One month

As one of my goals this year, I wanted to see if I could make a new post everyday for an entire month. What better way to start the year then to accomplish my 1st goal? This blog makes 31 straight posts. It feels good to reach a goal, even a silly one.

Baby Fever

I know in my heart and my mind that our family is complete. Both our hearts and our hands are full, sometimes overflowing. In fact, we have taken permanent measures to ensure that Brennan is our caboose. Dustin and I are both convinced this is the right decision for our family. While we are still undecided on adopting in the future we are certain that the days of pregnancy and newborns are behind us. Tonight I ran into Babies R Us to pick up an umbrella stroller and for a moment seeing all those huge tummies and adorable baby items I longed for that to be me again. However, I then went out to the van where Dustin was waiting with our boys and that became a fleeting thought and went straight out the window. Yep, our family is complete and I am very happy with that decision!

5 Steps to Climbing Out of Bed

Step 1: You must remove everything from your bed, including your pants, before you can start.
2. You act cool and sly so that no one suspects you are up to anything.

3. If that doesn't work, you must then stare them down so they know you mean business and will get the camera out of your face.

4. You must stop and pet the dog before you can go any further. This is mandatory! 5. You put your foot between the bar and the rail and hoist yourself over.

Voila! You have now successfully climbed out of your bed, Brennan-style!

My daredevil

Well the day I have dreaded for so long is finally here. Brennan can climb out of his crib. He climbed out of his playpen at the sitter's house yesterday, opened the door, and walked down the hall. This morning I heard him crying and went to get him and he was sitting at the top of the stairs. Today at the sitter's house he immediately crawled out of the playpen at nap time. I am so not ready for this. He is only 21 months old. This makes my life so much harder. He is such a great sleeper, and with 3 older brothers I need him to be a great sleeper. Tonight when I laid him down I told him not to climb out and he cried. lol It looks like it is time to start using the baby gate at the top of the stairs again. My baby is growing up!

Wordless Wednesday

PSA for the day

If you are wondering at what age your child should start wearing deodorant, it is definitely before 5th grade. Wowsa, that is all I am going to say.

"Not Me!" Monday

Our mornings are never rushed. We plan everything so well the night before that mornings at our house are smooth sailing. So it wasn't me that noticed Brayden crying this morning as we made a mad dash out the door to get to work and school on time. Nor was it my mellow little man that said through tears "this belt is huge, these pants keep bunching up, and even my underwear are WAY too big". Nor would we both bust out laughing when we realized Brandt had accidentally put on the wrong pile of clothes and was sitting in the car with major high-waters on. Nope, not us. Nor did I sit back and allow my children to call me "silly mommy" over and over just to diffuse the situation since I had clearly told Brandt which pile was his.

I am going to a Computer Teacher Conference in Austin next week. I have already made plans for my kiddos. I have a sub coming and sub plans laid out. I have talked to the kids' teachers about what projects we need to finish before I leave. I have set up dinner plans in Austin every night with different family and friends. So it certainly wasn't me who got my badge in the mail this morning and realized I am a week off. I do not actually go to Austin until the following week. Ugh, I would never do something as silly as that. Nor would I be so glad I was procrastinating and at least didn't book the hotel already.

This weekend the boys wouldn't have behaved so badly that I seriously thought of putting them to bed at 5:30 PM. My kids are angelic and never misbehave so it couldn't have been them. Nor would we have decided that they had not earned a fun dinner of pancakes with all the toppings as we had originally planned and "punished" them with a dinner of Taco Bell. The boys normally really like Taco Bell so that would never have been effective. Nor did the middle 2 boys decide instead of going to bed early they would rather have a spanking. After the spanking it wasn't them who confessed it was all because they really wanted to eat the watermelon I had just bought. Nope, my kiddos would never be that in love with fruit that they would ask for a spanking just to get some.

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.

I love these boys

As bad as yesterday was today was equally as good. These boys have stolen my heart. They make my life so full, and I am so thankful God gave each one to me. Growing up in a house with 4 girls and only 1 boy, I never envisioned myself as a mother to 4 boys. Now I wouldn't have it any other way. God's plans are definitely better than our own.

Brennan was so silly tonight. He kept putting his pants on his head and running around squealing with laughter. He couldn't stop laughing when Daddy did it too.

Bryson riding Champ with Pawpaw (my dad)
There is nothing like brotherly love. Even though Brandt and Brayden have their own beds this is how I found them tonight.

One of those days

Have you ever had one of those days were nothing seemed to go right? That bedtime just can't get here soon enough? That was our day today. It started out a little rough with all 3 of the older boys in our bed before the sun came up. Around 6:30 I finally sent them out of our room so I could hopefully get a little sleep. Once we were all up things were going better. We took the boys to the Lowe's kids workshop, and they built tic-tac-toe boards. It was the 1st time we had done that, and it was a lot of fun. Sadly, after that things went down hill quickly. The boys argued, fought, didn't listen and were generally just not behaving at all. I am glad today is coming to a close and we get a new start tomorrow. It is days like today I have to stop and remind myself how lucky we are that our kiddos are here and able to misbehave. After a friend lost her daughter she said that she would give anything to be dealing with terrible twos, tantrums, potty training, teen years, etc. Her words have stayed with me, and on these kind of days I try to remember just how lucky I am. But, wow what a day!

Flashback Friday

With my grandmother turning 80 this past week it got me thinking about last year when my grandfather turned 80. Brennan was 10 months old in these pictures, and they totally crack me up!

Brennan...

... at 6 weeks

+ Brennan at 20 months
= same scowl

Wordless Wednesday

House of sickies

In the last week and a half Brayden, Dustin, Brennan, and myself have all had to go to the doctor. We have all met our insurance deductibles for the year. Whew, I don't think we have ever had such a rough 10 days. Brayden and I have both finished our medicine and seem to be doing much better. Dustin has another 4 days on his, and Brennan is just starting his 10 days today. Brennan will be home sick again tomorrow, but hoping that Thursday everyone will be well enough to go back to school and work. Just thankful this is congestion, ear infections, sinus infections, etc and NOT stomach flu. That stuff is just plain awful.

Moving up in the world...

Bryson names all of his toys and stuffed animals after people or pets that he is currently infatuated with. We have tons of Brookes, Hollys, and Ellies at our house currently. But today, for the very 1st time there is a Kelly. I feel honored and privileged that he has finally named a toy after me.

Without further ado, I would like you to meet Kelly...

Feels good

I love saving money, and using coupons. When you get an awesome deal it gives you a natural high and I walk around in a good mood the rest of the day. It is also a way to be frugal with my money and stretch it as far as possible. Lately trying to work full-time, cut coupons, take 4 kids to the store, etc got to be too much and I got burnt out. I haven't gone to do any "deals" in a while. This weekend I did only a small tidbit of what I use to do, but it felt really good.

My mom gave me a Gymbuck at Christmas time. Basically, it is good for $25 off a $50 or more purchase at Gymboree. So I went this weekend to redeem it. You see we pass clothes down through all 4 boys, but as wild fun as Bryson is not much survives him to make it to Brennan. So we have been having to buy Brennan almost a whole new wardrobe. I only bought things off of the clearance rack, which is the best way to shop there as they can be pretty pricey. My original total after tax was $213.25, but I got all 11 pieces for $30.16 after tax (including 3 sets of pajamas).

Next I hit Walgreens. I spent a total of $1.85 after tax and left with $3 Register Rewards, basically free cash to spend on your next purchase. My original total was $17.81 for a savings of $15.96 PLUS I earned a $3 Register Rewards.

My final stop was Kroger. This store can be expensive, but if you hit their sales right plus use coupons (they double coupons up to $.50 and triple up to $.39) you can get a great deal. Plus for every $100 you spend (before coupons) you get a $.10 off of gas. My original total was $78.13, but I only paid $18.72. I saved $59.41 or 75%. Name brand items like Gatorade, Starkist Tuna, Birdseye steamable vegetables, Coffeemate Coffee Creamer, Pillsbury cinnamon rolls and crescent rolls for FREE. Items like Blistex, Softsoap Hand soap, Hormel canned chicken were just pennies.

This weekend my total before discounts/coupons was $309.10, I saved a total of $258.46, and I spent a total of only $50.73 for a total savings of almost 85%. I am along way off from being "back in the game", but this weekend sure felt great. Maybe even re-inspired a little.

Shopping

Yesterday my mom came to town and we picked up last minute things for Nana's party today. After dinner, we had a few more places to go so we put the baby to bed and left the older 3 with Dustin and headed out. I told the boys when I got back we would watch a movie. We struck out at a lot of stores, and it ended up taking way longer than we thought. Brayden came downstairs right before I got home, and asked if I was home yet. Dustin told him not yet. Brayden said "she is still stinking gone. She has been gone for like 3 hours". Totally cracked me up.

Flashback Friday

This picture was taken January 15, 2007 and we are doing the exact same thing January 15, 2010. Will the poor baby ever out grow these ear infections?

Nana is 80!!!

Happy Birthday Nana! Today is my maternal grandmother's 80th birthday. It is hard to believe she is 80. She is still very spry and full of life. We are going to celebrate her birthday on Saturday. It will be fun to see a bunch of family we haven't seen in a while.

Nana holding Brennan and Bridgett in August

Wordless Wednesday

Ten on Tuesday

I have been in a little bit of a funk lately. Just really feeling the stress and pressure of life I guess. Instead of dwelling on those things I have decided to turn it over to God, and change my perspective by making a list of 10 things I am thankful for right now.

1. Warm, soft, fuzzy throws
2. Family movie nights
3. A baby that goes to sleep at 7 PM and doesn't wake up again until at least 7:30 AM
4. Prescription strength cough syrup with codeine...slept for the 1st time in almost 2 weeks last night
5. Medical Spending Debit Card: Brayden and I both met our prescription deductibles in the last few days and it was so nice that the $125 did not have to come out of our pocket
6. Meal plan done for the entire month...makes dinner so much easier when you take out the what's for dinner question
7. Grandma turning 80, and being able to celebrate her. I lost my other grandma 3 months before her 80th birthday, so I do not take this one for granted.
8. A job where I had 2 weeks off to spend with my family for Christmas, and where in 4 shorts weeks I get another week off for Spring Break!
9. Eating lunch at school with my kiddos, even neater when Daddy joins us
10. A working vehicle that takes my family to and from where we need to be. Stinks to be down to 1 car, but thankful that we still have reliable transportation for our family.

"Not Me!" Monday

This week my house has been full sickies, from of a coughing husband to hacking kids. Since I of course am never sick, it wasn't me that has kept my poor husband up for the past week and a half coughing non-stop all night long. I hate cough medicine with a passion, so if I did get out of bed numerous times a night to take the dreaded cough syrup or nasty Halls cough drops they would have at least helped me. Sigh, so I am not walking around like a zombie today, because 1 1/2 weeks with no sleep is finally catching up with me. Nor did I finally relent and let my husband make me a doctor's appointment for after school today. I guess the poor mister would like to sleep tonight.

We took the boys ice skating this weekend at Arctic Wolf. This was the boys second time to ice skate. We would never have taken them for the sole purpose that it was FREE we knew the boys would have a blast. I mean who cares that it is normally $11 to skate and $8 to watch a PERSON. There are only 6 people in our family so a mere $50 for an afternoon of skating...no biggie! I would never be that cheap. Plus the boys are already way better at skating than I ever was. So it isn't me that was constantly cracking up when they wiped out fell. That is not typically my humor, so it certainly wouldn't be funny when it was my own child falling. I mean they could get hurt, but don't think I wasn't giving God a mental "high 5" each time they missed hitting their heads by just a few inches.

This week I have not gotten addicted to a game called Luxor that Dustin found and loaded on his iPhone and my iPod Touch so that we can play it where ever we are. I just got on to him last week for playing it too much and at what I deemed bad timing, so that would be very hypocritical of me. That certainly doesn't sound like me at all. I mean I don't even really play video games very much, not even the Wii, so I would never get that addicted to a game. Not to mention my sweet angelic son Brandt would never be so competitive that anytime his Daddy plays Luxor and passes a level he wants a turn so he can catch back up to him.

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.

Very proud of the boys...

The older 3 boys are involved with Awanas at our church. Bryson is in Cubbies, and Brandt and Brayden are in Sparks. The older 2 have a self-paced book that they are suppose to go through memorizing verses. Their books are suppose to be for the full year. Brandt finished his book by Thanksgiving, and Brayden finished his book tonight (the 1st full week back from Christmas Break). I am so proud of both of them. What an amazing foundation they are getting through this program. Way to go boys!

Very Busy, Very Fun Saturday

My parents and nephews came to visit for the day, and we had a lot of fun. This morning we took all the boys to the local ice skating ring called Arctic Wolf. They were having an open house, and the boys got to try a lot of different things. Then this afternoon we took them to see the Texas A&M men's basketball team beat Nebraska. Whoop!

The boys and the "Cat in the Hat"

Sweet thing was freezing watching his brothers skateMy nephew Hunter and Brennan at the basketball game

My parents and Bryson Brayden and Dustin Bryson getting ready to "whoosh" when the Ags make a free throw Brennan was obsessed with feeding my dad popcornBrennan with his hands up during the Aggies free throws

Brandt and his best friend Clayton Brennan snuggling with my nephew Christian

The boys with the Yell Leaders after the basketball game

Flashback Friday

Today and the next few days we are expecting much colder than normal temperatures. In fact, it isn't suppose to be above freezing all day today, and most of tomorrow with temperatures hanging out in the mid-20s during the day and single digit wind chills at night. It got me thinking about the last time it got really cold here, and how incredibly thankful I am that the ice didn't accompany it this time. These pictures were from January 2007.

Shelby, when she was so sweet and little. We had had her only 2 weeks in this picture.

Things that make you go hmm...

According to the American Kennel Club Texas A&M's mascot Reveille placed 2nd in the Top 10 Dogs in Pop Culture behind only Snoopy. I never would have guessed that.

Top 10 Dogs in Pop Culture:

1. Snoopy
2. Texas A&M’s Reveille
3. Scooby Doo
4. Eddie from the TV show Frasier
5. Pound Puppy toys
6. Painting "Dogs Playing Poker"
7. Song "How Much is that Doggie in the Window"
8. Georgetown’s Jack the Bulldog
9. The song "Who Let the Dogs Out"
10. Brian Griffin from the animated TV show Family Guy

Wordless Wednesday

Brandt