bingo was his name-o

Levi's class had a Bingo party today. Bingo for Books! How cute. :) He has been so excited all week because #1) they have been practicing how to play Bingo #2) he got to take a special snack and #3) he got to take a special friend. When I asked Levi what snack he wanted to take, he said apple slices. And it isn't hard to guess who he wanted his special friend to be...Papa Bobby. He is his Papa's biggest fan! This morning, he kept saying how excited he was that Papa would be going to his school. I would love to have been a fly on the wall and see my Dad and Levi playing Bingo together. ;) That's just about all the details that I have except that when Dad dropped Levi off, Levi just kept telling me "Papa had so much fun at my school, Mom!" How adorable!!

tv time !!!

So, it's blog-off time again! WOOT!! I suggested a couple weeks ago that we do our favorite tv shows. I must admit, I used to be addicted to tv. Watched it all.the.time. Now days, I don't have a lot of free time on my hands, so I limit myself to a few shows. :)

• I love me some AMERICAN IDOL!!! I watched the first couple of seasons, then got tired of it. But, we all know I am crushin' this season on Steven Tyler and I am loving the talent!! Every week, my favorite singer changes! I get so excited on Wednesday and Thursday nights to see what J.Lo is wearing too!! ;)


• I'm a skeerdy cat, but CRIMINAL MINDS is one of my fave's too! Now, I can't watch it when Eric is gone or I freak out! I will go find his gun and sit by the back door twitching at every little sound I hear..... I do love the relationship between Penelope and Derrick. They make me smile.


• Let's not forget CSI. The original. No Miami...New York...Louisville...whatever! Just good ol' CSI. At first, I missed Grissom, but I really like it with the new guy!! I still think that Gris will be back, tho...


• Gretchen got me hooked on WHAT NOT TO WEAR a few years ago and it is like a drug. Got hooked from my first episode! I love Stacy and Clinton!!!! I want to nominate myself for the show just so I can go meet them and have them take me shopping. Sigh...


• I could never live like they do on SURVIVOR, but I've been a fan from day 1. Love me some Survivor!!! Yes, the contestants get dirty beyond dirty, eat gross stuff, wrestle in the mud, look absolutely disgusting, but I love it! I especially love watching it while I'm wrapped up in a warm blanket and eating a bowl of ice cream. I crack up at how many times Jeff Probst has said "I'll go tally the votes."

Believe it or not people, that's it! I have a few other shows I see on a hit or miss basis, but the above mentioned are my favorites!! I love, love, LOVE the invention of the DVR because now I can watch them when I want without commercials!! Hallelujah! I do have something to admit, though. After Mags was born, I had hours to just sit and rock my baby and I got hooked on the old episodes of BH 90210. Yes, I am a sad soul. ;0 I watched it YEARS ago when I was in high school, but, gasp...never saw an episode after they graduated college! So, they show reruns during the week day and I taped every episode from the day the awesome gang started college and watched through till the end. Now, I can officially say that I saw David and Donna get married! :) Life is good again...

sunny monday!

You know what's sad? It is Monday morning and I can't remember half of the weekend! Geesh!! Old, old, old... Last week was a really good week. Eric took off the whole week for Spring Break. We had lots of family time and enjoyed Daddy being home with us. By Friday, I was like "Okaaay...I'm ready for my routine again!!!" But it was good. :) Saturday, Eric was out shooting all day. Several men from church went to the range and went through the ILEA training. (Indiana Law Enforcement Academy). He loved it! He hasn't been out shooting since we went to Alabama about 5 or 6 years ago and my Dad took him. I'm glad he was able to go and relieve some stress!! Meanwhile, I was at home cleaning...(sigh!) That evening, my sister kept all the grandkids overnight (yes, even Mags went!), so I had a night to myself. WOOT!! It was Maggie's first overnight trip. Tear... I headed out to do some shopping. I seriously think I went down each and every aisle at Target just because I could! :) Eric and I headed to church on Sunday morning and it was weird not to check the kids in to their classes!! We headed to our class and felt a little giddy! ;) Maggie and I had some nap time in the afternoon while Eric took Levi to the gym and played basketball. Such a great afternoon! Today, the sun is shining and I'm looking forward to getting back in our groove!!

a day trip!

You may want to prepare yourselves. Sit down, grab a cup of coffee and relax cuz I'm about to get ugly up in here with some pictures, yo!!!!! ;)


Our neighbors, Todd, Natalie, Hillary and Isabella went with us to Indy yesterday where we spent the whole day at the Children's Museum. It was so.much.fun!!!!!


We decided to leave the babies at home so that we could just concentrate on the big kids without losing our minds. ;) Also, we wanted to ride in one vehicle to add to the excitement!


Off we go...Hillary, Levi & Bella - we only heard "are we there yet?" about 200 times. Natalie & me

And, I don't know why, but the kids kept cracking up at me. Honestly, I was just trying to ask them some questions. ??

We FINALLY arrived and started our adventure!

Our neighbors Todd, Nat, Hillary, Izzy & their adopted son, Levi

Levi did this a lot of the day...just stared in amazement. I loved it!!!

Inside a train station

Todd & Eric laughing hysterically at something...?? They did that a lot ;)

Eric was really good about reading things to Levi. (I would have been like "this is a big bone".)

Eric was having SO MUCH FUN!!!!

One of the traveling exhibits was Dora & Diego. The kids loved this one!

Go Levi! Go Levi! Go Levi!

And, you can't come to Indy without a few reminders of... (*sigh...)

We got to fly to Egypt!!

Ok, now, I have to admit...this was one of my favorite exhibits!

Yep! A Barbie exhibit. And it was so adorable! Now, Levi & Eric saw all the pink and passed on by to see stuff about G.I. Joe, but I went in with the girls. ;)

Show of hands...who remembers some of this stuff?

Or this? I had THIS POOL! And, I loved it! Ahhhh, memories...

They had a little dress up area where you could walk down the runway. AND...this was cracking me up...Todd is a D.J. and he was checking out the turn table!! He was showing Hillary & Levi some moves!

Took this for Gretchen! "Barbie needs to wear great shoes because every girl needs to wear great shoes." Christian Louboutin

Future race car driver? (I hope not!)

Peek a boo!

We had such a fun day and I'm so thankful that we were able to take Levi! I have to give a shout out to my brother & sister-in-law for keeping Maggie the whole day! They said she did great and despite them leaving her diaper bag at home two different times, everything went smoothly. They even took her bowling!

rice rice baby

This is my cell phone. It is bathing in a bowl of rice. Why, you ask? Because it took a bath with me yesterday. Now, I would like to blame this on one of the kids...Maggie dropped it in the toilet; Levi dropped it in the sink....but, nope! This one is all me. I decided to take a hot bath yesterday afternoon while Levi was at school and Maggie was napping. And, I was texting Gretchen. Then "bloop"...it was done. I rushed it to some rice and we'll see around 2 this afternoon if it was successful.
I honestly didn't realize how much I rely on my phone. We don't have a home phone, so it was my main communication with the outside world. I jumped on facebook to get Gretchen to call Eric for me. We were on Chat and it was like having a deaf conversation...having her interpret and talk to Eric for me. ;) About 100 times last night, I would go to text or call and realize I COULDN'T. Bummer. Guess we'll go find out the damages tomorrow night! For now, I have a sweet hubby that left me his personal cell. So, if you need me, you can call me on that, or like Gretchen said...send a telegram. ;)

a few little chuckles

I outsmarted my 10 month old today. Every day, I put her bib on her when it is time to eat. And, every day, she yanks it off. I guess the velcro has stopped sticking. I put it back on and she pulls it back off. We do this for a few minutes until I give up and let her eat without a bib. Momma got smart!! I bought a new bib and had our friend put a SNAP on it. Today, when I put her bib on her, she gave me a smirk and tried to pull it off. I squealed with delight when she couldn't and she gave me an evil stare... ;)

Know what makes you feel old? When your 4 year old teaches you how to play Angry Birds on the iPhone...and he makes it to higher levels than you do. *sigh.

Tonight, Levi asked if he could stay up past 8. I said no. In a sweet little sing song voice, he said "Mooommy...I'll give you a dollar!"

emmy-isms

Here are some things I learned from my niece, Emily, today.

• She has new bath toys, 5 frogs to be exact, and Griffin has a pencil sharpener.
• She has a new dog named Abby. Abby has 5 teeth.
• Her Daddy calls her a crack head.
• She likes to eat lunch at Subway or Chick-a-lay.
• Her Daddy spits at her and he is stinky.
• Girls don't fart.
• Levi is obnoxious.

benedryl, birthdays and another blog-off?

I tell ya what, sunshine is good for my soul!!! This has been a gorgeous weekend and it was so nice to get outside! Friday morning, my neighbors and I went to a consignment sale and then hit the grocery store. It was kind of interesting taking 5 kids to the grocery, but they did great! We were outside pretty much the rest of the day! Oh, guess what else I did...I ordered Easter outfits for the kids. This is Maggie's first Easter and I am so excited to get her all dolled up!!! I asked Levi if he wanted to match his sister (even though he didn't really have a choice!!) and he was like "Mom, that's a great idea!" I remember my mom dressing us all alike when we were younger and now I get to torture my children. I love it!!! ;)

Fast forward to Saturday. (Ok, I feel like I'm kind of chasing rabbits in this post...stay with me!) Ran a few errands with the family. We went to Sam's Club, Target and the gun store. Guess what I bought at Target... Benedryl. Guess why I bought Benedryl. Because, dear friends, Maggie started with another cold...or allergies...the day before and my neighbor suggested I give her some to help her sleep in spite of her runny nose. I was so afraid it would be a long night Friday night, but she slept all.night.long. Same thing on Saturday night. Gave her a little bit to help her breathe easier and she was able to sleep. Thank you, Lord!!!

Eric stayed home from church today, so it was me, the kids and a nice boot cast! Oh, did I mention there was a time change? Oy! I got up, got me ready, then raced to get the kids ready, got out the door and tried to make it on time to sing in choir. Yeah. That didn't happen. It took a little longer than I anticipated to get the kids dropped off (that is Daddy's job each Sunday!) so I sat in the congregation. It was a powerful service. I just enjoyed sitting in God's presence and soaked in what He was trying to get through my thick skull. If I would only listen the first time... sigh.

I started planning a birthday party for Levi and Maggie! (Sorry...another rabbit...) I am so excited! It will be Levi's 5th (where does the time go?) and Maggie's 1st birthday. We are going to do a joint party and I can't wait to share some of my ideas! Eric thinks I've gone off the deep end. Honey, you have no idea!!! ;) My baby girl only turns ONE once and my little boy will be starting in kindergarten soon. We are blessed and have lots to celebrate!!!!

My last tangent and then I will sign off... I got caught up on some of my shows this weekend. First and foremost: A. Idol. I am amazed at the talent this season!!! I have a few favorites. :) It's fun to see what they wow the crowds with. HEY...this gives me an idea...Jaime Mac, can we do another blog-off??? On your favorite tv shows and why??

Ok, it is past my bedtime and I hear my pillow calling. ;)

some people just don't understand...

...how expensive toilet paper is!! ;)

This is what happens when you forget to shut the bathroom door!! Love this little girl!!!

this, that, and thou shalt not covet

We had a super low key weekend, which was super nice. (Yes, "super" is the magic word for today.) I welcomed the rain and enjoyed just staying in.

Friday was my first official kiddo watching day!! My niece Emily is going to come stay with me one day a week. Levi is excited for his "friend" to be here. Emily LOVES Maggie. She wanted to hug her, help change her, love on her, and help feed her.


Let's see...what else is going on??? Maggie constantly acts like she is in prison. She sits at the top of the steps and shakes the gate. I'm afraid she will pull the screws out of the wall!! ;)
She has also been getting some more teeth. I see little swollen places all over her gums. Poor baby!! Along with new teeth come lots and lots of dirty diapers. Oy! I think she has officially had a blow out on every outfit she owns. TMI?? Maybe...

Oh, my little guy got his first school sweatshirt!! He is SO excited to be a Hornet!! Here he is being all GQ cool!!! ;)

Yesterday was a really great day at church. God just really spoke to my heart! Pastor is finishing up a series on the 10 Commandments. Yesterday, he spoke about being Satisfied. Are we ever really satisfied? I tend to have the "when and then" lifestyle that he was talking about. When I get ____, then I'll be happy. I never realized how much I covet. When I think about "Thou shalt not covet", I tend to just think of things like wanting your neighbors car. There are so many areas in life that I covet things and didn't realize it. I don't want to re-preach his sermon, but I want to remind myself to CHOOSE CONTENTMENT. Be grateful. Be generous. "Admire without having to acquire." A great reminder!!

So, today, I am trying to spend my day reminding myself to focus on what I have, not on what I don't have. I'm reminding myself to love people, not things. I'm grateful for my kids, my husband, my home, my friends, my family and my boot cast that helps me walk pain free. ;)

jealous of my sis-in-law?

Jenny, my sweet sister-in-law, broke her foot last weekend and got a wicked awesome boot cast. And since she is so awesome...I had to get one just.like.her. ;)

Insert mega cool picture:

So, now, let me back up and tell you the story.

I mentioned in my last post that my foot had been hurting since Saturday. I don't remember doing anything specific to it when we did the 5K. I thought maybe it was the walking and then wearing flats to the mall that night to shop...who knows! So, all week long, my foot has continued to hurt. It swelled up pretty bad Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday night, I wanted to slap someone because the pain was so bad any time I stood on it. I was at a crossroads: go to the doctor or man up {take lots of Ibuprofen and cry} and see if it would get better. I finally decided to head to urgent care last night.

I walked in and there was no one in the waiting room. Sweet!! I went to sign in and the guy looked really familiar. I used to work in admitting at the hospital, and with my brother working in the ER for many years, we kind of know a lot of people {and by "we", I mean he knows a lot and I know a few!}. He stared at me for a few seconds and said "Hey, it's Travis' baby sister!" Kind of felt like a little family reunion!! Ha. They called me back pretty quickly and got me settled in a little room. The doctor came in a few minutes later and he said "So, did you do this kicking your brother??" Yep, we know him, too! I assured him it wasn't anything as cool as a fight...it was way less exciting, meaning I have NO idea what I did to it. I was swooped off to get an xray and then taken back to my little room. The nurse said "try to relax" and that the doctor would be in as soon as they got the results. Try to relax? Ahhh, Honey, you have no idea!! No little kids at my ankles...no one asking for more to drink or eat...no dear sweet husband demanding something from me...I was in pure relaxation mode. There was even a little humidifier humming in the corner. Seriously, if I wasn't afraid of drooling on the table, I probably would have fallen asleep. I wish someone would have come in and handed me a drink with a pretty little umbrella in it. ;)

Next thing I know, the doc comes in and said "it's not broken"...thank you baby Jesus! He said they are treating it as a "possible stress fracture" and giving me a nice, pretty boot cast to wear for 2-3 weeks. WHA????? A boot cast? Mmkay. He said it was inflamed and bruised and it would help with the pain. If it wasn't better in a couple of weeks, then I would need to have an MRI done to make sure there isn't a hairline fracture that the xray missed. Here's hoping it gets all better!!! I was in and out in right at an hour. Not to bad!!!

So, you may see me out...clunking around in a sexy boot cast. But, hey, it sure does help with the pain, so I'll wear the heck out of it! :)

cel-e-brate good times, come'on!!

This weekend was filled with some much needed time with Gretchen!! She was the photographer for the weekend, so click here to get the highlights!!

She came in on Friday night and stayed at our house. Saturday, we headed out for the Anthem 5K, lunch with Jami Leigh Lee, shopping, dinner, shopping & some chick flicks. It was like...well, you know when you finally get home after a long day and you breathe a sigh of relief and all is right in the world? It was like that. :)

Something no so cool is that I've hurt my foot. I'm not sure how...but yesterday it was swollen up like a blow fish! It hurts to walk on and I'm acting like a big baby!!! I don't want to go to the doctor, so I'm just trying to stay off of it and let it get better. Maybe if I ignore it, it will go away, right?? ;) Oy....we'll see.