Mini me's

As a parent the one thing you strive for is to ingrain good behaviors and morals in your children. You want to pass things on that you learned and hold close to your heart. This morning I got proof that not only are they listening but they are wanting to carry on the "tradition". When I was young it was a "rule" that you were to make your bed every morning. It was our job. When I met Jeremy and he learned that it was something that was a necessity for me. So either he agrees with me now or he does it to just please me...either way our bed is made each morning. The kids help me each morning by bringing me the pillows. Even though they can't do it themselves, I have been making their bed since we now have the bedding sets. I never know if they are actually watching or not but go step by step thru the process. Well this morning I was making my bed...Alex came in and said 'Mommy making bed' and then disappeared. Zach was helping with pillows this morning, so after we were done we headed to his room. And what did I find...Alex making his bed...'no help mommy, I do' he said. After a little bit of help his was done. I then moved to Zach's bed...as I did this Liz ran out of the room. After finishing Zach's I went and found Liz working on hers. It feels great to know that they are getting "it" and want to do it. I am a proud mommy this morning! Just had to share.
Love, Jen
PS Things to come...playing in the sandbox naked, skinny dipping and more...stay tuned!

Happy Father's Day plus more...

This post begins with a little activity Alex likes to call choo-choo. The kids have now taken it upon themselves to play train. They line up pretty good on their own. While they walk around they say choo-choo, cho-choo. Watch out here comes the train...

Prior to Papa and Nana leaving on Thursday I was inflating the kids' pool. It seemed to be taking forever so Jeremy helped my with using the air compressor. Once we got it filled we headed to the backyard. We did not get far before it lost everything. Apparently the little gray furry creatures aka mice that used our garage as a home over winter decided it would be funny to put a hole in the pool. Luckily we have some patching supplies and Jeremy was able to patch the hole. After filling it a second time we were ready for water. I filled it quickly Thursday night, which was good cause some major storms hit here during the night. So Friday marked the official first swim of the summer for the kids. It was an overcast day but really warm. The water did not warm up as much as I had hope but the kids never noticed.

Zach be careful don't fall out...

Alex trying not to shiver...

Liz entertaining us with her impression of a squirrel...

The kids decided to get out and it was a good decision cause they were shivering pretty bad at that point. To make things a little easier I stripped them outside and wrapped them in towels. We headed for the house. Once we were in the towels came off. The boys decided it would be fun to pretend to weed whack and Liz went for the toy edger.
Liz being the modest one of the three, she kept her towel half on...

Alex used good placement of the toy...

as did Zach!

Saturday I worked in the morning. Once I got home Jeremy was able to continue on one last project before returning to the workforce on Monday...the kids' sandbox. He was able to get it completed and put into the playyard by the end of the weekend. He filled it tonight with sand, so tomorrow will be an exciting day in the playyard...don't worry pictures will be taken...lol! The kids have one heck of a sandbox!

Sunday was Father's Day. Jeremy spent the morning with the kids as I did the grocery shopping. Once I got home he was able finish up the sandbox. He took a break once the kids woke from their naps. They got him a couple "dad" t-shirts as well as beer tappers and some cologne. But the best present was the picture and poem. I wrote up the following poem:

We love to wear your shoes Daddy,

As you can clearly see.

Pretending we’re as big as you,

For soon that day will be.

We hope to be like you someday,

Strong, Patient, full of love.

You’re the greatest Dad on earth,

With quite the shoes to fill.

And then put this picture below it...

Let me just say with the reaction we got...I think I did good. Jeremy is such a good daddy! We love him so much! There were individual pictures taken too that went into a different frame as well as a few out takes. Here is another group pictures.
We have been enjoying the pool since we filled it. Today we had fresh water and more of it. Lexi joined us today. Today I said forget the swimsuits and just went with swim diapers.

After Liz found my sunglasses and started hamming it up.

After a quick snack and juice, it was back to playing and waiting for daddy to get home from his first day at his new job. So what better way to play then everyone sharing the cart. The only thing wrong with this picture is that Zach is in the cart and we'd prefer no one in the cart...we have seen it tip too many times.

Tomorrow is suppose to be extremely warm, so we are hoping to get outside in the morning. Lexi will be joining us, so we should get some good pictures of them in the new sandbox...something to look forward to in next week's post.

Love, Jen

Here it is...

I apologize it has taken almost all week to get the pictures of the "new" boys' room on here, but I have a good excuse, Nana and Papa. They came to visit us. We had a wonderful time having them here. Papa helped Jeremy with some of the things on his to-do list. Nana got to spend time with the kiddos. I think (and hope) they had as good of a time as we did. Thanks for coming! So there is my excuse...lol.
This first picture is what the sleep plan was "suppose" to be...all mattresses in Liz's room...cozy, eh?
Here is what the sleep plan ended up being...no mattresses at all! It was hard to get an agreement but we finally just put everyone on the floor. They did well sleeping together. This picture was taken before we cleaned up the room, so it looks a lot better then the actually tornado look it had for the time that they were bunking together.

Zach giving a tour of his new room...they kept saying "new walls, mommy do"...

Drum roll please....................

Yellow wall...

Green wall....

Red wall....

and blue wall....

So I was going to pull some nursery pictures from earlier posts but got too caught up in my trip down memory lane, so there are pictures in some of the 2007 posts. All four walls were yellow with baby farm animal decor. I was able to redo their room for less than $50. Many of the decor items we had. We have sports themed twin bedding so that is what we did for wall hangings. We got a great primary colors lego table from our mailman and I picked up primary colored shelves at a rummage. We only needed to buy two paint colors and used supplies we already had. We did add red tab curtains to help darken the room for naps and bedtime. I have the two shelves to paint yet as they are currently silver, but it is done and I am very pleased with it. Red is a very difficult color to work with...ugh!

I also picked up a toddler bedding set from the resale shop. Was lucky enough to find TWO with the truck theme...so they now have big boy beds. I found a set for Liz at a rummage, so we are all big kids now.

The boys sharing Alex's bed...nice smiles for the camera...then...

we kick off the sheet and act goofy...lol!

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. And hey, if you got some free time...take a trip down memory lane. What a journey it has been!

Love, Jen

It is finally done!

I will be sad when Jeremy goes back to work on the 22nd. Today he had a farewell lunch with his co-workers. We have been able to get a lot of things done while he has been home. Plus I have been able to leave the house without having to plan around other's schedules and had some time to myself. And to top it off, Jeremy took the boys to the store the other day to pick up diapers (and beer for him...lol). The men of my life came home with roses! A just because/thank you for what you do roses!!! They know how to make a woman's day...thank you, thank you, thank you! So one of the projects I started working on yesterday is the redecorating the boys' room. I finished the painting today and will finish decorating tomorrow, so stay tuned for the new and improved boys' room pictures. We look forward to get more done this coming week and will continue to enjoy having him home.
Love, Jen
Here is Lucky waiting for the boys' room pictures too...at least you are not waiting alone...lol!

Fun in the mud!!!

Ok, let me set the scene and describe what was not caught on film. Jeremy was working outside today and that is where the kids wanted to be when they woke from their nap, so we headed outside to the roses bushes where daddy was working. The four kids (as I was watching Lexi today) were playing with daddy's rakes and shovels. When daddy completed what he was doing he rinsed his hands with the hose and turned off the water. Zach and Alexis saw all this happened and wondered down to the hose. Once they finally figured out how to get the water to come out there was no water left. That is where I come in...and turned on the water. Soon Alex and Liz joined in the fun. By the time Jean came to pick up Lexi she was soaked from head to toe, but clean. Soon after Jean left I started to take off the kids wet clothes. Just as I got the last shirt off the mud pud became the focus. At this point I could no longer just watch...I needed the camera. After a sprint to the house and back here is what I got my lovies doing.
3 kids plus 1 hose equals lots of messy fun!

Alex starting to lose his now heavy, water soaked jeans!

Liz taking a break from the action...those socks are actually purple!

Zach warning me not to get any closer...he knows how to use the hose and is not afraid too...lol!

Liz watching Alex...add water to the mud puddle...

the two of them enjoying jumping in it!

I finally got all their clothes off...

Zach taking a last few sprays of the hose...

Alex making sure the puddle is not neglected.

I sure once Jean see these pictures she will be VERY happy she left when she did...lol! The kids had sooooo much fun. I cannot wait to get the pool out and the sprinkle too. It just need to be a little warmer. These kids are water lovers! Swim classes start next week for the girls, so that should be fun! Hope you enjoyed the pictures. They giggled a lot!

Love, Jen

Dress-Up

What little girl does not like to dress up? My little princess is not different. Tonight before bed she decided to try on some of her dress up clothes. Not only did she put on the clothes (2 different dresses) but accessorized with a tiara and shoes. Isn't she just adorable?!?!?
Now having a sister pretty much leaves you no choice but to play dress up with her. No one was force to do anything in the following pictures...
Alex tried on the yellow dress...good color...lol!Zach went for the accessories...sparkly headbands...ALL of them...lol!

Due to need for blackmail for the future some of the "dress-up" pictures will not make it on the blog, but there are more...he he he!!!

Love, Jen

Exciting end to the week...

An exciting end to the week. We made a trip to Montfort to see Jeremy's family as well as taking part in some activities. We left on Friday. It was soooo nice to pack less...no booster seats, no meal stuff, no nuks, no sheets or blankets and no pack n plays. The kids each had their own bag which held their sleeping bags and a few favorite stuff animals. We got into town and visisted Papa on the farm...checked out those baby kitties again and fed the cows some corn. We headed to the house and played outside for a while. Bedtime was tough. Due to a late supper once the kids finished eating (which they did not eat well) they were ready for bed...of course this was just as mommy and daddy filled their plates to eat. After an hour and 45 minutes we finally had them sleeping. Ugh! Overtiredness, new sleeping arrangements, different house...all played a part. They actually did sleep fine once they were out. The following day's nap and bedtime did go better. Saturday morning we participated in a walk. Although the weather did not want to cooperate we were able to finish most of it. We were able to eat out Saturday night with Great Grandpa, Julie and Nana. Sunday was exciting. Daddy decided to have everyone go down to the chicken BBQ to help Nana. It is always a little weird having all eyes watching us. I find it easiest to try to ignore it and look away. The kids got to help carry some bags back to the house. After lunch we played. The parade did not start until 2. We were unsure of pushing the kids that far but in the end decided to have the kids in the parade. Papa was pretty proud to have his 6 grandkids riding in a wagon behind his Old John Deere AR. The kids helped the girls throw out some freezy pops. Luckily we had no meltdowns! We got on the road 1 1/2 hours past their naptime. Within moments Liz and Zach were out and Alex shortly after them. The ride was quiet for the most part. So sleeping bags were a success and their first time in a parade was a success. I have included pictures from the weekend as well as some misc. ones from the week.
Enjoy.
Jen
Ok, everyone smile...try to look at mommy.
Alex showing Zach some love...

Goofy girl...

Liz showing Alex some love.

Their favorite game is to use daddy as a jungle gym.

Alex using daddy as a recliner...yes his arms were up with his hands behind his head..he was comfy.

Liz bouncing on daddy's chest even after being told not to...that would be what the grin is for...lol.

Liz and Zach helping daddy up; Alex working to keep him down.

Daddy giving them a bear hug.

4 against 1...not good odds for Roxy!

"We do it, we do it" is what we hear when it is time to brush teeth.

Rub a dub dub, three cuties in the tub...

Bathtime pictures were a lot easier to take and get all three looking nice when they were babies.

Liz liking the new sleeping arrangements.

The three monsters trying to get ready for bed...

Alex enjoying himself playing on the tractor...

Liz hammin it up on Papa's tractor...

Zach checking out Papa John Deere tractor...what does this lever do?!?!?

Daddy chillin with the kids prior to the parade...no smiles given.

Daddy and the kids...

The Drury cousins..L to R...Mackenzie, Madalyn, Morgan

Papa with his 6 Little Deeres

Jeremy, the kids and the girls.

Alex ready for a new adventure.

Liz looking a little tired, but were only moments from the start.

Zach on the wagon right before we started on the parade route.

Nuks are HISTORY!!!

Ok, I cannot take any credit what so ever for this new development, but I can partake in the excitement of it! As some of you may already know, Jeremy is going to start a new job (woo hoo!). I won't get into the details, but Monday he gave his notice to his current employer who asked him to take his remaining vacation and comp days for that time. His new job does not start until June 22nd, so I have a helper for the next 2 plus weeks (woo hoo!!!). We have come up with splitting the "free" time so we can both work on things and since I have the commitment to watch Lexi on Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, I get Tuesdays and Thursdays. So this morning I started out with rummaging. When we returned the kids were in bed for naps. Moments after getting here Jeremy tells me that he did it, he got them to go down without nuks! Holy moly! I have been so hesitant to do it but apparently our kids were just ready. Then he tells me that not only are they sleeping without nuks but he took the bedrails off too (the crib matresses are on the floor and we had discussed doing this so they get use to the bed having edges). OMG!!! I need to leave more often...lol! I am so proud of him and the kids. Every change/new step they have dealt with amazingly. These kids are awesome (I know I am biased)! Congrats to Jeremy and the kids! Next step...big kid undies...I think next Tuesday sounds good to do that...lol! I know that he may not get mentioned a lot, but Jeremy is an awesome father! He may not be with them as much as me but he plays a HUGE role in their lives. We will all be sad when he has to go bad to work on the 22nd, but very happy at the same time. Thank you honey for all you do. We love you lots!
Love, Jen

Feeling great!

Ok it has only been a few days since the last post but again a lot of activity at the Lenzendorf household.
In the last post I told you about getting our garden ready. With rain in the forecast we bust butt after Jeremy got home from work on Tuesday to get it planted. This time we had 4 helpers for much of it until Jean picked Lexi up. The kids were not the most helpful especially when we were trying to get things done quickly. Zach wanted to help hoe...constantly! Here he is "helping" daddy...
He actually insisted that he touch/help daddy hoe the rows for the seeds. Very cute to watch!

Liz took the cleaner approach and played with the seed packs and mommy's pen...

And of course we had to take a finished picture. Here the kiddos are moments before we took them in...and no I did not wait for the perfect shop...meltdowns were moments away...lol.

Thursday the four kids had a blast dressing up in the morning. Here is Alex sporting one of Liz's rainboots with his winter hat and mittens...

Liz is sporting her other rainboot (on the wrong foot) with the newest treasure from the bank as a necklace (those bag have since been taken away for not using them correctly).

Lexi is going for the summer/winter look with one of the boys summer hats and two different gloves. I think she gets her stylish looks from her daddy cuz Jean sure the heck would not be caught looking like this...lol!

Zach took the Mr. Cool route with putting his Cars cap on and acompanied it with one of Liz's rainboots. Is there any other way to ride the inch worm?!?!?

Shortly after those pictures were taken, mom and I took them rummaging...and no they did not get to wear any of their cool accessories. We only made it to one rummage but the kids loved it as the woman had setup a play area for kids and watched the kids while we shopped....how perfect. Both mom and I went back by ourselves.

Friday was a busy day...lots of firsts. In the afternoon I decided to take the kids to the front of the house. My biggest fear is the very busy road and the idiots that pull in our driveway at highway speeds (ok maybe it is not that fast but it is fast for being in a driveway). Anyways, I decided to get the chalk out, brought the tricycles from the playyard and grabbed one of the bikes from the garage.

This is the first time the kids have played with chalk. They liked being able to color outside. I helped them by writing their names. Coloring with chalk did not last long (as I expecting with being in a "new" area).

Another reason it did not last long is daddy came home. There was no holding the kids back once daddy pulled in. They are in a full sprint to get to him...do you think they missed him?!?! Even Roxy is pulling hard to get to him.

Here is Alex taking a break by sitting on my decorative planter.

Here are the boys working on their pedalling skills.

After they got sick of the bikes and boundaries they walk over to the Catalpa tree we cut down last summer. I tried to get a picture of them in the trunk last year but Liz was not having it, that was not the case on Friday...they were having a blast playing.

They are having absolutely no fun what so ever!

So even though it was a bit nerve wrecking for mommy (esp with all the 5 o'clock traffic) the kids did great with the boundaries and playing in the front. So we will do it more often so they get use to it.

Saturday morning the kids, Jean, Alexis, mom and me headed to some rummages. Even though the kids were not the best behaved we did manage to find some deals. After we got home, it was time to unload the treasures. Unfortunately Liz took a digger...so she currently has some road rash on her forehead. After a nap they helped me clean as were going to have company (which unfortunately did not happen).

Sunday was a fun-filled day. Daddy played with them in the playyard in the moring while I finished cleaning the upstairs. Then after nap it was outside immediately. Jeremy was working on cleaning the trees up in order to put mulch down and I worked on planting the annuals. The kids worked with daddy in the back yard as I finished in the front yard. Once I got done I brought "daddy's tractor" to the back yard. The kids went to work on it from there.

Once daddy started putting mulch down the kids were needed as helpers. They each had their own bucket and were told where to dump it. On their way to one tree they stopped at the firepit to check it out.

Here they are helping...

Once I finished planting I headed inside to quickly make supper. Jeremy kept the kids working, back and forth from the truck to the pond garden. Once supper was within minutes of being done I called them in...it was 7pm! Once they were washed up we started to melt, so Jeremy distracted them with telling them to play with Roxy. Some how these tired, dirty kids found enough energy to play. First the boys played tug of war and eventually it was all three. I did get this on video and if I ever figure out how to load video on here I will. Here are some still photos. Roxy loved every minute of this.

So the title of this post is about how I feel. On Friday I finally got the ring that the kids and Jeremy got me for Mother's Day (it was backordered). I tried desperately to take a picture of it this morning without success. It is three rings, each one has a kid's name on it. They are all connected. Since it is smooth (compared to my wedding ring) I can where it all the time. I absolutely LOVE it! The other reason I am feeling great is some of the things we were able to complete this weekend. Not only does it feel great to get ALL the vacuuming done with in 24hrs but some of the other cleaning as well. Normally it is done bits and pieces. And then Sunday we got things done that have not been done for 2 years. It feels great to have my flower boxes planted and up! It feels even better to have my pond garden done...fish out, pond plants are in, solar lights are out, decorative things are out, garden is weeded (thanks to Jeremy), annuals are plants and mulch is down! It feels great!!! It was so nice to look out the windows this morning and see flowers and to have te kids see them and point them out to me. Tomorrow I am taking a little me time to learn something new. The week is starting out great!

Hope you have enjoyed the pictures and my babbling.

Love, Jen