Funsies

I had forgotten about Cade's special talent untill today. Let me ask you- can you sing all of "Jingle Bells" in Pig Latin? Oh yeah. That's my husband!

Big Boy!

So ever since Taylor has become a "soccer player" (her big move in the last game was to kick the ball really hard away from the goal,and then celebrate by throwing both fists in the air and doing some kind of victory dance that involved lots of twirling and jumping) Cooper has wanted to play, too. And now that her season is over, it's great! It no longer means that we are chasing him off of the field during her practices and games, but rather that the feilds are empty and he can have at it.

Well, thanks to a good friend he now has his very own official soccer uniform, and every day that it's "clean" enough to wear is like the greatest day in his life! It's so cute sometimes I can hardly stand it.

Now let me preface this next comment with something-- I do NOT have the baby fever! ........but he is only two and he looks like such a little BIG BOY and it's not fair and I don't like it!

Candy + Candy + Candy + Candy + More Candy

Trick-or Treat!! We had such a great Halloween! The kids (especially the biggest- Cade) had so much fun trapsing throught the neighborhood looking for the loot. We could barely keep up with Taylor, and Cooper insisted on carrying his "busket" in one hand and sword in the other. (so adorable) By the third house Lincoln was covered in what I can only assume was a mixture of blue tootsie pop, twix, and nerds. Yummy!

I learned 3 things that night- #1. Cooper is not as shy as he lets on to be. He ran right up to door after door and gave the cutest "twick-or-tweat" and "happy hoween!" I have ever heard. #2. I'm not as hard-core as I thought. I was scared by this giant Knome. Long story- ending with me losing a little bit of pee. #3. Carving pumpkins with Jason is always more fun!

BOO! We love Halloween! I guess there are the obvious reasons- candy corn, pumpkin guts, Cade having a valid reason to scare the crap out of the kids, you know. So we added a new one this year- the white trash Halloween blow-up in front of the house! The kids go CRAZY over it! We took the munchkins to BOO at the Zoo and they were hilarious.

Taylor just kept saying, "This is the best day of my life!" (Which she also said last Wednesday because I let her take Mac and Cheese to school for lunch, and two nights ago when I let her sleep with the super ultra mega bright night light.) Cooper spent the evening protecting his plastic pumpkin and looking for the tiger, and Lincoln spent the whole time sneaking anything chocolate into his cheeks. (Subsequently, Cade spent the evening fishing foil wrappers out of his chompers.) It was a blast! And the kids fell asleep on the way home so Cade and I got to eat the "good" candy out of their loot! What more can you ask for?

BFF Here I come!

Yes, yes, yes- we have been very busy lately (soccer games, the primary program, school issues-for Cade and Taylor- emergency tooth extractions- poor Lincoln!) and and here are a couple of cute pics, but the REAL news is that I AM GOING ON A TRIP! (And no, not to the looney bin or fat camp.) Cade has suprised me with a trip to see my BFF!! I am soooooo excited I just might puke! The question is, how many suitcases does a girl need for one week...?

Much Better...

So Friday afternoon the phone rang, and it was Taylor's teacher letting me know that she would be coming home with yet another conduct slip... but she explained a lot of things to me and I was able to tell her my frustrations, and all in all I feel much better! Thanks for all of your wonderful advice- you guys are the best! Here is Taylor with her new favorite thing- her soccer ball. And the next pic is Cooper in his new big boy bed. At first he was kinda scared of it, but now he loves it! (His room seems so tiny now!!) And he seems so big! I'm not sure how I feel about that...
Well, Ike blew through and it wasn't as bad as some had speculated. But I did get to see something pretty cool- I was sitting in the family room and I saw this HUGE gust of wind just pick up the BBQ and flip it around the backyard!! It was awesome! Our power went out for a "couple or few" hours and that wasn't too much fun. (Think changing diapers with a flashlight...) And the filter in the fish tank (obviously) wasn't working during that time so we had to have a fish funeral when it was all said and done. Poor Cade had to leave right in the middle of it to drive to work- I felt so bad for him! So for those who were so sweet to worry about us, WE ARE ALL GOOD!!

Love Hate

So the first several days of school were pure bliss for Taylor. Now every morning it is like pulling teeth just to get her out of bed!! She used to get in the car after school (with energy and zest that I can only dream of) and tell me all about how "magnificent" her day was- down to what everyone at the lunch table ate that day. Now she gets in the car and I ask her how her wonderful day was, and all she will say is, "I don't know. I forgot." HELP!!!! We have had a few incidents- a certain girl in her class spat on her one day, then the next day bit her, and pretty much every day inbetween calls her names and stuff. Of course I have talked to the teacher about it and she wasn't aware of any problems. So we try to tell Taylor how to deal with deamons (I mean, kids) like that, and we feel better. But then 2 days ago she came home with a "conduct" sheet saying she was playing in the water in the bathroom sink during potty break and she has to miss half of recess. Ok- I can handle that. Then the next day she came home with another conduct sheet saying that she hit a kid in class, and that she didn't sit right in her chair after lunch. She now has to miss all of recess and sit alone at lunch. Of course I don't think hitting is ok, but the other stuff seems like such typical 5 year old behaviors.... I don't know how to deal with this!!! To me, it seems as though the biting, spitting kid should be in trouble! But now I feel as though the teacher is trying to teach ME a lesson that my child isn't a perfect angel, since I took her time to complain about the spiting and biting girl. I KNOW SHE'S NOT!! But for crying out loud she's only 5!! HELP!!!

What a great Dad!

One of Taylor's very favorite things is to blow up the air mattress, get out all of her blankets, pick out movies, buy special candy and "sleepover treats", and set up and plan out sleepovers with her daddy. They stay up late, jump on the beds, paint their toes, rock out to music, color, and of course eat till they are sick. It's sooo cute. And she is so funny! She will tell me her VERY specific plans for the entire evening down to which candy they will eat and in what order they will watch movies and how many blankets she will use - you name it! (I wonder where she gets it from...) And Cade does whatever she wants- pretend like he's Ursela trying to steal Ariel's voice (in costume, of course)-change the dress on Polly Pocket a million times with his big clumsy hands- look through the latest Oriental Trading Company magazine and muster true enthusiasm for each item- watch the same sleepover favorite cartoon- and of course, happily clean up the spilled soda and Nerds before I come in the next morning. What a great Dad!!! Cade- you're the BEST!

I hate being a grown-up!!! I want to be a kid again!!

ABC + 123

No tears! (And of course, I am reffering to me!) What a crazy wonderful day! I woke up so nervous that you'd think that it was MY first day of school... couldn't eat, sweaty palms, sick stomach, and all jittery. Taylor on the other hand- well, you can see the pictures! She sat right down at her desk, turned to the boy next to her and said, "Well, I'm ready to learn! Are you ready to learn?" I got worried because half of her class was crying and holding on to mommy's hand, but she kept waving me off saying, "See ya later dude! Stop taking pictures of me!" (In my defense, I didn't whip out the camera in her classroom until I saw lots of other flashes, and even a video camera!) Sad moments: Well, there were the 50 times that I almost cried. And there was the empty silence that filled the house while the boys napped. Funny moments: I put "emergency I forgot my lunch" money in her backpack and she spent it all on chocolate pudding. Also, she was wearing knee high socks, and when we went to pick her up she had "rolled" them down to her ankles- 80's style! Happy moments: Well, there was that empty silence that filled the house while the boys napped...

All in all it was a great day. I only did a drive-by of the school once (still don't know exactly why...) and I didn't kill any of the stupid people who PARKED their cars in the DRIVE THRU lane during after school pick up. SUCCESS!!!

Family Fun

So, what do you do when you want to spend a fun family day together, you're broke, and it's 107 degrees outside? Oh yeah- and everyone is sick of going to the pool. You drink 5 gallons of Gatorade, suck it up, and go to the zoo! And what do you know... it was fun! Nice hats, right?! I have made fun of Cade for almost 10 years now about that yellow hat, and I have secretly tried to throw it away countless times because I had NEVER seen him wear it! So I was making fun of him (I'm so nice) and we were all calling him the "man with the yellow hat" and asking him were George was, and how curious he really was, and- you get it. And I swear that when we went over to the monkeys there was this little one that started to go CRAZY! Jumping all over the place, swinging on the ropes, banging on the window, throwing food, you name it! And so I vowed never to make fun of that stupid yellow hat again.

Manners

So, a few nights ago as we were eating dinner, I looked around the table and had one of those proud momma moments. We have finally conquered the 3 most important rules for the dinner table!! #1 -Don't play with your food. #2 -Chew with your mouth closed. #3 -Always use your silverware. So proud!

Where a kid can be a kid!

So, Chuck-E-Cheese is like the greatest place on earth, right? When are (my) kids EVER playing nicely together? There was no biting, screaming, pushing, pulling hair- you name it! In fact, I was watching Lincoln try to climb up the slide when I glanced over my shoulder to see Taylor spinning the wheels on the bicicle for Cooper! You know the one- if you "ride" the bike, you go up higher and higher, and the lights go crazy.... Well, of course Coop's little legs are too short, so Taylor put him in (buckled him- thank goodness!) and her bangs were all matted to her sweaty little forehead because she was pumping those wheels like crazy! So, I applaud Chuck-E-Cheese! May your beautiful germ infested one token only games live on forever!!

Busted? Maybe! Worth it? Fo Sho

So, I'm not supposed to post any pictures without the written consent of my loving wife Amy (mostly because I will post pointless rantings, random stupid stuff, pictures that I'm not supossed to, and things that would make people mad). But, Shes busy putting the kids to bed so I thought I would take my chances and post some stuff. Anyways enjoy! Oh yeah, can I crash at you house tonight if shes mad?

When?

I was looking through some old pictures, and I had one of those moments. You know- the kind where you just sit there not knowing what happened, or where you are, or what to do about it... WHEN DO THEY GROW UP?!? We have been getting ready for kindergarden (yes, we are very excited!) and in the midst of buying uniforms, supplies, and that perfect backpack, I failed to take the time to reallize that my baby girl is old enough to go to school! How? What?!? When?..... So on that first day of school, YES- I will be "that" mom who is sobbing and clutching onto my daughter's leg assuring her that next year is a much better year to start kindergarden and in the process I will of course forever tarnish her elementary school reputation. Yeah- I'll be the "crazy one". Don't get your hopes up for Room Mother- they probably won't even let me bring homemade treats to class!

Girls Day Out

Ahh the magic of Build-A-Bear! What more can you ask for than a mall, stuffed animals, and accessories? That day was one for the books!

Do You Like The Shoes?

Do you like the shoes? Spider-Man and Cap'n Jack have nice taste in footwear... I love dress-up! (well, except for the clean up!)

We didn't sell out, we bought in!

Soooo... we are a little slow. On our last trip home, lil' sis connected us to the wonderful world of blogging. (Thanks Respecca!) Here are a few pics to get started- Enjoy!