No Bunk Beds for you!!

For those of you that know Brody, this post will not come as a surprise. He is one crazy kid that is always full-speed ahead. When he was two years old, he fell out of a shopping cart at Target and broke both of the bones in his wrist. That is one of the few times that I have actually seen him be very still - only because he was in so much pain. Which brings me to today. My friend invited Brody to come over and play with her little girl today. She said everything went fine except for the fact that he fell off one of her bar stool because he was standing up on it and lost his footing. She has tile floors and so I assumed it probably hurt pretty bad, but she said he only cried for a minute and then went on to play more.

Well, while we were there eating lunch, I heard Kenzie kinda gasp and come running to get me. She said Brody had fallen from the top bunk bed...I got that feeling in the pit of my stomach and went running to check on him. But, before I could even get to him, he met me at the bottom of the stairs and was whining a little bit, but he was fine. I am serious when I say that Brody is so full of spunk, energy, and adventure, that it takes a major incident to really make him stop and slow down. But that is one of the qualities we love about him - his great ability to roll with the punches.

After the whole falling from the bed incident, my husband came to check on Brody, and the first thing I said was, "Well, I guess we are not getting bunk beds." We had been debating on whether we should buy them and our main reason for waiting was because we both assumed that Brody would inevitably fall from the top bunk or would voluntarily jump from the top. Guess we were right!!

She can crawl!!

Well, my little baby girl is now an official crawler...she is all over the place. It is so cute to watch her explore anything and everything she sees. I fed her earlier and I left the jar of food on the floor while I ran to the kitchen. Well, my husband found her with baby food smeared in her hair and I remembered - Oh yeah, I guess I can't leave things lying around anymore. Later, I found her laying on the floor finishing off her brother's apple juice. (I guess she knows how to drink from a sippy cup!)

It is so funny to me - because we always want our little ones to reach the next milestone, but once they actually get there, you always think about how it was a little bit easier before - like I was thinking today - "wow, it was a lot easier when I could just sit her in one place and she would actually stay there..." But, in the next couple of weeks, we will start to think about how cute it will be when she walks - not stopping to think how much time we will spend chasing her all around the house :) :) ;)

Waiting on the tooth fairy

Kenzie has been waiting for days to lose her first tooth. It has been so wiggly and we even tried to pull it out, but it just would not cooperate. Well, she finally lost it tonight BUT she accidentally swallowed it!! She was so disappointed. Of course her first question to Matt was would the tooth fairy still come if she did not have a tooth to put under the pillow? He reassured her that the tooth fairy would still come, but I had to write a note to put under the pillow that explained the situation (just in case the tooth fairy was confused).

So, she is in bed right now - continuously checking to see if the note is still there :) :) :) It is so fun to have kids and to get to experience all the fun and excitement of things like waiting on their first visit from the tooth fairy with them.

Love ya Micah

Sometimes it is so hard to know when you are being "too soft" with your kids or when you are being "too tough" on them. Micah has asthma and this past weekend, he started his usual asthma symptoms (couging, tired, sensitive)....so we started his inhalers and tried to get things under control. We sent him to his b-ball game Saturday and he seemed tired and just not his usual competitive self. He even came running off the court and said he could not breath and did not feel good. Well, the next day, he said he did not want to go to church, but we made him go. His teacher sent him to me and said he was not feeling well. We did keep him home from Awana that night but we stuck him in his room and let him cough his little head off while we hosted small groups.

Anyway, we finally called the doctor and got a chest x-ray (4 days later) and we find out he had a lung infection and needed antibiotics and steriods. Matt and I felt terrible. We had been pushing him and telling him he was being dramatic and overly sensitive. I had even sent him to school and got the results of the chest x-ray just before I went to pick him up. Needless to say, I took him straight to the mall and bought him a "webkin toy" and took him to get a big slice of pizza. Maybe it was wrong to go buy him stuff but it sure made me feel better...I learned a valuable "mom" lesson - I need to listen to my kids...I would much rather err on the side of being too soft & sensitive than feel like the worst mom ever for letting my kid walk around sick and upset.

Sorry, Micah....hope you are feeling so much better. :) :) :)

Happy Birthday Matt

Well, today is my husbands 33rd birthday!! I wanted to wish him a great day. He is so important to me and I am so thankful that God chose him to be my husband. He is an awesome dad and our kids have so much fun with him...probably because he is just a big kid himself. (If you have ever seen his office at work, you know exactly what I am talking about - all the legos, potato heads, spiderman toys....)

Anyway, I love you Matt, and I hope you have an awesome birthday!!

Time for Myself???

It is soooo quiet at my house right now - my baby is sleeping, Kenzie & Brody are at their Grammy's house, and Micah is at school. And you know what is weird?? I almost don't know what to do with myself. My house is clean because we had small groups here last night. I am not really tired, so I am not feeling like a nap right now. There is really nothing on tv.....So, do you think this means that I may actually miss all the noise and chaos of my children?? Hey, I think it sounds crazy too. But sometimes I think we get so used to taking care of the kids, that when they are not around, we almost feel lost - kinda like, what do I do now? Don't get me wrong - I am never going to turn down the chance to have some "me" time or a chance to have a date night with my husband. I am just saying that I can kinda understand the whole "empty nest" thing and why some women are kinda in crisis when all their kids grow up and move out. But, according to Kenzie, we will never have that problem, because she said she plans on living with us for the rest of her life :) :) :)

Well, I just heard the baby crying, so I guess my dilema of what to do has been magically solved....somehow it seems like that always happens.

Shedding the pounds

I once had a boss who was a fitness fanatic and he said something that has stuck with me forever. In reference to gaining weight, he said "You know, most people are happy if they only gain 3 or 4 pounds in a year, but what I always say is - Just think what you are going to look like in 10 years when you are forty pounds heavier."

And on that note, Matt and I have been trying so hard to get healthy this year...we actually started back before Christmas. And we survived the holidays without really gaining any weight (major accomplishment for us!). But what is totally baffling to me is how fast men can their lose excess weight. Matt has lost a total of @ 20 lbs so far and I have lost an amazing 6 lbs. We have basically the same routine (exercise 4 or 5 times a week, eating healthy-add more fruits and veggies...) but he just seems to shed the pounds so much faster. I have even given up soda and only drink diet if I get the urge....and that is a sacrifice that I swore I would never make!! My goal for myself was to be back to my pre-pregnancy weight by Kassidy's one year birthday (June 11th) - I only have four more pounds to go....Now, I will be bound and determined to make that goal because I have let everyone know what my goal is!! I guess it is time to go grab a bottle of water and a rice cake - Yummy.............

Grocery store no more!!!

I had to take some time to sit down and write about my latest trip to the grocery store. I had picked up my son from school with all my other kids along for the ride. Well, I started feeling really brave and adventurous...I decided that I would go to the grocery store with all four kids. This may not seem like a big "adventure" to you, but unless you have four kids, you will never really understand. I began the trip with the lecture about how they better be on their best behavior because mommy does not usually bring all four kids and they will get a spanking if they don't listen and obey (you moms know the drill.) Well, it started out pretty good - except for the two or three times that Brody decided to try to run out in traffic. But, luckily, Micah was there to pull him (by the collar of his shirt) back to safety.

I get inside to grab a cart and of course they are stuck together. So, I have to sit Kassidy down in her seat...not realizing she is blocking the electric doors making them permanently stay open. Anyway, as I go to load Brody in the front, he begins throwing a fit - "I wanna walk...I wanna shop...I wanna look at stuff." And, of course a church member is entering the door as the tantrum hits its peak (I saw her at church later that day and she proceeded to say with an evil grin "Man, you REALLY have your hands full these days.) So, after a few idle threats and the final threat of "I am going to call your dad", he finally sits and decides to cooperate. But, as I begin to shop, I realize that I have no room in the cart for groceries - due to Kassidy's car seat in the back and Brody in the front. So, I begin shoving things under the car seat, under the cart....at one point, I even had Kassidy hold a few small groceries. I finally made Micah get a little basket and start helping me carry things - and you know he just LOVED that. Especially since Kenzie kept secretly adding things to the basket to make it too heavy for him to carry. I then hear Kassidy screaming and I turn around to see that Brody is squeezing Kassidy's nose as hard as he can. Go figure - why would he think to turn all the way around in the cart and squeeze his baby sister's nose??

We finally made it to the checkout and I asked Micah to push the cart with the grocery bags while I push the cart with the kids - only I did not realize there was an incline on the way out and he could not hold onto the cart as it went down the hill (and into oncoming traffic). So, as it hits me in the back and I try to hold onto the kids and the groceries, I finally make it to the truck. And, I won't even get into the constant, "You better get into your seat right now before I call the police and they take you to jail for not wearing your seat belt" conversation. I made it home saying "I will NEVER do that again" but it never fails, I will feel brave and adventurous again next week - and the kids will look so sweet and obedient all locked up in their seats - and I will hit the store again only to leave flustered, sweaty, and mumbling "What was I thinking, Will I ever learn my lesson????"

What's up with the kiddos

Well, with four kids, it seems like there is always something going on in each of their lives and I want to always do my best to keep up with what is important to them. Micah has just started another season of basketball and he scored a basket at his first game of the season!! My parents (who live in VA) were there and he was determined to score some points for them. His determination showed because he had to shoot it three times in a row but it finally went in. I love when people have the characteristic of determination/dedication...so, of course, I was soooo proud that he did not give up and was able to achieve his goal. Mackenzie came home from school with the news that a "boy" likes her. All I can say is "here we go....." And, then Brody has just been jamming on his drum set - I told someome that my parents got him a drum set for Christmas and their response was, "What did you do to them??" What's funny is, I could actually see him growing up to be a drummer in a band - a positive way to release ALL that energy. Finally, there is our baby girl, Kassidy. She is growing and changing every day. But her lastest accomplishment is sleeping through the night. Wow, what a difference it makes when we are all actually sleeping at night. I think now we all wake up smiling :) :) :) The other morning, Matt looked at me and said, "I think we may have actually made it through the crazy years, babe." I just laughed. Has he forgotten that they grow up to be teenagers????

First time blogger

Well, I decided to start blogging - just another task to add to my already crazy days. But, I wanted to be able to keep up with all the wonderful memories that fill each of my days as a mother of four. Each day the kids do or say something that is either totally hilarious or totally profound. Hopefully, now I will be able to share all these moments with my friends and family through this blog. People always say that we must be crazy for having four kids but I always say that it just adds to the fun and good times. Just think - if you have a wonderful time with two kids...imagine how much excitement we have with four. Each child is so uniquely different and they each bring us so much joy - but each in their own special way. Micah is so caring, sensitive, and smart. Kenzie is such a girly-girl, so pretty and sweet. Brody is just plain crazy, but so entertaining. And Kassidy is so laid-back and smiles all the time. I never imagined that I would be a stay at home mom to four children by the age of 30...but here I am - loving every minute of the life God has chosen for me!!