reality

If I had to pick a work to use tonight, it would be reality. It seems like everywhere I turn I get a burst of it! Sunday morning I got a tearful "lecture" from Charli about how I never spend "any" time with her. I am always with Harper, playing with Harper, and never-ever do anything with Charli, every day - all day. While this is partially true, because Harper demands more attention now, there is no explaining that to a crying 4-year old who thinks her mother has all but abandoned her for her smaller, younger, blue-eyed baby brother. There is no excuse for that, but it is our reality. Chad and I often end up tag teaming the kids because their age spread is not ideal right now. A few months ago they could play together great, and in a few months from now they will again. But, right now they are both territorial of their things, and their mom. This is not to say it is always like this, by any means...but when you are 4 time is not exactly something which can be perceived with great accuracy! Either way, Charli and I (along with Grandma Jody) spend a few hours of girl time watching Toy Story 3 which was full of laughs and smiles...and just what the dr ordered for a little pip-squeak who giggled so loudly and covered her face in fear minutes later! We followed this up by going to a birthday party where she could wrestle her same-aged cousin who never has to fight for his parents attention!!

This is our reality, and while it is not a walk in the park on most days...it is the walk we have been given. And, I have come to learn that without those bumps in the road, the sunny stretches would just not seem as wonderful! It always seems like a victory when we can look back at those "less than great" moments and see that they weren't so bad after all, and how much we all learned!! Have a great Thanksgiving week ya'll. I am thankful you care enough about our family to still be here checking in on us! I would LOVE to hear from those of you who are still here!!

Charli has never been a great eater. We perpetuated the situation once we found out she had cancer, and eating became a priority. Even at 8 months, she knew what that meant to us, and it has been a hot button ever since. Now, the struggle with her to eat is less about "is she sick" and more of a power struggle. We probably have to ask her to sit nicely and eat 5 out of 7 nights a week. REALITY: Chad told her that if she didn't sit and eat nicely, he would tape her to the chair and make her eat. FOLLOW THROUGH: Chad tapped her to the chair -- she ate :-) Before this ends up on some child abuse site, please notice that she voluntarily tore the tape as Chad was doing this with masking tape - and the large grin on her face from the extra attention she was getting because of her behavior! Ahhh, parenting moments at our finest.

Chad was very excited to show the kids his deer. He generally doesn't' care if he gets a deer or not. But, this year he wanted to bring one home to show Charli. He got one Sunday morning and brought it home to show Charli Monday morning before going to daycare. She was pretty excited for him. REALITY: every parent and child need to have that "one thing" that can make them both truly happy.

this is Chad wrapping Charli up to go see the deer, because neither of them could wait to put real clothes on! She went out, fresh out of bed, in her jammies! REALITY: sometimes we don't need to follow all the rules, life is more fun when we break them from time to time...makes those moments feel special!! OTHER REALITY: having rules, makes breaking them the fun part! no rules just means chaos!!

REALITY: these kids love each other. Set aside the fighting for moms attention, Harper playing with Charli's guitar, Charli helping Harper "too much", and all that little brothers grow to do to their big sisters...they love each other. There are few things that bring me more joy, than the realization of what these two will do and mean to each other in their years to come. When I am gone, they will still have each other, and the love they foster now.

a new week, a new job!!

Chad is on his way home from hunting this weekend, he got a 4x4 this morning...that's about all I know about that! He misses the kids terribly when he is gone, and is excited to show Charli his catch in the morning!

the kids got along great all weekend, I was amazed by how grown up they can be when I just let them "be" and figure things out on their own! This also means some hurt feelings from time to time...but eventually they will need to work things out on their own!

I think they could have done this all night, if I let them!

they were so cute on the chair! I walked in, and they were just sitting there...no TV, no toys, just the two of them! So I ran for my camera super fast, and got a few innocent, happy, and memorable moments!!

ahhhhh, right?!!

the both think the world of each other! Harper woke up from his nap before Charli today. When she finally came out, he squealed like a little piggy and followed it up with "HI!" with so much excitement!!

She is very proud of her creation here. She flipped it over here, and was building a floor so her other legos that she tossed in would be safe from the dragons.

wow, where did my little girl go? This morning she officially babysat Harper for me! I thought I could handle putting off my shower until they were in bed, which I could not stand to wait! So, she was "Charli in Charge" for a short time - and never once did I hear a scream, cry, fight, or yell! When I got out, she had him on a treasure hunt with about 20 books around him "read" him a story.

I hope you all had a great weekend! Tomorrow is the new job!!!

brrr!

Thursday was my last day at Wiggles - what a sad, sad day that was! My boss walked in with flowers and I literally turned my body and cried a little! I didn't really even acknowledge them, because I was trying to ignore it! I kept super busy, which helped, but also left me feeling bad about things left undone! That night we all went out to eat and shared some good conversations, and hugs! I know I will see them all again, etc - but it won't be the same! For the past three years I have spent more time with them, than my husband and kids...so it stands to reason that I feel a little "empty" knowing all I will miss out on. We shared everything from parenting stories (the good, the bad, and the ugly), husband stories (again...the good, the bad, and the ugly!!), and just life! These girls have changed who I am, will they ever know?!!

Having said all of that, I am excited to start my new job on Monday!!

a few pictures are a little out of order, sorry!

I actually took this picture AFTER the picture below! Checking for belly buttons may seem like a simple task, but not everyone in this house has one, so we all need to check from time to time and see if we still have ours! :-)

Charli is such a good sport!

it was very hard for Charli to let Harper put these on incorrectly!

Saturday night these two ran around the house deer hunting! I post this one because you will notice that Harper has the pink one! I am not sure if he picked it, or if it was left for him...but either way - it does not surprise me!

it looks like they are sword fighting, but they are not! Charli had her gun on her shoulder and she marched around the house, and harper followed her like a little puppy! (which, is one of his favorite past times right now - acting like a puppy!)

pretty GIRLY hair! She NEVER wants me to put a pony in, but I bribed her with food. She got the food, and took the pony out. Figures.

I was kind of hoping his blue eyes would have been colored in this picture, but I guess they weren't the right color!!

I received the booklet of our Heroes of Hope story. All the Hero's from 2011 are featured in a book to share with family and friends!

the beautiful flowers from the girls! Several are opening up tonight, so I bet they stay beautiful for a long time!! The girls also got me an amazing quote to hang in my new office and a BAG full of new FUN office supplies! these girls know me :-)

cozy-comfy!

he thinks he is so tough with these dinosaur noses, or a mask on! He had this on for about 30 minutes Friday night!

my friend, and old college roommate, Debi! A friend from college had a concert in town so many of us were able to attend. It was a GREAT show, and so nice to see people I haven't seen in years!! Google Daniel Christian...he is a great entertainer! (and when he is ubber famous I will remind everyone that I knew him before he was ubber famous AND I sang with him in college :-). And Dan...I am prepared to whip out a few other details that Entertainment Tonight may pay me for...just sayin'!!

this is a great upper body workout! We rode in this diaper box for about 20 minutes Saturday night!

she's got style *she's got grace * she's got super model written all over her face!

i like that he likes to clean! He kept digging his halloween socks out last weekend, which is why he matches so well!

his futures so bright, he's gotta wear shades!

family pictures

Here is the link for Kelly's site. (http://kellyjoportraits.blogspot.com) I think she has a few of our pictures up, and if you poke around you will probably find some others that she has done as well!!

I will have many more of the pictures available to post online as soon as I can decide which pictures we are going to order! I will post some of our favorites for sure!!

thanks, but no thanks!

thanks to some computer issues, I didn't get the Halloween pictures up as quickly as I planned!!

Today our house had an unusual and busy day. Last night Charli ended up gracing our home with the stomach flu. Generally Friday's can be pretty flexible, however this was one which couldn't be! Harper had a dr. appointment, and I had two work things that I had to do today, as well as an appointment to donate blood. I am thankful to my husband who also made sacrifices today to stay home for a portion of the day, so we could try to get as many things done as we had planned. Chad took Harper to his appointment and then daycare while Charli and I "hung out at home". I then took off to donate blood, which turned into donating "double reds", for those of you who have done this before -- I would like to hear of your experiences! I felt like I was in a dream land all day, and am completely beat tonight. I then took off to take a physical capacity test for my NEW job. This was a physical endurance type of test, not a smart thing to do 30 minutes after donating. I came home to switch Chad, so he could get back to work for a few hours, and he returned so I could get into work to finish a few things up before a big computer change at the hospital. I am glad today is over!

So, I have not mentioned my new job yet...because it is very bitter sweet and I am ignoring it! However, the short story is that a friend told me of the opportunity and at each turn I wasn't sure what I should do, but kept moving forward with it. I have accepted the position of "Tobacco Prevention Coordinator" for the East Central District Health Department. This is my final week at Wiggles...and I am very sad.

Enjoy the pictures - hopefully if I get a little more organized I will have a few cute, fun, and great family pictures to share! A friend from high school took some casual and candid pictures of the family two weeks ago - and she did a great job! If you are in the market for family pictures...or any type of pictures I HIGHLY suggest her! She is just starting on her own, and did a great job of capturing my family and our personality!! (Kelly Jarecki)

he is not usually this messy while he eats! But, when he is...everyone seems to think it is pretty funny!

Harper & Charli waiting for the puppies to come in before leaving for our morning...they think it is fun to give them treats before we go!

our spooky halloween breakfast treat from last week!!

batgirl * superman

Charli was hilarious! Apparently the package for her outfit had this pose, so she thought she needed to give it each time someone took their camera out! She was adorable as batgirl, and we didn't see a duplicate all night! She was SO proud that she picked it out herself, and I must admit is a far better fit that something "girly" I would have picked for her! She reminds me almost daily that she does not like pink and purple...however blue, orange, green, red, brown, black, and white are good.