Guppy

Noelle started swimming lessons this week. They are twice a week for five weeks. She absolutely loves them and my initial fear of her shyness was put to rest during the first lesson. The parents are not in the pool and I thought this may deter Noelle, but she jumped right in and really enjoyed herself. She had a bit of a problem seeing the teacher, but I told the instructor that without her glasses she has a hard time seeing and she has made sure Noelle gets a lot of one on one time.

This morning she woke up saying, "It's Thursday and I have my swimming lesson tonight!". I am so glad I signed her up!

Wordless Wednesday

Formal Apology

I want to formally apologize for what I said in my post about Kid Stories. I said that Violette was just being dramatic about her fall from the bed and not putting weight on her leg.

Well, today I decided to take her in and she had it x-rayed. It's broken! Poor little girl! She is in a removable cast. The great part is that was a "good" break and will heal very quickly, within 2 to 4 weeks, at the most. She broke her tibia, or shin bone, right below her knee. I have to try and keep her from standing and limit her crawling as much as possible. She is taking it well, but I can tell the cast is cumbersome and annoying to her as she tries to get around.

Lots of Pictures

Sunday we decided to take the kids to Cabela's for some fun. They enjoy all the animals and especially the large fish tank. Max is becoming very independent and doesn't want anything to do with the stroller. He has no problem wandering away on his own as Noelle screams at him to get back near her. She gets so worried about him and resorts to grabbing him by the neck to haul him back! Here are pictures from our afternoon at Cabela's.


Today was a beautiful snow day for all of us. Tom took the day off and we headed out to shovel and play. The kids absolutely love the snow. I was able to use my new hiking backpack for Violette and she enjoyed it for almost two hours! We tried sledding, but the snow was so heavy that climbing back up the hill was just not worth it for Noelle and Max. They loved helping Tom, throwing snow balls, and of course, gorging themselves on snow.

Kid Stories

*Noelle climbed in to bed way before I was ready to get up and I took her in my arms. "There is a fine line between snugglin' and smotherin' Mommy. You crossed the line and I'm outta here!"

*Aunt Ceecee gave Noelle a bit of lotion and told her not to eat it. "But when I put it on my face my tongue just comes out and I can't help it"

*When Max sees Violette after a nap he brightly exclaims, "Hi cutey ba-tooty! I love her so much!"

*Every time we tell Max he is handsome, or smart, he responds with, "I am!"

*"I'm going to Meijer and the car wash. Bye Mom" says Max. "Don't drive too fast!" Mommy replies. "Back off Mom. I drive real fast!" yells Max.

*Noelle was pretending to be pregnant, again, and she says, "I want to be a baby doctor and Max can be a stay-at-home Dad when we get married." I told her you can't marry your brother and she becomes sad, "but he would be the best husband and daddy."

*While Noelle is being doctor she says to me, "You need open heart surgery." I ask her if I'm going to be okay, she thinks for a moment and responds with, "I don't know surgery can be dicey."*Violette loves to pretend to be on the phone and holds it up oddly to her ear and says, "Hi dada" or "Hi mama". She also brushes her hair while in the bathroom with me and loves to use the blush brush to apply blush to her cheeks.

*Violette now has two bottom teeth and is working on her two upper ones.

*Noelle is jumping on the mini trampoline, "Phew, I have chest pains!" She has been listening to her Daddy too much!

*While getting ready to go get my blood drawn Max was playing in the sink and when I went to get him he held up a knife, "I want to bring this knife with me". I ask him why and he said, "I want to protect Mommy from the needles." He then proceeded to try and stuff the knife in his pocket! Do not cross this kid or he'll pull a knife on you!

*Violette has been working on walking but took this week off due to a pretty bad fall off the bed. She doesn't want to put any weight on her right leg and refuses to stand and just started crawling again. Nothing appears to be swollen or bruised, she is just dramatic like her siblings!

Wordless Wednesday

Valentine's Day

Nothing too special went on in our house for this Valentine's Day. We exchanged cards and Tom got me a bunch of bags on my favorite candy and a Slap Chop (something Noelle picked out and has been wanting to get me since seeing the infommerical awhile back).

Max was cranky and seemed to have it out for me. He wanted nothing to do with me and my sad reaction seemed to fuel him. He is very stubborn and takes after me so much. I do believe that is why we butt heads so much. The next 15 years are going to have me turning prematurely gray and/or giving me a matching head to Tom! His hand is still pretty bad, the blisters standing a good 1/4 inch off his skin and causing him pain. He is getting good at doing this with his left hand and affectionately refers to the bandaged hand as "my club". "My club is hurting" is a common phrase he uses. Poor guy!

Violette was wearing a very cute Valentine's outfit, and posed well for the camera, as always! She has two teeth and is working on her third and fourth. Her gums have been bleeding a bit and I can tell the teeth are causing her some discomfort. I'm not used to her teeth yet and her constant smiles bring a chuckle out of me with their white little Chiclets poking through.

We spent the day playing as much as possible with the children. They bring us so much joy and we couldn't imagine a better Valentine's Day.

It Was Only A Matter Of Time....

Tom and I have bet that Max would be the first to break a bone. He didn't break a bone but he did burn his hand on the stove. The breaking of a bone I'm sure is not far off.

I was making play-doh with the kids. I thought he was far enough away from the burner and I turned my back for a split second. That's all it takes and he put his hand on the burner. Immediately he started screaming. For Max to scream in pain (he screams during tantrums all the time) I knew it was pretty bad. There have been numerous times that I have followed a small blood trail to him and he acts like nothing is going on as blood is dripping out of a cut.


I did everything in my power to calm him down while putting his hand directly under the cold water. After a few minutes he didn't seem to be settling down. I asked Noelle, who was singing songs to Max, to head downstairs so I could concentrate on Max. Violette was put in her crib, the safest place for her, and I tried to get a good look at his hand. I could see that the tips of three of his fingers were covered in a big blister. We continued to put cold water on it and the pain wasn't subsiding. I made the decision, after talking to the doctor who had no available appointments left in the day, to take him to the ER. The burn itself wasn't that bad, but he seemed to be in so much pain that I knew they could at least give me something to help make him feel better.

Tom met us at the ER, as it was evening and he was out of work, and they got us back quickly due to Max's blood curdling scream that persisted non-stop in the waiting room. All he wanted was Daddy. Noelle was beyond helpful during the entire ordeal. She went above what I expect for a four year old and was extremely helpful and a great asset to her little bro. The doctor bandaged Max up and told us to see the doctor the next day. He also gave me a prescription for some Tylenol with codeine in it. That was a huge help in making Max sleep through the night.


Today we went to the doctor and he took a look at his burn. He has second degree on his finger tips, and a few very minor spots of third degree around the edges of the burn, and first degree on some of his palm. It could be a lot worse, and I'm thankful he will be fine.

The bandaging seems to help a lot and he was playing a lot this morning. The burn is on his right hand, and he is predominately right handed. Eating, which he insists on doing by himself, is very messy and complicated. He can't shoot his guns, and that is a major upset in his eyes!

Aunt Ceecee = New Hair!

Charlotte came to visit and of course we had to put her hair skills to use. She cut and highlighted my hair and chopped Noelle's too. At first Noelle only wanted a "smidgen, just a little bit" taken off, but in the end she decided she wanted a substantial amount cut. Charlotte cut more than four inches off and Noelle was so thrilled with her new hair and brightly exclaimed while looking in the mirror, "I'm like a new person. I look so pretty".

Aunt Ceecee put make-up on Noelle and she loved it. It was her first mascara application which she really loved. After make-up application a fashion show was held. Noelle walked down the catwalk, hands on her hips and swinging her booty enjoying every aspect of being a girl! Love it!

My hair was given a great cut first. I'm all about shorter hair these days as it is so much easier to wear it styled. When my hair was long it would take about 45 mins just to blow dry, then add another 30 mins to curl. I just don't have that time these days! Now it takes about 10 mins. to style and blow dry. More feasible with three small children!
After the cut came some much needed highlights! I really am lucky Charlotte is very talented!

Today, Saturday, Charlotte also watched the children while Tom and I went to watch a movie. We saw Book of Eli and really enjoyed ourselves. I shed a few tears before and after the movie because it was hard for me to leave the kids, but I knew they were in great hands. They did very well and didn't even run Aunt Ceecee ragged!

Here are some pics of the children and their beloved Aunt Ceecee:

Wordless Wednesday/First Oreo Experience