Fun Day For The Girls

since everyone loves the thumb pictures.....
-especially for you, amanda :)







we had a fun day the other day at my aunt rachel's.
the kids held little husky puppies, ate lunch and decorated cupcakes, and then jumped in the hot tub.

they had a blast. there were 10 little girls 5 and under.....


















i don't want to speak too soon, but i think we may be turning a corner.

i think tekoa is finally slowing down, calming down, and thinking a little before she acts/climbs/jumps.
i think she's just growing up a bit (she'll be turning 3 in march) and starting to think about consequences before she acts.

i don't know, it just feels like things have been going pretty smoothly around here lately.

and wren has been sleeping a little better. she's going 6 or 7 hours without nursing at night. she's still up every 2 or 3 hours, but she's actually been going back to sleep without nursing. it is wonderful.
but, i had shaeya wake me up in the middle of the night the other night which is very rare. tyden is in our room at the first hint of a raindrop (he's terrified of thunderstorms), but shaeya isn't afraid of much.
i pulled her in bed and held her the rest of the night (which i loved- she's growing so fast, and just doesn't need me very much anymore...)
and in the morning i asked what happened and she said, "i wasn't scared, mom, i had a bad dream and i just couldn't snap out of it."
so cute.

dave and i are going to try going out with the kids tonight. we may be asking for disaster, but i'd like to eat out somewhere other than mcdonalds, and try to do a little shopping.
i'm sure we will end up saying at some point (or at multiple points) that it just isn't worth it (like we do every time,) but sometimes you just gotta get out.

is it spring yet??

A Week Later

it's been almost a week since my "chop my thumb off" incident and today is the first day that it actually feels like it's healing. of course, it hasn't helped that i've repeatedly ripped it back open.






lookin better, isn't it?

and the next picture is of another source of pain.




that tooth.
i almost wrote "that dang tooth" but then i erased it. you use a word once.....

anyway, she really knows how to use that thing.
i think it's funny that there's only one- not that i want the other one to come in anytime soon.

and here she is, showing you her latest skill. she's starting to get herself up on her hands and knees for a second (it's a big body to lift for too long.)






please take your time with the whole crawling thing, wren. i'm really not ready for that.

right now is one of those very rare moments when all 4 of them are in the toy room together and they're all laughing and having a great time. it's wonderful. it won't last long.

it's so cute how wren's face lights up when tyden and shaeya walk in the door after school. she just LOVES them. and they think that everything she does is so funny.

i have to admit that i've been incredibly LAZY today. i'm feeling a little guilty. but seriously, this is the first day in a VERY LONG TIME that i don't have anything major to get done.
the house is clean, i'm caught up on laundry and songs for music and baby books. i even touched up on some painting around the house over the weekend. and i cooked last night (yea, i guess i can't really quit that) so we're having leftovers tonight, and there are no major projects going on for the school.......so i'm feeling pretty free.

of course, i should've worked out, cleaned out some cupboards, came up with a song list for the kids at church- our "upstairs performance" for the whole church is coming up, and i should've called the nursing home back cause they want me to come and sing there sometime, but i decided all that can wait for tomorrow.
i sat on the couch all day and held wren while tekoa pretended to be a puppy and did tricks for me. it was fun. it was wonderful, actually.

oh, and i took some pictures :)

No More Cooking For Me....

so in a recent post i had deduced that showering was both overrated and dangerous. and now i must add cooking to my list of overrated and dangerous activities.

here's why:


(yesterday)






(today)

so if you can't tell (pictures just can't always capture the horror) i completely severed the tip of my thumb yesterday- including part of my nail.
with the lid of a can of all things.
it was pretty traumatic for shaeya, who was helping me get dinner in the crock pot.
she cried. and prayed for me. and brought me the camouflaged "hunting" band-aid.
something about the tip of my thumb just hanging to the side and the sink filled with blood really got to her.

yea, i should of taken pictures before i shoved it all back together but i was a little queasy myself.
i thought i was gonna have a deformed thumb forever, but then i put it all back together and it's actually healing nicely. just slows down my typing a bit, and hinders my ability to play guitar for music at school and church, and makes it really hard to tie little shoes and do little girl's hair......you get the idea.
i just don't know what's gonna happen with that chunk of nail that is cut off from the rest of the nail, but still attached to the skin which is sealing back on to my thumb- sigh.

everything else around here is going pretty well- except for this weather that is keeping me home tonight when i had plans to visit a good friend who just got engaged. this was actually our 2nd attempt at getting together- the 1st was planned for the last time we had snow and ice. we really know how to pick the nights.....

and then wren- i'm still battling her for sleep. i keep trying to get her to eat food to help fill her up, so she will sleep more than 2 or 3 hours at a time. but all my efforts are in vain. it all tastes just awful to her as you can see in this video.




i think the sleepless nights and the lack of sunshine are doing a number on me. i'm tired. and getting overwhelmed by all that is required of me. and my house looks like it exploded.

if i could just get a good night's sleep and sit in the sun for awhile i know i'd be doing better- i just know it :)

The Party

well, i survived the slumber party. it went really well.

we had our pizza, painted nails, and put on lots of tattoos.
then the girl's watched a movie, and took turns singing with a barbie karaoke machine.
lights went off at 11pm, but they didn't fall asleep until midnight.

i crawled in bed about 12:30am, fed wren around 3 am, heard the 2 little girls getting out of bed at 3:30am and put them back in bed, and then the older ones were all up at 5:58am.
so there wasn't a whole lot of sleep involved, but everyone had a good time.

on saturday, dave called his sister maria to come over and take his place cause he had a "house to finish up." i think it was code for "this was fun, but i'm done now," but he sticks to the house story. :)

i made "princess" pancakes (pancakes with pink sprinkles in them) for breakfast and then we played some games.
the last of them left around 1pm, and then i put myself and my kids to bed.

after a short nap and a long shower (during which no one tried to cut their hair off...:)
i got ready to go out with dave.
we headed out around 4 and didn't come back until 10:30 or so.
it was wonderful!!!!!!

here's a few pictures of the party.
when i look at these i can't help but think about how quickly they are growing and how much i wish we could keep them this close and this sheltered forever.
they are each so beautiful and so special to me.....i can only hope there will be many, many more "little girl" slumber parties here for many years to come.

The Annual Slumber Party

we're gearing up around here for our annual little girl's slumber party......i know it may sound crazy, but i think it's a lot of fun. and so do the girls. there'll be 7 counting mine- from age 2 - 6. and they are SOOO excited. and making lots of plans.......pizza, painting nails, watching "the black stallion" (with no prompting/forcing on shaeya's part), and sleeping in a (indoor) tent- are just some of what i've heard from them.
tomorrow is the big day- it's been one agonizingly long week for shaeya. :)

so in addition to cleaning, cooking, breaking up fights, teaching music at school and at church, laundry, trying (but mostly failing) to keep up with my work outs, planning a girl's night here for my cousins, never-ending dishes, shopping for a mattress for shaeya's new bed, helping tyden with homework, family night with my family, a birthday party for my niece, listening to shaeya's running dialogue about their plans, keeping up with koa (who emptied every drawer in her room during her nap the other day), and nursing wren around the clock this week, i am also planning the slumber party.

but i'm telling you- it'll be fun. and worth it.
and then on saturday night i get to unwind/regroup on a date with my wonderful husband.
i can't wait.

and putting the house back together will just have to wait until monday.....

oh yea, and one important part of my week that i forgot to mention-
the beginning of the new season of american idol. i look forward to it all year. and this is my first year that i have a dvr and can watch it all on my terms with no commercials or kids yelling during the performances. thanks dave!!!!!! ......he really is wonderful.

"Put Your Dang Kids To Bed"

okay, i don't usually post other people's words, but this seriously cracked me up!!
and it is all too true :)

and mom, just so you know- i didn't, haven't ever, will not start now, using the word "dang"
.....just to clear that up.


"I'm hereby offering advice to no one in particular. No one asked for it, and no one should vainly imagine themselves its intended audience. So be not offended. I didn't have you in mind. You probably think this song is about you? Don't you? Don't you?"

Put Your Dang Kids to Bed
"Seriously. You can do it.
If you want to have a marriage with some zing, put your dang kids to bed. Put them to bed EARLY. Put them to bed on time, the same time, every night, and make them stay there.
Then, go goof off with your wife. Laugh and talk and unwind and watch "Walker, Texas Ranger" until you can't laugh anymore. Be unproductive. Smooch. Do this every night.
Your kids need to sleep, and they can sleep. They actually don't have to get up every ten minutes. They're just doing that to get attention and delay bedtime. Don't allow it, or you're a PANSY.
This gives you -- and, more importantly, your wife -- some peaceful time, every day, to look forward to. Moreover, it lets you stay happily married. She's under less stress, you have time to connect, life is good, your marriage means something, and you remember you're not just roomies with junior-size roomies running around.

Don't just "help" with bedtime. SUPERVISE IT, ENTIRELY. Let your wife use that time as wind-down time, or to take care of last-minute things. Kids will want to make bedtime an endless parade of traditions, too, in order to stave it off. Don't let this happen. Make it as simple a process as possible. If you want to read a story, awesome! Just start early enough that the lights go off at the appointed time. Your kids will start to complain. Too bad. Lights off. Sweet dreams. Buh-bye.
Let them know that your time with your wife trumps all other considerations, and, after their bedtime, THEY are "other considerations." Kids resist this, but -- deep down -- positively love it.
7 p.m. is not too early for young children. Give yourself a couple hours together, not one or two nights a week, but five or six.
If she's stressed out every night, because of her job, let her quit her job. If you can't afford it, afford it. Sell stuff. Move. Rent. Forget the college fund. Don't buy dumb cars and houses and stuff to make yourself feel cool, and miss out on a joyous, stress-limited marriage. She can take care of herself. It'll give her time, and energy, to love her children, her neighbors, and you.
So you bought her a nice car? Who gives a rip? She'd rather drive an old mini-van and have you around, living life together at a sweet, beautiful pace. Even if she doesn't think she wants this, she does.
Quit buying garbage and live in a trailer if you have to. And put your trailer-kids to bed, for crying out loud. Don't let them get up unless it's an EMERGENCY. Smooch your wife.
There. Sheesh."


and just so you all know- this is definitely not me trying to speak to dave about anything-
he could've written this himself. he didn't- he just could've. :)
......without the "dang" of course, mom.

The Fun City Trip

here are some pictures from our trip- i know there a little overdue but i have been really busy.
and really tired.
i'm trying to get wren to sleep in her crib at night instead of in the cradle by our bed and it's not going so well.

anyway, we had a really good time at fun city. it was so great to have time with the family and to catch up with my cousins and aunts.

the kids had fun also- as you can see from the pictures :)



okay this one was actually before we left- but i thought it was cute. and funny. i walked into the livingroom and found them like this :)






there wasn't much sleeping involved in this little set up....:)






miss livie- she's wishing her aunt michelle was holding her instead.










you gotta love a fat girl in a little bikini :)


this video was from the drive home. wren was a little slap happy. i caught the tail end- it had been going on for quite some time before i finally dug out the camera :)





but that's it for now- i'm beat. and i'm ready to sit down with my husband and relax for a bit.

i have just one story to tell before i sign off.
today i stepped out of the shower to find tekoa standing there in my bathroom.
with the scissors. wide open and all poised to cut a huge chunk of hair off the side of her head.
i caught her just in time- about 2 more seconds and she would've chopped.
i tell you....showering is just overrated- and dangerous.