Mini Party

Yes, Mondo and I are crazy. We bought our 4 year old a REAL drum set. It acutally took us about 1.5 hours to put it together. Whew. It is in his room...not the playroom! We are seriously thinking about getting him some drum lessons. The boy has rhythm! We had a small celebration on his actual birthday. I got a small cake and we invited Mondo's mom ("Momo") over and had burgers, homemade fries and homemade onion rings (Mondo's new speciality!) Most of you know that his birthday party was cancelled due the ice "storm". He was so sad. He still asks several times a day when his birthday party is going to be. I had already bought his cake so we had to share it with some friends and family. It turned out ok since I decided I didn't like his cake anyway.

Drumming in his Kung Fu Panda pj's. Told you he wears them all the time.

Here is his original cake. It looked ok in the picture...not so...black. At least he got to keep the Batman and cave.

Is it bad that my cake was featured on the Cake Wreck blog??? And the sad thing is...that cake looks better than mine!

Here is the caption from the site: "Then allow me to introduce a new Wreck series: Caped Catastrophes. Today's first lucky victim? The Bat Man himself. Here Bat Boy rides out of a plastic drain-pipe on a magma slick in glorious celebration of "Brian Day". Um, are those things on the side supposed to be bats, Clarissa D.?

Thanks for coming over Momo! They have the exact same face in this picture...weird.

Thanks for the books! He was so excited. He said "Mommy, it's baby Jesus!"

Shoving an onion ring in his mouth.

Here's his sad little cake. Why is it sad? Keep scrolling and watch the side of the cake...

There it goes...

It's melting! I think it got a little too close to the frying pan. :-)

He didn't care. He tried to lick off the balloons.

And here's what you've been waiting for! Drumroll please....(by the way, this isn't an actual song...he's just playing around).

So, What is a 4 Year Old Up to....

I can't believe I have a four year old. Where has the time gone??? He is so busy and says the craziest things. I need to start jotting them down because I keep forgetting the funny things he says. He goes to school Tuesday, Thursday, and all day Friday and loves it. He looks forward to Fridays because he gets to eat lunch at school and lay on his napmat. Next year I will send him three days a week all day to get him ready for kindergarten the next year. We're not even going to talk about that!!! He frequents time out a lot (at home, not school) but has the sweetest heart. He loves his little brother but has now realized that it is fun to annoy him. He'll take toys away or follow him around with his hands on Caleb's head while Caleb whines. Don't get me wrong, the boy is still super sweet to him too. The other day Mondo and I were holding Caleb down while we put in some ear drops. Caleb was actually laughing but Ethan thought he was crying and we were the cause. He said "Mommy, Daddy, leave him alone you're hurting him!" It was sad and cute at the same time.

He is still weird about his food. He only eats red or cheesy spaghetti, mac & cheese, bologna, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and pizza. That's about it. And he could probably eat a whole bag of chips at one setting if we let him. He still drinks "chama-milk" every morning and night. The only other thing he drinks is apple juice. Still working on the water thing but I don't really drink it either so it's a bit hard. Mommy needs to change her ways too.

He is very inquisitive about things. He asks questions about things that I don't even think about. Like the other day we were on a walk and he asked questions about the pavement: why is this spot smooth and this spot is bumpy; why is this spot covered with rocks; why is there a crack in the road; what happens when something goes down the rain drain (like him)...and the list goes on. He also is into helping me drive. He tells me when the light is red or green and that I need to go. He asks what direction the place in that we're going to. Of course he asks how long until we get there. He's quite the little helper in general.

"Member yesterday?" That is something I hear daily. It doesn't matter when something actually happened, to him it is yesterday. Like every time we drive by The Ballpark he says "Remember yesterday when we went there and I saw Hamilton? I want to go there again." It was actually last summer when we went...and that was the only time he's been.

Note the matching attire...even down to the Spiderman sunglasses, and yes, Spiderman underwear. He is into picking out his own clothes which is totally annoying. Every day he wants to wear his "Spiderman shirt, jeans, red socks, and black shoes." EVERY DAY!

He stuffed himself into a pillowcase just for fun.

Just lounging with he chama milk and "sheepy blanket". This is what he does after he has played for a while and needs to "take a rest".

Being silly at bath time.

We love the Spiderman tent. It lives folded up under his bed. But on occassion it comes out to the dining room for a few days and we go "camping". We don't actually sleep in there but he takes out all of his blankets and stuffed animals and piles them inside. He also gets his pillows and a flashlight. It provides hours of fun.

Here's a look on the inside. He's wearing his Kung Fu Panda pj's. If he's not wearing the Spiderman shirt, then it's these pj's.

I told him to clean up his bath toys so he could get out and he started singing his version of the clean-up song. I was cracking up.

This is a three part video. He was watching Lean on Me with Mondo this weekend and fell in love with the song. He made up his own dance moves. I don't know why he closes his eyes and spins the whole time. There are three videos because it is a long song and didn't want to tape the whole thing...but he has different dance moves that I think are pretty funny. Sorry for the underwear. For some reason when the song starts he feels the need to take his shirt off and throw it.

Happy Birthday!

Happy 4th Birthday Ethan!!!

Don't worry, there will be a super long post to come....

Pimp My Blog

I received a ton of email about my new blog header. To answer some questions, yes, I did the header myself. Thanks to my cousin Sonja for sending me the link to the site. I did it at www.scrapblog.com Yes, it's free. There are probably over 100 templates to choose from. Everything on the page can be moved around and you can even change the wording that is on the original template. It's as easy as downloading pictures and dropping them on the page. You create a scrapblog page, save it, then download it to your blog. The whole process took me about 2 hours but I didn't know what I was doing and was figuring it out as I went. Plus I couldn't decide which pics to use. Anyway, that's how the creation was made. Let me know if you have any more questions!

Ringing in the New Year

This year we rang in the new year family style. We had the Joyce's and Mittig's over for some 2009 fun. We had a crazy assortment of food, smores for dessert, and sparklers to end the evening. The kids made it to 11pm and watched the ball drop in New York then everyone went home. Mondo and I made it all the way to 1230 before we went to bed. Wow, what a crazy night.

Here's the line-up in birth order (starting with the youngest, obviously): Maddie, Caleb, Maggie, Will, Tyler, and Ethan. I stole this picture from Kristy's blog. I didn't have my camera ready and I was in the background jumping around like a crazy person to get them to stay on the fireplace.

Here we have some New Year's hotdogs, cheetos, and cheese. Yummy.

Cooking smores...Ethan's favorite thing to do in the winter.

Caleb's first smore.

Ok, it looks like he doesn't like it but he kept coming back for more! He was a big sticky mess.

Caleb had fun playing with all the big kids. See the smile through the paci?

You can't tell in this picture but it was almost pitch black outside and they were playing on the playground.

We ended the night with sparklers. Apparently a new New Year's tradition.

Tagged - 8 Things

Jamie tagged me with this months ago. I'm just now getting around to it! It requires too much thought, but suprise...I did it!

Favorite Restaurants:

1. N9ne Steakhouse
2. Olive Garden
3. Joe T Garcia's
4. Jay's Bagels
5. Subway
6. Taco Bell
7. Cheesecake Factory
8. On the Border



8Things that Happened Today:

1. I let Mondo sleep in with Caleb.
2. I slept all day.
3. I ate Long John Silver's (heart attack city!).
4. I had Starbucks on the way to work.
5. I worked all night.
6. I helped a baby take it's first breath.
7. I attempted to start an IV on a dehydrated, chubby 7 month old in the ER...I don't do pedi!
8. I drank too much caffeine and not enough water.


8 Things I Look Forward To:

1. Watching my kids grow and change.
2. The year 2009.
3. Church on Sunday mornings.
4. Getting sleep all night....some day.
5. All holidays next year.
6. Saturdays - I get to sleep uninterrupted all day!
7. Sunday nights - my new family time.
8. Watching my kids learn something new.


8 Things I'm Scared Of:

1. Something happening to my kids.
2. Losing my own health.
3. Spiders.
4. Food with texture. :-)
5. Not being good enough.
6. Having my sweet boys turn into rebellious teenagers!
7. Anything that brings sadness to my kids.
8. Hell.


8 Things I Wish For:

1. To live in this house forever (sorry Mondo).
2. Eternal happiness for my boys.
3. Peace.
4. Living long enough to play with my grandchildren.
5. Health and happiness for my friends.
6. To get my dogs out of the kitchen.
7. My house to be completely "done".
8. To be an awesome wife.


8 Things I Watch on TV:

1. Days of Our Lives
2. LOST
3. The Wiggles
4. Americal Idol
5. Grey's Anatomy
6. Biggest Loser
7. Deliver Me
8. John & Kate Plus 8


8 People I TAG:

1. Summer
2. Kristy
3. Nicole
4. Katie
5. Sonja
6. Erin
7. Shawna
8. Blakely

The Christmas Post is Finally Here!

It's only a few weeks after Christmas...I'm not too terribly late in posting a blog about it! We had a great Christmas and it's all still a bit of a blur. We go to my mom's house on Christmas Eve for lunch and presents with the entire extended family. It's pretty much mass chaos. :-) But the kids love it. Ethan had a great time with his cousins. It makes me a little sad that he is getting so big when he spends the whole day running with the other kids and I don't have to have my eyes on him the entire time. The weather was nice so the kids played outside most of the day. Caleb had fun in Santa Land and eating his way through the day. There are way too many pictures but, hey, it was Christmas!

Family photo op #1 in front of the Christmas tree. One out of two kids looking isn't too shabby.

Checking out his Handy Manny toolbox.

Christmas morning at Nana and Papa's.

Caleb sporting his new robe. He kept it on for hours!

Ok, so this isn't technically from Christmas morning but it was the only time he put on his robe that Santa brought him.

"Uh, could someone put some coffee in this sippy cup???" Check out his bed-head. So cute.

Ethan LOVES his Leapster. He looked like such a big kid playing it on Christmas morning. Now it lives in the car to keep him occupied.

Chowing down on "Christmas morning breakfast". We all look forward to it every year. Thanks for cooking it Mom and Dad!

He couldn't even look up for a picture. He was too busy shoveling it in.

Ethan and Hailey enjoying their Christmas breakfast. Notice what Ethan is eating? Yep, cheesy ghetti.

Caleb loves this little zoo toy. I'll hear him turning it off and on in his room.

One of Caleb's presents from Santa.

Ethan and Hailey plaing with their laptops.

Thanks for the bike Santa! I was suprised he wore all of the protective gear. He said "I have to wear this so I won't get hurt if I fall." And yes, he was riding his bike in his pajamas....hey, it was Christmas!

His a picture of Santa Land. You can see why the kids love it. It's full of those little stuffed animal noise makers. You can't see it but there is a train that runs on a track hanging from the ceiling. Next up...Valentine Land!

Family photo with Aunt Lou. Again, both kids not looking. Actually, in Caleb's defense I think Caleb was looking at another camera.

Caleb playing in Santa Land.

Ethan helping Papa crack nuts in his Kung Fu Panda pj's. He would wear those every night if he could.

Roasting marshmellows in the fireplace. Everytime there is a fire going he needs to roast a marshmellow.

Yep, Christmas in Texas. Caleb is swinging outside in his pj's and doesn't even need a coat.

Santa Pic

Here's a little Christmas teaser. This is a picture of a picture. It's what people without a scanner do. :-) Caleb had been awake for about 5 minutes before this was taken...at least he didn't cry!

Gaylord Texan

One of our Christmas traditions is to go to Gaylord Texan to see the light and train displays. It was fun this year to take Caleb and let him walk around. Of course Ethan had a super fun time. We were a little early to see Santa so we skipped it since the boys had just visited Santa in the mall earlier that day. We did get to see Mrs. Clause with a real live reindeer. We didn't go to the ice display. Who needs to spend lots of money to freeze to death? Not us! Especially not with two small children. They would be miserable and not even remember it years from now. Anyway, I digress...here are the pics.

This is the best I could do with this pic. I was trying to get a picture of all the lights hanging from the ceiling.

This was so funny. Ethan was trying his hardest to hold down Caleb and Caleb was trying his hardest to get out of his kung-fu grip. Both of them were cracking up.

We did manage to get a good picture out of it.

That's a giant gingerbread house behind him. Looked good enough to eat!

I'm giving up on trying to get these two together! Ethan was trying desperately to hold Caleb in place for a picture of them standing together and all Caleb wanted to to was walk!

This was in a sleigh. Caleb didn't have much room to escape so we got a pretty decent picture. Look familiar to some of you?