:)

Lonnie comes home tonight. Yeah!

Johnny and June

Oh there's something 'bout a man in black,
Makes me want to buy a cadilac,
Throw the top back,
And roll down to Jackson town,

I wanna be there on the stage with you,
You and I could be the next page two,
Hear the crowd roar,
Make 'em want more,
Kick the footlights out,

I wanna love like Johnny and June,
Rings of fire burnin' with you,
I wanna walk the line,
Walk the line,
'Till the end of time,
I wanna love,
Love ya that much,
Cash it all in,
Give it all up,
When you're gone,
I wanna go too,
Like Johnny and June,

I wanna hold you baby right or wrong,
Build a world around a country song,
Pray a sweet prayer,
Follow you there,
Down in history,

I wanna love like Johnny and June,
Rings of fire burnin' with you,
I wanna walk the line,
Walk the line,
'Till the end of time,
I wanna love,
Love ya that much,
Cash it all in,
Give it all up,
When you're gone,
I wanna go too,
Like Johnny and June,
Like Johnny and June,

More than life itself,
No-one else,
This endless promise,
They don't make love like that anymore,
Is that too much to be askin' for,

I wanna love like Johnny and June,
Rings of fire burnin' with you,
I wanna walk the line,
Walk the line,
'Till the end of time,
I wanna love,
Love ya that much,
Cash it all in,
Give it all up,
When you're gone,
I wanna go too,
Like Johnny and June,
Like Johnny and June,

And when we're gone,
There'll be no tears to cry,
Only memories of our lives,
They'll remember, remember,
A love like that.




This is completely stuck in my head, it is my favorite right now, just wanted to be generous and share it.

?

Why does Tinker Bell cost $20 when I have to sit down and resew all the seams before she even wears it?

And he's gone

But he will be back in a few days. Ty just looked at him and said, "will you come back?" Lonnie said yes and the Ty was like, oh then bye, and ran away.

More pics.

The kids at a party we went to. Dilly looked so cute crawling around all day.

I think he liked his cupcakes.

And the cakes

It was on Dilly's birthday that we had the "big" party. They each got their own cake. Each a different flavor and color.

Tyler's Birthday

Ty got a new knight dress up set from mommy and daddy. You know, all the youghest knight had pacies and blankets. Makes them much more imposing.

All the way back from Octber 10, when the big guy turned 3. He was in a really special mood during his dinner at Mcdonald's.

Sleep?

It took Ty 2 hours and 45 min to go to bed last night.

He is in a great mood today.

Looks like he will be most of the day.

Was already crying uncontrollably at 8.

I don't even really know what to do with that right now.

Blah

Following the trend of almost everyone, Lonnie is out of town this week. He is in Denver until Friday. I am not terribly excited about this. I tend to do one of 2 extremes when he is gone, I either fill up every waking minute with stuff to do with the kids, or I don't really do anything at all.

We will see how this week goes.

The really good news is that he finished taking the walls out of my laundry room before he left, so now it is like I have a whole new room, I am really motivated to do all the laundry now.

Th kids took around 2 1/2 hours to go to sleep, when they normally are out in about 30 to 45 min. so it was a really long night. All I wanted to do was watch Chuck and Heroes, but the natives had different plans for me. Now Leno and I am going to bed.

What we do.

I don't like Halloween. It has never been a favorite of mine. I have several friends who go all out and love the day. Not me.
I grew up in a house with the belief that Halloween and everything dealing with it was bad. I agree with the majority of this, based on the origins of the holiday and such. I would prefer to pretend the entire day just didn't exist.
I also don't personally like the idea of scaring little kids. I don't like to be scared and I generally wan tot punch someone who makes my kids feel that way.
On the other end of that scale, I remember quite clearly how it felt to sit in the hallway outside my 4th grade classroom and do nothing ever day for a week because my class was watching a movie I wasn't allowed to watch.
I remember sitting in the classroom with no costume, while everyone else was dressed up. I remember the years of leaving school early, before the party started. That sucked.
So now I am the mom. Lonnie and I had to decide what to do about the whole thing. I think the idea of sending kids door to door begging is ridiculous. But my children LOVE to dress up. We realized when Wy was in preschool that if he found out that everyone got to wear a costume to school and not him, he would hate that. This is the kid who likes to have dress up parties for his birthday. In March.
So we let him. We have decided that our children are allowed to attend the parties at their schools. They are allowed to dress up for these. This has caused some interesting conversations in our families over the past few years, as everyone has a slightly different opinion on how the entire thing should be handled. This is what works for us.
We, however do not trick or treat. As a family, we go out and everyone picks their favorite candy. Then we come home and have a pj party with movies and the kids stay up too late and have a great time.
This year will be a little different, as Lonnie will be out of town all that week and will be getting back into town that night, but it should still be fun.
This was also the first year we have had to buy costumes, as they have always just worn dress up clothes they already had. I feel like I just got robbed. Wyatt id Batman, again, but a different one, Rylee is Tinker Bell, and Tyler, who doesn't have a class to go to, but won't be left out, is a knight, or spiderman, whichever he chooses, as he has both. They are all really cute, and I am sure we will be seeing much more of these costumes oer the next year or so.

Our Princess

Today our princess is 5. She is our one and only girl in a sea of boys. She is the one with her own room when the rest share. She complains she is the only one in the house that has to sleep alone. I tell her she is the only one that gets to sleep alone. Rylee is all girl, and anyone who has ever met her knows that for sure. She can spend the entire day sitting in a chair coloring, or locked away in our bedroom with a doll house. Or she can be right in the mix of the boy and screaming that they aren't doing what she wants them to.
I love how when it is wrestle time, she wants to be right in the mix. But where the boys are punching and head butting, she is really just hugging and cuddling. She wants to wear her hair just like mommy's. She wants to help me with cooking. She likes to associate us and them.
Rylee loves all things girl. She have dozens of baby dolls, each with their own name and back story. We can rarely see her carpet through the see of dress up, barbies, babys and her own clothes.
She is most definitely a morning person. She almost never wakes up in a bad mood.
She also adores monkeys. When you look in her room, in the middle of the sea of pink, are several monkeys. For her birthday she gets to go to build a bear and make a friend with grandma and grandpa. She has already decided that she is getting a monkey, a princess monkey.
We got Rylee a new comforter for her big day. Last night after she went to sleep, we went in and changed her blankets for the comforter. Everyone knew when she woke up this morning and saw it. It was just great.

Happy Birthday Rylee. We love you. Our little Monkey Princess.

Tunnel Vision

Well it has been interesting. Ty has surprised me and has actually handled the whole pacie thing fairly well. he hasn't thrown the fit that I expected. He has really taken it in stride. At least at bedtime. During the day he has spent quite a bit of time on the floor crying, but that really isn't completely rare.
Dilly has had a little harder time, and I have been letting him have it to fall asleep, and then taking it away. It will get better though, I can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Supper

Supper number one is done. Who knew that ravioli that didn't come out of a can was such a hit with the kiddos?
Supper number two is yet to be figured out, it will be hard to top last weeks Parmesan chicken with angel hair pasta from scratch.
I am not sure what he expects but I have all of Chuck and Heroes to figure it out.

Round 2

Well, here we go. Tyler is now 3. Dilly is now 1. We are going to take the pacies away. Everyone says it will be less than a week and it will all be over. I ceratainly hope so, but let me tell you, it will be one long week.
Pray for us. Pray for me. Pray for them.

Why is Tyler going around calling everyone "wacko"? It is not like it is a word we use a lot around here.
What do you think, you wacko?

Off we go.

Pictures of the weekend will follow, but for now I am heading off to take a 3 yr old and a 1 yr old to the Dr. for well checks, and I will be taking a 5 yr old too, just for fun.
Wish me luck.

Oh my Dilly

Today is Dylon's Birthday. It is really hard to believe. One year ago we had three kids. Now we have four.
What can I say about the baby we call Dilly? He is quite possibly the cutest baby ever. Top that off with the fact that he has the best temperament of any baby I have ever met, and you get the perfect answer for our house. He is sometimes overlooked because he is quiet and doesn't demand a lot.
He is definitely a daddy's boy, and spend much of his time trying to share everything from Daddy's cereal to his laptop.
One present we bought him was a see horse that lights up and plays music. He hugged it the whole way through the store, and when we opened it and gave it to him, he hugged it just like the picture of the kids on the box and took it with him to nap time today.
Dilly is the only one of our kids to not have blue eyes. He has beautiful hazel eyes.
He is loved by everyone around here. He follows the kids everywhere they go, and when he doesn't crawl after them, Wyatt carries him. He loves to be with them. He has a great quick smile, and claps every time he is happy, which is a lot.
We are so happy to have him around,
Happy Birthday baby, Mommy and Daddy love you.

More animal planet

In the van this morning the kids and I were discussing animals, such as elephants have good memories and don't forget. Owls are smart. Lions are brave. Monkeys are funny. They took a quick vote among themselves and decided I had to be a kangaroo, since they take their kids everywhere with them. Nice to know how they think of me. I thought it was cute, just don't expect me to be hopping anywhere anytime soon.

Wait, don't kangaroo's kick people to get them out of their way? Hmmm...

Wild Kingdom

Yesterday morning, Rylee came running into my bedroom and started screaming something about a bird and it needing our help. i walked through the house expecting to have to remove a dead bird from the yard. When I walked into the kitchen, I found Wyatt in the doorway to the deck, holding a bird in his hands. Yes, a bird. I mean how do you even catch bird? Much less just sit and hold it for awhile? He said the dog was chewing on it, and he took it form her. I thought it was dead, and told him to go put it in the corner of the yard, then would you believe the thing hopped away? I asked how h caught it, he said he just walked up and picked it up.
ok, weird.

Then a few minutes later Rylee came and told me there was something weird floating in the fish tank. I looked. then I looked again. Our sucker fish Oscar was not in the tank. But his vertebrae was floating in the water, and his skull was in the corner. How gross, apparently he died and the others ate him. I got the fabulous job of removing those items from the tank.

Nature lessons all around in our house.

Oh Tyler

Oh, Tyler, what can I say about you? You are the child who has most changed and challenged me. I have grown so much from being your mom. I am still learning how to do it right and cultivate your remarkable heart.
You are the fighter around here. Never wanting to be taken for granted or overlooked. You are also the most genuine helper, pushing others out of the way so you can get what i ask for.
You are most definitely your own person. Not easily swayed and very set on what you like and don't.
God certainly knew we needed you. I see you Daddy in you every day. In your passion, your drive and your fierce loyalty to those you love.
This year Ty's favorites are: The Incredibles, mac & cheese, playing at any park, and of course his blanket and his pacifier.
Things he really doesn't like are ketchup, jelly, and being told he isn't big enough for something, he will always tell you he is "bigger"
Some days he will not answer to "Tyler" at all, and will tell you he is "Ty-Ty"
Ty is our table stander, our couch jumper, our fence climber and bed time pusher.
We love him, cherish him and couldn't imagine this house with out him.


Mommy and Daddy love you baby. (Even though you are clearly not a baby, being 3 and all)

A wake up call

I woke up to a sound at 3:30. I couldn't quite place it. I came to find a young boy in his room, trying to clean something off his bed. At first I thought it was barf, and thought, oh no, and then I realized it was potato chips. Then I looked in the kitchen where there was an open can of pop, an open cabinet with a chair in front of it. I am not sure how long he was there or how much he really ate. Oh well, Lonnie just told me he was partying like it is his Birthday, I guess on you birthday you can do that.

A change.

I have sort of mixed emotions, and it is very very silly, but for the last three days it has been Spiderman instead of the Incredibles. I am not really sure how I feel about that. Lonnie isn't the happiest since Spiderman is Marvel and we do DC in this house. But he is 2 so we will let it go.

On the mend, I hope

Some are better. Some are on the way to being better. I am very very tired. But I got a nap in so I can't ask for much more. I did take the kids to the store, which was much needed but I think a little ambitious for Ry, who was all but falling asleep by the time we left. I think a little more recoup is needed. So we are back at home with some movies for a nice quiet afternoon.

Update

Lonnie-- Sinus troubles, bad headache and all that goes with that, as well as being really tired.
Wyatt-- Cough
Rylee-- Upset stomach with barfing and body aches, won't eat
Tyler-- Is almost 3 and himself, but has learned to throw some pretty impressive fits if he isn't happy
Dylon-- Slight fever, diarrhea, won't eat

Mary-- Doing laundry, cleaning up the house and trying to get/ keep it all in order. Please pray.

That was good.

So On Tuesday, My mom came to my house to stay in my zoo for a few days. Lonnie had a conference in Des Moines, and I got to go with him. On Tuesday we went to the first hotel (the one the meeting was at was full that night) and then out to dinner. It really was fun to just drive around and go shopping and eat with just the 2 of us. The hotel was right on the river (the Des Moines River?) and straight across from us was the capital building. It was really very pretty at night since we were sort of high up and had a nice view of it. AT night the capital was all lit up. Then in the morning, I got to watch the sun come up over the top, with the gold roof and all, it was really pretty, unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me. You will just have to believe me.
On Wednesday morning, bright and early we headed to the second hotel. Now I am not sure about everyone else, but we always tend to stay in the more affordable hotel when we travel. But when the State is picking up the tab, I guess you upgrade. So we got there and asked at the front desk where his meeting was and then we got to check in, and Lonnie had to go, so he looked at me and laughing said, Well the bags are in the car, I will see you fro dinner. So I got to spend all day by myself. It was actually really fun. The entire downtown is connected by sky walks, so I went exploring. I found a really cool mall and all kinds of neat shops, all in the sky walk.
We went to dinner at a very cool, unfranchised restaurant and basically had a really great time.
We left there a little before lunch today and were home in time to get Wyatt from school. Lonnie is back at class tonight, and the 3/4 of the kids are in bed so all is normal.

My one question is why the cheaper hotel had a great view, free wifi, and really good cable, and breakfast and the much more expensive hotel had a view of buildings and parking garages, pay by the day net, sucky cable and really pricey breakfast. Seems a little backwards to me.
But it is ok, because Lonnie and I had a great time. The last time we went away together, I was pregnant with Ty, and that was only one night. This was great.

While I was gone, Dylon has a stomach bug and wasn't very pleasant. But he is the baby so that can be dealt with. Then Last night (Wednesday) Rylee got sick. Now I am not sure about other people's kids, but Rylee is intensely difficult to deal with when she is sick. The boys tend to just lie around and do nothing. She on the other hand feels the need to whine, groan, yell and cry the entire time. It really is miserable for everyone that is around her at the time. Unfortunately, it was my mom. Wow, do we really love her. She was out of town for several days, came home for one night and then turned around and came here. The best part is she is still talking to us. I am not sure I would be, but she is and we love her.

So, it was very busy and quiet couple of days for us, but a very busy loud couple of days for my parents.

Rylee has started in on the crying now so I must go.