Not going to be doing THAT again...

I'll be honest with you. Grocery shopping at 5:00 on a Friday night with three kids is not my thing. Being stuck alone in a camper with three kids is not my thing. Attempting to keep three kids active and happy at a campground with bees swarming around us is not my thing. Doing something I hate when I have a million other things to be doing is not my thing.

If you combine all these "things" together it's like the perfect storm of bad evenings. That was last Friday.

By about 8:30 I was losing my mind - either from the chaos or the bug spray fumes I don't know which. So I texted Dustin and informed him that as soon as he got off work he was to come out to the campground and relieve me from my duties. Upon his arrival at 10:00 I packed up Ella and went home.

After a good night's sleep and a few relaxing hours of watching Law & Order I informed him I would be returning the campground to try and salvage our "Family Weekend".

We attempted to take Josh fishing. As we were getting his tackle box and fishing pole ready Dustin explained to him that fishing is sometimes a drawn out process. You just don't put a hook on a string, throw it out into the river/lake/body of water and pull it back out with a fish. He said he understood.

In fact his last words were, "Mom, if I start whining about not catching a fish just remind me that I understood." Sure.



This is the only picture I have of them fishing.

Between Lauren screaming and scaring away any fish within 200 yards and Josh whining about how long it was taking and how boring it was, Dustin could only take about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, Ella and I went on a nice walk.



After a nap, a small grease fire and dinner we spent some nice time around the fire.





Then I packed Ella up and we went back home. Honestly...I don't know if it was the new campground, the weather (because you know it rained all weekend) or the stresses of having a million things to get done at home but I was miserable. I've been a trooper with all this camping business because the kids like it and because Dustin loves it. But enough was enough.

Then yesterday Josh told our daycare provider that we won't be camping on Friday nights anymore because it's just a disaster. Needless to say...Josh is right.

Monday was Josh's last official day of Kindergarten. And I am proud to say that I didn't cry as much on his last day of school as I had cried on his first.

First Day of School



Last Day of School



Seriously. How does that happen? I can't believe he's a first grader! I got the sweetest note from his teacher.

I feel so blessed to have had him this year. He truly is a delightful little guy!! You and your husband have done a wonderful job with him! Have a fun summer.
Sue

Between that and his great report card I couldn't be prouder. He has learned so much this year (i.e. how to read, how to tell time, mathematics, etc.) and I am absolutely thrilled with how much he enjoys learning.

On our way to daycare Monday morning he was kind of sullen and I asked him what was wrong. He said, "Mom...I don't feel good but I don't know what hurts." I asked him if his tummy hurt and he said, "Yeah. Kind of." I told him that it was a normal feeling. I told him that's how mommy feels when fun things come to an end; like school or a fun weekend. He got a little teary eyed and told me how much he was going to miss Mrs. Wilson and his friends.

Just warms your heart, doesn't it?

I am so blessed to be the mother of such a special little boy.

Signs you are a parent

As I was driving to work today I had something happen that made me say, "Yet another sign I'm a parent". During the rest of my commute I thought of a few more and I thought, heck...why not make this a new feature?

> You don't have time for breakfast so you find an old Fruit Roll-Up in your van and decide to count it as your one fruit serving for the day.

> Your purse contains more items for your children than for yourself.

> You know the limitless number of uses for the common baby wipe.

> You cut yourself and realize the only band-aids you have in the house are either Dora the Explorer or Backyardigans.

> You have a 300 count bag of baby wipes in your vehilce at all times.

> Having your child play with finger paint causes more anxiety than when they play with scissors.

> While running out the door you realize you have some baby puke on your shoulder and instead of running upstairs and changing your shirt you decide that it's not worth the effort and remember you've got baby wipes in the car that just might work.

> When you walk into the grocery store and realize the race car shopping cart is already being used and you are just as disappointed as the kids. ;-(

> When you'd give up anything (i.e. a promotion, large amounts of money, a clean house, a sleep filled night) for the happiness and health of your kids.

Rock n' Rollin'

Ella rolled over last night!!!

I am in the process of preparing for a serious garage sale next weekend and in the midst of all the sorting Ella was enjoying some tummy time next to me.

I had to leave her for a moment to go seperate my other two children from choking eachother (can you feel the love?) and came back to find her on her back with a stunned look on her face!

I looked at Josh and he screamed, "ELLA ROLLED OVER!!!!"

**sniff, sniff** Where did my little newborn go?

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. ;-)