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I have an adorable naughty little boy!

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Baby Eli

If a new baby doesn't warrant a blog post NOTHING does.

Our latest addition:
Photo taken by Anndee of Anndee Photography, Forest Grove, OR. (she's great!)

Whoever said “there’s no crying over spilled milk” is emotionless.

(Due to some of your comments I feel the need to make it clear that my kids are fine. No one was spanked, no one was yelled at. All 3 spent quite a bit of time in the playroom while I cleaned though.)

ALTERNATE POST TITLES:

"There's no crying over spilled milk." Really? How about milk, ranch dressing, and hot sauce?

Bounty Paper Towels - Have I got a commerical for you!

***Attention Child Protective Services - Stand By.***

Finding Peace

Stain Resistant Carpet - we'll put you to the test.

Mothering Tips:
#1 NEVER shower while the kids are awake.

Blog Worthy

I have joked with friends that I haven't blogged in the past few months because I have nothing blog-worthy to report. Well now I do.

I went to the dentist last week. It was a miserable experience involving what appeared to be a massive ice pick (eek, eek, eek - let your imagination run). Anyway, while there the dental assistant asked me if I'd like to wear "TV googles" ----- WHAT!? Yep, you read right, "TV googles" - had no idea they existed. What a crazy world.

If that isn't spectaular enough to make this post well-worth your time there's more to this exciting tale.

The dental assistant then asked if I was cold and would like a.... wait for it..... wait for it...... SNUGGIE!!! Are you kidding me -- too hilarious!!! I didn't think anyone seriously purchased those things. This is a professional dentist office and they have Snuggies!!! The dental assistant actually used the word "Snuggie." Too funny!

I know, I know, you want to know if I accepted either offer. Well I'll just let you stew over it. Consider this a Choose-Your-Own Adventure post.

9/11

Looking for a renter

If you know anyone who is interested in renting a home send them this link. Our current renter is moving out the end of July so the home would be available around the beginning of August.

Thanks.

http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/apa/1211848535.html

Male Bonding

I recently went to the coast with a few girlfriends for the weekend. This is an annual trip we take to the outlets in Lincoln City to get some clothes shopping done for our families. As usual, I spent much more than I had planned. I was feeling somewhat guilty about this until Byron broke the news to me of his weekend purchase...an automatic 22 gauge rifle and a scope. Why he needs ANOTHER gun, I do not know. I guess this makes us even because he cannot comprehend why I need more than one purse or pair of high heels. In the picture below Byron is cleaning his new gun while his only son watches and learns. If you're wondering what has captured Byron's attention so completely let me answer...he's watching golf.

ABCs

Here’s Madi singing her ABCs today -she's 28 months old. The second video many of you have seen before – it’s Katie singing her ABCs a few years back - she was 20 months old at the time.

Family Reunion

We recently spent a week in Palm Springs with Byron's entire family. We had such a great time.

6 months old!!

While we were in Palm Springs for a Grossnickle family reunion McKay celebrated his 6th month birthday. He LOVED the cake!!

Window Crayons

Have you seen these new window crayons made by Crayola?


Now you have.

Hristos a înviat! Adevărat, a înviat!

I really wanted to make bright red Easter eggs this year. It is a Romanian tradition for two people to knock red eggs together. The person whose egg doesn't break is considered luckier. They hold the eggs and the one that knocks first says "Christ has reborn" while the other responds "True he's reborn" (see post title for translation). I found a method for making red eggs online which required me to keep the red dye mixture hot while dying the eggs, so I did it all over the stove. Unfortunately my eggs turned out more pink than red and even more unfortunate is that I can't seem to get my pot completely clean. As you can see in the picture below, my Alfredo sauce is pink!! Not very appetizing is it?

Easter

 

 

 

 

I love you cookie dough!

Finally...Sun!!

Thankfully we recently had a little warm weather. The kids were loving the sun and dry grass. It was McKay's first experience in sunshine.

Easter Bags & Kool-Aid Moustaches

Easter baskets have always driven me crazy. They are awful to store because their shape is awkward and every year I find myself wanting to purchase new ones because they get bent and damaged. So, last week I learned to make these adorable bags at a mid-week enrichment activity. They were so easy and cute that I decided to make 4 and use them as our Easter bags to replace baskets. So far...I consider this a brilliant idea and I'm thrilled to send my old baskets off to DI.

Happy Easter

This is an outstanding Easter message. A great reminder of what Easter is truly about...and it's not the Easter Bunny. (Although he did visit our home - pictures forthcoming.)

You may have to let the video load for a few seconds before viewing.

Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival

We picked up Barb and Austin (sister-in-law & nephew) and went with Katie's preschool class to the Tulip Festival on Tuesday. It was perfect. We've had a number of beautiful sunny days recently so the ground was not muddy like it has been in past years. We had a great time and even came home with tan lines. The only unfortunate part was the tulips...they haven't bloomed very well yet. So, the fields were green rather than the beautiful yellow, pink, red, orange, white, and purple that we've seen previously.

With all of the rain, cold, and snow we have had the past few months my poor girls have been going crazy locked up indoors. I guess I need to force myself to become a true northwesterner and gear my kids up for outdoor play regardless of the weather. I'll have to slowly work my way up to being ok with muddy, wet kids year-round.

An apple box...really?

I hate to even think about the amount of money I have spent purchasing toys for my kids. I get so excited for Christmas and birthdays as I anticipate my daughter's reaction to her new toy. I am always certain I have chosen the gift she is going to love for all eternity; her gratitude will be flowing freely in my direction. I envision her playing with it everyday and never forgetting the incredible mother who was so in tune with her child to know the exact gift to give.

Hmm - nope, never happens. Instead my children will leave all those fancy, lights flashing, horn honking, carefully selected via mothers intuition, toys in the dust to play incessantly with the apple box the Costco employee used to pack our groceries. So once again I find myself renewing my commitment to stop buying toys that don't get played with enough to warrant the expense.

That is until I find Fred Meyer with a buy one get one free sale on Fisher Price Little People sets. Who can resist? Seriously, Little People, they're adorable!