Happiness

Isn't she just a doll?! Don't you just wanna eat her? I do...all the time!! Here are a few of my favorite Ellie sayings as of the last week or two:

1. Yep
2. Nope
3. Taylor Swift
4. Potty
5. I'm Pretty

Of course her vocabulary extends beyond this, but these are her latest (and cutest)...she's quite a jabbery girl and sometimes she will have very lengthy and animated conversations with me. I love it!!

Wouldn't you just love your life if you could wake up to her adorableness every day? :) Ah, my Ellie!!

Today

I am totally ADD...

I sit down to pay some bills, I get up to get some stamps, and suddenly I'm sorting through the grocery ads next to the stamps. Next thing you know, I'm making a shopping list, when I check to see if I'm out of vegetable oil. Oo-la-la! I see brownie mix--now I'm making brownies! I get tired of watching the oven so I go watch PBS cartoons while I fold some laundry. The glare from the bathroom light is bugging me so I get up to turn it off. Towels and dirty clothes on the bathroom floor get on my nerves so I clean them up. Under the pile I find Joe's football cleats, so I take them to his room, where I find the phone I left there earlier while I was putting clothes away. I see I missed some calls so I return them.

Sometimes I can go a whole day and not complete a single task. Beat that!!

My Cavity-Free Home

I have always taken a slight amount of pride in how much toothpaste we go through at our house. I mean, really, my kids brush so often and so well that their breath is always fresh and their cute, tiny teeth sparkle from a mile away. At least, that's what I have led myself to believe as about every 3rd morning I am summoned to the hall bathroom because "somebody used all the toothpaste!". Naturally, I could hardly assume anything contrary to a dentist's dream being lived out in my very own bathroom.

The last several days, however, I have been forced to accept that the slime on their biters might be for real. As I was coming to grips with this gross truth, I found an unlikely ally: my home. It told on those kids!! Want a list of all the places I have found toothpaste goo? Here ya go...

1. Carpet on the stairs

2. Underneath kitchen chairs

3. Walls (in nearly every room)

4. Door of the pantry (?)

5. Backpacks

6. Doorknobs

7. Computer keyboard

8. Ellie's pillow (another ?)

So I'm psyching myself up for the dentist visit in 2 weeks that will confirm my worst fears: my children have cavity-ridden mouths.

My one consolation? No decay found in the carpet, chairs, walls, doors, backpacks, keyboard, or pillows! Whew...that was close!

BACON

Dear Turkey Bacon,

You are NOT real bacon! Real bacon is, by definition, delicious and fatty and from a PIG. You are not delicious, not fatty, and you are from a TURKEY! You are not welcome in my kitchen anymore...please pack your fake self and go find some health-concious, no-regard-for-taste family to live with. Thank you.

Best Regards,
The Mom of a family that places high value on DELICIOUSNESS

Reading Log H*@#@&%# !!

Here's one drawback to school being back in session: READING LOGS...I don't like them one single bit! They make my head hurt and I'm in a constant state of guilt over not filling them out regularly. The truth? I usually end up writing down a whole month's worth of stories (that we have read, I just don't remember on which days and for how long) the morning the log is due. Or, I forget about it entirely and give my child extra dessert when they come home sad that they were the only kid in their class to miss lunch bunch. I'm a lame mom!

This might be the part where I ask for advice...you know, some put-it-out-there question like "How do you keep track of your child's reading?". But I don't want advice (unless you really do have something cool) because I can tell you right now it won't work. :) I'm just waiting out the years of reading log HECK!

Wa-la!

So here is the promised post with pictures...I know it's this morning instead of last night, but are you really gonna freak about it? Really?

The first picture is, of course, the first day of school. All 3 of the kids are at the same school this year and that makes me all kinds of happy! :) First of all, they can look out for each other on the bus...I will spare you my bus issues--nothing has ever happened but I still have some personal hang-ups. The really great thing about one school, though, is ONE schedule! Everyone is out of the door and back in the door at the same time. There is only one Open House, one Fall Festival, one Book Fair...it simplifies a mom's life in countless, blessed ways!!

The bottom picture was taken just a few weeks ago to send to Grandma Cluff and Grandma Dee...I am officially the world's worst picture-sender and was losing sleep over my guilt, so one day I just plopped the kids down together and snapped this shot to send off to the grandmas we love SO MUCH!!

So there you have my post!

For Reals...

Okay, this may sound familiar...but I am ready to get back to consistent blogging! I just spent the last hour reading blogs of people I love and decided I have no more excuses. It's true that Dave has my camera (again) but I'm not going to let that stop me anymore! :)

So here's a really quick update...school is back in session! Dave is taking 2 classes and working part-time at St. John's Hospital in the therapy area. Joseph is playing football again, Aubrey is doing soccer. Gracie loves kindergarten, Spencer is a wild-thang and Ellie is balls of fun! I am babysitting 4 other kids...it has it's challenges but it's been a blessing for us and is the only way Dave can go back to school so I'm grateful for it!

Whew...this time I am SERIOUS about getting on here more often!! I'll post with pics TONIGHT, pinky promise!