So Not Ready for This...

My 3 year old little girl just told me that she does NOT need to sit in her booster seat ( at the kitchen table, not the car seat) anymore because she is too big...SIGH. Where did my baby go?

And when I've been gone running errands and I get home, she gives me a big hug and says "oh mama, I'm so glad ur home!". So sweet.

And Alex just asked me for a dessert, and Ellie answered him with "maybe tamowo (tomorrow) Alex, maybe tamowo". She's such a little mom to Alex. It's pretty comical.

So Ben got the dreaded "pink slip" from school yesterday...wanna know what for?!?! Sticking his tongue out and blowing a raspberry at the teacher! Yes, my soon to be 13 year old son did this, no joke. WTH!!?!? OY...C'MON Ben...really? That's the best you got? I mean, if you are going to get a pink slip, at least make it for something good, like punching your bully or something! LOL! JUST KIDDING. Sort of...anyway.

Greg had checkup yesterday, and he's way too skinny for his height. Think we all already knew this. The Dr.'s like, well, how are we gonna pack the pounds on this kid!?!? I'm like, can I give him some of mine??? I've got plenty to spare! He thought that was a great idea, but didn't know how we'd execute that plan! LOL! Can you believe that?!! Who would have ever thought I would have a kid that needed to PUT ON weight!!??? Oh well, this will be a lot more fun than trying to get weight OFF, huh?!

More Big, Hot News!!

Alex, my little Alex...lost his first tooth (a few days ago, I'm a little behind)!!! It was a long time coming though! The thing has been loose for like 6 months!! OK, maybe not quite THAT long, but it seems like it. I finally had to pull it out because he wouldn't do it, and it was just hanging on by a...well, anyway, I just grossed myself out so I won't say it. But you get the picture. He was not terribly thrilled with me, as I pulled it when he least expected it. He was engrossed in watching Spongebob, and I told him I just needed to check it and see how loose it was. Gave it a yank, and out it came! Ew.

In fact, as you can see, his new tooth is already growing in! It was already coming in behind the old tooth! That couldn't have felt very good, but he never complained, so I had no idea.

So he got $1.25 from the tooth fairy. Is that a good rate these days, or is my tooth fairy cheap!?!? Oh well, he was happy that he got "one dollar and one coin"! He went and woke everyone up to show them. Ben and Greg were not impressed...

Ok, new funny Alex story...our church has children's bulletins, and at the end of mass, before the priest walks out, he is supposed to call the little kids up to the front to get one. Well, he forgot today, so he was handing them out as he walked out. The priest saw Alex and handed him a bulletin, which has word puzzles, mazes, etc. So we get into the van and Alex tells me "mom, these games are going to be really easy!" And I said "what games, Alex"? And Alex says "the games that GOD handed me today"! HA HA HA HA HA!

Well, I think that's all for now. I'm going to go bake some M&M cookies. Aunt Bonnie's recipe out of the Remsen cookbook. I just found it a few weeks ago, and it is WONDERFUL! Best cookies I've ever made. I'm sure they are not quite as good as Bonnie would make them, but they don't last too long around here, so they must not be too bad! Thanks Bonnie. I'm addicted. Seriously, have a problem. I've got ten cookies hanging out on my left hip, seven cookies on my right hip, seventeen on my stomach...I seriously even made a special trip to Hy-Vee one week to specifically get M&M's and butter flavored Crisco. That's a PROBLEM...but a tasty one!!!

Love ya,

Lisa

BIG, HOT NEWS!!!!

(Disclaimer: for those of you who are not parents to toddlers or older, this may be a bit much for you. Continue reading at your own risk.)

Well, she's finally done it. The task at hand is complete. Dare I speak it, will I jinx it...hmmm, well, ok, well, here goes...I think...Ok, I'm not going to speak it for fear of jinxing it, so I'm just going to think it (and type it, but typing is not the same as speaking. What?! It's not!) OK, I think ELLIE.IS.FINALLY.POTTY.TRAINED! There it is folks. It only took 3 1/2 years, but I think she finally has got it!

I know, I know, you can hardly contain your excitement, but please try.

We've had #1 down for a while, but #2, well, not so much. However, apparently she was only saving those doozies for me! She's been going on the toilet at daycare for several weeks, little stinker! But tonight, ah, on this glorious night, I asked her to go potty before bedtime, and she went in all by herself. She took a little longer than usual, so I got up to go check on her and she came out and proudly proclaimed "Mama, I POOPED!" and went on with her business. I, on the other hand, began jumping up and down and gushing all over her and praising her. She said "Aw, thanks mama. Uh, mama, why you jumping up and down??" HA HA Ha!

I'm so excited. And yet so sad...my baby girl is growing up. She doesn't let me rock her much anymore, she only wants barrettes in her hair, she wants to comb her own hair, tucks it behind her ears...She sings and appropriately interacts with the song "Who Stole the Cookie from the Cookie Jar" (which I will record and post for you soon. It is hysterical!), jumps right in and plays with the boys, and is soon going to go to PreSchool at the big kids' school.

(Sigh) Where did the time go. Why it was just yesterday that I wore a path in the carpet around the dining room table trying to get her to stop crying, only yesterday that I carried her everywhere with me because she SCREAMED when I put her down. Only yesterday that I threw out 14 jars of opened baby food that had one bite taken out of them because she hated them all...hmmm, well, maybe I'm not so sad that she's growing up! LOL!!! JUST KIDDING!!

She was a wonderful baby (minus the aforementioned parts!) and she has been such a joy and blessing to us. The boys all adore her. She makes all of us laugh every day. Her teachers at her daycare call her their little ray of sunshine (good thing I didn't take her there when she was an infant. They might be calling her something else! LOL!)

Ok, I'm done cheezin' now. Just wanted to share my joy and excitement...the boys didn't really quite get it (cuz they didn't have to change her poopy pants every damn night)!

Oh, I do have a funny little quip from Alex...picked him up from after care, driving to go get Ellie, when out of the blue he says "Mama, why don't you drink milk?"

Me-"Hmmm, well, uh, that's a great question Alex. I guess it's because I don't really like it very much."

Alex-"but Mama, it's very good for you".

Me-"yes Alex, you are right...well, I put it on my cereal. Does that work for you?"

Alex-"well, I guess that's alright."

The end...

Peace out.

Lisa

"Oh, by the way, the tree is down..."

and it's still up!

Yes, the tree has survived, 2 whole weeks now!!! Or should I say the candy canes have survived 2 weeks now! I love my tree...I will be so sad when I have to take it down...ho hum. Oh well, I'll enjoy it while it lasts...

Had a very nice birthday today. Thank you all for the birthday wishes.

Yep, I am livin' the dream baby, livin the dream...and I'm tired. Sorry, no comedy or priceless pictures today. I'll blog more another day. Off to bed (said Ted. Off to bed, said Fred...oops, I was channeling my inner Dr. Suess...OY I'm tired)

Lisa

The Tree is Up

It only took THREE HOURS, but the tree finally made it up! And it's very pretty (I think anyway) and was worth it. In case you are wondering how in the hell it could take 3 hours...well, I was enamoured by it's beauty (and slightly lower price) in the store, so I failed to look at how you assemble the stupid thing. It's a seven footer, and each branch has to be placed, on like 20 thousand different levels!! Ok, not really that many, but you get my point. And so, for three hours, I fluffed, and pulled, and yanked, and twisted, and got every stinkin' branch shaped and positioned so my tree appears to be nice and full.

And then there were the lights...oh, the lights. I think every year I have a set that is burned out. Grrrrrr. Luckily I had to enough to get us by (just don't look at the very top of my tree!). The red lights really don't show up in that picture. I wonder why?

And then there was the joy of trying to keep 4 children from eating all of the candy canes...oh the joy of the Christmas season!!! Fun times, fun times...

It's Been a While...

about a year, by my last posting date. Wow! Sorry to all our fans out there. Been keeping you updated by Facebook over the last year. But I've had several requests to go back to blogging, so I suppose I shall indulge you...

Ah, where to begin? Well, let's see...let's start with letting you know that we are all fat, happy and healthy...well, some of us are fat...well, OK, just I am fat, but we are all happy and healthy (for the most part)! We've been lucky enough (so far) to elude the dreaded H1N1 flu bug, though we've had our share of other maladies it seems like! But relatively mild as a whole.

Since we've last visited, my children have grown quite a bit! See above...this is what happens when I try to take a nice Christmas picture...sigh. I did get a couple of good ones though.

Ben is 12 now, going on 16. He's a great kid, but is getting the teenager attitude at times. I so am not looking forward to that!! He stays very active, and wants nothing more than to be bigger than someone in his class!!! He's not small for his age, but is small for his class I guess. Poor kid. Anyway, he plays football, baseball, basketball, and ran track last year, but it really conflicted with baseball, which is his passion. So probably no track this year. I can't say that I'm heartbroken. :-)

Little Greg is 11, and is still our little thinker. Always full of questions... weird, random questions, but thoughtful nonetheless! Most of the time I cannot answer him. He plays soccer still, fall and spring. He also ran track last year, but I don't think he really enjoyed it too much. I'm guessing track is out next year altogether. Oh darn. No more sitting for 4 hours to watch your kid for 4 seconds...again, heartbroken. Although is really is good for them. Oh well...

Alex is 5 this year. I'd say my "little" Alex, but I already used that title for Greg, and Alex probably is almost as big as Greg, so I can't use it for him! Alex is a mover and a shaker. Never sits still, and like Greg, is always thinking...about how he can con myself or Matt into giving him what he wants that is!! He's very artistic and creative. He started kindergarten this year. We had a few rough days the first couple of weeks, but I think he's getting the hang of it now. He even told me last night that he "just lo-o-o-ves homework"! HUH!? Alex will play T-ball in the spring. He is always telling me how he is going to "SMACK that ball in for a touchdown!!" (that would be a quote from the movie Chicken Little, he really does know it's not a touchdown...I think).

And then there is little miss thing. Princess Ellie, or BusyBella as she calls herself. And she'll let you know too. Don't try calling her Isabella. She WILL correct you. "No, it's BUSY-BELLA!" She's a girlie girl, but she likes to play with the boys too. Though she's not really rough-and-tumble. Really she's just very moody actually. But she can also be such a sweetie. She loves drawing on her Magna-Doodle, and she likes to sing and dance (again, if she's in the mood). She also likes to read books to me. It's quite entertaining actually.

Matt and I are still hanging on in the office furniture business. Matt also stays busy with running a Sunday night men's basketball league at our church, and he plays softball, and he does a lot of the running of kids to practices while I tend to the little munchkins at home!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family, and are looking forward to a nice Christmas. I got all of the little decorations out, so we are ready to put the tree up...tomorrow. I'm beat! Time for bed!

Love ya

Lisa

Funny Stuff...

Ok, so, for those of you who have been here, you'll know what picture I'm speaking of...for those of you who haven't been here...we have lived in this house for over three years, and have quite an accumulation of kid pictures on the walls. However, in our bedroom, there are five pictures on one of the walls and they have been there the since we moved in. One of these pictures is of Ben and Greg, when they were 2 and 1 year old.

So, a couple days ago, Alex was laying in our bed around 6:30 in the morning. I had just gotten out of the shower when Alex nervously called my name. I came out of the bathroom to see what was wrong. He looked very seriously at me, and with great consternation, proceeded to point to that picture of Ben and Greg and tell me "mom, those little guys are LOOKIN' at me"! LOL! After I regained my composure (Alex was not amused by the way), I explained to him that that was Ben and Greg when they were little, just like you. He didn't get it, and quite frankly, looked at me like I was on crack. Poor little guy. I think he was traumatized. He actually has slept all night in his own bed since that day (he usually comes into our bed in the middle of the night. For those of you who don't believe in the family bed, I know, I know (I used to be one of you, now move on). So anyway, that's my funny story for the day.

On another note, Ben's last football practice was tonight!!! YEAH!!! WOOOOHOOOOOO!!!! Except basketball practice has already started. But that's not EVERY FREAKING NIGHT like football is, so I can deal. They play the losers bracket of the championship tomorrow. Exciting stuff you know.

Oh, and did you know that kids in 6th date? I said, Ben, what do you mean by "dating" exactly? He said, you know, they meet at Wal-Mart or McDonald's. Whew, that's hot. Sounds like my kind of date...LOL!!!

But anyway, I digress...What in the hell is wrong with parents these days???? Kids are NOT supposed to be flippity-flippin dating in the 6th grade!!!! And I say parents because clearly, if the kids are meeting somewhere, the parents had to take them there, thus encouraging them... unless the kids are sneaking out and catching a bus or something (in the SIXTH GRADE), which leads me to a whole 'nother issue. This is a problem. Oy, I'm getting old.

Alright, I'm going to go. It was a looonnnnngg day at work, and of course, Ellie is sick AGAIN. Just a cold, but all the same, we will be up many times tonight you can be sure. Here she is in healthier days (well, if you consider eating a doughnut 'healthy'...we do around here. In fact I'm sure doughnut is a food group in our home). Love the witches hat!!!

Talk to you soon!
Love ya,
Lisa

To Let Them, or NOT to Let Them...That is THE Question...and more!

So, apparently, my living in denial that my children NEED to use the internet has to go by the wayside. They have reports to write, and the internet is the ONLY place they can go to find the information that they NEED to write said report. Hm, well, not really, but it is the most CONVENIENT place! We all know about the evil that lurks on this wonderful resource we call the world wide web. However, I guess I am willing to risk their internet safety in lieu of making ONE MORE TRIP to the library. What a good mother I am.

However, they have been taught extensively about the dangers of surfing the net...but will they listen? Yes, we do have the parental block capability...ask me if I know how to use it though!?!? Actually, I think that I do have something on here, just not sure how good it is. I better get that up and running, huh?!

Very exciting news by the way...little miss thing FINALLY learned how to jump! Yeah! It's quite possibly the cutest little thing too. She's very excited about it too.

And Alex is getting rave reviews about his behavior at school. My little angel offers to help clean up, and has been taking naps, and follows directions very well. Actually I think they have him confused with some other little boy named Alex, because he certainly doesn't act like this at home!

Had a busy but fun weekend. It was Homecoming for the Englewood Packers! The day started at 6:00AM with decorating floats and vehicles for the parade, and then the parade started at 7:15. Threw in a soccer game for Greg at 9:00, and then came Ben's big game at noon...and they lost...big time. Oh well, Ben played very well. Had fun with Nana and Papa here to watch the big Nebraska game, and then did a whole lot of NOTHING on Sunday!

Sidenote...I need to get my fall decor out. I think I may go do that now. Kids are in bed. Although Ben put in a request for some clean football game pants for tomorrow, so I better get some laundry going first...pain in my a$$!!! However, the fact that he asked for his pants to be washed almost put me over the moon with excitement (he's worn the same dirty practice pants for about 8 days now...hey, he's in 6th grade...he can be resposible for getting his dirty, stinky, smelly, nasty practice pants into the wash! They are not allowed in my house, so he can get them as nasty as he wants!)

Well, that's about all I have for tonight. I shall leave you with a joke, straight from the mouth of Alex (who got it from the Backyardigans...gotta give credit where credit is due)..."Why did the chicken cross the playground?...to get to the other SLIDE!" HA HA HA HA HA

Gotta go wash those pants now...

Love ya

Lisa

It's Been a Looonnnngggg Week...

and it's only Monday.

So, I'm exhausted (good idea, Lisa, play on the computer some more!). Ellie was up from 2:00-3:00 this morning for no apparent reason, other than the 101.6 degree temp, which she had for...no apparent reason. What is up with that!??! Gave her Motrin, rocked for an hour, and that was it. She slept the rest of the night and was fine when I had to wake her at 7:15. She is on about the third round of this cold/allergy/whatever crap. Pretty much has been coughing, sneezing, stuffy/runny nose/draining eyes for about a month now. Think it's time to waste $25 for a Dr. visit? Anyone, anyone??? Opinion/advice please.

Besides that, just had some rotten news from all around. Work is crazy busy, and nothing can ever go smoothly. I just want one job to have no problems, no issues, everything fits...one where we all communicated effectively and did everything right! Think I'll be waiting for a while...? In case you hadn't noticed, I like to do this "..." a lot. Sorry if it annoys you, but I think that's how I talk. Matt says I type how I talk, so that must be it.

Kids are good (aside from the aforementioned issue), although I think that football is already starting to wear down Ben, and the season has just begun. He was up until 10:15 tonight doing homework, which is the second time in a week that has happened. He likes to think that he is a night owl, because Greg is (that kid could hang longer than I ever could!), but he's really not. Ben is a kid who needs his sleep. So anyway, they got mauled in their first game, 32 -0, but Ben played very well, both offense and defense, though I couldn't really tell. I'm too short to see over all those guys, and the top row of bleacher seats was full.

Greg had his first soccer game of the season on Sat., and they won. How couldn't they with a couple of Andre the Giants on his team!?!?!? These kids are 10 and 11, and I'm telling you, there are two kids, a boy and a girl, who are taller than me! Now I realize that's not saying much, but c'mon!!!! Greg didn't even come up to the shoulder of the boy!! What's in that kid's Cheerios???? Can I have some?

They both had dentist checkups today, and got raving reviews...of their behavior, not their teeth! Actually, they did just fine. No cavities to speak of (too bad I can't say the same for myself!), and Ben is brushing well, Greg is not.

Alex is finally adapting to being in Pre-K. He has two friends now, Seth and Brendan, and Seth and Brendan don't like to clean up. And Jessica is only friends with girls, so he can't be her friend. He loves to play bingo, and "lights"(whatever that is), and knows that when I leave him at school, I'm going to the store to buy him a treat, so it's OK that I go. Hey, whatever works I say! He's STILL sucking his thumb, but we are working on that.

Ellie is...still Ellie. Doesn't want anyone near her at school, but she does well with the teachers. She's really starting to talk so well now, but she has re-written the book on manners. She says "oo elcom" when you give her something, instead of thank you. Or she'll say both, "cank oo, elcom". And she knows how to give you "the Look"! It's hilarious, and she can even keep a straight face as we are laughing hysterically! That's pretty good. Last night I told her no on something, and she was sitting on the floor facing me when I told her no, and she promptly turned her body to face the other way, folded her arms across her body, and went "hmph!" and wouldn't look at me...laughing so hard I was crying.

Well, that's some of the scoop around here. Little miss thing is fussing...better go before she wakes the rest of the house!

Love ya,
Lisa

That's What I Get...

For trying to get a group picture!

Now, here's what's going on in this picture...Ben's composed and trying to smile and hold the little wiggle worm, Greg just said "OW" while slouching and trying to smile, Alex is "posing for the picture"..."like this, Mom?" he says, and Ellie's laughing because she just hit Greg on the head with the little shovel thing and he yelled ow, which she thinks is HILARIOUS, and she's trying to get down at the same time! Will I ever get a nice group picture???? Oh well, this makes me laugh...

SO things are crazy here, but nothing new. Football practice (Ben) starts tomorrow, soccer practice (Greg) starts next week, and we have two birthday parties and some fantasy football drafts thrown in there for good measure. And of course school starts on August 25th. Kinda late this year it seems, but what are you gonna do? Well, I guess I wouldn't know what to do if I wasn't running around like a chicken with my head cut off! I wouldn't have it any other way...well, maybe some days I would! :-)

Gotta go for now, laundry awaits!
Love ya
Lisa

And We're Off...!

Started work today...just a half day. I was up too early, around 4:30, because I was worried that I wouldn't hear my alarm clock, or that it wouldn't go off, or something of that nature...so I was up, sort of. Drifted in and out of a light slumber I suppose until 6:00. Got up, showered and got ready, and my lovely little children, who usually wake ME up around 6:30 or so, were not even close to waking up at 7:15!!! Mind you, we need to be out the door by 7:30. So of course I had to wake them up, which is just about all of our least favorite thing to do! Grumpy, whiney children. That's what I dropped off at the daycare. Nice, huh? At least I didn't have to deal with them though!!!!

Alex wouldn't let go of my leg, and Ellie was screaming as I handed her off to Miss Teresa, one of my favorites. We gave the ol' daycare a test drive last week, and it went as well as could be expected. So at least we all kind of knew the teachers today. That helped. Alex didn't cry at all while I was gone, and had a lot of fun. Ellie didn't fare so well. She didn't really eat, didn't really play, just kind of hung out and/or cried :-( But I'm sure she'll come to enjoy it...soon I hope!

So back to work was nice, but a little boring. Naturally, as I expected, they didn't have a computer or a chair for me to sit in (this is simply how they have always been, unprepared!), and I arrived there approx. an hour before my boss got there. I did have the trusty ol' pile of paperwork to fill out. That helped pass the time. And here I sit, waiting for software to load on my computer so I can work from home. My boss had something he wanted me to get done today. Glad I only was supposed to work half a day! Oh well, I'm logging my time. At least I'm getting paid!

Talk soon,
Lisa

I'm Just Done...

So, we've spent over $2000 on my stupid mini-van to fix the A/C, and boy is it working great. However, in the last couple of weeks, we've noticed a burning oil or anti-freeze smell after turning the piece of crap off. No smoke, no leaks, no rising temp. Just a bad smell. So I take it in for an oil change today, and had to have a safety inspection (in stupid Missouri, you have to have your vehicle inspected every other year in order to renew your license plates). I also mentioned "the bad smell"...WELLLLLLL....now my van needs another at least $1000 worth of work. Most of it is regular vehicle maintenance. However, after just spending $2000 just on the A/C and a couple of other leaks, it doesn't really seem to matter that it is just regular maintenance! I'm so sick of putting money that I don't have into a piece of crap vehicle that I don't even like! And it won't pass inspection until I spend at least $400 to fix the brakes and the whole tail-light assembly thing. So now I can't renew my plates either. Luckily I have until the end of July!
I HATE VEHICLE MAINTENANCE.
I'm done now, thank you...
By the way, the bad smell is a leaking valve cover gasket. Nice, huh?

Little Bug Problem

OK, so I HATE bugs...but they seem to love me and my house. Last year, it was the ants and waterbugs. This year, it is some unidentified little creature, and I mean little, almost microscopic. It's black, oval shaped, with two little short antennas. It crawls and hops, and they seem to mostly stay near windows on the back side of my house, which faces the northeast, I think. Anybody have any ideas as to what they might be, and how to get rid of them? I have those Terro liquid ant traps setting inside the sils of all my windows. Those have pretty much kept the ants out, but these little critters don't seem to take that bait.

I've sprayed Raid when I see them, but I hate spraying that stuff around my kitchen sink. And it only lasts until the next day, when a fresh batch has creeped in. What to do, what to do?

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Work I Go...

Well, for those of you who don't know...I'm going back to work after two years+ of being a stay-at-home-mom. I've spoiled my kids rotten and I can't handle them anymore, so now it's someone else's turn! :-) So really, it's just time. I'm going back to Contract Furnishings, the same place I worked when we first moved here, over THREE YEARS AGO! Can you believe we have been here that long?! Time sure flies. So anyway, I'll be designing office spaces again, and doing some admin stuff. But I have a little softer schedule this time, working 8:30-4:30. Hopefully that gives me time to get home and get the big kids off to wherever they need to be...practice, game, concert, camp...whatever, and find time to make supper.

So Ben and Greg will be hanging out at home for the summer (maybe not for long...we'll see how they do), and Alex and Ellie will be going to a daycare center. It seems to be a really nice, fun, organized place. I'm just horrible at taking the kids outside (I bow down to the person or persons who invented climate control!), and at the daycare, they will get to go crazy on all kinds of slides and swings and climby things TWICE DAILY!!!! So excited! They seem to have a pretty good cirriculum as well, better than my school of Dora, Diego, Backyardigans, and the latest...the evil, stupid, lame, IQ-reducing Spongebob!! However, my dear friend Cathy pointed me to a GREAT show on PBS called Word World. It actually is a pretty good show, and they learn letters and sounds, etc. etc. all while being entertained. I had to go buy Alex "letters" so he can "build a word, let's build it, let's build it now...".

So anyway, I'm everything you can imagine I would be. Nervous, excited, anxious, joyful...I finally get to go to the bathroom all by myself!!! Don't have to check in with Alex before I go anywhere or do anything...but I'm sure I'll miss it at some point. My first day back is June 23rd, and I'll be just doing 1/2 days that first week, just to kind of ease into it.

Well, I'll try to keep in touch.

Pray for us...

Lisa

Happy Birthday!

Well, we've made it through THREE April birthdays in the Cave household, with one more to go next week (Greg). Everyone made out pretty well I think. Matt, however, got the short end of the stick. I thought I was being so cool and bought him his first HD DVD to watch on his BIG HD TV. However, I did not know that the stupid loud surround sound system he has does not have an HD DVD player, so basically my "Super Purchase" was worthless. AND he had to use the leftovers from Ben's birthday ice cream cake for his cake. No sense in buying two of the same ice cream cakes two days in a row, I say! But he did get the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, which is something he was wanting, so that's good I guess. And I made him some of his favorite brownies. But he likes the ice cream cake better so I pretty much handled the brownies that night. I've got three brownies hanging out on my hips, and a couple in my thighs...sorry, too much info!

The Many Faces of Ellie Cave

The many funny faces of little miss thing! So cute I had to share! Enjoy!

Easter 2008

Hey Everyone!

Hope you all had a good Easter! We had fun traveling to Omaha, Sioux City, and Remsen to spend time with the extended family. We had a couple of Easter egg hunts, and the Easter bunny DID end up coming to Gramma and Grandpa's house, despite the repeated threats that he just may not bring anything to children who make bad choices! Apparently the Easter bunny decided that my children made good enough choices, although I begged to differ.

So the latest with Ben is that baseball is starting soon, I think in 3 weeks, so he is pretty excited to get things rolling. Also, his 11th birthday is right around the corner, April 17th, and he's having a pool party at the community center where Matt works out, and is inviting the whole class. That's a total of 42 kids! I'm sure they won't all be able to make it though, at least that's what I keep hoping for my sanity's sake!!! So anyway, 11th birthday...but I'm pretty sure he thinks it's his 13th. At least that's how he's acting. He was growing his hair out, ya know, because he's maturing, and that's the cool thing to do these days is for boys to have long hair. But with that hair growing came the growth of a major attitude! I'm so not ready for a pre-teen! The rolling eyes, the arguing, and giant sighs of despair...mom, I'm so sorry!

So anyway, in our parent/child battle for control, I took him for a haircut yesterday. It's not quite as short I as I would like to see it (and crazy Matt wanted it buzzed!), but I had told him we'd compromise and I'd let him keep it a little longer. However, when all was said and done, he informed the hairdresser that this haircut was NOT a compromise. So I informed him that next time we will NOT be compromising and he will be getting a buzz. He changed his tune pretty quickly. He will learn sooner or later not to mess with me....

Greg's soccer season has begun and his team is 1-1. He doesn't seem to be quite as enthusiastic about soccer this season, but I think he'll get into it a little more when the weather warms up. For some reason, he's not really a fan of playing soccer in 40 degree weather! Greg's birthday is also coming up, May 7th, and we are not quite sure what we are going to do to celebrate his 10th birthday yet. He's pretty laid back about it, isn't too worried about it yet. He's pretty preoccupied with debating whether or not he wants to grow up. Seriously, he told me that. He's not sure if he wants to grow up or not, and sometimes his actions tell me he's going with the latter! However, he really is a sweet and caring boy, and generally learns his lessons from watching/listening to Ben get in trouble!

Alex is just as onery but cute as ever. His latest phrase is "Do you know what GRANDPA says? Grandpa says YES!" whenever he wants something that I say no to! And he told me last night that he had a problem. So I asked what the problem was, and he said, "the problem is that we have to go get Greg from soccer. I miss Greg..." Awwwwwww. Another funny...he kept telling me that he wanted to play with the "potato" in the front closet in the living room. I could not figure out what he was talking about and just told him no. He kept asking me day after day, so finally I had him show me what in the heck he was talking about...he wanted the Play-Doh! LOL! He also has a birthday coming up, number 4 on April 30th. He told me he wants a rocket cake for his birthday. I'll have to see what I can come up with!

And finally, Ellie is still Ellie. Drama queen, princess, loves to make fish faces and give kisses when she wants to get down. Her favorite things to eat are the Little Einsteins brand fruit snacks, and yes, they have to be Little Einsteins (or Backyardigans). I bought the cheapy ones and she wouldn't eat them! Little stinker! She's becoming quite adventurous, climbing up steps, sliding down on her booty, and she now gets up on the hearth, climbs over the arm of the chair, and sits in the chair as if she's climbed a mountain! So funny. Oh, and she likes to read books.

She's starting to say a few more words, but she generally doesn't say too much. She just screams mostly. We are working on that.

So that's the scoop around here.

Hope all is well with everyone!
Love,

Lisa

Ellie's 18-month Check-Up

Well, little miss thing had her 18 month check-up today...she's staying right in the 25th percentile for her height and weight, and around 65% for her big ol' melon (head circumference), which she gets from her father! She's 22 lbs, 13 oz, and 31" long. So she's just our little peanut. I have to look, but I think Alex weighed that when he was like 9 months!!!

I also found out that she has an umbilical hernia, which apparently is quite common. It's not a big deal for those of you who don't know. We always just thought that she had an "outie" belly button, but as she is getting bigger, more prone to screaming and throwing tantrums and laughing really hard, it's making it bulge a little more. They usually resolve themselves by the time they are 3-5 years old as her abdominal muscles grow stronger. So no worries for now. I just have to keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't get much bigger, red, swollen, etc., etc.

So anyway, that's all. She's doing really well altogether.
Lisa

Oh yeah, Kimmy Beware...

I forgot to mention...in addition to all the other stuff Matt is doing, he has also been working out at the gym for the last two months, going at least 5 days a week for 1-1/2 -2 hours! He is looking HOT!! (not that he wasn't hot before, just a skinnier hot!!!)

I'm so proud of him. He's really sticking to it. He really feels good and is hinting that he is needing a few SMALLER additions to his wardrobe! Go Matt, go Matt, go, go, go Matt!!

However, everyone who knows Matt knows that he is a people watcher, and I think that is the REAL reason he keeps going. His gym is like a soap opera, and if he misses a day, he's all messed up the next time he goes! He literally creates names for people and gives them a story. It's hilarious! I anticipate him coming home every night just so he can give me the low down on the show!

Ok, but really what is keeping him motivated is my little sister Kim! She is an exercise maniac and works out like 3 hours a day! She's nuts, but good for her. She's in great shape, and I envy her. I wished that I liked exercise. I think I'd be good at it !:-) Again, good to have goals...

So anyway, Kim can work the stair-stepper forever, in fact, I'm sure she's the reason they've had to replace the stair-stepper at her gym! LOL! But really I think she does about an hour at level 10?? Well, Matt wants to take her on at Christmas this year! He came home about 2 weeks ago and told me he could take her on NOW, and was all geeked up to find out how soon we would be seeing her! I was like, uh, I'm not so sure you're quite ready. She does like an hour every day! He didn't believe me, so he just had to call Kim. After speaking with her, he's recanted his statement and his working hard every day to get there!!!

So anyway, kudos to Matt. You all should send him messages to keep him pumped up!!!!

Thanks,

Lisa

Basketball and Ponytails...

So, I haven't kept up my resolution to post more often...sorry to those who live vicariously through us!!! LOL!

Well, basketball season is almost over. Greg's season ended last week with a winning record, but a loss in the first round of the tournament. Darn the luck. So Greg's passing the time by taking pictures with the camera he got for Christmas...

One down, one to go...

So Ben (#32) is playing right now as I type. Yes, I'm a bad mother today. I didn't go to what might be his last game of the season due to the fact that my toddlers are all but out of control at sporting events and I just didn't have the patience for it today. I did, however, go to what was predicted to be his last game last night!!! The team pulled it together and pulled out a pretty nice win for the first round of tournament play (it may have helped that the other team played with only 4 players for the first three quarters due to sick kids, but hey, we're not picky)! So anyway, if they win today, they play for the championship next weekend. Then basketball will be over for the season...just in time for baseball and soccer practice to start!!! Whew!

Although I have to say, since Matt has been coaching, I'm not doing quite so much of the running since he has to be there anyway, which is nice considering I have two little ones to get in and out of pain-in-the-booty but life-saving 5-point harness car seats! Car seats that, by Alex's standards, are "NOT BERRY COMFY"! He lets me know every time we go somewhere. So anyway, back to Matt coaching...he coached Ben's basketball this past season, he is coaching Ben's baseball team, and is talking about coaching Ben AND Greg's basketball teams next year! All the while working long and hard days to make sure that I can continue to stay home with the kids!! What a guy! He loves us, I know!

Speaking of staying home/working, I am actually going to be doing some contract design work for Matt's company, working from home. They are getting busy enough that Matt needs a designer SOMETIMES, so I will just log my hours and they will pay me as we go. I'm pretty excited!

And as for ponytails...Ellie got her first real one today! She's getting so big, and so stinkin' cute, but what an attitude she has!! She's talking all the time, but we don't really know what she's saying. Here's what's clear...Dada, Uh-Oh, Wow, Hi, OWWWWWWW, Juice, Cheese, Ball, and sometimes Mama. I think she also says please and thank you, but I only can tell by the context in which she says it, not by how it sounds!! She's generally been my very cautious child, but I've changed all that with one trip to a little playplace here. It's a little area in the Zona Rosa shopping mall and it has giant firm, but soft fake fruit for the kids to climb on. Well, she wasn't quite sure what to do at first, and really didn't leave my side for the first 20 minutes or so. However, one trip to the giant kiwi and it was all over. I had to pull her away from it kicking and screaming! She now climbs on EVERYTHING! And stands up on it like she has conquered a mountain! Pretty cute. Except her favorite thing to climb on here is the STONE hearth.

And then there's Alex, who is almost 4 years old if you can believe it! AND he just as onery as Ellie. In fact, I believe the two are conspiring against me. I believe he is teaching her everything he knows, and she is a quick learner! So anyway, I'm trying to get Alex ready for Pre-K, which he will start in the fall. There's a long list of things he has to know before he can start, and we have about 3/4 of them down. But I think it is going to take all summer long to get him ready. They expect him to be able to sit still and listen for TEN WHOLE MINUTES!! YES, ALL AT ONCE!!! He can't sit still for TWO minutes, much less TEN!!! But, it's always good to have goals, right?! Favorite new quote..."Do you know what Dad says? Dad says YES!" when he wants something that I have said no to! Oh, and another new quote..."Hey, what's the BIG IDEA?!?!?"

So anyway, that's the scoop around here!

Talk soon!

Lisa