Ice Cream

"mmm...mommy, this ice cream is happy in my tummy"
-Brennon

Another Reason

Another reason why you should keep your blinds drawstrings out of the reach of children

So So Sad

My little sweet pea is sick. She has been fighting this cold for a very long time and as the other two kids have gotten over it she just never has. We have had weeks of sleepless nights and horrible coughing and wheezing. So yesterday off we went, back to see the Doctor. My little Addy Joy has what the Doctor wrote down as Bronchitis. But Bronchitis that is triggered by RSV. AND of course an ear infection. So the home health guy came yesterday bearing a wonderful gift (a nebulizer). That my little one HATES! Of course the pictures are at the very beginning when she didn't realize just yet that this was going to become an ongoing thing, one that lasted for awhile each time. So needless to say every 2-4 hours a day has become a battle between the two of us. Today when she realized that she was unable to move her arms due to my kung foo type grip she tried head butting the thing away from her and biting it. She is a very strong willed little thing. Don't let her size fool you, she is very mighty! Then this afternoon after realizing that the head butting was not working to her satisfaction she got a nice hold on my arm with her teeth. Due to the awkward position we were in after several minutes of struggling already and not wanting to spill the medicine, the only way to get her to release my arm from her pit bull latch was to head butt her myself. Poor baby, I know, but let her sink her teeth in your arm and tell me what you would do those little teeth are sharp! But never fear, I will win this battle of ours...oh yes I will win!

Henrietta

well world meet Henrietta

She came to our house this weekend from preschool. Have I mentioned how much I enjoy Emma's teacher at preschool. She is really wonderful. She loves doing "messy" projects which so does Emma, they really are a great match. On Friday Ms. Jennifer brought in her blender and the kids made homemade paper, and they had the option of using a roller to smash it down, or their feet! Now, I have worked with preschoolers, no way would I want a bunch of kids taking off their shoes and socks to reveal the stinky odor that can very well linger in between grimy toes! But this is the kind of teacher she is and of course Emma used her feet.

Anyway, Henrietta is made of foam and she comes complete with her own backpack that contains an artist notebook for the kids to color pictures in, a journal for mom or dad to write in about their weekend, a book to read, and a disposable camera to snap a photo in front of their house. Well, Emma was thrilled to have her and insisted that we do something special. So Sunday we decided to take Henrietta out for breakfast, which is where her arm got broken by a certain sweet little 1 year old, (never fear, she was easily repaired!). Then we ventured off to Ft. Collins which has the best play area for kids. Henrietta had so much fun! oh yeah, our kids did too. So back to preschool she will go tomorrow and Emma will get to sit on Ms. Jennifers lap and tell the rest of the class about Henriettas wonderful arm breaking weekend with the Nelsons.

As a side note, we generally don't break the arms of people that ever come to visit, its just not good practice.

snow snow SNOW

So it is once again snowing outside. I am sick sick sick of snow! and not just because it is snow, but because it is cold and I have to haul three kids through the yucky brown slushy mess that it leaves car side on a daily basis (one kid who thinks its fun to play in and eat, never mind the color that it is...I won't name names). I refuse to wash coats anymore, its pointless and since my purse has taken much abuse from this weather and sloppy snow boots that don't watch where they are stepping I am SO getting a new one come spring, if it ever comes. Brennon said this afternoon after I pointed out that it was snowing "the trees are blowing the snow off of them, and they are hitting our window!" But I didn't realize just how sick of the snow people here are until today.
I was on my way home from dropping off Emma at preschool when I passed by a neighbor standing in their front yard with a shovel and trash can. This didn't cause me to question anything until about an hour and half later on my way home again from picking Emma up I saw them still outside and realized they were shoveling the snow from their front yard into the trash can!
Hey Jim, I have a project for us this weekend :)

Happy Hallmark Holiday

So I have heard rumors that Valentines day is in reality not a Hallmark holiday and is traced back over the ages of time to an actual person/event or something of the sort. Obviously I myself have no clue if this is actually true or not and have not had the strength or energy to do any research on it for myself.

I don't care! I have always enjoyed Valentines day. Especially as a kid, I mean seriously what other day of the year can you go to school and come home with a bag or box filled with sweets! Now as an adult that has obviously changed. My husband has never once in our 7 years of marriage showered me with roses or chocolates on this day. He is one of the many men out there that claim this day to be made by Hallmark to sell more cards. I can't complain though he has given me flowers on several occasions for no specific reason or day just to say "I love you". which to me is even more romantic. (some year however I think diamonds would be nice!) However, I was listening to the radio this morning and there were several people calling in to complain about this holiday. How its the worst day of the year to get engaged, or to tell your boyfriend/girlfriend for the first time that you love them. I don't get it, but okay, some people don't like this day I'll forgive them that :)
But now that Emma is of school age I get to once again revert back to childhood days of Valentines day bags decorated at school and filled to the top with cards and sweets. We had fun filling our treat bags yesterday for her to hand out, and today while dropping her off I couldn't help but notice all the little girls dressed in their reds and pinks complete with some type of heart decoration somewhere on there shirts or ponytail holders, Emma included! And of course, Emma came home completely pleased with her party, talking very rapidly, hands moving, legs jumping and hips swaying the entire conversation, which when she stopped to take a breath claimed she needed some more candy from her bag. (these by the way are sure signs of a chocolate addict).

So yes, Hallmark is making money off of today, along with many other companies. But Emma and I are making memories, filled with pinks and reds and of course chocolate!

Jesus Loves Me

This how Brennon refers to Church, for some reason in his little mind he has come to call it "Jesus Loves Me". Perhaps that is because they sing that song in his class? I don't know. But we all think its absolutely adorable and have never corrected him on this. We generally try to make it to Church on Saturday nights since Jim is there working, we just meet him there and then head home while he stays to finish and lock up the building. So tonight as we were saying goodbye to daddy Brennon says "you need to keep working for Jesus loves me". Jim and I got a little chuckle out of it. Later after arriving home it was dark and we needed to walk to the front door, Brennon stops and states "its dark outside, I too scared". After a few words of encouragement from mom who had her hands full of papers, diaper bag, sippy cups and a heavy 15 month old we made it to the door and during that walk Emma must have been thinking very hard because she then looks at her little brother and says "Its okay Brennon, God is bigger then that". To which Brennon then replies "God will save me from the monsters?" "Yep, God is bigger then that". I love it when my kids are getting along and I love watching how they can encourage one another. Even little Addy Joy in her baby way will come up to her older siblings and take her little hand and pat them on the back if they are crying or try to give them a hug.
It makes me happy!

Happy Birthday

Happy 3rd birthday to my little boy! Yesterday was Brennons birthday. My little boy is already a three year old! What happened to the time? It didn't seem like all that long ago he was this new little jaundice colicky thing that never stopped screaming and ignored my insistent sushing at all hours of the day and night. I guess though he was never really all that little was he? and some things don't ever change, his big brown eyes are the same, the little dimple that sits hidden sometimes in his right cheek is still there. And he still ignores my insistent shushing. The yellow jaundice skin tone has been replaced. He now talks instead of screams (mostly). His two little front teeth stick out ever so slightly. And that once spiky out of control hair that I love and miss has been replaced by a full head of super straight hanging hair. Compliments of his mothers genes.

So last night to celebrate my growing and changing little boy we enjoyed a fine dining experience at Fat Albert's complete with balloons for the kids and an evening filled with chocolate cupcakes baked to perfection and covered expertly in sprinkles by his loving sister, Emma-Jean.
Finally after some daddy persuasion and tickles we were able to get him to smile for this picture. (yes, the three is backwards, but what could I do, try to get him to smile again, this was already take 2 besides that's like making the dog balance a treat on his nose with out him eating it). But I will share a funny story from yesterday, and I am sure there are bound to be more to come about this subject.

Brennon on the issue of potty training:
Feb 4, one day before his birthday.
"Brennon, do you want to go pee on the potty?"
"um, maybe when I am three".
So imagine my emotions of hope as the day comes and I think, maybe just maybe he'll actually do it.
"Brennon guess what? today is your birthday, you are 3 so you can go pee and poopy on the potty" (gotta love the mommy lingo)
Brennon replies matter of fact while holding up all 5 fingers high in the air "when I'm 5".

Helper

So I have made it Emma's job to help clean up after lunch. I simply ask her to clear off the table and bring me the dishes as I wash them all up. I also ask her to clean up any big crumbs off the floor (she does like sweeping and swiffering, and I hope this continues well into her teenage years..here's to dreaming!) Anyway, most days her job duties come with smiles and chatter about her day at preschool. Some days come with grunts and moans and a little snarly face to go with all the drama. Today was a drama, snarly, groaning day. Let me also quick mention that right now Emma is really into numbers. For example yesterday I was trying to teach her the tongue twister "peter piper picked a pack of...." so when I ended with "how many pickled peppers did peter piper pick" her response was a quick "25" so in case your ever wondering how many he picked, there is your answer. Back to today... so as my little snarly faced 5 year old darling brought me a plate she moaned "do I have to do this for five and twenty nine days?". I love being a mommy at these moments because I smiled sweetly at my beautiful girl and said "no sweetheart, you have to do it 365 days a year for the next 13 years".