Breakfast Cuisine

This sweet, innocent face is all a cover-up.

I have gotten my way once again, and am eating
my new favorite breakfast food...

Go figure...second time this week she
has demanded this for breakfast?!!?

And then I look up to see this.
A wonderful way to start the day!

Later this same day, Ry looks at me and says,
"You are driving me CRAZY!"
Likewise, my dear! =)

In a moment of Christmas insanity..wait, I mean, LOVE, my sister Amy gave me a certificate (Advent Conspiracy) redeemable for a 1 night stay for Julia and Ryan @ Uncle Jeff's and Aunt Amy's house. I am sure the rope swing got some great usage during their stay!
We cashed in our certificate this weekend so we could have a fun date night Saturday and go to a Cardinal's baseball game Sunday afternoon with our small group. (Awesome seats, I might add...thank you Bash family! I didn't bring my camera for any photos of the event, but the Bash's say they'll send along a pic when they upload them..probably sometime in the next year. Don't hold your breath! =)).
Amy and Jeff scheduled a playdate with the Noyes family, to Ryan's DELIGHT. He absolutely ADORES these kids. Ok, and he has a not-so-secret crush on Mattie. Aren't they cute? McGrady, Julia, Morgan, Ryan and Mattie.

Say What?!

Since becoming a mom, I have realized we talk much more freely about bodily functions around here. In fact, sometimes I stop and just think "huh? how did we get to here?" Today was one of those days!

When changing Julia's diaper, I said "Julia, do you have diarrea?" because her diaper looked a bit runny. "Dia-rea?" she asked me? "Yup, Jules, that is what I said." Well, she took to the word..."Dia-Reeaa, dia-Reea!" And then continued running around singing her new word for the next hour! Nice!

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For the past few days, Ryan seems to have a small obsession with spitting. Spitting out his drink with a friend and laughing. (not funny). Spitting like crazy when we brush his teeth into the sink. And today I looked over and noticed he was sittingnext to Katy, her back was all wet, and he was wiping his mouth.
"Ry, did you throw up?"
"No."
"Ry, that is disgusting, we do NOT spit in this house. It is rude and disrespectful! Go to time-out RIGHT NOW!"

Then, from the time out chair I hear, "I DON'T CARE!"

Ohhhhh...well, lesson #1 in what not to tell your momma!

So I say "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?"
and he says, "I DON'T CARE!" while in unision Julia says, "Ry said 'I don't care!'"
While I stood there in total shock, Julia walked up to the time out chair, pointed her little finger at him shaking it saying, "Ry, Ry, you are in time out!"
Then she walked away and I can almost swear she rolled her eyes!

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On the way to school this morning, Ryan was naming all the boys in his class he was going to play with. "Charlie, and Gavin and Alex and Cole."
And I said, "Ry, do you ever play with any of the girls in your class?"
And he said, "Yeah, I play with Izzy. But not Ellery. She is mean! She hit me, and I hit her back. I will get her. Bamm. Bamm. Bamm!"
And before I can intercept here, he continues on, "And if I see her at church, I will get her! I will hit her, and I will kill her!"
I decide to jump in here! "Ryan, that isn't nice! Hitting is not nice! And Jesus tells us not to kill!"
Ry gets quiet and then says, "Where?"
"In the Bible!"
Defeated, he says, "Oh. Ok."

Anyone want to visit church with us? We promise not to kill ya! =)

Dress Up

I went to a neighborhood yard sale right down the street from our subdivision and picked up these little costumes for Julia...Ryan didn't want to miss out on the fashion show.

Ryan = Ariel
Julia = Tinkerbell

Daddy totally disapproved....but really, look at those faces!!
$6 well spent!

Note: Julia would have slept in this dress, had we allowed it. I promised her she could wear it again on Saturday when she woke up. The first thing she asked for when I picked her up out of her crib was "Tinkerbell pretty dress." Oh my. Since I am choosing to pick my battles these days, she wore this little gettup to Ry's soccer game. Isn't she lovely?!!?!?

Firefighters

This afternoon my escape artists snuck out the back door. (I have started thinking the backyard fence was the best investment ever!) When I heard the outside water spicket turn on, I peeked out back to find them like this. Julia tells me that they are firefighters, and Ryan tells me they are watering the garden. (Which, by the way, we do not have.)

Whatever they are, they are cute!

Playmates

All is calm on Wisteria Lane aka Fisher Price Grand Dollhouse...

Baby brother is learning how to crawl down the stairs...

Then the "real" big brother decides to come and play...
and the "real" baby sister isn't too happy
about this new playmate messing with her house.

...and so the domestic violence begins. =)

Ryan's Writing Milestones

He's writing his sweet little autograph all by himself now! =)

Prayer Request - Baby Henry

Can you guys please pray for Henry?  He is a sick little guy, and in ICU at St. Louis Children's Hospital tonight.  

My sister Amy and her husband Jeff were on a birthday weekend getaway with Megan and Eddie this past weekend when Meg's mom called her and told her she probably should come home early from their trip.  Things went from bad to worse when they returned.  You can read more about Henry (and his family) here.  

Maybe you could leave Meg a comment and let her know you're praying!

It's Broken

Tonight we decided to torture ourselves go shopping to buy the kids some summer shoes. Jeff told the kids if they were well behaved, meaning we make it through the mall without any major meltdowns and mommy still gets some fairly uninterrupted shopping time, we could go out for shakes.

The behavior was debatable in my opinion, although we still headed to Sonic.

When I handed Julia back her shake, and she tried to take a drink, she made a very frustrated noise and said, "Mommy, my shake is broken!" as she tried unsuccessfully to suck up the thick shake in her straw.

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On another note, Ryan had his second soccer game this morning. I think the score was like 25-1. Our team was the 1. Fortunately, they are all so young and oblivious none of the players seemed to care. Regardless, they are super cute to watch!

My Favorite People

Aunt Kathy and Great Papa sent the kids Easter cards with gift cards to their favorite place EVER to eat = MacDonalds. (And maybe secretly one of mine...I mean, who can turn down those fries without some MAJOR willpower?!) We decided to bring the kids there for dinner earlier this week and let them run around and play. Jeff was encouraging Julia to climb up in the play area, and asked Ryan to help her. As he climbed in the tunnel after her, we could hear him telling her: "Don't be scared, Jew-e-a. Just pray to Jesus and you won't be scared." Apparently, her faith faltered when she got to the VERY top of the playland and had to be rescued by momma. =)

Cutie!

Me: Julia, do you know you are a cutie pie?
Julia: Yea, I am a cutie. Mommy I am a cutie!

i heart the ice cream truck!

Small Groupies

Wednesday nights are fun around our house. For the past few years, we have hosted a small group, mostly of people from our church, to hang out. Alex keeps the kiddos entertained so we adults can have some "real" conversation without so much chaos. The kids have a fantastic time together...here are some of our kiddos with Alex...Madeline, Julia, Jake and Ryan.

Andrew enjoys squeaking Alex's nose.

Julia takes a ride....
only trouble is when she wants me to do this now.
I'm just not as flexible nor young as Alex! =)
Thanks, Alex, for serving us by caring for our kiddos!

Grammie Got A New WHAT?!?

Ryan: Mommy, grammie got a new boobie!
Me: WHAT? Grammie got a new what?
Ryan: A new boobie! It had Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck in it!

See what the Easter Bunny left here?

= lots of tub time fun!
The princess gets her soap crown...

Ry guy gets a beard...

Some Bunny Loves Ya!

My amazing little bunnies on Easter morning!

Fun with the family!
And notice, Julia DID wear her Easter dress!
For those of you who wondered how this was possible,
we woke her up out of a deep sleep and put it on her
while she was still mostly unconscious.

Happy Easter from us!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Amy!

Doesn't Amy just seem over the moon excited. (NOT!)
She tried to tell the waitress her name was Erica. She's a tricky one, that Aunt Amy!

Tonight we all went to church at Windsor Crossing and then to dinner at The Spaghetti Factory.

"This would ONLY happen to you." That is exactly what my sister Amy will say after reading this post.

It has been an interesting 2 days here. Things keep breaking. Like, BIG things. I keep reminding myself, "Things don't matter, people do."

I had to bring my perfectly fine running vehicle to the DMV to pass an emissions test. It failed. So I made an appointment to bring it to one of the "state recommended" facilities. (Dumb idea #1. I have a mechanic I love. WHY didn't I call him??) I talked to the guy at the mechanic place a few times yesterday. I cringed every time the phone rang, because I an not even kidding, I felt like every time he called it was going to cost me another few hundred dollars. Thursday evening we were scheduled to pick up the vehicle. Then they called and said they needed it another day. Today, he called and told me he brought it back for the emissions test and it FAILED. But he was sure once I filled up the tank with gas and drove it around this weekend until it is between 1/2 and 3/4 full --does that sound hokey to anyone else?-- that it will pass. SERIOUSLY? So tonight, we picked up the SUV and on the drive home, guess what light comes on? I heart (not) Check Engine!

Last night during the MONSOON (ok, slight exaggeration there...) Jeff noticed there appeared to be some water pooling on Julia's ceiling. I jumped up on her changing table, stuck my finger up there and part of the ceiling came off on my thumb!

(THIS is NOT ok with me!)

Water freaks me out. Partly due to this. And this. (How did I not get a pic of the mold that resulted from this and made Amy's eardrum - she is allergic - explode?) Partly because Jeff's family seems to have some type of water curse on them. Not kidding. His parents house has flooded now at least twice since we have been married. Jeff has so many more bad water memories as a kid. One, he remembers going on vacation as a kid, coming home to 3 ft of water and the family cat sitting on the television to stay dry. A few years ago, his parents bought a 5th wheel (If you don't know what that is..I didn't!..it's like a fancy RV. Internet and satellite television, and custom drapes, but it is still camping in my book.) and not long after doing so it was in a flash flood and totaled. Welcome to the family.

Anyways, so last night Jeff decides to head up in the attic to try and find out where this water is coming in. (He is thinking some vent pipe from the bathroom to the outside via the roof is our culprit). WOW. Now I know why basement storage is so popular, and people don't seem to use attics anymore. I took one peek up there and tried to forbid him to enter. It looked like a dirty snowstorm had come through. Insulation everywhere. In mounds...like dirty cotton balls all over. Oh..and our attic does NOT have a floor. So he climbed from one side of the house to the other with a flashlight strung around his head swinging from 2x4 to 2x4. What a way to make a wife nervous! I sat upstairs waiting for him to come falling through the ceiling. My prayer life got a great workout!

Oh..and then tonight Jeff ran into Home Depot to grab some part to fix something in our shower. (It was seriously something so small I never even noticed there was an issue). I am reading bedtime stories to the kids, and hear him SCREAMING in the bathroom for me to run and turn off the water to the house. Ok, SERIOUSLY. Turn off the water to the house? Honey, do you KNOW me? This, I did not learn in my Desperate Housewives 101 class. I run into our bathroom with the kids trailing behind me to find Jeff soaking wet (and the entire bathroom, for that matter) and the water shooting out that thingie that you use to turn on/off the water and control the temperature.

Shooting is an understatement. I mean, like think about how you would expect the water to shoot out of a fire hydrant. Yes, you are getting close. The fact it didn't blow him to the ground is absolutely shocking. It's a good thing we have a seat in the shower. =)

We have a FANTASTIC small group. Each of the guys in our group (how do I not have a pic of all of us, again? I will get on this!!) either called or emailed today to see if they could do anything to help. Aren't great friends AWESOME??

...So, the roof is still leaking...it is supposed to rain like the next gizillion days...my husband is blowing his nose like crazy and insulation pieces are coming out (sorry if tmi!)...the check engine light is on making passing this test and therefore being able to renew our vehicle registration impossible...but people matter, not things...and we have great friends, and a big God. One who DIED for us so so many years ago today. Something, in all this craziness, I have not spent enough time thanking him for!

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8

And, this, is what REALLY matters. Yea, God!

**I promise to post pics for this post and the last soon!!***

Dying Easter Eggs 2009

The cousins have their priorities -- must eat to keep strength to dye eggs!

Tyler, Julia, Me, Ryan and Baby Lucas anxiously waiting for our eggs to dye!

Grammie brings a little pre-Easter surprise for the kids.

Ryan "carefully" dips an egg!