Humpty Was Pushed

Check out the new blog

2010-12-20T06:20:00.000-08:00

The new blog is at http://raisingwahooligans.blogspot.com/

So....I filled up the photo memory for this blog.

2010-12-19T18:48:00.000-08:00

I guess its time to jump ship and make another blog. Ill post a link when I get another blog up and going. I have some cute pictures from our Christmas party tonight:)

I love doing Cutie Pies hair:)

2010-12-19T18:39:00.000-08:00

This is a picture from later in the say. I think it held up pretty well. But they picture is a bit fuzzy.

Pictures of the kiddos

2010-12-16T12:39:00.000-08:00

The boys have been playing with balloons this afternoon:)

This picture was from this morning. It may look cute, like Big Dog is cherishing this hug but he isn't. He fought Cutie Pie with every fiber of his being;D

GH has been super cranky. He won't take a designated nap......he just whines until he passes out:D This is one of the cutest "passed out" pictures I have taken.

Some new things about GH

2010-12-16T02:39:00.000-08:00

1) GH screamed when I put on a Barney video the other day. To be honest, in comparison to the Wiggles, I think Barney is kind of lame too.

2) GH has learned how to say the following Christmas words: Santa, candy cane, and ho ho ho. We are still working on Merry Christmas.

3) GH has rediscovered his tongue. He enjoys sticking his tongue out at people who are talking to him.

4) He enjoys playing in the snow.

5) He likes to make shapes with his thumbs and fingers. He will run up to me and shout "Mommy, triangle/circle". It's pretty cute.

6) He really enjoys singing songs.

The Carlson Walnut Boat Championship

2010-12-14T17:30:00.000-08:00

Tonight we made gingerbread people, watched A Charlie Brown Christmas, and had our walnut boat competition.

Before we started making the gingerbread people Cutie Pie insisted that we lock the doors so they couldn't get away. I had never made gingerbread people before. They didn't turn out too bad. And none of them escaped:D

The walnut boats were a lot faster than last year. With all of Big Dogs attempts at sabotage (bumping table rocking the bowl, and trying to blow out the candles) the competition continued for 20 minutes.

GH ended up winning. Cutie Pie didn't take it well. After GH won and I started writing his name on the trophy she said "That trophy should be mine" I know....way to teach my children good sportsmanship. Actually, I think she was just joking because she ended up congratulating everyone:)

Cutie Pies Christmas Wish List

2010-12-13T18:43:00.000-08:00

So Christmas is almost here. And Cutie Pie knows that she needs to make sure we know what she wants. Currently she wants:

1) A Christmas Tea Party - I don't know where she comes up with these things. Perhaps she has a secret subscription to Martha Stewart Living.

2) A baby brother or sister - A few weeks ago she would have been happy with a new cousin. But, since her Aunt Crystal crushed her dreams shes back to wanting a new sibling. Thanks a lot Crystal!:D

3) A Care bear

Thank the good Lord Grandma Sharon found a Care bear for her:D

Today

2010-12-13T18:36:00.000-08:00

The kiddos were ready to play in the snow today. But the snow wasn't ready for them:( Cutie Pie insisted on trying to make a snowman. Captains Awesome told her the snow wasn't ready and it wouldn't hold. But, she is a persistent little thing so Captain Awesome did the best he could. I can't imagine having picked a better daddy for my kids. Isn't he great?

GH ~~played~~ worked outside for almost 45 minutes.

After Big Dog got home from pre school he pulled off one of the gingerbread house walls and started eating it. After I got over my initial shock I tried to repair the house. But, it still looked a bit rough when the kiddos went to decorate it.

If cable channels have taught me anything its that its all about curb appeal. Sure the house is falling apart. But, if we add some nice shrubbery it's gonna sell. So the kids made some Christmas trees out of Styrofoam cones. I can't believe that my kids are all old enough to do this on their own. All I had to do was break the toothpicks in half. They put the gum drops onto the toothpicks and inserted them into the Styrofoam cones. My babies are growing up:)

Now this gingerbread house has curb appeal I'm just not sure any bank would approve a loan for it.

Sorry for the ramble....I'm tired and being weird.

So today was St. Lucia's feast day. Cutie Pie dressed up this morning (see post below) But,we waited until later this evening to do our crown bread. Now I didn't do the whole Saffron bread thing because Lacy at Catholic Icing said that we could use any sweet bread. (I'll have to take her word for it since I don't know what shes talking about:)) One of her suggestions was to braid cinnamon rolls into the St. Lucia bread crown. That sounded easy enough. I guess the most important thing is that its still a woven crown. So that is what we did.

FYI: If you want your children to sit and listen to a story about a saint don't do it 1) when they just woke up or 2) when you have placed a delicious pastry in front of them:D

Library Time with GH

2010-12-13T11:42:00.000-08:00

GH was excited to go to the library today. It's a lot more fun than watching mom and dad work on Christmas cards.

The kids loved the reindeer song that they got to act out. GH did some of the stuff on his own. But I had to help him a bit with other parts.

GH liked the craft. Probably because he got to play with stickers.

One $2.25 trip to thrift store + 2 minutes using a glue gun =

2010-12-13T11:39:00.000-08:00

This years ugly Christmas wreath.

I'm like Martha Stewart but exactly the opposite:D

This magazine cover caught my attention

2010-12-13T11:36:00.000-08:00

I wouldn't say I'm a Paula Deen fan. But I had no idea she was married to Santa. You think that would be something I would know about........

Pray for B16

2010-12-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

I was reading this post and thought I would pass it on. Pope Benedict XVI has asked the children of the world to say a prayer for him when they place the baby Jesus in the manger this year. So don't forget:)

Happy Saint Lucia Day!

2010-12-13T04:22:00.000-08:00

Cutie Pie is being a bit silly this morning. But, I was able to get a few pictures.

I think she looks so sweet here:)

I braided her hair today. She likes it. So I'm sending her to school with it.

I also want to thank Saint Anthony for helping me find Cutie Pies Saint Lucia outfit that was lost in the garage. I didn't find it until yesterday. I prayed to Saint Anthony several times while I was cleaning "Saint Anthony please come around. Something is lost that needs to be found." Saint Anthony probably rolled his eyes and thought, "Listen sweetie your garage is a complete mess. It's going to take a while for you to dig your way to where it is." :D Hahaha Anyway, I'm so happy that it was found:)

Hope you all have a blessed feast day:)

This weekend

2010-12-12T19:36:00.000-08:00

We finally got this years hand print dishtowels done. But, I'm out of room on my laundry room clothesline:( I don't know what I'm going to do next year.

Cutie Pie told me that she needed paper and a pen. When I asked her why she told me, "I'm going to write John the Baptist."

He's probably one of the best saints to ask to pray for you. So I helped her write the letter. Spelling isn't her thing. It's not mine either. I suppose we should have been more specific by not writing just Saint John. There are probably a lot of Saint John's in Heaven:)

This weekend Cutie Pie got a fortune cookie that said "You are a bundle of energy always on the go". And Big Dog got a fortune cookie that said "You have ability to sense and know higher truth." I think he got that from me:D Hahaha

snow inside

2010-12-11T18:00:00.000-08:00

Apparently I'm the meanest mom ever since I didn't let the kids play outside today. So as an act of appeasement I filled up the sink with snow and gave the kids some utensils to play with. Every time we do this I say "Next time I'm going to have them do this in a bathtub" And I never do:D

I think it's funny that Cutie Pie insisted on wearing gloves. But, Big Dog wasn't even wearing a shirt:D

Philippines helps with Vatican Nativity Scene

2010-12-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

Candy Cane Hunt

2010-12-11T12:50:00.000-08:00

Cutie Pie had to be in this shot:D

When I woke up at 4:45 this morning there was no snow on the ground. I thought we had a chance of doing the hunt at a local park. But, shortly after I started making breakfast the snow started coming down. But, we are lucky enough to have friends who braved the snow and wind to join us in our hunting fun:) We used the upstairs for our hunting grounds.

Everyone waited downstairs patiently as I hid the candy canes. Then we started the hunt.

The kids did a great job finding the candy canes. And they seemed to have a good time. GH was eatting a candy cane when we started. So I don't think he was properly motivated.

While GH munched on standard candy canes, Cally preferred a more sophisticated flavored candy cane. I think she was eating a strawberry or cherry flavored one:) (I didn't take it from her to find out:D)

The kids enjoyed some hot chocolate and cookies.......because theres not quite enough sugar in a bag full of candy canes:D

Calvin was in it to win it. This boy was focused. I think he found the most candy canes out of the whole group.

Is Cally going back upstairs to find more candy canes?

YUMMY!

Collin...oh Collin. You are sooo funny:)

Cally enjoying one for the road:)

Mom doesn't have any idea how many candy canes she put out. Or how many were collected. So GH is going to keep his eyes open for any candy cane straglers.

Last zoo trip for 2010

2010-12-10T17:38:00.000-08:00

GH raced the penguins:)

Cutie Pie was upset when she found out that the jellyfish were off display.

The butterfly/insect exhibit was a hit:)

Cutie Pies Christmas Program

2010-12-09T20:22:00.000-08:00

I absolutely love this cute dress and coat I bought her last week. I intend on finding lots of occassions for her to wear it:)

GH and Big Dog loved watching the children perform.

I do have an awesome video....and if I ever figure out how to download it to my blog I will post it.

more proof that GH's days aren't spent in a dark closet

2010-12-07T20:25:00.000-08:00

We were at Mom's club today. For those of you who don't know, there are kids at Moms club.....and GH doesn't really play with them;D And why would he when he could play with this thing?

I say "thing" because I'm not quite sure what it is. But, GH thought it was awesome.

Now an observant reader of my blog would note that GH is wearing the same clothes as yesterday. Which is true.This might make people assume that this occurred yesterday and GH spent today in a dark closet. But, this isn't the case. GH ended up wearing the same clothes b/c he thought it was a great idea to eat yogurt before the Moms club meeting. GH eats like a little piggy:) and I had to change him out of his original set of clothes. I was running late so I just grabbed clothes out of the dryer for him to wear.

I don't know why GH doesn't like playing with the kids his own age. He mostly just yells, or whines at them to get toys. But, when Cutie Pies friend from school came over to play. GH played with her and Cutie Pie the entire night. I guess GH is super mature for his age:D I'm sure this is due to my fabulous parenting:D

St. Nick festivities

2010-12-06T18:16:00.000-08:00

On All Saints Day Waltzing Matilda featured a St.Nick game. Basically you throw bags into a chimney. We just used our brick building blocks for our chimney. And I made up some purple money pouches to throw into the chimney.

We made chocolate Santa's into St. Nicks:)

We did some St. Nick puzzles.

And we also did some St. Nick's coloring pages.

I am catching up

2010-12-06T18:06:00.000-08:00

We're in the second week of Advent. We didn't get our Advent candle lit last night. So we did it tonight. Don't tell anyone:D

How it would have gone down

2010-12-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

If baby Jesus would have been born this year, things would have been a bit different. General Timmy would have sent a chopper in to airlift the Holy Family out of Bethlehem before King Herod lost his mind.

GH gets out

2010-12-06T10:55:00.000-08:00

My mother-in-law always jokes that my kids are kept in a closet all day. And since I've been working on the kiddos scrapbooks with my friend Liz. I have to admit I don't really have proof of otherwise. Cutie Pie has tons of scrapbooks. Big Dog has a respectable amount of scrapbooks. But, GH....well there is one scrapbook. And it's definitely not something I'm proud of. But, I assure you he isn't spending his days in a dark closet. And I am pleased to present you evidence of this. I finally remembered my camera for library reading time. Here he is with his little friend Princess J. While doing scrapbooks I ran into quite a few pictures of them as babies and it made me smile:)

Now they are big kids. Julia spends even less time in a dark closet. She is one of the most verbal two year olds I can remember and shes pretty handy with the computer too. GH was impressed with her vast knowledge.

GH sort of got the idea:D

Reading time with Miss Carrie is awesome. She's a much better reader than Mommy. But, in my defense reading is her career.

Carrie always has fun crafts.

And sometimes little boys want to do the crafts without their moms help.

Happy St. Nicks Day!

2010-12-06T10:42:00.000-08:00

They did pretty well for themselves. The boys loved their cars. Cutie Pie loved her feather boa (which obviously isn't a traditional gift:D) And they all loved their chocolate gold coins.

I'll post pictures of tonight activities after the kids go to bed.

Stories with Captain Awesome

2010-12-06T10:36:00.001-08:00

Advent Fun

2010-12-06T10:35:00.000-08:00

GH must have thought the wise men's camels were hungry. So he fed them some grass from the nativity scene:)

Random Pictures

2010-12-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

Big Dog hasn't been sleeping in his room.....because no one could actually sleep in that room. GH has had a cold and his snoring is REALLY loud. I might actually have to mention that the next time we are at the doctors. You can actually hear the snoring in the other rooms.

I'm posting this fuzzy picture b/c I think it's cute:)

If only the library area would actually stay this organized.

GH is loving the Wiggles Ipod Krimsin gave him.

Today is the third day in a row to take a nap like this:)

I've been sort of lazy about puzzles. He actually does really good with a little help:)

The kiddos playing on the Smart Cycle

2010-12-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

Thanks again Krimsin

Meeting Santa

2010-12-05T09:54:00.000-08:00

Cutie Pie hopes that Santa gives her a Care Bear for Christmas. I hope Santa can find one:D

It's Mine!

2010-12-05T09:51:00.000-08:00

My friend Krimsin ALWAYS outdoes me on gifts. She gave my kids the cutest Zhu Zhu pets, a Fairy Princess Barbie (for Cutie Pie) , tons of books and Wiggles toys and a Smart Cycle. The Smart Cycle is better than any toy I'm buying my kids:D Her son outgrew it and she was nice enough to let us have it. It is sooo cool.

GH ~~screams his head off~~ expresses his displeasure when his turn is over. Cutie Pie has managed to weasel a few turns in, even though she is the same age as Krimsin's son and is probably too old for it. And Big Dog has made it clear to the other kids that "It's mine!"

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

2010-12-02T12:32:00.000-08:00

I was looking for some baby toys to entertain the kiddos at Bible study today. And I ran across this music box that Grandma Joyce got Cutie Pie when she was a baby. I use to wind it up and try to change her diaper before it ended. When Cutie Pie found the music box in a basket she picked it up and played it. I told her how she use to love it when she was a baby and she said "Awww". Then she humored me by holding the music box while I ran to get my camera.

I love that girl:)

Big Dog is tired of hearing it......

2010-12-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

and I'm tired of saying it.

figuring it out

2010-12-02T12:26:00.000-08:00

Putting on a coat without help can be hard.

It's the first day of Advent

2010-11-28T17:58:00.000-08:00

So we started our Jesse Tree

and lit the first candle on our Advent wreath.

Pictures from the Merten Thanksgiving

2010-11-28T16:26:00.000-08:00

Cutie Pie enjoyed meeting her "new cousins".

Picking out the Christmas Tree

2010-11-27T18:50:00.000-08:00

We went to Santa's Woods to pick out this years Christmas tree. We took a short hay rack ride down to the trees.

I think Captain Awesome said that this is a 420 tractor. It was the first type of tractor his dad let him drive. He was seven or eight at the time. My kids won't be driving tractors at eight years old. Unless its their toy tractors across a living room floor:D

When GH realized he was going to get to ride on the hay rack he got really excited. He was smiling and jumping up and down:)

It wasn't very cold today. So I figure that means it was a perfect day to pick out a tree

The kids were excited to see Santa.

or maybe the candy canes. Who knows?

You can pick trees from the field. But, luckily we found the perfect pre-cut tree so I was able to use a $5 off coupon:)

We took another hay rack back. I had opened GH's candy cane but when the hay rack jolted I lost it and it fell through the wood floorboards:( Luckily, Big Dog shared his candy cane with GH.

The kids also got to visit the reindeer. They couldn't fly or anything. But, they were still pretty cool:)

Pictures of the boys

2010-11-27T18:31:00.001-08:00

Pictures from Thanksgiving with the Carlsons

2010-11-27T18:29:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

2010-11-25T06:42:00.000-08:00

Funny stuff I saw on Facebook

2010-11-24T18:48:00.000-08:00

More fun with Advent stuff......

2010-11-24T18:41:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Big Dog showed me that the manger was empty. We keep the baby Jesus figurine hidden until Christmas. Then we bring him out as part of our celebration. So anyway this evening as I walked past the altar I saw this scene......

Apparently, Mary and Joseph are worried also:D Perhaps Big Dog is confused. This happens many years later in the story;D But, don't fret people. Big Dog is on the case. After rummaging through some containers baby Jesus has been found.

Behold the Christ Child.

What the toys have been up to

2010-11-24T14:45:00.000-08:00

I started to pull our Advent stuff out of storage. Someone already is taking up residence in the Jesse Tree.

Can you have it all?

2010-11-24T14:42:00.000-08:00

We were watching a commercial for a holiday episode of Special Agent Oso. Oso is a toy bear who happens to be a secret agent. Oso helps children with their problems by breaking activities into three manageable steps.

In the commercial Oso was helping children celebrate holidays with their families. But, he was sad because he had no family to spend the holidays with. So I said to the kiddos, " I feel kind of bad for Oso since he chose to have a fancy career instead of a family." Then I asked Cutie Pie, "Would you choose a fancy career or a happy family?" She smiled and said "A fancy career." We both laughed. Then she said "I already have a family."

Big Dog Talking on the Celly

2010-11-23T17:23:00.000-08:00

I was talking to my mother on phone. I said to Big Dog, "Do you have something you want to say to Grandma?" He takes the phone from me and says "Hi Grandma, I'm going to talk to you." Then he was done with the conversation:D

Scrapbooks

2010-11-23T12:23:00.000-08:00

I did some scrapbooking today. Ok, the truth is I just glued pictures onto scrapbook paper. But, I am all caught up:D And the boys seemed pleased.

To make myself feel better about my shotty scrapbooking I told myself "I don't need $10 worth of embellishments on each page....my kids are cute enough to carry the pages on their own" :D

zzzzzz

2010-11-23T12:17:00.000-08:00

GH's Fashion Go To

2010-11-23T12:13:00.000-08:00

Captain Awesome Quotes

2010-11-19T12:18:00.000-08:00

"Candyland is a very humbling game".

Lots of pictures

2010-11-19T12:14:00.000-08:00

Cutie Pie started letting me do her hair in the morning again. It makes me so happy to do it for her.

Captain Awesome and the boys have been playing with the trains a lot. I wanted to buy more tracks but that stuff is expensive.

We have been sick. So we are trying to get lots of rest.

But, even when we are too sick to go to school. We still find time to stay active. Cutie Pie loved "mountain climbing".

GH is still enjoying his time with mama while the other kids are at school. GH has also been putting himself to bed at night. I don't have to hold him for an hour. Which I will honestly miss. But, he is two and a half years old. And it's time for him to be a big boy.

We painted our foyer and livingroom. So we ended up moving a lot of things including one of our fonts. Big Dog thinks it's his responsiblity to keep it full now that he can reach it. He also thinks he needs to use it all the time. Which I suppose I should encourage:)

Stuff

2010-11-17T18:21:00.000-08:00

The kids spent Saturday night at The Ranch while Captain Awesome and I went to the NU game. The kiddos were super excited to see their grandparents. And we were super excited to have an evening away.

Cutie Pie was very insistent that her cousins would all be there. And that they have a huge slumber party. She was very disappointed that this didn't happen. She still operates under the belief that if she demands enough times she will eventually get her way. She did manage to get Grandma to play Candy land with her.....so it kind of cushioned the blow.

Big Dog loved playing with the toy tractors. But he ended up getting sick:( I wasn't sure if he was really sick or if he made himself sick because he wanted to come home. We know now that he really was sick....Now Cutie Pie has it:(

Even before Saturday I was hoping that GH wouldn't call pumpkins "pizzas" while he was at The Ranch. But he did. My MIL wanted to know why my son is calling pumpkins "pizzas". Well I'm not exactly sure why he started that. He was calling them "pum pums" for a long time. But, I think it has something to do with one of our trips to the pumpkin patch. I had asked everyone if they wanted to get some pizza while we were there......That is the only link I can think of. Not that it matters. While he was at the Ranch Grandma put GH in a highchair to eat. In GH's mind you can't sit in a highchair and feed yourself. To fully appreciate this dining experience you have to get Grandpa to feed you by spooning food into your mouth. I think he realizes he is "the baby" and he is milking it for all it's worth:D He is almost three and is the youngest grandchild. So I have a feeling he will be in that highchair for Thanksgiving and Christmas......Unless some kind soul brings a new grand baby/niece/nephew. I'm not holding my breath. Anyway....GH is starting to talk more. Honestly Captain Awesome understands him a lot more than I do. This morning he went up to Donatello's aquarium and said "Hi Turtle. How are you?" He is even calling Big Dog by his real name. GH no longer calls him "Max". It took a while to break him of that.

************************************
We painted our living room and foyer with a color called "Bleached Wheat" which looks like beige to me;D It looks so cozy and clean.....for now;)

We're just keepin it real

2010-11-13T07:12:00.000-08:00

Hanging out with friends

I thought that pom poms in balloons would be fun to play with. But, GH had to add his own twist to the activity.

Playing Candyland......

Pictures from Cutie Pie's First Pajama Party

2010-11-11T13:20:00.000-08:00

The flashlights and pillow fights were the highlights of the night.

It was almost a perfect night except......I made popcorn for the kids to eat while they watched a movie. I should not have eaten it b/c it was for the kids. But, I did.....and I cracked a tooth on a kernel. Luckily, I got an appointment at the dentist the next morning. The day before Thanksgiving I will get a crown put over the tooth. Hooray! Sort of:)

Smarty Pants Institute Letters G & H

2010-11-11T13:12:00.000-08:00

Big Dog loved coloring these grapes. I probably biased. But, I love his art:)

GH doesn't like to be shown up......

This week we worked on the letter H. I tried to get GH to make an H with dominoes. But he continued to work on his huge letter T. He pointed at it and said "T, ta ta, ta"

I guess T is a much cooler letter than H.

Enjoying the fall

2010-11-11T13:07:00.000-08:00

I have been ignoring my blog. So I'm going to try to catch up. The kiddos have been enjoying the fall weather.

Raking leaves looks like more fun than it actually is.

Big Dog didn't appreciate his sister getting in his way:)

Pictures of the downstairs bathroom

2010-11-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

I painted this morning.

I do realize the shower curtain doesn't really match. But, it works for now:)

They have axes

2010-11-03T12:28:00.000-07:00

There are two layers of wooden shingles, two layers of regular shingles and a lot of asphalt on our roof. This is the second day the roofers have been here. They are working pretty hard so I hope it will be done by the end of the week. But, our roof is a bit steep so I'm sure that is adding to the difficulty.

I have to admit I was a bit shocked when I saw that they were using axes to get through the layers.

Big Dog thinks it is cool that he can hear them through the ceiling. So he started banging back at them:)

Pictures of the boys

2010-11-03T12:18:00.001-07:00

I'll be the first to start the Christmas madness

2010-11-01T13:18:00.000-07:00

I hope you enjoy the Christmas music:D While I'm at it. Here is my ~~list of demands~~ Christmas wish list. I would love a new crock pot since the one we got for our wedding stopped working. And I would love new fabric table clothes. I need the long ones that are 109"

I hope you took note of that Captain Awesome:D

It's like the Justice League...but, cuter

2010-10-31T19:01:00.000-07:00

The kids were really excited about trick or treating. After we had stopped at a few places GH got the hang of it. He would say "trick or treat." Then he would say "thank you" after he got a treat. It was very very cute.

We ran into some friends:)

GH had so much in his bag he ended up dragging it. He even fell over it once. When he hit the ground it was hard and I figured he would cry. He wasn't concerned about his well being at all. He just checked his bag to make sure his candy was still in there:D When we tried to help him he got very protective of his bag. He had to hold it. If he wasn't holding it, he was screaming for it. Why wouldn't he trust us with his treats? It's not like we've been joking on Facebook about taking a portion of candy to teach children about taxes:D

Even if my little munchkins were taxed in the highest bracket for their haul of candy. They would still have more than they need:) But, that's just one moms opinion. I'm sure they would disagree:)

.......meanwhile at the Legion of Doom. :D just kidding

Halloween Activities

2010-10-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

We did some Halloween cookie cutter stamping. Cutie Pie insisted on looking like an artist. And GH just wanted to wear a hat like his big sister;)

Cutie Pie wanted our jack o lantern to be happy, not scary.

She was very happy with it.

I made some delicious pumpkin raisin bread. And Big Dog helped me bake pumpkin seeds. He's such a good helper:)

Kim's Halloween Party

2010-10-30T19:14:00.000-07:00

Princess K and GH. Don't you love the princess gear? Kim makes her kiddo's costumes because she is a complete show off:D haha

Kim & Ed also throw the best Halloween parties. They had two pinatas.

My kids loved it. I'm just glad my kids didn't hurt anyone;D

There were lots of yummy snacks...that I tried to steer them clear of.

There is something different about Big Dog. But, I just can't put my finger on it.

I think the best part of the party was the scary stories by the campfire:) So CUTE!

Crystal's Mural

2010-10-30T19:02:00.001-07:00

She's been hard at it:)

Halloween Bags

2010-10-30T14:15:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to finishing the Halloween bags (with one day to spare:)). Thanks to my friend Liz I was able to get the photo transfers done on a good printer:) The bags don't look great because I screwed them up last week:( But, I did my best to salvage them.

Cutie Pie helped me do some of the backstitching:) I think she did a really good job.

Smarty Pants Institute Letters E & F

2010-10-30T06:32:00.000-07:00

Some of the stuff we worked on.

Fixing fences on a farm

sorting fruit

working with flowers

We got four new windows today.

2010-10-29T19:09:00.000-07:00

The two windows in the foyer have been replaced. And now there are two new windows in the living room also. The living room windows that faced the front are gone. They have been replaced with one bay window. There is soooo much light in the room now. GH and I watched them finish everything up. The guys who did the work were great. It turned out really nice.

another trip to the zoo

2010-10-29T19:06:00.000-07:00

We saw most of the zoo today. We were trying to keep busy while our new windows were installed.

The aquarium is always a hit with the kiddos.

GH kept shouting "I see fish."

We took about a million photos on bronze animal statues today. But, I'm not going to post them all. I do like this one though

Cutie Pie reminded me this morning that I had promised to pack bread for the next trip to the zoo. Not that I'm not busy enough already trying to get our lunch prepared:D All of the kids, including GH did a great job breaking the bread into pieces before they threw it. GH would break the bread up then push it through the gate:)

The petting farm was fun.

Cutie Pie really wanted to go to the Cat Complex. GH like the cats too. He kept saying that they were sleepy:) How do we always manage to get to the Cat Complex at naptime?

We went back to Roca......and had a blast!

2010-10-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

First things first. GH wants to clear up any confusion you might have. This is not the color red. It is purple.

I finally got a picture of Big Dog coming out of the big slide. Geez...and I thought I was a helicopter parent until I saw some of the people there today:D The kids barely had room to get off of the slide.

hmmmm????

Oats are ok.....but, fake necklaces taste much better.

We went on a hay rack ride....minus the hay:)

I think I found a new header picture;D

We had some dinner at one of the restaurants. Big Dog wouldn't leave the spider web decorations alone. I think he was concerned about how this restaurant might have some health code violations:D

Halloween Parties

2010-10-28T18:42:00.000-07:00

Here's a picture of Cutie Pie during the Halloween parade at school. She was suppose to wear tights. Thank goodness they didn't do the parade outside. It was really cold and windy.

Awww so cute!

This is a picture from Cutie Pies CCD field trip. She enjoyed giving the elderly residents pencils during the reverse trick or treating activity:)

Resourceful Saboteur

2010-10-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

This morning I was doing my walk on the treadmill. GH went into the kitchen and got some mini marsh mellows out of the cabinet. He then started feeding them to me as I did my walk. I had to eat them.....I didn't want to hurt his feelings:D

GH knows a dinosaur when he sees it.

2010-10-27T19:03:00.000-07:00

~~Rooster~~ Cutie Pie made the cat mask at school. This mask didn't stand a chance in our house. About an hour after she got home the pipe cleaner whiskers were gone:(

Today GH found it under the couch and decided it was a dinosaur mask. I tried to show him that it was a cat. But, he just took it back and start roaring at me and saying "dinosaur."

Stinky Butt

2010-10-27T18:53:00.000-07:00

Poor GH is going to end up with a complex. Tonight when I pulled him out of the bathtub he kept say "I'm sorry Ma." I said, "What are you sorry about Henry?" He said "Stinky." I told him he wasn't stinky anymore because he had a bath. But, then he passed gas. I said, "Oh you are a little stinky butt." Cutie Pie walked in on this scene and thought it was funny. A few minutes later, GH came into Cutie Pie's room and said "Goodnight, Zenka." He went up to her to hug her and said "I love you." Cutie Pie hugged him back and says " I love you too Stinky Butt."

Poor ~~Stinky~~ GH.

fun coloring pages

2010-10-25T06:36:00.000-07:00

Have you tried this Crayola site yet? You can take a picture and make them into coloring pages. This one of Big Dog is my favorite so far.

Here is a code to use: PR24QCHT

GH always wakes me up in unusual ways

2010-10-24T05:11:00.000-07:00

This morning he said "Coo Coo, Where are you?" I have to say it's my favorite wakeup so far. It's a heck of a lot better than dumping a pitcher of juice all over the bed:)

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GH can say "Ruzenka." But for some reason he can't say "Brett." So GH calls Brett "Max."

Our trip to Roca

2010-10-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

These top three pictures were added later

We went to Roca, NE. Theres not much there besides the pumpkin patch:D Honestly, we should have turned around and came back home when Cutie Pie threw up in the parking lot. But, she really wanted to go. So we took them. I was really pleased with this place. Unlike Vala's it was affordable. And it was wide open so it was set up for people with younger children. There were a few scary things but my kids handled it well. I didn't get a lot of pictures because my camera broke while we were there. I was pretty disappointed. But here are the pictures we did get.

Big Dog and Cutie Pie LOVED this slide.

There were lots of cutouts to get pictures at.

The kids loved the Candyland area.

This giant cupcake is what inspired our trip to Roca. One of Captain Awesome's friends had posted pics on Facebook. We knew our kids would love it. Big Dog said "Yum" and tried to bite it:D Haha

GH REALLY wanted to be able to ride these. He just couldn't manage it:(

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

2010-10-19T18:38:00.000-07:00

Cutie Pie and Captain Awesome were outside tonight looking at stars. Cutie Pie said that they needed to make a wish. So she got down on her knees and put her hands together and prayed. After she got up Captain Awesome asked her what she wished for. She said "I wished that we can be best friends forever daddy." She is so sweet:)

I do love the new slipcovers but......

2010-10-19T06:30:00.001-07:00

do they look a little bit lumpy to you?

Will there be atheists in heaven? And other questions I have:D

2010-10-19T06:27:00.000-07:00

So we all know there will be thieves, murders, liars etc in Heaven. But, will there be atheists there? And if there are atheists there, what will they say? Probably something like "Oops my bad":D I'm not mentioning names or anything. But, will there be room in Heaven for people who completely bomb Traditional Catholic questioneers by scoring a 81%? I guess we'll have to wait and see.

Lots of Randomness

2010-10-17T18:25:00.000-07:00

but that's what makes it exciting. Am I right GH?!

Rooster found a paper bag behind the refrigerator. She decided it would make the perfect carrier for her stuffed animals. She obviously gets her natural parenting talents from me:D

GH saw Big Dog pulling the laundry line across the yard and then watched it get reeled back in. GH decided to give it a try too. But, he wrapped it all over the place. He got really mad when he couldn't pull it into the house.

Rooster loves this easy copy work activity.

Big Dog was brave enough to wear this public school t-shirt to the park. This was the day after the cross town rivalry game between public and the local Catholic school. Catholics in the public schools are in a no win situation when the battle for Wahoo happens:D

The Miners and Our Lady

2010-10-17T16:12:00.000-07:00

I don't think it is a coincidence that they were rescued on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima. Check out this link . I love that they received Rosaries blessed by Benedict XVI, that praying the Rosary was part of their daily routine, and that they made a small Altar. How blessed we are to have a mother who is always trying to bring us closer to God.

Cutie Pie thinks she needs a mantilla

2010-10-17T13:39:00.000-07:00

Today at Mass Cutie Pie wouldn't put her blue coat hood down. When I asked her about it, she kept looking towards the altar. I asked her if she was trying to look like Mary again. She said, "Yes." I told her that there are people that like to wear chapel veils/mantillas while they are at church. It is a sign of respect to God. I told her it wasn't necessary but some girls/women feel more comfortable around the Blessed Sacrament if they are veiled. She smiled. So I did some web surfing. I saw this on eBay.

I asked Cutie Pie if she liked it. She said no. She wants a pink one. She does have a dress in pink so it would work. I suppose it's good that this one didn't pass her standards. It's a little too expensive for something I think she would wear once and be over it. But, I did find a tutorial on Pondered in My Heart. If she's still interested next week I might shop around for some lace.

If you have a descent printer you could be my hero.

2010-10-15T17:06:00.000-07:00

So I was trying to use iron ons on the kids Halloween bags. Turns out my new printer doesnt do transfers well. So this year and last year Halloween pictures look AWFUL! If you have a good printer please let me borrow it for a few seconds so I can print off pictures of my kiddos. Hopefully I can salvage my Halloween bags. Nothing is going right these days:(

Smarty Pants Institute Letters C & D

2010-10-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in a while. We've been a bit under the weather. Here is a little bit of Big Dog's work from this week.

And some of GH's work from last week.

A Scriptural Rosary

2010-10-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love this Scriptural Rosary site. If you are a person who struggles to stay focused during the Rosary this site is for you. I have done the Sorrowful and Joyful mysteries. And honestly, I can't imagine ever going back. It is awesome.

So a turtle, some fish and a monkey walk into a bar....

2010-10-09T19:10:00.000-07:00

Ok, I don't really have a joke. But, really how good could that joke be anyway? I just needed a title.

So today Captain Awesome had the day off. After the kids were fed, I took a short nap. I awoke to the sounds of Super Rue and her sidekick Super Monkey aka GH, saving stuffed animals that were in trouble. Super Rue seemed to enjoy saving the stuffed animals. But, I think she enjoyed bossing around Super Monkey more:)

We had to move Donatello to a larger aquarium. He was getting too big and didn't have as much space to swim. The tank was also leaking because of Big Dog threw rocks into the aquarium. I really am trying to be cool about it. Obviously, he only did this to improve Donatello's living conditions.

We had to pick up a new filter AGAIN. So we decided to pick up some feeder fish too. Here is a picture of Cutie Pie feeding the fish. We started with twelve. Now we can only find four. But, they could be hiding amongst the rocks....or they could be in Donatello's stomach:D

Cutie Pie drew this picture of Donatello in school this week:)

pictures

2010-10-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

new pictures of the kiddos

2010-10-06T04:27:00.000-07:00

Family Fun Night

2010-10-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

Last night I took Big Dog to Lincoln to do some shopping with me. And tonight I got some more one on one time with him at Family Fun Night. I'm so glad I'm getting some extra time with my little man:)
He was really excited when Miss Patti started singing songs:)

In this activity the object was to find mice in the container full of mini pumpkins. When he was told he could pick a mini pumpkin to keep he said "I want a mouse." Umm maybe you want a mouse Big Dog. But mommy doesn't even want a fake mouse in the house:)

Big Dog also liked this Autumn sensory box.

This afternoon we finally finished our Pope Mobile. So if you want to see it check out the Pope blog.

GH says stuff

2010-10-04T07:42:00.000-07:00

GH has three words to describe our SUV, "Stinky, yucky, ick."

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GH can't say pumpkin yet. He calls them "pum pums."

Magic Marker Monday

2010-10-04T05:46:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa

2010-10-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

Captain Awesome's parents came down to see Cutie Pie's soccer game. The kids were so happy to see them. My in-laws hung out at our house for a few hours before the game. My mother in law noticed I was tired and encouraged me to take a nap. She is the only one in the world who encourages me to get naps. That is why I love her. Now some daughter in laws might be suspicious that their mother in law is trying to get rid of them. But, not me. I'm a charming girl. So I know that she isn't trying to get rid of me. Why would someone do that? I'm absolutely precious;D

Big Dog loves his grandma.

GH is grandmas boy too

Our neighbor Crystal......

2010-10-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

is painting a mural on the VFW. She has seemed happy to see us whenever we go check out her progress. Doesn't her mural look nice?

I'm far from religiously gifted. I must test well:D

2010-10-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of you have seen this questioneer from Pew Forum that has been circulating the Internet. I originally saw it on this post on Faith and Family Live. After reading the comments and seeing how intelligent everyone else was I figured there was no way I was going to do the survey. After all, someone is bringing that average down. And it would probably be me:D

Today my curiosity got the best of me. I figured I might as well know how little I know about religion. Well I ended up missing the last question. Apparently this is common. So now I'm left wondering if the results are accurate? I'm far from religiously gifted and I scored pretty well.

I always knew I was awesome. Now I have proof:D

It's too bad I think the results are a crock;D Is it bad that I'm so skeptical? I have a hard time believing people scored so poorly.

Playground Ettiquette and Common Sense

2010-10-01T04:11:00.000-07:00

1) My biggest playground pet peeve is people leaving bottle caps on the ground. Since you are at the playground I assume you are with children. If you are with children you should be aware that bottle caps pose a choking risk to small children. My children don't really put these types of things in their mouth anymore. But, I know better than to say it could never happen. On our last trip to the park I picked up TEN (yes 10) bottle caps so no small children would accidentally put them in their mouth. I also threw away a can of pop and a fork....It's nice that there are so many classy people in the world that would just leave their garbage where children play. The sad thing is that they are probably the parents of the kids.

2) To the man with the bag of Funoins. I heard that they are quite delicious. And I know you are trying to look super cool to impress the single mom on the other side of the park. But, you should really try to spend some time with your kid. Your kid is in my face trying to get attention. This is making it REALLY hard for me to pay attention to my kids. I think your kid is nice. But, I don't know you or the kid. So I don't want to help him across the monkey bars.

3) To the mother that cant stop talking on the cell, texting and checking the Internet. Well maybe I'm just jealous of you:D My phone can't do all that cool stuff. But your one year old really wants to get out of the wagon and play like your older kids. Its too bad she can't.

4) To the parents who brought their kids to the park for a whole 10 minutes then decide you needed to leave. What did you expect? Of course your kid is gonna be sad:(

5) I don't know why your 10-12 year old boy isn't at school in the middle of the day. But, I certainly hope you aren't homeschooling. You should not be in charge of making sure your child learns to socialize. You have no common sense or decency. Why would you come to a park full of toys and give your child a cap gun? He's running around the playground shooting little kids ages 2-5 that he doesn't even know. Do you think this is normal? Don't be surprised if your kid ends up a psycho. Yes, I left the park because of you. You are inconsiderate jerks. My kids aren't targets for your punk kid. (BTW--I'm not anti guns. My boys have a wooden gun that they really don't play with. I just think what you allowed your child to do was awful)

gh plays basketball

2010-09-30T18:44:00.000-07:00

Apples and Pumpkins

2010-09-30T18:43:00.000-07:00

We went to Martins Hillside Orchard today. We picked lots of apples.

The kids always love the tunnel and corn tee pee.

There were lots of picture ops. Not that anyone in our family likes to take lots of pictures:)

The kids also enjoy the little corn maze.

The Hay Mountain is pretty cool too:)

They also added some new stuff.

When Rooster saw the tire pile she totally ditched us.

The tire swing was still there. Weeeeee

This year we picked up pumpkins there too. I forgot a bag so we didn't get any raspberries. Maybe next year.

But, its ok we didn't get raspberries. The kids were having a blast picking up pumpkins.

It's been a long week. But we're hangin' in there

2010-09-30T18:19:00.001-07:00

Fun with friends

2010-09-30T18:17:00.000-07:00

The boys enjoyed playing together.

Olivia always tells the best jokes.

GH shared some animal cookies with Olivia.

some random pictures

2010-09-30T17:51:00.001-07:00

Hmmm...he's not even a teenager and we are already embarrassing him.

everyone knows Cutie Pie

2010-09-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

Today I took the kids to the Dollar store. Everywhere we go someone knows Cutie Pie. So on the way home I asked her, "Ruzenka do you think everyone knows who you are because you have a unique name? Or do you think they know who you are because you are so awesome?" ~~Roo~~ Cutie Pie laughed and said, "because I am awesome."