The Wee Rudes

Winter is Here

2012-02-11T22:30:00.001-06:00

Much to my disappointment, winter decided to arrive in Iowa on February 4th. It came quickly and harshly and after a week of it I'm ready for spring. Well, let's be honest, I was ready for spring back in October!

My children however have maintained an optimistic outlook on the cold and thoroughly embraced the SNOW.

My desire for my children's happiness overcame my dislike for dressing children to play in the snow and I persevered through and got them all dressed and ready for the great outdoors.

I have put off buying snow pants for my Quinn. I kept hoping that we would never have a need for them. I was wrong. Quinn joyfully wore some thick sweatpants over his jeans. It didn't seem to phase him or slow him down at all. Whatever works...We are not setting any fashion statements for the most stylish children while playing in the snow. But everything was covered and warm!It snowed all day last Saturday and finally stopped in the evening so before dinner we ventured outside to test it out. Much to my liking it was a fairly mild evening. I bundled up Titan in a jacket, hat and blankets. Even he seemed to be happier just getting some fresh air.

I think that there is an unwritten kid rule that says when there is a fresh layer of snow on the ground you MUST jump into it and land on your tummy. That was all my children wanted to do. Run, and belly flop, run, and belly flop. Quite entertaining to watch!They spent a significant amount of time laying in the snow. I thought these next two pictures were a good display of how difficult it is for a two year old to move all dressed in snow clothes. It was funny to watch them try and stand up.Pure joy was on their faces.I love my outdoor loving wee ones. What a goof ball. I would have been freezing if I laid in the snow even once but they would have played all night if I didn't drag them in for dinner.In case you were wondering what we were doing early in the week before the snow came these pictures should help you see how incredible our February started. I realize that it's not normal to have no snow on the ground during the beginning of February but we definitely made the most of it.My lovelyMy Happy Ty My ALMOST 4 year old showing off his penmanship. Pretty amazing. What a difference a week makes.

Water Beads

2012-02-08T14:06:00.000-06:00

Winter poses a challenge.

The challenge:
Keeping my 4 wee ones entertained, happy, engaged, learning, loving and excited about being home since we can't, nor do I want to, leave the house every day or go spend lots of money for their entertainment.

I am constantly having to come up with fun things to do. Things that occupy significant amounts of time, things that challenge their thinking, encourage their learning, engage their sense and keep them happy!

When the weather is nice it seems like being outdoors takes much of the challenge away. Just being outside is enough to occupy my children for hours.

So because of these desires I have found myself racking my brain and searching the internet for fun inexpensive ideas to do with my kids. We have filled opaque balloons with different objects, bells, marbles, rice, flour, water, beads, danced around with them and guessed what was hiding inside based on the sounds, we have delighted in our CLOUD DOUGH which we play with all the time, we have played "hide the timer" forcing them to use their ears to find the timer (I just pulled a timer from a board game), we have gotten creative with our coloring and painting, and the other day we experienced

WATER BEADS!
They were so soothing, very fun, good for working on colors and entertaining.

This is how they start out. Very tiny.Exploring the small little beads in the water. You let these little beads soak for about six hours in order for them to get to their full size.And Voila...Beautifully soothing, entertaining, fun for everyone. We filled cups, we filled bowls, we sorted colors, we buried animals, we had such a fun hour playing with our water beads. We have played with them a few other times this week and then I dumped them out today. They are not nearly as cool or entertaining as cloud dough but a very fun activity to try. I might have to get creative and come up with some other ways to use them. Any suggestions?They have been a fun experience and yet another fun indoor activity. I love seeing my kids faces as they experience and learn new things. I delight in my children and they delighted in water beads!

Moms' Overnight!

2012-02-06T16:08:00.000-06:00

A few months ago some of my girlfriends and I were talking about how we needed a girls night out. A time where we could get together and talk and talk and talk and laugh and laugh and laugh just us moms. It was even suggested to do an overnight so that we could stay up late and sleep in.

So, my little mind went to work trying to make this dream of a girls overnight into a reality.

Well, Friday night was the night and it did not disappoint. 37 Beautiful women went to dinner together downtown. These are 37 women, some of them I have known since high school, some since college, some I'm related to, some I'm just getting to know but regardless I love to share life with them. I love being in similar circumstances with them, I love each of their hearts for the Lord, I love getting to figure out motherhood with them. Between the 37 of us there are over 60 kids and 11 more on the way... WOW! So our +60 kids enjoyed a night away from their mommas and we moms made the most of our night away from our kids.Dinner was fabulous. Three long tables in a private room provided for lots of chatting. Then it was off to the hotel for hot tubing and games. 30 of the 37 moms spent the night downtown at the Embassy Suites and many of those who didn't actually spend the night came for the festivities. At one point there were 28 of us sitting down at the hot tub or the pool. At 11 pm (way past most of our bedtimes) we started games, brought out snacks and sounded like a group of high school girls talking, talking, talking. My room was up past one, and a few of the girls were awake past 3am. Party animals.

I thought this was a fun picture. The whole pool wall lined with girls talking. There were even some intense water aerobics going on (Allie Crummy, Ashley Garrison, Jenny Schreiner).It was a wonderfully encouraging evening. It is always so great to talk through life and motherhood with women who are trying hard to be women after the Lord's heart. It is fun getting a chance to eat a hot meal ( I didn't have to cut anyone's food up first or make sure 4 mouths were fed before my own). It was fun playing games and staying up late. I did however feel like a zombie on Saturday but it was totally worth it for a fabulous evening. We woke up a 8am, AMAZING! And enjoyed a fabulous breakfast, custom made omelets and a full breakfast bar, again hot food!

Now you might be wondering how Dan did with my 4 fabulous children. Let me start by saying that DAN IS AMAZING. He never once said anything about the fact that Titan has never taken a bottle, he was so excited for me the whole time. I offered to come home and feed Titan. He quickly responded that it was not necessary and he would be just fine. Titan did not take a bottle but enjoyed an evening of teething cookies, and yogurt (what baby wouldn't love that), he slept 10.5 hours and woke up to more yogurt and cookies. I think he liked having Daddy in charge.

I was approached by or received a message from about 20 of the women asking when we could do that again or saying that it must be an annual event. Looking forward to moms' overnight February 2013 but I am thinking that maybe we will have to do another moms event in the fall.

I am so thankful that it was such an encouraging time.

6...

2012-02-02T16:00:00.007-06:00

6 What?

6 MONTHS.

HALF A YEAR.

As I'm typing these words I'm not actually believing them. My sweet little baby boy is growing up. He looks even more grown up sitting in the wagon with his little jacket on. If you're not totally in love with my littlest man by just looking at these pictures then you must come spend a day with him. He is just the sweetest baby ever!

I LOVE when he wakes up and I go into his room and a HUGE smile sweeps across his face. I LOVE when we walk down the stairs and he hears the three musketeers chattering away and a HUGE smile sweeps across his face. He LOVES them. He loves people, he loves to smile. I love him.Oh my goodness, he makes my heart so happy.I am excited to announce that he now has two little teeth poking through on the bottom. He has been slightly fussier this week and CRAZY hungry. I'm attributing the fussiness to the teeth and the hunger to growing bigger and stronger. My older kids didn't get their first tooth until 11 or 12 months so 6 months is early for me! I'm excited for him.He continues to be tremendous at going with the flow of our crazy life. He can sleep in his carseat well, he can eat anywhere, he likes other kids, he does great when anyone and everyone get up in his face, he fits right in with our family. I just love how my kids know exactly what to do when Titan cries, they know his favorite toys, they know his favorite noises, they are so great with him.Myla enjoys taking care of Titan. She really loved pulling him around in the wagon. What a great big sister.She pulled him all the way down our street and back today. Strong girl. I will leave you with this picture. I took this on my phone the other night while taking a bath. LOVEHappy 6 Months Titan. I wouldn't change a thing about him!
He's my perfect little guy!

One Year Ago

2012-01-26T21:50:00.000-06:00

One year ago today this was my view....The diagnosis was uncertain, the outcome was unclear, they didn't even know what they were dealing with.

Today this is my view...And today, I know what I'm dealing with... A delightfully crazy, silly, stubborn boy who my heart delights in. His new favorite phrase is, "I'm just joking!" which he uses correctly many times throughout the day and always has a silly look on his face when he says it.There is nothing more difficult than having a sick and hurting child and not being able to do anything about it. On the contrary, there is nothing more beautiful and more wonderful than a healthy, happy child. I cannot even begin to imagine the difficulty of having a child who is sick for a long period of time. The heart ache that must go along with that is unfathomable to me. The events of those few weeks surrounding Rex' sickness replay in my mind regularly and are such a good reminder to me to be thankful for all the Lord has given me.

Thankful for healthy children, thankful for the hugs, thankful for the kisses, thankful for the daily interactions that make my life so wonderful. My children are something that I never want to take forgranted and their health is something that I want to continually be thankful for. Each child is a gift from God. He has entrusted Dan and I with four beautiful children. Four beautiful children, each one created in His image and each one strategically place in our life. I love how each of their personalities are so beautifully different and each one fits perfectly into our family. Today the Lord has blessed me with four healthy children and for that I am truly thankful!

Happy Birthday Danny

2012-01-25T20:35:00.000-06:00

Happy 28th Birthday Danny!
I am in awe daily of the man that I married. I am so blessed to stand next to such an amazing husband, father and friend. His love for the Lord and people is so contagious. I have never been around someone who sacrificially loves everyone around them and that is what he does daily. I am a better person just being around Dan.

I decided that since you are regularly updated with pictures of what is currently going on in our house that I would go a little old school on you and put pictures of Dan growing up. Most of them are when he was really little but I thought they were too cute not to share.
I love the look on his face here.When I showed this to Quinn today he told me it was Myla...Every boy needs a raccoon tail hat!And every boy needs a picture in football pads! Oh DannyThe proof that I needed that 4 big kids can fit in one bath together.
Dan and his brothers. Dan, Steve, Jason, DaveHe was quite the baseball player and I just wanted to show you all the stud that I married :)One of our first pictures together. What do you think should I chop my hair off?We celebrated Dan's birthday yesterday on his day off. It was the perfect day. We played at home all morning (we had to show Daddy the cloud dough). Dan went for a run when they napped and then we went out to dinner all 6 of us for mexican, Dan's favorite. Back home for presents and what was supposed to be cupcakes but we all ate too much dinner so we just sang without the cupcakes!

I was very proud of myself over Dan's presents. He had mentioned wanting a new backpack in passing so I excitedly called up one of his friends and he and I picked out the perfect backpack. I however made the mistake of showing a picture of it online to my oldest, who was tremendous at keeping Christmas presents a secret. But after showing it to Quinn the next time he saw Dan the first thing he asked him was if he liked his new backpack.... ohhh well. He then proceeded to tell Rex and Myla about the backpack and they thought that whispering what was inside the wrapped present meant that they had kept it a secret.

Moral of the story... don't tell your three year old what you got someone unless you make it very clear that it is a surprise.

Still I was excited for his to get to open it and even more excited that he LOVED IT! Thanks Zachariah for your help!

Dan with our three big kids. Titan decided to take a nap during present opening.
I love this picture.The excitement on their faces was wonderful.Dan got an amazing GRILLINI from my parents Sandwich maker, panini maker, griddle, grill all in one. Absolutely perfect gift for our house!And I will leave you with this (Dan on the left, Jason on the right).
Basketball shorts and his shirt off.... It must be genetic!Happy Birthday Danny!
I adore you.

Magnificent Monday

2012-01-23T16:00:00.000-06:00

Monday.
I don't mind Mondays. It is sandwiched between my two favorite days of the week. Sunday afternoons and evenings when we are usually in our sweatpants playing around the house with Daddy and Tuesdays when Daddy is off ALL DAY LONG!

So despite not seeing Dan at all on Mondays it is usually a great day. This Monday however has already surpassed great and shot right up to MAGNIFICENT!

Before I go on I must tell you that my children do wear clothing but when you start the day off with finger painting it seems just plain wrong to put on clothes just so that you can take them off a few minutes later after they get covered with paint. So once again my children are without clothing....
If you know me at all, you know that I like a clean house but if the mess can be contained and is fairly easy to clean up, I'm all for having a fabulous time.I think that the bottle of finger paints should say, "finger painting for ages 5 and up, 5 and under it is called Hand painting."It turned into more of a big mess of colors. Oh and in case you are wondering why the twins are in underwear, well, I am trying it. They are doing well, not quite there yet, I'll fill you in more later. Rex thought it was down right fabulous.After about 15 minutes or so they found drawing pictures on the rubbermaid top more interesting. After cleaning their hands off the real fun began...
8 cups of flour + 1 cup of baby oil = CLOUD DOUGH = AMAZING = HOURS OF ENTERTAINMENT = BEST INDOOR ACTIVITY = BETTER THAN A SANDBOX = TOTALLY AWESOMEI ended up doubling both the flour and baby oil after discovering how awesome this was. It feels soft like flour but is mold-able and will hold its shape like wet sand. They spent two hours playing with cloud dough and the only reason they stopped was because it was 1 pm and we had not eaten lunch yet (and we had not had a snack). I fed Titan lunch while sitting on the kitchen floor with them and it wasn't until I asked them what they wanted that they realized they were starving. They were so into this stuff. This was the only picture that I could get of one of them looking at me while playing with this. They were enthralled by it. You could say there were on cloud nine :) So, they spent the morning (and into the afternoon) making castles, pizza, cookies, cupcakes for Daddy's birthday, Quinn made me a wedding cake, Myla made one for Nana and Papa, they made soup for their friends and all in all had a blast!Almost two hours later and the only thing that has changed is Rex and Quinn's positions...And there is a little less flour in the container and a little more flour on them. I would totally and completely recommend this to ANY mom. It was such a blast. It cleaned up a lot quicker than I thought it would especially because I had a table cloth underneath the container, I just shook it off outside, and wiped the rest off the floor, rinsed them off standing in the kitchen sink and sat them down for lunch. Plus, according to the blog I found it on, it doesn't dry up so I cleaned the paint off the cover of the rubbermaid and put it away for another day (probably for tomorrow!!!).

I love my kids. I love the excitement that new things bring to them. I love watching their creative minds at work. I love making them happy and I love Magnificent Mondays!

Myla's Hair

2012-01-23T07:20:00.007-06:00

I have been waiting for this post since the day I found out I was having a girl. My shears have been ready for over two years and I have been patiently waiting for the opportunity to cut my little girl's hair. I have always loved doing hair, cutting hair, playing with hair so when my daughter came out with NO hair (and Rex with a lot of hair) I was forced to suppress my itching need to cut and style a little girls hair for a LONG time. Now the cosmetologist in me knows that sometimes to achieve a hairstyle that you desire you must be willing to take steps back in order to make it look cute along the way. So although I eventually want her to have some long beautiful locks I thought it necessary to cut off all that baby frizz.

Look at this craziness!The other day I asked her if she wanted me to cut her hair, she excitedly responded, "Yes!" Although I'm pretty sure that it was because she knows that you get a sucker when you get your hair cut. She sat perfectly still and I cut a good inch and a half off her whole head. This was not all of it just a little sample. And look at the cute results. She is just precious! It looks thicker and curlier and less like a "flock of seagulls" as a friend jokingly described it! These days our sweet little girl LOVES to get dressed up. And well, I LOVE to dress her up. She insists on a skirt or dress and something pink almost every day. I would describe this as more of a long shirt with leggings, but I was still able to convince her that it twirled. Even though we don't wet her hair every day to make it curly, it still looks way better and so much thicker from cutting a little off. Myla continues to steal her daddy's heart. Her sweet, sassy personality combined with his playful attitude makes for a really fun relationship that is so heart warming to watch. She thinks he is amazing. On the topic of hair, there were many who questioned whether or not Quinn's curls would come back after our lice incident. For those who doubted I hope this puts your mind at ease. He has curls like crazy. It is clear why the lice liked his head it is SO THICK!! I'm thinking that he is in need of a little trim as well. And here is my one child who has yet to have his haircut. Will it be Quinn hair, Rex hair, or his own little style? I'm excited to get my hands on it someday!I was completely in my element cutting Myla's hair. Ohhhhh think of all the fun we will have someday, the colors it will be, the styles we can do. For today I will just be excited that it was finally long enough to cut. Loving my little girl!

Basketball Shorts

2012-01-18T16:00:00.000-06:00

If any of you have spent any significant time with my husband you will know that he has an extreme love for basketball shorts. I honestly don't know if all boys do because I grew up in a house with three girls but I do know that my husband LOVES basketball shorts. Usually if he is going to be home for any significant period of time he puts on basketball shorts. They are more comfortable, easier to play in, move in, wrestle in.

Well, his love of basketball shorts has fallen on the hearts of my two big boys who would wear basketball shorts day and night if I would agree to it. They are constantly asking to wear their, "basketball shorts please." Then usually following the basketball shorts going on, their shirts come off. You see, we do an awful lot of running, jumping, flipping, dancing, wiggling, and shaking here at the Rude house and when you're running, jumping, flipping, dancing, wiggling, and shaking you get very hot and when my kids get hot their shirts must come off.

This has become the usual at my house that I don't really think twice about it. The other day however, some friends were over and after being at our house a few minutes their kids asked to take their shirts off and run around. I asked their mom if they do that at home, her response was nope, only at the Rude house. Hmmmmmmm..... I'm not sure if that is a fun thing or a bad thing. We will have to get this thing figured out.

But even with shirts on, they LOVE basketball shorts. I'm not sure that I will ever get them to wear anything else this summer. They are so versatile for summer and can easily double as a swimming suit if the hose happens to turn on (it just happened to turn on most days last summer).

My kids lay on the floor and drink their milk before nap time. Sorry for the no smiles, they were exhausted but modeling their shorts.Myla is always encouraged by her brothers to join in the basketball short action and since she refuses to be left out of anything she willingly joins in the fad. But of course she adds her own feminine touch, a tutu over the top. Let me show you this fashion statement a little closer...What do you think? Is a tutu and basketball shorts going to catch on?They always wear the same ones too. Rex in navy, Myla in blue (they fall down if she runs!) and Quinn in Red.Here they are modeling their basketball shorts once again, and of course Myla is in pink! On this particular night they are playing one of Dan's made up, fun games. I have mentioned before how incredibly fun Dan is and on this particular night he did not disappoint. We have been working on colors with the twins. One day I think they have them and the next it's as though I'm asking them a multiplication question. Quinn had his colors before he was two so I'm learning how to be patient and try different learning methods with the twins. Anyway, Dan made up a fun color game which included, running laps (of course), lots of yelling color names, kissing mommy, covering one eye, oh I should have recorded it. It was very entertaining. So, basketball shorts are the fashion trend at my house these days. I don't see them going out of style anytime in the near future. I'm sure my boys will be thrilled to see Titan in a pair this summer. Oh the the joys of a house filled with boys. I'm thinking that we are going to have to get many more pairs!

Bath Art

2012-01-12T23:30:00.001-06:00

Tonight's bath was a BLAST!

My children LOVE the bath. Even Titan seems to understand what is going on when we start the bathtub. He starts kicking his legs like crazy. The bath is a sanctuary in our house. It means that everyone is in one place, usually happy, getting clean and enjoying each other. We tend to save our bath nights for the nights that Daddy is gone. It is something fun to do and takes up usually an hour! I love it, they love it, everyone wins.

My children love to play with shaving cream in the tub. They have been painting their toys with shaving cream lately so tonight I grabbed the paint brushes and the food coloring. The result was pure genius....The colors were a lot bolder in person.This intense concentration lasted a long time. They painted everything and so carefully and so quietly. It was such a fun activity. I had fun mixing the colors for them and it was fun to watch their faces as a little drop turned a whole cup of shaving cream a bright color.As I was mixing up the first cup of "paint" I got a little nervous. I got a little dot of food coloring on my fingers and it quickly stained. At that point I was in too deep to turn back but I keep expecting them to start turning colors. They didn't turn into rainbows but my fingers are still dyed. So, I'm running into a bathtub dilemma.

My 4 kids will not fit in the bathtub. Titan is outgrowing his little tub. I usually just place it outside of the big tub with towels underneath it to catch the water splashing out. My problem is that T is not quite ready to roll with the big kids, nor is there room for him in the already crowded tub, and I LOVE having them all bathe together. Like I said earlier, it is such a wonderful hour in the evenings so WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WHEN TITAN OUT GROWS HIS LITTLE TUB????

I realize that at some point Myla will need to stop bathing with the boys and Quinn could start taking a shower but I don't want to give up bath time.
Isn't this cool? So much fun. There was one downfall with food coloring in the bath, look at the water...
I'm not exactly sure if they got clean but they had a blast. Totally recommend this! We will for sure do this again, fun is way more important that getting clean! I'm one blessed momma!

Happy Tongue

2012-01-10T22:00:00.000-06:00

"Happy Tongue" is what we say when Titan likes something that he is eating. His tongue, like any five month old, goes crazy with new delicious foods. My big kids laugh and then whenever they like something that I have made them Quinn will say that they have, "Happy tongues."

Today at lunch there were happy tongues all around. We are working on food with Titan. By looking at how much food is on his bib and body you would guess that I'm an amateur at feeding babies. You would think that being my 4th baby that I have fed baby food to that I would be a pro. That however is not the case and on most days I strip him down or just have him in his onesie and attempt to get something to stay in his mouth. I do however hang on to the hope that someday, not wishing time would go any faster than it already does, I will be able to keep most of the food that I feed him in his mouth.

Regardless of the mess, he seems to enjoy it. He tried sweet potatoes today. I think that orange might be his color.So, I'm not going to apologize anymore for the massive amounts of pictures that I put on every post. I love my kids and my camera captures so many sweet moments. Any mom or mom to be, GET A GOOD, FAST TAKING CAMERA. You won't regret capturing all those precious moments and faces. I take around 600 pictures a month, but only save around 300 on my computer each month. Oh, how I love the little moments.I will say that with each child I feel like I have learn what foods to start them with and that I need to keep trying each food and different healthy, delicious ideas to try with little ones. Oh he melts my heart.Mess maker.My big kids enjoyed a turkey and pepperjack panini. We Rude's are quite fond of hot sandwiches. A simple sandwich often times tastes so much better hot. Plus when you "smash" the sandwich and make it into a panini as Dan would say, it is desired by all in our house!I have no idea what to do with this pretty girl's hair! If we are going to church or have a big, busy day, I will wet it and it curls right up. But probably half the days I just let it go...And this is what you get. Oh my lanta. She is crazy!Loving their panini sandwiches.And Titan ended with a baby cookie. Oh he is sweet.I love happy tongues, orange noses and my sweet babies.

Call me Betty

2012-01-07T16:00:00.002-06:00

FOR THIS WEEK ONLY you can call me Betty Crocker. I do not want this name carrying over to next week due to the large amounts of pressure that it puts on my cooking skills (or lack there of).

I had a fabulous week in the kitchen! I tried tw0 new recipes, one delicious previously made recipe and a smoothie that I think has potential. I must say that each one AMAZING!

I started the successful week with my mom's lasagna (recipe below). We were having friends over for dinner and the last time we invited them for dinner I made an awful lasagna so I felt the need to redeem myself! And if I do say so myself, I DID! If anyone could screw up my momma's fabulous lasagna it would be me. I took a chance and even made an extra to freeze for future dinners. It did not disappoint and it boosted my confidence in the kitchen for the rest of the week!

Wednesday night came and I took another chance on a new recipe. I discovered it on one of my favorite blogs that I follow Iowa Girl Eats. She put a link to this recipe. Taco Salad Dippers. Well, one thing that is a guarantee that my children will eat is tacos so I decided to spin it a little and make taco salad dippers. Dan refers to it as taco chili. The BEST part about this recipe is that my children loved it! Let me repeat that, MY CHILDREN LOVED IT! It is delicious, healthy, simple. We didn't even bring out the chips and they just ate it with a spoon like chili. I'm not kidding it was so great. I used lean ground turkey and brown rice..... ohh my mouth is watering just thinking of it!

Taco Salad Dippers Recipe is HERE Let me warn you, it makes a lot! It is GREAT leftover, and that is saying something because I usually do not like leftovers. I even put a whole tupperware in the freezer (recommended on the site). I'm sensing a trend... my freezer is stocked with delicious food. Now I just need to cross a deep freeze off my want list and I can stock up even more fabulous meals!

I finished off my week with Chicken Lettuce Wraps. I have made these before and was so happy with them. My memory did not disappoint. They were once again amazing. Dan licked the pan clean!

And right now I am sipping a Green Monster Spinach Smoothie from once again, Iowa Girl Eats. I think with a little tweaking my kids would really enjoy it. It could be a great way to get some vegetables into my fruit loving children. It calls for 4 cups of spinach. I'm not sure if the bright green color would excite them or scare them off. I'm willing to try anything to get some veggies into them. I'll keep you posted if they fall for it. I might have to make it without them looking!

And since I didn't take any pictures of us indulging in these fabulous foods, you are forced to look at many many pictures of the worlds sweetest baby munching on the worlds sweetest toes...Now I should add computers to the list of things that I am not good at. This picture is flipped in my photo folder but when I upload it to the blog it flips back.... hmmmmm. If only my dad lived close by!Really getting that whole foot in his mouth!I love the many faces!Titan, like the rest of the Wee Rudes is happiest with the least amount of clothing on as possible. So often times when changing him I will leave his legs free and his toes available for munching on for a little while. The result is smiles all around. I call them "free spirits." It must be in their blood!

Momma's Lasagna
1 1/2 # sausage and or beef (I uses a mixture)

1 clove garlic minced

1 Tbsp minced parsley

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp basil
1 Tbsp oregano

3 (6oz) cans tomato paste

28 oz can tomatoes (I use petite diced)

3 C cottage cheese or 32 oz ricotta cheese
2 eggs
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp minced parsley
1/2 C Parmesan cheese (grated, not shredded)

1 lb or sliced or shredded mozzarella cheese

1 package of lasagna noodles

Brown meat; remove fat. Add next 7 ingredients; simmer 1 hour., stirring occasionally. The sauce is very thick.

combine next 6 ingredients ( not noodles or mozzarella cheese). Spoon about 1/2 C of meat mixture on bottom of pan; cover with noodles. Spread 1/3 of the cheese mixture, 1/3 of the Mozzarella cheese and 1/3 of meat mixture over noodles. Repeat 3 times. Sprinkle with oregano. Pour about 1/2 cup of water into the corners of the pan to insure enough moisture to cook the noodles. Cover and refrigerate or bake immediately at 375*. If cooking right away, only takes about 40 minutes. If from a cold state, more than one hour. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

So pleased with the many sweet successes of my week. I really get excited when I make something that every enjoys and it is good and good for you. Dan leaves tomorrow for a week in Florida for a speaking conference so yogurt, eggs and fruit will be on the menu. I don't want anyone getting used to this delicious eating! Thankful for these great recipes and so thankful for the mouths that they feed!

January???

2012-01-05T16:02:00.006-06:00

After running to Sam's Club this morning we enjoyed a typical January 60 degree day.... Ummmm wait a second, I don't think in my 26 years of living have I ever experienced a 60 degree January day.

It was PERFECT! I think that every day in January should be 60 degrees and sunny. In the sun I actually felt warm.

It was exactly what we needed. My kids enjoyed running around outside in their boots and sweatshirts. Quinn asked several times to get our pool out and, "you could bring some warm water from inside and put it in the pool." I'm pretty sure that had I agreed, they would have excitedly ripped off their clothes and jumped in the pool. I did however say no, so we settled for bikes, scooters, playing catch and bubbles. Rex did try and convince me to blow up the ducky pool toy...Titan LOVED being outside. Aunt Julia joined us for some play time! She just graduated in December so is in the interviewing process for jobs right now. We love the extra Auntie time! I would for sure take more days like this throughout the winter. My kids loved every minute of being able to play with their outdoor toys. The fresh air is good for everyone! Tomorrows forecast, only 50s. I suppose I'll take 50s in January too! Thankful for today!

Quiet....

2012-01-03T10:00:00.000-06:00

In most cases quiet around our house is a sweet thing.
There is one exception.....
When Myla is awake and quiet it for sure means that she is up to NO GOOD!
Myla is our little social butterfly, constantly talking, directing, singing, shrieking, etc. BUT if she suddenly gets quiet and is not in your sight you better find her as soon as possible!
She LOVES lipgloss, chapstick, lotion, hand sanitizer, pens, anything in my purse basically. The other day I found her literally bathing herself in hand sanitizer in the middle of the kitchen, I had left my purse on the floor after our morning out. When I asked her what she was doing she responded, "washing my body".... Obviously! She is very quick to put things back once I ask her to but she just loves to be mischievous.
Well last night she took things to a whole different level.
I had been up late talking to my sister-in- law and roommate Julia (great time, totally worth staying up late) so when I went to bed around midnight I was exhausted. Dan got home a little later and went to bed. He said that Myla woke up the first time at 12:30. It is not unusual for Myla to wake up crying every couple of nights. Well apparently she woke up several times. I however must have been in deep sleep! Then at 3 am Dan said that he heard something. He got up and she was in our bathroom. I always leave the shower light on for Dan when he is out late and he had forgotten to turn it off. So Myla walked into a fairly lit bathroom and began playing with all my makeup and lipgloss. She seems to think that the perfect time to get dolled up is at 3am so she seized the opportunity. I toke her to bed after that and I didn't sleep very soundly the rest of the night, just listening for her little feet.

Like I've said before, she keeps us on our toes.
I wouldn't change a thing about her though. She's my girl!

5 Months

2012-01-02T06:32:00.001-06:00

5 Months and SITTING!!!!!!

I have never had a strong baby before. I find myself looking back through the blog to see when my other kids rolled over, sat, etc. But Holy Smokes.... Titan keeps blowing my mind with his physical abilities. It seems like he came out of the womb ready to be a Rude and keep up with his siblings

I LOVE the sitting stage. It's that fabulous place between little baby who is unhappy when you put them down and toddler who just wants to move around. All my children seem happier and more content once they learn to sit. All of the sudden they become a little less dependent on you to make sure they can see what's going on and they can join in the fun a little more.

Now when I say that he is sitting I don't mean that I could put him on a cement driveway and walk away. I can however sit him on our carpet with some toys and pillows around, just in case, and walk away.
He continues to be my beautiful calm in my beautifully chaotic house. He still adores his momma, and the adoration is mutual. He loves to hold onto my hair. It kind of funny, when I pick him up he almost always grabs a handful of my hair and hangs on tight the whole time that I'm holding him.And this is why there are pillows around.... going down.A little help please!Back up and playing.Today while cleaning up from lunch I brought Titan into the kitchen with me, I had to set him down for a minute. I probably should not have left him in such a vulnerable position because when I turned around this is what I saw. He was not phased one bit by the fact that his much bigger brother was laying on top of him. Since no harm was being done I thought it necessary to snap a quick picture. I have a feeling that as soon as he is able to move Titan will begin joining in the wrestling. He lights up when he hears his siblings voices and loves when they get up in his face. I always laugh to myself when I think about how relaxed I am with Titan. If a friends kid got all up in Quinton's face the way that my kids get all up in Titan's face I would have freaked out and I think that Quinn would have freaked out. Titan on the other hand has never known life without someone in his face. So when Rex kindly lays his body on top of his it is just normal life for him. Basically he is a tough guy already!As always time is flying by way too fast. Our littlest stud is irreplaceable in our family and the perfect 4th child. I always love learning more about his personality as he grows and changes. We are still totally smitten with Titan.

IBC

2011-12-31T14:42:00.005-06:00

Today marked the end of an era.
Our favorite bagel shop of 8 years closed. I have been going there since my sophomore year at Drake. My Junior year, and what would have been my senior year, I lived a block away with six other girls who loved Iowa Bakery as well. And when Dan and I got married we moved less than a block away. Needless to say it was our favorite breakfast spot. I went there for a bagel at 6am the morning of our wedding to just be before the days chaos began.

My children have grown to love it as well. We used to put Quinn in the stroller and walk down the street. We would go and eat bagels and talk. We met some friends there. We were pregnant at the same time and after seeing each other regularly we became friends. After moving a couple of miles away our kids would scream, "BAGELS" as we pulled into the parking lot. They loved getting bagels with daddy.
So we enjoyed our last family breakfast at Iowa Bakery Cafe today. Quinn kept reminding us that it was the last time that we were going to have bagels there. Poor Titan will never get to experience the delicious bagels with honey cinnamon cream cheese on them. It was funny seeing all the people come in this morning ordering huge boxes of bagels and treats. I think many people will miss the bagels.

So thank you Iowa Bakery for the hundreds of wonderful conversations and some of my favorite family breakfasts.

Christmas Day

2011-12-30T15:00:00.000-06:00

Christmas day was so much fun!

Dan spoke at the Christmas Eve service so Christmas day was pajamas, presents, coffee, food and family time! I LOVED every minute of it! It was the perfect family day. We got to be in our pajamas until 4:30 when we went to the Rude's house to celebrate some more.

My children are now skilled present openers and although they were showered with gifts by both our families we decided since we would be home on Christmas it would be really fun to have some things for them to open. We have not been home on Christmas since we have been married so it was fun to come up with some of our own traditions.

My happy wee ones in front of our tree.
We had much success on craigslist with some of their presents. My kids love the movie CARS and CARS cars are a favorite toy around here. We found a whole bunch of them unopened on Craigslist for so cheap! So I excitedly wrapped each one and they excitedly opened each one. It was funny because there were all these little presents that were exactly the same size and they still didn't know what was in each one. I love kids! Titan just loves being around his siblings and they still adore him!Do you think they look alike?My attempt at a picture with all of them!Rex was nominated to open the first gift. I love Myla's face in this picture. My kids did a really good job of being excited for each other and taking turns with all their new toys.Myla needed a headband on to open gifts...We took our time opening gifts. After each gift we would open it, put it together (if needed) and enjoy it before opening another. I love opening gifts that way. This was after they each opened their first present. We probably could have stopped then. They were so pumped about their new car. The boys shared a big present. A really awesome pirate ship to go with their Imaginext toys. We love this! Dan was probably just as excited about it as they were.Myla insisted that baby Hailey open a gift so then Quinn thought the Hippo should help too. This also played a role in our leisurely morning. This was probably my favorite gift. Growing up I had a few American Girl Dolls and I had a lot of their clothes, a table, and beds. I am anxiously awaiting the day when I can give Myla' her first doll. I absolutely loved my dolls growing up and took great care of them so they are all ready for Myla. I was told (and I suppose I agree, I'm just really excited) that she was too young for a doll but I did bring one of their beds home for her to use for her babies. So baby Hailey and baby Molly, as well as my boys dogs now have a place of their own to sleep.

Oh it is just so cute!We enjoyed cinnamon rolls for breakfast, and our family favorite, hot sandwiches for lunch. But the best part was just being together, playing with their new toys and enjoying the excitement on their faces. After some earlier naps we were off to the Rude's house for more fun and festivities. Nine out of ten children were there with their spouses and 11/13 of the grandchildren were there. I think it goes without saying but it was quite the party. We enjoyed Chili for dinner and good conversations. Despite all living the the Des Moines area it is hard to make everyone's schedules work together so Christmas day was the perfect time to celebrate. We are so thankful for the large and growing Rude family. My big kids with their cousin Hudson. It was just a wonderful day. Loved all the memories made.
I am so blessed.

Arkansas Christmas

2011-12-27T22:00:00.000-06:00

Our week in Arkansas was a blast!
It is one of those trips where you feel like you just unpacked and then you're packing up again. It flew by! We enjoyed all of our undivided Nana and Papa time with our usual activities. It is fun having so much to do at my parents house, we rarely have to leave. I love having so many things to do within walking distance.

We helped Nana bake cookies. Amazingly they each only ate the one Hersey's Kiss they were given to eat and then they unwrapped the rest. Aunt Dana made Rex and Myla super cute aprons. Unfortunately they had not unwrapped them yet otherwise they could have looked even cuter. Titan LOVED his first trip to Arkansas. Although he seemed to eat a lot more and sleep a lot less he sure basked in the extra attention and love he received. We did go on one adventure in the car to go to the light exhibit at the garden center that my parents belong to. It was well worth the twisty drive. I tend to get carsick very easily so Arkansas roads are not a friend of mine. My children were in awe of all the beautiful lights and the weather was perfect for walking around outside. Our family of 6Papa, Nana and the big kidsI hope I look like my momma when I'm a Nana. Isn't she lovely?Attempting to get a picture of the whole gang but there was a train going around behind them. Wednesday we excitedly welcomed Aunt Dana, Aunt Kelly, Uncle Ry and my Aunt Mary Ann to join in the festivities.

Check out this good looking family!
Dan, Rex, Titan, Me, my mom, Myla, Quinn, my sister Kelly, my Aunt Mary Ann, my brother in law Ryan, my sister Dana and my dad

My mom and her girls.
Kelly, Mom, Dana, MeMy family. How wonderful they are.The rest of the week was filled with lots of playing, visiting, eating, snuggling, playing, visiting, eating, snuggling...Uncle RyRy is always a favorite of my kiddos.I practically had to pry Titan out of my sister Dana's arms. She adores the baby stage.Quinn and PapaMy sister Kelly and Nana We celebrated Christmas on Thursday morning. We started upwrapping gifts a little before 8 and finished about 11:15. One present opened at a time, clapping, opening the toys, passing things around. It was a wonderful time. I love getting to buy gifts for everyone and my kids loved keeping what was inside of them a secret. Quinn enjoyed watching people shake their gifts from us all week and then he would remind them that he could not tell them what was inside!Still waking up...My children didn't touch the presents all week. I was so impressed that they didn't get anxious and rip into them. So when Christmas morning arrived they were ready!

Myla modeling her new backpack, new shoes and a new book.Rex got a backpack too and some new movies and of course he had to try on his new shirt.We enjoyed our traditional Christmas dinner of fondue and fettuccine. I'm pretty sure that I ate until I felt sick. Then it was down to the basement of my parents for running and wrestling. Everyone participated in stealing socks from my wee ones and helping them exert all of their energy. I think they could run for days.

I love getting to share life with my family for a week. It's always fun to reminisce about growing up. It was so fun having my Aunt Mary Ann celebrating with us. At one point I looked at my sister Kelly and said, "Is this what we're going to sound like in 30 years?" referring to my mom and my aunt talk about their childhood. So many fun stories of memories and so many memories made. Kelly and my Aunt Mary AnnI don't think Titan got left alone for a minute! And he LOVED it!My dad was in heaven sitting with all four of his grandkids after they woke up.And I think this captures how everyone feels being around my kids all day...We loved our week. We love our family. We love getting to share life together. We are totally blessed.

Spontaneous

2011-12-18T16:19:00.000-06:00

Friday night Dan surprised me with his spontaneity. He got home around 6:30, Quinn said that he was ready to leave for Arkansas (we were scheduled to leave Saturday evening around 9pm), Dan looked at me and said, "ok, let's go!"

And so we arrived Saturday morning about 6:30am. The weather is horrible and we are having no fun at all...Ok... the weather is PERFECT for December and we are having a blast!
If you're having fun in Arkansas put your hands up in the air!My children are delighted to be here with Nana and Papa, they are delighted to be outside running around. We love it here!I realize that I post a lot of pictures (more often than not), I just love my children's faces and my camera does a great job of capturing the pure joy that so often is on their little faces. The love is mutual. Nana and Papa adore my wee ones and my children do not let them sit down for one minute. "Nana can you play with me?" "Papa will you take me outside?" I just love these pictures. Papa always has a smile on when my kids are around.Each of my children have a very unique running style. Rex' unique running. What I really need to do is video them running. It is comical. They all have such different styles.
Papa even got in on the racing. Apparently Rex thought that when they got down to start the race that a "scorpion" was the best position to begin. All tuckered out.Every time we come to Arkansas we borrow my parents' neighbors tow truck. It was their son's when he was little and my big boys LOVE it! Nana and Myla were outside for quite a while earlier. Nana led my kids and I on a jungle walk (Dan and my Dad were golfing, tough life). They love exploring and Nana is amazing at engaging their imagination. We found dinosaur teeth, walked across a huge river, looked for deer poop, they love jungle walks with Nana.

Myla wanted to work on a grocery list with Nana.I woke up early this morning to sit with coffee and my bible next to their enormous tree decked out with 2500 lights... ummm amazing job putting them up Mom and Dad. The lights are woven deep into the tree. It is just beautiful. You can't be around it and not break out into Amy Grant "It's the most wonderful time of the year..."
My wee ones got to break into the first gift of Christmas (umm love that book, The Polar Express). A marble works set. I'm not sure who had more fun, Dan and Papa building it or my kids watching the marbles go down. They had the hardest time not grabbing the marbles as the spiraled down. And this is what happens at lunch in Arkansas after all the excitement! Precious. I think is goes without saying that after a day and a half here we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves. We are looking forward to the rest of the party arriving on Wednesday. We are blessed to enjoy so much family time. Loving it here!

Optimistic

2011-12-15T14:30:00.000-06:00

I'm trying to stay optimistic about winter

10 things I like about Winter (not in any particular order)

My kids LOVE to be "Toasty" which means a lot of snuggling under blankets while reading books. Rex is our new book worm. He will sit and listen to books for as long as you will read them. IT IS SO SWEET!
Yankee Candles-we always have Yankee Candles but there is something extra sweet about my house smelling like "Fall Leaves" or "Christmas Nights"
Snuggling with Dan. He is my heater! In the summer we stay on our sides of the bed but in the winter I steal warmth from the love of my life!
The holidays. I love all the extra family time that happens in November and December. The only problem is that then we are left with January, February and March of cold.
My EMU boots. They are worn practically every day! In my opinion there is no better shoe for winter than a toasty warm boot to put on anytime you leave the house. Your pants don't get wet, your feet don't ever touch the snow. Perfect winter shoe.
The fact that our perception gets so skewed that we begin to think that 50s is beautiful. Come fall when it is 50 degrees out we are hunkered down inside but after a long winter we appreciate anything that's not freezing.
Getting to decorate for Christmas. Mostly because my kids love the Christmas tree. It definitely adds a little sparkle to a house. I love turning the tree on in the morning when it's still dark outside and reading with my coffee! There is something so wonderful about the holiday season.
My zip up sweatshirt. It has pockets. I can hold my phone, a pacifier, my memory verse for the week, chapstick, gum, kleenex, anything one would need on a moments notice is right there! It may look silly cause my pockets are bulging but I am a prepared for anything.
Christmas music, Amy Grant... enough said.
And even though I REALLY DO NOT LIKE SNOW, there is something so special about putting on your boots and gloves and building a snow man with your kids. The wonder on their faces with a new snowfall is so much fun to watch.

On the other hand, I could come up with about 100 reasons why I don't like winter and why SNOW with 4 children is the worst thing ever, but I'm trying to focus on the positives here and prepare myself for the next 4 months of freezing.

And since we are stuck inside I am forced to take tons of pictures of my newest wee one. I seriously can't help myself. HE IS SO CUTE!Dan is "gettin" him as my kids would say. I think he liked it!

We are looking forward to Arkansas for Christmas to be able to play outside, go fishing, go for walks in the "jungle" as Quinn would say and get tons of attention for Nana, Papa and Aunts.

Trying to stay optimistic about the weather. At least I have amazing kids to be stuck indoors with. I am one blessed momma!

No Concept of Time

2011-12-12T21:55:00.001-06:00

We have been anxiously awaiting Christmas for quite some time now. The last time that we saw Nana and Papa was in September and we miss them tremendously! The last time that we saw Aunt Kelly was the beginning of August and the last time we saw Aunt Dana and Uncle Ry was for a few hours on labor day. We all are so excited for Christmas in Arkansas.

The only problem with being so excited for Christmas in Arkansas is that we have been so excited for Christmas in Arkansas since the end of September when we last saw Nana and Papa and little kids have NO CONCEPT OF TIME.

For example, before going to bed we usually talk about what we are going to do the next day, things that we have to look forward to for tomorrow. Then when we wake up in the morning and I remind them of what we are doing, Quinn always says, "so this is tomorrow now..." and then explaining that what was tomorrow is now today results in a very interesting conversation.

So, due to the difficulty that little kids have with the concept of time I have to constantly be the bearer of bad news that today is not the day we are going to Arkansas. Yesterday morning I informed them that in ONE WEEK we would be eating breakfast with Nana and Papa. A few minutes later Quinn looked at me and asked, "has it been one week yet?" Later that day he asked me if "tonight is the night we are wearing our pajamas in the car to Nana and Papa's?"

Their struggle with time also works to my advantage. I often tell them, "two minutes" until we have to go, until they have to share a toy, until dinner time, until it's bed time, until Daddy gets home, until we can play a game. The reason it works to my advantage is that "two minutes" can be about any increment of time that I want it to be, two minutes, twenty minutes, right now they don't really know the difference. It is funny because they often say, "two more minutes" to me. They are becoming good negotiators and when asked to share a toy their response will be, "two more minutes, " when told it's time to put toys away their response will be, "two more minutes." I guess I will have to work on making two minutes actually two minutes for when they understand time better and can read a clock. For now I guess, "two minutes" just means sometime in the future you will need to do something or go somewhere.

These next few pictures are from my alone time with Titan this afternoon.
I adore him.
I'm slightly concerned that I'm losing my only blue eyed boy... what do you think?Myla loves to doodle.
We ended a fabulous day today with popsicles in the bathtub. When you can't eat them outside the best place to eat them is in the bath. No clean up, no one gets cold, and it's a fun reminder of why we LOVE summer so much!
So, a few more days and then I will get to excitedly tell them that,"Today is the day!" To which the response is sure to be shrieks of excitement, lots of giggles, probably some dancing and Myla saying her new favorite phrase, "I'M SO HAPPY!" So I think it goes without saying that we are so excited for Christmas at Nana and Papa's house!

Why???

2011-12-09T14:07:00.000-06:00

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

This is Myla's new favorite question.

"Myla don't rub ketchup all over your hands." "Why?"
"Myla please don't play with mommy's phone." "Why?"
"Myla do not take that toy away from Rex." "Why?"
"Myla please don't put Titan's pacifier in his mouth right now." "Why?"
"Myla please don't step on your toys." "Why?"

This picture is from this morning as she was admiring the new snow. I'm pretty sure that hat is too small for her but if I told her to wear a different one I was sure to be met with the question, why? And to be honest I didn't have a good answer as to why she couldn't wear it.... and sooo....It can be somewhat comical how often she asks this question but it does make you think about "Why" or "Why Not" we do certain things. I don't feel like Quinton ever really asked "Why?" and Rex for sure doesn't ask, "Why?" Maybe it's just a girl thing.
So Myla keeps me on my toes these days. I've has some pretty crazy responses to her questions. She is such a delight, so funny and such a girl. It's fun to watch her and Dan interact when she's being sassy because he just kinda picks on her and she loves it. She is one loved little girl.

On a different note, the doctors confirmed what I already knew yesterday....
TITAN IS PERFECT!

Even our doctor said, "How is he 4 months already, I feel like he was just born." My thoughts exactly. He weighed in at a solid 16 lbs 4 oz (72% percentile) and has a head size only in the 88%. Small compared to his siblings! He took his shots like a champ! My friend Jill bravely accepted the task of watching my big kids so that I didn't have to take them all. Thank you Jill! I'm blessed by her all the time!

So from our newborn to 4 months in a blink of an eye. I can't help but wonder WHY does time have to go so fast? Why? Why? Why? Why?

My Boys

2011-12-06T16:00:00.000-06:00

This morning I was blessed to have some boy time!

Quinn wandered down at about 7:15, Rex about 7:40 and Titan about 8:00 (he didn't wander though). They were all in their dinosaur PJ's so I just had to take some pictures of my three little studs. Rex' pants were wet from his diaper...
Isn't that the sweetest picture. All three of them smiling and looking right at me.

I know that all of my kids are going to be great friends but I have a feeling that these three brothers are really going to love each other. Quinn and Rex are already the best of friends. Quinn always wants Rex is be with him which is usually not a problem considering Rex is his little shadow. Actions, words, attitudes, they are all repeated. It is such a fun thing to watch.

It is hard to even imagine what they will be like in 3 years when Titan is just part of the gang. I get so excited thinking about how close in age they are and how they will be able to play and challenge each other as they get bigger.

Dan has 4 brothers that he grew up with and I always love hearing stories about what they did together growing up. I have no doubt that our three will have their fair share of adventures together.

Brothers.... how cool!

I couldn't help myself, I took just a few pictures of these handsome boys.
(my camera has been funny focusing lately, sorry for some fuzzy ones).

Titan continues to bless our lives beyond what we ever could have imagined!Mr Bright EyesMy oldest goof ballRex adores Titan and the smiles that Titan gives to Rexy is a sure sign that he adores him right back!I mean seriously, SOOOO cute!Cute...Really Cute!Mr. RexyI just can't get enough of him....More...And more...I feel like I don't take as many pictures of Titan as I should because there are so many other things going on to capture so when I get the chance I go crazy....

Titan is already fitting right in. A few minutes later they are dressed for the day.... and yes, matching is still easier these days. There is no end in sight!Now it wouldn't be fair to not include Myla in this post. She is the most loved little girl around by all of her brothers. Dan and I always joke that her fun personality + her ability to interact with boys + her beautiful self = trouble. But she will have a brother older than her, the same age as her and younger than her to look out for her. What a lucky girl!

This summer Aunt Kelly made Myla a skirt. Here she is modeling it today. Looking like her sweet self!Thank you Aunt Kelly!So here is to my kiddos and the fun adventures that await them as they grow up together. I just love them all to pieces!

Sacrifice

2011-12-05T22:10:00.002-06:00

Have you ever met someone who right away you are pretty sure that you were made to be friends?

Laurel Larson

Laurel and I met 2 years ago at church and I have been blessed by her friendship ever since. She and I quickly realized that we share similar "sassy" personalities, as our husbands would say.

We hang out quite regularly as our kids run circles around us. But some of my favorite times with Laurel have been when her husband Chuck is away at Drill for the weekend and Dan is busy with church stuff. We usually end up getting a pizza, playing with our kids and talking through life. I'm pretty sure that we usually don't have answers to all the big questions that we have but what a blessing to have someone to talk through things with.

Laurel, Chuck and their girls.
The reason that this is titled "Sacrifice" is because Laurel's husband Chuck is in California training for his 3rd deployment overseas. He is a Captain in the Marines. Chuck and Laurel have two beautiful daughters Millie (4) and Stella (2) and just welcomed their little boy Blaise the beginning of November. Chuck was able to come home for the delivery and left for training again before they even left the hospital.
Sacrifice.
Chuck is sacrificing so much to serve our country and Laurel is sacrificing so much for our country. I can't imagine having to leave my family and I can't imagine having my husband gone for 14 months while being the mother of a four year old, a two year old and a newborn.

My heart aches for Laurel and all the other families that are going through similar situations. I hung out with my friend Sarah today and she was telling me about her sister Emily. Emily's husband is a Marine also and is already overseas, also on his 3rd deployment. It is a lifestyle that I cannot even begin to understand. I was reading Emily's blog today and she was writing about how her husband recorded books for their little girl to listen to while he is gone. She listen's to "Daddy's books" every night. I am tearing up just thinking about how unbelievably difficult that must be.

It is so easy to take Dan for-granted. It is so easy to not think twice when he reads my kids a book or when he wrestles them or when he helps me buckle them into the car or wipe them off after dinner. Laurel and Emily are just two of so many examples of not having that for a year or so and they are such a reminder to me to be thankful for my husband and thankful for the men and women who sacrifice to much for our country.

About the only upside to Chuck being gone is I'm bound to get a lot more Laurel-time. I LOVE Laurel-time. I'm so blessed by her friendship and blessed to watch such a strong woman through such tough times.

So thank you Chuck and Bud and thank you Laurel and Emily for all you are sacrificing!

4 Months

2011-12-02T15:00:00.000-06:00

I can't even believe that I'm writing this... Titan is 4 MONTHS.

I know that I say this all the time but man time flies!
My little man is doing amazing. He is such a joy to be around. We have more and more fun with him as he recognizes our face, voices, giggles a little, tons of smiles and moves and moves and moves.... ok he doesn't crawl yet but he rolls and can change direction.

I haven't posted videos in FOREVER. We were just finishing dinner and Titan needed to be changed so after changing him to took some videos of him moving. Also you will notice Quinn is in shorts. My big boys insist on being in basketball shorts whenever we are home, a battle I choose not to fight!

Watch how quickly he gets himself over.

This next video is a prime example of why I think Titan is trying to be on the move. If he doesn't learn to move on his own, someone else will move him. My children are so so so so good with him but like I've said before he has NO concept of his personal space. They all desperately want him to be looking at them, next to them, just around them. We have to rotate which bed he lays in when we pray at night, everyone wants him to lay with them.

He is a little more fussy in this video than he normally is when they are in his face.

I found this pictures on the camera that I used to take the videos. It made me sad and wishful as I longingly looked at these pictures wishing for these days again. Only six more months right? Oh how that sounds like an eternity.Exhausted from summer. I love that feeling.So I find myself torn as I'm writing this. I hate that my baby is growing up so fast. He is so wonderful that I don't want to miss a minute of his littleness but at the same time I can't wait to be back outside running around and sweating again.

Oh the joys of life. I guess the best thing I can do is enjoy each moment little or big, hot or cold, every stage and every day is a blessing.

Sickos

2011-11-30T14:10:00.000-06:00

The last week of my life I could have done without.

We passed the stomach flu around our family, missed our date night, missed Thanksgiving, missed our family day and missed seeing Aunt Dana and Uncle Ry.

Dan had lined up babysitters for Tuesday afternoon and evening. He was taking me to see Twilight, Dinner and Christmas shopping, sounds perfect doesn't it? That's what I thought! After the 2:30 date with Jacob and Edward, Dan puked and our date night went down the drain. That was shortly followed by Quinn puking. While Dan was taking care of himself upstairs I had all four kiddos sleep in the living room. I was prepared to catch anything and everything that came out of them! Luckily Quinn was the only one throwing up but littlest three seemed to be a bit uncomfortable as well and didn't sleep the greatest. It's one of those nights as a mom that you focus on how blessed you are to have four little ones to catch puke from! It's much better than focusing on how tired you are and the smell around you.

This was our layout for the week...One of the positive things (if there is one involved with throwing up) is that being a whole year older than the last time he got the stomach flu, Quinn threw up in a bucket/toilet every time. HUGE success in my mind!

Wednesday was spent recovering, watching movies, eating popsicles, crackers and soup. Thursday rolled around and I began to get a big head thinking that we had this thing beat but shortly after showing up to the Rude Family Thanksgiving where 9/10 Rude children and their families were there we left and I spent Thanksgiving throwing up. Ohhhh how I HATE that feeling.

I could not be more thankful for my husband. He loved our little ones up all night, brought me whatever I needed and Titan when he needed to eat. Titan gave him a run for his money fussing until almost 4am. Dan then loved them all up the whole next day while I laid on the couch exhausted. What a blessed woman I am to have such an amazing husband.

Different clothes... same positions.Rex threw up at 3am Saturday morning to make it 4/6 Rudes getting sick. Titan and Myla held strong. Myla never gets sick, she's my tough girl.

So Saturday I spent washing everyone's sheets, and sanitizing our whole house.

I'm so thankful that we are passed all the sickness and I'm so thankful to have my wonderful husband to go through weeks like this with.

Girls Night

2011-11-29T14:11:00.001-06:00

A couple of weeks ago there was the annual "Women's Coffeehouse" event at the Downtown Church. It was held on a Friday night which meant it was a GIRL'S NIGHT OUT!

Dan took my kiddos, my girlfriend Jill picked me up and it was off to coffee, snacks, and lots of talking. It was a wonderful event with around 500 women enjoying life together! There were four different women who shared their stories about how the Lord has changed their lives, Christy Hukee, Carrie Krupke, Meredith Bell and Laura Cameron. Each one was inspiring, challenging, thought provoking, and all around encouraging. It was so amazing how even though we each have different struggles I could relate in some way to each of those women and I walked away desiring the Lord more and more. Thank you to each of those four amazing women for having the courage to share what the Lord has done in their lives.

It was funny because I think that all of us moms were some of the last women to leave the church. It is probably because we rarely get to have conversations without a child hanging on our leg, crying, asking a question, needing to go the the bathroom. It was all a time all about us and it was fabulous. I love getting to share life and to learn about motherhood and daily trials that we all face with these women.

These are just of a few of the wonderful moms that I hang out with often. Between the nine of us in the picture we have 22 kids.... WOW
Me, Bethany, Tonya, Carrie, Sarah, Autumn, Eileen, Shelly and JillOn the topic of friends, my childhood friend Rachael Gassman's birthday was yesterday. I'm pretty sure that I have very few memories as a child without Rachael in them. We were neighbors, both our families had three girls, we were in the same grade, we were pretty much inseparable when we were younger. I remember being in tears when I found out that she was in a different kindergarten class. November 28th will not pass without reminiscing in my mind about all the fun times that Rach and I had growing up. Happy 27th Birthday Rachael!

I'm on the far left, then Rachael, my sister Dana, Jessica Gassman and my sister Kelly.
So many girls....So here's to friends old and new!
I'm blessed by them all!

Independence

2011-11-19T16:19:00.001-06:00

I was hit with the reality yesterday that my kids are becoming more and more independent. And when I say my kids I mean ALL my kids.

Titan is now rolling over both ways. And the saddest thing is that he falls asleep better laying by himself than in my arms. He may doze off in my arms but he does not really sleep for very long or as peacefully. I am so thankful that he is so good at falling asleep on his own but so sad that my baby is getting bigger. It is one of those moments as a mom where you are so excited and thankful that all you have to do is swaddle him up and lay him down but then you get a chance to snuggle him and he won't fall asleep in your arms and it's a little heartbreaking, bitter sweet. One of my favorite things is when they fall asleep laying on your chest...
Independence is an exciting, sad and really messy thing all at the same time!

It's exciting to see my kids growing and learning and wanting to try new things. It's helpful that Quinn can get himself dressed for the most part, put his own shoes on, brush his teeth, clear his plate, fill up his water cup from the fridge, go to the bathroom. But independence can be REALLY messy though!

A 3 year old boy going to the bathroom by himself causes me to scrub down my bathroom almost daily. The smell of pee is unavoidable in our bathroom these days and looking at the blessings that the Lord has given me (3 boys) it seems that it is a smell that won't be going away any time soon. I'm totally stumped as to how to fix this problem and totally sick of cleaning my bathroom constantly. But how do you tell a 3 year old who is SOOO proud of himself that he can go to the bathroom standing up on his own that you have to help him?? And often times I've got my hands full. I cringe if I listen to him and then thank the Lord for such an amazing boy! Watch our Lysol we have another boy almost ready to be potty trained. I'm thankful for my independent and growing boy, sad for my smelly bathroom... once again, bitter sweet.
The twins are now experts at filling up their cups at the fridge. They tend to have opposite problems though. Rex puts just a splash into his cup and Myla fills it until it is overflowing and is thrilled about wiping up the mess she made. Myla also really enjoys putting on her own shoes. She gets very focused and works really hard at it and almost always gets them on the right feet. Rex could care less if he puts them on or not. The only thing he is concerned about is if Quinn has his shoes on too!

We are now eating every meal at the table which is very messy too. Because we have carpet under our table I vacuum daily to keep food from being trampled into it. The kids are fabulous helpers and like to help set the table and clear their plates when they are done. There efforts are appreciated and they so excited about helping. We have had some plates end up on the floor, all I can say is, "oh well!"
Encouraging kids to do things on their own and to learn and grow and take responsibility of their things requires a lot of patience. I could fill up their cups, put their shoes on, dress them, pick up the toys, clean up the kitchen in much much much much much less time than it takes them to do it but that won't do them any good. Instead, I get to encourage them and praise them and watch proud little smiles wash across their faces as they overcome obstacles and accomplish new tasks. But believe me, I have had my fair share of moments when my patience wears thin. I am so proud of my wee ones as they learn about life and how to do more things. What blessings they are!Have you ever seen a more handsome little baby? He is perfect!My children LOVE to do whatever I am doing. Anything from washing the dishes to making a grocery list. On this particular day Myla is making her own grocery list in her princess notebook. Rex ... not quite sure what he is doing. Look at my BIG boy!We have also been embracing crafts. For those of you that know me well, you know that I am NOT crafty but my kids love them and it's something new and entertaining. Plus they are learning to do so many things on their own.

The other day we made snowmen. Glue, cotton balls and markers were enough to keep them busy for a long time! Myla LOVES to doodle these days. She makes these little squiggles/circles all over!It was entertaining for me to watch them get the glue and cotton stuck to their fingers and them try to get it off! Their masterpieces!Quinton is doing wonderful at learning all his letters and writing them. He can tell me when certain words start with based on their sounds and is constantly recognizing letters on signs, trucks, everywhere we go. It is so much fun to see him learn how to write.

We were talking about skyping with Nana and Papa to show them our snowmen and he wanted to write their names. Look at his fabulous penmanship .

PapaNana (I forgot to flip the picture)So, my four wee ones are doing amazing. Growing and changing right before my eyes. I can hardly believe how fast time flies. I might have to do everything I can to keep Titan from crawling just so he stays little longer.... hmmm something to ponder!

New Family Pages

2011-11-14T23:00:00.004-06:00

Sooo.... I wanted to give you a little peek into how amazing my family is. I wrote a little something special about each one. There is so much I could write about each of them but I had to limit myself. So check out each of their pages at the top!

I'm very blessed!

Fall Fun

2011-11-14T22:04:00.001-06:00

Take a look at these boys.... Harrison & QuinnOne year ago (actually 13 months ago), some of us moms decided that a trip to the fire station would be a blast for our little kids. I called up the fire station a few blocks from my house and while explaining that there would probably be a dozen moms all with 2-3 year olds the fireman made a comment that he had a two year old little boy as well. I piped in and told him to have his wife and kids come joins us...

And thus began a wonderful friendship. Eileen and I hung out at a park a couple weeks later and have since become great friends. It is always wonderful to meet someone who you just click with. Eileen has been such a blessing to my life. I love to see how the Lord worked through a little field trip to the fire station.

Des Moines does this weird thing called "Begger's Night." It is the night of the 30th, I don't quite understand the whole logic behind it. We went to Eileen and Tim's house for pizza and then out to hit the "hood."

Here is the gang.We were excited to borrow all of the costumes from friends. My friends Eileen and Laurel were kind enough to loan us batman, superman and a ladybug.

Check out these good looking kiddos. It was slightly chilly so hats joined the fun.Titan was wrapped up all toasty in our stroller. We spent the week after Halloween dressing up all over again. Countless times we played that I was the Big Bear (my kids favorite thing) and I was getting the ladybug and the two superheros rescued her. My boys love to play superheros and Myla is thrilled to be rescued by them!My sweet little lady.My little ladybug picking her nose... we will have to work on making her a little lady!Daddy and his oldest two.... still picking her nose....We also went to a harvest party at church. It was a great time for the kids filled with games, crafts, stories. We got to see their cousins, Eden and Brielle. It's such a blessing having the whole Rude family in Des Moines. Well, we thought it would only be fitting to go back to the fire station a year later! It was quite a different experience for my twins. Last year they never left the stroller and this year they climbed all over everything, drove the trucks, and ran around like crazy.

Eileen's husband Tim is a fireman at the station near my house. He was so wonderful as about 15 moms and over 30 kids put on fireman hats and ran like crazy. We packed lunches and ate at the station. Quite a day, Quite an event. There was so much going on that these are all the pictures that I managed to take... wish I captured more of the excitement on their faces.

Rex driving the firetruck. Myla driving the truck. She is sporting what we call "Harper Hair." Eileen's daughter Harper always has the cutest pig tails so that is what Myla says when she wants pig tails. She looks so big with her little pig tails. Quinn taking control.Quinn and the big boys. There was some intense fire and rescue playing going on!We always seem to have so many exciting things going on. We are blessed to have so many amazing friends around us to share them with.

Snow, Snow, Snow, Snow, SNOW!

2011-11-09T15:14:00.006-06:00

It won't be long before we'll all be there with SNOW...
Unfortunately, we woke up to snow this morning.
Fortunately, it is melting fast and it's supposed to be 58 degrees this Friday and Saturday.

Despite my dislike of SNOW. My children woke up this morning absolutely delighted by the fact that there was snow on the ground. They were BEGGING me to go out this morning but we had a moms group at church so I brought a bowl of snow inside to hold them over until after church.

I was happy that we waited until after church because by that time it was warmer. No jackets were needed but they insisted on all wearing their hats and of course they wore their boots to stomp around in.
The only problem is that I had not taken inventory of our snow clothes and boots and I didn't have any boots that fit Rex. Sooo......Myla's rain boots. Our only option. He didn't seem to care, my boys always looks smashing in pink! Having to wear girls boots would never be enough to stop my boys from having a blast! Look at this stud. So, I NEED advice!
I have the hardest time EVER getting gloves on my children. If I do manage to get them onto their little hands, their thumbs are NEVER in the thumb hole, if their thumbs are not in the thumb hole then they can't pick anything up, if they can't pick up anything then I have three frustrated little kids, if they are frustrated they take their gloves off and then they get sad that their hands are cold. It's a vicious cycle. The best gloves that we have Myla managed to have on but they are little and fleece and not the warmest. I need some waterproof gloves that are easy to get on their little hands and that they can still hold a shovel while wearing them.... HELP!!!!

Myla is my beauty in pink.
I was pleased to find that all their hats from last winter fit them still. My BIG BOY! I honestly can't believe that he is getting so big. He and I have the funniest conversations every day and my goodness this boy has a memory! He is delightful!Myla loves life!You can't play outside with fresh, wet snow without building a snowman.
Meet Spike.Spike is our snowman. He was named Spike because we gave him spikey hair. I told them to find some sticks for his arms. They kept bringing me little sticks from our neighbors tree so we gave him hair and then the only name appropriate was Spike.It was the perfect day for building a snowman. Warm, wet, warm, sunny, warm, no jackets needed, warm, cute hats, warm.... perfect... warm! The only thing that could have made it better (besides gloves that fit) was if Daddy was not working and was playing with us. Dan makes everything more fun!

If you notice, Rex has switched gloves. I put a pair of my stretchy gloves on him. Way too big but he was able to hold onto a shovel. Ok, not a real shovel but some big plastic kitchen spoons!
Today was a blastAll the while Titan snoozed in his car seat. What a trooper!

Look Alike?

2011-11-04T14:58:00.012-05:00

People always ask me who Titan looks like? If Myla looks like Quinn? If our kids look like Dan or I? Where they got their curls, blond hair, etc.

So I decided to look at all my kids at 3 months and you can judge for yourself and let me know your thoughts.

It was strange to go back and look at all my big kids when they were 3 months old. I can hardly even remember them that little or looking like such babies. I remember hearing people say when Quinton was born that they couldn't remember their kids even being that small, I thought that were crazy, but it is so true. I look at these pictures and think to myself WOW time flies!

My family seems to think that Titan looks the most like Quinn. Quite regularly when I send a picture of Titan the response is.... "looks just like Quinn"

Titan and Quinton both at 3 months I tend to think that Titan looks more like Rex. It may have to do with the hair and the slightly darker complexion.

Titan and Rex at 3 months
Now people tend to tell me that Quinton and Myla look the most alike, well here is Titan and Myla at 3 months. Hmmm... Despite both having blue eyes I don't see much in common. All four of them at 3 months. Such different looks all by the same parents. How amazing our God is to make such unique children.Now, one of the most frequently asked questions about our children is where did they get their curls and blond hair?

Does this help to answer your question? That is me and my grandpa when I was probably right around Myla's age. Same hair and same blue eyes. No one believes me when I say that I was blond. Here is your proof!

We often hear that our big boys are looking more and more like Dan. Well here is Dan when he was just a little guy, blond hair and all...It is fun comparing their looks but what's even more fun (and often times more amazing) is their different personalities. I remember my mom saying when we were growing up how crazy it was that my sisters and I had the same parents, the same environment but that we had such different personalities. I see my kids similarities and differences in their personalities emerging all the time. I love each and every unique and similar thing about them. I just wish that pictures and words on a blog could capture all that I get to experience every day.

So.... do my kids look alike or like Dan or myself?

3 Months

2011-11-02T15:16:00.004-05:00

My baby boy is 3 months today.
I'm not quite sure how that happened. I try to snuggle him and soak up every minute and yet I still feel like there is no way that 3 months should have passed already.

Titan is perfect. It continues to amaze me how the Lord opens your heart to love the children that he has given you. It always amazes me how quickly you can't imagine your life without that child.

Titan is totally a 4th child. The only new thing that has been purchased for him is diapers. He sleeps on our bedroom floor on his sleep positioner. With Quinn everything had to be perfect, with Titan everything just has to be functional. Looking back I wish I could register all over again knowing what I know now about being a mom.

He is a blessing to our lives and I love seeing parts of his personality emerge even at 3 months. He MUST be facing outwards when you hold him. He must be around people if he is awake. He is tough and has survived many headbutts (Rex especially is a fan of headbutting Titan). I'm pretty sure that his love of being where people are and his crazy strength will have him on the move before we know it. This morning Titan and Quinn were my early risers so the three of us read books on the couch and snuggled together. While I was getting Quinn's milk he requested to hold Titan. I heard him say to Titan (in a high pitched voice like Dan and I use when trying to get Titan to smile), "You're getting so big buddy." So I grabbed my camera to capture my sweet snuggly boys.
Titan might be lacking in new things but he is definitely NOT lacking is love.
He is adored and is constantly surrounded by his 5 biggest fans.
We love our Wee-est Rude!

Family Pictures

2011-10-30T15:43:00.011-05:00

We got our family pictures taken on Tuesday by our friend and AMAZING photographer Justin Meyer.

To say that I am excited how they turned out is an understatement, I AM THRILLED. It is not an easy task getting 4 little ones to have happy faces all in one picture. Despite knowing Justin they were all a little weary of getting their pictures taken. We bribed them with gum the entire time even placing it on top of the camera to get them to look directly at the camera and smile.

It was a fun morning and I'm so glad we got to have them taken. These are just a few of my favorites. To see them all you can go to our album on Justin's website. There were so many amazing pictures but I just picked a few. Enjoy!Now on to phase two, getting them put onto my walls. Any volunteers to help?? I'm horrible at this part but I want to show off these cute kids. I mean seriously wouldn't you?

Thank you Justin!

Youngests

2011-10-29T16:00:00.000-05:00

All my kids LOVE Titan, but Rex gives the most unprompted kisses and hugs to Titan. He just likes to be near him! One of my favorite things is just to watch my kids interact with each other. I think Rex' love for Titan will only increase as he gets older.

On this particular day Rex just laid next to him for about 20 minutes and kept pushing the flowers again and again for the music to turn back on!
Switched sides, the flowers getting a little close!
Look closely, Rex found a car...Rex found a new race track. Hmm... He got it to stay...Titan seems unfazed by the fact that he is a human race track. Quinn and Myla see that some fun is being had... My four little blessings.Titan goes with the flow for most things. He's just part of the gang!

Life These Days

2011-10-28T15:16:00.002-05:00

Life these days seems busier than ever. Taking 4 children places is just routine now. We are loving the warm weather still but dreading the days to come. Oh how winter gets so long!

Like I've said before my three big kids have a lot of fun together. I believe on this particular day they were playing doctor..... hmmmm
Quinton is such an encourager to his siblings. He will regularly tell them that they did a good job sleeping in their big kid beds, he tells Titan how good he does at Tummy Time, and what a sweet little guy he is. He is also a protector too. The other day I was making dinner and I heard him say, "Get down Rexy, you're going to fall and crack your head and have to go to the hospital and get a new head." I'm going to interpret that as he really cares. Rex is Quinn's shadow. I mean literally, whatever Quinn says is usually repeated by Rex. Whatever Quinn get's excited about Rex is sure to follow. If Quinn has socks on, Rex wants socks on, if Quinn get's excited about doings something his shadow is sure to follow. I love watching these two boys interact together. They are such sweet friends. I remember looking at people who dressed their kids similarly as crazy. Now I look at those people as extremely intelligent. It saves a lot of sadness if I dress them similar or better yet, in the exact same shirts. The other night their were many tears because Quinn's pajamas were much cooler than Rex'. I'm not sure when it will become uncool to dress alike but for life these days we have fewer tears if they are just dressed the same. Myla is her brother's biggest fan. Although she is usually the instigator in their little quarrels she is also the one who is regularly cheering, "Good job boys!" She is such a delight and has become quite the dancer, wiggling any time music comes on! She has quite the wiggle, I'll have to video it sometime!Titan continues to steal our hearts he is such a sweet little man. He IS SO STRONG! I'm pretty sure that I forgot to write this a while ago but he has been rolling over from his tummy to his back completely since 6 weeks!!!!! Amazing! He regularly does 7 minutes or so of tummy time without laying his head down. He rolled over from his tummy to his back on the couch but Dan told me that didn't count! He LOVES his momma and I can't look at him without grinning ear to ear. He has taken a liking to the Jumperoo but mostly because it means that he can watch his siblings run circles around him, literally. I am constantly reminding my big kids that the jumperoo is TITAN'S TOY but they seem just as fascinated by it. He is almost 3 months now, I can't even believe it. My sweet little boy is growing up too fast! Baby Molly is Myla's shadow these days. She goes everywhere with us. When they get in the car I have to specify that she needs to buckle herself in because if I just say buckle up then Baby Molly is the one who gets buckled in. She pushes her in the swing, she brings Molly's highchair and puts it next to her chair, gets Molly's dinner and puts it on her tray. He brothers are eager to help but know that NO ONE is allowed to play with Baby Molly but Myla! I love seeing that surrounded by trucks and boy toys galore she still adores her babies. Another thing that Molly is good at is being the Monster that chases the boys. Molly (and Myla) willing accept the role of being the Monster or the Bear that chases after the boys. Myla growls as she chases the boys with Baby Molly's hand. What a fun girl!He is SOO sweet! I'm pretty sure his eyes are staying blue, which would make him my favorite blue eyed boy!We have begun to eat most of our meals at the dining room table even if it's just me and the wee ones. But I still enjoy the high chairs, it seems less messy to me! Meal times are usually filled with singing, giggling and making letters out of food (I figure at least they are learning!). On this particular day we had just bought some huge raspberries at the store. I think it goes without saying but they were a big hit!This is how we bathe these days. The other night all four of them lasted for an hour! Wrinkled fingers and toes galore!It's amazing how many fewer baths we need each week as the weather gets cooler. We are still outside all the time but it seems like they don't get nearly as dirty and obviously not as sweaty. Most bath times are very enjoyable for me! It is wonderful to have all four in one room. Everyone getting clean, usually happy, we sing A LOT of songs in the bath, I eat a lot of bubble soup, shaving cream cookies, and they get an occasional "splash-athon" when I put the shower curtain down. Fun for everyone! Life these days is wonderful. I hope these pictures give you a little peek into my blessed life!

Me Time

2011-10-17T21:45:00.003-05:00

Do you ever have those days as a mom where you're not sure who cries more, you or your kids?

I had a day like that today. Maybe I'm the only one who has ever had days like that, if I'm not please share with me so I don't feel crazy ;) But days like today are a good reminder of my undying need for the Lord. I feel like when everything is going smooth it's easy to rely on my own strength but days like today remind me that nowhere in my own strength can I be a loving, caring, attentive, righteous mother of four kids 3 1/2 and under without the Lord.

That is why the best way for me to start my day is like this... Me Time!I have gotten into the habit of getting downstairs, making coffee, enjoying my FAVORITE pineapple Chobani yogurt and opening up my bible for at least 30 minutes before my beautiful kids wake up. It is the best thing for my life. I am a more patient, loving, wise, godly mother when I start my day with the Lord.

And then after a little me and God time, I hear six little feet thumping down the stairs and Titan fussing.
I'm so blessed. It usually takes a minute or two of waking up to get smiles! Once the milk is down they usually are a little more alert. Looking back on the day, I can't say that I want tomorrow to be a continuation of today, but I can say that I always learn a lot on days like today and I am humbled because I cannot do this on my own! And thankfully I don't have to, I have the Lord and the BEST husband in the whole world! I am also thankful that these days are NOT a regular occurrence around here.
I had one of those days today, and now my four precious children are all sleeping soundly. Looking forward to waking up with the Lord tomorrow and then hearing six little feet coming down the stairs for another day!

2011-10-14T22:14:00.001-05:00

I was unaware of the world of PINTEREST until the other day. It is seriously a whole new web world to explore.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the world of Pinterest it is a place where you can "PIN" different links in different categories. It was fabulous timing for me. I had about ten different windows open from the week of recipes that I had found but had not had time to write them down so I had just left them open. Then I discovered Pinterest. I now have a place where I can put the recipes that I find. I write the name of the dish it has a little picture and then when I click on the picture it links me to the website where the recipe is. You can do the same thing for clothes you find, rooms you like the design for, etc. Maybe everyone else is familiar with this but it was very new for me.

Considering the fact that I don't have a lot of free time on my hands, I'm limiting myself mostly recipes and kid crafts. It is pretty fun having a place to store recipes and things that I find. Oh the possibilities of the world wide web are endless.

So last Saturday while snuggled in my bed I came across "turn a t-shirt into a scarf." So I peeked at it. Grabbed an old t-shirt, a pair of scissors and..... VOILA!
A t-shirt into a scarf in... NO LIE... 15 MINUTES! I made this at 10pm while laying in my bed with nothing more then an old t-shirt and scissors. I did add a little flower hair clip of hers that my friend Anna makes.For those of you that know me well know that I am not a "Do it Yourself" kinda girl. I have not had time to Do anything myself for over 2 years. I'm not complaining, I love taking care of my kids and I would much rather spend extra time with them than craft up something but I also don't think that I was born with the crafting gene. Some people have a natural talent for taking a piece of junk and making it into a beautiful creation. I however DO NOT. But I did give it a try and if I can make something beautiful for free and in 15 minutes you can count me in!My beautiful baby boy.
It is so fun to watch Titan watch his siblings. His eyes follow them constantly. He always wants to be held so that he can see what's going on around him. I think he already adores them. This is out attempt at decorating pumpkins. My kiddos decided on little pumpkins so we couldn't carve them. We pulled out the stickers, and permanent markers and colored away. A fun activity for us.I have a feeling that I'm going to have to become more and more crafty as my kids get older. They love making new things and decorating things but for today I'm all crafted out ;)

T

2011-10-13T16:46:00.005-05:00

Titan and Trouble...
Titan is not the trouble but trying to get my three big kids to sleep in one room is Trouble with a capitol T!

Titan continues to amaze us being such a wonderful baby. He is pretty consistently sleeping 6-7 hours, even the other night he went 8 hours and when I do have to wake up I am back to sleep in about 15 minutes. He is the most efficient nurser I've ever been around and goes right back to sleep when he is done! He is growing right out of his 3-6 month sleepers. He is SOO tall! 90% for height and 90% for weight at his 2 month check, and the smallest percentile head of all of our children, 75%. The Rude's and the Miller's have big heads so our kids our kids are destined for large noggins!

He is so smiley, especially for me. I still get amazed at how the Lord made babies know their mother's voice and smell and touch. I'm definitely his favorite person and I'm going to hang on to that as long as I can because once he gets bigger his daddy is sure to be his favorite, I'm no match for their daddy and I'm ok with that! It was rather hot on this particular day so I was letting him cool off.
I just love all the facial expressions that babies make! Titan and I are sitting on the floor of my kitchen while my big kids eat their lunch.... A regularly occurring activity for us!I know that I've mentioned this before but he is so strong. People constantly comment that he is difficult to hold because he just throws his head around. And he is tremendous at tummy time. I'm not sure if he got so strong so fast because he likes to look at his siblings running circles around him or if it was for self defense so he can be on guard... either way, look out Quinn, Rex and Myla, he is going to catch up fast!
Tummy Time is often a group activity!Now here is where the trouble begins....
Trying to nap (and eventually sleep at night too) three kids 3 1/2 and under in one room together, and not just three kids but three BEST FRIENDS! Sometimes it is just too cute to stop because they just have so much fun. We have cracked down a bit but for a few days this is what I would find a couple of minutes after laying them down for naps.
So on this particular day I knew what was going on so I grabbed my camera and caught them in the act! They look guilty!Overall it's not awful. They usually chat for a while, read books and then eventually fall asleep. The other day they all woke up after an hour and a half (usually they nap close to 3 hours) and then played in their room for almost an hour. I never disturbed them because they were playing so well and I was getting things done around the house. I know one day I'll get it figured out but for now they are Trouble at nap time. But at least they are cute trouble right?

No Words Needed...

2011-10-09T16:56:00.015-05:00

An amazing afternoon with my wee ones!
I love my kids.... ohh and I really like my camera, if you couldn't tell!

Long Over Due

2011-10-09T16:00:00.000-05:00

Aunt Dana and Uncle Ry came to see us for a day over a month ago....
So I'm long over due for a post from their visit. They were in Ames visiting Ryan's family. His sister and her family and his parents live their so after a weekend with them they came down to hang with us for labor day. We enjoyed a BEAUTIFUL day. The twins opened their birthday presents from them, we ran around the park, the boys took the big kids to throw rocks in the river and Dana and I watched and snuggled Titan, we went out to lunch and walked around the pond afterwards and fed the ducks and looked for frogs. I wonderful day with people we love!

Dana and Ryan love our kids but Dana especially can't resist that baby stage. She wanted to hold Titan all day!
My children are extremely blessed by having such loving extended family on both sides. They love getting the extra attention and lovin.

Dana, Ry and then big kids.
I'm not exaggerating when I say that my kids LOVE to jump. They are always on the prowl, looking for something to jump off of. So this day was no different jumping off rocks, I think Uncle Ry even put them on top of garbage cans to jump off of. They love it and it's so fun to see them get better and better at it. I'm sure someday we will have a broken something from jumping but they love it and we love watching them.
He stuck the landingHe's got such a happy face.
We like this place, it's like different race tracks to run on and of course jump off of!
What a sweet picture!
Myla and Unle RyRy. He is always full of energy!
"Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters..."
The Rude girls
Pretty girls
Feeding the ducks. Everything is so fun when Aunt D and Uncle Ry are around.
My kiddos even convinced Uncle Ry to get a tatoo. He looks so tough!
Such a fun day for us to have them come and visit. Not sure why it took so long for me to post pictures but here they are! We are so blessed to have such amazing family!

Sweet Success

2011-10-04T15:43:00.003-05:00

So Sunday night was a sweet success for me.

I'm not a cook. It's not that I don't like to cook, it's that most things I try taste nothing like they are supposed to or end up burnt or rock hard, you get the idea.

But last night I successfully made edible Chicken Lettuce Wraps. You might say to yourself edible? Oh believe me, or ask Dan, I have made my fair share of inedible foods including doubling a chicken lettuce wrap recipe one time only to throw the whole thing away, Dan could not even swallow a bite.

I'm not joking when I say that I prayed while cooking for a dinner that we could enjoy. So when Dan said that it was, "solid" and he would eat it again my heart jumped with excitement. And after finishing the whole pan off he said it was, "delicious." So I will add it to my small, but growing section in my cookbook of recipes that I have successfully made to try again.

I got the recipe off of Iowa Girl Eats website. I would recommend it if you are looking for a good, fairly easy, healthy chicken lettuce wrap recipe

Tonight I'm making Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup for some company(I've blogged about it before). I have made it before and had some sweet success with it. I'm definitely no Betty Crocker and my blog will never be full of delicious recipes that I've created myself but today I will bask in my small but very sweet successes with cooking.

I think I'll stick to blogging about what I know best, being a mom to 4 beautiful blessings!

I will leave you with this picture.... it doesn't get much sweeter than this!

Nana & Papa

2011-10-03T22:06:00.001-05:00

NANA & PAPA WERE HERE!!!
We enjoyed a fabulous 4 days with them.

I love when they are here. There is something wonderful about sharing my children with them and seeing their relationships grow. Their extreme love for one another is mutual.

To say that we exhaust my parents is an understatement. My children can be very demanding when two of their favorite people are around for a few short days. They are constantly wanting to do this, or play this, or go here with Nana and Papa. They have big plans for their time here and don't waste a minute of it.

Dan and my dad had big plans while they were here too.
FINISH OUR SWING SET!
They were quite successful in accomplishing the task at hand. Dan had built the base of our swing set a while ago but life got busy and was not able to finish it. So on Dan's day off they worked all day and then my dad put in another day and a half. The men in my life are very handy! And these are the happy faces as a result of the new swing set!
These smiles and the smiles to come were totally worth all the hard work. Ok, so it wasn't my hard work, but I think it was worth the hard work of my Dad and Dan!We have already enjoyed lunch up in the fort, lots of swinging, sliding, climbing up and down the stairs, sending Titan down the slide... ALONE... much to the amusement of our three big kids and catching him at the bottom. We still need to get some sand to put in the GIANT sandbox that is underneath the swing set, get one more swing to put up, add a roof and maybe eventually add some monkey bars, but for now we are just happy enjoying the new fort/swing set in our backyard!

Check it out!!!The tear on his cheek is from learning to share. Oh what a difficult thing to learn!
What a handsome guy.
We also enjoyed an absolutely beautiful day at the pumpkin patch. It was complete with a hayride, goat feeding, corn box playing, jumping, hay barrel climbing, little go-cart riding, of course a Caribou Coffee and memory making.
Papa and RexyMy two favorite girls!Nana always teaches my kids so many things when she visits. She is full of fun ideas and has a very creative mind when playing. They love her!The biggest boy!
Myla Jane Riding the horse tire swings
My Papa loving boys. They can't get enough of their Papa time.
Doing what my wee ones does best....

Jumping!!!!
Nana can't watch most of the time because my boys especially are pretty daring jumpers (not just into a corn pit but off high things). They could not resist jumping many, many, many times into the pit of corn. By the time we left the corn pit every one of us was covered in white corn dust but the fun was worth it. Getting ready to jump Miss Myla is such a sweet girl.

This boy has the ability to melt my heart with his smile!
Titan enjoyed A LOT of cuddle time with Nana. The moment he whimpered she swooped him up. And he paid her back with tons of smiles. They bonded!

My parents were cruising Alaska when the twins turned two so they got another birthday celebration this past week. In a way it was sort of nice to spread out the gifts. They were very excited about their new toys. Myla got some more people and a bathroom set, the toilet was by far the favorite part, for her doll house. Rex got an airplane and a garbage truck to add to his Imaginext set and we got some fun new books. Great new toys to get us through the long long long long long long winter

Just a fabulous couple of days together! Now they have until Christmas to recuperate and rejuvenate and be ready for more play time! We love our Nana and Papa time!

Best Friends

2011-09-28T07:07:00.005-05:00

Two years ago today Rex and Myla came home from the hospital after 25 days in the NICU.

I'm pretty sure that even Dan and I could not even comprehend what great friends these three were going to be and I know by looking at this picture that Quinton had absolutely NO IDEA that he was sitting with his best buds.

This was Quinn's first time meeting them!
He was obviously thrilled about it ;)It is crazy to think that 2 years ago Dan and I were waking up 2 times a night for about an hour and fifteen minutes. It makes my once a night for 20 minutes these days seem like a breeze!

The size difference has become substantially less!

On Sunday Dan and I had a lunch meeting to attend so their Aunt Julia watched them for a little bit and laid them down for their naps. She said that when she was taking them upstairs for their naps they all walked right into Quinn's room (they have not napped in their beds except the one time, Myla doesn't like it), so she assumed that they were all sleeping in there. She tucked them in a left the room. After a few minutes she heard lots of giggles so she went up to check on them. Rex had climbed into Quinn's bed and the three of them were being goofy. She quickly realized that they were not used to sleeping in there so went to take Rex and Myla back to their cribs and Quinn said, "DON'T TAKE MY BEST FRIENDS AWAY FROM ME!"

They LOVE each other!
Enough said...

... and a half

2011-09-24T21:59:00.005-05:00

Quinn is 3 AND A HALF today!

When that half represents 1/7 of your life it is definitely worth talking about!

I'm sure that many of you have not had the privilege of spending much time around Quinton, but you can trust me, HE IS AMAZING. I'm pretty sure that you would fall in love with him

I could not imagine a better first born. He is not a typical first born (so I am told) but he is perfect for our family. He loves to get dirty, take adventures, he is very brave and usually outgoing. He is a natural born leader and can come up with a fun game on the spot, he has an amazing imagination, a memory that puts me a shame and jumping, flipping skills that could top any gymnast!

If you are unaware from previous posts he has music running through his blood and more often than not he has a guitar or drum sticks in his hands. We have been told by several musical people (and we agree) that he has great rhythm. His great memory is helpful in remembering the words to songs and likes to start dance parties in our house.He is adored by all three of his siblings. They are lost without him leading the charge. He can pretty much convince them that anything and everything is fun. He has been the kindest boy with Titan and constantly tells him about all the fun things that they will do together when he gets bigger.

It's been really fun to watch him learn so many new things. He is regularly pointing out people's letters and then tells me the sound it makes and other words that start with their letter.

Rex and Myla want to be everywhere Quinn is, and Titan doesn't have much of a choice where he is but he does love being with his siblings!

He's so sweet

Quinn will play house with Myla, they love to have "sleep outs" together in our living room, they take their dogs for walks and go to the store for me.

Quinn and Rex like to wrestle, race, and be rough, tough boys together.

No words can describe how thankful I am for my 3 and a half year old!

Totally Titan

2011-09-17T14:59:00.011-05:00

Titan's Papa expressed a need for a "Titan Fix" so it was my job to help meet the need!
We had a quick little photo shoot.

So I present to you, Totally Titan! Titan is by far my strongest baby. He holds his head up so well and always is trying to look around! I also think that he is my longest baby. He is not chunky but already is too long for his 0-3 month sleepers. We decided we needed to get a growth chart (aka a piece of wood with inches on it) to record all our kids heights so we can see how they compare to each other.He has been smiling since about 3.5 weeks (very early).
He always has a smile for his momma.... I think he likes me!Titan is my calm in the midst of chaos. Not bad chaos, I love my chaos, but two two year olds and a three year old tend to be a little chaotic. Titan definitely has his moments but even when he is crying and I pick him up he usually calms down gives me a smile and snuggles right up to me. He makes 3 am feedings totally bearable. The only problem is now when my big kids are napping all I want to do is snuggle him. So that means that sometimes other things get pushed aside. But I always remember the poem that was up in our house when we were little, I have it posted on the side of my fridge so I don't forget it,

"Cleaning and scrubbing can wait 'til tomorrow For babies grow up we've learned to our sorrow, So quiet down cobwebs and dust go to sleep I'm rocking my baby, and babies don't keep."

I'm completely in love with my little man. Can't imagine life without him and I definitely don't want to miss any snuggles!

Do you think his eyes will stay blue? Myla's my only blue eyed babe.

Big eyes like Rexy

ok, so it's not totally Titan because we have some BIG NEWS...
Rex and Myla are in their BIG KID BEDS!
Today before nap time Quinn was VERY convincing and talked them into being in their big kid beds with him. I wish that I could have recorded the conversation between the three of them. They were pretty funny. It took about 15 minutes to get them to be quiet and calm down. I'm not sure if I'm excited or not. I have a feeling I just gave them a lot of freedom. There is something really great about getting them out on my time... we will see if the big kid beds are for real or not tonight. But they sure looked precious and not very baby like in their big beds.

Oh time goes too fast

I guess it's just a good reminder to me to take full advantage of my baby boy! Oh I hope he stays little for a long time!

Socks

2011-09-16T22:04:00.001-05:00

Socks

I never knew that six little socks could bring so much entertainment.
This morning when we checked the weather, (part of our morning routine, the kids go out on the deck and see what the temperature is) it was "very chilly" according to Quinn. So for the first time since probably April we pulled on socks.
It was almost as if they forgot what wearing socks was like. They spent the morning sliding across the kitchen floor, pulling them on and off, and talking about their socks nonstop.
I'm sure that the fascination with socks will wear off quickly, especially when they go on every day for over 6 months, but for today they provided lots of fun and lots of giggles for my three big kids.Rex' favorite socks... can you blame him? How cool that they say his name!
Thank you Aunt DanaI just could not resist taking some photos of by beautiful daughter.

I hate the cold, but I will say that I enjoyed putting this sweet pink vest on her today. I'm trying to stay optimistic about the cold so cute outfits help me out!Isn't she lovely?

I'm still totally in LOVE with the clips and headbands that my friend Anna Judd makes. If anyone is ever interested in them she is on facebook under the name "The Color B" or you can ask me. She does a FABULOUS JOB and I constantly get compliments on them!

And I will leave you with this....

Yvonne Johnson

2011-09-14T15:20:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I had the honor of standing next to one of the most amazing women that I know on her wedding day. One of my best friends Yvonne married an incredible man, D'Angelo Johnson last Friday. I have been looking forward to Yvonne's wedding day since they started dating, knowing full well that D was THE ONE for Yvonne. It was such an exciting day and I was so thrilled to get to be a part of as many of the festivities that being a mother of 4 allowed me to be.

The day began with breakfast followed by a few of my favorite things: lots of girl talk, lots of hairspray and curling irons, iced coffee, makeup doing and sharing and offering tips to one another, tears, and fabulous fellowship.

Part of what made this day extra special was that it not only united two people, it actually united 4 people. Yvonne is the extraordinary mother of Noah, who is 6 years old (I have had the pleasure of watching him grow up right before my eyes) and D is the father of Ahman, who is 4 and looks almost identical to the Karate Kid ;) It made the whole event even more emotional, thinking of how these two kids lives are going to be changed for the better. Yvonne and D have done such great jobs parenting on their own but now they get to be parents and love these kids together and be a family! And I'm pretty sure that Noah and Ahman are thrilled to be brothers!

The Johnson Family
(Yvonne looked STUNNING)D and Yvonne with the kids from the wedding
Olivia (on the far left) is the daughter of my dear friend Rachel who was the maid of honor for the wedding.Sweet Little Brothers

I got to make a toast for Yvonne and D at the wedding.
Here is a little excerpt from my toast to her so that those of you that don't know her can realize just what an amazing woman she is,

"Over the last 5 years it has been amazing to watch the Lord transform your life. You have gone from a crazy, wild, new in Christ girl to a crazy, wild, mature woman of God who myself and countless other women look to for advice, encouragement and comfort. In 1 Thessalonians 2 Paul says, “we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well,” he then goes on to say, “for you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.”
You have lived out these verses better than any woman I know. You have shared your life with so many people and allowed the Lord to be glorified through your past. You bend over backwards to love those that others might have given up on. You have linked arms with people and helped them step by step to draw closer to the Lord. You are amazing at loving people where they are at and in a way that makes sense to them. You have time and time again showed up at my house with a coffee, an arm to hold a baby and an ear to listen. You graciously welcome other people’s children into your house and give up your own free time to meet the needs of those around you."
(There was more at the beginning and the end of the toast too)

Yvonne, her dad and some of the bridesmaids

Yvonne and her Dad, Oscar

Having Fun

The Matron (that makes me sound really old) and Maid of honors.
I loved getting to spend a lot of time around Rachel. She is such a wonderful woman. Her daughter is Olivia from the picture above.

Rachel, Ashley and Sara

Yvonne and RachelI loved getting to spend so much time with Yvonne during wedding weekAunt Julia was kind enough to take care of Titan during the wedding!

My HOT date!
Dan officiated the wedding. It was really wonderful because he was able to share so many personal stories about Yvonne and D because he knows them so well!

The Johnson's and the Rude's

Yvonne and D holding up their sign marriage license.

It's OFFICIAL!

These last few pictures are of Yvonne's Bachelorette Party from the week before her wedding. A large group of girls went to dinner and then back to Sara Madison's house for celebrating Yvonne!

Me and the beautiful bride Rachel and I

Some wonderful women

The other table of wonderful women

What a great celebration of two amazing people. I'm so excited to see what the Lord through their life together!
I LOVE YVONNE!

Two age Two

2011-09-03T22:04:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday Rex & Myla!

I can't even believe that they are two years old. It literally seems like yesterday that I was on bed rest and now they are talking and running circles around me.

I always like to look back at what they looked like and where they have come over the last year or so. It is always a good reminder for me to be so thankful when I look at pictures of them when they were born. You would never know now that they spent the first month of their life in the NICU.

So this is where we were 2 years ago.
My beautiful 3 lb 8 oz baby girl
Myla Jane

My perfect 5 lb 9 oz stud

Rex MichaelThey were best buds from the beginningGetting olderOver the last year it has been amazing to see their personalities emerge. They both are very spunky in their own way.It's funny just how much they can change in one year. They look so different and do so many more things than they did a year ago. Amazing all the learning that they do!

It is fun to look at Myla's hair growth!

Rex still does that goofy smile!I love watching them figure out how to ride a scooter, how to get their own shoes on, how to use their fork, all these different skills that they figure out on their own! My bald little girlI have loved making Miss Myla so girly and she loves all her little accessoriesI'm pretty sure that I love this Tom Brady look on Rexy, maybe we will have to let it grow long again!I don't necessarily love looking at this picture but it is a good reminder to me to be so thankful and to remember the Lord's provision over our family during this tough time. 12 days in the PICU and the hospital. Just thinking about the whole situation can bring me to tears and reminds me to not take any of my kids for-granted. Myla was so happy once Rexy came homeRex back to his smiley selfAlthough these two have their moments, they really do love each other. I sometimes wish that I had a camera in their room so that I could see just what happens when they are in there together. Sometimes they can't stop giggling!Goofy RexOne of her first pony tails!Rex showing off his love of slimy things! He adores anything that is moving. He loves fish, frogs, dogs, squishing any bug that he finds. He has quite a connection with nature.Rex and Myla with their favorite person in the world, THEIR DADDY!Well, look at how big they are now!

We had nothing but fun with Quinn's twos and we are expecting no different with Rex and Myla. I'm pretty sure that we are going to call them the tremendous twos! We are blessed to have such amazing children and have thoroughly enjoyed watching them grow and change. We are looking forward to another year running after these two!
Happy Birthday Rex and Myla!

One Month and a Birthday Party

2011-09-02T15:06:00.009-05:00

Titan is ONE MONTH OLD!!
I honestly cannot believe that, oh how fast time flies.

On the flip side, I can't even imagine my life without him now and it's hard to remember what having just 3 kids was like, Titan just belongs with us, he fits right in.

I am not aware of any other one month old who is so loved by his siblings. Loved so much that I have to beg them not to touch him and wake him up when he is sleeping, not to try and climb into the swing with him and not to pick him up because they just can't wait to hold him. He seems to have an easy going personality (except in the evenings when he wants to eat constantly) and graciously accepts all the love from his biggest fans.

Speaking of how time flies, my babes will be 2 tomorrow. Despite having Titan as our little baby now, Quinn and I still refer to Rex and Myla as the babes. Saturdays are not good days to celebrate because Dan is preparing for church so we celebrated last night and honored the request of our oldest to be "just our family for Rex and Myla's birthday party."

We totally enjoyed our family time. Delicious chicken, green beans and potatoes on the deck, complete with cupcakes topped with LOTS of sprinkles (thank you Quinn) and some fun presents.

Rex and Myla have never been allowed to blow out a candle before so they were not very fond of the whole idea, it prevented them from diving into their cupcakes, but Quinton embraced his role as the big brother and helped them out!

Our princess

Thank you Betty Crocker for our delicious cupcakes.

If you have not noticed in previous posts, we have become a tattoo wearing family.
I'm not sure how it got started, although Quinn has always been a HUGE fan, but we are currently working on tattoo sleeves. I'm pretty sure that my boys would cover their entire bodies if we would let them. Quinn always says that he wants more "just like Graham" a good friend of ours.

Quinn was my big helper in getting ready for our party and LOVED helping me look online for their presents. I think he was more excited than I was about giving the gifts!Rex showing off his body art

I thought these next three pictures were so cute of our little party girl

Handsome Rexy

Titan didn't want to miss the party

Getting ready to open their presents

They had a VERY difficult time keeping their hands off their gifts until it was time to open.
Oh the excitement!

Rex went firstWe got him some Imaginext toys. It is basically a boys doll house. We got the Batman Batcave. It has little guys you can play with and motorcycles and cars to drive around and trap doors to go through. Very exciting.He seemed pleased!

Once again, he did not want to miss a thing.
Our house tends to be a very exciting place, lots to observe and take in!Myla was next, and Quinn once again was very eager to lend a hand. I'm totally serious when I say that he was SOOOO excited to give them their presents.

Myla got the Loving Family doll house. It comes with a little family and then a kitchen table and chairs so we will have to add some more furniture as time goes on but I'm pretty good at making washcloths into beds.

Both presents will be enjoyed by everyone. They seem to all play with each others toys and enjoy playing together! I'm sure these new birthday toys will get a lot of use this winter but thankfully we are still taking advantage of our hot days. I'm pretty sure that our pool will get used until it snows (I might be adding some hot water) but they just LOVE being in it and LOVE playing together in it.

I think I asked to see their tattoos for this picture... hmmm

I'm totally blessed!

The State Fair

2011-08-22T15:48:00.000-05:00

Before I tell you about the Fair, take a look at this beautiful baby!

There is nothing sweeter than holding this little boy. These pictures all might look the same to you but they each capture a little different face.
I love looking at all of them!

Titan, as always, was amazing at the Fair

We went to the Iowa State Fair last night with our friends the McGargills.
It was the last day of the fair. We got to the fair around 5 after our Sunday naps and enjoyed some animals, dinner and people watching. It was plenty of time for us and plenty of time for my children. We went to the petting zoo, the fish tanks and saw all the baby animals. We ate some greasy food and felt a little sick afterwards. It was a beautiful evening and Dan and I both agreed that a couple of hours at the fair was plenty of time for us.

Our first family picture with Titan in it!
(he looks a little cross-eyed)

Our friends the McGargillsQuinn and Hannah riding a little cow in the hands-on part of the kids exhibit

I took advantage of having someone around to take some pictures with me in them.
My handsome husband and I

At the end of the kids hands-on exhibit they got popsicles!
Our kids were thrilled!

They all are getting so big!Joe and Jill

My children are experts at getting filthy quickly! They enjoyed planting seeds and harvesting them and of course putting dirt all over themselves!

Fun family evening with our friends.
I can't stop looking at the first few pictures of Titan... I hope you enjoy watching him grow. He will be three weeks tomorrow. I just want to pause time and soak it all in. I don't want to miss a thing about the baby stage. He is napping on my chest right now. I just can't get enough of our little man!

90 Seconds

2011-08-20T22:17:00.004-05:00

Approximately 90 seconds was all it took for my two oldest to accomplish this....

and this... (check out her pretty neck)We were doing some watercolor painting on the deck today. Titan had been enjoying the great outdoors but was getting sleepy so I took him inside to put him in the swing for a nap. Our swing is only about 10 feet inside our house from the deck. I literally walked inside, grabbed his pacifier and blanket and put him in the swing only to go back outside to some beautifully painted faces. My guess is that the whole process only took 90 seconds.

Quinton especially was extremely proud of his painted face!

What a goof ball

Quinn was quick to tell me that Myla was the first one to paint her face.
What a funny girl.

I could not get enough of the smiles on their faces!Rex didn't paint his face but he was in full support of his siblings and had lots of smiles for me!

He is so handsome

Rex now adores his lil bro. He ALWAYS asks to hold him the moment I start feeding Titan and then waits patiently to "hold please"

Titan is pretty great at going with the flow. We moved our pool closer to the shade so Ty and I can be shaded but the big kids are still in the sun. Everyone is happy!

Popsicles are Rex' FAVORITE part of summer. My other kids enjoy them but Rex LOVES them. You can't open the freezer without him going crazy!
The get extremely fascinated by their tongue colors after eating a popsicle.

Pretty girl

Red tongues!

Titan loves napping outside.

So, I was reminded today that a lot can happen in 90 seconds when you have a 3 year old and two almost 2 year olds around. Luckily we are pretty good and laughing at situations like that and I got some cute photos of their painted faces. Messy faces and all, I'm one BLESSED momma!