Crazy Life of a Logger's Wife

Man Food

2012-01-31T23:02:00.000-07:00

My daughter is picky. She doesn't like breakfast. So on mornings that Tucker doesn't have preschool, we get her off to school with her routine yogurt and then we come back in our jammies and we bust out the sausage and eggs complete with some fruit.
And my boys love it. And I love these boys. And so I had to take a picture of the two of them having their man food. Every Mom should have boys. Cooking for boys is a lot different than cooking for girls. There is nothing better than the appreciation I get for just frying something greasy and fufilling. Now if only I appreciated this kind of food. But I don't. I prefer yogurt. Which may explain why Cameron is such a picky breakfast eater......

Success!

2012-01-27T21:40:00.000-07:00

Well, I hate to admit it, but I was wrong! This girl made it through her first sleepover like a pro! She called to wish me a good night about 10:45 and she was so WIRED that I knew for a fact there was going to be no sleeping for a very long time. They made it until one o clock in the morning and slept until nine thirty in the morning. Pretty cool that she's big enough to start enjoying "Girl time".

Tonight I am vegging and enjoying watching tivo'd episodes of The Big Bang Theory. Seriously, can my love of nerds grow any stronger? I love Sheldon and Leonard! If you haven't started watching this show, you must. Happy Friday!

Science Projects and Sight Words

2012-01-25T15:04:00.000-07:00

For the past two weeks we have been tending to two plants in an effort to show the necessity of sunlight for plant growth. Cameron had her first science fair this week at school and this is what we decided to do for her project. We took two plants, placed one in the window and one in a box in the closet. And every three or so days we checked the plants and recorded what we saw. Monday we turned in her project and tonight is NASA night, so we get to go see all of the awesome projects. I'm such a nerd, I love this kind of thing!

Since Christmas, Tucker and I have been trying to do some kindergarten readiness. It's hard to believe that Tucker's "half birthday" was Sunday. Which means he's half way to the big five. And for some reason five just seems so grown up to me. And so we are working on matching letters--upper case to lower case, letter names, letter sounds, and some basic sight words. He's ready for kindergarten and can't wait to go to real school with Cameron. We still have seven months which is quite a while, but will ultimately be here before we know it. Time is a flying! Seems like he's just been little Tucker for so long, and now he's running with the big dogs.....

I guess I had get up and get something done more productive than updating my blog, but it's this weather and I hate January. I'm so unmotivated to succeed at anything. Luckily we are on the countdown for better months. I have even considered buying one of those happy lights just to give me a little boost, but I don't want to spend the money on one.

Laundry to fold, dishes to do, dinner to plan. I'm off.

Girl Scout Cookies

2012-01-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Remember a while back I told you that I was asked to lead a Daisy Girl Scout Troop and I said no? I really did say no. And yet, here we are thick into our second year. And it's fun because I have an awesome group of girls and we do some fun stuff. But really, I don't have time for this and there's a lot of planning and work involved. And so, after this year, I am passing the torch and we are going to focus on running two kids to sports and dance and all the extra stuff that we have to do. But for now, we are thick into our troop with selling Girl Scout cookies and it's a great opportunity for the girls (MOMS) to drive around town asking for cookies and raising money for our troop. Then, in about a month, the girls get to go out (MOMS) and deliver all the cookies that such girl sold. And so I capped Cameron at 100 boxes. We could do a lot more, but whe your kid is six, it's all about me making sure those cookies get delivered, the money gets counted, etc. And Cameron gets the cookie badge for her apron.
So on that note, I had to post this blurry photo of the girls last weekend asking for donations to help restock the food pantry here in town. We only signed up for an hour shift because they have an attention span of about 20 minutes and this was towards the end. The only thing that saved us was one kid's Aunt who came through and bought hot chocolate from Starbucks for all of the girls. Yay for hot chocolate!
This week we are touring the local Police Department in order to learn more about "Respecting Authority" and going out for ice cream afterwards to learn more about "Socializing". If there was a badge for giggles and treats, we would have them for sure! Have a happy Monday!

SnowSnowSnow

2012-01-21T10:07:00.000-07:00

I am not a snow person. But, my kids love any opportunity to get out and make some snowmen. Unfortunately, once out in the snow, and especially in this weeks storm, it's not all it's cracked up to be. By the time the kids got home from school and they got out in it, it had started to rain and it was more of a sludge. If you sat in it, you were soaked. If you picked it up, you were cold and wet, even with gloves. And poor Brody was having the hardest time wearing Tucker's two size too big passed down boots. And so you can see that he is wet and cold and rosy cheeked be cause he kept falling in it. And all I could do was just snap some more shots. This look just says it all, "Mom, put the darn camera down and come get me out of this snow!"

Rolling snowballs in the snow (slush). This was the kids' attempt at a snow family.

Once it started to rain, the motivation to make an entire family of snowmen began to drastically decline. They originally took out six carrots and ended up only using two carrots total. A small family of wet snowmen. Notice the lack of snow in the yard from the rain while they were working?

And here is our lovely slushy wet road and yard. Yep, you should have seen the kiddos when they came in from this disater. Wet to the bone! Tucker was crying to get in the shower and get warm, Brody was crying, and Cameron was just trying to find a dry pair of snow pants to get back out there and play longer.

What I should have takent a picture of was the pile of wet "stuff" by the front door. I hate snow.

Weekly Update

2012-01-18T10:43:00.000-07:00

We finally have a real snow storm here in Idaho. I am sitting here on the couch watching it fall because everybody knows that you shouldn't have to do anything if it's snowing outside. Brody is watching Baby Einstein and eating Cheerios and for the most part, it's a peaceful morning while the other two are at school.

800. That is how many glue dots I bought before Thanksgiving. 800. And I went to use some the other day and they are gone. All of them. And this is why. Cameron has turned into quite the crafty queen. Taking after me, although no discetion on how many glue dots a project should require, she crafts some amazing things. But seriously, 800???? And don't even get me started on scotch tape. Or glue sticks. I had to get out the packing tape the other day and cut strips just to get a last minute present wrapped. I'm pretty sure Cameron's Easter basket is just going to be full of glue sticks, glue dots, and tape. And I need to figure out how to hide mine where the kid can't find it. And if you look at the photo above, you notice that each of the felt hearts are completely surrounded by gems.....a glue dot for each gem....times eight projects.....well it's no wonder I don't have anything left.....

My bathroom drawer is setting on the kitchen counter this morning drying. And this is the culprit. Brody has mastered some of the looser baby latches. This is the drawer that houses my hair dryers and other irons, etc. And it is his new favorite hang out. The drawer that he has his hand on is my make up drawer and he completely busted the front off of it trying to break in. I've never had a kid that was so destructive. Or so cute. Okay, I take that back, I had two others that were this cute....but they also would have never busted my make up drawer.

Boys bathing in the tub. Love this. Want to put it on a canvas in the bathroom. Notice that Tucker's head is completely dry and Brody's is drenched? I can't imagine how that happened.......

Cameron is gearing up for her first big sleepover this Friday night. Her best friend and across the street neighbor is having three girls over and Cameron cannot hardly stand it she is so excited. I have been so hesitant to start the sleep over fun because I have babies in the house and I don't want sleepovers here right now. And I think once you start with them, kids are never happy with just a day time play date again. And sleepovers=cranky kids. And I just don't want to make that step. But here we go with the sleepovers.

And so she's scheduled to arrive at five. And Matt thinks she'll be home by ten. I say midnight. Anyways, we both don't think she'll make it through the night. And atleast she's across the street so there will be no late night driving involved. But seeing as how she sleeps with her light on because she's afraid of...wait for it....Sylvester the CAT!!!????!!!! and swears she sees his tail every time it's close to bedtime, I really don't know how this is going to go for her. But I will definitely keep you all posted......

excuses excuses excuses

2012-01-09T13:24:00.000-07:00

Here are the reasons why I am completely and entirely worthless these days.....

On a good note, I have slowed down with my Pinterest addiction.

Have a great day!

Christmas Morning 2011

2012-01-03T23:04:00.000-07:00

The Stockings Were Hung

2012-01-03T23:02:00.000-07:00

Christmas Eve. One in the morning. Everyone in bed. And I couldn't help but notice that Santa had come. And so I had to snap a photo. Before the chaos of the morning. Because it's so much work for Santa to orchestrate something like this. And thank God for elves who are able to build toys and run to the store when said toys are missing parts and make this happen so our kids can look back with fond memories of Christmas.

I was lucky to grow up in a house full of people and love. And holidays were always special. And we were spoiled. And so I have a hard time doing anything else for my own kiddos. Because you're only little once. And this is magic.

Christmas Eve 2011

2012-01-03T22:54:00.000-07:00

Ready for Christmas Eve Mass.

Kids table at Grandma's house.

Cousins and Great Grandma

Matt helping Tucker take out his monster trucks.

My Dad admiring a family picture.

My Dad proudly displaying his bulk sized jar of jalapenos. To which he yelled to my uncle, "Are you trying to make me Sh&* my pants this Christmas???" Quote of the year for sure.

Helping Grandma open gifts.

Classic example of the paper is always better than the present.
Cousins and friends. These two are going to stir up some trouble for sure!

A Sentimental Christmas

2012-01-03T22:46:00.001-07:00

My Christmas tree was a disaster this year. I dreaded putting it up and I couldn't wait longer than 9 am the day after Christmas to take it down. And so I decided to ignore the pile of broken ornaments piled on the counter and the empty bottom half. And focus instead on the up close and personal...

This is my absolute favorite ornament on my entire tree. We got this ornament the first Christmas after we were married. I think it reminds me of the two of us together playing house. We set up an enormous tree and hung this front and center. The rest of the ornaments have all come after this one. It still goes front and center every year.

Every year the kids are lucky enough to get an ornament from both sets of Grandparents. Usually personalized and cute as can be. I love this tradition!

And we also have tons of hand made goodies such as Cameron's handprint snowmen, complete with her kindergarten handwriting sample. Priceless!

I was so lucky to receive an entire box of personalized ornaments from my Mother in Law when we got married. Each of Matt's ornaments have to do with logging, sports, or just being a boy in particular. And every tree should have a 1990 logging beaver! This is my favorite out of his collection.

I also had quite the collection of ornaments from my childhood tree. Mostly all of mine had to do with cats. And so my tree has a disturbingly large amount of Christmas cats on it. But this one in particular always goes towards the top of the tree, a ceramic ornament painted by my Mom when I was pretty little.

My Christmas babies, Tucker and Brody on their first Christmases. I also have one of Cameron, but I guess I forgot to download it. Ooops.
And the classic Preschool Christmas ornament. Tucker brought this one home from school this year. I have another one just like it from when Cameron was in preschool.

And my glitter reindeer that hung from the garland across the window.

These are all packed away and ready to attempt it all again next year. Hopefully Brody will be a little easier to reason with so we can actually enjoy my collection of love and Christmas memories. But for now, I have photos and if I'm careful, Brody won't be able to get to those....

More attempts at Christmas card perfection

2012-01-03T18:12:00.000-07:00

Fully decorated Christmas tree...atleast from the waist up....
Coordinating red and green shirts
Multi-colored Christmas hair bows
Excellent camera
three cute kids
Check
Check
Check

The ability to get them to cooperate......PRICELESS AND IMPOSSIBLE!

Dancing Queen

2012-01-03T11:15:00.000-07:00

Last fall when it was time to sign Cameron up for dance classes, I decided that two dance classes would be busy and excessive and so I made Cameron choose between clogging and ballet. And low and behold, she ended up being in both (I swear I said choose one) and so we have been busy dancing on Tuesdays for clogging and Wednesdays for ballet. This meant double tuition and double costume fees, which sucked, but she loves it. But then we got the schedule for the Christmas recitals and they ended up being on the same day. Yep, four hours of beginning dance moves later....

And it gets better because we started the day out with Clogging. And I was fine. And Cameron was amazing. And I was so proud. And we headed home for a little rest and relaxation before the ballet recital and about two hours before it started, I started to feel a little dizzy. And tired. And oh dear, upset stomach, complete and utter flu symptoms. And I knew it was coming because Matt had had it earlier in the week but of course it had to hit while I was applying Cameron's make up and getting ready to go. And there was an actual complete and utter fear that I may not make it to a bathroom if needed once there in the audience. But I was absolutely NOT going to miss this recital. So I got her there and I sat in the very back row of the auditorium so as to be able to make a quick escape if nature called. And I sat and I shook with fever while my sweet ballerina danced away.

So I don't have any photos from the actual recital, but I did get some shots of her afterward in front of our tree. Isn't she beautiful?

And while I had the camera out and I wasn't puking, I decided to take some photos for the Christmas scrapbook page. But I didn't have the energy to fight it, so there is a lot of unruly posing going on. Love these kids.
But I wish just once they would all give me a killer smile at the same damn time.

Lead up to Christmas

2011-12-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to wrap up my year by downloading all of my important December photos and finishing up my Project Life. So I figured I'd share some of the shots with you here. This was how I did my Christmas shopping this year. I had no other option with little ones always with me and too over stimulated to take them to the stores in December. Thank you Amazon.com! There is nothing better than price matching with Free shipping. And when you get a pile like this one on your door step, there is nothing but giddy giggles coming from me as I run to hide them in the closet. We only had one problem when we ordered Tucker's Basketball hoop and it showed up in a marked box. And it was a Santa gift. Luckily, we came pulling up the street and I saw it from a ways down the street. So I panicked and practically jumped out of the car so Matt could take the kids and "go for a small drive" to look for Christmas inflatables. I had to drag that huge thing around the back of the house and into Matt's shop before anybody saw it. So for that, Amazon, I was a tad irked. But I guess you had no idea you were helping to play Santa.

Some sugar cookies that Cameron, Tucker, and her friend frosted and decorated. These cookies were AMAZING! You know the big round sugar cookies with all the frosting and all the calories that you can buy at Walmart or Albertsons? This is the homemade recipe for those. I should post it for you.....

And here is our visit to Santa. There is a house in Meridian that has done an absolutely amazing job with plywood cutouts of Disney characters. The entire yard is decorated, the windows of their house are full of moving characters, and Santa sits on the porch step. The real Santa. We're almost 90% sure. And so we took our neices and loaded up and headed over. And this is seriously the closest thing to Disneyland the kids have ever seen and if they love it this much, I just can't wait till we can actually take them to see the real deal. But for now, it's painted plywood cutouts each year for Christmas.
I love these shots of Santa and the kids. Brody was clinging to my arm, having none of the Santa business. And I can't say I blame him. The mean mom in me wanted to put him on his lap anyways just for the picture opportunity, but I guess I decided to now traumatize my kid this year. So Merry Christmas Brody. Next year....

Don't Blink

2011-12-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

I was doing my routine cleanup of the kids' bedrooms the other day and I looked around my feet and noticed that there is getting to be less and less of this kind of mess on the floor and more and more "big girl" stuff and messes in Cameron's bedroom. And then I realized that I haven't actually seen her come flitting through the house with fairy wings and a princess dress in quite a while. *sigh*. When Cameron turned three she got her first dress up clothes box and it slowly took over her bedroom. She inherited all of the Disney Princess dresses along with shoes, high heels, wands, wings, and hats. And it has kind of been her trademark thing. In fact, for a long time, every single day she would greet her Dad at the door wearing some concoction of Princesses and Fairies. And Matt would always ask her jokingly, "Don't you ever wear real clothes?" To which she would respond with a twirl or a twist and she was off again to her world of imagination. And it's funny because I never realized it stopped until I came in and picked the mess up off the floor. And it has stopped. And she's getting so big. And it is true what they say, "Don't blink." Life happens when you're not looking.

And so me being psycho crazy mom, decided to stop for a minute and just document this mess. Because I don't keep things. And I will pass this box of dress up clothes on down the line of neices. But I don't want to ever forget what it looked like when Cameron was in the middle of one of her imaginary dream lands.

Princesses and Fairies
Glitter and lace
Gowns galore
Wings and hats and shoes and sequins
Feather boas and more purses than any one girl should own

All wrapped together with a little pink satin, some polka dots, and an American Girl doll hiding underneath.

"Don't blink. Just like that you're six years old and you take a nap. And you wake up and youre twenty five......."

Elf on a Shelf 2011

2011-12-27T23:03:00.000-07:00

Meet Bubba Jingle. I already posted once about our newest tradition in the Brown household, but I thought I would follow up with some daily shots of our own personal elf. This year we had to creatively find some higher up look out points for Bubba because Brody didn't understand the whole "Don't touch the elf" idea.

Needless to say, he spent a lot of time looking down instead of up or out.

Cameron was quick to use her new found writing and spelling skills to record in her journal or write note after note to Bubba or Santa.

One of my more creative days. Bubba took a shower. The kids looked and looked and were thrilled when they finally found him.

We have a bandaid problem in this house. We go through atleast a box a month. It's ridiculous, but we pick scabs and so one night Bubba also decided to partake in the fun of the bandaid idea.

He also writes notes.

And he brought us breakfast. Straight from the North Pole. The kids thought it was delicious.

And some days it was literally an Elf. On a shelf. Period.

And other days he got quite creative.

Bubba was a great tradion to start with the kiddos and I look forward to it again next year. Gut I am relieved that he has gone back to the North Pole for now as the kids would get up even earlier than usual just to find where he had hid. We are back to sleeping in a little bit. I highly recommend getting The Elf on the Shelf if you haven't already started it with your family.

Merry Christmas 2011

2011-12-23T00:09:00.001-07:00

I would like to think that tomorrow and the next day I am going to have time to add all of the photos of all of the activities that we have been participating in over the past month or so, but realistically, I still have some small stocking stuffers to grab, I still have some presents to wrap, I have neighborhood gifts to deliver, I have wine bottles to decorate, beer bottles to turn into reindeer, laundry, dresses and shirts to iron for Christmas eve Mass, fingernails to trim, hair to cut, eyebrows to pluck, ornaments to rehang on the tree, glitter to sweep up, cards to sign and mail, and kids to spend time with.

This week my best friend from high school is here visiting her family and friends all the way from Nashville, Tennessee. It is always a good time when she is home. We love to get togehter and reminisce. It's always a good reminder of the fun we had back in the day. And it's truly a blessing to have "old friends" who have known me since I was fifteen. What a journey we have led together!

My kids get to go to my other best friend's house, also a friend from high school, but closer now than then because of our tie of teaching third grade together and having kids the exact same age who are also good friends. What a blessing to have another Mommy to dig through the trenches of motherhood together! Anyways, she is such a brave soul, she's having 10 little girls and 2 boys for as long as they have interest over to make gingerbread houses tomorrow afternoon and we are very much looking forward to that!

And while they are creating, I will be home busily wrapping and finishing up some loose ends and getting even more excited for the up and coming visit from the North Pole.

This is going to be such a year full of magic! It's so hard not to just go crazy over board for the kids because I have such fond memories of the Christmas's that we had in our house when we were little and my Mom and Dad always went all out. It's something that I will never forget. And I want the same for my kids. So while 364 days of the year I try my best to establish a lifestyle of hard work and gratitude, on Christmas it's all about the presents and the spoiling! Matt and I are more excited than the kids!

Matt is especially excited that he has a Barbie house, a Razor Rip Rider, and a basketball hoop to build out in his shop. So glad I get to do the easy part of shopping and ordering and he gets to do the dirty work of being Santa's construction elf.

And so, again, I appreciate each and every one of you reading this blog and look forward to getting back on track with even more posts in 2012.

May your family experience the same love and gratitude that we have for our life and the blessings that God has given us. Have a wonderful, fantastic, and truly magical Christmas.

Brody's First Snow

2011-12-22T16:30:00.000-07:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words and in this case, I definately agree. I LOVE the look on Brody's face while trying to figure out the snowflakes coming down.

Of course he had been in snow last year, but was way too little to remember so this was the best thing he'd ever seen.

Can you even imagine the wonder?

Hoping to make a snowman, but of course, the first snow never lasts long.

I'm not a snow person. At all. But this did get me excited enough to bundle the kiddos up and head outdoors to experience it. I even busted out the video camera to get Brody's excitement on film.

The countdown is on to Christmas. I have been making homemade cinnamon rolls all day, the neighbor girls and Cameron has been busy making toilet paper roll snowflakes. The patio is covered in paint and glitter but it kept them busy and that makes me happy.

First Haircut

2011-12-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

You can see in this photo that Brody had the perfect soft baby curls that kind of just lay all over his forehead. But, we were getting family photos so everybody in the family was getting cleaned up and ready to smile. And so, while I was kind of wanting to keep the baby look a little longer, we gave him his first hair cut. I lucked out because I had a friend there in the beauty shop that was willing to snap photos through the whole thing. And so you can kind of get a run by run experience of what went on.

I was expecting some tears but Brody just watched Tucker get his hair cut like a pro and he decided, like everything else, that if Tucker does it, then Brody will also do it.
It's so funny that even with the first swipe of baby hair, I knew that all I was going to have left was one more dirty rotten little boy. And it's true. We shaved off his angel hair, exposed those horns just a little more....

Sweet boy.

Such a handsome little thing! Oh parents, lock up your girls! Actually, Brody is never going to date at all. He will live with me forever....and be little forever.

December 21st Philosophy

2011-12-21T18:39:00.000-07:00

I'm starting to think that this may be my kids' philosophy. Deep dark threats of coal, no presents, and upsetting Santa seem to be going in one ear and out the other. So glad to have them home for vacation! I love my kids, but I love routine and no school for this many days is already turning my life upside down.

Today I had to finish up odds and ends, pay bills, run errands, and get groceries. No wonder they're cranky and not listening. Hopefully tomorrow will be full of holly jolly, for all of us!

It's Going to be Fantastic!

2011-11-30T12:33:00.000-07:00

I flipped the calendar today to take a peak at what I have already planned for December and holy cow, can we just say we are busy? I try to always make a conscientious effort to do something "Christmas related" every day, but I don't think that is going to be a problem this year. We have already started the Elf on the Shelf. Cameron has already had to design her own Christmas tree to take to school and we are in the midst of preparing to make Christmas ornaments tomorrow for girl scouts. This is going to be a great season of preparation for Jesus and the kids are just about as excited as I am.

This morning Brody was in the toilet water again. The kid just doesn't give up. So I mentioned that Brody might be on the naughty list this year if he doesn't quit playing in the toilet. Five or ten minutes later Tucker came up to me. Looked up all cute and innocent and said, "Mommy...if Santa puts Brody on the naughty list, I will share my toys with him, okay?" I looked down at him and I saw so much love and concern for his little brother. I realized that my kids are going to be alright. No matter what path our lives take, they have each other and they have each other's backs. There is a bond there that is unbreakable. I just wanted to hug him tight because he's so sweet.

Hopefully your family is feeling the season and looking forward to Jesus. Happy December!

Elf on a Shelf

2011-11-27T23:05:00.000-07:00

For the past couple of years I have been looking at the Elf on a Shelf online and in the stores and waiting until both Cameron and Tucker were old enough to enjoy this tradition. And so this is the year that the elf arrived from the North Pole.

While out shopping today I grabbed one up and some shiny metallic bright red wrapping paper that looks like it comes straight from the North Pole. It worked out perfectly. While the kiddos were up in the bonus room playing the Wii, I wrapped the elf up downstairs. I wrote a note that said, "From the NORTH POLE".

I opened up the garage door and went out like I was going to throw out trash. I then went around to the front door and put the shiny package on the front step and rang the doorbell about ten times "elf style" and ran back to the garage. I could hear the kids crashing down the stairs and as soon as they ran past, I snuck back inside and came from behind them like I had been in the back room. They never suspected a thing.

We had just put up our Christmas lights this weekend so they were on and it totally added to the magic of the event. Cameron, always ready to outsmart you on every situation was completely dumbfounded. Tucker, always a little more trusting was just excited to open the package.

We read the story and were informed that we would need to pick a name for our elf. Easier said than done with these two kiddos. So we started with Cameron's choice, Jingle Bell. Tucker wanted to just name him Tucker. Then Brody. Then Frosty. Then he decided on Jingle Bell. Then Matt tried to help out and got them even more confused with a variety of names, some inappropriate ones along the lines of Seymour Butts, etc. Finally we agreed on Bubba Jingle.

I am really looking forward to having something fun and magical for the kids, but I am especially looking forward to the fact that this elf will be reporting all behavior to Santa. Of course we tried it tonight with going to bed and they didn't even flinch. Just continued on with whatever they wanted. So we will see how effective this little guy really is.

I just did move him to his first location, which is in the hanging light in the dining room. Looking forward to thinking of creative locations for the kids to find Bubba Jingle. So what about you? Have you used the Elf on a Shelf? Any good suggestions for hiding places? The countdown is on to Christmas and I am excited!

Pondering Gratitude With Kids

2011-11-22T07:36:00.002-07:00

It is just a few days before Thanksgiving and the kids are home from school for. the. week. Yeeeeessss. They finished last Thursday and so we have been home Friday. Saturday. Sunday. Monday. And today is Tuesday. We have strep throat in the house so we can't go anywhere. And there's a greta thing about my kids....they never get really sick. They just get whiny. Even with strep and a fever. No lying on the couch sleeping it off, resting quietly. It's like they go into panic mode and just try to kill off the infection by incessant whining. First we had to have water in a sippy cup. Then it was dripping, even though it wasn't. Then we had to have water in a sports cup because we apparantly outgrew sippys sometime this last week. Then Brody touched the cup and we don't share germs so then we had to have a fresh sippy cup, which was the wrong color. And Brody of course thinks they are all his and I am trying to keep him from catching strep, which is impossible, and I am going to loose my mind. Please just lay in the couch. Take a nap. Rest it up. Please.

And then I think about all the things I should be doing, but if I don't sit and "attend" to the one who is sick, they forget to rest. So I sit here and we cruise through hours of tivo'd Cailous and Arthurs hoping he'll just get bored with it and rest. But no naps happen in this house. Ever.

All the while, Cameron has lost the meaning behind her life and is so bored because I have threatened her with her life to leave her poor brother alone. Without being able to boss and demand him to do things, she has the Easter eggs out and she and Brody are having Easter egg hunts. Which means that I will be picking eggs out of the shelves, cupboards, and cushions for the next couple of days. Why I save those things I have no idea!

Yesterday was parent conferences for my oldest. Being a teacher it's always a little interesting being on the "parent" side of the table. But I can say I am so proud of Cameron because she is doing AWESOME! She is becoming a reader right before our eyes and I just marvel at how far she has come in just three months of first grade. My baby is gone and in place of her stands a well behaved, hard working little girl.

I'm really trying to keep the focus on "Gratitude" in our house until after Thanksgiving. It's so hard for kids to understand time and two months of Christmas hype is ridiculous for this age. Toy catalogs in the mail, Christmas commercials, lights on houses already, I have even slipped and played a few Christmas songs. Instrumental music only, but still..... Cameron asked me if it was time to make a list for Santa yet. So during this month we have been working on a "Gratitude" list. She sits at the counter and writes things to be thankful for. I spell them for her. The joys of having a first grader.

Of course even after all the commentary on Gratitude and appreciating the fact that we are so blessed, and listing items and considering things that other people go without, I look on the bulletin board at Tucker's preschool and see that the one thing that Tucker is thankful for is....toys. Out of family, friends, food, safety, our dog, all the things that we have listed on our Gratitude list, Tucker picks the toys. Nothing wrong with it, really. But I try so hard to instill a vision in my kids. And it's toys. So we probably should have just started making that list for Santa back in October anyways.

I've posted this before, but it pretty much sums it up!

Anybody else feeling the pressure?

And behind all the sarcasm and cynicism, the truth comes out. I am blessed and I know it.

Project Life-1913

2011-11-15T23:26:00.001-07:00

The Panama Mutual Life Assurance Society--Journal from 1913

Last time I was visiting with my Grandma, she pulled out this daily journal. This was her father's journal that he kept during 1913. He was young and single. And he went South to work on the construction of the Panama Canal. I couldn't help but appreciate this because it reminds me of my own Project Life Journal.

Journal Reads: "Yesterday Grif and I were out to the Bathing beach. Sally and all her pretty ones were there."

I took the journal home and spent a good couple of hours just appreciating the records and the personal memories. There is nothing like this anywhere else. Nobody has these same accounts of what went on during this time. This is what I hope to accomplish by using Project Life.

My Great Grandfather wrote small snippets for each day that he was in Panama. As you can see from the photo above, there was not a lot of space for each day. This is a lot like the amount of space allocated in my own journal. He also included post cards, receipts, check stubs, invitations, doodles, and quotes.

Journal reads: "There are over 1400 white school children on the Canal Zone. And they go to school."

Some days were just a record of payments and money earned.

More photographs to go along with the journal entries

Population of the United States and possessions is over 100,000,000.

1913. In 1913 someone was recording their account through the small and mundane daily parts of life. And now, almost 100 years later, it is being read and shared. And it is an important documentation of life and heritage and history. And I can't help but wonder who will come across my own Project Life journals in another hundred years.
This inspires me to record even more...capture the moment....and consider all opportunities to record life.

This is our Foundation

2011-11-15T19:33:00.000-07:00

This morning I stayed in bed and slept under the covers until about seven. At about three my hubby got up and went to work. I am typing this and it is about eight o clock at night and he is still not home. This is routine and this is how we make a living. The logger works his tail off. He puts in long hours, he works harder than any one I know. He takes extra pride in a job well done. He does more than is expected. He never takes time off. And while I gripe...and pout....and wish he had a nine to five job.....I know that what he does is all for the good of our family. And because he does this, I get to stay home with my babies. I get to complain because I never get away from the kids. I get to never miss a second of this precious time that they are little. And in the spirit of gratitude. And Thanksgiving. And the calm before the Christmas storm. I just wanted to stop posting cute pictures of kiddos and parties and scrapbook pages and fun things. And stop and share with you some of the background to my life. This is logging. This is what holds our family together. This is what five generations of The Logger's family have built up and work their butts off every day to provide for all of us. This is life. This is something to be proud of. This is something to be thankful for.

I went to the woods when we were first married. I literally peed my pants because of the icy roads, the logging trucks coming off the hills, the cold and the wet and the misery. And this is what The Logger does every day. This is what puts our food on our table.

I come from Logging on my side as well. My Grandpa logged all of my life. He passed away from cancer when I was in college, but all the way to the end you could find him out in his shop, maintaining his truck, working those long hours. In fact, the photo of the truck loaded down is a load on his old truck.
I used to spend the night with my Grandparents and I can remember getting up at 2 am with them, eating some scrambled eggs, trying not to fall back asleep at the kitchen table. And then sneaking back to bed with Grandma after he left in the truck.
There is something humble and proud about a job such as this, and I am forever thankful for the men in my life, but especially The Logger, for the hard work that they do to help build up our family, for their love, for their example, for their drive to endure. Everyone should be so lucky to possess such a work ethic. I am truly blessed.

Brody's First Birthday

2011-11-05T08:37:00.000-06:00

Daddy's Girl

2011-10-29T19:20:00.001-06:00

I just had to share this photos of Matt and Cameron last weekend when they went to the Boise State game. When the opportunity came up to go, I couldn't because Tucker had a birthday party to attend and Brody is just a royal pain the the butt to leave with anyone, so Matt asked Cameron to go. At first she didn't want to because she had to miss a birthday party, but she finally decided that it would be fun. I think they had a great day together. I just love these photos of the two of them, they are so cute! And she just loves her Daddy...and the feelings are mutual. That girl has her Daddy wrapped around her finger.

Pumpkin Patch Fun

2011-10-29T09:03:00.000-06:00

We love to go to Purdum's for our annual pumpkin picking extravaganza. And this year I got Matt to go with us. Mostly because there was no way I could manage Brody and three pumpkins on my own. It was an absolutely beautiful Fall day. We have been so lucky with out weather so far, but as I'm typing this, I can see frost on everything outside, so I believe my luck has run out and Fall/Winter is upon us. It's going to be a long winter of being cooped up with the kids or outside freezing our pants off trying to pretend it's summer.......

It was a fairly quick trip to the patch to pick Pumpkins. When I go with the kids, we wander, we frolick, we play. And then we remember to pick out a pumpkin. Matt gets off the wagon and walks along side the patch, picking the first thing he sees that is round and he is back on the wagon.

We had a great time. All 15 minutes of it.

The Bug Hat

2011-10-29T08:43:00.000-06:00

Tucker had to design a silly hat for his preschool "Hallelujah Party", which takes the place of Halloween. When Cameron went there, we made a tall pink princess hat with ribbons and sequins and glitter. But that kind of hat just doesn't cut it for a boy. So off to the Dollar Store we went to buy a plastic fireman hat, and a few bags of bugs. Then it was just a quick visit with the glue gun and some glue dots and we were set. Unfortunately, it's pretty top heavy and so we have some problems keeping it on his head, so you can see the crack on the bill from falling on the ground over and over again.

It was a huge hit with the kiddos and Tucker was pretty proud of his "bug hat".

Carving Pumpkins 2011

2011-10-29T08:32:00.000-06:00

I guess I should have asked Matt more about what he would have wanted to do with his Friday evening after working long hours all week and getting up at 3:30 to drive back and forth every day, but I didn't even think about it and I got the kids all psyched up for carving pumpkins after dinner. Needless to say, it was the last thing Matt had energy for and I got a few exhausted but nasty looks from him but all in all, he was a good sport.

Lesson #1 that I learned from past experience, those "carve your perfect pumpkin" books that are full of awesome patterns only work if you have the attention span of an adult. So your kids pick the most complicated pattern in the book and then you, the parent are stuck carving the darn thing.

So this year I found a KIDS version of the patterns. The nice thing about this book was they were basic basic basic and there were exactly four choices. Four. And Tucker still had a hard time making a choice. But atleast it didn't take endless hours and they turned out pretty good.

Tucker did have to pick the biggest pumpkin in the entire patch. This only happened because Matt came along for the fun so he could pack the thing up and out. I couldn't even lift it to get it into the table. But my lack of strength is a whole different post.

Tucker trying to carve this beast. I don't know if you can actually tell, but there are little bite marks all along the bottom of the pumpkin where some rhodent tried, but failed to eat this pumpkin. That's how large and thick skinned this thing was.

And Cameron decided, with my suggestion, to try to carve a Hello Kitty pumpkin since she chose a white one. Google Hello Kitty pumpkin and look at what these crazy people are coming up with! Mine just plain sucks. But I think Cameron liked it. Atleast she told me it would win a prize in a contest.

Brody's happy pumpkin

Cameron's Hello Kitty pumpkin

And Tucker's Scary Skeleton. We are officially ready for the school's Monster Mash this afternoon and onto trick or treating on Monday. Love Halloween!

Boise State Card--2

2011-10-29T08:18:00.000-06:00

Good Morning and Happy Saturday! I am downloading pictures this morning to catch up on two months of my Project Life and I thought I would share this BSU card that I made for one of Tucker's friends 5th Birthday. I am having a hard time with boy projects, most all of my card making has a lot of frills and flowers. But I thought this one turned out pretty cute. Have a great weekend!

Boys in the tub

2011-10-29T08:15:00.000-06:00

Brody is finally to the point where he doesn't try to crawl under the water or stand up and slip or get swept off his tiny bottom by the tidal wave that is big brother. And so the boys are loving their morning baths. And Cameron has moved up to showering on her own, because as fun as it is, three is a crowded tub. I just love this shot of the boys playing with a simple plastic glass of water. Brody is just fascinated with every "Trick" Tucker has up his sleeve. Love these boys!

Monster Invitations

2011-10-20T22:48:00.001-06:00

I have been taking a small break from blogging because of one website in particular. I didn't think there was a bigger time sucker out there than Facebook, but I managed to find it. It's called Pinterest.com. I need to quit. I need to just cancel my account and never go back there. Because now instead of atleast using my computer time to record family memories or work on something productive, I just get into some sort of zone and off I go dreaming, imagining, and making lists of things I don't have time to do. And then I start to feel bad. I look around my house and see all the possibilities. But if it wouldn't have been for Pinterest, I would have never seen the possibilities at all. Damn that Pinterest.

So rather than obsess about the projects I won't be getting finished, I thought I would post a photo of the birthday invites that I made for Brody's Monster party. Pictures of those are coming in the next day or so. I used the Monster themed Cricut cartridge and cut out a few different monsters. Then I made the information part of the card and hole-punched and tied baker's twine to the monster and the card. I used googly eyes for dimension. I thought they turned out pretty cute for something quick.

Monster Invitations--Brody's First Birthday Party

Good Lord, it might be time for a manicure...and some hand cream

Everybody is quiet and sleeping tonight. It's just me and Jay Leno up this late and I can't help but say I love the quiet time late at night. Especially when I'm not so zonked that I can actually enjoy it. And since I just did finish watching tivo'd Beverly Hills 90210 and half of Private Practice, I can call this evening a complete success. Can I just say how much I love tivo? I would NEVER get to watch tv if I had to watch it during prime time, which also happens to be the witching hour(s) in this house. Whiny, hungry, arguing, homework avoiding kids all take place during all of my best shows. So I just hit the DVR button and then turn on Cailou, which is a life saver during dinner prep. Again, Cailou is tivo'd so we have him whenever we need him. When I list my blessings in life, I list episodes of Cailou right up there with food, water, and shelter. Something about that little rat bastard just calms my kids down, keeps them quiet, and limits the fighting long enough to get dinner on the table. Even if he is a whiner himself. We love Cailou.

An Ode to Summer

2011-10-06T08:43:00.000-06:00

Unfortunately, I do believe we are completely finished with summer here. We went from 91 degrees last weekend to two days now of cold, wet, and rainy. And to top it off, the kids are out of school for Thursday and Friday. A great day to be home. So I thought I would post photos from our annual trip to Roaring Springs, when it was well over 100 degrees and we were tan and happy.

I had a great shot of Matt and I in this photo booth, but the camera fairy (Tucker) was looking through my files and it somehow got deleted. Love kids looking through the camera. So now there is no proof that Matt was actually participating in silly photo shots.

Cameron, however, is no stranger to posing and loves a good shot of herself.

Enjoying the 300% mark up on a delicious snow cone. $12 later....

So summer is over. And all I can do is hope for some warmer fall so that the transition is not so traumatizing. Have a great weekend!

BSU Creativity!

2011-10-01T00:06:00.000-06:00

Last month my nephew was going to a 10th birthday party for a buddy who loves Boise State Football. Part of his gift was a certificate for a home BSU game. They wanted to know if I could design some kind of gift certificate for the party. And of course I did.....

This is the second part that slides into the pocket. The actual "certificate"

A close up of the name.

I love to step outside my comfort zone and try something new. I'm not a blue and orange person, but I thought htis turned out stinkin' cute!

Birthday Luau

2011-09-28T07:45:00.000-06:00

Here we are going into October and I am playing some serious catch up on my blog. I thought I would post and share some of my shots from Cameron's 6th birthday party. This year she wanted a "luau" summer party with lots of water games and lots of wet fun. She also loves flip flops and summery bright colors, so this was an easy party for me. Here she is with her flip flop cakes. She decided she wanted pink and black flip flops, I could have done without the black, but I think they turned out pretty cute anyways.

And during her "friend party", we just did cupcakes, which I have found are less messy, and quicker to serve and manage with a group. I did have to stick six candles into one cupcake, however, just for the effect.

Every year I get a shot of her on the patio with her birthday dress on. This year we spent the $ on a new swim suit instead of a dress. Here she is looking super summery.

That's six years old, in case you couldn't remember. Six going on sixteen. She thinks.

Up close of the cupcakes. These were super easy. a white frosted cupcake rolled in graham cracker crumbs to look like a sandy beach. The beach umbrella and the flip flop were from Hobby Lobby.

Waiting for the bounce house to inflate. You should have heard the chanting and cheering from the kiddos when it was raising up!

Finally some fun! You will notice that I do in fact have two different bounce houses in my yard. My small controlled party of 10 ended up being a large come one come all party of 20+. The joys of living in a neighborhood and having lots of friends and family! But it was great. I did however, decide that I should have two bounce houses on a one bounce house budget. So I bargained with the bounce house man. I traded him Brody's changing table and an old treadmill for the rental on the second one. He was tickled to death and I was completely happy because I have been asking Matt to take the clutter to the Youth Ranch all summer. Perfect!

Down the water slide!

Water games!

Bounce House #1 and Bouce House #2--traded for a changing table and a treadmill

The crowd. Friends, cousins, and neighbors galore!

Four kids ready to slide....wait a minute, make that three kids and one Aunt Lulu. How can you resist a water slide?

Make that two Aunts. One Aunt Mimi and one Aunt Lulu coming down the slide!

YeeeeHawwwww!!!!!!!! You just can't resist.....

30 Days of Lists--2

2011-09-18T09:57:00.000-06:00

I am Happiest When.....
1-I am with my family on a lazy morning.
2-I am enjoying the company of someone special at a great restaraunt over a glass of red wine
3-In my sweats scrapbooking upstairs
4-When I have been productive all week and I can kick back and enjoy the weekend

30 Days of Lists

2011-09-15T14:31:00.000-06:00

So I was blog surfing and I came across the idea of 30 Days of Lists from this blog:
Just Make Stuff and I was completely fascinated and inspired. Because I am a reformed type-A personality who was ruined by having children, I still love a good list, even though mine never completely get finished. And so, I am going to try to follow along with this gal (but I am 15 days behind her) with the list thing.

GOALS FOR THE NEXT 30 DAYS:
1-MAKE 30 LISTS
2-ORGANIZE THE KIDS FALL SCHEDULES SO THAT THEY FLOW
3-CROCK POT MEALS ON ALL NIGHTS THAT WE HAVE SOCCER OR DANCE
4-ORGANIZE BRODY'S 1ST BIRTHDAY PARTY
5-CONTINUE ON WITH BRODY'S 1ST YEAR SCRAPBOOK
6-THREE TO FIVE POUNDS DOWN THE DRAIN
7-DEEP CLEAN, THEN DECORATE FOR FALL/HALLOWEEN
8-ONE ON ONE TIME WITH EACH KID (SHOULD BE EASIER NOW THAT THEY ARE IN SCHOOL SOME OF THE TIME)
9-A DATE WITH THE LOGGER
10-WALK AT THE ISLAND TO SUPPORT GOAL #6

Ten Years

2011-09-11T22:41:00.000-06:00

And so it is that ten years ago today, the world changed. And not for the better. While the death and injuries and defeat were obvious, what these terrorists did for us that was even worse was they destroyed the trust of a nation. And they ruined the entire innocence of not only a country, but the entire globe. Never again will the our thought process not involve terrorists. And just a little bit of fear. And just a little bit of anger. And yet, in the midst of the rubble, good still prevails. And there is the pride of a great nation. And what an amazing memorial at Ground Zero.

I remember that day like it was yesterday.

I was 20 years old. Young and invincible. And this was a dose of reality that I don't think I even grasped at the time.

I woke up late for a 8 am class with my beloved Dr. Zuroff. My best friend Holly called with all of the vigor that she always had that early in the morning. I on the other hand, was grouchy and irritated. And when she told me that a plane had hit the World Trade Center, I thought she was trying to get me to wake up and participate in any conversation. And so we went to class and nobody knew a lot of details, but we all knew it was bad. And class went on because that is the kind of professor I had. Business as usual. And then it was onto our next class and between the two, we somehow found out that it was indeed bad and it was continuing. And I had a sister in London getting ready to fly home after visiting extended family with my Grandma. And I didn't know if she was flying, waiting to fly or what because of the time change.

After classes we headed back to a friend's apartment and sat and watched the coverage. And it was scary. And I was young. And I honestly didn't know what this meant for me. But atleast I was in Montana, which was a long long way from New York City. I hoped it was far enough.

And so life went on and before I knew it it was Veteran's Day. And I was doing an observation at a local elementary school. And they had organized a Veteran's Day celebration with a focus on the 9-11 attacks. And the entire student body of little kids...innocent kids....acknowledged this event and sang songs to remember and recognize and event that they surely shouldn't have to worry about.

I will never forget when they turned on Lee Greenwood's "Proud to be an American" and the tiny and sweet voices of the kids sang it with all the gusto and pride that they had to give. And I sat in the row of teachers and I cried. Because I didn't know what else to do. And I knew this was bad. And I didn't feel much different than those little kids. Confused, but going along with it.

And so life went on.

Ten years later. I am a mother of three. And in love. And all of a sudden, life isn't all about me. It's about them. And I can't help but look at the 9-11 attacks as a mother would look at this event. I can't even begin to imagine what this must have been like for the mothers of the victims. Or the children who lost their mothers or fathers in the tragedy. And so, today, it is scary in a whole different way. And what about the mothers of the men who caused this to happen? It really gives you a lot to think about.

The families who lost loved ones in the 9-11 attacks.

Stop and pray for these families. You know they never forgot about 9-11.

Back to School

2011-08-26T23:36:00.000-06:00

See...I told you I'd be lining her up in front of the same bush and sending her off to school! Thursday was the big first day of first grade. And she came home smiling. What a beauty! Cannot tell you how much I love this girl! So excited for her to discover reading, writing, and all the fixins that first grade has to offer! It also helps that she has such a phenomenal teacher, not a doubt in my mind that this year is going to be awesome!!!!!

The ever important backpack shot. An icon for the scrapbook. I'm such a nerd, but there's something about a new backpack that just makes me positively giddy!

Neighborhood gang off and running. Brody ready to rock it in the pink car.

Officially 30

2011-08-23T23:49:00.000-06:00

A while back, we were eating dinner at Red Robin. Across the room from us was a bunch of tables pushed together with a bunch of "kids" sitting around it, eating their dinner and smiling and laughing and some had presents and it was clearly a group of close friends who had gotten together to celebrate one gal's birthday.

I was intrigued with the bunch because it reminded me of something that I would have done with my group in college. Back in the day it was Applebees. And we celebrated there a lot. In fact, we celebrated a lot when there really wasn't anything to celebrate. And so I just kept finding my eyes wandering back to that table and watching the carefree attitude.

At the same time, I was noticing just how young these kids looked and so I figured maybe they were high school students or, at the most, young college age. And so when the waiters came and sang the song and handed off the ice cream sundae, and I heard them say it was my 22nd birthday, I just about fainted. Because I'm pretty sure that I never looked that young at 22.

And last week we went to Roaring Springs for our late summer family "Hurrah" before school starts, and I'm pretty sure that this year they must have lowered the age of the lifeguards to eight. They are so young! And then I realized as I looked around, that I am so not.

And so, I am sitting here watching Jimmy Fallon on my last night of my 20's, I can't help but think that age truly is relative. And maybe it's just our perspectives that age and change. But I don't feel any older, and yet, in comparison to the others around me, I must have grown up somewhere in the past couple of years.

And I can't help but think what a successful 30 years it has been. Full of blessings. Full of love. And I am nothing but content. So here's to the next 30 years!

Because I am old and Wise....

2011-08-22T23:21:00.000-06:00

Another Milestone

2011-08-19T08:25:00.000-06:00

The first lost tooth. And of course I wouldn't expect anything less than a huge dramatic lead up, because everything Cameron does is huge. And dramatic. And exhausting. But she lives life to the fullest and we love her for that! Sweet girl! And so here is the end result after we FINALLY got that tooth out. She walked around here for a good week and a half with it just hanging by one root. And I can remember enough about loosing teeth to know how irritating that is to try and eat and have a tooth flopping around. So, for the love of Pete, I don't know why she just didn't pull the dang thing out, but it has to be Cameron's way or no way. But I have to say that when she decided to get it done, she took control and pulled. So here is just another proof that my baby is leaving me. Even her baby teeth have decided they are through. And now she has the big gangly first grade smile with half of one huge tooth growing and the rest of her teeth looking quite tiny all of a sudden. Can't believe how fast she's growing up!

I love this shot of Matt trying ever so hard to be "nice" and not just grab that tooth and yank. I had to remind him about 50 times that if he traumatized her on her first tooth experience, then he wouldn't have the opportunity to help with all of the others. So we let her do it her way. But you can just see the temptation in his eyes.....

Success! Finally!

Horray for Cameron!!!!! Yes, Brody is going to be 11 months old this week. Speaking of where does the time go......The kids is so BUSY! Prefers to eat standing up.....

School Shopping for The Diva

2011-08-18T22:51:00.000-06:00

Today we went school shopping. And I am learning that Cameron and I have the exact opposite (mostly) taste in what is cute and what is not cute. And when she holds something up that I don't like, it is everything in my power to bite my tongue and gently sway her in another direction. But, can somebody PLEASE tell me when it became okay for six year olds to dress like hookers? Seriously! Call me old (I am going to be 30 this week--boo) but all of a sudden the front racks at Target have mini skirts attached to torn fish net stocking????? In a size 4??????

So we talked about what was appropriate for playing on the playground and why we are not going to dress like hookers at age six. And Cameron, in all her innocence, agreed. But I know she doesn't understand why. And I shouldn't have to explain it. It shouldn't be okay that this is being thrown at our daughters at such an early age. What happened to jumpers and mary janes? I can promise you now, my daughter will be dressed to the nines and completely appropriate for the setting, probably spoiled and over dressed, but I can't help but worry about the pressure to be beautiful, sexy, thin, and perfect. I just thought I had a few more years before I had to say, "You absolutely are not leaving the house in that outfit Young Lady".

But I can say the school shopping is done...or should I say done until we can afford to finish (what the hell is up with the prices of things?????) And Cameron is ready to start the beginning of her first grade year. Can't wait to post pics!!!!

Cameron's First Day of School Shoes

Counting Down to Freedom

2011-08-07T15:40:00.000-06:00

I say this with as much love as I can muster, but there are 18 days left until I stand Cameron in front of this rock and snap her 1st Grade photo and then she will be off. From 9-3:30 EVERY SINGLE DAY!!!!!!!!!!! And Tucker will also get stood in front of the rock because he will be off and running to Preschool THREE DAYS A WEEK!!!! I love summer, but dang, I'm over it. These kids are bored and they are DRIVING ME CRAZY! Whose with me?

Even More Late Night Creativity

2011-07-30T11:06:00.000-06:00

Thanks to Brody thinking he's big stuff and refusing to sit in his safety bath seat (even though both of my other kiddos did that for a long time) I now have to fill up the tub a few inches and let him crawl and go crazy like a big kid. This gives me lots of time to sit on the toilet lid and use my laptop. Therefore, lots of posts on the blog since I can't do much else right here on lifeguard duty. Crazy kid! Only 10 months old and thinks he's four like Tucker. I am so in for it!

My newest way to store birthday memorabilia. Pocket pages. Never know what to do with all the cards and well wishes. Now I can store them and the kids (and their future wives) can deal with the clutter. I know my future daughter-in-laws are going to love me!...."Oh by the way....you marry my son, you inherit 27 scrapbooks. Don't ever destroy them." Yup, they are gonna love me!

More Late Night Scrapbooking

2011-07-30T10:50:00.000-06:00

With Brody mostly sleeping through the night and the kiddos in bed at a decent time, along with the Logger, I have been able to pull some late nights in the scrapbook room. Here's sme of what I've come up with:

A Few Projects

2011-07-28T08:20:00.000-06:00

Mario Party

2011-07-24T09:11:00.005-06:00

For those of you who follow or for those of you who know us personally, you know that we have three kids, all of whom have birthdays within a two month range. Tucker starts us offon July 22, then Cameron on August 4th, and the newest birthday will be Brody, with his first birthday taking place on September 26th. In the middle of that, is my birthday and then our anniversary five days later. Needless to say, we spend a lot of $$$$ during this time of the year, but we also have a lot of great milestones and celebrations to put together. And it's worth every penny. Of course, me being all into thematic parties, I start planning in my head in May and by July 22nd, we are ready to bust out some serious celebrations! Here are numerous photos of our first in the line-up, a "Mario Party" as requested by my newly four year old son.

He got the Wii and Super Mario for Christmas and ever since then, it has been a strong request. "Mom, I'm having a Mario party this year". I started to look and there just isn't a lot of Mario party decor out there. So I started piecing it together myself. My craziest Martha move for this party was in fact, the homemade Mario Pinata. It turned out pretty well, as you will see in the photos. Something I'm pretty proud of, but please don't ever ask for a homemade pinata from me, as I am putting away the paper mache and moving on with my life. Yes it was worth it, but barely.
We also made some Mario sodas and played a Team Mario/Team Luigi relay race, along with some basic and old school potato sack races.

The cake turned out amazing. Lots of bright colors and different levels. I tried to kind of make it look like one of the levels in Super Mario Brothers. Don't know if that's what it ended up being, but I was pretty pleased with it anyways. And I knew I scored when Tucker looked at it and said, "You're the best Mom ever." Makes it all worth it.

We are so blessed and fortunate to have lots of cousins, family, and good family friends, all at a great age to get into games and enjoy the party scene, so that is exactly what we did.
And so, without further ado...the Mario Party!

PS: When I downloaded these photos, I meant to put them in chronological order, from beginning stages to ending with the big pinata. But....they came out backwards. So let's scroll through and watch the party from end to beginning. Or, scroll to the bottom and work you way back up. Either way, enjoy!

Summer Update--June

2011-07-13T22:30:00.002-06:00

Pardon me as I sit here in silence sipping red wine and venting on my blog. But, can I just say, that after a month and a half of no schedule, trying to get my kids to cooperate with waking up early enough to get to Vacation Bible School is KILLING me! Tucker went to bed in tears tonight because he is completely off his rocker tired. And Cameron is yawning and yawning and yawning. But refuses to give in. Anyways, three days of vacation bible school has caught up with us and this Mommy has had it. Two days left and then back to no routine and lazy mornings.

In the meantime, here are two updates from June. This first photo is of Cameron in her T-Ball uniform. She had a great team, good coaches, good friends, and lots of fun. Had a great time cheering her on and looking forward to next summer with both Cameron and Tucker in T-ball. Also, looking forward to this fall with Tucker playing his first organized sport of Soccer. I hate soccer, but I love watching this boy do anything active. Can't wait!

And secondly, one of my craft projects (don't ask me how I had the time) that I created for my neice Bria's baptism, which also took place this month. This card used some left over DCWV The Green Stack scraps and also some cards from last year's Project Life kit. I thought it turned out pretty cute! But not as cute as Bria was in her white angel dress when she got baptised a few weekends ago. What a lucky girl to be part of such a great family. My sister is an awesome Mommy and Jeff is a rocking Daddy. Love you guys!

Looking forward to some more posts sharing some of my recent scrapbook projects. Keep watching for those! For now, I'm going to finish this wine and enjoy some bad tv in the silence of my house.

200th Post

2011-07-11T13:53:00.002-06:00

Oh my gosh, it's the middle of July and I haven't hardly posted anything for the summer. That's because I haven't stopped for two seconds since the kiddos got out of school back in May. Lazy summer indeed! Can I just say that it's been nice, but for the love of God, why can't we get back to school? We have been busy with swimming lessons, carnivals, camping trips, gardening, trips to the city pool, and vacation bible school, which I help plan and direct. And after this week, we are into birthday season, which takes up the rest of the summer. Mix that with a little school clothes shopping and you have a summer all wrapped up and ready to put away for the year. And can I just say how much I am looking forward to having one in school from 9-3:30 every day and the other one in preschool three mornings a week? I MIGHT be able to do something with myself!

And so, I will start updating and posting some pics from summer life here in the Brown house. So get ready for some posts!

Early in May Cameron had her Spring Dance Recital. This year we decided to try Tap/Jazz instead of a 3rd year of Ballet. I'm so glad we did, the quicker moves and dancing was right up Cameron's alley. Here are some of her friends waiting to rehearse their dances.

And here she is posing afterwards with her roses and Tucker.

Alright, that's it for now. Off to spray paint 100 jumbo pasta shells red for pasta shell crabs at Bible School tomorrow morning.

Shopping for Father's Day

2011-06-17T08:59:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I realized that Father's Day is Sunday. In the midst of my weekly running around on top of the local Carnival/Festival that is in town, I needed to figure this out. And the kids are at that irritating stage where they completely get and acknowledge the appreciation for Father's Day (and Labor Day, and Veterans Day, and Cinco De Mayo, and basically any other day that might be a reason to celebrate anything) but they are completely incapable of doing anything to prepare for themselves. So off we went to Boise.

We started the day at Gymnastics. I think I may have mentioned that Cameron is "trying" gymnastics at a gym in Boise this summer. She is loving it. I am loving it. The boys, however, are not loving entertaining themselves in a gym where they can't run and do sumersaults for an hour.

After that hour of "fun", we headed on up the road to the Boise Mall. A place that used to be held dearly in my heart as somewhere to go and something to do for an entire day. Somewhere that included leisure. Somewhere that included shopping for myself. Buying new clothes. Trying new styles. Now, this is one of the seven levels of Hell for a parent. Nothing fits, I realize each and every time that I am old. And everything is four times the price that it seems it should be. But, alas, Daddy needed some new cargo shorts and Mommy forgot to online shop.

We circulated the parking lot looking for somewhere close enough for an emergency run to the car. All the while, giving the lecture about how they are going to walk beside me the entire time, not ask for everything in sight, not fight, use manners, and for the love of God, please use the bathroom as SOON as we get in the door so we can get this shopping excursion finished in a short amount of time. There may have been bribes of ice cream.

Right.

First stop, the bathrooms. Of course, they all have to go try it out, check out the decor, make sure that it is the same as every other bathroom they have ever seen. But, because it was convenient and planned, Tucker did not have to go. On to the Food Court to attempt lunch.

All the options in the world and the kids still choose a Happy Meal. Fine. Two more obnoxious Kung Fu Panda Toys to carry in my purse, both of which include 4 pieces. 8 plastic toy pieces floating aimlessly in my purse. Awesome. Thanks McDonalds!

After answering the question, No, you may not bring your fries and ketchup shopping, We stop at Payless Shoes. They each ask for a tacky trash backpack. I say no. They each ask for ugly plastic shoes. I say no. Remember the whole lecture about not asking for everything they see? Yeah, they didn't either.

Into the Icing jewelry shop. Cameron decides for the 15th time that she is ready to get her ears pierced. She sits in the chair, gets the spill from the young girl, can't make up her mind. I threaten her with her life that if she makes the choice to do this, she's going to do it NO MATTER WHAT because I'm not paying out $35 again and walking out with no earrings. Yes, thanks Claires! For making your earrings sterile to the point that once the seal is cracked on your studs, you can't re use them again. And yet, you have to pay for them regardless. Thanks for that. I carry a pair of gold studs around in my purse just as a reminder of why I don't let her try to get her ears pierced every time we go to Boise. Hope they are still in style when she does finally get hers pierced, because she's gonna wear them if it's the last thing I do.

So then all the parents are watching what they thought was going to be a cute girl getting her ears pierced for the first time end up being her Mother going ballistic on her for making her pay out $35 and no piercings. Cameron starts crying because she just can't decide if it's going to hurt. She swears she wants them, but doesn't want them. So we decide to wait. This time until we are 16. Fine by me. On we go.

A few t-shirts, a few pairs of shorts. A few coffee mugs for the Grandpa's at Hallmark. And we are out. Tucker only hid behind every rack of clothes and was adamant that we buy Sexy Logger a Mario T-Shirt in a size XXL. I'm not sure how that would have went over. Brody of course wouldn't ride in the stroller, so I carried him, Tucker pushed Cameron around, which was ridiculous, but it worked.

On down the road to the Sportsman's Warehouse. $33 worth of lures later, we were out. I pretty much just tell the kids to pick out three each that look like they are lucky. Cameron's choice was a metallic pink sword fish looking thing. Pretty sure it's for salt water ocean fishing. But hey, it's Father's Day! Maybe it'll be the lure that wins the next tournament, which is not in a Salt Water area.

On for ice cream for the kiddos and a LARGE Diet Pepsi for Mom. Stressful and I felt like I was running a marathon. But, we got it accomplished with little to no failures. Success.

On to the Carnival Friday.

My Monday In Numbers

2011-06-08T23:18:00.002-06:00

12-Weeks of summer vacation that we still have left before routine and organized chaos will return to this house.

6-the hour in the morning that Brody has decided that he absolutely must eat. Even though all throughout the school year I had to wake him up to take Cameron to school almost every single day.

250-Calories in my morning Herbalife Shake. The one that I am forcing myself to gag down in some sick attempt to loose this baby weight. Did I mention how much I hate these shakes?

30-Pounds that seem to think that they don't need to go anywhere, regardless of my excuse, "It took me 9 months to get this way, I should get 9 months to loose it". Well, ladies and gentlement, guess what? Brody will be 9 months old this month? Why the HELL won't this baby weight just disappear?

6-loads of laundry that I washed, dryed, folded, and put away over the course of the day.

2-number of teeth that Brody finally did get while fussing and needing to be held.

2-number of kids that I fed breakfast, yelled at to make beds, brushed teeth, combed hair, washed faces, and sent out the door.

4-number of times the neighbor kids rang the doorbell while were were getting ready for our morning. Seriously? Didn't I just say they'd be out when their rooms were cleaned?

1-Mom that can't get anything done except hold the teething baby so she has no excuse but to finally beat Super Mario Brothers with Tucker. I'm a rock star now!

2-amount of times I asked the neighbor kids to stay out of the garage with thier bikes because of scratches on the car.

1-child of mine who is now grounded from neighbor kids due to the fact that she decided it would be okay to ride bikes in the garage anyways

1-dramatic fits that followed being grounded

1-proud Mommy watching same dramatic daughter rock it in her t-ball game later that day

75-degrees of warmth that we have here in Idaho in June. Seriously, this just sucks!

2-number of times I had to take Tucker to the Port-a-Potty at the ball game

0-times Tucker was able to use the Port-a-Potty without touching every surface in the entire structure

85-cold peas, olives, pieces of breadsticks, and peaches that got thrown on the floor at the local pizza join since Brody thinks he is going to only eat big kid food now.

4-times Tucker had to use the bathroom at the restaurant

0-amount of urine that Tucker's bladder apparantly can hold

1-late night trip to the local grocery store minus the kiddos so I can actually think.

8-chapters read with the kids of Junie B. Jones and the Stinky Smelly School Bus

10-hour that is now considered early for the kiddos to be in bed

1-huge sigh of exhaustion as I sit in the silence and check facebook. Will my life ever be boring again? I doubt it...I seriously don't know how people keep having kids. Three kids are priceless, the loves of my life, but the work! And just think, I get to get up and do it all again tomorrow!

Summer Update

2011-06-07T17:55:00.003-06:00

Alas, posting on my blog is not easy these days. I am finding out just what it means to have three kids at home all day. And believe it or not, it was absolutely a little easier when Cameron was at school each morning, and Tucker was at Preschool some of the afternoons. And now they are not. And I am ready to loose. My. Mind.

Not only are they all home, Brody is teething. And has decided to walk. Except he really can't. Yet. So he's just one big accident waiting to happen. He can get anywhere he wants to go, but not without one huge injury. Every time. The kid won't stay in the play pen. And he follows me everywhere. So just not a lot of leisure time at this point. Any time he's not being whiny over teeth, or trying to get where the other kids are at, I am scrambling to do laundry. Or clean something.

And the weather her is ridiculous. It is June 6th, we haven't hit 85 more than once. If at all. Today the kids had on jackets. We planned to go to the pool yesterday, regardless of temperature, and it started to storm. Like tornado warnings in the surrounding areas storm. So we all stayed home. Again.

The one perk of not being able to do anything outdoors and only holding Brody indoors, is that we did finally beat Mario Brothers on the Wii. And when I say "we" I mean me. But somehow, the kids think that they were involved. So it was a group effort. And I am officially the coolest Mom in the neighborhood for beating Bowser and saving the princess.

And so we are anxiously awaiting a few things. The first is our pool passes and the opportunity to sweat enough to make it worthwhile. The second being next weeks annual Cherry Festival. Always a hit with the locals. And thirdly, Cameron is taking gymnastics this summer and we are liking that. Gives us a reason to get going in the morning and head over the hill for that and some shopping.

The neighborhood is out and bored and you can always find kids on bikes and trikes and wiggle cars. Sammy, our dog, is the happiest of all. Love this shot of the three "racers".

Love the bikes. It just says fun.

Came across this old photo. It has no relevance to this post, but I couldn't help but smile at these old Prohibition brods. I could search through vintage photography all day!

Last weekend I watched my baby brother graduate from high school. I guess I have a different relationship with him because I was 12 when he was born. Therefore, I didn't have much of a social life yet but I was old enough to take on sort of a second mother role. He was the closest relationship to my own children that I have ever felt. Hard to believe he's all grown up and off to college next semester. He's going to play football and study secondary education. What a lucky student to get him as a teacher and coach! Can't wait to watch him grown over the next four or five years! Love you!

Wedding photos

2011-05-20T23:18:00.002-06:00

I came across this photo somewhere in internet land. I love this. I love the emotions, the atmosphere, the vintage feel. But what I love more than anything is the lady off to the left. She may be there single, but she's gonna have her some cake. Love this!

Happy Friday!

Bria's Baby Shower

2011-05-19T23:48:00.002-06:00

Life has been so crazy that I realized that I never told you about my newest neice Bria. Bria was due the first part of April and she came into this world March 8th, 5 pounds 8 ounces and perfect in every way. She is such a sweet heart and I am so happy that my kiddos will get to be cousins with her. I can just see Bria and Brody and my other soon to arrive neice bumming around together, all in the same year of school, all close to the same age. Cousins are great.

So in order to prepare for miss Bria's arrival, of course we had to shower her with gifts. Leanne, Marianne and I took care of the shower and of course we had to go all pinky pink because that's what girls do.

So we had the shower at Serenity Assisted Living because nobody has a house big enough to house the fifty plus people that were invited. And going with the cupcake trend, I designed cupcake toppers that you will be able to see in the next couple of shots.
Diaper cakes were also huge, I think she had four or five different ones show up.

This is the diaper cake that I designed. I can't seem to get away from the hot pink and brown. This is the only reason I would ever want to have another baby, just so maybe I could decorate the room in hot pink and brown. I love this combo!

Lots of gifts and lots of helpers...

I also attempted to create some of the big tissue paper puffs for added decorations. I made these for Cameron's fairy party last summer and these just work great for adding a lot of decor for a little amount of money.

The 50 cupcakes that were decorated with scalloped circles on lollipop sticks, handstamped with Bria's name and tied with organza ribbons. I thought they were super cute!

And so we got Bria showered and clothed and then we were ready to hunker down and wait the last month, but low and behold, she came just a few days later. Sweet girl! You were a surprise and so considerate to let your Mommy out of the last month of pregnancy and still be healthy and wonderful. Welcome to the family! We love you!

More Wedding Likes

2011-04-29T13:59:00.003-06:00

Loved this wedding. Love it, love it, love it. Love this shot of England at it's happiest, proud of their traditions and loving this new Royal Couple.
This is a lot of people.

Classic photo. Resembles couples of the past, but with a new and refreshing twist. They look happy. I'm so happy that they went with classic and tradition. Kate Middleton is the epitome of class. Beautiful!

And if I wasn't intrigued enough to sit up and watch this all night, they surprise us all again by reminding us that yes they are royal, but they are obviously enjoying themselves and having fun in this convertible. Look how relieved to be finished with the regalities and just the two of them having a great time, and relating to all of us "commoners". Love these guys.

Still watching TV and amazed at how fast things are appearing on the internet. Loving this Royal Wedding.

William & Kate

2011-04-29T04:16:00.003-06:00

So let me tell you a little about my trip to England. When I was a senior in high school, I had the opportunity to go with my Grandmother to visit family in Bath. Along the way, we spend a day in London seeing the sights. I have been to all of the tourist attractions. Tower of London, Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square, Picadilly Circus, Westminster Abby. The richness of this place, the culture, the all out tradition and pride. It truly was amazing. I only wish I could go back and savor it, as I was a senior in high school and unaware of what was before me.

And so, through the course of the past ten years or so, I have had an odd interest (Obsession) with British Royalty and the history and SCANDAL that is much of their family tree. And, because I grew up during the Princess Diana time, and am close to the same age as Prince William, I have always had my ears and eyes open to this family.

And so this is why I am sitting here watching the Royal Wedding live. At 4:26 am. And I actually got up at 2:00 for all of the pre-wedding arrivals. This is history. This is tradition. This is fabulous.

I only hope that for the sake of Kate and William, that they are able to enjoy each other and have a relationship. I watch her go down the aisle and I can't imagine saying yes to what she is about to become. Unlike William, she is choosing this life. He has no choice, and yet, he handles himself well. I couldn't imagine having to be advised on every waking minute of my life. Becoming a fashion/cultural icon just because of who you are marrying. But, Kate my friend, if this is something that is your desire, then you go girl! You rock that palace!

And in the words of my 87 year old Grandmother, who is from England, when asked what she thinks of Kate. "Well, she's just a commoner...so I guess we'll see!"

Dang Those Blue Eyes

2011-04-26T18:19:00.002-06:00

I think if you click on the photo it will make it bigger and easier to read my text. I have been playing with Adobe Photoshop. This was one of my practices.

When All Else Fails, Lower Your Expectations

2011-04-25T23:36:00.002-06:00

Earlier this year, I stumbled across an absolutely amazing website titled Bakerella. This woman is incredible! She is a gourmet baker who has done a lot with Cake Pops. In fact, she has created a book of her different cake pops and I am obsessed with them. So for Easter this year, we made cake balls and put them on the sticks and then I copied the easiest Easter idea I could find, which was the yellow chick cake pop. And it would have been great, but I have helpers in this house....

Anybody have a helper as cute as this?

And so what would have been cute and round and smooth and non stoned looking chicks turned out to be a little bit drippy, and a lot of stoned looking chickens. And most all of the pops didn't even make it to the chick making stage, as they were just coated in Easter Sprinkles. And it was not what I expected, but the kiddos loved them, and they have been passing them out to all of their friends and teachers. So I have to just roll with it, and know that some day, probably sooner than I realize, my house will be quiet and I will have all the time in the world for cute and perfect Easter chicks. But today, we made stoned Easter chicks and they were perfect.

I can Still Double Dutch

2011-04-25T07:55:00.002-06:00

After over a month away from my blog, I am back to tell you that I officially am old. For those of you who know me, I will be turning 30 this summer. I've never truly felt old before, except for when I was wobbling around this past summer huge and sweatly and pregnant, but not on a normal day have I ever felt old. Until yesterday.

It all started at my in-laws house. Of course we had to get together for the annual dinner with the family and the hunting of the eggs. Maybe it was the weather, the spring fever, the mass amounts of young kids running around, but for whatever reason, my father in law decided to bust out the jump ropes. It started with my daughter having her papa turn the rope while she jumped in her Easter dress. Super cute. Then the older boy cousins got involved and it was still cute. But then they added a rope in and all of a sudden the older group started reminiscing.....

And when older people reminisce about their double dutch days, let me tell you what happens. You remember how to double dutch. After a few glasses of wine, you get up there, time it just right, and blow into it with perfect timing. Except, the one thing you don't remember? That the last time you double dutched you were 10. And you have gained a whole hell of a lot of weight since you were 10. So you go into it with the force it took at 10. Needless to say, getting this much weight off the ground requires a lot more force than what you expected. It took me five strained jumps just to figure out how to get myself up into the air and "SKIPPING" instead of just flailing. It was ridiculous. And I had an audience. And I hurt myself. Pulled my shoulder bad trying to get my body to cooperate. And then I was flying, just like I was 10. And people were cheering. And then the next thing that I realized is after 3 kids, not only do you have to get all that weight up into the air, but when you do, something else happens that never happened at 10. I peed my pants. With every glorious jump, another trickle. I was jumping and so proud, but I had to jump out because I didn't really want to be the relative that pissed her pants while trying to double dutch. I ran to the bathroom and I have never felt so old.

And so, I believe it's time to focus on those kegel exercises because now I am a legacy and people are going to be trying to get me on their double dutch teams, and I have to be ready. And beside, I have a daughter, and I know I'm gonna be asked numerous times to double dutch with her and all her cute little friends. So after I nurse my shoulder back to health, I am going to try again. Because I refuse to be the flailing, leaking, double dutcher. But I have to say, it was a glorious feeling to jump between those ropes again, if it's been awhile, you should totally give it a try!

We are coming up on Six Months

2011-03-21T09:48:00.002-06:00

Here is Brody at two weeks old, enjoying the late summer out at the pond, doing some fishing. Of course he's doing what he always does best and just goes with the flow. Sleeping while mommy did some fishing. Love this boy.

And so I have been missing from the blog world for an entire month and I decided I should check in. It's gotta be the weather, or the incessant sickness that continues to plague our house, or maybe it's the fact that in just five days, my baby boy is going to be six months old, but I'm feeling a bit antsy and wanting to simplify and change some things around here. Ever get those feelings?

I am learning that the key to sanity at this point is to just say no. Over the past two weeks, I have cut out a few different time consuming projects, have stayed home a few extra days to finish up some upfinished business, gotten up a few minutes earlier to hit some of the extra laundry, and enjoyed the fact that I can take a note from school asking for a volunteer to do this or that and I have just simply tossed it.

I am a control freak by nature. I think that if I have the luxury of staying home with my kids, then I should be super mom and volunteer and participate in every event. Guess what? I am not going to be volunteering at every little thing. I have recently taken on the motto, "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should." And it's true. Just because I can do lots of extra crafty things for 26 kids in preschool who don't care, doesn't mean I'm going to.

Tucker celebrated his half birthday at preschool last week. And I have never agreed with the half birthday thing at school....I had a summer birthday, I didn't get recognized, and I'm just fine. But they think that every kid needs a crown, so we had to bring treats. And you know what? We made some muffins and sent a gallon of milk, with no decorations, and nothing extra. And Tucker was pleased and I was a lot less stressed.

And this week, when I was asked to bake a dessert for a funeral dinner at church? I made package brownies and I sent them on a Christmas plate covered in foil. And everybody was probably relieved to see just a basic brownie on the table. And it felt wonderful.

And just becuase I have three birthdays this month that I would normally make hand made cards, I didn't. I bought cards at the store and put my energy into working on scrapbooks for my kids.

And this week my sweet baby turns six months. He's already sitting up, already pushing up and rocking, trying to crawl, desperate to join in the chaos. And I just want to hold him and rock him and enjoy because I know this is it and I have learned through the chaos to slow down and enjoy. These moments are fleeting. The housework will still be there, the laundry never goes anywhere, but this baby is leaving me. Turning into another kid, another love, but never going to be that same precious newborn again.

More Valentine Action

2011-02-24T07:40:00.001-07:00

Our February has been cursed with flu, strep, impetigo, more flu, mysterios fevers, bad attitude, and whining. It has sucked since February 4th when I first took Tucker to the doctor's office for two ear infections. And somewhere in the middle of the chaos, Cameron decided she wanted to have some of her friends over for a little Valentine swap. What started as a small affair, of course, because ten friends and a full blown party. I was sicker than a dog the day of this party as was Tucker, who was quarrantined in the back bedroom with 104 degree temp. And Cameron, who was good when the party started, was sicker than everybody by the time it was over. So, for those of us who were infected, I apologize, but I hope you all had a great time!

We started by having each girl bring 10 Valentines and when they got there, they were asked to put one in each bag. Some of the girls went all out and made some awesome cards.

Then, we had a small snack at our red and pink love table. I cut heart shaped peanut butter and jelly or ham and cheese sandwiches along with pink punch and red jello cups.

The kiddos were so cute all decked out in their pink and red and all smiles....except for Cameron who was getting paler and paler by the minute and more and more tired.

The table before the girls arrived.

A close up of each girl's spot. The great thing about procrastinating and planning a party the day before it happens is that all left over decorations are usually marked down to dirt cheap. I decorated and went all out and only spent a few dollars to do so.

And, aside from the flu, I think everybody had a great time. Cameron proceeded to sleep all that evening and all the next day while she ran the nastiest fever I have ever seen a kid run. She missed school the following week, made it back for one day, and then was home for President's day, when we had to take her to the doctor for a bad case of Impetigo, which apparantly is a version of strep that gets underneath the skin. So now she looks like she has something really nasty and we are on day #20 of being sick in the Brown house. I am ready to climb the walls and want to run away. Sick kiddos suck.

Your Little Sweeties Card

2011-02-17T18:33:00.002-07:00

The first week of February, I decided on a list of activities and projects that we would complete here in our house to lead up to the very special 14th. The list included handmade valentines for Camerons class, teacher gifts for both kids, valentines for Cameron's dance class and teacher, a full blown kindergarten valentine party with me as room mom, a home valentine party for Cameron and some of her friends, something handmade for the grandparents and something for Matt.

Well guess what came rolling through out house on the 4th? Two raging ear infections followed closely behind with a 10 day flu for both kids and we are still trying to recover. I'm talking hot fevers, whiny kids, and coughing until you vomit. Needless to say, Valentine's Day didn't go quite how we expected. I did throw a party at school, except my daughter and I both missed it. But I did complete 26 jello sundaes and this card just in time to drop them off and head back to the sick house.

But, I had asked the teacher for an extra set of class photos so I knew she was expecting something, and so I did work on this in between dosing kids on tylenol and cough medicine.

And so used the small baking cups and made sweets out of each kiddo. I glued them onto a chipboard heart that had been layered with a red doilie and lined with buttons to tie it all together. The teacher loved it and it was easy to make!

Valentine Love Jars

2011-02-17T18:17:00.002-07:00

I never claimed to be a photographer. My camera was somehow turned to black and white mode and I didn't catch it on this shot of my red, pink, and white jelly beans and Valentine display that was all color coordinated. The one time everything matched, and that's the time the camera decided to try something new.

I have a linen closet at the end of my hallway that is packed to the point that you duck when you open the door and it is full of fall and Christmas. My Valentine's Day decor consisted of about half of a box combined with Easter. This year, I was able to find some awesome subway art, and some blog inspiration and I decorated the top shelf of my baker's rack with pink, red, and white.

On a different day, however, I decided to photograph my newest project. My Valentine Love Jars. I found these containers at the local Dollar Store and added some ribbon and hand made name tags to make them extra cute. Beside the jars I placed a basket of pre cut hearts. Through the course of February, the kids were able to choose a heart and write a note to someone in the family. By the end of the two weeks we had a whole collection of notes to read. I originally planned on writing notes every day of February, but, time got away from me and I think I actually only wrote about four notes for each person. I think the kiddos enjoyed it, especially Cameron who is learning to read and write. Tucker mostly just drew pictures and lost interest, the combination of being three and being a boy doesn't go real well with Valentine Love Jars. But you take what you can get, and hope that if I do enough cheesy love stuff with them, then someday they won't be afraid to show their wives how much they mean to them.

Oh, and if you notice my tags are made out of paint samples from Lowe's. Had time to kill while Matt was "Tooling" around the tool department, and noticed that lots of the shades of pinks and reds were titled things like "First Kiss", and "Cupid's Pink". I had a whole handful of them shoved down in the crack of Brody's carseat. They make great Valentine cards!

Cameron is Five and ONE HALF

2011-02-12T00:32:00.002-07:00

And don't you forget it! I appreciate the half birthday because I was a summer birthday so I never got to acknowledge mine at school. And Cameron is a summer birthday as well. And at this age, six months is a huge milestone and you are so much bigger when you can say five and a half instead of just five.

So in this house, we celebrate the half birthdays. We don't do much. Sometimes we go get an ice cream, sometimes we simply just point it out. But it's something that is important and makes the kiddos feel that much more special for that day.

And if there is one thing that I learned this past year, it is to acknowledge the little things, celebrate and embrace life because you just never know when it's going to be over. A lesson learned from watching a friend of mine who lost a little boy who was three this year to a freak accident. My son and her son were in preschool together and this was such a shock to the heart. This happened last fall and it haunts me every day. I don't think that I will ever forget this and so, almost guiltily, I hold my kiddos a little tighter, try not to get so annoyed at the little things, take time to pray for them and with them, and love them for every second of every day, because, as we all found out in my community, you just can't take that for granted.

So for this reason, we document and celebrate the halfs. And Cameron totally gets it this year and thinks she's ever so old, while Tucker just thinks this means it's time to start planning the big party, which is not until July, a LUIGI party, is what's on the agenda, not to be confused with a MARIO Party. :) Love the details!

And so here is a shot of Miss Cameron learning how to be five and a half. I walked down the hall and caught her just hanging out, enjoying her room. Entertaining herself, and I realized, the baby girl I have had is slowly drifting away. I can almost picture her as a teenager in that same pose, but probably texting or doing whatever new fad it is at the time. Love this shot!

Four Months Old

2011-02-02T07:53:00.002-07:00

Love this boy. Can't believe how big he's getting. Four months old now. And he is really starting to become part of this family. Loves to play with the kids on the floor. Loves to coo and try to talk to get your attention. Happy all the time. Big grins and dimples. Rolling over both ways. Sitting up in the Bumbo Seat. Sleeping mostly through the night. Eating rice cereal and applesauce. Has been to his first movie, Rapunzel with the family. Did great! Not a day goes by that I am not truly grateful we decided to take the "hard route" and have another one. What a blessing he is! Kids are expensive, a hassle, and need so much. People look at you and wonder when you're going to quit. But Brody was the missing piece to the puzzle. I am such a lucky mommy!

Foam Snowmen

2011-02-01T17:28:00.003-07:00

Back in September, I took Cameron to sign up for Girl Scouts and they were, of course, short for leaders. Brody was only about a week or two old and I was tired and stressed out. And I know I said NO when they asked me to be a Daisy Troop leader. I know I did. But somehow, here I am Daisy Troop Leader Extraordinaire.

And so, with no past involvement in Girl Scouts, I paid my $12 to become and "Adult Girl Scout", which is the first step, and then paid my $20 for a background check, which you wouldn't think would be an issue, but the reason for the shortage of leaders is not for lack of interest, it's just that seven of the potential leaders could not pass their background checks. Yup. I'm serious. Seven. Gotta love our small town.

And because I'm a control freak, I decided that I would rather just be the leader after all, regardless of the fact that my house is too small and Brody is clinging to me the entire time. And sometimes it's a huge chaotic mess, but the girls are sweeties and the crafting is always a good time.

So here we are in January making Foam Snowmen. I got the inspiration from the February Scrapbooks Etc. Magazine. But they used bigger balls. (that's what she said) and ours were from little kits that I found at the dollar store. So even though they were smaller than what I had wanted to use, they were cheap and so we went with it.

And now that Cameron and her friends are five, I am seeing that they are having their own views of what is cute and what is not, so while these all turned out cute, not one of them turned out like mine. So cute!

And so if you wanted to make these, I guess the photos are pretty self explanatory, but we did find that with kids, using the glue dots to attach buttons and flowers and hair seemed to work quite a bit better than using glue. And like I said, if you wanted to find the bigger sized snowmen, they are on scrapbooksetc.com. A great cold and nasty day activity.

5 Years Old Card

2011-01-29T09:15:00.003-07:00

I can't believe it, but I actually got all three kids to sleep last night and worked on a birthday card for our good family friend's birthday party today. She is turning five and I just picked up the first set of coordinating paper laying around and busted this out. Pretty proud of how it turned out! Used lots of stitching, straight stitch and zig zag to add texture and detail.

The paper is from Bo Bunny Press and the FIVE and the green circle were cut using the cricut. Flowers, gems and Tulle were all things that have been lying around for awhile.

Happy 5th Birthday!

30 By 30

2011-01-23T22:58:00.002-07:00

So with Brody hitting the four month mark here this week, and with it being January, and Spring and Summer coming up faster than we realize, I decided that people are going to be using the "She just had a baby" excuse less and less. Therefore, it's time to start working my way back to where I was when I got pregnant this time.

And so after Tucker came along, I used the "I'm nursing" excuse to eat whatever I wanted. But, but the time he was ten months old, I decided it was time to do something. So, I joined a local weight loss challenge and I dieted for 12 weeks and I drank my shakes and drank my water and I won the weight loss challenge. I looked pretty darn good. And then I got pregnant and let me tell you, baby number three is brutal. I gained way more weight with this one, I had a longer recovery time, and my body looks like a train wreck. I have already lost 35 pounds and I have 30 more to go. You can do the math, or I can just tell you that it is indeed possible to gain over 60 pounds of weight with one pregnancy. Granted, it was through the entire summer and it was hot, and alot of it was water, but this is what's left and I am determined that by the time I turn 30 in August I will shed the last thirty pounds.

So this is where the 30 by 30 came in and so it's back on the Herbalife and the water and the working out. I have heard great reviews on Jillian Michaels and her 30 day shred.

And I happened to see it on sale at Target for $7 so I decided to go for it. I am committed to thirty days of the shred. And so far, I have put in two days and I am sore and sore and sore in all areas, which is good because that means it's doing something.

And while blogging about weight is the last thing I have any interest in reading (for those of you who are still reading) I know that if I document it here and I know you guys know, I will be more apt to continue because I don't want to be a slacker and quit. So thanks for reading, and I will try not to bore you with the sweaty details of this endeavor, but I plan to be 30 and fabulous!

Gingerbread houses

2011-01-11T22:38:00.004-07:00

I apologize to those of you who are trying to rid themselves of the Christmas holiday, but I am just now getting around to downloading my December photos onto my awesome new computer, so I decided to share gingerbread creations with you anyways.

And so this is our second year of getting together with my Mom and sisters and baking. I don't particularly like baking, but I feel like its one of those things that every good super mom not only knows how to do, but ENJOYS doing it. And since I am in an epic battle to become one of those super moms, one day in December, I get out the red and green sprinkles and the frosting and the sugar and we bake for a day straight. What ever we don't get done on that particular day, I can gurantee it won't get done on any other day, because I HATE SPRINKLES IN GROUT! I am still trying to get it swept up, I keep finding it, and I have swept and mopped atleast four times since. The worst is the little tiny rainbow ball sprinkles. They stick to socks, they leave little died spots in your white grout. I hate it. But the kids, of course, love sprinkles, as you can see from these awesome sugar cookies, and so, I digress for one day. They can dump sprinkles to their hearts content. And then that's it.

As you can see from the photo, there are lots of little reasons why the sprinkles end up in the grout, but the main reason is always the child that is closest to age two, and this year it was my sweet neice Dallie. Dallie was LOVIN life being able to decorate cookies and graham cracker houses to her hearts content. But you can also see half of a container of frosting on her shirt and a variety of candies scattered around her. Dallie decorates with flair and she had a blast.

Cameron on the other hand, is quite particular and wants to be older than five. So, when my 15 year old sister decorated hers in all pink and white candies and it looked half professional, Cameron decided she didn't like her own house. Oh the drama. After all, she's just a hormonal, over dramatic teenager trapped in a five year old's body.

And then there is sweet, sweet Tucker. Who is just happy to do anything. In an effort to make this activity a little more boy friendly, Grandma Mary helped him decorate his house in Boise State colors.

And check out the amount of sprinkles the kid is laying on that poor cookie. Yeah, Matt was loving having to politely choke that one down. I'm pretty sure he's going to need a root canal after crunching on all that sugar! "Do you love it Daddy? Is it delicious?"

And of course Brody was laying low this year, but I had to share just how cute he is. Can you even stand it? I would think he was cute even if he wasn't my own, and I hardly ever think other people's babies are cute. Just sayin'

2011-01-03T21:49:00.005-07:00

The grand essentials of happiness:
Something to do
Something to love
Something to hope for

Believe it or not, this was part of a graduation speech on a cheesy ABC Family sitcom called Greek. If you haven't seen it, it's one of those grow on you shows that I can't quit watching. Makes me think about my own time on campus, but I am especially fond of the lovable, cute nerd named Rusty that the show is centered around. And I'm so excited because a new season of Greek just started tonight, so for the next few months, Matt and I will be found on Monday nights watching this show, no matter how cheesy it is.

And while I'm watching Greek, I'll be working on my new Project Life--Turquoise edition. Can't wait to get that going, just arrived in the mail today! I am three days away from having my first year's Project Life finished, and I cannot begin to tell you how fufilling it is to have an entire year's worth of memories documented and completed. I have about 10 packed to the brim scrapbooks, probably over 500 12X12 layouts that I treasure, but this book is so real. It's not dressed up with chipboard and stitching and endless ribbons and embellishments. It is life. Real life. The pictures are what really goes on in the Brown household. And it's not all pretty. Some days I had nothing else to photograph except for a line up of cold medicine and Vicks on the counter. Lots of photos show Tucker learning to go potty, because let's face it, 2010 involved a lot of potty training. It also shows a pregnancy test, ultrasounds, lots of days that I was too miserable to take a photo because I had morning sickness all day long. And yet, somehow, I managed to piece together a story that tells what it was like in 2010. And I love it. And while I am just switching over to a new computer, and I haven't had the opportunity to download any recent photos onto my new machine, take my word for it, and order Project Life on Amazon. And stick with it. And don't get down on yourself when you don't. Just make it what it is. Real life. And love it.

Wrapped and Ready

2010-12-24T00:05:00.002-07:00

Well, it's official. The presents are wrapped and ready to go and tomorrow is Christmas eve. Cameron is in bed with her hair rolled up into the old school rag curlers, just to make her that much cuter. Tucker is past the point of anxious and is now just in some kind of Christmas haze in which he sits on the couch, quivering a little from pure excitement and then will just randomly holler out Christmas words, such as "Rudolph", or "Jingle Bells", or "Santa"! Poor kid, I don't think he realizes that it's finally here. Remember when we were little and December seemed to just drag and drag and drag? I remember specifically thinking that 17 days until Christmas had might as well have been an eternity. And now, here we are, Moms and adults and there is just not enough minutes in December to put on a proper Christmas. What with the baking, and the family photo for the Christmas cards, and the decorating, the lights, the tree, the shopping, the teacher gifts, the Christmas attire for church, the crafts, and tv shows, and activities, parties, gingerbread houses, etc., it's no wonder that all I want for Christmas is a bottle of wine and a soft place to land for an evening. But, even though it's hectic and chaotic, I love every single second of the preparation for Christmas.
This year we are especially excited because both kiddos are excited as can be, totally understand the concept of Santa, but totally believe in the magic of it all, and what else can you do but make sure it's perfect. Can't wait for Christmas morning.
Anyways, just winding down from another busy day of prep and ready to head off to bed so we can get up and start the procession of gifts, which starts Christmas Eve Morning at 10 with breakfast and gifts, then home for resting and ready for Church at 5, where both kids will be sheep in the Christmas play. Then out to Grandparent's house for 17 pounds of Prime Rib, Shrimp Cocktail, and all the fixins, home, up for Santa, kick back in a haze of battery operated toys, then over to other Grandparent's house for dinner and then back home for more fun with toys and our new Nintendo Wii that Santa is bringing for the kids.
Hope your Christmas is wonderful.

My Year In Status

2010-12-23T08:01:00.002-07:00

Anybody out there heard of facebook? Of course you have, and if you're like me, you realize what a time sucker it can be. And the newest application that will suck the time right out of your day is the Year in Status application. Facebook is able to go back in and find random posts from your 2010 and organize them into this beautiful template that makes your life not look quite like such a chaotic train wreck. Until you start reading and you realize that over a fourth of your posts involve puke or other bodily functions of children. And then you realize that yes, this is exactly what my 2010 looked like. And it makes me smile. Because some day I won't have any puke to clean up, or kids cranked out on sugar highs, or contractions to watch and compalin about. And for now, this is life defined as perfect. If you get a chance, check out this application. It's the perfect waste of a chunk of your day.

Is it time yet? I can't wait

2010-12-21T22:24:00.001-07:00

Is it time yet? I can't wait is the theme around our house right now....I saw this commercial on tv and thought of Cameron and Tucker on Christmas. Merry Christmas!

Radio City Rockettes

2010-12-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

So tonight I got to go see the Radio City Rockettes here in Boise and I must say I was absolutely fascinated with this show. It was awesome. Cameron was so excited while she sat and giggled about the dancing Santas and all of the girls in their fancy costumes. If you ever have a chance to go see this show, go.

Gearing up for Christmas around these parts. Busy Busy Busy is the theme around here. Hoping to settle in and catch up on the blog next week. For now, hope you have a very Merry Christmas.

Kindergarten Balls

2010-12-04T16:23:00.002-07:00

I picked Cameron up from school the other day and was trying to make conversation while we drove. I asked her who had show and tell and she told me his name. I then asked what he had to share. She said he just had something to tell. He told us about his balls that he left at home. He really likes to play with his special balls, but he forgot to bring them to school. He's going to try to remember to bring his balls next time.

It might be the fact that we were snowed in for two days and the only people I've communicated with were under the age of six. But I couldn't help but smile.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Black Friday!!!!!

2010-11-23T00:38:00.002-07:00

So it's here...Black Friday. I don't know what it is about this, but the obsession with getting a good deal on anything this week is almost more than I can stand. Except I am more confused than ever because Amazon is doing black friday today, and I already made a mad dash to Target for their "Pre Black Friday event" on Sunday. And all of a sudden, I don't know if it's really worth going out with all the crazies at all when everything is already on sale. But what if there is something that I just have to have....

We live in a society where we give thanks on Thursday and spend time with family and appreciate all the good things we have...until 11:59 pm. Then, at midnight, it's GOBBLE PALOOZA AT OLD NAVY! Have you seen the ads for this? MIDNIGHT. Seriously. I love a good sale. I LOVE Black Friday. But midnight? Gobble Palooza? For $5 pajama pants?

OR you can shop at Walmart starting at midnight. Until the electronics go on sale at five am. So are they wanting me to actually shop from midnight until five? Browse for five hours just to get ahold of $89 Nintendo DSI's? Because you know you're going to have to be there at midnight just to even get close to the damn things. But in the meantime, how much extra stuff are you going to justify? And how many over tired, over fed people are they going to pack into that store? Part of me knows better than to go....but there is that bad shopping fairy sitting on my shoulder saying, "Becky...you know there's going to be bath towels for $2......"

This year I have Brody. Therefore, I will not be standing in line outside of Target for two hours like I did last year. All for a $40 Disney Freaking Princess Piano that was supposed to be $100 and only on sale for that morning. Sunday I went to Target and it was still there for $40. But, it was all about the experience. I had never been so jacked up for something on sale before. My little sister and I totally tag teamed the store and got some killer deals. And it. was. awesome.

So, when Brody decides to get up, I will head over then. Beat the crowds and only hear stories about what a Gobble Palooza might look like. But there's always next year when Brody is old enough to stay home with Dad!

My Grand Finale

2010-11-21T22:54:00.001-07:00

Just had to share a few updated photos of my Grand Finale. Gonna be hard to tell this little guy no, for sure! So loving having Brody here!

Halloween Mishaps

2010-11-15T21:16:00.003-07:00

Our Halloween actually began on October 1st. Desperate for some peace and quiet right after Brody was born, I sent the kids out front to play with the neighbor kids. I was able to leave the front door open so I could hear the squabbles and comings and goings, and they were playing right around the garage. I decided this was going pretty well, and Brody was sleeping, so I got out the fall decor. I found the bag of packed away costumes and decided to let the kids dig through them and play. I handed the bag out the door and they were happily digging and trying on costumes. The next thing I know, Cameron comes in and wants to know if I have any candy so they can "go trick-or-treating". I handed them a handful of smarties and out the door they went. I assumed they were trick-or-treating with each other. Suddenly, in the middle of my decorating, I realized it was awfully quiet outside. I went to the door and found them across the street trick-or-treating at the nieghbors house a few doors up. And they were actually scoring the goods! I immediately called them home and explained to them that trick-or-treating actually wasn't for an entire month, and they couldn't just go knocking whenever they needed some candy. But, they looked completely confused because they had hit up four different neighbors and all four had given them candy. I'm pretty sure the neighbors have been wondering if I have actually lost my mind, but this one absolutely confirms what I have been trying to hide. It's official. I am a mom of three, and therefore, one of the crazies.

A few weeks later, I realized that making costumes was out this year, due to the fact that Brody doesn't let me do anything except nurse, so we got out the Costume magazine, that of course came in August and was completely dog earred and torn apart and we looked for options.

Cameron couldn't decide between an I Dream of Jeannie costume or a Princess Fairy thing of some sort. Both pink, both equally cute. But girly girly girly. We pushed for the Genie. Not because she has any idea what I Dream of Jeannie is all about, but because it was a lot cheaper.

Tucker changed his mind about 300 times. He was really shooting for this scary clown.
But, eventually I talked him out of it and into SpiderMan.

Anyways, here they are after their costumes arrived in the mail.

And finally, after a month of festivities, Halloween arrived. I talked my 15 year old sister into coming down and taking the kids out trick-or-treating. We hit five different Grandma's houses, a couple of trick-or-trunks, and then we headed home where Marianne, her boyfriend Casey, my brother Gary, and a girl who is his "friend" showed up all eager to have an excuse to trick or treat. They were all excited and it was chaotic and finally they all headed out the door. An hour and a half later, here they came, loaded down with Candy and told me that Tucker was a trooper, but was walking funny and tip-toeing. Finally somebody asked him where his shoes were, and they were at home. The kid walked for an hour and a half in the cold, on the rocky streets, and through wet grass, and never said a word! He did get carried most of the way home after they realized it.

So Halloween has come and gone. The Candy has been sorted, rationed, hid, and eaten mostly by Mom and Dad. We are down to the dum dum suckers and the yucky taffy. And Thanksgiving is just around the corner. Looking forward to my first parent teacher conference that week for Cameron and then enjoying the family on both sides as we celebrate by eating too much and just being thankful for all that we have.

Are You Kidding Me?

2010-11-07T03:17:00.001-07:00

So in preparation for the hours spent nursing and staying up all night, I have been TiVo-ing things that I normally would not waste time or mental energy on. I just finished watching the entire show from episode 1 to the end of Friday Night Lights and then it was on to Sister Wives. A TLC show that was advertised heavily and had been promoted on shows such as The Today Show. I was not prepared for what I was about to experience.

This is the show about the Brown Family. Except the family consists of one father, and 12 kids, one on the way to make 13, and wait for it....THREE wives. Obviously, I knew from the advertisements that this was a reality series about a Fundamentalist Mormon Family living their polygamist life style in Utah. What I was not prepared for was the utter disgust I would feel when watching this guy interact with his wives. In all my 29 years, I have never felt the urge to label somebody as a "Douche Bag", but there is not a better label for this guy.

Seriously. The guy skips around his house like the happiest man ever. And I guess you would be if you were getting laid every night without fail, because, well, if one isn't going to put out, you can bet just down the hall he can find one that will. Although,they explain about the "Every third night" rotation that they are on. And each is very protective of her long awaited for time with this jackass. I just can't believe the three of them don't just gang up on him and say enough already, what does this look like, the breeding pen at the County Fair? And it basically is, because there are 12 kids, 13 is on the way, as we all get to experience in the second episode. Gag.

These women are brainwashed to the max. Two grew up in this lifestyle, the other I guess just woke up one day and decided she had to have this stud. And he's not very attractive, kind of metrosexual, and kind of bald when he flips back his sexy mane in an attempt to "court" his harem of women.

And it is all about the "courting" as we soon find out. He is skipping out on his love time with the wives to "court" a new one that lives five hours away. And this gal is seriously his soon to be Trophy Wife. Because no good polygamist would be happy with three who have beared his children and might have gained some weight, look tired and haggard from the incessant amouts of children that run through the house, and are still trying to be the perfect wife for Mr. Jackhole. But only every third night.

This gal may be hot, but she comes with some baggage, and that would be three more kids, which I guess will just get thrown into the pot of "Brothers from another Mother" and "Sisters from the same Mister". But the women happily welcome her to the nightly sex cycle, they all go to taste wedding cake together, and even buy her a special ring to welcome her to the "Sisterhood". Once again, I am trying not to vomit while I watch this whole train wreck continue through seven episodes. And of course I'm hooked, but not in a mentally healthy way. I have to keep watching because if I ever see this guy in public, I would seriously have a difficult time not just walking up to him and punching him right in his very fertile nuts. And of course I'm wondering why I just dedicated not only seven hours of viewing time, but an entire blog post to this Douche Bag and his poor wives. And I conclude that if you're looking for something new and entertaining to waste your time on, then this show is for you. Or, if you ever wondered what people mean when they call somebody a "Douche Bag", then this show is absolutely the perfect answer to the question.

And that's my rant for the day.

Tucker Goes to Preschool

2010-10-27T14:21:00.001-06:00

Once upon a time, there was a sweet little angel boy named Tucker. While his sister was at school, he would angelically play with is toys or watch a cartoon while I did my housework or took a shower. I could drink tea, read a magazine, etc. because he was happy to entertain himself.

Tucker was technically old enough to start a 3 year old Preschool, but Mommy loved having him at home, and he was a little immature and babyish. He still had a few accidents and he was hard to understand. And while his sister was more than ready to go to school at this age, Tucker was just not. And that was a-okay with Mommy.

Fast forward a month to the middle of October...
After Baby Brody had made his appearance, Tucker realized that he was not the baby anymore. All of a sudden, entertaining himself and following Mommy around all morning was not fun anymore. In fact, he all of a sudden started talking more...as in never stopping talking. Trying to get Mommy's attention. All day long. And basically being a royal pain in the butt while Mom nursed the baby. As soon as she would get settled in, Tucker would need something. As soon as Brody was latched on and nursing well, Tucker would need to go to the bathroom, and all of a sudden he wasn't able to go on his own. It was as if he had lost his place and was desperately trying to find a new one.

("Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy.....Hey, Mommy, watch this! Look at me, not Brody. Mommy, Mommy, Mommy." "What, Tucker?" "Hi Mommy.")
For the love of God.

Luckily Mommy talked to another Mommy friend who talked about her own three year old going to Preschool and there was one spot open in the afternoon. All of a sudden, Tucker was not so babyish after all. He actually talked pretty darn well, and so what if the teacher couldn't understand him. She called the school at 10:30 and they said, YES! Tucker was scheduled to start that very day at 12:30. And he was excited. And so was Mommy. Maybe this would give him a reason to stop the incessant baby talk and start being able to go to the bathroom on his own again. So we loaded up in the car and headed to Kings. The only store in Emmett that might possibly have a backpack this late in the year. Low and behold, one small backpack hung on the wall. There was no drama. Tucker was very excited for this backpack. So we bought it and off we went to eat lunch and go to school.

There are eight 3-year olds in his class, the rest are four. There are a bunch of immature boys that he loves to play with. He loves loves LOVES school. He is so excited to have something to do and has even decided to go to the bathroom on his own again. Most of the time.

And here is the big preschool boy on his first day. When I picked him up he was knee deep in pea gravel and shovels and dump trucks, so his pants are filthy. He comes home every day dirty and covered in snacks. And it's fabulous. Thank God for preschool!

Ten Years

2010-10-26T13:26:00.002-06:00

A quick post of another layout I finished up this summer. This one is a photo of me and my bestie from high school on the weekend of our ten year reunion. I used all scraps of paper from a My Minds Eye packet I had picked up a while ago, the tickets were left over from some raffle that Cameron was involved in. Quick and easy, love how it turned out. Trying harder to include myself in some of our scrapbooks instead of just simply the kiddos. If only I looked this good right now...

My life is officially classified as "Chaotic".

2010-10-25T13:46:00.002-06:00

I took this picture because I thought for one fleeting second that this was cute. I had no idea that Brody would never experience any sort of relaxing bathtime that didn't look like this. Ever. Unless I wait until late at night. After the other two have gone to sleep. And even then, I am usually multi-tasking. I actually had Brody in the bathtub last night, and I was shaving my legs with a razor and lotion while standing in front of him. I felt bad because when Cameron was a baby, I would spend hours loving pouring water over her belly, singing, talking, wasting the day. When Tucker was little, I would still take the time because I could put Cameron in the big tub beside us, and she was content to play with her toys in the bubble bath while I lovingly wasted the time on Tucker. With Brody, he's an every other day bath baby, and even then I smell him to see if he even really needs one. He has bathtime helpers (Cameron and Tucker)who scare the hell out of me, so his baths either a) last 35 seconds, just long enough to wash the puke off of his body but not long enough for anyone to accidentally drowned him or b) last longer, but only because he is quiet and I can stand and shave my legs or clean the sink while he is soaking. I feel guilty, but my legs are completely shaved for the first time in a month, and that has to count for something. And I figure in the long run, if I hide the scrapbooks, he'll never know what he's missing by being the third baby.

Scrapbook Layout

2010-10-18T14:45:00.001-06:00

Just a quick post to show one of my layouts that I have been working on while up with Brody. Gotta love middle of the night scrapbooking!

This was actually Cameron around her fourth birthday, all in pink and tan as can be from lots of hours in the swimming pool.

We are slowly adjusting to life around here with three. Although I feel like I just run and run and run and time life around nursing. It's funny how fast you forget that all you do is nurse and nurse and nurse at the beginning. But, Brody is gaining an ounce a week and cute as can be, so I am pretty excited. Loving him, can't imagine our family without him. The perfect caboose to our train of kids. Pictures of him to come.

Halloween Project

2010-10-12T15:03:00.002-06:00

Just a quick October craft post. These are the Halloween cards I created for our monthly swap. This is a Jillibean Soup line that I couldn't resist working with. I am also using these for some of Tucker's pages that are not necessarily Halloween related. Loving the Monster theme that is so popular right now.

Sharin' the Love

2010-10-12T14:46:00.003-06:00

So my friend Bonnie (some of you locals know her), is venturing into the awesome field of photography and photo editing. She has been asking me for atleast a month to photograph Cameron, mainly because Cameron was born with a camera in her face and loves loves LOVES to pose. Unlike most kids her age, she thrives off of being in front of the spotlight, so here are some of her shots. And if you like what you see, then by all means, contact Bonnie. She's doing some awesome work lately!

Bonnie's Website

Fishin' in the Dark

2010-10-09T23:24:00.001-06:00

Two weeks ago, I was having contractions and my Mom and Dad took the kiddos for the night, I think hoping that I would just focus and get this kid out. Needless to say, it didn't happen. So, when we went to pick them up, they were out at my Uncle's pond fishing for bass. In their church shoes. So we got to do some fishing, and the bass were a biting. And the kids were loving it.

I can still remember fishing with my old push button reel when I was about Cameron's age. And there are pictures in the family photo album of me in the 80's style summer clothing reeling them in and grinning from ear to ear, so these photos just make me happy. Tucker loves loves loves to get in and kiss the fish before they get thrown back, and Cameron swears she won't be kissing anything ever, so that makes me happy too.

SO here are a few photos of two weeks ago fishing. I stayed well behind the camera for these, as I was big as an ox. But I did get in and catch a few myself, all the while, having contractions the whole time. It was a fun evening.

Introducing Brody

2010-10-08T15:23:00.003-06:00

Finally, after being dialated to a four, then apparantly not even dialted to a one, then dialted to a six and completely ready to go, to then dialted to a three or four, three weeks of hard contractions that kept stopping and starting again, an extra trip to labor and delivery and one wild 90 mph ride to the hospital, Brody Steven Brown is here. The little stinker, I thought he'd never come out. But, one look at him was all it took to make it all worth while. I am in love for the third time. Always a little bit shocked at how much love you can have for something so soon. And so happy to have such a beautiful, healthy final addition to the family.

The kids had given up hope that he was ever going to come and I was about to decide that maybe they were right. So I was pretty happy it happened at night while they were sleeping. When the kids got up in the morning, Grandma Kris was there and they already had a new baby brother to come and visit in the hospital. They were pretty excited.

Cameron immediately wanted to help hold him and change his diaper and rock him. She was completely mesmerized. Tucker on the other hand, realized that the bed would go up and down and you could call the nurse for ice water with just the push of a button. He was right on it any time I needed something. But, even with a short attention span, it was obvious that he was the big brother and was darn proud of it.

You can't beat this picture. The closest relationship you'll ever have is that of a sibling. No matter how much you don't get along or what age difference there is between you, this is what matters.

And here is Mr. Handsome. 8 pounds 4 ounces, 20 inches long. Got the infamous "Brown nose", immediately the nurses were commenting on how much he looks like Matt. And I think he looks alot like the kids too, but different complexion.

We almost didn't get any photos because he came so fast we had the camera and the video camera out in the car. They waited to weigh him so Matt could run out and grab the camera. But, I'm still dissappointed not to have any barely out photos like I do with the other kids. I am not dissappointed, however, that he came 17 minutes after we arrived at the hospital.

Matt had gone to the Oregon State/Boise State game that afternoon. I was having contractions, but had about given up on them ever progressing, so I told him to go. He had been hovering around for the past day or so, thinking that it was going to happen any time. Matt doesn't do week with idle time. I was ready to pull my hair out. I had walked the neighborhood a thousand times. I had bounced like mad on the exercise ball. I had done everything I could possibly think of to get things rolling, and I was just plum exhausted. While Matt was at the game, I went out to Chinese food with my Mom and Grandma. I was noticing a difference in the contractions around 8 pm, but still didn't consider that they might be the real deal. Came home, put the kids to bed around 9. Still having contractions. Matt got home at 11, still having them, but getting progressively stronger. Still not realizing that these were it. Matt went to bed, I went to the recliner. I dozed between them until 2 am. Realized they were actually hurting. Kept dozing between them, still 10 minutes apart. Woke Matt up at 3 am. Told him they were still 10 minutes apart, but we needed to go. I was pacing around and they were hurting. As soon as he called his Mom and we got ready to go, they went from 10 minutes to 2 minutes. I was a little nervous at that point we had waited too long. We left at 3:20, Matt got out to Substation/Highway, realized he left his cell phone, went back, took off for real. 2 minutes apart. Then 1 minute, then one on top of the other. I kept watching the spedometer, we were going 90 mph at some points on the road. I was reaching down and checking to make sure he wasn't already out, there was so much pressure.

We pulled into St. Lukes and Matt jokingly asked if I needed a wheelchair. I told him yes, take me to the ER door and get me one. He looked a little shocked. I couldn't have walked in if I tried. It took me two contractions just to get in the chair. Nurse wheeled me up to labor and delivery while Matt parked the car.

Checked in at the front desk. Nurse has the nerve to ask what seems to be the problem. I tell her "I need a room now." She continues to type away at her computer. Has me sign consent forms. I tell her again, "I need a room now". Finally gets on the phone to tell another nurse that I need to be checked. I tell them, "I don't need to be checked, I need a room". Still get to be checked. They check, and immediately call the on call doctor and prepare for delivery. I work my way onto the bed, the on call doctor checks me, breaks my water, and in one gush, I start pushing and he's out. I'm pretty sure I only pushed about four or five times total. Brody was out 17 minutes after I checked in. Matt was just getting comfortable into his chair in the corner to wait it out when the doctor delivered him. Easiest birth ever. No pitocin. No drugs. Not even an IV. Natural as natural could be. If there would have been any traffic on Eagle Rd., whatsoever, I would have had him in the car. If my water would have broken at home, I would have had him on the floor. Now that I'm done having kids, I've got this figured out. And since I wasn't cranked out on Pitocin for 12 hours like Tucker, I wasn't exhausted, I'm not hormonal, I feel fabulous.

I am just so darn thankful that everything went well, and truly blessed beyond measure. God has given Matt and I the most perfect family for us. We are so fortunate and so satisfied with our small "herd" of kids. I'm so glad that we decided to go for number three. It's five more years of me at home, and gobs and gobs of doctor bills, another college education to pay for, but Brody is priceless.

The Countdown Is On

2010-09-18T08:55:00.003-06:00

Just so you know...this is officially the LONGEST I have ever been pregnant. I am 39 weeks today and I know, I know, I'm not even late yet...but with Cameron and Tucker I was finished by now and home. This sucks. I have had contractions for over a week. Hard ones. Not these pansy-ass Braxton-Hicks fake contractions that women compain about. These are the real deal...BUT....every time I think about going to the hospital, BAM! They peeter out to nothing and I am left sore and exhausted. Apparantly this kid absolutely does NOT want to come out, because not only is he still in there, at my last appointment on Thursday, he had actually moved back up further than he was the previous week. Yup, he hears what goes on in this crazy house, and he actually grabs on to my uterus and climbs BACKWARDS for dear life. Poor guy. I don't know how to convince him that he'll adjust to the chaos and it's not nearly as bad as what it probably sounds like from in there. And quite honestly, this uterus is about to close down. So, today I plan to do the following:

Shower
Balance the checkbook
Bounce on an exercise ball while watching Free HBO Weekend on TV
Bounce some more
Bounce
Bounce
Bounce
And time contractions

And hopefully that dang ball will push him back down where he has to atleast try to see daylight. But, as I type, both kids are pretending to be cows and Mooing around. They sound demented, a little possesed, and quite honestly, if I had a uterus to crawl into, I would have by now. I really can't blame him for wanting to stay.

This is how you know I'm exhausted

2010-09-09T16:50:00.002-06:00

This is how you know I'm exhausted. He's drinking his milk...with a spoon...naked. And I don't even care. Did I mention I have about two weeks to go until due date?

Fairy Notes and Five Year Olds

2010-09-06T09:32:00.002-06:00

I had a great idea. I thought it would be fun for Cameron and her friends to make Fairy Houses at her birthday party. We found tiny flower pots, turned them upside down and painted and decorated them with a door, some ribbon and some flowers. Then they were supposed to take their fairy houses home, put them somewhere close to a garden or flowers, and see if they could catch a fairy. We even talked about the fact that fairies are small and shy. So they are very DIFFICULT to actually catch.

Cameron of course, took hers out to the garden, and proceeded to check her house hourly. She was clearly getting frustrated with this whole fairy operation. She then went and added some glitter and cleared a trail so the fairy could find it. Still nothing.

Then the most frustrating thing happened. The neighbor girl got a fairy note in her house across the street. So we checked for a few more days and nothing. Finally, I was starting to feel bad about the whole situation, and Cameron finally found a fairy note in her house. The note explained that this particular fairy was small and very shy (already explained) and that she would probably not see her because she was afraid of Sammy, and so on, but she LOVED her house. I thought this would be the end of the fairy quest. But, Cameron being Cameron, is now more determined than ever to show this fairy whose boss.

Rosebud Sparkle Fairy, I'd watch out, because if you're out there, you're going to get caught. Cameron is determined she will coax her out of her shyness and has not given up yet...and her birthday was a month ago. I would have never guessed that this would continue this long.

One More Summer Update

2010-09-06T09:05:00.002-06:00

Because it's officially the "End of Summer" today, I thought I'd update with a few more summer pics. These are Cameron's 5th birthday shots.

Here she is opening gifts with the family. She is wearing her newest fairy costume, regardless of the fact that I had a nice birthday dress for her to wear that evening. Oh well, if there's anybody that can pull off the fairy look, it's her.

And here she is proud to be five. Face paint compliments of my sister from the party earlier in the day. Don't look too closely for perfection on her cake. This was her second cake for the day, just for family, and I was EXHAUSTED! She was lucky it got frosted and the fairy wands got stuck in the top. Not what I had invisioned, but when it's this hot and I'm this preggo, this is what you get.

On the other hand, this is the invitation to the fairy party that I did for the girls. We bought wings from a fairy website (yes, they have those). Then I wrapped them in cello and tulle and added a stamped fairy image with invite to the front. I was pretty proud of how these turned out.

A close up of the stamped and colored image.

Our fairy party. I made big tissue paper flowers for each of the chairs and decorated with streamers. Not able to balance on chairs, again leads to some that are not exactly what I would have liked, but this is what we went with.

All in all, it turned out to be a great party. We had a scavenger hunt, made fairy houses, and ate fairy berries and fairy punch. I think Cameron was pleased and is already planning for next years event.

For my Gal Pal

2010-08-31T16:06:00.002-06:00

I found these on here and my girl friend needs these for her Project Life. So, to prevent going up and booting up the old computer, I am going to see if she can just steal them off of here! For all the rest of you, can't you just hardly wait for hot summer evenings full of birthday cakes and bounce houses? Come on summer!

Best Buddies

Catching Up on Summer

2010-08-30T14:04:00.002-06:00

Now that there is some relief in sight from this god forsaken heat, I have the energy not only to down load pictures, but maybe even post some of my Summer creations here on my blog. I am actually smiling today. It is a little bit cold. I almost put on a jacket this morning. But....I don't have one that actually fits my huge belly.

This is a picture of Tucker's birthday cake. The one that he ate the wheel off of. I don't know if I posted that on here or not, but I had made the cake that afternoon, it was cooling in perfect Martha Stewart Style on my rack on the counter. I had to run to the store for some Tylenol because somebody was feverish (can't remember who or why), so I seriously left Matt in charge for 15 minutes. When I came back, I should have known something was wrong because he was sitting up straight and tall with Tucker beside him, both looking equally guilty. He told me he only turned his back for a few minutes (which usually means he's in the bathroom doing his business forever, or on his phone, or checking craigslist) and Tucker ate the wheels off his cake. Tucker immediately starts crying because he knows he's in serious crap. And me, being too tired to start over, get pissed and just tell him he's having a Lightening McQueen cake without any wheels. Awesome. Anyways, after calming down, I realized I could probably just fill the wheel area with frosting and patch it up, and the kid is after all only three, so that's what I did. It was gloppy and floppy and full of frosting, but the wheels are there and Tucker was happy so I guess this is my attempt at Lightening McQueen.

Our weekend was great. The kids stayed at the Grandparents' house overnight. Matt and I went to dinner at Olive Garden, where I totally got my money's worth of the never ending bowl of pasta for $8.95. I ate and ate and ate not so much because I was eating for two, but simply because I could. I figure I'm over 200 pounds now, what shame is there if I continue to gain? Dare me to keep gaining? Watch me. We went and watched The Switch with Jennifer Anniston, which was cute, and then like the book nerd that I am, topped off the night by going to Barnes and Nobles to buy some much needed smut to read while I'm stuck on the couch getting fatter and fatter.

Today I am nesting. Have I mentioned how much I hate nesting? But I am. I'm having the incredible urge to clean Matt's closet and paint our hallway, so that's what I'm doing. The kids are outside swimming, even though it's not very warm, but they're fighting for summer and I, of course, don't care what they're doing as long as they're not bugging me. Tucker has managed to find a huge pile of dog poop...on the sidewalk. And he's riding his trike around it, just trying to decide if it's worth it to ride through it, even though I thoroughly explained the consequences and repurcussions of choosing to do this activity. He is three however, and a pile of poop on a sidewalk is pretty tempting.....so we will see what happens. I'm not betting money on my discussion of cleaning poop off his trike tires is going to keep him out of it. Anybody wanna wager?

Seven Years

2010-08-27T13:15:00.006-06:00

August is full of milestones for my family. And this weekend is our seventh wedding anniversary. Yup. Seven. And while we never quite looked like this couple, our wedding was beautiful and perfect for us. And so is our marriage. It may not be Hollywood's version of happily ever after, but the two of us work. Better when I'm not huge, and fat, and bitchy. But it still kinda does. And I feel so blessed that I met Matt and that we have come so far in seven years.

And maybe classy and vintage isn't our look, but this was one we certainly pulled off last fall...

And here is a classic look....

And here we are leaving our own wedding...

No top hat and tails for this Logger. Nope, couldn't even leave the tux on to get out of the reception. Carried a t-shirt and a ball cap with us. Seriously. But this is what I have grown to love about Matt. Matt, I love you more today than I ever have before. It's been a great ride so far...

Big Girls and Broken Bones

2010-08-26T15:02:00.002-06:00

As I may have already told you, on Cameron's birthday party, we had a Fairy Tea Party for some of her friends. I decided that Tucker probably didn't need to be involved in this activity, so my Mom came and picked him up. He was happy to go to McDonald's for a Happy Meal with Grandma. While he was out there, however, my 17-year old brother, who is also the quarterback of the high school football team and Tucker's hero worship, was playing football with him. Apparantly, he forgot that Tucker was not part of the high school team because things got pretty rough. Rough to the point of my brother falling on Tucker's foot and hurting him pretty bad. He wouldn't walk on it at all. My Mom tried to get him to stop crying, but the trauma of it made him cry himself to sleep. Since he was able to sleep for two hours, my Mom thought it was probably going to be okay. My brother, on the other hand, sat and waited for the swelling to begin, because he knew how much impact had been in the fall. A few hours later, they brought him home, where he good naturedly crawled around on the floor avoiding all pressure on his foot. We decided to wait and see if it would be any better in the morning. I always thought a break would swell, turn black and blue, or do something to let you know that it was in fact broken. However, what is true in an adult bone is not true in a three year old. It never really swelled, it never really turned blue, it didn't do anything.

The next day really didn't show any change in it physically and Tucker still wasn't even walking at all. I made him an appointment to see the Orthopaedic Clinic in Boise, because quite honestly, they'd still be standing there scratching their head if I had taken him to Emmett. (Another joy of living in a small town.)

I really thought I was overreacting. When the doctor came in and told me it was broken in three places, I felt like the worst Mom in the world. They casted him and Tucker chose blue, so he was tickled to death. Luckily, little bones heal fast, so we only had to deal with the cast for three weeks. Here is a shot of the cast after three weeks of wear and tear.

And here is a picture of Tucker just milking it for all it's worth. He totally knows he's my boy. I think he'll be sad to not have so much attention now that it's off.

Me on the other hand, am relieved to get rid of the stinky boy foot smell that was beginning to smell a lot like a dead dog. It is IMPOSSIBLE to clean a three year old boy without being able to soak them in a warm and full bathtub. He was grubby between his toes, stinky all over the place, and just plain disgusting. Last night we came home and had a 45 minute soak in lots and lots of soap. And then we scrubbed him down like he'd been a orphan for his first three years. And my boy smells like a wet puppy again instead of a dead dog.

Oh, and the good Mom that I am, didn't know that Tucker had taken a screw and stuck it down in his cast. It was imbedded into the side of his leg. Can you imagine walking around in a cast with a screw in the side of your calf? I would have gone crazy! He didn't even make a fuss. Kids are way to resilient to things.

Other excitement in our week is that Cameron got to start kindergarten today. Here she is in her carefully planned Hello Kitty outfit and Disney Princess backpack. Not my choice of backpacks, for sure, but she thinks it is the coolest thing ever.

And I got a little teary eyed when I was taking these pictures because she's just growing up so fast. And as ready as I am for her to be in school, I couldn't help but be a little bittersweet about sending her there. Being a teacher myself, I had only walked those halls and considered the school through the perspective of a teacher. And today, when we were walking down the hall, I started to look around with the perspective of a parent. So many things could happen to my baby there, it's hard to just block it out and be positive, but that's what you have to do. Be positive and know that she's going to love it. And pray for her. I stood over her bed last night and just prayed that this was the beginning of something wonderful for her. It's amazing how much you just hope and dream for you kids. And then you kiss them good bye and before you know it, they're driving to high school and you don't get to come down the hall with them at all.

But for today, I have a five year old who is a little scared and a lot excited and I'll take that.

Turning 29

2010-08-24T09:53:00.002-06:00

I confess that my current pregnant status may be affecting my mood and outlook on all aspects of life from friends to kids to love. Sorry.

I turned 29 today. And supposedly 29 is the new 19? I googled "turning 29" today. There are massive amounts of blog posts on this topic. There are links to turning 29 jokes. There are ways to "survive" turning 29. And really, after reading just a small handful of these posts, I realize I'm a lot more content with my current situation than some of these people. I didn't wake up in a panic because my twenties are on the way out. But I did wake up and think, holy hell, was it only eight years ago that I was counting the days to be 21? Where has the time gone?

I'll tell you where it's gone. It's gone to getting married, graduating college, working, staying at home with two kiddos, miscarriage, 3 pregnancies, weight loss challenges, side jobs, hobbies, excursions, vacations, housework, and keeping my head afloat to prove that I am still the girl I used to be underneath all this pregnancy fat and kiddos.

I really am still the girl I was at 19. I know I am. Somewhere. I still like the same things. Laugh at the same jokes. Watch the same trashy tv. But now I have to tivo it and watch it later. If I can stay awake. My friends are some of the same, and some of the new. Playgroups influence who you hang out with. And that is okay. My world doesn't revolve around myself anymore. My world revolves around ballet schedules and Disney princess backpacks and appointments to get casts removed. I don't sleep until they sleep, and yet, I still probably sleep more than I did when I was in college. Our "fun money" goes to paying off doctor bills and eating out at restaurants with people dressed as big red birds waving us in from the main road. And those gross ass playlands. And I'm happy.

If turning 29 is the end of the beginning, as some bloggers call it. Then I really can't wait to see what 30 brings. Mind you, I STILL have an entire YEAR before I'm that old (ha), but the thirties mean more confidence. I am done having kids, now I just need to raise them. The drama of the 20's isn't there. Atleast that's what I'm told. So for now, I'm enjoying being woke up at 7:30 by Cameron, more excited than me that today I'm the "birthday girl". I have already gotten five or six handmade cards from her. Tucker wants to make me a cake. It's nice to have these littles here who just care that it's a special day for me. They don't realize that Mom is OLD. Yet. And I"ll take that.

My photo choice for the day

2010-08-21T10:16:00.002-06:00

I love this shot. And in an attempt to be keep you guys from thinking this blog has become nothing but a bitch session for pregnant me, here is a photo I just had to share. I found this on thepioneerwoman.com in her gallery of "love" photos. It didn't catch my eye first, but then I really went back to look and I just love the contrast of the young couple and the old couple. Both equally in love, but what a lifetime of memories the old couple must have and what an exciting place to be when you are first in love with somebody.

There's not alot I can say about this photo that isn't being said just by looking at it. Enjoy your weekend. And thanks for sticking around, those of you whom I haven't scared away by now with my crazy hormonal rants.

This Is What 35 Weeks Does NOT Look Like On Me

2010-08-18T21:55:00.002-06:00

I am huge. I am swollen. I am sweaty and sticky and rubbing together. I have body parts that have never been introduced to each other and they are now happily stuck together in a sweaty love affair. Unwillingly at first, but getting used to it now. I consider the heat before I do anything. And usually can talk myself out of most anything because of it. I am unreasonable. And forgetful. And short tempered. And impatient. And miserable because I know all of this. I am restless. Tired. Anxious. And finished. And I still have a month to go.

I wake up from sleeping on six pillows, two propped between my legs just to avoid rolling over from the weight of my belly or the weight of my huge ass pulling me from side to side, and I am still tired. I pee on a regular schedule and it is less than one hour intervals. I dream psychotic dreams when I do manage to fall asleep at all. I hate night time. And while I lay there awake, I just think about how badly I need this sleep because the baby isn't going to sleep. Ever. And then I just get pissed and move to the couch or recliner or even the kids bedroom and think about how great it's going to be to not be pregnant again. Ever.

Every time I go anywhere, somebody asks me all cheery, "Oh, cute! When are you due?" To which I force myself to answer civily that my due date is September 25th. They then either squeal a little bit or jump a little bit and cheer me on like it's not that far away. Not that far away? How long has it been since they were so fat and hot and sweaty that they had to apply deoderant to body parts that stick together and baby powder to other parts that rub together because of the 50 pounds that I have managed to pack on for this kid? Have they worn a winter coat and went to Albertsons when it's 98 degrees with a 3 year old in a walking cast and a 5 year old telling you every move to make? Have they sat on the edge of a pool in a swim suit trying not to traumatize the onlookers by holding onto the bottom of your tankini to avoid the belly popping out and scaring the small children? Have they tried every possible remedy for water retention only to keep getting fatter and fatter toes? I am seriously down to two pairs of nasty ass plastic white trash flip flops right now. I do not fit into anything. I have out grown my maternity clothes. And yet, I am still trying to get dressed, wear make up and keep it on my sweaty face. I feel so bad for the people who have to be around me right now because I am at the end of my positive attitude rope. In fact, I"m pretty sure I'm not even hanging onto the end of it any more. I am done. And yet, I still have 4-5 weeks left. Topped off with natural, drug free labor for the third time. Nothing like knowing what's coming and going for it anyways. And that's my gripe for the evening.