Fluffy update

Well, we've owned Fluffy for two weeks. So I thought I'd update you on him. First and foremost, he is still alive. So those of you who were placing bets on how long he would live, he's made it two week. Secondly, he has only gotten loose once and it was NOT Nathan's fault. His ball hit a wall and the lid popped off which is why we now tape the lid every time he is in it. So those of you betting on how long it takes for Nathan to let him loose--it's been two weeks and Nathan has been an angel--of course with some help from his mama. Thirdly, when Fluffy did get loose he was only on the run for maybe 30 seconds. I thought Joe's dwarf hamster capturing skills were fairly impressive--especially since I was running around the living room shouting "oh no, we are NEVER going to catch him!" I'm such the supportive wife...

Taste the fury of my sword...

The boys and dad decided to release some testosterone yesterday morning before Joe left for work. With that were shouts of "Taste the fury of my sword!" and "I'll save you fair lady!" Of course, I got to play swords later which added some confusion to the last statement which John shouted as he pierced me in the stomach with his sword. Either I'm not considered a fair lady since I was playing the foe or perhaps he has a fair lady in mind of whom he hasn't shared with me yet. Whatever the case, I must say that my death scene was fairly impressive and I'm sure would have gotten me an audition in Hollywood had I taped it.

Popcorn and pickles

My boys look a lot like their father. One actually looks more like his father than the other, but Joe definitely has the advantage since he is a boy just like they are. And so, every now and then, I search for similarities between myself and my boys to prove that they really are related to me. I found one the other day and it is in the area of food. We had popcorn and pickles--Claussen kosher dill spears to be exact--for our morning snack yesterday and it was truly enjoyed by all. Yep, they are definitely related to me.

The new layout

No, I wasn't bored with my last layout and yes, I know it didn't last very long. I was having problems posting my pictures and I thought maybe it was a layout issue so I changed it up and we will see if that helps. So, my apologies for confusing every time you pull it up and it looks different. As a warning: I'm still not completely happy (I want one with a wider width posting section) so it may change again in a few days.

A sign of....

something, but I'm not really sure what. Ashley's birthday is NOT on the 23rd; it is on the 22nd. It is written in my calendar and I know we celebrated on the right day. I must admit that it is not as bad as the time I called the pediatrician to get Nathan an appointment when he was a baby. Now keep in mind when Nathan was a baby my oldest child was 4 (she turned 5 the following February) and they were all at home with me. When the nurse asked for his birthday I didn't get the day OR the year right. It was fairly embarrassing--especially since I didn't get a real compassionate nurse. In fact, she was pretty sure that I wasn't his mother by the end of the conversation. But I challenge anyone to remember birthdays of 4 kids when you've only had 2 hours of sleep the night before and the years they were born were 01, 02, 04 & 05 AND 2 of the 4 were screaming when I was on the phone... I'm not really sure what my excuse is today.

Happy Easter!

It has become family tradition for Grandma Horn to get the kids Easter outfits every year. Thank you Grandma! Here are this year's handsome and beautiful pictures.

Happy Birthday Ashley!

Here are some long awaited pictures of our birthday girl. Ashley turned 6 on March 23. I realized as I was posting these that I didn't take very many pictures of the birthday girl. Here are some birthday facts:

Breakfast favorite: bacon, bacon, bacon
Lunch favorite: PB&J (of course!)
Supper favorite: deer steak and broccoli
Favorite present: Fluffy!

the fickleness of the world

I've been in a slight mourning the last few weeks. It all started when Joe told me that after my birthday I would no longer be a part of the coveted 18-34 age group. This is the group that the survey people ALWAYS want to have a part of their survey--especially when it comes to TV shows. That got me thinking about how I will also no longer to be able to say "I'm in my early 30s." Yep, as of May 3 I will be definitely be considered middle to, dare I say, late 30s. However, my mourning ended on Monday when I realized that just as I am exiting one coveted group, I officially entered a different one last week. Yes, I am now officially a soccer mom--complete with a gold minivan. So, all you candidates for office, I am now a part of the group that you are convinced you need to win an election. Isn't it interesting how one birthday and and one $20 entry fee into a soccer league can entirely change the world's perception of you... How fickle they are!

My Spring Break

Well, it is late (for me!) and I don't really have anything specific to say, but I thought I should post something just so some of my dear friends didn't think I'd dropped off the planet (Thanks for checking in on me Garden Girl!). Last week was spring break for the girls so I decided it was going to be spring break for me as well and did pretty much nothing all week. This worked out fine until we returned from a short trip to Indiana on Saturday night with the realization that I had a potluck the next day that I had nothing prepared for and small group at my house as well. Do you have any idea what 6 people and a hamster can do to a house when the mother takes spring break? I'll let your imagination run with that one. Thanks to my great husband we did manage to take something to the potluck besides Kroger cookies (he made a great pot of chili this morning). And thanks to having bedroom doors that close, the house looked halfway decent for small group. I'm not really sure what would have happened if someone had opened one of those doors. Actually, I'm not even really sure they could have opened it. And so tomorrow I am going to assess if my spring break was worth it. Not really sure what the laundry room looks like right now or if the girls have anything to wear to school tomorrow.... In the words of dear Scarlett..."Oh well, I'll think about that tomorrow." Right now I'm off for my beauty sleep.