Easter & Others

We had a great Easter weekend.  Friday night we had some friends over, and grilled out.  It was a blast!  Michelle and Dave brought plastic eggs, and because the weather was yucky out we hide them around the house.  The kids had a blast hunting and playing.  They were all very tired by the end of the night.   Then Saturday, Trent had a exhibition baseball game, and we headed up to my sister's house to dye eggs.  It was fun.  The kids had a great time, and so did the adults!  We colored about 3 dozen eggs.  We headed over to Mom and Dad's and saw the kittens and new baby Donkey (which it turns out is a boy not a girl like we first thought).  That evening we headed home. 

Sunday we got up, and the Easter Bunny had visited.  Rylee and Eli got insect things.  Rylee got a lady bug house, and Eli got a ant hill.  So we went online and ordered the bugs!  That should be fun.  The kids ate some candy, and we headed out to My Aunt & Uncle's house.  We ate great food, and had a big Easter Egg hunt.  Then after the hunt was over the kids broke open a Pinta.  It was a great time as always. 
After all that excitement we headed back to Mom and Dad's house and the kid's had to find their Easter baskets their.  Mom always does a good job of hiding them!  Cheryl had brought over the Wii, so the kids played that for a bit.  "Just Dance" provided a lot of entertainment for us!  The sad thing is that Eli and Rylee were better then the rest of us!  After dinner we headed home.  It was a long weekend, but a nice one! 

I have pictures to put on here, but have to download them...I will do that soon!

Anything but that!

Last night I told the kids that we needed to get the toy room clean!  It was a disaster!  When I say it was a disaster I mean I think every toy the kids own was on the floor.  Most of the time when it gets messy there is at least a path from the kitchen to the stairs, but not this time.  It was horrible!  After working on it for about 30 minutes on Wednesday night.  I told the kids that they had to help me on Thursday night or I was going to get out a garbage bag and toss everything on the floor!  I don't think they believed me, but last night we started cleaning.  I try to have the toys organized as much as you can.  All the My Little Ponies go in one bin, all the Zhu Zhu Pets in another, etc.  So as we are cleaning...It is becoming very obvious that the kids (especially Rylee) don't want to help.  They are coming up with every excuse in the book!  Rylee has to go to the bathroom, Eli wanted to take a block up stairs to put it away, pretty soon Eli had to go to the bathroom, then Kale was thurssy (thirsty for those of you that don't speak Kale).  It was one thing after another...As you can imagine, I was getting fed up!  After some yelling they started being more productive, but soon again excuses started happening again...Eli had to go potty, Rylee was dying of thirst, and then it happened...

After instructing them that I had had it, I was getting out a garbage bag and things were getting tossed if they didn't start cleaning.  I went into the kitchen got a garbage bag out and started randomly picking up toys and tossing them.  First it was a truck of the boys, then a horse that was Rylee's, toy after toy I put them in the bag.  I actually had to stop because I couldn't help, but laugh.  Call me a mean Mom, think what you will, but picture this...All three kids sitting on the floor of the toy room, surrounded by piles of toys,  crying their eyes out.  I don't know who was louder, Kale or Rylee!  And there was little Eli in between his face bright red and tears just streaming down his face.  I probably should have felt bad, I probably should have not laughed, but I couldn't help it.  It was funny!  They can be so dramatic!  So I stopped tossing the toys, and said.  If you don't want to have them thrown away then you need to help me...

Rylee and Eli got the hint.  From that moment on they worked a lot harder to get the room clean.  Kale...He is only 2 1/2, so I give him some slack, but that Kale...He still was doing anything but helping.  I knew it was bad when he came over and told me that I could throw one of his toys away, cause he didn't want to clean.  Then two seconds later he says..."Mommy I gotta go potty!"  (This from the boy we have to bribe to sit on the potty).  You do, I reply...Well, Let's go then. No...he says...You clean, I go myself!  Yeah!  Nice try! 

I guess anything is better then cleaning the toy room...Even going potty like a big boy! The good news is...The room is clean (for now!)

April and...

Back in January I put a post on here talkign about what I hoped 2011 would bring...Here was my list & the updates to it:

A new job or a new career. (Something that makes me happy!) Check - Project Facilitator - Demco Inc. One month under my belt and loving it so far!

Kale being potty trained! (I have had 6 1/2 years of diapers, and I am ready for it to be over!) Still working on this one!

A Superbowl victory for the Packers! (Sorry Steeler's fans!) Check - Superbowl CHAMPS!

Rylee growing back in her two front teeth. (The girl couldn't eat an apple if her life depended on it.) We have one that is over half in and no sign of the second one yet!

I would love to lose about 20 lbs, but who wouldn't! Down about 5 lbs!  Working on the next 15!

Eli to not pee at night.  I am afraid he is going to have to wear pull-ups to college! (He is a sound sleeper, but come on!) No progress here...He is still peeing up a storm!

I can't wait to meet my new nephew in April...I hope makes things nice on his Mom and enters the world quickly and healthily! Check - Theo was born this last weekend and is adorable!

I hope Trent has a great baseball season, and his team makes it to the final four.  (Two reasons: 1.) I know that he really wants to play in the championship game, and it would be a great accomplishment for him and his team, and 2.) Then he could retire!  Ha ha!) Baseball season is just starting! So far they won their first preseason game! 

I hope I get to spend lots of time with my family and freinds, cause you all mean the world to me! Still working on this one. 

UPDATE!

Okay...I am making a pledge to get back to blogging.  It's been a long time again.  I guess that finding a job and basketball sucked up a lot of my time!  But Basketball is over, and I am employed again, so no more excuses!  :)

We are very excited to announce that we have a new addtion to the Family.  Saturday April 16th, Tim & Emily welcomed Theodore John Schneider into the world.  He was born at 6:26 a.m. and was 9 lbs 1 oz and 19 inches long.  He is adorable, and we are so excited to have a new nephew and cousin!  We went up to the hospital on Sunday to see him.  It's amazing how little they are when they are born...You forget so fast.  Theo had some breathing issues after he was first born, but is doing good now. 

Also since my last entry, I have obviously started my new job.  I am really enjoying it.  Starting to feel like I am up to speed on all the training and actually contributing. I am working on the Eastside of Madison at Demco.  The drive is about 25 minutes, and is almost all interstate, so it's a nice easy drive.  It's also kind of nice being in Madison again. I can just run to the store to get stuff!

The kids are good.  Kale is getting to be such a big boy.  He is still struggling with potty training.  He is stubborn little guy!  The things that amaze me are the recent changes that are so small, but add up.  He really has conversations with you now.  He went from broken sentances to actually speaking in full sentances and asking questions.  He also started drinking out of a regular cup all the time.  I haven't thrown away the sippies yet, but they are reserved for car rides and travel.  It'sstrange to think that before we know it will will be able to get rid of them entirely!  Elijah is also doing great.  He is really into baseball this spring (which makes Trent over the top happy).  He not only wants you to pitch to him all the time, but he wants to pitch to you too!  He likes to bat both right handed and left!  He is starting to talk about school alot, and going to kindergarten.  We are going to wait to send him until fall of 2012.  He only makes the deadline by 2 days, and we want him to be ready!  The closer we get to the fall the more I wonder if he is ready, but an extra year won't hurt him at all.  Rylee just started spring soccer!  Her first game got snowed out last night.  She is really starting to be such a good little reader!  It's amazing to me how from night to night you can see her get more confident in her reading.  Shs is also practicing her subtraction now, and getting better at that everyday! 

Trent made the decision to play Home Talent Baseball this year for Lodi instead of returning to Mazomanie.  It was a very hard decision for him, but he is also excited to be managing the Lodi team this year as well as playing.  It's a nice change for us, cause his game will be closer to home.  It's also a great oppurtunity for us to meet more people in the community!  I know that he will miss Mazo and the great friends he made there! 

So that is the last couple months in a nutshell.