My Top Ten

Ryan and I were talking and began evaluating our TOP 10 Purchases, so just in case you care...here they are (in no particular order)

Dana:
1. Pampered Chef ice cream scoop
2. Hoover Floormate
3. Reiker Heater fan
4. Ultravection oven
5. Notebooks I buy from Walmart that I use to organize my life
6. all of my scrapbooking stuff
7. Penway spiral bound notebooks from Walgreens for my spiritual journals, college ruled
8. Breathe Right nose strips to use at night when I have a cold
9. DVR (Tivo) to use on our tv
10. My kitchen table, my living room curtains, our African dresser, our mahogany cabinet

Conclusion- I take joy in the little things in life or anything that makes my life easier

Ryan:
1. Our House
2. Dana's engagement ring
3. Reiker heater ceiling fan
4. Dell laptop
5. Ultravection oven
6. Soda
7. High Speed Internet
8. Xbox 360, games, and accessories
9. Table saw
10. Our van
11. IPAQ personal computer (yes, I realize that this is #11, but when has Ryan ever followed the rules?)

Conclusion- Ryan pretty much loves anything that will plug in...or is so technically advanced that it doesn't actually NEED to be plugged in!

Discovery Toys Playdate

This morning I had a Discovery Toys Playdate! Lots of new toys and lots of kiddos. I wasn't exactly expecting it be a ton of fun with so many people crammed into my little house but it definitely was! My favorite part was watching my girls explore all of the toys. It was a great way to see what types of toys they liked. Anna and Naomi ended up playing with toys that I never would have picked out for them. Anna's Fav: stacking cups These are a Discovery Toys staple. I always thought they were so simple that they wouldn't be very much fun. Apparently I was wrong because Anna spent most of her time with these cups! I guess I know one of her birthday presents already! Naomi's fav: A Hammer Away boat thingy Go figure Naomi's would include a hammer! It is a toy boat with lots of holes for balls to go rolling through down the ramp. Another of Naomi's favorites that we already have is the Toddler Marbleworks. Every kid no matter their age seems to LOVE it. We got it as a gift and I groaned because I have played with the marbleworks for older kids and I can't do it. It confuses me...so many pieces, so much chaos! I can't imagine how difficult it would be for me to put it together after having three kids! (it seems that my brain cells now rest in the single digits) Luckily, the toddler version stays in one piece and is easy-peasy (sp?). Abby's Fav: undeclared She just sucked on everything in sight.

I'm leaving my show open until Monday or so. If anyone is interested in ordering anything, you can browse the website at http://www.lauriestoys.com/ Just let me know if there is something you want or if you have a question and I can talk to Laurie about it. When you go to her website, if you click on the Spring Sale icon on the left hand side, there is group of toys that are all 50% off right now. Some of them are worth checking out!

Perspectives

I had kid's club tonight with some Afghan children from our neighborhood. I was driving a family home and they were talking about their recent trip to Pakistan and Afghanistan. The 7 year old and his little 5 year old brother following suit said in broken English with a thick accent "I hate America." I asked why to which they said "There are police here." And then "There is fighting here." At which point, I just laughed to myself. Such irony.

Coolest Concert Venue Ever!

Last night we went to Meramec Caverns to see Kutless, a post-grunge Christian band. It was cool. The concert was actually in the cave! I wish I had brought my camera because with all of us scrunched in the cave in the dark and all of the colored lights from the stage, it was AWESOME! Not so awesome was the fact that it was supposed to start at 6 pm. No one even came on stage until 7:30 pm and even that was just the opening bands. The openers played, then gave a World Vision speech, and then there was another "10 minute break" which actually turned into 15-20 minutes! So Kutless didn't start playing until 8:30 pm and guess what?! We had to leave at 9:15 pm to be home for the babysitters at 10 pm. How crappy! It was by far the coolest concert venue ever but it terms of organization, they really need some work! Especially since they didn't even apoligize for it! Maybe it was because the Caverns were recently flooded and they had a hard time getting things up and running...but still. Still trying to decide if I ever want to go back. Because it was pretty cool!

Glad We Have Family in Town!

The excitement never ends here. Oh yeah- I just keep looking forward to the next "adventure" (please don't misunderstand me, this sentence should be read in a very sarcastic tone). We were off to the city far, far away (Ballwin- so it's not actually that far but it is when you are talking about getting three kids two and under there by 9 o'clock in the morning). We were going to have a morning of fun. 1st stop- meeting my aunt Clemanne at McDonalds for breakfast and the indoor playground. 2nd stop- Once Upon a Child to look at a used triple stroller. (I have a hard time driving the Sam's shopping carts, but being bound to my house for the last three years with children has driven me to the brink of insanity, so I thought I'd try pushing a triple stroller around and see what happens!) 3rd stop- Kohl's because my lovely aunt was taking us on a shopping spree to get summer clothes for Anna, Naomi, and Abigail. I was actually looking forward to a nice morning outing. Everything started out great...we were up early. I had laid everyone's clothes out the night before (including my own!). We were even ready early...a concept completely unheard of in the Irwin household both PRE- and POST- kids. We headed out the door without breakfast since we were headed for McDonalds. If you live in St. Louis, you might know that we have had a lot of rain lately, even severe flooding. Yesterday was no exception and it was raining rather hard. About halfway through my drive, our windshield wipers started vascilating between fast and SLOOOOWWWW, with heavy emphasis on the SLOOOOWWWWW in case you missed that. I was starting to freak out because I couldn't see anything in front of me. At one point, I was driving on the highway and all I could see was rain on my windshield and red lights - I am assuming from the car in front of me. This means they were slowing down but we were on the highway so how was I supposed to know how much to slow down? I was constantly having to flip the windshield wipers back and forth so that they wouldn't turn off. This was another instance (besides have three kids) where I wish that I could instantaneously morph into an octupus with all eight tentacles. Apparently, with all eight tentacles or not, all four of our guardian angels were following us around yesterday so all accidents were avoided. I called Ryan saying I can't drive in this. I can't go home, I can't go meet Clemanne- you have to find a car repair shop near to me so I can take the car in. Since we only have one vehicle, it had to be fixed and soon otherwise we couldn't drive anywhere. Ryan found a shop for us to go to and we trekked over there and made it. Then Clemanne drove all the way across town to meet us. We crammed three car seats into the back of her car in the pouring rain (I was so suprised they all fit!). The car place said it was a complicated problem so it would definitely be several hours. This was not hopeful news as it was 9:45 and naptime was near. But there was nothing we could do so we all went to Kohls...in the pouring rain. We killed some time in there- got new wardrobes for the girls! (Thanks Clemanne!) and when they started running around the store like banchee children, we decided we needed to go. Meanwhile, the repair shop called saying there was indeed a problem (yes, I know!) and that it would be a couple more hours. We then decided to go to McDonalds since none of us had eaten yet. The food was well, you know, not really food. But was nonetheless, thrilling for the girls, particularly the kiddie sized ice cream cones. The disappointment: the playground was too old for the girls- they couldn't reach any of the steps to go up to the actual fun stuff so they just got to eat and stare at the playground. Also, Abby has had a SEVERE diaper wash to the extent that I have been giving her a baking soda bath every diaper change along with a paste of cornstarch and vaseline. I was dreading changing her diaper on all of these outings but decided to "take the plunge" in the McDonald's restroom. I was again disappointed- Why McDonalds doesn't have a diaper changing station OR a counter at their sink is WAY beyond me! So I changed Abby on the floor of a bathroom stall with my jar of vaseline and my big tub of cornstarch. Grrr. Ice cream made me a feel a LITTLE bit better. The fudge sauce made me even feel a more LITTLE bit better. With no where else to go and the girls getting T-I-R-E-D, I called my mom to ask her if we could seek refuge at her house. Of course she said yes. We actually have taken refuge there several times when things like this happen. We got everyone inside, changed, fed, and then the phone call came that our car was ready early!!! Happy news because otherwise, Clemanne had to leave and I was stuck there until 5 pm when my stepdad was going to take us to pick up our car. So we piled back into the car, drove to the car repair shop, and got our vehicle back....$350 later! :( It was 2:30 pm, with no naps to speak of, no more money, and a wet mom exhausted from hauling carseats and kids in and out of cars and stores in the pouring rain. But all in all, it was good- no accidents, our car was fixed, and I had family around to help us out...and we came home with lots of clothes! Not a horrible, no good, very bad day. But then not a thrilling one either. So I guess that means we have to go look at the triple bus (I mean stroller) next week- dun, dun, dun.

One Thing to Cross Off My List

...so this wasn't on my list of things to do/see before I die BUT-

the other day we were driving and saw lightning actually strike! About 50 feet in front of us, the ground was actually smoking. It was fascinating. As soon as I saw it I thought...that should have been on my list.