Star Wars, Shoes, and Sand!

Our life recently has consisted mostly of STAR WARS, SHOES, and SAND.

STAR WARS: Jacob went to a STAR WARS birthday party a few weeks ago and ever since he thinks STAR WARS is the best thing ever. Yesterday he came in and asked Ben and I, "Is there anything that is cooler then a light saber?" Good question, I don't think there is. We borrowed the movies from some friends and Jacob would spend all day watching them if I would let him. He already knows a ton more about the story than I do, although that is not hard considering I have only seen two of the movies. I think I will have to break down soon and watch the movies so I can know what he is talking about and learn all of the characters that he is referring to now.

SHOES: David has recently developed a little SHOE fetish. He loves putting on SHOES whether they are his, Jacob's, mine, Ben's or even Madeline's(those don't fit very well, they are mostly toe covers) Consequently, there seems to be SHOES all over our house! He puts on one pair for awhile and then soon discards those for a different pair.

SAND: There is SAND ALL OVER our house due to the STAR WARS play and SHOE fetish. Let me explain; Jacob plays STAR WARS outside with his friend, they each get a light saber and fight each other running all over. We have a large SAND box in front of our house so of course they run right through the SAND often. Then David treks outside with a few different pairs of SHOES each day and brings the SAND in with each pair. I feel like I am always sweeping up SAND and it is never gone. It has even made its way into our sheets, I love getting in bed and feeling sand!:) I hope the boys are enjoying their STAR WARS and SHOES as I spend so much time cleaning up their SAND, Ah the life of a mother, I'll sum it up with two words, SWEET and STRESS!

Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter weekend which started off with east baskets and dying eggs on Saturday. The boys loved dying eggs especially David who practically threw the eggs into the dye and then exclaimed, "whoa" loudly every time. It was good we put newspaper down because we created quite a mess!


Saturday afternoon I went on a run and during the last half mile noticed that my shoe was soaked with blood. My two smallest toes had been rubbing together last week every time I ran so, I had put a band-aid on before my run but I guess it came off. Blood soaked all over my sock and shoe but it hurt a lot less then it looks.

I wanted this picture taken outside to document all of the snow that I would love to have in December or January but not in March! This is after church on Sunday.

Easter just wouldn't be complete without a lot of candy, really too much candy. We thought Madeline should also have a taste of Easter sugar so we gave her a few licks of a Hershey kiss, she thought it tasted delicious!

Nutritious Breakfast!

I confess, most mornings the boys get up and go downstairs and watch TV while Ben and I slowly get out of bed. We really enjoy sleeping in and figure we might as well while we still can. Often Jacob will get some food for them either cereal or a banana or juice. I guess David decided their breakfast food wasn't tasty enough because today when I came downstairs David had a box of sweetheart candies from Valentines. He had a big grin on his face and was enjoying them. He had pushed a chair over to the counter and climbed up to the candy cupboard, he knew what he wanted and he found a way to get it, that's a good thing right? I guess maybe not when it comes to candy for breakfast. I let him finish the box and then relocated the candy to a higher and unknown spot. He'll be in for a surprise tomorrow when he goes to find his breakfast!

Traveling Zoo Exhibit

We recently visited the Toledo Zoo. It is one of our favorite places to take the kids and we used to go often when we lived in Toledo. When at the zoo you can go look at your favorite animals. You can watch them sleep, walk, eat, even go to the bathroom.

Lately we have been feeling a little sad for our zoo pals. Ever since we added Madeline to the mix we have been feeling like a traveling zoo exhibit. We can't go anywhere without people staring at our family. Occasionally we can actually hear people say "ahh" as we walk past on the sidewalk.

Now, don't get me wrong, I can understand why people would want to stare at our beautiful family. Here in Ann Arbor a family of five is about as exotic as the animals we view at the zoo. The problem is that we are more like our zoo pals than we want to be. A few nights ago, we went out to eat. People stared at us and came over while we are eating to converse with the great looking family in the restaurant. It was odd to know that a lot of people were watching as we stuffed our faces and made sure the kids were behaving. I guess we just never get a moment when we are out in public where we are not on display. Because David and Madeline are both in diapers, people can even watch some of us use the bathroom just like the animals at the zoo! So if you would like to view the Mower traveling zoo exhibit come see us when we are out and about the town!

Winter Break

During Winter break we went to the Great Wolf Lodge with our friends, the Gardners, and had a great time! We spent two night and shared a suite. The kids loved playing in the water park and we had a good time playing with the kids and hanging out with the Gardners. It was fun to be in a swim suit and heated area while we watched the snow come down outside. We were very glad on the last day that our kids did not throw up all night like the Gardner girls!

Make a postcard - it's easy!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I enjoy making chocolate chip cookies and every time I make them I am reminded of when I was younger. One specific memory is when my brother Kevin and I made a batch of chocolate chip cookie dough really fast while my parents were gone and then stashed it in one of our closets so we could eat the dough whenever we wanted. Looking back I can't help but think how disgusting to eat a whole batch of cookie dough that has been sitting in a closet and not refrigerated! We were pretty excited about the whole deal. Today I made cookies with Jacob while David and Madeline were taking naps, I hope when he gets older he will also have good memories of making chocolate chip cookies

Today my experience with making cookies was different then it has ever been. How you ask? Well, the dough seemed to be dry when I was putting the dough balls on the sheet and when they came out of the oven they had not spread out at all, they were still dough balls that were now cooked. I smashed them with a spoon as you can see below in hopes that they would look more like a regular cookie and not a ball cookie. I have not tasted them yet, maybe they taste better then they look.


It seemed that the dough did not have enough fat in it to hold it together. So I took the remaining dough and added a bit more butter and Crisco and they turned out great! I was not trying to reduce the amount of fat in the cookies but apparently they didn't have enough at first. However, I still managed to eat more cookie dough then I should have, (that always happens) you know when you have eaten so much dough that you are very thirsty and then you have to drink a lot of water and then end up stuffed. Maybe it is just me that does that? I am not sure that is the best way to get rid of the baby tummy, but it was yummy!

I love my kids!

Jacob is four years old and is a great kid! He is really good at helping me with anything I ask him. Most mornings he gets up and gets himself dressed and makes his bed. He is very proud that he helps me do the laundry and I tell him he is the best four year old at folding spit rags.(Madeline spits a lot and we go through a lot of spit rags!) Jacob loves to watch Super Why on PBS and play computer games on the PBS website. He enjoys connect the dots and mazes and learning to spell words. His favorite thing to do is to play with a friend. Jacob is really good to David and Madeline, I am so glad Jacob is in our family, he is a great boy!



David will be two in May. He is learning to talk and we are really excited for him to start talking a bit more. He likes to say the word helicopter and says it pretty well. David loves all balls and is really good at throwing and catching a ball. Last night he was in our room with a football and tossed the ball from side to side twice while grunting and then threw it, it was as if he was running a play and waiting for the receiver to be open. David loves dad, he likes to wave to dad every morning as he leaves for school and is always excited to see him come home. David loves Madeline’s soothie and is starting to learn to give it to her instead of take it away from her! We love David tons!


Often at night when the boys are in bed I hear Jacob say, "I love you David" and then David mumbles something that is supposed to be, "I love you Jacob" I am glad they are buds!



Madeline will be eight weeks on Thursday, she is a great baby, especially last night when she slept for eight and a half hours! She likes to talk, and make eye contact. She is a patient baby which I am thankful for because it helps make my life easier. She is a strong baby and likes to stand while supported, she has great control of her head. We are glad to have Madeline in our family!