Spring is Here!

We have been riding bikes and playing outside for weeks now. It even hit 70 degrees one day. So here is the sure sign of spring- snow on the bike! I should be used to it by now, it happens every year. We get the warm, sunshiny days and then BAM! The freezing temperatures and snow return for a cruel visit. Hopefully this will all melt soon and the warmth will return. We are ready for Spring!

New Look

I finally found a cute place that lets you change the background of your blog for a more customized look. Shout out to Cutest Blog on the Block for help with that! This might be a continually changing thing over the next little while. I am having fun with the customization. So I hope you enjoy the new look.

Easter Fun

We had a great time hunting for Easter eggs at Grandma and Grandpa Petersen's a few weeks ago. We also had fun this weekend coloring our eggs and enjoying the sunshine and warm weather. We are grateful for the blessings of family and friends, and for the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Happy Easter!

On Easter morning the kids had fun exploring their baskets from the Easter bunny. And they all looked great in their Easter clothes before church.

Three Times Toothless on Top!

Ethan lost another top tooth today. It was already loose, but then he bit down on his solid milk chocolate bunny, making it more loose. It started hurting before church- a sure sign it needs to come out. But, he was too chicken to let me pull it until after church. By then it was only hanging on by one corner as he had devoted his full effort into smushing it with his tongue for three hours. With a quick tug it came out and we are now waiting for a visit from the tooth fairy. She better not forget this time! We are also hoping that Ethan will still be able to bite and chew his food and that the other top two will grow in quickly.

Camo cousins

We watched our cute nephew for a few days earlier in the month. As was mentioned earlier, Ethan is in LOVE with Camouflage. He found it totally awesome that Jason had a camo outfit too. So they both wore them on the same day and I had to get their picture.

Ms. Vader

For Christmas 2005, Ethan got a Darth Vader helmet, cape, and lightsaber. Erin was not afraid of it at all. In fact she had to have her turn wearing it too. Somehow it just didn't have the same effect with the sweater saying cutie on it. Erin still has not given up her secret passion for the Vader suit and was most recently wearing it two days ago. She was overheard saying, " Your powers are weep!" One of the preprogrammed phrases- except Vader says your powers are "weak." It was very funny and we all got a good laugh!

Ms. Vader THEN (on the left) and NOW (on the right.) She seems to have had a growth spurt in the past three years!

Lego Mania

Ethan is such a creative kid! He has become quite the Lego genius. He recently has made a football stadium complete with players and a jail that has a visiting area and Jedi guards. He also made a viseo camera equipt with a view screen, battery pull out, and tripod. He has set up his video camera at the bottom of the stairs to catch some footage of the Easter Bunny. We'll see how that goes.

Kiss Me... I'm Danish

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Even though we are not Irish, we still have a bit of fun. Today we had a leprechaun visit our house- turning the milk green, and later the pizza crust and koolaid. The kids all got into the spirit of things with me and wore their green clothes. (Ethan was in all camouflage- it's green, right?) Erin, K and I made four leaf clover cookies which we got to eat for a FHE treat- complete with green icing and "Leprechaun salt", as the kids called the sprinkles. Jeff was the only non-conformist. But I think that he got pinched enough after work to change his ways next year. We had a fun day and enough artificial green in our diets for the rest of the month at least.

The green pizza- still very tasty.
Everyone enjoying dinner.
The careful application of the leprechaun salt.

Erin likes it.
Is my tongue green yet?

Ethan enjoys his cookie with the green milk- made from milk and leprechaun juice.

And here is Jeff, our non-conformist. Or is he just color blind?

Recovery

I think that I am finally recovered from my crazy week last week. I had the opportunity to watch my 11 month old nephew while my sister went to Mexico. (My hat goes off to all those mothers of multiples. I don't know how you do it!) She won the trip by selling lots of pharmaceuticals for Pzifer, she is quite the sales woman. It was not an easy week having two toddlers 8 months apart, but I didn't fully realize the toll it had taken on me until my body completely shut down on Tuesday. This morning, I am finally feeling human again and have fought off my cold as well as my sleep deprivation.

Over last weekend we also had the huge family picture for Jeff's family with 30 people, 14 of those little bambinos. A little bit crazy. But we did manage to get a few cute pictures of the girls and a decent one of our family too. Then on Sunday we went to church with Jeff's parents because his youngest sister Suzy, just returned from her 18 month church mission to Raleigh, North Carolina. Good to see her, but a little difficult with the aforementioned toddlers.

The new family photo.

Erin and Katelyn in their matching Easter dresses. I had to buy them in January, but it was worth it! They are so pretty! Shocking note- Erin picked blue over pink. A first ever.

Ethan the stud.

Sweet Miss Katelyn

Erin, the first princess.

So today I am reclaiming my house from the slobs that live here. I am doing laundry, washing sheets, and vacuuming like mad. Hopefully this will help me to have a productive weekend and not push me back into shut down mode.

700 Hours & Momnesia

So, I was watching the Today Show this morning (for about 10 minutes while the kids were still groggy), and now I know why I am so tired! They reported that the average mom loses 700 hours of sleep the first year of her baby's life! That explains a lot. Since Katelyn still doesn't sleep through the night- I consider myself up to 1050 hours of lost sleep.

And do you ever forget things? Well, apparently us moms can get "momnesia." “It’s a state of the female brain that is a bit forgetful after she’s had a baby," says Dr. Louann Brizendine. I am amazed at how much I actually remember- doctor appointments, diaper changes, feeding schedules, recipes, birthdates and social security numbers of five people! But I will be the first to admit that I do have moments of momnesia. Like when I was at the checkout of the grocery store, all rung up, and no wallet! Okay, that has happened more than once. But I did remember everything on my list and the diaper bag and the kids! Another episode- standing at the fridge and thinking to myself, "What was I going to get?" Contrary to the report, however, I feel that momnesia will never get better, but slowly worsen over time. So I have committed to being a list maker and I write down most everything in my planner or on the calendar. So please don't be offended if I forget your birthday or what your favorite color is- I have momnesia. Feel free to share your favorite momnesia moments if you can remember them. It will make me feel like I am not the only one!

Foam Lineup

One little, two little, three little pairs of crocs, four not-so-little, five not-so-little pairs of crocs. We are officially a croc wearing family! So we found some teeny, tiny size 3 pink shoes for K, and there were matching ones for Erin, and then camo ones for Ethan. Jeff got some last year, and of course we can't leave out the mom! So in one fell swoop we all have coordinating foam shoes that are lightweight and loveable. Even better is that they are not the real name brand, but some other versions that are less expensive and they were on sale. I love a good deal!

Ponytail!

Yay!! We finally did it! If you look very carefully, you can see that Katelyn got her hair done in a ponytail for church today. Though it is rather short and small, it is a start. She is by far the slowest growing hair child that we have had, but this is a major accomplishment. Maybe when she is two we'll try for two little pigtails. In the meantime we are relishing our accomplishment and celebrating the fact that it made it in all day.