July 2007 Archives

I'd like to say this was a one time occurence that I happened to catch a picture of. But, no - Philip very much enjoys walking around the house with this blue bucket on his head. He is our little entertainer and derives great pleasure from making us laugh, especially at the dinner table, but that is whole other story. Not quite sure where he got that gene from.

I have had quite a time this summer keeping my cool with the "mess" that engulfs our house each day. Four kids + 1100sqft + way too many toys + mommy working on schoolwork= BIG mess! I have tried in vain to implement the "get one thing out at a time" rule, but they insist that they are "using their imagination" and they apparently need several things to accomplish this. Big guilt trip here - who am I to hinder their imaginative play.

Anyhow, a couple of times a day, they know that we will do a "big pick-up" to make the house look tidy, or at least be able to walk through it without tripping on a toy, pillow or kid. My dad used to implement this same tactic but he would call out for all of us to get together and go "roombaroom". That meant we had to start in the kitchen and go room by room until the house was clean. Well, we were doing a clean up last night before we started a movie and Maddy (who is the laziest of all when it comes to picking up - let's have a prayer for her future husband) was whining and fussing but went to her room to get started. After several minutes of seeing nothing whatsoever being cleaned, she came in the living room and told me that she was praying to God before she got started. Gotta admit that's best way to tackle the big messes in life - call on the Holy Spirit!

Please note their "imagination" spread all over the room

Matthew put some new pictures of the kids (mainly Philip) on Flickr today. This was one of my favorites because he has three of his favorite things in front of him, Veggie Tales, colors, and food.

OK, I was tagged by Tiffany exactly 20 days again. But, just so I don't become labled "she who never reponds to tags" I thought I would give it a go.

First memory - I have a poor memory, but I can remember sitting on the porch with my two oldest sisters when I was about 4. We were eating popsicles, and it was hot!

First real kiss - I plead the 5th - all kisses before Matthew are considered "null and void"

First love -Matthew, only one that matters

First thing you think in the morning - "What day is it?"

First pet - The first pet I remember well (although I know we probably had many others) was our little lovebird named "Boopie". Instead of a cage he lived ina large aquarium kinda thing with a mesh top. He got out of the house once, but since his wings were clipped he could not fly. My mom had to chase him down the sidewalk (he was a fast hopper) - I would imagine she was not hapy with him at that point!

First question you'll ask in heaven - I can omly imagine that I will fall to the ground in awe, I can't imagine what I would say.

First thing you think of when you hear the word vacation - Too much $$$

First best friend - Easy - TaNicia Wydermyre. I met her in 1st grade and were in almost every class together through high school. I actually "googled" her this week and have been able to talk with her through email for the first time since we graduated!

Last time you dressed up : Probably Sean and Tiffany's wedding last March.

Last thing you ate - Pear for breakfast

Last CD you bought - Matt's the CD buyer in our family, but he bought Ryan (not Bryan) Adams' latest one a few weeks ago and it is really good.

Last good book you read - I haven't done much "enjoyable" reading since I have been back in school. But, when I am done with summer classes in August I look forward to reading the last Harry Potter book.

Last time you cried - Friday - I was a little emotional bacause I missed the kids. I tend to be a "crier" though, so it is not unusual for me :).

Last time you told someone you loved them -About two minutes ago - Sam walked past me in the kitchen and gave me a hug. "I love you" is said alot around here.

Last really funny thing you did - Hmmm, no idea. The kids seem to think that iit is oh so funny when I tell them that they are making my hair gray (said onyl at the moments of utmost frustration) but that, to me, is not so much funny as it is sad.

Last thing you watched on TV -Matthew and I have got hooked on these PBS documentaries called "SImon Schama's Power of Art" and we watched the one on Jacque-Louis David last night. It is SO interesting to hear the storeis behind these artists and their paintings. David was a bit of a nutjob! Next week is JWM Turner - I can't wait to see what he was all about!

SInce I am so late with this I won't bother tagging anyone else :).

At the beginning of summer I took the kids to our library and got them all signed up for the summer reading club that they have. I remember doing this with my mom and sisters when I was little and I LOVED it. I remember getting our sack to keep out books in and getting our certificates each week we completed a certain number of hours - it was mucho exciting (yeah - I guess I was a geeky kid). Well, things haven't changed much (geekiness included) because I was thrilled to see my kids faces when they got their own little sack and pirate themed "treasure map" style reading chart. They have done really good with the reading, it still amazes me how quickly they have all taken to reading and (thank goodness) enjoy it so much. What I did not realize, though, is that the we have to have their charts completed by next Tuesday if they want to get the "final prize" ( a free book) . SO, this week there will be a lot of reading around this house. The good thing is that being read to counts, and so does listening to books on tape/CD which they really enjoy (especially Maddy with the Junie B. Jones books).

Well, the kids are back this week after being in Waco with Grandparents last week. My mom pleasantly surprised me last Monday when she called and said she, Melissa and Angel were coming down for a visit (although - I was a second choice - I'm glad the museums in Ft. Worth were closed that day!). We had a great visit, went to eat lunch at Ninfa's and then made a Target run, which I love to do with my mom. We have loved to shop together since I was in high school and just the two of us would slip away to the mall. A Target run may not sound like so much fun with four kids in tow, but with Aunt Sheesha and Angel there to entertain them (there was actually a fun game of "catch the diapers" going on in the boys clothes department) it went great.

My mom wanted to take the kids back with her since she was on vacation. They were able to spend lots of time with cousins, playing and probably driving my parents and sisters nuts. They were able to get to head over to "Memaw and Pepaw's" (aka Matt's parent's) house for a couple of days for lots of swimming and fun, also. We got them back on Saturday (after Troy came and fixed the van for us AGAIN - ugh!). The kids had so much fun, but were glad to be home. The only down side is that they apparently save up all of the politeness and good behavior for others (from what I am told) and decide to unleash their whining, fussing and fighting when they get home. Ahhh, lucky me.