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Wordless Wednesday

2010-04-28T14:41:00.001-04:00

My three athletes

Tball and Grandma Quack

2010-04-19T20:45:00.002-04:00

Sebastian has started T-Ball and is doing fantastic. He's hitting great and working really hard on fielding.

Grandma Quack came into town and was here for the lunch party on Friday. The kids had so much fun playing UNO with her in the evenings. I love that they get to enjoy card games with her like I did as a kid.

It's so hard to say goodbye

2010-03-30T20:37:00.005-04:00

The bookmobile out of the Kalamazoo Public Library has been a huge part of our life as a family. We decided to start going when Alexandra was less than 2. I remember being pregnant with Sebastian when we made our first visit. Tonight was a really, really tough night. There was something bonding for us as a family going to the bookmobile every tuesday night. We'll still go to the library but it just won't be the same.

Color, Color, Color

2010-03-29T14:57:00.005-04:00

I realized the other day that I don't think we've ever colored easter eggs. With the kids being 6, 5 and 3 I thought I could do this. It's spring break and we aren't going anywhere, lets color some eggs.

How are you leading....

2010-03-22T21:16:00.002-04:00

I've been in a lot of leadership roles. Even in middle school and high school I loved to be in charge of things, er I mean lead things. :) I've always felt that I was a pretty good leader. I'm involved in a couple of things right now where my leadership is needed. In the last month, I've been convicted of complaining a lot about the people that I'm leading. I've always run under the assumption that If I can do something, everyone else can to. But that's not always the case. Everyone is gifted differently, if anyone should know that its me. In the last couple of years I've tried things that I was not gifted at and struggled. I was clearly convicted about how I'm leading people who are struggling. If you are in leadership, think about the people you are leading. They might not be like you, encourage them as best you can, and lead them. It is easy to write that but not so easy to do as I can tell you. I'm asking God to help me. I want to be a better leader, not just one that sits around and complains about those that I'm leading.

Happy Spring Boy - Wordless Wednesday

2010-03-10T18:36:00.004-05:00

I miss Dr. Haddock

2010-03-04T13:52:00.003-05:00

When I was growing up, we saw the same dr. almost every time I went into the office. Whether is was for a yearly check up or for a sickness I saw Dr. Haddock. I grew to know what to expect. Although my mom might be able to tell you different, I even remember when my tonsils shrunk, he gave my mom the third degree. He demanded to know why he wasn't informed I had my tonsils out. My reason for reminiscing is that I'm a little tired of large dr. offices where no one really knows you. Atticus has been sick for about 4 days now and the last two days he's been sleeping for about 18 hours a day. I look in his eyes and I can tell he doesn't feel well. I'm not one to run to the dr. at every sneeze or sniffle. I hate to spend the money to have the dr. tell me it's just a virus. What's weird is that he's been very lethargic and hasn't been eating much. That's totally not my 3 year old boy. I get a lecture from the nurse at the dr.'s office that he probably just has a virus. If they knew me and knew my boy, they would know that he tends to have respiratory issues. He was in the NICU for 3 days after he was born with respiratory issues, he's had rsv, croup and has been on the brink of pneumonia. They don't know me and they don't know my child. If they did, they wouldn't be questioning me. Plus, I have a cold and so does Sebastian and I'm not rushing us to the dr. I'm just wishing for the old days where I was known by one Dr. and not unknown by a sea of medical professionals. I could be proven wrong when we do see a Dr. this afternoon and they determine if it's just a cold.

He turned the tables on me a little bit

2010-03-02T19:49:00.002-05:00

After last night's questioning, Sebastian decided to ask me a question on camera, kind of. I love his responses.

Another one bites the dust....

2010-03-01T17:00:00.004-05:00

Thanks to Mrs. Shank the music teacher for putting the tooth in an envelope to Alexandra could bring it home!

Oh and Atticus wanted to remind you that he's 3!

What's the best part of being.....

2010-03-01T16:14:00.006-05:00

I just randomly asked the kids what the best part of being their age and what's the saddest/hardest. I love their answers.

snug house bug house

2010-03-01T15:52:00.004-05:00

This has become a favorite for all the kids. I had to document this great experience.

It happened one morning at breakfast

2010-02-28T15:00:00.002-05:00

It was a typical Saturday morning. I was half asleep and the kids were wide awake. We're eating some cereal. Atticus says: Mom, how do I get Jesus in my heart?

My jaw dropped. I wasn't awake enough to really know how to respond. I found a few words finally: You pray and ask God to take over your life and then he'll be in your heart.

Atticus: Can I do that?

Me: Sure

Alexandra: I want to do it too.

I figured Paul would want to be apart of this so I told them that we could do it later. Last night at prayer time, Alexandra reminded me that we need to pray that special prayer. So Paul and I led them in a prayer to ask God to forgive them of their sins and be in charge of their life. It was quite a moment.

Today at church, Atticus had his hand up for a while during our intergenerational teaching. Paul and I wondered what he wanted. When he finally got the teachers attention, he told him that he gave Jesus his heart. Tears welled up in my eyes. It was so cool.

Repairman, we don't need no repairman

2010-02-20T17:02:00.002-05:00

So our HE washer has been not working on and off for about 3 months. It's only about 3 years old and it's been very, very frustrating for it to not work. It throws off my routine. Can't have that. So we took the panel off and ran a diagnostic test and found something wrong with the drain pump. There is a valve hooked up to the drain that we thought about taking off and seeing if something was clogging it. I had an inkling that maybe a kid sock was stuck in there but we weren't sure that was possible.

Well as you can see from the pics it's possible and it was clogging up the whole drain. I had to drain the water, which is the other pic and then pull out the plug and there was the sock and a lot of other things. I'm now running a rinse cycle and it seems to be running fine. Yahooo! I wouldn't recommend it but it worked for us. Oh and just for the record I didn't work on the washer until I unplugged it. :)

How we blow off steam in the winter

2010-02-15T19:08:00.001-05:00

We don't get the winter blues, we get down.

Just a rough week

2010-02-01T21:54:00.003-05:00

This last week was one of those weeks that hits you out of nowhere. We all ended up with the stomach flu and after we thought everyone was on the mend, I ended up with an infected lymph node which has felt like an ear infection. I'm on meds now but man it's been pretty tough. I felt like we were treading water. On Thursday Paul and I tag teamed the kids. They would watch PBS kids upstairs while I rested in bed. Then we'd get them lunch, they'd watch a movie with Paul in the living room, while he rested and I slept upstairs. Then they got a snack, came back upstairs with me to watch PBS kids. Whew...We were just surviving. I have to admit that we worked pretty well together to make it through. I guess we didn't have much choice. I did a ton of laundry on Friday and then started to feel bad again with some sinus stuff Friday night. I was pretty down and out Saturday and Sunday. Paul even took the kids to church on his own Sunday while I slept. I got an appointment to see the dr. today and we waited 50 min after the appointment time and yest I had all three kids with me. I had to get creative. I thought ahead and brought juice pouches and crackers. That only gos so far though. It was my dr. so it had about 5 books and that was it. No other toys for the kids to play with. I mean after a while you can't blame them for playing with the water fountain. I did get to see the dr. and the kids got a treasure out of the treasure box. The kids needed to let out some steam later tonight so we did a dance party right before bed. Whew, we made it through. I'm writing this so that later when the kids are older we can look back on this and maybe not laugh but look back and be thankful we aren't in this last week anymore.

What a day, what a day!

2010-01-25T20:36:00.005-05:00

It started out like many others but it sure wasn't an ordinary day. Sebastian had an appointment with an orthopedic foot dr. With many of his physical delays have come balance issues. He should be able to stand on one foot for at least 5 seconds. He hasn't been able to do it. He's extremely flat footed and it seems when he runs that his ankle is not straight over his foot. He said he literally has no muscle tone in his feet. He took x-rays and what's really cool is that all the bones in his feet are not fully formed yet because he's five. He put inserts in his shoes and said he wants to see us in 2 weeks. He mentioned that he would be a candidate for an ankle implant but not now. Maybe in a year if the inserts don't work. So we got through that appointment, did some shopping and got some lunch. Came home, worked out, loaded the boys into the van to get Alexandra. Atticus was sleeping in the car while we were waiting. I hear him cough and he throws up all over himself. We get Alexandra and get him home. I thought maybe a fluke, I mean he seemed fine all day long. We picked her up at 3:30 PM. He vomited every 1/2 hour until 6:30 PM when he went to bed and has stayed there. I have a really hard time with vomiting. I mean who doesn't but when one of the kids is vomiting it's like I'm waiting for the next explosion. This is really like the first time he has struggled with vomiting in his young 3 year old life. The first time he was so disturbed, second time he seemed upset, after that just tired and pretty much ok with it. I was amazed. I mean for me vomiting is like one of the worst things that can happen, thank goodness he didn't inherit that quality from me. This video is how we finished our day, per Alexandra's request.

Saturday morning fun

2010-01-23T14:49:00.003-05:00

Although this wouldn't be my choice on a Saturday morning the kids choose it and it was a great activity for a cold Sat. morning.

I had a why do I bother moment

2010-01-20T21:50:00.004-05:00

I think I'm gonna start calling this our sticky floor period. Atticus hasn't been using a lid and he's spilled about once a day and Alexandra has been spilling a lot oh and so has Sebastian. I mopped on Friday of last week and it was still really sticky. So because of so many spills I decided to mop both the kitchen and dining room. I was feeling really great about myself. How great am I to do mopping on a weeknight with no one coming over. Then, I go to get something out of the fridge and one of the kids cups spills all over the floor. Then later, I spill a glass from the table on to the floor, table and chair. I've realized that it's ok for me to have these moments. it won't keep me from mopping the floor, giving kids baths (even when they accidently hit me in the nose and spit in my face) or cooking dinner or giving kiss and hugs at bedtime. But sometimes a momma gets frustrated and feels like it doesn't really matter that I mop the floor, but it does. It does matter. Can you tell I'm working on giving my self grace.....

A new outlet for Creativity

2010-01-17T15:42:00.006-05:00

I heard from a friend via facebook that she got her kids the new Crayola window crayons for Christmas and that they loved them. With all the stuff we are trying to do with Sebastian to encourage crossing the midline I thought this would be a great thing.
I tried to find them around Christmas but Walmart didn't have them yet. Today when we went we found them. Wow, the kids fell in love right away. Many times I saw Sebastian crossing the midline. It was so cool. Hopefully, the new ness won't wear off too soon.

Alexandra decided to draw the pigeon from "don't let the pigeon drive the bus". She did a really great job and then got out the book and copied some of the word bubbles. Very good idea!

Sledding

2010-01-16T21:45:00.003-05:00

I really wanted Paul to go with us to go sledding at least once this season. Even thought we've had above freezing temps in the past few days, there is still plenty of snow. Unlike the other day when we went today it was really, really icy. The kids had a lot of trouble getting up the hill but going down was really fast. There are a few hills where we go and two are really, really big. The kids went down the first big hill and couldn't get back up. Paul helped them up and then I decided I would go down with one of them to help them get up. Then after a couple of times of that, we headed for the really big hill. I went down with Atticus and it was really fast. We hit a bump and slid to the side. We were going so fast I clutched my legs with Atticus between them and took the blow of the icy ground right in the shoulder. I think I bumped the ground a couple of times. It really hurt. Atticus was laughing and then said, my leg hurts a little. The next time down the really big hill, Atticus wanted to go down the hill by himself. No big deal right, well think again. There was a jump at the bottom of the hill that we couldn't see from the top. He hit it and flew off the slide and I saw him slam his head to the icy ground. He got right up but was screaming his head off. Paul went down with one of the other kids and I started down the hill on my behind to make sure he was ok. Earlier in the winter a kid hit a tree and died so I'm a little nervous about seeing my 3 year old fly off his sled. Paul went and grabbed him right away and he kept crying. What's hard is not knowing if it's cause he's really hurt or if it just scared the crap out of him. Paul talked to him about it later telling him that he went off a jump that big kids go off of and then he thought he was pretty awesome. I'm not looking forward to my sore shoulders tomorrow.

The Gospel of Lost

2010-01-15T14:54:00.004-05:00

I cannot express the excitement I feel when I think about the last season of Lost starting Feb. 2 on ABC. I just started blogging reviews for Thomas Nelson publishers and my first assignment was to read the book "The Gospel of Lost" by Chris Seay. Now this isn't my official review and I just got through the first two chapters and I love it. For a fan of the show, this is a must have book about the characters and the deeper meaning of Lost. With the way I read and the time I have to read it may take me a week to get through this fairly short book, but I'm excited to read more and see what he has to say about it. More to come...

Hey Good Lookin'

2010-01-13T20:00:00.003-05:00

This guy comes up with some really, really funny stuff. I prompt a little and he takes off running with it. I love him so much. He (as you can hear in the video) cracks me up.

Sledding

2010-01-13T17:40:00.004-05:00

Last Friday when we saw the OT for Sebastian she told me that sledding would be really great for Sebastian. Oh, I thought. It's just so much work to do it all by myself with either just the two boys or with all three kids. I knew it would be a good workout for him and would meet his movement need plus I knew it would help Atticus to run out some of his energy. It was sunny today and actually right around freezing so I decided we should go sledding. It still seems to daunting and kept trying to talk myself into it all morning. Knowing this would be so good for the boys. So, as I'm driving home I think, hey wait, there might be another mom who would be available to go with me and then our kids could sled. I called her and she was available and we decided to wait until our older kids got out of school and take them all. It seemed so much more do-able with another mom. It was so much less hard with another adult there to help out. We even ran into a mom with her two girls from the same school and all the kids sled together. I even got on a sled and went down a couple of times. The kids had so much fun and the boys are tired out and will sleep well tonight. Yea, for other moms to help me get out and enjoy the snow.

Sadness

2010-01-12T14:45:00.002-05:00

I worked the younger kids door today at school. It was too cold to go outside so the kids were in by their lockers. A 7 year old boy came up to me and asked if I had seen the movie District 9. I told him no. He told me he saw it last night and it was violent and bloody. I told him I didn't think I would watch that movie cause it would scare me. He said it did kind of freak him out. At first I was appalled. I couldn't believe a mom would let her son watch a rated R movie at 7 years old. Then I was sad. I kept thinking of how seeing that kind of violence would affect him as an adult. You see i know a little girl, about 10 or so who was sure she would be ok to watch the exorcist. I watched 5 minutes and was freaked out of my mind. I couldn't sleep without a light on for a while. I also know a young boy who saw pornography at a young age and it shaped the way he viewed women into his adulthood. I just feel so compelled to protect our kids from what they see and hear and experience. We have enough time in our lives to watch those things as adults when we can process them through more mature eyes or be able to make the decision that it's not right for me to see. I don't want to see that movie. It does nothing to encourage me or to entertain me. It's not that I'm against all rated R movies for adults, I just don't want our kids to be exposed to that before their time.

2010-01-08T21:45:00.003-05:00

Alexandra did this without the camera on and It was so funny I had to take a video of it.

Although Sebastian flipped out, the rest of us thought it was funny!

Hop on the Erbe Train

2010-01-08T21:12:00.005-05:00

Instead of going out and spending a lot of money on a Saturday night, a $10 buy on EBAY for the brown and blue track adapters and we've got an Erbe Train Party. Paul was the designer and the boys were the engineers. Although it was hectic at times, boy it was fun.

Mom, got a question for ya....

2010-01-04T15:55:00.003-05:00

We get in the house after picking up Alexandra from school and Alexandra says this:

Alexandra: Got a question for ya.
Me: sure
A: I wondered when you die or something can I have this house?
M: You want this house when I die?
A: Yes, I mean you won't need it.
M: Cause I'm dead or something.
A: yes
M: What got you thinking about wanting the house.
A: My friend at school Hunter is already saving his money for a house. So I told him that I wouldn't need to save my money for a house since I'll just have the one my mom lives in now. Then I won't need to worry about saving for it.

The things this girl comes up with...the mind of a 1st grader.

I need a t-shirt that says.....

2010-01-02T21:27:00.007-05:00

...I survived Chuck e Cheeses! Ok, It wasn't that bad. It was a Saturday afternoon on Christmas break, so it was busy but I tell you my plan came together like a charm. I had planned for 1 1/2 hours. We got there about 3 PM. I got a couponchuckecheese.comby signing up to be in their e-mail newsletter club.

The coupon was if you bought 40 tokens for $10 you would get 60 free. Pretty good deal. I gave each of the 5 kids 20 tolkens and hoped it would get us to 4 PM. Right around 4 PM all but one of the kids (Alexandra) had like 1 tolken left. Yes! We turned in the tickets and because we rode a lot of the rides and didn't get many tickets we were in the car by 4:25 PM. Now that doesn't happen very often, that we are on time that is. The kids had a blast and really didn't realize that we were actually having the birthday party there. We picked up pizza on the way home and then had cake and ice cream after we opened presents. Pretty successful If I do say so myself.

Sebastian is 5

2010-01-02T13:51:00.004-05:00

It's pretty amazing that Sebastian is five.

Happy Birthday Jesus

2009-12-14T12:26:00.002-05:00

The Kids sang a song for Jesus at our Birthday Party for him. They were awesome.

All I want for Christmas

2009-12-10T20:06:00.003-05:00

Thought this might be a great video to look back at when they are 16 or 20 or 50 :)

The Blizzard of 09

2009-12-10T19:54:00.003-05:00

We went out for a little bit to play in the "Blizzard of 09".

Christmas time around the Erbe House

2009-11-30T23:08:00.002-05:00

Alexandra seems to get pretty dramatic at bedtime. Tonight she came downstairs and told me she had something really really important to tell me. She preceeded to tell me that she wanted me to make her a colorful blanket and if I didn't she would be really said. Then she added, I also want all the other stuff I told you I wanted. At the time, I just told her to go back to bed, after I recounted the story to Paul, I cried laughing at it. It was so funny when I wasn't irritated with her getting out of bed.

Thanksgiving 2009 Erbe Style

2009-11-26T20:14:00.003-05:00

Halloween parade

2009-10-30T17:13:00.004-04:00

Alexandra's school always has a halloween parade. The boys and I went and enjoyed seeing all the costumes. As you can see there was some downtime and Atticus took that opportunity to dance. :)

I wonder if this is a trend

2009-10-30T12:24:00.002-04:00

I thought it was just the sickness but there's a trend starting with Atticus. He's gotten attached to two shirts and this is one of them. He accidentally peed on it the other day and wanted to wear it and I told him no since it had pee on it. He through a fit. Then he said he wanted to wear his hook 'em horns shirt he got from Allyson and Ian. Well that one was dirty too sooo much weeping insued. I offered one of the many other shirts he has but none would do. Finally Daddy got him to put on one but today I washed it and he had to put it on right after I got it out of the dryer. He looks really cute in it so I had to take a couple pics.

gotta love his style

2009-10-28T18:31:00.002-04:00

Thank you for God

2009-09-30T19:25:00.002-04:00

Lately Atticus has been praying and it is so sweet. He always starts out with Thank you for God. At first I just thought it was cute, then one night I really started thinking about what he was saying. Although, I'm not sure if this is what he means but for me it means that I'm thankful that I'm not alone in this life. That God didn't just create us and leave us alone to fend for ourselves. Again I think this is a little over reaching to think this is what Atticus thinks, but his prayer helps me to be thankful for God too.

Alexandra's first day of First Grade

2009-09-08T21:58:00.001-04:00

She looks so much like a 1st grader in this pic. She did great when we got to school. Stood in her line and went in when the aide told her too. I came to her class after I was done working and saw her, hugged her and stayed for a min. She smiled and blew kisses to me when I left. She had a huge smile on her face. I think once I knew she was ok and would do good, I fell apart. She's my baby girl and I'm so proud of who she's becoming. It was great to hear all about her classroom, lunch and her teacher. She game me lots of stuff when she got home. Paperwork for mom. I think she's gonna flourish in 1st grade.

my birthday card from the Davidson's

2009-09-06T20:35:00.004-04:00

The kids had way too much fun with the Birthday Cards sent from Allyson, Ian and Collin.

More Erbe Dance Moves

2009-08-28T11:19:00.002-04:00

What I love about this video is Sebastian being so irritated with Atticus taking the limelight. I think all three of them are Hams.

Paul reading to the Boys

2009-08-28T10:59:00.002-04:00

Why Paul decided to read this book that way, I'm not sure but it was funny!!!

My little Guy is three today

2009-08-17T22:02:00.004-04:00

It's interesting to me that birthday's sneek up on me so much. I love the fact that Atticus can speak his mind to me and tell me what he wants. I love that he is very independent and has an opinion on everything. He's almost out of diapers. He's been using the potty more and more and that makes me very happy. Happy Birthday little guy! I love ya lots.

Alexandra will go to all day school this year. I think it finally hit her because she came into my room after bedtime and was crying that she would miss me while she is gone all day at school. I told her she would do great and that I would pick her up in the afternoon not the evening so we would have lots of time together. She said two or three times that she's not good at math so she wouldn't do good in 1st grade. It must be something she's concerned about. I told her the teacher would help her and that she's still learning, she'll get it though. I wanted to cry with her and tell her I would miss her too but I didn't think that would help her at that moment. But this transition is hard for me too :)

Alexandra's dance

2009-08-12T21:31:00.003-04:00

All is peaceful, all is right. Alexandra watched this video and said I didn't even realize they were screaming and fighting. She just blocked it out. :)

The Erbe Groove

2009-08-12T21:14:00.003-04:00

This is so typical of our house on any given night.

Atticus and Uncle Charlie

2009-08-05T22:25:00.003-04:00

Atticus was having a blast with Uncle Charlie in the pool.

Fun in the Grimes' Pool

2009-08-05T21:57:00.004-04:00

Both Atticus and Alexandra decided to jump off the diving board in the pool. They had so much fun as you can see.

Potty Training Woes

2009-08-05T21:50:00.003-04:00

I tell ya, I thought Sebastian was a tough one to potty train. Oh, no the worst was yet to come. I know that Atticus gets what to do. If I take him into the bathroom about 20 min after he drinks something he will go. He fights though tooth and nail to get into the bathroom to go. If I don't make him go into the bathroom, he'll pee in his pants and not tell me. I am just at wits end. I have tried motivation, candy, toys and nothing is working. I did tell him that he cannot go to school if he doesn't use the potty. I'm gonna stick to it. He did tell me that when he was three he would be a big boy and then he would use the potty. He'll be three on Aug. 17th. I hope he keeps his word.

Alexandra's trick candles

2009-07-04T22:04:00.003-04:00

I didn't realize when I bought the candles for Alexandra's cake that they were the ones that won't go out. We were all a little surprised when they wouldn't go out. I ended up putting them in a glass of water to get them out. Poor girl.

Atticus the Rock Star

2009-07-04T21:53:00.002-04:00

Grandma and Grandpa Erbe have this guitar and all the kids love to play with it. Atticus loves to show off his mad skills.

A Madagascar rap via Alexandra

2009-06-11T19:45:00.004-04:00

This started out being a Madagascar play, but the boys got distracted so Alexandra turned it into a song/rap. I couldn't believe she just kept going and going.

Oga with the Erbes

2009-06-11T19:04:00.003-04:00

Alexandra decides to teach an Oga class to Sebastian and Atticus.

Erbe's06/07/09 (9 photos), by Heather Erbe

2009-06-07T21:15:00.001-04:00

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Deep thoughts with Alexandra

2009-06-03T21:09:00.003-04:00

We had a field trip today with Alexandra's kindergarten class. I was in charge of Alexandra and another little girl. Alexandra told me that this little girl only has a daddy, she doesn't have a mommy. I tried hard today to make this little girl feel special and that I was glad to have her hang with us today. Alexandra was a little jealous of the attention I was showing this little girl. I started to talk to her about it tonight and she asked me what happened to this little girls mommy. I don't know what has happened to the mommy. I tried to explain to her that it doesn't really matter what happened, it's our job to make sure that she knows she's cared for. I started to cry and told Alexandra that it makes me sad that this girl doesn't have a mommy and I wanted to make sure she knew today that she was special. Alexandra said, why do mommies leave sometimes? What a hard question. I told her sometimes mommies and daddies decide they don't want to married anymore so they get a divorce. "What's a divorce" she said. It told her that it's when a mommy and daddy don't live together anymore so you would only get to see one of them once in a while. I told her that she didn't need to think about that happening to us cause Daddy and I weren't going to do that. I told her Daddy and I might be upset with each other or we might fight but we will stay together with her and the boys. She asked me why I was crying and I said because it's not easy when kids don't have their mommy and daddy all the time, It makes me sad. Just a hard thing to talk about with your 5 year old. Just a hard thing.

While mom mows the lawn in front, the boys...

2009-06-01T21:14:00.001-04:00

find the hose in the back and spray each other. They came around to the front and I said, what did you do?" Sebastian says "sorry mom, but we were having fun." Priceless.

Bubba's new bed

2009-06-01T20:58:00.005-04:00

Sebastian was devastated when we transitioned to the big bed. Atticus wanted us to throw him a party. He was so excited with his new bed.

Gone for a few days

2009-04-18T11:24:00.002-04:00

I'm currently up at SALTS with Open Hearts Ministry. This is my first. Lots to learn and experience in the next few days. Alexandra got on a T-ball team and is very excited. We missed the sign up, I didn't even realize that they had sign ups. We called and got her on an all girl team with a lot of the girls from her class at school. She has her first practice this Wednesday and then her first game on Saturday. Pray for Paul as I'm gone as he manages everything at home. Also pray for rest for me and the wisdom and insight to take everything in here.

Atticus' potty song

2009-04-05T19:05:00.003-04:00

I just couldn't resist when he grabbed the harmonica and sat on the potty with it.

I'm very excited to announce that he did poopy in the potty after that song. We all did a happy dance and celebrated with swiss cake rolls.

The result of watching Kung Fu Panda too much

2009-03-21T11:18:00.004-04:00

Although we had the movie from the library and we only had it for a week and that was 4 weeks ago, we are still feeling the effects of watching Kung Fu Panda.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-15T20:26:00.002-04:00

Even though we aren't Irish, really we had a great time at the St. Patty's day Parade on Sat. It was a nice sunny warm day, a great day to get outside.

The Sebastian and Atticus interview

2009-03-01T17:37:00.004-05:00

A cat showed up at our door yesterday and we took it in. Here's my interview with the boys about the cat.

Here's a picture of the cat since you can't really see him very well in the video.

Dad and Atticus nap

2009-02-25T17:50:00.003-05:00

I think this is so cute. Atticus climbed up and sat next to Paul while he was "Resting his eyes". Then all the kids had to get into the act. Too Cute.

What would your reaction to this be...

2009-02-25T17:47:00.002-05:00

Alexandra's was: There is no way the boys and I are eating this tonight.

My response: Well, I guess you aren't eating then.

She went and grabbed a box of mac and cheese and gave a quick no. I'm not running a restaurant. We'll see how dinner goes over tonight. From my perspective, It's a good looking turkey and vegetable soup.

A warm winter day

2009-02-07T21:05:00.006-05:00

It was the day we had been waiting for. It was 50 and sunny. We went sledding. It was pretty slushy but still fun. Later Alexandra wanted to go outside and ride her bike on the driveway. Thank goodness it was bath night because some puddle jumping in sued.

The Beat Box Boy

2009-01-30T18:25:00.005-05:00

If you have small kids you might know that a new Electric Company just started on PBS. There's a lot of rapping and beat boxing. Sebastian has started to copy this and I had to get it on video.

The Pajama Party

2009-01-30T16:02:00.004-05:00

Today was The Pajama Party in Kindergarten today. We have lots of really cute pj's for her to wear. Oh no, she pics the oldest, most worn out pj top that we have. Of course I couldn't convince her to wear a nicer pair so she went to school in them. As I got the camera out this morning to take a pic of Alexandra, the boys had to get into the act as well. I mean they were still in their pj's too.

Things heard in the Erbe house

2009-01-28T20:17:00.003-05:00

I am just amazed at the things that are said here on a daily basis:

Sebastian wants to hug and kiss me everyday now before I leave. So he yells as we are leaving "Mommy, don't go. I have to kiss and hug you." So I wait, and kiss and hug him. Atticus comes and says" Mommy don't go. Kiss and hug." So I kiss and hug him and then he says very dramatically, "Go".

Alexandra asked me if she could get a frisbee at the coffee shop. I couldn't quite figure out what she was talking about. She meant slurpee.

Atticus is looking out the window and says he sees Daddy. Alexandra says that's not daddy, that's just some boring kids walking down the sidewalk.

I mentioned that I was going to get some medicine and Atticus lines up in front of me, like to get his ration. Also whenever I get the medicine, each of the kids sniffles and coughs. Sebastian will even say in a loud voice, Mommy I have a cough. I need medicine.

Horsing around

2009-01-26T20:47:00.006-05:00

The twin mom's are hosting a contest over at 5minutesformom.com that's all focused around horsing around. Alexandra and I were bored one evening and so we used the camera to show off our silly side. Sebastian got into the act too with the kiss on the cheek. When Sebastian kisses, it's serious business.

Oh the wonderful world of Erbe's

2009-01-26T20:34:00.002-05:00

A lot has been rattling around in my brain lately. The boys were sick this last week and I got it too. When you are in bed, you have a lot of time to think. I believe that although the decision to work part-time outside the home was a tough one, it was the best for me and our family. I'm liking what I'm doing and it charges me to be more productive with the kids. Alexandra has had a hard time adjusting to me not picking her up. I'm still doing afternoons at wayfm and that's going good. I'm enjoying using that gift. It gives me another good outlet. Every day I'm home in the afternoon with the kids. I've cut rest time to 1/2 hour for Alexandra and Sebastian so I can spend more time with them one on one. Atticus is still napping but I've cut it down to about 1 1/2 hours so that he'll go to bed better. We're finally getting into the new routine and the kids are doing good. I'm glad that I've never had the feeling that something is beneath me. I've also realized that the kids have taught me a lot in these last 5 years. They've taught me to be more patient and how to give more grace than I ever thought I could. I also don't mind interruptions as much. I mean come on with 3 kids 5 and under my life is one big interruption. I mean some days it takes me 20 minutes to do a sink full of dishes cause someone needs something or someone is hitting someone else. I've also grown to appreciate the little things, like a 5 year old who can carry her bowl to the sink without spilling it. I've gained so much from these three little people. I didn't realize it until I got back out in the world. I think that is pretty cool.

A busy day

2009-01-16T16:04:00.002-05:00

I was wishing and hoping for a snow day today and I got one. I scheduled Sebastian's 4 year well child visit today and depending on how long it took I would have been late picking up Alexandra from School. It was good that she went with us because she got her flu mist along with the boys. The flu mist was pretty cool. To be honest I don't think I would have done the flu shots because they were shots. Sebastian did need 4 Immunizations so that's why I didn't want him to have another shot. We got home and I pulled the snow blower into the back room to try and get the belt back on it so I could clean out the driveway before we get more snow tonight. I have to admit, it was hard but I did get it. So, after the kids finish watching Arthur on PBS I'm gonna go try it and see if I got it right or not. It always makes me feel good when I can accomplish something like this because it's not a skill that comes natural. I'll update later to let you know if I did indeed get it fixed.j

Things heard in the Erbe house today

2009-01-11T18:45:00.003-05:00

While making Brownies today, Alexandra says to Sebastian " I've been doing this for a long time, so I know how to do this very well." Remember she's 5.

Atticus says to me while I'm changing his dirty diaper, "Hi, Mommy". I reply, "Hi Attiucs". "Love you, Mommy". Just what you need to hear when you are changing a dirty diaper.

Sebastian comes down stairs after getting his jammies on and all his buttons are buttoned. I asked if he did it all by himself and he replied "No, my doggie did it." We don't have a dog.

No Hair?

2009-01-07T22:42:00.005-05:00

Tonight the kids wanted to look at pictures of themselves as babies. I have all my pics on Snapfish.com so I pulled them up. Atticus was very uninterested but Alexandra and Sebastian were taken by the numerous pictures I have of them. We looked at Sebastian first and I showed him the pic of him in the cradle weigher (the one shown here) and he said, "Oh no, I have no hair". He was so serious, I start crying just thinking about it cause it was so funny. It was like he was disappointed and he just didn't seem like it was right that he didn't have hair. Some of the things he says are funny but also the seriousness of how he says them is so funny. It's hard to relate that but hopefully you get it.

A little crafty boy

2009-01-07T12:51:00.002-05:00

And I don't mean crafty like doing art projects. Last night I was reading Sebastian a book and he started to pick his nose. I asked if he needed a tissue, he said no. I kept reading. He started to pick it again. I told him that we don't pick our nose. He stopped and I kept reading. Then he said he needed to get off the bed. I asked him why, his response, "I need to go away and pick my nose". I laughed so hard. He thought if I couldn't see him do it, I wouldn't be able to stop him. Now that's thinking....

4 years ago today....

2008-12-30T19:33:00.004-05:00

Sebastian was born....I can't believe it's been 4 years already. I remember we had a scheduled C-section and it was late in the day. We went and saw the movie "Meet the parents" and I couldn't eat anything all day long. We got bumped to later after we got to the hospital because of an emergency C-section. Everything went well with his birth and with my recovery. He was a fairly easy baby, he adapted to our schedule very well. I just loved those chubby cheeks. He's really leaned out now and looks more like a little boy and not a toddler anymore.

Here he is with Uncle Charlie last weekend.

Our mini-vacation

2008-12-30T19:25:00.004-05:00

We decided since Paul was off for a long period of time, we would take a little mini-vacation to a local indoor water park. We decided on Safari Joe's in Watervliet. I wondered if the kids would enjoy it since most of the time those places are really for older kids. I was surprised to find that they had a little kids area that had three slides and a lot of space for them to swim around. They also had a lazy river that Sebastian fell into and had to be pulled out of since the water was over his head. They also had two really big slides that Paul and I enjoyed while the other watched the kids. It was a lot of fun. Sleeping was a trip trying to have all three kids in one queen bed. We moved Atticus to our bed which caused him to through a fit for about 20 min and then once he got to sleep he slept for about 1 hour and then woke up in a state of half asleep and half awake. It took me a little bit but I got him settled down. People who travel a lot must have a lot more patience than me, they must have a lot more energy too. It was a lot of work to be gone for only about 24 hours. While we were gone, My Step mom and brothers came and ripped up our carpeting, moved all our stuff out and then had carpet installers come and install new carpet for us for Christmas.

It is so nice and we are so thankful for it!

A bittersweet day

2008-12-26T13:09:00.003-05:00

Today was the last day of OT for Sebastian. You would think I would be so excited and in a way I am because Sebastian has made so many strides since we started with Joanne almost a year and a half ago. But it's actually pretty bitter sweet. I told her today that without her I'm not sure where I would be and I'm scared to even think about where Sebastian would be. When we started with Joanne, he wasn't really talking, he couldn't jump, kick a ball or ride a bike. Now he cracks us up with his comments and the questions he asks us. He also can kick a ball, ride a bike and we have to ask him to stop jumping so hard on the floor around the house. I'm not sure where I would be because I think the therapy was more for me than Sebastian. I pelted her with questions ever week. Like, "this is what he is doing in this situation, what can I do for that?". She would give me very practical ideas on how to work those things into our routine. She helped me to unlock Sebastian for me. I will be forever grateful!

The Cookie Makers

2008-12-22T21:21:00.004-05:00

I decided to have the kids help me bake and decorate gingerbread cookies.
Although they had a great time, they did more eating then decorating.

A morning at the Beach

2008-12-22T21:16:00.003-05:00

I think Alexandra wanted to counter balance the fact that it was freezing and cold outside by putting on her bathing suit and pretending her room was a pool. Sebastian followed "suit" (pun intended) a little while later. Atticus was really the only safe one with his warm footed pj's on.

Sebastian's Preschool Program

2008-12-19T19:49:00.003-05:00

We braved the weather Friday morning to get to Sebastian's Preschool Program. After you watch it you'll see that it was well worth it. It was quite entertaining.

Can you tell Christmas is coming...They are crazy!

2008-12-17T19:16:00.003-05:00

I'm not sure what is into these kids lately. Maybe the prospect of Christmas or how about not being able to go outside much. Whatever it is, it's crazy!

Growing up

2008-12-11T21:38:00.003-05:00

Sebastian has been going through this phase where he wants me to be with him all the time. Tonight I was heading out with a friend tonight and Sebastian started to whine that he wanted to go with me. I told him that this was only for Mommies and that even Daddy couldn't go. Alexandra walks in and says to me, Mom he's not even a woman yet! Paul and I laughed so hard. Then Sebastian says, Mommy I want to be a woman. I laughed and said, honey you'll never be a woman, you'll be a man though one day. I smiled at Alexandra and told her good job knowing that you had to be a woman before you could be a Mommy! She smiled back.

Christmas Cheer thanks to Alexandra

2008-12-10T19:08:00.003-05:00

Again, I find this hilarious.

Typical in the Erbe House

2008-12-10T18:48:00.005-05:00

I witnessed this and had a hard time holding back my laughter. Thank God He gave me these kids. They are hilarious.

A return

2008-12-01T16:10:00.002-05:00

Well, it's been a while and for good reason. About 2 months ago my mom's sister was put in the hospital and they determined she had cancer and some liver problems. After three weeks in the hospital, she spent 1 week at a hospice facility and then passed. I had the awesome opportunity to spend a lot of time with her and speak to her about spiritual things. I was with her almost every day and it was quite a journey. After that Paul and I were able to serve at her memorial service in hopes of bringing hope to those she left behind. Just after we made it through that a good friend of mine lost her daughter tragically. I think as a mom you think about being in her shoes and how she might feel but we really can't imagine. I also am back at WaYfm. I'm covering afternoons until they can find a full time person to do it. Things at the preschool are good but our next meeting with the licensing agent is coming up in Feb. I'm still working at the school and hanging in there until we hear about our property transfer request with the state. Whew...It's been a crazy couple of months. The kids are all good. We'll be ending Sebastian's therapy the end of this month. I feel good about that decision and Sebastian is doing awesome. Hopefully things at home and on the blog will get back to normal now, well whatever that is!

Sebastian's surprises

2008-10-28T22:12:00.002-04:00

Sebastian has started this thing where he'll have something behind his back and then he'll say to me "I have a surprise for you mommy!" Not words you want to hear from your 3 year old. What's really funny is that it's usually something he shouldn't have like, my glasses, his nite-nite, or scissors. I never quite know what he's gonna come up with. I guess I should be thankful that he's bringing me stuff that he's not suppose to have.

The other night about 4:30 am Sebastian came into our bedroom telling me he couldn't find his nite-nite. He had flipped on the light in the kids bedroom. I got up, looked for the blanket and couldn't find it. I looked at him to say that I couldn't find it and I see this big bulge in his pants. Yes, his nite-nite was in his pants. I guess he had forgotten!

A Birthday Greeting for Daddy

2008-10-13T21:23:00.002-04:00

I just Love this kid.

2008-10-13T20:51:00.002-04:00

This is so typical of what goes on in our house on a daily basis. I laugh so hard every time I see it.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

2008-10-09T17:57:00.000-04:00

Sebastian came up to me yesterday and said " Mama, I want to be a Dr. when I grow up." I replied, great Sebastian. What kind of Doctor do you want to be? "Mama, I want to be a farmer when I grow up, what do you want to be when you grow up?" "I'm already grown up, Sebastian and I'm a Mommy". Alexandra chimed in and said that she wanted to be a gymnast, hair stylist, firefighter and a policewoman when I grow up. I told her that was awesome. Sebastian chimed in again and said he wanted to be a farmer and what did I want to be when I grow up. I told him again that I was a mommy and that I was already grown up. Alexandra asked how I became a Mommy? I told her that Daddy and I got married and we decided we wanted to have kids. She said "So you decided to have us? It was your choice?" Yep I replied, we choose to have you. Sebastian chimes in again and says " I want to be a pig when I grow up mom". I laughed really hard and then he laughed too. What a Ham!

A great day away

2008-10-04T21:56:00.004-04:00

First I have to say thanks to my friend Sally for inviting me to the Hearts at home conference in Grand Rapids today. Hearts at home is a non-profit ministry that's purpose is to support mom's and help them to know that they are not alone in this whole thing we call motherhood. Over 1400 women filled the Devos place in GR and it was amazing. The speakers and music was good but so was getting away for a day without the kids. It was pretty cool when I got home. The kids were in watching a video and they didn't realize I was home. Sebastian looked out the window and say me and screamed "mommy!". He giggled uncontrolably as he jumped up and down. As I walked in the door, Sebastian threw himself at me and yelled, Mommy!. Then Atticus and Alexandra came running and hugged my legs and yelled Mommy!. Then Alexandra kept jumping up and down saying, mommy, I love you, mommy I love you. It was a great homecoming and a great end to the day!

A lot can happen in a month

2008-09-30T21:16:00.004-04:00

The first day of school has passed and boy what a month it's been. Alexandra is doing great in Kindergarten. She loves her teacher and says that she's even sillier than me. NO WAY! After a lot of work and a few set backs, the preschool is up and running. Sebastian is doing really well and a lot of his issues haven't flared up. I think his favorite time is snack because the Teacher says that he asks about it a lot. I'm still working at the school in the morning and that's going well.

A couple kid stories to share:

Sebastian likes to ask me questions as I'm walking out the door at bedtime. His most favorite is what day is it. A couple of nights ago, he asked me what a noise was. I told him all I could hear was the fan and the radio. He said "Was it my bottom"? I said, "did you toot?" He said, "yeah, it was my bottom".

I asked Alexandra what she wanted for lunch and she said she wanted a cheese sandwich. I figured it was a grilled cheese so I started to make them for the 3 kids. Once I gave the first sandwich to Atticus, Alexandra said she didn't want one. I asked her why and that she should have one since she asked for it. She said "mom, I need to tell you something". OK I answered. "I don't like your grilled cheese sandwiches". I replied, "What do you mean you don't like my grilled cheese?" "I don't like your grilled cheese Mom". I was shocked. I couldn't believe that she was saying this to me. Then I saw her face and she was tearing up. I asked her what was wrong. "It was a very sad thing to tell you that Mom, I'm sorry". I thought to myself, it is only a sandwich. I told her that it was just a sandwich and it was OK that she didn't like the way I made them. She wiped away her tears and said "I like the ones in restaurant like with Papa but not yours mom." I nodded and said OK, it's alright Alexandra. It's alright.

Atticus and I took Sebastian to school and Atticus didn't want to leave. He stood outside the school with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. I said you want to go to Wal-mart with Mommy. A loud NO rose from his mouth. I said you want to go with mommy to get stuff to make cookies. He looked at me and said "yeah, ookies, mama, yeah".

The First Day of School, Kind of!

2008-09-02T22:24:00.004-04:00

Alexandra had her first day of school today, but it wasn't the hardest day to come. Tomorrow, Alexandra will go to school and stay there without me. It's so hard to believe she's starting kindergarten. There were days when she was a baby, where I wasn't sure I was going to make it. The decision to go to this school was one that I second guessed even this morning. We arrived and right away I could tell our decision was the right one. So many things confirmed we have made the right choice this morning. Mostly it was how she reacted to the classroom, the other kids, her teacher all of it. I also just love her teacher. I also just love the feeling of the school. I think tomorrow I'll have my moment of tears and then be happy that we've made the right decision. One pretty funny thing was that I wouldn't allow her to put anything in her backpack this morning. I told her the back pack was for her teacher to send stuff home to us. When we arrived, she saw that other kids had stuff in their backpacks to give to the classroom. She thought that those things were for them and not for the classroom. She was pretty upset with me that I wouldn't allow her to put anything. So after talking to the teacher about what we could bring to donate Alexandra finally realized that I was right and that we would bring some things tomorrow to donate to the class. We had a great time shopping for things to donate to the class. This is a new season, an adjustment period is necessary but we'll adjust and thrive in this new season.

A mom walks into her house the other day

2008-08-31T21:52:00.002-04:00

and this is what she sees. Our sitter Erin did Alexandra's hair and then Atticus went over to her and wanted his hair done too. As she did one and then two, he leaned back in her lap and got comfortable. She said it was like relaxing for him. He loved it. He was mad when I took it out for nap time, hence the third picture.

A Party to remember

2008-08-30T23:42:00.003-04:00

Even though my birthday isn't until Tuesday, the Erbe's invited us up to their house for dinner and dessert tonight. The kids were playing outside with Scott when Alexandra started screaming and yelling in pain. Scott brought her over to me and we couldn't quite figure out what was going on with her. After some detective work, she had been stung by a bee or wasp. There were two on her leg. We put a baking soda paste on it when Heather (Scott's wife) brought Evan in the house screaming in pain too. We found he got stung too. We put some paste on him when I looked at Alexandra and her upper left lip was all swollen. I think I kind of freaked her out but she couldn't tell us what had happened. She had never had a bee sting before so we thought maybe it was an allergic reaction. After talking to one of the nurses at the pediatricians office we figured it was just another sting even though we couldn't see it. She was so worried that she wouldn't be able to eat dinner or dessert and that it might always be that way. It's so hard to explain that kind of stuff to a 5 year old. By the end of the night, she had eaten dinner and dessert and it was looking a lot better. When she got in the car and looked in the mirror she said to me, "mom, you were right, it is getting better!" As you can see, fun was had by all and it was a great party.

A race for the ages

2008-08-30T23:07:00.006-04:00

For some reason the kids decided to race up and down the driveway the other night. What made me laugh the most was their starting positions.

Grandma's 85th Birthday

2008-08-30T22:52:00.002-04:00

My final living grandparent, Grandma Quack turned 85. My mom put together a great open house for her and a lot of family and friends came. It was so great to see old family and friends. I think Grandma had a good time too.

My Baby is now two

2008-08-19T23:04:00.004-04:00

And he's not a baby anymore. Last Sunday Atticus turned two. He is so expressive and so verbal. He's also started to use his imagination. That's something I didn't see in Sebastian until almost 3 so it's cool to see that already. He also has the mentality that anything Sebastian and Alexandra do he can do as well. He loves to play by himself and is all boy. He loves his trucks and cars. For his birthday we got him a t-ball stand and plate and he hits that ball over and over and over again. We're working on taking turns and sharing but for two he's getting there. He loves his ya-ya (alexandra) and likes his bubby (Sebastian) but seems to hit and fight with him a lot. He likes hats, really the only one of the kids that does. He has the cutest smile and a very sad cry even when he's not really sad. I've been much more relaxed with him which has led me to really enjoy him.

Only one more in diapers

2008-08-19T22:58:00.003-04:00

Although I couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel, Sebastian is pretty much potty trained. Yippeee! It happened about a week and a half ago, it just seemed to click. He started telling me he needed to go and he just stated going. I was so excited. I think Atticus and Alexandra are just as happy that he's using the potty more. They get an M & M every time he uses the potty! Atticus has started to want to sit on the potty but that's about it. I believe though that he'll be a little easier than Sebastian.

Sprinkler Fun

2008-08-19T21:54:00.005-04:00

We've had a lot of great times this summer. This summer has seemed easier than the past two because Atticus can be trusted a little more this summer to stay in the back yard. This video cracks me up because Atticus is trying to copy what Alexandra is doing. They have become two peas in a pod.

Potty Training Part three

2008-08-06T21:44:00.003-04:00

We had a good day today with Potty Training Sebastian. We started last week and it went better than when we tried in June. Then the we had a penny incident. Alexandra and Sebastian came into our room last Tuesday morning and told us Sebastian had swallowed a penny. I called the Dr. and they wanted us to have an x-ray to make sure it had passed to his stomach. There was no penny in his belly although he still says its in his tummy. So after that we took a break from potty training last week and I thought we'd start again today. He didn't have an accident but he also didn't choose the potty on his own. I had to make him each time but then he did. We're getting there. The funny thing, I'm always thinking, when did he go last, how much did he have to drink and so on. Ah, what an interesting stage of life. Who knew the potty would occupy so much of my time.

Grimes Family Reunion

2008-08-05T16:40:00.002-04:00

Every year my dad hosts his family reunion. This year my uncle Rob came and I got a picture of my dad and his siblings.