Kittens Inspired by Kittens

Ok, so after being gone for so long, I know this is a really odd post, but it's for my sister, Jill. I promise I will write something real soon...

We've Got Our Eyes on You!

We got a new camera for Christmas and we had an excellent time taking pictures of our eyes and examining the different colors they are. Just thought I would post 'em up here so you can talk about how weird we are.
Jason

Me

Mikaily

Kyle

Evan

Laney

I Blame My Booty

When I was a teenager, I was into all kinds of sports. I played basketball and soccer. I dabbled in track and cross country. I even took a shot at volleyball once. I loved being active. I loved working out. I loved pushing myself until I could barely breathe, knowing that my muscles would be screaming at me 24 hours later.

I can remember when I was on the school basketball team they used to kill us during the first week of practice. By that second day, the muscles in my body hurt so bad I could barely move. I can also vividly remember smiling as I would run up and down the stairs in my house everyday after practice for that first horrific week. That feeling of my muscles screaming at me in agony was almost euphoric. IT made me feel alive.

Apparently, I was on CRACK!!!

I have started working out again. Mostly because I was sick of lying down with my family to watch a movie on our family movie night and having my children laugh at the fact that my butt jiggles when they smack it. I tried to tell them that their butts all jiggled too, but they didn't listen. In fact, when I grabbed Mikaily and pinned her down to show them, my boys took advantage of the fact that my hands were tied up holding Mikaily down and each of them picked a cheek and started smacking away at my butt. Little Punkers......

My. Body. Hurts. No, hurt isn't the right word. My body aches. No, my body is in ANGUISH! How could I ever have liked this feeling?? Could it possibly have felt like this back then?? Maybe it's worse because I am approaching 30...?? I doubt that, though. I am older now, but I worked like 17 times as hard when I was a teenager and on those various sports teams. It hurts when I stand. It hurts when I sit. IT HURTS WHEN I BREATHE!!! Our baby gate has become my nemesis. Do you have any idea how high those stupid things really are?? I am going to have to move a mini-fridge and a port-o-potty into our toy room so I don't have to attempt to scale that dang-blasted thing tomorrow. I can just imagine myself crashing to the floor after flinging my first leg over and then not quite clearing the toes on my second foot. I imagine I would probably knock out a tooth......or 3, on the hard, tile floor on the other side. Maybe I should just throw down one of the mattresses on the other side of the gate. Then I can just walk up to it and fling myself over with no worries of permanently maiming myself. This sucks.

Stupid jiggly butt. It's all your fault.

Is It Just Me, Or Are You Glad That It's January Too?!?

The past couple of weeks have been so crazy. I know, it's that way for everyone during the holidays.

Remember when I posted about cutting Evan's hair?? I was completely distraught over the demise of his magnificent curls. Well, I have seen a new light. I now look at the whole experience in a different way. I feel as though it must have been inspired. Why, you ask.
Well, a few days ago I was sitting on my couch, reading. I suddenly realized it was quiet. It shouldn't be. All of my children were home from school for break. I pulled myself out of the book and cocked one ear, straining to hear something...anything. I did. It was a giggle.....well, actually, it was a lot of giggles. I immediately tossed my book onto the couch and jogged towards the chuckling...it seemed to be coming from my bathroom. (Never a good thing, is it??) I opened the door and there, standing in the middle of the bathroom floor, were Kyle and Evan. I noticed a small, purple teacup that belonged to my daughters tea set. Inside that cup was a small pile of dark brown hair. I immediately gasped and shouted "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?!" Kyle placed a pair of safety scissors on the counter. "He wanted a haircut," was his genius reply. It was right then that I realized the impromptu cutting of the curls a few short weeks earlier had been divine intervention. Because, if that small pile of hair in the tea cup had been a small pile of curls, I think I would have been down one child. Evan now has a bald spot on the side of his head. I told him we would have to shave his head again and he fell to pieces. He had been studying his hair every morning for the last week, wondering if his curls had come back yet. I didn't end up buzzing him. I figure if I give it a week or two, his curls might be back enough to cover the small spot. When people ask what happened, I just tell them it was a confused seagull.
This all, of course, was after Kyle and Evan had decided to play "Vampire Baseball" in our kitchen, mowing their baby sister over as if she were the umpire, trying to stop the winning run. And that was after they had decided to rip a hole in the center of one of their mattresses. A hole that goes almost all the way to the springs (And stop rolling your eyes at me, I do actually supervise my children. I promise. You'd be amazed at how little time it takes to rip a gaping hole into the center of a mattress.)
I was glad when my older children headed back to school yesterday, because that meant I could get the younger ones back into some semblance of normal.
Needless to say, I need a vacation!! Although, oh....oh!! That reminds me. I am getting one! Not until April, but it will be well worth the wait. I am going to go meet Kellan Lutz (AKA Emmett Cullen)in Orlando at AccioCon with my sister. Are you jealous?? Yeah. You should be. So at least there is a light at the end of this super long, bald-headed, hole-filled tunnel!

Introducing Miles Carter......AKA 'Beautiful Renesmee'

(Just keep reading and the title will be explained....oh, and notice his adorable dimple in his right cheek in this first picture. How cute is that?!?!!)

Last Friday night at about 5:30, I got a phone call form my brother, Drew. He said they were going to be inducing my SIL, Marquesas (who was overdue already), starting that night. Tracy and I decided to hop in the car and drive the 5 hours up there to be there when the baby was born.

We got there late Friday night. Well actually it was Saturday morning technically, and we went straight to the hospital. Marquesas was feeling fine. No real contractions yet. So, Tracy and I headed off to the house and figured we would come back at some point the next day, closer to when she would be delivering the baby.

My brother called us early Saturday morning and said her water broke. Tracy and I rushed over to the hospital and got there just in time for Marquesas to start pushing. She was obviously much more uncomfortable by this point. They had given her something to help take the edge off so she could get some sleep, but then things had progressed quickly. I learned something new about my SIL that day. Marquesas on drugs......is freaking hilarious!!! She was so out of it. She would push and then sleep. Then she would push and then sleep. In between her wake/sleep periods, she said some pretty funny stuff.

There was a nurse there who had pretty, red hair. At one point, she leaned over Marquesas to do some sort of nurse duty. Marquesas (in between sleep and awake, mind you) began stroking the nurses' pony tail and was like "I want my hair to be this color." (This actually happened before Tracy and I got there and my brother told us about it.)


When the time was close, the nurse had pushed the call button to call the baby nurse in. You heard the voice over the speaker say "Can I help you?" and then, in unison, Marquesas and her sister (who was also her Doula) Screamed "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!" You could hear snickers through the intercom and from the nurse who had pushed the button. Apparently, Marquesas thought she had pushed it on accident, and wasn't in the mood for any sort of interruption.

Marquesas had been pushing for about 30 minutes. She would push and sleep and push and sleep. Her midwife had told her to stop pushing and breathe while she threw on all of her baby delivering gear. After about ten seconds, Marquesas picked her head up and looked around, confused. She then mumbled "Are we done now??? WHAT'S HAPPENING??"

One of my favorites came right after Miles had been delivered. It went something like this.
Marquesas: (who was holding Miles at the time) He's beautiful......He's....beautiful.
Nurse: Does he have a name yet?
Marquesas: *big sigh* Beautiful.


Then, shortly after that, they let Marquesas feed him for the first time. She got herself all exposed and situated and the nurse handed Miles to her. He immediately chomped down, which I'm sure from my own past experience with breastfeeding was not pleasant for Marquesas. She exclaimed "OUCH!! Renesmee!!!" Both Tracy and I laughed hard at this one. (For those of you who have read all four Twilight books, that is funny. To those who haven't, sorry. You don't get it.)

**This is why I now refer to my darling nephew as "Beautiful Renesmee."**

So, here is a picture of the happy new family.


Oh, and apparently, Drew couldn't be outdone by his wife, so the day after Miles entered the world, Drew threw in a few one-liners himself. My personal favorite was when they brought Miles back from his circumcision. Drew picked him up out of the bed and said something like, "Aww, he's a little lighter now. I guess he's only a Mile." Haha....he's such a goober.

So, here are just a few more of my favorite pics of Miles Carter, born December 27th at 9:42 AM. He weighed in at a whopping 7 pounds even and was 20 in.

Welcome to the world, Miles!!









I am so thankful that Marquesas let us be there and be part of such an awesome experience. She was absolutely unbelievable. If I didn't believe in superpowers before, I certainly do now. Even all doped up, she got down to business and did what needed to be done. Marquesas, I am so glad that you are a part of our family and that you have brought this incredible young man into our lives and our hearts.

Merry Twilight....er, I mean Christmas!

Never fear, my fellow bloggy friends. I have not....at least literally....dropped off the face of the earth. Although, if you asked my husband, he would beg to differ. I have spent the last two weeks reading (and/or re-reading) through the Twilight books. I spent every extra minute I had reading. I was (and am) truly a woman obsessed. I am embarrassed to admit the number of times I have seen Twilight in the theatre. Don't bother to ask. I will lie through my teeth! Seriously...it's embarrassing. (And, just for the record, I absolutely think that Rob Pattinson plays the PERFECT Edward. And um, hello....he sings and plays the guitar and the piano in real life. How hot is that?? Yes, that's right. I said he's hot. I am a dirty old woman!)

I keep dreaming about the characters in the book. I don't dream that I am in the book or even anything that has to do WITH the actual story. Like, the other night in my dream I was out eating dinner with my family and Emmett Cullen was there, eating with us. He was a part of the family. (It was not surprising to me that it was Emmett, he is probably my favorite Cullen. Yes, that's right....he trumps Edward in my book!) I also had a dream where Alice was there and she was teaching me how to make pork chops. I'm not sure why. I don't eat pork chops (and neither does she)!

I have somehow managed to get myself all ready for Christmas while walking around in this Twilight haze. The tree is set up and the presents are all bought (although not all are wrapped yet). I even managed to pull myself away from the last book long enough to take pictures of my littles in their Christmas gear a couple days ago. Although, embarrassingly again, I did not take the time to go get copies made of said pictures and get a letter written and Christmas cards out. I'm a horrible daughter/sister/friend/whatever. So, sue me. So, to all of you who were expecting a Christmas card from me, ummm......

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! and a Happy New year. We are healthy and happy. We miss you and love you and all that other jazz.

Here are a few of the pics from our little photo shoot. Notice I am all into the whole matchy-matchy thing....

When I tried this outfit on Evan in the store, he took one look at himself in the mirror, spun around to face me and exclaimed "I look like a ROCK STAR!!!!" and immediately began playing the air guitar.

Here's Laney. I caught her mid-jump.

Awww, if only they actually WERE as sweet and innocent as they look....





Laney decided that Kyle's tie was crooked and wanted to help him fix it. Notice Mikaily never breaks her "photo pose."

Sugar and Spice.....

Laney also decided the photo shoot was a little bland and she added in some props.

Kyle, looking very handsome if I do say so myself.

The Fearsome Foursome.....


I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. Hopefully I will be back and writing again before the New Year. I do need to figure out my new years resolution. Although, I don't really see the point because, let's face it, I'm just gonna break it 3 weeks into the new year. Although, maybe I can make my resolution to read all of the Twilight books again. Something tells me I wouldn't have any problem keeping that one.


***A little addition here. My SIL pointed out to me that my children are dressed all Twilighty (red and black and all). It was absolutely a coincidence!! I promise!! Although, it is kind of cool. hehe**

Poor, Poor Buggy =(

The other day while I was doing the dishes, Mikaily came up to me with a big grin on her face and little smudge marks all over her fingers.

She announced, "I'm gonna show you something I learned at school today!"

I smiled back, grabbed the towel, dried off my hands and turned and faced her. "Ok, let me have it!"

"I think you will want the camera," she stated. (She knows me well.)

So, I got it. (And was glad I did!)

The following is what my amazingly beautiful and brilliant daughter shared with me......

(The text over each pic is what she said as she held her hand up)

This....


Is.......


Buggy......


Buggy.......


says 'hi'........


This.......


Is.......


Buggy.......


As the car......


Goes by.......


We giggled together. She gave me a big hug and then ran off into her bedroom. I then I went back to doing the dishes. I guess it's good to know she is learning something from school, right??


(P.S. For those of you that know what trials my little Mikaily has faced, notice she is manipulating the fingers on her RIGHT hand to spell out the words, which would have been impossible for her to do a year ago!!)

My Super Fun Week-ish

This past week-ish was definitely fun-filled for me! (Hopefully it was for all of you, too.)

We had an excellent Thanksgiving. My family does Thanksgiving slightly different than most (not a surprise...we are an odd bunch). Ok, actually it's not slightly different...we do it very different.

None of us are huge turkey lovers. I am not much of a meat eater. I don't eat it very often and when I do, it's pretty much chicken (because, let's face it...chicken tastes goooood). So I would definitely prefer not to have to cook one of the big, creepy looking turkeys in my beautiful kitchen. Instead, we have a really big breakfast. I make eggs and biscuits and gravy and potatoes and bacon (yes, I know bacon is a meat) and cinnamon rolls and pancakes and lots and lots of super yummy breakfast food. It's a tradition my husband and I started years ago. It works for us. My sisters and my niece came over and we ate and hung out and played video games on the Wii (which I am really, really BAD at! My 4 year old can beat me at bowling...and golf....and tennis...and cow racing....) and we just enjoyed being together.

Then, for those of you that know me well you know I LIVE for Black Friday. It is probably one of my favorite days of the entire year.

My sister, Tracy, and I got up at 2:45am on Friday morning.


By 3:30am, we were standing in line at Kohls with all of the other crazies (notice the temp. That is definitely a major perk of shopping at 4 in the morning in Florida!!).

Tracy and I always have the same game plan. On Thanksgiving day we sort through the ads together. We make our lists and decide what we will be on the hunt for. There is absolutely no shopping around.

We went to Kohls first because it opened at 4. We ran in, grabbed what was on our lists (because we are the fastest and can throw the best elbows. J/K!) We were in and out in 15 minutes!

Next, we headed over and got in line at Toys'R'Us, which opened at 5. Again, we grabbed what was on our list (except for one item that they had mistakenly "forgot" to put out that morning. Someone should be FIRED!) It took us slightly longer there due to the stocking error, but it was the "jackpot" store of the day.

Target opened at 6, so we headed over there next and got in line next. The woman behind us in line was so annoying. First she complained about how crazy the people had been at Wal-Mart (Umm, DUH! Wal-Mart shoppers are pretty psychotic on non-shopping frenzy days. What did you expect??). Then she complained about the fact that they weren't opening the doors early even though there were so many people in line (Umm, yeah. Duh again! Those workers inside would rather be visiting the proctologist than standing in there, waiting for the mobs to descend.) I was so thankful when the line started moving and we got away form her!

We then headed over to Wal-Mart (because we are glutton for punishment) and after we headed over to the mall. We ended up making a killing. By 8:30 we were back home in bed. The trunk was FULL of games and toys and other fun stuff by the end of the morning. We figured it out and although we ended up with more than $1000 (retail value) of crap, we paid less than half of that for it! SCORE!


My parents then came into town on Friday afternoon and we headed out with our mom for round two that evening.

Saturday morning I FINALLY got to see Twilight with my sisters and my mom. I loved it. Enough said.

Sunday we all decided to go to the Pier at the beach. They always have good entertainment and lots of cool vendors selling fun knick-knacks. We got to dance on a stage to some funky calypso music (I know, don't be jealous!) and my niece had her picture taken with Santa (who was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and bermuda shorts) and the picture was hilarious because although she didn't cry, she looks terrified!!) Then, my husband decided that he wanted to try this trampoline bungee thingy (after Tracy had paid for Evan to do it but he chickened out once he got onto the trampoline). They hook you up to a bunch of bungee cords and you jump on a trampoline and go flying way high into the air. Each time he jumped and went higher and higher, he would yell "weeeee" or "woohooo" or "whoopy" a little louder. At one point, when he was jumping so high he would fly up into the air and the bungee would actually have to pull him back down before he went flying off into the dark, night sky, he yelled "This....." then bounced..... "IS...." then bounced..... "FUN!!!!!!!" (See, this is why I tell everyone I have FIVE children.) He ended up gathering a crowd. Tracy said she thinks they should have given her a partial refund because of the business he brought in from his hootin' and hollerin'. Of course this is the ONE time I forget to bring my camera with me.

I spent today just hanging out with my family and, yet again, got my butt kicked by a little, bald 4 year old on the Wii.

It was a pretty great week-ish.

How was yours??

Don't Blame Me. It Wasn't My Idea!!

As a mom, I am always trying to teach my children independence.

It seems to be a very fine line that I have to walk. For example....I will let them choose an outfit and dress themselves. However, they are not allowed to wear jeans and a raggedy old t-shirt to church. I will let them help me plan meals and then help make dinner. But dinner can not consist of jelly beans, potato chips and hot chocolate.

This brings me to Saturday afternoon. I was cutting Kyle's hair. Kyle has crazy hair. It is perfectly straight. There is no body to it. However, it it extremely thick and very coarse and tends to stick out in all different directions if we let it grow out even the slightest bit. So I just take the clippers and I buzz his head. It works best that way. He likes it that Mommy then spends the next week and a half rubbing his head because I love that "peach fuzz" feel.

So, I am almost done with his hair and I call Evan.

"Ev, your hair needs cut a little, too. So I am gonna do you next, ok?"

"Yup!" He replied, as he danced around to whatever music was playing in his head.

Evan's hair was looking pretty shaggy. I tend to let his grow for a LOOONG time in between cuts because his curls just make my heart melt. I always tell him his hair is curly because his brain is overloaded with "craziness" and so that crazy then spills out through the tiny holes on his head. We call them his "crazy curls." He prides himself on being wacky and, therefore, has always loved his crazy curls.



So, I was finishing Kyle and brushing off all of the hair that had fallen onto his neck and his shoulders when Evan comes, cart wheeling into the room.

"I want my hair just like Kyle's!" I started giggling a little because lately Evan has wanted to do EVERYTHING just like his big brother.

I opened my mouth to say "NO FREAKIN' WAY am I hacking off all those beautiful curls!!" When my wonderful husband blurted out "OK!"

I think my jaw hit the floor. "Wait. No. It's not ok. I am not cutting off all his hair!"

Evan came over and stood beside me. Tears started to well up in his eyes as he said "YES! I want to be just like Kyle!"

ACK! My heart was screaming out to tell him 'too bad so sad' and know that he would be over it by morning, but my head had to butt in and remind me that although he is still little, he is trying to find his place in this world as a big boy. He is only 4 years old, but I think that is definitely old enough to be voicing his opinions and for me to hear them.

I debated for a few minutes while I got him all ready and in the chair. I decided there was no way I was going to do it. I couldn't. I took the clippers in my hand. He looked up at me and smiled and said "Just like Kyle?" I took a deep breath, smiled back, nodded and said "Just like Kyle."

I then proceeded to chop all of his gorgeous, brown locks off. I teared up as I watched the hair falling to the floor, creating a big pile of soft, c-shaped curls. Evan noticed that I was upset and said, (with a very strong 'you are such a goober undertone') "Mom, they'll grow back."

So, here he is with his new "do." Which, by the way, he absolutely loves.



Doesn't he look like a totally different kid?? He is right. They will grow back (which apparently is a good thing because some of the women at church just about went into shock when they saw him yesterday).

In retrospect, I am glad I listened to him. He is growing up so fast and I want him to know that his opinions matter and that he should absolutely stick to his guns when he feels strongly about something.

However, get a close look at the picture above because I AM NEVER CUTTING HIS CURLS OFF AGAIN!!!!!!!

To All the 'Lurkers' in the Blogosphere (and my friends too!)

I love me some comments!! I just wanted to let everyone know that.

I recently posted a comment on a blog where my opinion was different than that of the author and was all but stoned for it.

I love hearing different opinions about what I write (whether I know you or not). If you think I'm funny....let me know! If you think I'm boring.....let me know!! If you have had something similar happen or read something that you think is totally wack....let me know!! If you think I am the world's best mother and that I deserve a big trophy...well, then you probably haven't actually READ any of my posts. So, go ahead and read away and then...leave me a comment!!

All I ask is that you keep in mind that this blog is rated PG, so please KEEP IT CLEAN!!

This One's for Marquesas!!

This weekend, my sisters and I are heading up to my brother's house. His beautiful wife is pregnant and we are all going up there for her shower. I can't wait!!

In honor of this special event, I have decided to dedicate this post to Marquesas (my SIL).

This is just a short list of some of the things that my children have taught me in the last 8 years. I look forward to the day when I can read your list, Marquesas!!

Ten Things I Have Learned From My Children:

1. If someone tries to take your picture, make a funny face. It's the law!

2. If all of your friends are doing it, it might not be the safest or smartest thing to do, but it sure as heck is gonna be fun!!

3. If the food is not smeared all over the place, you aren't really enjoying it.

4. Dance like no one's watching. It's more fun that way!!!

5. If you have 4 children uner the age of 8 and your house is quiet...be afraid. Be very, very afraid!

6. No matter how much the child enjoys being licked by their dog, he does not enjoy being licked back.

7. If you want to insult someone, all you have to do is follow up a with the word "butt" at the end.

8. Boys always have the longest, thickest eyelashes......and no, it isn't fair!!

9. You can lead a child to toilet, but you can't make him pee!

10. It is possible to remember more of a foreign language learned from watching children's TV than remember what was learned from the 2 years of a foreign language you took in high school.

DEGGAT

That's TAGGED spelled backwards, in case you were confused.

I've been tagged (I know it was forever ago, but better late than never, right??) by Sugar Mommy


1. When I am walking along and hear music, I aboslutely, with no exceptions, HAVE to walk to the beat. So, if you are ever walking with me and are in a hurry, just whip out your IPOD and blast anything techno in my ear and we'll be there in no time!

2. You know those rides that spin you 'round and 'round so fast you stick to the wall?? Well, I don't.....stick, that is. I get in. It starts spinning. The floor drops out and everyone else is whirling around, laughing and stuck fast to the wall like glue.... as I slowly slide downward until my feet touch the bottom. Apparently, I am anti-anti-gravity. Go ahead. Laugh it up. Someday, when gravity decides it's tired and quits, I will smile and wave to you as I watch you float off aimlessly into space!!

3. My first job was working on a farm as a farmhand. I shoveled cow poop and sorted potatoes and picked pumpkins and I absolutely LOVED it!

4. I can't watch the movie "The Princess Bride." It scared me when I was little and I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it since!!

5. When I write, I like to use lots and lots of exclaimation marks!!!!!!!! If this is annoying to you, too bad!! I will never stop over-using them!!!!!

6. When I read a magazine, I can't start at the front. I have to open it up randomly (somewhere near the middle). I then read from the middle to the front. When I get to the beginning, I flip to the end and read from there, back up to the middle.

7. When I eat french fries, I have to eat them in pairs, according to size. If any don't match up, I either give them or throw them away. Oh, no...wait. That isn't me that does that. It's my friend Jude. It's a good thing too, because let's face it....that's just weird!! :)

Ok, so now I am going to tag:

Jenn at But It's a Dry Heat.....
Tracy at The Life of Tracy
Jenny at Buckeye Corner
Sarah at Our Beautiful Crazy Wonderful Life
Erynn at The Twice Fortnightly Dispatch
Sarah at Borup Bunch
and
Leah at Laughing Leah Loves Lillies

TrIcK-Or-tReAt, sMeLl mY fEeT!

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, second only to Christmas. I love picking out costumes and carving pumpkins. I love getting my children all dressed up and watching how excited they are to go around, begging candy from perfect strangers.

This year was slightly different. Evan was still not fully recovered from whatever bug had knocked him out a few days earlier. Kaily and Kyle came home from school all excited, but by dinner time, Kyle was complaining that his tummy hurt. Poor little guy. We got them all dressed and ready and snapped just a few pics before Kyle had to start running to the bathroom every 15 minutes. Since he obviously couldn't come with us, we took his bucket around and the neighbors all made sure to give him a little extra for when he felt better.

We are planning on putting them all back in their costumes again next weekend to try and get a few more pics. But for now, here they are....in all their Superhero glory!