Payton

Emma, Paige, and Payton (Paige got to name her)

The only time the cat ever came near Emma on purpose!

The hair cut!

So, all Paige has wanted in all her whole life is a cat. We had two cats years ago, but one was stupid and always missed the litter box, and I had two small kids. I just couldn't do it. So, we got rid of them. Brent is mildly allergic, and practically his whole family has cat allergies so we just decided not to have one. Well, for her birthday, we gave in. We found someone on Craigslist who had free kittens and she got to go and pick one out.

Now, I am a cat lover. I also love dogs, but I grew up with cats. I was ecstatic! Paige was thrilled and the other kids were excited too. Boy, this cat had no idea what it was getting itself into coming home to our house! First off, she was only 5 weeks old when we brought her home. That is about 3 weeks early. She was tiny. She could barely growl or hiss, but she tried when she saw the dog! They are great friends now. Actually the dog doesn't care much about her, but Payton always tries to play with Dakota!

This cat has had her share of calamities, mostly by the name of Emma. She will not leave this cat alone! Do you remember Elmira from those cartoons? She has nothing on Emma. She picks her up on her forearms with both sets of legs sprawling. It's pretty funny. But, everything this cat has been through cannot match this story.

So, the kids are upstairs playing and I was downstairs. Zachary comes down and he is clearly distraught. There is something going on but I can't get it out of him. I keep asking and he finally starts crying. Before I can get anything out of him Emma comes down and says "That was my favorite cat!" like she was dead or something. It turns out that Zachary had taken his new silly putty (no, I did not buy it...he won it at church) upstairs. They had been wearing it as rings on their fingers all day. Keep in mind, I had no idea the putty ever went upstairs. I'd have put a stop to that! So, I guess the next logical step was to see if the cat could wear it like a ring on her TAIL!

So, I am laughing because he is thinking he wrecked the cat, and I go upstairs to check her out. It was barely any silly putty on her tail...no big deal. Until I turned it over! A huge glob was on the underside. So, the cat got a tailcut! It's looking much better now, but oh my gosh....funny story!

Emma

Mom's great helper!

Emma and Charly all ready for gymnastics!

Snow Emma?

What is there to say about Emma? She is a hoot! You could know everything there is to know about Emma and she would still surprise you! She is almost like having two separate kids. There is the calm, homebody, and low-key Emma that you see for most of the day while we are home by ourselves. And then there is the after school Emma. Once the kids get home from school she is unleashed. She runs, screams, tackles, attacks, her brother and sister. I don't know how she keeps these two people separate! She is crazy! But, I love her! She is the daughter that was determined to get here, whether we knew she was coming or not! She is a typical woman...she changes her mind constantly. You'd better not start something for Emma unless she has changed her mind at least twice about it, because she has already moved on. And she loves to trick us! Here are some new things she has been up to...

*Being a princess. And she really is. Her favorite hairdo is curls. No matter how long it takes me or the pain it causes. Yes, she will be a fabulous woman someday!

*Miss Jodi's tumbling class. She wanted so badly to do tumbling like Paigie (as she calls her sister). Of course, she loved the first day of class. She changed her mind on the second day of class...shocker...but I told her that she wanted to do it, and she was going to. And, of course, she loved it!

*Playing polly pockets. You can find Emma at regular intervals during the day playing with her girls. Sometimes they are nice and sometimes they are NOT! But, I love that somebody is always the "honey". I'm not sure exactly what family role that is, but it's so dang cute!

I had no idea what I was missing before we had Emma. I love all of our children dearly, but there's something about how she just squeezed herself into our family and we didn't even know we needed her. It turns out that she is a perfect fit! I adore my "baby" girl and love that she indulges me in this from time to time, even though she's 4. I love you Emma!

Paige

Up in a tree...where she would live out her days if she could...

gymnastics moves and a chocolate mouth? Now, that's talent!

Paige posing for student of the month

Paige is zooming along in her kindergarten studies and will soon be a first grader! It's hard to believe she is getting so big. And, I can't believe everything she is learning! She is a sponge. She is reading better everyday and I love to see the cute books she is making in class! She is a ball of energy and has lots of friends from school. She would love to play with them every minute of every day! Here are some of the things Paige is doing now.

*She is a champ at Just Dance. Brent's cousin Brook told us about it and we bought it. Best money we have ever spent! Paige loves to challenge us all in the dances, and she wins a lot! Go, Paige! And it is a great workout for me! Bonus!

*She has lost as many teeth as Zachary. As soon as one would come out, another would loosen. She lost one every week for a month! You gotta love that toothless smile!

*She has started gymnastics with Miss Jodi. She is doing super well and LOVES it! She gives us clinics at home and shows us all her new cool moves!

*She was chosen as February student of the month for her class. I wasn't sure if it was ever going to happen, because she can be very bossy. But, luckily for me, her teacher knows how to put that into action in a good way. I'll never forget a story a friend of mine told me after volunteering in their class. Paige was waiting to go to the bathroom, but Dillen was in there. When he came out (maybe too quickly or something), Paige said, "Dillen, did you flush the toilet and wash your hands?" Now, I probably would have pushed past her and said Mind your own business, but he took one look at her and turned right around and finished up! I thought that was so funny! Mrs. Romero said in her synopsis of Paige that it was so nice to have her eyes and ears also so that she could know more of what was going on in her classroom. Ha! Paige has a use for her busybody nature. Love ya, Paige!

Paige, you keep me on my toes and there's never a dull moment with you around! You are a sweetheart of a girl and I love how you tell me you love me 40 times a day! I love how you know who you are and you stand your ground. Never stop! I love you!

Zachary

Zachary's baptism day

What a cute cubscout!

Go, Zachary, go!

It only took one run down the street and he had it!

I honestly don't even know how to get caught up with all of the posts I've missed. Instead of getting overwhelmed with it, I am just going to do a few key entries and go from there! I will start with my wonderful Zachary. He is just a bright spot in my day. I love how, one minute, he is all boy, and the next he wants to snuggle with me while watching tv. He is a loving brother, a great friend, and just fun to have around. A few of the things that have happened with Zachary recently:

*He turned 8! He chose to be baptized and started scouts. He is loving every minute of it and I am glad he gets to be part of something that will teach him things that will stay with him all of his life

*He learned how to ride a bike! I know....lots of kids learn way before, but not Zachary. He was not interested in riding a bike. I actually think he would have been sooner, but he had a really heavy bike. He couldn't even lift or control it. So, thanks to WalMart and black Friday, he got a new one for his birthday. He and Paige love to go riding together now!

*He is a sweet brother (always, but this story makes me smile). Paige has been losing teeth left and right, so we went to the dollar store to spend her money. It really does burn a hole right through her pocket! He had $10 from his baptism, so he decided he would buy everyone 2 things. I thought that was so sweet that he would share with his sisters instead of just spending all of his money. He is such a sweet little boy, getting bigger each day.

Zachary, I am so glad that I get to be your mother! It is one of the biggest blessings of my life!

Busy life!

Ok, I definitely don't want this post to make it seem like I am busier than others, because there are plenty of people busier than I who do keep up with their blogs! But, I am making this my excuse. I just wanted to post a little bit and I will go back and add pictures and make up for lost time.
I am so glad the busyness of February/March is past us. Since the middle of February I have had a baby shower for my baby sister Kayla, had Zachary's birthday party, had Bunko at my house, and had Zachary's baptism and lunch at our house. Don't get me wrong...all of these things were a lot of fun, but they were also a lot of work. And, any of you who really know me know I hate planning parties! Well, I think I could like planning parties, but I hate them at my house. They make me a stress case to the worst degree. Just ask Brent.
So, now we are on Spring Break and I welcome the slow pace! My older two are doing a sports camp 4 mornings a week and Emma and I are hanging out. I promised myself that I would go to the gym while they are gone tomorrow, so let's see what happens. Brent is about to hook up our new computer (thanks Jared and Jen) to our tv downstairs so I imagine that I will be a ton better about posting and keeping up with everyone's blogs! Keep your fingers crossed....

Stupid!!

Okay, so have you ever done something that you knew you probably shouldn't do, but you did it anyway? And it ended up being so stupid that you would never live it down? Well, I have done LOTS of stupid things over the years, but this one tops it.
So, I really wanted chicken salad for lunch, but I also needed to go to the store. Well, lots of people cook things in the oven while they are gone, so why not on the stove? I figured chicken could boil on the stove while I was gone and it would be done when I got home with my groceries. Well, not when you leave it on HIGH!!!!! Idiot...what was I thinking?? You know that skit with Chris Farley on Saturday Night Live when he hits himself in the head and says what a moron he is the whole time? Yeah, that's how I feel!
So, we get home and it smells a little weird in the garage. No biggie. Could be the dog having gas. Whatever. I go into my house (my sister is with me) and you can't see anything. There is smoke everywhere and it reeks! So I hurry into the kitchen and grab the pot with the chicken in it and run it outside. It is not on fire, just smoking badly. I got it put out of its misery with the hose and ran back inside. Emily is getting all of the windows upstairs and I am doing down.
In the meantime we have a friend of Zachary's who has followed us down the street and is wanting to play. Yeah, love ya kid, but nobody needs to come into this house!
The kids are outside being worried and we are inside. Luckily my sister lives two miles down the road, so we just go to her house, dog in tow, 'til our house airs out a little. Text Brent that I tried to burn the house down for the insurance money, and don't go home. Remarkably he wasn't really that mad...until he got home. He can't even handle it when I self-clean the oven. Hello...smoke in our WHOLE house! But, he took it all in stride.
Thanks to Travis (who knows someone who does everything), we got a deal on an odor-removal machine which supposedly takes the smell out of houses with dead bodies (eeewwww). We spent the weekend at Brent's mom's and the machine spent the weekend taking the smell out of our house. Problem solved. Of course, the problem was mine in the first place, and I cost us extra money that we really don't have but, hey, he loves me, right? I don't know why.
So, the take-home message is this....use a crock-pot!!! I would love to hear some of your crazy moments so I don't feel like such a loser. Really, I know this one's bad and none of you can top it!! Really, use your crock-pots!!!

As I have loved you...

I got to witness a wonderful thing this morning. I dropped off the kids in front of the school like always. And, like always, some person in front of me was taking FOREVER to get their kid out of the car and move. As I looked over at Zachary walking Paige to the Kindergarten gate, they gave each other a hug and a kiss before parting. It made me well up with tears! What a blessing it was that the person in front of me was taking long so that I could see this. It just made me realize that I need to slow down and smell the roses. They really do love each other, despite the fights they may have or the incessant teasing that goes on! It made me think of these sweet pictures of when they were a few years younger. I am so blessed to have my wonderful kids and today I was reminded of that.