Fabalus!!

Alli made this video over the summer and I left it on my desktop for when I need a pick-me-up. I actually pulled it into the trash before I watched it. Lauren asked if I saw it so I "rescued" it from the trash bin. I think she made this right before we left for the dentist because her tooth was only like that for a day or so. Enjoy this video, I think it is fabalus!!

Fall Fun

We went up to the lake to rake leaves and hang with my brother and family. The 5 kids did a great job of raking (jumping) in the leaves and the colors were beautiful. I snapped this doozy of a picture out on the deck because the colors behind them were so darn pretty. What do you think?

This is BAD!!

I can't believe that I haven't updated this blog in like a year...bad mom, bad mom. Let's see what has been happening in this past year..well, summer came and went. It is never long enough but seasons change, right? School has started (10 weeks ago) and I am now strictly teaching 7th grade English. Lauren is in 7th grade, the twins are in first grading and everyone is loving it. Alli and Brooke are in the same class this year and it is working out well. Softball season came and went, started up again (fall ball) and is over this week. The colors are changing and as I write, all 3 girls are at CCD (yuck). The 7th graders are taking a trip to Springfield this Friday and I will be going along. Lauren is not happy about this because "I promised to stay out of her social life"...whatever!!I am doing the yearbook again this year and I have a great group of (mostly) girls who are excited to work on it. Halloween is right around the corner and Alli and Brooke will be a ladybug and a bee and Lauren is going as a polar bear (I was surprised that this costume isn't as slutty as it looked online). This will be the first year that she is going trick or treating without me (sigh). I guess I can't expect her to walk the neighborhood with her mom forever. I have to update the picture ASAP on this thing but I have to get a new camera first. The twins think that my camera is a toy and another one has bitten the dust!

Your nose is growing!

Tonight at dinner, Alli was having a fit because "someone" drew all over her picture. Of course, the only other little person in the house that is learning about the letter "H" was sitting across from me. "Brooke, did draw all over Alli's picture", I asked. "No, I didn't" was her answer. "Brooke, your nose is growing because you are telling me a lie." After a quick feel she replies, "No, it's not". Of course, I kept up with it because I wasn't going to let her off that easy. I went on to say, "Brooke, your nose is going to be as big as Pinnochio's if you keep it up." Now she's mad and her reply was, "it is not going to get that big"! Ha, caught. Score one for the mom! Just to get her good and angry I said, "look, it's getting bigger as we speak. In order for it to stop, you have to tell the truth". "Fine, fine, I drew on it", she fesses up. I can only hope that the Pinnochio works well into my daughter's 30's. On a different note, Lauren is covered from head to toe in chicken pox...gross! The doctor says that the vaccination has a 5% failure rate. I should have guessed that at least one of my girls would fall into that 5%!!

Happy, Happy Birthday Alli and Brooke!

Six years ago today, I only had one daughter. I put her on the bus to go to kindergarten and little did I know that by the time she got home she would be a big sister. I went for my normal weekly doctor's appointment. The doc "checked" me and nothing was going on. She told me that my c-section was scheduled for 2 weeks later. I went on my merry way to the hospital for my bi-weekly NST. As I sat there, I felt different. Not crampy, not contraction-like, just different. I told the nurse that something was up a couple of times and each time she looked at that looong tape and said, "nope, nothing is going on. No contractions, no nothing." By the fourth or fifth time of me telling her that something was up, I think she was just over it. She told me that she would ask the doctor in the office to "check" it out. 5 minutes later, I was in a wheel chair, being wheeled off to L & D. In one hour, I went from a 0 to a 6. I knew something was going on. I called Dan (his phone was dead) and then called my mom. Since I had her car (our other one was in the shop), she called my sis-in-law to drop her off at the hospital. I had to call my friend to ask her to find Dan's shop number (no 411 in the hospital). My doctor showed up, we waited, and waited, and waited for Dan to get there and 20 minutes later we were parents to two more gorgeous girls. Our little 5 pounders were as healthy as horses and I was elated! Looking back, I wish that I could have given my only child one last only child hug and tell her that she was going to be a great big sister, but what did I know?So much has changed these last 6 years. Lauren is in middle school, she babysits, and has a cell phone. Alli and Brooke are in kindergarten and are both missing teeth, and have just started riding two-wheelers. Geesh, time sure does fly by when you are having fun. Happy 6th birthday girls...here's to the rest of your lives!!

Happy Birthday Jim!

Here is that great picture that I talked about in a previous post. I love it. Sending Happy Birthday's up to heaven!

One of Many Firsts

I haven't updated this blog in quite awhile. I feel guilty for not having Jim's picture be first thing that comes up but I can't stay away. I have been feeling really crappy and sad lately. I think it is because it is getting close to Jim's birthday, the first one that he won't be here to celebrate. It took me years to figure out that his birthday is 10-4. Duh, 10-4 good buddy!! I will never forget that day. The girls' birthday is on the 7th. They will be 6...6 I can't believe it! The week after Jim passed away Alli came up to me and said.."Oh Mommy, this is terrivle" (terrivle...she cracks me up). "What's terrivle" I asked her. "Well, our birthday is after Grampie's and now Grampie will never have another birthday, so will our birthday ever come"? Isn't that cute? It is so cute and so sad at the same time. One of my favorite pictures is hanging on my fridge. It's a picture from last year of Grampie and the twins in front of their birthday cake. The three of them look so happy together. I would have never imagined it would be their last birthday picture that they would take together. I stare at that picture and just look at it. I look at it and can't believe that he is not here. He looks healthy, he always looked healthy and I get so sad and mad. I can't decide to leave it up or take it down. There is this stupid country song that I hear lately and it gets me so depressed. I have to learn to turn it off because I can't stand to feel this way. So, here we go. In a couple of days it will be the first birthday without Jim. One of my friends asked how my mom has been feeling with this day approaching and I honestly don't know. I haven't asked her. I don't want to bring it up, I don't want her to have to talk about the obvious. I'm going to try and scan the picture into the blog so everyone can see the happiness for themselves. I think that after I scan it, I'll put it back on the fridge!