2 Great things

Today was a sleepy, tired day!

2 great things today:

#1: My friend Beth had 2 beautiful baby girls today. Adelyn Mae and Emmalyn Ruth were born this morning weighing 6 lb, 2 oz and 6 lb, 3 oz! Can't wait to see them tomorrow night!

#2: You may have seen this on Facebook, but in case you didn't, I'll tell you here! During "quiet rest time" this afternoon, Xander and Asher decided to sing LOUDLY the Miley Cyrus song, "Party in the USA". I recorded it from outside the door... but every time I would open the door to record them actually singing, they'd stop! So, in this video, you see their bedroom door a lot, but eventually, I PROMISE, you will see the boys and their messy room!
Quite humorous! They LOVE that song! And I love when they sing it...so very cute!

5 going on 16

goofy picture...sorry :)

This morning, Xander went to church with his friend Josh. He's been going every week and loves it! I love that he gets to go... since I have been working overnights, I am so exhausted by Sunday morning that we don't get to go to church anywhere near as often as I would like to!

Anyways, Josh's mom, "Miss Rebecca," said she would be here to pick X up at 9am. Well, at 9:01, Xander says, "Mom (in a whine) can you please call Miss Rebecca and ask her when she's coming?" I explained that 9 o'clock doesn't necessarily mean EXACTLY that time...sometimes it means a few minutes before or after. He was NOT satisfied...he wanted her there PRECISELY at 9a.m.! He is only 5 years old, but sounds like a teenager... so sorry, son, that we inconvenienced you!!

LOL!

Panic Mode

You may or may not remember, about this time last year, Asher got sick. I took him to the doctor one morning, found out he had an ear infection, then about 2 hours after we got home, his temp spiked so quickly that he had a febrile seizure. That was THE scariest day of my life. 911 was called; I freaked out. Of course, since it didn't happen but the one time that day, the paramedics didn't do anything...not much TO do except keep a close eye on things....

Well...ever since then, when he starts getting lethargic or sickly, my adrenaline starts pumping, and I think I live in panic mode until he's better. Today, he was playing with the other kiddos, then he came to sit on my lap. He felt warm, so I took his temp: 99.1... no big deal, right?

Well, about 10 minutes later, I thought, "Geez, you really feel hot now," so I took the temp again: 100.8...

OK...so before it keeps increasing, I decided to give him some Tylenol.
Another 10 minutes later, he felt like he was on fire! Checked his temp again and it was 102.9!

OMG...

No, he didn't end up having another seizure (THANK GOD), but I have been in panic mode all day... in a matter of less than 30 minutes, he went from "all is well" to "omg, high fever"! I don't like how quickly this kid spikes fevers.

Well...within another 30 minutes, his fever dropped back down and he was "normal" again! It's all very strange to me... this all happened several hours ago, and he's still fine. Not sure what all that was about, but I DON'T LIKE IT!!

Mommy DOES NOT like when her baby is sick...let's work on that never happening again... K??

Grateful Heart Friday

This week, I am grateful for my mom. She does so much to help us...from buying food occasionally, to babysitting. She's always there when we call... I can't thank GOD enough for my mommy!!

I am grateful for Asher's potty training progress. In spite of my frustration in the last few days, looking at the BIGGER picture, he really is doing well. He has his "moments" of not cooperating with my efforts, but overall, I am proud of him!

I am grateful for Bella's hugs! Every night before I put her to bed, she comes to me and wraps her sweet arms around my neck for a hug. She's the sweetest kid on the planet!!

I am grateful for hand-me-downs! I have a friend whose grandkids are the same age (almost exactly) as Xander and Bella, but they are just slightly bigger in size.... so it works out perfectly to pass on the clothes! They have blessed us with SO MANY things in the last few months... I can't thank them enough! PLUS... there's the added benefit of, since it all goes to Xander, it will, in turn, go to Asher and Jonathan as well...it's like the gift that keeps on giving!

I saw a "thank you" card at the store this week, it said, "If I had a piece of chocolate for every time I wanted to say thank you, I would have a butt the size of Texas!" It made me laugh... there are moments that I feel like that toward some people... they give and give of themselves, and I never feel like I express my gratitude enough!

What about you? What do you have to be grateful for??

potty training woes #2

Ok... so here's a little clarification from yesterday's post. We're working on potty training Asher.
WHAT A CHORE!

I don't remember Xander being so difficult. When it was Xander, he'd pee all day in the potty... perfectly... then at bedtime when I'd put on a diaper, he'd poo. He'd hold it ALL DAY long so he didn't have to do it in the potty... OR in his underwear.
Asher is a whole different story! Asher will go in his undies... OR he'll go 6 or 7 times a day. Maybe I was wrong in saying, "If you poo in the potty, I'll give you a little candy." ...cause now he thinks he needs to get a piece of candy every time he poops in the potty. Granted, I am glad it's not in the underwear (cause that's nasty to clean up), BUT it's almost like he only lets himself go a little bit every time so he can save it... and go over and over to get more and more candy. Think I need to change up my system!

But, my problem is coming up at bed time. I put on the diaper & within the first few minutes of him being in bed, he says he has to poop. Now, at this point, I know he doesn't really, because he's pooped off & on all day... at this point, I know he just doesn't want to go to bed...right? Well, here's my problem: do I say, "Poop in your diaper, it's bedtime..." cause that defeats the purpose of saying to go in the potty. OR do I let him get up repeatedly to "go poop"??

Anyone out there wanna help me out with this one?

On a happy note though, he finally says he doesn't like diapers- he likes big boy underwear better! YAY...this is a great milestone because for the longest time, he would cry every time I'd put him in undies!

If you can help me, I'm ready to listen... If you can't help me... comment anyway so I know you were here :) (hehe)

potty training woes

Dilemma: Let kid sit on potty for 20+minutes AFTER bedtime... or say no, go to bed... when you KNOW they don't really have to poop because they pooped 15 minutes BEFORE bedtime?

UGH... I hate potty training.

Can anyone help me???

Fun with Friends

Today, Xander's first girlfriend, Abbey, and her mommy Amanda came over to spend the day. The kids ALL had a blast! The mommies did too! We talked... a lot... like girls do... and we watched Hoarders. In the words of Amanda, the show is horrendously intriguing and slightly addicting! If ever I feel depressed about the messiness and chaos that is my house, I watch Hoarders and feel much better about myself!


As with most new people who come to our house, the boys had a blast playing while Bella wasn't so sure! It took awhile, but FINALLY she liked Amanda. Granted... Amanda came over at 1, and it took until 6:30 before Bella would talk to her, but once she started, it didn't stop! Bella went from pulling away from Amanda (Left) to letting Amanda feed her (right).


This picture is of all 5 kids BEGGING for snack! Love it...it's kinda like baby birds begging for worms!

This video is Xander and Abbey dancing... SHOW ME HOW YOU BURLESQUE:

Fun with Tim's Parents

This weekend, Tim's parents came over to see the kids (and us, I'm sure...lol)! All of the kids LOVE when Me-Maw and PaPa come over... I love when they come over! Not only is it nice to see them, but it gives me a break from hearing "mommy, mommy, mommy, mommy" all day long! Instead, I get to just sit on the couch, relax, and watch the kids wear out the grandparents! How can anyone NOT think that is fun?? Anyways, here are some pictures of the kids enjoying grandparents...who are, in turn, enjoying the kids! I'm not sure how none of the pictures include Xander... sad... oh well, I guess we'll have to make sure he's in the pics next time they visit! I love the two pics of the littles attacking Papa! His expression is priceless! This last picture was hilarious! Papa drinks coffee most of the time when he comes over. For some reason, Jonathan must of thought it smelled good...or was just being silly... OR BOTH... but he kept burying his face in the cup. Don't panic, the coffee was gone, that's part of what made this so funny...the cup was empty!! HAHA!

Do you have any fun grandparent pics ??

The Scarlet Furies

Once upon a time, a young man named Robert got together with four of his high school buddies and formed a band...several different bands, in fact... over the course of several years. They played for many years, then split up and went on with life in separate directions. Robert had a daughter named Raleigh who grew up to be a singer. She had such an amazing voice, that when she moved away to LA, an agent approached her, and asked her to put together something to showcase her great voice! She told her dad; he called together all of his high school buddies to do the instrumentals & background for her demo. The agents LOVED what they heard, and as a group, they form

The Scarlet Furies

No, I don't ordinarily write reviews or stories about anything besides my life... but I discovered The Scarlet Furies recently and LOVE their sound. If you click on the pic above, it will link you to their website & you can sample their songs. OR if you visit their Facebook Page, you can hear songs there too!

Hope your day is great!!

Great Day

Today was wonderful. Wonderful...because I didn't do much of anything! Here's my day:

Feed all breakfast
Bathe babies
In-Laws visit & entertain kids til lunch
Feed all lunch (yummy spaghetti & sweet peas)
NAPTIME!! (even I relaxed in bed!)
Bathe big boys
Dinner time
Mom visits and lets me sleep
Wake up to all kids in bed
Get shower
Go to work (haven't done that, but going to in 15 minutes)

So, as you can see it was VERY uneventful! I love days when Grandparents come...it gives mommy a "MOMMY BREAK!!"

AND, to make my day so much better, a good friend of mine from my childhood (one of the few childhood friends that I'm still friends with today) found out that she's pregnant!! She will be one FANTASTIC mommy... I am so excited for her... but sad we live so far apart- wish I could be there with her during this awesome time!

Hope your day was as relaxing as mine! If not, your day will come!!

Grateful Heart Friday

Tim is working a poopy shift this week... when he works this shift, it throws off my whole schedule... it makes my attitude pretty stinky! Unfortunately, I get extra cranky and gripey with the kids... NOT COOL... so I have to apologize to them...a LOT! Ok...enough of confessions... today is about being GRATEFUL!! So, in spite of how cranky I have evidently CHOSEN to be, I am CHOOSING, now, to find the things to be grateful for! (For more about Grateful Heart Friday, click to read Mommy Girl's thoughts!)

I CHOOSE to be grateful because, BECAUSE of Tim's work schedule, I was able to go to Xander's Valentine's party at school today! I don't ordinarily get to do the parties at school because of having to be home with the other three munchkins! So it was fun to enjoy Xander in his element, with his friends, making cookies while Tim stayed home with A, J, and B!!


I CHOOSE to be grateful again for Tim's schedule because I had 3 doctor appointments scheduled this week for our household. NORMALLY, I have to lug around all the kids in the big, bulky stroller for appointments. BUT, because of this late shift that Tim is working (no, I'm not bitter!), I got to go to the appointments either ALONE or with only one child in tow!
IT WAS FANTASTIC!!

So... thank you to Tim's boss, for this crummy work schedule... in spite of you changing his shift, I CHOOSE TO BE GRATEFUL!! (hehe)

I am grateful for my friend, Alison! She sent me a message today at 10 saying she'd be in town this afternoon, and asked if she could come over! I haven't seen my friend in several weeks- so long that poor Bella had forgotten her...or was mad at her...or something because she wouldn't even LOOK at Alison, much less hug her... SAD :( !! But it was nice to be able to just sit and chat with my girlfriend about nothing in particular, yet everything in the world! I love time with friends!! (picture is from when Bella DID love Alison! lol)

I am grateful for quick healing! Last Friday, I spoke in FAITH of God's healing since I was diagnosed with shingles. Thanks to GOD and great medication, I am feeling MUCH better... still some soreness, but 1000X better!! WAHOO!

I am grateful for my mom. While I was sick this week, she came over every night, after she had worked all day, to help me with the kids! It was so nice to be able to share my exhaustion with her!

Thanks mom for helping me out this week...not sure if I could've done it without you!

I am grateful for a great group of woman (and 1 man) who serve with me on the TMOM Board! I feel like we're making a difference in this group... and I'm excited to be making it happen with them! (FYI, TMOM: Tulsa Mothers of Multiples)

YOUR TURN!! What do you have to be grateful for today?

Embracing Asher

Today, I am embracing my "middle child"... my snuggle-bug... my Asher Monroe! He's 3 years old, but he talks like a teenager... he acts so grown up! Today, I said, "who's gonna be in pictures with me for the computer?" and he jumped up and yelled, "Me, mommy, me! I want to be in your computer pictures!" So, Tim took the camera; Asher jumped in my lap! Here's the result of me hanging with Asher!

Embracing the camera is not about getting the camera out and taking pictures of others...it's about get the camera out and GETTING IN FRONT OF IT! We want people to know we existed!
So, are you ready to embrace the camera? Here's the nitty gritty:

1. take a picture with you and your kids/spouse/family member/friend/whatever.
2. blog about that picture and include a link to Mrs. Anderson's Blog
3. visit the other embracers...give each other lots of compliments about how good we look with our greasy hair and sweatpants velour jogging suits on. cause yah, we need a little boost when it's been days since our last shower.
4. have fun!

What's this, Mommy?

Ok.... so I have to ask you "experienced" moms out there a question. Let me precede the question with a little bit of background information. I am very "open" with information for my kids... if they ask a question, I want to be honest with my answer. For instance, "Mommy, what is this between my legs?" My answer, "That is called a penis." So... my 2 older boys know the name for their anatomy... it's not called a willy, or a winky, or a peanut, or any other name that some people choose to use... and that's OK... personal preference, right?

So, here's my question. Tonight, Xander (5 1/2) comes to me out of nowhere. He drops his drawers and holds his ...um...sack... he says, "What's this hard thing behind my penis?" WHAT THE HECK?? WHAT DO I TELL MY KID? I think to myself, whatever I tell him, he is likely to share with his classmates at school...so what do I say? I drew a blank. My mom sat here and all she could say was "I don't know" (concealing her laughter)... so all I came up with was, "Ask your daddy, he's a boy, he should know!"

I am such a wuss. What on earth am I gonna do with the more "serious" questions he'll ask me one day? I guess I could've just said, "It's part of your penis" but nothing came to me until after I passed it off on daddy (who, by the way, wasn't home to defend himself!!)!

SO... now that I've shared a potentially humiliating moment (for Xander when he reads this as a teenager) with all of you, can ANYONE out there offer a suggestion for explaining anatomy to your 5 year old???

ANYONE?

PLEASE??????

All about Bella

My only baby girl, my only Blond, curly-hair child, My Isabella Marie! From the moment you were born as my little alien baby: To today, as my adventurous, 2-year old Princess: You have been the highlight of my life. I never dreamed that I'd ever want a little girl... girls always scared me! I was never girly...in any sense of the word. So, having a little girl made me scared that I'd end up with a girly-girl and wouldn't know what to do! But, Bella, YOU are my perfect child! You like your baby dolls, but you like to chase your brothers around! You like to have your hair in a pony-tail, but you like to punch Jonathan when he upsets you! You are the PERFECT mix of girly and tomboy... I couldn't ask for a more perfect daughter! In the last two years, we've been through so much with you- from ear infections that wouldn't go away, to weight gain that seemed lost on you, to your lazy-eye that will need surgery. But, through all of that, you have grown to overcome... about the time we talked about getting tubes to help your ear infections, you stopped getting them (PRAISE GOD!); about the time we were seeing a nutritionist to help you gain weight, you started gaining again (PRAISE GOD... AGAIN); and now, your eye is getting worse and worse every time we see the doctor, I believe you'll get through this without any complications at all! Today, I got to spend the morning with you... just me and you! Granted, it was for the sake of a doctor appointment, BUT, I loved our mommy-and-me time! Here's pics from today!!

Two Things Tuesday

Two things that made me laugh today:

1: Asher was laying on the couch and out of nowhere, he says, "Mommy, my peeeenus is full, I think I need to pee!" He was so proud of himself and so shocked that he felt the pee building in his "peeeeenus!"

2: Conferencing in to the TMOM Board Meeting! This was a very funny experience... with several woman all talking at the same time, then someone says, "Rachel what did you hear?" or "Rachel, what do you think?" ... quite frankly all I could hear was "bah, la, oh, nah"... and so what I think is, "Um, sure, what she said!"

What two things made you smile today?

Boni Love

FROM LONG AGO
AND FAR AWAY....

LOVE BROUGHT US TO
OUR WEDDING DAY!On December 9, 1998, while working at Wal-Mart in Broken Arrow, OK, I met my husband. His roommate, Josh, introduced us; Tim tried to get Josh and me together! HAHA! The next day at school, I ran into Tim and we started talking... A LOT! Over the course of the next couple of days, Tim and I emailed... A LOT! Then, on December 13th, we had our first "date!" We went to China Star. It was yummy, but at that moment, just 4 days into knowing him, I KNEW I was going to marry him! Crazy, right? Well, we talked and talked. He asked me that day what were my thoughts about love. Talk about putting a girl on the spot. He shared his views with me: #1: no kissing until the wedding day; #2: no saying "i love you" to anyone until ready to commit to marriage. He said "Too many people say 'I love you' to too many people so that it doesn't mean anything. When I say it, I only want to say it to the woman I am going to marry!"

So... months and months of dating turned into years. When we had been dating for 2 1/2 years, he proposed! It had always been my dream to be taken in a hot air balloon- high above all the worries of life- to get engaged! I NEVER told him that... but he did it! He got this great idea and started asking my friends if they thought I'd like to go in a hot air balloon... OF COURSE they all said YES!! So, on a very warm July morning, he told me to get up early because we were going out for the day. He took me to a big open field, where we would take the ride of our lives! We went up in the balloon...it was AMAZING! When we got up as high as we were going to go, he turned me around to him and said,

FOR THE FIRST TIME,
"I LOVE YOU, RACHEL.... I WANT TO SPEND THE REST OF MY LIFE WITH YOU... WILL YOU MARRY ME?"

All I could do was cry... the balloon "driver" had to ask me "Is that a yes?" LOL... of course, I said yes! I so badly wanted to kiss him, but...
RULE #1 was no kissing until the wedding day!
GRRR!!

By the time we got married, April 6, 2002, we had dated for 3 years and 4 months. So many people had waited for our first kiss for SOOOO long that some people even said, "I'm coming to your wedding for no other reason but to FINALLY see your first kiss!" Haha! So, we were sneaky. Only the minister knew we were going to do this, but we got the Little Mermaid Song "Kiss the Girl" queued up in the sound booth. So, when the pastor said, "You may kiss your bride," we leaned in for the long-awaited kiss, then pushed each other away. We let the song play in it's entirety BEFORE we kissed! Everyone in the church was yelling, "Just kiss her already!" It was great fun! AND it made our first kiss that much more exciting!!

We had a full dinner and dance reception... the time of our lives! The next morning we boarded our plane to Cancun. We stayed in the Aventura Palace Resort... an all-inclusive resort... for a whole week! It was so romantic and relaxing! We loved every moment of it!

We decided to start a family after being married for about 2 1/2 years. So, just after our 3rd anniversary, July 6, 2005, we had our first son, Xander. An awesomely, amazing child! We loved being parents so much, that just 2 years later, we had our second son, Asher! After having him, we were in "baby mode"... we were ready for another baby within just a couple of months... some say we were NUTS, but we thought... ya know... we wanted 3 kids, we already had 2...we were in the baby mindset, why not go ahead and have our third kiddo close to Asher...they'd be the best of friends! So, when Asher was 6 months old, we got pregnant... our third and final baby...right? WRONG! Our third baby, that was so "perfectly" planned so close to Asher turned out to be our third AND fourth babies! I wouldn't trade our family for the world! Though at times, having the three youngest so close together is trying, I know this is JUST HOW WE WERE MEANT TO BE! Tim and I have so much to be thankful for in our little (BIG) family... our lives and hearts are blessed!
So, this Valentine's Day, as I ponder our love story, I realize how tremendously blessed I am. I have an amazing husband, and 4 fantastic children! I love my life!

Happy Valentine's Day to you and your loves!

Xander's card

Today was another blah-feeling day! BUT the card on the left made it all better!! Xander went to church this morning with his friend, Josh. They made Valentine's Day cards in class. When Xander got home from church, he came into my room where I am convalescing and gave me this card he made. He said, "I made this card for you so you can be happy when you're sick!" Sweet kid! LOVE IT!

I won't bore you with the details of my blahness, but I really do feel horrible. You know on movies, when they show someone high on some drug, they show them moving their hands and they can see the stream of hands moving in front of them.... does that make sense? Well, that's how I feel. I am so dizzy and funky feeling! I told a friend today that I would much rather be working than at home feeling like this... Don't wish this on ANYONE!!!

Tim has been great through this ordeal. He's been cooking, cleaning, changing diapers! He's really helping me out a lot! So glad that God gave me such a great Help-Mate! For dinner he made spaghetti and meat sauce...it was delish! I made Jello Jigglers for the kids- it was the first time babies had ever had them... and they loved it! Bella kept asking for yeyo... I asked her where it was & she told me in a very determined voice "FRIDGE!" Girl knows what she wants! LOL.

Hope your weekend was better than mine! :)

blah

today was spent almost entirely in bed...

feeling like poo!

:(

hope the meds kick in soon!

how was your day?

Grateful Heart Friday

Hello all! It's that time again... a time to remember all that there is to be grateful for! It's time for
To see where I "stole" this FANTASTIC idea, read Mommy Girl's Blog! This fellow blogger is an amazing, Christian woman who's blog I LOVE reading. She is my first "GRATEFUL" mention! She is very uplifting and encouraging and real! So glad I found her!!

Next, I am grateful for modern medicine. The last 2 weeks have been physically rough for me! I had strep last week... the worst sore throat in my life. This week, I have shingles! SHINGLES!!?? I went to the doctor this morning thinking I had been bitten by something... I have horrible pain & horrible sores. In my mind, shingles is for old people...or sickly people. I am neither. Well, Tim says I'm old, but really, I AM NOT! SO... in light of 2 weeks of feeling crummy, I am grateful for medications to help me feel better!

And, as grateful as I am for medicine, I am 100X MORE grateful for God's healing power! "And the Lord will take away from you all sickness." (Deuteronomy 7:15); "For I will restore health unto you, and I will heal you of your wounds." (Jeremiah 30:17) God is bigger than any illness or disease! I am grateful that no matter what comes against me, HE is faithful to heal me!

I am grateful for kids who are well behaved. When I have days that I question why I wanted to be a SAHM, I remind myself how good they are! When we're out in public, people always compliment me for how disciplined they are! In one store, one of the employees tells everyone...every time I am there... how my kids are the best behaved kids she has ever seen! I am honored! I love these munchkins!

I am grateful for my friend Tami! Tami and I are so much alike that sometimes it creeps me out! I can talk to her about anything under the sun and not worry about weirding her out, or embarrassing her, etc. She has 2 beautiful baby girls that I absolutely adore and a great marriage! I love that she and I can just sit and talk for hours about anything OR nothing at all! So grateful that God put her in my life!! (pic on left is Tami, Xander, and her babies: Lilly & Elly)

I am grateful that the snow days are over (for now) and that Xander gets to go back to school on Monday! It will be so much LESS noisy for those few hours a day!! WAHOO for school!! (is that wrong?)

So, what about you? What do YOU have to be grateful for??

EMBRACE THE CAMERA

Today, I am linking up to Emily's Blog for Embrace the Camera! Today's Embrace is Xander with his uncle Nathan (my brother)! Last week, we went to the store; in the parking lot, there were HUGE piles of snow. Xander had the GREAT idea to climb Mount Snowpile!! Uncle Nathan agreed to go with him so he'd be a little safer than going alone... great idea right???
Do you have any "Embrace" Moments you want to share? If so, Link up with Emily's Blog !!!

Xander-isms

Today was a relatively GOOD day! Not too eventful... especially since we were pretty much snowed in! Tim went to work, so it pretty much felt like a "normal" day in the Boni Abode!

Cute Xander-isms for today:
#1:

Kids were playing in Xander's room with the door closed. Bella starts crying. I went to the door to see what was going on, but before I opened the door, this is what I hear:
Xander: (in a sweet, consoling voice) Ah, baby, what happened? Did your brother push you down?
Bella : (between sobs) Yeeeesss
Xander: (same sweet voice) Ah, sweetie, you know I love you, right? So you'll be okay, I promise!
Bella... almost immediately stops crying!
***I love how Big Brother makes everything better!!

#2:

Xander: Mommy, Do I get to go back to school tomorrow?
Me: nope, you're still out!
Xander: But mommy (whining), I neeeeeed to get out of here, when can I go back to school?
Me: who knows... probably not for 5 more days
Xander: that's too long mommy, I want to go sooner!
***If only he knew just how much I would LOVE for him to be at school!! Haha!!

#3:

Xander describing his paper gingerbread man from school:

Tim: Does that gingerbread man say "run fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm the gingerbread man?"
Xander: No daddy, this guy isn't real. If he was cooked, then he could say that! But see here (turning the paper back & forth to see front & back) this is just a piece of white paper that I colored, so it can't talk. BUT (excitedly) if we cook the paper, he might say that!
***Hahaha... if only that were true!

#4:

Xander: Mommy, when can we go play in the snow again?
Me: I don't know kiddo, last time you went out there, you cried because your hands were too cold.
Xander: But last time, I TOUCHED the snow, this time I promise I'll just walk in it!
***LOL!!!

I LOVE THIS KID!!

Nice day out

I made plans yesterday to take the kids out of the house today! I didn't care what we did, but before this next storm hits tonight, I wanted the kids to have an opportunity to see the outside world at least once! We finally decided to go to a TMOM playdate at Whiteside Community Center. Two days a week, they have what they call "Bikes, Balls, and You" for kids up to 5 years old. They have a big gymnasium with lots of balls and ride on toys for the kiddos to play on! After deciding this is what The Bunch would do, a fellow TMOM mentioned that they may be closed since schools were out for a snow day. I spent all day yesterday trying to call them to find out if they would be doing this event, but nobody answered all day. SO... after deciding the mall was out of the question (since most people would probably have the same "get out of the house" idea as me and it would be crazy crowded), I decided to go to my friend Rachel's house!
Rachel has b/g twins who are almost 2 years old, so my munchkins had a blast. Rachel is great...she's on the TMOM Board with me...it's kinda funny because she is Rachel B... and so am I (betcha didn't know that... LOL)! So we always laugh about the Rachel B's ... "The Rachel B's are here..." "The Rachel B's have decided..." "The Rachel B's were talking about...." I know, I am a dork... but it's fun to have a close friend who is another Rachel B!! Okay, okay...enough with the Rachel B's!!

After hanging out at RACHEL B'S house (haha) we came home and my in-laws were here! So, we had a nice visit with them- hadn't seen them in over a week 'cause of all the snow! When they left, it was nap time. I chose NOT to nap with the kids today and instead, I watched Drop Dead Diva. Have you watched this show at all??? IT'S GREAT! It cracks me up, yet it has the right amount of "serious" too! If you haven't seen it, the first season is available on NetFlix... check it out!!

Tim had to work the late shift today (BOO), so he just got home a little bit ago. I hate that schedule...it just throws MY life schedule off! Oh well, it's only for a short time (I hope)!! Gonna go try to sleep now... and when I wake up, I look forward to that 12 inches of snow they're predicting!! NOT!!! I am NOT looking forward to 12 inches of snow.... I am NOT excited to be stuck inside... I AM really hoping the forecast was wrong this time!! I'll let you know tomorrow!

Driving adventure and Cabbage

I worked last night, so today was pretty much just a lazy day! I rode to work with a friend who has 4-wheel drive ...that way I didn't have to get out on the icy/slushy roads. But, when I got home and unpacked my lunch bag, I realized that I forgot to turn in the VERY IMPORTANT keys to unlock the electronics and camera cabinets! So... in spite of my great planning of riding to work with someone else, I had to get in my car ANYWAYS and drive back to work...when I should have been crawling into bed...to return the keys! Returning home was INSANE...
here's my "adventure"...
I was only 1 block from my driveway... I slowed down to turn onto the street to get home, but there was a PSO (Public Service of OK) with hazard lights stuck in the middle of the road. SO... I drove down to the next block, thinking I would turn there. Got on that street and in the middle of the road, a car was being dug out of the snow by a guy with a shovel. I sat there for what seemed like 10 minutes (was probably only 2 or 3) before they got un-stuck... I couldn't go anywhere else because making a u-turn in the slush would probably have gotten me stuck! (pardon my poor grammar...lol) Anyways, they moved on, so I could get to my street. Went to turn down my road, and there was an Asplundh truck (tree cutters) blocking the whole street cutting down a tree. I spun my tires once again trying to move on to the next road to go around the block...so I could eventually get back home. But ALAS... they city FINALLY plowed the road I was on... all the snow they plowed ended up in a pile at the end of EVERY road to get back into my neighborhood... UGH! I got to the end of that road and found an opening to one street... one VERY SLICK street. For 5 minutes, I slid and slushed along a few more roads until I finally made it home safe... THANK GOD!
Moral of this story: DON'T FORGET TO TURN IN YOUR WORK KEYS!!

Anyways, got home and went to sleep... a very restful, deep sleep for 4 hours. I only nap a few hours on Mondays because I don't work Monday night... If I were to sleep all day, I'd wouldn't be able to sleep at night... makes sense right? Okay... well, I got up and an hour later put the kids down for a nap: PEACE AND QUIET!! So quiet, I fell back to sleep for 2 hours! Darn it, the sleep was good, but I'm a little worried about tonight! Haha!

For dinner, I made a SUPER DELISH Cabbage Roll Casserole! I took a picture of it to post here, but Tim said the picture makes it look like someone dissected some part of the human anatomy and put it in my Pyrex dish... so to spare you, I am not including the picture! (sometimes, pictures just don't do a good meal any justice)
BUT... I will put the recipe, because it was yummy!!

CABBAGE ROLL CASSEROLE

1lb ground beef
1 onion (chopped)
1 head cabbage (chopped)
2 cans tomato soup
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 C cooked rice (I used brown rice)
Parmesan cheese (as much as desired)

*Brown beef with onion and any seasonings you prefer. Drain.
*Add in tomato soup, sauce and rice. Allow to simmer.
*Par Boil the cabbage in lightly salted water for 5 minutes. Drain
*In 9X13 dish, layer Cabbage, meat/sauce mixture, cabbage, meat/sauce... top with parmesan cheese. (I also salted/peppered between layers too for extra flavor)
*Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes

LOVED IT!!

Sad day

All I can say today is... BOO
Sad day for us Steelers Fans!

Going to mourn now!!

Potty Training: Day 1

I decided today, that since Tim and I are both home...stuck cause of all this snow... it's a perfect opportunity to buckle down and work on Asher's potty training! He was doing really good about going to the potty, without being told to, several months ago. But after he had to be admitted to the hospital with croup in November, he digressed. He wouldn't go potty for the 2 days in the hospital unless it was in a diaper; then when we got home, it was as though he had never been before! SO... I decided today that we'd get back into the groove! I got out the timer and set it for every 20 minutes. When the timer went off, we ran to the potty. Tim and I took turns taking him, but we went every 20 minutes all day long. I am proud to say that he only wet the underwear one time, and pooped in another pair! So...on our first attempt of being a "big boy," he only had 2 accidents! I was very sad on the wet pair... he was doing so well going pee up to that point. Can't be sad about the poo... I know he'll figure that part out later!

I guess tomorrow we'll try again... every 20 minutes to the potty! Here's hoping it doesn't take long for him to catch on & just start taking himself when he needs to go instead of when the timer goes off! Wish me luck! Once I get him trained, I'll start on Bella!!!

Grateful Heart Friday

This week, I have lots to be grateful for... IN SPITE OF the horrible weather!

I am grateful for power, heat, and warm blankets! With sub-zero temperatures this week, I thank GOD for electricity keeping us warm!

I am grateful for my snow shovel, and for the strength to be able to shovel! With 14 inches of snow in one day, I thank GOD for the strength to be able to clear snow off of my driveway so we can get out of the house as needed for necessities (although the roads are horrible & I don't really WANT to get out of the house!!)!

I am grateful for snow days. With all of this snow, Okies don't know what to do... so kids stay out of school for days on end; and hubbies stay off work for days on end! I thank GOD that my husband and kids are home with me, keeping me company!

I am grateful for Shannon. With 31 years of friendship, I can't help but adore her! Shannon and I met in the church pre-school at 2 years of age and we've been best friends ever since! No matter where our lives have led our families...even living 1000 miles away from each other... we can still talk on the phone and online, and it seems as though we're side by side! I thank GOD for putting such a wonderful person in my life!


Fun Recipe for the day:
FRIED CHEERIOS
3 tbsp butter
2 cups Cheerios
salt to taste
*melt butter in sauce pan
*add Cheerios, stir until all cereal is coated
*continue to stir until cereal starts to brown, remove from heat
*salt to taste

YUMMY snack!