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Maiden voyage ...

The boys had a blast camping this weekend. The camp ground certainly left something to be desired as far as the adults were concerned, but the boys found a little gully/canyon and decided they would be quite happy if we moved there permanently! They seriously spent every minute we would allow down there and came back muddy, exhausted and happy! Paige adapted very well to the great outdoors. She quickly discovered the joys of wandering off, both to get Mommy to chase her as well as to explore! Apparently the rocks tasted quite nice and the dirt wasn't so bad either. She managed to wear herself out though and slept beautifully. Well enough that I'm willing to discuss the next trip!

We got home early afternoon on Sunday and decided to wash the six inches of mud off the Suburban. Caden and Paige laughed and shreiked away while Daddy squirted them with the hose. Trace was apparently too 'mature' for that so he sat on the sidewalk getting his baseball cards organized. We are all exhausted from our "vacation" and heading to bed early now!

Summer is comming!

We had a nice warm day last Saturday so I put this outfit on to try and get at least one use out of it. Nana bought it a long time ago and we thought it wouldn't fit Paige because it is only a 6-9 month! It fit though but thank goodness it only cost $1.47 because she got berry stains on it that I can't seem to get out now! Sorry Nana!

I don't have time for a long update because Caden is sitting on the couch telling me to get my buns moving. He is anxious to get the trailer loaded for our maiden camping voyage with Paige this weekend. We are only going a 1/2 hour away so if it is a miserable failure then oh-well! I think we'll be fine though. The weather is supposed to cooperate thank goodness.

New's on the home front...

Let's see. Caden is officially finished with speech therapy! I think he is as happy as I am about it - one less thing to do every week. Trace scored the only goal for his team last Saturday! He was SO excited and grinned from ear to ear. He was also exhausted because there were no subs for the game! Caden almost got a goal but the ref blew the whistle just before he got there, oh-well, maybe next time! Paige has finally moved up to a size three shoe! I have spent the last two days hunting for shoes for her. Let me tell you, they don't think anyone with size three feet should be walking because there are very few hard sole shoes in that size. And apparently they feel that if a little girl that size is walking then she should only be dressed up and certainly not near any dirt! Everything is dressy or all pink or white!! I almost bought her some little boy ones but finally caved and got some pink and white that seemed to fit her better. If she ever decides that being outside is ok then they will be filthy!

Well, got to get my "buns moving" as Caden put it!

Dinner time...

The following slide show is an example of what a desperate mother does when the baby is hungry and dinner won't be ready for another 1/2 hour! Paige had about three helpings and loved every bite. Afterward I picked her up straight out of the high chair and carried her directly to the bathtub to hose her down!

UH-OH Spaghetti-O's!

Why do some kidds have to be SO hard?

With Trace I can usually just talk to him and work with him to get cooperation. He is pretty moldable and wants to please us. Caden, on the other hand, I can't figure out! He wants our approval and love but doesn't seem to know (or care) how to get it. The past three days have been tough but this morning I finally lost it. He demands that I fix him an eggo without saying please or even asking me to do it. He pinches his brother for not answering him immediately then proceeds to call him names and mutter at him. All the while I'm in the front of the car telling him to STOP IT NOW. Doesn't care, just keeps at it. When I asked him to get ready for preschool he came back down with sweat pants. He knows we don't allow sweat pants to be worn to school and when I remind him his answer is, "well I want to be comfortable!" (Very disrespectfully) I told him to go upstairs and get a pair of pants that are appropriate for school. So he went upstairs and screamed at me that he doesn't have any pants that don't have holes in them - several times. When I got in the shower he sat at the bottom of the stairs the entire time screaming at the top of his lungs because he didn't know where I had put his sandwhich! (it was on the kitchen table).
I'll admit I finally lost it and gave him a little swat on the buns through his jeans. It didn't hurt him physically at all but I know it hurt his ego (which is apparently a little too big anyway!). So then I take him to preschool and on the way I told him that he was not going to watch any more Sponge Bob for a while. (his favorite show). I told him it is too disrespectful and until he can watch those shows and still be respectful then we wern't going to watch them. Well by the time I dropped him off it was obvious he had been crying and he was telling me he didn't feel good and didn't want to go. I felt terrible but I told him he had to anyway. I talked with him, gave him a hug and tried to get a laugh out of him with a tickle but he still walked away looking like the world was on his shoulders! I just don't know what to do with him any more. To ignore his behavior or try to talk to him only seems to make it worse. To spank or otherwise discipline seems to completely devestate him emotionally! Something has to be done though. Aaaaggghhh! Why oh why do some kids have to make life so hard!!???? I know this too shall pass, but I just really needed to get it off my shoulders!

Some pics from this week

Soccer Season Again!

Caden and Trace had their first soccer games today. Neither team won but both kids had fun (and that's all that matters). Caden sat out most of the second half because he was sweating and his legs were hurting. So much for our hope of an athlete! Trace ran like crazy and wore himself out. Rick and Paige and I nearly froze to death in the sub zero temperatures! We are spending the rest of the day trying to get warm. I didn't get any pictures of Trace's game today because we already have a lot of him. Caden is #1 and has the blue stocking cap on.

Spring Break Fun

Trace got to introduce Daddy and Caden to the fun of Lazer Tag this week! They had so much fun they did two rounds. Paige and I sat and visited with strangers in the snack bar. We owe them a trip back for bowling now!

Other than that Spring Break has been pretty much a bust around here. It is too cold to be outside so the boys have played far too much Play Station. Soccer practice started and I've sat out and frozen to death while watching. Paige wound up with an ear infection, Caden has a nasty cough and is running a fever periodically and Trace got up this morning complaining of a head ache! School starts back on Monday and I know at least one person who can't wait!

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Easter Best.

I guess I should be a little dissapointed in myself. My first year with a little girl and I didn't even get her a new Easter/spring dress. I guess I'm just too darned practical for my own good though. I had planned to put her in her birthday dress since she only wore it once but I've since washed it and it shrunk too much. So I found this cute sundress in her closet from Robin (Madison and Collette). With a shirt underneath and a sweater on top it was almost warm enough for the below freezing temperatures on Easter morning! The little sandals were also a donation from Robin and they were at least a size too big. But she looked awfully cute! I thought about getting the boys new shirts too, but being boys I knew they didn't care and these had hardly ever been worn. So, here is my clan on Easter morning as we were rushing out the door to church! I literally threw them down, said smile (!) and then said ok, now get in the car we're going to be late! I'd post a couple of pictures of the baskets but they are really not so great and there are not many. I guess my whole point to this post is not, poor me, but more Wow have I ever changed! There was a time when I thought dressing my kids up all cute and making sure everything was always perfect was really important. I guess I'm learning what really is important though. That is the memories we are creating and the love they are getting. There is a little girl adopted from China only a couple months before Paige who in her short time home has suffered a massive heart infection and a subsaquent heart transplant. As I've followed this baby's story I've been reminded daily how important people are and not things. So, who cares if none of them had new clothes on Easter morning, and who cares if Paige's Easter basket held a hand-me-down bunny and goldfish crackers, we were happy and relaxed and together! Now, go give your kids a hug and an extra piece of chocolate because they are only little once!

Tank tops to turtlenecks.

Chicago weather is so much fun isn't it? One year we celebrate Easter in the warm sunshine and the next we are awaiting snow flurries! Of course we also went from a family of four to a family of five! Happy Easter to everyone!

This is Paige's baby, and I don't just mean any baby she has lots of those, but this is THE baby. Just as another example of murphy's law of course this baby has been discontinued! I paid $9 for this one which I thought was a bit much little did I know I'd be paying $15 each for two more! This one seems to always need washing since she chews on the knots on the hat and drags it everywhere. Yesterday morning as we were getting ready to take Trace to school I looked over and saw her "feeding" baby. Of course she was "feeding" herself too! Then when she was done she just picked everything up and marched off like it was perfectly normal. What a funny girl!

As for the rest of us, we are all still about the same. Rick spent last week in Milwaukee getting the new base off the ground. Wednesday was his first day back in Chicago and wouldn't you know it there was a huge semi accident on the freeway and it took him over three hours to get to work! We still haven't taken the house off the market. I'm kind of leaving that up to Rick and he still needs to work out details with Jason. As far as school goes we are still in limbo. I've been told that the amount of aid we might get from the school isn't any where near where we would need it to be. So, while I wait on an answer from above I will be looking into the local public school as well. I haven't heard anything bad about it which is comforting!

My mom was out for a visit last week. We had a whirlwind week of running around, shopping and juggling three kids. It was great having her here and the kids loved every minute of it! Well I need to get moving today because apparently Easter is just two days away (Caden reminds me hourly) and I've done practically nothing! So it is off to Walmart with three kids for me!

Teeth, teeth and more teeth!

" Not gonna show you my teeth! Wellll, ok. How's this?"

Now this is more like it! Paige does not like showing off her teeth but has just recently started opening her mouth if you ask to see them. The problem is the way she opens her mouth you still can't see any of the teeth. I wanted to preserve her goofy grin. I've never seen a baby get two bottom teeth and only one top one. Usually the two top ones come in pretty close. Paige's second top tooth did just finally pop through yesterday though.

Amature golfer...

Watch out Tiger, Caden's practicing! He couldn't wait to get outside to try out his new clubs even though the wind was blowing hard enough to carry the ball! Nana bought him the set at the Doller General and according to Caden, "they are real metal!"