STRIKE!

This is what my family came home to last night. We all went to watch Jason play in a ward volleyball tournament and when we got home this was posted on the fridge.

Translation:

If you are hungry - fix something.

If you want clean clothes - wash them.

If you want it clean- clean it.

If you are scared at night - deal with it.

If you need help on your homework - good luck.

If you need a ride - hitchhike.

If you are hurt - grab a band aid.

If you want to be tucked in at night - close your eyes and count sheep.

If you need a referee - figure it out or punch it out...may the best one win.

After a full day cleaning, cooking and running them around I got a lot of complaints from my kids last night.

Em and Abbie (at two separate times)- "What's for dinner?"

Me: Chicken

Em and Ab: What kind?

Me: BBQ

Em and Ab? What else?

Me: Rice

Em and Ab: And what else?

Me: Vegetables.

Em and Ab: AHHH Not again!! Haven't we had that all week?

(Does salmon, sandwiches, & a new Iranian dish I tried all sound like BBQ chicken to you?)

Obviously this was just the topper of a lot of build up. So I went on strike and told them that they could knock themselves out and be in charge of making all of their own meals from here on out.

When the kids got home and saw the sign posted on the fridge my 3 girls immediately started crying. (Max didn't even see it because he ran down stairs to turn on the last of the Jazz game. He was to worried about a win over the Spurs.)

Abbie: "I don't want to walk to school and dance!"

Emilee: "I need help with my homework tonight and if you don't fill out my reference paper for for me I will get in so much trouble."

Lucy: "Who will buy Mariah's birthday present and take me to the party?"

After a few minutes of sobbing and pleading with me telling me that they were so sorry. I started to soften up a little and helped Emilee with her homework. I even tucked the little girls in bed.

Then my night continued like this:

11:30 pm - went to bed.

11:45 p.m. Lucy starts crying in her bed from a bad dream.

1:15 am- Jayne wakes up to eat.

2:30 am Abbie wakes up crying with an ear ache.

3:00 am Jayne wakes up again.

3:30 am- Max comes up stairs crying sick to his stomach and throws up.

I make him a bed by us with a bowl and tickle his back while he moans for the next several hours.

4:45 am- Max throws up again.

5:00 am -Jayne wakes up AGAIN for another snack.

5:30 am - Jason's alarm goes off and he gets up from a good nights sleep completely unaware of the nights escapades.

5:45 am - Max gets in bed with me.

6:30 am - Lucy and Jayne are up and at 'em ready for their day!

I guess so much for my strike.

The first thing out of my Lucy's mouth this morning when she walked into my room this morning was "Mom are you still on tarsik? I will eat anything you make for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and will be the best girl ever!" Let's just say that there were a lot more thank yous this morning and a few extra I love yous!

Maybe you should go on strike too!

All Better!

Jason and I apparently make bad ears.

All 5 of our kids have had chronic ear aches.... And 3 of them have had to get tubes in their ears.

Today was Jayne's turn.

Here's to better nights sleep and no more antibiotics.

We love you Jayne!

Today I am very grateful for healthy children!! We will take ear aches over many other things that we could be in the hospital for.

Max's Indy 500 Winner

The Pine Wood Derby is something these boys look forward to.

And a LOT of time was put into this beauty.

Max isn't allowed to touch it much but he did help with the awesome paint job and sand the wheels. He likes to stand out in the garage and watch his Dad at work.

Let's just say that the night before the race we were up until 2:00 AM while he worked his magic on his masterpiece and then came home a little early from work to give it some finishing touches. (And that was all after he had spent several nights with Max working in the garage.)

This is one of many times I am glad I am not a single mom. Thank heavens for Dads!

Max was proud of his car!

It didn't take first but it sure was FAST!!!

Trick or Treat

Happy Halloween!!!

From our beautiful little "Diva"


Our Happy little "Hip Hop Witch"

Our Scary & Gruesome "Zombie"

Our Spunky & Energetic "80's Work Out Girl"

And our adorable little "Piggie"

We hope your Halloween Celebrating was as fun as ours!

We started the evening off at the Ward Carnival & Trunk or Treat

And of course we enjoyed the school parade and fun parties!

This is for you Collet.

My camera is horrible.

But the costumes and the kids are so CUTE!

If only my kids had a mother with such talent.

I might need to hire you on for next year.

I got to help at Abbie's Halloween party at school.

And watch this girl wait patiently as she headed off to her big preschool party.

Other highlights included:

The haunted Train

The Roberts Haunted Garage!

Chicken Balls and Yummy Everything at Grandma Millers

Watching Jayne follow Molly Everywhere

Chris as the Tin Man

Max got to be in the school's Spooktacular Spook Ally

Waiting at the doctors office for 2 hours with Jayne while trying to not get the swine flu.

Standing in line forever at Krispy Kreme

Yummy pumpkin pancakes with holiday syrup

Watching all the excitement from a mother's perspective

Sneaking the Almond Joy's out of my kids bags.

The BEAUTIFUL warm weather and the sunshine today!

The full moon.

Another Project

We have had a basketball hoop for about 3 years now and it has been all put together and just laying in our garage right in the way of everything. We have been wanting to put it up for Max but have had a hard time figuring out where it should go and just all the work it was going to involve.

Now that it is basketball season again we decided we better get it done before Max is on his mission. Jason had the vision of how to make it work and of course the talent to pull it off.

After a week of hard work it all payed off! We finally have our hoop off the ground and being used! The kids are so happy and we all know that Jason doesn't mind playing a little basketball every now and then too, especially if it is with his boy.

And don't be surprised if a few of the Miller Girls turn out to be basketball stars. Abbie is dying to get signed up for Jr. Jazz and follow in her aunt Jamie's footsteps!

And meanwhile Lucy will just use the court to scooter, roller skate, and play with her friends until she gets a little bit older.

Thanks Jason!!!

Miller Girls ... Miller Sisters!

We are Sisters!

We stand together

We make up one big family

But we don't look the same.
Our hair is different...
different colors

We make each other stronger


And that's never going to change!

Believe in Sisters!

The Miller Girls...Miller Sisters!

Feeling OLD but loved!

I know everyone says that they don't feel their age. But REALLY, how can I be 35? It just doesn't seem right!! I have to say that I had another great birthday! There is nothing like having a family to spoil you for a whole day.

My brother always teases me that I like to milk my birthday and try to celebrate it for weeks at a time. And maybe I do.... this year I certainly got the treatment for several days.

I spent a fun day with my Mom and Dad at Thanksgiving Point on Monday. And then Wednesday morning I woke up to this.....

The kids set their alarms early and got up and made me the yummiest crumb cake for breakfast with candles and all. And of course I had the cutest homemade cards from each one of them. My favorite part of my whole day was when all 5 of them came into my room singing happy birthday. Oh how I love them!!! Thank you kids! I will always remember that!

And when I came down stairs I saw these beautiful roses on the counter from Jason. Talk about a great start to a day! The rest of the day continued with phone calls, texts, and stop bys from all of my favorite people, going to lunch, and even a little shopping. Thanks Jeanette for keeping Lucy.

We ended the night off by eating at the Pizza Factory and over to Jason's parents for cake.

Thank you everyone that made my day so special! It is kinda fun to be queen for the day or two or three!

P.S. Kelly I love my present you gave me!!

Smarter than I look

Why is it that they always wait until they have a mouth full of food and then stick their tongue out and spit it all over you? Is it pay back for feeding them peas or squash from a jar? She definitely doesn't do it when I am feeding her ice cream. Or maybe she is getting me back for all the times I have to wake her up from a good nap to go pick up her brothers and sisters from school, or for the saline that I have been putting up her nose that she really doesn't like.

Either way she seems to find it funny and gets the biggest smile on her face after I have purred carrots all through my hair and down my shirt.

Besides, I know if I get really messy ....I will be rewarded!

The Tub is Jayne's favorite place to be!!!

Latest

Lucy is back in prechool.


And when she is not in school we have a lot of quality one on one time.
A lot of her little buddies started Kindergarten this year so she is always wanting mom to keep her entertained. This is the crown we painted today.

Besides school starting this is our other latest.

It is what consumes most of our time right now.... and we LOVE it!

Last Saturday was our Season opener and our first Victory.

Go Vikings!!!

These two completely worn out after enduring

the HEAT of their first game.

Love You Both!

Our new puppy

This is Dodger. One Saturday morning Emilee went to breakfast with our neighbors while we were out running errands. When we got home Emilee was sitting on the front porch with her new little puppy. The one and only Ray thought that Emilee needed a dog. So after breakfast he bought her this cute little puppy, a dog bowl and food, a little dog carrier, a leash, and even a few toys for him. When Jason and I pulled up we knew we had a problem. All of the kids jumped out screaming with excitement. They have always wanted a dog and now they finally had one. Immediately Jason and I tried to talk to them about how we didn't have a yard for him and that we weren't ready to take on this big responsibility right now. But they kept explaining that it was too late. They had already bought him and they couldn't give him back. They all promised to take care of him. It didn't take long for me to soften up. One look at him and I was in love. He was the cutest puppy ever and so mellow and perfect. But Jason was the rational one. He kept reminding me that we have our hands pretty full right now without the responsibility of another. The kids played all day long with him as we tried to figure out what to do. We both couldn't face telling the kids no but couldn't face all that a new puppy entails either. Later that night we walked outside and found this. Max laid on the grass by him all day long and wasn't budging. As we told him that we would have to give the dog back, he was devastated!! He kept telling us that Dodger was the brother that he's never had. Talk about a guilt trip and it definitely worked. We felt horrible. After taking him back to the Taylor's that night we kept worrying about our decision all night. The next morning they brought Dodger back for us to reconsider. And the drama started all over. Again Jason stuck to his decision and sent the dog back. Sunday Jason spent the day trying to find a new home for the cute little pup. Thankfully the McSpadden's are nicer parents than us and gave Dodger a permanent home. And Max's new brother is happy and somewhere our kids can visit any time they want. Maybe someday soon when our life isn't so crazy...(if that is possible) we can get a dog for longer than one day.

Back at It!

I can't remember a summer ever going so fast. I was just posting about the last day of school. This morning I could feel the excitement of a new year in the air and now the neighborhood feels so quiet.

Yesterday we tried to savor every last second we could of freedom. We started off our morning at Daylight Donuts for breakfast, got all of the kids school supplies and back packs all packed and ready to go, spent the afternoon soaking in the sun at the pool, had a fun night watching Max's football scrimmage, ate waffles with peaches and cream for dinner, had our back to school family night with fathers blessings to help us all start out the year right, and then we finished off the night with yummy homemade carmel apples.

To Another Happy Year!!

I'm so glad they have each other. This is Emilee's last year to go to school with her brother and sister.

Emilee is in Mr. Walkers 6th grade class and she thinks she is ready to Rule the School.


Max is a big 3rd Grader in Miss Mather's class.

And my sweet Abbie is headed off to Mrs. Bohrers 2nd grade class already.

My kids hate the fact that I bring my camera to school. Em and Max got out of the car and were off. They were ready to find all of their buddies. Abbie is the only one who let me walk her to class today and was still telling me not to take any pictures. Too bad!

I can't wait to hear how everything went. I love you three!!!