I've mentioned in the past that Claire looks just like Maddie did when she was a baby.  Both kids were little chunkers, but I think Claire may be JUST a little bit bigger than Maddie was.

We tried to buy Claire some pants today - but as always, I could button them while she was on her back, but then she couldn't actually sit up.  Up until this point Claire has basically lived in stretchy pants, and it looks as though she will continue in stretchy pants for a few more months!

To confirm the fact that Claire is indeed our chubbiest, I started looking at pictures from Maddie around the same age.

This picture proved that Claire and Maddie were indeed the same size:

Unfortunately, Madelyn has a balloon up her shirt.  Claire....no balloon.

BDEM:  Anybody else love oatmeal?  Comfort food at it's best! I just finished a warm bowl of banana-flavored oatmeal with craisins, and mmmmmmm-boy!  That was DELISH!  

Water:  50 oz

Goodbye, my first love....

Davy Jones + Kitten.  Everyone wins.  

Even though he was a good thirty-plus years my elder, I thought he was the cutest thing I had ever seen.  I figured that since he was short, it was probably okay to have a crush on him.

BDEM:  It actually happened late last night...but the aftermath has been keeping me excited all day.  Rob and I booked a last minute trip to Kauai.  I have had excited jitters all day, and can't wait to spend eight days on a BEAUTIFUL island with my handsome hubby.  


Water:  20 oz.  (It's only noon.  Hopefully by the time this posts I'll be at 60).

Happy Birthday, Gerg!

Our Favorite Kung Fu Panda

I have had a beyond busy day and was JUST NOW able to call my little brother to wish him a happy birthday.  Unfortunately, it's two hours ahead where he lives, and he is probably sleeping.  So sad.

So, since I feel like a really miserable sister - I just want to dedicate this blog post to him and say that I hope he had an AMAZING day!!  Hopefully one of these days my wish will come true, and he'll move out by me.  If that's asking too much - at least he'll come out and visit me soon!

Love you, Gerg...miss our days of Tuesday and Thursday bowling!!

(Also - it just so happens to be my friend Lindsay's 30th birthday, and my father-in-law's 70th Birthday!  Happy Birthday, Lindsay and Ross...sorry I don't have any pictures of you dressed in your Karate Best!)

BDEM:  It's been a CUH-RAZY day!  I think I'm going to heat up some Mexican hot chocolate and kick up the old feet!  

Water:  70 oz

Speaking of Bad Habits....

You'll never guess who got pulled over today for expired registration.


Rob.


And not a moment too soon!  Even though our printer is broken, Rob had taken a picture with his phone of our computer screen (from the automatic renewal webpage) showing that he had registered his car.

He showed the cop the picture - and Rob was sent on his merry little way.


Phew. Now THAT was a close one!


BDEM:  I have tons of stuff to look forward to, and I keep having these little, "Oh - that's going to be so awesome.." moments.  I've had a bunch of those today, so I guess I could call them BDEMs. Please don't correct me if that grammar is wrong - I have literally changed my mind ten times.  It's too late to get into the nitty gritty of the horrendous English language.  (Side note:  does anybody else get particularly frustrated trying to teach their children how to read?  English has more exceptions to the rules than actual rules!)  

Water:  70 oz

Bad Habits

Rob and I are terrible about registering our cars.  As of this weekend, we finally have two street legal cars.  Both of which were due back in August.  After months and months of driving unregistered you get accustomed to paranoid driving...making sure that there is not a cop anywhere in sight.  I can't even begin to tell you how many times Maddie has pointed out that we were going the wrong way because I was making up my own "detour" to avoid a cop.

Rob pointed out a few weeks ago (when we finally decided it was probably time) that if either one of us got pulled over we could get our cars impounded.  I wasn't quite sure if that was legit - or if a cop would actually do that. So now I am curious if everyone else always registers their cars immediately, or if there are others out there who are constantly on the lookout for the police.  What is the latest that a cop would let you off the hook with an unregistered car?  Have any of my friends been ticketed for expired registration?

BDEM:  Dr. Mario.  I'm practicing*.  I'm talking to you, Mandi and Paul.  

Water:  60 oz


*Practicing in no way, shape, or form indicates improvement.  

Sushi

I love grocery store sushi.  I grab it a lot at the store around the corner - but I didn't realize how often until the other day when I ran in to grab something else.  I passed the sushi counter and the little Japanese man rolling sushi behind the counter asked, "You no stop for sushi?"  Perhaps I should cut back....I didn't realize we were at that level in our relationship.  Actually, I didn't even know who HE was!

BDEM:  At this very moment I can breathe through both nostrils.  I cannot wait to pop that sushi in my mouth, it will be the first food I've been able to taste in days!  

Water:  60 oz

Speech Impediment

I have one of those terrible colds.  The kind that you get once every five years or so.  The kind where your nose/throat is so clogged that you can't seem to pronounce the N sound.  It's also the kind where for some reason your eyes just drip water.

Because of it, I've been in a fog all day...probably because I'm wearing my glasses.  This may sound ridiculous, but sometimes it seems like if my eyes can't focus - neither can my brain.  My glasses are about three prescriptions old, so even though they help, I'm still a bit visually impaired.

Back to fog.  At about 5pm I looked at the clock, thought back over the course of the day, and couldn't remember a single thing I did. Was I on the couch?  No.  Did I nap?  No.  Did I talk to anyone on the phone?  I don't THINK so (disclaimer - if we did speak, please forgive any unfortunate things I may have said).  So, where did this day go?  I have absolutely NO idea.  I do remember three things.  1.  My friend Mandi took my kids.  Talk about a lovely lady - that's probably the reason they are safely tucked into bed at this point.  2. I spent most of the day with toilet paper stuffed up my nostrils.   3.  Ella said something to me that made me think, "That'll probably be my BDEM."

BDEM:  Sometimes Ella's cute little grin catches me off guard, and I just have to tell her what a cute and sweet kid she is.


"Ella - do you know how much I love you?"


"Yes, Mommy, so much!"


"That's true, sweetheart - you are just so stinking cute!"


She came over, very close to my face - put her hands on my cheeks and whispered, 


"Mommy, I just ate boogers."


Water:  40 oz.  Still about 30 short.  Dang.

Mascara and Dinner

The top contender of the mascara face off is:

I have to explain this one....I sleep in my mascara every single night.  And even though many of those other mascaras did a decent job of extending my lashes, this one doesn't flake off and end up all over my face the next day.  I also never have issues with it leaving dark circles below my eyes during the day.  Oh, and washing it off is a trip!  It doesn't smear, it just comes off almost like fake lashes.  It's definitely my go to, for all of those that asked.

Dinner:  To change things up a bit, I added some avocado and tomato to a basic grilled cheese sandwich.  It was SO good!  {ps - this would also be really good - and a bit more manly - with a couple slices of bacon} Sprinkle a bit of season all on the tomatoes, and you've got yourself a tasty twist on an every day classic.  To top off the dinner, I made homemade potato chips in the microwave.  I honestly had NO idea you could do this, but they were SO SO good.  Check out the recipe here.  

BDEM:  Watching brave Jude get his kindergarten immunizations.  What a tough (yet tender) little kid.  The nurse was so proud of him...I guess most kids that age end up being chased all over the office with the needles!  He sat quietly, squeezed my arm, and did his very best to hold in his pain.  No tears, no freak-outs, just a kid who understood that in a minute, it would all be over.  

Water:  40 oz

Tell Me I'm Not Alone....

Rob often looks at my makeup bag with a mix of curiosity and disgust.  I have two makeup bags, you see.  One bag is fairly small and is full of the makeup that I wear on a daily basis.  It's clean and organized - which are two traits that really make him smile.  THEN there's the second bag.  The reserve.  It's full of makeup that I don't really wear, but feel I should hold on to in case of some sort of makeup emergency.  It's also disgusting.  It's the bag where the blush and/or eye shadows have broken and created a caky, colored mess all over everything inside it.

My problem is that even though I know I have this disgusting bag where makeup goes to die, I still continue to be an impulsive makeup buyer.  I see the commercial, and I'm sold.

I'd feel a lot better about all this if I knew there was somebody else out there who has nine tubes of mascara  in their possession.  Anybody else a makeup hoarder?

Sadly, in all my makeup hoarding, there is only one of these tubes that I actually like!  Eight of the nine will probably never be used again, and will get tossed when the A & E channel comes to my house and tells me that I have to choose between my children and the mascara.

BDEM:  Oooh, yummy dinner!  Yummy and EASY dinner.  Maybe I'll blog about it tomorrow - or the next day.  Heck, I've still got three and a half months left before blog-every-day-for-a-year comes to an end.  Looks like I've got PLENTY of days to share it!  

Water:  60 oz.

I'm Exhausted!

I just got back from our church New Beginnings program - and I'm ready to put my feet up.  It is a night where we teach about the program, and then welcome all of the new girls in.  Tomorrow I will post some pictures, and our ideas - but for now.....I'm wiped!  Can't wait for my head to hit the pillow!

Extra big shout out to the friends that helped me with this:  Sara, Tonya, Jennifer, Tricia, Mandi, Kerri Sue, Brynn and Dianne.  Nice teamwork, ladies - definitely couldn't have done it without you. {Hope I'm not missing anybody!}

BDEM:  That moment when you know you've pulled off a big event.  I think it went well, and now I can relax and enjoy the memory of it all!

Water:  I kept ZERO track today.  I know I had some with my morning workout - so maybe 20 oz?  Sad!  

Proof

BDEM:  Taking Maddie to Icing (I know it says, "Icing by Claire's, but isn't it basically the same store?  Why is there then a Claire's just around the corner at the mall?)  Forgive my rant...taking Maddie to pick out her first dangly earrings.  It's hard to find a pair of "little danglers" for tiny ears - but we ended up with the cutest little flowers.  

Water:  Not enough.  It's because I didn't work out today.  Probably only 30 oz.

This Worries Me

Having three little girls is one thing -

But having three teenage girls is TOTALLY different.

How does one manage?


BDEM:  Family movie night concept.  Rob made is famous sugar popcorn - which I love to mix with regular popcorn for that whole sweet/salty vibe. 


Non BDEM:  Family movie choice:  Rango.  What the heck?  Have you guys seen that?  I liked the last ten minutes or so - but getting there was TORTURE!  

Water:  40 oz.

Miracles

The other day my friend posted this as her facebook status:

{Jessica} thinks it is about time to post the big news on Facebook. After 13 years of marriage, 200% infertility and three adopted children, I am 14 weeks pregnant! Shock of a lifetime, my friends--shock of a lifetime.


I have been thinking about this news all weekend.  




Talk about miracles.  




I honestly can't remember the last bit of news that made me this happy. Every time it pops into my head my heart does a little "pitter patter" and I get all misty-eyed.  Congratulations to Jessica and family...you guys are such a wonderful family, and I can't wait to hear about all the ups and downs of pregnancy!




BDEM:  Our neighbor owns a restaurant around the corner that makes the BEST southern style breakfast.  The kids always beg to go and visit Callie at her restaurant - so when we say yes it's like taking them to Disneyland.  AND, I get an awesome hashbrown/egg/gravy/cheese/sausage pile that reminds me of weekend breakfasts at Culver.  


Water:  30 oz.  I'd better step it up tomorrow!

What Do You Get

When you cross a fan, a duvet cover and an inventive five year old boy?

A tent that never falls down and is much cooler than any tent his mother could have made with blankets and tables.

You can't really see the size, but it's about three and a half feet tall and four feet wide and six feet long

He used the suction on the back of the fan to hold the duvet cover in place

Then they took blankets and toys inside and played or hours.  

Normally I tell Jude not to mess with the fan, but even I thought this was ridiculously cool.

BDEM:  We took the kids out for frozen yogurt tonight for being so obedient this week.  They were SO good, and I love rewarding them for that!

Water:  40 oz

Maybe I'm Just Old

Yes, I'm thirty.

Yes, I already use the phrase, "They just don't make them the way they used to."

I don't think that's a crime.  After all, anybody my age remembers how awesome parks were before everything became plastic.

Remember these things?

You've never slid down a robot's arms cutting your rear-end on rusty metal pieces?   Okay - neither have I...I just ran across the picture while searching for vintage merry-go-round images.  I do believe there was something similar at the old McDonald's play place, though...

Back to my point.  They just don't make things like they used to.  I found myself saying this as I folded up Madelyn's school valentines a few nights ago.  When did "hand out to your class" valentines go from being made out of cardboard-like paper to slick, cheap magazine paper?  Where did the envelopes go?

I remember passing out Valentine's as a kid.  I had to read each one to make sure that I didn't give anything too provocative to the other boys in the class.  "I like you, Valentine" would have been the end of the world if given to the wrong kid!  Nowadays, kids just sign their names and don't even write who it is to.

I'm sure in the next ten years the teacher will just send home a list of all the kids' email addresses and have their Valentine's Day messages sent to their inbox.

Our poor kids - they'll never know the feeling swinging so high that the leg of the swing set comes off the ground.

They just don't make them like they used to!

BDEM:  I chopped my hair again.  It was a good thing.  

Water:  40 oz