Merry Christmas

I know many of you will be leaving to visit friends and family soon.  We wish you a Merry Christmas!  

***UPDATE***Whose the better driver NOW?

I should have included this  before but forgot and some of you have asked...no ben did not get a ticket.  But i should say the cop followed him from Mercer Island all the way to Bellevue where they pulled him over !!! haha Ok so here's a funny story.  Yesterday ben was at an all day meeting.  After dinner a bunch of them went to a bar to hang out.  Ben rarely goes, but decided to.  I thought he was coming home at like 8 but I finally heard from him at like 12:15.  I was talking to him for a few minutes and he said that he had to go because he was being pulled over. Which is an especially be deal since ben has a company car and if he gets 3 strikes in a year he'll get fired since he won't be able to do his job without a car (a strike is like 1 for a ticket, 2 for an accident) ect...I even get strikes :)  I finally heard back from him like 20 minutes later, and said What was that all about??  He said I was pulled over for drunk driving!  WHAT?!!!  He said the cop pulled him over for erratic lane changes.  Which let me tell you ben's driving BUGS me sometimes.  He constantly changes lanes to try to get ahead, but goes no place faster.  So the cop says "Have you been drinking" Ben says "no" and then the cop says "How do you explain the odor" Ben says "I was in a bar all night but didn't drink" so the cop says "How do you explain the bloodshot eyes"  Ben says"I don't know it's like 1 am?" So the cop made him get out of the car on the side of I-90 and take a sobriety test :)  hahah I think it's too funny!  I may have had some fender benders in my time (ok 3 to be exact and had our car totaled...NOT MY FAULT) but I have never been accused of being DRUNK :)   

The Minute-Clinic

I feel like I have to post this to show how THANKFUL I am for the Minute Clinic in QFC.  I woke up this morning and had a bladder infection (AHHH) anyway I had heard of this minute clinic for things such as this, or strep throat, sinus infections, ear infections etc.  They are in some QFCs and CVS stores.  It is a nurse practitioner and you just go, check in and be seen immediately if no one is in front of you (thankfully no one was) while i was there I got all 3 kids a flu shot, and a prescription for me, and my insurance was billed the same as seeing a DR.  YEAH!!! Instead of finding a general practice Dr for me, and making a trip to the pediatrician it was all one quick stop.  So Minute Clinic this is a shout out for you :)  And my kids left happy with stickers and magnets :)  the nurse even let zach play with the credit card machine to keep him happy (which after getting bored with just pressing buttons he went to my purse, got my hollywood video card out and tried swiping it)  Is this a sign I shop too much????

Nauvoo-Who?

For family night this week we talked about the little section in the Friend with cut out pictures of Joseph Smith, and there is a little comic like story too.  So Kyle colored the pictures and was very excited to help.  So the story was about Joseph in Nauvoo and building the temple.  At the end of the story we used his little pictures he colored to have him retell the story.  I asked "Kyle what was the name of the city that Joseph Smith lived in and built the temple?"  Kyle looked at me for a minute and I could tell he was unsure but decided to go for it- he replied "Who-Ville"?

We just had to watch The Grinch for the activity after :)

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town

While we were visiting Ben's parents Santa and Mrs. Claus came to visit the kids.  It was wonderful!  Last year when we went to Snowflake lane Kyle wanted to see Santa so we walked over to where people were taking pictures for a look.  The price of the pictures, in my opinion, was outrageous- we we stood and looked at kids taking pictures with Santa:)  Kyle was very concerned and asked me how will Santa know what I want if I can't talk to him because it costs too much.  So we wrote letters:)  

So Santa and the Mrs. just walked in the house jingling bells and came looking for the kids.  Sadie was playing downstairs in the playroom and he bent down to talk to her, but she wouldn't even look at him.  That was funny!  (see picture)

Each of the kids took a turn to sit on his lap and talk about Bedtime, behavior, and toys....(he seemed to know how Kyle is with bedtime :) ) 

Kyle went first in our family (Ben's older brothers kids were there too) and acted very quiet.  He didn't tell Santa that he wants a 2 wheeled scooter because he didn't know how to draw it on his letter to Santa:)  

Sadie went next and just could not stop giggling.  It was priceless.  She finally told Santa that she likes dolls and barbies..

Zach went last after his cousins.  It took him the whole time to warm up to them.  Mrs. Claus kept trying to lure him in with Candy Canes (which he LOVES now).  He just sat there and talked to them for a minute.  Pretty cute!  It was the best!  

Slot Canyon Hike

While we were in Utah visiting ben's parents his dad took us to Little Wild Horse Canyon where we went on a hike through slot canyons.  It was so much fun.  For most of the trip ben's dad had Zach on his shoulders, Ben had Sadie, Kyle led the way, and I lagged behind which is exactly how it was from my childhood :)  Kyle LOVED it!  We got lots of great pictures and had a really fun day.  Towards the end of the hike Kyle pretended like he was Yoda and would bounce/sideways jump off the sloped walls- I guess that's what Yoda does in one of the movies or something.  You can tell from a few of these pictures how narrow some of the canyons were.  It was a fun memory we won't soon forget. 

The Biggest Shopping Day of the Year

Well today is the day the biggest shopping day of the year. It is doubly great because it is my BIRTHDAY!!! YEAH! I was actualy born on this exact day (of course the date but I mean the day after THanksgiving). So to celebrate this morning (we're visiting our inlaws in a small town) I went to Wal Mart at 8 to see if they had anything fun left....I am not a doorbuster though Ben's brothers got a few things I wanted when they went at 4:30 - you just need connections :) I've had a fun bday with some money from parents/grandparents I bought a new fancy purse that I've really had my eye on for months. I'm such a purse fanatic. Until last year on my birthday Ben bought me an expensive purse that I really wanted and I used it all year long without trading it. It was brown, so this year I bought a black one to change them out. I was really excited. The other thing I'm pumped about is Ben's parents gave me Photoshop! I can't wait to start using it....i have to fix that dumb keyboard first :) I am doing a whole lot of wishing this Christmas for a digital SLR which for me is a must have now that I have photoshop:) Ben tried to be real sneaky and bought tickets for us to go to the Christmas Carol play next weekend and out to a fancy dinner-he even emailed tami and tried to find a babysitter. He was a huge chicken about it :) he made one call and that was it :) He told me I needed to find a sitter for a Christmas party of a client of his....but he just couldn't keep the surprise in :) All in all it's been a great day. Sadie wanted to give me some purple flowers, and kyle some chocolates and a pillow (he REALLY knows me :) ) actually sadie first wanted to get me a Pet Shop but kyle told her that she can't get me something just because she wants it it has to be something I like :) he's a good guy :) Well we start driving home tomorrow and will be home sometime Sunday night. I'm ready for my own routine again! I just needed to post something, it's been way too long!

REALLY!??

Ok so one more thing to add to my previous post.  Last night we were on the way home from the gym and i was driving.  i didn't have my wallet I NEvER go anywhere without it.  ben does lots and i give him so much crap about it.  So in our car the headlights are automatically on all the time so I'm driving and suddenly there are flashing lights behind me....WHAt?!! (Oh by the way I can't make a capital t with this keyboard either :) ) Anyway the cop comes up and tells me that i was driving without lights on.  I said really?  they are always on so i showed him with the switch and guess what they weren't on...i could manually flip them on- I wanted him to know it was truely an accident (For those of you that don't know each time that i'm about a week or less from having a baby  I get in a big accident....so it's been almost 2 years with NOtHING!!!!) - no i'm not pregnant anyway.  So i hand him the insurance and stuff and explain i don't have my license.  So i give him my name (which I had to respell daniels 6 times!!! i guess that's a tricky one to sound out :) ) anyway and my birthday.  so he goes back to his car, comes back and says we have no record of you...is your license WA?? i said yes.  "Well you're not in the system so..." I said you can follow me to my house I l'm like 3 min away.  So I said can I look to make sure you wrote my name corrcetly?? I did and GUESS what- he had my bday as 11/20 not 28....DUH?!  then he found me and just "let me go" without a ticket!!! HOw nice of him, that's never happened to me before..if it was me I would have let me off just because I felt so dumb... :)  the whole time in the car i was kicking myself for not having my wallet, and kyle for some reason thought i was going to jail :)  

WHY??

Ok so the last few days I've had a few irritating experiences I'd like the share.

1. About 3 weeks ago Zach ripped ALL the keys off my laptop.  I think I mentioned this before..well we "fixed" it but a few keys kept popping off, and realized they are just broke.  Looking through my box of computer goods I found a keyboard which I bought for my laptop last year when Sadie was going through this irritating stage :)  so I felt so "cool" because I actually replaced it....and guess what it's AMAZING well I thought it was.  the v key won't work.  You wonder how did I get that "v" there?  I have to go into word, type a word with a v in it, incorrectly till the spell check catches it and fixes it.  Then I copy the "v" and every time I want one i use my paste..or i try to think of words to replace words with that letter in it. .ANNOYING so I bought a new keyboard on ebay.  It came on Friday and guess what....2 of the keys were broke so I'm awaiting my new one still....oh yeah and my computer will randomly freak out and type all by itself hundreds of "v"s can you believe it??? Also now when i boot up it does this weird high pitch beeping...and it won't boot up all the time....AHHHHHH good thing i just got an external hard drive i think it might be a merry christmas don't you? :)
2. Here is one of the biggest things that bug me.  I got a new phone about 2 months ago.  I am just now getting around to putting music on it.  I have an MP3 player, so i've been in no rush (are you noticing all the "v"'s i'm using :) ) Anyway I spent more than 2 hours yesterday afternoon downloading software, reading help blogs online yesterday afternoon and couldn't get it to work!! So last night at 8 I called verizon for help!!  After being on hold for 10 minutes the lady on the phone "helped" me for an hour and the conclusion was she did all she could, and my USB hub on my computer was broken...even though it will recognize my MP3 player, other hard drive,. mouse...etc.  Ok soo  I got off the phone and tried it on ben's computer...guess what....not working!!! SO at this point I have become OBSESSED.  I called back verizon and was immediately transferred to tech support for it.  After holding for another 15 minutes a man named Jose spent another hour with me and FIXED my problem.  thank you Jose in tech support at verizon!!!!!! I felt like we accomplished something wonderful together!  Moral of that story...keep calling back until someone helps you so 5 hours later and a lot of thoughts i'm not proud of my phone is now an MP3 player.

3. Finally this leads me to something that happens to me quite often.  I went to JoAnn's today (which the one by our house is LACKING in the crafts dept) and when i came out to my car a lady stopped and turned on her blinker.  Waiting for me to unload the kids from my stroller, load them into the car, fold the stroller and get myself in.  Can you believe it...the most frustrating thing....there was literally a spot 3 spaces down....hello that would be way faster.  What kind of people are we becoming that we can't walk an extra 25 feet?!!!  

Can you tell i'm a bit irritable today? :)  

My Quirks

So Ashlee tagged me FOREVER ago it seems to make a list of my 6 quirks.  I have really put some thought into it, and I'm struggling.

1. This is the biggest thing on my list probably.  I can't stand to sleep in bed sheets that aren't tucked in and straight.  When I was single I would climb in my bed at night, wake up the next morning and just pull the blank over the bed, and made...I don't move very much.  However I think my husband has some issues.  He tosses, turns, grabs pillows, bunches blankets.  Half the time I wake up the next morning and his side is completely unmade.  What is with that.  If we are watching TV in bed,I usually fix the sheets to go to bed in them.  

2. Cooking.  I usually don't let people (my husband or those visiting) help much while I cook.  I like them to be in the kitchen with me, and sometimes I'll give them some unimportant task, or unrelated to what I'm making.  I need to be in control I guess.  Everything needs to be chopped just so.  Weird huh :)

3. I can't stand little splatters on my bathroom mirror.  Water, toothpaste, whatever it drives me crazy.

4. Another bathroom thing-why is it that each time I clean the bathroom that night someone decides to cut their hair, or give a haircut??? Well not every week I guess but it seems that way!

5. Working out.  I HAVE to work out or else I feel terrible about myself.  I have been on a never ending "diet" since I had Kyle :) but I got a gym membership about 1 1/2 years ago, and have gone most weekday mornings.  I feel guilty without.  I have been bad the past few weeks, but typically it's a 2 time a day thing - I just got ben a membership so we will go again in the evenings...overkill you may think, well I have been given incentive (I think because a certain someone thinks it will NEVER happen).  2 years ago I got Ben to agree me to  Hawaii if I could get down to my prebaby weight. Just to make it clear to everyone the trip incentive was ALL MY IDEA, ben just agreed, got it??  I've worked really hard and lost 15 lbs....so i have just under 20 to go and it's GONNA happen :)

6. Hmm final quirk....my laundry.  Not that i don't have heaps every where but I'm very particular about pretreating stains.  If I'm on vacation to someones house it's really hard for me because I have a "routine" and don't want to ruin my kids clothes.  Maybe I should keep a stain kit in my car :)

So that's all of the weird things about me.  I tag Jessica, Tany, Kelley, Katie,Melanie, and Stephanie

Wall-e

I had to include this video it's only 2 seconds, but zach learned how to say Wall-e this weekend, sometimes he sings a little song before he says it but it's pretty cute.  

Catch up

Well I have neglected my blog long enough.  I have had a few crazy weeks and just like my journal when I get behind it is discouraging and don't want to play catch up.  So today I sit at my computer with half of my mouth droopy trying to drink/dribble my diet coke as a reward for my root canal this morning (part 2)  I definitely earned the 32 ouncer after 2 hours and 15 minutes with my mouth open subjecting myself to all kids of drills, files, and utensils heated under a blow torch stuck in my mouth (who knew).  I am feeling good.  well sort of.  :)  

Halloween was fun.  Kyle was of course Darth Vader, Sadie Sleeping Beauty, and Zach a dinosaur (fitting isn't it?!) Ben's parents came to town for a weekend visit which was so great to see them.  We didn't do much of anything except visit, watch a few movies, and played lots of chess (Kyle's new favorite thing since ben taught him a few months ago) I don't know how to play, and don't want to learn so that can be ben's area:)  all I can say is at least it's not nintendo :)

Yesterday I decided to switch Sadie' and Zach's rooms because i think zach had more space in his room and Sadie is the ONE child of mine that goes off and plays with her toys ALL DAY!!!  

So my biggest worry right now is my sweet, monster child, Zachy :) Have any of you ever seen the show Yo Gabba Gabba???I haven't but I saw this monster on a shirt in Walmart and thought that is totally Zach - in my opinion, pretty cute and cuddley must a MONSTER.  I don't know what to do with him.  He screams No so much....which he gets to spend 2 min in his room for.  He has ripped all the keys off my laptop 2 times...(ben left the lid up) he sure did get more than 2 minutes for that, but I won't disclose how long ;) And he has a thing when he is around children younger or the same size as him he hits, pushes, pokes, and tries to kick (he can't really cause of his lack of balance so that's a bit funny)  what to do.  It is so embarrassing and maddening!  Help me!  Will he grow out of this?  I've never had a child like him before :)  

What a week!

This might be the WORST WEEK EVER...I'm not sure.  So on Friday night while ben was still out of town (I have told a few of you this terrible story) I was drinking my Diet Coke minding my own business and suddenly i get this terrible shooting stabbing pain in one of my teeth that needs to be root canaled...my mouth is watering just remembering the pain.  Right after it started Kyle came inside crying because one of his "friends" threw a rock at him.  I could barely stand up but went out to figure it out....the gust of cool air did NOT help matters.  It would be really hard and strong, then fade and I would think oh this is done, then no another stab.  I took a Vicadin and gave it about 30 min and felt no difference.  AHHH so I called my dentists cell phone (i should keep that on speed dial...thank goodness for after hours numbers :) ) He called in immediately a stronger Vicadin (which makes me tired) and antibiotic (which makes me sick to my stomach but better than stabbing pain :)) And if i take that and an 800 IB profen I'm feeling OK like i don't want to knock my tooth out with an ice skate like in Cast Away (I now understand why he would do that....). SO back to this week. I have no voice which means i can't yell at my kids, which means nobody listens to me :)  Ben left out of town again this evening,  on WednesdayI have to go to the dentist for an "emergency procedure" where they will clean out my tooth, drill to alieviate pressure, and put medicine in it- it just sounds painful doesn't it.  I guess I'll be getting the root canal next week...so next week might be the worst week ever.  On Thursday I have to make a pleasant visit to the Dr (if you know what i mean) and then I have to get the house ready for family to come for the weekend.  Mostly it's just bad cause the dentist :( On a lighter note Zach was eating "handisnacks" you know the crackers and cheese for lunch (i'm a loser mom I know) and he decided it would be FUN to rub the fake cheese all over his head.  That is just gross.  I wiped it off with a dish cloth and ran kyle to school.  By the time we got back his hair was dry...and really stiff and definitely smelled of fake cheese.  it was cute though :)   

Zoo Boo

We love Halloween.  My kids usually pick out their costumes about 1 month or more in advance...so we are putting them to good use.  We went to Point Defiance's Zoo Boo on Saturday with a good friend of mine, Jessica and her 3 boys.  It was so fun.  Kyle of course wore his darth vader costume.  His friend,Luke, would only refer to him as "darth vader" not kyle.  I got a kick out of it.  Then later during the day Kyle turned to me and said "Mom, call me Darth Vader, if you would, because that's who I'm dressed as today."  SO FUNNY.  Sadie didn't want to wear hear big sleeping beauty dress (I tricked her into thinking it was her idea not to :) ) so she went as a fairy (wings), princess (crown), ballerina (tutu).  And Zach didn't want his costume on, so he's just in the green sweatsuit that goes under it.  It was absolutely beautiful out and we had so much fun!  

I'm all alone

Today I feel sad. Ben was gone on a small trip earlier this week but just left this afternoon to go hunting with his dad and brothers until early Tues. morning. Which is a whole thing itself. Every year they go and every year I worry, usually we go with and hang out with his mom but the airfare was sooo cheap. But I worry about them when they go him, i always try to call, but of course there is no answer because they are in the mountains, and if they did have service he wouldn't hear it over the 4 wheelers engines. Then if they aren't home when they say that they should be I worry, what if my husband is mistaken for a deer by some other hunter, despite covering himself from head to toe in fluorescent orange (yes we did have a fashion show last while he was packing, bright orange is very attractive I'll have you know). Then there is the worry that they actually do get a deer. Which has never happened since I have been in the family...EVER. But what if they do get one, what am I to do with Bambi meat. I don't want to eat that. No matter how lean and good for you it is...gross. So not only do I pray for safety but I pray we'll never shoot a deer...so far it's worked. Last night he told me that when he gets home he has just enough time to pack and then he has to leave (like an hour later) to go on a business trip until Friday night...ok I can deal with that it's only about a week and a half right (because he was gone tues and wed too) but no it doesn't end there. Then he has to leave early Tues morning and won't be home until Friday night, then his parents are coming for a visit early Sat morning (I am excited about that) that is almost 3 weeks all together. I just counted a bit less I guess...14 and nights all by myself to hear weird noises, and plan escape routes in my head :) On the up side I can cook whatever I feel like for dinner and wear whatever I feel like...or don't feel like :) and watch all the chick flicks I want.

I'm the new Popcorn Man

So for the past few months occasionally at Wal-Mart we'll see the "popcorn man" as called by my kids. I love Fresh Kettle Corn so I'm a sucker (if any of you have a good recipe for it please share) anyway you get a discount for buying 2 bags, so I'd by my kids a bag of the colored/flavored popcorn. That stuff just takes me back to a happy place when I was like Kyles age. Sometimes we'd get it from the mall or something. I don't enjoy the taste so much now, but it's just one of those things. My kids have come to LOVE it. So Sadie kept asking and asking for some colorful popcorn yesterday so I decided to make some. Here's the recipe!

IT's soooo easy

10 cups popped popcorn (my hot air popper broke after the first batch and then I used microwaveable...it worked good, but I would recommend using no butter kind)

then in a saucepan mix

1/2 cup butter (it called for a cup, and I used 1/2 that, you could probably even do a bit less)

3/4 cup sugar

1 3 oz package of jello

3 tbsp water

1 tbsp light Karo syrup

Bring to boiling over medium heat stirring constantly. It then says to boil until it's at the "hardball" stage with a candy thermometer....Let's be real I don't have that, so I boiled stirring for almost 4 minutes. Then I poured over popcorn on a cookie sheet. Bake at 300 for 5 min, stir and then another 5 min

When I make Caramel Corn I love it gooey, but for my kids I wanted this to be crunchy. If you want gooey,don't bake it.

I used Lime (green is Kyles Favorite color) and Raspberry (trying for Pink for Sadie)hence the christmas colors :)They really enjoy the popcorn....that's what they wanted for breakfast :) Kyle told me I'm just like the popcorn man....haha!!

Picture 4

So I saw this on my cousin Emily's post and thought it was fun so I did it too.  She opened her 4th picture file and chose picture 4 to write about.  So mine also comes from April 2007!!  Zach was 3 months old, and he is laying in Sadie's bed.  She had a sticker obsession....still does I guess.  At the time she was almost 19 months old.  But that's how the sticker got there!  In the other picture you'll see her by him right before she put the sticker there.  One time I came in and he probably had 20 stickers on his face. then in that file I found these 2 pictures I love from when my dad came to visit us.  The kids loved having him come...I hope he does again soon.... 

The Great Pumpkin

We had a fun Saturday! Kyle has been eying the pumpkins outside of Fred Meyer everytime we go shopping for the past 2 weeks so I decided it's time for a trip to the pumpkin patch. I got everyone ready in their rain gear and off we went. Right when we left it started pouring rain, but if the rain kept us from doing things here...we'd never get to do anything fun. Ben's rule was that the kids had to be able to pick up the pumpkin and put it in the wheel barrel. So Ben's was named The Great Pumpkin (from Charlie Brown) by Kyle. It was huge. Even Zachy picked out his own. It was so much fun. They even had some fresh picked apples that we bought, which I think I'll make another trip for some more. When we got home Zach kept picking his pumpkin up off of the steps to throw it like a ball. I also have a cute picture showing Zach with a balloon. We had a babysitter on Friday night for Phantom of the Opera (which I absolutely LOVED ....even thought I thought Ben was going to pull his hair out :) ) anyway I bribed the kids to be good/go to bed with a trip to the dollar store. How long will they LOVE to go to the dollar store? I hope till they are about 18 :) Zach chose this balloon and loves it. Also We did our annual spiderweb decorating on our bushes. I'm sure our neighbors just love the way it looks. This year Kyle chose green his favorite color. Then the kids decorated it with lots of spider rings. It was a really fun weekend. I love the fall! and I have to add I have actually missed the rain. It's perfect for a "lazy" weekend.

Nonalcoholic Please

Ok the other night I went to Applebee's with a few friends.  We went for the 1/2 price appetizers- but since we went in Bellevue they made us order drinks too (our "regular" Applebee's doesn't enforce this rule) So I decided to not get "the usual" diet coke,  get a little crazy and ask for a Strawberry Limeade.  It was out of their little drinks book.  You know Margaritas, and daiquiris were on the previous pages.  She brought the drinks out and I took a big sip....REALLY GROSS.  I can't remember exactly but I think Ashlee tasted it and said did you ask for Nonalcoholic?  So when the waitress came by  I said "Excuse me, but I didn't even think to order the nonalcoholic version of this drink."  She looked at me and said "It is nonalcoholic limeades always are."  I felt SOO dumb.  I just said Oh it tastes kind of funny and she just said it's probably the strawberry.  What does that mean??? I'm sure she thought I was such an idiot! I told the story to Ben last night and he says he would have died had he been with me.  So Ladies I apologize for the embarrassing situation :)   On top of the grossness of the drink it cost me $4...the amount I saved on the 1/2 price appetizer :) Also I just looked at their website and it says in really big letters "Speciality Non Alcoholic Drinks" with the limeades right under it :) So I learned a few things from this experience- 1.  I will from now on just stick to the Diet Coke and 2.  I am not meant to venture out of the little town that we live in.  

The Phantom of the Oprera is HERE!!!

I am beyond excited.  Tonight Ben is taking me to see Phantom of the Opera in Seattle.  It has been here for a month and it is the final weekend.  He is actually bringing a  client so that we could go for free :)  I can't wait.  I have been dying to go for years.  It came to Salt Lake I think while we lived there, but we were poor college students.  then while we live in San Francisco it came again, but we didn't know anyone to babysit and there weren't any youth in our ward (we just moved in and had a newborn) I've been thinking maybe someday we'll get to Vegas to see it....but tonights the night!!!!

The Burger that Broke My Heart

Since Saturday was so pretty (and everytime it's been nice this month Ben says "It's probably the last nice day until Spring") he wanted to go out.  This was my perfect chance for going to KiDD Valley burger.  I've been twice since we moved up here.  I LOVE it.  Ben doesn't think the food is anything special.  It's in Kirkland right on Lake Washington.  Across the street is a cute park and small beach.  The first time we went was our anniversary last year (we really go all out huh) after dinner we walked across the street for some park time.  Kyle decided to try out his swimming skills in jeans and sneakers, guess who had to fish him out.  It was fun.  So I love this burger place, i think just because of the fun times we've had.  I always ask if ben wants to go and he always says No thanks....until Saturday :)  Yeah we went.  However this time I have officially ended the relationship I have with KIDD.  I ordered, and it was overpriced (I didn't  remember this must have been my rose colored glasses:)) it's cooked to order so that's good, but they messed up our order 3 times (they kept "misreading" the receipt) i don't know how you do that, but the 3rd time Ben made me "let it go" and do without Ben's order of Onion Rings.  After eating my lunch I decided to was time for a DTR with KIDD ...we broke up.  Yes my friends it did break my heart :)  After though we walked across the street to let the kids play for quite awhile.  I was also disenchanted with the park because several people kept saying to me "how old is he??? (Zach)" "Oh he is way too young to be climbing on this" or other things like it.  Listen if he hasn't fallen and broken a body part yet, then it's definitely not worth the fight.  For those of you who have heard Zach scream you know what I mean :)  It was a fun family time but I don't think we'll be making the drive to Kirkland again anytime soon:) 

Roller coaster of emotions

Today had been filled with extreme highs and lows.  We got up, Sadie was such a big girl - dry all night, then went 2 times before going to the dr.  We went to the dr, then stopped by a fun dollar store on the way home.  We were gone for 2 hours and not a single accident!!!  I felt like I conquered the world!!! YEAH for us!  Maybe we'll be able to go to the store later, or the gym tomorrow.  I'm planning all of the fun yet normal things we can do again.  Then she did great until about 1:30.  2 accidents, 1 just wet...ok i'll live.  the next she was in her room, I was helping kyle across the hall in his.  Sadie got up to shut her door, and i thought she's probably going to have an accident so I stopped her from shutting the door, and she said "I want to get that Barbie Car " goes to the toilet, pulls down her pants (I'm almost jumping up and down at this point screaming YEAH WE DID IT) just find a big mess.  I almost cried.  I'm so ready to be done.  The DR this morning at her 3 year check says I can't just be done...EVER....there's no going back now.  I don't think I agree.....now she's in a pullup I've had it!!! 

The Deed

If any of you have tips/advice I am asking for it.  I went upstairs for 3 minutes to get Kyle ready for school and Sadie went under the table and did the big one.  Does this mean I should forget potty training, she's not ready?  Or do these kind of accidents just happen?  Kyle never had an accident, so I don't know..i'm really frustrated

Confinement day 2

Help me!!! It's potty training day 2 here.  It could definitely be worse.  We only totaled 2 accidents yesterday (1 on the stool getting to the right place) so it could be worse.  SHe's actually doing really well- she threw a mega fit when it was time for a pull-up at bedtime (which happened at 7 last night for all kids because really ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH)  that's also a record for me because that's NEVER happened before (that they actually went to bed)  It just hard to keep on her all the time.  And we have yet to earn that Barbie car (if you know what I mean) so we are waiting....in the mean time I am going CRAZY- I haven't been grocery shopping in almost 2 weeks (last week was busy...and I haven't been able to leave obviously) and I get stir crazy - I can't go to aerobics  or the gym for fear of accidents and completely throwing her off and messing up the whole potty training schedule.  My treadmill just isn't calling my name today :)  I also have piles of laundry but i just can't go in the laundry room you know that scene on Home Alone where he goes in the basement and imagines that the furnace is a terrible monster or something?? that is how I see my washing machine every time I walk past the room....AHHHHH 

I thought this video of Sadie pushing Zach in his "moon"car was too funny not to post

Sadie's Birthday

Well yesterday Sadie turned 3!!! Hooray!!  It was such a fun day.  I asked her what she would like to do for her birthday and she said "Go eat nuggets" so to McDonalds we went.  We stayed extra long at a play place we hadn't been to before (thank you Tami for the "treehouse" recommendation) :) Later that evening Sadie opened gifts, and went out and rode her new trike.  We had cake and then Sadie even went to the bathroom like a big girl (today is potty training day)but I've been prepping her all weekend. 

 I have to say though it added to the greatness of the day for me because one of my favorite shows Heroes started again last night....and there were 2 new intense episodes. It was way too good.  So unfortunately my summer evenings of being productive, cleaning the house, doing laundry, reading books, and working out (i hope to continue- I did last night) is OVER.  I love fall tv shows...is that wrong?!!  :)