Brush Teeth

For the few of you who read this blog, so sorry I've been slacking! Anyway, this afternoon it was just Ridge-a-roo & me. Unfortunately, he did not take a long nap so we were buddy, buddy all morning. He was such a servant and very concerned about his mommy today (not sure why). I told him I was going to take a shower and for him to be good. He replied, "okay mommy, I will." That's usually a sign that he will get into mischief, but I took my chances.

He immediately came in concerned that the water might be too cold. I told him it was fine. Then he left and came back with my water bottle. Mommy, you thirsty?? Of course, I couldn't take it at the time, so I said, "no thank you." Then he said, "Mommy need kiss?" Of course, I always need those, but again, I wasn't exactly in the place to be able to receive one. So I had to say, "no thank you." He left defeated.

A little later he came back while I was brushing my teeth. He said, "OH! Mommy! You brush teeth! Ha Ha Ha." He laughed so hard that it was almost as if I had told a really funny joke. Not so, just a mouth full of toothpaste & toothbrush. He left & returned with Cobb's toothbrush in his mouth and Cobb's toothpaste in his hand. I told him he had to use his own. So he left again. I hear this, "Mommy! This okay? This the one??" "No honey, that's Cobb's other toothbrush." Poor thing, I had to help him find it. We did, he brushed, and then he lost interest.

Pretty fascinating post huh? Just a glimpse of a day with the Ridge-a-roo.

Innocent? Not Quite

Innocent?


Not Quite:


I left the room while the kids were eating lunch. I heard giggles & laughter. Lots of sounds from all three, so I wasn't worried. I should have suspected. Ridge took bites of apple then spit it out on the floor to make the others laugh. He ate/spit a whole 1/2 of of apple and now it's all over my floor. You can't really tell from the picture, but it is a mess! What am I going to do with that maniac?

And today while I was at the doctor, Ridge kept looking at his reflection in the back of the lamp and making all sorts of noises. Very similar to the scene in "Cars" where Mac is looking at his reflection in the back of the the truck in front of him. If you haven't seen that movie, you should. It's really good.

Mommy is Taking a Test

Yep, you guessed it! Defensive Driving. Ughh. I rolled a stop sign back in November. It was totally an arguable ticket, but I don't usually get breaks with the Cops so I accepted graciously (that was the day that Charly constantly asked me why I didn't obey the policeman). I was very responsible and went immediately to the court to request defensive driving. I also ordered my drivers record right away. Then I neatly tucked the papers into my desk drawer to do the following week. Well. . . I just found them YESTERDAY!!!!! And YES, I totally, 100% forgot that I had received the ticket in the first place. So, the deadline to turn in my certificate of completion is Monday. Imagine the panic. . . how am I going to find time to do Defensive Driving in time to get the certificate sent to me by Monday morning while taking care of three kids? The answer was an online course that allowed flexibility and overnight processing of certificates, a laptop computer, and every spare minute of the day. . .

So I registered last night & woke this a.m. at 5:30 to get started only to spend 1 1/2 hours on the phone with customer service because the course wouldn't play on my computer???? WHAT? I'm on a deadline people!

Just as the kids woke up, I got the test to work. So while making breakfast & Cobb's school lunch, I reviewed the first lesson. While changing Ridge's diaper & helping Charly pick out an outfit, I listened to the video. Took Cobb to school, switched cars with Stacey (she had Ridge today), then headed home to do lesson 2. Charly chatted with me throughout lesson 2 about how she was ready to leave to go play with Addi (we had a play date at 10:45). Got home at 1, put Ridge to bed, sent Charly for rest time, then fell asleep on top of my computer in an attempt to do lesson 3. And so on. . .

Well, I just finished. I FINISHED! I'm thrilled. And VERY proud of my 100% on the final exam. I may do things last minute, but I do them well! My certificate will arrive by noon on Monday (cutting it a wee bit close don't ya think??).

Vacation Days

I love it when my kids have holidays from school. Cobb didn't have school today or yesterday due to President's day. So we stayed in our PJs, had yummy breakfasts, played with friends, ate lots of snacks, and relaxed. We had a really good time with singing, playdoh, games, shows, etc. . . I decided today (probably for the nth time) that the sound that makes me smile the most is the sound of my children laughing and playing together. I love over-hearing their little conversations. They crack each other up and laugh out loud. Charly was so sweet to play cars with Ridge, Ridge played tackle with Cobb, and Cobb & Charly played hide-n-seek (except they were boht hiding). Our playdoh man:

A pic of Rob concentrating on the Wii Fit.

Very similar to Cobb's concentrated look. See previous post to compare.

And here's some pics from the garage clean up:

Our garage moved to our music room during the hail storm which prompted the garage clean out.

Thanks Pops for all your help!

Wii Fit

Today the kids & I gave Rob a Wii Fit for Valentine's & Anniversary combo. The kids & I set it up after lunch & poor Rob didn't really get to partake in the fun because he was cleaning out the garage (sweet hubby! I'll show pics tomorrow).

Anyway, you do this baseline body test at the beginning with your Mii. I was saddened to know that my Wii Fit age was 51! Yep, that's right, 51!! So of course my competitive nature had me do it again much later (after the kids had had their fill), and I brought it down to 41. I'm okay with that. Bob, Rob, Cobb, Charly & Ridge all did the body test. Ridge was funny. He stood for a while then just sat down. Of course the lack of effort gave him a Wii Fit age of 28. My sweet baby.

Cobb thought it was cool that his Wii Fit age was 35. The same age as Daddy. I think that is mostly due to his need to work on balance skills. Look at this look of concentration as he played the games. . .

And this one. . .

The Wii Fit is going to be great for Cobb. He "ran" 2 miles today. You have the controller in your pocket & just run in place. I was pretty impressed by his endurance, especially since he often crashes on me when we walk around the block.


Tonight, Valentine's night, Rob took the kids to the Damer's house & then brought home yummy food from Market Street. So nice to have a cozy date at home sans kids. We're in the process of watching "Annie Hall." It's paused now b/c Rob went to pick up the kiddos. Anybody seen it? It's pretty good so far.

Friends & Gifts

We had a great time today. Ridge & I stayed in our PJs all day, and the big kids played with friends. We started off the morning with Cobb's friend Alex coming over. Then shortly after Charly's friend Bella & her baby sister Annalise arrived. Annalise was for sure the highlight of the morning.

Cobb & Charly gave her lots of attention. I think they miss having a baby around since Ridge is growing up so fast!


Our morning with friends went so smoothly with only one little hiccup. We discovered as our friends were leaving that the door was locked to Cobb's bedroom as well as the connecting bathroom. So we tried several things to get it open & finally called the builder to get a key. So grateful that Ridge wasn't inside that room because it took hours to get it unlocked.

Anyway, back to the fun stuff. . .
Here's pics opening their Valentine's gifts from Mimi & Papeaux.


We worked the puzzles & ate the candy. Then the Damers arrived to play. Selah & Charly headed outside.

And the 4 boys went upstairs. Coben & Cobb played Superman while Ridge & Brantzen played trains.

And of course because it's Friday the 13th, Rob told all the kids stories. Rob has a gift that makes kids gravitate towards him. He's so fun to live with!

And finally, right before bed, the kids chowed on some Sprinkles from Nana & Pops. Yummy bedtime snack.



Such a fun day. Rob & I are now going to relax & watch a movie. See ya!

Valentine's Fun

I don't think I realized how busy the Valentine's holiday can get until I had 2 of my kids in preschool. It was a fun busy though! Wednesday morning the kids had "Donuts with Dad." Pops was gracious to come & be in Charly's classroom so Rob could be in Cobb's. Here's a picture of Charly that Pops took.

Rob got to join her towards the end and she was able to give him a her Valentine. It said:
MY DADDY by Charly (her words are bold & italicized)
My Daddy's name is Rob
My Daddy's shoe size is really big
My Daddy's job is working on his computer
My Daddy's favorite color is black & Blue
My Daddy's favorite food is chicken & ham
My Daddy is the Best because on my birthday he took me to American Girl and Chic Fil a for lunch

Here's some pics from Cobb's classroom. The kids sang a song to the dads.

Cobb with his friend Hailey


Cobb also gave a Valentine to Daddy seen in the above picture. It said the following (Cobb's words are bolded & italicized)

What size shoe does your dad wear? Uh he always wears long sleeves & short pants
What is your dad's favorite food? Ooh I know his favorite food, cookies!
What is your dad's favorite color? Uhhhh, black
What does your dad do that is funny? Oh he makes, he just tackles us and ugh! Poof! Pow! He just lays down, it's really funny
What does your dad do at work? Uh, he always do what he's supposed to do
What dis your dad's favorite TV show? Office
What is your dad's favorite sport? oh, sports game, Wii sports game
How tall is your dad? Uh he was just 84
What does your dad do best? Uh, he, when I say can I have your phone and he says yes, that's what my dad does best
How old is your dad? Uh oh, I don't know how old he is. He's lie a 5, 35. And my mom is 65. What color are your dad's eyes? Blue, just like mine
How much does your dad weigh? What? Weight you said? He just weighs 1 minutes or 2 minutes or 3 minutes or 84 minutes (he was thinking "Wait")
I know my dad loves me because. . . he loves playing the Wii with me and I love him sharing the spiderman movie


So there you have it. Profound words from Cobb Thomas. So glad he thinks I'm 65.

Later in the day I joined Charly for her Valentine's party at school and the following day headed to Cobb's party. (Thanks Stacey for watching Ridge both days!)

Unfortunately, I don't have pics from Charly's party. But here are some from Cobb's party:
Decorating bags to collect Valentines



The chopsticks race:

They had to put all their conversation hearts in their cup using chopsticks. First one to fill their cup won! This was Cobb's teacher's idea & the kids enjoyed it. Then they decorated cookies.

Promo Video

Check out our new promo video for IgniterBacks05. IgniterBacks are countdowns, loops, and stills primarily made for churches that use screens in their services.

visit with Elise

Today Annie McClellan came over with her 8 month old Elise! It was really fun for us to get to see her, hold her, and play with her. Stacey, Bennett & Dayton came as well. We have been praying for Annie & Scott as they pursued adoption, and they were able to pick her up over Christmas! She's really is so precious. To read their story, click here.

Here she is standing next to Dayton Parker. Dayton is 6 1/2 weeks old. Aren't they cute!

And here's Elise riding Mulligan. She loved him. She kept going to him, petting him, and loving on him. Annie put her on him, and she smiled so big!

And here's a picture of Elise in the swing. It was her first time to swing in a swing. Look at that smile!

While she was swinging the boys (Bennett & Ridge) played basketball.




And later, Cobb & Charly doted on little Dayton. They loved getting to hold her hands & stare at her while she slept. So cute.

Allen Gathering/Re-engage

Tonight we had a gathering at our house for Allen Folks who go to Watermark. It was so fun to meet everyone. We had a great turn out, and I'm hoping everyone enjoyed it as much as Rob and me. We were going to take pictures, but got distracted once people arrived. So, we've got one of us preparing the house for our guests, and one of the kids playing out back.



Earlier in the day, we went to the leadership training for Re-Engage. "RE-ENGAGE is designed to help couples move towards oneness in their marriage through stories of grace, teaching and small groups"(Watermark Website). Rob and I are really excited to be a part of it, and to be able to witness God working in marriages to heal them, making them whole and reconnected. Click Here to go to the website. We start our group on Wednesday!

So today was a busy day, but a great day.

Totally Girl/Totally Boy

GIRL TIME:


Tuesday, while Ridge slept and Cobb was at school, Charly & I had a tea party with mommy's nice plates. We set it up outside because it was a beautiful day. Lots of chatting. It was fun, but a little out of my realm (I played star wars, cops/robbers, & Indians/cowboys growing up). The tea party came to a sudden stop when Ridge awoke from his nap. At least he was happy. He had been "diagnosed" with Cranky Kid Syndrome earlier in the day.

So Charly resulted to belting out disney tunes from the top of the fort.


BOY TIME:
Yesterday I just had Ridge in the a.m. so we went to hang with our cousins(Sam, Jack, Rhody, & Bo) at Missy's. Then we headed on to Pump it up. I had the little boys (Bo, Jack, & Ridge) in my car. They cracked me and each other up the whole way. They laughed, giggled, and made a ton of funny noises.


Look at these crazy boy cousins! L to R: Sam, Jack, Ridge, Bo, Rhody.
They all had such a good time together, sliding, jumping, tackling. At one point all five were in a bounce house throwing balls and piling on top of each other as boys do. It was fun to watch.

Erin & Emma Howell & Liza Dishman and her grandmother joined us at pump it up. Liza & Emma had no problem keeping up with the boys. GO GIRLS!

Daddy Weekend

Rob edited his weekend with the kids. . . you know, when I was in Indiana on my girls weekend. So here it is! Click the video below and watch it on the YouTube site. You miss some of the action on the right if you just watch it here on the blog. . .

Strep, Strep(?), Strep, Strep, & Strep again

I guess you can guess what I'm going to talk about. Yes, strep. Ridge had strep over Christmas. I had tonsillitis (pretty sure it was strep), then Rob had strep, then Charly had strep, and now Ridge has strep again. I took Ridge to the doc yesterday just to make sure, and his test was positive. He also had the extra added bonus of pink eye. He was so sad because Daddy, Cobb & Charly got to go to our nephew Rhody's birthday party. He kept saying, "I go Rhody, I go Rhody!" Poor baby. So, of course, I caved & we went to baskin Robins for ice cream.

I think we're in the clear now. Ridge has been on antibiotics for 24 hours & everyone else seems healthy. YEAH!

Side note: we did have another issue in January. Lots of #2 accidents, and lots of mommy cleaning panties/underwear in the toilet. Not sure what the deal is with my kids, but i'm confident that the poopy issue will also be cleared up this February. :) Pray for patience for me!