Thanksgiving

My nephew Lang finally crashing

It snowed!!

The boys had the best time trying to catch the wild cats that live out there. There have been cats at the farm for a long time. The cat population always stays small because of coyotes and conditions. For some reason, the cat population has exploded!! My parents have become crazy cat people. There are more than 20 cats there now and only a few are tame. The boys developed cat traps and they devised elaborate plans but they had no luck! Anybody want a cute, wild kitty?

Thanksgiving Pictures

Nate with Poppa

Nate playing with the baby doll stroller

Dylan with his cousin, Hannah

Nate and cade working puzzles after it got COLD outside!

More Pictures

He is wearing my niece's shoes and holding a kitchen item. Should I be concerned?

Playing with cousins

Mimi accidentally dropped an egg on Nate's head - see the egg on the floor. Notice that Nate is still wearing my niece's shoes.

Cleaning up the egg

Thanksgiving Pictures

In spite of the sickness, the boys did have fun at the farm.

Nate loved wearing this hat and riding the horse - Ye haw!

Cade spent the first part of the trip laying on the couch just watching t.v. - poor baby

The kids all loved making boxes and houses out of this. This is my niece, Lanae

Just a slight eye injury - I just knew that he would have a black eye the next day but it looked fine by the next morning.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

Mark has now had his turn with this lovely bug. For those keeping track, that just leaves me. I feel like a walking time bomb. I feel a level of paranoia that I have never felt before. What are the odds that I will avoid this bug?

Another One's Gone, and Another One's Gone

Another 4 bite the dust! Chase, Dylan, Nate, and my nephew, Lang, all succumbed to the bug. Let's just say that this is a Thanksgiving that I will never forget.

Random Pictures

Before I post pictures from our fun time at the farm, here are a few random pictures.

Nate wearing his "jacket"

Bat boy!! He is into taking off his clothes lately!

A picture my Dad had. The boys at the Gaylord.

And the Next Victim is ......

My Mom!! I bet she is so glad that we came to visit!

So Cool

Check out this super cool new blog!

http://lifewiththreebrothers.blogspot.com

Leave a comment if you can!

A Trip to Remember

Thursday morning brought the return of "bottom issues" for Nate. He seems to be over his bug now. My mom flew with Nate to Amarillo on Friday. My sister drove out to the farm with me and the remaining 3 boys. On Friday morning, Cade was complaining about his tummy hurting. I did not believe him because he was running around and playing. By that afternoon, Cade's "bottom issues" had hit. Jenise scores big, BIG aunt points because the drive to the farm was interesting to say the least. Picture many stops on the side of the road and at convenience stores. Jenise helped Cade squat on the side of the road and more! She deserves many kudos! She did not even complain about the fact that the trip was taking sooooo much longer than normal. Poor Cade! We finally made it to the farm after dropping Jenise off in Amarillo. It was very, very late. "Mouth issues" came about 5 the next morning. After throwing up a few times, he did not throw up the rest of the day. He seemed fine so he was able to go to my nephew and niece's house to spend the night. Well, he wasn't over it. About 4:30 the next morning he got sick again. My brother and his wife were cleaning up the lovely mess when Cade got up and turned off the light! They asked him what he was doing and he told them that the light was hurting his eyes. They told him, "too bad". Cade made it the rest of Sunday without throwing up. He made it until around 8:30 in the evening on Monday before he threw up again. He made it another 24 hours until he threw up again just a few minutes ago. I have never seen a bug like this one! Poor Cade keeps talking about the stomach bug in him. We talk about washing our hands so that the stomach bug will die. He tells me that he thinks that the stomach bug is almost dead! I certainly hope so. I really hope no one else catches this bug!

Beauty and the Beast

I have felt a little restless and stressed lately. Am I doing what I need to be doing? How can I make changes with my work and with my life so that things are not so stressed and crazy? I have been praying for direction but I am not finding an answer. I drove towards Texarkana last weekend with chaos in my soul. As I was driving, the beauty of Fall affected me. The trees lined the rural road I was on. A beautiful mist mingled in between the trees. The mix of green and yellow leaves with an occasional splash of red was beautiful. Peace in my soul was restored. I arrived home and the boys were peaceful. Nate was taking a nap and the other boys were enjoying some quiet time. How nice! Mark left to run an errand and then the beast reared its ugly head in the form of a stomach bug! Nate woke up and he was covered in vomit. He had thrown up in his bed and then it seemed as if he had slept on it! Good times!

Nate

I was out of town for work and Mark took the boys to watch a buddy play football. Here are Cade and Nate watching the big race!

It was hard for Nate to run in his crocs. Of course, his tennis shoes were in my car!

Nate was very excited about our new DVD player for the car - our old one bit the dust!

Nate continues to be so sweet and funny! He loves, loves, loves to sing! He picks up the lyrics so very fast. I have to really watch what is playing on the radio! He doesn't want anyone else to sing with him. If I try to sing with him then he will tell me, "No Mama, no singing." Either I sing really bad or he just wants to do it himself! He is loving the fleecy, cozy pajamas that I have pulled out for him. He will bring them to me and ask to put them on. Of course, he calls them a jacket because every other fleece garment that he has worn has been a jacket.

Cade Cracks Me Up!

Cade has been so very funny lately, at least he thinks so. He loves to tell knock knock jokes. The only problem is that he makes up the jokes himself and they are so not funny. An example:

Cade: "Knock, knock."

Unlucky Joke Recipient (UJR): "Who's there?"

Cade: First he looks around for his inspiration. Let's say he is eating some chicken. "Chicken"

UJR: "Chicken who?"

Cade: "Chicken at the table" Hysterical laughter from Cade!

Polite laugh from UJR

Cade is a big chicken nugget fan. I joke with him that he is eating so much chicken that he is turning into one. I tell him that I see feathers starting to grow. He will talk and I will say that I can't hear him, all I can hear is, "bak, bak, bak". He thinks it is hysterical. Every time he starts to eat chicken he tells me not to make that chicken joke. Translation: Please make the chicken joke.

Cade really had me rolling yesterday. He told me that I was going to have another baby. I asked him why I was going to have another baby and he told me it was because I am married :) I asked him how many babies he would have after he was married and he told me 10!! Somehow I doubt that. He then wanted to know how old Chase would be when he was 10. I told him that Chase would be 15 years old then. Cade was fascinated about Chase being a teenager. Cade then asked me if I was a Mmmager? I asked him what that was and he told me, "You know, someone who can play M games." For those not familiar with video games, M is the rating for adult only games. I was rolling.

Here is Cade running on the track.

The Race!

Nate is a bit confused

Run, run like the wind

Is that fair?

The drama!! I wasn't there so you will have to ask Mark who won.

Night Night, Sweet Baby Boy

Showertime is over and the sun is down. Nate wraps up in his towel and I hold him tight. He loves to be a "burrito". I change him into some cute pajamas. Tonight, they are the lizard pajamas. Chase thinks that Nate is the cutest thing in these pajamas. I tell Nate that it is time to go to bed. He is not thrilled by that idea so I mention reading a book. With that thought in his head, he heads for the stairs. No longer am I allowed to carry him up the stairs, but his majesty will allow me to hold his hand. He puts his soft, chubby little hand in mine and we go up the stairs. He crawls into his bed and begins to look at the pile of books that he stores there. I snuggle in next to him and we talk about what book he wants to read. There is his tractor book (most nights he wants to read that one), there is the mouse mess book (this book is well loved and falling apart), there is a Bob the Builder color book (he is really wanting to learn his colors right now), a Kermit the Frog potty book, and a Barney animals on the farm book. Most of the books I know by heart. We have added embellishments to the tractor story. It needed some tractor sounds and a scream where the tractor is going to fast and can't stop!! AAAAAAAY - the DRAMA! The book is done and it is time for a prayer. Nate snuggles in underneath his covers. He loves to be under the covers. He holds his bears tight. He moves his sweet, soft, clean body close to me. He wiggles around like a cat trying to find its sweet spot to sleep. I inhale his precious boy smell. Could anything possibly smell better than my clean boy? I memorize the moment because it will be gone way too soon. We say a prayer. I prompt him and he adds the things that he is thankful for - sometimes he thanks God for Chase more than once. I get up to leave and a sweet baby arm reaches out and grabs me around the neck. "Wait, Mama. Wait." Who can resist that? A little more snuggling then, "Night, night my sweet baby boy."

Two Tags in One

Okay, I have been tagged with 2 different tags so here it goes:

My Man

1. Who is your man? Mark
2. How long have you been married? 13 years
3. How long did you date? we dated off and on for a year - we were mostly friends that year, then we dated continuously for more than 2 years before we married.
4. How old is your man? 37
5. Who eats more? depends on the meal
6. Who said "I love you" first? Mark
7. Who is taller? Mark
8. Who sings better? I would say Mark
9. Who is smarter? It depends on the subject matter - I made the better grades
10. Whose temper is worse? Depends
11. Who does the laundry? I do it, over and over and over again.
12. Who takes out the trash? We both do but Mark normally takes the carts to the curb and I bring them back in after they are emptied.
13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you are looking at the bed, me.
14. Who pays the bills? Me
15. Who is better on the computer? Me.
16. Who mows the lawn? Mark
17. Who cooks dinner? I do
18. Who drives when you are together? Mark normally.
19. Who pays when you go out? Mark mostly but it really doesn't matter
20. Who is more stubborn? We are both very stubborn
21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Mark is, I am not so good at saying that I am sorry - and I am never wrong :)
22. Whose families do you see most? Probably mine
23. Who kissed who first? Mark kissed me first.
24. Who asked who out first? My brother set us up on a blind date so I guess my brother asked us both out!
25. Who proposed? Mark
26. Who is more sensitive? Most definitely me
27. Who has more friends? Maybe me
28. Who has more siblings? I have 3 and Mark has 2
29. Who wears the pants in the family? We both wear pants :)
30. Who is the biggest pushover with the kids? Probably me

8 Random Things About Me

1. I love Dr. Pepper - most people probably know that about me - but I only like it in the plastic bottle. I don't normally drink it out of the can or at a restaurant. Coke is my preference if a plastic bottle Dr. Pepper is not available.
2. When I eat sunflower seeds, I eat them shell and all. I think the shell is the best part.
3. I LOVE roller coasters! I love going to Six Flags with the boys!
4. I never went trick or treating as a child so I love going with the boys. As a child, we went every year to the Halloween carnival at school and I always wore this plastic witch costume. Jared wore the plastic cowboy and Jason wore the plastic devil. Jenise is 4 years younger and I can't remember clearly what her costume was - was it a plastic cat costume?
5. I never had birthday parties as a kid so I tend to go overboard with the boys' parties - or Mark tells me that I go overboard.
6. My sister and I shared a lovely stomach bug once (I was in high school). We had both eaten popcorn and .... I could not eat popcorn for years and years after that. I am finally over that aversion.
7. I LOVE music and I listen to a wide variety of music. People who know me would probably be shocked at the selection of music on my ipod. I wish I could go to more concerts but I just can't justify the expense.
8. One of my favorite things to do is to watch Heroes or Lost with Mark.

I tag Amy C., Beth, and Krista (I am so glad you are blogging now!) You can do both or pick your favorite!

Loot and DST

The boys did very well with their candy selling. They had 13 lbs. so the dentist gave them $13. The dentist sends the candy to soldiers so everybody wins! I put in an extra $2 so all the boys got $5. They were excited. Halloween still has an evil aspect to it - any holiday that causes so much candy to be sitting around just begging me to eat it is evil :)

Can I tell you how much I love it when the time changes in the fall? The days before the time change are miserable for me. I don't like having to drag the boys (and myself) out of bed in the morning. It feels so good to have an "extra" hour of sleep. That first morning is pure bliss. The goodness keeps coming. The boys are willing to go to bed on time or even a little earlier since they are used to going to bed at that "time" anyway. I love how much easier it is to get ready in the morning. All of a sudden we are on time to things!! The "extra hour" effect always wears off, but I really, really enjoy it while it lasts!

Trick or Treat

Nate was not scared of anything! He loved to wear his mask and make a scary, growling sound. Once he figured out that you go to the door and you get free candy then he had a great time. He looked so cute! He would say "Thank you you're welcome" after he got his treat. He insisted on carrying his bucket and on walking. We finally had to break up in groups because the older boys were going way to fast for Nate. The older boys wanted to get as much candy as possible. Their dentist buys it back for $1 a pound so they were trying to earn some money! We go tomorrow so we will see how many pounds they have!

After we got home, Cade changed back into the spider costume. He slept in it!

Halloween

The boys had such a great time Trick or Treating. We have such a great neighborhood and it is so much fun to see all the kids. Chase wanted me to buy costume make-up but I did not see the point in that. I used things I already had to make him look pretty. He was a bit disturbed. He told me that he knew he didn't look like a girl but it was just the thought of wearing girl make-up that bothered him.

Here are my 3 skeletons and a slasher. I tried to get Chase to be a skeleton too but skeletons are not cool enough for him.

Some cute neighbors

Some of the gang

The Puking Pumpkin

Everybody helped!

Posing with the finished product

Is this not the perfect pumpkin for a group of boys!