October 28, 2008

Tonight we had fun carving pumpkins. This was the girls' first experience and they all loved it. Of course it took a minute or two to actually get their hands in the pumpkins to get the guts out (they're kind of like their mommy), but after they did it once, they didn't have a problem doing it again. For those of you that know me, and my hand fettish, I had a little bit of an issue with the guts on my hands and I never did get over it, until I washed them. Dirt and guts on my hands just aren't my cup of tea... The girls helped carve, they were patient while Jerry and I carved the pumpkins for them, and they loved seeing the results. After about an hour everyone had a breakdown, but that's to be expected, I think.... at least they all smiled for the camera, even through the tears.

October 27, 2008

Call us crazy, but this afternoon I took the girls to meet three of my friends and their children at Robinette's Apple Orchard. All 11 children that were there were in their Halloween costumes except, of course, Ally. She's just got a mind of her own and I just didn't feel like fighting with her. When we got to Robinette's the weather wasn't what you call warm, but at least it was sunny. While we sat inside eating our donuts and cookies and drinking hot cider, the weather started changing a little...by the time we made it outside I think it dropped to -10 degrees (ok maybe not that cold, but it sure felt that cold with the wind and the rain/snow mix). Good thing Lauren & Olivia had their warm costumes on because otherwise they would've been little frozen spiders...cute ones, but frozen wouldn't have been good. While the kids played on the slide, ran around for a bit, and got some pictures taken, the weather changed again and the sun came back out...amazingly it felt like it warmed up about 20 degrees, but don't get me wrong, it was still pretty darn cold outside, but at least it wasn't as bad. The kids had fun and we got a little adult time too.

After lunch Ally and I made cupcakes and after dinner everyone decorated their own Halloween cupcake...well, everyone except Lauren. She decided that decorating just isn't her thing, so she just ate her cupcake. First we made colored frosting, orange, "black", and white. We mixed up the food coloring with the frosting in ziplock bags. It was fun squishing it between our fingers, until the "black" got a hole and the outside of the bag got a little sticky. It still worked though, we just had to be a little careful. After making the frosting, we could actually frost them. We learned fast that if you squeeze the bag hard a lot of frosting comes out. So after our little lesson, we frosted away and made some really pretty...I mean, scary Halloween cupcakes. Our second lesson of the night was that we should've done the frosting and eating at the kitchen table instead of at the counter. Cake crumbs were all over the floor and frosting was, well, just everywhere.

October 26, 2008

I can’t believe another week went by and it’s almost November already. One day it’s 80 degrees (ok, maybe not 80, but a couple weeks ago it was) and the next day, or week, it’s snowing…WHAT? SNOW??? This must be Michigan…I am not ready for snow and freezing cold weather!

This weekend was another busy one. I feel like every weekend lately is busy, I guess because it is. Maybe next weekend we can have a relaxing one for once.

Friday night Jerry’s mom picked the girls up after dinner and took them for the weekend. (The above picture is the gift the girls left me to go with grandma. Are they sweet?) The girls love going to grandma and grandpa’s, but it doesn’t happen very often, too bad for mommy & daddy! Jerry and I went to dinner and went shopping, it doesn’t sound like a very exciting night, but for us, it was a night out on the town (since it never happens without kids).

Saturday Jerry had another hunting day. He didn’t get up at 3:30, but 4:30 he was up answering the phone because his hunting partners were calling. He laid back down for a little bit and was out the door by 5:30 am. He told me that they would have their limit of ducks or geese by 9:00, but that didn’t happen. He called me around 1:00 and said he got 1 goose, 1 duck, and 1 green-winged teal (which we’re not sure is really legal, so don’t tell anyone). These are NOT all Jerry's, but they are all the birds that were found between the three of them.

While Jerry was hunting, the girls were at grandma’s, I got a nice quiet morning to myself. I got to sleep in until about 8:15, then I got up made some hot chocolate, and started cleaning! It was GREAT! I didn’t get much done because I only had an hour and a half before I had to get ready. My friend, and roommate from college, Tammi, and I decided to drive across the state to Brockway, MI (which is in the thumb) for another one of our old roommate’s bridal shower. Yes, we’re crazy! It was a 2 ½ hour drive…each way! The shower started at 2:00, so we left around 11:30. We actually made pretty good time on the way there. We even got there early…which is a miracle in itself (Tammi’s not one to be on time for anything, let alone early to anything). So instead of being 20 minutes early we just drove into the little town of Brockway and sat in her car and talked for about 10 minutes. 5 minutes before the shower was supposed to start we decided to go find the hall that the shower was being held at…unfortunately the address that was on the invitation was wrong. It would’ve been really nice to know this in advance, but since we have never in our lives heard of Brockway, MI, we had NO IDEA where we were nor any idea where this hall was. Needless to say, the directions we had were obviously not right, the address we had brought us to the Dollar General. Even though it wouldn’t have surprised us if the freakin’ shower was at the Dollar General we didn’t see too many cars, so I decided to go into the Dollar General and ask where the “Speaker Township Hall” was located. You would think that someone that lived in the township would know where the hall was, especially since the township wasn’t that large, the two lady cashier’s had NO IDEA where the hall was located. My first thought was “are you kidding?” But then I thought, “what if there is no such place and we drove 2 hours to the middle of nowhere and now we have to drive home because there is no such place.” Luckily there was a customer that over heard the cashier and I talking and she knew where it was. After getting directions, Tammi and I left and headed out of Brockway to Speaker Township. We were only about 8 minutes late, which is still really impressive for Tammi! And the best part was we weren’t the last people to arrive. So we get to the shower and I tell Suzanne (the bride) that the address on the invitation was wrong and another woman over heard me and she said, “yeah, we drove right past it at first”, then another woman said the same thing…you think that someone would’ve said something just to tease the person that printed the invitations, but I guess I’m the only smart-ass that was a little irritated. Oh well…the most important thing was that we made it. So we stayed for the 2 hour shower and turned around and drove the 2 ½ hour drive back to normal-ville. At least I had good company in the car, otherwise the drive would’ve been not-so-good.

Tammi, me, Suzanne, Steffanie (our other roommate).

This morning was another sleep-in morning. Two days in a row is really unheard of at our house, well at least for me it is. I got up and was going to make Jerry breakfast, but he got up right after me. Ok, I still made him breakfast, which again, is unheard of at our house. And then we actually made it to church for the first time since…well, in awhile. After church we went to lunch with Paul and Amy and Michelle (a new friend from church). Then we were off to pick up the girls from grandma’s. Again, I stress, this must be Michigan because the weather on the way up to Howard City was a little bit of everything, sunshine, rain, wind, snow, hail, sleet…don’t worry, we made it just fine. We stayed for a little visit and then packed the car and drove home. The girls had a great time, were extremely spoiled, and a little wired from the HUGE bags of Halloween candy that grandma & grandpa gave them. But there was a slight accident today with the babies. They were playing, then fighting over the same thing, and Lauren wasn’t about to give up the item that Olivia wanted, so OG just bit her in the arm. Grandma didn’t go for that one, so OG had to sit in the corner for a couple minutes. Naughty OG! Other than that, I guess everyone was good.

Lauren & OG getting into Ally's Halloween candy...and loving it.

Another weekend has come and gone. Hopefully the week will bring as much excitement as the weekend.

October 21, 2008

Remembering the past, living the present, and praying for the future....

Today would've been my dad's 58th birthday! He's been gone for almost 4 years, it's hard to believe that time goes by so fast. I think the day he passed away will be imbedded in my memory forever like it was yesterday.

There are days that I get so angry with my dad because of his passing, day's like today when we should be celebrating his life, but here we are without his presence. Why do things like this happen to good people? His passing has taught me to treasure the times we have together on this Earth because one day the person/people that we love may be gone in a blink of an eye.

It's sad to think what my dad is missing out on. He never even knew I was pregnant with Ally when he passed away, even though I was. My children will never be able to play with their grandpa, never get to talk to him, never get to meet him. Thinking of these things makes me so sad and angry. I know he's looking down on us from heaven, but it's just not the same thing. He should be here with us.

Take care of yourself, your family, and remember to ALWAYS tell the people you love, "I LOVE YOU!"

October 19, 2008

I have decided that once you have more than one child you can handle just about anything…and of course I’m speaking from experience because my three definitely give me a run for my money!

Last night we had a fun sleepover with Jude and Ava (my best friend’s children). Jude and Ally are 6 months apart, so it was almost like having a set of twins (which is a piece of cake once you already have a set), and Ava is 6 weeks older than Lauren and Olivia, so it was almost like having a set of triplets (which isn’t a big deal once you already have a set of twins, what’s one more?). Can you imagine if someone really had that life??? You’re probably thinking that we’re crazy, but again I repeat, once you have more than one child you can handle just about anything. I didn’t know what we were getting in to, but I figured how bad could it be? And to my surprise, it really didn’t seem too much different, and quite frankly, it was almost easier because Jude and Ally played ‘normal’ together (you have to know Jude and Ally’s relationship to understand what ‘normal’ is, they act like brother and sister, they play, fight, and beat each other up) and the babies played nicely together too. They all entertained each other, so Jerry and I didn’t have to. AMAZING, it was almost like we got a vacation but in reality we had 5 kids!

So our adventure started around 4:00. Jerry took Ally and Jude in the Jeep and I took the three babies in the Yukon. Yes we took two cars because even though our Yukon is like a bus, it won’t fit 5 car seats. So off we drove to Marne, MI to Jerry’s sister’s house for his nephew, Marshall’s 2nd birthday party. Jerry called me about 3 minutes into our ride and all I heard in the background was Jude and Ally giggling and screaming. I had to laugh because all three of the babies had pacifiers in their mouths and I had a nice quiet car. Every once and awhile I would hear a squeak out of one of the girls, but for the most part they were quiet the whole ride. We made it to Marne all in one piece, thank God! While we were at Marshall’s birthday party the kids played with all the cool toys. Then we ate dinner, had cake, played outside, and helped open Marshall's birthday presents. Marshall has a blow up bounce house that the kids loved. It was a little small for all the kids, but no one got seriously injured so that’s a plus. All five kids playing together.
Jerry's sister, Arlene, her husband Marshall, and their son, the birthday boy, Marshall.
(Above) Ava, Olivia, and Lauren eating. (Below) Jude, Marshall, and Ally eating.

The kids opening Marshall's birthday presents while Marshall mows the lawn.

Once the babies started falling apart we knew it was time to head home. The ride home wasn’t as quiet for me as the ride there, but it still wasn’t too bad. Olivia just couldn’t sit still and decided that losing her pacifier was a good idea, until she couldn’t find it, she wasn’t too happy with herself once she figured out that she really couldn’t reach it. She wiggled a little and finally had it in her reach, but while she was wiggling she lost her blanket…so she was still upset. Maybe next time she’ll just keep her paci in her mouth.

When we got home the 3 babies went right to bed, while Jude and Ally got to eat popcorn and watch “Dora Puppies”, as Ally would call it. They were so cute snuggling on the couch together. After “Dora Puppies” we read a book and they went to bed. Ally fell right asleep because she didn’t have a nap, but Jude didn’t seem to want to fall asleep. Around 10:00 I went up to go to bed and he was still awake. He had the light on in the bedroom and told Jerry and I that he couldn’t go to sleep. We tried to make him comfortable by giving him a fan and a book to relax him a little. Within 20 minutes he fell fast asleep….and slept until 9:30 this morning. That’s amazing to me, because my children have NEVER slept in that long…EVER! Our girls had a great time and we hope Jude and Ava did too. We can’t wait to have another sleepover!

October 13, 2008

It was another busy, but fun weekend for us. Saturday Jerry got up at 3:30 to go duck hunting. Yes, 3:30 AM…but he was home by 1:00 pm…without a duck! He says he just likes the quiet, cool mornings sitting on the water…but anyone that knows him knows better! Saturday evening we had a party to attend. Paul and Amy’s engagement party was a huge hit for everyone that attended. The kids got to play on a blow up castle, the adults got to drink some beer and wine, and we all got to eat pig and cake. Besides the bugs trying to ruin the mood, what could be more fun? Paul and Amy, one of the only times I saw them together all night, but I was chasing after 3 kids for most of it…ok, I can’t fool you, grandma and grandpa and Amy really were, I was trying to get away from them!
All four parents toasting the lovely couple and welcoming each other into the families.

After recuperating from an exhausting evening, Sunday Jerry let me sleep in for a little while. It was a nice change for me. I was actually getting ready for the day ahead of me. We met some friends (Marty, Chancey, Logan, and Avery) at Klackle Orchard in Greenville. It was not the best idea we’ve had, but we thought it was a good one until we got there. The weather was perfect for picking pumpkins and apples, I think everyone in MI had the same idea… “let’s go pick some pumpkins and apples, it’s a perfect day for it.” Yup, I think everyone in MI was there. We didn’t accomplished much since we forgot the two most important things, the stroller and snacks! What kind of mother or father, forgets a stroller when you have 3 children under the age of 3 and a snack for 3 children under the age of 3? HELLO!!! Needless to say we played for about 2 hours, didn’t take the hay ride to the pumpkin patch, didn’t take the ride to the apple orchard, and left without looking back! But we didn’t leave without picking some apples on the way to the car. When we left Klackle we went to Dairy Queen and got some ice cream, but of course that couldn’t go well for us either, someone had to get hurt or it wouldn’t be a normal trip for us. Olivia somehow got her hand caught in the door after someone left. It was a little embarrassing that we weren’t watching our child until it was too late, but that’s pretty normal for us too. She screamed bloody murder, her fingers were indented and purple…not a pretty sight! The worst part was that it was her left hand, so she couldn’t even eat her ice cream by herself at first, but then we made her move her fingers. After she realized that they weren’t broken, she finally started eating by herself. What a trip….
When we got home, Lauren grabbed a bag of the apples, sat in the driveway, and started eating them again. Olivia sat down for a minute too, but she lost her apple, it rolled down the driveway so she had to run after it.

Today was a much more calm day for us. The girls and I had our friends Lindsey and Kyan over to play. Since the weather was still cooperating the kids played outside for a little while before lunch while Lindsey and I got a chance to talk. After lunch we played some more and then they left because it was naptime for everyone. Amazingly all 3 girls took a nap for me and slept good. Lauren didn’t wake up until Jerry got home from work (4:45), that’s amazing in itself! After dinner I took the girls for a walk with our neighbors Jamie and Josie. Then we came inside and had a dance party. The girls decided to get naked, go figure, and after the dance party they ended the night by drawing on the MagnaDoodles.

October 5, 2008

Camping is a past time, present time, and future time for our family. Jerry and I have gone camping together since we've been together, but since we've had children, we've kind of put it on the back burner. Our kind of camping the last 3 years have been going to my parent's cottage and sleeping in their motor home. This weekend we decided to rough-it. Ok, maybe not rough-it like Jerry and I used to do before kids, but it was roughing-it as much as we can with 3 kids.

So, it really wasn't as bad as I make it sound...my parents were there, my brother and his fiance' were there, and we all slept in the motor home with heat, water, and beds. But we were actually at a campground.

We went to Pentwater State Park, right on Lake Michigan. The weather was perfect, a little cool, but sunny with a slight breeze. Once the sun started going down a little the air cooled right off, but we had a camp fire of course, so that warmed us up.

Ally loved the slide. She kept going up and coming down, and going up and coming down. She could have slid all day!We took a walk on the beach and made the girls sit on the log for a picture. They're so excited about it, as you can see.Grandma bought Ally a Mickey Mouse kite. The weather was so perfect for flying a kite. She loved it and the $2 kite flew like the wind and was a HUGE hit for a 3 year old.Amy and Paul had a kite too. The girls loved watching them fly it too. They kept going after it, but of course it was a little more dangerous when it came crashing down. Don't worry, they stayed safe the whole time.

The girls loved camping and we plan to do more of it, next year...not anymore this year. Fall weather is just not my kind of camping weather. It's a little too chilly for me...and Lauren and Olivia too!The whole family! Amazing that we're all looking in the right direction.

October 2, 2008

WOW, does time fly or what! Lauren and Olivia are already 18 months old (actually 18 ½ months old now) and yesterday was their 18 month well child visit to Dr. Howard. The girls are still very tiny, but they are growing, so no concerns yet.

Lauren weighed in at a whopping 19 lbs. 13 ozs., which is technically not even on the charts. She’s just a little peanut! Olivia weighed in at 20 lbs. 13 ozs. (which is still pretty little), so that makes them exactly a pound different. And that’s about all that’s different about them (besides their personalities) because both their head’s measured 18 ½ inches and both their heights are 30 ½ inches. Olivia’s weight at least was on the chart at 7%. Both their heads are 75% and both their heights are 25%. We just have to work on both of them gaining some weight…so any suggestions are greatly appreciated!