Monday, March 26, 2012
Surprise!!!
Among many things this weekend, Dave turned FORTY!! We had great friends come stay with us, great friends come meet us for a surprise birthday dinner, and I have many great stories to tell and pictures to share. Unfortunately, I also have a lot of not so great work to do, and sleep to catch up on! Slowly but surely, everyone will be famous on the blog, I promise!
Yes, Ma'am!
On Thursday, Max is going to test to get his gold belt. I'm not sure if it's because he's doing so well in class, or because they want my $50 for testing. However, part of his testing is on the rules (Children should treat parents with respect) and the tenets of Tae Kwon Do.
The other day, Max was whiny and I don't do well with whiny. So I said very sternly, "Max, come here!" To which he properly answered, "Yes, Ma'am." I almost lost it. I couldn't look at Dave because I knew he was craking up too. I finished lecturing Max and then turned and laughed. The rest of the night, I kept asking him questions just so I could hear him say, "Yes, Ma'am!" Very cute. And how respectful!
The other day, Max was whiny and I don't do well with whiny. So I said very sternly, "Max, come here!" To which he properly answered, "Yes, Ma'am." I almost lost it. I couldn't look at Dave because I knew he was craking up too. I finished lecturing Max and then turned and laughed. The rest of the night, I kept asking him questions just so I could hear him say, "Yes, Ma'am!" Very cute. And how respectful!
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Playdates
When Alina gets bored with just my kids, she watches TWINS!! This is Logan and Silas. I don't know which ones are which...
What do you do when you have four kids 4 and under? Why, an art project, of course!!
The concentration!
Giant Max! But Ava the only one without curls!
Let's do a taste test... sour anyone?
Ewww!!!
Sweet is MUCH better!
Wow! Beautiful!
Are they looking? Hearing? Not sure at all...
The concentration!
Giant Max! But Ava the only one without curls!
Let's do a taste test... sour anyone?
Ewww!!!
Sweet is MUCH better!
Wow! Beautiful!
Are they looking? Hearing? Not sure at all...
Just another day with the kids!
Friday, March 23, 2012
The little green men
The little green men came to our house on St. Patrick's Day again this year. But first... the kids did a few tricks of there own (with the help of the leperchaun pictured here!).
First thing you need... a rainbow.
Stir it up
Not sure what's in the purple...
Decorate and sprinkle
And then eat!
The most AMAZING cupcakes ever!
A St. Patrick's Day party for the neighborhood!
You have to have gold if you're ever going to catch a leperchaun.
Hide the gold!
Can you spot them?
Kyan found one!
Ava was lucky too!
Now, to devise a trap...
Hmmm...
Dear Mr. Leperchaun, Pull the rope with all your might, inside you will see a stupendous sight!!
Not to be outdone by the boys!
Serious strategery here.
Amazing! Both traps were rated as... equal!
And then outside for some bubbles!
Unforunately, we weren't able to catch any leperchauns this year, but they did cause some havoc in our house. They tipped over furniture and stacked up beers. We think they took a few Heineken to go. AND, on top of it all, they drew a shamrock on Dave's chest! Crazy antics again this year!
Thursday, March 22, 2012
A simple song
I love songs that take me back to somewhere. There's those that in college I played as loud as I could as many times in a row my dormmates could stand (Renee got more Air Supply (who doesn't love Making Love Out of Nothing At All?) than any human should ever be exposed to). There's those that I remember from old boyfriends (sorry Dave, but it's why I knew .38 Special sang that song on the radio the other day!), and there's those that you just remember exactly what was happening when that song was playing (December 1963 Oh What a Night on the bus in Florida with my volleyball teammates, or Paradise by the Dashboard Light in Stacy's little apartment).
But this morning takes the cake. In my car, I have an MP3 hookup so if there's nothing on satelite radio (I'm SO spoiled) I switch it over to whatever is on my iPod. Sometimes I pick a genre, but lately I've just been going through all of my songs, which brings up everything (Feliz Navidad anyone?). This morning, as I was driving to work, I heard the song "Itty, Bitty, Baby Girl" and I nearly started crying. I realize that to you, that song doesn't mean anything. But to me, it's the end of an era in my life. I bought a CD with that song on it nearly 10 years ago for Abby's baptism. I rocked her to sleep to it every night. I nursed her back to sleep to it every night. I rocked her to sleep in the wee hours every morning. I knew the CD by heart, and the first three songs I could sing out of necessity... when staying in a hotel or at someone else's house, I had to sing them without accompaniment (I know, surprising she fell asleep at all!).
I loved the CD so much that when Nolan was born, I bought the "Itty, Bitty, Baby Boy" CD and did the same with him until Max was born and then changed it from him to Max. And by the time Ava was born, well, I downloaded it on my iPod.
So, when the song came on the radio this morning, it hit me like a ton of bricks, truly. I could feel all four kids in my arms. Remembering the exhaustion of those days that was so severe I would fall asleep nursing them and wake up some time later; the time that passed I knew only because of what song was playing when I woke up. It was a hard time. It was the best time. I don't ever want to do it again. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
All that... from a song?
But this morning takes the cake. In my car, I have an MP3 hookup so if there's nothing on satelite radio (I'm SO spoiled) I switch it over to whatever is on my iPod. Sometimes I pick a genre, but lately I've just been going through all of my songs, which brings up everything (Feliz Navidad anyone?). This morning, as I was driving to work, I heard the song "Itty, Bitty, Baby Girl" and I nearly started crying. I realize that to you, that song doesn't mean anything. But to me, it's the end of an era in my life. I bought a CD with that song on it nearly 10 years ago for Abby's baptism. I rocked her to sleep to it every night. I nursed her back to sleep to it every night. I rocked her to sleep in the wee hours every morning. I knew the CD by heart, and the first three songs I could sing out of necessity... when staying in a hotel or at someone else's house, I had to sing them without accompaniment (I know, surprising she fell asleep at all!).
I loved the CD so much that when Nolan was born, I bought the "Itty, Bitty, Baby Boy" CD and did the same with him until Max was born and then changed it from him to Max. And by the time Ava was born, well, I downloaded it on my iPod.
So, when the song came on the radio this morning, it hit me like a ton of bricks, truly. I could feel all four kids in my arms. Remembering the exhaustion of those days that was so severe I would fall asleep nursing them and wake up some time later; the time that passed I knew only because of what song was playing when I woke up. It was a hard time. It was the best time. I don't ever want to do it again. I would do it again in a heartbeat.
All that... from a song?
