Mud Pies

I opened my recipe box the other day and I found this:

Child's Play?

I'm taking a risk here, but to tell you the truth, I don't like to "play."  I don't enjoy pretending with Barbies or playing house or playing school.  I can do it for a few minutes but that is the extent of my "play" with those kinds of imaginative activities.

Bad mom? Maybe.

I don't mind making train tracks, creating marble runs, building forts, or playing outside.  Those activities are more my style, and I can do that for hours.  Maybe this is because I enjoyed such activites when I was a child.  I wasn't into Barbies much or playing make believe. 

I hope I'm not a bad mom, but I let the girls play "make believe" on their own time.

I don't know if I am alone here or not, or if some other moms out there feel the same way.  Sometimes I feel guilty like I don't "play" enough with my girls, and a bunch of negative thoughts creep in.

I want to be a good mom, but I just am not good at playing "make believe."  I'll have to make an effort to work on it, but no promises.

Ahh, motherhood.  It is a journey.

First Day of School

The girls were up early, super excited, and quickly got dressed in their new clothes.  They found special notes on the counter from daddy and they ate "Back To School" muffins.  The two could hardly wait to get out the door.  First, a few pictures....



And then the little one felt left out and wanted to get in a pic.  I spy an extra pair of piggy toes...

The girls still held my hand as we walked into the school.  It was a mixture of emotions for all of us.

Mariah and Ambria, I am soooo proud of you!

Indoor Camp Out

One of the things the girls wanted to do this summer was have an indoor camp out on our porch/four seasons room/entry way.  

Wa-la!

Complete with tent, sleeping bags, flashlights, pretend campfire with sticks and battery operated candles, "roasting" marshmallows, and campfire stories.

And an added bonus, no bugs!

Nap Mat

One of the items on Ambria's Kindergarten school supply list was a KinderMat for nap time.  For the first half of the school year, the students have rest time after lunch.

And of ALL the fun school supplies that Ambria got, which was her favorite??

Yup, the mat for nap time!  No joke.

She is already "practicing" with her mat and has asked if they will have blankets for her to use.  That is Ambria, our little sleeper.

(Hmmm, I love naps too.  I wonder where she gets it from??).

Back to School Shopping

A Poem of Sorts

'Tis that time of year again...

Off I go,
with three girls in tow (definitely outnumbered).
Supply lists in hand,
each girl has their own special demand.
(Pink scissors, purple folders, glitter crayons, and Ashlyn gets bored so in the cart she stands).
Youngest screams, snacks go flying,
I am audibly sighing,
and my tongue I am tying,
and if I said this was fun, I would by lying.
(Side note: Most of the time, I love shopping with the girls, I was just stressed and unfocused and Ashlyn was crabby.  Ok, side note over, back to poem). 
Stores were pretty busy,
parents frantic and in a tizzy.
Shopping cart full,
the experience has taken its toll (on me and the bank account).
Lists complete,
and I need to get off my feet.

Love Them!

Juice Box

I'm not exactly sure why, but each time the girls ask for a juice box (which is usually just on vacations or days away from the house), I open it and take a BIG drink.

Well, I do know why. (Most things I do have a reason behind it). 
1.  I am thirsty
2.  I like juice boxes
3.  The less the juice in the box, the less amount that the kids can squeeze out and spill everywhere

It is so nice of the girls to share with mom.  No, actually they scold me for drinking out of their juice boxes. :)  Please and thank you.

Operation Playhouse Update

A few weeks ago, we started renovating an old garden shed behind our house.  The older girls had an idea to turn the shed into a playhouse, which we thought was a great idea.

We bought supplies and cleaned the inside and outside of the shed.  We raked around the shed and pulled old weeds.  We sprayed for bees and wasps.  My husband and the girls painted a little on the inside.

We stopped renovations there because we went on vacation for almost two weeks.  When we returned, we found our backyard all torn up due to a new septic system.  Argh.  The nice grass all around the playhouse has been turned into mud.  So, I guess Operation Playhouse is on hold until some grass grows back.

Bummer.

Kid Spa

I have had to use some creative ideas the past few days, lots of rain, and we've attempted going to the pool twice this week but have been rained out.  This leads disappointed girls and cabin fever. 

Bring on the KID SPA!!

I told the girls to wait in the kitchen while I prepared for their appointment at the "spa" (aka, the living room floor).  I put on some soothing music and lit a fragrant candle.  They were each adorned with a warm robe and a towel head wrap.  The received a face cleanse, and cucumbers on their eyes (which Ashlyn found very tasty).  I also did manicures and pedicures.

SO FUN!!  I don't know who enjoyed this day more, me or the girls.  Either way, it was a great way to spend a rainy day!

Tap Shoes

In the recent exchange of Hand Me Downs, from oldest sister to middle sister, Ambria found Mariah's beloved TAP SHOES.  (Mariah never took dance, nor has Ambria.  These were a garage sale find years ago--bonus!)

Ambria was ecstatic about her "new" shoes.  Mariah, not so much.

Mariah had a difficult time watching her sister prance, dance, and tap all around the house in her new found treasure.  Mariah's jealousy grew but after a few days, the emotions surrounding the shoes subsided.

Ambria hasn't taken the tap shoes off her feet in days!  I made the mistake and allowed her to wear the tap shoes to a store and a restaurant.
My bad.
Horrible decision.
Ambria had a blast creating her own dance routines in the store aisles and beside our restaurant booth, but my face grew red.

Our quiet, timid Ambria was being LOUD.  She wasn't ashamed.  She was proud.  She didn't want to quiet down.  She was beaming!  I'm sure half of it was her having fun, and the other half was her trying to make Mariah more jealous.

Germs

I'm not a fan of germs.  I'm not a complete germaphobe, but a moderate one.  I wash hands, use hand sanitizer, Clorox wipes, etc.  (Oh, and I don't like raw meat, hate the germs, and have only touched raw meat maybe five times in my life.  Eww, gross).

My kids have been known to eat things that have fallen on the floor in public places.  I cringe.  They survive.

Flu germs give me major anxiety.

I am getting better at coping with other kids' snotty noses.  Colds are one thing, flu is another.

The other day, I reminded Ambria to wash her hands.  Her response:
"I don't want to wash my hands. I want to be covered in germs."

Sigh.

I made her wash them anyway.

Hand Me Downs

Love them.  Definitely a benefit of having three girls.

I decided to be ambitious this week and go through the girls Fall and Winter clothes (yes, I know it is only July).  With Back to School shopping right around the corner, I make a mental list of items the girls need and clothes they have out grown.

Well, Ambria's Back to School shopping occurred in our basement, in BIN #5 Size 5 and in BOX #2 Shoes.

Awesome.

Boom, done with one kid.

That is what I call Smart Shopping!


(I added the label "Product Reviews" to this post because I give Hand Me Downs Two Thumbs Up!  Haha).

More Stories from the Grocery Store

Every time I take the three girls grocery shopping with me, I end up regretting it.  This time was no different.

I got one of those HUGE shopping carts with two extra seats attached, the kind that I can hardly push and can't see over.

First is the argument of who is going to sit where.
Ashlyn immediately starts asking for a snack.
Ashlyn doesn't like the snack option.
I pull out emergency snack.
All three girls want it.
Mariah disappears.
Ashlyn wants to switch seats.
Ambria starts climbing all over the cart like a circus.
Ashlyn wants another snack.
Ashlyn doesn't like snack option and starts screaming.
I don't have any other snacks so Ashlyn keeps screaming.
People look at me because Ashlyn is screaming.
I get Ashlyn out of the cart and hold her.
I attempt to push the HUGE cart while holding Ashlyn.
I am regretting taking the kids to the grocery store.
Mariah starts pushing the cart and knocks over 105 bottles of water in the aisle!! (No joke)
I stop to pick them up as they roll everywhere.
Ashlyn wants to walk.
Ashlyn knocks a jar of pickles off the shelf (and I held my breath hoping the jar wouldn't break-it didn't, phew).
Ambria's sandals fall off at the end of the aisle.  Must go back.
Ashlyn wants to grab all the tomatoes out of the bin.
Ambria wants to cool off by opening all the freezer doors.
Mariah doesn't want to push the cart anymore.
Ambria's sandals fall off again.

THEN, the forever long checkout line where the girls take just about everything off the shelf while they try to wait patiently...and I start to pull out my hair.

Shopping complete but all my hair is gone.


(I love my girls dearly, but man, is it difficult to go grocery shopping with all of them!)

A Reason to Celebrate

Ashlyn turns TWO today!!  Happy Birthday sweet baby girl!

Wow, what a year!  We are celebrating Ashlyn's birthday with praise and thanksgiving and hoping and praying for a better upcoming year.  We are grateful for God's grace and His hand along the way, as He has shown Himself strong throughout Ashlyn's journey.  This year has really brought home the meaning of Ashlyn's middle name: HOPE.

Happy Birthday to our little miracle.  Stay strong and keep fighting!

Father's Day Portrait

Last year was the first year that I decided to get a picture taken of the three girls together for a Father's Day gift.  So, I started a tradition and had it done again this year.  The photographer literally had a few seconds to get a shot before Ashlyn started crying.  Luckily, the very first picture she took, turned out.  Phew.

The girls are so blessed to have a father who loves them like he does and teaches them about Grace, Faith, and Hope (their middle names).

Father's Day 2012

Father's Day 2011

Little Swimmers

I was a competitive swimmer from the ages of 6 to 18.  The scent of chlorine flowed through my pores.  My hair was green.  I lived in the water year round.  I was just shy of growing webbed feet.  

Mariah learned how to swim two years ago and Ambria learned how to swim just a few months ago.  It makes me so proud to watch my girls swim!  I don't know if they will be interested in competitive swimming, but I am glad that they have learned this important skill.

Today, while at the community pool near our home, both girls swam in the deep end AND went down the water slide with no life jacket!  Until now, they would go down the slide but with an inner tube (for security purposes).  

Both girls were so proud of themselves today, as was I!  I love watching their confidence grow!

And I love seeing little pieces of me in the girls.  (I think they inherited some of my swimming genes).

Picture Taking Experience

I attempt to take each daughter to get their picture taken at yearly milestones (3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 18 months, 2 years, 3 years, etc).  Even though I photograph the girls often, I still like to take them to a studio, pay $8 and get a package of pictures that I can send out to family members.

Seems easy enough.

Yeah right.

Picture day nightmares.

Mariah and Ambria were pretty easy.  Ashlyn, not so much.

Even when Ashlyn was a few months old, she hated the studio.  I'm not sure if it was the strange photographer, the small room, lights, or what, but it was never a pretty scene.  On most occasions, the photographer was able to get less than FIVE shots of Ashlyn.

Yesterday was no different.  Ashlyn will be turning TWO this month (oh my!!) so I had a spur of the moment idea to get her pictures taken when we were at the mall.  I packed an extra outfit, a comb for her hair, a sucker for bribing.

Ashlyn was skeptical the moment we walked into the studio.  She wouldn't stand or sit on the X and then she started to run away, cry, and resist.

Ugh.

I was stressed.  Ashlyn wasn't happy.  The photographer got TWO shots, one of Ashlyn starting to run away, and the other of Ashlyn looking scared.  Nice.

Well, that didn't work.

A Free Flow of Emotions

Not sure what started it, but...

I was watching an episode of Full House with the girls a few weeks ago, the episode when Danny proposes to Vicki at Disney.  I got all teary eyed.  (Go ahead, you can laugh at me, I did).

And then add this...

and all the emotions that accompany a major surgery.  I keep getting teary eyed when I think of what Ashlyn went through and then I get teary again when I go re-read all the encouraging facebook messages.


And then I start missing my family in Michigan even more...

And then randomly, I get all emotional again when he started crying...

And then another milestone as Ambria finished preschool, yup, tears again...

Oh dear me.  Some legit teariness, and some not.

New Project: Operation Playhouse

Last week, Mariah, our 8 year old, came to us with an idea to turn the old garden shed in our backyard into a playhouse.  Both me and my husband thought it was a great idea!!

So, the brainstorming has begun.  We have done a little shopping to get cleaning supplies and a few things to get started.  My husband bought some packets of seeds to plant a little garden outside the playhouse and some paint.  Mariah can hardly sleep!  She is sooo excited!!

During one of our shopping trips, Mariah kept brainstorming as she saw items in the store.  

Some good ideas, some, not so much.  

An idea that I had to dismiss was Mariah's idea to put LOTS of toilet paper on the floor to make it soft.  I laughed and said that I thought we could come up with a better idea.

I'm really trying to allow the girls to come up with ideas for the playhouse so they can take ownership (but I guess I will have to draw the line at toilet paper on the floor).  Who knows if the girls will even play in the house a few weeks after it is complete, but it will be the process that will be fun and exciting.

So, let the garden shed makeover begin!

Here are some BEFORE pictures...

Mother's Day Gifts

Each of the girls gave me a special gift for Mother's Day:

Ambria (5 years old) decorated a plate for me at preschool and made me a card with a rainbow on it.  So darn cute.

Ashlyn (22 months old) inadvertently tie dyed my shirt by spilling juice on it, and then added to her gift by filling her diaper.

Mariah (8 years old) wrote me a poem:
You're kind, you're sweet
like my heartbeat.  Cotton candy in my
mouth.  chocolate ice cream melting all around.
at night, at play you're there every
day.  No one can take my mom away.

Love you girls!  Thank you for making this a wonderful Mother's Day!!  I am blessed!

Not My Favorite Morning

A few mornings ago, I was sleeping peacefully in my warm, comfy bed, and I was awakened by the two older girls at an "they should NOT be up this early" hour of the morning.  I thought I was dreaming as I heard them starting to argue.  I thought their voices were intertwined in my dream.  Nope.

Ambria was crying/screaming.

I stumbled out of bed at the "they should NOT be up this early" hour.  I wasn't too happy.  I tried to quickly quiet Ambria because I knew she would wake up Ashlyn with her out of control screaming.  It was WAY too early for Ashlyn to wake up.

Ashlyn woke up crying due to the unnecessary noise.  OH MY GOSH.

Now I was really not happy.

Three girls (four, including me) up too early and crabby.

So, what were to two older girls arguing about?  Ambria wanted to sit where Mariah was sitting and Mariah wouldn't move.  OH MY GOSH!

The Box

Never under estimate the power of a child's imagination and a big cardboard box.

Open the box and your child's creative side!

Thirst

Have you ever been soooo thirsty, and you look around, and all that can be found is this???......

Oh yes, I have been there.
Yes, I have drank out of my kids' sippy cups.  

So what.  :)

Cool Mom

I've accepted the fact that I drive a mini van. It's ok. It is convenient for our family of five and the various road trips that we take each year. I've accepted this and I can't be THAT cool because of this vehicle.

So, the other day, I was driving in my rockin' mini van, listening to some tunes on the radio. (Give me credit, at least I wasn't listening to a Barney CD). The DJ came on and said something like, "thanks for listening to our LIGHT ROCK radio station."

Hold it right there!

LIGHT ROCK??!!

Crap, my mom listens to light rock. What does that make me??!!

I will succumbe to this strike against my coolness, but I did immediately change the radio station.