Denton Doings

Hot Cold and Lydia

2012-01-24T19:31:00.001-05:00

As she was walking around the house in princess attire, a short sleeved shirt, and no socks when the house was set to 60 degrees and it was in the 40's outside I happened to ask Lydia:
"Lyddie, are you hot natured or cold natured?"
She looked at me and said:
"Neither. I'm PRINCESS natured"

Of course she is.

The Egg-citing lunch . . . or not

2012-01-19T10:40:00.002-05:00

Elijah likes hard-boiled eggs. When we go to the Chinese Buffet he gets one to eat every time. Yesterday we didn't have too much to choose from for lunch so I decided to boil 3 eggs and see if they would eat them. Elijah comes to the table and starts screaming.
"Its not right. You can't cook those. Only Chinese has eggs. You have to have a bunch in ice and pick them up with tongs. You can't have them at home on your plate and no ice."

No amount of talking would convince him that it was the same thing. He was sobbing and competely distraught.

The girls saw his reaction and immediately refused to eat their eggs too. I got the eggs, put them in my super chopper, added mustard and pickles and made up some egg salad. I was talking about how much grampy liked egg salad and didn't it look delicious with the sweet pickles . . . I got out the bread and put it on a sandwich and Lydia looked at it, looked at me and said:
"It looks like frow-up and I am NOT eating that!"

Elijah immediately comes back with "Yeah--I'm going to barth if you make me eat that."

So I had egg salad and the kids had yogurt. Egg FAIL!

Bethy on Bagels

2012-01-19T10:34:00.002-05:00

Last Friday, we dropped the olders off at "Friday school" (our homeschool co-op.) Bethy and I were going to head home and chill out there since she and the olders were going to Granny and Grampy's that afternoon. I hadn't grabbed the bags or anything before we left. We pull out of the parking lot and Bethy yells "Panera Pit Stop!" The first week we'd gone to Streets at Southpoint because it is only about 5 minutes from the co-op and I wanted to be close in case the kiddos freaked and I had to go back and pick them up.

"We're headed home, not the mall today. We've got to go and get the bags with your clohtes so you can go to Granny's house." I told her.

She immediately responded: "Granny has clothes. I need a bagel."

So we went to the mall (how can you argue with that cute logic) and we rode the excalator for 73 round trips, got a bagel and played at the little indoor area there.

The security guard just laughed as we made trip after trip of up and down and up and down. He told me what a patient mom I was to let her do it. I explained that it had been 8 months since she had just me to herself and now she only got it for 3 hours a week so we did whatever she wanted to do. If that was riding the escalators, then so be it.

Razor 360

2012-01-17T19:31:00.001-05:00

Our Neighbors have one of these and Elijah is in love . . .
http://www.amazon.com/Razor-Rip-Rider-360-Drifting-Ride-On/dp/B000WZEX4M
Tonight, after riding it and spinning he said . . "mom, how long 'til Christmas? That's the ONLY thing I want!"

Big hit! Gonna keep my eyes peeled on craigslist and see if one pops up. $100 is a bit much to spend on a new toy.

No comment please . . .

2012-01-10T19:38:00.001-05:00

The edits have been made (thanks to my wonderful Father who acted as my proof reader)--for some reason though it won't let me "share" the updated book. Enjoy the pics, but no comments on the writing :)

January Through June 2011

2012-01-09T19:44:00.004-05:00

You know . . . just in case you wanted to see EVERY SINGLE picture I thought worthy of documenting our lives :)

If you see any typos or errors I'd love it if you told me! I haven't ordered it yet so there is still time to fix it! Many sets of eyes are better than one.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Create a gorgeous, high quality wedding photo album at Shutterfly.com.

Memo

2012-01-09T18:40:00.002-05:00

So Bethany got the memo that she's two.

All out tantrums, hand on the hip shouting "no!", screaming this awful scream and dissolving into tears anytime her brother and sister don't do what she wants, getting out of bed 5 or 6 times at nap and bedtime, up several times a night and turn on the light and playing . . . generally horrible this past week.

Lovely!

Of course the bad and the good strike a balance. She's started saying "very" all the time:

After scraping all the skin off her nose:
"My boo boo very bleding. Very hurts. Hurts sooooo bad!"

Eating dinner:
"This muffin is very cool offed. Not hot at all!"

Two!

2012-01-03T14:35:00.002-05:00

My baby is two today.

She talks, sings, sleeps in a toddler bed, is potty trained . . . she thinks she is grown!

Bethy loves the Wiggles but doesn't get to watch them much because the older two HATE them!

Bethy is a great eater--eats all sorts of things. Doesn't much care for nuts but likes everything else. She even loves capers on her pizza! (Capers, mushrooms, green and black olives, ham, pineapple and cheese in case you are wondering)

She hates it if you substitute anything for "little boy" when you sing her Baa Baa Black Sheep

Her favorite songs are Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Away in a Manger, Baa Baa Black Sheep and Old Time Religion.

Her favorite food is a tough one, corn on the cob comes to mind though.

Bethy can chew gum like a master!

Bethy hates naptime and will fight like nobody's business to get out of it. When she DOES fall asleep it is normally for about 45 minutes :(

She loves snuggles and rocking, just not so much with mama. She will gouge out my eyes and pick my nose and squirm and scream. If daddy or granny comes in though, its all snuggles. Grrrr.

Bethy will tell you she "volunteers a cake care a da babies in Covey's"--that is she volunteers to take care of the babies during cubbies. She is a babysitter--not in the nursery for any other reason ;)

Her favorite toys are baby dolls. Hands down. She strolls them, feeds them, rocks them, changes their diapers . . . she is baby crazy.

She likes dogs and cats toys too. She named her little dog "pee-pee" and her cat "spike."

Bethy is potty trained except when sleeping. She'll get distracted playing so you have to remind her if its been a while, but she has it under control!

Except for panties and socks, she can dress herself.

She can pedal on her trycicle.

She knows three letter sounds and can recognize a bunch of letters from sitting in on homeschool lessons.

She knows most colors but always guesses purple and pink if we get to one she's not sure about.

The girl loves pink.

She talks in sentances ALL the time--no one word replies for her anymore. she will answer "ummmm. . ..yep!" when she is thinking about a yes no answer though.

Bethy weighs 30 lbs like her sister and wears a 2T bottom and a 3T top--I love the little pot belly!

She is a dancing fool and love to be a ballerina and twirl around.

She has one of her 2 year molars and the other three a working their way through.

If we'd had her first we'd have another 6 by now--she is so easy and wonderful and good natured. The most smiley baby ever! She has enough personality to be twins!

Here---

2012-01-03T14:29:00.002-05:00

We're here--had a great Christmas. Granny and Grampy came down the 23rd and Santa came that night. We had "Christmas" all day on the 24th and got up on the 25th and headed ot Wilson. We did Christmas with Nana and Papa then headed ot Grandmama's. Thankfully granny and grampy came to the rescue about 5pm and took three tired kids to their place so we could stay and visit a bit. The kids and I headed to the beach on Thursday and celebrated new years down there. We set the timer for "midnight" and at 7:30pm let them call EVERYONE they wanted to (nana, cody, Mrs. Hilary, Daddy) to make sure they were up at "midnight" It was great--everyone played along--the kids toasted with sparking apple juice and were asleep by 8pm.

Blogging is on the back burner as we ramp back up with homeschool. We're still here, just not wasting as much time online :)

Swimming

2011-12-20T12:16:00.001-05:00

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Tried out the YMCA pool and childwatch yesterday. Had a blast.

Funny Stuff they Say . . .

2011-12-20T08:39:00.001-05:00

so I don't forget

Lydia: "Mom, how does Santa find our house . . . oh year, he uses a Tom Tom I think!"

-------------------------------------
Lydia: "Mom, what does pray without ceasing mean?"
Elijah: "Duh Lydia, it means you close your eyes when you pray!" (ceasing=seeing)

-------------------------------------
Bethany: "How 'bout"

as in:
Bethany, what can I get your for breakfast?
"How 'bout cheerios and milk"

Bethany, what song do you want before bed?
"How 'bout baa baa sheep and nen Twinkle little Sta-ra"

Wondering . . .

2011-12-14T13:36:00.003-05:00

I wonder what is best for my children every day. I thought homeschool was the best thing and it seems to have been a very wise decision. It has allowed us to transition slowly into living in a new place. It has allowed me a lot of flexibility with going back to Wilson and the beach.

Today though, I watched my 5 year old seriously struggle with relating to some kids his age at a McDonald's playplace. I wondered if he is getting enough time to socialize. I look at my Sparks and it is very obvious who is homeschooled and who isn't. Those that routinely walk in lines, wait their turns, know how to be a part of a big group and those that don't. I wonder what I want, what God wants, for my little boy.

I struggle daily to get school done with my two little ones distracting. I love that EJ can go at his own pace, that he is reading so well when other Kindergartners might not be and that he is happy to play and learn with me. Then we struggle or something comes up like a car appointment and school doesn't get done. I feel horrible about that. I feel like I am short changing my little boy. I also feel like I am short changing the girls. Instead of playing pretend and playing with them I end up letting them do their own thing while I "do school" with Elijah. They are learning a lot too but still, they are little and should have fun playing.

The thought of him being gone everyday is unbearable to me. The thought of someone else teaching him, him learning bad things from other kids with different backgrounds, him teaching other kids bad things he's picked up . . I am terrified! I don't know what to do.

Right now I am doing what I do best . . .researching it to death. I am getting feedback, exploring options, finding out what is out there. I think that going and obeying a teacher, being part of a classroom would help him. Socially he is awkward. He is very smart but very quirky too. I think helping him learn what "everyone else" does would be a good thing. I don't want him to conform but I don't want him to stick out either.

I am praying. Am I the best teacher for him? Should I be doing things differently? I guess knowing that I could always fall back on homeschool is making me braver in this quest. If we give it a go we can re-evaluate in December or at the end of first grade and decide. Take it year by year, month by month if we have to.

All these decisions . . .I want to do what is right for my son.

Christmas

2011-12-06T10:19:00.002-05:00

A girl and her piggie . . .Ho ho ho---yes we're THOSE people. We have Christmas hats (and stockings) for our pets :)

We decorated on Sunday. I love our tree. There isn't a single ornament more than 3 feet from the ground. We have snowman lights, candy cane lights and santa and his reindeer lights on the tree too. It is a tree the kids did themselves and they love it. I love Christmas.

Van Awesomeness

2011-12-06T10:16:00.003-05:00

Went shopping with hubby over the weekend. Left the kiddos with nana and found my dream car. It is wonderful! We're getting a DVD (hopefully this week). I was sad to see the Subaru go, its been a great car, but I am thrilled that no one can smack anyone in the van. It is wonderful!

Awesomness

2011-12-06T10:06:00.002-05:00

Last Thursday, I got back form MOPS with the kiddos and saw a FB message from Lori, a fellow Summit Church member asking about a cake for FRIDAY. Normally I don't do cakes on such short notice but she mentioned that another friend, Judianne, had recommended me because they needed something without eggs. I spoke with her and got the details . . . 400 people, new restaurant catering event and a bakery that wanted to charge $1500 to do the cake. Um-yeah-crazy. She talked with the restaurant owner and he agreed to pay me $300 for one nights work, buy all the ingredients with me and give me free reign in his kitchen and use of his staff.

Let me just say, I do NOT do spur of the moment. But I did. I said "Yes" I quickly packed the kids' stuff up, told them they were skipping naps, called Justin, and headed out the door for one of the most awesome experiences ever!

Dropped off the kids, swapped the car with Justin so he could pick them up and headed to the restaurant.

It got off to a rocky start. He was supposed to meet me at 4pm but didn't get there until after 5. We got lost on the way to the grocery in 5pm downtown Raleigh traffic with me driving. We finally got our stuff and I got to the kitchen. Got in the kitchen and there was ONE oven--one, only enough to bake 4 layers at a time. I had to make 22 layers. Each one had to bake for 40 minutes. It was feeling a little like "Kitchen Impossible"!! They only had one very small mixer (smaller than one I had at home) but it was all I had to work with so I got started mixing, buttering, making cake. While the cakes cooked I prepared the fillings and icing. As soon as I got layers out I put more in. I had a little assembly line going on. It was fun!!! I kept a smile on the whole time!!! I didn't have to wash a single dish and they were literally showering me with praise and good (SPICY) food! 55 cups of flour, 16 lbs of sugar, 7 cups of butter . . .oh yeah!

by the end of the night we had 6 HUGE cakes (3 layers each of cake, one layer of a honey ball Indian dessert and another dairy dessert from India with icing and fruit garnish on the top). Unfortunately by the time I rescued my camera from my purse in his office all of the 6 masterpieces had been put in the fridge and I wasn't allowed in that part of the kitchen. I did however manage to snap a pic of the flowers for the sheet cake. How pretty huh?

Anyway--I walked in our house at midnight. 5 solid hours of cooking and decorating. It was AWESOME!

A Day in the Life

2011-11-28T14:46:00.003-05:00

So I saw this on another blog and thought I would do my own "Day in the Life" so that in a year or two years or ten years I can look back and see what my life was like.

2am: Lydia comes in my room after a nightmare, she flips and flops around instead of going back to sleep.

3:30am: Still flipping I put Lydia back in her room, she isn't asleep but at least I can sleep.

4am: Bethany comes down the hall, I put her back in bed.

5am: Lydia comes in, she is still awake and hungry and wants to know if its morning time. I tell her to have quiet time in her room until I get her.

5:30am: Daddy hears the banging and comes up, turns off her light and puts both girls in bed.

5:45am: Elijah is up, gets his sissies up and we start our morning.

6am: Breakfast--this morning it was cooked meuseli, normally its cereal and milk. Daddy ususally gets breakfast started and gets the coffee brewing. Daddy normally also helps with the mornings dishes if the kids have eaten quickly.

7am: Daddy heads upstairs to get ready, we start playing and I get Elijah started on homeschool. Coloring sheets are his favorite so he does those first. I try and check emails and I check the calendar for what we have to do today.

7:15 am: Math--usually 2 or 3 lessons in his Horizen's cirriculum while the girls play toys, crawl over us, make huge messes.

7:30am: Reading--Usually I read a story to get us started and then do the reading in 100 easy lessons with the girls and Elijah picks a level 1 or 2 book to read. If he's tired or grumpy we do it so I read a page then he reads a page.

FREE PLAY--get the bugs out and make a big mess. Daddy usually comes down around 8am and we say goodbye to him as he heads to work. Elijah will show daddy some work and usually send him off with a drawing.

8:15am: Writing, Lydia practices letters, Elijah does his workbook and Bethany colors.

8:30am: Craft/stories/free play/chores--if we have to dust or vacuum or do laundry this is when it gets done. I might also let them watch a program if I need a shower. Today we got all the Chrismtas clothes put in drawers and unpacked from our weekend away.

8:45 Spelling with Elijah while the girls continue playing or do "stations" with activity bags

9am: Snack

9:15am: Free Play or errands. Grocery once a week, sometimes pet smart if we have guinea pig needs.

10am: Playdate or Storytime at the library or outing to the park or cul-de-sac to play. Backyard play. Today we put up Chrismtas lights.

11: 45 I put on a program so I can make lunch

12pm: lunch

12:20 I clean up and the kids play, working on quietly calming down for naptime

12:45 I read stories and try and get everyone napping. Ej and Lydia lay in their rooms and I have to hold and rock Bethany until she falls asleep--usually about 45 minutes. The biggest drawback to no paci and a big girl bed :(

If it is before 1:30 I will try and nap, if not I will start cleaning up and doing chores or check FB and email.

2pm: Elijah is up and we play and have alone time together, might do school stuff if we missed it in the morning.

2:30pm Lydia and Bethany get up. Wake up time and snack.

3pm: Bible time! We learn our Cubbies verses and do a devotion/coloring sheet/craft

3:30pm: Free play or a program or outside time. Chore time.

5:30pm: Program while I start on dinner

6pm: Dinner

6:30pm Bath time

7pm This is when daddy gets home on an early night. Otherwise its just us. Stories, snuggles, bible and bed.

7:45 pm kids asleep

8pm I start cleaning up from dinner/crafts.

9pm I fold laundry and watch something on Netflix while I wait for Justin to get home.

10pm Justin gets home on the late nights, we watch something on Netflix or Hulu while he eats

11pm Bedtime

Portable North Pole

2011-11-28T12:46:00.002-05:00

Santa's Message to Elijah!

Santa's Message to Lydia!

Santa's Message to Bethany!

Gobble Take One

2011-11-23T11:51:00.002-05:00

We woke up this morning and started in on the baking. If there is one thing I've learned is that we can get the baking done quickly but the clean up takes me all day. I have champion taste testers and they are big helpers, cracking eggs, dumping sugar and flour and more. I love to cook with them.

We made a pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, chocolate cappuccino cake with icing (I sold one for Wilson this weekend), two sweet potato casseroles and a big pile of herbed corn. YUM!

We had whipping cream left over so I made some whipped cream. Elijah walked in, read the container, saw the sugar and vanilla out and yelled "Cool Whip!! All right!" I was doubly impressed that we didn't end up making sweet vanilla butter from over whipping the cream since I had three very enthusiastic helpers for that.

Yum!
My potato peelers--I baked the whole pan of spuds, coated in crisco, last night. They were cooled off and ready for the little hands this morning.

Beautiful! I don't have any idea how to make a pretty edge on my pie but I just got some leaf cutters from Wilton and the girls and I went to town putting leaf cutouts of dough around the edge. I think it is very nice!! Even put some on top of the sweet potato pie so I could remember which is which.

Last night, BEFORE cleaning up the day's messes, I allowed myself some craft time. I am pretty sure if the cuteness police come knocking I am going to get locked up. All three kids will be sporting these (elijah has a grey tshirt instead of a white turtleneck and no bow on his turkey.) I can't wait!!

Beaching Beaching :)

2011-11-18T14:22:00.004-05:00

We headed to Wilmington last Friday to check out the aquarium and visit with cousin Bradley and cousin Tracy. It was fun. Vetrans day is one of the "free" days though so the aquarium was swamped. It was really tough! I felt like the kids were being completely wild and out of control. They are used to "our" aquarium and I NEVER plan for outings like this during the afternoon. Expecting them to drive 3 hours to the beach, have lunch out with a cousin then be obedient in the aquarium was a huge error on my part. EJ ended up melting down during snack time before we left and I was just mortified. He did an all out screaming, crying, sobbing rant. It was horrible. I knew I had just pushed him past the breaking point. I feel guilty when my desire for fun turns out that way. Thankfully they kids all got a second wind, had a great trip home, ate well and had fun playing. We all slept in one room which meant that none of us really slept all that well.

On the way back to Wilson I called Justin and he was SICK. I didn't want to catch it so the kids and I plugged in Atlantic Beach on the new tom Tom (early bday present from my parents--AWESOME!!!) and headed to the beach house. Who knew that it was going to be high 70's in November?? It sure was nice though!

a little fun in the sun was just what the doctor ordered!

A Little Homeschool Rant. . .

2011-11-18T14:07:00.004-05:00

I'm trying to become secure in my decision to homeschool. We weren't expecting to do it until we moved here and the prospect of a less than desirable school was our only option. I am really enjoying it and enjoying talking with other mom's who homeschool. Some are homeschooling for different reasons, some are homeschooling way further than I would expect to do it, but we all want what's best for our children.

Here's a couple of things I want to address for my own sake and for me to remember back in 10 years!!

1) I am NOT trying to shield my child from reality. He see's orphans online through the compassion videos, we have gone to the Durham Rescue Mission, we sponsor two children and talk about what they have/don't have. He is exposed to reality on a regular basis. Why does his reality have to be sitting in a classroom of peers, getting what snippets of attention he can from an overwhelmed teacher? Who decided that at age 5 it was time to stick our children out "in the real world" ? I would rather him have discretion to know that cool isn't right and just because everyone else does it doesn't mean he has to. Right now, at age 5, he is very impressionable. Who do I want impressing my son? I don't get a do-over. I don't have a delete button. Once he sees it and hears it it will be with him forever.

2) I am not depriving my child of social situations. Every week we have two or more playdates. We have Lego club that is all ages of children. He is with his sisters and learning cooperation, sharing, leadership and more. We go to church and Awanas. He doesn't sit all day in a classroom with 25 other students, but how much real socialization is happening in that setting?

3) I want my child to know that he is a blessing to us. I want my child to know that I care about him enough to raise him in a Godly way, teach him Godly things and spend time with him. I want my child to spend the majority of his day being doted upon, using his imagination, playing, running and laughing. If my child wants to color in everything on his math sheet before doing the problems I am fine with that. If he wants to count dinosaurs and add on pages with superheros and write about dragons then I let him. He is counting, he is learning and he is practicing his writing.

4) I don't want my child in a room all day with other children who don't learn like he does or at the rate he does. I don't want my child to be ignored or act out because he is bright and bored in school.

We are liking homeschool though it is tough. There are sacrifices that the girls and I have to make. The benefits are huge for us right now. We can do a beach unit and spend the week at the beach. We can take field trips to Wilmington to visit family. We can do homeschool anywhere! The kids can nap in the afternoons, we don't sit in a carpool line and we can stay in our pjs until noon.

Right now its the right decision for us. We're evolving. I don't know what the future holds for us. Homeschool may or may not be a long term solution to the schooling issue.

For the record, I don't think that people who send their kids to school love their children any less, care about them any less or feel like they are making a poor decision. We had Elijah signed up for school when we lived in Wilson. I didn't feel very strongly one way or another. I am trying really hard not to judge how others are raising their kids.

Happy Halloween

2011-11-06T20:55:00.003-05:00

It poured on Halloween. Lydia didn't want her Rapunzel dress wet, Elijah didn't want to go out at all and Granny and Grampy drove down anyway. It was fun. Ej handed out candy and had a blast staying home with Grampy and Daddy and getting to see all the costumes. The girls all braved the weather, went out with our neighbor Kaitlyn and had fun. We had tons of trick or treaters despite the pouring rain so we handed out all the candy that we trick or treated to them too. We kept some chocolate and let Elijah and the girls knock on all the upstairs bedroom doors and tick or treat for candy. They thought that was hilarious and ended up playing "Halloween" several more times that week. Daddy donned his Doc Oc costume I had made from pool noodles and Elijah/Spiderman captured his foe with silly string spider web. It was a lot of fun but I sure wish the weather had cooperated and we could have done that part outdoors. Silly string isn't the best to clean up. Thankfully daddy had the foresight to hide in the bathroom.

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It poured on Halloween. Lydia didn't want her Rapunzel dress wet, Elijah didn't want to go out at all and Granny and Grampy drove down anyway. It was fun. Ej handed out candy and had a blast staying home with Grampy and Daddy and getting to see all the costumes. The girls all braved the weather, went out with our neighbor Kaitlyn and had fun. We had tons of trick or treaters despite the pouring rain so we handed out all the candy that we trick or treated to them too. We kept some chocolate and let Elijah and the girls knock on all the upstairs bedroom doors and tick or treat for candy. They thought that was hilarious and ended up playing "Halloween" several more times that week. Daddy donned his Doc Oc costume I had made from pool noodles and Elijah/Spiderman captured his foe with silly string spider web. It was a lot of fun but I sure wish the weather had cooperated and we could have done that part outdoors. Silly string isn't the best to clean up. Thankfully daddy had the foresight to hide in the bathroom.

Family Pictures

2011-11-06T20:48:00.005-05:00

Last weekend we had family pictures made. I am so thankful for photographers with children. Sigh--what is it about my kids and getting pictures??

Busy Weekend

2011-10-26T14:53:00.004-04:00

Last Week we got the playground--its been a long 3 months without it! We were missing our little backyard refuge. When the guy installed it he had to dig to make it level and it was pouring rain. The girls didn't mind so much but EJ flipped out at getting his feet wet. Bethy was thrilled to be big enough to use the double swing now.

We got slightly muddy--and I ended up feeding the kids dinner AFTER bath because they were that nasty.
I absolutely love how EJ is pouting inthe background.
A day later--once things were dry--Elijah was happy to have it back. Here he is with DRY feet and a smile.
We carved our pumpkin on Saturday. It was fun for the girls but Elijah wanted nothing to do with the slimy pumpkin guts. He was also mad that we switched the smile for the pumpkin to make it happy instead of mean.

Beachin' it

2011-10-18T20:37:00.004-04:00

It is becoming a new tradition, the annual mommy and kids October Beach trip. The water is still warm enough to get wet, the days are warm (we had temps in the low-80's for most of the week) and the crowds are non-existent. I love it!

I have yet to figure out Blogger's logic in uploading prints so here for your viewing pleasure, in no particular order, some pics from the week . . .

Elijah on the sound at low tide.Grampy and Granny joined us Thursday night and stayed through the weekend. It was fun to have them with us.

We carved a "fish" pumpkin.

We went to the indoor pool twice and got some great new underwater shots of EJ and Lydia.

Went to Fort Macon and the beach there. The tidal pools were a big hit with the kids.

While waiting for Granny and Grampy to get there Thursday night I may or may not have let the kids put a little bubble bath and then turn on the jacuzzi jets making a SUPER bubbly bath to play in.

Granny and the kids at a tidal pool. I LOVE the fact that Lydia is chasing Bethy and trying to push her down. Snapshot of real life, let me tell you!
Baby on a sand dune.
Before Granny and Grampy came I wasn't brave enough to do indoor pool but we totally rocked the beach. We went three times. It was great!

I am having a hard time figuring out if Bethy likes the beach or not, do you think THIS expression gives a clue--that is one beach lovin' baby!

And its coming... I can almost taste it it is so close . . . the day when I can pose the children and say smile and get the desired response without having to do something silly like fake sneeze a bucket off my head. Its coming, but its not quite here.
And that is our beach trip in a nutshell.

I am just not "feeling" it!

2011-10-18T19:40:00.001-04:00

I was told by my 21 month old Bethany that "I not in a mood a minnie mouse ajamas a-night. I feeling like cupcakes." Since when is a 1 year old "not in the mood" for something???

Tired out!

2011-10-04T19:46:00.004-04:00

Monsters are stealing my sleep. Lydia comes in our room two or three times a night, sleeps in our bed for a few minutes then we tuck her back in once her tornado actions has hit F5 levels and we can't stand it any longer.

Bethy is cheerful and just oing through the wonderful "NO!" and "MYSELF DO IT!" phase of toddlerhood. Trying on any day, down right impossible to deal with when sleep deprived.

Elijah is fighting naps, getting up at the same time and trying to stay awake later and later. Not a good combo.

This morning it all came together in that perfect scenario of chaos. We were making cookies and all three were being selfish about the bowl and licking the dough up. I removed the bowl after a warning and put in in the sink and all three melted down. Kicking, screaming, punching, hollering melt down. A bad enough meltdown that daddy heard it in the shower! Bad enough that daddy addressed Elijah and told him NOT to speak to his mother that way.

I called the fire department and told them that we wouldn't be able to come today.

An hour later everyone had cooled off and we started on school. Stubborn doesn't even begin to describe Elijah today. I persevered and he eventually finished all his work. Meanwhile, in the 4 hours it took to do school (normally takes maybe an hour of solid work) the sissies had TRASHED the downstairs. Toys everywhere. Bethany got the stickers and peeled the backs off of about 500 of them and decorated a box. They were playing so nicely and I hated to break up the fun. I am regretting that decision now and I am procrastinating cleaning up the mess by blogging now that I finally got them into bed.

Lunch.

Super short naps--Lydia fought me for a good hour. How can a girl who is up over half the night with monsters be so stubborn about naps? Then she snuck in my bed and peed everywhere when she finally fell asleep and woke up screaming bloody murder because she was wet, cold and had no idea why she wasn't in her own bed. UGH!

Hauled the kids off to a park to burn off thier energy and so they couldn't destroy the house any further. Meltdowns ensued when we left the park (after almost 3 hours!).

Thankfully, a good talk in the car about gratefulness and choosing your own attitudes actually worked. I told them that instead of pitching a fit they should have said: "Thank you mommy for the fun trip to the park and for packing us a picnic!" By the time they got home everyone was grins and giggles and bedtime went off without a hitch.

Whew! I am tired. Now to get a shovel and clean up the mess, do the dishes, dry my sheets and comforter and make the bed and then SLEEP (at least until the monsters launch their first attack around midnight!)

Not Me Monday!

2011-10-03T15:25:00.003-04:00

I didn't spend almost $200 at Trader Joes getting mostly food that is easy and quick to cook for our beach trip next week. It also didn't take me an hour to get there because I totally know that Saturday Night traffic is horrendous. I am not planning to go to the beach for a whole week with the three kids by myself and homeschool a whole unit based on the beach. Nope--I would never use an excuse like that to spend a week at the beach. I am also not planning to use every minute of my time down there helping the children to learn to obey immediately the first time I ask something like I have been reading on a blog. Nope! I am NOT crazy!

This week I didn't spend Friday baking cookies with Elijah, making pizza dough and baking just one other thing. We don't ever get the bug and just spend most of the day in the kitchen letting the kids make a huge mess with flour and sugar and cracking thier own eggs and licking beaters. Not us!

I also didn't wallow in a corn pit, ride a cow train 4 times and go down a huge underground slide and actually enjoy it :) Stuff like that is only for the kids to enjoy.

What didn't you do?

Go on over to McMama's page and link up for a chance to win a necklace.

Vollmer Farm

2011-10-02T20:56:00.006-04:00

We splurged and went as a family on Saturday to Vollmer Farms. We are very happy we did! It was really worth the $13 each price tag for a ticket to the "Back 40"

We took a bench ride (there was no hay)--the tractor was quiet and Lydia didn't even cover her ears!

At the end of the trip (not sure why these posted first) we got to go into the pesticide free field and pick our own pumpkins. It was neat. The kids wanted a pumpkin that they could pick up themselves so we got out of there with under $4 in pumpkin!

The olders took a couple of bites of ice cream and then let Bethany ahve the rest. I think her face says it all!

On the way back (after playing for 4 hours) the children were too tired and hungry and thirsty to walk. Note to self: bring the cooler with us!

Justin took this picture--I love it!! Me and Lydia are in the background as Elijah runs to go again. No one wussed out on the slide. They all did it! I was so surprised--even Lydia did it. The giant slide and the corn "beach" we're Elijah's favorites. Bethany just cackled with glee on the way down and then, before we even got out the hole at the bottom was screaming "again peese!"

The "cow Train" by far was Lydia and Bethany's favorite. Lydia rode 5 times, two times completely solo. Bethany wouldn't sit in anyones lap and rode 4 times. She did great! She loved the bumpy ride and the speed. She was just laughing. i was absolutely shocked Lydia liked it--the tractor was loud the cars were metal and loud and we went over gravel. The guy giving the ride was CRAZY! It was so much fun. He really whipped it and gave a good 10 minute ride. Unfortunately Elijah rode in the back car and got motion sick after just one ride. It was his LEAST favorite ride.

Corn beach was EJ's favorite and a close second for the girls. It was so much fun. I didn't have the freak out factor I thought I would imagining corn everywhere. I did get a handfull down my pants and when we bathed the kids I picked up 17 pieces that were stuck to them in various places.

It was a great time and we will be going back next year. Hopefully with grandparents in tow!

Aquatic Eyes

2011-09-25T21:02:00.002-04:00

Today in the car we were riding home (it was dark) and Elijah told me he didn't need the light on because he had nocturnal eyes. This is something he's said many times. Then he went on to tell me he had also "acquired aquatic eyes. . . .(pause) . . .hey! That rhymes in the front!"

Cubbies

2011-09-25T20:51:00.002-04:00

So this year we decided to take a jump and try Awana's. It is the first church we've been to that does it and it is a HUGE deal for our family. It is our first ever evening commitment. A lot of you are probably saying it isn't a big deal, you've got kids in dance/sports/clubs. Well, we have never done ANYTHING in the evenings! Nada! It is a HUGE step for us! When you've got kids who sleep as poorly as ours evening commitments are a big deal. A 8:45 bedtime, when they are used to a 6:45pm bedtime is a big change and makes Mondays especially challenging. Apparently "sleeping in" is an absolutely foreign concept for my kids so we are sacrificing to show them that this is important.

We initially tried Elijah in Sparks with the other Kindergartners and Lydia in cubbies. After the first night Elijah was in tears and shaking and very upset about it. I thought he had done a great job but it was just too many kids, too much chaos, too late in the evening and too much noise so we moved him down into a different Cubbies class. This was the third week and they earned their vests and books. . . They had to recite the following to earn them:
Motto: Jesus Loves Me
1 John 4:10: God loved us and sent his Son.
Romans 3:23: All Have Sinned.
Romans 5:8: While we were sinners Christ died for us.

Here is Elijah getting his vest ("thumbs up!"
Here's Lydia getting hers.

The proud Cubbies--"Mom--its official! I am a cubbie now!" (Elijah)No idea what was up with her hair today--crazy wild. They must have had a lot of fun at game time.

Catching Up--for Scrapbooks sake

2011-09-23T13:31:00.007-04:00

We made our first weekend trip to wilson spending Friday night with Nana and Papa and Saturday nigth with Granny and Grampy. We had lunch on Saturday wtih Great-Grandmama. Had a lot of fun but boy! Its tiring to try and do it all with everyone!

Bethy wasn't sleeping well at all two weeks ago . . not sure why. Up early, up multiple times a night, generally miserable and whiny. while that was awful how adorable was she when she passed out on the couch one morning??

Since she wasn't sleeping anyway I decided a visit from teh Paci-Fairy was in order so I took it away after our first night of Awanas. Daddy wasn't really on board but since he was at bible study I made the executive decision. She was NOT happy about it but cried for about 20 minutes then settled down and read storeis with me and the olders, let me rock and sing to her and then went to sleep with out a fuss. A short (5 minute tantrum) at nap the next day and it was over with. She even brings me the paci's she find hidden aroudn the house. Its too cute. And her mouth and smile are already changing from no more sucking. I love her "new" smile! The paci fairy brought her a book and a new extra large fuzzy lovey. The lovey is a huge hit. For the first couple of days she would tote all five of her loveys around since she didn't have a paci and she had to have them all piled in the crib with her for comfort. Now sh'es back down to one.

today we got some bugs out by playing in the rain.

At homeschool we're working on the animals on the farm. We made a felt board and glued farm animals. It was lots of fun. some of the babies and stuff are missing from this picture because they were still drying. Bethy's favorite part is pulling off the eyeballs.

Met granny and grampy and cody and krysti in Raleigh for Greekfest. Bethany loves her "jingle skirt" and got up on stage. She now enthusiastically yells "Opa!!!"

Friday we ran out of coffee so the kids and I headed to Trader Joes in lieu of naptime. We had fun, got what we needed and saw a bus. Elijah wanted to ride it so after figuring out that that bus only came every 2 hours I took them to a park near U-mall in Chapel Hill where I used to go with the triplets I nannied for. It was fun and nostalgic! The rose garden is so pretty now! We caught a bus and rode it all the way around. No amount of pursuading could convince the kids to get off the bus at Franklin street so we just rode the whole loop.

Rose Garden Girl

One Last Taste!

2011-09-15T19:43:00.003-04:00

With temperatures in the 80's and an overly ambitious mother that drags all three kids out for 3 hours of cleaning the garage (we can now park BOTH CARS!!!) we got pretty hot. A pre-lunch cool off was in order. We inflated the Walmart pool (clearance bought two for next year--managed to pop this one so now we're down to one). I poured in a couple of pots full of hot water to offset the frigidness of the hose and they went to town.

Can I just say the "sport" setting rocks? I love the mid-air shots. Unfortunately the girls are too short to jump the side of the pool very well.

Popsicle break--also obligatory when savoring the last little bit of hot weather.

Paci Update

2011-09-13T10:23:00.002-04:00

2 night no paci--didn't wake up a single time either night and both morning shas slept until 7am. She got a little angry at nap and bedtime but we're talking less than 5 minutes of fuss. Amazing! I thought she was so hooked it would be a huge battle. She just moved on.

My big girl.

Paci free home.

Nice!!

2011-09-13T10:23:00.001-04:00

Paci-Be GONE!

2011-09-11T21:03:00.001-04:00

The paci fairy came while we were at Awana tonight--Bethy was less than thrilled but she threw her 20 minute tantrum then read books with me and the olders, rocked, giggled, kissed me and laid down and went right to sleep. Let's see how the rest of the night goes but so far so good!!

Jeebies Jeebies!

2011-09-07T10:26:00.002-04:00

We went through the toys yesterday in the playroom to find things to donate to our friends yard sale. They are adapting a special needs child from China and need to raise money to cover the costs. While we were cleaning up we came across a spider cricket, which I caught and put outside. Bethy thought it was fun to go and let it jump outside.

We came across another one and I caught it in a bucket. Bethany was so excited--she was holding the bucket and painting at it and saying "Hi cicket" again and again. I told her to stop poking at it that it would jump, but she kept on after it. It jumped out of the bucket and landed on her face. She started screaming
"It bite me it bite me!!!" I got it off and she continued screaming and shaking. I tried to calm her down and said,
"It didn't bite you--those were just its legs. Crickets don't bite. You just have the Heebie Jeebies."
She responded with "A jeebies jeebies--yuk, cicket a jeebies jeebies me!"

We found the poor traumatized cricket a few minutes later and I called to Bethy--"Look here's our cricket!"

she looked at me, looked at the cricket, stomped her foot and said "Sqish it!"

A Little Dose of Adorable :)

2011-09-06T10:39:00.002-04:00

At Mrs. Hilary's house on Saturday for dinner. No toys=lots of fun iwth plastic bag and Mr.s Hilary's foam apples (which now sport several bites from Bethany).
Went to the library today and came home with about 20 books. Very stressful trip with all three going in three directions and Elijah picking books he can't read and I don't want him reading based on the cover artwork. Sigh. We got out of there though and for 20 minutes they "read" books--ahhhhhh :)

Labor Day cookout--Hilary came over (our splendid photographer) and we grilled out burgers. It threatened rain but never did and the company was great.

Commandment #2

2011-08-30T17:37:00.001-04:00

did commandment #2 today--so far the baby isn't worshiping "owls" and Lydia isn't worshiping "eye dolls" and Elijah isn't worshiping "I dlz"--I was trying to teach them "Do not worship idols."

Running

2011-08-27T14:56:00.002-04:00

A Day in the Life of the Dentons. . .

2011-08-26T20:13:00.005-04:00

Its Friday! Bethany got me up at 3am and stayed up unfortunately. That is her typical wake up time now that we've moved. Occasionally I am treated to a morning of 5 or 6am but those are few and far between. Thankfully Justin and the older kids can sleep through her endless rounds of "Mommy mommy I wake up get out! wake up get out!" for three hours. I've tried rocking, putting her in bed with us, ignoring her, getting frustrated with her, sending Justin in . . . nothing seems to work to get her back to sleep once she's up. I guess she's her mother's daughter that way.

We get up, all of us about 6am or 6:15 and have breakfast. Lydia has the job of cleaning off and wiping down the table.

What would be the morning through without a visit from everyone's favorite princess--Rapunzel? Donning her new wig and Halloween costume Lydia walks in.

This morning we ran to the grocery to grab some things before the hurricane hits this weekend. We had a good time but Bethy was crabby. We got home and I put her down for a little nap while I unpacked and got ready for our playdate. We vacuumed and dusted and cleaned the downstairs bathroom and put the dishes away and made coffee and set up the snacks and the craft--all in 30 minutes! Typically we don't run errands, we do school, but this playdate was special and we were excited. We got Bethy up after 45 minutes of napping just in time to PLAY!!

I think there were close to 15 kids here and about 6 or 7 other mommies. It was organized chaos and it was wonderful. We crafted puppets and had popcorn and drank coffee and chit chatted as much as possible with that many kids running wild. Lydia had a meltdown towards the end, too little sleep and too many guests but a little Rapunzel calmed her down. We took afternoon naps then did school and bible.

(Forgive me--I didn't take pictures of all of the events of the day so I'm doing some pics from yesterday to illustrate . . . )

Many thanks to Kristen Eckenwiler for the sorting bag--Bethy loves it!

After school we took the left over popcorn and chips from our playdate out to feed "our" ducks and turtles and fish. The ducks are: Cinderella, Anastasia and Prince Charming. The tutles are: Pascal and Golliath. The fish are :Fishy-meow-meow and Rapunzel-fish. 2 guesses as to who names what. Ah-hem . . . Anyway . . .we fed them then cleaned up and started on dinner (homemade pizza!) The kids measured and scooped and then I turned on wiggles so that I could get a moment of silence and check on the weather and vacuum up the flour and stuff from the "help"

It was nice so we painted on the driveway with water. Here is Elijah do his "writing" homework--check out that nubmer 5!! (Down the trunk, around the tree, add a branch--that's five! You See?)
Then we did bible study while we waited for the pizza to cook. I have been working on 1st commandment this week. As different activity every day. They've got it memorized! Today Elijah typed it in paint and then colored it in paint and we printed it out. It cracks me up: "u shal hiv no uthr godz" is what he typed. Very phonetically correct I guess but funny just the same. He's been reading it all week long.

After pizza dinner with daddy we had a puppet show with the craft we made earlier. No idea why Lydia is sideways . . .sorry

Then it was off to bed at 8pm. Now me and hubby are cleaning up the kitchen, folding the laundry I washed today (4 loads) and visiting with one another.

A Day in the life of the Denton's. Doesn't that make you tired?

Grove Park Academy

2011-08-22T09:02:00.003-04:00

We're doing homeschool this year for a number of reasons. Primarily the school we're districted to has disastrous ratings and I am not ready to throw my child into that environment. I had visions of happy children doing work and reading. This morning's reality wasn't as good. It started off OK but Elijah was done with school after about 3 minutes. He "hates" school and "hates" me for making him work. I know this is just a rocky start, things will get better as he gets used to our new routine. I mean the boy even said he hated our science experiment which was measuring rice--one of his most favorite messy activities.

That said, the boy is smart. He easily figured out the biggest to smallest measuring cups when I told him "It takes 1 blue scoop to get to one up, 2 red scoops to get to one cup and 4 yellow scoops to get to one cup. Which is the biggest and which is the smallest?" Without a beat he said "If it takes more scoops it means the cup is smaller so the yellow is the smallest and the blue is the biggest." His sissies were the scoopers, he refused to participate at first so he figured it all out in his head.

We're going to work on fractions after the break for our math--hopefully it will click for him the same way.

This week we're not doing the full day. We're going to ease into the routine and get working and our "official" start date of school is next Monday. We'll just call this week "orientation" :)

Hello bread . . .its me Bethany

2011-08-14T21:50:00.003-04:00

Last night we had flatbread to go with dinner. Bethany picked hers up and pretended it was a phone. she had a little one sided conversation:
"hello . . . this is Bethany."
pause
"Hi bread . . .garbled stuff we didn't understand"
pause
"Peanut butter huh--you want peanut butter. yummy"

Her bread apparently wanted peanut butter on it :)

A Little Update

2011-08-14T07:50:00.002-04:00

The toys are back and the dress up clothes are a hit. Turns out a couple month break from silly outfits is enough to renew interest.

Mommy and Bethany both got summer haircuts.

Lydia and the others are seriously enjoing the back yard. The girls terrorize the ducks daily in an effort to "pet them" and we've names our turtles and catfish that eat our crackers. We've got "fishy meow meow" "Rapunzel fish" as our two catfish and Golliath as the one turtle.

Halloween . . .

2011-08-11T15:01:00.002-04:00

Can't believe I am buying costumes this year . . .EJ wanted to be Spiderman with the muscles, super cool but I am NOT going to try and make that. Lydia is getting a homemade Rapunzel dress simply because I can't afford to drop $40 or $50 on a costume--those buggars are expensive!! And of course, Bethany doesn't really care so we're going to make her Pascal--Rapunzel's Chameleon. I bought a little hooded jumper off ebay for $10 and am going to put on some bug eyes and a tail. She'll be cute I am sure and comfortable so she'll wear it!
Going to make sure Lydia's costume is big enough for her to have lots of wiggle room. She doesn't like things being too tight. I might even take one of her plain leotards and doctor it up to make sure the bodice isn't too small. I've got some great sparkly material I bought a while ago so some pink ribbon and puffy sleeves and it should be perfect!

I love Halloween and I love sewing. At least it isn't all store bought.

Copycat

2011-08-11T14:50:00.000-04:00

the baby just stood over Lydia (who was pitching a fit) and said "What on Earth?! Hush that fuss!" Can't believe my 19th month old can imitate so well :)

Bug Hunt

2011-08-08T21:39:00.002-04:00

poor spider, my three little entomologists have been "invekstigatin'" him for the past 15 minutes. . . they are currently testing his hearing by screaming at him at the tops of their lungs . . .

Moved In!

2011-08-02T21:55:00.002-04:00

So. . .no posts for a while because we didn't have internet and I was busy unpacking and getting settled. I'll post pics later of the house but suffice it to say that the house inside is 100% now thanks to a marthon picture hanging session with hubby this weekend and a week with no internet or TV.

The garage is a mess--it was the dumping ground for all that we had out in the garage and outbuilding and we don't know what to do with it all! But it is out of sight and thus out of mind for the most part. I don't feel guilty for not working on that because between the chemicals, blades and tools the garage is a death trap for the kids and I can't make any headway without worrying that Elijah will trim his sissy's hairs with the weed eater or something like that.

Before we moved in I got Lydia's room painted purple (purple-licious like 'apunzel) and a giant rainbow on EJ's wall. He helped put the name stickers on the rooms and picked out who got which room. The movers moved everything on Wednesday and it was exhausting. It took longer than we thought to get it loaded, then it all didn't fit and we had to stuff our cars and dad's truck to get it all. Who knew we had that much STUFF? 2 guys did the loading and 6 guys did the unloading. It went fast and I was trying to assemble the beds so they could put the mattresses on and put the bedroom furniture in and Justin was trying to direct them all places. It was crazy!! They got it all done and i spent all of thursday doing the kids rooms, headed back late Thursday night and we moved the girls up on Friday and EJ came Saturday.

We spent Saturday with family--nana and papa and granny and grampy came. We unpacked a little bit but spent the majority of the time helping the kids get adjusted and installing a new sink fixture. It took three of us to get the old faucet off but the new one went on like a breeze excep tthat the silocone around the sink was old and the sink popped out and we ended up having to glue that back down too. Whew!

i unpacked like mad all week last week and got it DONE! Hubby helped with the pictures over the weekend and that is it. Apart from the foot layer of dust on the downstairs that I have yet to scrape off the tops of the windows and the massive spider webs that drape gloriously across the two story den the house is perfect. I need a super long swiffer or super-powers to clean the spider webs and i will probably finish cleaning on Wednesday night.

Amist the boxes we managed to squeeze in a trip to lake-beach at Falls Lake--completely AWESOME! Best $6 EVER spent on a day trip. There was absolutely no way I would have rahter spent than 113 degree day than neck deep in a semi-cool murky brown lake. Reminded me of Chris Greene lake and Pinebluff lake growing up--especially hitting the cold spots and warm spots and all of the "kissing" fish who were intrigued by all of my moles :)

We also made the trek to Trader Joes and the Goodwill with some stuff to donate. It was fun, the kids were great but all that traffic makes me a nervous wreck!

This week we've ventured out to Briar Creek and hit the Petsmart and scored an awesome deal on a Guinea Pig Condo for Dragon and Princess. We also went to the party store for Ej to pick out plates and stuff for his birthday on Saturday. I don't know how it is possible that my little man is going to be 5??!!

Anyway--we're hooked up with internet now. No land line, no cable. Trying out NetFlix and hulu and seeing if that will work. So far net Flix is the BEST THING EVER!! We stream it through the wii and it rocks.

Lydia loves "new house" and her purple bedroom. She doesn't seem to miss Wilson much though we did leave her lovey "marabelle" at granny's last week so she was really upset a couple of times this past week about that.

Elijah is missing his playmates and his sissies are "driving him bonkers" but is sleeping, likes his room and likes new house too.

Bethany was doing great but is having a growth spurt or something and for the past 4 days has gotten up at dark-thirty. I am ready for her to get over that!

4 Bedrooms is one of the most awesome things ever. I also love having the kitchen open to the playroom.

All that's left to do is clean the garage, find a couch, get a fence, move the playgrond from Wilson, put up some shade on the patio and we're set!

Heaven and Hell

2011-07-30T20:15:00.001-04:00

Heard something tonight that really stuck with me . . .

For some people, this life is as close to Hell as they will experience---what a wonderful thought!

For others, this life is as close to Heaven as they will experience--what a sobering thought.

Wow!

Tonight's sermon on how a "Good God" can allow bad things to happen--it was amazing to hear about suffering.

Still waiting to cry . . .

2011-07-16T05:55:00.002-04:00

I feel like I should be sadder than I am about leaving our house. I haven't cried yet and I am beginning to wonder if I am going to. That house has so many memories! Two of my children were born in the master bedroom. Every Christmas has been celebrated there. We saw firs steps, first words and first teeth for all three kids. I guess I am just ready to move on and be a family again.

The hardest part is that I feel so unemotional about it I'm having trouble empathizing with the kids. Elijah has been throwing tantrums and just generally upset and that, combined with the exhaustion of the past week of moving has just drained me completely.

Yesterday both the older kids were in tears when I told them we couldn't go "home" and that we were staying with granny and then going to "new house" next week. They were sobbing and crying and Lydia said: "I want to go to MY home. IT is where I have always lived and I want to go there." I was calm, I didn't cry and I didn't even feel sad about it--what's wrong with me?? Instead I drove them by to say goodbye to the house and we came home and made rice krispy treats.

Wonder if its gonna hit me when we've moved or not? Maybe I am so confident in our decision I can only look forward to better things and not look back to what has been. . .

Elijah James--Culinary Adventurer

2011-07-13T14:30:00.000-04:00

Elijah just stuck a nutter butter mini inside a bugle, ate it and said "Oh my! That is quite possibly the best thing I have ever tasted in my life!" Granny's pantry holds all sorts of culinary delights!

Closing

2011-07-13T11:12:00.002-04:00

We have a closing on the house--Monday at 2pm!!
So very excited. We had two groups come out and help us move the big furniture to the outbuilding. 5 guys from SS class came Monday and last ngith some friends and my dad and brother came and got the mattresses. All that's left to do is some boxes. The movers are schedules for next Wed and Thursday and the utilities are all set to start on Monday. Things are coming together. Now to get a fridge delivered, a washer and dryer delivered and move in!! Looks like the kids will be coming next Saturday to the house! Very excited!

Bathtime Backfloat

2011-07-11T08:13:00.002-04:00

Attitude

2011-07-11T08:04:00.002-04:00

EJ only tantrumed for about 30 minutes when he saw his room. I honestly thought it would be much longer. Saturday Justin and I packed and packed and packed. I had a slight freakout in the morning when we were faced with the contents of the attic, all the packing left to do and no moving date in sight. We still don't have a date from the bank so all the moving and lifting I thought that the movers would be doing now fell on our shoulders and I freaked out. We are carrying EVERYTHING we own and storing it in the outbuilding until we can close on the house and hire someone to move us in. We are begging for help from our church and friends to get he furniture down the stairs and outside.

I am exhausted, mentally and physically. The constant tantrums and bad attitude form Elijah are exhausting. I am struggling to stay patient with him. I am just ready for this part to be over, be in our new home and adjust. I am horribly sad to be leaving this house and everything that is familiar to me but I am ready to stop dwelling on it and just get out and move on.

There are only a few things left to pack and I am hoping to get everything but the kitchen done today. I want to do the kitchen tomorrow.

Tonight is our last night here.

Then some overnights with my parents and hopefully a closing date soon.

Discipline

2011-07-07T21:33:00.003-04:00

Calling Super Nanny--please come help me with my crazy children!!

This move is making them into little beasts. Yesterday at a playdate Lydia wouldn't stop bullying the little girl. Elijah is horribly violent and picked up Bethany today and just dropped her. He also threatened to bite the girls and had them both in tears form snarling and chomping at them. Oh yeah--and he threw a 1.5 hour tantrum yesterday and another over 1 hour tantrum today. Today the tantum was because Lydia wanted to sit in daddy's chair while she ate dessert. He ignored his own dessert, stood on the chair and just started screaming at her to move. I told him to sit down and eat and if he didn't then I was going to take his ice cream away. I ended up taking it and he got so angry he punched me. I then pulled him up and put him into time out and he raged the full 4 minutes (but he kept his butt on that spot!!). I tried to love him, hug him, talk with him but he spit in my face and kept screaming. I helped (dragged??) him upstairs to chill out and have alone time while I bathed the girls and got them ready. He continued screaming at the top of his lungs and he threw everything he could off onto the floor. I got Bethany down and was reading stories to Lydia when he finally calmed down. I am proud of myself for not just hauling off and giving him a spanking (my first inclination) but he is out of control. I don't know what to do when he's like that other than to get him away from the girls and do my best to try and calm him down. I have three little ones--Bethy and Lydia can't be left alone without supervision at all so I can't spend a lot of one on one with him to get him over the grump. He is also so out of control and irrational I am not sure that messing with ihm is the right thing to do either. Its challenging for me when I have so much on my plate with the move going on, taking care of the daily stuff anyway (cooking cleaning errands etc) and caring for everyone. Daddy isn't home in time most nights to help with the children so I'm on my own. I know that I would do things a lot differently if he were an only child but he's not so I just do the best I can. Three on one--the odds aren't in my favor.

I am pretty sure this is all stress related--all three are excpetionally bad this week and its the week we've really started packing a lot of stuff up. Things are changing and they know that next week we'll move out of this house. They are anxious about it. I am stressed too and fear I have very little patience for situations like a 3 year old dumping an entire bag of goldfish crackers into the box I just finished packing up. Grrr.... Hoping consistent discipline and consequences, lots of fun time, my undivided attention and maybe a movie or two or six will get us through the next couple od days.

Overwhelmed

2011-07-07T10:00:00.002-04:00

To say I am overwhelmed is an understatement. The kids are tantruming, not sleeping well and generally in horrible moods. Part of that is my stress, part of it is that they know we are moving next week and they are kids so they don't like change. I am struggling to keep the house clean or tidy--in fact I am just flat out embarrassed. I know we are moving and the house has to be boxed up and look crazy but its killing me. Especially after 4months of PRISTINE show ready house. Bethany is after the tape and unpacking stuff as fast as I can pack it--the older two try and help but mainly just dump stuff in . . . its so hard not to get frustrated with them.

Today is hard--I just want to sit and cry today. We thought we were all clear when it comes to moving and closing on a new VACANT house that we found but the bank won't tell us when we can close and they say next week is unrealistic. This is a shock to us because we were pre-approved and Thursday, when we pulled out of the other house deal I went and talked with the lady at the bank and she said closing next week wouldn't be a problem. I just feel like a cruel trick has been played on us. When I called the moving company to see how much it would be to store our things for a few days they came back with $2500. Seriously??!! That's insane. We can't afford that since we've got no equity coming out of this house we're in until it sells in three years. We're scraping the bottom of the barrel to make our 5% down. Now I get to cancel the moving company, call some people to lift and put our life in the detached garage and put the valuables/things that can't bake at 100 degrees at my parent's house until we close then try and arrange another move.

We love the new house, but it doesn't come with a washer/dryer, stove hood or fridge like the other home did so that is another expense we have to face.

Oh yeah--and the back yard backs up to a lake with no fence so we have to put that up too.

And the HOA has tons of rules about swingsets gazebos, awnings, pergolas etc and you have to get your neighbors to sign and approve everything before you do it and we don't know our neighbors and there is no directory for the neighborhood. So the swingset may or may not be coming with us but we have to wait and see.

I feel like we're bleeding money--we lost $1000 at the other place, we're paying for surveys, inspections, appraisals and more. The seller is paying $5000 towards closing but that' won't cover everything. . . Can I just say I hate money??

I swear it would be easier to just get rid of everything than to try and orchestrate this move. I can't believe how much stuff there is. We've had 2 HUGE yard sales and sold a bunch of other stuff. The funny thing is it is furniture, toys and clothing. We have a bit of decorations but other than that everything was out to see all the time.

There are lots of blessings in this though--were renting to a dear friend so she is letting us store the things in the garage until we can move. She's also letting us leave the swingset until we can figure out the HOA stuff. My parents have agreed to pay to move the swingset to their house or to the new house. My parents have also agreed to help us with the cash for the fence and appliances until we can save a bit more and pay for it. Things are working out. It is just a lot for me today.

New house

2011-07-05T08:38:00.001-04:00

We found a new house in Durham. It is awesome and lakefront. Inspection is Wednesday at 8am and if nothing major is wrong we hope to close on the 11th! So very excited!

Staple Gun

2011-07-02T07:17:00.002-04:00

When we were planning on the smaller house I searched and found a great deal on a used Broyhill Dining room set and I sold our set. It came with 8 chairs and our old one only had four--I considered it a step up. The table is in great shape, the chairs, not so much. The previous owner had a cat, the cat liked the chair padding and scratched holes in it. It was ugly beige and pilled and torn. The price was right though and I have always wanted to go all HGTV on a set of chairs. I've seen the designers cover stuff--I have made slip covers before and now I wanted to try re-covering a chair.

I went to Walmart and found this great geometric fabric for $9/yard and bought 3 yards of it. I spent last night recovering the ugly cushions and I love how it turned out!! I did all 8 chairs. The beet-loving girls' chairs I also covered with clear plastic vinyl. They will be so easy to clean!! I am tempted to go back and get a bit more vinyl and do EJ's chair too just to be safe but he isn't usually a messy eater and he doesn't like beets like the girls do.

Sleeping, house hunting and more!

2011-07-01T10:11:00.003-04:00

The kids are not thrilled about the move and the change. Our "new" house in Raleigh is not going to happen as planned. The original house we put an offer on, the owners weren't willing to fix a couple of things we had major concerns about and that, coupled with the train tracks being nearby, a small back yard and a small house just caused us to cut our losses ($1000 :( ) and decide, one week before closing, that we couldn't do it. We feel like total creeps about it--they were moving, they have kids too. . . .but we just had to make the decision.

We're off this weekend to Raleigh to see if we can find something we like even better. Pray that we fall in love with something and that it is VACANT so we can go ahead and close on the house and move as planned. Movers are coming on the 12th and will move the stuff to our new home or into storage based on how this weekend turns out. Our tenant moves in on the 15th and we will be "landlords"--whew!! Talk about crazy!

Lydia has been sleeping less and less as the move gets closer and closer. She's always been an early bird but now we're talking 4am early. Yesterday she came down at 4am and said she was hungry and was just up for the day. I told her before bed last night that she had to wait until it was light outside before she could get up. At 4:15 she came in and told me it was dark and she wasn't getting up. About every 1o minutes she would come back and say "Its still dark and I am not getting up yet mommy!" At about 5:45 am it started getting light outside and she bounded it---"Its morning!!!" Of course she managed to wake both EJ and Bethany up with all of her status updates. It makes for a long day when it starts that early. Just so you get an idea. . .yesterday she was up at 4am. Went to camp from 9-1pm. Went to the museum in Rocky Mount from 2-4pm and played hard. At dinner, bath and Bed at 7pm. Fell asleep about 7:30pm. Yes--4am-7:30pm for a 3 year old girl then up again at 4am. To say she is sleep deprived is an understatement but she doesn't sleep in the car and I can't get her back to sleep even by putting her in the bed with me. I am just hopeful that once we move and things are settled she'll start sleeping again.

I'll just tell you that when I am tired, little things seem huge and huge things seem impossible. Most days I just want to sit and cry because I am so overwhelmed with the packing and the moving. The kids make messes faster than I can clean them, I haven't scrubbed the bathrooms in ages, there are boxes everywhere and the kids are climbing on them, falling off of them and making me crazy, I can't seem to cook and get dinner done to save my life (it doesn't help that Justin isn't here to share it with anymore now that he is commuting--its just so easy to do yogurt or cereal and fruit and veggies). I am ready for some normal to get back in my life!

Pool

2011-06-29T19:33:00.004-04:00

OK--I said earlier this year I wasn't going to take the kids to the pool solo but Bethany is doing great at walking/standing and getting back up, Lydia is scared of going into the deep in the big pool and Elijah is a fish. We're having a blast at the pool. All three kids happily go under now, a big change from two weeks ago when Lydia refused to get her face wet!

We took the camera today to snap some cute shots.

Me and Bethany

How cute is she?
Ms. Underwater!!

Flying Rocket Jump

Happy after going under!

Thrilled to be at the pool

"I steps jump" From Bethany

Our Crazy Life

2011-06-22T20:53:00.005-04:00

God's been answering prayers left and right around here. After breifly mentioning the possibility of renting our home out so that we could be together every day again and move and not mess up Elijah's Kindergarten year God plopped a renter in our lap. Not only a renter, a rent to BUY er. We headed to Raleigh just two weekends ago and we found a home. We're very excited. After some back and forth our offer was accepted and we've got a closing date on July 8th. The movers are showing up on the 12th to move all the heavy stuff and we will be landlords as of the 15th.

The kids are excited and nervous. Elijah is either all for it or completely against it. No middle ground with him. Lydia is sold on it--her new room is going to be absolutely pink and she is absolutely thrilled! Bethany has no clue but she's having a blast "helping" me pack boxes by pulling the contents out and scattering them around.

We've sold almost all of our furniture. We're keeping the beds and the lazy-boy recliners but sold the couches, chairs, dining room table and more. Our new home has the wonderful feature of 4 bedrooms!!! The kid's won't have to share. The house is the same square footage as what we've got now but we're adding a bedroom, laundry room and a spacious bathroom so the living areas downstairs are much smaller. We bought the currents owners couch (hey it fits!) and a used dining room set off Craigslist. It is so exciting! I keep going through in my mind wondering what is going to fit where and how I might want to lay it out.

I am a bit apprehensive. I have never had my kids anywhere but here in this house. It will be new places to shop, finding the parks, finding moms and friends for them to play with. It is overwhelming. Thankfully I've already found a new doctor and a dentist for them. I've got the information on schools (I am NOT liking the year round thing with Wake Schools!) and done as much as I can from this end. I am really looking forward to our new adventure.

Right now we're struggling to deal with the emotions. The kids both had a rough day today at their camps. I had to go and get Lydia after 45 minutes at her camp. She is getting up earlier and earlier--this morning it was about 4am. I have no ideas on how to get her to sleep later. She is getting exhausted and clumsy. I am pretty sure it has to do with stress. Elijah is sleeping OK but he is very emotional. He doesn't deal well with change and this is a BIG one! Its tough to deal with on a daily basis but I know its going to be a great move for us and good for him.

So that's why no posts for a while. Busy Busy with life and kids. Packing, preparing and praying! Can't wait to see what is in store for us.

Frugal

2011-06-17T07:41:00.001-04:00

Elijah and Lydia are playing store and Lydia wanted some cookies . . . Elijah told her "Those aren't on the list and not in the budget for this week. Let's see if we can find a coupon and put it on the list for next week." Where have I heard that before??

Piney Legs and a Proctologist

2011-06-10T17:27:00.002-04:00

The kids are cracking us up these days with all they are saying.

Bethany walked in with a plastic pack of tomatoes and said:"Help! a-meet-os 'tuck!" She couldn't get the container open. Boy oh boy does that girl love her some "a-meet-os"

She also told me yesterday that my legs were "'piney" (spiny) thanks to the dinosaur Sandra Boynton book that does opposites of smooth and spiny.

Today, Elijah was having a big problem with potty talk. I had put him on about three time outs and was at the point where I was going to clean his mouth with vinegar to get him to stop. He looked right at me and said: "When I grow up I'm gonna be a proctologist so I can talk potty talk all day and get paid to do it!" Many thanks to grampy for teaching him that there is such a thing as a "butt-doctor."

Catching up . . .

2011-06-10T17:19:00.002-04:00

Wow!
Things have been so crazy. The house being on the market takes a lot of time. Cleaning, cleaning, straightening, cleaning . . . Its hard with my little messmakers helping day in and day out.

We have been so blessed to start worshiping at what will be our new church in Raleigh. Elijah and Lydia love it. Bethany is happy anywhere. I love the worship and what the preaching has done in our marriage. It is something to back to our "roots" hearing JD preach again and in a style that we respond very well to. He is starting a new sermon series called "Homewreckers" and I can't wait to hear it!!

A Lot of new developments have been happening. We decided to join the Summit in July when they will have a new members class. That is very exciting to us. The day after we made this decision we had a friend contact us about renting out the house. I was very apprehensive about becoming a landlord--what about repairs, how to do a lease etc. After prayers and many long discussions, we have also decided to rent out our home to a dear friend from church who is going through trials of her own. Right now we are still ironing out the details of taking the house off the market. It has been a hectic week of phone calls, bank visits (for preapproval), determining if we can even buy a house with no down payment from this house and more. I am very excited that Justin will no longer be commuting 2+hours a day. The kids miss their daddy and it is very hard on all of us with the added strain of keeping the house clean and having so many of our things packed away.

Tomorrow we will head to Raleigh to look at homes in our new price range. Without a down payment to put on a house we have realistically set our eyes on a much smaller prize. Well worth it though in the long run we feel. There is no telling when the market will pick up here in Wilson and right now Justin is just missing out on so much of the day to day life of the children that we are willing to sacrifice just about anything to be back together. We are so excited and pray that we'll find "it" tomorrow with our realtor. She is really awesome and I think we are going to find a wonderful home that suits our needs (mainly 4 bedrooms so I can sleep again).

School

2011-06-01T09:11:00.003-04:00

Elijah begged to read this past January so we started officially doing "homeschool" with him and Lydia. They like it most days though now he is overwhelmed by the length of the stories and the challenge of reading without the little hints on the words. That said, he does it and is so proud when he finishes it that it is worth the battle. We're also working with Elijah on his handwriting. He's only 4 so he is still struggling a lot with the fine motor control. We do a lot of manipulatives like pipecleaners, lacing boards, playdough and we started "Handwriting without tears". Loving that so far. He is getting so much better! I know he is going to be one of the youngest in his class so I feel like any boost I can give him is worth it. He also really enjoys doing it. He made this animal book today after reading to practice his writing. I think we'll do another one with something else--maybe circus animals or jungle stuff or something. He didn't fuss at all about it and was so proud of his finished product. Granny is going to get it for her office I think. He also drew great-grandmama a rainbow for her fridge and wrote her name on it. We're loving the homeschool even if it is a huge challenge with the girls around.

Lydia is doing well too. She knows long e, a, m, s as her sounds and can do two letter blends with those. she also knows all her shapes, colors, textures (rough, smooth etc) and animals. She is doing really well too. She can follow directions like make a circle around . . . . and match the pairs. She is really great at school even though she is put on the "back burner" during school time. The girl absolutely rocks with the wooden pieces for the Handwriting kit. She can make any letter with those blocks in no time at all. Spacially she is very savvy.

Attending

2011-05-27T19:56:00.002-04:00

Bethany is "attending" things--like attending to be a cat or a dog or like tonight:
"I attend cheese . . . .Aaaaaaaa-choooooo! "
Translation: I pretend sneeze---achoo!

Hot Fun in the Summertime

2011-05-27T19:24:00.002-04:00

Its summer--for us that means homemade popsicles!! The kids love 'em!! This year we broke in the popsicle molds with a concoction of mashed banana, chocolate chips and a ribbon of peanut butter goodness. Can I just say-delicious!!! The kids' agreed.
Today we had a couple of friends over to paint. I cut up some sponges and had the bright idea to let the kids stamp them with paint. Of course it started out alright . . . they did just what I pictured.
even Bethany wanted to get in on the stamping fun.
By the end of the 10 minute session my baby looked like this, Lydia had blue hair and her arms were covered and we broke out the sprinkler and bubbles to clean them off. Good times. I was patting myself on the back for doing it outside. Thankfully the rain held off and we were able to get it all cleanedup before the rain came.
I love to craft with the kids I just wish it lasted longer. The cleanup for this 10 minute activity was 45 minutes. The ratio of work to play is just not good on this one. Although it did make for some cute pics!

Bethy Pee Pee

2011-05-19T11:16:00.003-04:00

Yesterday Bethany came running into the bathroom . . "Bethy Pee Pee. Potty Pee Pee" so I unsnapped her onesie and took off her diaper and let her try. Success!! Ahhh. . .the end of diapers is in sight :)

Check out the photo of Lydia at 15 months doing exactly the same thing . . boy you can tell those two are sisters!

Unsure

2011-05-15T19:10:00.002-04:00

Not sure of our schedule this week since we're getting rooms stripped of wallpaper and painted. It amazes me that we've lived with crappy 70's wallpaper, stained carpets and no railings for 8 years in this house and only now that we are trying to GET RID OF IT are we making these improvements. Kinda wish we'd done it long ago so that we could have enjoyed it a bit more. Lesson learned for the new house . . . go ahead and make it nice for yourself instead of waiting. The railing on the back steps is wonderful! Shampooed carpets are nice!!!

The kids and I will be OUT of the house while the painters are painting. I can't deal with EJ's reactions on top of it all.

Should be an otherwise busy week as well. Cake class starts Tuesday night. My last semester teaching it--makes me so sad. Elijah graduates on Thursday night. No more preschool for my little man. How on earth do I have a KINDERGARTNER?? Things are moving right along . . . couple of camps planned for the kids the summer and a whole lot of nothing is on the agenda. My kinda summer :)

Frustration!

2011-05-11T18:31:00.000-04:00

Caution--this is a negative complaining rant about selling the house. I don't have much positive to say and I am just writing it down so I remember!

The house has been on the market for 7 weeks now. 7 weeks of making the bed, washing every dirty dish the minute it gets dirty, vacuuming and dusting way more than I used to, 90% of the kids toys being packed away, no sewing machine, no books or bookshelves . . . .its been a big adjustment. When we decided to put the house on the market when Justin got his new job it was a lot of sleepless nights. We were up until 1or 2am packing, arranging and getting the house showable. We felt a huge urgency to get the pictures taken, get the repairs we'd been putting off made and get it listed. Now 7 weeks later and we haven't had a single showing. It is horribly disappointing. All the stress, all the cleaning, for NOTHING!! Grrrrr! To top it off we've dropped the price by $10,000 so if it sells for what we're asking we will be out about $30,000 from the upgrades and repairs. Not cool :( The only real consolation is that we've been here 7 years in July so that averages out to $357 a month--cheaper than what we would have spent on renting a place.

The kids miss their toys and are trying to get used to our new schedule with Justin commuting. Some nights they are asleep before he gets home. Thankfully, they have stopped getting up at 4:30or 5am to try and see him before work. They were just so worried they would miss him in the morning. Needless to say with all the extra work of keeping the house clean, starting my day with exceptionally grouchy sleep deprived children on top of being sleep deprived myself was not a good combination!

We took a much needed break and went to the beach house during spring break to decompress. I did dishes at night after everyone else was in bed. I didn't make the beds. The kids had about a million toys out and I just kicked them to the side every night. It was bliss!

Now we're back and in our groove. The beds are made. One toy at a time. LOTS of playing outside to keep the inside nice. A guaranteed breakfast with daddy at 6:30am before work so they don't get up at dark-thirty (though often they still do ). The promise of getting to stay up until daddy gets home if they nap well has worked well most days.

The house is staying relatively clean. It is much easier to keep clean when the rooms are pretty much empty. If we don't use it often it is already packed up.

I moved 8 times in 6 years in college. I don't mind moving. I have never before tried to sell a house though. I think this is harder by far. I like packing and unpacking and purging all that you don't need, but living with 1/2 my stuff packed up, missing it at least weekly and making due without is hard. The limbo. To top it off it still feels like so far at least it is all for nothing since we haven't had even a nibble on the house.

I know God's timing is perfect but I don't like this limbo. It is hard on all of us. Elijah is especially upset about every little change and these are some BIG changes he's had to deal with. He is acting out frequently and I have a lot less patience since I am so stressed too. I am also concerned about school--he's supposed to start kindergarten in the Fall and I don't want to screw it up for him. I'm also ready to have dinner as a family again, do my Arbonne on the weeknights again, have my husband back home instead of driving 3 hours a day and to just be settled.

I'm going to talk with Justin tonight about painting some rooms (or rather hiring someone to do it) to make our house look more "updated" and get rid of the wallpaper. Hoping a better presence online in the pictures will translate to more potential buyers coming by. Just really looking forward to getting past this phase and into the next one and grasping at anything that I think might make the house look nicer.

If you know of anyone looking for a wonderful 3br 2.5 ba house with new window, new roof, freshly shampooed carpets, formal living and dining, den and soon to be an awesome paint job send them our way. Also got a 1 car attached garage, fabulous screened room off the back and a wired garage/ourbuilding in the back with a fenced in yard. Its a steal at only $149,900!!

If you are going to San Fransisco . . .

2011-05-05T19:17:00.002-04:00

I taught Lydia the fine art of clover crowns fit for a fairy princess (see header).

The Peonies (aka Panties) are in bloom and they are beautiful. The girls and I had a blast this afternoon smelling them.

Beth-isms

2011-05-04T14:09:00.000-04:00

Today, she really liked the cookies we made and she was saying "meeee-yuuuuuum" instead of Yummmmy!

Last night, after about 100 knock knock jokes from Elijah and Lydia she piped up with
Beth: "conk conk"
Me: "Who's there?"
Beth "Bah-by"
Me: "Baby who?"
Beth: "Baby go poo-poo!"

Her brother just about died laughing. "Poop" is one of the funniest words in the world to a 4 year old like him and Bethany had perfect comedic timing. Of couse this was followed by about 5 more "conk conk" jokes with different people ("Daddy, Bampy, Mommy, Lydia, Lijie") going poo-poo with the same hilarious response from her brother and sister. I have to admit, I almost peed my pants when she came up with the first one. I had no idea that my little 16 month old could have such great timing.

She is tlaking so much. She'll come up and just say a whole sentance. I can usually get one or two words out of it but she knows what she's trying to say. Sometimes she is really clear--"Lydia-no touch me!" Clear as day. "read me pee-pie book mommy" "I no like ___________" "I munt __________" Its great.

Beach Pics

2011-05-04T08:26:00.001-04:00

We also Kyacked and went to the pool with Granny and grampy. Fun times!

Beachin' It

2011-05-04T08:17:00.002-04:00

We had a blast at the beach for a week. The trip got off to a rocky start . . . the kids didn't nap on the way down as I had hoped so early bedtimes were planned. We decided to walk to the "quiet sea" (the sound) before dinner and Lydia took off her too-tight water shoes, walked about three steps and stepped on an oyster bed. She sliced open the bottom of two toes. I put the screaming baby in the wagon, tried to calm Elijah down (he was screaming "Her's is gonna die!!"), scooped Lydia up and put her in the wagon, strapped EJ's water shirt on her gushing foot and high-tailed it back to the beach house. I put on a video, grabbed a snack for the others and addressed the foot. I couldn't see anything for the blood . . . it was just gushing. 20 minutes later I got it to stop bleeding but it was filthy and I was worried so I packed everyone up and went to Urgent care. 4 hours later we walked out with a clean foot (they had to get all the oyster bits out), glued and taped shut and a prescription for antibiotics. We headed to Dairy queen at 8pm and had dippy cones for dinner (their reward for behaving in the Urgent Care). Picked up the perscription at the Walgreens drive thru and headed home. They got in bed around 10pm--so much for early bedtimes!! Of course they were up before 6am the next day. . . they are Denton children after all!

We went to the aquarium and then the crab Shack. Bethy was sooooo tired from the late night, no morning nap and hiking the nature trail that she was falling asleep in the car. That is UNHEARD of! Both she and Lydia fell asleep on the way home from lunch and we all took a great nap.

Alysun and her munchkins showed up the next day (Wednesday) and we went to the quiet sea, the beach and the aquarium again while they were there. It was so much fun! I couldn't believe the boys got in the ocean to play but they did. I can't wait until they go back down with us again!

Granny and Grampy showed up on Friday afternoon and we had a great time over the weekend with them. The kids were sad to go on Sunday. We're back int he groove but wishing we were back at the beach. As soon as preschool is over we'll be headed back I am sure.

Timothy Trent Lane

2011-04-24T07:50:00.002-04:00

My older brother died yesterday. He will be missed. He was loved.

This is truly a wonderful Easter! Today Timbo is rejoicing in Heaven with his creator--whole in body and mind. I am especially blessed because of my assurance of salvation I know I will see him again someday.

Brrrr!

2011-04-20T14:32:00.005-04:00

It is a mystery to me . . .how can kids who balk at getting into a lukewarm bath not even flinch at the thought of FREEZING cold hose water?
We were filling up the pool to let it sit in the sun so we could play in the WARM water this afternoon and of course the kids' couldn't wait. They got their clothing soaked and then wanted their warm bellies. Swimming turned into experimenting and they crafted concoctions of leaves, sand and dirt at the picnic table. 3 hours later I pulled their pruney, blue bodies out of the backyard, scraped off the bulk of the mess with towels and fed them lunch. You'd think after that, getting up at 5am and getting snuggled down good would have led to productive naps but alas they were but an hour. Another one of lifes mysteries, how on earth my children can keep going and going and going without caffiene!! Anyway, here's some pics from the morning of fun.

Early morning craft time . . .all the masks were made before daddy even left for work. Us Denton's know how to have fun at 6am!

Not Me Monday . . .

2011-04-18T07:53:00.002-04:00

Been a long time and I need a little "not" therapy this week :)

I have not given my three year old "beets on toast" three mornings this past week. Nope I don't think pickled beets are a healthy breakfast and I certainly don't smile when she makes "princess toast" by dipping dry toast into the pink juice. And speaking of breakfasts I don't make her a cup of coffee either to get her to drink her milk.

I didn't go visit my grandpa for the first time in 14 years--no way! I would never wait that long between visits to Norfolk. We also didn't call 911 at 1am on saturday night because there were 4 gunshots from his neighbors house. I am certainly not MORE sleep deprived after my first weekend away from my children than I usually am.

I didn't pick the most awful weekend ever to go away from my kids for the first time...tornadoes, gunshots, mom getting a spider bite and spending the weekend throwing up, food poisioning for me and a stomach virus for hubby and nana led to a fantastic weekend to be away.

And the most wonderful thing I did NOT do. Enjoy every flippin' minute of dining out without having to consider who likes what and who napped when and did I have a diaper, coloring book, wet wipes and who was using their inside voice. Nope--multi-tasking during eating out is one of my most favorite things. I also didn't enjoy NOT sharing my food with three little munchies who want a bite of everything of mine.

Lydia on Heaven

2011-04-13T20:46:00.001-04:00

I had to get 4 splinters out of Elijah tonight--he is a complete wuss--he was screaming "I'm dying I'm dying--you're killing me with the needle mommy!"

Lydia is sitting there watching and pipes up cheerfully "Tell Jesus 'Hello'!" You know . . .since he was dying and all.

I laughed so hard I almost peed my pants. Thankfully a 4-year old left hook to the chest snapped me out of it and I was able to return to the task at hand.

Yum-berries

2011-04-13T18:54:00.005-04:00

Today we headed on an unplanned trip to Vollmer Farms in Bunn, NC. We'd never been but after a bad reaction from EJ to the pesticides used at our local berry place we completely missed out last year on fresh picked berries. Vollmer farms is ORGANIC!!! Yay--no yucky stuff. As you can see the kids had a blast picking berries--Bethy did more eating than picking but she got it down pretty quick that she wanted just the red ones. The picking weather was glorious today--only about 70 degrees so no one got sweaty and there were only two or three other families there so no one got lost in the shuffle or overwhelmed.

A picture of me courtesy of Elijah

I thought this was absolutely hilarious--the sign said "Please weigh your children prior to picking" It was a joke but in Bethany's case we actualy owed $1.50 extra for what she consumed in the field. Elijah didn't eat any berries until we paid for them but he dove into the Banana pudding ice cream. Delicious!!

The girls begged to get tomatoes before we left. What can I say--my girls love tomatoes!

Lydia walked in the store eating hers and three people saw her and all three walked over to the tomatoes. She was very convincing--and very vocal--about how 'alicious her tomato was.

Bethany loved the farm and expecially the "boos" across the street. (cows). She kept pointing and saying "boo boooo!!!!"

We stayed 3 hours. Picking took about 20 minutes (up one row and down the other to get a full bucket). We played on the swings and the fort and the little picnic tables. Ate our ice cream. Enjoyed outselves and headed home.

It was a perfect afternoon except that Bethany fell and skinned her knee and Lydia fell out of the swing and did a belly flop and knocked her air out, Elijah got 4 splinters in a finger and all three children SCREAMED for 15 of the 40 minutes driving home. My kids really don't do well in the car.

We rounded up the day by baking a cake for a certain nana, having dinner at 4:45pm and baths and bed by 6pm. I rocked both girls to sleep and just loved it!! I was tired, they were grumpy, and we just snuggled and I hummed and rocked and they sacked out. Sweet baby snuggs are one of the best things EVER! I just stared at thier little faces and tried to burn it deep in my memory bank to pull out when they are teenagers and driving me nuts. My precious baby angels!

Meet George

2011-04-12T13:32:00.003-04:00

Meet George.

He grew up in Wilson.

He lives in the woods.

He goes through people's trash and recycling to find cans to take to the recycling center where he gets $.80/lb. This is his only job.

I first "met" George about a month ago when he was riding against the flow of traffic in front of the hospital with two HUGE garbage bags balanced on his bike. I was angry. He almost made me wreck--busy traffic, he was coming at me and I practically had to stop the car because I couldn't swing out to pass him. The car behind me wasn't paying good attention and almost rear ended me with all three children in the car. I was angry at him. I ranted, I raved--If you are on the road you should be able to get a ticket. I still feel this way. All those on the road should obey the laws and bikes need to ride WITH the flow of traffic, pediastrians need to walk AGAINST the flow of traffic.

I saw him again last week riding through our neighborhood searching through the recycling bins. I felt so sad for him. It was cold. I complain because of all my stuff and how I hate this new commute and how tired I am. I don't have to provide for my family this way. It isn't fair.

I saw him today--one of his bags had split on Forest Hills road and there were cans everywhere. He bungee cords them to the handlebars and balances 5-10 bags in front of him. His bike is falling apart. I started crying. I put on my hazard lights, pulled over and asked him to come to my house.

Beth and I turned around, drove home and walked the three blocks to where he was still trying to pick up his cans. We walked and he rode to our house. I opened the garage, moved our BOXES of stuff and got my bike (well really hubby's bike as mine has 2 flat tires) and the kids bike trailer. He just looked at me. I told him I was giving these things to him. I told him to pile the bags in the trailer and not the handlebars and to ride with the traffic.

You know what I HATE. I hate that George looked surprised when I shook his hand and talked to him like a human. I hate that George thought that I was kidding about the bike. I hate that George started crying when I handed him Bethany to hold while I did something (he was just thrilled to hold a baby). I hate that there was nothing else Icould do to help him.

But there is . . .

George is coming to my house next Wednesday. George needs big black garbage bags for his cans. George needs steel cans. Do you have any steel cans in your recycling? Do you have any large black yard bags? Could you crush your cans and bring them to my house this week so George can earn a little bit of extra income?

The House Hunt

2011-04-03T12:21:00.002-04:00

First of all--be sure to check out and refer all your friends to www.taberteam.com/1203 so that we can get THIS house sold. Yesterday we went house browsing in Raleigh. Just me and Justin. Elijah is having a granny/grampy weekend at the beach--just him! The sissies went to nana and papa's for good spoiling. Knowing our kids were in good hands let us just relax and really enjoy the trip. It was so much fun. I could do open houses every weekend. I love getting inspired by the homes and how others have decorated. I digress. . . .we were basically going to see what our budget would get us in Raleigh. Our only non-negotiable is 4 bedrooms. I want to sleep again sometime this century :) Everything else is a bonus. We saw a lot of homes and I have to say the realtor really paid attention to our "wish list." Only one home didn't have some sort of covered parking. Only two of the 7 had the open floorplan that I really despise. Everything else was great. My biggest shocker was the lot size. We are very spoiled by our HUGE lot and the kids are really used to the running around space and the yard being fenced in. We were looking at stuff on .1 acre. That isn't even big enough for a swingset! Other than that we were very excited. Everything we saw was about the same size house we have here. Obviously that is a little less living space because of the extra bedroom but I am willing to pay just about any price for a full nights sleep again. We obviously need to do more research on the schools (year round and having 3 kids on possibly 3 different tracks is NIGHTMARISH!!) but all of the neighborhoods had sidewalks. We saw lots and lots of families out playing around. It was so exciting. We love our neighborhood now but there is no one for the kids to play with and no safe place to ride bikes so that is a huge plus of moving to Raleigh. There were also several neighborhoods with pools and parks in them. How cool would that be?? Being able to stroll to the park and meet neighbors. All in all I think that when the time comes we are really going to enjoy being in Raleigh. Right now I am stressing over the start of school and moving and possibly messing up Elijah's kindergarten year but I know I just need to relax and wait on God. We had talked about possibly getting a bridge loan but after thinking and praying have decided to revert to the original plan and just wait on this house to sell before looking in Raleigh. If it means an interrupted K year it will be OK. If it means a month or two with stuff in storage and living with family or in a hotel it will be OK. I am excited about this change in our life and know that it will be good for all of us. Right now the kids aren't really happy about everything being packed up and having to keep the house clean and the idea of moving farter than 5 minutes from grandparents but I think it will be good for them to be in a new place with new friends. Its always nice to stretch outside your comfort zone. We'll also be going back to the Summit Church (where we got married!) and the kids will be a part of that awesome ministry too. Psyched!

Mamens again

2011-03-29T21:23:00.003-04:00

The "Mamen" is back! Tonight Bethany prayed--little fingers laced together. "Thank God ah-ah food--mamen" (Thank you God for our food-Amen) Boy have I missed those. Both Lydia and Elijah had "mamens" for a while.

The Cutest Grils I know. . .

2011-03-29T21:16:00.004-04:00

My cute little girls. From thier sassy attitudes to their cute curls I love 'em. Lydia--after a particularly horrible night--was feeling rather cooperative and let me braid her hair. Super cute! She dressed herself today and called herslef "polka-dot princess" becuase even her socks were polka dotted and because we had no polkd-dot panties she wore princess ones.

This little cutey is talking more each day. Her newest one is exploding bunnies--What does a bunny say? "Pop-pop-pop!"

They were going on a vacation trip and that was her vacation hat. Elijah was grinding sidewalk chalk to make pixie dust to help them fly. This was AFTER he uncovered a nest of what we think were black widow spider babies and had over 100 of them crawling on him. He did not get bitten though!

And our newest little monkey. Quite proud of herself for being able to climb now.

Sneaky snakes

2011-03-25T11:42:00.001-04:00

Bethany is cracking us up with her animal impressions . . .
"What does a cow say?" -"boooooooooo"
"What does a chicken say?" --"bock bock"
"What does a monkey say?"--"oh ah eeeeeee"

and yesterday--"What does a snake say?"---"shhhhhhhhhh"
Elijah popped up with "Her's must have sneaky snakes!"

Moving!

2011-03-21T10:20:00.000-04:00

Justin got a new job in Raleigh and our house is on the market. If you know anyone looking for a fabulous home with new vinyl windows and a brand new rof let us know!! Its listing for $159,900 and I'll have a link to the MLS listing as soon as its up. Postings are probably going to get even rarer as I try and keep the house showable with three little ones and a hubby who's commute will leave me solo with the kids from wake up until bedtime for a while.
-Covey

Lydia on Diego

2011-03-21T10:19:00.001-04:00

" Mom! Diego is gonna be in trouble! He's telling that whale to 'mash a bible!'"--Lydia, 3--I go and look and he's singing "Mas abajo . . mas abajo"

Cow Cutey

2011-03-08T14:18:00.002-05:00

Went to Chick-Fil-A last night for the first time in months. The olders through we should dress Beth up in her "cow-baby" costume. I think she's adorable! She even said "ooooooo" when you asked her what a cow said.

Today . . .

2011-03-07T14:43:00.002-05:00

Bethany has roared like a Lion, counted "one . . . two . . .three", said "Hi plumber!" to the plumber, winked on command, blown kisses on command, called me "mama", called "Lydia", called for "ji-jah", said "paci", "lovey", "Tiger" (it was a lion but still), "puppy benty" (puppy Bentley our neighbors dog), signed eat, fisnished, more, swing, open, said "uppy duppy I done!" when she wanted up from the high chair, played peek-a-boo, obeyed my command to "go and get a cup and lid and bring it to me" and brought me a matching cup and lid, obeyed me when I told her to "pick up your baby doll and put her in the cradle" and gone upstairs when I said "go upstairs--you need a fresh diaper", told me to "Blow Beth down. I turn now" when we were flopping on the bed, and so much more.

My 14 month old is amazing. I love watching her blossom, understand, communicate and be her own person!

Matthew 4:19 . . .Thoughts of a 4 year old

2011-03-03T09:48:00.001-05:00

"So mom . . .when you're fishing for men do you have to use worms or can you use something else . . .like a hamburger?"-Elijah, 4 1/2

Serpentine Dessert

2011-02-22T23:12:00.002-05:00

Tonight, after snarfing down his first slice of pie Elijah was begging for another "slither" (sliver) of pie. Boy do I hope that we get this hearing loss under control!

Earlier today we went to the grocery store. There was a young girl about age 3 or 4 having a tantrum in the cart. Both kids were asking why she was tantruming and I said that it was probably naptime or she was just grouchy or maybe her mommy hadn't let her get something she wanted. The mom turned to me and glared and said "Actually, she's autistic" and Elijah immediately pipes up with "I like to draw too!" The mom glared at me and storemd off.

autistic, artistic . . . to a 4 year old with a hearing loss and with no experience with autism it makes sense.

It was hard for me not to laugh and I know I was bit embarassed. I didn't know what to say. I have been in the middle ofmore than one supermarket meltdown and didn't think I was coming across as passing judgement. I just have to assume the mom was having a bad day and was frustrated with her screaming child.

Brr!

2011-02-22T10:40:00.004-05:00

We've enjoyed this past week of lovely warm weather. We've wallowed in the grass, bug hunted, played at the park . . .now we're back to a normal Feb. Cold, windy and yucky. Makes you appreciate these nice days all the more.

Bethany playing with her "bawl"--the girl loves them! Our first kid to actually like balls.

We hung up laundry and Bethany thought the towel tunnel was neat.

Busy Busy

2011-02-16T13:53:00.003-05:00

What a taste of Spring we are having. Loving it!! The kids are too. We played in the backyard this morning (Lydia was taking an early nap--she was a grouch!)
Bethy loves the slide and swing. You can ask "Do you want to slide?" and she'll nod her head yes. Its so cute! My little acrobat. He is so proud he can touch his toes to the bar.

Smile!!

This morning we went to Staples and picked out some posterboard for our posters. EJ wanted to put his sounds up so we could review. Lydia of course wanted to do that too. She chose day-glo pink (big surprise!) and Snowman paper for the letters. It says "LYDIA'S SOUNDS" in all caps because she is still working on caps and not lowercase letters. She has two sounds she has mastered "mmmmmm" and "sssssss" Here is her "ta-da" and showing them off.

There are some sight words we're doing--mostly they don't follow the phoenetic rules. Elijah's sounds are on the right. I was shocked at how many sounds we've already learned since starting his reading book in January. Its amazing and he knows them all--he is so smart!

Showing off the glue work. He did it all himself. I helped him place the letters up at the top to get them straight but the work is his.

So that's what weve done and its not even 2pm. Whew! Mama is tired!

Lydia's Bday

2011-02-11T21:17:00.002-05:00

Wow! In just a month my little girl will be turning 3 years old!! She has mentioned some things that she wants and I've put those up on the blog on the left side. She is flush with toys and I really can't think of any toy she has mentioned she wants other than some new "doctor stuff" like a blood pressure cuff and shot (ours broke).

The girl is obsessed with crafting--she is loving glitter glue, googly eyes, sequins and more. Anything craft will be well recieved. I think that the crafting kits (like the jewlery box and stuff) are probably too advanced for her--she is just liking the options of having a pile of stuff to craft with and glue down.

The other thing I know that she would love is some princess books with WORDS. I've seen some Fancy Nancy books I think she will like too--they are like the "early readers" or "step into reading." The princess books she has now are baby board books and the Little Golden Book Disney Princess books (which are a bit too long). She would love to have some that are the happy medium. Anything Princess or fairy related (not necessarily disney) would be great reading for her.

General Cuteness

2011-02-11T10:57:00.003-05:00

Taking a walk at grampy's house Mmmmm... a piece of daddy's dark chocolate--YUM!

Lovin' it!

Oh no! No more Chocolate!

Bath in the sink--too sticky to even attempt going upstairs!

Stuff the Subaru

2011-02-11T10:54:00.003-05:00

The stuff the Subaru was a huge success. We ended up getting written up the paper twice (once issuing the challenge and once showing the results). We ended up stuffing the car and the cartop carrier. It was so awesome!

Coo-coo-ca-choo--I am a Walrus

2011-02-11T10:51:00.001-05:00

Those Crazy Girls

2011-02-10T21:11:00.002-05:00

This afternoon I went to go and nurse the baby . . she saw me start to unhook my bra and yelled
"Ninnies! Yay!"

She is also saying "Uh-oh etios" (spaghettios)

"ah-munt-candy-pwese"" (I want Candy please)

"Thanks!" if you give her something she likes

But Lydia wins the prize for the cutest thing said today.
We were getting ready for bed and I was brushing her teeth. Justin had one of my fuzzy slippers and was ticking her. She dropped her toothbrush and yelled at him "Onion ring!!!" I thought it was like when EJ was frustrated and he used to yell "Steak!" because she's been yelling it for a few days. He ticked her again and she again yelled "No!! Onion Ring!! You're onion-ringing me" Justin then thought for a second and said--"Lydia am I ANNOYING you?" She replied: "Yes! You're un-ringing me. Stop it!"

Lydia . . .

2011-02-05T22:12:00.002-05:00

Lydia is something else these days. I think this has to be my absolute favorite age. She is talking so much and it just cracks me up. Her "tantrums" are also much easier to deal with since she just pouts, collapses to floor and sits on her knees with her face to the floor for about 2 minutes. Way better than the rages Elijah was having!

Anyway--tonight she wanted beets for dinner and we gave her some, then some more. We had to say "Lydia--no more beets until you eat some yogurt and applesauce." Seriously?? Who witholds beets as a punishment?

After we got everyone in bed tonight at about 8pm we were sitting on the couch and Lydia just appeared. She is so tiny and light we didn't hear her coming. Both of us jumped out of our skin. Now, instead of marching her right back to bed, we snuggled her down between us to watch Wipeout. That girl is her mommy's daughter--she loved watching those people fall in the water. About 5 minutes later she said she was hungry. This is probably her most used word these days--can you say growth spurt? Anyway, she said: "I need something to feel my tummy better. It is hurting so bad. I need a cookie." Since we had 3lbs of sugar cookie dough just sitting in the fridge waiting to go I went ahead and baked a pan of cookies for all of us and added sprinkles to the little misses cookie.

While I was go Lydia informed her daddy:

"I have a head boo-boo. My headache is so bad. I have cookies in my brain and they making my head hurt."

Bit of the hair of the dog took care of the headache--cookie in the stomach cured the cookie in the head problem. She then proceeded to eat a string cheese and drink some juice before heading to bed at 9pm.

Hopeing she doesn't make this a regular habit but it was nice snuggling her--watching people on the "merry go round and people gun" on wipeout and laughing with her.

Lyddie-speak

2011-02-03T22:10:00.004-05:00

We were taking a walk and Lydia's leg warmer started to come off.
"Mom! Stop! My legging is fall off-ing!"

This morning:
"Mommy--my tummy hurts. It just hurts so bad."
me: Why does your tummy hurt?
"It needs its own cup of coffee. Please I have mine own cup of coffee? That a make it feel so much better!"

This afternoon:
"Mom--I getting frustrated."
me: why?
"You not letting me eat candy like I want to."

While in the bathroom:
"I need my piracy. No 'lije I need my PRI-A-CY . . .mommy come wipe me."

and one from Elijah just because:
"Mom. I can't eat the bacon-steak. I'm a vegetabletarian and a fruitarian and I don't eat meat!"
bacon-steak=pork chop--so much for my efforts at making a non-vegetarian meal!

and one from Bethany too:
"uh-oh ah-ee-oo" (uh-oh spaghetti-os) when she dropped her lovey down the stairs.

STUFF my SUBARU!

2011-02-02T09:48:00.003-05:00

I am CHALLENGING all my blog readers and my friends to drop one appetizer from your Superbowl menu and instead that $5 stocking your local food pantry. If you are local bring it by my house . . .we're going to try and STUFF my Subaru!! For every food item you will be entered to win a fabulour $36 SRP Makeup primer from Arbonne. If you aren't local, tell me how many cans you donated (Scout's honor!) and I'll enter you and ship the primer to you if you win.

Let's stock our pantry with Spaghetti sauces, canned fruits and veggies, tuna, crackers, cereal, bisquick mixes, powdered milk and more!! Don't dig around for crap in your pantry . . .go out and BUY stuff for these families. So many Wilson residents are forced to choose between food, medication and heat--especially with these outrageous utilities we have. Can you help??

Rules

2011-01-27T14:04:00.002-05:00

We don't have too many rules around here. My kids climb, run around barefoot, get their own snacks etc. I was talking with Lydia today and she told me:
"Mom--its a preschool rule that you don't put food down your pants."

Yeah that's a pretty good one I think. We don't generally have a problem with that at home mostly because my kids don't usually WEAR pants. I swear in more than 1/2 the pictures I scrapbooked 2 weeks ago Elijah was just in skivvies.

She then continued . . .
"and you don't put toys down OTHER peoples pants either."

Not really sure what is going on with the 2 year olds but having firm rules about shoving stuff down people's pants is a good policy.