Winter Wonderland

Here are a few pics from snowy Winter Park. Unfortunately the CD I burned of pics downloaded to my mom's computer are corrupted-so I'll have to have her try and get me a new copy. But for now-here are a few:

And the stockings were hung...





...by the chimney with care...

Well, you know the rest! Wishing you and yours visions of sugarplums-
Merry Christmas!
I'll try and get our Colorado Blizzard pics posted soon!

Blizzard Excitement

There's excitement in the air today as the Rockies-(especially our area) are set to get 24-30 inches of snow!!! Thankfully Linda and the kids got into the lodge about 11 pm last night after sitting in traffic for several hours due to a horrendous car accident-the victims were burned beyond recognition. Thankfully, by the time we saw it on the news, Linda had already called us to say she was stuck in traffic. When we found out what had happened, we calledd her phone back and left her a message as to what had happened so that they could prepare themselves for the long wait. She told us that, fortunately, the second row of seats in Mom's van was not locked in properly and so Linda stopped the van to do a safety check and to install the seat correctly which was probably a saving grace to keep them out of that terrible accident. We are definitely grateful that they were not involved in that accident. I said prayers last night thinking of those poor souls who lost their lives and for their family members. I always think, that could've been us-that could've been my loved ones. I pray that the impact itself killed the victims instantly-no one should have to suffer. I always struggle with losses like that. Good people losing their lives in such a terrible way. No different than us-going to vacation with family or friends-thinking of nothing but hitting the slopes and drinking some hot chocolate. I guess for those of us left behind-it's meant to remind us to cherish each moment- that none of us are guaranteed anything in life.

Ok, sorry for the heavy stuff- on to more cheerful things. Yesterday the BooBear became the first member of our family to attempt snowboarding. We had rented a board for him and had planned to get him into a board lesson. We went all through the lines, the paperwork, only to find out that they start giving lessons at 6 years old! Now, WHY didn't the ski rental peeps know that and let us know before we made the trek down to the base where the lessons were? Well, we decided that since Boo already had the board, we would let him give it a go. He actually did a great job-he's a born natural! It was fun to watch all the others snowboarders checking him out-watching with some wonder and amazement as the little dude made his way down the slopes. The other BEBZ went out in the afternoon for their first attempt at snowboarding. Needless to say, they had great attitudes and made good use of their derrieres on their falls. Everyone has sore calf muscles and is feeling the overexertion today-so I guess it is working out that we will "cabin up" for the blizzard and spend the day hanging out at the pool and hot tubs and watching Christmas flicks.

It's all good. Family, food, cozy fires, presents, giggles, laughter, smiles and love.

The past two days have been absolutely beautiful -the trees were just gorgeous-with a light, two inch dusting of snow. Tomorrow snow is still predicted but in lesser amounts and will be beautiful at week's end and through midweek next week. I took some pictures with my old digital but nothing like the pics I could take with my 20D. Need to do some of that too. Don't want the moisture to get at the camera though-so I 'll wait til the weather clears up.

Other news,I reinjured my back last Fri. after I sneezed (go figure)-so Ian decides to pull a funny to make me feel better and sings out an altered jingle to the diabetic monitor "One Touch" commercial. He sang, "One sneeze changes everything!" What a little witster!

Well, the cousins are now in full form-with pillow fights and the usual raucousness that comes from nearly a year between visits. I need to go tame the troops before it gets to out of control. More later!

Lovin' the thin air

here in The Rockies! We watched Pirates of the Carribean (not, of course, Mick who was driving at the time and I atttempted to write out Christmas cards.We safely arrived (no transmission tragedies this year, thankfully!) in Colorado yesterday afternoon after only a few brotherly spats between the BEBZ. We didn't have the extremelyhigh winds to drive through as in years past (no major tumbleweed disturbances as in years past) but we also didn't get to catch the beautiful meteorite shower that we were able to witness across the expansive Kansas nightsky as we were treated to in 2003. We got a late start from home -leaving about 6:15 and got to our hotel at about 1:40 am. Needless to say, we all crashed upon our heads' hitting the pillows.

The boys enjoyed driving through the tunnel in the mountain-it's also a mini-highlight of the trip for them each year. We stopped at King Soopers in Denver for lift tickets-they were outrageous this year b/c they moved up the holiday season to the day we arrived. Usually we are here for some of the preseason so it's cheaper. We might have to consider taking vacation earlier next year even if it means the BEBZ will miss school. As it is, this year they will miss 3 1/2 days.

Ethan managed to come down with the flu bug Thurs. evening before we left. This was the third year out of his 5 year-young lifespan that he's become sick over the Christmas holidays. Poor little guy! Gratefully it was a 24 hour bug and he's back into his spunky form again!

Go figure.

Upon arrival and unpacking I came to the unfortunate conclusion that somehow amidst the last minute details of departing for a week long vacation for four- Mick's ski pants didn't get along for the ride. Not sure HOW that happened-all ski gear was laying in the middle of the kitchen floor last time I saw them. So now, Mick is on his way into town to buy a pair-really bites as he has a perfectly fine pair at home. It will be interesting to see where they show up when we get home.

I still can't believe the whirlwind of Fri. Talk about running around like a chicken with it's head cut off and indulging in excess amounts of Diet Pepsi. I awoke at 7 Am and ran to Wal-mart to get Christmas cards developed at one hour photo-only to realize they didn't open until 9! Aargh! Dropped off van at garage to have them get rid of the whirring noise due to our recently replaced brakes. Then...

Home to pay bills and to continue packing. Also got teachers' gifts and cards ready to go. Back to garage to pick up van and then it was off to Wal-mart again to finish last minute gift shopping and to develop Christmas cards. Next, picked up dry cleaning and then went to bank to make deposit and to take out cash for the trip. Stopped by Ethans school to let him know he had the flu an wouldn't be attending class. Back to Wal-mart ot pick up Christmas cards Home again to find the kennel had called several times and wondered if we had mixed up times as we were to bring the dogs in at 9 for boarding. Therefore, I quickly cleaned out and vacuumed the van and loaded up the dogs to take in to kennel. Realized a mile down the road I forgot their updated vaccination papers-so turned around to get them. Returned home from kennel and grabbed teachers' gifts and chocolate cake for them. Dispersed all of the gifts and cards into their mailboxes and ran for home to finish laundry and to write note and leave thank you gift for Holly and Mark regarding instructions for the house and lights and kitty care while we're gone. Oh, did I mention I also managed to cut Ethan's hair amidst all of the hoopla?

Bakc to our travel. The good news...we had no traffic jams-only one loser maniac that decided he wanted to tailgate me through downtown Denver-needless to say he got a window full of my face and as he passed me at ridiculous speed- he nearly hit the siderail!! Complete idiot. To say my loving goodwill and Christmas spirit went out the window along with my gestures would be an understatement.

Speaking of Goodwill, when we stopped at King Sooper's, the Salvation Army bell ringers were at attention at the front doors. I gave each of the boys a quarter to place in the bucket. Ian skipped right on up and dropped his in. Meanwhile, Ethan decides, NO, he didn't think HE WANTED to put his in the bucket...but would rather keep it...for himself...and put it in his pocket!! The men working the bucket thought it quite comical (and I guess it KIND OF was) but Mick and I thought otherwise as we dragged his CharminShack rumpus off to the side for a small discussion of goodwill toward others!!! What an imp!!

Mick is off to town to get more groceries and to find some ski pants. We won't ski til Tues. b/c we have to ski consecutive days. So tomorrow we may try our hand (more like our butts) at snowboarding. The boys seem game for it too. We'll see how much lessons cost.

Later Gator!

Birthday Beignets

yep...momma's version...i made them for our lil BOO who turned 5 today. so hard to imagine...5 years ago today he entered this world- one extremely healthy (10/10 on the Apgar scale) screaming, full-head of hair,.. baby boy. And now...now...well, let's just say our lives have never been the same since...

...constant laughter. smirks and smiles. loads of love. Full of antics and wit.

Look out ladies. We've got a charmer in DA HOUSE! :) Sorry about the pics being out of order!

Gotta love...

...SNOW DAYS! Not one but two. The boys were in their glory the past few days-staying up late and sleeping in. And, of course, playing in the snow. Here's a few pics...

Lil Grandma's BD

while sitting here typing my first entry today-and seeing the date of the post-I came to the realization that it was Lil Gma's BD. She's been gone nearly two and a half years now. Miss her so much. Ironically she passed on Ian's bd, May 29, 2004. Family members always seem to do that-find a meaningful date in your life and pass away on it. It's happened more than once in my family. Any of you out there ever have that happen? I actually think it's kind of special-not sad. It helps me to never forget those that have passed on before me and to remember all of the joy and special moments that that person brought into my life. And for me Gramser and I shared a lot. Lots of snippets of time and love. Lots of Little "Good Morning Egg" moments that I will cherish always. Here's to you Gramser... today is and always will be ...special. :)

the latest Ethanism

...the other day I was serving up some dinner to Ethan and Ethan said to me, " Momma, just give me a tiddle of that please."
"A tiddle?" I queried. "Is that somewhere between a tad and a little?"
To which my nearly five year old replied, "Yep!"
Oh, and the other pic would be Ian's striking impersonation of-none other than-Jack Nicholson himself. Think I should send it in to Ellen's show for her funny pictures? LOL

Happy Hauntings

...just got back from an evening of trick-o-treatin' with the matey-os. Fun time. Cool, crisp October weather-good night to be knockin on the neighbors doors. I just barely completed carving the "punkins" in time. Of course the only people to enjoy them were the four of us and anyone who checks out this blog. Ethan was sweet when I picked him up from school today-"Mommy, I got loads of candy at my school party and when I get home I'm gonna share it with brother!'" awwww...............

They are upstairs now-divvying up there stockpiles and trading each other out-after much to do and negotiating-Ian managed to obtain Ethan's package of Runts (minus the banana piece-"because Momma, that's my favorite fruit!"). I told them they had to brush their teeth for a really long time tonight. Ian said "how long" I said, "Until your arm feels like it's gonna fall off" (or at least for two-three minutes!)
They were discussing their different likes and dislikes (in the realm of the candy world) and started differentiating hard candy (the kind that will nearly guarantee a trip to the dentist--which BTW, I surmise many dentists have nightmares about Halloween and all of the cavities it produces) and soft candy. Ethan was chewing on a really hard candy at the time-picking it off of his molar while Ian said-"That's a really hard candy you're eating there Ethan-it's a "Now and AFTER" -yeah...you got that right buddy-eat it now and be paying a trip to the dentist AFTER you're done eating it!

i guess I'll have to post pics later as my browser isn't letting me anyway.

Back to Business

after a trip to visit extended family in St. Louis. Always good to see the cousins...its loud, boisterous, busy and filled with good food and conversation. Here are a few pics from the visit:

Good Read

Forgot to mention I recently read a good book-called the Memory Keepers Daughter. Good story-tragedy and triumph. Reads pretty quickly. now I'm reading to Feel Stuff-interestingly different in the way it is written-will wait til the end before I give it a full thumbs up. Still...one of my 2006 favorites was The Kite Runner.

Much needed R&R

Back from a weekend getaway to visit my ole friends from Chicagoland. I hadn't seen them in nearly a year. It was soooooooooooooooo good to catch up things-even though a lot of time has passed -we always pick up right where we left off. Funny how some relationships are like that. Comforting in the knowledge that you can look your worst and feel the best knowing they'll accept you just as you are. We always seem to have an evening of tears and an evening of goofiness and fun. Topics discussed range from the latest and greatest scrappin' supplies-to philisophical topics-religion and death-the whole gamut of mundane topics to parenting flops and hops all the way too controversial ones like assisted suicide. The hubbies may think we get away just to chat incessantly about makeup and clothes and material things-when in actuality-most of our discussions are thought-provoking and reflective.
I absolutely love this group of gals-those who you can bare your deepest fears to, your imperfections and insecurities--and still know they love you anyway. I think each of us would mutually agree that friendships like these are the ones worth investing in and are truly priceless.

And you know what? It all came to be because we all share the common love of scrapbooking and family. How cool is that?

First we shopped (of course) at this nice SB store called The Paper Moon. Everyone very friendly and helpful there. We ate dinner at a quaint lil Italian Bistro called the Brick Oven-downtown Washington(great lil bedroom community to Peoria-both of my parents were born and raised there and that's where many of my fondest memories with my grandparents took place!)We had appetizers and some pretty tasty pizza too! It had a nice ambience with a gorgeous Italian landscape mural adorning the wall..(I'd post a pic of it-but that photo is one Tanya's camera).
The River House was awesome! Great view of the Illinois River. Sunday morning we saw a huge flock of pelicans swimming upstream! Unfortunately, even with my telephoto lens they were fairly far away. (Here's a shout out to my dad's cousin and husband for loaning it to us for the weekend-Thanks so very much Carol and Charlie!)

I managed to accomplish a fair amount with my scrappin-completed an album for a Christmas gift and several other l/o's to boot! Looking forward to other holiday projects.
So, we shopped. We ate. We laughed and we cried and in the end it was a truly memorable weekend!

Just got back from Wally World awhile ago ($200 later-ouch!) and picked up a cute T-shirt that said "If you can read this...thank a teacher." I thought it was totally appropriate for Ian as we have so many educators in our families. Not too mention, it'll be a big hit on Teacher Appreciation Day! Anyways, when Ian saw it hanging up on the cabinet, he said, "Cool T-shirt-not like those other ones that say "sister for sale" or "and shut up, that's what?" (How cool a kid is he?)
Seriously though, who buys that for their kids? (sorry if I have offended anyone-but come on-a little more positivity in this world would sure be nice-and don't our teachers deserve a bit of gratitude from us?
Really. 'Nuf said.

Suzer, out!

oh so tired

-where did the day go? Man! Post office and dry cleaners...library for three hours and working at home on book fair details-finally managed to get to Wally World for groceries and much needed dog food, snacks, lightbulbs and other miscellaneous sundries. (Did I mention we didn't eat dinner until 9:30 how bad is that? (The boys did have a nutritious and obviously fulfilling snack after school!) Working on computer again typing up reminders and letters for the book fair --contact lists and other stuff. Trying to catch up on housecleaning and gear up for the long weekend. Tomorrow tennis lessons and packing for long weekend at the lake. But before all that-my buddy Kelly is coming over to scrap a little-guess I better go run and straighten up my scrappin space. Gonna be a late night-I can feel it already! I think I need to start my IV Diet Pepsi drip now. LOL I'll leave ya with a recent pic of The Benjamin and his Momma(Holly).

Busy...busy...

busy! So much to do with back to school-Cub Scouts and tennis and coordinating schedules...filling out oodles of redundant yet necessary medical and personal information for the BEBZ schools. Packing lunches, ironing shirts for picture day...feeding the dogs...calling teachers to meet with them regarding a challenging curriculum for Ian...calling volunteers to help out with the Scholastic book fair coming up in two or so weeks(I'm co-chairing)...putting my time in at the library shelving and covering and checking in and out books...watching Ben...doing tangram like puzzles and baking with Ethan...cleaning toilets and dusting and mopping floors...doing dishes and laundry and faxing and mailing and oh so much more...exasperation and exhaustion set in and then...

then...I reflect back on a little sliver of time in my day-when Ethan was riding in the car today on the way to pre-K and he said (quite out of the blue),

"Mommy, did you bake cookies when I was in your belly?"
(Where does the boy come up with this stuff?)
" Well, yes Ethan. I did. Why do you ask?"
"I was just wondering...cuz Little Bear's momma baked cookies when he was in her belly!"
...Out of the mouths of babes...
silly...
wonderful...
cherished...
my little blond beauregard!

Post-first day-of-school-last-day with the momma depression

..well...it finally sunk into the noggin today that my Lil' Boy Boo was off to his first day of formal schooling-PRE-KINDERGARTEN! ....it just makes my heart sink coming to the realization that this was the beginning of the end. The end of hanging out with Momma all day and playing...and giggling...and errand-running...and stealing sugar smacks...and snuggling...well...

now that I think of it...I can still do all those things with him...it just won't be in such the large quantities of time that I have in the past. Oh....and I was excited for him when I dropped him off at his new school and I saw his little face beaming with excitement-but then today when I picked him up from school and asked him if he "missed Momma today?" to which he impishly shook his head "no" (awww-cuts like a knife!) I then said it was "because you were so busy (gulp)having fun, right?" to which he smirked and nodded "yes!"
Ok.ok. gotta love the little dude-wanted to make the Momma feel a little better!
Anyhoo..here's a few pics from his and Ian's first day of school.

Recent R&R pics I said I'd post

ok...there's gotta be a faster way to upload these! I've had to u/l them one by one. arrrrrrgh...

R&R w/o the BEBZ

Well, Mick and I have been spending a little R&R w/o the BEBZ this week. I has been really great to have a little adult conversation with my soulmate without the interruptions of the BEBZ. It has been really hot where we're at but we've been enjoying tooling around on the waverunner and splashing in the pool. We've watched a fair share of US Open Tennis (correction-I have) and several of good flicks on TBS. Last night after a dinner show with Mimi and Papa and the BEBZ (they were just here for a few hours) we went to the resort's Parrothead Party. It was pretty fun-outdoors-with lots of dancing, a bbq and several artisans with stuff for sale. One vendor was selling Guatemalan jewelry to raise money for some families that had been hit by the mudslides (last year already?). The band is said to be one of the opening acts for THE JIMMY BUFFET himself. More fun with a second night of parroting tonight. Oh, Ian made friends with a guy who had a parrot named Paco on his shoudler. Ian liked petting his tailfeathers. Ethan, on the verge of a meltdown-opted not to pet Paco but he did want a dance with his Momma. (Yeah me!). We met a fun and (wildly)interesting couple who sat down at our table while we were listening to the band. They were Brady Bunch Newlyweds of a year and she had just completed her 200th sky dive jump. And if completing 200 jumps wasn't enough of a celebration she told us she completed it in her birthday suit! Yep...you read it right-no typo here! I'll try to post pics of all of the events when we return home. (Of course-no pics of the nudist skyjumper!!:)LOL

Can't believe school has already started. We drove back home Wed. to be able to take the BEBZ to their first day of school. Ethan was too cute. Really excited to finally be going to Pre-K. He likes his teacher Mrs. T. Ian got homework for his first day-about bringing things in of his likes/dislikes.

Yesterday Mick and I went on a trail ride. My horse was named Trooper and he was.. well... quite the character. I was smooth talkin' him the whole way and could tell he was listening and soakin' in all of the love throughout the ride. Trooper and I were the last in a line of about eight. The trail was 90% shaded which proved slightly refreshing as it was about 104 degrees out. Mick's horse was named Sully.
There was a beautiful sheperd/lab mix there named Bleu. She reminded us of Lily. Same eyes and nose and black spots on her tongue too. Apparently labs can have black on their tongues-so maybe Lily doesn't have chow in her after all. (For those of you who don't know-Lily was the puppy I found last year at the edge of our property.)

ok...Mick wants me to get ready for round 2 of the Parrothead Partying so TTFN! :)

Superheroes Beware...

...the next generation of do-gooders are here-ready to take on all things evil and wicked! :)
Just a few pics of the BEBZ at home and in their element.

I can't decide...

what type of window treatments I want in our house.We've lived here for just over two years non and I think it's time to get a few more windows covered.I bought a few clearanced curtains today at local store to try out for size and color combo. Still need to decide on hardware-but that of course will depend on whether or not I stick with curtains or go with roman shades or plantation blinds. Sometimes it is hard to commit.

So proud of myself!I just made it through 2 hours of Creating Keepsakes on QVC and didn't buy one single thing! That is something to talk about!

I had several visitors this pm for lunch-several family members-all accounted for there were 12.It was loud, boisterous and messy at times (Ethan spilled his milk-again!)but it was still great to see everyone.

I'm busy "Spring" Cleaning again. Yep. That's right. Time to thin down and pare down. Yesterday I went through all of Ian's school memorabilia from Preschool to Second and thinned down the collection. We also cleaned up the toyroom. I touched up all of the walls in the house too. Afterwards, I stained a night table. Today I worked on our closets and drawers. I hope to get to the garage this weekend as well as to get the basement painted in the next two weeks. Oh, I also MUST thin down and organize my scrappin' space. I don't think that's such a tall order to fill, do you? LOL
Anyhoo...really tired-so I'm going to clear off the pile of laundry (I folded but haven't put away yet)that's on our bed so I can get some shuteye! TTFN

How?

How seems to be the popular question of late.This simple question is frequently asked by my introspective 8 year-old but now it appears the gene has been passed on to little bro. Lately he's been all about how things work and how things happen. Leave it to my boys to not ask the usual "Why" question but instead the more difficult question (at least in my eyes), How? Today we were riding home from tennis when Ethan popped out the question, "Mommy, how does spit get in my mouth?" (Hmmmm........whatever made him think about that?) to which I replied, (after some consideration) "Well, Boo, you have salivary glands in your mouth that help make the spit." Hopefully that was accurate enough information for now to quell his intellect-at least long enough for me to "Ask Jeeves" LOL.

some days...
do not go as planned. Today was one of them. It didn't matter that we got up two ours before we had to be at tennis- we still managed to get out the door without hats, our thermos of ice cold water. Oh, and did I mention that we somehow didn't get home from Ian's baseball game last night with the thermos so I had to dig out an ancient one from back in my days of HS tennis. I actually dropped Ian off at the tennis drill and Boo and I ran to local dollar store for a hat and canteen and a few Aquafinas. He managed to get through the drill without any heat stroke-hit 102+ heat index today...sweltering...........at least their was a teeny weeny breeze while we were there. So...

we got a call this pm from an older gentleman who said (guess what?)his daughter had found our thermos at the park. Yippee! We went to go pick it up. Nice people. Kind of them to track us down. Sure made for a good end to a day that started out less than optimal. Refreshing to know there are still good people out there. I discussed the whole thing with the boys and we talked about paying things forward and about doing the right thing. Hopefully some of it sunk in.

This afternoon Ian took up digital scrapbooking for the first time. He'll probably be helping me out before I know it! That's a-ok by me! I can certainly use the help.

Got new neighbors yesterday at the end of the street. Haven't met them yet-but know they ride well-sporting a sleek black Mercedes. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll have boys our kids' age. I'm not betting any money on it though-since they drive a Mercedes-I doubt they have kids. If they do they probably don't get to ride in it1 LOL
Sorry for the sarcasm-it's getting late.

It's supposed to be record heat again tomorrow. Maybe we'll catch a movie-haven;t been to one in over a year. I know the boys would like Over the Hedge or Cars. We'll see how the day goes.

Tennis, tennis and more tennis

Had group drills at local tennis courts for Ian and Boo and I hit awhile. He's actually getting much better at making contact with the ball.I also taught him where the different lines were on the court-had him run to each line-made a game of it-which he seemed to like. A friend called little after three and offered us four ticket to local pro tennis match-(she's not into tennis and bless her heart-remembered I was). I was already scheduled to play tennis so Mick ended up taking the boys and the son of my friend. They all came home with new rackets and balls-super excited and pumped up aboutthe game! It is so awesome to be an observer of a passion being born! My friend's son said "It was the best day of his life!" How adorable is that? Of course with my love of tennis I think that comment really rocks-but how cool to think that this eight year old has som many more best days of his life in the future?

I played ok at tennis tonight-my serve neeeds a ton of help in the consistency dept. Double faulted on game point on at least two occasions-big nono-but did serve up an ace or two. Hit for another hour singles with another friend who is literally a human backboard-gets everything back-I mean everything. I ran a lot of shots down to night to the point I thought I was going to puke! But, i still love the game! Next week ought to be interesting as it's supposed to be over 100+ with the heat index.

Lucky me though, I get to go to pro match tomorrow night as another friend invited Mick and me to go to the match. VIP dinner and boxed seats. I'm soooo pumped!

Mick and I decided to stay home for a weekend and try to get some much needed things done around the house. Still need to paint basement and to purge out closets, toy room, etc. Don't really think we'll get it all done-but we can sure see how fun it will be to try! ;)

Got news today that my MIL and SIL both had visits to ER over the past week. Both appear to have been stress related. Imagine that? In the world we live in? I just keep counting my blessings that I haven't show up there yet!:)
Also received an email that extened family member is on his deathbed-stage four cancer due to smoking for years. I don't know many of you who smoke but I do know their are a few of my loved ones out there thatdo-so if you read this-please stop! We want you around for a long time-do it for your kids if nothing else! JUST DO IT!

Went to one of my favorite photographer's blog and she is having a hands on seminar to learn about photography and photo editing and much more. I would love to go to it but there's only about 15 slots for people to attend and in just one day over 300 people have responded showing interest. We'll see if anything comes of it-my luck would be I can't afford it if I actually get picked to attend! LOL! Well, if it's meant to be...it's meant to be...sigh....
more later!TTFN

Ethanism

Yep...Ethan came up with a good one today. He has an eye disorder (Brown's Superior Oblique Tendon Sheath Syndrome to be precise) which doesn't allow his left eye to elevate the way it is supposed to (it's really pronounced when he gazes up). Well, he refers to it as his "Eye Trick" and will on numerous occasions put on a show for all to see by making it "Wig Out". Anyhoo, on the way to tennis today he, out of the blue says "I think my eye trick has run out of batteries." -leave it to the kid;)

Made some yummy caramel pecan rolls for BF today and some homemade blackberry crisp for dessert after dinner. I just love the summer for all of the fresh fruits and veggies that are readily available.
Yumola!

At dinner last night Ian ordered a cheeseburger and replied that he wanted some tomato and salad to go with it. He keeps referring to lettuce as salad. I clarified this for the waitress so that Ian wouldn't be surprised when she came back with a side salad instead of tomato and lettuce on his burger. He did the same this past Sat. when we went to the Farmer's Market and pointed to a tiny head of cabbage and asked if he could have some salad.

Visited HM and Ben today. Just saw them Sat and the cute lil dude (6mos)has started shaking his head no. It's quite comical ti see. Such an expressive little guy-definitely need to take more pics of him.

To the cousins (you know who you are) that visited last Fri. Hope you had a safe trip home and it was wonderful to see all of you again. We defintely need to get together more often! Tell the rest of the Fam hello!

Colored Cheerios

yep...that's right. Today Ethan asked daddy to pour him a bowl of "Colored" Cheerios. In actuality, what he wanted was a recently purchased,special treat, one-time-only bag of Tootie Frooties. You didn't actually think I'd buy the name brand now, would ya? That boy never ceases to bring a chuckle along the way.

After surviving (barely) a weekend with four boisterous boys our lives returned to some semblancy. I took Ethan to T-Ball.That was an experience. Due to rainy weather they played inside. Three four year old boys attempting to catch pop-up balls from a tennis ball type machine proved quite comical. Each boy kept tracking down the catapulted ball until it rolled to a stopped, regardless of the fact that more balls were systematically and rhythmically being shot out at them. Several sermons later the boys finally took the adults advice and focused on just looking at the machine and waiting for the next ball to come out. Whew. Then onto the T. The bat looked as if it weighed more than each boy. But each made his way up to the plate to swing at the ball. Several safety sermons later (about waiting until the coach had placed the ball on the T and safely backed away) each boy had his share of hitting the ball into the safety net.

Onto to Borders. Bargain section rocked. Picked up a few books for the boys and a couple of gifts as well for family members.

On to tennis clinic. Ian's first at anew place. He quickly sized up the group as he walked onthe court and immediately went into his slow descent into one of his rare but awful meltdowns. Holding back the tears (barely) he walked over to me and pitched a fit. Would not go back on the court for anything. I threatened to take away computer. TV, PSP AND playing in his baseball game tomorrow night-didn't matter. Then... he started to watch the group and realized...hey, I can play like some of them...decided to give it a try...and guess, what? He's going to try it again tomorrow AND as we were walking to the van-he said, "Mommy. I'm sorry."....awwwww...that's just what one stressed out mommy needed to hear...gotta love the little man.

Home to laundry and art projects (rainy day). The bEBZ and I made an astronaut that had movable body parts. Managed to get a few shirts ironed and a couple loads of laundry folded but not before Mick's counterpart got to the house. I was down in SB room when Mick comes down to tell me his counterpart would be here in ten minutes!!! TEN MINUTES? What was he thinking? I've been gone for basically a week and a half and just entertained a weekend of boys in our home? Ya think I'd need a little more time then ten minutes to get the house in order. Needless to say I was a bit overwhelmed and exasperated.

Need to sign off now. More later...

Give me strength...

...I've got four boys 9,8,7 and four to take care of and to entertain for the weekend! It's the Guys' Weekend down at the lake-so I have my two nephews and our two BEBZ. We did a Wally-World run for some snacks and drinks(yeah a mere $111.00 later) and then a quick trip to the movie store. Picked up a few flicks to occupy their time. Lots of light sabers and Pokemon cards have been a flyin' but no serious injuries our damages to report (as of yet, LOL).Been a crazy week-was gone all of last week to Tulsa for tennis camp and Lion King (always a great show). Returned home Fri. to unpack and repack for cabin. Spent the next four days, relaxing...skiing...waverunning...launchpod jumpin'...eating...playing redneck golf and watching the cousins all play. Ian attempted to ski for the first time with trainer ski and got up on the first try.(I just new the lil dude would do it-could see it in his face...determination written all over it. Wouldn't you agree?)
Well, it's now 10:20 way, way, WAY past the 4yo bedtime (and the others as well). We are now having a complete meltdown as hyperactivity kicks in-in a last ditch, futile attempt (by my 4yo) to keep moving (or else crash and burn)because the minute he stops he knows he's down for the count. If it wasn't so comical to observe it would definitely drive a woman(aka-me,the mommacrazy. I'm hopeful that they'll all sleep in-but know chances are highly unlikely as my nephews are known to be early risers despite how late they get to bed. Noth to mention-when one wakes up-it's a domino effect. He wakes the next up...and so on.. and so on...AND SO ON...sigh...as I said before-give me strength... and give me sleep...

Oh...During the Wally World trip-it was quite interesting to see the look on people's faces as I marched through the store with the boys filing behind me in a single line. I heard quite a few remarks like.."boy I thought I had my hands full but look at her!" and "Wow, you've got your hands full." Some people just smiled and chuckled to themselves. Others said,"Your a brave lady." Funny... I almost felt as if I were pregnant again and everyone was sympathetic to me. Weird feeling.


Well, it's official. The meltdown has reached full capacity. Ethman just came into the room crying and wailing that Ian and Liam were smacking him with pillows. Ian came in saying Ethan was hitting him with the light saber-IN THE HEAD MOM! REALLY!
argh...and so it goes...isn't there just an "OFF" button I can push?