Just in time...

Today marks the very first day that all three of my kids took a bath together. It was fun for a few seconds... :)

But thankfully my dad and Judy sent my camera battery to me (along with Ella, for those of you wondering if Lillian was surviving without her baby for this long...but that's a different post altogether) so I could capture the moment.

So...here's one for the scrapbooks. (I know...not the greatest picture, but you can only romp-omp-a-chomp for so long. Rachel, here's proof that they don't always look at the camera.)


And here's on that never made a scrapbook....



And Lillian loved it, as long as Brielle's butt wasn't on her legs. (apparently Angela didn't mind my butt cheeks too much) :)


and...we'll throw one in there of Josiah's bad haircut too...


but he sure looks cute when you cover it up. :)


And finally, I haven't been able to show off Brielle's new ability to sit up all by herself. so here she is after the bath...


Happy Friday! Enjoy the weekend! (and don't make 'busy mom lasagna'. I'm still fuming...)

unless by "busy mom" they mean 'not too busy that you can't handle making two meals'

Alright, I know I'm a little "post-happy" right now, but hey, you're the ones checking it. :)

I am so mad. This afternoon I tried to bust my butt to get supper started because it was a crock pot meal, and then my afternoon could be a little more relaxed. And we have to leave for Kids Club tonight, which is always a rush.

So I started the "Busy Mom Lasagna" by browning the hamburger and chopping the onions. And sure enough, I slice into my finger with my Cutco knife. (I know I'm not a big spender on things, but if you're going to buy expensive knives, buy Cutco. They make the dreaded hours in the kitchen much less dreadful. But watch out, they are FREAKY sharp.)

But I keep a-going. This stuff is supposed to sit for SIX hours, so I need to hurry....

I knew that I'd have to cook the hamburger. I don't know much about cooking, but I know that usually when you use a crock pot, the meat has to be cooked first. But I DIDN'T know that I'd have to cook the WHOLE freaking meal and THEN put it in the crock pot. I had to add the sauce, the sour cream, the cream cheese, all the stuff that I thought I'd just be dumping in the crock pot. and making sure it is well mixed. whatever. Okay, so I waste my time making the sauce.

Then...I realize why it's called busy mom lasagna. It's because I didn't have to take the 12-14 minutes to cook the noodles! I just put the egg noodles in the crock pot and let them BURN for SIX hours, instead of just freaking cooking them.

Yes, they just burned. It was supposed to go noodles, sauce, cheese, noodles, sauce, cheese, etc. til it was gone.

And what we ended up with was BURNT crap, mush, melted cheese, all surrounded by more BURNT crap. So I plop some of that gruel onto our plates and listen as my dear, wonderful husband crunches through it. He even ate the burnt crap.

So, busy moms, listen up. Next time, just cook the egg noodles, then add the sauce and cheese, and carry on with your busy lives.

I even drew a "thumbs down" by this recipe. I'm too "busy" for six hour burnt crap.

and now we're gonna be late for Kids Club anyway because I was so mad i had to write about it. ugh.

25 random things...

So, if you're on facebook, you know these things are flying around! I'm having so much fun reading them, and they are WAY better than the 'surveys' that used to be so popular. So, here are 25 random things about me.

1. I have the same middle name as my older sister.
2. I was born on that same sister's 5th birthday.
3. I lived in Spain for 4 and a half months with my husband (and Marilu) during college. We found out we were pregnant 4 days after we got there, and I got my prenatal care in the smokey office of Dr. Altamirano.
4. I hate cooking. That's why I love going out to eat. :)
5. I go to MOPS and LOVE it!
6. I am going to be starting a cute little business any day now....stay tuned.
7. I wish I liked coffee.
8. I wish I liked wine.
9. My drink of choice is ALWAYS Diet Coke.
10. I'm going to run a 5K in May.
11. I am a middle child of 5, and very much fit the middle child stereotype.
12. I dated my hubby for five and half years before we got married. it was the best wedding ever. (besides yours, of course. ;))
13. I am one of probably very few people who liked high school WAY MORE than college.
14. My sisters are my best friends. always will be. so it's hard for me to develop really close friendships with other girls. Don't be offended by that.
15. I am addicted to another season of the Bachelor and I'm so glad Lauren and Shannon are gone. annoying!
16. I'm losing interest in LOST. yes, it's true.
17. My favorite movie is Love Actually.
18. I'm reading the last book in the Twilight series.
19. Sometimes I eat a bite of "real food" after dessert, and my husband thinks that really weird.
20. I had the most emotional week of my life in October of 2006 when my mom died and my son was born within 2 days of each other.
21. I have two degrees. One in education and one in Spanish. and the only evidence of it is my freaking student loans and the fact that I taught my kids how to count to 20 in Spanish. I know, yours probably can too. Boo for college....(if you want to be a stay at home mom, that is...)
22. I had braces in high school because I screwed up my teeth falling off my bike in middle school. That was not my only bike accident. I had plenty more...
23. I only got sick with one pregnancy. (Brielle)
24. I played the clarinet. isn't that embarrassing? long story....hated every minute of it. I liked band though, and stuck with the dreadful piece of wooden awfulness til I could do things like hold the banner and be field conductor.
25. Fall is, by leaps and bounds, my favorite season EVER!

you go, girl

Tonight on the way home from dance, Lillian said to me, "Mom, when I'm bigger, you know what I'm gonna be? a dance teacher, and..... a police man and a firefighter. And a farmer, with my own rainbow pony. I'm gonna be all those things, and I have to think of more. But that's all today."

because if it's on my blog then I have to do it

Here goes....

I am going to run the 5K at Tulip Festival.

I am going to print off the "from couch to 5K" workout thing.

I am going to do every single one of the workouts.

I am going to cross each one off after I do it.

I am going to start tomorrow.

yep. I am.

thanks Mrs. Asparagus

I'm about to put Brielle to bed, and I wanted to share the lullaby I sing to her every night. I heard it from the Veggie Tales cd we have, and it's Junior's mom singing to him.

This song has become increasingly special as more time passes since my mom died. I think I sing it just as much for myself as I do for Brielle. She was a wonderful grandma, and the finest Christian woman ever. And I know she would sing this to all of her little ones if she were here. So I do it for her.

without further ado...

Think of me everyday
Hold tight to what I say
And I'll be close to you
Even from far away.
No matter where you are
it is never too far.
If you think of me,
I'll be with you.

Think of God's love for you
His word is good and true.
No matter where you go
He will take care of you.
Sleep now and close your eyes
Soft as a lullaby
Soon you'll wake up
and the day will be new.

sleep tight sweet Brielle.

not-so-supercuts

oh.......okay. So Josiah has wonderfully curly hair. Chances are, if you have ever seen him before, the image you have in your head has a decent amount of curly hair. in the last 6 months, it's gotten quite long, and although I really love it long, I HAD to do something about it. The chronic bed-head look only looks good to a certain point.

So, since Steve also needed a haircut and my eyebrows were in dire need of a grooming, we loaded up the whole family and headed to supercuts. Yes, supercuts.

Okay so we walk in and have to wait 20 minutes or so, and then Steve goes first. She made some comment on how long it had been since he got a haircut, and I got annoyed, but anyway...then it was Josiah's turn. Steve was ALMSOT done, so I asked if we could wait so that Josiah could sit on Steve's lap and I could keep holding Brielle. So that happens and Steve tells me to come over and tell the lady how to cut his hair.

S0 I say:

"Okay, well, I really like it long. it just needs to be trimmed in the front and the sides. We pull the top forward, so it has to be long, like this. (demonstration) So just clean it up a little."

And since I had two other children to pay attention to, I didn't bother to make sure she knew what I meant. Because how can you get that wrong?

and the next thing I knew, I looked over at my adorable son, and...well...he wasn't so adorable. She cut layers around his WHOLE head. She said she was maybe going to do that on the sides and in the back, to get rid of some of poof. and that would have been fine. But remember what I said about the top? apparently SHE didn't. :(

As far as the eyebrows, they turned out great. I feel like a female again. I only get them done once in a blue moon, and then try to maintain them myself. So it was much needed. And getting them done really made me want to get a hair cut. Like, a cute one, ya know? One that has a style. And then I think, "who am i kidding." because my cute stylish hair would look a little strange with my jeans and sweatshirt look every day. So I embrace my low-maintenance look (well, perhaps is a NO-maintenance look) and think I don't want 'Lacey' near my hair anyway. Not after seeing my sweet J-man's hair looking like a not-cute version of Maria's when she was little. And poor Josiah must know it. Because he constantly points to his framed photo by Alison Bickel from August and says "Siah tute (as in cute)." Because that hair was cute.

So while I know that "it will grow back," I'm just quite sad. And mad at Lacey. And I think I'll use the growing back time to learn how to cut hair. Wanna teach me Renee? Because I'm not going back to supercuts. And my friend who cuts hair is moving away. (I KNOW I should have gone to her in the first place, but we didnt' feel like making a trek to Papillion...sorry Sarah.)

Don't get me wrong. I still think he's cute. how can you not with his big blue eyes and chipped tooth? I just miss his hair.

and no, I dont' have pictures. Dad, have you seen my camera battery charger at your house? It's gone missing. And maybe, perhaps, I'm glad. Because a picture of this would make me remember it forever. And I'm not sure I want to.

'kid-food'-aholic

It is freezing cold here today. I know it is for most of you readers too, although I actually have no idea who reads this thing, and some days that weirds me out. Every once in a while I hear a comment about someone reading my blog, and I had no idea they did. it's odd....right bloggers?

anyway, so I woke up and put my teddy bear fleece pjs that my mom made me with a matching blanket (yes, when I was a grown up. all 5 of us got gigantic "kid pjs" that we love...) and spent most of the morning sacked out in the basement with the space heater on HIGH. It was a warm and snuggly morning, except for the pilates workout mid-way through.

And soon enough, as it does every day, lunchtime rolled around....

I decided to forge the freezing tundra that is the GARAGE and head to the deep freezer for some corn dogs. (Thanks, dad, for getting my whole entire family hooked on this carnival-esque junkfood.) I already had the oven warming up, because if I'M eating the corn dogs, they are baked, not microwaved. (Microwaved corn dogs are for when the kids are eating alone, and a babysitter is coming soon so I can go on a date with my hubby.) I like 'em toasty. :)

State Farm corn dogs are possibly the most wonderful kid-food ever. Better than plain hot dogs. Better than grilled cheese. Better than mac-n-cheese. Better even than Kraft mac-n-cheese when I make it with the 'secret Smits recipe'. Yes, they are that good. And the best part is that the more you buy, the cheaper they are!

So I get back from the tundra, still in my teddy bear pj bottoms (the sleeves of the top got in my way too much), and pop the wrappers open to reaveal the frozen goodness. They get placed on a cookie sheet with sides (because I would GUESS they might roll off one that doesn't have sides, but that's only a GUESS) and proceed to wait the longest 16-20 minutes EVER.

Meanwhile, I decide to look at the wrapper. bad idea. there are far too many ingredients in this list for it to have ANY amount of nutrition in it. But come on, who can resist a 'batter wrapped hot dog on a stick made with pork and turkey'? not me. and besides, it has ZERO grams trans fat. As do the ramen noodles I decide to serve up with the batter wrapped hot dogs on a stick made with pork and turkey. ZERO grams. (never mind the partially hydrogenated oil, the corn syrup, the mechanically seperated turkey, and the list of words I cannot pronounce.) so much for that pilates workout. But since I always have to check the allergy info, I found out they DO contain egg, milk, soy, and wheat! and those are all quite good for you.

Not soon enough the batter wrapped deliciousness is done, and perfection in a kids lunch is acheieved. And I decided, that since I went TWO days this week without a Diet Coke, even though we had them in the house, I would indulge myself doubly for this meal. (see, I'm also a Diet Coke-aholic) and it was good. warm, and processed, and unhealthy, and good. so good.

Next time I just won't look at the package. Unless I'm going to read the part that says "SATISFACTION GUARANTEED."

yes, in call caps. :)

Coffee with Mom

When I asked Lillian what she wanted for Christmas many weeks ago, she thought for a while and said, "You know that thing you wear? With the stars on it? I want one of those." So I rack my mind for about 5 seconds (is anyone else totally amazed at how many things our minds can think in 5 seconds?) and came up with nothing. So I try to get a little more info out of her. "You know...it's blue? And you put it on when you feed Brielle so no one can see your boobs!"

oh my goodness. my daughter wants a nursing cover up for Christmas.

so I think to myself...alright, I might be able to figure out how to sew one of those. My mom taught me how to sew one Christmas break in college. And I spent hours and hours watching her sew things throughout my lifetime. I think I could maybe do it.

well, I don't have a sewing machine, and I wasn't going to be heading to OC to get my mom's before Christmas. But I knew Corinne had one in her storage closet, but Rachel was borrowing it. So since my butt was way to lazy to drive 20 minutes to go get it from Rachel, I just didn't make one for Lillian this year. I figured she'd never realize it anyway.

Christmas was fun. Lots of presents were opened. Lillian got (to name a few): all 7 princess Barbies, matching pjs for her and Ella (her baby), lots of cute clothes, a few great books, lots of princessy things, and some cute hair ties. My children make a haul every year, and it's so fun, because I feel like the gifts are partly mine too. :) They have wonderful aunts, uncles, and granparents who like to get them gifts.

But after all the presents are opened from both sides, there came a time when I had to feed Brielle. So I put my nursing cover up on, and Lillian walked over to me with a sad face. Not like pouty sad, but more like sweet sad. And she said, "Well...maybe I can get one of those next year for Christmas." (Except she says Christmus, and I have no idea why.)

And I felt TERRIBLE! she really did want one of those things! I couldn't believe it.

So, yesterday at church Rachel gave me Corinne's sewing machine. And today I got it out and made a cover up for Lillian. She was so excited and kept telling me "mom, you're awesome. I can't believe you know how to make this!" She just sat there by me watching, making up her own little world in her fascinating brain. I wish I could have gone inside her head a little more, but this is what I grasped:

Each of the pins had a different color head, and each one of them was a person. For example, the green one was Elphaba, of course. And the pink one was...yes, Glinda. And the purple one was....FreeFree (I have no idea either). So each one of these pin people had to go to the gas station (the part of the machine that does the sewing), but before they got run over by the pressure foot, Lillian had to pull them out to safety. It was cracking me up...

And while I sat there with my three kids around me, sewing a silly little project that didnt' quite turn out like I wanted (all the stitching is upside down...but I won't get into that...), I felt like I could almost smell coffee. and I escaped to a little world of my own. I only partially let myself go to this world, as a way to keep my emotions in check I guess. So I'm not sure if in my little world I WAS my mom, and my kids were me and my siblings, or if my mom was just there with me, watching me do something she loved so much, or what. But I know one thing. I smelled coffee.

And I think it's safe to say that I "had coffee with my mom today."

a little late, but...

...I thought I'd share it anyway.

I started a tradition of recording Lillian telling the Christmas story by the tree each year. If you never saw last year's, you can see it here.

This year she tells a few more parts of the story than she did last year, but of course the version that got recorded doesn't contain all the parts she tells. :) oh well. I'm not going to press my luck.

(okay, so the video is too big for blogger. so you'll have to watch it here)


And, of course the J-man had to get in on some video action as well. Here's his version of "Away in a Manger."




Hope you all had a very merry Christmas!