Me vs. the TV

Every afternoon I look at the TV and say, "no, you will not raise my children. No matter how much they want you to- no matter how much I want to lay down and let you do it- I will not let you raise the children."

It's sooooo hard not to just let that thing stay on in the summertime when it's too hot to go outside. I'm always trying to figure out how to occupy those afternoon hours and today we went swimming until 2, took baths until 2:30, did markers for 45 minutes...and it was still only 3:15! Then it hit me- baking- we should be baking. My poor babies have so little baking experience b/c their mother is almost always on a diet. But when you are nine months pregnant- what sense does moderation make anyway? :)

Mixing (it was organic but still tasted great)-



Rolling into balls (Julia said "why are we making balls- I thought we were making cookies"- poor child has never seen any that weren't slice and bake)



Sissy making "criss crosses"



We thought it best to keep the 2-year-old on the floor for this activity-



But he did get in the pans and find this one and say "make muffins"...



Waiting....



Serving them up- we used three pans-



So this afternoon Mommy beat the TV- and now it's cool enough that the kids are in the driveway doing chalk and bicycles- a successful afternoon.

He works hard....

Daddy with Tucker back in the day

My man works hard. He works hard all the time. He has countless late nights and early mornings and weekends are not "off". He doesn't just work for his job, he works for the Church, charitites, his family- immediate and extended, his community- he just works hard period. Today I know he is swamped with work and can't see the light and as the kids and I were praying for him in the car today the song "Green Grass Grows" by Tim McGraw came on (that will happen if you have Sirius Sattellite radio turned to "prime country"). :) I thought about how I'm sure most men would love to be out on a farm, working the land, sitting in the rocking chair- but they do whatever it takes to support their families. And while Marc is fortunate to have a job he really enjoys, it doesn't take away the burden put on his shoulders to work hard and be excellent all the time. I guess I'm just writing this b/c I realize how grateful I should be-my "job" includes rocking babies, heading to the McWane center (which we did today), playing a Sequence board game, etc. And even though I also do the yucky jobs like laundry, cleaning, cooking, gardening- it's all on my own time and I am my own boss. I'm so grateful for my husband for going out every day and fighting the wolves of the world so our little family can be safe, fed and taken care of. He's a real man making manly choices and I'm so grateful he's mine!

Randomness

Not much to report- just a lazy weekend with my favorite babies. Why do these pictures make me want to say, "by the power of Greyskull"? These boys are sword fighting all the time and think it's hilarious.





Daddy found a big lizard- the kids liked it-



And then he did the crazy crocodile chomp and there were squeals and jumps-



Time to suit up Tuck ("after-nap" wear- church shirt with jammy pants)



If you are comin' after me you better pack a lunch and put on your big boy pants...

Getting ready for the big move

So we are starting to prepare to move Tucker from the nursery to Marc's room. First thing- get Marc moved up to the top bunk. The only problem was that Marc likes to have a cup of water with him at night and he reads in bed for about 30 minutes every night. How would that work on the top bunk where there's no nightstand? Solution- the pottery barn shelf-



Here he can keep his books, water, St. Michael picture and a light to read by. He is so excited! He even has his watch on there so he knows the time and can turn the light off on time. Problem solved. :)

VBS 2011- Growing with the Saints

What a fun week the kids had at VBS. This year's theme was Growing with the Saints in Faith, Hope and Love. They learned about a different saint each day including St. Brigid, St. Juan Diego, St. Martin de Porres, St. Nicholas and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha. Today was the finale and they were so precious and sang all the sweet songs. We knew Marky would sing and perform, but I wondered how Sissy would do. To our delight she knew every word and motion and was precious.












These precious older men from our parrish were kind enough to dress up as St. Martin de Porres, St. Juan Diego and St. Nicholas-



The cheering section, "I see Bubba, I see Sissy"....



I know you want to be up there, Buddy- just wait a couple years and it will be your turn.



St. Nicholas ornament craft-





After lunch with Daddy we are home and relaxing with arts and crafts while baby brother sleeps- thank you, Lord, for a wonderful week.

Mr. T's Preschool Circuit

Now that Brother and Sister are at VBS Mommy is finally remembering where the preschool stuff is and getting folders out for me to do- I LOVE them! This morning- Mitten Match (and my wittle feet don't even touch the floor yet)



I can work this folder and eat a waffle- I'm a smart little fella!

My little man

Can I just say for the millionth time how precious this baby is and how in love with him I am? I know it gets old, but it's true- he is just a joy to raise. This week the big kids have been in vacation Bible school and it's just been me and wittle man every morning and we have had the best time. I've gotten SO MUCH DONE b/c he is happy to entertain himself wherever I am. It's like I am the Earth and he is the moon and he's always with me and he always has a big smiley face. And he NEVER stops talking- he's my little chatty cathy (and when he and Sissy are together there is never a moment of silence). Tuck Tuck- thank you for being such a happy, sweet, easy-going baby. Mommy LOVES you so much!

Boys out front?

Have you heard that rumor that you carry boys out front when you are pregnant and girls make you wider? I don't know if that's true, but for me it's working out that way. It's hilarious when I walk in a room straight on and people say things like, "you look great," "wow- you are really small to be so far along" or things like that.



Then I say something like, "oh, really?"...and then turn to the side and BAM- the comments change to "oh I know you are tired", or "oh you look ready to go", or "I know you are hot in this heat".



I can't believe I'm putting these on here, but I haven't really taken any belly pics of Charliehorse and if I don't put them on here I'll never find them again. These were taken Friday night on my way to a little dinner/baby shower put on by my Bible Study crew. It was a lot of fun.

In other pictorial news- this is what I have to deal with when I try to shoe shop-





Do you see Tucker's double crown of curls? It's like two hurricanes on the back of his wittle head-





I hope this explains why I rarely get new shoes. :)

Father's Day at Lake Martin

We have some special friends that we've spent several Father's Day weekends with and it's become a little tradition. We always go on a trip and then let the Dad's sleep in and make them a big breakfast. We went to their lake house this time and had a wonderful time. Presenting Father's Day breakfast 2011 with two very loved Daddies!





The lake is on two sides of the porch- what a beautiful, peaceful view-



Breakfast is served- sausage, bacon, eggs, cheese grits, toast, biscuits and a huge fruit platter, milk and OJ!



My favorite part of the screened porch- hanging beds!



Here are the kids in the canoe- look at that weather!



Little bit would swim all day every day if we let her. She has no desire to boat, slide, tube, or canoe- just swim with goggles (and hunt for fish and frogs)- that's her game-



Tucker is her best playmate and they spent tons of time throwing rocks. On the way home today I said, "What was your favorite part of the weekend Sissy?" and she said, "Throwing rocks." That's my angelgirl.





Tucker was fearless- he rode this huge slide and would splash under at the bottom, bounce up and cough out the water and say "Tucker slide again"....(and Marky kept jumping off the platform...)





We figured out that I could lay on an innertube and put the baby belly in the middle. Julia thought this would be good time to hop on and call me "Mommy Sea Turtle"...



Kissing on my lovebug angelbaby-



Marky tubing with a friend from the lake house next door-




And of course, an evening cookout with s'mores!





Then it was time to head on home- but a wonderful weekend to celebrate our wonderful Daddy/Hubby that we love! And even though I grew up on the white sands of the gulf coast, I have become a big fan of lake living- I get why people love it so much.