Just for Grins and Giggles

Here are my two children who LOVED the green pancakes I made on St. Patrick's Day

And here is my silly child who was disgusted by the green pancakes I made on St. Patrick's Day. This is what he was doing while all our green was taking place in the kitchen.

Sweet Norah snuggling with Gigi

This shirt is a size 7. A SEVEN!
When he got dressed this morning, we noticed it was just a little big, but not too bad...

When he got home from school, he went to the restroom, then came out with a huge grin:
"Hey Mom, I think I grew at school today."
"Why do you think that?"
"Because, LOOK at me. Don't I look TALLER?!"

Slow down, little man!

Look who is sporting Pig Tales, Dr. Seuss style!

I can't keep this little monkey off our glider.

Sweet Norah...bless her little hairless head....
While I was doing Audrey's piggies, Norah went to the closet and dug out her own "pretty" (we call their bows, headbands, and hats their "pretties" and they LOVE to look pretty!)

Happy as a clam with her own "pretty"

"Hmmm, this rock looks interesting."

"Does it paint my toes or fit like a shoe?"

"Ah, so that's what it feels like to have wind in my hair...
And boy, this rock is still interesting."

"I'm gonna show it to Mama!"

"Uh-oh, something's missing (and it's not my hair)."

"Where did my pretty go?"
"I gotta go tell Mama."
(and by "tell", she means, "UUHHH. MM. UHHHH.)

"That's better!"

"Hey Mom, look how STRONG I am!"

"Ethan! Put her down!"

"Mom, she likes when I do that to her!"

Ms. Smarty Pants
Look how she tries to "fix" the broken stick.

I can't believe that at one point in our lives, ALL of Ethan's toys fit into this Red Vines container.

I also can't believe we still HAVE this Red Vines container!

I guess there was a reason I kept it in the box of "Ethan's favorite baby toys"

We obviously don't need toys with lots of bells and whistles:

Bacon and Eggs

We had the BEST "bacon and eggs" this morning at Bible study, thanks to the very talented, very creative, and oh-so-beautiful, Erin L.!

I had to blog about them so I keep them in my "snack bank" for future reference.

What's not to love....Pretzels-Yum; White Chocolate-Yum; M&M's-Yum; Put it all together--YUM-O!!

(On another note--Seriously, is today March 23 or March 24? Because my camera tells me it's the 23rd and my blog tells me it's the 24th. I need to look at that calendar I blogged about recently!)

Molly the Barn Owl

We have been watching sweet little Molly, a barn owl, on this live feed today:
http://www.sportsmansparadiseonline.com/Live_Owl_Nest_Box_Cam.html

For some odd reason, she's fascinating....even though she doesn't do all that much. We've seen her sleep, wake, attend to her owlette, change positions, and breathe. But for whatever reason, we love watching and listening to her!

One of Ethan's first observations of her was her appearance. Sitting on my lap, he whispered in my ear, "Mom, barn owls kind of look like General Grievous because of the way they stand."
Silly goose.

www.whozoo.org/...BarnOwlFWZ12Mar01F12.JPG

img.photobucket.com/.../grievous_utapau05.jpg

"They look Chinese"

That's what the little girl I was talking to told me about Audrey and Norah.
Maybe she meant, "They look like China dolls"? Maybe not.
When I told her they were part Japanese, her eyes lit up and she asked, "Ohhh, were you born in Japan?!"
She was 10, and in about 10 minutes, I got more of her life story than I think her mom (who was getting a haircut at the time) would have ever wanted her to share with a stranger. Anyway, she was a hoot.

Chris isn't a big fan of the tutu, but since he was gone today, we decided it was a perfect day for tutus :) :)

Here are the girls digging through my purse and keeping busy while Ethan is in his Hapkido lesson. And, yes, that is little Ms. Audrey all upright and proper....she's been an official-most-of-the-time walker this past week!

It was "Water Bottle" vs. "Tide Laundry Pen" between the two of them

And here's a little baby walking spammage for the family to gush over.


And now....really, really...I AM going to put away that laundry. Really.

Just another ordinary day...

Earlier this week, I told some friends that I really need to start looking at my calendar daily so I can at the very least keep track of what the date is. Some of the ladies pointed out that without their calendar to help keep track of their schedules, their day-to-day would look like scrambled eggs...I had to poke fun at myself because if I filled in my calendar, it would be so lame: Unload dishwasher, grocery shop, lay on the ground and wrestle, work out, fix lunch, clean lunch, go to park, play ships, wrestle, make dinner, clean dinner, bath, story, snuggle, bedtime....Our lives are certainly ordinary. No real schedules. We don't plan much, just fly by the seat of our pants. Not much going on from one day to the next. I had actually become slightly embarrassed about how extremely uneventful our family life is.

A few days ago, the weather was gorgeous. Chris was home. Ordinary day. Chris took Ethan to school in the morning. I finished feeding the girls breakfast. Then we surprised Ethan by picking him up from school early and spending the rest of the day at the zoo as a family. We got to watch our kids splash in a small kid's pond. Ethan got to pick out a "Nature Treasure" (a big clam shell). We watched the gorillas and the prairie dogs. Ordinary; nothing too special.

Yesterday was another beautiful day. We made last minute plans to meet up with a friend at the park. I got to watch Ethan and a buddy play guns and ships. Pushed the girls in the swings. Played with trains when we got home. Watched Ethan make a wise choice to have a good attitude about sparring class, then watched him come out of class sweaty and proud of his hard work. Just another ordinary day.

Today I got to watch Ethan try his best at Hapkido. Oh, I was so proud of my little bear. After, we went grocery shopping for a few lunch and dinner items. Ethan was in charge of keeping the girls happy while we shopped during their lunch time. He danced silly and made funny faces to keep them smiling. When we got home, he pulled one of his favorite moves---"Surprise" me by changing out of his uniform and into his pajamas...silly boy...so predictable. We played with our best friends at the park. My girls sat back-to-back in the baby swing. I listened to Norah sing a "lalala" song. Ethan climbed trees and to the very tiptop of the playscape. Audrey tried walking all the way home. Audrey made Norah laugh and laugh by covering her face with a plastic helmet. I snuggled Ethan on the couch for the longest time. While we talked, I smelled his hair. Chris called 4 or 5 times with nothing to say. Just checking in. I let Ethan go to sleep in my bed (we call them "Slumber Parties"). A day not unlike the rest. Just an ordinary day.

It hit me today....and I've fought back my tears several times today at the revelation...we are so incredibly blessed by our extraordinary ordinary life. I'm so thankful that day in and day out, we are not pressed down by exhausting schedules, heartbreaking illnesses, stress from jobs or finances or relationships. In the middle of our daily chores--the mundane dishes and laundry and messy faces, runny noses, cooking, cleaning, picking up in circles--in the middle of all things boring and ordinary, we have the most extraordinary, blessed family that is full of love and laughter and innocence. I can't find the words to tell God, "Thank you", so I've just sat before Him in tears. He knows what my heart feels. I want my children and my husband to know that I am the most blessed wife and mom because of them. This is absolutely not to say that during hardship and struggle we can't grasp God's blessings and joy; I am just acknowledging that I am so very thankful for the ordinary life we lead today....day in and day out....today much the same as yesterday....I am thankful for the little things that make today ordinary.






















This video was an excellent reminder of savoring the ordinary moments of our children's lives. If you're a parent, grab a tissue. I guarantee you'll need it *sniff*