Day Off Of School

I know I am terribly late posting this, but better late than never, right?

Last Monday, the kids were out of school. I always love it when there is no school. I wanted to take the kids to the park or something outdoors again, but when we woke up it looked like this outside:

I guess the park is out. So I used my quick-thinking-on-my-feet-mommy-brain and decided to take the kids to Barnes and Noble to let them all pick out a new book to read. I forgot to take my camera with me, but it was so fun. Hayden walked inside and immediately started saying, "Lots of books, lots of books!" It didn't take him long to pick out a "Cars" set with stickers, a coloring book, crayons, magnetic scenes and cars, and a regular story book. It was wrapped in plastic and he kept trying to head up to the cash register saying, "Buy it first." Good boy. He knew he couldn't open it until we paid for it.

Rylee picked out a High School Musical book and was so excited to read it that she had almost a chapter read before we could get to the cash register. She was walking around the store reading while we picked out other books. I thought for sure that she would get bored with it before she finished it. It was 250 pages, for crying out loud. She sure proved me wrong. Came home and read all day long. She had most of it read before the day was over and then finished it the next day. I was super impressed.

Kate was so excited to find an Elmo book with a little plush puppet on it. She SCREAMED when she saw it and when we handed it to her, she hugged it and said, "I wuyoo, Elmo." I guess she found the book she liked!:)

Lana was saying she had a tummy ache and my mom was nice enough to come over and sit with her while I took the other kids. I think Lana really just wanted some one-on-one attention. Either that or she really didn't want to go. She is my little homebody. So I picked out a book for her and Grandma read it to her when we got home.

While the kids were all having fun with their new books, I made them lunch and cookies because on snowy days I have to make something warm and yummy. :)

After lunch, Hayden and Kate fell asleep. That gave me time to clean up the kitchen and get our next little activity ready.

I gave the two big girls pedicures. They always love it. I don't know if Rylee would even remember getting hers though because she had her nose in her book the whole time. (That's my kind of pedicure! Nothing like a good book while you are getting your feet washed, rubbed, and toenails painted.)

By the time I was finished with Rylee and Lana's toes, Kate was awake. Why not give her a pedicure too? Those cute little toes are too cute to ignore! We got a little carried away with the bubbles though. It was so fun! She loved it!

And Hayden slept through it all...

...Until Lana and I started up a rip-roaring game of Phase 10. The girls have loved learning that game. I just need to teach Lana to not show me her cards.;)

Our last fun little activity for the day was a pizza picnic on the floor for dinner when Bill got home. The kids loved it and wouldn't stop talking about their day to Bill. They were all so wound up, but it was great. We had a fun day and they were all happy.

We had a fun day and the kids were all happy. Based on that, I would say our snowy day off was a success!

Translation Please

The first time I heard Lana's new word was a couple of nights ago. She went and sat in the rocking chair and said, "Rylee come sit in the CHARLIE GOOG." (To clarify the pronunciation of the word Charlie: She says it like she is English. It makes it even funnier.)

What the heck? Where did she get that? I asked her and she said she didn't know. That word has been popping up a lot around our house.

The other word we have been hearing is, "Hoodie Doodie." Again, what the heck?

Tonight while I was talking to the girls I decided to ask for some clarification. I asked Lana, "What does Hoodie Doodie mean?" She replied, "Charlie Goog."

Thank you for clearing that up.

If you listen to her talk, it sounds like Charlie Goog is now an interchangeable noun. You just replace any noun with Charlie Goog. Will you please go get the Charlie Goog? Come sit down in the Carlie Goog. Would you like to eat a Charlie Goog?

Hoodie Doodie seems to be the new name for everyone - unless you are Rylee. For some reason Lana hates it when Rylee tries to claim that name.

Oh, and don't tell her you read this. She is rather embarrassed that I am blogging it. I joked with her that her preschool teacher may read this and say, "Hoodie Doodie, will you please sit down on the Charlie Goog," on Tuesday at school. She said, "Mom don't do that. I would be embarrassed."

Serves her right for making up such a catchy little language. It will be shared!

The Leprechauns Are Back!

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!!!

The Leprechauns are definitely visiting our house again this year. My kids put their little boxes out last night before bed and after we read the little story about the boxes to them. (For those of you who weren't reading my blog last year, THIS POST from last St. Patrick's Day explains the boxes and includes the story.)

It took the kids forever to go to sleep because they were so excited - especially Lana. She could not wait for today.

They weren't disappointed when they woke up. The Leprechauns had peed in the toilet (again) and left the water green, they stuck all of the green little tub toys that stick to the wall all over the house, and they left trails of gold coins leading to the hidden boxes. The house was such a wreck! Those stinking leprechauns. I really don't appreciate them making messes that I have to clean up.

Those silly little men tipped over Lana's little piano, made a mess of the baby wipes, and threw Rylee and Lana's new green shirts on the floor. But I guess we can't complain when they leave a lovely little rainbow on the wall with a pot of gold and goodies at the end of it. ;)

They also dumped over a box of Lucky Charms on the counter and spilled a container of green friendship rings I had on the counter for the girls to take to school and share with their friends. It drove poor Hayden nuts. He kept saying, "It's a mess. Clean up." He couldn't pick it all up fast enough.

We had a mess on the kitchen table as well. The green rug that was hanging to dry was thrown on the table, as well as a bunch of green cups and bowls. That silly Leprechaun even left green water in one glass. The girls think it's hilarious.

The kids' rooms were a mess. Both had gold coins thrown all over the floor leading from where the boxes were, out into the hall, and to wherever the Leprechaun hid their little treasures. But there was also a mess of papers and crayons left in their rooms. Apparently Leprechauns love to color with green crayons, and they don't think much of a note left by my sweet eight year old.

Rylee left a note for the Leprechauns saying, "I don't want to catch you or anything, but could you stay at my house all day tomorrow? I just want to know what you look like. Thank you for coming to my house every St. Patrick's Day. I can't wait to see what you do this year! Be safe. Your friend, Rylee Eccleston" As you can see, her letter was colored on as well and left right where she put it. Heartless little men. :)

Rylee can't be too upset though because as always, the little men left the kids all a box full of treasures.

Rylee asked why the Leprechauns would have left Kate a little Smurf doll. I told her that maybe they have a crush on Smurfette because she is about their size. Who knows.


Rylee had to get ready to go to school after all of the excitement, so she put on her St. Patrick's Day shirt that I got her just for today and made sure she wore the green beads that the Leprechaun left in the pot, green earrings, and a green hair bow. In the spirit of the day, she also ate Lucky Charms for breakfast in a green bowl. It works for me. There is just something about green pancakes or green milk that grosses me out. ;)

Lana had preschool today as well. She was so excited to wear her new shirt as well. Hers says, "Everybody loves an Irish girl." She looked so cute in it with her red hair. She was skipping all the way out the door to go to school.

Kate was my tired, grumpy little leprechaun girl today. She really didn't want her picture taken, but too bad! I'm the mom!

Hayden didn't really want his picture taken either. He just wanted to play. So I made him climb up with the girls really quick to snap a picture of all three of them. I seriously got two pictures, and he was off running. I guess this one will have to do!:)

We hope you all have a fantastic St. Patrick's Day! Hopefully the Leprechauns don't make too many more messes today because I am tired. But I have a feeling there is more to come.;)

Has Spring Finally Arrived?

I sure hope it has.

Today was still a little chilly, but it was so nice outside today. I decided to take the kids to the park because we needed to get the kids (okay, and me too) out of the house. We left as soon as Rylee got home from school since Friday is early out day and headed out. We stopped at Albertsons near the park to pick up a couple loaves of cheap bread to feed to the ducks at the park and off we were.

The kids were so excited that it was finally warm enough to play outside. Do you think they had fun? You be the judge! (I apologize for the gazillion pictures, but it was so fun!)

Saturday In The Park

My parents were nice enough to watch the kids on Saturday while Bill and I went out for a while, and it was SO nice to get away for a bit. We don't go out a lot, so when we do we enjoy every minute.

We had to run to the grocery store for a few groceries and to the bread store for, well, bread. I know, that doesn't sound like much fun. It was so nice though! Do you know how wonderful it was to go to the store without four kids all asking for different things? It was great! Then we moved on to the really fun part of the date...

Saturday was a nice, sunny day outside. It was still a little cold, but I have been dying to get outside. We decided to take advantage of the nice day and try rollerblading. You have to understand that Bill and I both have our own roller blades, but they haven't been used since before we had Rylee. I was nervous to look like an idiot, but I really wanted to get out and do something active, so rollerblading it was.

I have to admit, we did pretty good. We looked like dorks getting out of the car and finding our balance for a minute, but we finally made it to the path where we would test our forgotten skills.


I promise I really didn't look like this and I didn't fall even once. I was joking with Bill because he had the camera and was trying to get a picture, and I said, "Watch, my luck, you will take a picture of me going like this..." Then I flung my arms all over like I was going to fall over, and "Click." He took the picture. Stinker.


After that picture, I grabbed the camera from Bill and took a picture of both of us. Then he started off again...


Since he took a silly picture of me, I figured he deserves a butt shot on my blog.:)

We had a lot of fun rollerblading, and we want to start picking it up again. It's so fun to go and enjoy the outdoors, do something active, and not act like parents.

After our rollerblading antics we had to become parents again and go pick up our kids. They were having way too much fun with Grandma and Grandpa to even notice we were gone.


Kate loved going downstairs with Grandpa to "rock-a-rock" in the little rocking chair. She had to move the little chair over closer to the big rocking chair so she could be "by you." She loves her grandpa.


Rylee had fun practicing the hula hoop. It's always fun when Grandma is there to be so excited for her accomplishments.


Lana even started to get the hang of it a little bit.


Hayden is my boy that loves to play with videos and DVDs and play with remote controls. So my poor parents had to deal with that fun hobby of his. He will sit and watch a video for a few minutes and then get up to change it to a different one. It makes me nuts! But my parents are patient with him and don't seem to be as annoyed with it as I get.


The kids all love time with my mom and love to snuggle with her. She is so good with the kids and it is so nice to be able to leave them and not worry about them.


Just before we left, my dad had Hayden laughing so hard. Hayden had so much fun that we had a massive fit on our hands when it was time to leave. Maybe my parents need to stop being so good to the kids so they want to come home with us! :)

Thanks again, Mom and Dad, for watching the kids. We had a lot of fun and it was so nice to get away for a few hours.

Somebody Turned the Big 3-0!!!

Yesterday was Bill's birthday. He is finally catching up to me in the age department! I really didn't appreciate being the only one of us who had hit 30. Misery loves company, and now I have it!:)

Not only was it a milestone for Bill, but it was a milestone for US as well. It was ten years ago that Bill proposed. I had planned on going to visit him after school to take him his birthday gifts and he surprised ME with a nice lunch that he had made instead of letting me take HIM to lunch. For his birthday, he had wanted some new church clothes, so that's what I got him. He had a new shirt, tie, slacks, and shoes. So after we ate lunch, he told me he wanted to go change into them to try them on, and I told him to come let me see how they looked after he tried them on. He came down and looked so nice and was shaking so bad. Poor guy. I'm one scary chick! Anyway, he ended up pulling the ring out of his pocket, getting down on one knee, and proposing. Now there's a birthday gift that keeps on giving. ;) Poor guy.

Okay, back to his birthday yesterday. I always tease Bill that I am going to broaden his wardrobe colors. He likes white and blue the most. He DOES look good in both colors, but I keep trying to sneak in other colors once in a while. Last year, remember his sexy shirt from this post? It was a nice celery green. I LOVE this shirt! So this year, I snuck in a little purple! It is a very subtle purple though. It almost looks light blue from far away. Here is sexy shirt #2!




Doesn't he look awesome!? The jeans are new as well. It's always fun to have a new outfit to wear on your birthday!



Last night, my mom came over for cake and ice cream. It ended up being a wrestling match to keep two little kids' fingers out of the cake! Hurry, Honey, blow out the candles quick before Hayden touches the candles! Notice what a nice wife I am. I didn't make him blow out thirty candles - just the number candles.



My mom apparently wanted a little lick of the frosting as well!:) Okay, she was really pointing to a place that Kate had stuck her fingers in and got a little lick.




These pictures crack me up because the kids can't wait to get the candles out to lick the frosting off of them. Check out Hayden's face. He looks like he just wants a lick so bad...



It looks like Rylee is going to get a candle! Kate is thinking about just going right for the cake, and Hayden is looking longingly at the frosting as well. Lana just looks out of it. :)



Oh, poor Hayden. Look at him! In the next two pictures, he is watching Rylee and Lana lick frosting off the candles, sharing it with Kate, and then licking some more. His little tongue is just hanging out in hopes for a big lick!


Poor little Hayden. Still no frosting. Don't worry. He did eventually get his frosting fix. Those pictures just made me laugh!



Okay, the rest of this post is going to be more for Bill and for our family history than for anyone else. But feel free to read if you would like. In honor of Bill's 30th birthday, here is a list of 30 reasons why I love Bill.

1. He is so patient with me.
2. He has good taste in clothes and always looks nice.
3. He is thoughtful.
4. He is a hard worker.
5. He has an AWESOME sense of humor and can always make me laugh.
6. He is very loyal.
7. He is quick to apologize - something I could take a lesson in!
8. He always puts my needs and the needs of our family above his own.
9. He is very calm - not too much gets him riled up.
10. He is an INCREDIBLE dad. The kids all adore him.
11. He makes me feel safe when I'm with him.
12. He's not high maintenance - he's happy to just spend time at home with our family.
13. He is always scratching my back or playing with my hair. I LOVE it!
14. He is always optimistic.
15. He gets up with the kids in the middle of the night and is so sweet with them. He just has a way of being able to get them back to sleep quickly in a way that I can't. Must be that calm personality he has.
16. He goes grocery shopping!
17. He is good to my family and treats them like they are HIS family.
18. He has such a pure, good heart. I don't think he could intentionally hurt someone if he tried.
19. He is a blast to go play racquetball (or any other sport) with. We love playing racquetball together, and that is something we really need to try to do on a regular basis!
20. He is firm and steady in leading our family in the right direction.
21. He is determined. He makes goals and accomplishes them. I don't think he knows how to give up or fail.
22. He is good at what he does. He has a way of managing people that is non-threatening and he earns their respect without demeaning anyone. He has respect for everyone he encounters in the workplace.
23. He still makes my heart skip a beat when he walks into the room. I love that I am still so attracted to him.
24. He calls me a few times every day to check on me and ask if I need anything.
25. He always comes home from work and jumps right into helping me with the kids. He always talks to the kids about their day, helps them with homework, gives them baths, helps clean up, and helps me put them to bed.
26. He loves and appreciates and notices everything I do for him - even the small things like making his lunches for work, sending him emails, making him his favorite treat, etc.
27. He is so nice to snuggle up to and he always smells so YUMMY!
28. He will sit and watch chick flicks with me and not complain at all.
29. He compliments the crafty things I attempt (even though I'm NOT crafty at all) and is excited for my accomplishments.
30. He has stuck with me through thick and thin and he still loves me!

Happy Birthday, Honey! I love you!