Poor Kit!

 

Kit just lays there.

So innocent so sweet,

he doesn't do anything to deserve baby torture.

 

But, in the last two weeks alone. 

I have caught the boys doing odd things to poor Kit.

Rocco was trying to nurse him.

 

 

 

Roo was trying to get him to stop crying,

by fixing him up with Band-aids.

 

 

 

And Bo...

well, I found Kit covered in pepperoni...

(which he actually seemed to really like)

but it had Bo written all over it. 

 

 

Poor Kit.

I can't even imagine what this babes life will be like.

At least it'll be interesting

AND

he'll always have friends.

 

 

 

 

Make it Count

 

We are getting a BIG SNOW right now as I type.

And when you think of us Minnesotans you might be thinking,

"It's suppose to snow!  You live in Minnesota!"

But by now we are usually wearing shorts to school,

even if our legs are cold.

 

Most people like to hunker down when it starts piling up,

but not my husband, so when I suggested

we go grab a treat he was in. 

 

We got our jammies on to go out. 

We piled in the car & headed down the road.

Three hours ago it had been green

& we had hope that Spring might come.

 

 

Kelly was just happy to get the chance to

spin the tires while I grab onto the dash board going, "Kelly!" 

His eyes always twinkle when I furrow my brows at him.

(& I wonder why my boys are rascals)

 

But he always manages to get us where we need to go safely,

and tonight we needed to get here:

 

 

Then like magic,

just stepping through this door turns a frosty night...

 

 

...into a cozy one.

 

 

I'm not gonna lie...

there was a little ruckus with Roo

& some flying chocolate for Kit,

 

 

And I went home with my jeans looking like this:

 

(Yes, that IS practically my whole leg)

 

I even took Roo for a cold timeout in the snow

because I don't let him carry on in restaurants.

 

But there was a also a bit of this:

 

and a bit of that:

 

 

Oh & some of this too!

 

 

and by the time we left I knew

it was a night we had made count.

 

 

And now it's here, captured.

 

In twenty years when people are still talking about

"the snowiest April back in 2013"

 and Kit doesn't remember a thing about it,

I'll show him how I put his car seat

out in the snow for him to enjoy a few flakes.

I also am a little magical,

 just turned his blankie over & Poof!...clean!

Not so much with my jeans.

:)

 

Here's hoping for a snow day! 

 

 

It forgot to come...

 

Today, everyone is in their

 

 

and we have our

 

 

 

ready to go.

 

But Spring forgot to come.

 

Not stopping us though.

We are just pretending it came.

Today we were "jumping in puddles" & "catching butterflies."

 

 

Spring really is too much fun to let it slip by.

 

So even if it is 34 degrees & snowy,

we are gonna do Spring anyway.

 

I really shouldn't have...

 

 

my phone.

 

A little more than a person should.

 

Roo is as attached to my phone as I am.

You know how most kids like a blankie?

 

When Roo gets tired...he asks for my phone.

I have about a dozen pictures of him sleeping like this:

 

Because he always does.
 

Even right at this very moment he is up in his crib

with Annie's toy cell phone.

My favorite thing about my phone is the camera.

I am capturing our life with that little baby gadget!

 

Yesterday I set it on the hood of the car to help one of the kids with his shoe.  I looked at it & thought,
"I really shouldn't put it there."

& I shouldn't have.

 

My husband pulled in at that very moment

& instead of grabbing it...I walked out of the garage to greet him.

(His fault for being so cute.)

 

Then we all jumped in the car to go pick up Annie.

When we got home,

"Where is my phone?"

I knew.

My stomach dropped

because I knew.

 

We used

app to locate it about 2 miles away,

in a ditch.

 

But then it looked like this:

 

& I felt my heart sink, really sink, more than it should have.

 

I told my hubby I'd just wait for July until my contract was up.

I meant it, but inside I didn't like it too much.

 

An hour a later he had a new screen put on it by the

Gadget Guru.

 

He really takes good care of me :)

 

The camera doesn't work

& I will miss Instagram.

 

BUT

July will be here fast

& Roo is happy again.

(Me too.)

 

Between this & the green M&M

 I have had lots of expensive lessons recently.

 

Just don't do it girls...

don't do it.

:)

 

Finally made it...

Annie has been asking me for weeks

to make her a checklist with things to do each day. 
 

I had her write me a list of things
she wanted to do everyday & I typed it out.

 

She said, "I didn't put homework on the list."

I said, "No, but I did."  

Any good mom would right? :)

I also added in the do something nice part hoping
I might benefit once or twice.

She said, "I have to do something nice everyday?!!!"

 

Just for fun we made the checklists into a tablet.

 

Have you ever made one?

You just need these.

The jars are just weights.
 

Cut the papers & make sure they are exactly the same size.

I stacked all the tops halves together

& all the bottom halves together. 

(That helps the writing line up better.  Makes the tablet neater.)

Line the pages up as perfectly as you can and

paint the edge with Elmer's school glue.

 

Then just smash it between a cutting board

& a pan with weights. (cutting board just keeps your table clean)

Apply a few coats of glue as it dries &

Waa laa!

Tablet!

 

I also made each kids their own pad with their name on it.

 

It is really easy to do them all at once. 

 

Just stack every one's tablet paper together in one big pile

& then glue them all together. 

 

Then when they dry you can just tear them off in chunks.

One thick pad becomes 4 little pads.

Breakfast had some busy,

 

happy,

 

productive,

 

little people.

 

Just the way I like them.

 

After school Annie is going to make one for her teacher.

They would make great teacher gifts OR birthday party favors!  Slap on any pic to suit your theme!

 

They would  be cheap gifts for teachers to make with their students for gifts for parents too.

 

Hope you have fun with them! 

Green M&Ms

 

I will never look at green M&Ms the same...

why don't I start at the beginning?

 

Remember this?

 

Well our due dates have come & gone

& as a result we both have precious little babes. 

 

Kit & Kendall

 

 

 

As you can tell they love each other very much.

 

I took these pictures back in January.

I'll never forget that day.

 

I had Angie & Kendall over for lunch.  After lunch I was taking pictures of the babes & Rocco started crying.

 

"It hurts!  My nose."

It took me much longer than it should have, to figure out he had shoved an M&M up his nose.

 

I couldn't see it up there but I knew it was there

because a little bit of green dye ran out.

 

No worries, not a big deal.

Kinda funny.

 

I tried to get him to blow out,

he sucked in.

 

I tried to get him to sneeze by looking

at the sun & even tried to get him to sniff pepper.

 

Nothing.

 

So I called the doctor office for suggestions.

They told me to call an ambulance.

I'm not really the ambulance type but I won't lie,

that got me worried!

 

So, poor Angie was stuck with my kids, until

my mom could get there to relieve her, &

I tossed him in the car & drove him to the ER.

 

They had me put my mouth on his,
close the other side of his nose with my finger
 & blow forcefully.

No M&M came out.

Not ever.

 

So I learned a few lessons I thought I would pass onto you.

 

1) How to get things out of kids' noses.

 

2) When you give little boys candy, tell

them not to stick it in their nose.

 

3)  M&Ms melt in your nose,

not in your hand.

 

It'll save you this pain.

 

 

Lessons learned.

 

By Rocco too

He thinks it is still in there.

Oh Boy...

I never find out whether I am having a boy or a girl. 

I like the anticipation.
 

I LOVE the moment. 
 

The "It's a......" announcement.
 

That moment they lay your baby on your chest for the first time and you can't contain your emotions one more second. 
 

My friend Sarah had THAT moment captured:

Is there anything more beautiful?

When Kit was born I had that moment. 

I kissed him and clutched him tight as I uncontrollably sobbed tears of joy from that deepest part of my heart. 

Then when they took him to weigh him I came to my senses
& I thought,

"Did I REALLY just have ANOTHER boy?" 
 

And when they handed him back...I checked to make sure. 
 

They were right and I still took him home anyway  :)  
 

Three months later...the shock is still wearing off.

I...have..four...boys.

Wow.

 

I have actually looked to heaven & said,

 "What were you thinking?!  Are you kidding?  Four?!"

 

But I really love the surprises they bring to my life.

 

Surprises like little boys walking by with their bunk bed ladder as if it is the most normal thing in the world,

"We are fireman." They explain.

But of course.

"Carry on then."

 

And they do.

 

 

 

 

 

They had a busy afternoon putting out more fires

than you ever could imagine,

until I made them put the ladder away.

 

 

And last night when Rocco was kissing me goodnight,

he squeezed me really tight and planted a huge kiss on my cheek.  Then he backed away looked me right in the eye. 

"Mom?  I love your guts." 

 

Yep...I love my boys.

Guts & all.

 

 

 

 

Thanks to my friend Sarah to letting me use that pic of hers up in my post.  She is a completely beautiful girl inside & out!