The LOVES of my life

I took the boys down to the river to get some pictures for Grandparents Day

I fall in LOVE with these boys more every day

They are best buds!

I'm sure there's more than one reason

God gave me boys for a reason 

 I'm sure there was more than one reason

I'm sure he knew that I wouldn't be able to handle a girl

We have one little girl around here and her moods change in a split second

She can go from laying on her back wanting her belly rubbed to attack mode in no time 

Yes, I'm talking about our cat

(She's like one of our kids but in a different form)

As I was sending emails and checking facebook yesterday,

I turned around and saw this

 How do you teach a girl to sit like a lady?

Obviously I failed to teach her that

(Oh and she must have gotten over the embarrassment of her bad haircut)

 I put my hand on her and told her she needed to sit like a lady and she gave me this look

 and went back to sleep

She's very smart and she uses it to her advantage

She has learned that if she sits and cries/pouts long enough, 

the sliding glass door will be opened for her

She has also learned that if she gets kitty treats from me,

 she can beg the boys and make them think she hasn't got any yet

My boys are NOTHING like her

They don't pout

They don't talk back a whole lot

If I tell them NO - They usually know that's my answer 

But we LOVE this girl and we'll just have to work on her 

Can you say SPOILED ROTTEN?

Top Ten (Sept.10-16)

This week was rather boring

1. Wednesday was Spencer's first orchestra lesson
He claims he didn't learn anything new

2. I'm helping out in Parker's classroom on Wednesdays

I love the huge smile on his face when I walk in 

He does still love me

3. I think Fall is coming

My little guy has been struggling
Monday - ear pressure
Thursday - Sore throat

4. Parker has finally made it into size 7 jeans
(I thought the day would never come)

5. Parker stayed home sick on Friday
(We made cookies, watched TV and rented a  Wii game and a movie)

6. Friday night we watched Soul Surfer
(Parker picks GREAT movies)

7. Saturday we went ice skating at Coralville Mall
We promised we would take Spencer for his birthday which was in February
Lots of tears were shed and I vowed to never take children ice skating again

8. Saturday night the boys had a sleep over with Grandma

9. Gosh Darn-it!
We were doing so good with the bloody nose situation
How can the cold meds dry him out and cause a bloody nose
but
his nose still drips like a faucet

10.  On Sunday the kids helped us work on my Mother In-laws yard as her birthday gift
Next year she'll be receiving a gift card; it will be easier
The boys were well behaved and found an adorable kitty to play with


I see doctor appointments in our future
Fall is here and so is cold season

Top Ten (Sept.3-9)

Thank goodness for three day weekends

The kids were already in need of a break from school

Top Ten

1. The boys spent Labor Day playing with friends

2. Wednesday was picture day

(This mama remembered it was picture day but forgot to send the money - Good Gracious!)

3. Spencer brought home a worksheet and said he needed my help
(I knew this day was going to come and I've been dreading  it)
What are the 4 types of sentences and describe them
(Thank you Google, I owe you BIG time)
I told Spencer this didn't make him smarter than me,
it just means that in 24 years, I can test HIS memory

4. Chip has started bowling again every Wednesday night in Tipton
I took advantage of having the boys to myself and took them to McDonalds
After we ate, the boys talked me into taking them to the wooden park
(Note to self - This was a BAD idea)
We spent the evening digging splinters out of little hands

5. Spencer's Orchestra Super Lesson was on Thursday
He was SO EXCITED to get his violin

6. We really dislike spelling words
(Especially when we only have 4 days to learn them)

7. Spencer spent Thursday at the Discovery Center for a field trip

8. Friday was the day of the DREADED spelling test

9. The boys went to a birthday/pool party on Saturday
It was a bit chilly but the kids didn't mind

10. Sunday was Grandparents Day and I needed a picture for my Mom and Dad

The boys weren't all that cooperative but we got one


We're on our fourth week of school already
Time flies when you're having fun

Top Ten (Aug 27-Sept 2)

We are finally getting into the swing of things

I feel like we have returned to our routine and I'm loving it

Top Ten

1. Monday was CRAZY to say the least

Band meeting from 4-5
Orchestra meeting from 5-6
and
Cub Scout Recruit Night from 6-7

2. Spencer has decided he will be playing the....Violin
My Goodness instruments are expensive!
Why couldn't he pick the trumpet or baritone? (we have those)

3. The boys have been busy reading

Spencer finished a 500 page AR book

Parker brought home 2 AR books and did a great job reading them and doing his report

4. I'm a little sad that Spencer won't be doing gymnastics this fall
Something had to give and that's what he picked

5. Cute things being said-
We had a fish die this week
Parker took a look at it and said, why don't fish close their eyes
Dad: Fish don't have eye lids
Parker: Why do we have eye lids
Mom: They protect our eyes from dirt and things in the air
Parker: And hot sauce
(I'm not sure where that came from)

6. I bought the kids Scattergarories Jr. this week
On Tuesday night we played for a little bit
The letter rolled was - G
One of the questions on the card was- How do you make money
Spencer answered - Grab and Run
(Who's teaching these things to my child? My Goodness!)
I had a better answer- Garage Sale

7. We went shoe shopping on Friday night
(Do you remember how much I HATE shoe shopping? I HATE it a lot!)
I would love -
To be able to go to 1 store
Have both kids pick out a pair of shoes that are in our budget
And not shed any tears
(It would be a miracle!)

8.  Mom, Can we put him in the bathroom sink?
(Parker found this tiny frog and was certain we needed to keep him)

9. Saturday night I sent the hubby and Parker to the video store
They returned with "The Zoo Keeper"
It was such a cute movie and the boys were entertained

Next week is another CRAZY week
Just a few things on the calendar
We will be closing on our loan to refinance our house
Our van windshield will be getting replaced
and
Bowling starts

                 

Top Ten (August 20-26)

After looking back at some of our Top Ten posts from last year
I've decided to continue our Top Ten or so... There may be ten, there may be more

1. School started on Monday (Aug. 20th)
I can't believe we have a fifth grader and second grader

  2. We had our first broken pair of glasses

First time in 3 years, not too bad

3. Aunt Debbie has a new kitty (Kiki) so of course we had to go out to the farm  to visit

4. Speaking of kitties, this girl is loving the peace and quiet and all the attention

Honestly, I think she misses the boys while they are at school

5. It's back in the 90's, I think we should have left the pool up a bit longer

6. Spencer came home on Wednesday and said he had homework to finish
Within minutes, he was headed outside
I took a peek to make sure the homework was done and done correctly
Here's what I found-

Here's an up close

His new Under Armour back pack
(BTW- Who taught this boy to color in the lines?)

 7. Spencer tried out instruments at school on Thursday for band
Is he really old enough for band?
Stay tuned to find out what he'll be playing

8. Parker got a 100% on his first spelling test of the year

9. We survived the first week of school and celebrated with DQ

10. Saturday I must have heard "I'm bored" at least a million times
I took the boys to Weed Park to play sand volleyball

11. Sunday we got some much needed rain and the boys got to play in it

We have a busy week ahead of us
Let the fun/hectic school year begin!

33! How can I be?

I always imagined I would be married and that I would have kids

but some how, I never imagined life beyond 25

I'm married, I have two amazing boys
and
I'm another year older
 (which makes me 33- how did that happen?)

On Sunday night my Mom had a birthday dinner for me

Steak, fried potatoes, salad, watermelon, cantaloupe

 and for dessert

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH WHIPPED FROSTING

and 

WHITE CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY ICE CREAM

Oh My Goodness!

I told my Mom that she makes a bigger deal out of our birthdays now 

than she did when we were kids

My Mom just laughs

My parents gave me-

 Some vintage Pyrex bowls

 A purse

A cookbook they picked up at a Flea Market

and 

A pair of silver hoop earrings

The kids went back to school on my birthday so I enjoyed some window shopping by MYSELF

I went to Davenport and looked around

I didn't buy much but found a lot I could have bought if I were rich

I almost had to have this

I LOVE all Philosophy products and let me tell you, this smelled AMAZING

I may have to go back and get some

I also found THE PERFECT purse

The one my Mom got me was a bit bigger than I like (and I like BIG)

So I returned the purse she gave me (with her permission) and searched for a new one

I found it!

The straps were braided and a perfect length

The size was good

I LOVED the color (Not quite gold, not quite champagne)

And then I noticed something about the purse

The buckle was sewn on upside down

SERIOUSLY

It was the only purse like it and it was flawed

I came home and got online praying I could find it online

No SUCH LUCK

I found one that's a different color (I don't love the color) but it might just have to work

I haven't talked my self into it yet
I liked the shimmer of the other one
I'm bummed!

I also found the cutest dress at TJMAXX and passed on it too
I'm kicking my self now


The only thing I bought myself was a Diet Coke at Target


It was a good thing I didn't splurge because my hubby did
He bought me a new computer monitor
and
took the family out to Applesbees


Over all it was a great birthday but I still can't believe I'm 33