2.for.Tuesday

one: Nine Already? Cosmo Cricket has a new line out called Salt Air. It's pretty fun! Since *I* got a fish for his birthday I decided to use it to do a page about his birthday. Not that you can really tell it's about his birthday, but that's how I do things. That little ticket on the right is his party invite [we took a bunch of kids to see Rio at the dollar flick so it's a movie ticket - the template is in the box. You're welcome!] and of course, the fish. I made the line and the clips were extracted from a photo. And, yes, I'm obviously still the white paint lady. Maybe I will always be. I like it alot.

two: glitter. Thanks to my friend Cannwin.

ps. The Man doesn't think it really looks like glitter.  :(

pps. know where "cue the sparkle" comes from? I'll make you a customized sparkle element of your choice if you can guess right! After I wrote that *I* said I had to change the color of the glitter. He thought the green glitter was for him since it's his favorite color.

ppps. If necessary, I may limit the number of elements and do a random drawing to choose a few winners. I don't forsee that happening, but you never know.

Make It Do

I know, I know. I promised apricots. I will get to those, but first I want to talk about cake. Because we’ve been having a lot of cake around here lately. Birthday cake to be more specific. My mom was the queen of special cakes. I remember very distinctly some of the cakes she made + decorated: Beehives, Carebears + Barbies [the 3D kind], flashlight, spaceship, guitar, Mickey Mouse… etc. For the past 9 years I’ve been trying to be a cake queen as well. I just don’t have the patience for it. Admittedly my technique has greatly improved over the years and I feel like I could accomplish the task if I could only 1. Stop procrastinating and 2. Enjoy the process for longer than 5 minutes. This year I’ve come to terms with the fact that it’s just not me. Hallelujah!

Last week for the girls birthday I attempted multi-tasking the birthday cake. The end of the month came very quickly [again] and I needed projects to turn in + it was a last minute/throw together sort of party. Hence the birthday banner. Hence the store bought cake. It was the obvious solution. Surprisingly, I found myself actually enjoying the party. I haven’t really enjoyed a birthday party for… oh, I’d say nine years or so. Hmm.

[This number painting I did was 100% inspired by Katie Daisy]

This week we had another birthday. He’s nine. He’s indecisive. He’s 100% my child. Yesterday he said he wanted a Star Wars cake and I said, “Little late for that. How about I pick up a cake at the store and paint a fancy paper “9” to put on top of it?” Project approved. Nice.

Make it do. That’s what this is all about. I have these dreams of pretty. I have this need to put my hands in things. I was failing miserably. I was not enjoying. Today I have officially adopted two new habits/traditions:

1. Buy a cake at the store. My time is worth $15. My sanity is worth $15. Enjoying my child’s birthday? I can’t put a price on that. I wish I had realized this sooner. If you are a maker and feel like you have to put your hands in things, make something to put on it.

2. Have a pre-party photo shoot. I never would have thought of this on my own. It happened quite by accident. Last week I did it to get photos for the gallery. This week I did it for good light. This week I realized that it’s brilliance. I sat him down + forced him to sit through a photoshoot. He was goofy and sometimes infuriating, but we took lots of photos and got some really cute and fun ones. I was able to move things around. I was able to say, “how about you look at me instead of the floor?” We lit his candles + he blew them out just for me. I was able to get up in his face. I loved it. I took more photos at the party. They are fun, but my favorites are when I was teasing him about looking at the camera and he was making obnoxious faces at me. The cake looks pretty. The lighting is perfect. I wasn’t worried about the flow of the party. And I was able to do this because I wasn’t near tears in the kitchen trying to throw together a Star Wars cake. Happy Birthday indeed.

2.for.Tuesday

one: the 3rd grade man came home from school with Father + Mother Pilgrim yesterday. They were so cute I wanted to share. I even made a pattern for you all because I think they would make awesome name cards/place settings. The boy has gone to bed, but I'll have him pose with them tomorrow + get a photo up ASAP. The template is in the box. Please let me know if you use it!

two: I've got packaging on the brain these days. I love this. What a great gift tag.

He Said

The funniest thing this morning. And wouldn't you know, I forgot what it was. When he said it I thought, "I've got to write that down. He doesn't really say funny things on accident anymore." But then I thought, "Oh, I'll get to it in a minute. It was so funny that I'm not going to forget..."

Ladies, it's a big conspiracy. See, the older kids start to think that we're not so interested in them because we don't talk about the funny things they say. We don't take as many photos of them. etc. I don't remember the last time I did a scrapbook page about just *I*. I've noticed that the girl has top billing on this blog with a whopping 24 posts to her credit with Little Man #1 in second at 18 and sadly, Little Man #2 with a mere 12. I know it's not about keeping it even and the cute factor has some play [as does time spent at home], but... I know that Little Man #2 says and does and is as cute/funny as they come. And they all love to see themselves and read about themselves. Honestly, my kids can't get enough of the yearbooks we've done. They love them. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's important to jot down the stories. Because we'll forget. It's a given. And for my kids at least, it's the stories that really make them feel important. They are the stars of their own book. And I love that they love it.

The Girl Is Two

and I'm not really sure I'm ready for all of the growing up that's happening around here. Today she won't leave her diaper on. Actually, that's not just a today thing. She takes her clothes off quite a lot, but today she is taking her diaper off and putting her clothes back on. I've been trying to make sure she goes potty, but I made her put her diaper on again after I asked if she needed to go potty in the toilet and she said no then proceeded to pee on the floor. I've also had to put the kaibosh on her getting her own drink out of the sink because one doesn't need to stand in the sink to get a drink. The chair had to be moved. Next she wanted some dried apples so I put some in a bowl for her. According to her I didn't give her enough and not enough is apparently worse than none because she dumped them all on the floor and threw a fit. Thankfully the crying fit on the floor caused her to fall asleep. I think that might be a little terrible, but good grief! She is now on the couch taking a nap. I hope it's a long one. This is a page I made with a template from JS.com. Nice and easy. [As for the other birthday this month, I went to the scout store to buy his shirt + numbers + book + scarf he needs... $62 later I'm thinking something is wrong with that. And it's all stuff he needs. Really? That's just not right. Happy Birthday Buddy. I hope you like scout stuff.]

I Was Reminded of This

little incident today when Tollipop wrote about her similar experience. I realized that I didn't have this story down anywhere and will surely forget it if I don't. Here you go: Just last week *I* lost what is probably his last [or very close to it] baby tooth. He put it under his pillow and I told the man not to let me forget. Because I do. I forget. Well, I forget and the man forgot. *I* woke up in the morning to his tooth and nothing more. He was pretty cool about it, but he did mention that the toothfairy forgot to come again. I told him, "wow... we sure have a flakey toothfairy don't we." It's the second time it's happened. Last time, after the toothfairy forgot, he lost the tooth and that was that. This time I vowed not to let it happen again, so I put money under his pillow while he was at school even though his tooth wasn't there. That night when he found the money he confronted me with, "Mom, you're the toothfairy, aren't you." Hmm...

It Was Bound to Happen

eventually. I guess I should just be glad he has taken this long. *I* has his first crush [actually, I guess it's not his first crush. I found, "I love Hermione" written in the bottom of his shirt drawer a while back but that doesn't really count does it]. Now his little notebook says, "I love Kaitlin." I'll admit, it's pretty cute. I've really chosen just to pretend that I don't know. Even though he knows I do.

2.for.Tuesday

Hi, my name is Mandi and I am addicted to sugar. It's sadly so true. A couple of months ago I bought some fun cookie fillers like mini Reese's Pieces, Kraft carmel bits, etc. I was going to try out fun and exciting cookies recipes. But that requires effort. It's so much easier to just eat the fillers... one: making books. something very similar to this cereal box journal. *I* wants to write the 8th Harry Potter book. It's called Harry Potter and the Serpents of Death. He ripped a bunch of pages out of a notebook, folded them in half, and proceeded to bug me until I threaded the sewing machine and sewed up the spine. Very quick + very easy. Or... easy peasy nice and cheesy as he likes to say. two: had an epiphany. I am going to ask the man if it's okay to hang pegs around the boys room. Then I'm going to make these toy bags. Then I'm not going to care what they stuff into them as long as the stuff isn't on the floor. This will solve many problems in our house. Coats on the stairs. Back packs on the front steps. Toys stuffed under the dresser. And yet, even as I write this I know it won't work because the stuff isn't in their room, it's on the stairs and the front steps most of the time. I need a solution. In the meantime, these bags are very cute and I think it would be so super fun to design your own fabric. Enjoy the Journey!

I Think I Might Be Damaging My Children

[She said as she watched her oldest son put a grasshopper in a bag and bash it with his fist a few times]. And just an hour ago I paid him $.10 for every snail he gathered up in the garden. After I counted them I told him to bash the bag on the sidewalk and then put it in the trash. He also gets paid $.10 for every dead grasshopper. Just in case you were wondering. Stinking things eat the plants. The can live in someone else's yard if they want to live.

2.for.Tuesday

I am considering this the first official day of summer since the weekend doesn't count and the holiday is, well... a holiday. Today was the first day *I* should have been in school but he wasn't because it's summer. Craziness. It's summer.

This is a photo of his last day of school. The large poster he is holding is his life sized emu he wanted to make. Did you know emu was pronounced ee-myou?

Because it's summer I'm going to ignore the backlog of great ideas I have to share with you and share some of my own [and there will be more than two this time]. I'm going to attempt keeping my kids mentally engaged this summer while still keeping it fun. I know you're laughing and thinking "good luck with that one..." But hey, I can dream right? And besides, they're still young...

One: summer book club idea/photo from BH&G magazine. I first read this article a few years ago and now that *I* is turning into a voracious reader I think he'll really enjoy it. After a little search I've discovered a few different lists for kids book clubs. Oprah's and Great School's + the article link also give suggestiong for choosing books. I'm sure there are even more out there...

I talked to him today about the idea and he loved it. He already has his friends list and knows which book he wants to start with. He wants to read Fablehaven but I just checked library availablility and though there are 20 copies there are also 12 requests. I'll check back on that and encourage him to choose another book. Maybe something like Peter and the Starchatchers. Except the library only has 2 copies of that one. Hmmm... Sorry, I will stop boring you with my search of books to read...

Two: what I did this summer books. I'm having him/them journal write and he chose Mon/Fri to write. I'm making a conscious effort to make sure they get all of their pegs done before they can play and *B* wants to have them help buy their school clothes with the money they earn from that [the photo above is of the peg charts I made last year]. I'm planning on going on official outings once a week [don't think this will be anything huge. Probably just a trip to the splash park or something like that]. I will let him use my camera to take some pictures and I will take some pictures and he will write about it in his journal. We will also be making projects like embroidering pictures they draw [since he wants to learn to sew and I told him he has to learn to handle a needle + thread before he can use my sewing machine] and we will be traveling the world. He insists that his class went to Australia the last day of school and he loved it. The whole last week they learned things about Australia and wrote a report about something they liked that was unique to the country/surrounding area. We discussed it and he would like to visit one country every two weeks. I'm cool with that. I think it will be fun. We'll read and cook and search the net and in the end he will think he's traveled the world. Love it! In the end we will make a book at Blurb and he will be able to remember what he did this summer. He loves the idea.

So, these things paired with lots of roaming the neighborhood + playing with friends + our standard camping/fishing trips + growing/eating our garden fare = one pretty eventful summer. Hopefully we'll be able to spend some time swimming too. It would be a tragedy if my kids didn't learn to swim.

enjoy the journey!

#2 [cheap thrills]

Today I picked up a few things I hope to finish soon so I can share them as cheap thrills because I am very much excited about them. I only ended up making it to the D.I. the girl isn't the greatest shopper in the world. Oh well. I did find a few things to work on...

As I was grocery shopping the other day [something I never do anymore by the way... it is *B's* assignment now] I got a little lost + overwhelmed in the store and ended up wandering the aisles thinking, "am I missing something?" I felt like I had to see everything to make sure I got what we needed. While I was picking up some Chow Mein [I know... gross! It is a cheap + easy meal and we keep it on hand] I noticed the fortune cookies there. I have been trying to make things more special and, honestly, what needs to be spiffed up more than Chow Mein?

We ate it Thursday night and the boys loved that the cookies had fortunes. At first they didn't quite get it, but later *I* started asking more questions and now he his waiting [not so patiently] for this to happen: "happy news is on it's way to you." He asked yesterday morning, "any happy news for me?" and again this afternoon when they got home, ""any happy news yet?" I keep giving him happy news, but it's not what he's looking for. I'm not sure what he expects...

*B's* rough times are behind him.

*A* has many unexpected and thrilling surprises in store for him.

and I will be called in to fulfill a position of high honour and responsibility [oh yay. I'm really looking forward to finding out what that one could be...].

So, I've always known that I love fortune cookies. I get a huge kick out of them and when *B* stuck my engagement ring inside of one that said [and he promises he didn't even look at the fortune... it just happened to be the one that didn't break apart when he wedged the ring in]: "you and your spouse will be very happy together." It just tied my infatuation up into a neat little package.

Yeah, I like fortune cookies + now my kids do too.

enjoy the journey!

It's Been Said

That I'm terrible at blogging. I know. It's true and I apologize for my lack of sharing truly worthwhile posts. I will give you an update on my little family starting with #1, Mr. I: He just lost his 3rd tooth on Saturday night. It was turned sideways in his mouth and said it hurt but he wouldn't let us pull it out. I had some anbesol for older kids (*B* brought home the wrong stuff) so we numbed it and then pulled it out. He was so proud and wanted me to take a photo. I could only get him to give me that cheesy big smile that all kids do when they're getting their photo taken so I had him yell, "I lost my tooth!" hoping to get a genuine smile after the yell. He got a real kick out of that and I had fun hollering back, "you what?" and "I can't hear you!" trying to get him to giggle. The photo above is him, mid yell. Later, while supposedly going to sleep, he was asking all kinds of questions about the tooth fairy... him: "Is the tooth fairy tiny?" me: "well... she can't be too tiny or she wouldn't be able to carry teeth." him: "Is she humongous?" me: "well... she can't be too humongous or she wouldn't fit into houses." him: "So she must be just medium like us." him: "Mom, are you the tooth fairy?" I just keep rocking the girl and smile. This kid is trouble. School is almost out and it's a good thing too. I am not functioning well enough to handle him and school. He's so stinking smart and way too much like me (stubborn, flighty, irrational, and infuriatingly logical when it suits his purposes). This morning after I told him 5+ times to get his shoes and socks on + it was now 9:00 and he had 5 min. before the late bell rang + his shoes were MIA + I wanted to beat the snots out of him = I tell him to wear his church shoes + he puts on the red wellingtons from the superman costume 2 halloweens ago and rides his little brother's bike to school. This kid grows like a weed and there is no possible way those boots still fit him. Of all the stinking stubborn last minute... argh! He's been late pretty much ever day for the last few months... sometimes 20 mins late! He has a sub right now because his teacher had a baby. She probably thinks I'm the worst mom in the world. I'm not the worst... just the most flakey. At school they have spelling tests every Friday and last Monday he brought home two tests. The test + a make-up test. 30% and 50%. Excuse me? Absolutely unacceptable from him. If he was a child who struggled and actually got those scores by trying I would be happy about it. He isn't that child. We had a chat about how that wasn't acceptable and this week, after having done nothing different and with (in my humble opinion) harder words he brings home 100% and 100% on a math test that didn't have anything to do with any of his homework and he didn't do the drawings that would help him figure out the answers. He just wrote down the answer. How did he know that 3 would go into 12 four times? So, smart or not, I'm wondering if he cheated. He's never brought home anything that indicated they were starting division in any way shape or form. Yet he know the answers. And this all sounds so negative, but really, I am proud of him. He loves to read and he really is smart and insightful. I read The Peacegiver a couple of years ago and it talks about identifying types of Christ in the scriptures. During scripture study the other night he made a comparison I had never thought of before and basically identified Ammon, the missionary, as a type of Christ. I was thinking, "of course! why didn't I notice that before?" So, one minute I think he is amazing and the next I want to beat him for doing sommersaults over the arm of the couch. Good grief. He is currently fixated on buying a fish + saving up to buy his own scriptures. Enjoy the Journey! ps. I didn't intend for this to be such a long post and I meant to update about all the kids, but I guess *I* has my number today. I'll get you caught up on everyone throughout the week. Promise! I just put up the girl's fence for the porch so she can play in the sun for a little while and *I's* shoes are on the steps. Figures.

2.for.Tuesday

I've really been enjoying music lately. I get tired of quiet [not that it's ever very quiet, but I want to get out of my head]. I want to dance around and sing. But... I'm lacking music in my house. Our radio stations are, for the most part, junk. I'm anti-buying albums for just one [or two if you're lucky] song. I don't have an mp3 player or anything else technologically savvy like that. Heck... since my boys destroyed my stereo I don't even have a cd player except the computer drive. It's pathetic. However... I've found that there are some really great playlists out there. So I pull them up and clean my kitchen. I pull them up and blog. I pull them up and cook. Good thing the computer is portable.

one: Elizabeth Kartchner's playlist. It's the one I've been listening to most. I recommend skipping 3 +4 + 6 + 7, but other than that the first 20 are pretty great. And there isn't anything wrong with those songs. They're nice too. Just not what I'm looking for right now. There are others farther along in the list but it's a big list and, well... my opinion really doesn't matter that much! The greatest things this week have been: the girl dancing like babies do, and *I* bopping around the house singing, "I want my money back! I want my money back!" It's from #14: The Show by Lenka. He's so funny!

two: Apple Picking Tote from Purl Bee. A couple of weeks ago I picked up a 1/4 yard of fabric at a cute quilting shop in Cedar just because it made me happy. It's been sitting on my counter waiting for me to come up with something to do with it. Well... It's almost summer. We're spending more time out and about. park + lake + mountains = yay for new bag! If you didn't already know, I'm a total bag lady. I can't help myself and it drives *B* bonkers. I never know which bag I left my stuff in. He has hidden most of them from me...

FYI: I know I promised a tutorial by me of really great pirate stuff and I'm all over it. I just can't decide if I should do it in photo or video. I've taken photos and I'll get them put together and see if it's enough or if it would make more sense as a full on walk through. Any votes?

Well, I'm off to get my fabric pre-washed + try to get the laundry folded while it's going so that I can make a bag today [that there above is a swatch of the fabric + the bright yellow duck cloth that's left over from the teepee I think they are perfect for a cute bag]! Really working on being a productive member of society...

Enjoy the Journey!

Checking In...

Hello there! Yes, we're still alive. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. I had a root canal a week ago and my mouth just felt wrong. I went to the dentist again yesterday and he drilled off quite a bit of my tooth and now I feel much better (although it's possible that way too much of my tooth is missing. at least it doesn't hurt!). After we got back into town I talked*B* into going to Lowe's to look for a paint color to paint this dresser/hutch thing we got for the girl's clothes. She started howling and just wouldn't stop. I haven't really been in the car with her that it didn't calm her down. I had a flashback of when *I* was a baby and I would go eat with *B* at work (he was working swing then). I went just to get out of the house and give someone else a chance to hold the little man. He would scream at me all afternoon. The girl is the same way. We had to leave the store. On the way home *B* was gripping the steering wheel and I could tell he was totally agitated. We couldn't get home fast enough. Exactly what it was like with *I*. Does this mean she'll be a punishment for my childhood too? I don't think it's fair if I get punished for all of my brothers and sisters! Paybacks stink. Enjoy the Journey! P.S. Remember the list? I'll be checking in on that sometime soon. I've been doing a few things.

The Winner?

I still didn't love any of those ones. I had to play with it more. I love b/w photos and think I tend to use them way too much so I wanted to stay with the color but I also didn't love the color block. This is what I came up with (Erin gave me a good photoshop tip to get the photo lighter): I had also planned to put this as a two page spread in a 11 x 8.5 mypublisher book, but now I'm thinking that I will do the paper back option and it's measures 7.75 x 5.75... it's lots cheaper and I will be able to give it to the little guys and not have to worry if they trash the thing. I can always get a new one and it won't break the bank to do it.

One more thing... I thought that you could click on the page to see it larger and be able to read the journaling, but I've since realized that isn't true. So, here it is (sorry about the bullets. Somehow I've gotten into double spacing if I hit enter so I had to use the bullets to keep it all together):

• made a coloring book
• designed and built
• very cool paper airplane
• created a menu of
• things you can cook
• and opened the
• “yummy:food:restaurant”
• wrestled with Ammon
• bent the paper airplane
• came unglued and
• destroyed paper airplane
• proceeded to recreate
• said paper airplane
• played in the sink until chased
• from the bathroom
• played outside
• played t-ball

It was a very eventful day and he was totally cracking me up the whole time. Please note the way "yummy:food:restaurant" is written. He has trouble remembering to leave space between his words and has started to put the colon's there instead. I think it is very cute.

Enjoy the Journey!

What I Did This Summer

I'm thinking about doing a book about summer for *I* and probably one for *A* too. Here is a sample page:

I'm not sure how much I love the orange. I think I do like the layout though and that's a huge step for me. I'm also not sure if I'll leave the picture in color or change it to b/w:

and here's a full-bleed option:

Anyway, this was basically our day. I may have to add some stuff to the list (since the day isn't quite over) but I wanted to give it a go. What is your vote? Enjoy the Journey

Twins?

So, my dear, sweet, say-whatever-comes-into-your-mind neighbor Lill asked me... "are you sure you're not having twins?" Yep, we're positive. There is only one baby in there. "Are you sure?" Yes! "I just don't know how you're going to last until July." Wow. What can I say to that? *B* had a great response approx. 6 hours later... "Oh, come on now Lill... I'm not any bigger than you are." I know, it's not very nice, but it sure cracked me up! Have I ever told you how much I love grilled cheese & tomato sandwiches? It's been a while. I LOVE THEM! I didn't think of it until it was gone, but I should have taken a picture. I seriously love them. *I* is stuck in his room for 3 hours today. He climbed into the cupboard to help himself to things that aren't his again. Nothing major, but *B* figured we should nip it in the bud now. He's right. Poor little buddy. Yesterday he was riding his "scooter" that the neighbor boy showed him how to convert into a skateboard. I had asked him not to ride it standing up until we got him a helmet/wrist guards etc. but riding on his knees got a little boring and he has been experimenting. Last night our neighbor girl asked him to race. He hit a rock and biffed it. He hit his eye and his nose and his mouth. I think he might have damaged two of his teeth. I'm really hoping he didn't (even though they're still his baby teeth). *A* has been packing around a little plastic doll I got to potty-teach a little a girl I was babysitting a few years ago (idea from Dr.Phil). So, it's his baby. Her name is Lisa and he takes her places. Tuesday he took her to *I's* soccer game and tossed her all around. Tuesday night she was nowhere to be found when it came time for bed. Today she was found. Hallelujah. Enjoy the Journey.

It Just Doesn't Work

It just doesn't work to be a mom and to be sick. I've been fighting this... yuck... for approx. two weeks now and it finally hit me hard on friday. I spent Saturday and Sunday in bed (sort of). On Saturday I "thought" the boys were playing outside (they had asked to take Bully, a stuffed dog they have become obsessed with lately, for a walk). The phone rang. It was our neighbor... "Sister Miles, I just saw your boys walking down 100 South headed toward 400 East." Wow, that's like three blocks away! I hurried and threw on something more appropriate than a robe and hopped into the blazer to get them. Just as I was about to pull out a memeber of our bishopric pulled up with my two little wanderers. Thank you! As I quizzed the little men about what they were doing it made perfect sense... They were looking for their dad. Well, there you go. How about you wander the entire city looking for your dad when all you had to do was come into my room and say, "Mom, where did Dad go?" I could have easily told them he was at Lowe's to get some trim to finish trimming out the inside of our doors and also to pick up some beet and spinach seeds for our little garden and avoided the whole situation. But that would be too easy! On Sunday we had our FHE about the parable of the talents and tried to liken it to our situation at hand (little wandering men... did I tell you they went to the park alone a couple of weeks ago?). The first guy had five rings (representing how far he could wander from home) around him because he was older and had been given "according to his several abilities". The second guy only had two and the third guy only had one. In our story the 2nd and the third guys both lost their rings because they showed they weren't responsible enough to go anywhere and that's why they are now doomed to remain inside the fence until next week when we can have another reckoning. If they blow it again they will have to remain inside the house. Yes, I will love that. It will be so easy! Enjoy the Journey

Hello Again!

Hi! It's been a while. I've not been feeling the greatest. I hope you all had Happy Valentine's. I went to the school and helped in little man #1's class... they passed out Valentine's and had a little sugar rush party. This one game really had them all going. They had 30 seconds to stack as many conversation hearts as high as they could. The little man was doing great but he'd always push for just one more and the tower would topple. After a few rounds he was so frustrated. I felt so bad for him. He's way too much like me. Too perfectionistic or whatever. We just need to learn to leave well enough alone. *B* had school on the 14th so we celebrated on the 15th. He took me out to Texas Roadhouse and then we went and saw 27 Dresses it was a cute movie. We both really liked it. I had to laugh though, because I kept having to fight the tears... it's these stinking pregnancy hormones... the poor girl just got stepped on way too much. Today a lady knocked on my door and said that my boys were naked and that she completely understands since she has boys of her own... she was just worried about perverts. Yeah, me too. I swear... who told my boys they don't have to wear clothes if there is water around? They had stripped down (and the neighbors 4 year old grandson too) and were playing in the irrigation water running down the gutter. I honestly didn't think it was warm enough for that yet, but there they were. I wasn't up to fighting with them so I got their swimsuits for them. No more naked! The next time I looked out they were covered in mud. I just can't win! A special prize for all you readers from Redbox... free DVD rental. If you haven't tried the redbox you should. Can't beat $1 movies. All you have to do to get the free rental is type in the code: DVDONME when you check out. You'll still have to swipe a credit card just for identification purposes (and so they can charge you a dollar if you keep it longer than 1 day) but hey... free movie. We just watched No Reservations last night. We both really enjoyed that one too. I love that you can now rent the movies on-line then just go swipe your card and pick them up. No more having to scroll through the movies to see what's there and what isn't (sadly, the free codes don't work with on-line rentals). We really like movies at our house. Lastly, I just uploaded more [365] photos. My photos are totally lacking in creativity and... something. Oh well, at least they're there.

Day Ten... Family Gifts

After FHE we decided that it would be a nice activity to get our family gift shopping done. We took a little trip to Target and divided up into teams. I took the boys first and railroaded guided them into an acceptable gift for Dad. Then, while Daddy took the two little men to shop for me, I wandered and found the gift LM#2 is requesting from the Jolly Old Elf (Ha ha... maybe we should start calling him Joe!). Then we divided into teams... LM#2 and I were really fast. I knew what big brother wanted and again railroaded guided the little man into a wise choice. Daddy didn't have so much luck. Big brother knows way too much what he wanted so of course little brother wanted it too. Poor Daddy got a huge dose of Little Man #1 on this trip. While they were shopping for me it was the same story. Too many things that he wanted. There was a pair of Transformer sunglasses... "Dad, how much is this?" "look on it... what does it say?" "$5.99" "So, it's six bucks plus tax." "Do you have that?" "You're not getting the glasses." "Fine, Mom's got money." "Isaac, you're not getting the glasses." "I'll tell you what Dad, you get me these glasses and I'll give you seven dollars when we get home." "You're not getting the glasses." "Fine then. I'll give you two dollars... that's it." Stinkin' kid thinks everything is a negotiation. Enjoying the Journey.