Thursday, January 28, 2010

OH, THE PLACES YOU'LL GO...




..such as into the laundry basket. 

Who would've 'thunk' it.

SO WHAT??

Mike was rather grossed out the other night, when I decided to snack on this:


Hey, don't knock it, till you try it.


And no, Freedom is NOT free.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

"JOB APPLICATION"

*I don't remember where I got this from, so I cannot give the author credit.*  And while I do not agree with everything, there are some valid & amusing points.  The most important job in the world.

"PARENT:  JOB DESCRIPTION

POSITION:  MOM, MOMMY, MAMA, MA
 DAD, DADDY, DADA, PA

Job Description:
Long term, team players needed, for challenging permanent work in an, often chaotic environment.  Candidates must possess excellent communication and organizational skills and be willing to work variable hours, which will include evening and weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.  Some overnight travel required, including trips to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!  Travel expenses not reimbursed.  Extensive courier duties also required.

Responsibilities:
The rest of your life.  Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily, until someone needs $5.  Must be willing to bite tongue repeatedly.  Also, must possess the physical stamina of a pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams coming from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.  Must be willing to face stimulating technical challenges, such as small gadget repair, mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.  Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and coordinate production of multiple homework projects.  Must have ability to plan and organize social gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.  Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an embarrassment the next.  Must handle assembly and product safety testing on half a million cheap, plastic toys, and battery operated devices.  Must always hope for the best but be prepared for the worst.  Must assume final, complete accountability for the quality of the end product.  Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and janitorial work throughout the facility.

Possibility for Advancement & Promotion:
None.  Your job is to remain in the same position for years, without complaining, constantly retraining and updating your skills, so that those in your charge can ultimately surpass you.

Previous Experience:
None required unfortunately.  On-the-job training offered on a continually exhausting basis.

Wages and Compensation:
Get this!  You pay them!  Offering frequent raises and bonuses.  A balloon payment is due when they turn 18 because of the assumption that college will help them become financially independent.  When you die, you give them whatever is left.  The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only do more.

Benefits:
While no health or dental insurance, no pension, no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and no stock options are offered; this job supplies limitless opportunities for personal growth and free hugs for life if you play your cards right.

Most of us would still do it all over again without batting an eye!"

THE HOUSE NEXT DOOR

I got this in the mail today. 
It is the house next door.
For sale, obviously.
(for a price that is outrageous, in my opinion)



The house is beautiful..
though the "yard" leaves something to be desired...well, if you have kids.
If you want a low-maintenance yard--this would be it.

Just thought I'd share.

One day, our house will look as nice.
You'll see.

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

SMILEY

This little girl is just so full of smiles, its hard to not post every picture.
:)


EXTENDED HOLIDAY

It really was a holiday season for us this year. 

We began our celebrating in the beginning of December and just wrapped up this past Saturday, with the Rose side.

Cole & Rian swapping toys.  Though 7 weeks or so younger,
I think that Cole has Rian beat as far as weight goes.



More presents.





























Rian really took to Uncle Bryon--she would smile every time she saw him!



Michael and Carina had a blast playing with Grandpa's chair and remote.





A snack..
(Rena wanted "more STRAWberries" but the chocolate had to come off)



A game of Phase 10..






And that concludes our holiday season.

THIS IS THE WAY..

..Carina has taken to sleeping in her bed.



Directly on top of her pillow.

Whatever works, I guess.

Friday, January 8, 2010

PRESENTS WITH THE KIDDIES

We had gifts for the kids and this year we opened them on New Year's Eve.

They knew it was coming..and so after asking all day if Daddy was coming home yet,
I had them move the boxes n bags into the living room.

After that was done, Mike still was not home...
so they decided to sit and watch the packages.
All in all they were very patient.



Finally, Mike got home.
 We had dinner and quick baths.



Then they each picked a spot of floor.
Michael said that he wanted to open up books.
(Thats my boy!!)
Its funny, cause I held off on books this year--I think he only got one.
We're running out of room to store them!!!!



Stockings first.



Daddy made chocolate covered pretzels for the older kids.







Rian did pretty well ripping off paper..
only problem was, she wanted to eat it after ripping it off.



So many firefighters in the family...
Michael "needed" his gear too.
He informed me the other day at breakfast,
that he was going to go to a fire with Daddy..and he needed to wear his hat and his belt and his axe.
It was cute.



Can't have gifts for Rena without SOMETHING Dora.







Our Princess.



Princess #2


(you'll never guess who else wanted to be a princess!!)
.
.

And our lil firefighter all ready to go.



Michael and Carina are at a fun age..
Michael, especially, really got into the whole present thing.
Watching them is present enough for us.

WHILE WAITING FOR THE BUS

Michael asked so nicely this morning if he could walk in and pick up the snow..

I couldn't say no.

Even though his fingers got cold and his shoes got a mite wet
(despite our efforts to stomp them off every 2 minutes)

He had fun.








I was really hoping for a snow day.
Really, really.

No sense dwelling on it though, huh.
It is not a snow day.

MOVING..

I would say that she is crawling..but she is not crawling in the conventional sense..

Rian is definitely a mover though.
She has her own unique style.
I'm sure it will soon turn into "normal" crawling.

She is getting faster everyday..
and into more mischief everyday.


Pardon the dust.
(you know the saying, "the more dust, the more love"--yeah, it works for us)







Caught ya!



Of course, she gets into everything.

She got stuck between the organ and the bench legs the other day..




Chasing the vaccum cord is fun too!!



Almost got it!



Downside is that she is fascinated by the screen we have around the woodstove..
Big no-no.
So it means constant supervision till she learns the ropes.