What's going on...

Lots going on around our house these days! We are wrapping up basketball and starting soccer and baseball. Having two boys who live for sports makes a very busy mother! I have gotten spoiled over the past few weeks with both the boys on the same basketball schedule. Now we are trying to balance Thomas's soccer and Matthew's piano, soccer, and baseball schedules. It will just be for a few weeks, but I am anticipating more take out food runs than normal!

After Thursday night's soccer practice, I asked Thomas to close the blinds while I got Mary Beth ready for bed. A few minutes later, I went to find Thomas and found him face down on his bed, dead asleep, still in his shin guards and cleats. He was burning up. I took him to the doctor on Friday, and he was diagnosed with the flu. He hadn't been sick since Michael's wedding two years ago, and I couldn't believe how pitiful he looked. He could hardly keep his eyes open. Thomas and I both got on Tamiflu (I can't imagine how I would manage our schedule if I was sick for two weeks with the flu!), and he was much better yesterday. Thomas being sick really made us pare down our activities all weekend, and I have to admit, it was great just being home.

After Bryon got home from church yesterday, we spent a considerable time in our yard gearing up for the spring. My fingers are sore today from so many thorn pricks, but being out there working in my garden has given me major spring fever!

What song was number one the day of your birth?

For me it was "One Of These Nights" by the Eagles .
Bryon's was "Joy To The World" by Three Dog Night.
Matthew's was "Smooth" by Santana and Rob Thomas
Thomas's was "U Got It Bad" by Usher
Mary Beth's was "Slow Motion" by Juvenile

I think it is funny that I knew Matthew's song really well, I know only the artist, Usher, but not the song, and I have never heard of "Slow Motion" or Juvenile! I guess I listened to less and less popular music with each passing baby!

What about you?

By the way, the Macarena was the number one song the day I got married! Hah!

Valentine's Day and the weekend

I have lots to catch up on!

First of all, we had a very nice Valentine's Day. Ever since Matthew was old enough to realize what the holiday was about, we have made the Valentine's night a family affair. This Valentine's Day, I made my grandmother's traditional spaghetti dinner and a strawberry cake. We had a candlelit dinner in our dining room. ME's chair was covered with towels! We enjoyed telling each other how much we love each member of the family. For the rest of the night, the boys kept talking about how much they loved eating in the dining room (I guess instead of eating in the kitchen when we have guests!). Friday at lunch, I made Mary Beth some soup and called her into the kitchen to eat. She raced in and sat at the dining room table and said, "I am ready for lunch!" What can I say, the girl has formal tastes!

This weekend, Michael and Jilinda came to town to celebrate Michael's birthday. After the boys' basketball game, we all gathered at my house to eat lunch. After lunch, we all sat around my living room to listen to Dad read my parents' 100 memories of Michael, and then watch a video of his life up to this point. It was a very emotional afternoon. Watching the video made me proud of my brother, really miss being a child, and hopeful that Bryon and I can provide a wonderful childhood for my kids like my parents did for me.

Here is a cute picture of Michael and Matthew when Matthew was in kindergarten. It was on Michael's video, and I don't think I ever had seen this one before! I can't believe how little Matthew looks!

Hope everyone has a great week!

Happy Half-Birthday, Mary Elizabeth!

Today, Mary Elizabeth is 3 1/2! Here is what she is up to lately:

*Mary Beth rarely walks anywhere. If she is moving, she is either twirling, jumping, or strutting hands on hips! She is very interested in the "twirl factor" with her dresses. The more material on the skirt, the better the twirl!
*She is into imagination games. Every day, we take turns being Belle and the Beast, the mean old ugly troll and the princess trying to cross the bridge, Cinderella and the prince, etc. When she is in character, she refuses to be called Mary Beth.
"Time for bed, Mary Beth!"
"Don't you mean, Cinderella?"
*Speaking of Cinderella, she is still obsessed with all things princess. She is Ariel in the bath tub, and either Cinderella or Belle "on land". She has asked me before if she could be a walking mermaid. Whatever floats you boat, Mary Beth!
*Dress up, dress up, dress up! You rarely see Mary Beth walking around our house without some sort of dress up clothing on. She came out of her room this morning in her Cinderella dress, tiara, and high heels!
*Her room is generally a disaster! This goes back to the last point. I can't put away her dress up clothes faster than she can pull them out! She did tell me a month or two ago that she wasn't strong enough to help me clean her room. Here's hoping that she gains some strength soon!
*She adores her big brothers. She calls Matthew "Bub" or "Bubby". Thomas is "Sweetie". Matthew calls her "Zooie". She can do no wrong in their book.
*She loves to laugh and to have others laugh at her. She went to her favorite restaurant yesterday with her best little girlfriend. They laughed for over an hour straight! Life is never dull with Mary Beth around.
*She adores Lauren. She calls her "Aunt" and prefers to have Lauren call her "Niece".
*She still loves her "Bibi". Sadly, the term bibi has been replaced recently by "blankie" or "blanks" for short.
*The girl can SING. She has a very large verbrato that cracks me up!
*She is very interested in letters right now. She loves pointing them out on buildings and is right most of the time. She also loves writing "M" but doesn't want to learn how to write any other letter.
*She is still pretty petite. She weighs 32 pounds and can still wear some of her 2 year old clothes.

*When it is time to get in the car, she races around the house to pack up a purse or two. They are usually filled with plastic toys, chap stick, or even the occasional extra pair of underwear or socks!

What a joy she is to me!

Happy 30th birthday, Michael!

Today is my brother, Michael's, 30th birthday! He is such an important part of my life. My kids adore him, and I feel so blessed to call him my brother. Can't wait to see you next weekend, Michael!

Ring Tailed Tooter!

I want to be careful writing this so as not to leave the wrong impression. For starters, my boys have always been rambunctous, but they never get in trouble in school. Thomas hasn't ever gotten a color change, and Matthew, from the start of preschool to present, has only had one. Deana, he did get his name tag pulled by a cafeteria Nazi, but even his teacher thought it was stupid, so we won't count it!

And then there is Mary Elizabeth.....

Let's just say, the girl loves to talk. She also loves to be silly with her best friend, Whitney. Yes, before every ballet class, and Mother's Day Out drop off, we have the discussion on how we must behave. She will look at me with her nose squinted and 1000 watt smile promising that she will be on her best behavior. It's just so hard for such a social butterfly!! She has had a few time outs for talking/silliness. Last week, I picked her up and asked her if she had gotten in trouble. She exuberantly exclaimed, "I didn't go to time out! I am SO LUCKY!" Does this mean just that she didn't get caught?

I must say that she is a doll. So affectionate and sweet. It is just a matter of reining in her mouth! She did great yesterday, so I am hoping this is just a phase!

Red Velvet Balls

Red velvet balls are one of my family's favorite desserts. I just got through making a batch for Matthew's teacher's birthday today. They are also a great gift at Valentine's Day. Here is the recipe:

1 box Red Velvet Cake
1 sm. tub of cream cheese frosting
1 package of chocolate bark

Bake red velvet cake as per directions. Use the biggest container you can to bake it in. This helps it be a little dryer. I use a 11x15.

Let it cool slightly. Then crumble the cake in a large bowl (make sure not to have large chunks of hardened edge cake in the mix) and pour the cream cheese frosting in the bowl. Mix well.

Roll into balls whatever size you want. Mine are usually the size of golf balls. Maybe a little smaller. Put the balls in the refrigerator to harden.

After a while, melt the chocolate bark either on the stove or in the microwave. Dip balls into the chocolate mix and let them harden. After finishing the balls, I like to drizzle white almond bark on top of them.

Then try your hardest not to eat the entire platter of them!

Monday morning quarterback.

What a whirlwind weekend! After our game on Saturday, Bryon and the boys went camping with our neighbor and his two boys who are the same age as Matthew and Thomas. They had a great time fishing, canoeing, hiking, listening to ghost stories, and exploring caves. ME and I had a fun girls weekend, too! We are considering spending a few days camping during Spring Break. I am not much of a camper, but I think I can hang with a few days of R&R, beautiful scenery, and hiking. I just need to find a place with closed in, air conditioned luxury!

We enjoyed the Super Bowl with some of our friends and thanked the good Lord for the gorgeous weather! All of our kids had fun playing outside and we got the first glimpse of spring. I am sure the cold weather will come again, but I have enjoyed cooking out and wearing shorts for a change!

My poor kids looked like walking zoombies this morning after such and eventful weekend. I think next year, they should plan for the Super Bowl to be the Sunday before MLK day so everyone can rest afterward! We will all have an early night tonight, and all will be well for tomorrow.

I was happy for the Giants, but it stung just a little seeing how the Cowboys beat them twice this year! Oh well, there is always next year!

A few pictures of last week.

Not a lot to blog about lately, but I am tired of looking at my 13 year old self everytime I get on the computer! Here are a few pics of the last week. The first picture is a little silly, but I must say that our family loves dance night in the evenings. I put on iTunes and we all enjoy dancing our brains out. Matthew cracked me up the other night when he started pretending to be a deejay. Very believable!

This picture just cracks me up! It is rare to find ME at home wearing anything other than dress up clothes. She actually wore this one to church on Wednesday night. Pick you battles, right? This pic shows the range of her personality, doesn't it? Bow, evening gown, dart gun, and chocolate on her face. You can definitely tell she has older brothers!

I love this picture of Thomas. He was Matthew's team manager last year during basketball season and couldn't wait to play himself. The league he is in now is meant for 1st and 2nd graders. The head of the basketball league made a few exceptions this year and a few kindergarteners were able to play. I was a little concerned that he was too young to play, but he has improved every game and even scored 2 baskets on Saturday! Every time he scores, Matthew gives him a huge hug and it gets me choked up!

We are so blessed to have such a supportive family. Cousin Jamesy (and his parents) have come to the boys' games. Thomas and James are both very affectionate and they always love loving on each other! That's all for now!

Small, small little blogworld.

Matthew will be playing in the Texas Music Teachers Ensemble performance in Houston this summer. This is where 20 people play the same song on 10 pianos. He is really excited about this and I am too, since I played in this performance twice during middle school years. I was searching my memory box to find the picture of me at the performance to show Matthew and found it last night. Now, at first, I just sat there and admired the beauty that was 80s fashion....splatterpaint T-shirt dresses and red keds. Wow.

Then, I started looking at the different people in the ensemble and one in particular happened to catch my eye. I confirmed it this morning. One of the girls in the ensemble is none other than my blogger buddy, Courtney! I guess we met as kids and never knew it!

Now, can you guess which one is Courtney and which one is me?

A few things on Friday

I remember just a few short years ago, when I would have to throw away milk when it went bad. Now, my family consumes a gallon in less than two days! I feel like I am stocking up for a blizzard or hurricane every time I go to the store.

Yesterday, the boys were playing in their room and then I hear Thomas running out ready to tell me what grave injustice Matthew has commited against him. Matthew did all he could to surpress the information (I can't even remember at this moment what it was. Nothing too serious). After Thomas told me what happened, Matthew threw up his hands and said, "Thomas! You are the WORST ALIBI EVER!" After a few minutes, all was forgiven and they went back to being "partners in crime"!

It's been a long week, and I am ready for our three day weekend!

A few Mary Beth pics

Mary Beth struggles with her asthma every now and then. Giving her breathing treatments with Matthew's old nebulizer was always a chore. Then we found her cool pink Barbie nebulizer! "Breavin' treats" have gone much smoother since that purchase!
Mary Beth is REALLY into her bathing suits right now. Notice in this picture she is wearing one on top of another! She loves strutting around in my boots as well. Not the most wholesome look on a little girl, but I never let her out of the house in this ensemble!
Bryon's storage box doubles as Mary Beth's TV watching seat. I guess she is feeling a little boxed in lately?

Basketball season is here!

I just love Wednesdays! I am sitting here looking out at a beautiful winter morning sky while Mary Beth is sleeping cozy in her bed. What a gift!

I wanted to post pictures of the boys playing basketball. This is a unique year as both the boys are playing on the same team and Bryon is their coach. The boys played well in their game and seem to compliment each other well. Matthew loves offense, Thomas loves defense. There were several points during the game where Thomas had the ball and Matthew did everything he could to provide a screen for him. It made me proud to see my boy protecting his little brother!

The Ultimate Cheapskate

One of Bryon's and my New Year's Resolutions this year is to really try and control the spending of our discretionary income. We always enjoy a spending detox in January following the holidays and both boys' birthdays! We both just feel like we have enough stuff in our house to keep us entertained all year long and never want to raise our kids with a sense of entitlement and that spending money leads to happiness. We don't want to alter our lifestyles too much, but are just planning our meals better, avoiding our weak spots (Best Buy for Bryon, Hobby Lobby for me), and just saying no to the Grande Chai Lattes.

We certainly don't have all the answers and still struggle with our vices (50% off at Hobby Lobby!) but when you are consciously taking notice of every dollar going out, you start to rethink purchases. I am trying to go to the library more and reserving trips to Barnes and Noble for special occasions.

All that to say, I read a great book on the subject last night. Bryon and I went on a date (and split a meal, thank you very much) and ended up at Barnes and Noble. We bought the book, The Ultimate Cheapskate, after I saw the author on the Today Show. I must say, that the book was eye opening! I know, I know, it was a weak moment. The stronger Elizabeth would have waited to rent it at the library. I am only human.

Now, I will say that the author can at times have a crude sense of humor, so reader beware, but I came away with some interesting nuggets that should help with our new less spending resolve. For instance:

*Studies have shown that the only time money leads to happiness is when it takes a person from abject poverty to middle class. Otherwise there is no correlation between money and happiness.

*Americans spend an equal amount of money on hair removal and hair replacement. Spend vast amounts of money on indulging in food and drink and gym memberships to burn off the excess. In the 1950s, people would pay off their houses in 4-5 years and stay in them for a lifetime marriage, and now the opposite is true. People rarely pay off their houses and usually don't stay married for a lifetime.

*People's square footage has tripled as American family size has diminshed. The author also reports that there are studies that show an increase in teenagers loneliness and isolation and the increase in square footage in a house.

Don't get me wrong, I love our house, but I have a distinct memory of going over to my sister's adorable, but somewhat smaller house after we had been living in our bigger house a month, and missing the coziness that a smaller house offers.

The book was a secularly (is that a word?) based book, but I also think it has huge spiritual implications. If everything we own, and all the money we make, belongs to God, would he be pleased with how we are spending it? Is our need, as a society, to buy more and more just a way to try and replace that God shaped vacuum?

I enjoyed the book but could never go to the extreme of the author. Barf bags in airplanes finding a new life as a luminary on the kitchen table during a romantic meal? Not on my watch!

Shelfari

I was blog wandering one day and saw a Shelfari on someone's blog. I really enjoyed this website and would love for some of you to join as well! I have enjoyed reading reviews of the books I am planning to read and searching my brain to remember some of my favorite books that I have read over the past few years! I always wished that I had written down books that I read, so maybe I can use this site to write down the most memorable ones.

Have a great weekend!

New year, New hair!

I have been growing my hair out for a year and decided it was time for a change. My hair dresser cut 6 inches off the back! Here's hoping for low humidity days and that my hair doesn't get damaged from flat iron abuse!

Back in the swing

Just wanted to share a few pictures from our weekend. The first are of the boys watching football. We are a huge football family and enjoyed the games. Thomas in particular enjoyed watching his beloved Seattle Seahawks beat the Redskins. Go Shaun Alexander!

The next one is Thomas jumping from the top of the ladder. This is a no no in their room, but I was snapping pictures of them before bed and the boys were in a crazy mood. At least I got a fun picture out of it!

The next is Mary Beth in her bathroom. I love her in pigtails! It has been fun watching her play in her room and bathroom with all of her new toys. She made quite a mess in her room on Saturday and I asked her to help me clean it up. She informed me that she "wasn't strong enough" to clean her room!

Bryon had some business near his parents yesterday, so he took Mary Beth with him and I had 24 hours at home with the boys. I really enjoyed my time with them! Matthew read and Thomas helped me cook on Sunday. I cooked most of the day on Sunday and was able to freeze enough meals to last us the next few weeks.

Although I completely enjoyed my two weeks in hibernation, I am happy to be back on a schedule again! It is hard to believe the Matthew is now half way through elementary school. He is on the downhill slide! Thomas's newsletter came home yesterday and his teacher wrote something about looking forward to finishing up the kids' kindergarten year! This is going too fast!

When does school start again?

OK, I love spending lots of quality time with my kids. They are just the cutest things, bless their hearts. But the last 48 hours, I have been reminded yet again why I don't home school.

*I have vacuumed up an entire box of breadcrumbs dug into the carpet meant for an afternoon snack for Mary Beth.
*Twice, I have vacuumed shredded cheddar from around the refrigerator and inside the door.
*I have had 130 pounds worth of boys in my lap fighting over who could snuggle with me.
*Washed my daughter from head to toe after she discovered a bottle of glitter in the Christmas decorations.
*Washed my daughter from head to toe again after she found the powder to make Jell-O pudding. She is normally not destructive at all. What up?
*Sopped up water from my carpet where Mary Beth was transferring her "pot" from her sink to her new kitchen.
*Cleaned up dozens of games.
*Vacuumed up lint from the boys' new rug that gets agitated after countless wrestling matches.
*Introduced Matthew to the band Heart. I was watching a concert of theirs on TV recently and now he is obsessed. I hear "How do I get you alone?" at the top of his lungs constantly.
*Heard Angels We Have Heard On High and The Twelve Days of Christmas on the piano (Matthew's piano recital pieces) fast, slow, in upper octaves, in lower octaves which is really challenging my sanity.
*I have been asked an average of 30 questions per minute. "How many vice presidents have taken office after a president dies?" "How do you spell Tepee?" "What is 330x499?" "What, you don't know? I thought mommies knew everything." "What does insult mean?" "Will you teach me what percents are?"

Yes folks, the holidays are over. Time for school to start again!

Book Reviews and My Alabama Twin

Over the break, I have managed to read a few books:

Thunderstruck by Erik Larson:
Erik Larson is making his way up to the top of my favorite author's list. Thunderstruck is the third book that he has written that I have read, and I have to say that every time I read one of his books, I learn a ton about American and British history. My favorite book that he wrote is called The Devil In The White City which tells the dual stories of the mastermind behind the Chicago's World Fair and a serial killer who lived near, and took advantage of the fair to murder his victims. Isaac's Storm tells the story of the Galveston Hurricane in 1900 and the weatherman who never saw it coming. Thunderstruck tells the dual stories of Marconi and his race to make the world accept wireless communication and Hawley Harvey Crippen, the second most famous murderer in London's history. (Second only to Jack the Ripper) He was the first murderer to be caught by wireless communication, and this convinced the world of the importance of this type of communication. It was such a fascinating book and I had a hard time putting it down.

A Charmed Life by Liza Campbell:
Liza Campbell was the last person to be born at Cawdor Castle, the castle in MacBeth. She lived a life of incredible privilege and could trace her family back over 20 generations, but watched her father make many mistakes which changed their immediate family and the amazing history of this family. If you are a fan of Scottish history (MacBeth, Campbell/McDonald massacre, Culloden) you would really love this story. It reminds me of The Glass Castle and All Over But The Shoutin', but instead of the families living in utter poverty, the family was very wealthy.

The Winter Rose by Jennifer Donnelly:
I picked up an advanced copy of this one in the Fall and LOVED it! I am currently reading The Tea Rose, that tells the back story of the characters. It is a story of a privileged English woman who becomes a doctor in London's poorest neighborhoods and falls in love with a crime lord who really has a good heart. This one is just a great romance novel but I will caution that it is very long.

Also, I don't remember if I ever told the story of my twin in Alabama. I was reading Tesney's blog one day and clicked on a comment that someone had left on her blog. This person's name is Elizabeth. She's a Bama fan. She was born two days after me in the same year. She has two boys and a girl. Her girl is named Mary Elizabeth and is three years old! How crazy is that? Here is a link to her blog.

Bookshelf for Matthew

Here you go, Jacinda! I found everything I needed at Pottery Barn Kids. Matthew has really used his lamp a lot considering that he is a night owl and likes to read long after Thomas is asleep.

Days since Christmas

I just got my computer back after a service, so I am enjoying catching up on everyone's blogs!
We have had a wonderful few days just hibernating at home. Lots of books have been read, games have been played, and new rooms have been enjoyed!
I am so happy to report that the boys' room is finally finished! We put a book rack by Matthew's bed (not pictured) on Monday and closed this chapter. I must say that the room really looks great, and I am thinking about moving in because it is so much fun in there! I hear the boys playing basketball all day every day in their room.


Many of you who read this blog know that I have a huge disgust with all things teeth related. The day after Christmas, Matthew told me that he bit down on something funny and his tooth hurt. I asked him where, and he touched his first molar and half of it moved with his finger! Gross! I told him to finish the job and he was able to successfully remove it. He then started thinking of all the things that the tooth fairy could bring him. At this point, I was having "Magic Fairies Who Enter our Home At Night To Bring Gifts" overload and I told him not to expect much. After he went to sleep, I found this note under his pillow complete with a picture of him holding the tooth fairy's hand: "Dear The Tooth Fairy, I know you give everyone money. But will you cast a spell on my tooth so it will turn into a Madden '08 Nintendo D.S. Card? I know you are very magical, and I know Santa just came. But I don't care. You are a very nice fairy, and that tooth I lost was a very special tooth so can you give me a very special present?
Sinceraly, Matthew P.S. Sorry about the long fly up. (making reference to his new top bunk) Thank you.