3 Down, 1 to Go!

I just realized I have not updated since the first day of school! School started on September 8th. Lucas started pre-school this year. He loves the school part of it, but hates the naptime part. The mommy in me wants to run to his rescue everyday so he isn't subjected to the torture of a daily nap, but the daycare provider in me says he needs to suck it up and get used to it because he truly needs it since daddy takes him bright and early every morning before work. Anyway, I'm loving the little pages of "homework" as he calls it. We'll give him some time to adjust, and if he's still having problems with nap, we'll find a solution.



The girls both love their teachers and look forward to going to school everyday. Hopefully it continues!



In Aubrey news, she is still trying and I use that word loosely, to potty train. In other words, she gets to sit on the potty a few times a day and when I have some down time (very rarely), I'll let her go diaperless and take her to the potty every 15 minutes. I'm not pushing this whatsoever, but if she's ready and willing, I'm going to follow her lead. My little girl is growing up right before my eyes. I do "school time" with Aubrey and my other daycare children just about everyday. For Aubrey this means, coloring, painting, singing the alphabet, days of the week, months of the year, etc...My smart little girl can already count to 10! Ok, so it's not perfect, but I think she does quite well for not even being 2 yet!

Just a few more years and all 4 of my babies will be in school! Where does the time go?!

Coincidence? Who cares!?

I'll spare you the pictures, but here's my biggest news as of yesterday:

AUBREY POOPED ON THE POTTY!!

So, it was probably a huge coincidence that I just had the timing right due to the signs she had given me, but I don't care! If she's potty trained by 3, I'll be happy. However, at 22 months, I'll take any step in that direction!

One more thing...

I'm trying to rename my blog. Tails from the Sims isn't really fitting since none of this blog has anything to do with our animals or at least the ones that have tails anyway... And I'm guessing some that come across my blog think I just don't know how to spell.

So, if you have any catchy ideas, send 'em my way via comment or email!

No fancy photography...

I have to say, this has been a pretty enjoyable month. We haven't done anything extraordinary, but I think that's the reason why it's been enjoyable. I've found that despite the work it entails, saying yes is so much more fun than having to constantly say no. We've taken quite a few field trips, go to the pool every Wednesday, stay up just a few more minutes, have a popsicle or two, you get my drift... I am finding myself a much happier person with much happier children!


Of course, I couldn't leave you hanging without photographic proof! Remember, these are completely unedited, unposed, unprofessional images capturing the happiness that is found around my house lately!

Enjoy! We are!





Lucas' Mean Face. Scary huh?

But those butt dimples...To die for!

I had to include this action shot!

She was watching the water spray right past her!


Good aim Sydney!

I'd never let my kids play in the dirty car wash water.

Never. Not me.

Here's that popsicle or two. And isn't that baby yummy too?

LOVE HER!

Dressing up like Daddy!

Daddy has spoiled her and she only likes him to put her to sleep!

If you are on Facebook, you might have read about my

excursion with 10 kids and the faulty play-doh...

I know it's been a long time and I'm not doing a fantastic job keeping up with the blog, but I just can't apologize! LOL! We have less than a month left till school is back in full swing and I want more pictures just like the ones above! If I'm on the computer, no pictures are being made...

Part of my promise is fullfilled!

I posted 27 new pictures on my flickr site.

Here is the link http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicolesims/

This doesn't include some of the recent ones because I need to get them onto the computer, but this does catch me up on Birthdays, Easter, and some outside fun!

Enjoy!

So so behind!

Despite the fact that I should be folding laundry and doing daycare paperwork, I am sitting here because it's been entirely too long since I've updated. I'm not even sure where I should begin!

Well, I left off being scared of Lily's lump...It's still there. It's been rechecked by another Dr who swears it is a lymph node and nothing to be worried about. So, we wait.

Sydney made her First Communion last weekend. It was very moving! I was almost brought to tears when Gerald leaned over and whispered, "can you believe our baby is old enough to be having her First Communion?" She looked gorgeous. I promise pictures will get here eventually.

The inlaws came down for the big event and while it was a good visit, it could have been MUCH better. It rained almost the whole time and while we were at the Botanical Gardens, there was a wheelchair malfunction and Gerald's father fell out of it. Hours and multiple x-rays later, they found a broken collar bone.

Daycare is going wonderful. I still have the little boy that started in March and he's a dream. I wouldn't trade him for anything! I'll have 2 part-time children over the summer. The younger child has already started and her older brother will come when school lets out.

And for the best news of all, I'm going to be an aunt of TWINS! Gerald's brother and sister in law that lost their precious little girl last fall just found out they were being doubly blessed! God and baby Natalie really knew what they needed! They are due around Thanksgiving but will be here earlier I'm sure. We are going to take a few days off around then to go visit. I can't wait!

So, as soon as I get some pictures uploaded, I will do my best to either post them, or upload them all to Flickr and provide a link.

Love to all!

The scare of our lives!

This rates right up there with Lily's birth, Sydney eating the bloodpressure pill, and Lucas getting sick in the NICU.

Saturday morning, I woke up and as usual, some of our kids had joined us in our bed. Gerald was already awake and downstairs. I looked over and Lily had taken her shirt off in the night because she got hot. Lula is just a tiny thing and you can see every bone in her body. Well, she had her arm stretched up over her head and from way across our king-sized bed, I could see a lump just a few inches below her armpit. First, I felt it, and it was surely a lump, not a bug bite or scratch or anything else. Then I flew out of bed and ran downstairs. Gerald was sitting there in the chair and immediately said, "did you see that lump on Lily's side?" Ok, now I knew that this wasn't all a bad dream. I told him I was taking her straight in. So, I somehow managed to get a hold of the people at JCP to let them know I wouldn't be in to work, and in my panic, I vaguely recall getting dressed, putting my contacts in, and getting clothes on Lily. I got pulled over on my way out of housing for using my cell phone while driving and the poor gate guard, he must have been able to read my face because all I said was, "I'm on my way to Urgent Care." and he was like, "go go go, I'll tell them you need to go."

We got to Urgent Care and first we saw the nurse that takes vitals and all that good stuff. She felt it and said that the fact that it moves was a good thing. BTW, my 2lb 10oz baby is now a whopping 43lbs! I don't know where those 43lbs are, because she is skin and bones! Anyway, we then saw the PA and he said the same thing the nurse said, he didn't think it was anything to worry about because it moves (we'd be much more concerned if it didn't move because tumors usually attach themselves to something), but he wasn't sure that it was just a swollen lymph node either, so he wanted the Doc to see it as well. A very nice woman Dr came in and she felt Lily's neck and said she could feel her lymph nodes there as well and the lump and she said that while she can't be certain, she's pretty sure it's just an infected lymph node due to all of the illness we've had in the last few weeks. I'm not sure if I mentioned it in all of my posts, but Lily did get hit pretty hard with all of it. She did both Strep and the puke bug. She also said that seeing swollen lymph nodes in children in the armpit area wasn't very common. So, we are treating it with antibiotics, watching to see if it goes down, making sure more lumps don't appear, and praying that it's gone in a week or two. If not, we will be getting it evaluated further.

I am still worried about it and it consumes my thoughts pretty frequently, but I'm holding on to the fact that it moves and it seems to fit the description the Dr gave us. I will keep y'all updated!

P.S.
Now that we are all healthy so to speak, I will get pictures up this week for my birthday babies! I promise!

Birthday Posts

I have still not forgotten about Lily and Lucas' birthday posts!

Lily started puking last night...

Will it ever end???

So, today was SUPPOSED to be my 2nd day having my sweet, little, daycare baby and he has to stay home today because of our germs. *pout*

The cops just left...

A few hours ago, one of our girls had her first (and hopefully last) brush with the law.

Guilty!

Aubrey thought it would be great fun to put a phone call into 911! I grabbed the phone from her and hung it up, not realizing the call had gone through because she had dialed a bunch of numbers along with it. I'm amazed at how quickly they call back! We assured them we were all fine, but just to be sure we weren't being forced to say that, an officer still had to pay us a visit. She stepped inside, (poor lady, she'll probably be puking and pooping by tomorrow) and saw that we were ok and laughed that the baby had pranked them, made a comment about our "full house", apologized for disrupting us (we were doing the same to her!), and was on her way.

I'm glad we have such an understanding and prompt police force, but I hope I don't have to see them again for a loooooong time! We'd made it over 8 yrs without a fake call to 911, so I guess we were due.

3 down, 1 to go...

Yep. 3 of the 4 kids are sick. I've dealt with strep throat, diahrreah, puking(Gerald was the lucky one to deal with this), and fevers. I am praying, begging, and pleading for it to be done! I'm not sure I can handle much more of this! Aubrey became a limp noodle last night while she was still awake and just laid on Gerald. We knew something wasn't right. Within 30 minutes, she was blazing hot with a fever. I have been cloroxing away trying to get rid of all this nasty. It really needs to be gone by the party on Sunday and REALLY REALLY needs to be gone before my little daycare boy starts on Monday! So please, say your prayers, cross you fingers, send us get well vibes, or whatever so the illness will check out of the Sims Household!

Here's to a Happy and Healthy April!

I have not forgotten about Lucas' birthday post. It is coming. I promise!

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

My baby boy turned 4 today.

When I am not running between cleaning up blow out poopy diapers from Aubrey, washing clothes from near misses to the toilet with Lucas, and dosing up Lily with Motrin, I will come back and post a proper birthday post with pictures and all.

I just wanted to post Happy Birthday to my bestest little boy because it seems everyone else has forgotten... :( I wish he didn't have to spend most of his birthday sitting on the toilet. Say your prayers that he's all better by Sunday in time for his party!

Never EVER EVER again

I swear I am NEVER going to comment again on how healthy my family has been. A month or so ago, my mother in law and I were talking about how healthy we all had been for such a long time. I think 3 days went by and I came down with a HORRID head cold that took me nearly 2 weeks to recover from. Three days ago, Lily almost stayed home from school because she had been up the night before with an upset tummy. Nothing came of it, but I let her sleep in the next morning. When she woke up, she exclaimed, "BUT MOMMM! I am FINE! I am line leader today, you HAVE to drive me to school!" So I did. She seemed fine after that. Yesterday, we were out late running errands and had a later dinner at our favorite restaurant, The Silver Diner. As we are about 2 minutes from the restaurant, Sydney tells me that her stomach is really upset. She says she's not going to puke or anything, so I just told her, that she didn't have to eat and she laid down in the booth for a few minutes and then decided to order french toast. She ate all of that and then some. She has been fine ever since. This morning, I wake up and see that Lucas is in our bed. No big surprise there till I walk by his room and see two large wet spots on his bed. Great. I thought he had peed (which he hasn't done in forever) and got into our bed. We JUST washed our bedding the day before. Upon walking in the room, I realize from the smell, it's not pee, but puke that Bentley, our loving golden retriever had cleaned up for me. (GAG!) Much to my surprise, when I went to check Lucas, he hadn't gotten even a tiny bit on him. And aside from walking to our bed, he never made a sound. Poor guy, he has tried so hard today to be better, but he's just not. He has it coming out the other end now. As does Aubrey. I am nauseated, but otherwise ok. I sure hope that this is the end of it and not the begining!

Either way...

Lesson learned.

Under NO circumstances will I EVER state how healthy my family has been!

HOMICIDE!

Right in our own kitchen!

The Killer- Cheeto

Phineas Swimmer Sims was killed in the kitchen by way of un-drowning between the hours of 12:00a.m and 6:00a.m. on the morning of March 11th, 2009. Cheeto Sims will be tried by members of the jury at a later date. Funeral will occur at 4p.m. in the downstairs bathroom of the Sims Family Home. In lieu of flowers, you can send donations to Sims_Nicole@hotmail.com via paypal.

In other words, the cat dumped over the fish bowl and I'll be flushing him after the kids have all had their chance to say goodbye! LOL! The girls have already decided we aren't allowed to get anymore fish.

I want to SHOP!

Why is it that when I want to go out and spend money and buy my kids clothes, I can't? I have searched HIGH AND LOW for clothes for Aubrey and I can't find ANY! I have bought a few things here and there, but they aren't really what I'm looking for. I want one-piece, short-sleeved, pants outfits for her. They have them up to 18 months for boys, but all of the girls are for little babies or dresses! She can't walk yet, so I want her knees covered. I can't even find cheap cotton leggings or pants for her anymore, everyone has put out shorts and capris already! It's a conspiracy I tell ya! I'm making Gerald take me to Kohls and TJMaxx later tonight! I'm determined to find some clothes to fit my baby!

JACKPOT!

Yesterday was an AWESOME day!



First, I had an interview with the parents of a 4 month old little boy. He was absolutely darling! They had interviewed with one other provider before coming over and after our interview they said they'd talk it over that evening and give me a call the next day (today). They left, and I'm not kidding, about 2 minutes after they were gone, my phone rang and it was them. The father said it didn't take them long to decide and they wanted to bring him here! YAY! I am SO excited! I know I've only met them for about 45 minutes, but based on past experiences, they seem like great people. They don't seem to be nitpicky parents, but they do care. They also seemed to be genuinely nice people. He'll be starting care on March 23rd. I can't wait!



Next, the two little ones and I decided to try our hand at Kroger. I researched the ad, gathered my coupons and off we went. Kroger is doing a deal right now where you can get $5 off for buying 10 of a certain item. They let you do this up to 3 times per transaction. You can also use coupons for the items, and if they are .50 or less, they double! I did need to buy 3 things at full price. But, I got 40 items, there are 14 bags of rice cakes and 5 of the baby fruit puffs, that are hard to see in my photo. I spent $44.81. I saved $64.96! That's a 60% savings!

We also stopped back by walgreen's to get my free bottle of body wash and it just so happens that the register printed me out another coupon for ANOTHER free bottle! So I got a bonus deal of buy 1 get 2 free! Can't beat that! I won't bore you with anymore pictures of my Walgreen's loot, but I will tell you that I got over $70 worth of stuff for $28. We won't ever need to buy toothpaste or toilet paper again, I don't think! LOL! And that's not including the rebate I've got coming that should be somewhere around $15-20.

Then we had the perfect ending to my perfect day. It was over 70 degrees outside, so after I put away all the groceries, I took the kids out to play. We sat with the neighbors for well over an hour and Aubrey and Lucas were just in their glory being outside. Aubrey and I came in and took a little catnap on the couch while Gerald grilled us some hotdogs for dinner. It was starting to feel like summer, until I woke up and and the cold front had come in and it was about 50 degrees outside!

All in all, a wonderful day!

Walgreens, my new favorite place to shop!

I went Walgreening again today! It is quite addicting! I'm going to try and list it out similar to the way I did last time. I'll put the cost of the product if I had gone into the store(this is including the sale price, I rarely pay full price for anything so I'm not listing regular price), then my total I paid with coupons and such.


Clorox Wipes 2.50x4 = $10
Clorox Toilet cleaner 2.50x2 = $5.00
Clorox Bathroom cleaner = $2.50
Clorox anywhere spray = $2.50
Cologate Toothpaste = $3.29
Vaseline Lotion = $2.69
Carmex = $2.99
Hotwheels car(not pictured) = $1.29
Paper Towel (for Lily's class) = $0.89
Axe Shampoo = $5.99
Sambucol Cold and flu =$12.99
Wag. Headache Medicine =$2.99
Wag. Allergy Medicine = $3.99
Blink Eye Drops = $7.99

Grand total= $65.10
I used 29.75 in Manufacturer Coupons and Register Rewards Coupons
I paid $35.35
I also still have $8 in register rewards to use AND I bought rebate products this time and have a rebate of $12.97 (+10% for choosing a gift card as my form of payment giving me approx $14.27 in rebates). I will save those for future purchases, so I won't deduct them off my total out of pocket expense. But, for giggles if I did deduct them, my final cost would be $13.08! You can't beat that! That's like buying the cold and flu meds and getting the rest for free!

My goal now is to build up my gift card. Nothing like using free money to get more free stuff! Soon, I'll have this down to a science and I'll hopefully get better at saving my register rewards (just keep an eye on those expirations, they don't last long!) and I won't have much in out of pocket expense

I'm learning!

This is my first time attempting Walgreens deals. I've read and read and read about it, but never sat down to figure it out. I think I've got it now! I wish I had the coupons from the last few weeks, I'd have saved more. I also had to buy a couple of things that weren't deals. I needed a toothbrush and I couldn't wait for a deal since I've been sick and I bought another newspaper, so I could have 2 sets of this weeks coupons.

So here is a rundown of what I bought and the price it would have cost me if I had just walked in the store that day and bought it with no coupons.

Tide HE $5.99
Colgate 3.49
Robin Egg Candy 2.29

Blink Eye Drops 7.99

Reese's Candy 2.99

Sunday paper 2.00

409 Cleaner 2.50

3-Toiletpaper 1.89x3
Toothbrush 2.29

Viactiv 8.49

Infusium Conditioner 5.99

A total of $49.69 +tax

I paid out of pocket $23.85

I saved over $25.84!

I could have done a LOT better if I didn't buy a couple of the things I didn't really need like the candy and stuff, but it was a good deal, and our favorites, so I bought it anyway. I could have also saved more if we had more Walgreens in the area where I could buy in smaller increments. I'm thinking about doing a couple of the deals one more time before the ad ends, but not buying any of the extras so I end up paying very little. I'm also thinking about doing some of the rebates. It won't be an instant savings, but I can build up a giftcard for future purchases, so I really won't have much for out of pocket costs.

My next order of business is to figure out Kroger's deals!

I think I'm going to do my deal shopping on Monday evenings. It gets me out of the house for a while by myself and there's a little thrill that goes with getting something for next to nothing!

My kids hopes and dreams have come true!

SNOW AT LAST! SNOW AT LAST! SNOW AT LAST!

We finally got a couple inches of snow! Of course, school was closed and the children barely made it out of bed before they were outside if you can't tell by the pictures! Who were we to stop them? This is a once in a year (or two or three) opportunity!

So now it has happened. I am officially ready for Spring! It's supposed to be 65* on Friday. I can't wait! :D

Ramblings

~I am finally getting to know my neighbors! I was hoping that would happen as the weather slowly started warming up. They are all very nice! Today we are going to go with one of our neighbors and their children to Chuck E. Cheese because the big kids have a half day. We also have a scheduled power outage today. Another one of our neighbors was outside yesterday and inquired what size Lucas was. She then proceeded to give me a HUGE pile of clothes for him! It's all in excellent condition too! I think there were 11-12 pairs of jeans in there! He won't wear the jeans for at least another year or so, but that alone probably saved me a couple hundred dollars! The shirts he can probably start wearing now. My wonderful Aunt that is going to be Aubrey's Godmother also sent us a large box of clothes. Most of those fit Lily and a few things for Lucas. Now they are going to force me to go through Aubrey's closet and find a home for all of the clothing I need to find a home for!

~ So yesterday I needed to take Sydney to the Drs for a persistant sore throat. So far, strep is negative and the nurse is suspecting allergies. While we were waiting, I chatted with a man that had a son about the same age as Lucas. His son had the infamous Skechers Hot Lights Shoes (they are policeman shoes that light up like a policecar) that Lucas has wanted for over a year. However, Lucas didn't have big enough feet last year. So, I called Kohls when we got home and much to my amazement, they had TWO pairs in his size AND they were on sale! We decided not to wait, and headed out to Kohls. Sydney found a new backpack on sale, Lily found a pair of clearance shoes, Gerald found a clearanced jacket, and I bought a pair of jeans that wasn't 50 sizes too big on me! I am a little confused about sizing though. I own a pair of 5/6 jeans that is too big, yet the 5 at Kohls was a little tight. I could easily button them, but I swear if I gained 2 lbs, I'd be uncomfortable. So I went with 7s and they are SO comfy!

~ Gerald is testing for promotion on Monday. We won't have the results until the summer or fall, so just cross everything, pray, meditate, do whatever it is that you do that could possibly increase his chances for promotion! We and our checking account would really appreciate it!

Well, I better not waste the few precious hours I have left before I drag all 4 children to see the big ol' rat! Mt. Laundry had grown once again and is looking to erupt if I don't tend to it soon!
Have a great day everyone!

Ash Wednesday

We are holding ourselves more and more accountable for raising our kids in the faith. I know, it is a faith we have chosen for them. I am not a parent that would disown their child if they choose another faith when they are old enough to make that decision for themselves. For now, though, they will be raised Catholic. In years past, we have severly neglected our faith. It's time we step up to the plate. Lucas is past the screaming whenever we attempt to sit in church or a restaraunt, so that is how we decided to start exposing our children to church. At first, and even very recently, I was kind of upset that our church didn't have a nursery. I'm over it now. How are our children to learn anything if they aren't there for mass? I could see if they went to Children's Church or something, but it just doesn't exist at the base chapel.

So anyway, we fasted today (Gerald and I, the kids are exempt because of their ages). We did not do a complete fast, instead we went by the newer "rules" and ate considerably less than we do on a usual day, abstained from meat, and didn't snack at all during the day. We felt hungry. And I must say, it really does make you think about the Lord we serve and rely on for the food that we eat! I'm still hungry. My menu today was this, cup of coffee and toast for breakfast, a tunafish sandwich with a very small handful of chips and water for lunch, dinner was a bowl chicken noodle soup (It was homemade so Gerald and I did not eat the chicken, just the broth, noodles, and veggies) and water.

This also marks the begining of Lent. We chose to do this as a family this year in hopes of teaching our children. We chose to give up 1 thing and do 1 thing to better ourselves. We decided to give up fast food and that we would take at least 1 walk a week as a family. Gerald is also giving up all alcholic beverages! Go Gerald!

I'll leave you with a few kidisms from Church tonight:

They gave out little black prayer books for Lent, and Lily says, "I wish this book was about Halloween!" Of course she had to say it in her loud, I'm a five year old voice, as we were leaving.

Having not heard what Lily already said, Lucas is outside and looks around outside and says, "It's dark out mom. Is it Halloween?" To his defense, it did kind of feel like a fall day, it was dark, breezy, and mid-forties.

They gave out these little metal medals if you will, to remind us what Lent is all about. My sweet Sydney said, "Mom, we should keep these in our pockets and whenever we are feeling like having fast food, we can get them out." AWWW, but don't get too excited, it was quickly followed up by, "Is Dairy Queen fast food?" She didn't like my reply of, "Yes, dear. It is."

Wow! This got long!

I'm going to finish watching American Idol and hit the hay. I *THINK* this cold is finally working it's way out of me! Hopefully I can get more sleep tonight than I did last night. One more thing, I passed my FINAL inspection today! I should have my daycare license in a couple of weeks! YAY!
God Bless!

Sick

I am so freaking sick it's unbelievable! Seriously. Right now being hung upside down by my toenails actually sounds more appealing than the way I feel. And of course, it couldn't come at a better time, I have my final daycare inspection tomorrow and guess who it is? PUBLIC HEALTH! How's that for ironic? We're also supposed to go to mass as it is Ash Wednesday, that is a Holy Day of Obligation. I may just not make it. End rant.

On a good note, we got some Finches for the kids this weekend! We LOVE them! Yes, we'd own a zoo if we could. There is a reason behind these birds though. We had to re-home Sydney's fire-bellied toad, that she bought with her very own money because they aren't allowed in daycare homes. We have 4 total. 2 shaft-tail finches, they are GORGEOUS, google them! And 2 zebra finches because they were cute and already known to be a pair. They even came with 4 eggs, that probably won't hatch, but the pet store lady just had to send them, so that even if they did have a chance, she wouldn't feel bad. Of course my kids were in absolute awe. I'll take pictures of the new additions when I feel a little better than death and can locate the cameras.

Oh the drama!

I swear my workplace creates more drama than a daytime soap opera! I just couldn't believe that there could be so much drama with there being about 6 employees. I guess with such a short roster, it becomes more personal. I, really, truly, love the job, but boy do I hate the back and forth of it all! I am thankful that I went to weekends only. I don't think I could handle it on an everyday basis. I have far more important things to worry about, such as the 4 little loves that I have at home.

I hope all the accusations stop soon and that I can continue to stay, for the most part, out of the thick of it! The bad thing is, that if you know me, I like just about everyone unless they give me a big enough reason to think otherwise. I don't like confrontation either, but I'm also willing to stand my ground if need be. Hopefully they'll all be dancing and singing Kumbaya before I have to go back to work! A girl can dream right?

Happy Valentine's Day!

Compare! Valentines 2009 is above and Valentine's 2008 is below! I can't believe how big my babies are!

We had a pretty good Valentine's Day this year! I had to work this morning, but I did get to sleep in and I woke up to a card, which is rare for my husband to think ahead enough to buy a card before the actual day! We had to run to Best Buy for a computer part, then we went of in search of a restaraunt that didn't have a mile long line out the door. We ended up at what I call our "default" restaurant, The Silver Diner. It has great food at a great price and it's kid friendly. I was hoping to try something new, but today was not a day to do that. We were going to get dessert, but Aubrey was exhausted and for the price of the banana splits they wanted, we could make 50 of them. So, we went and bought the ingredients and they were more than happy with the ones we made at home!

I hope everyone else had a Happy Valentine's Day as well!

MONSTER JAM!

As I mentioned in my earlier post, Gerald took Lucas to Monster Jam last night. It didn't go quite as Gerald had hoped. Lucas didn't freak out or get upset about the noise, he just decided it was time to go home after about half an hour into the show. Gerald was a little bummed, but didn't want to make him stay and have him never wanting to go back, so they left. Gerald thinks it was just too much for our little guy to take in all at once. That, and the earplugs he had weren't fitting in his ears very well, so it was probably quite loud. None of our kids are fond of really loud noises. Lucas must have really enjoyed the little bit he did see though, because he talks about it a lot and acts like a monster truck constantly! I really love the picture Gerald got of him though. If you know Lucas, you know that this picture is worth a thousand words!

Promised Pictures! Sandy Bottom Nature Park.

Here are the pictures that I promised! I had to get them up today because Gerald is taking Lucas to Monster Jam tonight and I'm sure there will be lots of fun pictures from that. I'm really looking forward to seeing them! The girls and I are going to have a night out as well. I think we'll go visit the oversized rat, Chuck E. Before that, I think we're going to hit up the local library. The girls have been begging to go and it will be easier without Lucas. Anyway, about the pictures. I'm not super impressed with the group shots, but they'll do. And out of 170 pictures that we had taken, there were 13 or so decent ones. You can imagine the outtakes! LOL! Lots of closed eyes, tongues sticking out, looking at the dogs, scratching, you name it, we have a picture of it! I'd post some of them, but the 13 I put on here took forever and a day to load!

Enjoy! I'm sure there will be more pictures in the next couple of days!

Breaking Through

My sweet little angel is having such a hard time getting her teeth. I am SO thankful I didn't wean her a month or two ago when she was only nursing once or twice a day. We've done tylenol, motrin, chewy toys, teething tablets, and the only thing that calms her down is nursing. I call her my little leech. She has been attached to me for the better part of the last two days. One tooth broke through yesterday, so I'm hoping she gets some relief soon. I have to prepare for an inspection that is TOMORROW and I can't get her off me! I guess there's a reason they don't stay babies forever. :)

My baby...A toddler?

Almost. She took 10 steps in a row twice yesterday. And lots of 3-4 consecutive steps! I figured out a trick to getting her to walk faster! She was in a dress for church yesterday and she doesn't like to crawl on her bare knees, so she'd either get up on her hands and feet, or she'd walk! I'd put her in just a onesie or a dress so she'd walk more, but our tile is so cold, I'd have to have the house at 85* in order to make it warm enough for her and, well, I think I can wait just a little longer for her to walk. LOL! I also discovered what I'm pretty sure is another tooth coming in on the bottom. We'll see in a few days. This would explain her nighttime crankiness and all the ear-pulling she's been doing.

We also went to the beautiful nature park with the 4 kiddos and the dogs and took lots of pictures, but I've only skimmed through them. Once I pick my favorites, I'll be sure to post them! :)

Well the laundry is patiently waiting for me so I must end this for now. I'll be back soon with pictures!

The Things I Take for Granted...

As I was giving the kids a bath tonight, I stopped and thought about some of the little things I take for granted each day. I find myself doing this more often as my babies grow bigger.

After Aubrey's bath, she has the cutest little curls right at the nape of her neck. And her hair, it always smells heavenly. Gerald and I snuggle her and sniff her head constantly after her bath because her head usually ends up in our armpits when we're sleeping, so that nice, sweet, baby, smell doesn't last long! LOL!

And who could resist the wrinkly, pruny, little baby feet???? After we figured out which toys were scaring her in the bathtub (no fish that move, and no toys with eyes, like rubber ducks!) we can't get her out of there! Oh yeah, no My Little Ponies either. The hair freaks her out! I swear I have the strangest children. Sydney is/was scared of Shrek and Larry Boy from Veggie Tales.

And finally, I always take for granted how very much they adore their baby sister! They don't run to ME when they get home, they run to the baby and she's always full of giggles and delighted to see them!

Now that I've gushed on and on about how sweet and wonderful they are, I get to go put them to bed! LOL! I won't mention how well they go to bed...

Not a whole lot has been going on here. I'm getting ready to re-open the daycare. I don't plan on having a house full of kids this time. Just one full time and maybe a drop in here and there. Business is slow at the portrait studio and I don't want Gerald getting a second job. I'm keeping the studio job on the weekends. I really enjoy it (most of the time) and the money will be helpful around the holidays when business picks up. The weather is freezing, but I'm really not minding it too much. We had a couple days with a few flurries, but nothing that even stuck to the ground. The kids were really excited anyway. I filed taxes today. That was a relief! There is only one time of year that it pays to be poor and have a million kids. I know, we're providing the IRS with a tax free loan by not taking bigger paychecks, but this is our savings account. LOL! We'd surely piddle the money away if we got it every month.

See? I told you. Not a whole lot going around in these parts. I'll update again soon!

Out with the old...

A Wiki list of popular New Year's Resolutions:
Lose Weight --definitely don't need to do that this year. According to the Dr, I did too much of it last year.
Get out of Debt --Wouldn't that be nice?! LOL!
Save Money --This would be even better since it would mean I accomplished the one above!
Get a Better Job --Eh, I could take or leave this.
Get Fit --Yeah, sure. I'll do this in my spare time!
Eat Right --I could improve here a little, but I generally eat ok.
Get a Better Education --I need to finish, but I'm taking a break while Gerald goes, and I need to find a school locally with my program. No such luck so far.
Drink less Alcohol -I don't drink enough alcohol to need this resolution.
Quit Smoking --No need for this either. Don't smoke and have no plans of starting!
Reduce Stress --Wouldn't this be nice?
Take a Trip --Definitely in the plans for this year!
Volunteer to Help Others --This has been on my mind a lot lately. We'll see if I can make it happen.
Be Less Grumpy --I'll bet my family has this on their list for me! :D
Be more independent --I accomplished this a long time ago!
Watch less violence --Unless Dora and Diego suddenly got violent, I think I'm covered here.
Learn something new --I'd like to have time to do the things I already know how to do. Though, Sydney did ask me to teach her how to knit, so I suppose we could learn that together! We'll see.

I find that list very interesting. I've never made resolutions before. And I'm not really making them this year. However, I did compile a list of things I would really like to accomplish this year. If they happen, awesome. If they don't, I'm sure I'll still be ok!
Here's the list I had come up with prior to reading the Wiki list. Funny how many of the things coincide with the wiki list in one way or another!

*Go see my family in MS for the weekend. (half check. I fly out on Saturday)
*Find a child to watch during the day, and keep my JCPenny Portaits job eventhough there are no hours to be had at the moment.
*Pay off some bills. (I can dream can't I?)
*Get my anxiety under control. (In the works, saw the Dr this morning.)
*Take 2 weeks off this summer for a family trip to MS and FL for our family reunion, and possibly stop at Disney World or Sea World on the way home (just for a day).
*Get confirmed and start going to church again.
*Have Aubrey baptized. (this is also in the works to happen during the family reunion)
*Get Chelsey, our German Shepherd trained. (obedience that is).
*Clean out closests and get rid of all the kids old clothes.

I'm sure there are many more things I could to add to this list, but I'm starting to get tired. The baby was finally feeling better, and I had a lot of running around to do with the two youngins in tow. Maybe I'll come back and add more later. Or maybe I'll decide that list is long enough! LOL!

The Texas Two-Step!!

So, we're in Virginia, and we're not dancing, but MY BABY TOOK HER FIRST TWO STEPS TONIGHT!!!

I am SOOOOOO excited! I thought I would be really super duper sad as she hit all these milestones, but it's not as bad as I expected! Yes, I will miss all the baby things she does, but I am really enjoying watching her grow and learn new things. And the freedom that comes with having a near-toddler! Our lives are no longer centered around feedings, and changing, and napping. She's very flexible (when she's not sick, like right now). Now, if I could just get her to clean her room! HA! Shoot, I'd be happy if she'd just nap in it! LOL!

I'm gonna add some pictures of her from tonight, then some from New Year's Eve that we spent with my sister and family. Oh, and my brother made it home safe and sound! I'm flying with the baby to see him on the 17th. Wish me luck. I have grown to hate flying. Maybe the Dr will give me some good drugs or something! Anyway, I'll quit babbling and get to posting pictures!

Aubrey just before her first steps!

This is just a super cute picture of her!

Sydney ringing in the New Year!

Rob rocking out with Gerald!

Gerald playing Rockband, while Aubrey goes in for the

sneak attack on the beer bottle (it was empty!)

Mimi! Yeah, that pretty much explains it! :D

Lucas wasn't giving up yet!

Lily made it till all of about 8:30 and I found her slumped over

on the computer desk sound asleep!

Benda WHAT? Benda WHO? BENDAROOS! The amazing, flexible, building sticks!

Our New Year's decor courtesy of my children and Bendaroos!