July 2009

Is this a Pottery Barn ad?

I wish! Nope. It's just our backyard. Its FINALLY starting to come together. Those of you who know me, know that I've been on a year long search for chaise lounge chairs. Its taken that long because 1) we live in "the middle" 2) I'm very picky, and 3) there's a budget. (Isn't that usually the catch???) Anyway...I finally found the right style that had both single and double chaises and were affordable (I found an internet coupon for 20% off and basically got a chair for free!). But the best part??? The cushions. I have to tell you about the cushions. Cushions usually cost between $75-200, depending on style, color, depth, etc. Well, these babies...I found these guys at Garden Ridge for $30 a piece. You read that right...30 smakeroos! I'm still tickled with that one! They were on an end of the season clearance (cuz its July, you know...time to start decorating for Christmas, right???) so they were moving them out. And I found them. 4 cushions, 4 pillows, in the EXACT color and size I needed. This NEVER happens to me! But it did...so don't go asking me for any lotto numbers, cuz I used up all of my luck...on chaise cushions!

Now if I could just finally pick out a few trees to plant...

Oh, and thanks babe for putting them all together!

Back in the saddle...or on the horse...or whatever it is

First of, no we don't have a horse, just using the saying. We got back in the pool today after the "incident" last week. (No I'm not expanding on that just quite yet. Still too recent of an event.) Joe and Grady jumped right in while mom waded around in the shallow end watching the girls splash around. I probably would have gotten in, but was feeling to tired and lazy to go change into my suit. It was too hot of a day not to get in and it was time. We've had a nice rest from outdoor activities but it was fun to be just us in the pool. It's a bit hot down here this summer, so as I'm sure you've guessed we are rather popular. I'd love to say its due to our fun and entertaining nature, but I'm guessing it might have a little something to do with the pool?!?! Anyway, we've been entertaining on almost a daily basis and I have a very nice tan to prove it...even with 30 SPF!

Well, its almost midnight. I stayed up late to finish another 2 scrapbook pages. I got creator's block in the middle of it, but still finished. I don't love how they turned out, but they are done. I've been having fun experimenting with new techniques and playing around.

Goodnight...I hope! :)

Bed-head and all (June pics)

I've sorely been neglecting the picture posting aspect of this blog. I have this wonerful new camera and lots of pictures, but its tricky to get the pics onto the computer, edited and posted. So...here is my morning. Unedited, uncombed, unposed, but posted!!!

2 more pages...

My two sweet girls!

What am I doing this weekend?

You got it. Hopefully I'll have wonderful pictures to show you of how it turned out.

Post Note: Um....ya....on that...? Well, I got a few in the ground. That didn't work out so well and they have since been overtaken by these horrible weeds. Weeds on steroids apparently. Man do they grow big and fast down here. Others died in their little plastic pots as I wasn't able to get them all taken care of. The surviving few, ended up in real pots on the patio. Those are ok, but since we'll be having 100 temp over the next few weeks, if I don't remember to water them, they're gonners! I did mention how much I despise yard work, didn't I?

My name is Kelly and I'm a multi-tasker

Really, its bad. I'm always doing more things than I should be...all at the same time. Like, I can't sit down to just watch TV, I have to be folding laundry, cleaning the kitchen or sewing. If I'm outside with the kids, I'm pulling weeds, cleaning the garage or back porch. Waiting for school pickup, knitting, cleaning out the car, or flipping though one of the gazillion magazines that are piling up. So, this is what I did at swimming lessons last night. A cute fabric flower. I saw something similar somewhere and thought I'd take a stab at it. This is for Ellery's hair. It's about 4" across and 1.5" high. Love it!!! And she's so excited to wear it. I'll get a pic of it in her hair (as soon as the smelly glue dries)! My first attempt was a little flat and part of the charm is the 3-D-ness (yes, making up words here). I hand stitched the first try and while cute, not exactly what I was after. This time I ran it through the sewing machine with the longest stitch length...MUCH easier and MUCH quicker. Anyway...love it (did I already mention that?) Going to make more. Ells will wear 'em...she's my girly-girl. Molly, I'm afraid, takes after me in the sporty-tom-boy area. Oh well, at least one of them will love it!

Uh oh....I did it...

Thank you to all of you who have sent me requests to join. I finally caved. I gave in. I joined Facebook. Don't get your hopes up for me to be attentive to my account, just know that its there! I have no idea what a "wall" is or how post comments. :) ...and OH MY GOODNESS...was I really the last person on the face of the earth to join??? I think so!!! :) So, I have some questions....please leave a comment with an answer...or helpful advice about Facebook. (See, I'm use to blogging!!!)

1) Is it ok to add people that you went to high school or college with if you don't keep in touch? Even if said schools were many moons ago?

2) PROBLEM SOLVED - How do you add a picture? (Really, I'm so up on all the tech stuff and usually really good, but a little intimidated here...)

3) How do I change setting so that I don't see every time someone updates their account or sends a message to someone else? (Or is that kind of the point???)

4) KINDA FIGURED OUT - What is "wall-to-wall"?

5) PROBLEM SOLVED - How do I change my name to add my maiden name?

More to come...

Yay a custom patch order...

What do you think??? This is my test run on a pair of Miss M's jeans. Somehow ALL of her pants have holes and I'm trying to get a little more use out of them for Ells. Anyway...someone ordered some custom patches on Etsy and here's my first "draft."

All that stuff

We're in the car on our way to VBS this morning, and I look back at the kids in the rear view mirror. Ellery's staring at me, so I give her a goofy look and then smile. She says, "Mom, you are beautiful with all that stuff on." (Stuff being make-up). I'll keep her!

Is the world flat?

Molly asks "Mom, if the world is round, why is it that everywhere we go is straight?" I started to explain about relative size and all that but, man, she's only 6; I'm going to have to get much smarter...before she does! =)

Woe is me (Ellery)

So she comes down the stairs in this terribly melodramatic sad whine and after asking her to repeat herself...

This is what I heard: "Mommy I lost something I've loved my whole life."

This is what it means: "Mommy I lost (threw it behind my bed) something (a rock I got yesterday in VBS) I've loved (which changes daily) my whole life (all 4 years)."

Look familiar?

Does your house ever look like this? Some days it seems that no matter how much time I spend picking up, every time I turn around, this is what I see. (Could that be because I have 3 little munchkins running around sabotaging me? Yup!) I always try to go to bed with the house clean, that way at least I can wake up in peace and not walk out of my room to work first thing in the morning.

The other evening, Miss M and Joe are snuggling on the couch. She takes off her glasses and sets them on the coffee table and burrows under the covers. Joe says, "Please take your glasses over and put them on the counter so Grady doesn't get them." Her reply, "that's OK Dad. I don't need to. Mom will take care of them. It doesn't matter where I put them, mom always takes care of them." OK...so apparently I'm picking up after them a little too much. But how do you get a type A gal to stop??

Oh, and yes, if you were wondering, I do feel like laying down in the middle of it and just giving up! (But then I'll just wake up to a mess.)

May pics

Ellery's thoughts on kids

We're discussing children and being a mom and how many kids she's going to have. Follow the conversation:

E: When I'm a mom, I'm not going to have any kids.
M: Well, sweet pea, in order to be a mom you have to have kids.
E: OK then, I'll have 100.
M: That's an awful lot of work are you sure you want that many?
E: Nope. (pause) Are we going to have more kids?
M: I dunno...should we?
E: Yes, but let's tell daddy.

Everest here he comes

Do you think he's hungry? I was pretty proud of myself to actually catch this one on camera. The first time it happened I was shocked. Then relieved that he hadn't tumbled backwards and knocked himself out on the tile floor. Then surprised at how quickly he did it. Like he'd been practicing (although he's yet to figure out how to escape!) Then wondering where my camera was. All these thoughts fly through my head in a split second (yet it takes me a few minutes to type!?!?)

Anyhoo...we have a climber. Molly did this too, so really, should it be so surprising to me? Nope. He climbs anything in site. Including our bathroom cabinets. The other day, I walked by the kids bathroom and the water is running. Huh, that's funny, the girls are outside with dad, did one of them leave the water on? I turn the corner and here he comes walking out of his room saying, "Uh-oh" and is soaking wet. Head to toe. So is the bathroom counter, floor, towels, mirrors and wall. Amazing what that child can do in just a few seconds! (I was warned about boys, but little did I know... :)

Happy Mother's Day

To all the mom's out there....I hope you have a wonderful Mother's Day. May this be a day all about you. Enjoy it. Remember what a blessing it is to be a mom. Thank your mom and love your kids!!!

My solution to holey knees

What is it with kids and putting holes in all pants, tights, jeans, leggings!?!? I've started cutting off the pants to make them into shorts, which extends their life a tab bit longer...especially if you live somewhere with longer summers! I use to patch from the inside with fun material so you'd see a circle or square of material through. I just played with a fun new toy and now have made some cute patches.

I'm going to be selling them in my store. I've hand cut most, but boy does the die cut machine make this so much easier!!! The butterfly is the first of many to come. Now I just have to sell, sell, sell so that I can buy more dies! If you're interested in some, let me know.... bugaboogifts@gmail.com

Short shorts

Usually, to hasten the morning routine, I pick out the kids clothes the night before. On the mornings the clothes aren't laid out, the girls get themselves dressed...like this morning. Molly keeps coming to me with choices, and I keep telling her to just get dressed. She came in wearing a pair of shorts and told her she'd have to change. They were too short for school...even for Kindergarten there is a dress code! She says, "Mom, they're called shorts. They're supposed to be short!"

How do you argue with that??? (I still made her change.)

Just a snack

Another tidbit from Ellery:

We were driving home from an evening event where she had left with cookie in hand. In the car, she asked if she could eat it. I answered yes. A few minutes later she asked if she could have a big marshmellow when she got home. I answered no. She told me that it wasn't fair because she wanted dessert. I asked her what the cookie was. She said "just a snack."

April pics

Caught with her hand in the cookie jar

I've never really used this phase before, but today...it really happened. I made cookies for Joe last night. Those of you who know me, know that I don't bake. I don't even pretend to bake. I don't enjoy it. I don't have the patience for it. And...I always screw it up. Except for cookies. Chocolate chip ones, to be exact. That's it. Oh...well, occasionally, I change it up a bit and add butterscotch chips or white chocolate chip, or heck...get wild and crazy and do all three, but that's it. (And they are pretty darn yummy!!!) But, I digress. So last night Joe begged for cookies and I made them. Actually, he begged for them the night before about 5 minutes before I was going to bed. Last night he got his cookies. Today...he might notice that there aren't a whole lot left, and it wasn't me!! While Ellery was eating lunch, I came upstairs to write a quick email (mistake #1). I had doled out the usual lunch and since she was almost done, I thought I'd give her a cookie for dessert as long as she finished her lunch. The cookie was placed on the counter next to her bowl of fruit (mistake #2). I ran upstairs a few minutes (mistake #3). When I came back down, all I could see over the counter was a quick movement of a hand, pulling away from the stove, coincidentally where I had put the cookies on plate wrapped with plastic wrap (mistake #4). I walked into the kitchen to find her running around the island to hide....cookie in hand. That child is getting much faster. I chased her around the island a few times (slower than normal because I'm a bit sore from boot camp...which is a whole other post) and sadly could only grab her by the hair (no one was harmed, I promise...she thought it was funny that mommy couldn't catch her!) Anyway...she fessed up to eating the cookie I had given her (note: BEFORE she finished her lunch) and taking more. How many more??? I have no idea. All I know is that plate is much emptier now that is was last night. Now Joe could have eaten some for breakfast, but I'm betting Ellery took more than 1 cookie!

My Little Man

Love him!

What comes after a million???

Joe and the girls were in the car the other day and they were talking about numbers and sequencing, like hundred, thousand, million, billion, etc. Well, Joe asks Molly, "what comes after a million?" She looks at him with this funny look on her face and says, "a million and one!"

March pictures

The Hampster Wheel

No we did not get a hampster, mom. Like I really need more to pick up after? It's just don't you ever feel like you're on the wheel? You know...running and running and walking and running, but you never seem to get anywhere? (I guess it could be my treadmill, too!?!?) Anyway...I'm in a rut. All the way around. House, kids, work, crafts, exercise, life...just a rut. I clean a room, I walk into another room to clean it, I go to put something back in the first cleaned room and somehow its messy again. How does that happen?

On that note...must update later...life has happened here...BRB...

Baby Zandee

I have wonderful news today. My dear friend Kristen and her hubby are expecting! YAY!!! We are so excited for you. It's been a long wait and I know you will make wonderful parents. We gladly welcome you to the wonderful world of parenting! Here are just a few tips from a somewhat seasoned parent...

1) Take pictures every month of your pregnancy. Regardless of how you look and feel now, you will want to look back and see your pregnant belly!

2) Start stocking up on diapers now. They're expensive and you can never have enough.

3) Now and when the baby comes....if people offer help...take it!

4) Sleep when the baby sleeps.

5) Get a great diaper bag. Not too little, not to big. Enough to fit diapers, wipes, change of clothes, burp cloth, bottle and a toy. You will be carrying it for a long time, so make sure its cute.

6) Don't buy the matching quilt to the bedding set unless you plan on hanging it on the wall. You'll end up using receiving and minky blankets anyway.

7) When you make up the crib, layer pad, sheet, pad, sheet, pad, sheet. This way when the baby spits up or poops through, all you have to do is pull the top layer and not take the mattress out of the crib to change it. (Which is not easy to do.)

8) Buy a pack of white wash clothes at Costco/Sam's and have them stashed all over the house. Perfect size for burp clothes, cheap, great absorbency, and easy to bleach.

9) It's your baby so enjoy every minute of it. They are small for such a short time. You can never give them too much love.

OK...so that's it for now. Hee hee, I can't wait to see pics of you preggers. Congrats you three! =)

Thoughts from Ellery

Driving to school this morning:

"Wow mom, what a beautiful day." (It's cloudy and overcast). "With the birds singing....and....the clouds.....wait a minute....we need the sun to have a beautiful day. Maybe its not so beautiful."

Thoughts from Ellery

Really, I should just start a whole new blog about "Thoughts from Ellery." These tidbits of wisdom seem to come almost on a daily basis. I love it. She makes me smile all the time! Well, her 4th Birthday was on Saturday. Some friends stayed over after the party and we took all the kids for a bike ride/walk around the block. We passed by another friend's house (Aubrey) who was cooking dinner and could see us out her kitchen window. Aubrey knew we had had Ellery's party that day, so she asked Ellery what she got for her birthday. Ellery answered, "presents" and kept right on riding.

Molly's race

All weekend Molly's been complaining about going to school today (Monday). She keeps saying she feels like she needs to stay home. Come Sunday evening, I finally get out of her why she doesn't want to go. You see, they're doing that Presidential Health thingy. You know, you remember, the see-how-far-past-your-toes-you-can-stretch thing, and the how many push-ups and sit-ups you can do, and the timed running thing??? I remember. I loved it....but then again, I was pretty athletic way back when. =) So, I guess in P.E. today, they were doing the running part and Molly didn't want to do it. She thought they had to race for a mile and was telling me, "that's an awfully long time to run." So...when I picked her up today, she was pretty excited. Not only did she run the whole distance (which turned out the be a 1/4 of a mile), but she "won." Meaning she got the fastest time out of the whole Kindergarten. It wasn't a race at all, but she was excited that she still came in first. I was pretty surprised especially since she's one of the smallest kids in the class. I guess those short little legs can motor pretty fast...unless I've asked her to do something...?

Another scrapbook page

We've had a busy few weeks here. I've helped throw a baby shower, Ellery's 4th Birthday party, the girls started swim lessons, an eardrum rupture and 3 separate ear infections, one night of no sleep for mama, coffee spilled on my carpet (no connection to the no sleep), the pool pump almost broke and I'm sure there's more, but my point...What picture do I post??? The one of the page I completed last night! Hey, a girl's gotta have priorities, right? Well, here is page #6 for the year. I'm aiming for 52 completed pages this year. Yes, I know, that is a HUGE goal for me, especially since I haven't scrapped in over 18 months, but I'm going to make it. Right now, I'm only 9 pages behind....ok, so maybe that's a lot but each page seems to take sooo long right now. There is a learning curve right? I mean, at some point I have to get quicker??? Oh well...I'm having fun! =)

This is page #6. It's my pregnancy with Ellery. Notice there are no pictures of me? Well, that's because the only ones I had were that of me 9 months preggers, sitting on the couch the night before my C-section. Not pretty. You see the mat the ultrasound pics are on? There is actually a hidden pocket behind it. I sewed 3 sides of the mat and all the other ultrasound pics are tucked away. I also used my foam stamps and acrylic paint for the first time. Love them. Will be using them more. A lot more. Anyway...enjoy!

Ellery my brain-child

It's been warmer here lately, so we've been wearing more summer-type clothes. On our way to school the other day Ellery says, "Mom...you and Grady and Molly and I are all wearing short sleeve shirts. Everybody is wearing short sleeved shirts.....except for the people that aren't." Chemical Engineering, here we come!

Musical Beds

We've been playing musical beds at our house. Or at least the kids and Joe have. It seems, by morning, that the two children that can escape from their beds, have. The final location changes a bit...sometimes our bed, sometimes the couch, sometimes the floor, sometimes each other's beds...you just never know where they are going to end up, but most likely, it isn't' their own beds. Sometimes Joe moves around with them, or ends up in one of their beds. I, however, will rarely give up my spot. It's my bed. It's comfortable. I paid for it. I'm sleeping there.

Well, one early morning I was awoken by a little person in our bathroom. When she finished and climbed into our bed she was a little upset. I asked her what was wrong and she said, "there is no spot for me." I answered back, "yes there is...its up in your bed." "I don't like that spot," she replies wiggling down under the covers. Well, you lucked out this morning kiddo, cuz I'm too tired to argue with ya!

February pics

Sadly, this is our only picture for February. Notice the huge load of dirt in the driveway...that was our second load so imagine what I was doing all month instead of taking pictures! :) Hey, but our backyard is coming together!!! Finally! My favorite part...the piggies sticking out. My least favorite...the clean up of the boy, the clothes, and my carpet. But did the girls (and Joe) ever have fun burying him!

Never a dull moment around here...

All of you that have or have had little children in your home know that life is full of surprises. Surprises like tough questions that are asked where you have to think on your feet, finding toys in random places, kids saying things at the most inopportune times, your babies getting sick and trying to clean up with only your shirt, and, of course, other bodily functions. Yes, I left that one for last because that's what happened to me today.

Silly me for trying to get a little work done while Grady's awake. Tax season is in full swing, and I'm trying to stay ahead of the game...and get our own personal tax return done. I got a little caught up in entering donations and zoned in a bit...too much, I guess. When Grady was at my office door for a second protesting about something, I should have taken it a bit more seriously. After finishing the page I was working on, I went to find him. I walked out my office door, and what greeted me? Poop. On the floor. Assuming the cat did it, I went to find out where Grady was. He was happily playing with a toy in the playroom...naked. Where's his diaper? I still have no idea. He's not talking and I can't find it. The first thing I did was make sure Grady didn't play with the poop. Clean hands...Phew! Next...back to the changing table to get him covered again...and this time dressed. (I didn't quite get that far after his bath.) Get TP, put poop in toilet, wash hands again, look for diaper...nowhere. Put Grady down for nap, look for diaper...nowhere. Oh well, it'll show up sooner or later. Meanwhile, I hope I don't step in a puddle of pee.

Now, back to those donations...

P.S. Found the diaper. Grady so kindly put it in one of the toy bins in the playroom.

Cat food? Really?

I'm sure you can already guess which one of my children this post is about! Yup...Grady. I come around the corner and guess who has the cat food bowl in his hand and is munching on a handful like its chex mix. I can't imagine it tastes very good and kinda hurts my feelings when I know he won't eat the very edible food I feed him, but cat food? Really??? Oh well, at least its the high protein kind!

Ellery's thought of the day

When discussing her nap, she says, "Mom, I'm not going to take a nap, I'm just going to rest my eyes."

Craft-n-Chat

Well, I am frantically preparing for our first open house. Jennifer and I are starting some crafting classes which will be held at the Amazing Transformations Studio: Tri-County Tech Center in Bartlesville, Incubator #4. Our open house is Thursday, Feb 19th, from 6-8. (For more information, contact Jennifer at jennifer@atredesign.com) Anyway...trying to get a handful of "example" crafts done, which means that my office is a complete disaster! There is fabric, punches, paper and buttons EVERYWHERE!!! No joke. And its all on top of tax client stuff and normal life stuff! Yikes!!! I have got to get a grip....SOON! =)

Pictures of the crafts to come...I promise! =)

What did I do today?

First off, thank you very much for asking! Well, where do I start? After I got kiddo #1 out the door, and finished getting ready and the rest of us headed for the car. I couldn't get the doors open, so after checking inside, I confirmed that my gut feeling was right...dead battery. We were heading to MOPS, so I called a friend, with a van, headed to the same meeting, to come get us. (Thank you, Jill!!!) After the meeting, she carpooled us back home. For all her trouble, I figured the least I could do was feed all the kids. So we got them fed and busy, so we could go try to jump the car. Quick question...why is it when you need a man, they are no where to be found? Not one single guy. No utility truck, no neighbor, no couple perusing homes...nada. After reading the instructions (yes, I'm one of those) on both the car AND the jumper cables, Jill and I got to work. I called a girlfriend/neighbor (thanks, Aubrey) to have on phone, just in case. After all, there are 4 small children inside my house and both moms outside dealing with electricity and batteries. (Somewhere in the booklet it did mention that the battery could explode...) Here we go, positive, positive, negative, ground, start engine, idle, attempt to start engine.....nothing. Disconnect. And again...and again...NOTHING! To make a long story short...the Honda dealership sent someone out to jump it and I took the car in while Jill stayed with the kids. Turns out my battery was just at the end of its short little life. While the car had consumed too many hours of my day yesterday (and Jill's), there is some good news...everything was surprisingly free of charge due to the warranty (that never happens to me) AND they had the car in and out in less than 15 min (also never happens!!!) Love Honda of Bartlesville!!!

A little "funny" for the day...

One of my girlfriends sent this in an email...it was too cute! I'd love to give credit to whomever wrote this, but alas, I have not the information (so if anyone does, leave a comment so I can post. =)

Based on "If you Give a Mouse a Cookie" by Laura Numeroff
If you give a mom a muffin, she'll want a cup of coffee to go with it. She'll pour herself some. Her three-year-old will spill the coffee. She'll wipe it up. Wiping the floor, she will find dirty socks. She'll remember she has to do laundry. When she puts the laundry in the washer, she'll trip over boots and bump into the freezer. Bumping into the freezer will remind her she has to plan supper. She will get out a pound of hamburger. She'll look for her cookbook. (101 Things To Make With A Pound Of Hamburger.) The cookbook is sitting under a pile of mail. She will see the phone bill, which is due tomorrow. She will look for her checkbook. The checkbook is in her purse that is being dumped out by her two-year-old. She'll smell something funny. She'll change the two-year-old. While she is changing the two-year-old the phone will ring. Her five-year-old will answer and hang up. She'll remember that she wants to phone a friend to come for coffee. Thinking of coffee will remind her that she was going to have a cup. She will pour herself some. And chances are, if she has a cup of coffee, her kids will have eaten the muffin that went with it.

Now...where did my muffin go???

Can we say "temper tantrum" with two capital T's?

Oh......my......goodness. Too funny! First off, we've never had a kid throw and all out temper tantrum (believe it or not!) Maybe that's why I found this so funny? New experience? I was having a really hard time not laughing at him. So, I hear Grady downstairs just pitching a fit, and went down to see what was the matter. He was face down on the carpet kicking and screaming. He'd occasionally look up, scream, face in the carpet, kick...over and over. I turned to ask Joe what happened (we're still not really sure)...he thinks its because he got his ball stuck on the other side of the baby gate!?!? (My guess...T...I...R...E...D!) Anyway...no calming this kid down, so we just watched him for about 10 minute (I was debating getting my camera, and for once didn't!) I finally went over and picked him up, and he quickly quieted. I grabbed his bottle (yes, he's still drinking milk from a bottle) and pacifier (and yes, he still has his paci) and he wanted nothing to do with either which is a rare occurrence...that is until it was HIS choice. Then paci in mouth AND bottle in mouth. This kid is pretty good at multi-tasking, as long as it involves a paci. He can scream with his paci in his mouth...he can eat with his paci (although most times he takes it out and sets it in a certain spot on the counter so as to not dirty it)...he can shower with his paci...and now, apparently, he can drink milk out of a bottle with his paci in his mouth.

Anyhoo...if this is any indication of what this child is going to be like going through his "two's," I just might have my hands full. Sweet as sugar most of the time, but man...he's got a bit of a temper, I guess!

Bye Bye Nanna

After a week and a half trip, we (the girls and I) took Nanna back to the airport today. Not a problem until we started to close up the doors after we got Mom and her bags out. I think that's the point the girls realized what we were doing....saying goodbye.

Ellery
"Mommy...I think I'm going to cry. Nanny's hurting my feelings 'cuz she's leaving. Nanna's broke my heart." After a few tears, she put her thumb in her mouth and that was that.

Molly
She WAILED for almost the entire 45 minute drive home. As if that didn't get old fast within the confines of the car, it was interspersed with the following thoughts said randomly through the tears:
"Oh, Nanny."
"I didn't get to play with Nanna today."
"I miss Nanna"
"She's at the airport now."
"I was laughing when she was here, but now I'm crying."
"I don't want her to leave."
"I'm not crying because I'm tired, I'm crying because I miss Nanny."
"When will she come back?"
"I always miss her when she leaves, but I don't miss her when she's here."

Halfway into the trip Ellery turned to Molly and yelled, "Molly...stop making so much noise!" (Amen, sister!!!) Mom...you are already missed...by all the Gallagher gals! Sadly, I agree with Molly, but am able to control myself a little better...most of the time! =)

January Pictures

What is in your hair???

I've heard that part of parenthood is retrieving items out of your toddler's body. Apparently, kids like to stuff things in their ears and noses. We've made it almost 6 years incident free...until the other night. No ER runs (surprised?), no tweezers or pliers involved, more so just a "huh?" You did what?

Sweet, sweet, Ellery.

So, we wake up the other morning and the hair on one side of her head is wet. I'm thinking...gosh, I know she went to bed with wet hair, but it's not dry yet? Maybe she just sweated...a lot... last night!?!? Anyway, as I go to brush her hair, I notice that its looking a bit greasy, not wet. So I ask "hon? What is in your hair?" She nonchalantly tells me that her ear was dry and she put some lotion on it. "You did what" I ask, assuming I heard her incorrectly? Nope...I heard right. Dry ear...lotion...you know...the usual. Late, after a good shampoo and a nap, I realize that whatever she put in her ear, is still there. Greasy hair again. Oh well, I think, I probably didn't get it all out with the baby shampoo; next bath, I'll use mine. Next bath comes and goes and when her hair dries and she sleeps...more grease. OK...so what's really in her ear? After talking about it with her again, it turns out that she used a Q-tip and Vaseline. (Yes, we had the Q-tip talk, right after I put them out of reach...but that's another post.) Apparently, she remembers me using Q-tips with the Vaseline. When we were all sick, the kids had such dry lips, that I would put a little on before bed, using a Q-tip so as to not spread germs. Also, you clean ears out with Q-tips, right? So...dry ears, Vaseline, Q-tips. Nuff said.

Oh...and hear hair is still greasy. Vaseline does not come out very easily. Any tips???

Grady is finally starting to talk...a little

Well, talk is a relative term. I can understand him...most of the time...(usually because I have just said the word over and over and over. Although, now that I think about it, he's probably just copying me to get me to be quiet. =) Anyway, bottle, chooch (our word for pacifier), balloon, bye, are some new ones. There seems to be a "B" theme in his limited vocab. We're still doing a bit of sign language and he put "more food" together the other day. What? words that revolve around food? shocker, I know!

How to get money

We lose pacifiers around here like they are disposable. Instead of buying more I'm bribing the girls with a quarter for each paci they find. They are showing up randomly and I'll hear the girls shout, "Mommy...I get a quarter...I found one!" This morning, Molly found one and after her cry of excitement, I told her I'd have to find a quarter for her. She says, "just get one from daddy. He makes money." "Oh really," I replied? "Ya," she says, "he does something for the company and they pay him." I was trying to decide how to respond when she says, "or at least that's what he told me."

Sitting like a lady

We're at dinner tonight and Ellery is bouncing all over the booth, climbing everywhere and hanging off the back, so Joe requested that she sit down. Ellery say, "I'm not wearing a dress dad, so I don't have to sit like a lady!"

Here are my first two pages of 2009...well of 2008 AND 2009 for that matter!

These are the fruits of my hard work. 2 Evenings. Wow...I must get better at this, because at the rate I'm going, I might get Grady's 1st Birthday done before he graduates high school. I'm going to aim for getting 1 page done a week. They all won't be as time consuming as this one was...I hope. At least since these apply to all my kids, I might save myself some time a color copy them. Do you think Grady will mind the pink??? These are are family trees. This is something I had planned on doing when I started Molly's book. My girlfriends in Bellingham laughed when I showed them my outline for Molly's album. Title page, pregnancy, baby showers, birth, firsts, etc... Hey, I wanted to make sure I included everything, after all it was my first baby book. Here I am 5 1/2 years later and barely up to her 1st Birthday. Ellery keeps asking where her book is, I keep telling her I'm going to start it next. I suppose I should at least GET the book, maybe throw in a picture or two so she has SOMETHING to look at! Grady, well, the only reason he has anything is because my dear friend Amy scrapped him a handful of pages as a baby gift so that all I'd have to do was plop some pictures in. Have I done that yet you might ask? Nope!So, here I am, finally taking some time for one of my loves. No more dreaming about layouts. No more organizing embellies and filing pretty papers. I going to use them! (Can you tell that I'm on week one of a New Year's Resolution? Hear the excitement in my words? Check back with me in March, let's see how many pages are actually done...especially since tax season has begun...!)

What? Me? Scrapbook???

Why yes, I did. Tonight. For the first time in almost 2 years (don't get me wrong, I've done a few mini-books, but they were all gifts) I'm actually working on my own scrapbooks! YAY! I'll try to post some pics of the complete pages when they are done.

A Conversation...

Molly was having a rough morning and her listening "skills" weren't exactly top notch. As Ellery and I were walking up the stairs with me hollering at Molly (once again), Ellery turns to me and says, "Molly's not being very good. I guess she'll have to have a conversation."