Katie came in yesterday to show me her newly "written" Christmas list that she had just completed. I asked her to tell me about what was on it. Apparently all she wants this year is a barbie with wings and "more medals than Noah has." I explained to her that you can't just go buy medals, they have to be earned. She looked at me in all superiority and informed me that "Santa can do it."
So....if Santa happens to be in the business of one-upping one's siblings, I guess we'll have a happy daughter on Christmas morning.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Saturday, December 12, 2009
D - A Hard Habit to Break
(Yep. I'm going to pretend like I still blog regularly and someone still occasionally checks this thing. WHY has it gotten so hard???)
For the past year she has only been doing it at night on her bed. Not bad. But now we're using a serious bribery system to get her through the first 21 days of quitting cold-turkey. After all, it takes 21 days to form a new habit, right?
Over the last 5 nights she has worn a glove to bed and done GREAT! It has been a little harder to get her to sleep, but not really too bad. There was only one night in there where it was REALLY tough. She cried A LOT and begged and pleaded with us to let her do it "just one more night." It was awful. Mike and I both wanted to give in, but we toughed it out, and she made it to sleep that night. Since then, we've had very little complaining.
If she is successful, she and Daddy get a fancy dinner date out and then we're headed to Great Wolf Lodge in January. Go, Katie!!!
PS - The reason blogging is so hard, is because I MAKE it so hard. I sit down to spend 15 minutes doing a simple blog on Katie's struggle, and the next thing I know I'm spending an hour going back through 5 years of photos to tell my story!
See this kid?
She is currently engaged in one of the hardest struggles of her life. We are putting an end to the thumb-sucking, and it hasn't been easy for her. It hasn't been easy because she's been doing it a LONG time - her whole life, in fact. How many of us can say that?
Cute, huh?
Still cute.
Actually, for the most part, I've always loved it. I know there are a lot of disgusting germ issues involved with it, not to mention the damage to her teeth, but it's just SO CUTE!
Well, cute or not, the time has come. After all, she is 5 now.
For the past year she has only been doing it at night on her bed. Not bad. But now we're using a serious bribery system to get her through the first 21 days of quitting cold-turkey. After all, it takes 21 days to form a new habit, right?
Over the last 5 nights she has worn a glove to bed and done GREAT! It has been a little harder to get her to sleep, but not really too bad. There was only one night in there where it was REALLY tough. She cried A LOT and begged and pleaded with us to let her do it "just one more night." It was awful. Mike and I both wanted to give in, but we toughed it out, and she made it to sleep that night. Since then, we've had very little complaining.
If she is successful, she and Daddy get a fancy dinner date out and then we're headed to Great Wolf Lodge in January. Go, Katie!!!
PS - The reason blogging is so hard, is because I MAKE it so hard. I sit down to spend 15 minutes doing a simple blog on Katie's struggle, and the next thing I know I'm spending an hour going back through 5 years of photos to tell my story!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
D - A Milestone
It's been a while since I've said anything, so in case you've been wondering, Sugar is still with us. The kids still really love her, she is still growing on me, and she is still cute. Unfortunately, she has one major drawback. As Mike puts it, "She has a leak."
Miss Sugar is now 4 months old. She has been a part of our household for very nearly 3 months, and we have FINALLY hit a milestone. Just yesterday she actually went an ENTIRE day without having an accident in the house. Whoo Hoo!
I realize that I am probably cursing myself by bragging prematurely. I'm positive that this accomplishment has much more to do with me proactively taking her outside than with her finally realizing that she shouldn't do that in the house, but a WHOLE DAY is something to celebrate when you've cleaned up as much......um, stuff.....as I have over the last quarter of the year!
Miss Sugar is now 4 months old. She has been a part of our household for very nearly 3 months, and we have FINALLY hit a milestone. Just yesterday she actually went an ENTIRE day without having an accident in the house. Whoo Hoo!
I realize that I am probably cursing myself by bragging prematurely. I'm positive that this accomplishment has much more to do with me proactively taking her outside than with her finally realizing that she shouldn't do that in the house, but a WHOLE DAY is something to celebrate when you've cleaned up as much......um, stuff.....as I have over the last quarter of the year!
So.....Hooray for Sugar!!! And maybe you should consider taking your money out of paper towels, because I'm hoping to be buying much less of them next year!!!
Thursday, October 29, 2009
D - 4 Tokens
Today I got a call from Noah's teacher. You just have to assume that's never good. But, in a funny way, this one was.
She called to let me know that Noah got in trouble today during inside recess. Apparently he was a part of a group of kids who were being loud and rough while pretending to play football - not acceptable behavior for inside recess.
She said she wasn't there because she was on her lunch break, but when the kids got back into the classroom, the tattle-taling began and she was filled in on everything. Apparently Noah isn't used to being in trouble and broke down in tears. She called him out of the classroom to talk with him and to calm him down.
When they got back in the room, she told the offenders that they had to give her 3 of the tokens that they had earned toward their end of month trip to her "store." As Noah handed her his, he told her, "I gave you 4 because I'm REALLY, REALLY sorry."
What a good kid! I know, I know. If you've ever been around him, you're probably thinking, "But he's a typical, loud, obnoxious boy!" Yes, he's that. But he also has the purest, sweetest heart of anyone I've ever met.
I love that kid.
She called to let me know that Noah got in trouble today during inside recess. Apparently he was a part of a group of kids who were being loud and rough while pretending to play football - not acceptable behavior for inside recess.
She said she wasn't there because she was on her lunch break, but when the kids got back into the classroom, the tattle-taling began and she was filled in on everything. Apparently Noah isn't used to being in trouble and broke down in tears. She called him out of the classroom to talk with him and to calm him down.
When they got back in the room, she told the offenders that they had to give her 3 of the tokens that they had earned toward their end of month trip to her "store." As Noah handed her his, he told her, "I gave you 4 because I'm REALLY, REALLY sorry."
What a good kid! I know, I know. If you've ever been around him, you're probably thinking, "But he's a typical, loud, obnoxious boy!" Yes, he's that. But he also has the purest, sweetest heart of anyone I've ever met.
I love that kid.
D - Obligatory Pumpkin Patch Pics
Just like all of the rest of you, we managed to squeeze in a trip to the Pumpkin Patch this year. The kids weren't too thrilled that I made them dress cute and matchy, but why else would you go other than to get some cute fall pics of your kids?
Katie loved jumping in the hay bales...
Finding our way through the corn maze...
Tire swing!
(Aren't you glad that I feel the need to tell you what each picture is, as if you couldn't figure it out for yourself?)
(resisting the temptation to do that now)
Notice Noah's fake smile. His fun was over by now, and he was ready to go and quit having his picture taken.
Noah informed us that the best part of pumpkin patches is just getting to pick out a pumpkin. I told him that next year we'd just dress up and go to Walmart. It would be much cheaper that way, and we'd get a decent sized pumpkin!
Katie loved jumping in the hay bales...
Finding our way through the corn maze...
Tire swing!
(Aren't you glad that I feel the need to tell you what each picture is, as if you couldn't figure it out for yourself?)
(resisting the temptation to do that now)
Notice Noah's fake smile. His fun was over by now, and he was ready to go and quit having his picture taken.
Noah informed us that the best part of pumpkin patches is just getting to pick out a pumpkin. I told him that next year we'd just dress up and go to Walmart. It would be much cheaper that way, and we'd get a decent sized pumpkin!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
D - Branson (the end)
In addition to our bigger activities, we did do a few other things. A big highlight for the kids was the Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede show. Unfortunately, they didn't allow photography, so this is all we got. It was a neat stunt horse show/competition in a big arena where you cheer for either the North or the South. They serve an enormous dinner and you root for your team while you eat. The kids really enjoyed it except that we were on the side of the South and they lost. Noah (aka Mr. Competitive) was VERY disappointed.
Another evening we visited Branson Landing. It is a big shopping/eating area with an outdoor music/fountain/fire show. We stayed to watch the show run a couple of times.
Besides these things, we did our usual hotel things. Swam in the pool, got ice in the ice bucket, dove headfirst onto the beds - you know, all the things everyone does when they stay in a hotel.
All in all, we had a great time. I love spending time with my family in this special way, and feel very blessed that we are able to do it. Looking forward to next year!
Another evening we visited Branson Landing. It is a big shopping/eating area with an outdoor music/fountain/fire show. We stayed to watch the show run a couple of times.
Besides these things, we did our usual hotel things. Swam in the pool, got ice in the ice bucket, dove headfirst onto the beds - you know, all the things everyone does when they stay in a hotel.
All in all, we had a great time. I love spending time with my family in this special way, and feel very blessed that we are able to do it. Looking forward to next year!
D - Branson (part 3)
Our last full day in Branson we spent at the Dogwood Canyon Nature Park. It is an absolutely beautiful area with 6.5 miles of paved walking/biking trails. Because we found prices in Branson laughable at this point, we elected to make our children WALK the trails for $30 (for all of us) rather than the cushy $55 bike ride. Oh, yeah. They're tough!
There were sooooo many beautiful waterfalls.
Truthfully, Noah wasn't big on this day. It actually was quite hot, and a 10+ mile walk didn't appeal to him much. In fact, he pretty much had no fun at all until he figured out that by feeding the trout fish food, he might be able to catch one with his bare hands.
Mike had a lot of fun photographing the trout as they ate. There are MANY more pics just like this that I had to choose from.
If you look closely, you'll see Noah on the shore by the lake. While the rest of us hiked up the small mountain to walk under a waterfall, Noah stubbornly stayed behind because he was SURE he could catch a fish here.
Unfortunately, he never caught one; although he did touch several of them.
Here are some hot and sweaty, exahausted kids celebrating because we finally reached our destination - the prettiest part of the park. Unfortunately for them, that just meant they had to turn around and walk back out....
I'm pretty sure that every time a bike rider passed us by the kids uttered thoughts of how they would never be so cheap on their family vacations when they grow up. We'll see....
There were sooooo many beautiful waterfalls.
Truthfully, Noah wasn't big on this day. It actually was quite hot, and a 10+ mile walk didn't appeal to him much. In fact, he pretty much had no fun at all until he figured out that by feeding the trout fish food, he might be able to catch one with his bare hands.
Mike had a lot of fun photographing the trout as they ate. There are MANY more pics just like this that I had to choose from.
If you look closely, you'll see Noah on the shore by the lake. While the rest of us hiked up the small mountain to walk under a waterfall, Noah stubbornly stayed behind because he was SURE he could catch a fish here.
Unfortunately, he never caught one; although he did touch several of them.
Another little guy enjoying the park...
Here are some hot and sweaty, exahausted kids celebrating because we finally reached our destination - the prettiest part of the park. Unfortunately for them, that just meant they had to turn around and walk back out....
I'm pretty sure that every time a bike rider passed us by the kids uttered thoughts of how they would never be so cheap on their family vacations when they grow up. We'll see....
D - Branson (part 2)
It turned out that our favorite activity in Branson was when we rented a pontoon boat and spent the day at Table Rock lake. I wasn't just dying to do this because we have a boat and go to Arcadia when we want, so a day at the lake didn't sound all that out-of-the-ordinary to me. Was I ever wrong! It was just beautiful. The water was clear, the shorelines were lovely. A cushy, shaded pontoon boat is WAY more comfortable than our old bass boat. We were in the lap of luxury.
Katie likes it!
Noah found an original place to eat his lunch.
Katie thought it looked fun, so she joined him for her picnic.
My first ever time to try tubing, and Mike didn't go easy on me.
He was really trying to knock us off! Check out the air Noah is getting here.
Once Katie got on, it got a lot easier. She doesn't like to go fast, so Noah was pretty bored.
The boys had a great time showing off their lake-diving skills.
We all had a great time!
Maybe someday we'll upgrade our boat.....and our lake.....
Katie likes it!
Noah found an original place to eat his lunch.
Katie thought it looked fun, so she joined him for her picnic.
My first ever time to try tubing, and Mike didn't go easy on me.
He was really trying to knock us off! Check out the air Noah is getting here.
Once Katie got on, it got a lot easier. She doesn't like to go fast, so Noah was pretty bored.
The boys had a great time showing off their lake-diving skills.
We all had a great time!
Maybe someday we'll upgrade our boat.....and our lake.....
D - Branson (part 1)
In my woeful neglect of our blog over the past many months, I somehow avoided posting anything about our July Branson vacation. Since this blog is primarily for my enjoyment and the only scrapbook I have, I'm going to go ahead as if we just got back yesterday. So, welcome to our summer vacation!
We had a great time this year, as we always do when we travel. We decided to stick with our road trips close to home and discovered that Branson is an easy drive with a lot of fun family activities. Of course, this family fun comes with a steep price tag. We joked that a family of 4 can't do anything there for less than $200. Funny, but painful.
Here we go!
First stop: Silver Dollar City!
The kids really did enjoy the rides. But because Mike can't spin without getting sick, I was nominated for all round & round activities. Fun!
The only thing I remember about visiting SDC when I was a kid was making these candles. So, of course, my kids had to do the same thing!
SDC was originally founded when they opened the Marvel cave up for tours. The park just grew up around the cave as they provided more and more activities for tourists to take part in. We always enjoy a good cave tour, so this was a lot of fun and a great way to cool off! And since it is included in the admission price, it's a can't miss for the big-spending Bosleys!
Leaving on the tram. Mike always finds clever ways to photograph the family.
We had a great time this year, as we always do when we travel. We decided to stick with our road trips close to home and discovered that Branson is an easy drive with a lot of fun family activities. Of course, this family fun comes with a steep price tag. We joked that a family of 4 can't do anything there for less than $200. Funny, but painful.
Here we go!
First stop: Silver Dollar City!
The kids really did enjoy the rides. But because Mike can't spin without getting sick, I was nominated for all round & round activities. Fun!
The only thing I remember about visiting SDC when I was a kid was making these candles. So, of course, my kids had to do the same thing!
SDC was originally founded when they opened the Marvel cave up for tours. The park just grew up around the cave as they provided more and more activities for tourists to take part in. We always enjoy a good cave tour, so this was a lot of fun and a great way to cool off! And since it is included in the admission price, it's a can't miss for the big-spending Bosleys!
Leaving on the tram. Mike always finds clever ways to photograph the family.
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