What have we been doing lately?

I always feel like I am playing catch-up on my blog, but at least I do it. This is why I don't keep up in my journal-blog takes preference-it is so much easier and more fun than writing in a journal. I think being able to add pictures is great and now the fact that we can make the blog books, well, I am happy about that. I know I should have a personal journal for thoughts, feelings, insights, etc-maybe someday.



Now after that long intro, here are just a few things we have been doing lately. I have decided to get myself motivated, I am going to jog a 5K that the kids school is sponsoring. It is for the National Autism Society-they have a preschool autism program in the school-different from Spencer's class. I figure it's a great cause, get back in shape, we all win. So, I have been trying to get back into my exercise routine. Here's what the boys did yesterday while I was doing the WII Fit. They think it is great to watch. Landon will stand on the board and say "I do WII Fit." It is really cute. This is what the boys look like at 6:30 am, yep 6:30 am!! I guess it is an answer to prayers that they have been the source of me having to get up early a few mornings this week:) You'll understand why there is no actual photographic proof of me exercising....

The following pictures are what happened Sat night while I was making dinner.

Jordan and Spencer at the table doing art work. Actually playing really nice and having fun.

Darin in his favorite position watching the news.

Landon in the kitchen cooking up his own masterpiece. I put the camera away before he spilled raisins all over and was mixing them up. He loves this game and insists on being right under my feet as I cook. He also had lots more pans and spoons out by the time I was finished with dinner. Speaking of dinner, how many of you moms can actually start eating before your husband is finished? Just curious...doesn't happen much here:)

On Friday night I decided to try home made pizza with the Trader Joe's pizza. In the past I have had some trouble trying to get it to turn out the way I want. I struggled with rolling it out to a nice crust. Well, I was very excited that finally I made it work!!! I finally figured out that I should set it out all day, and that it would work if I could use my pampered chef pastry roller!! Yeah, success...finally! And did I mention I tried the herb dough and it was great.


wonderful little gadget!! Kids now love it for playdough.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

We had a fun St. Patrick's Day:) We were all adorned in green, which happens to be my favorite color, so it is great!! We went over to our friend Carla Price's house for some corned beef and cabbage. It was so fun. The kids have a great time playing with her girls and the dinner was sooo yummy! The kids were exctied to see the green rolls and green rice crispie treats we had...yum! We also had another friend Ms. Mary over who is a good friend of Carla's and also Spencer's assistant in his preschool class. She is like a grandma to all the kids-her grandson is few weeks younger than Landon. We had a great time. Here are some pics.

We LOVE Kaalie and Sarah. The are like big sisters to our kids. They play with the boys and are never mean to them. Landon couldn't be bothered to be in a picture.... Darin and I both have Irish in us. Maney is actually a derivative of O'Mooney.

We went to a really awesome St. Patrick's Day parade in Old Town a couple of weekends ago. I have been wanting to put the pics up, so since it is St. Patty's day, here ya go!! It was awesome because they had a dog show before and we walked around for almost and hour just petting people's dogs. It was really cool to see a great Dane up close-I had never seen one. We saw a tiny little taco bell dog scare away all the big dogs. It was funny. The kiddies LOVED it and we now have another yearly tradition. The parade was really cool. We packed a lunch and just parked it on the curb and hung out. It was really nice-great weather, happy kids, fun stuff to watch. Awesome!!

Landon and his many antics. This is one funny kid and he gets cuter every day. He had a great curbside seat in his stroller because if he wasn't buckled, he ran into the street.

Uh Oh.....

I think we may have a problem. Landon is 22 months, and has been in the crib longer than his big brother and sister. We never experienced them crawling out of the crib because they were in the twin bed by 19-20 months. When they were bigger, they would climb in to see their little brother, but could manage to get out pretty good by that time.

Well tonight I was telling Spencer a story and Jordan came to join in. They were laughing at my story about a bunch of dog, especially the one named "Stinky" and all of a sudden Jordan says "mom, look at your son." Guess who was danglin his leg over the crib....yes, the little stinker has figured out that he can get his leg up. Puts a new twist on bedtime and naptime.... I am a little worried now-this kid is capable of a lot.

This morning while I was cooking breakfast, he was at the table with Darin. All of a sudden I heard Darin yelling "No Lanny," Landon had been standing up in the chair and pushed off the table with his little foot falling over backwards to the floor. The fall totally broke the back off the chair!! Crazy kid-hopefully I don't have to blog about any trips to the ER to fix broken bones!!

Jordan's new source of stress....

So, the dentist gave Jordan a warning about sucking her thumb, but she has now become a stress case about it. It is amazing that she really took it to hearta nd I can tell that she is thinking so much about it. She mentioned it on the way home from the dentist, home from school, and a few times in the evening.

Then came bedtime....ugh. She falls asleep sucking her thumb, so it is and has been a great comfort. (When I ask her why she sucks, she says "because it makes me feel good." Well, after 3 failed attempts for she and Spencer to have a sleep over in her room, they were separated. Then Jordan had a breakdown. She would not go to bed, so finally I spent some time with her and she cried that she was hungry and thirsty and said "my mouth is dry if I can't suck my thumb." Oh man, what's a mother to do. Let her worry and feel bad and stress out at bedtime, or strike the following deal. We decided that she could not suck it during the day anymore, but could suck at night for a few days, then stop. She agreed and layed right down and started sucking away. Darin wasn't too happy with the plan, said I caved. Dang it all!! We did noticed that it was not in her mouth about an hour later when we went to bed.

Any ideas for doing away with the thumb and having a happy well adjusted child after?

A trip to the Dentist

My procrastination has ended. We finally went to the dentist today. Jordan has been learning about the dentist in school, and kept asking me when we were going to go. I called one of the dentists off the list from out insurance and was amazed I got in 2 days later!! I was really worried since Jordan is 5 and a half and has never been. Now I know that sounds horrible, but I never, and I mean never went to the dentist when I was growing up, so it hasn't been in my mind like the doctor. To us as kids, the "rich" kids went to the dentist. I remember one time I was rushed in to my Aunt Sue's dentist for a horrible tooth ache, but other than that , we didn't go. Probably because my dad was a farm hand and we didn't have dental insurance.

Here is how our visit went.
Spencer in the playrom watching a little TV

Nice little play room.

Jordan gettting ready. She hopped right into the chair and was ready with her mouth open. Both She and Spencer did soo well.

Cool glasses to sheild her eyes from the light. There was only one time I was worried that Jordan was going to cry-when the hygenist told her she had to stop sucking her thumb. She said she would try and then Rose, the hygenist told her she could have an extra prize next time if she quit.

All done: NO CAVITIES:):) Yeah. I was really worried they would have horrible teeth. Jordan's only problems were plaque build up in the back molars and a bad bite from sucking her thumb. She did so well.

"Ella" the dog came for moral support:)

Next up: Spencer. He was incredibly good!! He sat so well, did everything the dentist and hygenist told him. He did bit her finger once, but I don't think she was quick enough. She did tell me he made a lot of saliva, and he bit the suction once.

Just hanging out at the dentist.

Spencer sat on my lap in during Jordan's whole exam and didn't move. He was enthralled. Jordan, on the other hand, would not sit on my lap, but had to be next to Spencer the whole time. She was quite curious about everything. It was really cute. The hygenist said that Spencer had really nice teeth. Again, NO CAVITIES:) Woo Hoo. I was told that Spencer has an overbite, so we may be looking at at least 2 kiddies with braces...who knows what will happen with Lanny.

Here we are all done. The kids were both THRILLED with the goodie bags. Jordan had to take hers into school when I dropped her off. Spencer had to take his into the restaurant when we went out to dinner and had to have it in bed with him. It was so cute. Darin and I are amazed that they loved it so much. Hopefully that will continue!!

The goody bag: the best part!!

Had to put this one in because he is just too cute!!!

Insights while cleaning

So, I really wanted to go to Potomac Mills and meet up with some friends who were shopping there today. But I got Jordan and Spencer into the dentist tomorrow, so I figured I should stay home today and do all the things I would have been doing tomorrow, had it been a normal day. Bummer to miss shopping....but it is nice to have clean sheets and clean clothes to wear.

I actually started last night and sorted all the laundry in the house. I went down before the kids woke up today and started a load. After I dropped Jordan and Spencer off at school, I came straight home and got cracking. I got all the laundry down and cleaned the family room downstairs and worked my way up with the vacuum. Did the kids beds, vacuumed their rooms, and played with trains with Landon in between. Now, this is not unusual, I do clean my house....well....sort of....anyhow I got to thinking as I cleaned and Landon tormented me by turning the vacuum on and off. Here are some of my thoughts

• I know you can never imagine it, but I have been known to whine and complain about the size of my house:) So I was thinking today that I should be really grateful that I have a house to live in. I saw Oprah last week about all tent cities that are popping up all over the country...I could not believe it. Normal people who had jobs and houses then lost them both now live in tents!! Most of them had not told any family members about their circumstances. I couldn't believe that was happening!! I felt so sad for them. I have a house, I am protected from bad weather, I have furniture, running water, food and a parking spot, which I love, in general a place where our family is safe from the world. So what if I want new paint, some stuff shows signs of wear and tear, and I wish I could decorate better, it is our home and I love it. I am so grateful that Darin was so smart and bought within his means and can afford to pay for our house. On that note, I am so happy he has a pretty safe job as well! Stop complaining, Wendi.
• I need to give myself more credit than I do. Yes, my house tends to get messy and cluttery, but under it all, there is a method to my madness. I do have things more organized than I think. Toys all have a certain place to be, even if they are not aways there. Books have a place to be, and I am anal about where they are place on the shelves...certain ones have to be together, etc. All the kids clothes they have grown out of are organized in bins in age/season groups. The kids dressers are organized and the clothes do get folded and put in the correct place. I am very anal retentive about laundry-something I love to do. I know, very crazy. I realized if I just keep on top of it, the kids things are organized. So what if sometimes we go to bed with toys all over the floor, they will be there in the morning...and yes, Jordan loves to use the dining room as her personal office, but at least she can write and is close to being called a readery. I do have to figure something out for papers that pile up-ya know mail and school papers, etc, but overall, I am not doing as bad as I usually think I am.
• As I cleaned, I realized how blessed our children are. Man, they really have so many wonderful toys, books, DVD's lots of nice clothes, they have good food, and a father who can pay the mortgage and has a good job. I had to remind myself that when I think something like "the boys really need a train table" that they really don't. I did also find many, many things, mostly toys that lay untouched, that will be sold in the consignment sale. I am not even going to give my kids the option-I am finding things little by little and am putting them away to sell. It will be interesting to see if they ask for any of it after it is gone.
• My house is so familiar to me now,it is home. I think I have lived in this house here at 6109 Hyacinth Drive longer than any other house in my entire life. That is crazy!! I cannot believe it!! I moved in almost 6 1/2 yrs ago. We came home here as newlyweds, and have brought 3 children into hour home. We have had so much fun here. Rough times as well, but many many laughs. We have wonderful neighbors who have been so good to us through the years. With all my whining, moaning, etc, if we ever decide to move, it will be really emotional to leave this house.

Does this happen to you when you clean your house? I guess I really need to clean more. Makes me thankful. And it is sooo nice to sit in a clean house. I do love my house and am very grateful for it. So if you ever hear me whine and moan about it, please remind me of this post:):)

More Snow!!

When I looked at my e-mail last night I was annoyed that they had already called school off. When I woke up in the morning, I realized why....It was a lot more than I expected, even though it wasn't much for some places. It was really windy so I wasn't sure if I even wanted to go outside. I finally gave in to some really cute faces:)

Here is all the gear....the suiting up starts! 3 cute kiddos ready to go play in the snow!!

Can't play in snow without making angels:)

Uh Oh, Lanny fell down and wasn't too happy...

A little happier here...

Spencer was a little cold-he has the least tolerance to being cold.

All Jordan wanted to do was eat snow. I would have thought a freezing cold face would have turned her off, but she loved it!

And all the gear after the kids ripped it all off!