Snow Day=Fun Day

Samuel carries a pile of snow.

I love this shot. Simon threw a handful of snow at his brother at the exact moment I snapped a picture of Callie.
Callie was not happy with the 'nasties' that kept blowing in her mouth. (snow-covered pieces of hair) :-)

Samuel & Callie had fun sliding in the snow-filled swimming pool.

Simon was not happy about being outside. He kept running away from the camera every time I tried to take a picture of him.

This is a wonderful shot of Callie that I'm sure one day she'll not be happy about! It's too cute. This was her first experience with wearing snow pants and boots while walking in piles of snow. When she fell down, she could hardly get up! :)

Samuel had fun making snow angels.

We took a walk to the store. Seth shoveled a path for us.

Simon takes over shoveling the path through our yard.

Finally arriving at the Dollar General Store. The clerk kinda looked at us funny when we all walked in with our snow stuff on. She probably thought we were crazy for walking through all that snow!

On the way home. We bought some animal crackers, a funfetti cake mix (to make cupcakes later), and a new game.

Now, just after I took this picture, something happened that made me very upset. An older man in a pick-up truck is going through the parking lot. I told the kids that a truck was coming and they needed to get out of the way. Usually vehicles stop for people walking in a parking lot. Did this man stop. NO HE DID NOT. He just beeps and beeps the horn, gesturing wildly for my children to get out of the way. He had his window open, so I yelled at him that he had no right beeping at my kids, they were moving as fast as they could to get out of the way. Now here is what REALLY TICKED ME OFF!!!! The man pulls out of the exit to the parking lot turns goes down the road 10 feet and pulls right back into the next entrance to the parking lot. NOW WHY ON EARTH COULDN'T HE GO AROUND US AND THE KIDS INSTEAD OF PLOWING RIGHT THROUGH US. Can you tell I'm a little worked up about it! :)

We are almost home!

Samuel has to try his hand at shoveling the yard!

Callie kept telling me, "I can make it, mom!"

No School Today.....

Seth wakes up on a no school day and is still very tired.

Seth told me what to write for his picture! :-)

Simon relaxes on the couch and tells Callie & Samuel what to do!

What is it about snow days (no school) that the kids get up sooooo early and don't want to stay in bed longer!? Aaaaaaagh.........

Samuel spent some of his birthday money from Grandpa & Grandma McIntosh and bought this CAT remote control toy. He was playing it at 7:00AM!!!!
Samuel asked that I take some pictures of him with his new toy. I told him to go get the camera. He came back with it around his neck, just like a little photographer!

A Saturday Craft...

Callie got this craft kit for Christmas and has been asking me nearly everyday if we can do it. Finally, I decided today was the day. She was VERY excited!

Callie peels the paper off the foam.
Mommy helps Callie put the glitter glue around the flowers. She wasn't very happy when Mommy wouldn't let her do it by herself! That would have made a BIG mess!

They made the glue bottles for someone with small hands, but to get the glue out it required the skill of someone with much larger hands. :)

This is Samuel's creation. He painted a sheet of paper green while Callie and Mommy worked on the princess picture! Callie told her brother, "That's amazing!"

A Saturday Craft....Completed!

This craft was far beyond her level. But, we had fun doing it together and she is so proud to have it hanging on her wall in her bedroom. When Daddy got home from work, she had to show him right away.

Barefoot in Heels.....

Callie got a new pair of Pink Heels for Christmas. Don't ya'll wish you could look this cute in your heels?

Callie models her new shoes for Mommy. Take a closer look at what two toes she puts the strap through! :)

The things kids come up with!!!!!!!

A boy goes into the kitchen to eat breakfast. He comes back with a box of cereal grandma left behind.

"Mom, can I eat this?"

I reply with, "Yes, you can."

Boy eats cereal. As he walks out of the kitchen he says, "I'm going to eat that cereal every day!"

I don't think too much about it until he adds, "I'm going to go down a jean size in 2 weeks."

"WHAT!!!!!!!!" I don't know what on earth brought that remark on.

The little boy tells me, "Mom, that's what the box says."

Later, he sucks in his belly and shows his big brother what he will look like in 2 weeks!

.....hmmm....maybe I should try that cereal!

~Scrooge & mr. Goodbar~

For the past two days, I have been busy sewing costumes for Seth and Simon. I was very happy to find all the fabric 50-70% off at Jo-Ann Fabrics! Now I can start sewing Callie's Care Bears nightgown (also purchased on clearance)! Samuel found the Care Bear fabric and insisted we buy it for Callie!

Seth is Scrooge for his school spirit day. He is just thrilled to be wearing a nightshirt and nightcap to school tomorrow! :( Poor guy!

Makin' a silly face for the camera! This is one costume that he probably will NOT be wearing again!

Simon's class is dressing like treats. He chose to be a mr. Goodbar. This costume was so much fun to make and Simon was thrilled with it!

I'm sure Simon will be a big hit tomorrow at his class spirit day!

~Grandma teaches the girls to dance!!!!~

I got back from taking the kids to school. Callie came running and said, "Mommy, come see! Mommy, come dance with me!" I went in the music studio and found Callie & Grace dancing all around. I ran and got the camera to record the moment!

Grandma tries to get the girls to play the piano with her.
Callie dances around Samuel & Grace. Samuel is trying his best to get Grace off the stool so she can dance, too!

~Special Visitors~

When Grace first arrived, my two youngest kids were so excited. They were running all around and just didn't know what to do first with Grace. Mommy helped things out and got out Callie's barn for them to play with.

Callie has to show Grace her BIG pillow Dora Doll. Grace tells Callie...."I have one too!"
Callie gives Grace a Nerf ball to play with.

Grandma brought some bubbles and wands for the kids to do. They had so much fun they used up all the bubbles and made a giant mess! :) We bought some more for them to do tomorrow!

Grace blows some bubbles......

....and Samuel....

.....and Callie......She hasn't quite got the hang of it yet!

Grace and Callie all tucked in for the night. As you can tell from the picture, they were sooooo excited to sleep in the same room! This is Callie's first sleepover! I told them both a story, sang a song, turned out the light, and I haven't heard a peep out of them. They must be tired!

~A special message for Grandma~

My Mom is 50!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Mom! Thanks for being a great mom and grandma! We love you!

Things I love about my mom......

1. Wonderful sense of humor. Remember 'zoop'?

2. Praying and having devotions consistently.

3. Sewing me pretty dresses when I was younger. I loved all the frills, ruffles & lace.

4. Teaching me how to bake and cook. Remember the first apple pie I made.

5. Taking me to shop after shop to try out different violins, only to have me decide that I couldn't find one that I liked better than the one I was playing.

6. Sacrificing to pay for countless of music lessons throughout my entire childhood & college years.

7. Being a wonderful grandmother to my children. One of these days you're going to have to watch all 4 kids overnight! :)

8. The frequent cell phone calls....now that we both have Verizon!

9. (You and Dad) Teaching me the value of working to pay for an expensive item. The long red coat, shoes, my 1,000 dollar flute! I'm sure you and dad could have used the money that I got from doing all those parts, but you allowed me to learn the the value of HARD work. I remember poring over the catalogue looking at flute after flute while working to save enough money to buy a really nice one. What a feeling of accomplishment I had when I finally had saved enough to buy those items.

10. The fact that you won't be too terribly upset with me for posting the crazy picture of you!

~I love you, Mom!~

Regina's Ramblings..........

If you're REALLY, REALLY bored...read below:

SUNDAY: Simon complained of a stomach ache in the morning. In fear that he might puke all over Sunday School classmates, we stayed home. Simon, Mommy, Callie & Samuel. By Sunday afternoon there was no sign that he ever had a stomach ache. He went to church along with Daddy, Samuel & Callie. Seth stayed home with Mommy. He was hacking his head off!!

MONDAY: Both kids went to school. Mommy, Samuel & Callie went shopping for the last of the stocking stuffers for Epiphany.

TUESDAY: Both older kids went to school. Mommy, cleaned, cooked & set tables for our special Epiphany celebration. Upon picking the kids up from school, Simon complained that he was not feeling good again. He went straight to bed, but managed to be up for dinner and stockings that evening. Seth hacked his head off all night long.

WEDNESDAY: Simon woke up with a stomach ache AGAIN! (is my cooking that bad?) Seth said he was feeling fine, so I took him to school at 10:00AM. (It was a 2 hour snow delay) At 11:22AM I get a call from the school saying that Seth has a temperature of 101. I go pick him up and schedule doctor's appointments for BOTH boys! Seth has had a cold for 2 weeks now! At the doctor's office, nurse gets upset with the boys. She asked Seth what his symptoms are. He tells her. She then pulls the other chart and asks once again what 'Seth's' symptoms are. The boys look at her puzzled. Seth says, "I already told you how I was feeling." She replies back with, "I asked for Simon to tell me how he was feeling." Simon pipes up at this point and tells her that she said Seth's name. She huffs about the mix-up and scribbles out stuff on Simon's chart to write his symptoms down. The doctor finally comes in, check's Simon. Just a viral thing he says. Doctor checks Seth. I'm going to treat him for a sinus infection. We go to Kroger to pick up medicine. Very long wait! 2 sick kids sleep on bench by front door. Everyone gawks at them as they pass. 30 minutes later I pay for medicine and load everyone up to go home. Church canceled because of snow! At this point it's a welcome relief!

THURSDAY: Kids still sick. All they do is lay around with the occasional hack or request for yet another piece of toast. Oh, and use up all of the toilet paper blowing the nose.

FRIDAY: We are out of toilet paper. Thank goodness for 500 count napkin packages. It starts snowing and snowing and snowing some more. It is VERY late by the time Daddy gets snowplow working and doesn't feel like going to the store for toilet paper. At this point Mommy doesn't care. She hasn't been feeling good for the last 2 days. We decide to just keep using the diminishing 500 count package of dinner napkins.

SATURDAY: It's still snowing outside!!! Good news...Simon finally feels better. How do I know that? He's actually playing xbox. Seth is still hacking occasionally now. That's better than non-stop all day and all night! Teach 2 lessons, work on solar system project with Seth. Me and science projects do NOT get along. The last science project found me in the emergency room until 2:00 in the morning. Don't ever cut off the heads of straight pins. They can become buried under the skin and have to be cut out! OUCH!!!!!! So far, I have managed to burn several fingers with the glue gun, use up 2 rolls of scotch tape and get mad at the wrapping paper! I'm actually feeling remotely normal today. So, I'm hoping to catch up on some overdue housework. Oh, and BUY TOILET PAPER!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a wonderful weekend!

~3 year-old installs doorbell~

The wall on Callie's room with the recently installed 'doorbell'!

Samuel shows off his installation skills. We now have a 'wall bell' instead of a 'doorbell'.

He just couldn't wait for daddy to install his sister's new toy. He opened the package, took down his sister's Princess sign, & hung the doorbell on the nails sticking out of the wall. Pretty creative! As I type they are pushing the button over and over. My prediction is that the batteries run down before the end of the week! :)
Callie knocked the button off the nail. Samuel, Mr. Fix-it, re-installs it!

~Our Epiphany Celebration~

Our special breakfast on Tuesday morning.

All our stockings hung by the fireplace with care! I have been wanting to get stocking holders for years. I finally bought them on Monday for 80% off at Hobby Lobby. Callie & Samuel's gifts were a bit too heavy for the holders to handle so I had to improvise to give the "appearance" of the stocking holders holding them up! :)

All the kids in front of their stockings.
The kids tear into their gifts. Callie shook & shook her stocking until every last gift came out!

Samuel opens his gifts.

Seth with his Yahtzee game.

Simon with a new Slamwich game.

Callie was the last kid to have everything opened!

Seth with a new army plane, Nerf gun stuff, Garfield book, Yahtzee game & Pez dispenser.

Samuel with an assortment of construction vehicles & Pez dispenser. One of his gifts is not in the picture. All the kids received 5 gifts each.

Callie with all her stocking gifts: Princess cups, Princess Doorbell, Pez Dispenser, Dora Dominos & Dora Playset

Simon with his Slamwich game, Garfield book, Maze book, Pez Dispenser & WALL.E pillowcase.

Daddy with his stocking stuff: Kit-Kats, Pringles, Shampoo, Subway gift card & World War II book.

Mommy with her stocking stuff: Batteries for my camera (the kind that last Forever!), chocolates, and a gift not pictured--new boots(I get to go pick them out).

Seth had to take this picture of the chocolates inside the bag. They are caramels and caramel turtles. They are delicious!

The fruit centerpiece I made for our Dinner. Callie & Samuel were fascinated with me making this.

Our family at the table. We had spaghetti & garlic bread.

The special King's Day cake I made. There was a baby Jesus hidden inside. Whoever got the piece of cake with the baby inside, got to wear the King's crown and be King for the evening!

Seth found the baby inside his piece of cake. Now in giving everyone their first piece of cake, no one found the baby. I had to cut everyone a 2nd. piece of cake (which they will eat later) so baby Jesus could be found!