The Lenzer's

More Christian

2012-02-07T16:11:00.000-06:00

from the party.....

Colton and his god mother, Linda

Christian and Nannie, my MIL

helping himself to the cake

Con and his 2 best TX buddies

Ben (L) and Ilan (R)

High five for the birthday boy

And now for some Thanksgiving pics.....
(and maybe now I can be caught up on last year?)

climbing the big tree at Pappa Lou's house

All the little Lenzer's

Connor-5, Kyle-1, Christian-2, Colton-4, Carson-3

Anybody feel sorry for my MIL?

Mark, the boys, and good ol' Pappa Lou

bad picture

plus me

Christian's 2

2012-02-06T22:33:00.000-06:00

Somewhere in my lazy lack of blogging this little guy

turned 2

and he knows it

he gets his own treats

and double fists it

he is CONSTANTLY climbing something

or putting things in his hair

it's a darn good thing he's so freaking loving and cute

Christian's birthday was over Thanksgiving
you know
well over 2 months ago
We happened to be in Dallas that weekend
So we asked our friends to meet at
Chuck E Cheese
nothing formal
just some pizza and fun

Thanks to my MIL
for this delightful gift
sigh

This one is just as nosey
but it has finally made its way outside

Christian is my baby
but boy is he
busy, busy, busy

He can't decide now if wants his crib or bed
He really just prefers to sleep with me
Wouldn't be so bad if he slept the right way
But he sleeps sideways
There is not a bed big enough
for a sideways sleeping kid
No matter what
it's always a kick in your kidney

He has given up the high chair
It would take him an extra 20 seconds to get on the table
He tries so hard with a regular cup
The first couple of sips
not so bad
After that, it's on the floor
or his shirt
or both

Happy Birthday to my Christian
Maybe this year he can have a real party
and maybe
just maybe
I will post about it

Stroller Trouble and a Screwed Up Day

2012-01-23T09:19:00.000-06:00

I am back in stroller shopping mode. I didn't really think I would be here again, but Colton is walking places now so much that it is not always convienent to have the big mamma double stroller. So I am doing my research and trying to find the best deal. I will use the single stroller for probably 2 years. I want to make the right decision, as I do with any type of purchase like this. So that in a year when I have buyer's remorse, I can be really pissed at myself for not "thinking of that" for whatever it is I decide I don't like about said item.

I think I just want a light weight umbrella style stroller. The down side to that is, they most have to handles instead of 1 bar. It's easier to push single handed in the middle of a single bar, instead of trying to keep it from going to the left or right if you are holding another child's hand or holding them on your hip.

That being said, I would love to get the single version of my double for that exact reason. But it is more than I wanted to spend. It's the baby jogger city mini and it runs around $200

Then I found at Target the Chicco light weight stiller. It folds easy but is still over $100. So if I was going to spend that much, I have heard great things about maclaren strollers. I actually found a brand new one, still in the box on Craig's list for $145. Still expensive, but 20% or so less than retail. But I am still with the 2 handle delima.

I also found on Craig's List a Peg (Aria) I don't even think they make this one anymore. It's on $50. It has a single bar for the handle, but unlike some Pegs, it does not have the "stand" on the back that another rugrat can stand on.

So should I go with the good name and cost efficient or spend more? I don't know why I have to make this such a big freaking decision.....

My screwed up day. I was going to take the little boys to Babies R Us this morning to test drive some strollers. Then I was going to call the Craigs list ad to see if I could look at that stroller. Then I had an errand to do at the mall. All this and be home for lunch and nap time. These boys need some serious rest and we have this test karate class this afternoon (ggrrrr). Then Colton reminded me it's Monday and I have a reading appointment at the elementary school. I do this every Monday, but last week was no school, the week before that Colton was sick and before that was Christmas break. So I was out of my routine and completely forgot. It's only 30 minutes, but it's right in the middle of the morning so that I can't do anything before or after!

Stroller advice please. Any new mommies out there, you might know of a new hip brand that I'm not down with....

Happy Monday

Christmas with the Lenzer's

2012-01-20T14:34:00.000-06:00

And by Christmas

I mean 2011

All of you are OVER the holidays

Some of you may even be planning 2012

I'm still harping on last month

I don't even think I posted about Thanksgiving yet?

WARNING

tons of pictures

and they are out of order

since that's how blogger works

stupid blogger

Last chance to log out....

We visited Santa

you won't see Christian in this photo

because the big guy hadn't offered the candy yet

We baked

correction....

I baked

the boys licked the spoons

And the dogs

Can you guess their favorite kid?

The little boys had a Christmas program at their preschool

I forgot my camera so the crappy pics are on my phone

Colton was a shepherd

He is still singing

"Away in a Manger"

Cutest kid ever

He kept getting up and trying to do tricks in front

The teachers kept stopping him

I thought it was a great photo op

they totally disagreed

mean teachers

Christian only opened 2 gifts early

and it was 2 days before Christmas

Amazed it didn't happen sooner

Christian's Santa pile

Connor's santa pile

doesn't look like much

Looks sad actually

but I'm pretty sure he got plenty

And Colton's

The most used gift

A trampoline from Nannie

the boys are loving it

It keeps me and Mark in hysterics

The big boys bounce Christian all over the place

Con had a class party

He made a gingerbread house

Christian found it

Thinking about it

And....got it

this kid is a mess

More baking

At least I got help this time

The family room tree

AKA tacky tree

Decorated with the kids home made ornaments

and hung by them

ok mostly connor

but rearranged 1453 times by Christian

Opening gifts is so much fun at this age

Christian wanted to put on everything he got

immediately

Connor kept score

Colton just went with the flow

Christian got into the cake

It was our Christmas dessert

and we were saving it for Colton's birthday

2 days later

Colton did not get any

This kid is nuts

And this is when it's nice to have a "formal" room

I got to have a tree with grown up ornaments

If I had know this was how it was going to work out

I would have bought a tree with white lights

I love white lights

So "my" tree is not quite how I like it

But I still sat in this room a lot

and enjoyed

Did you survive?

Still awake?

Still to come

visit to my moms and pops

(more Christmas)

thanksgiving?

Christian's birthday

and what ever else I missed

Thanks for playing

Hope your week is going well

It's finally Friday

Mark has made it back into town

I am getting my "hairs did" tomorrow

YAY! no more gray

2 hours in an adult location

No body better have the stinking brats there

If my hubby really loved me

he would schedule me to get a massage while I'm there

somebody text him

God HELP me

2012-01-18T07:35:00.000-06:00

I searched on pinterest......
"lego party"

somebody stop me!!!!!!

been cleaning out crap cabinets, keeping up with the regular routine, and fighting Christian for sleep now that he climbs out of the crib (ggrrrrr)

Colton's still pooping in his pants and Con is talking back more than ever

Mark's gone for the week

GOD HELP ME
seriously!
I pray for that everyday

Party Pictures

2012-01-10T17:48:00.000-06:00

Superhero Students in Action

Overall the party was a success

I would do it again in a heartbeat

no matter how much I bitched and moaned

Colton had a blast

His buddies from school were still talking about it today

That's what counts

Happy Birthday to my sweet Colton

Can't believe he's 4

now if he would learn the alphabet

and stop pooping his pants

Spidey's Superhero Academy

2012-01-09T11:00:00.000-06:00

Becoming a Superhero is hard work

One must master several skills in order to become certified

You must be able to jump through the

RING OF FIRE

And you have to actually practice

WEB SPINNING

you might think it comes natural to little Superhero's

but it does not

And every Superhero must work out

muscles are a necessity

As a Superhero

you never know when and where duty will call

so you have to

LEAP TALL BUILDINGS

And just in case

you have to learn to

WALK OVER LAVA

And to prepare for darkness

or if Batman is your Superhero of choice

the

BATCAVE CRAWL

will help

And the number 1 requirement for a Superhero

is to

get rid of the BAD GUYS

for our little Superhero's learning purposes

this was accomplished with silly string

(and a plastic floor covering)

When all of these skills were mastered

Colton and his friends

were official graduates of

Spidey's Superhero Academy

and they have the certificate to prove it

(made by Casey at Moms Little Secret)

And of course they had to have

a cape and mask

One more birthday post coming up

with a few actual party pictures

You Know

2012-01-08T17:11:00.002-06:00

You know you're too old

or had too many kids

when.....

you sneeze

and

a little pee comes out

you're welcome

Spidey's Superhero Academy

2012-01-07T20:52:00.000-06:00

Then party is over

We I survived

Colton may not have

He went to bed before 5pm

Let's hope that is for the night and not a nap

The party was a blast

I think I had as much fun as the boys

and I won't lie

I felt pretty good about myself

It was a good mamma moment for me

That being said, not sure if it was worth it

I spent WAY too much money

And way too much time

And of course this morning

moments before the arrival time

I realized I had forgotten a child

I had to scram to add a goodie bag

and extra spot at the table

Usually I make very good lists

so crap like this doesn't happen

I'm not sure WTH is going on with me lately

So now on to the photos

And I must say that I can take virtually NO credit here

I found just about every idea off of that stupid website pinterest

But at least I can say I made something from there right?

The Decorations:

I made the banner

and Spidey is a wall decal I ordered from Amazon

he will be transferred to Colton's room and the banner will be put away for next year

A close up of the letters

I think the "N" is upside down

but the glue was already on

They're 4, they barely know the alphabet right?

Colton was so happy when he saw this Spiderman

I got the biggest hug and loving ever

That makes it worth while

My pride and joy was this wreath

And you better bet your bum I will break this baby out for 4th of July

Take off Spiderman and throw on a flag

It is made with cupcake liners

My sister and worked on this together

The Spiderman face on the wreath was the invitation I made

That might have been the only idea that was actually mine

I did Colton's name for decor

Tomorrow I am going to hang them in his room

I painted some letters I got at Hobby Lobby

and then glued comic book pages on the front

So cute and easy

Might make some for the other brothers

During the middle of writing this post my Sweet Colton woke up in tears

I had to take him to the clinic

He has a nasty ear infection

I dropped him off so Mark could lay him down while I waited for his medicine

By the time I got home he was sleeping so hard he would not wake up to take it

Hope he makes through the night with out waking up in too much pain

Tomorrow I will post on the "Academy" portion of the party

CRAZY

2012-01-06T08:46:00.000-06:00

That's me....

It's the last day before the big Spiderman Super Hero Academy Birthday Party

Lot's of cleaning and baking and final errands going on
Not to mention all the final decorating and finishing up the making of the decorations

Someone please do me a favor....
In 2012 when I have another kids birthday and I say
"Oh I'll have the party at home, it will be so much more fun and cheaper"
And then I start looking on Pinterest
Someone immediately text me the number for Chuck-E-freaking-Cheese
SERIOUSLY

I have spent more money than Christmas. I'm pretty sure anyway. It's all been kind of rolled into one

But for those of you who have missed me blogging, don't fret
I am not done with 2011
I still have Christmas to post and birthdays and the big wrap up

I just have to survive tomorrow!!!!

December...con't

2011-12-25T20:13:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas to All....

Today is Christmas, I will have a post on that to come, maybe. I have been pretty sucky lately at posting so who really knows. But I did want to chat a bit more about December.

We have a had a fabulous day. Couldn't have asked for a better day, except for maybe more friends and family around. But I have been over the Christmas hustle and bustle for about 2 weeks now and have been in major party mode. Colton's birthday is in 2 days. He will be having a party on January 7. It's his first ever "real" birthday party. And I plan on making it a kick ass party. In my head anyway. It might turn out to be a complete bust.

I have already put the Christmas decor away. Ok, so it's just in boxes. I sure as heck am not carrying those up the stairs. I have to have all that finished up tomorrow. Tuesday is packing day. We leave Wednesday for my parents house. We return Sunday evening. That leaves me 2 days before I go back to work at the boys MDO to finish up for the big SpiderMan party.

December is suppose to be a time of reflection. A look back on all the things you screwed up in the year. Luckily I have been way to busy to bother with all that crap. But I am looking forward to January and getting my pit of a house organized. I think I am just going to take 1 room at a time and complete it. All my cabinets and closets need to be cleaned out.

Isn't it funny that as soon as Christmas is over and put all the stuff away, it feels like it should be spring. But winter is just getting started. All though, I did buy all the boys snow pants this year, which means we will not a single freaking snowflake in OK.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Christmas day. I know we have.

December

2011-12-20T16:22:00.000-06:00

Hello ~~Strangers~~ Friends....
It's been quite some time since I've been on blogger. I have tried to read some though, and it seems as if lots of you are MIA! I have so much to say and catch up on that I don't know where to start. So I just go with what I can think of.

- SCHOOL
Today was the last day of school for 2 weeks and I couldn't be more excited about spending some time with my boys. I know in 2 days I will be ready to ship them off, but for the moment (in my head) I am ready for some special time.

- CONNOR
Con woke up today crying, wanting to move back to TX because there is a girl there he wants to marry. He doesn't remember her name. Hey, like father like son. He recently gave Santa his list, it was completely different from his original final list. SOL son, SOL!

- COLTON
Colton has gone back to diapers. Just 1 week away from turning 4 and I had to go to Target for pull ups. Speaking of Target, if there is a town without one, that's where I need to move. We have "thrown away" his undies. I have them put away because I am not going to waist the money on new ones. But I am OVER the accidents. Not sure you can even call them accidents when it is several times a day. He could care less about the alphabet. He could care less about pooping in the potty. Good thing he's cute!

- CHRISTIAN
Chris is talking up a storm and climbing like a freaking monkey. Caught him on the counters the other day with the kitchen scissors and a pack up candy. Luckily he still has all 10 fingers. I've lost another life, but hey, that 's just all part of the mommy gig! He climbed up the pantry door for the secret stash of suckers. Guess I better move those. Trouble, that one!

- CHRISTMAS CARDS
Finally got all my cards out, and damn they are cute. If you didn't get one and would like one, send me your address. If you don't want one, bah humbug to you!

- INSURANCE
Insurance sucks. We pay out the wazoo and I think between the 5 of us, we have been to the doctor 4 times this year plus 4 well checks. I need an MRI for my shoulder and they deny it! And don't get me started on the cost of medicine. I got to the pharmacy for my pills and had to pay $60, WTH???? Who can pay that?

-CHRISTMAS
I am ready for the big day. Shopping is done, wrapping complete, budget shot!

- BIRTHDAY PARTY MODE
I have moved on from Christmas to planning Colton's 4th birthday party. It will be his first official party to have, so I am trying to make it special. I am pretty pumped about this, he better appreciate it, the little pooper!

- WEATHER
It was freezing for a while, now it's cool but not cold. We had a crazy winter in OK last year. This year I bought all the kids snow pants/bibs. SO....it won't snow. I totally jinxed us. Snow has been forcaste twice so far, and both times.....nothin'. For those who don't like snow, you're welcome.

- MAC
I lost some pictures off my MAC and I am just sick to my stomach about it. Perhaps that will teach me to back up and/or print my photos

And now some pics for your enjoyment....

WAZ UP

2011-11-16T17:37:00.000-06:00

I miss my blog world. I miss my old world. This stage of life is keeping me busy and tired. Can I please get all my kiddos back at home, no school. Do they really need an education anyway? The funny part is, if we were home all day together I would be screaming for school.

Got my Christmas cards made and ordered and I am pretty impressed with myself. I love making them. Now I have to start on my calendar and the one for the grandma's.

My Christmas shopping is 85% done. HOLLA!! And let me tell you, it's expensive friends. I have spent a ton of money and don't have that much. But bikes and DS' add up quick.

Got myself 2 new leather chairs for the family room. Found 'em on Craig's List! Score one for mamma!! They are brand new and look really great in the room.

I really want to cut off my home phone. Only telemarketers call us. I would have to pay some money to fix our alarm system to go wireless though. Does anyone still have a home phone?

Christian turns 2 next week. I am kind of sad. I am very afraid of the next year!!

I have fruit flies. Probably from a little certain someone who climbs the counters and takes bites out of fruit and then leaves it in the bowl. Nothing like buying 10 apples and they have 2 bites missing.

Cleaned out my closet. I'm fat and it's empty! I have got some serious new years resolutions in the works over this one.

Got a nook for my birthday. Not sold on it. And it's no cheaper than buying the actual book, for the most part.

Trying to figure out how I can buy a new Christmas tree without Mark noticing. Thoughts or ideas?

Time to get ready for our Wednesday night church class......
HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Halloween Steps

2011-11-02T07:20:00.000-05:00

STEP 1:PICK YOUR PUMPKINS

I hate going to the pumpkin patch in shorts

It just feels so wrong

In the past we have made numerous visits

during the season to the PP

to play and take pics

So we usually can get in at least one trip

in long pants

This year we only went once

PARENTING TIP:

NEVER buy your pumpkins at the pumpkin patch

It's highway freaking robbery

Buy your big guys at the grocery store

better yet-WALMART

This year they were $3.88

The big ones at the patch will run $10+

We buy the baby pumpkins that we paint for less than $1 each

That way the boys can pick out a few each

STEP 2: CLEAN THE PUMPKINS

This is quite possible the most important step

mainly because it's the most fun

what's not to love about playing in

soap and water

and you can clean your kids at the same time

BONUS

PARENTING TIP:

when providing your children with water (and soap) to play in

it is best to remove their clothing first

weather permitting of course

especially their $50 stride rite shoes

that will take 3 days to dry out

STEP 3: PAINT THE PUMPKINS

PARENTING TIP:

painting is messy

but so much fun

under NO circumstances should leave the room

hold your pee

or you will return to find someone painting the other

and himself

STEP 4:PLACE THE PUMPKINS

It is very important that each child

can place his very own pumpkin(s)

otherwise a fight is very likely to break out

STEP 5: CARVE THE JACK-0-LANTERNS

Be prepared to stick your hand in and get the goo out

Your kids will NOT do it for you

PARENTING TIP:

Have enough non sharp tools for everyone

or a fight will break out

(fights can start among 3 children quite easily)

STEP 6: DRESS UP IN COSTUMES (not necessarily the brand new ones mom just spent $$ on)

STEP 7: BRING MOM CHOCOLATE

Halloween was great! Hope yours was too. Now please don't forget about the turkey! We don't, especially now since we celebrate Christian's Thanksgiving birthday. I can't believe my last baby is about to be 2 in just a few weeks. It makes me sad. On the plus side, I only have about 2 more years until I get my sanity back...HOLLA!

I think I should start a parenting tip segment. But not about what to do, about what NOT to do. I have a lot of knowledge in that department, seeing as how I screw up bunches and bunches.

Sorry for being so MIA. This working mom thing is kicking my butt. I promise to catch up on all my favorite blogs soon and too catch you up on our super exciting lives here in OKC!

Boy Talk

2011-09-26T21:23:00.000-05:00

COLTON:
Colton came out dressed horrible, he was wearing an orange t-shirt with an alligator on it. I asked if he was going to wear that. He replied "I'm team alligator"

Colton to me "I want to change my number"
Me-"What number?"
Colton- "I want to change my number to 5"
(He is referring to his age)

Colton- "I found the bean"
(referring to the seed of the apple)

CONNOR: (he is full of it these days)
Connor-"take a picture of me and send it to my boss"

Connor-"I have a laptop"
Me-"really, where?"
Connor- "It's invisible"

Connor- "What in tar nation"
(where does he get this stuff?)

Connor to my neighbor- "My daddy is 41, he used to be 6"

Connor (to me while doing homework, referring to a pencil)
"I need a spear"
Me- "A WHAT?"
Connor- "A spear"
Me-"You mean a SPARE?"

Connor- "I want to play chest!"
Me-"Say what?"
Connor- "I want to play CHEST, you know that game like checkers"
Me- "You mean CHESS?"

Connor- "Will you give me money for doing work?"
Me-"Sure"
Connor- "Everybody knows chores are boring, but I'll do it for money"

Connor- "Can you call me Steve?"
(I think Steve is Iron Man? or some super hero)

Connor- "Why am I yawning if I slept to 7?"

He makes me laugh, that's for sure! I know I should correct him, but sometimes I don't want to because it's so cute. BAD MOM!

CHRISTIAN:
While Christian is saying more and more everyday, most of it is still unrecognizable. But he has figured out how to shake his head "yes". The side to side NO motion we have down for a long time. So now, he likes to answer every question with a yes or no head shake. Cute, but if you do the opposite of what he wants, he screams (with all of his lung power squealing kind of screams)!

Hope my boys brought a smile to your face today!

Adjusting to School

2011-09-25T20:53:00.000-05:00

Before I chat about today's topic

let me address my absence

UMMMM....

I have been absent from my blog

Did you miss me?

This past week the stomach bug was at our house

All four of us got it

Mark was out of town

Good times folks

Before that it's just been crazy around here

Which is a really great lead in to my post

ADJUSTING TO SCHOOL

We are 5 or 6 weeks into this semester

and I am still not used to it

We are all tired

and I miss Connor

Christian is growing up

Can't we all just stay home forever?

The biggest adjustment for me has been going to work

While it is only 3 days a week

It feels like a lot

I have been very blessed to be home

Not so sure I will continue this next year

It's kind of a big deal having to get up

and be dressed in a presentable manner

by 8:15 AM

I really don't know how working moms manage

I don't know that I could be successful

See look at this boy:

That's one tired baby

The key to making it happen each morning is

planning

and prepping

It's either that or getting up way too early

I choose the planning

Make lunches at night

Have backpacks ready to go

Clothes laid out

Shoes by the door

Breakfast plates out

My shower done

And then it happens

I just can't seem to open my eyes in the morning

But on any given Saturday or Sunday

when I could sleep in

I am wide awake and ready to go by 6

kind of sucks

The other day the little boys and I went to the zoo

First time without Connor

felt like I was cheating on him

How stupid is that

And while I am enjoying the very small paycheck I get

And the break from my own kids

I hate being away from Christian 3 days a week

I swear he has grown up

He finally stopped crying when I drop him off

Colton is totally enjoying his class

He needs to be around his very own friends

I am so happy and excited for him

Time to go prep for tomorrow

TV TIME

2011-09-11T18:48:00.000-05:00

I watch far more television in the summer than I do during the school year. That wasn't always the case though. I used to seriously schedule out my programs and DVR order. Back in my Michaels work days, talk of the previous nights shows dominated the lunch room.

But then I had Connor, and my TV time became less. Which was odd because he went to bed at 7, but I was usually too tired to focus on 32 Law and Orders. Then I added a child in the mix. By the time bed times came around, I was a zombie. Then came Chris. By the time I get 3 sets of teeth brushed, 3 bodies bathed, lotioned, and dressed and then all 3 to sleep..... I'm asleep!

But the summer it's all good. I DVR alot and watch most of it on Friday and Saturday nights. Plus we watch Big Brother which comes on 3 nights a week, so that keeps you busy in itself. Some of my favorites this summer have been:
Covert Affairs
Suits
Burn Notice
Rizzoli and Isles
Covert Affairs
Franklin and Bash
Drop Dead Diva
Army Wives (this year it was more of a spring show)

I am not a Bachelor fan like most, but a couple of times I caught a few minutes of Bachelor Pad and laughed my butt off. One episode they were tossing eggs and opposite sexes backs to questions like "who are you least attracted to". Seriously? They sign up for that? Then one night one couple will be making out and the next week the guy is with another girl and then the first girl is pissed. People like that make me laugh (and sort of feel good about myself).

I have not really thought too much about the fall lineup yet. I watch when I can with the exception of Grey's Anatomy. That's my chill with a glass of wine night! I am very disappointed that Brothers and Sisters is not returning. I can't believe it was cancelled before Desperate Housewives. WTH? I have not really noticed any new shows that look too promising for me. That's ok, it leaves more time for reading (and blogging)!

What will you be watching?

Braums Ice Cream

2011-09-06T16:44:00.000-05:00

So here is my unsolicited plug for Braums......

I have never before in my life been to Braums. Now it's my new favorite place. And I have never had the ice cream. Wanna know what the big deal is?

MILK!

My favorite conversation of late with every mom I come in contact with is about grocery shopping and how much it costs. It is my mission to feed my family for less without being a crazy couponer. After about the 5th person to mention to me that they buy their milk and other dairy products from Braum's, I figured I better see for myself what all the fuss is about. Apparently it tastes great and they do not put the hormone RBGH in it (whatever that is).

So one day I went. First of all I was shocked! It's like a whole freaking store in there. They have produce, meats, a few frozen things, dairy, and of course ice cream. And I was not the only person in there just to buy milk. In fact there were several folks in there doing just that. It's about the same price as your typical store brand milk. And it is yummy thick. The skim milk tastes like whole.

I'm sold! For reelz!

And I am pretty sure I could shop for a whole week in there. One of these days I might just try it!

If you have a Braums near you....check it out! You won't be sorry.

Thursday Thoughts

2011-09-01T17:00:00.000-05:00

Here goes nothing....

my chest is on fire thanks to the cold that has worked its' way into my chest-good time
I have been working on the same post all week, not sure why I can't get it together
probably all the cold medicine keeping me in a fog
Mark and Con went to Texas today for a few days, I have lots of special things planned for the little boys (secretly wish I had one day alone)
I dream in skinny (when I am in my own dream I always have my 20 year old body)
Christian has grown this week, I can't believe how different he looks when I am not around him 15 hours a week
Speaking of Chris-he has major gas right now
Why do people with 2 year olds not make them nap? This is coming from the worker in a 18-24 month room (me)!
I always watch Big Brother every summer, and it pisses me off every summer. Yet I can NOT turn it off.
Praying for the cleaning fairy and her cousin the laundry fairy to come tonight

Happy Thursday to you all

Thursday Thoughts

2011-08-25T20:39:00.000-05:00

I am one tired mamma. I work 16 hours a week and it has beat me down. How do you working moms do it? I stand in awe of you!
I am so freaking tired of this heat and the 105+ temps that I could pack up and move
I really want to go shopping...for me!
I'm pretty sure I just got my hair cut but I want it cut again. Maybe I just want the attention. I know I just got it colored and it really needs it again. I swear everyday I have new little pokey white hairs. WTH?
I miss sleeping with my dogs, who are no longer allowed on any carpeted area of the house
I hate laundry, just saying

Not many thoughts today, my brain is fried! Hope everyone is doing well my friends!

Ch,Ch,Ch, Changes

2011-08-17T07:45:00.000-05:00

Summer break is coming to a screeching halt here in a couple of days, and I am finding myself very upset. Normally parents are counting down the days until that yellow bus makes it's stop at the end of the street again. But not me, I'm sad. Like take an extra zoloft sad!

Last year Connor went to pre-k at the elementary school. He already hung out with big kids. He knew kindergartners. He even has 2 first grade friends (now 2nd grade). This was suppose to be an easy transition for him, as well as for mom. The schools here have half day kinder. So, while I was disappointed that he wasn't going to be learning more, I was secretly excited to have him home one more year. However, I had arranged for him to go to a program at the little boys school 1 day a week. They have a K class the other half of the day. Christian did not go to any MDO last year. And that was hard on me to NEVER have a break. I'm not big on sitters. So I knew for my own sanity I could not go another year like that. So Colton is in preschool 3 days per week and Connor and Christian 1 day. That gives me 1 day a week for me (a few hours anyway). Then mid summer, the school announces we are having full day kinder. YAY for Con, BOO for me. It is hitting me hard.

And to perhaps add to my fear of changes.....I got a job. Now I am second guessing myself and my decision. I am going to be working at the little boys school. So it's only 3 days a week (15 hours) and they get to go with me. But I loose any me time I thought I was going to have. I thought I really wanted something to do (and to help with 3 college funds). I am sad Connor is away and now I am losing 3 days with Christian.

Maybe this is all too much at once. Or more likely I am just being a big fat baby! My first born baby is practically off to college. And last night while at parent orientation at the my work they asked me if I would want to move into Christian's room, which means they would move him into the 2 year old room. WHAT?!?!? He can't be in the 2 year old room-I wish I was still nursing that boy.

There's my Debbie Downer story for you. Hope I didn't send you to the liquor cabinet for a drink, my friends.

How did you handle your kids leaving the nest?

Stormy Weather

2011-08-15T21:40:00.000-05:00

The heat has been

out of control

record breaking

non stop

horrible

but

Last Monday night some serious storms rolled through town

Praise God for the rain

OKC is in some massive need of H20

I'm a storm sleeper

Slept through a tornado couple of years ago

But this one woke me up

And big mamma was a wee bit scared

OK a lot scared

From our bedroom on the top floor

we are in the tree tops

and the wind was blowing so hard

it looked like the trees were bending over to the ground

And the sky was glowing with lightening

FREAKY

I prayed for the Angels to protect my house

And they did

We had a lot of limbs down

But everyone else lost trees

big huge old trees

the wind pulled my frog right out of the ground (above)

The top of the next door neighbors tree

blocked their driveway

A branch took out Mark's tail light

All the houses in the cul de sac lost trees

Fences were down

The main loop through our neighborhood was blocked by fallen trees

The movie theater across the street lost its roof

(no shows for me for a while)

The next morning all the neighbors were out cleaning up

We actually got to meet some we hadn't yet talked to

The little old lady who lives next door

got in her car to drive the cove

There are 4 houses that make the circle

and she drove it

Old people are cute

The city said they would pick up storm debree for free

So our sidewalks are covered with piles of limbs

Mark of course could not stand the mess

He loaded the back of his truck and took it in

Our fallen limbs filled the back

Finally we have had a break in the triple digits

And another day of rain

Wonder if this crazy heat will mean a mild winter

Lots of changes happening for me this week

Boy Talk

2011-08-12T20:32:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I did this one and I must admit I have laughed lots at the things those crazy boys are saying, but I haven't been keeping up with them. So I will try my hardest to remember a few. Here goes....

Con-mommy, will you play Scooby Doo with us?
Me-sure
Con-do you have a purple dress you can put on?
Me-no
Con-Do you have any color dress you can wear?
Me-No, I don't have any dresses
Con-Well you have your wedding dress, you can just wear that
Me-Let's just wear what we have on

Con-(after running back and forth on the sidewalk) I'm tired, all that jugging is wearing me out

Me-Connor are you ready to start Kindergarten? You will be going all day
Con-I don't want to go all day
Me-Why not?
Con-Cause then I won't get to spend as much time with you
(Melt my heart little boy)

Con-Can you take those boobie holders back tomorrow?
(On not wanting to go to the mall to exchange my new bras

Knock Knock jokes and "why did the chicken cross the road" jokes are big right now with the big boys
knock knock
who's there
banana
banana who
banana pants
(loudest giggles ever)

why did the chicken move to the other chair
cause he wanted to sit there
(laughter heard for miles around)

you get the idea, but the joke telling can last for 30 minutes or more. At least the giggles make it worth while.

Christian is talking lots, in his own baby language of course! He tells me when he poops with dider (diaper)
He often gets tuck (stuck)
He always wants a nack (snack) and then a dink (drink) and then my my (more more)

Happy Friday my friends

Thursday Thoughts

2011-08-04T17:15:00.000-05:00

Not sure why I don't feel like blogging lately, it's not like I'm busy or out playing in this heat wave
I lost my MOT Y nomination today when sweet Chris took a backwards fall off the high chair this morning RIGHT in front of me
My house in a complete and total disaster and just plain dirty
The floors are being put in tomorrow (from where I ripped up the carpet a couple of weeks ago)
Said construction creates lots of dust, so I am waiting to clean until that is finished
I scrubbed my room and bathroom today and it took an hour
I hate unloading the dishwasher
Football season is almost here, uugghhhh, I won't see or talk to Mark until January
I like it when my kids say YES MAM, I have to bite my tongue when I hear other kids say YEAH or WHAT to an adult

That's it my friends. Life in OKC is nothing but HOT these days. I have been to more museums than I care to talk about. Christian is into EVERYTHING!!!!! Some times it's super cute, other times I want to pull my hair out and drink! There is 2 more weeks until school starts. I am ready for routine, but have not hated the summer like I thought I would. Connor's school was chosen to go to full day kindergarten. While he is ready for more learning, I was excited about having him around most of the day for another year. That means his official baby stage is over....bitter sweet!

Toodles my friends

HEAT WAVE

2011-07-28T07:24:00.000-05:00

Seriously, if I wanted to live in the freaking desert, we would have moved to Arizona. For real....we had the opportunity. This has been the hottest, driest summer EVER! It's hotter in OKC than it is in TX! WTH???? And absolutely zero rain. The plants are dead, the grass is dead and not growing (good news is we are saving money on the mowing), the dogs can't go outside, and neither can we!

All these crazy temps are keeping us in. I'm going a little stir crazy. We have been to the museums 1400 times (more on that in a bit). I have done way too much online shopping. We have eaten out for lunches way, way too many times. I have rearranged the kids rooms. We have built some massive forts.

I have pulled up the carpet in the formal rooms! Mark came home and rolled his eyes. We had been discussing new floors in the 2 rooms, but now we have to. It's the freaking heat people!!

I have rearranged the living room 72 different ways (and still can't find a way I love). Every week when the hubs comes home it looks different. He asks me "WTH are you doing". It's the heat! And it's my new excuse for everything. Seriously it's making me a little nutso!

We've done lots of playdo, until Christian eats too much.

And now the museum reviews.....
The Sam Noble Museum in Norman
I love this one!!! It's not really a children's place, all though there is a kids room, but it has a dinosaur section. That's why the boys refer to it as the dinosaur museum. It is filled with OK history. It's cheap and it's air conditioned, which makes it tops on my list.

The kid's room had the cutest dinosaur bone dig

The Edmond Museum
A free and air conditioned museum with a cute kids space

It had "old time" rooms set up. Below is the jail. There was a kitchen, a bank, a train station, and a tepee

The Children's Museum
We have a membership to this one and have used it well this summer. We just went yesterday with some friends. This one is always fun. While we only go for a couple of hours at a time, you could certainly spend the entire day learning about everything from teeth to earthquakes

And today, just to torture myself in this lovely heat.....headed to the zoo! Wish me luck

40 inches

2011-07-22T18:43:00.000-05:00

Do you know what is 40 inches tall?

I'll tell you

This guy

You know what else is about 40 inches high?

I'll tell you

This thing

Do you know what happens when they collide?

I'll tell you

THIS

Our little Frankenstein

has 3 staples

Connor was leaving the playroom

and hit his head on the door thing

He came up the stairs crying

telling me he hit his head

It was a few moments before I saw blood

The head bleeds

ALOT

Then I started wondering if it would need a stitch or two

I called Mark and my neighbor

Then I called my doctor's office

I wanted to know if should bring him there

or take him to a clinic

I am still waiting on them to call back

(needless to say I am looking for a new doctor)

I headed for the clinic

dropping the little boys off at a childwatch place

We got right in at a quack shack

I had told Connor the doc would probably just put a special bandaid on it

But instead he said it needed a few staples

Apparently they no longer do stitches in the head

And they don't numb it up

The shots to numb it are far more painful than the staples

The put a little topical medicine on it

which supposedly numbs it a bit

When the guy was saying he would need staples

Connor's eyes filled up with tears

and he looked scared to death

He could not even speak

But he sat there and played phone games

while I held the medicine on his noggin for 10 minutes

It was quick for the actual stapling

but he screamed and cried

then 2 minutes later we were discussing what Lego toy he wanted

$75 for the doctor visit

$20 for new Legos

story for a lifetime

priceless

Can't believe I made it over 5 years

without a major event

I hope this does not open the flood gates

Road Trip Survival Guide

2011-07-13T21:37:00.000-05:00

I had to be in TX yesterday, so I decided to drive in Monday afternoon so I wouldn't be rushed Tuesday morning. After my appointment, a couple of playdates, and driving by our home there, I headed back north. I make the 3 1/2 trip every few months, usually alone. I have driven to my parents house 500 miles away alone. And flown multiple times alone. And by alone I mean me with the boys. I have done it with Mark also. And you need a survival guide even with 2 parents. With just me, I need an extra pill. KIDDING (sort of)

Here is what you must have when traveling with little folks:
-lots of DVD's -working DVD's-must check for scratches and skipping before pulling out of the drive
-headphones for the DVD player in reach of each kid
-extra batteries for headphones
-food-opened,sorted,divided and ready for hand out, except for Connor who sits on the 3rd row(he must already have his food/drinks)
-drink- 1 drink each, not too much or you will pay for it in multiple pee stops
-DS for Connor
-Leapster for Colton with extra batteries
-magnetic board, crayons, coloring books, ect (the big boys each get their own bag full in reach)
-bag full of cars and other toys handy for me to pass one at a time to Christian (at each stop I collect what he has tossed onto the floor and refill my bag)
-blankies and babies
-and the must have for any traveling kiddos....dum dum suckers -very useful when you need to shut up wines, cries, arguments, or talking back

Guess what I did on this drive! GUESS! You'll never guess....
I peed in a cup
OH YEAH! REAL CLASSY!
I had to pee by the time I hit Lewisville (30 minutes into my drive). Which is so unlike me. By Denton (another 15 minutes) I REALLY had to go. I just wanted to make it to Gainsville, which is the last town before I cross into OK. I was originally thinking, I will just drag all 3 kids into where ever I stop. But then, before I made it to the town I wanted to stop, 2 out of 3 boys were asleep. No way in hell I am waking them, but dang I gotta go!!! Now I have to stop alot for Colton to pee. And when I do, I pull over to the side of a gas station or fast food place where no one can see, and I open the door and he pees. So I am figuring I can kind of do the same. If it's not too busy of a place I can just squat and hope no one can see my white ass from under the car. Don't you know, I was not seeing any place that I could pull over the side of and attempt this little white trash pit stop. It was then that I noticed Colton's empty cup from lunch. So I finally found the side of place that was not too busy. I climb into the back of my SUV and start peeing in this cup. It was going pretty good until I realized I filled the cup (it was a kid size) and was not finished. Ok, so I'm gonna dump it and continue. Houston we have a problem. Once you shut the hatch, you can't open it from the inside. So now I have to climb over 2 rows of seats. I finally get out, dump my pee, climb back in the back, and finish my biz. By the time I finish all the this....the sleeping boys wake up!

Mark is so lucky he married me!

Hard Day

2011-07-08T12:18:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was a tough day. Not bad in the angry or sad way, nothing dramatic happened. Just one of those days that leaves you emotionally drained. So much so that you can even sit down on the couch and watch a show because that might require too much concentration. The kind of day that in the final hours of "mamma duty" you are dreaming of a nice chilled glass of Pinot Grigio while some hot young guy rubs your feet (whoops, where did that thought come from?), but by the time you get 3 little people (kids, not midgets) bathed, lotioned, dressed, teeth brushed, books read, prayers said, tv show watched, and into bed....the glass of wine doesn't even sound good anymore.

SHOOT ME NOW.....YOU READ IT RIGHT! THAT'S HOW I FELT. WINE COULD NOT EVEN HELP! The hottie rubbing my feet might have though!

The day started by me taking my 3 boys to Target at 8:30am to buy 2 Finn cars (the spy car from CARS2) for the big boys, one of which is lost already-a car not a boy. Connor earned his for not talking back for 2 days and Colton earned his for not peeing OR pooping in his pants the day before-big stuff folks! Anyway, we had to pick up buddy Andrew at 9. I was taking the boys to the Science Museum (a post on that coming later). No big deal, adding the 4th kid is sometimes easier. The two 5 year olds take care of themselves and entertain each other. It's the chasing around of a VERY active 19 month old that will wear you the heck out, physically and mentally. We got to the museum with about 56,738 other kids. I am not sure how many day cares were there, enough to make me want to scream and take another Zoloft.

We played around and ate our packed lunch there and made it home by 12:30. Christian had fallen asleep in the car on the ride home and decided not to fall back asleep once in his own bed. This happens occasionally, but thank goodness not too often. So after Sara picked up Andrew, I thought I needed to really torture myself and the boys with a trip to the DMV, department of motor vehicles for any of you who are unaware! You know the place, hell on earth!

I thought since it was just after lunch that it might not be too bad. I have been to the local tag office and it was easy-breezy. I had high hopes for getting my new OK license. We walked in and took a number. I pulled lucky number 827, the counter was on number 798. We waited and waited and no new number was ever called. So I thought maybe all those people were waiting for some group testing or something and I went to the desk to ask the guy about the correct ID's I needed. It's the only excuse I could think of for going to the counter. I had the proper ID's with me so "just take a number and wait". And here's the kicker....at the counter there were 3 people working (3 stations, 3 computers) and none of them were doing a damn thing! It's like the freaking road crews you see when you drive past construction. You know where 1 guy is sitting on the bulldozer that's not moving, 4 others are sitting on the ground smoking, and another half dozen are standing around talking!

More than 2 1/2 hours and 2 buildings later (you have to then drive to another location down the road to fill out more paperwork, pay a nominal fee, and pick up your license) I am officially an OKIE!

GOD BLESS TEXAS

My new license is ugly, my picture is worse!

The boys were beat. We were worn out and hot and sweaty. So I got them a juice from the gas station, changed a very wet Christian, and took them to Chick Fil-A to play and eat their dinner. They SO deserved a treat.

It was going great, until everybody decided they had to poop while we were there. One boy made in the potty, the other 2 did not, which means I had to change a diaper and dirty pants!

I was so looking forward to Mark getting home early to ~~take over~~ help with baths and bedtime so I could decompress before our favorite summer show (Big Brother) started. However, he was running late and then got stuck on an hour phone call with some "chatty charlie" sales guy!

But I survived. I always do! I am just very glad it's a new day. Except for this freaking beep that I can't locate. It's about to drive me MAD!

Hope your day was less frantic than mine

Sam's thinks we are "LEWZERS"

2011-07-06T19:27:00.000-05:00

Finally decided to break down and get a Sam's membership

I have been a Costco snot for the last several years

But there is not one in this little state of ours

So after a year of not buying in bulk

I gave in

All though I am thinking of asking for a refund

IT'S

LENZER

NOT

LEWZER

losers

Back Yard Bliss

2011-07-05T20:48:00.000-05:00

We heart our back yard

It is the reason we bought this house

It is huge and full of trees

We have been spending lots of time outside

of course the last couple of weeks it's mostly in the morning

It is actually quite shady most of the day

But after dinner the sun shines directly through this break in the tree branches

We have managed a couple of afternoons in the blow up pool

Notice the welt on Christian's tummy

with lots of trees

come lots of mosquito's

He has had several ginormous bites

I finally broke down and purchased a small water table

Caught one on sale at Target for $25

It's one of those things I wished I had purchased with child #1

Would have gotten all my money's worth out of it

But none-the-less

We are loving our little one

And when the big boys take over

Chris just moves his little bottom in

LITERALLY

I'm telling you

little bit can hold his own in this family

Mental note though

Don't put it so close to the flower pots

It just becomes a muddy mess

Then it becomes a game

They take the toys over to the sandbox and roll them around

All the sand sticks to the wet toys

Then back to the mud pit to wash

As long as everyone has fun

It doesn't bother me

You have to pick your battles

And muddy boys is not one of them

But this is the aftermath

And the bath tub after the clean up

How come the heat never seems to bother kids?

I am always soaking wet with sweat and miserable

Of course my white freckly skin can't take much

The big boys have been practicing holding their breath

Connor is up to almost 10 seconds

Probably more than I could do

I think I buy a water gun every week

Always worth the buck

Especially when Mamma wins the water gun war

One of my favorite parts of the yard is the wildlife

OK, just the birds

I wish I could shoot the freaking squirrels and bugs

Here is one of our pretty cardinals

I used to really like her

Until I caught her pulling apart my basket for her nest

I wanted to attract some finches

So I bought a finch feeder and finch food

They have not come yet

But my once full feeder is now almost empty

Because of the FREAKING squirrels

And if that wasn't bad enough

I left the bag out overnight

and the stupid squirels ripped it apart

So those fat little rodents have eaten an entire bag of food

And I don't have any new birds

And all my plants are dead

OK, so it might be my fault for not watering them

But a little rain or a break in the triple digits

PLEASE

MOTHER NATURE

What are you doing outside in this summer?

Sports

2011-06-30T17:25:00.001-05:00

OR LACK THERE OF

Con has tried lots of sports

Soccer

Twice

Tennis

Swim

and currently Basketball

Soccer was a waist of time

That's why we tried it twice

Just to make sure

The practices were OK

But the games

forget about it

He wanted to sit out

Volunteering to let someone else go in

He never got the ball

Then there are those kids

You know the one

The natural talents

The kid who ALWAYS has the ball

and always scores

That was NOT my kid

and I think it frustrated Con some

So we thought tennis might be better

more solo

less team

it was just a camp

no matches

and he was fairly good at it

for a kid who's never touched a racket

but the below picture

is how he spent most of his hour

for the whole week

and each day asking

"how many more minutes"

"how many more days"

Thought it might have been the time

tennis was at noonish

our normal quiet time

and soccer practice was evenings

our normal very quiet time

but the games were early

so no excuses there

Connor is skipping swim this month

Colton is not

they will both be back in lessons in July

Neither one of them are natural fish

Again...the class always seems to have THAT kid

who jumps in and just starts swimming

like he was born in the freaking water

NOT MY KIDS

Connor wanted to try basketball

I thought OK

he's asking

and it's inside

and you practice 30 minutes before a game

so I'm not running around every single night

with games and practices

Love how little the goal is

He got the ball first and made a basket

Then pretty much never touched the ball again

He told me

"This is definitely not my sport"

He just doesn't get in there

caught him yawning

it's hard to play these bedtime sports

And it too had THE kid

who excelled

I want him to play what ever he wants to play

whenever he wants to play it

but I think he is so young

On the one hand

if you don't sign them up to play things now

when they do start

they are behind

because everyone else started at 4

What sports are you involved in?

What age did it start?

And how much do you push it?

I made Connor read a book the other day

while we waited for tennis to start

He was bothered because we had already read that day

I told him if he did not do sports

he had to be really good at reading

He decided he would make swim his sport

Just another way to screw up my kids

push the sports now

or wait and he's behind

GO FIGURE

Catch-up

2011-06-27T09:40:00.000-05:00

Been working on this BS nonsense post for a week

Guess it's about time finish it up

and move on

Ladies....

I'm gonna make you jealous

Mark helps with the laundry

and the dishes

and all the cleaning really

well he doesn't scrub a toilet

but he helps

which is good

cause I HATE to clean

and I suck at it

However

that being said

here's what the sheets looked like when he was done

He washed a red blanket with the ivory sheets

luckily most of it belongs to the guest room

so when you come to visit me

you will sleep in pink

we haven't shown the boys their spiderman pillowcase though

I think I will toss it before it gets noticed

We had some visitors to OKC

Ben and Sophia spent a few days with us

Connor is having an identity crisis lately

Can't decide on who to be

So he is a bit of it all

Chris wants to do all the things the big boys do

One would think after chasing this busy bee

I would be a freaking size 0

Had our first OKC garage sale a few weeks ago

Quite different here than in TX

Didn't even make $200

But I did pick up this bike from the neighbors

And this little chair which is perfect in the playroom

Took Connor swimming at the neighbor's house

The one neighbor we have with a small child

He's 7, so Con thinks that's cool

And I like the mom

And they have a pool

SCORE

Love me some baby bum

Christian eats like a horse

Double fisting it here

Connor is really into the computer games lately

disney.com

nickjr.com

I wish they had their own computer though

Been looking for a cheap one online

That's it

We're boring

Staying inside lots

especially this week

over 100 every day

And this would be the week Connor has zoo camp

Hope your life is more interesting than mine friends

Can you believe month 1 of summer is almost complete?

It has flown by

I am hoping to slow things down though for July

It's All In The Name

2011-06-20T17:18:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned recently I'm bored. Not bored for something to do, trust me my list is quite long. But bored with something, not sure what it is. I'm not necessarily fond of change either, so this is kind of a weird feeling for me.

I think I want to change my blog up. So I am looking for thoughts, ideas, opinions......

I would also like to change the name. I have a few ideas in mind but want to hear some more. Here are a few thoughts on that:
Big Mamma's House
The Jann Plan
abC's of Life

I am also debating about cutting my hair. It is at that awkward length. I have been letting it grow, but now it just hangs and I pull it back nearly every single day. I wish it were about 5 inches longer or 5 inches shorter!

Have you changed anything recently??

Road Trip....Continued

2011-06-19T21:24:00.000-05:00

A week in the country, A week away from the routine, A week with family-it's good for the soul. However , it's not so good for the plants back home. Most of them did not survive, the ones that are not in reach of the sprinklers anyway.

We started off our visit with watching my nieces dance recital. I haven't seen one in years. Now she is 16 and on the competitive team. I have no pictures of that to share, but take my word on it...she rocks! What a way to begin a family affair.

We spent most of the weekend in my sister's pool. It was just about too hot to do much of anything else. Connor is becoming quite the little fish. I had to make a Target run for some goggles. Colton held his own with the big boys (Connor and my 11 year old nephew). Christian preferred to be held or just quietly sit in the boat float.

Pops loves to fly his planes, in the yard and on the computer. This is always a hit with the boys. I hope they always remember doing this something special with their pops.

Pops always gives the boys a remote, you know a "remote" that belongs to something else. He is flying the plane but they sure think they are! And have a great time doing it.

Colton was doing flying the plane one evening out front with Pops and it crashed in the driveway. But Colton was watching a real airplane in the sky and was telling Pops "it's too high".

We also did lots of....

4 wheel riding

And snoozing

And lego building

And visiting with Granny

And playing

And just in case the boys weren't obsessed with IPhone games

Thomas got them hooked on Angry Birds

And the sprinkler and water guns were a big hit

Christian didn't think so

Such boys-nothing feels as good as water on the rear

And during our entire week here, we only saw this guy once. I joke about this to my sister because she is quite the QVC shopper, my mom too. So UPS makes delivery quite often. Soon, they will be setting him a dinner plate.

Overall the visit was fantastic. We did not see any deer, but pops did kill 2 snakes. And you're welcome for NOT posting those pictures. The drive home was not quite as good as the ride there. Everyone was overly tired and extra cranky! But we did it, we survived. Now we are home, celebrating father's day with Daddy. We have swim lessons and tennis lessons this week, and I have a very dirty house to clean! Good times at Casa de Lenz!!

Happy Father's Day to all the daddy's out there!

Road Trip

2011-06-16T07:18:00.000-05:00

We are here. Been here all week in fact. Leaving tomorrow actually. My power cord for my Mac died and it was several days before I got that taken care of. And we've been busy. I still have not caught up on other postings or uploaded my photos. One day soon, I promise, my friends. I know ya'll are checking everyday to see if I have done it!!

The boys did so much better than I thought on the drive here. It was my first drive here ALONE with the 3 boys. If Mark wasn't coming he has either driven me to Little Rock and then caught a flight or my parents have met me half way. But with no nursing baby I braved the trip alone. And it wasn't so bad. So I hope I am not jinxing myself for tomorrow's return trip. I did not hear a peep out of Connor the entire 8 hours except "movies over, put in _____ now". How I love head phones! Colton played video games, watched movies, and told me every single time he had to pee. He made the entire road trip without an accident. We did pee on the side of the road several times though! Christian is not such a fan of being strapped down, certainly for any length of time. I had a bag of toys by me. I would hand him one toy at a time. When he would toss that one down to the floor, I handed over the next toy. When I stopped for Colton to pee, I would collect all the crap from the floor and reload my bag. And fruit snacks helped too. We are going to try the same routine on the way home.

Once arrived it has been family time! Lots of swimming in my sis's pool and lots of 4 wheeling. Even Christian's hooked. "Ca" (car) he says. The only problem is it's freaking HOT! We took the annual grandkid pictures of the kiddos for moms. Granny has made lots of yummy treats for us.....corn bread, banana pudding, lemon pie, pound cake. Needless to say, I have gained 5 freaking pounds. Serious vegies starting Sunday folks!

Not sure what's on the agenda for our last day today.....

Hope your week is going equally well!

I did not jump ship

2011-06-08T12:45:00.000-05:00

But I have seriously considered it! It's not like I have been super busy so I am not sure what my excuse is for the lack of blogging. I really just don't want to take the time to load up my pictures. We had guests for several days and now this is our second week of summer break but first week of no guests. I spend most of my time chasing Christian. He has officially hit the "into absolutely everything, can I climb, jump off of it, eat it, or break it" phase. GOOD TIMES PEEPS! GOOD TIMES!

The boys and I are leaving Friday for moms and pops' house. Mark is gone all this week so it will be over 2 weeks before we see him again. Miss daddy already. The packing is in progress, sort of! If Colton would stop going through 42 pairs of underwear and shorts a day, then it might work out.

I will try my hardest to get a post done before we leave with updates of our ~~crap~~ entertaining lives. If not, I hope I can catch up while at my folks. Precious is over at the sink whining by her bowl, so I guess I should go give the dog some water!

Toodles

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-05-31T08:53:00.000-05:00

While Memorial Day is not the official start of summer, it is certainly the symbolic one. And as if Mother Nature knew exactly what day it was, the heat came. We have had quite a pleasant May and spring. There have been a few hot days in there but overall very nice. Now the 7 day forecast is nothing but 90's and a big bright sun. Makes me really want a pool, a private pool in my very own back yard because I will not be seen in public in a bathing suit...no way, now how, not gonna happen!

Our friends came up from Dallas for the weekend. We have had 1 family of visitors before, but this was our first house stayers. So Mark and I each did our share of cleaning up Thursday to welcome Amy, Linda, Big D, and Darren & Tanya on Friday. They (and Mark) had big baseball plans that afternoon. They all made it back to the house that evening and the dominoes began. DOMINOES! It is certainly our favorite pastime.

Saturday morning we all went to the OKC bombing memorial. We have lived here for almost a year and have never been. It was beautiful and very moving. I remember it happening, but not being from here, you tend to forget about it, about how tragic it really was. I think the site really honored those people who lost their lives that sad day. If you are ever in OKC or just passing through, you must go visit.

After that, the gang went back for more baseball. I guess they did not get enough sun and beer the day before. They rejoined me that evening again for more fun and games. This time took it outside a bit for a round of boccie ball.

And inside a bit of Taboo!

And of course....

All of our friends headed back south Sunday morning. We spent the rest of the day doing a lot of nothing. I did sneak off to a movie during nap time. I saw Bridesmaids. From all of the previews I had seen, I thought it looked ridiculously stupid and certainly one of those movies I could REDBOX later. But everyone has been talking about it, so I went. I have not laughed so hard. SERIOUSLY if you haven't seen it, please go. I would see it again, that's how hilarious it was.

Monday I wanted to take a picnic to the lake. Couldn't quite convince Mark of that one, so we opted for the science museum instead. Love that place. I could spend hours there, and we will because it is just about too hot for the zoo now.

There is certainly something for everyone here

This used to be the world's largest indoor spiral slide

but the sign was gone

so I'm guessing it's not the largest anymore

But just ask Mark

it's definitely big enough

he was dizzy when he got down

and Christian had the drunk walk

Monday night we grilled burgers and ate the official summer fruit WATERMELON! And I had a relaxing evening while I worked on some of summer schedule plans. Got to keep those kids entertained!!! Mark finished up the laundry, did the dishes, and put the boys to bed. What do you think about that ladies???

Hope your weekend and kick off to summer was great! Thank you to all the soldiers and their families who do and who have sacrificed their lives for us! HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!

We are getting ready for more visitors today, Connor's buddy Ben from TX! More on that later.

NOT ME!

2011-05-25T17:04:00.000-05:00

Someone got hold of my one prized possession....my MAC! And before anyone could notice him on the kitchen table, too many keys were ripped from my beloved MAC! While typing is not impossible, it is not fun. Plus it makes me really really sad. I made an appointment at the mac store genius bar on Friday, praying that reinstalling keys is something they do!

I will post again when I am fully functioning my friends.....

Game Day

2011-05-23T21:33:00.000-05:00

Connor's first....
He had his very first GAME DAY at school a couple of weeks ago. While it was very different than the field days of my time, he had a blast. I was thinking potato sack races and running with eggs on spoons while all the parents stand on the side cheering the kids on. The week before the kids would work on the class T shirts that everyone would wear that hot sun shiny day and then get popsicle drippings all over it, but who would care because you would wear your prize ribbon over the stains! Well, OKC doesn't do it old school like that.

Theirs was planned in the school gym. It turned out to be a good thing since the previous day it poured so the ground was soaked! They did it over 2 days and by grade. We ended up with a couple of first grade classes though.

Most of these photos involve Con and his 2 best buddies, Andrew and Camden. Here they are golfing.

And tug of war was a hit. Connor lost this match against Camden, but it was not fair ground. Camden stands several inches taller and has at least 12 pounds on him.

A little more equally matched against Andrew. All in good fun though.

Along with this racing game, there was basketball, ping pong, climbing a rope, hockey, and balancing on some half ball thing. It was fun for the kids and less than an hour.

The best game was this:

I am thinking a couple of tires in my backyard and some bolster pillows and I could put an end to any argument Connor and Colton have this summer?!

And my game....
Saturday night Mark and I had GREAT tickets to the MAVS/thunder play off game. His boss has season tickets and some fantastic seats. I was torn about who to cheer for....my FAVE city or my new city.

I chose the MAVS! Mark and I were 2 of 10 people Dallas fans in the entire freaking place!
NO JOKE! Every person received a Thunder T-shirt and towel, so at least I was prepared in case the game went bad. It was a win-win for me. I couldn't loose and I the t-shirt to prove it.

Hanson sang the National Anthem. Does anybody remember them? They were a teeny-bopper group about a decade ago. I did not know they were still around. Well, obviously not if they are singing basket ball games. But apparently they are from Oklahoma. Who knew? Not me for sure. But they did a wonderful job.

Oh, but I didn't need that stupid thunder shirt! MAVS won!! It made the long walk back to the car much nicer.

I must say though, I would happily cheer for the Thunder when they are not playing the MAVS. Those are some serious fans.

Mark was suppose to go back to tonight's game, but he hasn't been feeling well. I know it must be bad since he gave up his ticket. Must be why they are not in the lead.

GO MAVS

Need A Change

2011-05-20T11:49:00.000-05:00

I'm bored. I need something new. Not sure what it is yet, I just know I haven't found it. This is all kind of weird for me, because I like things the "old way". I am actually not a fan of change. This is why I am having a hard time adjusting to the way of life with an older boy, no naps and staying up later. We have had the same schedule for 5 years and now things are changing. Kind of freaks me out. Between new schedules and not being able to feel the fung shui of our house, something needs to be different.

I have rearranged the family room about 462 times since we moved. I have moved the boys rooms around 3 times in 2 weeks. I started by moving Colton from the shared room to his own, putting Christian and Connor together. That wasn't working out. So then I moved Christian out of Connor's room into a space in my room. I hated that! Now they are back to the original set up. The good news is that I can take apart and put back together a crib in just under 20 minutes.

I just made my hair appointment. It's another week out still. Probably a good thing. If I had gotten in right away, I might have done something drastic.

We had some visitors for Connor's party, but they stayed in a hotel. Next weekend we are having our first overnight visitors. I have major work to do in the guest room. It tends to become the dumping ground for anything you need out of the way.

What I really need today is a nap! Another odd thing for me, as I am not a napper. I sleep really well at night. But last night it stormed, which means I slept GREAT! But with it still raining this morning, it just makes me sleepy. Plus Connor is having his 2 buddies over after school so it will be a mad house here in just a few short hours. So maybe I can a 15 minute power nap in...then it's time to scrub some toilets! How's that for the good life?

Hope your Friday is more interesting than mine!

Next week is the final week of school. I am kind of sad to leave some great teachers. Maybe it's actually fear of entertaining the troops for 2 and 1/2 months! Our June has filled up quite nicely. Colton will do swim lessons for 2 weeks and Connor has tennis lessons for 1 week (Mark insisted on the tennis!). Connor and his buddy Andrew will go to zoo camp for 4 days. We are taking a trip to visit the fam for a week. And Connor's buddy from TX is coming for a few days! July will be about relaxing in the blowup pool. YEAH RIGHT! A 5 year old, 3 year old, and 1 year old relax for all of 2 minutes!! It will about playing outside in the morning and arts and crafts in the afternoon.

My scale is moving at the slowest rate possible! It's hard to stay/get motivated at this pace. Doing jumping jacks for a good weigh in in a couple of days!!!

What's UP?!?!

2011-05-17T14:53:00.000-05:00

I have so many posts ideas in my head, but haven't seemed to have the desire to get on the computer lately. Sometimes it seems to take an entire hour to do one entry. I will often put the little boys down for their nap and stop off at the kitchen table, AKA my desk, to check email. And before you know it, it's time to leave to pick Con up from school. But try to work out and the hundred jumping jacks feel like they are taking a freaking lifetime!

I guess I will start with today's news...
The big boys had dentist check ups today. It was Colton's first visit. He did surprisingly well. Con, of course, walked right in, sat in the chair, did his thing. I never heard a peep from him. Sometimes I swear that kid doesn't need me. But I guess you are forced into independence when your mom keeps having babies! Anyway, it was a new dentist for us. And he had some very high standards to live up too, as we had the BEST in TX! But he was nice and the staff was very into boys. The good news is that it appears that one of Connor's missing permanent teeth may have formed. I'm no dental expert, but I really wasn't convinced. It kindof looked like a blur on the x-ray. So we shall see. Saving money now for the implants he is going to need. And it is slightly possible that Christian has missing baby teeth. It is obviously genetic! But YAY! no cavities!!!!

Our TX home is officially back on the market, as of yesterday. We have had 2 showings. Of course showings never were the problem. The house backs up to a big street and it really deters potential buyers. So lots of prayers for a quick sale or lease...please!

I really want a bike, which would mean I also want a trailer for the kids to ride in. And one of those little bikes that attaches to your bike for Connor. I have these really great visions of family rides on Saturday mornings. Or me riding the little boys when Connor is off playing. He could go along with us on his bike, but Mark took his training wheels off and he's not to interested in learning to ride. If he could get it figured out in 1 afternoon, that would be cool with him. But after 3 minutes of trying-he's had enough. I have not been on a bike in years. I hope that old saying is true...that you never forget.

I really really need my hairs did! The greys are getting out of control again. I also totally want to cut my hair off, but I am not so sure I could live without my super stylish ponytail in the summer.

Our relaxing summer has turned into a busy June with friend's visiting, travel to the folks house, swim lessons for Colton and tennis lessons for Connor and a week of zoo camp for Connor also. Now I am looking forward to July.

I have been "dieting" for 2 weeks now. Eating no more than 1200 calories a day. I have been trying to work out more consistently. The first week went great, but the last week was nearly impossible to get to the gym. Someone was sick everyday. And that's my excuse not to do it. I could just as easily do stuff at home, but then I don't. So I have really only lost about 2 pounds in the 2 weeks. It is so discouraging.

I have been on the flip flop mission for months now, started it back before our vacation in March. I have been sporting the same UGLY croc flip flops for about 4 or 5 years now. They are so freaking comfortable that I can not give them up. I need a sandal that I can literally chase the kids in. I do keep nicer shoes for "outings" but wear these every.single.day. I did not want to buy another pair because I will admit they are tacky. I have shopped for, tried on, and even purchased several pair. But they seem to hit my foot wrong or rub it a weird way. I most recently ordered a pair of Keen. I loved the colors. The sole was gray and the straps a fun stripe with lots of colors. When they arrived, I loved the feel. It was a great fit to my foot and I knew I would be able to wear it all day long. But Keen's have this weird part that covers your big toe. I did not think I could used to that. So they will be going back and I am back to square one. I have already placed an order from Land's End, so maybe those will work out. Do you have any favorite basic thongs?

That's my story folks.....
kind of boring here in OKC! Thinking about the zoo tomorrow before the rain gets here.

Toodles

Coming Up

2011-05-06T17:49:00.000-05:00

This weekend is all about me!!!!!

double time

Not only is it mother's day

but

it's my 6 year anniversary

We usually go out to dinner

and buy each other a gift

based on the "traditional" list

with a $20-30 limit

Kind of makes you think

This year we decided to skip dinner

by the time you eat nice and pay a sitter

you're out $200

plus I'm trying to watch what I eat

and since this year is iron

we thought we would put our money together

and buy a fire pit for the deck

It's not really iron

but close enough

trouble is....

I'm not sure I really want that

We have several outside areas

and I am having a hard time sorting them in my mind

we have a deck off the kitchen

the grill is there

we know we want that to be the grown up area

for now

it is on the second level

and not safe for kids to be out unsupervised

off the family room we have a covered area

and and uncovered deck

we have a patio table on the covered section

and a lounge chair on the uncovered

all though I originally thought the dining table would be better

located off the kitchen

and a seating area on this side

since this is where we watch the kids play

either way

my table sucks

it is a Pottery Barn piece of crap

which pains me to say

because if you know me

you know that is my fave store

it's warped and cracked

and looks 142 years old

it's 2 years old

but looked that way within 3 months

thanks Texas sun

so I really want a new table

so on my agenda tomorrow

convincing Mark I need a new table

I actually found a nice, plain one at Target

my second fave store

for just a couple hundred dollars

we're saving all this money not going out to eat

right?

also tomorrow

the LAST soccer game of the season

YAY!

such a beating

I am not a good soccer mom

The arts festival is happening in town this weekend

I would love to squeeze that in

and it might be possible

since it's all about me

(and sort-of Mark)

We got a yard guy

the neighbor's teenage kid

hey, he's half the price

and actually does a good job

and we have Mark back for those 8 hours

Tonight is family game night

we are playing some Scooby Doo game

kind of like jenga

should be oodles of fun!

Hope your weekend plans are great

I am going to love on my boys

and be thankful for being their mom

love on my mom

and be grateful for her being mine

(via phone and skype)

and love on my hubbs

and let him be grateful I chose him!

It's Thursday

2011-05-05T21:13:00.000-05:00

Life is good. The boys and I are busy entertaining each other as usual. Maybe not so much today-the little boys are sick. They both went to bed last night with fevers. Colton slept with me. Let me just say, I did not sleep much. And I have no idea how he did. The boy coughed and coughed and coughed. ALL NIGHT LONG, every 15 minutes. Christian is having allergy issues now and his skin is jacked up with eczema, just like big brother Colton. This morning he was still pretty crabby and his eyes were all red and puffy. So I took him to the doctor. Before anyone knocks my mothering, I wanted to go ahead and take them both in, but the doctor was full and they squeezed me in. I am glad we went. Baby Christian has an ear infection. Nasty antibiotics have been started, so here is hoping for a happier Friday. And when I say my kids are sick, don't think the worst. No one would ever know! They are just slightly less happy than their normal super happy selves!!

This week has been teacher appreciation week at school. At Connor's elementary school, the PTA staff has had a box set up by the main entrance. They asked the students to write letters to their teachers and drop in the "mail box". Daily deliveries have been made. So Connor has written several letters to his teacher and teacher's assistant. He is writing it himself. I am spelling the teachers' names. Other than that, it's all him. So thank you is "thanc u" and love is "luv". It's sort of legible. But these ladies teach 4 year olds, they should be used to it right? Today he painted flower pots and planted flowers for them.

I had my dentist appointment on Monday...in Dallas. So I went down on Sunday morning. ALONE!!!! That's right, a day and a half off of work. A break from the kids. A night alone in the hotel. Shopping, lunch, dinner, drinks, clean teeth...it was heaven. I came back feeling very rejuvenated. Sometimes we all need a break.

Where Have I Gone Wrong

2011-04-28T21:42:00.000-05:00

My sweet sweet Colton

My middle child

with the terrible terrible three's

I know it's hard to imagine

the child

with this face

walking around without a halo

but it happens

And it's my fault

It's always the mom's fault right

I see my attitude in him

When you tell him no

for the 42nd time in a row

to stop________

(fill in the blank)

he will scream

and stomp

and hit

it's pretty

REAL PRETTY

I'm frustrated

he's frustrated

I yell

he yells

I don't know what to do with him

I get the attitude

I totally get it

Connor is older

He gets everything new

has friends and cooler toys

Christian is the baby

He gets lots of attention

and holding and rocking

Colton gets the hand-me-downs

and the "in a minute"s

I would be mad too

So yesterday I gave him his own room

Connor and Colton have bunk beds

sharing a room obviously

Christian has his own room

We have a 4th bedroom

but it is on a the bottom level

of our 3 level house

(all the other bedrooms are on 3)

so someone has to share

for the next few years

anyway...

I did some serious furniture moving

I moved the crib to Connor's room

and Colton's bed to his

VERY OWN ROOM

I haven't moved the clothes yet

figured I would test this for a few weeks first

Last night he slept well

He seems pretty excited about his space

I'm thinking this might just be a good idea

Then this afternoon

I told him to go upstairs and change his clothes

(because he peed)

and he locked me out of the house

We had just been coming in from the garage

so I had my keys

then he's upstairs slamming doors

My "way" is not working anymore

I don't know what else to do

He OBVIOUSLY needs attention

do I put him in more school

do I put Christian in MDO

so I can have more time with Colton

more 1 on 1 dates

but how to fit that in

I am at a loss

All I know

what I am doing now

is NOT working

HOPPY EASTER

2011-04-25T15:50:00.000-05:00

I heart Easter

I really do

For the meaning of the occasion

HE IS RISEN

and the bunny helps too

I heart bunnies too

It's probably a good thing I have boys

Remember how important the Easter dress was

Do people still do that?

I went through such a long

"non church" phase

when I was single

now I'm too fat to dress up

but one day soon

I learned after about 2 years

that I would not spend that much money on my boys

for 1 outfit

now they do polos and khaki shorts

(pants this year)

or "tacky" shorts

as Connor said

On Saturday we baked our Easter cake

Colton helped me make it

And Christian helped me clean up

He got the better job

Then we dyed our eggs

Then "someone" smashed half of them

because he thought they were "ba"

translated ball

Here is our Easter peeps cake

idea courtesy of my fave cous Cindy

we only had about 4 peeps worth

before the dog ate it

That's right folks

right up on the kitchen table and ate the whole freaking thing

I think his stomach still hurts

there's one way to stick to your diet

Then we had our neighborhood EE hunt

complete with a weird tutu wearing girl bunny

Christian couldn't get away fast enough

Easter Morning

next year we will hunt for the hidden real eggs

before

the baskets

An attempt at a photo before church

no such luck

We had a very rainy Easter Sunday

which was great

we skipped our neighbors EE hunt

and finger painted instead

(notice connor's 7 year old looking haircut above)

Then with our cabin fever

we went out for mexican for dinner

In other news:

I redboxed a movie this weekend

The Fighter

I know I am very behind on my movies

it was great

worth the buck

KARMA

2011-04-22T19:50:00.000-05:00

Do you believe?
Do you think good things happen to you because you are a good person?
Or is it all part of God's plan for our life
or did we make a choice that was not part of God's plan
and then things happened because of that?
or maybe you didn't pray enough?

Obviously it's not all about karma. Otherwise nice people would never get sick or loose a job or suffer the loss of a loved one. And I am not talking all "negative nelly" here. I am in a good place right now. But here is what got me thinking....

Our TX neighbors started building a house a couple of months ago. They put their current house on the market last week and it sold , in days. Now let me start by saying how great these people are. They are one of the kindest and sweetest families I have ever met. We were so lucky to have them as neighbors when we did. Now our house was/is on the other side of the street and it backs up to a fairly busy road. So it makes me wonder about our house. We can't change the location, but what else was/is it? The price? The staging? The old kitchen? The market? Our house was on the market for 6 months until we finally decided to lease it out. Now we are in negotiations with the renters for another year. We have about 10 days for a final decision-are they going to lease again or do we go back on the market.

So I go back to my karma and prayer thoughts.
Maybe I have not prayed hard enough or long enough or loud enough. Maybe it's me not being as nice as I should be. All those bad "people watching" moments I've had. Are they coming back to bite me in the rear? How could paying 2 mortgages in a poor economy be a part of God's ultimate plan for my family?

Good things happen to bad people. And bad things happen to good people. But WHY?

I am having way too many deep thoughts on my Friday evening. This is what happens when you haven't slept in a couple of days and your kids are wearing you out. See there is bad karma. What kind of mom talks about her kids that way? That's a whole other post for another Friday night.

Run for Your Life

2011-04-21T21:44:00.000-05:00

IT'S THE

SANTA MONSTER

Don't worry mommy

It's just me

THANK GOODNESS

I was scared

were you?

This is just how the

Lenzer boys entertain themselves

He can now climb onto the counter

via the step stool

and says

"hea,hea"

which translates into

"hands"

don't knock my shell sink

the 80's rocked

and don't knock my mothering either

I was sitting there

obviously

since I was snapping pictures

and the hot water on this sink doesn't work

so he was safe

mostly

And the big boys were playing

AIRPLANE

Colton was pilot this go round

We ventured out to the mall this week

we almost missed our annual

Easter Bunny photo

Good thing I remembered

I used to go to the mall

ALOT

when we lived in TX

we would play

stroll around

have lunch

ride the carousel

always with friends

seemed like a good meeting place

especially in the heat of the summer

HERE

not so much

the mall selection is terrible

so I was dreading this trip

and once there

I quickly remembered why

I planned to be there right at 10

when the stores opened

and the EB arrived

take a quick photo

make 1 return to Macy's

and if the boys were good

a 5 minute stop at the LEGO store

(I needed to pick up a Lego for their baskets too)

We arrived at 10

only to discover

the lazy EB doesn't start work until 11

no worries

errands first

Christian needed shoes

and

I had used the last of my powder that morning

Stride Rite is right next door to Bare Essentials

score!

Down to Macy's for my return

and

score! again

the Lego store is right by Macy's

While leaving the Lego store at 10:55

Colton announces he has to pee

We run to the bathroom

which is

score! again

right by the EB

we all pee

and then I notice Colton's pants are wet

He obviously peed

ALOT

and not all of it made it to the potty

Back down to GAP

for a pair of shorts

Change Colton in the middle of the mall

tell him not to pull of the tag

because of course I will return them next week

DON"T JUDGE

like we need another pair of navy shorts

We take our picture

(more on that in a moment)

and now I will have to feed the boys in the car

because we have to get Connor to school

I look down

Colton has peed in the freaking blue shorts

I WAS GOING TO RETURN

breathe Jann

just breathe

I hate the effing mall

but we did manage this cute photo

when we walked up to the entrance of the EB area

Christian started waving to the furry guy

wave, wave, wave

When we walk over

scream

SCREAM

SCREAM

I try to get Christian to sit next to Connor

not having it

then I distract him

and sneak him by Colton

the lady snaps the pictures

he quickly notices his proximity to the bunny

and the screaming commences

as soon as I pick him up

wave, wave, wave

I love that kid

And he very much loves me

right now anyway

The boys have easter egg hunts at both of their schools tomorrow

We are doing a hunt at our neighbors house Sunday afternoon

and a big neighborhood one as well

I am cooking the usual ham

and deviled eggs with all of our dyed eggs

We made rice krispy treat "birds nests"

with jelly bean "eggs"

for Connor's class

We are going to make either a cake or cupcakes

tomorrow with marshmallow chicks on top

I love EASTER

The boys have been hiding eggs all week

they need to practice

WHAT ARE YOUR EASTER PLANS"

off the subject-

I have total old lady hands

They have always looked old

wrinkly and such

plus I have short nail beds

and fat knuckles

My mom has beautiful hands

she did not share the gene with me

she did however share her thunder thighs

thanks mom!

(xoxo)

maybe some hand cream

anyone use a good one?

It's very obvious Christian likes water

I think all kids do at that age

I always wanted a water table

It's one of those expensive toys

I wish I had bought with #1kids

then I could have totally gotten my monies worth

We made our own white trash version

And in he goes

and

yes

that's the old baby bathtub

I think Connor is confused

or possessive

ninja turtle costume

batman cape

spiderman mask

train conductor neckerchief

knight shield

he's got it all on!

toodles

Jann

I have a 5 year old

2011-04-18T18:00:00.000-05:00

It doesn't seem possible

but some how it happened

I know I am way too young

to be the mommy to a 5 year old

but I am

What can I say

I started early

We were in DisneyLand

for Connor's big day

We chose not to emphasize that

I didn't want every kid thinking

a huge vacation is their gift

But he did find that pretty special

but he refused to wear his birthday button at DL

Back home the gifts from family rolled in almost daily

And of course

in true Connor style

they had to be opened immediately

While he found this gift fun

from Aunt Sissy

he wished it had been

"lego-y"

no worries sissy

he still loved it

We had a family birthday breakfast

pancakes of course

with candles and singing

so he could open our gift

The LEGO police station

783 pieces

took about 8 hours total

but this 5 year old

completed the work

ALL

HIMSELF

pretty impressive

can't you tell from his stressed out face?

I had big plans

for the big party

It didn't quite work out the way I envisioned

but it was good

The invitation was my favorite part

This is the back

does it look like a LEGO brick?

And the front

Connor's LEGO men

he made them all

We had 3 games planned

1-building LEGO towers

2-guess how many LEGOS in the bucket

3-LEGO hunt

So it didn't really work out as planned

The boys ran and played

Everyone was really up for the LEGO hunt though

so....

1 out of 3

not too bad

pizza was a hit

no shocker there

cupcakes

that didn't turn out like the LEGO bricks they were suppose to be

but Con loved them anyway

(I never claimed to be Betty Crocker)

and presents

I went back and forth on having the party

in OK or TX

I was very fearful we would not have enough

OK peeps

but we pushed forward

trying to still settle in to this new state and all

and I am soooooo glad we did

The turn out was terrific

I felt really at home

I finally felt like maybe we might make here

It was great

watching Connor smile made it all worth while

Mother nature was very kind to us that evening

Not too hot

and we haven't had rain in weeks

We had neighbors

and classmates

and swim lesson friends

siblings too

And 1 very important best buddy

straight up from Plano

BEN

who got to spend the night

the perfect ending to the perfect 5th birthday party

We are so grateful for our friends

the old ones

and

the new ones

who helped Connor celebrate his BIG day

And he is already planning his next one

well the gift list anyway

the theme will change

6,478 times between now and then

Colton is thoroughly confused about his birthday now

Poor middle child has never had a party

and his day is 2 days after Christmas

thinking of having a special party for him in October

how will that confuse him?

and I will try will all my might

not to have a birthday party 2 weeks after the actual day again

Connor thought it was his day the entire time

every day he wanted to pick his breakfast

or where we got to go

or wanted to go buy a special toy

I got over that real quick

And a very important announcement

there is only 1 soccer game left

thank goodness

we gave it 2 tries

we are done with soccer

for Con anyway

and yes

now that he is 5

his name is

CON

not

connor

he even wrote a note to his teacher

he wanted to make sure she understood the new rules

Boy Talk

2011-04-10T16:38:00.000-05:00

I have lots of funny sayings to share this round
Mostly from this guy

So let's get started.....

Connor is all about time lately. The hour anyway, minutes are still way out of his grasp
He asks What o'clock is it?

While playing in the front yard with Colton
He says places everyone
He was trying to boss Colton around, with out much success.

We have been attending our weekly soccer practices without a smile on our faces! At the beginning and end of practice is some stretches and sprinting. He may not be a future soccer star, but he does try to teach his little brother what he has learned. As the big boys trot across the yard, Connor says to me
Momma, we are jugging!
Me-you mean JOGGING?
As the exercise continues Connor tells me they are doing "jubling jacks"

Later they are in the driveway. Connor is leading the stretch routine. Bending over, hands on the ground, counting to 5-that sort of thing.
Me-You boys exercising?
Connor-no, we are energizing
Me-that will work too

Connor and Colton are eating breakfast. Colton, in true little brother fashion, is annoying the ever living crap out of Connor...making faces, screaming, anything to get a fuss out of Con. Connor is yelling back for him to STOP IT!
I tell Connor to ignore him.
Con-what does that mean
Me-pretend he is a ghost
Con-that's an unmannerly ghost!
Me-it sure is

While on vacation, we see a man with a chiwawa dog. (and of all things he was wearing a 'handicap helper' type vest, the dog not the man. Now what kind of help is a freaking chiwawa to anyone who needs aid? just wondering)
Connor watches the dog

Con-Mamma, that's not a dog that's a chiwawa
Me-Connor, you are right about that!

We gave Connor the Lego City Police Station for his birthday. As he opened it:
Con: IT'S WHAT I'VE WANTED FOR YEARS!
Colton: AWESOME CONNOR YOUR GONNA WOVE IT!

Hope you enjoyed these little phrases and maybe my boys made you smile today

Forgot

2011-04-07T14:32:00.000-05:00

FORGOT TO MENTION

in all my 427 vacation posts

that on travel home day

while packing our suitcase

FOUND

MY MAKEUP

seriously

WTH

that's just my style

Vacation 2011

2011-04-05T17:25:00.000-05:00

Part ?

I don't even remember what part # this is

FINAL

DISNEYLAND

We went Sunday evening

and ALL day Monday and Tuesday

For a DL virgin

I must admit I was a bit disappointed

I am not sure if I had built it up so much in my head

or maybe I was tired

Now this is not to say that after our 2 1/2 days there

I did not have a good time

I had a GREAT time

but must say

I will not become a die hard Disney fan

The boys loved every

single

thing

they rode

We managed naps in the stroller

OMG

scary face

Our trip was complete after meeting this guy

Here is the whole group of kids

My 3

My fave cousin's 2 kids

And her neighbors 3 kids

My cousin Cindy and I wanted to finally have our kids meet

I was planning a trip to Disney

And she and her bestie neighbor were as well

So we just decided to do it all together

And that was the way to travel

I don't know if DL would have been as much fun without all of them

The kids entertained each other

whether in long ride lines

or at the hotel in the evening so the grown-ups could chat

It went really smooth for as many folks as we had

Then throw in Casey and her crew

WOWZA

Connor watching the fireworks

Love that face

He was the only boy left awake

These 2 snoozed through it all

It is a small world after all

Goofy

Christian thought he was pretty special

He did not want to leave him

Oh Minnie

I know how you feel!

And the Star of the Show

Mickey

Well he's suppose to be

For us it was really buzz

The best part of our trip was made here

After we snapped this picture

the staff was shooing us out of the room for the next group of folks

Colton said he had to show Mickey something

then he did a spin

more like a twirl

but it suppose to be a spin

then Mickey did it back

Later when we saw Buzz

he wanted to show him something too

yep, another spin

The fact that he was showing off to his heros

LOVED THIS MOMENT

We did make it into California Adventure on the final day

Just in time to see the

Toy Story Soldiers

they put on quite the performance

and even got the kids involved

Big Cous Cindy

and the crew

Cousins

and possibly new BFF's

Connor wanted to go everywhere Chatty went

Love me some

Mater

Cousins in the toy box

My kids

Cindy's kids

Casey's kids

And here she is again

Lainey Caroline

crushing on my man

I told Casey if LC could wash clothes and fix a bowl of cereal

that we could switch places

Overall, it was a fantastic vacation. I could not have asked for or expected anything better

I only lost 1 kid, 1 time

MOTY for me

ok, maybe not

I got to

meet my cousins kids

meet some new great people

and got to see and old friend

Most importantly

I got to spend 5 really special days with my family

And the boys were so tired that the plane ride home was a breeze

BONUS

That's a wrap folks

Planning vacation 2012

Actually thinking Disney cruise

any takers??

Coming up

Connor turns 5

(which he did do in Disney)

Vacation 2011

2011-04-05T07:29:00.000-05:00

Part 2 and 1/2

Last outing in San Diego

morning of day 3

CABRILLO

This place is gorgeous

You can see the naval base to one side

and actually watch the navy planes take off

The city skyline in front of the mountains

The ocean with the crashing waves on the rocks

Tidepools

the Lighthouse and history of the area

and of course little lizards

(that was our crew's main focus)

If I lived in southern California

this would be my go-to place

If you need a moment to be alone

think

or just get away with your thoughts

you could do it here

sitting, looking, being in awe

NEXT STOP

DISNEYLAND

Vacation 2011

2011-04-04T07:05:00.000-05:00

California Vacation

Part 2

Let's see

where did I leave us...

Oh yes,

it was our first full day in Cali

we had done the seals' thing

Christian was snoozing

The big boys and I walked around Seaport Village

I was makeup-less

Next stop

USS Midway

fair warning

there are tons of pictures

you may not be interested

but my mom is

and it's really all about her

so skip to the end if need be

but I'm not promising interesting chat down there either

The USS Midway

is an old navy vessel turned museum

I personally find this kind of place

AMAZING

I could spend hours here

when you have 3 tired boys

an hour and a half

is about all you get

Well worth the visit and money

Connor with his "thumbs up"

his new thing?

There are tons of things to crawl and play on

flight simulators

over 20 aircraft on the top deck

and of course a gift shop

which was the demise of our day

we didn't buy Connor a jet (toy)

and he LOST it

for realz

it was a "lainey" kind of break down

Obviously all of these photos were taken

pre-meltdown

once that started

we could not get out the door fast enough

and I'm giving Mark the "eyes"

you know the look

"can't we just buy the toy and shut him up?"

and Mark's giving me the look

you know the one

"HELL NO"

he won

Mark I mean

which was the right parenting move to make

Colton playing airplane on Daddy's shoulders

love this one

After this adventure

we headed back to the hotel for naps

It was pretty obvious who needed one

Our hotel was on the bay

So while I stayed so the boys could rest

Mark walked around here

Connor and Colton slept

Guess who didn't

I mean

why should he?

there are so many interesting things to play with

in hotel rooms

like drawers

After quiet time

we were headed to a different beach

to try and take some photos

before heading to the Starnes' house for dinner

This time we went to

La Jolla Shores Beach

I must say I was not all that impressed

The beach itself was covered in seaweed

YUCK!

And for a cold day

it was very crowded

There were lot of surfers

and folks playing ball and frisbie

Makes it hard for family pictures

We were all wearing our

cheesy matching family photo outfits

and couldn't even get a whole family picture

there just didn't seem anyone to ask to take one

and this is how most of the time went

now look who's tired

And this is where my camera bit the dust

I mean sand

here we switched to the camera phone

Here Mark is actually squatted down behind the boys

to keep Christian from falling backwards and busting his head open

Instead he takes a nose dive forward

and eats sand

And now the moment we have all been waiting for

Dinner with Casey

For those of you not in this strange little bloggie circle

you don't know Casey

but you could

and should

check out her blog here

she's a pretty funny gal

I don't know if it's so much her

or her kids

KIDDING

Casey and I used to work together at Michael's in Dallas

we were just a few cubicles away from each other

I was pregnant with Connor and she with Jack

only a few weeks apart

She went out on bedrest

Then I left on maternity leave

She had Jack

and neither one of us went back to work

So I had never met the little punks

only Carter once

And can I just say

this family is every bit as special as one might think

For those of you who read her blog

Her description of the back yard does not do it justice

It is gorgeous

For those of you who don't read her blog-

could you image waking up to this every morning

Carter is an amazing kid

Mark even commented on how great he was

I don't have any pictures of Jack for some reason

But Jack...

halarious- and a train lover

for sure

and sweet sweet Lainey

love you girl

but we are going to scrap behind the swings at 3pm

she was crushing on my man

Truth is

I could have sat on her patio and talked all night

but unfortunately we had sleepy kids

and almost an hour drive back to the hotel

The good news is

there will be more Starnes' crew photos later

because we met up at Disney

YOU STILL HERE??

I will leave you now

partly so I don't bore you to death

partly because blogger is pissing me off

but mainly because my hour is up

and the boys will be waking any minute

and so my day begins

I have a trip to Hobby Lobby planned with my friend

and YES I did say friend

swim lessons and school

I am in major party planning mode this week

Connor's lego birthday bash is on Saturday

PART 3 COMING SOON

lucky you

Vacation 2011

2011-04-01T21:44:00.000-05:00

Phase 1

travel day and first time at the beach

It's a long flight to sunny California from Oklahoma

especially with 3 kiddos to entertain

We survived the quick flight to DFW

and had high hopes for the flight to OC

It was right during Christian's nap time

And he did fall asleep

when the landing gear came down

NO JOKE

but I did pack well for the flight

The boys colored

played their video games

watched a movie

played with magnets

Mark and I passed Christian back and forth

and of course my secret weapon-

dum dum suckers

As soon as we arrived

and loaded our things in the rental

We set out for San Diego/La Jolla area

It was a nice ride for me

And Colton snuck in a little rest too

We unpacked in our hotel rooms

And grabbed dinner and headed straight for the beach

I had a blanket and sand toys

such the prepared mamma

(but no one used it)

This is my favorite picture

Colton's reaction to seeing the ocean

Christian headed straight for the water

He quickly changed his mind

He was so over-tired at this point

30 minutes of napping

2 hour time difference

He held it together really well

all things considered

Gotta have sand angels right?

My other favorite photo from the beach

Day 2 morning

we went to

The Children's Pool

to see the seals

but before we got out of the hotel

I realized I forgot my make up bag

insert scream

I remember zipping it up the morning before

and even taking it over to the suitcase

WTH?

did one of the boys take it back out

Did I get distracted and put it down somewhere

I searched every.single.bag 100 times

Mark didn't get it

He did not understand the severity of this misfortune

I had to get some kind of makeup

powder and mascara at least

We stopped at a drugstore

and I got just that

by the end of the day

I realized powder and mascara only weren't cutting it

We were forced to find a target that evening on the way to Casey's house

back to the seals

this was the most rewarding stop

(maybe for all of us)

Mark and I were both very glad we went

thanks Casey for the idea

As soon as that was over

which was still very early folks

9:30-ish

Christian was snoozing

That's what happens when you wake up at 4am

Passed this sign on the drive after the seals

Had to take the picture for bloggie friend Sass

While Christian napped in the car

The big boys and I walked around

Seaport Village

super cute little area

I would have love to spend more time there

And had a bit to eat

(next trip for sure)

We made smashed pennies

And held some birds

Ok that's all for now

I don't want to bore anyone to death

Stay tuned for phase 2

more site seeing

and visit with Casey