And so it begins....

The winter sickness had taken over our house!!! Alex is on day 5 with a fever and it seems like it will never go away. We sent him to school yesterday because by Sunday night his fever was almost non existent and on Monday morning Rob said he was fine. But at 11 am I got a call that he had a fever at 101.5 so I had to pick him up. And the icing on the cake was that Zach also had one. So yesterday the boys laid around all day, napping on and off and getting their fill of movies.
This morning they both had fevers still so they stayed home from school but by this afternoon they were both around 99.3. So basically gone. I left for a couple hours and when I got home around 4 Alexs had gone back up to 102.3. He feel asleep on the couch and I moved him into his room.I left to go to my focus group and when I got home at 8:45 he was on the couch and I took his temperature again and it was up to 102.8. So I gave him some medicine and now he is sleeping in my bed next to me and I am hoping that by tomorrow it will be gone. Zach seems to be on the mend and hopefully it stays that way and we have lucked out (knock on wood) that Addie has not gotten whatever it they have. I hate when my kids are sick because there is only so much that I can do for them, but the quietness is kinda of nice.
I'm sure that with 2 kids in school they will be bringing home all kinds of germs this winter so this wouldn't be the last time they are sick. Hopefully it will be the worse of it!

Its Christmas time

Now that Thanksgiving is over it is Christmas time!!! Which means that yesterday we did our Christmas decorations. We have had a fake tree for the last 3 years. A fake tree that I HATED!!! I grew up with real trees and wanted a real one. So I told Rob that since I do the decorating I decided we were going to get a real tree this year. SO we packed up the kids and headed out to a Christmas tree farm to cut down our own tree. The boys had fun hunting for the perfect tree and when we found it Alex had fun helping Rob cut it down. We got it home and decorated it last night. Here are some pictures of our day.

Nice little Saturday

Yesterday we hung out with Aaron and Sarah and of course Elle. Sarah and I had planned to take the boys and Elle swimming but after Alex busted his chin open on Friday he was out for swimming. So we still brought Zach and Elle and Alex stayed home with Rob and Aaron he played star wars on the playstation with them. Zach and Elle had a blast at the pool. We all know Zach LOVES the water. He jumps right in, swims around,plays with trains and just has a fun time. Elle...well she took a little longer to get into the water. But after about a hour she was in and having fun with Zach.

After we got back with some very tired almost 4 yr olds we decided to just hang at our house. We made the kids some mac and cheese and ordered ourselves some food from tilted kilt. Of course the guys offered to go pick it up. :)We through on Lion King for the kids and Sarah and I snuck off and ate in my room so we could have a little piece and quiet. Overall it was a fun day. We had some very tired kids but surprisingly only one meltdown/fight.It was a nice Saturday, everyone had fun and the kids crashed real fast when it was bedtime!

First big injury!

Well as many people know we had to take a trip to the er last night. Alex was getting out of the shower and slipped and busted his chin open on the tub. I heard a HUGE thud and when i went in there he was holding his chin which was like a leaky faucet of blood. I through a towel on it and told him to hold it there while I got him dressed. Called Rob in the process and told him that we were heading to the er for some stitches. Alex was not happy about when he heard he might need stitches. But once we were in the car, with another towel on the chin, he calmed down a little. We left the house so fast that I forgot to put underwear and a coat on Alex. SO I made Rob give him his coat so he wouldn't be cold.
We were there for about 2 hours. Alex was really good. He just laid in the bed, watched tv, had some juice and chilled. When the doctor came in to do the stitches he got a little scared. He was nervous, but did not shed a tear while she did them. He held really still, said it hurt a little but that was it. And once she was done he was all smiles and asking to see the pics I took. Yeah that's my kid.

Alex is such a daredevil. He skateboards, climbs trees, jumps ramps with his bike and skateboard. He loves sports and has no fear. I knew there would come a day when he would have to get stitches I just never thought it would be from slipping in the shower. I figured skateboarding would do it to him. But I figure it is a right of passage to get stitches. Almost everyone has had them at one point or another. Now he is healing and on Wednesday we will go and get them out.

Busy week

SO Rob has some HUGE meeting at work tomorrow which means that he has worked late almost every night this week. Monday he was home because Alex had his football banquet and they went together. But Tuesday, Wednesday and tonight he has not been home before 9 pm. Its crazy. Which means I have the kids from morning until bedtime by myself.
I don't mind but it is exhausting. And come 5 pm in my house it seems like my kids turn into crazy demons and go nuts. I don;t know if it is because they are hungry ( I usually start making dinner around then) or if they feel like they need to let loose all energy they just got from napping but its loud at 5pm. Not everyday but most days.
This week they have been really good. Surprisingly good. On Tuesday the boys and I cleaned their room ( Lego's apparently threw up all over the floor)and Addie just wondered in and out of the room watching us. Yesterday we hung out. Alex played some games, they built some train tracks and we ran some errands.
And today I decided that since they had been so good all week I would take them swimming. We dropped Addie off at the childcare center and the boys and I went to the pool. They love the water. They have no fear at all. Alex had to take the swim test and of course he passed. I told the life guard he would be apparently my word wasn't good enough. I love watching them play in the pool. I can not wait until I can teach Zach how to swim. ( Hopefully this summer) Alex picked it up within mins and was swimming by himself and hasn't stopped. Hopefully Zach will be just as easy. With winter coming up I think we will be spending at least one day a week at the pool. This way they can still swim and also get energy out.
Oh and by 7:30 tonight my house was totally quiet with 3 sleeping kids. So now I am going to sit on my ass, watch my shows and maybe eat some popcorn.

random things that i say to my kids

1. going to the bathroom is not a team sport...I can do it by myself

2.Your brother doesn't want you to pick his nose

3.Monkey doesn't go on the potty

4.I don't care if you wear your underwear backwards, I just didn't think you would want a constant wedgie

5.Your bedroom looks like it threw up legos

6.Santa sends me the bill and he personally told me everyone is on a budget this year

7.Caillou isn't real and whoever wrote that cartoon has clearly never been around a four year old...they do not always act that way

8.We keep on diapers on because poop is not something we play with or color our cribs with

9.I know that Zach finds it funny but its only fun until his brains are splattered all over

10. We don't eat ice cream for breakfast ( unless you are 30 and the mother of 3 and no one is watching)

11. Please don't wipe your nose on my pillow

12. Just because there is jelly on your hands it doesn't mean you can run them through your hair as a way to style it

13. I know its funny when dogs lick you but it doesn't mean you can lick people and call it dog kisses

14. I am in charge because i gave birth to you which automatically gives me that right

15. Thank you for sharing but i do not want your half eaten slobbered on food

Baby Mania!!!!

What a weekend!!!! 2 of my 3 pregnant friends has their babies!!! One was born Saturday night...his name is Liam Joseph. The other was born yesterday and her name is Amelia Marie. I couldn't be more excited.I love babies. I love holding the crap out of babies! I love having their fingers curl around yours. I love when they do that cute little stretch...you know what I am talking about.
These are the first kids for my friends. At times it is weird to think that I have been done having kids for almost 2 years and now many of my friends are just jumping into parenthood. I probably should of warned them more that it isn't always fun, but hey let them figure it out. :)
For now I am just super excited to be a aunt to Amelia. Yes, a aunt. We might not be related but I have been friends with Courtney forever. She is aunt Courtney to my kids and I will be awesome aunt Kate to her daughter. I can not wait for the day when we are all together sitting around and all our kids are just playing with each other. I really hope that my kids grow up always knowing my friends kids as part of our extended family. I see the relationship that Zach and Elle have and I love it. I know that no matter where life takes us they will be buddies forever and I really hope that is how my kids are with Courtney's, Kelly's (whenever she has some) and Sarah's future children.
For now I just cant wait to meet these babies and hold the crap out of them. Hopefully I can get to Ohio soon to meet Amelia..if not than I will meet her at Christmas.So congrats to the new mamas and Lauren then soon to be mama!

New house???

Rob and I are in the process of possibly building a new house. We are on a time frame because of the kids schools but we are hoping to pull it off and be in by July or August at the latest. We do not know for sure if we will be able to do it this year or we might have to wait until next year.
Right now we have a 3 bdrm, 1 bath about 1100 sq ft house. And we have outgrown it!! The new one will be 4 bdrm, plus a loft and 2.5 baths, with a basement and a yard. And it will be about 2400 sq feet. We are going to be renting out our current home, because really who wants to sell in this market!!!I am really hoping this works out. We NEED more space and I really am tired of the boys having to share a room. If it works this is what the new house will look like...only with a driveway :)


Send us all your positive thoughts and keep your fingers crossed that this works!!!!

How many is to many??

So the Duggars just announced that they are expecting baby number 20. You would think after all the issues they had with #19 they might think about calling it quits. You would also think that maybe people should give others a tv show just because they can make a lot of kids. But really who is to say how many is to many?
We obviously have 3 kids and I have friends who tell me all the time they would NEVER want to have 3 kids. And I know people with 3 kids who say they would never want 4 kids.
I agree that 2 kids is a good number. I agree because you are not outnumbered. But I also love having 3 kids. Even if it does mean one of us has to take 2 kids when we are out it still works for us. As many know I would of had 4 kids if I could of, but that defiantly would have been enough for me. I get that people love kids. I get that we all love to hold our newborn babies and watch our kids reach their milestones. And we all daydream about the day they become doctors, or professional football players. But what people don't think about is the cost of kids.
Sure the Duggars home school ( NO THANK YOU!!!) so I guess they save some money there. And clearly no one is planning on going to college (good luck in the future) so theres so more money to save. But is that worth it?
When do people stop and think about what it really costs to have kids. As a mom of 3 I have learned ways to cut costs over the course of motherhood, but I haven't figured out how to make having and raising kids free. (if you have please tell me) And by free I don't mean welfare. I mean still being able to have the house we want, the lifestyle we have, the nice cars etc....and raise our kids without it costing anything. My guess...no one will ever figure out how to do that...because its NOT POSSIBLE.
I don't want to judge people I do not know but when you put your life in front of a camera and on tv you are inviting people in to judge you. I am sure they are nice people but I really think they are being idiots by having so many kids. I really think those kids are hurt by having so many siblings. I have 3 kids and it is hard enough finding a lot of one on one time with the kids. I can only imagine have 20!!!
But hey if you know someone who wants to give me a show about raising my 3 crazies let me know...Ill be happy to let people judge me!

Christmas is coming!!

Well since it is already November I guess it is time to start thinking about Christmas gifts for the kids. I know a couple things we are getting them, but every year they get harder to shop for. Especially Alex. Even though he still likes toys he is also getting more into computer games and video games...can you tell who he takes after??? Zach is of course still obsessed with Thomas the train but really how much more train stuff do we need? And for Addie I know she needs a new stroller for her baby dolls but other than that she also really likes the trains and trucks. I do know one thing...most of our shopping will be done on Amazon.

Trick or Treating

As we all know Monday was Halloween which meant another year of trick or treating. And hopefully the last year we will EVER have to bring a stroller with!!!! Obviously the boys loved it. They were ready to go weeks ago and all day Monday Zach was asking if we were going to Halloween. ( for some reason that's what he called trick or treating this year)Addie was very quick to pick it up as well. Of course she will follow her brothers EVERYWHERE but she loved carrying her bucket and getting candy. Zach said thank you to everyone, Addie said hi to all the dogs, and Alex ran from house to house talking to everyone about his costume. It was a fun few hours for sure. I can not wait to see what everyone decides to be next year!