Today's Random Thoughts

Is it just me, or are 5th graders enormously tall nowadays?! I seriously feel like a midget every day when I walk Andrew to school! Strange mutant children! Must be something in the water out here!

Anyways, today as we walked back from taking Andrew to school, we saw an airplane flying overhead. Rylee and Devynn started waving and yelling "hi" to the pilot. Then Rylee informed me that the man in the plane had seen her and waved back. She said that there were 2 men up front, and the one that wasn't "driving" waved to her. I giggled and went along with her little story. A few minutes later, as Rylee pushed the stroller across the street, she informed me that she was "like a mom because she's big now and knows everything." I had to laugh with that one! My silly Ry Ry!

Yesterday Jessie started soccer. She is, of course, the smallest girl on the team. Her uniform is huge on her, even though it's a small. She sure is a teeny little thing! I guess whatever is in the water out here that is making the other kids super tall is having the reverse effect on my kids.

Some days are rather random in my world!

Good Night

Rylee's Bedtime Routine

First, she has to make sure her 2 purple pillows are placed just right...near her headboard, and closer to the wall. Then, she puts her big stuffed dog on her right side, and her stuffed kitty on her left. She has to hold her small stuffed dog and her little bear. Next up, her blankets. Right now, she's only been using her tiny yellow one and her Noah's Ark crib blanket. Sometimes, though, she'll use about 8-10 different ones. No joke. And they all have to be laid facing the correct way. Once she's in and covered, she makes sure her night-light and ceiling fan (even when it's freezing) are on, and then our conversation goes like this...

Rylee: "Love you."

Me: "Love you."



Rylee: "Sweet Dreams."

Me: "Sweet Dreams."



Rylee: "See you in the morning."

Me: "See you in the morning."



Rylee: "Are you guys gonna lock your door?" (She is referring to mine and Ryan's bedroom door. This question started during her brief phase when she tried to sleep in our bed, and we started telling her that we would lock our door so she couldn't sneak in.)

Me: "Yes." (We don't actually lock our door, but she doesn't know that. Shhhh!)



Rylee: "When are you guys going to bed?"

Me: "In a little bit."





We repeat our little banter twice. Don't ask me why.



Kids are sometimes a bit odd in my world.

Flying High

Andrew got the "High Flyer" award at school today! He's so proud of himself! And we're very proud of him, too! He was amazed that all he had to do to earn the award was sit in his seat and not talk. At home, that's a very tough thing for him to do! :)

Sometimes the kids I have at home and the kids I send to school are completely different in my world! :)

I am Mom

I am not a woman whose hair looks perfect all the time,

makes a home-cooked meal every night,

and knows exactly how to answer all

my children's questions.

But I am strong. I am invincible.

I AM MOM.

I found that in an ad in my Parents magazine, and I liked it so much that I cut it out and stuck it on my fridge. It's the new motto in my world.

Back to School!

Yesterday was the first day of school for Jess and Andrew...7th grade and 1st grade respectively. I am happy to report that everything went incredibly smooth, and there were no tears shed by anyone! Yay! I was a bit worried about Andrew because he seemed really nervous about starting first grade (and after last year's chaotic, emotional first week, who can blame the poor boy?!)(For those of you who don't know...Andrew had a pretty rough time starting kindergarten last year. For the first two days, he was incredibly shy, wasn't really making friends and was kind of emotional. Then, just when he was starting to adjust and was doing ok, we received a call from the principal saying that they were having to switch some teachers around because of the amount of students who registered late. Of course Andrew's teacher was moved to cover another class, and all the students in Andrew's class were split up amongst the other kindergarten classes. Needless to say, it was a rough first week.)


But things went pretty well yesterday! The only "bummer" moment was when Jess found out that she has a different lunch than her BFF Ali. I'm sure they'll survive, though. ;)

First day of school!

Prettiest, but itty-bittiest, little 7th grader!

Big, bad 1st grader!

My 4 little monkeys!

Yesterday was a great day in my world!

Stupid, Stupid, Stupid!!!!

So, today was an adventure, to say the least. It started off with Devynn waking up in a bad mood. Not sure why, but she was such a little crab-apple this morning. And since Rylee and Andrew had spent the night with Papa Dave, she didn't have her usual morning playmates to help entertain her. So, I put her in the shower with me. Of course she ended up getting soap in her eyes...twice! Do you know how loud a screaming 18-month old sounds in the shower?! Stupid soap! After our shower, everything seemed to be calming down a bit. But that was short-lived. Jess had school registration and pictures, so I was helping her curl her hair. And yep, you guessed it, I burnt my finger. Ouch! Stupid curling iron! And it wasn't even 9:30 am yet!

After Jessie's school stuff, we decided to go to Kohl's. I didn't take the stroller because I knew that they would have their handy-dandy little stroller carts. But, of course they didn't have any extra ones available when we were there. Stupid missing carts! I'm not sure where they all were...I think they hid them on purpose just to make my day even harder. So I spent what seemed like forever chasing Devynn around the racks (under them too!) while Jess and my niece Taylor picked out some clothes. At least Devynn was being friendly and saying "hi" to all the little old ladies that walked by. Too cute!

Once we were finished at Kohl's, we were trying to figure out where to stop for lunch. Turns out it didn't matter though because my car wouldn't start! My battery decided to die. Stupid battery! What fun! Thankfully, Ryan wasn't in Orange County today, and was able to come rescue us. Yay Ryan! But did I mention that it started raining on us while we were waiting?!

Needless to say, my day continued on it's course of pure fun. Devynn wouldn't nap, which means she was just a little bundle of joy. Andrew and Rylee didn't nap either because they got home from Papa Dave's later than expected (thanks to my little car incident), which means they were not the most pleasant kids to be around. My foolish attempt at a nap was quickly interrupted. And to top it all off, I ended up spilling a soda all over my nice, clean floor. Stupid Dr. Pepper! (I don't even like Dr. Pepper!) By that point, I seriously wanted to cry.

Instead, I had a bowl of rocky road ice cream for dinner.

At least in the end, I ended up with some new pants. :)


Sometimes I worry that I will lose my mind in my world!

In my pocket!

So this weekend Rylee was standing there with me and Uncle Steve, when she reached into her pocket and pulled out a little hair clip.

Rylee: "Mom, why is this in my pocket?"

Me: "I don't know. It's your pocket, so how am
I suppose to know why it's in there?"

Rylee: "Because, smart ass."

Ry Ry can only be found in my world! :)

When I grow up...

Jess was playing dress-up with Rylee and Devynn the other day. They had so much fun!

Watch me do the hula!

Instead of a bouquet of flowers, Devynn opted for her cup and bag of snacks! :)

I'm a genie, and I will grant you 3 wishes...but don't even think about wishing for my food!

Little Fairy Princess.

What a beautiful little bride! (Ry Ry informed us this weekend that when she gets married, she's going to live at home still. When I asked her what she will do if her husband doesn't want to live with us, she gave me her typical are-you-really-that-stupid look and informed us that she wouldn't get married. Don't you feel a little sorry for the guy that does marry her one day?!)

Dress-up day is always fun in my world!

Happy Birthday!

So yesterday was Andrew's birthday! I can't believe my boy is already 6 years old! Jessie decorated his room and told him that the Autobots (Transformers) had done it. He was very excited to think that Optimus Prime and Bumble Bee had been in his room...you could even see their footprints still! What a nice, sweet big sister Jess is! :) We let Andrew pick wherever he wanted to go for dinner...he chose In-N-Out. That's my boy! Then we came home and had cake and ice cream. His cake was really cool...Thanks Papa Steve and Kim! :) He giggled as soon as he saw it. (I love his giggle.) But I think the highlight of his day was being able to ride in the car without a car seat! He was sooo happy! He thinks he is the coolest kid ever! (I kind of agree with him on that one, though!)

Birthdays are always fun in my world! :)





PS- Just think...in order for Andrew to have been born yesterday (Tuesday) morning, that means that my labor would've started Sunday night! I amaze myself! :)

So sweet

Sweetest thing ever: Watching Devynn hold hands with Rylee and Andrew while bowing her head during our dinner prayer tonight, and hearing her say "Amen" at the end. How sweet is my world?!

Summer Fun

Celebrating Rylee's 4th birthday

Playing in the dogs water bowl...again!

Devynn absolutely loves Harley!

Being "wiggle worms" after playing in the sprinklers in their undies!

Jessie looking so happy on her 12th birthday!

Weekend in Review

Our church Life Group has been on break this summer, so we've been having bbq's instead. Friday night it was at our friend's Tonja and Dave's (aka Ali's parents...Jessie's BFF). The kids had a blast swimming in the pool and jumping on the trampoline with all of their friends from church. My kids ended up staying up way past their bedtimes, but it was fun anyways. The next one is at our house on the 15th...last one before the kids start school! (they only have 15 more days until they go back to school!)

Andrew had his second-to-last t-ball game yesterday morning. Each boy gets three pitches from the coach before they pull out the tee. Andrew did good, and didn't have to use the tee at all! :) And his last time up, he hit a home run! (Ok, well since they don't have outs and just go through the whole lineup each inning, whichever kid is up last gets to run all the way home. But he did outrun the boy that had the ball! ) Go Andrew!

After the game, we all came home and went swimming...even me! For some reason, I don't go swimming very often. I'll sit on the side with my feet in, but I don't actually jump in. So the kids were very excited when they realized I was going in! Fun, Fun, Fun! Devynn decided she was done sooner than the rest of us, so she was just playing around the pool (naked, as usual!). Then of course, she had to pee! I don't know why, but it was the cutest thing to see her peeing out back naked! (Hey, I never said that we weren't white trash! )

Today we went to church, which the kids always enjoy. And to top it off, we got to bring home the extra donut holes! Bonus! Afterwards, Ryan took the kids swimming while I took a little nap! Rare for me, but so enjoyable! When I got up, little miss Rylee Belle had to show me her new trick in the pool...she's learning how to swim without floaties! She was so proud of herself! It was so cool to see the huge grin on her face! My baby love is getting big!

So all in all, it was a pretty lazy summer weekend here in my world. (my favorite kind!)