Friday Photos: St. Patrick's Day

We celebrated Saint Patrick's day with lots of green.

The boys painted green pictures.






We had green pudding.





We had a green dinner: green pancakes, green orange juice (which David aptly called "Green Juice"), green whipped cream and bacon.

Another Reason Cats Make me Cringe

Yesterday my boys played at a friend's house. The friend has two sweet cats. I don't know if the playdate is the reason for this conversation but, oh my word, it left me speechless.

David and Thomas are the boys in this story.

Boys repeating this in a sing song voice over and over:
"Pussycat, Pussycat, Pussy, Pussy, Pussy CAT"

After one too many rounds of: "Pussy, Pussy, Pussy CAT," I interrupted them right before they said CAT.

Me:
"Boys, you need to be careful saying that."

Boy (can't for the life of me remember which one)

"Uh, Momma, WHY?"

Oh great... dead air...
and a diversion: "OH, HEY, did you notice the cookies in the oven?!"


Now I am really hoping that don't share that song at church or preschool or well, anywhere!

No Sisters Allowed

I found these signs this afternoon on the boys' bedroom door. It cracked me up. Elisabeth hardly ever crawls anymore but Jonathan's signs covered both the crawling and walking Elisabeth.

I knew Jonathan had been drawing and I even remember him asking for tape. I had no idea he was making signs for their door. I asked him about it.


And, I asked him what he was thinking when he put up the signs.

Yep, that's right, when he was putting up the signs he was thinking, "That's reasonable."

That's just simply adorable.

Good Grits!

Elisabeth may not be growing up in the South like I did but she sure loves her grits! This morning I made some cheese grits for myself. I was not intending to share. They kids had already eaten. I gave Elisabeth a taste and she couldn't eat them fast enough. I thought I would cut her off (so I could eat the last 2 bites) and she got SO upset. I was stunned (and had to grab the camera). I ended up giving her the last little bit but it was not enough. She was furious when the bowl was empty!

Elsie really, really upset because I told her "That was all".

Elsie crying because I am not feeding her. Look at that sad face!

Look at those big tears. (I love this picture because it shows off her bottom teeth.)

"Ah, finally!"

Elsie is signing "please" and saying "yum, yum, yum" (which is her tongue moving in and out rapidly as she is saying "um").

Elsie is mad at the empty bowl.

This is one very, very upset girl. She needed her paci, blankie and lots of cuddling after this heartbreak.

Northwest Fun

One day last week after school, Jonathan wanted to go outside and play. It was only raining a little bit so I let the boys go out. When I looked out the window, I could see they were really excited about Jonathan "painting" their names on the fence. It was adorable.

Painful Medicine

David had 2 warts on one of his thumbs. I recently asked for tips and suggestions on what to do about the warts. I am happy to say that on of them is gone! It was at the bottom of his thumb nailbed. Because of the location, it was pulling away from the nail and aggravating him. Last week he accidentally knocked it off. It really hurt. He was upset and needed lots of comforting. We soaked his hand in warm water. He got a band-aid of choice.

I didn't even wonder what he hit his hand on.

He was really proud to tell Seth about it when he got home for work.

Seth: "David, your wart is gone! How did that happen?"
David: "Daddy, it came right off when I punched Thomas."

Friday Photos: Guitar Hero

This past weekend, we went to Washington to visit friends. We stayed with some great friends - the McCoy family. We enjoyed their company, laughed a lot and played a lot of Wii Guitar Hero. Here are a few rockin' pictures.

Seth and Jane Anne - Seth looks confident. I look unsure of the crazy man in my band.

Kim and Jane Anne - Kim clearly rocks more than me!

Seth and Keith - These boys rock the house!

Seth went crazy with Guitar Hero. He cracked everyone up and he was totally addicted to the game. It was so much fun watching him play. Can you see how much fun he was having!?

Elisabeth wanted to try it out.

She realizes I am watching her in this photo.

Seth showing David how to rock.

Friday Photos: Cub Scout Lock-In

Jonathan is a Wolf Cub Scout. About 3 weeks ago, Jonathan and Seth went to the Cub Scout lock-in. Jonathan had a blast! Seth took lots of pictures (which made me really happy).

Movie Time Monday

David loves his preschool class. He comes home singing the sweetest songs. Thomas often tries to copy him or he takes a song of David's and changes it (to make it "his" song). These videos were taken a couple of months ago. I just love the videos and the boys' excitement.

Here is David singing. He is singing "Read your Bible and pray every day and you will grow, grow, grow!"


Here is Thomas singing. His version goes like, "Read your Bible and canon it out and you will grow, grow, grow!"

Oh My, Pebbles!

I have so much to say about my first time putting Elsie's hair up but I don't have any time right now. So, smile at my cutie patootie and check back for more pictures.

Pirate Talk

Pirates of the Carribean is on right now- a movie my 7 year old has never seen. This conversation just happened that illustrates the extent of advertising these days.

Jonnie: Who is that? Is that the good guy?
Dad: Yeah- its, uh, Jack something
Jonnie: (mumbling) Captain Jack Sparrow?
Dad: What? Yea- Jack Spar..
Jonnie (interrupting): CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow

If I remember correctly, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow makes a big deal about being called 'Captain' throughout the movies. Apparently my son knows that even though he has yet to see any of the movies.

Cookie Love

Yesterday the boys and I made cookies. Thomas really loves cookies. Look at the expression on his face, doesn't that crack you up?

Anyway, Thomas had a lot to say about how happy he was about making cookies.

Thomas: "Momma, I love cookies more than you."
Momma: "But, Thomas, you said you love me all the way to outer space and back."
Thomas: "Yes, but I love cookies all the way to Heaven."

This is my favorite picture from cookie making.


Jonathan was there but he didn't want to make cookies. I let him keep playing his DS. That boy loves that more than anything. He did not miss out on taste testing the cookie dough, though. Check out those spoonfuls! Momma was in a great mood- "Ok, you can get ONE spoonful."

Unexpected Moments

I love unexpected moments like this...

I just turned around when I heard David say,

"Momma, Thomas is taking off his shirt so he can be Mr. Strong Man!"

I turned around to see Thomas showing off his muscles.


Now that made me smile.

George and Bailey

I made a little stack of pictures of our dogs last night. Seth thought it was kind of sad to do that but the boys had a lot of fun looking through the photos.

This picture is the one and only time that I had a "professional" picture of the dogs taken. A little craft store that I visited had a "booth" for holiday photos of your pets. If I remember right, the photographer was holding a treat and that is what had their attention. I believe the photo was taken in 1996 (or something close to that).


Several people have asked about how the boys are handling Bailey's death. They are fine. I know the boys miss the dogs, or they will, but they aren't grieving in a sad way. We have been talking about Bailey a lot since he died on Wednesday. They loved looking through the pictures and talking about George and Bailey. They have had a lot to say but they haven't been sad.

Perhaps the best way to explain what I mean by them not grieving in a sad way is this comment from David:

"Momma, I've been thinking...Why did Bailey stick his leg out when he peed?"

I didn't expect that. Laughter is the best medicine, right?

We are on our way

"Wonder Pets, Wonder Pets, We are on our way..."

If you know that theme song then this post will mean a little more to you.

I let David and Thomas watch Wonder Pets this morning.

David: "Hey Momma? That guy's name is Suck."
Momma: "What?!"
David: "The Turtle, his name is Suck. So, I can say, YOU SUCK!"
Momma: "Uh... I think his name is Tuck."
David: "Oh, okay... You Tuck!"

Momma think to herself: YIKES!

Say WHAT?

Today I was headed to my car with David, Thomas and Elisabeth. David got right in the car. I put Elisabeth in her seat. Thomas was hesitant to get in. I had to go over and pick him up. He was not throwing a fit. He was not vocal at all. In fact, when I picked him up, he put his head on my shoulder. I put in him in the car. As I walked around the car, a man in the parking lot commented on my family. The conversation went like this:

Man: "Wow, you have your hands full!"
Me: "Yep, they keep me busy."
Man: "You should stop at 3."
Me: pause, pause, smile
"I have 4 kids. My oldest is in school."

He looked a bit shocked. He didn't say much of anything. I think he laughed, actually.

Can you imagine what he would think if he saw us in a bad moment??

I can't believe he said that.

Friday Photos

My boys love to wrestle. They especially love getting to wrestle (beat up on) Daddy.

This picture cracks me up. Elisabeth got close to the wrestling. Look at the exchange between her and David!

Thomas is one tough 3 year-old. I cannot tell you how many pictures I have of him on top of one of his older brothers.

One happy 3 year old - he just got a hand-me-down gameboy from his cousin.

Elisabeth loves playing with Tupperware now. I cannot be in the kitchen without her spreading all of the Tupperware all over the floor.