Lil' Chefs

There has been a lot of interest around here lately with cooking and baking. These kids ask on a daily basis if they can help me cook or bake something. Even though this can make life a lot harder for me with developing the patience and the extra clean up, I know that it is good for the kids to help with the cooking. I secretly hope that this will also aid in getting them to eat a little better. I figure if they give a hand in preparing the food then hopefully, they will be more likely to try the food. I am not a great cook. My mother is an excellent cook but when I was growing up, I never took an interest in it and now if just feels like I don't have a lot of time for it. However, this is on my list of things that I am working on. I want to get more comfortable in the kitchen so when my children are grown and bring their families home, I can make some awesome meals for all of them. One of the favorite games to play right now is restaurant. They love to take your order and then go and make the food. The funny thing is that they will ask you what you would like and then when you tell them, they will usually say "We don't have that"! It is fun to watch them get all excited about making the pretend food and then serving it up to you.
Grandpa Al was sure proud of his three little chefs. The kids spent the majority of the evening running back and forth to get all the pretend food everyone was ordering. We all took turns going to their restaurant and ordering up food. They even got our friend Jane down on the floor to eat at their restaurant.

My Grandparents built a restaurant back when my mother was a baby. They ran that business for many years and the restaurant still stands and runs today with the same name. I am sure they are up in heaven smiling down on these kids playing restaurant! Who knows, maybe they will be chefs one day and then they can prepare and serve the family meals!

Make Up & Earrings

We have had a make up and earring explosion around here. We have two full blown princesses in this house. Luckily for Christmas, Grandma Mary gave the girls each their own cosmetic bag with brushes, lip gloss, mirrors, q-tips, lotion, etc.. The girls just LOVE these bags. Of course the rules are that they have to be siting at the table when use this stuff otherwise it would be all over the house. Jon caught Aimee the other day with all her make up set up on the foot stool. She was happily applying her "make up" for the day!
When we were at the mall last week we walked by a Claire's store so I decided to take the girls in to let them look around. We found some great sticker earrings that we got and we also bought some clip ons. What I quickly discovered was that the Clip On Earrings "clipped" a little to tight so the girls ears would hurt when we would take them off. I took the clip on earrings back but the girls like the stickers just as much.
I am such a girly girl myself that I think it is a lot of fun to take the girls "shopping" for girly things. Jon took KJ to another store that was more "boy" stuff. However, I do feel bad for KJ because he is surrounded by all of us girly girls all the time. He just told me the other day "Mommy, when I turn into a girl, I wanna wear hair bows, nail polish, earrings, and lip gloss"! All I can say to that is...he is gonna be one heck of a catch for some lucky lady someday. He will be all trained in with this "girly" stuff.

Valium is my friend

I have accomplished another year of the MRI! I panic the most the first 5 minutes so when I was stuck in the machine, I just thought about my 4 favorite people and kept telling myself over and over what my kids said about being good and I made it through it.
I was very relaxed from the meds though so that helps too. I won't have results for another month until my appointment but as far as I am concerned the hard part is over.
I also envisioned so many people praying for me and that was of great comfort too. So for all of you who said a prayer, THANK YOU!

Tomorrow is D-Day

Okay so maybe I should have wrote that tomorrow is M-Day. What I mean is it is the hardest day of the year for me. I have my annual MRI! It is such a hard process that takes a lot out of me. The good news is that by this time tomorrow, it will all be over.
I went to the pharmacy the other day to get my prescription of Valium so I am all ready to go tomorrow. I laughed when the lady told me that the total for my prescription was $1.71! I exclaimed that at that price I should get myself one of these prescriptions more often! Everyone had a good laugh including the Pharmacist.
In all seriousness the MRI tomorrow is hard for a number of reasons. I am very claustrophobic so getting put inside a tunnel is hard in and of itself, however, I have to have scans of my brain and my spine which each area takes about 45 Minutes so the whole process take about 1.5 hours. Furthermore, once they have me laying on the table to do the scans, they place a cage like mechanism over my head. This is what I have the hardest time with. Even with medication to help me relax, it is very hard for me to relax through this process. I bring someone along with me to not only drive me but also to sit at my feet and rub my leg.
This means I need to have back up at home to not only watch the kids while I am gone but also to watch them once I get home as I am usually out of it for the rest of the day.
I probably sound like a big wimp because I know I feel like one. I am generally a very strong person. However, this is just one of a few things that scares the wits out of me. So I have been trying not to think about this all that much this week. Every time I do my stomach hurts and I have some anxiety. However, tomorrow it will be done with and then I can stop thinking about this again for another year.
I know life could be so much worse. We could be in a situation like this, where I am sure they wish the least of their worries were getting through an MRI session. This family is dealing with a lot so please pray for baby Gwenth that she continues to be strong and grow into a healthy baby girl. Please pray for the mom that she can get the transplant she needs so she can continue to be the wonderful mother to Gwenth that she is. Please pray for the dad that he continues to have the strength he needs to support his family.
Please pray for me for strength and courage tomorrow and I face one of my biggest fears. Tonight as we were tucking the kids into bed, they told me that I need to be brave for the doctor tomorrow. They said that it doesn't hurt and that maybe I will get a treat if I don't cry. So sweet and innocent. I love them and my husband too for all the support they give me. I can guarantee that tomorrow when they put me in that machine my thoughts will be of those 4 amazing people. God is good even if he tests my strength!
Wish me luck!

Excuse this house

I am feeling so much better today. I still have a sore throat but life is good. I wish Jon could say the same. He is now not feeling all that great! This is not good news for him because I am working the next few days so he is going to be solo with the kids. I sure hope he feels better tomorrow. I can't wait for this nasty bug to get out of our lives!!!

*************

Today I was tasked with one of my least favorite things to do - the Dentist. I was going to cancel my appointment because of my illness but when I woke up feeling so much better I decided I better go as Jon was around to watch the kids and I had already cancelled once.

It was a successful visit as I do not have any cavities and I do not need any work done in my mouth at this point in time. It was also a successful visit as the Dental Hygienist and I had a great conversation about kids and life. All of her kids are now in their 20's so she is a veteran to this parenting stuff. She shared with me some great perspective today. She said "when the kids get older, they are not going to remember a dirty laundry room or dishes in the sink, they are going to remember all the memories they make with you and your time"! Now, I know that this is a no brainer but it was a great reminder to me to not worry so much about "picking up" but to slow down and cherish the time I have left with my awesome awesome children! This is definitely an area that I can improve on and one that I plan to focus on to devote some more quality time with my amazing children!
This also reminded me of a poem that I got from a friend of mine from MOPS:

Excuse This House
Some houses try to hide the fact that children shelter there;
Ours boasts of it quite openly, the signs are everywhere.
From smears on the windows, little smudges on the door;
I should apologize I guess, for the toys strewn on the floor.
But I sat down with the children, and we played and laughed and read;
And if the door bell doesn't shine, their eyes will shine instead.
For when at times I'm forced to choose the one job or the other;
I want to be a housewife.....but first I'll be a mother.

By Cindy Jacobs - Limited 1990

Thank you Cindy!

My Little Gemini's

Okay so I know I do not have "babies" anymore but I thought this was interesting. Here is my kids horoscope..It looks like being a "go-go" mom was/is the right thing to do with these kids. We are always on the go. They also LOVE to read!

Gemini: May 21-June 21

The Twins

Your babies are blessed with quick, engaged minds and they need constant stimulation. Read to them several times a day, and make sure you have lots of little objects (rattles, squishy toys) for them to play with. Satisfy their natural curiosity -- and fend off restlessness -- with pop-up toys, puppet shows, storytime at the library, and frequent field trips (such as to the supermarket or a fish store). A true chatterbox, your little ones may be the first in their baby groups to speak. Even if it sounds like gibberish, pay attention: In their minds, they always has something crucial to say.

Good News, Bad News

The good news is that I am now on my way to recovery as I went to the doctor today and found out I have Bronchitis and an eye infection. Three prescriptions and $60 later I am now at home with my kids asleep for nap time.
The bad news is that my mom, who took care of all of us this weekend is now in bed sick! Nothing can make a person feel worse than getting their own mother sick! I just hope she has a quick recovery.
The good news now is that Jon will be back home soon and as far as I know he is feeling GREAT!

Feeling Down Low

We have had virus run through our house the past couple of weeks and I have been lucky enough to catch the tail end of it. I feel really icky. Thank God for Grandma as she is doing most of the work today with these kids. Currently, KJ and I are watching Elmo and the girls and Grandma ran to the store to get stuff for dinner. (The above picture shows KJ with ink all over his face and me lounging in the chair trying to gain enough energy to get up and wash it off his face!)
We have been very lucky with illness this past year so I cannot complain but it is still hard to be sick. I hope to feel better tomorrow.
I need to be better by Friday as I have another MRI episode coming up. From my talks about it last year, it is no secret that the whole process is very hard on me. I cannot imagine going through it not feeling all that well. YIKES!
On a happier note, we are back into our routine. The kids have started all their activities again and it feels great to get back to some normalcy. I have started to call around to some Preschools in the area for next year and I have to say that we have some sticker shock on the prices. Some are as expensive at $1200 a month for all three kids and that is just for three mornings a week. YIKES! Anyway, my desire is to get them into a Christian based program so we will see what happens. I plan to do some more calling around on Monday.
Oh and by the way...all you lurkers out there, Leave me a comment so I know who my audience is!!!!

Snowmen Family

The kids were invited over to Sue's house last Sunday. Sue let them go out in her front yard and make some snowmen (people?). They loved it so much that after we left Grandma and Grandpa's house that night they wanted to drive by the snow family to say hi.
There is nothing like Team work to get those snowmen made!
We really have been enjoying our time outside this winter season. It is so much fun to watch these kids get all excited about the snow and being outside.

Wow...we are so blessed.

Two S's and a P

On Saturday, we could not decide if we wanted to take the kids Skating or Sliding so we decided to do both since the park we went to has both a skating rink and a sliding hill. We started off with Skating. This is something new to the kids. I was really happy that I had my mom and my brother there for support. The girls did great with the skating and Kendrick did okay but he really could not stand up on his own. I think the disadvantage that he had was that his skaters were true Hockey Skates and the girls had some skates that had longer blades and they are considered more of a beginner skate. Both Ella and Aimee were able to skate by themselves with out holding on to anything just for a short distance but it was still very impressive.Kendrick had a heck of a time standing on his own and our backs were killing us so we decided to move on to sledding! Next time we take them skating we are going to bring some foot stools along for them to hang on too so it won't hurt our backs so much.

We had a blast sledding. However, the kids get so tired out walking up the hill that we always end up pulling them up. I know I am a sucker but I also like the work out of it so I don't mind so much. Uncle T and I raced with the kids. It was fun. It was also great to see my mom is her 70's gold snowsuit sledding down the hill with the kids. We all really enjoyed it.
When we were done sledding then the kids wanted to play on the play equipment at the park so we spent some time doing that.Overall it was a lot of fun and when we got home the kids ate a huge lunch as I am sure they were hungry from all the energy they spent at the park.

Blast From The Past

I am making a photo book for KJ right of when he was one year old. As I was going through some old disks with pictures on them I found this short movie. I had to share. First of all this is really before he was talking good so it is neat to see him again at this age and second, he is a complete mess and I can honestly say that not much has changed on that front.

Enjoy!

Perspecitve from the Backseats

Last night as I was driving the kids home from an afternoon of fun at Sue's House, they started to talk to me about what Red, Yellow, and Green mean.
It all started when Ella asked me what Yellow meant. It took me awhile to catch on but then I realized what she was talking about. I then explained that Yellow meant proceed with caution (okay in reality most of the time it means speed up to get through the light). Then KJ piped up that Green means GO and Red means stop. For the rest of the drive home I had all three kids yelling at my from the backseat what I should be doing. This was funny for about 2 minutes until Ella started to get upset that I was not following her rules (telling me to stop at Green and Go at Red) it turned ugly quick.
Ella proceeded to argue with me about what color the lights were and what I should be doing. Considering it was bed time and I was exhausted not to mention that the kids were exhausted too this was not fun. Anyway, the crying and fussing by Ella was going on for a few minutes and then KJ piped up from his car seat and said "Ella, PLEASE" This is exactly what I would say to her when I want her to stop fussing, crying, or throwing a temper tantrum. I laughed so hard when I heard him say this that I pulled the car into the garage and sat for a minute to compose myself. It was really funny!
The things these kids pick up, it is seriously like looking right into a mirror!

God Is Great, He Brought Us 2008!

Happy New Year from the Erickson 5! We had such a fun evening ringing in the New Year. Jon and I started an annual New Years Eve Party many years ago and we have kept that tradition alive. This year Jon was not able to attend but we still had the party and EVERYONE had a great time. The kids were so funny because they kept asking who's Birthday it was. Also, I had bought a box of noise makers and hats for all the kids (and adults) to have. It was the best $10 I spent as the kids are still playing with all that stuff.I have good vibes for this year, when I woke up this morning I had "God Is Great, He Brought 2008" ringing in my head! Then I had the realization that in exactly 6 months my children will be turning 4 Years Old and that is so hard to believe.

Last night one of my very best and dearest friends gave me a magnet that said:
"If I am not happy is this time, in this place...I'm not paying attention"I love that...My motto for 2008! This year is going to be great. So many memories to make and fun to be had. Life is good....really really good!
Happy New Year!

Snow to our eyeballs or maybe just or Knee Caps

We have had a lot of snow these past 4-5 days. Last night as we were getting the kids dressed up to go outside and burn some energy playing in the snow, Jon mentioned that he wanted to go snow blow a path up our hill so the kids could walk up it. I thought he was crazy but told him we would meet him outside.

Once we got outside I was amazed that the snow was a few feet deep. Santa brought a new sled and Grandma and Grandpa gave us a new sled so we had plenty to go around. We all took turns going down our hill. It was a lot of fun. KJ really got it to playing outside last night. Jon and I both agreed that he had done a 180 from where he was at just a month ago when we first started playing in the snow. At first he would cry about everything. He did not like to walk in the snow or get his hands wet. Last night he would sled down all by himself over and over and over again. When he would get to the bottom he would yell out a scream and then belly laugh. It was so great!

We all really enjoyed our time outside last night. We were out for over an hour and then no one wanted to head back inside but it was getting late so we needed too.
I am sure this snow will get old by the time Spring arrives but it really has been so much fun this year with the kids. They LOVE being outside and they can even get their snow pants and boots on all by themselves now. That makes life a lot easier for the Mommy!

Last night as I was tucking KJ in, he was talking all excitedly about being outside and sledding down the hill by himself, with Ella, with Daddy, hitting the bottom, falling out of the seld etc.. It was one of those moments where I felt like he had changed (grown up) even since dinner which was 2 hours prior to that. I love when something like that helps me slow down and take a good look at my amazing children and how fast they are growing up. It felt great to be outside last night and observe the kids playing in the snow and enjoying every minute of it. Life has gotten easier as these kids no longer need us for every little thing!

Santa Came, He Delivered, We Survived!

This morning I woke up to Ella right in my face shouting "Santa came mommy we were so good he came"! We then immediately rolled out of bed and headed for the stuffed stockings. It was so much fun to watch them look at all the gifts that Santa brought to them. Kendrick and Aimee tore through their Santa gifts in no time and Ella took her sweet time looking and taking in every little lip balm and necklace that Santa brought. It was really fun to sit back (as much as I could) and take it all in.We had so much fun today with Grandma and Grandpa, Uncle T, and GG Del. We had a long gift opening after breakfast and the kids were thrilled with all their new toys. I think the favorite in the new Trampoline or for the girls it might be the make up bags that Grandma gave them stuffed with lip gloss and make up brushes. They think they are hot little things with all that stuff.This Christmas has been so awesome. The kids were so into it. Last night at Church, Ella was really into the baby Jesus. She could not wait until the service was over so we could get a close up look at Baby Jesus. Also, I was not prepared for the Sermon to include the kids but when they called all the kids up to the front, Grandma marched them all up there. It was fun to hear KJ shout out all the answers to what the Deacon was asking. Then they all got a little gift on an Angel so when KJ came back to sit with us he shouted out "Mommy, look what I got"! This made everyone around us chuckle. It was cute to see how excited they got.I have to say that I was prepared for all of the fun this Holiday Season. The excitement in my children's eyes and the love in their hearts was amazing. What I wasn't prepared for was today when KJ broke down in tears after all the gifts had been opened. This really took me for a loop because I was not expecting any of them to get upset today. However, my Grandma and my mom explained to me that Holidays are hard on kids. They are off their schedule, eating tons of treats, wound up from all the new toys and gifts, and I am sure they just reach their limit. When KJ started crying today, I started to cry right along with him. I knew the feeling so well. All the anticipation was over with the gifts and Santa's visit. The Holidays will soon come to an end and then we face a good 3-4 months of winter. Naturally, as his mother, I just wanted to take the sadness away for him. He quickly snapped out of it, ate some lunch and then took a good 2 hour nap. He has snapped out of it now tonight and I am sure once Daddy gets home tomorrow they will be thrilled to show him all their new toys and treats.
God has blessed us again with another Holiday Season filled with joy. It always amazes me how fast the Holiday Season approaches for us and I am sure that it will do the same in 2008!
Merry Christmas Everyone!!!!!

Christmas Excitement!

These kids are so excited for Santa to come. This Holiday season has been so much fun! Now I just hope these kids sleep tonight with all the anticipation for Santa to come.

The other night when I was tucking the kids into bed I told them that we would need to leave some cookies out for Santa. Aimee replied "Not the Gingerbreads" I just laughed and asked her why not the Gingerbreads, in which she replied "Well is Santa going to eat them?"

Gingerbreads are Aimee's new favorite and she did not want to share...even with Santa.

Merry Christmas!

The Car Wash...

The other night Jon and I were fortunate enough to get a night out with my family to go to dinner and the Theater. Our friend Sue Babysat for us so we were kid free. However, on the way to drop the kids off Jon decided that he wanted to wash the van so it would be clean for our night out.
At first, I was a little nervous how that would go with the kids in the car because when I was a little girl I was extremely afraid of the car wash. I mean I just hated it! When I mentioned this to Jon he insisted that we still go to the car wash and then told me it was all about the presentation. Jon then proceeded to dance around and told the kids we were headed to the car wash.
So we pulled into the car wash and Jon gave the kids the play by play of what was happening at the car wash. When the wash part started happening Ella was not sure if she should laugh or cry but she then giggled because both Jon and I were talking it up so much and giggling.
After the car wash the kids talked about it all the way to Sue's house. Aimee did not want to do it again unless she could sit next to Ella and hold her hand. Kendrick wanted to go back right away and do it again. In fact, he asked Sue if she would take him to the car wash.
Once again, it was another new thing to these kids. It is so much fun to see the world through their eyes.

Evasdropping...

A few weeks ago some friends of ours gave us some "hand me down" Halloween costumes. One of these happens to be a Spiderman. This morning, when they were playing dress up, Aimee put on the Spiderman costume. Kendrick then asked his daddy, "Why does Spiderman save people when they are in trouble?" In which Jon replied "Because he is a good superhero". Then Aimee piped up and said "I don't want to be good, I'm a naughty Spiderman" then as she ran off to play with her brother and sister she said "watch out guys here comes Naughty Spiderman"!

*************************************************************************************

The other night when we were tucking the kids in at Grandma's house, we were going through the usual lecture about going to bed nice and being good. Grandma then heard Kendrick whisper to Aimee "We have to be good or Santa won't come" Then Aimee replied "Well, I don't like Santa"!

*************************************************************************************

This morning when I was getting ready to head to a meeting for work Ella came into the bathroom all dressed up with her baby and cheer leading costume on and said "Look at me mommy"! I told her she looked like a "Cool Mommy" in which she replied, "Soon I am going to be a Pretty Mommy too"!

*************************************************************************************

Santa's Village

Yesterday afternoon, we headed over to Santa's Village. It was a farm that converts into a village for Santa. There was lots of stuff to do there and I think we enjoyed every bit of it. We visited with Santa's Reindeer, we dropped coins in the cho cho train as it went by, we went on a sleigh ride with horses, we visited with Santa, and we decorated cookies with Mrs. Santa. Whew... all of this in about 2 hours.
The best news of all was that Santa told the kids that they were on the "good" list. They were pretty excited about this.Aimee still did not want to sit on Santa's lap or even talk to him. She is so afraid. I am not going to push the issue with it though. I can't scar her for life. I will just write on the back of the pictures that she would not sit with Santa.
After Santa's Village we all headed back to Grandmas for our last dinner together. The kids were all tired out and they all decided to share the sofa to watch Mickey's Once Upon a Christmas. We are back home now and tonight when Jon was getting KJ dressed for bed, KJ asked Jon if Santa lives in our town? Jon told him that Santa lives at the North Pole but KJ insisted that Santa lives in our neighborhood!!!

Holiday Celebrating

We are having an awesome weekend with Jon's family. Yesterday was our Christmas celebration and everyone had such a fun time. The kids have really enjoyed playing with their cousins. Gift opening was a riot and the kids just LOVED everything they got. Kendrick kept asking if there were anymore gifts for him under the tree. Aimee was poker face the whole time as I think it was all very overwhelming for her. Ella would exclaim how much she just loved her gifts. At one point she told Grandma that it was "Just what I wanted"!We had our traditional meal of Prime Rib and even the kids enjoyed some of that. After dinner we sang Happy Birthday to Baby Jesus and then had some cake to celebrate. After our Birthday celebration we loaded all the kids up in our van (including the cousins Eric and Emily) and then headed out to see some Christmas lights. We all had a great time singing Christmas songs, looking at all the pretty lights, and then ended the light tour with making various farting noises and all of us laughing so hard.
When we got back I told the Grandparents and Aunt and Uncle that we get to take all the kids again next year because it was so much fun!!!
We went to church this morning and it was such a nice service. Lots of Christmas music to sing. Then the kids even got to go to "Sunday School" with Uncle Chris, Aunt Lori, and Cousin Eric. They really enjoyed that as well.
We are so blessed to have such awesome family. It is so much fun to watch the kids really enjoy their cousins. It will be hard to say goodbye tomorrow and head back home. This is another "Erickson Family Christmas" to remember.

Holiday Traveling

It always amazes me how much work it is to get us all packed up and ready to head out of town! I often tell people that if I could just put my house on wheels it would be a lot easier. I can't complain though because it is easier now than it used to be. When the kids were babies we always had to bring a ton of stuff. I am not sure how we ever got it all in the van. Pack N Plays, Stroller, clothes, bottles, blankets, etc..
We are in pack mode right now with the preparation to celebrate the Holidays early with Jon's family. We are all excited for the change of pace for a few days. It sounds like Grandma and Aunt Lori have tons of stuff planned. It is also nice to catch up with some of Jon's friends that we do not get to see very often.
The blog might be quiet for a few days but I am sure I will have lots of stories to tell when I do return.

Holiday Gymnastics Show

The kids participated in a Holiday Gymnastics Show today. They had a big audience with Grandma & Grandpa, Uncle T, Jane, Mom & Dad there! It was really cute to watch them do all of their gymnastics moves and how thrilled they were with their audience.When the show was all done Santa came out and handed out metals and goody bags for all of the participants.
The kids were thrilled!Also, they had a drawing for door prizes and we did not win just one prize but TWO. There was probably about 10 prizes they gave away and about 100 kids....not bad odds. I told Jon to head to the casino...Just kidding!

Oh Christmas Tree Part 2

We finally got our Christmas tree decorated. The kids had an absolute blast. It went too fast though as I realize that we do not have as many ornaments as I thought we did. I might have to head out for after the season sales this year and pick up a few ornaments.

Tomorrow we have Breakfast with Santa! It should be fun!

Lots of stuff to blog about right now and not a lot of time to do it.

Stay Tuned...

Snowy Days

We have had a ton of snow so far this year. Today was another snowy day around here. After the kids woke up from their naps, I decided it was time to get dressed up and head outside in the snow. We were out for over an hour and we had such a blast. We spent a lot of time sledding down our hill, playing on our play set, making angels, and sledding down our driveway! The girls even got themselves dressed! That was awesome. We had so much fun! I can already tell that Jon and I are going to have so much fun this winter with all the fun activities we can try. I think Ice Skating might be first on the list!!!! I have been having a hard time getting into the "Holiday" Season. I am not sure if it is because it feels like it got here so early or what but I just have not really been feeling it. However, today after we put the Christmas lights on the tree, I listened to some Christmas music as I made some cookies, and then I spent an hour outside in the snow with the kids, I now feel the season. I am so excited for Christmas this year. These kids talk about Santa everyday and they tell me that they want "EVERYTHING" from him! It is so much fun to see the Season through their eyes. They are growing up so fast right before our eyes. For now I am just trying to soak everything in because I know I will look back on these years and really relish in their memory. Today as I sat at the top of the hill and the snow fell all around us, I watch all three of my little people play in the yard. It was one of those moments that I will remember forever. I am so proud of them and how big they are getting. I look back on the past 3.5 years and remember all of the "firsts" we have had along with some of the struggles. It feels great to be exactly where we are at right now. I now can see with clarity that every age and stage brings its ups and downs. I am so excited for all the memories we still have to make together and I am so grateful for all that I have. Life is good...really, really good!

Oh Christmas Tree....

....oh Christmas Tree, how lovely are thy branches!

It is official, we have our tree for 2007!  We took the kids this afternoon to pick out our tree for this year.  We had great intentions of taking them to a nearby farm to cut down our own tree but since it has been cold and it snowed all day on Saturday, we decided this year we were going to a tree lot to get our tree.  

We picked out the tree in no time.  The kids had fun and we even asked the nice guy to take a family picture for us.  

It was so much fun.  Once the tree was selected and in the van, I loaded up the kids up while Jon went to pay for the tree.  The guy that was helping us told Jon that we had a very charming family!  That was nice to hear.  

We have the tree in the stand and ready to be decorated.  Tomorrow we will hopefully accomplish this task.  

Mac vs. PC

Since my Computer is RIP, it was time to get a new one.  Jon really wanted to get a Mac.  At first, I was like NO WAY!  I am not getting a Mac because I am not used to Macs and I am not clear on how to use them.  The more I started to think about it I started to cave on the idea. 

 Jon saw this and encouraged us to go to the Apple Store.  So off to the Apple Store we went I am sure the sales guy at the Apple Store was real impressed with me when I smiled at him and asked him why I should buy a Mac as opposed to a PC.  He smiled at me and then proceeded to talk about the Mac Books (Lap Top) for about 45 minutes straight.  He showed me all the cool and wonderful things this computer would do. He was very convincing.  I knew Jon really wanted a Mac so we made an agreement that we would buy the Mac Book Laptop for me (I am sure I will share it with Jon right now).  If in a few months I just really miss my PC then Jon will take this computer and we will get me a PC Laptop.  

It has been a few days now with this new Mac.  I have learned a few really cool things and I am amazed at how easy this computer is to use.  I still have my frustrations because I am not clear where to find things or how to do certain things on this computer.  It is almost like stepping into a foreign country and not knowing a word of the language.  The first night I had buyers remorse but that has passed.  I view a computer as a necessity.  It is amazing how lost I felt when I did not have my computer.  

Yesterday, I was playing around with some of the features on the computer.  I discovered the built in Camera and what it could do.  The kids had a blast with the different options the camera offered.  Check out these pics:  

Flu Shots

Today we headed over to the doctors office to get our flu shots.  Daddy was not able to make it so our friend Jane came with us.  We talked a little beforehand about getting the shots and they all told me they would be brave.  

When we got to the clinic, we got called back right away.  Kendrick volunteered to go first.  Everything was fine until he got the shot.  He then started to cry and had the saddest look on his face.  I told him that he was such a brave boy and that Daddy was going to be so proud.  He quickly got over it and went back to playing with the Etch a sketch.  

The nurse then asked who would be next, and Aimee shouted out that Ella was next.  However, since Ella is Star of the day, I told Aimee that she was going to go next.  She was a little scared but she was brave and I held her hands while the nurse gave her the shot.  Aimee immediately cried and could not stop for a good 15 minutes.  After Aimee was done then it was Ella's turn.  She started throwing a fit the minute Aimee started crying from her shot.   

Ella FREAKED out on me and I was a little nervous.  She started running around the room screaming "no, no, no" over and over again.  The poor thing was scared to death.  It really broke my heart to watch her but I knew if I showed any signs of emotion that it would be all over with so I just picked her up and set her on the table.  It was a struggle but I finally just laid on top of her and told her that I loved her very much and it was for her own good.  The nurse gave the shot and it was done.  We had two little girls that had very hurt feelings and could not stop crying but the shots were done.  THANK GOD!  

I just kept telling them how brave they were and how Daddy was going to be so proud of them.  What an experience.  Shots are no fun but we all survived and now we are done with that.  Hopefully next year they can have the nose spray.  

Mourning the Loss.....

...of my computer.

Obituary to read:

Dell D600 Laptop
2003-2007

To be remembered as a great companion and a wonderful connection to the outside world for its owner, the mother to 3.5 year old triplets.

After my husband has tried to revive my computer for almost 5 days now, we have both given up hope. I am grateful that I have been backing up my pictures and other files onto a hard drive so the loss should be minimal. Now I just have to figure out what I am going to get for a new computer. So for now the blog may be a little quiet until I can get set up with a new tech best friend...I might name the next one.

Aimee's Debut

Here is Aimee's Q & A session.



The Best Friend made my heart flutter.



Also, Jon and I are not sure what the deal is with cars, all we can figure is that they must have been playing with them before the video shoot.

Ella's Debut

Computer Flu

I think my computer is trying to tell me something...it is sick with a virus! I still have not gone to get my flu shot...maybe this would be a good time to do that. It is funny what can remind you of what you need to get done. I might take my computer with me too as it needs a flu shot too!

Anyway, this is my 200th post and I am sending it from Jon's computer because mine is sick right now! BUMMER. My IT expert is working on it to make it feel better but I am not sure how long it will be out of commission.

Here is a cute Video our friend Sue made the other night with the kids. This one is KJ's debut. I also have one for Aimee and one for Ella. I will post their videos later!

Enjoy!