Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Nine Years? Or Was It Yesterday?

It might feel like yesterday, but it was nine years ago that we said I do. We committed ourselves to each other forever, talked about our hopes and dreams, excited for the life that was to come. Now we are in the trenches. Living the life we dreamed of. Loving each other.I can't believe I married the man of my dreams just 9 short years ago. I love you husband.


**Sorry, I cannot upload the 8 other pictures I have chosen for this post. And the four kids at my feet are demanding attention. this will have to hold you for now!

I love you dear husband!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Daddy Did STP

Dan was away this weekend doing the Seattle to Portland bike ride. While we are super proud of him accomplishing this 200 mile bike ride, we were lonely and exhausted without him! In an effort to make the three days pass faster, we kept as busy as possible.

We spent some time at a favorite local park with a wading pool and a splash pad. The girls were obsessed with the wading pool and spent almost the entire time falling in the water.


We had dinner with grandma Patti and grandpa Bob and family.This included the slip and slide and the hot tub....two favorites!


We spent a day out at the river with grandma Nancy and some aunts and uncles. Joshua and Thomas loved playing in the water. Katie also enjoyed the water. Molly was without a nap and overwhelmed by water. She spent her time with grandma Nancy.  By the end of the day, the kids were exhausted!!!!


Saturday, July 17, 2010

My Beautiful Family

We are a family of six and while some of us have gone a little crazy...



For the  most part, we are one happy family. I love my family.

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Too Much TV?

It would appear we are watching too much tv. I do not deny the boys watch tv so that I can get chores accomplished in the morning. Getting everyone dressed, sunscreened, and the main living areas just minimally picked up? The tv is very helpful. Although recently maybe they've watched too much?

As I was doing laundry, Thomas came  in and looked in the laundry cupboard. "Mommy, is that Oxyclean? Do you have tough stains? Oxyclean gets the tough stains out. Leaves nothing behind but shine." Oops!!!!

Then later this week in the car Thomas was holding a Chuck E Cheese ticket and saying, "Go to chuck e cheese dot com and enter your code for prizes and activities." Oops!

Hopefully his preschool/Kindergarten teacher can teach everything in commercials. If so, Thomas will be a rocket scientist! ;)

Photo Frenzy

Oops! It appears I've taken tons of pictures, done lots of fun things, and neglected to blog...again. Such is the life with four young kids I guess.

This week we went with our mommy & me group to an open gymnastics session. The kids just played and played. Thomas climbed the net really really high and then fell into the pit of foam blocks. Joshua just ran and ran and tried to perform tricks.


We've had some great times playing with the neighbor kids. The boys got to try on a variety of hats and played with Lily (6) and Rowan (2).

Last night we BBQ-ed at grandma and grandpa's house and played with cousins. Now that Thomas is riding without training wheels (HOORAY!) he can keep up with his cousins. And Joshua can now ride without training wheels too (HOORAY!) but chooses not to (BOO!). The girls loved playing with cousin Natalie!


Macey and Molly had a great time playing piano!

Grandpa Lyle is not doing very well and getting weaker and weaker. We are attempting to soak up all of our time with this wonderful man as possible.We visited this week and Molly was obsessed that he had a cane. She loved it! The girls both enjoyed the fact that when he touched their noses, he whistled. This is a grandpa Lyle thing and they both would lean in for it! So cute!

We had a family day at Riverfront Park and had a blast! The boys loved being able to ride the rides and I, for once, got to ride too! The girls are big enough to ride several rides and thoroughly enjoyed the strawberries. No one except mommy enjoyed the octopus, even though we all rode. Oops!

Teething Bites

Ridiculous. These girls are teething up a storm. They are each getting about 4 teeth and they are miserable. This in turn has made us, as parents, miserable. Sleep is nonexistent. The girls tag-team their crying all night long. It does not stop once we get up for the day. Yesterday the girls got up at the ungodly hour of 5:00 AM. The crying started then and was nonstop. Thomas walked in the room after waking up and Katie immediately ran into his arms. They snuggled on the recliner so cute. Like this:


Same thing this morning. I dosed Katie and she gagged it horribly. So mad at me, she ran to Thomas. They snuggled again, like this:

Molly got jealous and decided to get in the action. She and Joshua snuggled too (for mere moments):

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Happy 4th of July Weekend

And what a crazy weekend it has been! On Friday, I realized our double stroller had been stolen. How frustrating! I had put it beside the van and put the jogger and wagon in the van for a Riverfront Park trip. I am absolutely livid that someone took it. It was all folded up too! They had to know what they were stealing. So frustrating!

Matters only got worse when I decided to take the boys out for a "mommy and boys night" to Toy Story 3. I ended up dragging them out about 20 minutes into the movie and "almost" making it to the garbage before losing my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I'm sure it was traumatic for them. I'm a horrid puker and they've never seen me do it. I cry, I gag, I wretch. It's awful. Poor kids. They kept saying, "It's all red! You drank too much juice!" This was true, I had tried to settle my tummy with a slushy...poor idea.

The rest of our weekend looked like this.






Tonight was fourth of July. We went to grandma Patti's work and watched it from the cafeteria. Couldn't have asked for a better set up. Thanks Grandma Patti!

Looking Back...

Looking back at past 4th of July celebrations:

2006

2007

2008

2009

Thursday, July 1, 2010

Fire Truck Meets the Domrese Family

We decided to forgo the weekly pediatrician appointment once again and instead opted for a visit from the fire truck. We were gone all morning and played outside once we returned home. All kids were sent inside for nap time. I put the girls down quickly and then went to help the boys get settled when I heard the beeping. Coming from the girls' room. Uh oh. I went inside, interrupting nap time. After fiddling with the carbon monoxide detector I decided to give Dan a call. He had no advice, so I got on the internet and looked up the general number for the fire department to get some advice. They advised me to get a truck sent out to check so that the girls could get a worry-free nap. The fire truck showed up quickly and upon entering had this to say...

"Wow, that's a lot of kids. Are these ALL yours?"

Yup. I know I have a lot of kids. And I know they are all crying. It's nap time and I'm keeping them up.

After checking with their personal carbon monoxide machine, it was determined that my machine is dysfunctional and needs to be replaced (after one year). So they left, the girls are down for their nap. I'm checking them frequently, still a little freaked out by the entire experience. A new machine will be purchased this evening and put in each of the children's rooms.

Fire Department, welcome to the Domrese household. :)

14 Months

Whoops! Did June just fly by me?! It's been a little nuts around here! June 21st the girls turned 14 months. What's different about this age?

Can you remember this time last year?

How about just 6 months ago?

I am in total love with this stage in life. The girls are just plain fun.


Katie is a handful. That girl is on the go. She still loves her mommy more than anyone else, and for this moment, it's endearing. She says, "mama, dada, Molly, Joshua, dinosaur" and probably a few more. She loves Thomas more than words can say. When he wakes up, she runs to him and he picks her up and swings her in circles. It's a favorite moment of my day. Katie likes to play soccer. She likes to sing and be a part of every conversation. Frequently in the car, I am forced to halt a conversation with the boys because I can't hear them over Katie's yelling chatter. Katie loves the pool. We have a little kiddie pool and she will spend the majority of her day playing in it with just a couple inches of water. She cracks herself up!


Molly is still my little relaxed kiddo. But, cross her or get her frustrated and she goes to a screeching terror in no time flat. It could be something big like she fell down or something as minor as her cookie is sideways in her hand. She loves to dance. Loves loves loves it. And she's fun to watch! She loves to make faces and experiments with sounds all the time. She can say "mama, dada, Joshua, Tara (our neighbor), Karl (our neighbors dog), dog, nose, no-no, nigh-nigh, dance, gramma, sand" and probably some more as well. She loves her daddy. He makes her smile and can calm her in an instant.

The girls are both running and playing and just a real joy to watch. It's amazing how fast time flies and how they are changing from babies to toddlers. I absolutely love this stage in life. They play independently and yet they still want to be carried and snuggled. The day I no longer have a baby on my hip will be a sad day for this mama. It's one of my favorite parts of the job.