Morning Wake Up Call

Most people are able to get up in the morning by several different ways. Some people use alarm clocks, a kiss by their spouse, breakfast in bed, or just sleep until they wake up on their own.

Not around here. My side of the bed is closest to the door so I can hear the kids and let the cats in and out during the night, etc. Lucky me huh? I get woken up each and every morning between 6:00 and 6:15 by Jake.

He stands really close to my face and says, "momma, wate up, i had stinky. I wand dia...per changed."

He will stand there until I get up and change his diaper. I go from a deep sleep to a wide awake state in about 10 seconds due to the smell of his "stinky."

Maybe I should move to the other side of the bed and let bobby get woken up with this greeting. He would probaby in his sleep just say, "ok go back to bed."

Things that make you go hmmmmmm....

The Christmas Card

Well it's that time of year again when you put together your Christmas card and photo to send out to family and friends, old and new, to show off your children or update everyone on the goings on of the past year. Christmas cards, I could take them or leave them, send them or not. Before I had kids that is. Once you and your friends start having kids though everything changes and THE CHRISTMAS CARD becomes one of the landmark moments of the year. It's your one chance to show off those precious angels, in their perfect holiday outfit, in front of the perfect tree that you've decorated....or perhaps in their perfect ski outfits from that perfect family vacation you took last year.....or maybe you get creative and send out the picture of them in their perfect non holiday outfit in a cotton patch (Merry Christmas Y'all) or in their perfect swimsuit in the sand in front of your new perfect beach condo (Warm Wishes or Have a White Christmas)....you get the picture. Because you've received that perfect card. Perhaps just in yesterday's mail. But it wasn't from me.

No, sir. It wasn't from me. You see, I bought THE Christmas outfits a while back, envisioning the precious picture....Jake lovingly holding his little brother, surrounded by the overflowing Christmas presents under our gleaming tree. You would almost be able to smell the pine...taste the cinnamon....hear the crackling fire. Oh how I was longing for the holiday season. And here we are. But there are no presents under my tree because the kids would tear them up. In fact, there are no presents wrapped, the tree is fake...yes I said FAKE....so the only smell of pine is from the tiny unlit votive out of reach of little hands which, if it were lit, would be the ONLY fire crackling in our house because we don't do fire until the kids are in bed due to them trying to climb in the fireplace. The tree is only partially gleaming because there are no decorations within reach of said little hands. As for the gingerbread house....r...i...i..i...i..ght.

So the pictures above were my last attempt to capture the spirit of the season while they both were in good moods today. I haven't been able to figure out how to photo shop out the door in the background and runny noses. Or how to photo shop in the loving, charming scene I had pictured in my mind. This isn't even taking into consideration that trying to get a 2 year old and a 17 month old to cooperate and sit still for a picture is like herding cats. Herding cats with socks on. An exercise in futility.

I'm not giving up the dream though. Perhaps next year we'll send warm wishes from some sandy white beach somewhere. For the time being though, and in case you don't find something from us in your mailbox in the next few week or so, using the theme of the pictures above....Have a Nutty Christmas! We sure are.

All aboard

Jake and Will ride together on the Winnie the Pooh train. They get going too fast and someone bails off the side. From the looks of it they need a bigger model for both of them.

Clean as a whistle

Bobby and Jake made brownies the other night. Bobby kept eating the mixture before he put it in the oven. We decided that Will should get to try some of the mixture too. We gave him the wisk and the bowl. He licked it clean. He even put the bowl on his head to try and lick more out of it. It was hilarious. Jake kept saying, "Wook at Will's face." He enjoyed every bit of it. It was so clean that you could not even tell what had been in the bowl.

Next time my dishwasher breaks I am just going to pile the dishes on Will's highchair and let him go to town.

Any other takers?

Photo Shoot

While the kids were napping I had this great idea that I would take their pictures in front of the tree for our family christmas cards. I was cleaning up and trying to come up with different poses and props to use for our afternoon photo session.

Jake and Will wake up around the same time and and tackle Will to get his pants and button up shirt on and do the same with Jake. Jake is crying because he wants to wear jeans and then will is trying to take his shirt off.

I pick both kids up, one on each hip and off we go to the christmas tree. Will is kicking and Jake is pouting. This should turn out so cute.

I stand Jake in his place and tell him not to move. I run around the couch chasing Will. I catch Will and stand him up right beside his brother. Ok, they are standing there just looking at me.

I brushed off my shirt, took a deep breath, opened the camera, and....

THE BATTERY IS DEAD.

The camera would not even come on. The kids are running around again at this point and I just lay there and start dying laughing. Next time, step number one.... CHECK THE CAMERA.

Anyone have any batteries??

Photo shoot postponed until further notice.

Bath Time

"Stop playing for a second and say cheese"

The boys really love bath time. They splash themselves, each other, and anything else close to them. I love bathtime too. They are contained and playing. Everyone is happy. Somedays we take 3 baths when nothing else seems to be working. All I have to say is "wanna take a BATH" and they go running. I mean sprinting to the bathroom. They are excited and I keep thinking, yes... peace and quiet for 5 minutes!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a great thanksgiving at our house yesterday. Bobby and I got the opportunity to cook the turkey, dressing, and all the other side dishes together... ALL BY OURSELVES. We had so much fun.

We started cooking on wednesday night because I had this great idea that I would cook granny's dressing. For those who have not had granny's dressing you don't know what you are missing. It is a long tedious process. However, it is well worth all the work.

To make a long story short Bobby did GREAT on the turkey and my dressing tasted just like Granny's. I was so excited but so was bobby because he ate half the pan yesterday. We ate until we felt sick.

Jake and Will on the other hand did not eat very much food on thanksgiving. The boys are still in the plain food stage such as mac and cheese, pizza, chicken nuggets, hotdogs, etc. They were not to excited about eating cranberry sauce and greenbean casserole.

We all had a great day together and even enjoyed the cold weather that came our way on thursday. It really made it feel like turkey day!! We are thankful for each other and our families. We have been blessed.

Thanksgiving Feast

Today at Jake's school they had a thanksgiving feast and the kids dressed up as either pilgrim's or indian's. Jake decided that he did not want to be either one because he is a big boy he says.

All the other children wore their hats with feathers on them.... everyone except Jake that is. He was not having that on his head.

The parents all came to each lunch with the kids and everyone brought a dish. Fun was had by all.

Guess we should be glad that Jake doesn't like to wear makeup and feathers in his hair.... Bobby will be thankful of that since Jake would rather be throwing a ball or playing in dirt.

Catching some Zzzzz's

Jake suddenly thinks he is the boss around our house. Anytime you ask him something he says, "I'm a big boooyyyy." It doesn't seem to matter what it is. I said "Jake are you cold?"

Jake replied "No I'm a big boooyyy"

Ok, I thought never mind I will just bundle you up and you can take it off when you get hot.

Will is ready to take a nap at lunchtime no matter what is going on at that time. He is tired and his belly is full. Jake, on the other hand, doesn't want to take naps during the day anyway.

I thought fine, I will just put you and Will to bed at the same time. Wow, the evening around our home will sure be quiet. We started this new adventure today. While Will is taking a nap Jake has quiet time where he can read books, do puzzles, color, play blocks, etc. but he can not watch tv and he must remain quiet until the timer goes off.

Wish us luck.... here is what happened during our first day of quiet time....



He is tired after all, but he doesn't want to slow down long enough to be still so he will fall asleep. Wish I was given quiet time everyday I would be doing the same thing....

8 days a week

As any other mother would know there is not enough hours in the day or number of days in the week to get everything we need and want to get done.... done. It seems as though as much as I get done on my to do list today there is that much more to do tommorrow. However, I remind myself daily that most of these things can wait. It is much more important to spend time with my children because they will grow up before my very eyes.

I treasure the times I get to spend with them each day. They are truly angels and gifts from god. I am thankful for them each and everyday.

It is so neat to just sit and watch them grow, learn, and explore the world around them.

Bobby and I laugh almost daily at some of the things that Jake says now that he is talking good. It is hilarious. Sometimes when Bobby is driving he says, "Daddy slow down, slow down daddy." He will also say, "No say dat daddy, no say dat" if Bobby tells him something that he does not want to hear or like such as naptime or go to the potty.

Dishes and laundry are going to wait this week while I just sit back and play with my kids this week of thanksgiving. We have so much to be thankful for and are very blessed.

We Will Miss You Bull

Uncle Billy (AKA Bull) and Will

The whole gang

Three handsome young men

Bobby, Billy, and the kids


On Saturday night we drove over to my in-laws house and went to dinner with the family. We were celebrating an early holiday dinner since everyone was in town!! However, we also were saying our goodbyes and best wishes to Bobby's brother Billy (AKA Bull to Jake and Will). Billy is in the Army and is being sent over to Iraq for 18 months!! We sure are going to miss him. He is the one that we named Will after when he was born. We will be sending him pictures and care packages!!

We support our troops in everything they do and because of them we live our lives with freedom and the pursuit of happiness. Thank you for all you do!!

Mmmmmm Good

Jake and Will both thoroughly enjoyed their cupcakes that we made the other day. Will shoveled his in his mouth while Jake licked the top and used a napkin the entire time. It amazes me each and everyday to see how much alike my children are and yet how different at the same time. They never cease to amaze me.

Needless to say they were up for a while after eating all the sugar from the cupcakes!!

PB & J

Both boys love a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I love them to because they are inexpensive and easy to make for lunch, dinner, or a snack. With two growing boys I have to look for things that fill their little tummies until our next meal. Man, our grocery bill has not even hit it's peak. We are going to have to decide in a few years at the beginning of each month... pay mortgage bill or buy groceries???

We sure do love the buy one get one free specials at Winn Dixie. Wouldn't you if you had them to feed???

Home Sweet Home

Yesterday we went over to see my friend Courtney and her new baby. She lives about an hour and a half from us. We left in the morning time which I was taking my chances due to naptime and boredom in the car. The kids actually slept in the car on the way to her house.

She has a sweet and beautiful baby girl who slept the entire time I was there. I forgot how much newborns sleep. It was so good to see her.I miss Courtney and us hanging out but between her and I we have 5 children so the hanging out and not doing much days are long gone.

However, after we left Courtney's house the kids started to get fussy and ready to go home. When you take two toddlers out of their own environment you are asking for a recipe for disaster.

The kids did pretty good though, but by the end of the day we all were ready to be back home with our familar surrondings and their own toys. We love to go and visit, but it sure does wear mommy house to keep saying, don't touch, don't run, etc. It is always different when you are not in your own house.

Thank goodness for home sweet home.

Trick or Treat

Last night was a blast in our household. We ate soup for dinner and took the boys trick or treating. Jake was Bob the Builder and Will was a dalmation puppy dog. Jake absolutely loved his costume. Bobby and I pulled them around our neighborhood in the wagon.

Jake kept saying, "I am bob, good job bob, good job"

He would go up and ring the door bell but he would whisper trick or treat to the neighbors. Meanwhile, Will would run around in circles in the yard like the puppy he was dressed as for Halloween. Bobby and I just laughed and laughed at them.

Our neighborhood had tons of trick or treaters. It was alot of fun!! At the last house we went to it was our neighbor that we know. Jake rang the doorbell and went inside and sat on the couch and started eating his candy. Jake doesn't mind making himself at home anywhere. Bobby said, "well son!!"

We can't wait to see what halloween next year hold's for us!! We hope it is just as enjoyable as last night. TRICK OR TREAT!!!