Quackers

The students in Sutton's anatomy and physiology class are raising a bunch of these cute little goslings. Sutton decided to duck-sit this weekend so her siblings could enjoy some one-on-one duck-time. The siblings loved it, the ducks, not so much. And mom and dad, not at all. (Duck poop is yuck.)

Proud "momma."

















"Wanna see me waddle?"

















"Somebody get me outta here!"













"It's okay little duck, I poop on 'em too."

Things I know now that I am 11 months old

I am a professional waver and use my "Miss America" wave on anyone that will look at me.

I can take several steps at a time on my own, but I prefer to have you hold my hand and spend your day walking with me. Surely, there's nothing more important for you to do.

I do not want to crawl...forwards, that is; backwards works just fine.

When I want to show off, I can quack like a duck, moo like a cow, and meow like a kitty cat. But don't ask me to do it because I will always choose not to and you'll look really dumb.

Mommy bought me Squeaky shoes and I love to make them squeak, squeak, squeak as I walk.

Mommy probably won't buy me any more Squeaky shoes.

I'm a little obsessed with other babies, children and mannequins. I think I scare the babies and children when I scream at them. The mannequins don't seem to mind.

I'm a huge fan of queso, ice cream, grapefruit, and chicken noodle soup from Chick-Fil-A.

I will scream in at the top of my lungs, throw a fit, and make everyone stare at us if you try and take away your Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino® . You're supposed to share.

I have a princess birthday party coming up soon. After that rabbit tu-tu get-up my mom made me wear at Easter, I'm getting worried.

I have two teeth on bottom and one on top. Mommy says I look like Nanny McPhee. I don't think mommy's funny...at all.

Proving herself

Reagan (13) wasn't put on the track team after tryouts a few months ago and she was quite disappointed. However, several of those girls who did make the team have been consistently coming up with excuses as to why they couldn't run in the meets. The coaches have called Reagan up as a substitute for each meet this season, she even did very well recently. This week those same coaches moved her from a lowly "sub" to an actual track team member and put her in the district meet.

Last night our little track star placed in the top five in both the 800 (half mile) and the 1600 (one mile), obviously proving a point to anyone who may have doubted her.

This is our same little girl who, when she was five, refused to get off her bike and come in the house the day she decided to learn to ride without training wheels. She must have tried and failed hundreds of times that day, scratched up and bruised, but by the time the sun set, we had our newest little cyclist.

She continues to inspire me daily and make me so proud. I can only hope the determination she possess now continues to grow as she does, because at this rate, there is no limit to what she can accomplish.

Little bunny tu-tu

A quick visit with dear friends

Mr. Don and Ms. Shirley have been friends of Jimmy's for 20 years. It was Don and Shirley's daughter's death that brought Jimmy and them together, and they've formed a bond that will last a lifetime. We were so glad to get to visit with them in their home where Ms. Shirley spoiled us all with a wonderful lunch. The boys played outside, breathing in the country air, while the nose-to-nose exchange with Molly the calf was a definite highlight.

My family: a bunch of egg heads...

...whom I totally adore.

"I'm ready to hunt some eggs."

















I'll push, you pick 'em up."

















"Mmmmmm...forget candy, I'm diggin' this grass."

















Cousin picture...













...gone very bad.













I have no idea where those kids get it.













My brother, sisters and I obviously have it completely together.

Fish-1 Us-0

We started out intense and focused.

















But soon lost interest.















So I took tree pictures:-)

I interrupt my Easter posts for this...

Mr. I-Will-NEVER-Go-To-School just returned from school at our church while I went to my Bible study.

He tried to negotiate with me before he walked into his classroom by saying that we should probably wait until tomorrow to do this because "then I will be bigger."

I convinced him to try it one time and he decided to walk in only after he verified with the teacher that they did, indeed, have a telephone. Because, you know, at 4 years old he might need to make a call or two.

Three hours later we reunited. We kissed, hugged, high-fived and went to Chik-Fil-A to celebrate his bravery.

I can not tell you how relieved excited I am for me him. Oh, and I found out they have these classes for little ones Tuesdays AND Thursdays! From 9:30-1:00! And they're FREE!

I think I'm gonna cry.

Bunny tail tale

Our Easter weekend...the synopsis

Thursday:
Drive
"Are we there yet?"
Drive, drive, drive
"When will we get there?"
Scream at children
Drive, speed, drive
"What's taking so long?"
Scream louder
Speed, speed, speed
Screech
Throw children from the car AT the grandparents

Friday:
Visit, visit, visit
Wrangle extremely excited boys
Granna feeling ill
Fishing and fussing, fussing and fishing
Granna SICK!
Jimmy takes Granna to emergency room
I wrangle over-excited, over-stimulated boys way into the night

Saturday:
Granna in hospital for gallbladder surgery:-(
Jimmy and I clean and organize for her
Visit other grandparents (my family) and laugh, laugh, laugh
Egg hunt

Sunday:
Happy Easter!
baths, iron, dress, hair, PANIC!
Church (on time, thankyouverymuch)
I make Easter lunch (spaghetti, LOL!)
Granna came home from hospital
Easter Bunny visit (sugar explosion)
Drive home:
"Are we there yet?" (As we pulled out of their driveway)
"I don't feel so good." (Vomiting in the back seat)
"I need to tinkle...NOW." (Side-of-the-road, tinkle-in-the-grass)
"I'm HUNGRY!" (5 Happy Meals, a #3, and drinks while we fly madly down the road drive.)
"Ewwww...she STINKS!" (Back seat diaper change)
"Why won't she stop screaming?" (Oy.)
Arrive home and collapse, so happy to be here.

Pics to follow shortly, if I can pull myself together and get them edited.

Headed out

Easter's a comin' so we're headed out of town. If I hear one more time, "Mom, what time are we leaving?" I'm going to strangle someone. The next few days will be filled with fishing, exploring, feeding cows, and anything else we can think of to tire them out.

I'll be updating as often as the internet connection out on the big 'ole hill allows.

Happy early Easter everyone.

Baby steps

**Deep, DEEP heavy sigh**

Mighty Ninja Warrior Sunday School Go-er

Because our moral parenting fiber seems to be running quite thin, we deemed it not below us to bribe our four year old child into going to Sunday School for the very first time. Although I'm sure we've broken some biblical law somewhere, hopefully the Lord will forgive us since THE LITTLE GUY WENT.

It was all a little dicey in the beginning. There were tears, a few hissy fits and some pouting...and then we calmed Daddy down.

You think I'm kidding.

I'm so not.

Landon went, LOVED IT, got to choose our lunch spot, came home and collected his blackmail promises big boy gifts, (can you say Ninja overload?) and took a nice long nap. He's already planning his next Sunday School outing.

Daddy, on the other hand, is still trying to recover.

Unexpected motivation

Reagan, 13 (Calling from the track meet where she is a substitute runner, having not made the track team): "Hey, Mom! I just ran the 800 and didn't do so great, but now they want me to run the mile and two mile."

Mom: "Rea, I think that's too much, you haven't trained for all of that. Why don't you just stick with the mile."

Reagan: "Well, okay, but I REALLY want to win a ribbon but I know I can't...these girls are way faster than me."

Mom: "Do your best, babe, that's all you can do."

Reagan: "I know but I REALLY want to win a ribbon to show those coaches I should've been on the team."

Mom: "Well, go show them! And if you win a ribbon, I'll let you sleep until 5:15 tomorrow." (Teasing her as our usual wake-up time is 5am.)

Reagan: "15 extra minutes?! Make it 6:15 and you got a deal!"

Mom (confident I had nothing to worry about): "Okay, but remember to pace yourself on the first three laps and then kick it at the end."

An hour later, the phone rings...

Reagan (screaming): "MOM! I did it! I won a ribbon!"

Mom (in shock): "You did?! Oh my gosh Rea, congratulations! Now you get to sleep until 5:15 tomorrow morning.

Reagan (with great fervor): "5:15?! Do you know how many girls I had to fly by at the end of that race?! You said 6:15, Mom, 6:15!

She slept until exactly 6:15 Friday morning and came downstairs smiling, not because she won that ribbon and not because she proved herself to the coaches, but because she had enough kick in the end of that race to earn the promised extra hour of sleep.

Now, considering I haven't slept all night long in 18 years and my youngest children like to rise before the sun, I think I can appreciate such a precious reward.

Happy Birthday Gina

Today is my sister's birthday. She is home alone with five kids while her husband is serving our country in Iraq...not my idea of the perfect birthday. So if you've got a minute, pop on over to her blog and wish her well.

Enjoy your day, sis. Eat lots of chocolate and kiss your babies. We love you.

School Egg Hunt

May I have your attention please...

I'm getting ready to run out for an appointment, but I wanted to quickly share a website I found while rummaging around some other blogs.

Go to this site and you can watch (almost) any TV show for FREE. It's called HULU and it's amazing!

Really. I'm not kidding.

I just watched the entire first episode of The Real Housewives of New York City and even though I'm now feeling completely poor and totally inadequate, it was too fun!

Oh, and there are MOVIES too. Who knew?

My family may not have a decent meal for weeks until I get this out of my system.

A movin' and a shakin'

The new tooth is giving her fits but it's not slowing her down. She's cruising, letting go, and taking steps. I resist the urge to scream, "NO! You're still a baby! Stop it!" She just keeps going.

She takes a step, reaches out her hand, smiles at me and says, "Ma!"

My heart literally melts.

Sometimes you gotta feed momma

I was invited to a women's Bible study yesterday that was just what I needed. I needed to get out. I needed to talk to other adults. I needed to talk to other women. I needed to hear the conflicts and struggles these women wrangle with and be encouraged by the support system they've created amongst themselves. It was emotional and refreshing and filled me up just enough.

They meet every Tuesday morning for a couple of hours and I'd really like to keep going. My challenge is Landon (4). I have to convince him to either go to the church nursery during that time or go to preschool which is housed in Hayden and Keaton's school. He's dead-set against any kind of school or anything that resembles school; he won't even go to Sunday school. (**sigh**)

Have any of you out there dealt with this? The drop-and-run technique is tempting but I hate to force him to go and leave him screaming (which I have no doubt he will do) and make everyone around him miserable (again, no doubt...poor teacher). But Mom needs a teeny, tiny break. I have two weeks to figure this out since the group doesn't meet next Tuesday due to Spring Break.

Okay, put on those thinking caps mommas! How do I get a hard-headed, set-in-his-ways, somewhat spoiled (yes, he takes after his father...LOL) four-year-old to go to school? The little guy could surely use some structured activities (remember our toilet stuffing here, oh, and here?) and this mom definitely needs some adult interaction.

We have a college

Part of my anxiety last week was the fact that Sutton was traveling to Virginia for an official college visit by herself. I was very upset about not getting to go with her, especially since I thought this was "the one." But with five other kids, school, International Day projects, and Jimmy being out of town, there was just no way.

So I dropped my not-so-little (but in my mind, still my baby) Sutton off at the airport last Thursday at 4:30 am for her flight to Virginia with instructions to call me about anything and everything. She did.

She called at the layover in Atlanta. ("I'm sure I can find my next gate, but I'll call you if I can't.")

She called when she landed in Virginia. ("I'm looking for the coach, I'll call you in a minute.")

She called when she saw the campus. (whispering..."It's BEAUTIFUL here, Mom! I'll call you later.")

She called from the campus. (whispering again..."Oh. My. Gosh. Mom. It's ridiculous how much I love it here!!...call you soon.")

She called from the coach's office. ("Mom? I just committed. Is that okay?")

She called 32 more times the next two days, full of every emotion imaginable, including "Mom, I'm here at the airport and can't find my license!!" and the most stressful one, "Mom! My flight's been cancelled and I can't get home until tomorrow!! What do I do?!"

It all worked out and she eventually made it home. And the really, really good news is that the great college search is finally over. While the official signing day is in April, Sutton has committed to play volleyball for a coach she likes so much. She is a little apprehensive about being so far from home, but we'll survive.

Congratulations Sutton! We are very proud of you.

Important info ahead...

There is a zit the size of that boulder sitting on my cheek right now. This zit is so large, it is obstructing the view from my left eye.

Clearly last week was as stressful as it felt.

Oh, and you're welcome 'cause I know this information was at the top of your need-to-know list for today - right up there with our tainted tap water and rising gas prices.

Yep, stick with me and I'll keep you 'in the know.'

Deep thought

Hayden (6):

"If I was a tadpole, I would have a hard life...they get eaten."


Not sure if the hat inspired that little diddy or not.

I love my mother

I was on my own for International Day until (Thank you God!) my mother showed up. That poor woman had to deal with a snow storm, her stressed-out daughter (that would be me), a house full of anxious children and still help me come up with two costumes and food for both Hayden's and Keaton's countries.

She has cut and glued and painted and ironed and cooked and babysat and cleaned and...well, a little of all that had to be done to get us to this:

A beautiful woman of Cameroon.


















A (quite scary) pygmy from Congo.














You aren't gonna stick me with that pin, are you Naunie?













Landon and Naunie enjoying the International Day festivities.

















Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Mom! I couldn't have done it without you.