Bowling

On Saturday I took my kids bowling. Bill worked all weekend, so it has just been myself and the kids out and about. We were joined by my sis and brother in law along with 3 of there 4 kids and also there friends Breanne and Derick. It was great fun, but I think we played too many games. The kids got done before us, and as we were trying to finish up our last game, the kids started to get a little cranky. Over all though it was a good time. Brenna and Lex had so much fun together... I don't think I have ever seen them play together like they were. Reese and Sam found there fun pretending to drive the race cars for the majority of the trip, and if they weren't found there they were sliding down the wheelchair ramp. Ahhhh the joys of family outings!

Family Fun at Papa's

Thursday all the kids went over to my dads for a little family time. The kids had so much fun just running amuck! Brenna and Benjamin played so well together... they were cute to watch!















































The newest additions to the cousin's! Little Anderson





























I think they were playing ring around the rosey....















Then they all fall down!












I just love it when we get all the kids together... they have so much fun!

Innocence....

Just a few things I found that suited my thoughts, and protective nature as a mother. Not quite able to understand a persons need to belittle an innocent child. Anyone who can't see what a blessing every child is, doesn't deserve the happiness they bring into the world. And anyone who can betray the trust and innocence of a child, doesn't deserve to exist, as an equal, amongst those who are great.

A YOUNG PERSON'S BILL OF RIGHTS

I have a right to live rather than merely exist.
I have a right to personhood rather than being an object of possession.
I have a right to equality with every other human being regardless of age.
I have a right to be respected as a human being.
I have a right to be uniquely myself with my own identity.
I have a right to speak my thoughts and feelings, and to be heard.
I have a right to ask "why?" and to receive and answer.
I have a right to receive discipline without insults, yelling and put-downs.
I have a right to be encouraged to grow to maturity at my own pace.
I have a right to be free of physical harm at the hands of others.
I have a right to be loved for who I am.
I have a right to think for myself and, with guidance, to make my own decisions.
I have a right to be responsible for myself.
I have a right to feel joy, happiness, sorrow, bereavement, and pain.
I have a right to my acheivements and a right to my mistakes.
I have a right to care and be cared for, to give and to receive.
I have a right to develop my own convictions, beliefs and standards.
I have a right to know and experience personal freedom.
I have a right to my own body, mind, and spirit.
I have a responsibility to recognize and accept the rights of others regarding their Bill Of Rights.
~~ Author Unknown ~~



A LITTLE PRAISE

"I got two A's," said the little boy, his voice was filled with glee.
His father said, "If you studied more," "You might have gotten three."
"Mom, I've got the dishes done," the girl called from the door.
Her mother answered sharply, "Well I hope you swept the floor!"
"I mowed the grass," the tall boy said, "And edged the sidewalks too."
"I hope you improved," his father said, "On the job you usually do."
The children in the house next door, seemed happy and content.
The same thing happened over there, but this is how that went:
"I've got two A's," the small boy said, his voice was filled with glee.
His beaming father said, "That's great!" I'm so proud you belong to me!"
"Mom, I've got the dishes done," the girl called from the door.
Her mother smiled and softly said, "Each day I love you more."
"I've mowed the grass," the tall boy said, "And edged the sidewalks too."
His father answered "Thank you!" "For all the helpful things you do!"
Give a hug, or thanks or praise, for the tasks your children do.
If they're to lead a happy life, so much depends on you.
~~ Author Unknown ~~



A BUTTERFLY IN THE WIND

A child is...
A butterfly in the wind,
Some can fly higher than others;
but each one flies the best it can.
Why compare one against the other?
Each one is different!
Each one is special!
Each one is beautiful!
~~ Author Unknown ~~

Round #2 on my Tattoo

Okay so Wednesday I went in and had my tattoo worked on for the second go around. I was hoping to have it completely finished this time, but because I wasn't fully healed from the last time, there was some stuff we couldn't finish. DANG! Oh well... the tree is done, the sky is done, and the rocks and ocean are also done. YAY! Next time all I have to get done is the light house and the grass/hill. Then the finishing touch ups on the dragon. Getting close... and I love it!

A Real mom... (Thanks for this one Steph)

A Real Mom
A real mom uses baby wipes to clean more than dirty bottoms.

A real mom uses her shirt sleeves as napkins and Kleenex.

A real mom allows others to see that she doesn't 'have it all together.'

A real mom picks her kids' noses.

A real mom puts dirty socks on her kids when the clean ones run out.

A real mom has moments when she wishes she wasn't a mom.

A real mom goes potty with an audience.

A real mom sometimes wears makeup, and when she does, her kids say, 'Wow! Mom, you look different!'

A real mom counts chasing a toddler around the house as exercise.

A real mom thinks that occasionally the television makes a wonderful babysitter!

A real mom sometimes feeds her kids cookies for breakfast.

A real mom makes mistakes on a daily basis but keeps on chugging along, trying to get better.

A real mom feeds her children lollipops (or just about anything) so she can complete a phone conversation.

A real mom realizes that she learns as much from her children as her children learn from her.

A real mom knows that childhood passes so quickly- but not quick enough some days.

A real mom needs other real moms.

Have you been Tagged?

I was tagged by Tasha ...so here we go!

The Rules (copied and pasted like a true champ):
1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks you possess.
4. Tag 6 following blogger by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the tagged blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

ONLY 6..... Gosh you aren't asking for to much ! lol

1.First and Foremost.... Shopping!!! That is most definately my biggest guilty pleasure. I could shop all day everyday... even if I don't buy anything... I just love looking and wishing. Brenna is now just as bad... she says "Mom, I'm bored, lets go shopping!"

2. Folding Laundry. I don't mind washing the laundry, but I hate folding it and putting it way. Mostly because it doesn't do any good... especially in my room. Seems that when I do put it away, Bill can't find what he is looking for so he tears it all out the next day anyway, and where does it end up... in a pile on the floor... I guess it is easier to find things there.

3. Dishes... I know this is a bad one! But I will clean my entire house before I do the dishes... I swear as a kid I had that chore for months at a time... so now I despise it!

4. I am addicted to tattoos... I don't know if this is exactly a bad thing, but some may think so. I always only wanted 2 tattoos... one on my stomach (which was my first) and one on my foot (which was my 3rd). Now, I am onto my 4th... as most of you know... it is a half sleeve. I love it! And for some reason I have an odd like for the pain of it all.

5. Being home alone. I can't sleep worth a damn when Bill is on his night shifts... My family finally got to the point that they were majorly annoyed with my frequent weekly, sometimes daily, afternoon visits. If they only understood how much I HATE being at home alone.

6. I love the smell of diesel fuel, grease, gasoline on my man. My dad was a machanic growing up, so the smell became a pleasant, soothing smell to me. I love to wrap my arms around him after a hard days work and take it all in.

I now Tag.....Stephanie, Kelly, Jessica, Heather, Amber, and Aunt Barb.

Reading Time

One of Brenna's favorite things to do is to sit down and "pretend" to read a book. This morning Sam decided he was going to join her... so he climbed up on top of her and listened to her story... although he really wanted to go through and flip the pages.

















































Sam loves his sissy so much... he decided it was appropriate to lay a big wet one on her to show his appreciation to her for reading to him.
















Brenna quickly turned away, but then decided she didn't want to hurt his feelings. I love these two and when they have these loving sibling moment. It just melts my butter!















SO TENDER!!!!

Playing at the park...

Yesterday the kids and I went out for a little mommy and me time. Not that we don't have enough of that already, but they were going crazy being cooped up in the house and the weather was super nice, so we went to the park. They both had so much fun, although Sam, didn't really have much he was interested in aside from the wood chips on the ground. He found great joy in picking it up and throwing it. Such a boy.



























Sam really wanted to try out the slide, so I sat him up there and down he went one time, then he was happy to just hang out on the side of it watching his sissy as she went down time and time again. He didn't like his ride down much.

































Brenna got a big kick out of the fact that she could climb this little wall by herself... she was sure to tell me that I needed to take her picture when she made it all the way to the top. She was very proud of herself.























Then back down the bigger slide she came!








Sam being so enthused by the wood chips!








As soon as Brenna tromped over to the swings that was it for her... we had to hang out there for quite awhile. Sam was kinda bummed because he wanted to swing, but didn't get how to hold on. So I sat with him on the other swing for a bit. He liked that. Then when I had to get down for the 3rd or 4th time to push Brenna Sam thought it was a good idea to walk right behind Brenna's swing... Bonk! He toppled over under her swing... he was soooooo sad. And done with the swings.























He decided to wonder off on his own playing with woodchips yet again. At least that was safe.
















Then he spotted the stearing wheel! Yay, something for Sam to do... he played with that for quite awhile, then of course... Sissy had to come interupt his fun. LOL... nothing new for Sam though.
























All in all I think both kids enjoyed themselves... And it was nice to get out of the house and enjoy some fresh air... We were chased off by all the bee's that decided to come out on the rampage... literally chasing us out of the park.

New Shoes....

Okay so I appologize that thes pictures are sideways... Can't figure out how to get them to face the right way... Anyway, Friday we went out "window shopping" and as we walked by Journey's for kidz saw the little chucks, and we just couldn't resist.














We decided on the old school white for Sam, and I must say he looks totally cute in them!


















And of course Brenna chose the pink. Although there were some really cute choices for girls... she liked the straight pink.













They were both really excited about there shoes, and couldn't wait to show them off for the camera. I must say, I am a little old school at heart... Now we just gotta slick Sam's hair back, put him in a leather jacket and jeans, along with his new shoes...

My little Sam Man!

So I have been posting so much about Brenna lately, I felt that I needed to focus on my little man today. He is growing so quickly and doing/saying new things everyday. He is starting to become his own little person.... Not that he wasn't before, he is just beginning to have likes and dislikes... his personality shining through more and more each day. He is almost 17 months old now, I can't believe how fast time goes by.













Here are a few things that have happened with him the past few months...

First and foremost, he has a new found LOVE for teasing his sister! As annoying as Brenna's wine is while this is happening I can't help but laugh my butt off everytime. He most deffinately is getting his revenge! He is also OBSESSED with Spongebob... I can't walk through the store without him pointing out EVERY spongebob item there is... whether it be a sticker, shoes, blanket... he has an eye out for the yellow character with square pants. When it comes on TV... he dances around to the opening song. It is just soooo cute. He has also learned several new words: Spongebob (of course), Hot, Binki, Moo, Elmo, Car, Socks, Shoes, Poo poo... that is just a few. A few weeks ago I let him pick out a new pair of sneakers... every morning he runs up to me with his shoes and wants me to put them on. He LOVES them! He has recently become attached to his blankies... if I would let him, he would walk around the house all day with every blanket he owned. However, we limit it to one, maybe two. He also loves to watch his sister paint, color, draw... whatever she happens to be doing. I don't know what it is, but he seems to be so intregued by it. He has finally, gotten excited about brushing his teeth. It has always been a fight with him, but now he loves it! He goes and gets me his tooth brush all the time and says... Teeth, Teeth. Super excited that I don't have to fight with him anymore!












Well, I guess that is all I have for now... He surprises me daily!

Turtle...

Okay so today was Brenna's 2nd day of pre-school, and this week is all about "Getting to know you" She had to take 3 things to school today that represent what she loves. So when I picked her up, and got her home... I opened her backpack to see what else they did today aside from the little show and tell. She had a little worksheet with a little head with ears and they got to color a picture of themselves... of course it is a bunch of scribbles, but she was proud of it. So at the bottom of the page it had 4 little things about them... and they filled in the blank...

First one was "My name is...."
Second one was "My favorite color is..."
Third "My favorite food is..."
And Last "My favorite game is..."

As I am reading through her answers... they were all normal.
Brenna
Orange
Cereal... Then I get to her fourth answer.
"My favorite game is...." Her answer Turtle!

So of course not knowing what this game is, I asked her... "Brenna honey, you said your favorite game is Turtle... What is Turtle?"

Her answer, "I don't know..."
Me: "But it is your favorite game?"
Her: "Yeah mom..."
Me: "Well How do you play?"
Her: "I don't know mom..."
Me: "But it is your favorite game?"
Her: "Yep!"

So there you have it, although she has no idea what this game is, or how to play it... it is her FAVORITE game! I just had to share cause I got a kick out of that!

My baby girl started pre-school...

Today was a super exciting day for me as a mom! Although I couldn't wipe the silly shit eating grin off my face, I also wanted to cry as my baby girl woke up this morning all excited for her first day of school. You can say, I was a little emotional about the whole day...

We started off the morning with a big bowl of cereal to get her mind and body ready for all she was going to learn.












All through breakfast she was excited as all get up about the fact that she was such a Big girl and got to go to school FINALLY! She has been waiting for this day for so long (about 2 weeks), but to her it felt like an eternaty. As we got ready, I think she may have gotten a little nervous. As I sat there in the bathroom giving her the I am so proud of you and the Big girl that you are becoming speach. And somewhere along the way she figured out that mommy wasn't going to be staying with her at pre-school... She told me that she wanted me to stay with her at school. I humored her and told her I would stay as long as she wanted me too... the SMILE returned, bright as ever. Once she was ready, we wrote her name on her NEW backpack... and went outside for some pictures.... she was super excited to show off her new Hanna Montana ("Batana" as Brenna calls her) backpack. That was the first thing we had to take a picture of!












Then of course Her pretty little face was next! We picked out her outfit the night before, as we were getting in bed. She was quick to tell me that she wanted her hair down, curled, and with a barret... so that is what we did!












As soon as we pulled up to her school... and Miss Beckie came out she ran right up to her and gave her a big hug! She was so excited to see her, then she saw the another little boy too... she imediately put on her shy face. Wasn't so excited for about 4.8 seconds! Then, she decided he wasn't so bad, and neither were the other kids as they all showed up one by one. There are 8 kids in her class... 4 boys and 4 girls. However, one little girl wasn't there today... so we didn't get to meet her, but the other two girls and not only sisters... but twins! Brenna thought that was pretty neat!












Once Brenna got inside, found the place to hang up her backpack, got a book and sat down to read... she decided that it was okay for me to leave. I was a little sad to say the least. I knew this moment would come, but I didn't expect it just minutes of getting inside. Oh well, off I went... driving around for about 15 minutes trying to figure out what I was to do with myself for the next 2 hours. I spent most of my time at my sisters with the new baby, then stopped by big lots for about a half hour... which by the way, I found some self adhiesive flooring to put in my bathroom for a WAY good deal! Then I was sure to get back to Miss Beckie's 10 minutes early so I could catch Brenna walking out of school for the much needed photos! NOT much to my surprise, the door opened and who was right in front... none other than little miss Brenna. She stood in the doorway and the moment she saw me started yelling at me to look at this, and that, and I learned this and saw that... but she didn't realize she was blocking everyone from getting to there mommies. Miss Beckie is teaching all the kids how to stand in a line and has this cool little thing with rings and each ring is connected by ropes... each kid had ahold of a ring... and out they came... Brenna the leader of the pack!












Brenna showed me her craft that she made... a little door hanger just for her bedroom... and was so excited. But when I asked her what she learned today... she said, oh I just learned about playing. LOL... thought that was cute. I came home and sat the kids down for lunch... Brenna started singing a new song... Nick Nack Patty Wack... I asked her where did you learn that song... she said, Miss Beckie taught me. Look at that... she did learn something new today after all! All on her first day of school!!!!