She loves the camera

I asked Kelsey what she wanted to do this afternoon while Taylie napped.  Her answer,

"Go outside and you can take my picture!" 

So that's what we did...I followed her around and let

 her do her own thing while I snapped away.

Just a bit...

After a positive test at the office yesterday, it's confirmed that influenza is back in the house for round two this year.

Bits and Pieces

Kelsey had a really cool dream last night that she wants to come true in real life....Her friends from school all got off the bus at our house and swam in our little pool in the backyard...then they went to her friend's house to play dress-up.  She got to wear a sparkly pink dress....the boys were mad because her friend didn't have any dress up clothes for them.  Her friend Stella wasn't able to make it because she was at a carnival.

Taylie is feeling much better.

Not sure what is up with Macey....her lower legs hurt and it's hard for her to walk, and was cold again tonight after dinner....temp starting to go back up again.

Taylie has decided to become a thumb sucker.

Kelsey thought her doll needed a Christmas dress so she dug out the fabric and some ribbon.

Mace practiced bubble blowing with gum.

Taylie and I played a partial game of Sorry before she lost interest.

I beat Kels in a game of Sorry.

Kelsey and Taylie set up many figurines with the Little House on the Prairie DVD package as background for their own little photoshoot.

Kelsey started practicing her recital routines at gymnastics tonight.

Tried the $8 pan pizza hot'n ready from Little Caesars for dinner....pretty good, but will stick to the reg. $5 from now on.

The Christmas Dress

Oh my...

Kelsey's photo...

Bubble blowing...

Bits and Pieces

Macey was fever free and acting like herself again!

Taylie now has the high fever...

We enjoyed having a lazy morning on the couch together..

Macey collected all the Little Critter books in the house and read them to me and Taylie.

Kelsey completed a whole math workbook on her own...about 30 pages.

Sunday school at home was about the Easter Story....  the girls asked a lot of hard questions.

Kelsey still thinks that her daddy would be strong enough to roll away the big stone from the tomb.

Jason had the big girls try to do his ab workout with him.  Macey was really into it.  Kelsey just wanted her doll to try it instead.

I had to make a new leg cast for Kelsey's doll...somehow she broke it while doing sit-ups.

We decorated eggs with two free kits the girls got from school and Taylie used a kit I got at the Amish store for 50 cents.

Jason is thrilled to be in first place for our family brackets currently.

Jason and I are excited to watch the Bible on History Channel tonight again.

Bits and Pieces

Macey still can't seem to kick her high fever...a trip to an urgent care might be in store for tomorrow.

We watched Little House on the Prairie together, played card games, and snuggled a lot.

No one is sick of the I Spy game yet.

Jason took Kelsey and Taylie to Colon High School's play, Alice in Wonderland this afternoon.  Kelsey now wants to be in a play so she can get flowers afterwards.  Since they didn't bring a camera along to the 2pm showing, Jason decided to bring her back before the 7pm showing to get some pictures with the cast. 

Taylie begged to go too, but only wanted a picture with Alice :)

BIts and Pieces

Macey stayed home from school with a fever....104 when Tylenol wore off.

Kelsey was working on backbends already at 7:15am. 

Macey was requesting for me to make her "homework" by 7:20am.

Elizabeth was making a trip to Walmart so I put in an order for a loaf of Grandpa's Oven raisin bread because I love it THAT much.  She delivered it by noon...what a good friend :)

The girls made a phone call to Grammy to wish her a Happy Birthday!

It was a beautiful sunny day, but still too chilly for my liking.

I cleaned and organized the house a lot today.  

I helped Kelsey brush and style all her dolls' hair.

We watched gymnastics videos from YouTube on the tv.

Taylie was happy to be daddy's helper and sit on his back for push-ups.

Macey and I shared as many "stories" as we could think of while cuddling on the couch.

Dinner was as simple as can be....lots of fresh fruit, sandwiches (I had raisin toast), and cheese.

I washed and folded a bin full of kids clothes so they are ready to be brought to Once Upon a Child.

Bits and Pieces

Preschool theme was  Names....identifying names, spelling names, songs about names, finger painting letters of names, circling letters of names, etc.

Kelsey enjoyed singing and dancing in a fancy dress to our Sunday School songs.

The boys I babysit...might be some of the funniest kids I know...they sure made me laugh today.

Macey came home from school saying she felt tired at school and her throat was scratchy...sure enough 101 temp :(

Tonight's dinner was philly steak and cheese pizza...pretty good!

I took Kelsey to school tonight to sign her up for Kindergarten.

Jason is very happy it's March Madness!

Bits and Pieces

I had an eye doctor appointment to see if my new brand of contacts were still fitting well....they are.

We visited Aldi's and Goodwill while we were out.  Found brand new shoes from Target at Goodwill for the big girls at $2.99 a pair.  They loved them and they fit.

Elizabeth and two girls made the trip more fun..plus I got treated to a caramel latte on the way home.

Taylie took a two and a half hour nap....quite common for her.

Kelsey enjoyed some dress up games and music on the computer.

I rotated toys around...pulled some out from the closet and put some others away again...so things will get played with more often.

Macey made a fancy house with many stairs out of Legos.

Kelsey realized what she wants to be when she gets older.....A STAR!  I asked what kind of star? and she replied, "A famous one so I can be on tv and you can sit right here and watch me all day."

Macey's favorite part of her day was doing math centers.

Leftovers for dinner.

We had a movie night tonight with popcorn for a treat since everything was picked up, supper eaten, pj's on, and reading done by 5:30...usually we only have movie nights on weekends.

Kelsey asked me how old she needs to be to have a boyfriend....Macey answered for me.."33 because that's how old mom is."

Bits and Pieces

Macey asked me if there were airplanes around back when I was a kid.

Taylie's outfit of choice was a skirt instead of jam jams or comfy pants.  amazing.

Frogs was the topic at preschool today....Taylie enjoyed every second of it.

I had my first cup of coffee today at Elizabeth's house...first one in over a week.  I enjoyed it :)

I took pictures for my friend Savannah's boys...2 minute sessions outside in the cold.

Then the girls wanted a turn too....I got some fun shots.

Taylie was in a very fun goofy mood all day long...we like it that way.

Macey came home with a hole in her sweater.  She said there was a string hanging from it so she cut it at school and it started unraveling.  Good thing I paid only 50 cents for it at a garage sale.  I told her to throw it away, but instead she cut it into a 3/4 length sleeved sweater and made a headband out of the extra material.

The green eggs and ham lunch at school wasn't as good as Macey was expecting.

Kelsey and Taylie set up a fancy tea party...even with pretend salt to put in our tea.

Girls had greek yogurt, grapes, and cereal for dinner.  Jason and I had vegetable lasagna and salads when he got home from practice, after girls went to bed.

Taylie is still doing great without paci.

Bits and Pieces

The paci fairy came this morning and left a note in Taylie's room where we hang her paci's.  She took all of them to give to babies that need them...

Taylie searched the house high and low for any left behind with no such luck.

She napped just fine without it and went to bed just fine without it. 

Kelsey was amazed how Mrs. Wilson could turn ranch dressing green for their celery and broccoli today!

Taylie surprised me with a drawing of Humpty Dumpty.

I re-arranged a few things around the house today...it's my obsession.

Taylie told me, "I have to decorate the house more"  meaning, she wanted to paint again and hang up her painting on the wall.  She remembered to use tape this time :)

Macey brought home her writing on recycling...it was fun to read.

The family room turned into a gymnastics room this afternoon for practice before class.

Kelsey's American Girl, Saige, broke her leg and I had to make a cast for her, which Kelsey then went on to color and design.

The girls and I stopped at the library to sign up for the upcoming Fancy Nancy Party...we got the last tickets available, phew!

We ran through Walmart to get my favorite raisin bread made by Grandpa's Oven, peanut butter, and granola bars.

Macey worked on her homework at gymnastics while Taylie ate snacks and watched.

Kelsey was beaming as we all watched her learn how to do a front flip into the foam pit from the running tramp.

There were only 2 kids her in class tonight so she basically had a one on one lesson tonight since there are two teachers :)

We had a pork tenderloin roast for dinner, with mashed potatoes, corn, and hawaiian rolls.

Kelsey brought this home today from preschool.

Taylie's Humpty Dumpty drawing.

Before Saige's injury....

And after...

Bits and Pieces

I am hooked on Oikos Key Lime greek yogurt.

Jason pinned a beach towel around Kelsey so she could be a Superhero Girl for the day.

Macey cleaned out and organized the filing cabinet without me even asking.  That's a big job!

At our Sunday School at home today, we learned about Trusting God...each girl had to fall backwards off the couch to see if they trusted me.   Macey and Kelsey did...Taylie did not.

Kelsey and I read many books together while Macey read a Judy Moody book during Taylie's naptime.

Jason spend most the day doing schoolwork at home and at school.

The girls and I painted paper shamrocks and hearts.

Kelsey asked for envelopes so she could fill them will paper dolls to give to her friends.

Taylie ate a few too many blackberries in the last two days...things are flowing well.

Kelsey has a tub full of green finger jello to bring to school tomorrow for her party.

Taylie got frustrated because the painting she made for her daddy wasn't sticking to the wood wall with the magnet she was using.

I ordered a free 8x10 photo collage from Walgreens with all pictures from the recent birthday party.

Jason did have time to set up brackets for our family tournament on espn.com.  Boy does he get excited about March Madness.

Macey was in charge of toasting the english muffins and flipping the sausage patties tonight's dinner. (sausage egg mcmuffins, blackberries and pineapple)

Taylie is getting really good at playing the I Spy card game since it's been played a lot this weekend as a family.

Taylie was a bit moody today.

Macey told me that if she was a Leprechaun, she would give all her gold to poor people.

Bits and Pieces

Macey woke up at 11pm last night with the stomach bug :(

Taylie woke up at the same time with a 103 temp :(

Kels gave her sisters a big hug goodbye in the morning and hopped on the bus for school.

I had to cancel babysitting and preschool for the day.

The day consisted of a lot of cuddling and tv watching instead.

The girls and I enjoyed some old movies of myself growing up...we had some good laughs.

Macey told me about 10 times that, "Throwing up is not fun."

I am so thankful that Kelsey is so easy going and just played happily with her American Girl doll most of the day.  

Kelsey was our Sunday School leader today.

While motrin was working it's magic, Taylie had a dance party in her bathing suit with Kelsey.

Kelsey then changed her outfit 2 more times to dance.

Kelsey is considering moving to Chicago because it's beautiful there and she could go to the American Girl store whenever she wants to.  Plus she says she could go see Charlotte a lot.

Taylie asked for a cotton ball several times today (a.k.a. gumball)

We had baked chicken, green beans, and red skinned potatoes seasoned with Italian dressing and some fresh monkey bread right from the oven for dinner.  yum!

Macey never got off the couch today.

There were tears at bedtime, when I had to tell Macey she couldn't go to school tomorrow for pajama day.

Dr. Kelsey  

(thanks Aunt Brenda for the doctor bag,

 it gets used everyday)

Where's Taylie?

Bits and Pieces

Kelsey woke up and told me she had a dream that she had three wiggly teeth on the bottom and two fell out.

Taylie and I ran to the local store to buy ketchup and dish soap...we ran into our friend Andrea and her son Milo there.

Kelsey helped her teacher make pancakes in their classroom.

I made homemade fingerpaint for preschool tomorrow...not thrilled with the consistency, but it will do.

We invited Kelsey's good friend Peighton to come home from school with her today to play.  They ended up dancing to One Direction, playing Barbies, having a tea party, and playing outside.

Macey was full of stories after school...I like how I even find out that it was Mia's mom's birthday today.  (I have no clue who Mia is)

Kelsey later shared that she had another dream last night...she had a brother and he was a firefighter.

Macey asked for me to write her full name in cursive...she then practiced it over and over.

Jason stayed after school to do schoolwork and then had practice at 4:45pm...the big girls went to bed without seeing him today.

We had spaghetti and cheese filled breadsticks for dinner.

Macey had to use the bathroom during dinner.. so I mentioned how she should use the potty before we start next time.  Her response was, "Okay, but mom you should really call it restroom instead of potty...that's what first graders call it."

After dinner, the girls and I had a dance off competion playing Just Dance Kids 2.  The winner of three rounds won 10 M&M's.  Macey won by a long shot.

Taylie asked me to spell words for her again tonight.....Darrin, Bennett, peace sign, Carol with the horses, and purple.

Bits and Pieces

Taylie made bubble dough at preschool.

Kelsey got her wish today....haircut to her chin.  She looks adorable and loves that she looks like Kit the American Girl.

Macey was happy I agreed to going to the library before dinner.  

A lot of books about the life of the American Girls were checked out...along with Pete the Cat, ABC book, and a Thomas the train DVD.

Kelsey told me she loves having a baby sister because she has such a cute little butt.

Macey informed me that kids at school think her hair smells good.

Jason is once again the varsity baseball assistant coach....practice began today.

Kelsey changed her earrings from yellow gummi bears, to purple gummi bears.  She can't wait to show her teacher tomorrow.

Macey picked Nutter Butter Cookies for a snack and peeled out all the peanut butter from the insides and made a big ball to eat last.  

Our big snowman that we built about two weeks ago has been missing one of his mittens....Jason spotted it today way up high, stuck in a nearby tree.

We had pancakes and sausage links for dinner.  We like breakfast food a lot.

Kelsey has gone two days without making a fort.  This is a record.

Taylie is "writing" in her notebook right now asking me to spell words....Frances, sippy, couch, Gaspard and Lisa.

Bits and Pieces

It was a very gloomy rainy day.

Taylie and I cleaned and got laundry caught up this morning.

We made a trip to get gas in the van, drove by the fire scene to see firefighters, and stopped by Elizabeth's house so the girls could play for an hour together.

Taylie once again wore jam jams all day.

Kelsey helped me make banana muffins.

Kelsey and I got snuggly, while Taylie took a nap and watched Rescuers Down Under together.

I dozed off for about 20 minutes :)

I am sick of sinus pressure headaches...

Macey was super excited to bring home a note from her teacher today mentioning that she has moved up to the 3rd grade reading level.

Kelsey and I ran through Kroger to get some groceries quick before her gymnastics class.  We found some bubblegum mouthwash and toothbrushes on clearance, which is always fun.

We had pork tenderloin, muffins, coleslaw with poppyseed dressing, and waffle french fries for dinner.

Taylie requested to sleep with her stuffed Chiwawa at bedtime.

I am itching real bad to go garage sale shopping....

Bits and Pieces

I didn't get out of bed until 8am because of the time change!

Ever since having the stomach flu last week and puking coffee all day, coffee just doesn't sit well, even decaf, so I'm debating giving it up.  I only like it for the taste, not the caffeine.

We learned about obedience at our at-home Sunday School.

Kelsey said she would use her strong muscles to punch the serpent in the face if he ever came near her.  (Story of Adam and Eve)

Macey made a folder with pockets out of cardstock paper using staples and wrote her name on it as fancy as she could.

Kelsey stretched and stretched today in hopes to do the splits.  She's getting closer, but not there yet.  She plans to show Peighton her progress tomorrow at preschool on the ABC rug.

I re-organized a cupboard so the girls can get to plates, cups, and bowls on their own without a stool.

Macey clipped then painted her fingernails.  She alternated hot pink and tangerine.

Taylie was a Daddy's girl today...this tends to happen on the weekends.  She came up to me and asked, "Where's daddy boy?" I told her that he was in the shower and she says, "Ohhhh.....well I need to snuggle him right now."

I started My First BOB Books with Kelsey today.  She enjoyed it, so hopefully we'll get it in our schedule to do them once a day.

Kelsey decided today that she wants her hair cut to chin length.....she now has an appointment on Tuesday.

Jason and I both got runs in on the treadmill.

The big girls still went to bed without a fuss just after 6:30 tonight, even with it being quite light out with the new time change.

We all ate random meals all day long...lots of cereal, blueberries, beef sticks, yogurt, mac and cheese, pears, and toast.

Fire in town...

Elizabeth and I ventured with four kids to the eye doctor this morning...hit up Aldi's and McDonalds before heading home....

On our way back into town, we were welcomed by a "Road Closed" sign and a man directing us around town.

We were driving around the lake when Jason calls and says school is letting out because of a huge fire downtown...there was a water shortage and kids were being sent home from school.

Jason and Macey were home by 2pm.

A fire started in the kitchen at Curly's Bar and Grill (Mancino's)...which spread to Prudential Real Estate, and Five Star Pizza.  

The big girls and I went around 3:30 to check things out...walls were being knocked down, smoke everywhere, and it seemed as if there were about 100 firefighters around.  

Later at night, we went back again after things calmed down a bit to take some pictures....

It's all quite sad....

Bits and Pieces

Kelsey changed her outfit 4 or 5 times today.

Macey put on her long sleeved shirt and realized the sleeves were WAY too short.  She must be growing again...

It was sports/fitness day here at preschool.  I had fun with the kids after tabletime doing some stretches and exercise activities.  

Taylie and Eliza laughed so hard when we were acting out wild animals, but then Taylie yelled, "NO, Eliza, this animal is not funny!"  when we acted out the snake.

Kelsey loved showing us her class picture that she brought home from school today.

Kelsey also brought home her progress report today.  My favorite comment on it was:   "Kelsey loves to help others...all the kids know to go to Kelsey for help."     

Jason discovered a way to get Taylie to eat dinner:  line up food in a line....she eats a piece, then counts how many are left....eats a piece and again counts how many are left until they're gone.  She thought it was the best game ever.

Cakes by Candice has treated us again...THREE types of cheesecake today.  Wow were they good.  (raspberry, toffee, and choco swirl Oreo)

Macey asked me to help her open up WordPad on the computer so she could type sentences after school.

The moms at preschool today were demonstrating how good/bad we were at doing push-ups in my dining room today. 

We had subs, strawberries and coleslaw for dinner tonight.  

Jason ran....I did not.

It's "Wear your favorite Sports team shirt day" at school tomorrow.  Macey has nothing to wear, so after she went to bed, I dug out 3 of my shirts that might possibly work and laid them out for her to choose from. 

February catch up...

Random catch up photos....

Kelsey and her good friend Stella.

Macey and Sophia.

Kelsey's "preschool" party.

Movie theater party with popcorn!

Chuck E Cheese with friends.....

I was helping at Kelsey's Valentine's Party at school, when

 she got delivered a flower from her Daddy :)

Now I'm all caught up I think! :)