Five is Alive!!!

That would pretty well sum up the newest 5 yr. old to the family. Mimi turned "5" on Mar. 26. Yeah, I know, I'm a little behind the 8 ball getting it posted.
She knows that her day comes after Levi's so EVERYDAY after his I had to answer, "So, how many more days until my birthday?" Very difficult to explain time to a child who still doesn't quite have the concept. Since we do have 2 birthdays in Mar., there was a lot of celebrating going on.
We tried to get together with family Sunday the 22 but my folks decided against it due to weather. So, at the suggestion of my awesome uncle and aunt, we headed down to Fresno and celebrated at Chuck E. Cheese. (I forgot my camera but hopefully will get picts from my uncle).
Then, her day FINALLY came on Thursday and I crammed it full of fun. First, I took her to Time for Tea, a very Victorian tea house, for the first time. We went to a friend's house where she let the girls ride her horses. After Daddy got home, she opened her presents, ate her special dinner, and had cupcakes and ice cream.
The following Saturday (Mar. 28) we had a small picnic and bike ride at Woodward Park with some dear friends who have adopted my kids for grandkids :D.
Mimi deserved every bit of the fun and attention. She is such a gentle, giving, sweet-spirited little lady. In true "Mimi-fashion" she readily shared her new doll and color wonder pages with Abby and Leapster with Isaac.
She is such a joy and I'm soooo glad I homeschool because I couldn't bear sending that sweet little peanut to public school.

April Fools Dinner!

I'm not big on April Fool's. Maybe it's cause I've only heard of people playing kind of "mean" tricks on others. Maybe it's because I'm just too serious for my own good.
Well, last night I tried to break out of my mold (a little). I made a fun April Fool's dinner and I think I will continue this as a tradition in the Rumohr home.
We had meatloaf* "cupcakes" "frosted" with mashed potatoes, apple "cole slaw", and sugar cookie "french fries" with raspberry "ketchup". Needless to say, it was a big hit.
*Just a little disclaimer on the meatloaf for those of you who think gross. This is the BEST recipe I've ever had, I got it from my paternal grandma who had gotten it from her aunt. It's cheesy and moist and delicious.
Just look at those faces.

My Baby is 2!!!!!!

Levi turned 2 on March 13. I am still in a fog. The signs of his age are very evident so I can't deny it any longer. He talks up a storm, he is EVERYWHERE, he plays "ledos" (legos) with his brother and loves "big trucks", he loves to have "Dada ree" (Daddy read) and he constantly calls for Abby. He and Mimi are even beginning to play better and better together.
He reminds me a lot of Abby and yet he is uniquely his own. He tests the limits far more than any of the others have, still takes WONDERFUL naps, and shows his mommy lots of love and "tisses" (kisses). Sometimes I think how easy life would be if Mimi was our baby, but there is no question the life this little guy has brought to this family.

Stoned!!

Wait a minute, it's not what you think!!! For those of you who don't know or haven't heard, I have kidney stones on my left side. I found out March 2 and yep, it's been 2 weeks Monday!!!
We found out that one of the stones was close to 1cm and blocking the ureter so I went in on 03-12-09 to have Lithrotripsy done (they try to blast the stone using sonic waves). I had to be put out and the procedure lasted about 1 1/2 hours. The doctor ended up putting a plastic tube (stint) in that goes from the kidney to the bladder and he could not tell if the stone had submitted to the blasting.
All that to say that as of today, I haven't passed anything substantial. I'm supposed to go back in a couple of weeks and if nothing has happened then I don't know what the next step is. Please pray that I pass them!!! I am managing the pain but have to take some pretty heavy duty pain meds that make me sleepy and out of it. The kids are enjoying their very loopy and laid-back mommy I'm sure. I just want to feel better.
I'll try to post more later about my sweet little baby turning 2!!!

Kitchen Remodel

Here are the picts from our kitchen remodel. I'm sooo blessed. I LOVE it!

These are before (right after Dave tore out the coat closet/pantry) that you can just barely see behind John and I at Thanksgiving
Here is the after.