Approaching one year...

since the flood.

It's hard to believe it's almost been a year and yet some days it feels like it was just yesterday. Each day I wear the outfit I wore when we evacuated I think of it.

Well, as a remembrance, a gentleman from Cedar Rapids is going around town and using green tape to show the water level different locations.

This one is right outside our office.




It's still hard to imagine.

A night with me and the girls

Mom and Ti-ti were nice enough to take Josh out for popcorn and a movie. So while he enjoyed his movie and, I'm guessing, enough popcorn/candy/pop to kill a horse, I had a quiet evening with my girls!

Since Josh had a special night the girls and we decided ordering pizza sounded good. Well...let's be honest here...one girl can't say pizza and other girl is still drinking formula. But let me tell you...when the pizza arrived it sure got Lauren excited! So I say I made a good choice.

While we waited for the pizza I snapped a few shots of my beauties. Lauren found one of Ella's baby towels and calls it her "hat". She has been wearing it for three days now and I'm pretty sure this is how every little girl starts imagining her dream wedding. Either that or we've read Rapunzel one too many times.



Of course my little Ella giggled and smiled at her big sister. And then she just giggled and smiled at me.



I wish they'd stay this small forever!!

We took a walk after the pizza arrived and if it weren't for all these stupid gnats everywhere I would have gotten a picture of that too. But around here you don't dare stop walking or they attack!!

Another reason to hate the flood of 2008!

Whoop, whoop!!

Thanks, Joel for your help (and for talking me off the ledge).

Once I get over my panic attack I'm hoping to change the look of the blog a bit. I mean, come on...it's looked the same for almost three years now. It needs a little sprucing up!! Don't ya think?

Blog Problems

I'm having some issues with the blog right now. I did a "naughty" and messed with the perfection that is formally known as "The Bricker's Blog". Give me time and I will fix it and until then....enjoy half of the photos.

Bricker Birthday Girls

Yes, yes...this weekend Lauren and I officially became another year older. I'm not sure which birthday threw me more for a loop - her turning 2 or me turning 30!

My birthday was pretty uneventful. I left work at noon and ran a bunch of errands in preparation for the big birthday party on Saturday. My family took me and the kids out to dinner since Dustin had to work. This makes it THREE birthdays in a row he wasn't with me on my birthday and, by God, it better be the last.

I pointed out to him that two years ago I was alone with Josh. Last year I was alone with Josh and Lauren. And now this year I was alone with Josh, Lauren and Ella. So not only was he unable to go out to dinner with me...he stuck me with another kid each year! ;-)

Sadly, the most exciting part of my birthday was saving some serious dough!! Between the Walgreen's ad, my aunt's discount and my killer coupons I saved $147!!!

That is NOT a typo!! $147!!!

My purchases include 10 packages of diapers, 3 bags of wipes, 6 containers of formula and 3 packages of Overnight Pull Ups.



Isn't that amazing?!?!?

We also had a new home security system installed on Friday. It pretty much took all day as we elected for the "Fort Knox" package. With Dustin gone as much as he is and as paranoid as I am we decided this was best for everyone. It only took 24 hours before the first phone call from ADT. Lauren pushed the panic button. Glad to know it works!!!

Then Saturday. Dora, Dora, Dora! That girl was everywhere at my house and Lauren had a BLAST!! She was more than happy to open presents and had a great time in the spot light. I just sat there in a daze and wondering how the heck two years have gone so fast!









Josh pretty much wanted nothing to do with the gift portion of the festivities. He was more than happy to sit and play with Papa Adam's iTouch.



I look at that picture and I see the next 8 years. I see Josh getting drug around to dance practice, piano practice, sports practice and any other practice for Lauren and him sitting in the corner hypnotized by some electronic device. Poor kid.

Ella was just happy to have someone hold her...or to sleep. She's a growing girl after all!!



We all had a great time and the weather was absolutely gorgeous...the cake wasn't bad either!



The "baby" cousins got a chance to check each other out again. Neither one looked too impressed with the other and instead of looking at each other they looked at the adults and wondered what the big fuss was about.



That photo was about five seconds before Reagan toppled over onto Ella and then they were both done with our little photo shoot.



After we got cleaned up from the party and I changed Lauren for the second time (good news is she loves her water table...bad news is she gets soaked) we decided to give Josh his birthday present a little early. Dad and Thomas and Dustin and I went in on a nice basketball hoop for him. And instead of waiting to give it to him at the end of summer we thought it would nice if he could use it all summer long.

And can you believe that when I asked Josh if he minded opening his birthday present early he said, "No"? Big shock, right?

As you can see...he was pretty excited.



I'm not quite sure why we keep buying gifts for him that need to be assembled. If you don't remember...go back a few years to the birthday we bought him a swing set. Thankfully, this time it was not as complicated to assemble and it was not 100+ degrees outside either.



While anxiously awaiting our first "swish" the rest of us found ways to keep busy.

Ella found a comfy arm and her favorite thumb.



Lauren had a meltdown.



Josh got suckered into pushing his sister on the swing. And Lauren got her third shirt of the day.



Finally, after all of Dustin, Dad and Joel's hard work Josh got to take the first shot!



Sunday was even more beautiful outside than Saturday and we took full advantage of it! We all had a blast playing basketball and even Mattie got in on it! Josh kept calling her "Air Bud" and let me tell you...that dog plays good defense!






By Sunday night we were all wiped out and yet I still found the strength to make Dora cupcakes for daycare on Monday. I offered to have Lauren help me but she was only interested in the frosting. Funny that.



Not much else is going on this week. We are camping this weekend so we hope no one has any big outdoor activities planned this weekend because if the Brickers go camping...it means rain.

Have a great week!

It's a girl!!!

She arrived yesterday! She is 19 inches long and weighs just over five pounds...and I am in love!!! Her name is kate spade.



This was my birthday gift from my husband. I about died!! He has been known to swing and miss but lately he has been DEAD ON!!!

Certainly makes turning 30 a little easier when you've got a kate spade on your arm!!

#2 for #1

This morning was the second morning in a row Lauren used the potty!!! WOOHOO!!!

An act of bravery

I'm not sure if it was bravery. It may have just been crazy. Either way...I decided to give Lauren a haircut tonight...just three days before her birthday party. I figured she would either going to have an adorable new cut for her birthday party or my hack job would be photographically documented for generations to come.

It's her first official haircut and while some may say it was long overdue...I don't care.

It's the best I could do with a wiggling toddler who was watching Dora and moving her head erratically. I'm sure I'll be trimming it for days to come but all in all...I don't think it's too bad!!

This won't be good.

It's not a good sign when you meet your husband to transfer kids and he hands you a screaming infant and two children only to say, "I will pray for you tonight".

Sort of takes the will to live right out of you with six little words.

Thankfully, my purse's contents include an emergency bottle of Ibuprofen...along with a few spare diapers, an ATM card, a spare bottle with formula, a few broken crayons and an unpaid parking ticket. My own little McGuyver bag disguised in a Kate Spade purse.

After a frustrating detour on the way home (darn summer construction) and a quick dinner I decided to encourage them to use their individual personality traits for good instead of evil.

I used Josh's innate desire to please people and asked him to put away the toys/books/shoes in the family room and, in turn, Lauren's obsession with "monkey see, monkey do" created two little, busy housekeepers.

So not only did I wear them out of some energy...but you can now see my family room rug again.

Out of the mouths of babes

Now that Lauren is talking more and more I actually have funny stories that include her now!!

Conversation #1

Lauren had just finished throwing a massive tantrum on Saturday afternoon and was finally back to her sweet, little self.

Dustin: Jeez...I guess the "Crazy Train" left!
Lauren: Choo-choo? Choo-choo? Where choo-choo, Daddy?


Conversation #2

We had just left the doctor's office this morning and Josh was dancing around and jumping all over every where.

Me: Josh. Goodness!! I thought you didn't feel good.
Josh: I don't. My throat hurts but not my legs, Mom.
Me: Well, calm down. Just watching you makes me tired.
Josh: (whispers) That's my job!

Busy doing nothing

Well, I'm home with a sick boy this morning so I figured I might as well get a jump on my blog this week. We ran to the doctor this morning and thankfully it's not Strep...just a nasty sore throat.

In preparation for someone's SECOND birthday party next weekend we had quite a few items on our "TO DO" list this Memorial Day weekend along with our regular tasks.

Saturday mornings have become my laundry folding mornings. I try to start laundry Thursday night so that by Friday night I have five or six loads done. Then on Saturday morning I only have two or three more loads to do and I can fold laundry and switch loads all while enjoying my obsession of Law & Order on TNT. By the time the marathon of Law & Order is over my laundry is finished for the weekend!!

But speaking of laundry...I must profess my love of OxyClean. That stuff is a gift from God when you have one child who spits up all the time, one child who is potty training and one child who could care less if he uses his clothes for an art project.

I even used it to clean the patio furniture this weekend. Pretty soon I'll just be carrying a bottle of the solution around with me and spraying it on everything like the father did with Windex in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.

I digress.

The rest of Saturday we loafed it while Dustin worked on the driveway. And by loaf I mean Josh played the Wii, the dog slept and I ran after Lauren cleaning up one mess after another while feeding Ella.




Sunday morning I drug everyone out of bed for church. And by everyone, I mean EVERYONE...Ella included. She has to be having a growth spurt because she slept 10 hours on Friday night and would have slept more than that on Saturday night if I hadn't woken her up to eat before church!!

No one was overly excited about getting dressed up and going to church (including my husband) but I stuck to my guns and threatened them as any good, Christian mother would. ;-)

Like any normal children...they made me pay for it. They were AWFUL in church! And by awful I mean each child was taken out at least once and one child was taken out five times. FIVE! I bet you'll never guess who that was!

I was mortified. No horrified. No...I was furious! By the time we left church I drug them out of church just as I had drug them out of bed barely an hour before. We got in the van and they were all bouncing up and down trying to decide where we were going to eat breakfast.

I told them that after the way they behaved in church we were going straight home. No breakfast. Then everyone was mad (Dustin included). Needless to say...it was not a good morning.

Once we got home, Dustin quickly got to work on re-sealing the driveway and I took the kids on a very, very long walk. God knows I need the exercise and He also knows my kids have enough energy to spare.

Sunday night we all played outside and Dustin got to make his first fire pit fire of the season.

Go big or go home, right?



It only took my kids about two minutes to realize we were missing something...



I'm not quite sure why Lauren gets so excited for these things. She only likes her Smores sans graham cracker and marshmallow.




While Ella isn't quite ready for Smores yet...she did find something else she likes: her thumb.



I'm pretty sure this is why she's sleeping so well at night now. She actually spits out her pacifier so I think it won't be long and we'll be a completely pacifier free house!!! I dreamed of this day!

She still has more than enough smiles to go around and she's talking and laughing more and more each day.



We hope everyone has a great week!! Meanwhile...I am going to enjoy the last few days of my twenties. ;-)

I'm Baaaaccckkkk!!!

I am officially back at work and have once again found a new level of exhaustion I didn't know existed.

I think with each child it gets easier to go back to work after maternity leave. I can't tell if that's because I've had to go through it before so I knew what to expect...or because the quiet time is that much more appealing. There were a few moments on Monday where I just sat and looked out the window with a blank stare. Well, it looked like a blank stare but in all honesty it was merely my brain working overtime to make sense of the quiet surroundings.

No whining. No screaming. No crying. No random stenches. No puking. No tantrums. And no "Mommy!".

But with that came...

No hugs. No kisses. No smiles. No cuddles. No cooing. No playing. And no "Mommy!".

By last night I was ready to see them again and was quickly reminded of what I had missed. Ella had her 2 month checkup yesterday (more on that later) and was a bit cranky from the shots so she was screaming. Josh and Lauren went outside while I tried to whip together dinner and they were screaming. I was screaming at them to stop screaming. And then Josh was screaming because Lauren had diarrhea running down her leg.

Ahhh....good times.

I finally collapsed last night with the kids all cuddled in my bed. It was a long day for them too as they had to get back to their schedules as well. We made some popcorn and watched old cartoons and it was just perfect.

Our first morning back (Lauren's thrilled)



Ella's checkup went great. She is the smallest of any of my children because she is only in the 90th percentile for height, weight and head circumference. Yeah...we make big kids...what can I say? She took her shots like a champ and Lauren was very glad to not be on the receiving end for once.

She kept saying, "Mommy...owie baby?".

Lauren was up to her usual escapades this weekend. Friday she decided to go ahead and subtly suggest I sort through her clothes.



While it was certainly a goal of mine to go through her drawers and make room for new summer clothes...I had not planned on doing it on Friday. However, I reminded myself...at least it wasn't Vaseline.

In other "Lauren news"...she is officially done with her paci. I couldn't take it anymore and decided enough was enough. That was four days ago and not one temper tantrum yet! Woohoo!!

I had decided that my payback for Mother's Day would be a "Honey Do List" weekend for Dustin on Saturday and Sunday. He fought like "you know what" to avoid any work on Saturday and moped around the house just like the kids do when I tell them to clean their rooms.

But by Sunday even he couldn't argue against working outside with the gorgeous weather. Josh had his first experience walking behind the mower with Dustin and he thought he was so cool. The kids and I worked on cleaning up the patio as Dustin decided to trim one of our trees.

You must understand that when our neighbors hear Dustin start a chainsaw we get one of two reactions: either they run for cover or they chain themselves to their own trees in fear of him becoming overzealous.

Anytime a power tool is involved I have to keep a close eye on him. So in my duty to raise a woman fit for management, I had Lauren come out and join me in my supervision. He did very well in controlling himself and I was pleased to see a part of our yard previously hidden by branches and leaves.



Lauren still wanted to play outside for a bit so while Dustin ran an errand...we swang.



We are looking forward to a nice three day weekend and, dare I say, a laid back weekend. Unforunately, we have to get through a few pesky work days in between. Have a great, safe Memorial Day everyone!!

And she struck again...

with Vaseline that is. This time her "baby" took the brunt.




I have absolutely no idea why, where or when she got this fascination with Vaseline. Honestly, I've only used it once!!

Ironically, as Thomas pointed out, I should have had some Vaseline with me at Target today.

I took the girls to Target after we dropped Josh off at school. I was shopping and Lauren was singing in the cart...everything was fine. Then she started saying "Owie" quietly. I didn't really think anything of it as I looked at her and she didn't seem to be in pain. So I asked her if she was okay and she didn't say anything. She stopped for awhile and then started up again. By the time we got to the back of the store she was wimpering so I went to take her out of the cart to see what was hurting her. When I went to lift her out she started screaming and I immediately noticed her two fingers were stuck in one of the grates of the cart. And given how swollen her fingers were they must have been stuck for some time because I could NOT get them out. I ran over to an associate and they went to get dish soap.

Minutes later we got her swollen fingers out and I immediately headed to the alcohol aisle. Well...maybe not immediately.

Tonight her fingers look fine she just has red marks on the sides of her fingers.



What am I going to do with that girl?

Ella just thinks the whole thing is hysterical!

Patience: Out of Stock

Today was one of those days that from the moment you wake up you know it's going to be a doozey.

Lauren was up at 5:45 this morning. Right then I should have known the day was going to be an uphill battle. I put her back in bed and told her to go to sleep. About thirty minutes later she was back at the side of my bed saying, "Mommy!". Since I'm blind without my glasses I couldn't see what she was handing me but as soon as I grabbed it I knew...it was a Vaseline covered pacifier.

I immediately panicked and ran into her bedroom while frantically trying to put on my glasses without getting Vaseline all over them.

Knowing that the container of Vaseline had only been used once I asked her where it was. She brought me a half empty container. Besides being smeared all over her shirt, her face and her hair, I found the first glob on her play kitchen. I found the second glob on her bedside table. And since Vaseline is difficult to see on white furniture it took me a few minutes to find the rest it all over her room.

From this experience I learned a few tips I'd like to share:

1) Clorox bleach wipes work create in getting the oil slick off of everything.
2) In order to get Vaseline out of a little girl's hair you need to wash the hair twice.
3) A large jar of Vaseline can cover about two square feet of furniture.
4) Large jars of Vaseline should be placed in a locked medicine cabinet.

After that debacle, I got the kids dressed and we took Josh to school. Upon returning home I decided to continue my cleaning frenzy and do some deep cleaning upstairs. I had Lauren help me by giving her small items to be placed in the trash can.

After she had a few trips to the trash can under her belt, I handed her a magnet from Mercy Hospital and told her to trow it away. About 30 seconds later I heard the toilet flush. I ran into the bathroom just in time to see it swirl around the bottom of the bowl and go down the pipe.

Frustrated, I told her it was time for her morning nap. I put her in her bed, turned on Dora and went back to my cleaning. I heard some activity for about five minutes and then silence.

I went in to check on her and found that she had emptied an entire box of Kleenex on her bed....and her watching Dora.

Then this afternoon, after we picked Josh up from school, she threw a fit. All because I wouldn't put her up on my bed because Dustin was sleeping. Since she has that whole "vomiting tantrum" perfected I usually let her throw a fit to that point RIGHT before she make herself puke. Well, after the day I had...I let her go all the way.

Yes, she vomited all over my sheets, my pillow and my side of the bed. I drug her into the bathroom and immediately started stripping her down for another bath (our second of the day) so that I could get the puke out of her hair, only to have her puke all over the bath mats.

Thankfully it was bath night anyways, but as soon as I went to give Josh his bath tonight...she wanted another (her third). I think she may finally be Vaseline free.

This was one of those "non-glamorous" days of motherhood. It was one of those days that I'll remind her of when she has children of her own. It was also one of those days when you can't wait for your children to fall asleep for the night.

On to tomorrow!!