i like me a good deal

i have been looking for a playhouse for the kids for a while, refusing to pay the $300 ++ that they cost new. i am telling you the truth when i say that they are one of THE hottest items on craigslist "baby + kids" category (at least on the central coast of CA). they sell for dirt cheap at times, but you have to be the first person to contact the seller or you miss out. i have tried several times to beat the rush but have never been successful...until today! i hadn't checked c-list all day, but when i clicked on the page, it was the first item listed, so i called (they had posted it less than 2 minutes before i called!), and went to pick up our new little "cottage" style house this afternoon for $40! It is severely FADED and the phone is missing from the dial pad, but the kids love it! They had a blast cleaning it up with dishsoap and the hose (many a mudpie had been made inside of it before it came home with us!) and filling it with playfood after it dried. what a deal! **i will post a pic of it assembled after i take one!

WANTED: A MOMMY THAT WILL POTTY TRAIN ME

This poor girl's mommy is putting off pottytraining her until absolutely necessary. It is a sad thing, but her Mommy is nursing her baby sister every 3 hours, assisting her princess sister with dress-up and tea parties, making superhero costumes for her brother and rescuing him from seriously injuring himself due to his dangerous stunts, preparing snacks and meals for the family, and trying to conquer a mountain of laundry constantly...that she doesn't see how pottytraining is going to work out this month! Isn't her mommy reading books, working puzzles, and playing on the slip n slide with her WAY more fun than pottytraining? Her mommy really enjoys doing these things MUCH more with her than the potty thing.
However, if she persists to "sneak" onto the potty, she may win the battle.

job descriptions

today, i offered to mow the lawn, and Brad said okay, but only if I really wanted to. Brice quickly interjected that mommies don't mow the lawn, only daddies. Brad asked him, "If daddies mow the lawn, what do mommies do?" He said, "Mommies stay inside and go nuts." Smart boy we have on our hands!
Oh, and one more thing...while writing this post, we have been watching ladies volleyball and Brad has been cheering USA on. Brice just asked Brad, "Can they hear you?" We answered with a no, of course not. Brice then asked, "Then why are you talking to them if they can't hear you? That doesn't make sense!"

a little blood. no sweat.

That's Kaitlin Jane. She had her first nose bleed over the weekend. I was tossing (gently!) the kids down the slip n slide, and she FLEW and knocked into Brice at the bottom. She didn't even notice though (obviously from the picture). She is a tough one, and I am thankful that as the third, she is this way. She is very good at shaking things off, but still, the sight of it is very sad.

it is ridiculous that...

...Kaitlin sleeps with 6 blankies and 9 "friends"
...my children play in the snowsled in June
...I took a picture when Brice dropped this egg and not only did I take a picture of it, but I also let him play with it (yuk!-I think sometimes I tend to be a little TOO hands on)
...Brice has been in undies for 2 years now, but still insists on wearing them backwards (in order to see the picture)

I have been picking out photos for scrapbooks & ran across these and several others that were ridiculous or "what's wrong with this pic." They have kept me in stitches!

Happy Birthday, Princess Jaeda!

I can't believe you are three years-old! You are such a beautiful, funny, smart, and sweet little girl. You are the greatest big sister that Addison and Kaitlin could ever ask for. I know that we ask a lot of you being that you are the biggest sissy, but you carry yourself well, and are always happy to help and take care of the younger ones. You are also Brice's best friend...he loves you so much even though he picks on you to no end. Your love of singing at any given moment warms my heart, and your sincere compliments melt us all. You are fun, fun, fun, and you have lots of very interesting things to say. You are unbelievably nurturing to babies (both pretend and real), and are going to make an amazing mommy one day. We love you to pieces and as one of our favorite books says, "if you weren't my little girl, a piece would be gone, we just could not go one...the world would not be the same without you."

Lite Brite

I was so excited when our friend April gave Jaeda this ancient toy for her birthday! But of course, it has had a facelift since I played with my own LITE BRITE twenty something years ago. It is now advertised as having a "flatscreen" (when did it not??), and the paper is now shiny instead of dull construction paper. Anyways, we had lots of fun with that this morning. Brice and Jaeda are home from preschool for summer, so I have been trying to find some ways to keep developing their fine motor-skills and have fun with it, and this proved successful!!! I still felt excited about turning on the bulb to light up our creation after punching in the colors. It is for ages 4 and up, but if your child knows their letters and colors, they should have no problem, and it definitely helps to reinforce what they are learning or know. Brice and Jaeda worked really well together to get the job done, but I do recommend locking up any twenty-two months old before beginning the process! TROUBLE!!

BFFs

Had to post these. Here is Addison, her friend Viggo, and her BFF Madelyn aka Maddie (This friendship was arranged while the girls were still in utero :). I am also posting a picture of Brad and I, Addison while in my tummy at 38 weeks, Maddie, and her mommy Kate and daddy James. Brad and James have been friends since high school.
Addison is getting big so quickly...chubby as you can see! She is on a great schedule and sleeping through the night most every night. I love nursing her, but she has to be really patient a lot of the time because I have to intervene with her bigger siblings during her meals a lot of the time. :(
She is smiling TONS and just belly-laughed for the first time two days ago. Hope you enjoy the little update!

it's only 9:30...

but it feels like 5:30 pm. Lord, please give me a playful spirit for today, because I am being way too serious.