We lost Jack!

My Jack is a runner. As soon as he sees an open door( or notices they are unlocked ) , he's out of it and running away as fast as his fat little legs will let him move! Because of this we are extra precautionary in locking all of our doors ( who knows what we'll do when he figures out how to unlock them )

Yesterday we were all in and out of the backyard because Robert enclosed the bottom part of their swingset to make a club house... anyway - K & K were in the house getting ready for lunch and I went out back to get Jack as well - but I didn't see him and he didn't come when I called him. I looked everywhere ( so I thought ) and then noticed the side gate was open. This is a mystery by the way because we didn't use it all day and it's NOT easy to open in the first place. I ran in the house and screamed to Robert that the gate was open and Jack is gone. ( he was peeing, so he runs out of the house still zipping up, I'm in my un-matching braless pj's ) Robert takes off down one side of the street, I take off running down the other with both of us screaming for him and looking back towards the house to make sure our other 2 don't take off - not like we could stop them if they too wanted to run away! We get to our respective corners not finding him and run back to the house having panic attacks - and wouldn't you know it - out walks Jack just smiling from the open fence that created this whole commotion. He was covered in mud so he must have made his way around a ton of things to the back of the house and was crawling in the mud. Nice.

Now when one of us goes outside, we lock the doors and take a set of keys with us... we are prisoners in our own home - lol.

Santa, bad mom, tummy aches and dancing....

Bad mom: I didn't take ANY still pictures on Christmas. We took a little bit of video but not a lot.... how sad is that. We need to hire someone to do it for us as it just doesn't seem possible to capture anything yet as both sets of arms are always needed. I also didn't take the kids around the block on their new bikes yesterday ( day after Xmas ) - I just spent all day in my pj's and trying to find room for all their stuff!
Santa: Kyla really got it this year and that was great. She made the cutest little faces and noises and jumped up and down when she woke up and saw her bike... it was adorable - however again, it will all be in my memory as opposed to actually you know, utilizing technology to get it on film! lol
Tummy aches: Boy did we have a lot of those this holiday. Jack was up screaming between 1-2 a.m. and then all morning as well. He slept through most of the activities at mom and dad's house, but once he woke up, all hell broke out. The other kids were grumpy and fussy and loud all morning but add my new crying Jack to the mix and we just had to get out of there before my parents didn't wants us back for dinner! I cried from the sever lack of sleep and all of the crying we've experienced the last few days so we went home and Robert let me take a nap with K & K while he watched Jack - then we put Jack down again and had some piece and quiet.... when he woke up he was horribly crying again, so Robert didn't even get to come to dinner - he stayed home with Jack so he didn't ruin everyone's dinner with his fussiness. It was bad enough having to scream for Aunt Hattie to hear us, much less having to scream over Jack's crying!!
Dancing: My wonderful hubby put on his new George Strait CD and made me stop what I was doing and dance with him. He held me close and told me to close my eyes and pretend it was quiet.. The kids were pulling at my clothes saying " commmere mmmmoom!" but he just squeezed me tighter and I actually relaxed. Iam tearing up just thinking about it now. I wanted to go out to dinner last night, but of course we don't dare take the kids and what's tht point anyway - so he told me to just go by myself and he would watch the kids. ( I've never done that before ) so I did!!! I really really enjoyed it. I took some US magazines and went to Hofs Hut and got a salad. I think I'll have to do it again sometime.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!!!
This is our little minature tree on our corner table
( so Jack didn't get to it )
We are looking forward to a big tree next year.





Kyla really gets Santa Claus this year and it's making it so exciting for us... except for the headache their bikes have given us...




We had got Kade a bike - well Robert wasn't impressed enough with it, so he found a better one at Walmart that he liked. Well, I was on hold with them for an hour to confirm that they had the right one in stock ( this an accumulation of 3 stores ) They told me they did... so he took the 1st one back to a different store then went to get this other one. Weeelllll - he got home and as soon as he walked in the door I noticed it was the wrong size. Yes, not a happy camper.


So another hour on the phone with Walmart only to find out they DO NOT have the size we need. Great. Flash ahead to severl more phone calls - and I FOUND one. So, at 8:45 last night Robert took the 2nd wrong bike back and picked up the right one. I think I bit my finger nails down as low as they would go in the meantime.

Kyla's bike wasn't much easier - we waited wait to long to get this one as well, and had to also go to 3 stores to find the right size... everyone only seemed to have 20" bikes left!

Is this what parenting is?? Stressing out on Christmas? LOL I wouldn't change a thing!!!

1st experience with a babysitter other than mom!

We went to a Christmas Party at Mahe last night, and my mom already had plans so we asked my cousin Cierra ( 16 yrs old ) to watch all 3 kids. My mom was supposed to leave her party around 8 and go help Cierra, Jack usually goes to bed at 7, the kids were skipping their bath, and we left at 5:45, so she would have only had to deal with all 3 for about an hour and a 1/2....
Well - that's not how the night went.
First, my mom didnt show up until 9ish due to several different things & Jack didn't go to bed until closer to 8:30....
I got a call from Cierra about 7:45 telling me they were going to make a Cake and she couldn't figure out how to turn the oven on. Ok... this didn't sound like something you would normally want your babysitter to do being as I'm picturing the kids fighting, screaming, running around, etc... and generally not listening like they do to us. Anyway - no problem - we told her how to turn the oven on ( not her fault, we have a VERY strange oven by the way )
I asked her if baby Jack was still up and she said that he was and was happy as can be!
I called her later to see if she knew how to turn the oven off ( again, very strange way ) she said she figured that out, but she was changing Jack and about to put him down.
Then I called a little later and she was giving the kids a bath - I didn't even moderately suggest she give the kids a bath, I was skipping a bath to make the night easier and actually give myself some time to get ready to go.
So basically - if I didn't get this across by my wording above - I AM SO UNBELIEVABLY IMPRESSED.
And the topper - when we got home, my mom was there and ALL 3 kids were asleep!!!!!!!!
My house was just as clean as I left it, she cleaned all the stuff she used to make the cake, she BATHED my kids, she said she had a lot of fun with them and they were really really good ???
I'm thinking she had to be lying - but I'll believe her anyway.
I am so grateful, and hopefully she wont mind doing it again for us... I LOVE HER! She could make so much money if she wanted to do this for other people too! The peace of mind is worth millions!

Happy Anniversary to me!

A recent picture ( on the right ) and us 5 years ago on the left!

Last thursday the 13th of December was our 4th wedding anniversary! We've been together 8 years today, December 17th.
We both agree it feels like much much longer - we've lived what most normal people would stretch out over about 12 years...

We had a great anniversary though - we went to McKenna's on Thursday night for dinner, then we came home to NO kids! We got a full night's sleep and spent the next day Christmas shopping, setting up the Christmas tree and hanging the lights on the house... the kids were so excited to come home to see everything!

I remember telling Robert that he didn't have to marry me just because I was pregnant - but I got the joy of thanking him for that, because who knows if I would have my boys if we didn't take the exact path that we have walked together. How mushy was that!?

Kids for sale!

CHEAP...

no guarantees; no warranty's; no returns ( unless seller ( me ) breaks down in 10 minutes and actually forgets that they are all the devil's spawn today and wants them back. )

Start the bidding!!!

I can laugh about it now.... I guess.

This morning was horrible. Well, it actually started last night, or technically the night before... lol
Monday night, I slept on the couch and Kyla and Kade slept on the floor next to me on very special home-made "slumber party" beds. I'm not sure what got us to that point, but that's where we were. As I was falling asleep I actually smiled looking down at my cute bundled up not fighting children laying next to each other. Kade however got up several times through out the night looking for his water and wanting to lay with me. Oh well, no biggie. Through out the day however I felt the aches of sleeping on the couch ( which I do frequently because one of them is usually in our bed half way through the night and Robert snores loud enough to wake the neighbors! )
So... getting back to last night. We were all watching The Polar Express ( Kade's new favorite movie ) and I talked Kyla into sneaking into my room with me to go to bed. She did and we got in some good story telling and cuddle time. I fell asleep and she snuck out. Robert got her to go to sleep in her bed and put Kade in bed with me ( thus he slept on the couch this time! ) very nice of him!
1st occurance: 2:00 a.m. Kyla comes in having a bad dream. I take her into her bed and she wants me to sleep with her. I lay there for a few minutes while she falls back to sleep. I then go and get Kade out of my bed and put him in his bed. He OF COURSE wakes up and starts whining. I lay next to him in his bed for a few minutes. My intention was to get Robert off the couch and into bed, but this all woke him up before I got to do it as a grand gesture!
Kade comes into my room shortly after I fell back asleep from cuddling with my warm hubby - and I then give up and put him in bed then go myself to the couch. Urrghh!
Kade shortly after that asks Robert for water - he says: ask mommy... so much for grand gestures... I get up and give him a drink of water, he changes his mind and wants juice - which I'm ok with because he has a low grade fever... he also wants to lay with me ON THE COUCH. Ok... I figure a few minutes, then he'll get uncomfortable... NOPE- 2 hrs later, I ask him to please go into Daddy's big comfy bed, he obliges surprisingly. This now is 5:00 and I'm supposed to be up in 30 minutes. I sleep until 6:30 instead and decide to arrive late for work.
You would think it was over - NOPE.
I get Jack ready to get in the car. I tell Robert to keep Kade for a bit to make sure his fever doesn't get worse - Kyla has a very loud screaming breakdown because she wants to stay with her daddy. We try putting her in the car 3 times and she throws herself around kicking and screaming and unbuckling her seatbelt. Well... at this point guess who gives in??? NOT ME! Robert put's Kade in the car because he actually wants to go and picks up Kyla. Guess who's not getting a happy face on her chart today?!
I finally get the boys to my moms and call and talk to Kyla. She apologized and said that "she'll be ready to go after she gets dressed and plays for a just a few minutes, then she'll have her daddy take her, ok mom?" Like I have a choice. LOL

What a great night!

I had a wonderful night with my babies yesterday! I had a migraine, so I'm very appreciative for the timing.
It was one of those nights where Kyla and Kade just needed each other to be happy and laughed and laughed and laughed some more. There was almost no fighting and almost no hitting of each other. They didn't argue and they both fell asleep in their own beds! ( after some wonderful cuddling with mommy & daddy )
I could listen to my children laugh 24 hours a day.

Even my lately unhappy Jack was very happy again. He (of course after getting a dose of motrin for his poor teeth ) was also very independent and full of giggles last night. He's been so miserable lately, it was so nice to have him cuddly and happy for awhile. He has a new found love of kissing his mommy. He takes my face in his two hands and pulls my mouth to his mouth ( nice and open and wet by the way ) and just lays one on me. He always has his head slightly tilted back and his eyes shut, so I'm assuming he's really enjoying it!! lol Although I love the gesture, it's a bit too wet for my taste! (o: He likes it when I give him tiny kisses near his ear, so he'll snuggle his fat cheeks into my neck and close his eyes and just let me kiss until I just can't kiss anymore! SO SWEET!

It's actually December - already!?!?!

I can not believe how quickly the time goes when you have children. I remember thinking back at the end of each high school year about how fast the time flew by, but that was kind of in retrospect, now with kids - it actually seems to go by quickly during the time actually passing, which is a whole different kind of fast!
This is of course except for when they are screaming.
Now don't get me wrong, there are SO many 'minutes' through out the day that my kids don't scream, but it didn't seem like it much this weekend.

Jack will not let me put him down - his poor mouth is killing him and he has blisters on his knuckles from sucking on his fingers so much. Poor little man.

Kade actually wasn't too bad this weekend, last night though, he just would not fall asleep. He was so tired and normally will fall asleep within 5 minutes of laying with one of us on the couch - not last night. We started a movie ' An Unfinished Life ' with Robert Redford and Jennifer Lopez in it - at about 8:30 - he should have fallen straight to sleep. Instead he watched the whole thing without saying a word. It was set in Wyoming and had bears and a little girl, so maybe that grabbed his attention. It was so weird cause normally he is so wirey! Then he finally went to sleep with his daddy in our bed, I didn't have the heart to put him in his bed.... besides Kyla started having a nightmare right about then, so I ended up sleeping with her in her twin bed. COZY!!! lol

Jack, my perfect sleeper cried himself to sleep last night, and it totally broke my heart - but there was nothing else I could do for him - my sweet baby.
We've created a Santa Chart filled with happy faces and sad faces. It works half the time for Kyla. She really wants a princess bike but she has the worst argumentative attitude right now - like if you tell her the sky is blue, she'll say "no it's not." just to say it. ( of course she doesn't get that from her mommy! lol ) and sometimes I just want to duct tape her mouth shut - so I'm using her chart to help curve her little tone of voice.

She had her gymnastics "show" this weekend. I was pretty disappointed with the equipment they put out and she was bored after 10 minutes, so we just went and played at the park - which she loved so that was fun!

Well.... more later!