about Him, what He desires of me and how He loves us and I am excited to learn more.  That's all I got now.  I wanted to share that we are alive and doing well just taking it easy in these slow winter months.  See you soon!

Camera Phone Dump Post

 Dressed himself for bedtime

Sleepy girl

Made this cute thing with some "pawesome" fabric!  You know, you are giggling.

Sister flung her hand in brother's eye direction.  A trip to Urgent Care, some drops, a patch and some Mike and Ike later, we are happy.

Notice something wrong in this picture?  Belle has replaced Kate on the bed and where is Kate?  Look under the drapes.

Playing in the fountains at the Grand Floridian

He sure is festive!

PJ Day at school

Merry Christmas!

Happy pre-Christmas week!

Tantrum Tuesday

Let me being by saying I love my kids.  Today we took a quick trip to Publix to pick up a few items.  Also, since when is it ever "quick" with kids?  I digress.  Anyway, we got a race car buggy and set on our merry way.  About halfway through, Kate accidentally caught Jack's eyeball with her nail.  He was crying, she was singing....Anyway, I told him he could get out of the cart and walk with me.  He always stays close and pretty much listens to directions.  Kate on the other hand is a terrible listener and does not stay with me.  Ergo, she is not allowed out of the cart in several places.  I was at the deli counter getting some turkey and she started flipping out crying, tears, back-arching and all to get out and walk like Jack.  I calmly said no every minute or so and sat her down back in the seat (as she was standing and could have fallen out).  Her safety and my sanity were the reasons I do not allow her out of the cart.

A woman approaches and says, "I am a grandma and she is sad.  You should pick her up."  I said no that she is exerting her will and I am not going to let her out.  Let me remind you that I was not terribly pleased with the Kate tantrum either.  Kate was screaming, I was embarrassed and wanted to go, but I needed to get my last item.  The woman then said, "Your parents would be upset that you wouldn't pick her up."  I said no, that they wouldn't give in to her anyway.  I am somewhat "scoff" laughing and trying to sit Kate back down in her seat.  She then says, "Well, I have had a lot of kids and I know more than you."  I was like, "what" and thinking, did she really just say that to me?  I laughed it off and continued to the checkout counters.

I was perturbed to say the least and reassured myself I was making the right decision.  We were halfway to the counters and Kate was still flipping out.  I stopped the cart and told her to sit down, in a calm voice.  I then said, "when we get to the checkout line, you may get out".  This wasn't a negotiation.  Not, if you stop crying, but that was my original plan anyway.  They are not running like crazy there and everyone is safe.  She immediately said OK, sat down  and shut off the tears and crying.  I let her get out at the checkout and they were both just fine.

While loading my groceries on the conveyor belt, another woman says, "Excuse me, I think you handled that whole situation very well."  She didn't hear the other lady, but saw me dealing with Kate.  I said thank you and told her that I had to let her know who the boss was, me.  I didn't feel completely vindicated from the other woman's feelings, but felt confident that the decision I made to overcome my embarrassment and Kate's will was the right decision.  We paid for our stuff and as I was loading my groceries, a man came up to me and said, "what did you promise her (meaning Kate)?"  I said that when we got to the line she could get out.  It wasn't a negotiation.  I was in charge.  I am the boss.

Here are a few things/thoughts I got from this situation:

• I sinned and thought, "I wonder how that rude lady's kids turned out!?"
• I also thought, if I don't set boundaries now, they will start walking all over me.
• I think God provided that second person who told me I handled it well, confirmation that I did the right thing.
• God gave me these kids to I HAVE to get over what is polite to other people (meaning the tantrum) and my embarrassment to establish that Kate's will, will not win.
• And I thought of this verse, Proverbs 22:6 - Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Trust me, I fail A LOT at parenting, but with God and consistency, we can make good parenting decisions.

Let me leave you with my tantrumy, strong-willed, cutie Kate in a shirt I shirred for her...

Happy Tuesday!

Camera Phone Dump

I have been racking up some photos for a few months now, and I wanted to share some from my camera phone.  Technology is pretty cool because if you don't have your regular camera ready, you can just grab your phone and snap a picture!

Matching in Yard Work

Our Wal-Mart routine

 Jack's new big guy bed!

First day of soccer

Kate and her new Caillou doll

Sweet niece Claire

Safety first in my car!

Kate's Harvest Pillowcase Dress

Kimberly's first sewing experience ever!  And, she made ruffle pants - wow!