Houston, We Have a Problem.....

I looked down in church this morning and saw that my sweet man was wearing ankle socks. I'm happy to report that his jeans were not actually hiked that high until he lifted them a little more for the picture, but the ankle socks were indeed showing. Isn't this a fashion crime? Somebody PLEASE tell him that it is. He won't listen to me!

Salvation Army Table

Here's the table I got for $10 at Salvation Army. It hasn't been painted, the lamp cord is showing, the picture in the frame is really old, and the walls in this room still aren't painted. I don't care. I have a side table with a lamp! The living rooms in this house don't have any overhead lighting so lamps are a big deal. Now that there's a lamp beside this couch, we can actually read right there. It's the little things that make me the happiest......

Teach Them Young and Let Them Lead the Way

Thanks Uncle Maka and Aunt Kara!

Uncle Maka and Aunt Kara got the kids a sled for Christmas.

Thank you!

Joshua's Birthday Celebration

We celebrated Joshua's birthday at home with our family. Nothing fancy. Who needs fancy when you have a cupcake with big candles?

In my effort to get a good picture, Joshua almost burned his finger! I do love this picture though.

I can't tell you how many times we relit his candles so he could blow them out again. He had to have help for awhile, but around the 6th time or so I think he figured it out.



Isn't the hillbilly/farmerboy kind of look just so great? I wasn't thinking ahead when I dressed him in the morning. We were dressed for a play at home kind of day.

My parents sent a "birthday party in a box" package and there were Diego and Dora masks inside. Oh. My. Goodness. They loved them!!!

Julia and Aulora made great Doras.


When Joshua saw Aulora with the Dora mask on, he didn't know what to think. He just kept staring and following her around. When he saw himself in the mirror he said, "Hi Diego!"

Then Diego wanted to kiss Dora.

Awww........

Joshua is Always Sad to See Daddy Go

Third Grade Drama

I guess you can see from the date on the paper below that this happened back in October, but now that I have a scanner I just had to post this.

It's a little hard to read since it was written in pencil, but it's just so darn cute and third grade-ish! I found this on a clipboard and I knew right away that it was the same paper I had seen John David hunkered over a little earlier. At the time, he was madly "in like" with a girl named Caris in his class. Kyler, another girl, was going to help him in his attempts to woo her. As fate would have it, he is now "arch enemies" with Caris and head over heels for Kyler. =)

Then we have this paper which is much more recent. The back story is that a 4th grade girl had been chasing John David and Braeden all during recess. So the two boys decided they would leave the following note on her coat hook.

Too bad she took the note home and her parents saw it. They took it seriously (which I can assure you - it wasn't anything serious!) and the boys went to the principal's office. A warning note was sent home and we had the obligatory talk with John David explaining why you can't write notes like that. Then we sent him to bed and had a good laugh.....

Happy Birthday, Little Man!

We've gone from this special day.....

To the first celebration of that special day.....

To now. What a wonderful now it is.

You are 2.

The full of fun, full of personality, full of mischief kind of 2!

You've been melting my heart for 2 whole years now, Joshie.

Can it get any better?

Little Me

My dad has been doing lots of picture scanning over in Colorado today too. Must be in the air.....

This is me with my cousins when I was three. I'm the second from the right.

This is me with my mom and dad. I was three here too.

And here's me and my mom - still at age three.

Thanks, Dad.......

Picture From the Past

We inherited a lot of old papers with our house. Some of them date back to the early 50's and are receipts for work done on the house and there are all the plans for landscaping and for the addition to the back. There, with all those papers, I found this old picture. There wasn't a date on it so I can only guess when it was taken.

Do you see the big antenna on the roof? And the little holey walls on the porch are nice. There's a basketball goal that's no longer there and the garage door is different. The landscaping is totally different. This must have been taken before the original owners paid a landscaping company to change things up.

This picture has been hanging on our refrigerator. I don't know why, but I'm mesmerized. I like to look at it and wonder what it was like inside and who lived there. We have all their names and even some personal information. Maybe I should do some internet sleuthing just for fun?

Finally......A Nap

I won! I finally won the nap war!!! Joshua is taking his first nap in a couple of weeks right now and I couldn't be happier. It meant putting him back in his bed a number of times, spanking him, and talking sternly, but it finally worked.

It really is all about consistancy and determination. As a mom, I think you just have to decide to be more consistant and determined than your child. I'm on child four and you think I would have this down by now. Perhaps I should tattoo a reminder on my forehead.

So anyway, after spending the first 7 hours of our Saturday playing and cleaning, the big three are down in the "man cave" watching a movie and Joshua is sleeping upstairs. I have the whole main floor all to myself.

Can you hear me squealing?

You Can Thank My New Scanner

I got an awesome wireless printer/scanner/copier for Christmas and I LOVE it! Our last printer was so slow and it was just a printer - so old school, right?

In the interest of learning how to scan something, I grabbed a few old photos (I really don't have too many since we've had a digital camera for most of our married life).

This is me when I was 8 and my little brother when he was 3.

Here I am in the third grade, still 8 years old. This was my school picture and I will never forget how my mom put that silly pig pin on my dress. And don't you just love my glasses?

And it gets better. This is me in the fifth grade. Yes, I was cool because I wore a denim vest and played the saxophone. Mostly because I wore a denim vest though. By this point I had made the transition to doing my hair by myself ( I dread this stage with my girls!) and I had graduated to some slightly less horrific glasses. I'm not sure why I wore my glasses in my pictures. I know I looked for every opportunity to take them off until I reached sixth grade and got contacts.
I plan to scan many more pictures in the near future.
Lucky you......

This Makes Me Happy

It didn't take long to realize we needed a way to store and organize all our gloves, scarves, hats, and earmuffs. I found these drawers at Walmart clearanced for $7. I bought two sets and and stacked them.

Then, to keep track of which drawer was which, I put a picture on the front of each one.

Nothing really new, I'm sure, but it made me smile.

The kids like it too. And it almost makes picking up all the stuff fun. =)

Nothing is Safe....

This child, monkey really, cannot be left alone for a moment. Here he sits on the kitchen counter, happily pilfering though what we affectionately call "The La Box". (It's a box with four drawers that hold keys, change, checks, receipts, and Chuck E. Cheese's tickets. Uhmmm, doesn't everyone have a designated spot for Chuck E. Cheese's tickets?)

He found the Jeep key. I wonder what adventure he was planning.

Mom's here so it's not fun anymore. Time to get down.....

I'll just use my handy dandy chair.

I couldn't resist throwing in this picture of both my little monkeys.......

Marriage Lessons

Today after church, we headed to our favorite Sunday lunch place (it's quick, affordable, and has pizza - doesn't get much better than that). I checked my face in the mirror of the car to make sure I hadn't developed a huge pimple or anything else that might need attention. I was glad I checked. I had raccoon eyes. Yes, indeedy.



My husband, who had been sitting with me all during church and walked to the car with me afterwards and then drove in the car with me hadn't thought to mention it. He said he figured that at some point I would probably glance in a mirror and notice it. Really? Thanks, Baby.



I'm not sure how many male readers I have, but let me just say that this wasn't the right move.



Something else you men may want to consider is that when your wife/girlfriend shares with you her plans to lose weight, you might not want to suggest any goals. That also would not be a smart thing to do.



While I'm talking to men, let me also just mention that if you are in a public place and you run into some female aquaintances of yours, please do introduce your wife. It really is the socially correct thing to do. (Versus having a conversation with the friends while your woman stands awkwardly to the side.) This social rule is even more important when the friends are good looking blondes. Trust me, guys.



Lest you think that I have a horrible husband, let me be the first to say that he is a fabulous man. Sweet and innocent as could be in every one of these situations. I think he has learned some valuable things though.



Come to think of it, so have I.



Don't count on a man to let you know of any blarring hair, makeup, or clothing imperfections.



Don't discuss weight loss goals with your man. They might try to hold you to it.



If your husband has pretty female friends, jump right in there and introduce yourself as the wife and the mother of all his many children. And then give them crazy eyes or something so they know to back on up and stay away from your man.....Then strongly consider revisiting the whole weight loss plan.



Sundays are such good days for reflection.....



(Love you, Baby!)

The Problem With Playing The Piano in This House.......

.....is that you usually attract multiple visitors.

Sorry, John David. I have the same problem!