Dancin' with Ellen!

So today we watched the Ellen Show, just love her! anyway the twins wanted to dance today and I told them that Ellen dances. Quinn said, "She does? I dance." I said ok, just watch and you can dance with her. So of course I run to get the camera, because he is just too darn cute dancing, well lets say that he does some moves that I've never seen him do before. TOO DARN CUTE! Bella danced a little too and Brinlee rolls into the picture at the end...LOL! Maybe I can send it into Ellen?!

Bow-utiful Night

Last night I took some time for myself to be creative. The kids went down around 8:30pm with Brinle falling asleep in the saucer, but easily went to sleep in her crib...for a few hours lets say. Quinn was a cranky mess! With no nap yesterday it was defiantely bedtime! Bella of course wanted to act like an 'angel' because her brother was getting in trouble.

So from 8:30pm-10:30pm I set up my craft table and off to work I went! Jay went to work on ideas for Light House so I had some time to make the girls bows adn watch 'Next Food Network Star'. I first worked on Birthday bows for Bella, she still actaully fits into her 18mo Birthday Girl' t-shirt so I made her some pink/white birthday bows to wear all next week. She was so proud of them, she got to see them before she fell asleep - oh and she told me she wanted 2 BIG BOWS!! That's my girl.

I then worked on matching bows for Bella and Brinlee to wear at their party that matched their birthday summer dresses. I was very happy that I had ribbon to match and enough. With these hard times, I haven't bought any ribbon in MONTHS :( THey turned out so freakin' cute!

So to make all 5 bows, clean up, etc. They took me about 2hrs. Not bad! So of course I'm in the mood to make more bows, they are time consuming but when I'm in that zone I go to town.

After I was of course done, took some time on lovely Facebook, Brinlee had to wake up. Poor thing is teething her 2 top 1yr molars. So some Infant Tylenol and some cudding did it for a little bit, then she fell asleep on the floor. Of course then when I put her back down, Bella has to wake up because I turned off her tv. So I got to bed at 1:30am. But I got their very 'Bow-utiful' bows done! I know you are asking...'well I want to see PICS NOW SARAH!' So here you go!

Share or not to Share?

Well this was a fun night, since Brinlee is now on Sippy cups, since she discovered the twins, she loves taking their cups. At least Bella likes to share with Brinlee there isn't too much of a battle. Brinlee sure does have a little attitude about things. We are trying to teach her to 'share' but for an 11mo old that's hard to do. Here is a cute video! Enjoy!

Standing Tall!

Yes the day has come where we are standing tall all by OURSELF! Brinlee today was standing by herself, in one spot of course, not walking yet. I find her now pulling up on things, letting go and playing with a toy. She seems very happy that she can do this too! It only lasts for about 5 seconds, which is long enough for Mommy to snap a picture!

Here are some pics of our little baby!!

STANDING!

Friday Update

One again I'm slacking on our blog...that's a Mommy's life huh? I'll try to wrap up what has been going on with all of us today.

Brinlee: Wow what a fast growing little girl! She is now on whole milk. No problems what-so-ever with the change. We started her a bit early because finances are very tight, she did fine and I think is stronger than ever! She is now on completely whole foods, no pureed food, some things I have to mash, but mainly cut into small pieces. She now eats, mixed veggies, bananas, applesauce, pears, blueberries, fish sticks, mac n' cheese, pasta, cherrios, pudding, jello, juices- not citrus, and pretty mucha nything else she can get her hands on!! She is definately transitioning from one thign to another, as far as standing. She is not standing by herself without holding onto things yet. And we are not walking. However she is a very fast crawler!

Bella: She is our little helper, tattle-tale, attention getter, yes all around GIRL! She loves helping out and folding clothes or doing small tasks. Her job now is to make sure that Finna has water in her dog bowl. So she takes her plastic cup, fills it from the fridge and even puts it in the fridge to keep it cold then fills the dogs dish. Too cute! Bella is doing good on the potty, we had a few accidents here and there but now I thinkw e are getting a hang of it and actually going to the potty by ourselves and washing our hands. YES!

Quinn: Let me just say BOY BOY BOY! We are definately still into our tantrums, I guess it's just the age. We whine about everything and anything, getting him to talk things out, understnad things is hard. However I shouldn't say he doesn't understnad things, he does it's his actions and just not wanting to listen I think/ He teases Bella like crazy with hitting, bitting and also teasing the dog. This is something we are working on. Eating is a challenge with his as well. He just wants SNACKS all the time so this is where our tantrums come in....a long process here for this. Potty training is coming along, he still goes in his underwear, which I don't knwo why so we have to keep a close eye on him. The only thing I can think of is that he just wnats the attention right now! There is a lot of yelling in the house because he hits, bites, screams, throws tantrums, constantly teases the dog (she wil bite him oneday, honestly I don't blame her). He is very smart, loves to do puzzles with me, make-believe, count, etc. So I'm still trying to figure out what is going on....

The twins do play together very well for the most part, of course they have their moments. THem being in seperate rooms, nighttime routine has been better, and they are sleeping through the night for the exception of Brinlee. They play very well with Brinlee, I don't think Quinn gets the idea that she doesn't know any better when Brinlee takes his toys. Poor guy. Bella loves to share her things with Brinlee and sharing a room. She calls it 'THE GRISL ROOM'

Jay: First I have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It was yesterday!! Jay is working everyday still, and trying to pick up overtime whenever he can get it. It's July already and we just put together a flyer to post on his website for Light House..check it out! http://www.holidaylighthouse.com We are hoping that Light House gets even more business this year!

Sarah: Do you really need to know about moi? Yep still keeping things as sane as I can around here. Taking care of the kids and the house during the day and teaching at night. Summer sucks for me since I don't get many hours at all. We ahve asked for my fathers help to put ourselves on a very strict budget. It's going to be rough but worth it in the long run! I try to keep some 'Mommy Time' by designing siggies, blinkies, and more on 3 sites. This is my relax time late at night.

So as a family we are doing the best we can and surviving. This economy sucks but we ahve to keep our heads up even when it looks really really bad. We are enjoying the times at home sicne we can't go anywhere. We are gearing up for the Twins Birthday on the 19th, and Brinlee's 1st Birthday on the 23rd! One party to celebrate too!! So that's about it, I know I'm so slacking on keeping this blog up, I think about it then never get to it, another thing to try to schedule into my very booked schedule...LOL!

Disney Time!

So Aunt Marlene and Josh came to visit and we got some great pictures, we had a lot of fun at the parks. We saw a lot of fishes, riding rides, laughing and having just plain fun!! We can't wait to do it again, thanks for a lot of fun ;)

Make a Smilebox photobook

OK and here is part 2!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Strawberry Shorcake - The High Life!

Alright since summer is here, well it's always here in FL...on 'The Dressing Room Forum' this is my post for the EC.

Strawberry Shortcake...Very Easy:

What you need

• container of strawberries, depends on how many you want :)
• cup of sugar
• frozen pound cake, I suggest SaraLee brand
• Cool Whip Light

Of course let your pound cake and Cool Whip sit out to defrost, this is only if you are going to serve right away otherwise put in the fridge. Clean and slice your strawberries. In a small saucepan put in your strawberries, and 1 cup of sugar. Cooking on low heat continuously stir until warm and sugar is melted. Be sure not to burn. You may also add a touch of vanilla for an added flavoring. Take mixture of the heat and set aside for about 5min. Slice your pound cake, top with the strawberries, slightly warm, top with a generous amount of Cool Whip and ENJOY the High Life!

Summer Days

Well it's summertime and my idea of a perfect summer day is sunny, about 84 degrees, a few clouds and a light breeze. It's just warm enough to go in the pool but not scorching hot! On days like this I love just laying by the pool, going to the park (if it's not crowded) and just enjoying it. We do get some days like this in FL, but most are very humid!

We mostly get our prefect summer days like this not until the fall, like in October/November. When this time rolls around we really enjoy going to Disney and just walking arund for a few hours, the parks aren't very crowded and we actually can ejoy ourselves.

So if you are ever thinking of coming to visit Disney and you hate the crowds, the humidity, the rain, think about coming in Spet/Oct/Nov. Yes you will the daily afternoon rain taht last about 30min, big deal! This is the time to come because the crowds are low and the weather is nice!

No more Website

Well these tough times have really hit us hard! Today we have made the decision to cancel our website for the family as well as the emails that go along with it. Sometimes you have to do what is best for you and your family to make ends meet, making decisions that you don't want to, but will help us keep a roof over our head and food in our tummies must come FIRST!

If you used to contact us through our website please do so here, you may also contact Jay through: www.holidaylighthouse.com

We definately want to keep in touch with our family and friends so pleae, visit this blog Frequently!! We love you all, but need to do what is best for US as a FAMILY.

Price of Children

I know I haven't posted in awhile, things are crazy as usual. I have been trying to keep up with everything...work, recitals, kids, bills, helping a friend with her website and blog, keeping in touch with friends and family, the house, fun time for me and family, update everyone on pictures, oh and sleep!

Anyway I got this email about a week ago from a good family friend, Mike. I saved the email because I wanted to share it with everyone. It's great! Enjoy!!

Here's something absolutely positive for a change. I have seen the breakdown of the cost of raising a child, but this is the first time I have seen the rewards listed this way.

It's nice.

The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140 for a middle-income family.

Talk about price shock! And that doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140 isn't so bad if you break it down.

Look at it this way, $160,140 is:

$8,896.66 a year,
$741.38 a month,
$171.08 a week.
A mere $24..24 a day!
Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is: “Don't have children if you want to be 'rich'.”

Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140?

* Naming rights. First, middle, and last!
* A little glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold, usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140, you never have to grow up. You get to:
* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:
* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies
* wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck.

You get to be a hero just for:
* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:
* First step,
* First words,
* First bra and/or jock strap,
* First date,
* First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications and human sexuality that no college can match.

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God.

You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.

That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love and enjoy your children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren!
It's the best investment you'll ever make!