Five Fact Friday: (also know as Season 3, Episode 8)

1. I know. I'm a day late. But I can explain! It has been one of those weeks. You know...the kind where you've only made it to the point of adding a touch of make-up and styling your hair maybe once or twice. And one of those times was a mere fifteen minutes before Mark got home. No, I'm not still sick with my cold I had last week. It's been the urchins again. I'm not even exaggerating when I say that it's gone from one sickness to another for the last several months. It seriously seems like someone is constantly sick here! We'll be better for a day or two and then right back at it. And lately it's been with these can't-quite-put-a-finger-on-what-the-problem-is type things. The good thing is, when the older boys are "sick," they may be running a fever but are still running around and playing like normal. Sure, it's frustrating that we're stuck at home, but at least they're not acting like they're on their death bed or anything. The baby is another story. He woke up with a fever yesterday (Thursday) and still has it today. If I even attempt to put him down, it's the end of the world as we know it. Complete devastation. Yes, I do feel sorry for the poor little fella. Especially since he really has no other symptoms (at least ones that are obvious) than the fever. But, man, my back and arms are sore! He's no featherweight, let me tell you. My Ergo Baby has been a lifesaver, and at times I've resorted to just laying on the ground and letting him lay on top of me. So that's my excuse for being late. Really, I thought about it. It just never happened. Can't wait till we are all well. For more than three days!

2. Last weekend we finally bit the bullet and got rid of Mark's car. You've heard me rant on here many times about the ol' piece of junk. And the thousands we've sunk in to  repairing it. After driving around with an expired inspection for months, getting a recent estimate for another $1,200 in repairs, and then discovering the driver's side door's inability to open from the inside (yes, he had to roll down the window to open his door.), we finally decided to just take it to the dealership and see what we could get for it. We were expecting next to nothing, but they foolishly gave us well over the blue book value for it. Whatever. We'll take it. And with a nice tax return sitting in the checking account and other money set aside, we were able to walk away with a nearly new Camry and no car payment for Mark. Considering his job requires him to travel around Houston quite a bit, he needed a reliable vehicle. So between the two of us, we shouldn't have any car complaints for a long time. Lord willing!

3. The season of Lent is upon us! Yay! One of my favorites as an adult. I'll admit, as a child I always cringed. It meant giving up something I loved and not fully appreciating why. And fine delicacies like fish sticks on Fridays. But now, I feel like it has become a time to grow. To polish things off on the inside and make sure all of my connections with the one who gave all for me are right. A designated time really work on teaching my boys who Jesus is and what he did for us. Not to mention the fact that it falls right during spring. When the whole rest of the world around me is new and fresh and green, too. (Not like it ever really got cold here. My first daffodils have already bloomed. In February.) I've used this season in the past for many different things, but this year I'm really trying to build up my prayer life. It feels like the more pups we add to our litter, the less time I have to really pray. At least the kind of focused prayer I was used to doing before kids. I guess I'm finally coming to the realization that God sees any kind of prayer that I give to him. It all "counts." It doesn't have to be the totally engulfed, eyes closed ('cause Lord knows, I will fall asleep), head bowed type thing. Talking with my God while my hands and feet are still moving is still talking with my God. Capisce?

4. That being said, no, I didn't go all out and give up caffeine for Lent. One of these years, my friends. One of these years. I figured it would be more damaging to my children than beneficial to my spiritual life! Instead, I decided to give up Facebook and add a daily rosary during nap/work time. Considering both of these things are on my 2012 bucket list, I'm pretty pumped to do this, and thus far it's going really well. I was never much of a facebooker until my iPhone came along. Really, I rarely get on facebook on the computer. It's just that darn iPhone app tempting me every time I sit down to feed the baby, watch the boys play, etc. It had come to the point where it felt like every thirty minutes I was wanting to see if anyone had "updated their status." Really? Sure, it's fun to see what everyone else is doing. Especially for someone like me whose whole world is within this house. But in the grand scheme of things, it really doesn't matter. Not when there are three little souls here trying to vie for my attention and care. Don't get me wrong- I think Facebook is a great tool. I just don't want it to be such a factor in my life. And replacing it with the rosary has been fantastic. I'll still be popping in to post my blog links...just in case anyone cares!

5. Mark has a few days off at the beginning of next week, so I'm finally going to get a haircut! I wish I was lying when I say that I haven't gone to get my haircut in a full year. I went to my hairdresser in Lubbock before moving, and shortly before Grant was born I attempted to trim my ends and ended up having to have my mom even them out because my hair was too long to accurately reach it. Since then, it's just grown and grown and grown. It's the longest it's ever been. Past my bra buckle. (yes, mine buckles.) I've enjoyed the long hair because it's easy to pull up and has even gotten to the point where I can let it air dry and it looks just fine. But the ends look hideous and I'm totally rocking the poor-lady-with-too-many-kids-who-can't-care-for-herself look. Yikes. I'm not planning anything drastic. A good trim with some nice, long layers. And, of course, a good shampooing and scalp massage. That's the best part!

My fabric for my business always comes in big cardboard boxes. The UPS guy comes around dinner time and it always makes for a super fun evening for the boys. Nothing beats a good cardboard box!

Last Friday night Mark scoped out a "fun zone" of sorts up in Conroe. You know, the kind with horrible pizza and tons of overpriced rides and games. We had a blast, though. It's so fun to see the boys get over-the-top excited about the smallest things.

We had a blast our Bible study group's Fat Tuesday party. The boys got to decorate Mardi Gras masks, have a little parade, and eat king cake.

Despite the last two days of Mr. Fever, this guy has been such a hoot lately. He is ALL. OVER. THE. PLACE! And, of course, now that he pulls up on everything, we've lowered the crib, rearranged a few things...all that "baby proofing" stuff to make sure he doesn't wound himself when I'm not looking.

Yep. We've got a problem. These two stairs don't have a wall on the other end, so the lowest we can install a baby gate is on the third stair. Guess he'll just have to learn!

Please forgive any errors this week! Usually I like to read through everything and make sure I don't sound like an idiot. But A)I'm already late, and B) the aforementioned crawling, climbing, feverish babe will be waking soon and demand to be held!

TTT: Season 3, Episode 7

1. My little Reagan Mark turned three this week. Three. I'm making a conscious effort to not believe it. Though he quickly reminds me that he's not two, he's "free." We celebrated on Friday by going for birthday donuts, making his race car cake, making homemade pizzas, and then opening presents with our little family and my mom. As always, he got way more goodies than any little boy could ever need. And we've had a fun-filled week playing with them all. Rudy is such a unique little guy. He's still the little tenderheart we've always loved, but he's definitely started developing his own sense of independence and attitude. Though he copies nearly everything his big brother does, he's, at the same time, so very different than Kolbe. He's definitely my most creative little guy, loves all things salty as opposed to sweets, and can be found in bed at night with no fewer than ten random items to keep him company. Last night it was multiple hot wheels, a tube of toothpaste, a remote, a play telephone, and three shoes. No matter how early or late he goes to bed, he's always up between 5:45 and 6:15am every. single. day. He has a minor obsession with attempting to get my iphone. He's still a mama's boy to the max and though he appears to be totally void of any baby-like physical features any more, he's still got the best little baby booty ever! One of my greatest privleges in life is being his mother.

2. The inevitable finally caught up with me this week. And by "the inevitable," I'm referring to the cold that everyone in my family and extended family has passed around for months. All of those pregnancy and nursing mama antibodies usually do me really well, but I guess there's only so much I can expect. Considering I haven't been sick in over a year and a half, I'll profess my thankfulness and admit that it could be way worse. I've been sick for several days, but in a very odd way. No runny nose, no headache, no watery eyes, no fever. It's all in my throat. I'll refrain from discussing horrible words like 'mucus' or 'phlegm,' and just say that they're definitely involved. The most difficult part? I haven't had a voice in three days. Makes parenting pretty difficult! And has ironically given me a good perspective of what the boys must feel like when they're trying to tell me something and I have no idea what they're saying. I've had to attempt more creative ways of communicating. They've seen more than a few raised eyebrows! And one of our favorite activities--reading books--has been completely abandoned. I can't even make it through the first few pages! The whole experience has made me very appreciative of the voice I have, and I'll gladly take it back any day now, thank you very much. I don't think I can put myself through another torturous car ride like yesterday's when "My Cherie Amour" came on the radio and I was rendered incapable of singing along with Stevie Wonder. I nearly had to change the channel in defeat. Must. recover. NOW!

3. We had a fun little Valentine's Day with the boys. Kolbe was really in to it this year and even appologized for not getting me a Valentine. I guess next year Dada will have to take them out in advance. (wink, wink) That morning we up to the church to get Kolbe signed up for their Little Saints program that starts in the fall. He's never done anything like it before and even though it's still a good six months away, I think he's a little apprehensive. On the way there I told him we were headed to the church to sign up for Little Saints. He responded with: "Mom, I don't think I want to go. I'm pretty sure I don't want to be a priest any more." Ha! I was hysterical. I guess he automatically assumed that any type of church activity must be training to work at the church...which would mean becoming a priest! Funny little fella. I told him that was fine and that if he didn't want to be a priest he didn't have to but that if he changed his mind some day and decided he did want to be one, Mama and Dada would be just fine with that, too. Can't you just see a tiny little Fr. Kolbe!?! He'd definitely be a character, that's for sure!

munching down on some of brother's banana. He finally had his first tooth break through on Monday! Almost 8 months old.

future hall of famers! Mark loves to take the boys to Academy to look at all the cool sports gear.

Here's my birthday boy! He was thrilled to see the all of the hanging "boons" when he came down the stairs on his birthday morning. (I had to lower them so they could run through them....I guess they're shorter than I imagine at 11:00pm)

Sir Rudus, the bubble slayer.

My, that was a good nap!

I love pickles!!! (or at least the juice and the soft, fleshy part...)

Ok, I know the pics of Grant to pics of everyone else ratio is a little out of control...but man, watching a baby experience all things new is just too hard to resist! In this case, he's still terribly fond of that baby in the mirror.

TTT: Season 3, Episode 6

1. Last week I promised details on our fun little weekend, so here goes. We have lots of milestone birthdays in our family this year on the Asmussen side. Mark's brother Brian and I both turn thirty and both of Mark's parents turn sixty. Miss Lora (Mark's mom) was the first to reach her milestone and celebrated the big 6-0 last Friday. We didn't want the birthday to go by un-noticed, but it's hard to throw much of a celebration from afar. So instead, thanks to help from my dad and his awesome job, we shipped the celebration there in the form of a surprise visit from Mark and Kolbe. It would have been great if the whole family could have gone, but really unrealistic...especially airplane ticket wise. So Reagan, Grant, and I stayed behind and had our own little fun weekend together. Although I only got to be a part of the surprise weekend through phone calls and texts, it was still so wonderful to know that G-ma (and Papa Jeep, too!) got to spend the weekend with two people she holds so dear. From what I hear, they had a great time with lots of food, shopping, and relaxation!

2. As mentioned, while Mark and Kolbe were in Lubbock, Reagan, Grant and I stayed home in The Woodlands. I must say that both Mark and I made a keen observation while apart: Kolbe and Reagan are completely different when they aren't together. Night and day difference. Mark commented several times on how laid back and "grown up" Kolbe acted without Rudy around. And I was amazed how calm and peaceful Rudy was without Kolbe. He thought about what he wanted to say, made his own observations, and did much less "attention getting." Granted, I know these two are the best of friends, and can hardly imagine a life without each other, but I have to admit that it was kind of nice to spend time with Rudy and hear what he has to say instead of just a repetition of whatever Kolbe just said. It was nice to not see him have to compete or conform and just be himself. He's such a neat little kiddo. Who happens to turn three tomorrow! I know Mark had a very special time with just Kolbe as well. We're quite blessed to have such wonderful boys. They do make us pull our hair out from time to time...especially when they're together!...but really, they are fun, unique, amazing little boys. And seeing that they will have to spend the majority of their childhoods side by side, I think this little experiment has shown us just how important a little time apart from each other can be as well.

3. Since we're nearly half way through February, I thought it might be fun to check in on my 2012 Bucket List and see how I'm doing on keeping up with things.

Successes:

- #3- follow my two daily devotionals

I'm pumped about this one. I've gotten several daily/365 devotionals in the past and never made it much beyond the first few weeks. I'm proud to report that I'm still going strong with my little books. Partially because their both very easy to read. One is Small Steps for Catholic Moms and the other is the widely popular Jesus Calling. Both are very enjoyable for me at this phase in life, and it's been nice to read and discuss the Jesus Calling one with Mark, as his mother gave us each a copy for Christmas. Somehow, it manages to speak to us in some way each day.

- #5- make something for our home each month

You'd think this would be easy since I own a business in which I make things, but since it takes up the majority of my very spare time, it's actually hard to squeeze in projects for our home. But I did manage to make a few pillow covers for our couch pillows, our Valentine's wreath, and a felt heart garland for Valentine's Day. And I made the garland as a sequencing activity with Kolbe. Educational, to boot!

-#7- blog more often

While you haven't seen anything on here beyond my weekly Thursday post, I have managed to catch up on our family/photo blog! And by caught up, I mean Christmas. Because, while I've done well to get all the posts done, I've since started failing at taking pictures of everything else. Anyway, if you want to see pictures of the major happenings in the fam over the past three or four months, hop on over to the family blog.

Marginal:

-#1- drink more water

Eh. I'm trying. Usually I feel guilty that I haven't had much at the end of the day and chug a few glasses. Does that count?

-#3- work on the budget

Hey, I got our taxes done! Toot, toot! And I'm proud to report no whammies. But with Mark's job transfer on the horizon...and the fact that Mark's going to need a new car as well...it's kind of pointless to fine tune something that will change within the next two months.

Failure:

-#8- Develop and maintain a house cleaning schedule

I mean, really. Do I have to? It's the ever present monkey on my back. I love a clean space, I just don't like doing it. It always gets pushed to the bottom of the list. No, we don't live in total squalor, and yes, it is fairly organized, but man, it sure could be cleaner!

-#19- Write a meaningful letter each month

Oops. January slipped by and I definitely didn't do this. And this was one of my goals I was really excited about! I vow it will be in the successes at the next check up!

Most of the others would file under "marginal or "work-in-progress." I'd say overall it's going pretty well! And I'm actually enjoying having this list in the back of my mind. Gives me something to strive for...other than just making it through the day. :o)

Other than the gift of Mark and Kolbe surprising her, we made a fun little sign for G-ma for her birthday. We were running short on time so even the hubs had to get in on the crafting action and help me out. See those flowers in the corner? They are made with the little boys' finger prints. So needless to say, I was busy trying to control that effort while Mark worked on tracing the letters and then filling in the imprinted area with paint. A little trick I saw on pinterest. It ended up being a fun little family crafting night!

Kolbe sipping broth at 50 Yard Line in Lubbock- a fancy-shmancy restaurant that most little boys don't get to go to!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...
This guy can stay occupied for hours with a chair, some dishes, and running water.


Ready for a dose of baby goodness? 

Grant has taken to this little blanket that my sister-in-law's mother, Mary Bergman, made for him. So now he has his blankie and his thumb. Just like every baby ever illustrated.

Such a flirt!

He's already gone from crawling to pulling up. We're at seven months right now...pretty sure he'll be walking before one just like the other two. And asking for the keys to the car shortly after that! It's going too fast!

Thought I'd throw this in for a little fun. I've taken many, many, many custom orders through my little etsy shop but never for something this hardcore! Yes, that's a Star Wars crib sheet. And there were changing pad covers to match. Hey, people deck out their kids' rooms in various sports team themes all the time! Why not go for your favorite movie!?!

TTT: Season 3, Episode 5

1. Things are changing again at the Asmussen Household. Again, you ask? Yes, again. No, I'm not pregnant. No, we're not moving. But a too-good-to-pass-up opportunity has presented itself to Mark. Another group of doctors have made him an offer that he can't refuse and so he's made the decision to jump ship and hop aboard a different vessel. While you've read my laments on here many times concerning his call schedule or noted my sarcasm over his job from time to time, the truth is I haven't been brutally honest about everything on here simply because I know it's not exactly good form, if you know what I mean. While this is my journal of motherhood, there are just some things that I do have to keep away from the world wide web! Anyhow, while we've known for a while that this gig in neurosurgery wasn't going to be his "forever job," we were surprised for something like this to fall in to his lap. Of course, we aren't foolish to think that the new job is going to be perfect; it just certainly seems to offer solutions to many of the major issues we're having. The biggest being that he won't be carrying a pager any more. Oh, and they're going to pay for our entire family's medical premiums. For those of you who know what we're dealing with now, you know that's huge! I'll keep you updated with the details as they progress, but for now, please just pray for the transitions we will be going through in the months to come. I'm so proud of my husband. I've always known he was awesome. Apparently the working world is starting to figure it out too. ;)

2. Do any of you have a love-hate relationship with the internet? I do. Bad. It's something that's been eating away at me a lot lately. I feel like I'm being convicted of it for some reason and with Lent right around the corner, I have a feeling I might just have to do something about it. What keeps coming to mind is just the attraction/addiction to it that I...heck, our whole generation has. Like I said, love-hate. Love it because it gives me so many opportunities that someone like my mother who stayed at home with her children, too, did not have. Love it because it gives me a chance to stay in touch with so many people. Love it because I can connect with other people in the same place in life as me. But hate it because I'm drawn to it constantly. Hate it because at times I'd rather peruse the most recent facebook updates than read a book with my boys. Hate it because it constantly has me aware of what others are doing and getting instead of focusing on my own world and all the wonderful blessings I have. Does this make sense? I'm not a big computer person. It's not like I sit here with the laptop out all day long. But I'd be lying if I said that my smart phone's battery wasn't near dead every single night. And it's a brand new phone. I catch myself using it constantly. And not to call someone! Anyway, just spilling a little bit of what's been eating at me lately. Like I said, I know it's a good thing and helps me quite a bit as a stay-at-home mother who is often confined to my tiny little world, but at the same time, I'm thinking there might be room for some adjustments.

3. Time for some randomness:
- Something super cool is going on this weekend here at our house. Can't tell now, but I'll have all the details next week.
- We've finally gotten some fairly regular rain around here lately. Everything is as green as April. Which, in the case of our yard, means the weed factory is at full speed production.
- Grant is officially a crawling machine. He's all over the place.
- Reagan was never much for the terrible twos. He's always been my sweet little guy. But something about turning three next week has "inspired" him. Yikes.
- I'm tired of doing laundry. It never ends. Just sayin'.
- Oh, and, don't even get me started on our new refrigerator. We're having issues. I dare not write just yet for fear that the slight mention might make it worse. But I have a feeling I'll have a good story for you next week.

We've had some beautiful weather here lately so we decided that it was time to take this guy to the park for his first official swing ride. He loved it! (though he did kick his legs the majority of the time, trying to jump. He's destined for the trampoline act in the circus!)

I'm a sucker for those blue eyes!

Fearless Kolbe! (as long as it's on the enclosed baby swing and not the big boy swing!)

Rudy "hanging" out with Pa! He's the hanging champ in the family.

My poor little Grant knows no other life than this. And doesn't seem to care. What?... Your games of Memory don't turn in to full blown wrestle mania at the end!?!

Remember that little fella I told you about last week? Here he is! Our newest nephew, William Mark. He's still in the NICU right now, though he's off the ventilator...heck, off of oxygen all together! (this is an older picture from earlier in the week) Thanks so much for your prayers!

The boys and I made a St. Valentine's Day wreath a few days ago with a pipe insulation tube, a bunch of old ribbon I had from way back when I was teaching, and some felt.  I think they're now officially obsessed with my glue gun.