That’s what I heard this morning as the girls were waking up and looked out the windows.  It was hard not to laugh at such a cute statement.  Even though I am not a fan of the white stuff.  I guess I should rephrase that statement.  I don’t mind how pretty it looks from inside my warm house.  But I don’t like going out in the cold and snowy weather.  I certainly don’t like driving in it.  I DO love that my kids are excited about it and love it.  Of course, I had to correct Kylie and let her know that it’s not Christmas, but just winter.  She was already to get the Christmas tree out and trim the house.  How do you NOT get excited for Christmas with little ones getting so excited. 

Not much has happened since my last post.  We had a pretty boring week.  We were going to have a big girl party for Kennedy, but that had to get delayed until this week.  However, she has been having quite a few accidents, so I’m not sure if we should have it or not.  On the one hand, maybe it would be a boost to encourage her to keep up the good work.  But, I’m afraid that she would go backwards since she already got the reward.  Oh, the stresses of parenting.  Why do we second guess ourselves?  I must tell myself that some things are really not worth stressing about.  I guess if we have a big girl party and she goes backwards with her training, she will eventually master the skill.  I doubt that she will be 10 yrs old and still wearing a diaper.  Right?????  LOL

Last week I mentioned that I was going to start reading my book that my sister gave me, and I did.  In fact, I was disappointed when the girls woke up and I was unable to keep reading it.  I’m hoping to be able to get back into it this afternoon.  I think I read the first 5 chapters and it is a good book so far.  Hopefully I will get in a few more chapters this afternoon. 

One of the thoughts that have been on my mind lately is something that has hit me quite hard.  The big word that’s been on my mind is PERSPECTIVE.  Maybe I am a little slow on this, but so many things have got me thinking and realizing that everyone has their own perspective on life and events.  For instance, my perspective on the whole election thing was one of doom (at least for a few days).  I was so disappointed and it felt like a huge loss.  I was almost in a state of grieving about that lost.  I also had a sense of fear and worry about the future.  But, if you watched the TV, you saw a LOT of rejoicing.  There were a lot of people that were excited and happy.  I’m sure that their perspective on the situation was different from mine AND that it is because we are all different and have different life experiences.  Another example about perspective was after a discussion with some of my siblings.  I think that they all stay up late and find it funny that I’m in bed by 9:30/10 pm.  And I can’t even imagine how I would feel if I stayed up as late as they do.  On the days that I work, I am up at 6:30 and I am on the move until the girls go to bed at 8:30 or 9.  So, after they are in bed, I am ready to go to sleep.  Now, I often go to bed and watch TV for a little down time, but I don’t usually make it past the 10 o’clock news (Thank God for the 10 o’clock news).  LOL  So often I find myself judging other people’s lives and getting frustrated when others judge mine.  I’ve become more aware that different people have different perspectives and often times we act or react from our experiences.  I don’t consider myself to be too judgmental, but I find myself judging other people’s lives and choices.  I’m pretty good about not judging and telling people how to live their lives, but I catch myself thinking about how someone isn’t a good parent because <fill in the blank>, or how can they do that and not realize what they are doing, or why would they choose to do that when it is so obvious.  Simple things like that creep into my mind and I don’t even think about.  What got me thinking was that there are other people out there thinking the same thing about me and the things I do or the choices I make.  I started to realize that I don’t like other people thinking poorly about me, so why do I think these things about other people?  I’m trying to stop myself from thinking negative things about other people and trying to remind myself that it’s not my life, but theirs.  And other people have a different perspective on life and different life experiences that cause them to do the things they do and make the choices they make.  I know that the people I think negative things about are other people like me who are really TRYING to do the best for them and their family and for God.  I don’t want other people to judge me, so I better not judge them.  I realize that I can’t stop other people from thinking these things about me, but I can control my thoughts. 

Well, that was deep for a Monday.  But, I have been thinking a lot about that lately and I just wanted to share what’s been on my heart and mind.  And now, I was going to read my book, but Emma has decided that she doesn’t want to take a long nap this afternoon.  So, I better go get her before she wakes up the other girls.  :)

I hope you all enjoy your week and if I have time this week, I will post some pics from Kennedy’s big girl party.  TTFN.

We’ve had a lot happen since I last posted.  There were lots of Halloween activities that we went to.  Our first event was our pumpkin carving party at my parents house the Tuesday night before Halloween.  That was a lot of family fun, but a little bit busy with all those costumes and carving and treats.  My mom got a pumpkin pinata, which was a fun little twist on the trick or treating part.  Then, we went to a trick or treating event at Camp Geneva on the Thursday night before Halloween.  We went with some friends of ours and the kiddos walked from cabin to cabin asking for Candy.  And then, they had some fun games inside the lunch/gathering hall.  It was a lot of fun.  Finally, on Halloween night, we went out with our old neighbors around our old neighborhood.  We get the golf carts and go thru one of the big subdivisions near by.  Here are a few pics from the pumpkin carving party: 

  Now, aren’t those kiddos just the cutest things on the planet.  And yes, there are 14 kids in that picture and there are three other kiddos that are still missing.  What a great time we have with all the kiddos.  I hope that these traditions continue and that we always find time to do these things together. 

Here are some pics from our golf cart trick or treating:

Well, that’s it for the Halloween pictures.  As you can see, Emma was a polar bear.  Kylie was a ladybug, and Kennedy was a butterfly.  It was an absolutely gorgeous night - there were so many people sitting out on their porches or out in their driveway handing out candy to the kids.  I don’t know why people think that the smaller kids, the more candy they need to have, but after all of the events, we came up with 3 gallon size baggies FULL of candy.  And that’s after we threw some of the things away that looked suspicious or were partially opened.  Fortunately my kids don’t ask for candy very often, so they only a get a piece or two a day if they are lucky.  Although, Kennedy has been potty training, so she’s been getting more candy for going on the potty.

We had a busy weekend this past weekend.  Friday night we had a wedding reception for a guy that I work with.  He and his wife got married in Hawaii and had their reception at Till Midnight in Holland.  It was a very nice reception.  Then, on Saturday night we went out to dinner with the adults in my family.  We left the kids at my parents house with a couple of my cousins and their boyfriends.  There were actually 5 of them and I think that the kiddos wore them out completely.  They probably had plans to go out and do something fun in Holland for the night, but they probably went home and went to bed.  :)  Thanks Lindsey and Kaleigh (and your guys).  Sunday was a typical day for us.  Church, lunch, naps and then a night at home for down time.  All in all, it was an alright weekend.  And, since it was SNOWING/RAINING on Saturday, I got a lot of work done around the house.  So, today I get to relax and maybe start reading a book while the girls are napping. 

It’s been a little bit since I’ve updated on what the girls are doing, so here goes:

Kylie is 4 going on 13.  She can be the most amazingly sweet and well mannered child, but she has her moments of attitude like that of a 13 year old.  I don’t know where she learns it from, but she can be awful.  Out of all 3 girls, so far she has the best disposition, though.  She is happy almost all the time and she is very easy going.  Right now, her favorite thing is Hannah Montana.  She loves to sing her song, Best of Both Worlds, and watch the show.  I’m not sure that she "gets" all of the show, but she likes to watch the show ALL the time.  I suppose it isn’t such a stretch for her to like the show because she LOVES to sing.  She is always singing something.  She definitely got her love for music and ability to sing from my side of the family.  :)

Kennedy is 2 and always in to something - usually up to some sort of naughtiness.  If she’s being quiet, she’s being naughty.  I call her my sensory child.  She just loves to feel things, hear things, taste things.  She’s not the type of naughty where she does something simply to disobey.  I guess she is more mischievous than naughty.  One of her latest accomplishments is going potty on the big girl potty.  She has gotten the hang of it now.  It’s just a matter of making sure that she goes, instead of getting too busy playing or whatever.  And, we haven’t successfully mastered the night time potty thing, but there have been several nights when she stayed dry.  So, it won’t be long and she will be done with the potty training stage.  We are trying to plan a "Big Girl Party" for her real soon.  She has been asking about when she would get one for the last couple weeks, and we just haven’t had a week without a lot going on.  I think that we may try to do something this week. 

Emma is almost 9 mos old.  It’s hard to believe that she has been out of my womb as long as she was in my womb.  It’s always funny to me that time can go by so quickly and yet somewhat slowly as well.  Anyway, she has just started to sit up all on her own within the last few weeks.  She has been rolling from place to place for a little while now, but just recently she has started to do a version of the army crawl.  It is so funny to watch her learn how to use her limbs to move around.  She has started to eat more and more finger foods, but it is still a little difficult when she doesn’t have any teeth.  She doesn’t mind trying new tastes or textures - almost any type of food is fair game. 

Well, I guess that is all that I have for now.  I’m going to try to start reading my book.  I NEVER read, so we’ll see how well this goes.  I just know that it is supposed to be an inspiring book and hopefully one that helps me get out of the funk that I have been in.  I’m longing to feel good about myself, my faith, and my relationships.  Hopefully this book will have something to say to me and my heart that will help me find my way out of the bad state I’ve been in lately.  So, I’m off to read.  Have a great week! 

So, it was a busy week as I expected.  Well, at least I didn’t find the time to post anything.  Probably the biggest event was the U of M vs MSU game at Michigan.  We went to the game with my in-laws.  We had a great time at the game even though Michigan didn’t win.  Of course, they are having a rough season this year, so it was kind of expected.  We showed hope during the 1st half of the game, but the 2nd half wasn’t very pretty.  We still had a great day.  The weather was nice for a football game.  I LOVE going to UofM games.  It is truly an incredible experience. 

The weather has decided to take a turn for the worst here in Michigan.  It is getting cold and it has been rainy.  Of course, it could be much worse.  We could have snow.  Oh yeah, what am I thinking.  That is what the forecast calls for.  YUCK!  I truly dislike winters in Michigan.  It is cold and we almost always have lots of white stuff.  It wouldn’t be so bad if I could just stay home and not have to go outside, except to play once in a while.  The problem is that I have to get out of the house and load up 3 kids so that I can go to work and the kids can go to their places 4 out of 5 days.  I can’t say that I hate driving in the snow, because the snow doesn’t bother me much.  I do hate driving when the roads are covered with ice, but even that isn’t what I dislike about winter.  I just don’t like the bitterly cold temperatures.  I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, for several reasons, but I wouldn’t complain if we had two falls or two springs, instead of winter.  :)

Do you remember my melt down a little while back?  I do.  I wish that things would have magically changed since then, but they really haven’t.  The changes that I wanted to make, I just haven’t had time to do it.  I am mentally feeling better about how things are going, but nothing has really changed.  I get so frustrated with myself, because I can be so stinkin’ lazy.  I am so busy on the days that I work, that I Just want to spend time with my family when we have time off.  I feel guilty for not giving my hubby and kids 100% when I am available and not working.  I’m feeling guilty about a LOT of things lately, but I feel like I am trapped.  I don’t know how to get out of my slump.  There are so many things that I should or could do better, but I don’t know where to begin.  For instance, I need to get my house in order.  I feel like we have been here for almost 3 years and we haven’t done much since we moved in.  One of the changes I want to make is in my front entry.  We are not handy people, so I really need to just figure out who can do it and how much it will cost and just get it done.  On a spiritual level, I really need to get involved in a Life Group at Church, but I feel like something else will have to give and I’m not sure what that would be.  I also am a bit of an introvert, so it is not easy for me to meet new people.  I am always worried about what others think of me and I don’t feel like I am good enough.  Of course, that is my problem, not at all a reflection of the people I am around.  Anyway, I feel guilty for not being in a Life Group, but I’m just not sure how to make that change.  On a physical level, I have actually gained weight after losing my most recent "baby fat."  How crazy is that?  I bought new clothes after I had Emma so that I didn’t have to continue wearing maternity clothes.  Now, even those clothes are getting a little tight.  I have nothing to wear that is comfortable or looks good.  And I refuse to go shopping for bigger clothes when ultimately I NEED to lose the weight.  Again, it comes back to laziness.  A friend has agreed to let me use her eliptical, but I haven’t gotten over to her house to pick it up.  Granted, I need Dan’s truck to pick it up, but I haven’t pushed for him to get it either.  I guess I have just a lot of issues that need to be dealt with and I need to stop being so lazy.  My sister, Manda, posted on her Facebook page that she is emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually drained.  I guess I could say the same thing after looking at the above issues.  I don’t have any real emotional issues, but it is kind of tied in to all the other issues. 

Alright, enough ranting and rambling.  Sorry you had to read all of that.  I guess I just needed to vent here on my blog.  And, don’t take this the wrong way.  I do feel truly blessed and I’m not really complaining as much as I am stating the obvious.  And maybe by typing this, it will inspire action.  Sometimes I feel like I am just going thru the motions in life.  Get up, Get ready, Drop off kids, Go to work, Pick up kids, Go home, Have dinner, Play a little while, Bathe kids and put to bed, Go to bed.  Seriously, that explains almost every day of my life.  Nothing extra special.  Maybe every once in a while, we will do something special like go to a football game.  But mostly, it’s the same thing day in and day out. 

On a positive note, we have Halloween to look forward to.  Tomorrow night we are doing our annual pumpkin carving party at my parents house.  It’s always fun to get all the kids together in their costumes and to carve some pumpkins.  Hopefully, I will have some good pics to post later this week.  And then, we have an annual trick-or-treating event with our old neighbors.  We get on the golf carts and go thru our old neighborhood.  We always have a GREAT time doing that.  So, we have some fun things coming up this week.  We’ve also been invited to a couple different Halloween events this weekend that we may or may not go to - we’ll see.  I’m not much for adult dress up parties, so we probably won’t do anything that would require us to dress up.  But it’s also been a while since we have done anything fun with just adults, so it would be fun to do something fun for a change.  I feel like I’m getting too old-Yikes!

Ok, the girls are starting to wake up, so I better get going.  I hope you all have a great week and feel free to let me know how you all manage your daily lives.  

I have no idea why I haven’t posted in so long.  I have been busy, but not that busy.  I guess I have been really busy on my Mondays and my weekends, so that might explain things.  I also haven’t had the energy to post - or anything too big to write about.  I have been loving this season - I think that fall is my favorite.  In fact, on Noggin, Moose A Moose sings a song called "I Feel Like I’m Fallin’ For Fall."  The song is super cute and I too feel like I’m fallin’ for fall. 

Here’s a picture of our back yard - you might understand why on earth I think Fall is such a great time of year.  I just had to look out my back door and see this beautiful color show.  I can’t even grasp how God could have even dreamed up such a concept.  I mean have you ever considered how you would even begin to think of creating the trees and leaves to begin with, but then to create them so that they would change color during the fall????  God’s thought process is just mind boggling to me.  Not to mention the artistic side of the whole thing.  I thought that it was pretty cool that about a week ago, Kylie said to me that God created a beautiful sunrise JUST FOR HER!  I feel like God created these beautiful trees JUST FOR ME!  I’m sure Kylie picked up that line from me saying something before about the beautiful sunrise and that God created those beautiful things just for us.  I truly believe that - if I was the only person on the planet, He would still have created all the splendor JUST FOR ME!  As you can tell, I LOVE the fall.  Maybe that’s why I got married in the fall?!

That’s another thing we’ve done recently.  We just celebrated 9 years of marriage this past Thursday (the 16th).  We got married on Oct. 16th, the day after my parents celebrated their 26th wedding anniversary.  I don’t particularly care for the term soul mate (not really sure why), but I truly did marry my BEST FRIEND.  I can’t imagine what life would be like without Dan.  I barely remember what my life was like before I met him.  We have had our highs and lows, but I know that we have a marriage that will last a life time.  We are both laid back and get along really well.  I’m not great with words, but our marriage works for us and I think that we are better people because we have each other to go thru life with.  We got married back in the day when they didn’t do digital photography and our wedding album is still packed up since we moved to our new house, nearly 3 years ago.  So, I don’t have a photo to show you of our wedding day.  It was a great day and we had a lot of fun. 

Some of the other things we’ve been up to were a company picnic at Berlin Raceway, the Pumpkinfest Parade, and just doing some cleaning up around the house.  One of the downsides to the color show and living out in a wooded area are the leaves.  Of course, those beautiful leaves do fall off the trees and need to be picked up.  Fortunately we have a nice lawn mower with a bagger to pick them up in a decent time.  But, we also get to play with the leaves.  This afternoon we spent some time in the yard just running around and throwing leaves at each other - fun times!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot one of the biggest things we’ve been working on.  Kennedy has been working on going on the big girl potty for about a month now.  We have gone back and forth with her for a few weeks, because she kept saying that she wanted to go back to diapers (even though she was OK with going on the potty).  Well, this past week has been a pretty big breakthrough week.  She has been in big girl undies/pull-ups every day and has had only one or maybe two accidents a day.  I figure that is pretty good - she’s going on the potty 98% of the time now and she’s telling us when she has to go potty.  Before, we would have to ask her all the time and sometimes she would say no and then go potty in her pants within moments.  Anyway, we are super excited about her newly learned skill and are gearing up for a big girl party very soon.  Not sure what we are going to do, but she is suggesting Chuck-E-Cheese and has started her list of invited guests.  :)

That’s about all I have for now.  We are hoping to go to the U of M vs MSU football game this coming Saturday if we can find a sitter for the girls.  Dan has been to a game already this year, but I haven’t and I would really like to go.  And, I have never been to a U of M vs MSU game EVER, so that will be super exciting.  I don’t expect it to be a great game, given U of M’s current record, but it will be fun anyway.  Nothing like a good football rivalry to get the adrenaline pumping.  I’m hoping that we can figure out the sitter issue AND that the weather is fairly decent for a day of football. 

I hope that all of you have a great week.  I’m not sure I will get back here this week.  I have a lot of chores to take care of on Monday and I have to be home in the afternoon for the DISH technician to show up and upgrade our current system.  I was able to talk them down on my rate AND get better service.  It had been a long time overdue.  I just hate sitting on hold and arguing with companies to get better service and lower prices (even/especially when they are more than willing to offer the best service and lowest rates to new customers).  I don’t understand that customer service mentality, but I guess that is a product of the world we live in.  Fortunately, I just had to mention that I could and would get better service and lower rates from the competitor and they were more than willing to work with me.  I didn’t even have to threaten something that I wasn’t willing to follow thru on.  :)  But, since I spent last Monday getting my rates lowered on my phone, DSL, and DISH, I really have to spend tomorrow taking care of my household chores.  So, I will try to post later in the week if it works out, otherwise it’ll have to be next week Sunday.  I do have lots on my mind politically, religiously, and just normal life stuff, but no time to post about it.  So, beware of the day and time that I find some "free" time.  :)

Not much to post today.  Just a recap of the weekend and looking forward.  We didn’t have much planned this weekend.  We did have a company picnic at Berlin Raceway for my work on Saturday night.  We took Kylie and Kennedy with us.  I think they had a great time, but they aren’t much for sitting for very long.  And that makes it extremely stressful for Dan and I (but mostly for Dan).  It was weird to have only 2 of the 3 kiddos, but it was much better that way.  Other than that, we had a pretty uneventful and normal weekend. 

We have a fairly busy week ahead, but not too bad.  Tuesday night we have a birthday party for my niece Gracyn.  She’s turning 1 already.  I remember the crazy day that she was born - it’s a very "short" birth story.  ;)  She’s the 3rd girl in my sister’s family, so it’s hard to come up with a birthday gift.  They have plenty of toys (I completely understand that feeling) and of course, hand me downs are good enough at this age.  As you can tell, I still haven’t some up with a good birthday gift idea, so if someone has something that is useful, creative, and doesn’t require much time or effort, I would appreciate any ideas.  On Wednesday night, I have to help Dan pick up his Camaro from GR.  I would imagine that we will grab dinner somewhere out in GR - there was mention of Olive Garden.  Yummm-O!  Not much else for the rest of the week, but I’m sure the weekend will be here before I know it.  Dan is going to the Michigan game on Saturday with the guys, so I’ll be all alone with the girls.  I’m thinking of taking them to the Firefighters parade in Holland or maybe the Pumpkinfest events in Zeeland. 

I haven’t done an update on the girls for a while, so I think I will do so now.  You can tune out now if you don’t want to be bored.  LOL 

Kylie - She’s 4 and a lot of fun.  She is such a mild tempered girl at 4 (definitely better than she was at 1, 2 or 3).  She loves going to school, but she does miss her Miss Shawnda.  They had a Bike-A-Thon at school last week and she LOVED it.  They raised money for Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation, which is a foundation that raises money for pediatric cancer research.  They were supposed to ask for pledges for laps and they could only ride a maximum of 20 laps.  I was unable to attend the event, but Dan, Papa, and Grandma & Grandpa went to watch her ride her bike.  I guess she was just beaming from ear to ear.  She’s becoming more talkative about school and the things that she’s learning there - it’s amazing to me how she is able to remember her memory verse and how she’s learning to color within the lines.  It’s cool to see her learn and grow. 

Kennedy - She’s 2 and quite a little pistol.  She enjoys being mischievous and requires attention 24-7.  I can’t get over how she is always getting into things and being so quiet while being naughty.  LOL  She loves to copy her sister - I don’t think that she even realizes that she’s younger than Kylie and not able to do all the things Kylie does.  Quite often I even hear an echo when Kylie talks - Kennedy tries to copy words as Kylie says them.  It’s kinda cute.  We are working on potty training, but we haven’t had much luck with it.  She will go on the potty, but then later she will go pee in her undies.  We’ve tried Pull-Ups, but I don’t think that she considers them to be any different than diapers.  Although, she apparently doesn’t consider undies any different, either.  I don’t want to give up, but it is so hard to keep going when she doesn’t seem to care whether or not she pees in her undies.  Hopefully the switch will flip, just like it did with Kylie (how quickly we forget these things). 

Emma - 7 months already.  She’s rolling over (as a means to get around) and starting to sit-up with help.  She LOVES to jump in her Jumperoo (thanks Manda for letting us borrow it).  She smiles all the time and is just a ton of fun.  It’s funny to me that she is progressing pretty normally as far as doing the things she supposed to be doing, but she can still fit in some 0-3 mos clothing.  She is so petite.  I just spent the weekend packing up most of her 0-3 mos outfits and digging out the 3-6 mos outfits I had packed away.  The 3-6 month outfits are still a little big.  I’m loving her new feeding schedule.  For the most part, she eats about 4 times a day.  It’s not a very structured schedule, but she’s getting there.  It’s just really nice to get past the every 3 hour feeding schedule.  She’s eating almost all kinds of baby foods now, and even cheerios/puffs.  Not a picky eater at all. 

Dan and I are doing well.  It seems like we don’t spend a whole lot of time together (just the two of us).  I can’t really complain about that too much because we do have a lot of family, friends and babysitters that would be willing to watch the girls for us.  It’s just hard for us to justify going out with just the two of us when we both work.  I guess we value our family time more than our alone time.  It has definitely been nicer in the evenings since we moved the girls bed time up to 8:30 - we have about an hour to just chill with the two of us.  We are going to be celebrating our 9th anniversary in October.  It’s amazing to me that it has gone by so quickly and yet where we are it feels so normal and I can barely recall life before our wedding day and our kids.  I love where we are as a family - life is good.

Well, I don’t have a whole lot to say.  We’ve been busy, but I can’t even recall with what.  I had a mini meltdown at the end of last week.  I just got a little overwhelmed with all that is going on around me.  I just feel like a hampster on an exercise wheel - just spinning round and round and not getting anywhere.  I guess I am overwhelmed with my responsibilities as a mom, wife, an employee, a partner in my husband’s business, my team leader position at church, the list goes on.  I guess the thing that got to me was that Kylie had a field trip that I was supposed to bring money for her to ride the Max bus and her permission slip.  Of course, I completely forgot both items.  They were laying on the counter, ready to go, but we were too busy trying to get out the door on time.  Talk about feeling like a flake.  I just don’t know how you other workin’ mom’s do it - preschool has me losing my mind, I’m going to be completely spaced out when Kindergarten starts.  It all came to a head on Friday, when I had to rearrange daycare schedules for Friday and also for Tues/Weds this week.  And on top of having to adjust childcare schedules, we had made plans to bring a meal over to friends of ours who just had a baby boy (Friday night).  It took us almost 2 weeks to finally get to meet him, so I was NOT going to miss that.  I also had ordered some meals from Main Dish Kitchen for our home as well as for a friend of ours who is in the hospital and his wife and 2 boys are trying to carry on with life while hubby/dad is recovering in the hospital.  I had to pick that up Friday afternoon after work on my way home.  I know, I know.  I read this and I can totally see why this schedule was a disaster waiting to happen.  Sometimes I just take on too much and don’t think about all the logistics until the last minute.  I also don’t prepare for things to change - I’m not a huge fan of change.  I figure everything should go exactly as I had planned.  Anyway, after my mini meltdown, my hubby helped me out with making the dinner and just getting some stuff done this weekend.  Thanks Honey!

In all of our business, we did go to Crane’s Orchard on Saturday morning in order to get the famous Honey Crisp apples.  We got there bright and early at 8:50 am (before the gates opened).  There were probably a dozen cars in front of us in line.  What people wouldn’t do for a fresh Honey Crisp apple.  :)  The girls had a great time and we came home with 30 lbs of Honey Crisps.  Here are some photos of our event: 

On Sunday, we went to my sister-in-law, Patsy’s home in South Haven for a joint birthday party.  It’s my father-in-law’s birthday today and my sister-in-law, Leah’s birthday tomorrow.   Then, I think that it’s my brother-in-law, Steve’s birthday on Saturday.  It was a beautiful day to be right on the lakeshore.  And, after being together for 10 years, it was the first time that I had actually ventured down to the beach.  Their house is on a bluff.  In fact, not too terribly long ago, there used to be houses across the street from their house (which would have blocked the view of the lake).  Now, there are no more houses across the street so they have a beautiful view of the lake and an incredibly private beach.  It was cool to walk the beach and see all the concrete foundations and evidence that the lake washed away the homes.  We were even lucky enough to find some beach glass.  It was a gorgeous weather weekend and over all, it was relaxing. 

After my mini meltdown, I have decided that I need to take action on some things that I have put off for a million different reasons.  One of those things is to organize my mudroom.  We have a large mudroom with little to no organization.  I have decided that a built-in locker system would help with me be better organized for all that we have going on in our family.  I have done a little research online, but I haven’t found a whole lot of ideas.  If anyone has an idea of where I might find some sample’s of built in locker/cabinets for mudrooms, I would love to hear about it.  Even if you have a picture of what your’s looks like, that would at least get me started on designing what will work best for our family.  There were a few other things that I just need to make a few phone calls and get some things taken care of.  Things that stress me out when they don’t get taken care of, but we just don’t have time to do ourselves.  I probably shouldn’t say that we don’t have time to do them, it’s just that we are not good at them and I would prefer to spend my time with my kids.  So, I just have to make some phone calls to find out if we can afford to pay someone else to take care of some things.  I figure that if I am going to be working and not spending time with my kids, then I might as well get paid for it.  Anyway, just some things that will hopefully help my state of mind and improve the functionality of our home and daily activities. 

Well, I better get to bed now.  I’ve got a busy week of running here there and everywhere this week.  Not too terribly busy at work, but that’s likely to change any day now.  We’ve got some big things coming up at work, so that will be exciting.  I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week.  And don’t forget to post some of your tips about how to maintain your sanity. 

Today I am watching my 3 kiddos and my sister, Manda’s, 3 kiddos.  My mom is gone this week to Mayo Clinic to do be part of a study on pancreatic cancer (or cancer in general, I guess I am not 100% sure).  Anyway, she went with most of her sisters to be a part of this study because my grandfather had pancreatic cancer and my mom’s brother also had cancer.  And, they are such a large family that they have enough genetic match between a lot of people that it makes it a valuable study.  So, my sister and I decided that I would watch her kids today and she’ll watch my kids on Wednesday.  That way, we don’t have to find other sitters.  The nice thing is that all the girls get along fairly well.  We did have a few issues this morning, but overall it went well.  Unfortunately, we had so much rain this past weekend that the yard and sandbox are completely soaked.  Therefore, we cannot go outside and play.  I let Kylie an Braelynn play on their bikes in the driveway, but it didn’t take long for them to walk away and go play in the pasture and get all wet. So, they had to come back inside.  Now they are all sleeping, so I thought I would enter a quick post before they all wake up. 

I was going to have my next post (this one) be about politics, but I have decided not to do that today.  I have been really revved up about politics this time around.  I don’t know exactly why, but I just feel that this is such a BIG thing this year.  Regardless of what your political beliefs are, this year is a turning point in politics.  We will be voting into office, either the first African American President OR the first Female Vice President.  In spite of the negative comments in media about where this country stands in regards to how far we have come in the areas of race or gender, this election will prove that we have come a LONG way from where we were.  Not to say that we don’t have a LONG way to go, but this journey is not something that can or will happen over night.  I just think that it is cool that one way or the other we will have a "minority" in office.  I hope that everyone uses their privilege to get out and vote this year.  I believe that the saying goes:  To whom much is given, much is required (or something like that).  This nation is by no means perfect, but we are all truly blessed to live here and have the freedoms that no other nation has.  Anyway, I am sure that you will hear more about MY politics in the coming weeks and I am open to ongoing debates.  My only request is that you keep comments clean and respectful. 

I also downloaded some pictures this weekend, so I’ll post some of those before I go.  These are just a few pics that we have from the past couple weeks.  And I had to post a pic of my favorite plant in my entire yard - the hibiscus.  I’m not a green thumb at all, so I truly appreciate the beauty that this plant brings to just a small corner of my yard.  That kind of beauty isn’t found anywhere else in my yard.  LOL. 

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Someone had sent this video to me not too long ago and I just finally had a chance to watch it.  Actually, I had forgotten about it for a while now, but I heard this song on the radio today and I remembered that I needed to watch it.  One of my most favorite Christian bands is Casting Crowns.  What I love about them (besides their musical talent and style) is that their songs are about real life.  I have lived a fairly sheltered life in comparison to some, but even I can relate to most of their songs.  The fact is that no matter how spiritual or religious we are, we all know someone or ARE someone who this group sings about.  REAL people, trying to do their best, but not always succeeding.  There are so many angles I could take with this following clip, but I’d rather let you listen to it and come to your own conclusions.  So often we hear other people (Christian friends, co-workers, pastors, etc…) telling us what to think or what to believe, but I believe that if we open our ears to what God has to say, HE is the only one that can speak truth into our hearts and minds.  So, please listen to this 4 minute clip and allow God to speak to you.  Are you that person who is justifying things that you know to be wrong?  Do you know someone who is making those decisions?  What hit me was that it doesn’t matter what the "topic/struggle" is, but it’s clear that something can go from small to huge in a very short time.  Or, it can take years of slowly moving that "line" or "target."  I think we all try to justify the things that we do wrong - it’s human nature, even Adam & Eve tried to justify or "blame" each other.  My prayer is that God will speak into your life and that you will have the courage to stand up for Him who saves you.  Life can be down right difficult and it takes a lot of strength and courage to do the right thing.  I pray that God will give all of us the strength to stay away from the gray areas in life - it’s a slow fade.  There are other videos you can check out on YouTube.  Like I said before, their songs are about real life and they have something to say to all of us (a lot like the Bible).  Enjoy!

Today was the first day of school for Kylie.  Not only was it the first day of this school year, but it is the first time that she is actually attending a school.  I’ve never had to worry about her going to school or daycare - she’s always adapted really well.  I think that her adaptability has also made it quite easy on me as well.  I didn’t shed any tears or even get sad, really.  It was sort of like any other day, except for a new place to bring her to.  It was really nice to have the day off so that we can ease into the transition.  Kylie must have been completely worn out from the weekend, because she didn’t even wake up until Dan went in to wake her up around 7:30ish.  Even after she was awake, she still looked very tired.  I think that we are going to have to move up her bedtime in order to make sure that she gets enough sleep.  The preschool that she is going to is more like a daycare with a preschool program in the morning.  So, she does get nap time in the afternoon.  Anyway, back to how the day went.  After breakfast and getting ready, I loaded up the two little ones and took pictures of Kylie in front of the house.  She was trying her best to smile, but it wasn’t working that well.

After pictures, we got loaded up in the van and headed down the road.  As usual, we had our kid songs on and we were singing and talking.  Kylie said that she didn’t really want to go to school, but she was still excited.  She said that she didn’t want to get out of her PJ’s, but she was still excited.  Normally we don’t have to get dressed to go to daycare or Grammie’s house.  So, I’m not sure if she’s just that fond of her PJ’s or if it was a sign of how tired she really was.  I probably should have made a point to remember how tired she appeared to be this morning (it would have helped later this evening).  When we got to her school, we went inside and took care of the things that we needed to take care of.  We put her lunch in the fridge, signed her in, put her "nap bag" in her little locker area, and then I kissed her goodbye as she went to play with the kids in the rec room.  She didn’t even look back as she ran off to play with the other kids - it was then I knew that she would be fine.  When I got back to the car, Kennedy was asking about Kylie and I knew that she was going to miss her.  So, we decided to keep busy and take care of a few errands.  After wrapping up our running around, we went to lunch with my mom, my sister Manda, and her husband and kiddos.  Then it was time to head home and take naps.  Both little ones slept well.  I even had to wake Kennedy up around 4:30 so that we could go pick up Kylie.  Kennedy was all excited to go pick her up and have her Kylie back.  As soon as we got to Kylie’s school, we unloaded and went inside.  Kylie saw us coming in and she ran for Kennedy and picked her up and gave her a great big hug.  Too cute!  I guess absence really does make the heart grow fonder.  :)  After packing up all of her stuff, we headed back outside to get pictures by the school sign.  I didn’t have time in the morning, so we had to do it after school.  She was being such a little ham-bone. 

After school, Dan said that Kylie would get to pick what we would have for dinner.  She picked Tres Lobos for dinner, so we went there for dinner.  This is where I should have just used my better judgement and made the decision to just find something to eat at home or let her pick what we would pick up to eat at home.  She had been quite the little monster since I picked her up from school.  She just wouldn’t listen and was a little mouthy, too.  These are just signs of lack of sleep (at least for Kylie that’s usually the problem).  But, we wanted to make this a very special day for her, so we proceeded with all the great things we had planned for her.  In the end, I think that we just made the night more difficult and less fun (kind of a waste).  Has anybody else had these challenges with their kids?  The poor behavior after the first day of school or as your kids transition back into school?  Or, the poor behavior from lack of sleep?  My kids have always slept well and they need their sleep - I guess that’s one thing that they get from their mom.  If your kids have acted up on the first day of school or as they transition back into school, let me know how you handle that situation.  I have already figured that we need to start bed times earlier - I’m sure that will be a big help to this problem.  All I know is that we need to figure something out, because all of our patience will run real thin, real quick. 

Well, everyone here is sleeping, so I better get to bed myself.  I just wanted to post some quick pics of our day today and Kylie’s first day of school.  I’m sure that things will get better as we figure out how this whole "school" thing works.  LOL  Overall, I think that Kylie had fun and we’ll see how the rest of her week goes.  She only goes to pre-school on Tuesdays and Thursdays, when the other two kiddos go to Miss Shawnda’s.  Alrighty, I have a busy week ahead, so I probably won’t be back until later this week or weekend.  I’ll let you know if we figure anything out with this school thing, but I won’t know until the end of the week anyway.

I don’t even know when I last posted.  It has been so crazy at home and at work that I have barely had a chance to even read all of your blogs.  And when I’ve had a chance to read them/glance at them, I certainly haven’t had time to comment.  I have been trying to keep up with reading all the blogs on my bloglines, but it has been crazy. 

I really don’t have much time before the girls wake up from naps, but I thought I would just pop in and say Hi!  We don’t have any plans for this weekend, but I do have some thoughts about how I would like to spend the weekend.  I always have so many things that I want to do, but I tend to get wrapped up in the present and don’t end up doing most of the things I thought that I would do.  Maybe this weekend will be a little different - I do have an extra day.  LOL. 

Next week is Kylie’s first week for preschool.  I’m excited for her - I know that she is just going to LOVE it.  The place that I decided to send her to is a preschool/daycare facility.  They only accept potty trained kids (3-5), so they don’t have the little ones and they don’t have the bigger kids.  I like that I don’t have to worry about transportation for her during the odd hours that preschool’s operate.  I also don’t have to stress my daycare people out, either (running kids here there and everywhere).  It also buys me time for deciding where I want to enroll Kylie for school.  That is turning out to be such a HUGE decision/burden - there are pros and cons to every school.  This way, I can buy a little more time to decide. 

I have decided to take Tuesday off from work for several reasons.  As most of you know, I have Mondays off regularly, so having a holiday on a Monday really isn’t a "holiday."  My sister, Shawn, is always willing to pick up more hours so she was willing to work on Tuesday for me.  I also realized/remembered that Kylie starts school on Tuesday, so I figured that it would be a good day to take off and just make sure that everything goes well with her first day.  It will help me figure out what time I have to leave in the morning in order to get her to school, the two little ones to daycare, and myself to work ON TIME!  So, it will be nice to have a day where I can figure that out, without having the pressure to really get to work on time.  It will be nice to spend some extra time with my family, too.  Whether we do something or nothing at all, it’s always nice to just spend time together. 

Well, I better get things ready for dinner now.  I’m thinking steaks on the grill (already marinating) along with some fresh beans that my sister, Manda, picked up from the farmers market for me the other day.  I’m hoping to send off the summer with some final summer tasks - grilling, boating, swimming, and hanging out with friends & family.  I hope you all have a great weekend as well!  I’ll try to get back later this weekend with some pictures and an update on our weekend.