Some Amusing Pics...

Just thought I would post some pics I took of the kids last night...

They were being goofy, but then again what else is new?!?!

(I think Cole was trying to make it look like he had some teeth!)

You can imagine my surprised look when they came out of their bedrooms looking like this... They wanted to know if they looked like Nanny McPhee??

Another Tooth Gone...

Cole lost another bottom tooth this past weekend... We are now 3 less teeth than we should have. Good news though since we went to the dentist for a cleaning & checkup last week and they told us that the top tooth is finally going to come through. It does look like a big tooth and that is why it is taking so long (almost 2 yrs... but it came out a little prematurely). I think it will take some adjustment time when the tooth finally comes in since we have been so used to seeing him without it. He lost the other tooth on the bottom over the 4th of July weekend while he was eating watermelon... don't ask as I don't understand it either. That tooth is also coming through but taking a little longer. Cole has been blessed (although I don't know if that is what you would call it) with his dad's mouth structure... all of his teeth need to move in order to make room as it is a little tight in that mouth. It has also been confirmed that Cole will need some type of instrument after he loses some more top teeth to re-align the top with the bottom since he sucked his thumb...

Our Luck Again

Don't you know we have all the luck!?!? We have had our big screen tv for about 5 yrs and it has moved with us 4 times... not good when you talk to tv dealers. Well for about the last 3 months our tv will unexpectedly turn green when you are watching one of your favorite shows... it will however turn back after about 30 seconds... we have also found that if it gets bumped by one of the kids that it will also change colors. This weekend our tv really headed down the tubes when the color changed and it turned off by itself... We did get it turned back on, but it took awhile to return to normal colors... We hesitated going to buy a new one thinking that maybe it would last until Christmas, but we also know what happens when we think we could wait... So we ventured off to Rockford to take a look... I knew that I had to go with or Todd would have come home with the 73" one he was looking at. We went to Primetime Audio & Video... the salesman was very knowledgeable and answered all of our questions... we came home with a 65" Mitsubishi DLP. Todd tried setting it up for 3 hours before I stepped in to help. Of course I opened up the instruction manual... it is amazing how things work when you read the directions! The picture does look great, but Todd has many updates to do yet... such as an HD box from Mediacom so that the picture is even sharper. Men and their toys!!!

Another Birthday Party

Okay so here starts the time when we have a birthday pretty much every week for a couple of months... My niece, Michaela, celebrated her 14th birthday this past Saturday as JMK Nipon. Todd and I decided that our children would not do well at this restaurant... even though they would love to see the food cooked right in front of them... it takes way too long for them to wait for food (2 hrs). We lined up a babysitter so that we could go and enjoy ourselves and have some alone time. We had a wonderful time and the restaurant food was not what we expected... it was better! The cook made a heart out of rice and also was tossing eggs in the air and catching them with a metal spatula... it was great to watch! It was a great way to celebrate her birthday and we got to embarass her a little too... We sang happy birthday to her and then they sang it in their language while we clapped... her dimples showed and her face had a slight hint of blush when everything was said and done. She did get a Wii from her dad so she was on her way home then to play some new games that she just picked out. Another birthday checked off until next year!

My Extended Family

I thought maybe it was time to introduce everyone to my daytime extended family.
(A relaxing afternoon by our sandbox...)

They look so quiet and peaceful in these pics, but don't let that fool you.

(Jordan, Casey, Jaylen, Jackson and Grace- my daytime crew)

I am enjoying being home... some days are a little more challenging than others, but it is worth it to be home with my own children! I had 2 additional school-aged boys this summer and I thought that was pretty challenging even with Kili here, but I know now that it was only because all the school kids are a completely different set of kids than what I am used to on a daily basis. And if you can keep the 3 bus times straight for all 4 of them... you have it made! Not to mention that Zoe goes to school on Monday & Wednesdays and Jordan goes on Tuesday & Thursdays if that doesn't confuse things a little more. I have 2 children going through potty training during the day... and two 18 mos olds running around. It does get hectic at times, but that is why my days go so fast... or they can drag like there is no tomorrow.

(Cole, Kamron and Zoe- my school kids)

(Hunter- another school kid)

The Joys of the Game

I was amazed to find out that the 5th graders now play volleyball with the 6th and 7th graders. My niece, Danielle, decided to try it out... The kids and I went to a game tonight and the girls did pretty good. They don't get to play really that long because there are so many players, but it is good for them to start building those skills early. Danielle is a really good player and seems to enjoy it (or at least I don't think that she complains about going). Cole and Zoe really enjoyed themselves especially since we had a couple balls fly our way. Cole was really getting into it as he was starting to holler and clap for the girls... either that or he was eyeing up the next girlfriend! Don't you love their striped socks??? Reminds me of a candy cane just a different color...

Birthday Party!

Today is my dad's 63rd birthday! We went to Coach's for pizza... It is always nice to get together with the family, but today I got to see Kili (I haven't seen her for weeks and she has been MIA since she started her job at Bergner's). I also got to see my little nephew, Race (and of course, my sister, Tracy, and niece, Danielle)... I just can't seem to get Todd to want to hold Race... I think he is afraid that if he held him that he might want another one... Grandma and Grandpa were there... Along with my brother, Mike... Jean and Dennis Bose were also there (they have been close friends of my parents since they joined the GWRRA group when I was younger... way younger!). Anyway it was a great day and now we are back to the same old weekly grind.