What beautiful weather we had today - or so I heard. I was stuck inside at work all day, but I heard it was beautiful. When I got home from work this evening, the kids and I loaded up in the car and headed out for a quick errand. I thought it might be nice for them to get out of the house and with it being relatively nice out and not having to bundle up, we all went. Once we were done with the errand, we decided to go visit Grandma Elliott. She was quite surprised and everyone enjoyed our little visit.

Aubrey informed me last night that she wants a baby sister. I told her that was nice and all, but I thought mommy and daddy were done having babies. I told her she had a baby brother and she said, "I know, but I don't want a baby brother - I want a baby sister". She wasn't too happy with the reply she was getting to this. This is the second time that she has mentioned this - I think after a conversation she had with Aunt Megan about their new baby, she got this idea of a new baby for us. We'll wait for Aunt Megan and Uncle Matt's baby to arrive and she can get her baby fix from her new cousin to be. I thought it was cute nonetheless.

I am not sure what possessed me to do this, but last night I decided to check out the real estate listings online. I came across a 5 bedroom house, here in Independence that was very nice for 139K. I about died - it is hard to find a 5 bedroom house for that price. Well, our house is not ready to put up for sell, but it did spark the interest in David and I to get the walls painted and the hardwoods finished. This will be our Spring project and hopefully when the time is right, we will be able to find a house for that type of price with the amount of bedrooms that we would like to have. We also located a 6 bedroom home in Liberty for 169K and it even had an in ground pool, which would be very nice when the kids are grown - but I don't want that worry with little ones. Maybe some day we will be able to upgrade to give ourselves a little more room with our family.

I picked up some stickers the other night on the clearance rack at Wal-Mart for the kids, but they love sticking them all over everything. I decided that instead of just giving them the stickers, we would create sticker charts and they all have their own set of stickers that they are awarded for different types of behavior. We all sat down and discussed our different items to go on our list and it was very productive. I could tell this is something they discuss in preschool, as Peyton had many ideas to share. For instance, going to bed when you are told, picking up your toys, keeping your hands to yourself and no name calling were just a few that we decided on. Let's just say the first hour of the sticker chart went very well - but it quickly went downhill and they didn't seem to care if they got a sticker for good behavior. I must tell you that a chart full of stickers will earn them the right to pick something out of "Mom's Treasure Chest" - which I have yet to go to the dollar store and pick things out for. It seems though as I remind them about the sticker chart when not following directions, it doesn't seem to matter. This might be a short-lived thing - but I'm hoping that it will catch on quickly. I better get that treasure chest filled, just in case!

That is about all for now - the kids are in bed and Tanner is keeping me company until David gets home from work. I hope everyone is able to enjoy the nice weather that has arrived before it turns cold again!

Take Care...

Dawn