Park Play Date

We met the Brand girls at our favorite park and did some playing the kids had a blast and I know I can speak for the Kulow household but it wore us out!
Here are a few pictures from my playing with my camera...

Bundle is da BOMB

Remember when I talked about Throwing in the Cloth and then I found a store by the name of Bundle.  Well, I took my diapers there... not the week I had first intended to since we got a snow storm that week but I took them in last Wednesday and I got them back on Thursday...  Let me just say that when I got them I was busy doing other things and was not able to open the bag immediately.  When I opened my cloth diaper laundry bag that was delivered to me I almost jumped up and down with glee!  My diapers were sparkling clean.  There was no smell, they were soft, needless to say they were glorious.  OMG!  I did the Funk Rock soak on my covers yesterday and I can't wait to get cloth back on my baby.  I am feeling like my love for the cloth is back.  So if you are considering throwing in the cloth, think twice and spend some time on the internet finding a laundering service near you, it is totally worth it.

Chimpsy

Today was my photography class that I was telling you about.  I felt like I learned a lot.  The class went over the basics of a camera functions and learning what the shutter speed, aperture and ISO does.  I knew the basics and this was an opportunity for me to get some more information on them.  It was a great class and I think the best part of it all is that there were nine others in it that are pretty much in the same boat as me.  They had little knowledge on the above and we all got a chance to go a little deeper with our knowledge.  So now when I look at my new camera there is not a sense of overwhelmed terror rather a sliver of knowledge that makes me feel like I want to play around with it!  Yeah for that!

Pictures

Here are a few pictures from the last week or so...

Guess who is walking?

When we snack in our house, we snack big!

Slightly Inappropriate

Okay I realize that this post may be slightly inappropriate but welcome to my reality.  I am a mom... no duh huh?  Being a mom means that I am a girl.  Yeah, I know another duh!?!?  I am a mom of three boys - welcome to penisville.  Being a girl means that I have never had a penis, never had to maintain such a piece of equipment.  Since becoming a mom of three boys means that I have had to figure things out.  I grew up in a house of girls, I was the oldest of three daughters - I guess I now have a glimpse of what my dad experienced.  Dad was thrust into the world of periodsville and he survived and conquered that world one Costco box of tampons at a time. 
My oldest son has become rather aware of his penis and has been informing me of some of the details.  Today for example I was informed that the reason girls can not jump as high as boys is because we don't have a penis.  And to think all this time I was thinking it was due to the color of my skin not what is or is not in my pants.  Apparently a penis is a "go button" and without a girl just can't jump as high as a boy.
Another piece of information is that such equipment needs air... have you ever seen "How I Met Your Mother"?  The character Barney Stinson has coined the term "The Naked Man", welcome to my house - the naked boys.  My education from a four year old has informed me that certain parts need air.  Naked naptimes, naked mornings, naked time before showers, naked time after showers... naked boys! 
Lately my precious little four year old and I have been working on writing our letters.  Two days ago I get a holler from the bathroom, "Mom come here!"  I come running not sure as to why I am being summoned to the bathroom.  I open the door to find my little man standing over the toilet peeing and informs me to watch him pee.  "Mom, look I drew the letter 'W'."  Really?  I know you moms of girls can not understand this... this is a skill that boys only have, the same idea would leave a puddle and not a distinct letter. 
Trust me when I say, I love and treasure my baby boys - this is a strange and untraveled world to me and I know that I can survive and conquer it just as my dad did in a foreign world to him.  

My babies

You know those days that it hits you that your babies are growing up... I have been going through that in a major way the last few weeks.  I registered Zeke for kindergarten on Tuesday.  Ki is totally potty trained and is even making it through the nights dry.  Riah will be one tomorrow.  Sakes time sure does fly by! 
Here are a few pictures of my babies in the last week or so...  I hope that you enjoy!

The boys were wrestling and Riah had to get in on the action too.

One morning I sent the boys to the backyard to play and the started making snow castles.  They were working so well as a team I just had to snap a few!

Home Depot snow castles

The boys have been listening to their ipod and playing their new Leappads with the head phones and I caught Riah with Ki's headphones on.  He was so proud of himself!

My little heroes

That grin gets me every time!

See ya'll later!

MOPS and Organization

I mean, really... does it get any better?  This morning was a MOPS morning - of which I look forward to every other Thursday.  I even wash my hair and put makeup on for MOPS, that's how much I love MOPS mornings.  Today was the icing on the cake though... Today at MOPS we had a guest speaker from Major Mom come and talk about my favorite topic... organization.  I know I have been droning on about organization lately but it is one of my favorite things.  Oh the gloriousness of a clean and organized home!

Some of the points that she made that I found interesting were...
"We are designed to me task completers."
"The number one cause of disease is stress... time, money..."
Then she quoted 1 Corinthians 14:33 "For God is not a God is disorder but of peace..."

The we had our discussion time as we always do and the last question of the day was " What room will you focus on today?"

Which then brings me to some "inspirational" blogs that I have found through my being a pinterest whore...

Fun Cheap or Free Queen ideas
The Tidy Mom
The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking

So I hope that you get some ideas and are able to tackle the linen closet (yep, that is my next challenge) and more!

Cleaning Mania

As it turns out Mondays have become my cleaning mania days.  For the last three Mondays I have picked an area of the house and cleaned it.  The first Monday was our master closet, I cleaned out clothes, cleaned the tops of the shelves and took a large bag of stuff to Goodwill.  Last Monday I decided to attack my kitchen.  I cleaned out cupboards, tops of cupboards, counters, fridge, stove (top, under, behind and even lifted the stove top and cleaned it).  After that cleaning episode I took a large box of stuff to Goodwill.  Today was the same thing, I attacked our coat closet.  I cleaned it out reorganized it and I did purchase four cloth cubes to keep shoes in.  After that clean out I took another bag of stuff to Goodwill. 
I don't know about you but I feel so good after a good cleaning session.  I love de-cluttering and reorganizing.  I told Michael yesterday that I finally feel like the fog of having a baby has lifted and I feel like I can attack some of these chores.  For the first year of Riah's life I have felt so out of sorts and like I am just trying to keep my head above water being a mother of three.  Well, Riah will be one year on Friday and I feel like I can see clearly and I can get to some of the neglected chores. 
As I have been cleaning each of these areas I have decided that whatever I don't want to pack and move in the coming months is going to Goodwill.  I figure the more work I do now the less it will be when we find a house and begin the packing craziness - so I really am doing myself a favor in the coming months!
I will admit the area that really needs my attention now it our office and I really don't have the desire to tackle it.  I feel totally overwhelmed by it.  I think the main reason I feel overwhelmed by it is because a lot of what is in here is Michael's stuff, so I can't really do purging like I desire to... also a lot of the stuff in here is paperwork that we should keep.  UGH!  I hate that - those that know me, know that I am a purger!  If it is not being used currently or has not been used in the last year - chances are I don't need it.  I don't think that applies to bank statements, taxes and all that boring all consuming stuff!
Making progress - little by little and it feels splendid! 

Back up and running

Phew!  It has been a long road for this old computer of mine.  It has had a new battery, a new charger, new ram and a new operating system put in it.  But it is back up and running and it is fast and I am again loving my computer and don't constantly feel like I want to throw it through the window.
Well, among some new toys I have I got two cameras this month.  I bought myself a DSLR and a new point and shoot.  I am so excited about my DSLR.  I have been playing around with it the last week trying to learn all the new things and I have vowed to myself to not let it go to the "AUTO" mode but to actually take the time to learn all the setting and how to make my pictures better.  Basically I feel though that the camera is way out of my league and I am some what intimated by it.  I was explaining this to Michael and so he got me a two hour private lesson.  I have scheduled that but unfortunately it is still a while til that class so playing is all I am doing now.  My point and shoot came in the mail last night so I have not played with it yet, but it will take the place of my two that have currently bit the dust. 
Here are a few pictures from the old camera that I had yet to load as my computer was on leave...

Big Brown Eyes

All three boys playing with magnetic cars on the front door.

Too cute to not capture!

Brothers

Here are a few from my new camera and my learning...

Liar liar pants on fire

I don't usually call people names but the FedEx person today was a liar liar pants on fire! I got a call yesterday informing me that a package was to be delivered today and that a signature was going to be required. This morning Michael had an appointment to which he brought the older two. Riah and I spent the morning playing in the front living room, actually I was playing with one of my new cameras! When Riah laid down for his nap I took him upstairs laid him in his crib and grabbed my book and came down and sat on the couch in the front living room. I did not go potty, I did not go to the basement, I positioned myself on my couch to look out the giant front window that I have to watch for the FedEx truck, two fold, didn't want to miss them coming and didn't want them to ring the door bell and wake up my baby. I sat there from ten fifteen until eleven twenty at which time Riah woke up. I ran upstairs changed his diaper and then we came back down stairs and assumed my position in front of the giant bay window. Michael got home and asked if the package came to which I declared no. He went to his office and checked his email. In his inbox was an email saying that the FedEx person tried to deliver at 11:18 and no one was home. Liar liar! I was super upset by the email and Michael knew I was telling the truth and tried calling for a redelivery and they told him the next delivery won't be until Tuesday. Seriously! UGH!

Throwing in the Cloth

I have been so tempted lately to throw in the cloth... diaper that is!  I have had a major case of ammonia and rashes.  I was sharing my troubles with a fellow cloth diapering mom and she told me about a place here in Colorado that will take your personal stash of diapers and clean them for you for a charge.  I hit the bottom of the barrel this past week and I was at my wits end with my diapers feeling like I was so done with the smell alone not to mention the condition of Riah's bottom. 
A call to the store this morning alleviated my concerns. I will bring in my diapers on Wednesday afternoon and they will deliver me my cleaned diapers on Thursday!  How glorious is that?!?!
So if you are a fellow cloth diapering mother and are about to throw in the cloth for the same reasons take a look at this company.    I will soon be back to the cloth.  A few days in disposables will be just fine with me to know that my 18 prefolds, 6 fitteds, 4 hemp doublers and 17 wipes will soon be back to their first glory.  While I am at Bundles on Wednesday dropping off my diapers I will also purchase some Funk Rock to soak my covers in for about twenty minutes that night so that once the cloth is clean my covers will be too.  I can not even begin to express how excited I am about this prospect!  I will keep you posted come Thursday/Friday with the results.

Funny Dream

Last night I had a funny dream and I woke up this morning still thinking about it.  I had a dream that we got a huge snow storm here in town and we got like five feet of snow.  We were locked in the house because of the storm and the boys were wanting to go out and play in it.  So Michael opened our bedroom window and took out the screen and the boys spent hours jumping from the second story window into the snow and then tunneling back to the garage.  It was the funniest thing because Michael, Riah and I just sat on our bed and watched them.  So either I am having visions of years to come of our boys escaping our house through a second story window or we have a big storm coming! 

All jumbled

It has been a little bit since I have last posted and I think the main reason is that my computer has decided to take another break. My husband is still the computer whisperer that I bragged about however the battery that we bought was a dud and had to be sent back for a new one, which leaves me to type on either my iPad or Michael's computer of which he is not too fond of. So I have not wanted to type a long blog on either but today as I was sitting and having a conversation with myself I realized that I needed to get some of my thoughts out and down. Yes, you read that correctly I was having a full on conversation with myself about a bunch of stuff and I realized that my word quota has not been hit lately. Lucky you, eh?
Today I actually had a conversation with a fellow blogger and I expressed to her my frustration in her lack of blogging to which has forced me to have to pick up a few more blogs to read. While we had a real face to face conversation I told her that part of the reason I began blogging was of course for my lovely family to see and hear accounts of the crazy Kulow life I live, but honestly it is a means for me to get my daily word count at least closer to fulfillment. I was pleased to hear that she too feels the same way, I am not totally crazy, well at least not in that area... At least there is one other person with the same thought process, phew!
Ladies, you understand what I am talking about though... When your husband gets home from work there is so much to tell him... Kid number one was as sassy can be. Kid number two pooped on the potty all by himself. Kid number three is teething yet again and thanks to that his diapers are class three hazardous material. Doesn't your husband just love to be greeted with such information and is of course engaged in it all asking questions, validating your concerns and listens not only with his ears but is making eye contact with you the entire time. Okay, so I am not the only one? Hence the birth of my blog at least, if he wants to know what is going on in our family he can find it at this link.  He can quickly read over my antics and be fully up to date with the happenings that are my life!
Now on to some of the thoughts that have been jumbling my head...
Kulow independence... Oh sakes! I have had it in my face lately, Zeke is really coming into his own as well as Ki as a matter of fact. Last night was a good example of this Kulow independence. We had dinner and after dinner I spend some time cleaning up from it which includes, clearing dishes from the table, washing pots and pans, loading dishwasher, sweeping and wiping down the counters, I do it every night, it is just my routine. After dinner the boys know that they need to play quietly either in the front living room or in the basement and then when I am done we go upstairs for bath time. Well last night as I was washing the pots and pans I hear Michael say,"Andrea did you turn on the bath tub?" Well, no Kulow I am in the kitchen. I walk upstairs to find two naked boys and they have pinned down the baby and are trying to get him undressed, the bath is running and Zeke looks at me like... Well! I get the two older boys in their bath that they drew and then go to their room and Zeke turned down their beds, like I do every night before bath time. I look at Michael and about the only thing to come out of my mouth was, "Really, Kulow? You bred independence and I am not thinking it is such a hot trait right now!" So, no one can accuse these Kulow boys of not being self sufficient, because there are days that I am afraid that they will find out that they don't need me!
Growing up and keeping up. My baby Riah is growing up and is starting to keep up with his brothers. Yes, this is a good thing, but since I know this is my last baby there is a part of me that wishes he would slow down a little. Riah does not think that he is not even one, he thinks that he is two or three years old. Yesterday was a good example of it, the three of them are all playing together now so they spent the afternoon after Ki got home from school playing. I gave them lunch and then let them all play together until nap time. I put all three boys down for nap at 2:30 and then spent nap time doing my stuff. Riah woke up an hour and a half later and I brought him to the basement with me to finish the laundry that I was working on and I turn around and Riah is not with me.  I walk up the basement stairs to hear Zeke and Ki yelling,"Leave us alone Riah!" Well Riah felt that if he was awake that his brothers better be too. After a little grumpiness brothers came to play with baby Riah and he was all smiles!
Pants down... Okay not really but, the figure of speech works here! Tuesday morning I woke up and realized that Riah's finger which I already knew was infected was not getting better and in fact looked really bad. A quick call to the doctor had us an appointment first thing in the morning. Breakfast was served and we got dressed and dashed out of the house. Got to the doctor got seen right away, Riah had to get antibiotics and we were out of there. I had orders from Michael to go to the bank first thing and deposit a check, of which I followed directions. Two minutes away from home I get a call from Ki's speech therapist saying that she was at our home waiting for us, I tell her we will be right there I hang up only to remember that I left the house a mess. Granted a mess for my house is not too terrible but I start panicking. I pull into the garage and she is sitting on the front step... Crap no time to run in and clean before she sees. She comes in and sees me picking up toys just as fast as I can and she says, "I don't think I have ever seen your house like this before." Ugh! To which I respond, "We had to leave and I had anticipated being back in plenty of time to clear the mayhem, but things did not work accordingly. I am so sorry for the mess." she just smiled it off, but literally I felt like she walked in on me in the bathroom or something. I guess that teaches me to not leave without cleaning up... Of which is my normal rule of thumb but I was frazzled by the condition of poor Riah's finger. Don't worry about his finger, it looks a ton better, the swelling is down, it is not nearly as red and it is no longer pussing, yes I let it go too long, I thought it would heal on it's own... Lesson learned!
Next week will be like Christmas here in our house... We got the boys their leap pads, I chose two cameras - a point and shoot and a dslr, my computer battery should come as well as a new and updated operating system for my computer. Needless to say I feel like I want to stalk the mail man! Too bad the guy doesn't get here until around six every night which means that I don't get my mail until the next day for the most part.
Luxuries from the states... I was putting some stuff together for a friend of ours that lives in Germany who are getting ready to have their first little baby, since I was planning on sending a box I facebooked them and asked if there was anything that I could add for them in the box for them. Their responses were original wheat thins and maple syrup. A quick trip to Costco will fill that request! It got me thinking about the things that I always had my mom send me whenever I lived overseas... Peanut butter, red vines, charmin toilet paper, and Walmart brand lemon cookies. Made me also think of when I was in the hospital and I would send Michael to the store for things... Nutella, chai tea and laughing cow cheese. Some of the most simple things can make such a huge difference! What are things that you can't live without?
Kindergarten... Yikes, when did that happen? Zeke will be starting kindergarten in eight months. Wednesday was a particulary hard day for Zeke and I in our school work time which sent me to the computer to research when kindergarten registration began. Oh yeah, I tried getting him into a charter school and wound up being like 257 on the list... I know that God can move mountains and that a waiting list is not too big for God... However I also know that God can use a wait list as a closed door. Soooo, that brings us back to Wednesday, thankfully I got on to check because I have to have him registered before the eleventh of this month! That night is the first parent orientation and then the following week I have to bring in all his papers. Phew! I guess it was a good thing that we had a rough school time, my frustration and realization that homeschool is not for me brought me to research and realize that I needed to get on the ball!
Speech has been going great for Ki! He is up to four and five word sentences, which is new within the last week or so and is a huge step for him. I am super proud of him! On Tuesday when we were at the doctor for Riah I asked about Zeke's speech and was told to call their speech pathologist. A quick call to her... Oh side note here... so I call her and mention my name and she cuts me off and says, "Yeah, you are Zeke's mom. I remember you guys!" okay I have not talked to this woman since March of last year and she remembers me and Zeke... I was a little nervous, did we make that much of an impact? Okay back to my call... So after she remembers who we are I begin talking with her about Zeke's progress and that he is no longer having fluency issues just still struggling with articulation to which she says we need to have another evaluation. Talking with her I explain that Ki will be graduating out of his speech services in the coming months and that we will need to get private services for him too. She was super helpful and I just have to say I have been totally and completely satisfied with the care and attention that I have gotten from her services and the insurance agency that she works for! Yeah, for them for figuring it out!
Okay, well I think I may have put a dent in my word quota for the day! For those that hung through to the end, you are brave! I hope that everyone is doing great now that I have filled your brain and eyes with my jumbled thoughts! Once my computer is back and healthy I will post pictures.

New Years!

Yeah, we made it through 2011 and we are still alive and healthy and happy.  What more could a mom ask for?  Well... there is... Naw - I am just kidding!  
I was recounting the amount of times in the twenty nine years of my life I have actually seen in the new year and I think it was five.  Pretty sad, huh?  Well one of the times was last year as I sat in the hospital thinking I was going to have a baby and then things went wacky.  Then there was this year - Zeke and I stayed up until the clock said, "One two zero zero" and then we crashed.  Pretty sad that two of the five times was in the last year!  I was talking with my dad on New Year's Eve and he was asking me if I was going to stay up and ring in the new year and I simply said, "I am too old for that" to which his response was "you have always been to old for it then".  Yep, I am not a night person!
Every year people make new years resolutions and are always interested in what others committed.  Well, a few years ago I made a new years resolution that I have kept... To never make new years resolutions!  Simple yes - every day is new and every day there is a new challenge to take on and conquer, no need to wait for a whole new year.  So although I did not make a new years resolution there are a few things that I am going to try and be more purposeful about in the years to come.  It is my desire to take one room of the house once a month and deep clean it.  Not simply the cleaning aspect of it but down to making it a fresh space whether that be changing pictures in frames, moving furniture, or adding/taking away from the decor. 
I have found myself since becoming a mom of three finding less and less time to clean and although my house is not a sty it is lacking the sparkle that I devoted to it in previous years.  Part of it I realize is we are not home that often and when we are it is for lunch, nap and then dinner time.  Who really wants to spend nap time cleaning?!?  Another reason for it, is it just takes too much effort, with three I have to entertain them and try to clean so I have resorted to having them clean alongside me which really means more bodies in my way when all I really want to do is power through and get it done to get on with better things.  Christmas eve I actually spent the morning cleaning and it was glorious, Michael was home and was able to tend to Riah, Ki was sick so he was laying on the couch watching movies and Zeke of course was there on the couch too.  I spent like four hours and powered through the cleaning, I cleaned everything... bathrooms, kitchen, bedrooms, dusted, vacuumed, mopped and even cleaned the carpets in the lower living room (granted that was because Ki had thrown up but I still cleaned them).
So here is to a new year and to being more purposeful in my jobs as wife, mom, and housekeeper.