Fun, Fun, Fun!! (for mom anyway)

Wesley made this cute fish puppet stage with sticky, foam fish on Popsicle sticks the other day. He was/is so excited about it. We have not been privileged, yet, with a show; but he is anxious to do one. Not only did he have fun putting this all together, he also had fun cutting up some of the fish and scrap paper, and anything else he could find. He even attempted to cut one of my kitchen towels; but I scared the tar out of him when I screamed, "Don't you dare!!". He looked at me like he was going to cry and then was a bit confused at why that would be a problem. *sigh* The joys..... Needless to say, we had a very fun mess to clean up afterward. But at least he had fun, right?? This was during Aubrey's nap time, just in case you were wondering where she was.

While Wesley worked on his puppet stage and puppets, mom worked on her fun projects........


I just finished these tonight. What do you call these things?? Hanger -upper thingies for your "stuff" (i.e. jackets, backpacks or purses, or whatever....) LOL. They are to hang up in the kids rooms.

And my favorite, these cute letters:) I have been anxious to get these done for a couple of weeks. Wesely picked out the paper and embellishments for his, and then he told me he wants one with fish, after I finished. Once we hung it up on his wall, he did tell me he liked it though. Aubrey helped picked out the paper for her and Cali. She was happy as long as there was pink involved. She loves pink these days. Everything must be pink. Her letter actually has more blue on it; but she didn't seem to mind because she has a nice pink flower on hers and Cali has purple. These were really fun to do and didn't take much time.

Camping and Other Funny Stories....

A couple of weekends ago, Brady took the kids and went camping. Yes, and mom stayed home. There were a few other families from church that went, and from what I hear, the kids all had a great time. It did get a bit cold.........everyone was back home by nine o'clock the next morning. Aubrey was thrilled that she got to go. It is usually just daddy and Wesley. Wesley's favorite thing about camping is marshmallows. He was so anxious to get up to their camp site so he could cook marshmallows over the fire and eat them with crackers and chocolate. mmmmmm......yummy:) I would have gone too if I could have had a nice soft mattress to take along. The picture above is Wesley and Aubrey with a couple of their camping buddies.

This past weekend was full of things to do......mostly for Brady. In the mix of helping people move, he got a little yard work done. Wesley and Aubrey were out "helping" him edge the yard and Wesley came in sighing in exhaustion and got a drink of water and then plopped himself down on the couch and asked me, "Is that what mans do?". And I, of course not on the same track he was, asked, "What???" to which he replied, "Do a lot of work, and then take a rest?". I had to smile. I said to him, "Yes. Men work very hard, and then they need to rest." and he said, "Like daddy?" And I said, "Yes, like daddy." Sooooo cute and wonderful that he recognizes that his daddy is a hard worker.

Aubrey had been asking all day Saturday to go to the park. Of course, she wanted to go swing. I need to just invest in a swing set for that girl. Anyway, finally in the late afternoon while Brady was helping move, we set off for the park. I decided to drive, even though the park is just down the road from us. As I was buckling Aubrey into her car seat, she looked up at me with a very cute and very cheesey grin and said to me, "Mom, I so proud of you!". It was so cute. I started to laugh and asked if she was proud of me because I was FINALLY taking her to the park to swing and she smiled that cute smile of hers again and patted my cheek and said, "Yeessss!" She told me about 3 or 4 more times on the way to the park she was proud of me. It was very sweet.
Well, then we got to the park and somebody had moved one of the benches from off the grass up onto the playground area, right in front of the swings. Wesley saw that and said, "Hey! Who moved that mom bench there??". I was cracking up. A "mom bench". It will forever more be known as a 'mom bench' in our family.

I love these kids! There is never a dull moment. I love the things they do and say and their perspectives on how things are. I am really excited for Aubrey's vocabulary to start ringing through a little clearer.............she sure has a lot to say but I am not always sure what exactly it is because she gets to goin' so fast in her stories.

Another Dramatic Dinner

We had bacon, eggs, and toast for dinner the other night. It has been a while since we have made Wesley taste eggs, so we decided he needed to try them again. You would have thought the kid was being tied down and tortured. Brady finally told him he would cover his eyes so he couldn't see the eggs, and he could plug his nose and then chase the egg with a bit of juice. Oh the drama of it all. The first bite, Wesley ran from the room gagging. I couldn't stop laughing. I know, I am mean. Then the fight for him to get bite number two down began. That is when Brady grabbed the camera for me so he could always remember the moment Wesley gagged down eggs with his eyes covered by his dad and a nice little chaser of cranberry/grape juice. Now here is a funny little side note: Tonight I told him he had to have a bite of chicken and he asked if he could just have a couple bites of egg!!!!!

Whew! He did it!! Poor kid. You can see the trauma of it all on his face.

At Least........

This week has been full has been of me sighing and saying to myself, "Well, at least........".

It all started with Aubrey and her major digression in potty training. I am really getting frustrated. I decided I need to just buckle down and keep panties on her, or give up for now and keep a pull up on her. At this point it looks like pull ups are going to win. We really want this baby to wait a few more weeks to come, and with the contractions I have been having I need to take it easy. Anyway, so Aubrey has several accidents a day. *sigh* But, AT LEAST she can always show me right where she was when she had the accident so I can get it cleaned up off the carpet or sofa or where ever it was she did it. All I do is ask her to show me where she went pee pee, and she does!

Aubrey has been fascinated with the water dispenser on our refrigerator. I don't always remember to lock it and have had to clean up several lakes of water off the floor.....but, AT LEAST my floor is getting some what of a cleaning by her water messes. Right? Well, the other morning I left Aubrey playing in the front room and went to check my email. Wesley came with me. I wasn't even at the computer for 5 minutes and went back out to find Aubrey in the kitchen, on a stool, at the refrigerator, filling up cups with water to mix in the Nesquik container!! mmmmmmmmmmmm...yummy.


Aubrey feeling sorry....... Ya gotta love my poser of a son??

You see the trail of chocolate water across the floor? But, AT LEAST it wasn't on the carpet. And, AT LEAST I have a good stain remover to get the chocolate mess out of her clothes. And AT LEAST Wesley is a big helper and helped me get things cleaned up. And, AT LEAST Aubrey is so stinkin' cute and kept saying, "I sorry mom, I sorry."

And AT LEAST she isn't always a little stinker. She is a really good girl and keeps her "curiosities" under control for the most part.

Finally, AT LEAST I have great friends with great ideas and I am able to do fun projects that make me feel good about myself and my abilities..........

Like this super cute valentine wreath! I love it! I love decorating for any holiday or anything really.

And this super cute valentine banner......It says "Be Mine" just in case you can't tell.

And here is my little display on my front entry table.......simple and cute. Just needs a little touch up with some ribbon through the ivy around the bears and it will be complete. :) I have never really decorated for valentines day, so it has been something fun to do.

And so life goes on and I am doing better and better to just relax and look for the good in things. Which isn't always easy. But sure makes life more pleasant. Attitude is everything, right?????

This is a picture of Aubrey around March last year. She is so adorable; both then and now. I just love that sweet little face!! Anyway, she has always loved to swing and not much has changed.

Today is a 'mom and Aubrey' day. Wesley was invited to go to the zoo with his friend Stacey. They actually ended up going to the children's museum because the zoo was packed. I guess since it is a holiday, they are having free admission at the zoo. I am sure he is enjoying himself. I packed him a snack bag and he kept saying, "mom, you are giving me so much food!". I may have gotten a little out of hand. I aways say it is better to have to much than to little.

So, since it is such a lovely day (even with the wind), Aubrey and I went to the park with some friends so she could swing. She did go down the slide once. She talked and talked, like always, and it was fun to be able to focus all of my attention on just her and what she was saying, instead of trying to listen to her and Wesley both at the same time. She is such a funny little girl. I am beginning to understand her much better. She has a lot to say, but it isn't always clear to me just what her stories are about. She is so fun and gives really great hugs. I love her to pieces!!!

My sweet husband bought me this chair (pictured below) on Saturday..........It is sage green and is microfiber. It is really comfortable. I have been wanting a nice cozy chair I could sit up and nurse the baby in, and after two kids, I finally got one!! It will be a nice addition to our bedroom.

We also went to Babies R Us Saturday and bought a few things. I have a few more items to get and then we will be ready for this baby.

We got the bedroom furniture all rearranged over the weekend so I could start getting the girls room all organized. That is really fun to say........"the girls room". Anyway, I guess I am entering into the nesting stage of the pregnancy. I feel a great urgency to get everything organized and ready.

Nice, isn't it?? I have to tell ya where we bought it.........

We had this huge truck pull up onto our street from North Carolina. Then, the big riggers went around and knocked on everyones doors to tell them they had a trailer full of American made furniture for sale and to come take a look..................so we did, along with a few of our neighbors. They had some nice things. But this rocker/recliner is what got me. We probably didn't get a steal of a deal on it, but it is nice and I look forward to not having to sit up in bed or move out to the couch when I get up with the baby in middle of the night. Wesley, being the full out boy he is, immediately set to work to try and launch things (including Aubrey) off of the chair not even 5 minutes after it was brought into the house. Oh how I love having a little boy around!!!

Hodge Podge....

Just a little bit of everything..............
Here is some of what we have been up to since the new year began.

Wesley loves to have his picture taken and loves to make crazy faces. He is so funny. Tonight he told Aubrey he had a letter for her and proceeded to read to her, "Dear Aubrey, make good choices, don't pee in your pants or poop in your pants......" And I don't remember the rest because I was laughing to hard. He is such a sweet big brother. He is excited for the baby to arrive and told me the other night that he wants her to sleep by him so he can take care of her. If only it could be that easy for me! He helped us put Aubrey to bed the other night. He took her to her bed and sang her songs and read her stories. It was so adorable. He really is great!

How do ya like this outfit? Aubrey is a 2 year old these days. Need I say more??? She is such a sweetie though and I love her hugs! She likes to wrestle Wesley down. She is one tough cookie. She even held her ground the other day by holding her door shut while Wesley was trying to push his way in. I was impressed. She is so rowdy yet can be so girlie. She has to have a baby whenever we go anywhere and she pretends to rock and feed and take care of them. It is so cute.

Brady taking a little rest, which by the way, he rarely gets to do these days. Chalk that up to a bossy, pregnant wife. Actually, he is just great about stepping in and taking care of the kids and me without me asking. He is very patient with my whining these days. I appreciate all he does more than he will ever know. He is the best!!!

Okay Michelle and Melanie and anyone else interested in seeing my progress........here ya go. My big belly that my family loves to use for a pillow. I think we are about set on naming this girl Cali. She is an acrobat in my tummy these days. I feel like she is constantly turning somersaults in there! I hope she isn't getting all tangled up!!

The other day, Wesley told me I better stop eating so much or my belly was going to get so big it would "explode like a fire work and get blood all over the place!". LOL He also finally asked HOW I was going to get the baby out! That was a hilarious conversation that I am still laughing about. He started out by asking if the doctor was going to cut off my head to get her out. What a boy thing to ask.

I have began the torturous process of going through boxes of baby clothes to determine what I do and do not have so we will be prepared when she gets here. So far so good. It is funny because I have discovered I have 0-3 month clothes and no 6-9 month (except some winter jackets and coats and a couple other things I may never use). And then I have 12 months and up, I think. Anyway, this is my least favorite thing to do. I wish I were Mary Poppins and could snap my fingers and have it all be done for me.

My newest arrangement to add to our home decor. I kinda miss The Flower Shop and the endless opportunities to be creative with flowers. And I am grateful for Snookie and the many others who helped teach me to make arrangements. It has been a fun skill to have. And saves me money since I can do it myself:)

This is an arrangement I did for Relief Society. I may just put this one on loan and take it back when they release me. The marble plaque was given to me when I was in Young Womens by one of my leaders. I was pleased with how it turned out.

New Years Eve we made a gingerbread house with the kids. Yes, we know that is usually a Christmas thing............but mom never got around to making homemade gingerbread to do the house and then we hit some after Christmas sales, and Michaels craft store had a whole gingerbread house kit on clearance for 3 bucks!! So, Grandma Tingey snatched one up for Wes and Aubrey. They had fun making it and even more fun eating it.

Daddy assembled the house and did a fantastic job. Mom and Dad both realized they'd never made gingerbread houses before. So, it was a new experience for us all.

MORE FUN PICS.....

Here we are folks; the rest of the pics I promised from our holiday with grandpa and grandma Tingey. We went to the battleship, the ice cream factory, shopping at antique stores, and we even made it to eat at the airport cafe while visiting Brenham. The kids liked that because they got to watch all the airplanes.
Aubrey and Wesley had so much fun playing hide and seek and the "chase us" game with grandpa. Aubrey loved dancing with grandpa.
Nick, Brady, Wesley and grandpa got tickets from Santa to go see the Jazz and Rockets play. Aubrey, Debbie and Grandma had a girls night and watched sleeping beauty.
We enjoyed playing games too. We played Zigity a lot. If you have never played, you must. It is really fun. Debbie had fun winning TWO out of three games against Grandpa, Nick, and Brady in Settlers one night. Whew Whooooooo!!!
We had a great visit. We love visitors so anybody feel free to come down when you can.

San Jacinto Monument.

Nick was being a funny guy and set up a bunch of pillows and stuffed animals and dolls all around grandma one morning when she was napping. It was funny. I wish I could have seen her look of surprise when she woke up and saw it all.