Happy Halloween 2012

I love these pictures, because they are quite simply....US.  here is number 3 imitating number 1 and number 2 decides...Hey I'll do something like that too.

And the big sister, isn't sure why the baby sister is making such a big girl pose and what I tried to explain is she's not....she's trying in a way only 2 year olds can try.

And this is my favorite, it's frame worthy don't  you think?

 And  here we are....not sure that I love the new spot we are taking pictures in, might have to scope out something better.

And my littles....Elmo

A go-go dancer.  She LOVED the costume...pink hair, fun sunglasses, her favorite shade of blue and big sequins...what's not to love?  The name of the costume just happened to be "go-go dancer".  After buying it, Noah said what is a go-go dancer?  And she quickly retorted...a dancer that goes, goes, goes...she never stops.  And folks I left it at that.

And a Green (big surprise there) Power Ranger.

And the big people, we had poodle skirts, the little mermaid, super hero ladies and of course the 589 Stompers who stole the show with their routine.  Lot of fun this Halloween.  

January....hmmpf what happened???

Apparently January has come and gone and I have not one photo on my camera card to show  you from this month.  Seriously not a one.  Not sure what happened.  So let me update you on what might have happened.  Take this all with a grain of salt...my memory is not so great these days.

However here are few from my iPhone.

Josh and I took the biggest two tikes to their first Saints game.  They loved being in the dome.

My dining room turned into a parking garage.  Santa must have been hitting the crack pipe when he thought all those trucks were a good idea.

Josh and I traveled back into the 70s for a fun birthday party.

Margot learned how to skate.  Video proof coming soon!

Happy Halloween!

From our family to yours!

This year I let everyone pick their own costumes.  Noah is Bumblebee transformer.  Meredith a punk rocker and well I picked Giddy's....my little piggy!

Meredith talked me into dressing up with her.  It's all she really wanted this Halloween.  So I borrowed her tu-tu and pulled the rest out of my closet.  I also gave my tennis shoes a little facelift.

Mimi came over to trick or treat with us.  She was a mix between a witch and cruella de ville.  Mimi loves Halloween and wigs.

Josh dressed up with his other baby girl.  The farmer and his pig.

I do believe Halloween may be this little piggy's favorite holiday.  After every house we visited she scoped out her goods and would eat right through the paper if we didn't open if fast enough.

We hit up every house in the neighborhood and came home with a haul.  The kids loved it and were very  into it, making sure not to skip any houses.

My beautiful girls.

My sweet Noah, being very selective in his candy choice.

This little piggy had way too much fun!

Happy Halloween everyone, I hope yours was just as great.

What day is it???

I know it's been a while, what can I say.  I've been busy, I'm 4 issues behind in my US Weekly...you know it's been rough around here.  But, I've missed  blogging and documenting all of the kiddo's milestones and things they say  and do that just make me smile.

Let's see....

Margot....oh my little caboose.  The girl has more energy than my other children combined.  She NEVER stops.  She is constantly in motion and when she is strapped into her car seat she is a jibber jabbering away.  She cannot stop moving.  It's different.  Her favorite things to do these days are to climb...anything.  To shove stuff in places they don't belong.  I found a sippy cup with week old milk in the crystal cabinet.  A cabinet that I don't frequent often and therefore I was lucky to find this sippy full of yucky goodness.  She is talking alot.  Her favorite thing to say is Noah....O-wah!  She repeats everything her big sister says and trys to say Meredith, but Ta-ta works for now.  She went to the pediatrician for her 15 month check up.  Besides her constant runny nose and changing her thyroid dosage again, she is the picture of health.  I just love this one to pieces.  Melts her Momma's heart.  She loves to cuddle and give kisses.  She loves to wave and say bye-bye.  She claps for herself when she is proud of her accomplishment.  And if you don't pay her enough attention she walks over, tilts her head and sticks her smiling face right in yours.  Her favorite place to be is outside.  She would go to anyone if they promised to take her out to walk, play, ride or swing.  She's our giddy girl!

Noah....This boy....oh the love of my life.  He is such a Momma's boy.  He wrote the definition on that.  He has me wrapped around those little fingers of his and I often forget in less than a month he will be 4 years old.  Independent is not a word I would use to describe my little ham. He likes for his Momma to do everything for him.  He is always smiling, always willing to give you a  hug and a kiss.  He is as tender hearted as they come.  He wakes up everyone morning in the best mood and is so dang lovable.  It's hard not to start your day off right with Noah.  He LOVES school.  He is learning so much this year.  He is writing his name and knows all of his letter sounds.  He loves to ride his bike and begs to do it everyday all day.  He stills loves trucks, planes, trains and automobiles.  When he grows up he is going to be a monster truck driver and a jet fighter pilot.  He wants to play all sports and loved soccer.  He is getting ready for t-ball.  Oh how I love this boy.

Meredith....my big girl.  My first.  The one I tried the hardest with and worried the most.  The one who will probably have a complex because of it.  Oh I kid.  She's my learning curve.  She sets the pace.  She is getting so big so fast.  She is so sweet and compassionate.  She loves fiercely, worries constantly and has a heart of gold.  She is loving school this year and loves her teacher.  She is reading....thank goodness...she's been wanting to for so long.  She absorbs so much....I'm impressed on a daily basis.  She is cheering and dancing and loves being center stage.  She is funny.  She loves being the big sister and the boss.  She loves riding bikes, and writing....all over everything....list after list after list....she is her father's daughter.  She is my first....my big....my love.

So that's where we have been.  Josh and I well....we are blessed.  

A year ago today.....hmm some things change....some things stay the same.

Occasionally on my blog I like to go back to the same month  in years past and read those posts.  It gives me a good perspective on where we have been and where we are going.  This month was super easy.  I had one post to read.  It pretty much summed up life back then.....come to think of it, it still pretty much sums up life today.  Except that little person isn't just spitting up anymore....now she is fussing right along with them.

SUNDAY, AUGUST 29, 2010

THREE!

It's been a while, what can I say, being the mother of three is a lot busier than I ever imagined.  Well three that are stepping stones and all under 4, because in some way or another they all still need the momma.  The one and only momma and no one else will do.


Let me describe three....so you can get the mental picture....


Three is standing at the back door trying to put the smallest in the car seat to get ready to get donuts, trying to answer the questions being spit out by the other two about can we leave now?  when are we going?  where are we going?  are we getting chocolate milk?  can I get sprinkles?  is the sky blue?  can  we get a pet dinosaur? can we take a trip to the moon?  all while consoling the crying.....scratch that....now screaming infant, who doesn't' really want to get in the car seat and go to get donuts.  Nope that infant would rather just be held all day at home, because she can't even eat the damn donuts.  So you finally console her and are about to buckle her, but at this point your 2 year old has grown so impatient he has unlocked the lock and deadbolt that you have constantly told him never to do and it is at that exact second that you remember that you forgot to turn off the alarm... the alarm whose speaker for the siren is located on the wall of the mud room that you are currently standing in with all three kids, approixamately 4 feet above you, in a room that is 6ft by 4ft and it is at that split second that you hear the door open and that tiny mudroom is instantly filled with the most awful, loudest, screeching noise you have ever heard.  The only thing louder is the wails from the infant who has projectile spit up all over you and your hair in fear, and is now using her tiny palms and fingers to grab on to you for dear life....screw that car seat.  The other two have now wrapped their entire little bodies around your two legs and aren't sure if they should cry or not....but surely they are beyond terrified and I am pretty sure the 2 year old has now shit in his diaper.  And you are frozen, because you are covered in spit up, and can't move due to the two kiddos who have firmly attached themselves to you and make it increasingly difficult to walk.  The alarm pad is 2 feet away....you are pretty sure you ear drums have blown and you now have a migraine from the noise at 7:30am....and you are thinking that at any moment someone is gonna throw you a break and scoop in and make it all better..... and then you realize you are the momma..... now the momma of three....and life is always going to be some sort of alarm just blaring in your ear waiting for you to fix it.....because the momma fixes everything....no breaks coming your way.


In the end we got the alarm turned off  and told the alarm company we didn't need any rescue vehicles, I explained to the tikes, who never realized we had such a cool feature before, what it was for.  I didn't use the whole it is to make sure intruders never enter the house speech....I went with the....it is to make sure that you guys never open a door to go outside without me knowing speech.  I'm a mom...of course I gave the latter explanation.  I then got the infant and myself cleaned....the infant who also had the shit scared out of her literally and it was all up her back....and then I reloaded everyone back into the car seats and headed to get doughnuts...eventually we were all sitting at the table enjoying our sprinkles and chocolate milk, it just took a hell of a lot longer than it would have taken with one tike or even two...but that's my life now....THREE!  Welcome to my new journey.  I promise I'm back...I think I've been missed, based on the various emails to please post on this blog again...well I've missed you too internets!

The Beach

Last year we missed it,  but this year we loaded up the crew and our neighbor Kennedy and headed back to the beach.  We made sand castles, caught crabs, boogie boarded, floated in boats, played games, watched movies, rode go carts and rides, played putt-putt, had ice cream, got air brush shirts and had a really good time.  Meredith learned to boogie board.  Noah got in the ocean a lot without freaking out.  Margot LOVED the ocean and would scream when we took her out.  We found some awesome seashells....the kind you buy!

We went again with our good friends and neighbors,  and had a blast.  The kids enjoyed it too.  Thankfully Kennedy agreed to come along and be a 3rd set of hands and watch Margot during naps.  We could not have done it without her.

Here are the tikes at the beach....it's the best we could do.

Here is the boat....the kids loved the boat....hell I loved the boat.

My how we have changed....this years pic and here is last years.

And that my friends is all I really got for you.  I guess the camera stayed in the camera bag the entire trip.  But the memories, they will last a lifetime!

Spring Break - Lessons Learned

The sand is not my friend.

My kids love the sand.

The laundry doesn't take a week off too.

School takes up a lot of time.

Preschoolers do not get the term "sleeping in."

Neither do toddlers or babies.

Eating a picnic lunch at the beach is not nearly as fun as it sounds.

Other peoples children are a great source of entertainment for your children, almost like a babysitter.  However you will not feel anymore relaxed that day, then if you had to entertain them all day by yourself.

Being a mom is exhausting.

I never realized as a child that someone actually packed all the stuff we needed, kept drinks cold, fixed dinner, grocery shopped or all the other things that made my spring break vacations a vacation.

The beach is a fabulous place to be.

Call during Spring Break sucks.

The gulf is cold in March.  Very cold. 

Kids do not have an internal thermometer like adults.

I will never again go to the beach without my husband until everyone can carry their own shit, wipe their own ass, and feed themselves.

Kids have no concept on how much work it is for you to take them, they had an ABSOLUTE blast and so did I, once I was upacked.  Thank you so much Leslie!

Going somewhere with the older two is getting much easier.  Going somewhere with just Margot is easy.  Going somewhere with all three is like carting the circus around with you.

You are hard pressed to find a waitress wanting to take the table with 3 adults and 7 kids.

Sipping a strawberry abita in the afternoon with a friend while your children run wild is a spring break must.

I'm convinced if my house was smaller it would be less to clean and would always be neater.  That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.

Babies learning to crawl will do it at the beach and crawl off the blanket to load a fistful of sand into their mouth.

After they gag and choke on it and you fish it all out and clean them all up, they will inevitably do it AGAIN and AGAIN.

Babies can nap anywhere.

Josh does a whole lot more than I give him credit for.

Quantity does not equal quality.

Attempting Panera at noon with three kids by yourself is impossible. 

Three kids needing to poop in a public restroom at the same time is going to happen on spring break. 

Drive thrus were made for me. 

Traveling between meals is even better.

Unpacking is not easier than packing you can just take as long as you would like to do it, that is the advantage.

What lessons did you learn this spring break?

A break....spring break to be exact.

Tomorrow I am taking this crew to the beach....minus the husband.  Wish me luck and sanity and an extra pair of hands.  It's gonna be a fun, wild ride.  I can't wait.  The yukon is loaded down and we pull out bright and early.  See you in a few days Josh and internets!

Sick of it...

I am sitting here typing this with my Kleenex box by my side, my nose running, my throat sore, my head aching and my eyes burning and I am longing for the days of summer, when no one is sick. 

Today is my 6th day with this cold.  The cold that came after the most awful stomach virus that has ever hit our family...pre and post tikes.  I am OVER it.  We have had RSV, fevers, the flu symptoms without the presence of the flu, bronchitis with breathing treatments, ear infections, more fevers, constant runny noses, the most awful stomach virus and kidney stones.  Dear Universe.....I have dealt with more than my fair share.....so take your sicknesses and shove it. 

My tikes are driving me crazy.  And I am not myself.  I'm exhausted, I'm irritable, I'm rundown and worn out.  I'm OVER IT!  Completely over it.  I long for the day that hearing my sweet children's voices at a high pitched squeal doesn't remind me of nails being scratched across a chalkboard.   I'm sick of being on edge and wanting to just retreat to my room with the door locked.  This is not me.  I thought about postpartum issues, but I am sure it is more cold and flu season issues.  I just want to feel well and while I am at it.....I am sick of my kids being sick.  Margot's nose has been a faucet that has been turned on since Halloween, and I am not exaggerating.  Poor baby has been so sick she probably has no idea what it is like to feel well and not have a fountain permanently attached to her face.

But despite all these illness that have plagued our family, we have managed to keep it real here. 

We have road monster trucks.

And we have gone bowling...

We got a jump start (thanks to garden club) and planted our spring garden.

 We have soaked up the beautiful weather outside.

We have gone fishing.

No we don't let illnesses keep us down.  I have tried convincing my husband to just blow up the house and build a new one.  I'm convinced that is the only way to get all the germs out.  Then once our house is rebuilt for insulation I'm going to just a cellophane type thing to keep it germ free.  Think that will work?  So Internets what has plagued your house this cold and flu season?

Since you've been gone...

Since you've been gone.....well since I've been gone, but the song doesn't say that so.....since you've been gone...here is a little of what you missed.  Condensed.  Trust me...you want the condensed version.  And because blogger and I are disagreeing over which orientation my pictures should be, this is now really condensed.  Damn you blogger!

Noah turned three and had a shark party to celebrate....

It was a join birthday party with his girlfriend Bella and all 6 of our kiddos matched...

Margot started eating baby food...and by the look on my face it must have been pretty tasty!

We once again took the kids to the north pole tea at the Roosevelt.

Noah was Joseph in a play and Bella was Mary.

For the most part Joseph sat still, but then......well he's three come on.

And they were the cutest Mary and Joseph ever, I think the star might have been a little jealous.

We made it to Christmas Eve Mass.

The guy in the big red suit and boy did he deliver...

and deliver.....

and deliver....

and deliver!

We snuggled and giggled and played, the entire two weeks Meredith had off for Christmas break.

Margot started sitting up by herself.

The kids took a train ride with Josh and got some funky looking cute train hats.

They were a tad excited about this experience.  Margot and I traveled by Yukon to pick them up from the following train station.  They beat us there, thanks to On-star.  That is a post for another day.