But It's The Truth!!!

I have been in a blogging slump. I could write about all of our Christmas shopping, decorating, and laziness, but I just didn't want to. We've had a LOT of family time lately, with the Christmas holidays and our early snow days last week, and still I couldn't come up with anything really worth posting. "My kids are crazy" ~ that would be the only thing I could think of to write. But y'all already know they're crazy. :)

This past Sunday we went Christmas Caroling with members from church. We love doing that, for obvious reasons. We go caroling at various nursing homes, plus a few individual homes of some shut-ins, and it makes us every bit as happy as it does them. I love it when my kids (especially Little Lady, who happens to be the baby) give hugs to the little old ladies. You can tell it just makes their day!

Jason & I had to explain to Dub what a nursing home was. "It's not a hospital, Dub, this is where they live. They just need a special apartment where they can be near doctors and nurses all the time."

Dub: "Will we have to live in one of those apartments?"

Us: "No, because it's usually older people who live there."

He got it when we went in the first home and saw all the elderly residents, and he didn't ask again until we got to the last nursing home. We reminded him that it wasn't a hospital, but a home for older people.

While we were singing, a lady came through the lobby wheeling her dog around in her walker. And just as the song ended, Dub spotted it and said (loudly):

"Look Mom, a dog lives here! He must be really old, too!!!"

What do you say to that?! We just laughed. :)

Merry Christmas, everybody!!! We love all our family and friends, and hope you have the best season ever. We'll be busy with fireworks again after Christmas since we still haven't come into any huge money that will eliminate the need for that meager income.... If anybody would like a nice two-day job around New Year's Eve, let me know! :)

If I Had A Nickel...

My precious Little Lady. She is so adorable and wonderful, full of sugar and spice and everything nice. In my eyes, there is no one in the entire world who is more beautiful or wonderful than she is.

But there are some insanely clueless people out there.

If she does not have a bow in her hair...regardless of how much PINK, and flowers, and hearts, and frills and lace she's wearing or surrounded with...if there is no bow, idiot clueless people will assume she is a BOY! Drives me crazy.

Yesterday, we were in line at the grocery store (LL was not wearing a bow), and here comes The Clueless Man.  He starts by gushing over Little Lady, "Oh, what a handsome little fella!" Then to Dub and Bo, "You've got a good-looking little brother there, don't ya?" He was a nice older man, so I just played along, saying 'thank you' and 'awww' at all the appropriate places.

The Man went on,"Look at that blond hair and those blue eyes. You're going to be a movie star someday, aren't ya, little guy? Won't that be neat, Mama? You'll have your own little movie star someday. What a pretty little boy!"

All this time, Bo's next to the buggy saying over and over, "She is our SISTER!!!" The Man didn't hear him.

He continues on, complimenting all three of them:  "Oh, and just look. Those two are handsome, too! You have three good looking kids, Mama. All three of them are so handsome. Well. I'm guessing your husband is a good looking, handsome man ~ am I right?"

Oh, yeah. Thanks so much. All three of my boys get their good looks from their Daddy, and I was just the petri dish. Hush, I know that he meant boys are supposed to be handsome like their Daddy (but one of them is a GIRL!!!).

That poor little man...he was trying to be so sweet....  I'll remember him forever, but not necessarily for the reasons he hoped.

Here is Misty's Tip of the Week:  If the baby is completely dressed in pink, more often than not it's a GIRL!!!

M&Ms Melt In Your Mouth, Not In Your....

So the other night, I had taken Little Lady upstairs to give her a bath, and Jason gave Dub and Bo some M&Ms for dessert. Jason was busy doing whatever it is he does when he's not paying attention :), and Bo said, "Ub, Dad...Dere's uh Emb-A-Demb up by dose...."



Awesome. They melt in your nose, too, obviously.

The Top 10 Things I'm Most Thankful For Today...

...besides my family, of course, because they would take up most of the list, and obviously I am MOST thankful for all of them.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. And Christmas is, too. I am just like Dub and Bo: Thanksgiving is my favorite, and Christmas is my favorite, and Easter is my favorite, and Halloween is my favorite, and Valentine's Day is my favorite, and New Year's is my favorite.... Special days are my favorite.  But anyway, here's my list for today (since I could come up with a new list of things to be thankful for probably every day).

#10: Minute Clinic: We had to go twice this weekend, because Dub and Bo each got PINK EYE ~ Dub on Friday night, and Bo on Sunday. I really wish they (whoever "they" is) would just put the dumb eye drops for pink eye behind the pharmacy counter so we could avoid the middle man (the doctor). I mean, really. We KNOW when it's pink eye! The nurse at the minute clinic took one look at each of them and said, "Yep, that's pink eye." Then she took 15 more minutes to do the paperwork just to give us the prescription for the drops that we already knew we needed. I think a pharmacist could do exactly the same thing and just hand over the stupid things. But until then, thank goodness for Minute Clinic, where we could go ahead and get the drops without having to wait until MONDAY to see the pediatrician. My kids always get sick/hurt on the weekend. Oh, and if I had a Top 10 Things I Hate list, PINK EYE WOULD BE #1!!! Along with cancer, of course. Anything bad that happens to kids would be #1.

#9: Facebook: This could also be on my Top 10 Things I Hate list. I have a love/hate, feast/famine relationship with FB. But you know what I saw at Walmart? A gift card for Farmville!!! Isn't that taking things a little too far? I haven't gotten into Farmville, or Yoville, or Sorority Life, or any of the Mafia Wars or anything like that. Y'all all know what's good about FB, so I don't have to spell it out.

#8: Our Washing Machine: I'm with everybody else - I dislike laundry. I won't say I hate it, though, because most of the time I'm at peace with it. I love having it all DONE, and the only way to get it done is to do it. (?) Anyway, it amazes me that women used to have to do laundry without a washing machine. I am thankful all the time that I live in this age, with indoor plumbing, air conditioning, and washing machines (and dryers). Oh, and makeup & curling irons. :) Those should probably be on this list too, but that would be too vain, right? So the five loads of laundry I have to do every Monday, they don't bother me too much. Well...yeah, they do. But not too much.

#7: Once Upon A Child: If you don't have one in your area, I am so sorry for you. I love these stores. It's used kids' clothes, etc., for pretty cheap. But the best part is they BUY your stuff! It's not really consignment, but it's similar. I could just look around for hours, which is exactly what I tried to do this past weekend, until Jason snapped me out of my hypnosis and we left the store. With several new dresses for Little Lady. :)


#6: Peppermint Mocha Coffee Creamer: Not being a coffee drinker until semi-recently, I am only now discovering this. We were in Walmart today, and I saw the cute little Christmassy bottle there...and it was only $1.50...so I thought I would try it. It is so totally worth the $1.50!!! (That's supposed to be a joke since $1.50 is pretty cheap.) I just don't see myself getting 32 servings out of that little bottle, which is what they actually had the nerve to suggest. You know, even if I used the entire bottle in one day, it would still be so much cheaper than anything from Starbucks! And it probably has less calories & fat, too!

#5: School: WHAT?!? No, seriously! I am so thankful for our public schools here in Wilson County. They are awesome! I hated the thought of not being Dub's #1 caregiver, but there is NO WAY ON EARTH that I could home school that child (Bo either!). Dub needs a crowd, honestly. He also gets bored if he's at home for more than 10 minutes at a time, so I have really come to love school. Yay, school!!!

#4: The Fact That I Will Never Ever Ever Have To Go To High School Again: Except for Open Houses as a PARENT, of course. Jason & I talk about people we knew who were "IT" in high school. They are the ones who would give anything to go back to that age. Oh, that is SO NOT ME!!! I don't even like to think about my high school years too much! Thank goodness for my very best friend in high school, Jaime. Without her...I don't know. I'm pretty sure I survived, and came out a little less loser-y, just because we were friends. :) Unfortunately, we went to colleges halfway across the state from each other, and we drifted apart, at least until Facebook! I'm so glad I am DONE with my teenage years. I don't care how old I get, I will NEVER want to go back to that age. I shudder to think of it.

#3: Daylight Savings Time: and Standard Time, which is what we are in now, I guess. I love Standard Time when it's new ~ when the days end sooner and we can go inside to the cozy house earlier.... Then about January I start to hate it, and I'm wishing for spring which is still MONTHS away.... But for now, while it's still new, I love Standard time.

#2: Dave Ramsey: I lovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove Financial Peace University! Next week will be our last class session, which is very hard to believe. Even though "most" of what he teaches is more or less common sense, Dave presents it in such a way that it's like, "OH!!! Now I get it!!!"  This dude has really changed our lives. Our money has multiplied, just like he says at the beginning, even though I was totally skeptical back then. Oh, how young and naive I was! I lovelovelovelovelovelovelovelovelove FPU! Did I mention that already???

And the #1 thing I am most thankful for today: Baby noises, especially the laughter. No explanation needed.  That goes for little boys' too, although I can't say I am thankful for all of their noises. :)

It's All About Bo (this time)

Here he is, one of the most adorable little men in the entire world.  Bo steals my heart. He is so funny, and sweet, and loving, and unselfish... just an all-around awesome little dude. Everybody needs a Bo in their lives!

Bo just turned 4 years old. We had a birthday party for him, as usual. But since several of our usual partiers couldn't make it this time, we are going to be eating pizza, salad, and cake for a looooong time. This time, we actually DID freeze the pizza and cake. There's no way we, uh, need to eat all that!

See...here's a picture of his cake.
He wanted a cake like his sister's birthday cake - which meant "with M&Ms on top." It was actually one of the easiest and cutest cakes I have made (at least in my opinion!).  The "B" is for Bo, and the "4" is because he's four now. Believe it or not, I had to explain that several times. No offense, y'all!

Bo is an awesome helper. He takes helping Daddy very seriously. I doubt he needs the hard hat in the attic, but you never know. Especially with Bo. Which leads me to...








Bo's most recent hospital visit. The child just turned 4, and he has been to the ER 4 times.  #1 was when he was an infant; it had to do with the surgery he'd had recently (a hernia repair, etc.). #2- Easter Sunday 2009 with a broken arm. #3- June 2, 2010 (our anniversary, by the way) for a high fever (106 or so) in the middle of the night that wouldn't respond to medicine.

And now this, his poor little forehead. He was playing on the handrails before one of Jason's football games, and he fell right on his head. The ER doctor didn't want to do stitches on his face; he chose the Steri-strips instead. And then I said no thanks, because those things would be off by the time we got home, so the doctor re-chose the Dermabond glue. Good choice, doc! :)



I'm telling ya, this little guy is so adorable. All it took was a cherry coke, and he was as happy as he always is.  I hope he realizes that he doesn't have to go to the hospital just to get a cherry coke. :)

Like I said, he steals my heart. I love this little big guy so much!!! I have to include a picture of him reluctantly wearing his (homemade, thank you very much) Halloween costume:



He and Dub were 4-armed men. You get more candy with 4 arms. :)

Life is so much fun with Bo! He really is my Sweetheart. Look out, ladies...he's got his Mama and his little sister already hooked...Dads, lock up your daughters! Not really; he'll be an awesome catch someday. Once he starts to like other girls, that is.

From the Video Vault

It's Halloween Week!!! I love Halloween. I especially love the way my kids love going through the Halloween aisles at stores and pressing every single button they can find there.  Dub is big enough not to be scared by much of anything there anymore. Bo puts on a brave face, but he makes sure to stick close to Mama or Daddy. He adores Dub more than anything, but for some reason he just doesn't trust Dub in those scary aisles. I sure don't blame him.

So this video is about 2 years old. Bo would have been just about to turn 2 years old. It was taken with my cell phone, so the quality isn't great, but I think you can still tell what is going on.

Ah, fun times! I'll file this video away for his therapist when he's grown, especially since we laugh and laugh every time we watch it.  Poor little Bo. :)  I love Halloween!

My Lifetime's Not Too Bad!

Well, we're kind of almost done with football season. Jason's team (Junior Varsity) has only one more game, and the Varsity will be done around Halloween. I never really know what to pray for during football season - if we pray for a great year, they could have games all the way to Christmas (I'm depressed just thinking about that!). But how can you pray for a lousy season??? Even though I didn't exactly pray for it, they've had a lousy season this year. Oh, that's too bad...(wink, wink).

Every year, though, I get into a good routine on Friday nights right around the time a lousy season would be finishing. This time, Dub & Bo's  Nana & Pop took them to several of the games, and even let them spend the night a couple of times. That was awesome (for them AND me!).  Even when they are here at home, though, I get to have several hours of "free" time once they are all in bed. And I like to have Lifetime Movie Network on during that free time.  Of COURSE I don't just sit on my hiney and watch TV for hours...No, I clean the entire house, and cook all of next week's dinners, and iron every shirt in the house, and paint the shutters, etc.  While I'm busy doing all THAT, though, I like to have the TV on as background noise.

Let me just tell ya - these movies can be so terrifying! Not in the Poltergeist kind of way, but in the "Oh, man, she had everything going for her and just lost her mind for ONE SECOND and her entire world caved in around her" kind of way.  Jason & I joke about how it's usually the Man's fault. If an alien is getting all its information from Lifetime, it would assume that All Men are evil, and Women are either extremely strong in character or the most vile, vindictive, heartless, backstabbing creatures...maybe that's why they are staying away from earth!

Anyway, last night's movies were especially terrifying for me. The first one, which I caught just the very end of, was The People Next Door. It had to do with a childless couple who kidnaps the kids next door, and the mother(single, obviously) who never gives up searching for them. Fortunately, she finds them after more than a YEAR. Y'all all know that's my biggest fear (losing my kids).

The next one was based on a true story - The Familiar Stranger.  It was about a man who embezzles money from his employers; he decides the best way to "save" his family is to commit suicide, leaving behind his faithful, loving wife, and two sons, ages 12 and 9. A decade later, they find out that he is still alive, and had only run away to start a new life.

The last movie I was able to see (or not see...) was also a true story: The Stranger I Married.  The husband is on his way home and has what should have been a fatal car crash. He survives, though, but after coming out of his coma they find that he has amnesia. He doesn't remember his wife, his kids, his life before the crash, really not even anything about himself at all. The end of the movie doesn't even satisfy me because it isn't resolved in a nice little package where all his memories come back.  I guess that can happen with true stories!

It's a shame to have to admit it, but those movies made me count my blessings.  Even though my kids are wonderful and adorable, they can absolutely get on a nerve!!!  But I would so much rather have those nerves gotten on than to not have those kids, whether I never even got to have them at all or to have them taken away from me in some way. I am extremely thankful for the opportunity and privilege of being a Mom.

And Jason - he is not perfect. I complain about how he's either too ____________, or not nearly ______________ enough, or even that he "never" or "always" _________________. (The blanks are because my complaints change daily.)  But as bad as my complaints seem to me, they could be infinitely worse!!!  So I am thankful for my husband, warts and all. :)

Lifetime Movies have a way of making me realize how scared I am of things I didn't even know I was scared of before I saw the movie. Maybe I should lay off of them? Well, football season is almost over, so it will be almost a year before I get to see any more. You know Jason won't watch them with me!!! But that's ok.  At least they aren't making any movies about MY life! I'm ok with boring, if boring means extremely blessed with a good, normal family!!! I LOVE YOU GUYS!

The Visitor At Church

We all learned our lesson at church last night. There was a visitor....


This visitor came in without anyone noticing. He found his spot, worshipped along with us, and decided to stay for classes. That was when he was finally noticed.

He wasn't the best looking visitor, bless his heart, and once people saw him they moved on to other seats, some of us as far away as possible.

Yes, I was part of it. I didn't like the looks of him, so I sat as far away as I could. I really wasn't trying to be ugly, and in fact I didn't even notice until I heard some other ladies talking about him. But I sure didn't try to be friendly with him!

I listened to some of the others talking about him, and I even got in on the talk a little bit. It really was pretty funny what they were saying. They were saying that someone needed to go over there and escort him out, but we couldn't pick the right person for the job. He was dirty looking and diseased (probably) and he just wasn't right for our church!

Well, class time was finally over, and we all got out of there quickly without making any eye contact. But someone did manage to take a quick, discreet picture with her cell phone:

Even a mouse needs the Lord!!!

By the way, the story is true (more or less - there really was a mouse) but that's not actually a picture of our visitor.

Still a Newbie

I had this super-cool slide show from photobucket all ready to go as a "Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted anything, so instead of just writing about it, I'll show pictures" catch-up post, but for some reason I can't stick it on here (great grammar) as anything but a gadget. It just goes to show that
I have NO IDEA what I'm doing!!!
It worked so wonderfully last time.  And I wanted to have a link right here to that other slide show,  but since it wasn't an actual POST, I can't get a link right to it.

I miss Arrow. :(  My little computer geek wizard brother.  Yeah, Kenny's good too but he's got 500 kids (actually 3, like me) and an insane work schedule.  And wonderful AMAZING Holly - she really does have 500 kids, plus she says she just plays with it until it looks right...so she obviously has more patience than I do!

We'll all just have to live with that slide show being a banner on every page until I get sick enough of it to fix it.  And actually, I'm going to keep trying.... 

Hopefully this post will be obsolete in a while! :)

A Visit From SUPERMOM

Yesterday started out like any other day.  Dub and Jason went on to their respective schools like normal, and the rest of us went about doing whatever it is we do when we don't have real plans for the day.

But the day took a turn.

On Wednesday, Jason dropped his somewhat new cell phone in a glass of water, and although it wasn't ruined, the touch screen would no longer work.

That's when Supermom first showed up.

Supermom came and immediately found the resources needed to FIX the cell phone.  She didn't even have to reset the whole thing and therefore lose all the data on the phone.  Phenomenal!

Poor Bo got bored with the day pretty early.  He asked if we could "go somewhere."  Like where? He suggested Target because he knew I would probably go for it.  But no, Supermom was here, so we didn't settle for Target!

Supermom packed up and took Bo and Little Lady to the playground!  Oh, but wait, it gets even better!  Supermom also packed a good lunch for them and we had a nice picnic at the playground. Unbelievable!

Supermom decided to stick around for a little while longer.  After school, when all the kids were begging for a snack, they were not given the usual pretzels or 100 calorie packs.  No way!  Supermom whipped up three beautiful and extremely healthy homemade strawberry and blueberry smoothies, and all three children were sent away with a pat on their heads and a smile on their faces.  Amazing!

The day wasn't over yet, though. Little Lady was supposed to take a nap, but she just wasn't having anything to do with slowing down.  Regular mom almost took over, which would mean LL would go to her bed anyway and Dub and Bo would be sent outside to play in the yard.  But Supermom said, "Hey, guys, wanna go to the pool???" Oh yes!  The pool will be closed after Labor Day, so we took advantage of the hot day and went to play.  Supermom is a little crazy, though - she let Dub and Bo go to play in the "big" pool while LL and I stayed in the baby pool.  Regular mom would probably have said no to that. They had the best time ever at the pool, and burned off some of their excess energy.  Incredible!

The last thing Supermom did before she flew away was cook supper.  She does not do huge multi-course meals like you might think.  But she does cook kid-friendly meals that happen to be very healthy!  We had Chili Cheese Burgers (kind of like sloppy joes), and all through supper we heard comments like, "This is the best supper EVER!"  Even Little Lady ate her food!  Astounding!

Too bad Supermom can't live here.  But I love it when she shows up!

Take Out Your Violins, Please

Cue the Sad Violinist and his pity party music:

Have you ever just had one of those weeks?  Or is it just me?  I mean, I am really trying here, but I feel like I'm swimming upstream.  Or climbing Mt. Everest.  In my bathing suit.  With high heels on. No, wait - heels would help me dig in and get up faster.  Ok, I feel like I'm digging a mile-deep hole with just a baby spoon. Or sweeping the dust off a concrete floor.  Whatever, I'm not the greatest at imagery.  It's just that I have too many things to gripe about right now, and since blogging is much cheaper than therapy, and I don't want to scare off my family and friends by complaining to them, I'm letting it all out here!

And so now it's time for the Airing of Grievances:

We all got sick on Saturday; well, three of the five did - Jason, me, and Dub.  I know that happens.  But does it always have to happen on the weekend???  We couldn't even go to a cousin's birthday party because of it.  We didn't even get to go to CHURCH!  At least it was "just" a 24-hour deal; but that was a really rough 24 hours.

Dub was out of school Monday because of that sickness.  He missed being at school, which makes me feel good that he's having a good time.  But he blamed ME for "making" him stay home since he didn't feel sick anymore, and now he's got "all this make-up work to do."  Which is also homework for me, by the way.  Let me reiterate, I could NOT homeschool!!!

Bo started Mother's Day Out again today.  That's great.  But he begs and PLEADS for me not to make him go. Ugh, talk about guilt trip!  I have tried asking all the questions to get to the root of why he really doesn't want to go; so far there doesn't seem to be anything specific, he would just rather play here with me & Little Lady.  Sweet, but....  You know, I kind of think it's out of habit that he keeps whining about it, since he really does have a good time there.

No one will take our dog.  Yeah, that sounds harsh.  But we really can't keep him here!  He's too big & energetic for our yard. We've put an ad out on Craig's List (twice now), but no one has decided they can't live without him yet.

Jason has a new additional position at school.  He is still a teacher & football coach, but now we can add Business Manager to his resume.  We never get to see him during football season anyway, but it's even less (less than never???) with this new position.  He has to go to EVERY home game of every sport that sells tickets.  Did you know that they sell tickets to volleyball games?  I do now!  Jason said that this week there are 11 home events that involve tickets sales.  Guess how many next week...one.  Can't they spread them out???  I volunteer to make the schedule!

To be a little too personal (but it's my blog), I have been trying very hard to start losing the three-baby weight that I've been sporting since, well, since I was about 8 years old (can't blame the babies for it all, then!).  I found my new favorite website about three weeks ago, Calorie Count, and at first I zoomed down about 6 pounds.  Then nothing.  I am so frustrated!!!  I'm not even cheating!!!  I mean, if I weigh the same whether I eat healthy or eat whatever I want, what's the point???  Y'all, life is NOT FAIR!!!!!  Have I mentioned that I am SO FRUSTRATED?????

We're taking Financial Peace University at church. YAY US!!!  We are doing our very best to live on our one teacher's salary (yeah, plus the extras now) budget.  And we're doing pretty good so far.  We have class on Monday nights.  Guess what else is on Mondays? EVERYTHING! Including Jason's football games.  And that's only because one little bitty coach decided it was too inconvenient for him to have his games on Thursdays like they've always been, and he pitched his little hissy fit to the right person and they changed it for HIM.  I'm not even exaggerating (too much)!!!  Poor Jason can hardly catch his breath, much less use that breath to talk with me (whole 'nother issue, I'm not even going there....)!

And this past Monday, at our FPU class, the lady doing the child care for this week did NOT show up!  At least not until almost 45 minutes late.  So everybody left their kids with the three teenage girls, who honestly are extremely reliable, but that's about 25 high-energy kids with these three girls.  We decided to keep Little Lady with us in the class (of about 33 couples, so 66 people), hoping that the lady would show up.  Well, sweet LL is not a sit-around and do nothing type of girl, and so as she tried to occupy herself she squealed a little.  I didn't think it was too disruptive, considering the size of the fellowship hall, but we were CALLED OUT!!!  We were told rather loudly, "Uh, there's child care in the back."  This guy had the nerve to say that he would have no problem leaving his 13-month old (if he had one) in that small room with all the other kids, with only teens watching over them all.  YEAH RIGHT.  I think we should call DCS on him retroactively!!!  My only alternative was to go on and take her home, since I wouldn't be able to participate in class that night anyway.  I mean, we all paid for the course and were promised child care; if there's a problem, we ALL HAVE TO ADJUST!!!  Do you really think I would skip out on child care?  I'm ALL FOR child care!  Maybe I'll just sing him the Guns 'N Roses song, "Just a little paayyshheeennssse [patience]...yeeeeaaa - eeeaaaaahh...."

*Sigh.* Well, that's about all I can think of right now.  I'm sure I'll think of more as soon as I hit "Publish." 
Or probably more things will happen so I'll have to do a Part Two.

I'd say thanks for reading, but you're probably not reading this anyway.
-Eeyore

The Fark

Hahahaha, that title makes me laugh so much!  We told Dub and Bo that we were going to the Wilson County Fair, and they got tongue-tied, combining "Fair" and "Park," and out came "FARK!"  It has stuck.  I don't know if we'll ever go to just a fair or a park again.  It will always be The Fark.

We went to the Wilson County Fark last night...which happened to be in the middle of one of those nice little thunderstorm systems that sticks around for a few hours.  Great planning, I know.  But we couldn't go any other night, so it was worth taking a chance on it.  We waddled through many puddles in our flip flops (again, great planning), and at first all we did was look at the exhibits.  That's one of my favorite things anyway!  We got free pens galore, little (junk) toys, pamphlets, samples, notepads, etc. etc. etc., plus all the popcorn and peanuts we wanted.

(Little Lady helping herself to some popcorn)






Even some lemonade (picture courtesy of Dub):

Finally, the rain let up and we got to go to the Midway.  We are on a budget (who isn't?), so we couldn't get armbands this time.  We got a few tickets and told Dub and Bo they had to choose wisely which rides to use their tickets on.

And here, I would like to give a shout-out to the very classy carneys...

Please notice the cigarette that he so skillfully held onto while ensuring my kids' safety:

I know Little Lady wanted to ride everything her big brothers got to ride, but she didn't complain too much.  She was especially happy when we let her out of her stroller to stretch her legs.

Always with the milk, that girl.  :)

So anyway, that was our trip...it wasn't perfect, but you know what?  Dub and Bo were so excited the entire time, and they thanked us over and over (without prompting!!!) for taking them.  It kind of made me wonder about my own perspective.  We don't have to have all the money in the world to have a good time at The Fark!  We can choose our favorite things and have just as much fun.  And who cares about the rain?!?  We weren't miserably hot and it wasn't crowded at all.  Two years ago when we went, the temperatures were still over 100 degrees after 8pm, so the cooler temps were a REAL treat.  And we didn't even give in to the funnel cakes...or caramel apples...or deep fried whatevers...meaning we saved tons of money and calories.  I might even call this one of my favorite and most memorable trips to The Fark.

We're already planning for next year! :)

This video is so wrong...but so funny

Dub and Bo (especially Bo) love love LOVE to play outside, no matter what the weather is like(unfortunately for me!).  Like mailmen, neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these little darlings from the swift completion of their appointed outside play.  Oh, and just to get off the subject for a second, we have found apparently the ONE THING that will keep mailmen from the swift completion of their appointed rounds: yard sales.  We had a yard sale, and since we live on a cul-de-sac the cars had to park in the roundabout; our mailman delivered to only about 3 houses on our street and then moved on!!!  To my knowledge he never returned (until the next day), but I could be wrong.  No, I'm not. :)

ANYWAY, this video was taken recently while we were outside playing.  Dub wanted me to record him doing something - I forget now what it was - and Bo was going about his own business.  The video is only 4 seconds long....  You can laugh - I did.

He's ok, I promise!!!  He did cut his knee, so I got to play nurse.  Believe it or not, these guys don't get hurt too often, which means they did not get their sense of balance from me.  Thank goodness my name isn't Grace!!!  Yes, Bo has broken his arm before, but that was just from being too daring, not from being "uniquely coordinated," like me (also known as clumsy).  He's a tough one, that Bo!  He got up and went right back to playing as soon as he could.  So you can add "scooter accidents" to that list of things that will never keep them from their outside play.  100% boy, and I love it.

Cha-cha-cha-changes!

Apparently, I don't do too well with changes.  If I had been much of a blogger last year, I'm sure the posts for six months before August, or maybe even more, would have been all about Dub and how I just wasn't ever going to be ready for him to start Kindergarten.  I made my peace with Kindergarten after the thought of homeschooling popped into my mind one day.  I don't see how in the world you do it, Ashley!!!  Dub would drive me insane every second of every lesson I ever attempted if that were the route we chose.  We are very blessed to have awesome public schools in our county, and Dub got a perfect-for-him teacher, so Kindergarten turned out to be a really fun year.

Dub and his Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Wix

Then it was summer vacation.  We got to hang out together, ALL of us, for most of the day, every day.  I wish I could say we got to sleep late, but thanks to Dub that never really is an option.  Bo got really used to having his "best friend" around, and they played together so well almost all the time.

We've had popsicles, snow cones, ice cream, pool parties, mud ball fights, fireworks, and countless bicycle races.  We were able to come and go as we pleased...not that we really always did that, but it was fun to know that we could.  I love a good routine, but I get into the unscheduled routine pretty well, too.

And now on Monday Dub will start first grade.  I haven't dreaded it nearly as long as I did Kindergarten, but it's hitting me pretty hard that this is his "last week" of summer.  How in the world did these two month go by so quickly?  Especially since the 15 (or so) days of the fireworks tent went by sooooo sssllloooooowwwwlllyyyy?

Alright, Dub, I'll let you go to first grade; I guess I kind of have to let you.  But I don't have to like it!  Thank goodness I get two more full years with Bo before I have to let him go to Kindergarten.

By the way, this week we had Little Lady's 1-year pictures made (she's so cute!!!):

Birthday Time!

Sweet Little Lady is now a one-year old! We had a great party for her actually on her birthday, Saturday, July 24. We were so glad that both sets of grandparents and even one set of cousins could come party with us! There was so much barbeque that I think everyone in the family could have had plenty if they were able to come. :'(

And the CAKE!!! We'll be eating cake until Bo's birthday in November! What? We could freeze it? I'm going to pretend I never knew about that.

Little Lady got her own little cake:

It's yellow and sunshine shaped because she really is my little Sunshine.

I am smarter now than I was when Dub turned one: we didn't have any cute little candies on her cake for her to choke on (like Dub did...):

Of course, Bo's didn't have any either, but his was just too cute without them:

I wish the party could have gone on all night, although as it was all three kids slept later than usual the next morning (but they had to get up anyway for church!).

I love having a daughter! My boys are wonderful but I love getting to decorate in pink. And Little Lady's oldest cousin is so happy to finally have girls in the family again!

That picture was after Little Lady ate almost all of that cake (see above), so she's probably feeling a little bloated and uncomfortable. But Little Lady handled the party and all the attention so beautifully.

Happy Birthday, sweet Little Lady! I am so thankful for this year, and I pray for many, many, many-to-infinity more!!! I love you, Baby!

Road Trip!

There was a time, in the BC years, when I looooovvveeed to travel. I've never really gotten my fill of it, but it's just kind of not worth it these days. Earlier this year we took a trip to Gatlinburg; that was fun, but since we stayed at a hotel 10 miles from "the strip," we had to PLAN too much, especially around Little Lady's nap schedule. It just gets to be more work than fun.


I KNOW we are blessed to live near both sets of grandparents, and even one set of cousins. I wish all of my other brothers didn't live so far away. And really, you would think that with family spread out all over that we would be traveling and visiting all the time! No. It's a shame really.

But having said all that, we got to take a road trip this past weekend! We went to "Alabama!" Dub and Bo were so extremely excited when we told them we were going. We told them on Friday that we were planning to go on Saturday; the rest of the time before we went, they randomly said, "ALABAMA!!! YES!!!"


Dub finally asked why we were going to "Alabama." "There's a store there..." I began, and Dub groaned. I tried to explain the Unclaimed Baggage store to him, which he totally didn't understand, but still - we're going how far for a store???

The day of our big trip, as we were sitting in the driveway still, Dub and Bo started shouting, "Alabama, here we come!!!" Seven miles from home, we stopped at a gas station, and Bo says, "I think Alabama is starting!!!" We managed to make the 2 1/2 hour trip down in one piece, especially since we rigged a DVD player (our laptop) and took plenty of Scooby Doo and Tom & Jerry DVDs. The boys were so cute when we finally passed into Alabama: "Mama, do they talk like we talk in Alabama?" "Is Alabama in America?" "Is there a desert in Alabama?" "Are we near Hawaii?" "Will there be other people in Alabama?"

But we loved every second we could squeeze in for the Unclaimed Baggage store, as always. Dub & Bo each got to pick a toy, so that made the entire trip worthwhile, regardless of it being "just for a store." Unfortunately (?) we had to come on back home to make it to a birthday party at the pool. I mean, what better ending to a fun road trip than a birthday party with pizza, cake & ice cream PLUS a swimming pool?!? Of course, I could have stayed at the store for another week or two, just looking around at everything.

Hopefully as the kids get older we'll do more traveling again. And if Jason reads this, don't forget our 10th anniversary next year, hint, hint! As for now, if all we get to do is go to Gatlinburg and the Unclaimed Baggage store every once in a while, I'll be ok. Y'all are the reason it's fun anyway (and also lots of work...)!!!

She Made It Before Her First Birthday

Little Lady's birthday is a week away. She has randomly taken a few steps here and there, one or two at a time, but that's only with a LOT of coaxing.

Dub walked officially 5 days before he turned 10 months.
Bo walked very soon after he turned 11 months.

Y'all, I really, really thought Little Lady would walk when she was about 6 months. She was able to stand on her own from about that age. And since she could see Dub and Bo going by her so fast, I just thought she would get up and go herself.

Oh, no. This little Prissy girl wants to be chauffeured. She could probably be called Miss Daisy. Honestly, though, I was not worried at all. Besides the fact that I know that every child is different and will walk whenever their own selves decide they are ready, she's really petite (get your jaw off the floor, YES, Jason & I made a petite baby). She wears 6-9 month clothing, so imagine a 6-9 month old walking around.

But last night, we were shopping (for her birthday!) in Providence, and decided to let the boys have a little fun in Books a Million. They love to play on the Thomas table there, so even though we rarely buy anything from BAM, we are kind of frequent patrons. I was holding Little Lady, and I put her down at the Thomas table so that she could play too.... She decided to have a look around the store for herself, and WALKED like she owned the place!!! I'm not saying a step or two. I mean, she walked from the table, to the chairs, to the bookshelves, to the other kids playing there, EVERYWHERE, never breaking stride. Maybe once did she falter. It's like I said, all along she probably knew how to do it, she would just rather be chauffeured!!! I can imagine that she's been strutting around her crib whenever we shut the door. I bet she can converse like royalty, tie her shoes, cook gourmet meals, balance a checkbook, and build playgrounds too!

This morning, she's back to taking a few steps here and there. But I'm on to her now. And I can OFFICIALLY say that she walked before she was one!!! We're three for three!!! :) But not that it matters, of course.

Dental Bliss

My boys have cavities.

We went for a routine cleaning at our regular dentist two weeks ago. It was Bo's first time, but Dub had been several times before. All of a sudden, they have cavities. PLURAL.

They referred us to a pediatric dentist, who proceeded to tell me that they have cavities. (In case I forgot.) In fact, Dub has I think three of 'em, and Bo has two. What in the world???

Do you reckon it's because we make them eat Sugar Babies for breakfast, Tootsie Rolls for lunch, and make them chew their Jolly Ranchers that we make them eat at supper? Or probably it's the candy apples they have to eat at snack before they get to have any pancakes with syrup for a treat.

And since we're so poor and uneducated, we buy toothpaste and toothbrushes only at Christmastime. They have to ration the toothpaste, so they save it for special occasions.

Oh yeah right.

But here's me, feeling like a terrible mom, taking both of my children with teeth in to have them filled. And trust me, I tried to scare the snot out of Dub and Bo, hoping they would stop whining at tooth brushing time and step up and take some responsibility, which they have by the way. I told them about the shot they'd have to give them in the mouth to numb them so that they wouldn't feel the drill, which is just like Daddy's drill, when it makes a hole in the tooth. And how if they didn't take care of their teeth now, the dentist will have to yank the bad teeth out and leave a big hole.

Dub and Bo did not dread this visit to the dentist one bit, despite all my scare tactics. Come to find out, at this pediatric dentist they don't use shots and drills, they use "Circus Gas" and "Mister Bumpity." And while they are "feeling all tickly inside from the circus gas," they get to watch whatever they want to on the TV on the ceiling. 30 minutes after going in, they come out extremely happy and excited to come back. Oh, and clutching a gift certificate for a free ICE CREAM CONE. That's going to ruin their candy apple appetite!

I guess I'm glad that it was so easy on them. But honestly, I wish it wasn't so much FUN! We, the "responsible party," had to pay $250 for this cake walk. And what did Dub and Bo learn? "If we don't brush our teeth and get some more cavities, then we'll get to go back to that fun place and get some more ice cream!!!"

By the way, in my defense, my kids apparently have "Groovy Teeth" - they have extra deep ridges in them that traps everything worse than most people's teeth. So we know now to brush extra special on those back teeth...at least on those special occasions.

I'm Changing their names!

I have a complex about using my precious children's real names on a blog that is accessible by anyone, possibly including all the weirdos and pedophiles that could come in contact with us any time. So when I started this blog, I hastily chose names for them: RocketFire, Lightning McB, and Little Lady. But y'all...I never really liked the names I chose.

RocketFire was given that name by himself. He loves to think of himself as a superhero, and RocketFire is his super alter ego. But really, we hardly ever call him by that name, so it felt weird to call him that on this blog. So from now on, at least until I decide to change his nickname again :) I will be calling him "Dub." Dub is a name he's had almost since Day 1; this poor child has more nicknames than most people on earth, but Dub is one that we use maybe even more than his real name. I'm surprised at myself for not thinking of this one first.

As for Lightning McB, it's obviously because he loves the movie Cars. Sometimes he asks to watch it several times a week. He sleeps with Lightning McQueen or Mater most of the time, but NEVER Chick Hicks ('cause HE'S the Bad Guy!!!). He's a super-cool, super fast boy, but that is also a name we have rarely called him. So he will be called "Bo" on this blog now. This boy also has tons of nicknames, but most of them involve his real name. Bo is a good name for him, especially since we do use it quite a bit around here as a nickname.

Little Lady will keep her nickname. She is such a sweet little dainty lady that it is a perfect name for her. Of course, Firecracker might also be appropriate, or Loud Mouth, or PUNK...no, I'll just stick with Little Lady.

So Dub, Bo, and Little Lady, I LOVE YOU GUYS!!! And I want to keep you all safe, even as I air out all your dirty laundry. Your nicknames make me smile, but your SELVES make me happy and proud.

Well, it's over...whew

The 2010 Summer Fireworks Season is officially in the books. Well, technically not officially, since Jason is still out there at the moment taking down and cleaning up, and hopefully even selling. And we don't actually settle with the company until tomorrow afternoon, but it's pretty much over, and THANK GOODNESS for that!!!

This season has probably earned me an ulcer, I'm sorry to say. We had obstacles at every single turn, and all along they seemed insurmountable; that is, until now when I have the benefit of hindsight. I will never understand how Jason kept his cool (even in the heat) the entire time and did not give the Hatchet Face woman across the street from us the satisfaction of either cowering in the face of her evilness or lowering himself to her level to strike back. He has the gift of watching and waiting, which has earned us (him) huge credits with everyone in Cheatham County who has anything at all to do with fireworks tents and all their various licenses and regulations. They are all sick to death of Hatchet Face also; as a matter of fact, they have even been known to commiserate with Jason about her.

According to Mr. Hatchet Face, we (our tent) are to blame for the fact that they lost $11,000 last year. Whether or not that's actually the dollar amount, I don't know. But we (Jason) do every bit of the advertising to get customers to our tent/area, and it kind of makes us sick to see anyone leave our tent and go over to theirs. But it happens, we swallow it, and that is that. And last year even we did not have a great year, so it's absolutely absurd for them to blame us. This year, the Hatchet Face family pulled out every big gun they had to try to get us shut down, and I'm so proud to say they did not succeed.

Our tent has been there at the Shell gas station for much more than 10 years (because we've been running it for 10 years); their tent has been there at the BP station maybe 6 years (?). We watched the BP station being built about 6 years ago. So Hatchet Face's behavior is like BP coming in after the Shell has been there for 15 years or more, and BP doing everything in its power to get Shell put out of business because BP isn't making as much money as they want. It's exactly the same!!! And it makes NO SENSE!!!

The Vice President of Operations for Shell (maybe the regional one, I don't know) went to talk to Ms. Hatchet Face; he asked her why she she's doing what she's doing. Her answer: "Greed." Straight from the horse-face's mouth!!! He told us that she said it emphatically and with a straight face. Well, at least she knows. What she doesn't know is how big of a hornet's nest she has stuck her horse-face into, messing with both Shell and Mid-America Distributors; neither of them is going to let anything at all happen to this tent. She ain't big enough to stand up against them, and she has annoyed everyone else so much that she doesn't have anyone to stand with her.

Who knows what next year holds...and it's not for me to think about right now and especially not to worry about. I need to catch up on my prayers of thanksgiving!!! We really did have a good season, nobody got hurt, and we were not shut down. I really hope I learn a lesson from this episode, and even from Jason. He is an incredible salesman, an amazingly hard worker, and among many other good things, a level-headed manager. One thing he is not, however, is a complainer. Now that the storm is over, we can relax for a while (until football season at least) and enjoy the rest of the summer.

Including.....Little Lady's One Year Birthday on July 24!!! Oh great, now I'm going to go worry about that. Just kidding.

Sometimes you just have to say you're sorry. And then laugh at yourself.

We were on our way out the door to go to the pool; I mean almost literally out the door. LMcB decided it was time to announce that he didn't have his shoes on yet. Grrr. So I put down the baby, the pool bag, our drinks, the keys and the pool key so that I could help him.

Just a little interjection here...we have searched the world over for crocs (generic ones) this year, and what's up with NO ONE having them??? We have not found a single pair! Wait, I take that back; Target had some on clearance, but the 5 pairs they had left were not the sizes we need. And Walmart has them in the most ENORMOUS sizes I have ever seen, like men's sizes 13 and up. We have looked in every cheap store I can think of, except Payless because we don't have easy access to one since Opry Mills got flooded out; they probably have millions of crocs. There's flip-flops everywhere in every size and color imaginable, but LMcB can't wear them (or won't), so we're stuck with regular sandals.

These sandals have velcro straps everywhere, which can be confusing for a little guy. He thinks it's necessary to open up every strap every time to get them on. And usually he starts them out on the wrong foot. Don't laugh at that too much - when his Daddy helps him put them on even he gets them on the wrong foot half the time; it really is hard to tell. So anyway, since we were all waiting on LMcB, I just went ahead and did it for him. I told him, "See, it helps if you just unstrap this one, then you don't have to fix them all every time." This was while I was basically shoving his stubborn foot in because I was having some trouble getting it all the way in.

LMcB took over at that point, and he told me, "See, Mom, it helps if you get my little toe in the shoe too." Whoops!!! Sorry, darling! Hope that toe grows back soon! :)

It's hot, it's hot, it's hot in here...

I am SO thankful for air conditioners!!!
Unfortunately, we just got our electric bill. It is almost double what it was last month! What in the world??? So anyway, we are trying to ease the temp. in the house up a little (yeah right). Also, we are having fun trying to stay cool plenty of other ways:

1. We go to Nashville Shores. We actually got season's passes this year! Oh, let me tell ya, these little girls who walk around in less bathing suit than I wear in the shower...they should be ashamed. Where are their parents? Ok, I didn't even mean to start talking about that. But really, how do I explain that to my precious boys who don't need to see that??? RF even went down one of the big slides...Once. (he did NOT like that)

2. We go to our pool at the clubhouse. Even Little Lady loves it there; she has her own personal baby "boat float" and she just waddles around the baby pool by herself (with me hovering over her constantly, of course). RF and LMcB are just a little too brave, in my opinion. At least RF can swim, but they both try to "dive" in the big pool. (shudder) We have gone to the pool just about every day except church days lately. The water in the pools is getting a little too warm from the sun, though; I know there's such thing as heated pools...maybe I should come up with a way to COOL them, then sell that idea and make millions!!! I think I'll actually do that....

3. We have drunk gaaaaallllllllooooonnnnnnsssss of Kool Aid. I mean GALLONS!!! Seems like I'm making two gallons a day! But it's cheap and very refreshing (sounds like an advertisement). We buy the packs from Aldi, where you never know what flavors you're going to get. We have therefore had some pretty crazy flavor concoctions, but when you're 6 and 3, who cares if you're drinking Strawberry/Lemon Lime? Actually it wasn't bad at all! Sounds like something you could order at Sonic!

4. We have consumed about 4million popsicles. That does include the ones we share with the neighbor kids, but most of them have gone to RF & LMcB. It gets tricky when we're down to the last few...and both of them want The Green One. Really, LMcB just wants what RF wants, but we have yet to have two of the same when we get to the bottom of the box, whatever the flavor. If I ran the popsicle company, I would make sure there were 12 of each flavor in the box. That way, most families would be covered: 2 kids, 3 kids, 4 kids, 5 kids plus dad, and 6 kids (not including dad); now EVERYBODY can have the same flavor each time. Why is that so hard???

5. We occasionally have ice cream. Last time I took some outside for RF & LMcB, I delivered it with the song, "I scream, You scream, we all scream for ice cream...." I know for a fact this was not the first time LMcB has heard that song, but he asked (in a serious voice), "We ALL scream for ice cream? Why do we scream? Do we scream 'Yay'?" Maybe I'll make the "Yay" mandatory before he gets ice cream again. :)

6. This does not include me or the kids, but Jason has put up his own little shelter inside our fireworks tent; he wrapped it in plastic, cut a hole in it, and put an air conditioner in there! He sits in his little shelter until a customer comes in the tent. And he even sleeps in there. It's a great setup. Now why didn't we think of that when I was at the tent every single day??? I had to stick my head in our little dorm-room refrigerator whenever I wanted a breath of fresh air. He's gotten much better at rigging things over the years, I guess.

7. I almost forgot, but we go to the FREE MOVIES that Regal puts on every week! That is just too awesome. Their website is www.regmovies.com just in case you are interested...interested in taking RF & LMcB with you!!!! Have I said that I LOVE the free movies yet? I LOVE THE FREE MOVIES!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I hope y'all are staying cool too. I love the summer, so I'll take the "oppressive heat" if that's what it takes!

Communication is key....

We were eating lunch and talking about hair. Don't ask how in the world we started talking about hair at lunch... I know we were talking about a story on a CD we have, where the kid gets his mom back for embarassing him by yelling, "If my mom didn't shave her legs she'd look like a gorilla!!!" RF and LMcB LOVE that, so it actually does come up pretty often.

Anyway, LMcB was remembering how my hair used to be "really" long. RF said it wasn't THAT long - "Really" long hair would be down to my feet. Jason said, "If her hair was down to her feet, we could call her Crystal Gayle."

RF got quiet (which means he's thinking...). He said, "Mom, I think I just heard Dad say that if your hair grew down to your feet that you and Krista would go to jail...."

I know now why women are estimated to use 20,000 words per day and men use only 10,000. It's because we have to REPEAT every last word we say! And usually we have to explain what we said!!!

Like this:
Me: Get down from there!
Either boy: What, mom?
Me: I said, 'Get Down.'
Boy: Why?
Me: #1, I Said So. #2, you might break your arm! Or worse, your neck! Just GET DOWN!
Boy: Why can't I break my arm?

And then I start to try to explain why he doesn't want to break his arm/neck, which probably sounds like, "Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah" to him. At some point I realize that no one is listening to me, but by that time I have used up another 1,000 words. And Jason could say the same thing one time, using just the first two words (Get Down), and it would register right off. I was thinking that dads must have some kind of inaudible grunt that helps kids hear what they are saying, but then again RF thought that Jason said I was going to jail for growing my hair too long.
But of course, Jason let me explain what he had actually said instead of helping me out. He had to save up his words for the rest of the day, I guess.

Summer Slideshow

All the World's a Post

I promise, everywhere I look now, I think about how things could be my next post. Look out, I'm addicted!!!

I had a long post written that laments our latest Fireworks Tent stress, but I decided not to post it, at least not yet. It's way too early to be bellyaching on my baby blog! Suffice it to say that we have found out first hand just how malicious and nasty old women with too much time on their hands can be. Ugh. (Lord, Help me to learn NOW how to love people and treat them the way I want to be treated all the time so that when I'm old I will have had plenty of practice and can be a sweet old lady! In Jesus name, Amen.)

There's a good story I'll share instead:

Y'all know mornings; they are insane at our house. I don't know why I feel like everything has to be done or at least started by the time I sit down to eat my breakfast, but that's the way I am. Finally, a couple of hours after getting up, starting the laundry, unloading the dishwasher, feeding RocketFire & Lightning McB, then feeding LittleLady (poor girl has to wait, bless her heart, but she's the least squeaky wheel right now), then cleaning up Someone's milk (LMcB! grrr!), then giving RF seconds on breakfast, and probably putting the wet clothes in the dryer and starting a second load...finally, I got to sit down and eat, well SHARE with LL, my own breakfast. I had taken lots of pictures of LL this morning because she was feeding herself oatmeal and made such a sticky mess all over her hair and face, and it was really cute. But that made RF want to take pictures, so when I sat down, he asked for the camera. Oh, whatever! He went away, but came back a few minutes later to show me some of his pictures:

(RF's "parking lot")
(our diaper bag)

(LL's piano)

He told me he was only taking pictures of "the pretty things," then he said, "Smile, Mommy!" and took my picture!!!! Awwwww!

Sorry, though, I'm not going to post that picture. I hadn't had time to shower yet, so you can imagine. But that made my morning! Love you RocketFire!