Today's a new day...

Well, thankfully, I got out last night and played cards with my girlfriends! How refreshing it is to get out and have a little fun! Thanks girls!=)

Today started a new day - the kids slept in a bit - 7:00 - not too bad. I made some French Toast, and for the most part it has been a pretty low-key kind of day. I've even done some laundry! (I'll still take you up on your offer to come here next week though Mom! :))

Chloe has been doing great with her chore chart. Brett's another story, but he's only 3, so I'm not stressing it as much. She wanted to earn more money this morning, so I said I'd give her an extra sticker if she wanted to do the dishes that were in the sink. She, of course, was thrilled. The boys wanted at it so bad, but I wouldn't let them. I didn't think though that when I was in the bathroom this would happen...


Don't mind my kids hair and outfits. I put Chloe's hair up so it would stay out of her face while she washed the dishes - not thinking that I'd be taking a picture. :)



Yep, there were suds everywhere. What could I do but get the camera, right?!?


Owen was pretty upset when I told him he couldn't "help Chloe" anymore. He'll get over it!

Here's to another new day tomorrow...

It's going to be one of those days...

My boys are fighting over a telephone...a BARBIE telephone...

And now Owen is crying hysterically because he can't find his robe, and I can't find it either. I sure wish their wasn't a mound of laundry in the laundry room just begging to be cleaned...

My weakness just rang my doorbell

O.K., well my actual weakness didn't just ring my door bell, but the little 10 year-old boy selling the Dutch Classic Caramel Chocolate bars did.

Um, I got 5. Yea, 5.

Thought I'd share...

I'm sure that most of you have already seen this blog, but if you haven't, I encourage you to take a look. This morning's post is just amazing!!!

Retail Therapy

On Friday, I was just having one of those mornings. You know, the ones where you feel like your kids are just bouncing off the walls and fighting like crazy, and at any given moment, you are going to have a nervous breakdown kind of morning. (Do you like all of those commas?! Hey - I never claimed to be a writer! :))

I called my mom, and she said, "I wish that I lived closer so that I can come over to help you." I agreed, and then said , "I'm coming over to your house!" And I hopped in the shower, and got the kids ready, and off we went.

My mom lives about 1 hour and 30 minutes away - maybe 1 hour and 45 minutes away, so it's not too bad. The kids were so well behaved in the car - they usually are, but with the price of gas these days, I just can't drive around all day! :) Anyway, my mom and I took the kids to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch, and then headed to Target, and I got this...



We also found another throw pillow to put on my chair in my room for $4.24! I said to my mom in the store, "Sometimes all you need is a little retail therapy to help you feel better!" :) I don't mean that everytime I'm down or upset about something I go out and buy something, but sometimes it just feels nice.:)

We went back to her house, and hung out for awhile, and then headed to Mel and Jon's for dinner. Mel and I fed the kids while the guys went and picked up our food. By the time the guys got back, the kids were done eating, we had set the table for us, and sent the kids downstairs to play. I remember Ryan saying that he felt like we were at a restaurant, because the kids were playing so nice, and we were able to hold an adult conversation! (Mel - we have definitely turned a corner!!!)

Thanks Mommy for getting me out of the house! It's what I really needed! Let's do it again - SOON! :)

I love rainy Mondays!

Chloe doesn't have school on Mondays, so we "hopefully" get to sleep in on these mornings. Nine times out of ten though, Brett is up at the crack of dawn and chooses to wake everyone in the house up! Ugghh!!

Not today though!!! I'm not sure if it was because it was such a gloomy, rainy day, but we slept in until 7:30!! Woo Hoo!! It was great!

And if that wasn't good enough, my kids started doing their chores without even being asked! WHAT!?!?! You see, Auntie Mel, if you haven't already figured it out, is in love with Webkinz. Her kids have like three of them each, and she even has one of her own! She has a chore chart for her kids and they earn a sticker each day for completing various duties. Chloe saw this, and immediately wanted a chore chart. So while we were at Auntie's on Friday, she made charts for Brett and Chloe. They have an opportunity to earn 25 cents a day, and then extra during the week if she does certain chores. We printed out a chart for Brett too, and he's actually doing really well also. Anyway, this has just sparked a new enjoyment of doing chores, because there is actually a reward in sight! I didn't normally give an allowance, but I was seeing how this worked with Melanie's kids, and thought I'd give it a try. So far so good!:)

And now my three wonderfully awesome children are sitting on the family room floor coloring away - sweet as can be! We'll have to see what the rest of this day brings, but so far - it's a good one!:)

Good Times with Family!!!

Pretty much every single weekend of the New Year, we have done something with family. Most of it has been spent with my brother in-law and sister-in-law and their family, but there were a couple of times it's been spent with my brother and sister-in-law and their family, and also my cousin and her family.

We've just had a blast - going to museums (Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry) and ice skating (thanks to Grandpa for snow-plowing the pond behind his house so we could do this!) and sledding (on Poop Hill - no lie!). Throw in some sleepovers and a couple of birthday parties (we even had one for my niece, Dana, except she had to work and wasn't there! Any excuse for a party, right! :)) and I think that we've been with family for every weekend of the new year, except one! I'm just so thankful for family, and all the memories that we are making with these kids!

So, instead of uploading all of the pictures onto the blog, I just made a montage of pictures and videos for you! Enjoy!

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com