The Jolly Good Fellows

I am grateful for winter

2009-01-21T08:40:00.002-06:00

Every year I dread the coming of the winter months. I do not like the cold, sickness, lack of sunshine, and my husband being gone all the time. However, I have decided to try to find the good in all things this year and be so focused on what I don't like but what I am grateful for and what i do like. So as for winter,
1.I love the way the yard looks after a fresh snowfall. Free from tracks and still white and beautiful.
2.I love to watch snow fall, I feel like I am in a snowglobe that is being constantly shaken.
3. I do enjoy the overtime money that Michael gets for working all those long hours. I am grateful to Michael and the rest of his co-workers that we have clean roads to drive on. They do a great job clearing off the roads in a timely manner.
4. I love being pregnant in the winter because i actually get cold and don't feel incredibly hot all the time.
5. I enjoy eatting hot soups that don't taste so good in the summer
6. I enjoy the shorter days because my kids actually sleep longer.
7. I love snuggling up in blankets and watching a movie on a cold night.

Wow, I guess winter isn't so bad after all. I will have to read and reread this post to remember to be grateful for winter on days that it is bitterly cold.

I am also going to try to blog more and keep better track of my days for journalling for the kids. I have done horribly at that so far and Jared is almost 5.

Freedom

2009-01-16T10:07:00.002-06:00

I am so excited!!!!! I finally have a child in preschool. Jared started afternoon preschool four days a week, at the beginning of January. He gets picked up by the bus at 12:30 and dropped off at 3:45. I get to do whatever i wish because the girls are still napping. Lately i have been napping as well. Jared loves getting on the bus and he is learning so much that he did not want to do with me. I think it is great. In 3 weeks, Jared and Elisia will go to morning preschool for an hour and a half four days a week. I am going to love life.

Don't get me wrong i love being a mother and i love my kids. Three kids in three years and pregnant with the fourth tends to take a toll on the mind and body. I am escited to spend some well needed time with just Quinn and bond with her more before the baby comes, or go shopping with only one child (what will that be like), or read my scriptures without interruptions, or excercise, or the list can go on and on.

Michael and I have been looking at houses for a couple of months and now the heat is on. Our lease is up in April and we are in crunch time now. Thank goodness I am feeling better and getting some energy back. I am not happy about having to pack and move a household of 5. Where does all the stuff come from? For Example, I went through the kids toys after christmas and got rid of a lot toys they don't play with and yet there are still toys everywhere. I have started the Goodwill piles and the clothes that no longer fit piles. However, until i know the sex of this baby i have to keep everything.

On the bright side I am feeling much better and hopefully in four weeks will know the sex of this child. It is hard to believe i am already 18 weeks and i really only have 5 months left to go. That seems unreal to me.

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T17:28:00.002-06:00

Hello Friends and Family

What an eventful couple of months it has been in our family. I don't even know where to begin. Michael recently got a job promotion and is now in management. He doesn't get to drive the big snow plow trucks as much anymore but he still has fun. I am very proud of him and i know he will do a good job.

Jared will be starting 2 preschool programs in January. One in the morning and the other in the afternoons. He is excited for this and i am hoping this will help prepare him for kindergarden.

Elisia will also be attending the morning preschool with Jared.....What am i going to do with myself?????? She is talking more and more and she loves playing dress up and teaching quinn new things.

Quinn is finally walking.....YEAH she is like a different child now that she has movement. She is also starting to talk and she walks around the house saying mom..mom..mom.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and remember our Savior Jesus Christ and all He has given us.

Where do I begin?????

2008-11-14T22:41:00.004-06:00

Elisia's 3rd birthdays was a lot of fun this year. SHe really got into it and we celebrated it for a week. Everyone knows she loves Dora the Explorer and she loves dressing up so Dora Dress up clothes were essential. I can't believe she is three, it seemds like only yesterday i was pregnant with her. Where dies all the time go? Now she is potty training and acting like a teenager. What a fun girl though.

Elisia and Quinn at the Park after trick or treating in Downtown Arlington Heights.

Jared, Elisia, and Quinn at the church Halloween party. Jared had a lot of fun decorating or rather eatting his cookie. Jared and Elisia even did the haunter house with daddy.

Elisia isn't quite grasping the donut hang concept yet. She really just wanted to eat that donut.

Jared was really proud of his pumpkin this year. He helped Michael clean it out and told Michael what he wanted it to look like.

Elisia with her fabulous pumpkin. She actually got her pretty hands dirty and slimy this year.

All in all we are doing very well and are looking forward to our trip to florida. Yes we are driving to florida with three kids, crazy.....I think so..Even more crazy for camping......YES. It will be a lot of fun and a lot of learning as this will be our first family vacation with the kids.

Jared?????

2008-10-10T08:45:00.001-05:00

MyHeritage: Family trees - Genealogy - Celebrities - Collage - Morph

Who does Elisia Resemble???

2008-10-10T08:38:00.001-05:00

MyHeritage: Look-alike Meter - Geneology - Family history

Fellow Look-alike Meter

2008-10-10T08:27:00.001-05:00

MyHeritage: Family tree - Genealogy - Celebrity - Collage - Morph

Quinn is so onery

2008-10-09T08:19:00.000-05:00

Quinn is really clever. She decided she wanted more spaghetti and i was in the bathroom. So she got some herself. She is really trying to keep up with the other two. She was so proud of herself.

Quinn also learned how to eat corn of the cob this summer. She really liked using it as a chewy, for her gums.

What am I doing wrong? I just wanted spaghetti. I am so thrilled that i got these pictures

She is one and she loved her cupcake. She was cute eating it. She licked off all the frosting first and then dug into the cupcake

Of Course we have to put frosting in the hair.

Jared was Tagged by Elisia

2008-09-09T23:52:00.000-05:00

Name: Jared Andrew Fellow

Name Meaning: To Descend, man warrior

Age: 4 1/2

Nicknames:Goofy Nutter

Favorite Activites: Jared loves to pretend and act of movies with his cars

Favorite Foods: Rice, Ham and Cheese sandwich

Least favorite foods: any type of soup, most fruits

Favorite Music: Jared loves primary songs and rascal flatts' life is a highway(aka the mack song)

Favorite Toys: race cars and his bunny

favorite book: Jared likes his thomas the train book

Favorite item of clothing: His dinosaur vest

What makes him happy: outdoors, rough housing with daddy

what makes him sad: getting in trouble and when toys don't work properly

I tagged: Brennan, Ocean

Elisia was tagged

2008-09-09T23:38:00.000-05:00

Name: Elisia Renee' Fellow

Name Meaning: My God is a Vow, Reborn

Age: 34 months, almost three

Nicknames: Chica and Cheekers

Favorite Activities: Coloring, riding her bike, and playing with her babies

Favorite Foods: French toast, green beans, cheese

Least Favorite Foods: potatoes, Ham

Favorite Music: Elisia loves anything she can dress up and dance to. She really likes nursery rhymes and church songs

Favorite toys: Her baby doll and baby stroller, and her blankie

Favorite book: Elisia loves all books. She really like David gets in trouble and No David

Favorite Item of Clothing: She loves her kitty cat jammies and her princess shoes

What makes her sad: When she can't watch Dora or Diego. When she has to sit in a time out.

I tag: Jared, Abby, Emma, and Logan

Tagged

2008-07-24T14:39:00.000-05:00

The rules are as follows for this chain letter:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.

2. Post the rules on your blog.

3. Write six random things about yourself.

4. Write six random people at the end of your post by linking to their blogs.

5. Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their website.

6. Let your tagger know when your blog entry is up

This is my first tag

1. I love rain storms but hate thunderstorms

2. I love to lay on the grass and look up at big white puffy clouds.

3. I love having the windwo open and the wind blowing the curtains

4. I love listening to my children laugh over the baby monitor

5. I need help getting organized

6. I enjoy curling up with a good book

I am not sure how to link to other blogs..so Kami, Katie, Gigi, Mel, and Valerie you are it

I hate car dealerships

2008-07-17T06:53:00.001-05:00

Let me first start off by telling a quick story. Last night Michael and I went to check out the Dodge gas deal and their new vans with low prices and great interest rates. Long story short, they were only going to give us $4000 trade in for our 2005 minivan and they thought a $499.00/month payment was a great deal. Michael and I just laughed at them. We thought that was hilarious. Needless to say we were a little disappointed in the end, but still laughing.

We bought a new fire pit earlier this week and we tried it out on monday for family home evening. It is really a nice amenity. We were able to relax outside and the kids roasted marshmellows. Michael has wanted one of these for a long time and he was thrilled he found one on sale.

Elisia at the Jim Gill concert at the library.
Jim Gill is a local kids musician that sings silly songs with his banjo. It was a fun concert for the family. Michael was skepitical but he had a really good time and thought jim was really talented.
Elisia anxiuosly awaiting the beginning of the Mount Prospect 4th of july parade.
Quinn on the fourth of july. the kids were really good considering they had no naps and were up till 11.
Jared enjoying his roasted marshmellow

Jared having"fun" at the Jim Gill concert....he was so grumpy during the entire thing. However afterwards we was singing the songs and laughing. that is a typical jared thing to do. If i remember i will take some pictures of the item s i have made.

Let's play catch up

2008-07-11T00:03:00.000-05:00

I hate playing the catch up game. I have to do it all the time in my journal and apparently on our blog. I have been super busy learning how to sew lately. I have to say that I love every minute of it. (never thought those words would come out of my mouth), I actually find it relaxing and fun. i have attempted and finished 2 dresses for Elisia, an outfit for Quinn, a camo vest for Jared, and I Finally finished my Quilt This quilt i have been working on for 4 years. I have finally finished it. (pictures will come later.)

We had a great Fourth of July as a family. I took the kids to the parade and Michael met us there after work. the Kids really loved it. Elisia was thrilled that candy was being thrown at her and she could take it. Jared was a little grumpy, but what else is new. Quinn did not like the loud noises. Kind of ironic that the child that has had hearing trouble freaks out when there are loud noises. Later that evening we attended a cookout at our friends house and let all the kids run around.

The fireworks were a lot of fun as well. Elisia really loved them. She was so enthralled with them. Jared was excited at first then, he got restless. Quinn slept through the first part and was comotose for the rest of it. Of course JAred had to go to the bathroom right at the very end of the show. So he and michael missed the end.

I am finding that once you have a child that is potty trained they want to go to every public restroom. It is like he is marking his territory. JAred has also discovered urinals and that the girls potty rooms don't have them. He of course chooses to use the mens.

SO far this summer we have been hanging out around home. Michael is taking JAred camping tomorrow night...that should be an adventure.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

2008-05-31T17:24:00.000-05:00

I love the little phrases that kids say or often repeat. Here are a few of my favorite ones as of late..

Jared...
He recently ate a piece of black licorice and says, "Mom this tastes like chicken..."
"Quinny Pooh Pooh no, I said no touching."
"You're driving me crazy" He hears that a lot from me.
We have been teaching him not to say certain words or o call people names by telling him "we don't say that word." Today I was asking Elisia to pick up a toy and Jared says, "Mommy we don't say that word."

Elisia....

She learned this from Jared.."What are you talking about?"
If you have seen Spongebob she does a great impersonation when SB says, "Mr. Crabbs."
For those of you who know Elisia she repeats anything you say to her and she has quite a large vocabularly for only being 2 1/2. She reminds my parents a lot of me when I was little.

Quinn is starting to say mama and baba. She recently learned to pull herself up to standing.

Moments in motherhood

2008-05-15T22:45:00.001-05:00

Jared and ELisia are looking at a skunk at the Earth Day Celebration. Thank goodness it didn't have its sprayer anymore.

Quinn Starting to crawl

I was thinking today that life as a mom really is a lot more fun than i often give credit for.

Elisia is my onery 2 year old and she copies everything Jared says and does. She is fiesty and fun loving. She sings but Tells me to "stop singing mommy" all the time. Recently she has developed an opinion of what she will wear and not wear. On sunday she decided that she didn't like what she had on and she changed out of her dress and said, " I am not wearing that dress." I then decided to try and argue with a 2 year old. She won the battle when Michael stepped in and smoothed things over with her. She also recently started carrying a little pink purse around. Is she my daughter or what!!! 2 going on 18...

Jared is such a sweety. I always complain about how big my butt is...Ane well I won't be doing that anymore. On the way home from Indiana earlier this week. I was helping Jared in the car and he proceeded to call me ":BIG BUTT" I didn't know whether to be offended or laugh. Then of course Elisia started as well. By the end we were all laughing. I guess we all learn our lessons the hard way. Jared announced the other morning that he was going to Emma and Abby's house. I proceeded to tell him that we can't go today maybe later and he said that he and Elisia were going without mommy.

How I love independent children....What so I expect?

Quinn is crawling all over the place and Jared has learned that none of his things are safe that he doesn't clean up. YEAH... I am sure Elisia will soon learn. But right now she could care less. Quinn loves smiling and she is a big girl. She is a whopping 18+ lbs and 30 inches. ELisia is only 25 lbs. Yes they where the same diaper size...

I am recently discovered the joys of making Hairbows for my girls. I am totally addicted to making them. I love it. I can't decide if I want to sell them or not...I think I will want to keep the ones that I make for my girls.

Jared turns 4, Michael's on a diet, and we venture our first museum

2008-03-30T19:04:00.000-05:00

Michael at the Children's Musuem. Enjoying his Caffeine Free DIET Coke. Yummy. Michael is not allowed to eat Sugar, red meat, or saturated fat. For those of you who know Michael you know how much sugar he eats on a reuglar basis. He has problems with his cholesterol and tryglyercide levels. So he is on a very restricted diet. Needless to say He is losing weight and I have barely lost any. It is very unfair.

Brenzley, Elisia, Jared and Makenna. Easter Sunday at papa's house

Jared Celebrated his 4th birthday on the 18th. He was so excited. He declared it his birthday all week long.

An Update on the kids

2008-03-14T18:26:00.001-05:00

I thought I would give you all an update on the kids. Jared had his 4 year check up this week (yes he will be 4). He is going very well. Weighing in at 38 lbs. and 40 inches. He has to start speech therapy because we still have a very hard time understanding him.

Elisia is doing so much better. She had Roseola this week and is still contagious but she is on the up swing again. She is a ball full of energy. She loves Dora the Explorer. In fact, she is now called Dora and Jared is called Diego. They call each other that all the time. She loves being outside. All the kids got to go outside yesterday and today and play in the fresh air.

Quinn just had her 6 month check up and she is growing like a weed. She weighs in at 17.5 lbs and is 29 inches long. She started rolling over both ways this week and it is a whole new world now. The kids call her Quinny Quinny Pooh pooh. She loves playing with toys now and everything is going into the mouth. I will post some pictures later

I should've knocked on wood

2008-03-12T10:15:00.000-05:00

I spoke too soon. The last of us finally has the flu. Poor Elisia, she is miserable. The one positive thing is she is sleeping in till 9, instead of getting up at 6. Yeah!!!!! Jared and I are tired of being in the house. Quinn is busy learning new things her body can do. It is so much fun to watch them learn and figure out how to do things. She trying so hard to roll over from back to front, however she has yet to have a success and she is getting frustrated.

On the bright side the sun is shining today and the snow is starting to melt. I hope spring is really coming and not just a tease from Mother Nature.

The sickness is Gone

2008-03-06T07:59:00.002-06:00

The infamous Christmas Eve Picture of the kids in their new pj's...

My three big kids in the greatest toy ever. A GREAT BIG BOX!!!!

Hurray!!! We are finally all healthy. Last week Michael had bronchitis, ear infections, a sinus infection, and abceses on his tonsils. Quinn and I had the flu the same week. Jared is finally feeling better today, he had the flu too. At least the sun has been out for the past couple of days. I am just praying that Elisia doesn't get sick(knock on wood).

I have had a busy day cleaning the house, I am finally feeling 100%. What a mess and the laundry never seems to end. The kids are dying without the television. Michael and I are trying to figure out how we are going to get to florida in November with three kids. We are looking at going to Disney World....YEs we are nuts.

My kids do love each other

2008-03-06T07:59:00.001-06:00

There are many days that I wonder whether my kids love each other. Jared and Elisia fight (yes already) over toys. They now have their own rooms and have learned that they can tell each other to get out. Then the other day Jared grabbed Elisia by the hand and they started dancing

with each other. That moment melted my heart.

Jared Loves Quinn so much. He would do anything to help her and anything to make her happy. He even shared his favorite bunny with her one morning before church.

I had the opprotunity to go to Time Out For Women that desert books hosts. It was an amazing day. Not only did I not have my kids for a day, but I was spiritually fed. I have been having a really hard time lately. I feel like I have too much on my plate to worry about. This by far has been the hardest winter of my life. between Quinn's many doctors appt., my dad battling cancer, Michael being gone a lot, and my constant battle with being overweight. I have just had enough. I have felt very much alone in a world where i have a family that loves me and friends that care about me. This past Saturday was exactly what I needed. I had forgotten that the Lord is there for me whenever I need him. He is waiting to listen and waiting to bless me . I have been trying really hard this week to not need to have the control over everything in my life. It was nice to have these truths brought back to my attention.

Home at last

2008-02-11T18:42:00.001-06:00

I took the kids to Indiana for a few days to be with grandparents since Michael has been snow plowing on the midnight shift for 2 weeks now going on his third. My friend detests winter and I am right along with her. The bitter cold has to go. We are doing well. Jared is finally pooping in the potty....He is so stubborn but has finally decided that is better than having an accident. He is growning up so fast. the other day he was peeing and singing I am a child of God. He loves that song. He bore his own little testimony in sacrament meeting the a couple of sundays ago. He has no fear of anything. This past weekend Michael finally had a break so he came down to Indiana and we stayed in a hotel just the two fo us. It was the greatest night. We were able to talk to each other without the interuption of little voices. It was a night needed and I think we are going to do it once a month.
I find it very interesting how life has taken michael and i on many different paths in this life. Without the gospel I am afraid we would not do well. I am learning that you have to step back and look at the whole picture before you analyze and worry about it. We are working very hard right now to live the gospel everyday and to teach our children the importance of the gospel. I am glad we start teaching our children when they are little otherwise it probably wouldn't be received very well.

We have also recently learned how it feels to have advice that we have learned from thrown in our faces . I guess that is part of being the oldest in both our families but it is hard and now I am coming to understand why our parents still want to help us with their own experiences. so we can learn and then choose for ourselves. I think that is how Heavenly Father must feel when we make a choice that is wrong. He thinks if only you had heeded my counsel. Thank goodness there is repentance. I just wish family member s would not get upset and offended when we try to share what we have learned in a peaceful way. I seemed to have just put a lot out there but I think a lot can relate to it.

Winter Blues

2008-01-23T10:41:00.000-06:00

Why is it that I live in the midwest? The winter blues always hit me in January and continue through March. This year seems worse than most years have been. This artic chill can depart anytime. It makes it really hard because the kids have cabin fever, but they have colds so we really can'y go anywhere.

The monotany of life really seems to be getting to me right now. I feel like everyday is the same. I know I have the power to change that, but you can onl do so much in the cold winter with sick kids.

Jared is in Primary now and loving every minute of it. He talks about is all the time and he is finally pooping in the potty chair.....He is also learning to express his feelings. This week when he was sick he kept saying "Mommy, I am sick. I need to lay down." or "My tummy hurts" What a relief that he can tell me how he feels.

Elisia wants to potty train. We tried yesterday and she had a pretty good day. What she really wants to do is wear her dora underwear. We will see what happens. That would definatly make my life a lot easier.

Quinn finally rolled over from tummy to back. She is also learning to self soothe. What a hard thing to do. I have to let her cry and she hates it and I hate. She has started baby food and she is so much happier with a full tummy.

Who would have thought how difficult it is to not eat sugar. I intake so much more than I thought I did. It was going really well for a week and then the cold hit and when I don't leave the house that is when it seems to be the worst.

New Year

2008-01-12T10:43:00.000-06:00

Christmas has come and gone. Let me say I now know how my parents felt all those years I was sick on Christmas. Jared had a nasty cold and pink eye, there's nothing like going to the doctor on Christmas eve. Michael ended up going to work so the kids and I watched movies all day.

Here is an update on Quinn. She went back to the ENT (ear, nose, throat) specialist and he gave the go ahead to see an audiologist. However the very next day she had tons of fluid draining out of her ear. So another round of antibiotics and ear drops for her.

We had a family trip to the dentist this past week. It was the first time for Jared and Elisia. Needless to say it went better than I thought. Elisia wouldn't open her mouth. I had to hold Jared, while she looked in and counted teeth and he actually let her clean them. He did such a good job and afterwards he was really proud of himself for being a big boy. He is getting better at the potty situation. He has gone 2 out of 4 nights with no accidents!!!! YEAH.. However I am failing with getting a BM in the toliet. We are reading a lot of books on potty training. I am hoping that will help.

I am trying to give up sugar for my new years resolution. It has been difficult and there have been some days that I have to have chocolate. But I am feeling better and hopefully this will help in my goal to lose weight.

I was Elfed

2007-12-20T14:11:00.000-06:00

Try this it is funny. It takes time to load. so just wait

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1605070976

Christmas is upon us.

2007-12-19T07:53:00.000-06:00

I am getting really excited about Christmas this year. We had an early christmas this past weekend with my dad and Cindy and the kids were so much fun to watch. they actually kind of took turns opening presents. It was a lot of fun

Jared is finally starting to poop in the potty. for those of you who don't know he pretty much refused to do it. He thought his underwear was a great place. One day Jared says to me bunny needs to go potty. I thought this was really clever of him.

My kids love dancing to Christmas music. Elisia always asks for moosic. She loves dancing and running around the house. Jared on the other hand is my singer. He tries really hard to sing. His favorite songs are "where is thumpkin" and "life is a highway" the rascal flatts version. He loves the movie Cars and "the mack song" as he calls it is his favorite.

It always seems like we have problems with cars. Michaels car has been in the shop because it needs a new transmission. this is the 3rd car of ours to need a new transmission in two years. Michael is on his 2nd car this year alone. There are days I wish we didn't have cars and all the trouble that comes with them. Sorry just a little venting.

tired of cold

2007-12-06T22:43:00.000-06:00

I am so tired of being cold. Our house has no heat right now:( Luckily the bottom apartment's heat is coming through a little, man it is cold. I wish it would stop snowing. Yes Michael has to work again tonight.

Jared had a lot of fun playing in the snow that was falling the other day. I think this might be the first year that he will enjoy the snow, because he has decided we wants to wear gloves. I love having strong willed children.

I am avoiding folding laundry. I has realized that I hate doing laundry, believe it or not I used to enjoy doing laundry. Now I feel like it is a never ending pile.

I have been printing a bunch of pictures off the computer today. Now the hope is that I will actually sit down and scrapbook these pictures. I just need to find the time.

2007-12-05T18:40:00.000-06:00

I find it amazing just how quickily my kids grow up. This is Quinn who was born on September 11, 2007. She is almost 3 months old and I can hardly believe it. She is a great third baby and has a smile that will melt you.

This is Elisia's 2 year picture. Every time we told her to put her arms down she put them up. So we tried" Put your arms up" and Elisia says, "Catch them, Catch them, Catch them." She was trying to catch stars like Dora the Explorer does. Finally I decided why fight it.

Today Elisia decided that wshe wanted to use the potty. Mind you she just turned 2 in November. I wasn't going to discourage it so I let her sit on her potty chair and she was eading a book. She tries so hard to be like Jared and Jared is going to the bathroom now. I would love to have only one kid in diapers, although I am not sure what I would do with myself.

My mom always told me that I deserve a child just like me and well I have two of them. Today Jared was trying to go poopy (my life really focuses around the potty right now:( and he threw a toy out of the bathroom and hit the wall. I told him we do not throw toys and he looks at me and sticks his tongue out and yes I do. Isn't it a little early for a back talker.

Snowing In Chicago

2007-12-04T22:38:00.000-06:00

It is 10:38 pm and I am watching the falling snow trying to stay awake, so I can wake up Michael, because he has to work at Midnight. Quinn is crying again, nights are still really hard for her, I should say getting to sleep is hard for her. Looks like it is time to step away from the snow globe scene outside and go back to reality.

First time blogger

2007-12-04T22:26:00.000-06:00

I must say that creating a blog is a lot easier than I assumed it would be.