Agile, Mobile, Hostile

OK, so Ashlynn isn't hostile (most of the time). But just like the ball players in Remember the Titans, she is warming up for the big game. Mobility.

She's doing a hybrid of an army crawl and a creep to get around. She pushes off with her feet and strokes her arms much like a butterfly swim stroke. She can sure get around that way! She also gets up on her hands and toes, which is hilarious. She gets up there and then can't figure out what to do from there.

We are expecting a full blown crawl any day now.

We also don't expect this gummy grin to last too much longer.

She is also trying to get herself into a sitting position. But

she

can't
quite
make
it.

Hooks

I had planned on writing this post on Sunday, but with the new update, we could not figure out how to download the pictures off my camera and onto the computer. Thankfully, my genius of a husband figured it out this afternoon. YAY!

So I am starting off my "hook" themed post by stating that I am hooked on my husband! I pity the woman who does not have a computer genius coming home to her house for dinner every night. So young ladies, if you are looking to hook a husband, a prerequisite MUST be that he can either fix any computer ailment, or make enough money to hire someone who does. It's a little known secret to marital bliss. ;-)

Item number 2:

HOOK 'EM HORNS!

Sorry, but I had to get that out of my system. I had been wanting to post this since Saturday afternoon and I feel much better now.

Third item:

Walkmom wanted a picture of the hooks I replaced our hall tree with.

Walkmom, this is the bracket with hooks that my hubby (who is not only a computer genius but handy as well!) screwed into the wall. I bought it at Lowe's for around $20-25. I bought this one for two reasons: it went with the molding in our entry hall and the screws in the back were exactly 16 inches apart, allowing handy hubby to screw it into the studs. Not all the hook sets I looked at did, so take a measuring tape with you when purchasing. It also has plenty of sturdy hooks for my kids most used jackets.

Upgrade

So my my hubby decides that it is time to upgrade my computer. Huh? So what if I have to reboot it a few times a day because it locks up on me? So what if it is three years old, which in computer years is definitely looking at retirement age. And even the girls' computer was faster than mine.

So, always looking after me, my husband has now set me up with a dual core something or other, with 2 gig something something. It's a good thing he makes his living in binary language and not me. :-) What it does mean in that I am now learning Vista and getting everything set back up. My passwords are no longer in memory, so I am logging onto various sites, trying to remember which password I used there.

The only down side so far is that neither one of us have been able to get the driver for my digital camera working. So I can't upload pictures - a definite drawback for a blogger. So hopefully we'll get that going soon. Otherwise, I might go through some sort of withdrawal, not being able to post cute pictures of my kids.

Time for Yet Another Conversations with a Three Year Old

The other morning Kora and Aubrey must have been annoying Lauryn, who was playing in the living room. She yells into the school room,

L: Hush, y'all guys! [Tami's note: Where is this child from? Minnesota?]

Aubrey: No!

L: Yes! Hush y'all guys or I'm going to put you in the dungeon!

*************
Yesterday morning as Lauryn was getting dressed for the day (before seeing anyone else in the house I might add), she asked me,

L: Mama, can you tell Kora and Aubrey and Brynna and Hailey to stop?

Me: Tell them to stop what?

L: To stop being my sisters!

************

The other morning Lauryn was playing with the Little People toys in the living room when she spotted a bug. She jumps up and tells me, "There's a fire ant or a 'squito or somethin'! I'm gonna go get a kleenex!"

She hurries off to the restroom and comes back armed with a tissue. Then she looks down at the toy that the bug had been on. It wasn't there anymore, so she starts picking up different toys and peering under them. Not finding it, she starts calling, "Bug! Come out! Come out or I'm gonna kill you!"

Me: Lauryn, if it comes out, you're going to kill it anyway.

Lauryn: I know! I'm gonna squash it too! Bug, come out! Come here or I'm gonna pick you up and squash you and kill you and throw you away!

With incentive like that...

********************

When we drive over a dip in the road or go in an elevator that makes your stomach go flip-flop, like you're on a roller coaster, Lauryn always squeals,

"Oooooooooooo, Mama, that scared my stomach!"

Christmas Gifts: Group Giving

A few days ago, I was talking with some other moms about Christmas. We were laughing over the years when we didn't have much, and about how we handled all the gift buying, especially with extended families. One of my friends suggested I write a blog post about some of my ideas.

There are lots of ideas for handling gift giving in extended families. Some draw names, some give only gag gifts, some set a dollar limit, some donate to charity in a family member's name, some play games. In our extended family, we have started giving group gifts. For instance, while we buy my mother and father separate gifts, we give each sibling and spouse a single gift. Then we give each family a gift for all the kids. So for instance, my sister who lives in Lubbock will get one gift for her and her husband to share. They have three boys, and we give them one gift for them to share. So each family gets only two gifts. They do the same for us (although sometimes they will split it into a gift for the older kids and one for the younger girls)But we are able to give them something that is hopefully nice and thoughtful and still spend less and have to chase and keep track of fewer gifts.

Here is a list of gifts ideas for groups of kids, covering a wide age range and good for both boys and girls (of course not all idea will work for all families):
* Movies - a no brainer, right? This one has been a big hit with my kids.
* Books - Good books can be enjoyed by all ages, even those too young to read them by themselves if a parent or older sibling will read them to them. Last year my niece and nephew received the Chronicles of Narnia set from us.
* Music CD's
* Board Games
* Coloring books and crayons/markers/etc. - There are some really cool crayon sets out there, and if a family has all young kids this could be a hit. You could even personalize some coloring books (mix in princess and Spiderman books for both genders), get a big set of crayons and a set of glittery markers and you are all set.
* CD player - Kelly's brother's family got my girls their own CD player one year and they have really enjoyed it. Plus it is something that they could not have afforded it they had to buy all the girls a gift.
* Sidewalk art supplies - There are some really cool sidewalk art chalks, paints, etc that all the kids could really go to town on.
*General art supplies - A big tablet of drawing paper, some paint, or some art pencils and maybe a "How-to-Draw" book and all the kids in a family could practice their art.
*Water toys - I throw this in for those of us who live in hot climates. Here, we can swim 7-8 months out of the year. So a Slip 'N' Slide or a set of super soaker water guns could be very welcome.
* Any toy set with lots of pieces which can be used with more than one person: Legos, blocks, TinkerToys, Lincoln Logs, etc.

If you have only girls you are giving to, here's a couple of ideas:
* a box of dress up clothes
* a nail set - a couple different bottles of nail polish, an emery board, a set of toe separators, and the stickers you put on nails. Put it in a cute container or basket and the girls have an at home nail salon!

If you need to cut down even more, what about giving a family Christmas gift? It is just enough to let the family know you are thinking about them, but can be done without breaking the bank. Here's some ideas for that:
* a family movie night - a Blockbuster gift card, a couple of bags of microwave popcorn, and some hot chocolate mix.
*Give to their interests. If a family is really into camping, give them a camping lantern or a dutch oven, or something that they can use while doing what they enjoy.
* Take your kids' pictures to a photo place (like CVS or Walgreens) and have inexpensive family calendars made.
* A Christmas tree ornament - Give them either a personalized ornament or one that goes along with their interests (eg. if they are a big sports loving family, find a team ornament).
* Give them a meal in a basket - In a basket, put some homemade meal fixin's, like soup in a jar, cornbread mix and brownie mix. You can find ideas for this sort of thing all over the Internet, like this place or this one. Just Google "mix in a jar" or "gift in a jar" or "gift mixes."
*Gift cards - If all else fails, or if you have to mail it and big baskets won't cut it, send an Amazon gift card or a card to a favorite restaurant.
*Movie passes - Theaters also sell gift cards so you could treat the whole family to a movie out - even at $10 a piece, it would be hard to find a nice gift at that much per person.
*Web Camera - This one is especially nice for family who lives far away.

Well, these are just suggestions. I'm sure there are lots of other good ideas out there. If you have any good "group gift" ideas, leave a comment! Especially for boys, because I have no experience with boys. Happy gift planning!

Summer Projects

I've been intending for weeks to post pictures of Brynna and Hailey's new bunk beds, along with a completed summer project list. I kept putting it off, but today I am getting it all posted! So please bear with me during a post that is a month overdue.

While most families have summer projects to complete, this year mine took on a new urgency. I had been unable to do much the last three months of my pregnancy except survive, and my house looked it. Plus with a new baby, we had some room rearranging to do. So once I was recovered from pregnancy, birth, and beginning nursing, I hit my to-do list for my house. It was a balm for me, since I had felt so useless, tired, fat, and discouraged for the latter part of the pregnancy. Feeling like tackling major house projects helped me feel more like myself than I had in months.

First on the list was finding and ordering bunk beds for Brynna and Hailey. Then I had painted their room before the bunk beds arrived. I also painted Kora and Aubrey's room while I was at it.


I also had the girls take up the rocks out of our rock bed in our front yard and planted sod there. We cleaned up the flower beds and I put down new red mulch. We also got some chairs and plants for our front porch to make it more inviting. That was the goal anyway.

When the bunk beds arrived, we moved Lauryn to a big girl bed and set up the crib. I then decorated Lauryn and Ashlynn's room.


We finally bought the entertainment center we had been wanting for years, so we had to work on the living room a bit.

I also re-organized the entry closet and re-did my bedroom.

I painted our entry way and got rid of our decrepit hall tree. Kelly hung up a nice bracket with hooks in the hallway instead.

I also helped the kids with some craft projects, reworked my menu rotation (more on this in a day or two), did some house cleaning, and did my lesson plans for this year. We also had tons of doctors and dentist appointments to fit in.

Whew! Makes me tired just thinking about it. But after months of doing nothing but gestating, it felt good to getup and do something, to busy and involved! Now I am happily in maintenance mode, and enjoying the new school year. Oh, and I make myself a promise not to take on that much in a summer ever again.

Sometimes Kora Lets Someone Else Hold Ashlynn

This is 6 year old Hailey with her baby sister.