Bike for Haiti Update

This weekend, my precious Emma joined Holland and his friends and biked around Lake Padden to raise money for the people of Haiti.

There was a good turn out, several families joined in. You can see our crew on the far left of this photo. I think there were a total of eight kids on bikes raising money, and of course, the families came along, too.
I had the twins in the double stroller and Drew in the front-pack while Marty went along side Emma and helped her along. She is not the best at biking (since we live on a gravel driveway and a road that no parent in their right mind would ever let their child ride a bike near) so the hilly trail was something that she needed assistance on from time to time.

I stopped partway around to get this shot, it was beautiful. It's amazing to think that we all went around the entire lake, and my five year old just kept going. She never said she wanted to stop, or that she was tired, or anything. She was such a trooper, we were so proud of her.

Here she is approaching the finish line. My amazing girl, making a difference in the world.

I am proud to say that Emma raised $175, and the whole Holland bikes for Haiti event brought in over $1,700. Way to go, kids! This is amazing as it was an event that was thought up by a four-year-old. How far can $1,700 go in Haiti? I cannot even imagine.

Emma was thrilled at the amount she was able to earn. She asked me, "Mommy? Do you think it's enough to build a roof?" I don't know, baby, but I bet it's close.

If you ever feel that you can't make a difference in the world, think again. This just proves that anyone can so anything, if you just put your mind to it.

Great job, Emma! We are so proud of you!

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday!

As always, this was created by MckMama, head on over to her blog to see what she and everyone else have NOT been doing this week!

It has NOT been three weeks since I have done a NOT Me! Monday! There is NO WAY I would neglect one of my favorite topics for that long because of sickness/tiredness/overall laziness.

We got our tax return a couple of weeks ago, and I had a blast spending some of the money. I planned a huge shopping day, complete with detailed lists and budgets and everything. I actually do love that type of organization. It's just the remembering what day it is and doing the right thing on the right day stuff that gets me.

My first stop needed to be Costco, so I threw a cooler in the back of the van to keep stuff cold while I finished the rest. I had a reasonably-sized list, I did NOT buy so much stuff that I truly struggled to fit it all in the van. I did NOT spend a few minutes staring into the van and wondering if I would have to bungee-cord a case of diapers to the top. I did NOT end up with two cases of diapers on the front seat next to me, meaning when I met up with my hubby after work he had to put them in his car just to fit himself in mine.

My next stop was Walmart, which is a place I detest. However, we needed a new toilet seat, and the prices there cannot be beat. I was NOT so over-eager upon leaving, that I exercised my fabulous push-button-back-hatch-opener-thingy while we were still a few cars away from our van, so that it would be completely open by the time I got there. NOPE, I didn't! So there was NO WAY I was holding hands in a nice long chain of kids with Drew and a toilet seat in my arm, and about twenty feet away when the hatch started to open, quickly revealing that the load had shifted in transit and the cooler was leaning on the back gate.

I mean, how horrid would that be, if I were walking along and could watch the cooler sloooowly tilting further and further, and be powerless to stop it, until the door opened completely and the cooler dumped out of the van, the lid flew open and then it rolled a few feet, spilling all my food across the parking lot of WallyWorld. I'm so glad that did NOT happen to me. Because if it did, and the Costco-sized carton of eggs were in the cooler, and therefore cracked open, spilling suddenly-scrambled eggs all over my packages of salmon burgers, meatballs and cheese, I just might have cried right there in the parking lot.

That was a close one. Glad that was NOT me!

And since it WASN'T me, I don't have to worry about the fact that the cooler's lid snapped off on impact, leaving behind a broken, egg-covered mess of a cooler.

And since that still WASN'T me, I certainly would NOT have been so mad when I got home that I unpacked the cooler, washed off the contents, and left the egg-soaked broken mess outside on the patio, contemplating just throwing the whole thing out for so long that the egg inside started to stink. NOPE, I'm so very glad that was NOT me!!

What have you NOT been doing this last week (or three?)

Emma Bikes For Haiti

I try to expose my children to life in our world, just enough that they can see exactly how blessed we are, and how important it is to help others. We have been watching some videos and looking at some pictures since the quake, and Emma seems to get it, as much as an extremely sheltered American five-year-old can. Yes, she is sheltered. I am sheltered. I think we are all sheltered, we have no idea what it is like to be truly poverty stricken.

I watched the new "We Are The World" video with her the other day. As usual, I cried at the images of the Hatians lifting their hands up and dancing with joy. I paused the video at certain scenes, telling her about how all the buildings and houses were destroyed in the earthquake and now these wonderful people lived under tents and had very little food. She listened intently, and took it all into her tender little soul.

Later, she asked me to play the video for her again. I started it, and she called Grant up to sit by her. As I walked through the kitchen, I could hear her telling him about it. I cried again.

"Look Grant, see here? They only get this bowl of cereal and that's all they get to eat all day. And these tents are their houses. All their houses got squished. They don't have anything left."

Suddenly, she noticed me, and started whispering to him, and I was unable to hear.


We know of a four year old boy named Holland who is going to ride his bike in his own fundraiser for the people of Haiti. As soon as Emma heard about it, she wanted to go, too.

"Mommy, we can raise money and send it to them so they can buy stuff since they don't have anything!" The pride and excitement in her eyes, the ability to help in a seemingly impossible situation is amazing.

My mommy heart is bursting with pride to tell you that this Sunday, Emma is going to ride her bike two and a half miles around Lake Padden to raise money for the people of Haiti.

She is joining Holland and about twenty other kids that have gotten involved as well. If you would like more information on this amazing event, go to Holland's website by clicking HERE. If you would like to donate, you can e-mail me at tiffanileone(at)yahoo(dot)com and we can work out the details.

And if you live in our area, feel free to come on by and show your support at Lake Padden on Sunday, from 2-4.

I'll be the one crying.

Adding Another Notch On My Mother-Of-The-Year belt

Ahhh, Valentines day.

I remember loving Valentines day as a kid. The school parties were great, and I LOVED handing out Valentines and getting some in return. Emma has had parties at her pre-school before, but this year was her first real-school Valentines day party.

She was so excited.

They sent a letter home in her pee-chee folder a couple weeks beforehand, and we had been diligently working on her Valentines, a few each day, ever since. Valentine's day was on Sunday, so I just assumed the party was on the Friday prior.

You can imagine my sinking-in-the-pit-of-my-stomach horror-type-feeling when my darling daughter got home from school on Wednesday wearing a heart-shaped crown and carrying a bag of Valentines.

I missed it completely.

A beautiful stack of Valentines, just sitting on the kitchen counter, waiting to be delivered to her classmates and the party went on without them.

I was devastated.

Emma was fine.

"It's OK, mom," she told me. "Teacher says we can bring them next year."

"Next year, or next school day, baby? Did we miss it completely?"

"Ummm... maybe next school day. No, I think next year. Yup, it's next year. Don't worry, mommy, I can just save these till next year." Her sweet smile tried to cheer me up. She could tell how upset I was, and she wanted to make it right. That girl has a tender heart, I tell you.

"Sweetheart, next year you won't be in the same class as some of these kids. Try and remember what your teacher said."

"I think she said next week. Yup, it's next week. for sure."

Turns out Friday was a teacher workday, so no school. The bad thing is, remember my big beautiful calendar I bought to try and be more organized? Yup, it has "No School" written in on Friday. I didn't put it together. The letter that came home clearly stated the party was on Wednesday, I just assumed it was the school day before Valentines day, which, technically, it was.

I gotta start writing a lot more stuff on my calendar.

Chuck E Jeez-can-I-get-a-beer?

For the longest time, I did not understand why they sell beer at Chuck E Cheese.

Then I had four kids.

I get it now.

We went there this past weekend for a birthday party. I am not a fan of the place, it is hard to keep track of four kids when there are only two adults and all four kids want to go different directions. The kids love it there, and every parent I know hates it.

I know, some of you say, "Just let them roam free! That's what Chuck E Cheese is all about!" If that is your philosophy, I respect our difference in opinion. Let me know next time I see you, and I'll smack you a good one.

It's the roaming free mentality that makes me want to drink large amounts. But I don't have time, since I am chasing my kids, and yours will eventually trip me and I would spill my beer.

So not cool.

It was the unsupervised one-year-old who was at his own one-year-old party that thought it was a good idea to climb up on Emma's Skee Ball machine while she was trying to play. I tried to gently pull him down, saying kindly, "Oh, don't climb up there sweetie, it's not safe!" and figured the parents had just lost track of him for a minute and would be coming soon. Nope. Ten minutes later I simply blocked him with my leg and told Emma to finish her game quick so we could get out of there.

It's the unsupervised children that really get to me, but not quite as much as the unruly-yet-still-supervised ones. Like when my daughter was riding the horse, and a little girl of about four tried to climb up on the horse with her while the ride was going. Emma told her to stop, but the girl insisted that she wanted to ride, so she proceeded to pinch her hard in the back in an attempt to get her off the ride. And the mother was standing right there, watching the whole thing, and never said a word. Marty said he scolded the girl, and was about two seconds away from telling the mother that she needed to control her child or he would teach his to start kicking.

Oh, and there were the kids from another birthday party that were rummaging through the gift bags at our party, checking out the goods. And their parents were watching. And didn't care.

This whole thing really scares me. And not just because I feel that I will become an alcoholic if we ever have to return to that horrible place, but what are we teaching our kids here? What is going to happen to these children that have no boundaries, no respect, and no self control? I am terrified that these kids will be going to school with my kids, and that they will be their friends and peer influences.

And what will happen to then as adults? If they have no boundaries as kids, if they have no concept of cause and effect or consequences, the government will provide consequences for them. Should we start clearing land for more jails now? Because people don't realize, in an attempt to let kids be kids, they are ruining any chance of them having a life as an adult. Period.

OK, I'll get down off my soapbox now. I'll continue to teach my kids the difference between right and wrong and to respect other people's belongings and personal boundaries.

And I'll avoid Chuck E Cheese for a while. Honestly, if their beer is as good as their pizza, I'd pass anyway.

Proof my children are severely abused

Sorry for the lack of blogging, Drew now has croup and an ear infection. I have some sort of nasty yuckiness that is making my head all swirly and I'm weak and tired and my legs are cramping. I'm trying to drink lots of water to get rid of the leg cramps, don't worry!

I'll be back with tons of fun news later this week, but for now, here's a little video of what happens when I leave the kids at Holly's house. Yup, Drew gets shot with a nerf gun. Auntie Amy is the one doing the shooting, you can hear her laughter in the background, and you can see Grant running around getting the nerf thingys.

When the cat's away, the mice will... well, shoot the baby.

Go HERE to see the video of my child being terrorized. I mean, you can just tell he's completely distraught by the whole event. Poor kid.

Friday Facts

Quick update: I took Emma to the Dr last night after she had been complaining of ear pain all day, and started running a slight fever. The doc took a look, and said he couldn't see the eardrum with all the wax build up, so the nurse needed to irrigate her ears.

It was nasty.

Picture a clump of earwax the size of a pencil eraser. Now, picture four of those clumps in one ear. I almost lost my dinner, I am so very thankful I am not pregnant or I certainly would have. The other non-hurty ear had two clumps like that, plus a lot of loose goo. Sorry for the gross-out factor of this, but this is my blog and I get to share whatever I want! HeeHee!

The nurse told Emma that she has so much wax that she could send it all home with her and Mom could almost make a candle out of it. I politely told the nurse that that was fine, but she would then need to clean my vomit off of her shoes. She laughed.

Anyway, Emma has an ear infection, and for some reason she makes earwax that is so thick it cannot drain on it's own. There is no way to clean it out with a q-tip, that would actually make it worse. I got prescriptions for antibiotics and numbing stuff and something to keep her wax loose so this doesn't happen again.

Moral of the story? I now feel bad about how many times I have told her lately, "I know you can hear me, and I expect you to listen the first time." And then there's, "If you want, I can call Santa and have him bring you new ears instead of presents, since your ears appear to be broken." Oh, and, "Emma, stop shouting. I am right here, you do not need to yell for me to hear you." I am expecting some flabbergasting behavior issues will go away now that she can hear again.

Thankful for: I am thankful for my extended family. For the fact that when we need car repairs, we can easily borrow a car and not be stranded for a while. That we have a wonderful support network here that helps us out whenever needed, and that we are always here for each other. Our family is fabulous, and I am so thankful that we do not have family drama. We have our differences, mind you, but we all get along and whenever there is an issue, we work it out and move on. Time with family is fun and cherished, and not a time to dread or simply survive. I am so thankful for my family!

Looking forward to: Valentine's day! My fabulous sister-in-law Holly has offered to take my kids overnight so we can get out for a date night. My brother-in-law works on an oil barge, so he is gone for half the year, and is gone right now, so she tries to help out other people when she can. She had a great post on Valentine's day on her blog, you can read it by going here. Truly, this day is about love, and you can show love to others whether you are in a relationship or not. Holly is a great example of someone who truly knows how to show love. Thank you, sister!

What's for dinner tonight: Tonight we are going to Chuck E. Cheese for a birthday party tonight. Dinner will be the fabulous pizza they serve there. There is a good chance I will have a sandwich at home beforehand, although I am not "dieting" in the traditional way, I have no desire to consume that many calories on something so nasty.

Listening to: The kids watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Drew had a rough night last night, so he went down for a nap at 8:15 this morning. Yeah, that kind of rough. I want a nap, too!

Missing: Ben's Ted has been found, now Grant's has been missing since last night. Grant's is usually easy to find, I'm sure he just set it somewhere random and it will show up by later today. I know, famous last words.

Wanting/needing: A date night with my hubby. Two days, baby!

Quote of the Week: Those of you who follow Still seeking Sanity on Facebook will have already heard this one, but I wanted to put it here as well. What's that? You didn't know this blog was on Facebook?!? Well, go HERE and become a fan!

Anywhoo, Earlier this week Grant woke up sobbing from a bad dream. The next morning, Marty asked him about it. "Grant, did you have a bad dream last night, buddy?" Grant looked so solemn and serious as he replied, "A monster took my dream." Ben, who was standing there as well, piped up, "A monster di nit take my dream. I put it in my pocket." And then he opened up his pocket to show Marty where he had put his dream to keep it safe from the monster.

Later, I talked to Grant about it again, and he basically said that he had had a bad dream, but then a monster came and took the bad dream away so he could not remember it anymore. I tend to occasionally forget that my kids love monsters and that they are the good guys sometimes.

Have a fabulous weekend, and Happy Valentines day!