Abba, Kayleigh and Daddy at the ZOO this last October. Isn't this the sweetest picture!

William watching the men work with tools!

WheelBarrels are so much FUN!!

Kayleigh on her new swing set!

Did you know there is gobs of FREE preschool material on the Internet! I could spend hours ( and to be honest I already have) searching all the websites out there. I have found so many awesome craft and lesson ideas for this next year. I think I am going to work toward about an hour to an hour and a half of "school" time after the summer. Of course this will be totally flexible depending on the mood of the children. Some days they will sit and pay attention and other days I'm lucky to get a five minute story in. I working hard at keeping the TV off for most of the day and getting them outside for at least 30 minutes. I love this weather....we can stay out all day if I want to.

Daddy, Papa, Uncle Mark and Cousin Jeff put together Kayleigh's new fort/swing set this weekend! She loves it and is already a pro at climbing the ladder and rock wall. So, now we have our very own park in the backyard. Although, I do still plan to visit the park down the street at least two or three times a week. That's my exercise!

Still working on school stuff. Only one more week and then the final. I'll be taking British Lit through TWU this summer. Hopefully I won't have problems finding time to read and write some papers. I found out TWU offers a General Studies degree online, so that's the route I'm going to get my Bachelor's. Still not sure what I want to do when I grow up, but at least this degree provides some options (Master's in Teaching or Library Science are two I have considered). I have a while before I'll return to the work force, so for now I'm just going to focus on the BA.

Well...I think I hear a child waking up!

Per Justin's request....here's a picture of Kayleigh! She is cutie pie!

William discovered if he makes razz-berries with food in his mouth it makes a huge mess. He sure liked painting his highchair, though. I had a really hard time keeping my laughs inside. He would spit it out and then laugh...it was so cute! Kayleigh didn't really make noises with her mouth as a baby, so this is a new experience for me.

Justin left for a business trip on Wednesday and he was supposed to be back last night. His flight was cancelled due to weather : ( He should be back this afternoon. Having the kiddos all be myself is a whoop! Kayleigh is officially potty training and she's doing pretty good...I take her every two hours, so she's not doing it on her own just yet. I was trying to avoid the whole Pull-Ups thing, but after cleaning up a few accidents I decided they weren't so bad. When you have four other kiddos running around, the last thing you want to do is clean up pee and poop off the floor!

I think Kayleigh is ready to start phonics. She knows all the letters, upper and lower cases, and that's the first sign. She also pretends to read to herself and is constantly asking me what a word says. Over the last month, I have searched the internet for some sort of preschool curriculum, but I have decided to just develop my own as needed. Most of the programs incorporate writing and she's not quite to that point yet. This is somewhat scary to me...I am a needs direction kind of person. A trait I not too happy about most of the time. I was the only kid in my family not in LEAP. I was tested twice, but horribly failed on the creativity part. They give you a drawing of half a box and tell you to create a picture. I made the other half of the box...sad, isn't it. Oh well.

Oh, Kayleigh had her first minor-major injury last week. She decided to twirl into the coffee table and used her teeth to break her fall. Luckliy, no permenant damage was done, although the dentist said her teeth might discolor over the next few years. It looked pretty bad and I wish I had taken a picture. She had a pretty fat lip for a couple of days and it was all bruised underneath. Of course she cried for maybe a minute when she did it and it hasn't bothered her since.

Well, Kayleigh is needing attention, so gotta run!

Nothing like a little tonsil cleaning to brighten up your day!

The house is quiet...the kiddos are napping. I'm taking a break from writing code for the programming class I'm taking. That's why I haven't blogged in a while. It seems that when I have time to get on the computer, there is always work to be done!

We are finally all well! For about three weeks at least on of us had a cold..that includes me. I thought moms were immune to sickness. At least my mom was! It was a rough cold season for all of us, except Kayleigh. I guess she got it all out of her system last year ( she ended up with pneumonia last January). I contracted two different colds this year and that's two more that normal. William has been sick since about the beginning of December, but he's finally getting better. He had two bloody noses last week, so the doctor put him on a stronger antibiotic and that seems to have taken care of everything. I'm hoping he is like Kayleigh and just has one bad year!

On to other happenings!

Since Kayleigh was born I have been throwing around the idea of homeschooling my children. At first I thought I would just do it until about 4th grade, but I think I am now leaning towards going through middle school. It's a little bit of selfishness on my part...I want to have more time with my children. Five years just doesn't seem long enough! Plus, I want to be the one who sees them light up at understanding something for the first time, or share in their excitement about a favorite subject. Maybe I'm romanticizing the experience a little. And maybe, once I start I'll realize I only want to do it for a little while. It's bit scary to think I'll be the one responsible for teaching them...there's a lot out there to learn. I'm finding out, however, there is so much support out there for homeschooling parents. Kayleigh still has over two years before she would start kindergarten, so there's lots of time for research! Although I think I am leaning towards the classical style of homeschooling.

Well I thought I would have time to post something, but it seems William wants to eat now. Sorry...maybe I'll get lucky another time!

My children are so cute!

I was thinking....I used to have BIG THOUGHTS. I used to ponder those BIG QUESTIONS. I used to sing something besides Wiggles, Barney and Doodlebops. My children have taken over my mind. Now I have "mommy brain"! There are days I miss life before children. Adult conversation is limited now (well any conversation really...two year olds don't really have conversations). I get out of the house on Mondays and Sundays....sometimes if I'm lucky on Friday or Saturday night. I'm in bed before 10 pm most nights. I remember when my night was just beginning around then. I remember being able to sleep in if I was up late the night before. I remember being able to go somewhere without it taking 20 minutes to get loaded into the car. Not that I'm complaining. I love parenting my children and I wouldn't have anyone else do it for me. Still there are days when I wish for the freedom of pre-children days. Then I look at pictures such as the one above and realize how fast those two are growing. This parenting business will be over before I know it!

UPDATES!!!!! (finally!)

I'm really not that busy...I just haven't made blogging a priority these past few months. Forgive me!

Okay so here's what's going on....Justin has been out of town since Thursday. He's skiing with his uncle, lucky bugger. Hopefully his flight will be on time and he'll be home late tonight! Yea!! Our four month old dryer decided break right after Christmas and it's still that way. Whatever provides power to the heat source melted, so we have to replace the main component thingy. So much for quality electronics. Good thing we have family around...can't imagine having to go to a laundrymat with two kiddos in tow. Let's see what else....

Kayleigh Update

Kayleigh figured out how to climb out of her crib this week. She mastered the old crib about a year ago, but the new one is bigger and it's taken her a while to get this one. Wednesday night she climbed out and hopped into our bed twice. She hasn't done it since then, though....climb into our bed that is. She still climbs out whenever she wakes up in the morning and after nap. Guess it's time to get her a big girl bed. Potty training is officially on the back burner for now. She absolutely refuses to sit on the potty for me and I really just don't want to deal with that right now. We'll try again over Spring Break, but I won't force her until this summer. She is totally capable, but she's digging her heals in right now.

William Update

William weighs a whopping 18lbs and 13 oz and 25 inches long as of Friday. The kid is HUGE!!! I forget he's only four months old, which is easy to do since Kayleigh was 9 months old at that size. I think he is beginning to cut his bottom teeth, so he's a little cranky right now. Oh, and he had a ear infection and is on breathing treatments. My children and their lungs....I blame Justin! Other than that, he's is the best baby. He is so laid back and happy! I love the whole-face smile he gives me and how he practically shakes with excitement at the sight of me! Yep, he's a momma's boy...but aren't all men!

Isn't this the cutest onesie! 

Miss Adorable and Mr Cutie Pie 

Attention Daddy, Abba and Papa....someone needs a jungle gym! 

Kayleigh the musician 

Playing dress up!  

Princess Kayleigh on Halloween 

Playing video games with Daddy 

Big sister getting "icky" drool off his face. She's very helpful!