Excitement

Do you remember how when you were a kid things were just so exciting that you couldn't sleep? Santa's visits, the first day of school, etc. In my current sleep deprived state it is hard to imagine anything causing me to wake up when I don't have to, but I do remember the days.

Elise has been just that excited about starting swimming lessons, literally. She is constantly asking me how many more days until swim lessons begin. And this morning at 4am, I awoke to her standing by the side of my bed staring at me. When I opened my eyes, the first words out of her mouth were, "Mom, is today the day I get to start swimming lessons?" My response? "Elise, it's the middle of the night. Go back to bed!"

They start Monday. It will be a big day for Steven as it will be his first day of swimming lessons and his first day of preschool, all in one day. Hmmmmm...... not too sure how that is all going to go over. I'll have to post an update on it sometime next week.

Happy Easter!

Happy Easter to Everyone From the Millers!

Chompers

This little fella got four teeth in less than one week. Ouch! And he sure let us know that it was uncomfortable, especially at night. But now that he has them, he is enjoying food even more. And I think he looks pretty cute with his little chompers.

Trouble

We call him trouble.... mostly because he likes stairs. And when you are 10 months old and live in a two story house, liking stairs is big trouble.

Three

The jump from two kids to three kids was actually not as big of a deal as I thought it might be in a lot of ways. The day to day stuff is pretty much the same, especially when we are at home. But there are a few ways in which things have definitely become more difficult.

For example, grocery shopping is impossible if I try to take everyone. No matter how you try you just can't fit three kids and all the groceries in one cart. Steven would be happy walking, but would pull everything off the shelves and take off running everytime I look away. Elise will cry the whole time about how unfair it is if she has to walk, and Cameron can't walk so it's not even an option. Fun times. And you may have noticed my sporadic blogging since Cameron was born as getting on the computer can be difficult also.

I guess taking pictures is just another one of those things that doesn't work so well with three. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get a picture of three young children all cooperating, smiling, and possibly even looking at the camera although that is not a requirement at this point. I tried to snap some photos a few days ago and sadly, this is what I came away with. Not a decent one in the bunch.

Guess What I Learned Over Spring Break?

Elise has been begging for these shoes for months. Apparently they are what all the kindergarten girls wear. At least that is what Elise says. Could they be any more obnoxious and bright? To make them even worse, they light up with neon lights on the toes when she walks.

She also has been asking to learn to tie shoe laces, but all of her shoes have velcro. Can you say, "lazy mom"? So this week we went and picked out her new obnoxiously bright shoes with laces, brought them home, and she learned to tie them. I was all geared up for it to take all day, but she had it down in 15 minutes or so. She is so proud. She told me she is going to go back to school on Monday and tell all of her friends that over Spring Break she learned to tie her shoes. Pretty exciting Spring Break, huh?

Little Shadows

Chris has been working on a few house projects the last few weeks, and whenever he starts one he has two little shadows right behind him wanting to do whatever he is doing. So they were as pleased as punch last week when he told them that if they would go put on some work clothes they could actually help him paint.

They will be planting a garden this week and his two little shadows couldn't be more excited. After all, what could be more fun than digging in dirt for a three year old and a five year old?

Silly Sayings by Elise

It has been a while since I have posted the funny things Elise says. I guess as she gets older they are less frequent. However, we had a conversation in the car yesterday that cracked me up.

• Elise: "Mom, what age are you supposed to get married?"


• Me: Well, most people get married in their twenties.


• Elise: Oh. Well what if I go through my twenties and I don't find anyone to marry?


• Me: Well, then I guess you could get married in your thirties.


• Elise: But what if I go through my thirties and I don't find anyone to marry?


• Me: Then I guess you could get married in your forties.


• Elise: Well, I just really hope that nobody with a big belly asks me to marry them, because I would say NO because I DO NOT want to be married to someone with a big belly.


• Me, laughing: I'm glad you have standards of some sort I guess.


• Elise: But Mom, I just really hope that Ethan in my class doesn't get a belly like that because I might have already told him I would marry him.

"Helping" Mom

Steven and Cameron love to "help" me with laundry. They pull all of the clean laundry out of the baskets and roll in it. Then they climb in the laundry baskets. Not so bad if I haven't folded the laundry yet, but really annoying when I have. Now if I could just train them to actually fold the laundry. And maybe put it away. That would be awesome!

Spring

We have been loving this great warm weather over Spring Break! It is making me look forward to summer.

No Exaggerating

Steven will be getting a haircut this weekend. He needs one badly...... very badly. This is quite possibly the longest his hair has ever been, and in case you think I'm exaggerating I have included a picture of his LONG spiked hair. This picture was taken three weeks ago, so sadly, it is even longer now. Hair cuts can be such an ordeal with him because he really hates them so I tend to put them off, but this time it has for sure been too long. Never fear, it will be freshly cut tomorrow before I have to take him to church and be embarassed by it one more time.

Snow Day!

A few weeks ago when the weather was cold, we decided to head up to the mountains for a snow day. The kids had a blast riding sleds down the hill and throwing snow at eachother. I don't think Steven even remembers the last time we went to the snow because it had been so long ago, and he surprised me by totally loving it. He was definitely the most frozen when we were done though, and kept telling me he needed bandaids for his fingers because the cold made them sting.

The Most Frustrating Place On Earth

You know how whenever you hear anyone say "The Happiest Place on Earth" everyone automatically assumes Disneyland. Well, I think we should all agree that whenver we hear the words, "The Most Frustrating Place on Earth," everyone will just nod their heads and assume the DMV. I have had quite an experience with the DMV the last few months. I will spare you SOME of the details. However, here is a short list of some of my favorite DMV stupidities.

1. At least 15 phone calls where I was told by a recording no one was available to take my call and was not even given the option to hold for someone to help me.


2. One phone call where I actually got to hold for someone, but held for so long that the battery on my cell phone died before I ever got through to anyone.


3. After finally getting through on the phone, being told that for whatever reason my license which I renewed online SIX MONTHS ago had not gone through as it should and she couldn't figure out why so I would need to make an appointment to visit the DMV.

And what about my trip to the DMV for my "appointment"?

1. 20 minutes to find a parking spot


2. Being told that because I had an appointment I could wait in the really long line to take a number instead of the insanely long line to take a number. Lucky me.


3. Waiting in the really long line and getting a number and waiting some more with everyone who both does and does not have an appointment for my number to be called (what is the point of an appointment anyway?)


4. Having my number called only to have the lady at the window tell me she has no idea why the lady on the phone made me come into the DMV because even though I actually renewed my license 6 months ago, it should show up magically in two or three weeks because she saw nothing wrong in the computer with why I hadn't gotten it already.


5. Being sent home without anyone at the DMV actually doing anything for me at all.

Gotta love the Most Frustrating Place On Earth!