best buds

I say there's nothing like a brother who will hang out with you on your princess couch

Eric taught Katie this lovely trick

Bubby was getting this kiss whether he wanted it or not :)

I love these kids.
I love these moments.

is there more than corn in Indiana?

Other than birthday cake and skittles, I have never seen this child more excited about food.

Is it just me or does she just look way too old?

Look very carefully at the two pictures below:

Notice anything about the actual way my children are eating their corn?
Oh my....so, so funny.

i spy with my little eye...

I'm not much of a "garage-saler"...either in giving or going. My only experience in hosting one in the last ten years was a nightmare, and my mom used to drag us to garage sales constantly making me despise those annoying flourescent posters flapping in the wind. Believe me...it's not that I think I'm too good for garage sales (although I am vehemently opposed to any type of undergarment being sold at a garage sale...that is just silly, as Katie would say)...I love hand me down's and my children would be half naked without them, it's just the actual garage sale I don't like. All of that to say, Eric and I got up on a lazy Saturday morning with nothing to do besides the things we should actually be doing like sweeping/mopping floors, trimming hedges, you know all the boring stuff. Eric bribed me out of the house with the promise of breakfast, so with a half-sweet white chocolate mocha in hand, we followed those little flourescent signs. And they were everywhere! Going to garage sales in Broadripple can be an interesting experience...Eric taught me this quickly. There were a few streets to avoid needless to say, unless of course you really DID want that amber colored crystalware. All in all, we made it home with a car stuffed full...having only spent about 40 dollars. Not bad for an entire morning. That long at Target...and I would be in big trouble! Here are just a few of my favorite finds...

we got this little table for the kids for only 2 dollars! I have been looking for something inexpenseive like this with chairs on craiglist for awhile. I didn't get the chairs yet...but this is a pretty cool table, and already matches Katie's room. I have big plans about decorating it....can't decide if I should do the kid's handprints in the middle with some kind of quote around the outside or just paint the top with chalkboard paint, and let them scribble on it....
what do you think?

I have to say this has probably been the biggest hit of our garage sale-ing day. KJ has had a quilt that I bought her when I moved into my apartment, and she moved into a big girl bed for about two years. I still love it, it's super cute with stripes of all different colors (but a lot of pink and purple) going different directions. We found two sets of these comforters, which appeared to have never been or barely used...and they were only 5 bucks for both of them! The comforter matches her room perfectly...and more than that, she was so excited! For two days straight, she treated it like it was her smaller blankie, and tried to drag it everywhere. Thankfully, that has stopped, but I'm glad my little girl LOVES her new bed.

Kinda combining two posts into one here...but ever since Katie came back to my house and saw that I had completely cleaned her room, took out all the old toys and clothes, remade her bed, and Eric swept and mopped her floor, she was so cute...she kept telling me that she likes her room clean, and she wants to keep it that way. My four year old seriously attempts to make her own bed in the morning. It's quite adorable, really.

Okay, due credit goes to my mom for the kitchenette which she got at a different garage sale. It's adorable, and KJ loves it. (So much sometimes she's up until midnight "cooking" for her babies... :( Katie and Carter both got lots of new books, and if you look in the bottom right of the picture you will see a brand new stable for all of Katie's "My Little Pony's". You should hear the dialogue at night when she knows she can't get out of bed, but is still up playing in her room. I never thought a little fifty cent stable could conjure up so much imagination.

On to Mr. Roo's room...he also really likes to have his room clean now, I had no idea how many babyish toys were still lingering. Also, half the clothes in his drawer were winter and too small. I'm so lazy! I cleaned it all up, and now bubby has a big room to play with all of his cars, pirate ship, train tracks, dump truck...you know all that boy stuff.

In the right corner of the cars mat, is bubby's "new to me" racetrack! Funny story-we asked the people about it before we paid the two dollars for it, just to make sure it had all the pieces. They assured us it did and then went on to tell us that although it was a really fun toy that their own son had enjoyed it was extremely difficult to put together, and although the pieces were numbered it still took them over an hour. I bought in anyway, thinking..surely it can't be that bad! No joke, it took Eric and I seven minutes to put that thing together and that was after doing it wrong the first time. I always knew I was a genius. :)

Nothing new to me here, just a clean room for once, and drawers full of clothes that fit!

and for all of you out there who were wondering...yes my children really do have pictures on their wall that I colored. Yep, me. Quite frankly, I enjoy coloring. These are the kids' favorites of mine, so I put them up in their rooms. Along with genius, you can add dork to that list

Hooray for garage sales!

thanks, mom.

I am one of six children, one who lives in heaven. I'm amazed that my mom has a 31 and a 14 year old...that is over 30 years of raising children! I am grateful to my mother for many many things, especially putting up with me as a small child who would not sleep through the night until I was four years old. The fact that my daughter is a terrible sleeper really is no surprise to me, I'm pretty sure I earned that one. As a child, I remember my mother as a tenacious woman who always managed to make sure it all got done...somehow. She demanded the best, and I know this has taught me more than a few life lessons. As our relationship has grown and changed from 18 to 28, I have found in my mother a confidante and a steady friend. Who else accepts your phone call at 4 am because you don't know what to do with your crouping son? Who else would visit your daughter every single day for 54 days in the NICU because she wouldn't go a single day without seeing Katie's progress. I am very grateful to my mom for many things. But I am most thankful for the way that she loves my children. Since Katie was just a baby and I returned to teaching full time she has been their caregiver during the day. (now she is with them the two days a week they don't go to school) I watch her with them and I think to myself how lucky they are to have their Grammy Jodi, how much they will cherish their relationship as they get older. Thank you mom, for loving Katie and Carter, and for being so selfless with that love.
I love you, mom.

a pirate party!

(I realize that my son's birthday was last month, but he had so many cute small celebrations rather than one huge party that I still have pictures....and besides I have an excuse, I had surgery in July... :)

This is going to sound silly but as a kid I was always jealous of my friends whose mom's would bring them cupcakes on their birthday for the whole class (mine is Christmas Eve..) and this year was the first year that Carter was celebrating a birthday at school. I was already planning and scheming about the amazing hand decorated cupcakes I was going to make when his school told me that although it was wonderful to have a little party with cupcakes, they had to be store bought. I get it, and I understand that it makes sense...but man, mine would have been cooler.

Carter was very surprised when he saw me halfway through the school day with a big tray of cupcakes. His 'friends' were very excited...a bunch of rowdy boys and one lone sweet little girl. His teacher must have been blessed with the patience of a saint. It was a perfect pirate party.

We even had a pirate entrance! (Carter's door to his classroom)

My mom's here? And she made me this cool crown? I want to wear it upside down!

We asked the director for permission for KJ to leave her class and come to her brother's party. They said it would be fine and she was very sweet singing nicely to her brother and helping to "serve" all of his friends their cupcakes.

Look at that face! Totally just took a swipe of icing from her cupcake and is giving her the 'eyebrow' to see if she notices! So sneaky!

Happy Birthday my sweet little man.

mmmm...icing

it's fair to say I might have had a few moms mad at me for giving their children a sugar high in the morning...maybe they won't know it was me :) this is Carter's best friend, Henry.

Ella, such a sweet face.

all the rest of Carter's buds...

Katie making sure the countertops are clean (shocking) :)

it would appear my pirate birthday boy had a good time.

love you bubby, I promise to bring you cupcakes at school until you tell me it's not cool anymore...

big boys

Imagine the voice of my three year old "Mommy....we need to tell my fwiends that I don't sleep in a yittle bed anymore cuz now...cuz now I a big boy, and big boys need bigger beds!"
I wasn't sure his class at preschool would understand why I was talking to them about Carter's bed, so I thought I would tell my friends instead. Carter is a big boy, as he says, and admittedly big boys do need big beds. This is our latest craigstlist steal...and his new quilt was even on clearance! I love his new room. About him becoming a big boy?? Not so crazy about that...

a promise made.

Once upon a time there were two sisters who made an important yet personal promise to each other that that one day they would go to a Dave Matthews Band Concert, and not just go to the concert, but go to the concert alone. Now before anyone's feelings get hurt, quite frankly it only takes a couple drunken nightmares (not by the two of us if you get my drift)...to wish that sometimes you could just enjoy the music you've loved and followed for years...just the TWO of you. And one year, these sisters stopped making excuses, and they bought tickets to this concert...and despite the fact that one of the sisters was recovering from major surgery...they made this promise come true.And the night...even though it rained, it was perfect, nearly heavenly. We were oblivious, really as large as that crowd was I remember only being happy that we were sharing this moment together.

The setlist for the night was perfect...I might have preferred that he played a few more older songs. I guess it's time to accept I'm just getting older :)

1. You Might Die Trying

2. Seven

3. You and Me

4. Dancing Nancies

5. Lying in the Hands of God

6. Shotgun

7. Say Goodbye

8. Funny the Way it Is

9. Dive In

10. Crush

11. The Stone

12. Shake Me Like a Monkey

13. Alligator Pie

14. (cover) Burning Down the House-Talking Heads

15. Pantala Naga Pampa

16. Rapunzel

double encore-
Don't Drink the Water
Two Step

The concert was every bit of what we imagined. Each musician was highlighted...we missed LeRoy Moore...but the new saxaphone player was unbelievable. Boyd Tinsley was breathtaking as usual. What a perfect night.

I'll conclude with my fav of the night..

Baby, I'll be your soldier
Gladly I'll do your bidding,
For just a taste of what you're holding
For just a taste you could own me.

Save your sermons for someone that's afraid to love.
I'll be right here. Lying in the hands of God.

Here it comes diving into me
Now the floor is the ceiling
If you never flew why would you
Cut the wings off a butterfly

Save for the sermons for someone's that afraid to love
If you knew what I feel then you couldn't be so sure
I'll be right here. Lying in the hands of God.

If you feel angels in your head
Teardrop of joy runs down your face
You will rise

Fill me up now drain me
Skin begins to grow back slowly
Faster until I'm choking
I really should call my mother

Save your sermons for someone that's afraid to love.
If you knew what I feel then you couldn't be so sure.
I'll be right here. Lying in the hands of God.

It was a perfect evening.
Thank you, Melanie.