All Right Snow, I've Had Enough!

I spent an hour outside shoveling….but you’d never know that an hour later….

Baby It’s Cold Outside

I really hate winter, I mean really really hate winter, everything about it.  The cold, the snow, the ice, scraping car windows (outside and inside the vehicle!), snow building up on the windshield wiper, losing control of the car on ice and snow covered roads, risking my kids life every time we have to go someplace, the huge heating bills (and of course we heat three floors), the bulky winter clothes and washing them cause you can only fit three sweaters and a couple pair of jeans in one load as opposed to about a dozen summer items, dressing the kids in multi layers, laying in bed shivering all night and then going and putting my son who has a raging fever in bed with me to keep me warm, days that the sun will peak out and the temps hit 40’s and then the next day its 20 below, when school gets delay because of the snow but I still have to drive to work, getting showered and dressed each morning only to go outside and get covered in wind blown snow and ice and getting to work soaking wet looking like just crawled out of bed and forgot to wash the mascara off my checks, constant dry skin from forced air heat, sitting in front of a door that opens and closes all day (but then getting smart and locking the front office door and make everyone park out back and use the back door), leaving for work in the dark and getting home in the dark, cold toes that never get warm, blowing on my hands to warm them up and getting light headed, feeling like all I want to do is lay on the couch covered in blankets and do nothing but hibernate and get fat, standing outside the school in freezing temps, with a toddler waiting for school to get out, taking an hour to bundle kids up to play in the snow and then having them say “I have to pee”, then to repeat the process all over for about a half hour outside, having only two seasons that consist of nine months of winter and three months of spring…….shall I go on or do you get the point.

I REALLY HATE WINTER!

Day 28

 

Napoleon Dynamite: How long did it take you to grow that moustache?

Pedro: A couple of days.

Brothers

Sometimes being a brother is

even better than being a superhero.

PEACE

Peace is not something you wish for; it's something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away.

That Face!

I Love It!

What’s on the Menu

Ice cold milk from a glass jug, real pure maple syrup and whole wheat chocolate chip pancakes – fast, easy and delicious dinner!

My Second Born

Dear Middle Child - I've always loved you best because you were my challenge and it made me become the woman I am today. You cried often, had no patience and wore faded hand me downs. You could play in the dirt and leave your toys all over the living room floor and you helped me understand that the world would not collapse if you went to bed with dirty feet. You were the child of my busy, ambitious years and without you, I would not have survived the job changes, moves and the routine that is marriage. Never in your life will you get anything first, but it only makes you stronger.

My Teenager

Dear First Born - I've always loved you best because you were my miracle. You were the genesis of a marriage and the fulfillment of young love. You sustained me through the hardships, the garage apartments and my going back to college years. You were new, had four unused grandparents and enough clothes for a set of triplets. You never wore the same outfit twice, you were always clean and had your first pair of Nike sneakers when you were four months old. You were an original for a mom who was trying to work the bugs out. You got the name brand clothes, top of the line toys and took three hour naps. You were my beginning.

My First Born

It may seem that I don’t post many pictures of Gregory on here, I try, I really do; but my problem can be summed up in one word: TEENAGER. The last thing my oldest son wants is to have his picture taken – getting him to look at me and smile, that’s about as simple as getting him to cut his hair, clean his room, hang out with his mom, carry his dirty laundry downstairs, waking him before noon, well you get the idea, it’s impossible. And, if you don’t believe me – the proof is in the pictures…

There used to be a time when I called his name and wanted to take his picture, that this is what I would get:

I’m told that when the teenage years pass, these smiles will come back.

God help me until then!

Bowling with the Boys

For the last and final birthday celebration I took the little guys bowling. We had an awesome time and they loved every minute of it! We bowled with our friends, ate pizza and laughed until our sides hurt. There were a couple young guys in the lane next to us and they were so entertained by the kids, they could hardly bowl themselves!

I had a special shirt made for Luke by Heather at “LaLa A Blog Shop” – here is her LINK. She was super fast, has excellent prices and a quick turn around time. Thanks Heather!

Happy 4th Birthday!

To The Baby - I've always loved you best because while endings are generally sad, you are such a joy. You readily accepted the milk stained bibs, the frayed books and the used crib. You are the one I hold onto so tightly and never put down. You are the link with my past and my reason for tomorrow. You darkened my hair, quickened my steps and restored my vision. You gave me a sense of humor that security, maturity and durability can not provide. When you are all grown up and have children of your own, you will still be my baby.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!

Popcorn and a Movie

Today I took the boys to see Avatar – what a great movie! I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was nothing like that. I really enjoyed the story behind the movie, all the boys cared about were the robots and the fighting. We went with a good friend of mine and her two little boys. We stuffed ourselves with snacks bought from the grocery store at a much more reasonable price and snuck in just so happened to have in my purse and popcorn that we legally received from the concession stand compliments of a free small popcorn coupon that we upgraded to a medium for $1.

After the movie we headed over to McDonalds for some dinner, playland fun and ice cream.

Tomorrow – we are going bowling – bumper bowling. The boys have never been to a real bowling alley, they’ve just bowled with the Wii. All they are talking about is how many strikes and spares they are going to get….I’ve reminded them numerous times that bowling balls – REAL bowling balls – weigh a lot more than a Wii controller, but I still don’t think they get the concept.

Three more days of being Three

Lucas will be four in three more days – where has the time gone? Today was his day to bring snack to school and we had the perfect cookie recipe! Amy from The Idea Room featured the “Play Dough” Lollipop cookie. Not only were these easy to make, it was something fun to make with the boys.

If you would like the recipe following this Link ! Even if you don’t want to make the cookie – check out her blog, I love it!

We had a birthday celebration for Lucas tonight because Daddy has to work the next few nights and won’t be home in the evening to celebrate.

Some Day, I’m Going to Miss This!

This morning I was reading a blog that I follow – her name is MckMama. Her post this morning was wonderful and it completely hit home for me, put my life in perspective. Click here for a direct link to her post. As I was reading this, I cried that’s how meaningful this was to me.

Having the three boys, life sometimes gets hectic and I forget to live in the moment and enjoy the best days of our lives. From this point forward, I’m going to remind myself “Some day, I’m going to miss this”.

The Dangers of the Wii

His first black eye – the effects of Wii boxing, very realistic! Just kidding. If you’re wondering what happened, just ask Luke – he’ll tell you he got mad while they were playing Wii and he threw his controller at Joseph. Too bad for Joseph we have to find out Luke has an awesome throw the hard way. I’m sure with three boys, it’s only gonna get worse.

Ahhhh

Having three boys in the house can sometime be quite trying, especially when it comes to getting a little peace and quiet. It may be selfish on my part, but I have hobbies that I like to partake in once in a while. Today, I have been able to accomplish that....even if for short bits of time.

Luke was playing the Wii in the living room....

Joseph was playing Nintendo in his room....

and Gregory was playing on his laptop in his room....

and I had a little peace and quiet!

The Evolution of a Wall

This is the evolution of our dining room walls. The top picture is the wallpaper that we have been looking at for four years - FOUR YEARS! How did we ever do - every picture that I took in my dining room has this wallpaper plastered all over the background and I cringed every time I saw it and swore that soon I would strip the walls and repaint - well, it took me four year - FOUR YEARS to start the process. The middle picture is what what left of the next layer. I would love to know the history of these walls - why was this chosen, how long ago and WHY??? The final picture is the wall itself - painted. What color is that anyways - and again WHY??

So now, the wall paper is gone! Next on the list is to scrape the flaky spots on the ceiling and get that painted! It will be amazing how bright this room will be when just the ceiling is fresh white again instead of the ugly, smoke stain, appearance that it has now. I've already decided that the room will be painted a nice shade of sage green and I will be trying the Kilz paint with the primer included! Hopefully it will only be FOUR DAYS before this room is finished.

Then...on to the living room....but that's another entry!

My Love/Hate Relationship

After a long six months, I've rekindled my love/hate relationship with my wallpaper steamer. Fortunately our side of the house only has one room with only two layers of wallpaper - as opposed to seven rooms and 50 layers of wallpaper on our rental side. It is grueling work, especially to be taking on after a long work day that begins at 5 a.m. But I've set small limits, only a wall a night - this minimizes the mess and still lets me have time to relax at night.

I'm working on the dining room and when the walls are stripped (only two more to go) the walls will be painted a sage green. With a nice fresh coat of bright white ceiling paint and trim work, this room will be wonderful. There are two large windows and a full paned glass door leading out to our sunporch (aka the playroom) which will eventually become my craft room.

After the dining room, I'm moving on to the living room - but there is no wallpaper!! I should be posting pictures with this, but I'm not....maybe tomorrow.

A Picture A Day

I've seen this done by others and I thought I would give it a try. Along with my new years resolution of posting often on my new blog, I've stared another. It is called "365 Reasons I'm Rich." Every day for the next 365 days I will post a picture of something special in my life. It may the kids, something with the house, a trip we have taken or just something that caught my eye. You can see the sight here: 365reasonsimrich.blogspot.com. Check it out and start one yourself!