Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Crazy Weather!
This morning was so pretty...sunny, upper 50s, maybe a bit into the 60s. The boys played outside on their bikes in light jackets - I drove to my dr's appt. with the windows down in the van, this picture was taken at 10:00 this morning...
Then it all started to hit. At about 11:30ish the boys came in saying it was getting cold - the sun went away and the wind came in its place. About 2:00 this stuff started falling from the sky - It looked more like hail than sleet - but I'm no meteorologist! The temp at this time was in the upper 20s.
Then the snow started to fall - we've had a couple of rounds of slight flurries - here is the picture out the front door at about 5:00pm - I was going to have the boys put on their winter coats and go outside to pose for me - but they refused, something about it being too cold. It's now 12 degrees...all in one day it went from spring to winter - maybe this can't happen only in MO, but we sure seem to experience drastic weather changes too much! Come on over :-)
Then it all started to hit. At about 11:30ish the boys came in saying it was getting cold - the sun went away and the wind came in its place. About 2:00 this stuff started falling from the sky - It looked more like hail than sleet - but I'm no meteorologist! The temp at this time was in the upper 20s.
Then the snow started to fall - we've had a couple of rounds of slight flurries - here is the picture out the front door at about 5:00pm - I was going to have the boys put on their winter coats and go outside to pose for me - but they refused, something about it being too cold. It's now 12 degrees...all in one day it went from spring to winter - maybe this can't happen only in MO, but we sure seem to experience drastic weather changes too much! Come on over :-)
Monday, January 28, 2008
Back from Vacation
Ok, not a "real vacation" - but it was a fun time...We had been wanting to take the boys to the Great Wolf Lodge in KC, MO - a pilgrimage we make just about every fall/winter, but this year we just couldn't seem to swing it and with the soon approaching baby to factor in we decided to "simulate" the experience with a hotel here in town. It has the same camping/woodsy/outdoors theme, and it is also experiencing an off-season lull in attendance so we were able to get a great rate. We goofed off all day at the pool and in the little yard our room had access to and ended with some late night movies - all of that activity and Steven was still able to go to work this morning to attend some required meetings. (Don't know if that is really a positive perk, but you know what I mean) Here we go with the pics...
Here is the little lawn area that our patio spilled into. The weather was great - a lot warmer than what we had been experiencing so the boys were able to run. It had this horse statue in the middle of the lawn.
Next was swimming...Huston never made it off the stairs - he is a very timid swimmer. The other two are fish - Isaiah was pretty independent, he can do the basic dog paddle and keep himself going and he loves to jump in. Avery needed assistance, but wished he didn't! (P.S. Know that you won't see many pictures of me anyway, I'm the usually the photographer, but you will never see a picture of my pregnant self in a swimming suit! - but believe me, I was there)
We then walked next door to the waffle house for a bit of supper - the boys were very hungry from their swimming, and can you tell they were a bit tired as well?
The evening was topped off with jammies, popcorn and Scooby Doo on the portable dvd player. Then off to bed in the bunk beds for the boys. (You can barely see the corner of them in the picture - I didn't really get a good shot of them - they took up most of that end of the room!)
Next was swimming...Huston never made it off the stairs - he is a very timid swimmer. The other two are fish - Isaiah was pretty independent, he can do the basic dog paddle and keep himself going and he loves to jump in. Avery needed assistance, but wished he didn't! (P.S. Know that you won't see many pictures of me anyway, I'm the usually the photographer, but you will never see a picture of my pregnant self in a swimming suit! - but believe me, I was there)
We then walked next door to the waffle house for a bit of supper - the boys were very hungry from their swimming, and can you tell they were a bit tired as well?
The evening was topped off with jammies, popcorn and Scooby Doo on the portable dvd player. Then off to bed in the bunk beds for the boys. (You can barely see the corner of them in the picture - I didn't really get a good shot of them - they took up most of that end of the room!)
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Shh...quiet
It's been a quiet week here at the Spellman household. I am sure not complaining about this, just never thought I would see the day. When you begin the endeavor of raising 3 small boys, you begin to think that your life will never hold the peace and quiet it had once known - ever again. I know there are many moms out there that know exactly what I mean, I also know there are days that you feel you wouldn't trade it for the world. But I also know that there are days when you stop and ask your son, "Do you have to do everything making noise!" Here are a few snapshots of our quiet days. Isaiah has become quite the worker - he sits at a desk or table and does coloring, writing, legos, whatever keeps his little hands busy. He has even told his brothers that he would "rather not play at this time," he needs to do his "work." Wow, it is amazing to see him grow into this new stage and I know that he will not always be the "quiet worker" but he is certainly gaining his independence in things and that is really neat to see.
On another note, Avery has become a total Jonny Quest fanatic. We have the complete first season on dvd and the boy sits absolutely riveted to the screen (as much as a 2 year old can anyway) He has the opening and ending credits memorized and talks and acts his way through each sequence. I tried to capture it for you on video - I'm afraid it was rather late this particular evening so he doesn't quite do it justice, but it certainly gives you a little taste of his fervor...
On another note, Avery has become a total Jonny Quest fanatic. We have the complete first season on dvd and the boy sits absolutely riveted to the screen (as much as a 2 year old can anyway) He has the opening and ending credits memorized and talks and acts his way through each sequence. I tried to capture it for you on video - I'm afraid it was rather late this particular evening so he doesn't quite do it justice, but it certainly gives you a little taste of his fervor...Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Football Wednesday
Tonight 2 of the 3 boys were melting down by 7:00 - so they had early bedtimes, while wide-awake Huston went downstairs to play football with daddy. So enjoy the Wednesday night football, without all the show-boating and the flashiness of the professionals...some of it looks a bit staged if you ask me :-)
And here are some still shots as well...
And here are some still shots as well...
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Cleaning Day
Yuck...I hate to clean the house - I can think of just about anything in the world I would rather be doing, but I don't like living in filth either so I guess I just have to bite the bullet and do the job. So what to do with 3 small children when you want to really scrub and mop the kitchen/dining room floor? Pull the dining room table and chairs into the living room and make a tent of course...
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Play Time...
We finally have been well enough to enjoy some play times. The last couple of days have been a bit busy - but not too bad - with meeting friends and finding things to catch up on around the house. The boys sure have been active lately - guess they feel that they need to make up for lost time. Our friend Ms. Mel gave us some boxing gloves and a punching bag and the boys sure had fun trying it out...
Then yesterday we spent the morning with some good kid friends of ours. We got to go and see their brand new house - it is still being worked on a bit, but for the most part is done. The boys loved it there and other than a few incidents that showed a lack of good judgment (kid brain damage setting in) the boys played very well with everybody. Here's a picture of the crew sitting down to snacks.
So anyway I am still working on getting something scheduled into the week that will help the boys burn off some of that energy - but these two events sure seemed to help...it's great to have friends!
Then yesterday we spent the morning with some good kid friends of ours. We got to go and see their brand new house - it is still being worked on a bit, but for the most part is done. The boys loved it there and other than a few incidents that showed a lack of good judgment (kid brain damage setting in) the boys played very well with everybody. Here's a picture of the crew sitting down to snacks.
So anyway I am still working on getting something scheduled into the week that will help the boys burn off some of that energy - but these two events sure seemed to help...it's great to have friends!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
My Funny Boys
Ok, today we were getting a little bit more to the phase of normal again. Huston was able to go to his morning of preschool - he goes every Wednesday - and Isaiah and I did an experiment with crystals while Avery watched a movie then took a nap. After the experiment was over, Avery was in bed, and Isaiah was occupied with a coloring book, I laid down on the couch - and needless to say I was asleep in no time at all. I awoke to find this piece of paper placed on the floor in front of the couch.
Can you read it? It says "Do not dstrv" (that's kindergarten language for 'disturb'). Isaiah thought he would take care of me by posting a little message letting all the people that pass through our house know that I needed some quiet. He can be a very thoughtful boy.
Later on in the afternoon the older two boys were playing quietly in their room when they asked me to help them get an additional toy down from their shelf. I was gone 5 minutes - at the most - I had left Avery occupied in the living room only to return to him at the kitchen table. He had dumped all of the salt out of the salt shaker and was busily scattering it about with his little pudgy hands. I came down the stairs to this sight and immediately yelled "Avery!" He jumped at the sound of my voice and clambered down from the chair saying, "mommy, mess...mess" So of course I took a picture. If you look close you can still see his little toddler imprint among the salt on the chair. You can also see his fingerprints on the table - he's totally incriminated himself.
Can you read it? It says "Do not dstrv" (that's kindergarten language for 'disturb'). Isaiah thought he would take care of me by posting a little message letting all the people that pass through our house know that I needed some quiet. He can be a very thoughtful boy.Later on in the afternoon the older two boys were playing quietly in their room when they asked me to help them get an additional toy down from their shelf. I was gone 5 minutes - at the most - I had left Avery occupied in the living room only to return to him at the kitchen table. He had dumped all of the salt out of the salt shaker and was busily scattering it about with his little pudgy hands. I came down the stairs to this sight and immediately yelled "Avery!" He jumped at the sound of my voice and clambered down from the chair saying, "mommy, mess...mess" So of course I took a picture. If you look close you can still see his little toddler imprint among the salt on the chair. You can also see his fingerprints on the table - he's totally incriminated himself.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
I Need...
I need to do so many things...I need so many things to happen!
1. I need Steven to be home in the evenings more often...this is the second day of him not coming home until after bedtimes and its getting kinda old. It really doesn't happen too much, but it seems we do hit weeks when he has some kind of meeting or volunteer thing for multiple evenings during the week...
2. I need my baby back - Avery is still under the weather and his personality shows that... here he is with one of his inconsolable fits - he'll just cry and cry about what?...anything, everything or nothing...and what is the only thing that calms him down? That's right, the "
nuk" (pacifier) that he is supposed to be getting rid of...guess that will have to be another something to hit again later.
3. I need to get some sleep - mommy's temper and patience lately has been very short...
4. I need to organize my life and stick to a plan...so many times I have an idea of what I want to do and plan it out and then something (like 3 boys getting sick the same week) foils that plan - not to mention that I have no self-discipline whatsoever. Do you realize that I have 3 different books started and am in the middle of 3 different Bible studies, plus I am trying to teach Isaiah and it looks like I am just teaching him to be a scatterbrained as me. Currently we are in the middle of a book about George Washington, rocks, and dinosaurs - plus we are starting a science experiment on growing crystals, learning about coins and money connected to skip counting in math and practicing our handwriting and reading...hmmm, does anyone else seem a bit overwhelmed by the lack of direction?
5. I need to find an outlet for my boys' energy...the two older ones have bunk beds. The ladder used to climb to the top bunk is removable, so we take it down to prevent Avery from going up there to crack his head on the floor...well, guess where I found him this evening?
And how many times do the boys just end up running, fighting, wrestling, jumping, jiving, wiggling...you get the picture. They are boys, they have energy - I need to figure out a plan for them to release it productively - oops...here we go again, back to needing a plan.
1. I need Steven to be home in the evenings more often...this is the second day of him not coming home until after bedtimes and its getting kinda old. It really doesn't happen too much, but it seems we do hit weeks when he has some kind of meeting or volunteer thing for multiple evenings during the week...
2. I need my baby back - Avery is still under the weather and his personality shows that... here he is with one of his inconsolable fits - he'll just cry and cry about what?...anything, everything or nothing...and what is the only thing that calms him down? That's right, the "
nuk" (pacifier) that he is supposed to be getting rid of...guess that will have to be another something to hit again later.3. I need to get some sleep - mommy's temper and patience lately has been very short...
4. I need to organize my life and stick to a plan...so many times I have an idea of what I want to do and plan it out and then something (like 3 boys getting sick the same week) foils that plan - not to mention that I have no self-discipline whatsoever. Do you realize that I have 3 different books started and am in the middle of 3 different Bible studies, plus I am trying to teach Isaiah and it looks like I am just teaching him to be a scatterbrained as me. Currently we are in the middle of a book about George Washington, rocks, and dinosaurs - plus we are starting a science experiment on growing crystals, learning about coins and money connected to skip counting in math and practicing our handwriting and reading...hmmm, does anyone else seem a bit overwhelmed by the lack of direction?
5. I need to find an outlet for my boys' energy...the two older ones have bunk beds. The ladder used to climb to the top bunk is removable, so we take it down to prevent Avery from going up there to crack his head on the floor...well, guess where I found him this evening?
And how many times do the boys just end up running, fighting, wrestling, jumping, jiving, wiggling...you get the picture. They are boys, they have energy - I need to figure out a plan for them to release it productively - oops...here we go again, back to needing a plan.
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