Lots of words and no pictures

Yes, I still remember this blog (sometimes). I think about writing quite often. This winter has been tiring. Someone was sick in our family for about 2 months. It went a little like this.... stomach bug, cold, pink eye, fevers, cold, coughs, stomach bug, colds, teething, fevers. Pick and choose who had what. Each one of us had something at some point. Quinn won the award for most puking incidents. I won the award for longest sore throat and Reese won for slowest teether ever. Hopefully, we caught every virus this year, so the rest of the Winter we should feel great!

Just to catch you up on what is going on in the Richard house, I will try to summarize the past month.

~ Reese is almost a year old. I don't believe it. I am sad, however it is always exciting to watch your kids grow and become more independent.

~ It is cold outside. We have had our share of pj days lately. Why not? Some days I put normal clothes on when Mark gets home so I look more put together. He then puts his pj's on when he gets home. Thankful for a husband who gets it.

~ Quinn asked me what God's middle name was.

~ Reese is getting 4 teeth right now. Her gums have been swollen for a month and only 1 tooth has popped through. Poor girl.

~ I made some homemade chocolate cake. While eating it Riley says, "Mom, can I have the ingredients for this cake so when I am a mommy I can make it?". Quinn follows her statement by saying, "Mommy, when I am a daddy I am going to come to your house to eat your cake then go home". So typical of their personalities.

~ Quinn has informed me several times in the last couple of weeks that he does not like people and does not want friends. I think Mark has told me that before. No wonder they are such good buddies.

~ I love the show "Downton Abbey". I look forward to watching it all week long. Too bad they only show 6 episodes a year. What is that about?

~ We painted our kitchen, living room, and hallways. It took about 18 hours. I can't believe people choose to do that as a job.

~ Reese has been standing on her own the past couple of days. I am thinking she will be walking in about a month.

~ Nap time has been hard. We are trying to figure out when the older 2 should wake in the morning and go to bed at night so that they will still take a nap.

~ Last week, I decided to be productive. I made a ton of cinnamon rolls and homemade chicken broth. The kids watched movies from 8:00am to 1:00pm. I gave them giant carrots to eat all morning. Great way to get your kids to eat veggies. Neither of them are huge fans of carrots.

~ Our good friend Marc came over one night to change the brakes in our van. He asked Quinn to help. At first, he was too shy to go in the garage, then I told him he could use tools. He ran to get his shoes. Marc was so patient with him. I am pretty sure Quinn asked a million questions. It made his day and he still talks about all the screwdrivers Mr. Marc had!

~ I came to the realization that the shopping carts with the built in bench are a bad idea for our family. Riley and Quinn fought on the bench the entire time while I had the toughest time steering it through the aisles. Oh, and Reese was not a fan of being so far from me. Just picture us. It was a mess.

~ I turned on music today and Reese literally laughed so hard out of excitement she snorted. I swear that girl is going to be a musician.

I am so thankful for this little family of ours despite these long winter days!

Blueberry Sucker

Nap time has been rough in our house lately. I remember the good old days (like 3 months ago) when all 3 children were safely snug in their beds in the afternoon and this momma took a nap and drank hot cocoa. Recently nap time has become a battle of the wills for an hour and a half. I have daily been spending that much needed quiet time putting a little boy back in his bed over and over.

I have tried so many discipline methods and have been consistent to the point of exhaustion. Today I needed rest. He needed rest. I said, "Quinn, if you stay in your bed and rest today, I will give you candy." He said, "Mom, I want a blueberry sucker". I said, "ok".

Quinn stayed in bed and slept for an hour and a half. I didn't hear a peep. I did not have to get up one time to put him back to bed. When he woke up he asked immediately where his sucker was. I let him eat it in the living room.

Soon we will go back to the grind of sleeping without a candy incentive, but for today (and maybe tomorrow),an hour an a half of rest was totally worth bribing my child. I'm cool with that.

Right now my 11-month-old is playing with a plastic bag. I guess I am  cool with that too. Totally deserve the "parent of the day" award.

Happy Birthday(s)

I can't believe this boy is looking so grown up! He was so excited to be turning 3 today! He had a special lunch with his daddy and was excited to wear his "tennis clothes" for his birthday.

This beautiful girl woke up dancing because of her excitement. She had a special lunch with her mommy. We went to a Mexican restaurant. She has a serious chips and Salsa addiction. I am willing to join her in that addiction.

We made our own pizza for dinner. You don't want to know how much pepperoni is under that cheese on Riley's pizza.

We had a Spiderman and Princess cake. We know how to party in this house.

Quinn ignored everyone's "Happy Birthday" singing by closing his eyes throughout the song. Riley loved the attention.

They were blessed with some awesome gifts from some awesome people.

Gotta love the outfit she had to wear. She made her own princess crown.

Quinton~ You bring so much energy to our family. I love that you are so strong-willed and aggressive, yet you can't say good-bye to anyone without kissing them on the lips. In a few years that may be weird, but for now, keep on kissing! Your big blue eyes and overall cuteness makes my heart melt. I love how your best friend is your daddy. In your eyes he can do no wrong. He is a great man to look up to, buddy. I can't wait to see you continue to grow!

Riley~ You bring joy to our family. You are laughing, talking, and dancing most of the day. Your love for people is inspiring. You always want to do your best at everything. I appreciate how great of a big sister you are to your siblings. I will always enjoy our shopping and Taco Bell trips. Your beauty and contagious smile are an outward reflection of your beautiful heart. I can't wait to see you continue to grow!

Happy Birthday kiddos!!!

Mom's Day Out

Every Tuesday a group of stay-at-home moms and their kids meet at 9:00am. There is no agenda, study, craft, or organized play time for the kiddos. We rotate homes and just fellowship. The kids run wild, fight, and sometimes pee all over the house. The moms talk over the chaos and drink coffee. Over the past couple years, those Tuesday mornings have meant the world to me. Its a place to go where no one cares about your sweat pants, unwashed hair, and screaming children. They all get it.

This past Saturday, some of us gathered for a "mom's day out". The kids stayed home with dad and we were able to be refreshed. We reserved a hotel room in order to sit, talk, play games, and eat unhealthy, but delicious food.

We even all put on our "mom suits" so we could relax in the hotel hot tub. We showed each other our beautifully imperfect stretchmarks and scars. These 7 bodies have birthed 23 babies.

Motherhood is hard. These mommies wake up early and go to bed late. Our current salary is $0. We all chose this path and we all understand that the sacrifice is worth it. We also understand that the sacrifice means many lonely days. Days all of us would love to just take a break from the laundry, the discipline, the lack of sleep. Days we all long for a lunch break, a nap, and a "thank-you". Thankfully, God gave us the rest we needed at just the right time. Of course, rest for a woman can include a little shopping. We tried on jewelry and clothes from the clearance rack. We then ate a quiet lunch out.

Rest can also include a few intense games of Dutch Blitz. We discovered a few of us are a little competitive.

I am so thankful for these ladies and the encouragement they bring. A couple of our husbands said we needed to do this more. I might just take them up on that!

Date with my little man

I knew we needed a date last week. It is always so easy to take Riley on special trips. She loves shopping and taco bell. The other day I decided it was time for Quinn to go on a shopping trip with me. I only needed a few things so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to take him somewhere alone.

The trip was more difficult then I was expecting. During our short trip, his foot became stuck in the bottom of the cart, I ran him over twice with the cart, he screamed, and licked the beef jerky in the check out lane. Once we made it safely in the car, I knew it was time for a date. Not a shopping date, but a good old fashion bowling date.

He has never been bowling and was excited when he heard there was a ball and special bowling shoes. Once we arrived, I picked out a ball for him. After my competitive son only knocked over a couple pins on his first try, he proceeded to go get his own ball. He told me the one I picked for him didn't work. Of course, his worked better.

Gotta love the hair. I tried to comb it. I promise.

I then bought him a cookie that was bigger then his head. I was really hungry and kept asking for some. He continued to tell me no.

He finally decided to share after my many pleas. He was positive this was all I needed.

Here was his final score.

He was carried out of the building kicking and screaming Quinn style. He wanted to stay. I guess I don't blame him. Who wouldn't want to bowl and eat giant cookies all day?

Reese 9 months

Reese is a breath of fresh air. I can't fully explain why I feel that way about her, but she just brings something so new and different to our family. I love how all my kids are different and unique. My older two have a lot of energy, personality, and intensity. Reese is more sensitive and go with the flow, far from extreme.

She just started sleeping through the night more often. She goes to bed around 8 and will sleep until 7:30. She prefers no morning nap, but will sleep 2-3 hours in the afternoon. She is doing well sleeping with her big sister even though Riley has to talk herself to sleep.

She is definitely growing. She has not been measured or weighed recently, but as with my other two, it seems she has an abnormal amount of growth spurts. She has a  6-7oz bottle 4 times a day and has decided baby food is not for her. Her favorite foods are toast and peas. Here she is lying next to a sweet little almost-2-month-old. I can't believe she was ever that small. She was not happy we force her to stay still.

She is crawling everywhere and is pulling herself up on furniture, chairs, and unfortunately toilets. She still loves to be held, kissed, and hugged. I'm ok with that. She gets pretty fussy in the evenings, but is mostly content and happy the rest of the day.

She loves baths. A bath can make her crying instantly turn to laughing. She also enjoys ripping books, playing with stuffed animals, following her siblings, and listening to music.


When one of her siblings is having a tantrum in their room, she crawls to their door and "sings" loudly in order to reflect their crying. Tonight she sat by Quinn's door. He was screaming loudly and kicking his door. Here she is smiling and singing, just wanting to be a close to her out of control brother.

So thankful to have this little girl as part of our family! I can hardly believe her 1st birthday is drawing near.

Interview Questions

No, I don't have an interview. I took Riley to buy some gifts for an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. It is a really awesome way to teach kids to think about others during the Christmas season. We were given a questionnaire that Riley could fill out to give to the little girl who will be receiving her box. Her first answer made me laugh. Then I started asking Quinn the same questions and realized I needed to document a few of their answers.

{Riley}
Q: What Country do you live in?
A: "Africa"

Q: Why do you love Jesus?
A: "Because he died for me so I could go to Heaven." (wasn't expecting that one)

{Quinn}
Q: How old are you
A: "I don't know."

Q: What is your favorite toy to play with?
A: "Toys"

Q: What do you like to do when you go outside?
A: "Fly a kite" (He has never done that)

Q: Why do you love Jesus?
A: "Because I want to give him a toy"

Q: How many brothers do you have?
A: "2"

In conclusion, I think I need to teach Quinn some things... although he is more interested in balls, running, and fixing things. I love that boy!