I can't believe 2010 is almost over. It's been an interesting year for sure. We put our tree up the other day. We decided to buy a fake one this time. The past couple years we bought a real one and they always died way before Christmas and made such a huge mess. This year we gave in and bought the artificial! It's the perfect size for our house and the girls love it. Everyone helped decorate it, even Jude. I always envision us spending the evening taking out all of stuff, Christmas music in the back ground, the girls sipping hot chocolate, me with some wine, BJ and I holding hands as we smile at our precious girls. Please!! Who am I kidding?! I always get WAY too stressed out as the girls go through all the bins, taking everything out at once and throwing it to the floor. Every year we open those bins to find one more thing broken. It seems that for the past 3 years we've had a baby or toddler crawling around or learning to walk around Christmas. Jude was VERY helpful this year...She would walk right up after the girls had carefully placed their ornaments, all bunched up in the same place of course, and take it off. She seemed to really enjoy teasing them. Wonder where she gets that from. :)
She's getting better at leaving the ornaments alone but I still find her hiding some in her room from time to time.

This is our first year to have a cat and I wasn't sure what she would think of the tree. Apparently she thinks it's her  own personal space and doesn't like if we go near it. Her new favorite spot in on the tree skirt OR climbing up it!! I have caught her several times trying to climb it. Really?! They do that?! She is worse than the girls! She loves that tree. Weird...

This time of year my littles always get sick. They get sick often I guess you could say but right around now is when they all get really bad chest colds. Beau always needs to cough but doesn't like to I guess so she just keeps it in her throat. You know when you're talking to someone and they totally need to clear their throat but don't? That's Beau!! We're always telling her to clear her throat but she just walks away saying,"Me did!" in her raspy voice. It never bothers her. Not much does. She will be walking on a flat surface right next to us and then we hear a thud and turn around and she's lying on the floor dusting off her knees. Her little legs are like rubber and they just give out, leaving her on the ground. She rarely ever cries about it though. Just gets up and says,"My fine" and moves on.

On Saturdays I try to make a big, special breakfast for the girls. I'm a huge fan of breakfast, although I don't always eat it, I love the idea of it and love to make it. Homemade donuts is one of their favorites!

I hope it's one of those things they always remember me doing. Donuts and chocolate chip pancakes have always been "our" thing and I just hope they remember and do something similar with their children. :)

I love him like a crazy person.

I talk so much about my littles because I love them dearly and they are always with me but BJ is what I'm writing about tonight!
He is my favorite, my very best friend and my home. I'm not a very sappy, romantic person but I consider myself pretty passionate about certain things and pretty honest and real. With me, you get what you see. I can't hide my feelings, thoughts or expressions very well. With that said, BJ gets me, me respects me and loves me unconditionally which is more than I deserve! He's the husband that I never dreamed I would have and the most hands on, involved, dependent father for our girls. They don't even realize how blessed they truly are to have a father like him. I know when they're older they'll see what an incredible Godly man he was to our family.
A few months ago BJ was asked if he'd like the opportunity to go on a missions trip this fall to Guatemala for 8 days. He was thrilled and beside himself with excitement. He'd never done anything that before and  would of left that day if he could! I've always felt like God has HUGE plans for BJ and this is only the beginning so I knew he had to go on this trip. He and the group left last Wednesday and will be returning this Thursday. We both knew it was going to be hard on us and the girls but that it was totally worth it and we would power through it! This will be the longest he and I have been apart and the longest the girls will go without seeing him. Being that he works where he lives, we are fortunate to see him often and have almost every meal together.  Our girls are so used to seeing him ALL the time so with him gone, it's definitely been an adjustment.

He always takes Bella to school every morning and will either pick her up a donut or have breakfast with her at school. I guess I'm pretty spoiled....not having to drag all 3 of the Littles out the door before 7:30. I always appreciated that he wanted to take her to school but not like I do now! He is so very missed!
We were at church on Sunday and Bella just broke down crying saying she just missed her Dad. I wanted to cry along with her!

Beau has been extra defiant and whenever I ask her why she's hitting, talking back or not listening she says,"Yes mam.I don't know. I want Daddy!!!". I'm sure I'm not the most pleasant when he's gone but I hope I'm not THAT bad to be around.





Jude's not sure what's going on and feels the need to cry whenever Beau does. They're teaming up on me!

 BJ's a good Daddy and we're so proud to be his girls!

 Washing dishes with their Dad!

 Being sick is not that bad if you have your Dad.

We have us a good, good man! Counting down the days till he's with us!

Have I turned into THAT mom?!

Well...it has been months since I last updated apparently. June to be exact. Summer ended and our lives got incredibly busy very fast! I guess I will start with August and Bella. She started 1st grade in a public school this year for the first time! This is a big deal to our family because I've home schooled for the past two years and she hasn't had much "real life" experience. Growing up at camp can sometimes be seclusive and sheltered so we weren't sure how she would do.  She begged us to let her go and the school district closest to us opened up to transfer students so we decided to give it a shot and she.....LOVES IT!! I can't believe how well she has adjusted. I think she appreciates it more since she's never experienced anything like it. She absolutely loves the cafeteria food (especially the chocolate milk)and has developed a MAJOR crush on a boy. I realize this is typical for a girl her age but she is border line obsessive! The first few weeks she would just watch him, very closely and his mother! She learned his mothers name by listening to a conversation she was having with another parent during pick up time. She knows what he eats everyday and what his backpack is AND how he wears it! She has developed this smile that she does when she sees him or gets embarrassed. Basically she just sucks her cheeks in really tight and does this fast paced walk down the hall. She almost looks like the speed walkers in the mall. It's so crazy to watch! Her Dad doesn't  like all the boy talk :) 
Since she started school in August I feel like we have been SO busy! We drive over 60 miles a day to take and pick her up and then  between AWANAS and other church and school things, it can be overwhelming at times. I feel like THAT mom that I never envied. I used to complain about all the free, boring time that we had when I home schooled. Now the free time is seldom and missed. If she didn't enjoy going so much I would seriously consider pulling her out but for now, we'll stick it out.  Just a funny side note...since Halloween is around the corner I have candy in jars on the kitchen counter. The other day we were walking out of the house and I had given them all a piece for the road. Bella was eating a mini Reese's peanut butter cup. This is what she said to me, no lie! "Thanks Mom! I love Reese's penis!" I almost fell down the steps and had to hide my smile before correcting her several times! Bless her heart! We don't need her saying this at school...

Beau has become quite the big sister and has really stepped it up ( all on her own) since Bella has been in school. She's always been a helper, too much sometimes, but now she's taken on more a motherly role with Jude. I didn't realize how much I depended on Bella to help me with the girls until she left! At different times through out each week I will find Beau trying to put a bib around Judes neck...an infant bib. She now tries to pick her up and bounce her on her hip!! Jude does NOT enjoy this at all and will just yell till Beau drops her! There's no such thing as gently placing Jude down with Beau. She's just not the gentle type of girl but that's what makes her Beau! She's rough and tough and she doesn't care. She also enjoys doing Judes hair and putting shoes on her. For the most part, Jude is pretty tolerant but she has a limit. They've definitely grown a lot closer since Bella is gone and I love that. Neither one of them are T.V. kids so they keep each other pretty busy and me as well!

Jude has also grown up in the past few months and is EVERYWHERE people! I find myself always calling out her name and looking in everyone's room only to find her sitting in an empty bath tub or hiding under her crib. She has discovered the ladder on the girls bunk bed and has almost climbed to the very top!! She loves to sit on top of the couch and wave to the passing cars but often gets too excited and falls off, hitting her head on the wall on her way down. She just realized she can jump up and down and that she can bend all the way over and put her head between her legs. Her most favorite thing to do would have to be spinning around in a circle until she falls over. Just watching her do this makes me dizzy! She is smart and sneaky. I found her yesterday trying to carry a stool to the counter so she could get a better look at what I was doing. Before you know it, she's standing on the kitchen table with a Sharpie in hand, trying to color on Bellas homework! She's quick and fast. She is going through that stage of pulling her rubber band out and will NOT leave her hair up. Leaving it down limits her vision but she doesn't seem to mind one bit. I will spend way too  much time doing her hair and the second she walks away, she's pulled out her bow along with a handful of blonde hair! I would love to trim it and get it out of her eyes but her dad is not a huge fan of my haircuts...enough said.This is what she usually looks like. 


So over all it's been crazy, busy, new, too much but it's been exciting and interesting! Until next time...!

My last littles

A year ago this week I had Jude. She was born 4 weeks early. It was a rough pregnancy and I had complications the entire time. I had been having contractions for weeks and had been in and out of the hospital. My doctor was certain that I wouldn't make it to full term. That week the girls and I were outside and I was filling up their baby pool with water. The grass was longer than usual and as I walking I looked down and almost stepped on a huge snake! I screamed (I'm terrified of snakes) and jumped over it. My stomach immediately started contracting and was getting worse. This continued for hours and the next day I was very uncomfortable and I knew I needed to go to the hospital. I was 35 weeks pregnant. The next morning I had a c-section and Jude was born on June 4th at 9am. She was so tiny, to me, and had a hard time breathing in the beginning. She stayed in the NICU for a very LONG week. We were so thrilled when she was able to come home and meet her sisters.

I

I guess I'm feeling pretty sad that my little June Bug is turning one this week. Honestly, I was overwhelmed and a bit depressed when I found out I was pregnant with our third child. This came as huge surprise to us both and it took me a little while to come around. The thought of three children terrified me and I didn't know how I was going to do it all. I'm not the most pleasant pregnant person to say the least. Looking back, I was selfish and should of felt so thankful to be given another child. Now we have three little girls and I wouldn't change it for anything! I would love a fourth daughter! Lets not get crazy though!

The life of a camp wife.

Earlier today I was talking on the phone with a good friend and fellow camp wife. We were laughing and just catching up and started talking about the life that we have as "camp wives".  For those of you that are wondering what in the world I am talking about, let me explain. My husband works for a baptist camp out in south Texas. In the summer we have churches and different groups that bring their kids out here for summer camp. It's not like the "Parent Trap" camp, that always comes to mind for me. It's different because kids/children are not dropped off here and then picked up a week later. Sponsors and adults from whatever group it is will come with the kids and stay. Summer is a crazy, hectic time for the camp and our busiest time of year. In the off season, September through May, we are a retreat type of camp. People come here for the weekends for different events or activities. I'm sure someone else could of explained this a lot better but you get the idea, hopefully :)

So, they're a few families that live at the the camp year round. Everyone else comes to work for the summer and then they sometimes come back throughout the year to work on weekends. So we live where we work. Now, with this comes many pros and cons. We live in a camp home, we eat MANY meals at camp, we get to see our husbands at every meal if we choose to and so many other wonderful things. It really feels like you're living in a different world sometimes. It's hard to explain or understand unless you're in or have lived it. It's been an incredible experience for my little girls to live here. They will be playing in the backyard and see their dad ride by on a gator. They get to see him ALL the time. Their backyard is the whole camp! They can swim in the lake, the pond, go to the pool. In the summer we can go to worship in the evenings, hang out the snack shack and have snow cones. The camp has an amazing fire works show on the 4th of July every summer and we have front row seats! I hardly have to cook in the summer since we eat almost every meal at the camp. We have the opportunity to have great friendships with so many different people each summer as new and old staff come to work. It really is a good life.

This afternoon though, my friend and I were laughing about the OTHER side to living at a camp. The part that people don't see or realize. Usually when I tell people about the camp and how it works they say how lucky we are and that we have it made! Don't get me wrong, we do in many ways and I'm extremely grateful to live here. There is another side to this life though. During the summer you can pretty much "predict" what will be served that day depending on the day of the week. If you leave your house for the day, everyone knows it because your car is gone. We all share a mailbox so you better not have any dirty mail :) During the summer we "get" to share our husbands AND our home with hundreds of people. The husbands are so busy during those 3 summer months that sometimes it feels like you're a single parent! It can be hard but we get to see him throughout the day around the camp. Today we were on a walk and an irritated woman holding a birthday cake waved me down hoping to get into the cafeteria. I always feel so helpless when people ask me where this or that is or why can't we do this or go in there? I don't work for the camp so I can't help them. I just try to point them in the direction of the office or someone that does. Sometimes I won't leave camp for a few days for whatever reason and I feel like I've missed out on so much! I tend to forget that world keeps going outside the camp. I think for the men it's hard to get away from work. Most men leave their jobs and go home and don't have to look or mess with work related stuff till the next day. Here, you never really leave work behind. It's right out our back door. We live towards the back of camp sort of out of the way so people really don't come up to our front door or bother us. Some of the other homes have had visitors from time to time looking for the office...that's always fun :)

This will be our 4th summer here at camp and I'm not going to lie, those first couple years were difficult for me. I was either pregnant or just had a baby and it was a difficult transition for me. Moving from a busy city to a secluded, country SMALL town was hard at first. It's taken me some time and a lot of growing and patience but I really do love this place. I have had my girls here and this is our home. It may be different and have its good and bad sides but this has been such a special time in our lives and I wouldn't trade it!

You pay for what you get.

B.J. always gives me a hard time because I tend to spend less on certain things hoping to save money but really end up buying cheap junk! A couple weeks ago my glasses broke and I haven't been able to replace them yet. They were a "cheap" purchase. I went for a simple frame that I was never in love with so I could save a little money. Well...that was a great idea! Now I wake up to blurry little bodies running around demanding food. It's too early sometimes to put my contacts on and by the end of the day my eyes ares too tired and all I want to do is take my contacts out. I miss having glasses. My next pair will be top of the line! I have learned that cheaper is not always better, especially when it comes to food. I try to buy generic brands if I can but some generic brands are awful!! And I've learned my lesson when it comes to buying generic diapers. I won't even go there...

So, for some reason I stopped writing in my blog. Lately I find less and less time to sit down and write, uninterrupted anyway. I want to make more of an effort to keep blogging though. It seems to help me appreciate the little things that drive me crazy through out the day. I suppose I will just pick up where I left off...

Today I realized how sneaky and smart Beau really is. Today felt like an extra LONG day. I heard Beaus raspy little voice on the baby monitor at 6 a.m. yelling Bellas name. "Bewwa! Bewwwwwwaaaaaaa!!!!" Bella of course did not answer since she was still asleep, as we all were! Beau never went back to sleep and managed to wake both her sisters up by 6:15. I was thrilled as you can imagine. So, our morning began. I decided today was going to be a day FULL of cleaning and organizing and started washing all the sheets. By lunch I had done way too many loads of laundry, swept, vacuumed and mopped the entire house. I made the girls lunch while they jumped on the trampoline in their suits while spraying each other with the hose.  I made thier favorite buttered "white" noodles with cheese, as Bella calls them. I split a fruit cup between them and told them both to eat ALL their fruit. I left them at the table eating while I quickly put clean sheets on the bunk beds, my least favorite thing to do. When I walked back into the kitchen I was pleasantly surprised to see that Beau had eaten all her fruit so I told her I was so proud of her and she gave me a big grin and was very pleased with herself. Bella then told me that Beau did NOT eat her fruit but dumped all of it on Judes high chair tray as soon as I walked away. Sure enough Judes tray, face and hair is full of peaches, pears and pineapple. I should of known. It was at that moment that I had a quick glimpse of what Beaus next few years may be like. Sneaky little thing! Beau is notorious for trying to slip one by you. At some point this morning she discovered my diaper bag and decided to rummage through it. She came across some gum and told me she "needed" it. I of course said no so she walked off and I thought had moved on. About 15 minutes later I walked in her room to put clothes away and found her hiding in a corner opening each piece of gum. That was fun for everyone...

My littles are not so little anymore. Jude will be one in three weeks. I know people always say this but it really has gone by too fast. She's so close to walking and changing everyday it seems. She now dances and has rhythm! When does that happen?! She can crawl faster than any of the other girls at this age. She is quick! If she seems something she wants then shes going to get it, sometimes with the help of her older sisters. They're always a little too eager to pick her up and walk her around. I found Beau rocking her the other day and Bella trying to carry her on her hip!! Jude loves it of course. She will do whatever she can for a laugh, much like her parents I suppose.

Bella will be 6 in July and reminds me daily! She is a couple weeks away from completing kindergarten. That has also flown by as well. Bella is still a song writer and expert card maker. Today she asked her dad what his most favorite thing in the whole wide world would be. He said something but I guess it was the wrong answer because she said, "Is it getting a special card?" She then pulled a card out from behind her back and said, "Today is your lucky day Dad!" She takes it pretty seriously.

Last night I attended my very first women's conference. I have a bad habit of avoiding things like this even though I know I need to get out there and be more involved. I guess I'm just a home body and am comfortable just hanging out with BJ and my family. I've never been in a play group or an type of women's club or group. I was invited to go to this particular conference with a small group of women that I'm comfortable with and love so I decided to give it a try. I made the decision to take Jude with me because she is still nursing and I would be gone for at least four hours. The church where the conference was held is an hour away from our home. I was well aware that there would be no childcare and I was totally fine with that. I knew that I would just feed Jude at some point and then she would fall asleep. When we arrived at the church we were greeted by women checking to see we had our bracelets on so we could enter. The second I walked in a woman stopped me and asked me to wait on the side while she radioed for someone to come talk to me. I asked if there was a problem and she said just to wait right there. I looked around and didn't see any other babies and realized that JUDE was the problem. I felt like I was in trouble and I immediately felt like crying. Another woman approached me with another very annoying radio and leaned down, very condescendingly, as she spoke to me. "Okay, Hi. You do realize this is a WOMENS conference and that there is no childcare?" I say yes of course and she cuts me off to say,"Well since this is just for women we ask that you take your baby out of the conference if she makes any noise or cries since this is for women." REALLY??? I was mortified to say the least. If I had driven there myself I would have walked right out and gone home, that's how UNWELCOME they made me feel. Please let me say that I am not that "mom" that will just let their baby cry and yell or talk during ANY kind of service. I try to be sensitive to the people around me and I never want my littles to annoy or inconvenience anyone else. I was pretty upset that THAT was the way this church and the people involved in this conference decided to start off the night. It ruined it for me. I sat down and was trying so hard to move on and to not let that rude welcome ruin the rest of this experience but it did. I really felt like there could of been another way to handle a situation like that. For example, they could of told me that IF I had been sitting in the conference and was letting Jude cry or make noise. Then would of been an appropriate time to ask me to please take her to the lobby but not RIGHT when you walk in. At some point during the worship I got up and walked out to the lobby where I found a couch. We spent the rest of the night there, me, Jude and a sweet, sweet friend that was upset for/with me. The lobby was apparently where the men were hanging out so it was an awkward place to nurse a baby, in the WOMENS conference, but that's where we stayed. They had the conference on televisions in the lobby but you couldn't really hear it unless you went and stood right under it. It was disappointing but I was really over it by this point. I'm not sure what the lesson to be learned was but I did learn about how insensitive some people can be and how NOT to treat people. Some people lose sight of what's important and they may not even realize it. I don't want to be like that.

Over the weekend we had made an appointment to have our very large and stinky chocolate lab bathed at Petsmart. We have been trying to do this once a month because that boy smells!! He swims in the pond any opportunity he gets and is just a drooling mess. So, we loaded ALL the family in the car and headed to town, an hour away. We had forgotten his shot records but had done that in the past and they let us slide. I was pretty confident they would take him. We also forgot his leash, it was a little hectic getting everyone ready and out the door. So we pull up to Petsmart and poor BJ had to walk Titan in by the collar, leaning over so much he was practically on his knees. This was very amusing to watch. I was relieved to see buddy go get his bath since our car was beginning to smell like him. About five minutes later I see BJ come out of the store doing that uncomfortable walk, Titan by his side. I guess he was a little past dew for his rabies shot, my fault, and they stood their ground. No shot, no bath! Great! We had scheduled his appointment at noon knowing we had to run tons of errands the rest of the day and would be back 3 to 4 hours later to pick him up. So, Titan got to spend the REST of the afternoon with us just stinking up our car. It was a cool day and he had plenty of room in the back to sprawl out so we weren't worried about him. Each time we got out of the car to go do something we returned to find him sitting in the drivers seat, drool and all! So gross to say the least,not to mention all the hair that comes along with him! It was a crazy day. Glad to say he DID get the shots he needed on Monday and will be bathed this weekend!

Yesterday was such a pretty day so the girls and I went on a walk so Bella could pick flowers. I had the two little girls in the double stroller buckled in, so i thought. We were walking on the road heading back home when the stroller got stuck and wouldn't move any further. I felt like I had run over something. All of a sudden I hear Beau say ,"Me shrell! Stop!" I guess she had decided she didn't want to ride in the stroller and wanted to walk so she was trying to sneak out under the bar. The stroller had run over her leg and she was stuck, just laying in the road. I hadn't even noticed because both sides of the stroller had the shades pulled over so I couldn't really see what Beau was doing in her seat. Most children probably would of been screaming crying but Beau just looked at her bloody knee and said," Need my band-aid at my home." She got up and kept walking. Earlier this morning she was in a really grumpy mood and was being mean to everyone in her path so I told her she was being very mean. She just looked up at me and said, "Me not mean. Me Beau Thomas." Sorry, my mistake.

Little changes

Big things are happening in the Thomas house. Jude started crawling a couple weeks ago but just really started taking off these past few days. I'll set her down in one room only to find her in another room minutes later. This has been fun and easy at times but also challenging since the littles have so many tiny toys and things she can choke on. Beau loves to peal the paper off crayons so Jude has gaged on those a few times. The other day we couldn't find Jude because she was sitting behind BJ's recliner, a spot I never thought she would find. She's very proud of herself. Her favorite place to go, and my least favorite, is over to the the art easel. She pushes it around or tries to eat the chalk, tear the paper...everything has to be put away now! Now that she is on the ground and able to explore everything around her, she has discovered Titan, our lab. She has always been interested in him and drools heavily whenever she seems him but NOW she can actually crawl to him. I guess it's time to put the baby gates back up...

Now onto Beau...I think she has got this whole potty training thing down, finally! She has been wearing panties (or "panny" as she says) for the past couple days and just this morning she made a very large deposit in the potty...a first for her. I'm hopeful this is the end of Beau wearing adult diapers, not really but she's pretty close :) I'm really looking forward to just buying diapers for one child. Now if I could just get her to listen and obey! Just a few minutes ago Beau decided to take away a toy Bella was playing with. It's a doll trunk that they keep baby clothes in and it can be quite heavy when they stuff it full of junk. Beau was just standing there holding it and Bella and I were both telling her to give it back. I probably told her to drop it and put it down 3 times when she finally decided to obey. Out of defiance and stubbornness, she looked at Bella and dropped the trunk as hard as she could, not realizing it was going to land on her toes...oh Beau. "My shrow, my shrow!". Bella just grinned as she picked the trunk up and walked away.

Little Lies, Lots of blood

Usual Sunday, church and lunch. Then we came home hoping the girls would nap but it was already 2:20, late for the littles to go down, so unfortunately none of them fell asleep so we decided to go on a walk to waste time wear them out. I placed Jude in Bella and Beaus room to play while I went to change my shoes. BJ was sitting at the computer in the other room. As I started to put my socks on I heard Jude scream. Not the tired or hungry scream but the hurt really bad scream. I ran to get her but BJ already had her in his arms and was rushing her over the sink, blood all over her face. She was covered in blood and it was running down his arm. It was coming from her mouth but we couldn't tell from where exactly. I so badly wanted to start crying but was trying to keep it together. None of our girls had ever bleed this much. Beau was standing right there saying," Why you cry Shude? Need band-aid?". Bella said Jude had fallen on a stool they have in their room. I felt so bad for little June Bug. It took awhile to stop the bleeding and then the crying. She pretty upset for the rest of the afternoon. Well, we finally got it together and went on our walk. By the time we go to back it was time for me to start dinner. I decided to make salisbury steaks with gravy tonight...something I've never made before but I knew BJ liked it. I also made mashed potatoes, one of Beaus favorite foods. So we sat down to eat and I guess BJ had put just a small piece of meat on Beaus plate and he told her to eat that first. My girls are not huge meat lovers so this is always a struggle. Beau chewed on that one little piece of meat for almost an hour. We kept telling her to swallow it , swallow it, swallow it! She kept saying, "Me am." For some reason if the littles don't care for the food they are told to eat then they will keep it in their mouth for as long as they can. It drives us up the wall!!! Beau didn't seemed bothered that we kept telling her to swallow it or she wasn't going to get a cookie or I would take a bean out of her jar...that sounds so lame now that I'm writing it. We had all finished by this point and Bella was eating her cookie and now Beau was starting to cry and whine because she still had that stupid meat in her mouth and wanted to spit it out but we wouldn't let her. She hadn't touched anything else on her plate  so I told her I was taking a bean out of her jar. She was devastated..."My beam, no my beam!" Still didn't swallow it. You may be reading this and think oh, poor Beau...please don't feel sorry for her. When she needs to she WILL swallow the food, she just didn't want to. So I told her to go potty and i started to get the bath water ready. She went potty, I guess because she came out with no diaper on. She ran up to me and Bella with her mouth wide open so proud to say she had swallowed her food. Finally...so I tell her good job Beau and tell them to get in the bath. As I turn around I see what looks like wet cat food in the bathroom sink. BEAU!!! She had spit her food out in the sink and lied! I couldn't believe it, well, that's not true. I could! The night did not end well for Beau but hopefully she learned her lesson or will at least spit in the toilet and flush it next time!

Birthday boy

Today is B.J.'s 28th birthday. 28! Still so young but so close to 30. The littles have just about all my computer paper scattered all over the floor and crayons and markers rolling around everywhere. Bella is rushing to make him his (6th) birthday card before he gets up. Beau is taking her time peeling all the paper off the new crayons... a pet peeve of mine. We have the birthday banner hung and are so excited to celebrate Daddy today.

As I'm typing this I can hear those dang mice downstairs just living it up!! Over the weekend we came to a very difficult decision, not really, and decided to give in a get a cat. Adopt actually. On Valentines day we brought a 8 month old little girl kitten. She was a stray I believe and just needed a home. She's very quiet and shy right now. We gave Bella the responsibility of choosing a name for her...I knew by doing this she would probably end up with a name like "Sally" or "Trisella". Bella went with Valentine Rose, of course. Every cat needs a middle name right? We will probably just call her Valentine. Right now the cat just stays in our room and hides out under the bed. Yesterday was the first time she ventured out into the living room when all the littles had gone to bed. She is very nervous and cautious. She discovered the fish tank and just sat on on our kitchen table with her two front paws on the glass. This may become a problem. Bella has already made this cat her own and has made her cards, a crown and a little sleeping bed in my closet. Bella has been the only one able to get the cat out from under my bed. She crawls under there, dust and all, and whispers sweet little words to her until she finally feels comfortable enough to come out. Bella loves animals, not sure where she gets this from. I'm hoping that after a few days in hiding and checking things out, Valentine will come out and catch those mice! Our chocolate lab, Titan, did not even know there was cat in the house until last night. Titan is an incredible dog but we call him a dumb jock sometimes. He only cares for his ball and is pretty layed back about everything else. Valentine has a bell on her collar, which has been fun at night, and she was slowly creeping around the kitchen while Titan was just laying on the living room floor. The sound of the bell didn't even phase him. We kept waiting for him to see her or smell her but he just layed there! Finally he saw her ans charged. BJ was right there and stopped him but it was a little nerve racking! I felt bad for buddy, he was so confused. Valentine didn't come out again after that.

Right now Beau is standing on a stool trying to sneak a cupcake while I type. For some reason she thinks I can't see her OR she just doesn't care. That's all Beau needs is a cupcake for breakfast. I better go before she gets it.

If you give a mouse a Froot Loop...

It has already been an eventful morning for us. Beau did her usual 5:30 knocking on our door. Today I gave in. By 6 Jude was starting to wake up but ended up falling back asleep. Beau and I came out into the living room and I started to pour myself a cup of coffee and her soymilk. I heard this wierd sound and for a second thought it was the dryer making noises, even though it wasn't on. It took me a minute until I realized what it was...mice squealing.

A couple weeks ago I started to notice little dropping in my mud room always in the same spot. Then I noticed them on the dryer and once on my kitchen window seal. BJ said they were probably from a gecko but I wasn't convinced. I forgot about it until one morning I noticed droppings underneath a bag of trash that was left out to throw away. When I picked the bag up I noticed tiny pieces of paper that had been torn apart. I knew it! Mice don't visit us often but we have had a few run ins with them. The first time we realized we had a mouse in the house was when we were woken by a frightened 2 year old Bella saying a mouse woke her up. It was hiding in the box spring of her bed. Gross, I know! We took care of that and threw out the bed.  That following Christmas we were visited again. BJ had brought in the box that our tree was in and layed in in the middle of the kitchen floor. We had been keeping the box in his shed/storage outside. As he opened the box, mice ran out of it in every direction! They had built nests all over the tree. I had never seen anything like it! We caught most of them right then but a few still lingered. The next time was when I had my sister Danyel visiting us. She is terrified of mice so this discovery couldn't of happened at a worse time. We were all sitting on the couch talking and a brave little mouse ran from under the oven to under the fridge. We thought we had taken care of that problem when we saw a mouse on a trap we had layed but that wasn't the case. Apparently the mice had found a nice cozy spot in my desk drawer to nest and have babies. I discovered this as I opened the drawer to find a dead baby in a little shoe box that was once used for scrap baby and yarn. I was mortified! This past time was quite a while ago and we have been mouse free for months...until now.
BJ had layed two traps downstairs in our mudroom a couple days ago. Nothing was happening so I started to feel like maybe it really was just a gecko. There is nothing like that sound of a mouse caught on a trap. It gives me chills to even think about it! As soon as BJ got up I told him we had caught a mouse. He went to check and said, "Whoa!" 2 mice on one trap!! Disgusting! The thought of them just living it up in my house...too much. Beau was right by his side when he pulled the trap out. One mouse was dead and the other still going strong. (These are sticky traps by the way). Beau said, "Me yike mouse and pet yum." NO you will not like mice and pet them!

So that is what has happened so far. I am really hoping that was the last of the mice but you never really know.

I couldn't make these things up...

It's 5:45 am and I hear Jude start to fuss. I get up and quickly nurse her, hoping she will go back to sleep. As I start to crawl into bed I see out of the corner of my eye light shining through the cracks of our door. I can tell it's the tv in the living room...Beau. I open our door to find Beau just standing on the other side looking up at me. I start to walk her back to her bed and notice the tv has been on pause for 33 minutes. Then I see it. (This is going to get gross so sorry!) Her nightgown is soaking wet and she has poop down both her legs. I am barely awake at this point and start to walk back into Judes room to get wipes, hoping she doesn't see or hear me. I hear Beau say,"You step my poo poo." I look down and sure enough, I have stepped in it! Apparently she has left a trail of it,  some on the wood floors, some on the carpet and some in BJ's chair...she is not supposed to sit in Daddys chair for this very reason. By this time it's 6am and I can't believe this is how our morning is starting as I begin to bathe her. Let me explain something about Beau. She does not poop like a normal 2 year old does. She has always had "infant poop". That's what Danyel and I like to call it. So it's not like cleaning up a small diaper. It's like cleaning up 5 "infant poop" explosions! It's too much and happens way too often. So I finish bathing her and she is just singing and playing, just really enjoying this one on one time with me, as I roll my eyes. I start to dress her, do her hair, and I see MORE poop on the opposite side of the kitchen! Come on! I clean it all up and then remember BJ's chair....It looks like she sat there for awhile before I found her. I don't even know how to clean it but I do my best before he gets up. Now it's 6:20 and I hear Jude talking because Beau has snuck in her room. Then I see Bella come out of her room, also barely awake, saying "Beau woke me up." So now we're all up, they've already had breakfast, been in two fights, and one spanking. And our day begins...

The little things...

Earlier today Jude was sitting on the floor playing with Little People so quietly. I had started getting things out to start dinner. Bella was watching a movie and Beau was changing her babys diaper on the floor next to me. For just a moment I thought, "wow...it's quiet and all the littles are busy...this is really nice. I might be able to knock dinner out before anyone even notices what I'm doing!" Just as the thought entered my mind, it was interrupted by Bella yelling, "MOM! Jude is playing with her spit up!" As I walked over to her I hear Beau say under her breath, "need wipe my baby." Sure enough Jude has spit up all over the floor and is rubbing her little fingers in it and sticking them in her mouth. When I had finished cleaning her up I see Beau walk past me very slowly hiding a wipie box behind her back, as if I can't see it! I said, "What do you have Beau?" She simply replys, "Nuffing".
During dinner the girls were supposed to try the spinach I had served them. I know they don't like it but if they ate it we told them they could have a brownie and put a bean in their jars, I'll explain that later. Bella actually ate all her spinach and it looked like Beau had eaten hers. I was shocked. Turns out, Beau had been putting her spinach on the floor and spitting it back out and mixing in with other food on her plate. She probably ate one spinach leaf!
Danyel, my very wise, older sister, came up with an idea to put some sort of coin or bean or whatever in a jar everytime the girls did something good or w/out being told to do something. We're cheap so I decided to do pinto beans and we call them the Behavior Beans. Bella and Beau each have a jar and we drop a bean in there when they obey, clean, make their beds, chores...you get the point. We can also take beans out if they misbehave or disobey. They think it's the best thing in the world. Who knew something so small and simple would make them so happy. When Beau pees on the potty she says,"Now beam and shotlate?" She loves those "beams"!

Well, this is the end of day one of my blog. All the littles are in bed, although not alseep because Beau keeps coming out with all kinds of excuses, but at least they're in bed! Now it's time for me and BJ!

Wake up!

4:30am and I heard a faint tap on our door. Beau and all her babies. This has become a ritual for her and I don't know why. We're not the type of parents that welcome children to come sleep with us. We're not opposed to it but our bed is OUR bed and their bed is THEIR bed. Beau doesn't agree with this at all. Her body (or maybe her wet pull-up) wakes her up every night between 4 and 5 and she wants in! B.J. answered the door this morning and wasn't having it.Two things can happen. Either she will go back to bed and not fight it OR she will scream and yell, wake up Bella (since they share a room) and stay awake. Thankfully today she went back to sleep, I think...She was sitting on the couch at 6:30 watching tv with Bella. Sometimes when this happens it can ruin the entire day. If she fights and screams and doesn't ever go back to sleep then we can have a really bad day. Today has been good though. We had lunch at the camp and now I'm going to nap the littles. Hopefully all will sleep at the same time.

My Littles

As I sit down to write this, I'm realizing that it may take me hours to write a small paragraph since I keep getting interrupted every couple minutes but I'm going to try! I'm not sure how to start this whole thing so I guess I will begin by describing each of my girls. Bella is my oldest and turning 6 this summer. She has such a sweet, kind, giving spirit and an incredible love for her family and Jesus. She invited Jesus into her heart in October and is proud to tell you! Bella is in Kinder and is homeschooled. She's doing really well and seems to enjoy being home with me and her sisters. I guess she doesn't know any different so it may just be that. Occasionally she will ask why she doesn't go to a "real school" but after I explain the reasons she moves on. Bellas passion in life (at least now) is making cards for people and picking flowers. If you know her than she has probably made you a card at some point, or 10! By the time I wake up in the morning, which is not long after she does, she has usually made at least 3 cards. Bellas love languages are acts of kindness, receiving gifts and physical touch. She shows people she loves them by making them a card. She adores flowers, nature, deer, and all the little things around us that I have stopped noticing. She makes me stop and look at stars or how fast the clouds are moving or a butterfly flying by. She doesn't miss any outdoor detail.

She has an incredible memory and can memorize Bible verses minutes before Awana's. She always amazes me. She has a very sensitive side to her and an innocense I wish would last forever. She gives, all the time. She's a giver and sometimes I feel like I don't deserve her. It's amazing that a child that small has such unconditional love for me all the time,  even when I feel like I have been the worst mom that day or moment. She always forgives. I learn so much from her.

Beau is 2 and won't be 3 till the fall but I feel like she has been 3 for a long time. Beau is full of life, energy and curiosity. She is a problem solver, like her Dad, and if it doesn't fit she will MAKE it fit. She is the one that's always by my side.. If she's not then I know she's doing something she shouldn't. Beau is tall and big for her age, I think anyway, and can talk pretty well. It amazes me how well she can explain things. She has a deep little raspy voice sometimes which I love. She doesn't have time to sit still and watch movies or cartoons, never has. She is way too busy. She loves to paint and make a mess but by the time I have set up all the paint stuff, she has moved on. She is currently potty training, has been for months it seems. Beau usually does things on her own time so I'm assuming thats how potty training will be. She would rather be outside than any where else. Her best buddy is our lab, Titan. She has always called him "Buddy". Where ever she goes, he goes. She sneaks him her food and whispers secrets in his ears. Sometimes when she's in trouble, which is often, she will go lay her head on his and cry, I guess looking for some sympathy. Beau is tough and always has been. Most falls, scrapes, cuts, etc. don't  even phase her. She falls off of things all day long and just stands up saying, "Beau Beau fine. Me fine." She has been referring to herself as "Beau Beau" for quite some time. I still can't believe she hasn't broken a bone by now. She's very smart and a fast learner. She wants to do everything her sister does even if that means taking it right out of her hands! Don't mess with Beau Beau.

Jude, my last baby, just turned 8 months. She had a rough start in the beginning as she arrived 4 weeks early but you wouldn't even be able to tell. Jude is such a sweet, precious little thing and both girls just adore her. She is the only one with big blue eyes, maybe from my dad....and has been such a good baby. For the most part she sleeps pretty well, eats wells and loves to sit and play with her sisters. I can sit her down somewhere and she will play by herself for at least 20 minutes! She is starting to pull herself up and walk holding onto things. Just the other day I walked into her room and she was just standing there! That's always weird at first. She started crawling last week and is always on the move and in a different spot than where I originally put her. I know people always say this but she is getting big so fast. She is our 3rd daughter and our last so if she wanted to take forever to do things, that would be fine with us!