The low down on the lock out...

Hmmmm. What a conundrum! Have you ever been anxiously anticipating your next blissful read of a dear friend's (or a secretly beloved acquaintance) next blog post, only to find that you did not make the list? And then it happens again. And again. Sniff. Tear. This is my email: allijenks@hotmail.com Please check for me on your invite lists. Pretty, pretty please with a cherry on top??

Road trip!!

For Easter this year, the kids also have spring break. The timing is ideal for us to go "back to the Basin!" And get this... Tony is even arranging to (GASP) take time off of work! OMIGOSH! All teasing aside, I am pretty excited about our little road trip. We're doing a baby shower for Jen (my double sister/sister-in-law) and I'm hoping she'll agree to do some new pictures for me. Hint hint. Then maybe you can all see my from-the-box hair color! So very much looking forward to seeing all the fam and doing fun Easter stuff! And since we will be leaving in exactly one week, I have lots of things to get ready. I'm honestly getting the kids' suitcases out and packed already. I'm pathetic. Combo of me being excited and it takes me that long to make sure we have everything washed and packed. Not so much looking forward to the 11 hour car ride. Not so much. But it's worth it.

Next month...

Next month it will be a year that we have lived in the basement. I miss my Christmas decorations. My sweet little Easter garland. I miss my bed. I miss making a big sloppy breakfast mess and leaving it in the sink till dinner. So I looked at pictures of my old house. It cheered me up! Because I know most of this stuff is in storage and we'll all be together again soon. So until then, four-poster bed....

Mountains. Molehills. They're the same 'round here.

April Fool's Day. Short of teaching my kids pranks that will likely get them suspended, how do you keep this day fun?

Answer me that.

Since pretty much our entire life revolves around eating, here's what we came up with:

We started the meal with pie. It was gorgeous and delicious with a flawless crust. And filled with chicken and vegetables. I know you're imagining it now.

(And you're going to have to because it got eaten before the portrait session. And the crust was ugly.)

For dessert we had hamburgers and hot dogs:

Notice the "Baconator" in the middle I made especially for Tony. Nilla wafers and peppermint patties. Circus peanuts and orange sticks. All trimmings were molded out of fruity Tootsie Rolls. (Throw those puppies in the microwave for 4 seconds; putty in your hands.)

And Krew's first potty training went so well we used it for a centerpeice!!

Okay fine. It's jello. And Baby Ruths. My mom was so grossed out she wouldn't even eat it. Gage would only eat it if I fished out the poop and showed him it was really just candy.

Apparently he thinks I am a really good cook.

Prank of the day: Bucket of ice water thrown on Tony in the shower. My kids helped. And they saw his bum. (They must still be really innocent because they didn't really seem to notice.)

Their squeals of laughter are extra delicious when it involves mischief.

Prophets and punches. Oh, and bite-marks.

Can I just start off by saying how wonderful Conference was this weekend? Warmed my soul right down to my little soul-toes! I wish it could be monthly. Or even quarterly would be awesome... Now on to more grim matters: Someone in our house whose name starts with GAGE got into a fist fight at school. The principal called it "a pretty bad tussle for some first-graders." After throwing up at my own wedding and having four babies, I didn't think I could ever feel embarrassed again. Yet somehow, talking to the principal and the other mom made me want to excuse myself to go DIE. I don't know exactly what happened because I was not there, but apparently Gage was chasing a girl who is cute. Other boy didn't like it because he also thinks girl is cute. Boy bites Gage's thumb. Gage does a wrestling-style take down. Boy pulls Gage's hair. Gage punches and at about this time during the "altercation" loses his temper and his mind. Neither boy was seriously injured. Sheesh. Funny side note: Tony and I were BOTH sent to the principals' office in first grade for fighting. (I was framed.) And we both grew up to be relatively non-violent people with short criminal records. That gives me hope.