'twas the day before thanksgiving...

wednesday morning started out like most wednesday mornings...kids up just after 6, asking for breakfast, fighting over crayons, crying about who turned on the light...you know, the happy sounds of another day beginning...

the kids didn't have school (neither did dave, actually), which really translates to an entire day of fighting, crying, whining...gee, i couldn't wait!

a little background: ellie burned her hand the night before on the fireplace glass...you know, the glass that covers the flame for protection...yes, that glass. we gave her some tylenol and covered her hand with a sock when she went to bed and decided to check it in the morning.

back to wednesday morning...ellie's hand is blistering and oozing. bad news. gotta call the doctor.

tears from joe...really? he's 10 and the usual bully around here. his soft spot: rascal, his pet rat. it would seem the rat was bleeding from his ears and an eye, and had some awful blister things on his hind feet. gross. gotta call the vet.

as it turns out, ellie has a second-degree burn on her hand...so sad. she's been a really good sport about it, actually. i feel so bad...and we turned off the pilot light for the fireplace, guess it's just for looks now.

about an hour before the vet appointment we found rascal dead in his cage. a very sad moment at our house, that little rodent was dearly loved. i even sorta kinda thought he was okay...for a rat. actually, he was cute...he was this golden color, like a hamster. as long as i didn't look at his long tail, i liked him.

lots of hugs. lots of tears. joseph didn't understand how rascal could die when he said a prayer that he wouldn't...tough questions with some tough answers, but i think he's getting it. joe decorated a box with his name on it and some messages of love...we wrapped the poor thing in a washcloth and buried him in the backyard. the kids wanted to do like they saw in "marley & me" and each say something to him at the "funeral". aubrey couldn't hold back her tears, she was a sobbing mess, poor girl. she read a letter that she wrote to rascal: "dear rascal, i love you. i will miss you, you were like a brother to me." should i be worried? spencer gave a long speech, it was adorable. my favorite thing he said was "we buyed you at the pet store, but i know that jesus made you to come to our family."--aww! rip, rascal...we will miss you!

we ate cold cereal and krispy kreme for dinner...seems fitting since tomorrow we will stuff ourselves silly with thanksgiving!!!!

i am thankful that the day before thanksgiving is over...

so fun i can't even stand it

socks on his head...because that is the silliest thing he could do

i am the worst blogger! i keep thinking that i need to post about cool stuff we do, places we go, awesome achievements of the kids...but really i just need to post about us. we rarely do "cool stuff" or "go places" or have "awesome achievements" (ok, not that my kids don't do great stuff, but you know what i mean...)...so i'm just gonna bore you to death and talk about our terribly ordinary life...

ellie and spence are cuter than anything ever. i love love love these two little monkeys!! maybe i'm just better at appreciating the preschool years now that i know i'm at the end of it? i don't know...but i really have so much fun with them. they love to quote movies and talk in silly voices...where in the world did that come from?! dave is proud...:) they are both very snuggly and affectionate, too, which is my absolute most favorite thing. ellie tells me i'm her best friend...i hope that lasts! and spencer wants my help to do most everything because, as he says, "you are just magical, mom!" :)

i feel really blessed with spence and ellie...they are a little closer in age than joe and aubrey (17 months vs. 20 months) but really remind me so much of the older two. i know that i was a little more uptight earlier in my mom years :) and i dealt with some really awful depression junk the first year of aubrey's life--making it so that i have very little memory at all of that period of time. i just feel like, in some ways, i'm getting a chance to do it again...to have my little boy and little girl and be a little more chilled out and enjoy the things i hurried through before.

what a lucky mom i am...the most funnest (yes, mari, i know it's not a real word) kids are MINE!!!!! :)

fall at home

this is one of my very favorite things about missouri...the huge trees, stunning fall colors...i love to look out over the rolling hills, covered in oranges and yellows and reds. i love to drive down a tree-lined road in the fall...it feels like i'm driving through a rainbow.

i love the fall! pumpkin-flavored everything, thanksgiving, jackets, apples, bonfires, snuggling and big blankets...ah, so cozy!

i hope you are enjoying fall, wherever you are...

just a plug

so i want to keep this blog personal and just about our little family...so this is probably the only plug i'm going to give for my new blog (although there is a link to it in my "friends and family" list)...

www.realitiesofasahm.blogspot.com

there are 5 stay-at-home moms that make this blog. we each have a day of the week assigned to us to post...my day is wednesdays. saturdays are fun and extra features and sundays are recipes. it has been a really fun thing to be a part of, i love love love love my job as a s@hm and feel so blessed to be able to live that dream. but it's not all roses, and this blog community has become a very therapeutic way to connect with other moms...we share experiences that we can all relate to, the good and the hard. i love being able to lift and be lifted, to laugh and to inspire.



so, if you haven't read us yet...check it out! if you become a regular reader or follower there are benefits...we have giveaways every couple of weeks and we are starting a "featured follower" thing...and other, bigger stuff is coming...

hope you enjoy it as much as i do!!

what have we been up to?!

good question...school started for 5 members of our family in the month of august! that's a lot of pencils and notebooks and glue sticks, by the way. but my favorite is seeing those 5 lunchbags all lined up on the counter. or the backpacks all hung in a row. it's just...i don't know. happy.

joseph is in middle school?! yep, 5th grade. it's been a big adjustment, mostly about being the new kid. there are 2 middle schools in nixa and we moved across the boundary line...so everyone he has known for 5 years is at the other school. it actually has made time at home and scouts that much for fun for him, yay! :)


aubrey is in 3rd grade and growing up! she loves walking to school, being on the 'green team'--the recycling club--and making new friends. she has the coolest teacher ever, mr. brockmeyer. he's all about rock 'n roll, so they have lots of fun in class.



gracie likes meeting boys. and older girls. she also likes walking to school, and 1st grade is proving to be a fun time for her. awesome aunt ashley has been tutoring her and her reading is really improving. her favorite thing is having a home lunch. she even packs her own sometimes!


spencer has hit the big world of pre-school...i love to listen to him talk about his classmates, it's the cutest thing ever. he takes his snack in a lunchbag like the big kids, pretty much makes his day to drink a capri sun. he refuses to wear any of his old play clothes to school...only the new clothes will do!



and dave...ta da! full-time this semester in the ota program. it's really happening!!! he's doing great, everyone loves him (duh) and he loves what he is learning. he already has to put in requests for internship places next year, so he's busy figuring out what he wants to check out. this is sooooo his thing!

ellie and i are the loners at home :) she's so much fun to hang out with, i will miss her in 2 years when she goes to preschool...and i'm not wishing the time away, i just know it's going to be here before i know it! lots of hugging and snuggling and dancing and giggling, that's what we do all day!

so there you have it!

Easter

The End

Joseph was fascinated with Grandma Cluff's house and all her family history...his favorite was the actual wooden leg of Marshall Hunt, the father of Jefferson Hunt (captain in the Mormon Battalion)...very cool :)

Me, Grandma Cluff, Coco, Joseph, Luke, Spencer

Ellie, Me, Grandma Cluff, Coco, Aubrey, and Gracie

We also had SO MUCH FUN with Kaydence, my cousin's little girl that is exactly Ellie's age. Joseph and Luke buddied up quickly and had a blast. We loved every minute of our trip, going home was hard to do!