Now you are 5

Katy,
Today you turned 5. I can't believe it. Time has gone so fast
Today you had a very fun day. We went to Barnes and Noble for cupcakes. Then we went and got a manicure/pedicure. Finally we went out to dinner, and then opened presents. You had a Tangled cake

I made cake pops for your preschool. I made them myself, for the record. And they were yummy!

You loved opening your presents

I love you sweet girl!

The Banana (Hannah) is starting to take some steps.  She can say bottle (babo) blanket (bai bai) Cole (ole) Katy (tatie) Gracie (tatie) cracker (coco) down (don)  up (don) and of course mommy and daddy.  Banana has decided to quit getting herself back down the stairs.  That means we have to go up to get her... several times a day.  Good thing she's cute!  :)

Gracie changes her clothes every 5 seconds... and I'm not really exaggerating.  We are working on her putting said clothes back where they belong.

Katy is loving preschool.  Her teacher says she is very good, and very quiet.  Her birthday is in a month, and that's all she's talking about.  She gets to be "Star of the Week" next week in preschool.  She can't wait.

Cole has started reading everything!  Signs, books, cereal boxes.  It is so weird that he is reading.  I love it.
Every night I sit on his bed and he tells me random stuff.  Love that too.

Things are settling down here.  We are finally feeling "settled"  good thing, since we leave in a year.  :)  We love our church.  I've gotten involved in a Bible study with some great women.  And we are going to a married small group.  So we are getting to know people!  (which is good since we tend to be anti-social)

The daffodils have already come and gone, grass is turning green, and trees are starting to get new leaves.  None of which makes me very happy.  They are all signs that summer is coming... And that nasty nasty heat.  So I am enjoying every bit of cold, letting it soak in my bones, hoping that I can remember it in the middle of summer.

Off to bed!

Hannah took 2 steps today... Cole was the one to witness it.  He was so happy!

I am starting Weight Watchers.  I need the accountability.  I am so not happy... :)

Grace changed her clothes 7 times today...

Katy went to Sunday School without freaking out!!!  :)

We flew down the interstate with every window and the sunroof open.  The kiddos LOVED it.

Went to a meeting for new children's volunteers at our church.  They have an amazing program, and I am excited to be a part of it.

If I don't organize my office, I am going to drown in papers.

Katy wants to be a mermaid.

Hannah has started throwing fits... (Lord help me!)

Grace loves to help.

My husband and I love "The Big Bang Theory"  Sheldon is hysterical.

It is now 72 outside with a cold front coming in... thunderstorms and winds forecasted for tonight.

I was relieved to leave CA because we had had several small earthquakes before we left.  After big wind storms and tornado warnings, I think I like earthquakes better.

Now, I am off to watch the Oscars.

This and That

Saturday, the first in a long time where we actually got some stuff done!  Cleared out our back patio, cleaned the garage, cleaned out the car, and raked some leaves.

Cole was a trooper, taking pile after pile of leaves up to the top of the hill and dumping them into the field.

We are on our way to all being well.  Its been nasty the past few weeks with all the sickness.  Now however, Cole has been breaking out in hives on his tummy, back, and thighs.  Its been 3 days of it, and we can't figure out why.  They go right down when he takes benedryl.  We are racking our brains, but can't come up with anything.  From what I've been reading, a doc isn't going to help, there are too many things that could cause it.  They did say that sometimes after a bad cold or flu your body reacts with hives.  So if after 2 weeks, we don't figure it out, we will go back to the doc.

This evening we went out with some new friends from church.  We had a very good time.  One of the families had older girls who watched the younger kiddos.  My Grace decided to throw up... she wasn't sick, something must have disagreed with her.  I paid the girls a little extra... :)

At dinner I tried catfish, friend okra, and hush puppies.  They were pretty good.

I am starting to feel more settled here... making some friends, enjoying life more.  

Wow, this was pretty random!

Correlle Does Break

Well, what a day.  I am writing it down, so I someday I will look back and laugh.  Today, not so much.

Lets start with my kids have been sick for 2 weeks.  Cole has been out of school since last Thursday, Katy since last Tuesday.  And I got a fever on Friday.  Right now, I have a nasty head cold.

I called ATT to figure out our cable bill.  There was some wrong info in it.  The salesman promised stuff that they didn't deliver... lets just say after 1.5 hours on the phone, I will NOT be using ATT ever again.
  
Josh got home early from having a mole removed from his nose (not a fun thing).  As I was paying bills, Hannah pooped out, so Josh put her in the tub.  I then heard a loud crash, and came running into the living room to see one of our correlle plates smashed on the ottoman.  Smashed with little pieces ALL OVER the living room.

Cole had decided to use his sword to hit the plate.  After he had been told numerous times to not to hit things with it.  (sword is put away for a few days.  And, I hate to say, I didn't handle it so well.  I yelled)

I threw the kiddos in their bedroom, and went to watch Hannah in the tub while Josh cleaned up the plate mess.

In the second it took for me to look down at Hannah, she pooped in the tub! And it wasn't solid.  And there were a lot of toys in the tub (that I just threw away, I didn't have what it took to clean them up).

Wow.  Correlle doesn't just break, it breaks into million of teeny tiny pieces that explode everywhere!!! Its kind of how I felt after today.  :)

Sick Days

So, between snow days, and sick days, the kiddos have been home a  lot.  Which is fine with me, I like them.  However, with everyone sick, patience, on all of our parts, is wearing a little thin.

Like I said on FB, my get up and go, got up and went far far away, and I want it back.  The house is a mess, kids are feverish, and laying around, a perfect time for me to tidy, but I don't.  I sit around with them and watch "a show"

So here is what my poor girl looks like:

Poor Girl!

The rest don't look much better.  

What else do we do when we are all stuck at home?  We play "swimming pool"

I can't believe I have this many kids!  :)

In other news, Cole is "Star of the Week" for his class.  He got to bring his favorite book, he had to make a poster of himself, he did show and tell.  So far, he seems to be having fun.  

This is Cole helping me with the poster (which I later found out we made too big, oh well)  He is blurry because he is always moving... :)  He glued the pictures on, helped cut out letters for his name, and oversaw the design of the poster.  Yes, he is sitting on the table.  I didn't get the picture of him jumping off the table... (the cereal boxes were for another project)

final touches

When cole saw his newborn picture he said, "is that what I looked like when I came to earth?"

There is a possible snow day tomorrow. I am waiting for the call, because there is like 1/4 inch of snow outside! :)

Haven't slept much, so my fuse is very short... yesterday, I made all the kids go upstairs to play, and I stayed down, just so I wouldn't lose my temper/say something I regret. Its so hard to stay positive when I am tired. I got a good night sleep last night, but still am not at 100% It takes a lot more to bounce back! I don't know how I did night after night in college...

Katy: Mom, its scrumptious!

That is what she says now anytime she likes something. It is so cute with her lisp.

Grace is loving our elliptical. She stands on one side until it moves, then jumps to the other side. I have a video, I will have to post it sometime.

When I am getting ready in the am, this is where Grace is. I love her!