"Not Me!" Monday

This week I did not go Black Friday shopping. Who chooses to shop over sleep? Certainly not me! So when we got done watching the Texas A&M vs t.u. game at my parents' house over an hour from home I would never look at my husband and ask if he wanted to go to Toys R Us since they opened their doors at midnight. Even if I had asked my husband would never have agreed to it. It isn't like he enjoys Black Friday shopping as much as I do. After pulling into the parking lot at midnight we wouldn't have seen several HUNDRED people in line and decide no deal was worth that line. I mean we had just driven an hour to get there. In order to not waste our drive back into town, I would never have waited outside Old Navy for 2 hours just to get Brayden a warm jacket on sale and a Free Wii Lego Rock Band game. I absolutely despise standing in line for long periods of time, and especially in the cold. So 2 hours in the cold for a free $50 game....nope I would never do that. By the time everything was said and done we certainly weren't crawling into bed for the 1st time at 8 am after hitting 8 stores. I honestly don't remember ever staying up that late...and just to get some deals, well that certainly doesn't define me at all.

I would never leave the kids bathtub toys on the edge of the bathtub instead of putting them away. I am always very careful to put everything back where they go. So I can not explain what happened to the bathtub paint when my husband sat down on the edge of the tub to help Bryson brush his teeth.
Last year Target had these shirts 90% off and they say "My brother is the naughty one". I would never have bought all 4 boys the same shirt and made them wear it on the same day. I do not like when my kids dress a like at all. I mean they are all individuals and should be allowed to choose their own style and show off their own personality. I certainly would not have found this shirt humorous ALL day long...surely it would get old after a bit. Nope, not me!Last night while brushing teeth my 4 year old would not have declared he needed privacy and then proceeded to sit behind a shower curtain. I always give my children their privacy and we all know that brushing your teeth is a very private matter.Would you like to share what you have not been up to lately? If so, join the Not Me! Monday fun! Simply write your own post on your blog, link back within your post to MckMama's blog, and sign up with MckLinky.

"Not Me!" Monday

This morning when I got to work, it wasn't 55 degrees INSIDE my classroom. True I am in a portable, but considering it was warmer than that outside there is no way it could be that poorly insulated. When I turned the heater on for the 1st time in over a year it certainly wouldn't have set off the smoke detector. I mean I didn't actually see any smoke. I wouldn't have been dancing all over and flailing my arms trying to get the smoke detector to turn off. I would never act so silly. Nope, not me!

Yesterday when we were in a time crunch I wouldn't have decided it was the perfect time to take my son's 18 month pictures just because his shirt was still clean and we were near the mall. Who decides to take picture that way? Surely not me. I mean he turned 19 months old yesterday so it is wasn't like I was in that big of a hurry anyway. It then didn't end up lasting almost 2 hours, because mine was going to be a quick appointment remember I was in a hurry after all. And Brennan would have been a perfect angel and sat and smiled the whole time. I mean isn't that what every 18 19 month old little boy does?

So that was not him that was so fascinated with a ball that he asked over and over and over and over for it until the photographer finally relented and gave it to him.

Nor would he thought he could do a better job setting up props and decide to rearrange himself...
or decide he was too tired to even sit up anymore. It wasn't like this well experienced momma of 4 would make a photo appointment DURING nap time. No way, I know way better than to do that.
His favorite game currently is not peek-a-boo so he would never decide to make a promptu game from behind the column he was suppose to be posing with.
And the final result didn't turn out cute at all...well maybe a little.
Would you like to share what you have not been up to lately? If so, join the Not Me! Monday fun! Simply write your own post on your blog, link back within your post to MckMama's blog, and sign up with MckLinky.

This is what happens...

...when you give a baby a whole chocolate chip cookie to eat by himself.

Thankful Thursday

With Thanksgiving one week away here is a list of things I am thankful for...

1. I am thankful for 4 amazing, HEALTHY boys. I have no idea how we got so fortunate to have such healthy wonderful kids, but I am extremely grateful.

2. I am thankful for a happy marriage. I have been married for 8 1/2 years to my best friend. What a huge blessing. As I watch friends and others struggle in their marriages, I am so grateful for our strong one.

3. I am thankful for being almost done with Christmas shopping. I shop all year long when I find good deals, so our budget stretches farther and I can actually enjoy the Christmas season.

4. I am thankful for jobs. My husband and I both have stable jobs with a set income, so we know where our next paycheck is coming from. I am praying for friends and family who do not have this luxury.

5. I am thankful for extended family, and time off next week to spend with them. I love my siblings, and do not get to see them nearly enough. I am excited to have some free time to spend with them.

6. I am thankful for good friends. Whenever I am having a rough day spending time with my friends always brings a smile to my face.

7. I am thankful for our church family. I am thankful that we have the support and love of people who are also Believers and have loved my kiddos since before they were born.

8. I am thankful for our home. A place filled with love and happy memories.

9. I am thankful for 9. 9 errors that is. When Brayden started speech right after he turned 2 he had 70 errors out of 77 sounds. Just over 3 years later, he is down to just 9.

10. I am thankful that is just over a month we will be celebrating the birth of our Lord and Savior. I am so thankful that God sent Him to die on the Cross for ME! As hard as it is to believe that He would do that for me, I am thankful that He did.

Remembering 11/18/99

Remembering 12 Aggies who lost their lives 10 years ago today...

Some may boast of prowess bold
Of the school they think so grand
But there's a spirit can ne'er be told
It's the Spirit of Aggieland.

We are the Aggies - the Aggies are we
True to each other as Aggies can be

"Not Me!" Monday

I would never banish play-doh in my house for almost 2 years for the sole reason being I just can not stand the stuff. It gets everywhere. In the grout. In the seams of the table. On the rugs. Plain everywhere! So my kids certainly didn't think they were dreaming when I actually allowed the older 3 to play with it while the baby slept. Nor did I scare them that if they didn't clean up their own mess it might be banished from the house again. So that surely wasn't my 7 year old that swept the floor on his own accord when they got finished to make sure it all got cleaned up.

This week I certainly wouldn't have cracked up when my 4 year old told me in a very serious voice "darling I want to marry you". When I explained he couldn't, because I was already married to his daddy he asked "well why would he want to marry you"? My 5 year old then piped up in a very drawn out duh voice "because he fell in love with her". I mean I would never laugh at my children's expense, funny or not, and certainly not right in front of them.

I have been very blessed and a few of my high school senior students have volunteered to babysit my kiddos for service hours instead of money. So when they watched the boys for the 1st time this week so we could go to a one hour long meeting, we did not STRONGLY consider staying out later than that just for a few minutes of peace and quiet. We would never exploit their generosity like that. Nope, not us!

I also would not have put up 10 loads of laundry in one afternoon. I mean who has stacks and stacks of laundry all over? Doesn't everyone immediately put up the laundry once it come out of the dryer? I would never be that lazy to let that slide. Nor would I have been hinting to Dustin everyday since then for a verbal "pat on the back" for putting up that days laundry. I mean isn't that what I am suppose to be doing anyway? Who cares that there are 6 people in our family, with 2 kiddos in private school who sometimes wear school uniform clothes and play clothes on the same day and both parents work full time. There is really no excuse.

Would you like to share what you have not been up to lately? If so, join the Not Me! Monday fun! Simply write your own post on your blog, link back within your post to MckMama's blog, and sign up with MckLinky.

Astros game

About 6 weeks ago my sister gave us tickets to an Astros game. This was the boys' first professional baseball game (well Brandt went to a Cubs game at Wrigley's when he was 10 months old, but this was the 1st one he remembers). The boys had a great time. My mom watched the baby for us, which was a huge help. For the record Dustin and I are Chicago Cubs fans, but we even enjoyed ourselves.

Outside the ball park waiting for the game to start. Forget getting a decent picture with all 3 boys if it is sunny outside.

In the stands waiting for the game to start
Their normal silly faces
Lance Berkman, my favorite Astros player

What game is complete without cotton candy?

Bryson helping the batters hit by swinging up in the stands with them. It did appear to work though, because almost every time he swung they would hit the ball even though most of them went foul.

18 months...boy does time fly!

My sweet baby turned 18 months while we were gone on our trip, and I am just now having time to post about it. He has really grown up in the last few weeks. He can now climb up a play scape and slide down all by himself. He can teeter totter by himself without falling off. He can feed himself with a spoon and fork. He can climb up into a chair or his brothers' beds. He can make 2 and 3 word sentences. He is a great repeater, he can mimic almost any sound he hears. He loves telling people to stop. He is extremely ticklish. He has an obsession with throwing things away. He is a wonderful snuggler. He still loves to suck his thumb, none of my other babes were thumb suckers. He is very opinionated.

Here are all the boys stats at 18 months:

Brennan: 23.6 pounds (20th%) 31.5 inches tall (20th%) 46.5 cm head circum. (50th%)

Bryson: 27.2 pounds (75th%) 33 inches tall (75th%) 48.3 cm head circum. (75th%)

Brayden: 24.2 pounds (25th%-50th%) 32 iches tall (50th%) 49.3 cm head circum. (90th%)

Brandt: 23.2 pounds ( 20th%) 32 inches (25th%) 47.5 cm head circum. (50th%)

It is amazing to me that Brennan is smaller than Brandt was all the way around. Brandt seemed like such a peanut to me, and Brennan doesn't really. Funny how that works.

Out of the mouths of babes...

A couple of nights ago we passed a wreck with lots of flashing lights. There was an ambulance, fire truck, and at least 5 police cars. A concerned little voice asked from the backseat "are we getting arrested". ~Bryson, who turned 4 last week

Earlier this week Dustin was saying prayers with the big boys while I was putting Brennan in bed. When it was his turn Brayden prayed: "God, I'm just wondering...did you change Satan into a snake and THEN chunk him out of heaven or what?"

Dustin, Brandt, and I were having a conversation about Easter. Dustin asked Brandt if he knew why it was called Good Friday. Brandt said "it is because a lot of people that normally have to work don't have to work, and that makes it a good Friday".

Wordless Wednesday

All the boys fit in their cousin's college football letterman's jacket!

Halloween Pictures

In a Galaxy far, far away

there were 4 little boys

from heroes to villains

from Jedi Masters to masters of the dark side

preparing for battle to trick-or-treat......

Darth Vader AKA Brandt

Obi Wan Konobi AKA Brayden
Storm Trooper AKA Bryson

Yoda AKA Brennan

This is the only group shot I got, with me in it and all. At the start of the night Brennan wasn't digging his costume, and by the time he would leave it alone the other boys were busy trick or treating and didn't want to be bothered with stopping for a group photo. Brennan was so cute and would walk up to each door and knock, even though his brothers had already knocked. He thought he was just as big as they were. At the start of the evening he wouldn't leave his ears on, but we told him they wouldn't give him candy unless he wore his ears, and even at 18 months old he understood and left them on the rest of the night. My husband had the brilliant idea of the boys using our Wii light sabers that actually light up. They were perfect, and the cars could see the boys from way off...even if they decide not to do Star Wars next year I think we will use the light sabers again.

Future Gymnasts?

This past weekend the boys went to a friend's birthday party at a local gymnastics place called Powersports. The boys had a great time and flipped, and jumped, and swung, and climbed, and balanced, and on and on. They wore themselves out, and proved to me what true monkeys they really are.

Brandt
Brayden

Bryson

Brennan

Waco Zoo Pictures

I finally got around to uploading pictures from Brayden's field trip to the Waco Zoo back in September. Dustin and I both got to go with him, and we had a great time. It was really hot that day, but Brayden didn't seem to mind.