TTT: Season 3, Episode 22

1. I've made it a bit of a bad habit to come sliding in to home plate just as the ball reaches the catcher's mitt these past few weeks. In other words, I've known what I've wanted to write about in my weekly blog post, chatted it out in my mind, and just haven't had the time to sit down and type it all out until it's nearly no longer Thursday. And here I am again this week. But here, nonetheless. Anyhow, I really did want to wait until tonight to write this week because I was anticipating the arrival of my brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece. They're only in town tonight and tomorrow, but since they live in Mountain Home, Idaho, we pretty much never get to see them so it's a real treat. We had a lot of fun with them tonight over sandwiches at Potbelly and then strolling around The Woodlands Market Street. Man, I wish they lived closer! The boys were having a ball with Jackson (who is every bit as tall as Rudy and is more than a full year younger!) and all of us were oodling over Miss Kennedy...our only girl! I'm pretty sure that I'm somewhat of a grandma even though I'm still in the baby phase of parenting. I love loving on my niece and nephews and don't feel the least bit bothered when they are out of line or disruptive or doing any sort of "wrong." There's just something about being able to love on a little one without having to parent or feel responsible for their behavior. Does that sound ridiculous!?! Who cares if it does. I spend nearly all day, every day doing the full deal with my three little monkeys. It's a joy just to get to do the fun part with the other little ones. And I guess it isn't so bad having to see their mom and dad either!

2. Wow! I had lots of positive comments, emails, and texts about the "money jars" that I wrote about last week. Wish I could take all the credit, but as I mentioned, it was just an idea from my own childhood that I've tweaked to be age appropriate for our guys. We're still going strong after two full weeks and the boys seem to have really bought into it.  I will mention a couple of things....for one, I think the money jar is great for kids roughly three and older. They have to understand what money is and why one would want it. The boys have really just started to catch on to the fact that in order for us to take something home from the store, we have to give the store money in exchange. It's been a hoot to explain debit and credit cards too! I'm pretty sure Kolbe's mind was blown when I told him that we give our money to the bank and then the bank gives it to the store. Craziness, I tell you. But back to the money jars. Another thing that we're trying to build on with it as both a discipline process as well as a life lesson-type thing is the whole payout process. It doesn't mean anything to them unless they see actual results. So determining some finite amount is important. And I think there are lots of ways to go with it. For example, once you reach fifty coins, you get to go pick out a prize at the store. Or more direct: fifty coins equals $5. Earn fifty coins, get a $5 payout, and head to the store. Having an at-home store would work too. Like trade in twenty coins to stay up and extra twenty minutes with Mom and Dad. We've also started working on "Well, you'll have to save some of your coins to get a little birthday present for Grant." Or "Don't forget...we're going to set aside a few coins each to put in the offering at mass on Sunday." Like I said, there's lots and lots of ways to go with this whole idea that can grow and develop as the kids get older. And thanks so much for y'all's encouragement! I'd love to hear about it if any of you give it a try or have success stories.

3. Three Thought Thursday's Three Random Tidbits:
- I had that dental work done that I mentioned last week. Brutal. Someone forgot to remind me that fillings involve shots in the gums. And spending hours with those massive brackets that hold your jaw open. I immediately went to the store and stocked up on a plethora of dental products. Never. Again.
- Kolbe: Mom, guys are supposed to have hairy arms, not girls.
  Me: Yep.
  Kolbe: So why are your arms so hairy?
  Me: I don't know. I guess that's just the way God made me.
  Kolbe: You should cut that all off so you don't look like a guy.
  Me: Well maybe I should but then it would just grow back.
  Kolbe: Well you could shave it when you take a shower like your legs.
  Me: But I don't even like having to shave my legs.
  Kolbe: Yeah, but you have to. Or people will think it's gross. So you should shave your arms too. 'Cause they'll also think that's gross.
  Me: Thanks, son. Leave me alone. (Thanks for the self esteem booster!)
- The countdown is on. We've down to not months, but days until my baby is one. Am I the only one that feels sick in the stomach over this? My parents gave me a Mother's Day card that said something like "the days are long but the years are so short." That couldn't be more true. I really was pregnant with Grant last week, watched him roll over for the first time on Monday, and cheered as he learned how to clap yesterday. It went by way too fast and I'm kind of feeling like I just wish it would stop and replay over and over. He has been the best little baby.

After early baths one night, Mark took the boys out to hit practice golf balls. They love it.

It's hard to tell but he's balancing on a narrow little slanted ledge. He's getting pretty brave, this one.

11 months

Kolbe and Jackson...I think Kolbe was teaching Jackson a few of his shenanigans!

Market Street has live music on Thursday nights in the summer...I wish we could have stayed to listen to this band longer! Yes, that guy in the middle is playing a set of spoons on his washboard. Reminded me SO much of my years in Mississippi!

Jackson loves Pa! He kept asking for a kiss across the table at Potbelly. So cute!

TTT: Season 3, Episode 21

1. It's a known fact that in my 4.5 years of parenting I've tried many-a-method when it comes to taming my crazy monkeys. Yes, they are just little boys. But they're two boys, just fifteen months apart and, if given the freedom, would run the world amok. Really, they are fabulous, smart, good little boys. I just want to keep them that way! So when we returned from our beach trip and sassy attitudes were at an all time high, I decided to give something we did when I was a child a shot. Knowing how in to money and coins my kids have been, I thought it just might be effective. When we were growing up we called it "Dimes." It consisted of us each having a baby food jar with ten dimes in it. Any time we cut out of line, we lost a dime. At the end of the week, we each got to keep our remaining dimes. While it didn't work at all for some (Andy was known to ask my mom to take all of his dimes on the first day...), I used to walk away with my full dollar's worth every week. I decided to mix it up a bit and go from the positive side of things with the boys. They each have a jar on the kitchen counter. Each time I get a "yes ma'am" or catch them doing something nice or they do something the first time I ask etc, etc. they get a money in their jars. (penny) And with each "no" or sass or fighting or whining or disrespect it's a money out. To say it has been a success would be a serious understatement. Especially with Kolbe. He's gone from Mr. Sassy-Pants to Mr. Perfect overnight! I knew from the get-go that while it would be a hugely popular idea to begin with, I'd have to work hard to keep up the results despite the fact that the actual coin-in-the-jar procedure would die down. For example, we went to the coin jars every. single. time. on the first day. By today, I think I went maybe three times. But still had the same fabulous behavior as day one. We just keep a good running tally in our minds! Anyway, I should have known that something that worked so well for me as a child would work well for my little clone. Now to just channel it in to non-stop "yes ma'ams" because Mommy deserves them instead of because a penny is attached!

2. On Saturday I woke up to a facebook post from a sweet friend of ours saying that she was going to the Texas IronMan to watch her sister run. I knew it was in The Woodlands because we went to watch it last year. And we planned on going this year as well. Sure enough, we got to meet up with Miss Lisa Myers twice and watch her sister, Laurie, finish her first IronMan! Can you imagine? I can't even fathom doing one leg of it, let alone all three. (2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and then a full marathon) And not only did she finish, from what I hear she actually won her age division. Craziness! But it was so fun to see lots of people complete such an amazing feat and even more fun to catch up with such an adorable friend. We can't wait for her wedding here in Houston this summer!

3. I spent a good chunk of my day today at the dentist. Before I had kiddos I was one of those goody-two-shoes-every-six-months type of patients. But then the kids came and we lost dental coverage for a while and when we got it back, wouldn't you know it, I had another newborn. Finding time to squeeze in a dental appointment was nearly impossible. Especially amongst countless "pregnancy" appointments. (high risk people go all. the. time.) But alas, I finally got my butt in gear and went. No, not because I just up and decided it was time. And not because my teeth were aching and I thought I might have a cavity. Nope. It took a full-on chipped front tooth to finally make me go! And I have absolutely no "dental phobia" whatsoever. Just always chose something else over going to the dentist. (can you blame me!?!) It almost felt like going to confession..."Forgive me, doctor, for I have committed a dental sin. It's been three years since my last visit..." And beyond the chipped tooth, my penance was a return visit next week for fillings. Doh. Guess I better pull out all the dimes from my good girl jar to pay for this one.

My Mother's Day chairs finally in place on the front porch. :)

Every baby needs to have at least one kitchen sink bath, right? This guy loved it.

Watching Lisa and her parents wait in anticipation for their sister/daughter to round the corner to the finish line at the Texas IronMan. No lie, it was just as fun watching them wait and cheer for her as it was actually seeing her run by!

We established a while back when Grant got bit above the eye that he has quite the gnarly reaction to mosquito bites. So I've been extra cautious when taking him outside. Using deet free repellent and just keeping a watchful eye. No one wants to stay inside all summer! But apparently I didn't get any repellent on his poor ear...red, hot, and super swollen. :(

His poor ear was so swollen that it stood out like a monkey for the entire day. But he stayed happy and didn't seem to even notice it. And he's still pretty darn cute, if I must say so myself!

TTT: Season 3, Episode 20

1. We are at the beach! Ahhhhhhh. There's no place quite like it, I tell ya. And while sleeping in the same room as my three pups, and thus waking way more often in the middle of the night...like every time one of them squeals or squirms...is not ideal, I really have nothing at all to complain about right now. It's all good and we're having a blast. The boys love the ocean. Sure, they're slightly...okay, very...hesitant toward going out too far into the water. But they love the sand. And the shells. And the tiny little holes the crabs make. The excitement of the beach house. The awesome pool. Watching Looney Tunes on Uncle Dave's computer. It's great. So much fun to see these little guys experience the ocean. And so nice for me to have full time help for five days from three other adults! And of course, nice conversations, good food, and reliving old memories with my parents and brother. Okay, so maybe I do have one complaint. My husband isn't here. And nothing is quite as good without him. He's back at home working. And going through all kinds of hell right now. Really, really, really wish he was here. Dada needs a vacation too! And I wish my other brothers and their wives and kiddos were here as well. But I digress...it's been a fantastic vacation. And we're hoping and praying for a smooth ride home!

2. Though it already seems like a long time ago, my Mother's Day was fantastic! Let me just say that my husband went way over and beyond. First, he surprised me in San Antonio by telling me that on Friday, a cleaning service would be coming to the house to deep clean for me. He knows it's been something I've been wanting to do for such a long time. And I've often thrown out "well, maybe this month I'll splurge with a little bit of the money I made through the shop and get the house cleaned"  but never pulled the trigger. So he just went for it for me. And I'm so thankful he did! The house looked awesome when all was said and done and I didn't have to lift a finger. But that was only half of my Mother's Day surprise. On Sunday morning I slept in a bit before getting up and getting ready for mass. After mass, we went over to my parent's house for brunch made by Mark and my dad. And while we waited for them to finish the cooking, my second surprise was revealed: two white rocking chairs for my front porch!!! I've dreamed of having rocking chairs on my porch since I was little. Like since I imagined my house and drew pictures of it with crayons. Yet another thing I've never been able to pull the trigger on. Just can't justify it! But Mark has heard me mention wanting white wooden rocking chairs for roughly eight years now. And I suppose he just decided that if he was going to over-spend on Mother's Day, he might as well go all in and get me the much coveted chairs on top of the house cleaning. So after brunch we headed home and I took an awesome two hour nap. Followed by a bowl of chicken pot pie soup from Jason's Deli. Awesome Mother's Day! And best of all, it was spent with all four (five, including my dad!) of my guys. And my own wonderful Mama too! I know that only one woman in the world can have The World's Best Husband. So glad that it's me! And who can believe my luck...I've also got the world's best dad too! Many thanks to him for helping out Mark with the rocking chair surprise.

3. Since not much is going on beyond beach, beach, and more beach, I'll cut straight to the photos! More to come when we get home of our awesome vacation.

With my Mama and my babes...the very reasons we celebrate Mother's Day!

A great family pic in my new rocking chairs! Can you tell I was excited!?!

I mentioned last week that I was sewing like a crazy woman last week while Mark was in San Antonio. After I returned on Friday night, the boys went to bed really easily and so I had a few hours to get in a very productive work night. Lots of chevron orders!

On the road to South Padre...when you pass a sign that informs you that the next town is twenty-five miles away and your children are wailing out claims like "It's coming out! It's coming out! It's coming out!" you just have to abandon all hopes of good form and pull over. Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures! And obviously Rudy hasn't mastered the art of just pulling down the front portion of his shorts. He went for the full buns.

Grant's very first feel of the ocean. It's a wonderful place, my friend!

Kolbe was so fascinated by the wind-blown sand dunes and their "zebra stripes"

Making sand stew!

So yes, my kids have been waking up way to early for this to be vacation, but hey, at least I get to witness this every morning!

Three brothers playing on the beach!

And don't you know that's some hard sleep! Play hard, sleep hard.

TTT: Season 3, Episode 19

1. It's 10:00 am. And I'm sitting in bed, feet propped up, hair wet from a nice, hot shower, TV playing in the background...and no, not any kiddie cartoons! And I just got back got back from a morning stroll with my little guy down at the River Walk! I'm here in San Antonio visiting Mark at his work conference without the "big kids" for just a short twenty-four hour trip. But man, even twenty-four hours can make a huge difference when it comes to feeling refreshed! Back on the home-front I've been taking care of munchkins and sewing during every spare moment as I try to finish up all of my orders before we leave for the beach. But here, I'm just taking time to relax, unwind and breathe! Grant and I drove over here yesterday afternoon and had a fun evening with Mark on the River Walk. We ate steaks, walked and walked and walked, and even got ice cream. I was a little worried about how Grant would do since I knew we'd be up past his usual 8:00 bedtime, but he was a champ! Maybe he's just enjoying all of the exclusive attention from Mom and Dad! He and I are hanging out a while longer to enjoy lunch with Mark and then we'll head back to The Woodlands to go fetch the big boys from Pinkie's house. From what I hear, they're having a ball too!

2. But back to all of the sewing. It's probably a good thing that Mark has been holed up here in San Antonio for the week. 'Cause I've been sewing like a mad woman! I don't like to sew when Mark is at home...I feel like that's our time to be together as a family. So really, I may cut fabric while we watch a movie, or respond to messages on the computer, but I try not to actually sew after the kids have gone to bed. But this week, with Mark gone, I've been in overdrive trying to get all of my outstanding orders done before we leave for a week at the beach. I don't think I've been at a status of zero outstanding orders since Grant was born! And I think it will feel nice to start back up from zero. 'Cause sometimes the always growing, never ending list or orders gets a bit daunting. Sometimes you just have to take a break and start from square one! But that being said, it's also giving me time to digest a few aspects of my little business. To wrap my mind around what it is and where it's going. I always just saw myself as being a stay-at-home mom, but clearly I'm a small business owner now too. Kind of a cool feeling!

3. When we moved down to The Woodlands and looked for houses I had several "musts" on my house hunting list. Things like four bedrooms, a kitchen that opens to the family room, more windows and more space for the kids stuff. I certainly got all of that and more in our new house. But there have been a few things about our house that I've discovered over the past year that will definitely go on the things-to-look-for-in-our-next-house list. One of them being the kitchen dining area. For as big of a kitchen as we have, the area where the table goes is tiny! The main limiting factor is the back door. It's placed on the wall where if we have a table that fully fills up the dining area, you can't open the door! That being said, we've been in need of a new table and chairs for a long time. We inherited my family's childhood dining set when my mom inherited her childhood dining set. (after my Popo died) At the time, we were happy to have it because our existing set was cafe' (bar stool) height and Kolbe was sitting in a high chair and close to transitioning to a booster seat. No so easy for little ones to get up and down! The table and chairs we got from my parents worked great for the past few years...and the twenty some odd years prior...but let's face it: they've taken a beating between a total of seven boys and one girl, countless moves, and more. The legs on the chair were falling apart. The ladder backs were splintering, the table top was completely warped. Not to mention the massive layer of grime on all of it! But with our tiny eating area, it would be really crazy for us to invest in our dream set of table and chairs, knowing it wouldn't fit. And crazy for us to spend a ton on a set that we'd eventually want to replace as the kids get bigger. So I've been scouring the local craigslist, keeping my eyes out for a nice, quality set that would actually fit in our dining area and not break the bank. And I finally found it! It came home to stay with our family on Tuesday, thanks to a lot of help from my dad and his truck. To me, the kitchen and the table are the heart of the home. Like a place instead of an object. And I'm sure this new little place in our home is sure to hold many, many memories in the years to come.

The new dining set! (you can't see it, but the door is just the the right. Grr!)

The boys getting a talking-to before Dada left for the week (they were running around doing major shenanigans just before he left!)

Rudy working on filling his shopping cart

The guys decided that all of their toy cars needed to be washed so we had a huge car wash in the kitchen sink

Isn't this guy pitiful! He cries every single time I put him in his booster chair...and then proceeds to pig out!

TTT: Season 3, Episode 18

1. Can you believe it's May already!?! It feels like Christmas was just yesterday. It's so true...when you're young, time goes by so slowly. But as you get older, it flies by. Really. Yesterday was Christmas. And the day before yesterday I was pregnant with Grant. And now look. Tomorrow is already summer. In fact, we're just on the brink of entering full on summer mode around here. Making plans for going to the pool, signing up for sports and vacation Bible school, filling out a calendar of all kinds of fun stuff for the months to come. Actually, the next two weeks are going to be pretty eventful around here. Mark leaves on Sunday for a training conference in San Antonio. He'll be gone for a full week. A full week. Should be interesting! On a high note, I'm going to sneak over there on Wednesday with Grant to spend an evening on the river walk with the hubs and help my brother Andy out on Thursday while he's at a job interview. Kolbe and Reagan get to hang behind with Pinkie for the night! Anyway, Mark returns Saturday night, we have Sunday together, and then the boys and I take off for South Padre Island for a week of long-desired beach time. I. Can't. Wait! I'm definitely a beach person. There's really nothing quite like the feeling of awe when standing beside the ocean. It's just amazing to me and makes me feel so close to God. But I digress. We are spending the week at the beach with my parents and brother Dave. The only bad part being that Mark has to stay behind and work. Sad. A vacation just isn't quite the same without our whole family. But I still plan on having a blast with everyone else. And hopefully Grant-on-the-beach won't be too much of a nightmare! Let the summer fun begin!

2. I've been more than forthcoming with my iphone obsession. Oh, the convenience! And though sometimes I've felt that it has a negative effect on my parenting/life, there are aspects of it that I feel really enhance our life at home. Case in point, Pandora. Pandora brings music in to our home and music in our home means peace. There's just something about music playing when tensions are running high that seems to mellow everything out. I play it when we're cooking. Play it when I'm sewing. Play it when we're working on puzzles. Or coloring. Or cleaning. I've honestly noticed times when the boys have been at each others throats and then completely chilled once we have music playing in the background. Of course, there are times when things just get too chaotic, the noise is out of control, and the music has to go. But for the most part, it has been such a positive addition to the house. Hook it up to my trusty ipod dock that my cousin Mandi gave me, and we're good to go.

3. We finally got Sir Grant's mosquito bite under control. Just in time to take on the arrival of his top two teeth. Can someone please tell me why God thought it would be best for teeth to emerge after birth? I mean, I know they don't need them for roughly the first year, but come on! Wouldn't it have been easier on moms if they were born with a full set? (other than the obvious biting potential) I guess they'd look pretty creepy and not so baby-esque if they came out with a bunch of chompers, but I think I'd take a creepy looking baby in exchange for no teething. Grant did well with the bottom two a few months ago, but the top two came in over the past week and we weren't quite as successful. Mis.er.y. I don't like to pump up the kids with non-stop medicine, but I'm not going to lie. Grant got several doses over the past few days just to keep things under control. Today was finally a lot better. Less fussy. Less drool. Less biting on everything. So now he's ten months old with four teeth. Standing un-assisted...until he realizes it and then he immediately panics and dives for me or crouches down to the ground. He's the happiest, friendliest fella I've ever seen. (other than while teething, of course!) He readily offers a smile, even to strangers. Is so very flexible with the constant chaos and is still a great sleeper. And like I said, it was just the day before yesterday that I was pregnant with this perfect little guy...

10 months

rubba dub dub, three men in a tub...

Kolbe, my little reader, with his magic reading pen

I've always loved chambray, so I was so excited when my mom got Grant an adorable chambray baby shirt. No kidding, it matches his eyes perfectly!

Pa surprised the boys by showing up at the park to show them his truck full of sod. They thought it was so cool!

Our magnolia in the front yard is in full bloom! I love magnolias. They remind me so much of living in Mississippi, the Magnolia State. So when we looked at this house a year ago, the magnolia tree was one of the first things I noticed and loved. They're such pretty flowers and smell so good!

All of our April showers definitely brought May flowers to our yard!