I should own a piece of CareNow

Had our 74th visit to CareNow for the year today. Some kid pushed Adalae down at school and broke her collarbone.
She is doing fine and sleeping now. Please say a quick prayer for quick healing.

Lessons Learned

We had a fabulous time in Phoenix this year for Christmas. Thade opens yet another video game.



















Adalae at the park.


























Reed catapults from the slide.




















Grandpa with his baby girls.





















Santa brought Adalae a dollhouse.
























Two days in a row we attempted to take a family picture. Out of 1200 pictures, we got this one good photo of Adalae.

























After another 600 attempts, this was the best family picture we got. Yes, I am "grabbing" Reed, and yes, at this point I wanted to be strangling "grabbing" him about 6 inches higher.

























On a side note, my dishwasher broke the week before we left for Phoenix. I actually had to go to the store to buy dish soap and a scrubber. On a good note, I refuse to cook dinner until it's fixed.

On Wednesday, we drove up to Flagstaff and rode the Polar Express to the North Pole (or Santa's Hole if you ask Reed) and back. There was so much snow! The kids loved it.


























Reed calls All Aboard!




Reed and Mommy.


























Rustin sings "FIVE GOLDEN RINGS"



















Adalae and Uncle RyRy





















Now, in the spirit of giving, I'll share with you my top 10 lessons learned for 2010.

LESSON ONE:
There are 4 stages of Santa for kids. Three of those stages are seen here in our 2008 Santa photo. Stage one: I don't know Santa from Adam and would really sit on anyone's lap without a fuss (Adalae). Stage two: TERROR (Reed). Stage four: Why does my mom make me sit on this fat guys lap when I know she will be the one to bring my ITouch. (Thade)


























In our 2009 photo, you can see that Adalae has moved from the stage of blissful unawareness to the TERROR stage. Reed is in stage 3: I love Santa and know he brings me cool stuff so I'll sit and take a picture and be happy about it. Thade is now officially too cool to sit on Santa's lap.


























LESSON TWO:
Do not leave a two year old unattended with Silly Putty. Even he is busy making you a "dolphin-whale".



























LESSON THREE:
At some point for every child "family time" is just not cool anymore. Thade was not nearly as excited to receive his magical bell from Santa as the other kids were.




















LESSON FOUR:
If you are flying, taking full advantage of the carry on allowances. Even if it means your two year old also has a carry on plus one personal item. You're paying for it!

LESSON FIVE:
If you buy one kid a car, you better buy one for every other kid within the same age. PJ learned the hard way this year and had to buy Reed his own car as an early birthday present to prevent he and Adalae from killing each other.





















Lesson five continued: Even if it's a Barbie, your son will want to play with it.


























LESSON SIX:
Don't offer your kid a drink just so they will leave you alone because they WILL take you up on the offer. Good thing I never offered them my wine.

LESSON SEVEN:

Oxyclean removes sharpie from the carpet. Ajax removes sharpie from hardwood floors and wooden tables.

LESSON EIGHT:

When you are feeling that all hope is lost and your child will NEVER fall asleep, alas, they will fall asleep (although likely at the most inopportune time)

LESSON NINE:

Last but certainly not least. Don't buy cheap diapers. I learned this the hard way tonight when I took Adalae pants off and her diaper and everything included fell off along with them. Here is the aftermath. The poop in between the cushions was especially fun to clean up.

LESSON TEN:

Thank God everyday for the blessings He has bestowed upon us!

Fine print: This post took me 2 hours because blogger is awful. After all that, you can see the issues with spacing that wouldn't correct, etc. Please let me know if you are aware of an easier blog hosting site. It would be great if it was compatible with Word 2007s blog posting capability. Otherwise, I don't know if I can do this again!!

I'm becoming terrible at this

Wow, I can't believe it's been 4 months since my last post. Actually, I've been gently reminded by several family members and friends so I have to admit I'm fully aware of my negligence. It has been a busy fall and winter (is it winter yet?). All I know is it's cold and I'm counting the days until we will be in Phoenix. And then I will start counting the days until spring.

Because I could write a book about the last few months in the Gradke household and I know I realistically only have your attention for about 20 seconds, here are some pictures to ooh and ahh over. As you with kids know, picking out pictures is no easy feat. Most of my pictures look like this:

Thade's first day of Jr. High. His football team went almost undefeated (only lost 1 game) and he made the basketball team! He also is in an AP Math class and making good grades. We are very proud!

We've attended a few sporting events. My least favorite: The Rangers (I hate baseball)

And my favorite, the suite at Cowboys Stadium. Not that I necessarily love football, but the convienence of an all you eat buffet and air conditioning can certainly make anything fun.

Last weekend we went to see "Ice" at the Gaylord Texan. It was 9 degrees in there. BRRRR.

I'll throw this picture in for those that are stressed out about Reed choking Adalae in Pic #1. They do have their rare moments of peace.

Some museum in Dallas.

Halloween. Adalae the parrot:

Reed AKA "Buzz Whiteyear"

Thade AKA "Cereal Killer" and his friends, Noelle and Carli

So, Reed has decided he doesn't need a nap anymore. He's only 2! I still lay him down, praying it's a phase, but after 5 months of no naps I should realize it's a lost cause. This is how we find him around 4pm on no nap days:

My future's so bright......

Happy 30th Rustin. Welcome to the club.

Today is Rustin's birthday. We have been celebrating for 2 weeks. Last weekend Shayne, Amy, and Carter came to visit. They stayed with us on Friday night.

So, you know how there are times that you think your child might have an evil streak? I happen to have the proof.

(Carter in the background. Doesn't he look hungry?)

Saturday, I had a surprise gathering at the horse track with some of Rustin's buddies. Rustin won big so I'd say he had a good day.

This weekend we went to Surfside Beach with Josh, Alicia and their adorable kiddos - Grace and Brady. Jason and Hayley also came out to see us on Saturday and we had lunch with them in Galveston on Sunday.

Josh, Grace and Brady.

Reed having some water with his sand.

The nice view from the beach house.

The not so nice view from the beach house.

Rustin and Josh.

Alicia and I.

The kite that flew for 3 days straight. And yes, that is a water slide you see there. Well, 1/2 a water slide to be accurate. Surfside has plenty of renovation left to complete since the storm. Apparently, the water situation has not been at the top of the agenda. The water was yellow and you felt dirtier after your shower than before.

The only bribe toy we had left to get the babies stopped screaming after 5 hours in the car. If any of you are still considering the purchase of the Iphone, take your 2 and 1 year old on a 6 hour car ride without it.

Adalae has quite the mullet.

The kids and I had dinner last week with Leslie and Ally at Life's A Beach in Lewisville. This place is great! They have a huge sand box, seating outside by the sand box and Dos Equis on tap. What else could you ask for?

Today, on our way back home, we stopped in at the NASA center in Houston. Personally, I thought it was overpriced and overrated, but you can't put a price on wearing out your kids so they sleep for 2 hours in the car.














After their nap in the car (Thank you God), we all needed a break so we stopped at a random Dairy Queen off I45. I had a moment that every mother fears. Reed fell in the toilet while trying to potty. I might have vomited a little in my mouth but I knew I had a Reeces Blizzard to get back to so I toughed it out.