New uses for ordinary things...

Do you read Real Simple magazine? I love the section in it that's entitled something along the lines of "new uses for ordinary things". So I thought I would start my own list and post about it everytime I came up with a new idea for an ordinary thing. Now for some of you, this idea may not be new to you at all...but for me, and how seemingly "slow" I can be sometimes, I pat myself on the back for it's new use and somewhat "creative" idea I had to come up with in order to survive...

So for today's new uses for ordinary things, I will have to back track a little ways on how I had to use this ordinary thing in order to survive. It all started yesterday while I was "attempting" on getting a shower and getting ready for the day. (umhum...nevermind that it was 2pm...) I had a little baby who insisted on not napping. So she has to obviously be in the same room as me..and since it was already 2pm (shhh..don't tell my hubby!), I was going to get a shower! I put on a Baby Einstein DVD for little Harps and went about my duty. When I got out..much to my dismay, it appeared we had a little intruder...

Oh no..I didn't see anyone come in while I was getting ready....!! And then I saw the intruder...caught cold handed.... smelling....soap!


"What are you looking at Mom? I just needed to clean my ears!"


"Mommy...aren't you proud of me...look what I found!"

Hmm...what a mess! This little stinker is getting into everything now!





So today, I had to come up with a different strategy. Hence..my new use for an ordinary thing...ready.....drumroll please....

That's right! The bathtub easily converts into a play pen! HA! This kept her entertained for a loooooong time....well..until she figured out how to turn on the water!

hmm..I wonder how long I can get this to work?

Living in the Land of Changes....Yuck!

So..I have been pretty awful about blogging on here. I started this blog as a way to record my thoughts, experiences, and adventures to share with my three girls. I am not a scrapbooker nor have I been fairly good at recording all of their "firsts" in their baby books...much to my demise. So I thought this would be my way of recording all that stuff plus stories about them! Well...I am determined to be better. I am determined to take the time. And quite honestly, I hardly have had a moment to spare in the day. Harper hardly ever sleeps and when she does my dirty house is yelling at me. Not my blog. And when I get as busy as I feel we have been, I rarely get inspired to write something. And when I get as busy as I feel, I rarely stop to savor my sweet babies. I rarely stop to savor their sweet smells, their sweet sayings, their sweet voices, and their sweet repetitive actions (ie..Harper taking apart every puzzle she can get her hands on..). Ok...let me be honest...I HATE being busy. I HATE not savoring every aspect of what is seemingly frustrating at the time (wiping Finley's rear 10 times a day!..well ok, I don't want to savor that!), knowing that it will be over before a blink of an eye.

I need a perspective change...and I need it quicky..because...well...life is not going to slow down any time soon. Life is changing ever so quickly...

And yes...it is changing because my little baby is not so little anymore (her 1st birthday is this month) and because my first born is in 1st grade, and because my 3 year old is going to be in kindergarten in two years....but that is not the only reason it's changing. It's changing because I am going back to work. Well...just part time...but still...this is going to be a big change for me. I have to be honest that I have really struggled with this aspect of working...even if it's just part time. I.don't.want.to.miss.a.moment. I savor every little aspect of my days with them. And even though I am only working 2 days starting out, I know I will crave those little babes those 2 full days. But I feel like right now this is what I need to be doing for our family. For our girl's future. And for my own future. My dear precious children, please know that life is changing because I want the best for your future, and I will do my best in trying to prioritize this new lifestyle. I have had two great opportunities present itself to me--one is a counseling/skill building job which helps me obtain my counseling license and the other is a teaching job (intro to psychology) at a community college. Once I start teaching, I will be working 2 full days and 2 half days. Who knows...I may really enjoy taking off my mommy hat for awhile and having time in the grown up world. It is a great opportunity for me to decide which career path is best for me for when my babes are all in school (teaching or counseling). God has given me these great opportunities in a poor economic time, so for that I feel very blessed. If anyone knows me, they know that I don't like change. I mean I am someone who won't even change my sheets on the bed for fear that the seasons will change too quickly...ha! Please pray for us as we all adjust to this new change.

Well, in other news...Reese started 1st grade. She seems to be having a fun time. She has trouble getting going in the morning, but when she comes home from school she is usually very happy. There was one day in which I got a call from the school nurse saying that Reese had an earache. Now this is rare...Reese never has problems with her ear. She had no fever, nothing. But we had had a bad morning that morning so I knew it was more emotional then physical. I went up to the school to give her some tylenol and when she saw me she just burst into tears. "Mommy I want to come home! Please Mommy!" Oh it broke my heart to send her back in that classroom. She was so homesick. But I didn't want her to think that everytime she misses me or when something doesn't go her way she gets to come home. She ended up being fine the rest of the day at school, but it broke my heart.

Harper is officially crawling. She started right at 11 months. She is so cute. She takes her sweet time getting to wear she wants...just like her personality. She do things in her own sweet time. She is still my cuddler. LOVES to hug. LOVES to snuggle. I LOVE it. It breaks my heart she is almost 1 year old!! But she is so much fun. Now that she is mobile it does make life pretty interesting..and yes...BUSY! She has only fallen down the stairs once (thanks Finley for not shutting the door!), but praise the Lord she was fine. Scared me to pieces though.

Finley is still Finley. She is "out there" man! :) I love it. She is 90% in her own little dream world. I love seeing her imagine and boy, does she come up with some duzzies! She is my dreamer...and I hope she never looses that. I decided not to send her to preschool this year. I want all the time with her that I can get before the cycle of school starts. We are doing some preschool at home together. I also signed her up for dance (pics to come when that starts!), Cubbies for Awana, a Cooking class at the Y, and a tumbling class at the Y. I am sure we will keep pretty busy!

And now, I have a ton a pics that I haven't posted yet. I promise..I am going to make a resolution and be better blogging...I wanted to do it every day orginally...but lets just go with at least once a week now!

My Girl and I at the Balloon Festival..

Harper LOVED watching the ballons in the sky!

Daddy and his girl!

Mimi and Grandpa came for a visit during the State Fair..it was fun having him here and getting a picture with both set of grandparents!! We are blessed we are so loved!

Our cousins came for a visit as well. They all had some fun flip flops!


Look whose crawling!!! It's precious...she is very methodical in her crawling...slow and steady but still enough to get her in plenty of trouble! HA!


She's getting so big so fast!!

Her fun smile...I love how she wrinkles her nose!

Ok...blogger is not uploading my pictures right now which is highly annoying...I will try again later!

WATCH ME!!!

Voices echo in my mind
You know, the small pitched kind?
They are the words I hear all day long
The voices swarming my head form some sort of song
"Watch me!" they say loud and clear
For these days are soon drawing near
These two words are often said
From 3 sets of lips at sun up until bed
"Mommy watch me!" Reese bellows from the other room
Oh, just another pointless silly face, I assume
I turn my head her way
Annoyed that she interrupted me, I hate to say
There she stares laughing and eyes crossed
"Wow how cool," I huffed, mad at precious time just lost
Not five minutes later, I hear those two words again
This time they are from a little girl named Fin
"Watch me!" she delights
Too excited for me to put up a fight
"Quick honey, Mommy's busy" I say
With that she starts twirling without dismay
"Wow how pretty!" I exclaim
And then go about my work without a shame
Two minutes later two little voices pipe in my ear
"Watch us!" they scream and what I see sends me to fear
Two little sisters and Harper twisted up in a ball
"Stop it you two! Leave her alone!" I call
They leave the room with tears in their eyes
"We just want to be with you," Reese sighs
Striken by guilt, my heart skips a beat
With this new realization, I take a seat
With those two little words comes meanings galore
Not looking for ways to ignore me more
"Watch me!" really means "Notice me!"
And "Do you like what you see?"
"Watch me!" means "Am I important to you?"
I should have stopped what I was doing if I only knew
It goes by way too fast
And these days will long be past
Glimpses of the future flood my mind
With those same two little words of the same kind
"Watch me!" Reese says on her two wheeled bike
"Watch me!" Harper says while taking her first hike
"Watch me!" Finley says on her first day of school
"Watch me!" Reese says as she swims across the pool
"Watch me!" Finley says as she drives her first car
"Watch me!" Harper says while going to college afar
"Watch me!" rings in chorus as they are all dressed in white
These are the days I will long for with all my might
These days are so fleeting and fast
Only my memories of them will last
So with every spoken "Watch me!"
I will stop and watch as if the whole world can see!
Because, my 3 little ones, you are important to me
And every little move you make unlocks my heart's key

Finley playing tball!

WATCH ME JUMP MOM!

Oh Harper...how big your little toes are getting!

Who just wouldn't want to squeeze that belly! Lotsa love there!

WATCH MY SILLY FACE MOMMY!

WATCH THIS MOMMY!

WATCH THIS MOMMY! And see my pretty sticker earrings?

Finley you are getting so big so fast!

Whose your boss??

Well it took me over 6 years to figure it out. To finally have my ah ha moment. It happened at 2:30 am this morning. "AAAAWAAAAAHHHHH" rung from down the hall and startled my dream of eating a huge chocolate cake with a moulten lava center (oh blast it!). I sat straight up in agony. I thought not so pleasant thoughts, and it hit me. I am a slave. I know I am a "domestic engineer" refining our next generation (wow that sounds glamourous huh?), but I have a boss. I have a big boss. And at 2:30 am I have a mean boss.

Yep, Harper bosses me around like no other. One could say that she "owns me". Some whimpers and wails from this little 8 month old, and I am running around in submission appeasing all that "her majesty" is requesting...ahem...demanding. So at 2:30 am I mutter under my breath certain phrases like, "Harper..you are too old for this.." "Harper this is naughty behavior", and "Oh Harper, can you please just give me a night off?" Much like how I feel many of us would respond to an overly demanding boss. We all have had one of those at one time or another haven't we? Well, Harper and my other girls for that matter meet this description of a demanding boss to a tee. Well, I guess except for a few areas. So here is my list:

Things I do and Say to my boss that you couldn't get by with in the "real world"

-I could never tell my boss how I love her chubby thighs

-I could never get by with kissing the cheeks of my boss about 100 times a day

-I would never allow my boss to suckle certain body parts in order for survival

-Telling my boss a few times a day that "she stinks"

-I could never just feed my boss cheerios in order for her to "shut up" for a few minutes

-Making silly faces and jumping up and down will not make your boss break into a belly laugh

-I could never (nor would I EVER) wipe my bosses private parts....

-I would never let my husband give cuddles to my boss

-I may get fired if I try to explain to my boss about wiping from front to back...

-If my boss happened to pass gas, I could never say, "OH DOES SOMEONE HAVE TOOTERS TODAY?"

-If I smelled something "fishy" I could never pull open my bosses pants to check if they "left a surprise"

-And last but not least, I most definitely would not tell my demanding boss how unconditional my love was for them.

Where is time going?

Boy, starting this blog I was determined to do better at my blogging..which I love to do. But then the month of May hit...and it hit with a vengence. We had my birthday, then we had Reese's birthday, then my inlaws were here for a week followed by one of my best friends from Ohio came in the day they left for almost a week, then I had two cake orders to get done, then my Parent's 40th wedding anniversary, end of school activities for Reese, and then a trip to Disney World. Whew...I am exhausted. And I have no idea where the month of May went to. So for the post, I won't get us all caught up on our activities but I'll try to get the jist of everything up until DisneyWorld, which we just got back from.

I'll start off with Reese's birthday party. Boy...do I consume myself with party preparations, cake baking/decorating, and trying to make it perfect. For about two weeks I consumed myself with this. I wanted EVERYTHING to be perfect for my newly crowned 6 year old. She wanted a Scooby Doo party. So I thought...hey instead of the typical "Scooby Doo" cake pan cake, I'll just design my own Mystery Machine Van for a cake. Well...I think I got myself over my ol'head with this cake. It made me realize that I am not the cake artist that I thought I was. Let's just say that the Mystery Machine looked like it had been broke down for quite some time and many of the tires were out of air...oops! But oh well..Reese LOVED it and that is all that matters.

So in preparation for the "kids party" (we were having a family party later that evening), I was hurriedly making cupcakes and treats a few hours before the kids were to arrive. I noticed some ants crawling on the counter. Oh well, I thought, I don't have time to mess with being a bug control. I am a party planner right now! I did get rid of the ants (just a few might I add) I saw on the counter, and moved my work area to a different location. Still trying so hard to make it perfect (and boy do I get so emotionally into this stuff...it's insane really..), I worked up until the last minute. The party was to last 2 hours. I had them do a "mystery scavenger hunt" to find the missing birthday gifts, dress Steve up as a "mummy" and then have him chase them around, and then have a contest with Scooby bone snacks. Oh and I pinata...(but of course I forgot all about that at the party....oops!). I thought for sure all this would keep us busy for 2 hours. Um...not so much. All that kept them busy for maybe...um....45 minutes. And then we had the cupcake incident. Well...me and my pefectionism was definitely crushed when I passed out the cupcakes and I heard one kid say, "YUCK! There is an ant on my cupcake." Horrified I stepped in to see what was going on when another kid piped up, "YUCK there is an ant on mine too!" and then another.....and another.... Yes...I was horrified. Needless to say even after the ants were gone and new cupcakes handed out, no one ate theres. And then there was still about 45 minutes left until the party was supposed to be over...and we had done EVERYTHING. So I had to be creative and come up with more games last minute. I only had a few "I DON"T WANT TO DO THIS. I'M BORED..." SIGH..... So much for my perfectionism. You would think I would learn by now that nothing will ever go as planned.... Reese did have a great time though...and really, truly, no matter how much I stress myself out over these things, this is what truly matters.

Here are the kids with their "spy glasses" on. They were hilarious! I got such a kick out of seeing the kids put these on before their scavenger hunt!

Even Harper had to get in on the action! HA! She even kept them on for awhile!

Her fun sparkler candle! This was before anyone saw the ants. They were happy here...5 minutes later...not so much! HA!

Here are the little ones dressing steve up with toilet paper like a mummy. He was such a good sport. I had him do all the "monster roles". The kids loved him chasing them around!

I am sad to say I didn't get any pics of when my inlaws came. We had a great time with them thought and can't wait for them to come back. And then my roomie from college came. We had a great time...Lisa came as well...and the trinity was back together again. These are my 3 best friends from college..and I'm so lucky to have such great friends. We will always be the best of friends and I am so thankful for the days we got to spend together. I wish Megan lived closer. She is pregnant with her third little boy...hmm..maybe some marriage arranging is in order! HA! We had a week filled with lots of girl talk and shopping! :) And they got to see Reese play soccer and the girls just loved having both of them stay with us for the week! :)

My cute little soccer player on her last soccer game!!!

Well I now have a 1st grader. I can't believe it!! We had her kindergarten celebration at the end of the month. They don't have a graduation so this was kind of their thing to end the school year. It was so cute. Reese was the hostess for us in her class and served us cookies and lemonade and then they sang us songs and she received her certificate. We are so grateful that Reese had such a great teacher with us moving in the middle of the year. She was great for Reese and helped Reese adjust.

My big 1st grader...it was so fun to see her classrom and all the progress she has made this year! I even got to go on a field trip with her and her class to Living History Farms. I didn't take any pictures though. It was fun to be able to spend lots of quality time with her this month.

Then I was consumed with making two more cakes. One for my parent's 40th wedding anniversary and one for my friend Lori's little boy who turned four. They were fun to make!

The Happy Couple with their cake! So thankful my mom was feeling well enough for this dinner!

I am not used to making boy themed cakes..ha!..so this was my first attempt at a Spiderman one. This was a four layer cake with the colors-red, blue, black, and red as the color of the layers.

And then how could I not post pictures of the other loved ones in my life. So here are a few...