That's how we roll

I've been trying to catch up on the blog but I still need to post about Christmas and now it's been so long I'm starting to losing my steam.  So much has happened in January and Feb so far that I need to write about that too.  Problem is I don't have a lot of 'me' time to myself.  By the time I get everyone down at nighttime and clean up the kitchen it's almost 8:30 and I want to go read and decompress in bed.  I'm not even really watching TV right now (except for Downton Abbey, of course).  Ryder has started preschool, a 2/3s combo class 2 days a week in the afternoon.  It's nice for him to have some school time while sissies are at school and I get a wee bit of a break, but usually spend the entire 2 hours running errands alone or working.  There is a definite misconception that once your kids start school you'll have all this time on your hands.  I can't believe how much busier our lives have gotten since school started last July.  I feel like I'm still trying to figure out how to balance it all as a mom, working woman, wife, & friend.

I do have one funny story to share:  Me, Cory, & Ryan were together last week at therapy (for some of Ryan's food and emotional issues) and Mimi was home with Ryder and Reese.  They were playing out front like we love to do in the cul-de-sac.   While they were all out front (Mimi, Ryder, Reese L. down the street, our Reese, and Muffin), the UPS guy made two deliveries on our street.  Then, he pulled up to our house and said that our street looked like the UPS driver's training videos with kids, dogs, and toys in the street.  He was laughing and asked if it was a test and if I was taking notes.

Yep, our crazy life looks like the training video for the UPS guy.  Welcome to our world of crazy.

A trip to the dentist

The girls were due for a dental checkup and Ryder need to go for the first time.  We had Haley with us so all 5 of us rolled into the dental office and caused quite a stir.  That's just how things are with 4 kids and one of them is Ryder :)  Thank the sweet Lord for Haley girl.  She is the sweetest caretaker and helps out so much.  

Reese went first to show Ryder how it's done.

 

He wasn't feeling it.

 It looks worse than it was.  He did great and his teeth are in great shape (thanks to my teeth brushing obsession).  Taking 3 kids to the dentist was a wee bit painful to my wallet.  The girls got sealant in their 6 year molars that just came in and the grand total for everything was $760!  Yowza!

Cookie Time!!

I love making sugar cookies.  It's so fun to bake, decorate, make a huge mess and watch the kids cookie creations come to life.  Auntie Jess & Mimi came by with the boys.  We tried to take a photo of Mimi with her boys but Will & Ryder weren't getting on so well.  They love to fight over her attention.

Time to get started!!

 I have so many awesome helpers!

 Especially Captain Underpants.  That face and those eyes slay me.

 This was serious cookie business.  I really had to concentrate.

 Typical Ryan was all up in the mix.  She loves to help but she is such a monkey on the counters and it freaks me out.  All of our kids are like this but she & Ryder take it to the next level.

 My little oven helper.

I didn't take any photos of the finished products.  Mostly because they came out of the oven and we frosted them immediately, then ate them even faster.  Believe me when I tell you there were some beauts that the kids made.  Sugar overload for sure!

Rachel babysits

 The kids love Rachel and beg us to have her over to babysit them.  I was downloading photos and I found these pics of their fun Thursday night.  Crazy kids!!

PJs from Cottie & Lilly

Cottie & Lilly were so thoughtful and left new Santa pajamas for the kids just in time for PJ day at school.  I love the leggings that look like candy cane stripes.  The kids were beyond excited when they woke up to find the elves had left a present for them.  

 I guess I should say the girls were thrilled.  It's morning so this photo really captures Ryder's excitement.

Ryan is really woking her I love Santa pose.

Not sure what Reese & Ryder are doing in this photo but for some odd reason I love it.

A real tree

We really wanted to get a real tree this year.  We've always had a fake on and thought it would be a good year to experience a real tree and let the kids decorate it.  We went after church and had fun picking out the perfect one.  The girls were dressed up as 'triplets' and I couldn't resist snapping this cute photo of them.

Once we found our tree Cory was in charge of loading it up on top of the minivan.  He had some super duper helpers.

Cottie & Lilly's first shenanigans

 Our little elves are usually pretty good but they started off with a bang this year.  They found some mischief in the Alpha Bits and decided to blame Reese & Ryan.  We thought it was hilarious.  Ryan saw it and immediately decided to eat her name so the evidence was gone.  I was rolling on the floor laughing.

Our three princesses

This dress up stuff with Ryder happens way more than Cory would like.  

He looks pretty happy with his big sisters :)

Cottie & Lilly arrive

We knew our elves were coming soon but we weren't sure when.  The doorbell rang while the kids were in the bath and when we opened up the door there were two boxes wrapped up for our family.  It was all very exciting.  They tore into the boxes to find our old friend Cottie & our newest elf, Lilly.  

 She is adorable with earrings and a skirt!  Very fancy.  

 Their faces were priceless.  I wish I could bottle up that excitement and save it.

Ryder was checking it all out.  He took a bit longer to warm up to the idea of Cottie & Lily.

It's going to a be a really fun year with our elves.  Really. Really. Fun!

Pajama Day

Reese & Ryan were supposed to have pajama day at school today because their class won the Box Tops contest and the kids voted on PJ day for the party.  It's been a rough week because the girls got sick on Wednesday, came home from school with sore throats & fevers, and stayed home the past 2 days.  They have been crying about missing school and Pajama Day.  I tell myself that loving school so much that tears form when they miss is a GOOD problem to have.  We decided to have our own pajama day at home today.  They had their new matching PJs on and were in them all day until about 3pm.  It was a great day and I assured them that our pajama party was just as much fun.

Are you ready for some fun?!?

 Our sweet little girls.

 They have been really excited about their birthday and kept asking me how long.  We counted 63 days until the big day and made a paper chain with 63 links that they could tear off each day.  It's like waiting for Christmas :)

 Then we made a reading fort in Ryder's room and everyone enjoyed some good books.  It was some nice quiet time for everyone.

 There's the stinker face!

 Now we're a bit bored.  What's next?

The little things

I feel like the days are flying by but I really want to remember all the little things that have been happening around our house these days, including:

Ryder sleeping everywhere but his own bed each night.  With his sisters, with me & Cory, on the couch.  You name it, anywhere but in his comfy full size bed.

Reese talking like a teenager with her hands on her hips and telling vivid stories using, "like, like, like" way too much.

Ryan taking her sassiness to a whole new level.  She told me tonight that she ignores me when I ask her  to do stuff because she wants to play all the time and do no work.  Seriously?!  She also said that sometimes she just wants to be left alone.  She is such a mix of me and Cory and I have to work hard to make sure I learn how to deal with her so we don't constantly butt heads.

Ryder demanding that everyone in our family be served before we start eating.  He will scream if you even try to pick up your fork before everyone has their food.  It's great manners and we're not sure where he learned it because it's not usually a rule we follow, but I guess we do now.  Crazy kid.

Reese coming into her own being a leader.  Sometimes she can be timid and let other people lead the way but lately we've seen her use more of her voice to lead other people without being a total bossy pants.

Ryder throwing some category 5 tantrums.  Off the charts.  I forgot how crazy two year olds can be.

Both girls loving our 'Happy/Sad' chats at the end of the day, when they tell us their best & worst moments of the day.

Ryder telling me he's hungry after dinner.  Every. Single. Night.  It never fails that the kid wants oatmeal at 8:30pm after my kitchen is all cleaned up.

Ryan is always the first one up and comes straight to our room.  She lays in the bed and asks if she can watch Caillou or Billy The Exterminator.  Hilarious.

Ryder constantly asking, "Why? Why? Why?"  I'm so used to it and I'm constantly answering each Why? but I've had so many people tell me, "He sure does ask why a lot".  I maintain that curiosity is a wonderful trait.

Reese making cards for everyone in our family and getting SO excited to see our faces when we open the cards.  It's so sweet.

Dancin' in the rain

We love the rain.  It's so rare that we get a good downpour so the kids were really stoked when it started comin down in buckets.  We partied in the rain for at least 20 minutes.  It was our kind of day.

Our San Diego trip

Our trip to San Diego this year was very relaxing.  We didn't do too much because Ryder boy got sick on Monday and was down for the count almost the entire week :(  He mad a recovery on Friday just in time for the sun to come out.  We mostly just beached it since Ryder wasn't feeling great.  The girls made friends with 2 kids next door and all they wanted to do was play with their BFFs at the beach.  I always love 4th of July at the beach but we just wished for a bit more sunshine and warmer temps.

 Happy 4th!!

 We were really excited to make a flag cake this year.  Reese was over the moon for this cake.  We found recipes and designs online and spent the morning of the 4th making it.  It was SO yummy with the fresh raspberries and blueberries.

 A vacation is not complete until you roast some S'mores.

 Finger lickin' good.

 When the sun appeared on Friday we decided to rent a paddleboard.  We all took turns riding on it.  It's seriously a great core workout.  The kids loved it too.

 Little Reesie on the paddleboard.

 Our twin surfer girls.

 Ryder was still recovering.  It was hard to get this kid to crack a smile.

 He sure did love Auntie Jess' pregnant belly.

 SUCH a pretty belly.  She makes pregnancy look so good.

I'm so bummed that we didn't even get a photo of the 5 of us.  I seriously spent most of the week on the couch with Ryder.  He just laid in my lap while I read book after book.  (I finished 2 books in less than 4 days).  We are hoping for more sunshine and less sickness when we return to our beloved beach house next year.