martha stewart is my nemesis

Martha gets on my nerves.  For one WHY DOES her picture have to be on everything she produces?  I keep thinking she is about to retire and then no...she has a new line of simply beautiful home decor at kohls or something like that.  I'm kinda sick of her simply sweetly perfect home decor.  Because if you looked at my house right now...it's not simple.  There is a layer of little people on the carpet, there is clashing stockings hanging on the mantel, I have throw pillows that were made by 8 year old girl scouts,( and it looks like possibly color blind girlscouts) My serving ware is primarily from the goodwill or from the day I was married. It doesn't coordinate.  I don't have a tiered cupcake stand.  There are things that just aren't up to marthas standard.  Oh and today on the view they had Martha showing how to make simply perfect holiday desserts.  She wouldn't give the recipe.  All the ladies on the view were like trying to get the recipe from her, like these chocolate cookies, and one of them said "So how do you make those chocolate cookies?" and Martha said  "It's dough!  You make them from dough!" with this really exasperated look on her face.  Like we all thought you made cookies from concrete or something.  Then in the same day in the dentist office I was reading some magazine and it said "Entertain Martha's way" where it then went   "Entertaining made perfectly simple."  She continued....something like this "When I want a simple christmas gathering I whip up about 20 of my favorite simple dishes, such as soup, and invite all my friends over for a lovely gathering in the kitchen"  20!!!  She seriously said 20 and I am not kidding.  Who besides someone with a hyperthyroid disorder whips up 20 pots of soup for some friends to come and eat in the kitchen?  So I've had enough of her simple holidays.   I'll take some messy, chaotic, disorganized holidays.  And my christmas tree with the top missing lights and all the ornaments from the bottom moved to the top because i have a 1 year old who likes to rearrange glass ornaments.  Or step on them.  Or throw them.  He even bit one.  And it broke and his lips bled. He's okay so don't worry.

getting used to this new blogger layout is INSANITY!!  I couldn't figure out how to publish anything.

The past couple days I've been LOW on energy....I fall asleep at like 9 o clock.   I was staying up till like midnight for like a couple of weeks and now maybe its catching up with me.  Also I feel like maybe my hormones are firing up.  When I nurse a baby I don't have a period and so I feel totally hormonally free for like a year or two.  Then PMS comes back and hits me like a truck.  So that means one thing...time to have baby number 4.  I'd rather be puking for 4 months than having a period.  Also I know that we have another baby boy in our future  I totally just need to pop another 12 pounder out.  AWESOME.  hahhaha.  That makes me so tired just thinking about it.   Maybe in a year or two. 

So in my energetic state I was getting christmas all totally squared away.....which meant I shopped online for like a week straight. 

 wanna hear what the dotson kids are getting?

Harvey is getting a stuffed john deere tractor that makes noise.  He found it at the toy store in Childrens medical center and tried to steal it.  All the ladies who worked there were like giggling with joy.   He's also getting a robotic bird and a pull back car and a wooden hammer with a ball thing that pops through a slide thingy.  

Eva is getting a doll with brown hair and brown eyes.....all their dolls have blue eyes and she is always wanting one with brown eyes.  And a polly pocket car and craft kits and hmmm wooden cookies with frosting and sprinkles...they are so cute!  

Addie is getting a doll wheelchair and crutches and casts.  I know she is going to love it.  Its for her American girl doll and she is constantly wrapping their arms in toilet paper to make it look like they have casts.  Also a rubber ball making kit, polly pocket car and I need to get her something else but I don't know what yet.  hmmm.  Oh yeah, I sewed them both some clothes for their babies.

So now I just have to shop for relatives and I'm done!!!!  Because we are going to FLORIDA for Christmas.  Addie is afraid she is going to get left at home and have to fend off robbers because she's watched home alone too much.   I think it will be fun, we're going with my parents and staying on the beach so it will be a nice break from everything.  

I like to get all the shopping done early because my favorite parts of Christmas are all the things that don't involve gifts like going to see lights, and going to hear the Christmas devotional, and watching my kids perform in the church nativity (Addie is Mary this year) and delivering cookies.  Some years we plan a big service project but I haven't dreamt anything up yet...hmmm.  Maybe something in Florida?  I found out our church owns 1000's of acres in florida!  They produce a ton of food there, have a working cattle ranch, and orange groves, and wheat fields, and corn fields.  They use the food for the church welfare program. The church's welfare program is so awesome!  It would be fun to see if we could go tour it for Christmas.  Anyways, enough ramblings.  Happy Thanksgiving to my family and friends!  I'm thankful for all of you!

November baby

Ahhhh I love Fall! Today was so beautiful.....yellow leaves, blue skies, mmmmmmmm. oooooh. Hhahahha. that reminds me of me and Steph...sometimes when we are in weird moods we'll call eachother and not say Hi just start groaning into the phone. A groan is a thousand words really. who needs a conversation when you can moan and groan for a while . We said when we're old we'll just call each other say "UGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH" then hang up.
Last night we went trick or treating with the kiddos. Oh Harvey was so cute...he trucked up to the door like he had been doing it for years. But he wimped out after about 4 houses so then Danny took him home and he fell asleep. Trick or treating in the suburbs just doesn't have the same kick as trick or treating when we lived in Dayton. One reason is NO ONE really trick or treated in Dayton. It must have been some unwritten rule. Sure they would schedule the night....but no one would actually go door to door. Except us. We would wheel little Addie Lou in her stroller door to door and everyone would look down the street, see no one and dump the whole bowl in her bag. We would get some serious candy. Although some people would get way too excited about halloween and put like fake dead bodies everywhere and fake blood and we would try to avoid the scary sex offender houses....with the big obese man leering down from his porch. Yep. Just keep walking. Then I compared it to my many years of trick or treating in P. hill. Tiny town, we all dressed up till we were 18 because we had marching band and had to play in the halloween parade. I really cant remember what I dressed up as but mostly I think it involved trucker men, or just working a mullet and a flannel shirt. Or an afro and a tie died t. shirt.
So I really don't get why every adolescent girl I saw last was wearing fishnets with a bikini top and a tutu. And they had some hormonal hooded sweatshirt wearing boy tagging behind them. UUUUGGGGGHHHHHH.

hey I am writing on here but Harvey is trying to sit on the keyboard so this will be fun. Awesome he just ran to the front door to try to see the dump truck. Men are easily distracted I've found. Especially 1 year old men. Harvey went to nursery for the first time on Sunday . He has slept through church since the first day he went at like 6 weeks. We would strap him in the stroller, take 2-3 laps around the dark gym, and he would be out for the entire 3 hour block. That's how its worked up till yesterday. I was playing the piano for the primary program. I dont' know but that is probably one of the most torturous days of the whole year is practicing for the primary program. It doesn't help that I've been in Primary now for like......9 years I think?
I enjoy kids. That's why I have 3 of my own. So it all works out. anyways, Harvey was awake so Danny took him to nursery and he said he didn't cry and the only thing Danny heard when he walked away was Sister Wade saying 'Harvey don't eat off other peoples plates" which made me laugh imagining Harvey digging into other kids snacks. And thinking of him being big enough to understand english. I've been busy wrestling him to the ground so he doesn't constantly throw things away in the trash. He threw my brand new shoe away I'm sure of it. It went missing and I've found my CELL phone in the trash, Addie's shoe, and my hairbrush, and huge things like a huge toy firetruck sitting on top of the trash can lid.
I've let my piano students earn "piano bucks" all summer and they all got to pick out of my piano store. Which was mostly candy. I couldn't think of anything more exciting. But then Eva raided the piano store and stole almost all the candy and hid it somewhere in her room....all I know is she has a serious stash of candy somewhere and whenever she wants any she just goes to her hiding place and finds it.
time out for women was really awesome! I went with my mommy and my sisters. We had a great time and heard (and met) Mercy River. And I met Brad Wilcox who I've heard speak since I was a teenager going to EFY. He is really hilarious in real life too. I'm definately going to try to go again. Also a shout out too my friend (won't say her name) who I saw there and she told me she is secretly expecting twins.....so it will make 7 kids total! She is my hero!

new post

Yep I'm here. Summer time is bad blogging time for me. Who wants to sit on the computer when I could be outside at the pool or playing with my kids. Also my old computer died so we had about a week transfer of shopping and setting up. Summer was good but incredibly hot. We went to Michigan for a week but spent the rest of it at home. Danny went back to school at the beginning of August. Addie decided to go to school. It was harder for me than her. I cried like a baby the night before she left but she acted very non chalant about it all. She get's herself on the bus every day and does her homework without help and has made some friends she talks about. So today Addie is home sick with a cold and the three kids are watching scooby doo. My friend is having a baby and I'm giving her a baby shower so I'm making food all day. Crescent rolls have CRISCO in them and I'm not talking just one or two spoonfulls like a FULL CUP! Crescent rolls should be called fat rolls...but I need it to make veggie pizza. The vegetables disguise the lard filled crust....HAHHAHAHA. Veggie pizza is a total oxymoron. What if I tried to make the whole world obese by selling them on the veggie pizza diet? That goes along with what danny and I were discussing the other night. Because he's been working out and trying to lose his belly as he says and I was like " if it's the end of the world you might be able to LIVE off the fat in your belly." and he was like "I don't think that's a good food storage plan" and I was like "WHAT IF you just tried to get really fat and then when everyone else in the whole world dies of starvation you are a lean 165 lbs and you can claim everything in the world and make yourself KING of the world???" I don't think it's that bad of a plan personally. I got a big old bag of llama wool I'm learning how to process. It's actually alot of work processing llama wool. First you gotta fluff it, then you gotta card it...which is a rickety machine that i use at this place I've been weaving at. Yes I'm weaving too. I'm going to make the llama wool into a rug. So then you card it...the machine is in the basement of the weaving store and you are surrounded by fibercrafts from years past and it's overloaded with old wool and spinning wheels and it really feels like a psychotic person could be lurking behind a shelf of red died wool or a freaky old woman ghost could show up sitting on a spinning wheel in the corner. So I try to think about other things while I card the wool. But it does take forever so my mind starts to wander. I've had to take a break the past couple of weeks because Addie is getting baptized at the end of the month, so I'm planning that and I'm making birthday presents for my niece and nephew and the baby shower and I'm doing coop preschool with Eva and I'm trying to work out everyday and I'm trying to just be all around awesome. so far I'm succeeding. Yes I am.

I told the witch doctor I was in love with you

.here's my baby and my nephew, Malachi...summer is in full bloom round here.
hanging outside with cousins is on the daily to do list
learning to walk at the ripe old age of 14 months.....he's so dreamy.....
answering the families request to make donuts...These ones turned out awesome and I made them from scratch so I was prideful about it.....but we downed about 2 dozen in a day or two so that's definately not something we will do weekly or we will end up being as round as donuts.

nighttime ramblings

(the day I threw out piggie, Addie's pig hand puppet from when she was a baby....I bawled)

up because I woke up to a warm shower. Yes a certain 4 year old woke up, crawled on me in bed, and proceeded to pee on me. She continued to sleep through that event and I said "Hey Eva wake up you just peed. " She woke up and laid down on the couch in our room and fell asleep again. pee and dreams. Awwww sleepy. So far a good summer is happening. The kids are loving their new trampoline, and we have a cheap odd lots pool arranged for summer jumping/splashing fun. I said I was going to work with Addie and Eva all summer on academic type subjects but that's going quickly out the window. We are all too lazy for anything structured. Maybe in a couple of weeks. My head hurts! I'm tired. Lately I've felt slightly ambitionless......happy just to go through life and ride the wave as I tell Rachel. Just ride the wave. But maybe I should be plotting some great thing for me to accomplish. I think mothering is taking all my umph out of me and I just have kind of a zzzzz happy feeling. Kind feels like a dose of novacaine has been injected through my whole body and whenever I think about some goal I'm like...maybe in ten years. Danny is such a sweet husband. Telling me I'm doing awesome and great, look at our kids, they are happy and healthy and learning. 11 years ago (last month) I met a short curly headed guy I couldn't completely distinguish from 2 other shortish dark haired guys at church. I just knew he was the cute one with a bald roommate. I love that guy.....sigh. Goodnight blog.

end of school year

I set an arbitrary end of school year for Addie. It's Friday. We have had a good school year because I have really cut back on the busy work and just focus on what I think is important. Math mostly, handwriting and writing, and reading whatever she wants. We occasionally read "Story of the World" and we check out non fiction from the library for science or just talk about sciency topics with Mr. Dotson, most ridiculously awesome science teacher ever :)

So I promised her she could once again ( she had them done when she was 5 and screamed every time I tried to clean them so I just ended up pulling them out and letting them close up) get her ears pierced as an end of school year prize.
I looked at her ears and realized one of her old ear holes wasn't totally closed up. So I talked her into letting me poke a needle through it and stick an earring in. No tears either. Then I was like....I dont' want them to use a gun that's supposed to be bad for their ears. So I called a bunch of piercing places and they all said they wouldn't pierce a kid. So then I called Norma Jean. She was on the internet advertised as a piercer. We ventured to her shop which included a large amount of realistic looking baby dolls, a tanning bed, and MANY MANY wigs. Behind me two young guys in suits walked in (I thought they were missionaries but no name tags ) and were like..."We need a wig"
She of course didn't hesitate..."I'll be right with you boys" and she pulled out a hot pink piercing gun....shot an earring into Addie's ear (no sanitizer ) and handled the fellows in need of a wig. I recommended the cotton candy pink wig. They nodded thoughtfully. We walked out 10 dollars poorer but with a happy and gun pierced 7 year old.

two years ago

this was my Addie (in the middle) ......I love Lena's helmet and Dane's spiderman pajama shirt. And looking at old pictures I realized I'm going to miss Addie's silver capped front teeth like crazy. One of those things that you just don't realize it's even happening until it's too late and they are long gone. Addie has best friends in her cousins and that's a blessing. I only had a couple of cousins and we only saw them maybe twice a year. Not that we didn't live it up. We swam in the Holiday Inn pool at Christmas and ate pizza and then spent summer sunning on my grandma's beach and drinking root beer out of emptied out beer cans. These cousin relationships are more day to day....phone calls just to sit on the internet and play a game together, fighting, teasing, chasing, and laughing with inside jokes and crazy plans. All these kids!

he's a lover and a biter

Happy mothers day to you too! I told Addie Harvey is a lover not a fighter and she went...Oh no he's not. He's a lover and a biter. true true. I mostly carry on this blog for my own record keeping as it's not really a blog hot spot.......I just wanted to say how awesome it is to be a mom. I NEVER KNEW. I truly love it and can't imagine anything I'd rather do....except occasionally get a bath without little friends hopping in but I know someday I'll be alone in a bath and being alone is seriously overrated. Every night I just say a prayer of gratitude for the blessing of being surrounded by my sweet little ones.

I feel like this is what life is about...this is it and it is truly awesome. Biters and all.

I see the SUNNNNNN

It is finally sunny and it has boosted my mood tremendously.
We are loading up our kites and blankets and heading to the park.
This month has been one of a bit of spring fever moodiness for all of us.......
we just need to get our hands in some dirt and get some natural rays of light instead of watching Rapunzel on repeat and hanging out in the stinky indoor playground at the Y. Not that the stinky indoor playgruond didn't save my sanity many a day. But it's May 5th no less and that's reason for a FIESTA so it's gonna happen that way gosh darnit.

The happy things in my life lately......

Harvey is still my baby being a snuggly nursing wonder and he is my dreamboat!!

Addie and Eva were caught lying in bed this morning holding hands and whispering about what they were going to surprise me with for Mothers day :)

Danny always knows what to tell me after a dark sunless day to make me laugh and feel happy again........

My sisters are my best friends and I get to go out with them and my mama for a mothers day night out tomorrow.

I read a book called "Hectors search for Happiness" I need to add a rule of happiness...."Too many days without light can make people unhappy"

big week ahead

It's Harvey's 1st birthday!!!! It's been a year and he's still being a little baby wanting me to carry him everywhere (all 27 lbs of him) and not walking...but crawling like a champ and saying "Hi!" "bye" "Addie" "Mama" "dada" "dog" and "ball". yes he's brilliant I know. oh and "butt butt" That's the code for diaper change. Also Danny and I are celebrating our 10th anniversary. Which means I got married ten years ago and I was just a Bubby 20 year old. It's been 10 years of PURE HECK. Jk jk. We are trying to figure out what to do for our day of luuuuuv. We thought about going away somewhere but then we'd have to take Harvey with us and I could just imagine Harvey swimming naked in a heart shaped hot tub the whole weekend. Which we would have to take him because not a night has gone by in this whole year without him putting down at least a gallon of mama milks. So I'd probably try to leave him, he'd scream the whole night, and I'd wake up with mastitis. So We might just have to go to the Danberry and get chipotle. Sounds soooo romantic and fun. Just kidding. I think we're going to take a hot air balloon ride and sing Wind Beneath My Wings and have a picnic in the clouds. Sounds good huh? Also Addie has an apointment in Columbus with someone who basically has a cure for CMT in her back pocket. She is a big researcher at OSU neurologist and she's done all this research with a chemical called Neurotrophin 3. So far it looks really promising and I'm going to tell her "give me that stuff or ELSE!" or I might bribe her with a bucket full of the play doh poop we've all been entertaining ourselves with over the weekend. If you want to find out more about what we are dealing with here google charcot marie tooth or hereditary peripheral neuropathy. Also it's a week of spring break fun so no school for Addie or Danny!!! yahoo.

I have absolutely nothing to say

except Congratulations to my sister Stephanie on her sweet new baby boy Henry!!! He's such a sweetie

He's a bundle of love and since he's the third boy is getting tons of manly attention from all his older brothers. Steph is my hero and she did beautifully with this little guy.

what happened at the mall should stay at the mall

what happened at the mall was Harvey and all the cousins and his sisters were all playing on one of those mat play areas. Also known as e coli and germ central. Harvey being a new crawler and cruiser was enjoying surfing around the playland things. Which involved alot of mouth on mat action. But me being the proud mother of a newly exploring 11 month old thought it was no big deal. Also because he is always either licking or sucking things that shouldn't be sucked on. Like the metal aisle divider thing that is at the library. On the floor sucking on it.
He also enjoys licking the windows whenever he happens to be near one. I can relate being a slightly orally fixated person. I always liked putting my tongue on strange things like the fly swatter and then feeling the other side to feel how bumpy my tongue felt through the little mesh holes. then someone would point out what fly swatters were for and yeah gross.

so that inocuous visit to the mall ended up with my little guy blowing biscuits for a good 5 days.
And a trip to the E.R. because he seemed dehydrated with everything coming out both ends as "they" say. I think it was something called the rota virus. Which they have a vaccine for but I opted not to get it because the old rotavirus vaccine made kids intestines prolapse or something like that and I figured they should have more time checking this one out before I use my kids as guinea pigs.

just as Harvey started to recover I saw Eva sleeping on the couch. My mommy radar started going off and when Eva woke up I asked her "Are you feeling ok?" All she could get out was a "NO!" then puke. that went on for the next 5 days.

So now Eva has finally gone about 36 hours with no puke and oh my gosh. I feel like I just won the lottery.

the feeling is in that winter will end

we are all healthy but playing doctor has become a popular pasttime
Eva showing her baby picture on her 4th birthday...
my baby girl is four!! She got a sweet bike and tap stick. (chap stick)
We have braved this horrible winter and I'm feeling that only good things are to come. I did feel like 2011 was pretty much a bust but I'm changing my tune and I'm feeling positive vibes about this year
messy baby in the high chair pic...gotta have it. So February...bring it on! I'm ready!

I made a new header and it is the pinnacle of my graphic design skillz.
We finally got well enough to get our booties out of the house yesterday. the girls have needed it so bad. They have been at the stage where they just keep telling eachother "Don't touch me and don't look at me!!' Where do they get these horrible things to say? I know I was probably the perfect non fighting angel as a child. riiiiiiiiight.
We went to story time and they built houses out of frosting and marshmallows. Then we took Addies friend with us to the indoor playground and then she came over. And Addie yanked out her other front tooth in the midst of all this.
So now Addie has no front incisors anywhere to be seen and I'm thinking every tooth Harvey grows in Addie loses one. Some cosmic tooth trade or something.

So we are all sick. Except Harvey and Danny. But all the females are sick. Is it horrible to get annoyed when your kids are sick? It's like I just want to force health on them. We've watched so much tv we are all going to have our eyes pop out of our head. And I've warned Eva over and over if we watch way too much TV our eyes will probably pop out of our head and Chilly will probably eat on of our eyes when it rolls across the floor. So watching too much tv is extremely risky. So our possibilities for January have been reduced to possibly be healthy enough to leave the house. Possibly not have to buy more kleenex boxes. possibly be healthy enough for us to celebrate Eva turning 4 at the beginning of February. And all I have to say to my family who is going to Florida in like 3 weeks is........I wish you the best time in the world and you won't once think about all of us sad souls sitting in snow and sickness and sniffles. I wish you joy and warmth and health. no sarcasm at all.

Wilhelm Kempff plays Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata mvt. 3

found this old picture of Eva sitting in a a cloud of stuffing...

I kind of like January. It's long empty stretch lends the mind to all kinds of possibilities. Like yesterday the girls were begging me to take them ice skating. Sure! Why not? Then I thought about the fact that it was 20 degrees out. And I have to carry a baby.....and Addie and Eva both would need alot of assistance. So that never happened. BUT it was a possibility. Instead we spent the afternoon building a "contraption". Picture this: An orange balancing on a tower of blocks. Behind it is a trash can. In front of the tower are a huge line of dominoes. Behind the dominoes is a slide made out of books. Behind the slide made out of books a ball is teetering on the edge of a chair behind that another slide and at the tippy top of the book slide is a crazy wooden wheeled dog. The dog went down knocked the ball which started rolling which knocked the dominoes which knocked down the tower which would make the orange fly into the trash can with a flourish. It was epic.
It really didn't work either.
I told you January was all about possibilities.

I had some nice piano moments last night playing Beethoven Sonatas. The kids and Danny were watching G Force in the background. I wasin my own world. I love the moonlight sonata. The WHOLE moonlight sonata. It's way awesome. Anyways, if that isn't a good day I don't know what is.