Toddler Rock!

Whath better way to spend a morning with the family then by going to see Rocknoceros

We hopped on the Metro and headed toward our destination...

Daddy and Carson getting ready for the concert...

Charlotte Rockin' it out!


The oh so cool band!


Mommy and her big guy!

Carson finally getting into the dancing and jumpin around...

Helen wondering why we woke her up for this...

I must admit...it was fun, but quite chaotic.
David's exact words were "No wonder mom's are so stressed out. Not only are you trying to handle your own crazy kids, but then you actually think it sounds like a fun idea to go into a room with 100 other crazy kids."

He's right...

But I told him I go to these things to remind myself that I am not the only mom about to lose my mind...we moms can look around and be comforted that we are all sleep deprived, we all have toddler meltdowns, but we all love our kids.

For your viewing pleasure here is a little Music Video from Rocknoceros

Enjoy...and let your kids watch and jump up and down!

Reached my limit...

It is only 1:30 and I have already been:

spit up on

pooped on

thrown up on

(like real throw up, not milky spit up)

wiped snotty noses and dirty bottoms

(but not at the same time nor with the same hand)

had a 2 year old lick my arm

(not the child that threw up thankfully)

pretty sure I came in contact with blood on one or more of my children

Definitely picked a boogy out of all 3 of my children's noses

(I cannot stand a boogy-nosed baby)

Are there any more bodily fluids I can handle??

Do NOT answer that.

But these 3 little children are totally worth it.
Even if I spend my day caring for all their bodily fluids.

**But after re-reading this post, I totally understand if you do not want to have a playdate with us.**

So what have we been doing?

Well, what I should be doing right now is packing. But I know once I get home to Greensboro, I will be consumed with life's demands and these pictures will never see the light of day.

We have walked with rockets...

Flown Helicopters...


Air and Space Museum on a rainy day

Rang the Freedom Bell at Union Station

Rode the Carousel at the Mall...
then avoided that route every other time we walked the mall

Played at many parks and playgrounds...
So many to choose from.

Met up with lots of friends in the area

Got to see the National Marine Corp Band perform an evening parade

with the Silent Drill Platoon

Amazing and SO patriotic. Made us SO proud to be Americans.

That would be Chief Justice Roberts above...

We've enjoyed the beautiful architecture of the houses, but also the many 100+ year old churches

Above is St Mark's Episcopal...established 1896...built in 1905.

And of course...
Rubbed Elbows with some politicians


That would be Congressman Randy Forbes who was just honored the Christian Statesman award. If You haven't seen a certain video of his statement on the House floor recently... it's worth taking a look.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpQOCvthw-o

There are indeed still honorable men and women in DC striving to honor God and who are willing to stand up for Truth!

On a completely lighter note....
what do you get when you mix 100+ toddlers and a concert?
Other than total chaos... Rocknoceros of course!

More on that later...

Happy Father's Day!

I am SO thankful that I married a Godly man who is a great dad to our kids.

They have SO much fun with their Daddy and love him SO much!

And Happy Father's Day to our own Dads too and all the Dads out there.

You're doing what??

Yes... you heard us right. We Packed up our family and embarked to our Nation's Capitol for 4 weeks. We are deep into week 3 and thought we'd finally give you a glimpse to what we've been doing up here.

All Packed up and on the Road...

You can't tell, but we've got this van PACKED out with a roof top carrier on top!

Our Trusty tour guide...

Keeper of the snacks... and DVD commander.



And we pulled up to our little spot on The Hill.

It's in a darling area with all sorts of amazing row houses and 100+ years of history.


This would be our 1bedroom apt.






This would be the nursery... I mean the Kitchen.




Then we have the Kid's room and bathroom...

And this would be our makeshift "Murphy bed"

we lay the mattresses out on the floor every night, and pop them up every morning.

But squeezing a family of 5 into a 1 bedroom apt is totally worth it when you walk out your door and see this...

We have so enjoyed our time here and see all that God is doing and could do in this great influential city.

Here is a song that we have been claiming for DC and just hits us everytime we hear it.

Greater things are still to come for this city!

Add a few cloves...

Cloves? Who uses cloves when they cook?

Not me.

Just so you know, cloves and curry are NOT the same thing. Why then did I bring a jar of cloves (which is probably years old) with me to DC? Hmmm.... not planning on making any spiced cider or decorating any festive fall oranges this June. But I guess the jar of cloves and the jar of curry look alot alike....and no, I do not alphabetize my spices. I am not THAT together.

I brought 4 spices with me. Basil and oregano...because they just make about anything taste better. Chili powder for a few fav mexican recipes and curry for my favorite go to chicken dish... no make that cloves. Thankfully, I discovered the "curry mishap" as I was usuing my oregano and basil for our pasta tonight. But sometime in the next week I am making Chicken Tilley and it calls for a good amount of curry. Oh well...off to the grocery to get some curry soon.

But just in case you would like to make Chicken Tillie...with the curry that you have sitting in your spice rack, here is the recipe.

Chicken Tillie
3 or more chicken breasts cut up in pieces
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of mayonaise
1-2tbs of curry (sorry, I kind of eyeball this)
1 bag of frozen baby brocolli florets
1-2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
2 tbs butter melted

Place cut up chicken in greased 9x 13 baking dish
top with broccoli
Mix soup, mayo and curry together and spread over
cover with cheese
mix bread crumbs with melted butter and sprinkle on top of dish
Bake at 400deg for 35-45 minutes.
**watch top...if cheese looks liek it is burning cover with foil.
Serve with rice. FYI-- this tastes awesome next day too!

**If this sounds suspiciously similar to Chicken Devane...it is. Years ago a friend made this for us from her mother in law's recipe, and for some reason at the time I just didn't know how to say "devane". Or maybe I just didn't like the word (I think it makes me thinkg of de-veigning a shrimp). So it became Chicken Tillie. Some of you may just know who I am talking about. Enjoy!

Front or Back?

So, I never really payed any attention to the way my kids sleep. The are in bunk beds, so I don't see them side by side. But since being here, we have to sneak in their room to go to the bathroom at night, and I just get the biggest kick out of watching them sleep.

Here is my BACK Sleeper.

She will be in this same position all night with very little movement. She is a great child to share a bed with.

And this is my TUMMY sleeper...

Now Carson is not a still sleeper. He tosses and turns, talks in his sleep. He fell out of bed 3 times last night. (we forgot his bed rail...ooops!) You really could not pay me to sleep in the same bed with this child. Because I would not get any sleep at all.

And I won't show you which way Helen sleeps, lest you call Child Protective Services on me. But she sleeps...and that's all that matters to me. And if you are wondering... I am a side sleeper and David is a stomach sleeper. Just in case you were burning to know.

Disclaimer--- yes, the children have sippy cups in bed.
Please don't comment how it is bad to go to bed with a drink. I know. It is just water, not juice or milk that will rot their little teeth. My pediatrician and I both feel fine about it.

So, do you have 2 different sleepers in your family??

Ahhh... SO Refreshing.

Crystal Light that is...

For some reason, every summer I dive into drinking
TONS of Crystal Light.
I don't drink a lot of Crystal Light other times of the year, but during summer it is like my life source.

I think perhaps it is because most summers we are on our Summer Beach Project in Myrtle Beach and the water supply is most certainly questionable.... though we usually drink jug water while there, the times I fill up at a water fountain I like to disguise the yucky water with something not so yucky.

Enter Crystal Light.
(do you hear the angelic music??)

Right after having Helen (and each of my babies) I could drink water (the colder the better) like there was no tomorrow.... I could chug it down! Any nursing mom will tell you... you get THIRSTY!!

Just this week I started up my Crystal Light again, and I am shocked at how much water I am getting in. Then I came across a post at Kelly's Korner Review about a Crystal Light Challenge. And I knew it was meant for ME!

Then...I come to realize, that not only am I meant for this challenge, I have already blown this challenge
OUT OF THE WATER!

You see...

I have purchased this nifty little (bpa free of course)
water bottle from Rubbermaid

And it holds 32oz of water. That is 4 - 8oz glasses all in one water bottle.

In goes 1 little packet of Crystal Light to go pack, and voila! Heaven... and I have my own little mommy sippy cup. And I am drinking at least two bottles a day...sometimes even 3.

My favorite flavors are....

Peach Tea and Raspberry Ice

Note.... the directions say to put 1 packet with 16-20 oz of water... Personally I think it would taste like pure syrup that way! Mixed with 32 oz of water, it is refreshing, but not overwhelmingly sweet. It is very gulp-able.

So if you have a smaller water bottle, I recommend NOT using a whole packet.

So, click on over to Crystal Light and join the challenge...
which for me, was no challenge at all. But for some of you Coke addicts... it will be a challenge!

And you can use the above little "widget" on your own blog to track how much water you've had that day! Genius! (well, not that I am really going to track my water intake on my blog...I can't even load pictures. But you can track your water intake on your blog)

Now.... If only I can break my 2 cups of coffee habit with my not so healthy creamer! I just can't do it.

Are You having a Bad Hair Day?

Helen would like to show you her "au naturale" hair... before the great comb-down.

See...
Isn't a blog post with a picture of franken-baby...I mean my precious little angel... way more interesting than paragraphs and paragraphs of me going on and on about mindless nothingness.

Unless of course that mindless nothingness includes me going on and on about my love of Crystal Lite.

Don't worry...it's coming folks.
The great blog post all about Crystal Lite.

Are you there?

Well, I am.... but I am on somewhat of a blogging strike, or haitus, or maybe "blogger's block". Not inentionally, but it just so happened that I have had about zero time to blog lately. We packed up the fam last week and are spending the next 4 weeks in our nation's great capitol.

SO exciting.

I have had numerous ideas for blog posts while here...

-sharing our 1 bedroom tee tiny apt with you all
-how to get around the city with 3 kids
-explaining to my 3 year old why we cannot just "go over" to the President's house to visit.
-maybe even a post on why Sotomayor should NOT be appointed (oh wait...this isn't a political blog)

But my big hangup?
I have a problem getting the pictures off my camera to my computer. I know...it takes all of 1 minute. But what fun is a blog post without a picture?? NO fun.

I actually had a great idea for a post yesterday that had nothing to do with our trip or DC...i am sure it was something to do with sibling rivalry, toddler tantrums, or diaper blowouts. Or maybe it was something more spiritual like teaching your children biblical truths, or perhaps it was something about marriage (topics that all have been on my brain lately) But alas...I can't remember for the life of me what it was about. I am thinking it had something to do with Crystal Lite... my little rescue from summer heat. (though today it is only 64...not quite the summer heat)

I know....you are probably really disappointed you can't read about crystal lite.. Rats.

I'll work on getting you some pictures. And then I will whip up some really great blog topics.

Or....
YOU could just let me know what I should blog about.

But I am still here. Trucking away at parenting these 3 little llamas. And loving every minute of it...well, almost every minute. (not the last minute...where Carson hit Helen for no reason and Charlotte dropped a whole box of crayons and started screaming...yeah, I'll trade that minute)

But loving most minutes. Especially the naptime minutes.