Weekend Catch-Up

Snow was predicted for the East Coast so we postponed getting Tater back from Papa and Mimi's for another day...and the snow is falling as I type! Hopefully it will pass through the night and the roads will be clear in the morning...because I miss my big girl!

So this morning Sassy and I headed to her therapy group while Daddy and Bruiser had a lazy morning. When we got home we Skyped with Pop-Pop and Memaw so Bruiser could open his birthday gift from them...ah, technology!

Then after lunch out, a major meltdown from Bruiser, a nap for Mommy, Sassy, and Bruiser, we survived a second meltdown and managed a trip to the grocery store. Bruiser's cake just came out of the oven and both little ones are tucked into bed with thoughts a birthday day tomorrow!

Here's my almost-four-year-old curled up reading on the couch tonight. I can't believe how fast the time has gone! Four years ago tonight, Daddy and I were anxiously awaiting his arrival and couldn't wait to meet him! He is still the best cuddler and sweetest little love you have ever met...meltdowns aside! I love his imagination and and his expressions...and the fact that he agreed not to get any older when I asked him to stay three!

Here is Sassy grazing in the fridge! We locked the fridge with the other two but the lock wore out and we never replaced it...oh, the freedoms the third child gets!

And here is the success of the week! I have been eyeing "learning towers" or "kitchen helpers" for the past year or so but never had the money to spend on one! Then we found the plans on-line to build one and Daddy went to work. For about $20-30 in wood and an afternoon of cutting and screwing, Daddy was able to make this amazing piece of equipment for Sassy! Now she can stand at the island safely and the battles over her sitting have come to an end. This thing is AMAZING! She can climb in and out herself, the sides protect her from falling, and the platform is easy to raise and lower so it will grow with her! And not only that, Daddy made it look pretty with his stain job! LOVE IT!

Rainbow Brite is Back!

Remember this shot from a few days ago?

And remember how I wondered who these children were?

Well, here is my secret! Shhhhh!

I recently received the new Rainbow Brite CD to review with Tater. It was one of those things I kept putting off because the computer is MY territory and I did not want to share! But last week when it rained and rained, I was desperate and grabbed for the CD. I prepared myself for hours of slowly explaining how to work everything - from the mouse to the printer - but was I in for a treat! Tater hopped on the chair, grabbed the mouse and began clicking away! She loved it! She has played the puzzles, made art pages, printed coloring pages, and jumped for stars in the games...while I had the peace and quiet I needed to make dinner! Not only that, she has learned all the characters, begged to buy a Moon Glow doll with her birthday money, and has even shared her game with her brother!

Pros:

• age appropriate
• attention-holding
• bright and colorful
• very interactive
• music is entertaining without being bothersome
• activities are rewarding when completed - with music and graphics

Cons:

• unable to load a desktop shortcut (which would help for when Tater shuts the program down accidentally!)
• unable to lock the printer off - so my ink doesn't run out!

And, on a final note, we had a fabulous fifth birthday party for Tater on Saturday and decided to share our CDs with our guests...and what a hit! There are girly girls all over town playing Rainbow Brite and living in the land of rainbows and unicorns!

Disclosure: I was given 10 copies of the Rainbow Bright CD to review with my family and share with our friends. I was not compensated financially for this review.

In Honor of Fall (A Day Early!)

A rare family picture - that to our photographer, Robin!

A few quotes to make you giggles:

Last night, Bruiser got out of the tub and we were sorely lacking in the towel department. They were either in baskets waiting to be put away or still in the multiple piles of laundry in my laundry room (We miss you, Dana - in more ways than one!). So I grabbed the last towel I could find (knowing full-well that Tater and Bruiser were going to have to share it that night!), and called for Bruiser to get out of the tub. I quickly wrapped him the towel hoping Tater wouldn't see what I was using, but no such luck! As soon as Bruiser saw the towel, he quickly announced, "I a princess!" - starting the screaming from Tater and deflating Daddy's male ego.

Then this afternoon as we were driving to preschool, Tater was chattering away - like she always does from the way back of the mini-van where I can't hear half of what she says - about the show "Lazy Town." All of sudden I hear her loud and clear, "I want to get that grown-up stuff and change my hair to pink!" (FYI: The main character in "Lazy Town" has pink hair!)

Friday Night at The House of Sprout!

Yes, my two-year-old and four-year-old are playing X-Box 360 with Daddy while I'm chatting it up on Facebook with those far-away-friends! Not my proudest Mommy moment - but all's quiet and that's all that matters right now! Ooo...there come Miss Wiggles' squeaks!

Pending...

We had an amazing but busy weekend! G-Baby was baptised and we were surrounded by faithful family and great friends. I can't wait to post a few pics and share about the stress of having a baptism when the older children have escaped from the nursery...before the sermon begins! Here's the catch: I have no pictures! The previously-mentioned activities tied up my hands and inhibited me from snapping some shots! So, as soon as I receive pictures from my neighbor and from Papa, I will post them!

Oh, and then there is the recital picture production - waiting for more pictures! And there are stories to tell!

Stay tuned!

What I Learned This Week

This week I had a new technique for this post - I kept notes so I could remember all I learned come Tuesday! We'll see how well that worked!

1. Texting is not that easy!

We had family coming to visit from out of town and dreamed of an evening away without children. How is it that the one weekend I want to go out, there are no babysitters available? The scheduling god was not on my side! But I learned a very valuable lesson during my babysitter search - teenagers love to text...and I have no idea how it all works! My daily sitter was here during the process and was practically rolling on the floor listening to me type one of my first text messages. Who knew it could be so complicated! Not only that - as soon as I figured it out and sent the message, I set my phone down and walked away from it. Then not even five minutes later it made an unusual sound and I looked at D as she started to laugh again. I guess my phone chimes when I recieve a message. Again, who knew!


2. It takes some time to build a deck.

This weekend my husband and brother-in-law built an amazing deck in our backyard. Did you know that you can't build a deck in day? Particular men had me convinced it would be finished the first day and then proceeded to blame me for making a complicated design. If you look at the pictures I posted, it was not that complicated!


3. Multiply the children and multiply the problems.

Wow, I thought three children was crazy...until the cousins came! We added two more children ... older children ... and the chaos exploded. Keep in mind, it was mostly from my children's excitement but it was crazy non-the-less!


4. Family is fun!

We had a blast with our family that lives too far away! We laughed and conspired and commiserated - it was great! These are the times when you realize all that you are missing by living so far away. And then the drama begins and you realize you are slightly glad to be at a distance! That aside, thanks for a great weekend, Martin Family! We had a blast and can't wait for the next visit - we are in hard-core Blitz training!

Meet the Newest Member of the Family!

Since our laptop decided to quit on us this week, we went shopping for a newer, smaller toy that would allow me to blog and Facebook. Meet our new HP netbook! It's small and light and new and shiny! I love it!

Happy (early) Mother's Day to me!

Snow Update

Well, I have been blogging from our laptop with wireless Internet and couldn't figure out how to connect the camera so I could add pictures. You see, our camera completely crashed two weeks before Christmas after four years of daily use. Not the best time to be without a camera - especially with a new one not being in the budget! So, Mimi to the rescue! Mimi isn't that advanced in the technology department (Sorry, Mimi - but it's the truth!) and had a camera she wasn't using. She gladly, for the sake of the grandchildren agreed to loan hers to us. The drawback? No cord to plug it in to the computer. It wasn't a problem with the desktop - I just plugged the memory card into the printer and away we went! Well, silly me, I never thought to check our old camera's USB cord until today - and miraculously it fits!
So, all that being said, here are the snow pictures I took on Monday (Martin Luther King Day) after another 4 inches fell through the night. And to make matters worse, we got another 1/2 inch Monday night - can you say stir crazy?!?