The Carlson Caravan

nighty night rooster

2010-02-27T05:51:00.000-06:00

Pictures that didnt make the cut for the main blog;)

2010-02-25T21:49:00.003-06:00

silly rooster

2010-02-19T15:50:00.000-06:00

archiving photos

2010-01-16T20:19:00.001-06:00

GH

2010-01-14T18:15:00.000-06:00

GH and papa

2009-12-12T20:16:00.000-06:00

Halloween Day

2009-11-02T15:23:00.003-06:00

We went to the ranch to watch the game and enjoy Halloween festivities. Cousin Presto was there with Aunt Crys. Aunt Crys agreed to carve the pumpkin we brought along with us. Yeah---there's nothing like waiting until the last minute to do something. Then expecting someone else to do the work for you. That's what family is for:D I was really happy that Crys agree to carve the pumpkin. I am really bad at carving pumpkins:)

Big Dog was impressed with Crys' work.

GH was a happy pirate for grandma.

GH earned extra points with grandma by swabbing the deck.

Big Dog refuses to conform. He is mad at the world.....and you are gonna know about it;D

Rooster is just a silly pirate. But, she has a hook...so don't mess with her.

I didn't get any good photos of trick or treating this year. Big Dog, GH and I had to cut the night short because we got sick. Rooster continued trick or treating with Captain Awesome. Captain Awesome says she did really well. She must have done pretty well because she came home with a bag full of treats.

GH's needs a pick me up

2009-11-02T15:03:00.001-06:00

Daddy's Little Girl

2009-11-02T15:02:00.001-06:00

Rooster on Starfall

2009-11-02T14:56:00.003-06:00

Yesterday we decided to let Rooster try out the educational site http://www.starfall.com/. She loves this site. The best part is that she can manuever around the site with very little help from us. The worst part is, now we have to fight her for computer time:)

Halloween Party

2009-10-29T21:12:00.002-05:00

It was raining outside today. So the school held it's annual Halloween parade inside.

Rooster with her parrot. She was really glad that we brought it to the school for her.

I dressed GH in his pirate costume too. He was really excited about the snacks.

Rooster helped me keep GH out of all the snacks.

The classroom fish also helped entertain GH:)

Leaves Leaves Everywhere

2009-10-27T20:00:00.004-05:00

At the car wash

2009-10-27T19:54:00.002-05:00

Captain Awesome thought the SUV needed to be cleaned. (I personally view washing the car at the car wash to be a big waste of money) So I took Rooster to the library. Next we went to the store to get ice cream and cash. Then we went to the car wash.

Rooster hasn't been to a car wash since she was a toddler. She loved it!

Playing outside

2009-10-27T19:47:00.003-05:00

cruisin'

workin'

Who uses a door??? Not Big Dog. Doors are for suckers.

Oh Trouble!!!!!

GH doesn't stand a chance:)

Rooster loves giving GH rides on the back of the trike.

This looks totally safe

2009-10-25T22:46:00.000-05:00

Daddy I'm scared of......

2009-10-25T20:25:00.003-05:00

Rooster comments are in red Captain Awesome comments are in black

Daddy I'm scared of skeletons
There are no skeletons here
I'm scared of spiders
Well your bigger than a spider. So if you see one step on it.
Giant spiders
Kick it in the knees. Then when it falls down step on it.
Squash
A big one or little one?.........
Pumpkins
If there is a pumpkin giving you crap smash it with a baseball bat.
Monsters
I'm old and I have never seen a monster. As long as you have Jesus there is nothing to worry about.

Pumpkin Time

2009-10-25T14:33:00.002-05:00

The kids have enjoyed playing with the two pumpkins we have sitting on the porch. Rooster got the smaller one on her field trip to the pumpkin patch.

Big Dog didn't want to sit still for this picture. He is a fast one:D

GH is always up for being photographed. GH was able to roll this pumpkin over onto it's side. He's such a He-Man.

Rooster thinks her pumpkin needs to go to school. She also thinks it needs to use the slide.

My camera was found! Hooray!!!

2009-10-25T14:26:00.002-05:00

Here are some pictures from today.

GH got a bloody lip after falling outside. GH happily sucked on a washcloth until the pain went away.

Big Dog pulled on my shirt until I took a picture of him:)

GH looks like he enjoyed today's nap.

Rooster fed her horse an apple because "horses like apples mommy".

And my favorite picture from today is Rooster giving Big Dog a kiss:)

Saturday Seven

2009-10-24T16:33:00.002-05:00

Seven Things That Happened This Week
1. GH decided to swap chairs with Big Dog so that he can sit next to Captain Awesome. Big Dog is not happy about this, neither am I. Apparently, I'm no longer the favorite parent.
2. When we were at the doctors office for the second time this week. I asked the receptionist if I could get some kind of discount punch card for being frequent visitors? She said "No but I can give you free parking". When I told the doctor what a shrewd businesswoman she was, he said that maybe they could name a room after our family. As the doctor watched Big Dog wash his hands he said that Big Dog might make a good surgeon since he likes to scrub his hands a lot.
3. After the boys and I got home from an outing I asked them, "Are you ready to go inside?" GH said "No". Big Dog started laughing. I said, "Big Dog did you teach GH to have a disobedient spirit?" Big Dog smiled and said "Yeah". I doubt either knew what they were saying. But, it was cute.
4. Rooster now takes a lunchbox to school. She has a list of things she wants to take in her lunchbox. It is more expensive than buying lunch at school. But, she is happy. So I am happy for her. I didn't know there would be so much peer pressure in kindergarten. Rooster had other exciting things happen in school this week. She had indoor recess, substitute teachers, and a hay rack ride during the field trip to the pumpkin patch.
5. GH thinks everything is a clue:D We also think we have heard him say a few sentences this week:O
6. My camera is missing:(
7. Captain Awesome is very distraught over the Husker loss today:(

Clues

2009-10-23T09:14:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I took the boys to the doctors for GH's well baby check-up. The boys quickly grew bored. Big Dog washed his hands at the sink about a dozen times and GH played in my purse. GH found my blue library card in my wallet and started to play with it. He drove it around the floor like it was a car for a while. Then he slapped the card onto the patient bed and said "cwue, cwue". It took me a second to figure out what he was talking about.

The liner paper on the patient bed had a design of hand prints and footprints. I guess it reminded GH of Blues Clues. GH started watching Blues Clues last week and he really seems to like it. And I like Blues Clues because I can sleep an extra half hour before the other kids wake up:D

Mama come in

2009-10-22T20:45:00.002-05:00

We need more milk and cookies.

Fun with friends

2009-10-22T14:44:00.003-05:00

The two princesses showed up for dinner.

We did some stamping. Jenna stuffed envelopes.

Playdoh is fun.

GH made an impressive mosaic.

We played with rice too.

Some rice ended up on the floor. But, GH helped clean it up.

GH is keepin' it real 24/7

2009-10-22T14:35:00.002-05:00

GH's days are full of excitement.

His nights are full of Glenn Beck lectures.

*A few days ago, GH had woken up at about 11:30 pm and didn't go back to bed until 2:30am. It was a long night for me. At one point I was so tired I turned on the tv to stay up. GH hopped out of my lap and headed for the tv.

Rooster says

2009-10-19T23:06:00.004-05:00

Walter the Farting Dog books "are disgusting mommy". Yeah...they are:D

*****************************************
This evening I told Big Dog that he was a "very sweet little boy". Rooster replied "And I'm a very sweet little girl".

Halloween activities and books

2009-10-19T20:10:00.000-05:00

Rooster worked very hard on her spider.

GH attacked one of the spiders with extreme prejudice.

These hot dog mummies were made with crescent roll dough. They were delicious.

The candy corn cheese pizza was equally delicious.

Here are a few coloring pages

We've also been reading some books for Halloween.

Julius's Candy Corn by Kevin Henkes, This is board book which profiles the greedy and manipulative Julius who steals the candy corns off the top of cupcakes;) Rooster seemed shocked by the ending of this book.

The Count Counts Scary Things by Stephanie St. Pierre, All the kids liked this book. Big Dog LOVED this book.

Clifford's First Halloween by Norman Bridwell, Rooster absolutely adored this book.

Frankenpooh by Bruce Talkington, The kids were somewhat into this book. I have noticed that the kids don't know what a lot of the Halloween stuff is about (examples: witches, Frankenstein, mummies) I have probably been a bit overprotective about exposing them to this stuff.

Barney's Trick or Treat by Mark S. Berenthal and Barney's Halloween Party by Mary Ann Dudka and Margie Larsen, Big Dog loved these stories.

Curious George Goes to a Costume Party by Margret and H.A. Rey's, Rooster and Big Dog LOVED this book.

Mrs. McMurphy's Pumpkin by Rick Walton, Rooster loved this book. She was certain that the pumpkin wouldn't return when Mrs. McMurphy sent the pumpkin down the river. But the pumpkin did come back....and eventually ended up being a pie:)

Corduroy's Best Halloween Ever, This was a very sweet story that Rooster really enjoyed.

GH's Day in Pictures

2009-10-16T20:14:00.002-05:00

Hangin' out with mama

Playin' in my tent

Hidin' magnets under the area rugs.

Makin' cookies

At least he didn't sneak out for smokes

2009-10-15T20:51:00.002-05:00

This morning around 3:30am I found GH sleeping on the floor. I have no idea why he would decide to sleep on the floor. I guess he is his own man.

GH and Rooster

2009-10-15T20:47:00.000-05:00

GH's Big Day

2009-10-14T22:28:00.003-05:00

I wasn't the best mommy today. I took GH to Lincoln to do some shopping. So he didn't get all his regular mama time. While I was jabbering with another shopper the cashier told me "He said 'I want that'". I missed another sentence:( But it's ok because I did hear him say something new today. Captain Awesome and I were sitting with him when we heard him clearly say "abc". I've heard him say random letters before. The alphabet is a pretty big deal around here. However, we were shocked that he actually got the sequence right:) Today he also learned how to push the button to roll down the window in the car.

What the toys are doing

2009-10-12T20:42:00.002-05:00

Big Dogs train was on a "diplomatic mission" when it was falsely detained by the evil mommy empire. Red Five you are the only one who can save it.

Rooster says

2009-10-12T10:20:00.005-05:00

Yesterday Rooster said "The rosary is broke. Mary's gonna be mad". We had to assure her that Mary would not be mad. Poor Rooster she's got the Catholic guilt already.

Some people have a hard time accepting things

2009-10-11T20:31:00.003-05:00

Like when we run out of chips.

Someone might pull the bag out of the trash and see if there are any crumbs left. Some person was disappointed.

Rooster finds a tiny leaf

2009-10-11T20:23:00.001-05:00

Rooster was really proud of finding this leaf.
It's so tiny and cute.

(Penny on the left, leaf on the right)

Saturday Seven

2009-10-10T20:14:00.002-05:00

Seven Things That Happened This Week
1) Other kindergarten are rubbing off on Rooster. She always comes home saying things like she is losing a tooth, or she has chicken pox. I have to remind her that she was vaccinated for the chicken pox. And that her classmates are older than she is, so they will probably lose their teeth before her.
2) Rocky has been "running away" and "hiding" according to Ruzenka:D Since he has become a member of the family we are shopping for a code name for Rocky. So if you have suggestions please leave them in the comment section.
3) One of Roosters friends in school has a baby sister. So she is always shopping for a baby sister. So when Tiny Tim showed up she said "He can be my baby sister". I told her "Rooster HE is a boy so he will never be any ones sister. And just because his dad leaves him here doesn't mean we get to keep him.":D GH loved having another baby around. At dinner GH intentionally dropped his fork and said "Oh, no". Tiny Tim added "Ta-da". Yes---I was very impressed:D
4) Big Dog is enjoying being back in preschool. I got a message from the preschool today. (Our voicemail wasn't working for more than 24 hours....how annoying) They said that Big Dog is following directions, and answering questions for them. But, that they have had to work on him not growling. Apparently growling is not an acceptable way to answer your teacher;)
5) Captain Awesome had meetings this week. But, was able to get 1.5 days off. Woot!
6) I got to go out for Girls Night Out. My SIL Shell asked me what we did. I told her I wanted to blog that we were all out shooting whiskey all night. But, that this would probably not put my friends in the best light since they are pregnant. What we really did was go to Zestos to enjoy ice cream....and it was delicious.
7) Big Dog is laying on the floor beside me (trying to avoid going to bed) he made a "W" with his fingers.

The first snow

2009-10-10T15:12:00.005-05:00

When GH looked outside this morning he saw the snow and said, "ohhhh". I think he was impressed. There wasn't a lot of snow. Most of it melted by noon. So when we got outside this afternoon there wasn't much left. Trouble had already stomped a lot of it down. Even though there wasn't much snow. The kids still enjoyed playing in it. GH would sit in a sled

or lay in a sled until someone decided to pull him.

When I put Big Dog in his snow suit I know he was excited. I think he knew there was something special about this kind of coat. He loved being able to do anything in his coat without getting wet. He had a blast going down the slide, falling in the mud etc.

I had a lot of cute pictures of Big Dog and GH in the sled. But, this is the first I found when going through photos.

Captain Awesome honored

2009-10-09T23:08:00.002-05:00

Captain Awesome watched the kids tonight so I could go out with my friends. He is such a sweet heart:)

If your going to steal yogurt

2009-10-09T22:44:00.000-05:00

bring your own spoon:)

Finger strength

2009-10-03T20:59:00.001-05:00

Rooster has struggled with pencil grasp for a while. But, now she is really making big strides. Her hands are getting much stronger. She actually enjoyed trying to get glue out of this bottle. Honestly, I know it's wasteful but I was ready to throw this bottle away earlier today. It is soooo hard to get glue out of it.

Saturday Seven

2009-10-03T18:38:00.002-05:00

Seven Things That Happened This Week

1) Rooster wanted a purse. So this morning when I was at the thrift store "dollar a bag" sale. I picked up several purses. She chose a pink purse and a white wallet. I will post pictures sometime. She is very proud of it. She told me "I love my pretty purse mommy". Today we also went and got her a library card. So now she will have something besides loose change in her wallet. She is pretty proud that she now has her own library card.

2) GH can make a pig noise with some prompting. But today he made a dog noise. We were reading a book and he was jabbering and pointing out "dog....dog...dog". Then out came the "woof woof". I'm so proud of him:) His favorite phrase remains "Oh no".

3) The kids have been doing lots a crafts. Glitter has been a very popular craft activity this week. I would say I probably have the most sparkling kitchen floor in the neighborhood. It's not clean...just covered with glitter:)

4) As you can see in the picture above GH loves getting on top of the kitchen table. This all began on our last Girls Night Out. My friend Lisa has a daughter GH's age. She told me that her daughter could now climb up on tables. I said "Oh GH doesn't do that" Less than 18 hours later GH began his climbing career. Now I pull him off the table at least 50 times a day;) (Which I don't mind doing) I'd like to say this is Lisa's fault. But, I'm the one with the big mouth.

5) Big Dog is still sick. He now has a different cold and a double ear infection. So he was put on a stronger anti-biotic. We are hoping he is better by Monday and can go to school. Since he has been sick we have been really patient when he strips down and refuses to wear clothes. One day as he was running around the house wearing nothing but a pirate hat I said "Fine Big Dog I'm not going to fight about this anymore. I'm tired of dressing you a million times a day. You can run around with out any clothes if you want to" He shook his butt and said "I will".

6) I'm trying to organize things. I'm failing miserably....it's actually getting worse;D

7) Rooster loves to play dress up. Even though she has an entire dress up closet full of clothes, her favorite dress up clothes belong to Captain Awesome.

GH in action

2009-10-02T12:33:00.002-05:00

Big Dog had taken every donut out of the box and placed it on one plate. GH couldn't resist:)

GH liked stamping.

Our life in sketches

2009-10-02T12:28:00.000-05:00

Magic Marker Monday

2009-09-29T11:00:00.002-05:00

A day late and a drawing short

Big Dog

Rooster

Roosters school photo

2009-09-28T16:36:00.000-05:00

I think she looks pretty cute:)

Husker Power

2009-09-26T18:15:00.001-05:00

Rooster is super excited that todays Husker game marks the 300th consecutive sell out. WOOT!

Pictures of GH

2009-09-26T16:46:00.002-05:00

Breakfast time.

Someone had to play "This little piggy" with GH.
GH needed some time to relax.

GH had a fun time outdoors this afternoon.

Photo Credit: Rooster

Big Dog is feeling better

2009-09-26T16:27:00.001-05:00

He's been watching football....
and making daring escapes.

Saturday Seven

2009-09-26T10:50:00.002-05:00

Seven Things That Happened This Week

1. On Thursday I had to go pick Big Dog up from school. They had called to let me know that he had fallen asleep in class. When I got there he was in a corner, sprawled out on a bean bag chair snoring away:) But now, he is back to his old self.

2. Rooster has a UTI. So she has medicine she doesn't like. She was doing fine until Big Dog started harassing her. He thought he needed the medicine. So it became a battle. Rooster also has to take showers now. Last night when she was taking her shower she said "Mommy, it's raining in here" I said "I know. Isn't it cool?". She replied "I need an umbrella mommy":)

3. I did a little cleaning and organizing this week. I used the carpet cleaner on the living room floor and it looks SO MUCH better:D I have been adding things to the learning room walls. I have also moved my scrap booking stuff into the old learning storage closet. It looks pretty rough still. But, I'll get it done eventually. I saw this cute idea to organize measuring spoons on the show Table for 12. They had the measuring spoons hanging up on the doors of their spice cabinet. That makes total sense to me because when your measuring seasoning out that where are you are going. Now I won't have to dig for my measuring spoons. Hooray! I'd like to think my SIL Shel would be impressed;)

4. I've been looking for a anti-Obama bumper sticker. There are so many to choose from these days. I still like the B.O. Stinks bumper stickers. But, this one caught my eye.

5. I asked Rooster what she wanted to be when she grew up. She told me "I want to help with friends" I said "Oh you want to be a teacher" She replied "Yes" then a few moments later she said "No I don't want to be teacher". I said "Ok what do you want to do? Do you want to work in a grocery store like daddy?" She said "No" I said "Do you want to work at the doctors office?" She said "No" I said "Do you want to work in the circus?" She said "Yes!" I said "What do you want to do in the circus?" She said "Clown". Perfect my daughter want to be a clown when she grows up. Of course when I was her age I wanted to be a truck driver....at least her job would be fun.

6. GH is taking being cute to a whole new level. He likes driving his cars all over me when we play. He really loves driving the cars around my neck. (He just figured out how to transfer the car from one hand to another when he can't see it. He thinks that its pretty cool.)

7. We went to the apple orchard. It made Captain Awesome and I want to go on more "adventures" with the kids. Ever since school started we haven't been able to make time to do any small trips:( So I think next week we will be going on some mini trips again.

What the toys have been doing

2009-09-23T20:37:00.002-05:00

This first picture is just of Rooster being silly:) But, she is wearing stuff from her dress up closet.

I don't know what is going on here.

A day in the life of Rocky

2009-09-23T20:26:00.004-05:00

Rooster is taking really good care of Rocky. I would say that Rocky has a pretty comfortable life in comparison to other rocks. Rocky has become a member of the family as far as Rooster is concerned. Perhaps it's time to get him a code name for the blog. If he's still around in a week we will come up with a code name for him;)

Anyway, this is what Rocky's day looks like.

Watching cartoons.

Cruisin' around the house in his sweet ride.

Hangin' out with friends.

Bath time

and bedtime

Good night Rocky

UPDATE: This morning (Thursday) Rooster came up to me saying "Rocky's gone. I can't find him" She looked upset so I went to look for him. He wasn't in his plastic doll bed. So I looked on Roosters bed since thats where all her "friends" stay at night. I guess Rocky must have climbed in bed with everyone last night;) hahaha

Apple Orchard

2009-09-23T19:56:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Big Dog was sent home from school with a fever of 102 degrees. But, with some over the counter products we have managed to keep his temp down. He has been in good spirits. So we figured a day out in the country would be good for him. (Fresh air makes you feel so much better. And we weren't worried about him spreading any germs to anyone because there were no surfaces etc that he was touching) Anyway, onto the pictures.

This is Rooster with a "cow egg".
The small corn maze was just the right size for our kids.

The kids loved picking apples.

Go Big Dog!

GH did manage to get some apples pulled off the trees.

Hooray!

GH wants to share:)

The tire swing was a hit last year also.

Have a great fall everyone:)

Our life is sketches

2009-09-23T05:54:00.000-05:00

Hangin out

2009-09-21T20:28:00.002-05:00

That's classic!

Photo credit: Rooster

Never act goofy in front of the Rooster. She will document it.

Photo credit: Rooster

Our new playhouse

2009-09-21T20:01:00.003-05:00

Photo credit: Rooster

We bought this playhouse from a friend. The kids really love it. The playhouse is going to be on our porch for the winter. Trouble is still a hyper puppy. So we decided to keep it on the porch until she grows up a bit more. We are concerned that she would destroy the kitchen sink:) So now we have even more stuff on our porch. I'm sure our neighbors are soooooo happy:)

Trick or Treat bags

2009-09-21T15:47:00.002-05:00

I saw this idea for canvas trick or treat bags in Family Fun magazine this month. I think the hardest part was locating all the pictures from previous Halloweens. I haven't done well keeping up with scrapbooks etc. These bags were pretty easy. You just print the photos off on iron on transfer paper. Then iron them on the bags. (I think I need a new iron because my iron refused to get hot enough:)) The person who came up with the idea used puffy paint to label the year etc. I decided to embroider it. I used all six strands of embroidery thread with a darning needle. It worked very well. The fabric was very stiff so I didn't even need an embroidery hoop.

This is GH's bag. He was Yoda last year.

This is Big Dog's bag. The first year he was the lion from Wizard of Oz, then a monkey, and last year he was Darth Vader.

This is Roosters bag. For her first Halloween she was Sally Ride. Then she was a dragon (I was a princess-hahaha), the following year she was Dorthy from the Wizard of Oz, then Scooby Doo, then Princess Leia.

Aww what sweet memories.

Saturday Seven

2009-09-19T10:12:00.004-05:00

Seven Things That Happened This Week
1. I found out GH fights dirty. I was wrestling around with GH (and I admit I was talking smack to him). In response to my "taunts" he bit me. Moral of the story...don't mess with GH:D
2. Rick summed up his struggles with adversity with the following comment. "Like a bridge over troubled waters, my hotness will get me to the other side". Some people depend on "the kindness of strangers" our family depends on being ridiculously good looking:)
3. Big Dog and GH had colds but seem to be doing better now:)
4. Big Dog has been running around the house singing songs from his preschool. He really loves going.
5. Rooster wants to play hide and seek ALL THE TIME. But, doesnt want to give any effort;)
6. Rooster adopted another pet. This time its a big gray rock she calls "Rocky". When Trouble had jumped on her and Rocky she said to Rocky "Are you ok? Reagan dog shouldn't jump". Then she put Rocky in the baby swing, I guess to calm it down;) Hahaha. I had to draw the line when she started throwing Rocky up in the air and trying to bring him into the house.
7. I have the boys pirate costumes for Halloween. But, there were some issues with a seller on Ebay that I had bought a cute girls pirate costume from. They lost a peice. So I still have to find another costume for Rooster. I also saw a cute idea in Family Fun Magazine about making canvas halloween trick or treat bags. So I bought all the supplies I needed. Now I just have to find time to print off all the kids past Halloween costume pictures. Fun Fun...but, I'm sure it will be worth it when its done.

GH's Tot School

2009-09-15T14:16:00.002-05:00

We finally got around to reading Clara Cow Wraps Up Warm. As we read the story I put the same clothes on GH that Clara was putting on in the story.

We worked on numbers.

We did some color flashcards.

We spelled out his name with magnets and these foam puzzle pieces.

GH

2009-09-15T14:16:00.000-05:00

A comfortable dining experience

2009-09-15T14:15:00.000-05:00

Downward Facing Dog

2009-09-15T14:12:00.001-05:00

GH is sooo silly:)

Some pictures

2009-09-14T10:00:00.000-05:00

Do the Dew;)

Magic Marker Monday's Featured Artist is Big Dog

2009-09-14T09:52:00.001-05:00

Our Life in Sketches

2009-09-14T09:50:00.000-05:00

Kanye picks on a girl

2009-09-13T23:15:00.002-05:00

Only Jesus could love a jerk like Kanye.

Which brings me to the fact that Kanye is a gay fish. (Don't watch the next video in front of kids.)

Buffalo wings are the perfect game day treat

2009-09-12T16:57:00.002-05:00

Smarty Pants Institute

2009-09-12T09:27:00.002-05:00

I think this room is really cute. The kids love it too. But, they are so excited when they go in they have a hard time focusing on what we are doing. But, I'm sure the newness of it will wear off soon.

Saturday Seven

2009-09-12T05:59:00.002-05:00

Seven things that happened this week

1. GH learned how to decorate the bathroom with only one roll of toilet paper:)

2. I told Big Dog he couldn't go to school unless he took his medicine. So now I keep finding the bottle out of the frig. Once I found it opened:O I guess a child proof lid can't stop a determined boy. But, it is a bit worrisome.

3. After two weeks Roosters bruise from her MMR shot is finally starting to fade. But, luckily we didn't have any fevers with this round of vaccines. So I am pretty happy about that:)

4. GH has been talking a bit more this week. He has said "mom" a few times without the demanding attitude:) I am really happy about that. He said "door" "duck" and "good dog". His favorite phrases are still "Hi dad" and "Oh no". I love when he says "Oh no!" and tries to act like he didn't mean to drop food off the table:D

5. We got the pay per view football game ordered late last night. Now I just have to get all the treats made for the game. I plan on making some chicken wings and mozzarella sticks. I got some mozzarella on sale last night so I was very happy:)

6. The kids are still sharing a room for half the night. Then Rooster goes to the guest room that has the king size bed. Fortunately I have most of Captain Awesome's NU stuff out and moved to the boys room. Captain Awesome's stuff looks pretty good in the boys room since their room is sports themed. So I will be able to set up a nice room for Rooster in the guest room.

7. This week I finished setting up the Smarty Pants Institute room. It's really cute:) I also used our carpet/uphostery cleaner to clean our foyer, living room furniture, downstairs bathroom and our staircase. Everything looks so much nicer. Of course now the other areas of the house look bad. So I have more work to do:)

Big Dog spells

2009-09-10T21:39:00.000-05:00

Roosters artwork

2009-09-10T21:34:00.004-05:00

Top row left to right Mom, Dad
Bottom row left to right Rooster, GH, Big Dog

Other pictures drawn today--- Rooster drew a picture of grandma and grandpa. She also drew a picture of Captain Awesome's assistant.

GH loves cereal

2009-09-10T21:30:00.001-05:00

GH climbed up to the table and started helping himself:)

Fan Mail

2009-09-08T14:02:00.004-05:00

When Pope Benedict XVI broke his wrist I had the kids make a get well card for him. Today we got a form letter and some cool pictures of the Pope. I am going to put the pictures on the kids alters.

We're just keepin' it real

2009-09-07T18:38:00.001-05:00

Big Dog is feeling a bit better. He was trying to rollerskate around the house.

I loved this picture of GH.

Magic Marker Monday -- Featured Artist of the Week is GH

2009-09-07T18:23:00.000-05:00

What we have been doing

2009-09-06T22:07:00.003-05:00

It's been busy around here. Last night Big Dog started barking like a seal. We aren't sure if he really has croup. Maybe it's just a weird cold since he hasn't barked a lot of times. But, it sure has been enough to get our attention. Poor little guy:( We've never had a child get croup so we are pretty clueless. Luckily Aunt She knows a thing or two about croup. Hopefully the little guy will get better soon:)

Rooster has been very persistent in her claims that her twin size bed is too small for her. She prefers to sleep in the king bed in the guest room. This is the bed I frequently sleep in because I have a "snoring problem" according to Captain Awesome. I don't see how it's a problem. It doesn't bother me:D So anyway, I finally decided to just let Ruzenka have the room with the king bed. I decided to take down GH's crib and force him to sleep in a toddler bed that was already in the room. I then moved Roosters white bed into the boys room. So we had three beds in the boys room. (The white bed, toddler bed and Big Dogs bed) But, I figured after GH was ready I would just move him to the twin then get rid of the toddler bed. Well as soon as I put up the white bed in the boys room guess who was wanting to use the bed? That's right Rooster. She thought the bed was big enough once it was in the boys room:D She told me that friends stay together. Maybe she just didn't want to be by herself in her room. I never thought that witht he boys sharing a room that she might feel left out:( I guess we will see how things go tonight. Maybe she just likes the idea because it's something different. Although I have a feeling she really loves the king size mattress. Who could blame her? It's awesome:)

Here is a picture of the kids in the boys room. I am aware that it's super messy;)

Here is a picture of GH. Tonight is his first night in the toddler bed. He's not a baby anymore.

So you might be wondering what happened to Rooster's room. Well I am pleased to present our learning room. I call it The Smarty Pants Institute. I finally have all our posters organized. I am pretty excited about that;) I also have a nice area on the shelves for the busy boards and other learning materials. It's a really colorful room. Rooster says she loves it:)

Pictures from today

2009-09-05T19:10:00.004-05:00

I found Big Dog sticking shipping tape to the top of the kitchen table. I was kind of annoyed since it was a pretty long piece. Instead of throwing it away I gave it to Rooster and told her to do something with it. For the next 45 minutes she had her brothers hold on to the tape and she pulled them around the house.

GH thought it was the greatest thing ever.

GH was also super excited to have leftover Chinese for dinner.

This lid is delicious!

Our neighbor brought over a bunch of pears and concord grapes. Rooster wanted to help make juice. So I got out the juice machine.

It's good, it's good to hear the rain

2009-09-03T14:45:00.002-05:00

GH's Tot School

2009-09-03T14:21:00.003-05:00

GH took two naps today. So we weren't able to get much done. We did do two p activities. The first was a puzzle. GH is starting to understand how to work puzzles.

We read Your Personal Penguin. GH loves my "singing". He thought it was really funny when I put the penguin hat on my head. I know.....I am sooooo awesome.

We worked on GH's name. I kept asking GH, "R you missing a letter Henry?" But, he didn't get my joke;)

Mama's little firemen

2009-09-03T14:17:00.000-05:00

It's getting colder.......

2009-09-01T20:03:00.002-05:00

so it's time to break out the footed pajama's.

What we've been doing

2009-08-31T20:53:00.004-05:00

1. I am in the process of changing out the seasonal clothes. Regardless of how many kids you have no one enjoys this task. Figuring out what to keep for a few more weeks, what to pass on, and what to store. I can't even imagine doing this with more than three children's wardrobes. I'd probably be huddled up in a ball crying in a corner. I do find some enjoyment in taking clothes out of storage. Mostly because its like a shopping trip I didn't have to pay for. My sister-in-law Shelia gives my boys lots of awesome clothes her son grows out of. I told Big Dog "Your Aunt Shelia keeps you well dressed" And he shook his head in agreement:)

2. I was glad to have the opportunity to have a lengthy conversation with my friend Krimsin. Krimsin and I have the same problem. Our kids are endless pits of energy. We all hear those rumors that "Oh your kid is going to be wiped out the first week of kindergarten...blah blah blah." Well that is just a bunch of lies. Rooster and Logan have been unaffected by all day kindergarten.

3. On Sunday I decided to take a nap while Captain Awesome watched the kids. Rooster remembered that P was the letter of the week. On Sundays we always do the letter coloring pages. So she went upstairs to the computer. She got all the coloring pages that I had printed off Saturday night and took them to the kitchen table. She got the colors and began to work. Captain Awesome was impressed when he discovered she had done this. Then Rooster told him that he had to make popcorn for their snack. He was very impressed that she remembered what our activities were going to be. I'm not really that surprised. How could you forget popcorn? I am glad to know that Rooster loves our activities enough to do them even when she isn't being directed to do so.

Someone spelled

2009-08-31T20:40:00.001-05:00

I don't know what happened but the kids stopped using the letter combinations we have been working on. So there haven't been many words to post. I guess I need to work with them on it.

Big Dog's First Day of Preschool

2009-08-31T20:39:00.000-05:00

He was really excited to go to school:)

Daddy's Little Hippie

2009-08-31T20:35:00.002-05:00

Yes, we sent our daughter to school looking like a hippie! But, doesn't she look cute?

What a good mommy

2009-08-29T13:21:00.000-05:00

GH's yellow submarine

2009-08-27T20:03:00.000-05:00

My favorite playgroup pictures

2009-08-27T19:54:00.004-05:00

Everyone loves to have their pictures taken.....well at least until they go blind from the constant flashing:)

Now that's cute! Happy Birthday Silly S.

Photo credit: Rooster

Mr. T helps the little kids because he's super cool:) GH thinks he's awesome:)

Mr. T is waiting arms wide open for Princess J. Isn't that sweet?

Rooster spells

2009-08-26T17:57:00.000-05:00

Fun toy

2009-08-26T17:51:00.001-05:00

The kids love these:) They are fun to stack and roll.

Big Dog works on his fine motor skills

2009-08-24T16:14:00.002-05:00

I know he doesn't look super happy in these pictures but he really does enjoy these activities. I love the game in the first picture. You have to hold the game pieces the same way you would hold a pencil with your fingers. So its great practice.

Big Dog spells a bunch of "et" words

2009-08-24T16:04:00.002-05:00

Big Dog didn't write all these words at one time. He wrote these words throughout the morning. He started by spelling Brett (his legal name:)) with Upword tiles. He loves the Upword game that I picked up at the thrift store. Who could dislike stackable letters?

He made this series of words on the refrigerator with Leap Frog letters.

Magic Marker Monday-- featured artist Big Dog

2009-08-24T15:16:00.000-05:00

this is artistic genious at work:)

One big pile of cute

2009-08-23T19:24:00.000-05:00

Rooster spells

2009-08-23T18:59:00.000-05:00

Saturday Seven

2009-08-22T19:09:00.006-05:00

Seven things that happened this week

1. Rooster started kindergarten. She seems to really like it. But, she is starving when she gets home. She spends the whole evening eating.

2. GH is enjoying the new sensory wall I made. This was inspired by the blog Chasing Cheerios.
3. I finally finished the boys room. I think it looks a lot better now that I have the border up.

4. We can't watch Handy Manny anymore. On Monday I had left a tv on upstairs. I heard GH screaming so I went upstairs to check it out. I found GH hitting the tv. The cat on the Handy Manny show was chasing one of the tools and GH was trying to hit the cat on the tv screen. Now whenever he sees that cat he goes completely ballistic. So we won't be watching that show for a while.

5. Speaking of tv shows. Rooster is no longer interested in Penguins of Madagascar. Which is slightly disappointing to Captain Awesome and I because we love that show. The fact that the kids aren't watching the cartoon will probably not stop us from watching the new shows:D

6. We played hide and seek with the kids today. Rooster would be a good hider if she could keep from giggling:)

7. We mowed the lawn for the first time in 3.5 weeks. It just hasn't needed to be mowed. We really enjoyed the break:)

Hard Work=Rewards

2009-08-21T20:18:00.001-05:00

After mowing the lawn a little boy could really go for some

delicious yogurt:)

Our life in sketches---The boys

2009-08-20T22:28:00.003-05:00

GH threw his toy submarine in the toilet after his bath tonight. I think this sketch captures my desperation in the moments before "the incident":D

The next incident happened a few days ago. We had some store bought cookies that were fantastic. Big Dog wanted to make sure he got more than his fair share. He created and implemented a pretty good plan considering the fact that he is only three years old.

Roosters First Day of School

2009-08-19T16:27:00.004-05:00

Last night the school hosted an ice cream social. It was a great opportunity to meet the teachers and tour the school. Rooster seemed happy to meet the teachers and ran around the school happily. She was really excited when she ran into old friends:) This is a picture of Rooster in front of her locker.

The ice cream was delicious. It was the perfect dessert to top off the pizza we ordered to celebrate her first day of school. You may have noticed that the boys are missing. My friend Kim watched them for us. It was really nice to be able to focus all our attention on Rooster. I think she really appreciated the time with us. When we picked up the boys Kim offered us cake. We aren't the type of people who turn down cake. It was nice to be able to sit down and chat with such a nice family.

Before Rooster went to bed we received a surprise call from Aunt Shel. She was reading Cousin I a bedtime story called "The Night Before Kindergarten". And she thought Rooster might enjoy hearing it too. So she called and read this story to both of them at the same time. Isn't that sweet? Rooster clung to the phone as she laid in bed. Rooster was so happy:)

This morning we were a bit sad as we got our "baby" ready for her first day of kindergarten. It's so hard to believe she is a kindergartner. But, she is.

She's a big girl. But, she still loves her daddy:)

Last minute cuddles are the best.

Before she got on the bus she said "Here I come kindergarten!".

Get me out of this cage!

2009-08-19T16:26:00.000-05:00

I can't take it anymore.

Rooster spells

2009-08-19T16:22:00.000-05:00

Presto's visit

2009-08-17T21:56:00.004-05:00

Cousin Presto came to visit us today. It was great to see him and we had a really good time. We walked to a nearby park. We were the only ones there, so that was a bit disappointing. There wasn't a ton of stuff for kids Presto's age. But, I think he made the best of it.

GH always loves playing on the fire truck at this park. GH LOVES fire trucks. So he had no trouble being entertained.

The kids played on the slides. Presto was nice enough to take GH down a big kid slide. Presto also wiped down all the slides so there were no wet tushies today:)

I love this photo. Rooster followed Presto like this all day long.

I like this photo also. Aren't they sweet?

Later we played outside. The kids thought Presto was the coolest. And who could blame them.....

Obviously Big Dog was trying to do what Presto was doing too. I guess older cousins are the coolest:)

After Presto and Aunt Crys had dinner they had to go home. As their car pulled away Rooster told me "I'm sad. I miss Preston"

One apple up on top

2009-08-17T21:54:00.000-05:00