Finally!!

So, amazingly I finally sat down and figured out how to get my pics from the camera to the laptop. I am not the most technically savvy person on the planet (*obviously*) but it should not have taken me this long to try it....
New computer + new camera = fear of downloading pics

Anywho, here are some kid pics, updates, etc.

One of the only pics with all the kids. It was taken at Christmas, and I am so glad that I thought to take it BEFORE all the eating started. The outfits were destroyed pretty much as soon as food was introduced...

My boys....and their matching jammies. Nolan outgrew his pair pretty much as I finished taking the picture, so it was a one time deal. Poor Cannon is sad about that...

These two are really into having "slumber parties" right now. Sometimes we find them sleeping in the same bed, but most of the time we just hear them planning their "slumber party", getting settled in bed together, talking, then fighting, then moving back to their own beds to actually fall asleep.

And then there is this one. She has boycotted naps now for about 3 months. She is basically a total wreck from about 4:30 until 6:30 when she falls asleep at the dinner table and we put her to bed. The nice part is that she is out cold until morning. The bad part is that I think she still needs to be taking those naps....

Life....

...is busy. Its crazy. Its tiring.

There is a 6 year old chasing me around the house begging me to wiggle her loose teeth. Loose teeth - plural. There are 4 of them. She is chasing me, cause I am running away. I hate teeth. I shudder when I think of teeth. I have "issues" when it comes to teeth. Me running away from her is not a funny game. Its survival.

There is a 4 year old who never stops talking. Never. Stops. Talking. He is curious. He has a question for everything. He has an answer for everything. He will never be at a loss for words. Never.

There is a 2 year old who refuses to take a nap. She refuses to sleep even though her eyes are so heavy at dinner that sometime we wait and all get silent as she falls face first into her food. She refuses to sleep even when we beg her to nap so that the rest of us don't have to deal with her crying, whining, and all the other good stuff that comes from an over tired child. I grit my teeth, and just deal with her during the fits, knowing that she will be asleep at 7pm, and it will again be *slightly* quieter in our house.

And there is a 3 month old who still has yet to commit to a schedule. Sometimes he is hungry every 2 hours. Sometimes every 3. Sometimes (like now) he hasn't eaten in 5 hours and is happily sleeping in his swing, while I silently debate with myself the pros and cons of waking him up to eat.

And then there is the dog....The animal that can clear a room with his gas. The mutt who still thinks he is a puppy and chases cats full speed and then limps around for days afterwards. The pups who follows me from room to room, just like the kids. As if I need another one following me around.....

Yeah, its been a tad bit busy. A tad bit crazy. And I am tired. Tired from lack of sleep, or tired from dodging the 6 year old an her pleas to wiggle those teeth.... who knows, but tired none-the-less.

*Sigh*

Christmas in February

I just realized I never posted these pics from Christmas.
Sad....

We have an annual tradition of going on a drive to look at Christmas lights. I always pack a few little treats, some drinks and we drive around looking at the craziness that people decorate their houses with. I have actually done this since I was a kid, and thankfully, my hubby seems to enjoy it more than my dad ever did. (He isn't much for a drive outside of his city limits, so when my mom would direct us to -heaven forbid- the next town over to look at lights, it was always "interesting" to see how he would handle the 10 minute drive.)
My sis in law and I have tried for the last couple of years to coordinate our families and do the light hunting together, but this is the first year that we actually managed to do it. And to top it off, we borrowed (thanks to my brother in laws "connections") a 15 passenger van to ride together in. It was hilarious! Between the two families, there were 4 rows of seats in the van, each seat with 2 car seats. Peyton and Brynn got the very last row, Cannon and Luke got the 3rd row, Lola and Maeve the 2nd row, my sis in law, myself and Nolan in the first row, and the guys up front "navigating". There was the slight possibility that Rich wasn't going to be able to make it, and I cracked up at the thought of Billy driving the families around...like we were a group of Polygamists or something....
The kids had fun, even though it rained, and the adults had fun, like we always do together. As the night ended we looked back and Elissa called out "3rd row is out". We looked back and saw both of the 4 year olds passed out....mine with a candy cane hanging out of his mouth. Hilarious!



And, on another note, here is my favorite gift from the hubs this year. He got a little crafty (not unusual for him, since he is really artistic) and made these for me. Pillow cases with a special little picture that he embroidered on them....I just love him!!!

Searching

Pardon my glazed eyes and the drool.
I have been lost in the magical land of Etsy.
I am wishfully marking things as "favorites".....
Hoping that my hubby somehow manages to find them and buy me one for our 10 year anniversary.
I am not really subtle about it.
I have left notes in VERY obvious places with log in instructions, and specific step by step directions to get to "my favorites" page.
I can't decide what I want...there are just way too many cute things out there.
Ring....necklace....maybe both....sigh.