Fun in the sun

We were lucky to have today a little party with my three Nieces, Maddie, Ellie and Abby and my sister in law RuthAnn. It was a really nice day. The house was full of Girls. Lots of giggles and squeals.

I think the girls spent most of the day in their swimming suits.

Ellie and Gracie on the tramp.

Half way through our day, RuthAnn came up with a great idea of making Noodle necklaces. By this time her Son Todd came up to hang out so we commissioned him to help.

Here are Lilly and Emily making their necklaces.

Here is the Necklace production. Abby, Lilly, Gracie, Todd, Maddie and Ellie. The really had a fun time and did a really good job.

Todd not really into having his photo taken.

Gracie, Maddie and Ellie with their creations. Very serious work.

And here they all are with their finished products.

Ellie, Emily, Lilly, Gracie, Abby and Maddie. They were really good girls and got along well.

Mommy and Daughter with Beads. I love this picture.

Girls having a good time. It was great to see Ellie and Maddie. Maddie is in Utah for the next month. What a great time. I hope we get to spend more time with her while she is here.

I am tired though. It seems like a long week for me. We get to have the privilege of babysitting my friends daughter Cecilia so we should have more fun pictures tomorrow. I love being home. I love spending this time with my girls. But its time for me to find some where to lay my head.

No Cake for you, toothless!!

Gracie has had a wiggly tooth for over a month now. I kept asking her is it was ready to come out yet and she would say no. We'll Yesterday I was looking at it after lunch and I could see the new tooth coming in behind the wiggly one. You can see it here (sorry she didn't brush her teeth)

So I gave her a paper towel and told her to play with it. It took about 5 mins and...
Pop..it came right out. She has a mouth full of Blood but its now out. She looks like she is in pain but it doesn't hurt her she said.Lilly was pretty into her tooth. She kept wanting to see it.

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Is it bad to feed your kids Chocolate cake for breakfast? Bill Cosby would say no (click here and listen)

I want a new drug...

This last week I have been struggling emotionally, phyically and Motherly. Maybe it's because I turned 37 or because I am a stay at home mom now or maybe I have worked too hard in my yard. Aunt Flo has been trying to visit for weeks now, damn hormones and it has been rainy all weekend. Could my mood be from the back braking experience of sucking up flood water from my basement due to an over excited 5 year old and a hose??? What ever it was I was in a funk. I thought that maybe if I took a little day off that would help but there was no time for that. I just couldn't seem to get through the slugdge of the week. But over this weekend I spent time with some of my brothers and their families and I realized that they are my new drug. I love spending time with family. Talking and laughing is such a release of stress. And what ever mood I was in, after this weekend I am recharged. I am blessed to have such a great family.

Then it got me thinking....my girls are the same way. At times my girls need a break from each other. So I make it a point to try to spend some one on one time with them. But just like they need one on one time they also need together time. Lilly just isn't Lilly when Gracie is at school. And Gracie and Lilly are different when Em is napping. Its amazing how we need each other to feel complete. I love that they encourgage one another, comfort each other, talk and take time to listen to their problems. Its amazing to watch them grow as little people, as sisters and as friends.

Still alive and kicking

I am totally enjoying being home with the girls. We are starting to get into a routine so maybe I'll find a little time to blog. Let us hope once a week. I have a lot to catch everyone up on..so i hope you are patient.

May 10th Our 5th Anniversary!

Thanks to family and friends, Blake and I were able to have a grown up weekend. First off we went to the Roof for an awesome dinner. Yummy!!

Blake surprised me with a dozen roses it was really nice. After dinner we went back to our hotel and watched a bunch of movies. It was a really nice weekend. The next morning we were running a little late so instead of breakfast in the hotel we stopped at McDonalds on the way to get the kids. While sitting there talking, a big guy came walking in...it was..

Big T~Thurel Bailey. (sp?) He used to play for the jazz. He was there with his little boy. It was pretty cool. This is the best picture I could get of him...thanks to everyone that made this weekend happen.

May 11 Mothers Day

Blake had to work so we had our gift opening the day before. I got a great picture and some willow tree figures. Love it. Here is Kunka trying to do the dishes for me. I love being a mom. And I love my own mom.

May 18 My 37th Birthday

Again, Blake had to work but he did get off early for our little family bbq. It was also my brothers birthday on the 17th. Ever since I was 5 years old, Jeff and I have pretty much celebrate our birthdays together. We had Pulled Pork sandwhiches with awesome side. Of course we had tons of yummy food.

These are the only two pictures that I took of the party...I know not much to show.

After the party, it was time for me to open my gifts. My poor husband has it bad..he has our anniversary, moms day and my birthday all in the same weekend. I am so lucky...I got everything I wanted. I got a MP3 Player

A new Electrixc Skillet (I used my other one until it died. LOVE THEM)

And a Garden Gnome. (from the girls)

It was a really wonderful day!

May Flowers bring Rain Showers
I love flowers! I think I get it from my Mom and Dad. But flowers make me happy. Especially in my yard. This last week I have been busting butt weeding trying to get my yard ready for summer. Its been so nice to get out in the dirt with the warm weather. I've taken a few pics of my yard.

The Gnome in his new home

Emily playing in the pool. First day of swimming

Here are all the girls enjoying the pool.

Here is our front yard. I think if you click on the pic you can see it up close.

The girls have thier own flower pots that they get to water every day. They all chose to put Petunias in their pots.

Gracie sliding down the pool slide.

Lilly and her new Swimming suit. I think she loves it.

I LOVE Gerber Daisies.

Our back patio. (don't look at the dead Dog Grass...we are trying to regrow that)

Back Deck.

Front Yard again. Its so fun to have a place to enjoy and relax. As soon as we finished the yard its been raining. We really need it and it will help our flowers grow.

I'll try to keep up my blogging so I don't have to have such long blogs.

Hope everyone is doing well.

An Apple a day...

As most of you know, Lilly is pretty picky about food. The worst thing she is the most picky about is fruits and veggies. The only Veggies she likes is canned Green beans and sometimes yams and cauliflower depending on her mood. In the Fruit department Lilly LOVES Bananas and maybe mandrine oranges again, if the mood strikes. But, I try to be the good mommy and keep giving her fruits and veggies even when I know she doesn't care for them. It gets really frusterating sometimes.

Yesterday, Emily and Gracie wanted some cut apples for a snack. So I gave them a snack well Lilly wanted a snack too. So I cut up some apple for her knowing she was going to freak out. But much to my surprise, Lilly actually ate the apples. AND she asked for more. I nearly started to cry. I hugged her tight and told her how happy I was that she ate apples. I know it sounds lame but its such a struggle for her to eat good things. She asked for apples this morning too for breakfast. Happy day!!

Conversation with a 3 year old

"MOMMY!!!"
"What Lilly?"
"Mommy, did you know Mermaids don't have butts?"
"No Lillybug I never really thought about it."


~~~Things that make you go HUMM?~~~

Lifes a Beach!

Well, Like I said in a earlier post I had a list of things that I wanted to do while I was home. We are still in the process of potty training Lilly. She is doing awesome. The other major thing I wanted to do was build a sand pile for our girls. And we finially finished it. Happy day!!!
First we cleared the ground and smothed the area out where we were putting the sandpile.
Then we laid out the weed protector.
We ended up using 100 foundation bricks. It was a back braking job that is for sure. The reason we chose the bricks is so that when the girls were grown we could have an instant raised flower bed. And it looks nicer I think.

Here is Lilly checking out the bricks and weed protector.
And finally, the sand pile is done. We put in 60 50 pound of sand and probably need another 40 bags but its fine for now. The girls LOVE it.

Before I was a mom! HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

Before I Was A Mom…
Before I was a Mom - 1 slept as late as I wanted and never worried about how late I got into bed. I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom -I cleaned my house each day. I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Spit on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom -I never held down a screaming childSo that doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom -I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much, I never knew that I could love someone so much.

I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.
Before I was a Mom - I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, The joy, The love, The heartache, The wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL THE GREAT MOMS OUT THERE.

~~~~~ Remember that behind every successful mother Is a basket of dirty laundry. ~~~~~