"Little bit evil"

The kids and I went grocery shopping last night while Brent spent the evening at Lowe's getting supplies for his window well project. I was so happy with how well the kids did--no screaming or meltdowns (except for Graham's squeals of laughter/frustration as Blake was trying to tickle him). When we were in the checkout line, a sweet checker came over from another line to talk to the kids. We struck up a conversation, and she finally said "Oh! This one's a little bit evil, isn't he?!" I looked down, and THIS is what I saw...

OH...MY...GOSH!!! Friends, we may have a demonic possession on our hands. What is this look???? This face from the child who usually looks like THIS:

The picture of him in the bib was taken just seconds after the "look" pictures were taken--I put the bib on and said "smile!" and he was his usual sweet self. The second picture is him with Roger's Porsche hat a few weeks ago. He loves that hat!!

Oh my...what's a mother to do?!

My blog "excuse"

Ok, since I'm failing miserably at updating the blog more frequently, here's my excuse: Our laptop bit the dust. Sometimes it won't even boot up, and when it does, it's ridiculously slow. I'm pretty sure it had a virus/worm, so I installed new virus software and ran a system defrag. Any other suggestions? It is kind of a dinosaur...I got it when I started the Wags to Whiskers business several years ago. I'd prefer to crutch it along instead of buying a new one...any suggestions? I'm open to wiping it clean an reinstalling programs if that's necessary, but I don't know how to do that. Help!! Our desktop computer is downstairs, so I can only come down here when the kids are napping or asleep...

The kids are supposed to be napping right now, but apparently there's a game of Marco Polo going on up there. A loud yell will come from Sophie's room...(then giggles)...then a holler from the boys' room...(more giggles)...then a yell from Sophie's room...(giggling from both rooms)... Kids this age still need naps, right?!

The boys have moved up to booster seats! No more high chairs for them! My friend Jess got a new dining room table, so we lucked out and got their hand-me-down table. Love it! Now all three of the kids sit in booster seats (again, one came from Jess's house...are we blessed or what?!). I love that we all sit "at" the table together.

I just took these pictures a minute ago so you could see that my "napping" kids aren't napping at all!! Sophie was crouched in the corner playing with Legos when I walked in! I've said it before...what will it be like when these boys move up to todder beds??

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Did anyone get pinched today?! I missed out on treat day at work--I hope everyone had some "Irish" yummies today! The kids and I spent time at Exploration Place today, and had a picnic lunch outside. I had planned on cutting their PB&Js into shamrock shapes, but my big box-o-cookie-cutters didn't have a shamrock. No fair! There are literally 101 cookie cutters in there...but no shamrock!! I'm pretty sure the kids didn't care, though.

The last 24 hours have been very humbling for my "mommy ego." Last night I tried to take the kids to the park in our neighborhood, and they all went in three different directions (Blake to the top of the jungle gym, Sophie down the slide, and Graham headed STRAIGHT for the lake). Then today at Exploration Place was a true testament to why people put their kids on those "kid leashes." All three of them just scattered. So frustrating and so humbling. Up until this point, I was pretty independent and never batted an eye about going somewhere with all three by myself. I'm beginning to realize that with the boys being so mobile (and loving to RUN), things might change a little until they get a bit older. Sigh...

On a lighter note, this weather is awesome!! Brent put a coat of stain and water sealer on the swingset this week, and he hopes it will be completely dry by tomorrow night. It looks great--even better than when it was brand new! We've been brainstorming covers for the window wells, and Brent came across some heavy wire shelving that he's going to put on top of the plexiglass. Our window wells are really deep, and we've been worried about whether or not the covers were strong enough in case one of the kids stood or stumbled on it. This way, we can still have the light coming in for the basement, but they'll be super strong. Woo hoo! After today at Exploration Place, I'm doubly excited to have the back yard ready. :-)

Dad & Louise's visit

Dad and Louise came down for the afternoon yesterday, and I think we wore them out!! We spent a lot of the day outside with the kids, and we agreed that when these three are loose it's like herding cats. They run in three different directions!

Roger smoked some chicken for us for dinner (thanks Roger!) and we had a pre-summer indoor picnic with baked beans, potato salad and strawberry pie for dessert. Not too shabby! I've got a great "light" strawberry pie recipe that I love...I may have posted it last year, so forgive me if it's a repeat. :-)

STRAWBERRY PIE

2 pints fresh strawberries, hulled
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1-1/2 cups cold water
1 package (.3 ounce) sugar-free strawberry gelatin
3 tablespoons sugar
1 reduced-fat graham cracker crust (8 inches)
2 cups reduced-fat whipped topping
Slice strawberries and set aside. In a large saucepan, combine cornstarch and water until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin and sugar until dissolved. Stir in sliced strawberries. Pour into the crust. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.

Monkey Business

Graham is such a wild man! Here's a video of the boys when we went in to get them this morning. Sometimes you can just hear his crib rattling as he runs back and forth across the mattress! He's on the move every waking moment!

Here are some other pictures I took a couple weeks ago after their naps. I would have loved to see how Graham got himself into that situation! (Can't you picture Blake doing it to him, then giving him a wedgie?! Ha!! Those times are coming!) Another funny thing is that Blake's shirt is in Graham's crib (Graham is standing on it). I need to get a hidden camera for their room!! They keep us laughing, that's for sure. :-)

A hen, a cow and an apple tree

Apparently we need to move to the country. I need a hen, a cow and an apple tree! I feel like I'm constantly running to the store for eggs, milk and apples. You should see these kids eat scrambled eggs! It's amazing how quick they gobble them up! As for the apples, they now have all boycotted SLICED apples and prefer to carry WHOLE ones around to nibble on. I found some organic apples on sale at the store last week that were small--they were the perfect size for them to munch on. We burned through that bag in a couple of days, though, so it's back to the store for me! I actually had to stop myself the other day from convincing them to eat something other than apples. I have to remind myself that fresh fruit (even when they're wasting a lot of it) is a better alternative to other snacks they might choose. I'm going to try to slice some up and put them in individual snack baggies and see if the novelty appeals ("a-peels"...hee hee!...yes, I'm a dork) to them.

It's been a busy week around here! My friend Annie had a consignment sale in El Dorado last week, so we made a couple of trips over there. On one of those trips Sophie threw up ALL over herself and her carseat. I'm not sure if she gagged on her snack or if maybe she gets carsick like me? She's been fine ever since. I had to figure out how to take the carseat out of the car and get it apart to wash it. That was only half of the challenge--I didn't think Brent and I were ever going to get it back together! Lots of levers, elastic straps, hook & eyes...it's an intricate apparatus for sure!

I PROMISE to post some new pictures soon. I can't believe how big these three kids are getting! I came home from work one day last week and swore they'd each grown an inch since that morning. The weather is so nice here today--I'm anxious to let them spend some time outside tonight. Photo op!

Oh! Our anniversary dinner was wonderful--we ate at Outback Steakhouse, then went to see "Confessions of a Shopaholic." The movie wasn't very good, even for me. (So you can imagine how much Brent liked it! Ha!!)

Our 5th Anniversary!

Monday was our 5th wedding anniversary! Hard to believe that five years ago we were lounging in Montego Bay, Jamaica. AWESOME. I'd love to go back, but I don't think I'd be able to leave my kids for that long. Heck, I'm having a hard time going out tonight knowing that someone else will be putting them to bed!! Sigh...nobody warned me about the "mommy guilt" that comes with being a mother.

Tonight we're going out to dinner and a movie to celebrate our anniversary!! What in the world will we talk about?! It's been so long since we've been out without kids that I don't know how to act!! I admire couples who make date nights a priority. We're going to Outback Steakhouse for dinner and we've narrowed the movie choices to "He's Just Not That Into You" or "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (wow, I'm guessing Brent is kicking himself for letting me pick the movie--HA!!).

Here's to a kid-free evening!