Truly, Kristen's Chaos

What a crazy couple of weeks for our family! I was almost, kind of, a little bit happy about our snowless snow day today.It meant that we got to sleep in a little bit, basketball practice was cancelled, and my sweet hubby worked from home today. He even took me out to lunch! All in all, a nice, quiet day for us.
We are smack dab in the middle of basketball AND indoor soccer (we're crazy, I know!) not to mention the church basketball games on Saturday. For this week that means 3 sets of indoor soccer games, 3 middle school basketball games, a rec basketball game, and a church basketball game. Not to mention practices. Next week it gets even worse as the middle school team has 3 games during the week plus a tournament on Friday and Saturday in addition to Saturday rec and church basketball games, and 3 more indoor soccer games. We love to watch the girls play because they love it so much(and because Sierra is quite the little cheerleader), but this year I'm looking forward to the end of basketball season!

One of the biggest problems we face with Sierra is brushing her hair. To say that she hates it would be putting it mildly. She screams every morning while I practically sit on her to get it done. We don't attempt to do anything other than a ponytail, even on a good day. I have taken her for a hair cut on several unsuccessful occasions. I've tried bribing her with m & m's for breakfast, brushing it while she watches tv, telling her she needs to have "Cinderella hair", anything and everything just to get the job done. So when I saw this on sale at Target several weeks ago, I snatched it up for her birthday in March. I gave it to her today because I was so close to just chopping it all off! Of course, she loves it. It's Disney Princesses and it has lights and talks to her. She's played with it all day and tonight she asked me to "make my hair pretty" and even wanted some of Lauren's hairspray. (For the record, Lauren doesn't actually use it on her hair. She sprays the bottom of her basketball shoes with it so that they don't slip on the court! All girl, I tell ya! All girl!) Let's hope our mornings go a little smoother now! And if anyone has any tips, please share. You would think that with 4 girls I would most definitely have this problem under control, but this little angel defies all reason!

Thankful Thursday

McDonald's drive-thru and dollar menu. Gross, I know. But the last few weeks have been crazy with basketball and indoor soccer games. We have survived on the dollar menu and I haven't cooked since Sunday! More of the same for tonight!
Good Health. We've had strep in our house and I'm just thankful only one of the kids had to suffer through it, knock on wood!
Friends. I've been fortunate enough to run into friends unexpectedly this week and have been so grateful for the few minutes we've had to chat. Sometimes being a stay-at-home mom can be lonely and it's nice to carry on a conversation with an adult.
Yankee candles. I love the smell of spring in my house even if it's cold enough outside to cancel school. Pretty sure they've saved my sanity so far this winter!

Naps. Sierra is taking her first one in about 2 weeks and it is so heavenly.

Happy Birthday, Lauren!

We celebrated Lauren's 14th birthday yesterday. It's hard to believe that she's 14 already. I remember being 14 and excited about attending my first church dance. She's not interested in that part at all, although she will have her first opportunity this coming Saturday. We'll see if I can talk her into going!

The kids were out of school yesterday for Martin Luther King Day. What a great birthday present for Lauren, but she didn't get to sleep in. Basketball practice at 8:oo a.m.! Then we went to see a movie. The big girls saw Mall Cop (which they really liked) and I took the 2 little ones to Hotel for Dogs, which was also a big hit. Her one request for her birthday was that we take her to see the Nashville Predators hockey game on her birthday. She invited 3 friends and we celebrated with funnel cake and Dipping Dots instead of the typical birthday cake. We had a great time, even though the Preds lost 3-1.

Lauren obviously is more sporty than girly. She loves watching all sports and playing soccer and basketball. She is a good big sister and the 3 younger ones love having her home. I depend on her to babysit and help with the younger girls . She loves to bake cookies and can throw a pretty good dinner together.

It's Cold Outside!

Did you know that school can be closed because it's COLD outside!? No snow, no flooding, no tornadoes. Just 8 degrees when I took Mackenzie to the doctor for a strep test, which came back positive. Lots of movies and video games on the agenda for today!

Thankful Thursday

I'm going to follow the lead of several fellow bloggers and start my own weekly "Thankful Thursday" posts.

I'll start with the insanely obvious:

My Family! I love my family and would be so lost without them...enough said!

Target. Target just put a ton of toys on sale for 75% off. I'm all set for Sierra's birthday in March, Valentine's Day, birthday parties, and maybe even Christmas next year! I can't control myself when I see a clearance sign!

Friends. It just wouldn't be any fun without 'em!

A gas fireplace. I hate to be cold and there's nothing better than a nice warm fire on a cold day, unless my hubby decided to come home from work!

Giveaways! I won, I won, I won!!!

Handbags and Hockey Tickets!

I won, I won, I won! I'm so excited to be sporting this little number! Definitely chases away some of those winter blues! Thank you, Suzanne!

And if anyone was listening to 97.9 at 6:00 a.m. you heard my sweet husband winning tickets to the Predators game this Monday. Perfect, because that's Lauren's birthday and all she wants to do-- go to a hockey game on her birthday. That's my girl--all frills and fluff!

Winter Blues

It's official ... I'm sick of winter! Ready for some warm, sunny days, shorts, and spring flowers. Ready to spend the day at the park or even better, at the pool! I've mopped floors, cleaned bathrooms, organized pantries, and even the attic. There isn't an article of dirty clothing in the house and I've even been washing sheets and towels. We've been to the library for storytime, to McDonald's playplace, and needless shopping. I've been cooking! We've played games, with play doh, watched movies, and I've dressed Polly Pockets and Barbies until I think my fingers are going to fall off! Surely spring is just around the corner, right? How do you combat the winter blues?

Favorite Christmas Gift

I know, I know. Christmas is long gone, but I just picked up my favorite gift yesterday and wanted to share. I love that I can get all of my kids in the same frame and be reminded to be grateful for ALL of my blessings.