Happy Birthday Alexander!

Down with terrible twos and on to terrible threes!!!

The moment you haven't been waiting for...

Merry Christmas from the Soares kids. This is the final result birthed from the horrid photo experience described in the "Smile Dammit" blog. Getting 3 kids to smile at the same time is priceless!
At church tonight I had a very fulfilling experience. It was truly a breath of fresh air. We sang carols by candle light after we devoured the accounts of Jesus' birth. This may sound pessimistic, but I have never really embraced the Christmas story like so many around me do. God was God, the people were obedient and some astrologers and shepherds witnessed it all as angels sang "glory to God in the Highest." It just doesn't impact me as it does others around me. I guess the year I was pregnant with Alexander and had contractions on Christmas day I sort of identified with Mary. I also relate to Joseph more than anybody because he is a step parent but other than that, it is hard for me to really "feel" the miracle of Jesus birth. Until tonight. As Roger talked, I thought yeah, yeah, I know. I know the story so why did I come to church tonight. Then Roger told a story about a boy that sat on the sidelines with a sort of "bah Humbug" attitude toward the hard work the father had done in order to celebrate Christmas. That's me. So what. What now? Then we turned off the lights. I felt like God gave me the "quiet" I have hungered for all this month. My heart did a 180. The big screen at church said "stop." And I did. Those of you who know me know I don't do that well. You've probably been victims of my resistance to "stopping." The screen said something like stop worring, stop THINKING, stop rushing etc.... Big deal right? Then we passed out the candles and sang Silent Night. I wanted it to last forever. There were times when all I could do was listen (another Christmas miracle). The auditorium was filled with worship. The worship was in the form of "Thank you God for your gift. Thank you for giving us a second chance. Thank you for your Holiness." I will never be able to recreate that moment but for me, that was the best Christmas present ever. For what it is worth, I pray the longing of your heart will be answered this Christmas.

Addiction and Withdrawal

I have the shakes right now... I am a TOTAL junkie. So addicted to Facebook that I can't get over how ANGRY I am that it has been down for two days!!!!! Someone send me to rehab. I don't want to live this way....

Welcome Back

He said I have $95.00 to spend on groceries this week. I thought,"that's impossible, but I'll try" ( we usually spend 120-130 for the five of us). Grandpa called and said, "I'll watch the kids if you need to run errands today." So I went to Aldi first. I haven't been there since about this time last year when Abbie was a newborn and we knew our situation was going to be tight. To be honest, I wasn't thrilled about going. Rather than being thankful for what I do have I felt a grumply cloud surround me a I hunted for a quarter to "rent" a grocery cart. Things changed as soon as I walked in. I saw a mom that I am familiar with at the cash register and many great deals on my grocery list. It became a wonderful shopping experience and the following are three reasons why:
1.) Unbeatable prices on necessary "staples"
2.) Items that my husband and children would dislike simply because they don't look the same as they do when I purchase them from Wal-Mart can be purchased from Wal-Mart at Aldi's low price by informing the cashier at Wal-Mart that it is cheaper at Aldi.
3.) Once I am done at Aldi, I usually scratch the items off my list and cruise through Wal-Mart in half the time.
4.) They require you to pay with cash or debit so you couldn't loan money from a credit card even if you wanted to.
5.) They charge you for grocery bags so they encourage you to be green.

It felt good to be back. Feel free to comment on anything you particularly appreciate about Aldi!

Feliz Navidad!! A tribute to grandmas everywhere

This nativity scene was a gift from my favorite person in the world. My Grandma Dot. She sent it to me about six years ago and I have never recieved a gift that has touched my heart the way this one has. I couldn't let Christmas pass me by without displaying my treasure. My Grandma Dot and late grandfather got it the year they were married and gave it to me after they had been married over 50 years. They had been married 63 years when Pa Pa died in 2005. Here's the funny thing about it, though, baby Jesus looks like he is about 3 years old. You can't see it well from this picture but he has sort of a pageboy haircut and amazon legs. I can remember seeing this nativity scene year after year in my grandmas house. I am honored to have it in my home for my children to see (and not touch).

One year, my grandma was lettin' loose with a lot of Bailey's Irish Cream (we are not Irish but we all invite Bailey to our Christmas parties) one snowy Christmas Eve and for whatever reason, my grandfather had stayed in Florida that year while Grandma came to Illinois to visit us. After a few card games Grandma started twirling her scarf and singing Feliz Navidad at the top of her lungs.... I can still hear her now "I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas...." I was the designated driver that year and no matter which Christmas Carol was on the radio, to Grandma it was Feliz Navidad. This was also the year that Grandma opened a beautiful jacket and said "this is for show and NOT for blow!" What did she mean by that?

Despite her tipsiness on the holidays, Dorothy Winter is an amazing woman. She can tell a story like no other. I wish I had inherited that from her. All she passed to me were really good guilt trips , interpretive dance moves and recipe for homemade Bailey's Irish Cream. Oh and she gave my daughter her beautiful blue eyes (see below). She is a professional clown with the map of Norway written across her face. Here is the thing about Grandma... She is infectious, She is captivating, she is wise and very sarcastic. She is lonely, she is in pain, she is crazy, she is beautiful and she never gives up on anything. Not even her precious Cubbies. Why am I writing this? Because we all have someone like this in our lives and life is too short to let Christmas go by without putting our heart on our sleave and serving someone who has blessed us. If your grandma is alive, I challenge you to tell her WHY you love her this Christmas. If your grandma isn't alive, pick someone else's and tell them how they have blessed you. I just did!

Same eyes...3 generations later!

Feel free to comment about your grandma!

I look at this picture everyday and thank God for her

Then she smiled at me parumpumpumpum...

I can't believe it has been a week since I blogged. It feels so good to sit down and let my fingers go crazy. We have had a great week!

• Following Thanksgiving, we went to my good friend from college, April's wedding. I felt so HONORED to go because as many different friends I had in college, April is the only one that I can say I was friends with for all four years. I was the ISU represenative at the wedding (not a title that I really thrive on) but to celebrate central IL, I brought the wedding party some Avanti's bread and ranch. I won MVP at the wedding!!!! Which is very amazing because I missed the ceremony due to the corrupt bouncer who wouldn't let us in!!! April looked so beautiful and I wanted to stay as long as possible because I am so happy for her but someone needed to cut me off and he did.
• Alexander, Abbie and I played in the snow, it wasn't as delightful as I dreamed it would be. The kids didn't like it when I pretended I was pulling them in a dogsled and they fell out. They decided to watch me from the sidelines while eating snow instead.
• This week we have been busy cooking and shopping and wrapping and carol singing and light hanging and rearranging furniture. Despite all the busyness, Alexander must not be that tired from it because he skipped two naps this week!!! He was in his bed and quiet and even naked yesterday. Yeah! I went into his room to see if he had fallen asleep and there he was stark naked. I said "Alexander what happened to your diaper?" He said, "I don't know where it is" I said, "Why did you take your diaper off?" He said, "Because I wanted to say hi to my pee pee!"
  
  

It's not good unless it's pretty

Many of you know that one of the cardinal rules that I live by is "It's not good unless it's pretty." Reason being that if it is pretty but it doesn't taste pretty, you don't remember that, you only remember how pretty it was. This is kind of how I skate through life and Thanksgiving was no exception. With three kids and two of them two and under, Mike and I were FRANTICALLY stuffing closets in the hopes that we could scoop clutter off of the floor and make room for our family and their food. My solution? Make the food as pretty as possible and no one looks at anything else. Look at that pie up there not once did anyone mention that it was overdone on the edges and underdone in the middle. Try it and feel free to comment on your success stories...

Smile Dammit!!!!

When I was younger, a beloved family member was trying to take a picture on Thanksgiving day of our family. Unfortunately my little brother was not diggin' it and was not performing well. The parental figure was extremely frustrated and began yelling "Smile Dammit!" Which (of course) caused him to start crying AND has become a favorite family verse. I wish I had a copy of that picture...

Anyway, now that it is my turn to try to transform my 3 uncivilized children into a post-card perfect picture, I feel my parents' pain. We frantically dressed up the kids and dragged them to the Festival of Trees under the promise of hundreds of photo opportunities. We expected that it would be difficult but not a total disaster. As you can see from the out takes, we needed a whole lot more than Mike and I to make it happen. At one point, Mike even handed the train ride operator 3 bones just to let my kids sit in the train for the picture. Isaac was too big to actually ride the train and Abbie too little. So basically we paid the guy 3 dollars to let Alexander go for a spin and the picture did NOT turn out well. That's ok, he can probably head to Trader Joe's on his way back to Joliet and pick up a bottle of 3 Buck Chuck. Hey, we support the cause!

In the end, it took a very scary clown and some type of sugar plum fairy running by to get all three kids looking at the camera and smiling. Mike and I never once said "Smile Dammit!" but the night's not over yet! If you recieve a Christmas card from us this year please know that YOU were worth it and SMILE DAMMIT!!!

Calgon- What can you do for potty training?

My little 2 yr old. So happy on the potty. This picture is very rare because we can't get him to smile at the camera for anything!! If I could, I would photoshop his happy little mug onto several other pictures. The sad part is, I don't want to remember these days. That is the "pre potty trained" days. I have spent WAY too much time in the little 6x4 ft space waiting for something, anything to hit the water! Alexander will now pee on command.. anywhere. He will ONLY poop in a clean diaper before nap time. I know, I know, I know... just wait for the right time... He'll do it when he's ready. I can hear the Ghost of PPT past whispering in my ear. I'm just thinking I could make MILLIONS if I could design a potty training system that was "accident proof." Maybe I should get him a litter box?

Because Christina said so

A fun Meme! Christina posted this on her blog. I thought it was fun and decided to do it on mine.
.Bold the things you've actually done
01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink02. Swam with dolphins03. Climbed a mountain04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive05. Been inside the Great Pyramid06. Held a tarantula07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone 08. Said "I love you" and meant it 09. Hugged a tree10. Bungee jumped11. Visited Paris12. Watched a lightning storm at sea 13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise14. Seen the Northern Lights15. Gone to a huge sports game 16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables18. Touched an iceberg19. Slept under the stars20. Changed a baby's diaper 21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon22. Watched a meteor shower23. Gotten drunk on champagne 24. Given more than you can afford to charity25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope 26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment 27. Had a food fight 28. Bet on a winning horse 29. Asked out a stranger 30. Had a snowball fight31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can32. Held a lamb33. Seen a total eclipse 34. Ridden a rollercoaster 35. Hit a home run 36. Danced like a fool and didn't care who was looking37. Adopted an accent for an entire day38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment 39. Had two hard drives for your computer40. Visited all 50 states41. Taken care of someone who was drunk 42. Had amazing friends43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign 44 . Watched whales 45. Stolen a sign46. Backpacked in Europe47. Taken a road-trip 48. Gone rock climbing49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach50. Gone sky diving51. Visited Ireland52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them54. Visited Japan55. Milked a cow56. Alphabetized your CDS57. Pretended to be a superhero 58. Sung karaoke 59. Lounged around in bed all day60. Played touch football 61. Gone scuba diving62. Kissed in the rain 63. Played in the mud64. Played in the rain 65. Gone to a drive-in theatre 66. Visited the Great Wall of China67. Started a business68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken 69. Toured ancient sites70. Taken a martial arts class71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours72. Gotten married 73. Been in a movie74. Crashed a party 75. Gotten divorced76. Gone without food for 5 days77. Made cookies from scratch 78. Won first prize in a costume contest 79. Ridden a gondola in Venice80. Gotten a tattoo81. Rafted the Snake River82. Been on a television news program as an "expert"83. Gotten flowers for no reason84. Performed on stage85. Been to Las Vegas 86. Recorded music87. Eaten shark88. Kissed on the first date 89. Gone to Thailand90. Bought a house91. Been in a combat zone92. Buried one/both of your parents93. Been on a cruise ship 94. Spoken more than one language fluently95. Performed in Rocky Horror96. Raised children 97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour98. Passed out cold 99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge 102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking 103. Had plastic surgery104. Survived an accident that you shouldn't have survived105. Wrote articles for a large publication106. Lost over 100 pounds107. Held someone while they were having a flashback108. Piloted an airplane109. Touched a stingray 110. Broken someone's heart 111. Helped an animal give birth112. Won money on a TV game show113. Broken a bone 114. Gone to Africa115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild118. Ridden a horse 119. Had major surgery120. Had a snake as a pet121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States124. Visited all 7 continents125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days126. Eaten kangaroo meat127. Eaten sushi 128. Had your picture in the newspaper 129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about130. Gone back to school 131. Parasailed132.Touched a cockroach133. Eaten fried green tomatoes134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read 136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating137. Skipped all your school reunions 138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language139. Been elected to public office140. Written your own computer language141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care143. Built your own PC from parts144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you145. Had a booth at a street fair146. Dyed your hair147. Been a DJ148. Shaved your head 149. Caused a car accident150. Saved someone's life

"Hab a good day"

And I quote Alexander... That's what he said to Daddy on the phone today as well as Grandma Dot. He is really a social butterfly and LOVES to talk on the phone. Which is a good thing because I don't. Well I like to talk to my Grandma Dot of course and maybe my mom but that is it (really-that is why I have started blogging).

Our weekend was busy by our choices and left us wiped out on Sunday. We SERIOUSLY have to figure out a new way to do life on the weekends because Sunday night we are always saying, "I'm ready for the weekend to start." After a night out with the girls and a great time at a cancer benefit, we dragged ourselves to church and came home inspired by our pastor's challenge. He said "I am going to challenge you to read your Bibles. " Ok, well I try sometimes more than others, but Mike and I realized that a lot of the reason we complain so much and focus on the negative is because we aren't plugged to our source. The bible isn't boring (ok, some of it is but most of it isn't). It's really good stuff and we forget that. So, together, Mike and I read Psalm 1. And I must say, I started off with an attitude this morning that said "Hab a good day" rather than "The weather is gray and cloudy and it sucks." I mean what kind of message does that send to my kids... On cloudy days we don't live, we just wine and complain?

Oh Happy Day

Today is Thursday and that is our MOPS (Mother of Pre-SchoolerS) day. Soooo after shipping off 4 kids to school, we head to E Free to play and get some R & R for ME. The coffee and breakfast are always a thrill and today's speaker was as well. Jane Smolen talked about the influence of all types of music on our sole and I must say it was inspiring. I am now listening to NPR (89.10) as visions of sugar plums are dancing in the babies' heads. Jane says that we can gently frame out our day with backround music. She says that by shifting different genres of music we can smooth out transitions between activities and tasks. I decided to try it on the way home from MOPS. I found some jazz and began snapping my fingers. Soon after Abbie was clapping in the back seat. SO CUTE. When we got home Alexander said he wanted "more busik" mommy. You see it is not that I don't value music or dance to it when I am burned out on TV (because believe me, I do). But using it a tool to "mommy" or arrange our day is a new concept for me. If you know me, you know I will try anything.
Here's the recap of the last two days... Tuesday's trip to Chuck E. Cheese with 7 kids went surprisingly well. I entertained 7 kids with $15.00 for 2 hours!!! Here's how: First, one of the kids brought online coupons which earned us 120 tokens for $15.00. Then I brought my high school neighbor along to help with Abbie and Alexander. Also we went at 9:00 am and nearly had the place all to ourselves. The older kids' favorite part was when they looked under machines and found additional tokens. I insisted on showers later in the day to take care of germs and super bugs.
Yesterday was a bummer of a day and the grey clouds really got me down. Thankfully I had Parenting group at night to look forward to. My highlight of yesterday began with the determination to get Alexander off of diapers. For some reason, I named yesterday as the day for him to poop on the potty. I fed him lots of applesauce and set him on the pot for half hour. No poop. I let him get down and run around bare butt. Back on the potty, he peed on the carpet but no poop. Now its time for bed and he insists on a clean diaper. so clean diaper and all he hops into bed and 20 minutes later the room reaks... He pooped. Guess I will have to let him pick next time!!!

Work from home, work out of home, stay at home

Today was very crazy and there is much more crazy to be had. The day started with Michael leaving the house at 6:00am so that he could get to work early to make extra dough by 7:00am. My before and after kids were here by 6:45 am and Dad was here by 8:20 to watch my babies while I took the remaining 4 kids to school on my way to work. Avantis asked me to work because my replacement's grandma died. About lunch time I came home to a very smug grandpa and two well loved babies. Now, with the munchkins in bed I have 17 minutes left to write before I pick up the school kids, wake up the babies and head to Isaac's doctor appt. Since Mike is playing raquetball after school, he won't be home until 5:30 so after everyone eats, I will (hopefully) go grocery shopping by myself. Then I get to sit down... Aaaaaahhhh. Then there is tomorrow when the kids don't have school and I get to look after all 6 of them. I probably won't blog tomorrow!!!