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.

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.

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.

Only 5 more days!!

I love Christmas!! This has not always been how I felt but I really do love it now. I love giving gifts to everyone, I love all of the opportunities to get together with friends and family, I love the smells and lights, and most importantly, I love that this is when our savior was born. I feel very blessed this year as I have two healthy, beautiful children who drive me out of my mind sometimes, but who I love more that anything else in this world. I love how Blake is coming into his own. He loves to get on the computer now and watch trains on Youtube and he knows how navigate the computer all on his own. I love when he tells me I am his best friend and gives me big hugs (because I don't get them when I want them anymore) and I love watching him be a big brother (when he is not body slamming Kayce into the tile floor). It is amazing to me how opposite my two children are. Besides the obvious gender issue, Kayce is a very calm and content child. She does not need to be entertained, she will snuggle for hours in our arms and she is very unsure of new situations and people. Blake is very energetic and constatnly moving from one thing to another. It is very rare that he is not in the same room with us, regardless of which room we are in. He is a social butterfly who never meets a stranger. He can make friends with a wall if you give him enough time. And I love every trait of each of my children just the same. My favorite thing to do at this time of year is to sit next to the Christmas tree, all lit up, and just thank God for every blessing I have in my life. Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas from the Singletons

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

YUCK!!

I have many weaknesses but I know my biggest weakness is vomit. I think God knows this because he blessed me with a child who has only thrown up once or twice in his life. Unfortunately, this record is officially broken. Blake woke up around 4:30 am coughing. Darren got up with him and tried to put him back to bed and right when Blake was climbing the ladder, he hurled all over the bottom bunk and floor. So we cleaned him up and got him back to bed. I prayed the rest of morning that it was just a fluke. He got up and ate breakfast and acted fine. He said he wanted to go to school and stay for pizza. I was so happy. Well, 30 minutes after dropping him off I get a phone call fromt he school saying he is complaining and wants to go home. I start praying again and head to pick him up. Seems that right before I arrived, he hurled again. So I officially braced myself for a day of throwing up and started to plan out the best was to deal with my adversion to vomit and my child who is now vomiting. I got him home, bathed him and got him to sip on some Gatoraide. I then covered the couch with a waterproof crip sheet, towels and put a bucket next to the couch. I explained to Blake the importance of hitting the bucket if he felt sick again. As expected, he started feeling the need to vomit again and bless his heart, he hit the bucket. I am so proud of him and relieved. I now am waiting for the dr to call in some Zofran so we can make through the weekend. I have disinfected my entire house and am now praying that this is only 24 hours and that Kayce will not get it. I can almost guarantee that she will not be able to hit the bucket and my palms are already sweating thinking about it. I hate illness!!!!!

I'm finally back

I bet you all thought that I had retired from the blogging world. You would be right in your line of thinking but I am now back. I guess I went through a long moment of writers block. But after a long break, I feel like I can start to update the blog again. The sad thing is, not much has changed from my last post. Really!! Other than the kids getting older things are pretty much the same here. The weather is still hot, the kids are still wild and I am still doing the same things day in and day out. Kayce is starting to think about talking instead of screaming for everything. She still knows how to play with cars and planes much better than she does with baby dolls. Blake is still 200% all boy. He is well trained in the selective hearing department but is getting somewhat better depending on the day. One difference is that they are finally learning how to play together instead of aggravating one another. As I type this, they are both playing Blake's GeoTrax and have been for the past 30 minutes. That I am thankful for. So, even though I am back in the swing of blogging, we are still doing the same things as before. Hope eveyone is doing well.