Fun with the camera

Here's my crazy kids (minus my husband). Notice the pillows they are laying on...every holiday my mom brings over new homemade pillow cases for each of the kids. I love this gift - and so do the kids. They have Christmas pillow case, Easter, Valentine's Day, Birthdays, St. Pat's day, etc. Very cool tradition to start if you are looking for a new one!

I know the above pic is not a very good one, but since I was actually in a picture I thought I would post it - it's not very often you get to see ME on the blog!!
Egg coloring - very intense.
Easter morning after church. My cutie pies all dressed up! This is just before Austin threw Gabriella off the fireplace...

My beautiful, bald Gabriella...

This cake is for my sister, Kimberly, to see...I love making homemade cakes - but usually frosting them is not my favorite thing to do (which is good since I am horrible at it). Normally, my sister frosts them for me and makes them look awesome, but she was out of town and my kids really wanted a bunny cake for Easter. so, Austin, Ashlyn and I made this one - Ashlyn did the M&M's...I'd like to say Austin did all the frosting, but no, that was me. Not bad though, huh?

Hope you are having the time of your life!

ST

Hangin' with the Marks!

I have been MIA lately - sorry about that...
I'm still live and kickin' though. We had the best weekend this weekend (and we still have tomorrow to go)! Yesterday morning I loaded up the car with a million bags and all three kids and headed to Manhattan (Kansas, not New York - do you really think I would get on a plane with three kids?). Anyway, getting out the door with all the kids and all their "junk" was quite a task, but I was out the door and on the road by 8:30am!! The kids were awesome road trippers (thanks to the DVD player) and we only had to stop once. I had to pee. As I pulled up to the gas station I debated...do I take three kids into a public restroom with no help? Do I lock the doors and leave them in the car? hmmmm. I decided for choice A and took them all in with me. I put the kids in the corner of the bathroom - told them to hold hands, not to touch anything and don't move. I must have scared them or something because they actually listened. Eventually all of us emptied our bladders and we were on our way again. Ashlyn made it the whole way with no accidents (by the way she is truly potty trained - hasn't had any accidents, doesn't even wear a diaper at night or nap time - LOVE IT!!) So, we get to Manhattan and head straight for Callie's house! Callie has three little boys that are just adorable. We got to hang out all day and play and we just had the best time ever. I don't know that we even had to say 2 words to the kids - they were so happy to play together, they just played and played. Cal and I got to catch up and just relax while the kids destroyed her house. The Toby (Callie's husband) and Shawn drove up to Manhattan after work and got to the house around 6:30. We put the kids to bed, which was hilarious. Chandler, Andy, Carson, Austin and Ashlyn all went to bed in the same little room - they were all exhausted and slept awesome - they looked like a little litter of puppies. We got them all off to sleep and enjoyed amazing food - courtesy of Callie and some great beers and wine. We had such a great time - we may just have to do it every Friday. The kids thought it was so cool to have a sleepover together. The only bad thing is that it made me miss Callie, Toby and the boys more than ever. We miss them sooo much, but I definitely see some more road trips and sleepovers in our future.
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

...and then there were two...potty trained

Well, not totally, that takes until they are about 8 years old I suppose, but Ashlyn has improved leaps and bounds! I am such a firm believer in the 3 day potty training that I think I could sell it. We started Friday - and went thru several pairs of underwear (I mean panties, according to Ashlyn only boys wear underwear and girls wear panties), she went through 4 pairs and never made it to the potty in time....then Saturday was day two - only went through 3 pairs and started making it there in time...and Sunday we went through only 2 pairs and started actually saying, "I have to go potty!!" yipee!! And then....today...wow!!!!!!!! She wore the same pair ALL day!! She told me every single time when she had to pee and even told me when she had to poo - TWICE!!! Yes, she is a pro. Even woke up dry after nap time!! Awesome. I love the feeling of success. It was A LOT of hard work, determination and more patience than I can even begin to explain, but I survived it! I must have looked pretty put out on Friday night - my mom came over to help me out since Shawn was working late and as soon as Shawn walked in the door, I went upstairs, crawled in bed and didn't wake up until Saturday morning. My mom even got me yet another new purse - I have become obsessed with purses/bags lately. I have some SUPER CUTE ones. I'll try and take some pics and tomorrow and show you. A woman can never have enough. (speaking of which...one of you out there reading this is suppose to be making me a purse...don't think I have forgotten! ha! you know who you are!!) The hard work has definitely paid off. My advice, as a two time potty trainer would be make sure not only the child is ready, but that YOU are ready too. YIPEE!!!
Hope you are having the time of your life!!
ST

Put on your big girl panties and deal with it!

Yes, I am officially potty training Ashlyn! I am doing the "three day potty training" which is what I did with Austin. It definitely works...but day one is the worst!! I suppose it hasn't been too bad - just lots of accidents the first day. She is really excited to have big girl panties on - and of course her little elmo panties make her look cute as a button. My house is a mess, but if I can get her trained by Sunday I'll be a happy mom!! Better say a prayer for me...
Hope you are havin' the time of your life!
ST
ps - are your panties dry? sorry...just so use to saying that every five minutes...hard to stop.

Conversation with a three year old...

Setting:
My parents are putting the kids to bed Saturday night (Shawn and I are in Texas). Austin is drinking a huge glass of water before bedtime.
Grandma: "Austin, you really shouldn't drink so much water before you go to bed. You want to make sure your bed stays dry. Wouldn't want to have an accident."
Austin: "Papa, don't worry, if you have to go potty in the middle of the night and you get lost in your room, just pee on the floor."

hmmmmmm.....interesting.

Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

Back from the Lone Start State

Wow - what a great vacation!! Sure is hard to face Monday after 4 days of road trippin' with my husband. We had such a blast in Texas! We saw tons of old friends, reminisced, relaxed, and just enjoyed talking to each other without 3 little ones at our feet. It was amazing, rejuvenating and MUCH needed. I must do a usual shout out to the grandmas and grandpas that babysat - as always you guys are all the best - we wouldn't be sane (or at least as sane as we are) without you!! Thanks so much!

Now, onto the trip...here's a picture of us driving down to Texas last Thursday...

Yes, I said, "driving down to Texas" not driving up to North Dakota...we actually drove thru a blizzard on our way to Dallas. Well, a Texas blizzard. Nothing stuck a whole lot since it was 65 degrees the day before, but that didn't stop those Texans from thinking the world was ending. Of course, everyone left work/school early to get home quickly (Texans forget you should actually drive SLOWER in the snow). So, we ran into quite a bit of traffic in Denton. There were several inches on the ground, but it melted very quickly and just became a mushy mess. We got there with no problems, but the trip took 10 hours instead of 8.

Here's a pic of one my great friends that I use to coach and teach with at Colleyville, Susan. Can our smiles be any bigger???

We did do one touristy thing while in Texas...we went to the Gaylord Texan - a huge hotel that was being built when we moved. It was pretty cool -

We also got to watch the K-State basketball game at a K-State watch party with Brandon, one of our good friends from college. We were so happy to get to spend time with him and David Diedrich and Jesse. Spent most of Saturday hanging out with those guys.

Our condo, I mean hotel room....was HUGE. Shawn did priceline.com the night before we left and we ended up getting an awesome hotel room for $44/night. It was amazing. We even had a dining room table and kitchen - we could have had a dinner party! Crazy.

All in all it was a wonderful long weekend getaway and I can't wait to do it again next year...I'm thinking Phoenix...yeah...definitely.

Hope you are having the time of your life!

ST

ps - here's a pic of my girls...aren't they cute?

TEXAS HERE WE COME!!

Only ONE more day until Shawn and I go on vacation!! YIPEE!! And we get to go to TEXAS! We use to live in Texas, it's been 3 and half years since we moved from there and we have never been back. I can't wait to get back and see our old friends, go visit the teachers I use to teach with and coaches I use to coach with. It's also where Shawn and I were both living when we really fell in love (yes, you can throw up now), but it's true. Our relationship really started down in Texas. We are really excited to be heading back for a few days, especially since we'll get a little break for just the two of us. Mostly, we are excited to buy some Texas barbecue sauce!! And eat at our favorite Texas restaurants - Spring Creek! YUM!!! Can't wait!! I must take a moment to pre-thank both of our parents for helping out with the kids while we are gone. It's a group effort - Ed and Norma have them on Thursday and Friday and Frank and Peg have them on Saturday and Sunday. We love you!!! I know all three will be perfect little angels. Well, gotta start some packing!
Hope you are having the time of your life!
ST

It ain't a party without a...duck?

Yes, we had a "duck" party. I let Austin and Ashlyn pick out what kind of cake we should make for Gabriella's birthday and they chose a duck. I have no idea why...but it actually turned out really cute!! I just with someone would have bought her a REAL duck! How fun would that be? Just kidding...if any of you show up here with a duck I will refuse to open the door.





Thanks goes to my sister for doing the decorating, I am horrible with frosting...here's the before/during and after!

Gotta go - Oprah's Big Give is on!!

Hope you are having the time of your life!

ST