What a Week!

Let's see . . . this week in summary: I somehow managed to lock my three kids in the car, strapped in their car seats, and had to call the police department to get them out; Drew decided to experiment with a 'new' toilet technique by taking off all of his clothes and peeing directly into our air conditioning vent; and Owen got the chance to show off his amazing fastball by chucking a golf ball into his older brother's forehead as hard as he could (note that unfortunately for Drew, he was only standing a foot away when he received this blow to the head and our Owen has quite an impressive arm for a two-year old!) Drew had a shiner on his forehead in only a matter of seconds and Dan called him a 'unicorn' because the bruise was protruding from just above his eyes. It was hilarious when Drew attempted to explain what happened to his preschool teacher the following morning. Drew said, "Miss Sherry, look at my bruise, I'm an ACORN!" It's UNICORN, Drew bear:) Sigh . . . what a week!

Check out how nicely our 'acorn' is healing!



We got the chance to enjoy our local county fair this week which is always lots of fun for the boys. The fair has tons of games and rides for the little ones, plus our boys love to see the animals and tractors. Owen particularly loves the little animals and BIG tractors - maybe our little Owie will be a farmer someday?! I look forward to the fair too because I LOVE picnic food and had been craving the nachos, hamburgers, taco salads, french fries and ice cream. Totally against my diet, but sooooo totally worth it! The boys had a ball with the rides; Drew in particular. He didn't hesitate at all and wanted to try EVERYTHING. No fear for this boy. He literally sat at the top of the ferris wheel (the little kid ferris wheel) attempting to rock his car so that it would swing back and forth for a bit of 'extra' excitement, I suppose. And after getting off of each ride, he immediately begged to get back in line and go on it again. At one point, after taking in the view of all of the rides, Drew looked up at me and said, "Mommy, I just love EVERYTHING!" It was so sweet to watch his little eyes grow with pure awe as he took it all in.

I have to head out of town this week for work. Just one night, but you'd think I was leaving for a month because I already miss the boys and can't wait to be back at home. When I told the boys that Mommy gets to fly on an airplane, of course, Drew asked if he could come too. I said that this trip was just for Mommy because she has some work to do, but he persisted and sweetly said, "When I get bigger, will you take me on an airplane too?" Sometimes, I could just eat that boy up. "Of course, Drew bear. Someday, we'll all go on an airplane. And maybe we'll go visit Mickey Mouse's house." This response earned me a BIG smile and it appeared that he was satisfied:)

Today, we got to play with sweet little Greta at Chuck E. Cheese's (for a nice, healthy lunch:)and while Daddy and Owen took their afternoon naps, Drew, Evan and I got to play outside (these two little stinkers never did go down for their naps). My Drew is such a gentleman, as soon as we went outside to play, he presented Mommy with a nice weed he plucked directly from the neighbor's yard. I just love this boy.



We had fun outside waiting for Daddy and Owen to wake up.









And of course, a Mother's favorite, when she can tell that her children actually love each other . . .







I never tire of watching them interact with each other and it warms my heart to witness their love. I hope our boys will grow up as good friends and take care of each other. My three boys . . my sweet little angels.

Happy to be a Mom

Today, I'm very happy to be a Mom.

We don't have any plans this weekend and we are so happy about it. We have the chance to play, laugh, sleep, and love on our babies. And even though we see them every night after work, for some reason, I still ache for the weekends to give me the chance to 'catch up' with my babies. I feel as though I've been separated from them for eternity and need to know every element of their days at Grandma's house or Bumblebeez during the past week. Did you play outside? Did you color? Did you share? Catch me up everything you have learned!

During our weekdays, we are very much on a schedule. And it works for us, but unfortunately, doesn't allow as much time for play as I would like. From the moment I walk in the door, Dan and I are on a mission to get the kids fed, bathed, jammied and in bed at a reasonable time, while also trying to keep the house clean (well, rather just picked up in general - who am I kidding with the word 'clean?'), grocery shop, pay bills, mow the lawn, and tend to other misc. things that pop up without losing our minds! Plus, Dan and I are determined to figure out a way to squeeze a few extra moments out of the day to improve our exercise routine and catch up with each other. While I'm happy with our routine and busy nights of coming together as a family, the weekends are a mini-vacation from the chaos that presents itself during the week and we are enjoying just that today. No schedule - just fun.

And I know that we are certainly not alone. It is pretty amazing all of the 'hats' that people wear these days. A parent. A grand-parent. A care-taker. A professional. A taxi. A repairman. A landscaper, a chef, and the list goes on and on. God is really amazing by giving us the skills and patience it requires to wear all of our hats. The ability to change a poopy diaper one minute, evaluate a complex accounting transaction the next, all the while giving us the mental capacity to worry about your son's constipation and hope that he will SOMEDAY overcome his fear of pooping on the toilet so that he can join his preschool class as an "equal in all things pottytrained!"

I know that we are amoungst many that are always charging off with our to-do lists in hand, thinking that when everything is done (which it never is) we can enjoy life. But what we do everyday is life, and our ability to step in time with our children amid the everyday stuff, such as getting out of the house in the morning, takes some organization and a lot of patience. But somehow, some way, we usually get it done.

The weekends remind me how much I love the simple, the good, the happy. But I know that without the trying, the complex, and the sad, the good just wouldn't seem as good and there would be no propeling forward...to the better us we will be every day thereafter. Here are a few photos of the simple, good, in-the-moment contentment of our last few weeks...



















I know that I may or may not be a great many things...but today, I am so incredibly happy to be a Mom. And today, like everyday, I thank God for such an opportunity.

Greta's Second Birthday

Happy 2nd Birthday to Greta! Two very quick years have gone by and here she is, already a two-year old! Aside from graduating to a 'true' toddler, Greta will get to experience the joy of becoming a big sister this year! Aunt Lauren and Uncle Dan and three very excited little boys can't wait to find out if Aunt Krissi has a boy baby or girl baby in her tummy!

Greta had a wonderful party and cleaned house with new gifts! Aside from a handful of clothes, balls, and outdoor toys, she got a great new playhouse, sandbox, handmade picnic table from Uncle Tony and a two-seater driving gator!

Of course, she had a beautiful cake . . .







and a few birthday kisses from puppy dog . . .



and of course, lots of love from Uncle Tony!



Evan had a great time at the party too (conversing with cousin Greta) . . .



until someone stuck in him a baby stroller way too small for his monsterous chubby legs!



Greta is a beautiful little girl, and with three boys of our own, we feel so lucky to have a sweet little lady in the family. Many more happy birthdays, sweet Greta Jene!

Uncle Tony

Lately, I've gotten some requests to post photos of some of the beautiful handmade creations that grace our home courtesy of our beloved Uncle Tony (my brother). Aside from being a super-fun uncle always up for wresting and chasing our boys, he happens to be a very handy young man and Drew, Owen and Evan have benefited . . . tremendously.

The first project began with the Pottery Barn Kids catalog, as many of my projects do (Fall 2008 edition). At this point, we only had Drew and Owen and even with just the two little boys, the toys began to pile up in the family room, and were literally taking over. So much so, that we decided to transform our spare bedroom into a playroom to house the overwhelming pile of monster trucks, train tracks, legos and games that were invading our family room. In searching for the perfect design, I fell in love with a particular room decor and decided I must have it for the boys' playroom. So I set about selecting the right colors, figuring out how in the world to paint stripes on the walls that were 'perfect' (i.e. stripes that were level and equi-distant from each other and the floor - note that this idea was not well-thought through and will likely not be done again in the Niebruegge household), and how to design the cubby wall system featured in the PB Kids magazine without spending a fortune. This is where Uncle Tony comes in.

After only showing him a picture from the magazine, Uncle Tony designed a cubby wall system that boasted nine individual cubes, some of which had four more cubes internally hidden behind doors, and the middle cube which housed a flat screen TV for the boys to watch their movies on. He designed the handles in a tic, tac, toe pattern and painted and stained the entire unit to coordinate beautifully with the rest of the room. Check out his handywork:



And thanks to my Mom and her embroidery talents, each of our canvas baskets is organized to document the contents held therein (note that I don't think we've really been that organized since it was built!)



Uncle Tony also provided us with some great Lightning McQueen accessories for Drew's big boy room (this was another one of the crazy projects that started from a PB Kids room design - I decided to stencil the alphabet onto the wall in rotating colors when I was eight months pregnant and not thinking clearly - thanks to my Mom who helped a ton with this).



And speaking of handy, my Dad made the Thomas Train table below for Drew's third birthday. Drew LOVES trains and keeps this train table at the end of his bed for ease of play:)



This next project is amazing. Uncle Tony has blessed Drew, Owen and Evan with their very own, custom designed swing-set that features a wave slide, clubhouse, picnic table, rock-climbing wall, glider and three swings. From every angle, it is beautiful and a nice addition to our backyard!



For Easter, Uncle Tony designed 'specialty' birdhouses for the boys. Drew got a Thomas the Tank Engine birdhouse and Owen got an airplane (Greta got an adorable little dollhouse and Evan got his very own swing for the swing-set). All were custom painted and had their names engraved on them.





And although Uncle Tony wasn't involved in our baby room (Evan's room), I felt compelled to include some photos of his room since it is the only one not previously mentioned . . .







And finally, I'll share a photo of the handmade baby bassinet we've used for all of our kids. It was designed by Marvin Kloepper (my step-grandfather), for us, when we were little. Unfortunately, I don't think that my parents had enough room for it, so it went unused. When I was pregnant with Drew, my Grandma unveiled this beautiful piece of furniture and I was thrilled that this could serve as our babies' first crib. Baby Evan is still enjoying some good sleeping in this beautiful bassinet.

Second Post!

So today is unique - I am posting for a second time! What a treat! Since I mentioned earlier this morning that I have taken nearly 1,000 pictures in the past week, you can imagine that I have a lot to share. Plus, Dan just returned from his overnight bachelor party, so of course, he'll gladly accept the responsibility of putting the boys down for their naps! Dan took all three boys upstairs into the playroom for naps muttering "I'm never going to drink again . . . ." I guess tonight wasn't the best night for me to make my beer bread recipe!

Check out my four little men all snuggled up together snoozing away . . .



Yesterday was a full day. We went swimming . . .twice. Went once in the morning with my mom, my Aunt Paulette, cousin Carrie and her little man, Ty. It was a fun morning - always fun to catch up with Aunt Paulette and Carrie. We have such fun conversations and I enjoy their company so much. Aunt Paulette is a teacher by profession and I imagine a very good one. She has the kind of personality that makes everyone feel special. When I'm around Aunt Paulette, I am given a powerful motivation that makes me feel like I can do anything - a great teacher quality. She's a calm reminder not to take everything so seriously and not to take anything for granted. Aunt Paulette finds beauty in all things, and while she is known to be a tad on the emotional side, she has a rich and beautiful soul that invokes happiness all around her. My favorite thing about Aunt Paulette is that there is not a limit to her love - she loves big and without restriction. She is a walking, talking, smiling reminder of all to be thankful for and enjoy. One of my very favorite gifts we received when our children were born was a CD she recorded of her singing some of my favorite children's songs (they were some of my favorites when I was little). Although I've listened to the CD tons of times, it nearly makes me cry each time I hear her voice fill the baby's room with a beautiful vocal chorus of, "Sleep child, and when you do, dream a dream that drifts you through the night and lingers through the day. . ." Here is a three generation photo of Carrie, Ty and Paulette.



After our first trip to the pool, we returned home for lunch and naps and after a bit, got the urge for swimming again. So we invited the whole family to come swimming with us. Mom came back for a second swim and this time brought Dad to join us too. Uncle Mark, Aunt Krissi, Greta, Aunt Karen (a.k.a Kookin) and Uncle TJ were all there. Our boys are so very lucky to have such loving aunts and uncles eager to play!



Here are a few sweet shots of our niece, Greta. The lighting at the pool last night was very bright casting lots of deep shadows so I've edited these photos to eliminate the harsh light add a touch of softness and sweet blur which brings out the essence of a sweet little girl, don't you think?

Photographer Wanna-be

I got an excellent new camera last Friday and I love it. My memory card is overflowing and if memory cards could talk, it would tell you that it is already exhausted. So full, in fact, that for the last few days, I've already been deleting older pictures so that I can take new ones. And I don't have a small memory card - I've taken nearly 1,000 pictures this week alone. My kids can hardly eat their cheerios without having a camera in their faces. Get used to it little ones . . . Mommy loves taking your picture!

Yes, I am a photographer wanna-be and am thrilled with my new piece of equipment. If money were no object, I would invest in a great studio, amazing software, brilliant lenses and spend my time meeting new people and capturing fabulous moments. But for now, since the college funds for three little boys must remain at the top of our financial priorities, I will continue at my full-time profession and be happy to be a mommy with an enjoyable hobby.

The hard part about this hobby (and any other, I suppose) is that time is so limited. I can hardly ever find uninterrupted time in front of the computer and when I do, I generally have a kid on my lap. If it is Baby Evan, he is wanting to chew on my laptop cord. If it is Owen, he is happily proclaiming, "Hey, look at me in that picture!" And if Drew bear is sitting on my lap in front of the computer, he is begging me to navigate to "Thomasandfriends.com."

But yesterday afternoon, while the older boys were taking their naps, me and baby Evan had our own little photo session. And magically, Evan fell asleep shortly after he tired of posing for me, so I got some time (albeit ten minutes) to edit some photos and here they are . . . .