hop hop hop....

50s day at Jack's school.
yes...I forgot to take a photo.
I'll add one later.
they are having a "sock hop".
Jack being quite literal...decided last night he needed to wear special socks.
for the sock hop.
so.
socks with skulls that will not be seen.
check.
jeans.
check.
white t-shirt.
check.
hair greased back.
check.
mom's old cheap black glasses.
.....
well.
apparently his father told him he couldn't wear girl glasses.
resulting in minor hysterics this morning. (thanks babe)
so I called his father,
who was beyond adamant that no girl glasses would be worn.
however.
here comes the stroke of male genius.
Jack could wear his glasses.
sure.
that makes sense.
cheap black throw away glasses are out,
but $100+ sunglasses...
send those out the door with the seven year old.
good thinking dear.
can't wait to see how that works out for you....
girl glasses...pahlease....

smells inStresting

personally I woke up craving a big bowl of mail this morning...
that earned an extended "heyyyyyyy" from Jared.

the littles stand in front of the pantry debating breakfast,
like possibly the selection has magically changed while they've been asleep.
every morning it goes something like this... (please note from the photo, there are NINE choices of cereal)
Cole "I'll have some Kix"
"we don't have Kix"
"(sigh) fine ...then I'll just have Honey Nut Cheerios"
"we don't have Honey Nut Cheerios"
"ugh...I'll have Cheerios with milk and honey..."
(that's what he always has...but we have the same conversation daily. why is this?)

Jack brought this home from school the other day and it made me laugh.
I sort of love the fact that my child will choose to do his creative writing project about...
meat.
that is so Jack.
apparently like his father and brothers, he too believes that ham tastes like heaven.
silly boys...

smells delish...

true story according to my husband:
Jared has been practicing with the high school varsity team every day after school.
(total blessing this opportunity...but that's another err...post)
so he gets in the car yesterday,
and says.
"Dad. Do you know what smells really good?...Mail."
Colin, not sure where this story is going....
"Really?"
"Yeah, it smells like cocoa-puffs and homemade chocolate chip cookies"
"Mail?"
"Yeah, from the Post plant....we can smell the mail during practice."
the POST plant.
that makes mail.
you know.
not honey bunches of oats
or cocoa pebbles...
mail.
it is a post factory after all.....
have I mentioned I love that kid?
yes. I have....

...and we shall use the word project loosely

so yesterday I worked on a project I like to call "make the closet usable".
I'm not sure what happened in our closet,
but during Christmas time it became this giant hide-a-gift-catch-all...
and it just never recovered.
read that, I haven't bothered cleaning it since...
it's a closet people, no one actually sees it.
anyway,
in the process of cleaning I found all these old jeans that the boys had ripped the knees out of...
it took me awhile to figure out what they were doing in MY closet....
then it dawned on me.
my brilliant project.
(so brilliant in fact I'd forgotten about it)
I planned on saving the old jeans to recover the kitchen chairs.
(the seat part...just stating the obvious)
(totally easy way to make your chairs look completely different)
Colten in the past few months has doubled my supply. so I have more than enough now.
I'm actually not sure this is brilliant, or dumb.
but it seemed like a nice durable fabric
(well, except in the knee area clearly)
that would wear well to my boys abuse at the dinner table.
and I thought it would look nice with the green of my kitchen...

that really is my design theory at this point in my life.
1. will it survive the boys.
2. do I like it.
deep. I know. I have a design book....but really this is what it comes down to...

so.
soon I will post photos of that project...finished.
well,
unless in the process of completing that project I realize it requires sewing...
then I will can that project.
and toss the jeans.

Erin's World Famous Blog....

My sister-in-law has a new blog.
YAY Erin!
and I thought as retribution thanks for passing my blog address out
at her wedding rehearsal dinner,
I'd announce it here. (she can thank me later)
So. things you should know before leaving my mindless blog.
she uses words like metaphorical, scoffed, innocuously, and austere.
(I'm not going to lie, had to look up that last one....it means severely simple; without ornament/severe in manner or appearance. I'm sure you already knew that, but man do I love dictionary.com.)
she and my little wordsmith Jack are obviously related...

she writes beautifully. now Erin I have a few requests that maybe you'll consider entertaining?!?
please post some photos.
photos of your apartment,
of SanFran.....
of you in your cute clothes.
oooh. like maybe of you in your cute Frye boots that I covet.
ok.
I do realize that that is not at all where you are heading with your blog.
but maybe you could do a fashion piece weekly...and help a sister out.
excellent plan.
or, just post random photos that don't relate at all to the story you're telling.
gosh I'm full of fantastic ideas....

in any case.
go meet Erin.
you will like her.

so random it's not worth numbering...

lets see.it's friday.
I could post more videos.
I have some really fantastic ones.
one of colten saying "I love you mom. now fix me some popcorn."
another of jack showing me his school papers.
riveting...I know.

ok.
we will pass on that.
my teenager has completely put me off today.
I'm fairly certain he's getting his period. not for sure. but that's my hunch.
and he was so cute. what in the heck happened?
yes. I have some really fantastic photos of him when he was little. that huge red haze really adds a special something...

moving on.
I was at walmart the other day.
because they have food.
and the woman checking me out was telling me that she thinks the medication her doctor just put her on was making her blood pressure drop too low. it was 90/60.
um. yes. I would say so.
I suggested she eat some pork rinds. no. I actually suggested she call the doctor.
because frankly if you can be IN walmart and not have an increase in blood pressure ...well, you might be in serious need of medical intervention.

what other randomness do I have...

I'm eating stuffed shells right now.
the whole decision to go low carb this week has really panned out well for me...
monday. I will start monday.....

Colin just emailed me a video from CNN.com about bugs in candy bars. that's pretty awesome. So the good thing about having a husband that works as a quality assurance manager is that you know a LOT about food. the bad thing about having a husband that works as a quality assurance manager is that you know a LOT about food.
it's not Nestle though... you should all eat Nestle chocolate...I'm just saying...
we were so sad to miss out on Evansen's first birthday.
but really happy with reports that he likes his present from us.
also a little frightened to learn that Colin can ride the rody horse, because the weight limit is 400lbs. why the little horse would in fact need to accommodate that much weight. I'm not sure... but Colin said he'll bring his chaps next time we visit. giddy-up.
(forgive me Gab for stealing this cutie photo of your son... I couldn't resist...look at that little tongue...makes my ovaries hurt.)
***ETA: Colin does NOT weigh 400lb. just a fyi. so I don't get in BIG trouble...ha. he also does not actually own chaps, but I'm guessing y'all figured that one out...

Jack has baseball tryouts. this weekend. he really loves baseball.
the other boys played it, and gave it up because they decided they just wanted to play soccer.
they have a new option this year - travel baseball. which pretty much extends the season for forever....but I let Jack decide, and he wants to tryout for it.
he is a pretty good ballplayer, and in most places I wouldn't worry....but this is not most places. last year, Jack had kids on his team that could switch hit. (yeah. last year when he was six.) he is also not as competitive as his brothers, which is fine...but not for travel ball. so we've had the talk about how he might not make the team and how he has to play to win....(really lovely talk to have makes you feel like a great parent) and he's still game. so hopefully. hopefully. he'll make it. I'll just hold my breath until it's over...

have I mentioned how cute little boys look in baseball outfits uniforms? love it.

happy weekend.

testing testing 1..2..3....

(Sorry! posting videos take ten...let's see if this works shall we)

colin got me a flip.
I'm a tiny bit excited.

this is a lovely example of my kid in the am.
they're like their momma...not morning people.
a. his shirt was on backwards.
b. he is telling me about gogurt. (we don't have gogurt...
I have no idea where he got this)
c. his hair is a mad mess....



now I'll stop, I do actually realize this is only entertaining to me...
wow. I took some really great videos...not.
I will work on the volume. I know...they're quiet. I apologize for it all...

go down to the previous post and just look at the cute one year old will you....

we can't believe you're one!

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY Evansen!!!!
we wish we were there to love on you and help you party.
eat lots of cake and have fun little man.
we love you lots.
xxoxxoxx Auntie E, Uncle Colin, Jared, Coley and Jack

the metabolism I wish I still had...

isn't his hair pretty when he spins around...
(someone needs a haircut in a bad way)
apparently a photo to commemorate the first shaving experience was just not in the cards for this mom...
he's so not fun. well. he's a little fun. and a lot funny.
he's also attempting to eat me out of house and home.
no.
seriously.
I was warned of this time.
but, I had no brothers, nothing to gage this insanity.
really you can't understand the extent of the eating.
it's like he can't get enough food.
constant eating.

I made chili for dinner the other night.
thinking I was clever,
I decided to double it, so I could freeze half for an easy quick meal.
great plan in theory.
great plan until Jared got home from soccer the other night.
and ate all the leftovers.
gone.
he was "hungry".
he is always hungry.
it's literally one thing after another.
"can I have a hot pretzel?"
"a fruit roll?"
"some chips?"
"some of this juice?"
"an apple?"
"some chex mix?"
"a granola bar?" ....
it's a bottomless pit.

he's always been a big eater.
it's just in overdrive.
hyperactive hyperdrive...
I'm in big trouble.
oh.
and don't worry.
the other two manage to hold their own just fine.

happy little disaster...

I've been a tiny bit busy.
organizing my many many recipe binders.
minor for most.
but for me it's an undertaking.
colin says it's because I'm "so anal about these types of things"...
err. thanks?
and yes.
that's a chicken in my recipe binder.
no Colin. not because I want to eat him.
because I love that chicken.
I want him for a pet.
so he's in my recipe binder.
maybe he should be in my home design binder?
yeah. see. he doesn't really fit there either.

that's all today...
aren't you glad you stopped by for a whole lot of nothing...

quote from friday:
Colten "the principle came up to me and said I can't wear my hair up because then other kids might want their hair like mine, and we wouldn't want that."
ha.

I love you more than Beckham...

this is what the boys woke up to this morning...
usually I do things I love about them...
this year I decided to be funny and did "I love you more than"... which they seemed to like.
Colten crawled into my bed this morning and said
"mom happy valentines day. I love you. thanks for making that for us. I really love the beach too...but I love you more"
ha.

I love you more than ...
Martha Stewart
art
the beach
cupcakes
candy
chocolate covered strawberries
starbucks
scrapbooking
dessert
facebook
fridays
music
grey’s anatomy
ice cream
The Office
snow monsters
the ocean
the rain
more than you love OldBaby
the sun
sushi
tea
blogging
cinnamon dolce lattes
rainbow sprinkles
Jimmy Johns veggie subs
summer
birthdays
autumn
more than you love soccer
halloween
The 4th of july
all the stars at night
DisneyWorld
photography
CPK (roasted pepper and goat cheese pizzas)
Jewel
playing Scrabble
black t-shirts
David Beckham
the color red
monkeys
Target
fireworks
guacamole
the color pink
Hello Kitty
hazelnut creamer
green juice
smoothies
slippers
magazines
air(really. more than anything.)

Happy Valentine's Day

foolish games

impromptu jam session after bath time...seems my dream that someday someone would be able to play the guitar out on the back patio on warm summer nights is becoming a reality.
(the part of the dream where that someone is playing old Jewel songs, I've been told will in fact never become a reality)

oh,
and don't panic.
the big one still managed to continue texting...

xoxo.

last night.
"mom! you just went through a yellow light!" Jack
"I was already in the intersection...it's ok."
"well...it costs more money if you get a ticket for going on yellow."
"what? no, you don't get a ticket for going through on yellow."
"yes. you do. and it's more than if you run a red light."
"where in the world are you getting this information?"

this morning.
"mom...you are crazy!" Jack
"I am not! maybe YOU are the crazy one...maybe your crazy just makes my un-crazy appear crazy?!"
"yeah. you are crazy. and now I'm confused."
"hey now...I'm not the one that thinks you can get a ticket for running a yellow light."
"ok crazy"

Jacky Boucher

thank you rob dyrdek.
my boys would now like to live in a warehouse...
with a giant foam pit...
some ramps...
and basketball hoops everywhere.
they've asked nicely...
several times today actually...
oh, and they'd also like a T-Rex car. the Jack and I are now off to basketball practice.
interesting note
Jack's coach told the kids
"if you keep score the devil will get in your head."
oh yes.
he did.
only made slightly amusing and not just absolutely horrifying because Jack
a. gets it. (that the coach is not very bright, and kind of a nut)
and
b. will now speak in an adam sandler waterboyesque voice....
telling me "the devil will git in yer head"...

I love you more than monkeys

colin left yesterday for California...
he will be back next weekend.
no sooner did he leave,
coley was through the door with a bloody knee.
its inevitable.
colin is here and all is fine.
he leaves and people start bleeding.
I swear...
(colin is one that deals well with blood and puke. I. am. not.)
so of course,
cole is completely calm.
and
I am a total lulubird. running around the house trying to locate the neosporin.
I made it back to the bathroom, and exclaimed.
"well, I can't find the neosporin...but I've got the camera!"
lucky for me, my kids love me and my crazy.

(col...we miss you!)
it was really not bad AT ALL....just made me want to yak. because I'm weird like that...

the "good" thing about colin being gone...
is I get a car during the day.
which meant target this morning...
and coffee in my monkey holder gabby got me for christmas.
the way I see it = this is ridiculously fabulous. oooooh dear. seriously is that not A-door-able?!?!?
monkeys AND starbucks. I can hardly stand it.
major improvement to the MON(key)day.
then to hobby lobby to get the supplies for the boys Valentine "curtains"*...
because after halloween, and the 4th...
valentines day is my favorite.
*(I make them valentines that hang from ribbons...
while they're sleeping I hang them in their doorways)
photos to follow.

I also picked up a package of artist trading cards.
not for me ...for jack.
he's doing a ATC kids swap. adorable.
I personally have never done ATCs. but when I saw the swap, I knew jack would flip.
(which he did)
and who knew Strathmore actually has little packs of bristol and watercolor paper, canvas, and illustration board all precut...cutecutecute....

over dinner last night,
jack was explaining what he is planning to create,
and colten said...

"wow. whoever gets your cards is really lucky because when you're a famous artist they'll be worth a LOT of money."

I know. sugar. so sweet it makes my teeth hurt.
jack just swelled with pride.

if they got to know me...

my neighbor...
bless her heart...
she is CRAZY.
(do you like that? in the south if you use a preemptive "bless their/his/her heart", you can say mean things...please note I'm kidding. not about that saying though.....)

Pam: I hate the idea that someone out there hates me. I even hate that Al-Qaeda hates me. I think if they got to know me they wouldn't hate me. But Karen knows me and she still hates me, so.
my neighbor.
she is not a fan of Jared.
which is fine. not everyone has to be a fan of my kid.
but...
a. she's an adult.
and
b. he's a great kid.
and yes I'm completely biased,
but....
you may not know everything your child says and does when they are away from you...
but you know their heart.
and Jared is a nice kid.

So. without going into too much detail suffice it to say of the group of boys here,
(2 other families, with 2 boys each)
one is being left out. or feeling left out.
this is mostly due to the fact he doesn't like playing outside.
and the other 6 do. (please note. the other 6 do. 6 ...not just Jared)
I have talked to my boys about including him.
compromising and letting him choose the game or sport.
they all claim to be trying...
and
I am one to let kids work things out...
I mean honestly...7 or more kids together...there are always a few that don't get along.
sometimes it's my kids that come in crying.
and guess what?
I tell them they can either play together or not.
I don't care who hit who, or who tackled who too hard, or who didn't follow the rules....
play together and get along. or come inside.

she has said she "hates" Jared.
and now, she has said he is a bully.
lovely.
Jared is competitive. but. he. is. not. a. bully.
I'm not sure if I should just continue to ignore her.
or if I confront her?

my sister pointed out.
me in a confrontation would equal
me listening to her tell me what a rotten kid I have..
and then uttering something along the lines of ...
"you are mean, and your kid is weird"...
which would not be helpful.
I'm voting for option c. which is move.
Colin says that is not an option yet.
my husband's advice is "ignore it, the kid is just weird."
which is good advice, and true...
but honestly. I feel bad.
I feel bad that her son is upset.

I like things to be conflict free.
and I like kids to be happy...

I've also decided in the past few days that I need to be more mindful.
because while I'm not overly sensitive in terms of little things bothering me.
I think that lots of woman are.
and I am too laid back sometimes.
I'm trying to take this into account in this situation.
I am also still feeling horribly bad about a completely different situation yesterday,
when I inadvertently sent a friend a tag on facebook.
which was a not a bad or mean thing to do,
until it dawned on my the content of the tag.
and her history.
and realized my huge. ginormous. mistake.
but that's just so me.
not thinking.
not intentionally doing something hurtful,
and yet.
looking back going.
what is wrong with you...
horrible.
I felt and feel horrible.

so maybe I'm over thinking this situation.
in order to not later have to say
why am I such an idiot?!

I am actually contemplating creating greeting cards with that sentiment.
"I'm sorry I'm such an idiot. please forgive me."

so the past few days I've spent listening to Pastor Jason's podcasts.
like 6 of them.
and scrapping.
because cutting out shapes from paper and inking them and piecing them back together is clearly cathartic for me. (ok. and fun)
and Jason is so spot on.
seriously. I would totally drink the kool-aid.
(which was a joke. in case that's not blatantly clear)
my favorite line still...."you are not super Christian!"...
which is good to remind yourself. sometimes multiple times (a day).
and then try harder.
(even though that's not exactly the way it was used...)

ps. that picture in the last post was Coley. age 2-ish...
gorgeous grumpy Coley-O.

phew...

this pretty much sums up my day today....
be back tomorrow.

heeded of....

shocker...
I actually made a page today.
will wonders never cease.
the scanner is a craptastic hater, and cut the bottom off, but thats to be expected.
the scanner and I have a very tumultuous relationship.
thanks tara for the motivation.

coley just walked in the door and announced
"well...I think I aced my history test. I'm going to try studying more often...that really made it easier. much easier."

and this has been making me laugh since sunday...

Dwight - Yes I shouted fire. I shouted many things.
I also shouted instructions on how to get out of the building so you can imagine my frustration, as safety officer, when nobody would heed of, would heeded, heeded of--
Michael - Headed of--
Dwight - When no one would take headed of my instructions.
Michael - Heed. Take heed.
Dwight - I don't see my co-workers--
Michael - Take heed of--
Dwight - --heeding this. Right now.

take heed. that's funny stuff....

***oh, and ignore the blog header, I know not what I want to do with that...so I'm just experimenting. I'm nothing if not indecisive...

minus34

I am not exactly sure what we do,
as a collective whole of five humans, and no furry creatures....
to carpet....
but somehow.
we completely trash it.
I have actually experimented with this in several houses.
moving every year will allow for that.
and in every house.
it's the same.
we don't wear shoes in the house.
the boys can't bring food or drinks out of the kitchen.
(I know. I'm horribly mean aren't I?)
they are boys for sure.
but they aren't a particularly rowdy bunch...
and yet.
somehow.
the carpet still looks gross.
I hate carpet.
in my next house I want hardwoods.
or bamboo.
or any combination.
wall-to-wall wood.
how appropriate in my male dominated household.
carpet is just not good match for us.

at basketball practice.
"what coach are you looking for?" says the nice lady at the Baptist Church.
"coach chad" I say.
"lets see....oh. your coach is the one over there with the blue balls"

how nice of them to have different color basketballs.
how unfortunate of them to give the immature mom's team the blue ones...
me.
being the immature mom.
of course.

Cole10

on January 27th my gorgeous strong willed child turned 10. and I have yet to blog about his greatness.

so here are somethings about my beautiful non-stop middle. "Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator, but among those whom I love, I can: all of them make me laugh." -W.H.Auden

10 facts about Colten(according to his mom):

he is very kind, but not so patient.
he is a worrier. (natural disasters top the list of concerns)
he notices the little details others miss.
he has a unique way of learning...his brain fascinates me.
he has his own style.
he has a fantastic sense of humor.
he has great big brown eyes that melt me.
he is my smallest and my loudest.
he was almost named spencer jack -if colin would have won the great hospital name debate- I can't imagine colten being a spencer, or jack not being a jack! luckily after 3 days of being "babyboy", we agreed on colten.
and last but not least
he is an old soul. 10 things Coley likes (according to him):

soccer
hats
gum
playing outside/riding bikes
NASCAR and monster trucks
the Cavs and the Titans (but definitely not the Steelers)
his phone
video games
taco bell
reading
10 things O dislikes (according to us both):

writing
cheese
being told no
arkansas
mean people
hannah montana
the jonas brothers
tying his shoes
riding the bus
shopping

Coley-Oley-Mister-Boboli-Ravioli-Guacamole-Angelina-Jolie
how we love you!

ouch.

Jack says everyone should be lucky enough to have hot water bottles from germany when they have double ear infections...
especially ones with a cool skull and crossbones cover.
it makes ears feel oooh so much better.
poor sick banana...