Today was chore day- always thrilling! Oh wait, never thrilling, that's right. I went to Target and Super Wal*Mart this morning. I truly hate grocery shopping. Chris worked on the pool while I was gone. We have been neglecting it recently. Earlier in the week it reached 81 degrees and the boys couldn't get in because it was so icky. It's all clean now and ready for another warm stretch! I personally don't get in until it reaches 88 degrees, so I think I'll have to wait until April.

Chris gave the boys much needed haircuts after dinner. The boys all arrived at Chris' Barbershop with money in hand. They all asked for haircuts that would make them look like their favorite Power Ranger. So, you may get Noah confused with Yellow Ranger, Will confused with Black Ranger, and Ethan confused with Red Ranger. Noah was doing his cRaZy dance all around the house. He wanted me to take a picture of him doing it for everyone to see. That explains the picture of Noah.

Thankfully the week is over and I rather forget most of it! I'm just happy it's the weekend. Today was super cloudy and it is supposed to storm tonight and tomorrow. To be sure the boys got some run time in, we went to a park in Daytona. The boys really liked it. They have frisbee golf there so there are lots of water traps with cool old bridges going over them onto little islands. Plus they had a huge dinosaur to climb there which was an added bonus. The boys ran around on the bridges and playground equipment pretending to be on a Mystic Forces Power Rangers mission. After, we tried to get the boys some soccer shoes for their season that starts in a couple weeks, but of course we couldn't find all the sizes we needed. We held off getting any because we didn't want one of them to come home empty handed. I think Chris is going to try to find them online. After they BEGGED to go to their favorite "dinner place." Thanks to Pop-Pop Wayne it's Bob Evans. They were very happy eating lunch there and Will and Noah crashed on the way home.

Okay, I'm finally breaking down and going to the doctor. Today is the first day that I am fever free, but my chest feels terrible. I took the boys to Blockbuster and Publix and I wasn't sure I'd be breathing by the time we got home! I just hope Chris can make it home before it is time for my appointment. It wouldn't be much fun dragging the boys to the doctor with me at nap time!

Today has not been all that thrilling. Ethan went to Emily's to play for a couple hours. While he was there, Will and Noah went with me to buy a new dresser for their bedroom. The one they had completely fell apart. Since they still aren't the best with taking care of things, I just bought a cheap one. Eventually they will be responsible enough for nice furniture- hopefully! They all had fun helping Chris put it together. Luckily he got most of it done before Ethan came home and Will and Noah woke up from their nap.

I'm finally starting to feel better today. Yesterday my fever stayed around 103 again all day. Today when I woke up it was only 101 and after taking some medicine it went away and hasn't come back yet this afternoon. Now I just feel dizzy from all the medicine that I've been taking!

The pictures are of the boys helping Chris put together the dresser. One was taken yesterday when Ethan had his friends Emily and Spencer over to play.

The boys had a great time at the race. Chris is the true champ for taking the three boys on his own. I'm not sure I would have been brave enough. I gave them a mission to take a picture of the M&M car and they succeeded in doing it. They even said they saw it racing! The boys said that they witnessed a crash and they left before the real race even started! Since Chris was traveling with three cute boys, he got some special treatment. One of the bartenders worked it out so they could go watch the cars from the roof. He supplied them with earplugs and an official Hershey Kissables 300 pin! Chris got a lot of great shots- here are just a few...

TGIF!! The weather here today is absolutely perfect. It was in the low-50's this morning and is now 80 degrees. I love this time of year when it cools off at night and warms up during the day. The summer is not so much fun when it doesn't go below 70 degrees even at night for four months!

I still have a fever, but besides that and a cough, I feel fine. I had a meeting this morning 30 miles inland, so Chris took all the boys to school this morning. Will and Noah had a nap today at school and came home in much better moods.

Tomorrow Chris is taking the boys to the Speedway. His boss gave him tickets to tomorrow's race. The tickets allow you into the pits if you get there early enough. Chris is planning on leaving first thing to take the boys to see all of the cars. The race doesn't start until 1:30 so I don't know if they'll even hold out long enough to see any of it, but I'm sure they are more interested in seeing the cars than they are in seeing the race. The actual race they are going to is called the Hershey Kissables 300. Hmm...I wonder if they will be giving out free chocolate, I may change my mind about wanting to go! The tickets are for a box directly above the winner's circle and includes free food, snacks, liquor, etc. I'm sure the boys will take full advantage of that! I'm sure Chris will take lots of pictures so I'll post some tomorrow.

Poor Noah...he hasn't been allowed to nap at school for two days in a row!!! Yesterday Will crashed on the couch at 6:00 and I had to wake him up so he wouldn't stay up all night. Noah fell asleep the second he hit the couch at 2:15 this afternoon so I let him sleep for 45 minutes. They have been so grouchy and clingy because of it. I don't mind the clingy part, but the grouchy part has got to go. They better be allowed to nap tomorrow! I came home a bit early today because I wasn't feeling well. I picked Ethan up at dismissal and we came straight home. I, well actually Will had the honors, just took my temperature and it's 103! Paige had the same fever last night and threw up all night. Luckily, thus far, I just have the fever. I didn't eat yet as a precaution. I'm going to have sherbet and Sprite in a little bit. It's my favorite sick drink and luckily I bought some when we went grocery shopping this weekend!

Here is a picture of Will with Miss Chelsea. He loves her as well. There are loads more pictures on www.eggknee.net
(Kate, make sure you read Will's shirt.)

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! It's no big surprise who Noah's Valentine is, just look at his shirt. He absolutely adores one of the teachers at his school, Miss Chelsea. He even follows her to the bathroom and waits for her to come out so he doesn't have to miss her even for a second! Anyway, Mike made this shirt for him to wear on Valentine's Day. Miss Chelsea loved it and Noah enjoyed all the pictures he had taken with her! Ethan baked a cake for his class and was very excited to share it. He also was super excited to give his teachers their presents. I visited their party for a bit and I assure you all were having a good time! Will was happy to come home with a bag full of loot. I hope their sugar high wears off before 8:00 tonight!

Almost finished!!!

Working hard on their candy graphs.

Ethan was very patient and finished the rest of the cookies after everyone else disappeared to go play.

Will is visibly upset by the long wait. He was anxious to get started on his masterpiece.

Sophia enjoying her icing and sprinkles.

Preparing for Valentine's Day...

Today the boys were getting ready for the big day tomorrow. First they made Valentine cookies. The Eagney girls came over to help decorate them. Sophia just put icing and sprinkles on two cookies when we first started and then continued licking them over and over again while the "big kids" finished the other 40 or so cookies! We bought a small pack of cookie mix- apparently a small pack goes a long way. As you can see from the picture, Will is an impatient artist. He was quite annoyed waiting for his next cookie to decorate. After dinner the boys made a Valentine candy graph. I just want them to practice using the word graph. Plus Will and Noah still love sorting things. We talked about which had the most, least, etc and they were willing participants since it involved candy. Their favorite heart saying was, "Go girl!" They chanted that over and over again. Ethan and I still need to bake a cake for his class party tomorrow. We decided on a strawberry cake since it was pink with vanilla icing and lots of pink, red, and white sprinkles!

It has been quite chilly here. Tonight it is supposed to be in the upper-20's which is a rare occasion down here. Thank goodness we have heat! On a happier note, it's supposed to be in the low-80's again on Saturday. I think we might have to work in a beach visit. Hopefully all the dopes down here will be at the Speedway this weekend and noone will be at the beach.

This morning the boys were playing Hidden Temple with their blue tunnel. In case you are wondering, Hidden Temple is a kids' game show that is on Nick Gas. Anyway, Chris got a few shots of them playing.

We have to go out and run all of our errands today. We will have to bunker down tomorrow for the big Arctic Blast of 2006!

This is a picture of Noah pretending to be a bad guy that was just arrested!

Yesterday the boys had a fun afternoon. First, Emily came home with us from school to play. I had to go to the grocery store on the way home and bribed the four of them to be good! Luckily, it worked and we got in and out of there in a flash. We came home with lots of sugary snacks. The Eagney girls came over a bit later to play. They all ate dinner together and played non-stop. After everyone left the boys watched a spy movie and were off to bed. Today is Christie's shower. I still have to go buy wrapping paper, but I'm one step ahead of usual as I already got the gift!

On a very different note, my Grandma Owens had a stroke yesterday. Please keep her in your thoughts.

I have been terrible about posting lately!! School has been so busy and stressful that it is all I have just to get home in the afternoon, feed the kids, bathe them, and get them to bed. Melissa has been a champ walking with me every night and listening to me vent!

So, this week...

Ethan has been "winning" his reading counts test and got enough points to go in the treasure box this week. He picked out blow markers and the boys, little and big, had a lot of fun with those last night. Ethan also got his interim progress report and once again had a perfect report. The last book he tested on was at a reading level of 2.2 (second grade, second month). I am quite proud of him!!

Noah is obsessed with talking to, being with, and talking about Emma. He wants to call her the second he gets in the car after school and wants to invite her over or go over there every day! Yesterday we went over and played with the girls on their sweet playground. Today the girls are coming over our house for a "waffle" party. (Noah has been begging for waffles for a week and there is never time in the morning.)

Will has been entertaining us with his constant dancing and singing lately. It's so funny- he is normally the reserved one. He has also been quite cuddly this week. I'll be so sad when those days disappear. I just may have to raise three "momma's boys!" I'll take the blame from their wives in the future.

Chris has been trying to be as patient with me and my stress/grumpiness/sleepiness as he can. I just can't wait until March and state testing is over with. I feel so bad for these kids. It's bad enough that they have to grow up and work every day of their lives and now we are taking away their childhood stressing them out with tons of tests that will make or break their promotion to the next grade. I can't imagine being a kid that struggles in school and has to deal with all of that pressure; especially the ones that are working so hard. It's really sad.

Well, off to start the waffle party. (Okay, I've tried putting the pictures up twice and they keep getting dropped. I'll try again later.)

Today was another fun-filled day for the boys. Chris took Ethan to McDonald's to get his free meal for getting a perfect report card. Will and Noah had a birthday party at their favorite playground. It was a bit chilly today and super windy! Despite that, the kids had tons of fun. Their favorite is the tire swing. Their friend Hannah loves the tire swing just as much! Megan and Morgan are twins in Will and Noah's class and they turned five today. Above are pictures from the party.

Tonight is only supposed to be in the 30's. That's cold for Florida, in case you were wondering. I suppose it's appropriate Super Bowl weather. Melissa and I are going to walk. I just can't wait until the Super Bowl is over so I can watch Gray's Anatomy!!

Last night we had a little Pre-Pre-Game Super Bowl party! Ethan had a few friends from school going to Super Bowl parties and was jealous that he didn't have one of his own to go to. Since the Super Bowl was on a school night, we had to party the night before. Below are some pictures from the night.

The partying started with a little moon bounce action! Because it rained and stormed ALL day Friday AND Saturday, we had to bounce inside.

Katie came over to prove she could out party us old folks. She didn't prove anything!!

All the kids 5 and under took a bath together! They all had fun splashing around in the bubbles. Ethan said, "I AM NOT TAKING A BATH WITH GIRLS!!!" He relaxed in his own bathtub.

The night ended for the kids with a "sleepover" in the toy room. They were watching a few episodes of Teen Titans and once they refused to go to sleep we had to separate everyone! Katie thought for sure she would be able to get them to settle down with her ultra firm talk with them. She didn't even make it back to the living room before they started up again!

TGIF!!! This week has been insanely busy and Ethan has been so grumpy. I can't believe it's over!! I didn't give Ethan Benadryl last night or today and he did come home a happy camper. Clearly Benadryl brings out the worst in him.

Tonight we got pizza for dinner and the Eagneys came over for dinner as well. The boys and I made a cake after school out of boredom. It has been storming ALL day and hasn't stopped yet. I have to say, the boys had me in tears laughing almost the whole night with their dancing. Plus, they cooperated in my favorite game. I love asking them what words mean!!

And then there was Melissa!!! She too brought much laughter into my evening! Um, Melissa, are you thinking of Apple Dumpling from Stawberry Shortcake?? Just remember, you can never top me!!!

Paige wasn't entirely sure what to think of the cake! She was grumpy and I was hoping the cake would sweeten her up. It worked for a bit.

I think I'm as grumpy as Ethan today! I don't know what it is today. Ethan has been grumpy all week. I don't know what is up with him! He has been in time-out twice since we have been home. They played soccer outside when we got home and all was okay. Once we got in the house he became as grumpy and mean as ever.

Will played dress-up and was flying around the house as Buzz Lightyear and was protecting his room as a dragon. He was quite entertaining this afternoon.



Noah decided to stay out of the soccer game and rode around on his scooter. He came in and played with their 1,000 Mactchbox cars! They are currently spread all over his bedroom floor.


I'm quite excited that tomorrow is Friday. It is supposed to be 80 and stormy. I'm hopeful- thanks to Phil- that we'll have more "winter" weather. I'm not yet prepared for high-80's and 90's!! It's only supposed to be in the 60's Sunday through Tuesday.

Wow, grouchy is not even the word to describe Ethan today. I think it's the Benadryl bringing the evil out! At least he saves it all for home and remains the good child at school.

Will and Noah had their class picture taken at school today. I can only imagine the smiles. Watching 4 and 5 year olds try not to over-smile is the best!

Emily came home from school with us. Ethan was so grumpy so she spent most of the time playing with Will. I know Will was happy that he had someone to play with today! Ethan was dying for Emily to come over and play spies. They are both really into spy gear! Emily just got loads of stuff for her birthday. Ethan is quite jealous and is dying to start a spy kit of his own. He did get the spy watch as a present from Emily!

Noah was into his own thing today. He played with his favorite (Playmobil stuff), and then moved on to Legos.

Monday...definitely not fun day! Today's weather is sort of yucky. After school the boys watched the rest of a movie that they started watching with Daddy last night. Now they are doing art projects and playing in the house. Everyone is suffering from allergies. The pollen is insane here right now. Poor Hanzie is facing the worst of it. I have a headache and poor Ethan and Noah are coughing up a storm.

Today has been a fairly boring day! We finally did some MUCH needed yard work. Always thrilling! I also did a load of school work and still have a ton more to do. The boys played around the house all day and were actually quite good; especially considering we didn't go anywhere! I made veggie chili for dinner and Will and Noah refused to eat any of it. Of course when it was time for Sweetie's they were quite upset when only Daddy and Ethan went out the door! They were screaming like you wouldn't believe. I finally tossed the chili and gave them apples and strawberries. Noah was quite pleased with his logic that it was fine because Daddy and Ethan were going to get fat and unhealthy and he and Will were going to be strong and healthy since they were having strawberries and apples!