Sunflower Inn--Yoder, Kansas

My friend Tammy gave the boys a big bag of clothes this week, and they've had so much fun picking out their 'new' clothes each day. Tonight they discovered the Batman pajamas! What a treat--even though she doesn't have twins, she somehow managed to pass along an entire bag of coordinating outfits in the same size. She has the best-dressed kid in town, and we are the LUCKY recipients of his hand-me-downs!

Sophie attempted to wrap her own collarbone tonight, and this was the end result.  Ha!  Maybe we should be more clear about where her 'collarbone' is??

Now for some older pictures from the past few months! Brent and I had won a night's stay at a bed & breakfast in Yoder, KS a while back, and it was getting ready to expire. Since B&Bs aren't exactly his cup of tea, I decided to take Sophie for a 'girls-only overnight.'

Brent was working, so the boys got to go on their very first overnight at Kelly & Roger's! They each had their backpack and sleeping bag ready for the big occasion. They had a great time! 

Sophie in front of the Sunflower Inn. Yoder was having a Christmas event in their VERY quaint downtown, so Sophie wore her reindeer shirt!

Yoder is an Amish community (the Sunflower Inn is actually a former Amish home), and we saw a lot of horse-drawn buggies on our trip. I sat on the porch on Sunday morning waiting for Sophie to wake up, and I counted at least a dozen buggies passing by on their way to church. Such a neat sight! 

A delicious breakfast was waiting for us! Egg casserole, fruit, muffins, real butter, fresh honey...and homemade apple cider. Awesome. Kendra made us feel so welcome.

We spotted the church where the Amish families were worshipping, and I couldn't resist snapping a picture of the buggies all lined up.

We'll definitely make this a tradition!

Is it APRIL already??? First blog post of 2011!

Dad has been asking about the blog (and I'm HORRIBLE about e-mailing pictures to him), so the blog is back in action! I'll try to make your reading worthwhile, Dad. :-)

SO VERY MUCH to catch up on! Let's see...

The boys are potty trained, and Blake even goes all night without a Pull-Up (now if we could get Sophie and Graham to follow suit). It is AWESOME to finally be a diaper-free house. Two nighttime Pull-Ups is nothing compared to the 20-plus diaper days of the past!

Sophie broke her collarbone on St. Patrick's Day...she was trying to walk on the outside of the trampoline enclosure (BIG no-no at our house) and Graham pushed her off. Here are her x-ray pics:



You might remember that almost exactly a year ago, Blake broke HIS collarbone by falling when getting out of his seat at the kitchen table.  This is HIS x-ray...almost identical to Sophie's.  The ER doctor assured me that this is the most common break among the 'under 5' group, and her orthopedist told me to throw the trampoline away.

Happy GratiTuesday! We are thankful for:

• The new Via Christi St. Teresa hospital for having an AMAZING emergency room staff. They took fabulous care of Sophie, and met us at the door when we arrived. NO waiting.
• Aunt Kelly for taking the kids and I to see the movie "Hop" this weekend, which was such a treat!! The kids loved it, and did really well during the movie. They ate their weight in popcorn and M&Ms.
• Dad for coming down to help Brent tackle his 'project list', and for administering last rites to the dying refrigerator. As much as we hated to lose it, it was nice to finally put it out of its misery.
• Caryn for chauffeuring Sophie to preschool when I'm working. SUCH a lifesaver!
• Brent for being amazingly gifted with power tools & lawn equipment. He added on to the swingset so there's room for 4 swings (3 swings and a glider). The yard has been meticulously manicured and treated with fertilizer. He's the king of the great outdoors at our house!

Recent kid-pics coming soon.

Happy GratiTuesday!!!

We're baaaaaaaack!  Lots to catch up on, so we'll start with Thanksgiving and sprinkle a few older items throughout the week.  So many things to be thankful for!  The short list:

1. Hotels with swimming pools!  We had a great time visiting family over Thanksgiving, and found out what a blessing indoor swimming pools are.  The kids loved, loved, LOVED it!
2. Laid-back family.  It was so nice to spend some time in a low-key environment to recharge our batteries.  Dad and Louise were the perfect host & hostess! 
3. Good food.  Louise whipped up a great dinner, Jimmy made an awesome broccoli/rice casserole, and Aunt Darci made some homemade macaroni and cheese that still finds its way into my dreams.  My mouth is watering a little right now, to be honest.
4. Black Friday shopping!  Louise and I found some great buys on Friday morning, and were back before anyone missed us.
5. Aunt Judy!  She gave me 2 pairs of shoes and a mess of clothes when we were home!  AWESOME.  I need to start hitting the treadmill again (SOON) so I can fit into some of them.  :-)
6. Kids that travel well.  They did great in the car, and we didn't have any problems on the road.

A few pics:



Shirts made with their handprints



I think Grandpa was singing.  :-)

Grandpa reading to Graham

Grandma and Blake perusing catalogs

Jimmy & Joshua

Thanksgiving dinner 'kids table'!

Treats for Sophie's preschool class

The boys thought they were chickens!

My cousins Matt & LeAnn

Uncle Leroy & Aunt Judy

At the T-Rex restaurant!  This dinosaur came inches from Brent's head. 
He acted like he was going to kiss it, but that picture didn't come out--drats! 

Annie Banannie's Consignment Sale!

It's time for my friend Annie's consignment sale for kids' clothing and equipment!  Annie is one of the most detail-oriented people I know (and one of the friendliest!), which means she's PERFECT for this line of work.  You can sell kids' clothes, shoes, toys, strollers, high chairs, etc, etc, etc.

The sale is next Friday/Saturday (October 15 & 16), so there's plenty of time to get your items together for the sale.  For more details or to register, go to:  http://www.anniebananniessale.com.

GratiTuesday

Happy GratiTuesday!  This week we're thankful for:

1. Our friend Patti had knee replacement surgery last week and is doing great!  We need to get over and see her soon.
2. Caryn started picking up Sophie for preschool this morning, and will be our Tuesday 'lifesaver' while I'm still working Tuesdays.  Sophie loves riding with Ryan!  You're the BEST, Caryn.
3. My friend Annie invited us to El Dorado Lake's fun day last weekend, and the kids loved it!  (Despite Mommy's poor wardrobe choices that morning...once it warmed up a little, we had a blast!)  They fished (Blake was thrilled--he kept saying "I caught a WORM!  Look--I caught a worm!"  We need to get them some fishing poles and take them to the park).
4. Brent's car has been making a horrible rumbling noise when taking sharp turns for a while now.  We've been putting off taking it to a repair shop for fear of the unknown ($$$), and I finally Googled it hoping to get an idea.  The forum I stumbled into said the rear differential fluid needed to be changed, so we got some fluid from Honda and Brent changed it himself.  It worked beautifully--no more noise!!  What could have been an expensive trip to the service shop ended up costing about $30.  Brent's so handy.  :-)
5. We have a new sitter for the kids, and she's working out BEAUTIFULLY!  This has been such a source of stress for us--I'm hoping things continue to go smoothly.
6. My friend Christy came to town and the kids and I got to spend the day with her on Sunday!  I just realized that I didn't take ANY pictures that day...what was I thinking??  Christy is awesome with kids, and brought fun stickers for them to make Halloween pictures.  She was also very encouraging when Graham used his "S" and "L" sounds well, so it helped reinforce his hard work (Christy's a speech pathologist).
7. Sophie had school pictures today, and I'm pleasantly surprised at how they turned out!  She has a genuine smile in them. 

The only thing that would make this week better is if we could get rid of the allergies that are plaguing us right now...but I guess that leads me to our final thing to be grateful for this week:

    8.   Allergy medicine!!

GratiTuesday

Happy GratiTuesday!  This has been a bittersweet week so far, since one of our newest sitters' last day was today (due to an out-of-state move) and we're reconsidering the babysitter decision I posted about yesterday (we're already having issues with scheduling and inconsistency).  So...babysitting remains our family's biggest stressor right now.  It's been a long summer in that department...

All that being said, there's still so MUCH to be thankful for!

1. There are officially over 65 people in the Financial Peace University (Dave Ramsey) class now!  It's exciting to see his program 'speaking' to people and helping families.
2. Dad and Louise's visit was so nice, but too short.  It's nice to have them here, because it's obvious how crazy they are about the kids by the way they interact with them.  It sounds strange to say, but it lightens the pressure I feel when they're here.
3. Brent is getting a few overtime days this month--perfectly timed since our vehicle tags/taxes are due this month!
4. Brent has an incredible ability to fix our possessed icemaker.  It constantly freezes up and he fixes it.  I'd have been using ice cube trays by now--but he doesn't give up on it!
5. Brent is grateful for the new Crocs I ordered for him!
6. Kelly went shopping with me and the kids this weekend, and I found some clothes!  Woo hoo!  Taking the kids to any clothing store alone is practically out of the question, so I'm super grateful that she came along.  Plus, it was nice to be in REAL clothing stores (I can't tell you the last time I shopped for clothes anywhere other than Target or WalMart...seriously YEARS).  I forgot how great the 'new clothes smell' is...Ahhhhh, I can't wait to go again!!  (Anyone want to come??)
7. BEAUTIFUL FALL WEATHER!  The chill in the air is so nice, and the kids are loving being outside.
8. The trampoline makes the list again--the kids are crazy about it!
9. My friend Laurel came by my office to bring me a Pepsi the other day, which was wonderful and unexpected.  I had a good visit with her, and it reminded me that small gestures sometimes make the biggest impacts.
10. My friend Jen invited us to her in-laws' farm to see chickens, ducks, goats and donkeys!!  It was SUPER cool!!  The kids got to collect eggs (there was a chicken sitting on them, and she made the funniest noises as the eggs were being collected from underneath her) and play with the goats.  The goats act like dogs!  I'm not sure who had more fun, me or the kids.  We all loved it!  I'll post pictures soon.  (I checked to see if I could have chickens in our neighborhood...and am sad to say that we can't.  Bummer.)

Pumpkin Patch

I was ***this*** close to being successful at my blog-post-every-day challenge!!  We got a bit off track this weekend with the babysitter search and an early visit from Dad & Louise.

The good news??  We have a new sitter starting on Friday!  We were really torn about whether or not to continue to keep the kids at home with a sitter or to start taking them to a daycare.  Hopefully we're making the right choice.

We had a fun visit with Dad & Louise this weekend!  They were on their way back from a week-long trip to the Grand Canyon.  We celebrated the boys' birthdays with cupcakes and a trip to the pumpkin patch.  Dad joked (joked??) that they spent three days in Sedona for the cost of what 2 hours at the pumpkin patch cost, but the kids had a great time.  :-)

New shirts--cute!



One of MANY turns blowing out candles



Grandma & Grandpa gave them a racetrack!

Was it windy?? What's up with my hair??

Barrel train--BIG HIT with the kids!

Tires

The highlight of today was getting new tires for the van!  (If you classify spending money on boring necessities a 'highlight.'  I can think of a LOT more fun ways to spend that kind of money.)

We're in the middle of the never-ending-sitter-search.  Our summer sitter is moving back to Michigan next week, so we're in the middle of an intense search for the right person.  Keep your fingers crossed for us--it's a little stressful around here right now!!!

Doughnuts and elephants and salsa...oh my!

The big day started with doughnuts for breakfast (with candles, of course!), then Brent and the boys came to see me at the office for a bit while Sophie was at preschool.  Afterwards, Brent took the kids to the zoo for a Happy Meal picnic lunch!  Apparently the animals were all pretty active--especially the penguins--and the kids loved it.  Sophie kept asking to see the elephants and the giraffes.  They love the zoo so much! 

We took the boys out to dinner for their favorite--chips & salsa!  Kelly, Roger, Becky & Aaron joined us, too!  (Which I'm pretty sure they regret, because...)  See the salsa bowl in front of Sophie?  Shortly after this picture was taken, Graham took a tumble off of his chair.  Before his aerial-back-handspring-with-a-stuck-landing took place, he somehow hit the edge of Sophie's salsa bowl and sent it FLYING.  Half of it went down her face and into her lap, and the other half went ALL over the walls (with some splatters on Becky's white shirt--sorry Becky!).  MUCH CRYING ENSUED.  Sophie was completely appalled because "Brother did this to me!" and Graham was just shocked and startled.  (Blake, however?  Glanced at them and kept eating.  I wish I had a replay of the event!  That might have been the funniest part!)  We joked afterwards that we would never have guessed that the amount of salsa in that small bowl could cover so much ground!  Apparently you CAN paint an entire room with just a quart.

Graham was SO embarrassed (but not hurt, thank goodness!), so we had to get pretty silly to bring him back around.  Sophie was playing in her sour cream, and thought she was grossing us out with it.  We were actually laughing at the finger she was using (she didn't know that, of course...and yes, we really ARE that immature), which made her try even harder to get us messy...



This look is too much (and how did she get sour cream on her forehead?!)!!!

All in all, they had a good birthday!  

Happy 3rd birthday, Blake & Graham!!!

Can this be possible?! Our boys are THREE today! It's flown by! I was (semi)joking the other day that I feel like the past three years have been such a blur, and we're just now to the point where we can peek our heads out of the cave and look around. What a three years it has been!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLAKE!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAHAM!!!

The night before you were born (whoa belly!):

You loved to sleep right next to each other from the very beginning:

Proud big sister!

You've always played right next to each other, too:

Best friends:

Giggling boys:

Into mischief!

And here you are at THREE!

Gentlemen, you have blessed us beyond words. Both of you have such sweet hearts and outgoing personalities. You are crazy about each other and are your sister's biggest fans.

Blake, your favorite food is pasta, you love your koala bear, and are so laid back and snuggly. Lately you like to go outside at night and look at the stars. You are such a gentleman, wanting to help carry even the heaviest items.

Graham, your favorite foods are fruits and vegetables, you love your Pooh bear, and have more energy than we could have imagined! You are so social, and from a distance start shouting 'Hi friends!' to anyone within earshot.

We love you, we love you, we love you!!!

XOXOXO

Pampered Chef Deep Dish Covered Baker

I got a fun new toy for the kitchen--the Pampered Chef Deep Dish Covered Baker. It's glazed on the outside and stoneware on the inside. I was hesitant about it, because stoneware seems like it would dry the food out and would be a nightmare to clean, but I was wrong. The best part about it is that it cooks in the oven OR the microwave! Tonight we had a pork loin cooked in the microwave, and the pan was a cinch to clean up! (I have to admit that the loin I bought was WAY too lean, and I should have marinated it. The other half that I cooked in the crockpot was dry as a bone, and it was more moist in this baker. I can't wait to try the smaller Hormel seasoned pork loins next time, I bet they'll be awesome.) You can bake cakes, cobblers, etc. in the microwave--I can't wait to get it figured out!

After it cooked in the microwave for about 30 minutes. I had used a dry rub (and no water), and worried that it would scorch--lots of juice in there, though!

You don't use soap on it--just hot water, so this is AFTER the roast was removed and I cleaned it up! It was a CINCH.

Spangles finale #1

I can't believe it's been a year already since Brent did his first overnight at Spangles to win a free weekly Spangles meal for a year! Today he used his last meal...see how sad he is?! He still has a while left on the second book, though. It will be a very sad day for him when that book runs out, though!

(Please pardon his shirt...some guys from work got him that because they know we have cats, and he wears it all the time! He loves cats--don't call PETA.)

The kids and I were painting earlier today, and Sophie asked me to paint her some different shapes. She has the sweetest heart, and after each shape she said "Good job!" After we were done, I started cleaning up and noticed that my page was gone. Worrying about it laying face down on the carpet somewhere, I went looking for it...and found it on the fridge. That sweet girl put MY picture on the fridge. (Warm fuzzy, warm fuzzy!!!)

Visit with Leslie's family

My friend Leslie was here with her husband and 3 kids today, and it was so great to spend some time with them. They brought us this adorable ghost! Check it out--it's kid-sized boots and jeans (the boots are filled with concrete), then the rest of the body is made of PVC material and styrofoam. Too cute! She said I should put it on the porch, but I think it might go next to the fireplace. (Blake is NOT a fan of it, and gives a wide berth as he goes by. If he doesn't warm up to it soon, it might have to go on the porch for fear of traumatizing the poor boy!)

Our three kids spent most of the day on the trampoline with Leslie's three kids. They all wore themselves out! I have to admit that I was skeptical about getting the trampoline in the beginning, but it was such a hit today that I have to give Brent credit for the idea!

Sophie spent the first half of the day in a princess costume getting ready for the 'princess tea' birthday party she was invited to, but the party was cancelled! :-( The mom got sick, so hopefully it will be rescheduled soon--I think it will be adorable to see all of the little girls dressed up! Luckily Leslie's crew came when they did, and Sophie forgot all about being sad about the party.

(p.s., I got the laundry caught up today--SUCCESS!)

TGIF

Woo hoo for weekends! I'm hoping to get caught up on laundry/cleaning/meal planning, etc. this weekend. Sophie has a 'princess tea birthday party' to attend tomorrow, and we have good friends coming up from Oklahoma City for the day. We're really looking forward to their visit!

Hmmmmm...I thought this 'blog-post-a-day' thing was a good idea, but it makes me realize how boring things can be around here on a daily basis...(crickets chirping)...Ummm, we went to Sam's tonight...(chirp)...and bought a cake for our friends' visit tomorrow...(chirp)...and Sophie is sneaking down the stairs as I type this because she officially thinks she belongs in bed with me when Brent is working...my own fault, I know...(chirp)...

Wait--here's something cute! I often call the kids "Sugar" when addressing them, and tonight at Sam's Sophie asked for something. Blake said "No, Sugar" but when he says it, it sounds like "No, Chigger." Cute!

Soooo...that's about it...(chirp)...I'm off to research new mops on Amazon because mine broke tonight...(chirp)...does that count as exciting??

Shots for Sophie

It was time for Sophie's 4-year vaccinations, so we went before school this morning to get them. Bless her heart, it was traumatic for her! She loves going to the doctor, but I'm guessing she'll be a little gun-shy after today. She got 3 injections, one in her right thigh and two in her left. She yelped so loud, then started crying so hard that no sound came out. It was heartbreaking! I always thought the baby stage was the hardest with shots, but now I think it's this age--she's old enough to realize the pain was inflicted intentionally, but young enough to not understand the reason. She did NOT want to go to school after that, she kept whimpering "I need to go home and go to bed...I need to go home and see brothers..." I ended up keeping her home from preschool (since we'd missed a good portion of it, anyway), and she went to Graham's speech therapy appointment with the boys and I instead. She took a good nap afterwards and seemed fine. She went to church tonight and was fine except for the tenderness in her legs, then when we got home and I changed her into her PJs, she started shivering. I took her temperature and it's 102.5. Eek! The doctor said it's ok and to give her some ibuprofen through the night to keep the temperature down. Bless her heart!

Tonight was the kickoff for the new FPU/Dave Ramsey class! We have almost 60 people signed up for it--I'm so excited! His message is so good, and he delivers it with such humor. I'm excited to get to know everyone and start celebrating their successes!

Happy birthday, brother!

Today is my brother John's birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOHNNY!

******************************************************************

We had some pretty wicked weather here tonight, lots of hail and tornado warnings. Our neighborhood got golfball-sized hail, but a lot of the city saw baseball-sized hail. Lots of window knocked out of cars and homes around the city. It left as quickly as it came, though!

I had dinner tonight with Pati, Caryn and Luci while all of the weather commotion took place, and about halfway through dinner Brent called to say he was taking the boys on a bike ride (Sophie was at Awanas). The storm had just started as I walked into the restaurant, so that shows how short-lived the storm was! The boys loved the bike ride, and Sophie loved Awanas.

Not much else to report! (Unless you want to hear about the spider Brent found in the basement tonight, and the frantic search for a new exterminator we're now on...those cats better watch their backs, because they're definitely falling down on the job...)

GratiTuesday

Happy GratiTuesday! This week we're thankful for:

1. Perfect weather for the kids' birthday party!
2. Friends and family who celebrated the kids' birthdays with us or called with well-wishes for the event. You all made it an extra-special weekend, and the kids had a blast!!
3. Companies who rent cotton candy machines, and for Kelly who wasn't afraid to give cotton candy-making a whirl with me. We are AWESOME cotton candy makers!
4. Richard and Pati for insisting that we GET the cotton candy machine, and picking up the tab for the machine rental--they have a soft spot for Sophie's sweet tooth. :-)
5. The kids and I are grateful for Brent spending an entire day getting the trampoline assembled and everything ready outside for the birthday.

The week seems to have been overshadowed by the kids' birthday party, doesn't it?! :-)

Watermelon (& furry friends)

TV is our (my??) nemesis around here. The kids choose TV over almost anything, and it's making me crazy. Tonight I was bound and determined to get them out of the house for a while, and remembered this sign near our house:

Dirt! Plants! Perfect for kids! When we pulled in the drive, we were met by a sweet older couple who talked with the kids and helped us pick a good watermelon from the flatbed in their driveway. The kids wandered around and played in the dirt for a while, but it was close to supper time and we didn't want to overstay our welcome. We hopped back in the car and went for a drive in the country. The kids love to look at animals, and we found plenty of cows and horses to keep their interest (Sophie SWEARS she saw an elephant.) I'd love to find someone who sells farm fresh eggs, and show the kids the chicken coops. I wish we had some land--we'd definitely have chickens!

Then we came home, played on the trampoline for quite a while (their little heads were so hot and sweaty, and they were giggling like crazy--THAT'S what I want to see from active kids!), then they took baths. I finally took the final tape off of Blake's incision, and it looks good. We see the doctor for a follow up soon, and I think she'll be pleased.

[On a very somber note, my friends Melissa, Sue & Kelly are on my heart tonight--it's been a hard month for furry loved ones. Melissa had to put her cat, Jezzie, to sleep a few weeks ago, and then her mom Sue's cat, Missy, to sleep Friday. Today Kelly had to put her dachshund, Abby, to sleep. All of them were GREAT pets and will be sadly missed. My friends are all great pet mommies, and my heart breaks for them. Heaven is a greater place with Jezzie, Missy & Abby in it. I'm so sorry for your losses, girls.]

Nighttime

We're having some issues with nighttime still. I mentioned that Sophie has been waking up around 2:30am to pray, but then she started to just come into our room in the middle of the night. Last night she came in around 11:00pm, so she's getting earlier and earlier! I hear her upstairs now tiptoeing around...she's probably waiting until we get settled in before she strikes again. I have to admit--I love having her there (she calls it a 'slumber party with mama'), but Brent doesn't sleep well when she's in our bed, so he usually goes downstairs and sleeps in the guest room. I feel bad about that, but to be honest, it's cold downstairs and he gets to turn the fan on full-blast...he really does love it down there. I'm doing my best not to make this a habit, though. Sophie's bed is a 'universal bed' that transitions from crib-to-toddler bed-to-full sized bed. Next in the budget is to get her a full sized mattress, box springs & rails, so maybe she'll like it better when it's more of a 'big girl bed'?

We got a good laugh out of Graham sleeping a few nights ago--note that Graham is NOT sleeping on the pillow, but his bear IS. Talk about a sacrifice! He's a great best friend already!

Birthday party!

Today was the big day! We celebrated the kids' birthdays in our backyard and were blessed with GREAT friends and BEAUTIFUL weather. We hired a friend to take photos during the festivities, so I should have some snapshots to share by next weekend. (Seriously--this was such a gift to ourselves today. We normally are running around trying to juggle the cake/kids/gifts/guests AND trying to get a decent picture of anyone or anything. Today we were able to enjoy our friends while Jancy did all of the hard photography work! Awesome! I highly recommend it. Hopefully she was able to get some good shots!)

We gave the kids a trampoline for their birthdays! Brent worked hard on it yesterday, and since we wanted it to be a surprise it took a lot of planning and forethought to orchestrate. His solution? Tarps. He tarped off the patio doors and living room windows, and we didn't let the kids into Sophie's room until after dark last night. Great plan! (One of the neighbors wondered if we were having termite treatment done--ha!!)

This morning was a little tricky since they all woke up super early (they knew today was the party and were too excited to sleep!), and Brent and I had to be in the backyard finishing up the final details on the trampoline. We pulled it off, though--we put them in our room to watch a movie while we finished, then tag-teamed with the kids until our fabulous friends/sitters Becky & Kelsey came to take them on a walk until the guests arrived. Once everyone was here, we blindfolded the kids and took them around back to see the trampoline. It was a hit with the kids AND their party guests!

We had cake, ice cream, pinata candy, chips/dips (Kelly's specialties!) and the fabulous cotton candy--which held up beautifully through the night! I think we sent all of the kids home on sugar highs. The guests' goodie bags bags held pinata candy, coupons for free Pizza Hut personal pan pizzas, cotton candy and a helium balloon.

Whew--we're tuckered out around here--what a FUN day!!