They say it's your birthday!

Okay, so yesterday our littlest one turned "3". My how they have grown in such a little time. Isn't the cutest darn picture you ever did see? It is soooo her... like who me? I am too cute to get mad at... ;-) We used to have a 2,3, and 4 year old and now we have a 3, 4, and 5 year old. On G's birthday, I also wanted to mark how much has changed in the last 7 months.

We used to have 3 in diapers........ NOW (thank God) we do not.

We used to carry a diaper bag everywhere..... NOW i only have to bring it if the kids want to bring toys to a friends house.

We used to have smaller shoe sizes.... NOW everyone's feet have grown at least a shoe size. (not mommy and daddy's thankfully)

We used to be able to drive a car..... NOW we are looking into minivans (yes i am crying my self to sleep over this one, neil)

We used to go through so many wet wipes..... NOW we go through loads or toilet paper!!!

We used to be able to plan ahead.... NOW mommy's plans need to be flexible depending on the attitude of everyone in the family including parents. ;-)

We used to be able to sleep in..... NOW we awake to the pitter patter of feet down the stairs. (somehow daddy doesn't always here the feet and then gets to sleep in)

We used to have a lot less laundry..... NOW it is a mountain of clothes. ( but just this week i had r help me start matching socks and putting the kids stuff in the piles and it is going much easier)

We used to not be able to understand much of what the youngest two were saying..... NOW g and x have so much to say and tell us stories and recap what we did that day. Their vocabulary is astounding. (X was trying to teach his sisters what Patience meant yesterday Conversation:

Mommy says: you need patience and all take turns

X: (looks at his sisters) do you know what patience is, it means you need to wait and not cry and yell at mommy that it is your turn.

(i think he got it right on the head!!)

We used to do a lot of things..... but we wouldn't trade what we have for the world!!!

So sorry i went off on nostalgia..... been doing a lot of scrapbooking so it is amazing to see the change in these kids from just such a short time ago. AND now my little one is 3.

Here is her pudgy little fingers showing how big she is!!!!!

We have been opening gifts that came in the mail all week. It is really hard to keep kids away from packages that come in the mail and stare at them for longer than 4 hours. :-) Her first gift came from aunt kathy and she got a card (which she loves and carried around with her even to bed for a few days) and a deck of cards. So i taught the kids how to play go fish. It is the new favorite game around here... and they are learning what the numbers look like and matching at the same time. (why didn't i think of this before!!)

Then on friday we got a package from Grandma Judy! And in the box was.... drum roll...... bubble wrap!! YEAH Hours and hours of fun!!! Seriously. They loved it!!!

Well also in the package was an adorable outfit including the cutest little levi jeans EVER!!

look at this little tushy!!! heehee

G was the first one awake on Saturday (she was just soooo excited) and i had started chore charts and one of the items is for them to put on the clothes mommy lays out the night before (even though they are supposed to wait until after breakfast!) so she had started to put all her own clothes on....... was attempting i should say. I woke up hearing the banging around of her trying to get her pj shirt off!!! heehee Needless to say by that time they were all up .. except dad.

We then had to get ready for X's last game of basketball. Daddy took him by himself and the girls went shopping. X was so stoked he received a medal and was sooo proud. Nate said he did pretty good and shot at he basket about 4/5 times.

We then met up for breakfast and the kids had mickey mouse pancakes... a real treat for birthday girl. AND a treat for mom no cooking ALL DAY!! Then when we got home an EVEN bigger package was delivered to the door, of course from Uncle Neil. G eyes were round like saucers and in it was a princess cash register... just what she always wanted (is what R said!!!)

Here is G talking on the phone with Uncle Neil, wishing her a happy birthday. Then because Daddy and I could not wait any longer... we decided to open all the other gifts from the family. Cash register from Uncle Neil!

Because we didn't have a party, we thought it would be cute if daddy took both the two oldest to pick out a gift to give G from them. X picked out a basketball in Ohio State colors of course!!

and R gave G more blocks for daddy to build stuff!!! They were pink too!!!

Then when the girls had been shopping we had G pick out a gift with her target gift card she got from Vicki. And G picked out a Princess and the Frog band set with trumpet, drums, cymbals, "Raymond" the firefly maracas, and a plyaing guitar!!

And mommy and daddy gave her more dress up clothes. Snow white purse and necklace with big red gloves. AND high heels. We defently have girly girls and they LOVED the high heels. We even had to pack them and bring them to our neighbors house for supper. They walk better than mommy in heels. heeheeAnd then later that night we went over to our neighbors the Acaster's and had pizza and birthday cake. YUM!! It was the perfect ending to the day ... i think!!!

Ohio Trip

It has been a crazy 2 weeks..... we have had an amazing amount of snow, many snow days, traveled to Ohio for 5 days, tried to get back to normal.... and you can imagine how we are doing on getting back to normal! I have been exhausted and the last two nights i believe nate and i were in bed by 9 pm. So my posting and playing on the computer time has been minimal (to say the least!!!) We had a great time in Ohio visiting with family. The kids got to play with many of their cousins and had good quality time with the grandparents. Here are the boys watching a movie .... they cuddled on the loveseat and the girls were on the couch and it was like heaven!!! It just takes a good movie like "Cars" to keep all their attentions.

Grandpa teaching X a think or two about pool. X had a great time and still talks about playing pool with grandpa Bob.

X definitely soaked in time with all the boys... i guess since he is pretty much surrounded by girls ALL the TIME!! Here is X and uncle Dale just chilling.

and R and Lauren played with the Ipods. I don't know what it is about R and the Ipod .. but it can keep her attention forever!!!

And this is R and X after showing her loot from her valentines party at school. Her brother was her favorite buddy.... after she shared some of her candy with him. (i Love it!!)

He also got a spiderman pencil from his sister that she didn't want. (it came from a boy in her class) And G was just in heaven with her fun dip. Sugar High!!!! I did have a chance to throw away all the pixie sticks she got.... don't even need to give them a tube of sugar. Seriously!!

AND it is getting easier and easier to do R's hair. Doesn't she look so adorable!!! I am able to put it all back in a ponytail, pigtails, headbands, and do it in a bob like this. I also love putting her hair in front with bangs.... it makes her look totally different. I will have to get a picture of that the next time i do it.

so yes we are still here, just busy and trying to survive. I will try to keep this updated a little better but no promises. heehee

Mother/ Daughter Time

So this week has just flown by... and I feel like I have not accomplished anything. Nate has had to work alot of hours this week. In fact, it is saturday afternoon at 3:14 pm and he is at work right now. Both of us need some sleep and some quiet time soon!

So instead of sweeping, or shoveling the driveway, or doing anything that cleaned up our messy house.... i decided to bake Friday afternoon. My little munchkin loves to cook with mommy, so when R was at preschool and X was content playing bowling on the Wii ... me and baby baked. We made a ditch the box brownie recipe. It was easy, quick and fun. AND the brownies tasted awesome!!

Here is G mixing the chocolate.... she is definitely a girl after her mommy's heart ♥

Then after preschool and after a very short nap for ALL three of them... which does not bode well for later in the evening :-) we headed to the salon to get R's hair relaxed for the first time. Now i know i was much more nervous that her... i was scared we were doing the wrong thing, scared it wouldn't turn out, nervous it would hurt her, you name it.. I felt it. BUT I was wrong. R did great and LOVES LOVES her new look. And it will cause us so many less tears every morning when we have to untangle her locks. As soon as her new do was complete she was playing with it and tossing her head. Earl, her stylist, said we created a monster.

This is Earl putting in a relaxer... she had no reaction to it ( we did a test spot on Wednesday to make sure she was not allergic to it!) She sat very still through the whole process and was all smiles.

For about 20 minutes he just worked the relaxer through her hair from root to tip. Then he shampooed it, conditioned it, and blow dried it out. Then used a flat iron to straighten it. The last 30 minutes... R could not sit still and kept saying I have hair in my eyes! ( i don't think she ever said that before!! ;-)She is in love with her hair ... did i tell you that already? I told Nate that this morning she woke up and was touching it constantly and looking in the mirror. And when i styled it this morning she couldn't see herself in the mirror ... so she said " i can see my self in the doorknob!!" WE HAVE CREATED A MONSTER!!

She is as beautiful as always and now mommy and me time does not have to consist of me being fully loaded with a bottle of conditioner and a detangling comb and her crying with alligator tears. :-( Now we can cherish our time getting ready in the morning picking out outfits and putting new earrings in and doing her hair with a smile!!!

Happy Birthday Grandma Aggie!!

Happy birthday to my grandma and the kids great grandma Aggie who turns 103 today!!!!

She is an amazing woman and has been an inspiration on how to live life. I hope i have some of those unverferth genes in me!! I had the kids sing "Happy Birthday" to her and caught it on video... but of course technical difficulties keep me from posting it today. UGH! But the cutest thing is that after singing happy birthday this morning... all the way to school they sang Happy Birthday to Grandma Aggie. ANd then when i asked them how old she was they didn't know, so i told them 103... and of course G gets all excited and says that is how old she is going to be!!!! Only 1o0 years different. Here are a few more pictures from our fun photo shoot here in the house last week.
AND to all the family... me and the kids are coming back to Ohio next week. R has four days off for Parent teacher conferences and teacher inservices so i decided to pack the kids up and head to Ohio. Also I hear that my godson is growing up way to fast... and i never get to see ANY pictures!!! hint hint Beth....we would like to some pictures!!!

So i think we are traveling to Ohio on wednesday the 10th... and traveling back home on monday the 15th. Hope to see you guys! Well this post is short, i have to get ready to go to the salon with R since she is getting her hair done tonight. Nervous.... hopefully this will help me and her hair woes!!! Keep your fingers crossed for us and i will post pictures of her new do soon!

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday to you

Happy Birthday Grandma Aggie!

Happy Birthday to You!!!

Love the Schulte Kids