Are You Ready for Some FOOTBALL?!

I hope you all read that title correctly, singing it in the style of Hank Williams Jr. and the old Monday Night Football jingle. My answer to the question? Oh, Yeah! I LOVE football and always have. I was even a football cheerleader in High School. I don't care who's playing, I'll watch any game that's on tv. Now I'm not obsessed and watch all games, but if I have nothing going on, I'll watch any game. There's not much better than a cool Sunday spent on the couch watching football, wrapped in blankets and eating potato soup. Yummmm


Most of you know that I love the Green Bay Packers. I seriously think that my parents passed that on to me, because my dad honest-to-goodness still wears Packer Zubas on Sunday and probably bleeds green and gold. Yep, he's cool. I have a jersey for Gilbert Brown, my old favorite player who has since retired. However, the only time I ever came close to filling out that jersey was when I was 9 months pg, but that's a whole other story. The girls all have Packer shirts and love to watch football, too. When Lilly sees the pics on my computer screen of our time at the Packer game, she says, "Look Mommy! The Go-Packers!"


While I love to watch the Pack play, there is something almost as good. That's watching the Vikings lose. I really don't like the Vikes, our biggest rival, but part of it is just to rub my sister the wrong way. (Love ya, Nan!) It's our friendly battle within the family.


So don't be surprised if I throw football into the mix over the next 5 months. I have been anxiously waiting for the season to start since last February and the time is almost near. Only a little over a week until the official start of the 2007 NFL Season. I can't wait!

Sisters

I love to just sit and take it all in when it comes to my girls. Of course with Mikayla, there's not that much to take in yet. She smiles, she laughs, she sits, she rolls. Her personality is coming through, but it's not real evident yet, you know? But Alayna and Lilly, they constantly amaze me with their similarities and differences.

If you look at our two oldest girls, you can see a resemblance but you see the differences more. Alayna is blond-haired and blue-eyed, while Lilly has brown hair and brown eyes. In fact, her eyes are so dark you almost can't make out the pupils. But their differences are more than just physical. Just last night, for example, I pretended that I was going to sleep in Lilly's bed with her. She flipped. She did NOT want me sleeping with her, was trying to push me out of her bed, and kept insisting that Daddy needed me to sleep with him instead. If I had joked with Alayna that I was going to sleep with her, she would have gladly moved over to make room for me. She often asks if I can lay down with her or if she can sleep with us. This is a common trend in our house. Not the sleep with or not sleep with debate, but the independence. Alayna is independent, but cautiously so. She likes to do her thing, but she still wants to make sure that she has our supervision or permission. Make sure we are within arm's reach. Lilly does her own thing and could care less if anyone was watching, following or allowing her to do that thing. If we have to strongly discipline the girls, the difference is amazing. Alayna will get very upset and instantly want to apologize, try to figure out how to right her wrong. Lilly, on the other hand, will do her best not to smile while she's being punished (very infuriating at times, let me tell you). She will sit out her time-out in silence, then have to be told to apologize or right her wrong. Sometimes she does it, sometimes it takes another time out. Now I realize that Alayna is older than Lilly, but this was the same at all ages. When we have thunderstorms, a slight crash of thunder will make Alayna wide awake. The house was struck by lightning recently, causing Andy, Alayna and I to all jump out of bed. Lilly didn't even flinch. She could probably sleep through a jet-liner landing in our backyard.

While Alayna and Lilly are very different, they are both very similar, too. Both love horses, dolls, art, riding their bikes, helping Daddy. Puzzles of any kind are a huge hit in our house, as well as games. When it comes to doing their chores, each of them willingly participates and enjoys their small contributions to the household. They are both terrified of spiders and crickets, and hate having dirty hands. If they could pick the menu for our weekly meals, they'd easily agree on the 7 meals, as they love the same foods.

Another similarity? They are both the sweetest girls, with the most amazing personalities, however different they may be. I could not have asked for two more wonderful, beautiful, incredible children. I can't wait for Mikayla to get a little older to see where she fits into the mix. Andy and I are truly blessed with our three girls.

Farewell, Toothless Grins

Our other big news from the weekend? Mikayla now has her first tooth. We knew it was coming, as it's impending arrival has been very evident for about 3 weeks now. I was doing daily checks to see if that sharp little thing had cut through yet, but nothing was happening except for a lot of drool and chewing. Yesterday I fed her a bite of mashed potatoes and sure enough, that razor-sharp tooth scraped against my finger. It's a bitter sweet moment for sure. Mikayla is growing up and becoming such a big girl. But she's our baby and our last one at that. This new tooth means an end to all those sweet, toothless grins that I love so much. So here's her last gummy smile, just taken on Saturday.

The Weekend

We had our third annual End-of-Summer Potluck on Saturday. It was so much fun to see everyone together. Our memory count of who all was here resulted in over 75 people. Wow. We had a bean-bag toss tournament, a walla walla ball tournament, lots of fabulous food, great weather and terrific company. We honestly could not have asked for a better day. Here are some pics from Saturday...

It was a pretty big day on Saturday and no one woke up until almost 9 on Sunday morning! That in itself is pretty amazing. We spent the morning cleaning up and playing outside. Then we grilled an early supper and went mini golfing in town with my parents. The girls had so much fun. Here are our golf pros...

100 things about me...

My friend Kandace recently did this on her blog and I loved reading her responses. So, here are 100 things you may or may not know about me:

1. I am 26 years old.
2. I have only one sibling, my sister Amanda, who’s 28.
3. Some people honestly think that in 10 yrs of being together, Andy and I have never noticed our names rhyme. For the record, we have.
4. I have never been on vacation with my husband for more than two nights or more than 200 miles from home.
5. My favorite place to be is at home, cuddled up with my hubby and kids.
6. I was convinced during each of my 3 pregnancies that each child was a boy. They were all girls.
7. We never found out their sex before their births.
8. Andy and I were kind of scared we’d have twins because it’s on both sides of our family quite heavily.
9. I have always wanted twins.
10. We are done having children.
11. I loved being pregnant.
12. Growing up, I didn’t like my full name and only my dad’s side of the family called me Candyce. Now I don’t mind Candyce at all.
13. I love a good rainy day, and especially a nice rain at night when it's nice enough to sleep with the windows open and listen to the rain.
14. I got engaged in the morning and my Gramma died that night.
15. She never knew about our engagement. My parents were on vacation and we were waiting to share the news when they got back.
16. I never knew that I could love anyone more than Andy until our girls came along.
17. Alayna’s middle name is after my great-Gramma.
18. Lilly’s middle name is after my Gramma and Andy’s Gramma.
19. Mikayla’s middle name is after my great-Grampa.
20. Until I was 20, I had all 4 grandparents.
21. I still have 2 that are alive.
22. I am the only person I know who had a halter-style wedding dress.
23. Andy’s friends wrote “help me” on the bottom of his shoes so it would show when we knelt during the ceremony.
24. I have known Andy since kindergarten.
25. He asked me “out” in 8th grade and I turned him down.
26. I used to think he was a geek.
27. I love being a daycare provider for my friends.
28. I sometimes wish I was just a stay-at-home mom.
29. I have a hard time remembering to pay bills on time.
30. I hate having to pay bills and loathe giving away that money.
31. I check my bank balance daily because I’m paranoid about our finances.
32. I wish my husband spent more time with us as a family.
33. I know he wishes the same thing.
34. But he’s too nice and can’t say no to people who ask for his help.
35. My favorite movie is 'The Ghost and the Darkness'.
36. I know very few people who have actually seen that movie.
37. My play list on the computer contains country, classic 80s, 80s rock, 80s rock ballads, current hits, classical, christian, and new-age music.
38. I listen to pretty much anything except for rap, hip hop, and R&B.
39. I am a sucker for a slow song.
40. I love game shows and Jeopardy is my favorite. I must say that I am pretty darn good at it, too.
41. I love to play games, especially board games.
42. I am a trivia fanatic.
43. My favorite tv show is ‘Grey’s Anatomy’.
44. I fell off a horse the first time I ever rode one.
45. I have been riding ever since.
46. I talk to my horse like she’s human.
47. I love big dogs and dream of one day owning a Great Dane.
48. I have never been fired from a job.
49. I can type an insane amount of words per minute, with very few mistakes.
50. I just bought new slipcovers for my couch because of a huge rip on one cushion.
51. I had a meltdown because I was told the slipcovers were a set but was sent only the love seat.
52. I enjoy mowing the lawn.
53. My favorite color is red.
54. I probably own 15 shirts in different styles and shades of red.
55. I would wear jeans every day and everywhere if I could.
56. I always have my toenails painted.
57. I paint my fingernails maybe once a year.
58. I like Andy with his head and face shaved.
59. I actually like him with a goatee, too, as long as he keeps it trimmed.
60. My favorite facial feature of Andy’s is his eyes, followed shortly by his dimple.
61. None of our girls inherited his dimple.
62. I love to scrapbook but I’m terribly behind on the girls’ books.
63. My favorite cologne is Drakar Noir and I refuse to buy anything else for Andy.
64. I never wear perfume myself.
65. I have a hideous mole on my toe that I want removed. People always think it’s a wood-tick.
66. I love shoes, but I hate wearing them and would rather be barefoot or in sandals.
67. I am 9” shorter than my husband, and I’m 5’6”.
68. I’m scared that my girls will be the tall kids in class and get teased. They all are already taking after Andy in height.
69. I always try to open doors for older people in the grocery store, post office, etc.
70. I also always try to smile at people.
71. I love to read but rarely get time to do it.
72. I have always wanted to be a novelist and have written numerous stories since I was about 12. When I’m done, I delete them.
73. I still hope to some day be a novelist.
74. My favorite meal is Thanksgiving dinner, minus the pumpkin pie.
75. As a rule, I hate pie, though I make 2 exceptions with fresh strawberry and French Silk.
76. I love just about anything chocolate or caramel.
77. Someday I hope to go on a photo safari, not killing safari.
78. I also hope to go to Europe someday and tour all the old castles.
79. I have a very cheesy sense of humor (think Mel Brooks, Austin Powers, Adam Sandler, etc)
80. I also have a very naughty sense of humor.
81. When I get too tired, I think everything is funny.
82. I am absolutely terrified of June Bugs.
83. I also hate cotton balls or anything resembling that texture. I now have goosebumps thinking about it.
84. I have lots of texture issues, especially with food. Soggy is a HUGE no-no.
85. I am listening to Amazing Grace on the bagpipes right now.
86. I used to be addicted to Mt. Dew and now I have maybe 2 sips every 2-3 months, and then I’m wired for hours.
87. I constantly worry about my parenting and if I’m doing the right things to help my girls be the best adults/parents/wives they can be.
88. Our shower only gets a good scrub-down 2-3 times a year.
89. I hate mopping the floors.
90. I have a very sensitive nose and can smell things others can’t. Smells that are just right for others are usually too strong for me and cause headaches (like perfumey smells).
91. I want to go on a vacation with only Andy very badly, but worry that I’ll be so absorbed w/ being w/o the kids that I won’t enjoy myself.
92. I have only flown once and that was when I was in First grade.
93. I watch the news every night b/c I have to know what is going on in the world. I almost always hate what I hear.
94. I need to go through the entire house and de-clutter.
95. I am notorious for keeping things “for later” and never end up using them.
96. I probably have over 50 plastic bags in my broom closet right now.
97. My favorite time of year is fall. Actually, I would love 6 months of fall (w/ the temps, smells, sights, etc lasting all 6 months) and then 2 months each of winter, spring and summer.
98. We always eat a family dinner at the table.
99. I love milk but don’t like to drink it out of a plastic cup.
100. I really hope anyone reading doesn’t think I’m corny or strange or whatever for some of the things I disclosed.

Such a BIG GIRL!

The other morning, Alayna and I were sitting on the couch, snuggling, and watching Dora. Mikayla and my lone daycare kid of the day, Emma, were playing with toys on the floor next to us. As we sat there, we heard a loud thunking noice from upstairs.


"What's that noice, Mom?" Alayna asked. I told her that it must have been Lilly and she's now awake. So we sat there for another minute and sure enough, we hear Lilly start heading down the stairs. As she reached the landing in the kitchen, she turned to face the living room and announced...


"Ta Dah! I got myself all dressed!" (the thunking must have been the dresser drawers) She was so proud of herself, and so were we. It was, afterall, her first time getting herself completely ready. When she came down into the living room, she assured me that she had already gone potty, took off her jammies and put them in the dirty clothes, changed panties, gotten dressed and tried to brush her hair. I was very impressed. Next time, we just need to work on what clothes for what temps. The high that day? 72. And that night, she got herself dressed for bed all by herself, too. In warm, woolly footie pajamas...

One of those days...

I am having one of those days. You know, the type where you wish you could just stop time or rewind it or whatever, like the girl on that old show "Out of This World" (I think). Maybe if I just put my two forefingers together in front of me...nope, didn't work.

My day actually started at about 2:00 this morning. Andy and the girls were going to sleep in the tent they built in the living room. It was therefore my job to make sure that I woke up with Andy's alarm so he could get to work. Of course, I was paranoid about sleeping through it or hitting snooze unconsciously, so I was up every 30 mins or so from 2:00 until about 3:15. I remember that time because I had looked at the clock for the 20th time in an hour, only to fall back asleep and wait for that darn alarm. Well, the alarm never went off. It was set, but it didn't go off. Why? Because we were woken up at 3:30 by the loudest crack of thunder I think I have ever heard in my life. No kidding. I jumped out of bed because I honestly thought that the house had fallen in. I went downstairs and Andy was just getting up off the floor, followed shortly by Alayna (Lilly had gone up to her own bed when I went to bed) We were certain that something in the yard or horse pasture had been struck by lightning, it was that loud and close. We were shocked and pleasantly surprised that we still had power. But since Andy has to get up at 4:00, it didn't make sense for him to go back to bed. So, Alayna and I sat with Daddy for a few minutes, helped him pack his lunch, then we went back to bed.

Fast forward to 6:30 when my alarm goes off, and I'm dead to the world. I was soooooo tired. After hitting snooze a few times, I finally drag my sorry butt out of bed and turn on the tv for the weather forecast. Rainy all day, which is great because we still desperately need the rain. So I head downstairs and turn on the tv in the living room....nothing. Hmmmm. I turned off the dish receiver, hit reset, then turned it back on again. Nothing. I picked up the phone to dial DirecTV and there's no dial tone. You have GOT to be kidding me. I pull the couch away from the wall to get to the phone jack and the jack is literally lying in pieces on the floor. Wow. I quickly run to turn on the computer and, as you can tell, it's fine. Thank God. Sure, I had to borrow the 25' phone line we have and run the cord to the toy room jack, but it's working until Andy gets home and puts in the new jack.

I plug the cordless phone into another jack in the house and it's working, too. Good, apparently it's only the one jack. I call DTV and am on the phone for almost an hour, in which time the man tells me someone will have to come out and set up a new receiver for the living room. Really? Isn't that what I told him would have to happen? After all, the receiver upstairs works perfectly, so it's obviously the downstairs receiver that is smoked. But, I smile so the man can hear it in my voice, thank him for his time and verify that I will, indeed, be home tomorrow between 9 and noon.

I quickly go on-line to see about slipcovers for our couch because we have a huge tear in the one cushion. Nice, huh? The reason I had to get on-line right away was because if my order was in by noon, I should be able to get it by Sat morning. I race through the order process only to discover that the one I like is a little shady in description. It made it sound like a set, but when I went to check out it just said "love seat." Well that won't work, because it's a love seat/sofa set. I spied a number in the bottom corner and thought it was worth a shot to call. The lady who helped me was very nice and understood that it was a set, too. But just to be sure, she checked with her manager (placing me on hold for about 5 mins) and verified that yes, it was a set. Good. I placed the order and was told it would arrive between Fri and Mon. I hope it's Fri or Sat, because we are having a big party here on Saturday and I really don't want to just throw a blanket over the darn couch.

With all that said and done, I swore that it was at least 4:00 this afternoon. Nope, it wasn't even 10 yet! Yikes! But, things seem to be calm for now and hopefully it's all good.

Rain!!

It's finally raining! I know, nothing too much to write home about. But this summer has been so dry and according to the meteorologists, we are over 4" below ave for this summer. We went into the summer with a deficit, too. But we have gotten some much needed and celebrated rain this weekend. According to our handy rain gage, since Friday night we've gotten about 2"! It's amazing how much things have greened and perked up. No more brown and yuck. No more major fire risk. No more dry, brittle grass that hurts your feet when you walk barefooted. At least not for a few days, and hopefully the rest of the year. Maybe this is our break from the awful, dry cycle. We shall see. All I know is that it's raining and that's a good thing.

I give up

Mikayla is now 7.5 months old and growing like a weed. She still loves to stand up and refuses to admit that she can sit on her own, though she'll do so for 1-2 minutes at a time when she thinks that Mommy's supporting her from behind (the secret? I'm not.) Lately, she's shown an interest in walking and Alayna loves to hold her hands while they wander, ever so slowly, around the living room. She still sucks her thumb, though I'm getting used to it. I just hope I don't have to cut it off when she's 5 so that she can go to school. Mikayla also loves to watch her older sisters and no one can make her laugh quite like they can. They are the funniest, most entertaining people in her world.

But who really makes her world go round? Not Mommy, though she loves me plenty and has separation anxiety for only me, and I can calm her better than anyone else. No, just like her sisters before her, she's a Daddy's girl. She cries when he comes home from work and she can hear him but not see him (she's done this for months!). She watches his every move when he's within her line of view. She smiles and lights up when he talks to her, calling her Baby.

I could handle all of this, but the last few days have been my undoing. She now says Dada. I was hoping that it was random babbling and she was just experimenting with sounds and noises. But Tuesday I noticed that after the girls or I mentioned Daddy, Mikayla would start saying a-da, a-da. Hmmm, she must just be repeating us, right? Then Daddy came home from work. Mikayla saw him and what comes out of her mouth in a very excited, high-pitched voice? "Dada, dada!" As clear as can be. Since then, she'll say Dada every time that he comes into the room, she hears his voice, we talk about him. It's sickening, really. Not one of the girls said Momma first, and I really thought this baby, our last, was my best chance. After all, she's been saying "Mmmmmmm" for weeks when I try to get her to say Mama, but that's all with prompting. Dada comes with no prompt except the sound of his voice or showing of his face. I've decided that it's just not fair. I give up.

Our other children

I was playing with our dog last night and realized that it's true how animals and pets become real members of the family. So I'll take this post to introduce you to the other members of our family, from largest to smallest.


These two beauties are Cookie (purple halter) and George. I've had Cookie since we were both 13. She used to belong to my aunt and I was the only person who really "got" her. She was crabby and onery and no one really cared for her. But to me, she was the greatest and still is. And yes, she's still crabby and onery, too, but that's just part of who she is. I can't even imagine how I will feel when That Day comes. I don't want to think about it.

George joined our family back in 2003 (I think) He belonged to a coworker of Uncle John's and they were moving. We went to look at him and came home with a horse for the girls. He's awesome. He is so calm and careful and seems to really understand that the girls are less experienced, more fragile. He's a diamond in the rough. I also don't even want to think of That Day for him, either. He's 25 and the love of Alayna's life (besides Daddy).

We have 2 calves, too, but we're trying not to let them become pets. You all saw pics of Twister from the fair and his "brother" looks just like him. The reason we are trying not to let them become pets, as you can imagine, is because in another year we know they won't be around. At least not in the form they are right now...


Sunny (5) is our great protector. I know, she doesn't look like much more than a yard ornament that could stand to lose a few pounds, but trust me, you don't want to mess with her. Just ask the UPS man or the dog that gets too close to her girls. Poor Luna is sporting some scabs on her ear thanks to a close encounter with Lilly, and therefore Sunny. She is VERY protective of the girls and I, but must think that Andy can handle himself. I wouldn't have it any other way. Not only is she protective, but she's calm and tolerant, too. The girls can climb on her, lay on her, pull at her...and she won't do more than blink an eye, and that's usually because of a finger or toe in it. She's our 4th daughter for sure.


Grumpy (6 1/2) is our cat and resident pest control. She used to be indoors, but one too many times we found her on the counter or table. She's now outside and actually loves it. Her favorite cuisine of the wild variety is chipmunks, followed closely by bunnies. It's sad, but at the same time it's nature and now we don't have them all over the place. Not so good is that she tends to bring them to the front door for us as a prize. She had a litter of kittens on Mother's Day, so we still have 3 of those little buggers running around, too.

As you may have noticed, our animals only add to Andy's outnumbered factor. The calves are male, but if we don't count them it's only Andy and George in the sea of estrogen. And even that can be debated, as George is gelded so not a "real" man. Regardless, we love our animals and they are all a big part of our family.

No rest for the weary

Do you ever get back from a vacation and feel like you need....well, a vacation? That's how I feel today. We didn't do anything huge for our "vacation", just went camping about 75 miles from home with Andy's mom's side of the family. But the vacation didn't end up real relaxing, you know? Here's a run-down...

Pack up everything needed (except food, thank God) for 5 people to camp for 2 nights, with 3 of those 5 people being small children. We needed to pack and remember the tent, the air mattresses, pack-n-play, blankets, pillows, chairs, toys, clothes, shoes and sandals, bikes, snacks, drinks, dog food, all food associated with Mikayla, extra diapers, wipes, sunscreen, bug dope, various medicines...the list goes on. Of course all this packing was to be done while still handling the day-to-day dealings of our normal routine and daycare kids, too. We were leaving as soon as Andy got home from work.

Once we get to our destination (which had a minor setback in the form of directions that didn't go to the house, just the town the house was in) then came the task of unpacking all of the above mentioned things and setting them up. This is usually done by me, Mom and Wife, because I know the best way to get all those things set up in a practical and logical way. By the time all set-up is done, it's close to dark and we're all starving. We head to the local bar to grab some burgers (which are delicious and ginormous!) and then we're back and getting ready for bed. But alas, someone is missing a teddy bear and Alayna and Lilly's air mattress is almost flat already. Such is life, they are young and can handle it. We get all settled in and fall asleep. I am awoken by a lone howling coyote at some point in the night and I lay there just waiting for Sunny, our Yellow Lab, to join in with her own version of a howl. I say that nicely, as her "howl" sounds like she's being strangled. She is a Lab, after all. I fall sleep after being thankful that she didn't join in, only to be woken up yet again, but this time by thunder and lightning. The rain starts in soon after, and Andy and I jump up and out of the tent to make sure that everything that can't be in the rain isn't. By this time it's 5 am and the rain makes me have to pee, bad. I take care of business and back to the tent. I'm laying there a grand total of 5 seconds and a big, fat drop lands in the middle of my forehead. I'm done and ready to go home.

Saturday morning I wake up to find that only 2 small spots of the tent leaked, the one directly above me and another by the door (which I might add was having zipper problems all weekend) Not so bad. I was further tempted into a good day when Uncle John made a fabulous egg-bake over the fire in his dutch oven. YUM-O! But then the day went downhill because the temps went into scorching range along with oppressive humidity and no breeze. Lilly was randomly disappearing with her cousin Tanner, sending us all into hysterics for short moments. Mikayla is working on her first tooth and starting to get stranger/separation anxiety so any given moment without Mommy could prove to be very traumatic. Alayna was upset because she isn't quite old enough to do what everyone else was doing (namely playing volleyball) so she was elected line-judge for the weekend. It was a loooooong day. I did get to run away for about 2 hrs with John, Mary, Kim and Sharon to a neighboring town for their craft fair. It was neat but too expensive, so I just sipped my fabulous smoothie and dreamt of the day I'd be able to spend $30 on a pretty, metal leaf the size of my palm just because I liked it and thought it was cool. Some day.

Sunday was great in the weather department, but it was also pack-up day. So that meant repacking all of the above mentioned items into the vehicle, making sure we didn't forget anything in the process. Then came the extensive good-bye hugs and kisses that the girls had to give everyone. It was about a half hour affair of just leaving. Then the blissfully quiet drive home (all 3 girls fell asleep w/in minutes of leaving) and the task of unpacking everything again. I was tired, I was crabby and I was pooped. I needed a vacation.

Now I don't want to give the wrong impression, I had a good time. I got caught up on gossip on other family members or friends of the family, I ate a lot of good food, I was able to read almost half of my magazine...it was just a crazy, stressful weekend. I'm glad I'm home. But, there's no rest for the weary. After all, I'm a mom.

Some recent pics

Lynn, Andy's mom, volunteered to have the girls' pics taken. So, we loaded them up and went to Wal-Mart a few weeks ago. This was Mikayla's first photo-shoot....I know, we're terrible parents. But in our credit, it's been a very hectic, busy 7 months with LOTS of changes, besides adding Mikayla to our lives. We wouldn't change any of it for the world, though. Here are the scanned copies of the pics.

From the mouth of babes

In our house, with the combination of personalities we have, it's never quiet and we never go long between laughs. I thought I'd share some random things that have made us laugh over the past few days...



First off, Lilly was supposed to be cleaning up the toys in the living room. Being the sneaky mom that I am, I peered around the corner to check up on her and watched her play for a good 15-20 seconds. I thought that was adequate time to gauge if she was indeed picking up or just playing. So I asked in a very loud voice, purposely scaring her (I'm terrible, I know) "Lilly, what are you doing?" Without missing a beat she responds, "Well, I'm not playing!"

Lilly also loves to run around in just her panties. Yesterday, she decided that she wasn't going to put on her underwear after her bath because she wanted to run around with her "stinky butt hangin all out." Hmmm.



Alayna has loved it now that Mikayla is older, because that means that she can hold her without help. I often find Mikayla resting in Alayna's lap, or the two of them playing on the floor together. I think Alayna finally learned why Andy and I are always telling her to be careful while holding her right after Mikayla eats. She was bouncing Mikayla on her lap this morning and before I could even say it, I heard, "MOM! She just puked ALL OVER ME!" Lesson learned?



And last, but not least, Mikayla has discovered the joys of a microphone. I was up making dinner when I heard this loudly magnified squeal, followed by a giggle, then another squeal. I knew it was Mikayla, but I couldn't figure out how she was so loud. When I looked into the living room, she was playing with the girls' radio/microphone. Apparently Lilly had left it on from her singing concert earlier and Mikayla was intrigued. She sure had fun playing with the microphone and her voice. I only wish I'd gotten it on video, too!

Am I psychic?

I was checking my friends' blogs this morning and realized something. I hadn't posted on here in few days. So, I came to check things out and I SWEAR that I posted just a few days ago. Then I thought about it, and it was indeed almost a week ago. Now, if you read my last post, you'll see that it's about time going too quickly. Uh, yeah. This past week has simply gotten away from me and I have no good excuse except that it all went too fast! So, here's a run-down on our last week.

We had another 4H meeting on Thursday night, which probably helped to throw things off because it wasn't our normal meeting time. Alayna got the papers she needs to fill out, detailing her year in 4H and what all we did. I can't believe that she's been in the club for almost a year now!

Friday night and Saturday Andy's team was involved in a softball tournament here in town. It was a great weekend! The team didn't do so great, but the temps were below scorching for the first time in weeks! It didn't even make it into the 80s for 2 days in a row! WOW! For those of you who know me, you know that I HATE hot weather and live for the fall and associated temps, smells, sights, etc. But that's for another post...After softball, we went to some friends' house to play cards and have a good time. It was fun, even if the kids weren't cooperating and our 7 girls (between 3 couples) kept needing something or wanting something or telling on someone. You'd think we were parents of small children of something. Sheesh.

Yesterday Andy and I did something that makes the time go even faster-We went on a "date" and did some school shopping. The girls stayed with his mom and we ran to the stores to get glue, folders, crayons, pencils and all the other odds-and-ends that a girl heading into First Grade needs. Now that that's out of the way, I think school will be starting tomorrow. That's not right and it's not fair.

So as you see, we haven't done much of anything, but a lot of nothing for the past 6 days. It just takes so much to stay on top of things, especially when you add in an extra daycare kid or two, the normal house chores, etc. The time just gets away from you. So I wonder, after my last post, am I considered psychic now? Or is it just a case of speaking and living the truth?