Don't lecture me about lying to your kids. We do it with Santa and the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy. So how is this any different? It's been a battle lately with Christopher doing anything I ask. He just looks at me all serious and says "No." I'm working really hard with him and some of it's paying off, but the one thing he doesn't want to do is clean up his toys. And he loves to dump the baskets out, never touch a toy and then walk away. I'm not sure if he's really looking for something or just likes doing that. But I was reading my latest issue of Parents magazine the other day and there was an article about a mom who was also fed up with the clutter on her floor and decided to tell her son about the Pickup Fairy. The other night I was trying to get him to pick up his toys and so I told him about the Clutter Fairy. (I couldn't remember the original name.) His first reaction when you try to tell him something like this, truth or not, he just smiles and says, "noooo" like he doesn't believe you. I started to go into more details, just like the other mom, but the clutter fairy is nice, her's was scary b/c her son likes things that are a little more scary. I told him that it makes her sad when children tell their parents they don't want to clean up and so she figures those children don't appreciate their toys and don't care to play with them anymore. She comes and takes all the toys off the floor and brings them back to her tree house in the woods and plays with the toys for a week and has so much fun! He's sitting there thinking about it and then as serious as he can be says, "Mommy, come help me clean up so the fairy won't take my toys." I said ok and we jumped up getting all the toys off the den floor. As soon as we are done he says, "where'd the clutter fairy go?" Next we went back to his bedroom and I told him we needed to clean that up too and he, out of breath, says, "Hurry Mommy! Where'd the fairy go?" It took all I had to not let him see me laugh. Last night we had the Ramages over for some ice cream since we haven't been able to get together with them for a while and I told them my latest trick. So, when it was time to go, matt asks Christopher about the cleanup fairy and the little guy went running down the hall yelling at William to help him clean up before the fairy comes. We loved it! So, if you think what I'm doing is wrong, just take a second look at your floor and think about how clean mine is and no yelling was involved to get there.

That's me. I apologize for my little rant yesterday. I found out that afternoon why I was feeling so "moody." It explained a lot! Once the kids and I had our naps we were all happier people. Last night was an adventure that I hope to not experience again. We took Brick for a walk and had borrowed a shock collar from a friend. He's done amazingly well on a leash and, like any dog would, he starts to pull when he sees a squirrel or a bird, but never bolts. He likes to creep. He's smart, he doesn't want to frighten them away, he wants to kill them with no warning. No, he hasn't killed anything on our watch, but that's not to say it will never happen in his life. (Focus, focus...) Ok, so we get back from our walk, which was very short b/c you could cut the humidity with a knife and I decided to try the shock collar out on his love to run away. He stayed around for a minute or two, then must have realized he was free and bolted. I took off running. In flip flops. Rubber, cheap, flip flops. With both kids still standing in the driveway. Alone. I don't think I've run that fast since field day in grade school. He typically runs around the three houses closest to us, but yesterday decided to try the house down and across the street. The one with the water behind it. He found our friend Sarah's house and her little dog. They chased each other along the fence. Then he found the water. The one with the tall grass surrounding it so that you can't just get in unless you are a dog. He did a little swimming along the shore, but since I couldn't see him, don't know if he was just walking in the water or submerged in it. (Wendi, if he's ruined your collar we will buy you a new one!) I couldn't reach him and he knew it. He always comes home fairly soon after escaping, so I decided I better run back and check on the kids. I heard Christopher yelling for me, in a "where-did-you-go" kind of way, and thankfully they decided to walk through the backyards to follow me instead of along the sidewalk. I told him to stay there and watch Sophie while I ran back to get the leash. Did I mention that thanks to having children I'm now peeing in my pants a little? Yup. Chasing a dog, losing a flip flop and wetting my pants. Good thing I'm already married b/c nobody would want that! I grab the leash, run back towards the chaos to find Brick all wet and playing with the kids right where I left them. The owner of the house is out with his kids and I just went ahead and introduced myself. Thankfully I knew his wife (he's back from deployment) and she could tell him the crazy lady he met wasn't as crazy as he'd described. I hope. I drag the dog and Sophie, b/c she didn't want to go home either, back to the house and we all take a shower. Well, Brick didn't.

Now, I'm not sure who had it rougher, me or Brandon. He got home about 11:45 last night and I assume ate cereal while watching a little tv (saw the tray and spoon on the counter and pillows on the floor) to unwind and then came to bed after midnight. His pager went off at 3:30 and it was a patient of his that had gone into labor. (They have to deliver a certain number of babies before graduating from residency.) He'd been asleep about 2 hours at this point. He got dressed, left the house and didn't get back until after 8:00 this morning. He said things went really well and fast and everyone did fine, so at least he had that going for him. Glad that prayer I said for them worked. He called Pensacola and didn't have to come in today.

On a side note, I've been wanting to get a new bag (purse sounds old) b/c I don't have to carry loads of diapers and sippy cups and snacks with me everywhere and showed the one I liked to Brandon the other morning. It's a hipster style and yes, I know, you don't see them in fashion magazines or on the red carpet, but I've never been that fashionable anyway. This is how the conversation went:

Me: "I really like this purse."

Brandon: "Don't you have one like that?"

Me: "No." (I really don't. I'd use it if I did!)

Brandon: "Are you sure?"

Me: "Yes. I don't have one like this." (I have 2 purses to my name and I bought one of them when I was pregnant with Sophie.)

Brandon: "Yes you do, it's hanging up."

Me: "You mean the diaper bag hanging on the back door?"

Brandon: "Yeah, that one."

Me: "It's a diaper bag."

Brandon: "So. What's wrong with that?"

The conversation ended and I remembered why I don't share girly thoughts or ideas with my husband. That's what your girlfriends are for.

Last week was hard b/c Brandon was working very long days and then was on call Saturday and had to sleep all day Sunday. We took the kids to a little beach area Sunday evening for a picnic supper and some swim time. They had a blast and loved having time to play with their Daddy again. I found out that afternoon that he was going to begin one of the worst rotations they have, the dreaded month at Sacred Heart in Pensacola. It's an hour drive and the hours are from 1-10 pm. You are probably thinking, "what's so bad? you get to spend the morning with them." Not so true. They usually have other patients to see here at the base hospital or paperwork to catch up on and they need to sleep in b/c they are driving home an hour after a long shift. So, for a month, we see Brandon for about an hour or two a day during the week. It hits Christopher the worst. He cries and whines b/c he wants his Daddy to wake up or to come home and play with him. It kills me, but what can you do? So, again, I thank God that I have such a wonderful place to take the children twice a week so we can have a break from each other and the frustration of our little situation. I don't want it to sound bad when I say that, I really DO thank God that we have found a place that we can trust to send the children and they can play with other kids their own age and learn new things. I know that others have it worse and that I signed up for it when I married someone who wanted to be a doctor, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about the situation I'm in all the time. Hey, I never ever claimed to be perfect.

and I was thrilled to learn I could have buttermilk anytime I wanted. It has a recipe for buttermilk pancakes on the back, so we made that for breakfast along with bacon (which I have learned the oven is the best way to get perfectly crisp bacon). The kids did this while I was cooking breakfast, And then they did this when they ate it.

I showered and relaxed on the couch and when the kids woke up, we went in the backyard and did a little of this,

and a little of that.

We were sweaty and dirty, even though it really wasn't that hot out, so we went in for a bath. I saw that Dr. Doolittle was coming on tv and thought we'd have movie night. I recorded it and instead we watched Christopher's favorite show, Wipeout. But we still had this for supper,

and this for dessert.

You would have thought the kids had never had chocolate pudding b/c this is what they did when they ate it.

There isn't a bowl in front of Christopher for a reason. He saw Sophie's messy face and thought he'd try to do it one step further and clap it in his hands. This didn't go over well with me. I hate to say it, but I loathe Brandon being on call on Saturday. It's not one day you are out, but two b/c they have to sleep all day on Sunday to recover. And for some reason the kids know this b/c I swear I see little horns poking out of Christopher's head on these days. And it's not my attitude b/c I try very hard to make the day fun and special for them. Today my ears are literally ringing from all the yelling and squealing that has gone on the last 30 hours. He usually gets to sleep in the bed with me on nights Brandon is gone, but I had to kick him out last night b/c he wouldn't be quiet or still. I finally got everyone down for naps and I'm going to finish my lunch I started an hour ago and crash on the couch. I thank God that I know Him b/c He is the only one who can get me through these days. Sunday morning is the highlight of my weekend when Brandon's gone. I'm so thankful to have found a Sunday school class, after many years of not having one I could call home. I love my children, I do very much, but boy can they give you a headache! And the yelling and squealing was mostly from excitement, not from trantrums, so that's why this one is killer. My ears should be ringing from joy! But it still hurts.

I made a new recipe for supper tonight and it was definitely a keeper! It's incredibly easy and most likely items you have on hand constantly. I got it from Kraft Food magazine and would have put a photo, but they only have a video on their website. Here's the recipe, I added a can of cream of chicken soup to give it a creamier texture b/c it looked a little watery.

This is what we found Sophie doing the other night while cleaning up the dishes. Christopher thought it looked like fun and decided to join her. She has no fear. That scares me.


Yesterday the kids had mother's day out and I had to pass up lunch with the girls to do yard work. We were written up (twice. ouch!) and it had to be done. I am new to military life, but this is what it must be like to live in one of those neighborhoods where they measure your lawn and leave you dirty little notes telling you your grass is 1/4 inch too long. Even though I didn't think it looked that bad, it does look much better now. Any-hoo, I decided to grab my book and head up to the church and read while I waited for the kids to be finished with mother's day out and as I was driving I saw the pitiful strip mall that had two clearance places I'd been dying to check out. I haven't really been in a shopping mood, but thought I'd just see what they were like for the next time the mood hit me. Let's just say I hit the jackpot! Here's what I found:

The Halo sleepsacks were $6.99 a piece. They had five and I just bought all of them and figured whatever Jennifer didn't want she could give as a gift. I went to pay for it and they were 75% off of $6.99. That's right, I bought all 5 sleepsacks and a straw purse for Sophie for $9.53. Beat that! The cd's were a pack that I found at the Beall's outlet for $3.99. Christopher always ask for the truck/digger/tractor song and we have no idea what he's talking about. Now we will know. He loves them! They take basic kid songs and change the words to say "truck," "tractor," or "John Deere."

These dresses I bought a while ago for Sophie at Khol's but forgot to post about them. The gingham one is a Ralph Lauren and I fell in love with it! It was marked at $16.99, which is more than I like to pay for clothes, but it was so cute I was going to just bite the bullet since the other dress was only $3.99. Went to pay for it and found out the RL dress was around $4. Yup! I almost fainted. Did I mention it was originally $40? I can't wait for her to wear them next summer!

I'm not sure why this photo is sideways, but after I dropped the kids off Tuesday morning at MDO, I saw a sign on base saying the library was having a used book sale. I had time, so I went inside. The children's section was tiny, but I did find these books, plus three more that the kids hid somewhere. Asking price? $3.50 Oh, and I never got around to reading my book. But I'm going to keep it within reach for next time!

This is Brick's favorite spot in the house. I don't want him to get used to it, but he can't help it. He's eyeing all the squirrels and birds that are out in the front yard. At one point I had my legs under him and you could feel the tension in his body. It was hilarious! Thankfully he doesn't bark and freak out. He just stares at them planning his move if he can ever get out there to chase them. I did let him out the back door to go after a squirrel and he forgot about the screen porch and tried to run threw it to save time. I have no idea how he didn't tear it off the frame, but I'm glad he didn't. It's metal and sharp. Christopher put a hole in it with a golf club. We just don't want to pay to fix it.

Have I mentioned yet that I love having a dog? Besides the fact that he's absolutely beautiful, he's sweet and Christopher is so incredibly proud of him. But, I finally got to witness today the best part about having a dog. He loves to chase squirrels. And we have an insane abundance of squirrels around here. And you aren't aloud to "get rid" of them. We have seen a decrease in these furry tailed rats since we got back home and I'm very excited about this. They are like ants! Now, if he could just get rid of the mosquitos. But I guess that's what the bug zapper is for and if I could only find the drill I could hang that up too.

On a funny note, Christopher was just hopping down the hall and counting each hop. He got to his destination and told me, "I had numbers in my mouth, Mommy."

This past week the kids and I went up to the Montgomery area to visit family and friends. I will go ahead and warn you, there are a lot of photos in this post. Our first stop was at the hospital to meet Anne Morgan. Jennifer was doing amazingly well and you would have never guessed she'd just had a baby the day before. Anne Morgan was so tiny and petite (even though she was bigger than both my kids), and definitely got her tall daddy's hands and feet. She is precious and the kids were so excited to see their new cousin.

Christopher LOVES babies and you can see it on his face. He pulls his arms up and giggles with excitement! He runs away and then comes back, pulls his shoulders up, gives her a kiss, giggles, then looks at me for approval.

Sophie even went up and gave her a kiss too! All on her own. I was worried that she would get jealous and at times she did for about 10 seconds. I think she was just following Christopher's lead. Whatever works!

Here's a photo of what Brick looked like riding in the van, peeking over Sophie's shoulder. I put the double seats down for him to lay on, but he preferred the single seat that was still up. On the way back home we switched it and loved having his own "couch" to lounge on.

Sophie and Christopher loved going swimming with Grammie and I. I asked Christopher if I could take his photo as he was climbing up the ladder and he said, "I'm too busy jumping off the dock, Mommy." Well, ok then!

Thursday, Caroline, Hunter and Drake arrived and that night the boys were in charge of cutting Pop's hair. They lined up on the stepstool and each had a turn. Once they lost interest I finished it up. Sophie helped clean it all up off the floor.

Friday morning a dump truck arrived with a new batch of sand for the boys to dig in. (It's also for Mom and Dad to use later) The boys went nuts! Hunter was the only one brave enough to get a close up look at the truck.

Christopher was the farthest away. He was practically under the carport b/c he gets nervous when he sees trucks in action. Maybe it's b/c we've scared him about crossing the street. Who knows, but he won't go near one that's turned on.

Caroline brought the boys' plasma cars for them to ride with the one Grammie and Pop already have and they chased each other around the wall separating the kitchen and den area. This was not in the plans when the house was built, but it was a brilliant design as far as we are concerned! They chase each other for hours!

Sophie and Drake climbed up to play a little piano. They were really cute together!

Caroline and I were at the house alone with the kids on Friday and trying to come up with something to do that didn't involve us being outnumbered in the water. We pulled out the slip n' slide and tried to fill up the pool, but couldn't blow it up and there was no pump to be used. Aren't these the biggest hydrangea bushes you've ever seen? They are gorgeous!

Christopher and Drake climbed to the top of the sand pile. I left it zoomed out to get a shot of how big it was. They were orange after playing on it and had to be hosed off. Once the sand dries it will be cleaner to play in, but they didn't seem to care one bit.

Jennifer and Trey ended up surprising us on Friday afternoon with a visit at the lake and the boys wanted to go swimming in the lake. I'd already showered so Sophie and I stayed dry. She climbed up in the chair on the dock and said,"cheeeeese!" so I had to get a photo of it.

Here's a photo of all the dogs and Christopher on the dock together. It's hard to tell, but there are 8 big dogs out here! Try playing fetch in the water with them and you'll be yelling for help two throws into it. But it's a blast!

Uncle Trey had no problem jumping in the water with the boys. He is such a fun uncle! Christopher loves him b/c he would throw him in the air and swim with him.

Here's the only photo I got of the four kids together. I don't even try to pose them b/c Christopher hates it and let's face it, that's a lost cause with this bunch! They'd rather be playing than taking a silly group photo for their Mom and Aunt B.

Saturday we loaded up with Papa John and Nana to go to Cameron's 4th b'day party (Mimi was already there). We've never made it over to GA for our nieces' birthdays, so we thought we'd try to this time. The kids loved the water party and Christopher had a blast going down the blow up slide. Sophie wasn't so sure about it, so she just walked around watching everyone else.

She did, however, enjoy the ice cream cups that they had! She was determined to do it all by herself. That's my girl.

Here's the birthday girl! She's so sweet and we can't believe she's 4 already! I still remember when we went to see her after she was born. Time flies!

Sunday we went over to see the Khan family and everyone but Christopher (I told you!) was willing to sit for this. He's holding a toy sander.

Sophie (Christopher too) was completely exhausted by the end of the week and so she just took blankie to every soft spot she could find and would lay there until she had to move. We finally put her down for a nap b/c we felt so bad for her.

It was hot waiting for lunch so we pulled out the pool for the boys to play in. They had so much fun going down the slide and Christopher and Nicholas would sit on each side, bounce as hard as the can and Joshua would hang on for dear life. It was hilarious!

Today was a very big day for our family. First, little Anne Morgan was born this afternoon. Here she is with her parents, who I think look absolutely wonderful for just having a baby. I thank God that her delivery went so quick and smooth! Mom said that Jennifer was in great spirits all day and seemed perfectly calm. I can't wait to see them tomorrow afternoon! Oh, for those of you who ask, she was 7.7 lbs. and 20 1/2 inches long and has black hair.


This morning Christopher dressed himself. We went to Walmart like this and I loved every minute of it! I always wanted a little boy that loved playing dress up and wasn't afraid to wear a costume in public. I forget how long ago The Incredibles came out b/c I had a few people ask me who he was. But they were much, much older and probably never heard of it anyway.


And here's our latest addition to the family. Brick/Pluto Hemphill. We didn't think we'd get him until next week, but they called me this afternoon and said they were able to squeeze him in and we could pick him up today. Total surprise, but very excited! I see lifelong best friends in these two. It was adorable the whole way home b/c Christopher kept talking to him like Brick/Pluto knew what he was talking about. Things like, "My daddy saw a paver last night," and "Look! A flatbed, Brick!" or "Do you like Wall-E? Mommy, Brick wants to watch Wall-E, it's his favorite." and finally, "I think you're really going to like the lake. We are going next year." I don't know how I made it home safely I was laughing so hard. He has been following the dog all over the house and talking to him about everything. It's so cute!!!

I know I've posted a lot this weekend, but well, it's been a fun and exciting time around here. Right now I'm about to burst b/c my lil' sis is having her first baby tomorrow and I can't be there! It's killing me! But I'm thrilled b/c I'll get to meet my sweet new niece this week when we get up there. Say a little pray for their family as she is induced tomorrow and that God's hands will surround them and comfort them. I pray everything goes perfectly smooth and much, much faster than my two babes came!!! I love you Jen and Trey and you have no idea what you've just gotten yourselves into with me and that baby girl!!! I'm going to love her like my own!

I just remembered one more funny thing Christopher said last night. We've been working on our prayers before bedtime and a couple times I've asked him what he'd like to pray for, but he always says, "you do it." I tried again last night and this time I said, "What would you like to thank Jesus for?" Here's what came to his little mind: my airplanes, my fan, my Mommy's nose, my trucks He gave me (trying to explain that everything we have belongs to Jesus), my dog and Santa. I'm not sure where Santa came from, maybe b/c we'd had a bubble bath earlier and he'd put bubbles on his face and say ho ho ho. I'm glad he's feeling more confident in his prayers! Maybe I could learn a lesson or two from him. I'm going to try to add more photos, just need to find time to do it. Brandon wanted to clean out the closet today and that's kind of taking over. As well and the laundry that has piled up.

Yesterday morning Christopher informed me what my new place in the family will be once our dog comes home. Here's how it went down:

Me: "Do you want to pick out a bed for Pluto?"

Christopher: "Nope."

Me: "Where's Pluto going to sleep?"

Christopher: "In my bed."

Me: "Well, where are you going to sleep?"

Christopher: "In your bed."

Me: "Well, where am I going to sleep?"

Christopher (without missing a beat): "Outside."

Great. The dog is higher up in the chain than I am and he's not even here yet! Oh, he also came up and told me that we needed to get Pluto a truck chew toy. He's so cute!