Christmas Pictures

Finally took my kiddos Christmas pictures today...here are some of my favorites!








And...our Christmas card picture for 2009! Merry Christmas everyone!!! Praying you stop long enough during this busy time to remember the REASON for this (and every) season!

One more thing...

This is mainly for my family... There is going to be a couple of races (5K, 10K, and kids' fun run) out at the state park next Saturday (July 4) to help raise money for the new park that will be built here in town in the fall. It costs $30 to run...or the kids can get pledges and run for free...so...who wants to sponsor my kids?? :o) Leave me a comment or send me an email...they'd love to be able to say that their family back in Wichita is sponsoring them!!!

ICK!

Cranky, sad, lonely...yup, that's me.

Sickenss continues. Bethany got better after staying home two days. But the night she was feeling better, Andrew began throwing up (that was Wednesday night). So, he stayed home from school on Thursday...thankfully, Hubby was able to stay home with him so that I could go to school. He was better on Thursday, so I decided to send him to school on Friday. After school and after school ativities, I took the kids to Little Big City for some shopping and time OUT of town. (Found a GREAT winter coat for Bethany for next year 75% off!!!) We went to Appleb**s for dinner to use a gift certificate we received for Christmas. Momma even got a margarita! (small one since I was driving!) The kids behaved relatively well, so I treated them to a McD's ice cream and time in the play-place. When we left McD's and realized the wind had really kicked up! Decided since the wind was SOOO strong I should probably get some gas. In normal weather, I could have easily made it home, but with the wind blowing completely at me that my mileage would be WAY down...and it was! About 10 minutes out of Little Big City, I heard Abbie yelling, but couldn't make out what she was saying because the wind was SO loud...turns out she was saying "Pull over, I'm gonna puke!" Yea, got that after the fact. So...I opened the back windows and kept driving...what else are you gonna do in the middle of nowhere, by myself with three kids...night time, with 50 mph winds?? Keep going!! I did pass a cup back to her and told her if she was going to puke again to try to get it in the cup. She feels horrible, poor kid.
After we got home, sent the other two to bed, Abbie to the shower, and myself back to the garage to shampoo out the van.
Now, I'm finally getting to sit down, and I think the cat just peed on the floor...more shampooing!

Man...what a day. Is it over yet?

Oh, and Hubby is out of town...he'll be home tomorrow.

Cranky, sad, lonely...yup, that's me. But, thankfully tomorrow is a new day.

BRRRR!! and Skating!

Oh My GOODNESS it is so COLD here!! It was -2 when I took the kids t school this morning, and now it has warmed up to a balmy -1!!! BRRRR!! Thank You, God for our new furnace!!!

Yesterday it was a tasty 6 degrees and I drove the 40 miles to "Little Big City" to go roller skating with our county 4-H group. It was fun, but oh, so FUNNY!! First, Bethany said she did NOT want to skate. Fine by me, that means I don't have to!! So we got Andrew and Abbigail all laced up. Abbie promply fell flat on her tush. Poor girl. They kept falling and kept falling. Holding onto the wall only worked a little bit! Abbigail said she was "terrified of these things!" Then, Bethany decided that she DID want to skate, so back we went to pay for her and I, get our skates, get them on....They had little kids' skates that just went on over the shoe, the kind that do not roll freely. She took off! She was much faster than her brother and sister because her skates gave her some control! They decided that maybe they should have that kind of skates, too. So we unlaced, got the exchange, and put them on Abbigail. While they wear the same size shoe, Andrew's shoe soles are much bigger than Abbie's, and his shoe wouldn't fit inside the skate. :o( So he had to put the regular ones back on. Abbie took off in the new skates. She had a blast in the new skates. Andrew started getting the hang of the skating thing and we had fun! Brought me back to my Jr. High days when that was the "THING" to do! I spent many Friday nights at the roller rink! Here are a few pics of our fun!

Abbie just getting going, Andrew carrying his big skates!

Andrew and his favorite wall!

Abbie and one of her best friends, Hallie.

My little skate pro!

What Bethany and her friend spent most of the time doing...playing on the benches!

Cinderella dresses!

THEY ARE FINISHED!!!! Do you like my ceiling fan? It makes great hangers for these dresses!

Two princesses are ready to get dressed...and two princess dresses are FINALLY ready!

If you remember...I ordered both dresses off of EB*Y. Abbigail's dress was new with tags. I have heard that Disney costumes run really small. So, being the seamstress that I am (do you hear the sarcasm in my voice??) I figured that I could make a gown smaller, but not bigger. I ordered her a size 10...OOOPS! It is HUGE! It is supposed to be a t-length gown. I took it in at the shoulders. I hemmed about 6 inches off the bottom (my worst hemming job EVER)...and it is now approximately ankle length. None of these issues were from false advertising on the part of the ebay seller...it was exactly as I expected it to be (ok, a little bigger, but that's my fault).

Bethany's dress is not a Disney costume, just a Cinderella look alike. It was listed as being in excellent condition. It was not. The bodice part had completely ripped apart and someone had resewn it with huge whip stitches that were completely across the front of the gown...it didn't look like they were trying to hide the stitching. It was completely ugly (the gown is pretty, but the stitching was ugly). So distracting. I took the entire thing apart and had to resew the entire thing by hand. It looks much better now, if I do say so myself. The dress was also way too long, but had a beautiful silver edging that I didn't want to hide. I figured out a way to hem the gown while preserving the edging. Not a great job, but it will do! Anyway...the dresses are DONE!

Thankfully, Andrew's Buzz costume fits him perfectly and needs NO alteration! We are going to a party at the church where my preschool is located tomorrow, so they will get to wear their costumes tomorrow...I will try to take pictures!

Ok, 3 posts in one night...I'm exhausted! Nighty Night!!!

First Day of School

OK...QUICK post! I've got about 10 minutes before my next OPEN house for preschool (nope, someone showed up, it's all over now...just getting ready for the first day, better hit "Post" before I forget!!!)...I wanted to share the pictures of my BABIES on their first day of school! Aren't they just ADORABLE!!??? And not the least bit ornery!

Ice cream for dinner!

How could I forget...we had ice cream for dinner tonight! Well, that was the idea anyway. We were all tired, and played outside with the other kids until 7:30. The kids said they were hungry, but not TOO hungry. I wasn't too hungry either...but figured I should feed the kids before sending them to bed. I've heard of other moms surprising their kids by serving ice cream for dinner, so I thought I'd try it! I asked Abbie what she thought about ice cream for dinner. She didn't like the idea, she said it wasn't healthy. Well, no, but for once it's ok. Nope, nothing doing. She said she needed something healthy first, like a hot dog....(SNORT! Her idea of healthy is a hot dog, what have I done to this poor kid!???) Finally we decided that if we made it a banana split, it would pass for "healthy" ice cream dinner. Bethany didn't worry about the health factor and asked for extra whipped topping on hers! Andrew, who was in the shower while I was getting the girls their 'dinner' agreed with Abbie that ice cream was not a proper dinner, so he had a pb&j. I steamed an ear of corn or two, and then had my ice cream!!!
Refusing ice cream for dinner??? What is wrong with these kids??? :o)

Blastball, T-Ball, and Softball

All three of my kiddos are playing ball this summer.
Bethany is in blastball (teaches basics of hitting and running to the base, and fielding). Andrew is in T-Ball (the next step up). Abbigail is in her second year of softball (hitting from a pitching machine). The fun thing about Abbie's league is that they get to try all the positions...this last game she got to play catcher. She is so tiny and the quipment was so HUGE. It was absolutly HILARIOUS! She loved it, though! She like catching the ball, and even when it hit the protective gear, it didn't hurt! (Dad, I thought you would be especially proud of her for this!!) Sorry the picture's of Abbigail are so dark. Her game didn't start until after 9:00 in the evening!

Pictures as promised!

I promised that I would post pictures of Andrew's first wrestling tournament...so here they are! This is the picture Abbie and I took right before his second match. Abbie thought she was taking pictures during the first match, but she wasn't holding the button down long enough, so there are no pics of it, here I was explaining how long you have to hold the button down.

These pictures are all from the Andrew's second match, the one he won! Abbigail was manning this camera and I had the video camera. So...thanks Abbigail! Andrew is in the blue...he's the one on top! Here is Andrew just before he pinned the other little boy.

Here are some cute pictures of my little Bethany. She helped me make the "biscuits and gravy" AKA...chicken pot pie the other night. She helped roll out and cut the biscuits. After the pie was in the oven, she played in the flour while I washed some dishes. She looked so cute I went to get the camera...of course in the 30 seconds it took me to grab the camera and come back, she fell off her step stool. Posing for pictures was not on her list of favorite things at this moment, but the pictures were so precious I couldn't keep them to myself.

What do they want to be?

So I was chatting with Andrew and Bethany this afternoon. Abbigail was finishing her homework...I wish she had been in on this conversation.
It all started out because Bethany was snuggled up to me and I told her I don't want her to grow up, I want her to stay my little girl forever. Then I started thinking about it...no, that is not what I want. I will miss her little girl smile, giggle, and snuggles, but I know her grown up smiles, giggles, and hugs will be equally as wonderful. I asked her if she wants to grow up, and she said "Yes, when I get bigger I'll grow up. I'm getting bigger right now from all those biscuits and gravy." (We had chicken pot pie, and I make it with biscuits on top of the yummy chicken and veggies, she just thinks it's biscuits and gravy.) Any way...I asked her what she wants to be when she gets older and she said she wants to be a mommy with big boobies...only my daughter. She wants a husband (that's good). I asked her if she wants a to have a job that she goes to, and she couldn't think of anything. I started listing off things like nurse, secretary, doctor, chef,etc...and she said she wants to be a doctor.
I asked Andrew what he wants to be when he grows up, and he said he wants to be a husband. I asked who he wants to marry and his answer: "A girl who doesn't have a husband" Ok...good criteria! I asked him what he wants to do for a job and he said that he is going to stay home and take care of child care children like I do...he thinks it's just all playing! He then went on to tell me that he's going to have 10 boys and 10 girls, and "definitely a dog!" LOL!!! I told him that he might mention the 20 children to this non-married gal before he asks her to marry him. I also informed him that his 20 children will probably want to eat once in a while, so he might want to consider a job that pays a bit more than childcare...like being Donald Trumps protogee. :o) (Is Andrew possibly the little old man who lives with the little old woman in the shoe...and all 20 children...and the dog?)

Oh, the things that come out of their mouths! :o) Love their imaginations!

One more thing...while driving somewhere the other day, the kids apparently saw a spider on the outside of their window. They started discussing different spiders, they thought maybe the one on the van was the dreaded "Daddy Long John" spider. LOLLOL!!! :-)

Christmas Quilts...early

I caved. I was trying to play catch-up today for a lot of the stuff I've let slide in the past few weeks since I've been so busy with the Christmas program and stuff. I washed all the bedding and remade the beds...have I ever told you I HATE bunk-beds! Love them for the room they save, HATE putting sheets and blankets on them!!!! Since Andrew got one for his birthday, now I have to make 2 bunk beds! ARRRGGGHHH!!! Anyway, that's not the point!

When I was about to put Bethany's blanket back on top of her sheets I decided I was going to give the girls' their quilts a bit early. I have been working on those quilts off and on for about 18 months, and since I finally finished them last week, I REALLY wanted them to be able to use them...I'm almost as bad as the kids about waiting for Christmas to open gifts!!! So, without further adu...may I present, the quilts! :-)

They are so snuggly! When Abbigail crawled up in her bed for the picture, she laid down and didn't want to come back out, she LOVES it!!! The top is flannel and the backing is a jersey t-shirt sheet...so snuggly! I'm thinking I want one!

And then we added all their stuffed animals and babies...I hope the girls don't grow too much taller or they won't have room for all their "fluffy families."

Abbie's fluffy family

Bethany's fluffy family...I think that girl needs to clean out under her bed!!!!

And I just LOVE this face!!!!

Kinda like this one, too!

This one's sweet, too!

Ok, enough bragging, my girls are cute...whatcha gonna do?? :-)