Pathetic, or What?

No pictures this time. Sorry, grandparents. I just wanted to post some new information. Since Jeff and I moved to Surfside Beach we barely get to go out on dates anymore. We have been out only about five times in three years. Thanks to my mom and Manfred when they come to visit. Thanks also to Greg and Brenda, we were able to go out about a month ago. We went to Outback and as we talked over dinner we realized that it had been three years since we had even eaten at Outback. Last night we decided to get a babysitter and go out for dinner and a movie. For all who may worry about who is watching our kids.... her name is Emilee. Emilee is a member of our church. She is 17 years old and did a wonderful job with all three of our precious little darlings. Now, back to my story. So we went to eat at Red Lobster and while we were talking over dinner we realize that it has been over six years since we have eaten at Red Lobster! As a matter of fact, it was the night before I delivered Levi, so that makes it August 5th, 2002. Now considering that there are thousands of restaurants out there, this is not so outrageous but take into consideration how many times we frequent places like McDonalds and Papa Johns. We have had McDonalds probably twice in the last month and pizza twice as well. We have officially fallen into the Parent Trap!
The moral of the story....get a babysitter and go have adult conversation over an adult meal! The food and the company is GREAT!

Guess Who's Rolling Over!

Guess who is on the move? I got her on video this time. It was the third time just this morning, but for some reason it scared her this time. No pretty smiles on this video and it's kind of short but you get the idea. Benjamin is constantly trying to comfort Ede in some way when she is on the palate in the floor. He is either getting a blanket to cover her up or putting her passy back in her mouth, when he's the one that took it out. Levi likes to talk to her because she is always smiling at her brothers. She is so alert and I'm pretty sure we won't have to wait until she's 17 months old before she starts walking!

Levi is doing so good in karate! His next promotion will be to his Gold Belt! Sensei Mike was even impressed with how quickly he learned his last kata and his execution of it on promotion day. He loves school and his teacher says he is such a good and smart boy. He is reading in level 4 already. The goal for most Kindergartners is level 5 by the end of the school year. He really loves learning and it seems to be happening so fast.

Benjamin is 18 months old. What else can I say. He and Levi got into their first little tussle and believe it or not, Ben came out on the winning side. Levi's face looked like he got into a fight with a cat! Ben is sooo laid back ...until you cross him. He is into everything!!!! I'm already doing a version of 1-2-3 Magic with him. He's pretty smart himself and even though you're not supposed to start this until they are 2 years old, he seems to be catching on already. I just now counted him a 2 and he closed the drawer and walked away! :) I love this stuff!!!

Life is pretty normal here, for a family with 3 kids anyway. They all get fed, read to, and bathed. The rest gets done inbetween. If I feel like it. :) Jeff and I are glued to FOX news. I am even dreaming about some of the strategists changing their minds and coming over to the Republican side! I really can't wait until this is over. Well, that's all for now. Hope you enjoy the picture and video. Love to all!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

Shew! Has it been a month already? Levi is adjusting well to school. He has told me that "it's a long day at school to try to be good". His teacher says he is doing really good in class. He is about to get another black stripe on his belt for Karate. We are so proud of him! Benjamin is starting to run now. We can hardly keep him still anymore. We went for family photos last week and it was such a disaster, it was laughable. Ben would not sit still and if he happened to be still, he was crying. Well, if Ben wasn't crying, Ede was. I was sweating by the time it was all over. We managed to get a few good shots of the kids. Ede is smiling all the time and cooing. I can tell she has a lot to say, if only she could speak. I often wonder what she could tell me about Ava. She loves to watch her hands and her mobile in her swing. We are all doing well. I'm back to work now. My two nights a month! I have plenty to do here to keep me busy in the mean time.

What the other two are up to.

Sometimes Ben is so quiet you don't even know he's in the room.

Ede loves her swing. I love it just as much because she will sometimes fall asleep all by herself when she is in it.

So far my mornings are still starting around 4:30. I am now changing my strategy, "Go to bed by 9:00pm". I have a hard time doing that because I enjoy my "alone time" so much I want to stay awake while the kids are asleep. But something has to give and I'll have to find my quiet time at some other point in the day. Ede won't be 11 weeks old forever. It's a bitter-sweet thought buy my brain power gets weaker and weaker with each sleepless night. It's 8:30pm and I plan on getting off to a good start with my new resolution.

Night! Night!

Good 'Ol Golden Rule Days!

We started the morning with some "brain food". Eggs and cheese with jelly toast and OJ.

I didn't have any problems with him getting ready. Isn't he handsome?

Outside his Kindergarten class. Ready, set, Go!

Hopefully this morning wasn't a sign of life to come. I have been awake since 4:30am. I fed Eden and she didn't get back to sleep until 5:10. Benjamin woke up crying at 5:20 but got him back in the bed by 5:30. I decided to go ahead and take a shower because the alarm clock was set to go off at 6:00. By then I was cooking breakfast for Levi, who woke up at 6:15 because he heard me in the kitchen. I had no problem with him getting ready for school though. He was in his new classroom by 7:20 and was ready to get started. No tears were shed, though I was a little sad when I got home and couldn't wait to find out about how his day had gone. He rode the bus home. I picked him up at 3:00 at the bus stop which is right above our house. When the baby is a little bigger I plan on walking up there to pick him up with the little ones in the double stroller. Believe it or not I am looking forward to the "schedule". I can already tell it will help me organize my day. However, I do hope it starts a little later in the morning than it did today.

I couldn't be more proud.

I finally got to be in the picture instead of behind the camera. Look at my children! Aren't they beautiful? Levi starts school tomorrow. Benjamin is WALKING all over the place now. Eden holds her head up so good when she is on her belly. They are growing so fast. Having three children has proved to be quite the challenge for me. Two I can handle, and it doesn't matter which two but throw the third in there and I don't know which way to turn. Ben is a sneaky little fellow. He literally waits for me to get busy with Eden and goes straight for trouble. In one afternoon I had to wash his hands at least five different times. I found him playing in the toilet water once, the dirt from my plants twice, the trash can twice and inbetween he was into the pots and pans and pulling out cans of soda from the cabinet. Levi asking 1000 questions and wanting his time with mama. When Jeff got home I took an hour long hot bath behind a locked door! I never thought I would feel so good after only 5 hours of straight sleep. :) Life is good and full of surprises. We are so thankful for all the blessings in our lives.

Thank you to my Family and Friends

He shouldn't be too boastful, because as you can see he ONLY has two!

Eden in her blessing dress made by her Grandma Martin (my mom).

At least he found something productive during his "unsupervised" time.

Levi being a super big brother. He already loves to make Ede smile.

I want to thank my family and friends who have given me so much help in the last 2 months. Believe it or not, today is the first day I have had all three of my children all day long! I survived!! It got a little strained a time or two but we all made it out alive and well. I even managed to cook dinner. It wasn't Hamburger Helper either. We had Ribs, coleslaw and baked beans. Levi has been so well behaved and helping me keep tabs on Benjamin, who is into everything! Eden hates to sleep on her back so I have to stop what I'm doing to rock her to sleep after she has decided she's been awake long enough. Sorry, but mom, she has done a lot more crying since you left. Jeff has managed to stay calm in all the stresses of our life and is a WONDERFUL husband and father. He takes pride in his multitasking abilities. There are very few pictures of me because I do good to just get out of bed in the morning right now. :) I've included some odds and ends pictures of my wonderful little family! Enjoy! I couldn't have remained sane without all of you!