December and other such ramblings...


Wow! The year is wrapping up and I'm wondering where it has gone? It has been a great year full of exciting and not so exciting events.

A brief recap of the last month:
Most importantly, my sweet Noah turned one on December 2nd. We had fun celebrating his birthday. I made the same birthday cake for him using the same teddy bear shaped pan that MY first birthday cake was made with. I made a Winnie the Pooh cake for Aidan, a pink bear for Izzie, and had and epic fail with Noah's cake. His bear imploded. I'm not really sure where things went wrong, but they did somewhere along the way. There will be no pictures of the giant chocolate blob. Noah loved it and I guess that's what really matters. Aidan and Iz had a great time picking out their own gift for him this year. Aidan thinks big and wanted to get him 4,023 things, but we were able to whittle his purchases down to one thing. They chose a ball. Such a simple gift, but by far his favorite gift. Noah squeals with happiness when he throws it and watches it bounce. It was a quiet celebration of his first year. He is a firecracker who has the sweetest grin. I can't wait to see what the future holds for our littlest man.

Aidan has been hard at work rehearsing and preparing for his part as a Wise Man in our church musical. He was the cutest little wise man who was singing his heart out. He LOVES to sing and despite James and I not having any musical talents worth mentioning, Aidan actually has a good voice. He can generally be caught belting out a favorite song or a Christmas carol. That kid. I think I'll go ahead and keep him.

Both older kids are taking gymnastics and love it for completely different reasons. For Aidan, it's a license to go crazy, jump on things, around things, and hurl himself into a giant pit of foam. Izzie prefers to explore the less spastic side of the sport. She is so adorable to watch in all her tiny-ness. She loves the trampoline and fancies herself quite the gymnast. She is ready to try tap dancing and is really excited about the possibility of becoming and Irish dancer. We Texans refer to it as clogging, but she is more intrigued by the more refined version. She loves to watch the Irish dancers on TV and tries her hand at it in the kitchen with her jellies on. Izzie is God's special gift to me in the midst of all these crazy, gross, weird boys that surround me. Even the stinkin' dogs are boys.

We took about 2 weeks off school before Christmas so that we could take the time to enjoy the season. Not to mention the fact that we just needed a breather. An academic Aidan is not. He would much prefer to skip school his entire life. Except recess. That part he likes. Hmmm, I see a problem with that. Playground time does not equal a successful career. Oh well, he says that he is going to be a police officer and live with me forever. That's cool with me. For now. Anyways, back to what I was actually writing about. I have blog ADD - please forgive me. Oh, and it's the middle of the night. We really enjoyed this holiday season! We made sugar cookies, explored the Polar Express book in depth, read lots of Christmas books that we hadn't read, and did a fair amount of chillin' like villains. That's how we roll.

We celebrated Christmas with James's family at Six Flags. I am not a lover of the Six Flags experience. I find the place trashy and teeming with people. Add to that motion sickness and it's just not my thing. I did ride a roller coaster for the first time since high school. Big. Mistake. I was reminded of how I hated it. We let Aidan ride it too. I will never forget the terror I felt about him being on there as we were upside down on that horrid contraption. I vividly remember thinking about climbing over the car in front of me to get to him for fear that his little body would fall out or be crushed. This feeling is not one that I recommend. James was with him and while I completely trust him, Aidan is my baby. Enough said.Did I mention that I loathed that experience? Yep, think I did. Aidan wanted to do it again! He loved it! Mommy can accept that when he is larger. Maybe like 200 lbs. larger. Who am I kidding? He could be a linebacker and I would still be terrified.

We followed Six Flags with a three day Christmas extravaganza. First, Christmas Eve at Spaghetti Warehouse. Garlic Shrimp, angel hair pasta with a lemony sauce. What else is there to say? Ok, well, I will mention that my kids looked so cute all dressed in there Christmas outfits. Particularly Izzie. She looked positively angelic in her red layered tulle dress. Oh how I wish I could bottle her at this age and keep her small forever.We went to Christmas Eve service after dinner and really just had a great evening. James read to us about the birth of Jesus - the reason for all of this - and then we had a very special treat. We were given a book by my parents that contains a recording of my dad reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas". What a special gift for me and for the kids! My dad read that to me as a child every Christmas Eve and I cherish that my children will have that same legacy.

I am stopping here because I just realized that my "brief" summary of the month rivals the most lengthy of dissertations. Oh my.

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Wow! That time of year already!

Can't believe it's the week of Thanksgiving and a couple of weeks until my sweet baby boy turns one. Where does the time go? Please, please, just slow down a little so I can enjoy a few more moments of time when my children are still young.

Noah is walking all over the place and is saying a few small words. Although most don't understand what he is saying yet, I do. He says dog, drink, bye-bye, mom, and dad. His favorite pastime is taking a bath, playing in water, and playing trucks. It is a blessing to watch him!

Izzie is turning four in about a month and is my saving grace between these rough and tumble boys! Love that kid! She is all things girly - nails painted, red lipstick, sparkles, and sequins. Did I mention the coiffed do? Simply fabulous.

Aidan is doing pretty well with homeschooling. He has his moments for sure...He is taking P.E. and has lots going on to keep him busy. Lord knows he needs to stay busy! He really enjoys being able to rest his brain in between school work. Sort of his reset button. We are finishing up a lengthy unit study on Thanksgiving that has been a real learning experience.

I really want to instill in our children that thankfulness for all our blessings is NOT secondary to the impending Christmas craziness. I want them to pause and remember that there have been many before us who have sacrificed to allow us the freedoms that we so enjoy. We have the ability to worship God in the way that we choose and I want to honor that. I also don't want them to have this idea that Thanksgiving is just a prelude to Christmas, but give them the gift of being thankful for the promise that Christmas brings. There, I am stepping slowly off of my soap box - or pulpit, or whatever. I will also admit that the prime rib and turkey doesn't hurt....Well, maybe my waistline(fortunately, I don't have one so it doesn't really matter).

Ok, back to Squanto and planting corn. The Native Americans and Separatists would have ALL died if they were counting on my growing skills. Can't even grow ivy.

Where to begin...

So much has happened since my last blog and I have not had one dull or even semi-calm moment to blog about it!

Things are so crazy and I am completely overwhelmed. We decided two weeks ago to pull Aidan out of school for various reasons and homeschool him. HUGE undertaking! So far, things are going well, but this will definitely be an adjustment for all of us. It's really hard for me emotionally and physically to be everything to the kids all of the time. I pray that we are acting on what God had in store for us and that this is truly a wonderful experience for us and also that I have the patience and stamina to do this. There are moments that I feel like I will collapse under the weight of it all, but God always gives me just what I need to push through.

I am also nearing the end of my semester, so of course that means more papers, exams, etc. Yikes! I struggle with feeling like I am only able to give a small part of myself to my education when I know that I am fully capable of so much more. I don't like settling with a passing grade and I am not one that is okay with mediocrity. Maybe that's why I am homeschooling...

The best news of all is that Noah started walking about a week and a half ago. I was so startled that he just let go and started walking. It completely took my breath away! He is such a sweet and special baby boy. He is starting to put words together: so far we have dog, go, da-da, and trying for Aidan and drink. It kills me, absolutely breaks my heart that I may not get to experience these firsts with a baby again. James says no more.He hears a crying baby and I hear one that needs to snuggle with mommy. I don't want there to be a day when my house is silent and still. I love the chaos and noise of my kids! Anyways, I am so proud of my No-E. He is getting so big!

Izzie is learning her letters and is learning to write. She writes lots of "lists" for me. She joins in with Aidan and I and does school too. She wants so badly to be big and I want so badly for her to stay small. Love my sweet girl. She is such a gift tucked in between my rough and tumble boys.

I am exhausted. Completely wiped. And I have a mound of dishes that the maid left behind. Damn her!

Princess Tea

Yesterday was a fancy day. Well, fancy for us - which is to say not very fancy.

Up at the crack of dawn getting my oldest little man out the door. I can't call him that much longer because he's not so little. He'll always be my little man. Look at that, my conversational ADD spills over into my blogging even. So sad. Wait, what were we talking about? Oh yes, my morning. Ok, Aidan is off to school at this point(he carpools) and in comes my Izzie/Princess P/Molasses/Bug. What can I say? She is so presh that she has many names! Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she wants to make cupcakes for a tea party that I promised her. Not just any cupcakes though - these are magical princess cupcakes. In other words, chocolate on chocolate. She doesn't feel that her attire is perfect for the cupcake making occasion though and wants to don her cinderella dress(complete with hoop underneath) and heels. I explain that the cupcake batter will probably drip on her dress because the girl is the best official batter taster ever. She will officially taste her way to an empty bowl. There is no deterring her and she WILL wear the beautiful dress. We had cupcakes made by 8am.

We continued prepping for this special occasion with china, candles, and tea(in the fancy teapot - also known as Fiesta ware). Two handsome Prince Charmings stumbled in around 9 and were permitted to join us. As this was a fancy occasion, we all dressed accordingly(except Noah who wore diaper only while being attacked by his cupcake). Originally it was a girls only situation, but Princess Isabelle decided that she wanted King Daddy and Prince Noah in attendance. I promised James that no picture would be posted, but I am working on that. It was a fun time with our Princess! We even held our pinkies out...

Farewell Allie-girl

Yesterday was a sad day at our house. At least for James and I...the kids were unaffected. We said goodbye to our dog, Allie. It was so tough, but she had a great run. She was 14-15 years old. We will miss her lots - she was such a sweet dog. She was a first for James and I in many ways. We made the decision to adopt her eleven years ago. She was our first "child" and a great friend, companion, and at one time, protector. She had been settling into old age for the last two years so we knew this day was coming. I wish I could say that it made it easier, but that's not the truth.

Rest in peace, Allie dog. Now you are free to run, hear again, and bark as much as you want.

I am reminded as we change seasons in our personal lives of this verse that I love from Ecclesiastes 3.

A Time for Everything

1There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under heaven:

2a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

3a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

4a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

5a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

6a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

7a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

8a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

What a weekend and other musings.

I am a little delayed in posting about this weekend, but it was definitely post-worthy.
Aidan was supposed to have a baseball game, but we elected to skip it as he is getting over a cold and was coughing and running fever as of late Friday. Fast forward to Saturday morning and a semi-miraculous recovery had taken place. So, we did the responsible thing and spent the day outside. Why not? The weather was SO gorgeous it would have been awful not to enjoy it. Besides, I am convinced that sunshine can heal lots of things.

We went to downtown Farmersville for an Old Time festival. Fun! James had a friend in the "shootout" which was cool - or at least they said it was - Noah and I had to divert our attention elsewhere because the gunshots were really loud and scary to a small person. Noah HATES loud sounds and has since birth. We got to check out some pretty cool looking old cars. I'm a little scared because now James thinks he might like to get an old truck to remodel or whatever it is you do to them. I will admit they were very cool and nostalgic, but I just see dollar signs and lots of repairs.Of course what festival is complete without snow cones? I love little kids with blue lips and tongues. Noah chowed on it like it was the best thing he'd ever eaten.

We came home afterward and didn't even make it in the door. I'm telling you - like 75 degree weather that doesn't happen very often in Texas. We literally spent 3-4 hours playing outside and teaching Aidan to ride his bike without training wheels. He isn't a pro yet, but soon he will be flying like a crazy man.

Please, God, make out weather stay this way forever!

Claussen pickles are life changing.

Claussen pickles are life changing.

I had zero clever or catchy ideas for a title and I'm eating a Claussen pickle. Well, it's better than no title at all - right? And they really are the best pickles EVER. By the way, just to clear this up because anytime a woman gravites towards a pickle an image of a new bouncing baby boy or girl is conjured up...I AM NOT in anyway preparing for number four. It is highly unlikely that there will be a number four! I say unlikely because I know that even if I think I am done, God has a sense of humor and reminds me that I am not in charge.

Anyways, that was a roadtrip to too much information. Population:1

My oldest little man is under the weather. Poor kid has missed 2 days of school(he is not upset about that in the slightest). I have enjoyed having him home and have "homeschooled" him for both days. He is begging to never go back or if he has to, just for recess. He is a very bright, sweet, and always entertaining kid.

Aidan did the cutest thing tonight. So, I'm a sucker for slumber parties with my little people. They know that when Daddy is on shift, they can sleep in our room. Aidan crashes on the floor and Izzie and Noah with me. They love it! We lay there and watch Food Network and drift off to dream land with the latest recipe on the brain. Anyways, when one of them has a bad dream I have a remedy that seems to work well. I pretend that I am magically casting out the bad dreams by saying, "Bad dreams, bad dreams, go away - Good dreams, good dreams, here to stay." I say it a few times and voila - no bad dreams. Aidan was laying on his bed in the floor all snuggled up with his eyes scrunched tightly closed and was saying, "Bad dreams, bad dreams, get out of my brain - good dreams, good dreams, get into my brain." It's nice to have moments every now and then when he is still very much a little kid - melts my heart.

Izzie has actually talked an sang so much today that I question the ability for my ears to hear another sound. I am presently sitting in complete silence. Or maybe it's not and my ears are suffering from extreme exhaustion and can't possibly hear another sound. She claims to be shy, but I don't buy it. For the record, she has tons to say. Oh well, I really do love listening to her. She has a HUGE imagination.

Izzie and I have continued Robinson Preschool this week with much success. She has learned all about the letter A, the color blue, the triangle, and is working on memorizing Little Bo Peep. We had lots of fun stamping with apples and learning about where apples come from. It took some convincing, but she finally believed that they didn't come from Tom Thumb or Target.

My No-Man has another tooth. That's seven! He is a speedy cruiser too:) I watched him let go and take about a half step before he realized what he was doing and sat down. Mission aborted! His happy place these days is outside. We spend hours outside playing and enjoying the awesome Fall weather. He climbs in and out of his red two seater car looking pretty cool sticking his head out the sunroof. Chicks dig that stuff.

Goodnight and sweet dreams!

Fall is in the air

Well, not really. It's still ridiculously hot, BUT the promise of all things fall is definitely in the air. I LOVE everything about this time of year. It's like a pathway to the holiday season. Today I am hitting up Hobby Lobby, or as my niece used to say, Lobby Lobby. I am in need of Fall decor in a bad way. Hmmm...what to get?

Aidan is in the throes of baseball season and is such a talented little player. He hits and fields very well. He definitely gets his athleticism from his dad and not me! His team is the Riverdogs - cuteness! I was a little worried about the fact that he practices twice a week for at least an hour and a half, but it seems to be working out well. James helps out with the practices and games - so great to see my two big boys playing together. James is a great ball player and is passing that on to Aidan.

Aidan is busy adjusting to life as a first grader at Advantage Academy. His school is a charter school and does things a little differently than a regular public school. It has a much smaller feel to it and is sort of a cross between private and public school. He is thrilled to be in class with two kindergarten friends from First Baptist School. He has just started carpooling with his friend, Hope. They are a riot together!

Izzie and I have created "Robinson Preschool" so that she can have some learning time. That girl is as smart as a whip and will be reading in no time! She loves all the things we do while Aidan is at school. Some days it's less learning and more Barbie time(or shopping, or dolls...). Either way, we love our girly time.

Noah, or No-Man as he is affectionately called, is changing daily. He is cruising all over the house and is standing on his own. His favorite thing is playing trucks or cars. It is the most stinkin' cute thing EVER! He makes car noises and everything. He takes a nap in the morning so that Izzie and I can do our thing. I mostly love his precious grin. He totally lights up when he sees big brother or sister:)

By this afternoon, my house will be decked out in fall decor. And now I must go outside and peg something at the squirrels in my pecan tree. I hate them! They climb up there and eat all the pecans and drop them all over our vehicles. Cute and cuddly, I think NOT.

Goodbye, Summer!

Well, another summer has come and gone. We have spent lots of time sleeping, playing, and sweating. I would love to say that we traveled to some place exotic, but we haven't made it more than 60 miles from home. That's ok, we still had a good summer! We are making plans to go on a vacation later in the fall. Basically, we are not summer people. I hate hot Texas summers!

Aidan is getting ready for 1st grade. Initially, we were planning to homeschool, but after some careful consideration we opted to send him to school. Public school was NOT ever in my plans, as I have always generally had a disdain for all things public school. However, my best laid plans did NOT intersect with God's plans and we are going to give it a go. I am just praying my heart out that this is successful for Aidan and our family. I am positive that it will be. Thus far, everything has been a rather pleasant surprise. I am glad that we happen to be in a very good school district, with lots of great resources.

I am going back to school and will be starting Monday. I am hopeful that I can somehow juggle college with my already hectic life. I will have to learn to study with a squirmy baby on my hip and a preschooler that wants to play Barbies. Hopefully, I can study and do homework at some point while Aidan is at school.

Izzie has lots of plans for ballet, gymnastics, and art classes this fall. I am looking forward to girly things. I love my precious time with her! She often tells me about all of her life plans for when she is big like me. She tells us that she is going to be a firefighter and plans to be Daddy's partner. She loves wearing her bunker gear around the house. Izzie is sporting a new hairdo that she gave herself. It is something like a mullet, but more fashionable. She cut her bangs to the scalp on one side and refuses to help in my efforts to try and cover the bald spot. Oh, well...it's just hair right?

Noah is crawling ALL over the place, pulling up on anything that will sit still for 2 seconds(including Phoenix) and cruising already. All of this from an 8 month old. He has 6 teeth and is working on number 7. He has a precious smile and a gruff little laugh. He makes all kinds of amazing noises that I am convinced only little boys can make. He adores his big brother and sister. He loves nothing more that to be carried around by a doting Aidan or pulled by his feet by big sissy. He just laughs!

Back into the swing of things bright and early Monday!

Round 7 and our poor old girl

Lynsey had brain surgery number 7 this past week. Her tumor came back and needed to be removed once again. She came through like a champ. I desperately want this thing to go away and never return. I pray and pray for God to give her a miracle, but sometimes it just feels like I am beating my head against a brick wall. I am hopeful though and know that God has a perfect plan in all of this. Lyns was released on Wednesday(she was in and out in two days)which is amazingly speedy. She had to go back for testing and re-hydration today as she has been throwing up non-stop. She just keeps her chin up and pushes through it. Tomorrow, I will be taking her a Frappuccino! She is my hero!

Our dog, Allie, is very old and frail. She is not doing too well these days. She has a very large tumor that is getting worse every day. She is also blind and deaf. Today she fell and couldn't get up. She just looked up at me with her legs all sprawled out with this look that said "please help, I just can't". I just lost it. I cried and helped her find a spot on her blanket to lay down. I have a giant rug spread out on the tile so she doesn't fall anymore. I really thought I was tougher than this, but I guess not. She has always been so sweet, but very detached(and a pain in the butt sometimes). I am finding that it is taking more of a toll than I thought. James and I adopted her 10 years ago. She was our first major decision together.She has been with us through the birth of 3 kids. She has tolerated being climbed on and more. Poor old girl. I wish she would just pass in her sleep so that we don't have to make this decision.

Hair cut on a hot summer day

That's what Izzie did today. Oh yes, she found the scissors and applied them directly to her hair. She thought she needed a cool summer mullet. Business in the front, party in the back! In all seriousness, it's not pretty. She cut her bangs and a little more about 1/8 inch from her scalp. I will now be doing a comb over on a three year old. It's a hot mess. Maybe if I sprinkle Miracle Gro on it, it will grow more quickly.

In other earth shattering Robinson family news, Noah has tooth number 6. Seriously, for a 7 month old, that's alot. He is so mobile now. He is all over the place and very active. God gave me a short break with Izzie. She was always a very good baby. She didn't sprint away from me or climb the shelves at Target(I use Target as an example because it's my fave). I love all of my people, even the ones that are attempting to "fly" off of the dining room table or stick some type of object in an electrical socket(kidding, they are child proof) or use the nearest object as a pretend gun. Dear Lord, please give me the energy to chase another little boy. Amen.

Just got back from the water park. Pretty sure that I'm sun-burned. Even Noah had a blast playing in the water. Aidan doesn't like to swim unless he has no less than a dozen flotation devices. He is so petrified of water and I'm not sure why. He just knows that he will drown if his face touches the water. Now for dinner...chicken caesar salad and bread. Yummy!

Date Night

Not much to report these days, just the usual summer stuff. It's 546 degrees outside and I hate Texas summers. It's too hot to even move!

I made Izzie a superhero cape. Appliqued with her initial of course. She says that she is "Super Izzie", and I wholeheartedly agree. She finished her first ballet session this week. I am trying to get videos up, but haven't had the time yet. She is a graceful little thing and can't wait for more dance time. I am also trying to get a picture of the funniest face that she has started making. She crosses her eyes and scrunches her nose. I could sop her up with a biscuit! Seriously.

I was taken out on a date to Chili's and CVS by the MOST handsome 6 year old to walk the face of this earth. Ladies, back off - he's mine. Aidan was ever the gentleman. He opened the car door(nevermind the fact that he crawled all over me and stepped on various body parts trying to get to his seat) and the door at Chili's. So sweet. He ordered his 2nd favorite meal. Chips and ranch. He also had a corn dog, sans the outer part and fries also. I have never understood why he peels them. The outside is the best part! He just eats the weenie. Crazy boy. It was priceless getting to spend one on one time with my special guy. We talked about lots of things. Right now, Lynsey needing surgery number 7 is weighing heavily on me. He always seems to pick up on when I'm not my normal self. He and I are very connected in that sense. He is a very sensitive boy despite his outward wildness. We had a great time! Oh, and the gum...the kid loves his Trident Layers. And a big multi pack no less!

Noah is growing so FAST. It's not right. He is already pulling up on things, crawling and rolling around, and soooo proud of his five(will be six in about a day) teeth. Not every 7 month old can say that.

I am blessed with the best(and craziest)kids. In my humble opinion, of course.

Alright, it is almost 1 in the morning and I have soccer mom obligations that I will gladly be fulfilling at 7am. I am off to get 12 minutes of sleep.

8th of July

Belated post of 4th of July and other thoughts bouncing around in my brain.

We started our celebration of the 4th on the 3rd with a party at my parents place. Good times were had by all - well, mostly. Noah is scared of fireworks unless viewed from the safety of the house. My cousin put together a phenomenal fireworks display that almost didn't happen as a result of rain. Fortunately, it let up for a short time. There was a scary moment that involved flames shooting out and fireworks going in all directions as my brothers girlfriend took cover by the deck. The kids spent the day swimming and sliding on the water slide. Until the storm came in...

We were also able to meet my brother's(Jordan)girlfriend and spend some time getting to know her. She is so perfect for him! She is a little country and has a real heart for God. What could be better?

On the actual 4th, James was working so the kids and I had a fairly lazy day. In the evening, we grabbed some ice cream and found a cool place out at the lake to watch fireworks. We were all in our jammies and flip flops. I love spontaneous outings like that.

Please excuse me, but I just had another random firing of the brain and failed to mention that DeAnna took family pics for us. Can't wait to see the ones of the kids! The kids were SO done by the time that we got to family poses. It was very muggy and everyone was really thirsty and tired.

My Noah has cut three teeth this week alone! Two today and one right at a week ago. That makes five! Oh, how I will miss my gummy grins! Speaking of, he just woke up...AGAIN.

I'd settle for a slowdown - just a little though

Wow, this has been a busy month. Aidan had VBS at First Baptist Wylie. They are an amazing church with lots of great programs for elementary aged kiddos. It was themed "Saddle Ridge Ranch". He had a great time and learned a few valuable lessons! We had a one week gap and then had VBS at our church, Plano Bible Chapel. I was in charge of crafts for 3's, 4's and Kinder. Man I love those ages! They are such a darling group with lots of sweet personalities. It required a good bit of prep, but I heart crafts in a major way. It was fun to be able to work with the kids and still have all of my kids with me. LOVE my church! It is full of people that truly have a servants heart, and a heart for God.

Izzie started Ballet a couple of weeks ago. Watch out all other ballerinas, cuz here she comes! It is such a pleasure to watch her and all of the other bitty ballerinas dance their little hearts out. It has given me time to spend with her - true Izzie time. I so look forward to years of enjoying mother/daughter moments. I love them!

This month should be less hectic. I am beginning to work on lesson plans as we have decided to home school Aidan. I'm really looking forward to it! I am reading so many books to educate myself on how best to achieve our goals. I think this is going to not only be a great learning experience for him, but fun for our entire family. He is going to be participating in co-ops with the goal of putting him in Wylie Prep next year. We will just have to see where the road takes us. James and I are making plans that may involve some HUGE changes. More on that at a later time.

Noah has now cut a third tooth. An upper canine! He is very early on that - not to mention very stuffy and fussy. My poor baby boy. I live for his precious grins though.

I have a date to play Barbies now!

Soccer Mom

I can totally rock that title! We scrambled into the "Swagger Wagon" first thing to get to Aidan's soccer game. Can I say that my kid rocks at defense? Ok, he does sometimes trip over the ball, or his feet, or even the air, but he makes it look cool. Not everyone possesses that skill. After the game - "Mom? Was I awesome or cool?" "Duh, you were both!" The things that come out of his mouth never cease to amaze. Sometimes good and sometimes not so much.

James was at work, so the kids and I kicked it at the house most of the day. There was a little World Cup watching, Homeward Bound, and Transformers at bedtime. Homeward Bound still makes me cry. It's that moment that Shadow comes limping over the hill towards his boy. I have an incredible soft spot for Golden Retrievers. All other dogs are second to Goldens. The ultimate dog for me, was my dog, Luke. Luke was my dog growing up - my bestie with four legs. He passed away when I was pregnant with Aidan. Oh, I loved that dog! I could tell a million stories about him, but I won't. Fortunately, our yellow lab, Phoenix, reminds me so much of him. Love his big, dorky-ness! My favorite moment with Phoenix was a few months ago when we came home to find that he had gotten into the trash(not cool) and had gotten a box stuck on his head. Don't know how long it had been stuck, but it was greatness!

This week, Noah has had two teeth come through. My sweet baby has handled it like a champ. He thinks he is so big and wants to eat whatever I eat. He looks up at me with his precious round face and smacks his lips. No baby food for this one! He has also gotten incredibly mobile! He is army crawling and rolling to his desired destinations. Props for resourcefulness! He is having sitting up issues. He is very wobbly and reminds me of a Weeble. Ya know how Weebles just wobble around? That's Noah. Apparently his tushy is too round:))

In other news, Aidan just finished VBS at First Baptist Wylie. That church is awesome! If we didn't love our church so much, we would be at FBS. They do so many cool things for kiddos. Aidan had a blast and is going to the Zoo with them in a couple of weeks. Since he went to school their, he has several friends that go as well. Should be fun.

Our little Molasses fancies herself a ballerina and can't wait for ballet this week. We had a mishap this last week and she was unable to go. I had to explain why she had to have TWO shoes to dance. One would not do the trick. Unless she wants to be a one-legged ballerina. I don't know, but that sounds tricky. One ballet slipper is still AWOL. If anyone sees it - tackle it. My baby needs to dance! She is the CUTEST ballerina that God put on this earth - love her!

Alexander Days

To those of you that read to your children often, you will know what I mean when I say that I am having an "Alexander" day. If not, run, don't walk to the nearest library and check out "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day". Great book about one of "those" kinds of days. I am being selfish and venting a little about my day to this point. Woke up at 9 after having a horrible stomach bug yesterday. James was of course gone, so I had to paste a smile on my face and hack it. Back to my morning...woke up at 9, should have had Aidan at VBS at 8:45. Assumed that James would be home first thing, but he picked up a shift. I was so out of it that I didn't hear my phone ring around 8:00. Woke up and thought to myself, what a great hubby I have. He came home and got Aidan to VBS and let me sleep. This is the point that I hear Aidan's voice and reality comes crashing down. I call James and talk about something that I don't remember...I'm a little pissed at this point. I hit the floor running! Aidan was such a sweet helper. He threw his clothes on and got a very wiggly Noah dressed. Izzie was in hysterics because she couldn't find shoes. While I am trying to get as ready as I can when I have zero time, I realize that Izzie has her first ballet class at 10:00. Argh!!!! Frantically looking for her ballet outfit! We lovingly call her the bag lady(She has 2 nicknames, but generally she is Molasses) because she has a thing for taking any bag, whether Target or canvas, reusable or an old Taco Bueno bag, and filling them with her treasures. I am dumping out every single bag that I find stashed and can't find anything but tights. Throw the kids in the car, drop Aidan at VBS(30 min late)and drive it like I stole it back to the house to see if I can find ANYTHING to send Izzie to ballet in. Needless to say, she missed her first ballet class and I have only located one ballet slipper and tights. I'm thinking the ballet instructor might frown on that. The good news is that I have found multiple locations that she is cramming things when she should be putting things away. BUSTED! This day can only get better. Right??? I still feel pretty gross, but better than yesterday when I felt like it was possibly my time to go meet Jesus. I look forward to that day, but I guess it wasn't yesterday.

My next blog will be more about the kids and less about me. Promise. Oh, and it will be more cheerful. Just not feeling the cheer right now. I feel a little better, but I need large amounts of Dr. Pepper.

Crazy days

I love being busy. I know that some may find that odd, but I don't love to just hang around and do nothing. I just don't have it in me. I blame it on my Dad who is a perpetual doer. I thrive on chaos generally speaking.

There is actually a point to the above paragraph. Today was a busy day. I got up first thing and told the kids and James to throw on their suits - I have a surprise. Nothing monumental, but they don't care. We headed out for breakfast and a trip to the water park. It was lots of fun. I love watching James play with the kids in the water. He turns into a giant kid and plays right along with them. He pretends that he doesn't realize that a giant bucket of water is about to come pouring down on him and they just giggle. There is nothing better than kids giggling with complete abandon. Can I get an Amen?

After the water park we had lunch. Love Subway. Hate that James' chicken sandwich was frozen. Also don't understand how the employee did not understand the difference between lettuce and spinach. Obviously she needs to incorporate fresh spinach into her life. I will stop short of listing it's tremendous nutritional value.

Shower time, nap time, and library in the afternoon. I LOVE to read. I LOVE all things having to do with books. I could read until I am blue in the face and still go on for another chapter. You get the picture. I guess this might seem contradictory to the point I made about being busy, but this is a form of being busy. If not in body, in mind. I have found a little slice of heaven at the Richardson Public Library. Wylie has the most ridiculous excuse for a library! I will be spending lots of time on one of Richardson's FOUR flours of literary excellence. Ok, maybe not all excellent, but the point is that there is a truck load of books.

Aidan has his first soccer game of the season at the CRACK of dawn. I will be the soccer mom down in front with a carafe of coffee in hand. Go Firecrackers! Stupid name, but nobody asked me.

A Very Merry 1/2 Birthday

We had such a fun time yesterday! After massive amounts of coffee to offset the horrendous night I had with my youngest, we hit the road.

We tried out Mooyah first. Yum! Easy on the taste buds, not so much on the waist line. We will definitely do that again. I want to take a moment to applaud the person that installed a giant dry erase wall. Finally, an actual parent with a great design idea. Someone that realizes that kids get BORED sitting in restaurants. Whoever you are, you rock! Aidan schooled me on tic tac toe...

We went to Guitar Something or Other(surprisingly that's not the actual name, but it escapes me at the moment - again, not much sleep). James has been wanting to take up the acoustic guitar for several years and just hasn't had the chance. We were thinking about letting James and Aidan do this together as both have an interest. Well, long story short we came home with a guitar and no clue what to do with it. Now to find someone who can show them what to do with it! Happy early Fathers Day, Honey.

I also went to Half Price Books. One of my all time favorite places to shop. I could stay for hours or maybe even days. The kids are starting a reading log so that their brains do not get mushy over the summer. It never hurts that they are offering incentives!

Speaking of mushy brains... Stick a fork in me, I'm done.

Blog failure

I apologize for the horrible blog failure. I have not posted anything in eons. No worries, we have officially moved on to the lazy days of summer.

Aidan just graduated from Kindergarten this last Friday. It took my breath away. Sometimes with kids it's a punch in the gut when you look at them and realize that they have changed in the blink of an eye. I always remind myself to stop and memorize these moments and know that I won't, but I take pictures to remind me.

He was so big. He sang his little heart out walked across the stage in his cap and gown like a champ. Love that kid. My heart was so excited and so sad at the same time. I know I was not the only mom feeling the same way. And now we move on to 1st grade!

Aidan also had Field Day. What a blast! Ok, an extremely hot blast, but fun nonetheless. I went to take pictures of the kiddos for the Kinder slide show. I must say that the slide show turned out so well. It really was the bomb. James is awesome and didn't complain once about the HOURS that we spent putting it together. The parents seemed to love it :))

Moving on.

Noah is 6 months tomorrow! My sweet baby boy. He is a wobbly sitter upper and is starting the army crawl. He is such a precious boy. I will be making half of a cake for his half birthday. We have started celebrating half birthdays because once a year is not enough to celebrate a person. Who doesn't love that?

James and Izzie will have their half birthdays next month. She is so proud of herself as she counts everything that she can and writes all the time. She likes to make "grocery lists" for me and write her own books. She is a very bright little girl. She is dying to go to school and become a ballet dancer. Dance classes are in our very near future!

Ugh, the laundry is staring at me in a very ugly way. I better go tackle it and whip it into shape.

So much to do, so little time!

This seems to sum of life these days. Hectic! I'm looking forward to the lazy days of summer:) Ok, I have about 5 seconds to blog about life since the last blog(teething baby = not sleeping much).

Since my last blog:
Aidan had one wiggly tooth that came out in an apple one week ago. A couple of days later the one next to it came out at dinner. He is adorable with missing teeth. My baby is growing and I'm not really okay with it! Kindergarten graduation is coming up in a couple of weeks so I am working like crazy to get the slide show done. I need more time - don't we all? We are gearing up for 1st grade and making plans to that end.

Izzie says that she has 3 loose teeth as well. I'm not feeling the "looseness", but she does. Hopefully they will stay attached for at least 2 more years while I get used to the idea that no matter what I do, my kids are going to grow.

Noah is starting to sit up for short bursts here and there. He is also teething VERY slowly. My poor baby is just having a tough time with it. We have done LOTS of cuddling with a dash of Tylenol.

That's all I have time for!

Hitting the town

What a fun day! After Aidan got out of school, we met James's mom(Grandma)for an afternoon of fun. Of course food is always numero uno on our list soooo the first stop was Genghis Grill. It was really good except that I made mine a teensy bit hotter than I would've liked. No problem, my taste buds being burned off won't stop me! Besides spending time with Grandma, the other point of this outing was taking Aidan shopping for his birthday. She has done this the past couple of years and Aidan really loves it. He picked the Lego Star Wars game for his DS and some Legos. Oh my gosh, the Lego store is the bomb. So many Legos! It's a child's fantasy-land! Ok, an adult's too...Grandma couldn't bear to leave Izzie out so she got a giant cup full of all the Lego's she could fit. She loves them! Izzie is her only granddaughter out of 5 grand-kids, so she is chomping at the bit for shopping opportunities. I also squeezed in a little shopping for the kids. Noah got a shirt that says "Little Brother", Izzie got the most adorable, hip, little pink hat(pics to come) and tie-dye shirt. Both big kids got new sunglasses. They are stylin' and profilin'!

After shopping therapy, the fun began. We got a call while we were attempting to stimulate the economy saying that Buster had been arrested and taken to doggy jail. We soon found out that his partner in crime, Phoenix, was keeping him company in lockup. James and I corralled the younguns and hit it. If you think it's easy to make it from Frisco to Wylie in 40 minutes at 4:30 in the afternoon, you are dead wrong. I HATE Frisco. The traffic is a nightmare of epic proportions. Thank you very much, but I will just hang out in Wylie. We did it though! Made it just in time to post bail and get our little criminals home safe and sound. Not cheap though...

We later hit the park and went out for ice cream. Exhausted - I am in need of a really long nap. We had a great day! And now I shall collapse.

Little of this, little of that

Nothing super interesting today...

Aidan has a loose tooth - his first - that we have been working on. I am so not ok with this! Nobody asked my permission about him growing up. He has been eating lots of apples and brushing in hopes that it will just pop out. Soon!

My Granddad is home from the hospital after a pretty rough road. Yay! He is one tough cookie! I am working on a couple of meals to take to them.

Lynsey had what was thought to be another tumor in her back - Praise God, it's not!

Crying baby calling my name, gotta dash!

Happy Campers

We went on our first camping trip this weekend(it was a family camping trip through our church). We had a soggy good time! Friday was spent packing and loading. I packed way to many clothes(hey, ya never know) and not enough entertainment. I will bring a few toys next time...maybe bikes. Fortunately, the kids came up with some of their own and some of the more experienced campers from church had things to do. I was as organized as I ever get when it came to packing. Each person had his/her own bag filled with all of the necessary items.

I picked Maddie up from school and after a few fiascoes (losing the tent stakes and one of Aidan's shoes), we were on our way. Loaded to the gills! Megan's family was there also and had already scoped out a beach and several play grounds. What a beautiful lake Ray Roberts is! James and Aidan got the the tent set up(found the missing staked after stopping to buy new ones)and the fun began. Meg and I took the kids to the park, James got a fire started. I have decided there is a fine line between a fireman and a pyro-maniac. James did Survivorman proud! The man knows how to do fire!

Our first meal consisted of hot dogs and chips. I even took traditional camping food and tried to make it slightly healthier - turkey dogs. It was really yummy! We were able to chat with our pastor and some other from church and by that time is was getting dark. There is not much to do when it is pitch black outside, but go to bed.

This is where it gets interesting. Around midnight it began to rain. And rain and rain and rain! By 3ish we were a little damp and by 5 we were soaked. We made a mad dash to the Yukon and spent the rest of the night there. Everything in the tent was soaked as well as the things that were left out. Shoes, chairs, towels, everything. So first thing James worked his fire magic and started drying things out. He made a huge breakfast that was out of this world. By early afternoon, the weather was getting worse so we threw everything in the car and beat a path home.

We will definitely do it again even if we were soaked and I have officially broken a record for how much laundry can be done in a day. The kids had a great time. It was a memorable first camping trip!

Whirlwind

The title describes my life these days. I blink and wonder where the day went. I hate feeling like nothing has gotten done lately, but that's life I suppose.

My Granddad had back surgery and has had lots of complications. We have beaten a path to the hospital to visit. He was moved to rehabilitation yesterday and seems to be getting stronger. I realize as I watch my grandparents that they are no longer spring chickens. I'm not sure when that happened. It seems like everyone around me gets a little older, but I don't. Of course I know that I'm not a youngster anymore, but I don't feel any older than I did yesterday or 10 years ago. My grandparents are amazing people who have spent a lifetime working to provide for my entire family. Both are still going strong and hope they continue that for some time!

James and I decided to have a dedication ceremony at church this past Sunday. It was such a special time for our family. We were able to stand before God and our church family to commit our children and the way we raise them to the Lord. They all three were troopers...no wiggles and no tears! Isabelle was so precious during the prayer - she had her eyes scrunched just as tightly as they would shut. No, I didn't peek! Jordan was taking pictures.

In other Robinson news, we have been working on our garden. James tilled part of the backyard with a massive, beast of a tiller. To date we have lettuce, carrots, squash, and bell peppers. We also planted shrubs in the flowerbed. The kids were industrious as well - they planted flowers for me. Now the goal is to not kill anything. If you know me, that is a super lofty goal!

Lastly, I did it again. Why do I do this to myself? I raised my stupid hand and volunteered to do the slide show for Aidan's kindergarten graduation! Why? Oh yeah...because I promised myself that come hell or high water I will be involved in my kids lives as much as possible. Maybe in some small way I was thinking to myself that I could make Aidan's pics be the most spectacular. I realized that every parent will think that their kid is the most amazing. They are wrong, but whatever. LOL!

My last thought for the day is this. I have some pretty amazing people in my life that I am SO grateful for. First, by best girlfriend, Stacie. I have known her since God was a child. Ok, maybe not, but it has been 18 years. Wow. I really am old! I called her at 9pm this last week and she did not even hesitate to keep the kiddos so that I could spend some time with my Granddad. She also stopped a much needed date night with her hubby to bring magazines and chocolate to the hospital when Noah had RSV. I will always be ready to return these favors when the time comes, but it's nice to know that it's not really an issue to her one way or the other. We have a long history and I hope much more to come! The other person that is so special to me is Megan...she came to church with a fussy child with fever just so she wouldn't miss the kids being dedicated. That really meant a lot to me.

Ok, back to life and homework at this moment. Oh, and packing for our camping trip. Should be fun!

Picture session

This is what happens when I get click happy!

Here comes Peter Cottontail!

We had a fantastic Easter! It was really hard that James was not able to be with us though. Sometimes I hate his job! Oh well, that's life.

We started out with findings from the Easter Bunny. So fun! He left a sandbox in the backyard, pails, and other necessary sandbox accoutrements. There was just enough time to play in the sandbox while I made pancakes. I figured that they were so sugared up from all the candy that it couldn't hurt to officially send them into overload! There is now enough sand in the house to burn up the vacuum cleaner. Hmmm, does that give me an excuse to not vacuum?

I had to drag them out of the sandbox and into the shower just before church. They looked to cute in their Easter clothes! It was very special to me that Aidan got to go to "big church". It was nice to be able to worship with him and explain the meaning of communion. He did great!

After church we headed out to Mom and Dad's for a yummy dinner, egg hunting, playing, goat feeding, kind of day. We had a great time!

I will post pics in a separate post. Happy Easter! He is Risen!

What a day!

This was one of those days that was so busy and full,that I thought what happened this morning happened a couple of days ago!

First, Aidan's Easter party. What a great thing that was. I will post pics as soon as I get them developed. Yes, I am old fashioned and still shoot film. BUT, they are beautiful pictures! The room mom is amazing and does such a fantastic job planning. She even had something special for the siblings to do! During the party, I ran out and took a pic of Maddie at her Easter party too. Maddie, Aidan ,and Izzie were all sugared up and ready to go. That is where the busy, crazy part of the day comes in.

Soooo, Maddie spent the afternoon with us. The little girls chattered non-stop for HOURS. After we got home we had lunch, played outside, hit the park, got a slush(hello, happy hour at sonic), played inside and then back outside, ate dinner and then on to Awana's. I am worn out!

At the park, I met the rudest, punk-a**, kid in the world. Yes parents, there are times when it is appropriate to smack your kid upside the head and consider military school. The kids wanted to slide...what kid doesn't? There were 2 kids - one hugging 18, the other probably 11-12, both TOTAL thugs - sitting at the bottom of the slide. Aidan said, "hey guys, I want to slide" - BLANK stares. So I said, "hey guys, the kids want to slide". The older one looks at me and actually says, "yeah". And when he says yeah, it's not the kinds that means "sure thing!" it's the kind of yeah that is best interpreted as I am not getting off my loser a** and doing anything about it. Excuse my language, I was PISSED. I proceeded to say, "sooo, can you MOVE!" Eye roll and "whatever" and they move. I hope his parents are royally proud. Fortunately, parks and rec showed and saw this exchange and ran them off. I was told to call PD next time. I told Aidan that if he EVER treated anyone that way, I would squash him like a bug. He grinned and said "mom, I will NEVER act that way - they are losers". He is my sweet boy and I hope that doesn't change.

Noah got to swing for the first time and LOVED it, Maddie and Izzie giggled to their little hearts content. I am tapped out!


I am also posting pics of our Monday afternoon with the Campbell ladies. We love spending time with our girls!

Six years of mommyhood

Today was such a great day! We celebrated Aidans 6th birthday. Where has the time gone? I have been reflecting on how much my life has changed in six short years. I have had the indescribable privilige of become a mom three times over.

Today was a day about Aidan. We celebrated with a birthday party at the Fire Station followed by Nana and Papa coming to our house. Pictures and details about the party to follow. I'm exhausted right now...stayed up til 3am working on Aidans cake.

In honor of a very special little boy on a very special day:

THINGS I LOVE ABOUT AIDAN AND OTHER RANDOM THOUGHTS
1) His heart. He has such a sweet spirit and is so incredibly thoughtful. He has such love for his baby sister and brother!
2)His grin whether it is sheepish, silly, happy or all of the above. His laugh is even better.
3)That I can really talk to him about so many things. He is great to talk to.
4) He wants to be a superhero, but he is better than all of them put together. His superpower is his ability to love and care for others the way that he does.
5) That he can out-argue his dad!
6) The sounds he makes when he plays, especially when he is a Transformer.
7)When Aidan was little I always told him that he was my guy and he would tell me that I'm his guy. He still does and I love it.
8)His boundless energy. He can make Tigger look like a drag.
9)That God allowed me to be his mom.I feel so abundantly blessed.
10) I have so enjoyed watching Aidan grow and can't wait to see what the future holds for my little man.

Happy Birthday to my guy!!! I hope all of your wishes and dreams come true!

I'm a slacker

I have not been very good at keeping up with this lately. Since my last post, we have had Spring Break. It was so wonderful having Aidan home for the week. We didn't do anything earth shattering, but still enjoyed very much.

Aidan and Isabelle got to go to Nana and Papa's for a sleepover with all of their cousins. Aidan was the only boy in a sea of girls! They were so excited to spend time with the "Campbell Ladies" as they are often called at our house - Autumn, Aubrey, and Annsley. We think they are pretty awesome! Of course they sneaked in a little Maddie time as well.

Papa taught Aidan how to fly his kite. It was Aidan's first experience with flying a kite and he was pleased as punch! It was adorable watching Aidan following Papa around. Dad was sporting his overalls and looking cute doing it. Silly boys!

Izzie was out feeding fish in her tutu. Fashion and fish go very well together! So precious! They had a blast:)

The rest of the week, we spent lots of time playing at the park, etc. It was nice to have time together!

We are gearing up for Aidan's 6th birthday party at the fire station. I have soooo much to do and never enough time. There's the cake, the favors, the food, and the list just goes on. He is so excited that tonight he could NOT go to sleep! He finally gave it up around 11:00. He is going to hate life tomorrow!

Izzie is having girly time tomorrow and a sleepover with Maddie. She says Maddie is her best friend. I love it - cousins and besties! I'm going to miss my little chatterbox!

Other interesting happenings in the Robinson house:
Today Buster finally caught and killed a squirrel. He has been gunning for one for months. He carried it around like a prize. Yes, I had to make him drop it so I could dispose of it. Ewww! As the wife of a FF, I have had to suck it up and handle some pretty *interesting* situations over the years.

Izzie informed me that the "squirrel died to heaben with the black fish". How cute is that? I could just sop her up with a biscuit she's that cute.

Aidan was giving attaboys to the squirrel-killing mutt. He is such a boy!

I'm out!

Cliff Notes version of the Last Two Weeks

The last two weeks I haven't blogged so here is the low down. Number one would be the primary reason for my hiatus.

1) Internet issues. We had to go back to high speed while the Fios issues were fixed. Whoever decided to call it high speed has VERY low standards.
2)Busy, Busy, BUSY!
3) Aidan told Izzie that she came from Mexico. Ha!
4)Izzie colored her legs and explained to me that she only wanted to have "Monster Legs". Pics to follow.
5)Sick. We have been sick with various illnesses. Brings new meaning to the phrase "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired".
6)We are starting our garden from seed this year. I am hopeful!
7)Planning a garage sale. Might just open my front door and welcome people to just take whatever. We have entirely too much stuff! If they will kindly leave anything that calls me mommy and one dog. Phoenix is the only one I care to keep. The other two can be bought for a great price. Nix that, they are FREE! Still don't want them? I'll pay you...REALLY!
8) I am working so hard on time management skills. I seriously lack them. I am also working diligently to organize my house. Now where did I put that child???
9)Praying for Lynsey. She just had another MRI and is having some tingling in one arm. No results yet.

Well, we had a fantastic day of playing at the park and I am WORN out. The above nine things are all that I can think of at this particular moment.

Layla Grace

I have some interesting things to blog about today, but they will wait for another day.

Today I received this link from my sister:
http://laylagrace.org/

After reading and lots of tears, I have decided that this afternoon the tv will be off, the house will be a mess and I don't care. It is all inconsequential. Today I will play with my kids, love them, and be so grateful that God has given me healthy, happy children. I will also be in prayer for this family as they are having to say goodbye to their precious angel.

Derby Cars and Roses

Busy, busy week!

2 Days after Valentines Day, I had to make a quick run to the store with the kiddos. As we walk in the lady tells us that they have Valentines roses leftover and they are $2.00 a dozen. Aidan tugs on my shirt and asks me if he can have $2.00 so that he can buy me roses for Valentines Day. Yes, I was completely choked up as I dug out money. He paid for them and was held up by the cashier as he chose the most beautiful pink roses. I am positive that there will never be a Valentines gift that will top my $2.00 roses. They are the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen! Oh, how my sweet boy is growing.



Saturday we had derby car racing at Awana. What a fun event! Papa helped the kiddos get the cars to the correct weight, etc. James painstakingly made each car by hand. Definitely a labor of love. We can't wait to do it again!

We had a few malfunctions...Aidan and Isabelle's cars both came to a dead stop and Izzie's rolled over once. Fortunately, Papa fixed the problem and Aidan came in third. He got a 2nd place trophy for his super cool Optimus Prime car. Izzie got 1st place for Automotive. Code for the car had serious issues actually moving. Oh well, she had to have the slug bug. It was adorable!









The rest are random pics of my snappiest dresser

Not much going on today. I read this and loved it so I thought I would share.

Old Farmers Advice:

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight and bull-strong.

Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.

A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.

Words that soak into your ears are whispered...not yelled.

Meanness don't jes' happen overnight.

Forgive your enemies; it messes up their heads.

Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.

It don't take a very big person to carry a grudge.

You cannot unsay a cruel word.

Every path has a few puddles.

When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.

The best sermons are lived, not preached.

Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never gonna happen anyway.

Don't judge folks by their relatives.

Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you'll enjoy it a second time.

Don't interfere with somethin' that ain't bothering you none.

Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.

Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.

The biggest troublemaker you'll probably ever have to deal with, watches you from the mirror every mornin'.

Always drink upstream from the herd.

Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from bad judgment.

Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back in.

If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.

Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly.

Today I:
1)Ran errand upon errand
2)Purchased "Total Money Makeover" from Dave Ramsey...wish us luck in this endeavor
3)Had lunch at Pei Wei and it was yummy
4)Spent way too much money(refer to number 2)
5)Got Izzie a new "pinkalicious" car seat. She looks fabulous riding in style and safety.
6)Tried to get decorating ideas. I have the itch to redecorate and since we are under a strict budget, it should be a fun challenge(see number 2 again).
7)Most importantly had a fantastic day with the people I love the most.

Aidan wrote his entire name. I am so proud of him!



That's all I have!

Wheels on the bus

I got a new set of wheels! Isn't that the cool way to say that I got a new car? I am in love with it! I am not an expert at parking it yet though. It's a little bit larger than the Explorer. When James asked me what I really wanted, I told him that if we got into an accident I wanted to win. Sure a minivan makes more sense, but I am just not a minivan mom. So, James got me something that will keep my precious cargo as safe as possible.





Today was a day of non stop errands. Old Navy first-Izzie selected a few items of clothing. I will add pics as soon as possible. She picked out tutu skirts, matching shirts and galoshes that are 2 sizes too big. There was no talking her out of them. Target next and then Sams. The older kids flopped down on the floor and started making snow angels. This got laughs out of several passersby. An older gentleman asked them if they knew that the snow was gone and just laughed. It was a riot! James is ever the chef at our house and decided that for his many kitchen endeavors he needed a 25 lb bag of flour. Please tell me where I can store it...





I am so busy trying to get chores done. Ugh!

My oxygen deprived baby

Somebody get my baby oxygen, STAT!

Noah was hospitalized for 3 days this last weekend with RSV. My tiny man was wheezing and not getting enough oxygen. If you think infants like having a piece of stinky plastic shoved up their nose, think again. I am so thankful that he is ok and on the road to recovery. He had a recheck yesterday. We were told that he looked like he had never been sick at all.

My little linebacker is 14.2 lbs(89th percentile) and 26 inches(99th percentile) long already! Yes folks, that's all mommy milk - nothing synthetic for my babies!

Isabelle and Aidan were also sicklings while I was in the hospital with Noah. I hate that I couldn't be with them during that time. Those are the times that a healthy dose of snuggling and chicken noodle soup fixes everything. My mom, who was my rock this last weekend, reminded me that I had to be where I was needed the most. Can't feel mommy guilt for everything I guess.

Of course James was on shift during this entire ordeal and was not able to get off. He was able to park the ambulance in the parking lot of the hospital while his dispatchers held calls so he could hang with us a bit. My parents are amazing and I am so thankful for them. They got out of bed Friday night to come here. Dad to stay with Aidan and Iz, Mom to take Noah and I to the hospital. My mom stayed with me until 4am and was the first phone call around 8am. Thank you sounds lame. My sister in law, DeAnna , was also the first to jump when needed. Like she doesn't have anything going on with my three nieces! She was here giving breathing treatments to Izzie and reorganizing my house(lol!). Truthfully, I think the kids were thrilled to hang out with Papa at home - they adore him and he is wonderful with them. My family allowed me to just relax and take of Noah. I love you guys! Thank you to all of you who called to check on Noah!

I am so blessed to have healthy, happy children!

Kids and housework make you ugly

I am worn out. Just exhausted. I did have Starbucks and that made things much shinier. Either I am cheap(which is very likely) OR it is highway robbery to pay $4.82 for a Grande Caramel Macchiato, decaf, and made with soy. I could have put that into the kids college saving, but I felt like my sanity needed to come first today. I could have qualified for some sort of laundry championship today. I would have gotten a gold metal in laundry folding while holding a baby. Did I mention that I am not a pretty sight today? Really, it's scary.

Noah continues to wheeze and has had numerous breathing treatments today. My poor baby. He just grins like it's great fun. Anytime I can get an adorable smile from my tiniest man, I won't complain. He hasn't slept well in days, which means that I haven't either. Oh well, I can sleep when I'm dead.

Aidan has decided today that he is a ninja. Whatever. As long as his ninja-ness doesn't cause harm to anyone in the vicinity. I booked his birthday party, which we are so excited about. He has so many plans about who he will invite and the party favors. First on his list is his girlfriend, Avery. This is great with me because I just love that girl. She and Aidan have more bounce than Tigger. On the other hand, he is very adamant about who he is NOT going to invite. We won't even go there.

I'm pretty sure that dinner is burning right now. I almost care.

Off to "nuggle" my Izzie now. She doesn't care if I look like crap. I love my life, even if it's not glamorous!

Sleeping Beauties

Sleepy boy



Izzie after a long day of not feeling so hot. My sweet girl fought sleeping all day. She fought the good fight!

Cough, Sneeze, Blow, Repeat Previous Three Steps

Things have been kind of sniffly this week. Isabelle was hit the hardest(these things just find their way to her lungs). She has had several breathing treatments, but seems a little less wheezy and on the road to recovery. It always scares me when she starts getting this way. 3 nights ago, she was panting to talk. She couldn't understand why mommy wanted her to stop talking for a few minutes while she had the mask on her face. My precious girl has so much to say and only so many hours in the day to say them. I love nothing more than waking up in the morning to her big blue eyes and amazing smile. It melts my heart when she says "Hi mommy, I love you".

Noah has just started coming down with a cold. My poor tiny man just gets so frustrated when he is so stopped up. He has alternated between fussing and long naps. I am praying that his stays on the mild side of things.

Aidan has had testing done this week to determine if he is ready for 1st grade in the fall. It's not definitive at this point, but gives us an idea of what needs to be accomplished between now and then. So far, so good. We are told that he is ready to move forward. I'm so proud of him. I do wish he would quit growing up so fast.

Aidan and I discussed the finer points of Groundhog Day today. That stinkin' groundhog is predicting 6 more weeks of winter. Oh well, I don't really trust his instincts anyways. After all, he is only a step away from being somebody's fur coat.

I think I should go feed my young. What to feed them? Hmmm...food for thought.