Brrrrr.....

Friday, March 28, 2008

Brrrrr.....

Oh, I am so sick of this snow. It snowed AGAIN last night, not much, but enough to continue to irritate me, much like a sliver under my fingernail. It is so beautiful with the sun shining and some snow on the trees, but it iscold out there!! We want to get out and play without having to put on all the snow gear. When I walk around the yard, I see small signs of spring starting to sprout up, but then the snow goes and covers them all up again. I wonder if the flowers and plants that are beginning to peek out will freeze and not be able to make it this spring. (Which is right now). I have daffodils and rubarb poking out of the ground. Please, Please, Mother Nature,stop making it snow!

Amaya waiting for the bus this morning. Brrrrr......it's cold!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Sixty Eight Hundred

"Do you know how many stars that I need on Mario?" "I need one hundred sixty one!"

"If I were an adult, I would have 68 hundred 61 candies and I'd eat them, then I would be fat. Amaya would have them too, and she would be fat too."

"You have been on the computer for 68 minutes, it is my turn."

"I have been to Jen's house one hundered sixty, eighty, seventy, eight times."

"You're going to have to stay outside for 60 hundred, 68, 60, 61 hundred days!"

"If you shoot the ball over there, you will get 161 points."

"There are 60 snowflakes outside."

"I would like 161 pieces of candy."

"100 shovels of snow to clear the driveway."

Jake gets stuck using the same numbers for a while. This time the numbers seem to be 60, 100, 8, 1.

So, I asked him, "what's your favorite number?"....."5"
He cracks me up!

FF

Oh, how I wish that when these girls read this blog that 'Friends Forever' comes up on my music list.

I really have to say that I have some of the greatest friends, I am truly blessed. I have friends that I have known for a year, then some that I have known for up to 21 years. 21 years, it is hard to believe! Where has the time gone?

So, on Tuesday I met some of my "high school" friends for breakfast at the Morning Star Cafe. Honestly, I really can't believe that we have know each other since 10th grade. It seems like just yesterday that we were "bulking" and trying to master the Dirty Dancing moves in Angie's basement. Wow! Heather came up from Chicago, and Ang came from GH. So, Ang didn't travel too far, but she was feeling under the weather, do it was a feat for her. (I know this all too well) Our other friend, Linda, was unable to come because of sick children at home. We missed her dearly. It was so nice to go and sit and just talk without someone grunting for juice, or to play Mario. We got to eat at a leisurely pace, I drank some awesome hot chocolate, and talked about the usual mom and family stuff. It was delightful.

I appreciate all my friends, you have all been there for so many things throughout my life. It is just so nice to know that when or if you need anything that they will always be there for you. My friends have always been my family. Thank you all. I love you!!

I can't wait til May, when the "high school" girls will be getting together for the entire weekend to just chill, scrap and enjoy each other's company without our little munchkins.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Easter

Well, because of all the snow that we received, there weren't really any Easter Egg hunts to go to. The Easter Bunny came last night in the night and hid baskets all over the house. This morning I awoke, at 0645, to someone poking my back. It was Jake, "I found my basket in my room. It has Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, and there is chocolate!!"
"Cool Jake, now go back to bed and be really quiet. "

One half hour later, we see bunny ears sticking up from the other side of the bed. It is Amaya, "We can't find my basket, do you think the Easter Bunny forgot about me?"
"No, Amaya, I don't think he forgot about you, keep looking and stay quiet so Ryan sleeps longer." 

Next we hear Ryan start to talk, it doesn't take long for Amaya and Jake to go into his room and get him out of his crib. Yes, they both can get him out of his crib, and No, I did not teach them this. They just love to get him out. So now we hear the pitter, patter of Ryan running across the kitchen floor into our room, then he giggles. (as he does when the kids get him out of bed, like he is getting away with doing something he isn't supposed to do)
Amaya and Jake have already found Ryan's basket and give it to him, but still can't find Amaya's. Daddy has to help with that.
Now all baskets are found and now starts the eating of the chocolate, which Ryan has no interest in. (Very big suprise)
Next, Amaya and Jake play with the grass and all the plastic eggs....They are chickens sitting on their nests hatching eggs. How funny. Of course, then the plastic grass is scattered all over the house. (Reminds me of the Pillar glitter, and who really cares about the mess, the kids are having a blast and it really isn't that hard to pick up. We will probably be picking up stray pieces til next Easter, then we will have to start all over again)
We spent the rest of the day just hanging out with each other. It was really nice not to have to go anywhere. We did go visit Granny and Papa, and Amaya and Jake decided to stay and play for a while. It was a very laid back Easter for us. Nice!

Jake sitting on his eggs waiting for them to hatch.

Eggs

Last night we colored Easter Eggs. The kids, of course, had a ball (or should I say egg). They were excited thinking of it all day. I felt bad when, after about 20 minutes we were all done, all that hype for that small amount of time. They wanted us to make more, more, more eggs to color. Too bad we had already run out of eggs. Oh well, they loved every minute of it!Coloring the eggs.Ryan trying to eat the eggs!

Jakers...
Amaya, So particular about her colors.

Scott, eating one of the cracked ones.



After coloring all the eggs, Amaya and Jake decided to play Easter Egg Hunt with them. Many more eggs were cracked in the playing of that game. Oops!

Smarty Pants

Mom "Amaya, do you want to go to church tomorrow?"

Amaya "No, I already know enough about God."

Fishin'

Mom "Amaya, how do you know Daddy is your daddy?"

Amaya "He has the same last name as me, Fisher!"

Amaya "I don't know why our last name is Fisher anyways, we don't do much fishing!"

This makes me laugh, how funny kids are.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Can I play wii?

We got a Wii video game system for Christmas, well, Scott got a Wii for Christmas. Since Christmas, Jake has taken up playing video games. I will say, that the wii is a cool video game because it gets you up and active playing the games. For example, if you play tennis, then you have to get up and swing the controller as if it is the tennis racket in your hands. If you bowl, you have to swing your arm, take steps. etc... to bowl. So you don't just SIT and play games. You have to move. We got the game Mario Galaxy and it just hasn't been the same in our house since.
Jake is obsessed with it. He talks about it all the time, to anybody who will listen, even the clerks at Meijer. I swear that is what he thinks about all day. Usually the first things out of his mouth in the morning....can I play Mario. Then I have to be the bad guy, No, Jake, you can't play wii right now.......and so goes the rest of the day. He is a bit used to not being able to play first thing in the morning, as we don't watch TV til at least 0800 and Amaya is off to school. After breakfast and mid morning are another story. "Can I play wii? Can I play wii? Can I play wii?
Finally I give in. Go play Mario.
After a while on Mario, it is time to shut it off. Usually he is pretty good about this, but then continues with the ongoing question.."Can I play wii?"
Many, Many times, it is what he talks about, after books at night, just before he goes to sleep....."Mom, On Mario, in honey bee hive........, Mom, on Mario, there is a kitchen, a bedroom, I saved Luiqi", and the incessant talking goes on about Mario. So, Mario is a good pawn in our game of life here. If Jake is being naughty, he may lose Mario privileges the following day. He has lost these privileges 3 times. These days are very hard on me, because #1, he asks about it all day-seriously-all day, #2 He has a hard time dealing with anger issues. The kid is a very passionate person who is very loving, but who also gets very angry at times.
I decided to take some pics to record, for Jake, how he deals a bit with this. He gets SO mad. I told him that I was taking the game away (just to get real pics) and that he would never be able to play it again. This is how he looked.

So, after I took these pics, I told him the truth. Immediately, this is how he looked.


So this year may be a Mario year for him. Who knows, things change so fast with kids, he may have a new obsession in a few days, but for now it is Mario.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

New Music

So, I have added music. These songs are picked because they make me happy. I am a big fan of REM, yes they are still around, but these few are older songs. The Fireflies song by Faith Hill reminds me of my kids and of when they get to stay up late in the summer and run around catching fireflies. I try to convince them that they have caught Tinkerbell...it works for Jake, but never for Amaya. She is a very literal little girl and believes in the science of things. Jake uses far more of his imagination than she does. He has always liked to play make believe.....costumes. He has a ton of them. Jimmy Buffett reminds me of my Snug Harbor days and waiting tables on the deck while living with Kristin Ammon, wow, I did a lot of growing up in those years. It also reminds me of the many concerts that Jen and I went to.....even "Ice Cream", Sarah Mclachlan. It also reminds me of the quick trip to Florida to see Sonya. We went to The Keys and ate at Jimmy's Margaritaville. I'm a new soul is such an up-beat sounding song, that who wouldn't like it, plus it is about your soul, making mistakes and living. It's also off that computer commercial. I copied that off of Carleen's blog site, Thanks Carleen.
Oh, I almost forgot. The Duran Duran is for Scott, of course. I think of him each time I hear a Duran Duran song. It is STILL his favorite band, as it has been since he was in high school. I put the song on here so he would have it to listen to in case he were to ever actually READ my blog.

The picture is from last year at Fredrick Meijer Gardens. It is of the clear winged butterfly.(real name unknown) The butterflies are blooming again right now, Amaya went there with her class fieldtrip yesterday. She informed me that this year they have the ZEBRA butterfly. Now we all need to go! You know I have to have a pic of that for her room. The picture just reminds me of spring and of all the new life that is about to come. Spring is one of my favorite times of year, I love to see all the new blooms come up, all the new animal life and to actually get back outdoors! I can't wait til all this snow is out of my yard. Most of the grass is still covered here and we want to play without getting muddy.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

No Leprechauns

I have to say that, Amaya was a little sad when she got home from school yesterday. "No one saw any leprechauns today!" she said when walking in the door. I wish she could have seen one, as I have never seen a real leprechaun either!(well maybe a few that I thought were leprechauns, but no REAL leprechauns). Happy Late St. Patrick's Day!
But on another note, she did get to see Cinderella on Sunday, then even got to climb in her carriage!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Happy Birthday

OK, so yesterday was my birthday. It was my regularly scheduled day to work, with the added bonus of getting double time....because of it being my b-day. I haven't been scheduled to work my b-day in years, and I'm not really one for picking up many hours, much less my birthday. So, needless to say, I was excited about working, but mostly about the $$. I am not one for a big show, or for telling everyone "Hey it's my b-day" (Now I want to sing......), however, my great friend Robin believes that "the world should stop for your b-day", so she let everyone at my work know. First she called my friend Shelly, who I had to work with all that day, at home and told her. Then she sent me this beautiful spring bouquet with a big balloon attached that said- Happy Birthday so that everyone coming in the ER knew it was someone's b-day, and of course they ask, so there you have it. No keeping it a secret now! So it was very nice working with everyone wishing me a great day. Then there was cake! Not just a box cake, it was Rykes cake! YUUUUUUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYY!!! Everyone I was working with pitched in! That is so thoughtful, it made me feel really good.

So on to today, which is the day to celebrate it with my family. Amaya is so sweet and couldn't stand waiting any longer to show her card that she made. She is a very thoughtful little girl. She is always the first with best wishes on a special day, or one to be supportive in any time of need. So she made a beautiful card, with a unicorn (her favorite). She helped Scott make me a cake yesterday by doing the adding of ingredients and the stirring, and of course, licking the beaters and bowls afterwards. Who needs a dishwasher, when you have kids, right? JK. She is all about helping doing things for other people. On to Jake, my wild child. This kid is enthusiastic, enerjetic, and very passionate. So he made me a card with a race track and a heart on it. He is learning to write letters, so it is a little out of order, but he actually wrote "I Love You Mom". Very sweet. Then he had Scott write something that he was telling him to write, it reads;

"I love you and I want to tuck you in my heart cuz I just want to be with you everyday"

Hallmark couldn't have come up with a better card. It is so sweet! He says this kind of stuff a lot, especially when he is talking about Ryan. Usually it is something like "I just want to eat him up so he can get inside me because I love him so much". Then two minutes later, he is telling me that he is going to crush me, or rip off my leg, if he doesn't get his way, he also says other mean things, but I choose not to write them down, because I really don't need to remember those things later in life. He doesn't really mean them, he just gets frustrated and doesn't know how to handle his feelings just yet. Anyways, it is nice that he says these nice things.

Ryan made a card too that has little scribbles on it. I know that is a lot coming from him, because, you usually have to pry the crayons out of his hands every two seconds because he wants nothing more than to EAT them. After getting the crayons out of his mouth, he gives a little devilish grin, like Hahaha.......I think he will be an artist later in life. He acts very similar to how Amaya acted when she was little and she is artsy now.

Scott gave me a card too, but it wasn't homemade, but it was a great card. I didn't want to leave him out of my blog. We are going on a date tonight. I am excited, nothing fancy, just a night out without the kids. We don't do that enough!

Homemade cards are the best!! I love my family.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

What a croc!

On a lighter note, aren't these just the cutest? These are actually the first pair of shoes that we have bought for Ryan. The top of Ryan's foot is so high, that he can't fit into shoes. He has been wearing the Robeez, that Jake wore. I just now realized, that we did buy him another pair or Robeez when he was a wee little baby, but they don't count as real shoes. I did have to buy a size up because of the top of the foot, but they fit well enough for him to wear them around, and he has no trouble walking in them. He is always trying to put everyone else's crocs on, so I thought he needed his own. Love them! He looks so cute in them.

"A New Post"

Wow, it has been like a week since the last post, (it sounds like I am in for a confessional) forgive me Jen!! JK
I don't know where to start. I am such a procrastinator! I think daily about a blog, but I kind of need to have a "feeling" when I blog. I worked Sat and Sunday, 12 1/2 hours each day, then come Monday, it is back to the grind for me. I feel the need to rest after working 2 days in a row, but don't really get the chance with all the "Mom" duties that we have. Amaya to school, Jake to school, Ryan down for a nap, clean the house, do the dishes, check the mail, make phone calls, get Jake scheduled for Pre-Kindergarten, and the list goes on........blah, blah, blah.
I try and keep a clean/picked up house, but that is nearly impossible with a 17 month (almost 18 months, which I can't believe) boy running around dumping EVERYTHING out that I have just picked up. Ryan seriously loves to dump everything out, get into the drawers and take things out, spread napkins all over, and to leave sippy cups everywhere. And don't forget about Amaya and Jake, who you have to tell 10 times to do one simple thing, and even then I get the comment "Why do I always have to do EVERYTHING?" from Amaya. Are you kidding me? It is amazing how kids view what it is that you do for them. They won't really appreciate or even understand what exactly it is that you do for them and won't until they have kids of there own. I want them to know NOW! I sure hope they grow up and think that I am a good parent and appreciate what it is that we do for them. I hope they grow up to be great, happy people with loving families of their own.
Ok, so I am going in tangents. Whatever, this blog is for me right? I can understand it.
What I am trying to say is that I just want to have a clean house today, and it seems almost impossible. I can't seem to get anything picked up and stay that way.... and I don't quite have the ambition to do it today. I worked really hard yesterday, and it looks as if I did nothing.

To make matters worse, Scott has a realtor coming over tonight. I hope they don't expect to take any pics, because, no one would want to buy this house in its current state.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Pillar

What a beautiful caterpillar Jake made at preschool this week. He used every color of the rainbow, and I think he used ALL the glitter that they had at school. Now that the caterpillar is home, we have tracks of glitter EVERYWHERE. It's like this "Pillar" is a family pet and leaves his "poop" everywhere.
I remember when I was a kid and LOVED to use glitter. It's terrible that as an adult I think of the mess that it is causing instead of how great it is to have something that is so shiny and sparkly that I made with all my heart. So, Jake, go ahead and spread your Pillar poop! I love your caterpillar!