Sleeping amongst the...candy

I do believe...........







........that our evening of trick-or-treating........

......was a huge success!

Yep, It's official, our craziness is rubbing off on our kids!

For those of you who know me well, you will be SHOCKED to hear that I forgot Nathan's lunch box at home in the fridge for Kid's Day Out on Wednesday morning. So, rather than going all the way home (again), I ran by Target to grab him a Bologna and Cheese Lunchable. Said lunchable is a favorite of my five year old Nick.. and since he was with me for this excursion (and because he begged and pleaded), I got him a box as well.

On the way back to Nathan's school, while sitting in the backseat of the car, Nick proceeded to have a conversation with his beloved Lunchable Box....(insert expression of huh? here....)....I think he was just so excited that I bought it for him that he decided he better make sure it was real. After telling the box about his morning, how he slept last night, what he was going to do that day, introducing the box to his baby brother, and giving the box a couple of smooches, he must have gotten angry at the box for being unresponsive, because he said something to the lunchable that I didn't approve of.

OK, so here is our conversation:

Me: Nick that is not a nice thing to say, please don't say those words any more.

Nick: I'm only saying it to the Lunchable, it won't tell anybody.

Me: I know the Lunchable can't talk or tell on you, but it isn't good to get in the habit of saying those words because you might say it somewhere that it is inappropriate. Why don't we practice kind words instead. (At this point I'm thinking...how did my life get to the point that I am discussing what to say or not to say to a Lunchable Box)

Nick: Well Mom, you are in the habit of saying some bad stuff too! Maybe you should practice not saying those things.....

Me: (nervously) Oh ya, Nick what bad thing do I say?....

Nick: Well mom, you ALWAYS say,"Go to time out, Mister!" You really need to practice not saying that one and try using kind words.

Me: (Thinking: Phew! dodged that bullet!), but then I of course I carried on for several minutes with a lecture on talking back, and bad words, etc etc..and then ended with this brilliant comeback to my five year old..... Nicholas, I will get out of the habit of saying those words when you get out of the habit of doing things that would cause me to say them! (HA got you, ya little Kindergartner!) I think I may have lost him at some point during this lecture because he went back to talking to his box and missed my whole brilliant closing statement.

So...I suppose you want a moral to this story???
Don't forget your three year olds lunch and you won't have to buy your five year old a lunchable!

If only I could be more like them

Wonder becomes possible when children can risk being themselves without there being any risk at all. If only I could shelter my children from the risk, from the fear, from the world around them..........

I just love this picture of Nathan...it encapsulates how my children see the world..new, fresh, and beautiful. They have such an incredible sense of wonder..such awesome imaginations. If only I could be more like my children.

I strive to be the kind of mother who models interest and attraction to the world around me. I strive to be spontaneous and look for the joy in little things. I strive to be more like my children...full of curiosity and excitement, while never ceasing an opportunity because of embarrassment or apprehension.

My whole life I avoided situations because I was afraid, nervous that I would embarrass myself. I have missed out on so many things in my life because of fear. As Alex is getting older and the world requires him to conform, I see little glimpses of fear cropping up in him. He is growing more and more nervous about trying new things.

The day Alex was born and I looked into his beautiful little innocent face; a face that knew nothing of fear, embarrassment, hate, or pain; I knew that I didn't want my children to live their lives with trepidation. I vowed on that day to be an example to my children; Strong and full of confidence, a woman that walked into a new situation with no anxiety. I pray, that with the Lords' help, I can be the example of strength and confidence I want to be. I pray my children will never lose their clear-eyed vision, their innocent instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, and will enter each new adventure with sureness and fortitude. As I watch Alex show those glimpses of fear, I have renewed this vow to my children. .....I will start each new day with a refreshed confidence, as a strong and courageous woman and an example to my boys.

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Isiah 41:10

Thankful Thursday!

It is amazing how fast the week goes! Seems like I just did this..... I am always so amazed how many things I am able to be thankful for...thanks be to God!

** I am thankful that my dad was able to take Nick on his pumpkin patch field trip today! Nick was SOOOO excited and proud that his Papa was going with him.

** I am going to be thankful in advance (wishful thinking) that Alex stops throwing up before noon today!...and on that note of positive thinking...... since I am a little queasy, I am thankful that it is only in my mind and that I WILL NOT throw up....i hate throwing up...!!!

** I am thankful that the Sooners had another victory this week and that I got to watch the game with my brother, SIL, and niece and nephew.

** I am thankful I was able to go with a new friend to The Women's Ministry Fall Forum at church on Saturday to see Kathy Law. Kathy is a Christian comedian who is incredibly inspiring and hilarious at the same time. She has inspired me to look at prayer in a new way!

** I am thankful for the warm weather...mid 70's in October! Sorry to my friends in Nebraska....but I am giddy with joy to be looking forward to an Okie winter instead of a Nebraska one!

** I am thankful for my friends...old and new...they illuminate my life with unceasing love and joy.

** I am thankful for my brothers... each so unique and amazing.

** I am thankful for my mom who is bone tired from purposing her life to help disabled children, but still finds the energy to spend every waking moment completely dedicated to her husband, children, and grandchildren....rarely missing a single event in any of their lives...including the little ones!

* I am thankful for my husband for being whole-heartedly committed to his family.

** I am thankful that the Lord led me to MckMama's blog because yesterday when her little boy was born ALIVE and with few problems I got to witness a modern day miracle!

****Lord, I am thankful for the joy I receive as I walk hand and hand with You each day.
I am thankful for Jesus, our matchless Savior and for the forgiveness of my sins by His blood.

10 Things You Might Not Know About Me

#10 I am addicted to "The Biggest Loser." I don't even mind when they cry...and sometimes I actually cry along with them..YUCK

#9 I hate to wear socks with my tennis shoes. Partly because I am too lazy to put on socks...OK OK completely because I am too lazy to put on socks....(I know that is some serious laziness)

#8 I could live on rice krispy treats, jellybeans, and diet Dr. Pepper.

#7 I am the biggest procrastinator you will ever meet. I generally cannot get anything done unless I am under a time crunch.

#6 I secretly would like to take some photography classes and then open my own photography and scrapbooking business.

#5 Because of the movie "Poltergeist", I still cannot go to bed with any closets open. I have to check my boy's bedroom closets to make sure they are closed before I can go to bed.

#4 I have broken my toe, my leg, my finger, my wrist, and my collarbone and I have had two sets of stitches

#3 My nickname growing up was Lou Lou Brown.

#2 When my kids are grown I want to sell my house and live out of an RV while traveling around the U.S. and Canada.

#1 I love to play with my kids eyelashes...i know that's really weird...they are just so soft! (they hate it by the way).

Not Me Monday!

Here we are again---it's Monday morning. I keep thinking I won't be able to come up with any more, "Not Me's", but ya know....I just keep on NOT doing/saying things that would qualify! HA!

Click on the TITLE (not the picture) above to go to MckMama's Blog.


Soooooo, No matter what anyone tells you............


*****I was extremely on top of the ball last week for Not Me Monday and was not too late to add my name to Mr. Linky on MckMama's blog, so this week I did not actually do Not Me Monday on Sunday morning as to not miss it again...

*****I have not changed a poopy diaper for the last 2691 days of my life, so when my husband asked if I smelled the baby and I said, "ummmm no I sure didn't"... I was not lying and I didn't feel the least bit happy about saying...you smelt it you change it!

*****I did not get out a calculator and do the math to make a point about how many actual days I have been changing diapers....because that would just be silly and time consuming!

*****After the 5 day fall break weekend with all four kids all day...plus my husband, on Tuesday morning I did not allow my middle two boys to mindlessly watch the "Bee Movie" three times in a row while I tried to recover my house...Nope because I would never let the TV be a babysitter...(even though I pay the cable company way more than I would an actual babysitter), nor would I let my house get in disarray!

*****I did not make taking the trash from the house to the outdoor trash can my oldest sons job because I hate doing it...I did it because it's a great chance to teach him responsibility.

*****I do not have a ton of laundry to put away from last week, because I did it last week! (this seems to not be becoming a trend??!!)

See Ya'll next week!

Storybook Forest...one of many Halloween Celebrations!

We went to the "Storybook Forest" this evening with the kids and the Gramma's. It was so cute. Along a hiking trail at the state park, they had volunteers dressed as characters from Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, The Three Little Pigs, Sleeping Beauty, etc, etc. The characters acted out their part while handing out candy. There were also games, a hayride, and firepits for roasting marshmallows and hot dogs. I wonder if we'll have any more discussions like Peter Pumpkin Eater. They had Hansel in jail getting fattened up for the witch to eat and the wolf dressed up like grandma and "sleeping" in a bed from Little Red Riding Hood among many other scary/disturbing things....those stories are really frightening when you think about it. Although the boys didn't say they were scared at the time, I can almost hear the wheels turning in their little heads with questions. It's one thing to read it in a book, but a whole different story when you see it come to life!!! Here we go!

The Fire Breathing Dragon!

Little Pirate Brian...aaargh Matey's

ummmm Alex......is that you? You are scaring me!

Pirate Nick!

The Gang!

Fishing for prizes

The Sword in the Stone....Not one of my boys will be King...hmmmm but maybe a doctor or a lawyer???

Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater...with no phone line!

Peter, Peter Pumpkin Eater had a Wife and couldn't keep her. Put her in a pumpkin shell and there he kept her very well.

Nick learned this popular nursery rhyme at school this week. They learn one every week, but for some reason this one stuck with him and he keeps saying it over and over . (This may be due to the disturbing image the poem invokes).... At dinner tonight we discussed what it means. We decided it means that Peter had a wife who kept running away so he put her in a pumpkin shell and kept her in there like a jail. The thought of this was (of course) deplorable to the boys. I assume they were comparing the poor gourd entrapped woman to their mother and they couldn't figure out why her husband would do that...SO they decided they would think of ways to get the dejected woman out. After much back and forth and many suggestions, Nick excitedly exclaimed that she should call the police on the phone and have them arrest her husband...Absolutely appalled Alex responded by saying, "There is no way they could run a cable line under a pumpkin big enough to hold a grown lady!" And OF COURSE Nick agreed...

Thankful Thursday! The First Edition

I get so busy chasing kids, cleaning the house, making dinner, making bottles, taking the boys from school to sports to church, etc. etc. etc., that sometimes I feel so stressed out that I forget to be thankful for the little things in my life.....THUS...the birth of Thankful Thursday! Every Thursday I will report on the things I was thankful for the previous week....hopefully there will be more than one! HA!

* I am thankful that Prince Charming had a great birthday!

* I am thankful that our friends from Nebraska visited last week

* I am thankful the Sooners beat the Jayhawks

* I am thankful my parents got to go on a trip together...even if it was to Arkansas! ;-)

* I am thankful that Brian and Nathan recovered from their fevers quickly and are now feeling better.

* I am thankful that when I asked Nick what we should be thankful for he said, "God and Mom."

* I am thankful for the health of my family.

* I am thankful for my New Members class at church being such a great experience.

* I am thankful for Prince Charming, his love for me, and his ability to provide for our family so I can stay home with my children.

* I am thankful for the cooling weather and the beautful fall foliage occuring outside my kitchen window.

* I am thankful for Jesus Christ, my savior, who died for my sins.

A Visit From Friends

Our Awesome friends from Nebraska came to visit last week for fall break. We haven't gotten to see them since our move back home, so it was much needed time spent with all of them. It was their first trip to Oklahoma (besides passing through)...so we packed in as much as possible in their short time here....
We ate at chick-fil-a....my friend Christy's all time favorite place to eat in the whole world....
We went fishing, climbed trees, chalked the sidewalk, went on walks, and swung from trees....all in one day!
We went to Norman for homecoming and watched the Sooners trounce the Jawhawks...
We had an awesome time just hanging out with eachother at home and catching up on each other's lives! WE MISS OUR FRIENDS!!!!!

petting Boomer and Sooner

little fishermen...

best buds!

that's a lot of kids!

Not Me Monday! again!

Click on the title of this post to go directly to MckMama's blog
Well it's Monday again! Wow it came fast.... If you'll remember from last Monday, I read a blog called My Charming Kids. MckMama is the author and is an amazing woman, pregnant with her fourth child who has a heart disorder (AND her oldest is 3--you do the math!) Head on over to her blog to read her incredible story of love and faith in the face of such great adversity, and while you're at it send up a prayer for her and her family.

So, every week she does something called "Not Me Monday" where all of us moms write about our lives in a brutally honest way under the guise of "not me!"....this is my second installment...so here ya go!

*Not one time this last week did i tell my kids, "Just a minute." and then not actually help them in a minute....nope, I did what they asked the first time (and immediately) -----because they are extremely polite and always say please and thank-you!
This is evidenced by the fact that my 3 year old does NOT say, "Just a minute" to almost everything I ask him.

*Not one time this last week did my kids eat corn dogs, or macaroni and cheese, or chicken noodle soup for dinner. NOPE....because I ALWAYS cook from scratch a completely nutritious meal!

*It was fall break for us this last week (kids off for 5 days)....and not one time during my wonderful time with the boys did I look at my big jet tub and think...."Man I would give anything to be in there reading a magazine and sipping a glass of wine while being surrounded by bubbles"

*Not one time this last week have I teased my husband about getting OLD....(he turns 36 tomorrow) and of course I did not point out the ever enlarging number of gray hairs he is now growing on his chin! No way...cause that would just be mean!

*I certainly do not still have any loads of laundry to do (from last week)...because I did it last week!

'til next week...that's it for "Not Me Monday"

Krazy Kickstand Krawling

Krazy Krawl from the back view..........

What is Krazy Kickstand Krawling you ask? That's the name we have decided upon for how Brian is crawling these days. He started out using an army crawl. He could go really fast, especially on the wood floors...just slid that fat little belly along the ground using ONLY his left foot. Now that fall is here and the floors are getting colder, he's decided army crawling is not so good on the fat little belly(BRRR). Consequently, he has come up with a new crawl all his own. He has gotten his fat little belly up off the ground by using his two hands, his right knee and his left foot which he sticks out to the side (like a kickstand, hence the name.) He still ONLY uses his left foot to push himself along and is much slower than before, but at least he is nice and warm (at least his fat little belly is!!) My only issue is I don't have my built in dry mop anymore. It was great letting him roam around the house cleaning the floor with his shirt. HA :-) (Maybe I can teach him to do windows?)

and a side view....isn't he cute!

Can't wait to see how he uses ONLY his left foot to walk!!!

Remembering Our Babies

Today is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Rememberance Day. A day to remember babies lost to miscarriage or infant death and their Mommy's and Daddy's. I pray that anyone who reads this has not had to experience the pain of the loss of a child due to miscarriage, stillbirth, abortion, infant death etc. If this is something you have endured, know that I am praying for you and lighting a candle tonight at 7 p.m. in honor of all your babies. I am personally grieving today for my loss, but thank God for the plan He has for me. My loss will forever be a part of who I am, I only hope I can use what I have learned to honor Him.

John 14:2 In my Father's house there are many mansions.

.......some very tiny, but mansions still.......

Lesson Learned

Ok, Ok....no matter how much I want to celebrate every moment with each of my children, I am coming to the conclusion that it won't always be feasible. For instance, last night when it was 25 degrees and raining (maybe a little exxageration, but it was really cold!) I probably should have skipped Alex's football game. I should have stayed in the warmth of our home with Nick, Nathan, and Brian and sent Nima and Alex out into the storm alone to play the game. I should have, but I didn't. I didn't because I don't want to miss a moment watching my children grow up. I want to be at every game, every field trip, every school event....every thing. We always tell our boys that we want them to have a big family because they get to have built in best friends. Nothing could be better than the unconditional love of a brother (or sister), but unfortunately, as they are learning, it sometimes comes with sacrafices. Sometimes we can't focus solely on each of them and have to focus on one. Sometimes only Daddy is at their game, and sometimes only Mommy and sometimes Gramma or Papa. It is so hard for me to come to peace with the fact that I can't be there for each of them every minute of every day.....but when they are grown and have their own families I hope they know that I always have and always will love them every minute of every day.

Not Me Monday!

OK..this is my first installment of "Not Me Monday" in honor of MckMama....click on the 'Not me monday" icon to the left to see her inspiring blog...

"Not Me" is a way to be completely honest about how you live...under the facade of "not me". It does us all good to be brutally honest sometimes and by seeing all the other mom's "Not Me's" makes us all feel more normal!

SO HERE GOES!................





At breakfast this morning, I did not pass off my oldest sons half-eaten cereal as a new bowl to my three year old...of course not, because I am definitely not too lazy to make another bowl.


I have not stayed up until at least 1 a.m. every night this week watching all my DVR'd shows and during that time I defintely was not on the computer because there was a ton of laundry to fold.


Not one time this week did I bribe my boys with a later bedtime if they would help me clean up the house...nope because that would be poor parenting...I, of course, have one of those chores lists that we cover with stickers every time they do something good and then reward appropriately.

I did not go to drop off (and pick up a couple of times) my son at Kindergarten in my pajamas last week....and he is not in AFTERNOON Kindergarten

My beautiful baby boy

Seriously! Look at those eyes....disregard the slobber dripping from his chin.

The apple doesn't fall far from....

the tree! I am sitting here listening to Nima play "SORRY" with the boys...needless to say there is a lot of competitive talk going on... They definitely have his fire (not that I didn't have anything to do with that). What an awesome thing to watch the boys look up to their Dad. They have so much fun with each other, playing football, watching sports, reading, etc. etc. I hope they will grow up to be as amazing as he is!

My baby the genius

I bet you thought this post would be about Brian...who by the way I also think is a genius (I'm not biased) Actually, this one is about my Nicky. Today I was showing he and Nathan their website and trying to explain how people from Nebraska and Kansas and all over the world can read about them just by typing in http://www.mylifewithfourboys.com/.... 0r whatever ridiculously long thing I came up with to titile this blog. So, the boys wanted me to read the posts. I read them the one about Nathan's birthday, where I begged Nathan to stay a baby longer....When Nathan heard it he said NO..i'm a big boy, but Nick so sweetly proclaimed that he would keep being my baby if I wanted. Then he asked if he could have a sippy cup....ummm no you are 5 1/2...but thanks for indulging me....The problem is I know he isn't a baby anymore because the other day he decided he was going to teach himself to tie his shoes. We had shown him several months ago how to do it....back then he tried a few times and decided to put on his velcro shoes. Then out of the blue on Tuesday he just tied his shoes. No one showed him again, he wasn't practicing it at school....he just REMEMBERED! So like I said he is my baby the genius! (or maybe he has a photographic memory??)

Nathan is Fwee (three)!

boy number 3 is 3!

3+3=6 (number of "blows" it took for Nathan to extinguish his candles---mind you there were only 3 candles on the cake!)
3x3=9 (the number of presents Nathan got so excited about that he did some kind of dance and let out a girlish squeal)

Ok, I guess that math doesn't really work....all I know is that my sweet little baby no longer wants to be lumped with the babies--(Nathan and Brian) and wants to be one of the BIG boys (Alex and Nick)...just because he is fwee. (that is "three" for those of us that can pronounce our th's and our r's). Today, he announced to his teacher that he can't be a baby anymore cause he had a rockstar birthday party, and that he shouldn't have to take naps at school....shortly thereafter he fell asleep for an hour. What a fun age....battling between wanting to be a baby and wanting to be a big kid...can't you just stay a baby a little longer????? pleeeease?? for mommy! I love you Nathan!

naming the baby

I am not pregnant, however, with the amount of baby talk around our house you would think I was. Lately, the discussion has been around what we will name the next baby. Since I am adhement that the next one will be a girl, when Alex asked if he could name the next baby boy, I said SURE! He has taken this task very seriously... He suggests names daily. Today it was Darren and Josh and an old man at the barber shop who's name he doesn't actually know. To fully illustrate his depth of thought on the subject let, me relay a conversation we had today on the way to get Sonic for dinner.

Alex: Mom, what do you think about the name Darren?
Me: It's ok, but doesn't really fit with all your names.
Alex: Well what about Josh.
Me: That's a nice name.
Alex: ya know mom the other day when I went with dad to the barber shop I saw this really old man, I bet you would like his name (this comment is in reference to an earlier discussion where I told him I liked "old-fashioned names"---apparently to him that means "old man names."
Me: Oh ya, did you ask him what his name is?
Alex: No mom, but you would really like it cause he was really old, I mean he was so old he was hobbling around on a messed up leg...he could barely walk.
Me: You're right I probably would like it if I knew the name.
Alex: Yep you would...he was so old he didn't really have any hair. (pause--along with a puzzled look on his face) I don't know why he was getting his haircut anyway.
Me: Maybe he just wanted the company of the barber.
Alex: Ya I guess old guys have to talk to anybody they can.


So, alright when we come up with a name for this imaginary baby I'll post it!

my first post!

Well here is the first post about my crazy life with four boys...

I have 4 boys..Alex is 7, Nick is 5, Nathan is 3 and Brian is 10 months old. I have been married to my incredible, wonderful, God sent husband Nima for 10 years, during which time we have moved (hmmm let me count) 7 times to 4 different cities in 3 different states. We have finally moved back HOME this summer and are hoping to stay put for a long time.

I have a doctorate in Audiology and worked for several years before deciding to stay home with my boys. This job is much harder than anything I could imagine. Last night after making 24 birthday ice cream cone cupcakes frosted to look like soft serve cones for Nathan Children's Day Out Class, and then watching him knock them all onto the ground, I thought...Is this REALLY my JOB??? Can I quit???? When do I get a raise??? Of course this job is also more rewarding than anything I could imagine.....and SO I carry on with MY CRAZY LIFE!