Have you met Nictoria?

I love the imagination of a child. As I was cleaning up the kitchen after supper tonight, Jaclyn sat at the island and shared with me some bits and pieces about her new "friend," Nictoria.

I found out that "Nictoria" is a 5 year old little girl..."no wait, 6 years old. She just had her birthday. She's growing very big." Some things she likes to do is go to Sunday School and go to the doctor. When she goes to the doctor, though, she doesn't get shots. Nictoria has a dog and her name is-Nictoria. Imagine that! "Jaclyn," I asked, "why haven't I met this friend of yours?" "She's never been to our house, Mommy. She stays at her own home with her mommy and daddy. But she's going to come over real soon. And she has a brother, just one brother. Did you know that her favorite color is red? It is."

"Ok mommy, you finish, I'll go get my jammies on, and we'll talk more about Nictoria, Ok?"

Ok hon. (Oh, I could just chew her up.)

Body Massage-for Free!

What is it about...Sunday afternoons in comfy pants, a big ol' pot of chili, watching the Vikings win, and frequent cat naps on the couch with my babe..as all the little babes sleep...that makes me feel like I got a full day's worth of a body massage-for free?!

A few of my favorite things...

Today could not have started out better. I'm sitting here thinking about how many of my favorite things have been a part of this beautiful morning and it's only 9:34am. First, it's Saturday, which means that my babes doesn't have to get up early to go to work-Extra cuddle time. (Favorite #1 of the day.) Love it!! Then we all...babes and I along with Jaclyn and Oli...snuggled while we fed the twins in our bed. (Favorite #2) As daddy started getting out the traditional breakfast ingredients for Saturday mornings-eggs, hash, toast, oj- I got this really crazy idea to go out for breakfast...all of us! Mitch was game so we drove to the bottom of our hill to the friendly Old Country Buffet for omelets and waffles marking off another "first as a full family" excursion. Everyone was great...as well as the bacon, mushroom, and tomato omelet that Fernando perfected for me. (Favorite #3) As Jaclyn and I were getting our milk and OJ the cutest little old grandma and grandpa were watching us. We began to walk back to our seats and they stopped us to talk to Jaclyn. They were adorable! Adorable! I love conversations with the "experienced life learners," don't you? (Favorite #4) Then, as if the morning wasn't good enough, I look outside and snow is falling like a bad first time skiier on a bunny hill. (Favorite #5) "Look!" I said. It is so beautiful...and still is so beautiful since it hasn't let up even the slightest. If I was writing this tonight before bed I would be adding a trip to a drive-thru nativity scene at the local Christian college(Favorite #6) and a date on the couch with my babes watching Die Hard-Live Free or Die Hard. (Favorite #7). Even though there were no "Cream colored ponies and crisp apple streudels, Doorbells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles," my day has been fantastic with a few of my very own favorite things.

TV-Free

I have always known that TV and children just don't mix. And at our house, we rarely have the TV on when the kids are awake. There is an occasional "Little Einsteins" or "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" show on in the morning but our main TV is downstairs and we are upstairs most of the day. Jaclyn watched her first cartoon at our house when she was 17 months old...right when Oliver came along. And even then she wasn't really interested in it. But, at our last MOM's meeting our speaker talked about the dangers of TV....the I-bet-you'll-think-twice-about-watching-your-child-sit-in-front-of-your-TV kind of dangers. Did you know that your child's brain waves are moving just as fast in front of the TV as they would be if he/she was staring at a blank wall? Oh my gosh! No wonder some kids are ready to spin circles after sitting in front of the tube!

So after hearing this I took matters into my own hands. I'm happy to say that we have been TV-free for the past 2 days. ...and no one really cares.

Here are some more stats on Television and the Family.

• Children under the age of 9 are not cognitively and emotionally prepared to handle watching the evening news.


• By the time a child is 18 years old, he/she will have viewed 200,000+ acts of violence.


• Advertisers spend on average $700 million per year individually on sales pitches to children.


• More than 60% of the commercials are for cereal, candy, and toys. (Meat, milk products, bread, juice make up only 4% of ads shown during "childhood viewing time.")


• Children who do NOT have TVs in their bedrooms do better in school.


• Kids who watch 25 hours of TV per week show increases in agressive behavior, childhood obesity, and sleep distrubances.


• The average child in America spends FIVE hours per day watching TV and playing video/computer games.

Sources: American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines for Parents: Television and the Family; Selling Out America's Children, David Walsh, PhD.

Two Good to be True!

These girls...I tell ya, I just want to chew on them all day long. They are at such a wonderful stage. The babbling, smiling, giggling....they are so fun and I love them "more than all the stars in the sky" as Julia would say.

Little Sister Hazel
Very Ticklish
About 1.5 lbs lighter

The drooler (as you can see)
Wakes up first in the morning
Cut her first tooth

Like Jaclyn, she wants nothing to do with cuddling before naps and bedtime.

Big Sister Norah

Making noise most of the time

Will laugh if you just look at her
No teeth yet

Same length as her sister

Wakes up babbling in their crib
Like Oli, she loves to snuggle before naps and bedtime. She'll "sing" as I hum to her.

Thankful Thursday

1. Eucerin

2. Listening to my husband's calming voice as he gets Oliver out of bed in the morning. (Oli needs some convincing sometimes that even if he has to make a pit stop at the changing table, he'll still get breakfast.)

3. The smell of a baby's breath

4. Inspirational speakers who talk about "How to give your kids more by giving them less"

5. The sound of silence

6. Slippers

7. The glisten of white lights on a Christmas tree at night

8. Little hands. (When is the last time you just looked at your little one's fingers and hands in action?..so cute!)

9. Orange juice-Country style..the thicker the better

10. Beth Moore.

A blast I might say...

Yesterday was a busy day! The kids and I drove down to spend the day with a friend from college who lives an hour away. They live on the cutest little amish farm that they bought and gutted a couple of summers ago. I feel like I can take a deep breath when we're at her house...their driveway is like a mile long, they have horses, no tv...no indoor plumbing. Just kidding about the indoor plumbing, but it is a very peaceful place. She's a friend that I ran cross country with who is now married and has a 2 1/2 year old daughter. The kids had a great time and the mommies did too. We enjoyed catching up, playing with the kids, and sewing my tie-up curtains for my scrapbooking room. She is a great seamstress...and sews the cutest little vintage outfits for her daughter...the kind that should be sold for top dollar. Anyways, here is what the day looked like in a shorter-than-long version.

6am- Alarm went off, showered and ready before twins woke up
6:55-Twins up and bottles fed
7:15-Jaclyn up and breakfast started
7:25-Oliver out of his crib and breakfast
7:45-Jaclyn dressed herself with the clothes I set out for her
7:50-Diapers changed and new outfits on for 3 youngest
8:05-Take diaper bag, fabric, baby toys, pack-n-play, bottles, formula, and purse to car. Start car.
8:20-Get all coats, hats, and mittens out and start bundling Oliver, helping Jaclyn
8:25-Put twins in their carseat under cozy Bundle me.
8:30-Change Oliver's diaper...again!
8:35-Start loading big kids in carseats....and then little kids.
8:45-Pull out of driveway and head to a coffee shop for a free coffee (I'm not saying which shop because it wasn't Starbucks and I don't advertise anything but the best. But, it was free..I had to take advantage of it. And, my Starbucks was 15 min's out of the way round trip.)
10:00-Arrive at "Countryville Lane"
Play, talk, play
Eat, talk, play (How yummy does chili and shredded goat cheese with homemade bread and flax oil sound??)
12:30-Set up Oliver's pack-n-play in the bathroom...put him down for nap.
Twins sleep on master bed.
Jaclyn sleeps in spare bed.
Precious playmate sleeps in her bed.
12:45-3-talk, sew, talk, laugh, talk, sew, iron.
3:00 Big kids up and snacks..then out to the barn to see the horses with playmate's daddy.
4:00-twins up and bottles
4:30-Out the driveway beginning our hour trip home....and to finish talking about "silos, animals that bite, round bales, buffalo, and why Jesus wants us to help others."

A blast I might say! ...and a perfect sunset made with shades of orange, blue, yellow, and pink to top it off.

I've lost my Bloggy Mind

Call me an early addict or call it the 4 sips I took of my husband's Iced Venti 1/2 Caf "Oh-so-nasty" Eggnog Latte. (Blahhh!) But I think I've lost my Bloggy Mind. Last night as I was trying to fall asleep..my eyes felt as if they were being held open with sticky tack. I hate that. All I could think about was a specific blog topic that I needed to write about. More details later.

If you'll hang in there with me...

So, I am new at this whole Blogger World. I don't know all the tips and tricks like some of you veterans. But I do know that I have been thinking a lot more about personal identity on the internet. First I gave all our children an alias and now I am going to change our online address to http://www.4under3.blogspot.com/. This will happen tonight at 10pm. Hopefully I'll see you all back here again.

If you play me a Jennifer Knapp song...

If you play me a Jennifer Knapp song...
I'll think of my friend, Lauren, from college at Northwestern.

As I think about college...
I'll dance happy memories through my head of my days in Moyer 7.

When I think of happy memories with great friends...
I'll laugh out loud about how boisterous and crazy my friend Stace was.

When I reminsce about stellar moments with Stace...
I'll be reminded of our '00 Homecoming Pep Rally.

As I rerun our Pep Rally through my head I'll remember the Goldfish contest and how we thought this was soo funny and entertaining...until we were both nominated to participate.

Then I'll get sick to my stomach and have to pull the car over to eliminate excess food particals that were not digested yet because I'll remember EATING 17 LIVE GOLDFISH AND STILL LOSING THE CONTEST.

...I'll do this...all because you played me a Jennifer Knapp song.

4 things you might not know about me.

I read this over at All about Us and thought I'd join in.

Four jobs I have had in my life

1. YMCA staff (anything you can think of, I did it.)
2. Toddler Teacher in Childcare Center
3. First grade teacher
4. Barista at Starbucks

Movies I Would Watch Over and Over

1. The Notebook
2. Hitch
3. Dumb and Dumber
4. Die Hard-Live Free or Die Hard

TV Shows that I watch

1. The Bachelor
2. The Unit
3. Friday Night Lights
4. LIVE with Regis and Kelly (Kelly and I would be BEST friends if she lived next door.)

Four Places I have been

1. Germany
2. France
3. Jamaica
4. Cozumel (Honeymoon!)

Four People who E-mail / Call Me Often

1. My mom
2. ...my mom
3. ...my mom..
4. do I even need to say it?

Four of My Favorite Foods

1. Veggie Sandwiches from Brugger's
2. Breakfast foods (waffles, pancakes, eggs, hashbrowns, you name it.)
3. Lemon Cream cake from Olive Garden
4. Salads...the best being Oriental Chicken from Applebee's

Four places I would rather be right now

1. Skiing in Montana
2. Relaxing beachside in Jamaica
3. Shopping
4. On a Cruise somewhere...I've never been.

Things I am looking forward to this year

1. Christmas....like every year.
2. Watching the twins continue to develop their own personalities
3. Park dates next summer.
4. My hubby's and my ski trip in January.

Want to play? Consider yourself tagged and please let me know you decided to play!

Happy Birthday Little Brother!!

Today is my little brother Derek's birthday! Well, he's not physically my little brother-standing 6'4"-but he is 3 years younger. I love him d.e.a.r.l.y!!!

Throughout the years he has engraved many wonderful and comical memories in my head. Like the day he, my other younger brother, Shane, and I were all standing in the entryway--bombarding my mom with events from our day at school--as she walked in from work. I think we were 6, 8, and 10...give or take a year. Anyways, I was trying to tell my mom about my 4-H rabbit that I found dead, Shane was trying to tell her why he had to stay in from recess, and then there was little Derek who was trying to get a few words in.

"Mom," he said, "Look!" He opened his mouth to show a huge chunk of his front tooth chipped off. We all stopped and looked at him in a disbelief-kind-of-stare.

"What happened?" she said.

Well, he was playing kickball on the tennis courts at school and ran into a pole, leaving part of his tooth behind. But the funny part, the part that explains where most of our humor came from growing up is when he replied with, "It's o.k. mommy, it will grow back."

Little did he know...it wouldn't. It was his permanent tooth. All in all, everything worked out..and we can laugh about it now. Thanks, D, for being the most generous, gratious, thoughtful, joyful, "Uncle D" that you are. We love you so much!

Everything that we need.

"Dear Jesus,
Thank you for everything that we need. Thank you for Emma and thank you for........everything that we need, and thank you for our neighbors Emma and Allie. And, thank you for everything....that we need. And thank you for (silence).........everything that we need. Amen!"
-Julia

I'm so happy that Julia now loves to pray. This is what our supper prayer sounded like tonight. And her bedtime prayer. Come to think of it, probably our breakfast prayer tomorrow morning, too.

Happy Thanksgiving!! Thankful Thursday

1. The bottle of coffee Frappacino that my husband bought for me to pump us up for our 2.5 hour drive at 8:30 this morning.
2. Great conversation with my hubby on our way to Thanksgiving.
3. Hearing Jaclyn ask Oli if she could hold his hand during our ride.
4. Martin's chocolate oatmeal treats that he brought today-they were heaven in my mouth.
5. Watching the 3 cousins (all 3-year-old girls) run around and play together-ALL DAY!
6. Watching Oliver tag along.
7. Watching Oliver haul mini marshmallows around in his matchbox tractor and trailers.
8. A Thanksgiving meal that was divine!!
9. Over 2 hours of belly laughing while playing Apples to Apples, Like Minds, and Blokus.
10. Great conversation with family we don't see often.
11. Watching videos of my husband as a young child at past Thanksgivings.
12. Seeing the snow fall while we were in the car.
13. Making Geneva and Layla laugh while we were changing their diapers.
14.....I could go on and on..but I'll stop here. I hope your Thanksgiving was a great one!!