The Williams Five

The School Year Begins

2011-09-06T16:06:00.001-07:00

The school year came so quickly this year and yet I think we were all ready for it to start. There may have been some apprehension about getting up early, and how the first day would go but things went off without a hitch! The kids were up and ready to go with enough time to play.

Collin is in 5th grade this year. This will be his last year in elementary school! He is happy to have his same teacher as last year with most of the same students.

Brian is a big second grader this year. He is in a 2nd/3rd split so half of the students are in 3rd grade in his class. We are excited to see what this year will bring in the class!

Allison would like to start school but still has 2 more years. However she loves to help out with me at the school. We spent the first day in the school helping out all day! She was loving being there again. I think she missed everyone over the summer.

Christmas Day

2010-12-30T10:43:00.000-08:00

This year we were able to celebrate Christmas with my parents. It was a relaxing time and we all had a great time. We spent all day Friday making fudge and truffles, and then went to the Christmas eve service at Good Shepherd Community Church. It was a great service with fabulous music and a story told from the point of view of one of the shepherd's in the fields when the angel appeared. They called all the kids to go up front to hear the story but still being new to the church, the boys wouldn't go up. Instead they sat up in their seats and listened intently.

Christmas morning dawned rainy and windy, but luckily not early! The kids slept in until 7:00! It was fun watching everyone open their gifts. We sent Collin on a treasure hunt for one of his gifts, a desk for his room. He went from the living room, to downstairs, to the garage, back downstairs and eventually ended up in our bedroom where we had it set up.

The rest of the day was spent playing games and just hanging out. We watched movies and enjoyed being together.

I hope that your Christmas was spent with family and that you also had a great time celebrating our Savior's birth! The aftermath!

Brian's new favorite toy...an ipod shuffle.

Brian got a pogo stick.

The kids passed out all the presents.

Papa came upstairs and immediately went back to sleep before we even started opening gifts!

2010-12-19T07:16:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas

2010-12-19T07:11:00.000-08:00

Wow has it been a long time since I've posted on here. There is so much to add in order to be up to date but for now I thought I would just say Merry Christmas. If you would like to catch up on our year you can read our Christmas letter and see pics from this past year here.

I hope this Christmas season finds you all healthy and happy!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Williams!

Allison's First Haircut

2010-02-05T16:06:00.000-08:00

Allison's hair was starting to look pretty scraggily and she had quite the mullet going so we decided it was time for her to get a haircut. And what better time than when Great Clips was having their $7.99 special! We had tried trimming her bangs a couple of times but agreed that it was time for a professional to take over.

She looked this serious the whole time she was getting her haircut. But she sat perfectly still and very quietly.

The stylist was great with Allison and was very impressed with how well she did. She saved some of the curls for me and put it in a card that said baby's first haircut on it.

Here is an after shot of her new do. I was concerned that her curls would be gone, but as you can see she still has them!

All day she kept pointing to her hair and saying "haircut" although it sounded more like "carecut." She loves her cut!

Two Weeks and Counting

2010-02-04T14:53:00.001-08:00

In exactly 2 weeks we will be loading up a moving truck and then we will officially be Oregon residents. The kids have been doing great about moving. Every now and then they talk about not wanting to leave their school or church but for the most part they are looking forward to the new adventure.

We are very excited to move into our new house although that won't be until sometime in April. In the meantime we have rented a house in Oregon City. I'm sure I will post pics of our move as well as pics of our house once we move in. I will update our mailing address as well.

Be sure to keep us in your prayers as we go through this transition. Especially pray for the kids as this is a pretty big transition for them and they are sad to leave their friends.

Count them, 10 New Posts!

2009-12-30T14:22:00.000-08:00

So I finally got around to updating the posts. I don't know why I can't seem to do this on a regular basis. I'm on the computer enough it shouldn't be an issue! I posted 10 new posts so you will probably have to click on older posts in order to see them all.

Christmas Day

2009-12-30T14:16:00.000-08:00

We got up early on Christmas morning and drove down to Edmonds to celebrate Christmas with my family. We had a beautiful drive down on this white Christmas morning. It wasn't snow it was frost, but it was still pretty. We had such a great couple of days with family playing Settlers, Nertz and watching movies. I didn't take a lot of pictures, but here are a few. Okay so this pic wasn't at Dina's house, but this is Allison in her new snow outfit, gloves and hat. Isn't she a cutie?

Christmas with the Cousins

2009-12-30T14:09:00.000-08:00

This year we got together with Fred, Trina and the boys on Christmas eve for a yummy dinner of roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy and biscuits. It was very impromtu but Trina came through with a pecan pie and apple pie. We had a great time eating, opening gifts and playing Settlers.

I bought Trina a gift card but decided to wrap it in a box and put a whole bunch of garbage like end of the roll wrapping paper tubes and an empty hotel size botel of whiskey to make the box seem like something was in it. We knew she would get a kick out of that!

Allison got a new kitchen and has lots of fun playing with it. She especially like the egg that came with it.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-30T14:04:00.000-08:00

Since we were going to Dina's house for Christmas we decided to open our gifts on Christmas Eve morning. We bought the kids a Wii this year and wanted to give them a chance to play it before we left.

This is them opening up the "big" gift. They were so excited to get a Wii this year and we have had such a great time playing all the new games together!

Visit From Santa

2009-12-30T14:00:00.000-08:00

The big debate has been on this year as to whether or not Santa exists. Collin was so sure that he didn't, but between the neighbor girl and the boys the debate was getting pretty serious. We were going to be having Christmas on Christmas eve so the problem was getting Santa to come to our house the night before Christmas Eve. So that day the boys sent an email (I love technology) to Santa letting him know they needed him to come a day early. We made cookies and left them on a plate along with a note from each of the boys. The next morning they got up and were so excited to see that the cookies had been eaten and SANTA HAD LEFT A NOTE!!! The look on their faces says it all!

Christmas Program

2009-12-30T13:55:00.000-08:00

December 20th was our church Christmas program. The kids did a great job. Brian sang 2 songs and said a memory verse then they got to dress up as Angels and run around the church while the choir sang Angels we have heard on high. It was very cute. Collin got to sing with all the big kids. They sang several songs and did a very nice job. Then there was a drama that went from the birth of Christ all the way to his death on the cross set to a song. It was very powerful!

First Snow of the Year

2009-12-30T13:53:00.000-08:00

In December we had our first snow of the season. Allison couldn't wait to get out into the snow and of course Collin and Brian were very pleased to find out school was 2 hours late. They had lots of fun playing in the snow before having to go to school.

Halloween

2009-12-30T13:47:00.000-08:00

I know what you are thinking. Halloween? It's almost the new year. I know, I know I am once again playing catch up. Just enjoy the pics and be glad that I finally got them posted. We had a ladybug, Spiderman, and a Seahawk this year for Halloween. We went trick or treating around the neighborhood and then went to our church for a fair. Lots of fun was had by all. Allison really got into the whole candy thing. Here she is with her best friend, Hannah.

Allison is Two

2009-12-30T12:41:00.000-08:00

The day after Thanksgiving Allison had her birthday. She turned 2! She wasn't very interested in opening her presents, but after awhile she finally got into it. She got a baby doll and stroller and then put all of her present into the stroller and ran around the house pushing them all in the stroller the rest of the day. She seemed very pleased with what she got and was so cute to watch. I made ladybug cupcakes for her and she certainly enjoyed making a mess with them!

6...Really?

2009-12-30T08:30:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving day Brian turned 6. Wow where does the time go. It's hard to believe that he is the age Collin was when we moved here. It's also hard to believe that he wasn't quite 3 yet when we moved. He is doing well as a kindergartner and loves to go to school. He is big into transformers and super big into legos. He loves to go online and show me all the different lego sets. He will sit there for hours if I let him and just go through all the different sets. He is still my cuddlebug and needs to cuddle with me every day. Which I am happy to do! He also loves to cook with me in the kitchen. He is learning how to read and surprises me how quickly he is picking it up. He is good at math and even goes to a 1st grade class for his math. He is such a joy to us. Happy Birthday Brian! You can tell that he fits right in with this family. The theme he chose for his birthday was Seahawks! He was very adamant that he did not want his cake to say happy birthday but instead he wanted it to say SEAHAWKS ROCK!

Brian Baking

2009-12-30T08:25:00.000-08:00

Brian was really excited about his birthday this year. It happened to fall on Thanksgiving which meant that we had family here to celebrate with us. He couldn't wait to help make his birthday cake. He had been begging me since Collin's birthday to let him help with his cake. So here we are making his birthday cake with all the proper attire that goes with baking!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-21T14:29:00.000-08:00

This year I have made a Christmas letter online. You can check it out here and remember to sign the guestbook.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Four Eyes?

2009-11-21T10:19:00.000-08:00

Collin gets to sport some pretty cool glasses now. Doesn't he look handsome? He was pretty excited when they came in and for the week beforehand I got to listen to "are they ready yet?" It was worth the wait though and he did a great job picking them out. He was pretty excited to show them off at school and thinks it's funny that he can be called 4 eyes. Don't ask me why. Don't mind the boxes in the background... ;)

Another Year Older

2009-11-09T06:59:00.000-08:00

A week ago Sunday Collin turned 9. It's hard to believe that 9 years ago I was in the hospital with this tiny little bundle screaming at the top of his lungs all night long. We were just beginning this journey of parenting. 9 years later he is in 3rd grade and very much his own person. He is an amazing young man who is very bright, very caring and a great artist. He has a huge imagination and I love reading the books that he creates. It's hard to believe that he is already halfway to technically being an adult. Will the next 9 years go as fast as the last 9? I don't know if I'm ready for that! We love you, Collin and can't wait to see where the next 9 years takes us (but can you slow it down just a little?)!

Collin wanted a Ben 10 cake (it's a boy thing). It was actually fun to make it.
What better way to decorate than using the white board and Ben 10 drawings courtesy of the birthday boy himself. I did the writing though.

He was super excited to get a Bakugan (again a boy thing).

He was also excited to get 3 transformers. The boys took off for the rest of the evening playing with them. Lots of fun!

Uncle Fred, Aunt Trina and their cousins came over to celebrate.

Even Grandma and Grandpa got to be here!

Visiting Family

2009-11-03T13:58:00.000-08:00

My Aunt Debbie came out to Washington this summer and we drove down to Puyallup to see her and my cousins. It was great to see them, but wish it could have been a much longer trip. Unfortunately our camera lens got smudged and we didn't realize it until after we had taken all of our pictures. We have since cleaned it off.

What a Big Girl

2009-11-03T13:56:00.000-08:00

Allison has decided to start potty training herself. I really need to try and video her when she needs to go. She reaches down and grabs her diaper and starts walking towards the bathroom like that whispering "pee, pee pee." It is so cute.

Swimming Lessons

2009-11-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

Both boys took swimming lessons this summer at the Aquatic Center in Bellingham. They both enjoyed the 2 weeks of lessons. Collin learned how to dive into the deep end. He did a great job. Brian was a little scared of the water and had a hard time putting his face in until the last day of lessons. Overall it was lots of fun though.

The Little Dipper

2009-11-03T07:27:00.000-08:00

Allison loved swimming this summer. She was not afraid of the water which made me nervous. In the swimming pool she didn't want to be held or wear a life jacket. She went under a few times but that didn't even phase her. I think she is going to do well with swimming as she gets older.

The First Big Ride

2009-11-03T07:21:00.000-08:00

This summer Brian finally decided he was ready for a ride on Daddy's motorcycle. Up to this point he has been terrified of it. He wouldn't even sit on it when it wasn't running. Then one day he asked for a ride so we couldn't pass up on the opportunity. He absolutely loved it!

WWII B-17 Bomber

2009-10-30T07:41:00.000-07:00

This summer we decided to take the kids to the local museum of flight. A WWII B-17 Bomber was visiting and giving rides (for $250 per person and no we did not go on a ride!). We wanted to take the kids to see it. It was a great family outing and we even ended up having our picture in the Bellingham Herald. We also found that the museum has a lot of really need things. We probably could have stayed there for a couple more hours, except the kids were done. It turned out to be such a great family day though.

Here is a picture of us by a MASH jeep. Too bad the kids have no idea how cool that is!
They had a good time walking underneath the planes.

Looking through the door af a plane.

Here is the B-17 Bomber

Okay I'll admit this has nothing to do with the museum of flight, but isn't she cute playing with her kitchen in her jammies?

A Bright New Beginning

2009-09-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

Today dawned cold and cloudy but that could do nothing to dampen the spirits of the boys on this, their first day of school. Here are some pics highlighting the day.

Okay so this has nothing to do with the first day of school, nor did it happen today but it was in the bunch of pictures downloaded and she's just too cute to not include here.

Here are the boys with their backpacks and lunches. They would not hear of getting their picture taken without their little sister. Before I know it she will be going to school right along with them. Sigh.

Here we go to kindergarten orientation. Brian's was from 1:30 - 3:30 so we were able to spend the morning together. By this time the sun was out and it was quite warm so if you are noticing that he isn't wearing the same outfit, don't worry it is still the same day! He was super excited and couldn't wait to go.

Brian found his hook for the year and proudly hung his ninja turtle backpack.

Allison came with us to orientation. She did great for about an hour then wanted to be down running around the classroom. She was quite the disturbance.

Brian unpacking all his school supplies and putting them away. Once he got that ream of paper out I think his pack was much lighter!

He got to decorate his nametag.

Here his teacher Mrs. Pennylegion is giving the kids a tour of the classroom.

I think we can safely say that today was a successful first day of school. Collin was thrilled to go back and see all his friends and his teacher. He has the same as last year and most of the same kids as well. He is a big third grader now and was excited to be able to go on the zip line on the playground that only 3rd graders and older can play on! When I asked how his day went and what he did all he said is they did math.

Brian as excited as he was to go to his first day was pretty wiped out by the afternoon and got a little frustrated with trying to do some writing. They worked on a book about his first day there and not even halfway through he was done. He did great sitting with the other kids and listening to his new teacher. A few times he had to be reminded that he could play with Allison at home. At the end he got to go on a tour of the school and find the library, lunch room, gym (which is the same as the lunch room) and the office. He got to stamp in a little book for each place he stopped. Overall it was a pretty good day. He goes on Friday for his first full day. Mom is a little nervous, but Brian is looking forward to it!

Is It Fall Already?

2009-08-31T08:33:00.000-07:00

Brian has his kindergarten assesment today. I can't believe he is starting kindergarten this week! Is he really old enough? Where does time go. The crazy part is that he is now the same age Collin was when we moved here. He has officially lived here longer than he lived in Kent. Is that really possible? I just can't believe it!

This week will be a crazy one. With kindergarten assesment today, first day of school for Collin Wednesday and kindergarten orientation for Brian and I, and Brian's first official day of school on Friday. We are bummed that Steve is going to miss it. He started the project down in Oregon today. He is gone just for the week this time and boy am I glad for that. It will be good to have him home for one more week next week.

I'll post pics this week of the week, and hopefully some summer highlights too.

Smorgasboard

2009-06-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

Behind AGAIN?????

Yep, that's right. I am behind again. This post almost catches me up, but not quite. So hopefully you can expect another post tomorrow. If the heat doesn't kill me first! Hope you enjoy what has been going on here in our lives.

Field Trip to Pioneer Park

Collin's class was studying pioneer's and they went on a field trip to Pioneer Park. For those of you not familiar, Pioneer Park is a park right here in Ferndale that consists of a several original cabins and houses, even a church and a school from when Ferndale was first established. The kids were able to see what life was like back then and were even able to participate in a traditional school using feathers for pens, chopping wood for chores, making candles and mailing letters. It was a pretty fun day that I was able to participate in. This was the first field trip of Collin's I've been able to go on and was super excited to get to go.

Mother's Day Tea

The week of Mother's Day the preschool had a special Mother's Day Tea for all of us. The kids had worked so hard on some songs to sing and they did a great job. The tables were beautifully set with flowers, pretty glass tea and plate sets. We had fruit and muffins along with tea for the moms and apple juice for the kids. Brian had made a quilt square out of a picture that he drew for me. It was even coordinating with his class color. One of the moms was nice enough to work with each one of the kids in each preschool class (72 in all) to work on these quilts. They were very nice! The wrapping had Brian's hand prints on it in paint. It was a great afternoon.

Fun in the Sun

Allison's first experience with the sprinkler. She had been watching Brian play and wanted so bad to get in on the fun. So we put her in her bathing suit and brought her out. When the water hit her she took off running and crying. Once we turned the water down she did much better though. I was also able to find a scooter for her at a garage sale and she has had tons of fun riding on it.

Brian's Last Day of Preschool (sob)

Last Thursday was Brian's very last day of preschool. It was a very sad occasion. I had to keep reminding him that he would be in Kindergarten next year and then he was fine, I on the other hand did not do so well. It was very difficult to leave that last day. It was a great year though. Christ Lutheran Christian Preschool was such a great experience for Brian. They went on field trips, had Daddy night where they carved pumpkins, had a Mother's Day tea, they made a scrapbook of the year for each one of the kids, they had concerts. It really was a great place and I look forward to Allison going in a few years too!

Checking his cubby for the LAST time.

Brian and his teacher, Mrs. Johnson.

Playing on the playground for the LAST time.

This was always Allison's highlight of the day...getting to play on the playground when we went to pick up Brian. Fun times, she never wanted to leave!

One of Brian's favorite activities on the playground.

Brian's LAST time with the share bag. I think it was his spiderman costume. Oh the memories!

Kleenex Anyone?

2009-06-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

Who knew Kleenex could be so much fun? Just had to share this little video clip with you because I thought it was so cute. We had been doing this for quite some time before I thought to get it on video. I'm not kidding this could have gone on for hours, but alas I figured I better put an end to it before she put an end to our kleenex!

Tulip Festival

2009-05-03T17:48:00.000-07:00

With Steve being gone all last week and then again this week we decided that a family fun day was in order. So after Sunday school we headed down to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. It was a very fun day. We had a picnic lunch at one of the local farms and the boys enjoyed some ice cream. Then they had a great time playing at a small playground at the farm. Even Allison had a great time. She especially loved the slide. It was all I could do to hold on to her until Steve could get to the bottom of the slide to catch her. Then off to the tulip fields! They were gorgeous, of course. I had fun trying out a setting on my camera for flowers and I think it paid off. We got some great shots. Here are some pics highlighting out day.

AWANA Awards Ceremony

2009-04-29T20:03:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the awards ceremony for AWANA. Both boys have worked so hard this year in order to finish their books. Brian finished his second Cubbie book and will be a big Sparky next year! Collin not only finished his 3rd and final Sparky book, but also finished his second Sparky book that he had not finished the year before. He got his second book ribbon as well as his Sparky plaque! Next year he will be in Truth & Training. I am just shocked, where did the time go? We weren't able to stay for the AWANA auction and had to scoot out of there as soon as both boys got their awards because poor Brian has croup and I was working hard to keep him away from the other kids.

Collin showing off his plaque.

Plaque and Second year ribbon.

Here is Brian and his Cubbie leader, Teacher Doralee. You can tell that he isn't feeling well.

I was having a hard time getting a picture of the elusive Brian. He wasn't on stage very much since he was sick. :(

Well, there's his back anyway.

Here are the Cubbies singing the Cubbie song. Don't look for Brian too hard. He isn't there since he couldn't be with the other kids.

Here is Brian, sad since he couldn't be with all his friends. But we went to McDonald's afterwards to make up for it.

Egyptians and Fully Clothed Bathers

2009-04-21T07:19:00.000-07:00

Brian fell on the walk to pick up Collin from school so when we got home I put him in the bathtub to soak his owie. He got his knee pretty good, we ended up having to go home and were late getting Collin. So while I was busy cleaning his knee, Allison came in and was splashing in the water. The next thing I knew she had gone headfirst into the water! Clothes and all, but she was happy as a clam. So of course I needed to get some pics.

While all of this was going on in the bathroom, Collin was having his own fun in the backyard. We "caught" him posing Egyptian style on the playset while the sprinkler was on behind him. We couldn't pass up this photo op either.

Then we decided the photos were just not capturing the full effect, so Steve took a video. He had the camera sideways and I can't figure out how to rotate it (Denise, any way to do that?) so you'll have to watch it sideways, sorry. It's very funny though!

Catch up Monday

2009-04-13T11:02:00.000-07:00

So rather than do housework today I thought it was time to spend some time catching up on my blogging. So I believe I posted 4 new posts. Hope you have fun catching up on what we've been up to. Hopefully in the future I will not take as long to post!

Easter pics

2009-04-13T10:47:00.000-07:00

How many eggs can you find hidden in this picture?

Easter Sunday

2009-04-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

We had a very nice Easter this year. On Saturday the kids dyed a few eggs. They had a great time. Allison wanted to get in on it, but I just gave her some paper to color on instead. Maybe next year!

Sunday morning we went to church and it was a really nice service. They gave everyone flowers when we came in and during the service they brought in a cross covered in chicken wire. The talked about how Christ is no longer on the cross and now it represents life. So we were going to transform it into something living. Then they had the whole congregation bring up their flowers and put them in the chicken wire. It was a beautiful representation of how the cross represents life. So cool! Then at the end of the service during the last song they had all the kids in children's church (Brian included) run up to the stage with palm leaves waving them. It was very cute.

After church we came home and had a nice afternoon. We played games with the boys, had a nice dinner and of course did the whole Easter basket and egg hunt for the kids. We talked to the boys about what Easter means. I was so proud of them because they do know what we celebrate on Easter! When we would say "He is risen" they would respond "He is risen indeed!" What a great day!

Fun with Friends

2009-04-13T09:48:00.000-07:00

Over spring break I was reminded of just how great my friends are. Several of them decided to drive up for a playdate on Thursday. I can't tell you how much it meant to me to know that they would drive all the way up here just for the afternoon. Not only that but they brought lunch and and Easter egg hunt! How great are they?! I was even surprised by Kristin Finnestad who came up (and didn't mention a thing when we were chatting on facebook earlier that day) after just returning from Argentina. It was so great to see her!! Here are a few shots to show just how much fun we all had. The boys were so excited to see their friends, but I think it was a toss up as to who was more excited: them or me!

Just for Fun

2009-04-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

Recently it was time to register Brian for kindergarten. He is very excited to go to school with Collin although he will miss preschool. Luckily several of his preschool friends will be going to the same school next year. So the evening before kindergarten registration wouldn't you know that Brian decided to draw himself a mustache. The picture is blurry, but I think you can still see his 'stache!

Allison has her very own rocking chair that a couple months ago she noticed was in her room. She has so much fun climbing up in her chair and rocking. It took her a little while to figure out how to get out of the chair, but she is so proud of herself that she can climb in on her own.

AWANA Grand Prix

2009-04-13T09:23:00.000-07:00

A couple months ago the kids participated in the AWANA Grand Prix at church. They were very excited with their designs and Steve did a great job making them. Collin's school bus came in second and third in his races, but did not make it to the final round. Brian's Batman car was smokin' and won first place in all of his races. He won first place in the Cubbie division, unfortunately there were no trophies for the Cubbies, but it was fun anyway. Brian's car was the most popular and everytime it raced all the kids were chanting "Batman, Batman, Batman" which made it even more fun for the boys!

2009-03-16T11:12:00.001-07:00

Last month Michelle and Natali' came to visit. It was great to finally get to see this precious new bundle of joy and get to hold her. She is such a sweetie. I had a great time visiting with Michelle and am so glad she was able to "pop" in for a couple hours. Here are some pics from our afternoon.

Milestone....?

2009-03-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

Today Allison had her first timeout. Yep, that's right a timeout. It was all I could do not to laugh, but I just could not allow her fit to go without consequences. We had been playing outside for quite awhile when I decided it was time to go in. Afterall there is still snow on the ground. So I usher her into the house (against her will) and can only imagine what the neighbors are thinking as she is screaming. We get inside and I crouch down at her level and talk to her about how much fun we had and she shrieked. Yep, shrieked. She would not look at me either. At least not face to face but I could see her little eyes looking off to the side in my direction just waiting to see what I would do. I did not even bat an eye. Then she threw her toy down and gave me the same sideways glance and then shrieked again. So I picked up the toy and whisked her off to her room (and those of you who have taken love and logic will get a kick out of this) in a sing song voice saying "Uh oh looks like a little bit of room time coming up here. That's okay I'll see you when you're sweet." Then I closed the door and walked away.

When I went back in 2 minutes later I kneeled down and gave her a hug. She grabbed on tight, but as soon as she was done she ran to the other side of the room, gave me a dirty look (I kid you not) and then shrieked again. So I said "Uh oh" and closed the door again. This time when I came in a minute later she was much happier and ready to play.

I guess even at almost 16 months it isn't too early to start. She is really getting an attitude and although it is super cute, I really shouldn't allow her to get away with it. We don't want a spoiled little princess now do we?

I have it out for my finger

2009-03-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

It's true. For some reason my ring finger on my right hand is not faring well. It's not that I am sabotoging my finger on purpose. Really, I'm not. But for some reason this finger this week is prone to cuts. Earlier this week I was doing the dishes. I had been working on them for all of about 10 seconds (maybe less) when I put my hand in the sink to rearrange the stack of dishes that I had piled in the sink when I felt the sharp pain of a knife slice along the side of my finger. I decided at that time the best thing would be to leave the dishes for later that day.

Now fast forward a few days to yesterday. The slice in my finger is still healing, but it is to the point where it really does not hinder me anytime I have to go anywhere near water. I am working feverishly on a sewing project that I am determined to finish before Allison wakes from her nap. Because of said feverish pace I am not really paying much attention to the pins that I have in the material. Before I realize what has happened, one of the pins sticks into the pad of my finger and rips about a half inch gash up my finger. That's right, rips it. No nice clean slice this time. Do you realize how difficult it is for a rip in your skin to close. Trust me, much harder than a nice clean slice. I do not recommend ripping your skin if at all possible. Of course it is the same finger that is still working so hard to heal.

Today it is still sore, but I'm hoping that it will heal quickly. At least Steve is now home to do the dishes for me!

Things I've Learned This Week:

2009-03-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

That it is much harder to keep a cut that ripped the skin closed than a slice from a sharp knife. (story to follow)

That rice milk does not make for good chocolate pudding.

That the kids CAN spend and hour and a half in a store without having a meltdown if they each have a $25 gift card to spend.

That we can survive 2 weekends in a row without Daddy and still come out relatively unscathed.

That I was still thrilled he decided to come home Friday night instead of Saturday!

That Allison is super cute and has so much personality and I have thoroughly enjoyed her this week.

That I have an issue with pride when I successfully complete a sewing project (even though that had something to do with my ripped skin).

That no matter how hard on work on keeping the kitchen clean it will only stay that way until the next meal a few hours later.

That library books seem to disappear in our house.

That you can only renew library books so many times until you are forced to find the book and return it. Where on earth could Batman: The Mad Hatter have gone?

Thanks for listening to my life's lessons for this week. Hope you had some good lessons this week too.

January and February Highlights

2009-02-15T14:48:00.000-08:00

I know it's been awhile since I posted last and a lot has happened in that time. Rather than bore you all with the details, I thought I would just share the pics. We celebrated Christmas with my family when my sister and her family flew up from Arkansas, visited with both sets of grandparents, played in the snow both at home and at Mt. Baker, played with the kids' cousin Leah, quick trip to the beach, Brian's preschool winter concert (since it was cancelled in December) and of course the few pics of Allison just cuz she's cute.

Can you say brrrrr!!

The girls in their matching jammies. Thanks Grammy.

Allison and Aunt Crisi

The cousins together for the first time in 2 years. Way too long between visits!!

Allison is going to be my little helper. She loves putting on my apron and sweeping, or wiping down her highchair or face with a wet rag. She is so cute!

The kids love to sleep in the living room any chance they get!

This picture was taken before we knew about her allergies. One of her favorite things has always been getting into the bread drawer!

Allergy difficulties

2009-01-30T11:47:00.000-08:00

I think by now most of you already know, but figured I would post anyway. We found out that Allison has several food allergies. We knew that she was allergic to dairy because everytime we had anything from that category (sour cream, milk, cream cheese, etc.) she would break out in hives everywhere it touched. But we had no idea just how many foods she is allergic to. Wednesday she went to the allergist to discuss the results and how to proceed. Although it was a great appointment I am now feeling at a loss. Her list is very extensive. Wheat, dairy, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, oats, barley. I know that there are many places out there that have ideas and recipes, but I am having a hard time finding any that encompasse ALL of her allergies and not just some. It is pretty hard to eliminate all of those from recipes. So if you have any ideas or suggestions, websites you know about, anything at all let me know.

Christmas Day with most of my Family

2008-12-30T13:48:00.000-08:00

Christmas Day my sister Dina and her husband, James came over for dinner and to open stockings. We get to celebrate Christmas in January with my whole family when Crisi, Rickey and Leah fly up! I can't wait!!

We had a great day with everyone having a nice ham dinner, lots of sweets, stockings, and finished off with a movie. There were lots of lightsaber battles, IronMan running around, as well as the Incredible Hulk. We also were able to enjoy the snow. It was so beautiful and fun to watch it come down on Christmas day.

James, Brian and Dina.

Grammy, Collin and Papa.

Isn't Allison so cute in her Christmas dress?

My cousin Megan and Allison.

Allison got stuck in a big piece of styrofoam. Being the good mom I am I took a picture rather than help her out!

Christmas Morning

2008-12-30T11:23:00.000-08:00

Christmas eve was lots of fun with Fred and Trina, and shortly after they left my parents and cousin, Megan arrived. We had a nice evening visiting, and then getting the excited kidlets to sleep. They decided to sleep in the family room (which is where the fireplace where Santa would come down if he was real is located.). Collin was pretty sure that Santa doesn't exist, but not convinced enough that he totally wrote it off. He and Brian brought their sleeping bags in and got comfy in the recliner and couch. They were planning on catching Santa in the act. Brian even went so far as to say that he was going to sleep with his eyes open. Collin set some "traps" so that he would hear if Santa came. He put loud toys all over the floor in front of the fireplace. Then he wrote a note to Santa that said "Dear Santa, This is Collin W. Sorry for all the pain but I need to know if you are real." We were trying so hard not to crack up and he was so serious! Once they finally fell asleep we snuck over and filled the stockings that were hanging over the fireplace. In the morning we asked them if Santa was real and if he came. Collin still isn't sure since he fell asleep, but Brian is convinced that he is real because there were presents in their stockings!

Surprisingly we were able to sleep in Christmas morning. At least Steve and I were able to. My parents who were sleeping in the living room were not so lucky. (hee hee hee) Once we got up and drank some coffee I made a very healthy breakfast that consisted of cheesy buscuits with lots of butter and scones with red and green white chocolate chips. Okay, not so healthy but awfully good! At around 9:30 I think it was the kids were finally opening stockings! They were so patient all morning.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

Allison and Papa

Brian lounging in his new Iron Man jammies.

Glow in the dark Transformer underwear! Woo hoo!!

Just hangin out by the food. Her favorite thing.

Eating scones and biscuits.

The boys waiting so patiently to open their presents.

Allison showing Megan her new toys.

Allison and Grammy

The boys each got 2 lightsabers and Allison was quick to grab one and join in the battle!

Superman!

Allison's new "cell" phone. She was so excited and can be seen walking all over with it.

Christmas Eve with the Williams Families

2008-12-30T11:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas eve we were able to get together with Steve's side of the family (minus his parents). We had a good time opening gifts, eating sweets, drinking coffee and playing cards.

Some of the cousins being silly.

Andrew carrying Allison and so proud of himself.

Levi and Trina waiting to open gifts.

The Week Before Christmas

2008-12-30T10:52:00.000-08:00

Are you in for the long haul. Here it is the week after Christmas and have I got some photos for you! We were happy to have Steve home for the whole week of Christmas, and as a bonus the last 2 days the week before that because of the snow! It was nice to have all 5 of us home for that long and it was hard to see Steve go back to work yesterday. I'm glad that school doesn't start until next week though. It would have been even harder jumping right back into all routines so suddenly!

We had a great week getting ready for Christmas. There was baking with the kids, last minute shopping, playing in the snow and then of course getting together with family. Here are some pics highlighting our week.

Collin made peppermint bark all by himself and did a great job!

Brian and I had fun cutting out the cookies.

The boys lasted through about 3 cookies and then left the rest for Steve to finish!

Allison has started climbing. She even tries to climb onto the coffee table but luckily it is too tall for her yet.

This is what we woke up to in the garage one morning. Yep, snowing in the garage!

Brian playing with one of his birthday toys.

Collin also playing with one of his birthday toys.

Our camera was having issues, so you'll just have to trust me that the boys are sledding here. Brian is coming down the hill, and Collin is walking back up.

Christmas program

2008-12-21T11:59:00.001-08:00

This year both boys were able to participate in the Christmas program at church. They were very excited, especially Collin as he had a speaking part. He got to be a wiseman. It was a lot of fun to watch, and kept us laughing so hard (especially the preschoolers!).

Here is Collin with another wiseman. The 3rd wiseman was sick so they had to have a substitute.

This is the preschool program. Brian is in the back row. He somehow was able to sneak up to the stage before all the other kids. He wanted to be up there first!

Here he is doing the motions to Away in a Manger.

Here you can see the boys starting to lose it. Why did they put the boys together? They tried to separate them, and Brian ended up laying down so of course everyone laughed. It was all he could talk about for a week. He would say "remember when I layed down on stage and everyone laughed? That was great!" What a ham!

Here is Collin as a wiseman.

They are singing We Three Kings.

They are being interviewed by the news while they visit King Herod. It was a really cute program and they did such a great job.

I believe this actually catches me up on my blogging! FINALLY! Now let's see how long it takes me to post about Christmas! Ha ha. Just in case it takes awhile I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Must be nice in Vermont this time of year, all that snow.

2008-12-21T11:35:00.000-08:00

Snow, snow, snow, snow, SNOW! Yes, I'll admit it I have White Christmas on my mind. I'm thinking I may have to watch it tonight after work. How can I help it with Christmas in just 4 days and tons of snow in our yard!! I LOVE IT!!!! Did I mention that I LOVE IT??

The kids have had lots of fun playing in the snow, and with new snow boots and snow pants for all we are set. I don't think I need to say a whole lot as the pictures say it all. I will however share my frustrations with our camera. We took the kids sledding at Collin's school where they have a nice sledding hill, and the camera apparently decided it was too cold to take pictures. So the kids going down the hill, Brian and I going flying off the sled, and Allison in her marshmallow-man snow suit will have to be memories we keep in our mind instead of being able to share with you all. Needless to say I was less than happy.

Here is a pic of Brian's gingerbread house he made on a preschool field trip. They went to one of the elementary schools and each preschooler had an elementary student helping them build it. He had lots of fun, and wanted to eat his house really bad. Eventually he did (gross!) but he loved it.

This was Collin's winter concert at school. I think it may have been the last evening activity before everything was cancelled because of the snow.

This is before school which was an hour late on Wednesday. Apparently the sled wasn't working very well, so he solved that problem.

This is just a few hours later. Notice how much more snow we have? Fun!!

I had fun decorating the window a couple weeks ago, and had to get a picture of that plus the "real" snow on the outside.

Collin eating the snow.

Snow mustache insteade of a milk mustache.

Allison watching her brothers play in the snow and trying to get out there too.

Collin face planting in the snow!

Allison's First Birthday!

2008-12-21T11:11:00.000-08:00

This year Thanksgiving meant even more as we were able to celebrate Allison's first birthday. The year went by so fast and I can't believe that our baby girl is 1. Where does the time go? She is such a sweetheart and I am so thankful to have her in our family. She is such a joy to us and is definitely a daddy's girl. It is great to see her big smile when Daddy comes in the door, and she will often get off of my lap just to go cuddle with her daddy. She also loves her brothers so much and they tend to keep her laughing. Now that she is walking she tries to keep up with them as she runs through the house following them.

Since her birthday was on Thanksgiving this year we were able to celebrate with family and had everyone over for dessert. I made a butterfly cake for her cake, and it was fun to watch her devour her peice. She has a sweet tooth for sure! She enjoyed pulling the tissue paper out of her presents and I have a feeling Christmas is going to be fun with her this year.

Brian's Big 5!

2008-12-10T10:47:00.001-08:00

Really, I am going to catch up this time. I promise. Both boys are at school, Allison is asleep, and the house can wait. So I will start with Brian's birthday.

Yep, it's official he is FIVE!! Wow where does the time go. With his birthday being the day before both Thanksgiving AND Allison's birthday I tried to think ahead and plan ahead. Quit laughing, I am perfectly capable of planning ahead. Okay, I admit it I did put thought into it ahead of time but when it came down to it I had to hope I could find invitations at Rite Aide and get them filled out and to the preschool in time to pick Brian up. Which I did. The only problem was I had to change his birthday theme because the only invitations I could find were pirate invitations. Luckily Brian was fine going from Iron Man to Pirates of the Carribbean theme. His birthday party was planned for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Figuring many kids would be out of town I went out on a limb and invited his whole preschool class. Steve was a little nervous and told me I better be prepared to entertain the whole class, but I knew better. There were only 4 who rsvp'd, and 1 of those ended up being sick so it was a small group, but still lots of fun.

The kids had fun coloring pirate pages while we were waiting for all the guests to arrive, then I took them into the kitchen one by one so they could make their own pizza. I had the dough rolled out into personal sizes s for them and they got to put on all their toppings. While the pizza was baking I sent them on a treasure hunt. I was hoping for good weather so we could do this outside, but with it being the end of November knew it was a long shot. Sure enough it rained all day so the hunt was inside. I made a treasure map with cold coffee and crumpled it up so it looked authentic. They had 4 places to find and at each place there was a pile of gold coins waiting for them. Then the end of the treasuer hunt at the waterfall (Brian's blue sleeping bag coming down over the bunkbed ladder) was where the treasure was hidden. Instead of goodie bags I found these small cardboard treasure chests that my Mom and cousin filled with gold coins, a telescope, balloons, and a glow in the dark bracelet. The kids were so excited and immediately went to the living room to check out there booty.

By this time the pizza's were ready and they got to eat the pizza they made. Then of course presents and birthday cake. I was very pleased with the cake. I bought a cake set that had little figures of Jack Sparrow and Will Turner as well as railing and a ship steering wheel. Brian wanted me to make octopus legs coming up from under the ship. It actually turned out pretty good.

This was Brian's first birthday party where he was able to invite friends and not just family so he was especially excited. He had been asking us EVERY DAY since July if it was his birthday. No, I am not exaggerating. We were so happy for it to come so he would stop asking. Although he is already talking about what theme he will have next year!

Catching Up

2008-12-02T18:41:00.000-08:00

I know, I know it's been a long time since I've posted and you know it isn't because I don't have anything going on because well, I've had 2 birthdays, 3 birthday parties and Thanksgiving in all that time. Well actually just last week all that happened, but you get my drift. I'm finding it harder and harder to find the quantity of time needed to both keep up on all y'all's blogs as well as blog myself. So today was spent reading and catching up in between normal mommy stuff and tonight I get to post.

So, where do I start? I guess I'll start with Brian's birthday. It's hard to believe that my little guy is 5! Where did the time go? It seemed like not that long ago he was 3. I was even thinking on Sunday when he was not quite sitting quietly during the Sunday school class where the church decided it would be a great idea to put all the families together to learn about the advent candles and why we light them and teaching at an adult level so the kids are not only getting nothing out of it, neither are the parents, I was thinking what do they expect from a 4 yr old I mean really that's barely over 3. Then I realized that he is 5 and that is quite a bit older than 3!!

Okay so maybe I will get to finish this post tomorrow. I've just been interrupted by the kidlets. We'll try part II later.

Crazy hair night and excitement at the Williams' house

2008-11-14T07:02:00.001-08:00

Wednesday was crazy hair night at Awana and we took it to the extreme. Collin has wanted a mohawk for months and we kept telling him no. But we thought that this was the perfect opportunity to get that out of his system. So Monday night Steve cut his hair. I had bought colored hair gel after halloween. Unfortunately all they had left was red. Sound familiar Stephanie? Red hair gel on red hair. It did look better than these pics show. Needless to say he had about the craziest hair that night. After AWANA I had a leader come up to me asking if this was a permanent thing or if it was coming off. I told her we were going to let him keep it until this weekend and then it was coming off. She was quite relieved. She is one of the leaders for the Christmas program and said that they had never had a wise man with a mohawk before! I thought that was pretty fun. Especially after she had so nicely asked me about his haircut. Here I thought she was just making small talk. Hee hee!

This is what happens when an 8 yr old gets ahold of the camera. Thank goodness for digital cameras. Think of all the wasted film of our younger years that our parents had developed only to see half a roll of upclose pictures of nothing!

Every afternoon when Steve gets home from work, Allison is so excited she cannot wait for him to even take off his riding gear. She kicks her little feet and whines until he picks her up. She is definitely a daddy's girl, much to Steve's delight! So the other day he still had his helmet on when he picked her up and she was quite fascinated with it. So he put it on her (holding it up of course so she wasn't supporting the weight cuz have you ever picked one of those up? They are HEAVY!) and she was thrilled to have it on. She thought it was just the funniest thing. Needless to say, so did we!

This is what I had to compete with yesterday morning when trying to get the kids ready for school. As you can imagine it was tough for the kids to want to leave the living room window to get dressed, eat breakfast and

brush their teeth when this big machine was in our front yard! What, you are wondering, is that doing there? Well, remember last week when we lost our power and had that fun adventure? This just so happens to be the solution. They dug a hole in our yard, surprisingly not all that big, and turned our power off. Then 15 minutes later problem solved. Our power was back on and we are good to go! Made for a fun morning for the kids. I even let

the boys eat breakfast in the living room so they had a front row seat!

Bonopoly

2008-11-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

Last night we had a chance to redeem our ruined family night from the other night. So we pulled out Monopoly and sat down at the table. Brian and I were a team and we played against Collin and Steve. Both boys picked up on the concept rather quickly and I found I was only having to help Brian count his money when buying property and read his chance and community chest cards. He kept saying emphatically how he LOVES bonopoly. Hee hee.

Brian and I even pulled it out again today and played while Allison was napping. It's fun to be able to play more adult games with the kids. You can only play memory and candy land so many times before you go crazy!

An Adventurous Evening

2008-11-07T11:31:00.000-08:00

Last night proved to be more than we anticipated. Since I work tonight and Saturday, we had decided to switch our family night to Thursday night, the bummer of course being that the boys still had to get to bed at a decent time plus get their evening showers since there is school the next day. So we ate dinner and shooed Collin into the shower with Brian in hot pursuit. We had plans to watch a dvd in our pj's and cuddle on the couch in a blanket. Sounded like the perfect thing to do on such a rainy, stormy night. Brian was in the shower and we were right on target for starting the movie in time for the boys to still make it to bed on time when we lost power in half the house. Unfortunately for Brian part of half the house included the bathroom he was showering in. He did, however enjoy finishing he shower with a flashlight shining into the shower. Actually that turned out to be lots of fun for him!

So now, Steve is in the garage trying to figure out what's going on. None of the breakers had been tripped and flipping them off and then back on wasn't doing anything. He is puzzling over this as we are taking stock in what we do have power-wise. Master bathroom, check. Ours and the boys bedroom, check. Allison's room, nope. Main bathroom, nope. Wipes warmer, check. Lamp in Allison's room, check. Kitchen and dining room, nope. Family room, check. Living room, nope. Oven, check. Refrigerator, nope. Furnace, nope. Washer and dryer, check. Really there was no rhyme or reason to this. It wasn't this breaker and not that one. The dvd player was out so no movie, the phone was out, the computer was out. But the cable was working. It was just plain weird.

Then some of the lights were trying to come back on and were flickering and very little light was coming out. That's when we were more concerned about the possibility of a short in a wire and the possibility of the house catching on fire while we were sleeping. So we called an electrician (with the cell as the land line was not working). He checked on everything and said that it was a wire from the road to the box that was not working and therefore it was PSE's problem.

Surprisingly someone from PSE came out about half hour later with light's flashing and checked it out for us. Then he sat in his nice big truck in the cul de sac for an hour while he waited for someone else to come with the equipment needed to temporarily fix the problem. I can only imagine what our neighbors were thinking. Here it was 10 at night and we have had this huge truck in our driveway just idling for an hour. One neighbor even called to find out what was up but since our phone wasn't working I didn't get the message till this morning. It turns out one of the 120 amp wires going from the street to our box is damaged which caused a spike in the power and then it corroded the wire and that's when we lost power. The hooked up the big box to our electrical box outside and next week will have to dig up the wire to figure out where the problem is and replace the wire. But in the meantime our power is back on, we just can't use everything all at once or we will again have problems. It ended up being quite the adventure to say the least!

Halloween Birthdays and a Walking Girl

2008-11-03T13:36:00.000-08:00

That pretty much sums up this last weekend. The boys and I made cookies on Thursday night and I took them to school on Friday for Collin's birthday/halloween party at school. Then it was Steve's turn to take over that night while I went to work. He had strict instructions to take pictures, which he did, but not as many as I would have taken. He took all 3 kids trick or treating, then off to the fair at church. Overall it sounded like they had a great time. One of the games at the fair was a shooting gallery which Steve said both boys hit and knocked over the cans. He was very proud! They were still up and wired when I got home a little after 9 and I was glad to get to hear about everything from them before they were scooted off into bed.

The next day was Collin's birthday. He was so excited to be turning 8 and no longer have to use his carseat! Milestones, they come so fast. We had a quick celebration that morning before I had to go to work again. He had his best friend over for the day to help celebrate. He wanted a star wars cake, but I have to admit it did not turn out the way I wanted it to. Unfortunately I didn't have a lot of time to concentrate on decorating the cake with having to work, but Collin was still pleased.

Talking about milestones, Allison started walking Saturday while I was at work! She still is more comfortable crawling, but you should have seen the look on her face when I came home and she walked to me. She was just so proud of herself as was her mommy! Steve was so excited to be able to set her down to let her walk to me! I can't believe how fast she is growing.

Family Pictures

2008-11-03T10:51:00.000-08:00

We decided to try our hand at some family snapshots last night to see if we could get a good one to go in our Christmas card this year. Surprisingly it ended up being a fun time for all. There were lots of laughs and lots of do overs and we even came up with a good one. Here are some of the "outtakes."

It's All Greek To Me

2008-10-30T16:27:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love it when you ask your kids to do something and they just look at you like you're speaking a different language? I have been doing laundry ALL day today and just told my boys that I am putting their clothes in the washing machine and if they have any clothes in their bedroom they need to take them out to the laundry room. Neither one even heard me, so I stepped in front of the tv and tried again. They both just stared blankly at me and did not budge. So off went the tv and you would have thought that I told them I was cancelling their birthdays! Good grief!! Here is proof of the blank looks:

Today was also the Halloween party at Brian's preschool. He got to wear his costume to preschool and was so excited that he had it on shortly after waking up this morning! It was fun to watch all the kids come in with their costumes on this morning. The last 15 minutes of preschool they also had a parade where all the kids marched into the fellowship hall and then they sang 3 songs they have been learning the last month for all of the parents. It was so cute! I did take some pics, but unfortunately they did not turn out the greatest but I will share them anyway.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-27T20:27:00.001-07:00

After school today we made a quick trip out to the pumpkin patch that Brian went to last week. It wasn't the big pumpkin patch we normally go to that has all the fun things like the corn maze, the animals, the pumpkin pie or apples and caramel sauce, or even the hayride. But this year has just plain been crazy so we figured that if we could go somewhere other than the store to buy a pumpkin then we were doing pretty good. Collin was pleased to get to go and pick out his pumpkin and didn't say a thing about missing out on all the fun things. We thought that we were going to have to buy a small pumpkin for Brian since he already did his big pumpkin last week and heaven forbid he should walk out of there empty handed, right? But he surprised us. We offered for him to pick out a small one and he said "I don't need a pumpkin, I already have my pumpkin!" It was so cute, he said it as if to say you silly! At the same time I was so proud of him for not needing to leave with a pumpkin and to just allow Collin to have his. When we got home we had a quick dinner and then set about carving the pumpkin. Overall it was a nice evening and such a gorgeous day!! Collin didn't even mind pulling out the guts this year. He wanted a pumpkin patch in our backyard, so he threw the seeds outside to see if they will grow! He is going to be my gardiner. Here are some pics from our afternoon pumpkin patch and carving event.

Daddy's Night

2008-10-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday was Daddy's night at Brian's preschool. Since they went on a field trip to the pumpkin patch on Wednesday, the plan was to carve pumpkins for Daddy's night. Needless to say Brian was super excited. The last thing they talked about at preschool that morning was that it was Daddy's night that very night. I could not get Brian to calm down the whole day. It was just too much for him. So they grabbed some pumpkin carving tools and headed to the preschool. Brian continued his excitement while they were there and Steve said he had a hard time sitting down and actually carving the pumpkin, but he still had a good time with Daddy. Daddy even remembered to take some pics of the whole event.

Routine II

2008-10-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I know that in my post a couple weeks ago about routine many of you caught that I mentioned things were getting ready to change again. Well....they are. Starting next Saturday I will officially be starting a job. I was able to find something that fits with our schedule. I still get to be a sahm during the day. I still get to take the kids to school and pick them up, make their lunches, and be home with Allison all day. But 2 or 3 evenings a week, and on Saturdays you will find me checking at the Haggen in Ferndale. I'm excited to start, although a little nervous too. Now it will be up to Steve to make sure homework gets done, and the kids are showered and in bed at bedtime. He will probably have to start making dinners sometimes too. He is up for the challenge and I think it will be good quality time for the 4 of them. They need daddy time without mommy just like I need me time without the rest of them. Be praying for us as our routine will be different and we will ALL have to adjust to the new schedule.

Laundry Queen

2008-10-16T07:39:00.000-07:00

Let me just say that it is official. I have been tested with some of the biggest stains ever and I have conquered!! I was actually able to remove grass stains from cream pants so that you cannot even tell they were there. And trust me it wasn't just a small grass stain on the knee. I'm pretty sure he was running and sliding in the grass (he was running away from girls). These stains were all up and down both legs. And to beat that, I was able to completely remove charcoal (because what boy does not like playing in a fire pit with white sleeves?) from Collin's shirt. We're talking white sleeves completely black. Now? Gleaming white. I kid you not. It almost blinded me as I took it out of the dryer. I think it is even whiter now than when we bought it. Okay, that's probably not possible, but it has to be at least AS white. I feel like I can accomplish anything laundry will throw at me. Now, it's time to go tackle the 8 (probably more) loads that I still haven't washed yet. Sigh.

Wiped Out

2008-10-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

Today I finally hit my energy limit. After go, go, going all day I came home after jogging to pick Collin up from school, stood in my kitchen getting ready to make dinner and literally felt all my energy drain from my body. I had NOTHING left. I still had a pto meeting to go to at school at 7, so I had Collin do his homework and Brian clean his room and then we loaded up in the minivan and headed to the golden arches one more time. I'm glad I did even though I don't like to take them there very often. I really don't think I could have made dinner even if I had wanted to. Now I am hoping to at least make a pathway through the mess so when Steve gets home sometime around 3 in the morning he won't trip on all the toys that are lying around. Sorry Steve just don't have it in me to clean tonight. I may be lucky to even get coffee made for the morning. All in all I am pleased that Steve is coming home finally and that we all survived in tact.

No, Not Me Monday

2008-10-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

All I can say is I am disappointed. Okay I'm not disappointed, but I really thought this would be a good Monday for Not Me Monday, but surprisingly things have gone well over the weekend. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are things that I definitely did NOT do like ignore the messes in the house, let the kids watch a TON of tv, and let the boys have kethcup and ham sandwiches (EEEEWWWWW!) because they wanted hamburgers and I didn't have any. But overall not bad. We made it to church not only on time, but early (and that was for Sunday school!), all 3 kids have been bathed and teeth brushed (okay, I might have missed Allison's teeth, but she is getting flouride drops...when I remember) and in bed at (almost) a decent hour. Collin made it to school today on time with pancakes in his belly and lunch in his lunchbag. Tonight his homework is done, we've worked on his AWANA verses, and we had a pretty well balanced meal. Yes, I consider popcorn chicken well balanced when my husband has been gone for 4 days. (Speaking of Steve, turns out they had a little whoops with the vehicle they are driving and will be taking it in to the shop tomorrow. So, he's not coming home today.) The kitchen is even clean and the table cleared off. We've stayed busy at least. There have been several times I've wished I had the camera. I did finally grab out the old camera, that does not work very well, at dinner tonight. We had mashed potatoes and gravy and Allison decided she did not want me to feed her, she wanted to do it herself. So I gave in and put the bowl on her highchair and let her go to town. She had a blast and oh my goodness the mess she made! It was EVERYWHERE!! I had to get a picture of it even if it is not the best quality. But as far as Monday goes, I will say that I did in no way spend hours over the weekend looking up crap on Craig's list. At least I did not buy a bunch of stuff. Except for the double jogging stroller that I have been looking for forever. But it was only 50 bucks and the exact one I've been wanting!! I just couldn't pass it up. Well, enjoy the pics from tonight and I hope that you all did not have a Not Me Monday like me.

So far So good

2008-10-11T15:15:00.000-07:00

Here it is Saturday afternoon already and I have to say that things are going fairly well. Yesterday we had lots of fun and I told the kids that we were going to party. Collin and I had a good morning while Brian was at preschool, and then I took the boys to Subway for lunch after preschool. We also rented a couple videos. Then we headed home. After doing some housecleaning, we set to work in the kitchen making a yummy dessert with chex cereal. The boys had a blast stirring the chocolate and peanut butter, getting to measure and pour the cereal into the bowl, and then shaking the chocolate coated cereal in ziploc bags with powdered sugar. We ate dinner in the living room while watching a movie, and then they got to enjoy the treat that we made together. We decided to sleep in the living room together and they were super excited although this morning Collin said he didn't get any sleep, and I would have to say neither did I! We will be sleeping in our own beds tonight and probably going down a bit earlier than normal. Overall it was a good evening, and the house is even in pretty good order still. Today has been pretty productive too. I was able to mow the lawn and get a bunch of laundry washed, dried, folded AND put away. To completion!! I would post pics of our fun weekend, but alas Steve has the camera. Which is why I am not allowing Allison to start walking until he gets back. Sorry, girl but you'll just have to wait!

Busy Days

2008-10-10T05:59:00.000-07:00

As I sit here at 6 o'clock in the morning already on my second cup of coffee and trying to relieve my aching back (yes I'll admit it, I'm getting OLD) I feel it is time to take you on a little trip in my shoes. I think that this is pretty typical of most sahm's daily routine, especially once your precious one is in school, but somehow putting it in writing makes me understand why I haven't had time to fold laundry (barely getting it washed), or catch up on housecleaning.

Let's just take a look at Thursday. My day starts at 5am when I get up with Allison. Nurse her, put her back down, and make a beeline for the coffee, which of course is on a timer. I love to hear that grinder go off knowing that I will once again have fresh ground coffee to get me going. Then I make breakfast for Steve and see him off, check email before racing through the shower before the kids are up. Then my day really begins. I get the kids up and ready for school, making lunches etc. Out the door at 9:10, drop Collin off at school, race home to get the share bag for preschool that Brian forgot, drop him off at preschool, race to the library, pull Allison out of the carseat to return a couple books that are due, throw Allison back in the carseat and race over to Moms In Touch. This means I actually have a whole hour where I get to sit down!! Nice! After MIT Allison is back in the carseat and I race home to grab a piece of cornbread leftover from dinner for a quick lunch, throw Allison back in the carseat and race to the preschool to pick up Brian. Pull Allison out of the carseat, get Brian, throw Allison back in the carseat, to the store we go to pick up items for Steve's trip, pull Allison out of the carseat, do my shopping, throw Allison back in the carseat, (seeing a pattern here?) make a quick stop at the local consignment store with high hopes of finding 2 costumes that the boys will both like and will fit. Pull Allison out of the carseat, score on the costumes (okay, I'll admit, the next size up would be better but the kids have not even noticed and we will have Buzz Lightyear and the red Power Ranger hanging around our house for a long time I'm sure), throw Allison back in the carseat. Race home, put Allison down for a nap, unload the groceries, start dinner. Why did I decided to make chicken fried steak on a day that is so busy I have no idea. Feed Allison, unload the dishwasher, reload the dishwasher. Steve drives up and I throw Allison at him and jog to the school to get Collin. Finish making dinner, eat, do dishes, pick apples from our tree, mop the floor (trust me it HAD to be done right then!!) put Allison back in the carseat and head over to the school for open house. I decided it would be better to put Allison in the front carrier than maneuver the stroller around (hence the aching back this morning) and we were home and getting ready for bed a little after 8. Whew!!

And Thursdays aren't even my busy days, Wednesdays are. No wonder I'm so tired.

Going It Alone

2008-10-10T05:53:00.000-07:00

It's just the kids and I as Steve left this morning for 5 days of hunting. And Collin doesn't have school today. I'm hoping to keep the kids busy (thanks for some ideas Stephanie) while we are home. I see lots of cooking together, as well as a movie or 2. Maybe even a living room campout! Even with activities planned I have a feeling Not Me Monday is going to be extra long this week!

Just Another Tuesday

2008-10-07T14:27:00.000-07:00

Really I have nothing to say. It's true. But I realized that it is now October which means if I post, then I will have 2 months listed on the side of my blog. That means I've officially been a blogger for more than 1 month. So, here it is. Had to post.

But I will say that today is absolutely gorgeous outside! It is so nice to see the sun again, especially after the beating we got last night with the wind. Yikes! I am actually looking forward to walking to get Collin today.

Brian, Allison and I went to the mall today. I was hoping to go on a day that Brian was in preschool, but I've needed to go since before school started and somehow every day that he is in preschool already has something going on. Ridiculous! I thought I would have extra time to get stuff done while he was at preschool, but I guess I have instead used that time to book up my planner with other things. Oh well. At least I only had 2 kids and not all 3, and Brian did a great job. He was so pleased to be able to play at the play area when we were done.

Allison will be walking within a week I'm sure. I can't believe it, but she is so close. She has started letting go of things and just standing there. You can tell that she is thinking about it. But not quite ready to take that first step. I can't say that I am really looking forward to her walking. She is my last and never again will I have a sweet little one crawling around. It is sad, but I am trying to be excited for her firsts. Afterall, they are her firsts!

Steve is going hunting this weekend with his brother and a friend. I know he is excited to go and get away from work for awhile. The kids and I will miss him, but luckily this year he will only be gone for an extended weekend instead of the 10 days he usually goes. Who knows, maybe this year he will come home with something.

Not Me Monday

2008-09-29T19:42:00.001-07:00

Thanks Jen for getting me started on Not Me Monday. I just want to say that I am proud to not be a part of not me monday. And because I am kicking off not me Monday, I would just like to say that I did not sit on the couch 80% of the day "playing" on the computer. That would be very, very sad. I most definitely did NOT let Collin pack his own lunch today and he did NOT end up with yogurt as the only healthy thing in his lunch. That would make me a bad mommy. I did not let Brian watch dvd after dvd today while I again did not sit on the couch all day. I absolutely did not forget (I use this word loosely) to feed Brian lunch instead going straight to naptime and then I did not let him snack all afternoon. That would make me an even worse mommy. Nor did I only feed Allison cheerios for lunch as that would not be a balanced meal. I did not cry just because my convection oven is not working, and I did not spend 2 hours (while sitting on the couch) trying to find someone who works on LG appliances. I also did not get irritated at the several people who aksed me incredulously "You did not get an extended warranty??" And of course I did not conveniently forget to plan something for dinner so that my husband did not have to come up with something after he get home from actually working all day.

If you too would like to join the Not Me Monday club please clilck here

Too close to home

2008-09-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

Collin came home with a letter from the school today. Apparently a child was approached by 2 men in a vehicle and offered candy. It happened right in front of Collin's school. Luckily the student is safe and went straight to the school office to report it. Right now I am literally shaking knowing that this happened right where Collin has been all day. I do not like this scary world that we live in. I was able to talk to Collin about why what happened yesterday with him at school was so dangerous. This is the exact reason that it is so important to be with his class. It is just plan too close to home.

I just wanted to be under the bell when it rang!

2008-09-25T14:23:00.001-07:00

Sometimes Collin just makes me laugh. Unfortunately the school doesn't have the sense of humor that I have. Yesterday when I picked up Collin from school he was in a great mood. He didn't even fight with Brian. You'd be amazed at how much they can annoy each other in 3/4 of a mile. So when he was so happy yesterday I said he must have had a great day. He said he sure did. "It was a GREAT day!" He came home and got right started on his homework, we worked on his AWANA sections, he was very giving with his brother. He was perfect.

So imagine my surprise when I get a phone call later that evening from the music teacher at school. She tells me that when his class was going from their room to the music room Collin disappeared. She said there was about 15 minutes when they didn't know where he was. Then they found him outside in front of the school, which as you can imagine is a safety issue. She said that he was standing under the bell and when asked why he was there said, "I just wanted to be under the bell when it rang." You see, he goes to music at the end of the day, so he knew that the bell would be ringing soon. Now at this point I am trying not to laugh. He wasn't being bad in his mind. He wasn't trying to sneak out of class because he didn't want to be there, in fact he loves music. He wasn't trying to be disobedient. In fact we was perfectly happy even when he had to go in with his class and was given the "being outside by yourself is not safe" speech. The music teacher even said that for the last 15 minutes of class he was perfect. But, and here is the big part, today he was going to have to go talk to the principal about this and would have privileges taken away. I had to tell Collin that when I got off the phone to prepare him, and he was fine with it. I couldn't help but laugh to myself at how innocent it was for him. I just hope that the principal can have a sense of humor about it as well. Afterall, it would be fun to be under the bell when it rang, wouldn't it?

Routine

2008-09-25T13:40:00.000-07:00

That is a word that I don't like to use. It might as well be a bad word as far as I'm concerned. I am not one of those supermoms who thrive on making a schedule and keeping to it. I am a totally random person. I fly by the seat of my pants. I'm a spur of the moment kind of gal. And I like it that way.

Enter kids. I know, I know, kids thrive on routine. They blossom if they know what to expect and when to expect it. Blah blah blah. Of course I know it's true, which is why for the last 8 years I have tried to keep to a routine. I am great at coming up with these fantastic plans for how I am going to have a schedule for the kids. We are going to do this, this and this every day and it is going to be great. 2 days later we're back to whatever, whenever. Hey at least I tried, right?

Well before summer started I did it again. I had big plans for a summer routine. I wasn't going to do another summer like the previous year where the boys watched hours of tv and fought ALL THE TIME!!! I was going to have structure. I was going to have a plan. I was going to have...don't make me say it....I was going to have...a ROUTINE. Sure, whatever, you say. This won't be any different than any other time you had visions of grandeur. I thought the same actually. Surprisingly this year was different. No way, you're saying. Yep, it was. My plan was to let the boys watch cartoons when they got up in the morning until breakfast was ready. Then off went the tv, they ate their breakfast, got dressed, brushed teeth, yada yada yada....then they would come back to the dining room where we have a huge white board and where I thoughtfully wrote down a list of chores for each one. Surprisingly, I kept it up throughout the summer. Not surprisingly, because we've already established that kids do well on routines, they did well on this routine. It was fabulous and really did make the summer go much smoother than the year before.

Now, enter school year. This is where I start struggling. No longer can I stick to our summer morning routine because we wouldn't finish until between 10 and 11. We are out the door at 9:10 every morning. How do I fit in chores? If I wait until after school, then I am spending my day trying to do my own chores and work around theirs without doing them myself. Not so easy to do. Plus we have daily homework and AWANA sections to work on. Then of course there is dinner, showers, and bedtime prayers. That pretty much takes up all the afterschool time. I would have to say that is one thing I am jealous of homeschool families. They are able to fit all these things into their day. So where do I fit it all in? I don't have an answer for that...yet. I'm working on it. Besides, looks like my schedule is getting ready to change again. I'll tell more about that later. And who knows, maybe I am becoming a schedule person afterall. Nah, that'll never happen!

Isn't she cute?? So tuckered out from a busy morning.

Classroom Volunteer

2008-09-22T14:07:00.000-07:00

As of last Wednesday I am officially a classroom volunteer in Collin's class. I get to go in every Wednesday at 11 while Brian is in preschool. His teacher doesn't even mind if I bring in Allison. It was great to be able to watch Collin in his class interacting with the other kids and working on his work. He did such a great job with me there. He liked that I was there and was disappointed that I wasn't able to stay and have lunch with him. I'm looking forward to being in his class each week. It is just so great to be able to see how he does in his class.

Forty Eleventeen

2008-09-22T11:43:00.000-07:00

Yep, that's right. Forty eleventeen. Brian and I were counting together and I lost because I only counted to 44, but he counted all the way to forty eleventeen. I think that is pretty impressive! I didn't even know that was a number. I guess it is time for me to take a math refresher course or I won't be able to help my kids with this "new math."

A Feeling Of Belonging

2008-09-15T08:41:00.001-07:00

Yesterday as we left church Steve and I both felt that we finally belong. When we lived in Kent, we had that sense of belonging. We had our circle of friends, we had our ministries in church, people knew us, we were growing spiritually. It was a great place to be. It is a place where I know that if God ever decided to send us back we would be welcomed with open arms.

When we moved up here 2 years ago, we had to leave all that behind. It has taken us awhile to find our place up here. Although we have been able to make friends up here, and I am so thankful for my girlfriends here, we had a hard time finding a church. Without that weekly (or more) fellowship, I have found that you just can't fit in. Until I have that I will not belong up here.

We have now found a church where we are all happy. Even the kids, and that is so important. We are in a life group, our kids are in AWANA, and yesterday it felt official. We were no longer going to someone else's church building. We were fellowshipping with fellow believers. People who recognize us and talk to us. It is a place where we belong.

A More Refined Taste

2008-09-15T08:02:00.000-07:00

So we went out for dinner last week and ended up entertaining our waitress. As we are ordering, Brian (now keep in mind that he is 4) says he would like a corndog. Normal enough, right? The waitress asks if he would like french fries with that and he says, "no" "How about jo jos," she asks. "No," he responds. "Can I have a salad?" "Sure, what kind of dressing would you like?" "Do you have the spray?" I then have to translate for her and ask if they have raspberry vinaigrette. Unfortunately they did not and he had to settle on ranch. Then I order mine and ask for grilled onions. To which Brian pipes up, "can I have some grilled onions too, please?" By this time the waitress is trying hard to keep her composure. She said that she has never had any child ask for any of those things before! Steve and I had a good laugh over this, but we also have to remember that this is coming from the boy who once said, very excitedly, "Mom, thanks for putting wensleydale cheese in my lunch!"

And yes, he enjoyed the salad (once we scraped off most of the ranch dressing) and the grilled onions!

Don't give mom a heart attack please!

2008-09-11T10:52:00.000-07:00

I guess it was bound to happen at some point. Yesterday it did. Brian and I decided to park at school and meet up with Collin in the front of the school. Well there was such a sea of kids coming out when the bell rang that Collin walked right past me and neither one of us saw the other. So I continue waiting for him to come out, he still doesn't see me so he starts walking home. I finally go to his classroom but no one is there. By this time most of the kids are gone, and I am starting to panic. I go back to the front of the school and I am just getting ready to go to the office and start a search party, when the grandmother of his best friend calls me over and says she saw Collin walking towards home. So I load up Brian and Allison into the minivan and start driving. Sure enough, there he is up the road. Luckily he was walking with a girl in his class and her mom. The mom said that she saw him walking off the school grounds by himself and asked if he normally does that. No he says. So she had pulled out her cell and Collin tried calling me at home (note to self, write down cell number and keep it in Collin's backpack)but since I didn't answer, they walked together. On one hand I am so pleased that Collin walked with someone that he knew, but on the other hand he should not have left the school grounds without me. So now we have a plan if this happens again. He will wait for me at the flag pole and if he can't find me then he will go to the office to call. I am glad that we were able to make a plan so that it does not happen again! I would rather not have a heart attack at 31.

Frist Day of School

2008-09-10T12:29:00.000-07:00

I guess since I just started blogging I should go ahead and blog about Collin's first day of school last week. Steve stayed home so that he could come with us to take him to school. It was a very exciting morning and the boys were ready to go with an hour to go. So we spent the morning playing uno attack! Once we finally left, the boys were more than ready. Collin seemed like such a grown up when we went into his class. He was very excited to see that he knew almost everyone in his class. There were quite a few friends from his class last year, and even a few that he remembered from his kindergarten class. The only bummer was his best friend is in a different class this year. It doesn't seem to be bothering him too much since he gets to see him at recess and lunch. After school it was hard to get much info out of him. The only thing he told me was how his teacher makes everyone put their heads down after all recesses. He does not like that! He mentioned it several times and still talks about it. Other than that he says school is boring. Big surprise. So far things are going well. He seems to have adjusted to being back in school quite well, which makes me happy! Here it is a week later, and so far things are great. I am hoping to get to help out in the classroom on Wednesdays this year and have already been able to talk to his teacher about that. Collin is very excited that I will be in the classroom this year. The last 2 years I was only able to help out for the class parties. I must admit I am looking forward to it too. So that is the first day/week of school update!

First Official Day of Preschool

2008-09-10T12:16:00.001-07:00

Well, today was Brian's first official day of preschool. The day that I actually dropped him off and left. It was very exciting and there was only a small part of me that was sad. He is growing up! I can't tell you how much he was looking forward to this and kept saying on the way there that Mommy would NOT be staying. He walked in there like the big boy that he is and didn't even look back. I don't think he even heard me say goodbye. When I picked him up 2 1/2 hours later I could tell that he had a fabulous time. He told me that he was "playing on the playground until YOU showed up." made me laugh, but also showed me just how well he is doing away from me. He doesn't need me to be there all the time anymore. He is ready to go off and meet friends and be his own little person. That actually makes it a little harder on me. Although I am thankful that I don't have to deal with him crying and going through seperation anxiety, part of me knows that we have taken that next step in the growing process. He can't wait to go back tomorrow!

Okay, you convinced me!

2008-09-09T14:21:00.000-07:00

Well, Jen convinced me that it was time to start a blog. So here it is. It will take me awhile to get this all figured out so you will have to bare with me. I have enjoyed reading so many of your blogs, that I guess it was only a matter of time. Thanks Jen.