Look a'me!

I have said it once and I'll say it again, Millie is just too darn cute! I know Harrison was too darn cute, then the twins came along and they were too. However, with time, those little twinges you get when they do something adorable seem to fade a bit, the memories of every cute little giggle, saying or expression fade until we are only reminded on video or picture. So, I know my others were cute too, but now we are embracing the moments of Millie being and adorable toddler!

Her new thing is to do something daring or spectacular by her standards and then say "look a'me!" over and over again. Two nights ago at the dinner table, we had two chairs pushed side by side and she intentionally put one foot on one chair and one foot on the other (keep in mind there was no gap) but for her it was HUGE to be on two chairs at once and she just got the "I am hot stuff" look on her face and looked at Tom and said "Look a'me!" then looked at me and said "Look a'me!" over and over again! Forget the conversation we were having or the dinner in front of us, it just reminds us of how fleeting these moments are at this age, in a week it won't be "Look a'me" she'll be saying it right and it won't be as cute, or the little things like standing on two chairs at once just won't cut it for her anymore.

So, in the mean time, I will stop and melt as her little voice proudly demands attention and demands that we "look a'me!"

Playhouse Disney Live

One of the joys of parenthood is taking the kids to the stage productions of their favorite shows etc. I think we all pretend that it is silly but deep down, we all enjoy it to some level :) Last year we saw My Little Pony on stage as well as Nemo on ice. This past Sunday my mom and I took the kids to Playhouse Disney Live. It wasn't too bad, the kids all enjoyed it. I was dreading taking Millie because I really thought she was too young and would just be climbing all over, but she did super well and was fascinated with the big characters that she recognized from her favorite shows.

Nana, Harrison, Nicholas, Abigail and Millicent, waiting for the show to start

Millie with her Little Einstein's conductor stick. She only whacked the kids in front of us a few times :) "We are going on a trip in our favorite rocket ship...."

Handy Manny
I have kind of always wondered about Manny, but the dancing neon tools confirmed my suspicions

Dance Millie, Dance!

Our friends, Tigger and Pooh

The entire crew

Pinewood Derby

I have had some troubles lately with getting pictures to upload, so I am backed up on my "gotta blog" list!

Saturday was Harrison's first Pinewood Derby. He is a Tiger Scout this year, so we will have many more of these to come! He and Tom attended the car building day for the Pack and then between the three of us (Tom, Harrison and me) we got the car built and shiny just in time for the big race Saturday.

Harrison's Hot Rod!

Harrison took first place in the three races in his den. When they raced for the Pack Champion though he did not do as well, the years of experience from the other Cubs showed! He placed first in our books though, especially in sportsmanship! He will be in the district races in March.

Showing off his award

Aspirin in the best form of birth control

That is what we were told in our high school, or was it jr high, sex ed class. Now-a-days I guess they use more politically correct, try it on for size, methods.

The other day I was at Walmart with my mom, we were shopping, child free. I saw a young girl in the baby section, shopping for baby clothes with who I assume was her own mother. The young girl was holding a very teeny baby. Yes, my first thought was to pass judgement and the whole "Gosh, she is so young!" "Teenagers having babies, ugh" type attitude. Then the baby started to cry and she moved the baby into another position and I felt sorry for the baby for the inexperience and lack of compassion in the way she handled the baby, again, my thoughts went back to how incredibly young she is! Then I saw it, a plastic foot sticking out of the blanket. She isn't a mom, yet, but instead is doing the whole "try it on for size" method of what the system hopes to be birth control. However, as she and her "Mother" were in Walmart, clothes shopping for the new "Grandbaby" I would think that in this one case, it wasn't working too well.

Fast forward to yesterday. I was in the parking lot at JC Penney's looking for a spot so I could go find a purse that would be big enough for me to carry my new camera along with my other 'stuff' when I passed a very young couple, all of maybe 16 years old. She was standing in her "skinny" jeans and cleavage holding a baby with a bottle in it's mouth. "Daddy" was busy getting the baby car seat out of the back of the two door car. She was pissed and bugged with him, he was tired and bugged with the entire situation. As she carried the baby and he carried the car seat, it was obvious that it was not a real baby and chances are, this young couple would be handing the baby back to their instructor Monday morning and running as far away from each other as they can!

So, as I shopped, I was thinking of the young kids with their "try it on" dolls, them thinking of how cool it would be if they had babies and how easy it would be also. I was in the little boy section looking for some pants for Nick. All of their clearance items were dwindling, yet I was determined to come up with an even number of the BOGO clearance items. I heard this little boy yelling "Helen!" My immediate thought was that he had lost his grandma (Helen is my grandma's name and seems to be an 'old' name to me) but he kept it up. Then the lady next to me, who appeared to be alone, yelled back "Brady, keep track of your brother" Then I heard the boys run up the middle aisle, laughing and giggling. Then she said, again: "Brady and Kellen, be good please" and she kept looking. Then here they come again, running back down the same aisle, from the big boys section clear down to the baby section, yelling and laughing. Once again "Boys, be sweet" I have to confess, as they started weaving in and out of the clothes racks and one ran into me, I didn't apologize or step out of his way as he told me to "move it lady" as he tried to get away from his brother. His mom kindly apologized on behalf of her "sweet" and "good" precious boys. Every time the loud speaker came over, instructing shoppers to shop clearance or whatever, I was for sure someone was going to come on and say "Will the owner of the two brats running and yelling and knocking clothes off the racks in the kids departments, please control them or leave!" But, I could only hope, it never happened.

It all made me wonder, if the teenager "Moms" were given Kellen and Brady, perhaps they might consider not having kids so soon!

So, aspirin, as we were taught, is the best form of birth control, not a baby doll that cries, or brats running in the store. How, you ask, does aspirin serve as birth control? We all asked that in jr high or high school also, when Miss Wallenberg told us that. She was from Iowa, one of many kids, I am thinking it was literally like 10 kids. She stood in front of our class, in the small Lutheran High School (and jr high) that I attended, and told us exactly how aspirin is the best form of birth control: You put one between your knees and don't let it fall!

Flakey as a biscuit

I have a confession: I have been so flaky lately! In my "before motherhood" days I was NEVER flaky! I worked at the same job for 7 years and I was late for work one day and that was *only* because they called on my way to work and needed me to stop for something and I ran into someone at the store that I knew, through work so I had to be nice :) Of those 7 years, I called in sick one day, I missed one other day because I went to work sick and they sent me home (the other sick day followed this day)

So, I guess I was doing well so God decided to test me with one baby. I still held on and was pretty predictable and dependable, so he gave me two at once. It took me a while to recover from that, but I did, and was still pretty non-flaky, so along came the Grand Finale. I have to declare, I have surrendered and confessed, I cannot maintain a coherent thought any longer.

About two weeks ago I invited a friend to the mall while my kids were all in school, her baby is Millie's age so it would just be the two babies. Then I realized I had invited her on MLK Jr day, so all my kids were out, so I had every intention of sending her a text message to say whoops and reschedule, but I flaked and totally didn't send the message! I left her hanging the day we were supposed to go out. I NEVER do things like that!

So, fast forward to the present: This Saturday I was supposed to go with my friend to paint the inside of her Mom's house so they can put it on the market. Well, then I realized it was the same day as Pinewood Derby. That part is not my fault, the parent in charge of Scouting did not inform the non-scouting parent of the event by following proper procedure and putting it on the family calendar, so my painting went on the calendar first, however I cannot send him to the Derby with four kids, so, as usual, my plans are the ones being changed. No problem, my friend is a peach and said "great, what about Sunday?" Sunday works, no problem! So, this morning, Friday morning, my mom calls and has six tickets to the Playhouse Disney Live, one what day? Sunday. I did convince her to go with us and let Tom stay home and study for his class, but now I have to flake on my friend.

Twice in a week, not good for my track record! Do they sell some herb that is safe while nursing that will help my brain focus and go back to normal or do I just have to ride the Motherhood Train and hope it eventually comes back???

I got it!

Cricket, being a model for the camera: The full size original shows more vivid colors and definition in his coat. He was mad at me so ignore the bitter look on his face

I finally got my new camera, let the learning begin! I knew when I picked out this camera, or this level of camera, that I would have a lot to learn compared to a basic point and shoot like I previously owned.

I played with the camera a bit last night and got it basically put together (battery charged, lens cap on etc)

Here are a few of the pictures I took last night, please ignore the dirty faces!

I took this from across the room, the definition in the original picture is surprising! Makes me think I need to get my eyes checked and get new glasses!

Abigail: the original of this shows the static-y hair flying away as well as the highlights in her hair. I took this about 5 feet away from her.

Harrison, supposed to be showing me his missing front teeth. The original shows all of his peach fuzz on his face as well as the grooves on his new bottom teeth. This picture was taken standing across the room from him.

New Camera!

Finally! I am getting a new camera tomorrow. I have shopped around and I have decided it is too painful to shop in the brick and mortar stores and THEN come home and read the reviews and research the cameras online because there is always a lower price on the internet, but I don't want to wait that long to get a camera. Pinewood Derby is Saturday and I need a camera to capture it.

So, I have settled on the Nikon P80. There are many others with similar features, but I found this one at Kurt's Camera and the price is very similar to those online but it comes with a 3 year service plan and a case (You mean my purse isn't good enough?)

I am so happy! I have felt lost with out my camera! I keep catching myself reaching for it, only to realize that yet another adorable moment in life will just go undocumented! Not anymore!

Milk

I am not a fan of drinking milk, so I am not the best example for my monkeys. I don't like the taste of it unless it is super duper cold or is poured over cereal. I am not the one who drinks the left over milk from my bowl of cereal, that is why I have Rudy, he loves to drink the milk, that is his job!

My kids have all gone through the early stage where they can't seem to handle milk. Nick was so severe that he had to drink Nutramigen until he was 18 months and then soy milk until he was about 4 years old. Abby was on soy formula until a year and then drank soy milk with Nick more because she preferred it, I don't think it was much of a necessity for her like with Nick. Harrison couldn't really drink cows milk straight for a while, but he also nursed a long time so I never worried about it. Millie is the same as Harrison, she is still nursing but she does seem to have issues with her bottom when she drinks too much milk.

Now that everyone (except Millie) is on the same page and all drinking skim milk, I pour a glass of milk with dinner each night and expect them to drink it. Lately it has become the battle of the week. I don't mind putting a little Hershey's in the cup, but if we are out of chocolate, then the milk still needs to disappear. Perhaps that is part of my midwest upbringing, or the slogan "Milk, it does the body good" but I do feel strongly that milk is just something you drink every day while the bones are growing! I am sure my kids could drink more but with the battle of just one cup, I have to pick my battles.

Harrison will drink, easily, three glasses of milk at dinner and have milk at lunch at school, so I don't worry about him. If I give Nick milk, he'll drink it but not always be happy about it. Abby lately has become a different story! It is the battle of the week and good grief is she getting snitty about it! I was in the middle of it at dinner the other night and had picked it as my battle and I was going to stand by it when Daddy decided she didn't need the milk and told her it was alright, she could go with out drinking it.

At some point the battle goes way beyond the original battle. This battle between Abby and I was no longer about drinking milk, it had reached the point of 'you are being a brat about it, and you need to do what your Mom says" but still, Tom decided it was about milk and let her go.

A little background, Abby doesn't eat. She will sit at the table and take maybe two bites of food and that is that. So, I don't think it is asking too much for her to at least drink some milk to help give her body something to work with. About one week every couple months, she will eat everything we put in front of her, the other weeks, she takes about 10 bites a day, thus I feel it is important to make sure what is going in, it maximizing it's usefullness to a growing body! I have considered rolling her food in ground up miracle grow and crushed vitamins, that way her six bites are complete nutrition, but that probably would be a bit overkill!

So anyway, I didn't intend on bashing my husband or airing our disagreement, or even singing the praises of milk as it is probably my last choice of beverages personally! I guess I am just rambling, just one of the daily struggles we have around here. It is 9:40am and I am already starting to anticipate the battle that will happen in 8 hours when we sit down at the dinner table!

Just my luck

Last week the kids and I were out running around after we dropped Harrison at school and I realized that I have kind of missed the morning radio show that I used to listen to (Jackie Tony and Donnie on 100.3 The Peak) every day last year while driving Harrison to and from school (appx 2 hours round trip from home to school to home) I won a few things last year by calling in for some of their "Random Acts of Kindness" segments that they did every day.

So, as I listened a little bit this week, I decided to jump back in and try to bring back my luck and win something. They did most of the good things by email this time around, so I emailed to win a "Snuggie" blanket which made Tom and I laugh when we saw the commercial for it a few weeks ago, also for tickets to Playhouse Disney Live and also for the High School Musical on Ice (abby would enjoy the skating!) Wouldn't you know, I won! That is right, I am now the proud owner of my very own Snuggie! I'll be sure to post some pictures of us all huddled under it. I think I am more excited about the booklight that comes with it, now maybe I'll finally read the latest James Patterson, Womens Murder Club novel!

My mom and I joked that I never get a chance to sit down long enough to actually use the blanket, good point Mom!

Facebook

I have been on Facebook for a few months now, after much convincing from a few friends of mine from high school. I have enjoyed it, much more than myspace, and have been bugging Tom to give it a try.

Tom, being Tom, couldn't just take the leap and try it, knowing he could cancel and delete at any moment. He researched it online. "Well, www.blahblahblah.com says that Facebook is used for....."

So, tonight Tom went to Santa Fe to meet up with and old friend from the 'hood that he grew up in (If Omaha could be called a 'hood?) and Brent mentioned that he has joined Facebook and talked about all the people they mutually know who he has reconnected with etc. So, my husband just confessed to me that he too will finally give it a try.

Quotes heard around the house today

Nick to me: "My ear stinks"
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Millie to me: "Ya you" (Love you) followed by a blowing kiss as she runs down the hall to be naughty
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Abby to Nick: "Nick, your back is hairy like Daddy's!"
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Breakfast time: me and Nick, conversing: "Nick, what do you want for breakfast?" "Noodles"
Lunch time: me and Nick, conversing: "Nick, what should we have for lunch?" "Noodles"
Later in the afternoon: Abby: "Mommy, is tonight pizza picnic?" "Yes Abby, it is Friday, so pizza picnic night!" Nick: "Can we have noodles on our pizza?" Abby: "Nick, you love noodles way too much!" Nick: "I know Abby, some day I want to marry noodles"
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Upon the discovery of the fairy dust left behind by the tooth fairy: Abby: "Mommy, the toothfairy sure left a lot of fairy dust behind last night!" Nick: "Maybe Slipper (cat) almost caught her and she spilled her fairy dust bag"
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Nick walking into the living room after Millie changed the tv channel: "Mommy, there is a naughty daddy show on tv" Abby: "Nick, it isn't a naughty Daddy show, it is a naughty teenage show!" sidenote: the term 'naughty daddy show' is innocent and refers to the tornado/hurricane/tsunami/alien attack/end-of-the-world shows Daddy likes to watch, nothing kinky, naughty teenage show refers to the shows on Nick and Disney that we don't let the kids watch like Hannah Montana, Drake and Josh, Suite Life etc)
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Amputation

OK, not quite, but still. My camera has grown tired and decided to stop working. I would rather be with out my cell phone than my camera. I have four children, I use it every day, multiple times a day.

Needless to say, I am distraught.

New Year's Resolutions

Ok, I know, I am late on this. I haven't posted in a while so I have some catching up to do.

Typically everyone has the New Year's resolutions that are so predictable: lose weight, exercise more, etc. One year I vowed to keep up with our laundry, then I had #4, I think God was laughing at me at that point. So, this year mine are going to be simple, more focused on the little things in life.

1. I want to bake cookies more often. It is such a simple task, all the kids get involved and everyone loves the outcome. It makes the house smell good too! Right now I have dough chilling for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, YUM! I will make enough to send for snack in Harrison's class tomorrow.

2. I want to start practicing Dr Randy Carlson's "one thing" rule more often. When you start to get frustrated or short tempered with the kids, you pause and ask yourself "what is one thing I can do other than snapping at them" I try, really I do, but sometimes I do snap and then I always feel bad. I often don't hear myself until I hear Tom when he is in a mood or when I am out in public and I hear someone else talk to their kids and my first thought is "poor kids!" but then I stop and realize that I probably sound like that at times too. So, I want to pause more and think of 'one thing' I can do to diffuse the situation.

3. I want to learn how to sew. I have a sewing machine and I have never used it.

4. I want to pray more. Seems so basic as a Christian, yet most nights by the time my head hits the pillow it is the farthest thing in my mind. Instead I am running through the day, reviewing the moments I could have done better, should have done better and just wish I could re-do. I am going through the list of things to do the next day, list of things I didn't get done and have to finish the next day and list of things I want to take care of. Mornings are just crazy, by the time I hit the snooze one too many times. Perhaps I need to make that my priority, to get up one snooze cycle earlier and pray in the shower. I laughed when someone at MOPS said that a few years ago, now I see the logic!

5. I will write thank you notes this year! The last couple years I have really slacked in this department and I need to get back in the routine! 3/4 of the kids are old enough to participate in their thank you's to some extent, so I need to get them in the routine of writing them! Harrison can write his own and the twins can draw a picture and sign their names on the cards.

6. The glass is 1/2 full, right? I have found when I spend a lot of time with my mom, it quickly becomes 1/2 empty. I need to focus on the positive rather than slipping more into her mind set of focusing on the negative.

So, I am sure I could go on and on. Now that I have put these in writing, you can all feel free to send gifts to test out #5 (a digital camera would be nice) I would even #1 with the #5 and include you in the #4 in the morning, do #2 with the gift, thus capturing the action forever, and maybe I could use #3 to make the #5? Go ahead, send the camera and I'll see what I can do :)