Another Montage?!

Here's some pictures of our Sunday outing. Kierstyn... have you wondered if you created a monster introducing me to One True Media? Family far away - all of these montages are JUST for you!

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My new desktop

This is A's new favorite thing to do when I feed her!!!! Ugh!

Going green

Some of you have teased me that since I moved to Hippy-Dippy Land I've been becoming a Birkenstock, tree-hugging card carrier... well I think I have officially crossed over to the other side. Here's why I think so:

1.) I berated my brother, Mark, and his family for their non-recycling ways. (Sorry about that Mark, Cheryl, Shawn & Justin... I couldn't help myself see these facts?)

2.) Our doctor mentioned to us the ill effects that are being contributed to the hormone laden cows milk that we are drinking ... see this article.

3.) Yes, I'm still using cloth diapers during the day when my spouse is not here to complain about how big A's backside looks in cloth.

4.) We bought new light fixtures for the hallway, Z&K's bedrooms and the foyer (and yes they are being illuminated with fluorescent bulbs)... know what we did with the old ones? Drove to Hippy-Dippy Land and donated them to Habitat for Humanity. ** By the way thank you Bonnie, John, Terri, Al, Harold, Judy, Erin & Alex for the gift cards. **

5.) Finally for Christmas I asked for and received green bags for the grocery store (thanks Erin)! Love it!

So I'm challenging you all to look at this list and see if there is something you can do to GO GREEN. I will attest that just doing one will make you feel good! :)

The cut heard around the world

Ha ha!
K wanted a new look, her daddy did not want her to get this new cut... but my theory on hair is that it grows back and I think the kids should have a certain amount of control over some things, hair seems like an easy one to me!
So here are the before and after shots. Enjoy!


Oh yea - here's my new frying pan, thanks Bonnie & John. I'm putting it to good use.

Thank you and details

Let me begin this blog with several thank yous!

Mom & Dad – thank you so much for coming all the way to Texas to spend Christmas with us. It was wonderful for the kid’s to have grandparents here and Jason & I appreciated your company & all of your help! We love you and appreciate having you as such a significant part of our children’s lives.

John & Bonnie (the best in-laws in the whole, wide world… I really mean that!) – Thank you for sending Christmas to us. As you know we missed you but we are so thankful that you blessed our kids so generously this year… we look forward to next year with you again. Oh yea – John did you get that bathroom door fixed this year for Dasher? Or did he get stuck again?

Erin, Alex & Joseph – Thank you for all that you did to make this Christmas so memorable. You know what you did – you are wonderful! We missed you more than you know and we will strive to not let a Christmas go by without your presence again!

Andy – Hey we miss you – that’s all there is to that!! Your kid picture was truly sad and somewhat pathetic! But I agree with Erin – you looked good with Gokie Wank & Fudgie Opie.

We are so wonderfully blessed with family. Thank you all!

Now let me give you the play by play:

Sunday we went to Christmas Eve Eve service. I especially liked the traditions that were similar to Hope. After that we went to my friend Nicole’s house and had a Christmas party and played Canasta (FYI – Jason & Nicole beat the tar out of Jake & me). This was a very fun evening, A came home and went to bed with Nana & Papa Coach “watching” her while the other kids stayed and played with Nicole’s children. Sadly – Jason got sick in the middle of the night…

Monday we spent the day preparing for the evening festivities, making cookies, cheese balls and other fun stuff. We began the gift exchange after a light dinner. Z & A’s first gifts were the new “thinking” chairs from Aunt Erin, Uncle Alex & Cousin Joseph. They were a HUGE hit – especially with Z. It was a very fun evening! We ended it with me reading “Texas Night Before Christmas” and we put the kids to bed.

Christmas Day was great!! We set up the video camera so that G’ma Bonnie could get a glimpse of the festivities. Jason & I woke up the kids at 6am – we were afraid that B would let Z out and we’d miss the video so we got them up and sent them out one by one to check their stockings. As you can see in the video clip the kids had a fun time opening up their stockings. I spent the rest of the afternoon making Jason his “traditional” Christmas dinner – thanks Bonnie for running around looking for recipes. I think I did a fair job of imitating your terrific cooking!

Finally today Jason and I had a date with the doctor. Nothing is wrong – we just wanted to get established with a doctor and this afternoon we are going to go out on a real date since Mom & Dad are here to watch the kids.

Again thanks to you all! I hope your Christmas was as merry and blessed as ours! Love you all!

Merry Christmas

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Just a little tidbit

As most of you know this is our first Christmas away from my favorite in-laws - we miss you and this will not be a new tradition!!! So I wanted to give you a few little tidbits of our Christmas so far, so it won't feel like we are so far away.
We went to Christmas Eve Eve services on Sunday night, it was nice. Very similar to what we were used to, lighting the candles, communion... more details to come later.
Tonight we had little smokies, sausage, cheese and more sweets than are legally allowed in North America!
I read Texas Night Before Christmas (hilarious) and we put the kids to bed after all the festivities. I was changing Z's diaper and getting him ready for bed and I asked him why he had to get to bed tonight and he said, "long day!" Yep - that too! :)
As I said more details later with pictures but I wanted you all to know a little of what we were doing and let you know that we miss you - Bonnie, John, Andy, Erin, Alex, AND Joseph! Christmas is wonderful but it isn't quite the same without you all! Love you & miss you!

Funny

At K's school they had a market day to teach the students about economics. Here is how it went down, my economics were decreased by me giving her two dollars and K's economics increased by two dollars... simple, why did we have to have that lesson? Seriously, K was able to spend her two bucks at different activities, face painting being one of them.

Is it me or do you all think that K's face painter may have dyslexia?
Either that or they were from NY - MTA?

The latest news

Here's what I know.
K has been sick, but she's back to school today. Feeling much better except for the "pulled muscle" in her stomach from me making her bend over the sink to rinse the soap out of her hair. Poor little bumpkin.
B's doing great! He's got a swim team Christmas party this Friday and we are looking forward to that.

Z had a little Christmas party of his own today with his friend, Emma. Mrs. Nicole took pictures but I don't have those yet. Z gave Emma a little princess doll and she gave him a Santa Claus Mr. Potato head, which he calls "humpty dumpty."

Finally, A slept ALL night last night. This is a first since our MA trip - yea A!!! A taught me a lesson yesterday. They put belts on bouncy seats for a reason.... see picture below.

This is what I hear her saying,
"Yo Mom could you stop taking pictures & rescue me?!"

For Uncle Scott

One of B's new presents was an invention book. He & his Uncle Scott made a motor and while I was away they took a bunch of pictures and video clips. Here are the results of this incredible invention. :)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Oh yea - did I mention I was instrumental in beating Scott at Canasta? Couldn't remember if I had mentioned that....

To make Scoot famous

This weekend we had a visit from my dad, Judy-mom & Scott! They came to celebrate Christmas with us and to attend B's swim meet. We had a lot of fun - especially when Judy-mom & I beat Dad & Scott at Canasta!!! Yippee!!

A with Uncle Scoot & G'pa Harold.

A with G'ma Judy.

A finally figuring out that she should pull on the paper.
Thankfully she had the binkie in place, otherwise the paper would have been real tasty!

B with his new toy.
You can see Z in the background "helping" open up B's gifts for him.
Hee hee!


Poor K is sick in this picture, but such a trooper.
She can open gifts even when she's sick!

Judy-mom was able to get some good pictures at the swim meet. See below (he's in lane 4):

Thank you all for coming, we had a great time!! :)

Photogenic

Z has taken a page out of B's book. He WANTS his picture taken any time the camera is out of the bag - just like his big brother used to be.... here's a small glimpse of what this looks like.

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Daddy

This is the effect that Jason has on poor little A. Tonight I asked him to try to hold her off and keep her awake for a little while, the last picture is the result of this request. When I snapped this picture I couldn't help but go back and look for all the others.

September

October

November

Tonight

P.S. This is just ONE of the reasons I love this man.

Cute story for today

Today was wet, cold and rainy! So we stayed in - yet another reason I LOVE being a stay-at-home mom. Since we were home and I was sitting in the living room eating bon-bons (oops never mind that part), I decided to clean the toy bins - i.e. sort and toss. I found some stacking cups which Z saw and decided to stack them end to end so they made a tower (he's such a great helper!). In the process of cleaning I threw something in that general area and (anyone that knows me knows that only if I had meant to hit them would I have missed) sure enough I knocked over Z's tower. I apologized but he didn't notice right away, when he did notice this is what he said, "Mommy, that's not funny!" My response, contrite but thoroughly amused. :)

Not a story about BKZA...

A friend sent me this and it made me smile... hope it will make you smile too.

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my
list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.
If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely. It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house
without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and
come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet. (you promised me last year you would lose some weight with me so next year you and I could be a cute size two, blonde...ok, some requests go too far, but none the less.....)

Yours Always,

MOM...

P. S. One more thing.. .you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children, healthy, safe and of course, young enough to always believe in Santa.

Rocking & Rolling

Here's my little A-girl doing her best imitation of her daddy. For as long as I've known Jason when he's sitting "Indian-style" he sways (sorry I don't know the culturally savvy way to say that, is it the Native American style now?) - anyway we notice that A does the same thing. SO CUTE!!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Kinfolk

This weekend we had the unique pleasure to have dinner with Jason's 2nd cousin one time removed (and the kids met their 4th cousins). We are blessed that Jason's mom is a computer junkie and "found" this cousin that lives near us. We have meant to get together for several months but it finally happened. She made us a wonderful chicken dinner and we enjoyed getting to know these kinfolk better!
As always here's the pictorial proof!

This is our clan with Ms. Jane & three of her grandkids

(the two boys are 10 & 8 and the girl is almost 7 - how perfect for our big kids!)

Apparently this is what happens when you meet your 4th cousins... beware!

Here is Ms. Jane with her son, David & his wife, Sarah Jane & their three kids.

Saturday Fun

Today we went to see Santa Claus at the neighborhood clubhouse. FUN!! Z & A did great, A was very intrigued with the beard and Z was so excited to tell him what he wanted for Christmas! When we left Z looked at Jason and said, "where's my Buzz?" I guess he figured there was no wait time in this whole process, you tell Santa and then you get the gift! Poor kid! Ha, ha!
K sat with him too & told him what she wanted. B didn't want to sit with him because he wasn't sure what he wanted and he wants to be surprised.
Here's the pictorial proof of our fun!

I love the look on Santa's face here. "uh, kid don't pull!"

This is a test

It will be interesting to see if anyone that I mention in this blog responds with a comment... so it's kind of like a test. :)

Lots has been happening around here lately. My friends the Krajca's and their beautiful boy, Benjamin, are now home from the hospital after a successful surgery on Monday for Benjamin. I am so happy and full of praise for what the Lord has done for this family.

While they were in Hippy Dippy Land our friends the Findley's came to see them and stayed with us. Huge amounts of fun were had by all, Z got to play with his friend Alexis, Jason & B got to play with Michael and Christi and I got to spend some time together too.
** Cute side note: B&K got to play with Alexis too. B went up to Alexis and said, "Hi Alexis I've missed you." Alexis looked at him and said, "I miss you too, what's your name?" So funny! **

Yesterday I completed my "job" of student teacher supervising. It was fun and I got to be in the classroom just enough to remember how much I LOVE what I'm doing now. Oh yea - and I did such a fantastic job that they want me to do it again next semester! Go figure!

Today Z had his friend Emma over to play for a while but during that time I did some packing for Erin. "Packing for Erin?" What does that mean - well get comfortable and let me tell you a little story. I had (up until this morning) a large black trash bag full of clothes in my kitchen floor. My sweet father-in-law, John, gave them to me this summer.
Here's the story. About a year & a half ago I asked the sweet in-laws to hold a bag of clothes for me. They were given to me by a friend for Z but they were way too big and we couldn't fit all the stuff in our car, so John agreed to hold onto them for me. Well I asked about them a while ago and he couldn't find the bag so we just figured he saw a trash bag and threw it away - bummer but no big thing. Well while we were home this summer John produced a big bag of clothes, saying he had found them, yea for him! Well I got home and opened up the bag only to find several things that indicated these were not the clothes from my friend for Z. A few give-aways were the colors - pink, purple, pretty pastel prints, the sizes - 10-12 youth and finally a very pretty ruffly dress that I was certain my friend had not put on her son! :) So I quickly realized that I had driven from Missouri to Texas with a bunch of clothes that belonged in Massachusetts!
So today I packed up a couple of boxes for Erin.

Finally, I owe my brother, Scott an apology. I teased him this week and said we were going to come to see him - I'm sorry Scott, but if you keep reading, you will see a picture at the bottom of all of this just for YOU!

So now with my stories all told I will treat you with a whole heaping load of pictures! Enjoy!

Oh yea - we put up our Christmas lights a couple of weeks ago.
Yes Mark & Scott my house still appears to be in a sink hole.

My Christmas tree decorators, notice A supervising. Getting ready for Papa Coach & Nana.

This is just a cute picture.

K enjoying some time with Alexis & Anthony.


"Wii want to play" exclaimed the boys!

Aunt Erin remember this shirt?

Here's a picture of M for Scoot!

Remember: I reserve the right to put as many grammatical errors, run-on sentences and spelling errors in my blog as I want to - so back off Jason!

Teething

A has a new tooth, top right front tooth to be exact. I am guessing that is what has been waking her up at 1:30am every morning for the last several days. Now that it has broken through I am hoping she will go back to her normal sleeping schedule, I'm sure K is hoping so too since she ended up on the couch last night.

Parade 12/1/2007

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Birthdays, parades and candy... oh my

K went to a b-day party last night at a little girlie salon, I think it was named,
Make My 7 Year Old into a Hoochie-Momma... or something like that!

We had a little fun with K, Jason gave her the what for - I mean really all of that make-up!!! This was all in fun (as you can tell if you look at K's face!).

LOVE this picture!!!!

Today we went to watch K in a parade. As you will be able to see in the pictures (that will follow in a montage) it was all about the candy for Z! Ugh!

Memory Lane:
Reminds me of B's first parade when I told him a piece of candy was a rock and they wanted you to throw them away... poor gullible child!

Surrounded by cherubs

Not a great picture but I love it anyway!!

Precautionary Measures

I'm feeling better but still on my knees praying that no one else gets this terrible stomach bug!!

Here are all the details I'm going to share:

I wish I had thought about giving Z this earlier! Actually it was in the kid's pretend vet kit - but how appropriate?!


I was worried about nursing A - wasn't sure I was still hydrated enough so I attempted to give her a bottle, all she did was chew on it and spray herself with formula so I just gave her cereal with formula mixed in.


Here's B - surely he's not imitating me?!



Oh yea - I lost 5 pounds! I wouldn't recommend this as a weight loss tool!!! But I sure hope I can keep it off.