Eerily quiet

Tonight our house is eerily quiet and Christian doesn't quite know how to handle it. My parents took Ella and Carter to Disney on Ice tonight at the VanAndel. They were picked up around 4ish and swooped off to this amazing and fun filled night of magic. Poor Christian just keeps looking at me and then walking/crawling around to the different rooms in search of some activity. Scott is bringing home Chinese take out which the older two aren't fans of, so we rarely get it. I told Christian he will be able to enjoy this quiet solitude again in about 16 years when Ella and Carter are off to college and he has Scott and I all to himself at 17 and 18. Shockingly, he didn't seem let excited???? :) Here are a few shots of the week.

Having so much fun playing peek a boo with big sis who kept shutting herself into the new Tupperware!




trying out being in the box...hey it's fun!

Our little cutie

Christian is really going through some changes these days. The little bugger has his two top front teeth poking through, still a runny nose, but lots more smiles and determination. He is busy walking all over the house. He is so cute with both hands raised in the air for balance as he moseys around. He is so proud of himself as he rounds a corner and he loves to see our excitement as we all make such a fuss over his longer walks from here to there. Here are a few shots of him from earlier this week. I will try to post a little video with his steps sometime this weekend. It has been snowing since we woke up and we are projected to get lots of snow before tomorrow. We have plans with our friends tonight- pizza, dessert, and 7 kids whew! Maybe I should grab a nap???

Just for comparison and for the fun of it. I went back to the February picts from 2007 when Carter was exactly the same age as Christian is now. I posted a few below just to show the similarities and differences. It is crazy how different their personalities are but how close they seem. Granted, in these pictures Carter was basically running full speed ahead by the time he was 10 1/2 months. He was so dangerous (and continues to be some days). Look at these silly boys?? I am so blessed.

Carter at 10 1/2 months.

Today

Today was the end to my winter break from school. Elle and I both had yesterday and today off. It was nice not to have to go to work (although I really like going to work most days) I love the fact that we only have a three day week. Friday will be a fun day at school called Sciencefest with lots of hype, excitement and new experiences for Ella ...and my students of course. However here is a break down of the day:

The Good:
1. We 'slept in' and wore jammies for an extra long time.
2. I let Ella paint my toe nails any color she wanted (a bubble gum pink)..good thing it's not sandal weather)
3. Carter is as healthy as a horse and just as wild!
4. I scheduled a little 'me' time today. I dropped the kids at the sitter, had coffee, a Target run, and went to the salon....by MYself! Yipee! It was shockingly quiet.
5. I love the color of my hair and I didn't have her cut it since I am growing my hair back out. She took her "cutting itch" out on my bangs.{see below}

The Bad:
1.Ella continues to be a crab due to lingering cruddy ickiness (aka: stomach flu)
2. Christian is a goopy mess from all facial orifices.
3. All my shirts are a mess due to the above.
4. Scott is gone overnight on business which creates havoc at bedtime and morning routine and general lonliness for me at night.
5. I hate my bangs (which were cut WAY too short) how long does it take to grow hair????? This would make the ugly list had there not been so much illness and blood at my house today.

The Ugly:
1. I took three kids to the pediatrician bc I just had a vibe that Christian had more than teeth issues....double ear infection and an eye infection. Making me feel really crappy about leaving them at daycare while I indulged! :( Bad mom of the year award goes here!
2. Got home late from Dr., kids were a wreck, TV wasn't working so in a haste to stop the whining I offered to serve pancakes for dinner. Children----overjoyed!
3. During bedtime routine, Ella got the most severe bloody nose ever she bled everywhere for 10 minutes which seemed like hours! I went to put Christian down and HE got a bloody nose as well even with the humidifier in his room. What in the world???
4. what are the chances I will sleep through the night without tears or more blood??

Memoirs of a warm day

Shoveling down the big pile of snow.

Whew! even though it is 60 my hands are cold from this snow!

Working in the "pond" with his trusty stick.

Oops! A little mud mom!

Not so long ago, we had the absolutely beautiful, 60 degree, spring-like day. I realized that since it occurred at the beginning of February, it was truly a gift. Like any good gift, we set out to FULLy enjoy it. The kids played outside from the time we got home until I called them in to wash for dinner. It was glorious and wonderful and completely unexpected. It was so nice to open the house (notice that my windows are all open & if you look close enough maybe you can see the evil winter toxins escaping) and we went for a walk. I can honestly say that this was a special day for Carter. He looked at me as if I were a crazy woman when I told him he didn't have to wear his coat. He is truly an outdoorsMAN and is in his element exploring and romping in nature. Here are a few shots! Notice we are wearing rain boots...not snow boots! Ahhh, the promise of spring.

Christian is just as excited to be outside as the rest of us!

Waiting patiently to get outside with the kids. Keeping a close eye on them.

Watering her "seeds" she planted.

Carter showing Christian his work goggles.

Christian thought he was cool since he learned how to go backwards

Valentine's Day -family of 5 style

I am always up for a fun, cutesy holiday. In the last, the kids and I made Valentine mobiles to send to Grandparents in lieu of cards. We decorated the windows with heart cling ons and even have a glittzy L-O-V-E banner hanging around to remind us how much we love each other. Well this week, Elle is NOT feeling the love. She is just a touch bitter about the cards she's been dealt. You see she and I were supposed to have this fabulous "girls day" on Wednesday. I took off the day from school and we were going to attend her school field trip to the Children's Museum together. She had been talking about all the details for weeks. However, shortly after I tucked myself into bed on Tuesday night I was startled awake by my panicked husband. Ella had summoned him to her room to pick up a stuffed animal and in doing so he discovered that she had thrown up all over the side of the bed, the floor, and the aforementioned stuffed animal.


YUCK! As those of you who know my dear husband and his aversion to anything "bloody or gross" can imagine his urgency to get me involved in the cleanup mess. To make a long story short Ella threw up about 12-15 times in the next 5 hours. It was very messy and included Scott and I taking turn steam cleaning the basement carpet at 1:30 in the morning. At about 2 it all hit Ella that she would not be able to go on the field trip which in turn geared up the emotional hysterics. Ahhh! Poor thing to be that sick, but then to have to miss that fun day. On top of all of this Christian is cutting his front two teeth and was up 2 to 3 times (at this point, everything in time and space is a little blurry). Between Scott and I we each got about 1 1/2-2 hours sleep...maybe??? I spent my "day off" tending to our not so well feeling children. However, Carter felt fine and wanted to play and be rough and CRAZy which is shockingly annoying to the sleep deprived and sick!

About our Valentine's day: I try to make these days fun, cozy and memorable so I had intentions of serving heart shaped waffles (yes, I have the waffle iron to prove it) and strawberries with hugs and kisses lining their plates. However, in our best interest I served heart shaped toast and eggs to Carter. We didn't want to leave the kids with a sitter so I made steaks and shrimp on the grille (which was an endeavor because the propane tank was empty so I had to go exchange that at the gas station). We even enjoyed wine! Since the kids weren't feeling well we put them to bed early, really early.....and seizing the opportunity, Scott worked since he has been madly busy (which I KNOW I am grateful for in this economy) I did a little scrap booking and went to bed early. I forgot to mention that we did exchange gifts earlier in the day. Each of the kids got a new book, a new piece of clothing, and Carter got one of his Cars, Ella a beading kit.

Turns out Scott and I had a theme going and we didn't even plan it. He splurged and got me a trip to Design One for some pampering and a massage. I got him a fancy shmancy shower head for our bathroom. He loves long hot showers and I figured he could use an upgrade! We love it each sooooo much. The woooing of previous Valentine's Days are not forgotten and we will get there again we just happen to be in this stage NOW. I wouldn't trade it for anything because this is what true love it all about. Going through these stages together!

Feeling the love from MN

The house was filled with the buzz and excitement stemming from the delivery of an over sized package. Carter was the first to discover it. He was out front enjoying the sunshine, blowing bubbles to pass the time when the big brown package resting on the steps caught his eye. I feel fortunate that I was unloading some things from the van so I could hear his response. He was squealing and gasping toting this big box inside hollering, "Look Ella, look was we got!" Luckily, it wasn't the stack of parenting books I had ordered last week from Amazon!

The kids tore into the box finding wrapped gifts, card peppered with stickers, and .....the much anticipated cookies from Grandma Moorlag!

So right there on the spot, smack dab in the middle of the day we open the Tupperware and each of us enjoyed one of the scrumptious cookies Grandma had made and decorated with love!

Apparently I was so wrapped up in the moment that all sensibility escaped me because I even allowed Christian to have one! As I handed it to him, he looked at me as if I may have lost my mind. Oh the delight!

During all the commotion he slipped under the table (one of his favorite hiding spots these days). There he remained for the next 30 minutes. Happy a lark and thoroughly enjoying the deliciousness of the cookie from Grandma. Seee, she even spoils them hundreds of miles away!

"Quick I better eat this thing before mom realizes what she gave me!"

Peek-a-boo!

Bugger! where did that cookie go??? Is it gone already??? Better bring more when you come in a couple of weeks, Gram!

Beating the winter blues

Thankfully the weather has taken a turn for the warmer and sunnier lately. Twas not the case when I snapped the following first couple pictures.

What does one do with three children who are:

tearing up the house, jumping on my bed,

throwing clothes all around throughout the day for "costume changes" ,

wrestling each other, harassing the cat,

pouring out all of my drawer and cupboards (the 10 month old),

and just generally driving us all MAD????????

Well here is what one mother (namely ME) does: Bundles them up, gives them a power snack, then schleps everyone to the Y. While we are there I treat them like I am the drill Sargent and they are my poor subjects. I run them around the gymnasium doing soccer drills, we run/walk(drag Carter) around the indoor track! Yes, by the end Carter was crying laying on the track. When I peeled him off the floor to see what the problem was, he looked at me all red faced and in sheer exhaustion said, "my feet are SOOOOO sweaty mom!" YES! I won. They were all so tired that on this victorious night, they inhaled dinner, begged for jammies and fell asleep during stories. Hey, as an added bonus I got a pretty good workout in to!

Having lots of fun "power kicking the soccer ball as hard as her could. which is definitely NOT aloud in our house! He would kick it into this mat as hard as he could and yell "score!"

I think we have a little speedster on our hands! Glad we have some way to channel his energy!
Enjoying the pool!

I had to snap this shot because Carter fell asleep in the backseat of the van in the middle of eating his sandwich. Grandparents....don't be alarmed I am not DRIVING and taking pictures at the same time!