My Four Crazy Kids

Cheap Entertainment.

2011-08-24T15:58:00.000-07:00

Don't you love it when you find dollar store toys that are a)usable and dont break within the first five minutes of being played with and b)are cheap enough that you can threaten to throw them away if left out and c)truly provides hours of entertainment? I sure do. My boys are loving two $1 bags of army guys and so am I!

I heart this.

2011-01-28T21:15:00.000-08:00

Are you in need of a chuckle?

Out of money and have no spare gold?

Don't want to switch to Geico?

Well, look no further! Have I got a deal for you!

Have a laugh, for FREE, courtesy of Hayden!!

You're welcome!!!

Quite the problem.

2011-01-27T21:07:00.000-08:00

If any of you had knocked on my front door this afternoon, I wouldn't have been able to invite you in.

Why???

Because there was no way for me to approach my door without safety gear and mountain boots.

If you will notice to the left of this picture, you'll see that everyone has their own hook for their coat and backpack. And there's that huge basket for their shoes

Yet almost every day, I'm reminding my kids to put their stuff away where it belongs.

*sigh*

Anyone else ever have this problem???

Goggles.

2011-01-26T20:27:00.000-08:00

Did you know that goggles make for an excellent dress-up accessory? Oh yes, they do.

Obsession.

2011-01-25T23:03:00.000-08:00

If you read yesterday's blog, you'll remember that I mentioned that Drew sent me on a wild goose chase for solar lights. He had searched for these particular lights online and was ecstatic when he found out that our Walmart carried them and immediatley sent me the UPC via text message. Drew takes his lights very seriously.

It took over an hour to find those lights for him and four walmart employee's assistance. But, no worries, I didn't mind the wait because a) everyone was very helpful and b) my husband is obsessed with lights.

He takes interest in my makeup obsession = I take interest in his light obsession. You don't ask questions, you just accept.

Drew was a very happy man to see his box of lights when he arrived home from work. I wondered when would install them.

******

Fast forward to last night, it was 10 p.m. when I noticed that my husband was missing. I couldn't find him anywhere. Aaaanndd then it clicked- he was outside. With his lights.

I put on my shoes and braved the cold.

I rounded the corner and ding, ding, ding, we have a winner. There he was, up on the ladder with a soldering iron. You know, your typical 32 degree weather activities. Funny thing is, I wasn't even surprised. I stayed out there as long as I could to be supportive and ooohhh and awwww over it all.

At least in my crazy little world, I know that some things will never change...

... and I can always count on my home being illuminated.

Slow motion.

2011-01-24T17:05:00.000-08:00

Today my husband sent me on a wild goose chase for solar lights (for the side of our house, he hearts ambient lighting).

As we entered the zoo (aka Walmart), I was drawn towards the McDonalds. Their advertising knew the way to my heart- 44oz of delicious diet coke for $.99?? SOLD! I also decided that I would get Kaitlyn a happy meal. They were only $3 and I hardly ever buy them (hello Wendy's dollar menu!) and I was pretty sure she would like getting a toy.

There were two people in line in front of us. A grocery cart sat to the left, full of groceries, but no apparent owner. An elderly lady, who was waiting for her order, was to our right. She had parked herself up against the Happy Meal toy display.

Have you ever had a time in your life where everything suddenly goes into slow motion? My first experience with that was when I was 9 years old. I had practiced the piano enough over the summer that I was able to choose several reward items from my piano teacher's 'store'. I remember one item was a Japanese hand fan and one item was a glass bottle of Dad's Rootbeer. After my lesson, I approached my mom's car to show off my treasures when suddenly my firm grasp failed me. Everything was in slow motion as the bottle fell through the air and then shattered as it collided with the cement. It felt like minutes yet there was nothing I could do to stop the motion.

Kaitlyn and I took notice of the actual toy display at the same time- the featured toys were Monster Trucks and My Little Pony. In that instant, life once again slowed down to a crawl. Kait's eyes lit up, the biggest smile popped up on her face and she attempted to pump her crazy little legs as she launched forward. I believe the word that I heard bellow from her mouth was, "POOOOONNNIIIIIEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!"

I was not able to stop the motion that was my daughter. My mouth slowly dropped open as she approached the area and my mind started racing- just what exactly did she think she was doing? Hello, that lady was in the way of the ponies and..... oh, NO!

Kaitlyn met her destination and weaseled her way between the display and the back of the elderly lady. But nooooo, that wasn't good enough for her.

With wild excitement, my adorable, petite, pink-wearing three year old little girl, thrust out her arms and used all twenty six pounds of herself to PUSH THE LADY OUT OF THE WAY!

Oh yes, SHE DID!

The lady stumbled forward and quickly looked behind her. She was visibly startled to see such a little person behind her.

As life suddenly caught back up to speed, I turned about 7 shades of red (possibly bordering on purple) and I frantically began apologizing. I was horrified, people, HORRIFIED! Who in the world pushes old people?? Apparently very young people that love My Little Pony do that. I crouched down (no kneeling on McDonald's floor, that's just gross!) and hissed that we do NOT push and she needed to say she was sorry, RIGHT NOW. My hissing was drowned out by Kaitlyn's jumping and yelling about all the cute ponies. She was simply to excited and there was no way to get her to snap out of her pony zone. To be honest, I don't think she even actually realized what she had done.

*sigh*

I apologized more. The lady never said much and after receiving her order she found somewhere to sit. I made the call to sit in the opposite area of her. I think that was just best for everyone.

What else can I say, the girl loves her ponies.

As a side note, I think I'll be waiting quite a few years before I take her out to shop with me on Black Friday. Can you even imagine how ugly that could get?????

Trick or treat!

2011-01-23T16:07:00.000-08:00

That's what my three year old just said to me. While wearing my black shoes, a black glove with a spider web on it, a rainbow glove, a blue and white hat (which was Carson's) and her Princess trick or treat bag.

It worked. She got her treat.

Christmas, Dec. 2010.

2011-01-23T15:58:00.000-08:00

Because I wasn't blogging much last year, I never shared any Christmas pictures.

Now that it's a month later, and I forgot to blog yesterday and I have no idea what to write about, I suppose it's about time to share those!

First up, it needs to be said that we did NOT have a repeat of the previous christmas. Boy, what a relief that was! In attempt to avoid another.. disaster.. we had all four kids sleep in Kaitlyn's room. They were all really excited to have a sleepover and surprisingly, they were asleep by 11ish and didn't wake up until 7:30.

First up is a shot of My Four Crazy Kids. They're smiling because I told them they couldn't go downstairs to see the tree until I had a semi-decent picture. My threat worked, they look so cute!

Kaitlyn was so surprised to see all of the presents and kept hugging her stocking. After about 5 minutes she finally tore into it. (can you tell she was the last kid awake and she got into her dress up skirts?)

Each of the kids had asked for a zhu-zhu pet for Christmas and I guess they were pretty good kids this year because Santa gave each of them one in their stockings. (see? Kait's still hugging hers)

This is a look of happiness. Not terror. In case you were wondering.

Hayden was very happy to get a new basketball.

Hayden really, really, really wanted a new Lego Pharaoh set and being the awesome mom that I am, I found it. Happiness for $6? I'll take it! Actually, Hayden will take it. haha

Carson was very happy to have Iron Man accessories to compliment his red snow boots and marker drawings on his chest.

Grandma and Grandpa McCaskey gave my kids a wii game, can you tell they were super excited to get it??

Kaitlyn totally loved opening each of her presents.

I gave Drew a new drum pedal for Rock Band. Don't laugh. This makes pedal #4 for him and was greatly needed and appreciated. He plays hard!

I'm a giver and didn't want Drew to feel pressured to buy me something amazing so I bought myself makeup. My favorite brand, Urban Decay, had an eyeshadow palette that they sold a year ago but it was limited edition and by the time I went to buy it, it was sold out everywhere. I happened to be on facebook where they announced they they were selling a limited amount (which sold out in under an hour). So, I bought it and then called Drew that he was done shopping for me. Win/Win

mmmmmm soooooo pretty!

Here's Aubrey modeling her new bathrobe that she really wanted and her Tokidoki bag.

Hayden enjoyed assembling his Lego sets.

Carson was in heaven playing with the 10,000 lego guys (that pile to the side of his is just lego guys).

Kaitlyn loved having so many pink things.

We had a great Christmas. I hope you did too, even if it is a month past due.

Advice from Dave Barry.

2011-01-21T21:21:00.000-08:00

A few nights ago I decided to pick up Jimmy John's for dinner. Have you had their sandwiches before? They're awesome and made so quickly too! For the two minutes that I was waiting for my order, I was looking at the fun signs they have hanging up. One of them was a list of things that Dave Barry had learned by the time he 50 years old. A lot of it was good advice and the rest was just fun to read.

It's been a long day and I'm tired and I think my creativity is stuck someone at the bottom of my sink (which is full of dirty dishes) and so I'm going to just share that list with you.

Dave Barry "16 Things I've Learned"

1. Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.

2. If you had to identify, in one word, the reason why the human race has not achieved, and never will, its full potential, that word would be "meetings."

3. There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness."

4. People who want to share their religious views with you almost never want you to share yours with them.

5. You should not confuse your career with your life.

6. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. (This one is very important.)

7. Never lick a steak knife.

8. The most destructive force in the universe is gossip.

9. You will never find anybody who can give you a clear and compelling reason why we observe daylight savings time.

10. You should never say anything to a woman that even remotely suggests that you think she's pregnant unless you can see an actual baby emerging from her at that moment.

11. There comes a time when you should stop expecting other people to make a big deal about your birthday. That time is age 11.

12. The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers.

13. A person, who is nice to you, but rude to a waiter, is not a nice person. (This is very important. Pay attention. It never fails.)

14. Your friends love you anyway.

15. Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that a lone amateur built the Ark. A large group of professionals built the Titanic.

16. Thought for the day: Men are like fine wine . . . They start out as grapes; and it's up to the women to stomp the crap out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.

I'm so happy tomorrow is Saturday! FINALLY!!! I hope you have a great weekend!

Months of the Year.

2011-01-20T22:06:00.000-08:00

Carson has been learning the different Months of the Year in preschool by singing it as a song. It's SO CUTE!

He happily performed it for me tonight after I told him I would put it on my computer.

I'm not sure what part is actually my favorite, there are so many options! There is April where he's not actually saying anything but a few random noises. Or July that is pronounced Jume-my. Perhaps the jumble of the fall season is also a fine selection.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Nah, those were all great but I think the fact that my 4 year old is doing the MACARENA takes the cake!!

Sticker Princess Tutorial by Kaitlyn

2011-01-19T19:36:00.000-08:00

Would you like to look like a Sticker Princess but you really aren't sure how to go about it? Or you're worried that you won't be able to pull off this glamorous look in public?

Well, I have a treat for you! Kaitlyn is an expert in this department and was kind enough to do a picture tutorial for us today!

First, choose a very pretty princess sticker, preferably with glitter or sparkles. It can be difficult to pull the sticker off of the backing but trust us, it's worth the effort!

Next, you will want to hold the sticker with your fingers and put the sticky side towards your face or body.

This part can be tricky and don't let it intimidate you. As a hint, you may need to use a mirror for your first few applications! What you need to do, is quickly smash the sticker on your face. Don't worry about any hair in the way.. you can rip that part off later!

Don't be afraid to add on a few layers. Less is NOT more! More IS MORE!

Kaitlyn's best advice to looking like a Sticker Princess is to always, always wear a smile. If you own it, you can wear ANYTHING!!!!

See? You were so busy looking at her happy little Sticker Princess face that you didn't even notice all fourteen stickers!

We really hope this tutorial was helpful and showed you just how easy it can be to look amazing! Feel free to write in the comments if you have any questions! I'll ask Kaitlyn and get right back to you!!

A healthy give-a-way!

2011-01-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

Today I have a give-a-way that I think you should take the time to enter.

This is a link to my friend Kelly's blog:
What are my kids eating?.

Kelly is the busy mom of two young children (who are really active in different sports and she works full time). She is very passionate about taking the time to make sure that her kids (and her- she practices what she preaches) are eating healthy and educating others to do the same. We've been friends for over 7 years now and she's definitely influenced me- I haven't bought a box of Hamburger Helper in years! Part of her blog headline reads: Trying to keep it Healthy, Simple, Affordable and Real. Yep, sounds like Kelly to me! She doesn't use processed foods, she rarely spends more than 30 minutes cooking dinner, she shares coupons to help make their lifestyle very affordable and Kelly is just plain awesome. Love her!!

For her blog's one year anniversary, she is having a give-a-way which is hosted by Cliff Bar and Company. Nice!!! She explains what you need to do to enter (super easy) but I think you should also subscribe to her blog and she's also on facebook if you're interested. You won't regret it!! Contest ends on the Monday, Jan. 24th.

And because it's practically impossible for me to blog without a picture, here's one of Kait.

While I was browsing in Lane Bryant this afternoon, Kaitlyn spent most of her time looking at the pretty jewelry. I guess I took to long because after awhile she took it upon herself to relax George Costanza style.

She is such a funny little girl! Now go enter that contest!!

Oh, the excitement!

2011-01-17T21:42:00.000-08:00

Today, because there was no school, my kids were hoping to go to our local fitness center to play in their super fun play area.

But, apparently they were closed.

Soo...... we resulted to a trip to the gas station.
I KNOW! WOO HOO!

lol

The kids happily piled into the van and discussed what they wanted to look at in the gas station. It was actually very comical to hear them chattering.

My children spilled out of the van after parking and made a beeline for the Redbox machine.

Aubrey happily took charge in the official movie decision. She used her excellent persuasion skills to convince the boys to not get a rough and tumbling movie (aka The Last Airbender) and instead go with Ramona and Beezus. She's got skills!

We spent a half hour in the gas station. Oh yes, we did. I didn't rush them at all and just followed the little kids around as they chose their treats- something they very rarely get to do. Aubrey went with a Nerds Rope, Hayden chose skittles and Carson and Kaitlyn happily shook their Nerds. How those two managed to get a sugar rush without even opening up their boxes, I have no idea.

I then also let the kids each choose their own Icee (or however you spell it). You would have thought it was almost as good as Christmas! Maybe next year instead of buying the kids presents, I should just get them a Maverik gift card.

They even happily SHARED!! Simply amazing.

The kids declared this their best day ever (that phrase never gets old!) and they can't wait for another day off from school. Sounds good to me!

The joys of having older brothers...

2011-01-16T21:35:00.000-08:00

Today when we were at our friend's house, Kaitlyn had a wonderful time on their spring rocking horse. It seems like every time I went to check on her, she was just happily bouncing away. It was great!

(Lisa, isn't all this blurriness, that is my child, just fabulous?? Love it!)

That is, until her older brothers and their friend came into play..... Sometimes it's rough being the youngest.

Sad part is I'm not sure how long she was actually stuck there since she never yelled out for help. I'll be adding this onto my Mother of the Year application.

Good news is that .02 seconds after she was released, she was happily bouncing on the horse again.

Ultimate Fighter.

2011-01-15T17:36:00.000-08:00

My kids have a new favorite game called Ultimate Fighter.

Yeah... I'm super appreciative of Drew for showing them some specific techniques.

Here's my crew and their friend Jake posing prior to fighting. :-S

Here they are when I asked them to move around a little. (Wow, don't ever cross Aubrey! Yikes!)

Thanks again Drew for teaching them an awesome childrens activity! :-S

Hayden's stamp.

2011-01-15T10:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, because I'm just this awesome, I finished taking down the last of my Christmas/Winter decorations that were in my front room. I clearly loved how they looked. But, being the middle of January, it was time to let them go for another eleven months. I ~~scraped off the dust~~ polished the furniture and then juggled my accessories and lamps all around until I had a set-up that was aesthetically pleasing.

Hayden apparently felt the need to have his decorating stamp left behind because my piano now has some additional artifacts including six lego guys, a small ship, a pharaoh's treasure thingy and a catapult.

I wonder if this means he will do the dusting now???

My morning.

2011-01-13T20:18:00.000-08:00

I wake up earlier than normal on Thursdays and Fridays because I watch my friend Delinah's two cute boys. One goes to school while the other is dropped off here.

Today was a busy day.

It started off with pouring three bowls of cereal, a million drinks and repeating myself about 17 times that it's not yet time for lunch.

Just before 10, I took Jacob to preschool and dropped him off.

After returning home, I finished getting my kids ready for the day. I changed out of my black pajama pants and into jeans (since I had people to see, no pajamas in public!) as well as finish applying my makeup (dark blue smokey eyes if you were wondering).

At 11ish, I loaded my kids into the van and drove over to preschool. The earlier start time is due to today being early day and no school tomorrow. Lucky me!

We slowly walked to Carson's class. Why? Because Kaitlyn insists in walking in the snow. Actually, it's more of a stamping. One foot on solid ground and one foot stamps in the snow. I warned her to stop because I didn't want her to slip and fall but also to hurry up because it's COLD! She doesn't listen. Carson asks us to hurry up because the little girl that he really likes is right in front of us. She's super cute, I don't blame him.

After finally making it to the door, we walk in, I sign him in, help him hang up his gear, give him a hug and kiss and leave where...

...we slowly walked back to car. That whole stamping thing mentioned before? Lather, rinse, repeat.

As we drove to Jacob's preschool, I decided to indulge myself and stop at the gas station to get a Diet Coke. I was a VERY happy girl to see this: MY FAVORITE!

Kaitlyn said, "Hi, I'm Kaitlyn. What's your name?" to five different people. She told one guy that she lost her gloves and needed to buy more.

We waited at Jacob's preschool for about 20 minutes while Kait watched a movie in the van and I blissfully enjoyed my Diet Coke WITH Lime while texting and checking Facebook.

After buckling up Jacob, I drove to Delinah's house (because she had to stop by there for a minute and we conspired to meet up) to say hi and pick up a Starbucks that she got me!! LOVE HER!!

Then I ventured over to Harmon's to pick up baby wipes (I *only* had like five left and you KNOW that's just asking for trouble) and a few other items. Jacob and Kaitlyn were so cute together! They did a good job staying with me and not running off or throwing any tantrums.

I needed more documentation for here so I asked them to look at me and smile. So, what do they do?? Not look at me!

I repeated myself. Jacob (who is only 7 months older than Kaitlyn but is the same size as Carson) took it into his own hands to help Kait listen to me. Literally. Still didn't work.

At the end of quick shopping extravaganza, Jacob told Kaitlyn that because they were so good that they were going to get a big treat. And he wanted donuts. This kid cracks me up!!!

It was time for lunch once we were back home so I suggested we get a bag of baked lays and they could share them with the big kids too. They happily agreed.

On our way there, both of the little kids were very excited to see the Cheetos. What is it about little kids and artificial cheese??? Jacob gave Kait the low down on not buying the spicy varieties but to go with the traditional kind. You can see his hand over them as to say, "Don't get this one! It's HOT!"

I practiced my sheep herding skills as we walked back out to the van and I successfully deposited the two children back into their carseats. I arrived home two minutes before the big kids were out of school. Nice!! Aubrey is a rock star and picks Carson up for me on Thursdays. I put things away while they all walked home and the little kids stood at our sliding glass door and screamed who-knows-what to Carson. No really, I have no idea what they were saying.

And that concludes my morning. I'll spare you from my afternoon. You're welcome.

My Resume.

2011-01-12T19:50:00.000-08:00

One must always be prepared for things in life.

I believe part of that is keeping your resume updated.

Under accomplishments, next to my Mother of the Year award, I have Guitar Hero listed.

Well, technically it's Rock Band that I actually play.. but being a Guitar Hero is so much more fun to say!

Think I should include pictures?? That's not overkill, is it?

I would attach these that I took last night. And between you, me and the lamp post (and facebook), what makes these even better is the fact that they're all Linkin Park songs. I LOOOOOVE Linkin Park! Every Tuesday, new songs are available for download through xbox. Some people go to movies.. Drew and I buy Rock Band songs. It works for us. ANYWAY, so these were played maybe two times each before I took these pictures.. not too shabby of scores for being my second/third time playing them. :-D

Awwww yeah, 100% on Expert!!

This one is #80 on the leaderbaord! That's awesome!

5 gold stars is such a lovely sight to see!!!

WoOo HoOo!!!!!!!!

Told ya I'm a Guitar Hero!!!!!! Not that you ever would have doubted me.

After all, it's on my resume!

(p.s. how rockin' are Drew's drum scores??? How the man does it, I'll never know!)

The Candy Factory.

2011-01-11T14:51:00.000-08:00

This morning felt like I was in some kind of bizzaro world.

While I was busy being mother of the year and chatting on facebook about possible names for a makeup blog (leave a comment if you have a suggestion!), Carson and Kaitlyn were happily playing. No really, they were happy. There was very little disagreements or arguing. They just laughed and played. They shared. SHARED! I was going to tell Drew about it but there's always that rule about how you don't speak about wonderful things that happen with your children or else it immediately stops. Prime example being when they finally sleep all night in their own bed. Yes, I'm aware I just jinxed myself and will probably have three children in my bed tonight. :-S

Once it was time to get Carson dressed for preschool, I went downstairs to let him know. I suppose I was also curious as to what magnificent activity it was that resulted in such enjoyment.

My answer? A Candy Factory. I know, I'm sure you were thinking Toy Store but no... a candy factory. Yes, there is one single piece of candy in that pile.

Allow me to take you on a tour through their factory.

-gray marker lid
-Dominos magnet
-C3PO head
-two 'maps'
-three CD/DVDs
-shot glass (I'll go ahead and let Drew be Father of the Year for that one, I'd hate to be selfish!!)
-pencil sharpener
-red pillow
-bakugan instructions
-a piece of taffy that no one will eat
-pair of slippers.....

-pair of slippers... which belong to DREW... with HIS ROCK BAND DRUM STICKS in there *and* they are FILLED WITH BBQ BAKED LAYS!!! Yes, the other slipper was in identical condition. (no wonder he doesn't have nice things)

-couch pillow
-tape
-butterknife (???)
-Batman blanket
-blue pillow
-princess barbie
-two remotes (also a huge no-no.. Drew's biggest pet peeve is not finding the remotes which is why we keep them out of reach for children. I don't want to know how they managed to get both of them,)

-bag of bbq baked lays
-IKEA gold vase aka Indiana Jones treasure
-snowflake paper weight
-hot wheels car
-batman figure (not pictured)
-roll of Christmas wrapping paper (not pictured)

And that's it! It's just that simple to create your very own candy factory!

If any of you try, be sure to take pictures and let me know how it worked out for you!! When you're finished, head on over to help me clean it all up, please?? THANKS!!

I have a surprise for you!

2011-01-10T15:57:00.000-08:00

I have a surprise for you.

That's typically a phrase that most people love to hear. A surprise! It fills you with hopeful excitement and curiosity. Your heart flutters and your mind races at all the glorious possibilities.

For those that don't care for that phrase, it's usually because there is an immediate wall of caution that is put up as you feel leery of the unknown. A surprise. Great (insert sarcasm). *gulp*

When you are at the end of your shower and your four and three year old barrel into the room, tearing back the shower curtain, and announce "I have a surprise for you!" there is definitely no heart flutters going on. It's more like Sigh. This is why I don't have nice things.

I mean sure, they obviously had a great time! But at what cost??? Being the mom of four children, I no longer rush out to access the damage. What's done is done. I attempted to enjoy the rest of my shower. Afterwords, I fearfully went to the kitchen, eyes mostly closed. At their request, of course.

Much to my relief, they had only rearranged my kitchen and set up shop for their own restaurant, brought out lots of random toys (which are still there, hours later), used half a roll of tape and sacrificed a small tree.

Kaitlyn was ready to take my order! Complete with green marker in her hair.

Carson is showing me one of the Menu's he taped up. mmmmm a Robot Spaceship! Who doesn't love to eat those???? Awesome selection at this restaurant.

At least my children know me well and that I really like having options. That's 27 of them taped up, not that I counted or anything.

I'm starting to think I should shower at night. After they are in bed...

My Portable Storage Unit

2011-01-09T20:53:00.000-08:00

I love my portable storage unit. Did you know I have one? No?? Ok, technically it's a purse... but with the way that random items (and some junk) are thrown into it, I don't think 'purse' is quite the appropriate name. I've thankfully moved past the diaper bag phase of my life but I still need the option to be able to discreetly toss in a package of wipes as well as a pull-up or two. I have to say that my storage unit is very accommodating of such needs.

Well, today as I was driving Hayden over to our friend's home, I was trying to figure out what to blog about. I glanced over at my portable storage unit and decided I should do some organizing and share it with you! I know, right?? Blogging so exciting you just can't stand it!!!

Luckily after we arrived and I explained my intentions to our friends, they said they didn't mind me sprucing things up while they watched football and the boys played. I was even provided with their garbage can and a Diet Coke! NICE!

Here's my before picture in all it's cringe-worthy glory.

The Contents of my purse included:
(front pocket)
-a barbie princess crown
-yellow sticky hand (still in package)
-keys
-mailbox key
-two travel size Urban Decay 24/7 Liners in Zero (black)
-four lip glosses
-spare change

(inside pocket)
-compact that is never used (forgot I had actually)
-five little pieces of licorice (ew)
-two lip glosses
-magnet with our Pediatricians phone number on it

(inside the actual portable storage unit)
-many legos
-lego guy with cape
-red sticky hand (not-so-sticky and covered with not-so-fun who-knows-what)
-zhu zhu pet
-two bakugans and cards
-two small bottles of Aveeno lotion
-two marbles
-three pens
-mechanical pencil
-small rock
-Ming's Garden magnet
-green hairbow
-small blue stapler
-coupon for pampers wipes and Vick's products
-bright blue small notebook
-more loose change
-wallet
-about 9000 receipts, letters/statements, mail advertisements and children's drawings (I kept about 10 items to bring home and file away or shred)

(mauve purse thingy aka proof I'm a mom)
-bandaids
-triple antibiotic goopy stuff for cuts/scrapes
-purell hand wipes
-flushable wipes
-a polaroid picture of me as a baby with my older brothers and Grandpa Marble

(zebra print makeup bag)
-Benefit's Some Kind of Gorgous in deluxe (travel) size
-Urban Decay De-Slick Mattifying powder compact
-Too Faced Pink Leopard Bronzer
-Too Faced Sun Bunny Bronzer
-two samples of Smashbox Photofinish Primer
-Stila mini kabuki brush
-Too Face Glamour to Go II (8 shadows, 4 gloss, 1 blush)
-Benefit's Erase Paste
-Urban Decay Brow pencil
-Sephora mirror
-eyeshadow brush that you can easily blend with

(Smashbox tin- doesn't fit in my makeup bag)
-Benefit's Stay don't Stray in deluxe size
-two Urban Decay De-Slick in a Tube in deluxe size
-Stila pencil sharpener
-Bare Escentials mini kabuki
-mini Urban Decay 24/7 liner in Zero
-Urban Decay XXX gloss Carney in deluxe size
-Too Faced flat kabuki

Thoughts:
-Wow.
-No wonder my portable storage unit is so heavy.
-Really, only six lip glosses? That's all??
-I'm apparently worried about not having black eyeliner with me being as I have THREE.
-The value of my makeup is probably much higher than the amount of cash I EVER have on hand. Interesting. Possibly a little sad.
-Now I know what that weird noise in my car was the other day (zhu zhu pet). It kind of freaked me out at the time. I'm relieved.

Here's my after picture:

Ahhhh, much better. Hopefully I don't have to clean things up again for awhile.

Aaaaannnd they're off!!!

2011-01-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

Drew has awesome friends. One of them had extra tickets to the Monster Truck show tonight at the Maverick Center (or whatever it's called now) and invited him and the boys. We waited to tell Hayden and Carson until just before it was time to go and they were super excited!

Aren't my not-so-serious boys just soooo cute??

Poor Kaitlyn was very sad she wasn't able to go and cried huge crocodile tears. Luckily Aubrey is playing at a friends house or she probably would have cried too. Anyway, I promised Kait ice cream and she was suddenly all better. Ahhh, the powers of ice cream.

I just love this happy/angry face that Kaitlyn has been doing lately when she's super excited about something. It totally makes me laugh. It reminds me of Agnes from Despicable Me.

I was going to write something else to wrap this all up but Kaitlyn is trying to hand me a booger. I'm certain you understand why I'll just end this now. *gag*

EDITED TO ADD: Drew's Contribution!

This is how I know he loves me. He sent a picture AND wording specifically for blogging purposes. If that doesn't say I Love You....... lol

Snow cone: $6

Parking: $10

Popcorn and Soda: $15

Watching the boys have fun: Priceless

2:25 of my afternoon.

2011-01-07T18:42:00.000-08:00

This is what two minutes and twenty-five seconds of my afternoon was like. Enjoy!

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I'm back in the running!!!

2011-01-06T22:04:00.000-08:00

I just thought I would be nice to all of my other mommy friends and warn them that I am officially back in the race for this year's Mother of the Year award.

This afternoon after I had dropped Carson off at preschool and I was leaving the parking lot, I glanced over at the School's lunch room door. To my surprise, there was Hayden with about six of his friends and other miscellaneous children that I did not recognize. I hardly ever get to see him! Yes, I look for him every day.

Naturally, I slammed on my brakes (although I probably wasn't going more than like 10 miles an hour, right?).

I rolled down my window and started hollering Hayden's name.

He didn't hear me.

So I frantically waved while yelling his name a few more times. You know, cause waving makes you louder.

All of the other children heard me this time. They either waved or just stared. I waved back and smiled my biggest smile.

Still nothing from my second born though, he kept blabbing to a friend that was staring at me.

Finally after belting out, "Haaaayyyyyyyyddeeeeeeeeeeennnnnnnn!!!!", he turned towards the parking lot with a very confused look. Who in the world would yell his name during lunch time?

Oh that's right, his awesome mom.

(picture not taken today)

And because he's such a great kid he yelled back, "Oh Hi Mom! Love you!" and then ran off to play with his friends.

Lucky for you, the readers, this story was much more interesting than when I was standing in my kitchen this morning with Carson and Kaitlyn and we saw Aubrey playing out in the field during recess. She heard me the first time we yelled and then ran off. Bor-ring!

Anyway, I sure hope I get the award this year. I will definitely be putting in a lot of effort, I can promise you that!!

Cereal Killer

2011-01-05T19:27:00.000-08:00

Carson is a cereal killer.

He kills it for Breakfast.

He kills it for Lunch.

He kills it for Dinner, when I let him.

He kills it for snacks.

I should have just given him a couple of boxes of cereal for Christmas instead of toys. Cereal hurts much less than Lego's to step on. Trust me, I would know.

What can I say.. the kid likes his cereal.

TWICE!

2011-01-04T18:26:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn loves my makeup.

We (ahem, *I*) have a rule that she's not allowed to touch it. If there is a color she wants on her eyes, she has to ask and I will use a brush to put it on. Same with my lip gloss.

Today, Kaitlyn broke this rule not once, but TWICE!

The first time was while I was doing my makeup (which is silvery greens to darker greens in case you were wondering) and when I heard her gasp about being such a pretty princess, I knew what she was up to. Sigh.

The second time was this afternoon. There's a website called Hautelook where a company will sell their items in a two day sale at a discounted price. For makeup, it's often part of older collections that are being discontinued (makeup changes every season so it cycles pretty quickly). My favorite cosmetic company is Urban Decay and at the beginning of November they had a great sale but it took a MONTH to get my order (it usually takes about two weeks.. that's just how Hautelook is) and so they gave me a credit. The middle of December they had a sale where everything was $2! With my credit, I was able to get over $250 of Urban Decay for FREE!!!!! WOO HOO!!!!

ANYWAY, so my Hautlook order arrived today and of course Kaitlyn was just as excited as I was to open up the box. I looked away for two seconds and she had attacked. My new brush was swiped in a matte green shadow called Chronic and applied to the side of her right eye. Sigh.

Good thing she's cute. And tomorrow we will be reviewing my makeup policies prior to any applications.

P.S. I am going to ~~try to~~ blog every day for the rest of the month. I hope you enjoy my ramblings!

Jr. Jazz!!

2010-12-18T13:06:00.000-08:00

Ok, I give up. I'm trying to come up with something witty to write but I'm still sick and there are no words forming in my head that actually make any sense. Sorry!

Here's the basic information:

-Hade is playing Jr. Jazz for the first time. Basketball requires coordination and he inherited (from me) the lack thereof... therefore it's just never happened.

-This was his second game and I missed it because I went back to bed and slept for 40 minutes. This flu is kicking my butt!

-He didn't actually get to shoot the ball or anything (because again, that would require coordination) but he had a great time and was a little bit more aggressive.

-Drew rocks for getting Hayden ready and then taking him and Aubrey. He even took Hade to a different location after for team pictures. And then he picked up pizza so that the kids were able to eat something other than cereal or PBJ for lunch. Oh, and he did all that in horrible weekend-before-christmas traffic. Ding, that's like 17 bonus points!

-Hayden's favorite part about playing today was that he got his own red Gatorade. And even better, he didn't have to share.

I am Iron Man.

2010-12-17T14:59:00.000-08:00

Hi!! It's been nine months since I last blogged. Um.... oops???

I decided a few nights ago that I should start blogging again but then Kaitlyn came down with the flu and as we all know, the mom is usually the one that has the pleasure of cuddling the fevered child or the one they crawl into bed and sleep by when they're sick.. which means I am now also sick. Lucky me. Which means several days later, here I am, finally blogging.

Aaaahhhhh, I bet you TOTALLY missed all my rambling, RIGHT??? Of course you did!

Moving on.

This week while Carson was at preschool, during art time, they traced their own hands and made patterns with them. His teacher was laughing really hard when she told me what pattern he chose: Iron Man.

He rocks. Love it!!

Two things I love.

2010-03-11T12:58:00.000-08:00

1) Free stuff. There's really no need to elaborate. We all love free stuff!

2) Makeup. As you're all aware. And if you're not, then you REALLY don't know me very well.

I've always loved makeup. Love, love, LOVE.

I used to wonder how everyone was able to get their eye shadow to be so fabulous with different colors and shades and not look like a clown. Cause that was totally what happened to me when I'd try more than one or two colors, especially if it was a darker shade.

Turns out I just didn't have the correct tools. Those little sponge-tip applicators? No good (well, not much). Good quality brushes make a HUGE difference. No wonder the one super cheap brush I had did nothing for me. And I needed a primer, that's why everything creased and eye liner NEVER stayed on and eventually melted all over the place.

I also needed someone to show me the correct way to apply shadow. Yes, there is technique involved but it's very simple to learn. It's all about patting your shadow onto your lid with a brush and then little tiny circles to blend.. the windshield wiper motion that I ALWAYS did before? It's rarely used now.

Now, where did I learn all of this from?

classycosmetics.blogspot.com

My super cute and multi-talented friend Janae (is there anything she can't do???) went on a mission for her church to Russia and one of the other missionaries there was Jen, the blogger of Classy Cosmetics. Jen is so, so much fun and does an excellent job of teaching you everything in a way that you'll understand. Her video tutorials are also a huge help so you can SEE how to make everything come together. She does a wide variety of looks and happily takes requests. She also covers basic things like doing your brows (I do my brows every day even if I do nothing else), color charts (buh-bye circles under my eyes), getting a fantastic red lip (although I still result back to my nude gloss) and applying false lashes (so fun!). You have a question about ANYTHING that deals with your face? She'll answer!! Jen is also working on some 5-minute looks for those of you who don't have much time to spare.

So this is where the "two things I love" comes into play.. the more followers that Classy Cosmetics has, the more FREE GIVAWAYS that Jen can do! I hardly ever win so I really need a lot of chances..

All I'm asking is for you to hop on over to her blog and then please, please, please become a follower. PLEASE? For me? If you're even slightly interested in makeup you will enjoy her blog, I promise! And if you win, can I come over and play?? I'll bring clean brushes....

Also, if you're in my neck of the woods and aren't understanding something or need a little help, I would be MORE than happy to pass on what I've learned. Anytime!

Playdate.

2010-03-01T11:57:00.000-08:00

Last Tuesday I hosted a playdate.

Besides cleaning up the house, so that the little kids can just mess it up again, I also brought out our nice things.

Such as, a fresh roll of toilet paper.

For those of you with 2 year olds (or younger) then you understand what I'm sayin'.

Anyway, once everyone arrived, the kids played a little and then we ate lunch. You can tell how much fun was had by the massive amounts of crumbs that were on my kitchen floor. I'm going to go ahead and guess that baby Traveller really enjoyed having such a wide variety of lunch options while crawling around. A baby buffet, if you will. At least I had mopped recently.

While I was chatting with my fabulous friends, Drew was sweating bullets about his fish tank or beloved TV being broken. (this was a very valid fear, after all, we DO have Carson and know what he's capable of...)

What he didn't realize was that out of eleven children, the only boys actually playing, were ours (Traveller was busy with his buffet, remember?). That means the basement was rarely visited and it was Kaitlyn's room that was the big hit.

It didn't take long to clean up.
We did, however, have one minor casualty. Every play date has to have one.

I didn't put the (new) container of baby wipes up high enough in Kaitlyn's room.

Totally my own fault.

And totally worth every penny- adult conversation is priceless!!

Can't wait to do it again.

Happy Birthday, Carson!

2010-02-28T20:16:00.000-08:00

Nothing like your child's birthday to make you blog again (has it really been a month??) but whatever works, right??

This past Thursday was Carson's 4th birthday. Although he was upset most of the morning that he wasn't six. Or five. Finally by the end of the evening, he was content with four.

Carson used to be my kiddo that hated to smile for the camera. He'd frown and give you angry eyes. He now looooves the camera. Why? Because he can make all the silly faces he wants. He loves it!

The day before his birthday, I took mini cupcakes and apple juice to his preschool for his birthday. He loved telling all the kids it was almost his birthday and having them sing to him.

I think what I've been most excited about with Carson turning four is that we're leaving the THREE's BEHIND! We all know how much more difficult three is than two. Carson has always been ~~HARD~~ full of energy and it's been just wonderful to have him grow out of it a little. Meaning, I can go to the grocery store and he doesn't randomly run off somewhere. He stays by me in the parking lot. He LISTENS to me. Pure.Bliss.

Let me elaborate. Him staying by me = The heavens open up, light shines down, music feels the air, rainbows pop up in the sky, birds chirps and all is right in the world. Ahhhh.. I've been waiting for this for a LOOOONG time! (although to be fair, he was my easiest labor.. just everything else after that has been more... challenging..)

Carson still totally loves Lego guys. Batman Lego. Toy story Lego. Star Wars Lego. Blue (Minors) Lego. Indiana Jones Lego. He was very happy that two of his presents involved Lego Guys.

He loves to run around, sing Ghostbusters and Best Day Ever on Rockband, ride his bike, color, fight with Kaitlyn, drink apple juice, eat breadsticks, sleep on the top bunk and watch movies.

He absoluetly loves going to preschool and jumps up and down when I tell him it's Monday or Wednesday. His favorite friend at school is Tressia (sounds like Trisha). He is AMAZING in the puzzle department. I'll even let him start a new one when I'm there to pick him up because it takes so little time for him to complete (even the hard ones!!) and I can't help but stare.

His best friend right now is STILL Mindy.. he loves that girl. But when the big kids tease him, he says he'll marry her but he won't kiss her. Just a big hug. He misses her a lot.

He teaches Kaitlyn all sorts of things. That louder is always better. Pressing "A" (thank you wii) will make anything work. How to fake burp and then yell Excuse Me. If you put a Littlest Pet Shop up high, you have to yell, Heeelp Meee, AAHHHHH as the pet plummets to the ground. The importance of claiming your "spot" and NEVER giving up if someone else tries to sit there. If you get into the chocolate stash, you should always get one for mommy or you'll end up getting in trouble. That if you call Dad at work, the first thing you say is, "I pooped!". How to throw a fake punch, with sound effects. And of course the, "Becky, You're my best Mommy" quote.

Carson definitely wears his heart on his sleeve. When you look at his face, there is never any doubt of what he's feeling at the moment. From grouchiness or pure excitement. Thank goodness it makes for excellent entertainment. I am so happy he's part of our crazy family. He definitely fits right in.

My favorite part of his birthday is that he was so surprised that a) he got to open all the presents without getting in trouble and b) they were all for him. Very different from his Christmas experience.. I'm glad he had such a great evening.

Happy Birthday, Carson!! We love you!

Wordless Wednesday: I love having a little girl!

2010-01-27T10:31:00.000-08:00

(the idea of Wordless Wednesday is that I post pictures only, no words... me blogging with NO COMMENTARY?? I will be telepathically screaming all the details to you so please pay attention. Thanks in advance.)

Pick your battles.

2010-01-26T22:47:00.000-08:00

Some of the best advice I was given when pregnant with Aubrey was to pick your battles.

I'm sure most of you parents out there know what I'm talking about. You know, asking yourself if it's really worth the fight on some things... and I've found that it definitely applies once your kids are around 4 years old and diving head first into indipendence. At that age, I allowed Aubrey to visit my niece in the Children's Hospital while wearing a huge poofy Cinderella costume. I let Hayden drink the fry sauce from the container (what, do you blame him??).

And now, it's Carson's turn.

Last Saturday night, Carson discovered one of the toys that I had put away for ~~over a year~~ awhile called Tag Tails Zoo Chase.

Basically, there are four belts (or seatbelts as Carson calls them) and you clip one of them on.. then there is a tail that snaps into it.. the kids chase each other around trying to grab the other tails.

Carson's favorite is the Tiger Tail.

He wore it Saturday evening.

He slept in it Saturday night.

Wore it all day Sunday.

Slept in it Sunday night.

He wore it Monday morning and just before lunch, I mentioned to Carson that he needed to take it off because it was time to go to preschool.

He did not agree and was quite upset. He said that he wanted to wear it to school so that he could show his friends and his teacher.

Pick your battles.

So, I did it. I let my 3 year old wear a tiger tail to school.

He was so excited! And because I have no shame, I documented this experience with the aid of my cell phone.

The kids all thought it was great and the teacher got a kick out of Carson jumping around and growling.

And then just like that, he took it off and put it in his backpack. No fight.

I love good advice.

Position filled.

2010-01-26T11:00:00.000-08:00

When my brother-in-law Lock moved with his wife (heart them!!) to California this past summer, they broke up our Rock Band group.

My step-brother Dan has always played with us.. but when there was the five of us, it provided the chance to rotate and no one was ever stuck with just singing. I love to sing.. but I love to play guitar even more.

Anyway, with just three of us regularly playing, we pretty much never have anyone sing anymore.

We're always keeping our eyes out for someone new to play with us (in a non-creepy stalker sort of way.. kind of..).

I think as of last night though, the position has been filled. The kid even dances!

(this video contains Carson: Please adjust the volume of your speakers accordingly)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What do you think, is he a keeper???

You're my best mommy.

2010-01-26T10:42:00.000-08:00

Carson:  Can I have pizza for breakfast?

Me:  Sure, why not.. can you get it yourself or do you want some help?

Carson:  I can get it!

(I'm getting a plate from the cupboard for him)

Carson:  Woah, this is a big piece!  Can I eat it all?

Me (laughing):  I guess so, bring it over here so we can put it on the plate.

Me:   :-O     Um...wow, that's a HUGE piece, Carson. 

Carson:  I know, it's way, way big!  I love pizza!

Me:  :-O  Um.... maybe we should put back some of...

Carson:  Becky, you're my best mommy.

Me:  Enjoy your pizza! 

Every morning after Carson wakes up, he cuddles next to me on the couch for a few minutes and he tells me that phrase. Usually it goes, "Guess what, Becky?  You're my best mommy."   It totally cracks me up and it melts my heart.  In case you can't tell.

No more monkeys jumping on the bed.

2010-01-21T09:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday when I picked Carson up from preschool, a mother who had been volunteering that day, made a beeline to speak with me.

I was initially a little concerned at the urgency.

She told me that Carson was such a sweet little boy.

He's adorable.

He's very smart.

He followed instruction well.

He is very quiet.

Of course I smiled and eagerly nodded my head in agreement.. but in kind of a 'double take' fashion, I did ask her to repeat herself about that last part.

Apparently when it was his turn to be at the Counting Center (which she was helping with), he was the most quiet of all the children . She could barely hear him calmly say each number.

Still in surprised I questioned her a little more: "Really, Carson? Most quiet?? Out of the ENTIRE class???"

I casually mentioned that he's my "loud child" so I was a little surprised at that part of her report.. very pleased.. but it was a little unexpected.

Then, she started laughing.. she told me that once it was the end of the day and the kids were singing songs, that she knew exactly what I was talking about.

And that she was very happy that she didn't pee her pants laughing earlier.
(I'm glad too, that's just awkward for everyone!)

Yesterday he learned Five Little Monkeys.. the end being his favorite part. In case you can't tell.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I see why she laughed. I love it!

The Star Student aka Hayden

2010-01-19T13:14:00.000-08:00

In Hayden's kindergarten class, they spotlight a different child every week. That child is known as The Star Student and gets to help out the teacher during that time.

Hayden has been waiting and WAITING for his turn.

This past Thursday, he was sent home with a "get to know you" poster to fill out and return on Tuesday (since it was a long weekend). On Friday, I get to go to school with Hade and share a few other things about him. I asked him if we're supposed to bring a treat and he said No. They're only allowed to bring a snack. So I had better make sure to call it a snack. He would like to take Smarties. I can't help but wonder if Smarties really count as a snack and not a treat??

Anyway, because I'm in running for the Mother of the Year award, I remembered many times over the long weekend that I needed to work on Hayden's poster but I never actually acted upon that. My awesomeness resulted in leaving us with the quest to complete the poster in an hours time this morning.

Luckily, Hayden likes to color. (don't worry, we spiked his hair into a faux-hawk before he went to school)

I used my very impressive coloring skills to draw his name. He filled out everything else. It reads (along with my commentary):

All About Hayden

I am 6 years old. My favorite animal is a shark. My favorite color is Red. My favorite food is Pizza (and breadsticks and cheese bread but when I told him that was a lot of letters he decided to just go with Pizza).

This is what I look like.

(mental note: order a replacement pic since I cut this one up)

My Family

(mental notes: order replacement pictures of both of these and get someone else to take a picture of Drew and I where our heads aren't THISBIG because WOW!)

McDonalds is my favorite place.

(please note the dual exhaust on the car.. that's because it's fast *insert big engine noises that Hade made*)

(have to say this also really surprised me since I don't think he's been inside of a McDonalds for literally years.. all those germs freak me out!!!)

When I grow up, I want to be- Artist

(the art palette has each color he used while drawing this picture and the art piece has a blueberry bush and a tree, the hole is for a squirrel)

My favorite thing to do is Wii Lego Star Wars

(he's holding the wii remotes in his hands.. that's our big TV up on the entertainment center *in attempt to try and keep Carson from breaking it* and on the screen is Luke, Obi Wan and Darth Maul, all holding light sabers)

If I had one wish, I would wish for A Water Park

(ok, on the left of the castle is two different slides, then there's a bridge with water across it and on the top of the right castle there is a bucket which dumps water out. There is a pool under it all)

He's such a great kid!! I hope he has a lot of fun at school this week. What a relief it was to get this all finished in time.

Only took 3 smarties worth of motivation, too.

Dilemma.

2010-01-17T17:35:00.000-08:00

This is my dilemma.

Carson and Kaitlyn had a lovely afternoon the other day. They played well together.. shared.. hugged (seriously, Carson kept hugging her and saying he loved her, it was adorable!).. zero screaming (which is HUGE in our house)... it was AMAZING. Breathtaking, perhaps.

And it lasted for over TWO hours!

Which resulted in her room looking like this, which DID take my breath away.

My right eye would twitch when I walked past the explosion.

Luckily everthing in her room has it's own place and home so cleaning up doesn't take too long.

But then it resulted in Kaitlyn wanting to move things around.

And Carson didn't want her to so he took it away (sooo not nice).

And in typical big brother fashion, he held it up so she couldn't get it.

Which then resulted in major tears and a very unhappy two year old.

A dilemma is defined as a problem offering at least two solutions or possibilities, of which none are practically acceptable.

Told you I have one.

Yeeessssss!

2010-01-13T08:36:00.000-08:00

You know how Carson is my child that is, um, energetic?

Some days I'm amazed he survived the day cause WOW.

When I'm tempted to contact the local group of Pirates to see if they're interested in a new crew member, I try to go to my happy place and remember: At least he's cute... at least he's mine.. at least he's funny!

Want to see my favorite happy place of the moment?

This is me telling him what I bought at the store last night.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And now you know, this is why he lives and why I don't give him away.

In the morning? We're making...

2010-01-13T08:14:00.000-08:00

Go ahead, channel your inner Shrek.. ready?

"... and in the morning, I'm making waffles!"

I've wrote before about how much our family enjoys Drew's waffle maker and his mad waffle skills. Plus he makes them and cleans up after himself. I know, awesome, right?

This past Sunday morning, we all dined on the fluffy waffleness.

See that? Those are happy people.

If only there was a way to make those smiles stick around.

By the end of the meal:

Aubrey had declared herself full and retreated to Webkinz World.

Kaitlyn refused to sit down on the chair (she also refuses to use a booster seat.. sheesh, turns 2 and girl gets all big on me!).

Carson was screaming about Hayden having a turn with the Star Wars Lego Guy (even though his turn was just moments earlier- look back in the first picture, he's holding it up).

Hayden was looking at Carson like he's crazy because clearly, it was his turn

Drew didn't even notice.

Why? Because he was still in waffle land. Lucky man.

I sure love Sunday Mornings.

post holiday casualty.

2010-01-03T10:02:00.000-08:00

Christmas was nine days ago.

Today we had our first post holiday casualty.

Poor Mr. Blue Lego Guy.

He was found in the garbage disposal.

May he rest in peace.

Or maybe I should say... May he rest in pieces. 

The Clean Up.

2010-01-02T10:05:00.000-08:00

Thought you'd like to know that I'm in the process of taking my Christmas decorations down.

This year I didn't feel the need to drag out every single decoration I own, like I usually do, resulting in more simplicity yet bigger impact.

I loved how my front room look. LOVED.

My favorite part was the soft glow in the evenings thanks to one lovely string of LED lights that I had wrapped around garland. I'm trying to figure out how I can incorporate it into my every day decor (the lights, not the garland). Any ideas??

I have to say with everything being taken down and thoroughly dusted.... my front room now looks so naked!

Well, Almost......

The story of Carson and Christmas.

2009-12-30T12:01:00.000-08:00

After the kids were in bed on Christmas Eve, Drew and I were relaxing and watching whatever random christmas movie was on. Around 11, I decided I should start wrapping the last of Carson's presents and the Santa Presents so that I could go to bed at a decent hour.

Carson, had other plans. As I headed upstairs to the stash, he woke up. He had fallen asleep on the way home from my mom's house and after a small nap he was ready to go. And he stayed awake until 1. Which meant I had to hold off on wrapping until that point.

I finally had everything wrapped nicely and placed under the tree by 3:30. Which happened to be what time I went to bed the night before.

Santa stopped by to eat cookies and milk. Stockings were filled and a present left behind. This year instead of leaving several gifts behind, the kids asked for one present they really, really wanted and that's what was brought.

It looked so lovely! Simple, but lovely.

I took one final picture before going to bed. I was so excited for the kids- this is what they would see in the morning. I left my camera on the stairs so that in the morning, I could take pictures of their surprised faces.

If I only knew what was to happen.

Just before six, I heard a rustling noise in the front room. I was so exhausted that I was really pretty confused.. why would there be anything but silence that early in the morning?

And then I sat up. Carson. It had to be Carson.

I stumbled out of bed and ran into the front room. There was Carson, wide awake, playing with a Lego Miners set. One that I had purchased as a Christmas present, wrapped and was supposed to be under the tree.

I knew things wouldn't be pretty as I headed downstairs but I was hoping that he had just noticed the presents with his name on them (including a HUGE letter C because he definitely knows his name starts with C). I grabbed my camera that I had just held hours earlier and took two pictures.. it was probably good I didn't have my contacts in to realize JUST how much damage was done.

I felt like I was in a dream as I walked around..was I really seeing what I thought I did? Was it really possible?

My heart sunk as I realized what I was dealing with- Carson had opened everything. EVERYTHING! There was two small mugs still wrapped under the tree.. but otherwise, EVERY. SINGLE. PRESENT. had been opened. The kids had seven presents each.. plus four santa presents.. plus two from my dad for the kids and then a few more for Drew and I.. totaling in at thirty seven.

Can you even imagine? OPENING THIRTY SEVEN PRESENTS??

I started shaking when I yelled out, "Carson, What did you do??? How could you???"

Drew woke up and ran out to the kitchen- he knows that's never a good phrase to be associated with Carson, especially at six in the morning and on Christmas.. I kept rambling about Everything.. it's everything.. and finally was able to get the whole story out.

Carson was in the front room with his eyes THISBIG and still playing with his new Blue Lego Guy.. you can tell the wheels were turning in his head that this was not playing out how he was expecting.

We tried to get answers from Carson on what happened and WHY but all he'd say is, "But I wanted lots of Blue Lego Guys and lots and lots of presents!".

So not the answer we were looking for.

It was just so bad.. how were we going to wrap everything again. And really, THIRTY SEVEN? It was all I could do to not cry.

Carson was spanked a few times and then Drew put him out in the garage for a minute so that there was no beating involved. I'm pretty sure smoke was actually coming from Drew's head so it was probably a good idea. He was MAD. Once the wave passed over, we put Carson in time out and he sat there for another hour.

Meanwhile, Drew and I went downstairs and tried to figure out what to do and just shaking our heads in disbelief. I had spent HOURS wrapping everything.. how would we do this? He gathered up the paper while I sorted the gifts.

I started with Aubrey's.. grabbed one, cut out the paper for it and shoved it over to Drew. Drew then wrapped it ghetto fabulously, scribbled the name on it with Sharpie and threw it under the tree. Lather, rinse, repeat. Poor Kaitlyn didn't even get the "T" crossed on her name for most of her presents. Good thing she can't read.

We put Carson's in a box and in Drew's office.. he was done with presents for the morning.

And we decided that our month-long threat of Santa will bring you a rock if you're naughty should be enforced. Good thing we already had the Sharpie down there.

When we finally finished wrapping and headed upstairs, the other kids woke up shortly after.. we were just in time. We told them what happened (it was obvious how upset we were plus I was still shaking).. they weren't all that surprised. Which is a little bit funny, all considering. And they were happy that everything was wrapped again so everything was ok.

Looking back, Drew and I can laugh now. Honestly. Can you imagine what a grand time he had? Opening THIRTY SEVEN presents? He must have woken up shorty after I went to bed to have opened all those.

I really thought he would have ran upstairs after seeing all the presents to tell me.. or I would have heard him yelling about a toy since he's so loud.. but nothing. Just the time of his life opening the "lots and lots of presents" that he kept saying he wanted.

I swear... only this child. This was definitely a Christmas to remember!

Visiting Santa.

2009-12-27T10:23:00.000-08:00

I forgot to blog about our Santa visit!

On the 23rd, I begged and pleaded with Drew to go with me to take the kids to see Santa. I knew I was asking a lot: Drew hates almost everything to do with shopping. He hates bad drivers. He hates the mall. He hates crowds. Yeah.....

But being the great man and dad that he is, he agreed to go.

Once Drew was home for work, I asked the kids to all change out of their pajamas (what, we're on Christmas vacation!) and into their nice clothes.

Hayden disappeared into the basement and returned wearing black soccer shorts and a brown pirate shirt.

I kindly asked Hayden to find something a little more appropriated for 20 degree weather. And a little nicer.

Carson helped himself to the dirty laundry in Kaitlyn's room and returned wearing Hayden's camouflage pants. Backwards. And Hayden's green shirt. Inside out but correct direction.

I didn't even know what to say to that, so I laughed.

Hayden happily showed me his new attire. A Tiger Rock Band shirt with brown pants. His big smile was because he still has his origional good clothes on, underneath. He assured me that he wouldn't be cold with two layers!!

I gave up at this point and had everyone put their coats on and off we went.

While we waited in the huge line with all of the other slacker parents, we ate Pretzle Time mini bites and drank sprite. The kids were having such a great time, even Drew couldn't help but smile. (ha!)

I had told the kids this year that they could ask Santa for anything they wanted and I was sure he'd bring it as long as it wasn't too big or cost lots of money. They were really, really excited. On the same line, we warned the kids cough:Carson:cough that if they were naughty, Santa would bring them a rock. Really, what little kid these days knows what coal is?

Anyway, when it was finally our turn, each of the kids happily sat by santa and told them what they wanted for Christmas.

Aubrey wanted a Webkinz or something fun to do.

Hayden wanted a Lego Star Wars or Indiana Jones set.

Carson wanted a blue lego guy (from the Miner's set) and lots and lots of presents.

Kaitlyn stared. And then got anxious.. but she never cried. I had to move her to Aubrey's after she did 'jello legs' and slid down Santa's lap to the floor.

I was pleasantly surprised that it only took three tries to get a good picture.

It was a nice change from the red-faced, screaming pictures that I usually end up with.

I think seeing my kids so happy and in their nice clothes made all the effort worth while. Even if it did cost $15 for one little 5x7 picture.

Christmas Eve.

2009-12-26T18:33:00.000-08:00

Every year, we go to my mom's house for Christmas Eve.

Prior to dinner, we sit around and talk while the kids anxiously await the opening of presents.

This year we had the kids each open up their present one at a time and started from the youngest and worked our way up.

I some how missed taking a picture of Kait opening hers, probably because I was laughing at how she dove right in to ripping it open. She got a cute set of 10 Littlest Petshops. She's had so much fun with it! She uses them with our Little People toys.

Carson got a cool Pokemon toy.. it's a lot of fun. It shoots things.. has a hidden area for little things.. perfect for a little boy. He calls it his "pooky" toy.

This was Hayden being told it was his turn. I love this kid.

Hayden and Carson study his Lego Indiana Jones set.. they both love it!

Aubrey had her mouth open for at least 5-10 seconds after unwrapping her present.. she's been wanting this for awhile.

My kids really had a great time.

This makes me laugh and laugh... Poor Megan, as the oldest, was last to open hers.

This is my cute sister Amy.

We puffy heart each other.

Her oldest daughter, Liz, is so cute!

Her other daughter, Jorden is so funny.. she's so much like me. We both like nice things.. love the hair and make up stuff.. we always compare our 'lipgloss of the day'.. she was so excited with her purse and accessories. I don't blame her! She's so cute when you tell her to smile too- she stops smiling and her eyes glaze over a little like she can't be bothered.. I took several of her and they all look the same. Next time I'll have to remember to tell her not to smile and go for candid.

My brother Dan and his boys Nathan and Ben.. they both scored with Transformers.

The rest of the (adult) boys. They stood back and observed during the madness.

This is my mom and John ever so subtly saying Enough pictures later on in the evening.

Hopefully not to many seizures were from my flash. :-S And he usually does close his eyes to help.. guess I did take a lot though. Sorry, John. .

I have to say though, I think this picture made it all worth it though... I actually got a picture of him with his eyes open! This pretty much never happens. No really, NEVER.

We had a really good dinner.. yummy food and great people are always a good combination.

Here's my dad Val and Dan cutting up the ham.

My step-dad is under instruction to avoid stress as he has some odd things going on with his brain and I just brought him home from the hospital on Monday.. so we made sure it was very easy on everyone at my mom's house. We went with plastic plates, cups and utensils. I'm almost thinking we should do that every year, I loved how simple the clean up was!!

After dinner, the boys and Grandpa Val helped Hayden with his new Lego set. Surprisingly, no pieces were lost.

The older girls had fun tracking Santa's progress online.

I'm so glad we could spend the evening with people we loved.

Kaitlyn and Carson fell asleep on the way home. Aubrey and Hayden set out cookies for Santa and then went to bed. We had a fabulous Christmas Eve. Which I really appreciate now that I know how Christmas Morning was spent... it's a story you'll truly enjoy. Trust me.

Reason #179: Why I don't have nice things

2009-12-23T16:50:00.000-08:00

Because walking 3 feet to get the White Board is much more inconvenient than just using the kitchen floor.

Pirate, complete with sword, drawn by Carson

Cookies.

2009-12-22T16:31:00.000-08:00

With two weeks of Christmas Vacation upon us, I've been trying to think of activities we can do every day that will help entertain my children.

Yesterday, we decided to make sugar cookies.

I totally cheated and used a cookie mix.. and Aubrey is the one that mixed them together. In my defense, I knew it was pretty likely that I'd be picking up my step-dad from the hospital and taking him home as well so I didn't want to commit to a very lengthy project where Drew would be left to clean it up.

Anyway, after the dough had chilled, I put part of it out on wax paper, on a pan, on the table.. it's the only way all 4 kids can get their hands in on the action. I also placed out a bowl of flour and the cookie cutters.

Aaaand then I discovered that I can't find my rolling pin. Figures. I did claim the prize for the first person to make a mess though! Serves me right for wearing all black.

In attempt to be resourceful, I put another layer of wax paper on the cookies and flattened it out with a glass baking dish. It totally worked!

I was pleasantly surprised that the kids all *nicely* took turns with the cookie cutters. However, by the time this all passed, the dough was soft enough that there was no way to scoop up the shapes. Oops.

At this point I figured it was best to just scoop it all back into the bowl and use the cookie scooper. Whatever. It worked.

Each kiddo was given a paper plate with a scoop of frosting, a plastic knife (no children were harmed) and free range of the four types of sprinkles.

I let them eat as much as they wanted. Why not!

They had a great time.

Kaitlyn wasn't too sure at first with what she thought about the frosting.. Carson had no concerns and dove right in.

At this point, she stopped eating the cookie and moved to just licking the frosting. You can kind of tell that much of the frosting has disappeared.

Excuse the blurriness, it was a total action shot.

mmmm Good stuff.

The kids were all kind enough to make Drew a cookie too at the very end with their licked-clean fingers and knifes.

Luckily, Drew was smart enough to question which ones they prepared and which ones I did and then consumed accordingly.

When Moonsand Attacks.

2009-12-10T12:51:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday afternoon, the kids were complaining that they were bored. Shocker, I know.

It was too cold to play outside.

Their millions of toys were suddenly boring.

Hayden requested to get the Moonsand out which resulted in Carson enthusiastically pleading for it was well.

Moonsand. Ah, not really my smartest idea. Last year I purchased a lot of it from Amazon for an amazing price. I LOVE how it feels. But the inevitable mess? Yeah, not so fun. Needless to say, this isn't an activity we do very frequently.

But why not.

I laid out the craft tablecloth (meaning I don't care what gets spilled/wiped/gunked on it) and brought out the bake wear to help contain everything.

Hayden enjoyed making igloos for his lego guy to play in.

Carson smashed the moonsand down and then scooped it back up to push in the molds to create a castle.

He was very sad when it didn't work how he wanted.

Kaitlyn just scooped it from the bucket.. into the glass pan.. and back into the bucket.. and back again.

She sure loves her daddy.

I was pleasantly surprised at how little of the moon sand actually ended up on the floor.

However, the table and chairs were sadly another story. :-S

Oh so puffy.

2009-12-08T12:19:00.000-08:00

In hoping for the Mother of the Year award, I have certain things up my sleeve that I save to give myself little boosts. I really want the comittee to know just how much effort I'm putting in!

Last week I had the pleasure of presenting an oldie but goody.

When Aubrey was a baby, my dad Val gave the grandkids (all girls at the time) matching snowsuits from Barcelona for Christmas.

It's all red.

It's super puffy.

It's awesome. Awesome.

Each of my children have had the pleasure of being stuffed into it. Their chubby little faces poking out. I just want to eat them up, they're so smooshy!

And look, she's even happy to wear it! I'm pretty sure she didn't realize at that point that she would no longer be able to put her arms down.

Or that she resembled a holiday oompa loompa.

Or for that matter, she had no idea that once she tripped she would roll around until she was on her back.. and would not be able to get back up no matter how much she flailed about.

That's my favorite part.

Told you it's perfect for the Mother of the Year award.

I just had to.

2009-12-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

This year, everyone and their dog is making wreaths out of ornaments.

It looked so simple, I figured I'd give it a go.

I grabbed a wire hanger and straightened out the top so that I could slide my ornaments onto it. Then, I collected all of the millions of ornaments that I put in vases last year and started threading them on.. non-sparkle.. tiny.. sparkle.. tiny.. etc. Throwing in a huge one every little bit.

It was working well until I figured out that I didn't have enough. Apparently one and half million were needed.

Sooo... I took them back off. I didn't want to go buy more- I'm trying to just use what I have.

Super smart me, I decided to just twist the hanger down lower making it a smaller wreath plus then I'd have something better to help hang it with (I have no idea how everyone else twisted their hangers back, I tried and it wasn't happening!).

Unfortunately, my brain failed me, and the 'wreath' looked HORRIBLE! Super ghetto. I wasn't able to get the shape I wanted by long stretch.

Off they back went. After pouting for a few minutes, I pulled out the floral wire and strung them on there. Much easier.

I attacked the wire hanger yet again and this time it was a little easier. Funny how that happens with no ornaments on it.

Then, I took small pieces of floral wire and attached my new wreath onto the hanger.

ta-da! It totally worked!

Sad for me, it was still small and super lame-o. Plus it stuck out awkwardly from the wall. Huh.

Then I remembered the wreath that I usually put on the front door.. my new wreath would look quite lovely against it! Thank goodness, I was right this time.

I grabbed two berry sprigs that I had purchased from the floral area at the dollar store and cut each 'branch' off.. it was just enough to help fill in the plain background.

I love it!! YAY!!

Drew loves that I was able to use what I had on hand (except for the $2 berry thingies).

Here is a good tutorial for those that are a little more coordinated than me. Or have a million and a half ornaments to use.

Might as well show off the rest of my front room. I know, you're so welcome!!

On the mirror: The hanger was originally an ugly brass- thank goodness for spray paint! And the square wreath is an unused picture frame that I wrapped with garland. I think it might need some of those dollar store berries.

On my piano.

Behind my couch: I recently decided I wanted to have a sofa table for more decorations since we didn't put our Christmas Tree in the front room.. but I don't have the money for one (they're expensive!). Instead, I grabbed two book cases and plopped them back there. Problem solved.

It's garland and a string of LED lights. Totally worth $7 for them.. I don't feel guilty about leaving them on all day long since it's such low wattage! I put last year's glittery sprig stuff in there as well (I think you can see them a little better if you click on the picture).

What do you think?

Oh! And a picture of Kaitlyn. She's on ornament patrol. She pulls them off the tree and then pumps her little legs and runs over to say, "Moooomm, it faaallllll!"

At least she's cute. :o)

They like their food.

2009-11-25T12:00:00.001-08:00

I walked into the kitchen the other day and Carson had just pushed one of the chairs up to the pantry area.

He was hungry.

I stood back and observed... he had Kaitlyn climb up onto the chair..

And asked her to get a snack from "up high"..

.. and from the very back.

It's where I keep my stash of chocolate. :-S

I'm not sure if I should be happy about the fact that Kaitlyn and Carson now work together on things... or just scared.

I'm sure you know what I'm leaning towards.

At least Carson doesn't always involve others.. the day after Hayden's birthday, he decided on his own that it would be fun to have another helping of cake and ice cream.

Actually, it was a helping of frosting.. he ate 1/3 of the cake's frosting. No picture, sorry.

And he finished off the ice cream.

Umm... at least he used a bowl and spoon....

Have you ever witnessed a sugar rush as it goes into effect?

Want to?

WOW.

Halloween

2009-11-06T14:13:00.000-08:00

I think Halloween is so much fun.

The decorations..

The costumes..

And now to that list, I get to add: The makeup. With the kids getting a little older I've found that they want me to get into that part of it a little bit more. So much fun!

I actually don't have very many pictures.. we went to a Halloween party this year and on the drive over, I discovered that I had left the memory card at home (in my laptop). I almost died. I LOVE Halloween pictures! *sniff, sniff* The internal memory gave me 15 pictures so that's what I had to work with.

I've mentioned this already but that's ok. Aubrey wasn't certain what she wanted to be so I had her dig through the bin of costumes and she decided on the prisoner costume since her friend Holly was going to be the same thing. Only of course she had to be dead.. she IS in 4th grade now.

This was from the party she went to a few weeks ago.. you can see the costume better.

On Halloween, in the car, on the way to the party.

Hayden had been asking if he could be The Joker for a couple of days.. I didn't have a costume for him but wasn't really sure what I thought about that idea. It's not so much of a kids costume, ya know? The day prior to Halloween we trecked to D.I. (consignment store) and I searched through the women's section for clothing that might work for *something*. Which was not easy.. Carson kept hiding in the racks resulting in me crouching down to look for his shoes to make sure he was still near by.

And then I happened to find a bright purple velvety jacket/blazer complete with "old lady" smell and all. Hayden started jumping up and down because it was sooo perfect for a Joker costume. Fine. FINE. Next I found a green sleeveless top (which I cut to shorten and make it more vest like in front) as well as a tie.

Hayden has sensory issues sometimes so I was surprised when he kept talking about how he needs make up all over his face.. but he was totally all about it and he wore it well. I really enjoyed putting it on- I used eyeshadow around his eyes and then costume makeup stuff for the rest.

On the drive over..

Doesn't he look great??

Drew had him say, "Why so Serious" a bunch of time... this is Hade's serious face. lol
Carson was going to be the Red Power Ranger. It was a passed down costume from Hayden. I was very proud of myself that I managed to not lose the hat, the cape, the gloves or the boot covers. That's not eat with boys that love to play with it!! Imagine my frustration when I wasn't able to find the actual COSTUME. I searched everywhere with no luck. Figures.

Carson looved the hat though and wore it and kept saying he was a knight. For five days. FIVE. He wore it taking Hayden to school.. to Walmart.. to Winco.. to Costco.. to Michael's.. my in-laws.. Red Robin.. E*V*E*R*Y*W*H*E*R*E.

When we were at D.I. I happened to find a knight chest plate and decided to go with that for a costume. He's 3 years old. Why not let him wear what he wants? I just had him wear a matching turtleneck and pants.

I couldn't decide what to have Kaitlyn wear.. do I pass down a costume.. go super girly.. what to do, What to do! I finally decided with it being cold outside that I'd have her wear Carson's old Finding Nemo costume. She was so cute! Even if the pants were big.. I had to roll them 3 times and even then they kept falling down (size 18 mo.). Oh well.

So sad the picture is blurry! Trust me, she was adorable in a non-blurry setting.
Here's a group shot. The big kids had so much fun trick-or-treating.. they just ran from house to house. My kids really enjoyed it- I usually make them wait for the little kids before going to another house. lol

Kaitlyn and a just turned 2 year old friend (the little pumpkin) went trick-or-treating together.. she's say it and Kait would say Thank you. So cute!

And here are my four crazy kids. Yeah....
At least they're mostly looking in this one. Kind of.

I saved the best for last.

Drew and I needed costumes for Halloween but I had no idea what.. we've never dressed up before. Carson told me I should be Batman (of course.. he loves batman..) and then it hit me- BatGirl! I could wear my black lounge pants (who doesn't want to be comfortable??).. this could really work.

First up, I went Walmart and checked out the boys section for batman shirts.. I didn't find anything with a good logo. And then I remembered Hayden had an undershirt with one.. sure enough, they still had them! I cut them out of the shirt and then hand stitched them onto black shirts that Drew and I had.

I had a lot of fun with the make up- when else will I wear yellow eye shadow?? You can't tell how yellow it is with the bright flash.. but it was awesome. At least I thought so. LOL

For the capes, I bought black satin costume fabric (that's what the tag said- I was just happy it was 2 bucks a yard) and dark yellow fabric for the inside. I hand stitched the bottom 'bat' scoops and then used iron on adhesive stuff for the rest. Mine went to about the back of my knees and Drew's went clear to his ankles (his request). They ROCKED. I used a ribbon to keep mine together in front and Drew had Velcro for his and just on the back of his shirt.

I didn't get any pictures of us earlier in the evening since the kids were so excited to run around.. but I had Aubrey take a few once we were home. Drew's belt is off (he had a matching yellow belt) and my cape is off. Aubrey was so tired that she was melting down and didn't want to sit around and wait for us.

We had such a great night.. and it seriously made me so happy that my husband actually agreed to wear a costume and we had a lot of fun with it. :o)

I heart felt food.

2009-10-26T18:42:00.001-07:00

For Christmas last year, Kaitlyn got a couple of play food sets. Some of them were made out of felt.. simply adorable! And then my friend Janae was mentioning how you can make it and I had one of those 'duh' moments.. of course you can make it yourself!

(June 2009)

I was going to wait until I had a sewing machine to get started (hello, black friday!!) but because I'm horribly impatient, I decided to not wait and just hand sew it. Even I can sew up and down and tie a few knots.

I still need more practice but I'm getting better.. it's so easy though and the kids LOVE it!! Oh, and it's CHEAP!!

For breakfast we have a few options...

How about bacon and eggs!
Or there is pastries..
Or maybe pancakes and waffles are what you're looking for.

For lunch or dinner there is pizza, chicken or a carrot. Yes, I'm aware the chicken is very ghetto looking. Poor, poor chicken. I have plants to make a sandwich or maybe pitas with sandwich stuffings. Wouldn't that be cute??

Isn't this too cute?? Order, up!
Need something sweet? Grab a cookie! We have Chocolate with White Chips, Chocolate Chip, Pink Frosting Sugar Cookie (with beads as sprinkles!!) and an Oreo. mmmm

And of course there are cupcakes.
One, with a cherry on top.

Aren't they adorable??

There are patterns you can buy on Etsy and I'm thinking of getting one to try out. If I can hold out, this would be a great Christmas present for Kaitlyn!!

Picture Update.

2009-10-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

The title says it all. Updates. And pictures. LOTS of pictures.

Aubrey has been doing so well in 4th grade.. she's getting great grades! Last month she was able to bring Lily home from school, the class guinea pig. Here Aubrey is, on Monday morning, with Lily. Proof that everyone survived.
Aubrey's also been having a lot of fun with doing bead projects.. mostly making bracelets. She still likes to play Webkinz and has been helping me sew a little.

I've also let her 'babysit' a few times, leaving the kids with her while I quickly run somewhere. Usually not Carson though.. he's just plain ol' trouble. And only Kaitlyn if she's napping. Aubs has done a great job though, I really appreciate her help!

She went to a Halloween party last weekend and had a great time. She found a 'jail' costume that I had purchased for $1 forever ago (was going to sell on ebay) and decided to wear that. And of course she wanted to be dead.. which meant I got to do a smokey eye on her (dead = smokey eyes??). Too bad it's not normally appropriate for a 9 year old to wear it.. I had a lot of fun!

Hayden loves Kindergarten.. he has a lot of fun and has a lot of friends in his class. I was able to help out in his class last monday and he was so cute.. it's fun to see how they interact with the other kids. There's a little girl that really likes him too. hehehe

I still take Hayden to school every day but he now walks home by himself most days (we usually meet him mon/wed since I have to pick up Carson from preschool). It's so nice that I can watch him walk home from our deck (or take pictures.. yes, I'm THAT mom..). He loves the independence too. This was his first day walking home.. that kid had a spring in his step!

Hade is constantly talking about Lego Star Wars and Indiana Jones. Wow. WOW. He loves playing with Drew's old Star Wars figures and is constantly trying to convince me that we need to go to Home Depot and buy a bunch of wood so we can build something.. a ship.. an at-at.. a house.. a bridge.. something. Anything! Gee, he couldn't possibly be a Young, could he??

Hade loves telling jokes and rhyming everything. Who knew the perfect way to annoy your siblings is just to rhyme your words. :-S He's such a goofy kid. I love it!

My only complaint is that last week there was a little of the above picture... with this picture below... (remember, Aubrey and her beads??)

Luckily after blowing his nose, it shot that sucker back out!!

Carson is in preschool twice a week and LoVeS it!!! He's getting better at recognizing his name and is always eager to go to school. He is learning a few letters as well as making smiley faces. Only their smiles are.. off.. so really he's making grouchy faces. But whatever. His favorite thing to do are the puzzles. Oh, and the teacher never has any problems with him. He just happily follows the other kids. Awesome!

Here at home, he loves playing on the white boards with markers, playing with foam blocks and playing with his Imaginext Batman set. He's ALL about Batman. Sometimes he tells us that's his new name.

He's finally starting to get the potty training thing down.. sort of. I've found that if he's not wearing anything but a shirt, then no accidents. But I don't really like little boy butt all over my house. I have enough of that with trying to keep clothes on Hade! The other downside is that he doesn't mind the cold.. meaning he has no problem running outside un-dressed like that. Although sometimes he'll put Kaitlyn's leg warmers on his arms first. :-S

Carson still just loooves Mindy. He talks about going to her house a lot and how he's going to give her a hug and a kiss. She IS pretty darn cute.. I can't blame him!

Kaitlyn is really into climbing right now. She climbs onto Aubrey's desk. She climbs onto Aubrey's bunk bed (which is SCARY- it's a super tall loft bed!). She climbs onto the counter height kitchen chairs, and table. She climbs onto the boys bunk bed the most though.. and three times, she has fallen asleep up there.

(taken with my cell phone)

For some reason, my kids think when they're around two, that they no longer need naps. Kaitlyn tells me, "No night-night" and then runs and hides. It's a little bit cute. This past week she's still really needed them though.. besides the boys bed, she's fallen asleep on the couch.. the high chair.. and the piano bench.

It's so much fun having a little girl.. my boys STILL don't care about what they wear (except Carson and his batman lego shirt). Kaitlyn is already choosing things and will pat herself and say, "Cute! Pretty!". She loves shoes. She asks for lipgloss sometimes too. I think I need to figure out some dress up items for her for Christmas!

Kait is really talking up a storm right now. I'm noticing that she doesn't say much when we're out and about.. but at home.. she doesn't hold back. It's so cute.. she has such a little voice. She calls Aubrey, Bob-rey or sometimes just Bob. I love that she's nicknamed her!! Hayden is Hay-dah. Carson is Sarson or sometimes just Sars. Actually, often it's, "Sars, no-no-no!" Even she knows that he's naughty sometimes. :-D

Together, the kids have had a couple of fun afternoons with edible play-doh. They don't argue and get a snack at the same time.. it's fantastic.

A few weeks ago we went to Garner Village with Misty and her kids. It was super busy and we had to park 50 miles away (give or take) since I didn't bring cash for parking. I've never been there before.. I'd love to go back sometime!

The kids had fun in a maze.. Drew went in after awhile and chased the kids too.

They had a stage where the kids could go dance.. the girls loved it! I love Holly's dance moves.. they're fantastic (she's the one in black).

The boys... not so much.

I can't believe how big our kids have gotten.. I'm so glad they love to play together!

Drew and I are doing well.. trying to not kill the kids and having fun laughing and being dumb. We're really good at both of those- accentuate the positive, right?? Doing a few little projects with the house.. just enjoying being with each other. Drew did some barter work a bit ago (mechanic work for babysitting) so we were able to go on a date- dinner and a movie. He's a lot of fun! I can't wait to go out again.

I've decided I need to have a night with just friends.. I think I might just banish Drew and the kids to the basement and we could stay up here.. or the other way around. Now I just have to figure out when and if I should plan some sort of activity or just talk and eat. Such decisions.. anyone want to come and play???

Someone has to teach him...

2009-10-16T12:55:00.000-07:00

I can't dance.

No really, I can't.

When Aubrey was little and she begged for me to show her, she was not amused with my attempts.

That year for Christmas I gave her the Bella Dancerella Pop Star set. It was the perfect way for her to learn some decent moves! (I may or may not have learned them with her)

After being put away for awhile, Aubrey recently decided to practice again. She's considering being a Pop Star for Halloween.. she's gotta brush up on her skills!!

Looks like someone else is considering the same idea.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Revamping my Hutch.

2009-10-13T09:12:00.000-07:00

My kitchen is tiny. The stairs going to the basement are in the corner of the room making for an awkward floor plan. When we bought our house, I was 23, working full time and had one child. We ate out a lot. The kitchen wasn't something we used all that much and I totally underestimated the importance of having lots of cabinet space.. or just space in general.

A few years after we moved in, my lovely grandma moved out of state leaving much of her furniture available. I snagged up her lovely piano as well as the dining room hutch. I felt a little crazy to bring more furniture into our already small kitchen but I really needed the extra storage.. what do you do.

My kitchen cabinets are your typical 90's light oak (or something) and the hutch is also light.
The furniture in my front room, which looks directly into the kitchen, is darker as is my kitchen table. I've wanted to do something to my hutch for awhile now but I wasn't sure what to do and still keep everything balanced.

Last week, on Thrifty Decor Chic, she came up with an inexpensive and quick way to change up her hutch. It was perfect for what I wanted to accomplish!! Her blogs gives great directions.

The length that I needed was 55" for the long sections but the foam boards were 20x30 so I needed two for just one section. It was really simple to cut out the length I needed and then just use duct tape to make it one large piece. I used the two scrap pieces to make the middle section and finally, two more pieces for the top area. Total was less than $12 for all four boards ($2.60ish each at Walmart and $3 each at Michaels).

The wall paper I picked up at Lowes for $3ish, on clearance. Love everything they clearance out in the fall!! I've never worked with wall paper but I had seen enough blogs with people using it for texture to make me snap it up. So glad I did!! And I have a TON of it left.

Once my foam pieces were taped together, I laid it out on my table with the wall paper facing down, and hot glued the edges along the back. Make sure you pull it tight!! (I had not glued the bottom in the picture below except for the edges)

After I was finished with that part, I went outside with a foam craft brush and one of those little tester cans of black satin paint (which I got in the Oops area for $1.50) and started painting. I did try spray paint, by the way, and after 2 light coats I decided to continue with the actual paint- there was too much texture, IMO.

Once it was dry to touch I just pushed it into the back of the hutch and I was done! Lovely, right??

I also decided to swap out the small knobs that were on the hutch because the original ones almost blended in with the wood because of the color. Home Depot had a 10 pack for $15.. and I forgot just how many knobs I had (I know, you'd think I would have first counted or something.. but whatever) so I ended up making a trip back where I noticed some for $1.36 and they were VERY close to the same design so I picked up four of those (they are on the drawers in the middle). I love how they look.

I also took the opportunity to redo the middle section and make it more contemporary. It had my Grandma's tea set in it as well as the mugs that we got from when we registered for our wedding. I'm a sentimental "things" person (which I'm trying to be better about) so it meant a lot for me to have them there. But I've never used the tea set, not even once. And we have another set of mugs that we use to drink from.. so really, I didn't need them there. Also, our hutch is also the spot where papers and things gather... so I decided to use two boxes I had from IKEA in that area for storage. Everything fit perfectly and is organized in them.

I also replaced the knobs on the lower section but the larger handle ones are the originals. I'm not going to replace those, I like how they look.
I didn't take a before picture on Saturday.. but I did take picture this back when we painted that back wall in June.

By the way, I changed the upper decorations a few weeks after this picture so that they worked better together.. I guess you can see what I was first working with a few months ago. LOL

Now you understand what I mean by the hutch becoming the drop of spot for clutter. Told you!

Here's my after:
And yes, that purple can of Lysol is there to stay. My husband gets a little crazy with spraying down the house at night and he gets a little bothered if it's not available to spray when needed. Not that he's anti-germ or anything.

What do you think?? I LOVE IT!!

My new obsession: Jute Twine & Styrofoam

2009-10-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

It's DIY day again.. I'm loving that I have a day to show off my current projects and obsessions!

Back in August, I saw on V & Co. where she created some Pottery Barn inspired twiney decor balls. I fell in love. LOVE! They're just so rustic.. they scream Fall to me. Here is another blog that shows off hers as well.. I stumbled across it last week while I was in the middle of making some. What are the odds! lol

In Sep. I finally got around to starting them and I picked up a six pack of 4" styrofoam balls from Michaels for $5ish (plus I used a 40% off coupon) and I got to work. Not on all of them though, my children got to a few of them.. they're still missing. (where do they go???)

About two weeks after that, I picked up a second set only this time in the 2" variety.

And then last week, at the Dollar Tree, I discovered a package that had even smaller ones! Holy excellent value, Batman!!

(in back is the Michael's package.. up front is the Dollar Tree bag)

The jute twine was something I picked up at Walmart for around $2. It's lasting forever!

This is how I make them.

First, heat up your trusty glue gun. I know other people use craft glue, but have you SEEN my children? They wouldn't last a day!

I use the heat of the tip to melt a little hole and then I put some glue in it and stick the end in and let it cool.

Then I put a little glue around (in a circle shape) and start winding and unroll the twine as you go.

Once I get to the middle section I end up doing little stripe (three or four) so that I can wrap fast and cover a good portion at a time. Just don't burn yourself on the glue!

At the very end, I follow the same steps as the beginning. Melt a little hole, fill it up with glue and tuck the end in.

Stand back and admire how fabulously rustic it looks!

I have a small collection on my piano.

And on a side table, also in my front room..

And a set in my basement. That box is a $1 recipe box that I found in the dollar section at Michaels!

I'm seriously in love with the textures! Have I mentioned that yet???

As soon as the weather stops with the wind, I'll try out spray painting the twine first. I just bought some last week.. although maybe I can just paint the finished product. Hmm... maybe I'll test it out on a small one and see how that fairs.

What do you think?? Aren't they great??? :-D

For my mom.

2009-09-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

My mom has asked me a few times over the past month about seeing pictures of my new van but I keep forgetting to take some.

Tuesday is usually the day the Drew mows our lawn. He could be half dead or the Pope could be in town.. it wouldn't matter, he'd still mow the lawn. But with the light changing, he's going to have to switch to Saturdays. Which meant he mowed the lawn last night to help with the transition.

Just smile and nod, it's well thought out in his head.

Back to my van.

It's a darker red.. I love it! It's very comfortable, has great get-up and go and I love that the doors open with the push of a button.

Inside the van.. the kids love the DVD player in it (I think the screen is 10.5"?)

Looking towards the back..

And there you go! :o) Do you like it??

My mom is amazing with flowers and plants. Unfortunately that gene skipped over me.. nothing is safe.. Thank goodness for Drew!

This spring when my mom was here she gave us advice on pruning our peach tree and it was just barely taller than I am. It totally worked because our tree is HUGE now!! What's crazy is that last year it was a tiny little twig.. it was from a pit that grew up at his dad's house.

What else.. This past Saturday, we were at Lowes and checking out their trees since they were 75% off. I called my mom to consult a tree option but she didn't know anything about it so we decided it wouldn't be a good option for us.

We ended up going with a Japanese Maple. I really like it! Drew does such a good job planting things. He's already done many google searches (seriously) so that he can give it the optimal growing experience.

And this is just cuteness... Kait was sad that I wouldn't let her eat a cracker that fell in the dirt. Her little bottom lip is out and everything. So dramatic.

And two seconds later she was over it.
And there you have it, Mom! Sorry it took so long. :o)

DIY: Master Bedroom Art

2009-09-29T07:31:00.000-07:00

It's DIY day at a Soft Place to Land again (she's moved it from Thursday to Tuesday).

Last week I showed off an inexpensive piece of wall art that I did for my basement. After posting it, I decided I wanted to do something similar for my bedroom.

Here's my color scheme.. brown and blue. It's been a year and I still *love* it. Good thing since I invested so much into the bedding.

The following morning, I again went to the local thrift shop and purchased this large beauty for $5. It's propped on my very professional stand, a purple children's rocking toy thingy (that's the very professional name, by the way).

Because I have very little patience and it was early day and the big kids get out of school at 1:05, I had to work very quickly.

I grabbed my spray can of primer and went to work. While the frame was on the toy, I sprayed the top part.. went inside to check on the little kids for a minute and then came back out and laid it on the ground so that I could spray the 'art' part of it.

At that point, I realized that I HAVE to add a mask onto my list of items that are required cause WOW... wow. So I only primed the top part and figured if the bottom did not paint over well that I would prime it later on.

After checking on the little kids again, I put the 'art' down onto the grass and sprayed the other side of the frame.

Once everything had dried, I dragged out the gallon of chocolate brown paint that I also used for my front door a few weeks ago and then used one of those craft foam brushes to paint it.

For the 'art', I also used a craft foam brush. I did it in long thin sections (since I was working in the sun and it was drying quickly) and it worked very well. Awhile back, I purchased a $5 oops quart of blue paint. I had no idea what I would use it for, but I loooved the color. Turns out I was super smart to have purchased it, because it matches my bedroom perfectly. Oh, and the non-primed part covered just as easily as the primed.

By this time, the kids were out of school and half of the neighborhood children were gathered around watching me paint. Who knew I could be so exciting!

(the frame is drying up by the garage- it's hard to see)

Here's my finished project!

Only problem is that there was a gap at the top where the art and frame met. It was making me CRAZY. Guess that's why it was $5. LOL

So, I grabbed some matching fabric that I had found in the remnant section and used double sided sticky stuff (again, very professional term) and stuck it up at the top. The tan color matches the side table lamp on Drew's side of the bed and the art that's by my side of the bed.

Much better.

Doesn't it look cool? I have a vinyl phrase "love me Always" that I think I might put on the lower right side. I bought it forever ago.. I can't decide if it would look good there or not. Still deciding. (my husband and I started saying "love me" back before we were married instead of the regular i love you.. we still say it all. the. time.).

Now I just need to get those white walls painted. I have Monroe Bisque waiting downstairs... any volunteers?

DIY: Inexpensive Wall Art!

2009-09-24T07:33:00.000-07:00

As I've mentioned before, I've really been enjoying decorating. Here is an inexpensive wall art project that I did a few weeks ago but I'm just now sharing because:

Today is Do It Yourself day over at A Soft Place to Land.

My poor neglected basement was in need of something large scaled for the wall by our new TV. I've been looking and looking but everything was just too expensive.

I finally decided that I should just make something myself.

I went to a local thrift store and purchased this lovely piece of art for $7. Pretty sure my grandparents had something like this in their home. I just love the chunkiness of the frame.

You should have seen the looks I got as I hauled it up to the front of the store. It was a little awkward trying to carry it with one hand while pushing Kaitlyn in the cart with the other hand and yelling out to Carson to stop running off.

I don't have pictures of the process from when I made this because I've discovered I'm horribly impatient once I decide to work on something. And the batteries were dead on my camera and I wasn't about to wait for them to recharge. Sorry.

I took the picture out of the frame and set it aside.

I then carried the frame outside and spray painted primer on it ($1ish at Walmart).

At Lowes, I had purchased one of those little sample cans of paint in black. They're normally only $3 but this was in the oops area (although never opened) and so I got it for $1.50. I also painted two other frames and ended up only using 1/2 of the little can and that's with two coats, each. Woo hoo!

Next, I laid out enough batting so that there was two layers worth and cut it out to match the size of my art. The entire package was $4ish and I used around half.

Again, because I'm inpatient and had no other ideas how to do this, I just hot glued the edges of the batting onto the art. Seriously.

Then, I laid out my lovely stretch fabric ($4ish for a yard)onto the floor (design side down) and then placed the art onto it, batting side down.

I then used my glue gun to firmly secure the fabric onto the back of the art. I did the top and bottom first and then the sides.

I heart my glue gun. Even better, I didn't burn myself!

I popped my fabric covered art back into the frame and made sure it was secure in there with the little nails that were already there.

And ta-da: my lovely creation!

The batting helped push the fabric out so it really looks pretty cool.

I like that it takes up a large amount of space and looks nice but when the TV is on, it's not distracting at all. And hmmm... the picture makes it look a little off centered.. but really, it's perfect. Trust me.

FYI: our TV is on top of our old entertainment center because I don't want the little kids to have any sort of access to it. You know about their track record and our nice things.... our couches are on the taller end so it isn't uncomfortable to watch a movie or play Rock Band (the reason for the fan- you should see Drew play the drums!!).

What I'm also happy about is I think it would be easy to rip the fabric/glue off of the the back of the 'art' if I ever decide I want to change the pattern out.

Not bad for under $20, right????? :-D

And here's one quick other project.

Also in our family room is two of our desktop computers. Again, nothing was on the walls in that area (I told you it's been neglected!!).

I had a cork bulletin board that was from my Grandma's house. I also had a bunch of pictures I wanted to put somewhere.. they're kind of the 'out takes' from the photo session I had done of my kids a few weeks ago. LOVE THEM. But I wasn't really sure how to display them.

So.... I used the same primer/paint as above and painted the edges.

I tore up some fun remnant fabric (under $2) so that it would have the harsher edges and glued those on.. and then pinned up my pictures. It needed a little extra oomph so I added some coordinating $1 chipboard cutout things that I found at Michaels.

I'll show you close ups of the picture later on since I know you're dying to see what my flash canceled out. You're welcome.

Hope you enjoyed!

They're Incredible.

2009-09-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

Two years ago, I purchased Incredible pajamas online from Disney for a great price. Luckily, I was smart enough to order a larger size for down the road when the kids were bigger.

Two weeks ago, I pulled these warmer jammies out and the kids were SO excited to see them- they had forgotten all about them. It wasn't my smartest idea though because instead of drifting off to sleep, my children were running around like Dash and making spherical forcefields and disappearing like Violet. And arguing that Carson looked more like Dash so Hayden had to be incredi-boy (which he was not happy with).

Anyway, they were totally adorable and the next morning I asked for the kids to sit together on the couch and smile so I could take a picture.

Apparently *I* should have worked on my spherical forcefields to contain them.

Or maybe Elastigirl's techniques to keep them in place.. stretch out an arm and a foot..

Actually, now that I think about it, the ability to freeze them a la Frozone would have probably been best.

Pretty incredible, right?? :-D

Our Labor Day.

2009-09-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we also stopped by the local Hobby Shop. Drew has a money pit, I mean hobby, that he really enjoys. It's his gas powered Revo. Of course something always breaks or he knows of a way to make it better, so small purchases are required.

Hobby Stores have LOTS of tiny little parts and things that my children can't help but touch so I stayed in the van with the kids while Drew ran in.. he was sure he'd only be gone a minute or two.

Five minutes passed and I started to wonder where he was.. then 10.. then 15.. then 20. The kids were contently watching The Incredibles but I was getting uncomfortable from sitting in the van so long.

From across the parking lot, I stared into the store, hoping for a glimpse of Drew so I could wave him down in a non-crazy kind of a way. Cause no one wants to be the 'crazy wife', right? But noooo, I didn't see him at all.

What I DID see though was a big black truck parked directly in front of the store. Of course. How had I not noticed. The license plate had a Fire Fighter symbol and was personalized.

It *had* to be Tim. HAD TO. That's why Drew was in there.. he was talking with Tim.

Tim has been a friend of Drew's since the beginning of time. Well, or Jr. High or High School. I forget. Either way, he's been a good friend and we haven't seen him for about a year.

At this point, 30 minutes had passed and the kids began revolting because they were thirsty and would die any second if they didn't get something. I drove off and picked up a drink for them and then returned to the hobby store to find Drew standing out front. With Tim. (he thought I had left him there!! hahahahaha)

Ha! I knew it!! We ended up staying there almost an hour more talking.

Tim told us about a City fair that was near by us on Labor Day and there was a classic car show.

As the owner of a '67 Mustang, Drew is never one to pass up a classic car show, especially on his day off of work.

And so we went.

Here's Drew and Tim. I had to kind of randomly take this picture.. can't really ask grown men to pose together, ya know???

There was a firetruck there and since Tim works where he's needed and is known all over the valley, he hooked the kids up with sitting in the truck.

(mmm love the yummy sun in this one!)

Poor Kait. I left her in the stroller because I knew as soon as I let her out she'd be running all over the place. My poor back and hip just wasn't up for that.

Don't you love her stroller??? I had to replace our old one that was smashed in the car accident and I went with a super girly one. Just because I could. Look, she matches!!! :-D

Me and that man I'm in love with..

You can tell from Hayden's expression just how much fun he had looking at the cars.

It's because there was an inflatable slide that he saw on the way over that he wanted to go on.

Carson, however, LOVED seeing the cars. At *every* car he LOUDLY proclaimed, "Wow! I love it! Can we buy this one??"

His favorites were the mustangs, of course, and anything with flames on them.

Because he was having such a great time, he stayed with Drew and Tim while I took the whiney kids to the slide.

Waiting in line.
Climbing up...
They had a great time!

Kait indulged in a sprite and lemonade mixture.
My camera battery died at this point. Figures.

It was a lot of fun though and I'm glad we went.

Everyone loves a party...

2009-09-07T08:43:00.000-07:00

I'm joining my first party!!

Sarah, at Thrifty Decor Chick is hosting a Before & After party. I stumbled upon her blog a few months ago and fell in love with her fruity kitchen decorations. Remember how I've talked about that before??? Anyway, I LOVE looking at before and after pictures so this is right up my ally. You know, with all the free time I have.

Decorating is a newer hobby of sorts for me.. I've always loved being creative (or pretending to be) but I've never gotten into it this much with pulling entire rooms together (I've been missing out, let me tell you!). Since the car accident, my brain is finally working a little better and I can use my wrist now so I'm trying to put more effort to get back into the swing of things.

Moving on. I've been talking about painting my front door for a long time now but I've been thinking about it a lot for the past few weeks.

Our door was here when we moved in almost 6 years ago.. it's one of those cheap-o ones and it came complete with a few dents. Over the years, my children and the neighborhood children have dirtied it up. Not even a magic eraser helped!

I thought about a soft yellow.. but then how would that look with my christmas decorations. Kind of liked the idea of a sage color. I was DYING to have a black door but apparently Drew hates them. (who knew)

This past weekend I was at Lowes and looked, like always, at the oops paint. There was a brand new can of choclatey brown outdoor paint. I considered it.. I consulted the kids (they did not care).. I sent texts furiously to my sister for her input.. I asked Drew if he liked it but he likes anything I choose (good man!!). I put it in my cart. I took it out of my cart. But in the end, I walked away with it. For $10 I figured that if it didn't work out then at least it would be a cheap learning experience.

I also bought some primer.. turns out it was latex instead of oil based. I had inteded to get the oil based but so far it seems to be ok. *knock on wood*

I applied two coats of primer some what randomly.. it covered all surfaces but I didn't get all crazy making sure they were perfect (which is why I did two).

Just having the door white had me saying, "Why didn't we do this YEARS ago???"

I painted a coat of brown.

Painted the trim around the door with the white Primer to brighten it up.

I painted another coat of brown.

Got nervous that I couldn't really think of anyone else I knew with a brown door and wondered if that was for a reason.. maybe the brown wasn't a good choice.

I painted the stair well in the garage because I had a lot of paint still left.

I painted the final coat of brown. And while it dried, I wished that I had painted the inside of the door as well since Drew had the door knobs off..

Then I stood back and admired.

Love! It!

Before:
After:

I know it looks a little uneven in the middle but you don't see that when you're standing there.

Isn't it fabulous?? I'll probably put my big chunky frame back up today.

My only regret is that I didn't take more advil prior to painting and that I ran out yesterday and had no choice but to buy another big bottle. All the stretching and moving around about killed me.. I'm still sore today. But at least my door looks amazing!! :o)

Who stole the cookie from the cookie jar...

2009-08-28T09:01:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday I took the three younger kids to the store. We were out of milk. And anyone that knows me, knows that I pretty much never buy JUST what I went there for.. I always end up with much more. And every time, I proclaim I need to work on that. Of course the one item I didn't purchase was baby wipes which we promptly ran out of after we were home and they were, uh, needed. Figures.

Anyway, even though it's been 4 weeks since the car accident, I still have a hard time when there is a lot of noise- I get very overwhelmed. My kids are loud (there is no Quiet switch) and tired kids walking through the store resulted in much, MUCH loudness and some crying (you should hear Kaitlyn cry!). I knew I wouldn't even have a chance to make it through the check out line unless I resulted to having their mouths stuffed full of something.. so I opted to go with tiny sugar cookies that were covered with frosting and sprinkles.

It totally worked.

And by the time we reached the car there was still a large amount of the cookies left. Excellent. I knew that Drew and I would enjoy a few of them after the kids were in bed that night.

Carson, however, had other plans for the little bites of sugar.

I walked into my front room to see HALF of my couch covered in the remains of cookies. Yes, plural. There was no way that was from one little cookie! I grabbed the camera, sighed, and moved on.

I was pretty sure I knew what I would find upon entering my kitchen.

a) Many cookies eaten.
b) Sprinkles everywhere.
c) Crumbs from here to there.

And I was mostly right... just wrong on the consumption levels.

Nice.

I questioned the children and Carson proudly proclaimed he had pushed the chair over to the counter and and helped himself. At least he admitted it.

And I guess it's good he at least shared too... Kait's little mouth was covered in bight green goodness.

She was so sad when she asked for more and I told her they were all gone.

(pssst, look at her pig tails! First time I've done that!!)

Lucky for Drew, I did find one cookie on the table that was less than half eaten, so I saved it for him. And there was even 3 sprinkles left untouched!

Sadly, one of the kids cough:Carson:cough managed to sniff it out and it had vanished by the time Drew was home.

Oh well. It's usually not safe to consume something that a child has eaten and picked at anyway.

Seriously.

I've got the Power....

2009-08-16T19:43:00.000-07:00

We made it home safely from our vacation to Cedar City for the Shakespeare festival.

Drew put the biggest variety of music onto his MP3 before leaving.. turned out to be a fantastic idea on his part because Carson now has a new favorite song. Echo, and all.

(the explosions you hear at the beginning are from Hayden who is playing with his new Lego McDonald's toy)

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

It's a toss up from who Carson inherited his smokin' dance moves from.. Drew and I are both so amazing in that department.. I think it was probably me.

If only we had discovered this song at the beginning of the road trip instead of the end.

Pictures to follow soon...

Not much of anything...

2009-08-10T16:01:00.000-07:00

Thought I'd post some pics of what we've been up to. Really, it's not much of anything. I still can't do much.. even light housework hurts. Well, except wiping off counters.. THAT I can do, thank goodness. I know, we all have our weird quirks. I big fat puffy hear clorox/lysol wipes!!

(oh and I'm DYING at not vacuuming.. AHHHH!!! MUST! VACUUM!).

Woah, sorry, had to get that out I guess.

Anyway, so I sit on the couch do nothing but mosey around the internet with the exception of adjusting myself every two seconds and producing popping noises from my back. Occasionally I get up to assist with popsicles or sippy cups. Braking up fights between the boys. Food. Things that my kids proclaim that they need. Seriously, Mom of the year stuff, I'm telling you.

Sometimes I camp out in my bed. It's sooo comfortable. I LOVE my bed. The only problem is then the kids want to be in there with me. Which I TOTALLY understand.. but they love to put pillows and blankets on the side of Drew's side of the bed and jump down into it. It drives me nuts because a child always ends up crying. Plus then they get hungry.. and then I get crumbs all over my floor (again, why I'm DYING to vacuum).
They look so much alike.. don't you think?

Want to see what happens if I'm not quick enough in assisting the kiddos?

Carson takes matters into his own hands.
What is it with my kids and popsicles? Honestly.

(if Drew is reading this I can promis you he's muttering What is it with my Wife that BUYS all these popsicles??? lol Yeah- I know, I know)

LOL Carson looks like Pinocchio..
Only problem is that he usually leaves the box out.

And then Kait finds them.
And then the pop-a-bee requests start (it's no longer pop-a-chi).

(psst, how cute are her leggings? LOVE! THEM!)

She grabbed one from the box and brought it over... look at those eyes...
.. putting it RIGHT in my face, so I can't miss it... you can tell she's concerned I won't open it..

I'm holding it and asking if she wants it.. she's doing a little dance of excitement.
It's now opened but in my hand... good thing I was sitting down or she might have tackled me to get it. She's REALLY good at saying *MINE* over and over.
Mmmmmmm. That's exactly the sound she makes.
Might as well show you what else is happening.

We went to Target last night to buy a new stroller since the old one was smashed in the back of the van (Drew couldn't even pull it out- it was pinned in there).

I decided the kids should get something they want since I rarely ever buy toys while we're just at the store (or in this case, Target). And I was trying to prevent incidents like this morning by giving them something new and exciting. At least it worked later today..

Carson chose a batman toy that is part of the Imaginext set that we have.
This is the bottom of the toy.. batman has been VERY busy flying around all day today.

Hade is still running around naked so I dont' have a current picture of him. But his new toy is also on the pinao there.. it's a starwars ship of some kind and four characters.

Carson was happy to touch things that weren't his and show them off.. well sort of since his hands are in front of the toy.. but you can see the green lightsaber.
Aubrey chose a $5 lil' kinz Webkinz and is playing with it on the computer right now.

Kait chose a hotwheels. It was only $1 and that's not really fair.. so I picked up 3 pairs of legwarmers. Gotta be fair, right?? ;o)

I've been wanting to make some Baby Legs for her out of knee highs but it's been almost impossible to find any. Plus I have only really left the house to go to the chiropractor so that puts a damper on things too.

ANYWAY, so turns out Target has their own brand of them but they're still $10ish a pair. But they also have actual leg warmers... and those are only THREE bucks! And they're just a bit shorter than actual baby legs! So I bought 3 of those. You know, to be fair.

I'm sharing a pic because I have to show Janae. And Robin. They've been helping me look for socks.

The pair on the right is an actual pair of Baby Legs. See? Just a little longer. Works for me!

BTW, the trip about did me in.. I totally had to hobble back to the car. Not my smartest idea.. but we had to buy a stroller before our upcoming trip this week! What do you do. And for the record, I only lost Carson ONCE while we were there. :-S

Oh and SUPER LUCKY me.. I heard Carson yell, "Oh Gosh, Look what Kaity-bug did" and knew it wouldn't be good...

Girl's got climbing skills. :-S

I WANT this give-a-way!

2009-08-07T16:53:00.000-07:00

So, you know how yesterday I mentioned that Danno is over here all the time and that he's my step-brother.. well my other step-brother is named Aaron (from that family- I have like quite a few step-siblings, half siblings- you name it, I've got it).

Aaron is OUT THERE! If you look in the dictionary under Type A personality, it has his picture. He's full of life and is super willing to help out others (you just have to do it his way) and ALWAYS makes you laugh. Good stuff. Love it!!!

And get this, he has SEVEN kids!

AND- his wife, Catey, is awesome. She cooks.. bakes.. homeschools some of the kids.. sews.. cleans.. doesn't loose her children when leaving the house... and she's nice. (she's also thin enough you can't tell she's had seven kids- hate her a little bit for that if we're being honest)

Anyway, they're busy people.. we're busy people.. we just don't see each other very often. Ok, it's been like years. LOL But whatever. So we blog stalk each other. Or at least I blog stalk them... I'm SURE they read about my craziness though, right???

Either way, Catey has been doing Friday giveaways on her blog which she calls the Fabulous Friday Freebie.

And this week, it's a cape.

Ok, people, you need to understand how much my boys need this. Carson has been wearing his batman pajamas for THREE days now because it has a cape on it. I probably could strip him of it but considering it would be a fight and I'm still very sore and my left hand is still sprained- Batman, he is.

And Hayden, is very jealous of the fact that he only gets to wear a batman shirt. I don't have anything for him to wear. I know, mom of the year. So sad!!

I'd hot glue them something but I'm still too banged up...

Plus, I PROMISE you a picture of Drew wearing it if I win. EVERY boy needs a cape. Well, unless it doesn't fit around his neck.. :-S

As part of my entree, I'm blogging bout this freebie.. and I guess I could point out that if you REALLY think your kids need the cape more than mine, you could enter the contest too. But really, I NEED THIS CAPE!! (ooohhh, maybe you could blog about it and give it to me if you win?? Wow. I have no shame. LOL)

Check out her blog!

Hope you enjoy Random Thoughts from the Zoo as much as I do. :o)

Last Wednesday.

2009-08-06T15:02:00.000-07:00

I'm posting this because I really need something to make me smile and laugh. And this, makes me smile. And laugh.

I recorded this last Wednesday before Dan (or Danno as we affectionately call him) came over so that we could go out to Outback for his Birthday dinner.

I love that Hade knows the words.

I love how Carson sings and 'drums' his hand on his leg.

I love how Kaitlyn head-bangs. The entire time. Seriously.

I love that Drew paused to sing the words.

I love that Aubrey couldn't be bothered with spongebob so she stayed on the computer playing games.

I love these people.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

And this video is for Lock and Marci.

They're part of The Band that I've talked about before and they moved away last month.

We all loved to play and sing this song.. it's so much fun. I can't even being to tell you how much we miss them!

You miss all of this craziness, right? Right??? ;o)

Make video montages at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Accident Pictures.

2009-08-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

Well, huh. This is my 100th post. I was hoping this would be some fantastically humorous post where I had you ROLLING on the floor while I clung to my brilliant Mother of the Year award. And then I'd have this breathtaking giveaway where all my readers (all six or seven of you) would battle out to win it.

But instead... I give you pictures of the car accident I was in last Thursday night.

I've had a few people ask to see the van... it's not quite the effect I was hoping for with my 100th post but oh well.

Thursday afternoon I went to see my friend Danette's new house that she just bought in Payson. It was fun to talk to her all while running around trying to make sure Kaitlyn and Carson were staying out of the road when they went outside. SUPER fun.

After that, we all drove to Santaquin to see my sister and we went to The Red Barn to pig out on their delectible ice cream. The kids thought it was a fantastic dinner choice and highly approved Hey! Does that count for anything?? I'm thinking that at least deserves Honorable Mention..

Afterwords, I stopped by my sister's home to chat with her for a bit.. she's opening a preschool up so I wanted to check out the progress on her school room. I wasn't planning to stay long because she threatened to disown me if we messed up her clean house. Lucky for me, the kids actually played outside and only destroyed her basement so it worked out well for both of us.

I finally left a little after 10 and stopped by McDonalds for a Diet Coke (it's an hour drive!) and a 10 piece nugget for the kids to share and a hamburger for Kaitlyn. Because that's just how much I rock.

As I was heading home on I-15, it started raining and as we entered into a construction zone, near Springville, I moved to the fast lane since the lanes were merging above. Traffic slowed very suddenly and then I stopped. And then I was hit from behind.

I can't decide if I should describe how horrifying it was for all of us or just skip past it. I cry when I think about it, which is a lot. And I'm not a crier! It makes me sick when I think about how I had to do a head count as I turned around to make sure my babies were all still in the car. I was told by many people that it was good we were all in seatbelts and carseats or we would have been ejected from the car.. I believe it! I'm so glad my sister was able to come and get me since she was closer than Drew (plus she had a Truck that fit all of us). My kids were comforted to see her and I was able to bawl like a baby while she took charge and figured things out..

It was a little Saturn Coupe that smashed into us.. she told the cops she was going 50 but I bet it was more than that.

And now the pics. The middle part that's smooshed went almost to the seat where Hayden and Aubrey were.

Drew thinks that her car either went under the rear bumper or just pushed it in and it popped back out. I can't tell you how glad I am that my van held up as well as it did so my kids weren't injured badly.

I was hit more to the right.. the right tail light was everywhere. (you should have seen the lady that hit me.. there was nothing left to the front of her car!

You can see the frame of the van is all bent inwards. Ugh, what if it had been a larger car or truck that hit us? Drew had a friend die just a few months ago from this very same kind of accident. Anyway..

My exhaust was broken and it pulled out the spare tire.. it was barly hanging on after the accident (it's been removed).

The front of my van looks pretty decent considering I was braked and hit the car in front of me.. who was braked and hit the car in front of them. Only the hood was really noticeable for damage. Of course my air bag didn't go off... grrrrr Not so happy about that.

Oh, and the radiator that we spent $200 on and fixed on monday? Yeah, it's toast.
Drew took these pictures so I don't have better ones to show you.. but the inside of my van looks like it exploded. Everything that could pop open or off, did, including the visors, compartments, everything. It all shifted to the right.. I had my cell phone in my lap (I wasn't using it) and when I finally found it, it was across on the far side of the van, by Kaitlyn's seat. Her hamburger was on the floor in the front passenger area. Nuggets were all over the place. Papers were all over the place. And my lovely Diet Coke and 4 ice waters? They exploded drenching everything.

This is the sliding door on the drivers side (tilt your head to the right).. you can see a car part hanging down and you can also see light in the door.. where it wouldn't close. Drew said if you're looking at it from the outside of the van, there's about an inch gap. My door would not close all the way either. The whole side is crumpled.
My seat definitley had the brunt of the accident. It's a power seat and you know how you can move and rotate those every which way? If not, I'll let Carson play with it and then you'll know what I'm talking about.. always a fun surprise. Anyway, it moved all the way up at the very front of the seat where my upper thighs (I'm short, remember?) smashed into the stearing wheel. And my seat some how fully reclined so it was laying ALL. THE. WAY. BACK. plus some.

See how it's broken below?
At the time of the accident I didn't remember what happened but have since figured out that I stopped and looked down into my lap where my phone was (again, wasn't using it) and when I was hit, I hit my forehead into the stearing wheel. I didn't realize until I was home and my sister pointed out the bump that I had done that. And of course then I flew all the way back to the reclined position. I was really confused during the entire night but I kind of get that way during accidents anyway so I didn't think much of it (I told the EMT people).

Hayden usually sits behind me but before I left Amy's house, Carson kept getting out of his carseat. Something he NEVER does. And it freaked me out. So I made Hade sit in back by Aubs and put Carson behind my seat promising him nuggets. I'm so glad I did that.. Hayden always put his legs up on the back of my seat to rest.. can you imagine how my seat would have hurt him? :-S

On Friday I was pretty confused so I went to the ER and was told I had a minor concussion.. I felt like I was wondering around and I'm just not sure what I was supposed to be doing. Thank goodness Misty came over that day- around 1 I realized I had no idea if my kids had eaten anything (they had, Aubrey fed them) and I didn't eat until 2. It just didn't even occur to me.. and the kids would talk but I didn't understand what they wanted from me. Of couse I didn't realize how bad I was until finally Misty and Drew insisted I go. They also took neck x-rays which they said were ok.

I keep thinking I will wake up better, and happy, but after walking around I see that I'm not. Even today.. I'm worlds better but still just not normal. To be honest, I'm feeling very down as well.. I just hurt so much. I went to the chiropractor today and my back/neck/left arm/hips are all sorts of messed up. Ugh.

The Chiro. checked out the kids as well and they all have a few trouble spots although he said he'd do just a few little spots on Hade and Kaitlyn. Aubrey (who also bruised the back of her leg somehow) has more issues with her neck as well and she'll be treated as a patient.

At the accident, Carson took it the worse. Well between him and Aubrey.. she was hysterical and screaming and crying and he was totally silent. And you know how Carson is! It was awful. Once he stopped crying he sat there violently shaking. I wasn't sure what to do either.. I didn't want him to get out of his seat and possibley try to run around- how horrible would that have been? But maybe I should have.. he's very upset. He's been super naughty and mean and distructive. My mom gave me a few ideas how to try and help him talk it out.. I hope they work tomorrow. My warm fuzzy feelings are fading fast. lol His back and neck are also the worst of the kids (so possibly the pain might be making him act this way too). Today I was being iced when the Dr. tried to work on him and he flipped out.. hopefully tomorrow will go better. I want my semi-crazy little boy back!

Like I said (I think?) I'm having a really hard time. So much to try and stay on top of with insurance people to talk to. And so many unkowns.. how much will they give us for the van since I'm sure they'll total it? We've always waited for the right low-miles van to come along and then pay cash- what if we can't find anything good? And once we get the check (and who knows what day that will be) we only have 2 more days with our rental truck (that's another story- only rental enterprise had to fit us all was an F150!). Talk about pressure! And we have a vacation scheduled for Cedar City next Thursday. Will this get wrapped up by then? Will I be able to sit in a car for that long with my back and not be adjusted for 4 days? Plus my 10 year anniversary is over that time (the 14th)... Ugh. Plus I'm frustrated and how difficult it is to take care of the kids.. it hurts to change diapers, hold Kaitlyn, get my own medicine, open jars or anything fun with my left hand like playing the piano or Rock Band. Oh, or that requires much thinking. GRRRR

Hopefully I'll perk up in the next few days. It's been so nice to have so much support from friends and family. Friends that let me whine and complain. Over and over (since I can't remember if I already did or not). Emails.. facebook comments.. dinner arranged.. it means a lot to Drew and I. Thank you. Thank. You.

I'm such a GIVER!!

2009-07-27T07:49:00.000-07:00

I've been hearing about how wonderful Hobby Lobby is on a few decorating blogs that I read but also from my friends Janae and Juli. I finally decided I HAD to check it out so on Saturday I went with Aubrey (in Drew's car since the radiator in my van is cracked).

People, it is FAN-TASTIC!

What I loved is that almost everything was 50% off. And from the sounds of it, this is how it always is! That's my kind of store.

The fabric was so cute- their selection of pink and browns were top notch. I had three kinds that I was in love with (I won't admit if I had to wipe drool off of them) but I couldn't come up with projects to use them with that involve a glue gun (as I don't have a sewing machine). I settled with a remnant piece that was under $3.

Aubrey enjoyed the fabric section too. She held up every single shiny piece of fabric they had and begged for me to buy it so she could make it into a dress. She wasn't very happy that I told her my glue gun skills weren't THAT good...

I finally was able to distract her by looking at the ribbon for hair bows and I let her choose two different kinds. I picked up 4 more for her and Kait.

I spent two hours there and that wasn't enough time. I'm not sure my poor brain could have handled much longer anyway. All the potential projects were flying around at lightning speed! It was great.

So, wanna see what I created yesterday?

First up was this cute stool for $15 (of course it was 50% off). Perfect for a time out chair! We used to have this cute chair that even said Time Out but apparently the wear and tear got to it, and it collapsed.
I sprayed the bottom of it with my black spray paint and glued on the whimsical fabric. It looks a little top heavy now and I've been trying to figure out how I can fix that. However, the boys keep asking to go in time out so they can sit on it which is making me thing I think I should just leave it alone.

Next up was Kaitlyn's stuff.

This project was super simple.. I purchased cute scrapbook paper and just cut out the correct size and put it into frames that I already had but was not using. The paper is in front of the glass. You can click on the picture if you want to see it larger.

Next up took a little more effort. I warmed up my cute little pink hot glue gun and grabbed the pink and brown fabric remnant and can you guess what I did with it???? That's right, I wrapped it on a canvas!! Shocker, I know!

I also glued on three different rows of coordinating ribbon. And then I look alligator clips (that I use for hair bows) and lined them in pink and brown ribbon. After digging through my pile of "stuff I'll need one day" I found some pictures of Kait as a newborn and I clipped them to the ribbon.
I'm currently trying to figure out which pictures I need to order so there are a few more current pictures. Overall, I love how it looks!!

I had leftover fabric and the glue gun was still on so I decided to make a throw pillow with the rest of it. Luckily I had purchased the stuffing.. stuff.. last week. I LoVe it! Kait likes her new pillow into her little 'house' and pretend to go to sleep on it.

All together.
Now I just need to paint the shelf that I've had forever to hang up on the right wall so that framed picture of Kait doesn't look so awkward.

Then, I decided I should make a few bows for Kait with the new ribbon.

Did you know if you put velchro (sp?) on the back of a small bow that it holds well in fine hair if it's pulled tight (like in a little tiny pony tail on the top of your head)? And because it's not as heavy as the bows with clips on them, she leaves them in all day. :o) Below, you can see the darker pink bow is turned over and it shows the velchro strip.
The only downfall to this kind of bow is that I can't clip it onto Kaitlyn's ribbon holder.

So THEN, I had to create something for that! Darn it.

I grabbed a wooden frame that I bought forever ago (but never used) and painted the sides of it brown. I grabbed the leftover pieces of scrapbook paper from the above project and my Mod Podge and attacked the frame.

Then I glued on ribbon to the frame. And to the ribbon, I glued on the fluffy stuff that velchro sticks to. Ta-da! Instant bow holder.

It's PERFECT! No loosing these adorable little bows!
Whew. Kaitlyn's lucky I'm such a giver.. this is was all for her. The sacrifices I make for my kids. You know, cause it's not fun for me or anything.

At least this part wasn't: the clean up
At least Kait was willing to take one for the team too.

Instead of playing with the floam...
... she ate it. :-S

Pop-a-Chi

2009-07-26T13:35:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn's saying all sorts of new words. It's adorable! She has such a cute little voice.

My favorite new word of hers is pop-a-chi aka Popsicle.

Although, I think she might have a problem- she asks for them ALL. DAY. LONG. She says Pleeease and More (and signs it too) all while standing in front of the freezer and patting it in hopes that I'll open it up. All that is in addition to her saying pop-a-chi ever two seconds. She's just so cute when she eats them.. she bites the end off and then holds onto the stick ends with both hands and eats it corn-on-the-cob style.

You know, to be fair, the boys are just as addicted. It's just so hard to say No to this cute little face when it's something as simple as a popsicle.
We have a rule that the kids are supposed to ask before eating them. Unfortunately, the other day, Carson stopped asking and was getting his own and kept leaving the freezer open. Double whammy! I was not very happy about it- hello, it's the FREEZER! Plus our rules!!

But even worse is that Drew caught Carson leaving it open. Drew's pet peeve in the house is when kids have the fridge or freezer open and are just staring in and taking their time. Chip-chop, kids!

So, Drew removed Carson from the kitchen...
..and then locked the fridge.

Carson wasn'treally sure what the lock really meant for his popsicle eating but quickly figured it out.. as did the other kids.Hayden proclaimed it was his Worst Day Ever as he curled up in the fetal position on the couch.

Kaitlyn wailed. And about 2 seconds later she was on the floor rolling around and flailing in protest while sadly saying pop-a-chi.Luckily for Aubrey, she doesn't really care about Popsicles. So she showed off her Demi Lovato look. Did you know if you google How to dress like Demi Levato it apparently it tells you how to achieve that? Yeah, me either. But it entails black nails, white shirt and a black vest (Aubs couldn't find her vest so she selected a black shirt instead).
I'm not sure which was more... um, fun. Having the youngers kids all upset or listening to Aubrey ask over and over and OVER if I like how she looks like Demi and if I think she looks JUST like her (minues the hair) and that she really wishes I would buy her a certain pair of shoes because she's pretty sure that's what Demi would wear???

At least Drew was pleased with his energy saving technique.

Night out.

2009-07-21T21:32:00.001-07:00

I went to a shoe party tonight. So much fun! New shoes. No kids. :o)

Spray Paint, Hot Glue Gun and Fabric

2009-07-20T08:03:00.000-07:00

The I want to change my kitchen and front room bug has hit me. I moved some furniture around but it didn't satisfy me enough so I had to make even more changes. But there's this whole money thing that is holding me back a little so I had to figure out how to improve with minimal damage.

After reading many blogs, my goals were to bring more light in, touches of black and improve the decorations and include lemons and a pear. Just wait, you'll see why. lol

First up is on my piano:
I bought the lamp for $10 from walmart. It was super cheap compared to the other options and I liked the red lamp shade and the base is kind of a rustic black (not just black). But because it was so short, I needed something to give it more height. I bought the box at Michaels for $2ish. The lid had red on it as well as a lady so I spray painted it black (but not solid- you can still barely see the red in some spots, which I like).

Next up is a lamp I bought for $5 that was on clearance at Shopko. My camera battery was dead and I'm horribly impatient once I decide to do something so I had to take pictures with my laptop camera, which I've never used.

This is me trying to figure out how to get it to work.. (plus my face looks smaller- how can I not include that???? ROFL)
Cheese!
Sorry, back to the lamp. It was a purplish color but not really in a good way (and I like purple!). I know it's a dark picture but you get what I mean, right? On clearance for a reason.

I spray painted the bottom of it black.

After mucho effort, I came up with a pattern for the lamp shade using my Smith's ad. And I cut the fabric slightly larger than that.

Then I used Alligator hair clips (which I use to make the girls hair bows) to attatch it to the lamp. Then I slowly started gluing it on with my cute little pink hot glue gun and just put the clip back on to keep the fabric secure. It went pretty smooth and the finished product looks fantastic on my microwave. Nice, right?

I bought the fabric at Walmart for $1.89 and I love that it has some texture to it (in the black) plus the light brown since I have all sorts of wood colors in my front room and kitchen.

My microwave actually is on a printer stand that was my step-brother's, years ago. I used to have an old table cloth on it to cover up the stuff on the shelves. I decided to make a matching cover though- I hemmed the edges of the fabric using my hot glue gun and made room to slip a rod in up top (the rod was a $3 tension one you twist until it fits inside- i sprayed the edges black).

It looks much better in real life. Seriously.
And because I just love how whimsical the fabric is, I decided I should put it on a canvas (again, hot glue). Why not! The canvas was in a two-pack and $15 at Michael's but I used a 40% off coupon. Hopefully it's not overkill. If I decide down the road that it is, I can always hot glue a new layer on, right??

Here's a before picture that I happened to take last month.

And my after pic. (please note the lemons.. love them! The vase thing was $10 clearance a few weeks ago) I also swapped out a kitchen chair for a saddleback barstool ($30 at Shopko). It takes up a lot less space but it's easy to bring up the other one if we need it. The curtains were a purchase from months ago that I never ended up using.

And to tie in my lemons.. I cut one in half (did I mention they're artificial?) and glued it onto a cheap plate (again from Shopko). (I also spray painted that little black vase thing up top- from dollar store)
I got the fruit ideas from: here Love her blog!!!

Last picture: Marci gave me the frames for free- I sprayed them black and in front of the glass I put in textured brown paper (like $.70 each at Michaels). And then a $2 pear, cut in half. Gives that area so much more definition than the old hot pads I used to have hanging there!

And there you go. I accomplished what I wanted and I'm thrilled with the results. Plus, there's nothing like spending money and projects to keep my mind off of Marci and Lock leaving. sniff, sniff

Do you like it??? (LOVE comments; puh-lease leave me one!!)

Maybe if you squint your eyes a little..

2009-07-15T10:36:00.000-07:00

I love Kaitlyn's Rose Petal Cottage and accessories. Actually, all of the kids do. They're so cute and fun.. and oh so girly! Even better is that I bought it at a screaming price (you know how I heart good deals!).

Kait loves to sit in this chair and pull up the table. This morning I brought her breakfast in so she could dine in cuteness.

I think the icing on the cake, of cuteness, is the fact that she let me do her hair this morning! She just sat there while I put the rubber band thingy in. Sat. There. No fight! And she even let me put a bow in!!

Isn't her little pony tail to die for??

(seriously, there's hair.. look harder.. Come on, put some effort in!)

And all together now: Aaawwwwwwww

Takin' it easy.

2009-07-13T09:08:00.000-07:00

We like to take our Sundays easy.

In the morning before the kids wake up, Drew and I sneak outside and talk and play on our laptops. We have the window cracked open for the swamp cooler so we can hear the kids when they wake up. I love the time with just Drew.

Hayden likes to ride his bike around, play lego star wars until I make him stop and just be silly.
Aubrey loves riding her bike everywhere too and going on 'adventures' meaning she takes a snack so they can stop and eat it. LOL Her and Hayden like playing on the playground at the school behind our house. I love that I can see them. Works for us.
Carson is just all over the place. Sometimes we have to chase him as he runs off to the playground. Other times he's just busy going in and out of the front door (since he can open it now- SAD FOR ME!). This was his favorite toy of the hour: a yellow matchbox car.
Kait's loves her soy milk. I love her blue eyes.

Isn't her hair bow adorable??? And her cute little skirt that was Misty's daughter's? I heart adorable hand-me-downs.I puffy heart chubby feet.
Drew's idea of relaxing is yard work. I don't complain. Better him than me. Yesterday he was out there for a long time and he even kept track of Carson AND Kaitlyn. They followed him around.

mmmmm... love him.
Hayden also likes to color. The paper is in Drew's office.

Which means Hayden has to get a coin to unlock it.

And he's not always that good at remembering to lock it again (ok, he STINKS at it). Which is a huge problem for Drew.. the kids touch his stuff.

Carson, however, has no problem with it being unlocked.

He can get into mysterious things like Drew's dart blower and darts and stick them into the computer chair..

Or magic markers.
So he can color on himself.

And Kaitlyn.
Including her neck and head.

Which resulted in baths and massive scrubbing.

And a trip to Home Depot to buy a new lock for Drew's office- one that requires a key.

Good day yesterday, good day.

From the other side.

2009-07-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Last night Drew picked up the camera and started taking pictures of the kids.

I just put them on the computer and it was interesting to see what he came up with.

Cute picture of Carson..

Kaitlyn uh.. um.. playing with scissors? Oh. Huh. Let's hope no children were harmed in the taking of that picture. At least she was post-bath and super clean. Yeah, that makes it all better.Wait, those jammies were from yesterday morning. Does this mean Drew took pictures twice yesterday? Who knew!

Now THIS is the real deal of Kait, post bath and in her jammies. How did he get her to smile and not run away?? I must take too many pictures. She loooves her Daddy!
This is even better! Maybe I should retire as the family photographer.
... or not. And now we get to the back pictures.

Half of Aubrey. Half of my back (I'm washing Hade's hair). All taken via mirror reflection. At least he's unique.
He convinced me to join in with the mirror action. Apparently our mirror is not as clean looking from all angles and with a flash.

Looks like he's giving it a try in our bedroom..
Ha! At least I'm not the only one that gets blurry pictures of our lighting fast children.

I wonder what pictures my kids would come up with.. I might just have to let them try (with my old camera).

Holy mess, Batman!

2009-07-05T11:15:00.000-07:00

I love fireworks. Like puffy heart them. Even HUGE puffy heart them, as does Drew. (I huge puffy heart him too, by the way)

We're really responsible pyro's. We make sure children are wearing shoes, there's no wind and we leave the hose running. And we clean up after wards as well.

Unfortunately, many of my neighbors feel fine with leaving past explosions in the road. Where my children snatch them up and beg to keep them or play with them. I have a strict No Keeping/Playing with Old Fireworks policy but apparently Carson didn't get that Memo.

Lucky us.

His legs and feet were just as bad.

My poor tub was in very sad condition after his bath.. I'm sure you can imagine the ring of dirt that he left behind!

And because these are some of my favorite pictures, EVER, I have to share these too. In fact, this is WHY I have the strict No Keeping/Playing with Old Fireworks policy .

Last year Aubrey and Hayden were playing across the street. Or so I thought. Instead, guess what they were doing?

That's right, playing with used smoke bombs. Nice.

Wait until you see what they DID with them.

Please excuse the looks that my children were giving the camera .. Drew was still yelling at them and it was probably highly inappropriate for me to take pictures mid-lecture, but I HAD to!

Just wait, it gets better..

Not their smartest day. Which I mean in the nicest way possible.

And if you were wondering, I totally felt like Mom of the Year when I called Poison Control to make sure those two weren't going to have massive deadly toxins absorbed into their skin and lips (yes I said lips). The lady almost laughed several times but was able to control it with proper breathing techniques. Props to her.

I'm hoping next year's interaction is minimal.

Life is good for Carson and I.

2009-07-02T17:05:00.000-07:00

My baby is now 18 months old.

And finally, FINALLY, I get to play.

GIRL'S GOT HAIR!!!

WOO HOO!!!!!!

(I had to take these pics quickly not knowing
how long she'd leave her hair alone..
if you've ever had a little girl, you know what I mean)

And... this is why I clean:

Because you never know when Hayden will spill...
... a pixie stick....
... and Carson will feel the need to clean up
after his big brother...

... with his tongue.