Danny

Danny has decided to award us points based on our parental performance.  When he's angry at me he yells, "you don't have points!"
OK...
But sometimes I do things right and suddenly mommy has "lots of points!"

Recently Danny was being very affectionate and telling me how much he loved me and what a great mom I am (I like those rare days) and he said, "I'm sorry I hated you last week Mommy"
me too!

Reason

As I was driving Hunter to school last week, I suggested he should REALLY brush his teeth and hair EVERY morning.  He snickered a smile at me and said, "I don't want to."  And I replied, other kids won't want to be by you!  His reply, "my friends like me just fine the way I am."

So, I continued - "If you don't take care of yourself, you're going to turn into a pimply, ugly teenager!"

Hunter looked at me and groaned... (I'm ready for the smart remark here...)
"Why do you have to be so reasonable?"

message

Cole stayed at home while I did Hunter's carpool on Friday.  Upon my return, Cole is in his underwear and I immediately ask what happened.  Cole says, "Didn't you get my message?  I called you and told you about it already!"  My phone didn't show any missed calls and I thought perhaps he had called the wrong number (which he does often enough to know the other person by name).  Later, I got a call from my sister, Lara, asking why Cole had called her about spilled milk.  Here's a transcription of the message...

Uh, if this is….uh….hi, this is Cole. If this is (major grunt of frustration) my mom Lea, I just want you to know that I spilled my…some milk and it went EVERYWHERE! So I’m cleaning it up and it got on my pants so I took them off and are drying them, so things might be a little crazy around here. Bye.

My favorite part is "a little crazy around here..." since it was just him and his mess!

Hand-me-downs

This is why Danny won't be getting very many hand-me-downs... 

 the picture doesn't do it justice but it is suppose to be a white t-shirt and now it's beyond filthy with cuts in it from accidents while doing cutting projects at school.  This is the 2nd shirt he ruined this week.

President's Day Weekend Fun

We went to Moab for some biking, hiking, and play time.  Doug and Tiff joined our noisy family and it was a great weekend - a LOT of boys (9) and the two mommies trying to keep their cool.  

(this is suppose to make you think the rock fell on his arm...)

It was a super lame hotel - but we survived with 3 boys in sleeping bags on the floor, a baby in a the pak-n-play in the doorway and the parents enjoying the lumpy, old bed with safety pinned pillows.  Sweet memories.

Happy Valentine's Day!

With some inspiration from my friend, I decided to start a new family tradition.  I have started it - and I suppose it will be a tradition if I do it again!  I kept telling the boys I had something special planned.  When I pulled out the tablecloth, candles, and plates - their eyes got real big and suddenly everyone was happily helping me set the table and get ready for our special meal.  I bought Papa Murphy Heart-shaped pizzas and served a yummy spinach-strawberry salad with the pizza.  I also had a red juice mixed with Sprite and it was fine dining in our house that night!  We topped it off with a Razzleberry Pie (made fresh from the box in the freezer).  The roses that Shayne gave me were the perfect centerpiece for our beautiful table.  I love my boys!

Baby Blessing

On January 29th, Skyler was blessed by his daddy.  We had lots of family and friends here and it was a great day.  We enjoyed a big pancake breakfast with fresh fruit after church.  Sadly, I didn't get any pictures during the visiting/eating because I was so busy cooking.  

Cute cousins - Danny and Michael

DVR eyes

Tonight, Shayne took the big boys to see their cousin's basketball game.  The ball got stuck between the rim and the backboard and Cole couldn't figure out why the ball had stopped.  When he realized what had happened he exclaimed, "Oh!!  I thought my eyes had gone on pause!"