Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

This year was a Halloween first for us. For the past four years on Halloween night, the kids would already be asleep before the first trick-or-treaters came by. And to be honest, Andy and I liked it that way - no costumes, no sugar highs. And call us party poopers, but we'd usually turn all the lights off and hang out in the back of the house so people would think noone was home. Tsk tsk ... what a shame! Those were the days.

But the girls are growing up and are at an age to truly enjoy the festivities. So this year was different; we celebrated Halloween!!

Church Acadiana put on a Fall Fest which was fabulous! The ladies that worked so hard to pull it all off did an amazing job. There was gumbo, potato salad, hot chocolate, punch, chips and dips, candy galore, games for the kids, a fun jump, balloons, family pictures, hay rides, bonfire, etc... Even more fun than all of that was dressing silly and spending time with friends. It was a great experience. Actually, when we loaded up in the truck to go home (at 10:30!) C said, "Mom, I think this was the best night ever!" And the next morning M asked, "Mom, when's the next Halloween?" We all had a blast - even little A who got to play with balloons all evening and share a cookie with me. (Yes, there was a melt-down when the cookie was gone, but it was worth it.)

So what did we wear?! We went with a family theme. Andy was the farmer, and I was the farmer's wife. We brought along our animals -- cow (C), pig (M), lamb (J), and dog (A). The girls were thrilled with the costumes. Each animal came with a ear headband, a nose that made animal sounds, and a tail. We were able to use their regular clothes to complete the transformation (and save a good bit of money.)

C Draws

Cute picture, huh?

C colored this and brought it to show me. I said, "Wow C! How beautiful! That's a really neat picture!"

Since we've been talking about the beach lately, I assumed it was a beach scene picture, complete with a tree and sunglasses. But C's response to my excitement clarified.

She said, "Yeah Mom. I drew your bra, and it really looks like your bra!" Oh boy.

Wind Ride

M: "Hey Dad! Can we go for a wind ride?"

Andy: "A wind ride? I'm not sure M. What's a wind ride?"

M: "You know.... It's when we put the windows down and ride around."

A wind ride. How precious.

Wet Toots

BEWARE: POST ABOUT BOWEL MOVEMENTS!

Little J's got the poops. She's got some sort of stomach bug. No fever, no loss of appetite, no change in her mood, and certainly no slowing her down. Just the poops. She even keeps track of her BM's and reports to me, "Ma. I have 3 'direas' today." And if this continues much longer we're going to have come up with a new phrase. I don't know how many more times I can hear, "COME WIPE ME PLEASE!"

A few times a day I'll notice a small brown circle on the back of her pants. Yes - evidence of a wet toot. I'd never heard of a wet toot until Andy introduced me to this new terminology, and it makes perfect sense. He defines a wet toot as...

Wet Toot = when you feel the urge to toot assuming it's only
gas, but quickly learn a bit more than you were anticipating escapes

So J had a couple wet toots at church. The first one I was prepared for. I mean, I'm a mom of 4 under 4. We come prepared for things like this. But I only brought one change of clothes, so J and I had a lengthy (for a 2 year old) talk about how I didn't have any more clothes for her, and I needed her to work extra hard to keep her panties dry.

A couple hours later I hear, "Hey Ma. I got my panties a little wet, but it's okay. They'll dry."

Sick out. I'm ready for these wet toots to end.

Busted

I've been busted. But hey, at least we have evidence that the girls are getting it. The other night at dinner I was busted twice. And then yesterday in the truck, I was busted once again.

We were sitting at the table eating dinner when I heard M say, "Mom! Mom! Don't put your elbows on the table!" Ahh ... yes. We did teach them that one, and now it's coming back to bite us. Strike one.

Then not two minutes later I hear J exclaim, "Oh Ma. Don't talk with your mouth full." Oops. Another no-no. Strike two. I'm just setting the example lately - the example of what not to do.

Then in the truck Andy and I were talking. I can't even remember what story he was telling me, but I said, "Oh my gosh!" Yep, another no-no, and C piped up, "Mom! Mom! You said 'oh my gosh.' Next time you should say something like 'oh my' or 'oh my goodness.' It's not very nice to say 'oh my gosh.'" Strike three.


Yep. That's me - the all star player of the week. I'm striking out left and right.

I've always believed that part of God's plan is to grow us through our children. It takes quite a bit of character to endure the correction of a snotty nosed 2 year old. And I'm afraid I'll be enduring more as I've got a lot more growing to do.

2 year olds

I love 2 year olds - the whole year of being 2. We've yet to experience the "terrible 2's." We usually don't get "terrible" until 3 around here. But my 2 years olds have been such sweethearts, and very compliant for the most part.

Like tonight, I explained to the girls that is was time to clean the playroom. Then I walked back to the kitchen to finish straightening up (the never-ending job). J followed me to the kitchen, and we had the following conversation.

Me: "J, I need you to go help your sisters clean up the playroom."
J: "Well Ma. I don't want to clean up. I want to go ice skating."
Me: "Oh... you want to go ice skating?"

J: "Yeah Ma. I know how to do that. I good ice skater."

Me: "I'm sure you are sweetie, but right now we need to clean the playroom and get ready for bed."

J: "OK Ma. That's a good idea."

Then she trotted off to the playroom. I hope she dreams of ice skating tonight.

Memories

December 2007

This is my precious M. She decided to get dressed all by herself. She walked out of her bedroom and said, "Tada! I'm dressed and ready to go!" I asked, "Well, M. I don't see any pants. Do you think you need to wear some pants today?" She replied, "No ma'am. It's okay. I don't need pants today." She sure does look cute though.

Knee Crawling!

We're crawling ... for real! Yes, I know A has already turned 1, and I shouldn't be all that excited about crawling at this point in his life. But this man's on his own little schedule. He's doing things different, and I love it! He's just helping to prepare me. He's a boy. And I'm sure there's a world of differences he'll unload on me.

But this crawling thing has us all excited. With him pulling up on everything in sight and cruising around, he's discovered his knees!! He was "knee-crawling" around the other night, and the whole family had to join in on the fun. A just laughed and laughed as he tried to catch up with Andy and the girls. Then the girls did a little dance and cheered for him, while he clapped and squealed along. What fun!

Way to go A! We're all so proud of you!

Sweet Lady

Our little trip to Wal-Mart today was such a blessing. WHAT?! Yeah, it really was. It had nothing to do with Wal-Mart, but had everything to do with the sweet lady God sent to encourage me.

I rarely go grocery shopping with the kids. #1 - I don't have room in the cart for all our groceries and a baby. #2 - It's harder to focus on deals (and staying on budget) when I'm counting heads. #3 - Standing in long lines is difficult, and with four antsy little one's is close to impossible.

My regular shopping trips are done before the kiddos wake up, but this week I didn't have much to purchase so I thought I'd include my little crew. We had a great time! We even got to sample some crackers and dip!

The girls were so cute -- like three little ducklings following in a row, holding their cups of crackers. We're such the site when in public, and we heard comments up and down every aisle.

People said (what I wanted to reply):

These are all yours?! (No, they just keep following me around.)
Wow! How do you get them to behave like that?! They're great! (Thank you for noticing. It's real hard work.)
Oh my! You've got your hands full. At least they mind well. (Yeah. It just comes natural. They were born with this crazy desire to obey my every command. Isn't it great?!)

But the real joy came from a lady's comment as we were walking out. At first she just noticed me and my pregnant self pushing A in the buggy. She started cooing with A and commenting on my pregnancy. Then she noticed me glance back to make sure the girls were following. She said, "Oh my! What beautiful girls! You are so blessed! Don't stop, hon!"

She went on to explain that she was #9 of ten children. Her mother had the first eight, each a year apart, and thought she was done until nine and ten followed four years later. She said her childhood was wonderful and wouldn't change it for anything. She walked with us to the door, then found us again as we were loading up in the truck, all the while throwing encouraging words our way.

It doesn't happen often, so maybe that's why the encouragement feels so good when it does come. And I thank God for sending such a sweet lady my way.

Laundry's Done!

Yeah! What do you see? The lid of the washing maching up! This means all the laundry is done!

And I must brag that this picture was taken before noon on Tuesday! (We won't talk about what time I got up this morning in order to get all this done.) I think I was terrified of having another week like last week.

Each week my goal is to have all the laundry washed, dried, and put away by noon on Wednesday. Then I don't touch either machine until Saturday morning. Well, last week was the week from laundry hell. I had loads and loads not completed, and I had to work on it all through the weekend! NOT FUN! NOT FUN AT ALL!

So to avoid another horrible week, it's done early! What a treat! I think I'll sleep in tomorrow morning!

Fun in the Tub

We're having way too much fun these days! J and A love taking baths together. This evening while taking a bath with Dad in the "big tub" J tried to teach A to swim. She said, "Watch this A!" while she went under to put her nose on the bottom and wiggle her little bottom. I don't think I'm quite ready for A to take the plunge yet.

Memories

Diaper Days

Memories

Roughhousing -- C and M's early fights.

Memories

Thank you God for our boy! Daddy needed him.

Memories

I'm taking a walk down memory lane. It's so much fun looking back at old pictures, and remembering life "back in the day."


This is my precious C as a 1 year old. I told her that it wasn't chocolate. And I told her it didn't taste good. But there are some things in life you just have to learn on your own. Personal experience is the best teacher.

Books

I'm sitting at the computer checking email this morning when I hear a loud pitter-patter, pitter-patter. Yeah, I recognize that sound. That would be six little feet prancing across the wood floor. The girls quickly appear at the office door and excitedly say, "The playroom's all clean! We'd like to read a special book now!"

So we're enjoying "special" books this morning. These are the books that live high on a shelf in the living room. They are for the girls to enjoy, but they have to ask permission to read them, in the living room, one at a time. (They have lots of regular books in the playroom that are hands-on at all times. But we like to have some nicer books set aside to keep books and reading exciting. They are also the more expensive books that deserve ample protection from little hands and mouths and colors and glue and scissors, etc...)

So here are the girls' choices this morning.

J's all time favorite --That's Good! That's Bad!

M's choice this morning -- The Hello, Goodbye WindowC's new favorite -- Alice the Fairy

The girls waiting patiently for their books.

A Happy!

Andy came home from running errands this morning and announced, "I got you a happy, well actually two Happies. And I know you could have done a better job yourself, but I think you'll really like this, and I wanted to do it for you."

What fun! We rarely splurge on one another because splurges never fit in the budget. But what a great treat this is!

I've been talking about wanting some fall decorations - nothing big and extravagant. Our motto starting early on with our wedding has been "simple, but elegant." So yesterday when we were picking up a few items at Wal-Mart, Andy suggested we check out their fall wreaths. Um, yeah. Not too good. I can usually find attractive things at Wal-Mart, but yesterday was a strike-out big time.

So I am so thrilled with my Happies this morning! And Andy did a great job picking them out. I'm so proud of him. His strategy is to go to a respectable store and copy their display.

Fabulous! And he did this specifically for me because he knew how much I wanted it. And he also knows my chances of getting out and "browsing" are limited.

Way to go my precious hubby! I love you, and I love my new Happies!

Remembering Paw Paw

Paw Paw (my Dad) passed away two years ago today. He lived a fun, exciting, fruitful life. He struggled with his health from a young age, surviving his first heart-attack at 29. (I wasn't even born yet.) My Mom remembers the scary time of being told her husband had a 50/50 chance of life. But Dad pulled through. He went on living life as a vibrant, healthy man. Few knew the truth that he was a very sick man, struggling every day with congestive heart failure (not to mention diabetes.)

I remember him saying he wanted to live to see me (his youngest) graduate high school. When that day came, he said he had to hold on long enough to see me get married. He released me to Andy in 2002 and changed his plans to after seeing grandkids. To be honest, I'm amazed that he was able to hang on as long as he did. Even for those of us closest to him, it was hard not to be fooled by his playful, joyous demeaner. I think we even forgot how sick he was. He never complained. He didn't want anyone to label him as "sick." He set an amazing example of a true man, living with purpose.

One of my favorite memories is when my Dad led me to Christ during one of our father-daughter Bible studies. Mom would leave Sunday afternoons to take my older brother, Jim, to Bible Drill. It was then that Dad and I would sit on the couch and study the Bible together. One day I decided I was ready to give my life to Christ, and Dad led me in that prayer. It was such a sweet time. Unfortunately, the damage of a stroke erased that precious memory from his brain. But I had fun reminding him. He was an amazing father.

And he was an amazing Paw Paw. I'm so glad he lived long enough to see C, M and J. He adored his granddaughters. Dad and I would talk on the phone almost every afternoon, but I think he really looked forward to talking with C and M. He got such a kick out of talking with them on the phone. (Probably because he could tell how much it thrilled them as well.) I think his favorite days in life may have been as Paw Paw.

The girls still talk a lot about Paw Paw. In fact, after Paw Paw passed away, we inherited his truck and his recliner. The girls still thank Paw Paw for the truck and remind us that we need to take care of Paw Paw's truck. And the recliner (affectionately known as Paw Paw's chair) is the cure all. Any time the girls are feeling gloomy or sad, they ask to sit in Paw Paw's chair. There's something about sitting in the recliner that makes you feel good. I've even looked forward to middle of the night wake up calls to nurse an infant in that chair. Now that's just silly, but it is an amazing chair. I know the day will come when the chair will break and the truck will give its final ride, but I hate to see that day come. I like using Dad's stuff every day.

I'll end this post with some special pictures of Dad and Paw Paw. Yes, it's embarassing, but that's me and my Dad. I love you Dad.

Pooped

Last Sunday we had a Baptism Party at the house. The girls love having people over. They are such little social bugs, but they also have learned that parties and food go hand and hand, along with missed naps - a rare treat.

After dinner the girls were pooped, and so were we. Andy had rented them a movie from the library, and they sat down to snuggle and watch. Poor J didn't make it very far into the movie.

Fun times with Dad.

Fun Times!

We had a blast yesterday! A had so much fun opening his birthday presents. It was quite difficult for the girls to sit back and watch, not being allowed to participate, but they did a wonderful job. They even had fun cheering for A, giggling as they watched him struggle to tear away the paper.

Then after playing with his new toys for awhile, we moved on to the real deal - cake! The tradition of letting a one year old cover themselves in icing as they attempt to demolish a piece of cake is quite silly, but lots of fun. Andy dreads it because it makes such a mess, but I reminded him that it comes only once in a lifetime. Then he reminded me, "Yeah, but we've had lots of once a lifetimes in this family." He's right. But at least I'm getting pretty efficient with it. Strip the baby down, have the bathtub ready, and don't use chocolate cake.



A didn't get much cake. He went for the icing. After I gave him a bite of the actual carrot cake, he was shocked to taste something other than sugar. But that didn't deter him; he went back to the icing.



Another first birthday down. How many more of these will we get to experience?