Attempted Christmas Pics

You can see what I'm dealing with here :) Let's just say taking a Christmas picture this year is even more difficult, for obvious reasons. But see, I've accepted Molly probably won't smile - fine... But the boys? Sheesh - Mikie kept pulling this face when I'd say "SMILE!" and snap one. RARE! They sure do make the season bright these little crazy kids.

I have threatened a few times lately to go to the "nut house" again. That seems to work pretty well, Mikie doesn't like to hear I'm going there or even thinking of it. I've been on edge, moody, trying to get my impatience under control. God is good and if I would just take more time to pray when I'm up to my neck in boogers (Mikie picked one the other day and asked me "show me where the worms are Momma?" cause I told him he'll get worms if he continues eating his boogers); boys sticking their hands down their pants (WHY do boys do that?); laundry puking out of my laundry room begging to be folded, yet there it sits; meltdowns caused by egging on (Mike the first, Jack the latter); stepping on soggy carpet when I go to make the beds cause they dumped a cup I specifically told them to watch out for... Whew-E!

I am very fortunate to be headed outta town for the day tomorrow though for some shopping with friends. We've been anxious to go, all of us dealing with stresses/chaos with kids - it'll be wonderful. Hope you have a good one too!

The Incentive

I’m sitting here chuckling to myself about the way our morning came together. I don’t like to think of myself as the “bribing kind” of mom, but let’s be honest, does there not come a time for EVERY mom where you perhaps have to give a little extra incentive? :)

I’m in desperate need of clothes. My clothes from last winter? Too tight. So I can either wear sweaters that are too small and jeans that hike up my rear end, or maternity stuff. Umm, neither are very attractive! So I needed clothes. I wanted to go today. Seeing as how my day began at the serious butt crack of dawn, why not head out extra early? 8:30am came and out we went. Pretty good for having 3 kids, ain’t it? Before we even left home, having a few minor meltdowns (Mike), some egging on (Jack to Mike), and attitude (Jack thinking he has to do everything ALL the time) – I really wondered if it was smart to go for it. But what could I do? I NEED clothes. The incentive? “If you are good, we will go to lunch after mommy is done shopping. If not, if I have to tell you one time to drop the attitudes, we will come home.”

Out we went and one stop shopping – Target. Gotta love that store! We got inside after a nice peaceful car ride and Mikie right away had to go potty. Fine, in the potty we went, big ol’ shopping cart with Mol in her carseat, hit the head. Back out into the store… We aren’t even 3 minutes into shopping in the women’s department and I hear “I have to go potty.” Umm, HUH? You just went! It was Jack and yes, he had just gone when Mike did. But he insisted he had to go, had to go poop. So back to the front of the store, wait outside of the bathroom door this time cause I had sweaters in the cart that hadn’t been paid for. Mikie and Jack come outta the bathroom again, and off we go. Not another 4 minutes into it “I have to go poopies Momma!” This time Mikie said it. “You’re gonna have to hold it buddy!” And he did. Sheesh – can a woman have a minute to shop? :) So I piled the cart with many items, a dress (which was cute and pretty flattering by showed too much cleavage for my liking), shirts, sweaters, pants… We wheel on over to the dressing room and pile into a handicap stall with 3 kids and my cart. Nothing like having my 4 year old say “you’re naked Mom!” I wasn’t naked, but I guess to him I was. On we went, I hurried and hurried… Molly started to fuss, I knew it was around her time to eat. Sure enough, I was 5 minutes past her 3 ½ hour interval :). Back out into the store we headed while I’m feeding her, pushing the cart (which had Mikie playing garbage man on the side) and off to the shoe department we went. Now keep in mind, I only kept 2 items of the clothing to maybe try again. But by that point, the boys were done with the fitting room and quite frankly, so was I. Down to the shoe aisles and got the boys new tennis shoes. On the floor I sit, feeding Molly, tying shoes for both boys. Back to the women’s department we head and I simply put different sizes in the cart of what I had tried on, a few other odds and ends and figured I’ll just try it on at home and bring back what I don’t want. Over to the toy department we then head, the boys were wanting to check out the “cars.” So we did – even decided to buy one cause they were being so good – and when they weren’t looking? I piled a few in the cart that “Santa will bring.” NICE. As we are wandering out, we bump into Kristen (my sis-in-law for those of you who don’t know) and said hello. And out the door we went.

Now I’d like to think the boys are just plain good and that’s why the morning went pretty smoothly. But I’d be lying if I said the McD’s lunch promised afterwards didn’t help them along :)

What Makes Bean Dog Unique?

The animal will only drink fresh water. Doesn’t matter if she only took a small sip out of her bowl, she will NOT drink out of it again. There will be plenty in there, but nope. She’ll nudge at the toilet lid until you hear her, she’ll hop in the shower and wait or she’ll come nudge my hand with her nose. Fresh water every time. She’d rather die of thirst before thinking of drinking out of her bowl twice.

This dog can open doors – not just doors already open a crack, but the front or back door… when they are closed. Seen her do it – she did it once when I had some girlfriends over for supper. Put her out to leave us alone, apparently she wanted to be one of the chicks… barged right in.

She also opens windows – in the house and garage. Many a times she has opened up the garage windows (completely shut – not locked but shut all the way), popped out the screen and jumped out. She loves to do it in the summer in the house if we don’t shut the windows and lock them. We’ll be piling in the truck and I look, there she is moving the blinds to the side, shoving the window open with her nose and popping the screen out (she's wrecked a few screens in the process).

She will jump up on the bed when she thinks Erk isn’t home or listening to notice.

This dog can seriously read my facial expressions – no words need to be spoken. If I’m excited and smile, she wags her tail, if I’m down or ticked off, she’ll react accordingly.

She likes to get nice and toasty in front of the heat/air registers and will even push me or the boys out of the way to get the heat.

She has climbed a ladder straight up to get into a deer blind.

When I’m doing dishes or done and the dishwasher is still open - she closes the dishwasher – got her on video doing it just the other night.

She knows when to be scary and let her hair stand up when strangers come here. It’s a great tool I tell ya!

We love her – she is definitely unique, loving, and at times… a jerk – but we wouldn’t trade this crazy dog for anything! Even Molly looks up to her :)

Thanksgiving Pics

Granny busy in the kitchen! What a wonderful meal - delicious, Mom!

Turkey Day

<
Molly in her cute dress from Chris and Megan :)

Happy Turkey Day to all! One year ago today when we went to head to my folks for the big meal, we found our truck battery was dead. So we had both the car and truck at the end of our driveway to jump the battery. Not only that, but Molly wasn't even thought about (although I had thoughts of a third baby of course :) - and here we are a year later - little precious Molly is sleeping upstairs for a nap (she went 11 hours again last night - YIPEE!) and Erk took the boys to the gym to swim for a while. Ahh, the house is quiet. Chloe is here since mom and dad are outta town for a few days. Her and Bean have been messing with each other, then taking a snooze, then back at it :) Funny dogs...


We had fun bowling with some friends yesterday. I was having a difficult time dealing with Jack's "tude" so I had to sit him in 2 timeouts at the alley. So it goes! He's much better now, maybe he's had PMS too! HA! Last night Erk was wrestling around with the boys and Jack bonked his head on Erk's knee and started crying. There was lots of blood coming outta that poor kids mouth! He cut the flap that kinda holds your top gums to the lip, know where I mean? When I lifted his lip this morning it's all bloody red up in there poor kid. Hopefully salty food won't hurt him too bad today...

We're headed to Granny and Grampa's house today and really looking forward to it. We hope and pray you are blessed with a wonderful Thanksgiving! We have so much to be thankful for!!

Some Life Questions I Have...

Do ya ever just question some things in life and can't seem to find an answer? Here are some things I've wondered, pondered, laughed outloud about...
How long do flies really live? I’ve been told only a few days, but I swear to you this fly has been buzzing around our house for 2 weeks!

Why do they call it fiction and non-fiction, when fiction isn’t true but non-fiction is? Am I the only one confused by that?

Why do babies wait to poop in fresh diapers after you JUST changed them?

Is it against Halloween etiquette to walk across front yards?

Can a daydreaming mom still catch kids doing what they shouldn’t be doing? I do have an answer to this one, YES.

How can a bar of soap stay clean? If many people are using it to wash their hands, how in the world is it clean for the next person?

Why is gas cheaper in the hood?

Why does the water coming out of the bathroom faucet taste different than the kitchen faucet?

Why won't the boys take a nap today? I've been up there, I've threatened, I've spanked, even resorted to calling Daddy to enforce it, but have they fallen asleep yet? No. And it's been a few days - they both NEED a nap today...

Classic One Liner

Classic line from Mikie:

"Ohh, I forgot... I thought my finger was a spoon."

Why God Made Moms

This was sent to me via email and it cracked me up. SO cute...

WHY GOD MADE MOMS
(Answers given by 2nd grade school children)

Why did God make mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.

How did God make mothers?
1. He used dirt, just like for the rest of us.
2. Magic plus super powers and a lot of stirring.
3. God made my Mom just the same like he made me. He just used bigger parts.

What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. God makes mothers out of clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world - and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.

Why did God give you your mother and not some other mom?
1. We're related.
2. God knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.

What kind of little girl was your mom?
1. My Mom has always been my mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.

What did your mom need to know about your dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook? Does he get drunk on beer?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?

Why did your mom marry your dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinking cap on.

Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.

What's the difference between moms & dads?
1. Moms work at work and work at home and dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power cause that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic, they make you feel better without medicine.

What does your mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.

What would it take to make your mom perfect?
1. On the inside, she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Dye it. You know, her hair. I'd dye it, maybe blue.

If you could change one thing about your mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my mom smarter. Then she would know it was my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on the back of her head.

Measuring Up

I’m a bit tired and here are a few reasons why:

My day started at 6am when Mol started to talk/fuss – got up at 6:15am to feed her and off our day went.

We got lots of boxes back from mom and dad that have been hanging out in their basement since we thought we were moving last year. It’s been fun sorting thru all the stuff, figuring out what is useless, what can be used in the trailer (blankets, kitchen stuff, etc) and even looking thru 2 boxes full of old pictures.

The boys had fun playing with some toys that were boxed up, and they found a way to leave a tornado mess behind in each and every room, and I’m not kidding when I say EVERY room.

Today while I was sorting thru their summer stuff and finding what doesn’t fit/what Mikie can wear next year that came outta Jack’s drawers, they come up to tell me an interesting story. “We peed in a metal cup!” HUH? “WHAT?” I ask. “We peed in a metal cup!” Yep, a metal cup. A measuring cup. In the mudroom. “We peed in the cup and then dumped it in the sink like apple juice!” Umm, yep. ½ cup measuring cup at that, some dribbled onto the boxes of macaroni and cheese that were lining the floor in the mudroom too. Not sure what kinda game they thought they were playing, I was NOT amused (although I started to lose it when yelling at them saying “YOU DO NOT PEE IN A MEASURING CUP IN THE MUDROOM!” Can ya see where a smile might pop up? :)

Cushions were taken off the couch, blankets spread to and fro – Mikie was making the closet in our bedroom into a “hutch” he kept calling it – piling high pillows and a small rocking chair (also from mom and dad’s basement).

5 minutes after getting the boys to lay down for naps, Molly was up and ready to eat. The 5 minutes I had empty handed were spent vacuuming up the dog bone crumbs that have been all over the family room rug for days now.

Naptime is up, time to dress the boys in sports gear and head out for a birthday party. Auntie Meg came over and watched the Mollster for me, which was a huge help! Thanks Meg!

The birthday party was a riot, lots of fun. Pizza, rock climbing, open gym with footballs/basketballs/a parachute – Jack had to throw a fit due to his “tiredness combo with too much sugar on the side.” Had to sit him in a time out at the party where he screamed out really loud and many around turned to see what the problem was.

Mikie was right up and in the middle of the cake part of the party where the boys were blowing out their candles. Not harming anything, just wondering what they were doing… What a funny kid.

All of this, me the deer hunting widow, and it makes for a long day. So I’m headed up to bed now, hope you sleep well. Maybe I’ll catch a few minutes of the news before I conk…

What a Crock!

There are many uses for a crockpot... roast beef, burritos, soup, even brownies - but I've never seen one used this way! Isn't he funny? Caught him doing this last night :)

I'm very thankful to report Miss Molly seems to be establishing a nice little pattern here - she'll go anywhere from 8 1/2 hours to 11 hours 45 minutes thru the night, but these past few nights have been 10 hours. It makes it nice cause her daily feeding schedule is right about the same time each day then. Good stuff :)

Random

I know many of you enjoy the pics I post, so here are a few random shots ;)

Mol and Nanny having some fun :)

Hey there Molly!

Cute or what of Mikie? I got this one off mom and dad's camera from this summer -

Jack showin Mikie some love on our roadtrip home from the volleyball tourney last weekend...

Splish Splash

Peace in the valley, ahhhhh... It's been a nutso morning of crabbiness in these parts, mainly my oldest dude. For whatever reason, Jack has been on edge all day - even when he attempts to change his attitude, it comes flying back out. We ran some errands this morning and at the first store he immediately asks if we can "go home." Umm, nope, we didn't head to that end of town to just shop for two seconds! I got what we needed and it was about time for Molly to eat so I figured I'd feed her there. Wouldn't you know while holding her and trying to make her bottle, I dropped my water bottle (after I had taken the lid off) and water splashed all inside my cart and all over the floor. So I had to find some guy working there to mop it up! That was a bit on the embarrassing side! From there we headed to another store where I really hoped to find some cute sweaters for the boys for Christmas and a dress for Miss Molly. I found a dress for her but Jack was growing so impatient (and Mikie kept wandering off) that we just headed out. While in line, Jack starts throwing a fit cause he took his coat off and somehow expects me to hold it while I'm holding Molly's carseat (that thing weighs a ton, there weren't any carts around so I had to carry it thru the store) and holding the dress I had picked out. Argh! I told him to hold it or put it back on! That went over like a fart in church. It was a tough mornin' out - even with the best intentions sometimes those trips can turn stressful :) Anywho, we headed for home, drove thru Taco Bell and come 2pm, all 3 kiddos were in bed and "out." I managed to get a nap in myself and watch General Hospital.

Erk is deer hunting this weekend so I'm flying solo with the kiddos. We have a birthday party to go to tomorrow so that'll be fun! We can't wait! Our good lil' buddies are 6 and 4, both back to back birthdays like our boys. Have a good one!

Who's That Sleeping In MY Bed?

Talk about deer caught in the headlights :)

Pearly Whites

We had our first visit to the dentist yesterday! Seems we are a little behind on getting them there, but ya know - I'm glad we waited. The boys could not have done better, they were both brave and courageous :) Nanny came over in the morning to watch Miss Molly for me and before the boys and I left, she read them a book about the dentist...

On the car ride there, Jack changed his mind (the night before he asked to go first) and said Mikie could go first. Mikie was very willing and hopped right up in the chair -

Here's how to brush...

Jack's turn!

All smiles, and shiny at that :)

The dentist came in at the end to check over things - I swear they get paid the big bucks to come in after the work is done to say, "yep, you have teeth!" The boys thought he was pretty cool though...

We had a wonderful weekend away! Too bad it couldn’t have ended better for Molly and her team though. They won Thursday night but lost the fight against a really tough team (hosting the conference) on Friday night. It was fun to go and watch (even with chasing the boys up and down the handicap ramp in the gym lobby most of the time) and to support Mol. We’re very proud of you and will miss watchin’ ya play Molly!

Like I said the weekend was great – even with me sleeping on a hydabed with both boys the first night. Jack laid sideways with his feet over me and Mikie most of the night and Mikie had to be touching me at all times while we slept :) Molly did really well in the pack n play next to the bed. The second night I slept in the hotel room window sile! There was a padded seating area thingy that I figured would be more comfy than sharing the metal-rods-in-my-back-couch-pullout-with-a-wooden-board-tossed-in to somehow help give the bed support!? The boys did just fine sleeping on it the second night and although my feet were frozen (from being not only in the window sile but on top of the a/c unit), I slept pretty well. Molly slept 8 ½ to 9 hours both nights so that was a real blessing. It was fun sharing a room with mom and dad, although at times I felt the stuff for me and the kids made it a disaster area :)

We sat in the hot tub, ate at IHop late at night, had a few minor crying meltdowns (Molly and Mikie), and had pizza with the team at 11:30pm one of the nights – definitely a memorable weekend. Well maybe not for little Molly :)

Mol is the one flying thru the air :) Number 17...

Nanny and Molly - why the long face, Mol? We won this game :)

Jack drawing pictures in our hotel room...

Tired Pickle!

Lil' Molly

Hot tub time!

Molly and I watching the game, ok, just me :)

Molly with Molly after the game, the late night pizza dinner

My lovely window sile bed!

Mikie with pen on his face, Jack and him thought it'd be funny to draw on each others FACES when I wasn't looking on the car ride home. It was pretty hard not to laugh when I heard Dad say "boys, don't draw on each others faces!" and turned around to see this :)

Molly hanging on for dear life while going thru traffic :)