WonderMom!

Happy Birthday, Mommy! Today is my wonderful mothers birthday, and in honor of her I video taped my children singing Happy Birthday and I am going to post it on my blog. After all, she is the most incredible of all moms, and deserves such a fantastic gift for her special day.

Okay, I didn't get the song video taped. But I had all intents and purposes of doing so.

Of course, that was before Noah told Nathanael that he was going to be "taken into the jungle and shot."

Nathanael did not care for this.

Actually, that was after I made amazing, delicious, dissolvable dumplings for dinner while washing, drying and folding laundry in an attempt to pack my daughter and I for an all girls camping trip this weekend (that I happen to be in charge of). On a side note, I think I shrunk all my clothes, 'cause I know I'm NOT gaining weight, that would be silly.

And of course, before the aforementioned happenings I was looking at the 65 my straight A student got on her homework because she didn't feel like writing complete sentences. She was in a hurry because she wanted to finish reading Pride and Prejudice. It was actually Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, but this is my blog so I can write what I want to.

So, Happy Birthday, Mom! Maybe we'll get the video posted before your next birthday. Then again, isn't it enough to know that you have such a remarkable daughter, son-in-law and grand-children? Of course it is!

Mom,

This morning my littlest one and I were driving around running errands and a Brandon Heath song came on the radio. He sat quietly listening to it for a little while, pondering the great power of the words that were being sung. "Mom," he said, "Does this guy love God a whole lot?"

"Yes, he sure does." I responded, awestruck by the sweetness of the moment.

"Oh." deep pondering silence

"Then why doesn't God give him any eyes, and why does he want to take God's eyes away from Him? And why doesn't he have any arms either?!?!?!?"



Here are the words:

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the broken hearted
Ones that are far beyond my reach.
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

The B word

Today was such a perfect day. I was practicing the piano and my angelic children were playing peacefully behind me, including each other and using their imaginations to create fun and amusing "plays." Just kidding.

"MO-OM!!!! Noah called me the B word!

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did!"

"Uh-uh! Liar!"

We don't call each other liars. Come tell me what he called you.

"He called me the B word."

What's the B word?

"He called me stupid. We're not supposed to use the B word."

You're right. We're not.

Rare disease

There is a rare disease infecting the oldest child in my household. It is a very uncommon and frightening malady, and I would encourage all parents to keep a wary eye. It causes perfectly healthy 8 year olds to leap from their desks with their mouths covered, run frantically from their classrooms and then "throw-up" in the bathroom. One of the most amazing parts of this sickness is the fact that the vomiting never returns, your child will NOT run a fever, and all types of food are palatable. Even more incredible is that this morning, after 24 hours of being asymptomatic, my child was suffering from crippling stomach pains that would make attending school a complete impossibility! Since there is seemingly no cure available I informed my daughter that she must stay in her bed all day - no exceptions. Anticipating boredom to set in around 10 am I was dismayed to find that she had finished Little House on the Prairie and was scouting for a new book to read. Darn those books. Oh, and she has "miraculously" been healed again, and even claims to be well enough to be able to eat shells and cheese for lunch. (She does, however, still need to sip on ginger ale so that her sickness doesn't come back.) Since tomorrow is Saturday I am assuming that this dastardly disease has run it's course, and will not be returning for at least another couple of days. I will keep you updated on her condition.

On a side note, my 4 year old got his nose smashed in the pantry doors this morning. By himself. There wasn't even anyone else in the kitchen. I should look into a kindergarten for gifted and talented children, because he is CLEARLY a step above the rest.

Naked Rat Dog

Before:



After:


Introducing Naked Rat Dog (formerly known as Emmaline). Our beautiful yorkie is reduced to looking like a small scottish terrier. Her humiliation was caused by an unfortunate incident (inexplicably involving a four year old and the great outdoors) in which burrs and 'stickers' became so incredibly entangled into her hair that there was no other recourse but to shave away her beautiful silver locks. Naked rat dog, however, is built of sturdy stuff, and chooses not to be ashamed of her current condition. She joyfully plays with the children, chases her bone and barks at the wind, oblivious to what others may think. Be proud, naked rat dog, you are one of a kind.

My children love me

In an attempt to win the love and respect of my children I have cleaned the house, washed and folded their laundry, bathed them, cooked for them, shopped for them, helped them with their homework, read to them, played with them, disciplined them, loved them, etc. All to no avail. However, I finally found the key to receiving the love and respect of my children...........

Win the table game on Wii fit.

That's it. That's all it took.

The moment the last ball fell into the hole their eyes shone with admiration and their voices were filled with love.

It was so inspiring.

I am now and forever my children's hero.

Well, I don't know about the forever part, but I'm sure I'll hold the position until dinner time at the very least.



(Oh, and I do all the other stuff because I'm the mom and I really do love the little guys - for all of you that were worried)

Hey, Dad

"Hey, dad, you know how God's got the world in His hands? Well, I've been thinking about it a lot, and I'm pretty sure that if you got in a spaceship and flew up that you wouldn't go on and on like they say you will. Eventually you'd run into God's hands."

Nathanael Pfiester
6 yrs old

My cousin, Elise, and my sister, Heather, did this, so I was inspired to do it, too. I don't know what I'll make you, but it seemed fun, anyway.

Pay it Forward

The Rules

1. Be one of the first Three (3) bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me.

2. Winners, you must post this challenge on your blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first 3 bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!
3. The gift that you send to your three Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Counts!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love!

If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Post it on your blog; start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same!

I will need your email address if you are one of the first three bloggers so I can find out where to ship your gift.

Dr.s Office

So, we go to the Dr. for my oldest childs well check. Everything is perfect - tall for her age, maybe a tad too thin, healthy, and even up to date on her immunizations. All is well, and everyone is happy. Then, in the space of a few seconds all peace was shattered and my daughters inner drama queen was given a chance to perform. Dr. Ramsay informs her that she needs to give a urine sample (she was mortified) and a blood sample (ghostly pale). So, the first was a piece of cake. Of course, all the way to the lab Noah was saying, "that is so disgusting. That's her pee - eewww! Gross!! Carlye peed in a cu-up." We hand over the urine sample, wait for a few minutes, and then they escort my peaceful little angel in to draw some blood. I can honestly say that I would not have described my child as violent until that moment. She grabbed the arm with the tourniquet on it, curled into a ball, screamed at the top of her lungs and began kicking everyone. Noah thought that it was the craziest thing he'd ever seen, and ran in to watch. He couldn't miss this! Nathanael just stayed in the hallway and kept reading his book. I guess he was expecting this. He really could have warned me. I will spare you all the gory details, but 30 minutes and 3 people later we finally had our sample. And an "it really wasn't that bad" from our 8 yr old "victim." It's amazing how quickly mercy flies away when those words are uttered. I went from feeling like the worst mom in the world to wondering if grounding her for life was an acceptable form of discipline. Next time, Carl gets to take her.

Valentines Day is the worstest day ever!

Or so I've heard. I had the most brilliant of ideas and decided that my creative and talented children would make their valentines this year (as they did last year) so that they could pour out all of their love and affection for their classmates in a heartfelt drawing, sticker collage or poem. I purchased blank index cards, a variety of stickers (including spider man) and even bought new crayons to make it more fun. Then, I walked into the real world.

"i don't have any friends in my class." said both of my older children

"Yes, you do, you're just tired. Now draw some pictures on your valentine."

Angry creative silence.

"Nathanael - what is attached to your valentine for Cooper?"

"Carlye added a note telling him that he was a meany and not to bully me anymore."

Rip note off, instruct children to write KIND things about their friends that God has given them as classmates.

More angry creative silence.

Noah colors all of his Valentines blue and puts the scariest Spider Man stickers there are (all of the bad guys) on every Valentine.

I encouraged him to use some hearts, or a happier sticker.

Incredulous silence. WHY would any one want a heart sticker?

Middle child now commences crying meltdown after completing his 4th valentine (out of the 22 he needs to make).

After attempting to calm him down he is finally sent to his room to compose himself.

Screaming and crying ensue, and I am informed that "Valentines Day is the worstest day ever!"

"Hey mom, where's our candy to stick in our Valentines?" Carlye inquires

"Candy isn't healthy, remember? We want to take good care of our bodies and eat in a healthy way."

More incredulous silence.

"Ya, I'm pretty sure all the other kids are gonna have candy. Our valentines stink."

I should have spent $9 on sanity. I mean valentines.

My 3rd Born

(Noah was only 2 in this picture)


25 Random Facts about my 3rd (and last) born child
1. He is named after the Noah of the Bible and his Uncle Michael
2. He is not afraid of heights
3. He once flooded the entire kitchen with water from a container in the refrigerator
4. He unintentionally fed Carlye's bird to our cats
5. He doesn't like clothes
6. He's had the same best friend since he was born, and told me they are getting married (seriously, ya'll - those two are scary!)
7. He loves Skippy Jon Jones and is apparently going to name all of his daughters this
8. His favorite color is blue. He has NEVER colored anything any other color. Once his teacher remarked on another little boys picture and said that all of the colors were so pretty and that it looked like tie dye. Noah stated, "Tie dye does NOT make me happy."
9. He (like his brother) has already had two concussions - one very serious
10. He was hospitalized for three days with a severe case of the rotovirus, and scared Carl and I badly
11. When I was pregnant with him the doctors told me that he was being miscarried, and for 4 weeks we couldn't find him on sonograms or anything, even though my hormone levels were increasing. Then all of a sudden one day there he was, exactly the same size as if he'd been there all the time.
12. He is my most passionate hunter, and prays EVERY NIGHT (without exception) that Daddy will shoot a deer with big antlers
13. Charisma oozes out of him - he is my most relaxed, easy going child and every one (not being a momma, being serious) loves him
14. He is the best of all of us at Wii Bowling, and bowls so spastically that none of us can understand how he ever gets a strike
15. He lives to do scary and dangerous things and never thinks of the consequences (he recently tried to slide down a banister and fell off of the side. An 8 yr old was holding him by the arms as Noah dangled 14 feet in the air. He wasn't even scared and couldn't understand why I was so upset)
16. Last summer Carl wanted to know if he knew how to swim so he threw him into the pool (without warning him). Noah bobbed to the top and swam to the edge and asked him to do it again.
17. He wants to be Troy Bolton
18. High School Musical and Madagascar are his favorite movies
19. Alex the lion is his hero
20. Often he will crawl into my bed about 6:30 in the morning and ask me to take Carlye and Nathanael to school so it can be just me and him (even on the weekends)
21. He's never met someone he didn't like
22. He thinks that dinner is a waste of time and would rather be doing other things
23. Even though he likes it just me and him, he loves Carlye and Nathanael with all of his heart, and will do absolutely anything they ask of him. Oddly enough, though, it is usually the two of them waiting on him and doing what he wants them to do (we still haven't been able to get him to clean his room or do his chores by himself - he is ALWAYS able to get the others to do it for him - and they do it happily)
24. His favorite food is bananas
25. He thinks banana pants is the funniest name in the world and calls EVERYTHING that

Tag, you're it.

My 2nd Born

25 Random Things about Nathanael

1. He is named after the Nathanael in the Bible ("behold, an Israelite indeed in whom there is no deceit"), his daddy, grandpa, great grandpa, and so on
2. His favorite color is pink
3. He reads VERY well for a kindergardener (at least a kindergardener that's not Marcus - smile!)
4. His love language is touch, which translates into him being as close to you as possible as much of the time as he can get away with being that close
5. He cannot be still when he is sitting on your lap or lying next to you or standing next to you or touching you in any way which can be incredibly uncomfortable for the holder
6. His favorite thing to do is draw - he is very passionate about his art
7. He is petrified of the dark. Seriously, he takes it to a new level
8. He is the most loving, merciful, caring and forgiving of all of my children
9. He wants to be just like his daddy when he grows up
10. He loves watching the Spurs and gets really hyped up if the score hits 100 or above
11. His favorite animal right now is an orangutan
12. He loves hunting, fishing and shooting his bow and arrow
13. He, much like his cousin, buttons his shirts all the way to the top
14. He also pulls his pants up past his belly button
15. He can make totally awesome things out of Lego
16. He learned how to swim before he was two years old
17. He knows how to make a bow out of branches and yucca, and an arrow out of branches, rocks and yucca and loves teaching littler ones how to do it (thanks Uncle David)
18. He is scared of heights
19. He has already had two concussions (both from him doing totally crazy boy things, and both at Children's Day Out - which may explain the heights thing)
20. He wants to be a pastor when he grows up and has a VERY strong sense of right and wrong
21. Right now his favorite books are the Magic Tree House books
22. He got beat up at the beginning of Kindergarten while defending a little girl
23. His favorite movie is "Tarzan"
24. He sings beautifully
25. He and Carl's pictures as babies, toddlers and little boys are identical

I tag whoever wants to brag on their second born child. It's fun!

Clarification

For everyone I tagged, YES you have to do your oldest child. We'll do the others (if there are others) later. Have fun!

My first born

25 Random Things about my first born child

1. She is named after me, her daddy, my Aunt Marianne, my grandmothers (Carolyn and Ann), Carl's mom and in a round about way Carl's youngest sister
2. When she falls asleep her face goes deadly pale (like her Aunt Pammy) and she usually stays in the same position all night long
3. She is the oldest grandchild on both sides of the family
4. Her favorite color is baby blue
5. When she is nervous she covers her face with her hands when she talks (my fault, I know)
6. She reads on average one book every day (she read Bunnicula on Wed and loved it)
7. She is not afraid of heights and often climbs trees until she is 12 or 14 feet off of the ground and we have to tell her to get down
8. She has wanted to be a veterinarian since she was 4 yrs old
9. She is an amazing actress
10. She loves to hunt, fish, and shoot her bow and arrow
11. She knows crazy things about animals that I don't know because of the magazines my dad sends her (like the fact that frogs drink from their skin)
12. She is NOT shy, but likes to pretend that she is sometimes to get attention
13. She remembers when Noah was born (I've had all of my children naturally) and says that she is going to "abopt" all of her children not have them come out of her tummy because that hurts too much (she wasn't in the room, she just asked a LOT of questions and I was honest with her)
14. She collects Webkinz and owns over 20
15. She has had the same two best friends her entire life
16. If I pick out her clothes at the store she will NOT like them - ever - even if it's something she would have picked out herself
17. She is an amazing artist, but doesn't draw as much as she used to because she is too busy with everything else
18. She is the tallest in her class and wants to look just like her Aunt Sissy when she grows up (Ashley)
19. She tells everyone that all of her freckles are angel kisses - and really believes that they are
20. She is a MAJOR daddy's girl and he spoils her shamelessly but is in complete denial
21. She once climbed into a scary, snake infested pile of scratchy dead cedar (and got cut to pieces, I might add) to save some newborn kittens
22. She tamed a ferile kitten (Sleeping Beauty) that no one else was able to even get near, and to this day Sleeping Beauty loves her the best
23. She broke the pencil cup on her teachers desk, and was so upset about it that she came home and used her birthday money to buy her teacher a new one
24. She's made straight A's in school, but is so much like her mommy that she really doesn't try very hard and thinks that math is unnecessary (it was her favorite subject last year!)
25. She is a morning person, and is ALWAYS happy in the morning and grumpy in the evenings (again, just like her momma)

I tag Andy, Heather, Heidi, Pammy, Jodi, and my mom - because, after all, who doesn't want to brag about their kids!

AHHHHHHHH!

To quote my son, "This has been the worstest week ever." I, my friends, have gotten two speeding tickets. Yep. Me. I am 31 years old and I've never gotten a speeding ticket in my life and in less then 2 weeks time I got 2!!!!!!! This is so wrong. Both times it was because the speed limit changed and I didn't see it happen. So, I've been thinking, and I have come to a conclusion. They have gotten smart and begun to realize that when people talk or text on their cell phones they are less alert and unable to drive as well as they would if they didn't have their phones. There is something out there, however, that is worse than cell phones. It causes more stress and distraction while driving then anything on the planet. It is called children. They scream or laugh or cry or yell or sing or pinch or kick or hit or whistle or blow trumpets or unbuckle and stand up or throw things at you or holler, "look what I can do," all while you are trying to focus on not getting hit by the insane wackos who are driving on the road next to you. I do have a solution, though. The first one is to ban children from cars. Okay, unrealistic, I know However, I do have another more realistic solution. I believe that if all large vehicles (such as vans, mini vans, suburbans, tahoes, yukons, etc.) came with standard sound proof plastic windows (such as in a limousine) it would go a long way in helping mothers maintain their sanity and therefore remain in control of all of their excellent driving skills. Just an idea. I should patent it.

It was the onions

On Saturday, after a very disappointing day for my children, Carl and I curled up in our bed with all three of our munchkins and watched Prince Caspian (they'd never seen it before). At the very end of the movie when Peter and Susan are told they cannot come back to Narnia Nathanael announces, "My eyes are leaking - there must have been onions in my hamburger." The movie was over at 10:00 at night and we'd eaten dinner at 7:00. Those were some strong onions.

Girls Day

Yesterday Carlye and I took the entire day and had a girls day. Yes, for all of you horrified readers, she skipped school. On Saturday Carlye has a Princess Ball (sorta like a Daddy Daughter dance) and we needed to get her a dress and some shoes, so I made a fun day out of it. She probably could've gotten a few other outfits, but she picked Red Lobster for lunch and ordered crab legs, so that depleted all of my funds. Carl and Noah were having a guys day and Noah wanted to eat at Whataburger - I think that Carl got the better end of that deal. It was the best day. I cannot tell you how much fun Carlye and I had. It took us a while to find her dress, and even longer to find her shoes. Then we ate, and I took her for her final surprise. She got her ears pierced! I didn't tell her until we were there, because I didn't want her to freak herself out and panic. She's been asking me for the last couple of years, and Carl and I finally decided that she was ready. I video taped the entire thing on my phone, but it's too large a file and won't download onto my computer. Too bad - it's priceless footage. After the first ear she decided she didn't want the second one done, and I said no way are we only piercing one ear. She also informed me that I am a liar, because it did NOT feel like a pinch or a shot it felt like some one stabbed her in the ear with a knife. (Her words, not mine). After that we went and watched "Hotel for Dogs," which was awesome, and over all it was just a really great day.

Oh, and for all of you that are worried, Nathanael is already planning his special day. He wants to go and buy new shoes, new clothes, a new room - hunting, not cowboy anymore -, a haircut, he wants to go the movies, pick where we eat, buy some new toys, go fishing, climb the rock wall at Bass Pro Shop............

I watched the sun rise today. It wasn't very spectacular - definitely more drab and cloudy than many I have seen. It also didn't take very long. One moment it was cloudy and dark, and the next moment the sun was up. But it did come up. And it brought the light, the beginning of a new day. And that is spectacular enough.