Rainy Day Buddies

After several days of temperatures in the 80s and no rain, Mother Nature decided to take us back to near-freezing temperatures and bring us rain.  Any change in weather is enticing for my kids, and they were anxious to get out in the rain and play yesterday.  (Well, one of them was anxious to play the new Wii game that his daddy got for his birthday with him...)  Allie and Cooper were so cute walking around and splashing in our little gutter.  I love it when my kids find something that they can enjoy together, no matter their ages difference!  

Corey's 40th Birthday

On March 11, 1969 my future husband was born into this world. 

On Wednesday, we celebrated him as he turned 40. 

Last year on Corey's birthday as I thought about the approach of "the big-four-oh", I began to brainstorm what I could do to make it special. As you stay-at-home moms might be able to relate --- Because I have no income, I always have limited money to spend on my husband... and he is the one that has earned the money that I do have for his presents. If I didn't insist that we honor each other with gifts, he would forgo receiving gifts at all. It is a bit of an awkward thing to be essentially buying your own presents, I guess... So I had this idea. If I saved a little here and a little there for the span of time between his 39th and 40th birthdays, I might be able to come up with enough to give him an unexpected gift. And I had a specific gift in mind. Something that he had mentioned several times but would not have spent money on on his own. As the year crept by, I pocketed every little bit of money that I could. I had a garage sale. I sold things at resale shops. And I collected all the spare change that I could get my hands on. He never noticed the missing money or asked me to spend the money that I had come up with in other ways.

Last week, the kids and I had a big coin-rolling party, and after a few cramps in our hands that were covered in money-filth, we proudly stacked up our many coins and few bills and headed to the bank.
When we walked through the door of the bank, the teller looked up and saw us and almost yelled, "Oh, lord!" in a slightly annoyed voice. I was taken back and asked her if banks still accepted cash money... she conceded that they, in fact, did and proceeded to count the rolls upon rolls of coins that were in our very heavy boxes. When it was all said and done, I was pretty proud of the fruits of my labor and could not wait until Corey's birthday rolled around, so I could surprise him. I even came up with a little poem that I stuck in a card that clued him into what I had been doing in preparation for his 40th birthday all year long...

Last year on your birthday,

you were turning 39.

I thought to myself,

“A trip for him would be divine.”

But as you might remember,

I’m a mommy with no income,

So on that day a year ago I said,

“If I want money, I’ll have to save me some.”

So I started doing just that

on a day in March ‘08.

And on a day last week,

I took my money to the bank.

The teller was a bit surprised to see the rolled up coins, 

but when she gave me those crisp bills, I was overjoyed.

So, here you have it, Mr. P,

A gift from me to you.

Now we can go on a get-away,
And take a break from this zoo.

I think that he was truly surprised, and we are anxiously planning a trip to the beach sometime in the next couple of months. 

I found this cute passport cover to put the money in and luggage tags to match.

The kids had fun looking online for trip ideas with him.

Corey also received other cards and gifts from the family...

Jack's card included hand-made coupons that he created for his daddy.

Usually, if we give cards in our family they are homemade, but this year I took the kids to the store and let them choose one to give Corey. Cooper's is a dog in a spaceship that says "To A Special Boy".  :)
His other big present from me was a book of letters from our families that I had been working on collecting for him for the last several weeks. The little book is full of words of love and encouragement and memories for Corey. I think that he really liked it and hopefully he will look back over the kind words often and remember how he is loved.

A Good Day

I have a few minutes on my hands, and I don't have much to say... but my blog is boring me to death, so I think that I'll tell you about my day. Feel free to skip right ahead to the next blog on your list... :)

It has been a good day.

The day started a bit earlier than I prefer... due to a 3-year-old that invaded my bed... which made it a bed full of a couple of people that snore and an insomniac... Because of all that, Corey and I were awake and at home at the same time this morning - something that doesn't happen very often. To celebrate (and becasue we kind of like each other and just wanted to hang out and wake up together), he made a pot of coffee and a fire in the firepit in the backyard, and we shared a good talk and a green chili bagel from Einstein Bros. (Have you had one of those?!?!? Seriously. A piece of heaven. And I don't even like green chilies.) Once the kids woke up, the morning was full of chores and schoolwork and baths and art class for the kids and I & work for Corey. Then, this afternoon Allie and I headed out to do some errands while Corey worked from home, supervised the boys, and waited for a repair man to come fix our oven and garage door. First, Allie & I went to my eye doctor's office and got my much-needed glasses ordered. (I still have the ones that I have had for about the last 10 - 15 years (give or take a few). After my last allergy attack and my absolute resolve to NOT be seen in public in those horrific glasses, I decided that I might need to get some that are not so ummm... hideous... for the next time that allergies attack and my eyes need a break from my contacts.) After the optometrist's office, we had a late lunch together and did some shopping for an upcoming birthday (someone is turning 40 next week) and an Easter dress for my girl. We got home to 3 happy boys and a newly repaired oven and garage door. In a few minutes, I am off to get my hair cut and highlighted... a fave on my list of What Makes Me Happy.

It has been a good day.

So, there you have it - a peek into a day in the life of Amy. Or at least part of a day. These days, every one of our days is different from the one before. All of them are full of taking care of kids and some involve more traveling in the car than others... and all of them are exactly where I want to be.

A Post From My Friend, Angie

Okay, she's not really my friend... but she makes me think that we are besties when I read her blog.  She is real and honest and inspiring and hilarious.  I love this girl!  I have talked about her blog, Bring The Rain, before... but not in a while.  Today, her post was amazing.  I would sit here and tell you all about it, but I have kids to homeschool and laundry to fold and a 3 year old to get out of his PJs (yes - I know that it is after 11:00), so I will just tell you all that you should go visit her blog today... it's good stuff.

What Happens At MiMi's, Stays At MiMi's

In honor of Skyler's parents' trip to Las Vegas (What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas),  we had a What Happens At MiMi's, Stays At MiMi's Day while she was visiting.  

It's no secret that my kids - especially my boys - are usually a little more dirty than their playmates... remember this post?  When Cooper and Skyler were babies, she was the one in the highchair always with a bib on and her mommy close by with a wipe in hand.  Cooper was the one with cereal in his hair and an audience laughing and waiting to see just how dirty he could get.  So - shhh! - don't tell her parents... While she was visiting our house last week, she got a little more dirty than usual.

Cooper & Skyler joined Jack in putting eye-black under their eyes...

...and they had a great time having "treasure hunts" over and over after Jack would hide small treats in the flower bed.

While Chloe and I were inside debating the  benefit of 9-month-old babies taking a bottle, Cooper, Skyler, Allie, & Jack were playing in the backyard on a warm February day last week.  It was so warm in fact that they decided to break out the water hose... 

...which led to mud puddles...

 ...which led to the little swimming pool...   

...and a lot of fun!

Don't worry though - all of that dirty fun also led to a bubble bath...

Park Day

Remember this picture?

On the day that we went to the park with my 3 nieces last week I wanted to post more photos, but I only had time to post this one... which I love, by the way. I'm pretty much a sucker for pictures of kids' backs... especially when they are looking at something beautiful. And I am pretty much in love with pictures that capture my kids with my my brother and sisters' kids. I love them!


So here are some more of the pictures that we (Allie & I) took that day that I took my kids and my brother's to the park and met my sister and her daughter.

~ feeding ducks ~

(and sea gulls & geese)

~ Baby Chloe ~

~ playing at the park ~

Chloe decided on day 2 that MiMi's arms was just about the only place that she wanted to be, so we spent a lot of time together. I love that girl!

Girl Time

As I mentioned a few posts ago, my nieces, Skyler & Chloe, came to stay with us for 3 days last week. We had a great time playing with them... and I now have a greater appreciation for all moms of 5 children. :)

The first night that they were here, Allie was so sweet to help Skyler with her bath, fix her hair, give her a manicure & pedicure, and let her just hang out with her in her bedroom. It was fun for me to get a peek at what Allie's life with a sister might have been like.

During the time that they spent in Allie's room, my girl took some pretty cute pictures:

~ cousins ~

~ my little photographer ~

~ the manicure ~

~ "Sky-Bo" ~

I have never met a child that likes shoes more than this one! She has literally come up to me and said, "MiMi, can I wear your shoes?" (the ones that I have on my feet) Of course, I always let her - who could resist? So, Skyler is in heaven when she comes to our house and gets to have a free-for-all in Allie's closet. (and mine)