Adventureland!!

So this morning I had a fun little adventure. After dropping Andrew off at school, Rylee, Devynn and I headed over to Stater Bros. We quickly found our items-a loaf of bread and a sugar-free pumpkin pie for Andrew's Thanksgiving Feast at school tomorrow. We put them up on the conveyor in line and waited for our turn. Rylee started asking if she could pay for our stuff, so I opened my wallet to give her the money. That's when I realized that my money was actually at home in the pocket of the jeans that I wore yesterday!! Yikes!! And since we are an all-cash family now (We have chosen to stop using all plastic, even debit cards) I quickly realized that I was in a bit of a predicament. I was so embarrassed when I had to tell the cashier that I didn't have money to pay for our stuff and would have to come back. SO mortified!!! At least I realized my money was M.I.A. BEFORE he started ringing us up!

So I loaded the girls back in the car and drove home to get my money. (Fortunately we live pretty close to the store.) Then we turned right around and headed back. It felt like deja vu walking into Stater Bros. for the second time! Of course the same cashier rang us up. At least he knew I wasn't lying about leaving my money at home!!

Moral of the story: Don't put your money in your pocket!!
(Want to hear the worst part...I put the change in my pocket, where it is still sitting!)

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Yesterday I had Andrew's parent-teacher conference. I know I'm a bit biased, but I have the World's Smartest Boy EVER!!! His teacher used the terms "all-star", "stellar", and "model student" more than a few times. He is off the charts in everything...way above grade level! He gets his good looks and his supercharged brain from me! :) It makes me feel proud, though to know that I'm doing something right because Jessie has always been the exact same way...always above grade level, excellent student in all areas, model citizen. (She was even student council vice-president in 4th grade...the only 4th grader ever elected to that position at her school. She then went on to be president in 5th grade!) Yes, I know I'm bragging...and I know that genetics play a big role in their intelligence levels. But I also know how important it is for kids to be read to, sung to, talked to, all from a very young age. I know the importance of letting your children color, dance, sing, laugh, make messes, play, be creative, use their imaginations. I also know the importance of setting rules and teaching kids about responsibilities from the time they're little. And I know how important it is to just spend time with your kids. These are all things that I try to do with my children. This is why I choose to stay home with them. Yes, I'm tooting my own horn a bit, but I think that it's pretty obvious that I made the right choice!!

Fun adventures and smart children are abundant in my world!!

Cutest things in the World!!

Hearing Devynn say:

"Awesome"- sounds more like "aweshum"

"Roxy and Lola" (her friends across the street)- sounds more like "Rossy" and "Wowa"

"Show me"- when she wants to show me something, she says "show me" and then takes my hand and leads me to whatever it is that she wants

"Yes"- this one was a hard-fought battle...she would only answer "no" regardless of what she really meant- so happy that she's finally saying YES!! (And so glad to hear her say "yes" instead of "yeah" like the rest of us...she's so proper!)

"blanket"-sounds more like "binekie"

"Sweet dreams"- sounds pretty much like "sweet dreams"

And my FAVORITE:

"Love you"- sounds like "wuv you"...I couldn't care less what it sounds like...to me, it's one of the best sounds I will ever hear!


Devynn adds more and more sweetness to my world everyday! What more could a girl ask for?! :)

Happy Halloween!

So the kids had a lot of fun on Halloween this year. Jessie decided not to dress up ...guess she thinks 7th graders are too old for that. She still had fun, though. Andrew and Rylee are trick-or-treating pros now! Devynn isn't quite there yet. She was rather poky...guess she can blame her little legs for that. Plus she scared rather easily. She looked adorable in her little 50's girl costume, though...even though she wouldn't really let us take her picture! And she had fun carrying around her "punkin" and getting candy from about 10 houses. Fun fun fun!! :)


Halloween is always spook-tacular in my world! (hahaha)

RyRy's Reaction

So, when Rylee returned from her trip to Grandma's, we told her about the little incident at the playground with Devynn and the trashy little girls' spit (see previous entry titled "Disgusting!"). Rylee immediately asked "What color hair does she have?" and "What color shoes was she wearing?". I kind of fear for the little girl's safety...I think RyRy is going to hunt her down and make her pay! Uh Oh!

The next night, as I was telling someone about her reaction, RyRy informed Andrew that he "should have been protecting Devynn!" She was quite annoyed that Andrew had slacked off! I kind of fear for Andrew's safety now, too! ;)

Rylee is such a funny little girl. She has the face of an angel, but quite a temper. She is the first to hit her brother or sisters (thankfully she outgrew the biting/scratching/pinching phase!) but is also the most protective of them. The other morning while we were walking Andrew to school, Andrew and Rylee were walking up ahead of me. As they approached the corner, I told them to stop. They did, but apparently Rylee thought that Andrew was standing too close to the street (he wasn't). She started telling him to step back. Of course he wasn't listening to her, so she started trying to pull him back. Right about then, a car started coming down the street. When Rylee saw it, she immediately stepped between Andrew and the street, with her arms stretched out to her sides to block him from the car. She did it without any hesitation or thought of her own safety. It was so natural for her to be protective. I guess she thinks that she's the only one allowed to hurt her siblings! :)

She's going to make a great mommy someday (hopefully not for about 20 years, though!), and it makes me feel good to think that she's learned it by watching me and following in my footsteps! :)

Protection provided by Rylee Belle in my world!

DISGUSTING!!!!!

So, last night at Jessie's soccer practice, Andrew and Devynn were playing on the playground. They were minding their own business, when this little girl decided that she was going to walk up to Devynn and spit on her! My poor baby girl! We were so disgusted! And the girl's mom didn't even apologize! Can you say "TRASHY?!" To add to it, this was the same little girl who was calling Andrew an a**hole earlier! She was probably only 3 years old, too! She's just lucky that Rylee was at Grandma's house and didn't see it!!

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In other, happier news, I'm going to be an Auntie again!!!! My brother Brandon and his wife Cindy are expecting!! YAY!!! We are so excited! It's been a long journey for them, but I know that this baby will be sooo worth it! Congrats to them! :) Now, if I can only convince them that the baby should be named Kelly Jr.! :)

A What?...

Rylee and I were hiding from Devynn in her closet.

Rylee: "It's kind of like we're in an actulater."
Me: "What's an actulater?"
Rylee: "You know, that thing that you go in and go up."
Me: "Oh, do you mean an 'elevator' ?"
Rylee: "Yes."

So cute! I absolutely love all the little mispronunciations that my babies have. It makes me sad to hear them go! (Like Rylee's "ah min no" instead of "I don't know"...still miss that one!)


Life is always more fun in my imperfect world!

Uncle Steve's New Name! :)

So this weekend, Devynn renamed Uncle Steve. They were asking her what his name is, and she replied "Fluffy". I have no idea where she came up with that...I didn't know that she could say that, or even knew that word. So Steve's new name is Uncle Fluffy! Rather odd, but incredibly funny! :)
So now my kids have Uncle Fluffy, Bawgee, and Laa Laa! Not to mention "Uncle " Rikki! We're such a strange family!

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Andrew lost a tooth this morning! He was so excited! Time for the Tooth Fairy to make a visit! :)
Poor guy is going to be without his front teeth for a while. His top front tooth (actually, there were 2 because he had an extra one right on top of it) had to be removed because of an abscess that developed. And this one this morning (bottom front one) was actually knocked loose last week when Andrew tripped going up the stairs and smacked his mouth. I'm hoping the permanent ones will come in soon, but since they didn't fall out on their own, I don't think they're ready to yet. Sure makes eating apples tough for my poor guy! :)



There's always something happening in my world!