Isn't Vacation Great?!

Even though I am technically on vacation I figured I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get some much needed cleaning done on my house. And I have to say it is absolutely amazing how much I can accomplish by myself. Not to be boasting or anything, but if I detailed it out you would see how great multi-tasking is when there are no children around. Wow is the only word I know to describe it. Anyway, for those of you who frequent my blog regularly I thought you would be interested to know that I found another stuffed Winnie the Pooh this morning. Yep, that makes 7. So evidently the 6 that I found a couple of weeks ago were not enough for this family. I have a problem though--this Winnie the Pooh is looking very cute to me and I don't want to get rid of him even though I kept 3 of the last 6 that I found. (This is probably how we ended up with 7 to begin with.) And so this afternoon I will have to make the decision as to whether or not Winnie the Pooh stays or goes. I know, I know--what a wonderful blessing for that to be the biggest decision I have to make all afternoon. Isn't vacation great?!

The latest conspiracy theory

As our children are away we have taken the luxury of going out to eat. We were tremendously blessed at Christmas with restaurant gift cards and so we shuffle through them each night to make a decision. The frequent eating out reminded us of one of our pet peeves (and no, it isn't that eating out can make your pants not fit--although that is also one of my pet peeves). This one is related to drinks. We both enjoy water. Well, I should say I enjoy water. Joe---not so much, but it is healthier for him. So we order water at the restaurant. (I should probably make note that the particular restaurants I am speaking of are not sit-down with waitresses although sometimes this happens there too) Much to our dismay, we realize that there is some sort of unwritten restaurant code that stipulates if the customer orders water it can be assumed that the customer is not thirsty. They direct us to the 4 or 6 ounce clear plastic cups next to the soda machine. Who knows--maybe this is just true of Joe and I, but just because we order water doesn't mean that we are not thirsty! It happens so often that I am almost convinced that there must be some sort of published scientific survey out there proving their point. Maybe it is a conspiracy......

Nathan's guardian angel

My kids are gone this week. They are livin' it up at Grandpa Horns house. I'm realizing how boring my life can be without them. Now I have a good time with my husband and we are going to have an AWESOME week, but it is very, very, very quiet around here. I'm also realizing that my material for writing this week is going to be less. I'll have to get more creative. As an insight into what my life is like when they are here (especially my youngest Nathan) I thought you would like to see some of the instructions, and shall I say, warnings, I gave Grandma, Grandpa & Aunt Alissa before they took the children:

Some things you should know about Nathan:

• He likes to go head first down slides. Sometimes he forgets to sit (or lay down) and just steps off onto the slide
• He can open pretty much any cabinet, drawer, door (especially if they don't latch) and probably will open them all
• Sometimes he shuts himself in closets and can't get out. So if you hear a muffled jabbering...
• He has absolutely, completely no awareness of streets or cars (cars make a loud noise so he tends to be fascinated by them)
• He likes to throw his plate on the floor when he is done eating. He also will throw chicken nuggets (and they can go amazingly far) if he gets bored
• He likes the big boy swings and has no interest in the baby swings. (I think if he could talk he would say "why would I swing in that? I am not a baby!)
• He will call every animal at the zoo a "doggie" I actually had a 10 minute conversation with him the other day when he was trying to convince me that a cow in a book was a doggie. I finally gave up.
• Keep him out of the bathroom. He is way too curious
• He can (and will) take lids off the sippy cups if they just snap on. He also enjoys then making a waterfall with the water in the cup
• He doesn't want anyone else to touch the grocery cart besides him and the person driving it (I think I've mentioned this before.)

Joe and I are working on all of these issues, but parenting takes time. Let's just hope and pray that we survive and that Nathan's guardian angel doesn't quit before he's five. (I understand that Nathan is already trying to drive Grandpa's golf cart by himself.)

Okay, so I think we have officially crossed the line

Anyone who has eaten with my son knows that ketchup to him is an entree not just a dipping sauce. And it goes with anything. Last week he discovered that he especially enjoys it mixed with some blue cheese dressing (yes, I know, yuck!) Well, this morning we officially crossed the line. I was fixing up some of my pancakes (BTW, when you forget the baking powder they look rather interesting; that would be good for a science fair project sometime) I added the baking powder after the first four were cooked and I was setting the table. As I layed out John's plate, he told me "be sure to get the ketchup on my plate" Now, I innocently thought he must think the syrup is ketchup. Sometimes early in the morning he gets confused. Okay, let's face it, it is not always early in the morning that he is confused. So I gently corrected and told him I would be sure he got some syrup. John clarifying himself: "No, I want ketchup" At which point I said "John, that is gross!!" John's rebuttle: "It's not gross; it's tasty" Sara decided to chime in: "EEEWWWWW!!!!" John became highly offended: "Don't say EEEEWWWW, Sara" Needless to say, we did NOT include ketchup as a part of our morning entree.

It's been 11 years

Yep, I had to change my profile this morning. Joe and I celebrate our 11th anniversary today, June 1. I've been trying to think of a good way to describe the last 11 years and have really been coming up empty. Blissful? No. There have certainly been parts that have been blissful, but that doesn't really fit. Adventuresome? This comes close as our last 11 years have been completely filled with adventure, but it still doesn't entirely encompass what it has been like. Joyful? Yes even in the horrible times I can say we have had a deep joy in being married to one another and knowing that the other is there to stay 'til death, but that still doesn't totally describe it. Blessed is probably the one the comes the closest. The Lord's hand has been on us since we said our vows and our life together has been completely filled with His blessing. And so as we toast our frozen twix bars this morning at 5am in celebration of our anniversary (so we wouldn't have to share them with the children), my prayer is that the Lord will continue to pour out his blessing on our life together for at least another 50 years.

John's quip of the morning

Well, Mom, Nathan is eating a marker downstairs as a snack.

I again taste the humble pie

It was not a good night for glasses at our house. We were sitting down to eat supper and a child who will remain nameless was attempting to get a drink. Said child was fooling around with another child who will also remain nameless when a glass broke (not ten seconds after I had told said children to stop fooling around, but then again pride comes before the fall). I can honestly say I remained calm and began cleaning up the mess. Accidents do happen, right. It was at this point that the first nameless child who was mainly responsible for the broken glass piped up "Don't freak out mom. We have other glasses." Now in all fairness this response from this child could be because normally I would freak out. However, this time I had not, so her statement did make me, uh, freak out. I launched into my lecture series on the value of items, how much money is in your piggy bank, you need to pay attention to what you are doing, etc. Approximately 15 minutes later I was in the middle of multi-tasking. For those of you who know me, you know that I can be the queen of multi-tasking. This time was no different. I was baking chocolate chip cookies, putting away dishes, attempting a video call, and watching my children who were somewhat scattered around the house. Before I knew what had happened, I had successfully shattered a glass that I was putting away. I couldn't believe it. And I made a mess much, much worse than my child had. Plus, it had shattered over my freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. It was so painful to throw them away! Now the cut on my finger and toe from cleaning it up are reminding me of the value of items, the amount of money in my piggy bank, and paying attention to what I am doing.

in my defense

My husband is feeling left out. Last week he mentioned to me how I don't include him in my blog posts. I got to thinking about it and realized that he was right. So I have been on the lookout for things to blog about concerning him. It was then that I realized why I haven't included him--he has requested me not too. Let me explain--there was a perfect example of this that occurred this morning. We had a, ummm, shall we say situation occur which would have been absolutely perfect to blog about (and personally I think y'all would have found it hysterical). However, the first thing my husband said after it occurred was that I couldn't blog about it. So if you are wondering why I haven't included him, in my defense, I really don't think it is totally my fault. I really do love my husband even if you don't hear much about him!

Sometimes they know more than I think they do

It is hot here today. Well, I heard on the weather that it is actually only 80 degrees, but I'm convinced it has to be more like 90. The humidity is horrible. You would think after growing up in the midwest I would be used to humidity. But somehow it manages to sneak up on me every summer. Anyway, we decided it was a good pool & sprinkler day. So we all had our suits on, the sprinkler on, and we were just missing one ingredient--the pool. I went in search of the pool (it is just a little plastic think for those of you who may be wondering how blind I must be if I can't find our swimming pool). Ashley directed me to the beams in the garage and there it was. So I managed to get it down and carried it to the backyard. It was at this point that Ashley said "Don't we need to check it for holes" Now, our pool is a hard plastic--not inflatable. So, my obvious answer was "No, we don't need to check for holes. There are no holes. I don't think these can get holes." John decides to chime in and, much to my dismay, agrees with her sister that we should check for holes. I stand my ground and we do NOT check for holes on the pool. Fortunately, they concede and we begin filling the pool with water. About five minutes later, the pool only had water on one side and it wasn't very deep. I, being slightly confused, began to look more closely at the pool. And, sure enough, there was a hole! And so, I humbled myself and asked for their forgiveness. Their wisdom is certainly beyond their years at times. As a sidenote, if you are possibly concerned about yours because they are so expensive to replace (I hear some are almost $10!!), I really don't think most of the hard plastic pools can easily get holes in them. We spent a significant amount of time last summer going down the slide into our pool--enough said.

Highlights from weekend

We had a family campout in the backyard this weekend (well, Nathan was inside, but we think it still counts as a family campout). Here are the highlights:





Watching John eat (or not eat) marshmellows
Hearing Ashley's campfire story about the twins Holly & Molly, Belle & Pocahontas
Daddy's early morning store run for powdered donuts, bacon & grapes


Bedtime Bible stories around the campfire
Watching the moon come out
Roasting marshmellows & hearing John ask for "snores"
Hearing the "snores" from the kids' tent
Mommy & Daddy wondering when the got so old that it hurts to sleep on an air matress in a tent.
Miss Kendra (our absolute favorite babysitter) eating hamburgers & hot dogs with us
Watching the ants burn in the fire
Taking a week to catch up on all our lost sleep (at least)!