3 Girls, 1 Guy and a Zoo!

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Playdough is AWESOME!!!

I'm not sure how long play dough has been around but it seriously never gets old. Randomly the table and chairs get pulled out and then the play dough comes out. Its just so fun!!!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Crazy Hair

I'm just going to say that this was NOT my idea... the girls asked me to do this and they "LOVED" it : /

LOL

Monday, December 16, 2013

Crafty kiddos

The girls LOVE crafts...any shape, size, or type. They got these in the mail and got right to town working on them. They turned out really cute!

Friday, December 13, 2013

Doug and I left the kids with Doug's parents and headed to run some errands and finish up our Christmas shopping. We headed to Destiny USA in Syracuse which was CRAZY busy! But we got what we needed and had fun browsing and wasting time ;) Then we headed to Ithaca for Doug's Dairy One Christmas Party. As we headed out, Doug asked me if I wanted to go the way he goes to work so I can see his "shortcut". The trip was going pretty smooth until we were about 2 miles from Dairy One's Office. We came up on a side street and realized that the truck that was on the street was failing to obey his stop sign. I don't know what his deal was...if he was confused, drunk...no clue. But he proceeded to stare at us while driving at us. We somehow avoided that crash and the guy ended up in the oncoming traffic lane before finally righting himself and driving in the correct lane. I kept watching him in the mirror to make sure he kept his distance. About a minute later, I hear Doug say Oh No! I look up from my mirror watching to see a buck with a rack running out at the side of us. We hear the thud and watch him turn and run back in to the brush. It didn't sound too bad, he hit the passenger side rear panel, but with his rack and size neither of us thought it was going to be good. So we pulled into Dairy One's parking lot and park under a light and get out to check the damage. Can I just say God is good? Well I'm going to anyhow. All we had was a big ol' nose print and a snot smear down the rear panel of the car. I couldn't believe it! (Of course then I start feeling sorry for the poor deer who must have a very sore nose right now!) Within a couple minutes period of time, He spared us and our car from some potentially major damage! I got back in the car so thankful for His hand of protection. We of course didn't have our camera with us since we didn't have our kids...why would we carry it with us...we are the boring ones! But, I did get this picture of the car after it had been driven in the salt and snow...so it isn't as big as it was, but it gives you an idea of what it looked like originally. Not even a scratch! (At least not that we can see!)

We proceeded onto the Dairy One Christmas Party and had a lot of fun. It was a little loud in there, but the food and fellowship was great. There is something very special about a company where the head boss and his wife are making their rounds to say hello to everyone and they come over and give you a hug and tell you that they have been praying for you! Super awesome. I can't say enough time in this post how thankful I am. We are so blessed!

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Fun in the Snow

We went from having a couple inches of snow Tuesday to 2 foot of snow overnight and it still coming heaving. All the local schools had a snow day, but I had the kids finish their school and then let them head out to play. They headed out around 1 and stayed out till 4:45. I was starting to wonder if they were turning into snow kids :) They had a lot of fun, after they made their initial paths through the snow so that they could play a little more easily. Thankfully the snow is light and fluffy so its pretty easy to maneuver through. I think we finally topped off with 3ish feet or so. The kids are itching to go back out today in it without all the snow and wind coming down! I'll have to get some better pictures today when I don't have to worry about ruining the camera.

Chloe wanted to go out and play with the girls, but really struggled in the deep snow till the girls got their "roads" built. She didn't want to give up and come in though. I put her coat on her since she still doesn't have her overcoat back all the way after I stripped her out a few months back. She gave up and came in when she couldn't see or move her legs anymore because she had so much snow built up! LOL

Daddy cuddles are the best...love them both!

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Randomness...

Last night we had homemade spaghetti and we were getting drinks for everyone at the table. Marissa and Doug were going to have milk and Madalyn either wanted water or chocolate milk. I told her she needed to have plain milk because she hadn't had any yet that day. She wasn't very happy so we proceeded to explain to her that milk helps make our bones strong so they don't break. During our conversation I found out that she apparently thought our bones were made out of stones! Well anyhow, today she is a milk drinking machine! She just keeps saying, I don't want my bones to break! LOL So I had to tell her that drinking water is good for us to. We need both. Poor kid. We have created a monster trying to fix one problem.

On another note, we are finally getting our snow storm! I'm so happy! The news says that Lewis County has received 3-4 feet depending on the area in the last 24 hours as of 8 o'clock this morning. They are calling for another 19 inches today and tonight. I can't see any of my neighbors and even though Doug plowed this morning, I'm going to have to go out and take another pass at things before he gets home or before my extra kiddos get picked up, whichever comes first. Everything is so pretty! We definitely don't need to worry about having a white Christmas this year!

Letters

So Marissa wrote Trena a letter the other day and mailed it. I realized as the mailman was picking up/dropping off the mail that we have no stamps, yet Marissa had taken the letter out. So I asked her if she put a stamp on her letter. She replied that we didn't have any. I told her that you can't put a letter out in the box if it doesn't have a stamp on. She says, "Oh Mommy, I didn't! I drew a stamp on it so it would have one!" I laughed and then told her, it doesn't work like that. After an explanation of how the system works, I explained to her that even though the mailman took the letter, it would be back tomorrow. So the next day I went out to check the mail and the letter wasn't back. So I decided to call Jess and let her know what had happened and have her keep an eye out for the letter.

Later that day I got a Facebook message with this picture in it....

It made it!

Way too cute not to share! ;)

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Heads up!

I was contacted last week and asked if a company called Powerocks could send me a Magicstick to review on my blog. They have one coming my way, so once I get it I'll check it out and tell you guys all about it. In the meantime, you can check out their website here!

This is a first for me and I hope its not the last! :) I'm super excited to get this opportunity!

A day of fun :)

A house full of kids always equals a day of pictures :) The kids LOVE to help feed Chloe. Marissa gave them each a job to do, so no one would feel left out. They were all too cute!

And Kaleb decided to pose and ask for his picture to be taken...what a little ham!

Madalyn wanted me to take a picture of me sitting in my chair :)

Kaleb was such a good boy...this is his favorite bike. Its an unspoken rule that when he is here, its his. He rides it all day long. But when Zoe wanted to ride, he moved up and gave her a ride. She thought it was great!

Haylie's "cheese" face! LOL

Love the extra kids and having a full house!

Monday, December 9, 2013

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

We are all decorated for Christmas!!! Doug and I have decided that we love the decorations being up but HATE putting them up. Decorating for Christmas was so much more fun when we were kids ;) But its up and its pretty and now we can relax till Christmas!

Do you have your house decorated yet?

If you were to ask me where I would see myself in 10 years, I never would have guessed that I would be here. However, I couldn't be happier! I'm very happily married to the love of my life and have two girls. We have begun our journey towards adoption and I'm excited to see what the Lord has in store for us over the next couple of years. I'm a stay at home mom who home-schools. I enjoy researching and finding things out for myself. This blog allows me to share with others my passions and keep in touch with family that I wouldn't normally be able to keep in such close touch with.

Daddy is such a blessing to me. We met in college and became best friends. About one and a half years after we met we were dating. The rest is history. Together we have grown in the Lord and learned many lessons even in our few years together. Things haven't always been smooth, but together and with the Lord's help we can accomplish anything. He is the love of my life and my true soul mate. He is 100% committed to his family and the Lord. He is currently working for Dairy One in Ithaca. He loves to ski, ride dirt bikes, tinker on things, mow the lawn :) and spend time with his girls.

Marissa is our oldest. She was born in May 2005. She is 100% Daddy's girl. She is a home body and usually isn't away from home for long and she is asking to go back to our house. She always claims a job and sticks with it till its done. She is very quick and catches on fast. You have to be careful what you show her, because before you know it she is going to be attempting it herself. Madalyn is her best friend. She loves church and loves learning and singing about Jesus. Marissa is now is school and she is doing great. She loves to read and do projects. She LOVES animals and has decided that she wants to be a Veterinarian when she grows up!

Madalyn is our youngest. She is 100% Mommy's girl (nice of them that they split us up so that one isn't quite so overwhelmed isn't it?). Madalyn knows what she wants and goes for it. She has no fear and is usually the leader of my two even though she is younger. She does love to shadow her older sister though. She is my girly girl, but also my one that is always getting messy. She loves her hair done, to get dressed up, and shoes! We are in trouble with this one! She loves school and is super smart. She has decided she wants to be a "snow plow driver" when she grows up. She is also going to build a house RIGHT next to us and live there so she can still see us every day ;)

Case was actually our "oldest child". Sadly we said goodbye to him on October 29th, 2013. He was a black lab/ red-tick coonhound. He loved to roam the fields, swim, play ball, catch frisbees, go hiking and spend time at the barn. He also very much enjoyed those black and white cats that roam in the dark and have stripes down their backs...or he must have because he kept getting sprayed! He hated to be abandoned by his family and preferred us to all be in the house by 9pm or he started pacing. His biggest dislike was winter. He hated the cold and would rather hold his potty all day long than to go out and pee. Even when he did go out he barely makes it out the door and he was starting to go! Haha He was our "little boy in a doggie suit" as my aunt says. We love him and miss him like crazy.

Cali is our first cat together as a married couple. Sadly we said goodbye to her on October 8th, 2014. We got her from the barn shortly after we moved. She had to be one of the softest cats you had ever felt and of course one of the best looking calicos. LOL She was a great mouser and spent alot of her time in the basement hunting. She had a funny quirk. When she got ready to settle down and sleep, she parted the hair on her tail so only a few hairs were sticking up and then she proceeded to suck on those hairs.

Beaker is a litter mate to Cali. She is a great mouser. She loves to sneak outside when she gets the chance but if you say her name she quickly darts back in. She is VERY attached to Doug and is always coming up to him purring just as loud as can be begging to be picked up. Beaker of course never does this to me. She doesn't like change and isn't fond of strange dogs, although she has gotten much better with the dogs. She will still swat at Molly but it's not angry, it's almost like she is playing.

Sid was our Marshall Ferret. We said goodbye to him in 2012. He was amazing! Great with kids and other animals, but a total goofball. He definitely lived up to the typical ferret personality and a total thief! Sid's favorite thing to steal was pacifiers. He would take them right out of a baby's mouth if given the opportunity and then take off running! He always hid everything in the same place, so at least we knew where to find them, but of course they were always ruined. Anything rubber was in danger of ending up in the said spot. We definitely miss having him around.

Chloe is Cairn Terrier. She is a blast to have around and I'm definitely sold on the terrier family! She is great with the kids and loves spending time outside. She is a great woodchuck hunter and will sit at an occupied hole all day till she catches one. Even in the winter time she will spend forever out there and come back looking like a snowman. She loves to swim and will swim in any temperature water. She loves to mother other animals. Whether it be kittens from the barn, Case, or her own litter of puppies, she is a great mother! We have since fixed her. Although I'm sad there won't be another litter, it's for the best with the probability of us moving and having to find a new vet.

Meet Molly, our newest dog addition :) After taking some time to heal after losing Case, we decided that our household wasn't the same without a big dog around and we were missing something. So we took the plunge and went full out this time. Molly is a purebred, mis-marked mantle, Great Dane :) She has grown into one good looking pup! I'm still in love with this old picture though, so I'm not changing it! She stands about 31 inches at the shoulder and weighs over 100lbs (although honestly I'm not sure how much over because I can't lift her anymore!) She is great with the kids and loves to cuddle. She shares our bed and is the biggest baby ever. She is very protective and does not like when anyone is pinned down. She is right there to break up the "fight" LOL We love her to pieces!

When Doug's sister and her husband started breeding rabbits, I had a feeling deep down that it was only a matter of time....Here she is! Peterette started out as "Peter". When Madalyn realized "he" was actually a "she", she settled with Peterette. :) Peterette is a flemish giant, which according to what I have read is the Great Dane breed in the bunny world! Figures right? She is super sweet, very laid back and loves to be cuddled and pet. She'll stick her nose out of her cage when you enter the room just so you will scratch it!