all creatures great and small

tonight in the car drew seemed really worried.

i asked him what was up and he out of the blue said ...

"OH MAN!!! i really hope the daphnea in the ocean stay safe tonight!"

seriously!!! where does he come up with this stuff?!

i've been tagged...

my friend, kristi, tagged me for this fun get to know you ... i figured i'd take on the challenge ;)

I am….....a mom, a wife, a daughter, a sister, and a taxi driver ... all in one!

I want..... warm weather, a vacation, a tan, and a big plate of chocolate chip cookies.

I wish..... that my kids would understand that 6 am is not a normal time to wake up :)

I hate....... the word 'hate'. SO ... i really dislike ... most meat, bugs, and people that are fake and don't tell it like it is.

I miss...... my family, elizabeth and her family, and warm weather.

I fear....... something happening to someone i love. OR something happening to stacey and i when we are away from the kids. i know they'd be fine. but there's just something that makes me so upset at the thought of them without us.

I feel........ really good after a good workout.

I hear......... nothing, because the boys are sleeping ... and it's absolutely marvelous!

I smell....... like mexican restaurant ...mmmmm..... acapulco chips and cheese dip to go

I crave........ candy. ALWAYS. and chocolate chip cookies, chocolate shakes, starbucks, buffalo chicken strips, mudslides, chili's chips and salsa, chex mix, and jamba juice ... OH ... and i crave warmth.

I search...... using google ... because why would you use anything else?!

I wonder..... why anyone would choose to live somewhere any colder than it is here.

I regret........ nothing. i have no regrets because i think everything happens for a reason and i just consider the things that happen a lesson learned.

I love........... my husband, my kids, my family and lots of other things ... go read my list.

I ache......... for this cold weather to be gone!!

I care........ deeply for the 3 crazies that i call my kids ... and their daddy too.

I always...... put the toilet paper roll on with the end hanging over the front.

I am not…... always right. but pretty close to it.

I believe......... that there are a lot of people in our society that have forgotten what it really means to be a parent.

I dance......... often. i dance latin/hip hop at the Y. i dance around the house with the boys. i dance with my husband ... but not enough. and ... apparently i dance at go fish concerts ;) have you seen the mom song video?? ;) HA HA HA!

I sing............ in the car! i can perform quite the variety. from kdwb to ktis ... i've got the entire spectrum covered.

I cry........... anytime a good classic hymn is sung at church.

I don’t always........ go the speed limit.

I fight........hard for the things that matter to me - and try not to waste my time on the little things that don't.

I write....... about 700 text messages a month.

I never.......let my kids go a day without hearing 'i love you'.

I listen......... to a WIDE variety of music. the cds in my car's player right now are mika, a MP3 CD of all of the go fish cds, high school musical 1&2, eaglebrook worship, the alvin and the chipmunks soundtrack, and a hip hop mix (with Low by FloRida being the #1 request)

I need.......... sunshine, lots of love, affirmation, sugar, a good workout, and a starbucks to get me through the day.

I am happy...... when i am with my husband and my kids. i am happIEST when we are on vacation somewhere. preferably the beach club at disney :) it is, afterall, the happiest place on earth.


now it's my turn to do a little tagging ... SO ... elizabeth, amanda, danyelle, deby, kelly, kris, and robin ... YOU'RE IT!

enough is enough

THAT'S IT!

we've had it!!



we don't want any more snow.

we don't want any more of this 30 degree business.

we are tired of just being teased.

we are officially ready for summer.



we are ready to play outside in nothing but swim trunks (ok ... well ... some of us)

we are ready for endless days at the pool.

we are ready for flip flops.

we are ready for COLD starbucks drinks.

we are ready to not have to wake up wondering if we need a winter coat or a tank top.

this weather is obnoxious -

and we have had enough.

the mom advantage

as each day passes, i am realizing that being a mom is giving me some quite amazing skills.

the one that really stood out to me yesterday was the incredible ability i have to get an item in the garbage.

it doesn't matter which arm i throw with.

it doesn't matter if i am right next to it or across the kitchen.

i don't even take the time to aim.

i just take the diaper (or other object ... but diapers are most common) ... toss it ... and 9 out of 10 times i make the shot.

now ... i may not be WNBA material. (i mean ... i AM 30! YIKES!)

i may not even be able to win a giant animal by throwing balls into milk jugs at the fair. (although i bet i'd come pretty close!)

BUT ... my skills impress my boys.

and that's got be worth something. right?!

monkeying around

ben had off of school today, so we made the trek down to "the big zoo".

alex hasn't been there in a while, and with how much he has changed it was pretty much all new to him.

i told him about it this morning and from that point on if you asked him what we were going to see - his answer was "monkeys".

so we got to the zoo and started walking. each thing we passed alex would look and say "monkey!".

"no alex ... that's a wolverine."

"MONKEY!"

"no alex ... that's a squirrel"

"MONKEY!"

"no alex ... that's a pig"

and so on ...

SO THEN ... we FINALLY got to the monkeys (yes .. for those of you that know our zoo ... we changed things up a bit for the kids and went backwards ... )

alex looks up at the trees. he sees the monkeys swinging ... and quickly looks down at the water surrounding the trees...

"OH ... DUCK!"

the PERFECT distraction

when in target with a crabby almost 2 year old ...

it helps to know the starbucks lady ...

it also helps that this certain starbucks lady has 4 kids and can relate ...



a sample cup filled with whipped cream can make anyone smile!

the perfect marketing scheme

the people at mcdonalds knew what they were doing when they created this ad campaign.

they knew i would be driving down the highway with my almost 2 year old.

they knew he LOVES fries.

AND ...

they knew that once he saw that picture of fries, there would be little i could do to make him forget what he saw.

sneaky buggers. i bet they send the trucks out every day at lunch time.

today - i just happened to be their victim.

our little twankees fan!

what's a little boy to do when he is a twins fan - but gets put on the yankees team for little league?!

well... walk around supporting both teams at the same time, of course.

at least the odds that "your team" ends up in the world series get a little higher, right?!

friendly medicine

last night i was giving ben some benadryl -
he said
"mom ... did you know that when garrett has allergies he can't take benadryl.
he has to take garrettadryl"

te he he.

M*I*S*S*I*N*G

our 7 year old is missing

he has:
brown hair
brown eyes
freckles

he is sensitive.
he is sweet.
he loves to learn.
he loves to talk. (a LOT)
he thinks outside the box (always).
he is a rule follower. (and he likes to make sure every one else follows them as well)
he is SUPER loving towards his little brothers.
and he gets along with most everybody.

whoever took him left another little boy in his place

he has:
well.. he looks quite similar.

HOWEVER ...
he is quite negative.
he doesn't really care about rules.
he is kind of crabby.
and
he is not very fun to be with.

SO ... if whoever took our 7 year old is reading this ...

we would REALLY like him back.

we're more than willing to do an even exchange for the little guy you left here.
in fact ... if you act quick enough ...
i might even throw in a batch of cookies ;)

it's official ...

don't even bother calling.

you won't find us here for the next 2 months.

we have 2 boys over 5.

and as of tonight little league has begun.

how much is that ...

when i picked up ben from preschool today his teacher told me that ben told her that he was getting a dog tonight.

a laboratory dog. (labrador, maybe?!)

so ... then as i was driving away she called to tell me that she had my target VISA. ben had it in his pocket and showed it to her. she decided to put it in her pocket for safe keeping and forgot to hand it to me at pick up.

apparently that's how he planned to pay for this new pet ?! :)

silly ben. i know you really want a dog. unfortunately ... i still don't :)

buenos noches - or not

each night our boys fall asleep to music. usually it's snooze ... or alvin and the chipmunks .. or a lullaby CD ...
well, last night when we got home and we went to check on them, there was a spanish song on. we didn't check the radio - i just figured it was a song i had never heard before.

so tonight we were putting them to bed and the music was still on.
stacey says "did you guys know you had it on a spanish radio station?"

drew responds ... "what?! i want to learn spanish!"

SO .. apparently if you're trying to learn spanish - listening to the right radio station while sleeping is the key.

now ... ben on the other hand told us that he prefers english and doesn't want to learn spanish.

the challenges of having to share a room.

*SIGH*

only you ....

ben you are SO brave!!!

only you can get 4 shots and laugh your way through it!

sometimes being 5 can be tough ... but nice job today! i'm super proud of you!

the perfect day - according to ben

you start the day off with some horton hears a who cakes from ihop -

because could there REALLY be anything closer to a breakfast birthday celebration?

then you have your favorite midday snack - "a toffee nut latte"

and finish the day up with the best restaurant to have a birthday dinner (according to ben) - don pablos!

OLE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEN!

you're 5!!! can you believe it?

it has been so fun to watch you turn into a 5 year old.
you have so many little things that you do that are "SO ben".
you are SO passionate about everything that you do.
you have an energy that i wish i had.
you are sensitive and so good with telling us how you're feeling and i love that about you.

i hope that you have a fabulous day today!
happy birthday buddy!

take a second

some of you might be aware of this story - others of you may not.

angie smith is married to todd smith from selah. angie is 32 weeks pregnant with a little girl they've named audrey caroline. audrey has many problems that have made her "incompatible with life." she is scheduled to be born tomorrow via c-section and is not expected to make it.

angie has been carrying audrey knowing full well that audrey's first breath may be her last. yet she hasn't given up hope. angie is an amazing writer and has written very openly about the past few months on her blog.

she's really been on my mind and heart tonight - so rather than blog yet another crazy story about my kids - i wanted to link you to angie's blog. take a second to skim through some of what she's written when you get a chance. and take a second to pray for them. the day they are faced with tomorrow is one that i cannot even fathom!

a little birthday fun

today we had a birthday party for drew and ben. we had it at perpetual motion and it was a BLAST! it was the perfect afternoon for a bunch of high energy little kids (and their parents ... ha ha)!
i HIGHLY recommend it!

here are a few highlights:

what's in for spring 2008

yes ... alex chose his own outfit today
yes ... we went to sams club and target like this
and
no ... he did not get his sense of style from me

wolves and beavers and bears ... OH MY!

today was ben's first field trip - EVER :)

it's funny to see how excited a group of 4 and 5 year olds can get! i honestly think that we could have loaded them all on the bus ... driven around for about 20 minutes ... come back ... and it would have been the highlight of their year!

we went to the bell museum (as confusing as it might be - it's a museum all about animals - NOT bells). they had a BLAST! it was DEFINITELY the perfect place to take a bunch of boys.

ben and his best buddy, garrett

there were fossils ... bones ... antlers ...

they got to pet a live snake ...

see lots of turtles ...

touch some "not so live" animals ...

AND ... watch a big aquarium full of hissing cockroaches.

YUCK YUCK YUCK.

being the mom of all boys does require some sacrifices - but that is one sacrifice i will not make. i allowed ben to enjoy those nasty things all he wanted - but i stayed far far away.

we had a fun morning! i love having the ability to experience this stuff with my kids and today was no exception!

APRIL FOOLS

just when we are so excited at the thought that spring is REALLY here ...



6 inches of snow ?!?!?!?!

for real?!?!?!?!

God definitely wins cruelest (yet most beautiful) April Fools joke this year.