A Lucky Generation of Kiddos

When I was little, all we did for St. Patricks day was make sure to wear green because if you didnt, you would get pinched. If you were really sneaky, you could hide your green so when someone mistakenly pinched you, you could pinch them 10 times back. That was it. Fun, Simple, Done.

Somewhere between then and now, St. Patricks day turned into something much more. I remember Madi coming home telling me about the leprechaun trap they set at school, and wanting to set one up at home. Why would you want to trap a leprechaun? Like hes actually going to tell you where his gold is hidden! Somehow the leprechauns have turned into tiny fairy like creatures that are attracted to chocolate and can fall into a paper cup and never get out due to being trapped by the piece of paper covering the top. Man, that is so way off from the way I always pictured them. Oh well, whats one little leprechaun trap? We can do that. 

But oh no...the next day the kids talk to their friends at school and find out the leprechauns actually visited their houses, played a bunch of tricks on them...and not only that...they left prizes behind! So now the leprechauns are generous trouble making thieves? Something isnt right here, but alas I must play along, because I dont want my kids to be disappointed that they were the only house on the block that the leprechauns didnt visit. I admit, it was fun the first year, when they werent sure what to expect. Now, the kids are watching intently to see if the leprechauns did their magic and turned their clover pancakes green! Dont they know, leprechauns cant work their magic when they are watching!? Its getting to be a real challenge. Especially when the head leprechaun is at church and the second in charge is working solo. But here they are...never taking their eyes off that bowl of pancake batter.

 Good thing the leprechaun in training can work some distraction techniques long enough to sneak the magic green food coloring into the bowl. Leprechaun in training #2 even pulled off some green eggs.

Brylee will demonstrate that they stay green even after they hit your mouth.

 Somehow during breakfast the miniature, almost invisible green fairy men moved everyones church clothes to silly places. They might not be strong enough to make it out of a paper covered cup, but they can lift your clothes up to the ceiling.

 That was the extent of the leprechauns mischief this year. At this rate, next year, he might not even show up at all! One can dream.

Onto our regular Sunday morning routine. Baths and...oh yeah, of course the girls want St. Patricks day hair styles. Lets see the leprechaun pull this one off.

 During church the leprechaun came back...or never left, or something; and left a trail of chocolate gold coins and glitter up to the bedrooms where...

 He left his little prize behind.

Seriously? First, Santa Clause steals our thunder, then we have the Easter bunny and tooth fairy to compete with...and now we have to deal with the stinking leprechauns getting all the credit!? Why not give credit where credit is due? The parents look like good for nothing bums after all these fairy tale creatures invade. When is enough enough? I vote for a fairy tale creature ban...whos with me!? I dont care if I sound selfish. I want the credit, because I did the work. Maybe the kids would appreciate me more knowing all the stuff I do to make their holidays magical. Would they love me as much as they love Santa and a big tall creep bunny man? Anyway, these shirts say it all...

Lucky, lucky kids.

ps. Thanks again for the shirts Grandma. At least you got the credit for those! :)

2013 so far

I realize I am guilty of posting things on Facebook and then forgetting all about my long lost blog. I also realize that it has been almost 3 month since my last post and that I have a birthday and a major holiday coming up that I cant ignore. So in light of my procrastination, here is a quick little catch up from the last 3 months of going on's.

First thing in January (after our new insurance kicked in to cover more of the expense), Madi got fitted with her new set of braces. She might kill me for posting these next picts, but since she doesnt check this blog, I'll take my chances.

Who (who's had braces) remembers the fabulousness of this experience!?

 Ahhh....the pleasantry of having your mouth pulled to degrees it should never be made to go (unless you want to join clown college). And then what do you end up with, but a set of  magnet attractors and a mouth full of cankers and bloody cheek flesh. All this and more for the low, low price of you left leg and your first born child! Madi gets to enjoy these babies for a good old 18-24 months. Dont miss it folks, dont miss it.

And now on to something I can actually afford...good old organic snow! Man, I love free entertainment. And here in Wisconsin it only takes until February to get some.  But enjoy it while it lasts, cuz it might not come around again until next year!

 No, we didnt have another child...this is on of Alissas friends. I just love this picture because if you look past those pretty girly faces, you will see our manly little guy trying his best to shovel the snow. I love that he wants to be a hard worker at such a young age...well, regarding the snow anyway.

 And this blur running past you would be someones hyper active dog. Apparently, she loves the snow!

 Gotta love our private backyard snow hill.

 And whats a snow storm without a few of these...

 And a really big one of these!

 In case you cant tell, this was really good quality snowman building snow. In fact, it was the quickest and biggest snowman we have ever constructed...see? Taller than me!

Up next, Valentines day!

The kids got a little something that Santa, the Easter Bunny, or little green leprechauns cant take credit for! Gotta love that! It was all us!

 

 And of course our traditional pink heart pancakes...

 And imagine right here, a picture of their cute heart hairdo's.

 I got a little preoccupied trying to talk someone off a cliff for getting some help they didnt want while getting ready for school. The Valentines morning took a turn for the worse, and a lot of tears and a newly purchased parenting book later...we come to dinner.

Blah blah blah...Heart shaped pizza. Im over it.

 And whats February without the school Daddy Daughter Dance? This will be Katelins last year. :(

Awwww.....

 Next!

The next best thing to free entertainment is cheap entertainment! Well, with 5 kids its about as cheap as you can get...the nosebleed section of the Milwaukee Bucks arena. It really is sad they dont have a bigger fan base, but its good news for us Jazz fans!

 Go Jazz!

Unfortunately, they lost by 2 in overtime. Those Bucks might be building a bigger fan base after all!

And lastly...whats this!? Another snow storm? Thats 2 school snow days in 2 weeks! Kids arent complaining. Our big snowman melted, so they built another one...all by themselves. Not too shabby!

And that about catches you up! For a week anyway.

Christmas Reveal 2012

This was the first year that the kids woke up before us. It was a bright and early 5:00 am when we headed down the stairs. It didnt take long for them to find a gift with their name on it.

 As always, we opened from youngest to oldest. Brylee's first gift was the one she had been begging for...a Dora Mermaid doll.

She had to get it out of the box immediately!

 Zack also got one of his most wanted, a remote control robot.

 And he also had to get it out and start playing with it right away! 

 Skipping to Katelin...she was ecstatic to finally get her own I-Pod. She had been behaving perfectly for almost 3 whole days to earn it. (:

That reaction is what makes months of debt almost worth it!

 And here is the homemade gift to Zack from Alissa...an angry bird game. Wish I took a better picture. She painted soup cans like the pigs, and a red ball like the angry bird. He can stack em up and knock em down.

Katelin got the response she was anticipating from Madi. It was cute how excited she was for her to open her gift.

 Brylee was also excited about her own big cardboard castle to color...

 Madison made me a Christmas garland decoration...

 Alissa wanted an American Girl doll again this year, but I just cant stand the idea of spending 100 plus dollars on a doll. She always is trying to steal Madi's I-Pod, and just figured it was out of the question to even ask for one of her own. But when Ryan found a killer deal on refurbished I-Pods online, we decided to get one for Katelin and Alissa. She was pretty excited about it, even though she didnt get the American Girl doll.

One of the things Madi asked for...nail polish stuff. 

 Kate and Alissa both wanted Press Dough, although we wont be making more cookies anytime soon.

 Zack had been asking for a Robot all month, then the week before Christmas changed his mind to a remote control helicopter. Santa was nice enough to bring him this, even though it was a last minute request.

Madisons biggest request this year was what she referred to as "a Natalie chair", because her friend Natalie has one. Try searching for that term online. We discovered the actual name of it was a butterfly chair and walla! One happy girl.

 Brylee's 'B' made by Zack.

 Puzzles for Mom.

 Alissa's earmuffs got eaten by the dog a couple months ago (that happens a lot around here), and she has been begging for a new pair ever since. It was a no brainer for Madi that that was what her homemade gift was going to be for her. It was a success!

 Brylee got her own piece of technology-a leap pad explorer.

 Zack has wanted his own robe since his sisters got theirs last year. Doesnt he look regal?

At this point we had a couple hungry kiddos. We breaked for breakfast. Brylee decided to clear her stomach out and puke before eating. Luckily, she got this new dress from her Aunt Mindy to change into. She felt fine after that. Maybe she just wanted to wear the dress.

Even the ear muff & gingerbread eating dog got taken care of. Must be harder for 4 legged creatures to make the naughty list. She got her own blanket, doggie jacket, food bowls and toys.

And as always, the cat got some canned food and cat treats which  are a delicacy for him.

Eventually, we made it to the stockings...

Brylee got socks, leap pad games, a snow globe and candy.

Zack got Puss in Boots movie, a nerf football, a book light, DS game and candy.

Alissa and Katelin both got socks, a I-Pod case, snow globe, DS game, book light and candy.

Madi got the two last Harry Potter movies, DS game, I-Pod case, socks, book light, an I-Tunes card, and candy.

And the grand finale...in addition to the stocking stuff, all this years gifts!

Brylee: Dora Mermaid, Leap Pad, cardboard castle, Stompee's slippers, B wall art from Zack, a book, sock monkey from Madi, Book and dress from Aunt Mindy.

Zack: Remote control robot and helicopter, robe, vest and tie, legos, angry birds game from Alissa, book and spiderman figures from Aunt Mindy,transformer from Madi, and a puzzle.

Alissa: Press Dough, I-Pod, Art stuff, journal book, ear muffs from Madi, Book and jewelry box from aunt Mindy.

Katelin: I-Pod, Press dough, journal book, jewelry box, necklace hanger from Brylee (realizing I didnt get a good picture of that either, but it turned out cute), snow globe from Madi, dress and book from Aunt Mindy.

Madi: Butterfly chair, blanket, slippers, nail polish stuff, moccasins, skirt, calendar form Katelin, frog and book from Aunt Mindy.

Mom and Dad: 3D blueray player, laptop, book and Wii game from Aunt Mindy, surround sound speakers, special spatula for making special noodles from Grandma and Grandpa.

Dad: shaver, oil vial, Guitar Hero game, mug from Madi.

Mom: puzzles, work out jacket, slippers, DVD, garland from Madi.

Oh, and the family also got the Wii Draw game with pictionary, and a new sled...for in case it ever snows around here!

The remainder of the day was spent doing this...

A lot of I-Pod time, puzzle piecing together...

Coloring of the cardboard castle...

And of course eating and talking on the phone with family.

Overall, I think it was a success! Another one down! Phew.