A little gratitude

Thank you Lincoln Burrow.  You are the guy to count on to give one of the many villains and people that I hate  from Prison Break a beat down when it is needed.  It seems that no one else has the guts, but you are the guy to get stuff done on that show.  And you do it all (at least in Season 2)  in cowboy boots.   Watching you on the run in cowboy boots just makes me happy, so Thank you.

Thank you e minor chord.  You are the easiest to play and my favorite one to hear.  I am especially grateful when a song ends on e minor.  So beautiful, so haunting.  Thank you

Thank you Ready-to-use Fondant sold at Wal-mart.  My son wanted a very specific birthday cake and you made it possible for me to make the cake quick and easy and he love it.  Thank you.

Thank you Gold's Gym for finally getting new bikes in the cycle room.  Sure these new bikes are super cheap and I expect they will start falling apart in a few year.  But they are better than the ones that were there and I will only be teaching here another year and a half.

This isn't the bike, but it's close enough

Thank you The Script for a song that got me to pull my guitar our of its resting place and finally learn a new song.  Sure it's a little depressing, but oh so fun to play and sing, and it's been a while. 

Thank you Jimmy Fallon for writing thank you notes every friday on your show and giving me the inspiration for this post.  Though your thank you notes are incredibly funny, and mine are well, mine.

Yup, he is FIVE!

It happened again!  Another one of my children has turned 5. 



And he couldn't be more thrilled.  Asher had a great birthday week.  Complete with a National Holiday (MLK Day) and a snow day, so he got to spend two full days with his best friend, Jackson.

On his actual birthday we celebrated with a trip to Chuck E Cheeses, (we tried to talk him out of that one, but he wasn't having it.)  cake and ice cream, and of course presents!

Asher only made one request; he wanted a Toy Story cake with Buzz defeating Zurg, (a little specific don't you think?)  I had and idea.  I figured I would just make a cake and stick a Buzz and Zurg on the top.  But I could not find a Buzz or a Zurg so I had to try something else and hope he would still be happy with the result.  He was.  As he watched me make it he kept saying, "Wow, mom this is the best cake ever!"  I was very happy not to disappoint. (there was an episode earlier in the day where there were some tears because he informed me, too late I might add, that all he wanted was a pinata for his birthday and why didn't I get him one?  It was short lived, but I didn't want a repeat with the cake.)







After cake we did presents. Actually present and it was a big one.

Don't you love that you can see how happy he is, even though you can't see his face? I love this kid

Asher has been asking for Misty Island for months.  Since he has a January birthday (i.e. after Christmas sales) we were able to get it for him. The set is huge! Right now it is taking up the whole floor of our living room. He has been loving it. Even his too-cool-for-Thomas brother has been loving it.  They played with it all day yesterday.

It was a happy, happy birthday. And our is our happy, happy boy.  We really love our Asher

Asher's last picture as a 4 year old

I snapped this picture just before my boys went to bed. I wanted one last picture of my 4 year old. Tomorrow Asher turns 5. I am a little bit in denial and I am holding onto the last few hour that I have with a my four year old.

Has anyone figured out how to freeze time? If you have please let me know.

The average two year old

That is how big our 15 month old Lily is; the size of the average two year old.  We seem to grow them big in our family.
She is so much fun.  I really don't think I will ever stop getting butterflies when I see this girl smile.  She is getting older and is acquiring new tricks all the time.  She plays peak-a-boo.  Getting her dressed is one of my favorite times of the day because she will play peak-a-boo with her clothes  and laugh as I pull them over her head.  She has a great laugh.  She also tells us when she wants to be tickled by saying "ticka, ticka"  then places our hands on her belly (for some reason our kids want to be tickled.)  Strange as it sounds, I love the way she says "no, no, no, no"  She says it with a big smile on her face as she shakes her head.  Sometimes she will even point to things that we have said "no" to, and say, "no, no, no, no"  almost like she is teasing us.
 

My mom suggested that I bath Lily in the sink so I could do her hair. It was a big wet mess, but she loved it, and I did get her hair done, but I don't think I will do it again.

Lily was also dancing before she could walk.  If she heard music she would stand up in the middle of the room and groove.  Then, the week before Christmas, she started walking.  I love it when our kids start walking.  First of all, it is stinking cute.  Second, I think it is so much better to get them up off the ground.  I love watching her toddle around in her drunken sailor way.  She walks around the house from room to room, always finding new things to do and play.  I love it.

Currently I love that she has enough hair for pigtails.  The first time she wore her hair in pigtails, I could not stop smiling.  She looked so cute! Every time she hits a milestone that I thought I would never have, I am just overwhelmed with gratitude.  I know that it is odd to consider pigtails a milestone, but there was a time when I didn't know if I would ever have a girl with pigtails.
 
While we are on the subject of things that make my heart so full it might burst, she is singing!  She sits at her little piano and sings and she sings any time she hears someone else singing.  She has such a sweet little voice.  Mitch and I have been working in the primary the last few weeks and during singing time, she stands on our laps and sings and waves her arms with the chorister.  Last week when the chorister sat down, Lily clapped for her.  It was so sweet.

This is Lily's concerned face.  She isn't serious very often, but I think it is cute. 

To finish off the post;  Lily had her 15 month check-up last week (where they told us she is the size of the average 2 year old.)  Due to a snow storm I had to take all three kids to the appointment. It was very exciting in that little room.  Here are the 15 month stats

Weight: 25 lbs 5 oz (83%)

Height: 34 inches (what they call "off the chart")

Head circumference: 45.8 cm (49%)

She received shots that day resulting in two days of crabbiness.  Although she is funny when she is crabby and can really pitch a fit!.  The boys think it is so funny, so I usually end up laughing with them.  I am glad that I can laugh at her fits now (we call her Little Lily Pitch a Fit when she freaks out) because I know the day is coming that I won't think it is so funny.



not a great picture, but it is all three of my kids at the doctor's office. I don't think I have any of Jack or Asher at any of their appointments. This makes up for that right?

Reminder

I just wanted to remind all my readers, (come on I know there are more than 6 of you) that I am having a giveaway on my Happy Jack Blog.  Head on over, leave a comment and you can win an item from my shop.  Something for free! That has to be worth a few seconds to leave a comment right?  I will draw the winner on January 31st!  Spread the word to your friends and family, and good luck!  (now seriously click here and leave a comment!)

The First Snow

We woke up this morning to the first snow of the season!  I can't believe that it took this long to get any flakes on the ground.  School had a one hour delay and so the boy got their snow clothes on and they were in the backyard sledding before we could even have breakfast.

I have actually been missing the snow this year.  I hope that we get more.  A lot more.  I want another big snow storm like last year!

[Asher] New Year

**for those that don't know Asher is Hebrew for "Happy"**

New Years Eve when you have kids. . . Not much of a party.  Mitch and I would rather get our kids to bed and just hang out together than try an go somewhere.  So that is what we do.  We put the kids were to bed eat junk food and watch a movie.  Good times.  This year we had a guest with us at midnight.  At about 30 minutes before midnight Asher came down the stairs in tears.  He had an ear ache and it was a bad one.  He was so tired and in a lot of pain, so we gave him some medicine and let him pick a movie and sit with us.  The medicine kicked in a few minutes later and Asher was loving the arrangement.  He was up late, had mom and dad all to himself, and he got to pick the movie, (we were watching Thomas and the Big, Big Bridge.)  He had no idea that it was a special night, until 30 seconds before mid-night when Mitch and I stopped the movie, and pulled out the glasses and the sparkling cider.  Oh, he was giddy.  He loved the count down and then when we clinked our glasses together.  He loved it so much he made us count down from 10 and clink glasses together a few more times.  And then there were fireworks!  He got to watch fireworks, late at night with mom and dad, all to himself, just after watching Thomas, and drinking special drinks.  He was in heaven, and so was I.  I loved bringing in the New Year with this little boy.  He made the night a little more fun than Mitch and I had planned. 

Cloudy with a chance of I"M MAD!!!!!

I have written at least four post in the last few months that I never actually posted, but I think this one is going to make it.

Today Jackson came home from school and told me, that Julian, Devon and Maya, that's right I am naming names, (because their parents don't read my blog) told him that their New Years Resolution was to get our family to want to move away.  Isn't that just the sweetest thing!?  Seriously, I had already decided  to take Jackson to another bus stop because the kids at ours are so mean to Jack.  But I really can't take it anymore.  What is it that makes kids so mean?  I really want to know how kids pick the kid they are going to be picked on.  I hate to bring this up, but I'm gonna.  I was totally picked on and treated terrible in elementary school.  I eventually had to change elementary schools it got so bad.  (I will also interject that the change made all the difference.)  I hate seeing the same thing happen to my child I want to protect him for going through the same things.  In the movies, the kids that get picked on are all scrawny, or not smart or odd in some way, and call me nutty, but I just don't see that in my Jackson.  I am not just posting this as a rant.  (though it does feel good to rant)  I SERIOUSLY want to know.  WHAT IS IT?  If I knew I would have changed who I was as a child to avoid this, and I will do what I can to keep this from happening to my child.  I just can't stand seeing these kids singling out my child and treating him so poorly.  WHO DOES THAT?  Really tell me I want to know.  And what drives me crazy is these kids have had Jackson in tears before getting on the bus many mornings, (and he used to not cry easily at all), and the parents just stand there as there kids are yelling and pushing Jackson.  I am right there!  Who do they think they are?  I hate when I have to get in there to stop it because I hate confrontation, I hate feeling like I am fighting my son's battles, but most of all, THEIR PARENTS ARE RIGHT THERE! Why don't they do/say something.

Okay, I think I am done.  The next post will be back to sunshine and rainbow.  I promise, because that is what my kids are.  They are all sunshine and rainbows despite what Julian, Devon and Maya think!

**I feel the need to add that Jackson is actually fine in all of this.  I am the one who is mad.  I asked Jackson how he felt about all of this and he told me he knew that it wasn't his fault, they were just being bullies.  He doesn't want to be around them anymore though and I feel like that is just fine with me.** added 1-7-11

A hike for Christmas Eve

Mitch took the boys for a hike on the Appalachian trail the morning of Christmas eve.  It was really cold but the sun was shinning and that is enough for Mitch to make plans when he has a day off.