make lemonaid out of lemons

have you ever heard that phrase? That is what Sam decided to do when he found my ace bandages from when I sprained my ankle.
What else is a rambunctious little boy suppose to do when his mom wont take him anywhere and just sits on the couch when she is not hobbling around the house?
Steal her ace bandages and create roads for his cars...

where could they be?! I can't see!!!

It has been really windy here. Whatever is in the air (or as Kirk says, "my allergies") has really affected my eyes. I needed to take out my contacts and wear my glasses. I could not find them. Anywhere. I looked EVERYWHERE. They were gone. BUT I knew that I had last placed them on my new night stand beside the bed. It was not the problem of remembering where I last placed them, it was where could Molly have put them. I knew I was in trouble and had decided I might never find them. I had to wear a pair of glasses from like 10 years ago. They are twisted, a weaker prescription, uneven, paint stained and of course a wee bit out of style. I had no other choice. The next day something across the room caught my eye...

Something on top of my lamp was not quite right.

yup. it is. my glasses.

Now I know the where, but will I ever know how or why?

bluebonnets take 1

Well, it is that time yet again, time to head to the bonnets and get some beautiful pictures. Hmmm, well, I have seen MANY pictures that people have of their children sitting in a patch of bluebonnets, they are all so cute, so fun, so Texas! Then there is me. I have managed to go to the bluebonnets every year since Sam was born... yes, his initial blue bonnet exposure was when he was just a couple of weeks old. At first, I took the blame, I am not a good photographer, The sun was in the sky and the kids were squinting etc etc. But I have finally decided... it is not me, it is for sure my subjects... But still, I try....It was a nice day, but windy. very, very windy

She wanted to leave, as soon as we got there...

here are a few blasts from the past... wonder why I never posted last year?! :)2009 2008

bluebonnets take 2

It did not go so well in the first patch, so I thought I would break things up, get in the car and drive to another patch. It had to go better right?! Well, the GIRL still would NOT cooperate for ANYTHING. she would not look at the camera or smile--- this is the best shot I got of her face...

bluebonnets take 3

honestly, 3 times? well, as they say... 3rd time is the charm right? I decided to bring in the reinforcements (Kirk) It was a nice afternoon, still windy, but it had died down some. The 3rd bonnet patch was just beautiful--- this was going to be perfect, we even saw some friends of ours when we first got there...There were not a lot of smiles for some unknown reason. There were more bribes, deals made, and then eventually threats. None of which worked. Instead of smiles, this is what we got...

But something must have worked--- here are a few good ones...

the good ones

and out of 3 different bluebonnet patches, 227 pictures... HERE are the good ones...

See you again next year!

Life is great with a BIG pickle

It was late, the kids were tired and cranky, (as was their mommy) we ended up eating at McDonalds and then running into the store very quickly looking for something very specific. Though we did not find what we went for, we did manage to get several other things...
Including, but not limited to a HUGE jar of GIANT pickles.Sam experienced his first Giant pickle at the State fair last year and LOVED it. When we saw these at the store we just had to have them (Kirk included) It was an impulse buy

But I think it won a two thumbs up!!!

comfy?!

We have been having a LOT of trouble with Molly and bed time/nap time. I am sure it is partly because we have taken away her addiction (green pacifier) but now I think it is her "new routine"
After one very trying day (when are they not lately?!) It got quiet for a little bit so I thought I had better check on her and be sure she was not destroying her room etc... This is what I found.Is she seriously using the book case shelf as a pillow?!

5 years of Samuel

And here we go, 5 years of pictures...
You were late, I did not think you would EVER come I gotta tell you, it is hard to see thta due date come and then go! . The labor lasted for days, and Finally progressed once my water broke (on daddy's side of the bed no less :) ) We called everyone and headed to the hospital (during rush hour traffic on a Monday morning) I was brave for only so long--- I changed my mind and was able to get my epidural as soon as we arrived at the hospital--- I was at a 6!! You would be here very, very soon (or so we thought). About 7 hours later -- that sweet boy who had been doing flip-flops for months was on his way out (or so we thought) I pushed for about 2 hours--- you stopped tolerating it, I struck a fever and so a very quick c-section ensued... You did not look very good and did not scream so my NICU team rushed in to work with you for a few minutes. God is so good, He gave us a BEAUTIFUL, healthy baby boy. Such a miracle and an answer to many, many prayers.At one year you are FULL of energy. You do not stop for a minute. You rolled over by 3 months, started crawling at 4 months and 1 week and started taking steps around 8 months, though you refused to go passed that 7th step until right after your birthday... and boy, once you realized you could walk you decided running was even more fun! I enjoyed watching all of your milestones, even though it meant that you no longer wanted to sit and snuggle past 4 months!. You are very curious this first year and into everything!At 2 you are into even more things! What a curious little boy. During this year I realize why they call it the "terrible two's" Just 2 1/2 short months after you turned 2, your little world turned upside down ~ we added little Miss Molly into the mix and you were not quite sure about her. You did like all of the individual attention you got while mommy and Molly were in the hospital, but then we came home... You got to experience many fun and exciting new things this year, there were many trips to the park, the zoo, the fair, pumpkin patches etc etc. It takes you a little while to warm up to new things, but once you do you enjoy it all.At 3 you turned from the "terrible two's" into the "trying three's"!! This was more of a battle of wills year for you. You are gaining more independence, and love to learn new things. You love playing your friends and have developed a love/hate relationship with Molly. You like to help mommy and daddy with the chores, but also just like hanging out with us. I can already see your protective nature when I watch you with your sister. Though it has been a trying year, you are still very tender-hearted and sweet. You love to give out hugs and kisses and your smile can melt away anyone's bad day 4... boy, 4... what a unique year. Lot's of transitions take place this year. You are much more independent, though always have an eye on mommy or daddy. Your language has really taken off and you can hold actual little conversations with people. Molly is your best friend as well as your worst enemy, but if anyone was to mess with her--- they better watch out, you are a great protector and big brother. This is true to your sweet (though stubborn) nature. You still have a ton of energy, but I can see through the year how you are actually growing and maturing. You still like puzzles and outside play, but no one will ever accuse you of drawing or coloring too much! All of your friends are female, and you enjoy it! You love your bike, warm weather and winning at any game.

And here we are... 5 years old. You are so excited about being 5!! You know that by being 5 you are growing up and get a lot more privileges. You are so excited about starting school in the fall and ask about it nearly everyday. You are actually listening to us much better. You are FINALLY starting to realize that every action has a consequence and we can somewhat reason with you. You are really into DADDY right now and want to do EVERYTHING he does. We are really enjoying #5 so far (and it has only been a couple of weeks) and look forward to what all this exciting year holds.

FREE KIDS MEALS AT CHILIS___ TONIGHT ONLY

Woo Hoo! This offer is back yet again this week…time to take the night off from cooking dinner and cleaning up. Just head on over to your local Chili’s with the coupon found here and kids ages 12 and under will eat FREE with any adult entree purchase. Keep in mind that there is a limit of 2 free kids meals per adult entree purchase; coupon only valid today, April 5th.

earthday deals...

Stop by your local Disney Store on Friday, April 22nd, and bring 5 plastic shopping bags with you. You can get a FREE reusable tote bag (not exactly like the one above, but this was an Earth Day tote bag a few years back).

Klutz with a capitol "K"

Ok, so far 2011 has not started great, though I guess you could say that it did start off with a 'bang'. Shortly after after the year started my back went out... bad. I even went to the doctor and took drugs it was so bad!!! It FINALLY healed (thanks to many, many prayers!) after like 5 weeks. I then got a cold and lost my voice yet again (kids appreciate that) and then I twisted my ankle. I am such a klutz. We had a ladies night out at the church. 3 of us carpooled there so afterward we sat in the car and chatted for a while. Let me start by saying that I tend to sit on my legs while sitting and talking. It was getting late and time to head home. I opened the door, took a step out and just fell straight down. I am sure it was quite comical to see. I do remember one of my friends saying "where'd she go?" It was like a cartoon. one minute I was standing there, a second later poof-- I was on the ground. Here is what went down... Apparently as I sat on my leg while talking, it fell asleep. I took a step out of the car with 1st foot all was well, then I took a step out of the car with the leg that was asleep and boom. Had I realized my foot was asleep I probably would have exited the car a little differently... oh well. Thanks to Meghan, I got up, but I did not know if I was hurt or not... my foot was completely asleep. And then the tingling came. I was unsure if I had horrible tingling because my foot was starting to wake up or if it was really hurt... I called Kirk on the way home to tell him what happened... (Don't forget that I had lost my voice, so I was breathing heavy from the pain and no voice). Poor Kirk could not understand a word I said. He was a little confused. He tried to piece together what I was saying and thought I had hurt myself but did not know how or why or the extent. Thankfully I was about 10 minutes away. This is what we saw when I got home:A few days later it turned a very pretty purple color--- no I am not kidding--- it was a pretty shade. It also had that greenish-yellow color to it (not quite as cute). It even bruised the other sideThat was a month ago, it is still a little swollen with a bump. and oh so very tender to touch... I am sure hoping that April will be start to a much better 2011!!! :)