HAPPY NEW YEAR...

Wish I had some fun exciting pictures to post, but not the case...Everyone is asleep at my house@ 10 pm, my husband included. He feel asleep before our oldest child, does that say something about our age??? There's always next year.

I hope this New Year finds you all happy and healthy!

Snowman Treats

How cute are these little snacks? I saw the idea in the paper a few weeks ago and thought they were fun! I took the idea and added a little flair, just Ritz crackers w/ peanut butter in between dipped in white chocolate. I love the way they all look different, some Asian, some mad,etc...

I hope the kids at school like them as much as Madeline does. I kinda have the feeling I am going to be the "cool" Mom tomorrow, especially since I made reindeer cupcakes today :)

24 Tiny Reindeer

Madeline is taking the "cutest" and in some cases the "goofiest" treat to school tomorrow for her Polar Express day (thanks Jeanne for the idea)!

1st Snow of the Season

Yesterday we got about 4 inches of snow. Of course it's a pain for those of us that drive, but for the kids it's recreation!

While Claire "tubed", Jack tiptoed through the snow and Madeline made snow angels.

We Cheated!!!

Tonight, we broke out the gingerbread kits. Madeline the Sleigh, Claire the house. Last year we spent so much time getting the roof on our houses to stay up, that by the end we were out of icing and had "supports" for the roof line. This year, Matt had a thought...why don't we hot glue the gingerbread pieces together??? Let me tell you, it worked like a charm.

I must admit that in some way, I feel like I am cheating Christmas, but hey whatever works, right?

DEAR SANTA,

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS...

IS A PAIR OF PINK GLITTER SHOES!!!

While the girls were writing their letters to Santa, Jack was tapping around in his sister's pink glitter shoes. Should I be worried????

Meet Eubie

the elf on our shelf! Thanks to Marsee, I was turned on to this holiday tradition. This little guy was sent to us by the big guy himself and leaves through magic Christmas power every night to report to Santa on the kids behavior and reappears the next morning somewhere else in the house. SHHH, it's supposed to be kept a secret!

You better believe if it works, there will be a Cupid on our shelf, Leprechaun on our Shelf, Easter Bunny on our shelf, etc.....

Fireworks on Thanksgiving

Last night we ventured to the Plaza with the girls and Uncle Todd to start off the holiday season. The weather was pleasant, the girls were angels and I love having a taste of July in November!

Happy Thanksgiving

from our little turkeys! We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends. Hope you enjoy your day.

A BOY OF MANY TALENTS!!!

What do you think, the world's next harmonica player or recorder star? Perhaps a major league pitcher???

LIKE MOTHER...

LIKE FATHER!!!

PARTY LIKE A ROCK STAR....

Today the girls attended a "Rock Star" party and had a ball ( note: this is how Madeline would go to school everyday if I let her).

Thanks Kendal for the wonderful party and Happy 5th Birthday!!!

6...6 and under

I think I could do it!

TIS THE SEASON TO....

PURGE!!! I just cleaned out my closet and this is the stash that is going to Goodwill (the picture doesn't do much justice, there are about 10 pair of jeans, 15 sweaters and a bunch of other stuff in the pile). IT FEELS SOOOO GOOD to get rid of it all! Now if I could just get my husband to do the same....

Not so scary...

Today Madeline and all the other 1st graders are putting on a Scarecrow performance at school. I can't take credit for the outfit (bought it on eBay for $7.00), but I will it for the hat. It's amazing what you can do with some feathers and a glue gun!

Say it ain't so Joaquin....

I am having a hard timing believing at that at the ripe old age of 34, Joaquin Phoenix is planning on calling it quits from the acting world. I am sorry, but I found him EXTREMELY attractive after his rendition of Johnny Cash in Walk the Line and it's hard for me to image Hollywood without him!!! Doesn't he owe it to his brother to keep the tradition alive???

Future Educator...

Today, Claire had to dress as what she wanted to be when she grew up for preschool. Her choice was a teacher! So on went the apple dress, glasses and bus ribbon and she was all set!

I'm Tagging Myself

Okay, so the other day I was blog stalking and saw that Jessica and Erica had been "tagged" and thought it looked interesting! Since I have not been "tagged" I thought that I would "tag" myself and do it on my own...Not sure if this is allowed, but here it goes......

4 Things I was doing 10 years ago

1. Working on my master degree at Wichita State in Criminal Justice
2. Planning my wedding
3. Waiting tables
4. Living in the "ghetto" in Wichita

4 Things on my to do list today

1. Parent Teacher conferences for Madeline and Claire
2. Survive all day with 3 kids (Madeline was off today)
3. Laundry (an hourly goal in my house)
4. Take a nap (somehow I actually snoozed for 5+ minutes)

4 Random things I love about my husband

1. He's an only child
2. I can tell him anything and he doesn't get offended
3. He makes me laugh at myself
4. He's confident in himself (in High school I used to think that he was a prick, but as I got older, I recognized it as self confidence)

4 Jobs I have had

1. Probation Officer
2. Bartender (Matt's Grandma used to say that was just 1 step above a whore)
3. Dunkin' Donuts on Saturday and Sunday mornings
4. Teacher's aide for Dr.Palmiatto at Wichita State (actually co-authored a text book about policing)

4 Movies I have watched more than once

1. Silence of the Lambs
2. Back to the Future
3. Any Harry Potter movie
4. Goonies

4 Places I have been

1. London
2. Nevis
3. Cancun
4. Lake Tahoe

4 Places I want to visit

1. Paris
2. Rome
3. Costa Rico
4. San Diego

4 TV Shows I watch

1. Brothers and Sisters
2. Dirty sexy money
3. Intervention
4. Law and Order SVU

4 Things you may not know about me

1. I HATE to exercise and don't
2. I LOVE to have "do nothing" days with my kids. Meaning we literally "do nothing" all day.
3. I have a Diet Coke and Snickers everyday for breakfast (probably not a secret to a lot of you).
4. Although I tend to bitch about it a lot, there is NOTHING that I would change about my life!

Okay, so I am tagging Keely and Salmans. You are up ladies!!! Thank you Jessica and Erica for the inspiration for a blog entry.....

The Freaks Come Out at Night

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

The end is near

for me! Matt has been out of town since early Sunday am and is coming home tomorrow! I can't tell you how happy I am going to be to see him. Not only do I miss him, but the kids are in despite need of some daddy time. Anytime he goes out of town, I think of all the military wives who have to do the single mom thing for months on end and I feel a little guilty, then I remind myself that I did not marry a military man and it was not something that "I signed up for". Needless to say, the kids and I faired pretty well over the last week, other than a few tears shed by Claire. She seems to have the most difficult time with Daddy being away, probably b/c he is the only one who understands her (could have something to do w/ the fact that she has the exact same personality as me)!

Here has what I have learned and will happily admit:

1) I NEED my husband-yes I just admitted that! Not only do I need the adult conversation in my house, but I NEED the distraction. My kids need the distraction.

2) He DOES do stuff around here-yes I just admitted that too! It may just be an extra set of eyes, hands or ears, but it is something (for the record, he is a lot more than that).

3) I am NOT in anyway EVER leaving my husband. Any discord that can come in a marriage is tolerable compared to being a single parent of 3 small children!

4) My desire to have a 4th child is GONE....

4 months later.....

Okay, so the tornado hit here in Manhattan on June 11th, it is now October 16th and we are FINALLY getting new garage doors!!! Houses have literally been REBUILT from the ground up in the same amount of time???

BEFORE

These "plain" garage doors were on the house one day when we showed up. I remember calling Matt and asking him "did I miss a meeting or something b/c I don't recall picking out garage doors". Needless to say, we let it go and decided that they were fine. Then the tornado hit and I realized that this was my opportunity to get the doors that I REALLY wanted.....

AFTER

They still have to be painted, but I love the windows!!!

We're Off to See the Wizard

Today the girls and I were treated to the Wizard of Oz in Wamego by Grandma Jan. I must say that I was COMPLETELY impressed!!!

Of course both girls had on their "ruby red slippers"

The girls and Grandma Jan

Claire's Pumpkin Patch

Claire making her "spookiest" face

All the kiddos with their new found pumpkins


Madeline showing off hers

Claire struggling to hold her pumpkin

Today the girls and I attended Claire's 5Th birthday party!!! What a fun time....Jeanne out did herself with a hay rack ride to the "pumpkin patch". The kids had a blast and it was the PERFECT fall day.

Happy 5Th Birthday Claire.....

3 Peas in a Pod

The kids were downstairs in the toy room last night and all was quiet, so knowing my kids, I figured something had to be up. Much to my surprise, this is what I found! They were all snugged together watching 101 Dalmatians in the dark. Of course, the scene ended shortly after the photo was taken, but I enjoyed a little peace and quiet for a full 45 seconds!!!

Where have I been????

Okay, so I am sure that some of you have been wondering where I have been? I have not been blogging much lately because as I mentioned in a previous post, I have been on my bi-annual eBay binge or purge!!! Let me tell you how good it feels to get money and I mean A LOT of money for my children's used clothes. Answer: pretty damn good...

Anyway, after listing some 200+ items (including about 400 actually things) and making a few bucks, I am done until spring when I will start all over again.....

Though it is an obscene amount of work, which is the way that I make it because I run my eBay selling much as I would run a retail business with good customer service and lightening fast shipping, I am DONE!!!!

Now I can concentrate on other things, like replenishing the closets, hee hee!

I hope that I can be more faithful about blogging the daily events in my life from here on out. If anyone is interested in a tutorial on how to sell on eBay, I'm your gal!

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY CLAIRE!!!

Newborn, 5 months and 8 months

4 years ago today, our baby girl was born on her due date! Claire was born 3 hours after I started contractions and for whatever reason, I only got 30 minutes of an epidural. I should have known by Claire's speedy entrance, that she was going to be a handful!! Claire goes full tilt all day long and has always had a very STRONG personality (some may call this stubborn).

Though we have had our moments, the thing I love most about Claire is her bright personality. She makes me laugh all the time and never fails to put a smile on my face.

I love you baby girl, to the moon and the stars and back again.....

A IS FOR APPLE....

The theme of the 1st week is "A is for apple" so we thought it appropriate to wear an apple dress.

Claire and Mrs.Grogan

Claire and Mrs. White

It's been nearly a month since Madeline started back to school and every morning since, Claire has asked me, "Mommy, do I get to go to school today?" For several long weeks, I saw the disappointment on her face when I had to say "No, not today honey." Well, this morning she asked me and much to her surprise, I said "yes". She promptly turned to Madeline and let out a holler. I hoped it lived up to her expectations......

2 DOWN 1 TO GO....

Jack went to his first day of CDO (Children's Day Out) this morning, so it is just Claire and I for a few hours. I am optimistic because they haven't called me yet to come and get him and it's been 1 1/2 hours!

I must admit he was screaming when I left and of course it broke my heart. I swore I could hear him all the way down the hall, but Claire sensing my anxiety reassured my by saying "Mom, I don't think that's Jackie, it just sounds like him".

In a few hours I will be picking him up and dropping Claire off for her 1st day of preschool, she is over the moon about it and can't wait to get the year started!!! More pics later....

9 YEARS LATER....

9 years and 3 babies later....still the best thing that has ever happened to me! Happy Anniversary babe.

PURPLE POWER PLAY

Tonight we got the kids all dressed up in there purple and off we went to Poyntz for a some Purple Power Play action. I would have to admit that I was a bit disappointed, not too many people and definately not too much excitement in the air! Could this be a sign of things to come???

Can't get much better than a balloon flower and snow cone (purple of course)!

Claire makes her way to the car with her purple "hat"

Jack of course was concerned about only 1 thing, BALL!

Willie is clearly not Jack's "homeboy"

The girls showing a rare moment of sisterly love :)

Ebay or Bust

Sorry for my absence, I am doing my bi-annual eBay selling frenzy and it CONSUMES me! I neglect my children, my household duties, etc. just so that I can make a few bucks and more importantly, clear out all the children's clothes from my house that no longer fit. There are 2 things that amaze me every time I do this. First, I REALLY do have this many clothes for my 3 small children and second, that people are willing to pay MORE THAN I PAID ORIGINALLY FOR USED CLOTHES!!! I don't get it, but hey I'm not complaining.

I will try to do my best to post a few pics of the kiddos over the next couple of weeks, but right now all my camera memory is being consumed with used garments :)

3rd Time's a Charm???

When Jack was born, I thought that I was in the clear as far as drama goes. With 2 girls under my belt, I thought I had seen my share of fits, but oh, was I WRONG! Rather than attempt to learn speech, Jack likes to SCREAM!!!! While the thrashing on the ground is not his normal routine, the screaming has become part of my daily life.

Seriously, where does that come from? I don't know that I have ever laid on the floor and banged my head against it (although there are multiple times a day that I have contemplated it) and Matt certainly doesn't kick his feet in the air when he doesn't get his way (not lately anyway)! If the boy doesn't learn words with more than 4 letters soon (every object in the universe is either "ball" or "dog"), I am not sure what I will do! I recall several of my friends telling me that boys were so much easier than girls, NOT SEEING IT LADIES.....

2024 Olympic Hopeful

Move over Johnathan Horton....Pretty good form for a little guy if you ask me!!!