Good-Bye 2009

It's amazing how a memory can bring a smile to your face
and a tear to your eye at the exact same moment.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Snow Day

Honesty

This morning...
I needed to go to the store, but at the same time I didn't want to go.

2 boys + me trying to use my coupons usually = a huge pain in the butt

When I mentioned that I needed to go to the store, Big Brother jumped right in, "I want to go to the store!"

I asked, "Will you be good if we go to the store?"

Without blinking an eye, he answered, "No."

At the store...
As we were walking down the aisles, he was being his normal little self and pretending to shoot deer. So every few steps I heard, "Pow! Pow!" as he punched his arm out to shoot. This was all fine and dandy while he was shooting deer. But as we turned a corner and he pretended to shoot at an old lady with the loud "Pow!", arm action and an "I shot her!", we were both met with a dirty look. Little boys don't listen when you tell them to stop while you're laughing at them, so he reloaded and kept on shooting.

After checking out...
Big Brother had to pee. Baby Jaws and I waited outside the bathroom for him. As he came out, he said in his loud little voice for all to hear, "Someone clogged it up in there! Someone didn't flush! There were turds in there! I went in another one to pee."

Thanks for sharing.

Sometimes it is embarrassing, sometimes down right funny, but Big Brother, I do appreciate your honesty.

Ham It Up

While trying to get Big Brother to finish the sandwich he was eating for lunch Saturday, my husband said to him "Eat your meat."

In his defiant little voice, Big Brother shot back, "That's not meat! It's ham!"

Who knew?

All I Want For Christmas...

is one good picture of my children with the Christmas tree.

Is that too much to ask?

Joy To The World

^{Luke 2
1}And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

Franks and Beans

There are too many reasons for me to list why I'm glad I'm not a man. I would kill to be able to pee standing up whenever and wherever, but other than that, I don't envy them.

Big Brother had his first little 'man moment' tonight that he is wishing would've never happened. The poor little guy came in the front door crying as I overheard my husband say "franks and beans."

I knew what that meant. Anyone who has seen There's Something About Mary knows what that meant:

When Ted gets himself stuck in the zippers Charlie Jensen : "Is it the frank or the beans?" Ted : "I don't know, both I guess." Warren : [ from outside ] "Franks and Beans! Franks and Beans!" Seriously, I don't know how they walk around with those things.

This Baby

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs by Steven Curtis Chapman.

My Little Gun Toters

We had our first Christmas over the weekend at Pa and Gran's house. And it just wouldn't be Christmas without a bunch of cousins shooting at each other.

Put That Back

Baby Jaws has tried to be quite the little thief the past couple of days. He's not a very good one though because each time, he was caught.

(I got really good deals yesterday. I'll have to post about them later.)

Anyway...

Yesterday at CVS, I thankfully found a car cart for the boys. This store only has one cart with two steering wheels-what were they thinking? As I was paying for my deals Big Brother started yelling, "He's putting candy in the cart!"

This car cart has the car underneath the basket so I wasn't paying much attention. As long as they stay in it and aren't screaming, I really don't care. But sure enough, Baby Jaws a.k.a. my little shoplifter, had a pile of Hershey bars under his feet and a couple in each hand. I would have been beyond embarrassed if Big Brother hadn't told me and we had set the door alarm off as we were leaving.

Today, Baby Jaws and I ran into Dollar Tree so I could pick up a couple of gift bags. As I pushed him through the store in the cart, he grabbed everything he could reach. Dollar Tree doesn't have the widest aisles. I lost track of how many things I put back on the shelves. But Baby Jaws saved his best for last.

As we were standing in line to checkout while I wasn't looking, he reached over to the display by the register and grabbed a pregnancy test. All the women behind me were laughing. I took it, put it back and told him, "I really don't think Mommy needs one of those today," which made all of the women behind me laugh even harder.

I had to tell my husband the funny pee stick story. He didn't find it as funny as I did. I think his exact words were, "You'd better not need one of those things!"

Boy Talk

More often than not, whatever comes out of Big Brother's mouth cracks me up. Today was no different. As we were driving down the road he asked, "Why did they have to build vacation so far away? They should have built it around here."

He's really wanting to go back to the beach and made a good point. I'd love it if vacation were closer too. Then we could go more often.

Then he told me, "Mommy, you're growing up. When you grow up all the way, you'll be taller than Daddy."

I love his logic.

A little while later he asked, "Mommy, when will I be 35?"

I answered, "Not for a really long time."

Then he said, "When I'm 35, I'll be really old."

Yeah, thanks buddy. I'm already there.

Good News, Bad News

The bad news is my husband found a sippy cup under the seat of his truck this morning-a full sippy cup that had been in there for 3 days.

The good news is it was only juice.
The good news is it was frozen.
The good news is it is winter.

It would be horrible news if it had been milk boiling in the summer heat for 3 days.
But it would still be good news that it was in his truck and not mine.

My Good Deals

I've been having fun with my coupons the last few days. I scored 4 boxes of Snuggle at Walmart over the weekend for free. They were only $1.87 each and I had 4 $2 coupons, so I actually made 13 cents on each box toward the rest of my purchases.
I even scored some toys yesterday while Christmas shopping.

Cheap Tater #1
I had a Mr. Potato Head when I was little (actually, my Mom still has it and the boys love playing with it when they visit) and I have been wanting to get one for the boys. Yesterday at Kmart, I got a Mr. Potato Head Silly Suitcase, which is usually $19.99 or more for only $5. They were on sale for $10 this week plus I had a $5 coupon.

Cheap Tater #2
At Target, I bought another Mr. Potato Head Spud Bud which was $6.99, but I had a $5 coupon for it too, so I only paid $1.99. Now both the boys will have their own Potato Head just like I did. Now you know, I'm a sap.

Over the weekend I ordered a Leapster Didj game for my step-daughter for a Christmas gift. The Didj games at most stores and online are $29.99 each. I got the Nancy Drew Mystery game for free. That's right-free! It was on sale over the weekend for only $5, but there was also a coupon code that I was able to apply that took off an extra $5 so free! Woo Hoo! I only paid $5 to ship it. The shipping was nothing compared to the $29.99 plus tax I would've paid if I would have bought it at Walmart or Target.

These are just a few of my good deals I got this week-so far. My coupons are all clipped and organized and I am ready to hit the stores again for some great deals. I can't wait!

Who's the Anal One?

Have you ever had one of those moments? You know, one of those moments when you look over at your husband and think to yourself, "Really, I married this guy?"

One such moment occurred to me yesterday afternoon. We got home from church and were trying to decide what to have for lunch. We had leftover chicken enchiladas we had made the night before, but decided to save those for dinner. I thought a grilled cheese sandwich sounded really good until I saw the jar of peanut butter in the cabinet. I hadn't had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in so long and nothing was going to stop me. My husband thought it sounded pretty good too. So begins our story.

I will tell you I'm usually the uptight, anal one about most things. But there are a few things my husband is very anal about. I just didn't know a pbj was one of them.

I had no idea the preparation or calculated steps that must be taken to make a pbj for my husband. I was going to put the peanut butter and jelly into a bowl and mix it all together before I put it on my bread (my favorite way because that's how my grandma always made it for me). Oh, the look of disgust on my husband's face. It was as if I was about to commit the sin of the century.

He said, and I quote, "You can't do that. The peanut butter has to be on one piece of bread and the jelly on the other. It needs to be about 1/8 inch thick and has to be spread from corner to corner with no bread exposed. The peanut butter and jelly can only come together when you put the two pieces of bread together. And you have to use two knives."

Wow. That was my moment. "Really, I married this guy?"

So I decided to humor him not disgust him and forgo mixing my peanut butter and jelly beforehand. I spread out some peanut butter to which my husband said, "That's not right. You have a big ridge of peanut butter and all of the bread is not covered."

"Really, I married this guy?"

And then came the jelly. I plopped some jelly on and spread it out only to hear, "That's not right. The jelly belongs on the other slice of bread and it's not even. There's still bread exposed."

"Really, I married this guy?"

Then it was Mr. Anal's turn. As he made his perfect pbj he said, "Good thing about this squeeze jelly is you can strategically place it where you want it."

"Really, I married this guy?"

I kid you not, as he was about to join the two pieces of bread together for their first meeting, his mind was blown. "I can't do this now. The bread doesn't line up."

"Really, I married this guy?"

And here is the point where I almost choked to death on my pbj: my anal husband sat down to partake of his perfection and said, "Now with each bite I take, there won't be any dead bread."

Yeah, every last millimeter of bread was covered with peanut butter and jelly.

And really, I married this guy.

Quotes for Friday

"You don't really understand human nature unless you know why a child on a merry-go-round will wave at his parents every time around - and why his parents will always wave back."
~William D. Tammeus

"If you want children to keep their feet on the ground, put some responsibility on their shoulders."
~Abigail Van Buren

"Always kiss your children goodnight - even if they're already asleep."
~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

"Don't handicap your children by making their lives easy."
~Robert A. Heinlein

"Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you." ~Robert Fulghum

"It is one thing to show your child the way, and a harder thing to then stand out of it."
~Robert Brault

"To bring up a child in the way he should go, travel that way yourself once in a while."
~Josh Billings

First Haircut

So we took our little hippie to the barber shop today. I did not want to see those curls go away, but Baby Jaws was tired of his hair getting in his face and Daddy wouldn't let me give him a ponytail. Go figure.

We were proud of the little man because he sat in the barber chair the entire time all by himself. That's not saying there weren't any tears because there were a lot of tears. But he sat there and took it like a man. Compared to Big Brother's first haircut, this was a piece of cake. I don't like how short it is. I really miss the long curls, but he looks like such a big boy now.

Yep, that's a real tear and that's the barber bribing him with a dum-dum.

All's well that ends well. A dum-dum always makes everything better.

Oh What Fun

Really, who needs new toys for Christmas when you've got a box?

Frosty the Snowman

Top 10 Reasons My Butt is Too Big

1. I drink too much Pepsi.
2. I eat too much chocolate.
3. For some reason, I really like Taco Bell.
4. I'm addicted to sugar.
   
5. I love pizza.
6. I like just about anything that is fried.
7. I really love to bake.
8. I can eat my weight in pasta.
   
9. Three words: peanut butter cups.
   
10. My husband stopped by Dunkin Donuts for me was forced to stop by Dunkin Donuts tonight because I wanted some sugar for breakfast tomorrow. Mmmm....chocolate mint donut.
    

My Walgreens Trip

On our way to see Santa last night, I made my husband stop at Walgreens so I could get some much needed lotion for next to nothing. In the end, the lotion actually did cost me nothing. I bought 2 boxes of Puffs, 6 Nivea lip glosses, and 2 Nivea lotions for $5.37. WooHoo!
The Puffs were $1.50 each, but I had a coupon for $1/2, so only paid $1 per box. The lip glosses were on sale for $.99 each. I bought six, but had 3 buy one get one free coupons, so only paid for 3 of those. I also used 2 coupons for the lotion that were buy 3 lip products get a free 13.5 oz lotion, so got two bottles of lotion free. Here is my receipt that includes my $18.95 in coupons I used plus the Walgreens savings on their sales this week. I saved $34.33. I love drug stores just as much as I love grocery stores! And I love my coupons!

Santa's Little Helpers

Here's little big man, who decorated almost the entire tree by himself. Too bad that 90% of the ornaments are in a radius around the tree about 4 feet high. But does he ever think he's big stuff for decorating our tree.
And here's my little thief who got in trouble for the umpteenth time for stealing ornaments off the tree. I have a feeling this will be a daily battle for the next 22 days. Bring it on Baby Jaws!

Christmas Time is Here

My boys put our Christmas tree up this afternoon while it was snowing somewhat snowing outside and let me tell you, it was a hoot!

A New Song

I am so glad Big Brother has a new favorite song...I think.

Let me take you back 4 years. When Big Brother was a baby, he wasn't like normal babies who fall asleep as soon as they go for a ride in the car. As soon as we put him in the car, he would start screaming and wouldn't stop for the entire ride. And it didn't matter if it was 2 miles or 200, he would scream. I, being a new first time mom whacked out from no sleep anyway, would get so upset that I would cry in the car with him. I actually got to a point that I didn't even want to leave the house because I didn't want to listen to him scream.

One day when Big Brother was just a few months old, while we were driving along, a song on my CD changed our lives forever. As soon as Big Brother heard Steven Curtis Chapman singing Let Us Pray, he immediately shut up. We thought it was just a fluke. But the next time we went somewhere and he was screaming, we put on Let Us Pray and he immediately shut up again. It was amazing.

This went on for months. One night driving home from the girls' concert at their school with my parents riding with us, Big Brother, about 1 at the time, started throwing a fit. I told my parents to "watch this" like I was doing a magic trick. I flipped on Let Us Pray and the fit was over. Big Brother was silent and happy. My parents were amazed.

For the past 4 years, I have heard Let Us Pray close to 12 trillion times or maybe it just seems that way. Big Brother has the CD in his room and has listened to it daily (at times, all day long) since he's been tall enough to push the play button. I will admit, at times, I was annoyed. Don't get me wrong. I still love Steven Curtis Chapman and I still love hearing Let Us Pray, but 12 trillion times is a little much for a person.

I don't think I'm going to have to worry about it anymore because Big Brother has a new favorite song; a song that I love, but am wondering how I will feel about it after 12 trillion listens. His new obsession is Until The Whole World Hears by Casting Crowns. I had to play it in the truck today over and over again. We'll see how long I last.

Never Again

I hate Black Friday! But I must confess. I am no longer a Black Friday virgin.

My wonderful husband had a bright idea; an idea I should not have gone along with. He thought we could get up Friday morning, run to Walmart and be back in time to be in the woods before sunrise. I turned completely stupid when I said, "Ok. Why not?"

Why not? Here are my why nots:

I am not a morning person.

I am not a patient person.

I hate shopping at the same time as other idiots. Black Friday=swarms of idiots.

I swear my blood pressure went up as soon as we pulled into the parking lot.

As we walked into the front doors at 5:10 a.m., I'm pretty sure I had steam coming out of my ears when we saw people packed from the checkout lanes to the back of the store in one gigantic line that no one would even think about letting us excuse our way through.

Walking through the store made my IQ drop a few points.

Not even seeing the toy I wanted for Big Brother was annoying. Not even seeing it in any one's cart was even more annoying. I'm sure the Walmart I went to was the only one on earth that didn't receive that toy shipment.

Almost getting attacked by Walmart employees because I walked underneath one of their ropes while trying to leave was enough to make me go ballistic.

Telling the Walmart employees that I just wanted the crap out of there was priceless.

So anyway, we were there maybe 10 minutes and it was enough to make me NEVER do it again.

Never!

Five Quote Friday

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."
~John Fitzgerald Kennedy

"Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow."
~Edward Sandford Martin

"Thanksgiving was never meant to be shut up in a single day."
~Robert Caspar Lintner

"God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?"
~William A. Ward

"It is delightfully easy to thank God for the grace we ourselves have received, but it requires great grace to thank God always for the grace given to others."
~James Smith

I Am Thankful

I am thankful for the big things in my life...my family, my friends, my church, my home, my country.
And I am thankful for the little things too...
thankful my husband can always make me laugh, even when I don't want to.
thankful every time Big Brother jumps up on my lap, throws his arms around me and says, "I just love you!"
thankful when Baby Jaws comes to me with his blanket and bear just to sit and snuggle awhile.
thankful every time I hear my girls laugh so loudly at absolutely nothing.
thankful that no matter how bad a week I am having, going to church completely changes my attitude and makes me feel blessed.
thankful my active boys, who may puke for a couple of days, are in good health.
thankful my boys are able to laugh and love all over each other just seconds after a big fight.
thankful for dates with my husband that don't seem to come along that often.
thankful for early mornings being awakened by two little giggling boys jumping on our bed.
thankful for slobbery kisses from Baby Jaws.
thankful for fistfuls of dandelions picked by Big Brother.
For all of this and so much more, I am so thankful.

Black Friday

As much as I love deals, I am not a Black Friday fan. I've never woken up early to be at a store by 5 a.m. I don't think you could even pay me to do it. I am not a morning person and people irritate me anyway. People pushing and fighting over stuff at 5 a.m. would really irritate me. And so help me, if I ever saw a kid wearing shoes with wheels on Black Friday, I think my head would explode.

My husband has been out on Black Friday the past couple of years. The first year, he went to Bass Pro (big surprise) to buy himself something. Last year, he went to Walmart to buy Big Brother a cheap Leapster, which he still loves playing with.

This year, we're going hunting around 5 a.m. I can't wait! There are a couple of things I would like to pick up for Big Brother and Baby Jaws on Friday. After sitting out in the woods awhile, if I can get to the store before 11 a.m. when the sales are over and if I can even find the things I'm looking for, I will be happy. If not, I don't really care. It's just stuff. Stuff that my boys would be happy with, but then again, they're still enjoying the dishwasher box.

One of My Top 10 Pet Peeves

I cannot stand walking through a store (as I did this evening) and all of a sudden, a kid wearing those stupid wheelie shoes whizzes by me. It takes every ounce of strength in my body for me not to stick my foot out and trip them or turn my cart into their path really fast so that they bounce off of it. Oh, the day is coming when some little dweeb on wheels is going to push me over the edge. Mark my word, the day is coming.

Early Christmas

I finally got my new dishwasher yesterday and the boys got a gift for themselves: a giant dishwasher box. The sad thing is, the box will probably sit in our living room for a week like a piece of furniture. The good news is, they will play in it for hours on end and I may just be able to accomplish something for once, like dishes. I'm thinking I got the raw end of the deal here.

Back Off

Hey there Mr. Man, driving the girlie car behind me. I don't know what you have up your butt to make you want to drive up mine, but you caught me on a good day. I'm in no hurry for once. I'm even driving a bit under the speed limit and that doesn't often happen.

I haven't had any thoughts of road rage at all today. I have yet to make my secret wish I make every time I drive somewhere: I wish I could drive a tank, a really fast tank that could drive over every idiot that gets in my way, cuts me off, drives too slow, can't use a turn signal or rides the brakes.

This is a beautiful sunny day. Remember, I'm in no hurry. But it's not my fault that you were too girlie to pass me in the last five passing zones. If you're not man enough to go around me, then please feel free to ride my butt even more closely. I will make it worth your while.

Since I'm the type of person that always tries to please people, I will slow down for you a little more. Even though I'm almost home, I still have time to jack with you. I will make you and your little girlie car come to a crawl. I see the 25 mph speed limit sign up there. I'd better slow down to around 10-15, just to be safe. You didn't like that either, did you? Poor baby. Wait, here's the road to my house.I need to turn slowly. Don't want to roll it. I'm almost to a complete stop. Wait, I'm turning. There you go Mr. Man. I'm finally out of your way. You enjoy your day. I just enjoyed mine a little more by irritating you. Buh-bye now!

My Poor Commercialized Child

Yesterday, I found a pair of Big Brother's baby dress shoes that I had saved just in case I had another baby. So I pulled them out to see if they would fit Baby Jaws and had them sitting on our desk. Big Brother came over, saw them and asked who they belonged to. I told him they were his when he was a baby. He picked them up and examined them, then noticed the brand.
I completely lost it when he said in amazement, "These say McDonalds! Did I get them in my Happy Meal?"

I Can't Do It

Baby Jaws is going to grow up to be a hippie because I don't think I'll ever be able to cut these curls. He just wouldn't be the same without them.

Yummy Turkeys

Thanksgiving may not be until next week, but my turkey pancakes were all gobbled up. This was Big Brother's, complete with apple feathers. I also made some with banana feathers. The mini M&M eyes were by far Baby Jaw's favorite part of the meal. We will be having these again before Thanksgiving and it will definitely be our Thanksgiving breakfast treat.

Will It Ever End

We had two more cases of the "bad bacon wonder worm" over the weekend, only this time it was the adults turn. My husband and I were both extremely sick on Saturday. So sick that I'm surprised our house is still standing after pitting two sick parents against four healthy kids.

Note to self: don't get sick when your top two babysitters are unavailable. Gran also had a case of the "bad bacon wonder worm" and Mamaw was out of town. So we were screwed and stuck with our very healthy, very loud, can't-leave-each-other-alone-for-two-seconds children.

I don't ever remember us both being sick at the same time and I pray it never happens again. It was complete mayhem between trying to rest, running to the bathroom for the 42nd time, breaking up the 349th fight of the day and trying to keep down a sip of water that would eventually come back up anyway.

I always make fun of my husband for being so pitiful when he's sick. But I admit, I was pretty pitiful myself Saturday. I have not been that sick in a long time. I was actually mad at him for being sick on the same day as me. It seemed perfectly logical to me at the time. He had no right to get a sick day when I was trying to take one. We both walked around like zombies all day, hoping the kids weren't beating each other to a pulp while we were sleeping.

It wasn't pretty, but we survived. Well, almost survived. Of course I would be the one left to suffer since I'm the one who takes care of everyone else. Ugh!

Five Quote Friday

"A boy is a magical creature. You can lock him out of your workshop, but you can't lock him out of your heart."
-Allan Beck

"One of the best things in the world to be is a boy; it requires no experience, but needs some practice to be a good one."
-Charles Dudley Warner
"Some parents say it is toy guns that make boys warlike. But give a boy a rubber duck and he will seize its neck like the butt of a pistol and shout 'Bang!'"
-George F. Will
"There comes a time in every rightly constructed boy's life that he has a raging desire to go somewhere and dig for hidden treasure."
-Mark Twain

"When I grow up I want to be a little boy."
-Joseph Heller

18 Wheels

This is my boys' favorite song on YouTube. And by boys, I mean all three boys, including my husband. It's by Heywood Banks and we've been listening to it after hearing it on the Bob and Tom Show forever ago. Now the little guys are even fans of the song.

God Bless All Our Veterans

Again

I just cleaned up puke again! This isn't funny anymore. I'm going on a week and a half of puke. I'm now a certified puke expert.

UP

Here's my great deal I got at Walmart today. I bought the UP 4-disc combo pack, which includes the movie on Blu-ray disc, a Blu-ray bonus disc, the movie on DVD and a digital copy of the movie. This 4-disc pack is on sale at Target for $26.99 and at Best Buy for $23.99. Too much for my coupon loving self. It is only $19.96 at Walmart, but here's the great part. If you go here, you can print a coupon for $10 off. So I got the movie for only $10. You know I'm addicted to coupons when I even use them on movies.

I also bought two gallons of milk, two pounds of bananas and two gallons of tea. Yes, two gallons because my husband won't drink sweet tea. I have to have sweet tea because I'm also addicted to sugar. Besides, I always tell my husband I'm sweet, so I deserve sweet things. He always corrects me and tells me, "Yeah, you're sweet. Bittersweet." Whatever!

I only paid $22 for all of it. Pretty good deal considering the movie costs more at Target than everything I bought. It gets even better. I can get $5 back here when I also buy two Birds Eye Voila meals which I can get really cheap with coupons (big surprise). We like these for a quick dinner when we're pressed for time. So in the end after the rebate, I'm going to get the 4-disc combo pack for only $5. I'm happy with my deal and can't wait to watch UP with my boys!

I Need Sleep...Puke-Free Sleep

I'm seriously considering changing the name of my blog to The Puke of Our Lives. It is now almost 1 a.m. and I have just cleaned up another pile o' puke. Baby Jaws is still sleeping peacefully. Big Brother now has a case of the "bad bacon wonder worm" as my husband calls it. He has puked twice in the last hour. He is now tucked back in and is either sleeping peacefully or his little gut is preparing to yet again hit me with his best shot.

I'm to the point now where it doesn't matter if I sleep or not, there will be puke. Even if I do fall back asleep, I know I'll dream about it. Puke is all around me. It has been stalking me for the past 6 hours. I just can't shake it.

It is now five minutes later...and there it was. Round 3. My life would be so much easier if I had a can of Puke-Away.

Seriously...More Puke

I wish I was kidding. Just a couple of hours ago, I was thinking of blogging about how I haven't had to deal with any puke in a few days. Again, I wish I was kidding. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, Baby Jaws puked on the carpet in his bedroom. After hosing him off in the tub and putting clean pj's on him, he puked on the living room floor (so thankful for hardwood floors). My husband carried him into the bathroom where he puked all over the floor, the sink and the toilet. After another bath and another pair of clean pj's, he sat on my lap for an hour, puking into a towel about every 20 minutes. He is finally sleeping with towels lining the floor around his crib. We are not cleaning any more puke out of carpet (so thankful for the wet/dry shop vac too).

It never ceases to amaze me how my little puking machines always derail my plans. I accomplished nothing on my to-do list tonight except for rocking my baby, which is probably the only thing I really needed to accomplish in the first place.

Five Quote Friday

"A determined soul will do more with a rusty monkey wrench than a loafer will accomplish with all the tools in a machine shop."
-Robert Hughes

"Common sense and good nature will do a lot to make the pilgrimage of life not too difficult."
-W. Somerset Maugham

"You can never tell what type of impact you may make on another's life by your actions or lack of action. Sometimes just a smile on the street to a passing stranger can make a difference we could never imagine."
-Ed Foreman

"I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday."
-Abraham Lincoln

"It's important that people know what you stand for. It's equally important that they know what you won't stand for."
-Mary H. Waldrip

WrestleMania

Pukefest 2009 Continues

Just how much can one child puke in a week?

After picking Big Brother up from preschool today, we went to meet my husband for lunch where he did an awful thing. He filled Big Brother's cup up with fruit punch. It doesn't matter how many times Big Brother drinks fruit punch or how much he drinks, 90% of the time, he pukes. It's just too sugary for the little guy.

So after we ate, we went up to my husband's shop to see the car he was working on. As we were leaving the shop, Big Brother needed to be in the bathroom...NOW! Baby Jaws and I were waiting in the truck thinking they'd be right out after a little #2. Next thing I knew, my husband came out to tell me Big Brother had puked all over himself and the bathroom in his shop. I went back into the shop to clean him and the bathroom up. My husband is a lucky man. He's lucky I can stomach puke better than he can.

Like I've said before, not a day goes by I don't come face to face with poop or puke. I must say I'm very thankful that Big Brother's teacher makes him keep an extra change of clothes in his backpack. It came in quite handy today. I'm also thankful Big Brother puked in the shop and not in my new ride. It was my lucky day!

Veggie Tales DVD

If you go here and sign up for The Big Idea newsletter, you can get a free Veggie Tales DVD. You will have to pay a shipping charge of $2.99. But it's a great deal if you have Veggie Tale lovers like I do. There are three titles to choose from. Big Brother will be getting The Ballad of Little Joe in his Christmas stocking. Thank you My Litter. It doesn't matter where I find them, I love deals!

Passion

My boys are passionate over little things, but sometimes I wonder if they go a little overboard.

Take this morning for example. As Big Brother was eating breakfast, he screamed and burst into tears. I ran to see what had happened as he cried, "My jack-o'-lantern fell over!" Sure enough, Mr. Pumpkin Guts (sitting atop our table because the boys liked looking at their little orange buddies) had become mush and fell over onto the side of his face. He was also leaking. Big Brother was extremely upset, to say the least. I had to explain to him that pumpkins rot and don't last forever, but he cried and cried over the little mushy thing.

Baby Jaws was also very passionate this morning. He and I went to CrapMart to pick up a couple of things. We grabbed some Cheetos to eat with our sandwiches at lunch. Cheetos are Baby Jaw's favorite. I showed him the bag sitting on the shelf as he squealed with excitement. He took the bag from my hand and hugged them. It was more than a hug though. It was one big, long snuggle. He held onto that bag of Cheetos tightly, with his little head on them (the same way he snuggles his teddy bear when he's ready to go to sleep at night) snuggling up, giving those Cheetos his love all the way to the checkout lane.

So my boys are very passionate about the things they love. I think that's a good thing. At least I'll keep telling myself that for the time being. Although looking back, maybe they are just passionate about things that are orange. Either way, I love my little sensitive guys.

Of Poop and Puke

Not a week day goes by that I don't have a run in with poop or puke. It's just part of the job. I don't know why I thought Halloween weekend would be any different.

Saturday night, after Trunk or Treat and trick-or-treating, we went back to church to eat. It was more like take one bite, put my plate down, chase Baby Jaws, bring him back to my chair, pick up my plate, take one bite, put my plate down, chase Baby Jaws. It seemed to never end, that is until Big Brother announced he had to poop. Not only did he have to poop, he had to poop NOW!

Our church is still under construction which means no bathrooms. As I got up to take Big Brother home to poop, my husband said, "Too late. He just pooped his pants," and we could tell by the look on his face that he had. I took Big Brother to the van debating on how I was going to get him home with poop in his pants. So, since we were out in a little field where the future parking lot will be, I pulled his pants down and dumped out his underwear in the grass. Disgusting? You bet, but it had to be done.

As I was helping him get his pants back on after wiping his bottom with some baby wipes, he decided he has to poop again...NOW! I tried my best to get him to squat (this child has never been camping like I have back in the day) so it was a big mess by the time he was finished. I went back into church and told my husband after what I just went through, he was going to be the one to take Big Brother home and change his poopy clothes. In the end, everything came out alright. I did have to warn some people about the turd way out yonder, telling them to watch their step.

Now to the puke. Yesterday, we had a lot of running to do after church so we stopped for lunch. Big Brother had real chicken strips. I say 'real' because he likes McDonald's and Wendy's type chicken nuggets and not a whole strip of real chicken. Here's another little tidbit about Big Brother: when he eats things he doesn't want to eat, he purposely makes himself gag. As we were waiting on our check, I asked Big Brother to eat a couple of more bites. He picked up a piece of chicken, started chewing it up and then began gagging because he didn't want to eat it. Well, he gagged enough that it made him start puking. It wasn't with as much force as the portrait night puke, but it kept on coming. I tried to once again catch it, as much as I could in a napkin, but finally just stuck his head up on his plate to get it over with. And of course, everything came out alright again.

Ah, the joys of boys. The funny disgusting stories never end. Just remember, happiness comes from the inside. That's why you always feel better when you puke or poop or both.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from my Cars-obsessed boys,
Frank the Combine and Tow Mater!