Final Count Down

It's official I quit my job!! And the count down has begun.....6 days left! YEAH

I actually quit back in May, but agreed to stay on and help train the new hire until the end of July. My hours have been cut way back for the last 2 months and it has been awesome! I only work from 2 - 6 Mon thru Thurs. The kids love having me home and I love being there with them. It has taken some getting used to since we were all so used to getting up and have to rush out the door to day care and work, so now our morning our much nicer. We have all had our ups and downs with the change, but I think this is all for the better.

Also, my last week of work is Addison's first week of Kindergarten so the timing couldn't have been better. I'm so glad that I'm the one that gets to take her to school everyday and pick her up to ask how her day was and help her with her homework. (No offense Amy I know you would have been WONDERFUL at doing this for me, but I just felt like I should be doing it since I'm her mom.) Being home more with the kids has really made me see how much I have missed by having to work outside of the home for the past 6 years. I am so grateful that my friend Amy and my husband gave me the final push to stop working. I couldn't have done it without all their support.

To tell the truth....I've been looking forward to these last weeks since I gave my notice in May. Time has just not gone by fast enough. I will miss my job and of course my boss. He has to be the BEST person to work for. It's hard to leave a place that you've been at for so long, but I know that this decision is the best for me and my family. I look forward to all the time and adventures that I get to spend with them every minute of everyday.

So here's to the future and all the fun and excitement that it might bring!

The Little Things........

Do you ever feel like you just can't keep up? Life is so crazy! Everyone is SO busy. The days are just to short for the long list that's left to finish.....breakfast, laundry, snacks, lunch, cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, going to the store, going to work, naps, snacks, coming home from work, dinner, picking up toys, baths, books, finally bed! WAIT...STOP!!!! Just slow down and take a look at the wonderful things going on around you. The gentle good morning given by a 20 month old. The snuggle under the covers of a 3 year old who manage to sneak into your bed in the middle of the night un-noticed. The quite, but sincere 'Thank You's' spoken as you make every meal. The soft touch of a tiny hand trying to memorize every inch of your face. The smiles and laughter shared with those close to your heart. Dancing in the middle of the kitchen. Tender hugs given just because. I love you's spoken without words from across the room. A sister patiently helping her little brother learn to write his name. Every giggle, smile, loving word, warm embrace, tender moment shared between you and those you love.

DON'T ever let the most important things in life just pass you by. The dishes over flowing the sink can wait. Toys can be picked up later. Never ending laundry will still be there when you have time. Life is far too often spent making sure everything gets done, instead of making sure that one precious little moment won't be forgotten. I know that I'm just as guilty as everyone else. I'm no where close to perfect, but I'd like to think that I'm getting better every day. Trying my hardest to soak up every minute that I have with my precious gifts and wonderful husband. I've had a lot more time to spend with them lately and it has opened my eyes to how much I must have missed over the last 6 years. I have no regrets of the past, only lessons learned for the future. I will cherish this time and hold it close to my heart, remembering all the joy and happiness that truly enlightens and fills my soul.

Do you still Believe?

We had a very exciting night a few nights ago.....It had begun like any other night after I came home from work, Dinner, Relaxing, Baths, and not soon enough Bed Time. The kids had been in there rooms for maybe 10 minutes when I heard the start of Addison and Lynden's door open. Thinking that Addison was coming out to tell me she had to go potty, which is a nightly ritual of hers, I told her to go to the bathroom without even hesitating for her to give me her excuse for being up. She immediately started laughing and ran straight for the couch and I could tell she was holding something in her fingers. She was giggling so much she could barely spit out the words....."Mom I finally LOST my TOOTH!"


She has been working on this thing for over 2 weeks now, ever since she had an appointment at my office and they informed her that 1 of her front teeth were lose and that she'd be losing it soon. Every time I'd turn around she'd have her fingers in her mouth wiggling her tooth and now here it was in the palm of her hand! Needless to say due to all the excitement ALL the kids were now awake and curious what all the noise was about. We had told her that once it finally came out that she could put it in a plastic bag and that we would tape it to her head board with a note so that the Tooth Fairy could find it, since I didn't feel like searching for it every where on her bed in the middle of the night. So she instructed Cole to get her a bag and me to start the note so that she could tell me what to write and then have her sign it. I have never seen this girl smile SO BIG. It kinda made me feel like a kid all over again. Filled with anticipation and excitement even though I knew exactly what would happen over night.


With every thing in place she proceeded to tell me that she was going to try and stay up to see the Tooth Fairy and ask her some extremely important questions...."Why do you take my teeth? What do you do with them? Why do you only come at night when kids are sleeping? Where do you get your money? Do you have friends?" This were only a few of the hundred that I was forced to answer for the Tooth Fairy without completely letting the secret out of who she really is. Needless to say Addison woke up the next morning bright and early and pulled me out of bed to show me that the Tooth Fairy had come and left her 2 money's as she calls them. (Thank goodness this girl is not in school yet and has not yet learned the value of money. I think she might then be a little upset on how much she actually had received!)

It was so much fun for both Cole and I to see her smiling face, with 1 tooth missing of course, and the overwhelming joy in her eyes at this wonderful milestone in her life. It truly makes you light up to see your children experiencing the same things that you did when you were their age and have all the wonderful memories come flooding back to your mind. Just thinking about it puts a smile on my face!

Hard Worker

This last weekend was spent not only enjoying all the Easter festivities, but also re-doing the landscaping in our back yard. It's quiet small so it really doesn't take much to move things around. We have a garden, but it's running out of room, so we decided that we would extend it to run along the entire back fence using some fence blocks that we got for FREE. Cole and I being the mean parents that we are told the kids that they had to help and be outside with us the whole time. HA HA! Needles to say Lincoln was the only one that went to work willingly and stayed outside the entire 3 hours. He was so happy following his dad around and using the shovel. He truly is our little helper. Whenever I need anything done Lincoln is the first to run to my aide. This little guy steals my heart!

Fun in the Desert!

Seeing that this is most likely the last nice weekend before summer we thought that we'd take advantage and have some family FUN!

Cole's parents and nephews met us out by Florence so that Cole could play with his new toy and actually see what it could do. He's had it for about a month now and keeps telling me that just driving it around the neighborhood is NO fun. So even though it was quite windy out yesterday I decided that it was time to let the boy out to play and I think both him and the kids loved every second of it. We really enjoy being able to get out of the house and let the kids run wild for some time. The shreeks of excitment are enough reward for the efforts put into making it happen!

Lincoln and Mason cruising in the jeep!

Cole even let Lynden drive for awhile. She was laughing and squealing the entire time. You could hear her over the engine.

Of course all the kids had to take a ride with Grandpa! Thanks for making it SO fun!

Addison our little monkey.

Hayden has to be the COOLEST kid I know!

Protect Your "Johnson"

Today's traumatic event was is too good not to share! And I know that if I don't write this down somewhere I'm sure to forget, even though I know a certain someone will probably never forget this day........

As some you may know we are slowly trying to potty train Lincoln, not by our choice, but by his. On his own he started pulling off his diaper and using the toilet just after turning 2. I thought it might be a little early for him since I've heard that boys are the hardest to potty train, but hey I'm not going to stop him! Needless to say he has been wearing pull ups for the past 4 months. He has his good weeks and his bad. We've tried to put him in BIG BOY pants, but I think it freaks him out because he actually does worse in them than a pull up.

Anyways, today started as any normal Friday with us all at home taking our time getting ready to go to the store since both Cole and I are off of work we make it a family event. Cole's relaxing and searching Craigslist, I'm in the bathroom getting ready and the kids are trying to pick out their clothes for the day. Every one's busily doing there own thing when all of a sudden you hear a loud slam of the toilet seat in the bathroom and Lincoln immediately begins screaming hysterically. What on earth could have happened?



The worst possible thing.....Lincoln was trying to go pee by himself in the toilet like he always does and the toilet seat slammed down and pinched his "little man" between the seat and the lid. You see he feels the need to stand like his dad when going to the bathroom, but he's just not quite tall enough yet so, unless he uses the stool his "little man" just barely makes it over the toilet seat. He came running into our room butt naked tears rushing down his face and both hands holding himself. I instantly scooped him up and hugged him before surveying the damage. Meanwhile, Cole was dying laughing! After calming him down a little I inspected the area to see how bad the damage was. Everything was noticeably swollen and his poor "little man" had 2 blood blisters right on the tip. I can only imagine how bad that must have felt. I truly hope that he learned his lesson on just how dangerous a toilet can be for a little guy like him and that it really does help to use a stool!

Bumps & Bruises

So it only took 6 months of walking for Lynden to finally get her first taste of ASPHALT! She has decided that just playing outside in the front yard isn't as much fun as it should be. This caused for a grand adventure a little further down the street where her siblings were, but to her dismay she was running too fast in excitement and bit the dust just upon arrival. Needless to say there was hysterical screaming and lots of tears involved. To make it even worse she was wearing shorts! (You see it has been quite warm here lately.) She also managed to bang her forehead on the sidewalk on the way down.

After some much needed love from mom, Addison, and of course our lover Lincoln. She decided that she just might live to walk again. Addison was awesome at helping care her back to health. She even put the bandaide on all by herself. Only to have Lynden rip it off about 30 seconds later laughing the entire time. Then she was right back outside running down the driveway back out into the street.

She truely is our fearlous one and that is now starting to scare me. If she's like this at only 18 months how much more is yet to come? My girls have proven that they definiately have a stronger back bone then their cowardly brother. They will be my daredevils willing to try everything. Constantly pushing the envelope to it's limits and if you listen close enough you'd probably be able to hear them squealing with excitement the entire time.