they outnumber us now

Well, here we go!

2011-06-21T10:27:00.001-05:00

creativity is a ~~curse~~ blessing. i have tons and tons of things in my head that i'm excited to put in to yours. :)

well, you did not have to wait long! i've got a yummy tutorial for you. actually, it's a series of tutorials, and this is the first one.

long, long ago, when emily loved all things pink she used to wear bows and clips. well, as you know i have an embroidery machine and i loved personalizing things for her! at the same time i discovered making tons o' things with covered buttons. i had a brilliant idea to make clips and pony o's with them. so. i searched on etsy for someone who sold tutorials, and much to my surprise they were all made with glue. yuck. even at it's finest e6000 will fail...so i created one that you sew the button on. i scoured the internet, and, in fact, all the tutorials i found used glue, so i created ones that used a needle and thread. JACKPOT.

in addition to my www site i also sold on etsy. much of the time ignored it - i only had my tutorials listed on there (for the most part) so i sometimes would go months without having an active listing. :) like i said, i'm lazy. so anyway, these tutorials were exclusively sold on my etsy site.

here is tutorial #1 in a series of 3. this is by far the easiest - even you non-crafters can do it. i PROMISE. have fun and send me some pics of your creations! (also, this one does not involve a needle and thread - those are a tad more "fun" and i'll post them soon. so, relax and go have a dr. pepper.)

(when i converted this the font sorta got squished? weird. anyway, as you know, you'll go to crafter's hell if you "re do" my tutorial and produce it for sale. don't do that. it's tacky.)

Pony O Tutorial

It's offically been more than a year since I blogged. So there.

2011-06-20T15:44:00.009-05:00

i think i wanna blog again. but this time, i think i'm going to fill it with all my secrets. secrets of sewing and my all-out-balls-to-the-wall creativity. not that i want to be a great and famous blogger, but just so peeps will stop emailing and asking me how to do stuff. since i shut cutesy cloths down i have a huge list of things i want you all to know how to make for your kids - the most popular stuff - the stuff i made tons o' money with. why not share? i'm a giver. you all know that. but, you have to promise that if you decide to start a business and use my ideas/patterns for your basis, PLEASE FOR ALL THAT IS HOLY acknowledge that you are using my designs.

but at the heart of it all, i'm lazy with a capital "l." i do not capitalize. OH THE IRONING. i will try and get this all started when elliot goes off to kinder this year. **sniff** how can he be THAT old?!

i think i'm even going to name it "ain't no party like a mcneal party" - 'cause let's all face it - there is NOT one. (yes, we watch a lot of the office and i'm aware i stole their idea. shut it, for i am giving them credit.)

i promise to make it good. i promise to make you want me to post more. i promise to learn grammar. 2 outta 3 ain't bad, right?

in the mean time, here are some pics of my oh so fabulous parties we've thrown for our kids. be jealous. (no, don't - really, i'm not all that. BUT I KNOW HOW TO THROW A PARTY, and, on the cheap, i might add.)

below are the highlights from the kids' parties this year. elliot had an indiana jones themed party, ethan a club penguin, and emily had a groovy party. i'll tell you that a LOT of planning goes in to one of their parties. i really think about it. i think about how i can do it for cheap. and i'll let you know how to pull it off and none of your snooty mommy friends will know the difference. i'm cool like that. you are welcome.

it has been a long while since i've used blogger, so i can't remember how to make the pics upload in any other format than all in a row. don't worry, it's worth the scroll.

Meh - It's been almost an entire year since I've blogged

2010-04-22T15:16:00.003-05:00

so, maybe i'll just post some pics. i've made the switch to fb, so really, i don't even check blogs anymore. :) here are some pics i took of them in a random field of bluebonnets that were close to the house. they aren't great - the sun was out too much. who cares though - they are little texans and it's a part of their upbringing to have some pics in april in bluebonnets.

March, April and May - well, just a little :)

2009-06-24T23:27:00.001-05:00

Eh, just another pic post

2009-03-08T22:22:00.003-05:00

wow. i've been busy these days...nothing like a little pic update for the grandparents, though. :) here are few pics from january and february.

Best Quote from Christmas

2009-01-04T22:36:00.002-06:00

ethan: mae mi - are you SURE about that baby alive you gave emily? did you KNOW is tee tees and poo poos FOR REAL?!? why did you buy that for her?! it JUST tee tee'd in the BOX!

fast forward 4 days.

ethan: okay, baby alive. i love you too. you're thirsty? okay, i'll feed you a ba-ba. okay, baby alive. aw, i'll give you a hug. sweet girl. oh, you burped! uh, oh.

yes, my son plays with dolls. but i so wish we would have gotten that on video. about an hour before being caught playing with it he had to go to time out for hitting her. i guess he decided he would love her on the sly. :) let me tell you though, those comments to mary were hysterical. he was serious. he could not believe she bought her a doll that did that.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-19T12:54:00.002-06:00

we could not make up our minds, so 3 of the 4 got printed. :)

Even more from Ethan

2008-11-10T15:08:00.004-06:00

mom - it does not matter that you put on my belt different from me...it matters that we love each other.

yes, ethan, that's what matters. :)

i get to spend a lot more time with ethan now that emily is in kindergarten. he enjoys being "in charge" of elliot during the day, and spending time with just me (when elliot is sleeping). he is enjoying showing elliot the ropes of being a big kid and telling him the way we do things. it's almost like he says, hey - i'm in charge of you now and these are my rules. it's going to be different around here now that emily is away most of the day. get used to talking to me. :)

i think ethan may be even quirkier than emily.

1. EVERY morning, the first thing he does is get dressed - from head to toe, belt and shoes included and sometimes with a hat. he tells me his "work guys" give him a hard time if he's not dressed right. sometimes he fights me to wear a long sleeved button down shirt and church pants. most of the time i just let him wear it. i mean, how can i really say no to a boy wanting to look so sharp?! he will pitch a fit if he can't find his belt. he will not leave the house without it on. he also tucks EVERY shirt he has in; even shirts that really shouldn't be tucked, like a sweatshirt. i can't get him to stop.

2. he sings/talks ALL day long. think i'm exaggerating, well, i sooo wish i were. about 5 o'clock i've just about had enough and i ask him to just stop talking. he looks at me and says - mom, you don't love my singing?? it's so sad. :)

3. he is very particular about where socks hit him on his ankle. if they are not ankle socks, he makes them ankle socks by pushing them down into his shoes. it's an all out fit if i try and make him wear them correctly...so i just give up. at least he wants to wear shoes. :)

4. he blurts out bible verses he's learned. he gets this robot-like voice and says them...i guess that's not so much quirky as weird. :)

5. after he brushes his teeth he makes one of us smell them. we've tried to just tell him we know they are clean, but he is insistent we check it out. then, he giggles when we smell them.

6. he absolutely has to take a bath in the morning. does not matter if he had one the night before. he will also decide he needs another one if he gets bored during the day. i've heard more than once, mom, can i just go take a bath??

my most favorite thing he does is when he just randomly tells me - mom, my heart always loves you. he started telling me that about 6 months or so ago, and it always makes me smile when he says it. he's a sweet boy. i'll be a little more than sad when he goes off to kindergarten next year. at least i'll have elliot with me so i guess i won't be too bored. but elliot needs to learn to TALK!! but we are working on that. :)

More from Ethan's mind

2008-10-28T12:54:00.004-05:00

background: for a couple of years now, ethan has had a pretend family. mainly, a mom, grandpa and a brother. boro, his brother, gets blamed for making ethan do things, his pretend mom lets him do whatever he wants, his grandpa (by the way, he does not call my dad the word grandpa) and his friend miguel who lives in the kitchen cabinets. a couple of months ago ethan told me his pretend mom died so this conversation took us offguard.

ethan to me and dan: my pretend mom is going to die in december. she's going to have a stroke.

dan and i look at each other: really? i thought your pretend mom died a little bit ago.

ethan: she did. but i have 'mommy seeds' in the attic i water. i got her from up in the attic.

us: really. that's interesting.

ethan: yeah, when i get tired of my old pretend mom, i just go upstairs and get another one.

us: okay, ethan.

then he talked at length about his pretend family.

where do i begin? now, how do these pretend moms lose favor with him?? should i be worried?!?!

Sweet words from Ethan

2008-10-20T21:15:00.004-05:00

ethan to my mom: do you have a daddy?

my mom: no.

ethan: you need to get one, they take care of you.

i think dan is doing his job, what do you think? :)

Emily is almost 6

2008-09-25T18:13:00.003-05:00

i know what you are thinking...doesn't she have two other kids to blog about? didn't the boys start mdo? how about that hurricane they had to evacuate for? what about all the damage? didn't her grandma die? well, yes, all that has been going on too...but hey - i've got a lot of stuff to do these days, and well, posting pics is easier. and, yes, i do take pics of the boys - but emily's bday is tuesday and these were handy. :)

First Day of School Pics

2008-08-28T20:11:00.002-05:00

It's very busy around here, but enjoy these pics until I can get time to write! :) And, yes, I made both dresses. :)

Since May

2008-08-16T22:40:00.002-05:00

So long, farewell...(jessica pointed out to me that i mispelled "farewell" - here you go, Jessica)

2008-05-06T15:02:00.004-05:00

There's a sad sort of clanging

From the clock in the hall

And the bells in the steeple too,

And up in the nurs'ry an absurd little bird

Is popping out to say "coocoo".

Regretfully they tell us,

But firmly they compel us

To say goodby to you.

So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehen, good night,

I hate to go and leave this pretty sight.

So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehen, adieu,

Adieu, adieu, to yieu and yieu and yieu.

So long, farewell, Au'voir, auf wiedersehen,

I'd like to stay and taste my first champagne

So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehen, goodbye,

I leave and heave a sigh and say goodbye,

Good bye I'm glad to go,I cannot tell a lie.

I flit, I float, I fleetly flee, I fly. The sun has gone to bed and so must I

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye,Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye!

it's been fun, but i have to stop. i seriously need to go on a blogging diet. i'll still post a pic of the kids every now and then...but that's probably going to be it. that's why you read - or lurk - anyway, isn't it?

A post from elliot

2008-04-21T21:28:00.012-05:00

forgive my mommy. she has been busy these days. it all started about a month ago when my mommy's cousin had a bad car accident. she dropped us off with our mae mae in louisiana and she went to hicks to help out. she wants you to please remember to pray for kayla. it's going to take her a long time to get better - she is still in the hospital. and since the crash, mommy had been thinking a lot about my uncle chris. that makes mommy sad too. after we spent a whole week with our mae mae we all came home sick - and we were all sick for two long weeks!! that was no fun for mommy at all. i know all that snot, coughing and puke made her tired. but we are better now! for fun now, i've decided i won't take medicine anymore. i just spit it out. i've learned to hold it in my mouth, fooling my mommy and daddy into thinking i've actually swallowed it. nope, ain't gonna happen. i just spit it out at them when they least expect it. they say they are bigger than i am and they can make me take it. they think they are being sneaky by mixing it in with other things. nice try, rents..

mommy has been sewing, sewing, sewing. i don't need burp cloths anymore, but some kids do. :) mommy and daddy are also working on a new cutesy cloths website. she says it will be way better than the one she has now. she's super excited! she has also been working on some new things for cutesy cloths. my sister, brother and i love the new chalk fabric she has! it's super fun to play with. daddy won't let us take her new chalk mats out to eat though. he thinks they are too messy. oh, dad. also, when you get something gift wrapped on cutesy cloths, the new mommy will be getting one of sasha & jackson's mommy's great cards! yea!

oh! cutesy cloths bought mommy a new camera! i've already touched it when i was not supposed to. i don't think i'll do that again. :( she's been busy taking pictures with it. not a lot of us kids, just of those silly burp cloths and things like that. she's still trying to figure out how to use the silly thing though. daddy took this picture when we went to play indoor glow in the dark putt putt for last friday night's game night. i had a lot of fun -- so did daddy taking pictures.

mommy says i've also been a handful....whatever that means. what's wrong with dumping my cereal out on the floor, or escaping out the front door, or climbing over every gate we have? i just want to be independent...but she keeps calling me her baby. i'm no baby, i'll be 2 in three weeks!! mommy can't believe it!

speaking of birthdays, my brother ethan turned 4 in april. we were in louisiana so he did not get to have a party, but mommy says ethan and i will have one together in may. she needs to get the invitations out soon! there's no party like a mcneal party!!

so anyway, cut her a break, will 'ya? she has time management issues. :0

love, elliot

Best of the Easter re-shoot 2008

2008-03-30T14:41:00.005-05:00

Hitting the highlights

2008-03-28T12:04:00.006-05:00

not much going on around here. my machine is home, so i've been sewing my fingers to the bone trying to catch up on orders. when i sew a lot, that leaves emily and ethan to their own devices (not for long) -- until, that is, i hear suspicious conversations like; can you reach the paint? or, i fink de plants need watering. or, how about we get a snack? it's hard to cram what i need to do for cutesy cloths when elliot only sleeps a short time. i've been totally spoiled with his napping for long hours...i guess i'll have to adjust. :) i've also taken a break from formally homeschooling until i can get caught up. i feel bad, but they don't seem to mind.
elliot was napping, but he and ethan matched.

we have planted a garden of sorts in the back yard. watermelon, a variety of herbs, flowers and tomatoes. dan also built a compost pile. not because we really want to go green, just because he would rather put clippings and leaves in there so he won't have to bag them up. the kids like to catch rolly pollys, worm and other insects and throw them in there. so if you are around here come on by next year and get some compost. and ashawee, i think pasta is okay - probably better than the eggshells we threw in there this weekend. :)

watermelon

tomato

playing in the mud from the garden project

emily at the egg hunt sporting her new dress i made her.

silly ethan

sweet kids

70's film star in the making

favorite quotes from this week:

mom, where in the WORLD did you hear about washing mouths out with SOAP? that can't be right. emily

(on the same subject) i fink you should just put hot sauce on our tongues.

(okay. the quiet game starrrts now!) i love the quiet game! ethan.

i love whack-a-moley sauce! ethan

The squirrel

2008-03-19T12:28:00.004-05:00

watermelon festival booth rental - 90 dollars.

staying with aub, rachel & their great kids while in town - 0.00 dollars.

unpacking the tent to use the stakes at the egg hunt and finding the squirrel & smiling until my cheeks hurt - priceless.

Animaniacs Storyboard - $300

2008-03-18T23:57:00.002-05:00

cara, ang, jenny,dana - i wish we could all split this and let it hang in honor in our homes. :) i love craigslist.

Super (Middle) Brother

2008-03-10T10:46:00.004-05:00

a few disclaimers: i'm spring cleaning...so a few important things are missing from the room. and don't worry, i'd never put a baby on that ganked up changing pad without a cover. this video is a little pg-13...dan got a little too much of elliot's business. also, we don't let ethan put him down on a regular basis - really. the only editing that was done involved time. oh, we've also been getting the flower beds ready for spring. we think that's what ethan was talking about, but hey, who knows. and, yes, i know he's almost 2 and should not be having a bottle. :)

Have craft, will travel

2008-03-07T15:04:00.003-06:00

i really want to do some craft shows this spring. there are NONE in our area that are well attended...i know, because i've done a few and lost money.

does anyone have any suggestions? i'll travel, but as long as i can stay with you. i'd be happy to pay for my room and board with some cute, embroidered baby things. :)

sorry, ang, i'm not driving THAT far. shandra, i looked into some in old town spring and the booth rent was $400-$600!!! so, that was out. :)

The rest of the story

2008-03-06T10:06:00.002-06:00

of the diaper change. i went upstairs to clean up all the poop i expected to find, and there was none!! ethan cleaned him up, rolled the wipes up in the diaper, closed the diaper in a ball and threw it in the trash. all i can say is, wow. he changed a diaper better than some babysitters we've had...

fast forward to yesterday.

emily came downstairs all excited about a dream she had about chuck e. cheese. can we go there for lunch today?? sure - as long as daddy can meet us there. well, ethan was super-excited and wanted to get morning clothes on as soon as possible. so he got dressed and them i hear - elliot!! come back here and get your pants on! mom!! elliot is running from me and won't let me put his pants on! so i waited a few minutes to see if he could catch him. i went to get them and they were both dressed - and their clothes matched (not each other). ethan proudly told me he changed his diaper and got him dressed - could we please go to chuck e. cheese's now? i checked elliot's diaper to make sure everything was okay - he was clean, and the diaper was put on tightly. let's go!

if only ethan would learn to cook & do other household chores...

clarifying note: only in the past few days have i allowed ethan and elliot to be alone upstairs. don't call cps, we have a camera up there & they are never alone for long. :)

Oh...

2008-03-04T11:35:00.003-06:00

no! i just heard ethan yell that he changed elliot's diaper. worried? yes. because a few minutes before that i heard him say "you are stinky" to elliot....i can't imagine what's on the floor waiting for me to clean up today. ethan has been the ultimate big brother these days. ever since elliot moved to the toddler bed (and, by the way, we did win the toddler bed war but there are skirmishes every now and then) ethan feels like it's his responsiblity to put him down for naps & put him down at night. i guess since he has his bed he thinks the burden falls on him. :) he also loves to change diapers but we are always there helping him. i guess i was too late today. oh well. i've cleaned up worse messes. at least it's not puke.

oh, no! #2. i have to put my embroidery machine in the shop today!! it'll be gone for TWO weeks! i don't have a choice about putting it in; the bobbin case is broken and i can't embroider. the bad thing is i have a combo, so i'm without my sewing machine as well. i guess i'll have to clean my house to fill my extra time. maybe i'll paint the gameroom. i've had the paint almost a year now..AND i've had the gameroom taped up for almost that long. i'm sure the kids think blue painter's tape is just a wall accessory.

Remember these?

2008-02-28T23:20:00.002-06:00

i have found a new obsession...ribbon barrettes. i'm getting ready to add them to my site - i think. give me your honest opinion...will anyone love them? or will moms just think they are too 80's? :)

Toddler Bed Wars

2008-02-21T14:12:00.001-06:00

elliot - 2
mom - 0.

how's your day? :)

Not my baby anymore

2008-02-20T14:05:00.004-06:00

i can't stop it, no matter how hard i try. elliot is growing up.

we have to say good-bye to the crib today. he has climbed out of it - twice. dan heard him talking this morning and when he went to get him elliot was standing by the door. when i put him down for his nap this morning i kissed him and told him to take a good night-night nap. then, around 12:15 i hear noises from the gameroom. i looked on the monitor and did not see him in his bed. curious. where is he? i thought. so i walked upstairs, and, yes, there he was playing with a toy. i was totally shocked. not so much that he got out of his crib, i mean that was only a matter of time, but i was more concerned that he opened the door. so anyway, i picked him up and took him to his room to change his diaper. i wanted to see how he managed climbing out so i put him in his crib and said, okay elliot, come see me. he put both hands on the rail, pushed up a little and threw one leg over, then the other. then hung there for a second and dropped to the floor. WHAT? i guess he'll be sleeping in the toddler bed tonight.

hmmm. i'm a little sad. he's my BABY! not an almost two-year-old!! i guess we'll have to have another one.

President's Day

2008-02-18T14:24:00.005-06:00

well, happy president's day. i only realized it was president's day when i went to the bank today & it was closed. i missed out on posting a "happy valentines day" message....all of our kids are sick, & i was just trying to survive last week.

i don't have a favorite president, do you? if america is still around a hundred years from now, do you think the favorite presidents will change? i mean, now it's pretty much generational i think. war babies probably love eisenhower, you get where i'm going. is anyone gonna love W? fast willy? who knows. i hope someone down the road loves carter. poor guy.

random thought. with it being presidents day and all, does W get the day off? can he kick back in his recliner and say, hey, it's presidents day - leave me alone. i'm sure he's letting chaney answer the red phone today.

texas is getting ready to go to the polls i guess. i've been seeing a lot of ads from clinton, obama & paul. where are you huckabee? have not seen any from mccain. i have lots of political opinions. i used to get my news from jon stewart, but since the writers strike i quit watching him. i know, i know, he went back on the air last month, but he lost me in the transfer. i watch the liberal media; msnbc. i like to listen to it when i sew. since i can't really watch tv, i listen to it. wait, that was last post, sorry.

my prediction is as follows: obama vs. mccain, with obama winning. don't turn off your computer.

poor huckabee does not have a chance now, and well, i think it's going to go all the way to the convention with the other two. i think somehow obama will get the nom. dan wants to see hillary get it, just so she'll lose. i just don't think mac can beat obama but he can probably beat hillary. she's just too angry for me. but it would be pretty funny to see willy walking around the white house being the first husband.

i don't know if i "hope" i'm wrong about my prediction. something with mccain gives me the creeps. i know, dan. i know what you are thinking - obama is a socialist & he's going to raise our taxes. well, mccain is creepy & sneaky that's that. i've threatened to vote for obama just because i don't like mccain, but i think i'll vote for ron paul instead. after all, i did vote for ross perot. :)
________________________
on another note, i'm apparently having trouble with my mmcneal comast account. i'm not getting any messages...if i've sent you an email last week can you send your reply to my cutesycloths@comcast.net? thanks. :)

Cara tagged me

2008-02-15T14:27:00.002-06:00

Cara tagged me: vontress5.wordpress.com

6 Quirks About You

Rules:
1: Link to the person that tagged you
2: Post the rules on your blog
3: Share six non-important things/habits/quirks about yourself
4: Tag at least 3 people at the end of your post and link to their blogs
5: Let each person know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
6: Let the fun begin!

Here goes:
1. i detest milk, but i love cheddar cheese.
2. i won't eat cream cheese or anything that has cream cheese in it.
3. when i think of myself in my head, i look like i did when i was 16; i scare the heck out of myself if i walk by a mirror and think, who the heck is that old woman?
4. i like to watch tv while i sew, but only episodes of shows i've seen before. that way i don't have to actually watch the screen, i just watch the inside of my head.
5. when emily and ethan were babies i never changed them anywhere but their changing table. i was obsessive about it. elliot is lucky i ever change him.
6. i will only buy mrs. baird's bread, and if kroger is out of a good, far off date i just plain out don't buy it.

So that’s some facts about me…I tag Deborah - lifeinpflugerville.blogspot.com, Donna - lybarger111.blogspot.com & Jana - parkjm.blogspot.com. Look forward to hearing some fun quirks!

Things I've learned this week (and last)

2008-02-11T18:23:00.000-06:00

elliot is a giver; he gave his chest cold to ethan.
if you leave a cotton hammock out year-round, it will break when you least expect it.
our house can hold at least 26 people - party on, dude.
some men prefer to play dance dance revolution on wii to watching the super bowl game.
ethan's favorite bug is a rolly polly; he has caught 9 and wants to keep them forever.
if you sneak up on said rolly pollys in their gladware habitat they will freeze when you open the top...and when you back away they will start moving again, and, if you put lots of water in their habitat while trying to give them a bath they will drown.
you can make homemade yeast and it can be used in some really good homemade sourdough bread.
csi maimi is a modern day quincy and both shows rock.

I heart...

2008-01-28T16:26:00.001-06:00

the YMCA. it's my new favorite place. since we are not having anymore kids, i guess it's time to get all this baby weight off. i don't want to be like some women i hear...their "baby" is 21 and their weight is still not off. :)

i heart:

it's location - it's less than 5 minutes away.
the cornerstone plaque - telling about how the ground was prayed over & about the bible that's in its foundation.
the bible verses all over - my favorite one is by the ladies locker room; "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
the elliptical machine - it's so challenging.
the row machine - it makes me feel strong. :)
fitness tap - it just makes me smile.
how the childcare workers know our kids by name and say hi to them when we walk in.
how the kids love going.
the encouraging emails & compliments i get from the staff who recognize me and tell me my hard work is paying off.

okay, so much for the love fest about the Y. i must admit, there is another reason i love it; fitlinxx. i have an id i put in when i work out and it logs how much time i spend on the machines, etc. it also ranks me according to fitlinxx points (you get 5 for every minute you work out), calories burned and weight lifted. in my age group (30-39) i am currently #29 out of 279. yipee for me! i have slipped a little in my rankings in the past few days. i've been as high as #20 this month. and also this month, i've lifted the equivalent of 2 african elephants. i don't lift much - i'm concentrating more on my cardio. :) it helps a ton that every machine has it's own tv.

so anyway, working out is my new obsession - i guess because i want to be high in the fitlinxx rankings. is that wrong? :) sometimes during the day it's all i think about; when can i go, how long can i stay, can i go twice in one day...

Too much television

2008-01-24T15:55:00.000-06:00

i promise i'm not exaggerating any of this. angie is my witness.

i was on the phone (in my room) talking to angie last week. emily walked in, saw a bottle on my dresser and picked it up.

mom, this is clorox disinfecting wipes.

hold on, ang. what did you say emily? this (shaking the bottle), is clorox disinfecting wipes.

how did you know what that was?

i saw it on nick jr.

now, i'm teaching her to read but i doubt seriously she can read the words "clorox disinfecting wipes" -- talk about getting into my kid's head with commercials. last night she told me she wanted to star in her own commercial. she wanted to show kids how to use clorox wipes; safely. too much t.v.? yes.

Emily's world

2008-01-22T12:28:00.000-06:00

i caught emily looking out the window this morning. she was all decked out - had her favorite crown on, her fairy wings, her wand, her mood ring, sparkly bracelet, lip gloss & her favorite gaudy necklace.

this is emily most of the time. she's always dressing up and playing pretend. oh, to be emily. in her world, she is the princess & is in charge of her kingdom. she meets little resistance with the prince & the knight. (somehow she gets them to play princess with her (everyday)...those poor boys never get to play boy games. but they don't mind, they just love playing with her.) she gets a little bummed out when the king and the queen make her eat green beans instead of peanut butter, or not allow her to eat icing with a spoon right out of the can. in her kingdom there is no punishment for being disobedient...no time out & no hot sauce on naughty tongues. more than once she has said her subjects get to do whatever they want.

i hope a little of this lasts forever. i want her to always be the way she is; picky eating and all. in just a little over 6 months she'll be starting kindergarten. i'm a little afraid her spirit will somehow be broken. i'm praying now for her adjustment...it's going to be a tough one. how i will miss her during the day. but i do look forward to spending lots of time with the prince & the knight. it'll be different, but fun. i wonder if we'll still play princess when she's at school?

Moment of the Day

2008-01-17T14:47:00.000-06:00

unsupervised moment of the day: "washing" dishes, taking a "bath"

what i hear:

emily: oh, it's a little chilly
ethan: yeah, i've got bubbles on me

what i find: two guilty looking kids stripped down to their underwear with one foot (to the calf) each in a sink filled-to-the-brim with soapy water. water all over the floor, wet clothes on the floor and countertop.

what do i say? nothing at first. i just looked at them.

mom: what were y'all thinking?

emily: well, we thought we were smelly so we were going to take a bath.

about 10 minutes before i told them they could wash some dishes, but obviously i stayed out of the room too long not to nip in the bud what came next. this was totally my fault, so there was no punishment, but i did tell them they lost their washing dishes privilege. i did come in just in time to avoid disaster though. :)

Question of the Day & an eavesdropped conversation

2008-01-16T11:49:00.000-06:00

ethan is 3 1/2. he is absolutely full of questions. most of them, i can either answer or fake like i know the answer and tell him something. yesterday, he caught me off guard with a question i did not want to have a long conversation about.

ethan (after going to the potty): mom, i know that when you flush the potty the water goes to the ocean. but where does the toilet paper go?

mom: well, i guess it goes to the ocean too.

ethan: okay, mom.
_________________________
emily and ethan love the PBS show Word World. the gist is the characters on the show are their words...like Pig is made up of the word p i g. last week i heard them playing one scene of Word World over and over again and laughing their heads off.

sheep to ant: this is the pits (the fell into a pit)

emily and ethan: HA HA HA HA

ethan tooted: this is the toots!!!!

emily and ethan: HA HA HA HA

i had to laugh. that was funny. normally when either of them do something vile and disgusting they blame it on the invisible family member, toejam. at least ethan owned up to it that time. i know we have to stop this now, because i can so see ethan in sunday school burping or passing gas and then yelling out - TOEJAM!

Post Christmas Post

2008-01-09T12:28:00.000-06:00

i'm having a little bit of trouble getting back in the groove of updating...but i was called out in the ultimate blog-stalker, angie, in her new blog so i decided to comply. :)

we had a great Christmas. as y'all know, ethan has shown a great interest in playing the electric guitar so he got one for Christmas. i thought ethan would be much older before i had to say this phrase -- TURN DOWN YOUR AMP!" he's 3 1/2...what in the world will it be like by the time he is 5?!

so anyway..it's been too long to do a real after-Christmas post, so i'll leave you with a little Christmas morning jam session. enjoy.

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and in case my dear MIL reads this, yes, the boys wore their cute Christmas pjs that night - but both of them woke up wet and had to be changed before coming downstairs. :)

Pictures in the Park

2007-12-01T21:39:00.000-06:00

A new Odyssey

2007-11-26T15:25:00.000-06:00

well, not exactly new - used. yep, we have another minivan. dan and i went a week ago saturday just to drive a few and look around, but ended up buying one. i feel weird driving it around, it's just too clean.

after dan cleaned out the other one we both realized maybe totalling her was a good thing - it would have taken a lot of elbow grease to get the interior clean. there was an upside though - lots of treasures were found; emily's long lost charm bracelet, forgotten about toys that got shoved between the seats, mummified tator tots - the list was long. we think now maybe the silhouette willed herself to be crashed just so she could go to the car graveyard. we imagine she was just too tired to go on with all the spills on her seats, toys shoved places, and all the many old cheerios & goldfish smashed on her floorboards.

we had some good times though. as the man drove her up on to the wrecker the day she went to the junkyard, emily called out -- "i'll remember to tell your story!" and a great story she had.

i won her on an ebay auction - best bidding i've ever done. i bid just the next minimum bid at the last 15 seconds. i'm a pro. so the next week the four of us flew to los angeles, picked her up and drove through the desert and down Route 66. we saw all the sites, including the grand canyon - and we even stayed in a tepee hotel room. ethan was just 15 months old, and emily, almost 3.

i don't know if emily meant that story, or the one about the accident. when she does tell someone that story i remind her to end it with letting them know that God kept us safe, and the minivan & the seat belts did their job. the kids still ask everyday if we'll ever get into another accident, and i flat out lie to them and tell them, nope. they are also happy when we hit a puddle and don't crash. i'm sure you're thinking i should tell them the truth, that we might one day, but i'm not. i think i'll wait until things settle down a little.

so anyway, i'll miss you silhouette, but now there's a new odyssey to go on. i look forward to good times with her, yes, good times indeed.

"It was like we were in a tornado" Emily

2007-11-12T19:46:00.000-06:00

we are safe.

well, we were on our way home from being in louisiana for nearly a week when we had an accident this morning. it had just started to rain and we were behind an 18 wheeler -- dan could not see well, so he changed lanes. we hydroplaned, & crossed over to the other lane. dan lost control, we crossed back over to the opposite lane & we hit a guardrail. after we hit the guardrail we started to spin in the middle of I 10. we did two 360s, and dan managed to get the minivan to the median safely.

after we stopped the kids were screaming, so we calmed them down -- they were all safely strapped in. i foolishly was turned around in my seat trying to sleep so i got a little banged up. i have some pretty serious bruises and some pain in my chest, and dan has some pain in his chest as well. the kids each have a place on their necks where their carseat belts dug into them, but otherwise they are unhurt.

it was the scariest thing i'd ever experienced. i remember screaming "NO!" and thinking, oh no! - we are going to die. i looked back at the terror on the kids' face and just prayed for His protection. by the grace of God we were not all seriously injured, did not cause another car to have an accident, or be hit by another car when we were turning circles in the middle of the interstate. thank you God, for your protection.

when we were able to get back on the road, we tried our best to not make a huge deal out of it with the kids. i was on the brink of hysterics the entire way home - but i did not lose it. we kept reminding the kids of how God was with us. they have thanked God for protecting us - but ethan wants a new minivan; an orange one. the two of them did lighten the mood on the way home. they each got on their play phones and called their friends to tell them we were in a "crash." they'd tell them how we spun in the road, and when the person on the other end sounded concerned we'd hear - don't worry, we are fine. :) emily said she felt like we were in a tornado. too much wizard of oz, you think?

good news though, we were able to drive the minivan home!! she's a tough old bird...but will most likely be totalled out. our inspection sticker is out and i told dan on the way home i don't think the car will pass inspection. :)

seriously though, please pray for us. i am having a hard time not thinking on and on about what could have happened. how blessed we were none of our children were hurt...blah, blah. y'all know how i can be. :) i'm so thankful dan was driving. i know i could have never gotten us out of that like he did. he's our hero.

Tricks and Treats

2007-10-31T19:55:00.000-05:00

the miniture cast of the wizard of oz had a lot of fun trick-or-treating tonight. we almost had to hold elliot at every house we were at -- he kept trying to go in. he's fast. we went around the block tonight, and on our way home she said her favorite house was the one with the old lady who gave her a popcorn ball. dan asked why she thought she was old. emily said - because she was crooked. i think we need to get some older people in our kids' lives.

the trick was to get elliot to pose for pictures...

the treat was seeing our kids having fun collecting & giving out candy to our neighbors. emily and ethan are so excited to give out candy. they both give people huge handfuls. every time the doorbell rings, she screams - mom! dad! we have customers!!

Flashback to the 80's

2007-10-26T21:41:00.000-05:00

i went shoe shopping the other day. i was looking for some shoes that would compliment a new pair of pants i got for my birthday. they hit me a little below my ankle, and you know, not just any shoe will do. here's what i discovered; it's 1987 all over again. as i browsed from store to store i found a huge selection of flats. and if that was not disturbing enough, most of them were plaid, striped, polka-dotted and tied around the leg!! if only i'd known they'd be all the rage when i was 36. i could have saved some money if i would have just put away all my sam & libby and mootsie tootsie flats i loved in high school.

do you think late 80's apparel is starting to make comeback? i hope tight-rolling your jeans comes back; i look terrible in the now fashionable boot-cut. i hope modular clothing makes a come back though. i'd give anything not to have to iron again. i loved my Multiples!!

if you are wondering, yes, i bought a new pair of sam & libby flats. it'll be a perfect addition to my ever expanding shoe post-baby shoe collection.

Yo quiero Taco Bell

2007-10-18T12:09:00.000-05:00

about early june the taco bell close to our house was torn down. one morning i was out with the kids and it was there, and when we went out that afternoon, it was gone! it was torn down to the slab. we drove by, i asked the kids where taco bell went! they were very worried - even though we'd never even been to taco bell. emily immediately asked if they were going to tear down our wendy's? where would she get her chicken nuggets? the kids made several guesses as to why it was torn down. my favorite was emily's -- they ran out of food. it was a very early 80's taco bell, so i'm sure it was probably infested with who knows what - that's my guess.

so all summer they slowly worked on our new taco bell. we pass it a lot, and i never fail to hear a comment on how far they are on getting it finished. yesterday emily was very surprised to see they had poured the concrete and they were working on the inside. taco bell does not serve peanut butter sandwiches, so emily will never go, but as soon as it is open ethan and i are going to have a date night and go get some quesadillas. he's excited.

Are we done yet?

2007-10-16T15:34:00.000-05:00

a week or so ago emily told me how she wanted to come downstairs in the middle of the night and go outside to look at the stars. i told her going outside, especially at night, without us was not a great idea -- and she should never do that. poor emily, all she wanted was to look at the stars and she got a lecture.

anyway, last night not soon after it got dark emily & ethan asked me if it was okay to go out and watch the stars twinkle. i said, sure! they were shocked and surprised. i'm sure they were expecting me to say, no, not right now. i got the same shocked look from ethan that i do when he asks me (and he asks at least twice a day) if he can play in the water hose - and i actually say yes.

so the three of us went out into the backyard and sat and watched the stars twinkle. emily ooh'ed and ah'ed, and ethan too. it was actually a very nice fallish night. the breeze was blowing slightly and it was a cool one! i stayed out there with them for a while, then i said it was time to come in and of course, they asked it they could play out in the moonlight. my defenses were already down, so i agreed and they took off for 5 more minutes.

i watched them from inside and realized how incredibly wonderful they are. they have their moments where they frustrate the crap out of me, but that's okay. they are only little for a little while! i'm having a hard time with letting them grow up. i'll be sad when ethan does not want me to rock him before he goes to bed at night, and i'll be sad when emily stops asking me to play with her -- and of course, i just want elliot to be a baby - not an 18 month-old toddler!

i get asked all the time if dan and i are "through" with having kids. elliot is almost 18 months old and with the other two i was already pregnant (or had) another when they were his age. i guess i've got baby fever. the short answer is yes. i have always wanted to adopt, maybe in a few years we can think about that. but this is really a whole new chapter in our lives with kids. we have a toddler, and i'm not pregnant!! we've given away or sold the majority of our baby gear...dan has plans to make the nursery into a music room...as elliot outgrows clothes i don't have to save them for another baby. it's just plain out weird. anyway.

so anyway, i'm just enjoying my kids today....even though they think i don't know they are upstairs playing instead of napping. :)

also, i asked jaime turner if i could announce the birth of their 3rd child - and she said yes. :) Charley Reann was born yesterday around 4:30 or so! mom and baby are doing well. i went to the hospital today to meet her -- she's so tiny and precious! davy and jaime's other two boys were either 10 lbs. or almost 10, and little Charley was not even 8 lbs.! so, congrats to the turners!!

Busy weekend

2007-10-14T10:49:00.000-05:00

we've had a busy weekend. it started at noon on friday afternoon with the arrival of the first grandmother...then the grandfather, and finally, after a looong trip from baton rouge, the other grandmother. it's been a while since all three of them were here at the same time, and let me tell you - the kids worked it. it was nice though - we finally had more adults in the house than kids!

we had her party at build-a-bear. she had a bear from another party she went to, so Buildy got a new outfit and some accessories. she was very excited to finally get some clothes for her! this location does not have a party room, so it was a little chaotic but the kids had a good time.

she got a couple of interesting toys - a fur real kitty (now ethan's fur real dog has a playmate), a belle doll that drinks tea with her (it's a little on the bizarre side) and a sewing machine. the next time someone orders something from my site you'll have to wonder if emily sewed any of it. :)

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Music appreciation

2007-10-04T14:00:00.000-05:00

y'all know about ethan's love of "daddy's" music. well, he has moved on from james brown and is into stevie ray vaughn. during a recent PBS pledge drive, they featured some stevie ray concerts...and dan dvr'd it. well, the kids LOVED him. they like to turn off all the lights, move the coffee table and let loose and dance. ethan loves how stevie ray plays the guitar behind his head. of course, emily asked where stevie ray was now, and dan told her heaven. she told me the other day how she could not wait to get up to heaven to tell stevie ray how much she liked his music. she told me right now he was playing his guitar in heaven for Jesus. side note: dan said stevie ray had come to know Christ shortly before he died. :)

anyway this morning i was in my sewing room and the kids were playing in the game room. i hear ethan put on some music, and then i hear footsteps on the table, so i grabbed the camera. i took a couple of videos, but the other was longer so i posted this one. in the other one ethan plays the guitar behind his head.

i don't know if y'all catch what ethan tells emily - but listen for him telling her to get off the stage! and, at the end, watch him end on beat. he's amazing. :)

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36 things

2007-10-01T12:51:00.000-05:00

i'll be 36 on friday. wow. 36. in honor of my 36th birthday, i'll try to come up with 36 things random (and i mean that) about me.

1. one of my favorite movies is peggy sue got married. why? too many reasons to list.
2. i love doing something behind the scenes.
3. i google britney spears at least once a week. she's a train wreck & for some reason i'm obsessed with her.
4. i love tim gunn. but i do wish him to be a heterosexual and come to Christ.
5. i have to sleep with my foot slightly hanging off the bed -- any bed, even our king sized.
6. i did not have a relationship with Christ until i was 21. i lived many, many years being deceived.
7. i'm not superstitious, just a little stitious.
8. one of my new favorite shows is the office. see number 7.
9. i was 5 years old when the "king" died. i remember it clearly. i was outside and my dad came out and said, michelle, the king is dead. i knew exactly who he meant, and i was sad.
10. one of my favorite blogs to lurk on is photographs on the dashboard. somebody tell lauren her kids are stinkin' funny and her posts about them (and others) make me laugh.
11. i love seinfeld.
12. twelve is my favorite number, and was always my jersey number in high school.
13. i wish i lived in michigan. see #11.
14. i have to fall asleep with the tv on.
15. i like to be the 15th comment, and sometimes i wait it out just to be the 15th.
16. the picture i took my junior year in high school was the best school pic i ever took. i had great 80's hair that day, and the pearl necklace i was wearing was totally awesome.
17. most of the time i don't sing out loud at church. i sing in my head.
18. i prefer hymns to praise music.
19. i know all 5 verses of "just as i am" by heart. see #18.
20. my favorite flower is a TULIP. pun intended, but i'll never debate it.
21. i admire working moms.
22. i admire single moms more.
23. when i grow up i want to be a fashion designer.
24. i'm obsessed with ebay, and more than once i've pushed up the price of an item i did not want just to make someone else pay more. it's evil, i know. but doing that did bite me once - i won it.
25. i've been known to pick a piece of furniture up on the side of the road and make it a part of my decor. especially things for my sewing room.
26. i'll tell you if that outfit makes your butt look big.
27. i gave up years ago trying to be grammatically correct in writing and speaking. i only hope my children have great grammar teachers.
28. i collected shopping bags from macy's when i was in high school.
29. for a short period in high school (1988 i think), i drove a Yugo. it was hott.
30. five days before i turned 30, my precious daughter emily was born. if she would have waited those 5 days, she, i and my mother would all have shared a birthday.
31. i rarely wear make-up.
32. i don't wear product in my hair.
33. i have a vera bradley luggage collection, and i still use it. am i too old for that?
34. i hate surprises.
35. i had postpartum depression with all three of my kids.
36. i only listen to christian music in the minivan, but i rock out to van halen and bon jovi at home. my kids are probably very confused.

SO! i think i probably could have come up with more - if anything, i'm random. :) congrats if you got to the end.

On the mend, celebrations around the bend

2007-09-27T14:14:00.000-05:00

i'm feeling a little better. i have a little feeling back in my chin, but my lip is still numb. thanks for the cheery comments and prayers. :)

emily's birthday is sunday. i can't believe it. my baby will be 5!! she's a little me. she's obsessive compulsive about some things & very particular, she's a people pleaser and carries her feelings on her sleeve. i hope she gets over the last one before school.

dan and i knew precious little about how to be parents. emily claire graciously trained us & she loves to tell the story about what happened when we brought her home.

here's how it went down: we brought her in & showed her around the house (really), took some pictures then changed her clothes, put her in the bouncy seat & put her on the island in the kitchen and just stared at her. i remember asking dan what do we do now?? those first days & weeks were such a blur - i'm glad we took pictures! she loves to talk about how she taught us how to take care of babies. thanks, silly girl. i love you.

how silly does she look?? why we felt the need to put a blanket over her bouncy seat, put a cap on her and put the blanket on is beyond me. our bouncy seat had a blanket that was attached. poor thing. she's looking at us trying hard to say how hot she is. :)

so anyway, we messed around, and (when i say "we" i mean "me") did not plan a party for her so sunday we'll have some cake and maybe go to chuck e. cheese. i booked a build-a-bear party for her for the weekend of october 13th. we thought about not even telling her her birthday was sunday, she would have never known it. she's very forgiving and is very happy to have a party at build-a-bear, so it worked out. :)

Personal Message to Jessica:

so jessica, i won't get to come to dallas that weekend. nice how i told you in a post? i'm good like that. :)

well, that's about it. as i type i'm drinking from a straw for the first time in a week. what can it hurt? i'm already paralyzed for life - what's a couple of dry sockets to add to it? :) oh, if you are waiting on orders, some things have shipped, and some will ship today- so be looking out for them! oh, and carrie & kristi - y'all's orders are in the works. :)

Two teeth less wise

2007-09-24T15:34:00.000-05:00

well, i had two wisdom teeth removed friday. i'm not recovering very well...if you think about it, can you please lift me up? the kids have been in baton rouge since thursday and dan's on his way to pick them up and they'll be here tonight.

i'm not having any major pain, but my chin and part of my lip is still numb, and when i open my mouth it feels like i've stuck my finger in a light socket -- not really a jolt of pain, but you know enough to bother me. i'm also very, very nauseous; i can't stand well and i just feel terrible.

i just need enough energy to hand out popsicles, fruit snacks and juice boxes. :) thanks!!

Acceptance

2007-09-20T12:59:00.000-05:00

a conversation i had with emily yesterday as she was getting ready to take her nap.

emily: ya' know what mom?
me: what, emily.
emily: there are no naps in heaven.
me: really?
emily: yeah, because we are not grumpy in heaven. we are always happy.
me: really?
emily (chin quivering and tearing up): yep. (long pause) mom, why did your brother have to die?

now, that took me off guard.

me (trying to hold it together): well, emily, i don't know. but what i do know is God decides when we go to heaven.
emily (crying now): was he doing something wrong?
me: not exactly (she does know he had an "accident with his car"). God decided that day that it was time for him to go up to heaven, so that's what happened. (i wanted to add, if He wanted to change it, He could have, but He didn't -- but i didn't want to get into a conversation like that) i don't like it that it happened that way, but it was not for me to decided. i have to trust God because i know he knows best.
emily: can i take night-night bear to heaven?
me: we'll see emily. i know that was a totally wrong answer, but i just did not want to get into the discussion (again) about why night-night bear can't go to heaven.....she's only 4 and i really needed her to take a nap.

me: emily, what's wrong? (she's suddenly crying more)
emily: i'm just missing heaven mom. i really want to go there - now. why can't i go there now?
me: like i said emily, it's not up to us to decide when we go to heaven. we have lots of things to do here on earth. we are supposed to live everyday for God and try hard to do the things God wants us to do, the things He's planned for us to do. when He decides it's time for us to go up to see Him, we'll be ready.
emily: okay. goodnight mom.
me: goodnight, emily.

for a little over a year now emily has been asking a lot of questions about heaven. we've done the best we can explaining things to her. she'll be having a completely normal day, then come downstairs in tears because she's "missing" heaven. she can't wait to get there. what is odd though, she knows you have to die to get to heaven, and you don't come back. but she still wants to go. one day she was just going on and on about wanting to go and i told her she would not be going to heaven until she was very old. then she started asking about older people in her life and when were they about to go up to heaven? we can't win with it. i realize that it probably was not the greatest thing to tell her only old people go to heaven. but at the time we really did not want to tell her anybody can die at any moment, even little kids. but anyway. i guess we'll have that discussion with her sometime.

so anyway do you guys have any idea when we should go a little further explaining God, Jesus etc. to her?? should we be presenting the plan of salvation to her?? we've started talking to her about sin and what it is and all, and she knows the story of Jesus on the cross, but at what age do you go deeper?

and if you are wondering why i called this post "acceptance" it's because it's real to me now. i know i'll never truly understand why chris died, or lloyd for that matter. but what i can acknowledge and accept that God did have a purpose for it and He is in charge. that's a huge step for me. when i was having that conversation with her yesterday i cried afterwards thinking back on what i said. i really do believe what i said, and i guess i always have.

"H" is for Homeschool and for Halloween

2007-09-13T14:03:00.000-05:00

well, we decided back at the beginning of the summer we were not going to send them to MDO this year. there are so many reasons to send them, and so many to not. emily has a late september birthday so she really should be in a pre-k, so i'm homeschooling her. emily wanted to make it as close to her old MDO as we could, so i let her help me with setting the schedule. it's going okay. it's a little hard because we have to do it around elliot's nap schedules, but that's okay. they both are very excited about the school in the gameroom. :)

i have a friend who works in a photography studio. a couple of months ago she asked me if she could shoot them in their costumes for an upcoming halloweeen/fall mailer they were doing. i told her sure, because i thought my mom was going to help me make emily's dorothy costume. it did not work out that way, i had to sew it myself. so, for two solid (almost) days i sewed a dorothy costume...i've only sewed one other dress (and it was super simple) for her. this dress was HARD!!! it had so many pieces! but, i was determined to do it, and i did. :) i think i did a pretty good job seeing as i'd never sewn anything that complicated before. i'd never done a hem before, i had no idea what some of the sewing terms were..so many firsts!! one thing that made it so hard was the bodice. the dress is all one piece! but one thing i do know now, i can sew anything!!

so anyway, today we took them in and dawn took their pictures. emily was super excited to be dorothy (mostly, i think, for the shoes), ethan was the scarecrow and elliot was the lion. ethan did ask me before we left where his stick was. he wanted to hang on a stick instead of stand up. silly boy. elliot is not pictured because he was napping, but he was the cutest lion. we borrowed a children's place lion from a friend, i want to keep it!!

i did not get elaborate AT ALL with ethan's scarecrow..but he did have some straw hanging out of his arms at the studio, and he did have some face paint on.
proud dorothy (don't tell her, but a part of her hem fell out!)

we told emily she'd have to put her dress up until it was time to trick-or-treat. it's going to be a looong month. i did tell her she could play with her shoes until then. i'll be vacuuming up red sparkles for years. :0

Emily and Ethan's beach trip - in pictures & videos

2007-09-06T14:20:00.000-05:00

ethan got a little too excited to hear the ocean.

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mud-like sand makes for good sandcastles. in case you are wondering, those black things on the kiks are love bugs. they were swarming at the beach.

we have no idea why he was crossing his fingers!

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Elliot at the beach

2007-09-02T12:33:00.000-05:00

elliot loved our beach vacation. fyi: i've tried and tried to get a slideshow to work, but i guess i'm a dummy.

i tried to catch him looking at the water. when we got to the seawall he kept trying to look out the window. after i took this picture i realized he'd gotten out of his straps.

pushing buttons is his job; he's very good at it.

beach bum

I need a vacation!

2007-08-26T11:50:00.000-05:00

well, the summer is almost over. school starts on monday, which means i won't have 5 kids in my house anymore!! yipee! i feel like i have so much more freedom! :) it was a tough summer. i don't think i'll ever commit to something like that again...it was just too much. i did make enough money for a new embroidery machine though.

we are headed off to the beach. not the pretty beaches of alabama or florida, but the yucky beaches of galveston. my mil has a bunch of timeshares, and she traded and got us a week at Escapes! in galveston. the name is funny. why would anyone put an exclamation point at the end of just one word? we'll be way down on the island. hopefully the sand is cleaner and the water is prettier down there...i know, it's not going to be, but we can hope. dan and i joked that maybe since the place has a private beach that they truck white sand in and clean the seaweed out of the water every day. right. :) it'll be nice not to be at home though. i looked at the website, and the pool looks really nice. that'll be fun. we are all looking forward to doing all the touristy things.

here are some random pics of the kids.

taking a break from playing in the sprinkler

having fun at jump n jungle

Going Nationwide

2007-08-14T13:13:00.000-05:00

well, a couple of weeks ago i get an email out of the blue from a boutique owner in NC. she was asking about my monogrammed pacifier clips -- would i sell them wholesale?? so i emailed her back and thanked her for her interest and said i'd look into it.

well, i sent her some samples, and she loved them! she placed an order yesterday for 50!!! i'm thrilled! i asked her (like i do all out-of-state customers) where she got my site from. google -- she googled "intial pacifier clips" or something like that and i was on the first page. YIPEE!! i'm out there, baby. :)

so anyway, things are busy around here! yesterday i got 3 orders, and one inquiry about starting a registry; do we know a kim russell?? the name sounds familiar...

what a summer

2007-08-06T18:12:00.000-05:00

we've been so busy this summer i've not had a lot of time to blog! i'm glad stacy and megan blogged about our north louisiana trip -- they had the best pics! this was elliot on our way to shreveport. he's so cute when he sleeps.

last night i took the kids to putt-putt. they had a lot of fun.

i could never get him to hold the putter right, but he got it in!

emily was showing me how far she hit it. believe it or not, she hit it all the way down the green almost to the hole!

they wanted to know if they could get the balls back.
this is something i'm thinking about putting on my site. it's a small blanket; i copied it (and made a few minor changes!) from one i saw on littlegiraffe.com. it's about 14x14. any thoughts? little blake has been a great little product tester - thanks blake! :)

anyway, hope you all are having a great summer!

Yo Gabba Gabba - Party In My Tummy

2007-07-18T13:53:00.001-05:00

don't have time to post what's been going on, so i thought i'd share yo gabba gabba with you. emily and ethan found this while playing games on nickjr.com. it's a new show coming on in august. yea. ethan is especially obsessed with playing it. thank you, dan for showing them how to put it on. i get to listen to this at least 5 times a day. i think the next one should be about what goes on during the digestive cycle...

sorry if it gets stuck in your head, but it's been in mine for a couple of weeks now! your turn!

The dreamer

2007-06-28T11:09:00.000-05:00

emily has very vivid dreams.

today she came in our room at 7 sharp. she's the human alarm clock. anyway, she got in our bed and started telling dan about a dream she had. i was half-asleep, and half-listening.

"hey dad, i had a dream about bob and larry last night. i dreamed i was cutting them up and was going to cook them. they were yelling..."

the vision i had of her cutting up bob and larry made me laugh out loud. dan was like, yeah, we like to eat our vegetables.

poor bob and larry.

Precious Wecious (weshess) Elliot

2007-06-14T14:20:00.000-05:00

how would you spell that?? i took a guess since it's a made up word and all. anyway, that's what i call him, my precious wecious. ethan is my sweet boy and emily is my silly girl. just so y'all know. :)

elliot turned 13 months old yesterday. time flies!! these are good times. he's a sponge, learning lots of new things. his language skills are getting better. he'll copy you if he feels like it, says mama, waves bye and says it too. he shakes his head no as well. i don't think he really knows what he's doing, but it's funny. ethan was a late talker because emily talked for him. i think elliot will be somewhere in the middle.

elliot saying bye and going for the door

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emily and ethan really enjoy him, and he really enjoys being around them. when they are upstairs and he is down, he'll stand at the gate and shake it and yell out for them. it's funny. i've got to get that on video. it's like he's saying -- hey, get down here and play with me! it's fun to see him get excited when he sees them.

when he was 6 months old he learned to crawl. at 7 he learned to crawl up the stairs. yesterday, at 13 months old he tried for the first time to scale the gate. this past christmas my MIL gave a charm with a monkey face on it. little did she know he would turn into one. we joke he learned his monkey skills by listening to curious george in my belly. i had to grab the camera quick, but this is him in the act at 7 months climbing up the stairs!

this was the first time i tried to get him to say bye.

instead, i caught him on camera trying to scale the gate!

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this week his second tooth pushed through. you for get how sharp and white those new teeth are!! i can't wait until he has a mouth full -- then maybe he'll eat some table food!! he's a lot like emily with food texture. he just pushes the least little chunk out of his mouth. he'll eat french fries though. at least we can have a good time when we are out to eat. he'll gum a fry until it's nothing but starch. :) look close and you can see one of his teeth!

before i know it he'll be a true toddler, saying no and doing all the other things toddlers do. i'm not so sad anymore about him being our last. i'm ready now to have fun with three kids who are more portable. about 3 weeks ago i took them all to baton rouge to see their mae mae. it was not so bad. maybe we'll do things like that more often since he's getting older. but i do think it'll be a while before we take another 6 hour trip to BR...

troy, elise, emily and me trying to get him to say, noooo

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i think our family is complete. although today emily asked if she could have a guinea pig, and ethan said he did not want a guinea pig, he wanted a tiny, tiny dog someday, but today he wanted to pet a cat. how tiny of a dog? i thought. doesn't matter -- we are not getting any pets. we've got emily convinced we can't have a bird because birds live in trees and a tree can't fit in our house. so anyway, the human side of our family is complete. :0

Emily knows who's in charge...

2007-06-11T21:38:00.000-05:00

friday after supper the kids were in the den while we were watching tv. dan was skimming through the colbert report. it's rare they ever sit down and actually pay attention to anything that's on - but emily sat on the couch and was very interested in the program. she knows quality news, i tell you. anyway, colbert was interviewing carl bernstein about his new book about hilary. it was entitled something like, the woman in charge. emily's eyes got really big and she looked at us and said in no uncertain terms, "oh no, mom. that woman is not in charge - God is in charge". yes, emily, He is. :) ya-hoooo!

btw - she was very serious. it was also very funny, and we did laugh as we told her she was right. ethan got offended and asked why we were laughing. cute kids, gotta love VBS.

YA - HOOO and the like

2007-06-06T20:40:00.000-05:00

our church is in the throws of VBS. we do Group's VBS, so this year we are at the Avalanche Ranch. my kids are really getting things out of it - even as preschoolers. if you are not familiar with Group, they have a theme that runs through the day. when they here the theme of the day, they give a hearty, YA-HOOOOO. i was not really aware the preschoolers were being taught to scream the ya-hoo, but i found out about it when the kids and i went to kroger monday. all of a sudden ethan said, hey emily, God is Real!! emily yelled, ya-hoo! i laughed. of course, normally i ask them to refrain from screaming in stores, but hey, what am i gonna say about that one. i'm a site leader on the school aged side. i do the Bible Adventures. monday i was rahab. that was a fun character to play.

the themes are: God is Real, God is with us, God is Strong, God is Awesome and God is in charge. i really like the daily themes. monday emily told me she knew that God left us his spirit, and yesterday she told me God was with her all the time. i don't think dan and i have ever told her about the holy spirit -- we are still in bible story mode, i guess. tomorrow the plan of salvation is presented to the older kids, so if you think about it, pray for our Bible school.

some of our first graders building the jericho wall

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ethan and emily both got to go on stage today. i missed emily's stage debut, but i did get a little shot of ethan. he does not look so happy, but later he sure talked about how much he loved it!

we've got a couple of projects going on. dan is building cabinets to go over the toilets in the bathrooms. evidently a place to put towels was an upgrade in this house. the cabinet space STINKS!! i've made it my mission to paint all the doors, door facings and trim all the same color; bright white. the crazy people who've owned this house in the past have had no taste. every room has different colors, one of them being this crappy linen color. you'd think it would be nice, but it just makes the baseboards look dingy. i was always thinking they needed to be dusted or something. it was driving me crazy. so, i'm going to paint it ALL!! i'm gonna paint the game room in a circus theme. one wall will be a big top...it's gonna be bright up there. but hey, it's a playroom.

elliot got his first haircut last week. it was so sad. the girl REALLY butchered him. he looks like she put a bowl on his head and cut around it. really. i hope it grows back soon.

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look at my short hair!

oh, and this is the first week i'm keeping the kids from down the street. today after Bible school i met another mom with her two kids at mc donalds. getting 5 kids out of the car without getting hit in the parking lot was hard. i can't imagine having that many all the time. i don't think we'll be going many places this summer that requires a long walk through a parking lot. :)

well, that's it - i'm sure after Bible school is over i'll many more tales to tell!

Two weeks in pictures

2007-05-30T11:34:00.000-05:00

Playing in the backyard

Emily and Ethan's favorite friends at MDO - and Ethan's favorite teacher

Having fun at the Lockheed Martin Company Picnic

Baton Rouge trip

Yes, she really wears a mask when she sleeps...although it's upside down! :)

Happy Birthday Elliot!!

2007-05-14T12:16:00.000-05:00

elliot turned a year old on mother's day. he woke up at 6:20 that morning; the exact time my water broke a year earlier!! :) the year has gone by so fast. i'm not sure i'm ready for him to grow up. i'm sad this will be our last "first" birthday to celebrate. we had a real low-key weekend. my mom, dan's mom and his brother david came in on friday. the kids are always excited to have a grandma around, and they were pumped to having two and an uncle!

saturday morning we packed up and went to galveston. we drove down the seawall and found a beach access that looked good. i'll tell you, parking on the seawall and dragging all your stuff plus three kids to a beach is for the birds. i think from now on we'll always just drive up on the sand and park!! the sand was a little weird; it was totally compacted. no matter though, they still played in the sand. emily had a blast collecting seashells, and i even found a complete sand dollar in the surf! for the first time emily and ethan were not afraid of the water and waves. they both loved jumping the waves and playing in the water.

elliot's first beach experience was good -- as long as he was on the beach. he was a little skid dish about the water.

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we only stayed for an hour and a half, then we packed up and went to the rainforest cafe. by the time we got home we had some grumpy kids and grumpy grown-ups, so we all took naps!!

saturday night dan and david made elliot's cake, and it looked great. they cut it out to look like a number 1. emily and ethan had fun decorating it sunday after lunch.

sunday morning we let him miss church and stay home with the grandma's so he could get his nap in. we had his party after he woke up. he was not really interested in having cake, but he did try a little icing.

side note: we had a garage sale on saturday. it was a little bittersweet to have a few of his infant things for sale. i've saved all the important things, like what he wore home from the hospital, etc. i've also managed to save a lot of the things that they've all worn. emily was a little lady during her 20 week sonogram and kept her legs crossed. since the tech could not be even 50% sure of the sex we bought gender neutral things. i think eventually i'm going to make a little quilt out of those clothes. it'll be a nice reminder of their infancy.

so anyway, that was elliot's first birthday weekend! it was nice just to have something low-key. we went all out for emily's first birthday, went half-way out for ethan's, and, well, we just went out for elliot's. :)

hope everyone had a great mother's day. if you are not a mother, i hope you had fun with yours! :)

Changes

2007-05-09T10:06:00.000-05:00

changes are everywhere in our house!

last weekend dan and i finally (after almost a year) put things on the wall in the kitchen, dining room and entry. our house is finally looking like a home. no thanks to you, bufkin! :) jk.

we finally (after two tumbles down the stairs, and MANY times of running to get elliot off the stairs) installed our baby gates at the landing and bottom of the stairs! we are slowly getting the house baby proofed...

elliot has left crawling behind and is an accomplished walker! he's also eating more table food. oh, the smell of chicken sticks...YUCK! he's also on his last can of formula. my coupons actually lasted the whole year! :) his birthday is on sunday, and by then he'll (hopefully) be weaned.

ethan actually WANTS to potty train now! he's been #2 :) potty trained for a few months, but now he likes to do the other. finally -- i'm so tired of pull-ups!

i have a computer & a tv in my sewing room now. if i had a phone, i probably would never leave! i've been doing more and more sewing/embroidering - and i LOVE it!

i've committed to watching two kids this summer. troy will finish 1st grade this year, and elise is 3 1/2. i'm sure y'all will hear more about them in my posts this summer... i'll have 5 kids in my house!! am i crazy or what?! they are both in daycare right now. why be in daycare when they can stay here? besides helping that family out, another reason i want to earn some cash is my desire to own a beautiful and VERY expensive new embroidery machine!

You get me?

2007-04-24T20:05:00.000-05:00

wow. i don't think i've ever had so many comments. i guess my rant hit a nerve! :)

the majority of you know me well enough to get i was not being totally serious...i hope y'all do anyway! i don't love texas as a state, but i do love it for what it is; where i live with my husband and my three beautiful children. but i do think that texas is overrated. dan says i'm a texan anyway because i'm from shreveport. our family always lived in south shreveport and it only took about 5 minutes to get to waskom, the first texas town on I-20 W. when i'm around my family, or even the whitegrrl christy i get a bit of an accent. so anyway.

for the record:

i grew up loving the dallas cowboys, and like most girls i knew, really wanted to be a dallas cowboys cheerleader. and i really had no idea louisiana had a professional football team until i went to college -- yes, really. the saints did not get much air time in shreveport.

i grew up thinking the ford motor company's slogan was, ford -- built texas tough. i always wondered what "residency restrictions apply" meant.

until college i had never been south of alexandria, louisiana, but i'd been all over east and central texas. going to dallas to shop was extra cool.

tyler roses were far superior to the rose center that was in greenwood.

SO THERE!

Things that make me a terrible Texan

2007-04-23T09:01:00.000-05:00

1. if i ever own a texas state flag, i'll NEVER fly it the same height as the US flag. sorry, but i don't care if texas was it's own country for about 15 minutes. have some respect for our flag people.

2. even though the pictures are cute, i don't think we'll ever make a yearly pilgrimage to a roadside field of lupinus texensis (texas bluebonnets). why worry unnecessarily about my beautiful fair-skinned children getting bit by a blue bonnet loving insect? or having them get their clothes stained? (i'm sure they would sit on a small blanket..) sorry, but if i want to take their pictures surrounded by a state flower, i can't think of a prettier picture than having them sit on the sprawling branches of a 100 year-old magnolia tree. i'm just sayin'. also, i ain't going an hour and a half away from home with three kids unless there is a vacation involved.

3. i'm not a fan of country music, and the only line dancing i'll EVER do is the freeze. by the way, i never even knew what that dance was until i went to a foot function at the BSU. i went to caddo magnet, and because we lacked a football team, we lacked serious dancing. i can really only remember going to one dance that was not homecoming/prom related. oh, and angie s. parker taught me how to do the freeze. thanks, ang. but anyway, why did texas have to re-name the fox trot the texas two step? how arrogant.

4. sorry, but i'm not going to start buying up all the aqua net at the CVS so i can have big texas hair. been there, done that in the 80's with the rest of the country. i've found the deeper in texas you go the bigger the hair gets.

5. HEB is okay, but give me Kroger any day. enough said.

6. i will NEVER have a humongous metal star decorating the front, side or inside of my house.

7. i will never shun a person for making a mistake like, "what are texas a & m colors, orange or maroon?" i recently had to clarify that because i was making a texas a & m mom a bag to take to her a & m mom's group meeting. the girl at hancock's thought i was kidding. nope, i just don't CARE what your school's colors are. --side note: i have a friend who is going to order something for a teacher-friend of hers who is having twins this may. she's ACTUALLY naming them Audrey (mabye it's abby, i can't remember) and Madeline -- get it, A & M. sad, very sad. let it go people, college is over.

8. i'm 35, almost 36. i've actually embraced my age, and i won't be having a botox party anytime soon.

9. i don't enjoy tejano music.

10. i'm offended when i hear people in my church say, "i'm a texas baptist." there's a difference between a texas baptist and a louisiana baptist? maybe it's the hair.

(i think my ear infection has made me a little crabby..)

Ramblings of a lurker

2007-04-20T11:21:00.000-05:00

i'm a lurker. i love to lurk. i love to read the comments too.

my top 5 favorite sites to lurk are: (in no particular order..)

1. Rebekah
2. Elizabeth
3. Lauren
4. Kristi
5. Todd

why do i lurk? i've thought about it and really, i'm just a huge procrastinator. i can literally spend hours reading random blogs. do i know the author of the sites i lurk? not really. and what i mean by that is, i know them from college, but not at all well enough to comment. (i would comment on kristi's blog, but she's taken a vacation from blogging...) i also lurk to see pictures of your kids! and a lot of times i end up getting encouraged by your blog entries. the other day i ended up crying when i read something lauren posted about. so anyway, when i lurk, i thank God for your blogs. somehow i always seem to lurk on a day when i need to be encouraged. and thank you to shandra, because i get to all the blogs i lurk on from your blog! :)

so anyway, if you have some sort of site tracker, i may be the lurker in league city -- but be careful, jennifer k. pearce lives a couple of minutes from me, so it might be her! :) y'all encourage her to get a blog. her little benjamin is cute!

Happenings

2007-04-18T16:27:00.000-05:00

i've got an ear infection -- OUCH. i seem to get them easily, and i'm very annoyed about that. i was in a ton of pain last night, but with the help of a little pain pill left over from my postpartum days with elliot, i managed to get through. :) i went to the doctor this afternoon and got some antibiotics, so i'm sure i'll be able to re-enter the world tomorrow or friday. i've had to put my cutesy cloths sewing on hold for a couple of days...so if you are waiting for a recent order, i'll get them out soon! i do have an order ready for you, shan. by the time blake is born he'll be a walking advertisement for cutesy cloths. and, yes, i'm shamelessly asking for people to order something off his registry! :)

we had ethan's dinosaur birthday party last weekend. we rented a moonwalk, and a few friends came over. it was cool and VERY windy, but the jumping kept them warm! he had a great time. dan found a cake at HEB that had dinosaurs that roared and lit up - it was very cool. but i am getting ready to hide all of his new dinosaurs that make noises...

emily excavating a dinosaur

Weekend Fun

2007-04-08T20:31:00.000-05:00

we had a great weekend. dan's mom came in for a visit, ethan celebrated his 3rd birthday and we had our Easter egg hunt at the church.

i can't believe ethan is 3!! friday morning i held him in my lap and told him the story about the day he was born. he was all curled up on my lap and i could not help but get teary-eyed telling him about it. time really does fly. i can remember his birth like it was yesterday.

my blue-eyed baby boy!

we had the egg hunt saturday even though it was pouring down rain! there was no way i was going to reschedule it, so when it started sprinkling, i announced the egg hunt was starting - NOW! there were kids running everywhere. after the hunt we just took everything inside. it was not a big deal, the kids had a great time despite having to play indoors. i was a little bummed they could not bounce in the bounce house i rented. but the guy told me i could have it again for half price. i'll take that deal!

elliot had a great time at his first egg hunt. he's walking all over the place. it's hard to keep up with him. i was on the other side of the fellowship hall running an egg and spoon race and i caught a glimpse of elliot on the floor. i noticed he was chewing on something (which is sooo not unusual) so i watched him a little longer. then i saw a friend of ours grab a bottle of bubbles from him. some how he got into the bubbles and was chewing on the wand. yuck.

we did not get to take any pictures of the kids outside today because of the cold and wet, but we did take a few after church. dan tried taking several of them standing, but elliot just wanted to walk away...

then it was hard to get all of them to smile and not talk...

elliot kept trying to get away...

finally we gave up on getting them to take a group picture, so dan had emily and ethan stand uby the fireplace. dan asked emily to turn sideways and smile. ethan mimicked what she was doing...i'm afraid we've got america's next top preschool models here. i have no idea where they learned such a look!!

Busy, busy, busy

2007-04-02T16:33:00.000-05:00

it's been pretty crazy around here lately. i've been doing a LOT of sewing!! thanks to all of you who have ordered something from me, passed my site along to others, and especially thank you for supporting me with words of encouragement. i truly love sewing, and i love sewing baby things -- and bridesmaid things! i've had a suggestion to have gift certificates -- hopefully dan and i can figure out how to do that too. i've even had my first expectant mom register at my site. in case you want to see what a registry looks like, you can search for "Landrum" -shandra has a registry for little blake! :)

we took the kids to the zoo friday. i brought the camera, but forgot the battery!! we all had fun; we went with two of the coolest home schooled kids we know -- they were GREAT tour guides! that morning i asked ethan what animal he was most excited about seeing. he said the wolves. now, how weird is that? i totally expected him to say a lion or a tiger, but not a wolf! he got to see one though! i had a good time, but i was a little sad to see all the big animals living in such a small area. the poor giraffes did not even have trees to eat from! most cages did not have any grass. i was bummed. not PETA bummed, but bummed nonetheless. kiki did remind me in other countries the animals in zoos are treated much worse. guess i have to be happy they are being taken care of here. :(

dan and the kids went off the see mae mae (dan's mom) this weekend. we had not been home since Christmas, so it was time for a visit. elliot and i stayed home so i could sew. it was nice to have just one kid to take care of, but i really did miss the other two. the house was eerily quiet most of the time. i just soaked it in! i had a good time with elliot. he's been walking a little -- next week he'll be 11 months old!! i was glad we got to spend some time together, just the two of us. he's growing up so fast.

well, it's almost time for dan to get home. i have to head off to the post office when he gets here; customers are waiting for their orders!! :)

Our little monkey

2007-03-25T19:17:00.000-05:00

elliot is our little monkey. he's mastered climbing the stairs, so now he's moved on to climbing from thing to thing to get as high as he can. normally when he starts to climb up something we get him real quick and tell him no, but a couple of weeks ago we just decided to see how high he could go. he got in his toy basket, climbed on the toys to the ottoman, got on a chair and started pulling himself up to climb on the counter. we stopped him, of course. i don't want him thinking getting on the counter is okay! if he's in the pack-n-play and wants out he scales the side. he can get up to his chest. we've already had to put the exersaucer away; he got out of it too many times. i guess the pack-n-play is next. i'll probably never be able to leave the room again!! he's quick too. i guess he's ready to be a big boy. he's taken about 4 steps. sometimes he'll stand up, and take a couple of steps too fast and fall down. he looks a little puzzled, like he's totally surprised he fell. we need to get that on camera. it's like he's thinking -- man, i thought i was walking!

anyway, the kids and i met daniel at a park in webster friday. it was a very beautiful day! elliot had a great time. here's our little monkey showing off!!

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Best Friends

2007-03-14T14:49:00.000-05:00

if you ask emily who her best friend is, she says ethan. same question to ethan, he says emily. last week at mdo he pointed to emily and told the director that was his emily clarie-bear. i don't know what they are going to do when emily starts school!! i know it's going to be a while, but if emily had an early september birthday instead of a late one, she would be going next year. hopefully ethan and elliot will start bonding more when he gets older. he loves him, but he's just a toy right now. the most ethan will say about elliot is -- elliot's awake!! he sleeps a lot! :)

anyway. nap time had been going on for a little while. it had been 15 minutes or so since i'd heard anything, and normally that spells trouble. but instead of me finding ethan coloring on the walls or brushing his teeth, this is what i found...they can't stand to be apart!

Charmed, I'm sure

2007-03-09T14:21:00.000-06:00

yesterday was charm bracelet day. emily wore hers and she asked me to wear mine. today is charm bracelet, red t-shirt and jeans day. she is so excited we match today. i love her so much!

Too much PBS?

2007-02-26T14:08:00.000-06:00

it's happened again. emily has been influenced by tv -- again. this time it's not about dora, but cindy. i've blogged about it before, but allow me to remind you emily is a PBS fan - well, really, a tv fan.

saturday night dan and i were getting emily and ethan out of the bath (by the way, when should we stop bathing them together? it's soooo convenient) and emily busted out into song. it was this sweet, melodic cindy lauper tune. i looked at her and laughed and asked her what she was singing. she got embarrassed and stopped. i thought about it, and it was "true colors" by cindy lauper. i thought, where in the world had she heard that song? i asked her to sing it again for dan and she started singing -- i see your true colors shining through, dah, dah that's why i love you, so be afraid too let them slow it, your through colors are beautiful like a rainbow. i told her she did a good job, it was beautiful. i asked dan where in the world had she heard it; he knew -- PBS. it's the lead in commercial to Curious George.

i guess it could be worse, but now we've got ethan running around singing james brown and emily running around singing cindy lauper. and when i clean i crank up favorite 80's bands; van halen, def leppard and bon jovi. i guess we will have to wait and see what elliot's taste in music will be. i'm hoping anything but country...

Mr. Oscar

2007-02-25T21:40:00.000-06:00

okay, so i'm also one of those girls who cry when others win awards, medals and such. i'm the idiot who watches the olympics and cries when someone wins the gold, i'm the one who cries when someone wins an oscar, a beauty pageant, etc.

i stayed up 12 minutes past my bedtime tonight to watch jennifer hudson win the oscar for best supporting actress. i just knew she was going to win, and staying up late was worth it. i loved her speech because it was not one! she started off by saying -- look what God can do! -- almost all people who win awards thank Him, but i choose to believe she meant it. you gotta know the other actresses who were nominated were not happy about losing to an american idol reject.

anyway, just letting you in on a little more of me. i guess i'm tenderhearted, or maybe need medicaiton for mood swings...

Back to me.

2007-02-25T13:50:00.000-06:00

well, now that cutesy cloths is almost online, i don't have to bore anyone anymore with pictures of the terribly cute things i've been sewing. i hear your collective sighs of relief. so, back to me.

i'm one of those girls. yes, you know the ones. the ones who just don't give a flip about being nice anymore. i don't know what happened. really, i don't. i used to be nice, but now, not so much. i think i miss that girl i used to be, because now, i think my friends expect me to tell it like it is. i have two friends who say they like having me as a friend; they always know where i stand.

take this for instance. for a whole year there was this mom at MDO who parked at the curb while she brought her ONE child in. rain or shine, she's parking her minivan at the curb. meanwhile, here i am struggling with my three children, parking where we are supposed to. so one day i just got sick of it. after i came out she was still there, so i left her a note. here's what it said -- what makes you so special that you think you can park at the curb? why don't you park in a space like the rest of us?? -- just like that. well, she's never, not since september parked at the curb. now, did i just do what everyone wanted to do, or am i just a meanie? several months later i was dropping the kids off and commented to the assistant director some idiot mom had been parking in the handicap parking space and how it was ticking me off. the director overheard me and she told me to write another note!!

i'm not sure what's been going on with me, but lately i just don't want to put up with everyone's crap anymore. i have enough to deal with in this life. park in a space, jeez.

really though, y'all know what's still going on. i don't want to be that mean woman; i want to be so filled with God's love that it can't help but overflow. it's just not that way right now. i was driving to the store yesterday and got behind a kia sedona at a red-light. i stared at the back window and wondered how in the world chris flew through it. anyway. some days i can't help but think about what would have happened if he would have lived.

i'm sure after reading this you're screaming for a picture of a bag! sorry! and also, the cute ad on the front page of cutesycloths.com is magnolia alley's handy work. thanks, mag.

Look what's almost ready for business...

2007-02-23T12:55:00.000-06:00

www.cutesycloths.com

there are some things we need to work out. so don't go ordering just yet! :) maybe next week though!!!

let me know what you think, and how to make it better. my web design team (dan) has been working very hard!

Emily's first sleep over

2007-02-22T15:07:00.000-06:00

well, not really, but she thought it was.

last thursday we got an email from our youth pastor asking for help with the upcoming D-Now weekend. he needed host homes and drivers. i really felt led of God to call and volunteer our house. we have the perfect set up for something like being a host home. there are 5 bedrooms upstairs and two full baths. dan and i are downstairs so i did not feel like they'd be invading our space at all! all weekend i felt an eerie sense of calm about the whole thing. i did not even stress out about having to clean up, etc. i had a lot to do, but i just dropped everything thursday and took care of what i needed to do. i never worried once they were here. i just tried to stay out of their way!

those girls were crazy. it had been a long time since i'd heard a bunch of giggling girls. they giggled about the boys next door, they giggled about our astro's neighboor, they giggled about everything!! not long after they were here we figured out having this age was perfect for our house; they had fun playing with emily's toys!! i think we'll do it again next year. in fact, some of them told us we'd have to because they wanted to come back.

three funny stories about the weekend:

saturday morning ethan (almost 3) came downstairs with his face all scrunched up saying -- i can't brush my teeth!! we asked him why and his reply was -- there is too much make-up in emily's bathroom!! he was not joking, he was really upset with those girls! the leader, ally went upstairs to emily's bathroom to help him move the make-up. she came back down a few minutes later, laughing, saying the only thing on the counter was a tube of toothpaste! i guess he'd been hearing about make-up and he just wanted to make sure it was not going to be left in his space!! also, all this week i had to hear about "those girls" and how they ate all his cinnamon rolls...they are super precious to him and he was not happy about them being gone!

dan cooked supper for them on saturday night. he had two pounds of beef and two pounds of chicken to make them fajitas. i helped him get everything ready, then i went upstairs to put the baby down. when i came downstairs, the fajita meat was GONE! i was only up there for a few minutes! i had a meatless fajita. and, just so you know, they pretty much ate us out of house and home. i'd never seen girls eat so much!

they were outside having one of their sessions, and i went out to take some pictures of them (when they were finished.) that morning i'd warned them not to get on the hammock -- i told them it had a bad case of dry rot. well, before i could turn around some of them were piled on the hammock asking me to take their picture. i did -- right after the hammock busted! they all came crashing down, on the bar mind you, HARD. i laughed. served them right. i'm sure their behinds hurt them all day long. right after it happened one of the girls came to me and said she'd pay for a new one. i think they thought i was going to be mad at them! now i have a really good excuse to get a new one.

so anyway, dan and i had fun. we just kept seeing this same scene but 5 years down the road -- emily's real first sleepover!! emily, ethan and elliot all had fun too. emily was entranced with the girls, she let them dress her and fix her hair. they also played with her and ethan, which they of course loved! it was almost like we had a house full of girls interviewing for a babysitting job!

My baby Elliot - not so much anymore!

2007-02-14T10:29:00.000-06:00

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elliot turned 9 months old yesterday. he seems so much older than 9 months! he's walking in his walker, climbing up the stairs and generally just trying to grow up. dan and i were quite shocked, when at 6 months he started pulling up and standing. sunday he followed emily claire all the way up the stairs. he's done things our other two babies never did, like hurling himself out of his crib and his exersaucer. i guess it's true, every baby is different!

i think he's just so ready to be a big boy so he can play with the other two. but i wish he was a little behind developmentally. i don't want to give birth again, so i need him to stay a baby for a little longer! :) he's a very sweet boy, always smiling & he's a happy boy too. he will pull your hair/face towards his and slap a slobbery, open mouth kiss (yuck!) right on you! he also loves to be hugged. sometimes he'll put his cheek to yours, it's very sweet. he's so much a part of our family now, i can't remember times without him. dan and i joke all the time how much he's had the shaft compared to the other two. the other two had their pictures professionally taken when they were babies; not elliot!! we could never get ourselves together to take him. sad, i know. but i've made up for it by taking candid shots. but he did have a birth announcement, thanks to www.magnoliaalley.com (sorry, i could not help the shameless plug!)

also, i've totally weaned him. yea!! actually, he weaned himself shortly after Christmas. he would refuse to nurse. he just did not want it anymore. i was happy, but a tiny bit sad! i know what you are thinking, i WANTED him to drink bottles...but i can't describe the feeling of nursing rejection! :) he's totally happy with his bottle though. when he sees us making it up he gets just as excited as he did when he was ready to nurse. for almost a month i pumped, but man, that was for the birds. so he's totally on formula now. i think i have enough similac coupons to get him through until he's on whole milk. :)

it'll be okay, and i'll be okay. but i will say this time around nursing a baby was the absolute hardest. if i would have had thrush twice with emily like i had with elliot, there would be no way any other children would have been breastfed. maybe God did that on purpose! :) and also, just so you know, i have thrush AGAIN and he's not even being nursed!! how in the heck does that happen?!? maybe it will be on it way when my milk dries up. but in the mean time i'm having no fun with it! i was sorta okay with it as long as i was nursing, but puh-lease! he's weaned!! so, anyway, needless to say i am glad the whole having milk is almost over. i'm looking forward to selling my pump! know anyone who needs a good one?

so anyway. my baby is growing up!

Tee shirt says it all...

2007-02-11T19:41:00.000-06:00

ethan loves to color on things. himself, the walls, furniture. good thing he found this instead of the sharpie that was right beside the chapstick...

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Recent TV viewings

2007-02-09T09:56:00.000-06:00

okay, so i was not thrilled about the 3 month hiatus of lost. i mean, is that not a great way to lose viewers? i think all shows should be like 24; have a late start of the season and go straight through to the end. but anyway, i will like watching 16 episodes in a row though. but to me, wednesday was NOT worth the 3 month wait. i expected more reveals and more plot progression. i'll keep watching, but jj abrams, you are on notice. the season better get a heck of a lot better. this is the only abrams show i have watched. i guess my expectations have been too high. oh well.

dan has been watching the office for a couple of seasons. i did not watch last season, and i've only watched a couple of episodes this season. well, i watched it last night and it was freaking funny. the only other episode i've seen that i can really remember was one where there were two party planning committees...girls, if you have not seen that one, it's lol funny. i actually laughed so hard dr. pepper came out of my nose. anyway, i don't think i'll be a regular watcher, but i may sneak a viewing in every now and then. why do i like it? i guess i like the way it's set up to be some mockumentory.

on to survivor figi. i noticed there is a lot of diversity in the cast this season. good. i'm glad they mixed it up like they did last season. i was a little bored of watching a bunch of white people with a couple of token minorities. i'm just saying. will it be as good as last season? i hope.

for ang & dana: girls, if they are in figi this season, it's only a matter of time before they get to djibouti. we MUST try out for that season...it's our destiny.

We are surviving!

2007-02-06T10:30:00.000-06:00

i don't know how any germs are alive in this house with the massive amounts of lysol that has been sprayed around here!! almost every surface, toy and wearable item has been bleached, washed in hot water or sprayed down. with the exception of a little clutter, our house is super-clean. the grandmothers came in for a visit too. while one grandma had kid duty, the other either cleaned or did our massive amounts of laundry. we could not have gotten through the last days without their help. a nice lady from church also delivered us some homemade chicken and dumplings! yummy!! after almost a week of doing it on our own, it was nice to have some help.

elliot stayed in baby jail -- A LOT!!

emily and i are well now, and ethan is on his way. elliot and dan managed to escape the virus -- yea! elliot and i are sick though; we are suffering with some kind of upper respiratory thingy. if it's not one thing, i guess it's another. but we are all glad the stomach thing is almost OVER!

ethan, chilling out watching monsters inc. for the 10th time that day.

during all of this, we had the kitchen textured and painted. it was an experience. we found someone on craigslist who did the texture work for us, and dan and the kids painted the kitchen.

actual quote from ethan -- look mom, i'm painting the time-out corner!!

i also found time to sew a little! the unborn baby blake needed to spit up with style! :)

hopefully we can get back to our normal soon. the kids will be out of MDO this week, so i'm sure next week they'll be ready to have things normal again. thanks for the prayers!

Prayer request *updated

2007-01-31T07:38:00.000-06:00

well, we've had some pretty interesting times around here lately. and really, when i say interesting, i mean hellish.

emily woke up with a stomach virus friday night (i guess sat. morning) at 4. she vomited up almost every 30 minutes, so dan called the pediatrician and got her in at 9:20. she vomited up in the car right before we got there. yuck. thank goodness i had an old mcdonald's bag!

she got a prescription, but continued to vomit. sunday night she started having signs of dehydration, so i took her to the ER. while we were waiting for her to be seen, i began vomiting. nice. dan came and relieved me. he spent the night in the hospital with emily, i spent the night in the bathroom.

emily got an iv, and was put on fluids until 5 pm monday. she came home in great spirits. she was a little sad she did not get to play with the other sick kids like curious george did when he went to the hospital.

dan stayed home yesterday so i could get better. i got worse. emily got a little better. by 11:30 last night, ethan was vomiting, emily too, and so was i!! good news though; ethan is asleep now and has not vomited since around 3:30 this morning. he does have some stomach issues though. the doctor told dan when emily was in the hospital that stomach issues meant you were on the other side of the virus. i hope so.

pray for us. please pray elliot does not come down with it. we are doing all we can to keep him away from me and ethan. dan is healthy right now. please pray he continues to stay well. we have family coming in this weekend because elliot is (finally!) being dedicated, so if dan can just stay well until friday we will have reinforcements!

thanks!

**update -- ethan is on his way to the peditrician's office, his symptoms are much worse. please pray he does not have to be admitted to the hospital!

This may be the most random thing I've ever posted...

2007-01-24T20:39:00.000-06:00

i've always thought people look a little funny upside down. stare into his eyes...he looks a little evil! :)

Reasons why I have not posted in a while

2007-01-22T11:47:00.000-06:00

we are taking the hideous wallpaper down in the kitchen, and it's not going well...

we've been playing outside a lot (well, not this week..)

baby reagan needed another bag...

i've been trying to stop elliot from crawling up the stairs...

daddys who hunt don't carry pink bags...

more of the tacky wallpaper...

kilee needed a bib...

i made my knock-off hooter hider. and, no, girls, i did not call it the offensive name we talked about at amy's shower. it's called a "cutesy cover"....

ms. sarah needed a bag...

ms. tarrah needed a bag...

a hicks pirate needed a bag...

so, as you can see, i've been busy! :)

Post Holiday Post

2007-01-08T14:02:00.000-06:00

well, we had a great holiday season. family came to see us, we went to see family. emily's obsession with ariel was fed, along with ethan's obsession with music. elliot enjoyed having toys that were purchased especially for him (stinks to be the third child, having hand-me-down toys all the time!) :) we made dan's aunt carla's Christmas cookies 3 times, and had the mcneal traditional Christmas Eve gumbo twice. we saw friends we have not seen in years, and met new ones.

took lots of pictures, and made lots of good memories.

mae mae, emily and elliot after Christmas Eve services

ethan frosting aunt carla's Christmas cookies

elliot on Christmas morning

the mcneal boy cousins

elliot, davis, ethan, emily and lane

Christmas 2006 Pictures -- reasons why we did not send one out this year...

2007-01-08T13:54:00.000-06:00

these were the best...need i say more?

so, the mcneals hope you had a great Christmas!! maybe next year we can get a card out! :)

Elliot standing

2006-12-22T10:40:00.000-06:00

no time to say anything, just time to upload! :)

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Elliot's newest trick

2006-12-19T22:33:00.000-06:00

the anniversary of chris's death was last monday, elliot learned to crawl monday. chris's birthday would have been today, elliot learned to stand up.

on two yucky days, God has brought me joy. :)

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Tuesday, December 19, 2006

i heart...

2006-12-11T14:39:00.000-06:00

craigslist. a big thank you to kristi who introduced it to me a while back at the houston get together. her stories of great deals on designer purses & free landscaping timber really got me interested. baring any unforeseen incidents, we will have a new kitchen table this afternoon. so, thanks kristi, and dan really thanks you! :)

i heart..

2006-12-03T20:55:00.000-06:00

dr. pepper.

when i was a child/teenager, my mom and dad did not allow us to drink carbonated drinks. i got my first job at 16, and one of the first things i remember spending my first paycheck on was -- you guessed it -- dr. pepper. i can actually remember the circle k i bought it at. in my opinion, dr. pepper is best in a can, and very cold. the only thing better than an ice cold dp in a can is a fountain dp. the two are totally different. little things make me happy. especially when friends show up on my doorstep with a cold dp in hand -- a true ministry! :)

i heart...

2006-11-29T21:37:00.000-06:00

tv. confession is good for the soul, so here goes.

as long as i can remember, i have fallen asleep at night listening to the TV. when i was a teenager, my dad would come in my room and turn it off before he went to bed. and now, dan turns it off. :) but my favorite shows to fall asleep to are seinfeld and king of the hill. why? because i've seen them so much i don't even have to watch. they play in my head. i'm usually asleep before they are even over.

i've discovered a new station: pbs hd. they have a totally different line-up than the regular pbs station. i love the programming, it's high on earth science. LOVE earth science. i've been recording cool shows these days. i have to admit, the hd channel has really tight graphics. my new favorite pbs shows: frontline, secrets of the dead, nova, walking the bible, exploring space and history detectives.

i think now we probably need to contribute to pbs. with emily's curious george fixation and my pbs fixation in general, we owe a lot of money to them. oh yeah, daniel watches a lot of their saturday morning programming. although they've jacked with their schedule lately...

i wish i did not love TV so much. i just hope i don't make my kids love it. some days though i turn it off all day. the quiet is nice. i try to do it a couple of times a week. i'm working my way up to having it off a lot. :)

i feel so much better!

Elliot's new trick

2006-11-21T18:12:00.000-06:00

our other two kids were way too pudgy to get up on their knees at 6 months old! you can hear ethan in the background cheering him on. the other two want him to start crawling but i'd rather have him rolling around on a blanket for another month or so. rolling around is so much easier. i'm not ready to chase a crawling baby! but watching elliot do new things is so bittersweet. he's our last, so with every milestone i get a little sad. 6 months is my favorite age though.

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Since I posted last...

2006-11-20T22:27:00.000-06:00

dan and i celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary.
dan and i actually got to go to a movie...at NIGHT!
elliot turned 6 months old & his new trick is getting up on his knees and rocking back and forth!!
mae mae came to visit.
i've been sewing. A LOT! :)
dan went to an aerosmith concert.
i found a new way to waste time; jeezball - i aim to beat bf's high score.
after 4 years of the same hairstyle, i got my hair cut -- short with bangs and layers!!
emily learned to play air hockey.
ethan has a new favorite friend. wooszanna.

that's all. pretty boring around here. i haven't even taken any pictures.

Rock-a-bye baby, baby, baby

2006-11-07T21:23:00.000-06:00

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Especially for Uncle Brian

2006-11-07T16:52:00.000-06:00

how about this:

best pic of the older kids, after "we all fall down" of ring-around-the-rosie.

no pics of elliot and the rest of the kids. he slept for all of about 3 hours of their visit! :)

Fast friends

2006-11-04T19:20:00.000-06:00

the rogers came for a visit this weekend. we were all excited! the last time our kids got to play together was Christmas year before last. it's hard to believe how much they've all grown! ethan and sarah were just babies, and emily and hannah were 2 and 3.

the kids all had lots of fun. about 10 minutes after the rogers arrived, the kids quickly got reaquainted in the gameroom. there was tons of running & jumping, screaming, sqealing and laughing. the kids got to stay up late and play, and the grownups stayed up talking and laughing too!

the kids got along well. emily loved hannah because she wears cool tights. ethan loves sarah because she can take care of herself! we did have to keep a eye on them though. we must have asked "what's going on up there" a million times! we relied on hannah to give us reports on what was going on! :) she's a good sister and friend.

hopefully it won't be so long between our next good visit. thanks for making the trip you guys!

ethan and sarah playing ring around the rosie

the best shot of all the kids. taken at lunch today.

elliot checking out the ladies.

big hugs!

Happy Sugar High

2006-11-01T09:38:00.000-06:00

the kids had lots of fun last night. emily and ethan went trick or treating, and elliot stayed home with dad and handed out candy.

2 Year-old Super Hero

2006-10-24T22:31:00.000-05:00

there's this girl in ethan's class i suspect is a super hero. for one week (or, two MDO days) she wore the same shirt to school. i noticed the shirt because emily had that same shirt. then, on thursday, she wore it again!! could it have been it got washed and got moved up in her rotation? nah, i choose to believe she's a super hero. i can't wait to find out what her super powers are.

oh, another thing. her parents are big seinfeld fans...me too! :)

Dawn of Baby

2006-10-22T17:39:00.000-05:00

dan put this together when emily was around 8 months old or so. since we've just begun solids with elliot, i thought about this video. it takes a second to get going, and you'll need sound. also, if you've never seen 2001: A Space Odyssey, it'll make no sense to you. with all that being said, enjoy!

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A quiet Sunday afternoon

2006-10-22T15:50:00.001-05:00

all is quiet in our house right now. all the children are sleeping soundly. even dan is asleep on the couch. it's a perfect sunday afternoon - cold and rainy. nothing to do except sleep! i'm sure there are a thousand things i need to do, but who really wants to do anything on a sunday?? i really need to take a nap.

i've been sewing a lot lately. there are two girls in our ss class who have had babies, and i've sewed two bags for my favorite lurker friend, ashley. this is one of the bags i've sewed recently. i think it turned out really cute. i love that fabric. i think i'll get more!

i need to sew some different patterns. i've been sewing this basic tote for a while now. i think it's time for a little variety...

i really need to be upstairs now, learning to sew the shopping cart covers. i don't think it'll be hard, i'm just being lazy!!

well, one of the kids just woke up! so much for quiet time! enjoy your sunday. make it a true sabbath; don't do anything for the rest of the day. think on heavenly things!

First haircuts

2006-10-16T13:42:00.000-05:00

dan and i decided ethan and emily were way overdue for haircuts. ethan's curls were so very cute, but days that it was not humid they got a little out of control. some days no matter what we tried to do to his hair, he'd always end up looking like the old school willie wonka. emily's hair was okay, just growing in a "v" shape. (the pic is after the cut)

we went to a place called cool cuts 4 kids. being it was their first time and all, i wanted to take them to a kid friendly place. and this place is high on kid friendly. while you wait for your appointment the kids can play with blocks, watch a video or play with a train table. and while they get their hair cut they can play video games or watch movies, all while sitting in a fire truck, car or boat.

the kids were great, but i did have to bribe both of them with ice cream cones though. ethan was getting no where near the chair. i finally got him in. he was not happy, he kept his eyes on his video. they sat in chairs next to each other, and at one point i was holding both their hands!! i'm sure other people there thought we were crazy. emily barely fit in the car, and ethan's fire truck was a little tight too! i guess that area of the shop is more for younger kids. but sitting in something like that really helped them feel comfortable.

anyway, emily's hair just got a blunt cut across the back. i was crushed after ethan's stylist was finished. most of his curls were gone!! i know they'll grow back. the cut does make him look more like a little man. they also gave me an envelope with their curls in it. i laughed to myself. most mom's get to do a scrapbook page about the first haircut when they are around a year-old or so! my kids were 2 1/2 and 4! :)