"no honey"

...that's what I was told tonight by my 2 year old! Blaine has a little Fisher Price ride-on bus and he will get on and wave to me as he says "bye, mom!" My response is always (even as recent as this afternoon) "bye, honey." Well apparently within the last few hours Blaine has gotten too big to be called "honey." Tonight as he was driving away he told me bye and when I said "bye honey" he quickly and firmly corrected me. He told me "bye Blaine, no bye honey." I asked him what was wrong with honey and he said "Blaine, no honey." I got a good laugh because he was just so serious about it.
Oh kids, you just never know...

This obviously isn't a recent picture of Blaine but I don't have any current ones showing him on the bus. This was soon after he turned 1 (a year and a half ago!!) Since Britton came along Blaine's bus time has been limited.

"L"

Okay, here's a fun game little letter game you should play...
If you want to play, leave a comment on this post letting me know, and I'll assign you a letter. You post ten things you love that begin with your assigned letter. When people comment on your list, you give them a letter, and the chain continues on and on. My friend that I have known for years and years and years, Felicia, assigned me the letter L. It was not easy but I eventually came up with 10, some more lame than others. It was fun though and I would love for some of you to play along!

1. Love from my boys... That is my top "love" and something I will NEVER turn down, no matter what is going on. They are my little sweethearts!

2. Laptop. I love having a laptop; it's so handy and can be taken anywhere.

3. Lazy Days... I don't get many times to just be lazy so I cherish the times that I can be and try to block out constant mental checklists of chores that need to be done while I am "wasting time."

4. Lizards. Totally random but I am fascinated by them and they are something I have always wanted, even before I had boys and was girly. Ryan said absolutely no way will we ever own a live reptile. I think I want one more than Brandon. Perhaps someday...

5. Law and Order: SVU. I am so addicted to this show. I watch it on all the channels that it's on (and there are several) and record it if I won't be home. It's not uncommon for there to be 7-8 episodes on the TIVO that I need to watch.

6. Laughing... When the subject of laughing comes up, it never fails, I always think of the song in Mary Poppins... "I love to laugh...loud and long and clear..." There is nothing better, besides love from my boys, than a really good laugh. My sons and husband can always make me laugh and it turns into a silly time with us all laughing so hard.

7. Listening to music. I love listening to music, all different types (country, rock, pop, Christian, rap, pretty much anything but techno), depending on my mood.

8. Letters from loved ones. Receiving them in the mail is my favorite but email is great too! I still keep in touch with my 4th grade teacher and I get so excited about her long (handwritten) letters! They are so heartwarming.

9. Lotion... I love lotion and not just the scented kind. I hate for my hands to look or feel scaly and even the thought of it will prompt me to buy the "latest and greatest" lotion out there, only to discover that it's usually like water and doesn't work. I have A LOT of lotion.

10. Looking around on eBay. I really enjoy browsing for good bargains on all sorts of products!

UN-invited guest

This morning when I walked into the nursery to get the boys I found this...

Blaine decided to "join" Britton in the crib. I'm not sure if he slept there all night or just climbed in this morning. Either way, Britton was not welcoming toward his guest and wanted out even quicker than usual. We have told Blaine that he is not to get in the crib anymore but we'll begin peeking in on them each night before going to bed.

riding in the wind

Ryan and I bought mens and womens Trek bikes this past week so that we can all ride together as a family! We LOVE them and have had a great time over the past few days! We bought a bike trailer for Blaine and Britton to ride in so we can all ride at the same time. Brandon is so excited that he doesn't have to ride solo anymore but the two younger boys aren't quite as thrilled yet with riding along in the trailer but as long as we don't stop too often for too long then they do pretty well.

Britton trying to escape the bike trailer...

Ryan on his new Trek bike and Britton along for the ride!

Brandon and Ryan pulling the two younger boys...

Britton and Blaine in the trailer

me on my new bike and Brandon riding the trail!

me and Ryan after a quick 2 mile ride before supper

jumpin' for heart

Brandon participated in Jump Rope for Heart at his school Friday. He was so excited about it and very thankful for his grandparents donating money for him to get some "cool stuff." I couldn't make it but his dad did (which I think he was more excited about rather than ol' mom) and took some pictures of him. (Thank you Ryan!!) They didn't just jump rope the entire time, the P.E. teacher had different stations, involving jump ropes, for them to do.

Limbo with a jump rope...

attempting the jump rope...

the kids took turns swinging this around close to the ground for classmates to jump over...

Brandon's turn at jumping...

sunshiny days!

I mentioned to the boys that we were going to go outside so Britton brought me these cheap (and broken) shades. He knew they would come in handy with the sunshine!

We went outside today, after battling colds for the last several days, and enjoyed fresh air and sunshine!! It was great and we all had a great time! Britton STILL is NOT walking, no interest on his part whatsoever, so he is limited to the swing and crawling on the trampoline, since he doesn't like the feel of the dead grass on his hands. Blaine was all over the place...he isn't a big fan of swings so he jumped, drove his car, pulled his wagon and played in the clubhouse. Brandon was playing some pretend games and occasionally helped his little brothers out.

Blaine getting grass off his hands. He doesn't mind getting his feet, clothes, face dirty, anything but his hands. All play stops when he gets something on his hands, until they are clean.

I had to help Blaine with something so Brandon volunteered to take over pushing Britton in the swing!

Blaine is obsessed with this soccer ball. He had to have it, and only it, in the red wagon as traveled around the backyard.

Blaine is a master at the climbing wall, it's now his favorite thing!

YAY!! He made it to the top!

happy days?

Today was a rough day for Britton. He is teething and also battling a cold so he just doesn't feel good and in turn cried, or better yet, screamed A LOT! It took all Blaine and I had to listen to it all day. I resorted to crying off and on while Blaine, the more rational one, sang to drown his little bro out. It's after days like these that I like to look at pictures of happy Britton to remind me that, despite the many cranky days he does have, when he chooses to cry because he isn't being held or Blaine is regaining control of his own sippy cup from Britton the clepto, his little smile with dimples can light up a room and melt my heart.

This picture of Blaine cracks me up. It was taken on a fussy day of Britton's. I had said out loud that it was Britton's naptime. I guess Blaine was more than ready for his little brother to lay down because when I went to go lay Britton down I found Blaine in the hallway, outside of their bedroom with his blanket and sleeping bag (reading my magazine.) He got his stuff out of there ASAP so Britton could lay down. Blaine, ever the giver!

100

Last Wednesday was Brandon's 100th day of school!! The kids were supposed to wear 100 of something, a necklace with 100 objects on it or 100 items on their shirt. Brandon said necklaces were for girls so he opted for the latter option. I had some sports ball stickers so he put 100 tennis, bowling, baseball, football, basketball and volleyball stickers on his shirt. They had all sorts of activites and snacks to celebrate the day!

It was a little early, I don't think he was quite awake yet. poor guy.

randomness

I was tagged over a week ago to list 25 random things about myself. I finally completed my list and I must say that I feel pretty boring.

1. I am an only child and made a promise to myself that I would have more than one child. I wanted a big family!

2. I suffer from severe dry eye and cannot sit under a ceiling fan or any type of air vent without feeling the urge to rub my eyes out.

3. I worry constantly that something is going to happen to my kids, no matter who they are with.

4. I worry a lot about things in which I cannot control, which probably explains why I found my first grey hair at 21.

5. I don't really feel comfortable with the "I's"; it's been a draft for several days because I had difficulty coming up with 25.

6. I record Young and the Restless everyday; I have watched it since I was in middle school.

7. I actually like to camp, thanks to my husband. It is so relaxing and we eat better camping out then at home some nights.

8. I have always (and still do) dream of being a nurse.

9. I have a degree in communications and do talk a lot but I've never had an actual job in the field.

10. I collect cookbooks and love to cook but find myself making the same ol things.

11.I have an addiction to Diet Coke and know that I need to cut back.

12. I would love to be in Survivor and feel the urge to apply after every season but I would never leave my family for that long.

13. I enjoy reading and read a wide variety from biographies to murder mysteries to fluff to Christian living and fiction.

14. Girl Scout cookies are my guilty pleasure. I always buy A LOT! They're one thing I look forward to with each coming new year. I always buy a lot of thin mints and stash some. I even had to call my girl scout cookie "dealer" for more the other day. I'll probably place a third order before the month is over that will hold me over til maybe April!

15. My mom still has the same cat that I received as a gift in first grade for going the second semester without talking in class. The cat is 21 years old and you wouldn't know it by looking at her. Ryan is conveniently "allergic" to cats or she would live with us.

16. I have an enormous fear of horses. Every time I have been on one (3 times in total) something awful has happened, the last time my head was busted open. No one could pay me enough to get back on one.

17. Even though I have three sons, two of which are toddlers, the toys all over the house drive me crazy! I hate looking like we own a daycare.

18. I could live on Mexican food and pizza but then would definitely need to get another treadmill since we sold ours.

19. I have a veggie garden each summer with 9 veggies planted but all I really care about is the okra and squash. I still use the other produce but Ryan tends to them.

20. I don't like milk. For cereal I will pour a little milk in first and the put cereal on top. I drain the spoon against the side of the bowl to get any excess milk off.

21.When I hear people bite or clip their nails, it sends chills down my spine. Ryan has to go to the other room.

22. I've never broken a bone, only sprained both ankles many times, thanks to cheerleading. I had my first and only set of stitches at the age of 27 last year when I almost cut my finger off cutting potatoes for dinner while camping.

23. People who do not use manners (please, thank you, excuse me, even neglecting to write thank you notes) really irritate me.

24. Because I wear flip-flops practically year round and love being bare foot, my toe nails are always painted.

25. As a young girl I wanted a Barbie Dream House and Barbie ride-in jeep so bad. I still bring it up to my mom and give her a hard time. It's all in fun now of course.

horse play!

We have something almost every night of the week...cub scouts, church twice a week, Ryan teaching his college night course, then him having to work late often and me working every other weekend Friday-Monday nights. There was nothing on the agenda for tonight so for supper I made a family favorite, homemade sausage and Canadian bacon pizza, and then we just chilled... well actually goofed off and had a blast!

big bro Brandon doubles as Blaine's horsey!

uh oh, horsey fall down...

Blaine and his pinwheel that he got when BRANDON went to the dentist today. He loves this thing and he is so cute when he blows on it!

"all he wants for Christmas is his..." never mind, he wants those front 2 teeth now! The mom in me is sad that not only is he growing up waaayyy too quickly but until he has those 2 teeth again, pictures will never be the same! He's never been more eager to show those nonexistent teeth until he lost them!

Britton hasn't been feeling so hot so he mostly just hung out at my lap during the craziness. It was definitely safer for him!