I promise

Not to blog while depressed or sad or mad or frustrated.

The end.

Sometimes Mommies need a time out too

Yesterday was going good. I was moving and shaking=getting things done. My house is not where I would usually have it. I have been extra tired lately but I was determined to do things that I have been putting off. After spending 3 hours on the phone only to get NOTHING resolved with DirecTV and Verizon, I started other projects. I made cookies with the kids. I made banana bread with those nasty bananas that have been calling my name for the last week. I put the kids down for their naps, I did laundry, I made a budget and took care of some bills. Zechariah was especially helpful all day which made it even easier to deal with everything else. I made dinner and Gary actually came home in time to sit down with us and eat! Things were going good! I mean, the day had definitely had its frustrations: Gabriel and Ammon seem to be fighting non stop, Gabriel has decided to turn from my sweet loving little boy into TERROR SUPREME!!! He screams at the top of his lungs instead of talking about his frustrations. You would think someone is murdering him the way he's been carrying on. Even as I type this, he is sitting in the time-out corner (for screaming) crying and screaming, "I want grilled cheese!" What? Is this really something to scream about? (sigh) Elijah even decided to get on the ban wagon last night and cry and cry and cry. Well, Gary had to go to church so I put the boys in a bath. Things got progressively more crazy and I started yelling. I calmed myself down, got them out, started to read them Book of Mormon stories. I truly needed the spirit back into the house and my heart. Well, the chaos just kept going. The only one being civilized was Zechariah (I will write more about that in my next post entitled "ADD/ ADHD: Fact or Fiction") After telling Gabe and Ammon to leave each other alone for the 1,000,000,000 time that day, they ended up kicking Eli in the head as I was nursing him and reading them all stories. I had HAD it!!! I picked Ammon up, put him in his bed for the night, said Goodnight to Gabriel and threatened his life if he got out of bed. Then, I apologized to Zech (I mean he was being sooo good and did not deserve to go to bed without books or songs). I told him, "I need a time out because I feel very frustrated and do not want to do something mean or bad. Please go to bed and I will go into time out and we will all be better in the morning". I ended up going to sleep at 8pm last night. Things are still not great at the house. I honestly don't know what I am doing wrong. I got up, had prayers and read scriptures and still feel like something is amiss. Well, Gabriel is STILL screaming and crying and now so is Elijah (he's only been asleep for 20mins!), Zech is making everyone lunch, and Ammon? Who knows! I am taking a "TIME OUT" right now to write this post. Wish me luck. Sometimes Mommies need timeouts too!

Lego fun

LEGOS, LEGOS, and more LEGOS!!!

My son, Zechariah loves to play with Legos. No, I don't think you understand: he is obsessed with Legos. He can make anything with Legos. He can play them for hours and hours and hours and hours and....you get the idea. Two weeks ago I went to the farm in Ohio to visit Gary's parents and just hang out in the solitude of the farm. They have an enormous, very ecletic stash of Legos and let Zechariah pull them out onto the sunroom and leave them out over the week we were there. I NEVER let him leave the Legos out. (I am WAY too OCD for that) Anyways, his Aunt Sarah was visiting that week too and together they came up with some pretty impressive creations. Gabriel likes Legos too but he doesn't build them like Zech does. He likes Zech to build so that he can play. Even Ammon has gotten into the "Lelos". Zechariah has let me know that he wants to be a Lego creator when he gets older and a Robot engineer. OK!
Anways, enjoy these pictures. You might just see them in an upcoming Lego magazine!

Aunt Sarah, Zechariah, Gabriel, and the Space Pirate Boat

Space station

Knight's castle

The brothers

We went to Target on Tuesday and found some 'Space Police' Legos. (not pictured) It is a new series so I was a sucker and bought the boys a set. When we got home, Zech sat down, pulled out the instructions, dumped out the box, and had it all built within 15 mins. I was amazed! Maybe he'll be an inventor of some sort after all. You never know....

What happens when the kids get a hold of the camera?

After Gabe's birthday party, the kids went out to play...with MY CAMERA!!!

It is darn cute though!

the 1st of many...

Why the title? Because it has been a month already since my last post. Oh my goodness! Time flies by so fast and I have been so terribly busy! I don't even know where to start! Ok, the last post was about our renovation of the house in preparation for the 4th of July weekend where my entire family would be up for Elijah's blessing on the 5th. I was sooo excited that all my brothers, their spouses, my nieces and nephews, my mom and my dad came! Here's a rundown of what happened over the weekend:

Friday July 3rd
Gabriel's birthday party at our neighborhood pool

Saturday July 4th
Cortnie's babyshower
Fireworks in D.C.

Sunday July 5th
The blessing of Elijah Aaron Griesmyer

It only took me 2 days to make this video so I hope you like it but I must add: please excuse the bad transitions and sideways pictures. I'm learning. (Gary laughed at me!)

Home repair projects

I am not totally done with this project but want to show the remarkable difference already. I am happy and so tired! I'm tired of painting! Can I hire a professional? Which one of my amazing brothers wants to come finish this for me? J/K It's got to be done before you all get here next weekend. Check it out!
Before:
This is what it looked like before we bought the house.


Gary built bookcases on both sides of the fireplace and I painted over the awful red that didn't match the bricks!


We then called in some professionals to build us an entertainment center to go over the fireplace.

Here is the finished product when they were done-still miles from being done! But it looks like something now!


Still not finished. You'll have to check back for the finale but this is with the primer coat on everything!


Yippee! It looks so good already. To be continued....

Oh yeah, and this is what happens when I don't hammer on the lid of the paint can, Gabe plays with the cable coming out of the wall and accidentally knocks over the paint can. UGGGGHHH! OK, this is kinda good though. Gary told me I had to wait to get the floor done b/c of money. Well, I think Gabriel just expedited the new flooring. Thanks Gabe! :)

Catching up...

This post will consist of several posts that I should have posted a long time ago but alas-did not.

This 1st one is from like 2 months ago. The boys called me away from unpacking to witness this. Needless to say, I was very entertained:

Evil Canevil (sp?)




2nd post:
Big boy haircuts-FINALLY!

Zechariah and Ammon were SO shaggy and I was SO tired of Gary and my terrible attempts at cute haircuts. So I threatened lives and bribed the kids with icecream if they would behave at the barbers and here is the successful trip in all its glory. I was really proud of Zechariah but even more so of Ammon. What a trouper! The barbers were not great but hey! they were better than what I could've done. Afterwards, Grandma got them ice cream from McDonald's! It was a good day!


This 3rd post is entitled:
A Day in D.C. w/ Grandma

My mom came out to MD last week to help me with the boys and house and to see the new baby. She had to leave on Sunday to get back and take care of some real estate deals she had in the works. Before she left, I decided to take her to D.C. She had never been and I had not been since my 5th grade trip. I packed lunches, diapers, and my new stroller and away we went. We didn't know where we were going but the boys soon convinced us to go to the Natural History Museum, courtesy of the movie, Night at the Museum. It took us forever to find a parking spot but we did and off we went. I am so glad I did not attempt this without Gary. He was great running around with and entertaining the older boys so that I could push the stroller with Ammon and Elijah. The 1st thing Zech said when we got into the museum was, "Where's Rexy?" We soon found him and the day was a success! The 'mall' is an awesome place to visit. It will take us many trips to see it all. But I look forward to the opportunity. How cool to live this close to our nation's capital! Now, if I could just influence the politicians to quit being idiots and change their policies. But this is not a political blog and I should not even get started on that subject!

Here's some pics we took:

REXY!!! Can you see the boys w/ Grandma?

I love that my boys ask me to read to them all about the exhibits! Such smart kids!
My new (to me) Phil and Ted's stroller w/ double's kit. Gabe was not supposed to be in it but he just got so tuckered out and Ammon got tired of being strapped in so they traded for a while! Elijah is asleep on the bottom. It sounds weird but it's soooo cool!

The carousel at the National Mall. Thanks Grandma!



Gabriel loved it, Zech liked it- until he got dizzy, and Ammon freaked out!!! Poor baby!

Team Griesmyer
Thank you to our dear friends Lia Hopper and Danae Syphus for our awesome shirts! The boys wear them all the time and I've already had to wash them about 4-5 times! You guys rock!

Family fun and saying goodbye

My brother Joe lives in D.C. (until this Saturday-sniff,sniff) and has come to our house and helped Gary and me with home improvement projects. We love having him around and visiting with him. The boys absolutely LOVE him!


Grandma likes to give and get "sugar". The boys think this term is so fun! They love giving and getting "sugar" from her too. This pic is of my mom and her 6th grandchild.
Ammon wanted in on the action!


It has been a busy couple of months and will only get more so as the 4th of July approaches. We will have Gabriel's 4th bday party at our neighborhood pool, Independance Day celebrations the next day, and Elijah's blessing on the 5th. We will have 20+ people here to share that time with us. I thank God each and everyday for my huge and wonderful family that loves us so much!