Chasing the Dog

Steff was chasing the dog...you're thinking, "no big deal." Right? Yeah, well, she also had a sports bottle full of juice that she was squirting at him. She apparently got him into a compromising position because he was soaked. I had to give him a bath it was so bad and I knew he'd be sticky if I didn't get the juice off of him. Steff got disciplined, although I wanted to beat her. She had juice all over this house. There were little puddles of juice in every room. Ya wanna know what I was doing? I was in my bedroom with the door open and the gate up listening to her laugh in hysterics. I just figured she was chasing the dog or running from him. She was and then some. . .I was making my bed and trying to get my house cleaned up. Doing that before kids went to bed was my first mistake. My second mistake was thinking Steff's laughing was innocent. . .I should have known better. The funny part was that just the other day Ryan was saying that she was past all of this naughty stuff she was so frequently doing. I told him he just got me in a lot of trouble and that she'd be doing something for sure. It never fails...

He Jumps

The dog is amazing...He's a little jumper and climber to boot. He has amazed us with his ability to jump out of his pen. He can jump and then grab on and climb out of his pen. It's nuts he's only 13 weeks old and the pen has to be a good two and half feet tall.
The kids are doing well. Kieran has been having a decent week at school, he says Mr. Visser is going to be sending home a note saying that he's been good with getting his work done. I know what he's working for...I told him that Ryan and I just about bought him a Ninetendo DS but that he hadn't been being good at school so we didn't. He really wants one so he's being super good lately. He even offered to clean the bathroom and the toilet. I want him to learn that continuous hard work is rewarded not just being good for a time. I hate to tell him but it's going to take a lot of work to earn a DS and the trip to Aeropastale. I hope he can hang in there.
Steff has been her usual self. She has been going to sleep at a decent hour lately, which has been a delight to me since that means I get to go to bed earlier. She has this new thing...making her diaper a hip-hugger. She sticks her hands down her diaper until the thing looks like it's going to fall off her. I know it sounds gross but I honestly think it's something to do with her hands since we cannot keep clothes on her. She will wear clothes long enough to go somewhere but then she wants to take them off the moment we walk in the door. Then when she does ask for clothes she only wants "Jammies." I love wearing pj's so she's a child after my own heart.
Get this, last night she slept in the bathroom. It was weird. I fell asleep on the floor waiting for her to catch her Z's and when I woke up she was asleep in the bathroom...and that was where she stayed. I just let her sleep there since when you wake her up she is awake for a long time. And, I know if I had tried to move her to her bed or the couch there would have been a lot of tears and then she would have been wide awake. It wasn't worth it.
Sadie is still just walking all over the place. She walks everywhere now. It's so cute. She is just as adorable as we thought she'd be walking and I'm sure it's because she's so small. She has been a bit on the ornery side lately and she seems to want to be held a lot. She's happy most of the time still but even once in while is off for Sadie.
Ryan and I are doing well. He's been doing drywall lately and I'm still working at the church, which I love. He hasn't been doing much OT at JD Machine but that's because he's been doing drywall and it's paying a little better. Yeah, it's more work or at least it's harder work than just running his machine. Don't get me wrong Ryan's job is not unstressful it's just not a physical stress that he experiences. Ryan has had a good birthday and I let him know that he still has gifts on the way and he was a little on the shocked and "how much did you spend" side. It was pretty funny but I let him know he could relax...I'm excited for the rest of his gifts to get here. I got him something he's been wanting since he was a little kid. He's gonna love it.
As I said, I am still working at the church and finding great fellowship in it. I have met and enjoyed the company of so many great people or should I say, women. I really enjoy the parents of the children we watch, they are such a neat and appreciative bunch. Some of the mom's (and dad's) are hillarious and it's funny to watch them round up their kids because I know how they feel when I'm rounding up my children. It's just entertaining to see someone else do it.
As you can see, things are good, crazy...but good. I love my life and my family more than ever. I have enjoyed spending time with my husband and my children on all levels. I feel so blessed-most of the time that is.

Another Interesting Night

It was such an interesting night, one filled with a lack of sleep. I went to bed fairly early but I kept waking up. I woke up at midnight, 3:15 and again at 6am. Of course, that's not saying that I didn't go back to sleep until 4:30 because Ryan came home so we chatted for a few and then Steff woke up and wanted to be social. She had her daddy lay next to her and I don't know if she fell back to sleep or not because I crashed on the floor while waiting for her to get tired again. When I woke back up at 6am, Ryan was in bed and Steff was awake. I can't be sure what happened in that hour and a half but Steff started demanding I play the "On Demand" game and put Sponge Bob Square Pants on. She must have gotten bored because she fell back to sleep. Shortly after she fell asleep Sadie woke up for the day. I just stayed on the floor with her and played with her until I dozed off again for about 20 minutes.
It's been a long morning...Sadie has been good and Steff is still asleep but I'm not waking her in hopes that she doesn't want to take another late nap and thus, stay up til really late. I don't like those days when she takes late and long naps because she won't go to sleep until at least 11pm. It's miserable, especially when all you want to do is go to bed. And, I would but she'd surely come in for something and wake Sadie up. I know that's terrible that I'd leave my 3 year old alone but man, it gets hard staying up that late so many nights of the week. Of course, I also know that by going to bed I'd surely wake up to a destroyed home. My house would have sugar and coffee grounds all over it and the Lord only knows what else she'd spill. She'd probably spray her juice all over the place since that's one of her new favorite things to do. I could keep going on about the things Steff would do and get into but I'm thinking Sadie is ready for her nap and I'm going to lay down while Steff is still sleeping.

It's Been A While...

It's been a while since I last blogged and a few exciting things have happened...First off though, the family is doing well. We've been spending a lot of time together since Ryan hasn't had to work quite so much overtime lately. It's been nice. We actually had a family activity on Friday night with my church. We took the kids swimming at the Clearfield Accuatic Center. It was great and we re-learned that Steff is fearless. She went down the big slide with her daddy 2 times. She even got water up her nose and in her face. Once she got over disliking the experience of water up her nose she talks about it with great excitement. Sadie was a wee-bit unhappy with the temperature of the water at first but once she got used to it she was jumping and having a great time. Kieran of course, loved it. He did some tricks off the diving board and was all over the place. It was a great time. He was a big help with his sisters and was very cooperative when it was time to leave.
Kieran seems to be doing well. He hasn't been doing his chores though so he hasn't been earning his daily dollar. But, that's his business...he's had some issues at school...Like, fighting with this one girl who called me "fat." He also had a day where he punched a wall. Which we then talked about self-control and if that was neccessary. He went snowboarding Sunday with my dad, step-mom and two sisters. He apparently had a good time. He was complaining that his boots are too small and that the one hurt his toe but we've learned that each time he goes boarding he comes home and has some complaint, it's never anything to really worry about just burning off negative energy from the day-I guess. He's had some bumps and we're working on them so he's doing alright.
Steff is doing well. She now sleeps in the living room...at least it's not on the kitchen floor anymore but it is further from her room than the kitchen is...Honestly, I thought she'd be sleeping in her room by now. Especially after we got her a television for her room. Ryan and I figured she'd fall asleep watching movies but once she gets tired she comes into the living room and watches tv. She has been a lot more vocal lately and she's been saying a lot of new words and making more complete sentences. She still gets her pronouns mixed up but that is supposed to continue in to her third year-from what I've read...She really loved swimming and she tells us about the "waterfalls" and "slide" all the time. She even asks if we are going swimming. It's cute. Her newest thing is to wake up each day and say, "It's a wonderful day." That's not the end of it though, she will say it multiple times throughout the day. It's adorable.
Sadie is doing great! She is toddling all over the house. She prefers walking now instead of crawling. It's great to see how well she's learning. She looks so cute since she's so small. She still doesn't say much but she can at least walk to where she wants to be now.
A few other things have taken place...I mentioned that we bought Steff a television. but it also has a dvd player in it. We got it so we could have our television in the living room once in a while. She calls it her "baby teedee" and she can work the dvd player without any help. She will change the dvd as she sees fit, it's really cute. And, maybe one day she will go to sleep in there with a movie playing..?
Ryan and I had a great Valentine's Day. He spoiled me for my birthday. I got a waterproof, fire resistent safe, an MP3 player (6 gigs), a thing to go over our bed(instead of a headboard), new clothes, a cd, a couple of books, a beautiful, flowering plant and a gift card to Starbucks.
I got him 2 shirts, a pair of pants, and a jacket. He felt spoiled and he looked good in his new clothes. You could tell he felt confident and that he liked them too.
We tried to see a movie on Valentines Day but the movie we went to see was done like a home movie and it was action so the camera was all over the place and I got sicker than a dog. I get motion sickness and it was a definite sickness giver. We even left about 2/3 of the way in to it. I just couldn't take it any longer.
I have to say that this was the best birthday I've ever had(at least since I've become an adult). I really enjoyed this one and Ryan did an excellent job of making me feel special. I liked turning 30...I'm not young and dumb anymore...
Ryan's birthday is in 2 days and I'm looking forward to giving him his gifts. He's gonna have to wait until the 23rd(his mom is having a party for Ryan, Lindsey and myself since our birthdays fall within days of each other) for a few of them though since I ordered them late. I know he's gonna love this year though.
So, as you can see things have been well around here. We are doing well as a family and Ryan and I's marriage is doing great as well. I am really impressed with how great things are. Yeah, our Jeep is still out of commission and our garage door is only sorta fixed but things are good. I love my family and we have a good life. Even on those days when I want to pull my hair out...

Rexi Dog

Here's a couple pics of our Rexi dog...He's growing fast.

Yet, Another Late Night

It's about time is all I can say...Steff just fell asleep and it's 1am...What child does this? Not one that gets any naps because we refuse to let her have a nap and she doesn't sleep late so that's not it either. It's like she's afraid she's gonna miss out on something. I don't know what though cuz right now I'm blogging and Ryan is playing his computer. I've found the easiest way to get her to go to sleep is to play the same show over and over again until she gets bored and falls asleep.
Other than that, things are going okay.
Sadie is walking all over the place, she no longer practices, she just walks. It's as cute as we thought it would be. She's also started making more talking sounds than she used to and she'll occassionally repeat something you say to her. Like, this morning she said "bear." It was so sweet.
Kieran got into a wee bit of trouble for throwing a snowball at a school bus. I think it's ridiculous but he did break a rule so we had to enforce the school policy. He was going to get to go to this popular store in the mall and get a few things and now he has to earn the privilege back. I feel for him since he just had a good report from his teacher and his grades were good. But, that's the worst part of being a parent. Wanting to give to your kids and knowing that sometimes the best thing to do is to be disciplinary in spite of the reward they had already earned. He also got an attitude with his teacher about getting a "pink slip" and for that he had to write an apology letter. He's a good kid so I'm sure he'll earn his trip to Aeropostale back soon.
Ryan is doing good. He's been a bit under the weather with a fever, aches, headache and just all over achyness. I wonder if he didn't get what the girls had? Or maybe he brought something new home...? I hope it's from the girls. He hasn't been nearly as stressed out as usually but that's because we got some bills paid off and that always makes him happy.
I am doing well, still really into studying my Bible and church was great today. The Pastor talked about how Christ treated each person equal and how it started something great. That was ultimately the reason Christianity spread like wild fire after the resurrection. Because people saw the wonderful way these people (Christians) treated everyone as equals. It was a good sermon. He's an awesome Pastor to boot. He's young and he uses real examples of daily life to help you understand what he's saying. I love church. I wish I could go more often...Of course, I work there now so going more often isn't such a big wish anymore.
As a family we are doing well. We still have our little tiffs-the kids do that is, but what family doesn't? We all love each other dearly and we enjoy each other well.

Family Pics

Here are just a few recent pictures of our clan.

Pics of Rexy

Here's a couple recent pictures of Rex...He's grown so much and he's cute as a button. Ryan even loves this dog.

And, They Sleep

The whole house is happily in dream land while I sit here at 3 am blogging. You ask, why? I'm worried about not getting up for work. I have to work childcare for my church in the morning and I don't want to be late. So, I guess you could say I'm getting an early start. Or that I'm just plain crazy. The funniest part of the whole thing is that one of my children is bound to get me up in plenty of time to get ready in the morning, yet again, they've been known to let me sleep in until 8 before. I have take a small dose of sleeping meds and set my alarm on my cell phone and here I sit trying to pass the time til I start to feel drowsy. I wouldn't be so worried about not being there on time and being ready to go but I missed two Bible study groups because I was dealing with my own sick little angels. No parent wants to spread that stuff around to the rest. So, I feel bad and a bit on the flaky side to boot. I love my job and I don't want to lose it. What would that say about me if I lost a job with a church...?
Things have been crazy around here. But, when are they not. I love my little angels and I feel closer to them than ever. I wish I'd had been more of a hands on mom right from the beginning but you usually do what you learned and I never learned to be hands on. My mom didn't dote over us kids at all. Matter of fact, children were to be seen and not heard. It's sad but it explains a lot of what is going on with this inside battle I have to be better than my mom was with us. Ryan never questions why I parent the way I do, he just gently shows me the errors of my ways by example and how I am better than the generations before me. I don't know what kind of parent I'd be without his fun loving and exciting parenting style. He's a good man in many unseen ways.
Things are looking up in the way of the Jeep getting fixed sooner than what we were afraid of. Which was never...It looks like this weekend we will have the money saved for the $400 part. Yeah, ouch...
You know I like being up in the middle of the night while eveyone is asleep. Yeah, sure I can't exactly turn on the light in the living room/Steff's bedroom and do any reading. Which I love to do but I can sit and type til my hearts content and I always have a cup of coffee to keep me company. It's kind of my personal time. I might not be at my best but at least I'm alone. Which in a house with three kids and a puppy is hard to come by.
Speaking of the puppy, he's paper trained. He has three paper pads throughout the house and he uses them when ever he needs to use the potty. It was really nothing to teach him, he kinda just pick it up all on his own. It's kinda funny, cuz when we let him out of his pen he runs around and tinkles on each pad as if to remark his territory.
I think the meds are stating to work cuz I'm feeling a little slow. But, I'll wait another minute longer and go on about how wonderulf my husband is to me. You see, the other day he went in to work late because I was hurting so bad I was in tears. He stayed home to help with the kids while I layed down and rested. What a wonderful man. I know it killed him to go in so late but because he loves me so much, he did it. I don't know what I'd do without him. He just so wonderful and he puts up with me, which now that I've been getting therapy for my spending habits he says he has no real complaints. Which makes me feel good. I'm working on being better for our marriage. I love my husband and he's worth each ounce of work I have to put in. I'm sure he feels the same way too.

Things

Well, things have gotten better. At least the garage door is semi fixed. It doesn't go completely down but at least we can use the automatic door openers now. I worry each time I use it that the rollers will unravel again but I think we're going to have someone come look at it.
The Jeep is still in disrepare at least for now. We should be able to fix it next weekend. If the part weren't so expensive it wouldn't be such an issue but $400 for a part kinda puts a hurtin on anyone.
The family is doing well. . .
Kieran had his parent teacher conference and his teacher had wonderful things to say about him and he got pretty good grades too. He just recently went snowboarding and had a great time. He was boarding in powder but he said in spite of it being hard, it was fun.
Steff got a hold of the coffee grounds and poured them in the dog's water and all over his pen. She also dumped my full mug of coffee out on the floor and then refilled it with coffee grounds. So, now I have to keep those out of her reach as well as the sugar. But, she's doing good. She's talking a lot and comes up with some of the funniest things I've ever heard. That's the fun part of having a two/three year old.
Sadie is walking all over the place. She practices lots and she's begun babbling quite a bit too. She just went to the doc and we found out she's a little (okay quite a bit) on the short side and chubby too. Her head circumfrance was right on with the size of her body though. It was a pretty good visit but she's been sick so they couldn't give her her immunizations. We have an appointment next week to do that.
Ryan is doing good, just working and being a family man is about all he's up to. He's dreading fixing the Jeep but we're going to buy a space heater to help keep him warm through the process.
I am doing great. I have been reading lots of Bible studies and I work at my church in their childcare department. I take care of other's kiddos while they take Bible studies or go to MOPS meetings. It's pretty great and I like it a lot. I didn't think I was the childcare type but the Lord calls us to do the things He needs us to. And, I surprisingly love it.
This family is doing well, we've had some sickness in the girls but no one else has caught it thus far. Pray we don't. They did pretty good through it all too. They both ran a few fevers and were a little on the thethargic side but that's it.
We hope all is well and prosperous in your lives. Take care of yourselves.

Our Princesses

Here are a couple pics of Ryan and Steff dressed up like Princesses. They are too priceless to not share.