Apple Songs

On the way to our gym this afternoon something really funny happened! We were listening to Kiss FM, and Flo Riders song "Low" (I think it's called this) came on. It is the one that says "shorty got low, low, low, low" over and over again. Well...sadly Carson knows every word to the chorus of this song because his big bro Cade sings it nonstop. So Carson jammed to..
Apple Bottom jeans boots with the fur,
The whole club was looking at her,
She hit the floor she hit the floor,
Shorty got low low low low low low low
Them baggy sweat pants and them Reebok's with the straps,
She turned around and gave that big booty a slap,
She hit the floor she hit the floor,
Shorty got low low low low low low low
You could make out every word that he said and I would have paid $ to have a video camera at that moment. This is not to say that I don't expose my kids to wholesome music! Just for proof, I have to tell you what the girls did when Flo Riders song came on. I guess the Apple Bottom Jeans part made them think of their favorite song "Apple Annie". As Carson was jamming they started singing...
Apple Annie, Apple Annie,
How are you today?
Tell me all the things you know that start with letter A.
Alligators, astronauts, apple trees that sway.
These are all my favorite things that start with letter A.
I laughed the whole way to the gym! What a stress relief after a busy Wednesday! : )

Celebrating our 10th, 4th, and 3rd Easter

I can hardly believe that we have celebrated 10 Easters with Cade! It truly seems like his first Easter was not so long ago! He has grown up so much since that very first Easter, and our family has grown and changed in so many wonderful ways! My little Car-Bear celebrated his 4th Easter today, and the girls are already celebrating their 3rd. Sam and I are so very blessed!
Caden woke Carson, Sam, and me up bright and early (at 6:30 a.m.) so we could all check out the cool things that the Easter bunny had left in every one's baskets. Caden is up with the chickens anytime he knows he is getting a prize! Cade loved his "Glory Road" DVD, Carson was very proud of his new Spider man shirt, and the girls tried on their Barbie princess dress-up dress. The Easter bunny kept it simple, but fun! We then loaded up in the van and headed to spend a
windy and chilly Easter day with Grancie, Robin, and Uncle Caleb. Everyone looked at their Easter goodies, and then we headed to the park for some fun. Here is my sad attempt at a group picture...if those girls would have just cooperated I think that the picture might have turned out ok. Oh well, like my mom always says..."it's documentation". After our fun time at the park we headed back to the house to jump on the trampoline. All of that jumping caused everyone to work up an appetite, so we headed to Golden Corral for an Easter lunch. I know I can hear the snickers. I would have much rather headed to the TX Roadhouse that was right next door. However, after our wild experience at Chili's last Thursday we were looking for quick and simple. Golden Corral was Robin's idea, and it actually worked out great! As soon as we sat down the food was available. The girls had an appetizing array of pizza, spaghetti, rolls, green beans, peaches, Rice Krispies Treats, and ice cream. What a fun Easter!

Cade got this cool shirt in his Easter basket. The girls got precious Minnie Jane Crocs that I don't have a picture of, and Carson got a cool shirt that came attached to a mini skateboard...he loved that!

The group in motion as I attempted to take a picture of them with Tux.

Cade also got this cool dog encyclopedia in his Easter basket. Grancie's dog loving genes are rubbing off on him.

I got this cute swim bag in my Easter basket...I can't wait to carry it to the pool!

Ella Cate hanging out at the park. I remember swinging on this same contraption when I was in 5th grade!

Daddy and Emmy taking a turn.

Pushing my girls on the swings.

Grancie and Cade...you can tell it was pretty chilly!

Everyone walking home from the park.

What a Beautiful Day for an Easter Egg Hunt!

We were invited to an Easter Egg hunt today that was organized by some people that I used to teach with. I took the kids by myself since Sam will continue to work Saturdays until the tax deadline (4/15). I was really nervous that I wouldn't be able to keep up with all of them at a huge park, but to my surprise there were no issues whatsoever! The kids had a great time, and they acquired tons of candy. Above is a group picture of all of the kiddos that participated...notice Carson is tending to the baby in the stroller who was fussing.

And they're off...Caden was very eager to get eggs, and definitely grabbed more eggs than any other child that hunted. I felt bad since most of the others were little kids.

Carson had fun gathering eggs.

Emmy broke into each egg as soon as she picked it up. Here she is proudly showing off her tootsie roll.

Carson and his friends (BF Ethan, and girlfriend Ashlyn) had a snack after hunting for eggs.

Fun Friday!

Today was the last day of Spring Break. : ( However, we couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day! We didn't do too much of anything, but after naps we took advantage of the great day and dyed our Easter eggs in the backyard. The kids had so much fun dying every single one of our 2 dozen eggs! I think that they would have dyed several dozen more! Some of the colorful eggs drying.

The gang dying their eggs.

Emma Claire waiting on her orange egg. I don't think that it is very obvious in this picture, but Emma Claire is sporting a blue moustache. She took a sip of the blue Easter egg dye, even though I had said "don't drink it" 15 times! I figured that she would freak out once she had tasted the dye (since it did have a tiny bit of vinegar in it), but she acted like it didn't phase her. After this I kept careful watch so that she didn't get anymore sips!

Ella Cate and the red egg dye.

Cade being a camera ham!

Fun at The Fort Worth Zoo

We spent the fourth day of our Spring Break at The Fort Worth Zoo with Mom, Robin, Uncle Caleb, Chels, and Carter. It was a perfect day to be at the zoo! The temperatures were great and all of the animals were in the mood to show off! Despite the normal spring break crowds, we had a great time! After the zoo we had lunch at Chili's, and then headed home for a long afternoon nap. Sadly I forgot my camera again, but like always I know that Chels documented the day very well! This evening I took a picture of the cool souvenirs that the kids got from the zoo...books for the girls, and elephant "pincher" for Carson, and sweet Uncle Caleb bought Cade the $13.99 stuffed elephant that I refused to buy him. What a sweet brother I have!

Day # 3 Spring Break 2008

Today we had originally planned to head to The Arboretum in Dallas so that Chels could take some pictures of the kids. However, with all of the rain that we got yesterday and the cool temperatures this morning, we opted to do The Arboretum another day. Instead we did our gym and nap routine, and we took a long walk after naps. I enjoyed just being at home and having some free time with the kids.
Carson really tested the limits to the max today! It just so happened that I caught a bit of the Tyra Banks show on "Birth Order" today. I think that Carson is already starting to show signs of the "middle child". He is such a smart little guy, but sometimes I think that he may be lacking in judgement. I know...he pulls most of his antics for attention, but lately the antics have become more challenging. The afternoon seems to be a difficult time for him, and this afternoon was no exception. On the walk that we took he tried to secretly convince his sisters to throw their juice cups into the huge puddles that had formed in the ditches. They refrained, thank goodness. When Sam had the kids in the backyard this evening he turned his head for less than a minute (he says), and by the time he turned around Carson had dunked his whole body into the plastic kiddie pool that had filled up with rain yesterday...clothes, shoes, and all. Sam stripped him, talked to him, and put him in time-out. Usually time-out and a good "talking-to" work with my little guy, but not tonight! While I was reading the girls a bedtime that he didn't want to sit in on "Baby Colors", the book that I was reading. He told me that he was going to "cozy" with Daddy. Well, on his way to "cozy" with Daddy he squeezed the entire tube of toothpaste that I purchased this past Saturday in his bathroom sink! He knew that when I walked into the bathroom that he was "caught". He ran and hid under the kitchen table with a sly smirk. His punishment was another "talk" and a 7:30 bedtime. Tomorrow we go to the zoo...I am a little nervous!

Soaking at The Science Place

Well....day #2 of Spring Break 2008 the Stewart camp headed to The Science Place at The Dallas Museum of Science in Fair Park. Let's just say that we encountered weather close to a tsunami on the drive to and from the museum.
I rolled into the parking lot at around 10:40 (40 minutes late...my poor prompt friend Shawna and her 2 boys had been waiting for us inside the museum since 10:00). Since I was running late I had not bothered to grab umbrellas, rain jackets, or any weather related gear when I was leaving the house. Surely the rain would have let up by the time I got to Dallas, I thought. Oh, how I was wrong the rain had gotten far worse! I sat in my van for 5 minutes in the Science Place parking lot contemplating what to do. If Shawna wasn't in there waiting for us I would have turned around and driven back to Arlington. I watched jealously as people drove up to the front of the building and let their group off at the front door, of course everyone seemed to have a rain jacket and umbrella, and they were only having to walk a few feet. I guess I could have had Shawna come outside and meet us to grab the kids, but I didn't want her and her kids to get wet. Desperate I unbuckled all of the kids, got the stroller out of the trunk and started the treacherous walk in the pouring rain. There was a "river" running next to the sidewalk, and not wanting to mess up my fairly new stroller I unloaded the girls, sat them on the sidewalk, and picked my stroller up so that it didn't have to roll through the "river". In hindsight this wasn't such a good idea! One of my shoes slipped off and began floating down the murky "river" that was going through Fair Park. Carson very nervously informed me that my shoe was "getting away". Since the kids were safely holding hands on the sidewalk I sloshed barefoot through the river to grab the runaway shoe. There is no telling what was in that "river"...it didn't look good! We continued our walk to The Science Place getting more soaked every second! When we finally got inside I felt so bad for my kids, they were drenched! However, they were all smiles! Such resilient little creatures! Me on the other had, I was not doing so good! I was so stressed!!
Fast forward standing in the 10 minute line to get our tickets. We headed to the children's area, and the kids were having a grand time! Of course at that moment braving the rain was worth it!
Later on Chels, Carter, Brenda, Colt, Clint, and Caden met up with us! Thank goodness the rain had let up by the time that they walked into the museum. We had our usual adventures, a boo-boo (Ella fell of the firetruck), a few fits, and lots of smiles. After days like today I am always so thankful for my special friends! Sadly, I left my camera at home, but with all of the rain maybe that was a good idea. Check out Chelsi's blog for some cute Science Place pictures.

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Here is what we did on St.Patty's Day 2008 (a.k.a. our 1st day of Spring Break-yea!)
1. Went to the gym decked in our St. Patrick's Day gear as you can see below.
2. Ran errands
3. Nana came over to stay while everyone napped so that Mommy could have 3 cavities filled (by the way Mommy's right side of her mouth stayed numb for 4 hours straight).
4. Nana stayed all afternoon/evening so that Mommy and Daddy could go to J. Gilligan's to see one of Mommy's student's bands perform, then to eat at Pappasitos with Brian and Julie.
What a fun day! Thank goodness for our sweet Nana!! Ready to hit the gym on a WINDY morning!

Can you tell Mr. Carson is saying "cheese"?

Ian and his band getting ready to play at Gilligan's.

Sam and I at Gilligan's

Julie and I at Gilligan's

3 Kids = 36 Eggs!

Tomorrow is the kids first Easter party (they have 2 because they go to school 5 days a week). Each child is required to bring 12 filled eggs to school to hunt during their Easter party. Tonight (after I returned home from a jewelry party) I sat and stuffed 36 eggs with a toy, piece of candy, and stickers. I actually had fun doing this, but I was astonished at how many eggs were laying in front of me when I was finished! Here's to 36 more tomorrow night (after I stand and talk to parents at our school's open house). Can you tell I'm ready for Spring Break next week!?
Here are some of the fun things that I stuffed the eggs with. I had to stuff them after the kids were in bed because my self absorbed 2 and 3 year olds would have quickly swiped these prizes!

Lazy Photographer

Yep....that's me! I have really been slacking lately when it comes to taking pictures of the kids! I won't say that I have given up hope of taking pictures of them, but I really don't like my camera, and I don't like the fact that my 3 little ones won't sit still long enough to have their picture taken. It's a real chore to get them to look at me, and then when they do my dinosaur of a camera has such a delay that I never get a good picture. A new camera just has to be in my gift receiving future! : )

I did document one occasion this past weekend! Saturday was Quinn's 2nd birthday party at The Little Gym. The kids had an awesome time. However, you won't see any pictures of Cade. He missed the party because he went to The Mav's game with his very generous 1st grade teacher and his best friend.




Listening to the rules before a fun time at The Little Gym

Miss monkey girl...Emma Claire

Miss Ella Cate...another wild monkey
Carson and his good buddy Reese



Quinn blowing out her candles on her pretty cake

Voting in the Primary

I voted in my first primary election today! I know...pretty sad...I am 29 years old, and this is the first primary election that I have voted in! I have voted every presidential election since I have been of age, but I have never been of voted in a TX primary election. I remember voting in 1996 with Chels, we both voted for Bill Clinton. We were so excited...18 years old and brand new voters! I voted again in 2000. Dolly babysat Cade while I went to vote. In 2004 I took a brand new Carson (only 1 month old) in a car seat to vote for George W. Bush. Today I voted last minute! I arrived at the rec center to vote at 6:50 p.m. (the polls closed at 7:00). There were more people than I have seen in quite awhile! Cars were lined up for blocks along the street because the rec was out of parking places. I waited in line for quite awhile...thank goodness that my sweet neighbors just happened to be behind me in line!!! I voted for Sam and me since he did not have a chance to vote. I am definitely not private about who I voted for so I'll tell you we decided to vote for Hillary. I was leaning more to Obama, but since Sam had to share my vote we decided to go for Hillary...he felt stronger about her. I bet Obama wins the democratic ticket, but thankfully I like both of the democratic candidates. I am proud of myself for doing my civic duty. : )

A Lazy Low-Key Weekend...

I don't really have anything exciting to write about, but it has been a week since my last post. I've been trying to post at least once a week, so if I don't put something up today I will be falling behind! : )
My title tells you that this weekend was anything but busy, but that was fine by me! We all needed a low-key weekend.
Friday after school we headed to the gym, and I was not called to the nursery to break up any fights between my trio. This was a huge step for us! It seems that lately the gym nursery has become a boxing ring of sorts for Ellie, Emmy, and Carson. The girls get in cat fights (with each other) quite regularly there, and pulling hair is their worst weapon! I know...I am just being paid back for all of the times that I tortured my poor little brother (he still has scars) : (, but it is no fun when you are told daily that your kids got into a fight! After the gym we headed to Spaghetti Warehouse, one of our favorite kid friendly restaurants. Usually we are seated in the back of the restaurant so no one notices when the gang gets out of hand or does things that are not appetizing to watch (El likes to dip the sourdough bread in applesauce). I love our regular spot, but on Friday it was taken. So instead of the back corner we were seated in the middle of the main room of the restaurant. I swear, the whole time people at 4 different tables were staring at us! I felt so anxious...every time I looked up I would lock eyes with random people. Sam noticed it too, but he wasn't bothered by it like I was. One older woman was very sweet. After she had stared at us the whole time she came up to us and told us that she was a twin, and that we were so blessed to have our twin girls. She said that she talks to her twin at least 3 times a day! At least, I know that she was not staring at us because we were disturbing her, the other people that were staring, who knows what they were thinking!? I really shouldn't let it bother me because the kids actually did well at dinner that night, but I just have a hang-up with people staring!
Saturday Sam had to work until 1:00 : (, so we picked Courtney up on the way to the gym. Courtney is 13, and she absolutely LOVES spending time with the kids, and they LOVE her! She kept them entertained in the gym nursery, and there were no fights-yea!! After the gym we headed home for some more playtime with Courtney. Lunch and naps followed. After naps Daddy was home, so we went to play at Hooper Park. Shortly after we got home from the park Nana and Grandad came to babysit! Sam and I had dinner at Chuy's, and we strolled around North Park for a little while. It was a nice evening!
Sunday besides grocery shopping we have done absolutely nothing! The picture at the top of this post was taken this morning when the kids were laying on our bed watching Barney. They were so into the show that they didn't even notice that I snapped a picture. At the moment everyone is napping, and the rest of our day is yet to be planned. I do know that there is a Mav's game that will be coming on shortly. That probably means that I will have to find something to do with the little ones so Sam and Cade can watch at least some of the game. Who knows, maybe I will brave that mall with the 3 of them...if I do that experience will deserve a post all by itself! : )