SWINTER

We've been ready for spring for weeks now. We thought it was right around the corner. Mother nature, however, has had different ideas so instead of tulips and grass and blue skies, we've had "swinter." (That's winter when it's supposed to be spring, according to Nick and Liv.) In the last two weeks, we've had four of the worst blizzards I've ever been in. And coming from a Dakota girl, that is saying something. School has been cancelled more times than we can count....Liv will now be in class until the middle of June in order to make up for all the snow days! So how exactly have we been keeping ourselves busy? The photos below sum up the last 14 days really well.... Thankfully these three are really best of friends so they can play hours together and be perfectly content..
Dreaming of warmer days and creating detailed maps for our summer travel plans. Doesn't every kid love rolling in snow and then jumping in hot water to burn off his or her skin? No one can survive a blizzard without baked goods, no one.

32

I am 32 today. Finally. I got a little mixed up somewhere and started thinking I was 32 several months ago. Not that I feel old though. I still think I am some young 19 year old chick with a flat stomach and tight rear end.....

My thirty-two years have served me well and I can say that today really is a celebration for me. Every birthday is... I love my life! I am blessed and happy and really wouldn't change a thing if I could. I have been working on a list, "MY 32 FAVORITES" as kind of a gift to myself. Somedays I need something to remind me of all the wonderful things in my life and this list will be able to do just that. Here it is and, after the first few items, the rest is in no particular order.

MY 32 FAVORITES
1 Christopher, My forever best friend and lover. You get me and love me anyway.
2. My little kiddies, complete with sticky fingers, dirty diapers and sassy faces. I could not love you more than I do.
3. Prayer. I know mine are answered by a loving Heavenly Father who knows me better than I know myself.
4. Parents who are eternally devoted to their family. Thanks for your example.
5. Snow storms, especially the really bad ones. It's the perfect time to clean and make soup.
6. The color green.
7. Every delicious piece of chocolate on earth. I will find you and eat you.
8. Good friends.
9. People Magazine
10. A Sunshiney beach and a good lounge chair. And a virgin Pina colada.
11. Playing games with my kids.
12. My education and the opportunity to see tiny newborn miracles every time I go to work.
13. Cooking with Nick.
14. A brother and sister who are the smartest, funniest, greatest people to hang out with. I love how    much we laugh together!
15. My sister's closet. It always has cuter stuff than mine.....!
16. Watching Ben sing.
17. Cheetos.
18. And Snickers Bars.
19. Pedicures
20. Target
21. Christmas Cards
22. Holding one of my kids while they sleep.
23. Weight Watchers
24. Walking Charlie-dog
25. Organizing stuff
26. My daily workout. The day always goes better if I've done a little sweatin'.
27. Wrestling my brother every time I see him.
28. HGTV
29. Beautiful shoes.
30. Surprising the kids
31. Holidays, every one of them!
32. Chinese food

NAUGHTY LEPRECHAUNS By Olivia

"Every year on St. Patrick's Day, the Leperchauns mess up our house. Sometimes they throw shoes out onto the floor and hang our barbies and teddy bears from the ceiling. The couch cushions have been tossed around before and last year they made these spider webs out of tape in our rooms and we almost couldn't get out! And once they wrote my name on the wall with a marker that wasn't washable! I don't know why they come to our house, but they do. Nick thinks they like to do tricks on us. This year, I woke up and looked at my mirror. It has the word "FOOL!" painted on it with green paint! I went into my bathroom and there was writing all over my mirror and colored water in the sinks and toilet! I woke up Nick and we went out into the living room where there were more words like "GO GREEN!" and "I LOVE GOLD!" and four-leaf clovers painted on the windows. There was a note for us on the table from the leperchauns. It said, "Dear Kiddies, This is your friendly leperchauns. We did not make a mess this year because this place is already a pit. There are 20 gold chocolates hidden around for each of you to find. Good Luck! Love, Your friendly Leperchauns P.S. It's cookies for breakfast!" They left us four-leaf clover cookies with green sprinkles on them. We got out the milk out of the fridge and it was dyed GREEN! And then, when I got to school, my teacher Mrs. Barlsou told everybody that the leperchauns threw papers all over our classroom! Our teacher had to pick them up! So there it is- the story of our years of mischief!"

BEAST

We used to call him Ben, buddy, brother, buffalo....now it's BEAST. Beast has had a stellar week of getting into absolutely everything. I swear I could work for HASMAT doing distaster clean-up. Aside from dumping videos & games, biting all the apples in the fridge, and stripping off his diaper to pee in the kitchen, Beast has started to "color color" and he's taken it to grandma's walls, doors, and fireplace. Quite liberally, I might add. Rest assured this momma buys washable art supplies and Mr. Clean Magic Erasers so no home or child has been damaged due to unleashed creativity.

Thanks to Beast, Chris is becoming a very handy plumber. Yet again, We had the opportunity to completely remove a toilet in order to retrieve a flushed item. Last time it was a princess cell phone, then it was the top to a one of the kids' water bottles, and who knows what it was this time around. I have a feeling that if it happens again, Beast is gonna get the flush because poppa ain't a fan of poop. Note the safety goggles he's wearing.... So Ben was introduced to the "Naughty Spot" this week. The "Naughty Spot" is the little red chair we use for time outs. At first, I thought for sure he got it (SEE TOP PHOTO), but then he started laughing and naming body parts...

Toilet, take 2 ( take 1 was in our old house...)

Toilet, take 3

WILDCATS

I had the pleasure of taking Nick and Olivia on a little date this week....we went to High School Musical: THE ICE TOUR at the civic center. We had a blast!!! Since Olivia is in Brownies, we were able to get special "club seating" through the Girl Scouts. She and I went early for the "meet-n-greet" where she had her picture taken with the skater who plays Sharpay. We dined on concession food for dinner, took lots of pictures, and played HSM trivia. Nick arrived later with my girlfriend, Collette, and her two boys. The show started and it was really fun! We all sang along-even I know the soundtracks for all three movies. At times Nick was almost more entertaining than the show- that kid was groovin and singing in his seat during all of his favorite songs. We made a treat run during intermission....I quickly determined that cotton candy prices have gone up when I plunked out $20 for two bags of fluffy sugar!

It was a fun night and we all had a good time together. Second to Chris, there is no one else I would rather date than my kiddies!!! XOXOXO

MOMMA'S BOY

Not too long ago, Nick was really a behavioral challenge. We've all been through alot lately, but Nick was taking it to the next level. He was defiant and sassy and lashing out at Ben for every little thing. He was sleeping poorly and started wetting the bed so on top of being naughty, he was totally exhausted. Chris and I were losing our minds, trying to figure out what was going on with him. Then one night, while talking to my mom in total frustration, she reminded me that "the kid with the worst behavior needs the most love." I thought about that for a little while and then it all dawned on me. I felt bad for not recognizing the problem earlier. What kind of a mother am I? Am I that out of touch? How come I didn't see it?

This little peanut is 100% mine. Has been since the day he was born. Of all the people in the world, he will choose his momma for love, attention, talk time, date night, or back scratching over anyone else. He is the softest, most sensitive sweetest little boy, much like his daddy was when he was little. I love my Nicky to pieces and it hurts me to know how hard life has been for him, now that his mommy is working! It really hasn't phased the other kids, but for Nick, it has obviously been traumatic! We went from being together every day all day to seeing each other for only few minutes in the morning. Sometimes we go a couple of days without hanging out together. No wonder he is acting up, he feels abandoned by his mom! Unfortunately, he doesn't totally understand why I need to work, so that makes things even harder. Every morning he wakes up early and sits in the bathroom with me while I get ready to go. He follows me around the house while I gather my stuff, asking when I will be home. He kisses me at least five times before following me out to the car, then another kiss or two and he still can hardly stand to see me drive away. I call to check on him during the day and every once in a while, Chris brings the boys to the hospital to have lunch with me in the cafeteria. Nick would come every day to have cheese sticks and rootbeer with me if he could. I wish he could. It would make my days easier, too, being able to see him.

Since realizing what was "really" going on with him, we've made some changes and he seems to be feeling much better. I am making a conscious effort to spend a little time with him as often as possible, doing whatever he wants to do. I make sure to ask him about every little thing he does in school and let him help me cook dinner. We cuddle, tickle and read together a little more often and I am happy to slump against the wall and rest while he dances and performs for me. He's a good kid, a sweet kid, and I hope he will forgive me for not understanding what was going on with him sooner. I love you, buddy, more than you know. Momma will be home again soon, I promise! XOXOXO

PROUD PARENT

Today Olivia's class went on a field trip to a neighborhood bank. There is a lady from the bank who has been teaching a Junior Achievement lessons to them and today was the day they were able to visit her at the bank where she works. Nick and I went along as chaperones and had a really nice afternoon. The kids were good and really had fun. They loved the treats and gold dollar coins they were given. When we got back to the school, the class wrote thankyou notes and nick was able to sit at the empty desk next to Olivia and write one, too. I could tell by the look on his face that he was thrilled to be a second-grader, even if only for an hour!

The best part of the day though, was when we first arrived at the school. The kids were lining up to leave when Olivia's teacher approached me with a big smile on her face and pulled me out into the hallway. She said, "Now, I'm not supposed to be telling you this, but do you remember the standardized testing we did with the kids a few weeks ago? Well, the results came back and I want you to know that Olivia did very, very well. Extremely well. Unbelievably well. She has a very high I.Q. and you should consider having her tested for gifted education." I stood there with a big goofy grin on my face as she continued, "I have to turn in all the test results today but I want to show you her results before I do so. I want to talk to you about some things you should be doing with her at home. You have no idea how lucky you are." At that very moment,  and only for a second, I wanted a bumper sticker that said,"Proud parent of a Wilson Elementary Honor Student!" Is there anything better that a parent can hear from their child's teacher other than that they are excelling in school? We have always known she is a smart little cookie. She reads well, excels at math and remembers everything she has ever been told. (This can be good and bad!) We really haven't had to worry much about her in the school department, other than making sure her homework gets done and then the morning ritual of dragging her out of bed...I have, however, wondered about her a bit this year since she has been complaining of "being so bored" and just "doing nothing" all day. This year she hasn't seemed to enjoy the school work much and now after talking to her teacher, I think I get it. She really is bored out of her mind.
After school her teacher reviewed the test results with me and discussed several things that we can do with her at home to challenge and stretch her learning. I talked with Liv about it and she is willing to implement a few new things into our daily routine. We have new math websites to work on and a few other things that I am hoping will help her get her spark back when it comes to school. We are going to be doing more cooking(fractions), weaving(small crafts for hand-eye coordination and patterns), memorizing of her piano pieces, and start having spelling tests at home. She is a hardworker, focused and diligent, when she is doing something she loves and I think she will enjoy all of it. I hope that someday she realizes how wonderful it is to be able to learn and think and read about so many wonderful things and be able to comprehend it all so easily. She does have a special gift; a good memory and a curious mind will make every day of her life more meaningful and interesting. Throw in her sweet personality and big heart and she is already a helpful, generous, creative little person of whom we couldn't be more proud. Is there room for all of that on a bumper sticker?

DR.SUESS

This week is Dr. Suess week at Olivia's school so they have been celebrating all kinds of crazy things and reading lots of his books. Today they had to create their own Dr. Suess character and this is what she came up with. I think it would be PERFECT for one of his books! Great work, sis!

THE CHAIR

A big THANKYOU to Aunt Steph, the owner of the chair Ben can be seen sitting on in the above photograph. Ben just recently discovered this chair and due to the fact that it only weighs about 2 ounces, he can easily drag it anywhere in the house. All flat surfaces that were once out of his reach are now completely accessable, thanks to this little chair. Yesterday he helped himself to my Cheetos on the kitchen counter. Sure, it was a "family-sized" bag but that's not the point.... P.S. Yes, the ink design on his stomach IS a tattoo.....

"CHARLIE" BY OLIVIA

ADDENDUM: CHARLIE

It's barely been a week since I posted sweet nothings about this dog and since then he's gone bizerk. Just like most appliances, he fell apart a week after the warranty expired. Not only does he consider himself a 65-pound "lap dog," but in the last two days, he's taken to pooping in the house and stealing frozen chicken off the counter. What was I thinking?! Are there not enough animals in this house already? Momma says it's crackdown smackdown time or the dog goes....