our daughter is a clepto...

Oh SO much has happened over the past week, so much so that the tribe is now attending preschool! Yes, we bit the bullet & enrolled them in school. A HUGE expense but one we have to find the funds to cover! They really, really needed this! I think they needed this about as much as I needed it! LOL!As many of you know that when you enroll anyone into school there comes a HUGE list of stuff they need before they actually attend their first day. There is the normal expenses like bedding for the mat they will take their nap on, EXTRA sets of clean clothes, panties/diapers in case of accidents (Remember we are NOT fully potty trained yet!) But one expense I did not even think of was SHOES! They needed new shoes, sneakers to be exact. Being that the school playground has wood chips they have to have closed in shoes to keep those feet protected! So while Dustyn, the tribe & I were at the mall last week we happened upon the Stride Rite store. It just happens to be across from the play area so there we were! This is what happens when you have time to kill before Daddy gets off from work! haha! Going into the Stride Rite store is NOT a normal event for this family especially since almost every piece of clothing & shoe we have for them is a hand me down.Most of all we can not afford Stride Rite shoes! I do not know what I was thinking walking into that store but since we were there we decided to check their shoe sizes. It really does pay to get a toddlers foot sized by a professional! After about 30 minutes I found out that the shoes on their feet were the WRONG size! Uh Oh! Before I knew it I was buying four new pairs of sneakers! The only good thing was that they were on sale! Let's just hope these shoes last a few months! PLEASE?! Trying to contain four toddlers while you are checking out shoes is a feat within itself! They were all over the place! The clerk helped us out tremendously & gave us some coupons. I do not know if Daddy will let us buy NEW shoes again after seeing that bill! LOL! We decided we better cut our losses & left to go meet Daddy for dinner. There we were unloading the tribe from their HUGE blue stroller into the 'burb when I find a BRIGHT yellow sandal in the bottom of the stroller.This is NOT a match to any shoe we currently own & after closer inspection I notice it has a price tag attached to the bottom of the sole! "Someone" stole it! I could not believe it!! Of course I took a picture! hehee! After process of elimination we determined that Camryn was the culprit! I kind of thought it would be her since the sandal was yellow. They tend to gravitate towards their colors. SO I asked her if she took it & she finally fessed up! You can tell by her BIG grin that she knew she had been had! (= So I left D with the tribe as I trekked myself back into the mall to return the sandal. As I walked into the store I start to tell the clerk about finding the lone sandal in our stroller & how Camryn took it! I wonder how often this occurs? Hmm.. Funny thing is that she did not even notice it missing!Too bad one shoe would not help us out! hahah! It was quite funny! Made me realize how many more funny stories we will get to share about them as they get older! As soon as I returned the "stolen shoe" I immediately started dialing her Daddy's cell phone to tell him about the lastest fulton "funny"! There I was saying "Guess what?!"...



Our daughter is a clepto...

How would you decorate your kids room?...

Once the tribe turned three & started to climb out of their cribs we knew change was coming and it was coming fast! It would not be long till they'd need new beds & when you add new BIG KID beds you need a BIGGER room! Lucky for us we have enough space to do this at Grandma's house. We just pulled a switcheroo between the room the tribe currently has & the one we use. The transition period has been the worst because it has not come together yet! I dislike unfinished projects! sigh... But when it is all said & done their NEW room will be bigger & can hold more things! My goal is to move most of their stuff from around the house into their room. The transition has been quite the process especially when you are doing most of it yourself. I do most of the painting while they nap, some days are better than others! LOL! I thought I was pretty much done until I saw a can of chalkboard paint! It is this COOL paint that makes anything you paint into a chalkboard! You can even tint it! Oh the ideas I have come up with after making that purchase! The only catch is that I have to have a neutral "theme" since all four of them will be sharing the same room! SO I ask you...

How would you decorate your kids room?...

You could win a $200 Visa gift card!...

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You could win a $200 Visa gift card!...

everyone has a story...

First off I got up out of bed because I knew I needed to write about yet another funny in the Brendan dept. You see each morning he is the first child to ask me for his sippy cup, actually he asks for his chocolate milk. Yes, we gave in a LONG time ago & allowed the chocolate syrup to enter the sippy cup. I know, I know, not very healthy & I'm a TERRIBLE mommy! But I have to say that I did fight it in the beginning but in my haste to not have a bunch of crying children & to possibly bulk them up I allowed it. I figured what could a little chocolate syrup do to them? Little did I know what a problem I created! They cannot have milk any other way! It is now ingrained in them, they HAVE to have chocolate syrup in their milk! They will even tell me when there is not enough! UGH! Maybe after I get over the other challenges I will work on removing the chocolate syrup from their milk. Maybe...

As most everyone knows my goal with writing this blog is to have each one of our children read it one day & smile at all of their funny stories being told by their crazy mama. Yes at times even I am crazy! LOL! Each one of us, my siblings that is, has a story, you know the one story that everybody & anybody has heard our mom repeat for like the zillionth time about us! I am one of four children and the only girl so you can just imagine what my life was like! Only kidding, growing up I loved my brothers! (= Being the youngest I have to go from memory of being told these stories over and over because I was not around when they happened. Funny how that happens!

From what they, my parents, say my brother Jim's story is how at the age of 6 he would recite the 23rd Psalm as my Dad would sing for the prisoners at our county jail. Don't know where this idea ever came from or why they ever allowed a 6 year old to enter a jail but they did! Crazy but true! What is even crazier is that my brother Jim does NOT remember ever doing this! When I asked him about it to make sure I had all my facts straight he said I think you have me mistaken for another brother! Luckily I had my mom's memory there to back me up! I knew that I was not imagining being told this story over & over throughout my life! It just strikes me funny he never heard it being said! Hmm..

The story my mom shares about my brother Rick is a funny one. He used to spend a lot of time at our neighbors when he was little. If he was not home he was there. One day he apparently left their house & did not go directly home. He instead decided to take a trip! At the age of three he rode his tricycle a mile & a 1/2 down the road to tell my brother Jim that Mom wanted him home for lunch! Note to Mom: NEVER say wouldn't it be nice for Jim to be here for lunch to a 3year old! Rick took it literally & off he went to go get him! LOL! Once she realized he was not at the neighbors she went off searching for him. Apparently several people in the neighborhood saw a young red headed boy on his tricycle riding down the road with NO adult & did not do a thing. They just pointed in the direction he was riding and said he went that way. Hello?! Why would you not stop him? This is the God's honest truth! Again this is HIS story. By the way, he does remember being told this! (=

Bob's story occured shortly before I was born, he was four years old. My Mom took him shopping at JCPenney, two weeks before Christmas you can just about imagine how crowded the place was! Anyhow he wanted to walk BY HIMSELF around the escalator and meet my mom on the other side. She walked on one side, almost 9 months pregnant with me, and he walked on the other. When she reached the other side he was no where to be found! Back then they only announced missing kids & such in the store you were in. Luckily there was a woman in JCPenney who had previously been in Burdines shopping and remembered seeing a small 4 year boy there. {Hopefully I have the names of the dept stores correct} It took a few hours to finally reunite mother & son. I don't think my Mom ever let go of my brothers hand after that!

And finally that leaves me. Well as you can tell I have never been an introvert. Hard to believe I know! LOL! I LOVE people & apparently my parents found this out at an early age. You see we all went on a family vacation to Disney World when I was like 4 year old. This was back when they still had "The Electric Parade". Anyone remember that? What a cool parade, anyhow, we all sat down in front of the castle to watch it pass by but I was just not close enough. There was a nice couple sitting in front of us who offered to let me sit with them and my parents allowed me to do this. note: PARENTS NEVER ALLOW YOUR CHILD TO DO THIS! We watched the parade & once it ended everyone got up & before they knew it the crowd swept me away. I was GONE! They frantically searched but could not find me so they sought out security. They said the security guard said no problem, once she starts crying we will find her. That was mistake #1! I was an extrovert! They said she is NOT going to cry! Then they got scared. They finally found me a few blocks down talking to some complete strangers telling them how I was there on vacation with my three older brothers, my mom & my dad. Now don't get me wrong I realize this is a good story but I either hear about when I was lost at Disney World or "Oh, I remember when you were little how your Dad used to stand you on his hand!". Yes my Dad did this, he was a STRONG guy, he swore that only girls do this feat due to their balance. I was his balancing guinea pig on several occasions. I even have the pictures to prove it! What all of these stories brings me to is how I do NOT want our kids to only have one or two stories. I want them to have MANY memories. I want each & every funny, scary, silly, thoughtful, terrible, loving thing they do to be theirs. I intend to post many of them. Today happens to be Buddy's, aka Brendan, he really moved me to write this post tonight. SO here goes.

So now after explaining everyone's "stories" I will share with you what occured this morning. Mr B asked me for his chocolate milk & I obliged him. There I am doing a million things at once. Trying to fill up the empty sippies, make my coffee {MAJORLY important![=}, get the laundry washed & folded, etc. As I am doing all of this he proceeds to say "Mommy my sippy sounds like a bird!". I have him repeat himself to make sure I heard him correctly. He again says "Mommy my sippy sounds like a bird!". This is one of those moments where I wonder who raised this kid? I mean I do not have all the time in the world to teach them these things. This is a learned behavior from somewhere. SO I ask him to take another sip so I can hear it. Thinking what does this crazy kid hear? He takes a sip & wouldn't you know the darn sippy does sound like a bird! Where does he get this stuff from? In that moment I knew this was going to be yet another one of his "funnies". Remember...

everyone has a story...

the BIG one & playgrounds...

These children of ours have become VERY obsessive lately. They obsess over how and what they get like having to have things whole & complete. Each morning I try to give them fruit of some sort. If it's fresh I have to wash & cut it up. Well, that's when all hell breaks loose! They throw the BIGGEST fit when I am about to cut up the strawberries or darn to cut the string cheese in half! They want it BIG or better yet whole! Not that they even eat it "all gone" when it's whole they just want it that way. Please tell me this is just a phase & with age this too shall pass! I mean it all goes down the same way & since they never even eat the BIG strawberry why do it?! They like to take a bite out of one & then go on to bite the next one. They do this with apples too! sigh... Hello!? That is SO wasteful! So I try to sneak in cut up fruit & string cheese whenever I can. You should see me trying to reason with them. Like I even need to reason with a three year old! UGH!

Me - "Come get your fruit!"

Tribe after seeing the fruit - "No don't cut them up Mommy!"

Me - "I cut all of them up, just eat it!"

Tribe - "But we want BIG one's Mommy!"

Me - They are all the same size! Just eat it!"

Tribe with tears in their eyes - "We want BIG one's!"

Me after I give in & give them some "BIG" one's - "HERE!" but what I REALLY want to say is "You are lucky you even have fresh fruit to eat!" LOL!

If it's not the size of their food it is spotting things from the 'burb as I'm driving. They have the BEST eye sight! They can spot motorcycles 10 cars in front of us on the opposite side of the street {well just about} & playgrounds! They can find a playground ANYWHERE! It can be hidden amongst the trees & trust me they will spot one! It is so funny when I am driving down the road and they will yell out PLAYGROUND! I look around & do not see it! Finally as I look in my rear view mirror I see a swing set in the back yard of someone's house. Like how did they ever see that?! CRAZY! I have to remember that lately it it seems that it's all about...

the BIG one & playgrounds...

overwhelmed...

This past week has been a BAD week for me. It seems that the tribe does NOT want to listen and does whatever they feel like! They are becoming a handful! Now my version of their behavior & everyone else's version can be quite different. Let's just say that they can really snow people when we are out & about! LOL! I do expect a lot & when they are bad they are BAD! {Mommy's & Grandma's know this firsthand} I ask them to put something away or NOT to get into something & it is like I am talking to a brick wall! Yes they are three! But when do they start hearing what you say?! They will listen eventually, right? I SO want a vacation! I think I need some time away from them to appreciate their quirks! The bad part is that I have NO time to plan a getaway! So goes my life, sigh... If I have to clean up another spill of cheerios off the floor, have one of them help themselves to the water dispenser or better yet have a diaper flung past my face I think I am going to scream! This is when I take a DEEP breath & count to ten because I Lord knows I am getting...

overwhelmed!...

And the Oscar goes to...

We have been having some Oscar worthy performances in our household these past few days. In fact I think we have more than a few actors in the making among us. They can be serious or comedic when needed. If it's the all out temper tantrum or being dramatic when one takes something from them they can act the part, TRUST ME! Those are the performances I could almost do without. It's the belly laughing or just being goofy goofy that warms my heart. All in all they put on quite a show for us! I guess when you have so much chaos going on in your household you need to have a few Oscar worthy performances thrown in to break up the monotony! (= Now to be able to choose a winner, that is an even harder feat! At the end of the day we both agree that we have four sometimes five Oscar winners amongst us. Maybe one day we will be fortunate enough to have one of our five children actually win one! I can almost picture it now, Michael & I sitting around the TV, listening to some famous person say those five little words...

and the Oscar goes to...