Green Day!

Today is St. Patrick's Day- Hooray!! I love this day! I have always loved this day- love wearing green and having shamrocks all over our house!! I have taken the kids' picture in green every year! Dana doesn't get it- he's not Irish! I am so much on my dad's side that we have always celebrated this holiday- big time. My parents even took us out of school to go to the parade downtown nearly every year! I missed the last two years- it was freezing....but today...another story- record temps near 70!! I could not miss again!
So, I took Celeste, Emma and Abby downtown! They loved every minute! I didn't mind having the three of them- they are the best of friends, and they were so good...I couldn't resist taking so many pics- so here are just a few of my favorites:

The little boy on the left's grandmother bought the kids cotton candy- how sweet!

My mom and the girls- all the girls love Grandma!

They rush to get the candy the parade people threw- it was a lot!

The girls waved to everyone that went by!

Why would someone spray pain their dog?! It's festive, but cruel!

We ate pizza and fries at Plank's- the girls had a blast!

LOVE this one!!

Clutter Crazy

I DO NOT know how I have accumulated so much stuff! Honestly, how can we possibly stuff this much stuff into a 1400 sq ft house!! We don't even have that much in the garage!! I am seriously overwhelmed by the amount of crap we have! Crap. Crap. Crap. Not kidding.
I have been in process of getting rid of and de-cluttering this entire week. My mom brought me home around 12 boxes, which were filled by the next day- I though that would be enough- yeah, not even close! And this is stuff I want to keep?! I don't get it, either.
Our bathtub was re glazed on Thursday, and I was so busy that I didn't take any before/after pics- but believe me it is stunning! Well worth the cost! It alone makes my small bathroom look amazing! Yesterday I was the "caulking queen"- while I talked to Kim on the phone, I carried the caulk gun throughout the house and caulked everywhere I thought needed it- it took a while- but I was occupied with talking and the time flew! Things are shaping up here. The closets are done and today Dana sorted through his clothes and now we officially have 10- 13 gallon trash bags for Goodwill. This feels great!
So why are we doing all this?! Well, our house goes on the market on the 23rd- now whether we sell it or not- that is an entirely different story- but we are going to try anyway...most days I feel optimistic...it doesn't hurt either way. I will have pics of it all next week- for now it is still disastrous in certain places- we are working on that- but it is coming along...quicker than I thought, which is why this blog is boring and without pics and I haven't even read all that I want to of yours!
So that is that- I promise to add some pics so you can see my progress- and whether or not we sell this, at least it is less cluttered, and less crazy- well, it will still be crazy, I do have 3 crazies, lest we forget them!

Spring Start

Losing an hour of my day hasn't been too bad, actually...getting some sleep has been. My kids and I have all gone through the stomach virus this past weekend, and it hasn't been pretty...but nonetheless the weather has been! We enjoyed some nice play outside time over the weekend, and are looking forward to another semi-warm day tomorrow, despite the rain! Here are some pics of the kiddos playing outside on Friday:
Thanks to Jennifer for the rice box that my kids play in every time outside!
Leah rides her scooter she got for Christmas for the first time this year!
Celeste couldn't wait to get in her car and drive!

Alex is sad that he only has his scooter to ride, since his one bike is broken and the other one is too small for him...so sad...he's fine.

The kids got out the chalk and began master pieces...so funny that they were so into their drawings and when it rained, they were sort of sad!
Celeste was covered in chalk after only 5 minutes.
Look at the people she drew- isn't that cute?!
Leah drew Grandma and Grandpa with such precision.
Friday night was Alex's Upward Awards night- by the way, it started at 9pm!! Crazy, huh?! Anyway, the girls were in bed, so just he and I went. They had a juggler/unicyclist for the entertainment- he was really great! Must be a hit- my niece's Upward night had a different guy who juggled and uni cycled too! Anyway, he juggled fire and rode 3 different unicycles- I was impressed. Alex was somewhat impressed, but happier when it was over, to be honest. He got a cool backpack, but is now not happy with it because it isn't big enough to carry to school...he is getting harder and harder to please!

He was kind of funny...he did tons of fun juggling tricks and really worked the audience.

Only 4 kids from his team showed up, but it was really packed in the gym.

I though the juggling fire was really cool-he even put it in his mouth!

On Sunday we got together for my mom's birthday- nearly a week late- sorry I missed blogging about her special day and how much I love her. She is the best mother, more important to me than words can say...I just love her dearly. Hope she knows that and knows that will never change. Here are some pics from Saturday.

My kids are climbing the tree that I climbed when I was their age-I love that.

So there's a recap of our spring start week- I hope the busyness slows down a bit but the warmness stays.

Just Can't Get Enough

I just can't get enough of this girl of mine....

She was loving this impromptu photo op- just stood in front of the closet door and started making faces and trying to smile with her eyes open...I couldn't take them fast enough- she would run over in between shots and want to see it then run back and do it over again...she is just too much!

On Saturday, Leah went to Sophie's birthday party at the House of Bounce! What fun! She had a blast and it was super fun for me since I got to hang out with Cindy, Claire and Carle- my friends from when Leah took dance 2 years ago- we still keep in touch, but it gets harder and harder to hang out! Hate that. Well, for 2 hours, while the girls bounced, we chatted and loved it too!

Leah and Emma wait in line for the slide.

All the kids make silly faces for the group shot!
Leah went down this slide more times than I can count. All the moms joined in except me, since I didn't have socks...darn! (lucky me, I probably would've chucked afterward!)

Birthday girl, Sophie, Leah, Emily and Emma- good little girlfriends.

I love this one of her-the fun of bouncing!

On Friday, Leah had to say goodbye to the teacher who taught the first half of the year- since the actual teacher was coming back from a year off after having twins! Leah has a special love for Miss Groh and we have very much appreciated all she has done with Leah during this very important school year! She will be greatly missed- Leah cried most of Thursday night...this is Friday, she is better for the moment, but lost it again later...such a softie!

Miss Groh is a great young teacher and I hope to run into her again- perhaps when I teach again...hopefully in a year or two- we shall see....if our Levy fails, it may be sooner than later- will keep ya posted on that!