Snow...

We're supposed to get up to 4 inches of snow tomorrow- weird, considering it was 70 degrees yesterday! Anyway, hearing the forecast reminded me of a poem that I love. In my senior english class in highschool, we had to memorize poetry and recite it in front of the class, and I still remember many of the poems. It's nice to know I have some good things floating around in there...! The poem that came to mind today is by Robert Frost.


Stopping by Woods-
Whose woods these are, I think I know
his house is in the village though
he will not see me stopping here
to watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
to stop without a farmhouse near
between the woods and frozen lake
the darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
to ask if there is some mistake
the only other sound's the sweep
of easy wind and downy flake.


The woods are lovely, dark and deep
but I have promises to keep
and miles to go before I sleep
and miles to go before I sleep.

Hey, no wonder I like it. It reminds me of my life... I have mounds of laundry before I sleep, mounds of laundry before I sleep...!

Is my karma trying to tell me something?

You just have to wonder what the heck kind of karma you have when both your blowdryer and your curling iron bite the dust on the exact same day! I mean, WHO did I wrong for that kind of punishment? Anyway, I'll spare you any pictures of me & my hair today, but you know where I'll be headed this afternoon... Target time baby!!! Anyone got any quick suggestions for a blowdryer or curling iron they just love...?

Sophie's concert

We spent the evening at Sophie's school orchestra concert. The students played in small groups, and Sophie's group did a great job! We made the mistake of taking the youngest of the gang along, and, as you can see, the lollipops only tended to turn tongues blue, not keep big mouths quiet! Zack spent most of the time following Jacob around while I tried to entertain Matthew and convince him to stay in the stroller for the love of pete!!! We ended up leaving right after Sophie's group performed to spare those around us:)

Kayleigh!!!

Wow, wow, wow!!! Check out Adam and Aimee on MSNBC talking about Kayleigh and the possibility of losing their house next month: www.kayleighannefreeman.blogspot.com
It's so cool to see them on t.v.- I just hope that now their story is really out there, someone will be able to help them! God is at work...!

Starbucks Drive-thru etiquette!

OKAY- this has been on my mind for quite some time now! You see, I spend so much time in the drive-thru line at my neighborhood Starbucks (just kiddding mom- although not really), that I have begun to notice a few things... a few things that really bother me, and I therefore would like to propose that Starbucks (an over-priced, addicting, calorie-busting, time-wasting, great-smelling, yummy, mood-altering coffee house) do something about it's drive-thru. You know, maybe they could post a sign at the start of the drive-thru regarding proper drive-thru etiquette! Here's what I propose:
*Please be courteous and observe a first-to-get-to-the-end-of-the-line-gets-to-go-first policy(our line comes in from 2 different sides, and I can't tell you how many times I've been "cut" in front of!)
*Pay close attention to the vehicle in front of you and follow at a distance of at least, but no more than (in other words exactly) 5 feet.
*Be sure to move forward within 2 seconds or less from the time the car in front of you moves.
*No talking, texting or otherwise messing with your cell phone while in the drive-through line.
*No turning around to fiddle with, yell at, talk to, or help your child in any way, shape or form.
*No messing with your DVD player- if your kids aren't happy that's your problem- don't make it anyone else's.
*No changing your order.
*No complicated orders (just order what I do- a venti decaf. sugar-free vanilla breve latte- easy)
*Do not stop to rid your car of every piece of trash in it at the overflowing, too-small-of-an-opening garbage can that is conveniently placed just past the drive-thru window when others that do not already have their coffee like you do are still waiting!
*Do not take time to chat with the overly-friendly, overly-cheery members of the Starbucks staff- they DO NOT REALLY LIKE YOU- they are simply trying to distract you while they desperately try to catch up on their orders. And definitely do not engage them once you have received your order- remember, others behind you are still waiting and may be easily angered.
*Have your form of payment ready before you ever even enter the drive-thru line.
*Do not let your pets interfere with your ability to perform any of the above actions- or children or spouses for that matter.
*Most importantly***Take a look in your rear-view mirror, and if you see ME in it, then kindly GET OUT OF MY WAY!!!***
I would LOVE to hear your Starbucks stories- leave me a comment!

Strep-mania!

Yep- Allie's test was POSITIVE- she's got strep too! Wonder who will be next...

Top Dog & Docs...

Here is our awesome "Top Dog!" Sophie received an award yesterday for being one of the top students in the whole middle school (6-8th grades)! The award is only given to one boy and one girl from each grade, and we are VERY proud of her!!! Emily received the award last year as well! Along with the award, Sophie got some coupons for free stuff- like a meal from Sonic and a smoothie, and some other cool stuff. Yay Sophie:) This week has been crazy so far with doctor appts! Allie had an appt. on Monday, and then we ended up at Urgent Care Monday afternoon w/ Noah- strep throat again!!! Today, Emily had a CT scan at 7am, Allie has a dr. appt. at 11am, and then we think she may have strep throat too, so she has an appt. for that at 1pm. Then Friday, Emily goes back to the doctor for the results of her CT scan (she has serious sinus infections and they're checking for a problem). Then it starts all over next week when Jacob goes in for his well-baby on Monday- who knows what after that! Wish us luck...!

Oh my VERA...

I'm devestated- well, that may be a little strong, but I am definitely upset! I, along with my mother and my sister, LOVE Vera Bradley bags! My sister actually started carrying them long before they were a hot new trend- years ago! She's the one that got me hooked a few years ago, when they were really hard to find! Now, I have Vera store about 5 miles from my house:) and the Hallmark right by my house carries loads of them too. Anyway, I just received a fabulous new bag from my parents for Christmas. It's not one of the traditional cloth bags, it's a REALLY big, solid brown bag with a quilted pattern, and it's FABULOUS!!! So, I had been out running errands, and when I came home, I set my VERA on the counter because I knew I had to go out again to pick up the boys from school. I went upstairs and did some things in my room, and when I walked back out into the upstairs hallway, I noticed a horrible smell coming from downstairs. I told the girls to check to see what was burning- that's what it smelled like. No one could find anything, but Emily was cleaning her fish tank, so we thought it might be the heater in the tank overheating due to the low water level. I went downstairs to get ready to leave, and when I walked over to grab my VERA, I realized immediately where the smell was coming from- that bag is so big, that when I set it on the counter, the handles reached all the way up to under the cabinet where we have under-cabinet lighting that gets super hot to the touch. The purse handles ended up resting on the light, and it literally burned right through both handles- to the point where they will probably break if I try to carry it by the handles. I'm just sick... how does that happen??? It's so pointless and unfair! Sort of like when you back one of your cars into one of your other cars:) So, mom, I know you're reading this- don't hate me, and know that I LOVED that bag every second I had it!!! The lesson- don't get attatched to things because that's all they are...

nothing new...

I really don't have anything new to post today, and I haven't posted all weekend, so I thought I'd pull some more pics I created out of the vault! I got so carried away with these- I ended up with about 4o of them! The more I do, the more I learn, but these weren't my favorite. I need some new pics of the kids to really make them work- so that's my next project! The house showed 2x over the weekend (once on Sat. & once on Sun.)- what a nightmare! We spend half the day vacuuming the floors and making everything perfect, then we have to leave for 2 hours, and then we have to get up and do the exact same thing the next day! Unfortunately, it won't sell if we don't show it! Hope it's over soon...

Friday Follies...

Guess I have a new segment now called "Friday Follies"- this is the 2nd week in a row I've done this, and it's fun to just post some highlights of our day! So, tonight was popcorn night! We love popcorn around here- not that nasty microwave popcorn, but the freshly-popped and loaded with real melted butter kind:) And as much as they love eating it, they really get a kick out of watching it pop! The second I pull the popper out of the cupboard, the boys come running to hop up on the stools and watch- it's so cute!

We make sooo much popcorn that we have to buy the Costco-sized container!

Allie & Noah have new haircuts! Noah's is a little shorter than I had planned on having it, especially since we spent more than a year growing it out, but I wasn't there for the cut- Zack was in charge. We had to have it cut because Noah had taken some scissors to it over the weekend and had some chunks missing, but it didn't need to go as short as it is- yes, I'm still slightly upset about it!! Oh well, it will only take another year... Allie, on the other hand, was ready to go a bit shorter, and ended up with a really cute cut! It has nice layers, and she even went for the long bangs! She's really excited about it and can't wait to work with it and try some new styles!

Great book...

This is an AWESOME childrens' book, and I have read many, so I like to think I have some expertise in this area! We got it from one of Noah's scholastic book orders several months ago, and it has not only become a favorite of the kids- even Matthew sits through the whole book and then wants to read it again!- but it is also one of my favorites to read. It's cute and it rhymes, and it has a great message! Check it out!!!

Spirit week!

It's Spirit Week at the Allie & Emily's highschool! Wednesday was "lumberjack" day(?), and yesterday was "kindergardener" day- a lot different than when I was in school:) Today is "fruit salad" day, and each class was given a different color to wear. The freshman are orange and sophomores are plum- O.K. Anyway, here's Allie dressed as a kindergardener!

Cowboy cookies!

One of the ladies in my neighborhood just had a baby last week, so some of us are taking turns preparing meals for the family. I decided to also send over my famous (but secret) cowboy cookies! Actually, they're my mom's creation, but I love taking credit for them. They are literally better than gold! I used to give away the recipe, but I have since decided that I like being the only one in the neighborhood that can make them:) Besides that, it seems like no one can ever get them to turn out like mine- must be the family curse on them: anyone that tries to make them that's not in our family will be sorry... just kidding! I just like being selfish!!!

The BEST part about them is that they're HUGE!!!

Here's one of my helpers- he was "talking" on his spoon!

My other helper fell asleep before I even got everything out!

Power play!

The kids had Monday & Tuesday off from school this week, so yesterday, we decided to head over to a place called "Power Play" for some kid-time! The kids had a blast- they have everything from arcade games to go-karts, and they even have a tilt-a-whirl!
Matthew taking a break on the dance machine! Jenny & Jake

Josh

The kids brought their friend Lauren

Emily

Sophie

Noah got the whole track to himself for 6 laps!

Josh

Matthew & Noah

They control the up and down motion on this ride- Matthew had a ball!

Jacob wanted to hammer like the big kids!

Noah

Emily got one of the high scores!

Sophie & Jacob

The whole gang- minus the 2 who were sleeping!

Tigger gets a bath...

Sophie gave Tigger a bath by herself over the weekend- a first for her! She did a great job, and Tigger loved the blowdryer!

Valentine's Day!

What a wonderful day we had yesterday! I love that after 18 years of marriage, we can still go on a "date" and enjoy it even more than when we first started dating! Yesterday started with this box, and of course, I had NO idea what was in it because I didn't have Sophie hand-deliver a card from the Brighton store with my "wishlist" of jewelry on it a couple of weeks ago! And the name on the side of the box definitely didn't give it away!

So, we ended up going to dinner by ourselves last night:) That was a first since Jacob's birth! Allie had her final show, Emily took Josh & Noah to watch Allie's play, and Sophie & her friend stayed at home and babysat both Matthew & Jacob! We hadn't planned to leave Jacob- I really don't mind taking him with us- but it ended up being so nice to have adult conversation without having to stop and wipe up messes or change a diaper or entertain a fussy baby! And we had the best time!!!

Here's my cute tin that my new necklace came in- they have the cutest tins for their jewelry!

And here is my fabulous new "heart" necklace- perfect for Valentine's Day! A wonderful ending to a wonderful date!

And here's my handsome happy hubby!

Booooring!

No, I'm not talking about Zack:) But obviously, balancing the checkbook is not that exciting when your 14mos. old!!!