Where has the time gone?

Wow! It has been 10 days since I've blogged anything! Where does the time go?

Life has been extremely busy for me lately! My days have been full of fun things and new challenges! I get up every morning with 3 busy little bees and sometimes they sting me, but I keep on going!

Our middle daughter has been giving us a really hard time with lots of things, but bed time right now is particularly hard! She will not fall asleep in her bed and has been so naughty that we've had to place her on the floor in the living room to fall asleep. It's exhausting and very frustrating! I used to look forward to bed time, but now I dread it!

I've also been very busy starting up my photography business and it's exploding! I can't seem to keep up with the daily chores and housework, never mind starting a business. I never imagined that it would be like this! Now, don't get me wrong... I'm VERY excited and if you know me then you'll know that I'm a very motivated person to get it all done, but there just aren't enough hours in the day! ;-)

I'll try to write more blogs when I have time (I actually have a few topics that friends have "requested" I write about) but until then... I'll leave you with a few photos of our recent house-happenings...

Handsome Jack playing! He now pulls himself up onto everything and tries hard to walk behind a walker toy! He has 6 teeth and is starting to jabber at everyone!

 I was playing peek-a-boo with the kids and Tom snapped this picture. I never have my photo taken, so when I saw this I laughed! I'm sure you are too!

 That same day I was playing with Bailee and he snapped another one! :)

 Bailee was giving a wink! ;0)

 I was snuggling Jack after bath time! My favorite time of the day!

 Mia is our challenging one right now, but you can't tell that from this photo!

Good night y'all! :)

A boring day & a big box

It's another day snowed in, so I decided to get a little creative with the girls. It involved a large box, a sharpie marker and some crayons. All I did was draw on a large box and let them color all over it. They had a blast and it entertained them for quite a while.

On one side of the box I drew a television. I made buttons, dials and an empty screen. They had to color in their favorite show and they decided to draw Angelina Ballerina... can't you tell!? :0)

The opposite side was a bunch of different foods. Fruits, veggies, milk, bread, eggs, etc... I wasn't sure if they would play grocery store or cooking, but the possibilities were endless.

The top was a simple stove outline. They already have a kitchen set, but I thought this might spark some creativity in their play beyond their usual kitchen set toys. I was right. It did spark all kinds of creativity!

Here are a few photos I snapped while they played...
Mia was very focused on coloring her bananas yellow!

 Jack was looking on from his pack n' play while Bailee colored some bread.

 This might be my favorite photo from the whole time... not because the girls were cute, but because Jack's expression was perfect. He wanted to be a part of the fun so badly! :0)

 Two crayons are better than one!

 Coloring Angelina Ballerina on the tv...

 Our fun time was not without a few fits and tantrums... ugh!

 Mia wanted to cook on the stove!

 They were busily organizing their groceries.

 Hmm? What should we cook first?

 Mia took a moment to say hi to Jack!

Overall the activity was fun, and sparked some fun conversations. The girls played house, restaurant, grocery store, they "watched" the tv and then had to fix it (with tools) because it broke, and they even played drive through McDonalds at one point. It was fun to watch their creativity and yes, I did take Jack out of the pack n' play once the crayons were out of reach! :0)

Are you a home maker?

I try to have a positive attitude towards being a 'homemaker' but it's not always very easy to do. It's hard work and honestly it's very exhausting. Having 3 kids under the age of 3 doesn't help the never ending task of keeping our home fresh and fun, but I've always viewed it as an honor to serve my family.

My mom shared this article with me and how we should have an eternal view of 'homemaking' and caring for our family. I loved the article and it challenged me to try even harder when doing the every day mundane tasks... dishes, diapers, dirty laundry, etc...  Read it for yourself and be challenged!!! Thanks Mom for sharing it with me! :0)

Click here to read (trust me, it's worth the time!)... Homemaking- Passing the vision to our daughters

It's laundry day!

When I don't get around to folding the laundry immediately then this is what happens... the girls help! :)

 The laundry ends all over the floor and they help me "fold" it!

 This time Bailee even got out her iron and ironing board to help me iron the clothes. The funny part is that I've ironed clothes maybe 5 times in my life (I HATE ironing) so I'm not really sure where they learned how to iron! :)

 Mia playing peek-a-boo!

 Bailee just ironing happily with bed head hair!

I guess I can't complain because it kept them happy for 20 minutes and the clothes had not been folded yet! If they had messed up folded clothes this would be a different story! :0)

Supper time Bible trivia

We've always had a hard time getting our kids to eat. They would rather sit there and talk, play, look at the ceiling, chew on their fork, etc... It's awful because sometimes we end up yelling at them to simply take another bite. It's exhausting.

Tonight was different! It was fun and they ate their supper in record time! Why? We played a game.

I got out a Bible trivia book and asked them simple questions like, "Did Jesus have a wife?" "Who will blow the trumpets when Jesus returns?" "How many stories high was Noah's ark?" And many more.

They answered what they thought was the correct answer and I wouldn't tell the correct response until they took another bite. They quickly took bites and we all learned something too!

It was fun and educational. Their responses were humerous and made Tom and I giggle, but it was still less stressful than saying, "TAKE ANOTHER BITE NOW!" :0)

(In case you're wondering the answers to those questions are 1. No   2. The angels &   3. 3)

I fooled him, just this once! :)

While trying to take pictures of the kids yesterday Jack was VERY insistent on climbing into my lap and eating the camera! We have a very expensive camera that is not a toy, but he was very persistent on chewing on it. These are the photos I took of him while he was climbing on me! :0)

He might look cute, but don't let those eyes deceive you! He was being naughty and he knew it!!!

Luckily this time he was happy when I handed him his sisters' pick princess camera. He chewed on the strap and left me alone!

 I fooled his this time, but I doubt it will be that easy next time!

11 Step Program for Those Thinking of Having Children!

This made me chuckle and I had to share it with all of you! :)

(I stole this from my friend Michelle. With her permission I am sharing it with you!) 

Lesson 1

1. Go to the grocery store.

2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.

3. Go home.

4. Pick up the paper.

5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2

Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who already are parents and berate them about their...

1. Methods of discipline.

2. Lack of patience.

3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.

4. Allowing their children to run wild.

5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.

Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3

A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...

1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly. (Eat cold food with one hand for dinner)

2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.

3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.

4. Set the alarm for 3AM.

5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.

6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.

7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.

8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.

9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)

Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4

Can you stand the mess children make? T o find out...

1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.

2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.

3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.

4. Then rub them on the clean walls.

5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.

6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5

Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.

1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.

2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.

Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6

Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.

1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment.

Leave it there.

2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.

3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.

4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 7

Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 8

1. Hollow out a melon.

2. Make a small hole in the side.

3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.

4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.

5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.

6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.

You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 9

Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 10

Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 11

Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the 'mommy' tape made from Lesson 10 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.

Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!