Redheaded Rampage

And the winner is...

2011-11-23T06:02:00.000-08:00

We have been in our house for a few months now and we have realized we need to improve a few things. One of these things is that it only has one bathroom. Another is the kitchen. There is not nearly enough coutnertop space and there just seems to be a wall in the way. If you have ever been to our old house you know how we feel about walls. We recognized both of these things from the very start but herein lies the dilema. We can only really take on one project at a time, so which one? Over the last few months we have had the privelage of people coming over, some for just a few hours some for a few days! During this time we have been keeping track of what remodel would be the best one to do first, the kitchen or the bathroom. When a kid runs in from outside, in desperate need for a bathroom only to find a "NO VACANCY" sign we would give a point to the bathroom. When I would be in the kitchen cooking for the masses and run out of space for the food we would chalk another point up for the kitchen. Not to mention that I would be missing the terribly interesting conversation going on between the occupants of the living room- add another point! Then that same night someone would be brushing their teeth while another is waiting (albeit patiently) for a shower we would have to dole out another point for the bathroom. And on and on we would go about giving points here or there.
Ultimately, after all is said and done we had to make that really hard decision... I am happy to report that the kitchen won! It was actually pretty easy. My mom called one day and said that it had occured to her that she hadn't informed me of their thanksgiving plans. My aunt sue from Colorado and her husband were going to be in town and so we are going to get together, oh and by the way it is at your house. Was basically how the conversation went! As soon as I heard that news the decision was made... let's knock a wall!
My incredibly talented father came over the beginning of November and designed this awesome new kitchen for us. We had spent some time thinking about what we would do. Cut this wall down, add in a couple of cabinets, in an L shape and of course a bar. Sure it would eat into a lot of our walking space in our kitchen, kind of making it more galley-like, but who cares! The extra cabinet and countertop space would be worth it, right? The bar would protrude well into the dining room, but you can always just squeeze through, right? Well then mom and dad came in and blew our socks off with a completely new idea and I have to say, we are thrilled with the results so far! Of course, a remodel isn't excactly the best time in the world to misplace a camera so we don't have a whole lot of pictures of the process. But what we do have I will post on facebook when it is all said and done.
None of this would be possible without the amazing talents of my father and his incredibly patient wife. So thanks again Mom and Dad!

Ready or Not

2011-09-24T11:01:00.000-07:00

Life has resumed, ready or not. The kids have settled into a routine here. Like I mentioned in a previous post, there are a TON of children in this neighborhood. Not a day has gone by that the kids haven't spent time outside playing with the neighbor children. They are all great kids so this new habit is sitting very well with me. I used to have to force my children to play outside! Now I have to beg them to come in. It has proved to be a useful tool to get the basement cleaned each evenig as well!
Work is work for both Tim and I. It will be nice when both of us settle into a routine as far as work goes. Between my three jobs it really feels like I am working full time. This is nice, for obvious reasons, we have some pretty ambitious goals, but figuring out how to keep the house clean and the clothes cleaned and kids cleaned has been a bit of a challenge. We are working on this...

School has started, ready or not. So far we are... surviving. I have a lot of ideas of how to run "my school". I look forward to the day that all of these ideas are put into practice and I can say we are thriving. That day is not today. We are still doing okay. Like I said, we are surviving. The kids have their different strong suits, and it has been really interesting seeing how they differ. They both love it when we do art, nature walks and singing, however Peyton is going to be a little reader where Veronica would much rather do ten math lessons in place of one reading lesson. She is just not motivated in that area. But her penmanship is excellent, where getting peyton to write a straight line is a struggle. Like I said, they are two very different kids, and I am thankful for the opportunity to get to know them this intimately. Now not wanting to bop their heads together when they are challenging me that is another story... (don't worry thus far their heads are bop free!)

Church responsibilities are abounding, ready or not. It never really felt like they took a break so this isn't all that different. The part that is new is that the children have started their classes again. When I told the kids that we were going to be going to "church school" the first day the results were a little unexpected. They literally got up from their chairs, started jumping up and down, hugging each other and screaming. I was ecstatic to see this response, to say the least.
I am teaching again this year, 3 different sessions, which is a bit much. I really enjoy sharing this time with the children though, so whatever hardship three sessions may be it is made up for by the children and joy I receive from them. I am also very involved with the Respect Life Group both at our church and in the diocese. This is definitely where my passion lies and I am excited to be a part of this life saving movement.
Tim is Grand Knight at our parish, and the responsibilities this includes are many. WAY more than when he was just deputy. I am not sure he was expecting this, but I think he is handling his new role admirably. In just a couple of weeks he will be going through his Fourth Degree, the highest level as a Knight of Columbus. He just bought his tux and is very excited for this ceremony. I am delighted for him. Between all of these activities we have meetings or sessions nearly every night. This makes for a busy schedule, but ulitmately we are glad to offer this to our Lord.
Children are growing fast, ready or not. Veronica will be seven in just one short week, Felicity will be three. These girls are getting so big, so fast. Felicity is close to being potty trained, and in light of three other children, a move and working full time, I am pleased with this development. Sure the other ones were done with diapers (even overnight) by the time they were three or there abouts, but life changes and so do our expectations. The fact that she is even a little bit potty trained is a source of happiness for me! Her language has also grown leaps and bounds in the last few weeks. I am sure there are only a precious few that understand what she is saying, but at least she is talking! As for Veronica it seems sometimes that she is a grownup in a seven year old's body. She is so helpful with Justice and around the house. The things she says and the way she acts makes me want to just stop time and keep her like this forever. Other times she acts like a 5 year old in a seven year old's body and I am reminded that she is indeed seven and I look forward to her growing up. Peyton and Justice are doing great right now too. Peyton is a typical five year old. Whatever that means. Justice is a sweet baby, he is teething right now, so it is really important for us to remember he is a sweet baby.

Well ready or not, life goes on. And as you can tell, there is a lot going on right now. We continue to count our blessings and just know that this (craziness) too shall pass. Either that or we will adapt and crazy will become our new normal. Whatever the case may be, right now is our time to thrive, ready or not.

My kids are a bit wild today!

2011-08-18T11:48:00.000-07:00

So after one month of being homeless we finally have a home. We closed on our new house on July 29th. Justice's half birthday. When I think of it this way I can do nothing but be amazed at the greatness of God. I had no idea, when Justice was born that our life would go the way it has. We owe a lot to my dad for even making that crazy, hairbrained suggestion that we try to qualify for a mortgage while still having a mortgage! Who knew that we would even qualify for anything let alone enough to purchase this home. Who knew that finding great renters would just fall into place the way it did. Obviously God did, and after all this time I don't know why it still amazes me, but it does.

So what is life like now you ask? Well much the same it has been for the last couple of months. In fact, one day recently, we still lived at my parents house, Veronica was playing mom, her children were Jon (my nephew), Felicity, and Peyton, she was trying to get them to do something and finally she threw herself into a chair, looked at me and said "my kids are a bit wild today." I told her I knew the feeling! In fact it pretty much sums up my life to this point.

So the house: We purchased a split foyer home in North West Ankeny. It has three bedrooms one bathroom upstairs, and one bedroom and one bathroom that needs remodeling downstairs. When I say needs remodeling that includes needing a sink and toilet, shower and a floor because presently there is not any of those things.
There is a fresh coat of paint throughout the house as well as new carpet. We have a fenced in backyard, which has been really nice for the dogs (excluding the times the dogs figured out how to get out!) and a really weird three tier deck that I am starting to get used to. We have a formal dining room and living room. The kitchen is an eat-in kitchen that we will eventually tear a wall down and put in a bar to open it up and add more cabinet/countertop space.
The bedrooms are all pretty good sized. For the first time the kids have room to play in their bedrooms so each of them have a few toys that they get to keep in there. This has worked out pretty nicely. The master bedroom is also huge!! We actually have a rocking chair in our room.
There is a pretty big playroom in the basement which is also nice for the kids. Also in the basement is another living space, where we have a love seat and four chairs, as well as a game table and our desk. It is pretty big!
As for the neighborhood- I feel like we moved to a small town. We have great neighbors, all very friendly. Everyone knows everyone, we have already had a block party and it has become pretty evident that 4 children in a family is by no means a large family on this block. There are sooooo many kids! It was a bit of an adjustment the first week we lived here. Little kids rang the doorbell what felt like constantly asking if the kids could come out and play. Just about the time when our kids were going to bed, the rest of the neighborhood really started hopping. We have worked on boundaries with the kids and I am sure it will all settle down as the school year progresses!

All in all we are pretty excited about the house. We have had to do a few repairs, but nothing too hard for us (Tim) to do, and not too expensive. We have a lot of other projects we want to do but nothing pressing. As each day goes by it starts feeling more and more like home. I can feel the "wild" is starting to subside just a bit. We are getting settled into the house and neighborhood and we are close to starting school again. Whatever normal is is starting to return. Until that day actually arrives you will just have to excuse me because my kids are a bit wild today!

Cautiously Optimistic

2011-07-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

Hello faithful blog readers from your not so faithful blogger. Due to my facebook hiatus I have decided to try to become a more active blogger. A lot has changed over the last year. One of the biggest things has been the birth of our fourth child, Justice Burke Loraditch. He is a doll and truly a joy to be around. However, now the blog's name is in question. It could be changed to three redheaded monsters and one sweet brown haired baby!

So, cautiously optimistic, that is the way we are living these days. We trust God has a great plan for our lives, He just hasn't revealed it to us. Currently we are a household of six living with a household of two. Yes, we have moved BACK in with my parents. So far it is going well, as far as we are concerned. Who knows, mom and dad may have a different story.

Why are we living with mom and dad, you ask? Well, we put an offer in on a house back in MAY that was accepted and we were due to close in June. We decided not to try to sell our house, with the market the way it is now, so we searched for the first part of June to find a renter. We did, and we think we found a good one, everything was settled there, we would close on the 20th of June and she would move in on July 1st. That was the plan anyway, our plan. By mid June it became apparent that we would not be closing on the 20th, maybe the 24th, maybe the 27th, maybe July sometime! It was time to move out of our house, but where, we didn't know. We busted our bums getting out of our house, getting it in some sort of nice shape before new people would move in. So with our stuff tucked safely at Kelly and Sven's, Mom and Dad graciously allowed us to move into their home, it was only going to be a week or so, no big deal. That was the plan anyway, our plan.

It quickly became apparent that we weren't going to be closing by July 6th, maybe the 13th, maybe the 15th, maybe the 20th. Now it is extended to the 26th and things are looking bright(er). There is hope that we may close within a few days of that very date. That is the plan anyway, our plan. Who knows, all we can do is stay cautiously optimistic.

As far as the blog goes I encourage you to do the same. I am going to do my best to keep updating the blog. I can't promise pictures, I can't promise posts, I can't promise anything even remotely entertaining, but I hope to provide some combination of all of the above. That is the plan anyway.

And the hits keep coming...

2010-04-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Peyton comes up to me in all seriousness this afternoon with a burning question. "Mom, when I grow up and play baseball for the cubs, can I use this bat?"

"It HAS the cubbies on it!"

The things kids say

2010-04-14T09:33:00.000-07:00

So Peyton has a new owie on his pinkie, actually quite a big chunk of skin has been removed. Anyway, while doing a little first aid today Ronni asked Peyton why he was having a bandaid if there wasn't any blood anymore. I told her because it would help the skin heal faster. So she asked Peyton how long he would be wearing the bandaid and he said, "till summer" She apparently didn't think this was out of line at all and was satisfied with his answer. As soon as I got the bandaid on though, Peyton said, "I feel so bad for myself, Ronni do you feel bad for me?" R- "Yes, Peyton, I should have prayed for you and your pinkie at church, I would have said, please make peyton's finger better, we pray to the Lord, Lord Hear our Prayer!"

Wow, all the while I was thinking, do I put this on facebook or actually blog because I knew it was shareworthy!

The things kids pick up

2010-03-09T14:53:00.000-08:00

As you may have heard, we are in another biggest loser competition. It is really great to see the changes it has made for our family. Forget the weight loss, I think it is great that my kids asked if McDonald's is healthy, to which I answered no, and then a week later when we ate at McDonald's they asked why we were eating there if it wasn't healthy. Also, I love that they ask all the time if this food or that food is healthy. However, what I heard today takes the cake. Ronni was talking on a pretend phone and said, "15 calories? You have to be kidding me!"
Here is a Peyton nugget- As we were leaving my parents house the other day Peyton almost fell down the stairs. My mom asked if he was okay and he said "Yeah, my guardian angel catched me".

A Sensitive Heart

2010-03-07T21:27:00.000-08:00

No I am not talking about myself. Veronica has such a kind heart and apparently a sensitive one too. Today we were watching a movie and when it became apparent that the main character was sacrificing himself to save the world, we heard this odd noise. It was Veronica weeping, full fledged sobbing. Words can not express the way my heart felt when I heard her crying because she was sad that someone (an animated figure, no less) was getting hurt, I just wanted to reach out to her and try to make everything better for her. Thankfully Daddy jumped right up and cuddled her and we found out within a minute or two that he indeed lived! But for those few minutes, our little girl was heartbroken... so was I.

All I can think of now is being careful to guard her heart so as to not lose that sensitive nature that makes her so special. She can only watch so many movies with this kind of thing in it before she is desensitized. I look forward to Veronica growing up and seeing what kind of person she becomes, I pray she takes this compassion and love for others (animated or real) and does something great, I am sure she will!

I did it!

2010-03-05T11:27:00.000-08:00

I was trying to go a whole month without blogging, and it is safe to say, I did it. It is also safe to say, it wasn't hard and I wasn't trying! Without even blinking February went by and now here we are in March. I have plans of doing a better job blogging, but then, I have said that before.

The problem wasn't that there wasn't anything to say, there was a lot going on in February. A very special little boy turned 4, we went to a hotel to celebrate. We were running this way or that way the entire month, which, for the month of February is good. Normally this is the month where I am most affected by the winter doldrums, that hasn't been the case this year, despite record amounts of snow fall and cold and days below 40 and days without the sunshine...

So here we are in March and things are going well. I have a few things I can update you with for the kids, pictures to come later.

Veronica, last week she had a couple of blog worthy moments. The first, we got a lot of candy from Tim's work and there are two types of suckers, blow pops with a gum center and tootsie pops with a chocolate center. I asked her if she wanted the tootsie pop and she said, "No thanks, I will have the other one because I am fast forwarding from chocolate." I was very impressed that she remembered that she wanted to fast from chocolate during lent, the second day of suckers in the house didn't fare as well! :) Also, she was holding Felicity and exclaimed. "Wow, you are a lot heavier than last week!"

Peyton turned four on February 17th, Ash Wednesday, so we celebrated his birthday early. Thanks to my sister in law, Sarah, I found a great deal on priceline for a hotel, we went and had a marvelous time. It was nice to have something to break up the monotony of winter. I think it may be a yearly tradition for our family. Peyton has all kinds of Peyton-isms, his most recent, 'that is rediculous". And he says it in the most matter of fact way, that is impossible not to laugh. He also says, that is weird- all the time, I am afraid he offended someone at our church because he called him weird, really the guy was very funny and the kids all loved him but "You are weird", didn't quite convey that message. We have since tried to curb the "weird" statements.

Felicity, OH BUG! She is crazy right now. I think she is teething four teeth and is just having a terrible time. Just ask my mom, dad, grandma, my aunt Diane, my cousin Kimmy or any other poor soul that had to be around her these past few days! She just is having a rough time. I don't ever remember this with my other children, but they all have teeth, so either I got really lucky or it is a passing thing that I will forget someday!

As for Tim and I we are great. You can count us among the millions of people that would say that the Biggest Loser (the TV show) has changed our lives. We are in a new and improved weight loss competition with 14 other people, and both of us are really changing our lives. We both get in about 3 hours of exercise each week and are really trying to watch what we eat. So far since the week before the competition, I have lost 28 lbs and tim has lost nearly 15 (over 25 pounds since our first biggest loser competition last year!). Tim is back into the pant size he wore in college (wish we wouldn't have gotten rid of those clothes!) and I am in a size I have NEVER worn before, not even in high school. We both feel so much better and I am hoping for a really active spring/summer!

9 Years on the 19th

2010-01-19T09:26:00.000-08:00

Today should be a good day, my mother turns the ripe old age of... yeah right like I am actually going to publish that on the blogosphere! But it is her birthday and that is exciting.

Also, 9 years ago today was the first day Tim and I started dating, and 8 years ago today he proposed. It has been a wild ride at times, but wonderful. Tim is a great man, and I am a lucky (read that blessed) woman! Thank you Tim for the past nine years I look forward to 90 more, er... who knows? I guess I will take what I can get and be thankful!

Laundry Day

2010-01-18T14:17:00.000-08:00

So today was spent watching movies (2 and still counting!) and doing laundry (5 and still counting), doing school and spending way too much time on facebook. It was an absolutely awesome day! The kids were wonderful, waking up after 8:30 (which always helps) and rarely argued. It is days like these that makes me think that winter isn't so bad... we will see how long that lasts! Anyway, I was very surprised that I could do school and laundry in the same day. I am very happy that worked out though because we take fridays off every week and I would not like to spend my day off every week doing laundry! Oh yeah, and it is pajama day! It doesn't get much better than this!

One sad bit of news I found out while on facebook a girl that went to my highschool's baby has passed away. What a tragedy and I wanted to offer up my prayers for her and her family! As well as all of the people suffering because of the earthquake in Haiti.

"Write your sorrows in the sand and your blessings in stone!"

I love...

2010-01-12T13:08:00.000-08:00

That my children chose to eat Raisin Bran and Smart Start for breakfast this morning.
That Felicity can use a spoon to eat Rice Krispies from a bowl!
That Ronni loves math.
The movie Ever After.
The picture Ronni drew me of a scene from Ever After.
That my children love the movie the Sound of Music as much as I do.
The scene from sound of music where Leesel and Rolph are dancing in the Gazebo.
The fact that I ate pizza for lunch and didn't have to dip it in ranch!
That my children ate pizza for lunch and didn't even ask for ranch!
That Felicity carried her plate and fork to the dishwasher and put both in the proper spot and then pushed the bottome shelf in and then closed the door!
That my children sat and listened to the Little House on the Prarie.
That Ronni said she was going to love this book because there were Indians in it.
That Peyton can talk on the phone with Daddy and make some sort of sense.
That Peyton giggles and says things are wierd all the time.
That I get a nice break in the middle of the day where I can do what I want to do!
Everything about this day.
It has just been, since this morning when the children woke up, a delightful day. School went very smoothly and the kids (for the most part) have played very nicely together. This is quite a difference from a week ago and for that I am truly thankful!

Goals for 2010!

2010-01-06T12:39:00.000-08:00

Financial:
1. Emergency fund of $1000.
We recently have found the magic of Dave Ramsey, and his Financial Peace University. We haven't taken the class, maybe that would have motivated us a bit more, but we are happy with the way things have gone thus far. We have payed off both of our cars and have no credit card debt. Now we we need to build up an emergency fund and then make sure we don't tap into it unless it is an ACTUAL emergency!
2. Pay off Genny’s two smaller school loans.
FYI- school loans are debt!! Ours seem like such a mountain to climb that up until a few months ago I didn't even want to try. But we are breaking them up into smaller amounts and hopefully after a while we will be able to see actual progress. Baby steps up a mountain...
3. Save for special events; Kaela’s wedding, Colorado trip, cash only.
This is a big one for us because we never really paid much attention to Dave Ramsey's rule about cash only, we have put things on interest free credit cards and paid them off as soon as we could, tv, snowblower to name a few recent things. We never really saw it as a big deal until now. We know we have some pricey things we want to do in 2010 and for once we are going to try to do it without accruing any debt. I am sure we will spend our cash on hand more wisely with the idea that we can't do things we want to do if we don't have the money to do it. What a concept!
4. Start saving for a 20% down payment on future house by paying extra money to our current home loan.
Ever since we had Veronica's fifth birthday party in our house it has been clear to us that this house doesn't meet all of our wants. It fits our needs ok, but we like to throw parties and I like to be able to send the kids to a play room when they have friends over or I just need a break. Our home will work for us for now while we really try to pay off some school loans and save for a big down payment, but this is definitely a goal I would like to work toward more seriously.

House:
1. Finish all misc projects, before any new projects can start.
2. New shelving units in the basement.
If we are going to live here for any extended amount of time we need to have a place to put things. My new motto, a place for everything and everything in it's place! It has worked pretty well in our new bedroom but the stockpile of coupon items seems to be taking over the basement- we need to do something to manage this better!
3. Move Veronica and Felicity into same room and Peyton into his own.
4. New Shelves in closets.
The kids are starting to really grow into their own interests. Some of them are (like momma and daddy) board games and computer games, and we just need a place to put them all!
5. Seriously consider insulation in attic and back room.
The other night after a shower in the freezing cold basement, I went into our bedroom and the temp said 45 degrees, that is just too COLD! This goal needs to be moved to the top of the list!

Personal
1. Eat healthier meals
During our first biggest loser competition (we are currently in our second- and hopefully the message will resonate a bit better and this will be our last) my sister and her husband and our family would get together for Healthy Mondays! This really helped get our week started out on the right foot and we really enjoyed this time together. My husband got me a Biggest Loser cookbook for Christmas so hopefully we can start this tradition again and I won't have to search nearly as much for some healthy recipes!
2. Start a regular exercise routine, time to tone!
It doesn't do a person much good to lose weight if they are still really flabby and aren't seeing much difference in their waistline. I really hope to rectify this in the coming months!
3. Swim in a triathlon.
My cousin and I are talking about teaming up with another friend and doing a team triathalon, where one persona rides the bike one person swims and the other person runs. I think this would be a lot of fun and a good way to acheive some goals- such as becoming a more fit person!

Familial:
1. Family Date nights!!!
We have done this a few times and each time we do we enjoy it. I don't know why we don't do it more often, probably just laziness and a lack of a routine. If I were to really rate my goals, this would be number two, right below the part where I talk about not freezing to death in my room at night!
2. Home school 4 days a week.
We have started this already and so far so good.
3. More family prayer time.
I have a plan to incorporate this more into our daily life. It seems to me the things that are best for us are the things we are most willing to brush aside. I know God's promises, and I believe them, still it is hard to give up what I want to do for what HE wants me to do, even though in my heart I know I will be better off!

My friend published goals of hers last year and then did an update midyear. I was amazed to see all she accomplished with the passing of (not very much) time! This blog post isn't really for any of my faithful readers (do I still have faithful readers after two posts in the last six months?) it is for me, something where I can see what I have said is a goal and then in a couple of months come back with an update and (hopefully) see tangible results!

Another Drought

2009-12-29T16:56:00.000-08:00

Ended!!! Soon to come a list of goals for 2010, inspired by fellow bloggers. Hopefully updating this blog on a more regular basis will be one of my goals! Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and has a Happy New Year!

Look who's...

2009-10-28T10:56:00.000-07:00

WALKING!!! Felicity has just taken off and walking is now the preferred mode of transportation. Her favorite things are still the same, the xbox and the computer, but now she walks, no RUNS, to play with them. She is growing up fast!

Be sure to check out this updated post!

a BIG day for Felicity!

2009-10-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

Check out this video!

Check this out!

2009-10-12T09:42:00.000-07:00

My friend Mary and her daughter made this for us. It inlcudes her 2 children and my three...
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/UJ0NC3xEzku95uW9

This is a new one, Peyton is the mad scientist, Tim is Frankenstien, Genny is the werewolf, Ronni is the bride and Felicity is the Vampire... fitting.
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/rWB1HftTWObRhn3z

This one has a few devries kids in it...
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/l6R0SopKkTfetmLP

You're not the boss of me!

2009-10-12T09:08:00.000-07:00

I am forever going to be haunted by these words. I became a legend of sorts in my family when I was about four, I told my (formidable) grandpa that he was not the boss of me. I hear this story nearly every Christmas, or at least everytime people start talking about "Old EJ". I used to think it was cute and was proud of my 4 year old self, but now that I am a parent, each time I hear it, I am secretly hoping that my parents, once over the shock, took me out back and taught me a lesson about respect. That being said today is not the first time that those words have been uttered in my house. The first day I heard these words I decided (however unwisely) to make them the boss of each other. Ronni had to listen and do whatever Peyton said and vice versa. I really haven't heard too much about bosses since that day. I thought perhaps whatever I was trying to teach sunk in. Well this way of thinking was pre-5 year old Ronni. This was the conversation at lunch.

R- Peyton we need to pray
P- You are not the boss of me
R- Acutally, I am the boss of you
P- No you are not, Mommy is the boss of me
R- I am almost six so I AM the boss of you.

The conversation continued with Ronni counting out how old she will be for the next 10 years, and then I will be seven and then I will be eight and then I will be... I ended the conversation by saying it was time to pray becuase I AM the boss of them!

(for any of you wondering, ronni has been 5 for a week and a half- naturally almost 6)

As an added side not, my kids are really into rhyming right now. The word they were just talking about was duck. So far I have heard, ruck, truck, luck... I am hoping they stop there.

All I want for Christmas Updated

2009-09-26T15:37:00.000-07:00

Is my two front teeth!

This blog post is dedicated to my littlest redhead, Felicity. Or as Tim likes to call her, Lissy, or as Peyton likes to call her Lissy-bug, or as Veronica likes to call her Gissy. (I don't mind the first two ;) Felicity is getting so big, nearing her first birthday, October 4. Right now she has four teeth that are almost all of the way in. Her two bottom middle teeth and the ones right next to her two front teeth, on the top. I could have titled this blog, I vant to suck your blood... she literally looks like she has vampire fangs, it is hilarious!! Her two front teeth are starting to break through, maybe by Christmas she won't look so goofy, maybe. I will post a picture of this when i get a chance... I used this picture as inspiration during Papa Pumpkin Camp! In the background is the pumpkin Tim carved. Introducing, Felicity Vampire!

Felicity is also almost walking, she will pull herself up to almost anything,a couch a chair, the wall a tonka truck, you name it. Speaking of tonka truck, this is, coincidentally, her new favorite toy. She likes to climb inside it and just lounge, every once in a while her sister or brother will drive her around the living room. This is how she rolls...

I am a little concerned for my future. She absolutley knows when she is being a bit mischevious, and absolutely doesn't care. If she gets caught she gives it up, but if you don't catch her she is home free! How I know this? Well, if she is holding anything that is not hers or isn't a toy if you walk anywhere near her she will automatically hold out her hand as if to give you the offending item. I have known for a while that this is a worrisomer trait in her but never have i been worried as much as today. I walked in from outside and she was playing with a lesson book I have for ronni that I left on the floor. I was just watching her for a little while, then she saw me. She opened the book and literally tried to climb in, basically hide herself in the pages. The closer i got the louder she laughed! I knew, for certain, at this moment that I am in big trouble where Lissy is concerned! I am sure she is not at all unlike another third child I have known in my life. (I may or may not be referring to myself)

She also did something really sweet tonight. With any of my other children we never really used a pacifier, we made sure they knew how to suck on one just in case, but never made sure we had one when leaving the house and going somewhere special. With Lissy we have definitely used it more, sparingly still, but more. The thing is is that she really likes the pacifier. If she could pick a favorite thing in the whole wide world, it would be the pacifier. Anytime a child would come over to my house, she would find their carseat in order to find a pacifier, and she has been rewarded many a time by a nice juicy pacifier just waiting for her to steal. Sometimes it didn't matter if a baby was in the carseat and the pacifier was in their mouth she would ultimately steal or try to steal the pacifier. Today we have are a watching a couple of kids for a friend. Sure enough there is a baby and sure enough there is a pacifier. Felicity is stoked I am sure. Anyway, the little boy was crying and felicity went over to him, took the pacifier off of the floor next to him and rather than put it in her mouth she picked it up and held it out to him. It was so sweet! Then after he stopped crying she took the pacifier out of his mouth and tried to hand it to me (still not putting it in her mouth).

Another sweet thing she does right now, kisses. She has for a few months, anytime you ask for kisses she will open her mouth and lean towards your mouth saying, "AAAHHH". She will also say a few words. She has been saying momma and dadda since about april, but lately she will say a few more. A lot of times she will say them a bunch of times on the first day she says them and then anytime you prompt her again it is hit or miss. For instance, when the Bills won their first game of the season she said touchdown. She also has said diaper. She is one of our best diaper changing babies yet. She will go to the closet where the diapers are, take one out of the drawer (with a little help) close the drawer and then close the door and then go to the diaper that you lay on the floor. I can't say enough about this sweet little girl, she just melts my heart.

My little girl is getting big, it really is crazy how fast time flies!

It's been a long time

2009-09-26T15:35:00.000-07:00

You know it has been a long time since you have posted on your blog when:

Your url doesn't come up in your history

When you can't remember exactly what your url is

When you have to find your blog via a search engine

When you (finally) get to your blog and you forgot that you even posted the last post

When you are talking to no one when you blog because it has been so long people don't even come to your blog and check it unless directly told to...

The strangest thing

2009-08-19T06:00:00.000-07:00

Ronni just came running into the living room and kind of stumbled because she has dress up shoes on. I literally just said these words to my daughter, " it's kind of hard to walk in high heels isn't it, Ron?" And as matter of factly she said back, "Yeah, it is"... For some reason I didn't think we would ever have a conversation like this, looks like my little girls is growing up...

Works for Me

2009-08-13T05:51:00.000-07:00

If anyone has ever wanted a pretty good resource for parenting, here is the best one I have found. It is called, Rasing Godly Tomatoes, and it is basically a book online. It is pretty straight forward and easy to read. Here is the hyperlink, I would encourage you to check it out. It has everything from Potty training to sitting still in church to sibling rivalry. There are somethings I actually do disagree with, but it is the closest thing I have found to be, in my opinion, a good parenting style- online. It may not work for everyone, but it works for me!Here is the book, it is by L. Elizabeth Krueger. I have never bought a parenting book before, and to be honest have never really read one either, I am seriously considering purchasing this book, if that tells you how good I think it might be!

Giant Heads

2009-08-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

So a few weeks ago Ronni asked me out of the blue, "Mom can we go and see the giant heads?" Giant heads, what the heck is she talking about? But the kids didn't drop it, finally this past weekend, they showed a placemat I had purchased that has all the presidents on there and a picture of said giant heads. Sure enough our kids just requested we go and visit Mount Rushmore! So now, Tim and I are planning our first whole family vacation! The kids are super excited to know that sometime after peyton turns four and Ronni is almost six we are going to get to go. So excited in fact, every morning since Peyton has asked us if he is four. We are gearing up to start homeschooling and I am pretty sure I have found a year long topic in which to study! Thanks, kids, get ready to learn about the giant heads.

"Wow"

2009-08-04T05:57:00.001-07:00

"That was just about all they could say, Wow". This tagline from one of my favorite children's books, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, by Kevin Henkes and it pretty much sums up my July.

We spent most of July working on art projects. The kids went to their grand parents house for a week and my cousin Jeanna from Nevada came for a week as well as my cousin Ivy. We had Tricia camp, and it was a blast! I made a mosaic and a cool bracelet and we did a murder mystery dinner party. I was Wilma Winterflood and I was posh (that is a fancy word for fancy). I excelled in all the social graces as well as tapestry. (I will add some pictures in here at some point.) Getting ready for this special event was such a wonderful time, I did most of my cousins makeup and hair, it was a neat bonding experience.

We had a week at home, in which I started a new semi-full time job, doing daycare out of my home for a few weeks. Then more family came into town, my cousin Tiffani and my aunt Polly. We had pool party after pool party and did another fancy art project. I never knew myself to be

such an artist! It was certainly fun dabbing into the world of creativity for a few weeks.

Then this past weekend we headed south to visit my brother for his birthday. It was sort of like FuToN weekend only there were more girls and for a few hours there was no one was playing a video game. I don't know how the XBOX handled being neglected for 2 whole hours, but it (they-

afterall there were 3 XBOX's set up!) worked just fine after the majority of the guests went home. After a fun party we headed back home for another pool party! This one included two of my great aunts and a bunch of extended family. It was a wonderful time.

Then on monday we said goodbye to aunt Polly and now we look forward to a quiet August! Yeah right! It has been crazy busy, but a great time. I enjoy having such a large family, there is never a dull moment! Through it all the kids and Tim have been great, I am feeling very blessed to have such great kids and a wonderful husband.

How Big is Felicity?

2009-07-23T14:50:00.000-07:00

SO BIG! This little trick never gets old, however, Felicity has modified it a bit. Instead of lifting her arms on her own, she looks at one of my hands, grabs my index finger, very dramatically turns her head in search of my other hand and grabs the other index finger, then proceeds to lift up her arms and smile with the cheesiest smile ever! So Big and so cute!

This is her with Bethany on the slide.

Summer Thus Far

2009-07-09T10:21:00.001-07:00

I was updating my profile and pictures on the side and I saw all the pictures I took with my blog in mind. It is kind of funny because early on in my blog writing I had stories but not pictures, now I take pictures for the blog but never write the story that goes along with them. Oh well.

As I mentioned in my post earlier today, we have been on the go this summer; from the zoo, to park day, to wading pools, back to the zoo, to picnics, to fashion shows and then to the zoo and wading pools again! Man, have we been staying busy! Just yesterday Ronni was telling her daddy at dinner, "I had A LOT of special blessings today, I got to go to the pool and have chocolate milk from McDonald's, that is a lot of blessings..." It was really funny. Anyway, here are few of the pictures from our crazy-busy-fun summer thus far!

Works For Me

2009-07-09T07:30:00.001-07:00

When my kids have had an overdose of fun and can't seem to figure out the proper way to act even after we have exhausted our normal form of discipline we resort to a last ditch effort, which so far has worked pretty well. It is called blackout. I learned of this term through Dr. Ray and my sister. Basically the kids know that there is a possiblity they could go into blackout when they misbehave. Blackout is a time in which they have to sit quietly without any special blessings. If they get one stick, it is 1 hour, 2 sticks 2 hours, 4 sticks equals a whole day. I use the stick so there is something tangible to help them understand what happened and it marks when it begins and when it is over.

For anyone who wants to know what my blackout system looks like:

Who's Your Buddy Who's Your Pal?

2009-06-30T07:26:00.000-07:00

PAPA!! Even Felicity thinks so! She loves the camera so it took her a while to say it, but as I was picking out the video to put on here, each time I asked in the video, she answered! SO stinkin' cute!!

The Pricelessness of Tea Parties

2009-06-08T13:56:00.001-07:00

I was invited to tea today, and after putting it off while I looked at three different facebook pages and one status update, I knew I didn't want to put it off any longer (and I didn't want her to have to ask me again). So I joined my two princesses on the porch for a tea party. I tried to sit across from Ronni on the couch, but that just wouldn't do, the little Miss Kitty chair was evidently the spot reserved for me, it is amazing how well those chairs hold up! We had a delightful tea. I nearly choked on a grape, the tea was a little bland for my tastes, and my English accent wasn't impressing her, but all in all it was a wonderful time. Sitting on the chair in the porch with Felicity on my lap, happy, and Ronni next to me, smiling sweetly, I wondered why we didn't do this a little more often. Normally, when Peyton is taking a nap I am also laying down, or doing laundry or cleaning or balancing money or... you get the point. Anyway, today I participated in a tea party, and I truly enjoyed it.

The title for this blog could have been We Survived. Tim had another FuToN weekend this weekend. This time it was in the same town we live in so it wasn't as much of a burden as when he is out of town. Friday we went to the Zoo, had ice cream from McDonald's and a movie night, Beauty and the Beast. Saturday I went over to my mom and dad's and helped them clean out their garage. It is funny, we were supposed to have a deck painting party, I thought that would be a bit strange considering it was the last FuToN weekend that we surprised them with painting their upstairs! Alas, it rained so we didn't paint their deck, but we were able to clean out their garage and organize the cupboard under their sink (both are no small feat). Then my mom offered to keep Peyton over night, so that was a special treat for him, he had a golf lesson with papa on sunday, always fun!

This week has already been full of excitement. Today was the first day of Vacation Bible School. I was mortified when one of the teenagers helping asked me if Peyton knew how to listen! So it hasn't exactly started off on the right foot, but I think he may be sick, so that explains that a little bit. My brother in law Sven passed his boards so he may officially practice nursing in the state of Iowa! Congrats to him. Tonight, weather permitting, we are going to go and see Rich Hardin do a rehab start with the Iowa Cubs and then with 4 days of training coming up later this week, this week promises to be pretty crazy, but I am sure we will survive that as well!

Growing Up Fast Updated

2009-06-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

The children in this household are growing up pretty quickly these days. Ronni has decided she wants to be a nun (with some positive peer pressure from her cousin Bethany). In fact, she announced it at the Aldi checkout and I am sure I got more than one shocked look, especially when the two girls were jumping up and down saying, "We can go to the same convent and we could be sisters!!" Peyton has also decided he wants to be a nun, we have explained that only girls are nuns, and boys can be Priests, but he is still pretty insistent, we'll see. Felicity is a mover and a shaker, that is for sure. She is grabbing life by the horns! She loves crawling and loves eating and loves being awake at 5:30 am and loves her siblings and her daddy- did I mention she is awake, for the day, at 5:30. That is the only bit that I am not loving. It is so sweet to see her so excited about life, she can brighten up the darkest day with her sweet smile, we are so thankful for her.

This past weekend was a whirlwind for us. My sister was an intern for the Principle Charity Classic and hooked us up with some pretty sweet tickets. We took the kids on Friday, all in all they did pretty well. There was one little hang up when Peyton fell and scraped his knee and wouldn't stop crying, one of the tournament helpers came running down the stairs to where we were by the portapotties, cookie in hand, asking me if it would help get him to be quiet, you would think, but it took a few second of convincing him he wanted the cookie/shoving it in his mouth before the crying actually stopped, I was mortified! But we moved on and the rest of the day was great. We came back, childless (except Felicity, thanks to my Aunt) on Sunday and got to watch the dramatic 4 hole play off! It was great fun! (thanks Kaela!)

I was helping with First Communion at our church, so Tim (the rockstar he was all weekend) took the kids to the Zoo to see Duck from Word World, a really neat television show on IPTV.They had a great time.

They also got their faces painted. The last time Ronni got her face painted, she had a spider web all over her face and she called herself spider-girl...

We are looking forward to an exciting summer. In addition to the zoo, and the pool and the lake, we have lots of summer activities planned. I just hope the weather will start cooperating. I actually like warm weather, and I am so looking forward to the temperature rise! To give some of you an idea... Tim had his space heater in his office on this week. It is JUNE!!! That is crazy. I hope all of you have a great summer!

I'll Love You Forever

2009-05-22T06:48:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite childhood books is Love You Forever, by, Robert Munsch. When my kids were very young my favorite part of the book was the song, especially when the boy, all grown up, sings it back to his mommy: I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm living, My Mommy you'll be. I would read that and, guaranteed, tear up each time. Three children and four and a half years later, my new favorite part is "That little boy grew, he grew and he grew and he grew... Sometimes his mother wanted to sell him to the zoo!" Well, we were at the zoo this week and I was very tempted to see what I could get for them... turns out the Redheaded Animals don't do well in enclosed spaces so the zoo thinks it is best to keep them in their natural habitat... shows what they know! In anycase, everyone went in and everyone came out, which, I suppose, is saying something. We got a zoo pass with my stipend from the church so we are thinking about going back this weekend, we will have two of the DeVries' redheads so we will see if that sweetens the deal any! Although, all it will probably do is increase the likelihood of losing one of the kids at the zoo, but with that many redheads in an enclosed space (our house for 3 days) we may just have to take that chance! Here are the pictures from the zoo. (Thanks Sadie!)

The 3 Redheaded AnimalsIf you look close you may be able to see a Zebra in the background, I don't know about you but I think they would make a good exhibit, look at how nicely the red hair goes with the green grass!

Veronica on the slide

The green plastic was burning her legs, but she gave a good smile anyway! She is a little sweetheart right now, always trying to help out with Felicity. In fact, yesterday she was playing with her and these exact words came out of her mouth. "Mom I was playing mommy with Felicity and she pooped all over me!" (Welcome to the club!)

My little monkey

Peyton is three right now, which means somedays are really good, somedays are pretty bad but mostly each day is a combination of really good and pretty bad. I wouldn't trade him in for anything (despite my earlier comments) he really is a good little boy!

In other news... Felicity is crawling!!!

Apparently the mouse and keyboard on the floor while I am typing this blog is just enough motivation to get her little (or should I say plump) legs moving!! I hope you all have a great memorial day weekend!

April Blogging

2009-04-28T11:54:00.001-07:00

These are all the posts I meant to do but was too busy to actually put it down in writing. I will post the pictures and titles, any creative writing that would have gone along with it will have to be left unsaid! Oh well, what is it they say, a picture is worth thousand words...

Basil Part Deux
Where's Basil?

There she is!

Opening Day 2009

Girl's Night Out

Dude's Night Out

We each took our kids out on a date. We both took them to the fish fry but ate separately, then Ronni and I went to ride the train at Merle Hay and play at the play place and Tim and Peyton went to look at animals at Pet Smart and then Daddy toys at Best Buy and then Peyton toys at Target, where he got to pick out a cool car! It was a good time hanging out with the kids!

"He Looks Like a DAD!"

Go Cubs Go Go Cubs Go

Hey Chicago, what do you say? Cubs are gonna win today!

Best Friends (no, not twins!)

Great Weather!

Ronni at 21?

Golfing with a Pro

Fun with Forts and Felicity

2009-04-03T08:47:00.001-07:00

Yesterday my children built a fort, one of their favorite things to do with Daddy, all by themselves. It was a pretty decent fort, for being made by a 3 and 4 year old but we had to take most of it down because we had borders last night (Pat and Sarah were passing through on their way to Sarah's grandma's funeral). So we put up a make shift one instead with some remnant blankets and sheets and Peyton actually got to sleep inside of the fort. I tell you, it was the smoothest bedtime ever. Peyton did not come out of his room once. This morning when he woke up he sad to me, "Mom, I went to bed really, really well last night!" Yes you did buddy, good job. Then this morning, they were still pretty excited about it, showing both of our guests their awesome fort. Pat and Sarah, the troopers they are, climbed right on in... (pat with broken neck and all!) This is a picture of Sarah with the kids... But that is not the end of their fort making career, after all what little kid couldn't use a fort of their own.Felicity was a little unsure at first but we removed the blankets to find she loved her new fort! The kids absolutley love their little sister, they are a little too hands on for my taste though. I walked in from the kitchen to find this picture... The story pretty much went like this: "Veronica! It is not a choice to pick up your sister and put her on the princess chair, you could hurt her- but quick go sit next to her and get your brother so I can get a cute snapshot!"

Where's Basil?

2009-03-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

We watched Pat and Sarah's dog's this weekend and we probably had more fun than what would be considered normal with their dog Basil. This dog was either burrowed in a blanket or under your feet. There really was no inbetween. But with three other dogs and three kids, I would be in hiding too! So we had some fun with pictures from our dog weekend. This may not be everyone's idea of an interesting post, but that's okay, this one is For Sarah.

Please Pray for the Burke family, Pat's back is in a bad way and Sarah has had a rough month with both of her grandma's passing, so I am sure extra prayers would be appreciated.

Only 362 More Days

2009-03-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

We had a happy St. Patrick's Day. I hope all of you did as well. St. Pat's day in our family ranks right up there with Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving! I am not sure if it is because we love being Irish or because we love beer. Probably a combination of both. Whatever the reason, the 17th of March is a pretty fun day for the ol' Burke Clan. Lately we have something of a tradition to go downtown to the Embassy. They open their banquet hall and have an Irish band and Irish dancers. It is really kid friendly, which is great, I don't know many other places on St. Patrick's day where one can go with their 4 year old, 3 year old and 5 month old and still get a beer and have a nice time. Each of the other kids have been to a bar on St. Patrick's day, but it doesn't provide quite the same atmosphere. Mostly it is just, "You have a baby... in a bar!?!?" Anyway, we had an awesome time. A lot of our family and friends came out with us to celebrate.
Kelly came over in the morning and we got ready together, which is also becoming something of a tradition. Always a good time.

Can't you tell how excited Ronni is. Normally she is really happy to get her picture taken, not today, but that is okay, Peyton's smile more than makes up for hers.
The kids had a great time on the dance floor. Bethany and Emma were able to join us. Madeleine and Leah were a bit under the weather, so unfortunately Mandie had to stay home, but at least the older girls were able to come. It just wouldn't have been St. Patrick's Day without a DeVries showing!
My friend Sadie and her kids, Creighton, Addyson and Tyson were able to join us as well. They are becoming regular members of the family, joining us for a lot of our family functions. It is nice to have such awesome friends. My parents also have great friends that have become members of our family, Curly and Julie. I can easily see Sadie and Nate in the role of Curly and Julie. We have it even better because they don't drink so when all of our kids are older and we go out we will have a built in designated driver. Me with Sadie and my mom with Julie. Curly, Tim and Nate weren't able to come to the Embassy, they had to do something called work, not sure what that is on St. Patrick's day, but oh well. Curly and Tim joined us later at my mom and dad's. We had corned beef and cabbage and beef stew. It was a great spread that my mom put together. She is a pretty awesome lady! Oh yeah, did I mention how much Creighton loves Kaela, but then again, what's not to love (watch out Mitch). She was a blast on St. Patrick's day. As well as one of her best friends, Jaci. (Julie's daughter, can you see the trend?) She held Felicity for a long time and I really appreciated that. Always nice to get a break!Two of my awesome aunts were there too,Tricia and Ann, they are so much fun, I just love getting to spend St. Patrick's day with so much of my family. My uncle Bernie was there in person for only a little while, but in spirit the whole day. We made it to a bar later in the day and I actually had a complete stranger ask me if I we knew Bernie Burke. Strange.

We were able to get out on the dance floor for our annual tribute to my Grandma Burke. Here we are dancing to Danny Boy. Later at Mom and Dad's we all joined in singing some Irish songs, our cousin Matt was there and he was pretty awesome. I actually sang Danny Boy- Mandie you are not allowed to miss St. Patrick's Day again! Let's just put it this way, there wasn't a dry eye in the house, but for a whole different reason!! All in all it was a great time, and I can't wait to do it again. Only 362 more days!

Pictures

2009-03-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

After looking at the pictures from Grandma's house I could tell that I didn't have my blog in mind when I was there. There is not really many blog worthy pictures, but I will post what I have for memory's sake. I suppose the longer I blog the better I will be about taking more pictures. My mother had some good ones, but who knows when she will ever upload them and send them my way. (Maybe a little faster now that I have called her out! : )
This first picture is of Felicity and Grandma, this isn't the first time they have met, but it is the first time Grandma got to hold her I think, so that was pretty sweet.

This picture is of Grandma's orange tree. She is trying to see how big her fruit can get, I think it is just cool she could get the plant to fruit at all. I can guarantee you that if it was at my house the plant would die before it would even leaf. Although looking at all of grandma's plants it makes me want to have a greener thumb. They were pretty cool!

On the Road Again

2009-03-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

So we are headed back to our home, and I am blogging from the road. My parents can get wireless anywhere, it is pretty cool. All in all, we had a great weekend! I worked on some mini-offices that a friend introduced me to. I got both Ronni and Peyton's done, so I will post a picture of those at another time. My grandma was awesome. She looks so good, it was fun listening to all the stories she has. Always entertaining.
I went to church with my Aunt Paula and Uncle Brian on saturday with no kids. It was amazing. Now I love having my kids at church too, don't get me wrong. I think they do a great job at Mass, for the most part, and I really have no true complaints, but it was really nice to get a break and I was really in tune with everything the Priest was talking about. I got over the cowboy boots and the fact he looks like Matthew Brodderick, after about six times of going to church there, so I was locked in. The only thing that distracted me were the older people in front of me. Anyway, we got through Mass without anyone getting hurt. The old lady with the cane made it to communion and back okay. I don't know why they worry me, but I just watch. Anyway, I happened to be keyed in on the old lady with the cane when we were leaving she mentioned something about St. Patrick's day and green beer. I had to chuckle a little bit. I told my aunt Paula and she said, you think that is bad, she is the person that drives grandma around! She drives grandma? She could hardly walk, I will just reiterate my earlier comment, Grandma looks awesome! (I guess the old lady pulls right up on the side walk next to the doors and grandma gets out to help her into the church when they go to sew, pretty funny!)

The rest of the night we spent eating pizza and watching basketball (ames won and I am happy to say that that was the first and last time I will be rooting for anyone with a "cyclone" in its name) It was a really fun weekend and just what the doctor ordered. The kids had a blast! We went on a walk, seeing my cousin Kimmy's old house and we played at the park. It was really neat watching the kids play with the toys I played with in my youth. Also, to pass on the love of grandma's house is just too priceless. At the end of the day, I told Ronni she needed to come downstairs and get ready to leave otherwise papa would leave without her. She just shouted down, "That's okay, I want to stay here!" Like I didn't see that one coming, but I have to say I don't blame her. I remember when I was younger counting out exactly how many nights we were going to get to stay there and being so sad when it was the last day and we didn't have any nights left. To this day, everytime I go I wish I had just one more day. I don't know why we don't go more often.

So now we are on our way home. We are looking forward to going home. Tim spent the weekend working on projects around the house. I told him not to tell me what he was doing because I didn't want to obsess over it, so now I get to go home and play the "can you guess all the things I did while you were out" game.

I hope everyone else had a great weekend and got to enjoy this weather! I can't wait for spring, I saw my first robin walking to church saturday night so I know it is getting close! It can't come fast enough!

The Other Side of the Coin

2009-03-13T12:08:00.000-07:00

So it is funny, in life, how things have a domino effect. It really is true, I have noticed, that things just kind of take care of themselves. For instance, I had three crying kids this morning, and was lamenting life because of it. But, I had three crying kids because I was on the computer without giving them anything to do, what can I really expect. Fast forward, it is now lunch time, I don't want to cook lunch because my kitchen is a disaster, but if I don't I will only continue to be on the computer while my three kids are screaming while I am lamenting my life. You get the picture. In anycase, insert motivation, sometimes all it takes is just a spark. I got two sparks, one a poopy diaper, even I am not that lazy. Two, Tim calls to say he will be home in fifteen minutes for lunch. Okay, looks like I am going to have to get off the computer afterall. So I get up to make lunch, which means I have to do a bit of cleaning to make that possible. I feed my husband and my kids which makes everyone happy because my kids are no longer driving me nuts and my husband didn't have to starve today. Yes! And lo and behold when I get done, my kitchen is almost clean. Next, while my children are eating, rather slowly but I don't care, I decide to start packing, I realize that half the mess of my house is laundry that I have folded and put in baskets but have yet to put away. Well I just packed my kids clothes from the baskets and basically killed two birds with one stone. Now virtually all of my laundry is now put away and lunch is done. Which means, NAPTIME!!! So I put Peyton to bed, Ronni on the couch and Felicity lays down in the pack and play. All of a sudden my life isn't nearly as crazy, I posted some pictures on a previous post, I am almost completely packed for grandma's house and my house has an hour worth of work left before it is totally clean. Hmm. Now I am thinking I may just want to take all three kids to target, kmart and a fish fry. Talk about no happy medium. What can I say, I am a glutton for punishment. Welcome to the Rampage.

To Grandmother's House We Go

2009-03-13T08:42:00.001-07:00

Life has been a little crazy around here lately, and when I say crazy, I mean the really overwhelming, when can mommy ever get a break-- kind of crazy. So we are leaving for a weekend. Which is good and bad. Good because mommy gets a break, going to grandma's is relaxing for me and something new and exciting for the kids. The kids will have a new atmosphere to get used to and new toys to play with, I am sure they will get bored and start acting up, but that will take a bit of time, right? Plus my mom and dad are going with me, so that should be fun. It is bad because, all good things come with a price. For me that price is packing and getting ready to go to grandma's. I can't just leave my house a complete and total disaster, which is it's current state right now. My kids' clothes won't pack themselves, and my kids themselves aren't really cooperating with the whole, mommy doesn't want to hear you cry right now, mood I am in. So what am I doing, blogging to appease my sister, while at any given time one or more kids are screaming, the dogs are barking and my house is still messy and my kids clothes are still not packed. Oh the life I am in... The funny thing is, it would only take about an ounce of effort to right this ship, but yet I still can't seem to muster that energy. The pain of being a lazy bones... I'm working on this, some days are just harder than others.

Anyway,I'll post some pictures so this post isn't just a ventfest....
Ronni was hamming it up for the camera once again, this was like the third shot, she decided she liked her smile in this one. This girl is absolutley adorable right now, I don't know why I am having such a hard time. She has a really good understanding of what her body is telling her to do and what her mommy wants her to do, and understands why there is a consequence when she listens to her body over her mom. In fact just yesterday I heard her telling her cousin that she wasn't making a good choice and asked her to stop listening to her body. It was so funny.

Peyton on the other hand is a handful. He understands what listening to his body means, too a typical conversation would go like this: Mommy- Peyton clean up your toys. P- doesn't listen and continues to play, M- Peyton what is your body telling you to do, P- Play with my toys, M- What is mommy telling you to do, P- clean up my toys, M- Who are you going to listen to? P- My body. Go figure. No wonder he is driving me nuts right now! This picture Ronni actually took, she is my little photographer! Notice his first black eye. At this point in Ronni's life she had already had 5 black eyes. I tell people it was his consequence for listening to his body...
Felicity is getting really big as well. She is five months now and not rolling over. I figure it is a combination of her being really crabby most of the time (gas) two siblings and two dogs. She doesn't spend a whole lot of time on her tummy. Another thing we are working on...

Happy Belated Birthday

2009-03-05T06:49:00.000-08:00

Okay, so we actually celebrated his birthday on the day, but I will just now finally blog about it over two weeks later, like I said, better late than never!
Grandpa and Grandma Loraditch kicked off the birthday celebration with the bomber jacket, pictured in a previous post. We get a comment everytime we go out now about that jacket, it is something special! Thanks again. Mitch and Kaela then got the ball rolling, literally, when they came over the Sunday before his birthday for an ice cream treat and a gift of their own. If Peyton makes it big in the majors, we'll owe you!
We try to make birthdays special in our house without a whole lot of to-do. This year we were going to through a birthday party for Peyton, but because we had our not party for the super bowl, we decided to lay low. So we invited just the granparents and aunts and uncles over for a birthday celebration. The local ones were able to come.

Daddy came home from work early so we could surprise the birthday boy with a his birthday gifts. We didn't really want a time where he sat down and everyone showered him with gifts, so we cleaned up the playroom and brought in the gifts that we got him, he was so excited.

Next Aunt Kelly came over and took Peyton out for a birthday surprise. It was very special to get to go somewhere all by himself. Not to mention all the things she spoiled him with.

Some of these balloons are still alive and kicking (and being fought over) at our house! Next Nana and Papa and Mandie and Matt and all the cousins came over. I made chicken tetrazini, something easy for a whole bunch of people. We all enjoyed our dinner and then Nana and Papa gave Peyton his gifts. A really cute hawkeye Jersey, some long underwear, a wallett and a truck just like his uncle Mark drives. They were great gifts and we are very appreciative.

Of course we couldn't forget the birthday spankin's. Papa couldn't quite figure out how to count to three, so he asked peyton to help him after quite a few attempts at giving more than three spankin's. So he asked Peyton, how old are you again? P-Three, Papa- Okay, then count to three for me, P- "Three". The whole room erupted in laughter! They totally thought Peyton was the smartest kid ever for starting at three. Papa didn't even spank him anymore. Little do they all know, Peyton just doesn't know how to count! Oh well, we'll have to take that up with his teacher...

After dinner we all enjoyed the highlight of the night... Banana Splits! I for one am not a big banana fan, but they were delicious. Peyton is not a big cake fan so we opted for a special Ice cream treat instead.

Everyone seemed to enjoy their banana split, but none as much as Tim!

Thanks to everyone who made Peyton's birthday special. You all were so nice and attentive to him, he really enjoyed turning three. The gifts were so not necessary, but we totally appreciate them. Happy Birthday Buddy, we love you. And speaking of Buddy, a final picture to close the post, Peyton dancing on his birthday to his favorite, Buddy Holly!

How do I do this again?

2009-02-26T10:37:00.000-08:00

So it has been a while, this I know. Even my sister has blogged twice since I last blogged. It isn't that I haven't been coming to my blog. In fact, I would come most everyday and watch the "got your tickets" video, I just haven't had anything, positive, to say. So I learned from my mother, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Hence the silence.

It was really hard to blog nice things about my kids when they had been driving me nuts. I am not exactly sure why, maybe it is because we had a taste of spring and then an overdose of winter. Maybe it is because we had a birthday and an overdose of toys, I don't know, but there was havoc in the household. I am not one for letting havoc rule the house so I had to come up with some solutions. So over the course of two days we instituted a no toy day, a spitting cup, a punching pillow and a crying mattress. I also rewrote our house rules on posterboard, explained them to Ronni and Peyton and had them sign it and then put it on the wall of the play room.

So far we have had great results. The no toys thing, surprisingly, worked really well. They had a hard time understanding at first, but then didn't really complain much. In the week since I haven't heard near the amount of fighting over toys as I had heard in the two days before implementing the rule, and if they do fight I simply remind them of their no toy day and encourage them to make good choices because, say it with me kids, "Toys are a privelage!" Today has been a no toy day and it has been awesome! I love how moldable children are at this age, as well as compliant, if either of them see a toy, they don't hide it or try to play with it in secert, they promptly tell me about it and then run to put it on the porch. They have been so great that next week they don't have a no toy day, as long as they continue to be good.

Peyton isn't nearly as interested in spitting (thanks Sadie, for that great advice) and loves to punch his pillow (thanks again Sadie), Ronni still cries but is getting better about being talked through it. The rules on the wall have really helped me to be a better, more consistent teacher. It is also a good visual tool for the kids, especially Peyton, I would take him to the rules each time he broke one, point it out, show where he signed his name and then give him his consequence.

It has taken some work but the house has gotten back under control. Don't get me wrong, it is still crazy, after all it is still a house with three children 4 and under but at least the havoc has subsided... for now.

the toy room on our no toy day, all they had were books and their imaginations, no wonder our grandparents used hard labor to keep their kids busy!

So the long blogging drought is over, hopefully the winter is too. In fact I will probably post again really soon to recap peyton's birthday. Better late than never!

For Sarah

2009-02-11T19:23:00.000-08:00

My sister in law taught this to my children. Often our kids will ask us out of the blue if we have our tickets. This little scene unfolded at dinner, so we recreated it for the video camera. Enjoy!

(for anyone that needs a translation: they aks us,"Do you got your tickets,

"tickets to what?" they blow up their muscles and say, "to the gun show")

Also, Ronni begged me to take a picture of her the other day, so I did. Afterwards she asked, will you put that on your blog? I don't know why I was surprised she knows what a blog is, she's always asking me about my email. It is amazing what kids pick up! We had some great weather here a couple of days in a row. We went on a few walks, have had the windows open and generally, the household had a pretty good atmosphere. Yesterday was dry enough for us to get outside and play on the swing set. We had fun while it lasted, reality check- snow is in the forecast for Friday- 6-12 inches.

The Truth Comes Out

2009-02-09T10:06:00.000-08:00

So some of you may remember a few weeks ago when I posted "We Survived". Well, I may have fibbed a little bit in that post. It is true that my kids spent the whole weekend eating junk food and watching movies downstairs, but Kaela and I did not. We spent the whole weekend painting my parents house! It was a family effort for sure, and it just reminds me why I love my family so much. Kaela and I got to work friday night after Tim left, we painted all day Saturday, with the help of my cousin as a babysitter. Then on Sunday, Mandie and Matt came over and we painted the rest of the walls, with the help of my sister Kelly as a babysitter! Tim came over after FuTon Weekend and provided Matt with some help, in the form of crappy beer... let me just tell you that the edging in the entry way was much neater before Tim got there! I think Matt had fun though. He really did do the hardest part, which was painting the very high ceiling entry way. The next few weeks were spent putting everything back together. Mandie creatively rearranged the living room and the basement. Then with the help of my aunt Tricia, we decorated the windows and put some other finishing touches on the room to tie everything together.

Everything was all set for when my mom arrived home last night. Here is her reaction!

I am not sure which surprised her most, the painting or that almost all of her children and grandchildren were there to receive her when she got home past 10 o'clock!

A Little Game

2009-02-07T12:19:00.000-08:00

This will probably be pretty easy for most of you. Every time whe have a new baby we take pictures of him/her in one special outfit. You may be wondering what makes it special, was it made by someone we love? Or perhaps one of us wore it as a child? Nope and nope. I bought it off of ebay and I am pretty sure we never wore anything like it when we were children. Still my husband loves that I dress the kids in it. Can you guess which kid is which?

Leave a comment if you want and leave your guess with their name labeled child#1, #2, and #3. I am sure that this isn't probably hard, but I think it is fun. I wonder if Tim will get it right!

A Surprise Visit

2009-02-04T13:25:00.000-08:00

Nana and Papa Loraditch stopped by last night. It was really nice to get to see them and visit for a while. Their grandchildren were very happy. Here are a few pictures from the night. Thanks for stopping by Tim and Jeannette, we always love seeing you.

The coat Peyton is wearing in this picture is his birthday present from Nana and Papa L. It is an airforce coat, and he loves it! It is super cute! Thanks again.

Super Bowl Sunday

2009-02-04T10:41:00.001-08:00

We decided not to have a super bowl party this year. The coversation with Tim went something like this, "Hey honey, should we have a party for the super bowl this year?" "No, Tim, I don't think so since we are going to have a birthday party for Peyton later this month." Well one thing led to another and then all of a sudden we had a big super bowl party on our hands, with tons of food and beverage and lots of good family and friends.
We started off with a little Rock band, and slowly but surely most everyone joined in. We ended up playing rockband until right before the super bowl started. I totally meant to get a picture of our All Saint's band. We had four members of our chuch rocking out together, it was pretty cool. Here is a picture of two of them!

I am really thankful that I have such neat family and friends. It was pretty amazing that we had friends that we know from many different places, as well as all of my siblings, together all night (in our little house) and it was never akward. Everyone just seemed to get along really well and had enough in common that they could find something to talk about. It was the easiest party I have ever thrown, you guys sure do make it easy to be a hostess. Not to mention all the food everyone brought! Tyson sure enjoyed the pumpkin bars, thanks Maria!

Then of course there was the football game. Some people started to leave about half time, not sure if it had anything to do with the half-time entertainment and the beautiful glasses everyone donned. Those of us that did stay to watch the rest of the game weren't dissappointed (except for that whole Pittsburg winning thing) it was a really exciting second half, at least the last five minutes were pretty exciting. All in all it was a great "not" party, and I really have to throw those more often. I didn't really stress about it, except for the day of, and Mandie helped to make it so I really didn't need to stress at all. I hope everyone that came had a good time, although I am not too sure if Leah had much fun, this picture is of her in the midst of Creighton and Bethany playing Rockband around her, she slept through all of the Rockband fun! (if you look real close at the top picture you can see her sleeping, so cute!)

Best Day EVER!

2009-01-31T16:12:00.000-08:00

So the excitement has not waned since this morning. I am still just as excited now as I was when I posted this morning, and still a little bit in disbelief that I was standing in the same ballroom today as Buddy Holly did nearly 50 years ago. You may be asking yourself why I am so excited or how I even know anything about Buddy Holly, well it all began on a school night many many years ago....

The year was 1991 and my mother (the awesome gal she is) let me watch The Buddy Holly story, starring Gary Busey. I remember vividly watching it and realizing that it was way past my bedtime but mom let me stay up anyway, so I could watch the end. As she tucked me into bed that night she told me that she has one of Buddy Holly's albums and that I could listen to it sometime. I am pretty sure that I started listening to them the very next day after school. So after listening to the record for a while, skips and all, my mother transferred the record from the record player onto a blank tape so I could take it with me in a new Walkman anywhere. I remember listening to them all the time, memorizing the music word for word, skips and all. I would go roller skating around our Texas subdivision all the time, my sisters and I would choreograph dance shows to the songs. My personal favorite was jumping off, probably an antique, table or buffet right when Buddy Holly starts singing at the beginning of "Oh Boy", still one of my favorite songs to this day. Fast forward to years later, we live in Iowa now and I was in Carrol for some reason, in a CD shop, and I found two CDs of Buddy Holly's. I bought them with my own money, and was oblivious to the incredulous look the clerk probably had on his/her face at the surprise of a 13 year old buying a Buddy Holly CD. I now vividly remember having to relearn all of the words to the Buddy Holly songs, without the skips. My sisters and I had a whole new set of songs to choreograph. Only at this point in our life, we were hooked on figure skating from the 1994 winter Olympics, so instead of dancing we would figure skate (with socks) around our large living room, moving furniture when necessary. Our favorite song to skate to then-"Raining in my Heart". You can rest assured that our kids have already learned how to carpet skate to this song!

Even with all of these great memories, today has definitely been the highlight of years and years of devotion to a man that died when my mother was 4. It was so amazing being around people that also love Buddy Holly and his legend and it was cool to listen to the stories they had to tell about his life and what they knew about him. Also, to stand in such a historic place was truly awe inspiring. The highlight of my day had to be shaking the hands of the original Crickets, after standing in line for like an hour, it was finally my turn to get something signed, and talk to them and I was completely speechless! Finally I just said, "You guys are awesome and I love you guys!" It was pretty neat! Another cool thing was getting my picture taken with a Buddy Holly look alike.

It was really neat to get to pass this down to my own children. So many people came up to us and talked to us because of our children, but one especially stood out; he said thank you to us for bringing them and told us to make sure they grow up with this music in their lives. Don't worry, sir, I will do my best to pass down the awesome gift that my mom passed down to me, thanks again Mom. You Rock!

I'm So Excited

2009-01-31T07:17:00.000-08:00

And I just can't hide it! (no I am not cleaning my house, that was yesterday) Today we are driving two hours in a car with three children 4 and under. Why is that exciting? Because we are going to Clear Lake, Iowa to see the Surf Ballroom commemorate Buddy Holly!!! I have loved this guy since my mom let me stay up past my bedtime in the fourth grade to watch the movie made about him! More to come later! I am so excited!!!!!!

A Sad Day

2009-01-28T10:08:00.001-08:00

No it isn't really a sad day, in fact, it is a special day-today is my father's 54th birthday! The kids called him this morning, and it just amazes me how fast Peyton is growing, he practically led the song. It was super cute, at least I thought so. Hopefully dad enjoyed it.

Happy Birthday Dad/Papa

On a sad note, my sister Kaela just called me, Ronnie Cedeno is no longer a Cub. I told Ronni and Peyton and all they could say was why? I don't know, kids, probably because the Cubs are intent on breaking our hearts! Now I know how my mom felt when they traded Mark DeRosa.

(a funny note about above picture, after taking this picture mom made a comment how she wanted another one because she didn't really want to be holding a drink- "we need to have a picture of us we can display," so we took about a dozen more, I could post them but a few of them are pretty embarrasing... In anycase, I was going to publish one of those till I noticed the hat Dad was wearing- Mom, I don't think you should be worried about whether or not you guys are holding drinks!)

One more thing

2009-01-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention that Tim won a medal while he was down in Kansas City. bet you didn't know there was FuToN olympics... what will they think of next?!

We survived

2009-01-26T06:44:00.001-08:00

The weekend is over and we all survived. Honestly, I wasn't sure how Tim was going to, I didn't know it was possible to play that many video games and drink that much beer in one weekend and still live to tell the tale. Enough about that, I am over it, really...

As for the rest of us, we had a pretty good weekend. We went over to my parents house and had a movie marathon with my sister Kaela. I also didn't know it was possible to watch that many movies in one weekend. My sister and I were upstairs and the kids downstairs, it was crazy watching that many movies, if not a bit boring, but you do what you gotta do to pass the time. The kids loved it! Although, all the junk food may have sabatoged my chances at winning the biggest loser this week. Tim and I are in a weight loss competition with my sister, Kelly and her husband. Tim and I's chances are pretty much shot for the weekly prize this week, but I guess we already know who was the biggest loser this weekend...

I have to say the highlight of my weekend was definitely church. Kaela and I decided to go to church at my church this weekend because the Bishop was there celebrating Mass for the installment of our new priest. It was awesome, he gave all the children in his Communion line an individual blessing and gave a special shout out to young parents who make the sacrifice to make it to church every week with their little ones. He insisted that the yelling and screaming and talking was music to his ears. I am not going to accuse our Bishop of lying so I will appreciate his comments and remind myself of them every sunday, they are making music, right? I have to admit, though, the best part of the whole weekend was when the Bishop was sitting down with his hat and his staff and Peyton looked at me and said and I kid you not, "Mom, I want to be a Bishop when I get big!" I was speechless.

My future successor to the Apostles

Mother of Four

2009-01-23T11:26:00.001-08:00

No I am not announcing that I am pregnant... Just thought I would throw that out there, now commencing with my post...

So one of my children has left me. After I packed his lunch, a 12 pack of diet pepsi a bag of doritos, gave him his favorite blankey and pillow and made sure he had all of his favorite games, as well as church clothes, I sent him down the road to Kansas City for FuToN Weekend; Crappy Beer Edition. Yep that's right, my oldest child has left me for a weekend of XBOX, Booze and Magic the Gathering. Honestly, I don't think my husband will ever out grow his college days... Oh well, I guess Old Milwaukee is cheaper than Scotch...

A picture of my oldest

This picture is from FuToN Christmas 2006

In other news, the rest of us are doing great! I just made my very first batch ever of peanut butter cookies and we will spend the weekend eating junk food and playing some games of our own probably. Ronni and Peyton do a pretty good job playing with one another now. It is amazing the difference just a couple of months make. They used to be unable to play well together at all, it always ended in yelling and screaming (me yelling, them screaming) now it only ends in screaming about half of the time! : ) Below is a picture of Ronni and Peyton playing Ants in the Pants. They are playing it on a car mat we received from my mom and dad for Christmas, the most popular toy in our house right now. Thanks again mom and dad!

And a picture of the littlest because she is just becoming so darn cute! I just want to share her with everyone. I hope everyone has a great weekend. I am sure Tim will and the other three children and I should be just fine.

They Grow So Fast

2009-01-20T07:14:00.000-08:00

So it has been kind of crazy around here, what with being holed up in what seems like a little box, for the majority of the past three weeks. It is no wonder I dream of warmer climates (and a bigger house) at night.
We had a special guest over last night. My aunt Ann (my dad's sister) came over so we could teach her a little bit about her new iPod Touch. Sometimes it is nice to have someone new over to your house to give you a little perspective. Maybe the crazy is mostly in my head... I thought that bedtime last night was nuts, and the kids were naughty coming out three or four times and I was secretly worried that our guest would get annoyed with the kids. After the iPod lesson was over, Ann commented on how easy the kids went to bed, REALLY!?!?! It is probably pretty amazing the difference between what you see when it is your kids and what is actually actual. Okay, Genny, Step back and realize, they are 3 and 4 and they grow so fast, no need to stress about a silly bedtime routine...
Speaking of they grow so fast, Felicity, is growing so fast. We just went to visit our friends little baby, she was two weeks old, and so tiny, to us that is, she had already gained a pound, so she seemed big to her parents... talk about perspective. Well this is our little girl, she isn't so little anymore and it is amazing the change (to us) in three months.

Felicity at two days

Felicity at three months

(with Bethany, speaking of growing fast)

Ronnie Cedeno

2009-01-17T17:08:00.000-08:00

So we are big Cub fans, as well as being big Buffalo Bills fans. I am not sure what part of our genetic makeup calls us to be attracted to teams that will ultimately break our heart, but I guess that is the pain we live with... as well as pass down to our children.

So Tim calls me on his way home from work the other day and told me that Ronnie Cedeno, our children's favorite Cub player, signed a one year extension. So I proceed to tell Ronni and Peyton the good news and Peyton shouts, "Ronni, your going to play for the cubbies this year!" Later that night as Peyton was brushing his teeth he was singing "Go Cubs Go", they are well on their way to a lifetime of disappointment.

There is a first time for everything

2009-01-15T09:42:00.000-08:00

So I am blogging. I think it will be a lot of fun. Like I said, there is a first time for everything. We will know how successful my blogging campain is if there is a 2nd or 3rd or 4th time. I really want to keep it up, I think it will be nice for granparents to read silly stories and see pictures as well as an easier way for me to write down stuff for my kids to read. I think once a year I will print my posts (if I can) and put it in a binder so the kids can look at the pictures and stuff. Much easier than writing in their journals!! Anyway, I hope you have fun reading my blog, I am not sure how much will be all that interesting, then again it is a blog about a four year old a three year old and a 3 month old, life doesn't get more interesting than this!