Wednesday, January 21, 2009

we are back

We are back from our semi-wonderful trip to Kansas to see my brother and his family. It would have been a wonderful trip had we not all come down with the stomach bug the last two days we were there. It never fails that whenever there is a big trip planned, someone gets sick right before or during the trip. But aside from that, we did have a great time. We stayed at a fantastic place called Great Wolf Lodge where we did a lot of this


while it was doing this outside

We got to eat with the dinosaurs and do a little of this

the kids got to see this for the first time

Kayce spent a lot of time doing her most favorite thing (dressing up) and looking like this

and this

and in the end, Blake got to do this

Doesn't he make a cute little pilot.
But most importantly, we got to spend time with

the best cousins ever. We had a great time and can't wait to do it all again soon.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

I've Been Tagged!!


Thanks to my dear friend Mary Beth over at Four Silly Sisters, I have been tagged. The directions are as follows: Open a document or photo folder and choose the fifth folder and then the fifth photo in that folder. Next, post the photo with a description about it and then tag 5 friends to do the same.

So this is my picture. I actually love this picture because it is a rare find and I was able to get it on the camera. Kayce LOVES her big brother and really strives to do exactly what he does, when he does it and how he does it. Blake, on the other hand, does not always love the mini me he has running behind him and has recently started going in his room and closing the door just to get some alone time. Don't get me wrong, he does love Kayce, but he does not always show it. This picture is one of those moments when he did not mind her being in his space.

The other reason I love this picture is because this is Kayce when she is ready to snuggle and just be loved on. Thumb in mouth and blankie in hand. When she inserts her thumb and grabs that blanket you know you can head to the rocker and she will be right behind. I know that won't last long and oh how I will miss it when it is gone. But for now, she is simply to cute.

For my five tags, I choose the following:

Amanda at 2 fun sons

Lori at Peach out of Water

Marianne at Villafjolle

Since I am not huge in the blogging world, this is it for me. So I really hope you three participate and have a great time finding your fifth picture.
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Thursday, January 8, 2009

Toy Story

I live in a house made of toys. They are even in my bathroom. While I sit on the toilet doing my thing, I look around and see toys. Plastic lipstick, GI Joe men, trains, plastic pink shoes, a doll with her head turned in weird ways. I just can't escape the toys. There are times that I feel like they are watching me and laughing. I really want to purge and get rid of some but my dilemma is as such: about 99% of the toys in this house were a gift from a grandparent or an aunt or uncle. So every month as I start going through the house sneaking toys into my big black bag going to the children's shelter, my guilty little brain starts to say things like, " the next time the grandparents come to visit they will notice that this toy is not here and ask what happened and you will have to tell them that you gave it away". The big black bag gets emptied and put back under the kitchen sink and all of the toys do a happy dance because they are safe for one more month. So my question to all of you lurking out there, What do you do with all of the gifted toys that come into your home? Do you just live with toys harassing you daily by laying under foot because they just refuse to stay in their designated places or do you just show the toys who is the boss of the house and get rid of them and break the news to the ones that gifted the toys that they no longer reside at this address?? The toys are forming their game plan for the month and I refuse to go down without a fight.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Resolutions

I have never been big on resolutions and really only because I never keep them. But this year I resolve to do better. I have been thinking long and hard about this and what I really would like to change about me and/or my life. I also think that by making them public to those of you who do follow us throught this blog, I might feel that accountability to stay true to myself. So without further hesitation, here are the few resolutions I have made for myself:

1. to read my Bible everyday. I began to do this last year ( again a resolution failure) and made it all the way to Deuteronomy. I have picked up where I left off and so far have stuck to reading a couple of chapters per night.

2. to be a more patient mother and wife. There are really times that I am ready to throw the towel in with my kids and my husband (don't tell them I said that). These feeling really show their head when Blake and kayce are scraping and screaming at the top of their lungs, when I have asked Darren to do something (like take a library book back on his way to the store) and realize a week later that the same library book is sitting on the counter and I am getting nasty emails from our local librarian. This year I resolve to not focus on the negative and instead realize that the kids are kids and Darren does most everything I ask him so if he forgets one little thing, I will patiently and positively respond.

3. to hire a housekeeper. In the perfect world I would already have one. Doing housework feels like I am about to have to rip out my toenails. I know this sounds lazy and I do agree but this is my one pet peeve. Somehow, someway I will find a housekeeper that I can afford and welcome her into my home with open arms.

There you go. Whether you are interested or not, that is what I resolve to do in the year 2009.
On another note, the kids are doing great. We had a great holiday season with lots of wonderful time with both sets of grandparents. The kids LOVE to spend time with the grandparents and I am so glad that they have such a close relationship with them. Blake is becoming quite the train lover. He now has a geotrax layout in our familyroom, a thomas the train table and layout in his room and now a L&N layout on a roll-away platform that he and Darren built which he can roll under his bed when he is not playing with it. Kayce also loves the trains but spends much more time at her vanity table putting on her make up and combing her hair. Most of the time they are both loving all over one another and the rest of the time they are fighting and screaming. True siblings in the making.