Yummy food!

This past January (2014) My resolution was to cook something new at least once a week.  Well I did not succeed on that particular goal exactly.  What I did accomplish was, learning more about cooking, how to actually properly cook things (not just throwing frozen chicken in the oven and hoping for the best), and that Veggies can actually taste good!  

I started the year out well meal planning and looking through recipes and adding in new fun meals for dinner at least once a week.  I managed until February with pretty good consistency when I started to let life get in the way.  Then it turned into more hit or miss in terms of what we eat. On the good weeks when I took the time to plan out our meals and shopping lists, and actually made it to the store, we would have great meals! I would even know when to start cooking instead of looking at the clock at 5:30 thinking I should probably feed my kids. (Thus ending in chicken nuggets or scrambled eggs for dinner.) It was so great sitting down to dinner with my family to meals that would be new, tasty, and sometimes even look pretty.  

The Big down fall and challenge to the whole cooking thing was and is my kids. The challenge started in the planning process. They would do their very best to distract me, and I would usually end up forgetting half of my thoughts, my lists, or loose my recipes. 

Then they would start with the grumbling over what they saw cooking, and what they thought should be cooking. My oldest was (well is) famous for coming in the kitchen while I'm in the middle of cooking, looking at the food and starting her fake cry. Even over things she's never had before. I'm still not sure what she is trying to accomplish with this since she ends up leaving the kitchen crying and I never change the meals. But it can be very disheartening at the end of the day. 

During dinner we have a "one taste no face" rule courtesy of our pediatrician's great ideas. This helped them at least try their dinner every night. Many times after all the before dinner grumbling they would discover they actually like food. As it turns out Morgan now asks me to cook the sauteed Vegetables that I learned how to make. Both girls like them! 

As the year comes to an end I do for sure consider my cooking somewhat successful! I added a good handful of new meals that my family (at least Ben and I) enjoy. I found great resources for cooking tips and how to sneak veggies into foods I know the girls will eat. I even for the first time started to enjoy cooking! Yeah there, I said it! I now enjoy cooking! 

So here's to a new year and hopefully many more new recipes to try out on my very picky food critics at home.  

The Cleaning War

Oh MY! Cleaning is one of my biggest and fruitless battles.  Some times I wonder if it's even worth fighting. Who exactly am I fighting anyway...
One might say I'm fighting against, dirt and germs, others might add in clutter, or my kids. But really, I'm fighting against myself in order to maintain my sanity.  What am I learning through this war against a messy house? well...

First I am learning that toddlers are not helpful!
As a "good parent" I try to give my kids chores to do. Well first I find at a certain age they love it. Helping mom is the best thing ever. However, when they help, say clear the table, things get spilled, dishes get broken, bigger mess occurs. They help clean up said mess and it just gets smeared all over, smashed into the carpet, "good towel's ruined (why have a good towel? not smart!), and usually tears start flowing. (not always the kids mind you.)
The good parenting thing to do would be to ever so patiently walk them through the steps and teach them how to do things without getting upset or angry. One should maintain calm and always be encouraging. Oh if only I could do all that! I tend to loose my cool. Like when my 1 yr old unrolled an entire new roll of toilet paper all over the just cleaned bathroom and my 3 yr old tries to help clean it up by shoving it all in the toilet. Needless to say I did not exactly handle it with grace and compassion.

Second I'm learning that Older kids are helpful...though you will hear about it.
Again I still give chores even after the toddler battle I don't give up. Morgan age 6, has the job to empty the dish washer.
scenario: "Morgan the dish washer needs to be unloaded."
Morgan, "NO!!!!WAAAA!!!  WHY DO I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING?!?!?!"
followed by her stomping to dishwasher and taking about an hr to empty it, making sure almost every piece of silverware hits the floor, and well... ok so I want people to keep coming to my house, so I'll stop there.
Yeah they can be helpful but at what cost? The good parent calmly teaches them that this behavior is not acceptable and ever so gently walks them through the process. Yeah, I walk out of the room and pray that germs really can't kill me. Some times I just wish I had ear plugs.  Especially on the "clean your room" days... yikes you would think the world had just ended, and she was being enslaved by an evil mother.

Third I have learned that the best time to clean is after the girls are in bed. Even better if Ben is out of the house as well. I can clean in peace and not have any helpers "helping" or complaining.  I can get things done just they way I want them. All the clutter put away, All the dirt cleaned up, maybe even dust. On an even better day the laundry might even get washed, dried and placed back in our closets.
The only problem with this is that the house is generally only clean while I'm sleeping. Some times I might even get to enjoy it for a whole half hr in the morning before everyone gets out of bed. Before the girls rummage through their closet for the perfect outfit (they probably find hidden at the bottom of the dirty clothes). They come down for breakfast and bring their toys with them in case they want to play or because well, "floppy just wanted to eat breakfast with me".  Mercy age 1 gets up and starts exploring the best way she knows how, dumping and emptying just about everything.  yep Best clean half hr of the day...

Lastly I'm learning I can either have a happy family or a clean house!! on the rare occasion I get both I know God must be behind it. Only a miracle can explain it.
Take for example:
I do take the time to clean the whole house, (HA!) everything is put away, dusted, swept, vacuumed, moped, scrubbed, washed, sparkling... In order to keep it that way I pretty much have to fend off my family from having any fun! No, you can't get a puzzle out I just put it away, stop making a PB&J sandwich I just wiped off the counter tops, please don't you dare take off those socks in this room I don't care if your feet are hot. What? you want to play with Legos??? NOOOOooooooo.............
you get the point.
On the other hand if I just give in to the fun and spend time with my kids playing games, doing puzzles, getting out the Legos, allowing them to paint, use markers (cringe)... Then we have a blast together! Dishes don't always get done, dusting for sure doesn't get done, and laundry piles up, but we have fun!
So one might think can't you have Both?? Just teach your kids to put things away when they are done using them, or clean as you go. Maybe you need more bins to organize their toys or a better chore chart, or maybe more division of labor between you and your spouse... yeah! I have read the articles, heard the "good stories", bought the bins, made the chore charts... We have even had a day or two where everything falls into place. A day where when we are finished with a puzzle and we still have time to put it away before we have to do... something... really you could insert just about anything here...  SO it is possible I suppose, for a while... but I have not found it to last very long, and for some reason I keep on fighting.

I do find some joy in the fight though: take Maya for example!
I went on a 3-4 Day stand off for her to clean the playroom. I finally ended up standing over her as the enforcer mom almost pointing to each toy for her to pick up and put away.

During this she walked around slowly picking up one toy at a time holding a play phone between her shoulder and ear complaining about all the cleaning she has to do.
"yeah, my mom is making me clean up"
 How do I not laugh? At one point (while picking up dress up clothes) she said "I can't clean I have to plan my wedding"
I love that girl! I sometimes think she wants to obey but her imagination gets in the way.

And on that note: I need to go clean my house... again... and then again...

Morgan's 6 1/2

Morgan!
Let's see...
She is a beautiful tall girl! But more than that, she is caring and giving.  She is smart and funny. She is loving to read now that she has figured it out. She makes up jokes that actually make some sense. She enjoys Math and Dancing. But most of all she enjoys playing with her dolls and ponies.
Her current favorite foods are: typical to most first graders: cookies, chips, and chocolate, Pizza, and Pasta.  But, she also gets excited about salad.

My girl! I love her so much.  So to celebrate Morgan's half we got some yummy cupcakes, ones with the whip cream frosting because somewhere between age 5 and now she has decided she doesn't like regular or butter-cream frosting (crazy!).

Library Fun!

Maya loves the Library! 

This year she is going to a drop off story and craft time. She is getting really into it. Every week she brings home her name tag and adds it to her collection. Her teacher always makes cute creative name tags so she has accumulated quite a collection. She also loves to explore the library and find just the right book to bring home. Below are a couple that actually describe Maya almost better than I could.

Maya can be very out going, funny, and lively but when a new situation full of lots of people comes her way she basically curls up into a ball. This book (to the left) is a great one for describing kids and their emotions etc. It is a good fun easy read! 

Ponyella, on the other hand, takes all Maya loves, pony's and princesses, and combines it into one fun story. I had to read and renew this book over and over again. When I finally returned it to the library I told Maya it needed a rest and wanted to go home. Home being the library. To which she replied, "we should give it a blanket and pillow so it can take a nap."

While Maya is at her story time Mercy and I enjoy exploring the toys and learning centers set up around the children's section of the library. It seems like no matter how many times we go there's always something new Mercy gets out of it. A new skill she picks up, a new word she learns from a book, or a new fear she discovers mommy has as she disappears around a corner and it takes 20 minutes to find her.

Where would I be without the library! It is a great place to find adventure and escape the never ending cold weather we have here in Evanston.

Bike the ridge!

Today was a momentous day for our family! 

Morgan rode her bike without training wheels for the first time! She even rode all the way down Ridge and back again! 

Evanston blocks off Ridge (one of our main streets) once a year in the fall for an event called "Bike the Ridge".  Every year we watch families biking with their kids and we are a little jealous. First off we are poor planers and usually forgot to mark our calendars for the event so we realize it's going on with little time to join in. Add to that the fact our oldest has been terrified of bike riding up until this past spring when she finally started showing an interest. Over the summer she concurred her fear using training wheels and a balance bike. Today for the first time she just took off on a normal bike without training wheels and there was no stopping her! Maya and Mercy joined the ride in a trailer behind my bike and we finally had our first real family bike ride. We have gone short (very short) distances before with Morgan using training wheels or just the girls on their balance bikes. Today I think one of Ben's dreams came true. He has been talking about going on family bike rides for a while. 

I am so Proud of Morgan! and excited for our next family bike ride! 

On the first day of first Grade!

Well here we go again! The start of another school year!
We woke up this morning full of anticipation and excitement. For me it was mostly the anticipation of a new fall schedule and having to entrust my daughter to the capable hands of her new teacher. For Morgan it was the excitement of seeing her friends again and getting back into her social circle. For Maya... well she simply was feeding off of Morgan's excitement for the time being.

The Day started off on the right foot. I only hit the snooze button on my alarm once (not 5-6 times as I am sure I will again soon). I was up and able to get dressed and get my self in order before the inevitable sounds of the girls waking up. Morgan requested french toast sticks for breakfast and lucky for me she wanted to store baught freezer kind so that was easy.

After breakfast Morgan and I got her back pack packed with school supplies, water bottle and lunch. (packed the night before! Wow I wonder how long I can keep that up.) I braided her hair and then finally I got COFFEE!!

Then came the seemingly endless wait to leave for school. Really it was only about 15 minutes but I don't remember having 15 minutes to spare ever last year... what did I forget? oh well. Time to go! we headed out the door. Mercy in the stroller, Maya on foot this year and Ben was even joining us today. (he didn't want to miss Morgan's first day send off!) seemed almost too easy getting out the door. again what am I forgetting or missing?

We walked to school with friends and neighbors gathered in front of the school for the traditional first day pictures (to which my daughter refused to smile at first). We took pictures of just Morgan, her with her friends and her sad sisters observing.

Then it was off to find her teacher and line up for school. Oh what excitement as she saw friend after friend. Discovering just who would be in her class this year and who she would have to wait to see at lunch and recess. She was nervous to meet her teacher and whispered to me that she hoped Mrs Spillman would be as nice or nicer than Mr Brhem from last year (a teacher who to Morgan could do no wrong). She shyly refused to take a picture with her teacher or shake her hand but I am sure that will change quickly.

Then the Bell rang. All the kids lined up in messy zigzag lines with full backpacks and grocery bags full of new school supplies. We hugged and kissed Morgan good bye waving and watching her walk into the building. Suddenly I hear Ben talking to Maya who somewhere between the bell ringing and waving good bye to Morgan had started Crying. She just wanted "Morgan to stay with me all day". Poor girl.

We calmed her down and headed home trying to talk about all the fun things she could do with mercy and myself. I had not expected Maya to be quite so sad about her sister's return to school. Especially after a summer of arguing! But we made it through the day.

Ben went off to work and Maya, Mercy and I headed off to our new day with a new fall schedule! We played games, went to the library, eat lunch took naps (well they did) cleaned the house and then it was time for school pick up.

The day went perfectly I had two wide awake girls who had all ready napped well at 3pm so getting ready to go was a little too easy. Maya rode her tricycle this time and Mercy happily back in the stroller. (so nice not using the giant double from last year!) We made it to school and waited. Maya was particularly excited to see Morgan come out the door.

When Morgan finally does exit she gives me a quick hug, throws her back pack in the stroller and runs off to the playground yelling, "I'm going to play for a bit". What??? Maya looked at me as if to say,  "what about us?" After much anticipation poor Maya was a bit taken back by her sister's lack of a hello to her.

We hung out at the play ground for a while. Morgan did eventually acknowledge Maya. I chatted with some other parents and neighbors and then off to home we went. Walking with the same crew from the Morning. Right away Morgan started asking for after school play dates with neighbors to which came a quick, "no, it's a school day... the first school day."

Luckily once home I was able to find out that Morgan thinks her teacher is actually nicer than Mr Brhem from last year. She is sitting next to a good friend or her new best friend as she declared while we were talking. (this will change 50 times this year I'm sure). And she thinks her lunch time is too short. After a snack and the update her and Maya were finally reunited and off playing. They played nicely all the way until dinner! No fighting!! I know Maya was sad but I think the school day did them some good.
phew!

First Day is Done!! now to get threw the rest.....  it's going to be a long year! A good one! but a long one!

Summer park lunches

Today was the last summer park lunch.  I think I am going to cry! 
There is no better schedule in my mind than that of leaving the house around 11 (ish) returning home around 1ish (some times even 2ish).  Kids have eaten their fill of good food, run around outside, played with neighborhood kids ridden bikes, scooters, or skates (or strollers) and are now tired and ready for down time!   Oh summer why must you end?


I have enjoyed walking to our neighborhood park greeting some amazing women who are sitting behind a table filled with box lunches. Always smiles on their faces. Always happily greeting my girls by name. Mercy especially had them charmed this summer. She started the summer out barely able to walk. By the end she was running around concurring the playground. She would also light up as we walked up to the Park Ladies with the lunches and she would babble away until she got her little box lunch, juice and milk. By the last week she even learned how to say "Thank You."

Morgan and Maya would race most of the time the last little bit. Morgan had days where she even made it to the park, got her lunch, found a bench and was eating by the time the rest of us made it there. Maya would talk about the chocolate milk the whole way there about how she is going to get one, finish it, play and wait for seconds so she could have another. Maybe even bring one home for later. (which we did quite often!)

For me park lunches meant freedom! It was freedom from lunch decision making, clean up and complaining. I also was able to get to know many neighbors better and get out of the house after a miserable winter. This summer I have to say has been one of my favorites as far as the park goes. I watch Morgan grow in her independence. Maya explore and concur her fear of dirt and bugs... (OK, she still has a long way to go.) And Mercy learned to walk, climb, play, eat real food, throw a ball...well at her age the list seems endless.

I am going to miss my summer days! They never last long enough for me. Maybe one day I will be that mom counting down for school to start but not just yet. For now, on to a new adventure as fall approaches, Morgan gets ready for 1st grade and we all adjust to a new routine. May God grant me patients to get through another school year.

More funny shorts from mostly Maya. (April-July)

"Why are there so many babies?", Maya asked me one day while we were getting together with some friends. She then followed up with, "I'm not special anymore." 
I answered her with a hug and a, "You are special to me!" 
Her reply, "I know that. I want to be special to EVERYONE."


While sitting on couch one morning drinking her milk and cuddling with me Maya plainly states, "I smell jazz." She then looks up at me and continues, "she is a stinker, we should give her a bath."

Maya comes running up to me in panic, "There's poop on mercy! Running away!"

"No, it is just chocolate." I say calmly trying not to laugh. 

Maya, "oh, can I lick her?" 

Morgan and Ben were having a conversation after his Germany trip about different people from different countries having different names. Americans are from America. Dominicans are from the Dominican Republic etc.
Morgan then asks, "does that mean that all the people that live in Germany are germs?"

Maya came to me to tattle tale on Mercy: "Stinky butt is pulling my hair."

I guess I should stop calling Mercy that whenever she needs her diaper changed the name seems to be sticking.  

Maya is in a very clumsy phase right now. I am not sure if it is due to growing or just being 3 but she falls a lot.  One day while we were playing in the back yard she falls and scrapes her knee. After which she doesn't cry she just looks at it bleeding and complains "not again."

There is nothing more frustrating than telling your kids to go do something and feeling like you are being completely ignored. So one day when I told the girls to go clean family room and it seemed like they were not moving, I took a deep breath and asked, "did you hear me? I asked you to go clean the family room." 

Morgan and Maya look at me as Maya states, "We are. We are just pretending we are baby turtles so we have to go slow." 
What could I do with that? 

Maya while watching Jake and the Neverland Pirates (called Jake and the Never Ending Pirates by Grandma...which I love!) asked me if we could go to Disney land again "in the Junior part" to meet Jake "Because he is Hansom" (said in a little girl crush kind of way)  Maya is 3...Yikes... I am in for trouble with this one.

Maya our of nowhere and not even on Easter asked, "Is the Easter bunny going to take my gumball?" 
What goes through her head I don't know! 

Maya at 5:30am. "Somebody everybody, I'm playing with my animals!"


My favored of the past few months: Maya just looked at me from across the room and said "you look like Elsa."  Yeah! She's got me wrapped around her little finger now!

This just sums up Mercy the past few months. Active, curious and exploring!

Ballet Recital #2

Morgan still loves dancing and she made her second appearance on stage this year.
Her dance had an ocean like theme and the little dancers couldn't be cuter.

All of the young dance classes line the back of the stage with their groups marked by special color balloons. The high school age and older dancers are there to help keep them seated and in line. (to their best ability that is). When we walked in and took our seats we could see Morgan and her class seated at the far left and waved like the crazy parents we are. She seemed happy and waved back with just as much enthusiasm. I try to enjoy the fact she loves us being there and is not embarrassed by her parents just yet. I know the day is coming when she will bury her head and pretend like we're not there (though secretly love that we are). She is also so proud to have her sisters there. She would not let me get a sitter for this. Maya had to be there according to Morgan. Not to mention her non stop chatter about how Pops, Mimi and Uncle David come to her show. She loves having them visit and being able to show off her dancing for them.

While we were all waiting for the show to start and watching the other cute dances perform Morgan was busy in her little group organizing her peers and acting all in charge. (not sure she knew we were watching that part). As she took the stage she made sure several of her classmates got to the correct spot on stage pointing out their little stickers on the floor. Then she started waving at the audience.

During her dance she jumped, pointed her toes and spun very well only looking at her teacher 80% of the time. She, also, continued to look up and wave about every 10 seconds or so. I think she even slipped one in during a spin/twirl. Made me proud! I love the fact Morgan is her own and she holds her own. She might have missed a step or two more than others during the dance, but she gave a good show. I am glad though Morgan was not the girl who stood on stage sticking her tong out with her hands on hips, as Memorable as that moment was for that girl's family. She just bossed her class mates around and waved staying true to herself. She even kept the other dancers in line as they exited the stage out to the lobby.

After the show we let Morgan pick where we would go eat and celebrate a performance well (survived?) done. She choose steak n' shake and we all went and enjoyed some greasy food and good shakes! What better way to celebrate than that!

I froze my house for my 6 year old

Morgan turned 6!
She and I think every 6 year old out there is in love with Disney's Frozen!
So Ben and I took on the challenge to turn out basement into Frozen.
We built an ice castle out of recycled boxes and other odds and ends.
We turned our futon into Kristof's Sled.
We covered all our furniture in white sheets and blankets.
made many snowflakes and hung them up. put up some movie posters and wall clings.
Then we started work on the snacks.
I made snow flake cupcakes, blue jello with whip cream, popcorn (or popped"snowflakes"), and pizza (yeah no theme there). Planed the party with two games a project and a movie viewing.

But the crown jewel of the day was the dress... I searched for months for a reasonably priced Elsa dress... hahahahah that sentence even sounds funny.  So what to do?  I made one! might not look perfect, might need a few alterations later but... it was affordable and I had fun! and nothing... and I do mean NOTHING could take the place of the look on Morgan's face when she came downstairs and saw the dress hanging up waiting for her.

I love Morgan! She can be stubborn and bossy, have a mind of her own that is quite out there, but I LOVE THAT!  She has a great imagination, a fun loving spirit, a flair for art, and when you sit down and talk with her she can really have some of the sweetest conversations.  She is a good story teller (good for now scary for later) and can be so helpful when in the right mood.  She is up and down about 100 times a day but she's a girl!  A girl turning 6! and going on 16.

Top Ten short funny interactions from March

March was full of laughter as we endlessly waited for signs of spring (they never really came...)
So here are the top ten short funny things that happened in our house in March in no particular order.  

ONE
Morgan was tired of playing with her 3yr old sister and wanted to have the family room to herself one day so she decided she would tell her sister there are monsters living in the family room.
Maya replied, "no, we locked them up."
So then Morgan quickly answered back, "I unlocked them and they want to eat your baby reindeer."
Maya came running up the stairs holding her stuffed reindeer yelling, "NO!"

TWO
Morgan Came running in the house grabbed some small zip lock bags, ran back out side.  (not a word...) I watched and waited. She then came back in 10 min or so later with the bags full of snow and put them in the freezer. Then went down stairs to play.  (still not a word.)

THREE
I was trying to get the house cleaned up some and heard an odd noise from the family room. I call down to the basement, "Maya, what are you doing?

Maya, "Getting into trouble."

My reply as I try to determine if I should actually venture down stairs, "maybe you should stop." 

Maya, "No, I don't mind."
Downstairs I go! 

FOUR
I was laying in bed trying to pretend like the morning hadn't really arrived yet when Maya came crawling into my bed with me. We lay in silence for a while until Maya states very plainly. "So I found boogies this morning."

Me, "Oh? What did you do with them?"

Maya, "Well....pause... I didn't eat them."

FIVE
In the middle of our daily morning game of "you must ware clothes" Maya refused to get dressed as usual only this time she ran downstairs climbed into the dog's crate and locked herself in then yelled, "I don't want to get dressed!"

SIX
While I was sitting at the dinning room table one day trying to eat a bowl of cereal in peace Mercy thought it would be fun to chase Jazz.  Jazz calmly walked round and round the dinning room table with Mercy following close behind giggling as she went.  This continued for a good 20 minutes.  

SEVEN

Maya avoiding a nap: I can't sleep my pants are too sparkly. 

All I say is, "you need to sleep!"

Maya replies, "never! I will never sleep!" 
No kidding! 

EIGHT

While staring at my phone (I rarely do this...) Maya comes up to me and asks, "what's that game?"
Me, "the weather." I was looking at the weather app on my phone. 

Maya in amazement, "You can play with weather?" 

Me, "It's not a game..." I tried to explain as I was quickly interrupted with 

"Make it sunny please." Then she ran off to play. 

NINE
I usually tuck Morgan into bed most nights that Ben is in class or out of town but for some reason tonight she thought I needed a lesson on how to tuck her into bed. She explained how she needs her dream light "dreamy" turned on first, then she has to be holding doggie. She then explained how she likes her covers pulled up over her ears. I made the mistake of asking her why she needs the covers so high.
"you can't see your dream light with them up that high" I said. 
She then looked at me as if how dare I ask such a question and said, "Because I use to be afraid of monsters in my closet coming out to bite my ears" 

It all made perfect sense after that...

TEN
Maya, "I'm excited for church today."

Me, "why is that?" almost afraid of the answer

Maya, "Because it's special." 

Me, "How so?" looking for a cute profound answer from my 3yr old. 

Maya,"They have candy there."
I should have known it wouldn't be profound and to stop asking silly follow up questions.  

a sneak peek into last week:

This week was another week in the long journey that is having a husband working full time and taking night classes that I was not looking forward to. Like many of the past ones it turned out just fine! Thanks to some good friends and great neighbors and many answered prayers this was really a good week.

Week: Ben works full days and has night class Monday and Tuesday. Then was traveling for work Wednesday morning-Friday evening.  yikes!! (for both of us!)


Monday:
Week started.  I took a deep breath and I got out of bed being tugged by my never sleeping 3yr old. Here we go I thought. The morning always comes too soon (usually starts as early as 4am or as late as 6am).  I Got the girls ready for the day and headed out the door. Dropped Morgan off at Kindergarten and headed to the library. Where Maya has fully charmed the staff in the children's area. They pretty much all know her as she waltzes through the door. Today she was on the hunt for a "Funny Book". We walked around for half an hr looking at many books that I found funny but they weren't the "funny book" Maya wanted. We finally did find one about "A Frog in a Bog". (author Karma Wilson... she is an amazing author by the way). So then we head out to the grocery store trying to squeeze it in and still get Mercy down for her morning nap on time.

When we got home Mercy ended up refusing to nap (go figure) I missed my window I guess. So it was Lunch time. After lunch we sat and read the library books we checked out (I got a few extras she didn't approve of in there). Then it was time for Maya's nap......AHHHHHHHHHH  nope not an over reaction. I spend 2 hrs sending her back to her room to nap and her kicking and screaming back to bed then sneaking out as soon as I was down stairs. Finally she fell asleep. and wow. Guess what it's time to wake her up to go pick up her sister.

We go pick Morgan up (ps Mercy did take an afternoon nap!) Get home and the girls get a snack and off to play. I sit back and try to pull my mental self together realizing there is no break in their energy until Bed time. So we play, read the library books again (Morgan missed them the first time) and took a very long bath (time filler). Then dinner: Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup. Oddly enough I got more arguing over getting them to eat the grilled cheese than the soup. You just never know with kids.

We Played watched a show and off to bed. Phew! one day out of the way... I Then looked at the mess in my house, the pile of dishes and I plopped into bed and fell asleep! Ben came home after I was sleeping.

Tuesday:
Day two of insane week! This time the girls dragged Ben out of bed but I followed so I could see Ben for a little bit before he headed out to work/class. We attempted to sip coffee together with 3 kids climbing all over us. We have mastered holding a hot cup of coffee and not spilling in on our kids to an almost scary degree. Ben headed out to work and my day started again.

I got the girls ready to head out the door (very cold outside). Get Dressed, Socks, Boots, Coats, Gloves, Hats etc... not to mention breakfast, packing a lunch making sure backpack is ready to go etc... the usual morning stuff of any house hold with kids.  Loaded up the younger two in the double stroller and headed off to school. Surprise! it's not so cold. I almost (almost) sweat in my winter gear (it was in the 30's I think). So the walk was actually pleasant.

Got home it was time for a play date. Maya spent the rest of the morning playing with her friend. Mercy got her full morning nap and I was able to sit and chat with a good friend. So nice!! Play date ends and it's lunch time.

Maya eats her PB&J happily with some carrots on the side. We read her "funny library book" and I attempt to get her to nap again.  **Copy and paste Monday's drama here... sigh......only difference is I gave up after 1 hr and just let her stay up and play. I told myself "maybe she is just done with naps".

When Pick up time came around for Morgan Maya was crabby, and in full melt down mode. She did not want to leave the house. She even told me "You go. I will stay here." If only it were that simple.

I get to Morgan's school. She runs out gives me a huge hug making the struggle to get there worth it. Then we rush home so Morgan can get a ride to her Ballet class. We make it just in time and off she goes. Once back in the house, Maya throws off all her winter gear and stomps up the stairs I hear a lot of noise as I gently get Mercy out of the stroller and out of her coat. Then Suddenly the noise stopped. I went up stairs and found Maya asleep in the hallway with her sister's Pacifiers in a pile next to her. I really don't know what she was thinking but all I could think was, "yup she still needs a nap!"

With Maya sleeping (moved her to her bed). Mercy and I got some nice play time together. I don't usually get one on one time with her very often so it was a sweet little blessing. Mercy is just so full of life and energy. She was so happy having my full attention. I think I was a human jungle gym for about an hr.

When Morgan got home from ballet Maya woke up and the crazy started. I managed to make dinner and got the girls to actually eat it. Then we enjoyed a calm Movie night with snacks and cuddles. When the movie ended the girls got ready for bed, we read a book and then Morgan and Mercy went to sleep.

Maya, however, came down stairs as I was trying to clean up some and she was wide awake from her late nap. Not having the energy to fight with her we snuggled in bed and watched "Jake and the Never Land Pirates" until Ben got home at 10:30pm, at which point Maya was still wide awake. She chatted Ben's ear off as he tried to get her to bed.

It was nice being awake when Ben got home even though it was due to a not sleeping child. Especially since he surprised me with Chick-Fil-A.


Wednesday:
 After, of course, my 5am wake up, Wednesday started with a nice surprise for me (not so much for Ben). Ben's flight was delayed! He was able to spend the entire morning at home with us. I got Morgan ready for school without the other two and walked her to school in the snow. It was nice not having the other two tag along. Then all morning Ben was able to play with the girls and hang out so it really (aside from Morgan being at school) it felt like a Saturday morning in the middle of the week.

Ben Then headed off to Georgia and I got Maya some lunch and decided to skip sewing so she could get a good nap. So we eat, then read some books, played a while and off to bed Maya went.

My second blessing of the day, was my friend needed to borrow our car. She came to get it so that I could walk to pick Morgan up by myself and let the two little ones continue their naps! Maya actually napped, and Morgan felt so special having me pick her up alone.

Dinner rolled around with some scrambled eggs and then scrambling to get the girls off to AWANA. We made it just a little late but no more than usual. Dropped them off and went for some coffee. Mercy had a complete meltdown while at the coffee shop so we left there early and went back to the church where the girls have AWANA and I let her crawl around until it was time to go home.

We got home. Girls went to bed. I actually cleaned up the mess that was our kitchen, play room etc... Phew day 3 Wasn't so bad, only two more. And two more without Ben home even for breakfast.

Thursday:
Thursday morning was stressful! The house was clean but something about it just was stressful. Girls got up early as usual and I got them cereal for breakfast. Morgan was  going to walk to school with a friend like she does every Thursday, so it was nice once again to leave Maya and Mercy in their PJ's.

Once Morgan was off to school I got ready to host Bible study. Just in time to. We had Bible study, Maya got to play with her friends down stairs while I joined in the study. Then it was lunch, followed by the inevitable nap time again...

To my surprise!! Maya went down without a fight! I only had to tell her once to get back in bed. I felt the miracle of answered prayers. Especially when she woke up on her own at 3:10p just 5 minutes before I would have had to wake her up to go pick up her sister. To make life even better Mercy woke up on her own right around the same time.

I got the girls ready to go and off we went to pick up Morgan. All three girls in a good mood we then walked home and got a snack. That evening we played tea party, and read books and the girls took baths.

I made Chicken and "new veggies" for dinner which the girls gobbled up not knowing what the veggi was. (Ha! it was asparagus!! same veggi they wouldn't eat only last week.). After dinner the girls complained a little missing daddy, but then went to bed rather nicely. I then climbed into bed myself and watched a movie. Only one day left to go!

Friday: 
Well, Friday morning! I woke up and found two girls and a dog sleeping in my bed with me. At some point in the night Morgan, Maya and our dog Jazz crawled into my bed. Guess they all missed Ben. Honestly I didn't mind. It was kind of sweet waking up that way. And bonus we slept until after 6am!!!

After the usual morning crazy I walked Morgan to school with the other two in the stroller. We met some neighbors along the way who invited Morgan to a play date after school and asked if Maya and I wanted to join them at an open gym type place for a play date (Mercy too of course). I declined thinking I was baby sitting for my friend's little girl.

Once I got home after school drop off I discovered that my friend didn't need me to baby sit after all. I called my neighbor to see if the invitation was still good and off we went to play. Maya had a blast! She ran around rode bikes, threw balls, jumped up and down a lot. Mercy to my surprise also had a blast. She found a bin of toys near the bench I was sitting on and played there most of the morning. I actually got to sit and talk to my neighbor while the kids played. It was a nice change of pace and a great way to end the crazy week!

As for the rest of Friday... Well We got home, eat lunch, and Maya is sleeping again! Mercy too! So I am sitting here writing this!
I hope Maya wakes up again around 3, but if not at least she will have gotten some sleep before I have to wake her. And Ben gets home in about 6 hrs (or less).

This is a short (yet long) glimpse into what this week has been for me. All in all not bad! I love my girls! and I can't wait for Ben to be home this weekend!

Morgan's way of emptying the dishwasher

Maya and her sneaky self at nap time

Play time with Mercy

Sister love

     Sister love is hard to describe.  I know from having a sister it can be a love hate relationship... you know: You Love getting them in trouble, and Hate sharing your toys with them. You Love spending hours playing games together, but Hate loosing. You Love having someone at school you can hang out with, but Hate how they always know when you are getting in with the wrong crowd. You Love having them bale you out, but Hate admitting to them they were right. You love getting advice, but Hate how you make the same mistakes anyway. You Love sharing life together, but Hate living 13hrs away. 

     I see this sister love/ hate thing playing out with my three!! Morgan LOVES that she has two sisters, one to boss around and one who is pretty much a live doll to her, but she HATES how they get into her things and take mom's attention away from her. When she is in the mood, Morgan will go all out to make a day special for her sisters. She will make them gifts (usually drawings), or get them snacks, play with them or just be silly to entertain them. She will start fun dance parties, tell silly stories after they go to bed (lots of giggles usually followed by a loud "Go to Bed Girls" by me). In General Morgan just loves her sisters, so long as they keep out of her things, and are willing to do as she says.  

     Maya LOVES tagging along with her big sister and pretty much doing whatever Morgan tells her to do, except when she HATES it. Maya is very much a follower except when she isn't. It is really hard to pin point just exactly why Maya Loves or Hates Morgan on any particular day. Maya is basically the "the girl with the curl". "when she is good she is very good, when she is bad she is very bad".  Well when Maya loves, she really loves, but when she doesn't, she really doesn't. Some days it feels like there is never middle ground with Morgan and Maya. They either play super well together or they fight constantly. (totally unlike me and my sister at that age!!) 

     But Maya and Mercy......... Yikes!! This sister love relationship has had a rough start. From the first day we brought Mercy home Maya was not thrilled. She would not look at or talk to whoever held "that baby".  Even 9 months after Maya mostly doesn't seem to like her baby sister...we would see a glimpse here and there, but usually when copying Morgan in front of other people. I simply didn't really think Maya would ever like Mercy, until today.

     Today I had to pee (yeah moms do need to do that every now and then, especially after coffee cup #...um 4?).  I put Mercy down by the couch at the furthest point away from both the bathroom and our stairs to the family room and ran to the bathroom hoping for a minute to myself. Just then I hear Maya Yell, "Mercy NO!" I hurry up and get out of the bathroom to find Maya, who is 3 by the way, holding Mercy right outside the bathroom by the top of the stairs. Mercy in the minute (maybe less) I was in the bathroom had crawled through the living room/ dinning room all the way to the top of the stairs where I find Maya and her. Maya then looks at her sister and says, "You can't fall down those stairs. You will get hurt and you can't get hurt because, I love you." (insert balling mom here!!) Yeah! Maya really does Love Mercy! Good thing too, or I might never be allowed to pee again.  

     I know there will be ups and downs to my three girls love for each other, but Sister Love always prevails at the end of the day (or at the end of the week...). I should know! My big sister has always been there for me, loving me, and just wanting me to stay out of her stuff. She has always wanted me to join her in her way of doing things, and for that I am grateful and blessed!! I would not be the person I am if it weren't for sister love. I hope my girls grow up knowing they can count on each other always, even on days their sisters just annoy them. 

Newest Olympic Event!

In the spirit of the Winter Olympics I have discovered a new sport I strongly think they should add!! I have been training for at least 5 years, but really started the hard core training this winter.

The Olympic Ice and Snow Stroller push.

YEAH!!  I would at least get a bronze medal!

Here's how the event could look.

Stage 1: Loading kids up in the stroller in full snow gear. Point deductions for missing boots, hats, gloves etc.

Stage 2: pushing stroller through freshly fallen snow, about 1-2 inches. Point deductions for any swerving.

Stage 3: pushing stroller 3 blocks after side walks have been shoveled, but were plowed in by each street causing several mountains of snow to climb. Point deductions for getting wheels stuck in mound. Added points if you can shovel the mound quickly enough to not loose any time.

Stage 4: pushing stroller through ice and sludge as some snow has melted and refrozen, you never know where the black patches of ice will be or if it's a thin layer of ice with a large puddle underneath. Point deductions for any falls or stroller skidding. Other deductions could include a popped tire on a sharp icicle.

Final Stage: dodging school aged kids as they dart out a building. Point deductions for running into them or over any feet. Bonus points if you can keep a straight path.

I think you could even have 4 separate events: Single stroller, and Double stroller events.  With a short run (just stage 1-5), and a long run (doing stage 1-5 then 5-1 back home) event for each stroller type. You could go crazy and have a category for jogging strollers and a separate one for regular strollers.

So who's with me? should I call up the Winter Olympic board or who ever organizes the events?

Mercy Lynn 9 Months Old

Some how Mercy reached the age of 9 months... I didn't notice this until 2 days after, (not bad for #3) She is now as old out as she was in. Time has flown by. I still think of her as a new born quite often although she would really rather be thought of as a toddler. Mercy is very observant and learns quickly.  Always trying to keep up with her big sisters.  

In the past month Mercy:

 ~ has perfected crawling (learned this around 7 1/2 months old)

 ~ Learned to pull her self up to standing

 ~ Started cruising around furniture

 ~ Discovered that it's way more fun being under tables than anywhere else (except for maybe next to the dog's water bowl...) 

 ~ Still sleeps well

 ~ Says nanana, & mama (and I swear it really means mom though Ben argues that one.) 

 ~ has learned how to fully protest anything! mainly her snow suit, car seat and anything that might keep her contained (crib, bouncer, highchair) 

 ~ loves eating real food in little pieces 

The Wonder of Winter

Wow! This has been (and still is) one COLD SNOWY WINTER!
I want to be positive here (still working on not complaining) so Here are a few things we have done to enjoy this season called winter.



Well first off, this has been the best year I could really think of for Disney to release the movie Frozen. My girls have been making several versions of Olaf, the snowman from this movie. I love listening to Maya sing "In Summer" while building them. Though the funniest time was after her sister finished making a very small Olaf. I called them inside to warm up. Maya then went over to her sister's snowman and stomped on it then came inside. She really wasn't trying to be mean she was in a silly mood thinking about melting snowmen. (or what "frozen things do in Summer") As you can well imagine Morgan didn't see it quite the same way. Maya's humor is usually lost on Morgan. Ben and I held back laughter as we took time to explain to Maya how that wasn't a nice thing to do. I'm still not sure she got it.



Morgan loves to collect things and this winter she started an ice collection. Whenever we go places she finds something and brings it home. She originally wanted to keep the collection in our freezer but we convinced her to keep it outside in the back yard. The Sunday after new years she found left over pieces from the ice sculptures and brought home some ice blocks, triangles and balls. She has also collected several icicles.  Her prized one was about a foot or more taller than she was. I am just glad that she knows ice melts! She has all ready told me she is going to come up with something else fun to collect once all the snow and ice melt. Big question: when will that be??







I wish with all the snow we would have more days warm enough to take advantage of it. We have gone to the park a couple times, like 3 maybe. Morgan loves the slides in the snow. Maya not as much, but she enjoys sledding. I would think they are the same, but to Maya a slide shouldn't have snow on it but a hill, bring it on! Mercy was able to go in a park swing for the first time this January and she loved it... or at least she couldn't protest too much all bundled up in her snow suit. Maya Discovered a shovel and bucket are great for playing in the snow as well as at the beach in the sand. She has enjoyed moving snow around the yard with her little bucket and then dumping it on the just shoveled side walk.




The Ominous walk to school!! Yikes. I'm working on not complaining right...OK...
sigh....... not complaining................ yeah...
Let me just say a double jogging stroller can get through quite a bit but a few inches of snow can really make it hard to push that thing! (by a few we have totaled about 60+ inches over the course of the winter so far)
I do have amazing neighbors who have been absolutely wonderful and have helped me out SO unbelievably much! On sub zero days one neighbor would drive Morgan, on other days after more inches of snow fall other neighbors would walk her to school for me. I don't know what I would do without such great neighbors!



~~~~~

We have had to endlessly shovel our side walks/ driveway etc. One day while Ben was out at the crack of dawn shoveling the snow again so I can get the stroller out of the house. Maya looks at me and asks, "mom, why do we have to keep doing this?"
Me,"doing what?"
Maya, "Shoveling the snow."
Me, "Well, because it keeps snowing."
Maya, "You should tell it to stop."
(I wish I could!!)