Ethan at 4

1. He’s obsessed with the movie “Monsters, Inc”. This was one of the first movies (that and Nemo) that the kids started watching when they were almost 2 years old. Lately he loves this movie and let’s you know by saying “I want Mike” about 1000 times over and over again until you put it in.


2. He knows all the lines to several movies and TV shows and can say the lines exactly with the characters and he includes hand and body movements with his lines – an actor in the making, maybe.3. He loves to play football in the house – Daddy says it’s okay but they hit everything. Every person playing must have a football, at least they are nerf ones. He is usually the initiator of the game and like a true man he must rip off his shirt during some point in the game.


4. Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn. Last week he started telling his teachers “NO!” and some of his friends too. Nice.

5. He still is not potty trained although he has used the potty several times. I can’t find something that “works” for him.

6. He continues to get naked in bed. He has to sleep with a zip up footy PJs or he’s naked.

7. He’s good about trying to give Reese a different toy if she tries to take one of his however, she was quick to realize that she can get a really good rise out of him if she even looks at his stuff so now she’s taking it and running and making him all crazy. He will also push her down by her head if she makes him mad.

8. He still sleeps with a million and one things in his bed. Now he likes to brings all his “stuffs” downstairs and pile them in a laundry basket and sit and play or watch TV. Reese likes to climb in his basket just to make him mad it works every single time.

9. Now that he talks he's super BOSSY. For example if I say it’s time to eat and he’s the only one that comes to the table he’s yelling at the top of his lungs for everyone to come but it’s certainly okay with him if he doesn’t follow requests made by others.

10. He likes to say “it’s eat time” when we’re ready for a meal and lately if we are doing something he doesn’t like he will say to us “do you want a spankin?”

11. We call him “The Water Buffalo” he drinks almost a half bottle of water every night. It’s not all at once just a stall tactic to call us in there several times.

12. He’s been singing Happy Birthday a lot lately. A few mornings ago I went in to unzip his crib tent and he said so enthusiastically “happy birthday, Mommy!” Too cute!

13. He doesn’t comprehend the words: wait, just a minute, or patience at all.

14. His temper tantrums are award winning but getting better -- there aren't as many and they don't last as long. We see the light at the end of tunnel.

14. He still jumps on the couch and the chairs and the train table and anything else he can get on. He sits in time out a lot for jumping on the couch . . . I don't think it's making a difference.

15. He hates yogurt, eggs, milkshakes, hot cocoa, and vanilla pudding.

16. He loves Tootsie Rolls and chocolate candy which are new favorites since Halloween. He will dip about anything in ketchup: green beans, grapes, pancakes, apples but most of the time he eats it as a side dish.

17. His creative play has developed so much since school started. He now plays appropriately with toys and has some pretend play going on.

He's still a sweet little guy that I love with all my heart!

I got nothin'

Usually I have a lot to write when I have a chance to blog but tonight I got nothing. Mondays are my favorite day of the week and I would say Thursday is my least, especially this week. I'm tired of my schedule being so off. With kids home all day Monday and Addison being home all week I just want my life back! I think she'll be able to go tomorrow. I haven't gotten any errands done, I need to get some groceries but I would rather stay home tomorrow and not cart Reese in and out of the van in the freezing cold. I did more organizing today and the kids had haircuts finally {we haven't been since October} but that meant no naps so tantrums were many and parental patience was low. I am so tired of cooking . . . I don't know why, normally I love to cook but this week I am just at a loss . . .what to make, what sounds good, what will they eat. Going out to eat is hard especially in the cold weather and we live about 20 minutes from any restaurant -- it seems such a waste to drive to pick up something and we are really trying to eat at home most of the time. So tonight was frozen pizza which I hate and nobody except Reese and Aaron ate much of anything anyway. The kids managed to destroy the house -- it looked fine until we got home at 4:30 now it looks like we had some big party but I missed all the fun. I wished I lived here -- looks cozy but clean!

I am tired but wish I had the energy to do something, I've done zero scrapbooking or anything creative this week unless I count rolling my yarn into a ball. My list of valentine crafts to make grows longer by the day . . . the things people come up with are amazing and I want to make it all. But tonight I think I'll call it a night, I'll feel better tomorrow right?

So Behind and I'm in

Okay I'm learning to knit . . . that's not why I haven't been blogging. I haven't even started trying to knit but I did take my thing (skein?) of yarn and roll it into a nice big ball. Isn't it pretty?

That part was easy. I read the first part of Jen's tutorial on how to start . . . oh my. I know, like I need another hobby, don't I? Scrapbooking, sewing, quilting, whatever else I see out there in blogland and now knitting! I think if I figure it out I will knit in the car and waiting in the van and in waiting rooms. Knitting is easy to carry around -- at least I think it is, I really know nothing about it. I scrapbooked in the car on the way to my sister's Christmas party --scrapbooking on the go is not so easy! Actually I can't stand doing nothing like when riding in the car and I NEVER sit and watch TV -- what a waste -- I watch TV but I always have to be doing something while watching TV: laundry, surfing the internet, scrapbooking, reading a magazine, etc. If I sit down to watch TV with nothing else to do within 10 minutes I'll be asleep. Aaron drives me crazy because he will not do anything while his "shows" are on. That would be fine if he had one or two shows to watch but this man has several shows to watch every single night. He will do stuff during commercials but he will not do anything while the show is on. His eyes must be fixed on the screen every second the show is actually on, he says he doesn't want to miss anything. When I "watch" TV there are some shows I never even look at the screen once, I guess that would be considered listening to TV but I think I get the idea but just hearing what's going on. Opposites attract, right?

So we'll see how my knitting goes . . . Aaron saw the knitting needles on the bed (they are huge (14 inches long) and he asked what they were for. Not wanting to tell him that I was starting a new crafting hobby . . . I said it's what I plan to stab with you with . . .he said nothing so that's how I got out of that. (And I'm just kidding I'm not really going to stab him with knitting needles -- I'd pick something better than knitting needles!) I know you are thinking when do I have time to learn to knit? I'll fit it in after all this knitting tutorial is by one of my favorite bloggers Jen of Amazing Trips she has 4 year old triplets and a 1 year old too -- we're in the same boat -- if she has time then I can squeeze it in. She's teaching home preschool too so I have more time than her.

But this week I have not been on the bloghorse because I am learning to knit. It's because I have a sick child.

Well on Monday Caden had pink eye (or so I thought) and Addison had a fever. I kept Ethan home by default because it was lot of work to load them all up just to drop him off and pick him up -- sometimes doing something for one child seems like a waste to me. I guess my mindset is in the majority or quantity of things besides it's so cold outside -- I hate to drag them all out especially when sickness is knocking on our door.

By the time Aaron's mom brought over the pink eye med, Caden's eye looked fine.

Addison's fever was higher on Tuesday so she stayed home again but everyone else was fine and I took them to school. I must say Tylenol works too good it makes her fell good enough to run around get into everything, won't nap, wants to do projects.

Puts a big wrench into my regular schedule and doesn't let her rest enough to get better. Then today her fever was 103.4 so I had to take her to the doctor. Everyone must be sick and we had to wait over an hour past our appointment time to see the doctor. She had an ear infection and another one starting and a red throat. We got done just in time to pick up Ethan then back to town to eat lunch and to Walmart to get the medication where we were one minute too late because the pharmacy went on lunch for a half hour so we had to wait, then wait longer to pick up the prescription. We got done just in time to pick up Caden from school. The whole day was spent on one appointment and a prescription. Now I have kids that didn't nap and are way overtired and aren't wanting to go to bed. I doubt Addison is going to school tomorrow and I'm wondering if this is an illness that may circulate through all the kids . . . I hope not!

With that all being said, no scrapbooking going on this week yet. But I have been decluttering some of the areas that just keep collecting various things. My computer desk -- I always know when it's time to clean it: when I can't see the whole computer screen. I cleaned off the washer and dryer which is a horrible catch all area for us and our TV cabinet -- a place I stash stuff away from the kids and I found all kinds of interesting things. I reorganized my baking and spice cupboard.

I can't stand things being so messy because it takes more time to look for stuff. It always amazes me how much stuff I find when I clean that is just pure trash. Why do things that are obvious headed for the trash don't end up in there in the first place? What a puzzlement (is that even a word? -- I must be tired because I have no clue if it is). I hope to be around on the blog more the rest of this week!

And here's my bonus this cute little face learned to nod her head and say "more", "yuck", and "no no no no no no no no . . . . " all in the past 2 days!

I'm a Junkie

I have a problem, an addiction really . . . I'm a blog junkie. I hate to admit this but I have 108 blogs that I subscribe in Google Reader. That means anytime any of those blogs update I know it and I read them ALL. I don't skim, I read. Sometimes when I'm sick or busy or gone I get behind and it's a job to get caught up but I always do. I'm embarrassed it's that many. But there are so many cool people out there. I don't discriminate against blogs I have a wide variety of scrapbooking, to crafting, to decorating, to recipes, and photography, and people who internet surf/shop to tell you about every great thing there is to buy that you can't afford, organizing, and then there are some people who I don't even know how to label I just think they are interesting. I add new ones all the time. I even *star* the posts I want to reference later but I never organize them, then I can't remember who wrote what and where I saw that idea -- someday I'll organize all that info . . . someday. Because I'm out there in the blogging world exploring everyday, I kind of know who has the "it" blog of the moment. One I want to share is someone I became aware after they were in a tragic plane crash: Stephanie Nielson writes her blog, The NieNie Dialogues. She just returned to her blog this week (her family and friends were updating since the accident).

I never read her blog before her accident but I plan on looking back through her archives she is a mom of 4 young kids and quite crafty with them and her house is full of cute ideas and she loves life before and after the plane crash. Many, many bloggers (including my sis) donated items to auction off for her to help support her and her husband in recovering through their ordeal. So now she's become one of my favorite blogs -- one I get excited when I see she's updated. One that now puts my life in a little better perspective and helps me realize how great I have it and how I need to appreciate each and every moment. Check out Stephanie here to follow her through their recovery and to see what a great person she is . . . and maybe you'll see how easy it is to become a blog junkie.

Gloves, Hats, Scarves, Coats, Oh My

I really try not to yell before school because I don't want my kids to start their day like that nor do I want that to be the last memory of me while they are at school. But it's inevitable with winter time attire. Usually I'm yelling because nobody will put on their boots and coats so we can get out the door. At least 2 children can get their coats on now and one can zip! But today we couldn't locate any hats or gloves (well we found one mitten) and I think they did bring them home. It's my fault, I don't have a place for them to put their outdoor wear when they come home. Our current coat closet (built in dining room cabinet) is not working for them. They aren't able to help put away their own coats. They can't reach the handle to open it and it's too small for all these winter coats anyway. So I need to come up with a better system. I would love to have something like this from The Shabby Nest blog

Of course I don't have any spare closets to turn into a mini mudroom.

This from the The Pretty Neat Company blog is fabulous

but since I don't have a long empty hallway to build a bench.

This from Soule Mama blog is more what I will have to aim for

still nice and completely functional. Here's what I have to work with.

A leftover {cheapy} shelf from the kids' room that will no long fit. The shelves are adjustable so I can get some baskets to label with their names for their items and we're going to try to hang some hooks near the bottom for their coats that they can reach. My husband says it isn't going to work because the shelf doesn't have a thick enough back for coat hooks but this is the man that told me for 4 years a dishwasher would not fit in my kitchen that is until I became pregnant with triplets and the doctors wouldn't allow me to stand and wash dishes therefore Aaron became the head dishwasher. When he began complaining about it I told him he'd better get used to it because when the babies were born there would be at least 24 bottles, nipples, and rings to wash every single day. Hmmmm . . . then surprisingly a dishwasher would fit in my kitchen so I think the coat shelf idea is another dishwasher in our home. He's not concerned about it because he doesn't have to deal with the coats and hats and gloves and scarves and boots and book bags and library books every single day.

So stay turned to see if by next week we can get this area of my life under control then I can concentrate on getting their hair and teeth brushed before school too . . . it's easy to pick out my kids at school: messy hair, bad breath, no gloves or hats, book bag unzipped and not on their back as they are runny to their classroom and their mom is screaming "did you get your lunch and have a good day!"

Today

Today:

the kids went back to school

Reese and I goofed around for a while and I tried to take some photos of her

I like this very close up one

I finally got us both in frame for a self portrait

I watched the inauguration most of the day which was interesting and I'm excited for the time ahead to see how things change

I washed a million and one dishes as I think I broke the dishwasher for good last night -- I started filling the sink to wash some pans and got called away by a child and their toiletry needs and forgot about the sink which overflowed and flooded the kitchen and gave our dishwasher computer front where the electronic control board thing got a long hot bath. My husband was not mad because he has done this before -- twice to be exact and one time he left the water running all night while he went to bed. It's never worked well since then even though it was repaired but I think we need a new one and since I was in the hospital on bed rest when this one was bought I want to go check them out to give my utmost expert opinion on what I think it needs to have and not have. Maybe we should invest in a water alarm or something that will notify us when the water isn't shut off.

I made this scrapbook page of Reese:

A Long Six Days

The kids have been home six days with the snow/too cold for school days and the weekend plus the day off for MLK holiday. We've stayed busy but Cabin Fever was building here by Friday and that was the day that Aaron called and said he had to work late -- he got home at 11 pm. Saturday we got the reprieve we needed -- Aaron's mom offered to watch the kids for us and we went out for lunch. Aaron's been dying to go to Buffalo Wild Wings since it's new to our area and we never get any new restaurants. We must be getting old because although the restaurant was nice the music is so loud that you can't hear each other talk. Maybe you aren't supposed to talk since they are 1500 TVs there but if I say "I'm going to the bathroom" I don't want to repeat myself 4 times before he knows what I'm saying. The other problem was we have both ate there before and like hot stuff so we ordered our regular heat tolerance of sauce and we both agreed it was too hot so maybe Grandma and Grandpa Murray better stick with their regular bland places since the music and the food was too much. We hung out at Menards since our children detest home improvement stores and act so horrendous when we are in them that we just get what we need and get out. I had time to linger over the paint samples and have the color scheme for the kids' room. We're going with the main colors of olive/limey green, chocolate brown, and orange.

I'm going to accent with blue and pink in their quilts. I'm going to make some artwork using numbers and the alphabet. It sounds crazy but I think it will come together nicely in the end. I'm actually getting excited about it. I think if the paint is on sale I might start next week.

On Sunday Aaron agreed to give me an afternoon away and I went to Country Fair Mall in Coal Valley. Basically a large flea market.

I found a shelf for my creative space and a frame that I'm making into an inspiration board. An iron grid to use for kid artwork and some very nice pinking shears (I've always wanted a nice pair for sewing -- they were $1.95) and some sheet music and an old bingo game for scrapbooking. It was a really cool place that I am going back to soon to find some kind of better table to hold my sewing machine and maybe some things for the kids' room.

Today the kids went sledding with Grammy and Papa. They had a blast even though it was pretty cold. They came back home and had some cocoa and way too much fun with marshmallows.

We went out to lunch with them. It was nice to get out of the house and I even took all 4 of them into the grocery store to pick up a few things. Once we got home everyone {except Addison} napped.

I have gotten a lot of scrapbooking done during nap time over the last few days. I have 8 layouts completed. Here's a glimpse at some of them (there's more I'm not showing)

and I've worked on my Daily December album some too. I can't believe how productive I've been with my new scrapbook space! I think I finally have stuff set up in a more user friendly way and I have more space to work and I've been taking the time to pick up every single day. Being up in the bedroom helps too -- I'm away from all the other chores and things that need to be done and the computer isn't yelling my name every five seconds.

Reese and I are looking forward to the kids returning to school tomorrow and getting back into our normal routine and hopefully somewhat warmer weather!

Crossing my Fingers

I don't want to jinx my super good luck but for two nights in a row Reese has only gotten up once. Last night when I heard her cry a little for the second time at 5am I thought last night was just a one time thing but by the time I went to the bathroom she was quiet again.

So I'm not sure what the cause is maybe the move into her siblings room . . .

maybe the fact her cold is over and she is feeling and eating better . . .



maybe that she's just so darn busy all day especially since her brothers and sister have been home the past 2 days thanks to the arctic freeze . . .

maybe it's that she's started drinking . . . (just kidding) we just let her play with the bottles (just kidding again) I said she was busy

maybe it's just a coincidence and it isn't a new habit . . .

whatever the cause I'm loving it and keeping my fingers crossed that it continues!

The Snowy Tundra

I think our town was somehow transported to the Arctic or Alaska or something. I bet if I look outside I'll see Sarah Palin's family snowmobiling on by our house. More snow, more cold (wind chills of -45 degrees tonight?????), no school, no cleaning lady, no work for Aaron, no eye doctor appointment for Ethan. All fine by me I didn't even want to open the door to throw out the stale bread for the squirrels. There's so much snow that the bread probably sunk 5 inches and they'll never find it anyway.

So we haven't done too much: blueberry pancakes for breakfast, leftovers for lunch which helped clean up the fridge, and I have a pot roast in the crockpot for supper and of course Aaron's obsessive shoveling and whining that he doesn't have a snow blower right now. I did make it upstairs to my creative spot and started a layout.

I have almost everything put away but once again I have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF so it's not completely as organized as I'd like but my thoughts on this is to just start using what I have to get it in a more manageable size. I love sitting up there on the new stool (from Walmart) and the natural light coming in from the window is really great and I never really noticed it before. I can shut the door and the bathroom is right there unless I need a drink or a snack there's really no need to come down except for the other 5 people I live with need me immensely when I'm up there. My creative juices are flowing so well that I made this little flower embellishment even using my sewing machine.

The only thing I need is some storage shelves on the wall and some sort of inspiration board but I got some ideas in mind and want more "vintage" items (read junk) and plan on going to a flea market this weekend to get some stuff -- weather permitting, of course!