Brennan & Sophie

My sister in law graciously let me and the kids come over this morning for a little "cabin fever" getaway. Her only request was that I practice some pictures on my niece & nephew. The kids loved getting out of the house and seeing the "other" world besides their world contained in our 4 walls.

What else do you do....

What else do you do when your pretty much snowed in? Put your kids to work by giving mommy practice in taking pictures!! Oh how I want to believe they love helping me out!

Confessions of a SAHM!!

I have been tagged by Chelle. Here it goes--

• My one year old daughter gets most of her daily calories picking up what is left on the floor from the other 3 kids meals--who needs a dog right!
• At "rest time"--1:00pm, I send the oldest 3 down to the basement for a movie, while Tessa is nappping. I have been known to prop a chair in front of the basement door, so that I get my "30 minutes" of uninterrupted "sanity time" without kids pretending they have to go to the bathroom 10 times in 30 minutes. They tend to pound, but you can't hear what you can't see right? (please don't call social services!! I promise its done out of love).
• I let my kids climb all over the kitchen table. This started when the twins were little -and at that time I was in "survival mode"--so I let it go with them in order to have some peace and quiet. Now, I just am too lazy to break the habit. So, don't be alarmed if you invite our clan over, and they start to "surf" YOUR kitchen table--no harm done!!EEEKKK
• My kids get warm milk every night before bed. Which wouldn't be a bad thing, except for the fact that I let them have it AFTER they have brushed their teeth. You would think that I--being a dental assistant--would be the last person to send my kids to bed with "milky teeth", but again, life is so much easier if we don't try to break those bad habits!!
• I reuse dirty diapers. Hold on--hear me out!! If Tessa does the nasty in a totally dry diaper, I scoop the poop into the toilet and put the same diaper back on her. I started this tradition when the twins were born and I had 3 in diapers at one time. According to Dean and I, it was either reuse the diaper, or let one of them go hungry for the day. (kidding) Money was tight!! Don't tell me YOU haven't done it before?
• I buy, almost exlusively, off-brand items at the grocery store. I am the Spartan queen. My kids don't even know what Fruit Loops are--to them it is Fruity O's. I figure I still have a few years left before my kids start asking for the name brands, so I might as well save the money now.
• If my hands aren't shaking by 10:00, that means I have not had enough coffee yet that morning.--if you call me at 8am, I will already be on my 3rd or 4th cup.
• I secretly would love to be on Nanny 911--I am just afraid for the whole world to see my "parenting tactics".
• Last confession: no matter how many of you I have complained to about being a mother of 4--4 years old (almost 5) and under, I honestly treasure these 4 little people that God gave me everyday, and treasure the fact that I have an awesome husband who works his tail off so that I can be, even on these dreary, LONG, cabin-fever days, that SAHM (stay-at-home-mom).

Ok, now who to tag? I have this feeling my resources are all used up. May have to get back to you on that one!!

• One more confession. I still do not know how to make a link with someone's name only and not their whole www.blah,blah,blah. Who can give me a quick tutorial?

Since Sonny was the first to answer my blogger question, she wins the prize of being tagged!! You didn't know you would be so lucky did you??

Winter Wonderland

Anyone who like to join us for burgers on the deck tonight are welcome. The table is set and the BBQ is fired up!! Holy cow---will it ever stop snowing???

Valentine's

I got this idea from a photographers blog (www.teslaa.typepad.com) and loved it. I thought I would try it out this afternoon with the kids.

Dancing Queen--Abba Style!!

Why is it that my 4 year old (almost 5--she would be angry if I didn't add that in) is a far better dancer than I am at 31? I decided to turn off the TV this afternoon and crank the music. It's a dreary, very snowy day here in Michigan, so we needed a little pump to pump up our spirits. I put in an old 80's Abba CD Dean had already had in collage. I started out sitting them all on the couch and telling them that "mommy is going to show you guys some dance moves, and then you all can try them". First of all, my kids are the only ones I would ever dance alone in front of. I got my ooes and ahhhs that I was looking for !!! Their eyes got big and their mouths got a wonderful "our mommy is SO cool" smile on them. What came next, is NOT something I was expecting. Elli got off the couch and started dancing. I found myself copying HER moves. We were all in the living room dancing, and I was jealous of my 4 year old (almost 5) and her awesome dance moves. No formal training whatsoever. A true natural. A very depressing afternoon at its finest for me. I no longer have the "cool" moves I once thought (or still thought) I had. I am now one of those old people that kids laugh at at weddings. The ones who are out on the dance floor dancing like they "still got it", but all the while, oblivious to the fact that kids are sitting in their seats just laughing their hind ends off at them.

Love/ Hate Relationship

I have this love/hate relationship with Meijer. Catch me on a good, tolerable, no kids along day, and I love Meijer. Catch me on a bad, irritated, 4 kids along trip, and I HATE IT!! The other day happened to be the later of the two--hence the HATE relationship I feel at this moment. In honor of my friend, Dana,- www.citygrace.blogspot.com, I am going to use bullets for this post:
Reasons I hate Meijer:

• The ultimate--#1 reason--why the heck do they have to have ALL their bathroom stuff clear across the store from their groceries? I just don't get it. How often do you actually go to a store for just bathroom items, and not have to get grocery items as well? Enough said about that one--this one alone is getting my heart rate up.
• At any given time you go there, there are 1000 people in the grocery section, all out for themselves. At least the one I go to--everyone is focused on one thing alone, and I swear they have x-ray vision and just don't even see me or my kids standing in the middle of the isle. We go out of there with at least one skinned up heel every trip.
• Why are grocery carts made for either 1 child or 3 children (the ones with the HUGE red seats.)? What about us folk who have 4 kids? And 4 that need to be restrained, harnessed , and at times straight jacketed! I usually get the awesome tantrums about who gets to sit in what seat and for how long before its time to trade, or I get two children who want to stand on the sides of the cart and at any given moment one steps off and the whole cart about tips over from the weight of the other one on the other side, causing another tantrum from the one who about gets the weight of the entire cart plus Tessa (in the front seat) on top of them. My instinct to lash out is stopped by 15 eyes (30 times 2) all on ME--"what is she thinking bringing 4 kids to the grocery store", all the while the 4th child gets rear ended by my cart into the heel. (yes, another tantrum begins).
• The self check out NEVER goes as smooth as you think it is going to. I don't think I have ever had a time where I could scan all my items and not have the light go off and start beeping (and keep beeping) until the "attendee" stops helping the 3 other "self check-out" lanes and come over and help me. I think the employees must draw straws at the beginning of their shifts, and the short straw has to work the self check-out lanes.

There are a few things I LOVE about Meijer (hence the love part of the love/hate relationship).

• Meijer always has the newest International Delight coffee creamer on their shelves. I can guarantee that I can go to Meijer and get the new Coconut Cream, Carmel Delight, or Peppermint Mocha whenever I go there.
• Without kids along, I can spend hours roaming from department to department.
• Without kids along, I can spend plenty of time catching up on my smutty People Magazine, Star Magazine... and find out what all my celebrity friends have been seen doing around town, while I willingly let others go ahead of me in the checkout to allow myself more time to find out what adventures and adoptions Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are up to now.
• Without kids along (do we see a theme going on here) I can be guaranteed a good Carmel Macchioto from Starbucks.

I may just have to stay with the local Dicks Market here in Dorr. There, I can walk in the door with all 4 kids and yes, I get the occasional "oh no, she is here again with ALL FOUR--hold down the shelves before the spaghetti cans fall again", but at least they only have 5 aisles that the kids can get lost in (not 20), they have day old warmed up coffee, but its better than nothing, the only smutty magazine they have is People, but who needs anything else, and I only have the choice between French Vanilla or Hazelnut creamer, but good thing I like both. The cashiers are friendly (all are 60 years old or above!!) and think my kids are adorable (who wouldn't be flattered by that), the choices are limited--but that helps with my indecisiveness. There are no self check-out lanes ( they only have 3 lanes in the whole store). I think I am becoming a country girl!!! Or just a tired old mommy who treasures the empty stores where no one cares or hears my kids fighting about who gets to sit where and when.

Help Me!!!

I knew that I just should leave things alone, but I obviously didn't. I need your help, whoever you are. I was trying to make a new custom header on my blog. I had designed something in Photoshop, and I was trying to get it to be my new header. And waaalaa. I have NO CLUE what I did to this blog. I obviously screwed it up somehow, and now I don't even know how to get it back to the original!! I have googled everything out there about adding a custom header, and I thought I had it figured out. So, does anyone have any idea how to help me? I would be endebted to you forever!! Thanks

Monsters Inc.

I am finding myself allowing the kids to do things that I normally would not. I think a bit of it is being cooped in the house and not wanting to listen to whining and what not. Another part of it is---they are so quiet and busy if I allow them to do things they think are naughty!! Tessa is into surfing the kitchen table lately. I used to (2 weeks ago) tell her "no", and take her off everytime she climbed onto the chair and then onto the table. Then I realized, that if I allowed her to "surf" she would stay occupied for 20 minutes or so and I would not hear a whine, cry, or peep from her. My definition of serenity= quiet in a household with 4 kids, 4 and under!! All those rules of consistency---down the drain. I have this feeling that I may be creating monsters though! I hope others out there do the same thing. As long as I don't find them surfing the restaurant tables. Lesson for tomorrow= what happens in the Vink house, Stays in the Vink house!! 

 

Toys, Toys, Toys...

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with the toys scattered on every square inch of our floor at this moment. As I started to unpack our suitcases, and realized ALL the toys that our kids got for Christmas, I felt this sudden urge to totally purge out the old, and in with the new. I sat the kids down, and told them that there are kids "out there" that don't even have ONE toy to play with all day long. Wouldn't it be neat if we could pack up some of our toys that we no longer play with, and give those to them? The response that I got was picture worthy. I saw 6 little eyes get extremely big, 3 mouths drop open, and 3 bodies starting to go into panick mode. I believe 3 tantrums were also going to begin if I hadn't offered a reward of candy for their efforts. (rewards of candy--ahhh, the secret to an obediant child!!) So down the stairs we went, with a BIG bag to stuff. As I was helping them sort through their toys, I found if harder for me to part with these toys than they were. What is wrong with me? I WAS THE ONE WHO INITIATED THIS!!! I kept remembering when they recieved these toys--birthdays, Chrismas'... finally, I bit the bullet and alas our bag was full. So why does our basement still look like a total mess?

Christmas 2006

WE'RE HOME!!! We spent Christmas this year in California, visiting Dean's family. It was a very uneventful plane ride there and back, which knowing our stories of the plane rides 2 years ago, one would say that is GOOD thing. Let's just say that 2 years ago, United Airlines was not begging us to "fly the friendly skies" anytime soon!! We had lots of fun with family and cousins. We also became rather addicted to Scrabble, (as you see in the 3rd pictures). We took a 3 day three day trip to the coast for some little R & R, and even celebrated my birthday out there. (31--sounds so old!!). All in all, we had a great time and am now trying to get loads and loads of laundry done before the kids run out of underwear to wear.
 

Playing with cousins is always a treat. The kids loved following them around like puppy dogs all week long.

 

Being at the beach in December was such a treat for us. The weather was beautiful, and walking barefoot in the sand was even more beautiful!!

 

A Few...

I am slowely learning how this camera works--tried a few black and whites this afternoon. The kids were actually cooperating and WANTING their picture taken! Gotta love that.
 

Ode To My Girls

As I begin to write this, I think of that cheezy, overused Michael W. Smith song, "Friends Are Friends Forever". I think every graduating class in the 90's had this as their "class song", but the words are still so true.
Last night, we had "coffee night" with the girls. This group of girls, has become very dear to my heart over the last....8 years or so. We all went to high school together, some even as early as elementary school. (Nat, your addition has been a blessing). Some of us hung out on a regular basis back then, some did not. There are 8 of us--one has moved on to New York--www.citygrace.blogspot.com. Combined we have a total of 17 kids, and 3 more on the way. The kids ranging from age 7, down to 1. At one point--up until a year ago, there was not a point in 8 years that one of us was NOT pregnant. It got to be a running joke, that as the pregnant one started ending her pregnancy, we all looked to someone to " take the batton" and continue the tradition. (I have ran my race girls--no more looking to me!!--I will watch from the stands). We don't necessarily see eachother outside of these "coffee nights", but we have all become so close over the last 8-10 years. I love these women for the meer fact that I feel "normal" everytime I talk to them. We share all of our kids stories, husband quirks, day to day battles, and just laugh. As I was driving home last night from coffee, I realized that these girls are complete gems in my life. I think I am getting more and more sappy as I age. I find myself tearing up A LOT more, and reflecting on things A LOT more. Last night, I truely thanked GOD for his faithfulness in giving me such great friends-- examples and great mentors. As a total of 8, we have gone through many things together and lifted eachother up in many ways. I KNOW without a doubt, that these women will be "Friends Forever", and our friendships are only at its beginning stages---God willing, I pray that we have MANY, MANY more years to grow, laugh, cry, and enjoy eachother. Thank you all for your friendship!!

I GOT IT!!!

Dean surprised me last night with "the camera of my dreams". I guess he couldn't wait any longer to give me his Christmas gift. I am now the proud owner of the Canon Digital Rebel XTi. Thys thought that he should be the first one to get his picture taken with it--like the eyesockets? Now the fun begins in figuring out how to work this thing. If anyone is willing to let me "expierement" on their kids, let me know--I need to at least show Dean that I am going to make this thing worth the money!! 

More Pics

Here are a few I took of Thys and Tessa the other day. Taken on Tessa's 1st birthday--cannot believe she is 1 already!! (And not walking yet by the way).

 

Family Photos

It has been forever since I have blogged. I have been filling my time shopping, shopping and more shopping. It seems like shopping takes 10x more time when you have 4 kids 4 and under grabbing and whining all around you. I seem to think that "the next time out will go better". And for some reason, it does not!!
Anyway, I also have a new passion. Soduko has now taken second fiddle. I have been engrossed in photography and trying (I emphasise trying) to learn Photoshop. I am still a complete rookie, but I am starting to get addicted to this photography stuff. Here are a few pics that my neighbor took for us last Sunday. He also is in photography, and I thought we needed an updated picture of the family. He was nice enough to deal with Josie (you like her smile!!) she was in rare form that day. I am saving the bucks to get a professional camera. Just for the meer fact of taking my own kids pics will save me booko bucks.

Preschool Report

Elli came home today with her Preschool Assessment Report. I am having a hard time right now not taking things personally, and it is bugging me. Ever since Elli was born, she has always hit every milestone early--rolling over, crawling, walking, TALKING, etc... I don't say this to brag... Anyway, this assessment that was brought home today, lists Elli as completely "average" for a 4 year old. She is right where she should be at this point in preschool. She of course has some areas she is advanced in--hopping, skipping, turns around without falling, stikes a moving object (all things Dean will contribute to his DNA I am sure), sustaining a conversation (another one I think she got from her daddy), sorting similiar objects, and counting. But, the ones I am having a hard time swallowing are the ones that she is delayed in a bit--expressing emotion, moving or placing an object as requested, identifying words in her environment (stop, exit, etc..), and understanding position words (behind, in front of, under, ect...). I am taking this personally. Why? Does any other mother have this problem? I feel like I have let Elli down, by not teaching her these things, or not recognizing that she didn't do these things. And I know that she is SO COMPLETELY NORMAL., but then why is it bugging me? I found myself, at lunch today, quizing Elli on these things--I know, why? I asked her to tell me if the sun was under us or over us. She got it right!! I asked her what she felt like when someone says not so nice things to her---she said sad. She got it right!! I asked her to take her plate to the sink--She got it right!! I wrote 3 words on a piece of paper (exit, stop, fire). I asked her to point to the word "stop". She didn't know this one!! I stopped myself from doing more, b/c I new this was silly. Why was I thinking that my daughter needed to excel in all the areas? Why was I shocked to read that she was "very average"? Wouldn't a lot of parents be thrilled to learn that their child was average. UGGG!! Anyways, just a little venting today, and a little "self-checking" on my part. And a little lesson in humility. Thank you God!

Umm, A little privacy here...

I guess when you are a twin, you just don't expect to get any privacy. This picture was taken last year while the twins were potty training--I just happened to come across it in my mass array of photos and thought it was too funny. They would do this all the time, and would clap and scream for eachother when "anything came out". Oh how I am glad to have that accomplished.