my love, my family, my life

Boy, oh boy!

2011-08-29T20:16:00.007-05:00

So... we are officially having a sweet baby boy! I am over the moon excited and already hopelessly in love. The kids are also very excited to be having a baby brother. None of them have ever had a baby brother since Lucas is the oldest. Molly is a little unsure, in fact she cried. I promised she would love him when he gets here and that was all the consolation she needed. She is now of the opinion that we should name the baby spaghetti and meatballs! Oh, Molly! The baby is now affectionately referred to as "meatball".

Due to an anti-body that I currently have (probably from one of my miscarriages) my pregnancy is considered high-risk. Since the beginning of this pregnancy my doctor has been checking my anti-body levels monthly. The last 2 months my levels have doubled and then doubled again. Now that my anti-body levels are a little higher I have to go to the perinatologist at the hospital every 1-2 weeks to have MCA scans to check the baby for signs of anemia. It sounds kind of intimidating but, it is a level 2 ultrasound where they measure how fast the baby's blood is flowing in his brain. Too fast would be showing signs of anemia which would be cause for intervention. At that point we would need to go to a hospital in either Chicago or Milwaukee to do an intra-uterine blood transfusion. It's not likely that it will get to that point, but not impossible. If at some point the baby's anemia becomes life threatening they will deliver the baby early and treat his anemia and related issues from the outside. We have every reason to be hopeful. The plan is to keep checking the baby with the MCA scan every week or two and go from there.

I had my first scan today and everything was perfectly healthy and normal. I continue to hope and pray for continuing good news. So, I have A LOT of doctor appointments in my future but it will be great to see our sweet boy and watch him growing every week on all those scans. Here are 2 pictures of our boy from today!

Goodbye facebook, hello old friend...

2011-08-03T15:33:00.007-05:00

So I have officially been done with facebook for about 2 weeks now. What a relief! I don't miss it. I don't miss the drama and the annoyance and I certainly don't miss the compulsion to check it all the time either. Nothing happened. I am not offended or mad at anyone. It was just time for me to be done and I am happy with my decision.

My poor blog has been severely neglected during my love/hate affair with facebook. My plan is too spend more time here and document all these precious things in my life that are flying by way too fast. That and I promised my Aunt Karen that I would blog if I wasn't going to be on facebook anymore. Look at me keeping my promise!

We have had a crazy busy summer and school is going to be starting in just another month. We are busy and that is just life with 4 kids. I hope I can keep up with 5. We will soon find out...

It's true! We are expecting a new sweet baby in our home January 24th!!! Everyone is very excited and everyone is chanting boy vibes under their breath too. Please be a boy! Not that 4 girls in 7 years wouldn't be fun, but oh, we all want it to be a boy. I would love having my two sweet boys as bookends to our family. I am about 15 weeks and still feeling sick. Part of me is done with being sick but another part of me is happy for those pregnancy symptoms. It means I am still pregnant. Having suffered too many losses in the last year, I am grateful to be sick. I am just counting my blessings and trying to enjoy this pregnancy.

I have lots of pictures from summer that I want to post and a belly picture in the works too. Way more than I can catch up on but I will work on a summer highlight reel for you Aunt Karen!

This year I will become more invisible...

2011-01-04T08:49:00.008-06:00

The Invisible Mother

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously not; no one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more! Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this??

Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

Some days I'm a crystal ball; 'Where's my other sock?, Where's my phone?, What's for dinner?'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history, music and literature -but now, they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. She had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when she turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.' It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe.I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: 'With admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work: 1) No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. 2) These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. 3) They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. 4) The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A story of legend in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof, No one will ever see it And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was Almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does.

No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, no Cub Scout meeting, no last minute errand is too small for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for 3 hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, he'd say, 'You're gonna love it there...'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible mothers.

This was sent to me in an email some time ago and I kept it knowing I would want to read it again. It's the start of a new year and everyone is setting new goals and making resolutions, including myself, but it just wasn't really setting very well with me. I have my ever long list of things I would like to quit doing (drinking soda), start doing (exercise at least occasionally), and be better at (you name it...). I think it is time for me to be the kind of person I really want to be and stop wishing I was her. I am going to be a builder, a builder of my family, my children, myself, and those who I come in contact with. I can choose love, service, and sacrifice over bitterness, hurt feelings and selfishness. I can choose to do more of what He sees and less of what only others can see. Some of those choices will be easy ones and others will be much more difficult, but I can't see how this can do anything but make my life better and more fulfilling. I am ready for a new year, making better choices, loving more, giving more, and taking less, even if that means being invisible to some at times.

a choice...

2010-12-07T07:49:00.008-06:00

Since I last posted we have traveled to Indiana and back twice, had 1st day of school, 2 birthdays (including our very first slumber party), BELLA TURNED ONE, started ballet again, played flag football, dressed up as Harry Potter, Tinkerbell, Sleeping Beauty and a ballerina, built an amazing fire pit in our yard, traveled all the way to Washington D.C. for a family reunion/Thanksgiving, had the first beautiful snowfall of the season, had the first nasty flu of the season, chopped down and decorated our Christmas tree and so so much more. No wonder I have had no time to blog!

I love looking back at all the pictures and all the memories. It almost always makes me cry, in a happy way. Who am I kidding? I am just a crier, happy or sad. I want to do better at recording all of these precious moments so that I will always remember them. It's hard to find the time or to at least make it a priority. Sometimes in life we go through really hard things, things that are devastating and heartbreaking and those things change us. When those things happen, because they do happen to all of us, the last thing I want to do is examine my life for things to write about in my blog. Those are the times when it is hard to see the hand of the Lord in my life and when I need to see it the most. It's often or maybe always so much easier to wallow than to search. I am choosing to stop wallowing and start searching. I have many many blessings in my life and I am choosing to start seeing them, acknowledging them and being grateful for them. It's a much better place to be and I do believe it is a choice we can make.

love this little holiday gem from 2004

Summer = together, I like together...

2010-06-28T13:13:00.017-05:00

I am feeling the need to blog lately. I am also feeling that my blog needs a face lift. I will need to enlist the help of my husband for that. So much has happened and I am loving having all my little blessing home and around me everyday! Not that there wasn't a transition period! We have successfully made it through that transition and now life is sweet again.

First there is my sweet baby Bella who is 8 months old! She was born and I blinked and now she's big and eating food and drinking juice in a cup! She is teething and so not happy about it, which is a change for Bella. Bella is always happy and a total mama's girl. I love that! She loves to be tickled and she loves when any of her sisters or brother pay attention to her. I swear her hair gets more red everyday and it's gorgeous! I love my little red hair girls. Bella is just happy and sweet and perfect and I am still so in love with my dream baby!

Molly is having a great time with the big kids home. She missed them, a lot. It was Molly who had the hardest transition. She's used to running the house while the kids are at school and having lots of my attention. She has finally found her way with everyone home and now she's loving life again. Molly just finished her first ever dance class and she LOVED it! My little Molly looked so tiny next to the other girls, but she did great. She keeps asking when it's time to go to class and it's over now and she is sad. There is no substitute for dance. Molly will be signed up for dance again in September and she's already asking me how many days until September? Molly is trying swim lessons right now but she'd rather not. Usually, Molly loves the water and she wants to swim on her own. At swim lessons she sits on the side and cries and says she doesn't want to get her bow wet (even when she's not wearing a bow!) Who knows why Molly does anything? She is the reason for all of my gray hairs! She goes to the potty when SHE wants to and she goes to sleep when SHE wants to. She must wear a skirt or a dress everyday and she loves jewelry and sparkly shoes and magic wands, but she also loves dirt and mud and Lucas's bakugan's. She's always saying,"Remember when... That was so funny!" Molly is an individual and she does things in her own way and in her own time. She has been that way since before she was born. I am learning to accept this about Molly. With that acceptance has come less battling and much more laughter and enjoyment. I am still working on it, but oh how I love that girl who looks just like me.

My cute red headed Emma and her cute pink glasses that always slide down her nose making her look like a little grandma. She is so sensitive and so nurturing and so much like me that she drives me crazy! Emma has been doing cheerleading for the past 3 weeks and she loves it. In a few weeks she will start swimming lessons too and she can't wait. I love when Emma is home. She floats so easily between playing with Molly or Bella and playing with Lucas. She loves to help and be domestic. She is always wanting to cook and she can fold a whole basket of towels PERFECTLY (half, half again and then in thirds)! She is so excited for first grade and hoping for the same teacher Lucas had. She loves and looks up to her big brother so much. She is so so smart and loves to read. She is always reading and I do mean always, in her bed walking down the hall, walking down the stairs, in the car, in the bathroom, when she is supposed to be playing with friends or cleaning. ALWAYS! I wish she had more confidence. I pray and worry about that for her all the time. I want her to know that she is good, strong, smart, capable, worthy and loved. How do I make sure my daughter knows that? It took me a LONG time to know that and I still struggle with it.

Lucas is loving summer. All the sports he could want! Finally learning to ride a two wheeler has made bike riding suddenly so much more fun and finally losing a tooth! Lucas has also discovered the wonderful world of Harry Potter and he has caught the fever. I am amazed that he has read the first 4 books in the last 6 weeks!!! I told him I would read the books with him, since I had never read them. It's hard to keep up with him. We are both enjoying talking about the books and sometimes staying up late and cuddling up while we read a chapter together. Lucas has always been my cuddler. Lucas is playing coach pitch baseball this summer and starting swim lessons soon too. He's just having fun being outside and playing with friends. He finished 1st grade in a blaze of glory playing the lead part in his class musical. It was so fun for him and so fun for me to watch him. I think he caught the acting bug! Lucas is growing up so fast and takes good care of his sisters, but still wishing for a brother. We will have to wait and see. The jury is still out on that topic...

Joe is busier than ever before, if that's possible. He's transitioning to a new role at work and feeling good about that. He is the young men's president in our ward and I never knew how much work that was going to be. Holy Cow! It's only been about 9 months so we are in for the long haul on that one. Joe works hard and he works hard for us. I know that. I do. I have to remind myself constantly. Joe never does anything half way or just enough and it's a wonderful quality to have. But, honestly I struggle with it. I struggle with it A LOT. He is gone a lot (work and church responsibilities) and that means the kids and I are on our own a lot. I just miss him when he's not around. I miss him a lot. I am trying harder to just be grateful for when he is here and not thinking how long until he is gone again. It's hard for me and I will never be great at it, but I am trying. I know that when we put the Lord first in our lives, serve first, that everything works out and falls into place. Doors are opened, blessings come. Now if I could just remember those truths when the kids are fighting and the baby's crying and there are mountains of laundry and dishes in the sink spilling over to the counters and cereal smashed all over the floor and earwigs in the basement and the toilet flooding and the toddler has peed on the couch yet again and Joe is out of town on yet another business trip, if I could remember then...that would be something.

I love summer. I love having my family all together. The time we share together is so precious. There is so much I want my children to know and I feel the urgency. I want them to know who they are and where they came from and what they can become. I want them to know that I love them and the Lord loves them. That's what I want and that's what I am trying to do here at home everyday. That's why today instead of starting dinner we played 4 square in the driveway while Bella was napping. And why when I was putting Bella down for her nap, I let her nurse and snuggle as long as she wanted. I didn't look at the clock or think about the next thing on my very long, ever growing to do list. I was just there in the moment with my sweet baby, breathing in that wonderful scent trying to capture that memory.

Then and Now

2010-06-10T08:05:00.006-05:00

Today I am thinking about this...

I really love these kids! I think they are so adorable and so amazing. I couldn't be more proud of them! Where does the time go?

The best Valentine EVER!

2010-02-12T15:59:00.003-06:00

My Mom, My Valentine...

Mom, I love you more than pumpkin pie. I love you more than my dad. I even love you more than football. I love you like a moon loves night. I love the smell of your potato soup. I love the taste of your baked potatoes. I love the sound of your heart beat. I love the feel of your head against mine. I love when you find time to cuddle with me. I love you, I love you, I love you, I do!

From your kid, Lucas

It's been awhile...

2010-01-26T10:35:00.017-06:00

I really have done more in the last 4 months than have a beautiful sweet baby. It's definitely the best thing I have done, though. Life with 4 kids is crazy busy, but most of the time I love it. It's hard,but good hard.

I totally missed all the holidays so here is a really quick highlight version with some too cute to be missed pictures.

Thanksgiving:

I had my first official Thanksgiving at home and I loved it! My mom and my sister came up and we had so much fun. I had a great time cooking and baking and everything turned out great, even if I made WAY too much food. The day after Thanksgiving I went shopping with my mom and Jaimee (and Bella too!) at 5:00 in the morning! The next day we took the kids and Jaimee to get our very first REAL Christmas tree. The deal I made with Joe a long time ago was when we have a house then we can get a real tree. I have to say that I LOVED having a real tree and I don't think I can ever go back now.

Just before Christmas:

Right before Christmas we got a phone call letting us now that my great grandma had passed away. She was an amazing woman and always very special to me. Emma is named after her and the two of them had a special connection. While we were all sad to see her leave this world, we know that we will be with her again someday.

It was nice to be with all of our extended family. Most of them had never met Molly so we had 2 beautiful girls to introduce. I think it's safe to say that my cousin David and Bella are officially in love!

Christmas/New Year's:

We got back from Indiana the day before Christmas Eve and had a million things to do. It was a little crazy but we made it and ended up having a great Christmas with all the kids. Band Hero was definitely the biggest hit and a huge surprise to Joe thanks to my mom! We have several budding rock stars in our family and I am pretty sure Emma is ready to change her name to Taylor Swift!

New Year's was the typical lots of game playing and a crazy hard 1000 piece puzzle. Lucas and Emma made it to midnight, but Molly passed out on the floor about 10:00.

I really love being at home with our little family during the holidays. It's great to be with our extended family but I am loving the peace of just being home together. This year Joe took off work for the 2 weeks that the kids were home. It was heaven! We all loved having him home and were really sad when it was time to go back to work. I really love my husband and it was great to have 2 weeks to spend together laughing and falling in love all over again like a bunch of teenagers!

Now:

Now Bella is 3 months old!!! Lucas is about to turn 7! Molly is doing AWESOME at potty training!!! Emma is doing great at her ballet class and the recital is coming up soon! Joe, of course, it out of town this week and busy being young men's president. I am recommiting to being a good wife, a good mother, finding more patience and finding joy in the small everyday moments of motherhood.

Beautiful Happiness

2009-11-05T09:39:00.005-06:00

Bella Felicity McGuire was born Monday, October 26, 2009 at 6:46 p.m. She weighed 8lbs. 14oz. and was 21" long. There are no words for how in love with this beautiful girl I am. She is a dream baby. We only ever hear her cry when she is getting her diaper changed and then she's totally content again. Oh, and she sleeps...at night even! I think I have some kind of magic sleeping powers. All 4 of my babies have been great sleepers right from the start and they still are. So here is the birth story for all those interested. True to form, I was induced late. After arguing with my doctor for 9 months about how this was going happen, she induced me without me having to convince her. So Joe and I went to St. Mary's Friday afternoon about 11:30. Everyone was so nice and expecting me and knew my name. That was very comforting because I was so nervous about having a baby in a new place. I had wonderful experiences in the past and I didn't know what to expect here in Madison. I was in a hurry to get started but it was about 2:00 before I was hooked up to the pitocin. Then we walked and walked and played a Twilight trivia game on the iphone. After about 10 laps I was tired and we headed back to my room. Then the doctor (who was not my doctor but I loved her way more then my own) and the resident (who I did not care for at all) came in. Not much was happening up to that point. I was having a few contractions but nothing that I was really feeling. While they were there I had a horrible contraction that I was feeling right in my back and I thought I was going to die because it lasted so long. Then nothing again for a while. Sometime around 4:00 I was getting pretty regular contractions that were very strong and lasting a REALLY long time. I was still just 4cm and my water hadn't broken yet, but I was ready for my epidural. So about 20 minutes later the anesthesiologist came to my rescue. The relief lasted about 5 whole minutes before I was feeling serious pressure that I could hardly stand. The resident and the nurse said it was just my bag of water and as soon as it broke the pressure would be gone. Just a few minutes later my water did break on it's own and then the pressure was worse. The babies heart beat kept going down with contractions and they some how manged to get me on my hands and knees. I wasn't feeling the contractions just a lot of pressure. The resident checked me said I was 6cm then he left the room. Literally a minute later the doctor checked me and said I was ready to push. The baby was still up pretty high but as soon as I started pushing she came right down. Her heart rate was still dropping with the contractions so the doctor asked if she could make a little cut just to help get her out faster. I think I said something to the effect of I don't care just get her out!!!. Next push Bella was born, beautiful pink and screaming. They were worried that cord might have been around her neck but it wasn't. It was just a really fast labor and she was ready to come out. It was wonderful to get to hold her right away. With all the complications Molly had, it was several hours before I saw her and longer before I could hold her. Having that time with Bella right away was something I did not take for granted. She was finally here and healthy and she was mine. And per her father's request she did show up in time for Monday night football kickoff! Daddy has another little princess and I swear she swoons when he speaks Italian to her. Bella's name means "beautiful happiness" and so far she has lived up to her name.

*On a side note, I appreciate that residents need to learn. I do not however appreciate that they need to learn about stitching on me. It a little unnerving to hear the doctor, on more than one occasion say,"No! No! Not like that." I just tried to block it out. I also forgot how painful those stitches are to heal from. I hadn't had them since Lucas was born. Stairs are not my friend!

Some Beautiful pictures of my beautiful Bella:

*pictures by Jenifer Lee

First day of school for Lucas AND Emma...

2009-09-10T09:41:00.006-05:00

September !st was the first day of school for my 2 big kids. How is it possible that we have 2 kids in school??? It happened so fast!

Emma started kindergarten and has the same teacher that Lucas had last year. It was good for her to start out with that comfort level and we LOVE Mrs. Schauf. She has 2 little girlfriends that she sits with everyday and now there is a new friend, a boy named Ayden that she likes to play with too. Emma seems so grown up now. She had a little more apprehension then Lucas did about starting school, but within a few days she came into her own. No more taking her inside or even walking her to the front door. "Just drop me off at the curb Mom." Emma is making friends and having fun and today she got to be the sharing friend (show and tell) which is exciting and last week she got to celebrate her birthday on the 3rd day of school, complete with cupcakes from Mom. Emma may be the youngest kid in her class, but she was so ready for school. She can hardly stand the weekends because she wants to go to school. Emma is doing great. I couldn't have hoped for a better start to the school year for her.

Lucas moved on up to the the PC (primary center where 1st and 2nd grade attend, across the field from Emma's school). He was so excited to start back to school and see his friends. There are a few people in his class that he knew from last year, but Lucas has already made a ton of new friends. He loves his teacher Mrs. Prehn. She plays the guitar and their class puts on a musical later in the school year. Lucas has already got a few rewards for making good choices and being a good friend to his classmates. He loves playing basketball at recess with some 2nd grade boys that he met. Then when school is done he walks down to Emma's school where the girls and I are waiting. Lucas is thriving as usual. And just like my little brother, Lucas has already lost a jacket before the end of the second week of school!

I somehow made it through the start of the school year without any tears! Even without all the water works, it someways it was harder to leave my daughter on the first day of school than my son. I just have more of an urge to protect her or something. Molly is adjusting to being alone with Mom all day. She is a self entertainer and I am so grateful for that! And now that it's quiet around here Molly finally started talking a ton and using complete sentences. She was just waiting for a chance to talk! We all survived the beginning of a new school year and we are going to our first school sponsored activity tomorrow night. Now onto preparing for our new baby who should hopefully be arriving in about 5 1/2 weeks...

A few cute pics to tide you over...

2009-09-04T17:12:00.002-05:00

A few of my favorite summer photos:

We're still alive, if there was any doubt...

2009-09-04T14:21:00.004-05:00

All though it may seem as if we have just disappeared of the the face of the Earth, we have not. We've just relocated. We found and bought (with much much drama) a house we adore. Still working on unpacking, getting the baby's room ready and how exactly to care for our 1.2 acre yard that is currently harboring house guests...moles. Most of the summer has been spent planning, packing, moving and unpacking. We also played soccer and t-ball, went to 6 Flags and a trip to Indiana too. In the last few weeks I sent my 2 oldest to kindergarten and first grade, celebrated Emma's birthday and moved into our new house. I think we were trying to see how many life changing events we could go through at one time and besides everything is more fun when you are 7 1/2 months pregnant! I will at least try to post about the big stuff I missed like first day of school, Emma's birthday, the new house, and the latest baby news. They all deserve there own post and there are some cute pictures you need to see too, like Emma's new short hair cut! I just need to get through this weekend and maybe then I can blog a little before baby #4 shows up.

Good news from the eye doctor...

2009-06-16T16:46:00.003-05:00

Emma had her eye appointment after 2 months of patching. I was nervous about what the results were going to be. I was just hoping that it was working and maybe we could patch a few less hours. Emma did AMAZING!!!! In just 2 months of patching her vision her weak eye imporved 6 lines on the eye chart! SIX LINES!!!!!!!! That is so amazing. She went from only being able to see the big E and squinting and straining to see the next line, to reading just 4 lines from the bottom. She is now just 4 lines away from 20/20 in her weak eye with her glasses on! We celebrated by going out to lunch at McDonalds. Dr. Bradfield said she has never seen such drastic improvement in such a short amount of time of patching. Now we only have to patch 6 hours a day and we go back in 2 more months for another check up. Her glasses prescription stayed the same. We should have more to report in 2 months. We are hoping that by then we will be down to 4 hours of patching a day so Emma won't have to wear her patch to kindergarten. Emma is fine wearing her patch to school, but Mommy doesn't want to if we don't have too!

Other news:
We have a very busy month with tap and t-ball, Daddy traveling for work, going to 6 Flags and coming to Indiana the 1st of July. Summer is going to fly by. We are still looking for a house and hoping to find one before the baby comes, but we'll see.

It's a ...

2009-06-11T16:55:00.004-05:00

GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, another little girl for us. We were all hoping boy but we are excited about having another girl. The very first thing when we started the ultrasound it was obviously a girl. When the ultrasound tech told us neither Joe or I said anything. Then she let me go empty my bladder a little and when I came back I said,"Can you believe we're having another girl?!?" I think I was a little in shock. Girls are fun and I've definitely got this girl thing down. I am a little nervous about having 3 teenage girls at the same time, but I guess we've got awhile until then! Knowing the sex of the baby does make this all feel more real and the kids are having fun talking to her now that they now she's a girl. But having so much girl stuff already I can hardly justify a shopping trip for this little one! Maybe some new hair bows... Sorry it took me so long to post this. I figured I had already talked to anyone that was dying to know.

I've been wrong every time...

2009-06-02T13:57:00.002-05:00

Blue or Pink...what do you think?

*results coming next Tuesday...

I hear a beat...how sweet

2009-04-16T18:42:00.006-05:00

Today I had an OB appointment and I actually got to meet my doctor for the first time. I don't know that I will ever love any doctor like I did my old one, but I am willing to try. She seems nice enough and I guess we will see as time goes on. I did ask about inductions, since I have NEVER actually gone into labor on my own. She said she won't let me go more than 2 weeks over. She wants to give my body a chance to do what it's supposed to. 2 weeks!!! I think a week over is plenty. If I go 2 weeks over I will be having this baby on Halloween! So the doctor and I are getting to know each other and we will talk some more about going 2 weeks over as things progress. The best part about today was finally getting to hear that precious heart beat. It was the most wonderful sound. I had seen the heart beat on an earlier ultrasound, but it was much sweeter getting to hear it for the first time. I am already getting anxious to meet this little one, but there is still a long way to go.

March Madness McGuire Style...

2009-04-08T15:58:00.009-05:00

* This is especially for my Aunt Karen who was apparently complaining about my lack of blogging over Easter weekend. You know I love you!!!

I am a blog slacker and you all have let me know it in oh so many ways. So I'm back or at least I am playing catch up on all the major things from the last month. Sit back and enjoy because this is going to be a LONG post.

1. My sweet little Molly Genevieve turned 2! I really can't believe that she is 2. It still makes me sad. Time goes by so fast and they just keep growing up. It feels like only yesterday she so dramatically entered the world. 2 weeks in the NICU and then 4 weeks after that we moved to Wisconsin with a tiny baby on tons of medication and an apnea monitor. Molly is still small but she is mighty and spunky. She is very playful and she has the most girly little giggle. Molly has some serious hero worship going on with big sister and would rather die than be separated from her. I hope my girls always stay this close. Molly loves all things Diego and is just starting to pretend play. Molly also is a Taylor Swift fan. Multiple times a day she turns the cd on in the cd player and dances her little heart out and sings a long! It has been a whirlwind romance with my youngest daughter these past 2 years and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Finally a kid who looks like me and broke through those McGuire genes (not that they're not good looking genes)!

2. Back in January my beautiful sweet Emma got glasses, cute pink glasses and she loves them. We thought that was the end of the story... but it wasn't. We went back to the eye doctor for a check up and her vision had not improved. Emma has amblyopia, sometimes called a lazy eye. We had noticed her one eye sometimes crossing which is why went went to the eye doctor in the first place. The doctor seemed to think that just getting glasses would help, but it didn't help at all. We left the eye doctor with the news that Emma would have to wear a patch over her strong eye to force her brain into using her weak eye. So now Emma has to wear her patch every day for 8 hours. It was shocking news and I was really emotional about it. Emma is doing amazingly well wearing her patch. The first day was a battle with lots of tears, but since then we've had no problems. She even brings me her patch every morning to put on! I am so proud of her! The patch Emma wears is kind of like a big band-aid. We did order some with cute designs on them for my girlie girl. She's all about accessorizing these days. My big concern is how long are we going to have to do this for. The doctor was unwilling to give me any kind of time frame other than,"at least a year". The hope is that with total compliance that the number of hours will go down every few months as her eye improves.

Other Emma news... On Friday Emma has kindergarten screening which is the first step in trying to get Emma to kindergarten early. She misses the cut off date by 2 days and she's so ready for school. Next week Emma starts her tap class again and later in the summer she going to try her hand at soccer. Emma is doing great despite her present challenges. She is such a good sister and always very willing to help.

3. Oh, and I turned 29 for only the first of many times to come.

4. This is for the 2 people who don't know or haven't figured it out yet...

I'M PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We couldn't be more excited! I am 13 weeks and due on October 19th, grandpa Bill's birthday. And yes, I am only 13 weeks even though I have been showing for a good 8 weeks now! So much for keeping a secret. The kids are really excited and Lucas is really hoping for a brother. "Please no more girls Mom!" I am a little nervous about having a baby in a place that is so unfamiliar, but Cindy has promised to come stay when the baby comes.

5. I think that's about all I can handle for now. We had a great Easter weekend that came at the end of a great spring break (pictures to come). We took a little mini vacation to Rockford, Illinois and swam in the pool and played miniature golf and go karts. This week Molly has a terrible cold and Joe is in San Fransisco for the week. We are a little sad and lonely without Joe, but we are hanging in there. Time to get the kids to bed. Molly already went to bed at 6 because she wasn't feeling well. Here's a little treat for all of you who love to complain about how you need a new picture of all 3 of the kids.

This is as good as it gets!

Molly in the morning...

2009-02-27T11:19:00.003-06:00

One of my most favorite things is getting Molly out of bed in the morning. She wakes up sooo happy everyday. As soon as I walk in her room she starts running laps around her bed and jumping. Then she starts talking and babbling so fast that I can't understand a word she says. It's like she had the best dream and she can't wait to tell me all about it. She showers me with tons of hugs and kisses on the way to change her diaper and then she starts with the family list. Every morning she goes down the list...

"Where's Dad?" ..... "Dad's at work."
"Where's Bubba?" ..... "Bubba's at school."
"Where's Memma" ..... "Memma's playing down stairs."
"Where's Mimi (mommy)" ..... "I don't know. Where?" ... "Right there!"
(repeat 10 times)

Then it's off to breakfast where Molly tells me she wants cho's and toes (cheerios and toast) and nik (milk) please. The rest of the day she's a typical almost 2 year old with tantrums, moments of joy and silliness, and the beloved afternoon nap, but mornings with Molly are sweet and special and something to get out of bed for.

February in review...

2009-02-24T09:03:00.006-06:00

(I tried to upload pictures but it would only do one, then it would crash. So, I will try to post pictures some other time)

Well I have been a slacker blogger for the month of February and not for lack of worthy material either. February is a busy time in our family with lots of birthdays. So this is what we did this month:

Sometime the first week of February Emma got glasses, not just any glasses...pink ones. She loves them and is doing so great wearing them. She looks so cute in her glasses and I am just glad that she likes them. Another first for Emma this month was her first Valentine from a cute boy at church! So cute!!!

February 5th Lucas turned 6 years old! For some reason 6 just seems so much older than 5. We had our first "friends from school" party and it was so much fun. We went sledding on the big hill near our house in very slushy almost gone snow. Then the kids had a great time doing a Daddy made "Batman in training obstacle course" in the back yard. The party was a success and it was nice having family here too. Lucas is already planning for next year.

February 14 was Joe's 29th birthday. It was pretty low key. The kids had fun making and decorating Daddy's cake. And we are still having fun reminding Daddy that he is older than Mommy now, at least for 2 more weeks. That night we went to a stake Valentine's dance at church. We were prepared for it to be lame, but it was actually fun! Joe and I really like going to dances. We've gotta find a way to chaperon some youth dances. We probably wouldn't be the best chaperons though...

Since then it just been someone with a cold or the flu or something like that. Molly has been very busy learning to take off her clothes and her diaper in her bed. Not my idea of fun! She is the first one of my kids to do this. In fact she is the first one of my kids to do lots of things like that. She has been Emma's side kick all day everyday and they get into lots of trouble together. Just last week Molly again took off all her clothes and her diaper and colored with markers all over her body. I'm pretty sure that she had some help with that one!

March is filled with even more birthdays so I will try to keep up better!

25 random things about me...

2009-02-04T16:32:00.005-06:00

1. I love Christmas; the sights, the sounds, the smells, everything about it. I even start listening to Christmas music in September. It drives my husband crazy.

2. I met my husband at E.F.Y. when I was 17 and I knew he was the guy I was supposed to marry. We took a round about way of getting there, but nothing has ever been so right.

3. More than anything else right now I want to be pregnant. Nothing is worse than losing a baby when all you are hoping and dreaming for is a baby.

4. I really love my brother. He is a great guy and a great Uncle. I wished he lived closer. I really miss him and I am so happy that he is going to be here on Friday.

5. I get together every Thursday night with my 2 best girlfriends for my own personal sanity. I don't know how I ever survived without it before.

6. I don't have a sweet tooth. I prefer chips and fries to cake and candy.

7. I love cooking dinner for my family and trying new recipes. I can cook , but baking...not so much.

8. The only dream I had as a girl was to be a mother. I am living the dream and it really is a dream come true.

9. I am way too sensitive and I cry at the drop of a hat. It's the one thing I wished I hadn't passed along to my son.

10. I love flip flops and I have them in all kinds of colors, some with bows, some with sequins, etc... I know they are terrible for your feet, but I love them anyway. I even wear them to church.

11. I really want to learn how to sew. I am getting a sewing machine for my birthday next month. Anyone want to volunteer to teach me how to use it?

12. In college I made extra money doing hair for all the fraternity/sorority formals. It was a lot of fun. That's why my girls have long hair. I love to play with it.

13. I am completely obsessed with Twilight. It is a serious problem. I have read all the books more times than I am willing to admit, but lets just say it's more than 4! I can't stop.

14. I am a meat and potatoes kind of girl. Growing up we had roast and potatoes every Sunday and I hated it. The first time I came home after being away it was the first thing I asked for.

15. I never do dishes. My husband does has and always will be the official dish washer in my house.

16. I am really anal about how I do my laundry. I inherited this from my mother.

17. I don't like t.v. and I don't like it when my kids watch t.v. I really could live without it, except for during football season...

18. Tom Brady is my celebrity boyfriend. We've been together since his college days in Michigan. I'm willing to over look his illegitimate child, super model girlfriend and the fact that the Patriots are a bunch of cheaters, because he is REALLY HOT and no one should look that good in a football uniform!

19. I used to coach cheerleading and it was so so much fun. I really miss it and I am trying to figure out away to get involved here.

20. When all my kids are in school I will go back to school too. School was fun and I was good at it.

21. I play fantasy football and I like it. Oh, and I always beat my husband too!

22. I really like having painted toe nails, but I prefer my finger nails to be naked.

23. I am shy and sometimes people take it the wrong way like I am stuck up or something, but I really am just shy. In high school all my friends were guys and mostly in college too, but after you get married you really have to learn to be friends with girls. I think it's hard, but I really do want to be your friend!

24. I have serious house envy of all my friends. I REALLY REALLY want a house.

25. I am very flexible. My elbows are double jointed and I can still do the splits, seriously.

Anticipation...

2009-01-28T20:58:00.004-06:00

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home
Glad as I can be
Clap my hands and shout for joy and climb upon his knee
Put my arms around his neck
Hug him tight like this
Pat his cheeks and give him what...
A GREAT BIG KISS!

Oh, and the kids are usually pretty excited to see him too.

One more day...

a letter from Daddy...

2009-01-27T08:07:00.004-06:00

Dear Lucas, Emma and Molly,

Good morning! Give each other a hug for me. While you are reading this I am on an airplane to Ohio, but I'm thinking about you the WHOLE time I'm gone.

Be great helpers for Mom. She needs your help the most when I am gone.

Remember to say your personal prayers when you wake up and when you go to bed! I'll be praying for you.

I can't wait to see you all on Friday! Now go give mom a big kiss and say, "This is from Dad!"

I love you all,

Dad

Pint Sized Protector

2009-01-23T09:31:00.005-06:00

Emma has a lot of heart. Whatever she chooses to do she does it all the way. She's sassy and spirited and stubborn as all get out, but as dominant as those characteristics are to Emma she loves even more fiercely.

This week we made a trip to the library. There was a line at the check out counter and so we were waiting. There was a little boy in front of us standing on the steps. He turned around and recognized Lucas from school. The boy starting talking rather loudly to Lucas. "Hey! I know you. I know what bus you ride. You ride the giraffe bus. I've seen you before." The boy just kept saying this. Lucas finally said,"Um, actually, I don't ride the bus." The boy kept on anyway insisting that Lucas DID ride the bus. Lucas being the good natured guy that he is just let it go. That was not good enough for Emma. Who did this boy think he was talking to HER brother like that? She was ready to pick a fight with a boy who was much bigger than she and standing on the steps he might as well have been a giant! It went a little something like this,"Hey! You can't talk to my brother like that! His name is Lucas and he is 5 years old and he goes to kindergarten and he does NOT ride the bus!!! And he's my brother!!!" I literally had to hold her back and put my hand over her mouth. This was after all the library and she was definitely not using her "inside" voice! Lucas was so embarrassed. Emma was just defending her brother. No way was she going to stand by and let someone say something that was not true about her brother.

Later that same night...
It was bedtime and Molly had been brushing her teeth for a good half an hour at least. We were trying to corral all the kids to the living room to sing and pray. Molly, apparently was still not done brushing her teeth. Daddy picked her up and removed her from the bathroom and set her down in the hall. Molly responded by forcefully throwing herself onto the floor in a fit that we have grown accustomed to lately. (Luckily it only lasts a minute.) I had to laugh to keep from crying in all the chaos of the evening. Emma was also in the hall, but she only heard Molly "fall" and scream and saw her at Daddy's feet. Emma was horrified! "Don't kick my sister, Dad!" Joe laughed. Big mistake! "It's not funny! Why would you do that???" Emma runs to Molly to comfort her telling her everything will be okay. It took some time to convince Emma that Daddy did NOT kick Molly, that he would never kick any of his children. Emma is a good sister. She loves her brother and her sister very very much. So don't mess with them or you will have to answer to Emma!

Bangs and a pony tail!

2009-01-14T19:35:00.003-06:00

Tonight Molly had her first ever haircut and it was only to get some bangs. It was pretty tricky cutting her bangs upside down and backwards in the mirror while she was brushing her teeth, but we made it work. She's a big girl now! Her first ever hair cut was then followed by her first ever big girl pony tail. She's so stinkin' cute even if she didn't want me to take her picture.

Brrrrrrr

2009-01-12T07:08:00.004-06:00

From the National Weather Service:

VERY COLD AIR WILL REACH SOUTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN BEHIND THE
CLIPPER LATE TONIGHT. THE COLD TEMPERATURES AND WINDY CONDITIONS
WILL CAUSE DANGEROUSLY LOW WIND CHILLS LATE TONIGHT INTO TUESDAY
MORNING. WIND CHILLS OF 20 TO 30 BELOW ZERO ARE EXPECTED.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. Batten down the hatches, light up the fireplace, enjoy the Wisconsin winter...

Say it aint so...

2009-01-10T19:52:00.002-06:00

Tonight Emma walked into the living room to find her beloved Daddy snuggling on the couch with another woman...Mommy. She responded,"But Daddy!!! I thought you loved ME best!" Oh poor Emma to find her one true love in the arms of another.

I'm back! Did you miss me?

2009-01-06T19:33:00.006-06:00

Well, now that the holidays are officially over I am out of excuses for not blogging. The holidays were good to us. We LOVE LOVE having Christmas at home! It's wonderful. Sorry families, no offense. We love all the sledding and the big Christmas Eve dinner and tracking Santa on the computer, waking up to stockings in our beds followed by a whole day of staying home in our cute new Christmas pj's and playing with all of our Christmas loot and just being together. This year we got a Wii and it is safe to say we are all in love, even Molly. Poor Devin Soleberg really needs a Wii!

We had a great time on our trip to Michigan. It was full of late nights and game playing and of course hooking up the Wii to the projector in the library. Oh, and don't forget the 2 days with no power!!! Thanks goodness for generators, gas stoves, and gas water heaters. Joe and I also got a night out together at the bed and breakfast we stayed at on our wedding night. It was oh so fabulous and romantic. Being married for 7 years has been amazing and I am still so crazy in love. We are kind of sickening to be around sometimes, but I don't care!

We are so so happy to be home and back to routine. If only I could get my house totally recovered now... maybe someday. The new year brings a fresh start and new hopes for the future. More resolve to do the things I should and stop the things I shouldn't. Mostly I am hoping not to get addicted to facebook and to break my addiction to reading the Twilight series over and over again. Who needs to read about Edward when I have my own real life version? In all honesty neither of those things are likely to happen. I just want to continue to grow and be the best version of myself. That is my goal for 2009. Tonight my husband is working very late, Molly has a fever and Emma is having a hard time staying in her bed. I don't think we are going to have everyone healthy here until spring! Time to go be that best version of myself I was talking about and tuck my darling Emma back into bed for the 1000th time tonight!

Hiatus...

2008-12-13T19:23:00.004-06:00

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am going on a blogging hiatus until the new year. It's an early Christmas present to myself. Sorry to anyone who wakes up dying to know what is happening with all my crazy monkeys. Check out the other animals in the zoo if you are really that hard up for entertainment. See ya next year!

About that holiday I forgot to blog about...

2008-12-09T14:20:00.007-06:00

I know that it's been a while since there has been a real post. Honestly, I just haven't felt much like blogging lately. A lot has happened and now it's too overwhelming to try to post about all of it. So here is the cliff's notes version and a few random pics.

(Scottie and Lucas with pink eye)

THANKSGIVING:
We went to Indiana and the trip seemed like it took forever! We visited some friends and then went to my mom's. I made a yummy Thanksgiving dinner for my mom, brother and sister (and of course my hubby and kids too). We watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade...my favorite part of Thanksgiving. We spent the rest of the night at my Grandparent's House catching up with extended family.

(Emma and her one true love Uncle Scottie)

Friday there was some fun shopping with the girls followed my the Christmas tree lighting in downtown Indianapolis with a serious hook up from my awesome brother! Thanks Scottie! Saturday was all manner of chaos with people locked out of houses and a medical emergency. Long, long story. We did have fun celebrating Lindsey's 2nd birthday a little early too.

(Grandma Shirley and the grandkids)

Sunday was another long trip home with Joe leaving to go out of town the very next morning at something like 3:30 in the morning! I think I might have finally recovered from all that exhaustion. Tiring as it all was, we all had a great time and are glad we made the trip.

(cute pic of me and Joe at the tree lighting)

Since then, Joe has been called as Gospel Doctrine teacher and gotten a promotion of sorts at work. We're are looking forward to the pay raise that will bring come August. Joe is yet again out of town this week and last night my fantasy football season came to a crushing halt after losing to my very most favorite brother- in -law Ken. I am pretending to be sad for Ken's sake, since when he called to gloat last night I wasn't even aware that I was playing him. (My fantasy football team has been less than stellar this year and I gave up hope a long time ago.) I love you Ken! :)

Today is our first official snow day due a thick layer of ice followed by several inches of snow with more blowing and drifting snow to come all night. Why does it only snow when my husband goes out of town? More to come on our official snow day activities...

We've been elfed!

2008-12-04T11:21:00.001-06:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Oh, Edward!

2008-11-21T08:18:00.002-06:00

Only 11 more hours until I go see Twilight!!!!! I can hardly wait!
Click here if you can hardly wait too.

Bunkbed forts are awesome...

2008-11-18T12:04:00.009-06:00

Most nights my kids go to bed when they are supposed to. They are rule followers. At least Lucas is, anyway, and since Lucas and Emma share a room Lucas polices and enforces the rules at bedtime...usually...not Monday night.

Joe and I were cleaning the kitchen and enjoying having a grown up conversation. The kids had both been out of bed several times already and then they were silent. Joe and I were commenting on how we couldn't believe that they were sleeping. It's because they were so not sleeping. They were whispering and being sneaky. Being sneaky is what Emma does best. I'm still not sure whose idea it was, but I am pretty sure that it was Emma who convinced Lucas to follow through with the plan.

I walked down the hall to their room, heard the whispers, and turned on the light to this...

I wasn't sure what I thought about this or what to say, so I did what any good mom would do...I called for my husband (reinforcements) to come. Joe was doing a miserable job holding in the laughter and appreciation for their genius fort making abilities and told them not to move. He left the room to get the camera, all the while he was gone the kids were so worried about what Daddy was going to do. Lucas thought he was gone to get the scissors to cut down their blankets! Joe came back,"What you did was a very bad choice. It's a school night and waaaaay past your bed time, but this is awesome and I'm going to take your picture now." Hence the big smiles in the picture because Daddy said their fort was awesome. Then sadly, Daddy helped them take their fort down and promised they could build another one after school the next day, followed by a little talk about when it is "appropriate" to build a fort in your bed.

There has been excessive fort building around here ever since. Including the one the kids made this morning at 6:30 am. In fact Emma is sleeping in it right now. Who needs toys when you have bunk beds?

The short of it

2008-11-08T12:53:00.004-06:00

Alright all you blog lurkers out there. If you like my new hair cut (and even if you don't) you will leave shameless comments on my blog telling me how gorgeous I am and that I have the cutest hair cut ever! Let the compliments begin...

Boogie Babies

2008-11-04T17:47:00.008-06:00

Today was Emma's last day of dance class. It was fun and oh so very cute! Because of the terrible lighting my less than wonderful camera was having serious issues. I did manage to salvage a few pictures and a video. So here is our little ballerina for your viewing pleasure.

From the mind of Lucas...

2008-11-03T20:55:00.007-06:00

Lucas had two epiphanies today, one political and one domestic.

First: Lucas is voting for McCain. Yes, he is 5 and not eligible to vote, but he declared this afternoon that he is voting for McCain. On our way to run errands after school he asked,"What's all this voting business about? There are signs everywhere!" Lucas loves to read us all the signs while we are driving i.e., stop, yield, cow crossing, no passing zone, speed limit means 45 or under Mom not 55, vote Obama, vote McCain. So we had a brief lesson in what it means to vote and what exactly you are voting for. Basically, we decided that voting is getting to pick the people you want to run your community, county, state, nation. If only it were really that easy... For whatever reason Lucas has chosen McCain. Evidently he likes the name better. McCain, McGuire, I get it. He was even more sure that this was the right decision on our way back home. In our one stop light town there are lots of round-abouts. Tonight they were full of high school kids with posters yelling at cars driving by to vote for Obama. They were very enthusiastic to say the least. Lucas was all,"Mom what are they doing? Those Obama people are crazy. Besides, I already decided that I am voting for McCain." When we got home there was also a very large Obama door hanger on our front door. At this point all Lucas could say was,"Why couldn't we get a McCain one of these? That would be awesome!" Maybe Lucas has been secretly reading some of Mike's political blogs...;)

Second: Lucas's second great revelation came tonight when we were cleaning up before bed time. Lucas (and Emma too) hate to clean up the toys in the basement. It is the bain of his existence. There were only a few toys out and it only took us about 5 minutes to clean up. Lucas was AMAZED! "Wow! If you only get out a few toys and you put them away when you are done, you can be done cleaning up in no time and the basement never gets messy!" It was like he'd never heard this before. I've only been preaching it everyday of his life for the past 5 years!!! A true light bulb moment! Too bad it is sure not to last. I'll take what I can get, though. Oh, how I love my first born son. He is such a joy and I love how his mind works. Tonight there was a big bright star by the moon and Lucas informed me that it was not at all a star but a planet. He just needed to think about all the books he's read to remember if it was Venus or was it Mars, mmm.... "Not Mars, it's the red planet. No actually I think it is Jupiter, Mom. And did you know that when the moon looks like that it's waxing?" So I looked it up and he was right! It was Jupiter that we saw with the moon tonight. That's my Lucas! Click here for proof of his incredible astronomical genius.

(Totally unrelated to this post...Joe is in Dallas this week and I miss him terribly. I love you honey and I am counting the hours until we are together again. I can't sleep without you here. I love you!)

the mummy, the tiger, and the bunny

2008-11-01T12:47:00.014-05:00

First the Mummy... he is a cute mummy, a dead mummy, a try to be brave mummy and not a scary mummy. This mummy does not like scary. He had a great time trick or treating but not such a great time getting wrapped up. Apparently it is a little too much work bringing a mummy to life on Halloween night. Next year this mummy wants to be a ghost, less work and maintence in bringing a ghost to life for one night!

Second the Tiger... and yes she is a tiger and not Tigger, in case there was any confusion on the subject. She is a very fierce tiger who finds nothing about Halloween scary, and I mean nothing. In fact this tiger was heard on more than one occasion last night to say," Trick or Treat! Oh, and can I have another one for my big brother. He thinks your house is too scary. Thank you. HERE LUCAS! THEY GAVE ME ONE FOR YOU TOO. YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE SCARED!" When it was getting dark and things were becoming a little too scary for a certain mummy we dropped the daddy, the mummy and the little bunny off at a friend's house and the mommy and the tiger did 2 more blocks of trick or treating! The tiger even sang a little Halloween song in an effort to get more candy, and it worked! This tiger also wants to be a ghost next year because she always wants to be like a certain mummy we all know and love.

Third the bunny... and she was the cutest little bunny, especially that little bunny tail that wiggled when she walked. She too would have trick or treated all night if I let her. She is just as fierce as her tiger sister and not afraid of anything relating to Halloween. She just loved have anything to carry around in her little bucket. The neighbors could be passing out rocks and it would have been just as exciting! This little bunny has decided to not even wait until next year to be a tiger. She wore that tiger costume around all morning and was loving it!

The aftermath... like any good little kids Lucas and Emma got up early today to have an unauthorized breakfast of too much Halloween candy and Saturday morning cartoons. Lucky mommy was the one with them when they were coming down off their sugar high and melting down. Daddy was playing tennis!

Reflections of Christ

2008-10-29T12:29:00.004-05:00

This slide show and music are amazing. So when you have 6 minutes to sit and watch it the whole way through you should. Click HERE.

2 lists

2008-10-27T17:20:00.012-05:00

Things I got at Target today...
1. pink feety pajamas for Molly's bunny costume (it was a Carter's two pack. so soft and so cozy)
2. a black turtle neck for Emma, and a black fleece to wear with her tiger costume (it's cold and it was snowing today!)
3. plain white twin sheet set to be cut into strips for Lucas's mummy costume
4. 1 pack of Reece's Pieces
5. oh...and my period too...sad...very sad...very very sad...

Things I got at home today...
1. 2 napping kids and 1 1/2 hours to myself (much needed)
2. a phone call from a friend who knows me and knows what I need...thanks friend
3. time to read my book, gain perspective and lift my spirits slightly (also known as the 15 minutes waited for Lucas to come out of school at 3:15)
4. hot chocolate with the kiddos and tales of adventures from the day
5. a husband calling to say he's going to be awhile...clarification:30 minutes (ha!)
6. me calling said husband an hour later..."almost done" he promises
7. frozen pizza for dinner (see above)
8. Molly SAYING (not signing) want banana!!!!! (she even said banana with the "b" sound!)
9. a husband home 2 hours late (followed by a husband to be out of town for 2 days)
10. yummy treats from a mysterious Family Home Evening Phantom...(thanks! I needed that and the kids LOVED the glow sticks)
11. family prayer and scripture study
12. Hugs, Kisses, and Cuddles all around
13. some much needed tender mercies from a loving Heavenly Father who knows me and is mindful of my needs...that's what I am grateful for today.

What are you grateful for today?

Cute Pics from the past week

2008-10-26T21:12:00.003-05:00

Emma practicing her egg cracking skills. Now
if only we could get it in the bowl...

The jack-o-lanterns from our F.H.E. with the
Brandon's and the McKnight's. A squirrel has
since eaten a wing off our bat!

Emma the artist seriously painting her pumpkin.

Molly and Orion having a snack and a laugh.

Emma so happy to being wearing her winter hat
again!!!!!!!

Sutter's Ridge

2008-10-20T12:23:00.010-05:00

Over the weekend we went to the pumpkin patch to pick our perfect family pumpkins. Emma picked the first one she saw, Molly picked out the biggest one she could find and Daddy decided that was the one he wanted, and Lucas was the last to pick his out. He was searching for a perfectly round, perfectly orange medium sized pumpkin. I just share with Joe and we got Molly her very own tiny pumpkin. We always carve and/or paint our pumpkins for F.H.E. the following Monday and we sometimes invite another family over to join us in the festivities. So that is the plan for tonight. We invited the Brandon's and their one year old son Spencer over for dinner and pumpkin carving. The girls and I went to the store to get some things to make some Halloween cupcakes for dessert. We are all excited and I am sure that it will make for a very exciting blog post tomorrow.

On another note, this is my first official baby free week. I only have 2 kids at home! I forgot what a piece of cake it is having only 2 kids. We all got up, had breakfast, took Lucas to school and then it's only 8:15 in the morning. What are we supposed to do with all this free time??? So we went and ran some errands like going to the post office and the grocery store and World of Variety. Gotta love World of Variety! These are all things you can do with only 2 kids that some how seem unmanageable with 3. ( Okay, I can do all these things with my own 3 kids too, I'm talking about adding someone else's 10 month old to the mix.) Even after doing all of this it was still 9:45 when we got home. So I cleaned up the kitchen, made lunch, put Molly to bed, made cupcakes with Emma, cleaned up the cupcake mess, got the cupcakes out of the oven, read Emma Dinosaur Roar (love that book!) and cuddled with her so she could take a nap. Time still only 12:30. I might even get some laundry done today and dare I say it...a shower!!! Oh, this is the life! Now tell me why it is I want to have another baby soooooo bad and throw off this wonderful thing I've got going on??? Oh, yeah...because it's always worth it and I feel that being a mother is why I was put on this Earth. The joys and blessings far out weigh the trials and struggles. I know my righteous desire to have another baby will come to pass in the Lord's own time. So for now I am enjoying my piece of cake life with 2 kids at home all day and 1 at school and reveling in the joy of 3 kids at home all night and all the love, hugs and kisses it brings. (and you all ready know how I feel about my husband, right?) I am so blessed!

Fun Fall Foliage in the Front Yard

2008-10-13T21:05:00.006-05:00

Today was a gorgeous fall day and a half day of school to boot! The kids had a great time playing out side and collecting all kinds of different colored leaves in zip lock bag I gave them, while I was making dinner and taking care of the babies (Molly and William). They ran all over our back yard and by the time Joe got home they were scoping out the front yard for more fall treasures. Joe came in and asked for the camera because they were being too cute in the front yard. He got a couple of great shots of the kids playing. I love fall! Now if only the temperature felt like fall too...

Molly's happy and she knows it!

2008-10-13T20:44:00.005-05:00

We took this video of Molly Sunday night before bed time. Part of our bed time routine includes everyone picking a "song stick" from the jar of songs we have(remember I told you we have a very extensive bed time routine around here), this happens to be Molly's favorite part. She has the uncanny ability to pick the same song almost every night! She's just so stinkin' cute!(Sorry about the annoying play list thing. If you scroll all the way down to the bottom you can pause so you can hear our beautiful singing voices.)

The pirates who don't do anything

2008-10-10T21:54:00.010-05:00

Shawna's letting me post on her blog! She may live to regret this...

For those who want to join in with the booty shakin kitchen dancin party she mentioned a few days ago, just keep listening.
For more pirate fun, click here or here or here or here. The kids and I could watch these for hours.

Edit - pirate song has been removed after a vote. We lost, 4 votes to 1. Shawna's vote counted more than the rest of ours combined... i suppose it is her blog.

From Madison Zoo

Argghhh, we're the pirates.

F.Y.I.

2008-10-10T11:43:00.004-05:00

Due to the fact that there is always a sleeping baby in my room where the totally awesome Mac is I have been unable to post about such fun things as our oh so fun conference weekend, impromtu carmel apple making in the front yard with none other than wacky Marianne who just shows up with carmel and bag of apples, and why Emma told Lucas he is not even Jesus. I will be offically free of a sleeping baby in my room in about 1 week. Then maybe you can hear these fun stories, or maybe not. You could just ask me and I will tell you anyway.

This one goes out to the one I love...

2008-10-09T10:03:00.007-05:00

I have been feeling lately like I have the best husband in the whole wide world and that he deserves his very own post displaying my gratitude. If this does not interest you then feel free to skip this post because it will most likely be shameless and/or over the top with love for my hubby.

First of all, with much encouragement on my part, Joe has been leaving work at 4:30 everyday. WOW! If you know my husband you know what a huge deal that is. And it has made a HUGE difference in how our nights go. There is not all the dinner time craziness that comes with having 3 kids and all the after dinner chaos of trying to clean up and get everyone a bath, teeth brushed, pj's, and scripture study before the bed time of 7:30. If you know me you know that description of our bedtime routine hardly does it justice. Jenifer says it takes 500 hours and what ever happened to a book, a prayer and in bed you go, good night! With this new Daddy is home by 5:00 and subsequently dinner is served at 5:05 and we are all done eating about 5:30ish (we inhale dinner around here) evenings are quite enjoyable and Mom is a much nicer, happier person to be around. Thanks honey for choosing to go to work earlier so that you can come home earlier. You deserve some major lovin for that alone.

Second of all, I have had extreme unexplained tiredness this week (no, I am not pregnant. You'll be the first to know). In response to this my husband has become super dad. Molly is crying incessantly and won't go to sleep. I am tired and can't take it anymore. I go flop on my bed with a big sigh and then Joe,"Oh honey why don't you go to bed. You're so tired. I'll take care of Molly (this NEVER happens when it comes to Molly because she always just wants me). Oh and here why don't you listen the Breaking Dawn audio book and let sweet dreams of Edward lull you into sleep (under his breath something about reaping the rewards of that one later ...). Oh and let me turn on the fan and close the door so you won't hear her crying. I love you." This seriously happened on more than one occasion this week. He also cleaned the kitchen, mopped the floor, gave baths and made sure we had family scripture study all very willingly and patiently. Amazing!!!!!!!!! Don't look a gift horse in the mouth!

Even though Joe made me so mad last night by being late and therefore me not getting to fix my hair to go to open house at Lucas's school (hair is important people! you should see the mom's at school!) he once again ended up being my hero later in the night. I was gone to my totally awesome, best person I know in this life friend Hannah's for our weekly Grey's Anatomy followed lately by some form of craftiness i.e., Jen teaching Hannah to sew a straight line. Good times! When it was time to go home at like 11:00 my van won't start! I get Jen to give me a ride home and then I have to tell Joe. He asks a bunch of questions like if the van is parked at an incline and when was the last time I got gas. The gas gauge doesn't actually work in our van. Turns out that was the problem. There was gas in the van but the van didn't think so. So he put gas in the van and brought it home. The big deal is that he didn't even make fun of or give me a hard time even once!!! Before this moment I did not know he was capable of such self restraint.

The point of all of this is my husband is a rock star and I am still crazy in love after almost 7 years of marriage. I love you, Joe and I can't imagine life without you. I never thought that saying hi to you at E.F.Y when I was 17 would ever lead to this! In case I don't let you know enough I LOVE YOU FOREVER and THANK YOU for always taking care of me and our family. You're the best and don't I know it!

Dancin' in the kitchen

2008-10-02T13:58:00.005-05:00

I just have to say that I love a dance party. It was inspired by my mom who is of course a total nut. Whenever it was time to clean the house, it was time to crank the tunes and dance like a fool with the broom or feather duster or any other weapon of choice as we took on the dust bunnies. I continue on this tradition, but rarely do we need such an occasion as cleaning day. It makes the day go by faster and is especially helpful to pass the time while cleaning or waiting for daddy to get home. We have had several such dance parties this week. The music of choice this week... Veggie Tales "The Pirates Who Don't do Anything." Don't knock it til you try it! It is the rocked out version by I don't know who and not the veggie tale characters. Today is apparently a no nap day at my house. I do believe that calls for a dance party while we pass the time until it is time to go get Lucas. I am notorious for my bootie shakin after all...

Molly and Emma dancing in the kitchen and Emma rockin the pillow guitar (it's way cooler than air guitar)

Top 3 for the Day

2008-09-25T16:14:00.006-05:00

Today was interesting to say the least. Three things on my mental list to blog about.

We were running late this morning and I forgot to pack Lucas's lunch the night before like I usually do. I always put a note in Lucas's lunch box and he loves it and it makes me feel good too. Today on the way to school I realized in my morning rush that I forgot to put the note in! I was so sad! I told Lucas I was sorry I forgot the note and he was all,"No big deal Mom. I already know what you're going to say anyway!" This is not the first time Lucas has said this about me. Joe says it's because I'm predictable. I say it's because I am consistent. It's not the same thing!

Emma made up this song during lunch today that was so cute, or at least I thought so. I have to add that it was of course sung at the top of her lungs repeated several times in a way only a four year old can. It was basically the B-I-N-G-O song but with the names of our family inserted with something about each person. It went a little something like this:

There was a dad that goes to work and daddy is his name-O D-A-D-D-Y, D-A-D-D-Y, D-A-D-D-Y, and Daddy was his name-O. There was a boy who likes to go to school and Lucas was his name-O L-U-C-A-S, etc... There was a baby who was so cute and Molly was her name-O M-O-L-L-Y, etc... There was a mom who likes to play make-up with Emma and Mommy is her name-O M-O-M-M-Y, etc... (this one cracked me up!) There was a girl who likes to play pets and ponies and Emma is her name-O (now stretching to make the 4 letters of her name fit the 5 letter pattern ) E-M _ M-A, E-M_M-A , etc...

She can be so cute and so funny, which is good because she can make me so incredibly frustrated the very next minute. Leading us to the 3rd thing...

I was feeding William (the baby I watch during the week) It was supposed to be "quiet time", but to Emma it meant "mom's too busy with the baby let me go play with stuff I shouldn't time". She came down the hallway with marker all over her leg. I was interrogating her trying to find out what exactly she'd been up to. I told her to go get the lid. A few minutes later she appears with a lid covered in glue. "The lid fell in the glue. It was already open," she claims. Glue in my room, on my bed, on my carpet, in one of my, shoes!!!!! I wanted to kill her. Tried to think of the worst punishment for Emma who basically responds to no forms of punishment. Then I remember her ice cream from lunch that I promised she could have after quiet time. I ate it and right in front of her too. I know, I'm so mean, but it felt good. This is not her first inappropriate spontaneous "craft" project recently. Oh Emma! What am I going to do with you???

Red Day

2008-09-23T07:20:00.004-05:00

Hey everybody! It's RED DAY at the ELC!!! Some boy at our house is very excited about this fact. Can you guess who? Let's just say when Lucas does something he does it all the way. To support Lucas in his effort we are also having red day at the McGuire house. So put on your red and be happy! Hooray for the color red!

Emma, what more can I say...

2008-09-22T21:12:00.004-05:00

This is Emma today after we got home from school. She put on her hat and my sunglasses, looked at her reflection in something in the kitchen and proclaimed, "WOW! I look just like a rock star! Cool, huh?" Then she gave me her best rock star poses. I just can't decide which face I like better. What do you think? Oh, how I love my Emma, a girl after my own heart!

Quotable quotes

2008-09-15T12:40:00.003-05:00

Thursday while Joe was still out of town I wore one of his long sleeve t-shirts and this is what the kids had to say about that:

Lucas: "Hey! That's not your shirt it's Daddy's. Why are you wearing that?"

Before I could even answer Emma did.

Emma: "Mommy really misses Daddy. Don't you know he had to sleep in a hotel last night and Mommy had to sleep all by herself!"

Birthdays, School and Goodbyes

2008-09-11T13:00:00.016-05:00

A lot has happened in the last two weeks so time to play catch up.

Labor Day weekend/Emma's 4th birthday party
Most of my family made it up to Wisconsin for Emma's birthday party thanks to it being a holiday weekend and all. This year Emma had a big party at the zoo with all her friends and family. Emma loves animals and the zoo is free, so bonus there. We saw all the animals and rode the carousel and the zoo train. Then we had a little picnic at the park just outside the zoo and the kids and adults too all had a great time. I really can't believe that Emma is 4 years old. How is it possible that I have a 5 year old in kindergarten and now a 4 year old too!?! Emma is growing more beautiful everyday and more stubborn and independent too. What a combination! She is trying to adjust to a new life without Lucas now that he's in school all day. We are all still struggling to find our niche. Emma is such a sweet girl who loves going to her sunbeam class, playing with her friends and being both a big sister and a little sister and she is always up for anything girly, Daddy's little princess for sure. Emma is now taking another dance class that she just started this week at the local dance studio and loving every minute of it. We love you Emma and we are glad that you are a part of our family. Our lives would not be complete with out you!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!
So the Tuesday following labor day was Lucas's first day of kindergarten. Happy/sad day all in one. He was so ready and so excited and still hasn't looked back. He loves his teacher and his school. He was even so lucky as to have a friend end up in his class. Not someone we really knew but a boy he had played with when Emma was taking tap in the spring. This boy, Jonas, had a sister in the class after Emma. Anyway the 2 were happy to have found each other. Lucas is thriving as usual and most days he comes home in a great mood so happy to be reunited with his sisters who give him a glorious welcome home everyday. I am handling it better than I expected being the crier that I am. I got most of my crying out the night before sobbing to Joe about how this was the beginning of the end. My baby was going to school then it was just a matter of time before he graduated, went on a mission, then to college met some girl from some other state and moved far away, all because of the first day of kindergarten. I know it's ridiculous but this was really what I was thinking. It was only made worse by the fact the Joe has been out of town for 2 weeks leaving me to mourn the loss of my only son alone!!! Not entirely true, but still. I did have Cindy and Lindsey to keep me occupied the first week of school, but this past week I have been all alone. We did have a really great visit with Cindy and we were all so sad to see her leave, especially Emma. Emma and Lindsey were best friends all week and had so much fun together. It was nice to be reminded how great it is to be near family. We've only been gone a little over a year but it feels way longer. It was great to have family here for a whole week! So Lucas and Emma are growing up so fast and Molly is right behind them it's fun and exciting, but kind of sad too. It's definitely time for another one...we'll keep you posted :)

Summer has flown by!

2008-08-17T12:07:00.005-05:00

Well apparently I am terrible at actually finding time to blog, but I have been really busy lately. In the last month we have gone to Indiana for a week, followed by a whirlwind trip to Michigan a week and half later and the day I got home from that trip I started watching an 8 month old baby, and then just a few days after that we all got colds. Not to mention that my friend Hannah just finally convinced me to read Twilight and I read the first 2 books in a day and a half. Now that I've started reading the books I am totally obsessed. I finished reading all 4 books in 5 days. We are also busy getting ready for Lucas to start school and planning Emma's 4th birthday party. So we've had a fun time lately, way too much to try and recap but I will try to do better in the future. So for now here are a few of my favorite pictures from the last month. To see more pictures from our summer just visit our pictures site.

my crazy girls

2008-07-17T09:58:00.001-05:00

Just a quick note about my 2 crazy girls. They both have had some trouble sleeping lately, Molly staying asleep and Emma falling asleep and staying in her bed all night. It was kind of a rough day yesterday all around for everyone. After a night of taking 3 grumpy kids to the last t-ball game and walking back home with 3 even grumpier kids, and no husband by the way, we had all reached our limit. After Emma getting out of bed at least 10 times in the first 5 minutes, she and I had a little talk. I told her there was no good reason for her to get out of bed before breakfast in the morning and she better not get up again. Emma: "But what if I really really really have to go potty?" Mom: "Just pee in your bed! Goodnight!" She did stay in her bed all night, but this morning when she came and got in bed with me she said,"I held me pee in all night and I stayed in my bed. Now can I go potty?" Oh my sweet Emma! She thought I was never going to let her go potty again.

Then there was Molly, who was up at least 3 times between 3:00 and 5:00 for seemingly no reason at all. But this morning she slept until 9:45 (that's when I went to wake her up)! When I walked in her room she opened her eyes and looked at me, rolled over and turned on Baby Tad(it's this stuffed frog that plays music and lights up), and pulled her blankie over her head! As if to say,"Go away mom! I'm still sleeping." What a funny baby. I swear she thinks she a teenager the way she loves to sleep in.

F.H.E. at the Park

2008-07-15T13:05:00.000-05:00

Well I didn't think I would have anything to write about, but we had a really fun family home evening last night. We let Emma pick what she wanted to do and she picked walking on the trail near our house. It was just really fun walking with the kids on the trail. They had so much fun looking for bugs and all kinds of fallen trees. Emma thought she was walking in the jungle. She's got some imagination. We got to the park and we all had a great time playing together. Joe and I had a contest to see who could swing the highest and I won! Lucas has finally learned how to pump on the swing this summer and it has been the greatest thing. He loves to swing and he swings for hours on our swing set. So we had a treat at the park and then walked back home. There is a big hill at the park and Joe and Lucas log rolled down the hill, which was hilarious. Joe and I log rolled down a hill on one of our very first dates when we were 17. Joe realized after rolling down the hill that he is no longer 17! Lucas had some trouble rolling down the hill. He basically rolled around in a circle down the hill and back up again. He could not roll down that hill for anything. It was too cute. Emma was too tired to walk back so got a piggy back ride and sang the Ants Go Marching song at the top of her lungs the whole walk back. I love these moments when our whole family can spend time together playing and having fun and making memories. It was just one of those days that I will remember forever. I really love being a mom.

Lucas and Emma

2008-07-14T11:27:00.000-05:00

MOLLY

2008-07-14T11:25:00.000-05:00

Trying Something New

2008-07-14T11:16:00.000-05:00

Well, I am trying something new. I thought I would start this blog to post some pictures and share a few cute stories about the kids and other things that happen in my life. This is quite an adventure for me, especially since the computer and I are not exactly friends. So here goes nothing!