Ethan's preschool graduation

My sweet Ethan graduated from preschool this week. It is a bittersweet moment. Sad because my buddy is growing up and moving on - happy because I don't have to pay for it anymore!! The blond teacher is Ms. Jeanna - WONDERFUL!! The brunette is Ms. Heather. She is fabulous too! I am going to miss these ladies - they do a great job with the kids.

I just wanted to post a picture of the Future Mrs. Ethan. She is a doll!!! I'll let you know the date when we get closer! ;)

They sang a bunch of funny songs that I had to get pictures of. This was the "Tootie Ta" (spelling?) So great! If you haven't seen a bunch of kids doing this song, you are definitely missing out!





This is a picture of Ethan - I am positive he is contemplating his next move in life and future goals (besides the Mrs. in the picture above!!)

Good job Buddy! We love you and are so proud of you!

What to do with a Sharpie?

Emily cleared this question right up for us. We had been so confused previously!

All this while Justin was sitting by just watching her. Please don't judge us at church, it still hasn't come all the way off! You can enlarge to get the full detail of the bottom one. She marked her feet, legs and arms in stripes.

All about Kaylee

So Kaylee was looking through this blog the other day and realized that there wasn't a blog about her. So, I am now posting to let everyone know that I love her and am so glad that she is a part of our family! She is wonderful and life would definitely be boring without her! This past month has been a busy one for her. She had a piano recital that she did really well in and we were proud of her. Where are the pictures, you ask? Well, like the goomba mom that I am, I forgot the camera during the rush to get her to the recital on time! Oh well, at least we have the memories! And all the practice takes at home! The pictures below are of her "Hope of America" concert she performed in. I know, no spotlight on her at this one, but plenty of pictures! "MOM, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity! Don't forget the camera!" So, here you go.

All the kids that performed had a different colored shirt to make out the American flag. She's in the blue section (I lucked out - small area to scan!)

This part was cool. All the kids had flashlights and it looked really neat while they sang that they could be a light to the world.

These ladies were so cute - and very flexible! They ranged from 50's to 90's! Much more talented than I am!

Okay, one picture of Emily. She wouldn't sit by us but she would sit a few rows up in the aisle. She is her own spirit!

Since you spent all that time scanning the picture for Kaylee, I thought I would show you proof that she was really there! Sorry the picture is so dark but we were miles away (seemed like it) and this is the best my camera could do. Not too shabby!

Hmmm....

So, what are we trying to say here?

Telling the truth

As many of you know, my kids are VERY intense (a lot like me!) So, every night there is a ton of threats to kill each other (between the kids), screaming, name calling, throwing things and pushing people (...when there's love at home.) Last night was no different. I was doing some late night cleaning and ignoring all the ruckus until it just got way out of hand. I went into the family room to see who was bleeding and why. Ethan was holding his shoulder and rubbing his head all while blubbering and trying to tell me what had happened. Since I couldn't understand him, I asked the closest sibling - Justin. This is how it went.

J= "Well, Ethan was bothering me and making me really mad and so I pushed him into the door really hard."
M= "So you purposely hurt him? Does that make you feel better that you hurt his shoulder and head?"
J= "Hey, I meant to purposely push him into the door and hurt his back. I didn't know I was going to get his shoulder - the head was just lucky!"

OK, so is it just me or is it funny that he thinks it's OK that he hurt Ethan because he told me the truth? It is so hard for me to say "Thank you for telling me the truth that you meant to hurt your brother, however, you are still grounded forever because you took action on it."

I did what any frazzled mom would do, I shook my head, walked away, and told them to get in bed. Some nights, it's all about survival!

It could be worse

I decided to print these pictures for all of the people out there who were sad that we had snow yesterday and are bound to get it again before long. Yes, I was one of those people. It's not that I mind snow (on the grass and in the mountains is fine) I just wish it would be solid cold and then turn into Spring. So, it could be worse, we could be back to inches of snow and blistering cold (although, the kids seem to be having fun!)

Lame post - but proof we are alive

I just wanted to let you know that we are still here. Between being sick and rearranging the house (including cleaning it) I only have time to play with the fun backgrounds! Hopefully I am turning over a new leaf and will find stuff to write about in my sleepless life. Speaking of sleepless, does anyone know a great trick to get a sweet 2 year-old to stay asleep through the whole night? My daughter who has always been a great sleeper has decided over the last couple of months to stop sleeping - she was up at 2:30 this morning and has not slept soundly since - aka, Mom and Dad got NO sleep and are on auto pilot! This happens 4-5 nights EVERY WEEK! Please help if you have actually advice that has worked.