RoyalMom

lets review 2007 goals first...

1. Finish the chicken coop its a beauty too!
2. Replace the last three closet doors and three bedroom doors. (still not painted though. doh!)
3. Bring new baby Simon into the fold without too much trauma to his brothers.
4. Lose pregnancy fat. (lost 70 pounds of pregnancy weight, but still have pre preggo mom fluff)
5. Continue to grow out hair long and lovely for my Beau. (not so lovely with the post-partum mullet, as I call it. the hair falls out and re-growth fringes around the face...aka mullet)

I'd also say we made a complete 180 in our children's schooling and it feels wonderful to finally be dong something that feels right.

2008 goals (my goals always read like a check list. Nothing too spectacular.)

-replace flooring in main living areas.
-fully fund roth IRA for 2008.
-continue with TOPS support group all year.
-complete purge of clutter, maybe reveal a usable family room??
-update zb photography pricing and biz card

getting ready to turn four tomorrow!

ripping it up...

I'm loving the wide angle window into life. Our messy living room, kids doing what they do...

Xander is officially four! They are BIG into video games and play with Game Boys all the time. Xander will get to a difficult part of a game and get Isaac or Jason to help him through. Thank goodness the playpen didn't get sold...its going to come in handy for our new floor project! Also...see that awful brass fan in the foyer? New lights for the foyer and the dining room are ordered!

Another exciting bit of Xander news...

While Isaac absolutely loved this Headsprout.com program for learning to read (and completed it!), Xander could not get through a single episode in one sitting without losing interest. I figured it was related to his younger age and we'd try it again later (still might). But, he found the old box of Hooked On Phonics stuff and asked if he could open it up. He excitedly pulled out the books and was reading CVC's (consonant-vowel-consonant words) all on his own!

He only spent about 30 minutes on it and hasn't touched it since, but that's the beauty of child-lead learning. He can pick up on it again when he is ready.

We had a last minute celebration at the pizza parlor. the kids get to play in the gerbil cage;)

me and my mini me's (see the mullet i was talking about?)

As soon as everyone got there, xander put on this face (i like simon's face too! haha!). Xander is going through a tough patch of feeling uncomfortable with how to communicate within large groups. he forces a frown, doesn't want to make eye contact and won't answer anyone. He really is my child! I was the exact same way at his age.

Xander got a new game so it was popped into the Game Boy immediately!

Simon cruises off as fast as he can during diaper changes.

Dontcha just love peeling back the layers of time? A time of 1978. A time when they thought this brick-looking linoleum was so totally rockin' every square inch should be plastered down with adhesive.

Jason is such a stud he ripped out the kitchen flooring during his lunch break. I had to run for the camera to catch the action!

Canoeing in the empty flooring boxes...

Simon is 10 months and has started climbing up on everything from hearth to bunk beds (eek!). Tonight, as I was about to load in the new groceries he climbed up into the fridge. You can sorta see the new floors too! Jason still has a few edges to finish up before its complete.

We are also very excited to be picking up two new chickens tomorrow. They are a little older than our girls, but brown egg laying heavy breeds, like we have. One is a Black Star and the other a Barred Plymouth Rock (black and white). Hopefully we can ease them into the flock without too much of a scuffle.

Iris and Daisy.

I broke all the rules of adding new hens to a flock and just stuck them in the back yard. The reds immediately jumped onto the fence out of the way and the buffs tried to show how tough they are. I spread out a couple piles of scratch and they are sticking to themselves for now.

I love how they get right to business and foraged around like they've been here all along. My sister is supposed to bring a crate over in case we have some brooding issues tonight.

I love the barred rock (right) and Isaac particularly likes the black sexed-link. Aren't they pretty!

Jason had two dining chairs stacked to the side for the flooring project. Simon pushed the top chair over and climbed up. He sure is daring for a 10 month old, non-walking baby!

This is what Xander spent his gift card on. hahaha! Its so totally him.

Friends came over today and it just amazes me how great kids can play together. Eight wonderful kids in all, in our not-so-big home and we enjoyed every minute of it.

Jason and I both get a little giddy to actually be holding a petite little girl baby! Isn't she sweet?

Isaac learned to play checkers recently and I loved that he pulled the box out and gathered some participants all on his own.

Emily got a nip from one of the chickens while feeding them bread:( I should have clarified we throw the food instead of hand feed. She relaxed with a book after.

Caleb shows Simon how agile he can be in another year.

Seconds before Simon flies over the edge...

How about Candy Land?

We could have played all night!

I enjoyed this video of a guy named Gever Tulley. He speaks of five (six really) "dangerous" things your kids should do. He's working on a book of 50 things your kids should do. I'll be interested!

One of the five things is to deconstruct an appliance. We have a non-working VCR and we gave the kids each a screw driver and let them go at it. They managed to get it pulled apart into many pieces and had fun doing it.

Now we know what's in there AND how to use a screw driver. What else can we take apart now? haha!

Jason updated my computer with Mac OS X Leopard and I am loving the new layout in iPhoto. I can scroll through each album of downloads quickly and each album is labeled with the import date.

So many photos and so few printed. Its such a daunting task deciding what to print and getting them sorted and prepped.

I need this one printed for sure! awwww...

I love pizza night! We were having homemade pizza every Friday for a while until we needed a break. We had it again tonight and it is delicious! Jason and I are a great team. I make the dough and the sauce before he gets done with work (to give it enough rising time) and he assembles and bakes it.

mmmmm!

Our first try with the pizza stone and half the pizza stuck to it. oops!

When cookies are involved everyone wants in on it. Actually Simon wants in on anything he can climb up on (don't worry, the outside of the oven stays cool). We made Monster cookies and I must say they keep me on my diet. Way too sweet for me!

Its been a long evening in the kitchen, because I also have a crock pot chili going for tomorrow and Jason is making the Tuscan rolls I want to go with it. We are putting an X on them and calling them "hot crossed buns" though, because this makes Xander shriek with excitement. :D

My first car. Anyone want it? I tried to sell it 9 years ago when it was a pile of rust for $500. Jason took it under his wing and redid the interior and got rid of the rust. He lowered it and tinted the windows. Disc brakes and new tires. He's not really a mechanic and each little fix it needs is too much for us. Its time to go!