Split-personality weather!!!

Seriously!!!

Rain, sunshine, bitter cold wind...then more sunshine!

Oh well...at least the kids are getting outdoors...something that we miss very much in the winter time!

Sure they go out...but not for long.

This nice weather keeps them out, and happy.

Today was a beautiful day and the kiddos had fun outside...

Like I have said before...I LOVE when they don't fight...and when they are outside happy, busy...they are so nice to each other!

It makes me happy!!!

Chalk on the trampoline...what a great idea!!!

Wrong way buddy!

Our girlies! Poor Elsie...I put her eye drops in today...and she turned her head, and one dropped went over the bridge of her nose...and dilated that one too...so she was pretty squinty outside with the bright sun...but there was no way she would let me keep her indoors. Since that eye didn't get the full dose, hopefully it will be worn off tomorrow!!!

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Also, this morning I got to sleep in and have breakfast in bed...well, breakfast brought to me in bed anyway...so sweet, another early birthday gift!

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*I am Thankful for the sun!!!

*I am Thankful for a nice, relaxing day spent with my sweet little family...I love them so much!!!

*I am Thankful for Sundays when we get to call the Grandmas!!! My kids look forward to it so much!!! (Did I say this last Sunday? Oh well, they really do love it!)

Birthday party-ing...

My birthday is coming up...

We decided to celebrate today...cause Brent will be working on the actual birthday.

My little family took me out to eat at Carinos'...yummy...

Then I got to pick what I wanted to do...so we went shopping.

First a stop at ROSS where I found a cute shirt...and I found the most darling dress for an Easter dress for the kids...but it was only in size 18 months...which doesn't work for any of my girls...but it gave me a great idea...very vintage looking!

Then we went to Target.

No real reason...I just love Target.

I found some other cute dresses that I love the cut, just not the patterns...so I may attempt something like that too...hmmm...Easter is getting too close!

Porter, after his fit...he likes shopping about as much as Dad does!
I am not sure why they are on the Target floor...but here they are...on the Target floor.

Waiting at Maverick to pick up some milk on the way home...
Another fit.

He is feeling better...but really irritable.

I am almost convinced it is all due to his K9's popping in!

I hope he gets a good sleep and is happier tomorrow!

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*I am Thankful for every minute we get to spend as a family!

*I am Thankful that today while trying a shirt on...I DIDN'T want to cry...which has been the case in the last little while. YAY!!! Wellness Challenge doing some good!

*I am Thankful for the DVR...so we get to watch a movie with the big girls tonight without spending a dime!

Good helper...

Remember when I said that yesterday we didn't have such a great day...Madi and I?

Well, this morning started out bad...and I was worried about how it would go when she got home from school.

But I am very happy to report that things have gone pretty dang good.

But you know what, I kinda think it is because it is Friday and I am not on her about doing her homework.

That isn't fair, right?

I would be a bad Mom if I didn't make her do her homework...but it sure would make her like me better!

Our house is a complete disaster due to the kitchen make-over.

Madi was a good little helper and helped organize the shoes in the mud room.

(Which is also in need of a make-over!!!)

She has been helpful to me this afternoon and it has been great.

Thanks Madi!

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Porter has a fever AGAIN!!!!!

Why can't we get rid of this!!!

Seriously...if it isn't Porter, it is Elsie...luckily the big girls have stayed good...

So Porter had a 103.5 temp yesterday and just an hour ago it was still at 103...arg!

Poor boy.

I just want them to all feel good at the same time!

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*I am Thankful for Fridays...so I don't have to pressure my kids to do their homework!

*I am Thankful for my treadmill so I can get my running in which is definitely my stress release! I am a crazy woman without running!!!

*I am Thankful that I am getting this done early....which MAY mean I will get to bed early...hopefully!

GET AWAY!!!

Today Porter and I went to the bus stop to wait for Cassi.

Then we headed home.

As we were on our driveway, Porter starts to have a little worried whine.

I turned around a tried to figure out what was wrong.

He kept walking in weird circles, at first I thought maybe he was avoiding the dried up worms on the ground...

But then I realized he just found his SHADOW!!!

So do I go and rescue him...NO!

I run in the house...grab the camera, take him back to the end of the drive-way for a reenactment!

It was so funny...

Don't worry, he is fine.

He finally figured out that it was harmless, 'cause he had a big smile on his face.

I just love when little kids explore new things in their world for the first time!

In his defense...that is a mighty BIG shadow!!!

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*I am Thankful that Madi and I made a deal to make tomorrow a GREAT day. Because today wasn't so great.

*I am Thankful that I get to go to bed soon!

*I am Thankful that I got the other side of the kitchen painted today, and I am still lovin' it!!!

Girls lunch!

Today a group of friends and I went out for a birthday lunch.

Today is Jenni's birthday (the one in pink).

And next week is my birthday...so we combined and all got together for our special days.

It is so much fun and I love having such great friends in my life!

(Just so you know girls...I did NOT choose the picture that I looked best in...so there!)

Thanks girls for such a fun afternoon!!!

And Happy REAL birthday Jenni!

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2nd haircut!

I probably won't document EVERY haircut...but I just might.
Isn't he such a cutie...

He loves to get his haircut...when we were done and cleaning up, he picked the clippers up and tried to do it himself.

Silly boy.

Dad got a haircut too...sorry, no pictures from that...but he looks pretty great too.

(Thanks Madi for being the photographer...I think she took over 50 pictures is about 2 minutes...funny! Lots to choose from!)

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I know this is boring...but this is what is done so far in our make-over.

We pulled out the old molding, painted and put up new molding to match what is in our living room.

Like I said...maybe boring right now...but wait until you see more!

Stay tuned!

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*I am Thankful for such great friends in my life! I really am blessed!

*I am Thankful for the rain...really...!

*I am Thankful that my project is turning out how I wanted it too so far...'cause sometimes it doesn't...

DEMO....

Things are getting torn up around here...

I have a before picture to show with the after, that will have to wait....but I am VERY excited for the changes we are gonna do.

YAY!

I love projects!

(And isn't Cassi wearing an absolutely fabulous outfit!!!???)

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Madi came home with this cute little plastic foot for getting 100 laps in her little running thing they do after lunch.

She was so excited.

And I was so excited for her!

I love when they do things like this to encourage the kids...

Madi is totally pumped to keep running laps!

Not too long and I will have her for my very own little running partner!

Good job Madi Bell!

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* I am Thankful for REDBOX so my hubby and I can have a cheap date night at home.

*I am Thankful that my hubby understands that I have to do this and he is patiently waiting for me to join him for our movie date!

*I am Thankful for my hubby...very thankful for him!

Round and round

First of all...I am becoming more and more aware that I need to take more pictures of my older two girls...

And that will be a goal of mine...

But for today...just another shot of the boy.

He has learned how to open the washer.

Kind of a bad thing...since it freely spins around and around.

He was actually turning when I shot this picture and he ended up hitting his head.

It's a good thing he is tough.

Also...let the Dressing-up of the boy begin.

Madi was watching Porter when I was finishing up Elsie and Cassi's bath and he came out with a skirt on with a ribbon belt and a hair bow on his head...

I blame Heather...she stuck a skirt and bow on him at Hallie's birthday party...

I am sure they will have some fun with him.

I remember dressing my little brother up as a girl for Halloween...

Pretty sure Brent isn't gonna let that happen!

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*I am Thankful for the 3 pounds that I have lost...yes it took 3 weeks...but I am so happy. I am not out for the weight loss...but more for a healthier lifestyle...and if weight loss comes with that...then yay!

*I am Thankful that I am a photographer. I am not anywhere near to where I want to be...but so much better than I used to be. I love it and I love the chances I get to go out and get better!

*I am Thankful for goals. Along with the Wellness Challenge that I am doing...you make a goal...either daily or weekly. This weeks goal is to organize a few things around the house. I told Brent that I am so bummed that he got me this AWESOME sewing machine for Christmas...but since my material is so unorganized and shoved to the back of my closet, I don't get to it like I should...so that is the goal this week...to go through and organize my material and sewing stuff so I can GET BACK TO IT!!!

Out for a little walk...

We went for a nice Sunday afternoon stroll with our friends, the Terry's.

It was pretty cold...but nice to get out!

Sunday's really mess with this little guys sleeping schedule...he was pretty pooped!

Hopefully that means a good night sleep tonight...hopefully!

Elsie went pretty far with her walker...and I think she would have kept going if we didn't offer her to sit in the stroller.

That kid is one tough cookie!

The boys of the family...

I keep going back and forth of wanting to get rid of the dog or not...then I see how much Elsie and Porter love him and I feel bad for wanting to get rid of him!

And the only reason I would even consider getting rid of him is just because it is one more added stress that we don't NEED...

But then again...maybe he is a good thing.

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*I am Thankful for the fun phones calls we get to make on Sundays to the Grandmas...the kids look forward to it so much!

*I am Thankful for the puzzles that Elsie has been spending time doing...cause I don't think I could handle much more of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse!

*I Thankful for a nice walk around the park...I can't wait until the weather is nice and we can do it all the time!!!

TOO MUCH loves...

These pictures are really bad and grainy...but I had to get some before I rescued Elsie...so I couldn't waist time with camera fidgeting!!!

Porter isn't a soft kid.

He doesn't mean to be mean...he is just a rough and tumble little boy.

Lately we are trying to get him to give loves, especially after he has hurt someone.

He is very sweet and comes and hugs you and lays his head on you...but in a rough way still...he kind of mows you over while doing it.

He is always hugging Elsie while she is walking or standing and he knocks her completely over.

Again, he is not trying to be mean.

Well, tonight he really wanted to give Elsie loves...and she just was not interested!

I kept pulling him off of her...finally I decided to get the camera and snap a shot for memory sake.

Over and over he bugged, I mean hugged, her.

Little turkey.

Elsie was fine...just a little fed up with the boy, and SO ready for bed!

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I told Madi she needed to stop talking back to me...this was her solution...

(Again...bad picture resolution!)

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The girls got water colors for Christmas...but I just got some water color paper the other day.

I am a huge water color fan.

I think they are just beautiful!

So I wanted to sit down and try with the kids...

It was so much fun...I think there are definitely some rules I didn't follow...but I think it turned out okay.

I have some vintage kid clothing pattern that my friend Annie gave to me from her Moms stash...

I love the outfits...but I also love the pictures on the front!

That is what I used for an idea.

Not too bad.

Still not sure if I like it!

I looked on-line and found a place that you can do water color lessons for free...just basics...but I would love to try it...

I would LOVE to have a huge water color painting of my family in our living room...

Maybe some day!

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*I am Thankful that tomorrow is Sunday...I have missed the last two weeks of church and I am ready for some spiritual feedings...

*I am Thankful that Elsie slept from 4:30 yesterday afternoon until 7:00 this morning!!! Yikes...that is a lot of sleeping! Two, 14-15 hour sleep episodes in one week! Wouldn't that be GREAT!!!

*I am Thankful that my hubby is home tomorrow...'Cause I miss him.

Love you babe.

Jumping for joy...

The warmer weather has been great...cause the kids get outside!!!

I bought jump ropes from the girls gym teacher...and they have been having a lot of fun.

They were ready for school by 8:00 and jumped outside for 20 min. before the bus came.

And LOOK....they aren't fighting!!!

They came home form school and were very excited to show me their new trick...

SHARING a jump rope!

Oh that makes me happy.

Look how cute they are...

Man they make some funny faces when they jump rope...

Good work girlies!

And here are some cute shots of my babies...

Porter is still ALL trouble...
Elsie is feeling much better.
We all got a GREAT night sleep.
Brent made sure we were in bed by 9:00 last night, just in case Elsie had another bad night...
But the night went great....and we were all well rested!

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*I am Thankful for such a great night sleep!

*I am Thankful that Madi is such a great helper when she wants to be. Really, she is such a great girl.

*I am Thankful that Elsie is feeling SO MUCH better. I am a little worried though...she fell asleep at 4:30 this afternoon, and she is still asleep....oh well...if she has a bad night...tomorrow is Saturday and I have Madi to help me watch the kids if I need a nap...right?

Dang ear infections...

I am sorry for all you Mothers out there who have kids with chronic ear infections!!!

I have been blessed in my life with kids who have rarely gotten them...

Last night was a BAD night!

When Elsie is feeling bad and can't express herself, she gets very angry...very angry.

Last night things went normal...she fell asleep good, she had a little fever, but I had given her some Ibuprofen before she laid down.

I should have gone to bed earlier...but we got in bed about 11:00.

Elsie got up at 12:00.

Elsie was mad.

It wasn't until 5:00 that she went back to sleep...

really.

with hours of crying in between...we watched some Mickey Mouse...I offered Popsicles, bread, candy, apples...nothing helped...

Like I said before, Elsie uses a lot of sign language in her daily conversations.

She kept holding her hand to her head, which is what she does to sign for bed.

So I would take her up...she would lay for a minute...then flip out.

I would go down stairs, then back up...same thing over and over and over.

Finally, when she was absolutely exhausted she went to sleep.

When I got in bed...I started thinking that she was grabbing her left ear...when she signs BED she always uses her right hand...

See, when your kids don't get ear infections...you aren't trained to look for the signs.

So I took her to the doctor today, and sure enough she has an ear infections, with fluid behind the other.

She said the other one might have already burst a few days ago.

Oh man.

Poor baby.

I REALLY hope that tonight goes better...

She was pretty good today, with only a few melt downs.

I hope it gets better FAST!!!

I feel for you frequent ear infections Moms!

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* I am Thankful for antibiotics!!!!!!!!!!

* I am Thankful for this weather!

* I am Thankful for having such a wonderful family. We have very stressful times...but man...I wouldn't trade it for anything!

My new (old) chairs!!!

Our kitchen chairs are pretty pathetic.

The paint is coming off...and not in a cute rustic kind of way.

They just look bad.

We have been looking for new chairs and I came across these chairs on Craigslist a while ago.

I fell in love with the chairs, which are from the 1920's.

BEAUTIFUL!

Anyway, he was asking $400...so I just kept looking.

Well, last week I got on and looked again...they were down to $250.

Six antique chairs...$250...pretty good deal...

But we had to go see how sturdy they were...if they would hold up for our family.

We got there and I knew they were perfect.

They were SO me!

But they were a little wobbily...but had good bones.

We told him we would have to think about it...

We got home and browsed the Internet for more chairs...what we found was that even the cheapest chairs were at least $50.

And those we cheap...like made cheap...not good quality...in my opinion.

So I talked Brent into the chairs...

But I still didn't want to pay $250...

So Brent said that if I could get him down to $200...I could have them.

Well, the guy said he had to think about it...he called back a few hours later and said I could have them!

Aren't they wonderful????

Now, I haven't quite decided what to do with them.

The color won't work and I am seriously playing with the idea of painting them a funky (not too funky) color like Turquoise....

What do you think???

My eventual plan in the kitchen is to paint my table white and my cupboards white...and to have red and turquoise accents in the kitchen and living room...

That is the plan...in my head it is absolutely perfect!

Brent will have to spend a little time gluing the legs and making them real sturdy...but he says they have good bones...and he likes to do stuff for me anyway.

That is love right???

Thanks for the chairs, baby!

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*I am Thankful that thing seem to be getting more clam around here...with my "Don't raise voice" goal...it is really starting to trickle down to the kids...and that makes me so happy!

*I am so Thankful that Brent loves old stuff like I do...I think we have some real treasures here....

*I am Thankful that I am changing my eating habits...do you know that my kids now reach for oranges, apples, or bananas instead of cheese crackers or sugary stuff. That makes me so happy!

Running for sticks!

Madi has been trying to get me to come and run with her after lunch for a VERY LONG TIME!!!

Finally we found a day to come and do it.

After lunch the kids earn stick for every lap they take...great idea...(although I am not sure it is a great idea RIGHT after lunch!)

I got to school a little early and got Cassi before she got on the bus...and we went and ate lunch with Madi in the cafeteria...

I think Madi was a little embarrassed of us at first...oh well, that is what parents are for!!!

Then we headed out and started running...I got two sticks for every lap and Cassi earned some for Madi's class too.

What ever class gets the most sticks gets to keep a golden shoe in their class room.

Very exciting stuff, you know!

We couldn't run the whole time...Cassi got worn out fast, but I think we earned some good sticks for Madi.
I told her I would come again, maybe Thursday and run it with her and get her a TON of sticks!!!
But I need to bring the babies in strollers...cause they would get sticks for her class too!
I think it is a great idea!

Lots of fun!

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I forgot to write this yesterday...but it is too exciting to leave out...

And sorry if it is too gross...but for you mommy's out there...you know the excitement this brings!

Elsie pooped in the potty yesterday.

It might have been a little traumatizing for her, she was a little freaked out and stuck her hand in the potty and got some on her hand...(she is a very touch oriented girl...has to touch every thing)

But after we got cleaned up, we talked about how exciting this is and what a big girl she is...

She talked about it all day yesterday and today...told every one several times...

I know she wants to go on the potty so bad...she sits on it several times a day...but nothing happens.

We are really gonna buckle down on e of these weekends and see if potty training is even a possibility right now!

But for now, yippee Elsie!

So exciting!

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*I am Thankful for the very cool new (old) chairs I will be getting...more on that later!

*I am Thankful for my hubby who helps out more than you would know with the kids!!!

*I am Thankful that Elsie is feeling better...when she is sick, it seems about 10 times worse for her than anyone else. It makes me sad!

Fresh air...

Man...we need Spring!!!

No school again today...and again...we had to get out of the house!!!

This morning the big girls and I headed to Hobby Lobby so they could pick out their Valentines gift.

Madi got modeling clay, and a box that looks like a book, with a hidden compartment...ohhhh....

Cassi also got some colorful clay, and an eraser for our white board...she wanted a lunch box for her school snacks, and I told her we could look at Walmart, cause we were gonna go grocery shopping anyway.

The girls were surprisingly good helpers at Walmart...

We got the shopping done in good time and minimal fighting or begging.

Cassi found the perfect lunchbox...but somehow it got lost...I need to look at the receipt to see if we even purchased it to begin with...

Later on we headed to the park for some basketball.

We are definitely outdoors people...we get so crazy inside with nothing to do!!!

Cassi split her time between the play park and hoops.

She got pretty good at getting the ball up there...

Elsie is doing much better...she still has a nasty cough that makes her throw up at times...
She wet to bed at 4:30 yesterday afternoon, and slept this morning until 7:30...
15 hours should make one feel rejuvenated, right???
She did wake up once at 10:30 for a new diaper, but immediately wanted to go back to bed and again at 4:30 when she had a fever.
I gave her some Ibuprofen and she wanted right back in bed.
I am glad she is feeling better...but I still think she is gonna have to miss a few days of school this week!
Darn-it!

Madi, Madi, Madi...
She has quite the knack for Basketball.
She had so much fun with her Dad today...
She definitely could beat me in a round of H-O-R-S-E...

Porter...aka Trouble!!!
No, he was a good boy...
He was pretty mad when he found Elsie's empty fruit snack bag...with nothing for him.
Turkey!
He is a pretty good Basketball player too!!!

Like I said we had a lot of fun!
I had fun too!
Too bad I don't ever take pictures of myself having that said FUN...
I am gonna be better about taking pictures of me...or try to.
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* I am Thankful that Brent is such an involved Daddy!

*I am Thankful that Elsie got the sleep she needed...she is one sad kid when she doesn't feel well.

*I am Thankful for the chance I get to go right now and cuddle with my hubby for a little movie...oops...better go, he is waiting....

Valentine's for Daddy!!!

Happy Valentines Day DAD!!!

How do you get a boy to look manly holding a pink heart???

You tape it to his basketball...(he ripped it off immediately after this picture!)

Poor little sweet pea!!! She was feeling really bad today!

But she sure LOVES her Daddy!!!

Notice her ponytails...cute, right???

This girlie LOVES her Daddy!

Madi Bell took a while to figure out what she wanted to do for her Valentine...

Pretty cute!

And tasty!

I LOVE you baby!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

(Please check YES!)

Happy *HEART* Day!!!

Happy Valentines Day!!!

We skipped church again this week...Elsie only got about 3 hours total of sleep last night (me too!) And she was running a fever this morning...Porter still had a runny nose...It was just a better idea to stay home.

Man Elsie had a rough day. She was so tired...but every time she tried to sleep she couldn't breathe. She watched a lot of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...which is her absolute favorite right now.

Just after Christmas I found a darling stuffed horse at Walgreen's for only $10! But Santa had just brought Elsie a $40 horse for Christmas...but I bought it and had it in stock, I thought maybe for her birthday or something...Well, today was the day to bring it out. We all need a Valentines gift, right??? I told the big girls I would take them to Hobby Lobby tomorrow to pick out their Valentines Day present...

This guy was exactly what we needed today...several times he saved us from massive fits...we still had a few...but not as many as we would have had without the cute little guy!
I am glad she loves him so much...and don't worry, $40 horse from Santa is loved too...you just can't cuddle him...so both 'Stripps' are very loved!

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The girls got quite creative today (while they weren't fighting anyway...)

Madi made this cute little Planters peanut Guy out of play-doe...

She did a FANTASTIC job!!!

Don't ya think?

I believe she is planning to get real (grown up) clay at Hobby Lobby tomorrow.

And Cassi drew this AWESOME picture of Mickey Mouse for Elsie...to make her happy.

She even wrote, all by herself, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse at the top.

Very good job Cassi!!!

Elsie LOVED it!

I am pretty sure she wants more art supplies from Hobby Lobby!

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*I am Thankful for a great friend like Jenni who knew I was couped up in the house all day and brought me some chocolate to make me happy...(Valentines is a free day for my challenge...don't judge!) But believe me, I am excited to get back on track tomorrow!

*I am Thankful for Mickey Mouse Clubhouse...without him today, I might have gone crazy...although...he has made me a little nuts today...oh well, I would endure anything for my sweet Elsie!

*I am so Thankful for the amazingly romantic and heartfelt letter I got from my Valentine today. I love him so much and I am so lucky to have him!!!