He is The Champion, My Friend...

Bryant is finishing up his tee ball season and we all went to the Baron's game over the weekend so that he could get his trophy from his coach. We had a great time, and Bryant was thrilled about his accomplishment and even more excited to put it in Daddy's trophy case at home! I love you, Bryant! I'm so proud of you!

This Belongs to:

When my boys were little, I used to use a labeler and made little labels for everything that was theirs! The label would say "This Belongs To: Tres/Bryant." I put it on sippy cups, diaper bags, clothes, toys, dishes, you name it! It was labeled! I just love that little machine. It's fun to me. I even labeled the tupperware in my cabinet to houses flour, sugar, tea bags... It makes it look so nice and neat and makes me seem super efficient even though I'm not. Man, just relating this has made me have an itch to run out and buy some Dymo labels and get to organizing! I think I might have a problem! Ha! If you see my baby crawling around with a label on her hinnie that says 'bottom...' please come and remove the labeler from my hands.

I gotta be honest...

I remember going to the baby store after Tres was born and being so darn excited about getting a jogging stroller. I had plans to go walking every day... I was gonna get my bikini body back... or did I ever have one? When I went in to pick it up, Tres was about 5 months old and the cashier asked me how far along I was!! Don't ever ask that, by the way... they may not be pregnant!

Now, every time I see it sitting out in the garage I just roll my eyes in disgust. I think I might have used it a hand full of times. Hank used it more than I did. But honestly, I don't think we've gotten enough use out of it to warrant the amount of money we put into it.

It is bulky and not easy to store... but it pushes great. Maybe if we had gotten a Bob stroller I would feel differently about it. They seem more functional than the one we have. But, who knows... even that might be collecting dust right now. I'm starting to believe that it's impossible to live that sort of lifestyle with three small children.

Barnyard Memories!

I love horses. I think they are one of God's most beautiful creation! They are elegant and classic and stately. They are graceful and purposeful and embody a lot of characteristics I would like to be true about myself!

I remember growing up on the farm and loving it! There were a lot of chores that went with it though. I did not love, for instance, mucking the stalls. I did not love polishing the saddles. I did love bathing the horses, throwing hay down from the hay loft, galloping across the fields, sneaking sugar cubes out to them in the morning.

I wish I had kept riding over the years! But that is one expensive hobby! My niece Ashton has a horse and I hope I can ride it when I go visit next. I was pregnant and then SOphie was so new last time I saw them that I didn't feel comfortable riding!

The Armor of God!

I've been working on teaching the boys about the Armor of God in the Bible. They get a little side tracked with the concept of suiting up in armor... you know, letting their little imaginations run wild with thoughts of swords and battles and whatnot. But I remembered a song that my Mom used to sing way back when to help them. I had to explain what some words meant, but it helps them. Basically is uses the imigary of asuit of armor to help them remember. Here are the words:

I've got my feet shod
With the preparation of Peace
Got my Sword of the Spirit
My shield of Faith
Got my breastplate of Righteousness
My helmet of Salvation
I put on my armor
And I'm ready for the battle!

I think it's fun to be able to pass on to my kids the songs and lessons I remember being taught as a child!

Phone or Toy?

Who knew that a cell phone would be Sophie's favorite toy? But it is. If she is fussy in any store, I can hand her my cell phone and she is instantly mesmorized by the lights, buttons, and sounds. My phone, however, is not to fond of Sophie! She can lock it up quicker than you can bat an eyelash and she's slobbered on it so much that it sometimes acts crazy. So much so that Hank and I are talking about updating it and seeing what else is out there.

This would be my dream phone:It's a Nokia N95 8GB, complete with a built-in GPS (perfect for those trips when Hank refuses to admit that we are lost), and an 5 MP camera!! It has tons of other features, but these are the two that I care about.

Coupon Queen

I love a good sale. What women worth their salt does not?? Lately, I've been the coupon clipping queen. Of course, I did designate myself that title... however I feel it's earned when you are currently staring at your 2 inch think binder that has all of your coupons neatly clipped, filed, and categorized. My folder also contains my scissors (exclusive coupon cutting scissors... not to be used for other things!), a calculator, pencil, and envelopes to divide up my transactions.

So maybe I take saving a buck a little too far, but if it means I can take my kids to get a happy meal occassionally, you better believe I'll keep on doing it.

So coupons, be ware!! I'm just itching to clip you.

To My Wonderful Husband

Top 10 reasons why I need a laptop... NOW!

10- I can monitor breaking coupon news anytime, anywhere, whenever I wanted!
9- I could order lingerie online from our den. (See, it's beneficial to us both.)
8- Our children could play on their favorite websites anytime and anywhere.
7- I could check our bank balance from Disney... no more wondering if we can afford the obscenely priced toy our kids want, now we'll know we can't!
6- I could order lingerie in bed. (See that!! Same as number 9, but in a DIFFERENT place!!)
5- You could look up really cool sports stuff anytime you wanted.
4- You wouldn't have to be chained to the computer desk and could eat meals while you surf the internet.
2- I could order linger from the kitchen.
1- You could check your fantasy baseball in bed!! (Yes, I would let you borrow it occassionally!)

37 to grow on

I had planned to make Hank his favorite meal for his birthday, complete with cake, but he requested (no reflection on my cooking skills, I'm sure!) that we go out. We went to his favorite eat-out, Wings. Wings is the place we typically go to on date nights... we even had our rehearsal dinner there! Ha!
Anyway, it turned out to be Kid's Night, so they got to eat free!! And since it was kid's night, they had a comedian type guy there who was doing balloon animals and hats and such. The kids loved it!!THey each got a sword (and promptly popped them within minutes!)Bryant was looking up at the balloon as it was being blown up. "Oh Wow!" she says. Sophie got a little doggie. It was a fun birthday dinner. Our waiter came and sang Happy Birthday to Hankie in Italian... which was interesting (notice I didn't say good). Then we came back to Mom & Dad's and had cake and Hankie opened a few presents.

It was simple, fun, and full of laughter!