A Before and After Wordless Wednesday

At the barber shop..........Before.... and After! What a big boy!

IT'S OFFICIAL!

UPDATE: For all of you that have asked...Yes, I did make the cake(s)...it was fun and I love doing it! my hand is still sore though! After all that work Brian wouldn't even touch it....he didn't like the squishy feeling in his hand...little stinker!



My header has said it for about a month (I didn't want to have to make a new header).....but NOW it's OFFICIAL!






♥♥♥♥♥ MY SWEET BABY BRIAN IS ONE! ♥♥♥♥♥
And even his cake is celebrating his first year of life!
He can hardly hold in the excitement! yum yum chocolate cake......

Blow out the candle little baby.......

........and open your presents.......

......'Cause you are ONE!

Not Me Monday!

After airing all of my dirty laundry (both the clean and dirty varieties) earlier this week, I figured it was time to air even more of my deficiencies today on "Not Me Monday"! I'm ready to be brutally honest and live to tell about it...Check out MckMama's Blog to enjoy a few hundred other ladies, "Not Me's"

So this week:

Alex did not sniff the puddle of liquid on the bleacher underneath Nathan at the hockey game on Friday night to determine if it was pee pee or spilt beer. Upon determining that it was, in fact, pee pee my sister and law and I did not dry his pants and underwear with the hand dryers in the bathroom.
He did not poop in his pants later that night.
If you've been reading awhile you will know that my boys DO NOT have bathroom issues at sporting events.
Nick did not have a poop incident last week at the basketball game.
We did not decide as a family that we always need a change of clothes when attending sporting events.....
I did not just tell everyone on Friday that Nathan has been totally potty trained for six months and he did not just make me a liar that very night!

My kids do not say the darndest things and I absolutely do not think they are hilarious and entertaining......Last night Prince Charming, Nathan, and I were talking about Mommy's and Daddy's and babies and how much we love babies, etc etc. So I asked Nathan if he was gonna be a Daddy when he gets big and he said, "No, I'm gonna be a dragon."


I did not spend 6 hours baking and decorating my 1 year olds birthday cake only to have the arm (of the cake) fall off right before the party started.....I did not almost cry....pictures will follow....


I did not take my 1 year old to get his hair cut because he was beginning to have a mullet, NOPE! because having his hair cut would result in losing all of his beautiful curls! And if he did possibly get a hair cut, it did not make him look like a big boy!

I did not take a nap on the very comfortable couch in the waiting room during Prince Charming's surgery and I certainly didn't ask the front desk for a blanket so I could get even more cozy...Nope! I was on the edge of my seat wringing my hands nervously awaiting the doctor's emergence from the operating room to let me know everything went well......hey people I'm tired and when do I get a break from the kids???

I am not the least bit happy the Sooners are playing Florida in the National Championship game on January 8th!!!!! Boomer Sooner...Sorry Texas!

Have a great week everybody!

Liz

Wanna Hear a Funny Joke?

Q: How many "Crazy Mom's of 4 Boys" does it take to screw in a light bulb? umm I mean......to remember to check her three year olds pajama pants for a Pull-Up before putting them in the washing machine?

A: Apparently more than one, since I've done it TWICE this week! YUCK!


I just have to say that I am an AWFUL Laundstress (good word huh!--a cross between laundry and mistress.....sexy and dirty at the same time...ugh...but maybe not in a good way).

**Fair Warning: I am not sure "Laundstress" would stand up to a Scrabble or Banana-Grams challenge in case you were planning on trying it.)

ANYWAY,

For starters, I commit the mortal sin of throwing laundry of all colors and types in the washer at the same time and just setting the washer to NORMAL with WARM water. I do all this with TOTAL disregard for what the clothing label says.

WOW! I feel a lot better getting that off my chest...Cover your eyes Mom...It gets worse.....

I do on occasion use my Delicates cycle when I remember, but it's not a regular activity. Actually it's usually an accident when it happens...I mistakenly turn the dial one more notch and it magically becomes"delicate" laundry....wish that were true with humans too!

No matter the color of my sheets, I wash them ALL in the hottest water possible with extra Clorox bleach. I have ended up with some pretty unique sheet colors through the years. I'm not trying to start a new trend here girls, I promise! I do have to say that this laundry faux pas is not entirely my fault....If you have ever seen Oprah's show about what is lurking in your pillows, bed mattresses and bed sheets you would have weird colored sheets too.....I'm talking microscopic pictures of bed bugs my friends---millions of them.

Hey, but at least now I can say I have two things to blame Oprah for......ugly bed sheets and Obama!

I regularly wash pull ups and diapers....It is oddly entertaining chasing around diaper innards inside your washing machine. The kicker is Nathan probably doesn't even NEED the Pull-Up....he is fully potty trained during the day, but I have NO desire to find out if he is fully trained during the night. (laundry is bad enough during the day--wouldn't you agree?)

I pretty much dry everything no matter what...I have lost a couple things to "shrinkage" lately. (ahem... I know what you are thinking..... and this shrinkage has nothing to do with Thanksgiving.)

Upon removing laundry from the dryer, it usually goes into a wrinkled up pile on the floor until I have time to fold it...sometimes I even throw it back in the dryer to "iron" it....

I could go on and on, but I will spare you any more wasted time.... because I am sure you all have better things to do....

LIKE LAUNDRY...... ☺

So my thinking is, "Wouldn't someone this horrible at their job normally be fired?"

Come on Boss.....bring on the unemployment benefits!

Thankful Thursday! It's ONLY 9 p.m. 10 p.m. so technically it's still Thursday!

UPDATE ON ONE LITTLE THING===sometimes (OK so almost every time----but who's counting)-- I accidentally hit PUBLISH POST before I'm actually ready ---That darn bright orange publish post thingy is just sitting there begging me to click it...and then I get something like 6 comments before I ever finish the post, and then I feel really bad that those people didn't get to read my whole masterpiece..☺...so if you are one of those that commented before I was finished and then came back for one reason or the other and noticed it was different...well read it again....because it is ALWAYS better when I completely finish my post! HA!




We're moving to the Waffle House...Fast Good Food and it looks pretty cozy!

I am one busy woman these days.....It's hard not having that break my husband usually affords me during the day. I am also schlepping all four boys all over the place by myself, which is difficult on it's own without it being 20 degrees outside. Church last night, basketball camp tonight, a hockey game tomorrow night, and two basketball games on Saturday...... not to mention the 5 trips I take back and forth to school every day...hey but I'm not complaining because it's Thankful Thursday!


OK, so first off maybe I should explain why we are moving into the Waffle House....
Alex is a "Sign Reader" (street signs, billboards, businesses, etc.) OH and by the way the sign reading thing is genetic..I have been listening to my hubby read signs for 15 years now...ANYWAY....we were riding along on our way to basketball camp tonight and Alex was happily reading signs in the back seat..I hear him sound out WA FULL HOW S.....he looks at me...Waffle House mom,,,, Waffle House...I could see the shock and excitement come across his face....then in complete seriousness he asks, MOM Can We Live There???? He's thinking ---there are waffles there....it's a HOUSE...what could be better???...yes the kid likes waffles A LOT!
Right now I'm thinking it might not be a bad idea...good food, fast service, televisions, and entertainment...if you've been to the waffle house you know what I mean, open 24 hours, nice pleather seats, coffee that just keeps coming, and waffles of course!...Holy Cow!...throw in a nurse and we are SO there!!!!
Thus....I am thankful for amazing boys who keep me laughing MOST of the time!

I am thankful for my husband's successful surgery and for the ever decreasing pain in his ankle...and THUS the ever decreasing pain in my ass! ha ha couldn't help myself...I love you baby and would set the alarm for every four hours to give you pain meds for the rest of my life if I had to!

I am thankful for a wonderful Thanksgiving and weekend. We were surrounded by amazing friends and family and got to spend quality time with my brother's girlfriend who flew in from Rhode Island.

I am thankful that I will get to see my cousin Craig tomorrow night at the OU/URI (Rhode Island) hockey game (he is an assistant. coach for URI)---how cool is it that URI is playing out here in Oklahoma!

I am thankful for an abundance of wonderful friends and family who offered their support, prayers, and words to us this week following my husbands surgery.

I am thankful that OU will be playing in the Big 12 Championship game this Saturday, even if I have to listen to Texas fans whine continuously.

I am thankful that Nathan has stayed in his OWN bed ALL NIGHT LONG for the last 4 nights (even if it did take bribing him with presents!)

I am thankful that I haven't seen one snowflake so far this year! Although I would love me some snow on Christmas!

I am thankful for my DVR....I am sooo far behind on my shows...I guess I'll have something to watch if the writers go on strike again!

I am thankful for the teacher's in my boys Sunday School and Wednesday night classes. They are amazing!

I am thankful for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the fact that He is the same God today as he was yesterday and will be tomorrow.

Have an amazing Thursday...ok well the 2 hours that are left of it!

Liz

Wordless Wednesday---BABY JAIL

Brian has been arrested, fingerprinted, booked, and thrown in BABY JAIL!

We are Home!

hey there....just wanted to let everyone know that we are back from the hospital and Prince Charming did great in surgery. The doc thinks his prognosis is very good for a complete recovery. He is very groggy and I am trying to help him control the pain...narcotics every 4 hours! ☺ We are preparing for a rough night and difficult 12 weeks, but thank God the surgery went well and he is home with us tonight! Thanks to everyone for your prayers and well wishes!
love,
Liz

Not Me Monday!

Wow! this week has gone by fast. We had a great Thanksgiving break full of food family and football! So here is my week in a nutshell, while being brutally honest and living to tell about it!

I did not, feel the slightest bit like a loser after realizing that I haven't posted since the last "Not Me Monday!"....and I certainly did not receive 2 e-mails and a phone call wondering if I was OK..☺

I did not make my husband put up any Christmas lights outside of our house this weekend because he has surgery tomorrow and I knew he couldn't do it after the surgery...☺why would I do that---the health of my husband is much more important than silly Christmas lights!

I did not frantically help Alex put together his December family project of an "evergreen tree" this morning in about 5 minutes.....NOPE because we did not forget to do it over the weekend and because these family projects we do EVERY month should include a lot of forethought and time and they should certainly not be a tree cut out of green construction paper covered with glued on marshmallows and cocoa puffs.

I did not allow my boys to put all of the Christmas ornaments on the bottom two feet of the tree with their handmade ornaments in front for all to see, and then after they went to bed fix the tree the way I like it (hiding a few handmade ornaments around the back)....cause you know Christmas is all about the kids and Christmas trees with all of the ugly adorable ornaments they have made at school and church should be front and center!

After seeing my best friend A's adorable little girl this weekend, I did not want my own daughter even more...nope, cause I am totally happy with all the testosterone in my house!

I did not laugh all weekend at my brother Brian and his beautiful girlfriend Melissa for the suggestion that we should get a dog....some kind of dog with the word "teacup" in it....nope! because boys need a dog and they certainly would not stomp on or crush a dog with with the description of "teacup"...... and I would certainly welcome another thing to take care of esp. since it is getting cold (perfect for potty training) and my husband wouldn't be able to take the dog out with his cast on....

I did not use several baby gates to put Brian in baby jail this week....because he has not been driving me crazy climbing the stairs....pictures will follow!

I did not enjoy watching OU beat OSU this weekend...and then on Sunday I wasn't even happier when OU beat out Texas in the BCS to go to the Big 12 championship game. I love listening to all of the Longhorn whiners and can't wait to turn on ESPN later to hear Mack Brown cry about how we cheated them again! Boomer Sooner!

I am not the least bit nervous about my husband's surgery tomorrow...and I am not hoping all of my bloggy friends will pray for him, his doctor's and his family....

Have a great week!

Not Me Monday

I'm really ready for my free therapy this week....It's Not Me Monday again! Being Brutally Honest and Living to tell about it! I've got 15 or so people coming for Thanksgiving on Thursday so I'm sure the beginning of this coming week will be full of Not Me's... ☺

Check out MckMama's Blog this week, she has a lot going on over there....

So here are another week of Not Me's!

1. I did not thoroughly enjoy watching the Sooners dominate Texas Tech Saturday night. Nope, because if I did enjoy it, my poor husband who couldn't go to the game because of his injured ankle, would just feel terrible that he missed one of the loudest, craziest, best games in OU football history...

2. At the OKC Thunder basketball game on Friday night, when Nick, who had his pants pulled down, but couldn't hold it long enough to get ONTO the toilet and pooped all over the back of his pants, shoes, and the floor and then apparently tried to clean up the mess with his shirt sleeve,.......when that happened I didn't almost go postal...(to take a word from MckMama's poop incident)....and then end up cleaning off his shoes and his pants, then throwing his underwear, longsleeve undershirt and socks away...so all he had left to wear were his pants (commando), his short sleeve shirt (thank God he had on two shirts) and his shoes with no socks (he stepped in the poop with his socks on). That was a really fun night.... let me tell ya!

On a side note..there was a lady in the bathroom watching me walk back and forth between the bathroom stall and the sink with wet paper towels and gave me the AWW sucks for you face...and then proceeded to tell me her 13 year old wet the bed the other night (I guess to make me feel better about my situation)....I then, upon leaving the bathroom, didn't see the lady with her 13 year old son, and she didn't slyly point at him and wink at me...that poor kid...what kind of mom tells a bunch of people about her kids bathroom problems....tee hee☺

3. I did, not upon losing my cell phone for the 100th time in the last few weeks use my home phone to call my cell phone only to hear it ringing from the trashbag sitting by the backdoor ready to go out to the big trashcan... now who do you think put it in there???? No one will ever know.........

4. While at my 5 year olds Thanksgiving Gathering...I did not wonder when both my 3 and 1 year olds threw up if it was some kind of a awful cosmic joke....ya know because I LOVE to have attention brought to myself, esp. in negative ways...and the kicker is neither one of them is even sick(seriously!)

5. I did not avoid eating at a restaurant because the last time I ate there I found out I was pregnant a week later (happily-seriously), but right now I don't want to be pregnant...so obviously I didn't eat at that restaurant..because I KNOW how one actually gets pregnant and silly superstitions like that are below me.

well...that is it for this week... Hope everyone has a wonderful week and an Awesome Thanksgiving....

Small Fryday Contest

I am officially entering MckMama's Small Fryday contest, and I couldn't enter the contest without posting a picture of Small Fry herself! Through this contest, MckMama is trying to increase the hype around her blog in order to help her raise money for String of Pearls. String of Pearls is a support group that was created to provide a nurturing and safe place for families as they navigate the path following a fatal prenatal diagnosis that will result in the death of their baby prior to, or shortly after birth. If you don't want to enter her contest at least visit her blog to see updates on all of the amazing work she is doing to raise money for such a worthy cause!

If you want to be a part of it all....read the follow excerpt from her blog and enter along with me!

This contest is simple, but you'll have to have your own blog to enter. (Though, otherwise, this is an equal opportunity contest here...new readers or old, this contest is open to anyone!) Just write a post about this Fryday Contest, linking to my blog (If you don't know how to make a link, read this.) and then come back and comment here once you've linked. That's how you enter!At stake? A customized blog header for your blog, designed by yours truly (that would be me), plus some free photography goodies (filters for your lenses, and other fun stuff, depending on what kind of a camera you have) that I'll mail directly to you. Sound like something worth playing for? (Sorry, I have Jeff Probst on the brain again.) Yes, I thought so!Contest ends sometime this weekend. (Whenever I get the chance to log back on in between us moving in our new "renter," who is coming tomorrow.) I will try to visit all the blogs who enter the contest and somehow choose a winner by the time Monday rolls around.

My Name is.....

TROUBLE WITH A CAPITAL "T" AND IT RHYMES WITH "B" AND THAT STANDS FOR BRIAN!



BUSTED AGAIN!


HMMMM...WHAT ELSE IS IN HERE? THERE HAS GOT TO BE SOMETHING I CAN BREAK UNDER ALL THIS STUFF.

YES, I DO THINK IT'S VERY FUNNY !

HEY, MAYBE YOU KNOW WHERE MAMA KEEPS THE CHINA, ALL I CAN FIND IS THIS PLASTIC STUFF....

We've been so spoiled with our first three boys. We have never had to put a single cabinet or drawer lock on anything...(of course we did it with Alex, but we didn't need to)...Didn't even put them back on for Nick or Nathan....but Brian is making up for all three of them...He is into every drawer, every cabinet, everything! He can tell you the location of every plug in our house. (He keeps a copy of our homes blueprint in his diaper) He has made it his goal in life to figure out how to get those plastic stopper things out of them. Sometimes he spends several minutes a day just staring at and studying said item. I feel pretty sure he is devising a plan to end worldwide suffering with plastic plug stoppers.... (or maybe he just wants to eat them)☺

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He also loves to take doorstops off ...this little fetish of his has already resulted in one hole in the wall...ugh Recently, he has taken an interest in the carbon monoxide detector...He must emit carbon monoxide because it almost always goes off while he is sitting in front of it, ya know, contemplating world hunger..... There is a small possibility that he may be pushing the "test" button during all this contemplation... By the way.....That thing is loud...at least I know I'll be woken up if it goes off for real!

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I can just see his little (Ok BIG) eyes scanning the room looking for something or somebody to bug... When he gets caught, he crawls off in the other direction in super stealth mode, not even looking back to see if he is being chased.....And obviously (SEE PIC ABOVE) he has quite the guilty face when confronted by one of us....I'm sure he is wondering why being so stinkin' cute, (with adorable curls and eyes so big he melts you) isn't paying off anymore.....

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Well, I hear "Trouble" through the baby monitor, so I guess I'm out to purchase some baby proofing items.....catch ya later.

Thankful Thursday!

I would like to interrupt the regularly scheduled program Thankful Thursday with a little bit about the one person that I am most thankful for:

♥My husband♥

First off I would like to ask for your prayers for him. He was in the ER Sunday night after injuring his achilles tendon while playing basketball in the Men's Church League. He had an MRI on Tuesday and as of this post we are still awaiting the results. Based on what happens with the MRI, he may or may not have to have surgery. Please pray for his healing and for the doctors that are treating him......


Ok now to the fun part: a little bit about my prince charming.....


His name is Nima...He is named after a Persian poet. When he meets new people, he tells them his name is Nima and then says...like Captain Nemo....so most people get confused and start calling him Nemo...cracks the kids up! He just turned 36 in October.

He is a faithful Christian man. He is the leader of our family as both a husband and a father. His relationship with God and with his family mold the way he interacts with the outside world. He puts God and family before anything else.

He is an incredible husband. Always supportive, always there with a helping hand, always encouraging, and always puts me first. He values me as a wife, a mother, and a woman. We both believe that to have an emotionally healthy family, you must put God first and that the husband and wife relationship is the most important in the family.

He is an absolutely amazing father. He talks the talks and walks the walk. He loves and understands each of them on a very deep level. He takes every opportunity to teach them his values as a man who follows Christ. He sets an example to our boys that will allow them to grow into the men we want them to be...he walks the walk....

He loves Oklahoma football almost as much as his family.... :) but seriously he is an absolute fanatic for anything OU...he loves everything about sports...watching, playing, discussing, etc etc etc....and in return our boys are fanatics as well!

He plays the guitar and is basically self taught....singing, on the other hand, is not one of his talents (but he loves to sing along with the guitar)....sorry hon.

He is also an incredible public speaker....I am not, so I have always found this ability so intriguing.

He is a born coach. He does an incredible job not only coaching our kids teams, but coaching his employees....

I could go on and on.........

He is my prince...he stole my heart the day that I met him...and I knew from that day he was meant to be my husband....For better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.....I thank the Lord for this man.

And Speaking of Grown Up Boys

Where did this one come from?

Nick- 15 months---Yep Erin...that is your front steps... :)

Nick- 2 years old...This little guy has kept us in stitches since the day he was born! That smirk on his face is because he knows he's funny...little stinker!

Nick 2 1/2....everybody say ahhhhh! Look at my handsome guy.

Yippeeeee! I'm three!

And now you are 5 1/2.....Oh my handsome, sweet, little loving Nicky, my little kindergartener, my unique little guy who marches to the beat of his own drum, so smart, funny, and outgoing with a smile that lights up the room, my guy who befriends everyone and acts like he's known them for years.......How did you get so big?

Where Did Your Baby Face Go?

Every morning before school, two of our little peanuts come stomping down the stairs for a little bit of cuddle and conversation time in Mommy and Daddy's bed. We can usually lay in bed together and talk for about 15 minutes before the craziness of the morning begins. Alex and Nathan are our early risers, they both arrive at about the same time...their soft warm little bodies snuggle in next to me with sweet hugs and kisses. I love this time in the morning. It is probably the ONLY time Alex and Nathan are together by themselves (Nick almost always sleeps in late, and Brian joins the conversation only with his calls for MAMA through the baby monitor.)

There are quite a few similarites between these two..Both atheletic, aggressive, but sweet, and so I believe that despite their age difference they will be the best of friends someday. I love to listen to the little conversations they are able to have when they aren't being interrupted by their other brothers. This morning I noticed Alex staring at Nathan. After about a full minute of study, he finally said, "Mom, Nathan's face looks funny...
long pause.....
He doesn't really look like a baby anymore...I guess he's turning into a big boy."

OH MAN! You are right Alex, he is outgrowing THIS sweet little baby face that he had just yesterday..(at least it feels like yesterday to me......)........... and replacing it with this big boy face!

I don't know how this keeps happening to all my boys......I keep telling them to stay my little babies, but they continue to grow up.....ugh, they NEVER listen to me :)

Oh and by the way...I'm thinking that there is a small possibility that one day I will show a picture of any of my children without a long line of slobber coming from the mouth area, or spit all over their chins....I'm not promising anything............... but maybe!

Not Me Monday..again!

Little Ms. MckMama has turned the tables on us this week and has asked all of her faithful followers and prayer warriors for our prayer requests...what an amazing lady...and what an incredible gift she is giving us...First she lets us witness and pray and be involved in her life and the birth of her miracle, and then she asks to pray for us and to allow others to see our prayer requests so that God can receive these prayers, as if she has NOTHING else to do than pray for all **1,751 of us when she has a new baby in the house! Thanks MckMama!

**(1751 is how many of us entered her Tiny Tuesday contest! All I can say is WOW MckMama's girls like us some free stuff!)...

OK, Now on to Not Me Monday...Being Brutally Honest and Living to Tell About It!

1. I did not utter one expletive at my husband when he called me on his way to the hospital after partially tearing his achilles tendon while playing basketball at church last night...nope not me....I would NEVER think about the fact that I already have 4 kids to take care of and I don't need a husband on crutches or undergoing surgery.....BECAUSE I am always supportive, especially in light of the fact he has taken care of me during my multiple injuries! :)

2. I did not laugh hysterically at my mom when she thought THIS PICTURE:


was an ACTUAL old picture of my husband and not one that I had "made" on YEARBOOK YOURSELF........ NOPE! I would never laugh at my mom...... silly lady!


My mom was not very relieved to know that prince charming never actually had hair like that and that he was never quite that big of a dork!....

My mom does not continually keep me laughing! Love ya mom!

3. I was not in a bad mood one day this week, and upon further evaluation of myself realize it was because I was mad at/thinking about a character from a movie I had watched the night before who had cheated on his wife....because that would just be sick and wrong...

4. I did not send my child to school to accept an award in front of the whole school with bedhead......oh oops I already admitted to that one!

5. I did not bribe my kids to help me with my 65 loads of laundry this week...because I soooo enjoy doing laundry, and upon learning how well these boys can fold laundry, I did not make it another one of their "jobs" to promote responsibility....cause folding laundry is my job...and what else would I have to do???

6. And since we are talking about laundry, I did not threaten a never ending timeout to my 3 year old if he changed his clothes ONE MORE TIME on Friday...yep cause he does not change his clothes at least 5 times a day...

7. I did not giggle with excitment when I FINALLY figured out how to link pictures and words to a website...because I have a doctorate and I was smart enough to figure that out weeks ago!

SO......What did you not do this week?? To join in on the fun, click on the "Not Me Monday" picture at the top (tee hee...I did it) and go over to MckMama's blog and see ALL the Not Me's!

My Momma Says I'm Special

This post could have alternatively been called...."My Momma Sent Me in Front of the Whole School with Incredibly Bad Bed Head"....read on.......
Alex was 1 of the first 7 in all of the 1st grade to receive his math badge yesterday.(There are about 120 kids in first grade at his school.) He had to obtain a perfect score on 8 different 100 question timed math tests to secure his spot..He got to go up in front of the whole school during the morning assembly to accept his badge. He was so cute. I am such a proud Mama...too bad we didn't have a little more time that morning so I could fix (ahem, NOTICE) his "bed head" I tried to find a picture that would do justice to really how bad the bed head was, but unless you saw it in person----WOW! Poor guy...he, of course, didn't even notice....ahhhhh to be a first grader again! Great Job Alex!

Drumroll please.....and the answer is.....

for those of you just DYING to know which bones I have broken.... and kudos to http://baseballsandtutus.blogspot.com/ for getting 3 out of 5 correct....

in the order that it happened:

Collar bone--4 years old, fell out of a barber chair while my big brothers were having their hair cut---caused my mom to faint :)

Finger--high school..jammed on a basketball...not nearly as exciting as the collar bone one..oh well..

Leg--Sophomore year of college while playing quarterback for our sorority flag football team...This one is totally Prince Charming's fault..He was my coach and taught me this "awesome move"which tricked a girl on the opposing team so well that she fell on my leg....

Toe (spiral fracture--it still hurts when I wear heels)-- Junior year of college..ran into the wall after losing an intramural basketball game....and Melisa if you read this and state otherwise I will totally deny it!

Wrist--Senior year of college...got bumped while going up to block a shot and pushed into a wall...broke it trying to brace myself from flying into said wall......this is really funny because I am only 5'3" (on a good day with heels on :) and there is no way I could EVER actually block a shot...but hey, a girl's gotta try....

So there you go...I know the anticipation was killing you!

Have an awesome weekend!

I'd like to thank the academy...and I've been TAGGED

What can I say...I'm AWESOME...Award #3!

Thank-you so much to Maggie at http://lifewith2boyz.blogspot.com/ for my sparky award..so sweet..and YOU are AWESOME too!

The rules are simple!

Post this badge on your site and link back to Maternal Spark.

Then award 5 of your blog friends who have sparked creativity, conversation, controversy and friendships with you!

See that's it...

EASY!

I would like to pass this award on to: (and if you'll look below, you'll notice I am "TAGGING" you as well!

http://steffenboys6.blogspot.com/

http://sometimeshewhispers.blogspot.com/

http://callansmama.blogspot.com/

http://kyleandhaley.blogspot.com/
http://kingdomtwindom.blogspot.com/

OK, now for the second part....I was Tagged for "15 Things You Are Not Afraid To Admit" by http://baseballsandtutus.blogspot.com/

I'm probably afraid to admit these things...but I'll do it anyway!

1. I LOVE T.V. --- I don't have time to watch the shows at their scheduled time--plus I like to fast forward through the commercials--I am attatched to so many of these shows that sometimes there are 3 on at the same time and I have to use both of our DVR's to record all of them. (DVR's only allow you to record 2 at a time)..

2. I LOVE Pop, Soda, or as we Okie's call any kind of soft drink -COKE! I might have a small caffeine addiction ahem...

3. I LOVE Scrapbooking...I do digital scrapbooking and have for about 6 months.. before that I did traditional scrapbooking (I hated that by the way)...I take millions of pictures and scrapbook every event in our lives...my husband has accused me of scheduling an outing just so I can scrapbook about it....TOTALLY not true--really...but I have offered to scrapbook other peoples pictures for free because I ran out of pictures and needed to feed my addiction...

If you are a glutton for punishment and want to see my summer book--i do each season -- go to

http://community.shutterfly.com/gallery/post/start.sfly?postId=/gallery/1/post/GMGDFgxatmTJsxcg6EfXVG

then click on full screen on the upper right hand corner... :) One page is missing cause it has our new address on it.....

4. I LOVE to watch and play sports..I played almost every sport you can imagine growing up and basketball and softball through high school. Now I love to watch sports..except maybe soccer..I didn't play that one as a kid and don't "get it"


5. I LOVE to decorate...interior decorating as well as for holidays


6. I LOVE photography and wish I had more time so I could take a class---ahhh one day!


7 I HAVE a Docorate in Audiology (hearing and balance for those of you who don't know what that is) I practiced until our first move out of state and no longer had Daycare Gramma to watch the kids...


8. I HOPE to one day run a marathon.


9. I HATE to do laundry...I can vacuum, dust, etc. all day..but hate everything about laundry...I think my attention span it too short to get through all the steps it takes to finish a load.


10. I ONLY like to cook for parties and special occasions...i HATE making dinner every night...


11. WHEN my kids are grown up I want to sell my house, get an RV and travel around the US and Canada


12. I HAVE broken 5 bones in my body...can you guess which ones?


13. I LOVE when my husband and my boys play with my hair...ahhh getting sleepy just thinking about it.


14. I MUST kiss my boys on the cheeks at least 100 times a day... I can't help it they are so squidgy...I KNOW I drive them crazy..


15. I LOVE my family...My husband and his family, My Mom and Dad, my brothers, and all their families....they are my BEST friends in the whole world.....I also LOVE my friends... I have some of the most thoughtful and awesome friends EVER!





SHEW...that was A LOT.....I didn't think I was gonna make it through the whole thing....

I am supposed to TAG 7 people.. but i just don't have that many friends......

SOOOOO, because I gave you an award...now you'll have to oblige me to participate in the "15 Things You Aren't Afraid to Admit"....it's really fun!

Thankful Thursday!

I read in Woman's World that, according to a recent University of Pennsylvania study, 94% of individuals who set aside three minutes once a week to write down three things they are thankful for experienced an increase in happiness....and of course it must be true since I read it in Woman's World!.....But really, I have noticed a difference in myself since starting Thankful Thursday. Not only do I think about what I'm thankful for on Thursday, I think about it all week in anticipation of writing this post! WOW! What a bonus just for starting this blog.....so here goes another week.......

*I was thankful to find that sweet little sticky note attatched to my pillow before bed one night.

*I am thankful that I did not lose any "followers" after my post about the snot...I think I might have even gained a follower yesterday.

*For all my Biggest Loser buddies...I"m thankful that Brady was eliminated this week and I am hopeful his wife will soon follow... hmmm not sure that one really follows the spirit of thankful thursday...but if you watch the show you'll understand....

*I am thankful for the 2 blogger awards I received this week...I'm feelin' the love!

*I am thankful for cherry coke zero, jellybeans, and rice krispie treats...yummy

*I am thankful that Nick's flag football season ended with a win and that he had a great time playing the game.

*I am thankful for Alex, Nick, and Nathan's teachers (past and present)...they are ALL so amazing and we are so blessed to have them as a part of our children's lives.

*I am thankful for the blessing of motherhood.

*I am thankful for my husband and my sons...they are the light of my life.

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



What can you be thankful for today?--I'll bet you can think of 3 things!

Gentlemen Start Your Engines Noses

OK...I know....only I would follow up a beautiful tribute to our Veterans with a tribute to SNOT! Well I guess it's not really a tribute per se...it's more a complaint session.

From Daddy on down we are all a bunch of sniffling, sneezing, nose blowing, snot rockets! I am telling you guys we are swimming in it over here (and thank God I don't mean literally..although it does get sneezed into a bathtub from time to time...I know, too much info.) We just can't seem to kick the colds this fall....I think there are just so many of us that we keep passing it around...I actually blame it on my husband....he's in and out of pediatricians offices all day and brings that junk home to us.... Gotta love cold and flu season! We need a hard freeze here in Oklahoma and fast....

By the way, so sorry about the picture.......this was actually the *cute* Shot of the Snot (what a great title for this picture--glad I thought of it!).....He was eating lunch at the time I snapped this photographic gem; you should see some of the others! I spared you of the one where the flow of snot is actually touching the food in his smiling mouth....YUMM-O!
I also decided to spare you from snot pictures of the rest of us.....because pictures of snot aren't nearly as cute when they aren't on a baby! Just trying to keep ya'll's best interest in mind..what can I say...I'm very thoughtful.. :)