(Almost) Finished Project...

I have been planning to redo this china cabinet since I was pregnant with Cooper. Procrastinate much? Four years and 2.5 children later, it's almost complete. Thanks to my lovely momacita, we finally started the dreaded project!



≈

For anyone who wants to know...

We are having a girl! (April 15th ish)

Responses from our dear children:

Cooper: In the car, way after the fact, "Mom, I don't want a girl."
Me: "Do you mean you don't want a sister?"
Cooper: "Yeah, Elizabeth is mean to me." About two months ago, his friend took his paintbrush. He isn't a grudge holder or anything.

About 11 hours later:

Me: "Cooper do you want to tell Sam what kind of baby we are getting?"
Cooper: "Yeah! Sam, we are getting a brother!"
Me: "No, actually it is a girl."
Sam: With the cutest little about-to-be tears in his eyes, "A sister? Really? A girl?" Followed by hugs and much happiness, as he has been begging me to produce a sister for him for the past 2 years.

Cooper is now happy about it, and Sam's reaction was priceless. Collin seems to think that we are nearing the finish line now that our collection is near completion. Hmmm. Ask me in about 3 years for an accurate, non-hormone influenced answer.

No, Sam, You Can't Have Sideburns.

Samuel occasionally wants a certain hairstyle. "I wanna spike it in the front", or "This part is too pokey looking." Usually he wants whatever will get him off the dreaded chair the fastest. "I want my hair long on top", "I want it long in the back", or as he professed on Saturday,
"I want sideburns."



You may not be able to glimpse his chops all that great, but there they are. He turned 7, by the way. Which is weird! Happy Birthday to him! He received some great gifts, his favorite being this bow and arrow. Thanks Ryan and Neisha!


He thinks he is Robin Hood now. It's really fun, and he is very generous with his turns. He was looking for a bear to shoot on Saturday. I assured him that his best bet would be a squirrel, and that he should just stick with the paper target, since I am not ready for him to hunt, and am not really confident that he could choose appropriate living targets.

Quick Photo Update...

This is Jacob looking innocent. He is the most mischievous child I have. He is the one who touched the hot oven every time its on, and never learns. He is constantly getting into everything. He loves appliances with cords. Curling irons and hand mixers are his favorite right now. The chairs are all in the garage so he can't climb, and I am just waiting for him to learn to open the fridge. I am amazed daily that he hasn't tried to climb out of his bed, or hasn't has success anyway.


I took Cooper and Madeline fishing last week. We only caught a little lake grass, however. They loved it though!



Sam has a wicked set of teeth right now. One of his front teeth will not let go, and is hanging crooked. Its disturbing to look at, even his teacher begged me to pull it out! But with his other loose tooth, and his new tooth coming in, it makes a pretty picture worthy!




Halloween kiddos: Jango Fett, Harry Potter, and Charlie Brown (who did not get rocks)

You are FIRED!

"Honey, the freezer got left open and is completely defrosted." Well, this is what every woman wants to hear at 5:58 am. Awesome. Followed by: "And Cooper wet his bed." Then I hear for the vast majority of the day, different rendetions, mind you: "Whaaaaaaaaa!"

So Sam indeed left the freezer open yesterday morning, after obtaining a gogurt. My mistake, I should have put his snacks in the inside freezer, or at least checked the freezer to make sure it wasn't standing wide open before I went off to enjoy a blissful night of sleep.

And Cooper indeed, did wet his bed this morning. Not in the middle of the night, for which I am very glad, but wet pee pee sheets are wet pee pee sheets.

Jacob is a different story. He is 17 months today. (One more month until nursery! ) I am reminded of a time when I worked as a temp. I apparently worked too fast. They told me to slow down and pace myself. Sure in a hotdog eating contest, I thought. But time and time again, I ran out of work. I was just too efficient! And I didn't have anything to worry about like real work. I was frustrating the project leader, probably because my amazing work and fantastic hair was making him look bad. Well, Jacob is making me look bad. He is most efficient at his work. And he has fantastic hair. I have tried the same stategy! Slow down! Pace yourself! One box of Legos is enough to dump out at one time! Climbing on the counter is not permitted! Especially when you dump out my purse, or throw my cup of water on the floor! His ground tactics are bad enough. He likes to put things in the toilet. Most recently: Sam's underwear. He likes to hang out in my fridge too, so I find bottles of salad dressing all over the house. He is a master of devastation and destruction. he is just too good at his job. Can't I fire him for this?

Good news for all of you! He is for hire. His current skills include: ironing, destroying phones, spraying the junky clorox ready mop all over the house, bringing in toys covered with dirt, and cleaning the bathroom floors with bath water.

We Heart the Zoo

Today we went to the zoo in Montgomery. It was a splendid, hot day full of trying to 1) keep up with Sam as he ran ahead to each exhibit, and 2) keep Cooper moving fast enough so that we could actually look like we were part of the same family. The monkeys were mostly in hiding, but we brought our own, so that worked out okay. And all of the cool animals were sleeping, but what else should I have expected going at lunch time? We decided to go to Sonic afterwards, opting to get a cheaper lunch, and of course the kids want to eat at the tables. This is something I usually would deny them with a false promise of future payout. However, why not? At least Collin was with me. It was REALLY annoying that Jacob kept pushing the call button and examining car tires (at least he wasn't eating them - sorry Christy, I couldn't resist). So we get our food and get everyone settled and finish our slushies before eating our food, and suddenly it turns into this:





Next thing we know, is the wind is blowing like a hurricane. I can see children watching us anxiously, if not amusedly, as our napkins and bags fly everywhere. I got my hands holding all of the paper down when Coopers french fries start flying past me. Then goes Sam's slushie. "Ma'am? Can I have a new cup? Thanks!" So Collin picks up the trash and puts the rioting kids in the car. I was contemplating how to get the remains of their food in the car, for we had used their bags as plates, and each had a nice glob of ketchup right on top. But the wind had it in for me, and thwarting me all the while, blew them right onto my pants. Sweet! "Ma'am? Could I get another bag? Thanks!" And thanks for watching all of this happen with your mouth hanging open. So leftovers in a bag, trash picked up, me covered in ketchup, we settled into the car and headed home before the torrential downpour. At least we had that going for us.
We had a great time and I have never had a more exciting time at Sonic.

I never knew...

I had no idea, until recently, that facial hair could be a hobby. A hobby, you say? Yes. A hobby. Apparently there is an attraction for a man to participate in this type of activity, especially is his friends do it. I can only compare this to a woman growing her hair out for Locks of Love, except it's totally different. Unfortunately for me, Collin is dying to do this next May. You may be able to sense my growing excitement about having my husband look like he should be wearing black leather and riding a Hog. Perhaps I will be optimistic and hope for something a little more like Smokey and the Bandit. Or if I am lucky, the Pink Panther.

These are some fine examples:

Here are the rules from americanmustacheinstitute.org:

"The Man Laws of Official Mustache May:

1. The grandeur of the mustache must be worshiped in truth and singularity. Therefore, no mustache can be accompanied by any other form of facial hair. In other words, don’t hide behind the beard (spousal compromise).
2. On May first you celebrate and live the Mustached American lifestyle, parading about with a large, unvarnished mustache.
   
3. Destroy any DVD or Blue Ray copy of "Sex & the City."
   
4. No complaining due to lack of action. It ruins the spirit of the 'stache. We are all in this together and nobody said it would be easy. Be creative with it, like "Ladies, it tickles when we kiss. Wanna try?"
5. No cats, except in an omelet.
   
6. Be proud of your mouth mullet. Don’t avoid public or mingling with the opposite sex because you are ashamed of your facial hair. The hairy upper lip is empowering!
7. It's not what's on the upper lip, it's what's in your heart. Don’t shirk participation because you think your lip curtain is weak or pathetic. Not everybody can grow a nose garments like Tom Selleck. Michael Jordan got cut from his high school basketball team for God sakes.
   
8. Never forget Dave Navarro is weak and pathetic. Here's why.
   
9. Hook up your fellow Mustache May participants. If you wait tables, free drinks would be an appropriate gesture.
10. Encourage others to grow the 'stache. It’s liberating, so spread the love.
11. Applaud anyone who walks by you wearing any semblance of a mustache.
    

Some of you men may face severe pressure from the ladies in your life to not participate. Here is the secret in helping her become a Mustache enthusiast: Invite her to choose the mustache style for the month. After that, have her shave you down to that sexy mustache she chose. Then it now become "our" mustache and not "your" mustache. She will love it and stand by her man the whole month long."

This is what Collin's is sure to look like:

Home Happenings

You may not think that a bath is noteworthy, but I have not been able to get a picture of this kid in a clean state in a while. He absolutely hates the bath! Do any of your kids act like you are torturing them in the bath? It drives me crazy, and I have been a lazy mom, maybe even horrible, about giving baths this summer. That will end soon.

Horrible Mommy Scenario 2: This is what happens when you lay in bed like you are oblivious to the world around you. It was very cute. Sam got Jacob out of bed, fixed breakfast for all three of them. Of course he was serving cereal, and that is fantastic, but I think he poured an entire quart of milk on Cooper's cereal alone. Thank you Sam.

Ah, yes. Well, Collin uncovered a hive of yellow jackets that were out to get him. So this was his covert operations apparel. I thought it was a bit much, but then again, he didn't get stung by the bees that were desperately seeking him. Thanks for making our yard a safe place, Honey. And our kitchen a humorous one.

Super Cooper built a temple, and it has two Moroni's. I was just happy that he
1) built a structure, 2) called it a temple, and 3) knew Moroni goes on top.

Sam's Photography: He's getting better

Missing

If anyone knows the location of the following items, I will reward you with a plate of m&m cookies or some such delicacy:

1. The 1st disc of Pride and Prejudice
2. Cooper's MP3 player
3. Sam's MP3 player
4. The book in which I would find all of the family history anwers I need

That is all I am looking for today.

Relief Society Activity!!!

Here are the pics from last night!
I thought they were all very cute, and the activity was
GREAT!
I think I know almost everyone's name now!
Thanks to the party planners!!!

More Pictures (I just figured out Picasa)