What We've Been Up To

You probably are wondering were I went to. I am still here.  It's just been super crazy around here. We have had all kinds of fun and not-so-fun stuff going on.

We celebrated our sweet little baby boy's 3rd birthday.  He was loving all the attention he was getting, but he wasn't liking all the pictures I was taking.

 The little stinker would not smile at me!  

For some reason any time we have a birthday in our household, someone ends up sick.  Not sure if it's too much excitement or too much ice cream, but Big Brother had a stomach bug the next day and spent most of the day on the couch.  Luckily, it didn't seem to spread.  

Sad, but kinda cute.  

We followed up the sickness with a good house cleaning and de-cluttering for the upcoming garage sales. 

 Baby Sis was a big help! 

Hopefully, this week we can get back to some normalcy and I can get a little blogging in.  Not sure, my "To Do" list is looking pretty long.  Have a great week! 

Thank Goodness It's Friday and a GOOD FRIDAY it is!

It's been quite a week!  You haven't heard much from me because I spent three days out of the week being a mother of five.  I was watching my niece and nephew since their regular sitter was on Spring Break.  We had a lot of fun, but I was exhausted!  I guess having five children under the age of five wears a person out!

Yesterday was supposed to be my catch up day, but I spent much more time looking for things in my cluttered house.  I lost two $25 gift cards to Lowe's and it is driving me crazy!!!  Luckily, I was able to find a bill that I had forgotten about before it was due!  My mission for this weekend:  ORGANIZATION!  But first, I must get the taxes done.  I know...nothing like waiting to the last minute. 

Today we enjoyed an Easter Egg Hunt at our church's local retirement home.   My uncle is currently living there getting rehabilitation for a recent fall that he had.  It was nice being able to see him.  My mother came along with a few of my nieces and nephews. Here is a cute picture of her and baby sis from this morning. 

We went to this same place last year and there were only about 15 children.  This year it at least tripled!  Here are a few pictures.

Big Bro in the yellow.

 Little Bro finding eggs. 

Enjoying their stash.

When we got home, I managed to get out a few Easter decorations.  I'll try to do better next year.  

Aren't these place mats adorable? 

We are looking forward to a relaxing weekend with our family.  I hope you all have a wonderful Easter weekend.

Potty Training Success?

Well, it's been almost three weeks since Little Bro gave up the diapers.  In retrospect, it really hasn't been too bad.  This past weekend was a great one.  My sweet little guy finally went #2 in the potty!  He was so excited, as was I, and we celebrated with an ice cream cone. 

Really, I am really happy with his progress.  He basically has #1 down and is holding it and remembering to go on his own.  However, sometimes he will be stubborn or too into playing and won't make it to the potty.  When we got home from running errands today, he jumped out of the van and immediately ran outside to play and refused to go potty which resulted in an accident.  He didn't want me to see, so he quickly went up to the bathroom and took off his pants and underwear.  I came upstairs to see what the deal was and he was "hiding" in his toy box.  I asked him why he didn't have his underwear on and he wouldn't look me in the eye.  By this time I had already started dinner, so instead of busting his chops, I decided to let it go.  However, when I went upstairs a second time to check on him because he was being too quiet, this is what I found... 

I think this is God's way of telling me to stop pushing him.  He is just a sweet innocent young boy.  He'll get it...sometime.

A Cookout in March?

I am loving this summer like weather!  It is absolutely crazy.  I keep waiting for it to all end with a big snow storm.  Sunday night we decided to enjoy this beautiful weather by grilling burgers and eating on the deck.  Our kids loved it.  Such a simple joy!

This boy can pound some cheeseburgers!  

Don't you love the dirt around his mouth?  We did make him wash his hands before eating!  

I can't get enough of this smile!  She loves the outdoors! 

Slow Down, Baby Girl!

Slow down, Baby Girl...you're growing up too fast!!!  My sweet little baby is nine months now and doing things at a way faster pace than her brothers.  This makes me sad.  My hubby and I have decided to not intentionally add more children to our family.  This means my sweet little baby girl may just be my last baby.  Sniff...

She is already playing by herself.  

She's pulling up to stand by herself.  

She's feeding herself. 

Heck, she can even change the channels...all by herself.  

Where does the time go? 

Before the snow melted...

We were able get a little more time playing in the snow on Sunday before it completely melted yesterday.  The weather has been crazy with blizzard like conditions on Thursday and then 60 degree weather by Monday.  I am not complaining!

 

 It's crazy how the cold doesn't seem to affect kids.

Of course, Little Bro had to eat the snow. At least it wasn't yellow!

Big Bro didn't want to build a snowman, instead a snow volcano!

Nothing like a cup of hot chocolate on a cold, wintery day!

Now, SPRING can come anytime! 

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday!  I hope you have a great start to your week!  I am starting mine out with a nasty cold and 2 out of 3 kiddos with the same thing.  Little Bro has been complaining about his ears hurting, so I am assuming he has an ear infection that is accompanying his cold.  I thought I'd cheer him up with a chocolate donut today.  At least I got a smile out of him! Have a fabulous week! 

Not Snow Much Fun!

There's nothing like the first official snow of winter.    Usually, I love watching it snow and pile up, but for some reason this year's first snow is just plain rotten.  I am going to blame it on all the beautiful springlike weather we have been having lately.  No matter how awful I thought it was, the boys, especially Big Brother, were thrilled to wake up and see the fluffy, white snow on the ground.  Immediately, they asked to go outside and play.  From the excitement in their voices, I knew that they wouldn't be taking no for an answer.  So after 30 minutes of pulling on snowpants, finding matching mittens, and lacing up boots, we were ready. 

Big Brother was still super excited! 

Little Bro, not so much!  You can't see the tears running down his face in this pic or hear his wailing.  It was evident...he did NOT like the cold wind or snow!

They only lasted literally ten minutes before coming in for some hot chocolate. 

Little Bro was much happier.

Sweet Baby Sis was fast asleep in her carseat the whole time. 

(We had gone to my parents house to play in the snow because they left for Florida today. I am just a tiny bit JEALOUS!)

Did you venture out in the snow yesterday?  I am secretly hoping that it melts soon so I don't have to make another trip out there to build a snowman or snow fort.  BRRR!  I can't handle the cold! 



Halloween is Overrated...

Well, this year for Halloween the boys wanted to be farmers.  I pictured cute little boys in overalls and straw hats. So...I spent an entire week searching Ebay and the local Goodwill stores for inexpensive overalls.  I even checked our Farm N Fleet and Big R for overalls and contemplated spending $25 on them.  Then, I happen to find one pair of 3T overalls for Little Bro for $2 at a consignment shop.  I went home tried them on Little Bro and he threw a major fit and screamed to have them off.   So I decided to skip the overall idea and just go for flannels, blue jeans, straw hats, and worker boots.  I bought a couple of "flannel looking" shirts at Goodwill for $2.50 each (I wouldn't have paid more than a quarter for them at a garage sale.), borrowed some straw hats from my mother, purchased a pair of worker boots for Big Brother at Payless, and we were set to trick or treat.  Halloween night I struggle getting the boys dressed in their outfits all while Baby Sis is screaming to get the itchy, uncomfortable little lamb costume (that I purchased used from ebay, but still paid $15 for) off her little body.  I throw the kids in the car and we visit Grandma & Grandpa down the road.  We then head back to our house to trick or treat in our neighborhood.  We go next door and our great neighbor gives the boys full size packs of Starburst.  On the way to the next house Big Brother says "I'm done, Mom.  Can we go home?"  So we "made" them go to the neighbors on the side of us, then we headed home with a handful of candy.  Lesson learned:  Halloween is overrated. One piece of Candy and they were happy.   At least I got a few pictures...

All Three of my Sweethearts

Our Sweet Little Lamb 

Our Little Farmers and their Big Tractor

Our Trip To Rader Farms

If you have children under the age of six, you don't want to miss the best $4 entertainment this fall!  A couple of weeks ago, a friend and I took our children to Rader Farms in Normal, Illinois.  We had no idea what to expect, but it was recommended by a friend of mine.  We loaded up all five children of ours in my mini van and made the 30 min trip, and we are so glad that we did!  It was so much fun, so I thought I'd share our experience with you.

As we entered, we were greeted by a field of pumpkins.  However, that wasn't what caught the kids' eyes.  Here is big brother leading the way to the fun activities.  It cost $4 a person (including adults) which covered all the activities, except the big corn maze.  Children under 3 were free. Super cheap in my opinion.

The first thing they wanted to try out was the big bouncy thing.  Not exactly what you would call this, but it was super bouncy and super fun!

Next we headed to the big mountains of hay bales.  The boys loved this! 

They actually had two different areas to climb.  This one was a little smaller and more manageable for our little ones.  However, they had a huge castle built with hay bales for older children.

Next we hit up the little Caterpillar rides.  This was especially fun because it was pulled by a John Deere Tractor.  The boys were thrilled! 

There was also two John Deere Green & Yellow grain bins filled with corn for the kids to jump, scoop and play in.  We ended up finding corn in our shoes, socks, and even a diaper, but they loved every minute! 

Little Brother did not like waiting his turn to climb on the real tractor and take a drive!

The kids finished off the day by feeding the animals at the Little Barnyard.

Fun was had by all.  Even Baby Sister was all smiles.  There was actually a lot more to do, but we had to get home for nap time.  We will be back!  Next time we will come early and pack a sack lunch.  Only two weekends remain before they close! Check out their website for more information.

Fall Fun at DJ's Pumpkin Patch

The weather has been absolutely beautiful the past couple of weeks, and we have been able to get outside and enjoy it! 

Two weekends ago, we visited DJ's Pumpkin Patch (my brother & sister-in-law's).  They have a kiddie corn maze, pick your own pumpkin patch, and fall crafts for sale.  Here are some snapshots from our trip.

 We started by picking our own pumpkins. 

My Big Helper 

Little Bro was busy running away...but the ground tripped him up!

Baby Sis was enjoying the fresh air

and Big Brother managed to find the perfect pumpkin!

Then, we decided to check out the Corn Maze.  

They both loved getting lost from Mom in the corn...of course! 

We had a great time and ended up with lots of pumpkins and gourds to decorate our house for fall!