I'm so thankful

even when the days are long

and

I'm out of patience

and

sick of cleaning the same 5 boxes of toys up over and over

and

tired of correcting behavior

and

annoyed with cutting up hotdogs or sandwiches or whatever into 50 million little pieces

and

wiping 3 little noses

and

longinggggggg for grown-up conversation

that I have:

*them*

my bright and shining children

my sweet little souls

three healthy, happy, kissable babies

((just don't tell amelie i called her a baby...'cause she doesn't like it))

I'm thankful

((and reminding myself that I am))

all the time!!!

Why You So Obsessed With Me?

The girls are obsessed lately with kissing each other on the cheek.

I like it.

It makes me wish I had a sister! I am so thankful that they have each other and pray that they continue to love and cherish each other as they grow up together!!

Amelie Says

"Mama, I know I said that I want to be a Mommy when I grow up but I've changed my mind. Now I want to be a *Princess* because I think a Princess has less laundry and chores to do."

That's ok Amels, I totally understand--

that is most excellent deductive reasoning on your part!!

no more projects please

no more projects please
no more plaster
no more paint
no more drills
and hammers
and nails
and glue

i tried my hand at plaster ceiling repair
3 outfits, plaster arms, plaster hair
plaster paper towel marathon clean up
and hours later
what. a. mess.
still not done
((we took down the horrifying drop ceiling in the bathroom and have been fixing the ceiling--what a slow process!))

i thought i would reward myself with a "quick" project
i bought new handles for the kitchen cupboards
i already replaced the cupboards with knobs
i went to put on the first pull and quickly discovered that all the holes need to be drilled before the new handles can be screwed on

no project is fast
or simple

i also wall-papered today for the first time
90 % looks great
10 % looks horrible

i'm think i'm going to take a month off
whine moan whine
moan whine
complain
groan
moan

so, no more projects please
((at least for tonight))
love,
whiny-mc-whin-er-son shelly

My Funny Valentines

Note to self: next time you get pictures taken in the winter with your fine-haired-daughters make sure you put their hair up in a ponytail AND clips b/c it was fly-away-mullet-head-city!!!

Sad Hat

Here's Ezra showing off his new mowhawk hat.

He loves it.

Kind of.

Maybe not....

((or maybe Mommy just made the rookie mistake of having an impromptu photo-shoot when what Ezra really needed was a nap! ha!))

Wherein I Ramble About The Pros And Cons Of Facebook

I *heart* facebook.
It connects me with my everyday friends
best friends
far-away friends
college-friends
high school-friends
work friends and
family
But have you ever searched for a good friend
from the past
only to find out that they're
*not*
who they were
or
who you thought they would become?
Not that *my* opinion matters--it doesn't.
it's just that it's
disconcerting
((and i don't like it when my con-certs are dissed))
and sometimes
it's sad
and strange
but usually there are enough of the
*same*
*conventional*
*comfortable*
*dependable*
people from the past to make up for it.
But right now, I feel weird inside and I miss the future I dreamed would exist for them.

Tour O Rooms Continued: Bathroom

Sue-Ism

"I will buy you a kitten. I will let you fall in love with that kitten. And then, in the middle of the night, I will steal away into your house, sneak into your bedroom, and punch you in the face"
— Sue Sylvester (Glee)

hahahahhahahahhhaa

Oh Sue. I *love* you (or at least your writers).

What in the world did I do with myself before Glee?

Love. It. ((so much))

5 And 2, In Their *Birthday Tutus*

(I may have purchased said tutus with birthday in mind, but in the Wonderful household--tutus are more of an every-day-wear kinda thing =)

Diaper Delivery, Cold Toes-Warm Toes and The Great Big Giant Box

Do you know what's *great*?
Diapers (dot) com
and their ginormous boxes of
"free next day delivery"
diapers and wipes
so that i don't need to
bundle, wrap and drag out
many little people
in the freaking freezing weather
and my toes don't need to get cold
((because really
what is worse than cold toes?))
Also, the wee ones love the ginormous box
((which they are sitting in together, while watching tv))
*more*
than they loved all their stinkin' christmas presents
but no one is bitter about that
and
everyone has warm toes
win. win.

Dear Crazy 8:

puhleaseee put this on SALE because Ezra needs wants it!!

ya'll have been mocking me for weeks with proclamations of "60% off" or "biggest sale ever!" and this has remained un-discounted!

seriously....i'm just sayin' =)

=)

*Today* Forever Please.

I don't want it to be tomorrow.
tomorrow = back to work for Mr. Wonderful, back to school for Amelie, back to a schedule for all today = the last day of break, nothing to do, nowhere to go, relaxing and naps, hot chocolate with whipped cream and takeout
(cozy clothes and funky hair are mandatory)
I love having my husband
and *all* of my babies
home. all. day.
((Snuggled on the couch watching Sprout in footy pajamas.))
Today we are happy, healthy, rested and well.
The sniffles are just starting to clear up and tomorrow may bring new germs to battle all over again.
Can't it just be today forever?
I think that would be perfect.

*two* months ((technically, 9 weeks))

ah. i love him.

my smiley little boy!

*he "talks" to me now--cooing and smiling

* his hair naturally falls into a mohawk formation after a bath

*he goes to bed at 8 pm, wakes twice for feedings and is up at 7 am

*takes a regular nap from 9-12 am (seriously--my girls NEVER had any predictable naps until they hit 6 months or so)

*usually sleeps for a couple of hours during the girls' nap time and takes a cat nap around dinner time

*loves getting a bath, sleeping in his carseat, being carried in the snugli and being held by mama

*he is getting huge--can't wait to see how much he weighs at his 2 month check up (which isn't until he's 2.5 months old)

=)

1/2 Of Ezra's Room

The other half is inhabited currently, by Maeve =)

(She will move into Amelie's room when Ezra moves into his--in about 4 or 5 months hopefully =))

excuse the fan box on the floor, it lays there in hopes that our electrician is going to come back someday soon. =)

Cause Some People Are So *Nice* And *Thoughtful* That They Just Can't Keep It To Themselves

I received a package the other day.

It was big and squarey and from my home state.

(you know, the place with all. the. snow. that never ends)

My bloggy friend Mrs. Dayton sent me a package with the most delightful treasures inside:

Are you kidding me?!?!?

A fleece skirt (fits perfectly) and an owl mai-tei style baby carrier?! I am the luckiest girl in the world! And, I am seriously heading with Ezra to Joann's tomorrow to pick up some yardage of fleece. I intend to make many fleece garments to swathe myself in because it is seriously scrumptious. So. comfy.

Please go and check out her site--because not only is Pamela an excellent seamstress with flawless taste, she. is. hilarious.

Thank you friend!!!

Home Improvement

There is nothing I like better in life than organizing, improvising, improving and creating so this whole home-ownership thing just speaks to me! I am so thankful that God has given us more space than I ever imagined we would have!

Our goal for Christmas break was to fix up our 3rd floor "bonus room." (I dislike that term but that's the best description for the space up there).

For the last few months it was filled with boxes and odds and ends that were waiting to be put away. The floors were covered with paint and old and scuzzy. The woodwork was all mismatched and in need of sprucing up. If I were a better blogger I would have before pictures, but that just didn't happen--I was too excited to get going!

Mr. Wonderful and I spent a few days painting the walls and the trim and then I sanded the entire floor and Mr. Wonderful laid down the polyurethane. We had to wait 72 hours for the floors to dry before I could go decorate and it was killing me! But finally I'm mostly finished and had to share the results!

the door to the attic stairs, and the view from the landing

my grandmother's chair, rose petal cottage land and our new "coloring station"

Our guest bed, entertainment cabinet (ignore the fact that I can't find my lampshade and that I'm not done decorating, ack!!)

The best part was that we only needed to buy a gallon of paint for the walls, a rug, a couple of Ikea pillow covers and some curtain rods--everything else we already had in storage, in boxes or leftover from other projects/areas.

Woot!

The Big Day

Today we celebrated Amelie's birthday at Chuck E Cheese with a Granny, an Aunt, Uncle and Cousin and our little friends (accompanied by whichever of their parents drew the short straw)=) HA! Amelie had a wonderful time and we're so glad that they could make it!

I'm so glad this day has finally come because poor Amelie has been dying for it to be her birthday! And, the fact that Christmas is this week has her on present overload!

There were a lot of birthday shenanigans and Amelie looked a bit demure and quiet for most of them. She tells us she had fun though!

When we got home it all proved to be too much and she had the meltdown of the century. Apparently it's very taxing to turn 5. She has since taken a nap and recovered, but it was a little dicey there for a while =)

Thank goodness for naptime! =)

It Had To Be *You*

Hey! Look who's 5!!!

Oh my dear and darling Amelie--

My firstborn

My girl child

My doppelganger

My mini-me

God just knew it had to be *you*

That you were exactly the kind of girl I needed in my life

You're my helper, my hugger, my story-teller, song-singer, dancing-dancer, sister-entertainer, errand-runner, obsessive-room-cleaner, princess-pretender, girly-girly-girl in pink.

I don't deserve such a sweet little girl--I'm so thankful that God has entrusted you to me for the time being. I pray for you everyday and am so stinkin' thankful for you.

I love you sweet girl--can you just do Mommy a favor and stay 5 forever?

xoxo, Mama