I Should Not Have Stayed Up So Late Last Night...

A glimpse into my morning...

Notice the wet hair? Yeah, I wondered where it came from...


He's responsible, you know he is, just look at him giggling sucking on the newborn pink & purple binky he found under something...

When he said, "hey Mom, guess where my doggie phone is?" I thought I'd better get out of bed...

Hey Sarah, What's in your toilet today? Cause mine is sporting a darling doggie phone. (Yeah, that is where the wet hair came from...do I even want to know?)

So, they made up, they are innocently watching Jack's Big Music Show Or so I thought. Look at them, you know they are planning something....

Hey, guys, I kind of needed that! (Will there be a day I can go to the bathroom by myself? And if so, when it comes, will it just seem so terribly boring that I will invite others in?)

Guess they needed to amplify the volume and all the perfect good TP was in their way...

Yeah, this looks convincing, doesn't it?

This is him 3 seconds later when I set him in the chair beside me...

He climbed, he pushed buttons, he giggled...

He shut down my computer!

And here he is 3 seconds later when I set him on the floor...

Convincing, isn't he?
Here is the song we composed and danced around to that had him giggling 5 seconds later...

Stop you whining,

Stop your moaning,

Stop your griping,

Stop your groaning.

Suck it up Doodlebug,

Suck it up right now!

Doodelly Doot Doot

Doodelly Doot (Repeat)

Suck it up Doodlebug,

Suck it up right now!

(Repeat, add claps and Doodle Doots at will)

Will they need therapy? Will I? I'm going to take a power nap now, God only knows what the afternoon will bring!

Back to my roots...

Praises...

Being able to go spend a couple hours immersed in baby things and good conversation.

Being able to call the above activity a service project.

Having great women to take care of my munchkins while I'm gone.

An almost three year old who feels the need to confess Today we made it home from church and he confided in me that he had to sit in time out today for climbing on tables, that is "the rules". I the asked if he was nice to his brother, he confessed that he had pushed him. I asked if he had to sit in time out for that. His response, "no, Addddisss not see me, I not get in twubble." At least he's honest.

Dogs who only run a short way when your 2 year old opens the slider so he can climb it....

Jacks Big Music show. An adorable little musical show on Noggin on demand that will occupy both my boys for a few moments. Mostly I'm thankful that it seems to be one of the few antidotes for Finn's high pitched screech. (believe me, that is priceless!) I couldn't find the rockin theme song, so here is one of their favorite little "videos" from the show.



A husband who can handle me ditching him right after dinner to go see the bigger children!

Goofy teenagers with great smiles and good thoughts. Where were the rest of you tonight?

Tonight's lesson being all about Finding Joy in the Journey. Seeing God's plan even in the midst of the worst days. It's all about perspective and handing it over to God. You know, he's bigger than we are, he can take it!

People out there looking out for me and my brood sending little emails my way.

Chai Tea

A husband who bought me chai tea and is encouraging most of the my experimenting to find just the right preparation.

Long chats and short chats with my family. Some days I just miss them and am grateful for that phone!

Sleeping babies! I'm blessed to have three pretty amazing little people in this house and at the end of each day, when they are finally asleep for a few moments in their own beds I like to make sure I remember how blessed we are!

It was almost title worthy, but yet not so much

Well, hmmm...

I was going to blog with many beautiful scenes from my day and all the praises that went with them, but my camera and computer don't seem to be cooperating.

I have these grand intentions of writing something brilliant to explain all that has been rattling around in my mind the last couple of weeks. I want to share with you how God has been pushing me with sign after sign to find my God given passion and surrender it and everything else to him. I want to tell you all the amazing pieces of this puzzle that have been falling around me.

Maybe I'm waiting because I don't know the answers and I don't want to tell you an unfinished story. Maybe I'm worried I won't ever know the answers no matter how many Godincedences and signs he sends. Maybe it's writers block. Seems as I blog hop there is lots of that going around. Maybe it's that I was ready to write it, ready to go and then two very close friends, one here, one back home lost their Dads in the past 10 days. Maybe them losing their dads in a way has made me stumble. Maybe it's easier for me to feel their pain than my own. Maybe I just don't have all the pieces of this puzzle yet and it's not time, even though I think it would be much more relevant now, or two weeks ago, than it will be in two weeks, but then, what do I know? Maybe in two weeks I'll feel different, know more. (did you just feel like I let you in my mind? You probably need a drink. Sorry about that!)

For now I'm going to go back to where I started, what I should have been doing for the last few weeks...

Praises...

Sunshine & warm weather

Health!

Excitement that baths and roller skates can bring little people. (Not roller skates in the bath)

People in stores understanding that the belt really isn't killing him as Dax screams "help, let me out, this is Huuuurrrttttiiiinnnnnngggg me!!" as we walked through Michael's today. I did get a few knowing winks.

having done the mom thing long enough to know that the knowing winks are just that, not judgement on your parenting skills..

Cashiers who do not make me produce my driver's license when I have a screaming toddler.

Others who get a good laugh overhearing my calm conversation with a screaming Dax that went something like this.

Dax "I need out!! I don't want to be buckled!!!"
Me "I only have two hands and two little guys, I have to have you buckled so you're safe."
Dax "I WANT TO LOOK AT CANDY!!"
Me "only good listeners who are calm and quiet in stores get to look at candy"
Dax"I AM A GOOD LISTENER! I'm being a good listener, mommy"
Me "well, that's a good start, but I don't think you're being very calm or quiet."
Dax "I AM BEEEEEINNNNNGGGGG QQQQUUUIEEETTTTT!!!!!!!!"
Me "Wow, I bet if we took a poll of all the other shoppers they might disagree with that statement."

Laughter,I heard laughter coming from the aisles around me. Hey, at least I wasn't unnerved, sarcasm is a Dr. Spock approved parenting technique, right?

Finn sat pleasantly in the back seat babbling and pointing at all the fun things to see.

Haircuts! Four months is entirely too long to go between!

Babysitters who refuse to take money. I'm running a tab....

Memories. The way a moment in time can bring back many moments in time. Finding myself standing in Our Little Savage's old garage with he door flung open into their old house, almost hearing the laughter that I remember.

Coming home to a message from Amy...kinda spooky!!

Long late night chats with old friends.

Three sleeping children.

Still being able to see that praising will always make life better!

Going to bed with a smile on my face with a husband that is sleeping peacefully!

Oh, how could I forget, American Idol! It wasn't all that exciting tonight, it's down to 4. I know who should win, we'll see what happens. Here was my favorite from tonight...

The Tens ~ Finn Edition

1. He will listen to anything his brother tells him and laugh even when his brother is pulling on his ears! He is totally the definition of "Monkey See, Monkey Do".

2. He loves his dog. There isn't much that can make him giggle more than Sophie kisses. They play for long periods of time just chasing each other around the house.

3. He has 2 new teeth! He's now up to 10! I think the kid would eat anything; triskets, almonds, rocks, etc... He is eating me out of house and home! He refuses most meats and veggies, but if you have fruits, grains, or dairy, get out of his way! He'll be raiding your pantry next!

4. He has found a passion for climbing! He can climb onto stools and coffee tables. He's frustrated he hasn't managed couches and beds yet, but he can get off of them. He is a stair master and it's only a matter of time till he's sitting on the window sill with his brother.

5. He is determined! If he wants to climb it, he will, if he wants to ride Dax's toys and run the big scoop, he'll find a way! He has taken to pointing. He has different sounds to indicate the importance of what he is pointing at. Sometimes he simply wants you to name the item, other times it is a genuine demand. He is absolutely coming into his own!

6. He too is developing a sense of style. He has quite a love of shoes! He insisted on having a new pair of knock off crocs while at Toys R Us this weekend. I handed him a pair of blue ones while trying green ones on Dax. He immediately tossed the blue ones out and demanded the green. Hmmm...this ought to be fun!

7. He has begun the amazing habit of shaking his head no while smiling. He is also becoming known for his ability to crawl like a mad man with foreign objects in his mouth giggling all the way.

8. He is walking more than he is crawling!!! His knees are starting to look a bit less red. Dax just keeps saying, "Finn not walk, Finn my baby!" Sniff, Sniff, I agree! However the good part about walking, more space between his mouth and those foreign objects!

9. He has discovered the outdoors. He just stands and points. I see the need for baby jail in my future! Anyone have an extra octagonal gate thingamajig?

10. He is the cutest 13 month old I know! He's been nominated for best dimple as well as most adorable baby brother in our house. He's also won honorable mention in the most obnoxious high pitched scream in a 300 mile radius category, but we'll save that topic for another day!

10 things, 10 days, all Dax

1. In the right light he looks slightly angelic and he really needs a haircut.

2. He can teach his brother anything. This was a favorite lesson of mine, it went something like this; "Hey Finny, if you push down on the sippy cup the stuff in side comes out." "mmmggrrgroooo", Replies Finn. ""Hold down, look at all the water on mom & dad's bed!" "giggle giggle..hehehe" Then monkey do does. Then Mom takes sippy cups away (after taking pictures.) This lesson came immediately following the "hey Lily is at a friend's for the night, let me show you how to sneak in the bathroom and cover yourself with her High School Musical body wash...it's cool and we'll smell like tween girls all night long!"

3. No matter how many times you tell him something he will believe what he wants. Sometimes he's so confident in his argument that even you believe him! Here he found my antibiotic eye drops (yeah, we'll get to that someday) and was sure that they were some sort of snot removal device....you can see the conviction of his argument, right down to the demo.

4. He has developed fear of the unseen. All of the sudden things like robots scare him and bedtime is full of monsters. We're trying to convince him that dogs will not allow monsters in houses. Each night we take a dog treat and hold it in our hand so that Sophie will follow us on a thorough bedroom inspection. He still usually ends up in our room at some point in the night.

5. He has learned to open the sliding glass door. This causes panic in many ways, and sometimes cursing from his dad as the dog goes flying out into the neighborhood.

6. He has a keen sense of style. Checkout this amazing ensemble. I love the swim trunks on backwards. I think it was about 50 degrees. Mike told him to go get pants and shoes on...he followed directions.

7. He plays a mean set of milk drums. When Kroger is having a 4 for $5 sale on milk his drumming ability is heightened immensely! Every time I walk out of the room that door is open, the milk is on the floor and the boy has spoons in his hands. Seriously it takes him about 12 seconds to have this set up and a good 15 minutes of screaming when it has to be put away. (yeah, don't look at the contents of my fridge or you'll think we're lushes. Those things are on the bottom shelf because they are so rarely used...)

8. He still seems to be mean to his brother more than necessary. When asked why he chooses to act that way his response is always, "It fun!". Should I be worried???

9. He's started using the term "ready to roll" on a regular basis. I must say this is better than "it fun". It makes him sound so big! "Hey Mom, are ya ready to roll?" Where did my baby go??

10. He decided Sophie the dog was hungry the other night so he fed her. I then realized the munching was a bit louder than it should be. Sophie was happily eating, as were Finn and Dax. I really do feed my kids. Maybe my baby hasn't gone so far after all!

10 things you've missed about Lily in the last ten days

1. After becoming an official Tween life really hasn't changed much

2. She needs to spend more time in big Cities! She was afraid of walking around downtown in a close by city.

3. I really enjoyed taking she and a good friend to a Casting Crowns concert for her birthday. (More to blog on that later)

4. They actually didn't talk the whole time!! (they sang)

5. Her school visited a traveling version of the Vietnam Memorial wall and we talked at length about Vietnam, she really is interested in history. (is that odd for a 10 year old?)

6. Somehow a hot dog, fries, root beer, & a small cone cost $8.75 on her school field trip...I'm thinking maybe math lessons? Do you have any idea where the change might be? Charity? I can only hope....hahaha

7. She spent the night at a friend's house. This is probably only the third time she's stayed over at non family places...she's feeling grown up!

8. She still whines, a lot! She does still laugh a lot, but I miss that little girl giggle!

9. Fine Arts day at school brought out an interest in Karate. (Hmmm...does Karate training get rid of whining??)

10. She is hands down the favorite big sister in this house!

Looking for a Fiesta?

Hey, maybe you've been looking for these pictures for over a week? Or maybe you didn't even know there was a Fiesta, either way, for your viewing pleasure here are some candid shots of our last Wednesday night dinner at church. This happened to coincide with Lily's birthday, so we're calling this her birthday party (lame, I know). Below you will find some of our beautiful confirmation class. You might even find another blogger, who I think Dax may have a small crush on.








I'm trying to catch up from my blog hiatus (I'll explain later) but it's slow going, so take it as it comes, I have lots to show you!

Reflections of 10 years...

In many ways it seems like yesterday, in others I can barely remember, but today Lily Kathryn Ivey is 10. I thought I'd share some pictures of her through the years. Most of these are from the younger years when the girl loved nothing more than to go to the studio and get pictures taken!

2 months

9 months

1 year

15 months

18 months

2 years

2 1/2 years

3 years

4 years

5 years

6 years

8 years
Lily has songs. they have been her songs from the very early days. The first I heard while sitting with her for the first time alone in the hospital and I just cried holding her, because she was such a gift, the real life doll baby of all my little girl dreams, embodied in this little human creature.

The second is our song. I started singing it to her when she was just a little thing and eventually we started singing it to each other, I know one day it will carry even more meaning.

This one is just one that I can't hear without thinking of her. Mike and I used to sit beside her bed at night and sing this to her. I remember calling her from Memphis and telling her I was walking on Beale Street! We were both so excited I had to take pictures to illustrate the song.

And of course, no little girl should go without this one. I had shadow box plans for the lyrics of this song, pictures of Lily dancing, and the dress she is wearing in her two year picture. Yeah...well, It's never happened. I thought about doing it at a scrapbooking night. Have you seen me at one of those lately? =)

So, Lily Kate, my baby girl, Happy Birthday and I love you! You are my praise for today!