awesome day

**this post has no pictures because I forgot to bring the camera. However, we took mental pictures all day long a la...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-MfVmfm9V8

So Saturday we went to the fair. Usually, it's just an excuse to eat food that's really bad for us and make fun of people (does anyone know why the freaks come out in masses to fairs?). We like to play "did ya see" on the way home. "did ya see the 400lb lady in the tube top and spandex shorts?" "yes. did ya see the family with 3 kids and none of them had shoes on?". Anyway, it's hard because the kids aren't ever tall enough to ride any rides (except the ponies, which they ride about 5 times each). But this time they were finally over 3 ft tall, which meant RIDES! Plus, the weather was absolutely perfect (about 67 and sunny). We ended up having a REALLY great day.

As soon as we got there, we put the girls on the ferris wheel. Sophia laughed hysterically the whole time. To say she loved it, would be an understatement. Meanwhile, next to her was Maria SOBBING "get me down from here!!!" (keep in mind, this was the kiddie one and she was no more than 10 ft off the ground). Jack kept saying "WEEEEEE!" every time they went by. As soon as they got off of that Sophia was ready for some more so we went over to the little swing ride (just goes in a circle). And Maria didn't want any part of that one either. While on that, Sophia catches a glimpse of a kiddie roller coaster and it was like a moth to a flame. She kept chanting "roller coaster" like she was in a trance. It was hilarious. So while on that Maria was down on land with us about to have a panic attack that something would happen to Sophia while she was on the roller coaster. She practically ran up and got her off of it herself when it was over. It was clear that Maria wasn't going to ride any more rides, so we let Sophia ride a few more by herself and then we headed over to the "big slides" (one of the few things she will ride). The bad part about those is that Josh has to ride down with each of them because they have to be 42" to go down alone (Maria has 2 more inches to go and Sophia has about 5 more. fingers crossed for next year). So anyway, it's 8 freakin tickets ($8) just for each of them to go down once :-P Anyway, then it was the main event...riding the ponies! After that, we ended up actually finding a bench (rare) and being able to sit down to eat. Then we left Josh there with his friends and dad to watch his 2nd tractor pull of the weekend while I took the kids home (one of those things he likes to do with his friends every year while I'm at home watching Christmas movies or scrapbooking :-).
Oh and on the way home I noticed that the sunset was absolutely beautiful. Just a perfect end to an awesome day!

Jack in the box

I had totally intended to do an 18 month post about our little Jack-in-the-box in July, when it was actually happening. But somehow I forgot. (Bad Mommy!) Anyway, here are a few things that I want to remember about Jackson as he is right now

• When he knows he's doing something wrong he starts nodding "yes" before I can even start shaking my head "no". He looks so darn cute doing it that I almost don't want to say "no" at all.
• When Josh pulls in the driveway he runs through the house screaming (at the top of his little lungs) "DAAAAAAAAD!"
• His favorite new words are "CHEESE!" and "what?". The way he says "what?" to the girls is so stinkin cute there are no words for it. He sounds like me or something (not that I am even remotely cute, it's just cute b/c he is "parenting" his 2 older sisters).
• His favorite old words are "uh oh" and "daaaaaad" (Josh and I are BOTH daaaaad, in case you were wondering).
• He is attached to me ALL.THE.TIME. I hate to call him a mama's boy for fear that he will read this in 15 yrs and be mortified, but alas, it's the truth.
• Favorite foods include goldfish, fruit snacks, blueberry waffles, mac & cheese and any variety of Gerber ravioli.
• Favorite toys include anything he's been told "no" about a hundred times such as, the trash, the recycling, the shoes, any food in the bottom shelf of the pantry, folded clothes, the button on the fans (even after it's been unplugged), anything in any of the kitchen cabinets and anything the girls are currently playing with.
• Newest tricks: opening doors, putting his (and the girls, if they let him) clothes in the correct hampers (one for darks and one for lights), taking off his diaper in bed and smearing poo all over his bed (obviously, this one is my *favorite*) and turning off/on the TV with the stolen remote that he is holding behind the couch so I can't see him (though, I can hear him b/c he's giggling about it the whole time).
• He's a big freaking flirt. I don't know how he knows the difference between a pretty girl and a not so pretty girl. But he does and he only flirts with the pretty ones (however, he does not discriminate based on age. I've seen him go for quite a few classy older gals too). Going to the grocery store with this kid is about like I'd imagine taking him to a hooters will be in 15 yrs. They just flock to him and he loves every minute of it. He poses and bats his eye lashes and tries to kiss them and smiles. It's hilarious and horrifying all at the same time.
• He has recently earned the nickname "the high stepper" because of the way he marches all around the house kicking his legs out as high as he can in front of him. No idea where this came from but it's here and it's funny as hell. (Unless, of course, he got it from one of his nazi friends, in which case we'll be putting a stop to it right away).

***As I sit here and type this he is pressing his face up against the screen in the window screaming "daaaaad" because he hears the neighbor mowing his lawn. pre-shus! lol

The runner

Dear Jackson,
Here is a list of times and places when running is appropriate.

• You are being chased by a dog, serial killer, debt collector. Really ANY time you're being chased
• You are on the track team
• Your house is on fire
• Your car is about to explode
• Someone is trying to have sex with you and you are under the age of....40 ;-)

And here is a list of times that your running was not appreciated

• You wanted to see the cows, but your daddy didn't know that...
• You wanted to see Grandmas neighbors backyard while she was playing with your sisters and Dakota
• You wanted to visit your Grandpa and Linda but everyone else was going inside
• You saw something shiny...across the street, while we were at the park

We have definitely had some close calls because of your running, and I would appreciate it if from now on you would take daddy and I seriously when we scream "Jack, stop!". The giggling is cute, but could definitely get dangerous once you get faster than us.

a couple things...

So, Daddy built them a swing set last weekend and it's been the cause for lots and lots of giggles all week...from everyone in the house. It's 10ft tall. No joke. Because Josh thought 8ft wouldn't be quite tall enough for our 3ft tall children lol. We've both been making jokes about it ever since it went up. He came in the house and goes "uhhh hey, could you call Labron James to come hang up these swings for me". I go out there and see it with my own eyes. I say "hunny, you know the kids are ours right?" (he's 5'5" and I'm 5'2"...and Maria has a medical condition literally called "short stature"). He hung up the swings with the original chain that they came with and they came up to the girls heads...cue jokes, and jokes, and jokes... Anyway, after 8ft of extra chain, it's great and I can't wait until next year when we build the tower and slide part.

Me and Pia pants hanging out outside. (no, I wont cut her bangs, I'm trying to grow them out, they're just in an awkward phase right now)

This picture cracks me up. I love the teeth and the squinty eyes. Precious.

Maria had her last day of school on Wed. Yes, I cried...I sobbed in fact. Hey, they played the song "let them be little" and read a poem entitled "we give them back to you". Trust me, they wanted some tears...and they got them. She has grown sooooo much since the first day of school. She has really come a long way in the last 9 months.

Maria on the first day...

and on the last.

The girls on the first day...

and on the last day.

big tear...

leftovers and wordless wednesday...all on the wrong days

This is really just a hodge podge because I haven't really had anything interesting to say in the last week that would constitute an entire blog.

• How cute is this picture of Jack? Seriously, I love it. It's definitely worthy of WW status.

• Speaking of pictures, yes, this is in fact a strawberry shaped like...uhh...well, a rack...I'm sorry, I know it's juvenile, but it has been cracking Josh and I up for two days. that's just the immature sense of humor we have, and I LOVE it.

• We had to reschedule our family pictures because they were supposed to be Sunday, but because of the storms, obviously that didn't happen. We are actually doing them at my moms house with all 10 of us for her 50th birthday gift. She's been talking about having family pics taken for years and just hasn't done it, so we thought we'd do it for her. lol. Of course I have no room to talk since I wanted to get them since last year for my birthday, but Josh didn't want to spend $700 on pics. (tangent: this I THINK, is what my EPSIL (evil psychotic sister in law) was referring to one time when she said that I "forced Josh to buy $700 patio furniture"????, when in actuality that furniture was cheapo stuff that Josh wanted and got from big lots. I guess since she wins every argument in her house, she thinks I do too. It must be unusual for someone like her to understand a couple making decisions TOGETHER. lol. ok tangent over.)


• Sophia has been calling Maria "Somia". I think this is what's going on in her head...if Pia=Sophia then Mia should=Somia. Pretty good logic if you think about it.
• It's officially 100 days until our vacation!! And if ANYONE deserves a vacation, it's us! We've spent the last 5 1/2 years having babies, taking care of them, paying our bills, working hard & doing the right thing. So now that we are practically debt free (obviously we still owe on our mortgage and car) we can finally go on a vacation the RIGHT way. Without having other bills we can't pay or paying for it with a credit card. We are so excited and now our kids will appreciate it so much more. Hopefully they will grow up to be responsible like us and not grow up feeling entitled to things like that.
• Josh got all of our plants for our garden yesterday. Last year was just a trial run to see what we liked/used so this year will HOPEFULLY be totally used. We got 24 tomato plants, 2 peppers, 1 cucumber & 2 strawberry. Also, I got the seeds the other day for corn, pickling cucumbers, pie pumpkins & carrots. I'm hoping to get a little more spaghetti sauce out of this years. We just ran out a couple weeks ago and I had to get store-bought. Once you've had homemade, the store stuff is like eating plain tomato sauce out of a can. LOL. For some reason, my green beans from last year all have a funny...like pasty? kind of taste, so I don't think we'll do them this year, however I did get some seeds. It'll really depend on if we have the space.
• When we went to pick up the plants last night, we stopped at the place where we used to go get ice cream after Maria was born. We'd walk up there every night, and it was just really nice. However, they closed it down a while back, so Josh was all excited when he came home from work last night and said "they opened it up again, we have to go tonight!". It was so cute. The problem now becomes that we sold the double stroller and IDK about having the kids walk the mile on a rural road with no sidewalks. But it would be stupid to drive a mile, ya know?
  

Don't forget...

Danifred did a post a while (is it awhile or a while?) back where she listed things she doesn't want to forget about her kids right now. And I'm a cheater cheater pumpkin eater, so I'm going to copy her paper and do one of my own, however, mine will just be about LIFE right now.

• Jackson does this thing where he holds onto a table or the couch etc. and sort of bounces and giggles so hard he can't catch his breath. It's hilarious and sooo stinking cute, but Josh always has to go and make it dirty and he says that it looks "just wrong"...men! lol
• I was just talking to a friend about how I think that Josh and I are the definition of opposites attracting. We are always teaching each other things and opening each others eyes to new things. And I think we really do bring out the best in each other. After being with him for almost 8 years, I honestly don't know how couples who are really similar can be happy (or get anything done) that way.
• Marias teacher tells me that "I wish every child had maria's sense of humor" at least once a week. I love it. I think she is just a genuinely happy kid so she will laugh and giggle and carry on about literally ANYTHING.
• I think Sophia has a future as an exercise instructor. She's always gathering us up and giving orders for different "moves" she wants us to do. "circle you head", "lift up you arms", "shake you booty", "flap you wings" (this one is her favorite and she just looooves it if her "wings" touch the person beside hers.) And it's always totally random like if we're all in the kitchen after dinner she'll just start doing it.
• On the subject of jobs, I'm almost positive that Jack will be a garbage man. I CANNOT keep the kid out of the trash. It's ridiculous. And it's not just the trash, it's the recycling, the girls toys, the DVD drawer, the picture boxes. Anything he can get his sticky little hands on, is fair game. I love him, I really do, but by the end of the day, that boy is working my last nerve! (my hope here is that in 10 years when I read this, I'll be thinking "Oh, I'm sooo glad he grew out of THAT!"...but I'm not holding my breath)
• When Jack walks it's HILARIOUS. He takes the smallest steps ever. It takes him 500 steps to get 5 feet. I love it. The difference between the way they all walk in the beginning is really interesting to me. Sophia used to not move the top half of her body and it was soo funny. And maria started running the day after she started walking. I kid you not, I actually have video to prove it. LOL
• The girls ask to play with play-doh and to color every.single.day. And it's always before 8:30am. I started telling them that the rule is, not to ask until after I get done with my breakfast so that my eyes can be fully awake. So now they come into our room at 7:am asking if my eyes are awake yet. lol
• Last night while the girls were going to the bathroom before bed, Josh layed down in Marias bed. I layed down next to him and I said "awww. are ya happy honey, both of us squeezing into a twin bed, just like when we were first dating" lol. Then the girls both climbed into bed with us and Josh says "No. This is SOO much better". My heart melted.

I wish I could remember everything about them forever. The way they say every word and the things they just have to have a certain way. In 15 years, I will be wishing I could go back and remember all the little things, hopefully posts like this will help remind me of the simple things about our life that make it SOOO amazing and such an incredible blessing.

week of firsts

Jackson has had a pretty big week (relatively speaking, of course. because if it were a week for me, it would be a pretty lame one). our adventures include...

• FIRST FREAKING TOOTH! oh my Aunt Jemima, I thought this day would never come. But it did, and around the third straight day of nothing but whining and tears, I was wondering why I wanted this so badly for him.




• FIRST STEPS! That event was today and it was aaaamazing. :D I actually had tears in my eyes. (yes, I know that's lame since it's my third, but it doesn't get any less exciting in my eyes). The major importance of this event happening on this particular day....it was one year, exactly, from his due date! how cool is that!?


• FIRST HAIRCUT! so it was really just a trim on the back of his mullet man head that he was working soooo hard to grow. And to be honest, I felt as bad cutting his precious few hairs, as I feel when Josh asks me to do it to him. lol. But he was definitely in need of it.**

from this...

to this...

Ok, it's not exactly noticible to the naked eye, but it did actually make a difference.

**I still have no idea what to do with hair. I've never touched marias, I've only trimmed sophias bangs and I use a razor on josh. I just don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing with it...esp with Jacksons. I've just never been around boys, so I guess it's one of those things I'll just learn along the way.

Best parts of my day

• Being woken up by either a) the girls begging for food lol. or b) josh kissing me (either option is awesome)
• Hearing the girls say "bye, my booey" when josh leaves for work (we have no idea what that means, but they've been saying it for more than a year)
• Watching Jack actually EAT ON HIS OWN. Omigosh, he's finally eating finger food by himself (no medieval force-feeding torture machine needed ;-))
• The girls "tippin toe" (tip-toeing) out to the living room and peeking around the corner to see if they can get up from their naps.
• or if Maria has preschool, it's when we're waiting in line and she asks me what every single button or knob in the car does. She laughs the whole time b/c she thinks it's hilarious that I answer her every day. lol I LOVE that laugh and I wish I could bottle it up and save it for 10 years from now lol.
• Sophia helping me with the laundry. She loves helping me sort it and put it in the washer and she absolutely HAS to push the buttons. lol.
• When Josh gets home and the girls RUN, SQUEALING to the back door to see him. then he gives them the mail to give me and he gives me a kiss hello...no matter how dirty he is from work (however, some days it's more like a peck due to oil, grease or whatever else is on there lol).
• after-dinner dancing! (not always every day)
• The good night "routine" when we put the girls to bed.
• 8:01 when the house is quiet and josh and i have time ALONE :D
• laying in bed with josh holding hands and talking. i love it. it's nothing special, but we've done it every night for the last 6 1/2 years we've lived together. (except for a short time when he worked midnights :-( and an occasional fight that went over-night lol).

1 year and 8 days...

Ok, so I realized yesterday that I hadn't done a post about how far our little Jack-in-the-box has come since New Years day one year ago. So here we go.

• he's pulling himself up to stuff, cruising and standing on his own (no official steps yet though).
• he thinks he's hilarious. he's always laughing at the "funny" stuff he does.
• he mimics everything we do and it's freaking adorable.
• I've been trying to get him to blow kisses, but instead of him doing it when I'm done, he just grabs my hand and puts it to my mouth. then he'll pull it away and laaaugh.
• he's a PITA about eating. I mean a TOTAL pain. no way in the world can we get him to eat Cheerios (etc.) off his high chair tray. no, no. instead he throws them all on the floor, screams in irritation, then when I put him on the floor, he eats them all off of the floor. on a positive note I've been cleaning the floors daily, so it's making me a better housekeeper ;-)
• he likes a little action. he's easily bored when it's just the two of us. but as soon as the girls (or anyone) enter the room he's a happy camper.
• I'm pretty sure he has "younger sibling syndrome" (I'm also pretty sure i just made that up). once he became mobile, he automatically thought he was one of the older kids. he'd rather go back to the play room with the girls and just sit and stare, than be out here with all his toys.
• favorite thing to play with in the entire house...the flap on the dishwasher detergent thing. no joke. it's like an addiction.
• he LOOOOVES the vacuum cleaner. if he's in his bead and I'm vacuuming, i can hear him in there jumping up and down laughing and squealing with delight.
• his "lovey" is a sock...any sock will do (but he does prefer the smaller ones). it immediately goes in his hand while he starts sucking his thumb. hilarious...and a little perplexing.
• he's got mama, baba and dada down, but that's pretty much it. however baba is used for all things with that sound (bye-bye, bad boy, and of course bottle!)
• STILL NO TEETH! (I know, right!) we're looking on getting a group rate for a pair of little baby dentures and Josh's new tooth. ;-)

last new years eve..

All I can seem to think about today is what I was doing last year on this day.

Last year on this day I was in the hospital.

• I was waiting (impatiently) to have Jack.
• I was scared.
• I was nervous.
• I was happy.
• I was MISSING MY GIRLS sooo badly.
• I was hoping and praying for a high platelet count.
• I was hoping and praying for him to "catch up" quickly.
• I was hoping and praying that nothing was wrong with his belly.
• I was hoping and praying I'd get to see my LAST baby before anyone else in the family (no such luck).
• I was hoping I could handle 3 babies in less than 4 years.

I have no idea what 2010 is going to hold for our family, but I do know that we have been very blessed during 2009 and that's all we can really hope for.

"normal" is over-rated

I've never liked the word "normal" and I try desperately not to use it, ESPECIALLY when talking about my kids. My mom used to say "why can't you just be normal" to me all.the.time and it really hurt because I look at people and don't really think ANYONE is normal, right? I mean what is normal?

However, I am not ashamed to say that whatever normal is, my sweet, wonderful little Jackson, is not. He's got these little "quirks" (that's what we've decided to call them because it's less hurtful than "omg that kid is freaking weird" lol).

Example #1 hugging/petting/chasing the vacuum cleaner. Often, if I've misplaced him, I can go into my closet and there he is laying on the vacuum sucking his thumb. Then he'll sit up all excited, petting the vacuum, practically begging me to sweep the floors. And of course I give in (our floors have never been cleaner, btw).

And how about his...uh...foot fetish(?). Most babies have a "lovie" of some kind. A blanket or stuffed animal that catches their eye around 9 months of age. Jack...nah...none of those were good enough. For Jack, it's socks. yep, any old sock, will do (clean, of course). If he's crying, you hand that boy a sock and he'll immediately put his thumb and half of the sock in his mouth and he'll be asleep in no time.

This one is a two-fer because you can see the sock in his hand and he's also under the Christmas tree which is his new favorite place.

He thinks it's hilarious to growl at people (me mostly). He'll hide behind something and I'll hear him start "grrrrrr" and then he'll peak out from behind whatever it is and laugh his little head off.

And last, but not least, he sleeps like this....

It's total cuteness, but ohmehgah he's a cranky little guy when he wakes up after being in that position for an hour.

We've talked about it and decided that if he ends up like that kid from "the middle" we're going to love him just the same. ***the saaame*** (sorry, you'd have to have seen the show, to think that's funny but i couldn't resist).

hearing is in the ear of the beholder...

....or something like that.

We've had a few frustrations over at the McDonald household due to a "promise" I made to Sophia. It's easy to get things mixed up in a 2 yr olds head.

I say....."You can't go to Preschool until you are potty trained"
She hears...."when I get potty trained, I will get to go to Preschool."

So these last couple weeks that she's been potty trained have been frustrating for the poor girl. I keep trying to bribe her (yes, I know!). I've been buying all these books to give to them for Christmas. So the last two days, I've given her one when we get back home. Pretty soon I'm gonna run out of books! lol. So I'm looking for something to get her into, that she will see as "school". A friend of mine suggested the Library. So, I'm definitely going to look into this! It'll be especially good for her, since she is such a little reader. (which reminds me, I'll have to post the video of her "reading" her favorite book that she has memorized.)

Poor Jackson, has been working on these teeth for.ev.er. I really wish, for everyones sake, he would get them already. Drool and tears everywhere. We're gonna need a raft pretty soon ;-) lol.

AFA Maria goes, she's spectacular! Joshs aunt and cousins were in this weekend to go to the "joke", and I was soooo happy they got to come over and visit beforehand, since the kids and I weren't going. So his youngest cousin, Hannah, was teaching the girls all this sign language. I can't even remember all of it, but she did and I guess she taught it to her class yesterday at school. I was so proud of her. :D I swear, they know what they are talking about when they say "their brains are like sponges"! They remember EVERYTHING. It's so amazing to see them learn something new. Even when they are little and first standing up for the first time, like Jack. It's so awesome to see the surprise on his face when he realized what he did. I just love, love, love it! :D

in case you missed it

Here's a little cuteness to brighten your day :D

Is 12 days a sabbatical or a desertion?

Hey everyone! I know I've been awful lately. Mostly that is because all that is really on my mind lately is political corruption and government reform and I don't want to become one of THOSE bloggers who can only talk about one thing and that one thing usually gets people all hostile and pissy. Sooooo that has lead to some dead air (or keyboard....or screen?) on my part and I apologize. Another little bump in the road is that my camera...or my cord...or my computer is being a jackass lately and wont upload my pics. So I feel like I'm a little disconnected on that front.

Nevertheless, we've been doing pretty well in the McDonald household. Jack is EVERYWHERE which is awesome. He keeps himself entertained and is soooo much happier. I can't believe that he's (technically) 9 months old (yesterday). I can't even see that little 4 lb 7 oz baybee I delivered on that wonderfully, stressfully New Years Day. OooooKkkk that's enough of a trip down memory lane for now.

We've all been sick (some more than others) and we've all done our share of complaining (some more than others). But we got over it without any meds (woot woot!) and Maria only missed one day of school. It was on that day, that I fell in love with her preschool schedule being Mon, Tues, Wed, on and Thurs, Fri off. It was really nice that she had 4 days straight (well, 5) to just rest at home.

She's been doing really well with the preschool and she's picked up some WOOOOONDERFUL new phrases and a WOOOOOONDERFUL new attitude. Yah....it's been great having to say the phrase "I am your mother, you don't talk to me that way!" 156465435 times a day. :D My mom said to me today "maybe she just needs a little refresher course". I laughed out loud because it sounded like we were a mafia family talking about putting a hit out on a member that was getting out of line or "going off grid" as they say on TV.