Bubbles!

Jack has always been a fan of bubbles but he's always been terrible with using them. He never understood that his lips didn't need to touch the bubble wand. Last year I hardly ever got bubbles out, they are just so messy. But the kids are another year older, funny how that happens, and Jack has been on a real bubble kick these days. Today I dug out our big "spill-proof" (not mess-proof) bucket that I got when Jack was very small and I was just sure he would love bubbles and know how to use them properly. He was probably one. Now he is four and for the first time he is using the bubble wand as it is intended to be used. Success! And Schaeffer actually figured out the proper way as well. I never once saw him try to blow bubbles with his lips touching the wand. Smart child. Logan, on the other hand, kept the wand about as far away from his face as possible. He did not quite figure things out but he had a great time playing and dipping his wand in the bucket. They had so much fun and handy for me the big bucket has three wands and three dipping slots.

While we were playing bubbles Jack kept saying to me, "There might be kitties in my bubbles, Mom." Thankfully, he hasn't been disappointed that there are no kitties in his bubbles. In his imaginary world there are  kitties floating around inside his bubbles and he is thrilled. I know we have the current Dairy Queen commercials to thank for this absurd idea.

Schaeffer really got the hang of it.

 

Logan, really did not get the hang of it. He is actually blowing in both of these pictures but unlike Schaeffer's pictures you can't tell he is blowing because his cheeks aren't puffed up. His blowing was so dainty and ineffective. Not to mention that he held the wand so far away from his face. He is a funny kid.

It Makes Me Smile

Don't you just love it when we all get together like this?

Our last family picture was taken in Nashville when I was pregnant with the twins. Since then we have added 4 kids to the mix for a total of 7. That makes taking pictures extremely difficult. We have many attempts at pictures of just the kids but I thought Easter would be a great time to try for a big group shot again. We were all together and there was extended family around who could handle the cameras and put on a circus to draw the kids attention. I also thought that everyone would be dressed somewhat decently for Easter. I guess 13 out of 15 people being dressed nice is good enough. :-) Thankfully we got the hat and work coat off of Dad for the picture. This may go down as one of my favorite family pictures. Every child is looking the right direction and all three of the older kids are smiling. And all the adults look normal and happy. I look at this picture and I instantly think how blessed we are and how much I love them all and I look forward to seeing all these kids grow up as together as possible.

Food Withdrawal is Making Me Crazy

So I just really need to vent or something right now. I had sorta decided that April 1st would be the beginning of yet another personal campaign to lose weight. But I decided that sorta subconsciously and didn't really make any plans or psych myself up for it. Perhaps that's because I would have talked myself out of it. I desperately want to lose weight. I want clothes to fit me and I want to look cute and not feel fat all the time. But I also really enjoy food. Sunday night after a long walk with Nicole I stepped on the scale having an idea of what it might say....it read 5 pounds heavier than I expected. With that my diet was kicked into high gear. I was disappointed and frustrated. I searched around and found a couple of apps to help me out, a calorie tracker which for me is really helpful. I put in my info and my goals and it give me a number...a ridiculously small number (in my opinion) of calories I should consume if I want to reach my goals. So for two days now I've been trying, really trying to not eat so much. Of course, now that there are numbers and proof of my behavior all I can think about all day is how hungry I am or how good a handful of chex mix or a few Oreos would taste. Food is taunting me! And I've realized just how much I snack or grab a bite here and a bite there throughout the day. If I ate like normal I could skip meals and still struggle to stay under my calorie count based on random bites I take throughout the day. I have, however made the realization that I can eat more if I start to do more physical activity. Thus a 40 minute run/walk last night. Which has resulted in an incredibly sore knee today. It's all so frustrating! And it doesn't help that my husband hasn't gained a pound in years and he can eat whatever he wants as much as he wants and he can run as fast as he wants as far as he wants....and he doesn't even care about food! He would forget to eat if it didn't result in passing out. How is it that some people can look at an Oreo and gain five pounds and some people can eat 5 Oreos and gain nothing? And how is it that those same people who CAN eat Oreos don't really care to eat them and those of use who can't even look at them can't stop thinking about eating them?!!!!

Did I mention there is a pack of Oreos taunting me from the counter?

Swimming Party

Jack has been looking forward to his swimming party ever since we went to Kyle's swimming party at the end of December. We had such a good time at Kyle's party we decided to give it a try for Jack even though we've never done anything like this for birthday's before. But I'm so glad we did. Once again Paul and I agreed that we had such a good time. And I think all our guests did too! Jack said he had a great time and I believe him. He loves his puddle jumper and when he has that on he swims like a fish. We hardly have to stay with him. Here are a few highlights from the party. 

Swimming and splashing and swimming. I think almost all the kids had a blast in the pool.

Special visit from the barbershop singers for a very in-tune round of Happy Birthday. 

Friends and Family celebrating with us. 

The Birthday Cake. When I asked Jack what he wanted for his birthday cake he said a blue garbage truck. I think it turned out cute and Jack really loved it.

Gifts from such generous friends and family. Now you all have to come over to play with him and his new toys! He's very excited about trying them all out. 

We Have a 4 Year Old!

We have had such a great time celebrating Jack the last several days. He turned 4 last Wednesday and we had his birthday party on Saturday. Jack was really excited for his birthday this year, though perhaps still a bit confused on what a birthday really is. At the beginning of the month when we talked about all the family birthdays we would celebrate this month (6) he kept asking if the birthday person's gender would change. For instance, I would say "Jack, Mommy's birthday is on Tuesday. I'll be 29 years old." and Jack would respond with, "and then you will be a boy?". Ummm....no it doesn't work that way buddy. He also somehow got birthday's connected with names. On his birthday when I would ask him how old he was he would count his four fingers and say, "I'm 4, but I'm still a J". I tried to explain to him what a birthday really is, but for some reason he has birthday's affecting gender and potentially first initial. Very bizarre.

I got out of bed early on Jack's birthday so I could see him blast through his door decorations. Instead he just crawled under. Later in the morning we went upstairs to play and I explained that he was supposed to rip through the paper. He didn't want to tear the pictures that we had drawn but I assured him it was fine and he ended up having a blast. Perhaps next year he'll remember this and blast through his door.

What kid wouldn't want their very own box of Lucky Charms? He loved his special cereal and plowed through the box in a few short days. 

To help make his actual birthday a little more special and interesting, we invited a bunch of friends to the park. 

The kids loved the water bottle volcano and we made eruptions until I ran out of baking soda. 

Finally, Daddy got home and we finished dinner and it was time to open the rest of his presents. Jack waited very patiently for this moment.  

Geotrax Grand Central Station

Bike

Trying out his new wheels.