Stelly First day of 'Swing'

Spring has sprung....yes, I know the 1st day of Spring isn't until March 20th. But we've had some gorgeous days this week and us Stelly's have been taking advantage of them! Yesterday during the aforementioned trip to Wal-Mart, I bought another toddler swing for the girls - We already had one from when Alexander was little. I put them up and we were swangin'!!

Oooo, That sun is so bright...

I need my glasses, too....

I think I'm getting tired....I think I'm getting bored....

I think I'm getting Brownie Points for bringing Mom a FLOWER...

Trip to Wal-Mart

Just wanted to post a quick (praise) report:

I went to Wal-Mart with the kids.
I went to Wal-Mart by myself with the kids.
I went to Wal-Mart by myself with the kids during nap time.
I went to Wal-Mart by myself with the kids during nap time WITH OUT INCIDENT!!
Whoo hoo!! God is good!

Parked in my usual honey-spot and walked across to SAM's to get a double buggy for the fattie patties. Once we were inside We got stopped no less than 6 times with the following questions:

OHHH, twins?
Are they girls?
Boy, I bet your hands are full?!?
Is brother too much trouble?
And my favorite....Did you do fertility treatment?

Photos from L.A.

Finally am posting some shots from our trip. Not in any order. Had a great time. Good to be home. Back in the swing of things. Wiping noses, fussing a lot, stepping over toys, loving every minute...

This was the view from our room. 3 glorious stories of mall shopping heaven!

I absolutely loved the blue sky in the evenings!

Chris & myself @ the back lot of Warner Brother's E.R.

My "Favorites" & "What Was She Thinking?!?"

I'll begin with my favorites - and there are plenty! So many beautiful choices this year. Simple won out over extravagant. Classics came back along with some couture from the closets of years gone by. These are the recipients of the 1st Annual Lindsey Stelly Awards. They are announced in a perfectly random order. However, my true favorites are at the top!!

Anne Hathaway - It doesn't get much more beautiful than Miss Anne Hathaway
Winner: Need I Say More Award
And how great was she when Hugh Jackman grabbed her onstage for that cute opening number?! Even that little frock she had on then was killer!!!

Gotta love Taraji P. Henson

Winner: Best OVERALL Award

How classic is this practically unknown beauty! Her style and confidence makes her stunning!

How Beautiful is Kate Winslet?!?

Winner: Best Acceptance Speech

I love it when she couldn't find her parents in the audience & asked her Dad to "whistle or something" and he did and she yelped out "YEAH!!" Her speech was the best of the night. Oh heck, just watch it here!

Meryl Streep is sporting those curves and is doing so stunningly!

Winner: "Natural Woman" Award

Amy Adams
Winner: Best Jewelry Award
That jeweled neck of hers is gorgeous!


Robert Downey, Jr.
Winner: Best Dressed Guy Award
What a good looking couple they are?!



Lisa Rinna - Stop, just stop seeing your plastic surgeon!
Award: Best Collagen on the Red Carpet


Beyonce' - Beyonce', Beyonce', tsk, tsk...fire your stylist!
Winner: "What the HECK were you thinking?" Award

And the Nominees Are...

Really, the winner really is Louisiana!! 13 NOMINATIONS for The Curious Case of Benjamin Buttons!! Who could be prouder than us!! Set here in our beautiful state, millions of dollars spent here in our beautiful state, 13 nominations for a wonderful movie filmed here in our beautiful state!!

Click here to view an interview about the Oscars and a certain handsome Louisiana State Director of Film & Television .

**THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON - Synopsis
Benjamin Button's life begins at the close of World War I, when he is born with the body of an old man. As the years pass, however, Benjamin discovers that he is gradually becoming younger even as he grows older in experience and wisdom--a situation that informs his relationship with the lovely Daisy, who reenters his life periodically as they grow closer together in physical age.**

Back in the Saddle Again...

We're back in the swing of things in the Stelly Family. Mind you, it only took until Thursday but it was all so fun to stay in pj's most of the week!!

Don't get me wrong, we had a wonderful, glamorous time in Los Angeles, but there's nothing like 11 month old drooly kisses and 'almost' 4 year old morning breath to make you realize that's what life is all about....Chris & I were all snuggly with the kids all day Sunday and it took until about dinner time that evening for them to be tired of us and wonder when they were going back to the good life at the Grandparent's houses!!

This week, I have picked up toys an average of 8 times a day. And, call it justification, vindication or just plain entertainment I documented one of those instances:

For starters, I have to put the Fattie Patties in a bed to play with one another - Trying to straighten up with them on the floor with me is FUTILE!!

Note their smiles - their enormous, devient smiles. They're like greyhounds at the starting line just watching that rabbit on the line. Just waiting, salivating, anticipating being let go to tear it up!!!

And, this is the God's honest truth: It only took 15 minutes for these little boogers to do this to their room:

However, I have to give credit where credit is due: Alexander is actually into cleaning up his room! As cluttered as it gets in his cramped quarters, he tries really hard to keep it straight. Not too sure if it's the beginnings of OCD or the fact that he can't watch any movies or cartoons until the room is straight...

Happy LOVE Day...

I'm not one to let a "LOVE" day go unnoticed. Next to Christmas, Valentine's Day is the most special holiday of the year. Chris always makes it a point to make it special for us. I've had some pretty memorable Valentine's these past few years of my life: Chris proposed to me in 2002, I got a new car in 2004 and this year, I'm in L.A. with my best friend, my husband, my provider, the father of my 3 beautiful babies.....Man, I've got a pretty dang good life.

So when I realized we would be away from our kids for Valentine's Day, I got moving on creating some "LOVE" cards with the kids for their Daddy. Alexander jumped right in. That boy loves craft time at home. He was so precious sharing his best stickers for Dad's card. We broke out all the stops with stamps and glue. However, it was a little harder to get him on board with the color pink because, "you know, Mom....'pinks' is a girl's color." Then it dawned on my type A personality that this was HIS CARD....HIS DADDY...HIS LOVE...HIS IDEAS....So what color did he choose?....

Yep, Green...His new favorite color is green. I think it's a great favorite color for a boy. However,the green obsession is due to his love of the Hulk. Note: He even used GREEN marker. Gotta look hard on the inside, "Love, Alexander."

I had a tad bit harder time with the girls. For the life of me, I can't imagine why they didn't like it when I held their hand down, stretched out their "thumb," stamped it with black ink, pressed it to the paper, stretched out their "thumb" again to wipe it off really thorough so as to not poison them with said black ink. And because I did Sophie 1st, Izzy watched the whole ordeal and was even more hysterical than Sophie....But I must say, even though this card theme was not mine originally, The Fattie Patties and I owned this one!!! Let us know what you think:

I hope that you have a wonderful day full of LOVE. I wish everyday for you full of LOVE. Not just one day of the year. Treat those you LOVE the very best that they deserve EVERY DAY of the year. Those days count, too.

Lov'in L.A.

We're going on our 2nd day in Los Angeles. The weather is cool, but gorgeous! Did I say gorgeous? Sun shining, breeze blowing, horns honking...

Thanks to Jude Mayeux we got here earlier than planned and was able to spend the early afternoon tooling around town. Chris had an afternoon meeting and I was able to spend some time resting in the hotel.

And how awesome is this hotel?!? So pretty and modern. Soothing colors, clean lines, beautiful prints on the walls. They have an open house wine & cheese from 5-7 p.m. every evening, very qichie. We have a tiny balcony which looks out onto Beverly Blvd. w/ a great view of the best part of my day today: the 3 story mall Beverly Center. Got a chance to take some shots of the room before we threw all of our stuff around:

Today Chris had a meeting all morning so I was on my own to walk around the area. Had a leisurely cup of coffee and a muffin while reading the paper from front to back. Walked around the entire Beverly Center for a little exercise then proceeded to tackle that 3 story mall that was calling my name from the moment we arrived in Beverly Hills!! I found a cute pair of shoes on sale and actually bought them for myself!!! Gaaassppp!!! I walked back to the hotel and grabbed a bite at Taco Bell for lunch to eat in the room.

Once Chris finished his morning meeting, we headed to Burbank for a meeting w/ Warner Bros. I hung out in the museum while he met w/ 'the people.' That Museum was astonishing! They had notes written by Humphrey Bogart, clothes worn by John Wayne and even the little ready suit that the Umpa Lumpa wore in Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. Oh yeah, also the Nurse Uniform that Heath Ledger wore in this last Batman. Once Chris was finished w/ his meeting, he had set up for us to have an extensive tour of the back lots and sound stages all over the Warner Bros. property. We had such a wonderful time! I had so much fun!! Being a photographer, I am always interested in the "behind the scenes" look at the motion picture industry and today I really got to dive right on in! We toured empty sound stages, full stages, back lots made up to look like New York City, Chicago and even a few streets for Gilmore Girls. We were taken to departments that we as simple 'movie-goers' don't even think about. At least I don't. We walked through the drapery department, the props department and even the ambulance dock for ER! It was so fun!! I will post more photos once I get home and can edit on my computer.

We're going to have dinner with one of Chris' close friends, William tonight. I think this'll be the only post I'll publish while in CA. I'll update the rest of the trip once I'm home with my Tooties!!

Side Note: The kids are all well and fine staying in capable Grandparents Hands while we are away. Alexander is having so much fun with his cousins and Izz & So are busy jabbering away and growing teeth!! Man, I miss my 3 babies!!

"Not Me" Monday...

Okay, so I'm going to try this for the first time...

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not start yesterday off with a great start knowing that our girls were going to go to the nursery at church so Chris & I could have a nice worship service with our 3 1/2 year old who we are trying to NOT BE a good listener in the pew!

We did not get to church late and NONE of the nursery volunteers did not show up therefore allowing us to not bring the girls into mass with us. We did not bring "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" into the sanctuary with us where Sophia did not proceed to jibber-jabber and make zerberts at the people behind us during the entire service! Nor did Isabella continuously throw her pacifier down on the floor where none of the people around us had to stoop down and pick it up for us! Alexander did not wiggle and whisper in the loudest way possible "I gotta go pee-pee" when we were not 5 people into the pew and Mom and Dad did not have a twin in each arm! I did not almost loose my salvation by the 2/3rs way through mass. I did not say "I'm sorry for disturbing you" instead of "Peace be with you" to each and every person around us during the sign of peace. I did not take Alexander's Hulk suit privileges away for the entire day because he was not so disruptive during one whole hour of quiet time with Jesus.

Yesterday was also not hair cut day at the Kleinpeter house. (I say haircut, but really because of my salty Marine brother, it is 'buzzcut' Sunday.) Chris and I did not proceed to let my brother cut, I mean buzz our hippy child's hair. Actually, it didn't look great! He did not do a good job. We also did not joke to my Hippy Husband that he didn't need one, too.













I did not shamelessly talk about the upcoming babysitting schedule with my Mom and Mother-In-Law about a certain West Coast trip that Chris & I are not taking this week. I did not get so excited about a nice get away for just the two of us! However, I am not going to miss my babies so incredibly, painfully, desperately that we did not talk about setting up our webcams to see them daily!! We're not saps, I know!!

On another note: I did not get overly excited and start doing a dancy-type jig at my computer from an email that I did not get from a friend who did not have a link on it showing a certain little trooper on a previous blog not rolling over. We have not being praying for her growth and continued healing and we are not shoving this in the devil's face - HA!! What a testimony this is!! GO LYDIA!!

I do not have pokeno tonight. Where I probably truly will not win a single prize. I will not have wonderful grown-up, Mommy, Girly conversations!!

I am not signing off to go play with puzzles with Alexander right now....

Love ya'll!!

I worked at the office for a few hours yesterday while Mrs. Kay watched the kids for me. Pheeewww....I'm out of practice! Kind of felt like a fish out of water sitting down at my old desk. I'll be back at it on Thursday. Gotta get some updates done on our website. Came home to the house in dissaray from storming out of the house to be at work on time, threw a frozen pizza in the oven, rushed to put the kids to bed and sat and stared around the house to wonder how I did it all when I was working 5 days a week!!! Can anyone answer that for me?

Few things I am praying for this week - will you believe with me?

****Matthew 18:19,20 “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”****

• Health and safety for my 4 BEAUTIFUL preggies that I know: Tiffany, Ann, Courtney & Samantha; (Tiffie (as our kids call her) is carrying Clayton Jacob, due in April; Annie is carrying Ms. Mary Elizabeth, due in May; Court & Sam are due together in the late summer. We want full term, healthy big babies, in Jesus' name!)

• Anna Olinde's continued healing from Lukemia; (our family went to church with Anna's mom @ Harvest Church years ago. God is already baffling the Drs. at St. Jude because acording to new tests on "DAY 15 has finally arrived and the preliminary results are in NO MORE LEUKEMIA CELLS IN THE BONE MARROW!!!! Praise the Lord!")

• The Poche Family for strength and healing for their daughter Lydia; (I had the pleasure to work with Uncle Troy years ago on Lydia's precious Mom, Mandy's wedding. Just a few weeks ago I learned about Mandy's journal and have been touched by her drive and determination in believing for complete healing for her beautiful daughter! Help me believe with her!!)

First Crawfish of the Season

Well, thank you Super Bowl for giving us an excuse for having a big Sunday meal with all the fam!! What a treat to have a crawfish boil so early in the season! And ohhhh, were they yummy! Don't know who you have in your family who is that one "go to" person who can boil the heck out of seafood, but in our family is my Father-In-Law, Mr. Jimmy!! No body can boil 'em like he can! His seasoning is dead on: Perfect taste with out all of the blasting heat - you know the kind that leaves your lips burning after! And sometimes, when there is crab boil left over, he sprinkles it over the crawfish after he's dumped it on the table and that gives it a great kick! (insert the drool....now!) We ate and ate and ate and still had left overs after it was all said and done! I always think of the "loaves & fishes" story when we eat crawfish because we always wonder if we've bought enough but they seem to multiply everytime someone new sits down at the table!!

We watched the Super Bowl at both Parents houses; 1st half @ the Stellys & 3rd quarter @ Mom & Dad's. Came home to a very quiet house - all 3 kids were sacked out before we got to the bridge so Chris got watch the last quarter & see his team win! He's been a Steelers fan all his life - so cute, we even have an old Steelers helmet he had as a kid that's now in Alexander's room. He lets Alexander put it on every now & then and he looks like a Bobble-Head Doll! HI-larious!

Pre-K costs HOW MUCH?!????

Chris & I went to our church parish to the Open House they had for all new students of the 09-10 school year. We were able to me some of the faculty and staff, ask questions, take a tour and swallow the fact that the 1st year of our oldest son's life will probably cost more than both of our first cars combined. da da da da dada da dum...Under pressure....But we have the assured peace of mind that our son will be well cared for, learn fundamentals and about Jesus. That last part alone is worth all of the 1st cars in the world. Next Tuesday is registration, so please pray for us that he gets in.
We had another beautiful day of outside play and the kids had a great afternoon. Enjoy some of the shots...

Fat Piggies in the grass...

Truly Happy BabyTotal Melt Down...
Someone's Oblivious....

Do I smell Spring?

Chris & Alexander mowed the grass Saturday. I say Alexander, too because he really did help Chris with the mower. Chris, the ultimate & consummately patient Father lets Alexander push the mower on the lower bar while he is pushing the top bar. He was so very proud that he was helping that he ran in and grabbed his play safety glasses because "there is grass flying all over the yard, Mom!!"



















The yard looks much better thanks to my two guys! It still has a dead look to it but there are green patches of pretty grass and plump clover all around. Don't you just love the smell of fresh cut grass? That smell takes me all the way back to childhood when my Dad would come home from a hard day of work. He started a small grass cutting business right from our kitchen dinette and worked from dusk 'til dawn. He'd always come in smelling like that and I couldn't help think of those memories when Alexander came in with cut grass on his shoes.

Anyway, that 1st grass cutting of the season always makes me think of 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! If you have been through a rough winter, the spring is around the corner! It's time to shake off the old and embrace the newness of Christ and His love for us!


Today I walked into my bathroom to find two busy 10 month old girls going through the lowest drawer in my vanity. Don't be alarmed, it doesn't house any chemicals, make-up or cleaning products. No, I learned that from my eldest - after a long phone call with Poison Control after he had ingested something that we hadn't used in several years, I now store everything dangerous behind child-locked doors and drawers.
Anyway, they got into the drawer that I put my flat iron, curling iron, blow dryer, etc. And I just found it TOTALLY ironic that they had the best time playing with something that they have no use for. Apart from the fact that they are 10 months old and couldn't plug anything in if they tried (and yes, they have tried!!) they have NO hair!! I had to capture their mischeviousness!!




























love you all!
Linz

9 month Check-Ups

Today was our 9 month check up for Izzy & Sophie. They are 10 1/2 months old but they've been sick since the 9 mo. mark and the holidays came and went, so we are just making it today. Our Butterballs have grown so much lately! Izzy is 21 lbs. 4 oz. @ 27 3/4 inches and Sophie is 20 lbs. 14 oz. @ 27 1/2 inches. We are so proud of them! No shots today to Alexander's excitement (he hates seeing them get their shots). However, I talked to Dr. Vick about Alexander's incessant drinking and tee-teeing all day and all night. So, for my peace of mind, she gave him a blood test to check for diabetes. All checked out well and we went on our way. I really can't speak well enough of our pediatrician, Dr. Dawn Vick. She is always attentive and encouraging to us as parents, and kind and caring to our children as well!

Well, in 3 minutes, the season premier of LOST is coming on and I gotta go plant in front of the TV!!!

Today the Kids and I are back at home after being away for four days with my Parents and In-Laws. Chris has been at Sundance in Utah (swearing allegiance to Obama, no doubt-tee hee!) and our family helped me out tremendously. We started off Friday with a tragic busted eye incident at the mall! Alexander ran into a table at Dillard's and I swear I saw the corner of the table go into his eye socket! He hit it so hard it knocked him to the floor and he started sqwalling!! When he finally let me look at it, it was already swelling and the scratched part was bleeding. Thank God we were meeting Samantha and the kids at the food court! I told him Samantha was a nurse and we'd get her to look at it right away! He started to cry and asked if she was going to give him a shot! HA HA!! So that was pretty much the most exciting part of the weekend. The rest was just even keel. We spent Saturday night with my Mom and Dad and Braden came to play for a few hours. Sunday morning we went to church and came home to give the kids a nap and visit with Uncle Chuck and Van! They got a new Smart Car! This one's red!

Also got a chance to go through all of the clothes that the girls have grown out of in the last 10 months. Separated those pairs and sent them to Ann for Mary Elizabeth to wear! Whew...Now we have the girls' closet back!

Spent Sunday night with The Stellys. Was a busy night with everyone there, complete with seafood Jambalaya, homemade mac 'n cheese!! We spent the night there and woke up to go to the Acadiana Zoo with Samantha, Brittany and all the kiddies! Yes, do the math...we were SO outnumbered!!

Chris comes home this afternoon and we are so excited!!! There's no place like being home with Daddy! Since being home yesterday afternoon, we're back in our home routine - so when Izzy woke up this morning, she looked all around the living room calling, "Dadadadada!!" They have such a good time in the mornings at breakfast...make the funniest faces, funniest noises, funniest everything!!

Alexander's Black Eye!

Out of the woods

For the past 7 days we've been self-quarantined here at the house because of the Rhodo Virus that the kids came down with last Friday night. Alexander started it off of Friday night and a half hour later, Izzy followed. Then on Saturday morning, Chris and Sophie were in the mix, too. Thank God, I never got sick!! On Monday, Alexander started perking up and Chris was feeling better and went back to work. The Sisters were still yucky until Wednesday night and as of this morning (Friday), we have been symptom free! Thank God this virus was only 7 days and not several weeks like some of the stories I've heard! I think someone wouldv'e had to commit me!! I did have a saving grace of a quick visit early into this debacle of my parents bringing more Pedia-Lite and Gator-Ade. And on Tuesday night, Mrs. Kay and Mr. Jimmy came to sit with the kids so that Chris could get me out of the house for the 1st time since Friday! Whoohooo!!
Now we're going to get out for a little outing this afternoon! Who knew how exciting a trip to Wal-Mart for groceries would be!! Ha ha!!

We wish you.....

...a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

We were incredibly fortunate to have a beautiful Holiday this year...Great family get-togethers, gifts under the tree, a tremendous amount to be thankful for. And let's always remember why we celebrate this time of year - the birth of the Savior of the World, Jesus.

As I listen to my children play in our house full of new toys and gifts, I think of Mary (from one Mom to another) and how she snuggled and cuddled with Baby Jesus. In his human form, He was probably this beautiful, bubbly, chunky baby that giggled like Izzy or a busy crawler that got into everything like Sophie. But in his infinate Glory, he is our Savior, our Redeemer, our Friend. Remember that in the low times, rejoice in that in the high times and know that no matter what, He loves you and wants a personal relationship with you.

New Year's RESOLUTION TIME!!!

I hope that during this busy season, we got to see all of you at least for a few minutes, but in case we didn't my new resolution this year is to visit more, to communicate more. I have been so blessed to have so many wonderful family and friends help out in this last year of "the Babies." From helpful hands, to prayerful thoughts and phone calls - and I am purposed to sit and visit, drop an email, drop a line or just drop in to say Hello! Expect it soon!!

Finally, this year is going to be a huge one for Chris and myself: Alexander is turning 4 and going to "big school like Landry and Caleb;" Isabella and Sophia will be turning 1 and taking over the house as toddlers; we will be welcoming a little girl, Mary Elizabeth, for Josh and Ann; and just watching all of the other nieces and nephews grow up another year older. What a legacy our families have!!

We love all of you and pray that this year is one of great blessings and purpose!!

C & L

Walking in a Winter Wonderland....

Today was a cold, blistery snowy day with snow falling on the ground in big flurries almost 3 inches thick!! Did I mention we live in Baton Rouge, Lousiana! What a nice surprise to wake up this morning and have a blanket of white on the ground! We were so excited, we tried to wake Alexander but he was having none of it for a while!!! When we finally woke him up and got him dressed as appropriately as possible (who has snow clothes for their 3 year old in south Lousiana?) he got outside in the snow and didn't want to come in! Enjoy the shots! More about the girls 1st Christmas later....