The White Family

Better get used to disappointment kid!

2010-06-15T17:21:00.005-05:00

When Sam turned three, the only thing he wanted was a fisher-price garage. It cost $30, which was a lot for our law schooling selves. But it was all he talked about for months. So that's what he got.

When Benjamin turned three, he wanted a car cake and a batman toy. Easy. Very easy.

When Nicholas turned three, he didn't want anything but a Wall-E cake. He didn't want a party. He didn't want presents {but he got them anyway}. He just really wanted a Wall-E cake. The pressure weighed heavy on my non-cake decorating skills, but he was happy.

Eliana turns three in August. {How is it possible that my tiny baby is turning three?} And what does our little girl want for her birthday? A pony. Not a my little pony. Not a fuzzy stuffed pony. She wants, as she puts it "A real pony. That makes noise and I can ride on it and it breathes."

Good luck with that one, Eliana. For your sake, I hope the birthday fairy is real.

Just so all four are represented

2010-06-08T21:46:00.007-05:00

I've been taking an on-line photography class. It's fun for me, but not so much for the kids. Eliana absolutely refuses to pose for pictures any more. And Nicholas will only do so if he can pick his pose.

So here are some of Nicholas' ideas of a good pose.

Piano Recital 2010

2010-06-08T21:45:00.000-05:00

Sam and Benjamin have been taking piano lessons for a while now. It makes me happy to see them play the piano. It does not make me happy to have to remind them to practice. I've told them that when they are adults, they'll be glad they know how to play. But that doesn't mean much to an eight and 10 year old boy.

Still, we keep plugging along.

Because I'm the mom and I said so.

My Ballerina Bunny

2010-06-08T21:41:00.002-05:00

I signed Ellie up for Ballet in December. She wasn't sure if she wanted to do it, but I knew that she loved it and really wanted to be a little ballerina. Watching her every week is so fun! She had her recital on Saturday and it was perfect! I, of course, had to bribe her with a new pony and a pink cake - but it was totally worth it.

If this video does not make your heart melt, you are not human.

Will wonders never cease?

2010-04-27T15:14:00.002-05:00

There are three - count them - three new posts below this. Amazing, I know.

Reader's Digest Version

2010-04-27T14:17:00.004-05:00

Dear Sorry, Neglected, Pathetically and embarrassingly lame blog,

I apologize for forgetting about you. I promise to {TRY} to be better about updating you. I hope that we can still be friends.

Here's what you missed in the long four months you've spent pining away for me:

Nicholas turned four.
Nicholas got potty trained (after a year and a half of trying!)

Benjamin turned eight.
Benjamin got baptized.
We went to the Great Wolf Lodge to celebrate.

Sam turned 10. YIKES!

Eliana grew slightly more hair. Still rocking the mullet, though.

Kenai . . . who knew a dog could be so much trouble.
Broke his elbow. Had to have surgery to have pins put in. Pins fell out. Had to have pins re-inserted, and a cast put on. While in the cast, re-broke his elbow. Vet got very, VERY angry about that. Spent 10 days at the kennel so the vet could be in charge. Came home good as new - although slightly more of an investment.

Everyone did the annual bluebonnet pictures.

Josh and Rachel spent a week in Hawaii.

Whew! Just the dog alone is reason enough to keep me from blogging.

Pictures may or may not follow. You can't expect things to change all at once. I'm just saying.

Hawaii

2010-04-27T12:55:00.001-05:00

For Valentine's day, Josh surprised me with a trip to Hawaii. We had to wait for his schedule to clear, so we didn't go until last week. It was fabulous! We spent five days on the island of Molokai. It's a smaller island - no stop lights, no chain restaurants, one grocery store - island living at it's best. We had a condo right on the beach - it was perfect!

We had fresh mangos and pineapple. We had macadamia nuts right from the tree. We walked the beach for hours every morning. We drove through a rainforest (and I freaked out when the one lane road dirt road high on the mountain had no guard rails to protect us from the bazillion mile drop). We saw whales as we sat on the beach. We saw a Hawaiian Monk Seal (not as well groomed as they are in a zoo). We collected hundreds of shells an coral. It was the most amazingly perfect week ever!

There is nothing better than a vacation to Hawaii! I'm still trying to convince Josh we need to move there. Keep your fingers crossed!

Please forgive the picture overload, but you have to see it all. Besides, I only pick a few from the 500+ pictures we took. Consider yourselves lucky.

The view from our Lanai.

Papohaku Beach. I think it's three miles long. And we only ever saw one other person on it.

Hawaiian Monk Seal.

The grocery store in Maunaloa Town. So cute!

The view down to Kalaupapa - the Leper colony.

Josh exploring the tide pools at the Moomomi Preserve.

The island of Maui in the background.

The scary price of gas. And only two gas stations on the island. But have no fear - you can also buy diapers, ice coolers, big screen TVs and fresh fruit while you fill up.

Surfers.

Organic Papaya grown at Kumu Farms.

The royal coconut grove, planted by King Kamehameha V in 1860.

The view from the back of the condos.

One of the whales we saw from the beach.

Bluebonnets 2010

2010-04-27T12:24:00.000-05:00

How could we call ourselves Texans without bluebonnet pictures? {Not that we call ourselves Texans. I'm not quite sure what we are. Except Texas trend followers}.

On the subject of animals

2009-12-30T13:53:00.003-06:00

I am not a pet kind of person. We had pets when I was growing up - guinea pigs, rabbits, and cats. I even had my own cat, Sabrina. But then I went to college and promptly lost all interest in animals. I have nothing against them -- they are fun to look at and fun to play with. I just didn't want to live with them. So it was fate that I met Josh.

Here's how our first conversation went:
Me: Hi I'm Rachel.
Josh: Hi I'm Josh.
Me: I don't like pets.
Josh: Me neither.
Me: I never, EVER want to have pets . . . especially stinky dogs.
Josh: Me neither.
Me: Want to get married?
Josh: Sure.

For years we lived happy in the knowledge that our house would be animal free. But then we met these guys:
And all they did for YEARS was ask for pets. Thankfully we had perfect responses to their constant badgering. . .
"Why can't we have a dog?" {Because Mom and Sam are allergic to them} Hallelujah!
"Why can't we have a cat?" {Because Dad and Sam are allergic to them} Take that!
"All my friends have animals." {We are not your friends!}

But then came the kicker . . . "I'm not going to ask for anything else for Christmas but a dog." {You've got to be kidding me!}

So Josh and I did what any kind, caring, loving parent would do - we told them we would NEVER get a dog. EVER.

And then we went out and bought this:
Meet Kenai. He's a 11 week old Yorkshire Terrier, which happens to be a hypoallergenic breed of dog. {There goes the allergy argument!} He pees on the carpet occasionally. He cries A.L.L. night long. And the smell of his food makes me want to throw-up every morning. But the kids all love him. LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. him. They take him for walks. They make sure he visits the puppy pad every hour. They get him fresh water. They play with him. They fight over who gets to snuggle him when he's tired. Never was there a dog so loved. Never were there kids so happy. And never were there parents so glad they changed their mind.

Reflection contest

2009-11-14T23:01:00.002-06:00

Here is Sam's entry for the 2009 Reflections Contest at school. The kid's got an eye for photography. I think he could teach me a thing or two.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-11T21:16:00.006-06:00

Late. Late. Late. But here are the kids in all their spooky splendor.

Sam as Mr. Headless Horseman. A creation of his own {although he was in such a hurry to get candy, he couldn't be bothered to find his black pants. At least it was dark.}

Benjamin as Indiana Jones.

Nicholas as a scary dragon

Eliana as a ghost. {Originally, she wanted to be cookie monster. And I made a cute cookie monster costume. But once I added the eyes, she wanted nothing to do with it. So, I scrounged around the house and came up with this ghost costume. Not as cute, but it did the job. She didn't want to take pictures either. She just wanted to get candy! Eliana has already decided that next year she wants to be a mean witch or the big bad wolf. Hopeless.}

Unprepared

2009-10-26T14:50:00.002-05:00

As a mother, there are times when I am caught completely off guard. Like Benjamin picking broccoli over french fries. Or Nicholas' ability to climb. But nothing could have prepared me for Eliana this morning. In her cute little voice she said, "Mom, I have pockets in my pants. Pockets can hold things. Where's my weapon? My pockets need a weapon!"

The funniness of Benjamin

2009-10-23T16:13:00.005-05:00

Benjamin is a very unusual kid. He is overflowing with book smarts and he's very proud of this. One of the things that makes Benjamin unique is his love of words. He loves to learn new words {sometimes very large words} and use them regularly. For example - Josh and I were having a conversation about the cost of something - maybe taxes. And Benjamin piped in with "I'm not sure I understand all the facts you have been talking about, but I do understand the money issue and I think that is outrageous!" {word for word quote}

The kid is seven.

Benjamin's word of the moment is assume. He uses it so much that I find myself wanting to say "You know what happens when you assume . . ." Instead I pointed out that he uses the word a lot and asked him to cut down. He said, "Mom you have no idea how hard it is to come up with new words to use to impress people."

Today after school, the boys wanted to have friends over. Our rule is there are no friends over until the bedroom is clean. Sam had already cleaned his mess and told Benjamin, who was unloading the dishwasher, that he would clean Benjamin's mess. Then Sam said Benjamin would owe him big time. This, of course, made Benjamin ask me if it was true. I told Sam that Benjamin didn't owe him anything. And Benjamin said, "Yeah Sam. Goodness is it's own reward."

And lastly . . . no offense is meant by this comment. And I promise {just like the other three examples}, I have no idea where he gets these things. . . So Sam was decorating a pumpkin for a school project. The theme was "Favorite Book Character." Sam choose to decorate his pumpkin like a Bugger from the book Ender's Game. He made a preliminary sketch to follow. Benjamin took one look at the sketch and said, "I'm not sure this is the look you are going for Sam, but your drawing looks like an ant mixed with a Mexican Robber."

You be the judge.

Eliana's dreams

2009-10-18T20:30:00.002-05:00

The other night, Eliana woke up crying. She was just terrified of something, so I let her sleep with me. When she woke up, I asked her if she remembered what she was scared of. She said that there were geckos dropping from the sky and crawling all over her back. "Too many geckos got on me!"

The next morning, as I was changing her diaper, she looked at me and asked "Why?" I asked her what she was talking about. She said, "Why were you squishing my poops last night? Poops are gross. We don't play with poops mom."

And the next morning, she woke up and said that she had a dream about hurting her eye at the jumping place. It was so real for her, she had to look at her "owie" in the mirror to be convinced she was fine.

So to sum it up - Eliana's dreams are filled with geckos, poops, and bruises.

Where are the princesses and sunshine and butterflies?

And what does she want to be for Halloween?

A vampire or scary monster.

Lucky me.

{I'm going to make these and shove girly down her throat!}

We raise 'em sassy here

2009-10-08T20:56:00.002-05:00

Nicholas hung a "no girl's allowed" sign on his door. I told him Ellie was a girl and asked if she could come in. He said, "No girls allowed." I told him I was a girl and asked if I could come in. He said, "The person that cleans my room can come in when it's messy."

Nicholas and Eliana were fighting over her pony toys. I told him to give the pony back. Nicholas told me, "I don't want to hear any more of your noise in my ears."

Eliana has a disgusting habit of drinking the bathwater. This morning I told her that drinking bathwater would make her tummy sick. She told me, "Oh yeah? Prove it."

At two and almost four years old, how can the innocence be gone? And how am I going to survive their teenage years?

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-07T16:57:00.003-05:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Round Three

2009-09-09T13:21:00.005-05:00

After the older boys were back in school, I started doing a little preschool at home with Nicholas and Eliana. We're just learning a letter a day - trying to keep it simple. We learn the letter and its sound, practice writing it, make a letter craft, then read stories relating to the letter. When we've completed the whole alphabet, we'll move on to numbers and then it's back to letters.

Nicholas and Ellie call it "Mommy Preschool." I call it "I'm sorry that you are almost four and I'm only now beginning to talk with you about the alphabet" school. Thank goodness he doesn't start kindergarten for another two years . . . maybe by then we'll be caught up. At least Ellie will be ahead of the game.

A is for Alligator

E is for Elephant
The multi-colored elephants are because we read this story.

And tomorrow . . . it's G for Gruffalo.

Too cute to miss out on

2009-08-28T08:27:00.001-05:00

Holly is giving away a box of adorable cute pumpkins. Go check it out here.

A New Chapter

2009-08-26T13:51:00.007-05:00

August 2004

In August of 2004 Sam started pre-k, and after a few weeks decided he liked school. Today was Sam's sixth first day of school. He started fourth grade. It's his last year of elementary school. He is part of the "biggest kids at school" group. Watching him leave for school this morning was hard. How is he growing up so fast and how can I stop it? How do I only have nine years left until he graduates from high school. The past nine years have flown by. How do I make the next nine years slow down?

And Benjamin . . . how did he get to be so wise, so confident, so funny? Just yesterday he was a tiny little boy, and now he's in second grade. Next year he'll be at school all by himself. How is it possible that my little Benjamin is big enough to even be in school?

I'm so excited for the boys. They both have great teachers and they have great friends. They are going to have a fantastic year. Still, I can't help but notice the quiet in the house this afternoon. I don't have to break up any fights or broker any peace treaties, but I also don't have my buddies to hang out with. I don't have Sam to show me what cool things he just invented or Benjamin to share some odd fact he just read. It's the first day of school and I miss them already.

It's going to be a long year.

The Nature of the Beasts

2009-08-13T21:39:00.008-05:00

Having Sam and Nicholas together is like having a lion and tiger together. Both frightfully strong willed and stubborn. Both eager to fight and assert dominance. And even though Sam is five and a half years older that Nicholas, we can never really be sure who will win the match. Nicholas got the point this time, and we all got a good laugh.

(Nicholas is the one wielding the water gun and Sam is the one trying to escape.)

I can't believe it's that time again

2009-08-12T11:17:00.004-05:00

Last Friday was Eliana's second birthday. It's hard to believe that in two years, our beautiful little princess has grown from this
to this.

Round four of the terrible two's.

Bring. It. On.

Ellie's Birthday Party

2009-07-23T14:30:00.006-05:00

We had Ellie's birthday last Friday. It was really simple and she loved it! She had definite ideas of what she wanted at her party . . . some worked, some not so much. We started off with bubbles, which were a big hit - even for the older boys.
Then the girls got their tutus and wands for dancing.

Ellie LOVES to dance. She loves to twirl and prance and all sorts of girly things. However, at her party, she would not dance at all. I even put on her favorite Wiggles song - the Shimmy Shake. But we had no shimmying and no shaking. We had catatonic stares from Ellie and Chole, and crying from Reagan. Thankfully Riley busted a move and made the dancing worthwhile.
Then we had cupcakes and fruit and cookies -- all per Ellie's request. We even had a princess tablecloth that she picked out. The boys were disgusted by the tablecloth and complained about it every time they walked past the table. What do they know?
After cupcakes came presents. Little girl toys are so much fun! She got a little Belle dress-up doll, a my little pony with a movie and stickers, a pink bubble machine, and a pony with its own purse. She was in HEAVEN!
Ellie's last request for her party was stories, but as soon as the presents came out, the stories were forgotten.

{The only picture I was able to get with all four of them in it. Two year olds do NOT hold still for anything!}

It was a fun little party. She loved it! And I'm glad we got to have it before her little friend Reagan moves away. (although there's still time for Reagan's mom and dad to change their minds and realize that Waco is WAY better than Vegas. . .)

{Reagan and Ellie, after Regan had some of my famous drugged cupcakes}

{The only time Reagan wasn't crying . . . I think she's still mad at me because I tricked her into going to nursery at church and then left her to fend for herself}

Thanks for coming girls!

An Almost Birthday

2009-07-10T21:55:00.003-05:00

We've always had a party for the kids when they turn two. I'm not exactly sure why because at two, they could really care less about having friends over. And they only kind of get the present idea. Or maybe that's just boys . . .

Eliana's birthday is a few weeks away. We're having a party early because one of her little friends is moving. When I asked Eliana if she wanted a party, she got really excited. Really excited. She said, "I want cookies and cupcakes and juice and fruit." And every time we go to the store, she asks if we're buying things for her party. She is constantly talking about the party - currently, she's added bubbles and dancing to her list of party ideas.

I decided to make tutus for all her guests instead of a goody bag. I started on them when Eliana was napping, to lessen the amount of helping hands. When she woke up and saw the tutu, she was overjoyed. She ran to it and said, "Oh! It's for my party! I'm going to be a princess!" She had to have it on immediately. And then she begain dancing around on her tip toes (it's the honest truth!)

But the best part came after the dancing stopped. She twirled around for the last time and said, "I look so pretty. I'm a princess! I love my party!"

I can only imagine how excited she's going to be at the real party. Who knew girls could be so fun?

Vacation Slide Show

2009-07-06T12:11:00.008-05:00

About five hours south of Waco is a tiny little beach town called Port Aransas. Last week, we went there for the first time. It was wonderful! We went to the beach as soon as we got into town - and the kids loved it! Every morning, as soon as they woke up, they would ask when we were going to the beach. Eliana would practically jump out of her carseat as soon as she could see the ocean. It was a fabulous vacation! We're already planning our next trip to the beach.

All of the kids tried body surfing. Some were more successful than others, but here are some highlights.

We were also able to visit the Texas State Aquarium. They have a small dolphin pool where they show you how they train dolphins.

Daddy's Girl

2009-06-23T13:21:00.003-05:00

The other night when dinner was over, Josh got up from the table. Eliana, who was still in her high chair, said (without any prompting) "Father, Don't leave me!" We all started laughing, so she started saying it over and over. Josh came back and took Eliana out of her chair and the two spent the evening together.

Eliana is becoming a Daddy's girl. She asks for something and he delivers. Last night, for example, Josh was putting her to bed. She didn't want to go to bed, she wanted to stay up with everyone else. So she started to cry. Josh tried to soothe her by reading books and playing puppet theater with her stuffed animals. That wasn't enough. Eliana didn't want to be left out. Josh finally asked her if she wanted him to stay. She said yes, stopped crying immediately, and Josh spent the next hour in her room.

I'm working on teaching Eliana to say "Father, would you please buy my mother some new clothes."

Need a laugh?

2009-05-30T13:35:00.004-05:00

Teacher Appreciation

2009-05-26T20:52:00.007-05:00

This year, both Sam and Benjamin have had outstanding teachers . . . not that there was anything wrong with their previous teachers . . . all teachers need to be applauded . . . but this year was perfect! I couldn't have hand picked better teachers for my boys. We were so blessed that way.

We wanted to make sure that our teachers knew we loved them. So, we decided to make the last seven days of school our own teacher appreciation days. I thought I'd share our ideas, in case anyone is still looking for an end of the year gift. A lot of these ideas I've found on the internet and saved to my "one day I'd like to do this" file. So, I apologize for not having any sources to give credit to.

I need to warn you that these are all very cheesy ideas. (must double underscore very.)

Day 1: A notebook with a homemade flower pen (you know the kind that has the gigantic flower on the top and the pen is wrapped in floral tape.) On the inside the boys wrote down their favorite memory from the year. Now here's where the cheesy part comes in - we attached this note -

Day 2: A bag of soup mix and a can of soda, with these notes -

Day 3: A bracelet made the boys, with this note -

Day 4: A bag of Sweedish fish and an almond joy, with these notes -

Day 5: A milky way bar and box of junior mints, with this note -

Day 6: A few books that the boys picked out for their classrooms. They wrote why they picked the books for their teachers. And of course, a note -

Day 7: No cheesy note . . . sad, but true. I had the boys write words to describe their teachers, using the letters of their teachers' last names. Then we matted and framed them.

It's almost Summer!

2009-05-16T15:08:00.003-05:00

Just two and a half weeks until school is over. Two and a half weeks until the craziness that is summer begins. Two and a half weeks until our house is consumed by extraordinarily loud children, happy and laughing or angry and fighting. Two and a half weeks until all four kids are home ALL day long.

I can't wait!

She looks so grown up!
isn't it amazing how a little thing like pig-tails can add 6 months to a girl's life?}

The New Face of Two

2009-05-08T12:48:00.003-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,

For your viewing pleasure, may I present the beginning of the terrible twos.

A real throw yourself down on the floor, legs kicking, back arching, ear-splitting scream fest. What a feat to be accomplished at only 21 months!

I'm sure this is only a small indication of good things to come.

How fantastic is toddler independence?

In need of Expert Mothers

2009-04-29T16:09:00.002-05:00

This is not what toilet training looks like at our house.

At our house, Nicholas refuses to give up his pull-ups. He won't sit on the potty willingly . . . though I do make him sit on it in the hope that something will happen by chance. He won't wear real underpants. If I try to put him in underwear, he screams and walks around the house bow-legged. I've even tried Emma's trick of making him go naked. He just laid on the floor with a look of terror on his face, screaming for his pull-ups. It was the best hour I've had all week.

Sam and Benjamin were so easy to train. They picked out a toy. We hung it on the bathroom wall and told them they could have it when they peed in the potty for one week. One week later, they had their toy and were pull-up free. Nicholas, not so much.

My pediatrician is no help. He just tells me that Nicholas will go in his own time, when he's ready. Well, at $40/box for pull-ups, my wallet is telling me he's ready! I've tried bribery - he doesn't care. I've tried withholding treats - he doesn't care. I've tried begging - he doesn't care. Are you sensing a pattern here?

I need help!

Perhaps I can ship Nicholas to Thailand, where it seems they can toilet train anything.

Sometimes a mullet is a good thing

2009-04-15T13:47:00.004-05:00

My hair

Josh's Hair

Equals

Score - Rachel: 1; Genetics: 0

Take that genetics!

Dear Cheryl,

2009-04-14T13:14:00.003-05:00

Here's the grandkids breakdown. You are welcome to join us at any family function, but I hope you wait until it's one I can be at too! :)

Faith's winning the race by a long shot . . . {although, I don't think anyone's brave enough to compete with her!}

Random Thoughts

2009-04-10T11:31:00.004-05:00

1. I made this for a "Getting to know your cousins" book. How fun is photoshop?

2. How could you ever have a bad day if this was the view from your back door? If only I were a million dollars richer . . . See more pictures of this home here

{Photo courtesy of Your Alaska Home}

i AM a mother of boys

2009-04-03T22:23:00.003-05:00

I've had it easy as far as boys go. Don't get me wrong, having boys is tough stuff - they are loud, rowdy, and very personal hygienically challenged. But I don't have to play football in the back yard because I don't throw far enough. I don't have to play cars {or superheroes or star wars} because I play like a girl. I don't have to get up early every morning to fix their hair . . . just to name a few. That doesn't even include the fortune I could save on clothing and laundry duty if I would let the boys have their way - they would wear the same shirt, pants, socks, and underwear 365 days a year - without changing. See, easy stuff.

But today, I joined the world of boys. Today was Sam's birthday. He turned nine years old. Nine years of being a mom . . . N.I.N.E. Sam really wanted a party, I really did not. I have nothing against a party at say, Chuck E. Cheese - where the hardest thing I have to do is pay the bill. Unfortunately, 'Ole Chucky is a little young for our mature son. I tried the diversion tactic - promising him we'd talk about the party later. Of course, by later, I meant never. The thought of having a party with extra boys in the house is enough to drive me crazy. But Sam was persistent, and the loving mother hidden deep within me eventually caved.

And before I could stop myself, I uttered the words "What kind of party do you want to have?"

An Alien Party.

Not Alien like the cute Monsters vs. Aliens that just came out, that has all kinds of party supplies everywhere, that has premade cakes at the store. Not the easy kind of Alien.

Area 51 Alien.

You know the line from Cinderella . . ."It seems we have time on our hands. Time for vicious practical jokes." Sam is obviously not busy enough!

So . . . long story short {long story involving going to a million stores, a million times each to hunt down anything alien}, We pulled it off. We covered the windows with black trash bags. We stuck glow in the dark stars on the bags. The living room light bulbs were changed to black lights, and the dining room light bulbs were changed to green lights. We even stuck Area 51 warning signs on the front door.

Party decor - check.

The first thing the party guests did was create their own alien out of modeling clay. They had to stick to strict guidelines so it would bake properly. But they did it. And their aliens were very cleverly done, I might add.

The next thing was to decorate paper plates for a spaceship flying contest in the backyard. The game quickly evolved from who could fly their ship the farthest to who could fly it over the fence to the neighbor's yard so the neighbor's rottweiler could tear the paper plates apart. Fun stuff. {Dear neighbors. I'm sorry your dog became blind from Styrofoam poisoning. You keep us awake at night with your loud music while you exercise in the garage. And your little annoying dog pees on our pomegranate bush. Let's call it even.}

Of course there was pizza and soda - which would have been cleverly named if I thought the boys would care {or notice}.

And then came my favorite part.
Alien dissection.

I created some edible concoctions - and by edible I mean, not meant to be eaten, just not deadly if tasted - and gave the creations alien names. The boys had to stick their hands in the goo {which was covered}, and guess what it was made of. Here's what we had"
Alien Eyeballs - peeled grapes
Alien Guts - Overcooked Ramen noodles
Alien Skin - pieces of fruit rollups smothered in tapioca pudding
Alien Brain - a bath spongee, covered in carmel sauce
Alien Boogers - smashed banana
Alien Feet - banana peels with granola.

We had eight boys. Only five of the boys would stick their hands in the stuff. One of the five boys had an overactive gag reflex and had to stop. One of the three non participators had to step outside because the suggestion of body parts, with the visual of dripping goo was too much for his gag reflex. And one of the five made me gag when he started licking his fingers - and I knew what was in it!

For a parting gift, all the boys got a bag filled with Alien goodness. The best part was a sticky hand that we put a label on saying "Severed Alien Hand." Gross and totally boy.

After it was done, Sam came up and told me that it was his best birthday ever and it was an awesome party. So I did it. i AM a mother of boys.

Happy Birthday Sam! Thanks for making me a mother nine years ago. It's been quite the adventure, but I wouldn't trade a second of it!

Flower Power

2009-04-02T22:23:00.006-05:00

Texas has many seasons that I love - spring, fall, winter, occasionally summer . . .but most importantly Bluebonnet. In central Texas Bluebonnet Season is celebrated by everyone with a camera and a few minutes to spare. My children humored me again this year {well, humored me against their will}. It was relatively painless thanks to the Sports Mode on the camera. No tears were shed, no fire ants were biting, no threats were made. All in all, I'd say it was a good year.

Out of the mouths of babes

2009-03-25T18:32:00.002-05:00

Tonight at dinner, Sam asked why everyone has brown hair except for Benjamin. That led into a discussion of everyone's eye color. Then we started being silly and talking about other features - who has the biggest eyes? Nicholas. Who has the smallest eyes? Benjamin. Who has the biggest smile? Benjamin. Who has the smallest ears? Sam. Who has the loudest voice? No apparent winner. Who has the biggest brain? Everyone nominated themselves.

We were all laughing and it kept getting sillier and sillier. Then I bent over to pick up Eliana's fork, and Benjamin said, "I know! I know! Who has the biggest booty?"

Game over.

It's always fun with Nicholas

2009-03-08T23:25:00.003-05:00

Nicholas is a very unique individual. He's very independent, very opinionated, very animated. You never know what is in store when Nicholas is around. It's always an adventure! Here are some "Nicholas-isms" that have us laughing lately.

1. He has a vacuum fettish. He loves to look at the vacuum ads in the Sunday paper, and carries them around all week long. He talks about what kind of vacuum we are going to buy. He constantly reminds me to vacuum, or asks if I'm going to vacuum. Stopping at Target and looking at the vacuums is his idea of a good time. I wonder what he would do if I took him to the Orek store?

2. He has his own unique phrasology.
Bonk the beep means honk the horn.
Light the way means turn on the car's head lights.
He says "we don't talk like that way" when someone says something naughty.
He says "time for dinner time" every night before dinner.

3. Nicholas believes he is the only one capable of praying in our house. If someone else gets to pray, Nicholas gets mad and refuses to fold his arms. But when Nicholas does pray, it's good times. His prayers start out well enough, but then he starts saying things like "I'm glad my bear was soft at naptime." or "I played in the sandbox and it was fun, but then I had to go inside and I got mad and said I'm not coming in and ran away from mom." His prayers become actual conversations . . . maybe he has the right idea?

4. Nicholas refuses to eat real food. Sam has always been a picky eater, but at least there are somethings he'll eat. For Nicholas, breakfast would be cookies, luch would be freezee pops, and dinner would be cookies. He seems to have the idea that if he shares the cookies he's pilfered, it's ok to eat them. {And once you give Eliana an Oreo, there's no getting it back - so Nicholas has a genius plan!}

5. Every morning before Josh leaves for work, Nicholas says, "Remember to eat some gum today Dad." But that's our Nicholas - often perplexing, always amusing.

Bragging Rights

2009-02-27T13:58:00.003-06:00

There was a contest. But first there was {or rather is} a test. It's called the T.A.K.S. test. And you need to pass it in order to advance to the next grade. Starting in third grade. This is our first year having to deal with the Test. I am now convinced that they do nothing in third grade except prepare for the Test. The homework is practice tests, the school work is practice tests, recesses are skipped to take practice tests. It is a big deal. {Although, on a side note, I don't think it should be such a big deal since it seems that all learning except for T.A.K.S. learning is on hold.}

So - There was a contest. This contest was to design a picture for the T.A.K.S. test. The winning drawing would be made into a shirt for the children to wear on Test day. The art teacher picked one drawing from each of the five third grade classes. Then the students got to vote on which drawing they liked the best. Sam was one of the five drawings. Much to his devastation, he was not the winning drawing. The winning design said "Rip the T.A.K.S." and showed a test booklet being ripped in half. {I think the kids probably voted for that one because they were so sick of all the T.A.K.S.ing that they wanted to rip up the test!}

I know I am speaking from a mother's perspective, the artist's mother's perspective, but I think Sam's drawing is great. It's creative. It's fun. And it's aggressive enough without the gory details {which I'm sure would have been included if it weren't a school project.}

Good luck on the test Sam. I hope you slay the T.A.K.S.!

Life Lessons from a toddler

2009-02-12T14:14:00.005-06:00

Here are some lessons Ellie taught me this week:

1) Rubbing Alcohol will remove lipstick from clothes.
2) Hairspray will remove more lipstick from clothes.
3) Dawn Dishsoap will remove LOTS of lipstick from clothes.
4) Make-up remover does not remove large amounts of lipstick from cheeks, arms and necks.
5) 18 month old babies do not listen well when told not to touch mommy's lipstick.

6) Parents who buy their children clear lip gloss are geniuses.
7) Girls and boys are different -- boys get into things. Girls get into expensive, sure to stain your new clothes kind of things.

Thank you, Eliana.

Oh wretched Texas weather

2009-02-03T15:12:00.004-06:00

When you've got Alaskan in your blood, not even nasty Texas cold can get you down.

Happy Birthday Benjamin!

2009-02-03T14:53:00.003-06:00

So, so late . . .

Benjamin's birthday was a week ago. He turned 7. It's crazy how fast they grow. Here are some fantastically random facts about Benjamin.

1. The only thing he wanted for his birthday was a guitar. He wants to be an orchestra conductor or professional musician when he grows up. And boy does that kid have a talent for music!
2. Benjamin can spell any word. Seriously - any word.
3. Benjamin has the ability to block out the entire world when he plays his nintendo ds. It's uncanny. I think the house could catch on fire and he wouldn't notice. The ds has to be taken away at regular intervals so that Benjamin can rejoin the living.
4. Our sweet little Benjamin loves girls. He has so many girl friends I've lost count. Yes, he is a lover, not a fighter.
5. Benjamin can't handle disappointing people. He falls apart if he thinks he's done something to make his parents upset. It's actually an annoying talent of his because he often gets in trouble for crying so hard when all I asked was why he didn't put his clothes away when he was asked to. I've got to learn to appreciate this ability of his better.
6. Benjamin loves having a little sister and takes great care of Ellie. He will sit and play with her forever. He is a big help that way. He also hopes that her dark hair turns blonde so he won't be the only blonde in the family. . .
7. Benjamin is a good sport. He'll try any new food. And even if he doesn't like it, he'll say something like - "Well, it was good, but I don't want any more." He'll help out with chores even if they are bad . . . like cleaning pee off the toilet. It goes along with number 5 - he really wants to make me happy. I hate cleaning pee off the toilet. That's one thing that comes with having 3 boys - extra toilet pee.

Happy Birthday Benj! May your time being seven be memorable!

Here are some shots from his loud party.

How do I love thee . . .

2009-01-14T12:53:00.003-06:00

I love Michael Miller and all those that design for Michael Miller {who I have learned is not a person, but two people's names merged together to make a company name. The love is not diminished by this fact.} Let me share some fun things that make Michael Miller so loveable.

Exhibit 1. Fabric for Fabulous baby blankets.

{a new blanket I just finished for a friend's FOURTH girl!}

Exhibit 2. Fun new fabrics to look forward to

{copied from The Michael Miller Blog}

Exhibit 3. Fabulous New Designers

{copied from The blog of Patty Young}

This is a new fabric set called Andalucia. And it is so cute! She even has coordinating ribbon. I'm already planning all the bows I can make with this set!

Exhibit 4. Fabulous patterns designed by a Michael Miller Designer

{copied from the blog of Sandi Henderson}

Sandi Henderson has two darling fabric collections with Michael Miller - Farmer's Market and Ginger Blossom. And now she sells her patterns. So cute! It makes me want to take up sewing!

**************************

BUT . . . If you are like me and not quite a seamstress, have no fear. There are people who will make it for you!

Exhibit 5. An ebay auction just for lovers of Andalucia fabric.

From Patty Young's Blog: "Search "Boutique Andalucia" on eBay to find these fabulous pieces by some of the most talented designers I've ever come across. You will find everything from children's boutique clothing, to jewelry for mom & daughter, purses, camera accessories (bags, straps, lens cozies), Easter baskets, hairbows, headbands, aprons, wall decor... and even dog collars!"

Exhibit 6. Last but not least - do you Etsy?
If you don't know {but how could you not?}, Etsy.com is full of all kinds of handmade goodness. Anything you can think of is there.

Something cute from Andalucia fabric?

Something fun from Sandi Henderson?

What about Michael Miller in general?
Here:
Here:
Here:

So do you love Michael Miller yet? I hope, after all my many posts of adoration for all things Michael Miller, that you too are a believer.

{p.s. if any members of the aforementioned Michael Miller team want to send me free fabric and or ribbon, I will welcome them with open arms.}

2009-01-09T13:08:00.008-06:00

Yesterday was my birthday.

I turned thirty something again.

I don't really have a problem with getting older.

I have a problem with my age getting older.

I wouldn't mind being 40, if forty were spelled "twenty-five".

So to numb the pain of aging, I'm going to make public some glorious photos of my youth.

{Warning: staring too long at some of these hairstyles may cause blindness.}

My first birthday. No hair to mess up.

Kindergarten - No brush to fix messy hair.

First Grade - Shortly after my sister practiced her scissor skills on my bangs.

Third Grade. If you need an explanation of this hair, see here.

Fourth Grade - I really loved this outfit, especially the earrings.

Fifth Grade - In my defense, pictures were after lunch and both recesses. What kind of genius schedule is that?

Sixth Grade - I actually look presentable. Who knew?

Seventh Grade - All I can say is that I'm sorry you had to see that. In my defense, I was really smart, just not in the fashion sense.

Eighth Grade - Ahhhh, my first perm. Yes!

Ninth Grade - Gotta love the bangs and the shirt buttoned to the top.

10th Grade - Looking at that hair is painful to me.

11th Grade - We have a winner! I guess 16 was a good age for me.

12th Grade - Here we have the obligatory Senior Glamor Shots.
Fan-Freakin'-Tastic!

My first year of college brought out my alter ego we named Beth. She also was hair challenged.

After awhile, I just gave up and hid my hair under a blanket.

This has nothing to do with hair. But by my second year of college, I learned that hair doesn't matter - having your picture taken in strange spots on BYU campus does.

I also discovered that embracing your inner nerd is a great way to excuse bad hair.

Just so you don't think I'm hopeless, here is one where my hair is at least presentable.

I may be old, but at least my hair ages well.

To Whom it May Concern:

2009-01-09T08:23:00.002-06:00

Please note the addition of the new "link to" category on the right side bar. An {EXTREMELY} important link has been added.

. . . Here is a little sampling of what you can expect if you click on the link:

Thank you for your time.

Getting your Money's worth

2008-12-24T12:53:00.005-06:00

A dear friend of ours gave Benjamin a batman costume for his third birthday. {Thanks Melanie!}

Sam and Benjamin wore it daily until the elastic band on the mask started cutting off the circulation to their faces.

A few months ago, Nicholas found it and has been wearing it every possible second.

And today, Ellie joined the ranks of Batman. It was a very proud moment for me.

I will now be accepting donations of costumes for little girls .

The life and times of Nicholas

2008-12-15T17:18:00.005-06:00

Nicholas turned three yesterday. It is hard to believe that he is already three - he is growing too fast! So in honor of his third birthday, here are three very "Nicholas-like" things.

1. Nicholas is a super funny kid. He is always making us laugh. The other night at dinner, he gave us all new names.
Josh became Sissy Sauce.
Sam became Apricot Salad
Benjamin became Fry Sauce.
Eliana became Banana Split
Nicholas became Pumpkin.
And I became Tasty Salsa.

2. Nicholas is very clever. Sometimes it's deviously clever, but mostly it's just clever. Here is a recent conversation I had with Nicholas that illustrates the deviously clever . . .
Me: Nicholas, you don't hit Benjamin. If he's doing something you don't like, you tell him. Use your words.
Nicholas: Ok Benjamin. I am going to hit you now.

3. Nicholas is very sure of what he wants and very determined. He wanted a Wall*E cake for his birthday. Nothing else would do. He kept asking, and asking and asking and asking and asking . . . for the Wall*E cake. So, he got one (a poor excuse for a Wall*E cake). And he applies that same determination to getting cookies, watching TV and avoiding nap time. Lucky me!

So happy birthday dear boy.
We are glad you are part of our family. You really bring life to the party!

Because Jim asked . . .

2008-12-11T22:59:00.005-06:00

As in years past, we made the pilgrimage to take our Christmas Card pictures. Here are some beauties from this year.

Benjamin: {I can't remember how to smile. Do you think anyone will notice.}
Sam: {I come from the planet nerd. Take me to your leader.}

Benjamin: {I'm trying out for Constipated Person #2 in the school play.}
Josh: {Sam put your hand down or there will be severe consequences.}
No really - he said that.

Josh: {Go ahead and have a good time now Sam. You are going to die when we get home.}
Nicholas: {I have a two picture limit. This is picture three - someone is going to pay.}
And I have no excuses to make for Benjamin's face in this picture - it pretty much says it all.

Thank goodness for Photoshop!

This
{+}

This
{=}

This.
Almost perfect, and definetely full of personality.

Happy Late Thanksgiving

2008-12-11T22:32:00.006-06:00

I know it's two weeks late, but here are some pictures from our Thanksgiving. We had a very unconventional Thanksgiving - we went to Sea World. And we loved it so much that I want to do it again next year {Except for Benjamin who feels like he was robbed of Thanksgiving dinner}. The park was practically empty, the weather was perfect, and there weren't any dishes to do. Plus, we learned a little Sea World tip . . . If you buy your season passes in August, you get the rest of the year and ALL of the next year! Who knew?

What Sea World visit is complete without a Shamu Show?

See how empty the stands are? Perfect!

Some of the family went on a water ride. And some of that part of the family liked it.

Nicholas gave us an uncertain smile when the ride was done.
Josh: Nicholas, did you like the ride?
Nicholas: Yeah! It was a great ride!
Josh: Do you want to go again.
Nicholas: Uh, no thanks!

Nicholas and Eliana LOVE Shamu. They talk about him all the time at home. So seeing one was an unbelievable treat. Nicholas was so excited to hold Shamu's hand, that he couldn't even look at the camera - he had to make sure Shamu didn't let go.

Here's a cute, though rare, moment. Nicholas wants to be Sam, and Sam doesn't always appreciate the attention. So when Sam said Nicholas could sit by him, Nicholas was overcome with joy!

Because the park was empty, we got to feed the dolphins. It was amazing!

Benjamin is a little nervous in this picture. Sam was {kind of} teasing the dolphin by not feeding him the fish right away. I told him to just give the dolphin the fish. And when Sam finally did feed it, the dolphin responded by {SPLASHING} us. We were soaked! But it was SO worth it!

Eliana was fascinated by the aquarium. She and Josh stood there for about 20 minutes just watching the fish.

This is a just because it's cute picture.

Not to play favorites. . .

2008-11-22T22:53:00.006-06:00

I love all my children equally. But, I only {love} playing dress-up with one of them.

Can you blame me?

Today was a good day

2008-11-17T13:08:00.003-06:00

Thanks to Eliana's mullet hair, look what we can do . . .

Here's to business in the front, party in the back.

A day of Life Lessons

2008-11-05T21:09:00.003-06:00

Here is what I learned today:

1. Pop Rocks cannot be cleaned once spilled. The minute the humidity in the air gets to them, they are glued to the carpet and stuck to the floor. {Lesson 1b would be that pop rocks cannot be swept off the kitchen floor either}. Pop Rocks, a candy I adore, will darken our doorstep no more.

2. Six year old and eight year old boys will not practice the piano when left to their own devices. They will also not bring in their piano books from the car with out proper prompting. {Six year old and eight year old boys learned today -- no practice, no piano prize box. Mother's orders.}

3. A two year old can become addicted to candy in three seconds flat. Since Halloween, Nicholas has had candy for breakfast, lunch, dinner, afternoon snack, 4:30 AM snack, and just because snack. {Nicholas also knows what he likes and doesn't like. And I now know what he doesn't like because I find half eaten candy dropped all over the place.}

4. Ants in Texas live for Halloween. {Ants in our house live for the candy Nicholas doesn't like.}

5. To Nicholas, Rude means someone does something mean, and someone gets an owie. {In otherwords, if Sam is rude to Nicholas, that gives Nicholas permission to hit Sam.}

6. Fall daylight savings is kicking my butt. My children have adjusted to going to bed an hour later, but not to waking up an hour later. This morning, they were all up by 5:45 AM. {I, unfortunately, was not.} Threats have been made . . . tomorrow I will not see the light of day until 6:30 AM.

Lessons learned . . .Patience tested . . . tomorrow will be better.

And to go with the randomness of this life, here are some Halloween pictures.

A Proud Mother

2008-10-30T12:04:00.003-05:00

There is a contest at school where the kids are asked to submit something creative based on a theme. This year the theme was "WOW!" Sam wanted to participate, and he chose to enter in the photography category. One of the rules of the contest is that it has to be 100% the child's work. Sam started brainstorming ideas for pictures. For every idea he had, I would ask him to tell me how it "WOWS!" him. Some ideas were good {a photo spread of his gecko catching cricket}, others were not so good {the wind blowing the grass}.

He tried to take a picture of the gecko eating, but sadly, the gecko would not cooperate. On to idea number two. He chose to take a picture of the American flag {because it is a symbol of our freedom}. Life being crazy like it is, he didn't get to take the picture until close to sunset. But that worked to his advantage. He got the camera in position, then put it on rapid shutter mode and clicked away. And we came home with some winners.

Next came the photo editing. He wanted to edit the photo so that it would look like it was taken at Fort McHenry, where in 1814 the valiant defense of the fort by 1,000 dedicated Americans inspired Francis Scott Key to write “The Star-Spangled Banner.” I was skeptical at first, but he did a great job!

So here are Sam's pictures. One original, and one Sam's photoshop special.

To Infinity and Beyond

2008-10-08T09:29:00.005-05:00

At our house, some people can really {fly} . . .

Others just {fall} with style . . .

Monkey see, Monkey do

2008-09-26T08:41:00.004-05:00

Eliana loves Nicholas. She REALLY loves Nicholas. She loves everything about him - his clothes, his dog, his blanket, his toys, his cup of milk. Anything Nicholas has, Eliana wants. As I type this, she's throwing a fit because Nicholas has a granola bar and she doesn't. Does she like granola bars? {No.} Will she eat a granola bar? {No.} Will she stop crying if she's holding a granola bar like Nicholas. {Yes.}

Yesterday, two things happened that took her love of Nicholas to my breaking point. Nicholas woke up grumpy and all around disagreeably opinionated. I know, that doesn't sound at all like Nicholas. I digress . . . I told him it was time to get dressed. He looked at me and in his deepest demon voice said, "No! I don't wanna get dressed!" And then stomped off. So, I turned to Ellie and told her it was time to get dressed. She looked up at me and unleashing her inner Nicholas screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOO!" And stomped off after him. I suppose I shouldn't have laughed, but it was so shockingly funny.

Second story: At Walmart yesterday afternoon, we happened to be perusing through the toy aisle. Eliana noticed a display of dolls. She kept saying, "baby! baby!" in her cute little voice. How could I resist? {thankfully, she wanted the $3.00 Walmart special.} I have been waiting for her to want a doll for forever. I began to dream of all the quality mother/daughter play time we could have. So I bought her the doll. She hugged it the entire time we were in the store. She hugged it all the way home. She hugged it all the way into the house. She hugged it all the way to Nicholas room. She hugged the baby until she saw him playing with airplanes. Then she stopped hugging the baby and demanded an airplane. Nicholas gave her a plane, she threw the baby on the floor and played planes with her hero. The baby has been forgotten, along with all my hopes and dreams. I am, after all, no Nicholas.

A Mother's Right {OR} The Cycle is Repeated

2008-09-18T13:57:00.004-05:00

When I was in the third grade, I had bad hair . . . it still pains me to talk about it. My mother liked to curl my hair with her hot curlers.

{A short bob cut + a million hot curlers = bubble hair.}

My hair stuck out like an inner tube around my head. To make matters worse, my mom knew her way around a can of hair spray. That bubble hair stayed in one place ALL day long. I got a lot of compliments about my hair - you know, the kind of compliments only 9 year old kids can make. The hairstyle of '86 still haunts me. I'm sure my mom had my best interests in mind. She was only trying to add some volume to my practically bald head. And I'm sure she thought it looked good. It wasn't her fault that she wasn't privy to the Turnagain Elementary fashion world.

Relevance?

I'm sure, years from now, Eliana will tell me that I scarred her for life because of all the silliness I insisted on putting in her hair. But in my defense, the flower is so obnoxiously large, it's cute. So without further ado, may I present for your viewing pleasure

Eliana at 13 months

Alaska in a million pictures

2008-09-10T12:52:00.011-05:00

Nicholas, Eliana and I were lucky enough to spend a few days in Alaska last week. It was a quick trip, but we had so much fun. My brother Jacob and his son Garion were visiting the same weekend, so my parents had a houseful. We've been home a week and Nicholas still hasn't adjusted back to Texas time. Today, Nicholas told me that he didn't want to go to our house - he wanted to go Grandma's house in Alaska. So here is a little photo journal of our trip. It may seem like a lot of pictures, but I'm only posting a tenth of the pictures I took {I love digital cameras!}

Eliana and my Grandpa. {There are a million pictures of the two of them . . . I'll try to limit myself to only a few.}

Garion, Eliana and Nicolas with Grandpa . . . you have to love Nicholas' face!

All the boys. Nicholas is, of course, cooperating just like we asked him to!

I love the look on Grandpa's face in the picture.

How much we miss out on by living so far away from family!

Four Generations of Cox Men.

Doggie, meet Doggie.

Nicholas meeting a future Iditarod sled dog champion.

Part of the beauty that is Alaska - Summer Flowers.

Taking the fox for a walk at the Alaska Zoo.

Now, how would you like to have this creature scrounging for food in your backyard? This is from the zoo, but black bears are common sights in some parts of Anchorage.

Check out the claws on this Grizzly!

Nicholas had fun chasing the mountain goats at the zoo.

Here's a picture of Mt. McKinley. On a clear day, you can see it from Anchorage -- which is over 130 air miles south of the mountain. Pretty impressive, no?

Mt. Susitna, otherwise known as Sleeping Lady. Can you see the sleeping lady? {Her hair is flowing off the top of her head to the left.}

The Legend of Sleeping Lady: Legend tells us that a millennia ago, the Great Land known as Alaska was inhabited by a race of giants. Among these people was a beautiful young maiden and a handsome young man whose devotion to each other was admired by all the villagers. Wedding preparations were underway when word reached the village of a warring tribe approaching from the north.

After a village council it was decided that the young man would bring gifts to the invaders to show the peaceful and friendly intentions of the villagers. Keeping herself busy while waiting for the young man's return, the maiden eventually grew tired and laid down to rest.

Soon after, word reached the village that the invaders rejected the offer of peace and a battle ensued in which the young man was killed. The villagers, gazing at the sleeping maiden, did not have the heart to wake her.

So there she rests today, still waiting for news of peace and the return of her love . . .

A shot of downtown Anchorage.

A picture of the Inlet.

My dad caught some salmon while we were there. Nicholas was fascinated with it.

Here we are posing as tourists.

We got to visit some reindeer. Nicholas called them antlers and thought they were great!

Nicholas feeding the reindeer. {This one was a little gross - he was still loosing the velvet from his antlers and it was disgusting!}

Again with the tourist poses.

Eliana didn't quite know what to make of the reindeer. She was pretty brave, though, and petted them anyway.

We couldn't resist . . . :)

Nicholas and the chocolate waterfall. He was dying to jump in!

My Grandpa.

Eliana loving the bear skin that hangs on my parents wall . . . you HAVE to love Alaska!

Embracing my inner NERD

2008-08-27T14:00:00.003-05:00

We had a theme dinner the other night . . . we've had them before . . . but none that made us laugh so hard. A few months ago, we watched the movie Nacho Libre for the first time. And then we died laughing. There is just something about that movie that gets me laughing every time I think about it. If you don't like it, I don't think we can be friends. {I'm serious}

Anyway, if you haven't seen the movie, there's this one part where they make character salads for the orphans. So we started out our dinner that way. Sam's salad had a caterpiller on it, and Benjamin and Nicholas had happy face salads. Then we had nachos for the main dish {duh}. And for dessert, we had these in honor of all the corn on a stick munching in the show.

I looked around, but I couldn't find any ski masks, it being summer and all. If I had found some, we were going to decorate our own wrestling masks. See, the title of this post says it all - Embracing my inner nerd.

We spent the entire dinner quoting the movies. I'll leave you with some of our favorites . . .

Chancho. When you are a man, sometimes you wear stretchy pants in your room. It's for fun.

They think I do not know a buttload of crap about the Gospel, but I do!

Well, my favorite color is light tan. My favourite animal is puppies. I like serving the lord. Hiking, play volleyball...
You gotta be kidding me. Everything you just said, is MY favourite thing to do, every day!

What is this?
Leftovers. Enjoy.
There is no flavor. There are no spices. Where are the chips?
Somebody stole them.
Did you not tell them that they were the Lord's chips?
I was trying to!
You are useless Ignacio!
Silence brothers! This is the worst lunch I ever had.
Your only job is to cook. Do you not realize I have had diarrhea since Easters?
Ok... Maybe I am not meant for these duties. Cooking duty. Dead guy duty. Maybe it's time for me to get a better duty!

Summon your eagle powers.
What do you think I'm doing?
[Losing badly, about to take a big hit] Eagle powers... come to me! Please!

Those eggs were a lie, Esqueleto. A LIE! They give me no eagle powers! The give me no nutrients!
Sorry.
I don't want to get paid to lose. I wanna win!

I am a-singing at the party / I am singing it's my turn to sing at this party / Everyone is dancing, happy party / But Ramses is not dancing he does not dance at the parties / Ramses' number one he knows the secret of desire / Ramses is the one, he puts the people all on fire

Where are your robes, Ignacio?
They were... stinky. These are my recreational clothes.
They look expensive.
Thank you. I mean... they might have the appearance of riches, but beneath the clothes, we find a man... and beneath the man we find... his... nucleus.
Nucleus?

I hate orphans!
Say it to my face!
I hate them!
Come again?
I hate all the orphans in the WHOLE WORLD!

Hug hug, kiss kiss, hug hug, big kiss, little hug, kiss kiss, little kiss.

Back to School . . .

2008-08-26T09:15:00.005-05:00

I join with a million other moms this morning and post about the inevitable end of summer. We're pros at back to school - this is our fifth year of the first day of school. This morning we just fell back into old routines. Tag were ripped off new clothes. Shoes were tied for the first time. Hair was gelled and combed {for the last time if Sam has his way}. Pictures were suffered through.

If I'm honest, I've been looking forward to school. Things at home have gotten increasingly chaotic, and I'm tired of playing referee. I've been eagerly anticipating a quiet{er} house. So it came as quite a shock to me when, watching my third grader sing all the words to the National Anthem, I started to tear up. In that moment I saw Sam's life flash before my eyes and I saw him growing up faster then I was ready for. I suddenly longed to have one more day of summer vacation. One more day of my kids all to myself. One more day of having them safely tucked in our home. One more day to make sure they knew how much I loved them. One more day to enjoy the miracle that they are. And as I watched my big, brave first grader tell me that I could go, I felt envious of the boys' teachers. Envious that for the next nine months they will spend more time with my boys than I will. Envious that they will get to watch the boys grow and discover daily. And for the first time I saw homeschooling in a different light.

So to Sam and Benjamin -- may you have a wonderful year of school. May you conquer the mountains of learning that await you. May you be blessed with wonderful experiences. May your lives be enriched with new friendships. And may you always be eager to come home and share every second of it with me.

I {HEART} Michael Miller

2008-08-14T14:48:00.004-05:00

*Disclaimer -- I show these photos, not to brag, but to reaffirm my love and utter devotion to all things Michael Miller. His fabric is so perfect that even I, Mrs. Can-only-sew-straight-lines, can make something look good.

Recipe for a fantastically cute baby blanket.
{1} Take some of this:

OR This

{2} Add a little of this:

OR this

{3} Top off with a bit of this:

OR This

And before you know it, you've created this!

AND THIS

Now do you believe in the magic of Michael Miller?

For Claudia

2008-08-14T14:39:00.003-05:00

Here are my favorites from Chloe's backyard bubble extravaganza.

Eliana's Birthday

2008-08-14T14:18:00.003-05:00

Eliana turned one last week. I can't believe that it's been a whole year since she joined our family. So in honor of her birthday, here are some fun facts about Eliana:

{1} She likes to talk in a whisper. She has a powerful set of lungs, but she saves those for special occasions . . .

{2} She can eat an entire hot dog in about a minute, and then wants more.

{3} She likes to play with cars, she even makes car noises as she plays with them. She does not like to play with dolls or My little pony toys because she does not like the hair. So, I've purchased as many pink cars as I can find.

{4} She knows how to fake cry. If she wants something one of the boys has, she will fake cry until she gets it and then she walks away happy.

{5} She loves books. She loves any kind of books. If she sees a book, she drops everything to sit down and read it. She has a stack of books in the car that she expects as soon as she is buckled in.

{6} She has a vague understanding of the word pretty. If we say pretty, she'll stroke her hair and smile. . . This has been a huge help in keeping bows in her hair. We just tell her they are pretty and she doesn't seem to mind.

{7} She's developing quite the vocabulary. Here are some words she can say:
*doggy
*bath
*blanket
*Benjamin
*book
*moo
*car
*up
*down
*no
*go
*diaper
*shoe
*phone

And here is one word she can't say - Mommy! {I suppose I shouldn't be surprised}

Here are some pictures of the family princess

{I had to include this one. This was her hair the morning after her birthday festivities. It is even more fabulous than her after bath hair!}

Don't Cha wish your baby was hot like me?

2008-07-18T20:13:00.001-05:00

This is the {best} after bath hair I have ever seen.

Soothe the Savage Beast

2008-07-18T20:10:00.002-05:00

Here's something you don't see every day . . . Nicholas perfectly still.

Pinata Pinafore GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

2008-07-13T14:52:00.000-05:00

Pinata Pinafore GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

Early Evening Gown GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

2008-07-12T19:29:00.000-05:00

Early Evening Gown GIVEAWAY!!!!!!!

This is such an interesting site. Check out the cute clothes she is G-I-V-I-N-G away!

11 Months old

2008-07-10T13:06:00.004-05:00

Eliana turned 11 month old this week. And rather than chase her down for some {pretty} pictures, I decided to share Eliana uncensored.

Besides getting older, Ellie has started walking. Now, she's been standing and walking around furniture for at least 3 months, but she hasn't been interested in walking at all. She would crawl around and stop in the middle of the floor and stand up for a long time. But she never even tried to take one step alone. Then, last week, we were at a friend's house and she just let go and walked. It was truly amazing! Now she walks everywhere -- and gets into everything.

My new favorite pictures

2008-07-10T13:01:00.001-05:00

{No explanations needed . . . they speak for themselves.}

Recipe for Leslie

2008-07-03T21:36:00.002-05:00

Pasta with Sausage and Broccolini

2 bunches broccolini, cut into bite size pieces
1 pound orecchiette pasta, or other small pasta
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound pork sausage (I use Jimmy Dean breakfast sausage)
3 garlic cloves, minced
Pinch dried crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Cook the broccolini in a large pot of boiling salted water until crisp tender, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer the broccolini to a large bowl, saving the cooking water. Bring the reserved cooking water back to a boil.

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking it up into pieces with a spoon, until browned and juices form, about 12 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, when the reserved cooking water is boiling, add the pasta and cook until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally.
Add the broccolini to the pan with the sausage mixture and toss to coat with the juices.

Add the pasta to the skillet. Stir in the Parmesan and serve immediately.

(If you don't have broccolini in your store, you can use regular broccoli. You just have to steam it a little longer.)

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

2008-07-03T21:10:00.009-05:00

Here is where you can feel sorry for my boys and question my ability to be a fun parent. Every day my boys beg me to take them swimming at the YMCA. And I want to, I really do. Then I remember I have 4 children and one of them is Nicholas.

Now for those of you who are personally acquainted with Nicholas, that statement alone explains everything. Fearless, wild and fast are the words I would use to describe the joy that is Nicholas. So, we stay home and the boys make do with the hose in the back yard.

{This is Sam, who wants to play in the water, but avoid the hassle of getting water in his eyes.}

{This is Sam realizing he can spray himself in the face, and Benjamin who is obviously impressed by his brother's talents}

{And this is where they decide to fill up the lid to the sand box and go "swimming," but only after they beg me for the 473rd time to buy them the $400 pool at Wal-Mart.}

{This is Nicholas attacking the big boys, who are conveniently hiding behind their shield -- the basketball backboard.}

{Oddly enough, this went on for about 20 minutes before the big boys realized they could fight back}

{And fight back they did!}

{This is Sam, who proves all you need is a little imagination, diving off his diving board into his pool -- in other words, jumping off the teeter totter into the lid of the sand box.}

{Again in Slow Motion}

{And this is why you wear swim diapers every time you go swimming, even if it is swimming in a lid in the back yard.}

My new favorite thing

2008-06-23T16:04:00.002-05:00

My fantastic sister-in-law, Andrea, made this for Eliana's room. Do I not have the coolest sister-in-law ever?

Bows make the woman

2008-06-18T14:31:00.005-05:00

I've been trying for a few weeks to get Eliana to hold still long enough to take her 10 month picture. Finally today she cooperated for a few minutes.

At first she was bow-less . . . cute, but not cute enough.

Add a bow and viola, here is our 10 month beauty! (well, as cute as she can get during the awkward new teeth phase)

Summer fun

2008-06-16T15:24:00.002-05:00

Three posts in one day? This should take care of two months of blogging! For our enrichment this month, I did a little class on ideas for summer fun. Now, most of these are not my original ideas, and I didn't write down where I got them from (since I was just doing it for my family), so I apologize for not giving credit where credit is due. But I thought I'd share some of the fun ideas since I'm sure many of you, like myself, are already knee deep in summertime crazy.

SAY CHEESE! Purchase some disposable cameras and take your children to a scenic spot. Give them a basic tutorial in photography and then turn them loose with their cameras. Encourage them to take pictures of each other. Once the pictures have been taken and the film has been developed, help them to create a small scrapbook of their photography adventure.

Put on a Concert for Each Other - Have the children get all dressed up in their Sunday best, some costumes or a funny get-up that they come up with by going through the closets and mixing and matching some silly outfits. Have them practice a couple of their favorite songs. Then create a stage area at one end of the living room and put folding chairs at the other end. They could even make up some tickets and programs for their special concert.

Set up an Art Studio - You don't have to be fancy with art and you don't have to have everything just so, to get started. Just come up with a few ideas and go from there. You could set out some bottles of glue, old magazines and paper to make collages. Or, you could set out paper lunch bags, markers, your button jar, yarn and some glue for a puppet making station. Another idea would be to have an art contest using a particular medium. Be sure to present ribbons to
each entrant.

The "no" jar. Anytime your kids ask you to do something, and you say no, you write it on a piece of paper and put it in the jar. Then once a week, you let them pick something out of the no jar. (When we did this, our rule was that it had to cost little to no money to go in the jar).

Miss-matched meals. Everyone goes to the store and is assigned a part of the meal like main dish, side, dessert . . . Then split up and pick whatever want, and meet up at the check-out. You could have cereal with turkey and ritz crackers for dinner!

Theme meals -- Give your meals a theme -- we had a Star Wars dinner. We had a regular dinner, but the food was all named after the movie like yoda bites for green beans. We even had a picture menu to complete the meal.

Story time make and takes. Make a day around your favorite book. For example, Read books by Joost Elffers & Saxton Freyman, and try to create your own edible illustrations.

Science. Search the internet for Science Fair experiments. You’ll come up with hundreds. Easy ideas like “Do different brands of popcorn leave different amounts of un-popped kernels?” Make a baking soda volcano or make raisins dance.

Make your own file folder games. Web site “dgl.microsoft.com” has any kind of clipart imaginable. You can make games for letters, numbers, shapes colors, even reading. It’s easy and fun.

Get your kids writing! Give your kids a notebook and set aside a time each day for writing. They can talk about their day or create a story or draw a picture. It’s a great way for them to wind down.

Week of Color. Assign a color to each day of the week. Plan an activity and meal around that color. For example: On green day, you can go to the park or zoo (anything outside). Have green eggs and ham for breakfast and a salad for dinner. Decorate the table with the color and encourage the kids to wear the color of the day.

Camping. Set up your tent in the back yard. Have foil dinners and make microwave smores. Tell scary stories at bed time.

Create a summer olympics in your back yard. Set up an obstacle course. Have water balloon beach volleyball tournaments. Have a otter pop relay race.

Grocery Shopping. Get your kids involved in meal planning. Buy (or check out from the library) a kids cookbook. Have them pick one meal a week and be responsible for finding the ingredients at the store. Give the kids your coupons for the week and have them find the items. Give the little kids a picture shopping list. Have the older kids help you save money by picking out the “cheapest” products.

Tents. Never underestimate the power of a tent made from sheets draped over chairs. It will occupy children for hours!

Have a family taste test. Buy multiple brands of one item -- like chocolate, soda, chips, ice cream . . . and conduct a blind taste test to see which brand is your family favorite. (This can get pricey, so we only do it once a month). We did Orange juice last week, and it turns out that although we've been buying Tropicanna for years, we like Simply Orange the best.

Make a Time Capsule. This has to be one of the most exciting activities of all time for kids. Give them a plastic jar with a lid or a sturdy box. Have them fill it with little trinkets and notes that will remind them of the past year. Or pick a theme (like sports, books, travel, etc) and have them will the jar with treasures new and old. They can bury it somewhere in the yard and dig it up in next summer.

A List Of Kid-Friendly Websites
This site has a really fun list of kid-friendly sites. There's something for nearly every age here!
http://www.blogher.com/list-kid-friendly-websites

On a roll . . .

2008-06-16T15:18:00.002-05:00

We had the BEST pasta for dinner last night. I found the recipe on-line, but I can't tell you where. I hesitated making it because I knew my kids would hate the zucchini, but Josh picked it for his father's day dinner. And I'm so glad he did because it was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! (the kids ate everything but the zucchini, so I can classify this as a success.)

Belle’s Favorite Pasta

Ingredients:
1 pound of linguine noodles
about 2/3 cup parm cheese
chicken and apple sausage cut in small pieces (I just grilled some chicken instead)
zucchini cut in small pieces
sweet baby tomatoes
7 cloves of garlic crushed (really, the more, the better)
1 and half tsp. of dried oregano
extra virgin olive oil

Put whole baby sweet tomatoes, zucchini, crushed garlic, oregano, in a baking pan and drizzle a nice coat of olive oil, add some kosher salt and pepper. Then put it into a 400 degree oven until the tomatoes are about to or have popped. This usually takes about 25-30 minutes.

Cook linguine according to package. drain.

Brown sausage pieces in olive oil until nice and colored.

Add sausage, linguine, tomatoes/zucchini mixture together into a big bowl and pop the rest of the tomatoes ready to ooze sweet fresh tomatoes juice onto them. Add parmesan cheese and mix. Add salt to taste.

Kindergarten Graduation

2008-06-16T15:09:00.003-05:00

This is shamefully overdue -- but here are some pictures of our recent kindergarten graduate. He was so excited to be done with school . . . until he had to say good-bye to his teacher. He started to cry, it was so sweet! She reminded him that she just lives two doors down, and that seemed to help. Still, he told her that he hoped she would get a promotion so that she could be his first grade teacher. And now he tells me that it wouldn't be so bad if he went to kindergarten again (Yeah right!) Let's hope his first grade teacher is as lovable.

Benj and Mrs. Watley

Benj and his partner in crime Sayer

Decor

2008-06-02T16:07:00.002-05:00

Here are some signs a friend and I made for
Eliana's room. I love love love them!!

One of the BOYS

2008-05-29T08:48:00.003-05:00

That's right -- this post is about Eliana. Our little princess has discovered the car box. We used to buy each boy a car when we went grocery shopping. As a result, we have close to 500 hot wheels cars. And the boys love to play with them! Sadly, so does Ellie. She loves to pick up handfuls of cars and throw them back into the box. She spends more time at the car box than Nicholas. I even caught her mimicking Nicholas by making a car noise "vroom". What is a mother to do? I had visions of tea parties and dress up and painted fingernails and my little pony land . . . Now I'm wondering if I should just buy Danica Patrick posters for her room.

Best Friends

2008-05-12T14:17:00.004-05:00

Last summer, Nicholas developed a fascination with the lawn mower. He loved to watch Josh mow the lawn. And if he couldn't be outside while the mowing was happening, he would run from window to window watching.

This year, we bought Nicholas his own lawn mower. He loves with it! He'll spend hours outside with Josh mowing the lawn. When Nicholas hears the word "mower" he'll jump up and say, "Just a second, Dad. I hafta get my mower."

Beauty is in The Eye of The Beholder

2008-05-07T14:40:00.006-05:00

When Josh saw these pictures, he said "I bet these are going to be your next blog post." Well Mr. Smarty Pants, I wasn't planning on it. But how can anyone resist that cute face! So here is Eliana discovering her reflection.

In other news -- Eliana is 9 months old today. I tried to take pictures, but since she is mobile now, she was more interested in crawling towards the camera. I did notice, though, that she began smiling as soon as she saw the camera. I guess she's had some kind of experience in posing for pictures. I'm not sure how that happened. . .

We interrupt this blog for a word from our Sponsors.

2008-05-01T14:16:00.005-05:00

Here are a few things that are worth sharing:
Cracked Black Pepper Triscuts -- they are made to love! I could eat a whole box in one sitting, and almost have on several occasions.
Gerber Yogurt Melts -- Now technically these are for toddlers. But they are yummy. So Nicholas, Eliana and I share.

Michael Miller -- I've mentioned him before, his Pink Chocolate collection. Here are a few others that are so much fun.

Ginger Blossom

Ruffle Rac

Carnival Bloom (my most favorite of all time)

Amy Butler -- I have a crush on all Amy Butler fabric and patterns. Here are some that are so deliciously fun to look at!

p.s. -- if any of you that sew want to make me this bag or pillows, let me know. I can have the pattern and fabric overnighted to you. . . :)

And last, but not least -- The Great Wolf Lodge.

It is FANTASTIC! If you can find a moment to sneak away with your family, you need to. Just look at their website, you will be hooked. We had the best time. My boys want to live there. (And if anyone from the Great Wolf corporate headquarters happens upon my blog, I'll gladly promote your hotel for a free pass. Call me.)

We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

Update on Dr. Love

2008-04-22T14:27:00.002-05:00

Here is the conversation I had with Benjamin yesterday after school:

B: Mom, E. said she loves me.
M: That was nice of her.
B: Not really. Everybody laughed at me.
M: Why did they laugh?
B: Because E. kept following me around and telling me she loved me and singing a love song to me.
M: Oh. So what did you do?
B: I told her that she could be my girlfriend as long as she doesn't touch me or talk to me or tell anyone. And she can't sing that song any more.
M: That's quite a deal. What did she say?
B: She said yes, of course!

(On a side note, Benjamin told me recently that he plays tickle monster with E. at recess. She chases him and if she catches him, she gets to tickle him. I guess if he didn't let himself get caught all the time, she wouldn't have been able to fall in love with him!)

A personal moment of gratitude

2008-04-17T16:23:00.002-05:00

While blog hopping, I came across this blog. And it caused me to really stop and think about my "trials", which are nothing in the grand scheme of things.

So today, I am grateful for:
a son that doesn't like to listen
a son who is so tenderhearted it makes me crazy
a son who is trying to prove that it isn't only cats who have nine lives
a daughter who, for the past few days, is trying to beat her record for overall fussiness

And I promise myself to hug them a little longer each day.

A Conversation with Benjamin

2008-04-10T09:11:00.004-05:00

This kid is so funny. He comes up with the most bizzare/amazing ideas. It's hard not to laugh when Benjamin is around.

This conversation was prompted by something that I found in his backpack. On the back of a homework paper was written "I know your full name. It's Christy Watley. I know your other full name. It's Christy R*****." (I can't remember it)

Mom: So, Benjamin, why did you write that?
Benjamin: Cause I wanted to tell Mrs. Watley I knew what her name was.
M: You really like Mrs. Watley don't you?
B: Yeah.
M: What do you like so much about her?
B: (Shrugs his shoulders and blushes)
M: Do you think she's nice? I think she's really nice.
B: Yeah, she's probably the best kindergarten teacher ever.
M: Do you think she's pretty? I think she's beautiful.
B: Yeah, she's pretty.
M: I'm glad you like her so much. You are lucky to have a special kindergarten teacher.
B: I'm lucky alright!
M: So what about the other girls in your class? Do you think any of them are pretty?
B: Well, we need to keep this between the two of us, because if any of the girls heard what I was going to say, they would try to attract me.
M: I promise I'm not going to tell any of the girls in your class.
B: Well, I think M is pretty of course. And I think C is pretty, and K and E and one more, T.
M: T has really pretty hair.
B: I guess, but I like her cause she's got the bling.
M: The bling? What is that?
B: It means she dresses with the bling. You know, she dresses appropriately.
M: Dresses appropriately - I don't get it.
B: It MEANS she dresses to attract! Do you get it now?

I already knew he was an early bloomer where girls were concerned. But after this conversation, it's clear that I'm going to have to really keep an eye on him!

Annual Bluebonnet Extravaganza

2008-04-08T09:00:00.004-05:00

Here are some shots from our annual trip to the bluebonnets. Some are better than others, and some showcase the kids' personalities perfectly. Take special note of Benjamin's Egyptian arms and Nicholas pushing Benjamin's nose -- classic White House behavior!

8 Months Old

2008-04-08T08:40:00.005-05:00

Eliana turned eight months old yesterday. What a sweet girl she is. And even though she still cries more than any baby I've ever known, and some days nurses more than she breathes, and only naps for 15 minutes at a time, I can't imagine not having her. She is a gift.

Happy Birthday Sam!

2008-04-04T08:45:00.006-05:00

Yesterday Sam turned 8. I can't believe that eight years has gone by since I held my first baby for the first time. So in honor of Sam's birthday, here are some things about Sam:

1. When Sam was younger, he was incredibly patient. He never cried or was the least bit fussy. He was the perfect first baby.

2. Sam's first word was bear, because he loved to see "Bear in the Big Blue House." His next word was outside, because he loved to look out the window and be outside. Then came Daddy, and about 5 words later came Mommy. When he was a year old, he could say over 75 words clearly. (we should have sensed trouble at that point!)

3. Sam has been a daddy's boy from day one. We used to joke that he only loved me for my food. Even as a baby, he preferred his dad -- he would even reach for his dad immediately after nursing. And to this day, he's still a daddy's boy.

4. Sam was "Sammy" from the minute he was born. He's still called Sammy by most of our extended family. After his first day of Pre-k, he came home and told me that he wanted to be called Sam. It was a little sad for me.

5. Sam has the most incredible imagination I have ever seen. He can come up with the most elaborate games and "pretend worlds" for him and Benjamin to play. He can build the most amazing things out of paper and tape. He never ceases to amaze me with the things he comes up with.

6. Sam likes to be funny. It all started when he was about 2 and I would ask him a question. He would get this silly look on his face and say, "Do-de-da!" For example -- "Sam what is your favorite color?" "Do-de da!" " Sam, what do you want for lunch?" "Do-de-da!"
He still likes to be funny. And sometimes I get frustrated when it's time to be serious, but I do appreciate the fact that he likes to laugh and have a good time.

7. Sam can be a lot of talk, but little action. Like his run in with snakes.
He LOVES everything snakes, but freaked out a little when he saw one. He's the same way with spiders. He laughs at me when I get grossed out about a spider, but he won't go even put on his shoe if it has a cobweb on it for fear that there's a spider around.

8. Sam loves to learn new things. He went through a dinosaur phase when he was 4 or 5, and completely immersed himself in finding out everything there is to know about dinosaurs. He's loved anything science/technology for as long as I can remember. He loves to read anything science related. He loves to share his information too. I admire his passion for learning -- he jumps in with both feet and doesn't stop until he considers himself an expert.

So, happy birthday Sam. May your year as an eight year old be a good one with laughs and learning and many happy memories. We love you!

Another Photo Attempt

2008-03-25T17:13:00.009-05:00

They turned out ok . . . I do really love the picture of Sam.

*****************************************************************
Does anyone want to make this with me? I bought the punch and paper, but I have yet to sit down and do it. I love the idea!

Brown Day, Blue Day

2008-03-15T20:04:00.002-05:00

Brown Day was a little slower -- a lot slower. Today the boys got to make brownies for the first time. I know, they are a little old to be making brownies for the first time. But I'm knid of a control freak when it comes to cooking in my kitchen. They were both really excited to finally get the chance to cook something. They loved it, and it wasn't so bad having to sit back and watch.

Blue Day was the last day of color week. To find out what we were going to do, I had the boys play Blue's clues. Sam and Benjamin rolled their eyes when I told them to look for paw prints, but Nicholas thought it was great. The clues told them that we were going to go out for dinner. To figure out where we were going, I made a little sentence like the game Mad Gab -- that's where you have to figure out the real phrase from a bunch of miss-matched words. So the boys' words were "ON COLD HANDS," which was "Uncle Dan's". And after dinner we were going to "GOATS WIN MING HAT TEE WHY" or "go swimming at the Y." Sam and Benjamin thought it was fun to figure out those clues. And of course they loved going to the pool.

Color week was a success! Way to go internet! Another great idea!

Red Day, Green Day

2008-03-12T22:13:00.002-05:00

Ok, here's the quick color update.

RED DAY:
For red day, we went to Books A Million and each of the kids got to pick a new book. Then we came home and READ the books. (Insert punny laugh). Then we had pasta with red sauce for dinner . . . well, all except Sam who has a strange aversion to cooked tomatoes of any kind (except pizza sauce. But even then it has to be the RIGHT pizza sauce.) I digress.

GREEN DAY:
For green day, we went to the zoo -- outside with the green plants and green trees and green lizards and green snakes. The kids loved it! Nicholas even sat in the stroller without complaint, which is quite a feat. Afterwards, we went to the zoo gift shop and the kids each got to pick out something small, and green. I hadn't planned on buying a treat, but I was in need of air conditioning after carrying Eliana and pushing the stroller around the zoo.
Green Day dinner was turkey and guacamole paninis with green salad and limeade, followed by lime sherbet.

Tomorrow is Brown Day. I have to say, I'm really having as much fun as the kids are. I feel like a fun mom again. And I'm beginning to see that occupied kids are happy kids (you would think that I'd have figured that out after having kids for 8 years, but some how that lesson has escaped me). For now there is peace at the White house. What more can a mom ask for?

2008-03-11T15:21:00.012-05:00

A Week Of Color

I decided to do something different for spring break. Borrowing an idea I saw online (of course), we are having Color Week. Each day will be represented by a color -- We will do an activity that has to do with the color, for dinner we will have something of that color, and if the kids want, they can wear the color of the day.

To start it off, Monday was "Black and White" day. And in honor of those colors, we visited Shamu at Sea World. For our family Christmas present, we bought season passes to Sea World. And I think it may become a tradition! Yesterday was a very wet, rainy day in San Antonio, but we opened our umbrellas and had a great time. There were probably 100 people or less in the park. We had the best seats at every show! We didn't have to wait in line or fight the crowds for anything. The boys would have preferred sun, but Josh and I loved it! The only bad thing was that the roller coasters weren't running. Sam has been waiting 2 years to be tall enough to ride the ELECTRIC EEL . . . maybe next time.

Today's color is Red, but you'll have to check back tomorrow for the details.

2008-03-11T14:59:00.005-05:00

The thing I hate most about Texas

Allow me a moment of sentiment:

We live in a pretty transitional area. A lot of people move here to attend School. And when three years is up, they all move away. Then there are people who make a temporary job stop in Waco, and move on to bigger and better things.

We came to Baylor, not with the intention of staying, but with the idea that we would move on as well. But we stayed and we love it, except for the fact that we seem to be saying goodbye quite frequently. Today we said goodbye again to a sweet family as they begin the next chapter in their lives. It was a first for Nicholas -- he's never had a friend leave.

I just wanted to say thanks to all of you that have been a part of our lives. Thank you for enriching our lives in a way that only you could. Thank you for the small moments and the large lessons. Thank you for being a part of our journey. And good luck on yours.

Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos.
~Charles M. Schulz

2008-03-06T12:52:00.005-06:00

Things heard around our house

Nicholas brought me an empty glass and said, "I so thirsty mama. Make me happy!"

Josh was explaining to Sam how roller coasters work. He ended by saying something like, "So the force prevents you from falling out." Benjamin, who had been half listening, suddenly shouted, "YES! I knew the force was real!"

And here's a little ditty we made up to go with this face:

Eliana Joy White
You are putting up quite a fight.
Just be quiet and say good night.
Eliana, sleep tight!

(to be honest, the song does nothing for her, but it lets me pass the time with a smile)

And finally -- cake. I recently had a piece of GIANT chocolate cake at Cheddars. I knew that I had to take the boys there because no one can appreciate a foot long piece of chocolate cake like three boys. Of course, it was a hit. And after they had devoured every last bite, the only word out of their mouths was "MORE!"

2008-03-03T13:36:00.007-06:00

A 3000 Word Essay on Beauty.

Enough said!!

2008-02-29T09:21:00.009-06:00

A Failed Attempt

Here's what happens when you try an impromptu photo shoot with children who would rather be engaged elsewhere . . .

Not bad so far, but here's where the fun REALLY begins.

Me: Say Cheese

Nicholas: I not say cheese.

Nicholas: I don't like it pictures. Pictures stupid!

Nicholas: I not gonna have pictures.

2008-02-28T11:51:00.003-06:00

Here's the story of how it happened . . .

Late one night, a mother sat comfortably at the computer. Here brief moment of silence was interrupted when her blonde six year old came in softly crying.
"What is the matter?" She asked as she tenderly lifted him onto her lap.
"My tooth hurts," he sobbed. The mother looked at the boy's tooth. It was indeed very loose. "Well," she began. "You can pull it out now or you can wait until the morning and see what happens."
"I'm convinced it needs to come out," said the boy. "But I'm afraid to pull it out."
"Would you like daddy and I to help?" The mother asked.
The young boy nodded his head yes, and began to cry even harder in anticipation. The mother called in the father to help relieve the boy's pain. The father wiggled the tooth and pronounced it ready to be removed. So the mother held the boy, while the father reached his hand into the boy's mouth . . .

"I CHANGED MY MIND!" The boy began to scream. "STOP!! I DON'T WANT YOU TO DO IT! STOP RIGHT NOW!" The boy was now thrashing his body around, pinching his mother with his free hand and trying desperately to move his mouth away from his father's hand. But this did not stop the tooth removal already in progress.

A sudden loud shriek let the mother know that the tooth was out, and she relaxed her grip on the screaming boy (to which he responded with a swift, hard kick). He was full out sobbing now and he turned to both of his loving parents and said, "I TOLD YOU TO STOP! I DIDN'T WANT MY TOOTH TO COME OUT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" And with that he ran into the bathroom to rinse out the blood.

The parents tried to console him with hugs and praise of how brave he was. The boy would not listen. He stomped off to bed.

The next morning, he showed off his new look to his older brother. The older brother asked if it hurt. The young, now toothless, boy responded, "No it wasn't so bad."
Hearing this, the mother asked if he would like his other loose tooth removed.
"No way!" exclaimed the boy. " I'm not letting you do that again. I've learned my lesson!"

2008-02-07T13:05:00.000-06:00

Happy Half Birthday!

Eliana is 6 months old today. I can't believe she's been here for half a year! She is delightful and we love her so much . . . we've even come to accept the fact that she is a powerful screamer. The demand for ear plugs has increased exponentially since August 7, 2007 -- just ask anyone who attends Sunday church with little miss Ellie.

Seriously, though, have you ever seen a cuter baby?

OK -- so even the beautiful people have an off day. It reminds us that they're only human.

2008-02-06T19:28:00.001-06:00

Motherly Pride

Dear Nicholas,

You are growing up so fast! You are becoming such a little man, so sure of yourself. Why, just today you showed me how you could set a goal for yourself then go about trying to achieve it. You saw Sammy's Valentine candy and wanted it. No matter how many times I said no, you kept right on asking. And then you took matters into your own hands. You pulled a serrated knife out of the drawer and started sawing the box open. Such persistence from one so young!

Or what about last week with the candle? Every time dad lit a fire in the fireplace, you asked to help. But dad always said no because he thought you were too young. You had faith in your abilities and a desire to stretch yourself. So you waited until you were alone, found a box of matches and lit the candle. Sam is almost eight, and just learned how to light a match -- but you, young Nicholas, knew you could do it -- and you did!

I admire so much your love of freedom -- your desire to run carefree outside. Nature seems to call you no matter where we are. If you are at church with dad, nature beckons you to run out the door into the full parking lot. At the doctor's office, nature invites you to make a break for it when the door opens. At home, nature entices you to sneak out the garage by opening a locked door, then quietly closing it and quickly opening the outside garage door. Yes, every time an opportunity to commune with the outdoors presents itself, you embrace it with open arms (and the fastest feet of any two year old I know).

But today, what I am most impressed with is the fact that when you say no, you mean it. At the table, I asked you to eat dinner and you said no. I said please, and you said no. I offered a bribe and you said no. I said that you would sit there until everyone was done, and you said no and dumped your entire plate of food on the floor. Yes, you know what you want and will not allow yourself to go against those convictions.

So, my dear Nicholas, it is with great motherly pride that I tell you -- keep being you! I can say with all honesty that you are one of a kind!!

Love, your frazzled mother

p.s. if we both make it to your third birthday, I will know that miracles really do happen!

2008-02-01T09:04:00.000-06:00

What is wrong with this picture?

Half the fun of living in Texas is being able to brag about the perfect winter temperatures.
24 degrees? 24 Degrees!!
All bragging rights are lost with today's temperature!

2008-01-28T09:15:00.000-06:00

A Great Man

I have many memories of President Hinckley. I had the privilege of being in the tabernacle when he was sustained as President of the Church. I camped out many, MANY times at BYU when he came to speak for a fireside or devotional. But perhaps one of the strongest memories I have of this great man was when he came to a regional conference in Alaska. It was almost 13 years ago, and he had been scheduled to come speak at our regional conference for some time. However, when he became the prophet, everyone said that they would send someone else to the conference -- no prophet had ever come to Alaska. But he came. I remember the minute he walked into the room, and instantly thousands of people became silent and stood. It was then that I knew Gordon B. Hinckley was a prophet of God.

One more memory -- Josh and his dad were able to go to the last dedication session for the San Antonio temple. Sam and Benjamin and I waited outside. We were the only people there for quite some time. It was beautiful and peaceful. About 10 minutes before the session was over, people started coming. And they started crowding. And before I knew it, we were behind a large mass of people. I found myself getting very angry. After all, we had been there for so long! I tried to get Sam to the front of the crowd because I really wanted him to see the prophet. But try as I might, I couldn't squeeze past the middle of the herd of people. I told him to stretch really hard and try to see, even though I knew it would be impossible. But someone turned around and said, "let the little boy through" (sounds like something you'd hear in a corny movie, but it's true!), and somehow Sam was right at the front. President Hinckley shook as many hands as possible as he made his way to the car. He saw little Sam standing by himself, stopped and patted him on the head, and then moved on. And I felt a powerful love for that man that he would take a moment to make my son feel like the most important person in the world. I will forever be grateful for that one small moment in time.

"Believe in yourselves. Believe in your capacity to do some good in this world. God sent us here for a purpose, and that was to improve the world in which we live. The wonderful thing is that we can do it." -President Gordon B. Hinckley

2008-01-25T10:12:00.000-06:00

Number Four

Question: How can you tell for sure that you are baby number 4?

Answer: You make a major milestone step going from this

to this for the first time

with no one watching.

And if that wasn't bad enough -- then you go back to this

and still no one is there! Poor Eliana!

How is it that she is already five and a half months old? Where have I been?

2008-01-23T13:39:00.001-06:00

Benjamin

(Not the best picture, but he was so uncooperative!)

Today Benjamin turns 6. I can't believe he is 6!! (That means that we've lived in Texas for 6 years.) In honor of Benjamin's birthday, here are six things I love about him.
1. He's the only one in our family with blonde hair.
2. He loves to use big words. When he was about 18 months old, we were in the grocery store and something scared him. He turned tome and said, "Oh, goodness, that startled me." Since then, he always wants to know the meaning of words and loves to use new words.
3. He is very kind and empathetic. He can't stand to see someone hurt. He loves everyone completely.
4. He's obsessed with gadgets. He loves anything electronic. And, he always has to have some small something in his hand.
5. He's shy, but at the same time, makes friends very easily.
6. He's got a talent for music. We used to play guess that tune with him when he was really small. And he got it every time. Now, he likes to sit at the piano and pick out a tune. Last night, he was playing the beginning of a song he didn't even know -- until I played it for him on the I-pod. He's got skills!

Happy Birthday Benjamin! We love you!