At the End of the Week...

It's been a rough week. Obama proposed to cancel the Constellation program so Brett may or may not be employed come fall, I ran out of my drug of choice, Dr. Pepper, Max got his SEVENTH tooth, we had 1-2 kids waking up nightly, two constantly runny noses, one huge mountain of laundry, that damn groundhog saw his shadow, and cabin fever is here to stay!

I've been grumpy and pessimistic and I need to get over it already. Today Brett uploaded the pictures from our camera and now I will proceed to address a few of the things that are good and sweet and wonderful in life... ...like this sweet face. Mmmm, I love this face.

Check out Max, "The Beav." And Brett thinks none of our kids will look like him! These are definately Daddy's teeth. I love seeing my guys together. I'll be honest, I also love handing the baby off and straightening my left arm occasionally too!

Today we went to Hardware Ranch. The weather was beautiful, the sun was shining, the kids laughed and played in the snow, we pelted Anna with snowballs, we saw elk, we ate bagels, we came home and played Wii and relaxed, it was a perfect Saturday.

My kids love their Daddy as much as I do. This is good. And sweet. And wonderful.

And, as small a thing as it is, Izzy got her first pigtails this week, she's growing up! Not only that, but she does laundry. No joke, she's a good tiny little helper.

I am blessed. Also, I have restocked my soda supply so no worries there!

What are your highs this week?

Music

I'm looking for some upbeat songs to add to my playlist, songs that instantly put you in a good mood. Songs that put a skip in your step even if it's been gloomy and cold for days and your kids have kept you up half the night and you don't know where to begin on the mess your house has become and you have no idea what to cook for dinner and you don't know when or if you'll get around to showering and you want to commit homocide at least twice and it's only 8 am and you keep finding goldfish crackers ground into your carpet and never have time to yourself because your tiny human shadows follow you, even into the bathroom... you the get point right? I need a maid. I need a nanny. I need a full night of sleep. I'll stick to the things I can afford though: a Big Gulp and some background music to keep me going through the winter.

So, what are your top 3 songs to get you in a good mood?

Winter Fun

I think we're suffering from the winter blues. It may be a vitamin K deficiency, or the fact that we're total shut-ins because it's so stinkin cold outside, or that we're/I'm lazy and haven't made any playdates...Anyway, Quinn and I found a few crafts to keep us busy last week. First we made pinecone birdfeeders. Brett just carried our Christmas tree out the back and left it in the stand after the holiday so we wired our pinecones to the tree and this morning we had a handful of little bird visitors in the yard. Izzy and Quinner giggled with delight watching the birds. I think it'd be nice to keep the tree around on the patio every year and do this, we'll have birds to entertain the kids and a mature tree in the yard-dead or alive, at least it's something to look at!

Quinn and I also made these window clings, we found the idea on the Family Fun website. We just printed a pattern, put it in a page protector, traced it with glitter paint, and peeled them off to apply to the windows. I think we'll be working on some Valentines hearts too, these were super easy and good practice tracing for my little preschooler. Plus, it's something to decorate our blah house with now that the holiday decorations are down.

What have you found to keep your kids busy this winter? Post your ideas...we could use some...

What I Know For Sure

Do you read Oprah Magazine? Have you read her column about what she knows for sure? Yeah, she doesn't have kids so I know some things that she doesn't...

I know that no matter how frustrating a day can be, there is nothing so rewarding as the sight of your little one curled up asleep at night. Or your four little ones in my case.

I know that the pay is cruddy, the hours are endless, the nights are often sleepless, but that nothing beats the sloppy kiss of a kid who sneaks up to smooch you out of the blue, just to say he loves you.

I know that my body isn't perfect, thanks to the severe inflation and deflation of pregnancy and that damned gravitational pull, okay, and those vanilla Zingers, but I know that when I sit back and assess my life, I realize that I am truly blessed. I wouldn't change much at all.

What else do I know for sure? That Hoarders is on A&E and I'm addicted...Ironically, a show called Intervention is on right after...

My Short List

I didn't write a letter to Santa. I did pray this morning though that this man would make it home safely today. All I want for Christmas is more of this. Just a little more of this.