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I have been spending most of my early mornings sitting on the freezing leather couch with a babe in arms. A babe that is particular about his covers, and refuses to let them touch his arms, requiring me to freeze or contort my body in unseemly ways to get my arms covered. If I could just remember to put a robe on before I pick him up!
While I have been enjoying these early mornings, wishing for sleep, and waiting for the sun to rise with my almost 2 year old, I have pondered the following things (and found myself guilty):

* I really don't care that my children make race car tracks up and down the hall with (unused) toilet paper. Sure, it is wasteful, and when I run out and am in dire need, I am positive my mind will reflect upon their creations. Until then, I will scold them, but really, it's much easier to pick up than legos. And if they shred it? Bonus! I can vacuum it up!

* I have never really learned how to accept disappointments. Like not buying the dishes I wanted from Target 2 years ago, that they obviously no longer carry now that I have money to buy them, or the time I got written up in the 6th grade for mouthing an obscenity at a jerk-kid who just yelled one at me (he didn't get written up and I did and it ruined my perfect record).
And I don't know how to let other people be disappointed either.

* It is shameful how much housework I do not do. Please do not look at my bathroom or behind the couch. My kids know they aren't allowed to eat in the living room. I know that my kids aren't allowed to eat in the living room, but alas! I still find candy wrappers and occasionally a juice box behind the couch, in their own personal land fill. I think I always get the point in my pregnancy when I realistically cannot keep up with all of the shenanigans around me, and not be more exhausted than I am now. It does seem that it would be easier take a torch to the bathroom than clean it.

* I make lots of excuses. I realized this as I was giving my mom a list of bogus reasons that I do not regularly take my vitamins. This was called the "Dear Liza" syndrome when I was a teenager. My sister would always start singing "There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza..." when I wouldn't accept anyone's solution to my problem, or their suggestions of what to wear.

* I have a lot more gray hair than I thought, and I hate coloring it. I find it to be an evil trap. And every time I begin the viscous cycle, I end up with black hair. Unflattering, unbelievably black hair. Maybe I will stick with highlights.

* I like reading sad books. Edith Wharton really didn't write any heart warmers. And apparently I like to cry. Collin still states that I have a heart of stone, and is sure my tears are residue of hormones gone wild.

* I currently see that my child is potentially making a huge mess, doing the dishes and all, however, I don't really care. It's more energy efficient to clean the mess up when he is done. However, he is taking some of the dishes in to the living room, and that is where I draw the line!

I really and truly wish that I had something to blog about. However, I find that my life is pretty unexciting right now. Don't get me wrong, it is exciting that we are having a baby soon. Otherwise, Jacob's escapades are about the most compelling thing around here, next to cereal being stuck to the floor, which was probably caused by said child.

The highlights:
*I fell flat on my stomach yesterday, slicing my hand open at the same time.
Just evidence that 1) The human body is designed to protect a developing child, 2) I should have promptly replaced the huge box of bandaids that Jacob threw into the toilet, and 3) No matter if I have blood dripping from my hand, Cooper will still cry about his orange not getting peeled. ( I did empty 6 storage bins of baby clothes, the actual highlight! That's what I was working on when I got up to save Cooper from Jacob, who was whacking him in the head with a folding chair)

*Collin returns from his trip two weeks early. Thus giving me a break from putting the kids into bed. Actually I prefer bedtime. If I had a choice, I would scrap the morning routine all together if I could. I just cannot get enough sleep. And it's not like the male people in my house leave me any hot water in the morning. I would also put Sam on the bus if it didn't come before he even wakes up. I would also let him buy a lunch every day, if he would eat it. That would make life much easier. Not that it is that hard, I just really like it when Collin feeds the kids in the morning. I really shouldn't complain, though I do. I have such wonderful people in my life, enough to make up for any disappointments that may come. So thanks for being so great!

*I have been enjoying a BBC movie marathon. Really if you have not had the pleasure of watching any of the Elizabeth Gaskell movies, you should. Such bliss. If you like that kind of stuff. I am not really sure why I am not watching the last one right now, in fact. Maybe because Jacob turns the TV off every five seconds.

*I realized this week that my children (some of them, okay, just Sam) comprehend my sarcasm, which makes me feel like a bad mom. But at least they know how to detect it, I guess. Well, I have far too many other flaws to worry about, so I will consider that spilled milk.

*Sam can carry a tune. A new and exciting development in our house. I am determined to start now to teach him the primary songs for this year. That and to not act like a monkey when standing in front of the congregation performing with the Primary. I am sure some of you have witnessed his skills. While I love making people laugh, that is just embarrassing. Especially when they are 7. So the bribery begins. Candy motivates. The only reason I memorized the scriptures in seminary was to get candy. (It's the childhood greed that I still have not outgrown.) Hopefully he will even have a cavity to show for it. In fact, I may request a silver crown with a music note punched out. Then he will always remember his hard work.

Ventures through space... for the geeks.

I don't know if you can see the fine detail in this picture or not, but that is Jango Fett attempting to assassinate Anakin Skywalker:

Collin was playing with the boys whilst I was napping, and this is the result: The Millenium Falcon Photo Shoot. They took tons of pictures, but I will spare you, for the most part. And I get a big fat F for not taking pictures of my kiddos as of late. And probably for letting Jacob sit on the floor with a dry erase marker while I do this. He is probably coloring his pants.

Jacob controls the sounds. It's the only thing the older boys will allow.

As you can see, Luke is sunbathing, while flying through space. It's amazing.

Point being this: Did my 7 and 3 year old think to do this all alone? Doubtful. I think Collin had just as much fun as they did. Santa sure is good at picking gifts the whole family will love!
(That nap shouldn't even count toward my tally.)

By the way! The Star Wars Imagination exhibit is coming to Huntsville in June!

Thankyou Mr. Weatherman!

I know that many of my dear friends are so deep in snow and freezing temperatures that they could only dream of being in our part of Alabama, where it simply will not snow. To be certain it is cold here, but pleasantly so.
I have a 7 year old who is desperate for snow. All week we talked listened about the possibility of snow on the news. Samuel trusts these weathermen more than me, apparently, for he would not believe that it simply wasn't going to snow! And now, we have had no snow, and he is crushed! Okay, he got over it rather quickly, but he has inherited one of his parent's dramatic instinct. I will let you guess from whom he got it.
For the record, the weather folks did say it was only chance, but some of us only hear what we wish to hear!

Idealism: Out. Optimism Tinged with Realism: In.

What an idealist I was at the age of 13. I remember telling Tara Taylor that I was going to have 10 kids (and all kinds of other VERY ambitious things that I am sure I will not accomplish). She replied by stating that I would be pregnant for 8 years. I was sure that I wold love the pregnant state of being and therefore, no problem! I was going to be a baby factory! How naive I was. On so many levels. Don't mistake me, I think my 3 are great, and I look forward to the girl child coming to our family in April, as well as any others that may like to come after an extended period of time. I just don't see 1) me mothering 10, or having 10 c-sections, and 2) me being sane and kind and domestic about it all. I truly admire such women! That being said, I have had the pleasure and misfortune of having 3 soon to be 4 children without a labor pain. I didn't opt for it to be this way, but finding the perks in an undesirable situation is good, right? C-sections work for me (and I will thank a very distant ancestor of an ancestor, Ephraim McDowell, for performing the first successful abdominal surgery in 1809).

Back to being an idealist! I am sure many can relate to making a to do list with 600 things for the morning alone. For a while, I was really good at making REASONABLE lists. Unfortunately, I got doused with that super human feeling that I could accomplish it all and made myself some pretty ambitious goals for the week. Lucky for me, I caught whatever my kid brought home from the nursery on Sunday, and had a great excuse for not getting it all done. Which I am sure I totally would have otherwise (wink wink).

In my attempt to ditch this former line of thinking, I present the aforementioned Optimism Tinged with Reality. Clever? I know. I stole that from the dictionary. I have tried to set reasonable goals for the year (do more family history, have the guts to take Jacob's pacifier away, be an 8 cow wife, etc), and feel that I can accomplish them with great effort along with great help (having 10 children, NOT being one of them).

Merry Christmas!!!

Not my child...

Samuel went on a field trip today, and I have no pictures of him skating, or climbing rock walls, etc, because I am a bad mom and didn't go. Something about being pregnant and roller skating. I always want to, and I am sure that many others may be adept enough to do so, but I am extremely coordinated and wouldn't want to make the 1st graders feel bad.

I gave Samuel $16 to spend. A very generous amount, but I thought, "He is going to be there all day, and it was all allocated for certain things. This is where I doubt that he is mine. He brought back $6.25. I was really shocked, and impressed. When my lovely momacita gave me money, I used it all. When she gave me a twenty, and asked for change, I literally brought her change. (At least 75 cents, three quarters is a lot, right?) Collin is telling me as I type that he always brought back change. So, I guess there is hope that Sam will be less impulsive than I. Thanks for contributing your more level headed, sensible genes, Honey!

I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas...

I am sure I remember it snowing one Christmas in my youth, however, my sister just informed that I am crazy. Well, she doesn't remember anyway. According to Wikipedia, it never snowed on Christmas in my county. I still think it did. Probably the year that my dear brothers threw my doll carriage into the tree tops, and was never recovered. I obviously never recovered from that particular trauma. I remember looking for it even after we moved. Sigh...

So while I am dreaming of a White Christmas, I will also dream of clean toilets and self-cleaning clothing. It is a proven fact, at least in my house, that if a clean, fresh bath mat gets put down one of the following will occur, in record time:

1) Some little boy, will be too distracted to aim properly,
2) Some other little boy will put "some little boy's" shirt, socks, or toothbrush in said toilet, making a large splash in the process of retrieving treasured item, OR
3) Some other bigger boy will use so much toilet paper, it must overflow. The attraction to the floor mat is too great!

Well, I guess I may still get the "White Christmas", just not the way I want.

(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!



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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)