Out with the old, In with the new!

In this case the "old" was the ugly wallpaper taunting me from its presence throughout my kitchen for the past year. Every morning I could hear it mocking me, just daring me to start ripping it down. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure in its day it was quite trendy and not always as hiedous as it had now become. Only problem was "its day" was probably 1973 and after 35 years it was definately time to go. Jared took the day of last Thursday and we spent the week-end taking down paper, cleaning adhesive of the wall, priming, and painting. The primer looked purple in the sunlight. Needless to say there were three very disappointed girls when they found out the kitchen was not going to be purple for long.


The ugly wallpaper and even lovlier green paint found underneath


The primer and final color


The finished result

Thanks to Nikki and Dave for giving us the jumpstart we needed. Now its on to the bedroom. Beware, metallic silver paper with pink roses!

Ice Princesses

I took the two older girls iceskating on Saturday to celebrate their friend Jenna's B-day. I did surprisingly well for not having skated in years. It was the first time the girls had gone and they caught on quickly. By the end Katy was skating without holding on to anyone or anything. Xandra was too afraid to try letting go of all helps but she was just barely holding onto a hand or the wall by the end. Here are some pictures of the outing.

Jenna, Xandra, and Bella with moms in the back


Here I am helping Xandra:

Katy giving a try without the training cone

The collision.....

Katy and Xandra

Overall it was a fun afternoon although I was a little sore the rest of the day!!

The fate of little brothers

As older sisters Tonya and I often made the littlest two of my three younger brothers play and do things that were definately "girly". They were forced to wear dresses, have their nails painted, and play house with us. Since I was quite a bit older than Alex, most of my tormenting was focused on Martin. Tonya, however, picked up where I left off. I'm not sure what my parents thought about this. Mom was probably just relieved the little ones were being entertained and most likely removed all evidence before Dad returned home every evening. I do remember Nicholas being quite upset by it all. He returned home one day after playing catch with the nieghbors to find his little brothers with painted nails. I can still hear him ranting and raving through the house. I think he was told to play with Martin more if he didn't want us to.

The point of this whole reminiscing session has to do with my children and how I found my son a few days ago. He had been taking a nap in his swing in the room he shares with Katy. The girls heard him wake up before I did and went in to play with him. When I entered the room he had a crown on his head. After having three little girls first, Jared is very adamant that he will be a "true little boy" and is constantly bombarding him with sports things to equal out the overpowering girl presence in our house. Needless to say Jared has not seen the following picture.

At first, I did not like the sight of Jacob in a crown, but then realized that even though he looked like he wasn't quite sure what was going on that he was intently watching his sisters. I also noticed as they circled around him that at least they were calling him Prince Jacob. So, I snapped a picture, snuck out, and enjoyed the fact that although my son was wearing a crown that all of my children were occupied and no one was whining at me!!!!

To share or not to share...

Bella is usually very diplomatic when it comes to snacks. If you give her a cookie she will ask for two more (one for each sister) and then run off yelling "Peoples I have a cookie for you". One of her quirks is that she calls everyone "people" or "peoples". Yesterday, as Jared and I were each laying on a couch nibbling on Saltines (we both had the Stomach flu), Bella came and asked for some crackers. I handed her two and she asked for two for each sister also. As she walked away we commented on what a sweetheart she was for always being concerned for her sisters and for being a great sharer. A few minutes later we heard the sound of feet thumping up the stairs and the two older girls emerged from the basement. This is what we heard "Mom, (note: Dad is also on the couch but for some reason its more fun to whine to Mom) Bella has a lot of crackers and will only give us one each"
Well, so much for our unselfish, sharing daughter. She did give them one each but I guess she kept the extra crackers as a handling fee.

Kiddie Bloopers

Alexandra asked me the other day if she could have an Indian for snack. I had absolutely no idea what shw was referring to. When I asked her to explain what she wanted again her response was" You know, those peanut butter balls with chocolate on the outside". I guess all those mascots can be a bit confusing to a four year old.

Love that Cleveland Weather!

Gotta love this crazy Cleveland weather! For those of you who are fortunate to not be in the Cleveland area today while reading this blog, here is a recap of our 2008 weather so far. On New Year's Day it started snowing. By Friday there was enough snow for sledding so the girls and I bundled up and braved the hill. By the following Tuesday (FOUR days later) we went to the zoo. It was in the mid-60's!!! No coats, just light jackets!!! The following Tuesday(yesterday) it was snowing so bad we couldn't even make it across town for storyhour. We stopped half way and played at a friend's house until it calmed down (Thanks Meta!!!). Do we find this weather strange? No, we just shake our heads and mumble "That's Cleveland" as we once again pull out the boots, scarfs, and gloves.

Broccoli in a Blender

I absolutely love Broccoli Cheese Soup(especially from Panera) so when I was at the grocery store I bought fresh broccoli to attempt to make my own. I was chopping the broccoli yesterday after church when I mentioned to Jared that I was going to need the blender in a moment. He was being a great help by washing the dishes but came to a dead stop and with a horrified expression asked why. He then proceeded to tell me that he can only remember his dad refusing to eat a meal his mom had made once while growing up. Apparently she called the family dinner as she was removing a bright green soup from the blender. His dad asked what it was and the reply came that it was called "Broccoli in a Blender". It was supposed to be served cold as a refreshing summer soup. He then remembers his dad saying "I am NOT going to eat that and I am certainly not going to make my kids eat it! Who wants to go out for hamburgers?" I chorus of "I do!" rang out and the pour broccoli was dumped down the drain by a tearful mom who had just wanted to try a new recipe. I assured him that I was going to add more than Broccoli, that I could not find a Broccoli Cheese soup recipe anywhere that did not require the use of the blender, and that it would be served warm. When the soup was finished, I hesitantly placed it on the table waiting for Jared's response. He actually like it and there were no leftovers when we were all done eating!

I've been tagged!

Here are the rules of the game- Enjoy!

• Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.

• Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog, as we all want to know them.

• Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.

• Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

1) I was first-chair in the percussion section of my High School band until I quit my Senior year. Now, don't be too impressed, only a few other people could read music so it wasn't hard to score higher on the bells, chimes, xylophone, and tympanis

2)I've had a lizard in my mouth before. On one of my field trips at BYU we went to southern Utah to catch and study lizards. If you climb a tree to catch a lizard it is hard to hold onto the lizard and climb down. They are quick and wriggly. We were taught to put one of the lizard's feet between our lips. All I know is it works!

3) I love to run. I don't just run to work-out. I actually enjoy it and sometimes run to relax.

4) My pre-children dream was to research in the rainforest. There are so many medincinal uses for plants from the rainforest and I am still sure the cure for cancer is there. Hopefully someone discovers it before the RainForest is completely cut down.

5) Terra obviously was derived from my dad's name Terry (although mom insists it was just a name she liked). My parents did not name me after the earth which is one meaning of Terra. They also were not aware that my Birthday (April 22nd) was also earth day. Yet, I have had a love of nature since I was little and I majored in Convervation Biology and Wildlife Management. I would actually cry when developers would cut down forests to build houses because I felt bad for the animals that lived there.

6) Even though I majored in Wildlife Management, I absolutely hate furry pets. My kids will only be allowed fish, amphibians, or lizards as pets. The thought of a cat or dog shedding through my house disgusts me, and don't even get me started on rodents as pets!!! I don't even like birds. Animals should be outside where God put them.

7) I love to mow the lawn with a push mower. Think about it..... They kids can play outside where I can still see them BUT - and this is the best part- I can't hear them! Its a lovely way to get a little quiet time. Just me and my thoughts. Plus, if I'm feeling lazy that day I can count it as my work-out, something I could not do on a rider.

I tag Tonya, Natalie, Loni, Amy F, Mom, Amanda K, and Meta!

Buckeyes, babies, and boo-hoos

In honor of the big game tonight I attempted to make buckeyes. Lets just says amid Jacob screaming, Katy falling off the trapeze bar in the backyard and me attempting to simultaneously cook dinner the end result was far less than perfect. (Melissa- yours look like they came from Emeril's kitchen compared to mine!) They still taste delicious so I guess thats whats most important. How can you go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter in a team spirited shape? Jared posed the kids in the traditional O-H-I-O . Jacob is obviously to little to make an"o" with his hands but since he's so round we figured that was good enough. Bella fit the sweatshirt he is wearing last year. Since the guys were headed off to a OSU party, Tonya came over with her little ones to watch the game with me. Unfortunately the game is eerily reminiscent of last year and since I'm not feeling well I am headed to bed. I know what kind of a fair weather fan am I? I am a fan that still has to wake up with the kids at the crack of dawn, doesn't feel well and defiantely doesn't want to stay up past midnight just to be depressed in the end. I will however keep my OSU apparel on, my fingers crossed, and hope for a miracle on the front page when I wake up!!!

A week of "1st's"

Last week we had two big "1st's". On Wednesday, we fed Jacob his first bowl of cereal. He gobbled it down but has had trouble eating it ever since. He smiles so big when you try to feed him that it all comes sliding back out at you. On Saturday, the Tooth Fairy visited us for the first time. Yes, Katy finally lost a tooth. I was a late tooth loser also. These are the photos we took to document the big events.

Sledding with our friends!!

We decided to hit the hills on Wednesday. Lots of snow and no school makes for fun times!

Scientific vs Silly Romantic

My grandma came to visit a few days after Christmas. After all the presents had been exchanged she went outside to put some stuff in her car. To her surprise, there was a present in the back seat. The small package had no names on it. The only distinguishing feature was a tiny car that read "Its a Boy!" tucked under the ribbon. Grandma returned inside carrying the gift. She claimed that she had never seen this present before, and was not going senial. She figured it must be for me. Inside the package I found a stone plaque with a flower and beautiful poem about babies on it. ---Now lets stop the story to establish some truths about my personality. I have two very contradicting personality traits. On one hand I am very scientific. I must understand how and why everything works. Its not enough to tell me that this device will do this. I want to know every detail on how it works. On the other hand, I am a hopeless romantic. I LOVE sappy cheesy feel good movies. I cry at happy and sad endings. I feel bad for the sport team that loses even if my team wins. Okay, now lets return to the story---- We tried to figure out who the gift was from. All of the Aunts, Uncles, and cousins visiting claimed to have never seen it before. The logical science loving part of me knows that most likely a relative from PA placed it in the car before Grams left (although I'm not sure why there was no writing on it). The hopeless romantic part of me loves the idea (suggested to me by Dad) that maybe it was from Grandpa (who died 4 days after Jacob was born and never got to meet him). Until the mystery giver steps forward the romantic side will triumph and I will cherish the gift sent from heaven.

Visits with Santa

Here are pictures of the kids with santa. It was the week before Christmas and we hadn't seen Santa yet. The kids were getting a little worried he wouldn't know what to bring them. They were relieved when we saw him two times in two days. Fortunately, no one screamed this year. Although Jacob does appear to be reaching for mom! I know these are a little belated but we had lots of family in town. The one time I tried to upload photos the computer froze. Better late than never!