What Would You Do If You Were 2?

What would you do if you were 2 and your mom said, "Audrey I'll be back in just a minute. I've gotta go potty." What would you do if you knew "potty" meant a 2-5 minute window of uninterrupted mischief? Well... if you were Audrey you might head straight to the laundry room. You see...the laundry room is where all of the good stuff is kept. If you were Audrey, you might also tip over a laundry basket and use it as a ladder to climb on top of the dryer. And, if you were Audrey, once you were on the dryer, you might open up the forbidden cabinets full of endless mess-making potential. In the cabinets you would find a brand new box of laundry soap and a half-full bag of cat food. You and I may think this is pretty routine stuff, but if you were Audrey... this would be heaven. Endless possibilities would lie before you. If you were Audrey, you may decide to pull down the bag of catfood and the brand new just-barely-opened box of laundry soap. And if you were Audrey you might find it entertaining to dump it all over the floor. But this wouldn't be enough. No... If you were Audrey, you would probably decide to go for a swim in this delightful-smelling pile of goodness. You and I may think that 2 minutes wouldn't be enough time to complete such a task, but if you were Audrey, 2 minutes would be plenty. You would have learned that these roguish little missions of yours needed to be carried out in double-time, because when Mommy's done - the fun is over.
Yesterday Ryan broke... I mean... My camera mysteriously ended up dropped on the ground and broken to bits so unfortunately I couldn't get a picture of this magical moment to share with you all. But please picture in your mind, a whole box of Cheer, at least 7 lbs of catfood, and one very happy powder-covered Audrey. But if I'm looking at the bright side... I guess I'm glad she didn't eat it.

9 Years Already

March 30, 2008

March 30, 1999

Yikes! Has it really been almost a decade already? We've grown up so much in the past 9 years. We were both 19 when we got married and we had a lot to learn. We were so blinded by love and the idea of starting a life together that we were married only 6 months after we met. Despite our haste and our immaturity, we've managed to stick together and make quite a nice life for ourselves and our cute little family. Even though the same incredibly sarcastic sense of humor that made me swoon so long ago may sometimes make me cringe now, all I have to do is look into Ryan's beautiful blue eyes and I remember why I fell in love with him. Thanks for being such a great husband and my best friend.

Girls' Night Out (An Ode to Great Sisters)

What do you do when you find yourself sitting at home watching your husband and 'the guys' playing cards on a Friday night again? What do you do when you feel tha the testosterone level in your generally female-dominant household has gotten way too high? And what do you do when the men's incessant shouts of strategy and victory drown out your TV? You call your sisters! Hooray for sisters! We rescued each other from the masculine cries of 'the gaming husband' and ran away to the mall. Sweet relief.
I really wanted to get a cute picture of my sisters and I to post on my blog. This proved much easier said than done. We huddled together and tried the whole hold-out-the-camera-and-take-a-picture-of-yourself thing.

First I got this picture.

Then this picture.

Then Jill decided I wasn't a very good photographer and grabbed the camera from me and took this lovely picture.

And this one.

The whole time we were trying to get a great shot, these two guys were just sitting on a bench watching our crazy struggle. They never offered to help. I can only imagine what they must have been thinking. We finally broke down and asked a nice looking lady to help us out and snap off a shot of us. She must have been a professional photographer, because boy do we look great!

It's fun to have such great sisters to do fun things with on a Friday night.

We missed you Lauri!!!

Easter Toys

I'm posting like mad, but I'm sure I'll settle down when I get more used to this blogging thing. I just wanted to post the pictures of the toys that the girls got with their Easter egg money. I feel like I should win mom-of-the-year award for being so patient at the store. Have any of you ever taken three little girls to the store to pick out a toy? It's quite the adventure.

Khursten chose a Dora the Explorer bubble machine and two bottles of bubbles.

Allie picked out a beach Barbie with a sweet pink convertible.

Audrey chose a princess bouncy ball.

Is it Winter? Is It Spring?

Oh March, you fickle thing. Yesterday I was singing praises for the spring and today I woke up to a full-on snow storm. I just dumped about 2 inches at our house in less than an hour. But... as quickly as the storm came, it went again, and the snow started melting away. I keep telling myself that as long as March eventually goes out like a lamb then it's okay if it's sometimes a lion, but we're getting really close to the end of the month.

Yesterday Allie got her Kindergarten shots. I can't believe she's almost a Kindergartener. Crazy! She was a very brave girl. The sweet little nurse told Allie that it was okay to scream and yell just as long as she held still. Now if any of you know Allie, you know that she took this to heart. She let out the highest pitch, most piercing scream I've ever heard for each one of the 4 shots they gave her. It was a little intense. I don't think the nurse really expected her to actually scream. The doctor made it very fun for her. (Can I just say that I looooove my new pediatrician) They even gave her a "Going to Kindergarten" book. What a big girl!

A Breath of Fresh Air

We're finally all feeling better! It's been so nice. I cleaned my house, tackled the mountain of laundry growing in my laundry room, and I am feeling good! One thing I love about spring is being able to open the windows and let the breeze blow through my house. I love the smells and the sounds of the kids playing outside and the cars driving past. I wish I could keep my windows open all year long. Forget about having a heater in the winter and an air conditioner in the summer. I want fresh air. Now if only I lived someplace where that was possible.

It doesn't pay to ignore your kids!

As mentioned earlier, I am so sick. I was laying on the floor of my loft wallowing in my own misery and trying very hard to be a mom despite how I was feeling. It was a nice day out so I sent the girls outside to play. As I was laying on the floor, I kept hearing the door to the backyard keep opening and closing. A thought started brewing in the back of my mind that this could be trouble, but I closed my eyes and ignored it. A few minutes later I heard some seriously silly giggling and again thought "This can't be good," but still I ignored it. When I heard the kitchen faucet running I decided it was time that I needed to finally step up and be a mom. It took me a few minutes to muster up the strength to go downstairs. When I reached the bottom step, my jaw dropped and this is what I found. The girls had made a mud bath for their feet outside. The water from the hose was way too cold so they used a pitcher from the kitchen to bring out some nice toasty-warm water for their home-made spa. One pitcher-full wasn't enough, so of course they had to come back inside and refill it, making little muddy footprints across my floor. The lesson I learned from today is that it doesn't pay to ignore your kids.

So Sick

Our poor little family has been sick for so long. Over a week now. I had a cold and then got better a few days later. Just in time to take care of the rest of my family who came down with it right after me. I nursed them back to health only to be rewarded with a nice bought of the stomach flu. What is up?
The saddest part for me is that I haven't been able to go to the gym for over a week. Right after Thanksgiving I joined the local gym and it has become quite a big part of my life. This past week I have realized just how much I depend on it for socialization. Just getting out and talking to real, live adults is really nice. I have really been missing it. Hmm... maybe the lack of adult interaction could explain my sudden desire to start a blog. I'm not actually talking to anybody, but it feels like I am. :)

My First Blog Entry

For the longest time, I've been looking at all my friends' blogs and living vicariously through their lives. I figured it was time for someone to live vicariously through mine. So here it is... my first blog entry.

So...yesterday was Easter. After doing two easter egg hunts, we have had our sugar highs, our sick tummies, and now the girls are all crashing on the couch. Oh the joys of candy. (and thank goodness for Nickelodeon) Yesterday we all went over to my mom's house for easter egg hunt #2. She does such a fun job. She numbers all the eggs and then each egg is worth money. Allie ended up with almost $10 after all was said and done.